Thinking Inking

Sending You Sunshine Shaker Card: MFT Release Countdown Day 5

Welcome to Day Five of the My Favorite Things Stamps June Release Countdown! I combined the new Full of Sunshine stamp set and Radiating Halftone background with Sunshine Die-namics to introduce today. The stamp sets showcased over the next few days will be available on Tuesday, June 5, at 9pm Eastern time.

What could be cheerier than a shaker card full of sunshine?

Again, while I have linked all products that I used below, the links to the NEW products will not be live links until release night, 9pm Eastern Time, Tuesday, June 5. All of the other links should work now. Be sure to check the MFT Stamps blog for more June Release inspiration! Thank you for visiting,

So Hoppy for You Shaker Card: MFT WSC386

Welcome! Today I'm participating in the My Favorite Things Stamps Sketch Challenge, WSC386. When I saw that big circle in the middle of the sketch, I immediately thought, "shaker card!" I hadn't used the little Toadally Awesome stamp set yet, so I chose it for the card sketch. 

I had to construct my own shaker window for this card since my circle was larger than the handy shaker die and window sets, but that just meant using a layer of heat-resistant acetate for the window, and foam tape around the circle. I airbrushed the background inside my window with Copic B12 at the top and BG23 at the bottom. 

Would you like to play along on this challenge with us? Visit the MFT Stamps Challenge and Inspiration Blog for details, the sketch, and a chance to win a gift certificate! Thank you for visiting,

Painted Prints Card Kit: Thinking of You

Welcome! It's release night for the My Favorite Things Stamps Painted Prints Card Kit! These kits typically go pretty quickly, so if you know that you want one, keep that in mind. For today's card. I wanted a bouquet of tulips peeking out of a window. It's not tulip season here yet since our Winter lasted so long, but it's tulip time in my imagination anyway. ;-)

I mixed different peach and pink inks for my blossoms, as well as a couple of shades of green ink for my stems and leaves. I airbrushed the background lightly with Copic YR31 and G03 to add some warmth and fullness behind my tulips. The most time-consuming part was just figuring out placement for my pieces, and that was pretty simple as well. I sometimes find layered stamped flowers to be a challenge to get right, but this set was really simple to use. It wasn't obvious if I had one part stamped slightly differently from one blossom to the next. So the layered stamping stress level was much lower on this particular set than on some I've used. (Some of you know what I mean by that!)

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog for a complete list of designers playing with this fun new kit, which is now available! Thank you so much for visiting,

Painted Prints Card Kit: Roses for Mom

Welcome! It's Day 2 of the My Favorite Things Stamps Painted Prints Card Kit Countdown; this kit will be available Tuesday night at 8pm Eastern time. My sweet Mom's birthday is this week, and I thought that the Painted Prints card kit would make a perfect card for her. I stamped the Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots background on Spearmint cardstock with Versamark ink, and then heat embossed with detail white embossing powder. 

The flowers are stamped in Pink Lemonade, Bubblegum, and Cotton Candy Premium Dye inks. I airbrushed a simple background with a couple of my Copics, then die cut a lace doily shape with Magical Mandala. Some simple layering of die-cut roses and leaves, and I was finished--roses for my Mama!

Be sure to check the MFT Stamps blog for a complete list of participants in today's kit preview. Again, the Painted Prints Card Kit will be available Tuesday night, May 22, at 8pm Eastern time. Thank you for stopping by today!

Painted Prints Card Kit: Thank You

Welcome! It's May kit time at My Favorite Things Stamps, and this month we have a floral kit--my favorite kind! I used just one of the flowers from the Painted Prints kit to stamp both my background and my focal image. To tone down the background a bit, I added a layer of vellum on top of the stamped background. I love the softness that vellum gives to a project!

I used Die-namics Stitched Flags to add a stitched look to the top and bottom of the sentiment--easy-peasy! A few layers popped up with foam tape, and three little glass droplets were the finishing touch. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what the other team members have done with the Painted Prints Card Kit! Check the MFT Stamps blog for more links and information. Thank you for stopping by,

5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash: Stencils, Embellishments, and Tools

Good morning! It's the final day of the My Favorite Things Stamps 5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash post series. Today is all about stencils, embellishments, and tools. Stencils are pretty simple! They're thin and don't take up a lot of space. Mine are stored in the same container as my 6 x 6 background stamps. I put them into 6 x 6 scrapbook page protectors. These were some that have been sitting at my house for years, so I thought I would use them up before I purchase 6 x 6 envelopes.

Each one is labeled so that I can find them easily, and then alphabetized.

Now embellishments. . . Those are a little trickier because they come in so many shapes and sizes! Lately I have purchased mostly embellishments that come in tiny zip-loc bags. This narrow little plastic bin (Walmart) is the perfect width to simply stand the bags in and flip through when I'm looking for something specific. My Nuvo Jewel Drops are in the same size container just behind the embellishments. These bins are on top of my stamp storage. You may not like "clutter" on top of your stamp storage, but I need to keep anything that I want to use in sight. Otherwise I find it two years later when nobody is using it any more anyway. ;-)

The embellishments I use most end up near the front, and the ones that I use less, near the back.

I have more embellishments . . . Here's one more draw of mostly shaker card materials or Chibi Lights. 

Other inhabitants of the rolling drawers include embossing powders, glitter, peals and rhinestones (in case they come back one day!), my distress inks, my MISTI and an extra Scor-Pal, and a drawer stuffed full of lettering pens and markers. 

Let's talk tools now. Honestly, I have too many tools to show all of them, or this post could have fifty pictures! A few that I use the most are shown here though--my old Genesis Cutter is still going strong after years and years. I'm a little concerned about getting replacement parts for it since I don't think they are available any more. But I'll use it until I can't use it any more. It's been a great cutter. I keep scoring boards (both Scor-It and Scor-Buddy by Scor-Pal) in the drawer just below the paper cutter. When I need to score a card base. I just pull the drawer out and score it right in the drawer. That way I don't need one more thing on the counter top. I use the Scor-Buddy mostly, but when I have a really heavy cardstock (110 lb. or above), I move the Score-Pal and use the Scor-It instead.

I use my light tent more days of the week than I don't use it, for sure! This one is newer and smaller than my last one, which was just taking up too much prime counter top real estate. This one has little LED light strips and works pretty well. I have another light on the side that I occasionally use when I want a shiny little embellishment to catch the light.  Another thing that I use a LOT and didn't show was the air compressor that I use with my Copic markers. The air compressor is  in one of the upper cabinets, so I just pull the hose down and use it when I need to. 

Well, you've probably heard more than you'll ever need to know about how my studio space is arranged! But I hope that some of the ideas will be helpful anyway. I've got many ideas from others, and I'm thankful that other shared their ideas with me. Hope you get a chance to go visit the MFT Stamps blog for many more organization ideas!

5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash: Cardstock, Patterned Paper, and Felt

Welcome to Day 4 of the My Favorite Things Stamps Five Days to an Organized Craft Stash series! Today it's all about cardstock, patterned paper, and felt storage. 

My cardstock storage is pretty much the same as last year. It's worked well for me, so I haven't had a reason to change it. Whole sheets of cardstock stay in these four file cabinet drawers. The file cabinets are in my knee space below my computer desk. I miss the knee space a little bit, but not as much as I would miss the floor space if they were not in the knee space!

My patterned paper stash has more than doubled since I last took a picture, so it now has its own plastic bin storage and usually sits on the top shelf of a small rolling cart. 

I didn't have this felt stash last year, so I didn't need felt storage! Luckily I had an extra plastic bin--left over from switching stamps to a double bin when they overran the single bin.

I added a couple of scraps of cardboard between the rows so that I could keep them organized by my printed color chart. I'm keeping them in their bags for two reasons: one, because the color names are on the bags, and two because I'd prefer that the felt not get dusty.

So, that's how I store my cardstock, patterned paper, and felt. Be sure to stop by the MFT Stamps blog for more organizational tips! Thank you for visiting,

5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash: Die-namics

Welcome to day three of My Favorite Things Stamps 5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash posts! Today is about Die-namics storage. My system for storing Die-namics hasn't changed much since last year, but my die box is definitely fuller! (It's heavy too--not a box you want to move very often.) I've used the ubiquitous InterDesign Divided Storage Container that Jennifer McGuire introduced to the stamping world a few years back. 

I have used 5-1/2" x 8" magnetic sheets from Taylored Expressions for several years. They are nice and stiff, which helps the dies not to pop off as you flip through the stack of die sheets. (These are currently out of stock.) The only thing that I have changed is to add a couple of categories to my dividers since I had one section that was getting too large to flip through quickly.  Most of my Die-namics are stored with my stamp sets; my Die-namics that coordinate with stamp sets are all in the same clear bag envelope as the stamp set. So this container has to hold only Die-namics that are general purpose and do not coordinate with a specific stamp set. 

I try to keep similar dies together on the same sheet and use as much of each sheet as I can since magnetic sheets are an investment! Sometimes I get an odd die on a sheet just because it fits the space that's left, but most of the sheets are pretty well-organized.

I keep my label maker in the bin with the magnetic die storage sheets, along with a little tool container for a couple of pairs of metal nippers (for separating dies), needle-nose pliers and round nose pliers for crimping binder coils, and a tool for cleaning little bits out of my dies. (In reality, this area is usually covered with little bits of paper, but I cleaned it up for you--I guess that makes you "company!")

I hope you get a chance to visit the MFT Stamps blog for more organization tips and inspiration. Thanks for visiting!

5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash: Stamps

Welcome to Day two of My Favorite Things Stamps 5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash posts! Today we are looking at stamp storage. If you saw my post last year, you probably realize that I have graduated from one container of MFT stamps to two. . . and number two is almost full as well. I can see a third in my near future, but I may have to reconsider my stamp storage at that point since I will begin taking up too much counter space. (This sounds like a problem for my husband, who is a really good carpenter, right?)

I store my clear stamps in clear envelopes. I take a screenshot of the stamp set from its description page online and add the name of the stamp set, as well as its coordinating Die-namics if it has those. I store both the stamp set and its coordinating Die-namics in the same envelope so that I can find them BOTH when I need them. (Otherwise, trust me--I could definitely lose them!) If I have left the Die-namics attached to each other (as they come), I usually simply slip the bare Die-namics into the clear envelope; but if I have cut them apart, I use a magnetic sheet to store the parts on, again so that I don't lose them by having something fall out of an envelope. Shown above is one of my envelopes, its guide sheet, the stamp set, and the cut-apart coordinating Die-namics.

As I get more stamps, my number of categories gets larger. Last year, I had one category for "Whimsical Animals." This year, I have split that category into Domestic Animals (cats/dogs/pets), Forest Animals (foxes, squirrels, etc.), Wild Animals (lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!), Farm Animals (cows, pigs, chickens etc.), Aquatic Animals and Sea Life, Imaginary Animals and Monsters, Birds, and Insects. So I now have EIGHT categories where I once had ONE. On the other hand, I can find the stamp set that I'm looking for much more quickly!

Right now I still have "Whimsical People" as one category, but I probably need to split that into "Pure Innocence People" and "Birdie Brown People" soon. The next category that I will split after People is the Sentiments category. Splitting that into smaller, more specific sections would save me some searching time.

I hope that this week's posts are a help to you! I know they are a help to me, since I feel compelled to pick everything up and put it away. ;-) Be sure to visit the MFT Stamps blog for links to more inspiration, okay? Thanks for stopping by today,

5 Days to an Organized Crafty Stash: Ink and Coloring Mediums

Welcome! It's that time of year when the My Favorite Things Stamps design team members share pictures and tips for organizing your crafty stash. Okay, being a little more transparent and personal, it's that time of year when I put everything away, find a few things that I forgot I had, want to stop and play with other things I forgot that I had, and wonder how I ever accumulated this much STUFF to begin with (albeit very cool stuff)!

Shown above is my MFT ink storage. I purchased the Slim Ink Pad Holders from Stamp 'n Storage, starting with the 120 pad holder, and later adding a 48 pad holder. These are the ink pads that I use the most, so they stay on my countertop rather than in a cabinet.

Here are more ink pads. . . I know what you might be thinking: "Who needs this many ink pads?" Well, most of them have different uses, or they coordinate with a different set of cardstock. And also to be fair, I've given away two or three full sets because I knew that I absolutely could not use them all, and other people could! That little electrical outlet in the back of the cabinet that you see on the lower left lets me plug in the under-the-cabinet low voltage strip LED lights. Rick drilled a hole through the bottom of the cabinet so I could hide the cords. He takes good care of me. :-)

I use my Copic markers a LOT, so they also stay out on my countertop, along with the refills. The marker storage is not something that I can link you to; I've used acrylic cases that stores display markers in. A couple of them were purchased through Imagination International, Inc., though they are not on the website. And a couple I ran across on eBay or Amazon. While I really like my Copic storage, the acrylic cases do not always ship well, and there are other options out there that might be easier to find.

Believe it or not, when I first took pictures of my ink storage and color medium storage, I totally forgot that I have brush watercolors, colored pencils, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and watercolors in tubes. Yikes. That's a lot of stuff that needs more love. Because I don't use it as often as I use my Copics, it stays in the cabinet. And "out of sight, out of mind" is an adage for a reason! Someday I hope to have more time to just experiment with the fabulous art supplies that languish in my cabinet.

We can't forget ink refill storage, can we? Right now, all of my MFT ink refills are stored in this little three-drawer plastic unit, hidden away in a cabinet, in a closet. They are there when I need them, but I don't re-ink pads that often, so they stay put away awaiting a dry ink pad.

Here we have another three drawers of "Oops, I almost forgot to take a picture of these!" I do love Distress Inks. But I don't use them nearly as much as I do my markers. so they stay put away. I have only the small ink cubes in most colors, mostly to conserve space. Since I have collected the refills, having a smaller ink pad works fine for me. I probably use the re-inkers on a palette with a water brush more than I use the ink pads anyway. 

I have started collecting some Distress Oxide ink pads as well, and they are in a plastic box on top of my 36-slim-pad-storage unit. They will need a better home one day, but for now, this works. (I usually watch for special sales or free shipping before buying ink holders, but I do have one more on my wishlist!)

Please visit the MFT Stamps Blog for links to all of the rest of the team blogs--I know that you'll get some great ideas, because I do too! Thank you for visiting,

Best. Dad. Ever.: MFT and Friends

Welcome! Today I'm playing along with the My Favorite Things new MFT and Friends challenge. I hadn't used the recently released All About Dad stamp set or the Dad Die-namics, and I needed a couple of Father's Day cards. . . so it seemed  like a great idea! (Do you need some Father's Day cards? You could play along too!)

I had die-cut "Dad" from cardstock that I had stamped with the denim background, intending to use the die-cut letters; then I decided that the negative shape of the dies would make a nice shaker card. I lined the back side of the Dad piece with heat-resistant acetate, then created a boundary with foam tape and added some blueberry cardstock as a backing--easy!

Would you like to play along with us? Then check out the blog post here. Thanks for stopping by!

Hello, Little One: Just Add Color:

Welcome! Today I am participating in one of the newer My Favorite Things Stamps challenges, Just Add Color. This post is supposed to be all about the coloring, so I've colored a few images from the new Hello, Little One stamp set for the occasion!

I chose peachy pinks, minty greens, and buttercream yellows--paired with a few neutrals, of course. I couldn't resist finishing the images into cards once I saw them all colored, even though  that wasn't really the point of the challenge. ;-)

Be sure to check out the MFT Stamps Challenges Blog for more color inspiration!