JAI #387: Just Add Colour

Hi!

Yay! Friday again,which means the new Just Add Ink challenge is ready to kick off. This week Nikki has given us a pretty classic colour combination to work with. And when I say classic, I think classic Christmas.

What do you think? Christmas, or will you be adventurous and try something different? I couldn't go past Christmas.

I swore I wasn't going to get Painted Harvest. It wasn't really my thing, and there were other stamps, etc, that I liked better. Somehow though, once I got hold of it, I've really enjoyed using the set. The Christmas wreath isn't new to me - I've seen heaps around the web, and I'm sure you have too.

I cheated a little with the colour combo, by adding a layer of Lemon Lime Twist to the wreath. I like the extra little pop it gives the wreath. I added a bit of a luxe touch to the card with the strip of Gold Glimmer Paper, which I also carried over to the inside.

You can see the cards that the rest of the team have created this week over at the Just Add Ink blog, where you can also link up your card. Can't wait to see what you create with these colours!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #385: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

If you're reading this on Friday morning, you're doing so as I'm zipping my way to Melbourne for Stampin' Up!'s OnStage event. Just imagine - a huge room full of people passionate about Stampin' Up! who are learning about all the new products about to be released in 2018. It's pretty amazing!

In the meantime, it's time for the new Just Add Ink challenge. Kim has designed this fabulous sketch. I've been amazed at the imaginations of the Design Team this week.

I wanted to get some swaps done for OnStage, so I ended up using lots of bits and pieces to throw together this card. The leaf die cuts came from a stamping day I attended way back when the current Annual Catalogue came out!

Ssssh! Don't look too closely, but one leaf is Very Vanilla, and the sentiment circle is Whisper White. Oops!

The church die cuts are from the Hometown Greetings Edgelits set. The church looks great in the row, but I think that it looks fabulous as an individual element on a card.

What do you see in this fabulous sketch? As the DT have shown this week, the possibilities are endless! You can see the cards over at Just Add Ink, where you can also link up your card.

Bye for now,

Tina

Vintage Leaves With Copper Trim

Hi!

I'm really not much of a metallics person, but when I first saw the new Copper Trim, I just had to have it! I loved the versatility - it can be used as is, or it can be stretched out to give a netting look.

For this card, I paired two very different DSPs: Wood Textures and Be Merry. I could have just used the Garden Green strip from Be Merry and left the right side of the card plain, but I liked the extra little something that using one of the more subtle Wood Textures papers gave.

Here's a bit of a closer look at that gorgeous trim! For this card, I threaded the trim onto my thumb to make it into a tube, and then cut along the tube to open it up flat. I stretched it out until I was happy with how it looked, and then adhered it using tape under where the leaf was going. It's important to use a fair length of the trim - as you pull it in one direction, it shrinks in the other direction! I did this in a class, and we ended up having to use a couple of pieces of the trim under the flower, as I'd cut their pieces too short.

Nice and simple on the inside. I think this is a great masculine card. Not too fussy, but the texture of the Copper Trim adds a lot of interest to the card. What do you think?

Bye for now,

Tina

AWH HOC Week 10

Hi!

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a stamping day organised by the lovely Kathryn Mangelsdorf. There were a group of eight stampers, and we decided to run a shoebox swap with a Christmas theme. My first thought was to do a card I'd made previously, but then I decided I'd do a new one, so that it could be this week's Heart Of Christmas card.

A shoebox swap is one where each person designs a card and then puts everything required to make that card in a box, including a kit for each person in the swap. The boxes then get passed around the table and everyone makes one of everyone else's card. It's a great way to get your stash built quickly, and also to play with new stamps that you may not own.

I decided to make a fancy fold card using the new Carols of Christmas bundle. I can't think of the name of the fold just now, but you basically cut a long card, with the fold at the left, and then fold the front in half back on itself. The smaller front panel is then adhered to the front flap of the card, and overhangs the base. You can see a little better in the next photo.

I used one of the framelits in the bundle to cut the corner decorations. The poinsettia flowers were then stamped, fussy cut and popped up on Mini Dimensionals. Can you see that I also stamped in Cherry Cobbler around the cut out bits? There are 4 little dots in a cluster. I like that they extend the design of the die cut, and also add a little extra colour to the grouping.

This is the inside. I didn't stamp a sentiment there just yet - maybe I'll add one later. I wanted room to write a bit in the card in such a way that the writing wouldn't be seen when the card was closed.

Are you enjoying the Heart Of Christmas blog shares each Wednesday? I certainly am! You can see the rest of this week's cards over at Claire's blog.

Bye for now,

Tina

AWH HOC Week 8

Hi!

Woo Hoo! I'm back on the Heart Of Christmas blog shares. Having to miss last week was not fun, so I made doubly sure I'd have time this week to make a Christmas card.

AS with my past card, I'm still playing with the Be Merry Suite of products. I was going for a bit of a clean vintage with this card - there's a bit of sponging, but no other ageing type effects.

The Be Merry DSP has lovely, traditional colours, but I keep finding myself adding Crumb Cake to the mix Don't you think it works beautifully? It really adds to the vintage feel, as does the Sheet Music background stamp.

I tried something new with the sentiment panel, by having the Garden Green layer only exposed on two sides. I quite like the effect. Here's a confession - I accidentally trimmed too close to the sentiment, so I went for the lopsided look to try to hide it! The twine and the wooden star from the Hearts and Stars Elements help to give the panel balance.

I used all of the same elements on the inside as I did on the outside, just pared back a little. I wasn't going to include the star, but at the last minute I added him to the card.

You can see what the rest of the Art With Heart team have created by heading over to Claire's blog. She's got all the links to everyone's blogs there.

Bye for now,

Tina

AWH HOC Week 6

Hi!

Welcome to this week's The Heart Of Christmas blog share. Can you believe we are up to Week 6? One more week closer to Christmas!

I've had quite a few weeks where I've gone with less traditional cards, but this week I'm back to a very traditional Christmas colour combo - Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White, with some touches of Early Espresso and Crumb Cake thrown in.

I had a wonderful day stamping with some local demonstrator friends on Sunday (thanks, Kathryn!), and I took to opportunity to stamp some images from sets that I don't own. This card uses some of those images. They are from the new Merry Mistletoe stamp set, which coordinates with the Be Merry DSP.

It can be tricky, stamping without a particular card in mind. Trying to judge how much space to lead around what you've stamped is the hardest! It does make putting together a card difficult, but I think that's sometimes part of the fun.

What do you think? Have I done a good job with my bits and pieces card? I think so!

You can visit Claire's blog and see what the others in the team that are participating this week have created. It's bound to be inspirational!

Bye for now,

Tina