Valentine Wishes

Hi Friends! I hope you had a good weekend and got in some crafting time. I spent a lot of time trying to organize my dies into a different system. I'm about halfway finished, but I need to wrap it up. It's really hard trying to make a card when dies are all over the place. ;)

As you can see, I've made another Valentine's card, and like the last one, I used all digital dp. The image is a digital stamp, also. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but the Hearts Circle die cut has glitter on the heart border.

Here's a close up of the fancy stitching I did between the two layers.

It was fun to "color" this image in my photo program. I used some of the same digi paper (that I used to make the card) for the envelope, heart, dress, shoes, and hairband. For the hair, I filled it with a brown color, then used the texture effects feature to give it a textured look. After die cutting the image, I used Spun Sugar to sponge inside the die.

The inside is simple, with a sponged, tilted panel and sweet sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit, and have a fantastic week!

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:
Design House Digital Valentine's Day Card Contest: Kids Hybrid Card
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Have a Heart
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #206: It's Sketchy!
ColourQ Challenge #175

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Mailed My Heart digital stamp (Whimsie Doodles); Valentine Sayings, All Occasion Messages (Hero Arts)
Paper: Henri by Diane Rooney, Embrace by Diane Rooney, Frostine Winter Berry by Diane Rooney; Antique Flower Stall by Jen Schoenberger; Me & Mine by Mary Moseley (All dp's are digital from Design House Digital) 

Ink: Distress; Memento; Versamark; Colorbox
Dies: Postage Stamps, Classic Ovals, Classic Scalloped Ovals, Heart Circles, Labels Twenty-One (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); embossing powder; Glitter; Mod Podge; Metal Embellishments
Size: 5.5" x 5.5"

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

Thistle Mini Card

Hi Friends! I have another mini 3" x 3" thank you card to share with you.

I picked this pretty stamp up at the convention last weekend. I embossed it on textured cs, then tore the edges and distressed them further with ink, and added two rhinestones for sparkle.

The bg paper was dry embossed with a honeycomb pattern and I inked the edges a little to give it an aged look.

I sure am enjoying making these mini cards!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Thistle (The Artful Stamper); Thank You (Inkadinkadoo)
Ink: Distress; Versamark
Accessories: Honeycomb embossing folder (Sizzix); Zing embossing powder; rhinestones
Size: 3" x 3"

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

I Heart You

Hi Friends! Valentine's Day is just a few days away, and I still need to make a couple more cards. Here's one in a non-traditional color scheme.

All the dp on this card is digital, from Design House Digital. If you haven't been to their site yet, you should, even if you think you wouldn't like to use digital paper. I've found that the trick to printing them is to increase the saturation and lighten it up a bit first. Don't get me wrong, I love paper packs. But, it is so convenient, when I need something specific, to just go online and download a digi paper pack instantly. And most of the digi paper I have was free or just $1! If you sign up for Design House Digital emails, you'll get links to free paper packs quite often (I think once a week), and they aren't the crummy designs that no one wants to buy...they are fab designs! What I really like about digi paper, is that if I like a particular design, I can print it unlimited times. No need to worry about using the last sheet in the pack. :) And, no, DHD isn't sponsoring this post, I just really like their product.

Now, on to the card. The layout is from this week's Mojo Monday 279 sketch. I added a few elements, such as the photo corner and heart, but mostly kept to the sketch. The border at the bottom of the card is a Bracket border punch. I had a tough time sewing along the edge of it, but I think it turned out ok. ;) The "I Heart You" sentiment is from one of the sets I won from Flourishes recently.

The photo corner is a Sizzix die, which I covered in Glossy Accents.

The heart is a new Spellbinders die from Heartfelt Creations that I got at the convention last weekend. I've been dying to try it out. After cutting the lattice heart out of pink dp, I also cut a solid heart from the same green as the bg. The pearls are a cream Pearl Pen, although they appear pink, I think because of the reflection of the pink paper. All that sparkle on the flowers is Stickles.

I LOVE the tartan dp, and since most of it is covered up on the front of the card, I wanted it to be prominent on the inside. Isn't it gorgeous? The corners of the tartan dp were created using the same Bracket punch as the bottom border. The rose and "Happy Valentine's Day" stamps were from another stamp set that I won from Flourishes (I won the entire month's release...Yay!).

To created the highlighted look on the Happy Valentine's stamp, I first embossed the sentiment with a lettuce green embossing powder, then stamped over that with black Staz-On ink, offsetting it a bit from the green.

I hope to get at least one more Valentine's Day card made today. Although, I'm not sure that's going to happen, I do have another mini card that I will post tonight. So, until then, thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I'll be entering this card in the following challenges:
Design House Digital Valentine's Day Card Contest: Romantic Hybrid Card
Mojo Monday 279 Sketch Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Have a Heart

~Hugs

 

Stamps: Inside & Out You, Roses Are Red (Flourishes); Simply You (Ali Edwards)
Paper: Tartan Delight by Vanessa Fenton, Me & Mine by Mary Moseley, A Little Beachy by Sarah Sullivan, Notions-Blue & Co by Jen Allyson, Henri by Diane Ramsey (all papers are digital from Design House Digital)
Ink: Distress, Memento
Dies: Labels Twenty-Five, Labels Eighteen, Labels Three, Classic Ovals Lg, Timeless Amour (Spellbinders); Photo Corners (Sizzix)
Accessories: Bracket edge punch (EK Success); Adirondack Embossing Powder; Glossy Accents; Pearl Pen; Stickles; ribbon; rhinestones; flowers; sewing thread; foam dots
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

A Crazy-Fun Convention Weekend!

I mentioned in my previous email that I went to a stamping convention this past weekend with the Savannah Stampers, and I wanted to share a little of the fun with you.

This was a highly anticipated event for me because I was not only going to a stamping convention, but nine friends from Savannah were going, too. And, as an added bonus, the Heirloom stamp convention is held fairly close to my home, so this year, instead of staying in a hotel, six of the girls decided to stay with me for the weekend! Whoo Hoo!

Now, I don't live in a giant house with lots of bedrooms. I only have one guest room. But, between the guest room, a sofa, and several air mattresses, we made it work, and had a BLAST! You'd think with that many women in such tight quarters (sharing one bathroom, I might add), that there would have been at least one clash, but this group is filled with some of the most kind, easygoing women I have ever met, and the entire weekend was phenomenal! I should have taken photos of the layout with everyone's stuff piled in the room, but in all the excitement, I totally forgot. I do have other pics, though, so let's get started. ;)

Stamp Convention = Shopping. Look at this smiling face! :~D

A few of the girls worked as demonstrators in the booths.

And, it wouldn't be a stamp convention without make & takes.

And, that is serious business. ;)

My 8 year old DD got caught up in the fun when she joined us on Sunday.

And, of course, after all that, a break was called for.

My DD immediately took to everyone in the group, and they were all so generous of their time with her. :)

You're looking at some tired tootsies right here. :)

But, tired as we were, we left smiling. Here we all are, at the end of our first day of shopping. A whole day with our friends, and we were all going away with bags filled with fun goodies. Happy, happy!

Nourishment and more stamp-talk. Will this fun never end! ;)

Back at home, the girls surprised me. They came bearing gifts to thank me for opening my home to them for the weekend. What a sweet gesture. :) But, they didn't realize that just having them stay with me was a gift in itself!

I have to show you this basket up close. The talent in this group is boundless. This basket was woven by one of the girls in the group!

So...how do a bunch of stampers wind down after a long day at a stamp convention? Show & Tell, of course! Then, we played in the craft room, and laughed ourselves silly, until the wee hours of the morning. :) 

Thought you might like a peek at my haul from the convention. I found lots of stamps and dies for making flowers. I can't wait to get busy trying those out!

There was a little time for some non-stamping fun, because what would a girl's weekend be without Barbie, right?  :)  (Thank you again, Lori, for making J's weekend so memorable. You are an amazing friend!)

But, sadly, as they say, all good things must come to an end.

Ladies, you made this weekend one to cherish for a lifetime. Thank you, and I'll see you back here next year!

A special thanks to my sweet DH, the one behind the camera here, who not only welcomed six women he'd never met into our home, but who also helped me get ready for the "female invasion." ;) Our home has never been so clean!

Thanks for stopping by, and for joining in on our fun, vicariously. ;)  

~Hugs,

 

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.
A

Artichoke Thank You

Hi Friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. I did...I spent it with lots of friends and went to a stamp convention. But, more on that in a later post. ;)

This will be short and sweet. I am selling off most of my knitting books and yarn, and I'm going to try to include a mini thank you card in each package when I ship it. Of course, as you know, being small doesn't mean it is any easier or quicker than a larger card--it just weighs less. :)

This was a fun card to make, and fortunately, I was able to make it in about 5 minutes, using an image I had already colored about a month ago, because I had to get the package in the mail, pronto. 

The stamp was in a set I found on sale at Hobby Lobby for $2! Isn't it pretty? I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I wasn't pleased too much with how it turned out until I distressed it. That totally transformed it (or at least my opinion of it). ;) The background is just a piece of scrap dp that was off-white with light brown and pink lines on it. I embossed it, distressed it with Distress Inks, then dipped the edges in water so I could roll them a little, and finally glued it to the base. That was it. Easy peasy! I didn't have time to photograph the inside, but it was left plain except for a simple Thank You stamp. I need to get busy and make these in advance so I'm not so rushed, but sometimes I think I work better under a little pressure. :)

I'll be entering this in the following challenge:

Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day!

~Hugs,

 

Stamps: Victory Garden (TCP Studio)
Ink: Memento; Distress
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils; Decorative Tile Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)
Size: 3" x 3"

Thanks for visiting my blog!

To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,

subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.