InkspiredTreasures.com

Mar 12 2010

Bloggers Challenge – Birthday theme!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Lisa!  Our Bloggers' Challenge "mom" Lisa is the one who sets up our themes for each week.  It is her birthday on Monday, March 15th!  This week's card is virtually dedicated to her!

Again, my inspiration comes from others.  I think Mary Brown's card is the one that inspired me the most, although I've seen this basic format done a few times.  I love using the ornament punch as a vase!  I made up a bunch of these at the stamping retreat last weekend.

 

I punched the vase from the Soft Suede pattern out of Thoroughly Modern Designer Paper.  I inked up the floral branch from Stampin' Up!'s Thoughts and Prayers stamp set with Rose Red and Soft Suede Stampin' Write Markers, then placed it so that it looks like it is coming out of the punched ornament vase.  I tied a bow from 1/4 Rose Red grosgrain ribbon and placed it on the front of the vase.  I stamped "the more candles the bigger the wish!" from Well Scripted on the Whisper White layer, too, in Rose Red Classic Ink.  The Whisper White was layered onto Rose Red cardstock, then a base of Soft Suede.  The inside is finished off with a strip of the same Designer Paper and another greeting.

 

I can't believe it is Friday already.  I haven't been in my stamp room since I got back!  I'm definitely feeling withdrawal!  I need to get stuff put away from last weekend…it is all still laying on my tables!  (No one else does that, right?)  Anyway…I did get my new bedroom put together.  I need to go buy a couple pictures for the walls, but the curtains are up and the bed made.  Hmmm, I'll take a picture and show you when it is done!  Have a great weekend!

 

The next batch of Satin Ribbon Shares are going out today!  I'm SO happy that Stampin' Up! put the Satin Ribbon in the Summer Mini, too, so I can continue doing the shares!  You can find out more information HERE!

Mar 11 2010

Thoughts and Prayers

Stampin' Up!'s Thoughts and Prayers stamp set is really my go-to stamp set when I need sympathy cards.  My mother-in-law placed an "order" for some, so I made up a dozen while I was at the stamping retreat last weekend. 

 

I picked the Nouveau Chic designer paper to use because it uses Basic Gray.  I thought the Sage Shadow was toned down enough to really compliment this stamp set, too.  It really is the perfect designer paper for Sympathy cards!

 

I started with a base card of Sage Shadow and layered on Basic Gray cardstock.  I added a strip of Nouveau Chic Designer Paper.  I inked up the tree with my Stampin' Write Markers in Going Gray and Sage Shadow and stamped on Whisper White.  I added Sharing in Your Sorrow with Basic Gray Classic Ink.  I layered the Whisper White on Sage Shadow cardstock and placed it on the front of the card.  Pretty basic and simple, but I think it has a lot of impact for a Sympathy card!  Hope she likes them!

 

I'm so excited.  We just purchased a bedroom set for the empty bedroom.  Our youngest took his bedroom set with him to college and the room had a spare sofa bed in it for a couple years.  Last year when he moved to his new apartment, he took the sofa bed with him and the room has been empty.  They delivered it yesterday and I went shopping yesterday for a new comforter and sheets.  I found a really bright and pretty comforter, but now I need new sheets (expensive!) and some pictures, etc.  Isn't it funny how one new thing can spark a whole new bunch of shopping?  lol!

Jul 22 2009

Thoughts and Prayers

 

Wow…a LOT of you enjoyed the Tour de Freaks Blog Tour over the past couple days!  Thank you for stopping by!  Stay tuned…the next one is August 20th from your favorite Control Freak Swappers!

Over on Late Night Stampers, the challenge this week is using Pink and Black on your cards!  Personally…one of my favorite color combinations!  I decided to pull out one of my favorite sets, Thoughts & Prayers, and a fun technique, Pierced Spotlighting!  I added a twist to the spotlighting, though.

First I stamped the branch image in Basic Black on Whisper White and layered it on Melon Mambo…one of the new In Colors!  Then I used my Pick A Petal Brass Stencil and Piercing Tool to pierce around an area highlighting the flowers.  I punched a 1 1/4 circle on a post it note, placed it over the pierced circle area and sponged a little Pretty in Pink ink with my Sponge Dauber just in that area (the twist!)  I used the Melon Mambo marker to color the small flowers.  Adding that sponging made the spotlighted area pop even more!  I added Thinking of You with Melon Mambo ink.

I finished the card by layering the focal element on Basic Black.  I used a base of Pretty in Pink cardstock and layered some Raspberry Lemonade Designer Paper along the left side and added the Pretty in Pink striped ribbon.  The focal element was placed on the front with Dimensionals.

Pretty simple card…easy to put together and mass produce.  I like those!

Hope you have a great day!  A little cloudy and rainy today, but we needed it!

Happy birthday to my upline, Candy!!!! 

INKspired Treasures

 

Jul 16 2009

Last Chance – July Card Kit

• Thoughts & Prayers Stamp Set ($25.95) $20.76 with the purchase of the Card Kit  (plus tax and shipping)
   
• Pretties Kit ($29.95) $23.96 with the purchase of the Card Kit (plus tax and shipping)

• Close to Cocoa Classic Ink Pad ($5.95)
• Pretty in Pink Classic Ink Pad ($5.95)
• Close to Cocoa Stampin’ Write Marker ($3.25)
• Old Olive Stampin’ Write Marker ($3.25)
• Perfect Plum Stampin’ Write Marker ($3.25)
• Large Oval Punch ($15.95)
• ½” Circle Punch ($5.95)
• Crop-A-Dile ($29.95)
• Stampin’ Sponges ($3.50)
• Mini Glue Dots ($4.95)
• Aqua Painters ($16.95)
• Stampin’ Dimensionals ($3.95)
• SNAIL Adhesive ($6.95)
• Bone Folder ($6.95)
• Thoughts & Prayers Stamp Set ($25.95) $20.76 with the purchase of the Card Kit
• Pretties Kit ($29.95) $23.96 with the purchase of the Card Kit

 

 

May 26 2009

Thoughts and Prayers

Well, you know you’ve been gone a LONG time when you struggle to figure out how to start stamping!  I took a completely relaxing, much needed break, but now I’m back!  Hope you enjoyed the entries I preposted before I left.

Now, it seems we are heading into the busy months of summer.  Hard to believe graduations are happening and school will be out next week.  Our family has a TON of birthdays in June (mine included!) and Father’s Day…plus my son’s graduation from Ohio State University!

A friend of mine had surgery last week.  I hear she is doing well.  Since I was gone, I didn’t get a card out to her last week, but am sending this one out in the mail to her today.  (Hope she doesn’t peek!)

I started with a base of Pumpkin Pie and used the background stamp, Bella Toile, with Pumpkin Pie ink over the front.  My poor background stamps have been pretty neglected since the Big Shot came around!  I used a scrap piece of Sweet Always Designer Paper I had on my desk and layered it onto Chocolate Chip.  I ran Regal Rose and Whisper White cardstock (at the same time!) thru the Big Shot with the Scallop Oval Frame die…so I got two ovals and two scallop frames.  I took the Regal Rose scallop frame and cut it in half and tucked it behind the Sweet Always DSP layer.  Then I stamped the tree from Thoughts & Prayers on Whisper White…I used Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose markers to ink it up.  I think the pink flowers look like the flowering crab trees we had about a month ago!  Get Well Soon from Thoughts & Prayers is stamped in Pumpkin Pie on the Whisper White, also.  I wasn’t going to use anything else on the card, but a cut out butterfly "landed" on my card when I was flipping thru my messy desk for my Paper Snips…I thought it looked pretty cool there, so I stamped the butterfly from Great Friends in Pumpkin Pie and cut it out.  It is popped up with a dimensional.

Quick and easy card that packs a little WOW, don’t you think?

I just got some exciting news that I get to share in a week or so!  Woohoo!!!  I’m such a tease!  lol!

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and paused a moment to thank all our service men and women who keep (and kept) our country safe!  God Bless America!

Don’t forget…the BUY 3, get 1 more FREE Designer Series Paper and Textured Cardstock SALE ends May 31st!  Last Chance to get them since I’m sure most of them will retire on June 1st!

 

Mar 30 2009

Urban Oasis Designer Paper

Hi everyone…hope you had a great weekend.  Mine was filled with NOTHING!  Yeah!  I haven’t had a weekend like that in a LONG time…it felt good to not have a schedule to do anything.

This quick and simple card is one of a package I made up for my mother-in-law.  She wanted some Sympathy, Thinking of You and Best Wishes cards.  This pattern in the Urban Oasis DSP package is one of my favorites.  On one end, the long stems look simply like stripes.  On this end, you can see the tops of the Upsy Daisy flowers.  I had used the bottom stripes for other projects and the top 4" of the paper remained in my scraps…so I grabbed them and made up a few of these cards.  I simply wrapped some White Taffeta Ribbon around the center of the DSP, adhered it to the base card of Baja Breeze, then stamped the greeting with Basic Gray ink.  There is a nice verse inside, too.  Simple, easy, not much stamping…but a nice card to send.  Sometimes those are the best, huh?

Well, I have a pretty free week and LOTS of ideas in my head of things I want to do and make.  I’ll be working away in my studio!  Yeah!  I have some magazine calls I need to work on, too.  For the past two nights, I’ve had something in my head that I want to make and I haven’t sat down to do it…today’s the day!  Hope it comes out as I see it in my head…lol!

Set:  Thoughts and Prayers
C/S: Baja Breeze, Urban Oasis DSP
Inks:  Basic Gray
Other:  White Taffeta Ribbon

Feb 25 2009

Thoughts & Prayers

The Thoughts & Prayers stamp set has certainly been popular.  Over the past weekend, Mary, Lisa and I did some cyber challenges and used this set a couple times.  I’ll link to them when I see they have posted their cards.

We used Amy R’s sketch as a jumping off point and the requirement of using Thoughts & Prayers.  Each of us used a different color scheme.  Makes it so fun to see how each of us interpret the sketch differently.

I started by using some of the Sale-A-Bration designer paper, Delicate Dots, that you can get for FREE with a $50 order.  I let the stripe paper determine my color scheme.  I started with the base of So Saffron.  I added a layer of Certainly Celery, first running it thru my Big Shot with the flower Textruz design (you can barely see it in the background in the photo.)  I added the striped designer paper to the right side, and then the blue polka dot designer paper to the left.  I rounded the corners of it first.

I used the floral branch for my stamped image and inked it with Certainly Celery, then removed the color from the flowers with my blender pen.  This allowed me to add back the So Saffron color with my marker.  I layered the Whisper White onto Sahara Sand.  Then I pierced holes in each of the flowers for a little more definition.  This piece went on top of the designer papers and I wrapped the So Saffron 5/8 grosgrain around the entire Certainly Celery piece and knotted.  (This ribbon is part of the ribbon bundle you can also get only during Sale-A-Bration with a $50 order…it matches the designer paper perfectly!)  My final step was to add the Thinking of You greeting, cut with my Sizzix Lots of Tags die.  I added a small punched flower in So Saffron from the Trio Flower punch and placed a crystal mini brad from the Pretties Kit in the center.  Cute!

I think I’m going to have to call my brother, the dentist, today.  I’ve had a toothache for two days.  Ouch!  I don’t know what I’ve done.  I was just in there last week for an emergency visit when my filling broke off.  I bit down on something hard in my food…haven’t figured out what it was, but it did do some damage, obviously!