Summer 2016 Coffee Lover's Blog Hop

I must admit that I haven't tried iced coffee, but do still enjoy the nice cup(s) of hot coffee on summer mornings. I'm participating in the 2016 Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. The Spring Hop was a ton of fun, so I knew I wanted to participate again. Looking forward to seeing all the amazing coffee creations linked up.

I started my Summer Coffee Card by die cutting from kraft and white cardstock a mug, sleeve and cover from Lil' Inker Designs Coffee Cozy Die Set. I inked up and did some simple coloring on the respective pieces, and affixed them to an inked gradient panel that had been die cut with LID's Stitched Mats: Long and Skinny Rectangles. I then die cut a sun and clouds from Lil' Inker Designs Large Sunshine Die and Rainbow and Clouds Die Set, and then stamped a birthday sentiment from the Coffee Cozy Stamp Set onto an inked banner. I affixed this over the coffee sleeve. I finished the card by stamping a sentiment from LID's Coffee Talk Stamp Set onto the white card base and added an orange decorative tab to the right of the sentiment.

I'm also posting this to my Instagram, I welcome new followers!

Lil' Inker Designs is sponsor of the Summer Coffee Lover's Blog Hop, and they have amazing coffee products!

*Affiliate Links Used in today's post...but I truly love this company!

Peeking In

My younger child is fascinated by shaker cards, how they are made, how they look, what they sound like. I've asked him a couple of times if he'd like to make one but he shakes his head. "I'll just see what you come up with...." is usually his response.

 

I made this shaker card with him in mind, along with the Craftin' Desert Diva's Masculine Linky Party and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Animal Kingdom in mind. (I used masculine colors and images.) I started with a kraft card base that was embossed with Lil' Inker Designs Cover Up Die: Stitched Woodgrain  and stamped with a Paper Smooches sentiment.

I then die cut a frame with Lil' Inker Designs Instant Camera Die to frame the cute little critter from Craftin' Desert Diva's Peek-A-Boo Animals Stamp Set. I also stamped a coordinating sentiment from this set onto the bottom part of the frame. The bear was colored with zigs and fussy cut, I also added the top hat. I created the shaker part of the shaker card (filling with blue sequins and silver stars). The bear and hat are in front of the acetate. The shaker was then adhered at an angle onto a blue panel and they were both adhered to the card base.

A Leafy Owl

"They are leaves. No, they are feathers. No, wait, what are they?" This was me, thinking about what the small stamps in My Favorite Things Forest Friends Stamp Set were-the two that are shaped like leaves, no feathers, leaves, feathers...

I wanted to use the stamps included in this set that haven't seen any ink yet for Anna's CASometry Challenge 2: Make Five: Stage 4. I decided to capitalize on my indecision and arranged the leaf/feather stamps in a circular arrangement, and then colored them in from a gradient of yellow, green and blue.

I then stamped an owl onto a die cut circle panel and then colored him with a blue/purple gradient. I mounted the panel over the leaves with foam adhesive and then onto a blue card base. I finished the card with a black cardstock, white heat embossed sentiment from Birthday Bears.

This has been a fun challenge, I'm already thinking of the fifth card I can make with this stamp set!

Beautiful Day

So happy that I had some buds on my peony bush this year, as I received some of my grandmother's bush a couple of years back. Slow start to them, but I guess it takes awhile for them to be established in a new home.

I saw the challenge colors at The Heart Desires and really wanted to stamp the flowers from Altenew's Beautiful Day in two orange tones, I am not sure if these blooms are supposed to be orange? I then stamped leaves in a navy blue ink, and I know that there aren't any of those in real life. That is the nice thing about crafting, you can create what fancies you.

To add a bit more interest to the card, I covered the leaves with some sparkle. Although I feel as though the sentiment is in an awkward location, I hemmed and hawed over the design of the card long enough and called it good. Sometimes one just has to move on, right?

Coral Clothed Gnome

I had a little time to myself today so of course I opted to make a card instead of clean the house. That is the natural thing to do, right?!

I'm playing along with the current My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #284 and their current Color Challenge #47.

I started by inking and stamping the sitting gnome from You Gnome Me, then I colored him with Zigs. I added white foam paint for his beard. He was nested in front and in back of some grass cut from the Fresh Cut Grass Die-Namics. Lots of dimension with this little detail! I die cut a circle enclosed in a square from ivory cardstock a from series of Lil' Inker Designs dies, and then mounted this to an ivory card base that had been embossed with Lil' Inker Designs Cover-Up Die: Stitched Woodgrain. (I thought that cute little heart in the embossed area complimented the cute little gnome quite nicely.) I finished the card with a sentiment strip inked in the sam color as the gnome's shirt, and added a sentiment.

LID:: June 2016 Release:: Day 3

It's the last day of the Lil' Inker Designs June 2016 Release. Have you picked up the fabulous products showcased yet? Which is your favorite? We have one final day of blog hopping for you for some last minute inspiration.If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from
The Lil' Inker Designs Store Blog!

My first project speaks to my coffee loving heart. It features the previously released Coffee Talk Stamps, as well as the NEW coordinating Coffee Talk Dies and Coffee Word Die. So happy that dies were produced to match this set. I started by inking a cardstock panel with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, shading heavily on the bottom of the piece and fading to the white. I then added a few splatters of water and lifted the ink. From this I was able to cut a strip of paper for a border, I used the Coffee Talk Dies to die cut the to-go cup as well as the Coffee Word Die for part of my sentiment. I then die cut a strip of red paper from the Dual Dotted Border Builder Dies. I assembled the card by adhering my distressed ink strip of paper, the red strip and then an aqua card panel. I stamped the sentiment from Coffee Talk Stamps and then added the die cut coffee word.
For a final touch I die cut a red straw, affixed that to the coffee cup and adhered this to the card panel, tucking it under the coffee word.

My last card for this release features the absolutely beautiful stamp set, Hello, Beautiful. I started by stamping and die cutting the bird in some funky colors using the coordinating Hello, Beautiful Dies. I then die cut two square frames (one with white cardstock and the other with the wine cardstock) with the innovative Fringe Scalloped Square Dies. I adhered these two frames together, but only at the very most interior edge, leaving the scallops on the wine panel to be able to be bent up. This allows a bit of white to peak from underneath, and I think it is the coolest effect! I also die cut a white strip of paper with the Dual Dotted Border Builder Dies, and ran some embroidery floss through the dots in a pattern. To assemble my card, I stamped a sentiment from Hello, Beautiful with wine ink onto a white cardstock base. I affixed a blue panel to the white card base, and then the embroidered strip, the square frame and then the bird was affixed with dimensional adhesive. I hope all that makes sense, but if you have any questions, please ask in the comments section! (Please be sure to include your email address with your question if you are a no-reply blogger, so that I can answer you!)

Here's a look at the new release products I've used in both my cards today, and they are available at the Lil' Inker Design Store now!

The next talented designer on the hop is Joy Taylor!

I invite you check out all the amazing new release items available now at the Lil' Inker Design Store .

Don't forget to leave a comment along the each of the stops on the hop, as there are three $15 gift certificates up for grabs to the Lil' Inker Designs Store!

LID:: June 2016 Release:: Day 2

After having a month off, Lil' Inker Designs has just release some awesome and unique new products. Today is the second of three days of the Lil' Inker Designs June 2016 Release Showcase!

Once again, we have a fabulous hop for you featuring innovative stamps and dies! If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from Jen Carter's Blog! 

My first project features many new coordinating products. I love how well these products coordinate. I started with a watercolored washed background that had been die cut with smaller rectangle in the Silly Stitches Die Set (previously released) and embossed with vintage cream embossing powder the wreath and a few small flowers and ferns from the beautiful Warm Welcome Stamp Set. I stamped with kraft ink a few of the small flowers and a sentiment also from the Warm Welcome Stamp Set.

I then die cut a kraft banner from Warm Welcome Die Set. (By the way, I really appreciate Laura's design initiative on this one, as this die set is meant to coordinate with the Warm Welcome Stamp Set, but it can totally be used on it's own, as it contains a wreath die, banner die and flowers.) On top of the banner I added a die cut and embossed Welcome from the Welcome Word Die. I finished the card by mounting the finished watercolored panel onto a kraft card base, where the front was embossed with largest rectangle die in Silly Stitches Die Set.

My next project features a number of new items paired with some classic Lil' Inker Designs dies. I first made an aqua cardstock base in which I adhered a sun die cut from Sunshine Die- Large. I then die cut a large panel from white cardstock with one of the borders from the original Border Builders Dies Set (with the Lil' Inker Designs signature stitching), which resembles fluffy white clouds. I then made a grass strip by die cutting a strip of white cardstock TWICE with the new straight Fringed Scalloped Border Builders Dies and then inked the strip with green ink. To complete my little scene, I die cut a stamped flower from the new Hello, Beautiful Stamp Set and Hello, Beautiful Die set. I then created a custom sentiment with the new Sassy Script Stamp Set by stamping the words in black ink. I finished the card with a pink enamel dot for the flower center.

Here's a look at the new release products I've used in both my cards today, and they are available at the Lil' Inker Design Store now!

The next talented designer on the hop is Angel Rivera!

I invite you check out all the amazing new release items available now at the Lil' Inker Design Store .

Don't forget to leave a comment along the each of the stops on the hop, as there are three $15 gift certificates up for grabs to the Lil' Inker Designs Store!

LID:: June 2106 Release:: Day 1 (& Giveaway)

After having a month off, Lil' Inker Designs has just release some awesome and unique new products. Today is the first of three days of the Lil' Inker Designs June 2016 Release Showcase!

Once again, we have a fabulous hop for you featuring innovative stamps and dies! If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from Chrissy Larson's Blog! 

My first project features the coolest stamp set (now available in the store!) called Mirror, Mirror. I inked the frame in some pink pigment ink, then ran the edges and some areas with gold embossing powder and heat set it. I then die cut the frame with the coordinating Mirror, Mirror Die Set and Mirrored Reflective Specialty Paper and adhered this to a white card base. I stamped the sentiment from the Mirror, Mirror Stamp Set, inked the edges slightly and finished the card with a big pink bow. (How cool is this?!: The Mirrored Reflective Specialty Paper is free for a limited time if you purchase the Mirrored Stamp Set and Dies!) 

I have another card that showcases how well the new Mirror Mirror Die Set can be used independently of the coordinating stamp set. I really enjoyed pairing the frame with a previously released set, Inky Flowers, along with a previously released die cut sentiment from the With Sympathy Greeting Die.

I inked up the flowers onto a white card base with Versafine Onyx Black Ink in a random fashion all along the right side of the card. I then die cut the mirror frame from the Mirror, Mirror Die Set, covered it completely with Versafine Ink and then coated it heavily with gold embossing powder and heat set it. I repeated the embossing process two more times to achieve a beautiful gold frame. I then finished the card with a die cut greeting that was also heat embossed in black.

Here's a look at the new release products showcased in my cards today:

Since I'm the last on the hop, I'm going to send you to the Lil' Inker Design Store now so you can check out and purchase for yourself all the awesome new products that were showcased on the hop today!

Don't forget to leave a comment along the each of the stops on the hop, as there are three $15 gift certificates up for grabs to the Lil' Inker Designs Store!

2016 Graduation

Tis the graduation season here in my little town and I had a few cards to make to celebrate the graduates.

I tried the technique shown at Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday 251: Gradient Watercolor Die Cuts. I watercolored a panel with Zig Markers and then die cut the large numbers to correspond with this year from By the Numbers Die Cuts. These were adhered onto a white embossed card base (Sunshine Impression Plate). I then added a white heat embossed sentiment from Up, Up and Away Stamp Set with dimensional adhesive. I added some dots cut from the same watercolor wash paper and sequins. The inside of the card references "Congratulations to the Grad".

Hibiscus

A couple of weekends ago, my oldest boy had a baseball tournament and this time the weather was beautiful. There was an hour break between games and I was prepared with some stamped images to color to pass the time. This drew some curious glances from the other baseball moms, and before I knew it, they were coloring with zig markers like a pro! I ran out of my stamped images.

I had colored these beauties from Craftin' Desert Diva's Botanical Beauties Layers Stamp Set with Zig Markers (having stamped only the outermost image onto Bristol Smooth Cardstock) that weekend and decided to arrange them in a scene like setting for their current Linky Party: Create A Scene. I was trying to replicate a beautiful hibiscus bush standing tall against a faded wooden shed.

Each of the blooms and leaves had inking around the edges to soften the images and match the background a bit better. I finished the card with a stamped sentiment from Right at Home's Script Greeting Stamp Set.