JAI 546: Just Add Steampunk

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Chantelle is daring us to make a card or project in the Steampunk style. It had quite a lot of the Design Team wondering what is Steampunk?

To me Steampunk is the blend of mechanical/industrial and arty/fantasy elements. Sort of the Industrial Revolution meets Alice In Wonderland, I guess! Either way, it was out of my comfort zone but I was bound to have a bit of fun with it. 

Cogs are a bit of a no-brainer for Steampunk, so I added a good handful to my background. I layered them over and under some DSP and a Memories and More card from the World Of Good Suite. The words are also from a M&M card. Texture is often used in Steampunk cards, especially corrugated card, which I used to layer under my main sentiment.

Let's talk about my butterfly. I googled some images/pages and found this one, which became the inspiration for my butterfly. I really love how the butterfly looks like it's made from metal plates, riveted together.

My only butterfly stamp was the one from A Touch Of Ink, so I stamped it in stamped-off Gray Granite ink. I then used my Copic Multiliner to draw in the plates and rivets, following the basic outlines from the stamp. Then I just coloured it with my Smokey Slate and Soft Suede Stampin' Blends.

I was very pleased with how it turned out! I reckon the seahorse from Seaside Notions would look pretty cool drawn and coloured like this, too.

I finished the card with some more cogs on the inside. You might be able to see the Wink Of Stella that I added to all the cogs on my card. I couldn't resist adding a top hat to the inside, either - it seems to be a common image used in Steampunk cards, although usually with the cool goggles over the top.

Overall, the Steampunk theme wasn't as scary as I though it would be. Have you ever tried it? Why not give it a go? You can link your card up over on the Just Add Ink blog, where you can also find the rest of this week's Design team cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Poppy Parade

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me once again on a very hot Wednesday for the new Colour Creations Creative Showcase. We are up to Poppy Parade this week, which is a bright red. In fact, it's the last of the Brights colour family to be featured this time around. I chose a classic colour combination of red, white, black and gold, which I think must have been inspired by the New Year celebrations in parts of Asia last week.

I started with the striped panel. I used my Poppy Parade Blends to create the stripes, and my grid paper to line them up. The panel was matted with Basic Black and Gold Foil layers. The next layer was the banner, which was pretty much made with just bits and pieces.

More bits and pieces were used for the main panel of the card. A mix of dies and punches was used to crop the circles and the butterfly from A Touch Of Ink was fussy cut - sadly, no dies! All of this was layered on a card base that I'd embossed with the Subtle 3DEF. Actually, I tell a fib - I embossed a card front sized piece of Basic Black and adhered it to the Basic Black card base. Embossing the base can make it a little floppy, so embossing a layer is much better.

I used some retired Delicata Golden Glitz ink to stamp the butterfly again on the inside. I was so upset that this ink retired, but I kept mine to use when I like anyway!

The rest of this week's cards can be found over on Cathy's blog. Please do go and have a look, as each week I am amazed by everyone's cards. I'm sure you will be too.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Pear Pizzazz

 Hi!

Welcome back to another week of the Colour Creations Creative Showcase. It's time to look at Pear Pizzazz. It's one of Stampin' Up!'s softer greens, sitting in the Subtles Colour Family.

I'm not entirely sure if I like the card I made this week, or if it's because I had to make it and send it straight away. Sadly, one of Hudson's schoolmates passed away after battling illness in intensive care for five weeks. His little body just couldn't fight anymore.

I've used two Sale-A-Bration sets: Heal Your Heart and A Touch Of Ink. I've kept the card very simple so that the message is the focus, just a bit of Pear Pizzazz ink applied over the stamped leaves using a Blending Brush.

As always, you can find the rest of this week's Pear Pizzazz cards over on Cathy's blog. She does such a wonderful job of keeping us all organised.

Bye for now,

Tina