JAI 656: Just Add Inspiration

 Hi!

Hooray for Friday on a Long Weekend! Do you have any crafty plans? I have a few cards that I need to make, but I also have plans to get a lot of sewing done. Wish me luck - best laid plans, LOL!

This week at Just Add Ink we have an Inspiration Photo as our challenge, suggested to us by Kim. I struggled a lot with ideas and had just decided to watercolour a background using the colours in the photo. As I was taping the paper down I remembered the alcohol ink backgrounds, and decided that I'd rather do that!

I used my Dark Calypso Coral Blend on a piece of vellum first, scribbling some splotches and then dripped some isopropyl alcohol over the top, blowing to get some movement in the ink. Once it was. dry, I repeated the process with my Dark Night Of Navy Blend.

The Inspiration photo has a strong horizontal line through the middle. I flipped it to vertical with the addition of some black twine. The Black Glimmer butterfly die cut serves as the silhouettes in the image. I was quite pleased with how it turned out!

I had an offcut of vellum left over from the front - I always make the fronts too big so that I have an offcut to work with on the inside. It was just he right size for the inner of my card, with some more twine and a smaller Glimmer butterfly. The stamp set that I used is from Altenew, called Family Matters.

That's all from me for now, but we'd love for you to play along with our Inspiration challenge. The Design team have done a marvellous job with using different elements of the photo to create their cards. Pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see their cards. You'll also find out linky there when you're ready to add your card to our challenge. I can't wait too ee what you make.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 404: Country Floral Lane Suite

 Hi!

Thanks for stopping by on your way around the CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. It's a great way to finish the weekend, don't you think?

This week we are asking you to CASE a project from the Country Floral Lane Suite pages of the new Mini Catalogue. The projects are all a bit lovey-dovey for me, so I decided to make a birthday card instead.

My eye was caught by this card on page 8. I really loved the strips of DSP, the ribbon that has been cut in half, and the layering under the sentiment. I included all of these things in my card, but in very different ways.

I started by cutting some strips of Country Gingham DSP and cropping the edges of most of the pieces with the border die from the Penned Flowers Dies. These were layered over a Thick Whisper White card base. Shhh, I snuck in a little bit of retired Mint Macaron Glimmer Paper to finish it off.

I cropped some Balmy Blue paper from the Subtles Stack using the outline flower die in the Penned Flowers, topped it with some White Glittered Organdy Ribbon, which I'd cut in half. The butterfly over the top has one layer cut from the Mint Macaron Glimmer paper, and the second from Layering Designs Vellum. A few scattered pearls finished off the front.

I used my Simply Fabulous stamp set for sentiments throughout the card. The butterfly was cropped using my Brilliant Wings Dies from some left over DSP from the front. I don't like to waste any scraps!

All you need to do to play along with us is make your project and add a photo to our Facebook group. It's that easy!

Before you go, please do continue your way around our blog hop for plenty more Country Floral Lane Suite inspiration. The next stop is the lovely Monique Fielder.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Night Of Navy

 Hi!

Welcome back to the new Colour Creations Blog Hop. This week we are looking at Night Of Navy, a deep blue from the Neutrals Colour Family. 

Brian King has quite a few colour combos that feature Night Of Navy, so it was tricky to narrow the choices down to just one! I decided on this bright combo though, mostly because I haven't played much with Parakeet Party yet.

I started by stamping the Rays Of Light stamp in Parakeet Party on Whisper White card and then cropping it with the largest Stitched Rectangles Die. I matted it on Night Of Navy cardstock before popping it all onto a retired Silver Foil card base.

I was struggling with how to add Poppy Parade to the card, so I decided to add the circles, cropped with the Stylish Shapes Dies, under the focal butterfly (from Butterfly Brilliance) and sentiment. A few red sequins adds to the spotty red theme!

A second butterfly, stamped in Night Of Navy, was the obvious choice for the inside of my card. I used a sentiment from the Light The Candles Card Kit stamp set to go with it. I also used the same stamp set on the front of the card. Don't overlook kit stamp sets - they are sometimes the exact sentiment that you need!

That's all from me this time around, but please do keep jumping around our Blog Hop until you get back to where you started. The next blog belongs to my fabulous friend, Kate Morgan. You won't want to miss her card!

As ever, if you get off track or find a broken link, jump on over to the wonderful Catherine Proctor's blog. You'll find a list of all of tonight's participants there to help you on your way again.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Flirty Flamingo

 Hi!

Here we are again, for a new Colour Creations Blog Hop. This week we a featuring Flirty Flamingo, a lovely bright pink. I wasn't a fan when Flirty Flamingo first appeared in our colour range, but it's a colour that I quite like now.

Brian King's Flirty Flamingo colour combo is super bright, but I was in the mood for a happy card, so Daffodil Delight and Granny Apple Green seemed like the perfect choice to pair with Flirty Flamingo.

I started my card with a piece of copy paper, to which I adhered the three strips of cardstock. I stamped it all over using flowers and leaves from Simply Fabulous, using Versamark ink. It was then cropped using a Stitched Rectangle Die. The sentiment was cut using the Stylish Shapes Dies. I also cropped a smaller banner, snipped it in half, and adhered it to the back of the Whisper White banner. I love the little peek of Flirty Flamingo from behind the white.

Ooops, I've jus noticed a few drips of rain on my card! I thought I was far enough under the pergola when I was taking the photo, but obviously not! Oh well! The butterfly was cut from White Glimmer Paper. It's very sparkly in real life!

I used the offcut from the front panel on the inside of my card. I don't like to waste anything!

That's all from me for tonight, but please do continue your way around our blog hop. The next stop along the way is my lovely friend, Kate Morgan, with what's bound to be a fabulous card.

As she does every week, the lovely Catherine Proctor is keeping us all organised with our links. If you run into any troubles, jump on over to her blog, where you'll find a list of all of tonight's participants.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Orchid Oasis

 Hi!

Welcome back for Colour Creations in 2022-23! Do you enjoy seeing the colours featured each week? I do! This week we are starting with the brand new In Colours, specifically Orchid Oasis. After two years of only using the focal colour with neutrals, I've decided to branch out this year and use a few more colours.

I found this gorgeous colour combo that Brian King, of Stamp With Brian, put together. I loved the softer So Saffron and Mint Macaron with Orchid Oasis. 

I also decided that for the new In Colours, I would make five cards in each colour and by the end I will have a lovely set of 25 cards to give as a gift. To make this task a little easier, I decided to use some Sheetload Of Cards templates as the basis of my cards. I used the same supplies on each card, just changing the layout to suit the Sheetload template.

February 2022

May 2022

March 2022

November 2020

August 2020

Here's the group of five cards. I used three 6x6" sheets of colour family DSP, plus an extra 2" strip of a fourth sheet. A 2x12" strip of Silver Foil was used for the butterflies, and I used scraps for the sentiment panels. I think I used around 4 sheets of A4 cardstock in the colour combo colours, plus Whisper White. I used a mix of On The Horizon and Light The Candles stamp sets for my sentiments.

That's me finished for the night - thanks for hanging around! You definitely want to continue your way around our blog hop though, as there's plenty more Orchid Oasis inspiration to be seen! The next stop is my lovely friend, Rachel Palmieri.

If you run into a problem, please hop on over to Cathy Proctor's blog. She has a list of all participants, so you can pick up your trail there.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Soft Sea Foam

 Hi!

Thanks for stopping by for our Colour Creations Soft Sea Foam Blog Hop. Are you a fan of the subtle green? I have to say, it's one of my least-used colours. It's a bit wishy-washy for me! I struggled for inspiration, and finally threw something together at 2pm this afternoon.

I haven't played much with my new Beautiful Shapes Dies, so that's where I decided to start. I've been considering starting an English Paper Pieced quilt, so I think that hexagons were on my mind! I cropped a heap of SSF hexies and then arranged them over the front of my card. I had some thoughts of popping some up and leaving some flat, but in the end, all got popped up.

I used my Brilliant Wings Dies to crop two of the largest butterflies - one in Silver Foil and one in Whisper White cardstock. I glued them together, but only at the body, and then glued it to the card. The double layer gives lovely dimension.

I repeated the front in miniature for the inside, with the addition of a sentiment from Biggest Wish to match the front.

Time to jump on over to the next blog now, which just happens to be the wonderful Catherine Proctor. Not only does she make gorgeous cards, but she also keeps us all organised. She's also your go-to-gal in case you run into any problems with the hop.

Bye for now,

Tina

Freshly Made Sketches 517

 Hi!

EDIT: how exciting! My card was chosen by Linda to be a Princess! Thank you!

I've once again found myself with time to play along with Freshly Made Sketches. I've been watching the Ashes Test Cricket and crafting along at the same time. What fun!

I took a few days to ponder in how to interpret this sketch and decided that a slimline card with butterflies was the go.

I don't often make slimline cards, but I think this occasion called for it. It's a great way to fit a heap of big images without them getting too crowded. The butterflies are from the retired Butterfly Bijou DSP and the sentiment is from Timeless Tulips.

I stamped a row of splatters using a stamp from Sweet Ice Cream. You can't really see much of them after the butterflies were added over the top, but I still like the little peeps here and there.

You can see them a little more on the inside, though. The inside sentiment is from Peaceful Moments. The card is going to someone near and dear to me who just tested positive to Covid, so I used a 'gushier' sentiment on the inside than I would usually use.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Misty Moonlight

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the last Colour Creations Blog Hop of 2021. Don't worry, though! We'll be back in 2022 for the rest of the colours, starting with Mossy Meadow. For tonight, we are all about Misty Moonlight. It's a gorgeous, dusky blue that is an In Colour, sadly due to retire at the end of the current Annual Catalogue. It's definitely one I will miss!

Today's card features a product from the upcoming Mini Catalogue - Butterflies & Flowers Layering Masks. It's a fabulous set of 6 masks that can be used individually, as I have done in this card, or as the name suggests, by layering to create an image. This was my first play, but I can't wait to have more time to play with the layering elements. I used my Blending brush with this floral mask, applying more ink on the two corners and fading it out as I moved towards the inner areas. I had intended to leave them blank, but at the last minute I quickly ran my brush lightly over the inner part. I like that effect much better!

I cropped my butterfly in three layers, using my Brilliant Wings Dies. There's a Silver Foil layer on top, with Whisper White underneath and Misty Moonlight on the bottom.

I used the same mask to add a bit of colour to the bottom of my card. A quick tip - I'd suggest cleaning it in-between uses. The top butterfly became a necessary addition, as I smudged some ink left on the mask onto my card. Rookie mistake!!

Please continue your way around our Misty Moonlight blog hop tonight by jumping over to my lovely South Aussie friend, Dianne Furniss. I can't wait to see what she's made.

Another lovely friend, Catherine Proctor, is our host for tonight. If you run into any problems with links, just jump on over to her blog, where you'll find a list of all tonight's participants.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 343: CASE An Animal Card

Hi!

Have you had a lovely weekend? I hope so! I play the Bass Clarinet in a concert band, and I just got home from playing in a concert to celebrate the 45th anniversary of our local choral society. Our local bagpipe band also played - it was so great seeing the three groups supporting each other with a fabulous concert.

Our CASEing The Catty challenge this week asks your to CASE a project that features an animal. It can be from either catalogue, so there's a heap of different choices. After a flick through of both catalogues, I chose this gorgeous butterfly card from page 106 of the Annual Catalogue.

I don't have the DSP that was used for the catalogue sample, so I decided to make a completely different background for my card. I chose the gold striped DSP from the Expressions In Ink DSP. I cut it a little narrower than usual so that you get peeks of the Misty Moonlight card base underneath.

I cheated a little with the butterflies - once again I had a time-poor week. The retired Butterfly Bijou DSP was recently on the Clearance Rack, and I was lucky enough to score a pack. The butterflies are cropped from a sheet of the paper using my Brilliant Wings Dies. Of course, if you don't have this DSP you could stamp and colour the butterflies. If you're not in the mood to colour, stamp the butterflies on some DSP and then crop them - instant colour!

A Gold Foil Butterfly and sentiment from Sweet As A Peach, cropped with a Peach Die, were some of the finishing touches for the front of the card.

The inside of my card was made using leftovers from the front. The DSP strip was left after I'd cropped the front piece, and the butterfly was an extra from the sheet I die cut for the front. It certainly makes it easier to have these left over bits and pieces.

We'd love for you to play along with our challenge, which you can do by making a card and adding it to our Facebook group. You don't need a blog or anything fancy, just join the group, take a snap and upload the photo. Easy!

Before you dash off to get creating, please do finish our hop! The next stop along the way is my fellow South Aussie, the lovely Michelle Stradz. Her card for tonight's hop is a super-adorable card that made me go "awww" when I saw it.

 Bye for now,

Tina