Thinking Inking

Birthdays, Like Shooting Stars. . .

Welcome! Today I needed a belated birthday card for a sweet friend whom I keep missing lately (hence the need for a belated card). When I saw this Shooting Stars stamp set by Taylored Expressions, I knew that it would be perfect for my friend.

These are the Copic markers that I used on the image. The sky and grass are airbrushed with my Copic Airbrush System. (Click to see a larger image.)

To frame the image, I used a Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large die template and an A-2 Matting Basics B. I stamped the sheep and star images twice, then cut out the star and sheep's body to mount with foam tape--much simpler than masking. It still needed something, so I used my Copic Colorless Blender to push stars into the night sky.

I'll miss my birthday friend again tomorrow--guess this will have to go to her husband to deliver! Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend,

Birthday Ink Splats

Welcome! I'm popping in with a bright, youthful birthday card this afternoon--perfect for a teen or anyone else who's young at heart. I started with some glossy cardstock and four Copic Various Inks (reinkers): YG03, YG17, BG02, and BG24. I dripped a drop of ink onto the glossy cardstock and then sprayed it immediately with my air compressor grip (with no marker in it). You can do the same thing with a small cocktail-sized straw, but your splats might have fewer little radiating lines. Just keep adding and blowing ink drops around until you are satisfied--easy!

I used my Papertrey Ink Text Block: Birthday die to cut the front sentiment panel, three die-cuts glued together for depth. I've gotten my money's worth out of this die, for sure! Matting cardstock is PTI Tropical Teal, and card base is Stampers Select White. 

That's it for today--thanks for visiting,

 

Teacup Bouquet

I just got back from a Chicago Copic Color and Ink Workshop weekend late last night; it was great to see my Chicago Copic friends again! I'm headed to Milwaukee on August 23 and hope to see more of you there.

Today's card is made with a beautiful Taylored Expressions stamp set, Teacup Bouquet. I love this image; it makes me think of my great Grandma, for some reason, and I wanted this little stamp set from the first time I saw it.

Shown above are the Copic markers that I used. (Click on any image for a larger version, as always.) I decided to keep the card very simple, not wanting to have any busy patterned papers to compete with my simply colored image; so I looked through my Spellbinders dies until I ran across an old favorite, Labels One, which I paired with some dies that I don't think I have used before, Scalloped Labels One (purple mat), and Majestic Labels One (card base). Dark purple cardstock is is PTI's Royal Velvet, and the image is colored on Copic's X-Press it Blending Card. I tried to put a ribbon on this card, but I just couldn't find a place that it enhanced the image rather than being a distraction; so it's plain Jane card.

That's it for today--have a happy Monday,

Praying for You: Sympathy Vintage Labels Eight and Nine

Welcome! Today I have another, you guessed it, PINK card! Seriously, it wasn't planned. . . On today's card I used JustRite's Sympathy Vintage Labels Eight and Nine clear stamps, though I'm using it for an encouragement/recuperation card here. 

As you can see from the sentiments above, this set covers more bases than a sympathy set normally does. It's about choices. . . ;-)

Since the floral wreath is solid rather than outlined, I thought that the simplest way to color the wreath would be to use my Tim Holtz Distress markers, coloring directly to the stamp--Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, and Forest Moss for the wreath, and Scattered Straw for watercoloring around the wreath.

For that top pink layer, I used my Spellbinders  5 x 7 Heirloom Legacy die template; and for its base layer, I used a 5 x 7 Matting Basics A die template. That small sentiment panel in the center of the wreath is cut with a JustRite Vintage Labels Nine die. Ribbon is some Maya Road silk ribbon--ties like a dream. Would you like to see more Sympathy Vintage Labels Eight and Nine clear stamps projects? There are some beautiful ones linked below--have fun!

Thanks for visiting today,

JustRite Inspiration
Debbie Olson (here)
Becca Feeken
Sheri Holt
Heidi Blankenship
Michele Kovack
Darsie Bruno
Kathy Jones
Kristi Schurr
Marisa Job
Angela Barkhouse
Eva Dobilas
Kazan Clark

Create Wings and Fly

Welcome! So, pink again. . . but this time I was responding to a Fun Stampers Journey pink and black challenge that was posted last week on Facebook. (Thanks, Rose Curtis, for another excuse reason to use pink!) Anyway, when I looked through the FSJ stamp sets that I have, I decided that the Beauty Wings set would probably work best with pink. I had a Damask Print stamp that seemed like a good possibility for a background as well. My pink background cardstock is FSJ Watermelon Fusion, but I didn't have its coordinating ink. Trial and error stamping showed me that my PTI Hibiscus Burst was close enough to work. so I inked up my stamp, spritzed it with water, and stamped on white cardstock. It was one of those happy accidents that I liked the first attempt. ;-)

I used three Spellbinders dies here: two from A-2 Matting Basics A (focal image and pink background), and one from Framed Tags One (tag). Silver cord is some that I've had in my stash for years--not sure where to find it right now--and the black line behind it is a strip of black cardstock. Easy-peasy pink and black! Thanks for stopping by today,

Wedding Card: Elegant Fan Sentiments

Welcome! Today I have a wedding card to share. It was one of those that I had a hard time getting a good picture of because of its white-on-white elements, but I'm hoping that you can see it decently here. I started with shimmery white and silver cardstock, then stamped my front panel with JustRite's Stitched Frame Cling Background and Versamark ink,  heat-embossing in detail white embossing powder. I used a Spellbinders A-2 Matting Basics A die template to cut and emboss this panel, then set it aside to work on the focal image. 

For the focal image, I used a sentiment from JustRite's Elegant Fan Elements clear stamps, heat-embossed in detail silver embossing powder, then die-cut with the oval die from JustRite's Vintage Labels Six die set. For the flourishes, I used JustRite's Heirloom Flourish Two die. If you want a simple way to cut the flourishes that are in the stamp set, you can use this SVG Elegant Fan Elements Digital Cut File.

There are some truly lovely projects linked below with the JustRite fan sets,  Elegant Fan Elements clear stamps and Vintage Fan and Sentiments clear stamps--I hope that you get a chance to see them! Thanks for visiting today,

JustRite Inspiration 

Darsie Bruno 

Amy Tedder 

Michele Kovack 

Debbie Olson (here) 

Heidi Blankenship 

Eva Dobilas 

Kristi Schurr

 Marisa Job

Margie Higuchi 

Kazan Clark

Hope's Special Light

My weekend seemed awfully short--I hope yours seemed longer! This morning I have a card to share that I made for a special friend who is recovering from cancer surgery. It's made with a couple of JustRte Papercraft stamp sets, Hope and Love Vintage Labels Eight and Nine clear stamps and the Ironworks Vintage Labels Eight Cling Background. 

As soon as I read the sentiment on the large label image, I knew that it would be perfect for my friend, and incidentally also just right for a blackboard technique. ;-)

I heat-embossed the label image on black cardstock with detail white embossing powder before cutting and embossing it with one of the Vintage Labels Eight dies. I stamped a second label image on light pink cardstock, then hand-trimmed it closely so that I could mount it on top of the black banner. I wanted to tint my white words with Copic makers, but it isn't good for the marker tips to color across any embossing powder other than clear; to get around that, I simply airbrushed color on top of the words with my Copic markers and Copic Airbrush System, using post it notes to mask between one color and the next. The overspray did not show on the black cardstock, so it was quite simple.

Would you like to see more projects using the Hope and Love Vintage Labels Eight and Nine clear stamps? I hope you get a chance to visit the blogs below then! Thank you for stopping by,

JustRite Inspiration

Debbie Olson (here)

Heidi Blankenship

Michele Kovack

Eva Dobilas

Sheri Holt

Darsie Bruno

Marisa Job

Kristi Schurr

Kathy Jones

Angela Barkhouse

Margie Higuchi

Botanical Blocks II Thinking of You

Welcome! I've been in my happy place tonight--coloring flowers. . .  My PTI Botanical Blocks II stamp set arrived last week, but this is the first day that I've had a chance to break it out. I stamped the floral image on watercolor paper in Versamark ink and heat embossed with detail white embossing powder. Next I watercolored the flower with Ranger Distress inks: Scattered Straw for the background, Worn Lipstick and a touch of Picked Raspberry for the flower, and Crushed Olive with Forest Moss for the leaves.  Background stamp sets used were Background Basics: Twinkle and Polka Dot Basics II.

I used a couple of Spellbinders die sets as well: A-2 Matting Basics A and A-2 Matting Basics B. To get that two-toned mat, I simply cut both Hibiscus Burst and Simply Chartreuse cardstock with my A-2 Matting Basics A die temple, that stacked them together and cut through both of them so that the size stayed the same. I cut a small semi-circle for the button to sit in, trying to keep the button top at about the same level as the foam-tape-popped-up watercolor panel. That makes it go through the mail more easily.

Well, that's it for tonight. Hope you have a great weekend!

Chevron Border Scrapbook Page

Welcome! I wanted let you know where the next three Spellbinders Summer Sneak Peek and Giveaway blogs are, as well as to share a few details of the scrapbook page that I had created using the new Spellbinders Chevron Border (SKU S4-455) and Conversation Bubble 3 (SKU S2-137; both sets will be available this Fall at a store near you.)

Day 2: Tuesday, July 29 

Linda Lucas

Beck Beattie

Day 3: Wednesday, July 30

Darsie Bruno

Marielle Le Blanc

Day 4: Thursday, July 31

Tina McDonald

Janice Whiting

My main chevron element used a dark gray cardstock for the frame piece, filled in with dark blue and dark green cardstock for the chevron pieces. I wanted some random chevron pieces on the page the add some interest to the page, and I wanted them to align correctly with the main strip of chevron pattern. I used an extra frame scrap for placement purposes, as shown above.

While I used the medium-sized conversation bubble die template for the actual quote (shown farther down), I needed the largest conversation bubble for my journaling block. I didn't really want the little tail-piece on it, so I removed it almost perfectly. ;-)

First I cut and embossed my printed journaling block with the largest conversation bubble. Next I trimmed the tail-piece off.

I inserted the journaling black back into the die, upside down and printed side up, and then re-cut and embossed, as shown above. It worked out pretty well!

The page title is cut and embossed with Font One Uppercase and Font One Lowercase.

There's my medium conversation bubble--unamended. :-)

That's it--a full explanation of my scrapbook page. I need to scrapbook more than I do. Otherwise my son will be graduating, and I'll be decorating with cards. . . 

Thanks for visiting today,

Spellbinders Summer Sneak Peek and Giveaway - Day 1

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks!

Welcome to the first day of the Spellbinders Summer Sneak Peek and Giveaway! Die template sets being shown over the next few days are slated for release at the upcoming Craft and Hobby Association Paper Arts show in Atlanta, Georgia. I am excited to get to introduce a couple of great new Spellbinders die template sets today, the Chevron Border (SKU S4-455) and the Conversation Bubble 3 (SKU S2-137). 

Not only do I get to show them to you, but (here's the really exciting part) Spellbinders is also giving away the two new die template sets that I have used here today, as well as the new die template sets used on other sneak peek blogs this week and a fabulous grand prize! Be sure to  look at the end of the post for more details and instructions on how to enter the giveaway.

**Please Note: There is a clickable link at the bottom of this post for entering;  commenting on this post does NOT enter you into the giveaway.**

For my first project, I have a set of three clean and simple cards using both the Chevron Border and the Conversation Bubble 3 die template sets.

On the first card, I decided to emboss (but not cut) the Chevron Border on a heavy white cardstock. 

Here you can see the impression that the Chevron Border made. 

Next I trimmed the cardstock panel with my A-2 Matting Basics A (7) die template. Instead of embossing the A-2 Matting Basics rectangle with my Grand Calibur, I used an embossing stylus to emboss its edges; I didn't want to flatten my previously embossed chevron pattern, and running it through a second time with the embossing mat would have diminished the chevron pattern that I wanted to keep dominant.

I placed a scrap of the chevron pattern frame cut from cardstock on top of my embossed pattern to help me keep all of the pieces straight and in place, taping the frame scrap down on both ends to keep it from slipping. Then I started gluing down my little chevron pieces. It goes quickly!

Almost finished! I'm on the last row here.

And here I am removing the chevron frame cardstock that held my pieces in place. I used a stiff brush to brush away a few little bits of cardstock that were left on the edges of some of the pieces. They came off easily since I didn't get glue on the very edges.

For the second card, I wanted to try an ombre effect. For this card, I did not emboss the background; I wanted to see how the look would differ without embossing or leaving the frame in place. I started with a pale aqua cardstock, then used my Copic markers to darken each progressive layer a bit more. 

All pieces are in place, and again, I'm gently removing the outside border. But I was wondering what that border would look like used alone in an ombre effect. . .

And here's what it looks like! I used a scrap of the pale aqua cardstock that I had left over from the card above this one, then again used my Copics to darken each successive layer. On this card, I used an A-2 Matting Basics A (6) and an A-2 Matting Basics B (7), in addition to the Chevron Border and the Conversation Bubble 3 die templates. 

Here is a close up of all three cards, each using the Chevron Border slightly differently, as well as two of the three Conversation Bubble 3 die templates.

Supply List

Tools: Spellbinders® Grand Calibur® Die Cutting and Embossing Machine, Chevron Border, Conversation Bubble 3, A-2 Matting Basics A and B (Spellbinders Paper Arts)

Stamps: Many Words (Spellbinders Celebrations), Cupcake Celebrations Clear Stamps (JustRite Papercraft)

Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz (PTI)

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Hawaiian Shores, Limeade Ice, Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz (PTI); SnoCone (MFT)

Accessories: Celebrations Linen (Spellbinders)

Coloring Medium: Copic Sketch Markers

I have one more project to share, a 12 x 12 scrapbook page using the Chevron Border in a more typical way--frame piece and inside pieces together. I used both the medium and the large Conversation Bubble 3 die templates here, but I edited the large one to remove that little tail since I wanted it to be my journaling block area instead of a quotation. (I'll show how I did that in the next day or two, along with a supply list and more close-ups of this page.)

Again, my featured Spellbinders die template sets were the Chevron Border (SKU S4-455) and the Conversation Bubble 3 (SKU S2-137). These sets are NOT available quite yet, but they will be coming this Fall to a store near you!

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So. . . here's the part you've been waiting for--
how to enter the Spellbinders Sneak Peek Giveaway!

[This giveaway is now closed, so the link has been removed.]

Contest Rules can be found HERE. 

Questions? Direct questions here: ContestQuestions@Spellbinders.us, but be aware that entries are not accepted at the questions email address.

While I truly appreciate comments, commenting on this blog post does NOT enter you into the contest, and I don't want you to miss out on that opportunity! So be sure to follow the link above. :-)

For more chances to win, please visit
Theresa Momber's blog HERE.

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Thank you for visiting, and best of luck in the contest!