Inkspirational #341 - Hot Day at the Beach

 It's time for Inkspirational Challenge #341 - Designers Choice!  

Marlena is the designer to choose the challenge - and here it is!

I created a scene of a hot summers night at the beach as the sun is finally setting, with a hot fire crackling in the fire pit.

I made the background by first stamping the half sun, then masking it and simply rubbing the ink pads over the panel - Mustard Seed for the yellow sky, Arctic for the ocean and Sand Dune for the beach. I stamped and off-stamped the beach grass in Portabello.

The stamps and dies are all from Better at the Beach from Papertrey Ink. (they have the stamps but not the dies right now)

I added Clear Glitter Wink of Stella along the sky line and on the flames of the fire for a little sparkle - hopefully you can see it on the close up below.

So what does HOT make you think of?  food?  Summer? fire?  We hope you'll join us at Inkspirational and link up your cards!   You'll find lovely inspiration from the rest of the DT over at Inkspirational!

This challenge ends on May 23rd.

Also sending my card to:

Cardz 4 Guyz

Body of Water  ends 5/13

Creative Inspirations

The Great Outdoors - ends May 31

Die Cut Divas

Make it look like water coloring 

(my rubbed inkpad background)

ends 5/31

Stamps:  Better at the Beach - Papertrey Ink.

Ink:  Mustard Seed Ranger Distress, Russet Orange - Elements, Arctic, Portabello, Sand Dune, Nocturne - Versafine Clair, Cocoa Bean - Papertrey Ink.

Paper:  white, Fine Linen, Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink.

Other Supplies:  Better at the Beach Dies - Papertrey Ink, Clear Glitter Wink of Stella, mask tape, foam dots.

Better Press Poppies

 So, I had right shoulder torn rotator cuff surgery at the end of March, and I have been in a bulky sling 24/7 so unable to stamp (or do much of anything!)  My sling comes off next Wednesday. I've already been going to PT and that will continue 8 more weeks.    

But none of the above stopped me from purchasing new stamping supplies!  

So one of my new purchases (after seeing so many of you creating with them and denying that I needed it for a year) was the Spellbinders Better Press.   

After looking at it in the box for two weeks - today I got it out to see if I could play with it with my limited arm use!

I used the Poppy Background Press Plate and Stencil set and the You Are Everything Sentiments Press Plate and Die set - all from BetterPress/Spellbinders.

I found inspiration from the following challenges:

Color Hues

Blue and Yellow  ends 5/14

  

Double D Challenge

Spring Flowers  ends 5/4

The Card Concept

colors blue and yellow and spring

Clean and Layered  ends 5/12

NBUS

First time using the

Better press Poppy Background and stencils
 

Paper:  Better Press Cotton Panel, watercolor paper - Canson Cold Press

Ink:  BetterPress Black - Spellbinders, Ranger Distress Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed and Broken China.

Other supplies:  Better Press - Spellbinders, Poppy Background and Stencils set - Better Press/Spellbindes, You Are Everything Sentiments Press Plate and Die Set - Spellbinders, blender brushes, foam dots, Enamel Dots - Altenew.

Group of Seven Cardmakers - April Technique - Gilding Flakes on Acetate

This month, the Group of Seven Cardmakers is playing with Gilding Flakes on Acetate.

I watched this YouTube Video to learn this technique - it is also linked to, over at The Group of Seven Cardmakers blog.

This was my first try with the technique.

I'm not sure everyone looking at my card would immediately realize it's King Hopkins (a frog!) sitting on a pile of stones?

You can see how clear and detailed the stamp is below.

I found with both of my cards - you couldn't really see detail and might not know what you were looking at, on first glance.     

So, for my second try, I went a little rogue and created my own technique - Stamping on Acetate with Gilding Flakes and a Shadow Behind It -  I have to work on the title - it's a bit long!?!  

So I thought I'd try stamping the image on a white panel and layer the acetate panel with the gilding flake image over it - slightly off set.   And I really love the dimensional look it gives it!  It shows some of the detail of the stamp that didn't show up on the stamping with gilding flakes on the acetate.

A few pics on how I did it:

On the video I watched, the woman had a stiff net-like sponge to apply the tacky glue and to rub off the Gilding Flakes.  I did not have an item like that so I used a sponge brush, pressing it into a pool of tacky glue and then pressing the sponge lightly over the stamp - the idea is to just get the glue on the image, not down into the crevices.  I recommend pressing your gilding flakes over the stamping and then quickly washing the stamp off  before the tacky glue dries on your stamp.  Then I rubbed off the gilding flakes with the clean side of the foam sponge and my fingers.  I scrubbed it pretty hard so that just the image is left.

photo on right shows the stamped image in glue on the acetate

So - gilding flakes -  still not my favorite thing to use - it flies everywhere - and for this technique it was difficult to find an image that would work well, but I am happy with my two acetate panels -  particularly the one I shadow stamped behind!

  

We'd love to see cards you make trying this technique!  There's a Mr. Linky over at the blog!

Also sending my Kiss Me card to:

NBUS

first time using King Hopkins

Sending my trees card to:

Krafty Chicks Challenge

ends 4/29

I.D.E.A.S.

Week 4  A - Anything Goes

I just have 2 more weeks of wearing the sling after my shoulder surgery! Then I'll be back to full blown crafting!

Kiss Me 

Stamps:  King Hopkins - Lavinia, Kiss me stamp from Heroines Fairy Princess - Waltzingmouse (retired).

Ink:  Gold Pigment Ink - Color Box

Paper:  Acetate, True Black - Papertrey Ink, Kraft Metallic Gold - Tim Holtz/Idea-ology.

Other Supplies:  Inca Gold Gilding Flakes - Cosmic Shimmer, embossing powder brush, Stitched Rectangle Scallop Frame Die - MFT, Tombow Tacky Glue, foam brush.

The Creaking of Trees

Stamps:  Silhouette Trees #1 - Rubbernecker (retired), Creaking Trees - Technique Junkies.

Ink:  Nocturne - Versafine Clair.

Paper:  Clear Acetate, White - PTI, Hammered White - Amazon.

Other Supplies:  Inca Gold Gilding Flakes - Cosmic Shimmer, embossing powder brush, Stitched Rectangle Scallop Frame Die - MFT, Tombow Tacky Glue, foam brush, foam dots

Inkspirational #340 - Seasonal - I Chose Summer!

 I'm here today with my DT card for the Inkspirational #340 Challenge.

I'm eager for the Summer Season to arrive! 

 I made this card for a friend who goes to Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island every summer for two weeks so I thought he'd appreciate a beach scene on his Birthday Card.

I used a retired stamp and die set from Papertrey Ink called Fence Line Summer.

I stenciled the sky area with the Milky Way Stencil from Colorful Life Designs.

We hope you will be inspired by our Seasonal Challenge, by the rest of the DT's creations and that you will link up your creation over at the Inkspirational Blog!

You have until May 9th to link up your card!

Also sending my card to:

Just Us Girls

The sky is stenciled - ends 4/29

Stencil Fun

Patterns  

my stenciled sky  ends 5/3

Seize the Birthday

ends 5/6

Tic Tac Toe

1st row vertical - Die Cut - Birthday - Stripes (fence)

ends 5/8

Stamps:  Fence Line Summer (retired), Birthday Basics - PTI.

Ink:  Classic Kraft - PTI, Caribbean Sky - Altenew, Sand Dune and Nocturne - Versafine Clair.

Paper:  White, Vintage Cream - PTI

Other Supplies:  Fence Line Summer Die set - PTI (retired), foam dots, blender brush.

Pretty Kitty Birthday

 I made this card for a friend who has a tabby cat who is the love of her life.

The sweet kitty is a Vinyl Sticker from Kawaii Pens that I adhered to a die cut circle with clear dots. It is holographic so is really sparkly in the light.  The circle is adhered to the card base with foam dots.   This is a 4"x4" card.  

I'm sending my card to:

Try It On Tuesday

Oh So Sweet ends 4/28

Seize the Birthday

Layer It ends 4/22

I.D.E.A.S.

Week 2 - Dies

Paper: Whie, DP Bitty Big Lilac Grace - PTI

Other Supplies: Stitched Square and Circles dies - Penny Black, foam dots, glue dots, Cat vinyl sticker - The Stars and The Moon Dream - Kawaii Pens, computer generated sentiment, enamel dot - Altenew.

Vietnam Birthday

 A friend asked me to make a birthday card for her son who recently traveled to Vietnam.  So I Googled 'free images of Vietnam".  I printed a few on cardstock and cut them up to fit on the panels of the card.  I used some Stamperia DP behind the center and outer images that were too small to fill the panels.

This fold is called 'Flying Seagull Fold' and it folds up into a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card for easy mailing - although it's a little thick - so I would put two stamps on it if mailed.  

This is a view from the back.

I didn't take a photo of this card laid down

but here is a pic of another card I made using the fold so you can see the 'flying seagull'.

The side panels fold either behind the square center panel - or over the square panel.  

I found this YouTube video showing how to create this fold.

I'm sending my card to:

Cardz4Guys

#370 Fancy Fold

Seize the Birthday

not sure if this would be considered layering so I'm just entering it as Anything Goes!

Stamps: Birthday Basics - PTI
Paper - White - PTI  DP- Stamperia - Around the World
Other Supplies: free computer images of Vietnam

Inkspirational Challenge #339 - Mood Board Decorated Eggs

 Hello everyone!  It's time for the newest Inkspirational Challenge #339 and, just in time for Easter and Spring - it's a lovely Mood Board of decorated eggs!

I was inspired by the red and blue eggs - using stamps from Nestie Eggs by Waltzingmouse (retired).

I stamped the large egg on red card with black ink and used blue and white POSCA pens to add those colors.  I stamped the smaller egg on Soft Stone card with Arctic Ink and added the pink with a POSCA pen. I die cut the eggs using Nested Eggs from Nestability.  I embossed the Soft Stone background using Feather Spiral Embossing Folder from Simon Says Stamp. All the die cuts are up on foam dots.

How do these decorated eggs inspire you?!  We'd love to see your inspired cards over at Inkspirational - where you'll find some lovely inspiration from the rest of the DT!

This challenge ends April 25.

Also sending my card to:

Double D Challenges

Easter   ends 4/13

Time Out Challenge

Floral and spots  ends 4/23

Tic Tac Toe

Center Horizontal - any color - Free - Embossing

 Ends 4/24

Addicted to Stamps and More

Stamps: Nestie Eggs - Waltzingmouse (retired.)

Ink:  Nocturne and Arctic - Versafine Clair.

Paper:  Soft Stone, Pure Poppy - Papertrey Ink.

Other Supplies:  Feather Spiral Embossing Folder - Simon Says Stamp, Nested Egg Dies - Nestabilities,  blue, white and pink POSCA pens, Oval Punch - Stampin' Up, foam dots.