Thinking Inking

Praying for Sunnier Days

Welcome! Today I needed an encouragement card for someone special. I felt like coloring, so I found this floral image that I hadn't colored yet in JustRite's Black Eyed Susan Vintage Labels Five Clear Stamps set. It fit the bill--cheery, but not too formal or fussy. :-)

       

These are the Copic markers that I used to color the image. The one on the right next to the colorless blender is a custom blend, lighter than B41, so I labeled it B40. (I needed a paler blue to use in the background, but wanted a cooler blue than I had.)

I used three different Spellbinders die sets, Labels Twenty-Eight, Decorative labels Twenty-Eight and On The Edge (for the edge of the plaid piece of patterned paper). I stamped the focal image after cutting and embossing my Labels Twenty-Eight shape, so a couple of small parts are cut off of the image. I dyed my white rayon seam binding with a couple of Copic reinkers to coordinate with my October Afternoon patterned paper.   The plaid pattern is from and 8 x 8 Sidewalks paper pad, and I'm not sure which line the blue polka-dotted paper came from--maybe Seaside? My paper stacks have gotten a bit mixed up, and the OA papers coordinate well enough from line to line that I can't always keep them straight!

Well, that's it for today. Thanks for visiting!

Debbie

Three Last Quick Christmas Cards

It's been a bit of a crazy year here, with serious illnesses on both sides of our family. I have to confess that today was the first day that I have actually mailed Christmas cards. . . Yes, you heard that right. And my sweet husband said, "Don't sweat it. Sending cards is the least of our worries right now." Since I still had stamps out on my desk, and I had plenty of pretty papers that will most likely work their way down in my stash as new ones come out, I thought I would stamp a few more quickly last night--the easy-to-make, easy-to-mail kind. (I have made too many of those cards that cost an arm and a leg to mail this year--one trip to the post office told me that!)

Since this is my last post before Christmas, I wanted to take the liberty to share a few things from my heart. In spite of all of the health issues and related pressures, I am supremely thankful for the Baby Jesus, born to die so that we might live eternally. I know in my heart that I will see loved ones again. While that fact doesn't erase the grief of watching people you love in pain, it definitely takes away the sting of hopelessness.  Why? Because there IS a Savior, and because God IS good. There is always hope because of God's Supreme gift at Christmas. 

So, about the cards: I used the same PTI stamps that I had out on my desk from the last post,  Peaceful Pinecones and Beautiful Blessings: Holiday. Inks were Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado, Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy, and Scarlet Jewel. I used three different Spellbinders dies for my focal images, Romantic Rectangles for the card just above, and Decorative Labels Twenty-Eight and 5 x 7 Matting Basics B for the two other cards in the top picture.  Papers are from an Authentique 6 x 6 Christmas paper pad. 

Well, that's it for today. I truly appreciate your visiting my blog this year, and I wish you and your loved one the merriest of Christmases!

Peace, Goodwill Toward Men

Welcome! We're still not ready for Christmas here, but it will come anyway. . . ;-) I have another Christmas card or two to share, as well as some information at the bottom of this post about Copic classes that are currently open. The card above is 5-1/4" square. I used three Papertrey Ink stamp sets, Peaceful Pinecones, Background Basics: Twinkle, and Beautiful Blessings: Holiday for the inside sentiment. Ink colors are Ripe Avocado, Kraft, and Dark Chocolate (PTI).

I also used several Spellbinders dies, including Adorning Squares (the Kraft layer). Labels One (the focal image layer, also used as a mask when I airbrushed some Copic BG23 lightly in the background), and Charmed I'm Sure for the tag. I dyed off-white rayon seam binding with Copic YG97 reinker and a few drops of colorless blender.

In case you are thinking ahead of December, I wanted to share a list of the Copic classes currently open. Most of them still have spaces available, but you need to register now, as classes will be capped soon for CHA/Anaheim. Visit our site for more details and to register.www.copicmarker.com/certification 

    Standard Certification: 
    Jan 8, Anaheim CA Taught by Sherrie Siemens 
    Feb. 21, Tempe AZ Taught by Sherrie Siemens 
    Feb. 21 Orlando, FL Taught by Lori Craig 

    Intermediate Certification: 
    Jan. 9 Anaheim CA taught by Sherrie Siemens 
    Feb. 22 Tempe, AZ taught by Sherrie Siemens 
    Feb. 22 Orlando, FL  taught by Lori Craig 

    Workshops: 
    Jan. 8, Anaheim CA, Artistic Mixed Media Apron, Taught by Michele Houghton 
    Jan. 10, Anaheim CA Whimsical Faces and Hair, Taught by Colleen Schaan 
    Jan. 10, Anaheim CA, Airbrushing for Papercrafters, Taught by Colleen Schaan 
    Jan. 12, Anaheim CA, Alcohol Ink Painting, taught by Colleen Schaan 
    Jan 12, Anaheim CA, Tracing Memories (2 different times) taught by Marianne Walker 

    Feb. 15 Portland OR, Tracing Memories (2 different times) taught by Marianne Walker 
    Feb. 22 Charlotte, NC Whimsical Faces & Hair, Taught by Debbie Olson 
    Feb. 22 Charlotte, NC Airbrushing for Papercrafters, Taught by Debbie Olson

That's it for today. I hope that you are having wonderful times with those whom you love!

Debbie

December Freebie: Ruby Reprise

Welcome!  Yesterday several of the Papertrey Ink girls posted cards made with a December freebie stamp set, Ruby Reprise.  I've been in Texas visiting my sister's family and didn't make it home in time to finish a card to post with them. I've had a solid week of reading piggy and elephant books to my lovely nieces, as well as snuggling my new nephew. (Nothing smells sweeter than a baby's head snuggled against your shoulder and cheek!) Today I had a few minutes to play with Ruby Reprise and thought I would share it--better late than never, right?

If you already have the Ruby Rose die collection, then you're in luck--several of the dies coordinate with this set as well as the original Ruby Rose stamp set! Here are details on how you can get this stamp set, Ruby Reprise, for free. That's all for today--thanks for visiting!

Debbie

Spellbinders Design-abilities Blog Hop

Welcome to the second Design-abilities Blog Hop! When the Spellbinders® Blog Team wanted to do something fresh, fun, and creative to bring our team together, we decided to have a blog hop on the 16th of every other month, linking to each designer. Before we get started, we want to let you know this blog hop is just for creative inspiration; we are not sponsored by Spellbinders Paper Arts®. Sometimes we might not all be able to participate, but we would still encourage you to visit all of the Blog Team Members and check out their blogs.  You will find a variety of ideas for die cutting, papercrafting, mixed media, DIY projects, jewelry, home decor, lots of tutorials, and techniques.

Okay, on to my card: I've mentioned it earlier, but I've really been drawn to white cards this year. Maybe staring at snow all winter has something to do with that! I've had window dies in my stash for quite a while and hadn't used them before. This one, Window Three, reminded me of a church window, and I knew that it would make a perfect Christmas card. 

I chose some shimmery white cardstock to cut both my card base and my pieces from, except for the translucent window, which I cut from a cover-weight vellum.  Above you see the placement for the inside of the window, to allow light to pass through my vellum piece, which I cut with only the larger die template for a solid, un-paned piece. I used  glue to attach the outer window piece to the vellum piece, then foam tape to attach the window to the card base with a window pane cutout. After getting my window cut in the card base, I used a Simplicity M-Bossabilties folder to add texture to the card front.

 

The tag is stamped with a JustRite Christmas set, embossed in detail silver embossing powder, and then cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Back to Basics Tags die template. 

Here is one more view, with light shining into the side of the card so that you can see the effect of the vellum window. I'd love it if you had time to visit my blog team friends as well, though not everyone is able to participate each month. Thank you for visiting today!

Debbie

Heidi Blankenship

Linda Duke

Seth Apter

Sherry Cheever

Becca Feeken

Darsie Bruno

Michelle Woerner

Papertrey Ink December 2013 Release in Review

Welcome! Today I am sharing a preview of the December Papertrey Ink Release, so it's looking more like Valentine's Day than Christmas here. The stamp sets used below will be available tonight at 10pm, EST, at Papertrey Ink. I have listed the ingredients for each card just below it.  

As you can see from the card above, I'm loving clean and simple today. The new Hearts cover plate makes it so easy to get the hearts positioned just so for a variety of card configurations.

A Grateful Heart

Stamps: Happy Heart
Cardstock: Stampers Select White
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, Hibiscus Burst, Limeade Ice
Tools: Cover Plate: Hearts, corner rounder

 

With the Heart Squared set, I made a shaker card. I've had some oddly-shaped glitter/confetti in my stash for several years, and I knew that it would be perfect with Heart Squared. (I picked though it to pull out the colors that wouldn't work with my card.)

Bless Your Heart Shaker card

Stamps: Heart Squared
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Stampers Select White, Clear cardstock
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey True Love 6 x 6 pad
Accessories: Berry Sorbet Satin, heart and flower confetti, foam tape, Scor Tape

 

For Inside and Out Love and Solid Swirls and Stitches, I pulled out a die from last month's release, the Tipped Top dies. While I stamped the Solid Stitches and Swirls with the inks shown below, I also added some shading with my Copic markers.

Completely Happy

Stamps: Inside and Out Love, Solid Stitches and Swirls, Stitches and Swirls
Cardstock: Stampers Elect White, Pure Poppy
Ink: Smokey Shadow, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy, Ocean Tides
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey True Love 6 x 6 pad
Tools: Tipped Tops Die, sewing machine, Copic markers: BG90, BG93, BG10, R29, 0
Accessories: Stickles, white rayon seam binding

Finally, for Wonderful Words: Love, I'm back to clean and mostly simple--cardstock, ink, dies, and glitter. :-) 

All You Need

Stamps: Wonderful Words: Love, Background Basics: Twinkle
Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet
Ink: Berry Borbet
Tools: Notched Hearts Banner
Accessories: Prisma Glitter, glue pen

If you would like to see some gorgeous projects with the Papertrey Ink December 2013 release sets, be sure to browse the following blogs! As a reminder, since the sets used in this post are from the December release, they will be available tonight at 10pm, EST, at Papertrey Ink. Thank you for visiting!

Nichole Heady

Ashley Cannon Newell

Betsy Veldman

Cristina Kowalczyk

Danielle Flanders

Dawn McVey

Debbie Olson (here)

Erin Lincoln

Heather Nichols

Laura Bassen

Maile Belles

Melissa Phillips

White Christmas Wreath Card

Welcome! I'm in Texas for a few days to visit family, but I finished some cards before I left so that I could share them from here. I've been intrigued lately with the clean simplicity of white cards. Here I used some shimmery white cardstock, combined with three Spellbinders die sets, Build a Wreath  for the layered wreath, the Rustic Wreath M-Bossabilities for the larger embossed wreath in the background, and 5 x 7 Matting Basics A to trim the card front. I applied a few touches of glitter with a glue pin and attached the Build a Wreath parts with foam tape. The hardest part? Not putting a bow. I think I'm addicted to ribbon. :-) I figured that a real bow would look a little funny with a paper bow, so I took a deep breath, and left it alone. . . . That's it for today--have a great weekend!

Debbie

When You're in Love: Elegant Celebrations

Welcome! Today I have a wedding card to share, or I suppose that it would also work for an engagement or a special anniversary. I had fun combining stamps and die cuts on this one. I chose a sentiment from JustRite's new Elegant Celebrations clear stamp set, pairing it with a background stamp that I've had for a while, Lace Oval Frame Background Cling. The cardstock background is PTI's Spring Rain, stamped in a white craft ink. I used detail white embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment on front, cut and matted with JustRite's Vintage Sentiment Tag dies.

The Elegant Celebrations set is quite a mix and match set--just look at the possibilities!

I stamped the border stamp with Versamark ink on heavy vellum and heat embossed with detail white embossing powder before hand-trimming it. The filigree die cuts are cut with JustRite's Heirloom Flourish One die. I wrapped the little end points around my base, cut with a Spellbinders Decorative Labels Twenty Eight die. I wanted a border accent, but I didn't really want the homespun look that stitching adds, so I tried just embossing (not cutting) with a Spellbinders A-2 Matting Basics B near the background edge--and I think I'll try that again some time!  I added a few tiny blue self-adhesive rhinestones and one simple white seam binding bow--that's it, one wedding/anniversary/engagement card for the stash. :-) Want to see some lovely projects made with Elegant Celebrations? Then you're in luck--enjoy browsing the blogs below, and thanks for stopping by!

JustRite Inspiration

Becca Feeken

Debbie Olson

Marisa Job

Eva Dobilas

Kristi Schurr

Heidi Blankenship

Darsie Bruno

Sheri Holt

Michele Kovack

Kazan Clark

Angela Barkhouse

You're a Blessing: Thank You Grand Sentiments

Welcome! We had a snowy day today, and then ice on top of the snow. Now we need another layer of snow to cover that ice before we have to leave home again! While it's winter outside, I'm still in a spring card mood. I chose JustRite's Grand Thank You Cling Sentiments (shown below) for my focal sentiment, cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Fancy Framed Tags Two die template. I cut a piece of pale aqua cardstock with my Spellbinders A-2 Matting Basics A, then left the die in place to mask the border while I stamped  the French Rose Background Cling stamp in a darker ink. 

I used a a Diamond Effects die template for the lattice background, airbrushed with Copic BG23 and a Copic Airbrush System. The leaves are cut with a Foliage die template, and seam binding is dyed with Copic reinkers. Would you like to see some beautiful Thank You Grand Sentiments cards? Then I hope you get a chance to visit the blogs below! Thanks for visiting,

Debbie

JustRite Inspiration

Marisa Job 

Debbie Olson (here)

Angela Barkhouse

Eva Dobilas

Michele Kovack

Heidi Blankenship

Kristi Schurr

Darsie Bruno

Kathy Jones

Kazan Clark 

Barb Schram

P.S. Are you still looking for Christmas stamps?
If so, JustRite has 30-50% off on all Christmas stamps right now!

 

Time Flies: Sending My Love

Welcome! Today I have a guy-card to share with you using JustRite's Time Flies Background Cling Stamp, along with a sentiment from the Timely Banners clear set. I stamped the background image in Memento Espresso Truffle ink, trimmed and embossed it with a Spellbinders A-2 Matting Basics A, and then I colored. . . and I colored. . . and I colored! ;-)

 
Shown above are the two stamp sets that I used, the Time Flies Background HERE and Timely Banners HERE. (There are a LOT of occasions covered in that sentiment set; I picked one that I could use for my husband.)

And here are all of the Copic markers that I used. The warm grays were mostly in the clock background, the YG90's in the leafy bottom, and the B90's in the wings and banner. I used cool grays on the clock face and the Y's on the rim of the pocket watch. The BV's were for cast shadows.

I stamped the sentiment and banner twice, then hand-trimmed the banner closely before mounting it with foam tape to add some dimension. When I saw what the other girls had done with the background, I was surprised to see some really great feminine cards made with this background too. I hope you get a chance to see them all!

JustRite Inspiration

Heidi Blankenship

Debbie Olson (here)

Eva Dobilas

Marisa Job 

Darsie Bruno

Kazan Clark 

Angela Barkhouse

Barb Schram

Kathy Jones 

Michele Kovack

Margie Higuchi

Kristi Schurr