Inchies

How about a few inchies to start the week off? All of the inchies pictured were created with Ink Potion No. 9. Flutter chick is from Memory Box, the flowers are from Kodomo and the summer drink & citrus wedge are from Hero Arts. It's surprising how much fun you can have creating - even if your canvas is only 1" x 1"!

ahhhhh, the weekend!

Yesterday was our first day of our fiscal year-end inventory. Counting went well. I started counting Brilliance ink pads, and ended the day counting VersaMagic refills (inkers).

To break up the day of counting, Chuck brought in a homemade lunch (courtesy of Jeff). We had some wonderfully tender and juicy pulled pork sandwiches, which Chuck started at about 2:30 in the morning (no wonder it was tender!). The sandwiches arrived with deliciously crunchy and crisp coleslaw. It was topped with a sweet saucy dressing that he made and sauteed slivered almonds. He also brought in a dutch oven full of home made baked beans (including thick sliced bacon), that was finished with a touch of molasses & syrup. My contribution was a double batch of fudge brownies I had baked the night before. //The pulled pork and coleslaw recipes originally came from Vickie, my daughter in Okinawa - thanks Vic!// Everyone at Tsukineko had full tummies when we went back to counting.

Today was a sleep-in Saturday. Then we went to Sweet Decadence for coffee, pastries (Molly had a croissant - and Chuck & I had an apple turnover) and a bite of hand made chocolates.

Then we came home and worked in the yard. I started with the holly tree that I fashioned into a round-top topiary, and ended with the rhododendron that need a substantial trim.

Dinner tonight was a delightful tamale pie. Man, my husband can cook!! Am I lucky, or what??

Tonight I am contemplating a new Ink Potion No. 9 recipe. It will be the surprise recipe for CHA in Orlando. So it's gotta be magically colorful and creative!

Best wishes for a relaxing weekend to y'all! Susan

Tomorrow starts inventory...

And the counting of markers, inkpads and sponge daubers begins! But tonight, the smell of brownies baking in the oven helps keep my mind off work.

Time to take the brownies out of the oven.... later! Susan

Please allow me to introduce Terri Schneider (peeking above her beautiful quilt). Terri was in Washington visiting her daughter (up from California) and graciously shared her lovely quilt with us.

I must also emphasize that this is THE BACK OF HER QUILT! The front of the quilt has beautiful material sewn in the images you see on the back. Terri told us that she figured if she was "going to be that careful with the stitches on the back" that she might as well add some color to it too! It's incredible to think that this is the side that won't normally be seen. It's very impressive...and the images were all created with Tsukineko's All Purpose Ink. (The border edge batik look was a material she chose for the border.)

Terri, thank you very much for sharing!

Susan

adding a bit of character...

In reading my last post, it made me laugh - to see the typos. That's what I get for trying to be the "old dog" learning new tricks; posting from my blackberry while on vacation! Such is life, and it's good to be human and make a few mistakes. Susan

ferry boats

The ferry boat has arrived! We'll soon be. Driving our Saturn Vue aboard the vessel that will take us to Bainbridge Island. Molly, Chuck & I wllthen be driving to Poulsbo and crossing the Hood Canal Bridge.

From there,we'll head north thru Sequim and Port Angeles and then into Forks. We'll be going to the Olympic NatKl Park. The only rainforest in the USA.

And itKs a glorious day to be aboard a ferry boat!

Easy version of Ink Potion #9 w/Memory Box!

Looking for a less complicated way to use Ink Potion #9? How about taping 6 "inchies" together and spraying "Tide Pool" Potion for a background; stamp the Memory Box butterfly branch #D1040 (note, I colored the butterflies with a Grape Jelly Memento Marker and the branch with Rich Cocoa Memento Marker). After stamping, I blended just a touch of the butterflies with Ink Potion #9 in my blender pen (straight, not diluted). Then I added some touches of Liquid Pearls for dimension and shine.

PS - Email me at sholton@tsukineko.com if you would like the recipes for our Ink Potion #9 Brews.....

Tag! You're It - with IP#9!

Just a real quick hello to show you a few samples of tags that we created at my last demo. As you can see, they are ready to stamp, tear, cut, punch...or all of the above! It was too much fun - and hard to stop at quitting time!

So...Tag! You're It! What can you create with Ink Potion #9? I'll respond to all photos - and someone will be a winner of very cool mixatives on 6/30/09! Susan

Single brews and double bubble sprays

Well, okay, there really weren't any bubbles... but we had a great time last night, with the potions! Sprayed them, dripped them, blotted them and had some old-fashioned fun. We also used the Ink Potion straight - in a water brush to add soft colors to the "flutter chick" by Memory Box (can you tell I just love this little chick??? It's also in my blog of June 1st.)

Ooooohhhh and I did some testing on a new product today. I'd love to tell you about it, but I just can't. Not yet....

Stirring up Potions....

Molly and I have been at Tsukineko this afternoon. After all, who could resist a face like this? I put on my tennis shoes and she barked & danced. Mom's a whimp at saying "no". But it was very nice to have company as I prepared samples for my demo tomorrow night in Bothell.

Ink potions....I'm having a blast with them! It would be lovely to have about 4 days to play. And play ~ and play! But then, I'm sure I'm not the only one with that wish!

Here's wishing y'all had a relaxing (and creative?) weekend!

Susan and Molly

Christmas in July

Good morning! I have just received confirmation from Impress that I will be doing an Ink Potion #9 "Christmas in July" demo on July 17th! Right now I'm enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather we are having in Seattle. I am having a hard time thinking about "Christmas"....

Above is a photo of a card that I created when I first started experimenting with Ink Potion #9. I started with a glossy cardstock and began layering IP #9, and Memento greens dropped by inkers. Then I created my own "swamp water" Potion by adding IP #9 with green, a touch of blue and Opalite Cypress Frost inkers. Stamping of ferns was also layered in with the spritzing. Finally the phrase stamped on an extra piece with layered cardstocks and the fronds were added. Stamps are all by Hero Arts.

Ink Potion #9 -

Good evening. I've just checked and my 12x12 papers are dry. Gilded Orange Juice - that's what I sprayed them with. (12 drops of Tangelo Memento Inker + 12 drops of Vegas Gold All Purpose Ink, and then add Ink Potion #9.) Shake well, and spritz.

Prior to spraying the orange cardstock, I masked two intersecting lines as a partial border. When the page was dry, I removed the masks and it does look nice. Then I sprayed about 1/3 of a yellow 12x12. I started in a corner, and kept the concentration heavier there than the edges as I worked away from the corner.

I think I have a lovely start to an autumn scrapbook page.

Wishing you a delightful evening...

I love Demos!

I love doing demos and watching demos! It's amazing what little tid-bits of information can be learned by listening & watching someone. Sometimes we learn things NOT to do as well, ha-ha! It's all good learning fun.

My demo schedule is/was:
6/15 (Monday evening) Inchie Night at Stampin' in the Rain/Bothell
5/30 (Saturday afternoon) Friends & Company - grand opening in Issaquah
4/11 (Saturday afternoon) Monkey Love Rubber Stamps - Seattle
(coming soon hopefully?) Impress Rubber Stamps - Tukwila

My demo focus lately has been on Ink Potion #9 and Memento (inkpads, inkers and markers). I love the combinations that can come about! Magical potions lead to brilliant backgrounds, soothing settings and soft coloring spots. Add in some of Tsukineko's metallic All Purpose inks for some zing-bling or Opalite inkers for a fun interference ... and you're off into creative oblivion.....

By the way, my list of "Potions" is slowly growing! I hope to be able to share it around July 4th - so keep watching!

Magical stamping wishes to you..... Susan

Looking for a quick, cute & personalized gift card holder?

I've got one for you... its the

"Flutter Bird" by Memory Box!

Using a half sheet of cardstock (lengthwise cut of 8-1/2" x 11") “flutter bird” uses Ink Potion #9 and Memento too. Cut and fold the glossy cardstock into thirds (roughly – it doesn’t need to be precise).

For the 'potion', I used 12 drops of Memento Bahama Blue inker and 12 drops of Arctic Emerald Opalite inker in a small spritzer (our .8ml size) and added Ink Potion #9 to fill. I sprayed it on a separate piece of glossy cardstock to show the brightest color possible. When it was dry, I punched a large flower - and stamped the words "Spring is Here!" (also Memory Box) over the top of the flower.

The flutter bird was stamped on a tiny white tag. It was colored with Memento Markers (scribbled onto my palette tray and picked up with the water brush – that was filled with Ink Potion #9 to achieve a soft look).

Optional: The middle and the right cards also have Memento color, direct to paper, added to the front of the cardstock (before layering the remaining pieces).

Next stamp the perimeter of the green color block with the words "Spring is Here!". Position the flower and bird tag onto the green color block and, punch a tiny hole, affix them with a mini brad. (I also punched a tiny flower out of the same cardstock as the large flower and glued it ontop of the brad.)

If it isn’t very easy to tell from the photo –the layer of green, the flower and bird are attached to the front panel. The third panel is folded inward and a diagonal swervy cut was made to create a pocket. Add adhesive to fix the bottom of the pocket. Viola!