Thinking Inking

Welcome, Little One

How about a baby card today? I needed a baby card Monday evening to go with some baby blue gift wrap. Unfortunately, it wasn't finished in time, so I had to send the gift with a non-coordinating card. . . oops. Still, I thought I'd finish it and share it here. One day someone else will have a baby boy--if only I can find the card when that day arrives!

For stamps I used Papertrey Ink's Baby Button Bits and Polka Dot Basics 2.  I stamped the blue in a Clearsnap French Blue chalk ink and the white polka dots in PTI's Fresh Snow ink. Both ribbon and button are also PTI accessories. I used my Spellbinders Grand Labels Four die (the second from the largest one) to cut the Spring Rain layer--I'm loving the larger format dies!

Thanks for stopping by today!

JustRite Twelve Weeks of Christmas Blog Hop 4

Welcome to JustRite Stampers’ newest Wednesday feature, Twelve Weeks of Christmas Blog Hop 4! Every Wednesday up until Thanksgiving some of your favorite designers will be joining some of the JustRite design team for a series of Christmas blog hops, showcasing JustRite’s entire Christmas Collection of stamps. This week, it’s the Spellbinders design team! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card, and project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog.

Today I chose an older Just Rite Christmas set, the From Our House 2" Square set. I also had some fun with my new Spellbinders Grand Labels One die template, using it to cut my card base (close to a standard sized 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card). I used the third from the smallest die in the set, which will still just fit in my Wizard or Big Shot. Other dies were a Plain Square Nestability and a Labels Four. 

Shown here are the Copic markers that I used, all available in JustRite's color collection here.  The ribbon is white seam binding dyed with a Copic Y21 Various Inks (reinker). I used my Copic Airbrush System to airbrush the pale yellow background while the focal image was still in the plain square Nestability. Papers are from Basic Grey's new Jovial 6" x 6" pad. I also used a Zva Creative taupe pearl flourish, cutting it into three pieces to have it sticking out from under my focal image in strategic places.

Thanks for stopping by, and please visit these designers’ blogs to see what fabulous JustRite Christmas inspiration they have for you on the hop today!

JustRite Inspiration Blog 
Spellbinders Paper Arts 
Becca Feeken 
Mona Pendleton 
Debbie Olson 
Ashley Cannon Newell 
Sharon Harnist 
Eva Dobilas 
Kazan Clark 
Beate Johns 
Kellie Fortin 
Margie Higuchi 
Kathy Jones 
Regina Hanson 
Sankari Wegman 
Deborah Young 
Angela Barkhouse 
Michele Kovack 
Terre Fry 
Barb Schram

Zva Creative September DT Blog hop

Edited to add: We'd like to congratulate the five September Zva Blog Hop winners! Their names will be found on the following blogs:

Kim Hughes: http://paperhugs.typepad.com/paper_hugs/
Julianne McKenna-De Lumen: http://julestheblingprincess.blogspot.com/
Wendy McKee: http://wendymckee.blogspot.com/
Benedicte Raphalen: http://benelun.over-blog.com
Lisa Johnson: www.poppypaperie.typepad.com

One winner from each of the five blogs will receive a Zva prize package worth $30.00. Congrats winners!

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The Zva Designers are joining together again today to share a project that we have created using some of our favorite Zva Creative products. I am hoping that you will take some time to join us for a little bit of fun again this month!

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes's blog. She will have the complete list of all blogs that are participating incase there is a glitch along the way. If you would like to play along, I am linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. Be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on five of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package! Those blogs will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

The Blog Hop starts now and runs through midnight US Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, September 28, and the five winners will be announced on Wednesday, September 29 on each of the five winning blogs. The full list will be found on Kim Hughes's blog as well. We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday; you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post. You do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.

I'll put details below the blog hop information, in case you are interested. Otherwise, the blog hop begins here with Kim Hughes. Your next stop is Camilla Eckman's blog.

Thank you SO MUCH for joining us!

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Card Details

I started with a topaz rhinestone flourish (CRB-02CB-107) which I wanted to sport some fall colors. Hmmm--Copic markers?

Woohoo! I used a YG97, and YR18, and an R29  to airbrush some extra color on my swirl to coordinate with the colors that I planned to use on my chosen stamp, a pumpkin patch from the JustRite Stampers Autumn Blessings set. Tip: When you  airbrush dark Copic colors on a non-absorbent surface, the surface may stay tacky to the touch. You can fix the tackiness issue by spraying with a water-based sealant (NOT an alcohol-based sealant). One good sealer is Super Seal by Creative Imaginations.

These are the Copic markers that I used to color the focal image, which was stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink. (All are available as JustRite Copic combos here.)

Papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love Mini Deck, and focal image is cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Classic Oval Nestability. That's it--be sure to head to Camilla's blog if I distracted you, and thanks for stopping by!

Frosty and Friend

Good morning! I had fun coloring this snowman image and tree last night, so I thought I could get a quick post in this morning. Stamps are from Our Craft Lounge's Be Jolly set, and patterned papers are from Papertrey Ink's Rustic Snowflakes pad.

The Copic markers that I used are shown here. The BG0000 was for a faint sky, and the Boooo and Bo1 were for shadows on the snow and snowman. The rest of the markers are self explanatory. The Spica glitter pens were a black one, used for the coal bit-buttons and mouth on the snowman, and a Buttermilk, used for over the orange marker on his carrot-nose.

I used a Quickie Glue pen to add glitter for snow here and there, as well as stamping an extra image of the bird and raising him on foam tape. Ribbon and buttons are both Papertrey's Aqua Mist. This card is over-sized due to the height of the tree--it is 5" x 7".

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!

Pixie-Licious Photo Box

Hello! I have just a quick post today since my house needs some major cleaning and decluttering. It's also our local apple orchard's Applefest, and I'd love to make time to take my ten-year old this afternoon if the sun comes out. They have a little bakery there and make the most sublime treats--ummmmmm!

Back to the box: I needed a home for the photos that I've printed out to scrap my Papertrey Ink large calendar pages with--besides a stack on my countertop. I covered a Cosmo Cricket Blackboard Photo Box with some Pixie-Licious papers (Butterfly Kisses and Fairy Rings). I don't use chipboard alphabets often, but when I saw that I had a sheet of Lime Rickey, I thought that this would be the perfect place to use it. Ribbon is Papertrey Ink's Plum Pudding Dotted Satin, and chipboard is Cosmo Cricket's Pixie-Licious 6" x 12" chipboard.

I hope you have a fabulous day---the sun just came out here!

Boo to You Jar

Hello! I had my PTI Friendship Jar and Friendship Jar Fall Fillers sets out on my desk and thought I would make another card with them before putting them back on the shelf.  I also had a few scraps left from the purple pieces in my Cosmo Cricket Matilda Mini Deck. So, based on those pretty purple papers, I decided to make a spooky spider card with purples in the jar.

My Copic markers are shown here, along with a couple of Spica glitter pens (clear and black).

I added a few tiny drops of Ranger's Glossy Accents to the web for dew drops, as well as to his body to make him fat and shiny--ewwwwww. . . I love the many moods of the Friendship Jar set!

JustRite Twelve Weeks of Christmas Blog Hop 3

Welcome to the week three of  JustRite's Twelve Weeks of Christmas Blog Hops! Each Wednesday until Thanksgiving, several of your favorite designers will be playing along with JustRite's design team to help showcase the entire Christmas line. The hop starts at the JustRite Inspiration Blog, and I've linked the rest of the list at the bottom of this post.

I tried some new tricks here, starting with Sharon Harnist's trick of stamping and coloring the image on white cardstock, and them airbrushing it lightly with Copic E31. See the white cardstock beside my focal image? That was the same cardstock that I colored on, Copic's new white blender card. I love Sharon's airbrush trick!

When I chose my Copic marker colors, I knew that it would be okay that my colors were too intense to coordinate with the patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather Mini Deck) because the airbrushed E31 would mute the colors.

I pulled out another new toy for this card as well--my Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities! This round, scalloped card base is 5-1/8" across, and it's the second from the smallest of the set. Here I've used a Grand Circle, a Grand Scalloped Circle, two Classic Circles, and a Big Scalloped Borderabilities Petite.

Would you like some more Christmas card or gift inspiration? Then be sure to check out these blogs!

JustRite Inspiration Blog
Debbie Olson (here)
Becca Feeken
Sharon Harnist
Jeanne Streiff  (may have some downtime 1-4pm Central)   
Michele Kovack
Mona Pendleton
Heidi Blankenship
Beate Johns  (may have some downtime 1-4pm Central)
Sankari Wegman
Selma Stevenson
Kellie Fortin
Angela Barkhouse
Pam Imholz
Kazan Clark
Liz Weber
Stephanie Kraft

Thanks for visiting!

Morning Glories Friend Card

Welcome! Today I have another Papertrey Year of Flowers: Morning Glories card to share with you. I had colored this image before the release but didn't have time to finish making it into a card. For the background I used the Fancy Flourishes set, inked in Versamagic Champagne Dazzle ink on Enchanted Evening cardstock. The tag is stamped with Mega Mixed Messages, cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Double Ended Tags die and then trimmed to length.

These were the Copic markers that I used--all Papertrey Copic combos. Usually I wouldn't have used a YG91 with YG11 and YG13, but the shadows needed some grays--the greens were a little too intense for me. 

For the ribbon I used a Copic B45 to color 3/8" wide black and white gingham ribbon. A couple of swipes with the chisel tip took care of the white part of the ribbon--love my markers  Thanks for stopping by.

PTI September Release Part 2

Welcome! I'm sitting at the airport waiting to leave Scrapfest and Minneapolis behind and head home. It was great to meet some of you! I think we're boarding soon, so I'll stick to the basics. I have a couple of Papertrey September Release projects left to share today. First up is a Christmas card on which I used Fillable Frames 8 combined with Holiday Spirit Sentiments. The details:

Stamps: Holiday Spirit Sentiments, Fillable Frames 8
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather 
Cardstock: Vintage Cream
Ink: Memento Cottage Ivy, Rhubarb Stalk; PTI Chamomile Distress Ink
Accessories: Vintage Cream, Satin, Fine Linen Vintage Buttons, Zva Creative Pearl Flourish

Next I have a simple and serene Christmas card using Heather's Peace Be Still set; The only thing that might not be apparent immediately is that the dove is stamped on White Shimmer cardstock with Fresh Snow Ink. It gave him a matte look with shimmery borders--fun! The rest of the details: 

Stamps: Peace Be Still, Wreath for All Seasons
Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Shimmer White, Aqua Mist
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, Versamagic Turquoise Gem
Accessories: Aqua self adhesive pearl.

Thanks for stopping by!

Believe in Magic

Welcome! I'm popping online quickly tonight to post a couple of cards that we made at a class for the Stamp Garden in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Since Lori Craig and I were already in Minneapolis for Scrapfest, We team-taught a card workshop using Copic markers and Our Craft Lounge stamps. This is actually variations on the same card; the papers are revered and the orientation changed to give them ideas for variation. Details are below, and I'll post my first card right under this one. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Be Jolly from Our Craft Lounge

Papers: Shiver, Silent Night, and Glacier from Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding Collection

Copic Markers: 0, W0, W4, BG000, BG01, G24, G28. R22, R29, YR16, E33, E37; Buttermilk Spica Glitter pen

Boo to You

This is the my first card from our stamp workshop that I mentioned above. Dawn at the Stamp Garden was a gracious hostess and had a lovely store. I kept the shading super-simple on this one--introduction to Copics! ;-)

Stamps: Ghostly Greetings from Our Craft Lounge

Papers: Matilda Mini Deck by Cosmo Cricket

Copic Markers: BV000, W0, 0

Ice Resin Article for In Touch

Just a quick note, as I still need to finish packing: if you are interested in playing with Ice Resin, a two-part, clear-drying epoxy, check out my instructional article for Ellen Hutson's In Touch blog. I had so much fun with this that I've already bought a second package of it!