little inklings

Oozing Summer?

I am SO ready for summer!! Bring on the BBQs and popsicles, sandboxes and eternally filthy kitchen floors. Tell me you know what I'm talking about... I have two boys.. who love bugs, dirt, rocks and sand.. and it all ends up on my kitchen floor. I could sweep and mop every single day, and my floors would still resemble that of a flora & fauna display at the local museum. But still, I say BRING IT ON!! 

It was so nice here today. I suppose after two weeks of rain, I'll call just about anything nice.. but really! I didn't even wear a coat to work.. (here's where Jen T comments on how she doesn't even own a coat :) How JEALOUS am I that she gets to call MAUI home?? )

I put this card together for a recent workshop, and I think it oozes summer. I liked how it came together. This Priceless set is so pur-tee. Hope you like it.. and are enjoying a bit of summer, where ever you are!

 

Here's how I made it: I started with a 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of Rose Red cardstock (CS) which I stamped with the Paisley back ground stamp in matching ink, then rounded the two bottom corners with my corner rounder.

Next, I scalloped a 4 1/4" x 1" strip of Chocolate Chip CS using my Slit punch (leave me a comment if you want to know how to do this). I adhered the scallop behind a strip of Close to Cocoa Designer Series Paper that measured 4 1/4" x 2", and wrapped a strip of Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain ribbon around it to hide the seam. Then adhered the combined pieces to the cardfront using adhesive.

The butterflies are stamped on a 3" x 2" piece of Whisper White CS - First in full strength Rose Red ink, then stamping the second and third butterfly without re-inking in between, to fade the ink. I then filled the spaces with the little asterisk stamp in Close to Cocoa ink, sponge daubered around the edges and matted it to a 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" rectangle of Chocolate Chip. I adhered it to the cardfront, then using my mat pack, I paper pierced around the three exposed sides of the main image. The last step was to stamp the butterfly and the sentiment on a scrap piece of paper and cut/punch them out respectively. I adhered the butterfly to the card using sticky strip, as I found regular adhesive not to be sticky enough. And I adhered the sentiment using dimensionals.

 

Here's the supplies I used:

Stamps: Priceless, Paisley background stamp, All Holidays

Paper: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip & Whisper White card stock, Close to Cocoa Designer Series Paper.

Ink: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa Ink

Extras: Corner Rounder, Slit Punch, Chocolate narrow grosgrain, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip

A Blue Bird-Day

Somebody stop me! I'm up to more Pun Fun!  I just love this cute little set. I think mostly becuase its not flowers. Can I confess? Sometimes I just need to make a card without any flowers on it. But I have so many flower sets that I love...I guess its just easy for me to go to these cute little guys for a different kind of card, altogether. This was another cutie and a quickie that we made at my recent workshop. And I thought it would be great for just about anyone to receive. Hope you like it!

Here’s how I made it: My card base is a 4 ¼” x 8 ½” piece of Wild Wasabi Cardstock (CS) folded in half. I then stamped the Polka Dot background stamp using Wild Wasabi ink, and trimmed about ½” off the front pane of the card and scalloped the edge with my corner rounder. I then added a bit of adhesive to the long side of a 4 ¼” x 1” strip of So Saffron. To get the panel perfectly straight, open up the Wild Wasabi card base and lay flat with the polka dots down, and the cut short side to the right. Line up the So Saffron strip with the 4 ¼” panel on the left, adhesive side up, then close the card. VOILA. The main image is a 2 ¼” x 2 ½” piece of Whisper White cardstock, with the Bird embossed using Basic Black craft ink and clear embossing powder. I then colored the birdie in, and adhered him to a 2 ½” x 2 ¾” Brocade Blue matte. I added him to the card front and tied the Brocade Blue wide grosgrain ribbon around the card.

Here’s the supplies I used:
Stamps: Polka Dot Background Stamp, Pun Fun
Paper: Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Brocade Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Brocade Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Grey, Black Craft
Extras: Brocade Blue Wide grosgrain ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder

Genuine Elements

Can you stand yet another Bronc Buster Father's Day card from me? This set, and the Wanted set have really turned into my go-to for masculine cards, and I've enjoyed their versatility.
I hosted a workshop on the weekend, and this was one of the cards that we made. It was pretty fun to put together, and I tried to encorporate "genuine elements" like wood and leather. And I saw a really great card on SCS somewhere, that did this awesome lasso element, and thought it was pretty neat. Not sure how it would mail, though. Anyway - with Father's day approaching this Sunday, thought I would post one more idea for a last minute Dad's card. (It's easier than it looks, I promise..:)

Here’s how I made it: My card base is a 5 ½” x 8 ½” piece of Chocolate Chip Cardstock (CS) folded in half. The next layer is a 5 ¼” x 4” piece of River Rock Card Stock (CS) thats top half was stamped with the Weathered Background stamp, and sponged along the edges. The Blue Bayou panel added to the bottom measures 5” x 2”, and the Star & horseshoe design thingy was stamped using the coordinating ink and adhered to the bottom of the River Rock matte, leaving about a ¼” for a border. I then wrapped a strip of Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon around the middle, securing with snail adhesive. The main sentiment is a 3 ¼” x 2 ¼” piece of Chocolate Chip CS. The sentiment is embossed in the centre using Chocolate Chip Craft ink and Clear Embossing Powder. The edges were first sponged, then distressed with the distressing tool and adhered to the card front with Dimensionals. I then added that itty bitty 'Dad' sentiment, using Chocolate Chip Ink on a 1/2" square piece of River Rock CS, distressed the edges, then adhered it to the back of the main 'leather' sentiment. The final element was to add the lasso - which is hemp twine. I wrapped the twine around three of my fingers, three times, leaving a good 'tail' on either end. Then, wrapped one end around all three loops, and tied in place. I adhered it to the card front with a glue dot. 

Here’s the supplies I used:
Stamps: Bronc Buster, Weathered, Dad’s Day
Paper: Chocolate Chip, River Rock & Blue Bayou Cardstock
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa & Blue Bayou Classic Ink, Chocolate Chip Craft
Extras: Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals. Clear Embossing Powder, Hemp Twine, Sponge Daubers, Distressing Tool