Thinking Inking

Joy to the World: CPS 145

How about a CPS sketch card today? I've had a little CPS vacation, but I'm happy to be back in the saddle again! For CPS145, Tami gave us a square shape with a large  focal image in the center, along with a band through the center. It looked like a perfect sketch to use with some chipboard from my stash, so I chose Cosmo Cricket Oh Joy chipboard (Buck Naked Ornaments) and papers (Yuletide and Frosty).

The tag, cut with a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tag die and trimmed to length, is a sentiment from PaperTrey Ink's Holiday Button Bits. Buttons are PTI Vintage Buttons (Pure Poppy and New Leaf). Ribbon is also PaperTrey, Sheer Gold Metallic.

It's a great sketch for using some of the large, fun chipboard shapes in your arsenal--we'd love to have you play along! The CPS sketch for this week is posted here, and we have some fabulous new designers joining us as well--you can read about them and welcome them here. Thanks for stopping by.

Hello, Little Monkey: CPS 135

This week's CPS 135 sponsor is Inky Antics, and what a lot of darling stamps they have!  I chose the Monkeys Hanging Around set; who could resist a face like that? 

I colored the monkey with the Copic markers pictured below and combined him with some Cosmo Cricket Mr. Campy papers (Nature Walk and Skipping Stones). Ribbon is Mr. Campy ribbon, and buttons are PaperTrey's Vintage Wooden Buttons.

Thank you for visiting, and be sure to check out the CPS blog to see how you can win one of three Inky Antics stamp sets this week!

A Merry Little Christmas: CPS 134

This week's CPS 134 sponsor was JustRite Stampers, with a Christmas theme.  I chose the Merry Little Christmas set and 1-5/8" block, paired with papers from the Jolly by Golly Mini Deck by Cosmo Cricket.

Cardstock colors are PaperTrey Ink's Vintage Cream, Ocean Tides, and Sweet Blush. Ink is Colorbox Rouge, Versamagic Pixie Dust, and PTI's Vintage Chamomile Cube.

I used a Sizzix Snowflake die to cut a large snowflake from standard chipboard; because the snowflake was a little larger than I needed, I trimmed the tips off about 1/8". I sprayed the chipboard snowflake with spray adhesive and added ultrafine glitter to the snowflake. To layer the Just Rite dies, I used a couple of Spellbinders Classic Circle dies. Rhinestones and Stickles added more "bling factor."  Ribbon is PaperTrey Sweet Blush Satin.

If you get a chance, we would love to have you play with this week's CPS sketch. Have a great day!

Apple of My Pie: CPS 132

This week's CPS 130 sponsor was Sweet N' Sassy Stamps. I chose the Sweet as Pie digital stamp set because I had some pretty Webster's Pages pie paper sitting in a drawer--it needed to be used!

As you probably know, digital stamps are generally .jpg images that you print on an inkjet and color. I colored mine with the Copic markers shown below (0, W1, W3, YR0000 YG63, YG67, E44, R22, R46, R89). 

 

Perhaps is just my inkjet printer, but I find that I have to avoid over-saturating the lines when I color inkjet-printed images with my Copics. As long as I use a lighter touch and don't get an area too wet, if works just fine.

Most accessories are PaperTrey Ink (wooden buttons and rustic twine). Cardstock is PTI Pure Poppy and Vintage Cream. Distress ink is PTI's Vintage Chamomile cube.

So, have you had a chance to play with the CPS 132 sketch yet this week? We would love to have you join us!  I saw also that Tami Mayberry (our fabulous CPS sketch guru) has some sweet blog candy right now--check it out especially if you are a Halloween stamper. 

Have a great day!

Happy Bird-Day: CPS 130

This week's CPS 130 sponsor was Jillibean Soup. I adored their Kraft Talk Soup paper! I stamped the sentiment with the How Tweet stamp set; although it has some really cute birds in it, I couldn't resist simply cutting the owls out of one of the patterned paper sheets and using them as a focal image.

I added dots of Ranger Glossy Accents to the eyes to give them a glossy, raised look. Printed twill tape (Bean Stalks) was also from Jillibean Soup. Wooden buttons are from PaperTrey Ink. 

I hope you get a chance to play along with this week's CPS sketch--it's a cute one!

A Tale of Three Letters: CPS129

Before I talk about cards, I just wanted to thank so many of you who left the sweetest comments yesterday on the Moxie Fab Blog; I was truly overwhelmed, and I deeply appreciate your kind words--you blessed me!

I really enjoyed this week's CPS sketch 129; as soon as I saw it, I started thinking about three-letter words and monograms. Since I couldn't decide which direction to go, I tried both. First, a Christmas card: for this card I chose some Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly Breezy Freezy paper, a JustRite Brayton font and rectangular stamper, some vintage buttons, and a length of PaperTrey Ink Ocean Tides Grosgrain.

I inked the letters in Versamagic Oasis Green and Tea Leaves inks and stamped them on PaperTrey Vintage Cream paper. After trimming the letters and matting them with SU's Sage Shadow cardstock, I added white Liquid Applique where snow might stay after a snowfall, and then added some Rock Candy Distress Stickles on top of the letters and the snowflake centers in the patterned paper.

For my second CPS129 card, I used Just Rite's Special Occasions font and the same inks (Versamagic Oasis Green and Tea Leaves) to stamp the monogram initials, and a Spellbinders Labels Eight die to cut and emboss them. Paper is some K & Company Wild Raspberry.  I used a new Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Borderabities die to cut the decorative strip from PaperTrey's Aqua Mist ink and laced Aqua Mist Satin through the openings in the Fleur strip.

There's still some time to play with this week's CPS sketch if you get a chance! Thank you for visiting.

Anniversary Card: CPS 128

This week's CPS 128 sponsor is Susan Tomaino, Independent Close To My Heart (CTMH) Consultant. Susan had us chose both a stamp set an papers to work with, and I chose this elegant black and cream paper (Silhouette Paper Packet) and the Soul Mates D1254 stamp set--both lovely!

I made an anniversary card with my sweet husband in mind--he's [multiple choice]:
a. put up with me
b. been blessed with me
c. both of the above
for fourteen years now, and he's a keeper for sure!

Ribbon is Sharon Johnson's wide silk ribbon, and self-adhesive pearls are  from Ellen's store. Word tags are made with a Spellbinders Double Ended Tags die, and then trimmed to length. This card is oversized, fitting into a business envelope rather than an A-2 invitation envelope.

If you get a chance to play along with the CPS sketch, there's still time--we would love to have you play!

Lending a Hand: CPS 124

"Cute" is not my natural genre, but this stamp is so seriously over-the-top-cute that I had to make an exception for it! The CPS124 Sketch has no sponsor this week, so my image of choice is a Cornish Heritage Farms Friendly Kritter image, Lending a Hand. While I was working on the cute factor, I thought I would switch media today too and play with watercolor crayons. 

I used Stazon Black ink since I was watercoloring and didn't want to Wait for Black Brilliance to dry on my watercolor paper. Background papers are from the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird line, specifically Brunch. Ribbon is PaperTrey Ink Aqua Mist Stitched Grosgrain, and I wish I knew where that little clothespin came from!  It's the last one in my stash for a box that a friend blessed me with a few years ago. I've found some in a superstore, but they were larger--nowhere near as cute as these!

I appreciate your visit. My posting may be a bit sporadic in the next week because we have several family things happening. Have a great weekend!

Eye on the Sparrow: CPS123

This week's CPS 123 sponsor is Sweet n' Sassy stamps. I chose the His Eye Is on the Sparrow set because I knew I could use its sentiments in my collection. Papers are from the Pink Paislee Spring Fling Collection. Inks are Versamagic Turquoise Gem and Jumbo Java, along with Rich Cocoa Memento and Antique Linen Distress ink. I thought I would share a step-by-step Copic coloring tutorial on this image; hope it helps!

I used one of the new pale Copic colors, BG0000, for the background; it has just a hint of color--perfect for blending cleanly into the background of the paper.

Next I colored the branches and greenery with the markers pictured. (Click on any image to see it larger.)

The flowers were next; usually I would color blossoms a paler shade, I think. Since I really wanted to make them work with the patterned paper, I deepened the values a bit.

The sparrows were the trickiest part. I chose some grayed-down browns after Googling "common American sparrow." (If you're an ornithologist, don't look!)

Finally I added created my layout, trimmed my focal image down, distressed its edges, and added some yellow Stickles to the flower centers. Buttons are from my stash, probably from Buttons Galore. Won't you consider playing along with the CPS sketch this week? Thank you for visiting!

Thanks: CPS 121

This week's CPS 121 Sponsor is My Sentiments Exactly, and my chosen set packs some serious Word Flower Power! I turned the sketch on its side since my flower needed a stem.

I stamped two of the bloom images on PTI's Vintage Cream cardstock using Adirondack Red Pepper and PTI Aqua Mist inks and cut these out. Next I stamped a word center using Versamagic  Turquoise Gem and Aquatic Splash inks and zig-zag stitched around that center. I lightly sponged Antique Linen Distress ink on all exposed edges to shabby them up just a bit. The thanks sentiment at the base of the flower is die cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Labels Trio die.

Papers are Apron Strings and Cherry Pie from Cosmo Cricket's Early Birdcollection. The green felt ric-rac is from Reasonable Ribbon, and the buttons from Buttons Galore. Sting for the buttons is PTI's Rustic Twine.

If you play along with this week's sketch, be sure to leave a link on the CPS blog. Thanks for visiting!

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If you are looking for the next Spellbinders Blog Frenzy stop, you'll want to go see Mish Wooderson. Remember that you have until June 24, 11:59 pm EST to enter (as explained in the post below) for the Eyelet Pendant set that you saw here yesterday.  Good luck!