Endless Birthday Wishes

Hi!


Today I have a little bit of a controversial card for you.  Only a little bit, I promise! It's a card I made as a class sample. Can you guess what part of this card caused a stir in class?

Did you guess that it was the placement of the main panel? OK, so maybe 'controversy' was a bit strong of a word to describe the reactions! As always, my class ladies are free to change the cards as they like, and quite a few changed the position of that panel.

When I first made the card, it only had the large Crushed Curry star. It needed something more though, and the popped up Basic Black star worked nicely. The little star punch is retiring  -sob!

I love the way you mix and match the sentiments in the Endless Birthday Wishes stamp set. It's carrying over, so I'm sure you'll see a lot more of it this year!


Bye for now,


Tina

JAI #313: Just Add A B

Hi!


Oh boy, am I glad it's Friday! I've had another week with a sick child - this time my 13 year old. He had Monday and Tuesday off school, but luckily he's pretty self sufficient and he's getting to old to want his mum fussing over him.

So, onwards to the real reason you're visiting my blog - the card making! This week at Just Add Ink it's my turn to set the challenge, and I'm challenging you to Just Add B. As usual with our Alphabet challenges, it can be anything to do with B. A stamp set, a colour, a theme, just let your imagination run wild.

I've had this image half coloured on my desk for a little while. Before you ask, no, it's not a Stampin' Up! stamp, and yes, I do feel a little bit naughty using something that's not ours. However, every person in our house is completely mad on Harry Potter, so it's one that just had to find it's way into my stash! I coloured the image with my Copic markers. I'm very new with colouring with Copics, so I'm on a big learning curve.

Everything else on my card is SU. I used the about to retire Squares Collection Framelits to cut the frame for the front of my card. You can see that I popped it up to give the image a bit more depth. If I'd been a bit cleverer (is that a word?) I would have turned the card into a shaker card by adding some Window Sheet and some of the new Foam Adhesive Strips. Oh well, maybe next time!

Because I'm just a tad stingy thrifty, I used the left over square from the front of the card to matt my inside sentiment. I quite like the red border!


So there you have it - a brown-haired boy in a blue bed reading books. Lots of B's for this week's challenge. You can see plenty of other B themed cards over at Just Add Ink. What B will you use?


Bye for now,


Tina

A Bit of Scrapping

Hi!


I'm not sure if I've blogged this layout before, but it was sitting in my 'To Blog' folder so I'm guessing that I haven't. I made it a while ago for a sketch challenge as a part of a fundraiser.

I was a bot excited to pick up an old, but still working, typewriter on a Facebook Buy Swap Sell page for a song - only $5. Bargain! As my intention is to use it in my scrapping, it was only logical to scrap about it!

What other stamp set could I use? Tap Tap Tap came in very handy!

LOL, I think I need to buy a new ribbon for it, as the current one is quite pale, but that's easily enough done.  Gotta love Ebay!

You may have noticed the title and thought "SU doesn't have a die that says tap". It doesn't! But it does have two dies in the Hello You Thinlits set that say thanks and happy. I took the t from thanks and the ap from happy to create the word tap. Too easy!


We are getting close to the end of the current Annual Catalogue, which means it's not long to the start of the new Annual Catalogue. So exciting - I can't wait!


Bye for now,


Tina

An English Garden in Honey

Hi!


Today I have another card that was made as a class sample. The main colours used are the retiring Hello Honey, which I paired with Delightful Dijon for a tonal effect on the flowers and the cute little bee.

I tried to replicate the layered flowers in the English Garden DSP in the main stamped panel using the combination of Delightful Dijon and Hello Honey. The leaves were all Old Olive, with the filling image stamped off once first.

You can also see I used a piece of the Delightful Dijon Dotted Lace Trim along the bottom of the main panel. I placed a stripe of adhesive along the back of the panel and then ruffled the ribbon along the adhesive. There's not a lot of gather, but I don't think it needed a lot.

The little honey bees are so cute! I think I've used them every time I've used the Garden In Bloom stamp set - I just can't resist them!


Bye for now,


Tina

JAI #312: Just Add Colour

Hi!


It's that time of the week again - challenge time at Just Add Ink!

It's been a bit of a long week for me - two out of three kids were home sick for Monday and Tuesday. Needless to say, not much got done around here and I've spent the rest of the week chasing my tail and trying to catch up on my jobs. It was nice to be able to sit and craft for Just Add Ink. This week we have a lovely colour combination selected by Patrice.

I'm a bit of a blue person, so I really loved this combo! My first thought was a masculine card, but when I sat to craft I somehow found myself adding butterflies to the card. Not very masculine at all!

I used the Shimmer White cardstock as a base and used my Aqua Painter and Mint Macaron ink pad to create a colour wash background. The shimmer is difficult to photograph, hopefully you can see it in the next photo.

The butterflies were originally meant to have a white dot on their bodies, courtesy of the White Perfect Accents. However, when I went to peel them off I accidentally got my thumb nail between the clear top and the white base. Ooops! I'm too stingy to waste them, so I just stuck them to the butterflies using my Fine Tip Glue Pen. In the end, I think I prefer them this way!

I used Pacific Point as my card base colour, so I stuck with it for the inside of the card. I love that sentiment - I'm here for you - it's so meaningful.


Pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog so that you can see what the rest of the Design Team have created this week using these colours. Why don't you join in the fun while you're there?


Bye for now,


Tina

Going Places With Lost Lagoon

Hi!


I think that today's card is one of my favourite cards that I have even made. I know - it's a big call! There's just some thing about it that really appeals to me.

I started by stamping some Gorgeous Grunge splatters in the opposite corners on the base card, and then built up the layers from there.

I used the retiring Amazing Birthday stamp for the sentiment. You can see that I used my 1 3/4" Circle Punch to crop the image. I wanted the wider border around it so that I could pierce some holes to add a decorative touch. I also pierced the Lost Lagoon circle.

I really, really love the splatter stamp for adding a little something to the inside of a card also. So glad it's not retiring!


Bye for now,


Tina

A Nice Cuppa CASE

Hi!


The Have A Cuppa bundle can be found in the Occasions Catalogue. It was one I fell in love with instantly, as I'm a big tea drinker, as are quite a few of my friends. My first cup of tea was loose leaf, made in a teapot and sipped from one of my Grandmother's gorgeous tea cups. I had good company that day - two of my sisters and my aunt - so it's a lovely memory for me.


Anyway, I digress! Today's card is a CASE of one by Teneale Williams. She used the Tap, Tap, Tap stamp set, which is also retiring with the Have A Cuppa Bundle.

This card was made as a sample for a card class. Some of the ladies made some variations, including stamping 'coffee' instead of 'tea', and even stamping the sentiment in the bottom right hand corner of the card. I really enjoy seeing the variations they come up with!

When I first made the card I didn't use the Basic Black layer on the main panel, but when I went to put the card together it didn't look quite right, so I ended up adding it. The black adds a little definition to the main panel.

And of course, you can't have tea without cake!


Bye for now,


Tina

JAI #311: Just Add Masking

Hi!

We are back with another week of challenges at Just Add Ink. This week Nikki has challenged us to Just Add Masking to our projects. I needed to make a Mother's Day card for my Mother-in-Law, so I decided to make a floral card for her.

I have been a bit obsessed with colouring lately, especially with using my retired Blendabilities markers. I decided to make the card with the large flower in Birthday Blossoms so that I had good sized flowers to colour.

I used my Rich Razzleberry Blendabilites to colour the flowers while I was watching TV. Silly me got distracted and opened one of my markers over my work, leaving a splatter on the cardstock. There was no way I was going to scrap my work, so I ended up opening and closing my marker over the card a few times so that I ended up with the splatters all over the front. A very happy accident, as I love the end result!

Even though this set is a birthday stamp set, I think it works really nicely as a Mother's Day card. The stamps I used aren't specific to a birthday - and honestly - Mother's Day should be a day about celebrating mothers.


The rest of the Design Team have done a fabulous job the masking challenge. You can see their gorgeous cards, and join in the challenge, over at the Just Add Ink blog.


Bye for now,


Tina

Blackberry Bliss and a Silver Lining

Hi!


Today's card has four retiring products - the gorgeous Shine On Specialty DSP and the colours Blackberry Bliss and Mossy Meadow. Not so obvious on this card is the Banner punch.

I love the Silver Foil rain drop accents in the heavy weight Kraft cardstock. They are so pretty! The rich Blackberry Bliss was the perfect colour to team with the Kraft and Silver.

This card was made as a class sample. Silly me forgot to remind my ladies to slip the sentiment piece into the back of the Banner punch to create the flagged ends. Lucky I had plenty of thin strips of Whisper White scraps ready to use as replacements!

The row of flowers is so cute, don't you think? Hopefully this is a card that will cheer up the recipient.


Bye for now,


Tina

MKPLxSU BLog Share: Retiring Kits

Hi!

This month the MKPLxSU Design Team have decided to focus on Retiring PLxSU Kits for our Blog Share. Sadly, all of the kits I have are retiring, so I was spoiled for choice. In the end I went with the Happy Times Collection. I quite like the slightly grungy, masculine look of the kit.

I used the kit to complete a double page layout of my youngest son's morning rituals. Hudson has a severe Intellectual Disability, so he is quite fixated on certain routines. Project Life is fabulous for documenting things like this! The photos aren't perfect - they are just snapped on my iPhone so the lighting and composition aren't great - but that really doesn't matter. The important thing is getting the story told.

Here's the left side of the layout. I was originally going to put the tea pictures on one side and the sock pictures on the other, but I found that I preferred the tea pictures across the top and the sock pictures along the bottom. It helps to link the two pages a little better. That's the beauty of PL - it's so easy to rearrange the different photos and cards on the page, as they are not fixed in place.

Here's the right side of the double page. You can see that I selected stars as the theme of my PL cards. There weren't enough 3x4 cards for each slot, so I ended up cutting two 4x6 cards in half to use in the top and bottom slots on each page.

This journaling card didn't have stars on it - so I changed that by adding a sticker banner from the Happy Times Accessory Pack that had stars on it. Easy!

Do you record these funny little rituals that your family members have? I think it's important before they get lost in the fog of time and poor memory. This is why I scrap.


Here are the other Design Team Blogs. They've used a variety of Retiring Kits to create their gorgeous layouts. Happy hopping!


Sandra Korten
Constanze Wirtz
Julie Kettlewell
Patty Bennett
Linda Dalke
Caroline van der Straaten
Delys Cram
Elizabeth Peterson
Janet Wakeland


Bye for now,


Tina

A Springfold Card CASE

Hi!


I decided to squeeze in an extra post this week, as I have quite a few cards that use retiring products that I'd like to post before I run out of time! This card was actually made for a Just Add Ink challenge, but I didn't get it photographed or blogged in time for the challenge.  Oh Well!

I'd never made a Spring Fold card before, but after seeing one that Kim Dallinger made, I had to give it a go.  I haven't been able to find Kim's card online (I saw it in a private forum), but here is her blog so that you can see more of her work.

I used the English Garden DSP on the base of the card. I wanted to include a little more Blackberry Bliss, so I ended up stamping some of the small flowers from Number Of Years stamp set in amongst the foliage on the DSP to give it some colour.

This panel is on the back of the main panel and gives the sender some space to write a message to the recipient. In this case I sent to card to my sister, who recently celebrated her birthday.


Bye for now,


Tina

JAI #310: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!


Here we are, another Friday, which means another Just Add Ink challenge - are you ready?

This week it's my challenge, and I have a sketch for your inspiration. Take a peek at this:

What do you think? I decided to go off on a bit of a tangent and use a different shape for my card.

I also decided to turn it into an easel card. To get the octagonal shape I die cut a square using my Squares Collection Framelits. I then turned the framelit and ran it through the Big Shot again. Easy!

The flowers were stamped using the Petite Petals stamp set in Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz and Blackberry Bliss, which I stamped off first. Small pearls in the centre of each flower finish each flower off.

I used some of the new Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper on the front of my card. It's so pretty!

The Just Add Ink Design Team have done a fantastic job, as usual, with the sketch. You can see their cards on the Just Add Ink blog.


Bye for now,


Tina

Night Of Navy Leaflets

Hi!


Some more retiring products today - this time it's the Hostess stamp set Happy Birthday Everyone and also the Corrugated Paper (sob!).

I quite like the stamp set for the big, bold Happy Birthday stamp. It's a great pair of fonts, and because it's so big you don't need to do much else on a card to make a big impact. I paired it with a duo of die cut leaves from the Leaflets Framelits. The Whisper White Leaf is actually cut from the inside and used on the front. The Corrugated Paper has been fabulous for using on masculine cards, so I think I'll be stocking up before it goes!

When I was making this card I had my upline, Sue Madex, in mind. Sue's a real whizz at making cards that look simple on the surface, but when you really look you can see a heap of extra little touches. One of them is scoring, like on this card of hers. My card has two score lines in the Night Of Navy base card on either side of the Whisper White panel. It's very hard to photograph on the dark base, but you can just see it in the photo above.

Here you can see where I've taken the Whisper White die cut to use on the front of the card!


Bye for now,


Tina