Ingenious Inkling

Wishing You Peace

The Monthly Mix Challenge at gina k. designs is to create a card that only features a sentiment.

 

I used the gina k. designs set Peace, Courage & Memories from Unity Stamp Company.  Sentiments were stamped in black on watercolor paper with my MISTI and clear embossed (my MISTI makes it easy to use the grid and line-up multiple sentiments).

 

Next I loosely painted on three colors (peach, pink & red) of Zig Pearlescent Watercolor Paints and then finished with a wrap of Alexandre Renke plaid washi tape before attaching to my black card base.

I'm also joining Make My Monday where the Challenge theme is Use Words or a Sentiment.

I Am A Thousand Winds

I needed to get a sympathy card in the mail, so I used this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! for my design, flipping it to a vertical orientation.

 

I stamped my Hopi Prayer sentiment from Stampotique in Blueberry ink on ivory cardstock.  My background is one of my Gel Press Prints on with navy cardstock strips for the angled elements of the sketch.

 

Shines Down Upon Us

I use feedly blog reader to browse hundreds of blogs each week (which is how I discovery my link love that I share).  I have a folder where I save all of the card-making challenges I find, so I have a single place to go for inspiration ... and sometimes (like now) when I have a lot of challenge ideas saved, my brain tries to combine a bunch of them when I'm dreaming about potential ideas ... like it did with this card.

I started with the More Than Words Mini Challenge, which is to use the word SHINE in a design.

I went searching for stamps with SHINE and settled on a vintage wood-mounted stamp Inky Antics called Openings in Heaven that has one of my favorite Sympathy Sentiments (and one of my favorite fonts too). 

As I thought about the subject of *STARS* shining, I decided that the CASUAL Friday's Challenge to Use Shades of Gold & the TIME OUT Challenge to use Black & White and 1 Color (that one color being gold) would also inspire my design.

The TIME OUT Challenge also had a twist to do a single layer design, so I decided to use Gold Metallic Ink and my A Colorful Life Star Stencil  (remember code TJ10Stephanie gets you 10% off everything in the Technique Junkies store) with my sentiment ... only one problem ... I apparently put all my Metallic Inks together somewhere in my studio (for safe keeping ... who knows???) and I couldn't find a single ink pad.  I did however find a pot of Brea Reese Matte Metallic Gold Texture Paste, so I moved on to plan B.

 

I wanted the texture of the paste to really shine through, so I used my finger to apply it in a rough coat.  

I added a wrap of gold metallic thread to finish the design.

 

When There Are No Words

I used my last sympathy card today ... so I had to make some more.  Because we all know that when you need a sympathy card is not the time you want to be making one ... so I always make sure I have some in my stash.

I pulled out several Retro Wood Block favorites for tonight's cards.  The first is from Outlines Rubber Stamps and is good to have for so many occasions when you want to say something ... but there are no words.

I paired it with the bird from Unity Stamp Company's Sympathy & Sadness using this week's CAS(e) this Sketch!

 

The second one features Hero Arts In My Thoughts together with the Atlantic Hearts Sketch.

Papers are all from Authentique's Sea-Maiden Collection.

 

Winnie & Walter Word Card Making Day

I wanted to join in the Winnie & Walter World Card Making Day Challenges (you can see my CRAFTIE photo here) ... only one slight problem ... I only have 3 stamp sets from Winnie & Walter & 2 of them are sentiment sets (they do make amazing sentiment sets).  So clearly, I need to win this challenge, so I can add to my stash.

I started with inspiration from today's Featured Stamper at SplitcoastStampers ... the talented Jennifer Jackson.  I took my inspiration from her lovely stenciled design.

Unfortunately, most of my stencils have been mailed to New Jersey for the Gel Press Extravaganza that Lauren & I have planned for this week, so no pumpkins or leaves ... but I did have this lovely Classic Harlequin Stencil from Technique Junkies by A Colorful Life.  Remember, there's a World Card Making Day sale going on at Technique Junkies.

I pulled out my MISTI because it's not only a helpful tool for stamping ... I also use it for Stenciling.  I positioned my water color paper and held it in place with my long magnet.  Next, I placed  my stencil in the corner of my MISTI, so it stays in place in place and then I only have to add a single piece of tape at the top (rather than taping down multiple sides).

Iliana is having a great WCMD Sale Too.

I used my make-up brushes (life changing) to Ink Blend three colors of Distress Ink for the Winnie & Walter Ink Blending Challenge with Lea.

I started with the lightest shade and moved to the darkest, going back with some Mustard Seed at the end.  That is one of the make-up (aka Stencil) brushes from this Set of 6.

Another great thing about using this MISTI Technique for Stenciling, is it's easy to lift up your Stencil and see how things look, and then put it right back in place to add more ink ... look at that gorgeous blending of color.

 

For my finished card, I used inspiration from Jennifer to mat my card with gold (I normally would have reached for a darker brown) and added a wrap of twine, as well as some glittery autumn leaves.  Rather than stamp my sentiment on a strip of paper (I felt like it covered-up too much of that gorgeous ink-blending) I used Acorn Versafine Clair ink to stamp the Sentiment from Winnie & Walter The Big, The Bold, and Comfort on top of my blended Distress Ink.  I also used Jennifer's inspiration for a combination of a bigger & smaller word for my sentiment.

I'm also linking-up at the Trees & Leaves Challenge at The Paper Players.

AND remember ... Stop by and leave a comment on my Birthday Giveaway for a chance to win a Medium Size Flat Rate Box stuffed full of stamps & coordinating dies.

World Card Making Day Sympathy

I'm going to try to join in as many challenges I can today (because like I said in my previous post ... prizes).

The 2nd Challenge at the My Favorite Things Blog is to make a CAS Design.  I have a large pile of un-used MFT products, so this is the perfect opportunity to break them out.

I die cut the MFT Grand Greenery from scraps of paper in the three colors at the Color Throwdown Challenge (love when a card is entirely composed of scraps) and then stamped a sentiment from Brushstroke Expressions in Green Grass Ink.  Do you hold your papers up to your computer monitor to try to figure out if you have the right color (or is that just me)?

I just love that room ... I would live there.

Since I had more greenery ... I made a second card ... because you never feel like making a sympathy card when you really need one (so I always make sure there are plenty in my stash).

Sympathy is also the word at the Just Us Girls Challenge.

Make sure you stop by my Birthday Giveaway Post.

Technique Junkies April Blog Hop

It's time for new stamp releases at Technique Junkies. 

Remember, all April New Release Stamps are 15% off through the April 8th ... and if you  use my code TJ10Stephanie you get 10% off all other products.

One of my favorites this month is the Peony Collage ... I love when a stamp pretty much just makes the card for you.  I tried stamping it in three different colors.  I really loved the exquisite detail I got with the Versafine Clair Inks and my MISTI.

All I did to finish my designs was add a single sentiment.   I trimmed the Happy Birthday from Happy Birthday Advice and mounted on an Ivory Cardstock Base.

For the second one I used the sentiment from Stop and Smell the Flowers.

My final one is a sympathy card with a sentiment from With Sympathy.  This time I framed my collage in black.

I also had fun creating with the new Butterfly Woman.  I trimmed off one of the butterflies, so I could also use it to stamp individually.  The sentiment is another new stamp called Soul to Dance.

Butterfly Woman also pairs beautifully with the new sentiment Began to Fly.

I painted my watercolor paper background using Ken Oliver's Color Burst and then stamped on top.  I added some highlights to my stamp using more color burst paint and some gold metallic paint for her hair.

 

 

Have fun hopping and checking out all of the new stamps.

• Technique Junkies Blog
• Giovana Smith 
• Ceal Pritchett 
• Jeanne Streiff
• Lee Ann Barrett
• Cheri Weston
• Stephanie Severin <--- YOU ARE HERE
• Janelle Stollfus 
• Ro Donner
• Judy Jackson 
• Beth Norman 
• Lynda Pleckan 
• Pat Huntoon 

Holding You in My Heart

I discovered a new challenge this morning ... The Library Challenge ... and you know I had to join the fun.  The idea is to create a card inspired by a Library Book ... it could be inspired by the book cover (I won't lie ... I'm all about the covers when I choose books at the Library), the title, or the Story.

The first book is Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice.

I was immediately drawn to the overall pattern of the background and those gorgeous colors ... they reminded me of the gorgeous piece of oriental paper I had on my studio table (thank you Linda Brun for wrapping my gift in something so gorgeous).  It is so think, it almost feels like fabric.

I trimmed my card size narrower, so it was more like the dimensions of a paperback book.  I used the Wednesday Sketch Challenge from My Favorite Things and incorporated a dictionary page that was in my paper pile.  I used a sentiment from MFT Deepest Sympathy (awesome sympathy sentiment set) stamped in Kelly Green on a scrap of water color paper on my desk (noticing a theme ... love when card making & cleaning-up my studio table go together).

If you haven't watched Kim Van Der Sanden's Ted Talk (the owner of My Favorite Things), it's a good one.

I also joined the Card Making Olympics at MFT ... Event #4 Speed Cardmaking.  It's amazing how fast cardmaking goes when all of the leftovers are on your studio table.

 

Loss of Your Faithful Friend

Tonight's card is for a co-worker who lost his faithful friend this week.

I used some gorgeous paper that Linda Brun used to wrap my gift to cover my card base. 

Stamps are Paper Smooches Paws for a Cause ... layout is this week's Freshly Made Sketch (I made the card base 4" wide, so the extended paper will still fit in a standard envelope).

Rustic Botanticals Sympathy

I finally had a little time to stamp tonight.  I created a card for the current Mix-It-Up Challenge at Essentials by Ellen with My Favorite Things.

I combined a leaf/feather from Essentials by Ellen Rustic Botanicals with a sentiment from My Favorite Things Deepest Sympathy.

The background was created using my MISTI, Gel Press, and Distress Oxide Inks.