INKspirations!

 Greetings!  Thank you for stopping by.  I had another idea using the current sketch for Freshly Made Sketches #757 and created a second card with the same layout.  To join in on the fun, click the link  (HERE) I often save many of these visual designs to help arrange stamps and sentiments, and they have really boosted my creativity.   My second idea was to create something that looked like a legal pad with a note attached to the top.   I started by looking for a soft yellow pastel shade, and used a stamp platform to position the Simon Says Stamp - Handwriting Paper Background stamp with Rococo Rose ink (SU). It looks like the background stamp is retired, but this current stamp would work even better!  (SHOP HERE) Next, I stamped “Just a Note” at the top of my card base in Versa fine Onyx black ink    The stamps and dies used are from Paper Trey Ink’s - Just Notes Set. (SHOP HERE) I started with a basic tag that was in a light blue color...

 Hi Friends!  I had a chance to sit down and create this afternoon, and it was such an enjoyable break! I gravitated towards the flower patterned paper pack  from Unity stamps called Fall Tones for the starting point.   The stamp is called Sniffs and Stems (Unity).  It’s currently a Spotlight steal priced at $8.99, so I couldn’t resist picking him up.  SHOP HERE The dog was stamped in Early Espresso Ink (SU) and colored with markers.   I added a couple of hearts using the wonky hearts from Unity, and Yana Smakula.  A small bow was added in blue bakers twine to the bouquet.   This card is for the following challenges: Love Those Pretty Papers (Aug) -  (LINK) Creative Fingers #327 (Anything Goes) -  (LINK) Pattie’s Creations #245 -  (LINK) Thanks for stopping by! - Valerie Kaye

Hello! Today’s card is inspired from the sketch this week at CAS Colours and Sketches - #583.To join in on the fun, click the link    (HERE)  I started building my sketch with nested circle dies, and a heart punch. The circles used are roughly 1 1/4 inches in diameter.  To add more detail to the circles, I stamped diagonal stripes from Honey Bee Stamps - called Bitty Patterns, in Coastal Cabana Ink (SU).  A red foil heart was punched from an older Stampin Up mini punch, and added to each center. The sentiment is from My Favorite Things - Inside and Out Thank You.  A stamp platform was used for placement, and stamped with Versafine Onyx Black Ink. The finished card is an A2 - side folding card made from Hammermill White #110 cardstock.  Card matte, Red foil cardstock (Recollections) - Michaels. Thanks For Stopping by! - Valerie Kaye

Hello!  We are currently hunkered down today waiting for the winter storm to pass.  Midwest in the Spring can have some ferocious weather.   At any rate, I can sow seeds inside and color flowers until the weather decides to warm up.  Today’s theme from Addicted to Clean and Simple is “Garden” To play along, click the link ( HERE ) And- Crafty Calendar Challenge - March Theme:Spring Play along  (HERE) My garden has more flowers than vegetables. but it’s a labor of love.   Some of the favorites in my garden are canterbury bells, and hollyhocks that I started from seed.   For my card today I chose pretty daffodils from Angie Bloom Digital Designs.   To see more of her work, (CLICK HERE)   My card is a A2-Horizontal top folding card. I cut a piece of Fabarino Mixed Media Paper down to 8 1/2 x 11 inches and printed on my HP - Printer. To overcome the ink bleeding, I sprayed hairspray as a fixative.  You can use other products, but hairspray a...

 Hello!  The current challenge for the Double D Blog is Love and friendship.   To join in on the challenge: click the link  (HERE) I couldn’t think of a better friendship than Snoopy and Woodstock’s!  I was gifted the Creative Stamping Magazine, issue 156 from my Sister In Law!  I had kind of given up on these stamps, and she happened to see the magazine sitting on the shelf in the bookstore, and was nice to gift me the magazine.   To create this shaker card, I used a frame cutting die from the Past Unity Stamps Whit Kit (No Place Like Home).  I stacked  2 - panels for the top, and 4 - panels for the bottom, using Unity’s Basic Black cards stock. The bottom frame was glued to a slightly larger frame cutting die from Coastal Cabana card stock (SU). The hearts were added from a mini paper punch, with a few extra small beads.   Snoopy and Woodstock were stamped with Versa fine onyx black ink, colored and fussy cut.  I stamped the senti...

 Hello!  Today’s card is inspired from the sketch from AAA - Challenges, #308.  To play along, click the link  (HERE) This is an A1 - sized card, measuring   (4 7/8 x 7 inches - score at 3 1/2), made from Recollections Craft cardstock. I stamped the Hero Arts Poppy stamp (CM503) in Versa Fine Onyx Black Ink, on Strathmore mixed media paper. Using an aqua pen, I dabbed the brush directly into the Poppy Parade Ink (SU).  The leaves were painted with Gumball Green ink (SU).   The flowers were die cut, and adhered to the front panel of the card.  The sentiment was heat embossed into a piece of Tim Holtz ideology black metallic cardstock.  I loved the pop of gloss from the cardstock.  The circle die is from (SSS) - Artful Palette set.   Have a great week! Valerie Kaye

 Hello! Tonight’s card was inspired from the color challenge at   CAS Colours and Sketches  #576.   I decided to make a Thank You card that would be simple to make and reproduce.  This card is an A1 size, measuring 4 7/8x 3 1/2 inches.  The stamps and sentiment are from Stampin Up’s Little Delights Set.   I cut 3-small postage stamp die cuts and then stamped the lights.  To space as evenly as possible, I positioned the center die cut first and then added the left and right.  The diecuts were anchored along a leftover strip of Cherry Cobbler card stock.   The sentiment was stamped in Cherry Cobbler (SU) ink.   Thanks for stopping by! - Valerie Kaye

 Good Morning! Freshly Made Sketches has a new challenge up this week, and I couldn’t resist!   My Mom often gifts me her older stamp sets, and I was drawn to the shape of the wreath from Stampin Up’s Winterly Tree Tops set.  I thought that was the perfect element for the sketch.  You can play along here:  #FMS715 I wanted I high contrast color behind the neutral colors of the bird and branches, so I used a scrap of Stampin Up Poppy Parade Cardstock.   The bird and wreath were stamped in SU- Early Espresso Ink and colored with markers and then die cut.  Two additional die cuts of the bird were glued together for added dimension.   Gold dimensional accents were added to the berries.  The sentiment was stamped in Versa Fine Onyx Black Ink.   Thanks for Stopping By! - Valerie Kaye

Hi there! What a great day!  I had a fun afternoon visiting my extended family over afternoon tea, and card making! I do most of my crafting at home, so I definitely needed to think about how to be travel friendly.  This was a great learning experience, I think I’ll pack up some supplies the next time I am waiting during an oil change! In an hour or so, I was able to make close to twenty cards.  These are Christmas thank you cards which are an A1 - or notecard sized card.   To assembly line these cards, this is what helped in order to expedite and pack easily. I cut all the tags on a previous afternoon and set them aside.   Choose a simple color palette - I used 2 colors for the mat, and 1 color to die cut the tree. (Concord and 9th Tiny Trees)  I opted to stamp inside, to save time die cutting.  If you still have a punch, they are great for travel! All were the mats at once, then the die cutting the trees, and then cut the cardstock, then did all the ...

 Hi there!  I made a couple of cards today with tags and thank you as the main focus.   These are both using scrap tags!  I had left over cardstock in fall colors from a 12 x 12 paper pack awhile ago and I wanted to clean them up.   I had various tags, which where a small or medium tag was made.   The top card I used three of the same style tag, placing a gould foil leaf in the center.  The tags are mounted on a whole panel trimmed in foil cardstock.  The sentiment comes from Stampin Up “Hope You Know” stamp set.  The sentiment was stamped using a stamp platform with Ranger archival Ink in Sepia. The next card also uses a tag.  This was another pretty card made entire from leftovers and scraps.  I loved how the leaves were positioned, and anchored the sentiment between the two leaves.  A small twine bow was added as an embellishment from Unity stamps. The iridescent rhinestones are from Stampin’ Up. 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...

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

  Howdy!   Thanksgiving is quickly approaching.  My family will be in by mid week, the grocery shopping has begun, and the cleaning of the house will commence!  It will be great seeing everybody, but it's a lot of preparation.   And so after much preparation, it was time for a break down into the craft room.😏  lol.  This month's challenge at  ( The Card Concept#TCC211 ) is based off of an inspiration board. The color palette contains all the rich fall colors of gold, browns, black and white.  I decided I wanted a cleaner looking card, so I designed a card with a lot white space with a slim black border along the edge.  Along the card fold, overlapping leaves have been stamped in fall colors of golds, reds, greens, and browns.  A bold Thank You sentiment was cut from gold cardstock and overlapping the leaves.  A few accents of metallic gold accents were added around the leaves. Supplies Used: Stamps: Gina K. - Autumn ...