Inspiration, Day 1: Open Book and Today and Always

Hello!  Welcome to Day 1 of our Gina K. January Release Inspiration Hops!  Today we are sharing ideas for my Open Book and Lisa Hetrick's Today and Always stamp sets. Be sure to comment on the blogs as you hop through, Gina will select a winner randomly from the comments on Friday for a $50 gift certificate to the store for some crafty shopping. You are not required to comment on every blog to enter, but the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win.  Let's get to it!

I am so happy you all are loving Open Book  (and the cat) the way I do! (Wait till you start stamping with them!) First, what's better than one cat? TWO CATS. SNUGGLING!

Can't you hear them purring? Stamp the one that will be in the front first (right) cover with your mask, then ink and stamp again to the left. Tada! I was so happy how *purrfectly* this masking turned out, really looks like two different cats, not a the same image!  (I'll show in a video how to color this ginger tabby and tuxedo, it's easy!)  Base is Pure Luxury Kraft.  You might choose to stamp "friends" from this set for this design instead of "family", both work .... This pair could even be a fun way to recognize a wedding or anniversary! Meow!

Now I made this card the week before the release just as a sample and for no one in particular, but when I was thinking about what to share today, I realized this was the card to send to my friend who Cat, who had to say goodbye to her beautiful gray Shady Lady the other day. ;( I wasn't thinking about "pet sympathy" when I masked the little bunch of flowers under this cat's paws (cover the cat with your stamped mask and then stamp the roses) or chose to color it gray, but I'm so glad I did.  The inside finishes the "Time spent with friends" sentiment: "… is never wasted." I hope this cards reminds her of happy times with her sweet companion. Base is Pure Luxury Dusty Rose. I also stamped the little triangle stamp at the top to dog ear the page.  Trace under it for shadow to add dimension.

Here is a paper piecing sample using the King James New Testament from the Dollar Tree I recommended in my Facebook Live video.  Each page has two columns that fit this stamp perfectly, to have margins on each side and the spine fits in between, allowing one to read it all easily!  (I didn't feel weird tearing it out since this inexpensive version is printed on newsprint, and am using it for the express purpose of wanting to use the text (as I surely would feel uncomfortable pulling apart one of my study Bibles. Not doing it!) I stamped the glasses and flowers right over it without masking because I like the way it looks with the words peeping through. I used a yellow marker to highlight one scripture and mounted it on GKD Pure Luxury Wild Dandelion to match.

No book or cat for this one, just the words!  I thought it would be fun and interesting to emphasize one of the words in the design by circling it (but by no means does it mean I love family, cats or friends less!)  Just sharing a bit of passion for your passion, you know? ;)  I used a fine line aqua colored pen for checking and circling the words on the list, and colored the pen with alcohol markers to match. Base is GKD Pure Luxury Red Velvet to match the stamped heart.

Finally, I made this next card for my son who is turning FOURTEEN in a few weeks! (William!!) Yep, this crossword is from a Dollar Tree crossword book.  Again, the crossword fits perfectly on the page!  You can pick any puzzle in the book to use since without words filled in there's no specific theme, but here's a tip: If you're going to fill it in with your own greeting like I did, just find one that has a spot for your LONGEST word, here I need 8 for BIRTHDAY (it won't be hard to find one, and they will ALL have 3, 4, 5, 6 letter words.) I used the heart image in the set for the "Love", just to be cute and add a pop of red, but you could certainly spell that out instead. Add a pencil stamp, and of course write your words in real pencil to match!  Base is Pure Luxury Wild Dandelion to match. If your recipient would rather DO the puzzle than have a custom greeting, tear out the page with the clues and fold up to include with your card. :)

I hope you noticed I put all the books in slightly different orientations, it is small enough to have some leeway where you put it on your card if you are doing landscape style and want to change it up. I better stop there! I showed more than I should have but just couldn't help it, made so many.  Still so many ideas to come! (Shoot, I didn't post a card with my bookmark, but I'm sure you'll see it once or thrice in the hop) Be sure to tell me what video you'd like FIRST. I plan to post one later today.

Open Book

Next up we have Lisa's Hetrick's Today and Always. Her "flowy florals" (Lisaspeak, trademark that, Lisa!) are the perfect way to quickly add some beautiful pops of color for an instant modern bouquet (GKD Tangerine Twist, Key Lime, Sea Glass, Turquoise Sea and Pink Passion). 

The pencils from my Open Book set are cut out and shaded after coloring to act as my embellishments, and those make me feel like I just drew all of this meself on the book!  I forgot to take another pic, but I suggest the polka dot border for stamping the flap of your envelopes when you make cards with this, so fun! Base is Pure Luxury Sea Glass. I will have another sample with these two sets in a video because although I kept all the images inside the lines of the pages, I'd like to show a similar design with flowers using a masking technique so they look printed on the page, rather than like sketchbook doodles. Stay tuned!

Today and Always

Now let's go see what the rest of the Gina K. Designs design team has with these two sets! I'll be back tomorrow to showcase stamp sets from Beth and Emily (and of course, Open Book will also be making an appearance, because I can't. STOP. Using it!!)

Gina K.

Melanie-Illustrator of Open Book- you are here!

Lisa Hetrick-Illustrator of Today and Always

Arjita Singh

Beth Silaika

Donna Idlet

Emily Loggans

Karen Hightower

Mindy Eggen

Rema DeLeeuw

Sheri Gilson

Susie Moore

Please let me know in the comments section below which of these  samples you liked BEST and which video you want to see FIRST demonstrating the technique! (You won't all get your way, but I do wan to know to narrow it down) Thanks so much for visiting today!

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