JAI #482: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

Woo hoo, once again it's Friday and time for the new Just Add Ink challenge! This fortnight Jackie has designed a cute sketch for us to work with. Notice I said fortnight, and not week? Not a typo - this challenge will run for two weeks, as most of the Design Team will be off to attend Stampin' Up!'s OnStage event next weekend. I'll be heading off to Sydney, and I can't wait!

How fun is that sketch? I really love the little sentiment layers at the side of the tag. I felt like doing a spot of watercolouring, so I pulled out my Crafting Forever stamp set.

I stamped the pot of brushes onto some watercolour paper using Sahara Sand ink, which I stamped off first. I'm really getting into the no line watercolouring technique lately. It's kind of nice not to have the dark black Stazon outline sometimes.

I think my biggest problem is that I'm not patient enough to let each section dry fully. That, and the fact that I made this card at the last minute and had to rush - watercolouring is not something that you can rush! Still, I was mostly pleased with my efforts this time. It's hard to tell in the photograph, but I used my Silvery Shimmer Delicata ink to colour the metal parts of the brushes. It gives a really nice shimmer! I simply tapped the pad onto my Silicone Sheet, and then used my Aqua Painter to pick up the ink from there. Too easy!

LOL, as I said earlier, I was very short on time today, so the inside of my card just got one stamp. The 'For You' on the front makes this quite a generic card, so I can either leave it blank, or stamp an appropriate inside sentiment when I know what this card will be used for.

Thanks for stopping by. Now it's time to pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see the rest of this week's Design Team cards. Don't forget that you have two weeks in which to get your card into our challenge gallery for this sketch challenge.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 242: Woven Threads

Hi!

It's the end of the weekend, which is sad, but it also means it's time for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. Whoot! I always enjoy doing these hops and seeing the wonderful talent in the Design team. This week the blog before mine is the lovely Rachel's Blog, wether you came from there or are staring here, just keep hopping around the complete circle of blogs.

This week we are CASEing the colours in the Woven Threads DSP, and being inspired by the projects on pages 12 to 14. The colours in the DSP are Pretty Peacock, Purple Posy, Rococo Rose, Sahara Sand, Seaside Spray, Terracotta Tile, Whisper White. Lots to choose from!

This monochromatic card at the bottom of page 12 caught my eye. Actually, it was the Woven Threads Trim that hooked me on this card. I haven't used my Trim yet, and I thought this was a good opportunity to do so. As often happens though, my card took a different turn!

I don't have any of the Woven Threads DSP, so I had to make my own background for this card. I kept the monochromatic look by stamping the pends from Crafting Forever in Pretty Peacock ink on Seaside Spray cardstock. I just eyeballed the stamping of the pens, and I was very pleased (and surprised) at how straight I managed to stay!

The sentiment labels are why I didn't use the Trim - I thought the two elements would compete too much. These labels are from a new set of Dies in the Holiday Catalogue, called Ornate Frames. You may miss them, because they are in the Halloween section of the catalogue, but they are worth hunting for! I used four of the 11 dies on this label alone.

I stamped the pens again for the inside, but this time I kept them all lined up in one direction. The tiny scalloped border is from the Decorative Ribbon Border punch - did you notice it on the front of the card too? I don't often make get well cards, but this one is now on it's way to a friend having a rough time in hospital. I hope it cheers her up!

That's it for me this week. Don't forget to check out the CASEing The Catty Facebook Group, where you can join in the fun of the challenges each week. Just create a card using our guidelines, and upload it to the group before the deadline each week. Easy!

To finish the hop, you need to pop on over to Sandra's Blog, where you're bound to be inspired!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #459: Just Add Colour

Hi!

Here we are again with the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Rochelle has put together this gorgeous colour combo.

I must admit, when I first saw it I wondered what Rochelle was thinking when she put pink and red together! I also struggle big time with 4 colour combos - I find it difficult to balance out the colours. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this one came together in the end - it's not such a tricky combo after all!

I've used a mix of old and new products on this card. The DSP is from a new suite called 'Follow Your Art', and is a great one for all the crafters out there - paper, paint and fabric. A lot of the DSP has bright, bold designs, but for this card I selected a piece that was softer Blushing Bride. I add some pop to the card I used Poppy Parade to add borders.

The Follow Your Art suite works really well with the existing Crafting Forever stamp set, which is carrying over to the new Annual Catalogue. The scissors are stamped from this set and coloured with my Blends. The bulldog clip is from the It Starts With Art stamp set and is also coloured with Blends. The retiring Fabulous Flamingo stamp set is the source of the sentiments. I wanted a thank you card for a friend who is helping me with a label for my first quilt, and I think this card will fit the bill perfectly!

The inside sentiment is from Crafting Forever, and goes so well with the scissor theme of the front of the card, don't you think?

Do you have an idea of how you can use this colour combo? You can pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog, where you can see the rest of this week's Design Team cards for more inspiration. Don't forget to come back and link up your card too!

Bye for now,

Tina

Crazy for Cajun

Hi!

Welcome to this week's Colour Creations Blog Share, where we are looking at Cajun Craze.

When SU announced the new colour revamp, there were a few moans about why Cajun Craze was carried over and not retired. I'm thrilled it stayed a part of the range, as it's a colour like no other in the line up. It's a gorgeous orangey-brown that is so rich. Have I talked it up enough? Let's move onto my card!

I've been having a lot of fun lately playing with water and ink, and this card is no exception. Other techniques I've used have been quite messy, but this time I decided to watercolour an image. I purchased Crafting Forever a little while ago, but hadn't yet played with it. Cajun Craze makes the best terracotta pots, so that's where I started. I stamped my image on Watercolour paper as opposed to Shimmery White, as I wanted to do some serious colouring, rather than my usual 'slap it on' method of watercolouring.

I started with the pot and Cajun Craze. I learned quickly that I needed to let one layer of colour dry before adding the next. I also learned to use a darker colour to create more depth. In this case, I used my Early Espresso marker to draw lines under the rim of the pot and down the right side. I blended a little with my Aquapainter, just enough to create a subtle shadow effect. I used the same technique on the handles of the paintbrushes. They were coloured in Blueberry Bushel and Call Me Clover before having some Night Of Navy and Garden Green added for effect. Again - it's so important to let one colour dry before adding the next. If something happens like one colour bleeding over to the next, you can quickly sop up the water and it will usually stop the colour bleeding into the wrong area. This small panel took me quite a number of hours to colour, but the results were well worth it. While I love my slap it on style, there's a lot to be gained from taking time to colour correctly!

The Cajun Craze piece along the bottom of the inside was a test piece before I started colouring the main image. I really liked it, so I kept it for the inside. Waste not, want not!

I'e rambled on enough for now, so why not pop on over to Catherine's blog where you can find the rest of the links for this week's Blog Share?