Hi!
Merry Christmas!
I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas period - I certainly am!
I'm having a little break from blogging right now while I spend some time with my family, but I'll be back soon with some fabulous new stuff from the Sale-A-Bration and Occasions Catalogues.
Bye for now,
Tina
Sunday, 25 December 2016
Friday, 23 December 2016
JAI #342: Just Add N
Hi!
Welcome to the last Just Add Ink challenge for 2016!
This week it's one of my letter challenges, which just happens to be the letter N. What inspires you that starts with the letter N?
I decided to use Night Of Navy, as blue is one of my favourite colours. I paired it with the Number of Years stamp set.
I had been making some ATCs for a swap and I had the Number Of Years stamps out on my desk, so it was easy enough to keep them out and get to work on this card.
I love the sweet pop of colour in the flowers - ooh, Nature! there's another N for my card!
I stamped the flowers again to complete the inside. I love the sentiments on this card, from Bunch Of Blossoms stamp set. Did you notice that they aren't necessarily specific to a birthday? In fact you could use this card for a range of special days, including an engagement or a wedding, or even just to tell someone you think they are amazing.
This Just Add Ink challenge will run for two weeks, so you have plenty of time to get inky and link up your creations.
Bye for now,
Tina
Welcome to the last Just Add Ink challenge for 2016!
This week it's one of my letter challenges, which just happens to be the letter N. What inspires you that starts with the letter N?
I decided to use Night Of Navy, as blue is one of my favourite colours. I paired it with the Number of Years stamp set.
I had been making some ATCs for a swap and I had the Number Of Years stamps out on my desk, so it was easy enough to keep them out and get to work on this card.
I love the sweet pop of colour in the flowers - ooh, Nature! there's another N for my card!
I stamped the flowers again to complete the inside. I love the sentiments on this card, from Bunch Of Blossoms stamp set. Did you notice that they aren't necessarily specific to a birthday? In fact you could use this card for a range of special days, including an engagement or a wedding, or even just to tell someone you think they are amazing.
This Just Add Ink challenge will run for two weeks, so you have plenty of time to get inky and link up your creations.
Bye for now,
Tina
Wednesday, 21 December 2016
Red Foil Santa's Sleigh Christmas Card
Hi!
I have one last Christmas card for you for 2016. This was one I made as a class sample using the Santa's Sleigh bundle.
The card base is just half of an A4 sheet of cardstock, scored and folded in half, and then one half is scored and folded in half again. You can probably see it better in the second photo. A smaller, matted piece is then attached to the front so that it over laps the inside of the card.
The DSP on the front is from the Pop Of Pink SDSP pack. The foil design ties in nicely with the foil sleigh and 'merry'.
Bye for now,
Tina
I have one last Christmas card for you for 2016. This was one I made as a class sample using the Santa's Sleigh bundle.
The card base is just half of an A4 sheet of cardstock, scored and folded in half, and then one half is scored and folded in half again. You can probably see it better in the second photo. A smaller, matted piece is then attached to the front so that it over laps the inside of the card.
The DSP on the front is from the Pop Of Pink SDSP pack. The foil design ties in nicely with the foil sleigh and 'merry'.
Bye for now,
Tina
Monday, 19 December 2016
Jar of Love Wreath Card
Hi!
I've decided to break away from the Christmas cards for today, to show you a pretty card we made in classes a couple of months ago. I wanted to use the Jar Of Love stamp set, but without the jar. I've noticed a lot of wreath cards around, so I decided to give it a go with the floral stamps from the set.
What do you think? I quite like it! I used the colour combination from the Blooms and Bliss DSP and just started stamping! I eyeballed my circle, but some of my class ladies drew a faint pencil line, which they erased later.
I find it best to start with the biggest stamp and work my way down to the smallest, filling the gaps as you go.
Of course, there's a few extra little flowers and fronds to finish of the inside.
Bye for now,
Tina
I've decided to break away from the Christmas cards for today, to show you a pretty card we made in classes a couple of months ago. I wanted to use the Jar Of Love stamp set, but without the jar. I've noticed a lot of wreath cards around, so I decided to give it a go with the floral stamps from the set.
What do you think? I quite like it! I used the colour combination from the Blooms and Bliss DSP and just started stamping! I eyeballed my circle, but some of my class ladies drew a faint pencil line, which they erased later.
I find it best to start with the biggest stamp and work my way down to the smallest, filling the gaps as you go.
Of course, there's a few extra little flowers and fronds to finish of the inside.
Bye for now,
Tina
Friday, 16 December 2016
JAI #341: Just Add Colour
Hi!
Not many Fridays left in the year now!
It's a tricky one this time, but that's half the fun of doing a challenge! I still haven't sent out my Christmas cards, so I took the opportunity to make one more for the stash.
I used Shimmery White cardstock for the base of my CAS card, as I love the subtle shimmer it gives. The circle was masked, sponged in Basic Grey, double masked using the stars mask, inked with Versamark and then heat embossed using white embossing powder.
I added this die cut tree from the Santa's Sleigh Framelits. It's funny, when I purchased the set, the tree was my least favourite. I've ended up using it a lot more than any of the other framelits in the set though!
Are you like me and squeezing in just a few more Christmas cards at the last minute? Pop over to the Just Add Ink blog to see what the rest of the DT have made and to add your own creation.
Bye for now,
Tina
Not many Fridays left in the year now!
It's our second last challenge for the year at Just Add Ink. This week Kim has put together a colour combination for inspire creativity.
It's a tricky one this time, but that's half the fun of doing a challenge! I still haven't sent out my Christmas cards, so I took the opportunity to make one more for the stash.
I used Shimmery White cardstock for the base of my CAS card, as I love the subtle shimmer it gives. The circle was masked, sponged in Basic Grey, double masked using the stars mask, inked with Versamark and then heat embossed using white embossing powder.
I added this die cut tree from the Santa's Sleigh Framelits. It's funny, when I purchased the set, the tree was my least favourite. I've ended up using it a lot more than any of the other framelits in the set though!
Are you like me and squeezing in just a few more Christmas cards at the last minute? Pop over to the Just Add Ink blog to see what the rest of the DT have made and to add your own creation.
Bye for now,
Tina
Wednesday, 14 December 2016
End Of Year Teacher Gifts
Hi!
Yay! School is nearly out for the year! One of mine has two days to go, and the other two have three days. We've all been so busy with end of year and Christmas activities, but I found time to sit last night and create these cute little gift bags for Ada's teachers.
I used the Gift Bag Punch Board to create the little bags. They are actually made from Real Red cardstock, despite them looking orange in the photos. I used a few scraps of Candy Cane Lane DSP to decorate the front and the flap.
The tags were made using the Stitched Shapes Thinlits, Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set and Endless Thanks stamp set. I made three of these bags, so I wanted a quick and easy tag for the bag. Inside the bag is a Christmas ornament and a handful of chocolates. I forgot to photograph it before I closed the bag. Oh well!
Bye for now,
Tina
Yay! School is nearly out for the year! One of mine has two days to go, and the other two have three days. We've all been so busy with end of year and Christmas activities, but I found time to sit last night and create these cute little gift bags for Ada's teachers.
I used the Gift Bag Punch Board to create the little bags. They are actually made from Real Red cardstock, despite them looking orange in the photos. I used a few scraps of Candy Cane Lane DSP to decorate the front and the flap.
The tags were made using the Stitched Shapes Thinlits, Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set and Endless Thanks stamp set. I made three of these bags, so I wanted a quick and easy tag for the bag. Inside the bag is a Christmas ornament and a handful of chocolates. I forgot to photograph it before I closed the bag. Oh well!
Bye for now,
Tina
Monday, 12 December 2016
Diagonal Cookie Cutter Christmas
Hi!
Do you sometimes like to mix things up a bit in your card making? I know I do! When I was designing today's card I decided to have a bit of fun.
I had originally intended that the Candy Cane Lane DSP would be a straight piece, but at the last minute I decided to cut it on the diagonal. What do you think?
You can see that I stamped the Gingerbread Man over the base of the card, along with the bow.
The placement of the bow is the difference between a Gingerbread Man and a Gingerbread Lady. So cute!
Bye for now,
Tina
Do you sometimes like to mix things up a bit in your card making? I know I do! When I was designing today's card I decided to have a bit of fun.
I had originally intended that the Candy Cane Lane DSP would be a straight piece, but at the last minute I decided to cut it on the diagonal. What do you think?
You can see that I stamped the Gingerbread Man over the base of the card, along with the bow.
The placement of the bow is the difference between a Gingerbread Man and a Gingerbread Lady. So cute!
Bye for now,
Tina
Friday, 9 December 2016
JAI #340: Just Add Gift Tags
Hi!
Another week has flown by, and it's Friday again - where are the days going?
Sigh. I really miss the corrugated cardstock SU used to stock! I still have some in my stash, but only to be used for special occasions. In this case, the pieces were already cut, so I didn't feel bad using it.
I hope you can play along with us at Just Add Ink. There's not many more weeks before we go on a short break over the Christmas/New Year period.
Bye for now,
Tina
Another week has flown by, and it's Friday again - where are the days going?
Of course, Friday means it's time for the new Just Add Ink challenge! This week we have been challenged to create a Gift Tag.
I went ultra simple with mine. I had a few tag kits left over from a class I ran a year or so ago, so I decided to use the 'bits' in the kit to come up with something new.
Sigh. I really miss the corrugated cardstock SU used to stock! I still have some in my stash, but only to be used for special occasions. In this case, the pieces were already cut, so I didn't feel bad using it.
I cut the small detailed star from the Starlight Thinlits, and popped it up on Dimensionals. The circle is the largest Stitched Shapes Circle die, and the merry is from Merry Greetings Thinlits. Very quick and very simple - something to keep in mind for the last minute tags you always end up needing at Christmas!
I hope you can play along with us at Just Add Ink. There's not many more weeks before we go on a short break over the Christmas/New Year period.
Bye for now,
Tina
Monday, 5 December 2016
A Gingerbread Man on Candy Cane Lane
Hi!
I'm in the full swing of things now with Christmas cards - are you? My favourite DSP from the Holiday Catalogue was the Candy Cane Lane pack. I loved the non-traditional colours and all of the gingerbread houses.
This was a card I made quite a few weeks ago as a class sample. It was a CASE of one of my recent Just Add Ink cards, with a few changes to make it easier to make in a large group.
He's a bit out of focus, but I think the Gingerbread Man is my favourite stamp in the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set.
I especially love the way that, by changing the placement of the bow, you can also have a Gingerbread Woman!
Bye for now,
Tina
I'm in the full swing of things now with Christmas cards - are you? My favourite DSP from the Holiday Catalogue was the Candy Cane Lane pack. I loved the non-traditional colours and all of the gingerbread houses.
This was a card I made quite a few weeks ago as a class sample. It was a CASE of one of my recent Just Add Ink cards, with a few changes to make it easier to make in a large group.
He's a bit out of focus, but I think the Gingerbread Man is my favourite stamp in the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamp set.
I especially love the way that, by changing the placement of the bow, you can also have a Gingerbread Woman!
Bye for now,
Tina
Friday, 2 December 2016
JAI #339: Just Add A Sketch
Hi!
Oooh, these weeks are whipping by!
It's Friday, so it's time for the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Narelle designed an awesome sketch for us to use.
You know me - I also had to do the inside of my card. I love this little stamp, and thought it was perfect there down in the corner. I also love the sentiment, so prefect for a heartfelt thank you card.
You can join in the fun at Just Add Ink too. Just make a card based on the sketch and link it up over on the blog. Easy!
Bye for now,
Tina
Oooh, these weeks are whipping by!
It's Friday, so it's time for the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Narelle designed an awesome sketch for us to use.
There's a lot to love about this sketch - I certainly had a lot of fun playing with it.
I used a stamp set that I won in Prize Patrol at the recent On Stage event. It's called Swan Lake, and it's a lovely one to colour. In this case, I stamped with Stazon on Shimmery White cardstock and watercoloured the swan.
I used Blushing Bride on the swan, Marina Mist for the water and Soft Sky for the sky, with a smidge of Crushed Curry on the beak. The floral motif stamped on the background was coloured using my Chalk Marker.
You know me - I also had to do the inside of my card. I love this little stamp, and thought it was perfect there down in the corner. I also love the sentiment, so prefect for a heartfelt thank you card.
You can join in the fun at Just Add Ink too. Just make a card based on the sketch and link it up over on the blog. Easy!
Bye for now,
Tina
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Happy Ornament Clear Block Stamping
Hi!
At the recent On Stage event, one of the stamping techniques we saw during a stamping demonstration was stamping with your clear blocks. I was very intrigued and decided to try it when I got home.
I used the new single stamp from the Holiday Catalogue called Happy Ornament. It was a stamp I overlooked a bit at first, but ended up buying, It's a great one for quick and easy Christmas cards.
So, onto the technique! To colour the bauble I scribbled on the clear block with my Tempting Turquoise marker, huffed on it, and then pressed the clear block to my cardstock to transfer the ink. You can repeat if you aren't happy with the result. I then stamped the bauble over the top and cut out just the bauble section with my snips. I stamped the bauble a second time, and adhered the coloured bauble over the top. I then coloured the rest of the bauble with my markers. Doesn't it look great?
I used the Playful Backgrounds bubbles on the background of the front, so I carried it over to the inside as well.
Bye for now,
Tina
At the recent On Stage event, one of the stamping techniques we saw during a stamping demonstration was stamping with your clear blocks. I was very intrigued and decided to try it when I got home.
I used the new single stamp from the Holiday Catalogue called Happy Ornament. It was a stamp I overlooked a bit at first, but ended up buying, It's a great one for quick and easy Christmas cards.
So, onto the technique! To colour the bauble I scribbled on the clear block with my Tempting Turquoise marker, huffed on it, and then pressed the clear block to my cardstock to transfer the ink. You can repeat if you aren't happy with the result. I then stamped the bauble over the top and cut out just the bauble section with my snips. I stamped the bauble a second time, and adhered the coloured bauble over the top. I then coloured the rest of the bauble with my markers. Doesn't it look great?
I used the Playful Backgrounds bubbles on the background of the front, so I carried it over to the inside as well.
Bye for now,
Tina
Monday, 28 November 2016
A Bloomin' Hearts CASE
Hi!
Today is the last day to grab a bargain in the Online Extravaganza - have you had a look yet? Today's card uses one of the products that is discounted by 30%, the Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Dies. I also used the coordinating stamp set Bloomin' Love.
The card is actually a CASE of this card made by Valerie Moody, a member of Stampin' Up!'s Artisan Design Team. I loved the white on white elegance of Valerie's card.
The Real Red heart was stamped with the heart from Bloomin' Love before being cropped with the Sweetheart punch, The little birdie comes from the Tree Builder punch.
I'm not usually one for lovey-dovey cards, but it can be handy to have a few in your stash for the odd occasion that you need one.
Bye for now,
Tina
Today is the last day to grab a bargain in the Online Extravaganza - have you had a look yet? Today's card uses one of the products that is discounted by 30%, the Bloomin' Heart Thinlit Dies. I also used the coordinating stamp set Bloomin' Love.
The card is actually a CASE of this card made by Valerie Moody, a member of Stampin' Up!'s Artisan Design Team. I loved the white on white elegance of Valerie's card.
The Real Red heart was stamped with the heart from Bloomin' Love before being cropped with the Sweetheart punch, The little birdie comes from the Tree Builder punch.
I'm not usually one for lovey-dovey cards, but it can be handy to have a few in your stash for the odd occasion that you need one.
Bye for now,
Tina
Friday, 25 November 2016
JAI #338: Just Add Inspiration
Hi!
Phew! I've had a busy week! How about you? Is it time to sit a bit and relax over the weekend? I hope so!
This week's Just Add Ink challenge is a fun inspiration photo, put forward by Jan. I deliberately didn't think about using paint brushes to paint a wall, because that's no fun! Well, not for me anyway. Instead I thought about paint on an artist's palette and went from there. What do you think of?
I decided to have a play with some of my reinkers and my Stampin' Spritzer to create an arty background using the colours in the picture. It took me 5 goes to get a piece I was happy with, but then I ended up going back to the first piece after they had all dried!
To get the background I spritzed a piece of Shimmery White cardstock with water using my Stampin' Spritzer. I then dripped ink from my reinkers onto the cardstock. If the colour didn't spread well, I gave it another spritz. Once I was happy, I placed a paper towel over the top to soak up some of the extra water and then left the pieces to dry. I then used my largest die in the Layering Circles Thinlits set to cut the circle. I laid it on the paper and moved it about until I was happy with the mix of colours within the circle.
From memory, the colours I used were Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo, Real Red, Watermelon Wonder and Elegant Eggplant. The dragonfly (a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Catalogue) was cut from Gold Foil paper.
The sentiment stamp set I used is also from the Occasions Catalogue, it is a set that is designed to coordinate with the Dragonfly dies. You can see that I've also used a small dragonfly on the inside of the card. The bundle was one of my first 'must-haves' from the catalogue.
I hope you have a fabulous weekend, with hopefully some time to join us at Just Add Ink.
Bye for now,
Tina
Phew! I've had a busy week! How about you? Is it time to sit a bit and relax over the weekend? I hope so!
This week's Just Add Ink challenge is a fun inspiration photo, put forward by Jan. I deliberately didn't think about using paint brushes to paint a wall, because that's no fun! Well, not for me anyway. Instead I thought about paint on an artist's palette and went from there. What do you think of?
I decided to have a play with some of my reinkers and my Stampin' Spritzer to create an arty background using the colours in the picture. It took me 5 goes to get a piece I was happy with, but then I ended up going back to the first piece after they had all dried!
To get the background I spritzed a piece of Shimmery White cardstock with water using my Stampin' Spritzer. I then dripped ink from my reinkers onto the cardstock. If the colour didn't spread well, I gave it another spritz. Once I was happy, I placed a paper towel over the top to soak up some of the extra water and then left the pieces to dry. I then used my largest die in the Layering Circles Thinlits set to cut the circle. I laid it on the paper and moved it about until I was happy with the mix of colours within the circle.
From memory, the colours I used were Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo, Real Red, Watermelon Wonder and Elegant Eggplant. The dragonfly (a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Catalogue) was cut from Gold Foil paper.
The sentiment stamp set I used is also from the Occasions Catalogue, it is a set that is designed to coordinate with the Dragonfly dies. You can see that I've also used a small dragonfly on the inside of the card. The bundle was one of my first 'must-haves' from the catalogue.
I hope you have a fabulous weekend, with hopefully some time to join us at Just Add Ink.
Bye for now,
Tina
Thursday, 24 November 2016
AWH Christmas Blog Hop
Hi!
I stamped the singing mouse on Shimmery White cardstock and coloured him using Dapper Denim, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay and Pool Party.
I love the subtle little scalloped border the Layering Circles Thinlits provide. In this case, a cute touch of Real Red that doesn't overwhelm the rest of the card.
I love the cute little star stamps in this set. They give a nice finishing touch to your card.
Today some of the Art with Heart Stampin’ Up! team girls have created some amazing Christmas projects to inspire you with the theme, It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We have tags, gift bags, teacher gift ideas, decorations and many more fun projects to create this holiday season.
I have decided to use Merry Mice for my projects. It's my absolute favourite set out of the Holiday Catalogue, and it's also been a favourite among my customers - especially as it's currently 25% off in the Stitched From The Heart promotion. It's a ripper bargain for just $22.50!
I stamped the singing mouse on Shimmery White cardstock and coloured him using Dapper Denim, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Bermuda Bay and Pool Party.
I love the subtle little scalloped border the Layering Circles Thinlits provide. In this case, a cute touch of Real Red that doesn't overwhelm the rest of the card.
I love the cute little star stamps in this set. They give a nice finishing touch to your card.
I had a bit of extra time up my sleeve and some extra stamped images, so I decided to make a set of tags using the Merry Mice. I masked the little mice so that I could stamp them as individual images. My Stitched Shapes Framelits finally arrived, so I kind of went a little nuts with them!
I hope you've been inspired by my Merry Mice projects, but now you're off to be dazzled by the lovely Kathryn Mangelsdorf.
Bye for now,
Tina
If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the participants below:
- Rebecca Jacovou
- Ros Davidson
- Kathryn Ruddick
- Kate Morgan
- Rachel Palmieri
- Claire Daly
- Mary Kelly
- Monika O'Neill
- Tina Gillespie
- Kathryn Mangelsdorf
- Catherine Proctor
- Judy May
Wednesday, 23 November 2016
MKPLxSU Blog Share: Hello December
Hi!
This month at MKPLxSU we have decided to try something different - instead of all posting our pages on one day, we are spreading them out through the month. Today it's my turn to share my pages.
This is the fifth year I have started (and completed!) a December Daily album, so for me it was a no-brainer to get the kit and plunge straight in. I usually leave the title page until last, but I was so excited by the 2016 transparency card that I just had to make it first.
The kit didn't come with sequins this year, so I used some from the Metallics and Brights packs in my stash. I also managed to find some sequins that were pretty close to Emerald Envy among my hoarded bits and pieces. I think they came from a kit that Ada had where you push pins through the sequins and into a foam board to make a picture. I sealed the pocket with my Fuse tool to ensure they stayed put.
I usually have a page or two at the front of my album from November, as we often attend some Christmas events that are held early. In this case, the second page of my DD documents the Adelaide Christmas Pageant. Rob, his mum and the big kids took some silly selfies while they were waiting for the pageant to start. I think these kinds of memories are the best kind to preserve!
The very next day Rob, his mum and the big kids went to a Christmas party at the Adelaide Zoo. They had far too much of a good time to remember taking photos, so all I had was this one of Alex playing Pokémon Go as they walked around. He's so obsessed with it at the moment, and it was far more interesting to him than the animals!
I should point out that I would usually go to these events with the rest of the family, but as I was still recovering from my ankle surgery it was best for me and Hudson to stay home and let the more energetic members of the family enjoy a couple of special days out without having to worry about us keeping up. Hud and I had some fabulous mother-son bonding time at home.
This month at MKPLxSU we have decided to try something different - instead of all posting our pages on one day, we are spreading them out through the month. Today it's my turn to share my pages.
This month we have decided to focus on the Hello December 2016 kit that you can find in the Holiday Catalogue. While it's mainly designed to be used for a December Daily type project, you could really use the kit in any way you'd like! As a bonus, it is also among the products discounted this week in the Online Extravaganza. Nice!
This is the fifth year I have started (and completed!) a December Daily album, so for me it was a no-brainer to get the kit and plunge straight in. I usually leave the title page until last, but I was so excited by the 2016 transparency card that I just had to make it first.
The kit didn't come with sequins this year, so I used some from the Metallics and Brights packs in my stash. I also managed to find some sequins that were pretty close to Emerald Envy among my hoarded bits and pieces. I think they came from a kit that Ada had where you push pins through the sequins and into a foam board to make a picture. I sealed the pocket with my Fuse tool to ensure they stayed put.
I usually have a page or two at the front of my album from November, as we often attend some Christmas events that are held early. In this case, the second page of my DD documents the Adelaide Christmas Pageant. Rob, his mum and the big kids took some silly selfies while they were waiting for the pageant to start. I think these kinds of memories are the best kind to preserve!
The very next day Rob, his mum and the big kids went to a Christmas party at the Adelaide Zoo. They had far too much of a good time to remember taking photos, so all I had was this one of Alex playing Pokémon Go as they walked around. He's so obsessed with it at the moment, and it was far more interesting to him than the animals!
I should point out that I would usually go to these events with the rest of the family, but as I was still recovering from my ankle surgery it was best for me and Hudson to stay home and let the more energetic members of the family enjoy a couple of special days out without having to worry about us keeping up. Hud and I had some fabulous mother-son bonding time at home.
This is my last page for now! Usually the Christmas tree would go up on Pageant day, but we had such a huge weekend that we just didn't get time. I was going to wait for Dec 1, but Ada nagged until we gave in on Sunday. It's not decorated yet, but as it's a fibre optic tree it still looks great at night with the lights glowing.
Did you see that I created another transparent pocket? I used one of the metal paper clips that come in the kit, as well as some more sequins. I didn't actually realise it was a paper clip until after I'd sealed the pocket. Oh well, it still looks great floating around in the pocket with the sequins!
Are you planning a DD album this year? Have you started it, like me? Please join us in the Facebook group and post your pages for us to see and enjoy!
Bye for now,
Tina