Thinking Inking

Best Dad Frame

I had a nice surprise in the mailbox today--my June/July PaperCrafts came! I don't usually post published projects on my blog after the fact, but I'm allowed to post one, and I'm pushing a deadline. Without more babbling, here is my little Father's Day project from page 57. Enjoy!

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Credits

Stamps: Family by Impression-Obsession
Paper: Halfway Cafe by Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Antique Linen Distress Ink (Ranger), and Coffee Bean (Brilliance)
Accessories: We R Memory Keepers, Robin's Nest, Stampin' Up
Tools:  Brackets die (by Spellbinders)

Lemon Tree

When I saw this Impression-Obsession Lemon Trees stamp, my mind immediately started crooning the chorus of "Lemon Tree." Am I the only one who remembers that?  I think it stuck in my head because it was the theme song for the Lemon Pledge commercials when I was a little girl. It was only years later that I figured out where that tune came from!

I colored the lemon trees with my Copic markers in the following colors: Y17, Y19, YG03, YG11, YG63, and G99.  Card stock  is Prism Sunflowers Medium, Black, and Neenah Solar White.  Ink colors are Adirondack Pitch Black and Sunshine Yellow. Background is stamped with a heart stamp from the Sweet Hearts set.

While I know that lemons aren't shiny in real life, I gave them a coat of Ranger Glossy Accents anyway.  The sentiment on the side is  from Verve Visual's Heartfelt Thoughts set.

I hope that you are staying warm!  It was -7 F actual temperature tonight when we were coming home. . . Brrrrrr!

Playing with New Toys

Tonight I needed some thank you cards and met that need with some new stamps from Impression- Obsession, the Delft Cube 16 and the Quilt Cube 1. First, I loved the detail in these! I was amazed at what fine lines I had after stamping on a good card stock with the right ink. The Blue Delft card was stamped on PaperTrey Stamper's Select White with Prism Intense Cobalt card stocks, using Versafine Majestic Blue ink. The quilt card was Prism Natural Smooth card stock and Prism Blush Dark Red, along with Versafine Crimson Red ink. (For holding detail, it's hard to beat Versafine ink; I just wish that it came in more colors!)

Both cards are simple, but because of the detail in the stamps, I thought that they worked out okay without additional coloring. On the Blue Delft card, I added some blue rhinestones as flower centers on my focal image. On the quilt card, the tag is from PaperTrey's Faux Ribbons stamp set. Ribbon is SU's vanilla and white taffeta.

Card Sizes:

Blue Delt: 5-1/8" square (fits square envelope)

Quilt Card: 6-1/2" x 3-1/4" (Fits SU's tag envelopes)

Thank you for visiting!

Live, Love, Hope

Would you believe that these images were going to be inchies? I stamped them in Black Brilliance, painted them with my watercolor crayons, and started to cut out little 1" squares, but I just couldn't do it. . . They became tags instead (Spellbinders Tag 5 die).

Stamps: Oh So Lovely (level one SU hostess set), Leaves 3 backgrounder (Cornish Heritage farms), and Express Yourself by Impression-Obsession

Cardstock: Neenah Natural White, SU Purely Pomegranate and River Rock, watercolor paper

Other: Spica Glitter pens in Melon, and Clear; Sakura black gelly roll pen, watercolor crayons and waterbrush, fine tip gold paint pen, moss taffeta (SU)

Thanks for visiting!

Trio of Gifts

Okay, somebody take this pad of paper away from me! Arghhhhhhh! I think I'm stuck on a gifts theme. And I may have to try one more before it's completely of my system. . .  But at the moment, I promise that I am NOT touching that Figgy Pudding pad. (No, I'm caressing my new Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar collection tonight!)

Last night as I was sorting through some stamps that I hadn't used yet, I ran across this small Impression-Obsession birthday set, Young at Heart. Eureka--presents!  I stamped the outline in Versafine Vintage Sepia, then stamped the assorted insides in Cranberry Crisp, Soft Sky, and Old Olive. I  used my Spellbinders Nestability classic rectangles to cut out my stamped images, and my Antique Linen distress pad to slightly age the edges.

The "Let it snow" sentiment is from another Impression-Obsession stamp set called Fall/Winter Borders. I used it first with chalk ink to stamp a piece of natural twill. It stamped beautifully, but the twill didn't have the "umph" that I needed. I finally decided on a simple strip of Soft Sky. Next I tried about five ribbons on the end. . .  (Do you ever have nights like that?) After cutting the fifth one off, I decided upon a piece of silver cord. I'm still trying to decide whether I like it or not, but it definitely worked better than the ribbons did. Finished card size is about 6" x 3".

I kept looking at that present. . . and at that new package of Cosmo Cricket Hey Sugar. . . They needed each other! I wanted to try paper piecing the gift with the Hey Sugar paper**. Using  the same basic layout of three images across, I made a birthday card. The "celebrate" is from Impression-Obsession's Express Yourself--an incredibly useful little word set because (1) the words are large enough for forty-somethings like me to see without glasses, and (2) they are clear and therefore extremely easy to position! The presents are stamped twice, once on Neenah Classic Cream card stock, and once on a scrap of Hey Sugar paper. I used my Spellbinders Nestability Classic ovals to cut the cream card stock, then trimmed the patterned presents and popped them up with foam tape. I like this little present stamp!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

**If your local stores don't have the Hey Sugar paper yet, I found some at both Jacksonbelle's and All That Scraps earlier today.

Thinking in Threes

Now that I've got this three-sketch on my brain, I can't shake it. (Don't tell my husband about the threes-issue. Whenever I tell him that I have a song stuck in my head, he starts crowing the theme song to Green Acres or another song that shall remain unnamed. It's the replacement issue.  That's it!  I need to go find a new sketch!)

Before I do, I have to show you this card, because I thought it turned out kind of cute.  One of my new Impression-Obsession Christmas sets, Holiday Trios, has three patterned gifts, holly leaves, ornaments, and Christmas trees. You should have heard them begging to be used tonight. . . (Who says that stamps don't beg?) I had a couple of sheets of wonderful paper from the k-i Holiday Collection, Joyful Multi Stripe and Joyful Skinny Stripe. I paired these for another take on CPS Sketch 30. The presents are stamped in Clearsnap Fluid Chalk inks in Warm Violet and Lime Pastel, and SU's Garden Green. (The Garden Green was a bit dark, but I didn't have an ink that was just right for that green; it was a cross between Garden Green and Glorious Green.)

I stamped and cut out the presents, then I used a Sakura Clear Gelly Roll pen to ink over the ribbon and bow to add a nice raised sheen. It still needed something: when in doubt, throw a tag on! I used a couple of Sizzix tags and a Cuttlebug tag, stamped with words from PaperTrey's Believe set on Translucent Polyshrink in Staz-On Blazing Red. The silver cord is SU's new elastic cord. I matted the patterned paper with SU's Certainly Celery. Even though this is Christmas paper and a Christmas stamp set, I'm seeing a fun birthday card if it were in different colors.

While I'm at it, I may as well post my last three-some on here and be done with  the threes! I was looking at this cute summer set from Rubber Soul, Party 3002, and I wanted to use the lawn chair with some of Rubber Soul's Hoop-La Paper Collection. "What on earth would you use a card like this for?" you might ask. How about a Happy Retirement card?  Wordsworth has a Happy Everything set that includes the word "retirement." Since I needed a retirement card anyway, that worked out just fine! I used Copic markers in YR16, YR23, YG03, and BV04 to color in the word happy on the inside of the card.

Now, I must stop looking for threes. I must stop looking for threes. . .

Have a lovely day!

Christmas Garland

Tonight I'm working on my new PaperTrey samples for September 15; have you been following Nichole's blog?  She consistently amazes me with her ideas--possibilities that I hadn't seen, but when I see, I think, "Of course!  It should be that way!"  I always want to redo my samples after I see hers. . .

While I can't yet show you those samples yet, I can certainly show you another of my cool new Impression-Obsession sets, Fall/Winter Wreaths and Garlands! I stamped the main vine in Gingerbread Versamagic chalk ink on Shimmery White card stock, then added  Purely Pomegranate poinsettias with Pumpkin Pie centers (added with a marker). Next, I stamped the Always Artichoke foliage and added pine cones with Jumbo Java Versamagic chalk ink.  The poinsettias didn't seem to stand out enough, so I stamped three extras, cut them out, and mounted them with foam tape.

Next I used my SU ticket corner punch to trim the corners, then edged with a gold paint pen. Mounting that layer on Always Artichoke and adding gold brads was next, and that fabulous new SU Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon finishing it off. This is a very versatile stamp set--perfect for Fall and Winter with its sunflower, leaves, greenery, ribbon, ornament, berries, and candy cane.

Thanks for visiting!

Fall Foursquare

I had a really good mail day on Tuesday; I received not one but two boxes of new stamps!  I can't share the PaperTrey ones yet (you'll have to stalk Nichole's blog for those), but I'm happy to show you my new Impression-Obsession stamps. Although this is a very simple card, I was pleased with it. The stamps are from a set called Fall Squares, containing nine picture squares, some words, and some swirls and leaves--presenting many options for variety. I stamped the images in Black Brilliance ink on a scrap Fabriano Medioevalis note card. (I never throw one away when I mess it up. I just save it to use the back of and layer with.) After I stamped the four images that I wanted to use, I watercolored them with watercolor crayons and a waterbrush and cut them out with a Spellbinders Square Nestability die; I'm not sure if you can see that little embossed lip that is near each of the the images, but it definitely adds in real life. after trimming and embossing the squares, I mounted them to a square note card with foam tape using this cool I-O grid guide for placement, then I tied some of the new SU ivory taffeta at the bottom--clean and simple.

I just found out today that Sharon Johnson, aka notimetostamp on SCS, has started a blog! Sharon's practically my neighbor; you will love her creations. Thanks for visiting!

Christmas Ornament

Are you wondering why I keep posting Christmas things?  No, I'm not seasonally challenged!  I've been working on CHA projects, most of which have been requested to be a Christmas or Winter theme.   Some of you have asked what CHA is as well. (Disclaimer: I've never been before.)  CHA is an acronym for Craft and Hobby Association, and it's basically a huge trade show in which vendors display their new products for the upcoming season and take orders from store owners who wish to stock them. Designers are there to observe and network or to help choose merchandise, from what I gather.  But it's not about them--it's about the goods. My goal is see as much as I can and meet many of the people whom I've worked with over the years and have never met. Living two hours from the nearest large craft/scrapbooking store, I feel rather like Heidi leaving Grandpa and her mountain to go to the big city! I'm hoping that I will come back with a head full of inspiration. (Second thought, perhaps I'd better carry a notebook.) 

Tonight's card is made with a new Impression-Obsession stamp that will be available a little later this month. Background paper is Basic Grey Fruitcake, one of my Christmas favorites!  I don't think I've ever used the ornament sheet before, but it was perfect for this stamp. After stamping and coloring with my Prismacolor pencils, I added some red Stickles to the flower motif and then used my new Spellbinders Cutting, Embossing, and Stenciling geometric dies, available later in August.  Solid background paper is Bazzill Chili--what a pretty red! I also did a bit of outlining in a silver paint pen to tie in the top of the ornament with the border of the plain oval.

I hope you have a lovely day!

New Toys: CHA Preview!

If you like scalloped dies, I have something neat to show you today! My stamping buddy Ellen Hutson, (stamping buddy sounds better than chief enabler, right?), asked me if I would like to try a revolutionary product that she had been working  on in conjunction with the Spellbinders Paper Arts Company.   Now I already owned a couple of the SB dies--some cool tags and butterflies, as well as their universal die-cutting machine, the Wizard--and I liked that they could cut and emboss. I thought that whatever it was would probably be worth trying: I was not disappointed! Michelle Wooderson and Trudee Sauer have also been working with a prototype of this product for a couple of days, and I know that you will want to see what they've been up to.

Ellen does a wonderful job of explaining these dies on her blog, so I won't try to tell the whole story. I'll just mention a few of the things that stood out to me, as well as post a couple of the pieces that I've been working on. Tonight's pieces are two Lockhart ornaments and an Impression-Obsession card. Tomorrow I'll plan to post a Stampin Up' card and a GinaK card that I'm working on, also using the Spellbinders dies.

One of the nicest things about them is that I have a set of 12 nested scalloped dies, ranging from about 1-1/8" tall to 4-1/4" tall in ONE standard CD holder ands 12 nested plain dies in another CD holder. That's pretty amazing considering that my shoe bag full of punches hanging over the door is so heavy that it has warped the door hinges. (No, I don't think I have mentioned that to Rick yet. . . I just counted 41 punches in that bag. No wonder the door is warped!)

Since they cut and emboss, I don't feel compelled to go back and pierce all of my scallops any more. How about window cards? If you want to cut a window with a punch, you are limited on placement by how far the punch will go in on the page. Not with these babies: I put a window where I want it. You can also cut scalloped edge note cards and gift cards--very nice!  Finally, their ability to nest perfectly gratifies me. Granted, that's a small thing in life compared to how your kids turn out, but it does make me happy. Please Note: the dies that we've been playing with for that past couple of days are prototypes; they aren't available for purchase yet. They will debut at CHA and  be available some time in August, I believe. I will post when they are available.

Both of these ornaments are colored with COPIC markers; I love the vibrant, clean look that these markers give, unlike any other marker I have ever used. As much as I enjoy watercoloring, I am getting to the point that I reach for my markers more often than my watercolors just because I really like the look of nicely blended marker.  It also works well as a flat base-color if you want to use colored pencil on top of it.

Things to Remember: Nichole Heady has started her countdown to her next PaperTrey reveal on July 15! I haven't posted any PaperTrey samples here tonight because it is not the 15th yet. I will certainly be using her newest sets with these dies though.  Ellen has a Friday the 13th sale coming up--you won't want to miss it!  Check her blog for previews this week--new stamps, new Copic markers in her 48 favorite colors, and who knows what else. Finally, surf over and wish GinaK a happy one-year stamp-anniversary! {{{{Happy Anniversary, Gina!}}}}

Stamps used: Lockhart Snowman with Checkered Hat, Lockhart Wreath Angel, Impression Obsession Holly Chickadee and Swirl Background.  I used Copic Markers on both ornaments, adding only a touch of Prismacolor pencil to the sky in the snowman ornament.  I used watercolor crayons on the Impression Obsession chickadee, then used two layers of UTEE for a cracked glass look. Thanks for visiting!