Friday 30 June 2017

See You Later Alligator JAI #366


Happy Friday to you and welcome! Already it is the end of June and Winter is one third down. We've past the Shortest Day and although the days are getting colder the daylight will increase every day and Spring will indeed come soon :-)


We have a fun new challenge at Just Add Ink suggested by Tina. Yes, it is one of her popular letter challenges and this time is to Just Add..."A". We so look forward to seeing how you will add "A" as the main focus to your projects this week. The design team created awesome inspiration so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look and join us :-)


Can you tell what my "A" item is? Yes, it's the Alligators :-) And I couldn't help adding a little fun birdie to give the illusion of a hungry alligator - but am sure he wouldn't eat his friend (wink:-))
The background is created using Distress Inks on Water Colour card stock - I really find that you get a much smoother blend than if you use regular Whisper White. And the images are coloured using Copics.


Hopefully the alligators are not too hungry :-)


Card stock: Whisper White Thick and standard, Basic Black
Inks: Versamark, Momento Tuxedo Black

Non SU: Inks: Blue Lagoon, Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks, Copic Markers
Stamps: Stacking Animals Bundle (SSS)
Accessories: Stitched Rectangles (SSS), Stacking Animals Framellits, Sequins (PPP), Water Colour Card Stock (SSS)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fun "A" challenge too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Sunday 25 June 2017

Shine Bright Like a Diamond for CTC #323


Happy Sunday everyone and welcome :-) Today's card came together pretty quickly actually. I wanted to play with some new goodies whilst keeping an eye on my unwell black Lab, Sally who we are taking to the Specialist tomorrow morning.


I came across a new to me Challenge on Facebook last week called Casing The Catty and decided it was the perfect way to inspire me to play with some new toys. The Focus this week is Pages 86-101 Love and Sympathy and I chose this image from page 88 for my inspiration. I loved the water colour background of course and how the sentiment is cut up and the interesting die cut on the right hand side. I decided to keep the layout but changed most else :-)


For my card I couldn't go past the fun new You're Priceless set. This phrase gets me singing the Sia song every time I see it so it was a bit of a given that would be involved :-)
Because of the diamond theme, I also clear embossed some small diamonds into the background as well as die cut the piece to the right before I started water colouring.


I also added a coloured base and some Silver Glimmer as diamonds are all about shine :-)
For the main diamond, it has had some extra special treatment that is a bit hard to see but you may be able to see some of the sparkle in the next photo.


It was stamped of course, then I applied Versamark to the whole image and then added some Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder over the whole diamond and heated it - it truly does sparkle and none of the glitter falls off :-)  And to finish I added some of the now retired Sprinkle Embellishments for the other elements in the original card.


Card stock: Melon Mambo, Water Colour Paper, Basic Black, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper, Silver Foil Card stock
Inks: Melon Mambo, Versamark, Momento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: You're Priceless
Access: Big Shot, Eclectic Layers Framelits, Silver EP, Clear EP, Iridescent Ice EP,  Aqua Painter, Sprinkles Embellishments (retired)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Facebook and see all the fabulous entries and inspiration and maybe you might like to join the challenge too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Friday 23 June 2017

Happy Eclectic Birthday For JAI #365


 Happy Friday and welcome :-) This week we have finally passed the Shortest Day - Hip Hip Hooray!! Now we will get a little more light each today and whilst the Winter chills might increase, we can rest assured that Spring is on it's way :-)

It's time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink. And this week we have a fabulous Clean and Simple Sketch for you that's been designed by Karren. You can use it as is or flip it around, whatever you like :-) The design team have created such a wonderful array of cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and join with us.


Every year when I first see the new SU! Catalogue whilst there are sets I often love, there is always one that stand outs to me over all the rest. Last year it was Sunshine Wishes - and haven't we given that a run for it's money :-0 And this year - yes, it's this one - Oh So Eclectic. I love the mix of clean and water colour look images and the papers look amazing too! So here we are, the first outing for this gorgeous bundle. The background is not water coloured - it's DSP!! And I just "had to" add the detailed banner behind the sentiment too :-)


The little bloom is a two step stamp and then the die cut overlay adds a little extra bling and detail. I kept pretty close to the sketch details this week - just needed an extra leaf for balance so I made sure it dropped a little lower and is almost a similar height to the flower.


Card stock: Berry Burst, Not Quite Navy, Powder Pink, Whisper White, Gold Foil
Designer Series Paper: Naturally Eclectic
Inks: Berry Burst, Not Quite Navy, Lemon Lime Twist
Stamps: Oh So Eclectic, Sunshine Sayings (still a fave!)
Accessories: Big Shot, Eclectic Layers Thinlits, Hexagon Dynamic EF, White Perfect Accents (with white sticker removed), Fine Tip Glue Pen

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous inspiration the design team have for you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fabulous sketch this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan



Friday 16 June 2017

Sending Hugs for JAI #364


Hello everyone and welcome :-) A big thank you to you all for your lovely wishes for Sally the Lab! Am happy to report she is now doing very well and almost back to her happy self. And a stamping order sneaked itself in so a little BBB will be arriving soon so things are looking good :-)


Also looking very good is the new challenge at Just Add Ink this week! Kelly has suggested this gorgeous photo to inspire our projects this week. You can take whatever inspires you from the image and it was obvious the design team really enjoyed working with it this week and have created amazing cards! So I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look and join us :-)


When I first saw this picture, it was the daisies and the fabulous copper jug that dazzled me. But when I sat down to create I found myself taken by the details in the wall behind. I don't as yet have the famous Embossing Paste (don't worry, it's now coming :-)) so I turned to the brick embossing Folder and the "wood" image from Timeless Textures to recreate some of the details and texture.


You may be able to see better in this photo the inky grey details as well as some copper. Of course the lovely daisy is embossed in Copper too as is the sentiment. The hugs was die cut in both copper and white card stock and offset a little so that the white details show. And I couldn't resist adding a little of the pretty new Copper Trim ribbon too :-)



Card stock: Whisper White (thick), Basic Grey, Smoky Slate, Copper Foil
Inks: Basic Grey, Versamark, Garden Green, Tranquil Tide
Stamps: Daisy Delight, Lovely Inside and Out, Timeless Textures
Accessories: Big Shot, Brick Wall EF, Lovely Word Thinlits, Stiiched Shapes Framelits, Daisy Punch, Copper EP, Gold Faceted Gems, Metallic Sequins Assortment

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see what our lovely design team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this gorgeous image too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Friday 9 June 2017

Hello Love for JAI #363


Happy Friday everyone and welcome  :-) Here in Melbourne, it's the start of Queen's Birthday Weekend with a pubic holiday on Monday. The last week in our house has seen a lot of vet visits as Sally the Lab has a severe infection in and around her right eye that worsened every day despite treatment and eventually was diagnosed as a "hot spot". We think it started with a spider bite on the eyelid... after a weekend temperature, trip to the Emergency vet for an injection of antibiotics and then an Eye Specialist on Monday.... and a whole pile of medications and ointments later...am glad to say she is slowly improving. Where would be without the wonderful team of vets that keep our pets on their feet! And yes, it did make a serious dent in my planned new Catalogue stamp order ...but not for long I'm sure :-)


So just in time to inspire your long weekend crafting, we have a fun new challenge for you at Just Add Ink.  This week Chantell has suggested we "Just Add....Anniversary" and the design team have created a wonderful array of cards to inspire you so I hope yo can take a moment to pop on over and join with us too :-)


I used the now retired Sealed With Love Bundle to create some love notes for an Anniversary card. These cards are are always to good to have in your stash ready for when they are needed. And this stamp is one set that I will hold on to for a while  as I love the mix of textured dies and elegant scripts. Here, I made 2 envelopes with little notes.


Here you can see that the note on the left has room for a little message and the one on the right has a stamped note already :-)


I used a combination of the papers from the Sending Love DSP and some gold foil to make the envelopes and detailed heart.


Card stock: Real Red, Whisper White, Gold Foil
Designer Series Paper: Sending Love Stack
Ink: Real Red, Momento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Sealed With Love
Accessories: Big Shot, Sending Love Thinlits, Brights Enamel Shapes

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous projects the design team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fun theme too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Friday 2 June 2017

Hello Friend for JAI #362


Happy Friday and welcome :-) It is the first week of Winter here in Melbourne and it has really arrived with a vengeance - even the ski fields have decided to open early!! That is great news if you want to go skiing....however it's also a good excuse for many of us to spend time in the craft room :-)

So just in time to inspire your weekend crafting we have a fun new challenge for you at Just Add Ink! This week we have a gorgeous colour combination for you from Nikki. It is so fresh and crisp - perfect for Summer ice creams and beach scenes and also just as lovely to brighten a chilly, Wintery day too. The design team have created such amazing cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look and join us.


For my card I looked through my stamps to see what I could find that hadn't seen much love for a while. I started with Sunshine Wishes and then moved to the Swirly Bird set. Finishing with something new - the new Lovely Word Framelits. These are a favourite already from the new Catalogue that went live yesterday and am sure will be a favourite of many of you too :-)


I used a water colour "smooshing" technique for the background and then stamped the swirls from Swirly Bird and flicked some Clear Wink of Stella over it before stamping the flowers and leaves. To get the soft look to the flowers, I stamped them off onto scrap paper and intended this to be a little uneven - it then gives a faux water coloured effect without the water.


Now you may notice my photos are looking a little different - I've bought a new camera! All the previous shots have been thanks to my phone so I am on a rather steep learning curve. I did own a camera before we had mobile phones...but now I'm just showing my age LOL! So please be patient as I experiment a little with the angles, focusing distances and light etc as it now involves a little more grey cell work. Hopefully looking in focus at least by next week. Ideally, they will look more like they do in real life :-)

Card stock: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Silver Glimmer, Whisper White
Inks: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Perfect Peach, Versamark
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Sunshine Wishes
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, Lovely Word Thinlits, White EP, Metallic Sequins Assortment, Clear Wink of Stella
Non SU: Water Colour Card Stock - Tim Holtz

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the lovely inspiration the team have made for you and I look forward to seeing what you will create for this beautiful colour challenge too.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan