JAI #315: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!


Oh, what a miserable, wet week it's been. The upside of that is that it's perfect card making weather. Well, any weather is perfect card making weather, if I'm really honest!

We all love card making at Just Add Ink, and this week we are doing a sketch challenge.

Lots of layers in this one! I decided to cheat a little and turn some of the layers into non-layers using some faux stitching. Does that make sense?

See what I mean? I actually did the same thing for the smaller layer under the flower, but I made it far too small to be seen behind the flower. A handy piece of DSP to the rescue!

My Flower Patch stamp set has been a little neglected lately. OK, a lot neglected. My stamp shelves are looking VERY empty at the moment as I'm waiting for my new catalogue things to arrive. It's a great excuse to drag out some old favourites to play with.

I had a spare leaf left from the front of the card, so I used it to finish the inside, along with a little more faux stitching.


The Just Add Ink Design Team have done a great job making cards based on this sketch. You can see their cards over on the Just Add Ink blog. See you there!


Bye for now,


Tina

Going Places With Lost Lagoon

Hi!


I think that today's card is one of my favourite cards that I have even made. I know - it's a big call! There's just some thing about it that really appeals to me.

I started by stamping some Gorgeous Grunge splatters in the opposite corners on the base card, and then built up the layers from there.

I used the retiring Amazing Birthday stamp for the sentiment. You can see that I used my 1 3/4" Circle Punch to crop the image. I wanted the wider border around it so that I could pierce some holes to add a decorative touch. I also pierced the Lost Lagoon circle.

I really, really love the splatter stamp for adding a little something to the inside of a card also. So glad it's not retiring!


Bye for now,


Tina

Sky Is The Limit

Hi!

I'm finding that the Sky Is The Limit stamp set has been a very popular choice in this year's Sale-A-Bration line up. Are you aware though, that you only have a couple of weeks left to get your hands on it? There are a few SAB items marked 'Limited Time Only', and Sky Is The Limit is one of them.

Sky Is The Limit coordinates brilliantly with the Going Places Suite in the Occasions Catalogue.  On this card I've paired it with the Going Places DSP stack and used colours from the DSP, including Sahara Sand, Lost Lagoon, Basic Black and Very Vanilla.

There's lots of paper piercing on this card, as it's a great way to add a feature to the card.

The plane on the inside was stamped in Lost Lagoon, but I stamped it off once first. This just helps the sentiment to stand out more.

Bye for now,

Tina

Sprinkles Of Life Flower Basket

Hi!

Today I have a card for you that is a CASE of a card by one of the Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team members, Kaitlyn Zumbach. Her simple little card caught my eye while surfing the internet one evening. You can see Kaitlyn's card here.

I made a few changes, including making the card square and making the card base Whisper White.  I also used Dazzling Details on the flowers instead of pearls.  I used Hello Honey for the yellow flowers, but I think I actually prefer Kaitlyn's, as she used So Saffron.

I really love the leaves stamped behind the flowers.  The flowers would still look good without it, but the stamping adds a little something to the final image.

I used the same sentiment as Kaitlyn, but on the inside instead of the outside. Did you notice my little oopsie on the bottom of the card? It got dropped into the Mint Macaron inkpad.  I think I might need to trim it off before I send the card - luckily it's just a thin little strip so hopefully it won't be noticeable!

Bye for now,

Tina

AWH Blog Hop: New Annual Catalogue

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 New Annual Catalogue!

I would also like to highlight the joining special for the month of June. Our group is one of the largest teams in Melbourne and offer support, fun and friendship to anyone who would like to join us; from Hobby demonstrators to Business demonstrators to anyone in between. And for the month of June, there is a bonus special, you get to choose any two stamp sets of your choice for free along with your starter kit ($169). What are you waiting for, contact me today to find out more.

My card for this Blog Hop uses three new items: one of the new In Colours, Mint Macaron, a new stamp set called Endless Birthday Wishes, and the new Essentials Piercing Template.  I think Mint Macaron is about to become my favourite green - it's a really pretty, dusky green.

On a side note: do you pronounce it macaron or macaroon? I use the former, but everyone seems to have differing opinions!

I also used some old favourites - the confetti stamp from Dotty Angles and some Dazzling Details.  I used the Dazzling Details to highlight the icing trim on the cake and also some random dots in the confetti background.  It adds a lovely feature to the card without introducing a third colour.

Endless Birthday Wishes is a photopolymer stamp set, which means it's totally clear.  They cling brilliantly to the clear blocks, and lining up your images is a breeze!  There are a ton of words and phrases in both the printed and handwritten fonts that you can mix and match to make a custom sentiment.  Too easy!

Now you're off to see the work of the fabulous Judy May.

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. Kathryn Ruddick
2. Jenny Van Dijk
3. Kathryn Mangelsdorf
4. Nikki Sadler
5. Ros Davidson
6. Kate Morgan
7. Kayleen McLean
8. Genna Gifford
9. Tina Gillespie
10. Judy May

JAI #256: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

This week at Just Add Ink it's a sketch challenge, designed by me for your inspiration.

It's a cute little sketch, if I do say so myself!  Here's what I did with it.

The most difficult part was choosing which tag punch to use!  To matt the tag I cut a strip of Rose Red cardstock that was 2 1/8 inches wide (the tags are 2 inches wide) and then punched it with the Ornate Tag Topped punch.  However, instead of sliding the cardstock along the channel into the punch I inserted it into the punch over the top of the channel before punching.

I love this sweet little baby stamp!  I framed the image with a couple of rows of paper piercing. It's a great, inexpensive way to add a feature to a card.

What are you going to do with the sketch?  The Design Team have had a fun time playing with it and have come up with a stunning bunch of cards.  You can see them over at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

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

Happy Birthday Hudson!

Hi!

Nearly 2 months ago my not-so-baby boy turned 7. Today I have for you the card I made for him.  He did get it on the day, I just haven't blogged it yet!

I saw this card made by Alison Barclay and decided I would CASE it to make Hudson's card.  I used similar colours to Alison's card, but changed her star to a 7 for Hudson.  I used copy paper and a ruler to make a template to sponge through.

I decided to add some paper piercing to give the card some extra oomph.  I pierced 7 holes each time - 1 hole for each year!

I thought this sentiment was great for the inside.  It's very cheerful, plus it leaves lots of room for a special message for my boy.

Bye for now,

Tina

Masked Stars

Hi!

I mentioned recently that I participated in a cyber crop last month.  Today's card is another of the cards I made for one of the challenges we were set on the weekend.  The challenge was to use the colours in an inspiration picture that we were given.

There were a lot of bright colours in the inspiration picture we were given.  They were such a happy combination so I decided to make a happy card to go with them.  I used the new Stars Mask to create my happy card.  I held the mask over the cardstock and used my daubers to sponge the colour over the mask.  My old style inkpads worked the best, but I think that's because they are less 'juicy'.  I just need to remember to press a little lighter on my newer inkpads!

I didn't have the Star Framelits at that time, so I used my Eclectic Paper Piercing templates to pierce a star pattern and then I hand cut around the piercing.  I layered it on some Daffodil Delight cardstock and hand cut the matt.  Easy!

I also used the mask on the inside, but to make it a bit easier I sponged in Daffodil Delight only and they added some star punchies to bring in some colour.

The masks really are a heap of fun to play with!

Bye for now,

Tina

Farewell Coredinations Card Stock

Hi!

The retiring lists came out on Friday and one of the first things I noticed that was retiring is the entire range of Coredintations Cardstock.  I don't use it a lot, but it is a product that I will miss.

This card is a CASE of a card from the current Annual Catalogue.  You can see the original on page 33.  It's a card I've CASEd a few times as I really love the design.

I love that you can get such a 'wow' effect so easily and quickly.  On this card I used the Real Red Coredinations, embossed it with the Chevron Embossing Folder and then sanded it.  So pretty!

The stamp set I used for the sentiment is retiring also - it's a Hostess set called Simply Sketched.  Another fabulous set that will be missed - until I find another fantastic set in the new catalogue to replace it!

The inside sentiment also comes from another stamp set that didn't make it into the upcoming Annual Catalogue - Make A Wish.  So many lovely things going, to be replaced by even more lovely things.

Bye for now,

Tina

Craft Project Central: Creating Pretty Cards #32

Hi!

Today's card was made for the Craft Project Central's monthly card sketch challenge: Creating Pretty Cards. I think sketch challenges are one of my favourite types of challenges to enter.  What about you - what's your favourite?

Isn't this a fabulous sketch, designed by Yapha Mason.  Here's the card I came up with.

Lots of yummy new products on this card!  I'm really loving the Retro Fresh range - it's a fantastic colour combo with lots of great designs. And coordinating washi.  Bliss!

As the background of my card is fairly busy I wanted to keep the main circular panel uncluttered.  I think the word bubble is the perfect accent for the sentiment, helping it to stand out from the background.  I cut the Vanilla word bubble using the new Framelits set, adhered it to some Tangerine Tango cardstock and then hand cut the larger word bubble.

Some more of that delicious Retro Fresh washi to finish off the inside and I was done.

I hope you can join in the fun at Creating Pretty Cards this month.

Bye for now,

Tina

Ornament Keepsakes in Wisteria Wonder

Hi!

Are you sick of the Christmas cards yet?  I still have a few more up my sleeve to show you.  Today's card was one I made with a few of my stamping groups, and it was a popular card.  The non traditional colour scheme went down well with the ladies.

The card was made on a base of Brushed Silver, which looks so luxurious.  I then layered Elegant Eggplant and Wisteria Wonder for the main panel.

The bauble was stamped and cut and popped up on Dimensionals.  We also pierced around it as an extra little feature.

Such a pretty card.  Purple and Silver is such an elegant colour combination I think.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #190: Just Add Masking

Hi!

Time for another Just Add Ink challenge.

This time it's my turn to set the challenge, and I chose masking.  For my card I chose reverse masking to achieve a 3 dimensional look.  You can find a tutorial on reverse masking here.

I chose three different shades of teal, from memory they were Pool Party, Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay.  I started with Pool Party and sponged from the edges into the centre, leaving a small section in the middle unsponged.  I followed this with a layer of Coastal Cabana that was thinner than the Pool Party layer, and finally Bermuda Bay around the very edge.

Hopefully it makes the bauble look a bit rounded!  I then stamped the star in Bermuda Bay while the mask was still in place.

I really love this card - it's going to be hard to part with it a Christmas time!

What will you create for this challenge at Just Add Ink?

Bye for now,

Tina

Foil Embossing

Hi!

Today's card has some retired product on it, but I thought I'd show you anyway.  It shows a great technique, and it was one we made in a Masculine Cards class a few months back.

Isn't the metallic background awesome?  So simple too - it's just kitchen foil adhered to some cardstock and embossed in the Big Shot.  Easy peasy!

Fabulous technique for male cards as it adds a really industrial look to the card.

Bye for now,

Tina