Prepping my Planner Calendar...February vibes

Hello there inky friends!  This past weekend I decided to use some free time to prep my February Calendar.  I recently received this gorgeous leather TN from RG Avenue that coordinates with my planner notebooks and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE them.  I'm planning on doing a monthly calendar to lead off my weekly/daily planning.  That way, I'll have something pretty to look at as I prepare for the month ahead. 

To create my February calendar spread, I started out by disassembling the stapled notebook so that I could have just one page spread to work with at my craft table.  Since it doesn't fit like a signature anymore, I plan on doing this monthly and laying the current spread smack dab as I open the planner...Perfectly, perfect positioning, I think. 

Anyway, I started by stamping the large floral image in Sour Guava and then moved on to the medium floral in Sweet Pink and then finally the small floral in Sour Mist.  Next, I stamped the leaves (from the Stunning Crowns set) using two different greens:  Tangy Apple and Rich Cactus.  

After stamping the florals and leaves, I stamped some coordinating sprigs in Black Taffy ink to overlay the florals.  I then traced around the big florals in black microfine ink so that they would blend nicely with the arrangement.  I stippled some dots in the center of these flowers too. 

Next, I flicked some Black acrylic paint onto the panel so that I could merge both sides of the spread together.  I stamped the "LOVE" heart from the "Love Wreath" set in black on Sweet Cane Cardstock and then fussy cut that out so that I could attach it to the decorated panel.  I also added a bow of twine. 

To finish off my Calendar spread, I wrote the dates on each box (I didn't realize this FEB is a leap year...Gimme back all my lost time!  HA HA!  I also stamped a sentiment "All you need is Love" from the stamp set "Song Lyrics". 

So there you have it...My February calendar is ready for the pen (and to fill up!  :)  Happy crafting!  

Dual Purpose Cards...Sunday Sip!

Inlky friends!  Welcome back to another fun Sunday Sip and Share!  I'm up on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog every Sunday giving a little coffee-loving inky inspiration!  Make sure you stop by the blog and check out all the coffee/tea/cocoa loving inspiration each and every day!   

This week I thought I would share a tasty little giftie treat I created for a crafty friend.  This card is not just your average card…It’s actually dual purpose.  You see those images?  Well, they will have a completely different purpose for the recipient!  I’ll share how later on in the post.  

I started out by printing some digital images of this fun RG Avenue set called “Birthday Girl”on Avery sticker paper.  This set is available in both digi and photopolymer stamp set but while waiting for my stamp set to arrive, I thought I’d take advantage of having the digi set and playing with some stickers for my planner…Oh yeah, the sheet was originally made for my planner sticker stash.  I love that when I print out these images, I can cut them out and color them with my Copic Markers without worry of bleed or disaster.   

After cutting out my images (I prefer fussy cutting over using my machines), I colored the images and created a little collection to use throughout my planning week.  Then it dawned on me that I could share these images with a friend….And there came the “Dual Purpose” Card!  You see, the images on this card (the birthday girl and the sentiment) and the collection of frappes scattered about, are all peel-and-stick!  Yes, you got that right, the recipient will be able to peel the birthday girl and sentiment right off the backing (I popped the images up on pop dots) so that they can be used in her planner.  I’m also including all those fun little frappes in a little gift bag on the inside of the card.  Some are colored (and glossed and glittered) by me, and some are left black and white so she can color them!

For the card base-and layers, I used some scraps from previous projects.  Since I knew this card would be decomposed by the reciient, I knew I didn't want to go all out using materials that would just get thrown in the trash, so I grabbed goodies from the little scrap stash cup I have on my table.  They come in so handy.  

How fun is that?  Perhaps you'll want to give this a try!  It's easy peasy and makes for a fun little surprise for your recipient!  

Thanks for hopping over to check out my project today.  I hope it inspires you to get crafty with your stamps or digi images.  See you again soon!