InkspiredTreasures.com

February Tour de Freaks

It's time!  The February Tour de Freaks is here…brought to you by your Control Freak Swappers!  You've probably just arrived from Wendy Janson's blog, weren't her projects gorgeous?  We have 16 stops for you today!   

Our theme this month was the Occasions Mini!  Well…that's a broad theme!  I'm sure you'll get lots of new ideas!

My first projects uses…what else…Chocolate Bunny!  What can I say…he just is a favorite of mine!  I stamped him in Chocolate Chip Craft Ink on Close to Cocoa cardstock and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder, then cut him out.

Can you tell what the carrot is made from?  Yep!  The Large Scallop Circle Die!  I received one of these carrots for a swap at Leadership, but I changed out the colors and added the bunny in the top.  I wanted to use a real chocolate bunny, but the ones I bought were too big.  That's when I figured that my stamped one would work even better! 

The base of the carrot is from Pumpkin Pie cardstock and I sponged the edges.  The leaves of the carrot are Old Olive and also sponged.  I used some fancy shredded paper to fill it.  I punched two holes to be able to tie the Old Olive Satin Ribbon and help hold the edges closed.  Then stamped Happy Easter from Well Scripted with Old Olive ink and punched with the Wide Oval Punch.  Isn't it FUN???

My second project uses the Big Shot again with the Fancy Favor Box.  I cut it from Pixie Pink cardstock and ran the Spring Floral Wheel in Pixie Pink Ink Cartridge across the bottom of it twice.  I used the Wheel Guide to help me keep it straight!

On the front I made a bunny from punches!  The face is a 1 3/8 circle of Pretty in Pink, the cheeks are 1" Whisper White circle punches and 3/4 Pretty in Pink circles layered in top.  His nose is a Pixie Pink 1/2" circle.  The whiskers are Sahara Sand slivers of cardstock.  The eyes are actually Small Ovals cut down to a smaller size with 1/4" circles of Basic Black and highlighted with the White Gel Pen.  The ears are Scallop Ovals from Whisper White and the Welcome Neighbors Designer Paper punched with the Large Oval Punch.  I gave him a bowtie made from the Old Olive Satin Ribbon and the Old Olive handle is attached with Clear Rhinestone Brads.

I kept the back simple with just the Easter stamp from Eggcoutrements stamped in Old Olive Classic Ink on Whisper White and punched with the Designer Label punch.  It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals!

I filled it with some multi-colored shredded paper.  I was going to fill it with Jelly Beans, but my husband ate them all!  lol!

Well, you can continue on the tour by clicking on the button to go to Mary Brown's Blog!  I'm sure she'll have some fantastic projects!  Have fun taking the tour!

Happy Moments

I made this card for a small swap I was in at the end of December.  I love using the Scallop Square die for the base of my card!  In this case, it is a cardfront, so I only used one layer of the Scallop Square.

I started with a base of Old Olive cardstock and ran it thru the Big Shot with the Scallop Square die.  I stamped the tree limb image from Cheep Talk on a square of So Saffron Patterns Designer Paper, then stamped the bird cage from Stampin' Up!'s Happy Moments Sale-A-Bration set in Chocolate Chip as if it were hanging on the limb.  I added a small Gold Mini Brad as a hanger.  Then I stamped Love You Much from Well Scripted in Chocolate Chip in the bottom right corner.  This piece was layered onto Chocolate Chip cardstock. 

I cut a piece of Very Vanilla and used the Scallop Trim Border Punch (another Sale-A-Bration option!) along the right side.  I used my Paper Piercing Tool to punch holes along each of the scallops.  I wrapped some Kraft Taffeta Ribbon around the left side and adhered it to my base card.  That bird cage is my favorite stamp in that set!

I hope you have a wonderful day.  I'm starting to see areas of my floor in my studio again.  Need to get it mostly picked up today so I can get ready for tomorrow's Stamp Club members!

Only a few spots remain in my 5/8 Satin Ribbon Shares and then it will close!  Click here for more information.

Vintage Vogue

OK…come back tomorrow for a quick tutorial on how I made the Designer Paper Heart Wall Hanging last week!

Today I want to show you my Control Freaks Swap for the Occasions Mini!  I made these before Christmas, but didn't want to show you until everyone had their swaps…then I forgot that I hadn't posted it!  lol!

I started with a base of Sage Shadow cardstock.  I added a square of Very Vanilla cardstock that I stamped the border image from Stampin' Up!'s Vintage Vogue stamp set in Sage Shadow.  I wrapped some Kraft Taffeta Ribbon around it on the left side and distressed the edges with my Cutter Kit.

I added a vertical strip of Apricot Appeal cardstock and ran the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel over it in Apricot Appeal ink.  I also distressed the edges on this layer.  I inked up the Friends letter F with Sage Shadow Stampin' Write Marker and the word Friends with Apricot Appeal, stamped on Very Vanilla, and punched with the 1 3/8 circle punch.  I layered it on the 1 3/4 circle punch of Sage Shadow.  I stamped the small flower image in Apricot Appeal, cut it out and added a gold mini brad in the center, then placed it on the circle images.  That whole element was popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.  Finally, I stamped Life happens.  Love helps in Basic Black on Kraft Cardstock and punched it with my Modern Label punch and placed it under the circle element.

I hope you like it!  It satisfies my Late Night Stampers Design Team "vintage" theme this week, too!    I liked the more unusual colors using this set.

Well, I have a massive undertaking in my studio.  I've been pulling everything off racks and out of drawers, sorting and organizating (and pitching stuff!)  It is feeling good, but looks awful right now.  Just at that point where everything is pilled in the middle of the floor and tables.  It HAS to be cleaned up by Thursday…I have my Stamp Clubs meeting!  lol!

November Tour de Freaks is here!

Yeah!  It is that time again…time to see what the fabulous Control Freaks are doing on their Tour de Freaks!  You've probably just arrived from Melanie Schulenberg's blog!  We have 12 blogs for you to visit this time.  I'm sure you will love all the awesome projects you see as you tour.  This month's theme is Christmas Gifts – small items, altered items, stocking stuffers, gift collections, and ornaments.  I know I can't wait to see! 

My first project brings back my favorite Stampin' Up! Simple Seasonal Thanks Snowman!  This time he is standing behind a little candle votive.  I stamped him in Basic Black on Whisper White and cut him out.  I colored the shadows on his sides with the Bashful Blue Stampin' Write Marker and used the AquaPainter and Old Olive and Real Red Stampin' Write Markers for his hat and scarf.  I colored his checks with the Blush Blossom and his nose with Pumpkin Pie.  I added 3 Basic Black "buttons" on his from punched from the large hole of the Crop A Dile.  I added a little Crystal Effects on his sides and Dazzling Diamonds glitter for a sparkly look! 

Can you guess what the base holding the votive is?  Yes!  The Sizzix Bigz XL Bitty Box!  It is secured to the snowman along the back edge.  I punched a 1 3/4 circle in the top to hold the votive and stamped Bashful Blue snowflakes from the Serene Snowflakes stamp set.  The glass votive has silver Icicles Rub-ons decorating the rim.  Now…this is for decorative purposes only.  I wouldn't light a candle this close to paper.  Wouldn't this be a fun little gift for a co-worker or friend?

My next Christmas Gift is a large decorated candle.  I found these nice two-tone vanilla/cranberry ones that smell SO good!  They are about 3 inches in diameter.  I wrapped some Merry Moments Designer Paper around the area where the two colors meet, then added a Old Olive Wide 1 1/4 Striped Ribbon.  Hanging from the ribbon is the Make Merry tag from Stampin' Up!'s Grateful Greetings stamp set.  It is stamped in Real Red on Very Vanilla card stock and punched with the small tag punch, then layered on a large Old Olive tag punch.  Now…what snowflake punch did I use?  The Merry Details Snowflake Die in Chocolate Chip card stock!  I cut off the extra long "legs" of the snowflake to make it smaller and fit on my tag!  The center is a Green Rhinestone Brad and it is tied to the bow with Silver Cord.

The next project is a Dove Chocolate Box Sleeve made from Bravo Burgundy card stock.  Now…who wouldn't want a giant bar of chocolate as a gift!  For the top layer, I ran the Handsome Hunter cardstock thru the Petals A Plenty Impressions Folder, then highlighted the centers with the White Gel Pen.  I placed the Handsome Hunter Piece on the Dove Movers & Shapers die to cut it out, then backed it with Whisper White and wrapped it with Bravo Burgundy 5/8 Grosgrain Ribbon before putting it on the Dove box.  I used the Eyelet Border punch across the top of the box, then cut a piece of Whisper White for the bottom, stamped Peace on Earth from Four the Holidays, and used the Eyelet Border punch again. 

The 3×6 card fits in the Box sleeve with the Dove Chocolate perfectly.  I used the extra Handsome Hunter die cut dove that was already embossed on the front, layered it on Bravo Burgundy and placed on the Whisper White card stock.  The Bravo Burgundy Ribbon is wrapped around the entire front of the card.  Peace on Earth from Four the Holidays is stamped with Bravo Burgundy Classic Ink.  Thanks to my downline, Annette, for the inspiration on this project! 

Whew…hope you enjoyed my projects!  Come back later next week and I'll post the directions on making the Dove Chocolate Box Sleeve!

Next stop is the fabulous Mary Brown!  I know you'll enjoy her projects!

Tour de Freaks Coming Soon

Yep…it is almost here!  Friday, November 20th is the next round of Tour de Freaks, brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers!  The theme this month is Christmas gifts…small stocking stuffers, ornaments, gift collections, altered items!  I can't WAIT to see what the twelve bloggers will have in store for us!  Mark your calendar and see you then!

INKspired Treasures Blog

Sparkly and Bright

This is my swap card for the recent Christmas Card Control Freaks Swap!  I’m thinking of doing something similar for my actual Christmas Card this year.  I need to be thinking about it because my weekend stamping retreat is coming up VERY quickly!  I always work on my Christmas Cards there so I have them done early.  But…it does require a little pre-planning since I make about 120 cards!

For this one, I started with the base of Real Red.  Next is a layer of Naturals White cardstock and I added a 4×4 square of flocked Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Paper to the bottom.  I wrapped the Polka Dot Real Red ribbon (reversed so the plain side shows) to the back and adhered and to hide the seam.

Rudolph from the Stampin’ Up! Sparkly and Bright stamp set was stamped on Naturals White cardstock with Basic Brown ink.  I colored his nose with the Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker.  He is punched with the 1 1/4 circle, then layered on Real Red 1 3/8 circle and the Chocolate Chip Scallop Circle.  Sparkly and Bright greeting is stamped in the upper left corner with Basic Brown ink.

Really a simple card, but the flocked designer paper and the polka dot ribbon make it feel beautiful.  Plus…it is nice and flat for mailing!

Have a great day!

Supplies:

Set:  Sparkly and Bright (115346)

Inks:  Basic Brown (104315), Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker (100052)

Cardstock:  Naturals White (102316), Real Red (102482)

Accessories:  Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Paper (116770), 3/4 Real Red Polka Dot Ribbon (115608), 1 1/4 circle punch (104403), 1 3/8 circle punch (104401), Scallop Circle Punch (109043)

It’s not too late to join Create with Connie and Julie!  Click HERE for a preview!

Each week we will focus on a different collection of products that can be found in the Holiday Mini Catalog. Our goal is to show you some new and unique ways to use Stampin’ Up!’s fabulous products. Every day there will be a new project posted and each week there will be at least two tutorials available for you to download. Our projects will include cards, scrapbook pages and 3D items, the quick and easy ones and the more complex larger projects.  Click on the Buy Now button on my right sidebar to join for $39.95 USD OR join FREE as a Online Ordering Bonus when you place an order of $75 or more!

Simple Seasonal Thanks Gift Card Holder

I knew immediately when I saw this Simple Seasonal Thanks stamp in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini what I wanted to do with it.  Every year, I make my Snowman gift tags for Christmas.  This stamp is a perfect size for a gift tag!  Of course, the greeting in the center wouldn’t work, so I just customized my stamp and cut the greeting out before I mounted it.  I saved the greeting in case I ever wanted to use it…but now I have the perfect snowman!

And I can’t believe I forgot to post this card!  It was my Control Freaks card for the Holiday Mini Catalog Swap I did back in August!  It has a surprise inside…it is a GIFT CARD HOLDER!

The Real Red base of the card is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2.  Then the Bermuda Bay cardstock is 4 x 11, scored at 2 3/4 and 8.  The top piece flips up and down…the bottom piece folds up and is adhered on each side, leaving it open for the gift card to slide in.  I decorated the top flap with Christmas Cocoa Designer Paper (I used the snowflake side for my swaps…this was my sample).  Then stamped and cut out 26 snowman (TV work!)  Each snowman I colored the hat and scarf with my Real Red and Bermuda Bay Stampin’ Write Markers and the AquaPainter and added some white stitching on the hat with my White Gel Pen.  Oops…forgot about his cheeks!  I used Stampin’ Pastels.  I added two Vintage Black Mini Brads for the charcoal "buttons" on the front and stamped the greeting from Sweet Season stamp set in the empty spot on his belly!  He is secured to the top flap only on the top half of his body.

I could not get a good picture of the inside with the snowman flipped up…my camera focus went crazy.  But this is the bottom inside of the card.  Right above the Merry Christmas sign is the pocket where you place your Gift Card (below my watermark).  I stamped Merry Christmas from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Basic Brown on Sahara Sand cardstock and punched it with the Modern Label Punch.  I cut a slice of Chocolate Chip cardstock for the post.  And tore a piece of Whisper White cardtock to make the snowpile…I added Crystal Effects along the top of the snow and added Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  I had a lot of fun making these!

So…what do you think?  Like it? Leave me a comment!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370), Simple Seasonal Thanks (111548), Sweet Seasons (116471)

Cardstock:  Whisper White (100730), Bermuda Bay (115317), Real Red (102482), Sahara Sand (105328), Chocolate Chip (102128)

Inks:  Bermuda Bay Classic Ink pad (115655), In Colors Stampin’ Write Markers (116329), Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker (100053), Basic Brown Classic Ink (104315)

Accessories:  Vintage Mini Brads (109109), Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer paper (116770), Paper Snips (103579), Crystal Effects (101055), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (102023), White Gel Pen (105021), Stampin’ Pastels (105542)

Don’t forget to check out PREVIEW WEEK at Create with Connie and Julie!

Asian Artistry Final take

Well…ok…are you ready for the FINAL Control Freaks swap I did?  As I mentioned, the other two were the ones I started with, but just couldn’t get the look I wanted.  Here is what I ended up making.  Isn’t it funny how just playing with the set, you can turn out a final product so different than the original direction you were going? 

This card uses two of the new in-colors, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede.  I loved those two matched with Blush Blossom from the Soft Subtles color family!  What do you think?

I started with a base card of Blush Blossom and added a layer of Dusty Durango.  Then I took a 3-3/4 square of Soft Suede cardstock and stamped the Asian grass from Asian Artistry Level 2 stamp set in the bottom right corner with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink, let it dry, then ran it thru my Big Shot with the Texturz Kit #4 plate.  I lightly ran my Soft Suede ink pad across some of the highlights of the texture.  I mounted the Soft Suede cardstock to the Dusty Durango layer and wrapped Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon around to the back to hide the seam.

I used the Butterflies die and Blush Blossom cardstock to make the small butterfly.  Then I stamped on it with the Flower stamp in Asian Artistry and Dusty Durango ink.  I added two gold mini brads for the body and popped it up on the card with dimensionals.

I stamped the greeting in that Asian Artistry hostess set with Dusty Durango ink on Whisper White and punched with the Wide Oval.  I layered that on the smallest oval cut from Chocolate Chip cardstock and the Ovals Die in my Big Shot.

I was really happy with my final Control Freaks swap!  Hope you like it, too!

Email me if you’d like to take advantage of the Deal of the Week!

Connie
www.inkspiredtreasures.com

Asian Artistry Take 2

Well…did you notice anything different?  I had a mini Blog makeover.  More changes coming soon, but this is a start.  I wanted to go from a 2 column format to a 3 column format to help spread out the sidebar badges a little…they were looking a little crowded! 

Today feature is the second of the cards I rejected for my Control Freaks swap.  You can see I was on the same thought process as yesterday’s Asian Artistry card with the Watercolor Wash in the background, but I dropped the Shabby Chic look and went more streamlined. 

On this one, I started with a base of Cameo Coral and added an extra inch so I could fold the top edge over the Mellow Moss layer.  I stamped the flower stamp with Cameo Coral over the flap randomly for a tone-on-tone look.  The Mellow Moss layer was run thru the Big Shot with the Texturz Kit #4 plate, then Mellow Moss ink applied direct to paper on the highlights of the texture.  I wrapped the 5/8 Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon around the top and secured, then brought it down the front of the panel, turned up the end and secured it to the Mellow Moss with a Clear Rhinestone Brad.  I adhered the top flap to the front of the Mellow Moss.  The focal element was done with the Watercolor Wash technique from Technique Junkies on Shimmer Paper and I overstamped the Asian grass stamp with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink.  This was layered to Chocolate Chip cardstock.  The Dragonfly from this set was also stamped on Shimmer Paper with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and then colored with the Mellow Moss marker.  It was punched with the 1 1/4 Circle Punch, layered to a 1 3/8 Mellow Moss Circle Punch and then added to a Chocolate Chip Scallop Circle and popped up with dimensionals to the background. 

Stay tuned over the next couple days for my final Control Freaks swap card!  Today, I included a picture of the new Level 2 Hostess Set, Asian Artistry.  Be sure to book your workshop with me today so you can earn yours as soon as possible!  I love this set!

The Sweet n’ Sassy Stamps mini tour is going on now.  See the tour schedule over on the right.  Tomorrow will be a post with my first featured card as a Design Team Member!  Be sure to stop by!

Asian Artistry, Level 2 Hostess Set

Fifth Avenue Floral

Another set from this catalog that I LOVE!  I’m hooked on using Kraft, Black and White with this set.  I think it makes for a very elegant card! 

This card was my Control Freaks swap for the New Catalog Swap.  I started with a base of Basic Black.  Whenever I use a black base, I always include a 1/4 of Whisper White on the inside so I can stamp a greeting.  Then I stamped one flower randomly in Basic Black ink.  I used my embossing buddy and then Versamark with the large flower, adding White Embossing Powder and heat setting it.   I used Itty Bitty Backgrounds to add some black speckles in the blank areas.  The designer paper is from Urban Oasis and I was careful to just cut two lines of the spirals.  I added a tag cut from Lots of Tags Sizzix Die (LOVE it!) and used the greeting from Really Retro with two black mini brads to secure it to the cardfront.  I wrapped the Stripe Organza ribbon around the Kraft piece and layered it onto the Black Base.  I was so pleased with this card that I used it at my last workshop!  This group was very enterprising, though…I saw lots of awesome variations!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Sets:  Fifth Avenue Floral, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Really Retro
C/S: Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper White, Urban Oasis DSP
Inks:  Basic Black, Versamark
Other:  White EP, Lots of Tags Sizzie Die, Mini Black brads, White stripe organza ribbon