A Belated Farewell to Springtime Foils

Hi!

Today I have tow very different cards for you that feature the gorgeous Springtime Foils SDSP from the recent Sale-A-Bration promotion. I took a little longer than everyone else falling in love with these papers, so I didn't really use them much until they'd already retired.

This first card I made as a class sample to demonstrate the technique that was all the rage earlier this year. I can't recall what it was called, but you basically cut a slot in the front of the card so that the butterfly (which was adhered to the inside of the card) could pop through the slot. I teamed the Foils DSO with Berry Burst and some plain Gold Foil. Such a luxe combo!

After the class, I remade this card and gave it to my mum for her recent milestone birthday. I wish I'd taken a photo before I mailed it! I added a half circle under the 'celebrate' punchie and added the appropriate numbers. I won't reveal her age, but she looks young for it!

Here's a look at the side of the card so you can see how the butterfly pops through the card.

And the inside. I love how the butterfly does most of the work for both the inside and outside of the card!

My second card also uses the Springtime Foils SDSP. Funnily enough, I used the same sheet of paper but got a very different look!

My sister was invited to a wedding and asked me to make a card for her that wasn't 'girly'. She sent me through a pic of the invite, which was black with metallic leaves on it. Straight away I thought of this DSP. I coloured it black by rubbing my Memento ink pad over the paper and then buffing it with some paper towel to remove the ink from the foil part of the design. I repeated this process about 4 times until I was happy with the black. It looked too grey to start with! Just a tip - you can't use a permanent ink like Archival Black for this technique, as it won't buff off of the foil.

I matted the piece on Gold Foil to add some extra luxe to the card. I used Vellum to go under the sentiment so that I didn't lose too much of the gorgeous black foil pattern underneath.

Isn't this sentiment great for a wedding card? I combined two stamps from Beautiful Bouquet and added some tiny gold hearts to help tie in the front of the card. They were punched from the Cookie Cutter punch.

So there you go, two different cards using the gorgeous Springtime Foils DSP. Even though it's retired, I hope I've given you some new inspiration for using it.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #379: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

I hope you're ready for Friday and the new challenge!

This week at Just Add Ink Kelly has provided a beautiful Inspiration Photo for the challenge. I love it, as it makes me think of summer. I am soooo over winter and ready for summer to roll around, so I was excited to create using this photo as my guide.

I decided that rather than my usual literal approach to Inspiration Photos, this time I was going to find inspiration in another way. After a bit of consideration, I decided to use the colours as the basis for my card.

I mostly went with the pink and the green from the photo, with touches of brown, black and white. The pitcher reminded me of a strawberry champagne cocktail I particularly enjoy over summer, so I decided to include some 'bubbles' in my card as an extra little tribute.

I used the Lemon Lime Twist Foil Frenzy SDSP to represent the bubbles. The foil finish adds a touch of glam to the card without being overwhelming. Sometimes a little bit of the Foil Frenzy SDSP goes a long way!

I used a spotty stamp from No Bones About It to carry the bubbly look through to the inside of the card. It seemed a bit funny to use a dinosaur stamp on a girly, butterfly card - but it works!

What do you see in the Inspiration Photo? You can link your card over at Just Add Ink, where you can also see the cards that the rest of the Design team have created. It's a fabulous lot, as usual!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #363: Just Add An Anniversary

Hi!

Are you ready for a new Just Add Ink challenge? I am!

This week Chantell has challenged us to Just Add Anniversary. It could be the anniversary of anything you like, as long as it celebrates an Anniversary.

I recently hosted an ATC swap, and I had a stamped and cut butterfly left over, as well as a 'love' die cut from vellum. I decided to put them to good use for this challenge while they were still floating on the surface of my desk. If I left them too long, they may have been lost forever!

The butterfly was stamped using the solid stamp from Watercolour Wishes in Powder Pink ink. I then inked the flourish from Timeless Textures in Berry Burst ink and 'kissed' the two stamps together. I then repeated on the other wing before stamping the butterfly image on my cardstock. It's such a pretty look, isn't it?

Do you have an upcoming Anniversary to celebrate? I've only just celebrated mine, so this card will go into my stash until such time as I require an anniversary card. They are always handy to have on hand. Why don't you pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog so that you can join in the fun?

Bye for now,

Tina

Perth OnStage Swap

Hi!


I just realised that I haven't showed you the card I made as my swap while I was at OnStage in Perth last month. If you follow me on Fabebook, you probably would have seen a photo of me making them, but not the finished product. Well, here it is!

Yes, my love affair with the Sponge Brayers lives on! I used Sweet Sugarplum ink to create the ombre background, which went a lovely, deep, dusky pink. I loved the sentiment for this card, as I made it as a swap for my friends that were going to OnStage.

The Basic Black butterfly had a layer of Gold Foil paper behind it. I think it looks a little like a Monarch butterfly. The gold certainly added a bit of luxe to the card.

Most people only make a card front for swaps, but as I was only making 12 I decided to make a whole card.


Bye for now,


Tina

Decorated Photo Frame

Hi!


Today I have a project for you that was my sample for two different classes. The ladies in the groups were all pretty much non-crafters. I was asked to design a decorated photo frame for them to make, so I had to design something WOW, but that was easy for beginners to make.

When I first showed the ladies they were all a little freaked out. They thought it was going to be hard, but thankfully they trusted me that it wasn't, and gave it a go. They were all so happy with the end result. The kits had a variety of colours, and I had a huge selection of dies for them to choose from, so all the frames looked very different.

Most of the flowers were 'punch, brad and scrunch'. We punched 6-8 layers of cardstock or tissue paper, pierced them and added a brad. The layers were then scrunched up, and flattened out a little to give a dimensional look.

Sitting underneath the flowers were diecuts from the Flourish Thinlits. The word love is from the Sunshine Wishes Thinlits.

I was so pleased that everyone had a fabulous time making the frames, and came away with a great sense of accomplishment. Mine is now hanging proudly on the wall between my dining room and craft room where I can see it all day long.


Bye for now,


Tina

JAI #296: Just Add Nature

Hi!

Oh boy, it's hard to believe that it's the last day of school holidays! The last seven weeks have just flown by! My oldest is starting High School this year, so there will be lots of new challenges for us all.  Still, it's an exciting time, and Alex is excited, so I am too.

Speaking of exciting, it's time for the new Just Add Ink challenge! This week Di has challenged us to Just Add Nature to our cards. I've gone for the largest butterfly in the Butterflies Thinlits collection. This was the third card my ladies made last week in class.

I paired the butterfly with the stamp set that rocketed to the top of my 'Must Have' list when I saw the new Occasions Catalogue - Timeless Textures. There's also a little peek of the splatters from Gorgeous Grunge on the card too.

Most of the background stamping has been stamped off first, as I wanted the main focus of the card to be the butterfly. The colours I used were Crumb Cake (edge stamp and splatters), Always Artichoke (grid stamp), Early Espresso (coffee rings) and Rose Red (flourish), all on a Very Vanilla base.  This would have to be one of my favourite colour combinations for girly, grungy cards.

The stamping on the inside is nearly the same as the outside, the exception being I left off the Gorgeous Grunge splatters so that there would be more clean space for writing a message.

What nature themed gorgeousness can you come up with for our challenge?  I'd love to see your work lined over at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

A Beautiful Butterfly CASE

Hi!

I think it's something I say a lot, but I'm going to say it again - I love school holidays! The kids played quite happily together this afternoon so I was able to get a decent chunk of time at my craft desk. I managed to get a few cards made, but as they are for a class on Friday, you will just have to wait to see them.  Instead I will show you a card I made for a class late last year.

Isn't that butterfly gorgeous? It was so easy to do.  Simply cut one of each of the Butterfly dies and snip them in half, making sure that the body stays intact and on the right wing if you want it to face the same way as mine. Keep it on the left wing if you'd like your butterfly to face the other way. The solid butterfly was then sponged with Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green ink. Adhere the outline butterfly pieces to the matching solid butterfly pieces and then adhere the two halves together as desired.  Done!

You could sponge in any colours you wanted - it really doesn't matter!

Here is the card I CASEd for mine.  I can't link to a blog as I took the photo at the last Convention on the Gold Coast.

If you know who made this gorgeous card, please let me know as I'd love to credit them.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #285: Just Add Colour

Hi!

That's right - it's Friday which means it's Just Add Ink day. Yay! This week Nikki has put together this wonderful colour combination for us to use on our cards.  I love the softer colours with the bolf touch of Night Of Navy.

I decided to mostly use the softer colours on my card with a lot of white space.

I must say that I really love the way this card turned out.  I was originally thinking that I'd use the splatters in Gorgeous Grunge behind the butterfly, but then I had the brainwave to use the blown ink technique.

The blown ink technique is really easy, and so very effective.  All you do is drip a small drop of ink from a reinker onto your cardstock and then very quickly start blowing it through a straw to spread the ink. You may have done something similar with paint when you were in Primary School. You don't need a big drop as it tends to go far.  Just keep blowing until you run out of breath or until your splatter looks the way you want it to look. I tend to drip with my right hand while I hold the straw ready to blow with my left hand - you need to work quickly before the ink soaks into your cardstock.

I carried the butterfly theme onto the inside of the card.  I made this one to give to my daughter as a bit of a 'just because' card.

What creative fun are you going to have with these colours?  Why don't you click on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have done with them.

Bye for now,

Tina

Watercolour Wash

Hi!

Today I have a card for you that uses a very quick and easy, but effective background technique.

It's as simple as grabbing a few inkpads, your cardstock and your Aqua Painter and away you go!  I used Garden Green, Melon Mambo and Pacific Point. You just swish a bit of colour over your cardstock and you're done!

The Basic Black die cut butterfly looks fantastic over the top, adding a bit of drama to the card.

Hmm, I should have stamped the middle sentiment a little better than that!

Bye for now,

Tina

Do You Ever CASE Yourself?

Hi!

Have you ever made a card that you really loved and thought you'd like to make it again?  I do it often, and even sometimes with my scrapbooking.  Today's card is a CASE of myself, with the original card being this week's Just Add Ink card that you can see here.

The main changes to the card are a different, softer colour scheme and no bling - can you believe that I ran out?  Nooooo!

On my original card I used the colours from the Inspiration picture as my colour scheme.  This time I used DSP from the Sale-A-Bration Best Year Ever DSP pack, so I used other colours from the pack on my card - Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Sahara Sand and Whisper White.  The technique for layering the butterfly was the same.

I'm not sure which one I prefer -the original, bolder colour card, or the new, softer version.  What do you think?

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #253: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

This week at Just Add Ink Nikki has selected a gorgeous bunch of pictures to inspire our creativity.

I was taken by the bold pink and black colour combination with little hints of blue and grey.

Can you tell I quite like this pink DSP? I also used it a few weeks ago on my JAI card!

I love how striking the Basic Black butterfly looks with the Island Indigo backing.  To get this look I first cut a butterfly in Basic Black and then adhered one wing to a sheet of Island Indigo cardstock.  I cut around the butterfly and then repeated for the other side.  The reason I cut the Island Indigo in two sections was so that there would be a gap in the Island Indigo on the back of the butterfly. This allows you to bend the wings of the butterfly up without resistance if you so desire.

The Just Add Ink Design Team have aced this challenge - why don't you pop on over to see the gorgeous creations on the blog?

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #252: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

This week at Just Add Ink we have a sketch challenge for you, designed by the lovely Kim. This sketch struck a bit of fear into the hearts of some of the Design Team, as it features a tilted panel! LOL, it's funny the things that make you nervous!  Having said that, we all agreed in the end that the sketch was fabulous and that really, a tilted panel can be a lot of fun.

My first thought was to use one of the new Butterflies Thinlits instead of the circle. At the time I made this card I'd only just got the butterflies and I was putting them on everything! Using the butterflies meant rotating the sketch though.

I have been wanting to use the Postcard and World Map stamps together for a while and decided now was the time.  However, the card was now the wrong orientation for the stamp, so I had to substitute a piece of the Typeset SDSP instead. I think it works beautifully!

I used Blackberry Bliss, Very Vanilla and Basic Black as my colour combination.  Blackberry Bliss is such a strong colour.  I really love it and probably should use it more!

So, what do you see in this sketch? The Design Team have interpreted it in a variety of different ways.  Why don't you pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog to take a look?

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #251: Just Add Thanks

Hi!

I'm sure everyone has someone in their life that they are thankful for - I know that I have lots of people!  This week at Just Add Ink we are challenging you to Just Add Thanks - make a Thank You card and hopefully send it to someone deserving.

I love this sentiment from Kinda Eclectic and it's perfect for Thank You cards. Would you believe that the DSP on this card started life as a 4 inch square sample? It's from the Something Borrowed DSP pack in the Occasions Catalogue.  I simply cut an inch off the bottom to split the paper.  The sentiment conveniently covers the gap.

I'm really loving the new Butterflies Thinlits, also from the Occasions Catalogue.  I think they look a little naked without something on the body section.  I love the Jumbo Rhinestone, however they are retired so I'm going to have to start thinking of something else to put there as I think I only have 2 more left in my stash!

So, who are you thankful for? I can't wait to see your card over at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina