JAI 779: Just Add A Sketch

 Hi!

Welcome back to the newest Just Add Ink challenge. This time around it's a sketch challenge, designed by Jan.

My first thought was of a polaroid photograph! What fun would that be to incorporate into a card? Ultimately, though, I went in a very different direction.

I decided to use my Stitched Shapes Dies to create some dimension in my card. I started by stamping the flowers from Pretty Perennials and the leaves from Beautiful Friendship in Strawberry Sluch, Powder Pink, Garden Green and Mint Macaron. I do love the watercolour look of the images!

I then cropped the image with the largest square die. I glued the die cut piece to my card base and then popped up the rest using Dimensionals. I love the idea of the main part of the image being inset rather than popped up. A sentiment and a scattering of sequins finished off the front of the card.

I used similar stamping on the inside of the card. I really loved revisiting these older stamp sets!

What do you see in the sketch? You can see what the rest of the Design Team created over on the Just Add Ink blog. You can also add your card to our challenge gallery when you are ready. I can't wait to see what you make!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 778: Just Add Colour & Inspiration

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the second Just Add Ink challenge of the year. I can't believe that January is nearly gone!

Hasn't Nikki put together a fabulous mood board to inspire our creativity? You can choose to be guided by the image, the colours or both. I went with both!

My first thought was of the long-retired Waves Of The Ocean DSP. The piece I used on my card was a scrap in my pack that was the exact look I was going for. I paired it with an Ink Road Stamps set, called Samantha.

I coloured the mermaid in with my Stampin' Blends, and then used some Copper Metallic Enamel Effects on her crown. I also used it around the sentiment to help draw the eye across the card. I haven't played much with the Enamel Effects bottles, and now I'm wondering why? They are so much fun to use!

We'd love to see what you come up with for this fortnight's challenge. You can see what the rest of the Design Team made over on the Just Add Ink blog. You'll also find our Linky, where you can add your card to the challenge gallery.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 777: Just Add Something Seasonal

 Hi!

Welcome back to a new year of Just Add Ink Challenges. As is our tradition, we are starting the year with a blog hop of the Design Team. It's so much fun! We'd love for you to hop around all of our blogs to see what we've made to inspire you.

For our challenge, we are asking you to make Something Seasonal. Yay for me, we are currently in Summer. I find that much easier to make in a card than the other seasons. I guessed that if I lived somewhere that got snow, I might find that easy too, but I don't live in a snowy region.

I decided to use my long-forgotten Ephemera Packs to make my card. I spent a few hours tidying my craft space last week and stumbled over them. I used both the Something For Everyone and the Saying Something packs. It was really hard to narrow down what I wanted to use! 

I started with a layer of DSP from the Dandy Designs DSP on a Thick Whisper White card base. The ice cream, sun and frame are all from the Something For Everyone pack. I used my Wink Of Stella pen to add some shimmer to the ice cream. Sadly, it can't be seen in the photo. The sentiment is from the Saying Something pack. A scattering of sequins finished off the front of the card.

The ice cream on the inside got the same shimmer as the other one - it's so pretty in real life! The Ephemera Packs make crafting so easy. I definitely won't forget them for so long again.

The next stop on the hop is my lovely friend, Narelle. Pop on over to her blog to see her Summery card.

We can't wait to see which season you choose to add to your card. When you're ready, add your card to the Linky over on the Just Add Ink blog. If any of the links are broken along the way, just head to the blog to pick up the link to the next blog from there.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 775: Just Add A Celebration

 Hi!

Welcome to the new Just Add Ink challenge! Are you loving the new fortnightly schedule? I sure am!

This fortnight, Lou has challenged us to add a Celebration to our cards. That was an easy choice for me, as I recently attended a very special event to celebrate a book launch. You may know that my youngest son, Hudson, has severe disabilities. One of his classmates, Tahlyiah, wrote a book called The Monster And The Vet. That deserved an extra special card, don't you think?

I purchased this stamp set, Friends Forever from My Favourite Things, several years ago. I know lots of young people who are wheelchair users, so it was a great addition to my stash. The imaged was cropped with a Stitched Shapes oval die, and the DSP is from the Full Of Life pack. The book is illustrated with bright, watercoloured images, so this paper was the perfect choice! The sentiments are from Amazing Phrasing, a SAB set from a few years ago.

I thought that this sentiment, from Here Comes The Sun, was fabulous for the inside of the card. Miss T has severe disabilities too, but has persevered to have her creative voice heard and published! She's so amazing.

We'd love to see which Celebration you add to your card. There are so many choices! You can see what the rest of the Design Team have made over on the Just Add Ink blog. You can also enter your card in our challenge. We'd love to see what you make. Oh, and if you'd like to see and order Tahlyiah's book, you can find it here.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 774: Just Add Stencils, Dies or Both

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the new Just Add Ink challenge. This time, we are asking you to add either Stencils or Dies, or both!

I keep most of my stencils in a box together, so it was fun to have a dig through and work out which one I wanted to use. It's been a while! I also realised that I have a lot of both burst type stencils, and dotty ones. For this card, I decided to go dotty.

I used my Simon Says Stamp Polka Dot Party stencil with some Balmy Blue ink and a Blending Brush to create a soft, subtle background. The gorgeous flower and the text are from Ink Road Stamp's Bella Flora set. I used the coordinating dies to crop the flower so that I could pop it up on Dimensionals. A scattering of  Subtle Shimmer sequins and a Melon Mambo twine bow finished off the card.

I repeated the main elements on the inside of the card. The floral image, coloured with Stampin' Blends, was actually a mis-stamped image. I just cropped it to fit the corner so that the missing part of the image was cut away. I don't like to waste things! You can also see a little more stencilling under the bloom.

We'd love to see what you choose - stencils, dies or both? You can see what the rest of the Design Team chose, and then enter your card in our challenge, over on the Just Add Ink blog.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 773: Just Add A Sketch

 Hi!

Welcome, and thanks for joining me for the new Just Add Ink Challenge. Are you enjoying the new two-week format? I am!

This time we have a sketch for you, designed by Tristan. That huge bow is just gorgeous, but when I sat to create I wasn't in the right kind of mood for the kind of card that suits a bow like that. I went super simple, instead.

I recently purchased the Hobby Haven DSP, but hadn't used it yet. The papers I've used are the one sheet - the pink check is the reverse of the side with the chairs and plants. Doesn't this look like an awesome place to sit and read for a while - or let's face it, a really long time? LOL!

I fussy cut the scene and popped it up over a piece of vellum cropped with a Nested Essentials die. The sentiment is from Australia's first ever Paper Pumpkin kit, Hugs From Shelli. I cropped it with a Happy Little Things die.

The inside used a few left over bits and pieces from the front of the card. I really like how this one turned out! The DSP is really fun, and I can see myself using it a lot.

We'd love for you to play along with us. You can jump on over to the Just Add Ink blog, where you'll find the rest of the Design Team cards for the Sketch Challenge. You'll also find our Linky to add your card to the challenge gallery.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 772: Colour & Inspiration

 Hi!

Welcome to the new Just Add Ink Challenge. We have changed to fortnightly challenges to give you more time to play along with us. This fortnight we have a fun Inspiration and Colour palette for you to play with.

This was a tricky one for me, as it screams Halloween, but I don't usually make and send Halloween cards. The witches hats on the cupcakes made me think of witches and wizards, and knowing my collection of pop culture stamps, you can probably guess where that led.

I started with the Witches & Wizards No 2 paper pack from Echo Park Paper Co. Both the background paper (which features witches hats and pumpkins) and the sentiment panel are from the pack. I love it when cards come together that easily!

The young wizard is from a Kindred Stamps set, called Wizard Friends. I coloured him with my Stampin' Blend markers and popped him up over the sentiment panel. To add a bit of bling, I dotted a small amount of glitter glue to the sparkles on the sentiment panel.

On the inside I used more stamps from the Wizard Friends set to decorate the inner. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog. We'd love for you to play along with us. You can pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog, where you'll find the rest of the Design Team cards. You'll also be able to link up your card to the challenge gallery using Mr Linky. Don't forget that you now have two weeks to get your entry in,

Bye for now,

Tina