Jar of Flowers for JAI #317

Happy Friday and welcome to a chilly mid Winter's day here in Melbourne. Whilst we didn't see much of the sun today as it's been pouring with rain - and there is apparently hail and more wintery delights on the way... it's a good time to be resting up, nursing the annual dose of cold and flu - hopefully it doesn't stay too long - both the rain and the flu!

And with the beginning of the school holidays, we have a new challenge at Just Add Ink to spark your weekend crafting. Kim has suggested a really pretty, Spring-like Colour combo for us all to use. The design team have created fabulous cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look :-)

Here are the colours:

And here is my card:

The colours seemed perfect for using flowers and leaves so I decided to play with the new Jar of Love stamp set :-) The roses are two step stamping to give the shading and detail  (I used a stamping off technique) and masked off the top of the jar with a Post it Note to stamp the stems. Being photopolymer you can bend the stems to be any shape you like and I was wanting a natural-ish  looking curve to them. Cutting out the jar with the framelits and using another Post it mask for where the jar would be, meant I could lengthen the stems a little to make room for all the blooms too.

 This card is in the post on it's way to a lovely aunt. My uncle passed away a few weeks ago and whilst there was much love shared at the time, it's often a little while later when the phone stops ringing and there is a new normal routine to be made where a card can make a difference too :-)

Card stock: Rose Red, Basic Black, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Subtles Stack

Ink: Rose Red, Flirty Flamingo, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizazz, Versamark, Momento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Jar of Love

Accessories: Big Shot, Everyday Jar Framelits, White EP, Basic Rhinestones, Strawberry Slush Twine (retired)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to see what the rest of our fabulous Just Add Ink team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this pretty colour combo too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Sunshine Retirement

Hello, it's mid winter in Melbourne and we really are noticing the change from our "mild" Autumn to the rather miserably cold, wet and darker season! Maybe that is why I am so keen to play with the Sunshine Sayings stamp set? I'm sure that helps, lol but it is also new, fun and so versatile :-)

I needed a Retirement card for a friend and whilst I really wanted to say "enjoy the" sunshine... "it's on it's way" was always going to be ok as I know she is heading to the Northern Hemisphere for some summer warmth soon. The beautiful scene is from a new DSP stack that I will be needing some more of soon I suspect. So handy and so beautiful!

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Basic Black, Gold Foil
Designer Series Paper: Serene Scenery Stack
Ink: Versamark
Stamps: Sunshine Sayings
Access: Big Shot, Sunshine Wishes Thinlits, White EP, White Thick Bakers Twine

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying the sunshine wherever you are today :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Mint Striped Gift Bag for JAI #316

 Happy Friday everyone and welcome! It's been a chilly week. Winter - cold, wet, short days....on Tuesday we will have the Shortest Day and - hooray as that is the beginning of the countdown til Spring with the days getting longer again :-)

And we have a brand new challenge at Just Add Ink for you to enjoy. Patrice has suggested a fabulous theme for us all to use - to Just Add.....Stripes! There are so many ways you can use stripes in your crafting!!  Our lovely team have created amazing samples to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop over and have a look.

This was my first play with the new Sunshine Sayings stamp and matching Thinlits.  I finally decided on Mint Macaron striped DSP for the bag and also oadopted some "stripes" for the tag greeting. This was a new colour combo for me too and is one I might explore again :-)

 

With all the lovely silver, photography was a bit tricky. The "sun" is cut with the Sunburst Framelit and trimmed. Next,  I stamped a few of the "brushstrokes" image that comes with the set in pinks and used the flower framelit to cut through it and added a silver version offset slightly. To create the Mambo twine I pulled apart some of the Mambo and Black twisted twine that came in a combo pack. 

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

Designer Series Paper: Pop of Pink,  It's My Party Stack (retired)

Inks: Versamark, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo,  Mint Macaron

Stamps: Sunshine Sayings

Accessories: Big Shot: Mini Treat Bag Framelit, Sunshine Wishes Thinlits, Sunburst Framelit, White EP,  Melon Mambo Striped Twine (Bakers Twine Combo pack - retired), Black Twine, Brights Enamel Shapes 

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop over to Just Add Ink and see the cards our fabulous team have created to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create using stripes this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Layered Butterfly Birthday

Happy Tuesday to you! I hope you enjoyed your long weekend and maybe even got some extra time for crafting? I was blessed to have catch ups with two of my favourite friends popping in - and we even got to stamp as we chatted - after we had a good look over some of the new toys of course :-)

However, today's card features some favourites that have been around since the start of the year at least :-) It was made for a lovely friend's recent birthday and she likes her gold and layers of texture so I hope she likes this.
There are 3 layers of butterflies - with the white having a liberal dose of Wink of Stella for some pretty sparkle! The stamped swirls and grunge effects are gold embossed using the Timeless Textures stamp and there is Pool Party twine added behind the butterflies too for both it's colour and textural effect :-)

Card stock: Whisper White (thick and standard), Gold Foil, Melon Mambo
Designer Series Paper: Neutrals and Subtles Stacks
Inks: Melon Mambo, Versamark
Stamps: Rose Wonder, Timeless Textures
Accessories: Big Shot, Bold Butterfly Framelits, Butterflies Thinlits, Triple Banner Punch, Gold EP, Iced Rhinestones (Retired, sadly), Pool Party Twine, Basic Rhinestones

I also made a larger version of this card to frame and use in my hallway. I previously had a stamped and coloured Swallowtail themed frame that was well due for an update :-)

Here the gold butterfly has gone to the back of the image - and a larger one used that was too big for the card version. This was inspired by a frame featured in a Stampin Up magazine early in the year  featuring butterflies in a frame and it was an idea that I really wanted to try. Then, to take that inspiration and turn it into a card as well was really fun to do and I hope that you too might be encouraged to try it too.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

RIP Rusty

Hello friends and welcome to the weekend. Our pets are part of our family and so when the time comes to say goodbye it is heartbreaking. They keep us company, make us laugh, entertain us and always somehow seem to know just when we need a hug.
 Earlier this week, I got the phone call I had been expecting - and dreading - from some lovely friends that they had had to say goodby to their beloved terrier, Rusty. He had been unwell for a short while and sadly he would've otherwise have had his 17th birthday tomorrow.  But it was not to be. Like many of our much loved pets, he now has a permanent home in the garden where he can rest peacefully.

So of course a card was needed and I realised I have a gap in my stamp cupboard!  As I was going to be using Copics, I went back to the practice sheets from an Online Card Classes course covering Copics and as I practiced, I realised that this image would be the most like him. To give with the card, I have a silver photo frame, so that was my inspiration. So a water coloured background scene was needed and then some Wink of Stella to both the image and the paw prints. The beautiful sentiment is from Stampendous and is so true don't you think?

On the collar is his tag which here is one of the new heart Metallic Enamel Shapes. It is rather opaque and shines just as beautifully (maybe even more so) than the regular coloured ones. The frame is popped up using the new Foam Adhesive Strips - they are higher than Dimensionals but also rather narrow - so easily hidden :-)

Card stock: Whisper White (thick and standard) Real Red,Water Colour paper, Silver Foil
Ink: Pacific Point, Wild Wasabi, Momento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: D is For Dog
Accessories: Big Shot, Aqua Painter, Large heart punch (retired), Metallic Enamel Shapes, Wink of Stella
Non SU: Dog Image Copyright Online Card Classes (courtesy of Lawn Fawn), Dog Sayings - Stampendous, Stitched Square Dies - Simon Says Stamps

Thanks for stopping by today, and don't forget to give your pets an extra pat today - and especially if they too are called Rusty ( I know of one other very special boy with this lovely name who I'd love to send a pat out to too :-)).

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Pop of Pink #JAI 315

 Hello and happy Friday to you! Here we are celebrating the start of a long weekend - Queens Birthday. The weather isn't that great - but we are almost mid Winter so we can't complain :-)

And we have a new challenge at Just Add Ink to help spark your weekend crafting. Tina has created a fabulous sketch for us all to use and our lovely Team have all made beautiful cards 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:

Yes, it's a vibrant one this week :-) This was my first play with the new Pop of Paradise stamp set - when I saw the sketch I knew I wanted to use the feathers in gold for the "leaves" and the rest came together from there and flipping the sketch to the side meant they could almost cradle the "hello" :-)  I am loving the new Enamel Shapes too - they are perfectly colour matched to the inks and so shiny.  

Card stock: Basic Black, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Pop of Pink

Inks: Basic Black (Archival), Melon Mambo, Versamark

Stamps: Pop of Paradise

Accessories: Big Shot, Circle Framelits (retiring), Gold EP, Brights Enamel Shapes

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can pop in over to Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous cards our design team have made to inspire you and I look forward to see what you will create with this fun sketch this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Another Beautiful Ride for JAI #314

 

Yes, you're in the right place - and yes, it was time for a blog Make Over! The "smurf" look  is gone and hopefully that means that you are able to see the creations more easily. I couldn't resist a little blue around the outsides though and the new colour of the blog Header reminds me of the new Dapper Denim so that has to be good :-)
It's going to take a little time to get used to - for me as well - so let's start with a post that possibly  wouldn't have looked that great in blue. I guess now we'll never know, LOL!

Today's card is the one I started working on for this week's challenge at Just Add Ink to use an Inspiration photo in your crafting. You can see my original post and check out the challenge here. The card eventually came together as you can see :-)
The map is DSP from the Going Places DSP Stack and it's been water coloured.  I'll let you into a little secret - I don't really like Vanilla! Ice cream, sure - but not in card stock or DSP. I don't usually buy it but somehow this Stack made it into my craft space. This page of roads seemed perfect to go with my favourite VW except I had to do something to disguise the Vanilla lol! And I know the lovely VW is retiring but it will always have a home on my shelf.  The card is for a friend who has just bought a new Golf after driving mine with me to Castlemaine a couple of months back so I hope she likes it :-)

Card stock: Crushed Curry, Blackberry Bliss, Basic Black, Water Colour paper
Designer Series Paper: Going Places Stack
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Basic Grey, Crushed Curry, Versamark, Black Stazon
Stamps: Beautiful Ride
Accessories: Big Shot, Large Polka Dots EF, White EP, Brights Sequins Assortment, Twine Pack ( Saleabration 2015)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Swirly Inspiration for JAI #314

Happy Winter friends - or Summer if you happen to be in the Northern Hemisphere :-) Here in Melbourne we have had a week of crisp and chilly mornings and beautiful sunny days. Surely the best we could hope for!!

And it's time for a brand new challenge at Just Add Ink! This week, Di has found a fabulous photo for us all to use. You can take whatever inspires you from the photo - the fruit themselves, the shapes, or the colours. Our lovely team have all made stunning creations to inspire you so I hope you can pop on over and take a look :-)

Here is the photo:

And here is my card:

Yes, I must confess I am totally addicted to Swirly....and it does represent the fruit quite well from the  pic don't you think?? This did come together quite quickly in the end. Initially I was a bit thrown by the colours (and missed seeing the green) and I did start with another stamp set....but after a bit of a struggle I saw Swirly sitting there and an idea quickly formed - one of those lovely moments :-) The design was centred around the main flower of course and a little overlap of the swirls. The Blackberry and Daffodil ones have stamped and die cut centres and the green are left plain to represent leaves. Then all it needed was a greeting and some of the now ever present Wink of Stella :-)

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick for the base, and standard), Blackberry Bliss, Crushed Curry
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Blackberry Bliss, Emerald Envy ( a new favourite too!), Versa mark
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Suite Sayings
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, White EP, Triple Banner Punch, 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 cards our fabulous team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fun photo challenge too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan