A different kind of “Surprise”

I have been hearing the song “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man on the radio.  One of my favorite lines in the song is “I’m a rebel just for kicks now”.  I kind of like to think of myself that way.  My contribution to Club Scrap’s Monthly Blog Hop and Linky Party is a good example of why.

The January kit from Club Scrap, called “Surprise”, has kind of a birthday theme to it.  So, because I’m a rebel, I did a layout about Sea Life Park (a local attraction here on Oahu).  Makes perfect sense, right? Here is what it looks like:

Most of the supplies came with my Surprise Lite kit.  I also followed the Club Scrap Page formula for January (a really cool feature that you get as a Club Scrap member).  To make it look less “birthday-ish”, I turned the white papers so that you couldn’t see the cupcakes at the bottom.  I then added some extra color (because I am not a big fan of white) using the Ball Chain stencil from Fun Stampers Journey with Club Scrap’s Peridot ink and Blueprint Sketch Distress ink.

Here is a list of the supplies I used that didn't come from my kit:

**The dolphin was cut with my ScanNCut using an SVG file from Miss Kate’s Cuttables.  The turtle was cut using a die from Die-Versions (that is no longer available).

**I added texture to the turtle using part of a stencil from Club Scrap’s Serenity kit (no longer available), some Ivory ink from Gina K. Designs and Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s Terra Cotta Rust embossing powder.

**Both the dolphin and the turtle were covered with Sparkle Silk from Fun Stampers Journey to add some shimmer.

**The “Seas the day” sentiment is from the Club Scrap “Lagoon” kit.  It was stamped with Distress Embossing ink and embossed using Zing White powder.

**I added some interest to the three blue strips used for the title, the sentiment and under the turtle using a stencil from The Crafters Workshop and Salty Ocean Distress Ink.

**The enamel dots came with my "Scandinavian" Club Scrap kit.  I altered the color with R27 Copic marker.

**The little starfish came with my “Lagoon” kit from Club Scrap.  I altered them using Watermelon Alcohol Ink.

You can check out all of the great projects on the blog hop HERE.  You also can follow me on Instagram at #inkyscraps to see more of my creations.

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting Sentiment-al

This week, Simon Says Stamps is challenging us to add a sentiment to a project for their Wednesday challenge.  Hmm, sounds easy enough, until trying to decide what sentiment to use.  I like to have a small selection of sympathy cards on hand – mostly because it is more difficult for me to make them at the time there is as need.  So, I used a “sympathy” sentiment to make this card:

The background is a Taylored Expressions cutting plate (no longer available) over an art orphan made with various sprays.  The focal image is part of a stamp from Stamplistic, stamped with VersaMark ink, embossed with Lindy’s Stamp Gang Midnight Gold embossing powder then fussy cut.

The sentiment is part of the “Autumn Wishes” stamp set from Gina K. Designs. It too is stamped with VersaMark ink, but it is embossed with Topiary embossing powder from Ranger (no longer available).

Other supplies I used are:

**All the card stock is from Gina K. Designs and Club Scrap.

**ribbon and gems are from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Blocking

There is a Color Bocking Linky Party going on over on the Club Scrap Blog!  The technique also is one of the Club Scrap Challenges on their forum.  While there are many options to achieve the color block look, I went with a pretty basic one to create this masculine birthday card:

I first stamped the gears (from Club Scrap’s Time of Your Life kit) with VersaMark and embossed with Silver Zing embossing powder.  I then masked off one quadrant at a time and sponged on Club Scrap ink in Spruce, Sapphire, Amethyst and Ash.  After making a mask for the gears, I used a Club Scrap stencil and some Translucent Embossing Paste from Dreamweaver to add a little texture and shine.  After all of that, my gears seemed to be getting a little lost, so I colored in the open ones with an old silver Precious Element pen from Creative Memories.

The sentiment tag was die cut out of a scrap piece of chipboard using a Taylored Expressions die that is no longer available.  I followed this tutorial by Jennifer McGuire to create a faux metallic looking tag using Charcoal and Silver Zing Embossing Powders.

Other supplies I used are:

**All the card stock is from Club Scrap.

**ribbon is from Club Scrap ((Cape Cod).

**Nail head brads from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kindness in Two Parts

This month, Gina K. Designs has a two part Monthly Mix Challenge.   The first part is to make a card that reflects Kindness. Here is what I came up with:

The background was a letterpress technique using an old embossing plate from Spellbinders and Turquoise Sea ink from Gina K. Designs.  The focal image was stamped with VersaMark ink onto a scrap piece of glossy cardstock that was covered with Mountain Rose (no longer available), Peach Belini, Salmon, and Pearl Mixative Alcohol Ink.  It was then embossed with Midnight Copper EP from Lindy’s Stamp Gang and fussy cut.

Other supplies I used are:

**Card stock from Gina K. Designs and Club Scrap.

**Focal image stamp and sentiment stamp are both from the Gina K. Designs “Gifts from the Sea” stamp set.

**Sentiment was stamped with Gina K. Designs Ivory ink, then embossed with Terra Cotta EP from Ranger.

**the ribbon is from Club Scrap (Lagoon).

**the focal image is on a die cut from a die set that I got free with my Genius Ultimate Platform a number of years back.

Part two of the Monthly Mix Challenge is to actually send the Kindness card.  Mine will be added into the next box that I send to Card Care Connection…an organization that collects handmade cards to be used to send uplifting and motivational messages to cancer patients.

EDIT:  I totally forgot to give credit to Nancy Kirk at this blog for the design inspiration for my card.  Thanks Nancy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

I have spent the past couple of days playing in my scrap space…mostly because I didn’t have enough thank you card made ahead of time.  What a great way to start the New Year!  I might have to do that again next year.

Club Scrap’s Card Sketch Challenge this month was just what I needed to make one of my thank you cards.  The sketch looks like this:

I needed to make a card that fits into a legal size envelope (because of something I need to mail with it), so I altered the sketch a bit so it would fit:

The four design pieces are cut from a tag I made with my gel plate, acrylic paints and some stencils from Club Scrap.  The center embellishment is a die cut from Spellbinders.

Other supplies I used are:

**Card stock from Club Scrap.

**Sentiment stamp is an old one from Stampin’ Up, stamped with Club Scrap Sapphire Ink, embossed with Gina K. Clear powder.

**Sentiment tag is a Die-Versions die that is no longer available.

**the ribbon is from Club Scrap (Get The Picture).

**the nail head stickers are some I picked up at a LSS in Green Bay, WI. The company name on the packaging is “Nicole”.

Now I’m off to actually write the thank you messages and get them in the mail!

Thanks for stopping by!