Meow! CPS #74 Sketch Challenge

Isn't this cat from Inkadinkado adorable! She looks so sassy with her 'catitude'! It's been a while since I made a card, I went through a bit of a slump, I think. So I looked through my favorite challenge blogs, and decided the Card Positioning Systems sketch was the simplest. The challenges always help me when I'm stumped for ideas.
Stamps: Inkadinkado
Paper: Papertrey Ink, SU!
Ink: Fluid Chalk, Palette
Accessories: PTI ribbon, Sizzix texture plate

Monogrammed Stationery Box

I got a new laptop!

My sweetheart has been quietly listening to my complaints about my 5 yr. old laptop that my DD monopolizes all the time, and last Friday he sees a great deal for brand spankin' new Garnet red Gateway at Best Buy and offers to get it for me! How awesome is he! Thank you Baby!

Anyway, onto my latest project:

I made this stationery set for my good neighbor and friend. I found the off-white mache box at AC Moore and covered the top/inside cover with DP by Heidi Grace. Inside there are a couple of different things, a mini covered legal pad (blue to match everything!), a portfolio to hold a set of cards, a mini post-it holder keyring, and a matching pen. I think it looks so classy and elegant. The simple monogram along with the coordinating DP makes it perfect for every day notes.

Stamps: Justrite, Studio G

Ink: Palette, Versamagic

Paper: Heidi Grace, PTI white cardstock, SU!, Bazzill, Prism

Accessories: McGill 1 11/16" circle punch, Nestabilities, Coffee grosgrain ribbon, Sky blue grosgrain ribbon, RSVP pen, 1" binder ring, Neo-magnets, Mache box

Happy Harvest...

This gorgeous DP was the inspiration for my card today. I have been searching for this Heidi Grace Harvest Floral paper for a long time. It's pretty hard to find! I finally found it on eBay and bought a bunch of it. I decided it was perfect for Inkadinkado's new pumpkin stamp from the Bats & Cats set. I colored them with Adirondack ink and used some Papier Effects Sepia glaze over the center pumpkin. It doesn't show very well in the pic, but it really adds that extra WOW to the actual card.

Stamps: Inkadinkado, PTI
Ink: Distress, Palette, Adirondack
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Heidi Grace, PTI, shimmery brown cardstock (unknown),
Accessories: Nestabilities, Spellbinders Double-ended tags die, Folk Art Sepia Papier Effects, copper brads

Another Challenge...OCC Inspiration

While browsing my favorite blogs, I came across this gorgeous inspiration picture at Our Creative Corner. The challenge was, of course, to create something inspired by the picture. The color of the walls immediately brought to mind Papertrey Ink's Lemon Tart and Vintage Cream, and the rest is history. The card practically made itself, LOL. Sometimes, it's as easy as that, other times, I agonize trying to put something together!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Distress, Paper Salon, Perfect Match

Paper: PTI

Accessories: Flower theme punch from The Punch Bunch, Tulip Dimensional Paint, EK Success Corner Rounder

Harvest Colors card.

I had to post one more card I made. I have quite a few to show, but I'm too tired to do them all tonight!
This one took quite a bit of time, but I love the way it came out. My inspiration for a card/project usually comes from DP or a certain image. In this case, it was the image. I saw new Halloween/Fall stamps from Inkadinkado on their web site, and fell in love with them. I tried to find them online, but no one had them yet. I knew AC Moore carried a lot of Inkadinkado stamps, so I decided to check it out. Well, I was wandering the stamp section there, I didn't see them on the shelves and started getting pretty down. Until I spied a box on the floor with the Inkadinkado logo on the side. Well, I had to open it and look, and lucky for me, they had a whole bunch of new holiday stamp sets in there. I quickly rummaged through them and found the Bats & Cats set I wanted, plus another set of Halloween flourishes. This crow scene was in that set, and I love it!
So the crow stamp brought to mind deep, earthy colors reminiscent of Harvest time, so I stamped it in Burnt Umber Palette ink on SU! mustard paper. I tried to find some DP that would do the image justice, couldn't find anything in my stash, so I made my own. I took some Adirondack reinkers, did some washes on watercolor paper, then glazed over the whole thing with Pearl Ex for a gorgeous shimmer. When it dried, I ran it through my Big Kick with a Cuttlebug floral embossing folder. Love it!

Stamps: Inkadinkado, Papertrey Ink
Paper: Arches w/c paper, SU!, Bazzill
Ink: Distress, Palette
Accessories: Leaf and Flower punches from The Punch Bunch, Martha Stewart leaf punch, Olive felt ribbon, Spellbinders bookplate die, copper brads, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Pearl Ex, Adirondack reinkers, Clear round epoxy sticker, Tulip Dimensional Paint

Friday Sketchers Sketch #10

It's so stinkin' hot around here I had to cool off by making a snowy Magnolia snowman card for the Friday Sketchers challenge! He's such a cutie with his striped scarf and rosy cheeks. I aged all the edges of the white paper with Distress ink because the Basic Grey has that shabby look, and the plain white looked too 'stark' against it.

Stamps: Magnolia, Verve Visual
Ink: Distress, Palette, Paper Salon
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Bazzill, Basic Grey
Accessories: Tombow, SU! markers, Dew Drops, Stickles, Nestabilities, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, The Punch Bunch snowflake punch, Copic Spica pen, Sakura glaze pen

No pics yet.....

I have a couple of cards to show, I'm still trying to get some good pics. But until then, pop on over to Andrea's blog for some fabulous blog candy!

Tilda & Co Challenge 27..Thinking of Others.

This little baby gift book was my entry for the Tilda & Co. challenge. It's not very big, but what new mother wouldn't love to get this mini book to document the first days of her new baby's life? I made the 'pages' from thin chipboard coasters, and bound the whole thing with my Bind-it-All. There's even a little envelope on the back cover for a little memento, maybe the baby bracelet from the hospital, a little journaling spot to jot down the baby's name, date of birth, weight, etc. I put a couple of blank pages to paste down some photos, too. The colors I chose were pretty gender neutral, periwinkle and soft greens so it could be for a boy or girl. The little charm hanging from the ribbon was made from shrink plastic.

Stamps: Magnolia, Papertrey Ink, Justrite Monogram stamper, Studio G journaling and flourishes
Ink: Palette, CTMH, Paper Salon, Versamagic
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Basic Grey, Papertrey Ink, Memory Box, Bazzill
Accessories: Nestabilities, Sheer blue ribbon, shrink plastic, Silver jump ring, Tombow/CTMH markers, Bind-it-All, Stickles, Flower Punches from The Punch Bunch, Corner Rounder, Fiskars 1/4" round hand punch, Liquid Pearls, Envelope template from PaperWishes

CPS #72 Challenge

I made two cards for the CPS sketch challenge. The one on the right is pretty much exactly like the sketch, but the one on the left is a little different. It just shows how slightly changing an element or two can totally give a different look.
I wish I could figure out a way to be able to take a picture that shows the subtle shimmer of Pearl Ex! It's so frustrating. The ginkgo leaves on the left are actually very shimmery. They're gorgeous! After I water colored the paper with various Adirondack reinkers, I took a bit of Pearl Ex Iridescent gold powder pigment, mixed it with a bit of water and gum arabic and washed it over the whole paper. It gave the earthy colors such a beautiful sheen I almost hated to start cutting into the paper!
Anyway, I liked this sketch a lot. I might have to add it to my stash for when I have a creative block.
Stamps: PTI
Ink: Adirondack, Perfect Match, Palette, Distress
Paper: PTI, Memory Box, Bazzill
Accessories: Gingko leaf from The Punch Bunch, Dew Drops, Pearl Ex

Friday Sketchers Challenge #9 Windy Tilda

They had a pretty neat sketch over at Friday Sketchers that I wanted to try out. I decided to do a winter card since it's been so muggy, sticky and warm here lately. I haven't inked up this Tilda stamp yet, so I decided to feature her in this sketch. Isnt' she adorable??!! I had such a hard time finding a matching solid background paper for this Cosmo Cricket DP, nothing looked right! So I made my own! I knew I needed a warm, rich brown color, so I took my little Adirondack Caramel 1" cube (no, you can't buy these mini ink pads anywhere, I made them myself with reinkers) and just did a little direct-to-paper stamping with it. Then deepened the color on the edges and corners of the paper with Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo and voila! Looked beautiful as a background mat paper. So if you're ever in a pickle trying to find just the right color paper, don't forget you can make your own with all the colors of ink out there. It doesn't even have to be perfect, because most of it will be covered over by your other layers.
Well--I'm off for now...
Stamps: Magnolia
Ink: Palette, Adirondack, Distress
Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Cosmo Cricket, PTI, Prism
Accessories: Copic Spica Pens, Tombow/SU! markers

Happy fourth everyone! It's a pretty rainy, dreary day here, and we're supposed to be going to a barbeque later this afternoon. Boo hoo.... Hopefully it'll clear up.

I used the stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms set to make this Americana style card. The stars were punched out with a folk star punch, because unbelieveably I didn't have any star stamps except for the one that came with this set. I'll have to fix that problem pronto! I distressed all the edges of the cream colored cardstock with Antique Linen Distress ink from Ranger. I really like the soft aged look this color gives. I used to use the Tea dye or the Vintage Photo but sometimes it would look to harsh on light colored paper.

I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and has a wonderful weekend! Be safe!

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms, Papertrey Ink Simple Alphabet

Ink: Palette, Adirondack, Ranger Distress Ink

Paper: Bazzill, PTI

Accessories: Oval Scallop Nestabilities, Cream brads, Natural Twill tape, EK Success corner rounder, Folk Heart Punch(unknown mfg.)

Tilda & CO Sketch Challenge

Here's my first Tilda & Co. sketch challenge card. I don't know why I haven't joined in the fun earlier, since I love Magnolia stamps. I think it's almost time for me to get more! I need a fresh Magnolia fix! I just hate the waiting because the stamps are coming all the way to Pennsylvania from Sweden. They're pretty quick, though, considering. And soooooo worth the wait!

I have no idea whose DP I used in this card, the pretty colors caught my eye when I was browsing AC Moore, and never bothered to look before I used it. Shame shame... I made the polka dots on Tilda's dress using one of the tiny dot stamps from Papertrey Ink's flower sets. The pretty layered flowers are made from a Bosskutz die, using the shaping technique I demo-d in a previous tutorial post.

Stamps: Magnolia, PTI

Ink: Palette, Adirondack reinkers

Paper: Fabriano w/c paper, Bazzill, SU!, unknown DP

Accessories: PTI satin ribbon, Bosskutz Blossoms die, Stickles, Liquid Pearls

Friday Sketchers Challenge #8

There are some awesome sketches on the Friday Sketchers blog! I had to try sketch #8.

There are a LOT of layers on this one, which I don't normally do. But that is why I'm liking the challenges. Thinking outside my box!

I used Memory Box paper from the Provence collection. The blues and lavenders are very muted with lots of distressing, so I couldn't get a great pic of it. Very soft, and elegant looking though. This is a pretty large card.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Inkadinkado sketchy flourishes

Ink: Adirondack, Perfect Match, CTMH, Palette, Distress

Paper: Memory Box, Bazzill, watercolor paper for flowers

Accessories: Liquid Pearls, Martha Stewart hydrangea punch, Pan Pastels, Dew Drops, Tombow markers