Bokeh Technique

Hi!

Have you become a member of the Bokeh fan club yet? I'd seen lots and lots of cards on the web using the technique but I'd been too scared to give it a go - it looked so hard!  Then my stamping ladies asked to try the technique so I gulped and said 'sure'. I was so wrong about it being hard! It's a great technique, a little time consuming, but certainly not difficult at all.

We used Washi Tape to secure the cardstock to the work surface.  As well as giving you stability while you work, it adds a lovely white border to the piece.  We sponged Wisteria Wonder, Daffodil Delight and Blushing Bride (I think!) ink over the cardstock and then, using various sized circle templates, sponged White Craft Ink over the top.

It's such a pretty effect!  We found that we needed to sponge the White Craft Ink on much thicker than we expected to get the effect we needed. The Congratulations was actually stamped over the top, it just looks like it was stamped underneath the White Craft Ink.

I used the dotty stamp from Dotty Angles in the same colour inks as on the front.  It's not really bokeh, but I hope you can see where I was going with it.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #275: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

Yay!  It's Friday! I've got a big day of stamping planned, and I hope you do too, or if not today then sometime over the weekend.

This week at Just Add Ink it was Kim's turn to set the challenge, and she has designed a fabulous sketch for our inspiration.

As the sketch wasn't too 'fussy' I decided it would make the perfect starting point for a birthday card for Rob. It was his birthday earlier in August, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit, the only member of my family to actually get their birthday card on their birthday this year. Sigh...

Rob is a HUGE St George Dragons fan, so nearly every card I make him has the same colour scheme - red, black and white. It's such an easy combo to work with!  I stamped the background in Real Red ink using the angles stamp from the Dotty Angles set.

I used my Leaflets Framelits to cut the leaf from White Corrugated Paper.  It was one of my must have products from the new Annual Catalogue - a great way to jazz up a male card.

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

Bye for now,

Tina

Another Work Of Art CASE

Hi!

Last Wednesday I showed you a card I'd CASEd using the Work Of Art stamp set to create a flower.  Today I have another CASE that uses the stamps to create a sailboat.  Again - so very clever!

I really loved this card and was keen to make it when one of my class ladies showed me a picture of it.  I'm a bit of a blue person so all the blues really appealed!

We used the stars from the star border punch on the flag (I'm drawing a blank on it's name right now!).  They were a little fiddly to stick down but worth the effort.

The swooshy stamps are great for adding a subtle background to a sentiment.

Bye for now,

Tina

MKPLxSU Blog Hop: This Is The Life

Hi!

This month the Memory Keeping with Project Life by Stampin' Up! Design Team are blog hopping using the This Is The Life kit.  It's a kit I'm really enjoying using as it's full of gorgeous colours and patterns on the cards. This month I've created another page in my 'Home' album, in which I'm documenting the changes and renovations we are making to our house.

Today's page goes right back to the beginning.  A few months after we moved in we decided to make over Ada's bedroom and make it a little more girly.  My sister and I painted the lower third of the walls and then Rob and I applied a cute wallpaper border. I still have a section of the wallpaper that wasn't used so I'm thinking I might add an extra part page so that I can include a sample in the album.

I've used the Day To Day Project Life stamp set to include the date on the page.  I try to date everything as I think it's really important.

I really went with a dotty theme on this page!  A lot of the colours in the dots are also in the photos of the wallpaper, so I thought they worked well on the page.

Here are links to the rest of the Design Team that are participating in the blog hop today.  They've done fabulous things with the This Is The Life kit, so why don't you check them out? While you're clicking, we have a Facebook group where you will find heaps of PLxSU inspiration too.

Delys Cram, New Zealand
Julie Kettlewell, UK
Constanze Wirtz, Germany
Janet Morrow Wakeland, USA

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #274: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

Oops!  I'm a little late with my Just Add Ink post this week - time is just flying by!

This week we have a really cool Inspiration picture for you.  I really love the neutral colours and the feeling of home in the pictures.

I've taken the colours, textures and the 'home' inspiration from the pictures and decided to do a cover page for my latest Project Life Album.  I'm documenting the improvements we have made to our home along the way.  It's an album I've wanted to do for a very long time!

I've pulled cards from a few different kits to get the look I wanted for the page.  I mostly stuck to the neutral color palette, but I couldn't help sneak a touch of blue in along the way.

As soon as I spied this cute little wood laser cut piece in the Happy Times Accessory Pack I knew I just had to have it for this project.  It's the perfect piece to start my album with.

I hope you're inspired by our picture this week and can play along with us at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

Work Of Art Flower CASE

Hi!

Is Work Of Art one of those stamp sets that you look at and think 'what on earth would I use that for'? Me too. Well, I used to think that.  Now I've seen so many fabulous cards that some very creative people have made using the stamps that I think it's a fantastic, versatile set.  Today's card is a CASE of one such creative use.  I don't even know where the idea started, as there are so many versions of the card out on the web.

I love the way the smaller swooshy stamp can be used to create a flower.  So clever!

You just stamp the swoosh 5 times.  Some of the time I didn't reink before stamping again.  Easy!

I liked the card so much that I did two versions - a Thank You and a Thinking Of You.

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