The Learning Lab #1--Quick Cards

Hello and Happy Spring!!!!!
On the QVC Yahoo scrappers board one of the members posted regarding 6x6 paper. She wanted to know how else could she use it for other than matting photos. I believe she enjoyed scrapping in 12x12. I have a few 6x6 albums but find that it is limiting for telling complete stories. I would rather devote those to a special event. Her question was exactly the challenge I needed.

In addition, I needed to create some quick cards. That idea evolved into a series of quick cards using 6x6 paper. Here are a few of the photos.

I also created a video demonstrating the project. Since the video exceeded the limit set by Blogger, I uploaded to Vimeo. I sped up the footage and when Vimeo converted the movie, some of the takes became unstable and blurred. I will work tomorrow to separate out the video into two smaller ones.

Until that happens here is the link to see this one.

http://www.vimeo.com/3806460

I hope you will join me again on this blog for more from the Learning Lab. In subsequent posts, I will focus on each of the cards and share some of the elements and techniques used to create them.

Keep Inking In the Name of Love.

Until then.

Happy St. Patrick's Day --The Shamrock

What would St. Patrick's day be without the lucky four leaf clover? I recall searching endlessly for these as a young girl.

My friends and I would toil for hours in fields of green seeking the elusive clover. During my lifetime, I have been able to find 4- four-leafed clovers. They had a home in the family Bible--not sure where they are now.

This card pays homage to the shamrock. I used more of the Studio G stamps on this one. The flowers are Prima and the ribbon from Michaels. I was supposed to have written March 17th inside the box or the words everyday. Still had not made up my mind before snapping this photo. Love the shamrock stamp.

Speaking of the Shamrock.

Information from http://www.history.com/

The shamrock, which was also called the "seamroy" by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. By the seventeenth century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.

Talk about using color to express your beliefs is in line with Inkallusions. Nothing positive happens unless it is done with love.

Always Ink in the Name of Love.

Until then.

The Brown Series Four

The last card in the series. Wow, I cannot believe that this is the final card. Don't fret there are more. I recently designed a set of quick cards. I am hoping to upload the video.

I had a Sizzix Memories embossing folder and wanted to use it in some way. I found it to be perfect for this card. I used the Fiskars decorative edge scissors to cut it out before adhering to brown card stock.

The words are from the Inkadinkado peg set. I stamped them on a variety of cardstock colors using the chocolate ink. I decided to use foam dots behind the hope only.

The scalloped circles are WRMK paper by the pound, and I used the Spellbinders die to cut them out. I embossed them using the Cuttlebug folders. Swiped over the raised portion with a sponge dabbed into the chocolate ink. Of course I simply love the Anna Griffin Chocolate pigment ink.

The card base cardstock is from Hot Off The Press.

I love the yummy caramel color of this paper. I reserved the remaining pieces for another card I made. Waste not, want not.

I hope that you have been inspired by this short series. The ink made all of the difference. You can not go wrong when you Ink in the Name of Love.

Until then.

The Brown Series Three

Hello again. This is card number three in the series. One more to go and then we can move on to some other creative ideas. I wanted to show how you can take the same basic design and put a twist on it. This is a great way to maximize that left over paper. Or you can start with a 12x12 sheet and cut it down. Done properly you can get at least 16-20 cards completed without skimping on the materials. Hmmm. That gives me ideas for my next few posts.




Still using the invitation remnants I again stamped the Fiskars quote onto the orange cardstock and inked the edges. This time I carried the background swirl stamp onto the quote. It was then adhered to the brown paper--all Bazzill. On this photo you can see where I used a fantastic swirl stamp from Little Yellow Bicycle. I applied three different shades of ink to the stamp and did primary and secondary generation stamping to achieve this effect. I absoloutely adore this stamp set. You will see more of these images on cards and scrapbook pages I create.


To add more creativity I ran the three tabs through a Cuttlebug folder. Then I used the tourquoise/blue ink and swiped it over the raised portions. This really made the images POP.


I was excited to use some new Petaloo flowers I received. I layered an orange and soft blue felt flower over the polka dot to tone it down a bit and adhered the entire ensemble together with a brown brad. The polkas mimic the dots found on the three squares cardstock at the bottom of the card.

I had so much fun testing my creativity with this series. I really like the randomness and the free form of this card. This also gives me designs for my arsenal. They are simple enough to be mass produced in a short amount of time. They can easily be turned into anniversary, sympathy, get well or whatever card with a simple switch of the quotes.


The final card in the series is cute if not totally unique. Look to find it here in a few days. Maybe over the weekend if I get ambitious.

Of course it is inked with lots of love. Why bother to ink, if it is not Inked in the Name of Love.

Until then.

The Brown Series Two

Hello. This has been a whirlwind weekend for me. It has been read across America week to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss. I read aloud The Gingerbread Cowboy to my son's kindergarten class and then again to a group of sixth graders on Friday. They both loved the western take on an old classic. I love reading. I will devour a good novel in one evening. It has been discovered that I will read to exhaustion.

Upon coming home I hurried to my computer because Kelly at Flowers to Flourishes was having a marathon sale this weekend. You had to register by March 2nd to participate. I was good. I think I only ordered two items on Friday and three on Saturday. The sale ran through Sunday night where I picked up several bargains. I might just faint when I see my invoice. I am so glad that she hooked up with our QVCYahooScrappers group to get this event going. Thanks, Kelly, you ROCK.

Back to the title of my post. This is the second card in my brown/earth tone series. I have been working to step out of my comfort zone. I took a few close ups to give a better idea of some of the techniques I used.

On these two flowers I stamped that fabulous medallion on the orange and a second generation stamp on the lt. blue flower. I adhered the felt centers using a cream colored brad.

On the right hand side of the card I stamped a medallion below the flower to echo the one I decided to use on the flower.

Kind of like a repeat pattern. I also used the medallion to stamp a background on the card since I decided not to use a backer. There is a lot going on with this card, but I wanted the look to remain simple in appearance; therefore, the background effect is achieved through second generation stamping.

If you look closely at the

bottom tags you will notice that the corners have been rounded. Each was embossed using three different circular cuttlebug folders.

After embossing I used a cosmetic wedge to transfer the blue ink to the raised portion of each embossed center.

I then used the Anna Griffin Chocolate Ink to stamp the sentiments from Inkadinkado peg words set. They are intentionally stamped at an angle.

The main quote is from Fiskars and is stamped in chocolate on orange which is inked in blue and matted on brown cardstock--all from Bazzill. Of course to finish off the card I edged the entire perimeter in blue ink. There is ink all over this card. I really love the title quote: Life is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy yours and spread a little Ink in the Name of Love along the way.

Until then.

The Brown Series One

Hello again.

Wow, do I have a treat for you. While cleaning in my studio, I came across some papers I had used for designing some wedding invitation samples. Then I remembered the Little Yellow Bicycle stamps that I had recently received and the creative juices began flowing.

I recalled that I had cut the sample paper to specific measurements. Then I thought how can I test my new stamps and use up all of my paper to create a variety of cards by simply changing the greeting/journaling?

This is the first result of my efforts. I had so much fun working on this card. I did hit a lull when I could not decide how to or if I should use the medallions. Yes, you read correctly. I stamped with Tim Holtz Marmalade Distress Ink and cut out three of them. I finally settled on the one in the left hand corner. You will probably see the other two show up on another card.

The Thank You is from Imaginisce, stamped with Anna Griffin Chocolate ink and trimmed using the Deckle edge scissors. All other paper used on the card is from Bazzill texture. I love the Bling paper, especially the String of Pearls which is what I used for the medallion and the Thank You. The handwriting stamp is from Paper Wishes Hot off the Press. I absolutely adore their rubber stamps. The detail is incredible.

And now for the focal part of the card. That breathtaking butterfly and the stem of flowers. I could not decide how to approach the butterfly. I finally decided to use a variety of the Tim Holtz Distress inks with my stipple brush. Once I had coverage in about three different shades, I pounced using the Chocolate ink. The outline of the insect was meant to be left open, but I closed it off by using a Marvy Uchida brown fine tip marker.

For the flowers I used a variety of Marvy markers. Lt green and dark green was used on the leaves. That same brown was used for the stem and the flower were a mixture of orange and scarlet. I tried to go deeper on the edges of the flowers to give them some depth. I was pleased with the overall presence of the card. The small dots leading to the butterfly are also from a LYB stamp set. The ribbon is American Crafts, brad from PaperWishes and flowers are Prima. Of couse I could not leave well enough alone. Once I had finished stamping the handwriting pattern, I used that same brown ink to pounce the edges of the card. A bit of orange was mixed in for the top and bottom of the card.

My aim is to see how much I can maximize this color combination. Of course each one will be happily Inked in the Name of Love.

Until then.