AWH Blog Hop: Farewelling My Favourites

Hi!


Today I bring you another AWHT blog hop with some of the awesome ladies in the Art With Heart Stampin’ Up! Team. Today our focus is on our Favourite Retiring Product!

For my projects I decided to focus on the Flashback DSP.  It's a fabulous paper pack to use for slightly grungy male cards, as many of the pages have a distressed look.

I mostly like to keep male cards bold but clean and simple.  In this case I use the retiring What's Up punch to bracket the sentiment.  To do this I slid the DSP into the punch far enough to punch only the fatter arrow shape, and then repeated for the other side.

The sentiment is from another retiring stamp set/framelits combo: Just Sayin' and the Word Bubbles framelits.  I'm really going to miss the word bubbles - they are a lot of fun to use on cards!

To finish off the card I used the punched out pieces from the front and an old favourite (thankfully not retiring) Sassy Salutations.

On this card I have also used the Flashback DSP.  I wanted to make another male card, but a little more stepped up than the first card.  I decided to use the retiring Triangle punch to create a subtle feature that would help ground the sentiment panel. The geometric look of the triangles is fab on a male card.

The stamp set I used is from the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit, which is retiring. I used my Real Red and Pool Party Stampin' Write markers to colour the image before I stamped it.

The inside was finished off with some more DSP and Triangles.  I also used another stamp from the Hip Hip Hooray set.

Let’s keep this blog hop hopping. Next up we have the amazing Genna Gifford.

Sorry, Blogger isn't playing nicely and allowing me to add the link to Genna's blog on the image.  Just click here instead.

If you find a broken link or have come to this blog hop from a different entry point, you can view the participants below:

1. Judy May
2. Tina Gillespie
3. Genna Gifford
4. Ros Davidson
5. Claire Daly
6. Nikki Sadler
7. Kathryn Mangelsdorf
8. Kayleen McLean
9. Kathryn Ruddick
10. Jenny Van Dijk
11. Kate Morgan
12. Rachel Woollard
13. Barbara Lindsey

JAI #243: Just Add Colour!

Hi!

Wow, where did that week go?  It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting at my computer typing up last week's Just Add Ink post.  I swear that time goes faster at this end of the year.  Anyway, this week at Just Add Ink Kim has challenged us to use a colour combination in our papercrafting.

Now, I don't know about you, but I was always taught that you don't mix red and pink, or blue and green for that matter.  The best part of being a grown up is that you get to break the rules whenever you like, and this combination ended up being really fun to work with.

I should add that I'm really not much of a rebel, so when I break the rules it's more like I bend them, or dip a toe over the line.  In this case I decided to opt for a tiny splash of Real Red, Strawberry Slush and Wild Wasabi.  By keeping most of the card Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White I was able to avoid the colours clashing with each other.

The card didn't look quite finished with just the hearts and the sentiment on the circle, so I added a row of piercing to the circle and some rhinestones to the hearts.  Done!

So I guess I cheated a little by leaving the Strawberry Slush and Wild Wasabi out of the middle, but I was nearly in hives over my rule breaking on the front of the card so I decided to go simple on the inside.

How are you going to bend or break the rules?  Are you a rebel or not?  I can't wait to see over at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #237: Just Add Clear Block Stamping

Hi!

Are you ready for another Just Add Ink challenge?  This week Paula has challenged us to try some Clear Block Stamping.  Never heard of it? It's pretty much just what it sounds like - you ink up your clear block and stamp with it.  Easy peasy!

I decided to use my clear block stamping to create a background for a masculine card.  I used one of the smaller clear blocks and inked it in Cajun Craze, Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight (not at the same time!) before stamping the tree over the top in Memento ink.

I was originally going to use the stamped strip to create a banner for my card, but at the last minute I cut a small section off the bottom to create the piece for the sentiment.  The space in between looked a little bare so I added the Linen Thread and attached it with some staples.  It's a great way to embellish a male card without it getting too girly.

The Design Team have come up with some wonderful samples of Clear Block Stamping to inspire you this week.  Why don't you pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see for yourself? You're bound to come away inspired to stamp!

Bye for now,

Tina

Curvy Bordering Blooms

Hi!

Have you noticed that Stampin' Up! have introduced Photopolymer stamps in the new Catalogues? They are a fabulous new stamping option.  You may have tried photopolymer stamps before and been unimpressed with the results, but you won't be unimpressed with our new range.  They have been specifically designed to work with our inks, so you can wave goodbye to splotchy, patchy stamped images. Yay!

Another great advantage of the photopolymer stamps is that they are flexible and can be bent into different shapes.  On this card I bent the floral border stamp into a curve to wrap around the Thanks sentiment.  I think it looks great, and was certainly a 'wow' amongst the ladies who made this card with me.

We stamped the image in Momento ink and coloured the image with Blendabilities.  One thing to be careful of when you bend the stamp is to make sure it doesn't buckle, as it means you will probably end up with ink on the buckle which will transfer to your cardstock.

On the inside I reverted the stamp back to it's original, straight form.  Which way do you like the stamp? Bent or straight?

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #217: Just Add Cupakes, Cake or Dessert

Hi!

This week at Just Add Ink we have a theme challenge for you.  We want you to add cupcakes, cake or dessert to your creation.  It's a fun idea and a great idea for a challenge.  Having said that I had a slight panic when I read the theme for the week as I didn't think I had any stamps that fit the theme.  Then I remembered a set I had recently purchased that had a cupcake image.

I also decided to use some of my left over Hip Hip Hooray Kit pieces on the card.  You might also spot a Sale-A-Bration favourite on the card.  I was very excited to see that Stampin' Up have included the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder in the upcoming catalogue.  I really love it and I'm glad to have it for at least another year.

The stamp set was never available here, much to my disappointment.  I really love the whole "Keep Calm" idea and was lucky enough to get my hands on the stamp set.

I thought the cupcake image was really cute, so I just had to include a whole row of them on the inside of the card too.

The design team have come up with a heap of creative ways to interpret the challenge theme this week.  What will you do? See you over at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

Cheerful Hip Hip Hooray Card

Hi!

Today I have a lovely, bright and cheerful birthday card for you, made using the Scallop Tag Topper Punch to create a fancy opening.

These cards are so much fun to make - and easy once you get the hang of it!

I used one of the Hip Hip Hooray stamps that come with the Hip Hip Hooray kit.  It's a fabulous little set of stamps and the kit is pretty awesome too.

With a bit of careful planning the inside was stamped so that the sentiment would not be visible when the card is closed, but the two right hand stars are.  Very cute!

Bye for now,

Tina

Spiral Flower Die

Hi!

As you're reading this post I'm on my way to Melbourne for Stampin' Up!'s Annual Convention.  I'm so excited, as I get to see all my Stampin' Up! friends and get inspired by lots of fabulous displays and speakers.  Let's face it, it's also nice to have a break from being 'mum' and just enjoy being Tina.

Anyway, today's card is one I made for a Flower Cards Class last month.  If you subscribe to my newsletter you would have already seen a picture, now you can see a few more.  A good reminder that it you haven't already, you can sign up for my newsletter over there on my side bar =>

The Spiral Flower Die makes making these flowers a breeze! So quick and easy - the hardest part is sitting there holding them while the glue dries, and that's only hard because I was itching to get on with my card!

I like adding a Jumbo Rhinestone to the centre of the flowers for a lovely finishing touch.

I'm still loving the sentiment at the bottom rather than in the middle.  It's great on a card where you have a lot to write and a centered sentiment would disrupt the flow of your message.

Bye for now,

Tina

Happy Birthday Alex!

Hi!

On Sunday my eldest child, Alex, turned 11.  Can't believe my first baby is that old!   He's madly into Lego, especially The Lego Movie Lego.  I just had to make him a Lego card to celebrate his 11th Birthday.

I don't know why the card looks a bit wonky in the photo - it isn't in real life!  I love how easy it is to create the look of Lego with a square and a few circle punchies. Oh, and some sponging and Dimensionals too!

I used Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green and Pacific Point as the colours of my blocks.

I used the stamp from my Hip Hip Hooray Kit on the inside of the card, along with some more punch art Lego.  I'm pleased to say that Alex loved the card.

Bye for now,

Tina

Just Add Ink #208: Just Add Colour

Hi!

This week at Just Add Ink Mae has given us a colour combination that I think we all found challenging.  I guess that is the purpose of a challenge!!!

I was a bit naughty and left my card to the last minute.. I'm glad I did as I received a little box of goodies from the USA as a thank you for designing the tutorial for Craft Project Central last month.  In it was the Positively Chevron stamp and also one of the photo polymer stamp sets Countless Sayings 2.  I couldn't resist inking them up.

One of the downsides of  leaving my card to the last minute is that it was a bit of a gloomy morning when I needed to take the photo, so the colours aren't that great.

I inked the chevrons with my Calypso Coral and Smoky Slate markers.  A bit time consuming, but I love the effect.  The sentiment stamps came from the Countless Sayings 2 stamp set.  I stamped them in Pacific Point and then coloured them with my blender pen and Calypso Coral ink.  The colouring looks much better in real life - the camera was not kind to my photo!

The sentiment on the inside was another new arrival - it's from the Hip Hip Hooray stamp set that you get included in the Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit.

I hoe you can find time to play along using Mae's colour combination this week at Just Add Ink.  Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Bye for now,

Tina