All That and a Bag of Chips...

Welcome to Day 3, the wrap-up day, for this month's Lil' Inker Designs release!  I have enjoyed myself so much this week!  Thank you for celebrating this release with us!   If you are following along in the blog hop, you should have come from Isha's blog.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, please visit Laura's blog.

I have several more cards to share today!  I couldn't stop playing with the new Circles & Diamonds products, maybe I'm a little biased since I helped create them, but I think that they are FABULOUS!! :)

Let's check out today's cards!

For this first card I decided to create a pattern that only used the Darling Diamonds stamp set.  I started in the very far bottom left-hand corner on an old piece of sheet music and stamped a single triangle in Berry Sorbet ink.  Then, I stamped the polka-dotted diamond on top of and next to it.  Then, I took my third color, Harvest Gold, and stamped it above and next to each of the Hawaiian Shores diamonds.  This created an easy pattern to line up my diamonds and stamp them quickly. 

I really love the size of the new sentiments in the Darling Diamonds stamp set!  They stamp so nicely!  I used Gold Shimmer Twine from The Twinery on my sentiment panel.  And, do you see the black scallops on the side of the card?  That was made with the new Connected Circles die!  It made a quick & easy border for the card!

I happen to have a love for Washi Tape right now and am always looking for ways to use the tape in creative ways.  For this flower, I started by punching a circle out of patterned paper.  I then took a strip of washi tape, folding it as I went around the outside edge of the circle, making a ruffle.  I was  sure to leave a little border so you could still see the patterned paper when I was done.  Then, I punched two circles and adhered them to the middle of the flower with a dimensional and added a paper flower on top.  I think it is a fun look and a great way to make all kinds of patterned flowers!

This next card is a another one of my favorite color combos!  I found a cool sheet of paper at Hobby Lobby in the section with special paper and thought it was just dying to be used with the Circle & Diamonds Stitched Pattern die.  This paper is a wrinkled paper, almost like crepe paper.  The diamond die easily cut it.  I stamped the solid diamonds right on top of the wrinkles and I love the texture that it added.   

I'm going to have to try this paper with some of my other dies as well.  It is such an easy way to add texture and interest to a card and the diamonds look so crisp cut into it!

Last card for today...

There is a special this month that if you purchase $75 worth of products, you will receive a free limited edition stamp set!  It has fun little sayings in it, unlike what you've seen elsewhere...and the font is spectacular!  This CAS card features a sentiment from that free "Awesome Sauce" set.  The little planet is included in the Notebook Doodle set, also being released this week.  I added a strip of washi tape to the top of it.  Simple, simple!

Thank you so much for visiting this week!  I have certainly enjoyed sharing with you!  To have a chance to win a gift certificate to the Lil' Inker Designs store, be sure to leave a comment on my blog. 

To continue on in the blog hop, visit Mary's blog.

Have a great day!

Doodle Fun!

Welcome back to Day 2 of the Lil' Inker Designs release week!  What did you think of what you saw yesterday?  I have even more to share with you today from the Diamonds/Circle line, but first up, another new set of products also releasing from LID this month!   If you are following along in the blog hop, you should have come from Debby's fabulous blog.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, please visit Laura's blog.

First up today, is a card made using the fun new set called "Notebook Doodles".  I have to admit that I was slightly intimidated by this set because it was so different than anything I've used before, but once I started playing with it, it was a lot of fun and now I really like it a lot!  For this card, I took a page from an old children's book, cut it to the size I wanted, and then started stamping my images in VersaMark and then embossing with black embossing powder.  Then, I took a fun new tool to me, Inktense pencils, colored in my images where I wanted and then used a waterbrush to make the colors even more vivid and ink like.  

For my sentiment, I embossed it in white on black grid paper and then added a strip of glitter to the top.  There are a lot of fun sentiments in this set.

Have a look at the full stamp set:

I have one more card to share using this set and then one more using my Darling Diamonds set.

For this card I used one of the large star doodle stamps and one of the sentiments.  I again used my new Inktense pencils and a waterbrush.  The little notebook die is a new die Lil' Inkers is releasing this month too.  Isn't it cute?  I tied a piece of Shimmer Twine from The Twinery through one of the holes.

The last card for today uses the new Connected Circles Border Die.  

I impressed the new Circle & Diamond Stitched Pattern Die into Hawaiian Shore cardstock.  By impressing it, instead of cutting with it, it left deep impressions in the cardstock but it didn't cut all the way through, so it gave the pattern a more subtle look.  Then, I took a piece of patterned cardstock and cut it with the Pattern Die as well, stamped the solid diamond in the center with VersaMark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  The "Thank You" sentiment is from the Pinwheel Sentiments stamp set.

Thank you again for stopping by!  I'll have another post for you tomorrow!  Have you enjoyed these sets so far?  I hope so!! I'd love to hear your thoughts!  And, just by leaving a comment, you have a chance to win one of two $10 gift certificates to the Lil' Inker Designs store!

To continue on in the blog hop, visit Mary's blog.

Darling Diamonds...Exciting News!!

Hello!! Today is such an exciting day for me!  It is Lil' Inker Designs release day 1 and I have a special fondness for this particular release!  Way back in July, I approached Laura about an idea I had for a set of dies and stamps that I felt fit LID to a "t".  After many, many hours of research and emails back and forth today is the day that that dream idea becomes a reality!  If you are following along in the blog hop, you should have come from Isha's blog.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, please visit Laura's blog.

One more thing before we get to the release, I want to send a big welcome to our new design team member Suzanne Dahlberg!! She is amazingly talented and I am so excited to have her on the Lil' Inker Design Team!

Here's part of what I sent to Laura on the process of narrowing down what to include in the set and why.  It was a lot of fun to explore all of the ideas associated with this set!

I have made quite a few samples with this set and I'll be showing you a few each day through Wednesday (and another new set being released by LID tomorrow too!)  

So...let's get on with the samples, shall we!

This card really does make me smile.  It includes my favorite color combos and I had SO MUCH FUN putting this together!  The new Darling Diamonds stamp set includes eight different patterns of diamonds to choose from and I used four different patterns for this card: solid, wood grain, polka dot & stripes.  I stamped each of those patterns in a different color...can you even begin to imagine all of the possibilities that you have with those options?  Then, I used the little pointed oval stamp to stamp tea dye ink inside of each of the little ovals made by the cover plate die. I know it seems like a lot of stamping, but it went really quickly!  I love the large sentiments included with this set too!  (The "It's Your Birthday" sentiment comes from the Lil' Inker Designs Acorn set.)  I added colorful colors of matching twine from The Twinery to the sentiment panel.

If you think that this set can only be used for feminine cards, think again!  For this masculine themed card, I used a different pattern for stamping my colors (it plays tricks on your eyes if you look at it for long!).  I chose to stamp the matching colors on the circles above & below the actual circles and it created a totally different effect (see examples below).  Then, I stamped the diamonds in the middle of those circles with tea dye ink and left the original diamonds open.  The sentiment is from the previously released set, Sentiment Flags Additions set.

The first picture above, shows the complete circles highlighted in aqua, brown & ocean.  The second example shows how I stamped the circles on the masculine card above.  I used different parts of the circles to create a "fuller" look.  (This is really hard to explain, so I hope it makes at least some sense!)

I think it's about time to see the products in full, don't you?

I haven't shown you this border die in action yet but it'll be coming yet this week! ;)

Also, if you place a $75 order, you'll receive a FREE bonus sentiment set with your order!  Just add it to your cart and use the code: AWESOMESAUCE.  This will remove $5 from your order giving you the set for free.  Or, if you'd like to purchase it, it can be yours for $5!

 

Would you like to win a gift certificate to the Lil' Inker Designs store?  There are TWO $10 gift certificates up for grabs!  Two comments will be chosen from the comments left on the blogs along the hop this week to win!  And, I am particularly interested in hearing about what you think of this new set!! I hope you LOVE it!! I have been SO excited to share it with you!

To continue on in the blog hop, visit Mary's blog.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you back tomorrow!

Snow, Snow & More Snow!

It is a snowy day here in my little town in Kansas!  We have 12 - 14 inches of snow from the reports I've heard and everything is bright white!  So, in honor of this snow day (and a day off from work too, yippee!) I wanted to share a snowflake card I made a while ago. 

 

This is a bright & wild & crazy card but I like how it turned out!  I used various sizes of Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Square Mats to make "frames" and then popped each one up on dimensionsals to make the layers.  It was so easy to do this with the mat dies!  The snowflake die is a great one from the Snowflake dies set from LID.

 

 

Here you can see the way I layered each frame with the dimensionals. 

 

 

I used The Twinery's Gold Shimmer Twine for the bow...ahhh, I love that stuff!!  That bright, fun patterned paper is from Bo Bunny's Very Vintage Double Dot Designs paper pack.  Have to say that that is some fun (and bright!) polka dotted paper! :)

 

Thank you for stopping by today!! I plan to get back to my crafty table for a while this afternoon and play some more with the brand new Lil' Inker Designs products that will be releasing next week (including something that I helped design!!)!! 

 

 

Let's Polka Dot!

Hey everyone! Today I am sharing a card that I made for The Twinery's new monthly challenge!  I am so excited about participating in these each month!  The first theme is Let's Polka Dot and I have a lot of dots on my card, lol!  I started by stamping the dotted images in various colors on the rectangle stitched mat by Lil' Inker Designs.  Then, I took matching twine from The Twinery (Peapod, Mandarin, & Marigold), wrapped it around the end of a pen three times and tied it.  Then, I used a glue pen to adhere the twine swirls to my card.

The twine adds a fun little spin to the polka dot theme...literally!  It is really simple to do too.  To finish the card off, I tied a piece of Midnight Blue twine to the sentiment panel.

I hope you'll consider playing along with The Twinery's Let's Polka Dot Challenge!  Each month there will be two different challenges posted AND PRIZES!! Whoo hoo!!  To play along, visit The Twinery's blog for all the information.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Check this out.....a new die!

Hello!  Welcome to a special post today!  Why is it special?  Because I am one of four girls showcasing a new die made by a very special person & friend Laurie Willison!  How fun and exciting!!

Today we are showcasing a new concept for card makers that I think you're going to flip over!  It's called a "Card Hanger Die' and it is designed to showcase our cards as part of the packaging, instead of hiding the card inside an envelope.  Laurie has put together a You Tube video to show you how the die works.  Be sure to take a few minutes to check it out!

Let's hear what Laurie has to say about the die she created:  As card makers, we spend a lot of time and put a lot of love into our cards. Then we get the gift ready for the party and what happens to the card? It gets put in an envelope and hidden away. Now with this new card hanger die, you can proudly display your card, as your card and as your gift bag decoration. If you love kraft colored things, like most crafters do, you have a stack of kraft gift bags ready to decorate. Just add the die to several bags and then you will be ready with a quick gift at a moments notice. Please check out Laurie's blog for more info on how to purchase this die. 

There is a giveaway too!! Be sure to leave a comment on my blog post for a chance to win one of these card hanger dies. One winner will be randomly chosen from the comments on all 4 blogs. 

I have several projects to share with you.  Up first, a card & bag for a baby gift.

For this bag, I used the die on the side so that I can use a horizontal card with it.  I love that this is an option!

I love using "bulky" items on my cards like this fun pinwheel, but how do you put them in an envelope without smashing them?  I'm so glad that I don't have to worry about that with this die!  

Supplies:  My Mind's Eye Tangerine Paper, Melon Berry Cardstock PTI, Gold Shimmer Twine by The Twinery, Lil' Inkers Designs Mini Pinwheel Die & Stamp Set & Stitched Flag Die, SU! Top Note Die, PTI Summer Sunrise Button

And one more project to share with you today.  

I know...doesn't look like much.  I decorated the bottom of the bag with some washi tape that I've collected.  There is a tiny little blue stamp to the left that says "Pull Here".  That rolled  "blob" in the middle is a scroll and has a twine handle wrapped through it with a button pull.  When the recipient pulls on it...

...it starts to unroll a secret message.  This one happens to be for a birthday, but you could use it for any occasion such as Christmas, graduation, Valentine's Day, Mother's & Father's Day, etc...

Keep on pulling and an even bigger scene is revealed.   

Here is a closeup of the pull tab and button.  I threaded two colors of twine by The Twinery (Mandarin & Caribbean) through the button holes and tied them together in a bow.  You're not quite done pulling though...

...keep pulling and you find a special gift that anyone would love to receive...money!  Now, if you are like me, you LOVE to receive money or gift cards as a gift but hate to give them.  They just aren't fun to give!  They are boring and seem so impersonal!  BUT...this spices things up a little.  This was inspired by a gift that my mother-in-law gives my son each Christmas.  She likes to give him cash but tries to find a creative way to gift it.  

If you're curious how the scroll stays inside the bag, I put adhesive on the end of the patterned paper and rolled it around an old, round clothespin.  It's light enough that it won't tear the paper but is heavy enough to keep the scroll in the bag until it is pulled.

Thank you for stopping by today!  

Be sure to stop & visit the other three gals showcasing projects today.  If you'd like to purchase the die, there are limited quantities available over on Laurie's blog (on her sidebar) so get them while you can!

Laurie Willison

Suzanne Dahlberg

Amy Kolling

Have a great day!!

For You Tag

Hello!  I have a tag that I created today for the PTI Pinterest inspired challenge.  We were to find a pin on Pinterest and then make a tag or packaging based on that photo.

Here is what I came up with.

A simple little tag in a favorite color combo!  I love, love aqua and green color combos and with the Raspberry Fizz thrown in it just makes me long for Spring!

I stamped the Rosie Posie flowers in Raspberry Fizz & Sweet Blush Ink and then stamped the leaves in New Leaf (stamped off once first) and Spring Moss.  The sentiment is from one of the Fillable Frames sets.  I tied the Raspberry Fizz satin ribbon with a piece of The Twinery's Seaweed Twine and a New Leaf button (LOVE!!). 

This is the pin that I based this tag on:

I'd share the link with you, but oops! it is no longer good.  But, at least I can share the original photo.

Thank you for stopping by today!  Hope you have a beautiful day!!

I hear much-needed rain tapping against the window (and I hear some thunder too!) in this drought striken Kansas land as I type this.  Praise the Lord!!

More Stamps for Sale!

Hello!  I have been going through my stamps again and purging more sets that don't see enough love from me!  There are a lot stamps for sale from Papertrey Ink, PSA Essentials, Rubbernecker Designs, Hampton Arts,  The Angel Company, etc!

I will keep My "Stamps for Sale"  page tab at the top of my blog as up to date on what is currently available as I possibly can.  So if you are wondering if a stamp set is still available, you can check there to see if it is still listed or you can send me a message.  I will most likely  not be updating my original posts.

Shipping is $2.00 for the first set plus 50 cents for every set after that (unless noted). Sets will be shipped in a plastic bag & cushioned mailer through USPS. Some of these sets are indexed on the back of the cling.  The stamp sets from The Angel Company are deeply-etched unmounted rubber with a cling backing.  These are all gently used stamps in great condition!

Payment can be made by Paypal!  You can contact me by email via the sidebar on my blog.  Look for the "Contact Me!! Send Me An Email" function on the right!

PTI Asian Fusion $15  SOLD

PTI Wreath for All Seasons $11  PENDING

 

PTI Rustic Branches $15

PTI Merry Little Christmas $11

PTI Vintage Labels $15

Hampton Arts Ditto Labels $5

Ashley's Blossoms My Cute Stamps $10

Autumn Leaves For the Record $7

PSA Essentials Cupcake $9

PSA Essentials Rosettas $9

There She Goes "Make a Wish" $13 SOLD

Verve Framed Wishes $4

Rubbernecker Stamps "Fall Trilogy Set" $6 PENDING

(Red cling mounted rubber)

Stamps below are all rubber cling-mounted stamps: 

TAC Fore $6

TAC Forget Not $6

TAC Edge Designs $8

TAC Bless Your Heart $5 (mostly uncut, with indexing on cling)

TAC Date Disks $7 (indexing on cling)

TAC Faith Hope Love $4

TAC Floral Fruits $6

TAC Joyful Ornaments $6

TAC Open Presents $5

(Bold words are: birthday!, celebrate!, party!)

Script words are: Life is short, open your presents first!, happy, you're invited)

MISC Stamps (script words are from SU!) $3

*****************************

Misc Stamp Sets:

Stamps of Life Joy2Christmas $8

You’re Dandy Practicing Creativity $8 (slight staining)

More of The Angel Company Stamp sets

(deeply etched rubber, cling mounted.  Some have been indexed on the back of the cling)

Running Stitches $10

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #3

Sample #4

Sample #5

Sample #6

I Heart You $10

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #3

Sample #4

Sample #5

Holiday Wishes $6

Sweet Goodies $10

Samples 

Needed Numbers $6

You Words $3

Mini Medley (New & Uncut) $6

Aged Ornaments $6

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #3

Sample #4

 Be of Good $10

Sample 1

Classic Alphabet $8

Only about 1/2 of these letters have been cut out

Sample

 Distressed Typewriter Bet $10

 Floral Dingbats $6

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

Sample 4

 Great Greetings $5
Sample 1

Just for You $4

Simple Bet $9

Sample 1

Sample 2

Punctuation $6

Misc Handmade Stamps $3

Happy Celebration $4
Sample

Background Builders $5

Party Notes $7

CTMH Stamp Set

Small Pleasures (some staining on a few stamps) $9

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

If you are interested in any of these sets, you can email me by clicking on the "Send Me an Email" button on the left-hand sidebar on my blog or respond with a comment to this post!  Thank you!!  Have a good day!