Inspiration Ink

Cake Inspired Cards

There is a website I enjoy visiting for a good laugh every day called Cake Wrecks.  Most of the cakes featured are absolute disasters in some way or another.  On Sundays, though, it features gorgeously decorated cakes that are simply outstanding.  The Sunday, July 10 post (click here) featured some beautiful cakes that inspired the following cards.  Enjoy!

Uses Fabulous Florets Clear-Mount Set plus Certainly Celery Card Stock, Wild Wasabi Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad, Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad, Certainly Celery 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Heat Tool (to speed drying of Craft Ink), Clear-Mount Block B, Clear-Mount Block C, SNAIL, Sticky Strip, Stampin' Dimensionals, and Paper Snips.

Uses Basic Black Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Basic Pearls Jewels, SNAIL, 2-Way Glue Pen, Paper Snips, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine, Standard Cutting Pads, and Lattice Bigz Die.

Uses Happiest Birthday Wishes Hostess Clear-Mount Set plus Wisteria Wonder Card Stock, Perfect Plum Card Stock, Elegant Eggplant Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad, Basic Rhinestones Jewels, Clear-Mount Block D, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, 2-Way Glue Pen, Paper Snips, Paper Cutter, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, and 1-3/8" Circle Punch.

Uses Fifth Avenue Floral Set and You're a Gem Clear-Mount Set plus Daffodil Delight Card Stock, Basic Black Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write Marker, Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad, White Baker's Twine, Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Brights Designer Buttons, Clear-Mount Block A, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Mini Glue Dots, Crop-A-Dile, Craft Scissors, Decorative Label Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, and Small Oval Punch.

More One Layout and Color Scheme Ideas

Here are some more cards that are samples in another of my "Class in the Mail Kits" for my downline who sold a set amount one month.  I have so many ladies in my group earning these now that I can't give them all exactly the same Kits anymore!  These samples all feature a monochromatic color scheme.  Enjoy!

All of these cards use the following products - Old Olive Card Stock, Certainly Celery Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Play Date Designer Series Paper, Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad, Old Olive 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Extra-Large Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Large Punch, and Stampin' Dimensionals.  The products that are different for each card are listed beside that card.

Uses Apple Blossoms Hostess Level 2 Clear-Mount Set plus Clear Mount Block B, Clear-Mount Block H, Certainly Celery Classic Stampin' Pad, Subtles Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, and Mat Pack.

Uses Cheep Talk Set plus Certainly Celery Classic Stampin' Pad and 1-1/4" Circle Large Punch.

Uses Fifth Avenue Floral Set and Fabulous Phrases Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Mount Block G, Certainly Celery Classic Stampin' Pad, and 1-1/4" Circle Large Punch.

Uses On the Grow Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Mount Block C, Clear-Mount Block G, Certainly Celery Classic Stampin' Pad, Blender Pens, Illuminate Top Coat Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink, and 1-1/4" Circle Large Punch.

Uses So Cute Set and Fabulous Phrases Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Mount Block G and 1-1/4" Circle Large Punch.

Uses Strength & Hope Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Mount Block B, Clear-Mount Block D, and Certainly Celery Classic Stampin' Pad.

My Class in the Mail Kits are only for members of my downline who earn them.  I do not create these kits to sell to anyone else.  My Kits also contain consumable items only, no inks, no punches, no stamp sets, etc.  Just card stock, ribbon, buttons, brads, things of that nature.  I do not include stamped images because that is against Stampin' Up! policy.  I do provide my downline with several completed samples and a list of the supplies they will need to provide including suggested stamp sets.

May Club Contest Winners

For my May Contest with my Stampin' Club Members, I challenged them to create a project that used some form of watercoloring.

We had two winners this month and one of them actually submitted two cards!  Here's the entry from Hadmut Wells:

Uses Fifth Avenue Floral Set and unknown set plus Lavender Lace Card Stock, Basic Black Card Stock, Almost Amethyst Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Basic Black Classic Ink Pad, Bold Brights Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Rich Regals Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Soft Subtles Watercolor Wonder Crayons, and Aqua Painter.

Here are the two entries by Maria Flashman:

Uses Close as a Memory Set plus Pretty in Pink Card Stock, Watercolor Paper, Soft Subtles Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, organdy ribbon (retired), Big Shot Die-Cut Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Uses Close as a Memory Set plus Pretty in Pink Card Stock, Watercolor Paper, Soft Subtles Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter, Eyelet Border Punch, organdy ribbon (retired), Big Shot Die-Cut Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, and Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die.

Both Hadmut and Maria will be receiving a $5 Coupon from me to use on their next Club Order.

Congratulations, ladies!  Great work!

 

Shimmery Rose for Mother

Here's another card I made using the Shimmer Paint I created for yesterday's card.  This time I embossed the rose from Fifth Avenue Floral by stamping it in Apricot Appeal Craft Ink on Watercolor Paper and then sprinkling on Clear Embossing Powder.  After heating the embossing powder, I painted in the Apricot and Coral Shimmer Paint mixtures with an Aqua Painter.  Enjoy!

Uses Fifth Avenue Floral Set and Well Scripted Clear-Mount Set plus Clear-Mount Block C, Cameo Coral Card Stock, Apricot Appeal Card Stock, Close to Cocoa Card Stock, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Watercolor Paper, Basic Brown Classic Ink Pad, Apricot Appeal Craft Ink Pad, Apricot Appeal Classic Ink Refill, Cameo Coral Classic Ink Refill, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, Aqua Painter, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Big Shot Die-Cut Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber, Standard Texturz Impressions Pad, Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates, Sticky Strip, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

RemARKable Going Green Blog Tour - Faux Cloisonne

Welcome back to my last post for the RemARKable Going Green Blog Tour.  Can you believe the tour is over already.  Time sure flies!  I wish there was a way to reuse time.

In my post of February 18 titled "Magazine Inspiration," I talked about how I was reusing old magazines to get ideas for color combinations, layouts, designs, etc.  I'm still doing that and will be posting more projects inspired by my magazine finds as I create them. 

Another way you can use old magazines or catalogs is for the Faux Cloisonne technique.  Cloisonne (pronounced kloi-zuh-ney) is a type of enamelwork in which thin metal bands separate colored areas.  There really should be an accent mark over the e, but I don't know how to type those in to this blog.  Sorry!

Here are some cards I created using the Faux Cloisonne technique and pages from the most recent Coldwater Creek catalog.  Enjoy!

I love how this first one turned out.  I actually did several layers of faux cloisonne on it!

Uses Dreams du Jour Set plus Almost Amethyst Card Stock, Night of Navy Card Stock, Tea Party Designer Series Paper, VersaMark Pad, Night of Navy Classic Ink Pad, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Eggcellent Eggs Kit, Sticky Strip, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, and glossy catalog pages.

I think this one came out very nice too.  It will probably be my Dad's birthday card in a couple of months.

Uses Eight Great Greetings Set and Fine Flourish single-image stamp plus Brocade Blue Card Stock, Night of Navy Card Stock, Basic Gray Card Stock, Basic Gray Classic Ink Pad, VersaMark Pad, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, Crop-A-Dile, Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Sanding Blocks (I sanded the tops of the eyelets to make them a little shinier), Rich Regals Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Night of Navy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Sticky Strip, and glossy catalog page.

I'm pretty pleased with this one too.  I probably should have used Silver Embossing Powder instead of the gold so it would match the brads better, but I decided to use the brads at the last minute.  I'd originally planned to use Corduroy Buttons, but decided they were too bulky and heavy for this card.

Uses One of a Kind Set plus Pretty in Pink Card Stock, Chocolate Chip Card Stock, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad, VersaMark Pad, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, Pretty in Pink 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Hobby Blade, Pretty in Pink 1/2" Sending Love Epoxy Brads, Chocolate Chip 1/4" Sending Love Epoxy Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Sticky Strip, and glossy catalog page.

Okay, I'm not sure about this one.  I like it in some ways, but it just doesn't really grab me.  See what you think.

Uses Fifth Avenue Floral and Teeny Tiny Wishes Sets plus Pixie Pink Card Stock, Certainly Celery Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Old Olive Classic Ink Pad, VersaMark Pad, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, Pretty in Pink 5/8" Satin Ribbon, 3/16" Corner Rounder Punch, Extra Large Two-Step Bird Punch, Circle Scissor Plus, Glass Mat, Big Shot Die-Cut Machine, Multipurpose Platform, Standard Cutting Pads, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Sticky Strip, Dotto, Stampin' Dimensionals, and glossy catalog page.

Here are basic directions for the Faux Cloisonne technique:

1)  Choose an image to stamp.  You'll want a line art image with some open spaces so the glossy paper will show through, but also some details that will emboss.

2)  Choose a piece of glossy paper from a magazine or catalog.  Think abstractly; once a piece of paper is embossed and cut out, it will look very different.  Blurred background images, solid color images, or images with lots of bright spots of color work best.  Clothing catalogs and ads are particularly good sources.

3)  Choose a card stock color that works well with the colors in the glossy paper you chose.  Darker colors generally work best.

4)  Ink up your image with VersaMark and stamp onto your glossy paper.  Ink up the image again with VersaMark and stamp onto the card stock.

5)  Sprinkle Embossing Powder, metallics generally work best, onto your stamped images.  Tap off excess powder and return it to the container.

6)  Heat both images with the Heat Tool until the Embossing Powder is completely melted.  The glossy paper heats up very quickly, so be careful not to overheat it.

7)  Carefully trim out the embossed image on the glossy paper just inside the embossed line. 

8)  Apply SNAIL Adhesive to the back of the glossy image.  Try to get the adhesive as close to the edges as you can so they will stick flat and not curl up.

9)  Adhere the glossy image to the top of the embossed image on the card stock.  Match the images up as closely as you can.  Be careful because the glossy paper can tear easily.

10)  Finish your project.

Please leave me a comment if you'd like.  I love to hear from everyone!

Please do stop back by often as well to see what else I'm up to.  If you aren't already a regular visitor, you can subscribe to my blog by entering your e-mail address in the subscribe box to the right.  Fill out the forms as requested and then you'll receive an e-mail every time I post something new.

Thanks for joining in as the RemARKable Stampers went green!

Gardening Club Card

I went to our local retirement home the other day and stamped this flower-themed card with the Gardening Club.

 Uses Fifth Avenue Floral and Sincere Salutations Sets plus Pretty in Pink Card Stock, Chocolate Chip Card Stock, Melon Mambo Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper, Pretty in Pink Classic Ink Pad, Melon Mambo Classic Ink Pad, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad, Scallop Border Trim Punch, Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (really, it is pink, it just doesn't scan well!), Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter, 2-Way Glue Pen, and Sticky Strip.

  

One Layout and Color Scheme Ideas

Each month I offer my Team Members a monthly incentive.  If they sell a set amount of product the month before, then I send them a "Class in the Mail" Kit they can use at an upcoming workshop or class.  They get all the consumable supplies they need to make 8 cards plus several samples so they can use the Sets they have available.

I thought I'd share the November kit samples with everyone so you can see how easy it is to take one layout and color scheme and create a whole bunch of different cards just by varying the stamp set used and a few different accessories.  Enjoy!

All cards shown here use the following products - Rich Razzleberry Card Stock, Pale Plum Card Stock, Old Olive Card Stock, Whisper White Card Stock, Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink Pad, Pale Plum Classic Ink Pad, Modern Label Punch, Old Olive 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Sticky Strip, and Stampin' Dimensionals.  The products that are different for each card are indicated beside the card.

Also uses Three Little Words Set, Pretty Petals background stamp, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, and Pale Plum Stampin' Write Marker. Also uses Flight of the Butterfly Set and Three Little Words Set.
Also uses Upsy Daisy Set, Pretty Petals background stamp, and In Color Stampin' Write Markers (Rich Razzleberry). Also uses Fresh Cuts Set, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, In Color Stampin' Write Markers (Rich Razzleberry), Earth Elements Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, and 5-Petal Flower Punch.
Also uses Razzle Dazzle Set, 1" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Earth Elements Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool, and Mat Pack.
Also uses Embrace Life Set, Aqua Painter, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Pale Plum Stampin' Write Marker, 2-Way Glue Pen, and Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter. Also uses Fifth Avenue Floral Set, Thank You Kindly Set, In Color Stampin' Write Markers (Rich Razzleberry), 2-Way Glue Pen, and Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter.