Pen & Ink

So a few years back I picked up a sketchbook, my micron pens, and a zentangle book. While I never caught the tangle fever, I did reignite my love of pen and ink drawing. Pen and ink are super portable, all you need is a few pens and the paper of your choice. I love drawing on 140-pound watercolor paper and the smooth finish sketchbook I picked up at Barnes & Noble.

Over the last month, I've done three custom pieces and a gift for a friend. If you'd like to see more of my work please visit My Shop.

"B" Monogram (SOLD)	"K" Monogram (SOLD)	"K" Monogram (SOLD)
"N" Monogram (SOLD)	"A" Monogram ($15.00)	Winter Tree ($15.00)

An Update From The Studio Desk

Wow! It's been a month since I put up a post. My how time flies. I'll spare the long explanation, but we had company for a month and then it was a game of getting caught up on things around the house. Our beautiful Alaskan Summer really flew by this year. While we had house guests, I took time away from the studio. Now that things are caught up and school is gearing back up, I'm back to creating more regularly. There is hope that I'll be posting here more as well. So let's take a little look at what's been going on lately.

This stunning card set was made for a friend whose response to me wanting to send her a care package was - Could you please send me some of your fantastic cards, I have a lot of thank you's to send out. Of course, I can do that, and I'd love to. I created these sets with an embossing resist technique and distress inks. Die cuts were added to create the messages. They look like I spent days making them, but they are so easy and therapeutic for me to create. This is probably my favorite technique.

More recently I've just been playing with things in my stash. I have a crafty bestie that I swap Happy Mail packages with regularly. We like to keep each other inspired by sending each other goodies. Often it's a card or flip book with die cuts, but sometimes there are some great extras. This last time we swapped scraps so that the receiver can cut goodies and send them back. We try to extend our stash by sharing it. She buys things across the country that I can't easily get or that might not be on my radar to pick up. It's awesome to get goodies in the mail and share the kindness and creativity with each other. All that said, this second card set was created with some of the die cuts she sent me.

I'm currently working on a set of thank you notes. They'll be sent off to the east coast when they're finished. After that project, I'll be back on the Birthday Card making campaign. I've been sending handmade Birthday cards to Friends and Family each month. It's been a lot of work to stay on top of that. I'll admit that making Birthday cards aren't my fave to make, but I think they're all loved on the receiving end.

Tie-Dye Butterfly Card

Technique Used:

Embossing Resist

Retired Products Used:

Stampers Annonymous Art Butterfly

Links to products used:

Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long tape, Refill cartridge 5 Pack, AZ | SSS	Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long-Blue AZ | SSS	Simon Says Stamp MARYANNE SNOWFLAKE Craft DIE SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad FADED JEANS SB | SSS
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad PEACOCK FEATHERS SB | SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads CHIPPED SAPPHIRE SB | SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads SEEDLESS PRESERVES SB | SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads WILD HONEY SB | SSS
WOW Embossing Powder OPAQUE BRIGHT WHITE SUPER FINE SSS | EH	Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD Watermark AZ | SSS	EK Tools Powder Tool AZ | SSS	EK Tools Powder Tool SB | AZ | SSS
Ranger Ink - Inkssentials - Reusable Non Stick Craft Sheet - 15 inch by 18 inch SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Mini Ink Blending Tool - Round SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foams - Round SB | AZ | SSS

Iris Silhouette Card

Techniques Used:

Jennifer McGuire's Ink + Embossing Folders Technique Video

Retired Products Used:

We R Memory Keepers Lifestyle Crafts Goosebumpz Embossing Folders - Butterfly
Memory Box Righteous Rings Die

Links to Products Used:

Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long tape, Refill cartridge 5 Pack, AZ | SSS	Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long-Blue AZ | SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad CRUSHED OLIVE SB | SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad PEELED PAINT SB | SSS
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads DUSTY CONCORD SB | SSS	EK Tools Powder Tool SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Inkssentials - Reusable Non Stick Craft Sheet - 15 inch by 18 inch SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Mini Ink Blending Tool - Round SB | AZ | SSS
Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foams - Round SB | AZ | SSS

Orange and White Embossing Resit Card

Inspiration Source:

The inspiration for this card came from this pin

Techniques Used:

Embossing Resist Background Panel
Hombre Inked Word Die
Distress Inked Butterfly

Links to Products Used:

Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long tape, Refill cartridge 5 Pack, AZ | SSS	Kokuyo Tape Glue Dot Liner Long-Blue AZ | SSS	Simon Says Stamp SMALL HELLO Craft Die SSS	Technique Tuesday - DIY Steel Die - Happy Butterfly SB
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads VINTAGE PHOTO SB | SSS	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads WILD HONEY SB | SSS	WOW Embossing Powder OPAQUE BRIGHT WHITE SUPER FINE SSS | EH	Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD Watermark AZ | SSS
EK Tools Powder Tool AZ | SSS	EK Tools Powder Tool SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Inkssentials - Reusable Non Stick Craft Sheet - 15 inch by 18 inch SB | AZ | SSS	Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Mini Ink Blending Tool - Round SB | AZ | SSS
Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foams - Round SB | AZ | SSS	Wagner Heat Gun AZ