On Last Inkspirations Card

This is my last Inskpirations challenge card that I had pre-made in advance prior to it being wrapped up in December.  Loved the yellow and plum or the yellow and green together but for some reason when all three were in the mix I had issues.  Thankfully I was able to surmount my "bad mojo day" by going with my fall back theory: "when there is green in the mix, make a flower card" and it worked once again :) 

I tried a ton of different layouts and finally settled on using this sketch and took some creative license by re-orienting the ribbon placement.  So many wonderful possibilities I know I'll be using it again :)  Only problem is I can't remember who it is by, so if someone knows, please let me know so I can add the link.

The PTI doily die dressed things up a bit and I rolled some roses with my MFT rose dies.  Snuck the green in with the leaves and added a pop of black to finish things off.  Great sketch with all sorts of possibilities.

We finally had some blue skies and sunshine around here and it was a sheer delight! Everyone has a spring in their step and the cat took full advantage of laying in the sun and sleeping as it streamed through the window.   Oh how I would love his life for a week LOL!      

Hoping  you have a fabulous day!





What's In It?
Stamps: Circular Sayings (Verve)
Paper: SU So Saffron DSP, Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi, Black
Ink: Black
Accessories: PTI Doily Die, Circle Nesties, MFT Rolled Rose Dies, Martha Stewart Leaf Punch, SU Scalloped Border Punch, 5/8" Sheer Black Ribbon, Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Self Directed Pick Me Up

 

This is another one of the Inkspiration cards I had worked ahead on before the challenge was shut down so I  thought I would share it with you.  Just love this colour combo and will definitely be using it again.

I am thrilled to say, skewed panels don't throw me into a tail spin the same way they used to - yeah!!  Guess practice does make perfect.  Or in my case, brings a much higher comfort level :)

It was a nice cheery card to post today as self imposed pick me up after our car was hit yesterday as we were turning into our driveway!!  The guy behind us didn't like our slowing down, and missed the signal light so he decided to pass us on the left side just as we were turning into our driveway.   Not a nice way to end a wonderful evening of volunteering to prep, serve and clean up at a community dinner that feeds 175 people!  Thankfully there were no injuries other than the cars and a bit of the front lawn.  The front left panel of our car and the front bumper are not a pretty sight right now as the bumper got ripped off the frame about a third of the way across.  Hoping the damage is just the superficial stuff we can see and nothing more as it was more of a side swipe than a direct hit.  Guess we'll find out soon enough...

This wonderful PTI flower die creates the best flowers :)   I don't think I'll ever tire of using it as they are so easy to use and fun to layer.  The leaves were made from PTI's Leaf Print dies (still sneaking in ways to use them even though Fall is long over lol). A fun breath of colour, flowers and thoughts of spring always make me happy :)

Still working for hubby so posts are going to still be a bit sporadic...will do my best to get back sooner than later.  Have a fabulous day and thanks for popping by!





What's In It?
Stamps: River City Rubber Works
Paper: Dots and Stripes (Echo Park), Black, Creamy Caramel
Ink: Black
Accessories: Stampin' Up Scalloped Border Punch, Crimper, PTI Flower and Leaf Print Dies, 1/4" Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Buttons, Twine, Bling, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Congratulations Star

I had worked ahead on my Inkspirations challenges so I had a few left over after the last challenge was posted in December and this is one of them. 

This masculine colour combo was great fun to work with and I paired it with this Skipping Stones Designs sketch which I saved in my sketch file in April of last year!  Can't turn down a fun sketch :)      

I used these wonderful, saturated colours to create some colour blocking and added a crimped star as per the sketch.  The horizontal panel was run through my Tim Holtz brick embossing folder to add a bit of texture.   Believe it or not, wrapping the twine around the star in just the right way took me forever!  Into my masculine card stash this one goes :)

Kids are back in school today and I'm going "aaaaaah......" as the house is all mine and I finally get to enjoy some crafty time before the craziness of activities and working for hubby begins once again.  Wishing you a fabulous day.



What's In It?
Stamps: Amuse
Paper: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi
Ink: Black
Accessories: Sizzex Star Die, Tim Holtz Brick Embossing Folder, Black Twine, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Inkspiraions Christmas Joy

Hi all :)  I haven't fallen off the face of the earth just yet, just super, super busy!! Can't wait for a bit of down time over Christmas and hopefully some stamping time too!

Today is a bitter sweet day.  Inkspirations is celebrating its 100th challenge, but is also closing its doors.  Keesh has been running this challenge for approximately four years and with the huge host of challenges available in blog land and her having a very busy life right now, she felt it best to shut the door on this chapter of her life.  A huge thank you to you Keesh for all the amazing challenges you have provided.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the DT for the past year and a half and wish to thank you for the fabulous opportunity (((hugs))).

But before Inkspirations signs off, we have one last challenge to enjoy :)   This week's challenge is Christmas.  Simply create any sort of Christmas goodie:  a card, 3D item, altered item etc.  I am the first to admit that straying beyond cards is not my forte, but it is always good to stretch the old wings and dive into something that is not your norm.  After some pondering, I decided I would finally cover some wooden letters and make myself a little Christmas joy for my craft area.

Thankfully my local dollar store had all the letters I needed - though I was freaking out at there being no "O" when I happened to glance down and found one that had fallen to the shelf below - phew!  A coat of white paint on each letter and then I covered them with various papers and added a little something to each one.  It looks great up in my craft area and I can't think of a better word to describe what Christmas means to me :)

Kids are off school as of today and I'm looking forward to decorating a gingerbread house, baking and decorating cookies, wrapping gifts etc. with them.  Having to do squeeze some work time in there too, but at least there are great "Christmas prep breaks" in between :)   Have a great weekend and thanks for gifting me a bit of your time amidst the busyness of today :)

 

What's In It? 
Paper: I Believe Christmas Pad (My Mind's Eye) 
Accessories: Dollar Store Wooden Letters, Lacy Circle and Circle Nesties, The Cat's Pajamas Snowflake DIe, Martha Stewart Snowflake and Fern Punch, Marvy Snowflake Punch,  SU Flower Punch, Half Pearls, Gold Bell, Dimensionals

Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #99

For some reason, this sketch caused my brain to go mush.  Ever have one of those days?  My initial thought was to use the tree from Season of Friendship, but it was too large so had to go with Plan B.  That lead me to this wonderful set and a breath of spring amid all the Christmas cards.  Hmmmm... I do recall I did a spring card last week too.  Yikes!  It's not even officially winter and I'm already wishing it away LOL!

I kept things CAS due to time constraints - craaaaaazy busy week for our family and next week is no better!  Nothing much to explain about it, and even no excuse about using a butterfly in the middle of winter :-p

Looking forward to school being out on the 16th.  Kids are off for two weeks and I always enjoy having more of their vacation time before Christmas versus afterwards.  You can make cookies, gingerbread houses, wrap presents etc. and fill in the time until Christmas Eve (that's when we celebrate) quite nicely.   When the vacation falls into the end of the first week of January, the time seems to drag much more as all the excitement is over. At least that is my experience with my kids.  This year they are back on January 3rd and you jump right into the New Year :)   

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.

Next week we have a bit of a treat for you as it is time to celebrate challenge number 100!  Hope to see you then.





What's In It?
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly and Inspired by Nature (SU)
Paper: Real Red, Brilliant Blue
Ink: Garden Green, VersaMark
Accessories: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, White Embossing Powder, 5/8" Black Satin Ribbon, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Black Half  Pearls.

Inkspirations Color Challenge #98

A wonderful bright pallet chosen by Keesh today and one that had green so I was happy LOL!  I combined it with one of Chupa's older Sketch and Stamp sketches.  


With the overload of Christmas cards lately, I thought it would be fun to go in a spring/summer direction this time.  Absolutely LOVE this sentiment and every time I read it I remind myself to speak the kind words I am thinking of and not just leave them in my mind.  I know I sure appreciate a kind word, and in a world that tends to focus on the negatives of life, it is always nice to get some positives to help you along in your day :) 

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.

Happy Friday everyone :) 





What's In It?
Stamps: Kind Words (Verve)
Paper: So Saffron DSP, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi,
Ink: Black, VersaMark
Accessories: Label Nestie, Flutter By and Elegant Leaf Die (Verve), Corner Rounder, Crimper, 1/4" Green Gingham Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Black Half Pearls.

Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #97

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all my American followers!  Wishing you a fabulous time with with family and friends!  Eat some turkey and trimmings for me :)

Love the sketch Keesh came up with this week.  The basic layout allows you to dress it up or lean more toward the CAS side of things. The sky is the limit :)

I went for a more CAS look and pulled out some PTI dies to accomplish just that.  I decided to go with this great MME Lime Twist polka dot paper (oh how I love my dots LOL!) which I got over at Paper and Such (Julie's low shipping fees are the best!).  I paired it with my favorite PTI flower die and used Melon Mambo to make it pop.  Was a fun card to make and I can definitely see myself using this sketch again :)     

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.





What's In It?
Stamps: Wishing You (Verve)
Paper: MME Lime Twist, Not Quite Navy, Melon Mambo
Ink: Black
Accessories: Flower and Label Die (PTI), 1/4" Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Crimper, Button, Twine, Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #96

I'm just loving this week's colour combo and had great fun mixing the colours around to get them to work for me.  I didn't even use a sketch this time!  Came up with this one all on my own but I'm sure it is similar to some out there in blog land and they were my subliminal inspiration for this card.  For the meantime, I'll go with wonders never cease  LOL! 

When I saw red in the mix, I wanted to use it as my pop of colour on the card.  Played around with various ideas and then a light bulb went off and my creative gene started to dance.  The result was Verve's Jotted heart die and "U" die to spell "love you".  Stamped the corresponding words on each die shape and added "so much" at the bottom.

A fun card that may very well be hubby's Valentine's Day card - though remembering to save it and give it to him is a whole other issue LOL!

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.




What's In It?
Stamps: You and I, Happy Phrases (Verve)
Paper: Kraft, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Cream Linen
Ink: Chocolate Chip, VersaMark
Accessories: Lacy Circle and Circle Nesties, Jotted Heart and I Heart U Die Sets (Verve), Crimper, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Inkspirations Sketch #95

First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to every person who has fought / is fighting for our country.  The freedom we have has been paid for with a price and I wish to thank those who have gone before us and blessed us with something many countries wish they had.   

I was in the mood for a fun card so I pulled out an old Stampin' Up set I just love, Wild About You.  I've had this set for many years now and still find the animals in it adorable.  Needless to say, this is a set I will not be getting rid of any time soon.

I found some funky leaf paper at Mike's a few months ago and decided it was a good fit for this card.  The lion's mane and head are both popped up and I added the little bird on his back for a little something and some grass to ground  him.  The card needed some colour so I added this bright orange ribbon to give it some punch.

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.

Have a fabulous long weekend, and please take a moment to remember and honour those who have fought for your country.





What's In It?
Stamps: Wild About You (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Night of Navy, Going Grey, Recollections DP (Michael's),
Ink: More Mustard, Garden Green
Accessories: Traffic Jam Embossing Folder, 5/8" Orange Grosgrain Ribbon, Brads, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #94

Just love these bright, deep, rich colours together (not sure if you can have bright and deep rich together but it works for me lol).  They make you sit up and say "hello"!!  I paired them with a sketch by Chupa from a month or so ago as I loved it and had saved it in my sketch file.

I never have to twist my arm to make a card with a flower on it so this one was a lot of fun to create.  This PTI flower die is perfect for crimping so I did just that.  Kept the rest of the card pretty simple, and I'm loving the pops of colour against the white background :)

I'm saddened that my supply of this fabulous polka dotted ribbon is dwindling as I just love it.  Got a bunch of rolls at a dollar store and haven't found any more in any of the one's I've hit around here so I'm rationing it.

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.

Looking forward to our extra hour of sleep this weekend due to the time change :)   My favorite weekend in November LOL! 




What's In It?
Stamps:  Thankful Accents (Verve)
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Melon Mambo
Ink: Black
Accessories: Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, PTI Bloom Die, SU Sizzex Leaf Die, Polka Dotted Ribbon, Crimper,  Half Pearls, Button, Twine, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #93

I decided to make a wedding card using this sketch as I haven't made one forever.  Plus I wanted to use some of yummy DP I found, but unfortunately it ended up being mostly covered up!

Nothing too fancy here.  The cream linen paper has a texture to it which helps but all in all it is a pretty CAS card.  Wish I had an in between sized heart nestie as this one was just a little too small to fit in the sentiment swirls, and the next one was too large for the sketch.  Felt like Goldilocks minus the heart shaped nestie that was juuuust right LOL!   I opted for the smaller one and finished things off with some gold beading and a rolled rose.

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.

Have a great weekend everyone! 



What's In It?
Stamps:  Elegant Greetings (SU)
Paper: Cream Linen, Sahara Sand, Brushed Gold, Making Memories DP
Ink: Sahara Sand
Accessories: Scalloped Heart and Heart Nesties, MFT Rolled Rose Die, Gold Beaded Cording, Gold Half Pearls, Glue Dots, DImensinoals

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #92

 
This week's colour combo is fabulous for masculine cards so I jumped at the chance to make one using this great Stampin' Up sailboat image, which I just love.  I paired it with Jen's October Sketch For You To Try as it was a nice clean sketch and perfect for what I needed.

I fudged the night of navy colour as the blue stripes on this Costco DP aren't exactly the right colour so I used the matching colour from the paper pack in lieu of the night of navy....shhhh....  Fiddled with and finally got my three stranded sailor's knot to work (great visual tutorial I used is here).  I fudged the sketch a bit by having the twine come over top rather than behind the panel.  Guess I was in a rebellious mood when I created this card LOL!   

The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.





What's In It?
Stamps: Sailing Away and All In A Row (SU)
Paper: Costco DP, Cream Sahara Sand, Cream Linen, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Black
Accessories: Diamonds in the Rough Embossing Folder, Twine

Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #91

Another great sketch by Keesh for us to work with this week, and in all honesty,  I don't feel like I gave it justice with this card.  May have to give it another go before the week is over.

It's a pretty basic card, and the good part is it got assembled from my container of "scraps".  Try to remind myself to delve into this container more often as the ingoing exceeds the outgoing about 20 to1, or more...

Enough of my woes!  The rest of the Design Team has some fabulous cards for your inspiration.

Cindy Kirsty Makeesha Renée Brandi Carrie Helen Ilina Lee-Anne Marisa

Just a reminder that each week Keesh will select a winner and an honorable mention and post their cards on the Inkspirations Challenge blog.  We'd love to see your card posted as a winner, all you have to do is play along.




What's In It?
Stamps: Kind Words (Verve)
Paper: So Saffron, Rose Romance, Kraft, Echo Park Dots and Stripes
Ink: Black
Accessories: Lattice EF (SU), Scalloped Circle Nesties, PTI Doily Die, Flutter By Die (Verve), Scalloped Border Punch (SU), 5/8" Blue Satin Ribbon, Half  Pearls, Bling, Dimensionals,