Heartfelt Thanks - In pieces

Good morning Stampers!

Can you tell by now that I only own one of the new DSP papers by Stampin' Up! Yes, this is the Bella Rosa DSP. I am hoping to order some new DSP on the next order. I was inspired J Belanger's card. This card is actually in pieces. So behind the main piece - the flower, everything else is just cut down to tuck behind in each layer. for instance, the piece that has the pearls on it, does not completely go across the back. It is two pieces. I wanted to challenge myself to use my supplies in a different way. I do not do this for all my cards because frankly it is easier to cut one piece and layer it. But as I was putting this card together, it came to me that I could have "pieces" and make it look like there was a lot there. I did pop up the center image.
Have a good Monday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fresh Cuts - Thank You

Good Morning Stampers!



For this Simple Sunday, I used the Bella Rosa Papers by SU! I know yesterday's post used the same pattern from the Bella Rosa, but I really like it. It is soft and feminine and allows you to stamp images on it that aren't distracted by the background paper.

The bow is very simple to make. I think this version might be called a Tailored Bow. I used a pink satin for this particular look. I wrapped the pink satin around the card, then made a large circle and secured the ends. I "smooshed" it in the middle and wrapped a smaller piece of satin ribbon around it and secured the ends. Bada boom, bada bing. You are finished. Very simple!

What I used:
SU! stamp: Freshcuts set
SU! ink: Riding Hood Red
SU! Cardstock: White, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red.
SU! DSP: Bella Rosa
Other: Pink satin ribbon

Enjoy your day! Thanks for stopping by!

Never Before Seen Savings on New Stamps

Good morning Stampers!

Watch out! Two posts in one morning... I was asked if Stampin' Up! had any specials going on right now..and the answer is YES!. On the sidebar to the right you will see the posting of the 15% off select new stamp sets. Click on the picture and it will take you to the flyer that lists which sets are on sale. This sale goes from now until September 30th.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Enjoy the next post..

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday Stash - Bookplate

Good morning Stampers!

For this Saturday Stash, I pulled out my bookplates. They were still in the package! I NEEDED to use them - or at least one (wink). I pulled out my SU! Pure Color pencils and played with them a little as well. Since playing a little with the watercolor paper, I have become a little curious about mixing colors together to get a look.
For this card, I made a note card size - great for my saying in the bookplate. In this picture, I wanted to show you how I "tied" the bookplate onto the note card. I knotted on both sides of the bookplate and tucked the ends behind the bookplate.


Here is what I used:

SU! stamp sets: Embrace Life, In my thoughts
Inks: Black Staz-on
SU! Marker: Basic Black
Cardstock: Barely Banana, White
SU! DSP: Bella Rosa
Other: Bookplate, ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig, SU! pure color pencils.

Thanks for looking!

Anniversary Card

Good morning Stampers,

I have been working on this card for a couple of days. My Stamping MoJo left me for a few days and you could say this is a warm up card. I have been trying to potty train my son and I think some of that frustration has interrupted the Stamping MoJo.

I think this card could be for any occasion. I needed an anniversary card, but looking at the verse it could be a birthday, best wishes on a new adventure, job, relationship, etc. The inside sentiment can define what you want the card to be.

I CASE'd this from the Take Ten Summer 08 issue.



All Supplies used are Stampin' Up! unless noted.
Stamps: Heard from the Heart, Doodle This
Inks: Riding Hood Red Classic, Chocolate Chip Marker
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue, White
Other: Bella Rose Designer Series Paper, Large
star punch, small star punch, Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Thanks for stopping by!

I am still here

Good morning Stampers!

I know it has been several days since I have posted anything. I wanted to let you know that I am still around. For the past couple of days I have had orientation. And last night the family went out to celebrate our wedding anniversary. No sitter, my son went with us. I thought he did well for eating out at a noisy restaurant, but that might have been the best place as he did not always speak quietly! Of course I could only get him to eat french fries! It is frustrating trying to get a child to eat a variety of things. I am headed off to orientation again today. This is my last day of it - that I am aware of. I have not had a chance to check my e-mail and respond, so please bear with me. I am almost afraid to say this, but when I get home tonight I hope to be able to stamp a little.

Thanks for stopping by!

Customer Open House

Good Morning Stampers!

I have been getting ready for today...my Customer Appreciation/Open House. It is all set up and ready to go. Okay, still have to mix up the refreshments.

Another reason I have not posted is that the Podiatrist decided he was not done having some fun with my foot. A month ago I posted about my foot...well, again I get to experience a shard of glass in the bottom of my foot. I don't have a piece of shard of glass in my foot, but it sure feels like it. So, it has not been much fun walking around and standing. So retrieving materials to make a card has not been on the top of my list of things to do. Although I want to make a card.

I have had a peek at the Mini Catalog that SU! is coming out with. All I can say is YAHOO! More Designer Series Paper, Ribbon, stamps, FELT SNOWLFLAKES, and MORE.

I look forward to you getting a chance to see it.

Thanks for looking! I will be back with a card posting.

Serene Spring for the Customer Appreciation/Open House

Good morning Stampers!

Please notice on my sidebar to the left I have added a link to the InColor Combination Chart. SU! has put some color combination suggestions in their new Idea Book & Catalog. I think that is helpful because I have seen some color suggestions that I would not have thought of putting together. Now with this chart on the side, it helps even more! It does open in a PDF file.

Today's card is one that anyone attending my Customer Appreciation/Open House this Saturday will be making. It showcases the Spotlight Technique. Great for when you do not want to add color to a whole image.

This set is one of the new Hostess Level 2 sets.

Here is what I used:

SU! stamps: Serene Spring - level 2
SU! Ink: Staz-on Black
SU! Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Bashful Blue, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink
SU! markers: Almost Amethyst, Bashful Blue, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Creamy Caramel, close to Cocoa.
Other: SU! scallop border punch, ribbon, 1 1/4" punch, 1 3/8 inch punch, dimensionals.

Thanks for looking!

Embrace Life - SU Color Wheel Inspired

Hello Stampers! I am busily getting ready for my Customer Appreciation/Open House this weekend. that is why I have been sporadic with my postings.

Today's color combination was inspired by the SU! color wheel. I really like this Color Wheel because it gives you all 48 colors and color combinations for 2-step stamping!


For this card I used Embrace Life. The color combination is: Apricot Appeal, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Cameo Coral.

I stamped the leaf branch in Apricot Appeal on White c/s. I then mounted Bashful Blue on the back. For those of you, myself included, when c/s is at a premium, why not "cheat" a little. I had some small strips left over from a stamp camp, so instead of cutting a new wider strip, I cut a 1" strip into 1/2" strips. I then added Tombow Adhesive Tape to the back and mounted the strips onto the white c/s. It really helped to have the SU! grid paper for this because I could tell whether I adhered the strips evenly and straight! You can see some of the Tombow in the reflection.

Then, I used the Adhesive Remover (p. 191 of the SU! Idea Book & Catalog) to pick up any Tombow that may have made its way to the "front". I like this Adhesive Remover - easy to use!
As you can see..I have not cut down the white c/s yet.

Here is the finished card. I was working on learning to get a watercolor effect with the large Embrace Life flower. I left the front sentiment off as I was not sure what I would be using this card for.
My supplies:
Stamps: Embrace Life
SU! cardstock: White, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral
SU! classic: Apricot Appeal
SU! markers: Apricot Appeal, Barely Banana
Other: Ribbon, SU! blender pen, watercolor paper

Able to add "labels"

Hello Stampers!

I am very happy to have signed in to my blog and find out that I can add "labels" to my sidebar. When you scroll down on the right side, you will see a small title "labels". Under that you will see the different ways I have saved my posts. I could not go that before and I was trying to figure out how to add a "categories" to the sidebar.
I hope the "labels" category will make it easier to find things! Maybe someday I can add "videos" to the sidebar.

I will have a card post for you very soon. I have been working on one.

Thanks for stopping by!

Window Dressing - Flowers

Good morning Stampers!

A bit late in posting this AM. I like to post first thing in the morning because when I get up in the morning I like to peruse through the blogs. Kind of like a morning newspaper! So I apologize for the lateness.

For these two cards, the only difference is the ribbon.


Since I did not post for either Saturday Stash or Simple Sunday - I will explain why in a bit - I combined the two.
This card shows the ribbon I pulled out of my stash. When I purchased it, it was simply impulse - I liked the colors, the pattern and at that time, it was thick. What I mean by thick is that each of the circles was stitched in. On the back are just rows of the thread that made the circles. Luckily for me I did not purchase a whole yard.
Which leads me to my next card.







Same card, but with pink grosgrain. Easier to tie and very simple, yet pretty


Okay, I received my catalogs for my Customer Appreciation Day/Open House! I was busy looking through the catalog and talking to people about it.

There is a square scallop punch that is new! Very exciting.

Here is what I used:
Stamps: Level 3 Hostesss set, Wonderful Words
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Berry Bliss DSP - retired.
Ink: Black Staz-on
Markers: Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, Bashful Blue.
Other: Pink grosgrain ribbon, and "other" ribbon.
SU! Signo white gel pen ( I really like this pen!)

Have a good day stampers!

Little unknown fact..

Good morning Stampers!

Did you know that I had a Board of Directors for my blog? Yep, it is a little unknown fact. Sometimes they post comments to the blog and sometimes it is behind the scenes....

The Board of Directors is there to protect you and me. How you ask? Well, let me give you an example. For several posts, I was using a flower pick, arranger, or whatever it is called, to hold up my cards in pictures. My BoD said that when they clicked on the picture to make it bigger - Yowsa! Offensive to the stamper's eyes. My BoD advised me to do one of two things. Of course, my BoD had a few suggestions. (I think that is nice - when you state a problem, have a solution to propose, and they had two!) BoD offered these two solutions, 1. Lose the flower pick, or 2. Clean it up.

Now, you may be wondering how the BoD is protecting my interest, after all you know how they are protecting yours (advisement of removing offensive looking things to stampers eyes....) I want my stampers to keep coming back to see what is happening on INKnovations. If the flower pick/arranger is unpleasant to the eyes..then you may decide to not come back. I would lose the purpose of this blog. I know, it may sound extreme but the flower pick is going to get a makeover if it wants to keep its job onscreen.

So, here's to you BoD! You know who you are. Who knows..maybe you can become a BoD. Just be aware..they are brutally honest. That's why I love them :)

Heard from the Heart and Pretties Kit

Good morning Stampers!

This morning I totally CASE'd a card from the August Stampin' Success magazine I receive from SU! It looked like the card in the magazine was a 3x3, but I wanted to make a full size card, so I just "blew" everything up.

I used the new stamp set that will be available August 11th - Heard from the Heart.










Here is the stamp. Notice I only used the word "Kindness" from the stamp. I began to make the card, and then I decided to show you how I stamped just the word "kindness". I wanted to state that so you did not think that I do not clean my stamps. I do! With SU! Stampin' Mist.

I masked off the wording underneath the stamp by simply using scotch tape. Some of you may have already thought of that, but sometimes I have those moments, "why didn't I think of that!" So I am passing this little tip on - and it isn't even Tuesday!

Then I inked up the stamp in SU! Craft white. I don't have to worry about not inking up parts of the stamp I do not want to use.

Remove the scotch tape and Voila! Easy Peasy!

I then stamped it and embossed with white EP.

I wanted to show you this...Notice my paper goes over my folded card. I did this on purpose so I could line up things the way I wanted them to look. I could move the embossed "kindness" to whatever side of the card I wanted. I wanted it off to the right because I was going to add the petals from the Pretties Kit.

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamp set: Heard from the Heart

Ink: SU! White craft

Papers: Pink Piourette, Riding Hood Red, White, Bella Rosa DSP.

Other: SU! matstack, paper piercer, glue dots, white EP, SU! soft subtle buttons

Thanks for looking! Don't forget about the Customer Appreciation Day! visit my blog at:

www.inkgenuity.stampinup.net

Wednesday Update

Good afternoon Stampers!

I am still trying to figure out a schedule of how to get posts up. I suppose I am still on vacation mode and have been a little lazy and taking for granted the time I have.

Today's delay in posting is due to learning how to add things to my blog. If you notice on the side bar, I added the BIG convention announcement of Stampin' Up! partnering with Sizzix. If you click on the picture, you will see a brochure - it includes some of the dies that will be released!

Also, the Decor Elements. SU! announced this a while back, but I was not savvy with the blog and did not know how to post things. I still don't know some things, and have to wiggle things around. I have to learn to be patient with myself and allow myself a learning curve.

At my Open House - Customer Appreciation Day, I have a sample of what the Decor Elements is like. One was included with my Stampin' Success, and I have not applied it to my wall - saving it for the Open House. I can share that my upline, Jan put it on one of her bags, or luggage. Right on a side pocket so now it is customized and easily recognized in airports, gym or anywhere. I have also seen an example where a demo put it on her car. The Decor Elements are vinyl -so easy to apply. At convention, SU! announced their Phase 2 of the Decor Elements, so watch for more designs! Very exciting.

I will have more....SU! is going to have a Recruiting Special beginning in August - the starter kit will be $99 instead of the $199 as usual. Click here to review the brochure. www.stampinup.com/us/documents/US_99_Start_Kit_promo.pdf
There are three different ways you can order the kit: Stamp focused, Scrapbook focused or Decor Elements focused.

Lovely as a Tree

Good morning Stampers!

Today's card comes from the Stampin' Success magazine I receive from Stampin' Up! I do not own the stamp set that was featured, but I had the colors that it featured.
I made this card using Lovely as a Tree with the featured color scheme. I think it makes a great manly card. Easily CASE'd. I want to point out that I cut Chocolate Strips for the top half of the card. A tone-on-tone texture.


Here are the details:

Stamp set: Lovely as a Tree
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze (In Color), So Saffron
Other: Silver Brads, Mat Stack - eyelet template, White EP, Heat Embossing tool

Let me know what you think of the Sidebar

Let me know what you think. On the left side bar I have added two new items. They both are photographs of the projects I have done. One is a vertical bar that has still photos, the other is a slide show - it is just below the still photos.
Which one do you prefer? I have not decided yet, and what it might come down to is the amount of space I am allowed to upload photos for the blog. But until that decision is made...I would like to hear from you.

And of course, another picture from vacation.

My son decided to jump into our bed and pretend he was sleeping. He is amazing..he can grin while sleeping :)
He kept asking to have his picutre taken. So I clicked away!

Simple Sunday - Wow Flowers (not Flower Power)

Good morning Stampers!

I'm baaack! We are back from our vacation! It was very relaxing and we had GREAT weather.

I will show you one picture that I took. Oh believe me..there are more and I will share them. But the picture from vacation is at the end of this post.

Feels GREAT to be stamping again!

I can honestly say that this is a D2 original!
During my vacation I had a chance to look at
a couple of scrapbook magazines. You see my August Stampin' Success did not come before I left - and believe me I was really hoping that it would have..AND my 2008-2009 Idea Book & Catalog did not show up either! A girl can wish...

I opened up the scrapbook magazine and saw the pattern (the red image stamped repeatedly) and then the color scheme - it was a red, yellow and blue. For that I substituted - Red Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Pacific Point. These are the 2008-2009 In Colors. The two I did not use was the Tangerine Tango and Pirouette Pink.

Stamps: Flower Power, Wow Flowers, Heard from the Heart - both coming in the upcoming catalog available August 11th. Both of these sets already come die cut..no cutting stamps before mounting them!

Inks: Pacific Point, Basic Black

Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point

Accessories: Scallop punch, Silver Brads, Scallop Border punch - making its debut in the upcoming catalog!

Now, just one picture from vacation:
Oh..there will be more!