JAI 554: Just Add G

 Hi!

Yay, here's to Friday and a new Just Add Ink challenge! This week it's one of my Alphabet challenges, and we have been given G to play with.

What does that mean? Just that you make a card with something G related - a colour, stamp set, theme, technique, whatever you can think of! Just make sure that you tell us what it is if it isn't very obvious.

I recently purchased a stamp set called Little Town Life from Kindred Stamps, and one of the featured characters suited this challenge perfectly! I have had his very catchy theme song stuck in my head all week - I just may have to watch the movie on the weekend to get rid of that ear worm. He may think that he's everyone's favourite guy, but he is a little full of himself!

The scene behind this grandiose gentleman was created using dies from Hello Sweetums, called Mountains Of Fun and Grass Is Greener. The clouds were from the retired Wiggly Bugs Dies. I chose the greens and grey to go with the G theme of the challenge.

The inside of the card contains another big clue to the name of the guy on the front! Hmmm, can you think of many movies with talking and singing clocks? LOL!

That's all from me for now. Hopefully your mind is whirling with ideas for our Just Add G challenge. I can't wait to see what you make. You can find the rest of this week's Design team cards over on the Just Add Ink blog, where you can also link up your card.

Bye for now,

Tina

May Creative Showcase: New Annual Catalogue

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me for this month's Creative Showcase. Naturally, as the new Annual Catalogue began this month, we are focussing on products from that catalogue. I've been a bit slow off the mark with ordering from the catalogue, but I couldn't resist the gorgeous What A Year Memories & More card pack.

My sister recently purchased her first home, and so I thought that I would use one of the cards to make her a card of congratulations. This cute little card with the house was the perfect choice! The new Polished Pink cardstock was cropped using the largest Stitched So Sweetly die, and then I trimmed the card to fit inside the stitched line.

The only current embossing folder that I have is the Bricks & Mortar folder, which I thought was an apt choice for the background. The word home was cropped from Whisper White cardstock with some Foam Adhesive Sheet attached to the back using the Playful Alphabet Dies. I used the retired Well Written Dies for the cute little heart in the centre of the 'O'.

Nice and simple on the inside, with just the Congratulations sentiment from Peaceful Moments in Polished Pink ink. I didn't think we needed another bright pink in our range, but I am coming to like this pink!

You'll find the rest of the links for this month's Showcase over on Rachel's blog.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: So Saffron

 Hi!

Thanks for coming back for this week's Colour Creations Creative Showcase. We are up to So Saffron this week, a lovely, soft yellow that I quite like. I was in the mood for butterflies this week, so my Brilliant Wings dies got a workout!

I started by covering the back of a quarter sheet of So Saffron in Adhesive sheet, and then run the piece through the Big Shot with as many of the detailed butterfly dies as I could fit on the sheet. I didn't worry if some were a bit cut off, as I knew that I would use them on the edge. The butterflies were then adhered to a second sheet of So Saffron card. I trimmed the edges, and then any useable pieces were added around the edges.

Another butterfly was cropped from Whisper White card and popped up over the heat-embossed sentiment strip. The sentiment is from A Good Man.

One final, partial, butterfly was used for the inside of the card, along with another sentiment from A Good Guy. I quite like this card, so I think I'm going to find it hard to give away! Maybe I will have to make it again in a different colour!

Please head on over to Cathy's blog, where the rest of this week's So Saffron cards are linked. It's sure to be a treat!

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 317: Say Hello

 Hi!

Welcome to the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. It's the first challenge of the brand, spanking new Annual Catalogue, so we have given you carte-blanche for the challenge.

Which projects in the catalogue caught your eye? Was it because of a particular stamp set, or DSP, or maybe a die? For me, it was the bundle of products that first caught my eye, and the projects made with it second. It's the You're A Peach suite, on page 60-61.

I really loved the strawberry bundle, and this reminds me of it so much. Of the samples in the catalogue, the one above was most appealing to me. I don't yet have the suite, so I had to improvise, and the most natural substitute was the Sweet Strawberry bundle.

Apologies for using retired DSP - I had intended to stamp and colour my background, but this week got away from me!

I kept the card pretty much the same as the sample, except that I flipped the panel that the fruit sits on. I liked the little strip of DSP across the top in the sample, but the darker colour of the DSP I chose was more suitable for the DSP to go across the bottom of the panel.

As always, I made sure that I had some left over bits and pieces to decorate the inside of my card. I stamped the sentiment nice and low on the inside too, sometimes it's fun to do the unexpected and have it somewhere different to the centre!

I hope that you can play along with us this week. I think that the hardest part will be choosing which project to CASE! Once you've decided and made you card, just post a photo in the Facebook group, and you're done!

While you're still pondering your choices, please do finish the blog hop. Next up is the wonderful Rebecca, who does an amazing job of organising us all each week! She's used a die set that I have my eye on, too!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 553: Just Add A Sketch

 Hi!

Hello, and welcome to Friday and the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week Kelly has designed a really cool sketch for us to use.

In case you haven't worked it out by now, me and my family are huge Harry Potter fans. I've been wanting to make a HP card using the Suit & Tie dies since I purchased them, and this sketch gave me the opportunity.

All I did was pull the four thin strips in the sketch to the front, rather than under the main panel. Four house ties later, and the card was nearly done! The sentiment is from a long-retired Kindred Stamps set, called Wizard Friends.

To create the ties, I cut one each of a full tie and the knot piece from Cherry Cobbler, Blueberry Bushel, Crushed Curry and Shaded Spruce cardstock. For the strips, I added a piece of Adhesive Sheet to the back of the appropriate colour and used my Mini Trimmer to cut thin strips, some wider than others. I adhered the stripes to the first tie and then, to get the ties to match, I laid the next tie over the top. By doing this, I was able to line up the strips exactly with the tie underneath. Once I'd finished the second tie, I lifted it off the first, trimmed the strips and moved onto the next. A bit fiddly, but worth it, I think!

I was a bit lot over making ties by the time I got to the inside, so I settled with stamping a tie image from another Kindred Stamps set, called Magic Planing. I used my Stamparatus to line them up, and stamped them in the matching inks as the ties on the front. The card is 5 inches square, so it leaves plenty of room for writing a message!

That's all from me tonight, but please do pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog, where you'll find the rest of this week's Design Team cards. They are all as wonderful as usual! We can't wait to see the wonderful card you make with the sketch as your inspiration.

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Smoky Slate

 Hi!

Here we go again with the Colour Creations Creative Showcase, and this time we are looking at Smoky Slate. It's usually more of a background colour, I guess, so making it a feature was a little tricky! I love pairing crisp white with grey, so it was a no-brainer to go with the combo for my card.

I started with the Forever Fern stamp set, stamping a few of the different fern images in Smoky Slate ink and cropping them with the matching Forever Flourishing Dies.

The labels are from the Painted Labels Dies. The largest was used to crop some Silver Foil, and the smaller the Whisper White card that the sentiment, from Seaside Notions, was stamped on. A few Rhinestones finishes off the front.

The inside is just more of the same die cut and images from the front. I'd stamped and cut a heap, so I had plenty left over!

It's time now to pop on over to Cathy's blog, where you'll find the rest of this week's Smoky Slate cards.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 316: One Final Goodbye

 Hi!

Thanks for joining me for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. As it's our last challenge before the new Annual Catalogue goes live, we are challenging to you to CASE your favourite project from the outgoing Annual Catalogue.

Before I even opened my catalogue I decided that I would CASE a project from the bundle that was at the very top of my wishlist when I first saw the catalogue: Nothing's Better Than. I'm so glad that it's carrying over for another year!

I decided to combine two projects from page 91, as I liked elements from each. The background stamping on the box is very cool, and I loved the look of the cocktails on the card.

The background was stamped with Pretty Peacock ink onto coordinating card. I couldn't resist embossing it with my Subtle 3DEF. I used Silver Foil instead of Gold, and switched out the Seam Binding for some Sheer Pool Party ribbon.

How fun are the cocktails? I used Mango Melody, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green and Pretty Peacock to colour them. Some colours are full strength, others I stamped off once first. To get the two layer cocktails, I inked the lightest colour first, hanging part of the stamp over the edge of the ink pad. I then went to the darker ink pad and inked the rest of the stamp. Easy!

To finish off the inside, I just stamped another cocktail and the sentiment. I think the this would be a great one to send to a friend having a rough time.

How will you go about choosing a favourite project to CASE from the outgoing Annual Catalogue? It's tough choice! To enter our challenge, just take a photo of your card and post it in our Facebook group.

For now though, it's on with the blog hop. Next up is the lovely Sandra, with a simply gorgeous card.

Bye for now,

Tina