Thinking Inking

Halloween Treats

It's time for a PaperTrey Ink challenge again!  This month the challenge issued was to create a Halloween treats package; it's been a true challenge for me in the sense that I kept coming up with ideas, but not an idea that I just knew was THE Idea. So how about two ideas?

First is a PaperTrey 4 oz. square clear-topped tin filled with eight topped miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. (And, for the record, I plead the fifth amendment on exactly what happened to most of the bag while I was brainstorming. . .)

I covered my tin with Prism Papaya Puree Dark cardstock, cut to 7/8" wide x about 10" long. I  stamped bats from the Spooky Sweets set in Versamagic Purple Hydrangea ink before adhering the strip with redline tape. For the lid treatment, I used the "treats" sentiment from Spooky Sweets, stamped on Plum Pudding twill with Palette Noir ink. The spider on the top is made from clear shrink plastic. For the Reese's cup toppers, I used Versamagic Purple Hydrangea and  Stampin' Up  Pumpkin Pie inks. I added some black glitter pen to the spiders for a little extra  shimmer. To cut the circles, I used two circle punches, an EK Success one that measures 1-1/16" (though I thought it was supposed to be a 1" punch), and an SU 1/2" punch.

Next, I  slightly tweaked a  nuggets box pattern posted by Chris (username cdjkssss) on Splitcoaststampers; I used her four-long pattern and made it just about 1/4" shorter to fit three Reese's cups. Here is the post with the four-long pattern. If you have never seen this whole thread before, it's an amazing resource--Chris rocks!

Here are shut and open views of my tweaked box. The pattern on the outside of the box is my out-of-the-box attempt for the week month. It's using the Guide Lines set stamped in white craft ink on black cardstock, with patterns filled in with Versamagic Spring Peony and Mango Madness inks. After I got both patterns stamped, one of them stared at me. . . and I remembered having some little googly eyes somewhere. So what do you think--am I the only one seeing eyes here?  My son was impressed anyway. ;-)

Be sure to check out these other challenge posts for Halloween Treat ideas too: Amy, Heather, Lauren, Lisa, and perhaps Nichole too. Have a great day!

Courage: Just Rite Stampers Brayton Preview

Today I had a chance to play with another cool CHA prototype toy--meet Brayton, the font that I begged for! As much as I've enjoyed the Just Rite Stampers Small Letters with the round blocks, I was really excited about their new larger font offerings that would enable me to easily set up any sentiment I wanted.

As you can see from the picture below, Just Rite is going to be offering long wooden blocks on which you can build horizontal sentiments. I've shown only the larger block and one font set, Brayton, but the Harmony Rectangular Set includes both large and medium-sized blocks, compatible with any of their fonts. The fonts come complete with 25pt., 50 pt., and 95pt. sized characters in each set--296 pieces per set, stacked in an area about 6-1/2" x 2-1/4" x 1-1/2" tall! I really like using the wooden blocks because it's the simplest way to use my own ink pads. I read on the JSR website that these will be shipping in mid-September, but they are available now for pre-order if you "need" them as much as I did!

Now for the details: I used Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste paper in the 8" x 8" pad, along with Antique Linen Distress ink and Versamagic Perfect Plumeria ink. I did a little edge-distressing with the side of my scissors, along with a bit of sewing and sanding. Buttons are Autumn Leaves Foof-a-La. I used buttons instead of ribbon on this card, because I wanted to make it gender-neutral and appropriate for a serious situation.

You might notice that two letters on my block are missing; I used enough repeating letters that I was two letters short. I simply left a space for those two letters, then peeled then off and stamped them separately after I stamped the whole image. I've heard the "Courage is fear that has said its prayers" quotation enough for it to stick in my head, but I had to look up the author: it seems to be originally attributed to Dorothy Bernard, though others have used it since then.  I think I might need to start a list of encouraging quotations now that I can easily align and stamp my own sentiments!

Bee Happy. Bee Silly. Bee Mine.

Since I've managed to get a few good pictures during our bike riding jaunts in the last week,  I thought that tonight I'd use some of my cool new Cosmo Cricket Jack's World paper to cover a blank canvas frame for one of my favorite snapshots. (No cheesy grin--he must have slipped up!)

This piece is pretty much self-explanatory; it is covered with  Jack's World papers,  sewn onto a base piece and with a few cut-out additions. I made myself leave the ribbon off. . . He can't object to stitching, can he? Finished size of the frame is 8-1/2" x 10", and photo is a 4" x 6".

The toughest part? Deciding which of the word strips to use! Thanks for visiting.

Garden Party

It's that time of the year again--garden season! I think we'll have green beans later this week; many of you have been harvesting produce for quite a while, but summer in the U.P. of Michigan is short and sweet. I was rooting through my stamps earlier today for something that I hadn't used when I came across this Tomato and Greens stamp by Karen Lockhart; I decided that it would be just the right stamp for one more thank you note.

I used black Memento ink stamped on PaperTrey Stamper's Select White cardstock, and colored the resulting image with my Copic markers in the colors shown on the left. (Click for a larger image.) I then used my Spellbinders Plain Circle die to cut and emboss my colored image, and my Copic airbrush system with a YR23 marker to airbrush the background.

Mat layer is PaperTrey ink's Spring Moss cardstock, stamped in  one of Mona Lisa's new scrapblocks, Fine Houndstooth,  in Adirondack Willow ink. Ribbon is Spring Moss grosgrain. Did you see the last new toy?  I had one of the Pinked Edge Circle Die sets before CHA,** but hadn't had a chance to play with it. I thought that the pinked edge would be right at home with veggies and houndstooth. Finally, I added a bit of clear and melon Spica Glitter markers to the lettuce edges and hanger--love the glimmer.

I hope that you are having a great summer! My son conquered bike riding last week and acquired  a bigger bike (the no-training-wheels variety), so we've been taking long rides every day. It has cut into my card-making time a bit, but life--just like summer in the U.P.-- is short, and kids grow up too quickly. We're loving summer!

**Pinked Edge Circle die should be available in August.

Christmas in July?

Yes, I know that it's July--not Christmas. But you see, I got this sweet Kim Hughes Heart Warmers set at CHA, and I had to pull out my Cosmo Cricket Wonderland pad and do some Christmas Tree paper piecing!

It's a very simple card--I simply stamped the trees on three different sheets of Wonderland paper, cut them out, and mounted them on foam tape. For the snow in front, I tore some shimmery cardstock and glued it down in three layers. It's a little easier to see in the second picture with the light at a different angle. Ribbon is PaperTrey Ink's Chocolate Satin, and the tiny crystal on the heart is a Swarovski Crystal. Ink is Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance. I sewed the focal image to the Wonderland paper, then mounted the card from on a Kraft cardstock base. The tag is a Spellbinders Tag Trio die cut.

I promise not to go overboard on Christmas cards just yet, but I needed to get one of of my system tonight anyway! :-D  Have a blessed Sunday!

Double the Love: Vellum Pocket Card

A few months ago, one of our nieces had twins. She had sent the sweetest little pictures that I had fully intended to make into a card for her earlier. I wanted her to be able to remove the photo and attach it to the fridge if she'd like, so I created a little vellum pocket card. These would make great birth announcements for a few special people if you have a family birth coming up!

I started with a regular A-2 card base with a horizontal orientation, and a mat layer from the Bitty Baby Blessings patterned paper (1).  I used a strip from the same paper pack to create an animal ribbon, and I stamped the baby carriage from Bitty Baby Blessings on a small pattern for paper piecing the main image. For the vellum layer, I used my Spellbinders Nestability Classic Scalloped Rectangle die to cut and emboss, and a plain rectangle die to cut the small dotted layer. I sewed the small dots to the vellum. Note: if you do not sew on cards, you can create a vellum pocket that is about 1/2" larger than you want on three of the four sides, then score and fold 1/2" under on those three sides. You would then use a super sticky tape on the little 1/2" fold-under to attach the pocket to the card front.

Next (2) I cut a patterned daisy layer using a smaller sized classic rectangle Nestability die and matted that layer in PaperTrey's Summer Sunshine cardstock. I trimmed my photo and stitched it in place. If these were birth announcements, the back of the Summer Sunshine layer would be a great place to attach the babies'  vital statistics. I used a Stampin' Up pewter hardware piece at the top of the photo layer, with Lemon Tart stitched grosgrain and a Foof-a-La button. On the vellum pocket, I used a 1" circle punch to clip out a notch for the hardware to rest in.

Here is a finished view of the card front with the photo in its pocket. For mailing, the ribbon and button fold down easily. I used Copic markers in E00 for the twins' faces, and w-1 for a faint shadow to ground the wheels on the baby carriage. The "Double the Love"  tag is a Spellbinders Labels Trio die that has been trimmed on one end. I used a silver paint pen to edge the oval and to color the center of the carriage wheels.

If you want the picture to be magnetic, you could adhere a sheet of magnetic ink jet paper to the back of the Summer Sunshine layer. Thanks for visiting today!

Sunflower Thank You

I'm still working on a stack of thank you notes; tonight's card uses a Lockhart stamp, Sunflowers, as well as a PTI sentiment from Mixed Messages, and a CHF Scrapblock, Fine Houndstooth.

I used Copic markers to color my image (colors shown below). I used two Spellbinders dies, a plain square and the largest die from the Labels 1 set that should be available next month. Yellow cardstock is PaperTrey Lemon Tart, and white is Neenah Solar White.  Inks are Black Memento, Adirondack Butterscotch, and Old Paper Distress ink. Ribbon is PaperTrey's new Chocolate Satin.

Don't forget about the PaperTrey Blog Hop tonight! I'm going to try to be home in time to play; we promised our son a new bike and a little bike trip tomorrow. . .  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!

The Big Yawn: CPS 74

For CPS Sketch 74, I had an idea before I left that I just tonight had a chance to put together; I used my Just Rite Stamper and the Small Letters Set to spell out my niece's name and birth date, then I cut out a photo of her yawning and placed it in the center.

Papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Little Girls Biography 101 Collection.  That little bit of flowered paper is one of my absolute favorite papers! Unfortunately, I'm almost out. :-(  I covered the large chipboard button (also Cosmo Cricket) with paper from the same collection, then used a length of PaperTrey Sweet Blush ribbon under the chipboard flower button to have a place to add the buttons.

Now if I could only get a few of these together to send to my sister! Thanks for visiting.

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The Details

Stamps: Just Rite Stampers C-45 Monogram Stamper and Small Letters Set
Papers: Little Girls Biography 101 Collection by Cosmo Cricket
Cardstock: Vintage Cream (PaperTrey Ink), Blush Red Medium (Prism)
Accessories: Button Chipboard Flower (Cosmo Cricket), stitched Sweet Blush grosgrain (PaperTrey Ink), buttons (Foof-a-La)
Tools: Spellbinders Classic Plain Circle die, 1-1/4" punch (for baby photo since I didn't want an embossed edge on the photo), sewing machine

Edited to add: Lou Bell asked if the wooden handles would work with the small letters set; the answer is yes.  I use the wooden blocks most of the time simply because it's easier to ink them with any of my, ahem, undisclosed number of ink pads. . . ;-)  It just didn't make sense to link to a font that I didn't use and say that I used the wooden handle from the set, but not the font, if that makes sense. HTH!

Butterfly Kisses Trio

I'm home! CHA was great fun, but I'm very glad to be back home.  I'm needing some thank you notes, so I decided to use these to share as a blog post tonight. I sketched an idea in the airport for a foursquare layout with clear butterflies, airbrushed on the back. When I got the rough draft on cardstock (meaning that all of the pieces were there, but not adhered), it seemed a bit busy. So I decided to use them as different cards, dry-embossing the Spellbinders Labels 1 die into  the PaperTrey Stamper's Select Cardstock, then stamping the rest of the card with PTI's Butterfly Kisses. (If you haven't dry-embossed with Spellbinders dies, Nichole Heady has a great tutorial on that here.)
 

The butterflies are stamped in Staz-On white ink on the CHF clear card bases. I stamped their outlines in Staz-On black, mostly because I couldn't see where to cut the clear card bases otherwise! Next, I carefully trimmed the butterflies before  using my Copic Markers (shown below) and airbrush system to tint the backs of the trimmed butterflies. I usually use darker markers to airbrush clear cards; pale ones don't show up as much. My butterflies will probably flatten in the envelope, but I think they will re-spread when they are taken out--fun!

On another note, if you e-mailed me while I was away, I'm slowly working through the mail.  Thanks for your patience!

CPS Sketch 73: Three-Step Hydrangeas

I'm still sitting in Chicago, and and haven't made a card in five days; that has to be a record!  So rather than sharing this week's CPS card, I'm sharing last week's card. This week's will get made when I'm back to my stamping room.

Last week's CPS Sketch sponsor was Kitchen Sink Stamps. I had been wanting Maria's  three-step hydrangea for quite a while, so I was glad to have a chance to play with it! I used Versamagic chalk inks in the colors listed below. The background texture is a Sculpey texture plate that I found in JoAnn's a while back. (I haven't seen it online though.) To get a deep impressions on that plate (a softer plate made for polymer clay), I sprayed the cardstock with Paper Glide before running it through my Wizard.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Three-Step Hydrangea by Kitchen Sink Stampers
Cardstock: Neenah Natural White, PaperTrey Lavender Moon
Ink: Aloe Vera, Sage, and Spanish Olive for leaves, and Aloe Vera, Pink Petunia, and Perfect Plumeria for blossoms (All Versamagic); Antique Linen Distress Ink
Accessories: Lavender Moon Grosgrain (PaperTrey Ink), Lace Texture Plate by Sculpey

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It was so good to see so many SCS'ers, bloggers, and other stamping and crafting friends here in Chicago! I am thankful for every one of you who dropped by the Copic booth to say hello too.

CHA Peeks

I haven't forgotten that I said I'd post CHA pictures, but finding time and internet connections has been more challenging than I expected!  I'm posting several pictures below, taken with permission of a booth worker.  If the name of the booth wasn't in the picture, I put the company name at the bottom since these are their samples. Have a great day!

 

It's my Yooper buddy Sharon Johnson, aka No Time to Stamp, demo-ing at the Just Rite booth!

The BIA can punch a little thicker pieces now, and it also has a locking stop so that you can line up a series of pages--definitely an improvements!