Inking Aloud

I really wasn't going to play for today's SCS challenge, but I couldn't help myself. I stopped to look in Charmaine/charmwarm's gallery and was hooked . . .

I needed to make a baby card for a colleague who's expecting before the end of the month (yes, I'm still trying to rationalize this, knowing how much else I have to get done between swaps for convention and a presentation for my graduate school class that's due on Thursday, plus leftover laundry from my beach trip), so I used this card in Charmaine's gallery as inspiration. The original is a square card (at least I *think* it is), but mine is a regular sized card. I stamped the giraffe in Bashful Blue craft ink, then covered it with clear embossing powder. I doodled around the giraffe with a Bashful Blue marker. I probably should have used a darker color--the doodles are kind of lost. I also paper pierced around the top portion of the giraffe panel like Charmaine did. I like how this looks! I've been using my paper piercing template and pad a LOT--I wonder if you can wear out the paper piercing pad . . .

Instead of the diagonal striped/plaid patterned paper that Charmaine used, I used a dotted patterned paper in masculine colors. I put the sentiment at the bottom right corner, right on the patterned paper. It wasn't too long ago that I wouldn't have thought to stamp directly on the patterned paper. I'm getting brave!

We had an uneventful return from the beach early this morning. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Cosmo actually in the water at the beach. I can report that he put his paws in the Delaware Bay--reluctantly, but he did it. Then he crawled on his belly up the sand away from the water as everyone on the beach laughed hysterically. Since he wouldn't really stay in the water, there wasn't much chance of snapping a picture. The German Shepherd part of him definitely wins the battle at the beach. However, I do have a picture of Cosmo being "crafty." He was trying to help me with my convention swaps. Hopefully I managed to avoid getting fur on them . . .

Materials Used:
From Stampin' Up!: Wild About You and Holidays & Wishes stamp sets; Blue Bayou Classic ink; Bashful Blue Craft ink; Blue Bayou, Summer Sun, Old Olive, and Whisper White cardstock; Bashful Blue marker; Crystal Clear embossing powder; handheld punches; dimensionals; mat pack and paper piercing tool; glue dot
Other: summer sun-ish grosgrain ribbon (AC Moore dollar bin); patterned paper (KI Memories Colorful Fun Paper Pad)