Tinkerin In Ink with Tanya

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Cakey Birthday

You may have noticed that I have been participating in more challenges lately. There are several reasons for this, including just wanting new inspiration. I feel like becoming more a part of the on-line community. When I left Red Lake Hospital to work closer to home in Bemidji, I lost my group of stampers that would meet with me once a month. Our schedules just did not mesh anymore. Plus, I couldn't look at the schedule anymore and try to find an evening that worked for most if not all of the group :) I have been missing that kind of interaction. And frankly, I have not found a new group yet. I hope to soon. This is not at all about sales for me, although it doesn't hurt :) It is about the socialization factor. Those of you who are reading this post are most likely crafters too. You know what it is like to get a group of people together working on crafts. And talking, and laughing, and sharing the stories of our lives. I really miss that. So, now all of you blog readers out there have become my "group of ladies" to share with. I appreciate any and all who come visit my blog and read my silly stories, and comment on my posts. They make me smile and feel some of the connections I felt with my friends... and I thank you! OK, now on to the stamping! That's what brings you here anyway :)

I used 2 challenges for this card. The Friday Mashup challenge was a theme and/or color challenge. I hit both! The color combo was Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana, Going Gray, and Smokey Slate. The theme was cake :)

And a sketch from Retro Sketches. They always have great sketches there :)

I was inspired also by Heidi Baks card with the cascading dots. I used a variety of circle stamps from my stash to create that background. It took more time than I thought it would!
Incidentally, this ended up being Charlene's birthday card, cause it was special enough to send to my girl :)

I stamped a little cake in the inside of the card also. You can never have enough cake. This color combo surprised me in how much I enjoyed creating with it. I will have another card to share with you later with the same colors.. I have the main image colored and matted, sitting on my desk waiting for layout inspiration :)

Now, this picture is 2 years old (Geoffrey has put on more muscle and his curly hair has grown back), but it was too late in the evening for me to grab a picture of Geoffrey (now 17) on Friday night when he wore this chainmaille shirt again. He went to a Halloween dance at school, and won a prize for best costume! Geoffrey and Dakota made this shirt. They bought a roll of 14 gauge steel wire, coiled, cut, and linked the circles together to make this shirt all by hand. Dakota has since made and sold 2 of these custom made shirts. They have both made and sold countless bracelets, key chains, and chainmaille cross necklaces. It is pretty cool to see your kids develop a specialized craft :) Proud mama here!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Friday, October 25, 2013

Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

PaperTrey Ink is having a blog hop today and I thought I would join in with a few tags. Christmas is coming, and we all need gift tags. Not every tag has to be extra special, but it is nice to have a few on hand :)

The challenge was to make five tags. Well, I started out making 5 different tags, but ended up making 5 of one kind, and 1 each of two others. Enjoy!

Here is a shot of most of the tags together. Two of the trees are not in the picture, just not enough room :)

I made 5 of these. They are made with the In the Meadow stamp set and dies, with Gumball Green, Early Espresso, and Raspberry Ripple ink, and Raspberry Ripple ribbon, rhinestones, and Baker's Twine.

I also made a wine bottle tag with the Wonderful Wreath single stamp from SU in Crushed Curry and Cajun Craze. I also used some of that yummy Champagne Glimmer paper with the Expressions thinlit, Burlap ribbon, adn Crushed Curry Chevron ribbon. The tag was created with a 2½"x8½" strip of Crumb Cake. I used several circle dies to make the wreath and the hole in the tag, and scored the tag 2" from the top.

This last tag is made with the Chalk Talk framelit and another Expressions thinlit. The teeny tiny "christmas" is from the brand new SU photopolymer set Endless Wishes.

I had actually been just playing with the wreath stamp and had these images laying on my desk just waiting to be used, and this challenge seemed to be the perfect opportunity!

Supplies for Tree Tags:
(not pictured: PTI In the Meadow stamps and dies)