A Messy Thanks!

Today is the 12th and it is time for another Hot Mess card.  This is card number 19 and we are well into year #2. The idea of Hot Mess ~ Success started with Kelly and the general theme is to Get Messy and you will have Success!  Messiness can be almost anything that we come up with--glitter, alcohol inks, glimmer glitz, sponged backgrounds, etc., anything that is a bit messy.  We are a group of 6 and we will post a card each month on the 12th.  The links to the other 5 members are on my left side bar and I will also link them at the bottom at this post.

For this month's messiness,  I picked some Tim Holtz Alcohol inks and Silver Alloy along with a sheet of Yupo Cardstock.  I moved the ink around and added more color and silver along with the blending solution.  I also used my Tim Holtz Air Blower to move the ink and I had hoped it would be more wispy.  I will keep trying!  I die cut Taylored Expressions Thanks script from The Paper Cut Silver Mirricard and the backer from Gorgeous Grape. I added some Stampin' Up Silver Cording behind the word and a few Taylored Expressions silver drip drops for some additional shine.   

Here is the inside of my card, with a strip of washi tape:

Here are the links to the other members of Hot Mess ~ Success.  Please be sure to check out Jeanette's, Terry's, Kelly's , Carol's and Darlene's blogs. I am sure you will enjoy seeing how everyone got messy and was successful in making some great cards!   We will all continuing this year, so be sure to check back to see what we are up to on March 12th.  

Image/Sentiment: Taylored Expressions Thanks Script and Backer Die

Cardstock/Patterned Paper: Yupo; Stampin' Up Gorgeous Grape, Bermuda Bay; The Paper Cut Silver Mirricard

Ink: Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks and Silver Alloy with Blending Solution

Accessories:  Stampin' Up White Silver Cording; Taylored Expressions Silver Drip Drops

No Matter How Old You Get

This is my February card for the monthly themed swap that Terry is hosting on SCS. Each month she will post a theme and we make cards using any stamp set we believe follows that thought. This is our 57th month and the theme for February is "Birthday".  

I picked a wood mounted stamp from the fun Inkadinkadoo stamp line-it does not have a name on the stamp.   I love these sentiments that come "from the mouths of babes"!   I picked a fun patterned paper from Photo Play Paper called Party Boy-Cakes.  I added a strip of Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz Grosgrain Ribbon and three blue enamel dots.  I think this is a fun card.

Here is the inside of my card:

I hope Terry and the others swappers like my card this month too! Terry has already posted the March theme and the ones for the rest of the year.  Be sure to come back in to see what we create!  

Image/Sentiment:  Inkadinkadoo Wooden Stamp

Cardstock/Patterned Paper:  The Paper Cut Cougar Opaque 110# White; Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz, Balmy Blue, Calypso Coral; Photo Play Paper Party Boy-Cakes

Ink:  Stampin' Up Balmy Blue

Accessories:   Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz Grosgrain Ribbon; Blue Enamel Dots

For The Love of Chocolate

Today is the 10th and the day we are to post our  Stamp What? challenge with the three collaborators you have seen many times in the past--Kelly, Jeanette and me! We started this in January of 2020, so we are now starting our second year of this fun challenge.  Kelly came up with the challenge to randomly pick a Stampin' Up set and make a card with that set.  Get the dust off of those forgotten Stampin' Up sets! 

I decided when this group challenge started to only use the wooden Stampin' Up stamps that are on my bottom shelves.  So this month, I randomly picked the For The Love of Chocolate set!  This is also an older set as the year 2006 is on the box. I started stamping in 2004 and I remember buying this set used a few years later.  It is such a "sweet" set.

I embossed the set of truffles on ivory cardstock and colored the small parts with my Copic Markers.  I also embossed the sentiment.  I cut all of the layers of ivory and Early Espresso from my Memory Box Wrapped Rectangle Dies. I embossed the back panel with Stampin' Up Hammered Metal Embossing powder.   I added some pearls to the center of the flowers.  

I like the look of my card this month and I hope you do too.  Be sure to check out Jeanette and Kelly's cards.  I am sure they have some fun cards with those "oldies but goodies" stamp sets by Stampin' Up!  And be sure to check back every month on the 10 to see what we create!  

Image/Sentiment: Stampin' Up For The Love of Chocolate

Cardstock/Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up Early Espresso; Recollections Ivory

Ink:   Stampin' Up Early Espresso

Accessories:   Memory Box Wrapped Stitched Rectangles Dies; Stampin' Up Hammered Metal Embossing Folder

U and Me!

It is time for another The Three Musketeers post. We are ready to showcase the card we all created with the fun image that Kelly sent for February-the month of love--for Card #78!  That means we are half way through year #6--can you believe that?  All three of us sure have enjoyed the challenges every month and we hope that it continues for a long time!  I am up for the March challenge so be sure to come back to see what we create!  

For our card this month, Kelly sent out this sweet image from Stamp Anniething  called Candice-XOXO! I think it is so cute and I love every bit of it!

I colored the image with my Copic Sketch Markers.  I added some Wink of Stella i the heart.   I cut the image and layered it on Blushing Bride.  I picked some Bella Blvd Illustrated Faith patterned paper from the You Are Loved line called Heart A Flutter.  I used both sides of the paper by adding a strip of the larger, multi-colored hearts.  I added some Cherry Cobber Baker's Twine under the sentiment.  I hope Jeanette and Kelly along with you enjoy my card!

Here is the inside of my card:

Please check out the other Musketeer's cards.  Here is the link to Jeanette's blog along with Kelly's blog.  I am sure you will not be disappointed and will see a couple of great cards!  They may post today or tomorrow, so be sure to check out their blogs for their card!   As I mentioned before, I am up for our March challenge.  Please be sure to join us again.  

Image/Sentiment:  Stamp Anniething Candice-XOXO

Cardstock/Patterned Paper:  Accent Opaque 120# White; Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride; Bella Blvd Illustrated Faith You Are Loved-Heart A Flutter Patterned Paper

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories:  Copic Sketch Markers; Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine; Wink of Stella

Valentine Chicks

This is my February Crafters of Faith card.  This is a great group that my friend Kelly started on SCS.  She hosted for 5 years and now Faith has taken over for year #6. We will continue as we have in the past with each month a new hostess gives us a scripture and challenges us to make a card with that theme.  I am the hostess this month and gave everyone this challenge:

Scripture--1 Corinthians 13:13. So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love

Challenge--please make  project showcasing one of these three virtues and have three items on your project (three colors, three ribbons; three dies, etc.)

I inked up these sweet chicks from Stamping Bella called Valentine Chicks.  I colored them with my Copic Sketch markers--they just make me smile.  The sentiment is from the same set.  The background is from Canvas Corp Paper called White Mini Hearts. I added three red enamel dots for the final touch.  So--the virtue I am highlighting is Love--with the heart, chocolate cupcake and roses!  There are three cute chicks along with three red enamel dots.   I really like the look of this card! 

Here is the inside of my card:

I hope you and the others from the Crafters of Faith group like my card this month!  We are to post on the 7th of each month, so if you look on my sidebar, you may see other creations.  I know that there will be many posted in the COF thread on SCS too! 

Image/Sentiment:   Stamping Bella Valentine Chicks

Cardstock/Patterned Paper:  The Paper Cut Cougar Opaque 100# Solar White;  Stampin' Up Real Red, Basic Black; Canvas Corp Paper White Mini Hearts

Ink:  Hero Arts Intense Black

Accessories:  Copic Sketch Markers; Red Enamel Dots

At Home With Gnomes

This is my second month for my new monthly challenge for 2021--At Home With Gnomes. Each month I will create a card using one of my many gnome images.  I do not have a set day for the post-but I do plan to make one every single month!

For my card this month, I picked one of my winter gnome stamps from Whipper Snapper Designs called Wilbur & Charlotte. Aren't they a couple of sweet gnomes!   I colored these sweethearts with my Copic Sketch Markers. I die cut the image and the navy layer from Gina Marie Designs Stitched Square dies.  I picked some pretty snowy patterned paper from the Celebrate Christmas line from Echo Park Paper called Holly Jolly for the background.  A single red enamel heat along with navy and gold sheer ribbon is the final touch!  I think this is a fun card.

Here is the inside of my card:

I am sure I have more than enough gnome images to use a different one each month.  I will be back in March and will show you another gnome, so stay tuned!

Image/Sentiment:  Whipper Snapper Designs Wilbur & Charlotte

Cardstock/Patterned Paper:  The Paper Cut Cougar Opaque 100# White; Stampin' Up Soft Suede, Night of Navy; Echo Park Paper Celebrate Christmas-Holly Jolly Patterned Paper

Ink:  Hero Arts Intense Black

Accessories:  Copic Sketch Markers; Gina Marie Designs Stitched Square Dies; Red Enamel Heart; Navy and Gold Sheer Ribbon

One + Twelve ~ Month 2

This is my One Plus Twelve card, my second month of 2021!  This was the brainchild of Kelly and she asked Jeanette and me to join her in this challenge in 2019. We are to use just one stamp, to make a card every month and post on the 3rd of each month.  It was so much fun that the three of decided to continue for our third year and pick a new image to use.

For 2021, I picked a Gina K Designs set called Thankful Greenery.  I think this set is so pretty and I can see in my mind many ways that I can use this image.  Plus--I will have 12 thank you cards at the end of the year!

For this month's card, I stamped the image with Hero Arts Intense Black ink on my white cardstock.  I then colored in the leaves and berries or flowers with my Copic Sketch markers.  I die cut the image with my Stampin' Up Stitched So Sweetly scalloped rectangle die. The background is a piece of Stampin' Up Fancy Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper that I added Taylored Expressions Lime Zest ink with a blender brush. The sentiment is from the same set.  I added a few yellow enamel dots for the final touch!

Here is the inside of my card, with a strip of washi tape:

Please be sure to check out the other One plus Twelve cards.  Here is a link to Jeanette's and Kelly's blog. I am sure you will enjoy checking out what stamp set each of them picked for 2021 and will see a couple of great cards! I hope Kelly and Jeanette like my card and that you might too! Be sure to check back every month on the 3rd to see our cards!

Image/Sentiment: Gina K Designs Thankful Greenery

Cardstock: The Paper Cut Cougar Opaque 100# White; Stampin' Up Pineapple Punch, Lemon Lime Twist, Fancy Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper

Ink: Hero Arts Intense Black; Taylored Expressions Lime Zest

Accessories: Taylored Expressions Blender Brushes; Stampin' Up Stitched Sweetly Dies; Copic Sketch Markers; Yellow Enamel Dots

A Little Love

Today is the day I am posting my card for our Challenge Your Stash group on SCS.  This is our 78th month of de-stash and we are starting our 5th year of our challenges.  

The premise is to create a card or something else that uses only items that are in your own stamp room--nothing new is to be purchased.  The hostess each month posts their challenge to the group. Each person in the group creates their card with their own image, their own papers, their own embellishments with their own supplies--using up items from their own stash!  The card can be for any occasion and each person is encouraged to send the card on its way to someone so it can be admired.  It is a way for us to step out of the box a bit and create something that follows a challenge--isn't that what a challenge is supposed to be.  And--no money is spent as all items are to be already available in each of own stamping spaces.

Lisa posted our January challenge--Create a friendship card and use a flower or heart on your card.

I picked a new Gina K Designs stamp, die and stencil combo called A Little Love Bundle. I first inked the three step stencils with my Taylored Expressions Blender Brushes and TE ink cubes.  It is fun to take off each subsequent stencil to see the sweet patterns.  I then die cut some of the images with the coordinating dies.  I then die cut the word Love and the shadow from white and Magenta Madness.  The small sentiment is from the same set and I stamped in black ink and used a banner die from a Gina K Master Layouts.  The background is a We R Memory Keepers Geometric Embossing Folder.   I added all of the die cuts on the background and added Gina K Angel Aura Rhinestones for the final touch!

Here is the inside of my card:

If you check some of the blogs on my sidebar, you may find others who have posted their cards in the next few days. There may be more posted in the thread on SCS, so you might want to check out the link here.  We also have a keyword for the SCS Gallery--it is CYSJAN.  You might see many cards there if you do a search.  They probably will be posted today or maybe yesterday or in the next few days.

I hope you enjoyed my card and I know I am excited to check out what my other hoarders, I mean stash reducers have made!  Thanks for stopping by today!  For February, Danielle is up for our challenge.  Be sure to check back to see what we create then!

Image/Sentiment:  Gina K Designs A Little Love Stamp, Die and Stencil Bundle

Cardstock:  The Paper Cut Cougar Opaque 110# White; Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz, Magenta Madness, Basic Black

Ink:  Taylored Expressions Ink Cubes

Accessories:  Gina K Angel Aura Rhinestones, Master Layouts; We R Memory Keepers Geometric Embossing Folder

Stamping Sisters Mini Winter Camp ~ Day 4

Hello friends and Stamping Sisters!  Welcome to Day 4--the final day-- of our Stamping Sisters Mini Winter Camp 2021. I was the first teacher on Monday and we learned how to strip.  Using card strips--not what you might be thinking.  It is winter by the way!   Darlene was our teacher Tuesday and we learned to reflect.   Wednesday it was Kelly's day to teach us to use some of the magazines we have for backgrounds.  Today, our teacher is Jeanette-let's see what she is presenting. Please join us--it sure will be fun!

Here are our blogs and the days we were the camp counselor if you need to look back:

Monday, January 25 ~  Barb (me!)  @ inkingintoretirement

Tuesday, January 26 ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

Wednesday, January 27 ~ Kelly @ Sandcastlestamper

Thursday January 28 ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay

For Jeanette's card, this is what she said:  Grab that bottle old-fashioned school glue. It could be the good stuff (Elmer's) or the cheap stuff. I read somewhere - I don't remember where - that when you add glue to cardstock (AND LET IT COMPLETELY DRY), you will get varying coverage of ink when you blend ink onto it. As I recall the technique could be used with any kind of ink. So--take a piece of plastic packaging and added a fair amount of glue in a pool on it and then I dabbed a 2" square acrylic block into the glue and then transferred the glue onto a piece of cardstock by gently placing the acrylic block on the cardstock, glue-side down. I repeated this process until I had a reasonable coverage on the cardstock. Set the glued pieces of cardstock aside and let them completely dry. Once the glue has completely dried, use a blender brush to add ink to the cardstock and notice how the glue areas take the ink differently than those without glue. She also had a few other options so be sure to check out her blog if you want more info.  

I have never done something like this, so it was time to get into a sticky situation.  I took cheap glue--office supply store type--and put it on a piece of thick acetate.  I had a small piece about 2" x 4" that I cut off of the piece I used for Darlene's reflection technique on Tuesday.  I then swiped it over three different types of cardstock--two different whites-Neenah and Cougar as well as an ivory from Recollections.  I put down the glue in the morning, before I did a few errands and a treadmill walk.

This afternoon, they were all dry, though I could not see much difference in how the sheets looked.  I then brush blended two shades of colors of Taylored Expressions inks on each of the cards and then I saw the shades react differently.

I decided to use the purple one and the shades of brown on the ivory.  For the purple, I picked a die from The Stamps of Life called Thank You.  I also cut a larger circle from a piece of cardstock to see how that looked under, but I liked the color showing through.  A few enamel dots was the only embellishment.

For the shades of brown, I used two Stampin' Up sets--Gently Falling for the leaf and Country Home for the sentiment.  I used Gina K Designs Master Layouts 2 and 3 to cut the circles and stitching around the colored panel.  Three enamel dots and linen thread are the added embellishments.

I really like both of the cards and the panels with the colors are pretty:

I hope you have enjoyed my cards. I invite you to join us by making your own card today and maybe go back to make a card from the previous three days.  It is now your turn. Please check out Jeanette's blog today to get her tips on how to make a sweet background with glue..  And, be sure to check out Darlene and Kelly's blog later today to see how well they did on this technique.  Go and have some fun!  

I am not sure what the plans are for future camps--but I am ready for round 3!  Maybe later this spring or in the early summer again like we did in 2020.  I hope you have enjoyed our week of winter camping!

Image/Sentiment:  Stampin' Up Gently Falling, Country Home/The Stamps of Life Thank You Die

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up Early Espresso, Soft Suede; Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather; Neenah Classic Crest White; Cougar Opaque White; Recollections Ivory

Ink:  Stampin' Up Early Espresso, Crumb Cake on Leaf Card/Various Taylored Expressions Ink Cubes for backgrounds, using TE Blender Brushes

Accessories:  White Glue; Enamel Dots; Stampin' Up Linen Thread; Gina K Designs Master Layouts 2 and 3

Stamping Sisters Mini Winter Camp ~ Day 3

Hello friends and Stamping Sisters!  Welcome to Day 3 of our Stamping Sisters Mini Winter Camp 2021. I was the first teacher on Monday and we learned how to strip.  Using card strips--not what you might be thinking.  It is winter by the way!   Darlene was our teacher yesterday and we learned to reflect.   Today it is Kelly's day to teach us--so let's go. Please join us--it sure will be fun!

Here are our blogs and the days we are going to be the camp counselor:

Monday, January 25 ~  Barb (me!)  @ inkingintoretirement

Tuesday, January 26 ~ Darlene @ Accordingtobijou

Wednesday, January 27 ~ Kelly @ Sandcastlestamper

Thursday January 28 ~ Jeanette @ Creativeplay

For Kelly's card, this is what she said:  We are going to be doing Stamped Paper!  Supplies need: Any magazine, ink and a stamp w/ a matching die if desired (you can always just fussy cut!)  Pick your magazine page and ink up a stamp. Stamp directly onto your magazine paper and let it dry. The paper tends to be a little slick - so a heat gun may be good, too but not necessary. Once it's dry, die cut/fussy cut your image and add it to your card.

I have never done something like this, so it was a very fun card and technique.  First, I went through a few magazines  and picked some colorful pages.

Then, I picked the stamps and for one set, the matching dies.  I went with 2 Gina K Designs sets--Beautiful Butterflies and Friendship Flower.  There are dies for the butterfly set, so I stamped and cut a few different ones.  I then fussy cut the floral image.

For my card, I embossed a background with a Cuttlebug Folder called Modern Wallpaper.  I placed the flower down first and added two of the butterflies on the leaves, on the edges.  I added three sequins for a bit of bling!

Here is the inside of my card, with an additional butterfly:

I hope you have enjoyed my card. I invite you to join us by making your own card today and maybe go back to make a card with paper strips from my lesson on Monday and one with Darlene's reflections class from yesterday.   And, I do hope you are able to play along with us tomorrow with Jeanette's lesson.  We will each post our lesson in the morning and then in the afternoon, we will post a card made from the day's lesson.  Yes, Jeanette is up tomorrow morning with her class and I will be posting a card from her tutorial tomorrow afternoon. 

It is now your turn. Please check out Kelly's blog today to get her tips on how to stamp on your magazine pages.  And, be sure to check out Darlene and Jeanette's blog later today to see how well they did on this technique.  Go and have some fun!  

Image/Sentiment:  Gina K Designs Beautiful Butterflies Stamp set plus matching dies and Friendship Flower

Cardstock:  Stampin' Up Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight, Seaside Spray; Magazine pages

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug Modern Wallpaper; Sequins