InkspiredTreasures.com

Fifth Avenue Floral

Today’s card started with a challenge by LateNightStampers to recreate a card on Sherrill’s Blog.  I chose this card by Laurie Schmidlin to recreate.  To accept the challenge, I had to change at least two things on the card.

So, last night, I started playing with the Reinker Watercolor technique? and made up several roses and flowers.  This is a WOW technique featured by Connie Ingram at the Seattle Stampin’ Up! Regionals.  On this Fifth Avenue Floral rose I used Almost Amethyst and Lavender Lace.  Since they dried overnight, I was able to cut out the rose this morning and build my card. 

The base card is Lavender Lace and I layered a piece of Tea Party Designer Paper on top.  I added a piece of Lavender Lace in the background and two banner strips, edging each of them with White Craft Ink.  I stamped A Note For You from Sweet Sentiments Hostess set with White Craft and embossed with White Embossing powder.  Then used my Circle Scissors Plus to cut out the smaller circle in Whisper White and larger circle in Almost Amethyst (wow…this circle cutter is the BEST one I’ve ever used!)  I layered my cut out rose over top of the circles with dimensionals and popped all of it up with more dimensionals.  I used the Big Shot to cut out some Build A Flower Sizzlet petals out of Sage Shadow for leaves and ran them thru the crimper, then inked the edges with Sage Shadow and placed behind the rose.  Finally, I added the button touches which I loved on Laurie’s card (wish we had the Corduroy buttons in ALL our colors!)  I used a Clear Round Button backed with Lavender Lace cardstock for mine and two small white buttons from Latte Designer Button Assortment.  Oh, I also added a White Taffeta bow and piece of ribbon over the bottom banner piece.  I loved this challenge…turning Laurie’s inspiration into my own piece of art. 

I have a class tonight and need to finish cleaning up my Studio.  I’ll have more time to play today with all the dried roses and flowers laying on my desk!

Have a wonderful day!

Set:  Fifth Avenue Floral, Sweet Little Sentiments (Hostess)
C/S:  Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Sage Shadow, Tea Party DSP
Inks:  White Craft
Other:  White Craft Embossing Powder, Clear Button, Latte Designer Buttons, Build A Flower Sizzlet dies, White Taffeta Ribbon, Linen Thread, Circle Scissors Plus

Manhattan Flower Impressions Die

This Manhattan Flower Impressions Die is wonderful!  I love the crisp embossed image it places on cardstock.  I’m HOPING that Stampin’ Up! comes out with a whole line of Impressions that coordinate with our stamps…would that be great?

One of my Blog friends, Patty Bennett, reminded me of a technique I used to do with brass templates and dry embossing called "debossing".  She used this Manhattan Flower Impressions Die to make her samples, and I immediately followed her call to action and made some myself!  (Technique Class members…we will be doing this technique in class next week!)  Here is the first one I did!

For some reason, I’m hooked on doing square cards.  Sometimes I like to give larger cards…they have a little more presence.  The finished size on this is 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 so it fits in our Medium Square envelopes.  I started with a base of Riding Hood Red.  The next layer is Kiwi Kiss and I used the Eyelet Edge Punch along the side.  The Manhattan Flower Impressions die I ran thru the Big Shot using Shimmer paper.  Then I  added Real Red and Bravo Burgundy colors, cut away the background and left just the debossed flowers.  I layered that onto Whisper White cardstock and adhered to the Kiwi Kiss layer.  I added three Square Red Rhinestone Brads to the upper left and used my piercing tool and mat on the bottom right for a little interest.  I really like the darker flowers on the Whisper White background!  It is SO hard to see the real colors of this on the monitor…it washes out the red color.  In person, the Shimmer Paper makes it look sheer.

Christy has claimed her Blog Candy!  Yeah!

Blog Candy Winner!

First of all, thank you again for all the nice comments left on yesterday’s post!  I finally got to read them all today.  It is very special to be validated as an artist and I certainly appreciate the time it took to leave a comment.

So…on to the BIG NEWS!  Instead of my husband, I ended up using Random.org to come up with my number…and it chose #129!  The winner of the Scene in a Garden stamp set and my three samples is…

It’s so hard to pick… I love them all but if I had to pick only one, I’d have to go with card #2 as I love the layout of the card and the orange colors. Thanks so much for the chance to enter!

Christy…please contact me to claim your prize!  If I haven’t heard from her by Thursday @ 6:00 PM, I will select another winner.

Tune in tomorrow!  I’ve been playing with a technique that Patty Bennett shared using the Manhattan Flower Impressions Folder.  You’ll love it!

WOW!! Thank you!

Oh my gosh!  The Blog Tour was a huge success!  I’ve heard so many of you who thought it was a great idea.  Don’t worry…we’ll be doing it again soon!  I know I had over 2400 visitors and over 150 comments!  Thank you for visiting!  It really gives me some warm and fuzzies to know that you appreciate the time and effort everyone went through to pull this off.  Thanks to Lucia Kaiser and Diane McCornack who organized the Tours…there were only a few speed bumps along the way due to their hours of effort in making sure it ran smoothly!

Now…I know I promised to reveal the winner of the Blog Candy…but I’d really like to read through the comments and enjoy them…if you don’t mind?  I’ll have my hubby pull a number when he gets home from work this evening…so check back!

In the meantime…here is another set I love in the Occasions Mini Catalog…Just Beachy!  It reminds me of my childhood!  My parents had one of those Woody Station Wagons when I was growing up…you know…with the faux wood grain along the side!  For my card, I used the LNS Sketch Challenge (Late Night Stampers) from last week that I didn’t get done in time.  I saved it because it is a cool sketch!

I started with a base of Regal Rose and layered two different patterns from Sweet Always Designer Paper (I actually layered the patterns on Whisper White to give them some stability to hold together).  Then I wrapped the 5/8 Regal Rose ribbon around top to bottom.  I covered the seam between the patterns with 1/2 circles punched from Pumpkin Pie.  I stamped the Woody in Basic Brown and used my Blender Pen and markers to color it in with Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and the surf board in Regal Rose.  I layered this piece on Chocolate Chip.  Finally, I added another loop of Regal Rose ribbon at the top to make a flat bow.  I like it!

Well…I’m off to a dentist appointment today and hopefully I’ll get a chance to stamp this afternoon!  I have some prep to do, too, as soon as my order gets here today!  And…I need to read thru the comments!  Thanks again, everyone…

Blog Tour 1 – Stop 2 and BLOG CANDY!

It’s here!  Today is the day for the Blog Tour.  My stop is Blog Tour 1 – Stop 2! 

I’ll be showing you several examples of the stamp set, Scene in a Garden, from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  In addition, each of my samples includes a greeting from one of the Get Connected promotion stamps on page 208, choose any one selection FREE with a $40 order from the Occasions Mini! 

After you visit my Blog (and leave a comment for BLOG CANDY!), you’ll go on to Stop 3 – Tiffany’s Bauers’ Blog.  I’m sure you’ll be inspired by her awesome work with the stamp set, Very Versatile, from the Occasions Mini!  Tiffany is the current Rising Star…winning that title at the Stampin’ Up! Convention last year.  She will have a link to the next Blog…and on you go!  There are a total of 17 stops in all on this Blog Tour…but the links are only live today!  So don’t wait!  Make sure you check out all the beautiful samples of stamp sets in the Occasions Mini. 

When the tour is over and you circle back here, I know you’ll be anxious to order some of these wonderful sets since you’ll have all these great ideas and you’ll want to receive your choice of the FREE stamp with $40 Mini Occasion purchase!  AND, don’t forget about my Customer Appreciation Special going on until the end of April!  You can own that darling Oval All set FREE!  Email or phone me with your order…I’ll take GOOD care of you!

My first card I used several stamps in the Scene in a Garden set…the bench, the birdhouse, the little bird and the stack of pots!  I stamped them in Basic Brown on Whisper White and colored them with my blender pen and markers.  I roughed up the edges with my Cutter Kit Distressing Tool and layered it on Chocolate Chip cardstock.  The size of the base card is 5 1/4 x 5 1/4.  The brocade paper on the right is from Bella Birds Designer Paper package.  I used so Saffron, Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip pieces of cardstock on the left.  I did some random piercing on the left of the color blocks and the right I did an entire row of piercings.  I added a Designer Flower Brad in each of the blocks (without planning on using those brads, they matched perfectly!)  The greeting is part of the Get Connected promotion…the Note of Thanks Mini Note Kit…FREE with a $40 Occasions Mini Catalog purchase!  I punched it with the Scallop Oval Punch, also available in the Occasions Mini Catalog…I love it!  Finally, I added a small piece of Pink Pirouette striped ribbon looped under the focal piece and curled a couple of the edges of paper.

My next sample uses the trio of mud boots from Scene in a Garden…between it and the birdhouse, I don’t know which stamp I like more in that set! 

I started by cutting the medium oval from Whisper White cardstock and the large oval in Bashful Blue cardstock from the Ovals Bigz Die.  Then I stamped the boots with Basic Black on Whisper White and colored them with Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa and Bashful Blue markers.  I sponged the edges with Bashful Blue and added a little ground underneath the boots.  I layered this onto the Bashful Blue and then free-hand pierced the holes around the perimeter of the Bashful Blue oval.  I used the bright check pattern from Washington Apple Designer Paper and took my colors from it.  I layered it over a strip of So Saffron.  The base card is Riding Hood Red with a layer of Pumpkin Pie over it.  I added some Riding Hood Red striped ribbon.  Finally, I stamped the greeting from the Note of Thanks Mini Note Kit…the other stamp in this kit you can get FREE this month with every $40 purchase from the Occasions Mini Catalog!

My third card was the easiest one to make and probably my favorite one! 

I started with a base of Basic Gray cardstock.  I added a layer of Whisper White.  On top of the Whisper White, I added Not Quite Navy and Kiwi Kiss pieces.  I ran them through the Big Shot with the Texturz Kit #4 wood grain texture.  For the focal piece, I stamped the vase with grasses in Kiwi Kiss, then used my marker to color the vase with Not Quite Navy.  I used the marker and Blender Pen to color the inside of the vase, too.  I layered the Whisper White on Basic Gray cardstock and pierced all along the edges.  Then I inked the Happy Birthday to You greeting (another FREE stamp possibility with a $40 Occasions Mini purchase!) and used my marker to color a couple of the words Not Quite Navy.  I layered that on Basic Gray cardstock, too.  Finally, I placed the small Kiwi Kiss Corduroy Button brad through the Corduroy Button to make a layered button brad and attached that to the Not Quite Navy piece.

So…if you remember…I offered some BLOG CANDY if you left a message on my Blog post today!  Just leave a comment telling me which card YOU like the best and your name will go in a drawing for all three of the cards PLUS your very own Scene in a Garden stamp set!  I’ll take comments until midnight Monday…and choose the random winner on Tuesday morning.  U.S. residents only, please…  GOOD LUCK and don’t forget to check back to see if you won!

Here is Tiffany’s Blog again…for Tour 1 – Stop 3!

Blog Tour – Monday, April 27th!

Reminder to mark April 27th on your calendars! That’s the date when you can hop onto my blog to see examples of projects made with the Occasions Mini Catalog stamp "Scene in a Garden."

But wait, there’s more.

After you browse my examples, you’ll find a link to my friend Tiffany Bauer’s blog. She’ll be showing you how to use the beautiful stamp set "Very Versatile" from the Occasions Mini Catalog!

But wait, there’s even more.

On Tiffany’s blog, you’ll find a link to yet another blog and examples from a different stamp set in the mini!  There will be a banquet of ideas and beautiful projects. There are 20 stops on this tour, and you won’t want to miss a single one. The links will be available only on April 27th, so please don’t miss the bus.

But wait, yes, you guessed it, there’s more.

Because Stampin’ Up!’s "Getting Connected" promotion will still be running, spend $40 on Occasions Mini Catalog products and choose any one item from the "Under $10" on page 208 in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog for Free.

AND…ONE MORE THING…BLOG CANDY!  

On Monday, leave a comment on MY Tour post by 12:00 Midnight EST, and I’ll put your name in a drawing.  The winner will receive ALL the cards I made especially for this Blog Tour!  U.S. residents only, please!

It’s an event not to be missed!  Remember, the links for this tour are only live on Monday, April 27th.  This tour will take you all over the place! Be sure to hop on at my stop and then travel the road laid out for you!

Pack your bags on April 27th! You’re going to love the trip, and you won’t even have to leave your chair.

Bloggers Challenge – Alter it!

Today’s Bloggers Challenge was to alter something.  I guess you could say this is a double alter!  I found these frames at Target for $1 and bought a ton of them.  I originally had used the frames for a class and stamped the big flower from Fabulous Flowers in it.  So, I took out that one and replaced it with the new Bigz Die Daisies #2 one!  Once again I used my Big Shot and cut out two of the Daisies #2 dies.  This die has three sizes of the Daisy on it.  I sponged a little So Saffron ink on the centers and petals of each flower and then adhered both the layers together in the different sizes.  I used my fingernail to curl up the edges of the petals slightly.  I used a Kiwi Kiss Corduroy button in the center (my favorite use of these buttons!) and then used two Pop Dots on the back to give the Daisy some dimension off the background. 

The background is the Washington Apple Designer Paper and it matches my Studio perfectly!  I layered it on Kiwi Kiss cardstock and then Chocolate Chip to fit the frame.  I stamped the Just for You from the stamp set Oval All with Kiwi Kiss and punched it with my Scallop Oval punch.  I layered that on the Wide Oval punch.  I added a couple Kiwi Kiss Sizzlit Die Little Leaves under the flower petals!

Wouldn’t this make a nice Mother’s Day gift? 

Remember My Customer Appreciation Special is still going on and you can get the Oval All stamp set FREE?  Check this POST! 

Set:  Oval All
C/S: Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Washington Apple DSP
Inks:  Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron
Other:  Bigz Die Daisies #2, Sizzlet Little Leaves, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Oval punch
 

50th Anniversary Favors

Here is what I’ve been working on the past couple days.  I’m making these for the dinner party on Friday night.  

The box is made from the Matchbox XL Bigz Die in the Occasions Mini Catalog!  I LOVE this box…it is the perfect size to hold four Hershey Nuggets or other small items.  My father is diabetic, so I try to stay away from candy…he LOVES Cashews, so I found some Jumbo Whole ones and am filing each box with the Cashew Nuts.  The base of the Matchbox is done in Whisper White cardstock.  The sleeve is cut from Brushed Gold cardstock.  After I cut the sleeve, I ran it thru the Big Shot again with the Texturz Filigree Backgrounds plate…it really jazzes up the plain Brushed Gold cardstock! 

For the medallion, I used my Just Rite Stamper (gasp!…not Stampin’ Up!) with the wedding ensemble…using the Happy Annivesary ring.  I added the 50 in the center.  This is a fun way to personalize your stamper.  Each one was embossed with Gold Detail Embossing Powder on Whisper White cardstock.  After I made them all, I thought I should have spelled out Jerry & Donna…but…too late!  I’m not going to re-do them all.  I punched the medallion with my 1 3/4 circle punch, then used the Pennant XL Bigz die to make the scallop circle…it layers behind the 1 3/4 circle perfectly!  I punched a 1/8" circle in one of the top scallops and wrapped the White Stripe Organza ribbon around the box and tied on the Scallop Medallion. 

I love how these turned out and they weren’t really hard to make.  Before I put the cashews in, I lined the box with a small gold foil doily…so the inside looks pretty, too!

Today’s the last day to order the April Card Kit!  Don’t miss out!

Stampin’ Up! Backgrounds #1 Texturz Plates
#114512
Price:  $11.95

Tomorrow is Bloggers Challenge Day again!  I’d better get working on my submission!

Blooming with Love

Blooming with Love is such a pretty set!  I totally overlooked it the first couple times I went through the catalog…actually for about six months!  Then I saw a few cards done with it and thought WOW!  I don’t remember seeing that set before!  Then I started looking at the details of it and how versatile it really is and bought it.  It also has a matching seed packet wheel called Blooms and Bulbs that is darling!  I have an idea on how to use that wheel…just need to play with it!

This card is a Thank You gift card for my husband’s executive assistant!  Today is Executive Assistant’s Day!  Stephanie is a sweetheart and helps keep my husband sane.  Plus, she has such a delightful sense of humor, although always very proper!  I made a Tote Bag filled with cards and then my husband purchased a gift card for Starbucks to go in this card.  When you open up the top flap, there is a pocket to hold a gift card!  Clever, huh? 

Basically, cut your cardstock to 4 x 11, then score the long side at 2 3/4 and 8.  Fold the bottom flap up and adhere along the sides (this is the larger flap).  That creates a natural pocket to slip in a gift card sideways!  I adhered this entire Baja Breeze piece to a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 piece of Chocolate Chip.

The top panel I decorated with Parisian Breeze Designer Paper.  For my image panel, I stamped the Watering can on the floral DSP and cut it out.  Then I inked up just the branches with Chocolate Chip marker and stamped those on the Whisper White cardstock in the approximate place that I wanted the watering can to sit.  I stamped Thanks from Fundamental Phrases next to the watering can.  That set is GREAT for when you only have a small area for a word or two!  I used the Scallop Edge Punch along the bottom of the Whisper White and then added a strip of Baja Breeze that I also scalloped.  I matted the entire piece with Chocolate Chip cardstock.  Then I added just a strip of the Parisian Breeze striped DSP…so the watering can looks like it is sitting on something…not just floating in the air!  Finally, I added three 1/4 circles in the bottom corner and wrapped some 1/4 Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon completely around the front of the card.  Be careful when you place the front panel that you only adhere the top part to the flap of the card.

Inside, I added another piece of the Stripe DSP and the thank you greeting from Curvy Verses to dress it up.  I like the the 1/4 circles are still visible.

If you like this set and want to order it, EMAIL ME or Shop Online! 

Remember my Customer Appreciation Special going on until the end of April, too!

I need to finish up the 50th Wedding Anniversary favors for the dinner on Friday and make a gift certificate holder for their gift…a Sunset Dinner Cruise in Key West.  They are headed there next week, so I thought that would be fun for them.

Blooming With Love
114936
Price: $24.95

Bulbs & Blooms Wheel
111253
Price: $6.50

Set:   Blooming with Love, Fundamental Phrases, Curvy Verses
C/S:  Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Parisian Breeze DSP
Inks:  Chocolate Chip Classic and marker
Other: Scallop Edge Punch, Sticky Strip, 1/4 Choc Chip grosgrain, 1/4 circle punch

Last Chance Card Kit of the Month!

Wow…three posts in one day!  I wanted to remind you that the last day to RSVP for my Card Kit of the Month is Thursday, April 23!  Don’t miss out on this CUTE Card Kit!

CARD KIT OF THE MONTH

Cute Cuddly Stamp Set ($26.95) $21.56 with the purchase of the Card Kit
Buttons Latte ($7.95) $6.36 with the purchase of the Card Kit