InKollage

Easter Parade

The yellow chick ribbon was just waiting to be made into an  Easter parade card - and the Butterfield print was the perfect background.  They're marching along - in a not-so-perfect line - trying to follow the subtle dips and hills in the paper's terrain.

Many of Dave's stamps and papers are perfect for each other.  Examples include the Woodland Springtime Collection and Butterfield, pandas and Glitterati, butterflies and Sweetbay, owls and Brandywine.  It makes life a lot easier.

We're almost ready to announce the details of the next contest - the Big Contest.  Dave, Laura, Cate, Patter and I have a few more details to work out.  We'll fill you in next week.  Trust me, you'll want to enter this one!  

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Storybook Bunny

A striped bunny?  Yes - appearing here as a Woodland Springtime storybook character, thanks to some of the prints from the Butterfield 6x6 Set.

I love mixing prints.  There are theories and rules about doing that - but I think it's more fun to just play with different patterns and colors - and if you like it, use them!  "What-if-ing" is a big part of my day - it's easier than visualizing for me.   I need to actually see something in place to decide whether it works or not.  (Ask my husband about rearranging furniture, plants and trees!)

There's an InKollage.Idea related to this "what-if-ing"  thing in the next paragraph.  But first - I want to tell you about another contest we'll be announcing soon.  It'll be a BIG ONE...you can win a $100.00 Memory Box Bucks Prize this time around!  We're finalizing the details with Dave - and will announce it soon.

InKollage.Idea #3 - Make it easy to select a print for paper-piecing and cutouts by stamping an open image on an acetate sheet with StazOn ink.  Once it's dry, just lay the stamped image over different patterns to see how it would look.  It's a template to help you pick a print to stamp and cut out.  It also lets you see how the image would look stamped on a background print or piece of cardstock.  If you plan to use the stamp often, cold-laminate it with adhesive laminate. 

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Squirrely Thanks

Here's another card featuring the Butterfield 6x6 Set - and Nutty Squirrel from the Woodland Springtime Collection.   Berry Pearl Stickers add subtle bling, if there is such a thing.

I've used more of the Smooch Inks here - Pumpkin and Moonlight color the squirrel.  Remember Dave's hint about keeping the faces a little lighter than the rest of the animal so they look a little friendlier.  

Another InKollage.Idea - Coordinate your design by rounding the corners of your pieces if you have a lot of rounded elements on your papers or stamps.  It just seems to make things flow together.  

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Tell Me About It

Perched Chick seems to have something very important to say - which makes him perfect on a card sharing some good news or an exciting announcement.

Is it just me - slowing down - or are the days going by faster than ever this year?  Maybe it's the weather that keeps us guessing - snow, rainstorms, freezing rain and bright sunshine - all within the past week.  It's easy to lose track of time...then suddenly, the stores are filled with  Peeps and chocolate eggs.

The Butterfield 6x6 Set is a collection for all seasons.  It's full of fluffy clouds, blue skies, green hills, and butterflies - then transitions into rich greens, harvest colors and rich browns.  We'll start with the soft, creamy colors here.

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Green Thumb

A tiny packet of flower seeds joins Garden Bunny on this spring greeting.  Large (but somewhat flat) seeds work well because they don't all settle at the bottom of the packet - or slip out through the sides. I've used cosmos and lavender seeds here.  There's a wide variety to choose from, and you can even color-coordinate the blooms with your card.

I'll try to include an extra tip or timesaving idea whenever I can - let's call it an InKollage.Idea.  It won't be rocket-science - or headline news - just something to make life easier.  Baby lightbulbs!

Here's the first one...

InKollage.Idea #1 - Instead of trying to tie a snugly-fitting, perfectly-positioned opaque ribbon around a little packet or piece of cardstock - do it in two steps.  Wrap the ribbon around the item and tape both ends on the back. Tie a little bow using another piece of ribbon, then glue it over the first piece.  I use Crafter's Pick The Ultimate adhesive.

We'll do a sheer ribbon on a future card.

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Spring Forward

The Tufted Owl - Smooched in shades of Green Apple, Sugarberry and Azure -  awaits the arrival of spring.  Smooches are the new blendable metallic paints in skinny nailpolish-like bottles.  Stamping him on Lavender Cardstock, adding the color highlights and cutting him out makes it easy.  You don't even have to worry about coloring outside the lines.  Stamping Curly Q twice gives him a nice little perch.

The other new Woodland Springtime storybook animals would look great in Smooch too.  Imagine Garden Bunny in Moonlight - or  Nutty Squirrel in Pumpkin.

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