Simply Easter

It's the last week of Daylight Savings and today has been one of those beautiful Autumn days. It started crisp and clear and we enjoyed a warm top of 27 degrees before it started to cool again during the late afternoon.
Sally seems recovered from her latest round of Vet visits and enjoyed a "full on" play with her best friend Monty…then he lay down to chew on a stick - which she then wanted and eventually teased him into giving it up. She is too smart - she know how to push his buttons - but he doesn't really seem to mind :-)

 Here - he still has the stick

Now he's lost it but doesn't seem to mind as long as he has her attention!

Yes, they are best friends - so cute :-)

So it was a quiet afternoon for the dogs after all that exercise and I could look at making some simple Easter cards to give to some friends at church later this week :-)

Very simple :-) I stamped the starburst image from Kinda Eclectic on white card stock in Lost Lagoon and then embossed the Cross in Gold on a vellum layer. A simple greeting and some gold twine and all done!

Card stock: Lost Lagoon, Whisper White, Vellum card stock

Inks: Lost Lagoon, Versamark

Stamps: Kinda Eclectic, Blessed by God, Seasonal Wishes (retired)

Accessories: Gold EP, Heat Tool, Gold Twine

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add A Sketch

In Melbourne it feels more like Winter than Autumn today - there's even been some snow on the Victorian Alps - at this rate there will be an early opening for the Ski fields! Hopefully the rain will clear as forecast and the weekend will be a little warmer :-)

And as it's Friday it is also time for another challenge at Just Add Ink. This week we have a lovely sketch for you from Tina :-)  I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and see all the wonderful cards that the Team have created to inspire you this week!

So here is the sketch:

And here is my card :-)

I decided to go with a typeset theme and keep this a little clean and simple  - and let the little Epoxy heart do its's best to shine :-) This was made with another friend in hospital in mind - and seeing there seems to be a few of them lately I decided to make another one in slightly softer shades - just changing the base to Lost Lagoon but otherwise the same :-)

Card stock: Coastal Cabana, Pool Party, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Vellum Silver Foil Specialty

Inks: Coastal Cabana,

Stamps: Tap Tap Tap, Dictionary

Accessories: Big Shot, Starburst Framelits, Alphabet EF, Angled Tag Topper Punch, PL Corner Rounder Punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, White Organza Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Epoxy Stickers

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 too create with this sketch.

And don't forget to watch the Cricket this Sunday - dream Final of the Cricket World Cup - Australia vs New Zealand. I usually sit on the fence unless it's rugby these days…..but no, Go NEW ZEALAND!!! :-0

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Flower Patch Happy Birthday

Today is another gorgeous Autumn day here in Melbourne - a bit chilly to start with but then the clouds cleared and we had " a bright sun shiny day" as the song goes :-)

With Sally (black Lab) having had two large molars (teeth) removed yesterday I am playing Nurse again. We didn't have a great night - a little bit of bleeding and she was obviously in pain for a while as the anaesthetic wore off. But having been through the mill with loads of leg surgery recently (bionic is how our lovely Vet refers to her!) she is a star patient and never really complains. By late morning she was keen to go the Park - pretty amazing!! 

And being Wednesday, it is time for another sketch from The Paper Craft Crew. The team have come up with a great variety of cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and pop on over to check them out. So here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Yes, I know  - I am usually the last person to go for DSP when I can have some white space but here the green and gold DSP seems to sit ok don't you think? I was quite surprised too as it's not a paper I thought I'd use much :-)

Card stock: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Gold foil Specialty

Designer Series Paper: Gold Soiree Specialty

Inks: Versamark, Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding

Stamps; Flower Patch, Four You

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Circle Framelits, Owl Punch ( flower centre), Gold Twine, Hexagon Punch

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to check out all the varied cards the Team has created to inspire you at The Paper Craft Crew and I look forward to seeing your creation in the Gallery too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Expanded Mini Treat Bag

Yesterday our Sally (11 year old black Lab) went to the Vet (who also happens to be our lovely neighbour) for a dental clean and ended up having 2 upper molars removed. It was a bit of a shock as she gets regular bones etc but there is no way she will ever let you look inside her mouth - unless she's sedated! We suspected there was something not quite right - just not quite that bad! But I suppose she did have a few litters of puppies before she was adopted and she is 11now so not too bad in light of that. Anyway, she is doing really well today and even wanted to go for a bit of a walk - so we did fpop out for 10 mins or so. I doubt I'd be up to that if I'd just had two big back teeth out!

Today I also have the little tutorial I promised on the little expansion to the Mini Treat Bag to fit a Lindt bunny for Easter. You can see the original post here and there is also a link on the page to a video by Linda Parker who came up with the idea and demonstrates how to make them. What I am sharing is a quick and simple photo tutorial based on her video with the added window etc :-)

To start:

Cut two of the large die pieces. As these will be stuck together side by side try to ensure you cut them the same direction so they match :-) And a piece of co-ordinating card stock measuring 11.5 x 4.5 cm scored  at 1cm on each short end.

Next score each bag in the same way : count 2 of the razor points on the shorter side and score all the way down. Next count 5 more and score to just over half way -  the markers are nearly correct in the bottom photo. Do this with both pieces of DSP. Then cut the razor-sharp part off so the height is the same as the main side. Do this for the other piece as well.

Then lightly score and fold all the originally scored sides by the die and add sticky tape to the outside tabs. And angle cut the corners of the long tab.

Next join these two pieces together by the long Tab (other sticky tape yet to be added in the photo - oops!)

Now is a good time to cut your oval or circle or whatever shape you want to use for the window. Just be sure to note which piece will end up being the front of your card as you don't really want the window in the back LOL!

For mine - I measured the height of the bunny so that his face can appear in the window but you could turn the oval up the other way or use another shape too. If you want to strengthen the bag you can add a piece of window sheet to the window now before you put it together as it's a lot easier that when it's put together - how do I know? Because I did it the other way around the first time of course :-)

Now it's time to put the bag together! Start by attaching one end of the card stock and then fold inwards so the DSP sits on top of the card

And just tuck the end pieces in to finish :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add Eggs / Ovals

The Seasons are well and truly changing - though we had a short lived return to Summer yesterday with a lovely 33 degrees - quickly followed by a storm and a little rain - so maybe not quite Summer again after all ;-) 

And it's also hard to believe that Easter is only just a couple of weeks away!! So it's a fabulous suggestion by Nikki that this week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to "Just Add Eggs / Ovals" 

 Of course please don't feel limited to making an Easter themed project - ANYTHING using ovals or eggs is the idea of this challenge!!  So I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and see all the wonderful and varied creations that the Team have made to inspire you this week.

I decided to do an Easter themed oval - with a total of 3 Nieces and 1 Nephew so far (as surely the numbers need to even up a little lol?! ) this doting Aunty from afar is getting ready to post some chocolate love back home to New Zealand. And I've had the pleasure of meeting them all but the youngest who is only 8 weeks old ;-) 

This cute little box in a bag is made using the Mini Treat Bag Framelit. I saw a video by Linda Parker to expand the bag using 2 pieces cut with the largest of the bag dies. Detailed instructions are in Linda's video although I will look at putting together a quick and easy photo tutorial over the next couple of days. Suffice to say the little Lindt bunny fits inside perfectly and I added some Window sheet to give it the strength needed to stand the rigours of going through the mail :-)

Card stock: Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White, Gold Foil Vellum, Window Sheet

Designer Series Paper: In Colour stack, Gold Foil Designer Vellum 

Inks: Versamark, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizazz

Stamps: Flower Patch, Seasonal Wishes (long retired)

Accessories: Big Shot, Oval Framelits, Gold EP, Gold Sequin Trim, Gold and Silver Mini Clothes pegs, Calypso coral Ribbon (Saleabration)

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 wonderfully varied projects the Team have made to inspire you! And I look forward to seeing what you will make this week with either eggs or ovals - or maybe even both :-0

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Happy 3 Year Old Birthday

Today has been a lovely day - quite warm too - and I also spent some time catching up with a friend for lunch to celebrate her birthday:-)
Then it was home and time to take Sally out for a walk to the dog park and we caught up with some more friends there and had a fabulous surprise - Nala, a golden Lab who we've known since she was 3 months old (so tiny then!) has moved back into the area after being away for about a year at least (she is now 4!) and she got a very warm welcome from the doggies who obviously remembered her! Nala was the only dog EVER that Sally and Monty allowed to join in on their rough and tumble "Mum and Dad" play. Nala, when a puppy would jump on the lower end of whichever dog happened to be on the ground at the time  - and they let her think she was helping to hold them down :-) So it was a very happy reunion for both doggies and owners!

And now it is evening and time for another sketch from The Paper Craft Crew :-) This week's sketch has a great mix of shapes and the Team have come up with some fantastic inspiration so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and check them out :-).
So here is the sketch:

And I thought this would be perfect for my second oldest Niece turning 3 later this week :

So I've used the fun Celebrate Today balloons and used some Gold Foil for the skinny banner which seems a little less shiny in real life than the photo. The fun Pom Pom Trim replaces the bow and the rest  is pretty much as per the sketch. The 3 itself also has a good layer of Crystal Effects to give it some dimension and shine. "The "birthday" is actually gold embossed -even though it looks like it's black :-( there is only one stamped image - but a whole collection of dies used here.

Card stock:Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Whisper White, Gold Foil

Designer Series Paper: Best Year Ever

Inks: Calypso Coral, Versamark

Stamps: Celebrate Today

Accessories: Big Shot, Balloon Framelits, Starburst Framelits, Circle Framelits, Banner Framelits,Timeless Type Alphabet (retired)

Thanks for stopping by today :-) I hope you have a moment to pop on over and check out all the lovely inspiration from the Team at The Paper Craft Crew this week and I look forward to seeing what you create with this sketch this week!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add a Colour Challenge

Welcome to another fabulous Melbourne Friday - yes, a coolish night but a gorgeous day ahead and that is what we love about Autumn - warm days but cool enough at night to sleep well :-) And with no fallen leaves yet,  it must still be early in the season despite the way it feels. And as a friend in Canada reminded me the other day - who is still experiencing snow and barely above freezing temperatures - it could be a whole lot worse so we are not going to complain :-)

 This week at  Just Add Ink we have a gorgeous colour challenge for you chosen by Kim. Such vibrant and earthy colours -  great Autumnal (or Spring-ish ) tones don't you think?
And the Team have created a fabulous variety of projects with these awesome colours so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and be inspired :-)

And here is what I've made:

This card is for a friend preparing to have an operation this week - and not surprisingly - he is not looking forward to being out of action for a little while. These things always seem so much worse when we have to wait for them too don't they -  more time to think about it which is not always helpful! So this phrase from Really Good Greetings seemed the perfect choice as a little encouragement :-) And whilst the butterfly and the touches of bling aren't too masculine (and I did hold off from scattering a few extra) ) I know his wife will appreciate them ;-)

Card stock: Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White

Inks: Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist, Old Olive Blendabilities Markers

Stamps: Really Good Greetings, Starburst Sayings, Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge

Accessories: Big Shot, On Film Framelits, Starburst Framelits, Butterfly Framelits, Basic rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to pop on over to see what the Team at Just Add Ink have created to inspire you this week and I look forward to seeing what you will make for this challenge too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Black and Red Birthday

Welcome to Autumn in Melbourne - it's that crazy time of year when you get up in the morning and turn on the heating  and by the afternoon you need the Cooling instead! Quite strange but it's true :-) Today was another crisp start and although the sky is clear and sun is shining the breeze IS cool enough that the cooling isn't needed thankfully.

And being Wednesday it's time for another sketch from The Paper Craft Crew. 

Quite a lot of detail in the sketch this week ;-) The Team have created some fabulous cards to inspire you so do take a moment to pop over and have a look! I needed a card for a good friend having a birthday this week and thought this sketch would suit her very well - as long as I used red and black her favourite colours, and pearls :-)

The layered flower is from the Crazy About You set - same set that goes with the wonderful Hello You thinnlits that I just can't seem to get enough of so I thought that for this card I'd try and use more than just the words this time :-) I created the greeting using two of the stamps - and masked the "be" using a Post it Note while  inking the "Just Be" image and then removed the Note to stamp. The "For" is stamped a little lower on the main panel. Being photopolymer, they are so easy to line up. 

Card stock: Real Red, Whisper White, Basic black

Designer Series Paper: Back to black

Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Real Red

Stamps: Crazy About You, Papillon Potpourri

Accessories: Big Shot, Hexagon EF, Hello You Thinlits, Itty Bitty Banner Framlelits, Black Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls

Now I promise to use something different on the next card :-) But in the meantime I hope you can take a moment and pop on over to The Paper Craft Crew and see the great inspiration from the Team and I look forward to seeing what you create with this sketch this week!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add a Photo Inspiration

It is incredible how quickly the night and morning temperatures have dropped - it is only the first week of Autumn and yet the change of Season seems definite.  I hope it is the same for those waiting for Spring :-)

This week at Just Add Ink we have a wonderful Inspiration Photo Challenge for you chosen by Nikki. Aren't they just just fabulous :-) From the photos below you can choose as much as you like to include in your project and the Team have come up with some awesome ideas to inspire you so I hope you can pop on over and have a look :-)

For me there is a lot to love about these photos : a fabulous colour combo and I just adore the butterflies arriving over the pool of water.

So in theory this should have been an easy challenge for me but in actual fact it wasn't - I found I was wanting to include all the elements - particularly the beautifull butterfly, and the silver circles. But it's just this sort of challenge we all love really isn't - one that stretches us a little out of our comfort zone:-)

And so initially  I decided to make a circle Easel card -  silver and white with a pink/black butterfly 

and included the lovely Silver Vellum as a background….

 And although the butterfly is the hero as it is supposed to be…

it all looked a little washed out to me.

So I changed it up a bit…

And pulled it together  - literally :-0 - into a stand up circle card.

I think I like this better but what about you?

Card stock: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White,  Silver Foil Specialty

Designer Series Paper: Silver Vellum specialty

Inks: Versamark, Melon Mambo Blendabilities Markers

Stamps: Crazy for You

Accessories: Big Shot, Circle Framelits, Hello You Thinlits, 1/3/8 Circle punch, Decorative Dots EF, Silver EP, Silver Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have 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 create for this fabulous Inspiration Photo challenge :-) 

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Happy Cake Birthday

Well it is the first Wednesday in Autumn already! And although we still have Daylight Savings for about another month, the evenings and nights seem cooler already. I am happy for those enduring snow…and am hoping you get to see some Spring colours soon but I am not looking forward to the dark and cold nights of winter either :-(

So maybe thats' why I chose to bring out some bright colours for this week's Sketch at The Paper Craft Crew? The Team have created a great variety of cards to inspire you this week so I hope you can pop on over and check them all out too!

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card :-)

I do love this Birthday Bash DSP - with its bright colours and touches of gold….so I decided to use the Film Framelit rectangle instead of a standard square for my card…..and so the Camera was a natural accent :-) The twine is a little extra - but I did think it was handy to break up the navy in the bold striped DSP! 

Card stock: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Gold Foil specialty

Designer Series Paper: Birthday Bash

Ink: Bermuda Bay

Stamps: Well Worded

Accessories: Big Shot, On Film Framelits, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Coastal Cabana Twine

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to pop on over to The Paper Craft Crew and see what the rest of the Team has made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will make with this sketch too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan