Thinking Inking

"Simply Irresistible" Challenge

When Nichole challenged the PaperTrey Ink senior team to a resist technique, I had to reach way back into my early stamping days to come up with something.  I chose Versamark resist on glossy cardstock, stamping two of the flowers from Beautiful Blooms with Versamark on white glossy cardstock, then using a brayer to apply Sweet Blush ink on top of the stamped flowers. When I had an even coat of ink, I used a tissue to rub the Versamark residue off of the cardstock, then stamped the centers of the larger flowers in Sweet Blush ink as well.

For the sentiment, Sweet Blush was a bit light, and Berry Sorbet was a bit dark since the rest of my card was overall so light, so I inked my stamp first with Sweet Blush, then tapped it in Berry Sorbet. This gave me a better value ink for the sentiment. I used a Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Die to cut and emboss the tag, then tied it on with Sweet Blush Stitched Grosgrain.

I can't wait to see what the other players cooked up--bet it's irresistible! ;-)

Amy

Heather

Lisa

Nichole

Taylor

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Credits

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms (PaperTrey Ink)
Ink: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet (PTI)
Cardstock: white glossy cardstock; Sweet Blush and Stamper's Select White (PaperTrey Ink)
Accessories: clear rhinestones (Hero arts), Sweet Blush Stitched Grosgrain (PaperTrey Ink)
Tools: Ribbon Tag Die  (Spellbinders Paper Arts Company); Ticket Corner Punch (Stampin' Up)

Round Gatefold Card Tutorial

I had several people ask how my scalloped round card for CPS Sketch 66 was made, so I made another card and took some pictures for you. Hope this helps!

First, I measured across my largest Spellbinders large petite scalloped circle die at its center point (measured its diameter). It was 4" across, so I knew that to get a gate-fold card that was hinged on the scallops, I would need to cut a piece of cardstock slightly smaller than double the width of the die-- 7-7/8" x about 4-1/4". (The same principles work at any size. If you are using a Coluzzle circle template, measure your circle, then cut your cardstock about 1/8" less than your circle diameter if you want to have a gate-fold hinge.)

My cardstock was scored at approximately 1-15/16" in from both sides. You can see the score marks in the picture above.

I folded both flaps in, making sure that they met in the center, and making sure that the die edges extended slightly past the cardstock on both sides. (You need to keep a small area on both sides uncut so that you have hinges when the card is opened. Think in terms of a paper doll chain--remember that you left their hands and feet uncut on the edges so that when you unfolded them, they would be connected?) It also helps to tape the die in place or use your magnetic mat. I tend to work a bit better with tape.

This is my card base and card front after cutting. Notice the hinges? The card mat layer is made with the largest plain circle die.

Now, to get the front mat layer cut perfectly, I closed my card and applied adhesive to only one side. Then I made sure my mat circle was in the center of my scalloped circle.  Only the left side is attached here.  I can now see exactly where I need to cut in order to have a perfect connection.

After cutting the front mat layer, I attached it to the right side. This is how my card will open. My focal image will not be split, for obvious reasons. I'll use a little button as a handle of sorts. I am also adding a layer on complementary striped paper, cut with the same circle die.

Here's a close-up of my finished card. I colored the Bib and Itty Bitty Cherries images with the Copic markers show below. Thanks for visiting!

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Credits:

Stamps: Bib and IB Cherries by Lockhart Stamp Company; sentiment from Bitty Baby Blessings by PaperTrey Ink

Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento by Tsukineko

Patterned Paper: Die Cuts with a View Nana's Nursery (girl version)

Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White for the card base and PaperTrey Stamper's Select White for the focal
image  (The Neenah is a bit thinner than the PaperTrey, so it's easier to cut a double layer. I like having a thicker cardstock for my focal image though, especially since it opens independently rather than being attached on both sides to a mat layer.)

Accessories: Pink Satin ribbon by Stampin' Up; Buttons by Autumn Leaves/Foo-Fa-La

Markers: Copic by Imagination International

Dies: Spellbinders Paper Arts Company

A Quick Giveaway Post

Comments are now closed on this post.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

235	170	9	96	37	

Timestamp: 2008-06-02 04:07:49 UTC

Number 235 is Lilian Choi
Number 170 is Lori Atwood
Number 9 is Cassie Larson
Number 96 is Laura Huffman
Number 37 is Debbie Saaranen

I am e-mailing each of you to get your address. Thank you for playing!

________________

I'm not sloughing off here--I promise!  I'm working on a tutorial for the gate-folded round cards like the one I used for the CPS Sketch 66 this past week.  In the meantime, I have some extra magazine copies here that some of you might be in need of.  When I saw Lea Lawson post hers as blog candy, I knew that she had the right idea: the extra copies are better in your hands than filling up my shelves!

I love good crafting magazines; it's rejuvenating to flip through them when one's stamping mojo is missing. So with no further babbling, I have two extra copies of the current Stamp It and the June/July  2008 PaperCrafts, which I will mail to four randomly selected commenters. I will leave this offer open through 11:00PM CST  Sunday night since Feedblitz  typically is several hours behind. One comment per person, please. Let's see--how about if you tell me your current favorite style of stamps and/or stamp company. We might find some new favorites out there! Thanks for visiting, and I hope to have that shaped gate-fold post up tonight still.

Edited to add: I also have three extra Copic Markers up for grabs here, RV95 (Baby Blossoms), R08 (Vermillion), and N7 (Neutral Gray No. 7). These would be most helpful to someone who already has some Copic markers or is planning to get some.  :-) I will include these three as one more prize in the random number selection--number 5.

The Crownless Queen: PTI Blog Hop and Window/Scoring Tutorial

Would you believe that I just LOST my crown stamp for this Honeybees  set?  Accckkk!  It was sitting on my desk an hour ago, and now it has vanished-- probably into a parallel universe. . . ;-D  I thought that I'd better get my PTI Blog Hop piece posted even without the Queen Bee's crown.

I also photographed a tutorial on cutting windows with Spellbinders dies, but I need to take a meal to someone right now.  I'll come back late tonight and amend this post to include the tutorial. Happy Blog Hopping!

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For the last PaperTrey Ink release, I had used my Spellbinders dies to cut a window in both a card front and a mat. I had several questions on how to line them up, so I said that I'd try to illustrate.  I thought I'd show you grid-scoring  one more time as well.

 

First, since I'm making a square card, I used a ruler to draw an "x" across the card front to determine the center point. That helps me to know exactly where to place my die--no guessing! I used tape across the center of the die to hold my die in place  since that part will be cut out anyway.

You'll have to  take my word for it that the square is embossed as well as cut out.  I will erase the lines now.

Here I simply held the Lemon Zest cardstock firmly and scored every half inch in a grid pattern, turning the cardstock as I went. I scored the lines nearest the center of the  square first because I wanted to stop my lines 1/2" short of the inner square to frame it. When I am scoring a grid and need to be able to see exactly where I am stopping an starting, I find it simplest to use an embossing stylus to score with; it's easier to see where the point is with a stylus than with the provided scoring tool for this particular application. Even using an embossing stylus, if you enlarge the picture, you will see that I went over the line in a few places--no problem!  You simply turn your grid over to the front side (as shown above), and use that embossing stylus to carefully burnish the little overruns down flat.

As you can see above, while the lines aren't perfect in the center, they are better after the tweaking maneuver.

Next comes the window: to line up your inner window and your outer window, first make sure that your top mat fits your card base and has equal margins all around. If it doesn't, fix that. Then place a light pencil mark around the inside perimeter of the square. 

I moved the Lemon Zest mat so that you could see my penciled line. The penciled line is the same size as my next smaller diameter Spellbinders Classic Square die is. (The full set gives you 1/8" increments.)

I will once again tape my die across the center so that it can't slip. I don't have to worry about removing the tape since I am discarding the center piece anyway. I will simply cut and emboss this piece, and both the mat and the card base are lined up--simple!

Newsflash: I just found the crown!  It was stuck to my Scor-Pal--the ONE place that I hadn't looked. Woohoo!   

Fresh Strawberries: CPS 66

**There's a PaperTrey Blog Hop tonight--not the normally scheduled night. I'll try to have a card up for that, though I don't think I signed up. . . I can't wait to see what some of you create for it as well!**

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Have you had a chance to play along with this week's CPS Sketch?  There are some truly amazing pieces over there this week!  I was just looking at them a few minutes ago. It's a fun sketch--a round card, or at least a round element on a card.  Here's a close-up of my CPS 66 card that was posted on Monday. I colored the image with my Copic Markers (listed below), then coated each strawberry with Glossy Accents. The stems are colored with a Melon Spica Glitter pen, and I used my Copic Airbrush system to airbrush the background with my circle die left in place as a mask.  I used my Scalloped circle die to cut the card base, and my Scor-Pal to create a gate fold from the center.

Now, I will try my best to get a Blog Hop card done for 5pm or so! Thanks for visiting.

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Credits

Stamps: Strawberries by Lockhart Stamp Company; inside sentiment from A Muse Art Stamps
Paper: DCWV Nana's Nursery mat pad
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White
Markers: (Copic): R20, R43, R46, R59, YG11, YG03, YG63, YG95, W1, W3, 0; Spica Melon Glitter Pen
Tools: Spellbinders Nestability Plain and Scalloped Classic Circle dies, Embossing Zig-Zag punch by Martha Stewart Crafts (still out of stock at the time of posting)
Accessories: gingham ribbon (SU), red button (Autumn Leaves Foo-Fa-La)

Pencil Jar Copic Tutorial

I hope you'll forgive me for a little redirection here; it was my turn to do the CPS Tutorial this week, and someone suggested that I do a Copic marker tutorial. This is my finished piece; the tutorial is posted here--eight steps, from color choices to blending. Hope that it helps someone!

Credits
Stamps: Pencils (Lockhart Stamp Company); sentiment from Mixed Messages (PaperTrey Ink)
Paper: Cogsmo Twist and Shout (Cosmo Cricket)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (PaperTrey Ink); Blue Bayou (SU)
Accessories: stitched grosgrain (PaperTrey ink); tag die cut (Cuttlebug Tiny Tags); buttons (Foo-Fa-La by Autumn Leaves)
Tools: Spellbinders Plain Circle Nestability; Fiskars Threading Water punch (YES! It finally came!)
Copic Markers: 0, W1, B000, YG11, YG23, BG72, BG75, R08, R14, YR21, E33, W5

Memorial Day: We Are One

Today I want to express gratitude for those who have given their lives to defend, protect, and serve America.   Freedom has historically been anything but free. It's easy to look around -- especially in election years -- and see that we are deeply divided as a nation. (And some things are worth being divided over.) Today, however, I want to remember that we are one. And I want to acknowledge and honor those who have served, those who now serve, and the ones who love and miss them. Thank you.

Credits:
Stamps: Courage and Honor (retired SU); We the People (unknown company--sorry!)
Ink: Versamagic Red Magic, Night Sky, Midnight Black, and Niagara Mist; Antique Linen Distress Ink
Cardstock: Twilight Dark and Classic Red (Prism);  Neenah Natural White
Accessories: red grosgrain, pewter star mini brads, foam tape

Get Well Soon: Boutique Grunge

I wanted to get a couple of get well cards made today,  as well as try a new stamp set and play with older cardstock. It's odd to think of SU's Soft Sky going away pretty soon, isn't it? Last year I stockpiled Cool Caribbean and have 90% of it left. So while I really love Soft Sky, this year I probably won't stockpile. I'll count on them coming up with a color that I learn to like equally well!

My newest stamp set is an Inque Boutique set called Boutique Grunge. Flowers, butterfly, lace, vintage elements--what's not to like? I had never tried Inque Boutique stamps before. I admired several of them at Winter CHA, but I hadn't gotten around to getting them until this past week. (You know--the "I still have uninked stamps on my shelf" argument that you eventually lose to yourself. . .) I really like this set and think I will use it often, especially the lacy corner piece. (If you haven't used these stamps before, be sure to read the directions and use that black spongy pad; it's equivalent in purpose to the gray cushioning layer on your traditional rubber stamps.)

The butterfly is coated in clear embossing powder on top of Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance ink. Both ribbons are SU, as well as cardstock (Soft Sky, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla). Sentiment is from PaperTrey's Mailbox Greetings set. The tag die, as well as the plain and scalloped long rectangles of the card base and front mat are Spellbinders die cuts. Pearls are Mocha Gold.

Speaking of dies, if you need any, Ellen has a coupon sale going on for 10% off of her in-stock Spellbinders dies through May 31; you can get the newsletter with the coupon by signing up at the bottom of this page. Thank you for visiting!

More Graduation Cards. . .

I finally finished my graduation cards! Two were in school colors, and the other two were for home schoolers. I won't babble extensively here since I explained my process for the gift card holders in this post. (The two girls' cards had a pocket added on the inside left flap.)

In case you're not around this weekend, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and stay safe if you travel!

Credits
Stamps: JustRite Stampers Small Letters and  Medium and Large Numbers; Tiled Scallops Backgrounder, Motivational Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Onyz Black, Majestic Blue, Vintage Sepia (Versafine); Red Brick (Versamagic); Versamark
Cardstock: Classic Purple, Twilight Dark, Desert Coral Dark, Nero (Prism); Crate Brunch Collection

Accessories: Crate Brunch Ribbon Collection; SU Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware; Iridescent Swarovski Crystals; black embossing powder (for Tiled Scallops black embossed background)
Tools: Spellbinders Petite Plain and Scalloped Circle Dies; Scor-Pal Scoring Board; Martha Stewart Crafts Zig-Zag Punch and eyelet punch

 

Teacher Appreciation: Making the Grade

I just got this cute new Kim Hughes school set called Making the Grade. Yes, this card may be a little over-the-top, but it certainly was fun to make!

Bright colors are not generally in my comfort zone, but this set seemed to need primary colors. Besides Making the Grade, I used the Lined Paper Background. Buttons are Autumn Leaves Foo-fa-la, and gingham ribbon is SU.  Cardstock is Classic Red, Sunflowers Light, Intense Kiwi, and Ferro (Prism); and Stamper's Select White (PaperTrey Ink). Ink colors are Red Pepper and Denim (Adirondack); Mango Madness, Tea Leaves, and Red Magic (Versamagic); and Rich Cocoa (Memento).

The tree trunk and branches were stamped on white and colored with my Copic markers in E55 and E57. I stamped the tree top on green (Intense Kiwi) cardstock, but it is also shaded on the edges with a Copic YG63. On the inside I stamped an appreciation sentiment.

That's pretty much it! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for visiting!