Lyn's October Challenge

First let me begin by saying that I usually put things off until the last minute. Well, this challenge was no different. The cut off time is midnight of the challenge month. You guessed it. There I was on Halloween trying to put my card together. So what happened to the other 30 days? Ummm..it's all a blur. Remember the teaser I posted yesterday? Here it is again in case you missed it.

Well once I got this idea in my head, I could not stop.
I was really shocked that I was able to bang this out in about an hour, hour and a half. This was my mock up piece so that I could work out the glitches for the final scene. Yes, you guessed it, Ms. Procrastinator waited too late to start working on it so for now this is the final. The other one is in progress. If I can settle down, I will finish it.

I love this silhoutte stamp that I got at JoAnn's. Ideal for so many uses. There were several techniques used in creating this scene that I could not write out all of them if I had the desire, which right now I don't. My eyelids are closing down on me.

Suffice it to say that I used my brayer and several shades of Adirondack Dye ink pads along with my Sakura pens, eclipse tape and several stamps. The sentiment is Hero Arts. I will most likely show on a Vee-dio how I did the title.


While this was drying my son stuck his lovely fingers into the matte and glossy accents. He wanted to know if they were dry. They were not.

I thought I would play around by covering the boy (gloss) and girl (matte) in it to see if they looked any different. They really did not.

Always thinking and inking in the Name of Love.
Until then.

The Road to Independence

Hello again. When I created the background for the first card, I had several usable pieces remaining so I decided to turn it into two more cards and a border for a scrapbook page. I had someone ask what do you do with your scraps. I thought hard about it because I rarely have scraps. Any left over paper gets diecut immediately and used on a card later.

Here is the second card I created.

I used some star ribbon that I received as part of a summer/July swap. Isn't it gorgeous? I edged the white and the red mat with a goldleaf pen.

The base star is the chipboard piece that I decorated in the Naked Chipboard Vee-dio. I also edged it with gold leaf. It is ironic that it mimics the pattern on the red star. That was not planned but turned out well. Used a bit of Glossy Accents on the cupcakes.

 

Since the stamps are the same I wanted to change this one a bit so that all three had a different look. I decided to use the Fired Brick Distress Ink on the top, left the middle white and did the bottom with Faded Jeans.
I used the Cut n Dry nibs to be able to get into all of the crevices.

The epoxy sticker is from Creative Imaginations and it is also from the summer swap.

I had so much fun with this paper and deciding how to change up the card to make each one unique. Since I stamped it myself, I could place the elements where ever I chose. I decided to not create a pattern on purpose. This way each card could receive its own special treatment. I took tons of photos so here is another one.

Think about your own road to independence. When what you want is not available, create it yourself. Get out those small stamps that you purchased because collectively they can have a big presence.  Keep thinking and inking in the name of love.

 Until then.

Celebrating Independence Day

Let me be the first to wish these United States of America a happy 234th birthday...you've come a long way baby! To celebrate, I am posting a card that I made for my Yahoo group's summer challenge. Everyone who enters gets a small prize from the hostess. It is definitely a win, win situation. I was able to put this one together last night and post it to the Challenge.

I gathered several of my July 4th stamps and created the background using an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of white paper. I used red, blue and black ink only. I found the outcome to be quite striking and definitely one of a kind. I then cut the paper to make a few 5x7 cards and inked the edges in black. So what you are seeing is only a portion of the paper.

 

The USA is a Sizzix diecut that I coated with Glossy Accents and covered with the Martha Stewart Garnet micro beads. After the initial coating I felt I needed more beads and poured them. Afraid they might not adhere, I pressed on them just a bit. I should not have done that. Since the glossy accents was still tacky the beads spread a bit. I used my MM poker tool to 'clean-up' the spread.

Love the texture this added to the card without being overwhelming. I think it is simply perfect and made by me.

I used a red strip to create a border on the left. My Sakura white pen was used to create the faux stitching and I adhered a number of rhinestone stars and circles (from a summer swap).

This was a lot of fun and I was amazed at how quickly it came together. It was loosely based on a card I saw in a Cards Beautiful magazine. Since I like creating my own backgrounds, this was perfect for me.

Love using my inks and stamps to create something unique. Give it try and you will be amazed with your results. Let go of the need to be perfect and just create. Always be free to ink in the name of love.

Until then.

St. Patty's Day Celebrations

Wow. I cannot believe how the time flies. When I was but a wee girl, the days, weeks, months and years would drag. Oh, if I could just turn back the hands of time. I would use it more wisely for one thing.


I have been busy playing with a lot of my tools and realized that I had been neglecting my Pink Wishblade. So, I joined a new group, Easywishbladers@yahoo. I am hoping this will rejuvenate my love for my wonderful machine and start designing again.


Just to show that I mean business I am posting a cut image I created.
 
It was not hard to do. I simply found some clipart pictures I liked and cleaned it up a bit using Inkscape and Creat and Cut--Wishblade updated software. Very easy peasy.

She is holding a set of clovers but those did not make it. Her hat is not complete. There are dark green pieces that cover the black on the hat. I could not find them and just went ahead and scanned the pic. Found them later under my cutting mat.

There is a hunky guy that I found who would make a lovely mate for this lady. I just might do a Vee-dio of creating a cut image of him. Figured out everything I did not do right on her and am getting back into my groove.

Just to challenge myself, I tried to copy an idea from Mary of Mamawslegacy. I failed miserably. She is a fabulous designer and does have free files available for various machines and images for download. Talk about your inspiration starter. You can always purchase cut image files directly from her store.

I had planned to make some St. Pat's day cards...and ...um...well...it didn't happen. Best intentions and all of that.

To make that up I would like to giveaway a set of Inkadinkado inchies clear stamps and a set of Martha Stewart clear leaves. Please leave a comment on this blog by the end of March and you could be the proud owner of one of the aforementioned stamps. Two winners will be picked at random.

Happy St. Patrick's day and let's try to go green all of the time.

As always keep inking in the name of love--even recycled. lol

Until then.

Still Easter

Yes, it is still Easter at my house. We actually have not put away the decorations. I am enjoying having them out since we have been innudated with rain for the past few weeks. I have to admit the dreariness was getting me down. When I looked up and spied one of these cards looking back at me my spirits were immediately lifted. I hope they have the same impact on you.

This one is fun and whimsical. On looking back on it, I should have stamped grass under the feet of the bunnies. They look like they are just floating. When I create more for mailing, I think I will do just that. A card can never have too much ink.



These photos show a close up of the girl and boy bunny. Aren't they precious? The entire set is from Studio G. Gotta love those dollar stamp sets. I used the Sakura gel glaze pens on these. I got carried away with apertures and glaze. That raised embossed effect you get is incredible.

This final picture is of the flowers in the center of the card that makes that aperture come alive. I used the Nestabilities scallop circles and since they are graduated, used one die for the paper and a smaller die for the card behind the aperture. The paper by the way is from Die Cuts With a View. I had a chance to pick up a kit that has some inspirational paper and embellishments to get you crafting.
I stamped the image using Black Staz On ink and used my Glitter markers and glaze gel pens on the flowers and the sentiment.

It was hard to reign myself in and not add more ink to the card. Mmmm. This one is inkalicious. And as always done with love.

Until then.

More Easter

Although Easter Sunday has come and gone, it is never to late to share ideas for the coming season if the Lord is willing and the creek don't rise. ( I heard that growing up.) Here are a couple of more cards for your enjoyment.

This is the card opened. I decided to use the aperture to place a phrase inside the card. The photo below shows what the card looks like when it is closed.

The base of the card started out white and I used several shades of yellow and green to achieve this look. I tried to keep it analogous and use black as a powerful accent. The He Is Risen is slanted on purpose. I wanted to give the illusion that the circle is rising towards the heavens. Again, I inked using the stencil brushes. I just love those.

This next card used those same Studio G stamps and the Sakura glaze pens. I actually used the Sakura pens on the Happy Easter and Ranger clear glaze on the egg to make it shine. Yummy.
So as not to be outdone I gave the words some sparkle and shimmer of their own using the Sakura glaze pens and some of the Fiskars glitter gel pens. And of course the eggs wanted in on the bling action. I feel that the gel pens really brought this card to life. The 3-D effect is outstanding.

It was a lot of fun experimenting with these cards. I had never done apertures before and once I started I could not stop. So guess what you will see on the next five cards or so? You are sooo smart. Apertures. As always I will find creative ways to Ink in the Name of Love.

Until then.

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.

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.

It's the Luck of the Irish, doncha know

While shopping for groceries last week, my son wanted to buy a box of Lucky Charms cereal because there was a car inside as a prize. After putting away the box, it ocurred to me that he was my lucky charm, thus giving me the idea for this card. I stamped the letters using the KI Memories Alpha stamps and the Studio G St. Pat's Day acrylic stamps. The rainbow was created using colored embossing markers and puffy paint on the clouds. The hat was colored using Derwent Metallic colored pencils--it is a little hard to see the shading. While I was at it, I did several charms including a pint of ale and a pot of gold. You will see those on another card. The swirl is from Little Yellow Bicycle. To achieve the pseudo rainbow, I tore a piece of paper and used the edge to create my pattern and using a stipple brush, applied the various ink colors. I did not matte the rainbow, it has been applied directly to the card front.

Keeping with the tradition of St. Patrick's Day I'd like to share this information from http://www.history.com/

The Chicago River

Chicago is also famous for a somewhat peculiar annual event: dyeing the Chicago River green. The tradition started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river—enough to keep it green for a week!

Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only forty pounds of dye are used, making the river green for only several hours. Although Chicago historians claim their city 's idea for a river of green was original, some Savannah natives believe the idea originated in their town.

They point out that 1961, Savannah mayor Tom Woolley had plans for a green river, but due to rough water on March 17, the experiment didn 't work and Savannah never attempted to dye its river again.

Don't let that happen to you. Always use your dyes and Inks in the Name of Love.
Until then.

Storing Acrylic Stamps

It is hard to believe that the weekend has come to an end. Today was a beautiful one here in Northern Virginia albiet, it was a bit windy. My son and I spent much of the day outside and when inside, playing board games. In between time, I did manage to capture a few shots of how I am now storing my frequently used acrylic stamps. I had a few frames that I had purchased from Michael's years ago that I had planned to use for some of my layouts I could not bare to lock away into albums. That has been at least five years and they were still empty. So, I thought why not use them for my acrylic stamps and viola, here they are. I have four frames total.

I was able to get several sets of stamps on clearance that were not laser cut. Don't let that scare you off from purchasing. Just use a good pair of scissors (I love the yellow CutterBee ones) and trim off the excess.

There is also a piece of plastic that you will need to remove.
Arrange the stamps with prestamped images or your own stamped images on the paper that came with the frame. I also record the manufacturer, set name and/or ID number on the sheet.

Place the plastic (mine is not glass) cover inside the frame, then the backing sheet of prestamped images and finally the back cover. Take your acrylic stamps and place them over the corresponding image on top of the plastic. Cover with clear acetate sheet that came with the images. Hang and enjoy. When you are ready for a stamp, lift off the acetate cover of that stamp, take the stamp, use it, clean it, and return it. You might find that you use them more, I do.

I am not concerned about light exposure, as I can control it very well in this room. If I plan to work for hours on end (yeah, right) then I would simply tape a piece of craft paper over the frame.

I still have lots of other acrylic stamps stored in CD cases. These on the walls are easier to see at a glance and are frequently used. Here is to hoping that you find new ways to repurpose what you already have and to always Ink in the Name of Love.

Until then.