JAI #440: Just Add Something New Blog Hop

Hi!

Yay for the return of Just Add Ink for another year! As always, we are kicking off the new year with a Blog Hop to start our challenges. Blog hops are a circle, start where you like and just keep on hopping until you get back to where you started. You may want to grab a cuppa first! The very lovely Jo's blog is the one before mine, and you'll find the link to the next blog at the end of the post.

Just before Christmas I treated myself to some new stamps from Kindred Stamps. My daughter, Ada is a huge fan of a superstar band that has just had a movie released about the lead singer. Hopefully you get the hint - I'm not allowed to say the names! When Kindred release a stamp set inspired by some iconic rockers, and it included Ada's favourite, I just had to get it. This was the first time it saw ink.

Ada is starting High School this year (I nearly typed next year!!) and so I wanted to make a card for her to let her know I think she's going to have an amazing year, and this set fit the bill. I started by using some Vegas Gold Shimmer Paint to create the spotlights. I just masked horizontally across the top and bottom and then, one at a time, I masked the diagonal lines to create the spots. I wanted the lights to fade out towards the bottom, so I let the sponging taper out. To get the pool of light on the ground, I cut a very thin oval into a post it note and sponged through the opening. The trickiest part was lining it up with the spotlights. I repeated, on a smaller scale, for the tops of the spotlights. I tried using cardstock to make the top of the lights, but it ended up looking like the aliens were trying to beam him up, so I abandoned that idea!

I coloured the singer with my Copic markers and then fussy cut and popped him up using Dimensionals. I definitely need more practice with hair/highlights, but overall I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. I should also mention that I used the same Shimmer Paint to edge the piece of cardstock under the main panel. I like my golds to match, so this was the best way to get the look.

The sentiment on the inside is also from a Kindred Stamps set, but a different set to the one on the front. I thought it was very apt though!

Now you're off to see what the incredible Lou has made with her 'something new'.

What new crafting things have you purchased recently? Don't forget to link your card over at the Just Add Ink blog.

Bye for now,

Tina

Dragonflies In The Mossy Meadow

Hi!

This week's Colour Creations features Mossy Meadow, a colour I am yet to really warm to. It's a part of the Neutrals family and is a dark, earthy green. It's a feature colour in the gorgeous Petal Promenade DSP pack, so that was my starting point for this card.

My class ladies had seen this card on my blog, featuring the Inlaid Dies Technique, and were keen to give it a go. That card was too complicated for a class situation, so I made this as a simpler alternative. I love how the floral paper looks cut into the dragonfly shape!

So as a recap, the technique is a bit like masking, but with dies. You start at the back by cutting the circle. The hole is then 'filled' by the same sized circle in a different pattern paper, held in place with washi tape on the back. Next I cut the top dragonfly, again filling the hole with the floral paper. Finally, I cut and filled the lower dragonfly. You need to use a *lot* of washi on the back to hold it all in place, but it's worth it - I love the look!

I kept the circle from the front, and also the first dragonfly die cut, to use on the inside. The dragonfly wasn't a complete cut, so I made sure he was flying off the edge to disguise that fact.

I hope you like the card and try out the technique - it's a fun one!

Why not pop on over to Catherine's Blog, where you can see what everyone else has done with Mossy Meadow this week?

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #211: All My Love

Hi!

Hello again, and welcome to the new week's CASEing The Catty Blog Hop! This week the blog before mine is Peta's. It really doesn't matter where you start - just keep on going until you get back to where you started. When you're done, why not pop on over to the Facebook group to enter a card?

This week I picked a card from page 7. It can be a bit tricky to think about how to CASE a card when you don't have any of the same products. Actually, I probably shouldn't say tricky, as it's not really, it just takes a little more thought.

The card I CASEd is quite soft with its colours, but I went in the other direction and went bold so that I could play with the new Happiness Blooms DSP.

You can see that my card is essentially the same, I've just used what I have in my stash. The flowers were all fussy cut from the DSP as I don't yet own the Bloom By Bloom stamp set.

I also had to substitute for the Stitched Labels die, as I don't have the die used on the card, which is from the Rose Trellis set. It just goes to show that a CASE can be more than a direct copy.

I'm sorry I don't have my usual picture of the inside today - I'd mailed the card before I realised that the photo I'd taken was too blurry to be used. You'll just have to imagine that I stamped the tall, thin sentiment from Picture Perfect Birthday and adhered a few of the smaller flowers in a cluster beside it. Can you picture it? I hope so!

Now you're off to see the lovely Rebecca's card for the All My Love challenge.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook group when you're done!

Bye for now,

Tina

Another Bat-Card

Hi!

Sometime Stampin' Up! release a product that I know, as soon as I see it, that I have to have it and it will never leave my collection. This bat punch was one of those products, simply because my family and a lot of my friends are big superhero fans. I will definitely get my money's worth out of this punch!

 Today's card was one I made as a sample for a card making session I ran towards the end of last year. The ladies coming were making a floral/butterfly card, but one lady had to bring her young son, so this was an alternative I made for him to copy.

I kept it super simple (excuse the pun!) so that all he had to do was punch the bat, stamp the sentiment and glue it all together. Easy!

He had a lot of fun using the punch and ended up with a lot more bats on his card than I had on mine!

This card would be great for one of those "need a card in a hurry for a kid's birthday party" situations that we all seem to find ourselves in!

Bye for now,

Tina

Enjoying Macaron On The Waterfront

Hi!

Welcome back to Colour Creations for 2019! This year/week we are kicking off with one of my all-time favourite colours - Mint Macaron. When I found out that is was returning in the recent Colour Refresh I may have jumped up and down and even squealed a little. LOL!

The idea for todays card came about because I had a piece of Mint Macaron DSP from the Tranquil Textures DSP pack that was too small to be used as a full sized card front. Easy fix - chop it up and stretch it out! I started by chopping a piece off the bottom and then chopping that in thirds. The top piece was then chopped the same way before all pieces were adhered to the Night Of Navy cardstock. The trick is to just adhere a small section until you are happy with the placement.

I tried something new to me with stamping the main panel. After I cut the Stitched Circle, I left the cardstock in the die while I stamped the scene. I like that it leaves the stitched border white, but not in a uniform way like masking would. I think I'll be trying this again!

I repeated the same scene on the inside. Did you notice that on the palm trees I stamped the trunks twice, but the fronds a heap more, including second generation stamping to get different shades of Mint Macaron? It makes the palms so much more lush, as befits a tropical scene.

As always, head on over to Catherine's Blog to see the rest of this week's cards. I can't wait to see what everyone's made.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC #210: Sale-A-Bration

Hi!

I'm back to blogging a little sooner than I expected this year, but that's because I have some exciting news!

I've joined the Crew at CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge! Each Sunday evening I will be blogging the card I have made for their weekly challenge, which is always about CASEing a card from one of the current Stampin' Up! catalogues.

The Sunday posts are a blog hop around the blogs of the Crew participating each week. You may have started at my blog, or come to mine from Peta's, in either case, just keep hopping until you get back to where you started! When you've made your card, just post it in the Facebook group.

This week the crew are CASEing cards from the brand new Sale-A-Bration catalogue. Have you got your hands on it yet? There's lots of fab stuff to be earned for free. I didn't have to go any further than the front of the catalogue for my inspiration this week.

Hopefully you can see straight away the card that I CASEd!

I didn't really change much from the card, using all the same DSP from the Botanical Butterfly DSP pack, which is one of the FREE SAB choices. It's such pretty paper!

I did simplify the front a little, leaving off the washi tape, sentiment, button and linen thread. I liked the idea of this card being an all-purpose card that I can add to my stash. I can always add a sentiment later on.

I carried over the same papers and colours to the inside of the card. I chose a butterfly with the same colouring as the one on the front for the inside. I like it when things match!

I hope you can join in the challenge this week. You don't need to have a blog, just photograph your card and add it to our Facebook group. Easy!

Now you're off to the next blog in this week's hop. This week it's Lauren Meiklejohn!

Don't forget to add your card to the Facebook group - it's super easy to do! I look forward to seeing what you CASE from the Sale-A-Bration Catalogue.

Bye for now,

Tina

Merry Christmas!

Hi!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I've been learning how to say this in AUSLAN (AUStralian Sign Language), so I probably should have shot a video to post. However, I'm a bit frazzled with all the Christmas preparations, so I would not have looked my best! Maybe next year 😉

Instead, here's a picture of Hudson wishing you a Merry Christmas in PODD. His teacher had these wonderful t-shirts made for the whole class.  PODD is an Alternative Communication Device used at his school.

See you in the new year, sometime around mid-January! In the meantime, I'm off to spend some quality tie with my family 💙

Bye for now,

Tina