Pretty Princess

A miracle happened. I've been really sick from this pregnancy for a week. Sunday was bad, but I was determined to make it to church. I've actually been feeling okay ever since. (I even went to a New Year's Eve party last night until 11 pm--don't worry, it was good clean LDS fun.) I wasn't able to hold down milk this morning, but I stomached jelly bellies. Go figure.

Here's my first card in a while. It would be perfect to give to my daughters or nieces for their birthdays--especially since "princess" is usually the theme.

Anyways, now that I'm feeling better, I had the energy to get out my new Studio G ($1 Michaels) clear stamps that "Santa" put in my stocking. I must admit that the clear stamps didn't turn out as crisp as I'm used to with rubber. I've been trying to find my darned eraser to rub on the clear stamps and hopefully improve their ink-taking abilities.

And I also had time to figure out my new Fiskars circle cutter. The circles on this card are 1-1/4" 1-1/2" and 1-3/4".

Recipe:
CS: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, textured Black, DP from Joann's
Ink: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, YoYo Yellow
Accessories: Rhinestone Brads, Circle Cutter

Butterfly Landing

Love this card! I used a stamp from the SU! Demonstrator incentive set Merry Mix. I used light purple square rhinestone brads and lots of glitter on the pretty butterflies. They actually pop off the page and look like they momentarily landed on the card. Lots of dimenion! I used Soft Subtles colors (pale plum and perfect plum)--so the purple butterflies are the color of the light purple cardstock I mounted them on. The camera doesn't do it justice. It would almost be a crime to hide this in an envelope for any period of time.

Bling - Rhinestone/Crystal Brads

I think bling is the hottest way to embellish a card. However, please be forewarned that it increases the thickness of the card so that if you are sending it in the mail, you must add 17¢ extra postage for the non-machineable surcharge.

They are great for just giving with gifts or hand delivering. Hot, hot, hot! I will try to make some gift notes and gift card holders with bling. Gimme a few days. I think I spent 6 hours making cards yesterday. My supplies are strewn over my kitchen counters--something I hate to do for more than a few hours. But I just gotta stamp!

Clear & Glazed Stickers

I've departed a little from using only stamps to decorate my cards. I found some really cute stickers at our Dollar Tree that are acid free and great for card images. Miss Elizabeth's is the label. The stickers are great quality and an easy way to create a focal image for your card when you are pressed for time. I do, however, usually stamp extra images when I am making cards. I keep a stash of ready-to-use images in a little box. That way I am not always pulling out all of my stamps and ink and trying to figure out what to use.

Many of you probably already know this, but I just remembered how to create the ticket corner without SU!s ticket corner punch. I used my slit punch and eyeballed how much of the corner to crop. I know you can also use any sort of round punch, handheld or whatever. Ticket corners are just an excuse to use more brads--gotta love that!

The brads on the green and white cake card are purple rhinestones. They look really hot in person. And so does the cake. The stickers are embossed and glittered. Just a note, the colors really do look much better and coordinated in person. These pictures make it look like the colors don't mesh well. It's just an illusion.

Flowers & Coffee

This one has bling, flowers, and lots of dimension. I promise the bling has lots of zing in real life. I used SU! colors. The bling and flowers I bought at Craft Warehouse in Meridian, ID. The flowers match pretty well.

Stamp sets: Treat Yourself & Greetings Galore.

Sharing a Cup o' Coffee with My Sister

I don't really drink coffee (I'm LDS), but this is the best way to share a cup with my dear sister, Mikala.

Hey, Mikey. These are for you. Don't you just love the bling brads (hard to notice with my RAZR cam) and aged copper brads?

Note: Don't put your card orders in just yet, because I have some of the cutest birthday cards, kid cards, and pretty 3D flower cards that I still have to finish.

For guests to my DistinctInk blog, I sell cards, too. I make them and ship them right to you. Easy as that. You can pick from any of the cards that you see in my gallery or on this blog. Prices range between $2 and $4+ (depending on the layers and embellishments used). You get the best deal when you order in bulk (20+ cards). Shipping at cost. Hope you enjoy your visit!

If you would like me to make you a Lunch Tin Card Organizer like this one by Michele Shuman, let me know. It won't look exactly like this one, but we can tailor it to your suit your taste. Cost $20. Comes with dividers.

A Note from the Queen

I've been making some cards for my sister, and I remembered that I had created a crown graphic for Courtney's birthday invitations. So I did a little bit of changing, and ended up with some cute crown cards that say "A note from the Queen" and "A Royal Thanks."

And since it's Fall, I had to play around with leaves and pumpkins.

Birthday Invitations for my 2- and 4-year old

All of the birthdays in our little family of four fall within five weeks of each other during the late summer. Courtney, who just turned two, wanted a princess party. And Mia, who will soon be four, wanted a My Little Pony party. Because I didn't have the right stamps, I just did a little graphic design for the focal image on each invitation. Add a little bling, and here you go. And Mia's My Little Pony (original design just for her) has her name written in the big heart on the pony's rump and the number "4" on the crown. The inside of the invitations may be hard to read, but they definitely add the final touch.