JAI #286: Just Add W

Hi!

This week we have a new type of challenge at Just Add Ink.  It's a bit of an "anything goes" type theme, but with a twist! The twist being that we will give you a letter of the alphabet and this shapes your creation.  Confused? You shouldn't be - it's very easy! To kick of this new challenge type we have given you the letter W, now just go forth and create using things, techniques or themes that start with W. Think wood, waves, watercolouring, Wisteria Wonder, wire, etc. See - easy!

I've gone with Webs and Witches to create a Halloween shaker easel card. I wanted to make a card to send to my nieces for Halloween, but I don't actually have any Halloween stamps. Luckily my dilemma was solved when I received my Seasonal Snapshot PL Cards Collection, which has a selection of Halloween cards. I went with two of the 3x4 inch cards to use on my easel card. 

When I saw the PL card I used for the front of my card I thought it would make an excellent base for a Shaker card, and I think I was right!  I used my 1 3/4 inch circle punch to create the window (another W!). The witch punchies are from a non-SU punch that I bought years ago.  They are very cute - only about 1cm tall/wide, so great to use in a shaker card.  I threw in a few gold star sequins to add a little something extra to the window.  I had hoped to punch some witches out of the new Black Glimmer Paper but the tiny punch just wouldn't cope with the weight of the paper.

Some more webs and witches on the base of the card. The witches are popped up on tiny pieces of Dimensionals so they look like they are flying.  I stamped the sentiment using my Alphabet Rotary Stamp - a 'must have' tool for creating sentiments when you don't have the right stamp!

So, are the Wheels turning in your head (see what I did there? LOL!)? The Design Team have used a heap of different W things on their cards - you can pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see their fabulous cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

Sprinkles Of Life Flower Basket

Hi!

Today I have a card for you that is a CASE of a card by one of the Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team members, Kaitlyn Zumbach. Her simple little card caught my eye while surfing the internet one evening. You can see Kaitlyn's card here.

I made a few changes, including making the card square and making the card base Whisper White.  I also used Dazzling Details on the flowers instead of pearls.  I used Hello Honey for the yellow flowers, but I think I actually prefer Kaitlyn's, as she used So Saffron.

I really love the leaves stamped behind the flowers.  The flowers would still look good without it, but the stamping adds a little something to the final image.

I used the same sentiment as Kaitlyn, but on the inside instead of the outside. Did you notice my little oopsie on the bottom of the card? It got dropped into the Mint Macaron inkpad.  I think I might need to trim it off before I send the card - luckily it's just a thin little strip so hopefully it won't be noticeable!

Bye for now,

Tina

Easy Watercolouring With Blended Bloom

Hi!

Have you ever wanted to give watercolouring a go but have been put off by how difficult it seems?  It's really not that difficult, but this technique makes it super easy to do!

Isn't the flower gorgeous? I darkened the Watermelon Wonder a little using Photoshop so that you could see the variation in colour in the flower.

I think the technique is called Watercolour Splash.  To get the look you simply heat emboss your image using White Embossing powder onto Watercolour Paper. Then you take your Aqua Painter and brush a fair bit of water over the areas you want to colour (no ink used yet!). Then you use the Aqua Painter to pick up some ink from the lid of your inkpad and simply dip the tip of the brush into the water you brushed over the image. It's like magic watching the ink spread through the water! If you want parts of the image to be darker just add a little more ink. I did the petals in Watermelon Wonder first and then waited for it to dry before doing the centre of the flower in Daffodil Delight and Crumb Cake.

So there you have it - watercolouring is really not that hard. Why don't you give it a go?

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #285: Just Add Colour

Hi!

That's right - it's Friday which means it's Just Add Ink day. Yay! This week Nikki has put together this wonderful colour combination for us to use on our cards.  I love the softer colours with the bolf touch of Night Of Navy.

I decided to mostly use the softer colours on my card with a lot of white space.

I must say that I really love the way this card turned out.  I was originally thinking that I'd use the splatters in Gorgeous Grunge behind the butterfly, but then I had the brainwave to use the blown ink technique.

The blown ink technique is really easy, and so very effective.  All you do is drip a small drop of ink from a reinker onto your cardstock and then very quickly start blowing it through a straw to spread the ink. You may have done something similar with paint when you were in Primary School. You don't need a big drop as it tends to go far.  Just keep blowing until you run out of breath or until your splatter looks the way you want it to look. I tend to drip with my right hand while I hold the straw ready to blow with my left hand - you need to work quickly before the ink soaks into your cardstock.

I carried the butterfly theme onto the inside of the card.  I made this one to give to my daughter as a bit of a 'just because' card.

What creative fun are you going to have with these colours?  Why don't you click on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have done with them.

Bye for now,

Tina

A Versatile Christmas with Merry Moments

Hi!

Have you started making your Christmas cards yet? I tend to make them in dribs and drabs in the last few months and then end up making a heap in a panic in the last week or so of November. I wish I could get them done sooner, but that's just not me!

Anyway, today I have a card that I made as a class sample. As I made it I thought it's a great one for that last minute panic as it's quick and easy but looks great.

I started with a tag made from the Ornate Tag Topper Punch, which I then stamped with the Sentiment from Versatile Christmas and the presents from Santa's Gifts.  I used the star stamp from Santa's Gifts to stamp on the base card also.

A Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding bow and a strip of DSP from the Merry Moments DSP Stack and the front is done!

I used the pair of the front sentiment on the inside, along with another gift.  I love sets like Versatile Christmas that have a pair of sentiments for both the front and inside of a card.  Makes coordinating the inside and front so easy!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #284: Just Add A Fancy Fold

Hi!

Wow, it's been a week full of blog hops for me, and now I can finish up with my Just Add Ink card.

This week Di has challenged us to use a Fancy Fold in our creations.  I have been eyeing off these TeePee cards for yonks (a very long time for the non-Aussies!), so this was a great excuse to have a go.  They are so easy!!! I really don't know why I didn't try one sooner.

I have two great nephews who are turning one in the next couple of months so I decided to use this challenge to make a card for the first of the boys.

I really love this elephant stamp from Zoo Babies - in the bright Pacific Point it's a great option for those 'nearly a toddler' cards.

There's not a huge amount of space for writing on the card unless you use the inside, so the smaller sentiment from Endless Birthday Wishes was great.

Here's the card opened flat so you can see how it's put together.  I used 3 squares of cardstock cut to 4 1/8 inches and scored diagonally through the middle. The DSP is cut to 4 inches square and then cut on the diagonal, just slightly in from the middle on each side so you end up with a tiny strip that you toss out.  I cut the Whisper White cardstock the same way and then just rimmed off the bottom corner so it doesn't show when the card is closed.

To post you just open it flat and then fold it down the middle.  Easy!

The Design Team have done a fantastic job with this challenge.  You can see their Fancy Folds over on the Just Add Ink blog.  I hope to see yours there too!

Bye for now,

Tina

AWH Blog Hop: Colour Combo

Hi!

Welcome to the Art With Heart Team Blog Hop for October. This month we have a colour challenge for you. Have you heard about the GREAT opportunity to earn more as a hostess (or get a greater discount on your Starter Kit by putting your hostess benefits towards the starter kit) between October 8th to November 9th, There's no greater time to host a party or even a virtual party on Facebook. Contact me to find out more. You will love being a part of out awesome Australia wide team. We are all about fun, friendship, inspiration and support.

I really love this combo - it's a great mix of bold and soft colours.  I decided to pull out my very neglected Mini Treat Bag Thinlits and have a play with the set.

Wait a minute, I hear you say, that's not a bag, it's a box! It sure is! To make the box using the Thinlits I cut two of the front/side pieces, trimmed off the top to make it level and then scored about 1/4 inch in along the side piece to create a flap.  I then cut a piece for the base, making it a little longer than the box is wide so I could score to create flaps to adhere it to the sides of the box. Hopefully that makes sense!

While the box pieces were still flat I used the heart thinlit to create a window in the front of the box. This box will hold a wedding gift, but if you wanted a more generic theme you could use the banner or star shapes, or even a circle.  I used my Flower Patch stamps and the coordinating Flower Fair Framelits to decorate the front.

I needed a little card to fit into the box, so I decided to go with the same basic design.  I used the cut out heart on the card so I switched to a Whisper White base.

Here are the two together. I don't know about you, but I love finding uses for dies other than their intended use - it makes them so much more appealing!

The next stop in the Blog Hop is Ros Davidson, who is bound to amaze you with her creativity!

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the participants below:

 

1. Tina Gillespie
2. Ros Davidson
3. Genna Gifford
4. Kathryn Ruddick
5. Judy May
6. Jenny van Dijk
7. Kate Morgan

Bye for now,

Tina

MKPLxSU: Seasonal Snapshot

Hi!

Welcome to another Memory Keeping With Project Life by Stampin' Up! Blog Hop.  Gee that's a mouthful!  This month we are all using the Seasonal Snapshot 2015 Collection.  It was a collection I had originally overlooked in the catalogue in favour of the Hello December 2015 Collection as I complete a December Daily each year.  This blog hop prompted me to have a closer look and I really liked what I saw!

Seasonal Snapshot covers a wide range of occasions, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and even Back To School. If you don't celebrate these occasions, the flip side of each card is generic enough to be used for any occasion. I have decided to use some of the Christmas themed cards to complete my December 2014 layout.

I'm working on an album where I do a double page a month that's a bit of an overview of that month.  As you can tell, I'm a little behind!  Actually, I'm only up to May 2014, I just skipped ahead to December so I could use the Seasonal Snapshot cards.

I don't know about you, but December is a really busy month for us! The end of the school year, lots of Christmas parties and travel to see family.

It's such a fun time of year!

When I am doing pages for my 2014 album I don't usually decorate the pages too much. This time I decided to use some sequins from the Accessory pack to jazz up the Christmas Tree card.  Why not?

What possibilities do you see in the Seasonal Snapshot PL Collection?  If you're a Project Lifer and on Facebook you can join our MKPLxSU group and find lots of fantastic inspiration.

Here are the other Design Team blog for you to check out:

Delys Cram New Zealand
Linda Higgins Australia
Julie Kettlewell United Kingdom
Constanze Wirtz Germany
Elizabeth Peterson United States
Kate Denyer United Kingdom

Our Guest Designer for October:
Anna Pickering United Kingdom

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #283: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

It's Friday again, and this particular Friday marks the official end of the school holidays (weekends don't count).  I'm always a little sad to see the end of the holidays as we tend to slow right down and stay home a lot.  We are always running around so much during the term that we are all really in need of the downtime. The upside of this is that I usually get lots of time to play with my stamps and ink. These holidays I've been sewing lots too.

This week we have a sketch to inspire you at Just Add Ink.  Narelle designed this beauty for us.

I was truly amazed at the variety of ways the Design Team interpreted this sketch.  

On Wednesday all three of my children went on camp and they all arrive home tonight.  Ada went with her BFF to Dance Camp, while Alex and Hudson went on a camp for kids who have a family member living with epilepsy.  Alex has a bit of weight on his shoulders at camp, as he needs to help the carers 'interpret' Hudson's needs and wants. I'm going to leave this card in his room for him to find when he comes home as a bit of a thank you for taking care of his little brother.

This was my first play with the Skating By stamp set.  It's a great pair to Hey Girl.  I stamped the three parts of the main image in Stazon on watercolour paper and then watercoloured using Night Of Navy, Real Red, Crumb Cake and Soft Sky.  I then stamped the trophy image and the 'You Rock' sentiment all over the Real Red base card in Real Red Ink.

I fluffed up the stamping of the iPod a little, so I decided to cover it by using a small piece of Silver Foil Paper as the screen.  I also used the Foil Paper in the horizontal layer.

This sentiment stamp is perfect for the inside, as one of Alex's pet names is Champ.  Hopefully he'll love the card, and even if he doesn't hopefully he'll love that his help with Hudson was gratefully appreciated.

What will you do with the sketch? See you over at Just Add Ink!

Bye for now,

Tina

A Princess Card

Hi!

Today I have a card for you that uses a lot of retired product.  I had to share it anyway as it's so very cute!  On Sunday we attended the birthday of a very gorgeous 4 year old who is mad on a certain movie - you know, the one that most 4 year olds are obsessed with and sing endlessly.  Thank heavens my children were too old for that movie!

Have you worked out the movie yet? If not I guess you'll just have to let it go...

The princess dress was based on this one, I made a few minor changes to suit the products I had. Once I'd put the dress together I spritzed it with a mix of Isocol and Champange Mist Shimmer Paint (sadly retired) to give it a bit of shimmer.  Hopefully you can see it in the picture.

The only snow flake stamp I have is the one from the Perpetual Birthday Calendar set.  I think it works beautifully on this card.

Happy Birthday Jasmin, I hope you had a great day!

Bye for now,

Tina

Embellished Ornaments in Crumb Cake

Hi!

Are you loving the products in the new Holiday Catalogue? I'm especially loving the Embellished Ornaments stamp set and coordinating Delicate Ornaments Thinlits.  Today's card is a CASE of a gorgeous card I saw online that used the bundle.  You can see the original card here.

I made a few changes to Amy's card - Crumb Cake instead of Tip Top Taupe, Baker's Twine instead of ribbon and a different embossing folder.  I also used a stamped panel behind the ornament rather than vellum.

I quite like the look of the stamped panel as it ties in nicely with the design on the stamped ornament. I think my Crumb Cake inkpad needs reinking though!

It's funny how Amy and I ended up with similar insides.  I didn't actually see her inside until I went searching for her blog post to link. I'd only seen the front of her card online and taken a screen capture on my phone. Great minds think alike!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #282: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

It's school holidays here and I've had a lovely week home with my children.  The older two got a bit of a taste of freedom/independence on Wednesday when I allowed them to walk to our local library on their own.  It's about a 10 minute walk along a main road so I was hoping it was fairly low risk.  Three and a half hours later they returned, happy after an afternoon spent playing Lego and Minecraft and browsing the bookshelves. One relieved mummy here!

Anyway, on with today's Just Add Ink challenge.  This week Narelle has put together a gorgeous inspiration photo board for you.

Isn't it fabulous? There's so much you could do with these pictures!

I decided to go with the pot of flowers sitting on top of the books on the chair in the right side picture. I stamped the leaves from Sprinkles of Life first so that I'd get a few leaves sticking out the sides of the flowers.  A few tiny pearls complete the flowers.

The background DSP is one of the Silver sheets from the Neutrals Stack.  Did you know that instead of Whisper White and Very Vanilla the Neutrals Stack has Silver and Gold?  Such a great idea!

I had a few extra flowers left over from the front of the card so I added them to the inside to finish it off.  I hate waste!

The rest of the Design Team have come up with some fabulous cards for this week's challenge.  You can see them over on the Just Add Ink blog. We hope you can join in the fun this week.

Bye for now,

Tina