Thinking Inking

Masculine Thank You Notes

 

I was in need of some male-appropriate thank you notes and resorted to a bit of mass production this past weekend. These are pretty simple, but I liked how they turned out. I chose PaperTrey Ink's Through the Trees set, with a background using the Turning a New Leaf set. The sentiment on the Aqua Mist card is from PTI's Communique Sentiments set. The format for these is a 5-1/4" square card, which fits PaperTrey's large square envelope.

For inking the trees, I was trying something new that I had received at CHA; I love chalk inks with acrylic stamps, wishing only that the color selection was as large as is typically available in dye-based inks. Seeing some pretty ink colors, I was trying out Quick Quotes Chalk inks. They did a great job with coverage, though they appeared a bit more sheer than my go-to chalk ink, Versamagic. (The sheerness didn't bother me at all since coverage was great--just an observation.) If you are sensitive to the scent of products, I should probably mention that these had more of a scent than I'm accustomed to in either chalk or dye inks, a bit like using Staz-On ink in that respect. Anyway, chalk ink colors that I used were Green with Envy, Green Tea, and Amaretto. For the leafy backgrounds, I used the coordinating PaperTrey inks to the cardstock backgrounds (Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, and Spring Moss).

Next I used my Spellbinders dies, both Plain Square Nestability and Labels 1 die, to cut, emboss, and mask for a bit of Copic airbrushing, using the Copic airbrush system and  BG13 and YG63 markers. I kept the accessories simple--twill tape and vintage buttons, since these are guy cards. Now, if I can only get them mailed in a timely manner. . . ;-}

Thanks for stopping by!

Here for You: CPS155

I almost forgot to share my CPS 155 card this week! The CPS155 sketch was simple and elegant, so I paired it with a lovely hydrangea branch from the JustRite Stampers Plant a Little Love set and some Basic Grey Wisteria papers. For the sentiment, I used PaperTrey's Vintage Picnic Sentiments set, heat embossed with detail white embossing powder. 

Copic marker colors that I used were: V12, V15, V17, YG11, YG63, YG67, E44, E47, 0, and BG10 in the background. I also used touches of Spica Glitter pens in clear and mint. Buttons are PTI Plum Pudding Vintage buttons. I used a Spellbinders Classic Plain Circle Nestability to trim my base focal image and then outlined it with a gold paint pen.

How about playing with this CPS sketch with us? There's still time!

Peace and Beauty

 

Today I have a snow card for all of you Southerners out there--seriously, I think that my Virginia family and friends have gotten a lot more snow than we have in Upper Michigan lately. Are you having fun yet? My mother recently e-mailed a picture of kids sledding down their big hill in South Carolina; I don't ever remember having enough snow to do that as a girl!

For the focal image of this card I chose PaperTrey Ink's Through the Trees stamp set, stamped in Versamagic Gingerbread ink. Next I used my Copic B01 marker to airbrush just a hint of sky on the base tree layer. I didn't mask--just sprayed a burst toward the center of the tree grouping. Next I matted the image with Spring Rain cardstock and sewed around it with white thread. 

For the snow layer, I cut curves from white cardstock and attached them with foam tape for added dimension.  Buttons are PaperTrey's Vintage Buttons; I'm not seeing the coconut shell buttons in stock right now, but Dark Chocolate would work as well.

That's it--simple!  Thanks for stopping by today. 

P.S. If you are looking for the Paper Crafts giveaway post, it is just below, here. Good luck!

Morning Glories and a Fun Opportunity!

Good morning! Today I'm sharing a really stamp-y card--no patterned papers--in celebration of the newest issue of Stamp It Cards. There is a really great giveaway that you have twelve potential chances to win: more about that later in the post.

I started with a morning glory stamp from the JustRite Stampers My Garden Borders and Centers set, along with the 3-1/4" wooden stamper and some Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Background cardstock is some Prism/Bazzill Twilight Light and Twilight Medium, stamped in Adirondack ink with two Hero Arts backgrounds, Wavy Leaf Pattern and a smaller cling background. 

The butterfly is stamped with PaperTrey Ink's Background Basics: Text Style II, and then die cut with a Spellbinders butterfly die decorated in rhinestones. I used the Copic markers shown below to color the morning glories.

 

Now for the fun opportunity part of the post: in honor of the new Stamp It Cards, Paper Crafts is giving away some great prizes. I always look forward to Stamp It Cards each year; it is an excellent resource for the basics of stamping in card making, including simple projects all the way to more time-consuming projects--something for everyone. In order to have an opportunity to win, you can comment at any  (or all, if you'd like twelve entries) of the blog addresses listed below. Comments must be made by midnight MST on Sunday, February 28 in order to be eligible.

Betsy Veldman
Dawn McVey 
Debbie Olson  (here)
Julia Stainton  
Kimberly Crawford  
Latisha Yoast
Lisa Johnson 
Maile Belles  
Sarah Martina Parker
Teri Anderson 
Tina Fussell
Moxie Fab World

The Prize: one person will win twelve stamp sets from My Cute Stamps!  You can see the stamps sets that will be given away on Cath's Moxie Fab World blog. While you are there, be sure to enter the Olympics of Stamping Challenge. All projects for the Olympics of Stamping Challenge must be uploaded by Monday, March 8, and winners will be announced on the Moxie Fab Blog on Wednesday, March 10 on the Moxie Fab Blog.

Finally, have you entered the Stamping Royalty Contest yet? You should go for it! Not only are there some fabulous prizes, but it's also a great way to get a foot in the door if you are wanting to get some work published. That's it for today--thanks for stopping by!

Tiny Treats Meets Dot Spot

 

Today I have another little treat to share; this was one that I left for my son, who loves marshmallow-y goodies like marshmallow peeps. When I saw these marshmallow frogs, I knew that they would be perfect with PaperTrey Ink's Tiny Treats: Valentine and Dot Spot sets.

I forgot to take a picture of the Copic markers that I used on the little frog, but I'm pretty sure that they were: YG11, YG03, and YG07, as well as R24 and R29 for the frog. Shadows were T1 and 0, and airbrushing was with the BG15 marker. I masked with a Spellbinders Labels 1 die. I did not mask the frog; I just airbrushed more around the edges than near the center of the image.

I took some Wiesbaden pictures yesterday afternoon after the Copic Certification class, but I don't have them edited yet; I'll share when I get them edited. Thanks for visiting!

Sew Sweet

Today I have a little sewing-themed card for you; it would be perfect for a friend who's "sew sweet!" 

I used the new JustRite Stampers Stitched with Love Borders and Centers set and the 2-3/8" round block, combined with paper from the new Cosmo Cricket Material Girl Mini Deck. 

 

I stamped the image in Rich Cocoa Memento ink and colored it with the Copic markers shown above. Buttons are mostly PaperTrey Ink Vintage Buttons, and grosgrain ribbon is PTI's Terracotta Tile. Those little stick pins are some that I got from Ellen, but I colored them with my Copic markers to make them coordinate with my papers. Here is the flower pin, but the leaf one doesn't seem to be in stock.)  The focal image is cut out with a Spellbinders Circle Nestability.

Finally, I used some Spica Glitter pens to add sparkle to my image. The little flowers on the patterned paper have Stickles added to the centers as well.

Well, that's it for tonight. I'm headed back home tomorrow from Wiesbaden. I posted a few pictures here on Facebook today, mostly taken around the Dome and the Gutenberg Museum in Meinz. Thanks for stopping by!

PTI February Release: Asian Fusion

Asian Fusion by Melissa Bickford is a timeless and elegant stamp set. In keeping with the organic curves of the vase, I created Spring Moss and Kraft strips across the Pure Poppy cardstock, which was debossed with the Tin Types plate.  The Spring Moss and Kraft layers were debossed with the Polka Dots plate. I used the Spellbinders Long Rectangle die to cut and emboss the focal image.

I used some Versmagic inks to achieve a smoothly blended vase: Red Magic, Gingerbread, and Tea Leaves. Finally, I stamped a kraft envelope to coordinate with the card, using a white paint pen to color the flower centers and a Copic R24 marker to color the flowers. The flowers on the vase each have a tiny yellow pearl center. I finished it off with some Dark Chocolate Grosgrain and a few wraps of Rustic Twine. This set has a lot of possibilities!

I posted a handful of my pictures from Wiesbaden and the European Copic event on Facebook here. I'm hoping to get more pictures this weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet As Can Be: CPS 154

For this week's CPS 154 sketch, I created a baby card--yummy pinks and strawberries and buttons, and even a safety pin for good measure!

I used some Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety papers, along with a focal image from the tag sheet, and a sentiment from PaperTrey Ink's Baby Button Bits stamp set. To trim the scalloped edge, I used a Spellbinders Big Scalloped Borderabilities Petite. For the Sweet as can be tag, I die cut with a Labels Trio Shapeability die and then trimmed the end. Buttons are all PaperTrey Ink Vintage Buttons.

On the inside, I used the Inside and Out Baby set, combined with more Garden Variety papers. The ribbon is some May arts pink silk ribbon, tweaked with some Copic YR0000 various inks. (It needed a warmer cast to work well with the rest of the card.) The safety pin is a Tim Holtz mini pin. 

That's it--thanks for stopping by today!

PTI February Release: Take Three Spring and Luck of the Irish

 

I think it's time to start combining sets or I may never finish showing you this month's PaperTrey Ink release projects! For Alli Miles's cute Take Three Spring set, I chose the Pretty Pastels papers and Berry Sorbet cardstock, along with both Sweet Blush  and Berry Sorbet inks.

For Nichole's Luck of the Irish set, I created a mini card measuring 3-3/4" square, sized to fit the small square PTI envelopes. 

I managed to be the lucky one to get an internet connection this morning, so I'm posting from a lovely little place in Wiesbaden, a few blocks from the offices of the European Copic division. We have a certification coming up a little later this morning with several people from a variety of European countries--should be such fun, based upon the ones I met at dinner last!  Thank you for stopping by.

PTI February Release: Studio Style

 

Arrrrghhh!  Isn't traveling fun? I'm currently stuck in Detroit where a full plane has engine problems. I'll miss my connecting flight to Frankfurt if we don't get out of here in the next hour. . . So, I might as well blog to distract myself, right? Wish us luck!

Isn't Dawn McVey's Studio Style set darling? I just love the little button jar and ribbon stack stamps! Here I'm used both of those images, as well as Heather's Tin Types  background for a sweet little card and gift set for a crafty friend.

The box is made from last month's Click Simple Back to Basics box template, along with Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, and Stamper's Select White cardstock.

Button containers are PTI tins, wrapped with coordinating twill applied with Scor-Tape. The ribbon roses are really simple; in fact, I had taken pictures for this already (even though I've blogged them several months ago), and I opened this month's Hand Made magazine to see a beautiful tutorial in there!  Anyway, I thought I'd give you my pictures anyway, just in case you didn't see the new issue of Hand Made. 

 

First I hand-stitched one edge of about a foot of grosgrain ribbon and gathered it tightly. (I was using quilting thread, but you can use regular thread as long as you have it doubled.) I knotted of both ends after drawing the thread tightly.

 

Next, I started stitching the base together, beginning in the center and coiling the gathered ribbon as I went.

 

This is what it looks like from the top  after a bit of pulling and scrunching.

 

The leaves required no sewing; I simply used a glue dot to hold the ends together.

 

That's it--easy!  

I used Mish's Scor-Tape and ribbon trick to get the little ribbon border--that Mish is a clever girl! 

The Copic markers that I used were PaperTrey's Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, and Aqua Mist trios, along with a clear blender and the T1 gray. 

That's it--one more February PaperTrey Ink release ensemble.  I'm hoping that my next post is from Germany!

PTI February Release: Butterfly Dreams

I will be posting more release pieces over the next day or two; I'm trying to finish packing to leave early tomorrow. So, for tonight, here's my first February release post. If I get a chance on an airport layover tomorrow, I'll have another one linked up and posted. Thanks for your patience!

I loved playing with Niki Estes's Butterfly Dreams set! I'm sure that when I get home, I'll be pulling this one out again, especially since it has a coordinating die that takes the work out of cutting out butterflies!

Here I've used Lavender Moon and Stamper's Select White cardstock to create a 5-1/4" square card. One little trick that I wanted to share with you was how to get those four squares equally spaced. After determining roughly how far from the edge my squares needed to be, I cut a little template with equally wide perpendicular sides. That way I could just align my little green template with the edges of the card and place my white square in the corner. Then I moved to the next corner until I was all the way around.

This is what it looked like after I finished; I liked not having to measure each square from two directions.

To use the butterfly die, you first cut your cardstock and then stamp your butterfly on it afterward. It takes a little bit of practice, but each butterfly has two sides. . . ;-)  I stamped my butterflies in Summer Sunrise, Spring Moss, and Lavender Moon. Ribbon is Plum Pudding Satin.

The little butterfly background was super simple to align--very well designed. That's it for Niki's Butterfly Dreams set for now; I'll be back with another set Monday morning if I can get an internet connection on a layover!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I know it's a bit late to be making Valentines, but I'm still plugging away at little cards and gifts for my husband and son. Bright and early Monday morning I'm leaving for a week in Germany, so I wanted to have some treats for both for them before I left.  I'll be taking some Copic workshops, and then helping Marianne with whatever she might need in a couple of certification classes after that. I'm tickled pink to get to go along on this trip!

A stepped out version of this card is posted here on the CLASSroom blog, if you'd like specific Copic marker colors or how-to's. Isn't that a sweet stamp? It's Love Angel by Karen Lockhart.

There are several PaperTrey Ink release posts today, and you can find them all through Nichole's blog post. I know that Melissa Phillips is introducing a new set, as is Dawn McVey; and the designers will all be showcasing their February sets as well--enjoy! 

Finally, in the public service arena, Sally sent me an e-mail saying that she has a birthday challenge going on her blog, Asleep on the Couch, and invites you to come play. Submissions are due by February 28, so you still have time to get that in.

I'll post as I can during the next week; I'm not sure what my internet connection situation will be yet while we're traveling. Thanks for visiting!