Inkin With Dink

Father's Day and Stepping Stone

Hello Stampers!  Wow!  I feel like I just fell away from life for awhile!  Friday I went to the doctor for my shoulder.  I was told about 10 years ago that I had a torn rotator cuff, and I have just lived with the pain.  Now, it has frozen and I am very limited in my range of motion.  So the doc said it was time to do something about it!  I had a cortisone shot, which if you have ever had one, they are extremely painful, and so I was pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day Friday!  Saturday, well that was just a busy Saturday, and today is Sunday!  Sorry for the long time between posts!  I promised last time that I would show the stepping stone that I got from my work luncheon.

Here it is!  Isn't it pretty?  Every year our directors and assistant make us some sort of gift or package of stuff.  They really put a lot of time and energy into it, and we really appreciate it!  Thanks Melinda, Margie, & Christine.

I also wanted to show you one of the Father's Day cards that I have made.  This is a wallet.  It is the size of a normal card.  I used my paper piercer to pierce along the outside, and I did faux sewing with a chocolate chip marker.  I also sponged chocolate chip ink around the edges to give it the worn look.

Here is what the inside looks like.  It is perfect for holding money, gift cards, wallet photos, etc.  I still have some available for $2 if anyone is interested!  Just let me know! 

Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - All Holidays

Cardstock - Close to Cocoa

Stamp pad - Chocolate Chip

Accessories - Sponge, Paper piercer, Chocolate Chip marker

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Dance Recital Invitation

Hello Stampers!  Today was the first full day of summer vacation for my girls!  Amie went to Six Flags all day with the neighbors, and Casie came to my work luncheon with me and babysat!  At least they were both somewhat active!  I got a really neat stepping stone for my garden as a present at my luncheon, but since I forgot to take a picture of it when it was light out today, I'll have to show you that tomorrow!  On to stamping!

This is a card that I created for one of my customers who wanted invitations for her daughter's first dance recital!  Her daughter has blonde hair and her dance costume was pink, so I made a mini her!  Isn't it cute???

Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - All In The Family, Family Accessories, Hugs & Wishes

Cardstock - Pink Passion, Pretty In Pink, White

Stamp pad - Pink Passion, Black

Accessories - Corner Rounder punch, Wide oval punch, Eyelet Border punch, Gingham Ribbon, Markers

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Thoughts & Prayers

Hello Stampers!  I was so excited when my UPS guy showed up today!  I have been seeing the SU! stamp set Thoughts & Prayers on lots of people's blogs, and I decided that I just had to have it!  I know that Get Well and Sympathy cards are not very fun to make, but at least you can have a great set to make it easier.

This is the card that I came up with today.  I love these colors together!  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Thoughts & Prayers

Cardstock - Rose Red, Handsome Hunter, Vanilla

Stamp pad - Handsome Hunter

Accessories - Top Note die, Big Shot, Trio flower punch, Vintage brads, 1/16" hole punch, ribbon

I'll be playing with this set more over the next few days and I'll show you what I come up with!

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Soccer Thanks!

Hello Stampers!  Tonight was Amie's last soccer game for the Spring season.  I made cards for her two coaches to thank them for all of the time they devote to these girls.

Since they are based in Illinoios, I of course had to make the card blue and orange!  Doesn't it look cool how it looks like the shoe is kicking the soccer ball?  I simply stamped it three times, moving toward the shoe, without reinking. 

I adhered a mini square envelope inside to hold the gift card.  The soccer ball punches out perfectly with the 1 1/4" circle punch!  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Just Soccer, Family Phrases

Cardstock - Brilliant Blue, Only Orange, White

Stamp pad - Black, Brilliant Blue, Only Orange, Versamark

Accessories - Mini square envelope, 1 1/4" circle punch

Be sure to thank your children's coaches and teachers!   We trust them with our children!

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Flower Burst die

Hello Stampers!  I hope that you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!  We did not do much, just a lot of relaxing!  It was nice!  I reorganized my scrapbook room, and even got a little stamping done!

This card I made today using my Flower Burst embosslits die.  These dies will emboss and cut out the image all at the same time!  I just cut out three of these bursts and colored them with my daubers and pastels.  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Oval All (I'm so going to miss this set when it's gone!)

Cardstock - Regal Rose, White

Stamp pad - Regal Rose

Accessories - Flower Burst Embosslits die, Big Shot, Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon (retired), large oval punch, scallop oval punch, pastels, dauber

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Scrapbook Class

Hello Stampers!  I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my husband!  I think he had a great day, because he got to do what he wanted all day!  Our daughter, Amie, wasn't so thrilled with his choices and said that his birthday was boring! 

This month for my scrapbooking class, we made a camping page.  I love using the set Under The Stars!  If you click on the pic and make it bigger, you can see that we stamped s'mores behind each letter in the title too!  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Under the Stars, Taffy alphabet, Nature Hike wheel (retired)

Cardstock - Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, White

Stamp pad - Black, Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel

Accessories - Markers, 1 1/4" square punch, 1 3/8" square punch

And of course we had to make a Mother's Day page this month!  The colors are really bad on this pic, but the main color is Taken with Teal and the flower is Regal Rose.  I love these colors together! 

Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Pick A Petal, Best Friend's alphabet (retired)

Cardstock - Taken with Teal, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Old Olive

Stamp pad - Regal Rose

Accessories - 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, large oval punch, scallop edge punch 

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Wedding Reception Favors

Hello Stampers!  I got together with some friends this morning to make wedding reception favors for another friend's daughter's wedding.  They turned out so great!

Aren't they elegant looking?  I got the idea from Patti at creationsbypatti.blogspot.com.  We first cut out the petal card die on the Big Shot.  We then ran it through the Big Shot die again with the Manhattan Flower textured impressions die.  I love the results!  When you fold two of the petals up, it forms a heart.

This is what the back looks like, and it perfectly holds a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate!

And this is what 150 of them look like!  It only took a couple of hours to crank them out!  LOVE IT! 

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Teacher's Gifts

Hello Stampers!  Today was our preschool picnic.  It was two hours of games, inflatables, and visits by a fire truck, ambulance, and a helicopter.  Today we even had Ronald McDonald come by to hand out cookies!  I saw one of my preschoolers and he said "Miss Dina, You know that McDonald McRonald?"(don't you love the name?)  "He lives up in that M sign!"  I said "He does?  How does he get up there?"  He replied, "He just climbs up the pole." (like he couldn't believe that I didn't know that!)  I asked him if he ate up there in his sign too and he looked at me even stranger and replied, "No, he just comes down to his restaurant to eat!"  I'm going to miss them over the summer break!

I wanted to show you the gifts that I made for my girl's teachers this year.

I had a lot to make, 23 of them!  They gave them not only to their teachers, but to people who helped them in some way this year.

This is a close up of one of the boxes.  The box was created by joining two of the Box #2 dies from the Big Shot, back to back.  I used the big oval punch to punch out the handle, and covered the sides with designer series paper.

The matchbox is also a Big Shot die, and is filled with four Hershey Nuggets covered with designer series paper.  There is a bookmark attached to the top and sticking up.  The back of the box contains the matching gift card.

Here is a side view.  I just put crinkled paper in the bottom to help fill it up!

I hope they liked them!

The blue and green baskets in the back of the first picture are filled with these little M & M goodie bags.  They were just for anybody else on staff or in the offices to let them know that they are appreciated too!

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Punch Bunch cards

Hello Stampers!  Yesturday I showed you the items that we made in our Punch Bunch this month, today I want to show you the items incorporated into cards!  In my monthly Punch Bunch, we make four punched items every month.  All you have to do to join is agree to buy $15 in merchandise from the SU! catalog each month.  Each month, you will receive the supplies needed to make four punched items.  I will show you the items imcorporated into cards each month so that you have some ideas of what to do with your creations!  And that's it!

The first item I showed you was the daisy.  I actually received this card in a swap at Convention last year.  I just love the flower!

Aren't these birds cute??  I actually found this idea on Splitcoaststampers.  They have so many great ideas there!

This card was another swap that I received.  This one was from my upline, Jeri Holm!  Love this rattle!!!

Finally, this fun one was one that I found while blog hopping, and I don't know who to give credit to! Sorry!  I love this though!

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Punch Bunch

Hello Stampers!  Today was our last day of preschool, and tonight was our graduation.  I will really miss this class.  Tonight, as the kids were all arriving in the classroom, before the ceremony, one of the little girls walked into the room.  One of the boys went up to her and said "You look very pretty tonight.  In fact, you look 'HOT'!"  Keep in mind that these kids are 4 and 5 years old!!!  They crack me up!!!

I want to show you the items that we are making in Punch Bunch this month.  Today I will show you the items, and tomorrow I'll show them to you as actual cards.

I know that this daisy is very simple, but for such a simple thing, it gives a big WOW!  So I wanted to be sure that my punch bunchers knew of this simple flower!

Spring is the perfect time for this fat little Robin!

Don't you love this baby rattle??

This train will be cute on little boy cards!

I'll show you cards using these items tomorrow and tell you where I got these patterns from!

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

More Daisies!

Hello Stampers!  Where in the world have I been???  This time of year just gets so crazy busy, as I'm sure most of you are experiencing!  I've got another preschool funny for you!  We had shells out in the classroom the other day, and the kids just loved looking at all of them.  One little boy comes up to me and said "Miss Dina!  Do you know if you put this shell up to your ear you can hear something?"  I asked him what he could hear, expecting him to say the sounds of the ocean, instead I got this..."since it used to have a crab in it, when you put it up to your ear you can hear crab sounds!"  Can anyone tell me what a crab sound is??? 

I'm ready to show you more more Daisy cards using my Daisies #2 die cut with my Big Shot!

This pretty card uses a new color combo for me!  The card is Cameo Coral.  The daisy is Elegant Eggplant with the Summer Sun corduroy button in the center!  I just love those new buttons!!!  I used three of the medium sized daisies to make this one.  Don't you love the fullness of it???  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Doodle This, Sincere Salutations

Cardstock - Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Elegant Eggplant

Stamp pad - Cameo Coral, Black

Accessories - Daisies #2 die, Big Shot, Corduroy button, So Saffron 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon

I thought this flower turned out interesting.  I'm still trying to figure out if I really like it or not!  Let me know what you think!  I used one of each of the sizes of daisy on this flower.  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Sincere Salutations

Cardstock - Pumpkin Pie, Pixie Pink

Stamp pad - Black

Accessories - Daisies #2 die, Big Shot, Corduroy button, Old Olive 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbon

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Daisies Galore!

Hello Stampers!  I had some free time to play with my Daisies #2 die cut and Big Shot today.  That is such a fun die to use!  There are three different sizes of daisies on it.  Let me show you what I came up with!

This flower uses the Brocade Blue and Barely Banana for the daisy colors.  There is a rhinestone brad holding them together!  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Baroque Motifs, Short & Sweet

Cardstock - Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Barely Banana

Stamp pad - Certainly Celery, Black

Accessories - Daisies #2 die cut, Big Shot, Rhinestone brad

Don't you love these bright colors?  They are so summery!  I did double of each flower and just staggered them.  It gives the flower more fullness!  Here's the recipe:

Stamp set - Sincere Salutations

Cardstock - Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Only Orange, Lovely Lilac, Yoyo Yellow

Stamp pad - Black

Accessories - Daisies #2 die, Big Shot

I'll show you some more of my creations tomorrow!

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

Ribbon Share

Hello Stampers!  I decided to do another ribbon share, this one with the new 1/2" striped grosgrain ribbons in the catalog.

Don't you love these colors!  They are Pretty In Pink, So Saffron, and Old Olive.

You will get three yards of each color, for $11.  That's approximately $.92 per yard.  Plus, there will be no shipping or tax.  This is a great way to get a variety of ribbons without having to buy a spool of each color! 

I will also offer the other three colors at the same offer.  That's Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, and Real Red.  Three yards each for $11.

If you are interested, please let me know by May 31st.

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!

May Monthly Card Class & Classroom Visitors

Hello Stampers!  I wanted to share with you some visitors that we have had to our preschool class over the last few days.

On Monday, one of our moms brought in some baby ducks that she had rescued just that day!  They were trying to cross a busy street near our school and the mama flew away and left them.  These baby ducks are approximately 2 days old.  They were absolutely adorable!

Today, another one of our moms brought in two baby raccoons!  She runs a wild animal relocation service out of her home.  She resucues those whose mothers have abandoned them.  These little raccoons are approximately 6 weeks old.  The little one chewing on my shoe is Vanessa, and the other one in Gracie's arms is Squirt.  They were so adorable!!!

I also wanted to let you know that our Mother's Day Tea went very well at preschool on Monday.  In fact, one of the little boys came up to me and said "Miss Dina.  This was the best Mother's Day Tea ever!"

Now, on to stamping!  I wanted to show you the cards that we are making in my monthly card class this month.  This is my class that is free to my club members.

This birthday card uses the great masculine set And Many Mower that is currently in the Occasions mini catalog.  Don't you love the way the cardstock is fringed under the mower to look like grass!!!  Many people think that masculine cards are hard to come up with, so I try to throw some in to my classes once in awhile. 

This card uses my technique for the month, embossed resist.  For this card, we will emboss the flower image first with clear embossing powder. They we will use a dauber and lightly sponge white craft ink around the flowers.   It really gives them depth.  Love it!

This card is my favorite!  I don't know what took me so long in getting the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set!  I just love it now that I have it!!!  I love these colors together too, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Cameo Coral!

Happy Stampin' and TTFN!