Inkspired

There are times when the card that inspires me is so darned pretty that I hate to reveal it. This is one of those cards - one that I spied on the recently discovered Mainly Flowers blog. Take a look at Joanne's beautiful creations. If you're like me, you're jaw will drop, too. What really blew me away was that, according to her profile, she's only been stamping for a year and a half. Wow!

Actually, I'm happy enough with my rendition. It afforded me the opportunity to get out my Out on a Limb set, use some of the little Prima flowers that my wonderful friend shared at our last stamp club meeting, and try out the White Opal Liquid Pearls that has been sitting on my desk for a couple of weeks. Made by Ranger (like Stickles), Liquid Pearls is a dimensional paint. I used it for the center of the flowers. Like Stickles, it's easy to control and ends up where you want it - a property that I appreciate. I love the Sweet Leaf/Heather color combination.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Heather cardstock; Sweet Leaf textured cardstock; Sweet Leaf ink pad; Papertrey Ink Out on a Limb stamp set; Prima paper flowers; Opal White Liquid Pearls; Stampin' Up Whisper White taffeta ribbon; Edge Distressor tool.

I haven't mentioned yet that I've seen the online version of the fall/winter CTMH Idea Book. In fact, I've paged through it several times and see something new every time I look. The changes that always come this time of the year include the retirement of four colors (Kiwi, Breeze, Orchid Bouquet, and Carnation) from the Spring Blossom collection. Replacing them are four new colors - Creme Brulee, Juniper, Sorbet, and Tulip. New, too, are true double-sided patterned papers in the paper packets with what appears to be great patterns on both sides. I'm really happy to see that. As always, there are lots of cool, new stamps, and I'm excited about the new stamp pad holder (made to hold all of the stamp pads and markers) even though as I'm currently situated, I probably don't have room for it on my desk. The list of retiring items is out, too, which means it will be time to do a little sorting one of these days. I always find that a bit of a bummer, although this year, I don't think there are any stamps on the list that I haven't gotten around to using yet! That is a bummer!

I reiterate that I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I took a long nap this afternoon and ended up having kind of a lazy day today, which means I'll have to get on the stick and get something done tomorrow. Hopefully, that "something" will include a little stamping! Take care.