Friday 30 September 2016

Pink Wings for Jai #321


Hello and a very happy Friday to you! Here in Melbourne it is a Public Holiday as we have the Grand Final of the footy on Saturday and there will be a parade today. It basically will be a Melbourne vs Sydney kind of thing the way it's worked out - and the local team, the Western Bulldogs haven't made a Final match in 62 years so even though I don't follow the game...Like most locals, I'm hoping the "Dogs" get over the line as would be a once in a lifetime event for their fans :-) EDIT: Am pleased to be able to say they DID win - woo hoo :-)


So just in time for the long weekend is our new challenge at Just Add Ink this week. Nikki has suggested a fabulous and fun theme for us all to use - to Just Add WINGS!! Now there are all sorts of different wings - fixed, floating and coloured and colourful. Our wonderful team have all created a beautiful and wide variety of Winged ideas to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and fly on over and take a look and join us :-)


For my wings, I went with a mix of stamped and water coloured ones I haven't played with butterflies in a while and decided to aim for a soft and pink and girly look for the layers. The base layer is stamped in Melon Mambo - stamped off x5 for the lightest shade and then one less each time for the rest. The next butterfly is water coloured and die cut from water colour paper. And the top layer is of course some shiny gold foil for a bit of bling :-)


And many thanks to Di Barnes for creating this lovely new watermark too :-)

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White, Gold Foil, Water color Paper
Designer Series Paper: Pop of Pink
Inks: Versamark, Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate
Stamps: Watercolor Wings, Timeless Textures, Sunshine Sayings
Accessories: Big Shot, Bold Butterfly Framelits, Butterflies Thinlits, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, Gold EP,  Metallic Enamel Shapes, Black Metallic Thread

It's all go for us at the moment too as we have now found our new home - less than 5mins drive away and there is much to do and organise in the next 3 weeks.  I am really blessed by the many offers of help already - from neighbours to old and new friends it really is awesome!! 

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see the rest of our lovely team's amazing cards and I look forward to seeing what you create with this fun theme this week too.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Friday 23 September 2016

Scenic Flourish for JAI #330


Happy Friday to you and welcome :-) It's been a busy week with the impending house move getting closer. Hopefully this weekend is the one we find our new home. And we are taking Sally to the vet specialist today too as it seems she may need one last op to remove a torn ligament. So she's fasting (just in case) this morning which means she's still in bed....no show without breakfast - though I don't blame her :-)

So today we have a fun new challenge for you at Just Add Ink. This week, Kim has created a fabulous sketch for us all to use. Our lovely and talented 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 and join us.

Here's the sketch:


And here's my card:


I changed the large banner to the die cut strip and used leaves as my second smaller banner. Then it seemed to need some more leaves on the other side...so I kept them underneath only.
The beautiful Serene Scenery DSP provides the perfect background for the floral pops of colour. And there is a light water colour wash added to the rectangle layer before using the Gold Wink of Stella to flick some gold touches - yes, they went everywhere :-)


Card stock: Old Olive, Whisper White (underneath the DSP so it can be popped up on dimensionals), Flirty Flamingo, Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake, Vellum, Watercolor Paper.
Designer Series Paper: Serene Scenery
Ink: Versamark
Stamps: Birthday Blooms
Accessories: Big Shot, Flourish Thinlits, Gold EP,  Gold Wink of Stella, Metallic Enamel Shapes
Non SU: Stitched Circle and Rectangle Dies- Simon Says Stamps

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see the inspiration from the team this week I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fabulous sketch this week too :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Tuesday 20 September 2016

More Swirly Bird Birthday


Hello and happy Tuesday  to you! I hope your week is going well. Here in Melbourne it is School Holidays and the Melbourne Show is in full swing - everything from baby animals, those insanely scary rides to showbags...and the sun is shining and the days starting to warm up a little  so perfect timing. And of course it is so lovely to see all the spring growth and blooms in the garden and also in the streets and parks when we are out walking with Sally the Lab. So many colours and birds - my favourite time of year :-)

The card I have to show you today is based on one I made recently for a lovely friend's birthday.  You can see that card here. I used the same stamps and design and just changed the colours to include those of a recent Just Add Ink colour challenge. Please not that this is not the current challenge - you can see that here :-)



Swirly Bird is one of my favourite stamps this year and this time I wanted the die cut panels to be popped up on dimensionals. As is the "bird's nest" :-) Very CAS today!


Card stock: Whisper White, thick and standard, Dapper Denim. Basic Black
Ink: Calypso Coral, Dapper Denim, Soft Sky
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Sunshine Wishes
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles thinlits, White EP,  Subtles Enamel Shapes

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are able to enjoy the sunshine wherever you are and whatever you are doing today.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Friday 16 September 2016

Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop


Hello and welcome to the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop! This is my first time joining these talented and lovely ladies in their monthly hop and I am very honoured and excited to be doing so! In case we are new to you, our hops work on a circle basis so if you've started with me, just keep following the links until you wind up back here again.  So it's time to grab a cuppa and sit back and prepare to enjoy as you hop along to see the projects that all 9 of us have for you and we hope that you are inspired as we show you our Favourites from the Holiday Catalogue (or" Catalog" the spelling depending on where in the world you live :-) )


So a big warm Australian Spring welcome to you if you've just come from the talented Heidi Weaver - I just love her beautiful projects this month and I'm sure you do too!

 


For my three projects I've gone with a theme....beautiful Copper Foil! My usual style I would describe as Clean and layered with bling. I love a little dimension and sparkle :-) So todays' projects start very clean and become more layered as they progress so I hope you enjoy them.


This first card is very CAS - allowing the pretty copper star to shine. I've overlaid the star with a delicate vellum die cut from the matching Framelits. The sentiment is from a Christmas Carol (We Three Kings) so it was irresistible to the singer in me:-)


Card Stock: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Copper Foil, Vellum
Ink: Versamark, Smoky Slate
Stamps: Star of Light
Accessories: Big Shot, Starlight Thinlights, Copper EP,  Metallic Enamel Shapes, Dimensionals.


The second card has a little more layers and colour in amongst the copper details and uses the fabulous new Christmas Pines bundle - right down to the Mini Copper Pinecones! How gorgeous are they!! I stamped just one spray of pines and overlaid die cut branches and pinecones.


Card stock: Emerald Envy, Whisper White, Copper Foil, Soft Suede, Real Red
Ink: Real Red, Wild Wasabi
Stamps: Christmas Pines
Accessories: Big Shot, Pretty Pines Thinlits, Mini Pinecones, Candy Cane Lane Baker's Twine (Red and White), Brights Enamel Shapes, Snail, Dimensionals, Glue Dots


For my third project I stepped it up a little and created a Gift Bag and Tag. The gift bag is created using DSP from the lovely Presents and Pinecones pack and the Gift Bag Punch Board. There is a great tutorial showing how to create the bags from Stampin Up that you can see here. Mine is a medium bag - using an 11"x 9" piece of DSP to start - and I created a flap to cover the top which is held in place by the copper band that the Tag is attached to.



For the Tag I couldn't help making a shaker ornament using the Merriest Wishes Bundle and Mica Flakes for snow. ( Shaker cards are my favourite in case you were wondering :-) )I die cut two of the pretty ornaments - one white, and one in copper and then used simple Circle Framelits (or you could use a punch) to cut the white version shorter so it fits within the copper circle. I also cut the Foam Adhesive strips in half longwise so they wouldn't be so easily seen as the outer circle width is thinner than the strips. Then it was a case of adding a back and a copper strip edge to enclose it all and suspending it on the tag itself. Such fun!!


Card stock: Whisper White, Emerald Envy, Copper Foil, Window Sheet
Designer Series Paper: Presents and Pinecones
Ink: Versamark
Stamps: Merriest Wishes
Accessories: Big Shot: Merry Tag Framelits, Triple Banner Punch, Bakers Twine Trio Pack (Gold), White Organza Ribbon, Copper EP, Regals Enamel Shapes ( Cherry Cobbler), Mica Flakes (white), Dimensionals, Foam Adhesive Strips, Fast Fuse, Snail, Gift Bag Punch Board.

Thanks for stopping by today and now you are off to visit the lovely Marsha Reed and her gorgeous projects or you can head back and see the loveliness that Heidi Weaver has created for you - either way you won't be disappointed!
If you happen to get lost along the way, just click on  the "Home" button which will take you to the Wacky Watercooler Blog Homepage and a full list of all the participants :-) 



Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Jar of Flowers for JAI #329


Happy Friday folks! This last week has been full of the joys of Spring - beautiful blooming bulbs and loads of Spring rain. So much so there are a number of swollen and flooded rivers throughout Victoria.  It's also made it a bit of a challenge to fit in the daily dog walk. Although Sally the Lab is on reduced walks again... this time the local vet says she's torn her meniscus ligament in her good leg and will require surgery to remove it... not good news, poor girl has been on the Table more than enough times and being her good back leg it does seem to be affecting her balance as she relies on this one and up until now it's been solid as a rock - so we will have to head out to see the Specialist again after all.

There is good news though and that is that we have a fun new challenge for you at Just Add Ink. This week, Di has found a wonderfully pretty and floral photo for us all to use in our crafting so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and see what our lovely Team have made to inspire you and we hope you can join us too.
Here's the photo:



And here's my card:


I decided to take the colours and flowers in the photo and put them in water :-)  Lol - it seemed the first thing to do with a lovely bouquet :-) The pretty Spring tulips in the photo make for a generous bunch and so I added lots of layers of flowers and leaves to fill mine out too. To achieve the mix of colours I used a lot of stamping off onto scrap paper - from the water to the stems and yes, even the lovely large tulips too :-)


Card stock: Whisper White (Thick and standard), Basic Black
Inks: Versamark, Calypso Coral, Melon Mambo, Sweet Sugarplum, Sahara Sand, Cucumber Crush, Pool Party, Tuxedo Momento Black
Stamps: Jar of Love
Accessories: Big Shot, Everyday Jar Framelits, White EP, Subtles Enamel Shapes.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see the gorgeous cards that the Team have made to inspire you and  I look forward to seeing what you will create using this lovely photo too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan


Friday 9 September 2016

Awesome Newsflash for JAI #328



Hello and happy Friday :-) This week a friend and I had the pleasure of a day trip to Castlemaine (in the country) to have a catch up with a mutual friend stationed there.  And whilst it was a beautiful day there was an obvious temperature difference and most of the trees were still bare - Spring had yet to arrive! Strange how an hour and a half's drive can make that much difference. The company and food was lovely though and we all had a delightful time :-)

JAI #328...Add P

We have a new challenge for you at Just Add Ink too. Tina has suggested a great letter challenge and it's sure to be popular! That's right it's... Just Add..."P". So we would love you to add anything beginning with "P" as the main focus of your projects this week. That could be polka dots or pussycats, pinks or pine cones or pandas... So I hope you can take a moment and pop on over to see what the rest of the design team have made to inspire you :-)


 I've gone with Photography and made a masculine card using the Pun Intended and Playful Backgrounds stamps along with a splash of Peekaboo Peach. For masculine cards I usually like to keep the design rather clean and white so this is stepping out of my comfort zone a little but then that is what is great about challenges - they help us grow as crafters :-)

The tone on tone bubble background seems to soften the otherwise rather bold colour combo...and with that idea in mind I've added some vellum under the camera and kept the embellsihments simple.


 Card stock: Basic Black, Dapper Denim, Peekaboo Peach, Vellum
Ink: Versamark, Dapper  Denim
Stamps: Pun Intended, Playful Backgrounds
Accessories: Big Shot, Sunburst Thinlits, Circle Framelits (retired), White EP, In Colour and Metallic Enamel Shapes.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and and see the fabulous creations our lovely team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will make starting with "P" this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan


Sunday 4 September 2016

Swirly Bird Birthday


Happy Father's Day to all the Dads today - I hope you have a fun and relaxing day!!
The sun is shining and it does feel like Spring has arrived - the bulbs and blossoms are starting to bloom - so exciting to see the bursts of colour and feel the promise of warmer weather!

So inspired by Spring, and also how at Just Add Ink, the colour challenges lately have all included some of this years' new In Colours,  I thought I'd jump in at the deep end and try using them all together. There was some debate, I remember as to whether they were designed to work together or not so it was with some trepidation....but I love how bright and cheery it turned out :-)


The other idea I wanted to try, was to pop up the "wave" diecut in place so it appears to be floating - similar to the Sea Shaker card I made for this week's challenge that you can see here but without the shaker part.
So I started by stamping the swirls - the Peach solid "blob" is stamped off once and then the swirl at full strength.  Then die cut the panel and held it in place with some Washi tape before popping up the whole panel with dimensionals onto the base card. The wave cut has some chopped dimensionals supporting it too. Then it was just a case of adding some more details to pop up and complete the happy scene.  


Card stock: Whisper White (thick for the base and top panel, and standard for the other details), Flirty Flamingo, Basic Black
Ink: Versamark, Flirty Flamingo, Peekaboo Peach, Emerald Envy, Dapper Denim
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Sunshine Wishes
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, White EP, In Colours Enamel Shapes, Dimensionals

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Friday 2 September 2016

Sea Themed Shaker for JAI #327


Happy Friday everyone and welcome - Spring is here, hooray!! It has been a cold and wet old Melbourne winter and we are so looking forward to seeing the sun!! Not that its out yet - rain and more rain is the forecast but the promise of warm weather ahead is fabulous :-)

And we have a new challenge for you at Just Add Ink. This week the colour combo for us all to use was my suggestion - so I hope you enjoy it :-) Our lovely design team have created such beautiful projects to inspire you so we hope that you will be able to join us.

Here are the colours:



And here is my card:



These colours seemed to me to be quite versatile for either males or females and I'd had an idea to use the boat images in the Swirly Bird set to make a Sea Shaker card. It didn't quite turn out as I had imagined but I decided to roll with it :-)
The sea uses a mixture of layered stamping and white embossing and the sequins are from both the Brights and Metallics assortments. The Foam adhesive Strips make shaker cards so easy to make and a couple of vertical strips of card stock on the sides keeps the adhesive from showing. Of course some sequins managed to sneak onto the outside too but as long as it's metallic I think the boys don't mind a bit of bling?? What do you think?


Card stock: Whisper White (thick and standard), Dapper Denim, Basic Black
Ink: Dapper Denim, Calypso Coral, Soft Sky, Versamark
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Sunshine Wishes
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, Metallics and Brights Sequin Assortments, White EP, Window Sheets, Foam Adhesive Strips.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying the change of Season wherever you are today - be it Spring or Autumn (or Fall)  - the colours will be beautiful! And I hope you can take a moment to pop over to Just Add Ink and see what our lovely team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will make with this fresh colour combo too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan