Inky Impressions Challenge #21 --- Stitching But No DP

Inky Impressions Challenges are always fun --- and creative! This week there is no sketch, but there are two requirements: No designer paper (what!!! no dp? What will I do; what will I do?) AND stitching, real or faux. Well, I guess I go simple -- not easy for me! I love layers and embellies. But, I also love my Cuttlebug and embossing folders. So, here is my card.............

Requirement #1: No designer paper. Ok. I used Papertrey white cardstock and made a simple top fold note card.

Requirement #2: Stitching, real or faux. Well, my sewing machine is still crated away somewhere (I must go on a search for that soon), but the Cuttlebug embossing borders set called "Just My Type" has this great zig-zag and buttons. So, some simple runs through the 'bug, tracing with Sharpies and I have faux zig-zag. Then some colored pen magic and I have sewn on buttons. Ta-da!

Requirement #3: Of course, Inky Impressions Lili, colored with Copics and mounted on a pretty purple card stock.

The ribbon is from my stash of fun patterned ribbons. Simple is good, and fun, and cute! For more good, fun and cute, hop on over to Inky Impressions and have a look at the design teams' projects. Join in the fun, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #20

This week Inky Impressions has a fun sketch for us. I chose Angelica Bunny Hugs to color and coordinated her with some beautiful fall paper. We've had such gorgeous colors here this fall and I just had to carry that into this card.

Materials:

Image colored with Copics

DP from Recollections (Michaels) Autumn collection

Flowers die cuts from Spellbinders Shapeabilities Daisy Heads

Brads in centers of flowers and on sentiment from Recollections Autumn coordinates

Sentiment from K & Company stickers

Here is the sketch:

This is a fun sketch to use, a definite keeper. Hop on over to Inky Impressions and see the wonderful projects by the design team. While you're at it, why not play along! This is a rapidly growing challenge with very creative folks!

Thanks for stopping by! Your visit is greatly appreciated!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #19 and an Anniversary Card

Tonight I have two cards to show. The first is for Inky Impressions Challenge #19 and the second is an Anniversary Card I was commissioned to make.

First, the Inky Impressions card. This week instead of a sketch we have a yummy recipe with lots of sweet ingredients:

- 1 Image
- 1 Sentiment
- 2 Ribbons
- 3 Layers
- 3 Embellishments

I chose the image Lili's Prayer and colored her in the rich fall colors the we love so much this time of year. For one of the layers I used a wide ribbon, luscious with a harvest pattern, then added ribbon #2 of the recipe.

Here are my ingredients for the recipe:

• 1 Image - Lili's Prayer colored with Copics
• 1 Sentiment - Autumn Greetings heat embossed with copper powder
• 2 ribbons - Wide Autumn Print and ecru sheer w/woven edges
• 3 layers - ribbons, Lili showcased on cardstock die cuts from Nestibilities, Sentiment on die cuts from Nestibilities
• 3 embellishments - Autumn leaves brads
• The background paper is new from My Mind's Eye Signature Christmas

Be sure to hop over to Inky Impressions and take a look at the design team's wonderful projects and the participants, too. In fact, why not join in?

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The second card is for my husband's partner to give to his wife for their 20th anniversary. Her favorite color is orange and she loves hummingbirds. I also had the go-ahead to make the card very sentimental. I had a lot of fun with this card and I used the frame-ready matted style that I have come to really enjoy. This card is ready to pop right into a 5 x 7 frame, but I'll let Sam pick that out.

Here is my recipe for this card:

• Card blank made from peach Bazzill cardstock and attached to oval cut mat
• Stampabilities Hummingbird stamp colored with Copics (R27, R59, G00, G21, W1, W3, W7, YR21, 100)
• 2 hearts cut from ivory Papertrey cardstock, embossed with Cuttlebug dotted swiss and script embossing folders, cut with Nestibilities Heart dies.
• Flower bunches from Michael's wedding department
• "To Love and To Cherish" stamp (source unknown) heat embossed on Nesties die cut
• Pearl embellies.

The inside of the card has a heartfelt sentiment computer printed on onion skin paper.

I'm fairly certain that Sam's wife will like this card!

Thank you for stopping by! It has been a busy week and I do have more cards to post. It took some computer shifting to get back to work since my wireless router quit on me and files needed to be transferred to my only PC with internet access at this point. (Isn't it amazing that 20 years ago a home computer was a novelty, but now I literally have more working computers in the house that televisions!)

Have a great weekend!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #17 --- Gift

Through the month of September Nicole (Inky's Mama) has been celebrating her birthday. This week's challenge wraps up this fun celebration with the theme "gift". So, instead of making a card I made this Sleep-Over Party Favor. What better way to celebrate a birthday than an all-night sleep-over? Remember, no sleeping allowed!

Here Lili is all set with a big bowl of popcorn and her bear. I wonder what is in the box? A carmel apple? A noise maker to keep everyone awake? Or an adorable Inky Impressions stamp to color into the wee hours of the night!

Happy Birthday, Nicole! I hope you had a great month!

Thanks for stopping by everyone! I appreciate the time you spend on my blog and the comments you leave.

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #14 - Pink and Brown, and MORE!

There is a LOT going on this week over at Inky Impressions! First is their challenge #14, which this card is for. No particular sketch this week but a color combination: pink and brown.

One of my scrapbook papers-of-old is this pretty brown and pink stripe with little blossoms and a distressed look. So, I added more distressing of my own along the edges. The paper flowers complement her skirt and the DP.

The image is colored with Copics: Hair E31, E33, E37; Skin E000; Skirt E77, RV04; Sweater and tights RV0000; bunny C01, C03. I always enjoy coloring this image.

Now, for the other big thing going on over at Inky Impressions: NEW RELEASES!! Not only is there a very fun blog hop going on but also lots of drawings! Ya just gotta see 'm. Oh, and the new stamps are available, too. I've ordered mine!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions #13 --- Birthday! And Candy!!

This is the second post tonight (please scroll down to see the Whiff of Joy card). This post is for the Inky Impressions Challenge #13. Birthday is the theme because September is the birthday month for Inky's mama Nicole! Happy Birthday, Nicole! She also has some scrumptious birthday candy, too! You've just got to check this out!

And here is my card for Nicole:

Since September is the sapphire month I chose to use primarily blue with some sparkle. The white card stock is shimmery white and for the center piece I ran it through the Cuttlebug with the dotted swiss folder. The blue paper is embossed using the Cuttlebug Birthday embossing folder.

As for the lovely Lili, she is serving up a yummy birthday cake, just for Mama Nicole. I colored Lili with Copics. Her hair is Y21, YR24; skin is E000; jeans are B54 with silver Stickles; sweater is RV 91 with more silver Stickles. The cake is YR0000, YR00, B0000, B29, B32 and silver Stickles.

I like the idea of having a birthday month. Since mine is October I'd better get the memo out to my hubby right away!!

Thanks for stopping by! More importantly, pop over to Inky Impressions and with Nicole a Happy Birthday! And be sure to enter to win her amazing candy!

Barb

In God We Trust

Lili's Prayer

Lili's Prayer from Inky Impressions is the perfect image for "get well" wishes, sympathy cards, and even encouragement blessings. She has appeared in a couple of my cards lately.

This card is of a color combination that I wouldn't normally use, but it does "pop"! If I was a red-head I would surely wear green and purple! Lili is beautiful in anything she wears!

Here are the details:

Colored with Copics: Skin E0000; Hair YR65, E08, YR21; Pants Vo9; Shirt V01; Vest YG17

Green Card Stock

Patterned paper from my scrap drawer.

Flowers: bunch of shimmery bridal bouquet from Michaels

Cross: Charm from Walmart craft dept

Stick on pearls

Scrap of purple ribbon

Thanks for stopping by! I hope everyone in the US is enjoying a lovely Labor Day! To you all, have a grand week!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #12

Inky Impressions is one of my favorite challenges, but I have missed the past couple of weeks. Here I am, down to the wire, but I have this sweet little card for the sketch. To make sure it is posted quickly I actually put it on the scanner rather than take a photo, but it doesn't look too bad.

The paper is from one of my favorite stacks, La Boutique by K&Company. I used sheer ribbon along the left side and blue velvet across the botton. The image is colored with Copics: Hair, Y11, Y21, Y25; Pants, B0000; Top, R00, R22. The flowers are Fancystix topped with cream colored bunches of roses.

Please visit Inky Impressions as they will be previewing new images soon. I can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm off to get this posted and eagerly wait for the new challenge coming out tomorrow!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #8 --- Recycle

This has got to be, without a doubt, the most unusual card I have ever made. But when the Inky Impressions Challenge called for recycle I took it literally (maybe too much?). But I did have fun with a couple of techniques. Nearly everything on the card is recycled.

The first piece is the Kraft paper with a very unusual pattern on it. While I was eating a slice of cantaloupe for lunch I noticed the texture of the rind. So, when I finished I inked up the rind and did some passes with Memento Tuxedo Black then a touch of red.

Secondly, I've been experimenting with pressing flowers through the Cuttlebug. I took a small red carnation, stem and all, laid it between two sheets of watercolor paper, then ran it through the Cuttlebug. I like the abstract look and that stem is really interesting.

Everything else on the card, except for adorable Lili, are leftover pieces from prior projects and lettering that I didn't plan on using anywhere.

Lili is colored with Copics: Hair YR24, YR21, Y21; Skin E000, E11; Jeans E11; Top V01, V17; Shoes W3. She seems to be imploring everyone to recycle, which is a very good idea, indeed.

Well, I hope you like my little experiment in recycling. It is pretty interesting how many everyday things have multiple uses, or can be inked up for an unusual pattern on card stock.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to visit Inky Impressions. There are lots of fun things going on over there!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions 2nd Design Team Call

The first time I saw Lili and Angelica, the newest little girls from Inky Impressions, I was hooked! An instant fan! It has to be those big beautiful eyes!

When the uber-talented ladies at Inky Impressions announced the Design Team call I didn't have to give it a second thought! I would love to be part of this exciting new crew as more images are released. So, I started coloring the two images I had (I now have four and wanting more!) When I finished the images I couldn't decide which to use, so I did the obvious -- I made two cards!

Lili with the Birthday Cake

I really like this one the most of the 2 cards. Just something about the chocolate cake! (I just realized that every time I color this it ends up chocolate! hehe)

Both images are colored with Copics: E71 Champagne, RV11 Pink, Y21 Buttercup Yellow, and B95 Light Grayish Cobalt. Both cards use dp from the same DCWV stack. Die cuts are with Nestibilities.

Angelica Dreaming

This image of Angelica reminds me of when I was young, always day dreaming. Actually, not much has changed!

As part of the application for the Design Team Call, I should be posting a paper craft project that has stamping on it. I'm sorry to say that I don't have recent paper projects other than greeting cards. The cards have been my focus. I did a lot of scrapbooking for my son to showcase his Navy career, but he has those books. Please don't hold that against me as I would love to be part of the Inky Impressions Design Team!

Thank you for the opportunity to try out for the Design Team! Inky Impressions has a very promising future! The stamps are the highest quality and packaged so beautifully!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #7 - Masking

One of my favorite things about doing challenges is learning new techniques or using techniques I haven't used before. That's what I experienced this week with the challenge over at Inky Impressions --- masking. Masking isn't new, I just haven't done much of it. I like the effect, though.

So, here is my card:

Isn't Angelica just beautiful? I stamped her image, masked it, then stamped the picket fence from Northwoods Stamps. What a perfect background for her. I colored the images with Copics, then I layered the colorful papers from S-E-I Black Orchid. Add some prima flowers and a couple of novelty brads and I have a fun friendship card.

I am crazy about these adorable girls at Inky Impressions and look forward to new images soon. Their design team is fabulous, too! In fact, there is currently a call out for new DT members. Check it all out at Inky Impressions.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I've been absent the past few days and have some catching up to do. I will actually have another post up tonight, and tomorrow I will be doing the drawing for the winner of my blogoversary goodies. I hope your week started off well!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #6 --- Stitching

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you all have fun weekends planned. If you have some time I highly recommend you pop over to Inky Impressions Challenge blog. You will fall in love with their brand new images, Lili and Angelica. I have a couple of their stamps and eagerly waiting for a couple more. These little girls are wide-eyed and adorable. The design team is a group of ultra-talented ladies, too!

For challenge #6 the theme is stitching --- real or faux. I have a sewing machine but it is still packed from our move. I haven't used it for years, not since I got into scrapbooking and cardmaking. So, for my card, my stitching is faux.

This image is Angelica's Daydream. I found sentiments about dreams for the outside and inside that seemed appropriate.

I colored her with Copics and framed the image with die cuts using my Nesties. The stitching is purple ink pen. The DP is from "Me and My Big Ideas" and the flowers from Oriental Trading Co. The paper "ribbons" are embossed with the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss folder.

The inside is a simple sentiment about believing in your dreams. I have a packet of these acetate tags and sentiments and they make nice accents.

Thanks for stopping by! While you are here, if you haven't already, pop up to the top of my blog where I have some blog candy to celebrate my first year of blogging on Made for Keeps. What a year it has been, too!

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #5

It's been a busy few days so I am running late with cards for my favorite challenges. Inky Impressions is one such challenge and the images are so adorable!

For this challenge followed the sketch, but hid the image of cute little Lili inside the card. The iridescent flowers are Blossoms and Leaves from Creative Expressions and the DP is from Daisy D's.

Here is Lili with the birthday cake. She is so cute and looks a lot like my grand-niece. She is colored with Copics.

Inside the card is the Happy Birthday greeting --- and the peep hole (cut with Nesties) that the cake shows through.

For the sake of saving time I scanned the card rather than photograph it. I'm not sure I like the results. Tell me what you think.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to put in your entry for my blog candy (at the top of this page).

Barb

In God We Trust

Inky Impressions Challenge #4

Hey, y'all! There's a new challenge on the block! If you haven't already, check out Inky Impressions. While you are there click on their link to Inky Impressions Rubber Stamps. You've just got to meet their adorable girls Angelica and Lili.

I have a card for their 4th challenge, which was to use distressing. Angelica's Daydream was my choice of stamp and I colored her with Copics. The papers are from the Basic Grey Sugared collection. I even used the stickers that came with the package and dressed it all up with some rhinestones.

Isn't she just the cutest?! I love the stamps of children, and these are definitely my newest "kids".

Thanks for stopping by!

In God We Trust

Barb