Ingenious Inkling

Peace Patience Kindness

This card combines this week's sketch from Our Creative Corner & the Share Your Spark Friday challenge to use designer paper.

The entire card is stamped on Basic Grey Sultry DP.  The Paper Bag Studio's The Chair was stamped in Rouge ColorBox Ink and sponged around the edges and attached with dimensional tape.

The second layer is Cornish Heritage Farms Open Circles Backgrounder was stamped in Rouge Ink on Green DP and clear embossed.  I sponged some Warm Green Chalk ink around the edges and added a touch of bling.

The bottom layer was sponged Pink Pastel ink.  I really love how the open circles in the backgrounder frame the chair.

On the Farm

For the July 5th Caard{varks} challenge the theme is On the Farm.  Break out those chickens, cows, pigs, barns, corn, tomatoes ... whatever says farm theme to you & show us your best creation by July 17th.  As always, there will be a fabulous prize for the winner.

For my first card I used Cosmo Cricket Halfway Cafe DP because it reminded me of old barn wood.  I embossed the background with my Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes embossing folder for a bit more wood-like texture. 

The farmer and loads of love are both from Savvy Stamps.  I added three square pewter brads that I thought looked like old nail-heads to finish the design.

Sometimes you just have to let cute DP speak for itself.  These farm papers are from a Debbie Mumm calendar stack and were perfect for my brother-in-law's birthday card.  I cut various designs from the paper into strips and added an A Muse sentiment and three metal circles to finish the design.

Can't wait to see your On the Farm! creations.

Mackintosh Enamels Inspired

I have always been fascinated by the technique of enameling.  I love the multi-layered effect and the smooth texture of the finished product.  I am particularly inspired by the work of Mackintosh Enamels.  I have one of their light switch covers in my bedroom, and I love it (I love being able to add tiny touches of art in unexpected places).

My card is inspired by the yellow switch plate cover.

I cut flowers from cardstock using my Cuttlebug Flower die cuts & attached them to light yellow cardstock using temporary adhesive.

I used my spray box and sprayed a coating of Mango Lemonade Memories Mists.  After it dried, I removed several of the flowers and sprayed a second layer using Orange Juice Memories Mists. 

I finished the card with my Fiskars Threading Water punch, and some yellow ribbon.  The blooms are layered Mylar Flowers by Creative Impressions that I found on my Chicago Road Trip.  I layered them with one of the sprayed diet cut flowers and a brown brad.  The sentiment is a rub-on from Stampin' Up.

I hope you find inspiration.

Girly Elegance Anniversary Card

Finally, some creating for me this week. 

The whole post-flood experience still has my world a bit out of kilter.  I spent this morning volunteering with our United Way 211 Information line. 

When I came home, I laid down for a short nap ... which ended up lasting four hours.  Obviously I needed it, but it seriously cut into my creative time today :^)

This card uses Laura's Sketch #3 at 2 Sketches 4 You.  I always love a scalloped edge ... especially now that I have my Fiskars Threading Water punch, which makes it so easy.

I also wanted to do Sharon's Make it Girly! challenge.  I thought these elegant handmade shimmery papers were perfect for an anniversary card I need to get in the mail (click on the picture for a close-up of the gorgeous embossing).

Since this couple are two of my favorite love birds, I thought the rub-on from Luxe and the clear sentiment sticker worked perfectly.  I added some sheer gold ribbon to finish (I love knotting the ribbon because it allows me to put tiny glue dots under the knots to adhere without the adhesive showing).

Thanks ladies for the inspiration.

Kal is in the House

For me, one of the best parts of Inspired was sharing time with Kal Bartestki.  I was already an avid blog reader and lover of her art ... getting to share her effervescent spirit face-to-face was pure joy.

I was thrilled that she sold limited edition signed prints to commemorate the Inspired experience.  I finally got my two prints framed and hung in my studio.

The first one says "She was such a little fish, and it seemed so hard ... much much harder than she originally thought ... to keep, to stay, to be so golden.  Just keep swimming going.

The second one hangs right above my computer monitor so it's in my line of sight every day.  It says "I am creative ... she reminded herself often ... really often."

I love having these bright burst of Kal's bulletproof attitude in my studio.  They look fabulous hanging next to my painting by Nikki Pritchett.

PS ... check out these gorgeous embroidered pillowcases I just won in the blogaversary giveaway from Lisa at Celebrate Creativity in All Its Forms.

Thank You Pocket Card ... and Prizes Too

I got some fun prizes in the mail from Page Plans for winning two of their sketch challenges.  I love the fun felt letters and the little ice cream treat embellishments.

I also got a fabulous Thank You card from my Gran and her crafting friends.  Even though my Gran and I have lived miles apart for the last twenty years, it's been so fun to share our love of creating through the Internet and e-mail. 

A few weeks ago, I used a flat-rate box and mailed her group a fun care package of papers, inks, embellishments, ribbon and stamps to add to their small collection in their community craft room.

The ladies made me a fabulous sparkly pocket thank you card.  They each made a tag that had a personal note on one side and a picture of them creating on the other side.

It's so fun to share the love of creating across the miles. 

Thanks ladies (and Gran) for my wonderful thank you card.

10-Minute Christmas in June Sketch

Sharon's Simply Stamped Challenge is to make a 10-minute card.  One of the easiest ways for me to produce quick cards is to start with a sketch and a theme. 

I decided to use Sketch #50 from Sketches! {by Tamara} and a theme of Christmas in June from the ladies at Daring Cardmakers (it's never too soon to get one more Holiday card done for 2008).

I chose my large DeNami Hope stamp for my focal point.  Rather than cut actual panels in my paper, I used my Snowflake Flurry from Stampendous to create the feel of three segments in my design (much quicker than measuring and cutting to keep within the 10-minute time limit). 

One of the quickest ways to complete a card is to stamp directly on DP.  I thought this Amy Butler paper from the Lotus mat stack looked a little like snowflakes. 

All three images were stamped in ColorBox Dark Iris and embossed with Transcendence clear embossing powder (when stamping on DP, embossing gives the image a bit more definition against the pattern and adds a bit of elegance to a quick design).

I added a Martha Stewart snowflake punched from silver glitter paper to finish the design. 

Good Day Sunshine

As much fun as I had traveling yesterday, I really missed being in my studio, so I'm making up for it today.  I used CPS Sketch #71 to make a birthday card for my step-dad.

Since he's a huge Beatles fan, I used DCWV Rock Star paper for the base & printed out a sample of sheet music for Good Day Sunshine for my rectangle element. 

I usually color this triple birthday image from Magenta, but for this layout I decided to add just a few small touches of red and silver glitter pen to the design.  I used 3/4" and 1 1/4" square punches to make my photo corners.

Thanks ladies for another great layout.

Twinkling Corn

I know I should be cleaning up from my weekend trip, but I had to make one card with my new goodies first.  Being surrounded by corn in Iowa has led me to develop a bit of a corn stamp collection.  I found this great corn image by Leigh Hannan from Impression Obsession at Stamp Thyme (I resisted the urge to buy the tomatoes too).

Today's SCS Featured Stamper is Michele Kovack (Chelemom).  I love browsing through other stamper's galleries to see how their style and techniques have changed over time.  I chose one of Michele's early cards, Twinkling H2Os, as my inspiration.  I loved the fun triangle sentiment and the idea of painting directly on my stamp.  I started with Yellow Rose on the corn and then added Key Lime and Moss Green to the rest of the plant.  I used my water brush to go back and fill in any lines that weren't completely solid (it's more difficult to cover thinner lines with the paint because it tends to just slide off and puddle in th grooves of the stamp).  I love the abstract effect.

The thank you sentiment is from Green Grass Stamps.  I used Bazzill Bling papers to go with the shimmer of the paints.  This card will be a thank you for my brother- & sister-in-law who graciously let us use their water during our recent water restrictions during the flood.  Thanks Michele for the inspiration.

Chicago Stamp Store Road Trip

My best stamping girlfriend Laura and I spent the weekend on our favorite Chicago stamp store road trip.  We've done it several times and each time we continue to perfect the experience. 

This time we left early enough to add Scrapaganza! 2176 west Kimberly Road in Davenport, Iowa to our agenda.  This is a very fun little store filled with paper, inks, punches, fun rubber stamps & great staff (Sorry, I realized after I got home that I had the flash turned off on my small digital camera, so a lot of the indoor shots were too blurry to post).

After that we headed to our next destination, Ottawa, Illinois ... a charming little city that sits where the Fox River meets the Illinois.  They are currently having a sesquicentennial Shindig celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. 

Of course, in our usual fashion, we added a little twist to the trip.  We were so busy talking, that somehow we missed our turn on Highway 80 and failed to realize we were on the wrong highway until we arrived in Peoria ... only a little 150 mile detour :^). 

We just laughed and laughed at our error and bought an error ... we realized it was a story we'd still be laughing at when we were old and gray.  And if we'd never gotten lost, we wouldn't have discovered the adorable little town of Utica, Illinois.

We had supper at our favorite Ottawa Restaurant - The Row House at 728 Columbus Street.  It was a gorgeous evening for dining outside on the patio.  We also made a group of new friends who included us in their 50th birthday celebration.  They gave us their phone numbers, so we can call them up the next time we come through Ottawa.

Another new stop that we added to our trip on Saturday morning was the Milano Baking Company in Joliet, Illinois ... yum, yum, yum. 

The employees were so helpful and fun.  We got delicious bear claws with almond paste filling and several more cookies for the road.  We loved that the backs of the employee shirts says "the best buns in town" (they sell them for customers, but were currently sold out).

Next stop was Stamp Thyme in Lockport, Illinois, which opens at 10am on Saturday.  They have a large and diverse stamping inventory and will order and ship anything you want to have.  We loved looking at all of the new stamps from Outlines and other companies.

It is definitely worth the stop if you are in the Chicago area.

Our next store was Stampology at 5031 N. Harlem Avenue.  I love that they make all of the card samples in their store and will gladly let you take photographs of all of them.  It's a tiny space, but it is packed with wonderful papers and stamps.  I can't wait to try this fun washi paper quilting technique.

Next door to Stampology, we always have lunch at Nottoli's Italian grocery store ... fabulous subs and pasta salad.  We take our coolers so we can load up on wonderful meals-to-go.

Next stop to continue to fill our coolers was Trader Joe's ... maybe some day they'll come to Iowa.  The one on our route is in Park Ridge, Illinois.

Our final stop is The Cottage Stamper in St. Charles, Illinois.  They carry the entire A Muse line and this time had lots of fun new stamps from Magenta.  They manage to get lots of fabulous product into their cozy little cottage.

I hope you enjoyed taking our fun stamping road trip with us ... sorry we forgot to take pictures of our Peoria detour :^)

Now it's time to use all of my new goodies and make some cards.