Farewell First Edition

Hi!

For the rest of the month I'm going to be doing some farewell posts, saying goodbye to some of my favourite retiring products and stamps.  First off the ranks is the First Edition Specialty DSP.  I guess I was a little lucky with this DSP as it was current for two years rather than the typical one year.

I loved the versatility of the DSP as a background paper for both male and female cards.  This post should also include the Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon, for sadly it too is being retired. Thankfully there will still be other colours of Seam Binding available.

The butterfly was stamped with Papillion Potpourri and then punched using the Elegant Butterfly punch.  I also used some Dazzling Details on the body of the butterfly for some subtle shimmer.

Some more butterflies to finish off the inside.

So farewell to First Edition SDSP (and Rose Red Seam Binding) but as I still have nearly a whole pack of it I'm sure you'll see bits of it here and there on my blog.

Stamps: Papillion Potpourri, Field Flowers, Creative Elements
Ink: Rose Red, Wisteria Wonder
DSP/Cardstock: First Edition SDSP, Rose Red, Very Vanilla
Other: Big Shot, Ovals Collection Framelits, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon, Dazzling Details, Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina

Butterfly Frame Art

Hi!

A year ago I made a sweet butterfly frame for my daughter when she turned 7. You can see that frame here. Well, a few weeks ago I was in another Op Shop and I found a nearly identical frame.  I couldn't believe my luck!  Ada's best friend, who had always admired Ada's frame, had a birthday coming up so I bought the frame to make one for her too.

As the new frame was pink and not purple like Ada's I switched the colours in the top row of butterflies, but other wise everything else is the same.

The birthday girl loved her frame, and now the two girls are excited to have matching art works in their bedrooms.

Stamps: Creative Elements
Ink: Peach Parfait (retired), Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum
Cardstock: Peach Parfait (retired), Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Perfect Plum, Whisper White Textured (retired)
Other: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Timeless Type Alpha Dies (retired), Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals, Platinum Shimmer Paint, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Glue Dots, Op Shop Frame

Bye for now,

Tina

Wedding Guest Book Part 1

Hi!

I mentioned earlier that I'd made the place cards for my niece's wedding.  If you missed it you can find that post here.  Today I have for you the start of the Guest Book I also made. Just a reminder that my niece and her husband are MAD Collingwood fans, so it had to be Black and White.  No other colours, just black and white.  It was soooo hard to do, I would have loved to have added splashes of colour here and there.  But by the time I was finished I really loved the black and white, it was so elegant and classy.

I think the front cover was my favourite page.  I scraped some black paint over the textured white cardstock to act as a matt for the photo. I LOVE this photo of my niece and nephew-in-law. I tried to keep the focus on the photo by keeping the rest of the page fairly simple.

The flower is made using some of our new filter paper and is very soft and pretty.

I made the book as a combination mini album/guest book, so every second page had photos of the happy couple together. The pages had to be pretty, but also stand up to around 140 people handling the book in a very short period of time.

I used some rhinestones as embellishments, but I was mindful that they might have gotten in the way of people trying to write on the opposing pages.

I converted all of the photos to black and white to stick with the theme.  I sanded around each of them to help them pop out from the background.

I heat embossed the flourishes on this page to give the book some lovely texture.

Most of the products I used to make the album are from Stampin' Up!, both current and retired.

Please come back in a couple of days to see the rest of the album.

Bye for now,

Tina

Triple Layer Stamping

Hi!

You've probably seen lots of Triple Layer cards on blogs lately - it's quite the rage!  I demonstrated the technique to my stamping ladies a couple of months ago and they were quite amazed at just how easy the technique is.  There's heaps of tutorials out there, so I'm not going to go through it step by step, I'll just show you my card.

 

The card was made using Bravo Burgundy ink on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I really like the Creative Elements flower stamped in the Burgundy.

The sentiment was stamped on Vellum and then the piece was wrapped around the layers so that there is no visible adhesive on the front.  A good trick with vellum!

Why don't you google triple layer stamping, or triple time stamping?  There's heaps of samples out there to inspire, including some with different sized and oriented layers.  I think I might try one of those next!

Stamps: Creative Elements, Field Flowers
Ink: Bravo Burgundy
Cardstock: Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla, Vellum

Bye for now,

Tina

A Pretty Party Card

Hi!

A super quick post from me today, as I have been very busy this week.  My youngest starts school next term and I've been in flurry of activity organising his enrolment and all the other little bits and pieces he needs!

The card I have for you was one made as a Make and Take at a party I did a couple of months ago.

There's a few retired items on this card - the Rhinestone brads and the birthday sentiment, but these are both easily substituted with new products from the catalogues.  I love the colour combination I used on this card: Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose and Whisper White.  Wild Wasabi is fast becoming a favourite colour of mine!

I hope to see you again soon - I have a Just Add Ink card ready for the new challenge on Friday, and on Saturday I am participating in a blog hop showcasing projects made featuring products in the Annual Catalogue.  There's sure to be lots to inspire, so don't forget to come back to see them.

Bye for now,

Tina

Farewell Mocha Morning Specialty DSP

Hi!

Are you a user or a hoarder?  When you buy something pretty for your papercrafting, do you save it for a special occasion, or do you use it with abandon?  Sigh...I'm a bit of a hoarder, save it for a special occasion type of crafter.  Silly really, because I should be spreading the gorgeousness!  The card that has inspired this pondering was a commission for a friend.  She wanted a thank you card, but one that had a really positive message, for a friend that was helping them through a really tough situation.

I found the quote on the internet and printed it onto Very Vanilla Cardstock.  I used one of my new Apothecary Accents Framelits to cut around it.  The Vanilla looked a little stark, so I stamped over the top with the flourish from Creative Elements and Crumb Cake ink.  It didn't look quite finished, so I used my Crumb Cake marker to colour the areas of the flourish that weren't covered with text.  I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

I kept the inside quite simple so that she had plenty of room to write a heartfelt message to the recipient.  The Mocha Morning SDSP was perfect for this card.  I used a flocked piece to add to the luxury of the card.  I really should have made better use of this SDSP before it retires!

Stamps: Creative Elements, Just Believe
Ink: Crumb Cake
DSP/Cardstock: Mocha Morning SDSP, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Other: Big Shot, Apothecary Accents Framelits (upcoming), Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina

Heartfelt Event LOVE Layout

Hi!

As promised I'm back with the first of the layouts I was asked by Stampin' Up! to create for the scrapbooking display boards at the Heartfelt Events to be held around Australia and New Zealand.

Thanks to my very good friend Christine for taking this photo for me. This was the first layout I made for the Heartfelt Event.  You may notice that it uses some of the Twitterpated DSP, which is making a return in the upcoming Annual Catalogue.  Yay!

A few sneak peeks of new products in this layout.  The stamp set is a gorgeous set that I got at Convention.  Such a pretty set, called Daydream Medallions.  The diecut alphas are also new for the Big Shot.

You may notice that the photo is a mix of colour and black and white.  This is my "photoshop when you don't have photoshop trick".  I print the same photo twice, once in colour and once n B&W.  I then trim the colour photo and pop it over the B&W photo using dimensionals.  It's such a lovely effect and so easy to achieve - a great way to highlight part of the photo.  Here's a view of the side showing the photos popped up.

The big butterfly was die cut using the Big Shot and the Beautiful Wings Bigz Die.  The smaller butterflies are another sneak peek of the new butterfly punch.  We were able to play with it at Convention and I punched out some extras while I had the punch.  Lucky I did so I could use them on the layout!  I stamped all the butterflies using the Creative Elements Stamp set, curled their wings and popped them up on dimensionals.

You'll notice another sneak peek on the butterflies - the gorgeous vintage faceted buttons.  They are so pretty and sparkly!  These were meant to be used on my Make and Takes from Convention but I hadn't gotten around to completing them so fortunately I was able to use them on the layout.

For a bit of extra sparkle I spritzed the butterflies with some Isocol/Champagne Mist shimmer paint mix.

Stamps: Daydream Medallions (upcoming), Creative Elements

Ink: Basic Grey, Baja Breeze

DSP/Cardstock: Twitterpated DSP, Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Other: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies (upcoming), Elegant Butterfly Punch (upcoming), Vintage Faceted Buttons (upcoming), White Baker's Twine, Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Isocol (non SU)

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI Scrapbooking Challenge #8: Just Add Buttons and Bows

Hi!

Yay!  It's the first Sunday of the month, and that means it's time for the newest Just Add Ink Scrapbooking Challenge.  This time Ruthy has challenged us to add buttons and/or bows to your layout.  I loved this challenge so much I added both!

I have always loved these photos of my daughter Ada.  They were taken to record her first ponytail, but you can't actually see the ponytail unless you look really carefully. She was just 8 months old in these photos - she's 7 now! I just love how her t-shirt says it all.

I used Baker's Twine to make cute little bows in each of the Perfect Plum buttons I used.  And what better title for a layout featuring buttons?

The above photo is of the journalling box.  If you look at the title photo you can see a die cut Labels Framelit poking out from the bottom of the photo.  If you pull down on it you reveal the hidden journalling.

Do you love the scroll work on the layout?  It took me a long time and many cranks of the Big Shot handle, but the effect is certainly worth it.  If you like the look and want to replicate it but don't have the die, you'd better get in quick - the Scribbles Swirls die is on the Retirement List :(

Stamps: Creative Elements, Apothecary Art
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black, GArden Green
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alpha Dies (retiring), Scribbles Swirls Die (retiring), Labels Collection Framelits, Perfect Plum Designer Buttons, White Baker's Twine, Glue Dots, Blender Pen

I hope you can play along this month at Just Add Ink, can't wait to see your layouts!

Bye for now,

Tina

Just Add Ink #128: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

It's Friday!  Are you ready for some Just Add Ink fun to start your weekend?  Well, let's get cracking then.  This week Jodene has found a gorgeous inspiration picture to get the mojo flowing.

Who wouldn't love to see that beautiful bunch of flowers in their house?  I can almost smell how good they'd smell.  I took my inspiration from the colours of the flowers to create this frame for my daughter.  She turned 7 last week and is a real girly-girl, so this is something I knew she'd love for her room.

I was lucky enough to find the frame in an op shop for $3.00.  I had planned to paint it black for another project I had in mind, but the colour was so perfect for this project that I just had to use it.  I painted the matt using some Platinum Shimmer Paint - it came up so beautifully!

Each of the butterflies is stamped with the matching ink using the flourish from Creative Elements and sponged for definition.  A few Rhinestones complete each butterfly.

To finish it all off I spritzed the whole thing with some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint/Isocol mix.  You can see the shimmer on the butterfly above.

I hope you can play along this week at Just Add Ink.

Stamps: Creative Elements
Ink: Rose Red, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, Tangerine Tango
Cardstock: Rose Red, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White Textured
Other: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Timeless Type Alphabet Dies, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Platinum Shimmer Paint, Op Shop Frame

Bye for now,

Tina

Twitterpated Flower

Hi!

Today I have another card I made as a sample for my stamping ladies.  They wanted to have a go at making a Joanne Leddy flower, so of course I showed them how.

It's such a lovely flower!  I had only made it in softer colours before this one so I decided to see how it would look in a bolder colour.  I love it in the Island Indigo, but a word of warning - the cardstock bleeds and you'll end up with blue fingers!

Still, the gorgeous flower is worth looking like you're turning into a Smurf lol.

Stamps: Creative Elements, Trendy Trees
Ink: Blushing Bride, Island Indigo
DSP/Cardstock: Twitterpated DSP, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo, Whisper White
Other: Designer Printed Brad, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Fancy Flower Punch, 5 Petal Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch

Bye for now,

Tina

Baker's Twine Blog Hop

Hi!

Well, this blog hop snuck up on me very quickly and quietly!  Funny how some months are like that...   A small but talented group of friends are hosting a blog hop today to showcase one of our fabulous newish products  -Baker's Twine.  The blog before mine on the hop was Kathryn Ruddick's, but you can stop and start wherever you'd like.  What a lovely way to spend a wintry, rainy Saturday morning.

If you haven't had a chance to play with our Baker's Twine you seriously need to get some.  It is so cheap and there are dozens of ways you can use it on your projects.  I have made 2 mini albums using twine as a feature on both.

The first album is made using the Flirtatious DSP.  It's unfinished for now, and is for my daughter.  We've been having lots of "mummy/daughter" dates lately and this records some of them. We playing on my iPhone and taking 'selfies' while we're out.  I have mostly used the Baker's Twine in a single strand in this album as I wanted a light, soft look to compliment the pretty papers.

A great way to use up some smaller pieces of Baker's Twine is to tie knots or bows around other ribbons, like I have in the photos above and below.

The second album features the Cherry Cobbler/White Baker's Twine.  I mostly used it in three strands throughout this album as I felt it suited the darker, more distressed look of this album.

This album is also unfinished, as I haven't even decided what to do with it!  I think it may end up being an album of my husband and I.

There was a lot going on on this page, so I used the Baker's Twine in a single strand.  I used a couple of scraps of the Twine to tie on the tags.

Here I've just used a triple strand as a bow feature on the side of the die cut window.  I've only adhered the top of the panel to the page so I can slip a photo in underneath when I decide which photo to use.

I thought I"d shake it up a bit with the page below and do a triple strand with a single bow.  Not sure if I like it as much as the triple bow but it may grow on me! Again, only the top is adhered so I can slip a photo in later.

Well, that's it for me, now you're off to see the wonderful creations of Ros Davidson.

Bye for now,

Tina

Blog Hop Participants:

Ros Davidson http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com

Christine Blain http://www.christineblain.blogspot.com

Alisha Watson http://www.ratherbstamping.blogspot.com.au

Di Dunk http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com

Kathryn Ruddick http://www.katlodesigns.com

Just Add Ink #112" Just Add Colour

Hi!

I'm so sorry my post for the newest Just Add Ink challenge wasn't up on time this week.  I just got home from hospital where my little man Hudson had had his tonsils reduced.  They were massive and causing problems with his swallowing, so something had to be done.  In between returning from Paris and his operation, I totally forgot to write my post.  Anyway, here's the card.

I love using this stamp from Creative Elements to colour.  Oops, I'd better show you the colour combination this week, it's so lovely:

Finally, here's the inside of my card.  I stamped the flourish again and coloured it before adhering the section for writing over the top.

So there you have it!  I hope you can play along this week at Just Add Ink!

Stamps: Creative Elements, Clearly For You, Well Scripted (retired)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette
DSP/Cardstock: Crumb Cake Patterns Stack DSP, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette
Other: Corner Rounder Punch, Vintage Brad, Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI Scrapbooking Challenge #3: Just Add Altered Art

Hi!
Welcome back to the latest Just Add Ink Scrapbook Challenge.  The challenge requires you to Just Add Altered Art.  I must admit I had to go looking for the definition of altered art, and I found that it means turning an ordinary, everyday object into a work of art.  I decided to turn a bunch of Stampin' Up!'s now retired mini lunch sacks into a mini smash album.

For those of you who aren't sure what a smash album is, it's simply a book that you smash things into.  In this case Rob and I are going to Paris, so I intend to smash things like tickets, maps, postcards, postage stamps, etc into the album.  I will also journal in the album so it will be a travel journal.

I trimmed the bottom of the sacks to make little pockets, for which I made a pull-out section to write on or smash something onto.  The main part of each sack also has a pull-out insert for the same purpose. 

This smash album was a real labour of love, and I can't wait to fill it with beautiful memories of our trip to the city of love!  I'll post some more photos when I get back and it's full.

I used a lot of different materials on this album, but the main ones are the mini lunch sacks, Beau Chateau DSP and Creative Elements Stamp Set.

I hope you can play along this month with us at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI Scrapbooking Challenge #2: Just Add Holiday Photos

Hi!

How exciting - it's my first post as a member of the Just Add Ink Scrapbook Design Team!  February's challenge is to add holiday photos to your layout.  They layout I have for you today was actually part of my application for the JAI team and I was delighted to find out that it fit into the new challenge, so I was able to start my DT work right away.

I took the photo of my daughter Ada when we were on holidays in October 2011.  Yes October - and my crazy children decide to go swimming at the beach!  It was a lovely day, but not warm enough to tempt me to go into the ocean.

I used the Creative Elements stamp set on my layout.  One of my favourite things to do with this set is to colour the flourish stamp.  It's time consuming, but the end result is worth it.

The scallops at the bottom were made using the Round Tab punch.  I like the flatter scallops it creates.  I just covered the joins with Basic Jewel Rhinestones.

I hope you can find the time to play along with us at Just Add Ink this month.  What a great opportunity to scrap some school holiday photos while the memories are still fresh.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Stamps: Creative Elements
Ink: Melon Mambo, Concord Crush
DSP/Cardstock: Cheerful Treat DSP (hostess), Melon Mambo, Concord Crush, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Simple Letters Alpha Dies, Paper Snips, Colour Spritzer, Round Tab Punch, Basic Jewel Rhinestones

Bye for now,

Tina