Thinking Inking

Arranged with Love

Goodness--this is turning out to be quite the blogging day!  Just to let you know ahead of time, I have two posts going up this morning, and I'm also hoping to post for the PaperTrey Blog Hop tonight.  Tomorrow's post has a giveaway attached, so you may not want to miss that!

My friend Melanie Muenchinger has a new flower set out called Arranged with Love. Melanie sent me the set, knowing that I love flowers and love to color. This is a large image on an oversized (5" x 7") card.  After spending a while coloring it, I wanted to give it some breathing space and let it be the big arrangement that it really is!

I used so many Copic markers that I photographed them in a big bunch rather than setting them neatly in a row. (The row would have been too long for my blog column.) Anyway, for anyone who wants to see the colors, they are shown on the left. The colorless blender in the lower left is a custom blend of half colorless blender and half BG000 ink.

The little pink pearls on the stamped notecard edges are found here, and the ribbon is from Sharon Johnson, found here.  Cardstock colors are PaperTrey's Stamper's Select White, Basic Black, and Sweet Blush. I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and lightly sponged its edges in Antique Linen Distress ink.

Finally, if you are looking for this stamp or any of GinaK's other new releases, there is a release party in their SplitCoastStampers member forumfrom 7-10pm CST, stamps here, and Melanie's blog post about her stamp here.

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The Spellbinders Pendant Blog Frenzy continues at these blogs:

Thursday, June 25, 3009 – Keri Lee Sereika

Friday, June 26, 2009 –– Sherry Cheever

Have a lovely day!

Poinsettia Greetings

Preface: Saturday, October 4 is World Card Making Day. I will have a few little things to give away that day, including a copy of the PaperCrafts Special Edition Cards, Gifts, and More, courtesy of PaperCrafts Magazine, as well as links to several companies that are running special promotions. I'm just letting you know ahead of time because of Feedblitz often running at least a day behind.

Some of the WCMD festivities have already begun! I noticed a giveaway on the CLASSroom blog tonight, and I'll be posting more great links Saturday--hope to see you then!

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My friend Melanie Muenchinger had another GinaK release this month and sent me a set of her A Year of Flowers and Say It with Flowers sets. Right away I spied the poinsettia and decided that I could add one more Christmas card to my stash.

I started by stamping the poinsettia onto watercolor paper and watercoloring it with three colors of Luminarte's Twinkling H2O's: Hot Cinnamon, Key Lime, and Sunflower. Next I die-cut and embossed my watercolored image with a Spellbinders plain circle die, before using my craft knife to closely trim around some of the petals so that I could bend them up.  The center of the flower still needed something, so I added tiny dots of Liquid Applique, heated it after it dried, then airbrushed the raised center with a Y23 Copic marker and airbrush system.

For the background I used a Cuttlebug Swiss dots folder to dry-emboss the PTI Pure Poppy cardstock, then used a gold paint pen to edge the red background as well as the gold accent strip. Ribbon is PTI's Pure Poppy and one of their Gold Collection.  The sentiment tag is cut with a Spellbinders Tags Trio die after being heat-embossed with gold embossing powder. Woohoo--one more card finished for the Christmas Stash!

Cammie's Apples

My blogging buddy Carolyn King, aka Cammie of My Blog, e-mailed me a few weeks ago about a stamp set that she was working on for a GinaK release--Whimsical Autumn. Cammie told me that 100% of her proceeds were going to be donated to the Alzheimers Association in memory of her grandmother. I knew immediately that I wanted to help others find out about Cammie's set.  Over the past few months I've watched an aunt and uncle of my husband's face this disease, perhaps even more painful for the one unaffected than the one affected in that the caregiver is watching his dear wife slip slowly from him. My heart goes out to both of them. I admire both Cammie and Gina for trying to make a difference.

On my little card tonight I've used the apple basket from Whimsical Autumn, along with PaperTrey Ink's Vintage Ivory, Kraft, Pure Poppy, and Dark chocolate cardstock, as well as the Copic markers shown below. (I inadvertently left out of the picture the pale yellow (YR31) that I used to create a warm glow around the apple basket.) I also used some Spellbinders dies--classic circles and petite scalloped circle--a Fiskars Threading Water punch, and a Cuttlebug Dots embossing folder. Ribbon is PTI Dark Chocolate Twill.

I hope that you have a chance to check out Gina's release! Thanks for visiting.

Flowers for Daisy

A couple of weeks ago, my stamping friend Asela Hopkins e-mailed me about a GinaK stamp set that she had designed in honor of her friend Daisy, who is battling cancer.  Having had all four grandparents face cancer, I knew right away that I wanted to use Asela's Flowers for Daisy set, with a portion of sales proceeds from each set benefitting the American Cancer Society. (This set will be available for purchase beginning tonight at 10pm.)

I stamped the daisy image in Memento Rich Cocoa ink on a shimmery ivory cardstock, then colored it with Copic markers: 0, W1, E43, Y11, YR15, YR20, YG93, BG10, B000, R32, and R27. I used the Melon and Lemon Spica glitter pens for stamps and flower centers. (Sorry for no Copic picture this time; my camera batteries just died!)

Mat layers of cardstock are PaperTrey Aqua Mist and Berry Sorbet. Ribbon is Aqua Mist satin, and button is a Foof-a-La button. I used my Spellbinders Long Rectangles to cut both the aqua layer and the card base. The finished card size is about 3" x 6". 

If you check out GinaK's blog, you will find more previews of Flowers for Daisy, along with the donation details.  Thank you for visiting!

Hope: CPS Sketch 58

It's been such a busy week that I haven't even posted yet about this week's CPS Sketch.  Gina K was our sponsor this week, and we were blessed with her lovely Spring Blooms, a set that is usually an earned set. Thanks, Gina!

I chose to use the rose image, inking it with my water-based markers directly to the rubber, then stamping on some Prism Champagne cardstock, similar to Poison Ivory in shimmer, but darker in value.  I used my Copic markers in YG03 and YG63 to color the leaves, then R20 and R02 to color the rose, touching the top of the R02 to R29 to pick up some shadow color. I used some YR21 and clear blender around the outside of the rose to give it a pale glow.

For the "Hope" sentiment, I used Versamagic Red Brick chalk ink on Prism Champagne cardstock, then cut and embossed it and the mat with my Spellbinders Nestability Oval dies.  Background cardstock is from the Basic Grey Two Scoops pad.

For the little  detail on the bottom of the card, I used an ornare border stencil to pierce the pattern. I love these little piercing templates for an elegant, understated border! Ribbon is SU ivory taffeta, and mini brads are making Memories Antique Copper.

I hope that you are able to play along on this week's sketch;  be sure to link to this CPS post if you get to play. Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Hippity-Hoppity

I just love Melanie Muenchinger's animals! This little bunny rabbit from Just So Hoppy  is so sweet that I wanted to color him and make a card, even though "cute" is not my strength! I used my Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie paper again today--what doesn't it go with in the Spring?--and I used one of my favorite layouts with that partial circle on the left side of the card. 

The bunny is colored with the Copic markers shown on the left, then trimmed and embossed with a Spellbinders Nestability rectangle die. The little butterfly is a Cosmo Cricket diecut that I coated in Glossy Accents/Crystal Effects and mounted on foam tape. (I sketched his antennae in.) I really tried to fit three small butterflies in, but it seemed a little busy with all of them, the printed papers, and the dotted ribbon; one worked better.

EDITED TO ADD: I used a W-1 Copic marker for the shadows beneath the bunny's feet; somehow I left that marker out of the stack.

On the envelope, I stamped some carrots, one of the Lockhart Itty Bitty line that works so well on envelopes. Ribbon is PaperTrey Ink Spring Moss dotted ribbon. Mat around the focal image is Prism Blush Red Medium cardstock, and card base is Neenah Natural White. Melanie's such a talented illustrator. . . I'm wondering if there could be children's books in her future?

Have a lovely Sunday!

Young Man Birthday

Remember that I mentioned needing two guy cards this week?  The first was for my dad; this one is for our nephew. I thought that it would be a perfect time to use these cool Cosmo Cricket Get Happy papers--what do you think?

The stamped focal image is from GinaK's  Stamps for a Cause set, How Sweet It Is,  from which $7 from each set sold benefits diabetes research.  I used Copic markers in these colors to color in the cake: Y17 for the flame and cake, B41 for the top frosting, R46 for the plate,  B97 for the candle, and YG03 for the squiggly filling. 

I also incorporated CPS Sketch 53, except that it's a bit low on bling factor. About the only bling is the application of Stickles on the candle flame. I cut the vertical red strip with my Fiskars scalloped scissors, and sewed on the polka dotted strip with a zig-zag stitch. The focal image and its mat are cut using Spellbinders Nestability Plain Circle dies, and then overstamped with the CHF Canvas stamp using Antique Linen distress ink to help it coordinate better with the feel of the printed paper.

Finally, the sentiment is from PaperTrey's Faux Ribbon set, cut with SU's Word Window Punch.  I used a corner rounder to round the two bottom corners, to tie in with the roundedness of the word window punch and the focal image circles. I finished it with black mini brads inserted into the scallops--needed something to replace the ribbon! This card is another out-of-my-comfort-zone card--seems like I am posting a lot of those lately. . . Thanks for visiting!

Stamps for a Cause meets CPS Sketch 53

Today I played with my Gina K Stamps for a Cause set, How Sweet It Is, along with some Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar paper. (No, I'm not wishing I were eating chocolate instead of stamping right now!)  I incorporated CPS Sketch 53 as well, and a front shot of the card is posted there.

See that baby sling? I used paper piecing, getting the tiny Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar pattern from the front cover sheet of the 12" x 12" collection! That little swatch fit the scale of the sling best. I stamped the stork in Adirondack Espresso ink, then colored with the following Copic markers: B000, Y17, W1, and 0. The little tag is from PaperTrey Ink's Mixed Messages set, and bling is clear rhinestone stickers by Hero Arts. (I couldn't quite bring myself to part with that many Swarovski crystals on one card, even if it was supposed to be bling-y!) Brown taffeta is from Stampin' Up. Cardstock is Prism Suede Brown Dark. The straight scallop is cut with Fiskars scalloping scissors, and the plain and scalloped circles are Spellbinders Nestability die cuts.

This was a really fun sketch, and we'd love to see you play along!

Hoppy Birthday

Tonight I needed a birthday card for my little boy and thought that my new Cosmo Cricket Get Happy paper would work beautifully with my friend Melanie's new Just So Hoppy  frog stamp. I love this little guy--he's about as full of it as my son is! I thought that to make it a challenge, I'd work in another CPS Sketch 52 as well, this time turning it on end and using a circle rather than a rectangle for the focal point.  The frog is stamped in Timber Brown Staz-On on watercolor paper and watercolored with a waterbrush and watercolor crayons. Ribbon is SU's Wild Wasabi, sponged with Antique Linen Distress ink to tone it down a bit. I used my Spellbinders scalloped circle to cut a piece out of the dotted mat layer, and the plain circle to cut out and emboss the focal image. I added Dew Drops on the outside because it still seemed to need something, and I rounded opposite corners to tie in a bit with the other circlular themes going on in the card.

I hope you have a great day!

So Sweet and Sketch

Tonight I wanted to share another card made with GinaK's  latest Stamps for a Cause set, How Sweet It Is, along with a basic sketch for you sketch collectors out there. For every How Sweet It Is set sold, Gina will donate $7 to diabetes research; you can find out more about it here.

Patterned Paper is SU's Soft Sky designer paper, paired with Chocolate Chip cardstock. I used the following Copic markers to color the focal image: BG11, BG72, E55, E57, W2, 0, C1, R14, R27, R11, and YR31, as well as clear and red Spica Glitter pens to coat the ice cream and toppings.

After coloring the image, I used my Spellbinders Classic Plain and Scalloped oval dies to cut and emboss both the focal image and its mat.  I punched a 1/4" hole in the side of the focal image where I had left a bit of dead space for the ribbon to come through. Finally, I added a small tag line at the bottom, using only part of the "You're so sweet" clause to keep my options open regarding what I might need to use the card for. (Do you do that too? Leave the inside blank so that you can stamp for whatever occasion you might need in a hurry?)

This is a really fun set, and a really worthy cause. If you try the sketch, I'd love to see what you come up with; leave a link for me in the comments area, please. Thanks for visiting!