Merry Christmas to You

Good morning and a very merry Christmas to you! I hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas and that you are now able to relax a little for Boxing Day (or beyond that as it is here in Australia :-0 ) Here in Melbourne we had a hot Christmas - both Christmas Eve and Day were around 35 degrees and the relief of the cool change came through overnight with some much needed rain and we are still enjoying the cooler temperature :-)

This last design of card is on it's way (or hopefully arrived) to some special friends this year :-)

My Christmas was quite busy - up early Christmas Eve to do some food shopping (like many of you!) and it was good to beat the rush :-) Then lots of phone calls and some Skype with family and headed to the Church for 10:45pm where I was leading a choir to sing at Midnight Mass and Carols beforehand….it was a little tricky to hear the piano beside me over the industrial size fans (as it was about 30 degrees inside still) but I was told it was "amazing" - which is not something we've been before really :-)  We only started in time for last Christmas and with singing throughout the year we have improved some :-) It's not a formal choir - a lot more relaxed as we are just ordinary people, all of us - we sing a mix of new and old hoping that that others can join in and there were certainly a number of "new" in the pre Mass Carols this year - which was  lovely to be able to do :-)

Later versions had a red base and a different greeting :-)

Christmas Day was another early morning with some food prep and quick walk for Sally before we both headed over to see our very good friend Katerina and her lovely family who have so generously hosted us for Christmas for several years now. Sally spent a good amount of time smooching them all (before the Christmas Crackers sent her into hiding for a while!) and the decision was made - they have been too long without a "Sally" of their own!! Fantastic news my friends :-)

I have a couple more different cards to make and my Pear Pizazz ink pad needed refilling - and being a little rushed and tired I reached for the bottle and filled it up only to find as I stamped that I had added Wild Wasabi instead!!! Oh no!! But I have a solution in case you might make the same mistake - the ink washes out in water! So I put on some gloves and washed the ink pad under the tap till it was all clean.

And then put my glasses on before refilling with the right ink :-) All fixed - phew!!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Simon Says Pets for PCCCS #175

Good morning and a very Happy Christmas Eve to you!! I hope you are ready for Christmas?
Yesterday, I took Santa's "mischievous little helper" (she refused to wear the hat :-0) with me as we went out to make a few deliveries including to the team who have been keeping her on all her feet this year. And we came home to see Santa had visited US - Love that :-)

And it is also time for another challenge from The Paper Craft Crew! This week it is a Two Week challenge to allow you some time over the Holidays to join in :-) And so we have a fun Tic Tac Toe combination for you. The design team have created a beautiful array of cards to inspire you so I hope you have a moment to pop on over to take a look.

Here are the Challenge details:

For my card, I chose the Right Hand side or it could also be for a diagonal - such a fun challenge :-)

As mentioned, we were visiting a few places including the vet clinic (and yes, the nurses did love her costume - tick :-0)  and so I made several of these cards to give them and some of our Doggie friend families too. These cute stamped animal images are from Simon Says Stamps and this was my first attempt at colouring with Copics so please bear with me -  I might need a few more browns and greys to do the best job of pets in future…!  I took my colouring cues from the lovely Jodene from Just Add Ink - you can see her much superior work here

Card Stock: Whisper White (thick and standard), Bermuda Bay, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer

Designer Series Paper: Winter Frost (retired)
Stamps: Furry Christmas (Simon Says Stamps), Many Merry Messages (Retired)
Inks: Momento Tuxedo black, Copics
Accessories: Sleigh Ride Edgelits, On Film Framelits (Retired), Striped Ribbon Pack, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop over and see what the rest of the team at The Paper Craft Crew have made to inspire you.
A huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time during the year to leave me comments - all are so very much appreciated!! And I wish you and your families a wonderfully Happy and safe Christmas - full of peace, love, joy and relaxing.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

More Gift Card Holders and a Card

This week at Just Add Ink we have a fun and very well timed challenge to make a Gift  Card Holder. You can see the original post here (or just scroll down, it's the next one). I'm sure I won't be the only one giving more than one of these this Christmas so here is another one that has found it's way into the post - a little busier than my usual style but the recipient will enjoy I hope :-)

This one is of the same design -a slim box using the Envelope Punch Board - and more detailed instructions can be found in the original post as to how to score it.

And here is a matching card to go with it - several of these have gone out to family this year :-)

It uses some of the left over DSP and another stamped poinsettia. All very easy - just takes a little time to stamp and punch but is worth it, I think :-)

Card stock: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Gold Foil
Designer Series Paper: Season of Cheer
Inks: Real Red, Garden Green, Versamark
Stamps: Reason For the Season
Access: Big shot, Gently Falling EF, Festive Flower Punch, Triple Banner Punch, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, Gold Cording Trim, Gold EP

Thanks for stopping by today - I am making my way through the list of Christmas cards and things to do like many of you! And will be back with at least one more post for those looking for last minute ideas :-) And I hope you can take a moment to pop over to Just Add Ink and maybe you too might like to join us in sharing your gift card holders this Christmas :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Gift Card Holder - JAI #293

Welcome to Friday and the countdown is on - only 1week to go until Christmas and all the joy and busyness that brings :-) Here in Melbourne, it's mighty hot too - 37 degrees Celsius today and possibly nudging 40 tomorrow... Our friends in South Australia have it hotter though so we can't complain too much. The only ice/and or snow we will be seeing this Christmas will be the soft serve confectionary type :-0

Over at Just Add Ink we have a fabulous new challenge for you! Kim has suggested that we Just Add…A Gift Card Holder. Such a fun idea and so useful too as they are such popular gifts for all occasions but especially in the holiday season.  This will be our last challenge of the year and lasts for TWO WEEKS- closing DEC 30, so hopefully you can take some time to join us and share what you are creating to hold your Gift Cards this Christmas. 

I find Visa gift cards are great for sending overseas  - especially as I am not always sure whether the Store cards are accepted in some places or not :-) They are a little larger than the ordinary card size as they come enclosed with the instructions….so I decided to make a slim box for this one using the Envelope Punch Board. 

I scored this pretty DSP as if was using a 10x14cm (4x6 1/2") envelope and before I rotated the DSP, made a second score line about 1/2 a cm after the initial score all the way around. And I rounded all the corners as it gives a neat and even finish. Then it was just a case of putting it together and decorating using the star framelits and the now retired, Bright & Beautiful stamp set.

From the back - the gold bow covers the ribbon join :-)

Card stock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Gold Foil

Designer Series Paper: Season of Cheer, Gold Fancy Foil Vellum

Stamps: Bright & Beautiful (retired), Reason For the Season,

Accessories: Big shot, Star Framelits, Gold EP, Pool Party EP, Snowflake Elements, Triple Banner Punch, Ornate Tag Topper Punch, Gold Cording Trim, Organza Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop over to Just Add Ink and see what our fabulous design team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you create to hold your Gift Cards this year!

I will be back before Christmas but in case I miss you, I hope you have a wonderfully happy and safe Christmas and I'd like to thank everyone who has taken the time to leave comments here over the year - they all are so very much appreciated :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Merry Inspiration - JAI #292

Welcome to Friday - and so that means it's only 2 weeks to Christmas!! Hasn't it come around so quickly this year?! I have finally got most of the shopping done ready for wrapping and posting but I have a lot of cards yet to make!! 

Does this sound familiar? Then you are going to really enjoy this week's challenge at Just Add Ink!! The lovely Nikki has given us these fabulous photos to use as inspiration and the Team have all created a wide variety of wonderful projects to inspire you so I hope you can pop on over and take a look.

Here are the photos:

And here's my card:

Yes, there is a little ornament as well!! With these fabulous inspiration challenges you can take whatever inspires you and see where that leads - for me, several of the silver of the ornaments in the photos caught my eye and reminded me of the Peaceful Pines stamp set and matching Framelits - so I made a little ornament to go with the card :-) 

And if you are thinking this card looks a little familiar you are right - the tree design is based on a card I made a few challenges ago that you can see here . It seemed a great way of incorporating the different colours in the photos :-)  Here, the tree is quite busy so the background has been kept very CAS - vellum, some scattered star sequins and you may just catch a glimpse of the wonderful Wink of Stella clear glitter that's added to the greeting (a sneak peek item from the upcoming Occasions catalogue!). Next time I make this card I will add a few more layers to the "merry" to give it some more dimension I think too.

Card stock: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Vellum, Silver Foil

Ink: Pool Party

Stamps: Peaceful Pines

Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Pines Framelits, Star Framelits, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Christmas Greetings Thinlits, Metallic Sequins, Silver Cording Trim. Wink of Stella (clear)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment and pop by Just Add Ink to see all the wonderful inspiration from our wonderful Team this week. And I look forward to seeing what you will create using these gorgeous photos too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Rose Sympathy PCCCS #173

Welcome to Wednesday and a lovely day it has been too after a hot few days it has been lovely to return to temperatures within the "twenties" centigrade. The garden is growing well - both cucumber and tomatoes are fruiting a regular supply and as salad is the order of the day this hot summer it is a wonderful thing to be able to pick as you need from the garden.

And after an extra week to allow for the Thanksgiving holiday for those in the USA it's time for a new challenge at The Paper Craft Crew. This week we have a sketch for you and the Team have provided a fabulous array of creations to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Sadly, I am in need of a sympathy card for good friend whose mother has recently died. The good news for me is that this wonderful new stamp set Rose Wonder ( a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Catalogue) arrived just in time. So I used the Rose for the circle element of the sketch and the leaves for the hexagon. The greeting and it's fancy frame also come as part of this soon to be popular set :-)

The rose image is stamped onto water colour paper and coloured using an Aqua Painter before being cut out close to the lines which are then completely covered by the white die cut frame. A little black glimmer paper peeping behind the greeting and banner, some scattered rhinestones and this first rose card is complete. It won't be long until the next rose card joins it thats for sure :-)

Card stock: Whisper White (thick and standard), Water colour paper, Black Glimmer

Inks: Pacific Point, Pear Pizzaz, Black Archival

Stamps: Rose Wonder

Accessories: Big Shot, Rose Garden Thinlits, Triple Banner Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Snail, Fine Tip Glue Pen.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to stop by The Paper Craft Crew and see the variety of cards the Team have made to inspire you this week and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this sketch too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add C JAI #291

This Friday marks 3 weeks's until Christmas!! Wow, that has come around so fast this year don't you think?! Are you ready for Christmas?

If you're like me, and not quite ready yet then this weeks challenge at Just Add Ink is one that you will enjoy :-) The lovely Tina has suggested that we Just Add anything " C."  Now of course that doesn't mean you need to limit yourself to Christmas or a card - we would love to see what the letter "C" inspires you to create! Our wonderful Team have made really amazing projects to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and pop on over and take a look.

For this challenge I decided to make something that's maybe a little old school but still fun  - and make some Christmas Candles - these are ones that I will use as gifts this year but you could make something for your home or friends as well :-)

The white candles came from my local Reject Shop although this simple stamping would look great on coloured candles too. I decided to keep it really simple and only stamp a greeting for each candle and then add some ribbon and other details.
To do this, first stamp and / or emboss your image onto one layer of tissue paper. (Tissue Paper is available in most Newsagents and  $2 Shops - and in many colours. Just get the same colour as your candle :-) Then to add to the candle, place the tissue paper image where you want it and hold it tight with a layer of baking paper wrapped around the candle tightly and use enough so you can hold it using the baking paper like a handle. Then use your heat tool to lightly melt the candle - just until the paper disappears. Be careful to stop heating as soon as the Tissue paper disappears or else you may end up with bubbles in your candle. I used 5-8 second bursts and unwrapped the baking paper to see how it was going - a bit like checking the oven on a cake :-)

Then you can add whatever decorations you like - just remember paper decorations will need to be removed as the candle burns down so you don't have a fire situation :-)

Card stock: Real Red, Garden Green, Gold Foil
Ink: Real Red, Garden Green, Versamark
Stamps: Reason for the Season
Accessories: Festive Flower Punch, Brights Candy Dots, Gold EP, Gold Cording trim, Gold Satin Ribbon, Striped Ribbon
Non SU: White Pillar Candles (The Reject Shop), Tissue Paper ($2 Shop), Baking Paper

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to stop by Just Add Ink and see all the wonderful creations the team have made to inspire you and I so look forward to seeing what you will create with this very fun theme!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Sprinkles of Life JAI #290

It's Friday and the week has really flown by!! There has been some very hot weather, and some very cold….visiting family from Queensland and thankfully, Sally is now back on all 4 legs and doing all she should. The veggie garden is also doing really well - the first of the cucumber are nearly ready and the tomatoes won't be long behind them  :-)

And Friday means it's time for a brand new challenge at Just Add Ink. And this week it's a colour challenge suggested by me! The lovely ladies that make up our fabulous Team have created really beautiful projects to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and have a look.

Here are the colours:

Yes - rather bright, bold and beautiful don't you think :-)

Here is my card:

For my card I started by choosing a stamp set - this time the fun Sprinkles of Life that has been sitting quietly on the shelf for way too long. It has so many images and greetings to choose from and already I can see this card being made again - with apples or cherries instead of flowers :-) The greeting thinlits add another layer of texture and height -and are on dimensionals too. The "Thanks" on the actual stamp was masked using a Post It note so as to only stamp the last two words.

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick and standard), Sahara Sand, Watermelon Wonder

Designer Series Paper: Regals Stack

Inks: Garden Green, Watermelon Wonder, Crushed Curry

Stamps: Sprinkles of Life

Accessories: Big Shot, Greetings Thinlits, Large Polka Dot EF, Tree Builder Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Hello Honey Twine (Retired)

Non SU: Dynamics Stitched Circle Dies (My Favourite Things)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment and pop over to Just Add Ink and see all the wonderful creations the  Team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will make with these bright and cheery colours this week!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

JAI #289 Just Add Music

It's Friday and that means it's time for a brand new challenge at Just Add Ink. This week Patrice has suggested a fun challenge for us all - to Just add…Music!
Such a lot of scope for your interpretation and the design team have all come up with amazing cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and have a look!

Here is my card:

 The red, white and blue colours were not intended - I started with the beautiful DSP which features the sheet music of Silent Night and backed it with the red foil and when looking for another colour for the banner, the blue DSP jumped out at me. I did have the news on whilst crafting and saw all the iconic buildings of the world lit up in these colours - and so it seems this beautiful response to the week's sadness in Paris has somehow influenced my crafting! Whilst my blue is not the same as the flag this thought did prompt me to add the Noel die cut. And suddenly we have a rare "no stamping" card. Got to love that even if I do say so myself :-)

Card stock: Real Red, Very Vanilla, Red Foil

Designer Series Paper: Home For Christmas, Winter Wonderland Designer Vellum

Accessories: Big Shot, Star Framelits, Wonderful Wreath Framelits, Triple Banner Punch, Snowflake Elements, Gold Cording Trim, Metallic Sequins Assortment,

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous creations from the design team to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this very fun musical theme!

Happy stamping until next time, 

Jan

Give Thanks PCCC#171

It's Wednesday already and that means its time for a new challenge from The Paper Craft Crew. This is the third of our monthly "non sketch" challenges and this week we have a lovely THEME for you of Giving Thanks. Whilst there is a special holiday for this in the USA, thanks is something we all love to give and receive and the Team have made a great variety of cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and pop on over and take a look :-)

Here is my card:

My starting point for this card was the stamp set and I decided to try a new colour combo. I haven't used this year's In Colours hardly at all (except for Watermelon Wonder) so it was time to use some Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe together and some Pink Pirrouette to keep it feminine :-) Hopefully you can just see the lightly stamped "so much" too.

Card stock: Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Go Wild Stack

Inks: Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe, Pink Pirouette,

Stamps: Floral Wings, Crazy About You

Accessories: Big Shot, Lots of Labels Framelits, Large Polka Dots EF, Expressions Wood Elements, Basic Pearls, Metallic Sequins, Gold cording Trim

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment and pop over to The Paper Craft Crew and see what the rest of the Team have made to inspire you this week and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this lovely theme too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

On Stage Melbourne - and Swaps

I was so looking forward to going to Onstage in Melbourne and then mid week we had a disaster and I wasn't sure if I would be able to go! 

Sally the Lab was just over 2 weeks post surgery to fix a dislocating knee and all was going well. She had her clips out on Wednesday and then Thursday morning as she was coming in from outside - crash!! She fell on her way up the 4 stairs!! She never made a sound and picked herself up but was shaking by the time I reached her. Poor girl - the tibia felt like it might be broken so off to Hallam we went. X-rays sadly revealed she had pulled the pins holding the plate off her tibia but not broken the leg thankfully and as her Specialist wasn't in that day, she stayed  overnight for more surgery in the morning. In the end, this last part was a good thing - not only would she have the surgeon that knew her best (and has a soft spot for her) but she would stay the night of surgery as usual which meant that I could attend the morning sessions of On Stage at least - a big yay :-)

On Stage was also my first opportunity to meet up with some of our very lovely Just Add Ink team members! For me that was the best part of all :-) These lovely ladies so warmly welcomed me onto the Team in February and it has been wonderful getting to know them and so lovely to be able to spend half a day sharing and crafting together! So looking forward to the next time already :-)

And I made a few (20 ) swaps to celebrate the occasion - with a lot of help from my good friend Katerina who came over and was on Big Shot duty. And yes this was the day before Sally had her fall so they nearly didn't get used but all worked for the best.

This bundle is my favourite from the Holiday Catalogue if you hadn't guessed :-)

Such a shame to hear it will be retiring at the end of the Holiday Catalogue so if you want it I suggest you get it quick as it has been popular!

The sky is some Night of Navy card with the Gently Falling EF and just adding a little white on each of the dots with the Gel Pen. There is some gold glimmer behind the houses windows and I am also grateful for my newish MISTI! Only one stamped image here but line it up and off you go - all 20 done perfectly in record time :-)

Card stock: Night of Navy, Whisper White (thick), Silver Foil, gold Glimmer (behind windows)

Ink: Night of Navy

Stamp: Jingle All The Way'

Accessories: Big Shot, Sleigh Ride Thinits, Star Framelits,Gently Falling EF, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, White Gel Pen, Silver Cording Trim

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you are excited for Christmas crafting!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

P.S. For those I know will be asking: Sally is doing really well now thank you - not too much walking yet as per restrictions but keen for more and happy :-)

Follow Your Dreams JAI #288

Wow this week has really flown! This Saturday is the Stampin Up On Stage event here in Melbourne and I am really looking forward to catching up with some of our Just Add Ink team members that are coming for it too. My lovely friend Katerina popped by on Wednesday to help me with my swaps which are all ready early - really love that - thanks K :-)

And also lovely is our new challenge at Just Add Ink this week :-) The lovely Narelle has suggested a fabulous sketch for us all to use. Very clean and open to interpretation and the Team have created wonderful samples to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

This is for a friend's daughter's 13th birthday and pink was definitely the order of the day -  and I'm not quite sure how the numbers ended up on the INSIDE for this significant birthday but they did :-) 

The fun caravan was coloured with an Aqua Painter on water colour paper and then fussy cute out. The layering was so easy with lots of framelits and you may be able to see that the white panel is raised on dimensionals to be a little higher than the DSP strip - polka dots on polka dots - this was such a fun card to make!

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick), Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Water Colour Paper, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer

Designer Series Paper: Brights Stack

Inks: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Basic Grey

Stamps: You're Sublime

Accessories: Big shot, Stars Framelits, Hearts Framelits, Large Polka Dots EF, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Triple Banner Punch, Silver Cording Trim, Basic rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the wonderful creations the Team have made to inspire you this week and I look forward to seeing what you will make with this fabulous sketch too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just For You #JAI 287 Inspiration

It's Friday all so quickly and our household is starting to return to normal routine after a busy week and a half :-)
And it's time for a new fun challenge at Just Add Ink where Jodene has found these wonderful photos for us all to use. The Team have been busy and made fabulous creations to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and have a look.

Here are this week's photos:

And here is my Mini Treat Bag:

I don't really have any leaf stamps at the moment but this colourful DSP has several of the leaf colours in the photos and then I took inspiration from the lovely yellow flower for the tag and the inside. 

I very nearly used the poinsettia for the tag but it is a nice surprise as you open the bag too :-)

The Tag greeting and bow are from the Mini Treat Bag Framelits and I used the Hello You Thinlits for the inside card. Again keeping it simple so the poinsettia and DSP can be the stars.

Card stock: Daffodil Delight, Tangelo Twist, Old Olive,

Designer Series Paper: Into The Woods

Inks: Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist, Old Olive

Stamps: Flower Patch, Reason For The Season, Crazy About You

Accessories: Big Shot, Mini Treat Bag Framelit, Flower Fair Framelits, Hello You Thinlits, Poinsettia Punch, Triple Banner Punch, Iced Rhinestones, Basic Rhinestones, Gold Cording Trim

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment and pop on over to Just Add Ink and be inspired by all the wonderful creations the Team have made for you this week and I look forward to seeing what you create with these photos too!