InkspiredTreasures.com

King of the Grill

When I saw this sketch challenge from Card Positioning Systems (CPS 165), I knew immediately what I wanted to do.  I loved Stampin' Up!'s King of the Grill stamp set the minute I saw it in the new Summer Mini.  What a great, whimsical set for men!  Lots of fun greetings in it, too!  I thought the little circle accents in the sketch looked like the knobs on a grill…don't you?  Ok…maybe it is just me…

I knew I wanted a RED grill, so I started with a base 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 square Real Red card.  Next, I found a red pattern in Jackpot Designer Paper and layered it on Basic Black for the background. 

For my focal piece, I ran the Whisper White cardstock thru my Big Shot along with an oval chipboard template and the new Square Lattice Impressions folder.  The oval template allows the center to remain smooth, but around the edges are textured.  A very cool technique to add some texture.

EDIT:  I had to play around a little to get this to work in my Big Shot.  I cut ovals out of two rectangle pieces of DSP chipboard and glued the reverse rectangle pieces together.  This template (with the ovals cut out), I placed on TOP of the Impressions Folder, with the cardstock inside.  I placed the Big Shot platform closed first, a piece of cardstock for the shim, then the Impressions Folder with cardstock, the chipboard on top of the Impressions Folder and finally one Acrylic Plate.  That gave me enough pressure to run thru the Big Shot.  It gave me the smooth oval in the front with the texture surrounding it.

I stamped my King of the Grill image in the center with Basic Black Classic Ink.  I used my AquaPainter and Stampin' Write Markers in the colors of Real Red, Going Gray, Basic Black, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue and Bashful Blue.  I used the Blush Blossom Stampin' Write Marker full strength for the face and hands.  I stamped the greeting (using my Stamp-a-ma-jig!!!) "It's a BTUtiful thing!" in Basic Black Classic Ink under the image.  I added the Whisper White cardstock to a layer of Basic Black, rounding the corners with my Corner Rounder Punch.

Finally, I cut a tab of Basic Black and placed it on the front of the card where I wanted it.  I used my Piercing Tool and Mat Pack template to determine where my holes would be and pierced them.  I added the three Star Designer Brads in a row.

I'm thrilled with how this turned out!  What do you think?  Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!  And remember to come back for BLOG CANDY this week!

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They are DONE!

Oh my gosh…you can't believe the relief I feel right now!  The Wedding Invitations are DONE, packed up and flying their way home on the airplane with my son and future daughter-in-law this morning.  Beth and I spent two solid 8 hour days on Monday and Tuesday finishing them.  I must admit, they took MUCH longer than I anticipated, even with me doing the preliminary work on the outside portfolios before Beth got here!  Only one mishap…I had printed out the Ohio Reception information, cut 180 of them and then realized that the date was WRONG!  Oh my!  I had to reprint them and recut all of those.  Hopefully, now my blog posting will get more regular and back to normal!  I feel like I've been neglecting you all!  lol!  And yes, I'll be showing off the wedding invitations after they have been mailed on May 1st.

So, today's post is a card that my Stamp Clubs made last month.    I used Stampin' Up!'s Extreme Guitar stamp again on this one, with the Extreme Elements stamps in the background.  It is similar to one I made HERE for the Stamping 411 challenge a couple weeks ago.

The base is Old Olive cardstock and I layered on the Sweet Pea Designer Paper in the houndstooth pattern.  I stamped the background with Extreme Elements in Sahara Sand and Old Olive, then stamped the guitar player in Craft Black ink on top.  I layered the Whisper White on Basic Black cardstock.

I stamped the greeting, Let's Celebrate, from On Your Birthday stamp set in Old Olive and punched with the Large Star punch.  I added two Small Star punches in Old Olive and Sahara Sand, with a Black Mini Brad.  There is a small Black Satin Ribbon tab along the left side.  I think it makes a  rockin' masculine birthday card!  I know my boys would love to get it!

I hope you have a wonderful day.  I have LOTS to catch up on…seems like a million emails, plus some major stamping and prep work for classes coming up!   

Faux Metal – Eight Great Greetings

I think most people struggle doing masculine cards.  My Technique Class did this several months ago, but I never showed it here.  I bought this set, Stampin' Up!'s Eight Great Greetings,  JUST for this Dad image and the little Easter Bunny (hmmm, better get it out and use it, too!)  I was excited because Stampin' Up! had this on display at Convention this year!

The Dad image worked perfect with the Faux Metal technique we did at a Technique Class several months ago.  I used Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip cardstock for the layers, then the To The Nines Designer Paper (lovely THICK designer paper!), for the background.  I wrapped some 5/8 Chocolate Chip Ribbon from the back of the Designer Paper layer to the front and cut off the tail.  I wrapped the Linen Thread around it and tied a Clear Button on the front.  I stamped, "You're One of the Good Ones" from Smarty Pants in Chocolate Chip in on the base Sahara Sand card.

I think this is a great technique to use for masculine cards!  To do Faux Metal, ink up your solid type stamp in Versamark and set aside.  Heat a puddle of Silver Embossing Powder (a little larger than the size of your image) on a piece of scrap cardstock until it melts.  Add Versamark over top of the melted EP and add more Silver Embossing Powder…repeat for several layers.  At the last layer, stamp your image in the hot melted embossing powder (place the stamp and just let it cool and harden around the stamp…it won't hurt it!), trim around the image and adhere to your card as desired.  Pretty easy!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Autumn Days

This card is a combination of a couple challenges.  The Late Night Stampers Make a Masculine Card Challenge and Mary Jo's, Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge.

Here is Mary Jo's sketch.  And below is my Masculine Card for LNS using her sketch.

I started with a base of Soft Suede cardstock.  I added a piece of the woodgrain pattern in Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper pack.  I used a strip of Really Rust cardstock for the punched scallop edge.

For my focal piece, I stamped the Pheasant from Stampin' Up!'s Autumn Days stamp set in Versamark and then Soft Suede Classic ink and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock.  It was then embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.  I sponged Really Rust Classic Ink along the bottom.  I punched a 1 1/4 circle from xerox paper and temporarily placed it in the upper left corner as a mask.  I sponged Summer Sun Classic Ink around the top portion, removed the mask and lightly added a little more Summer Sun and Really Rust Classic Inks.  I stamped the grass from Autumn Days in Soft Suede, also stamping off once for a lighter dimensional look.  I layered this on Really Rust cardstock.  I stamped the small leaves from Autumn Days in Soft Suede on Soft Suede cardstock and Really Rust on Summer Sun cardstock, then cut them out and adhered to the bottom left corner.  I stamped Happy Birthday from Teeny, Tiny Wishes in Chocolate Chip on Really Rust and punched it out with the Modern Label Tag and added two mini Gold brads on each side.  That is popped up with dimensionals.

I think this will be a nice Birthday Card for my father in law!  Enjoy the week!

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