New Items Added!

I added several new items to my Etsy shop and wanted to share with you.  You can see more about each item at my Etsy shop, Jen's Ink Spot.

Hawaiian Shores (Turquoise) Bakers Twine, 10 yards $2

Faux Vintage Pink Sparkle Wire Wrapped Button Ring

Caribbean Sun Wire Wrapped Button Ring

Silver Flower Wire Wrapped Button Ring

Royal Blue Wire Wrapped Button Ring

Cupcake Sprinkles Wire Wrapped Button Ring (Child)

Lime Orange Wire Wrapped Button Ring

Thanks for stopping by! If you are looking for a ring in a certain color combination, let me know! I can custom make a ring just for you!  Have a great holiday weekend!

A Thank You to Nichole (Blog Hop)

Who is Nichole?  Well, she is one of the single most influential and inspiring crafters to me.  She is someone who has helped me find and define my style and has shown me what to look for in a card.  Her creations both as stamps sets and the cards and projects she makes with them never cease to amaze me.  If I had one word to describe her it would be GENIUS!  Many companies are trying to follow in her footsteps and be and do what she does, because she tends to set the trends.  She is one of the owners of Papertrey Ink and this is a blog hop in her honor.  A thank you for her inspiration and hard work. 

I wanted to make a card truly inspired by Nichole.  I wanted simple but something that made a statement.  I hope I achieved that. 

This layout is based on the Clean & Simple Sketch #104 that you can see here.

Nichole, thank you for your hard work!  Thank you for making me a better stamper!  Thank you for providing the tools that you have that have truly changed and defined this industry!  I am inspired by you constantly and am challenged as a paper crafter at the same time.  I am very thankful to you for that!

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Tin Type Background, Friends Til the End, Beautiful Blossoms II, Spiral Bouquet
Paper: Lemon Tart, Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado
Ink: Tea Dye Duo, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate, Palette Landscape, Champagne VersaMark
Other: Ribbon, Pearls by Kaiser, Fiskars Border Punch

"Kind Words" Very Mini Blog Hop

My friend Laurie of Soapbox Creations and I decided that since we like to make cards so much and we are both bad about sending them, we would challenge each other to send at least one out a week!  So this card is made with that purpose in mind.  And, we are doing a VERY mini blog hop together today to showcase our first cards (and we just happened to use the same sentiment)! 

This card is for a special friend of mine who is always such an encouragement to everyone around her.  It is so wonderful to hear how the Lord is using her both in her personal life and in her work life.  People are just so attracted to her because she is such a loving and warm person.

Recently I found this wonderful, bright colored twine by the Twinery that I fell in love with!! And, the colors match PTI colors so well!!  See that one that matches Hawaiian Shores?  SWOON!!! :)  (hint, hint, if you like, it, I bought a bunch and might consider cutting some up and adding it to my Etsy store at a great price.  Are you interested?)

I punched holes in the tree branch, knotted the twine and slipped it through the holes.  Isn't that sentiment wonderful!! Oh my how I do love it!!

Here's one last one to show you the dimension a little better:

Aren't these colors so wonderful together!  I saw them featured on a challenge and remembered them.  The challenge is called Color Cue by WPlus9. 

Thanks for stopping by!! Be sure to visit Laurie's blog too and let her know how wonderfully beautiful her card is (and it IS gorgeous, just wait until you see it!!).

**Edited to add that I am so happy to have been chosen as Jinny's pick on the Color Cue challenge!  Yea!! Thanks Jinny!!**

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)

Stamps: Beyond Basics Borders, Woodgrain Background, Polka Dot Basics II, Tin Types, Verve Kind Words
Paper: Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold, White
Ink: Pure Poppy, Chocolate Brown, Champagne VersaMark
Other:  Twine (Caribbean, Maraschino, Lemondrop by the Twinery), pop dots

Brown Paper Bag: PTI August Blog Hop

Welcome to the August Papertrey Ink blog hop!

"In honor of school going back into session everywhere, we thought it would be fun to issue a Brown Bag Challenge. We want to see what you can do to dress up, alter, or change an ordinary brown lunch bag into a paper crafting work of art."

I decided to make one of my most favorite things right now...banners!  I see them everywhere (and am begging for PTI to make their own interchangable banner set!!)!  I created this one with a birthday theme. 

While the party is going on it serves as a decoration but at the end of the party, each guest can take one part of the banner home with them simply by untying the ribbon that holds each piece together!

(I do have to warn you, there are quite a few pictures, but I am trying to keep my words to a minimum!)

How it is made: I took a brown paper bag and drew a triangle pattern with the point at the bottom of the bag.  I then sewed each side with a sewing machine (I did not sew the top where it opens).  Because the bottom of the bag was folded up, when I sewed it, it created a pocket which is where you see the Laffy Taffy/Tootsie Rolls.  Also, since I didn't sew up the top part, it created a second pocket where I put the pixie sticks.  I then attached the decorations (scallops at top & sides attached with strong tape/glue).

Here are closeups of each design:

And you can't have a birthday party without a card!  Here's the card I designed to match the banners.

See that flower?  It was made with a brown paper bag as well!

Thank you SO much for stopping by! I'd love to hear what you think!

Be sure to check out the other blog hop participants via the link on Nichole's blog! Blog posts can be added until 11:00 PM Central Time tonight so be sure to check for an updated list!

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Polka Dot Basics, A Little Argyle, Distressed Stripes, Background Basics: Petal Power, Fillable Frames (sentiment on card)
Paper: Paper Bag, Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Plum Pudding, White, Kraft
Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Plum Pudding, Simply Chartruese, Raspberry Fizz
Other: Ribbon, Border Punches, Brad, Sewing Machine, Ribbon, Gel Pens, PTI Buttons, Beautiful Blooms Dies, Fillable Frames Die