INKspirations!

 Hello! Today’s card is inspired by  Color Dare # 666 .  I was initially thinking of making a masculine card, but remembered I was gifted this great Unity-October Marigold stamp from my Mom. To begin, I used two sheets of SU-DSP from All About Autumn 6 x 6 paper pack, top folding card base in -SU-Pretty Peacock, and a sheet of Canson Mixed Media paper. I trimmed down the mixed media paper to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, and used a stamp positioner to heat emboss in Rose Gold embossing powder.   Next, Using an aqua pen, I brushed clean water over the marigold bloom, and dropped in (SU-Pumpkin Pie) in different petals.  Areas I wanted darker, I dropped in a little extra color.   Assembly: The marigold was cut using a square nesting die and adhered to the DSP.  The sentiment was stamped in SU- Pretty Peacock ink and popped up on a banner scrap.  I used this layout from Mojo Monday - on Pinterest as a reference to my card design.   Thanks for stopping by! - Va...

 Greetings! Today’s card was inspired from a recent video from Jennifer McGuire demonstrating ink blending with stencils to make quick cards.   I loved these new floral stamp from Unity’s KOM- called Meadow of Memory, and thought it would be perfect to try this technique.   https://www.jennifermcguireink.com/2025/08/quick-stepped-up-masked-cards-tips.html I initially began with a white panel of  #80lb white cardstock measuring 3 3/4 x 5 5 1/8.  I positioned the panel with Unity’s  Essential - 8 in 1 Stencil set.  I grabbed 3 shades of Stampin Up ink in Blueberry bushel, Polished Pink and Gorgeous Grape, blending with a sponge.   The Meadow of Memory stamp was stamped off to the side.  My project took a little detour when I lifted the stencil and had an ink smudge in a couple of  spots.  I wasn’t scrapping this card, so I tried to find another way around.  I used Reverse Confetti’s Center Circle Cover Panel, and cut a piece of b...

Double D Challenge  Hello! Today’s card was inspired by two challenges.  Double D - has a mood board featuring colorful butterflies, and Freshly Made Sketches helped me with the layout.  Links are down below. I started with cutting a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 panel from a Cansom Multi Media paper pad.  Using a stamp positioner, I mounted (SU-Swallotail) stamp in Blueberry Bushel (SU) ink.  Next, I took an aquapen and loosely added water over the image, and took a paper towel to lift some of the color away.  I continued to add water droplets until I was happy with the look, and added a few spatters of ink to the background. The sentiment comes from Stampin Up’s Hope You Know Stamp set.  I stamped on Daffodil Delight (SU), Pumpkin Pie (SU), and Poppy Parade (SU) in Versafine ink. The top sentiment was cut with a die from SU- field tile die set and the other sentiments were trimmed down into and adhered over the butterfly.   The card was finished with some distr...

 Hello!    Today’s card is inspired from  CAS-#567 .   Using this color scheme, I used a top folding card base SU( Pool Party) measuring 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches.   I took the diagonal striped paper (Recollections 12x12 paper pad Michael’s) and added the square window frame to cut a window.  Adding the diagonal striped layer created a window for the bunny, with pool party color to fill the negative space. The Bunny and flower came from Spellbinders February 2025 release.  They were colored with an aquapen with (SU- Rococo Rose, Pool Party, and Soft Succulent), and added to the window.   Thanks for stopping by! - Valerie Kaye

 Hello!   Today’s card is brought to you from the current challenge at Atlantic Hearts  Sketch # 644 . Following the sketch, I starting sorting through paper scraps sorted by color range.   The sloth and balloons came from Spellbinders Birthday Bliss cutting die set.  Using the narrow paper strip as a starting point, I found coordinating shades to compliment the diagonal stripes.  ( Stampin Up - Coastal Cabana, Blueberry Bushel, Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade) The light green mat was cut to 4 x 5 1/4.  A rectangular nesting die was used to cut the coastal cabana. The sloth and balloons were die cut and assembled onto the mat.  The clouds were diecut, and the left over stars were used as decorative embellishments.  Black half round beads (3mm apx) were added for eyes. Thanks for stopping by! - Valerie Kaye

 Hello!   Today’s card is inspired by a fun challenge at addicted to CAS  #290 .  Today’s card keyword is “rainbows.”. I chose a stamp from Unity stamp company called: Somethings Wonderful.  I stamped on Daffodil Delight (Stampin Up) cardstock in Versafine Ink.  The stamp was cut with an arch die and mounted onto #120lb. cardstock.  The rainbow frame was cut from a scrap piece of paper.  The Sun comes from Lawn Fawn (Mr. Sun).  He was cut out from Daffodil delight and two black beads were added to the eyes. Thanks for stopping by! Valerie Kaye

 Greetings! I saw a card yesterday, and just loved the presentation of the front fold.  I typically shy away from all the measuring and cutting, because something does not go the way I planned.   However, anything that has the word EASY in it, I’ll give a try.  I am so glad I did because this really showcases images in the small square which could otherwise become lost on a card front.   Sally Poole - is narrating this video. She does a great job of laying out the materials and demonstrating how to stretch your paper supply.  You can view along here:  (Video) I started with SU-Old Olive cardstock, and a piece of DSP.  The Partridge (Memory Box - Lovely Partridge) was assembled using the dessert scene DSP from SU- O Holy Night DSP.  I had a scrap and was able to get a light and medium color range without any color blending.   Next, I cut two branches from Memory Box - Pretty Pear die set with SU - Early Espresso cardstock.  I found a...

 Hello! Today’s card is inspired by the new sketch design over at  Freshly Made Sketches #699 .   I began with a circle die measuring approximately 3 inches, and a half circle die measuring approximately 2 1/2inches, cutting a light and dark print of - O Night Devine DSP (SU).   The larger darker paper print was used for sky.  Two white doves (The Greetery- Peaceful Doves) were cut from (Accent #120) cardstock, shaded with (SU) Baja Breeze, and glued into place.  A small piece of foam was added to the back to add more dimension.   A thin piece of silver glitter cardstock (SU) was used to separate the top and bottom half circles. “Peace on Earth”, from SU- was stamped in (SU)- Misty Moonlight.  The circle was glued into place with jewelry glue, in the center of a dry embossed card base with musical notes.  Thanks for the challenge!  This was a fun card to make. Ps,  Here is a bonus card using the same card sketch! Valerie Kaye

 Good morning, Today’s card is inspired by  Atlantic Hearts Sketch #642 . I used this super cute bunny from Unity’s June Kit of the Month 2025.   To begin this sketch, I started with two pre-cut pieces of SU-Berry Delightful 12 x 12 paper.  I die cut with a rectangular frame die.  Next, I die cut 3 - rectangles with another die in the coordinating berry print.   The card base was assembled and set aside to dry, then I began working on the bunny.  I used a piece of Strathmore multi media paper.  I have found this paper works well for both watercolor and pencil, and can use them interchangeably! I love coloring, but I can save a lot of time by applying a base color to areas first, allowing to dry, and then add shading with pencils over it.  This has been my newer way of enjoying coloring! To begin, I stamped the bunny in SU- Tip Top Taupe.  I added a little water around the ears and body and then took an aqua pen, and touched it to the ink...

 Hi there! The theme for the challenge at Avenue 613 is summer fun.   One of my favorite ways of enjoying summer, is eating fresh watermelon! To join in on the fun, go to this link  Avenue 613 This  little squirrel from the June Unity Kit of the Month, was just perfect!  My Mom gifted a few stamps from this set plus the Watermelon - Paper from Unity called Slices of Summer. I began by very lightly inking Versafine black ink on mixed media paper.  I used SU-Dusty Durango which although it’s retired, it’s a great color for water coloring animals.  I let the squirrel dry, and added a darker shade of brown and black for shadows.  The eyes, ears and nose were all detailed with Prismacolor pencils.   The watermelon was watercolored with Sweet Sorbet  SU, and Wild Wasabi.  The darkest edge of the rind and the dress were colored with Prismacolors. To assemble, I trimmed the Slices of Summer DSP to 4 x 5 1/4 inches.  Another green rind ...

 Hi there! The weekend is drawing to an end, and I did not have as much time to hang out in the craft room as I wanted.   When time is limited, try using scenic papers to do the the heavy work for you.  The hardest part is deciding on a layout.   Pretty Papers Challenge - wants those papers put to use!  I used a couple sheets from Stampin Up called- Meandering Meadows.  Beautiful countryside scenes with lush meadows and trees.   I looked for some coordinating colors and used Misty Moonlight, and Highland Heather from Stampin Up.  The top sentiment is SU-Go to Greetings.  It’s definitely one for I reach a lot because “Just a note”, “Happy Birthday”, etc. are in three different sizes.  The ink used is Misty Moonlight (SU).  The second sentiment is also SU-but I don’t remember the title of it. Thanks for stopping by! - Valerie Kaye

Hello!  Today’s card is a Clean And Simple -Christmas card.  This week’s challenge is Squares.  More challenge information here: CAS#289 SQUARES Two or three years ago, I saw a very clean and simple Christmas Card featuring a square used as a frame with a center diecut.  I believe this was a die from Echo Park, but has been discontinued.  After a week of busy creativity, it was nice to declutter the design process and think clean!  🙂  I grabbed a small square die and a scrap of SU-O Night Divine.  I used only the manger sillouette from. PTI-Nativity Die Set.  A slightly larger piece of mirrored gold cardstock (Michael’s-Recollections)- was used to frame the square. The sentiment is from Concord and 9th’s O Night Devine Set.  The bold script stamped beautifully against the Accent 120# white cardstock.   Thanks for stopping by!- Valerie Kaye

Hello!  Today’s card was inspired from  Freshly Made Sketches #698 . I had started a card this morning with woodland animals, but went completely off track.  So, I thought I would try again.   The shapes made me think of postage stamps, but I was having a hard time getting shapes to fit with the dies that I had.   I decided to use Unity’s Whit Kit (November 2024) Letters to Santa.  I decided I wanted a vintage look, so used kraft cardstock as the card base.  I used (SU) Real Red, Grey Granite, and Evening Evergreen for stamp colors.  I covered the entire card base rotating and overlapping the stamps.  The base was die cut with a large postage cutting die.  Next, I used another postage stamp to cut a piece of striped patterned paper.  The spruce was stamped in Evening Evergreen and die cut.  The numbers 2, and 5 were die cut in SU-Cherry Cobbler cardstock and overlapped on the tree.   I tried using a square die, but it did ...

 Hello! Today’s card is part of a card challenge at  CAS#566 .  I was trying to find a stamp that was oblong in shape, so I chose Gertie and Gus - Ride On - Taylored Expressions.   Initially I started with white cardstock, but I liked the contrast of the kraft color with the Gertie and Gus.   I stamped onto a piece of white cardstock and a piece of newsprint scrapbook paper.  The boat was diecut and then paperpieced.   I used a zig zag stamp from Amuse Stamps Sampler Set 2 to stamp a simple wave in black ink.   The “happy birthday”- came from Stampin Up but I don’t have the name.  (As soon as my Mom looks it up, I’ll edit this post)  Thanks for stopping by! Valerie Kaye 

 Hello, I made a quick Christmas card using several Unity freebies and stamps.   I started with this sketch for a CAS card, and used the same layout to make a Christmas card for the stash.   I was looking for something that was a similar shape to the oval.  I found Unity’s Winter Shake Up (Whit Kit December 2020.)  I already had a piece of DSP paper from Stampin Up cut down to 4 x 5 1/4.  I used my paper piece gifted from Unity.  It looks like it came from Love is in the Air paper pack, but it was the perfect piece for my card.  The strip was cut 2 x 4 inches in size.   I had a tiny piece of the Unity hand made paper scrap, and used it as a layering piece to cover the paper seam.   The little car was colored with Tombow markers and cut with a postage stamp cutting die.  A small gem was used for the tail- light The sentiment came from Tim Holtz - Cozy Christmas.  It was stamped in Stampin Up- Real Red Ink, and cut with a small b...

 Hello,  Today’s card is inspired from the mood board from Peace on Earth’s  Challenge #33 .  I loved the bright red cabin nestled around the colorful, trees. I pulled out all of my tree dies and stamps to get started and my All Hearts Come Home set from Stampin Up.  I had to figure out which trees that would not overwhelm the focal point of the house.   I decided to stamp the house in (SU) Cherry Cobbler ink on an Oatmeal colored sheet of cardstock.  I then cut a larger square in Cherry cobbler to frame the house and stand in front of the trees.   I chose 3- different trees in shades of Night of Navy, Delightful Dijon, and Old Olive.  I added white detail to the trees to give a similar feel from the mood board by heat embossing textures from Honey Bee Stamps Valentine Textures.   Assembly:  The background was dry embossed from Stampin Up’s Timeworn type embossing folder.  The trees were arranged to each side and the house was ...

 Hello! I am participating in Sunday Stamps current color challenge.   Challenge 366 .   I also needed to make 3 - birthday cards this month, so I dug through my stash and used My Favorite Things- Penguin Parasise set.  I began by choosing 3 penguin images from the set and a few of the accessories included.  I had a precut sheet of white cardstock cut down to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, so I used a My Sweet Petunias platform and arranged all the images and stamped them all at once.  This is a huge time saver if you need to make a few cards at once.  Next, I tried to match the colors as closely as possible with Prismacolor pencils.  A black thin crayola marker and SU- Costal Cabana marker were used to larger areas. I found yellow diagonal striped paper as the DSP used.  It’s from Stampin Up’s - It’s my Party Paper Pack.  I cut 4 - 4 x 5 1/4 inch pieces and set them aside. The first card I used the whole diagonal striped paper as sheet of paper was the...

 Greetings! The weekend is coming to a close and we had a great dinner Sunday night at our favorite Italian restaurant.  I’m still stuffed, but the bruschetta was heavenly!   Before we dressed up for dinner, I sat with my hair in a towel to dry a little and made a card while I waited.  😬  I saw a great inspiration board at Just Add Ink  Challenge #763 , and loved the plaid and coffee cup.   I used those elements as the ideas for my card.  This card is a side folding card measuring 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches.  I really wanted a cozy, winter feel, so I found paper that had small flecks of brown and grey in it.   The die set is from Spellbinders-for July called Mugs and Mittens.   I love the versatility of this set because you can make the clothing look feminine or masculine.  You can make black coffee with cardstock or cocoa, depending on the colors you choose.   I chose Christmas plaid clothing, red mittens, and a green sentimen...

Today’s card was inspired from Festive Friday’s blog challenge.  Link here:  FF0190 To participate, you must three elements to design a card.  I used Black, honeycomb, and flower, and die cuts . To begin, this is a horizontal top folding card measuring 5 1/2 x 4 1/4. I used honeycomb DSP measuring 3 x 5 1/2 and adhered it to the center of the card base.  I used two small strips of gold foil card stock to finish the trim.   I stamped the bee and die cut using a hexagon cutting die.  I framed the bee in a black die.  The bee was glued to a die from SU-Tasteful Labels.  The flowers were stamped and glued to each side of the focal point.   The sentiment was placed under the bee image. Supplies used: Stamps- Stampin Up - -Honey Bee,  Paper- Stampin Up- Golden Honey Specialty Designer Series Paper, Gold foil cardstock- Michael’s, Accent-120# cardstock Dies-Hexagon nesting dies, Stampin Up- Tasteful Labels Thanks for stopping by! Valerie Kaye

 Good Morning, I came across a card sketch last night from Jingle Bells Rock blogspot, and I knew right away what I wanted to make into a card.   ‘‘Twas The Sketch Before Christmas The large circular shape instantly made me think of a full moon.  I had both a sleigh die and stamp, but the smaller size of the stamp worked best.   The DSP- from SU Night Divine paper pack, provided a starry background to the moon.  I cut a slight rectangle measuring 3 x 3 1/2 inches, and SU- Night of Navy strip behind measuring 2 X 4 inches.   The card base is SU- Orchid Oasis.  The sentiment was heat embossed in white on a scrap, and embellished with two enamel dots. Supplies: Stamps-  Stampin Up- Hearts Come Home, Stars are Shining Paper- Accent 120# cardstock, Stampin Up- Orchid Oasis, Night of Navy, and Night Divine - DSP Ink- Versafine- Onyx Black Acessories- SU- In Color Enamel Dots, White Embossing Powder Sensational Sketch Card Mention Thanks for stopping by!...

 Greetings!  Today’s card was inspired by the current monthly sketch at Build Your Holiday Stash.   BYHSC-#60 I slightly cheated a bit and found striped paper.  lol, and framed it with red foil cardstock  Image from My Favorite Things was stamped, and colored with a combination of markers and pencils.  Although this stamp has a square outline, I used a 2 1/2 circle punch and colored the background in black.   The sentiment was heat embossed directly to the card in white.   Supplies: Stamps- My Favorite Things- Selfies with Santa Ink: Versafine- Onyx Black Paper: Accent -120# white cardstock, SU- Strawberry Slush, Concord and 9th Holiday Paper, Michael’s- Red Foil Cardstock Accessories- Wow! White Embossing Powder, Silver stickles, Tombow markers- Red, and Green,  Thanks for stopping by! Valerie Kaye