Dazzling Deer

Yes, here we are again with another Christmas card that has gone out in the mail. Strangely, it seems some cards have gone out without photos being taken....not sure what happened there...

This card was inspired by a Just Add Ink winning creation by Joanne James. I loved how the deer is reflected by the background DSP and so I created a CAS version of Joanne's card.

And just for fun, I reversed the colours for this one and so we have a copper deer!

I can't decide between them which one I like best, can you?

Card stock: Whisper White (thick), Smoky Slate, Copper Foil

Designer Series Paper: Joyous Noel

Ink: Versamark

Stamps: Dashing Deer, Merry Christmas to All

Accessories: Big Shot, Detailed Deer thinlits,Merry Christmas Thinlits, Black EP, Copper Trim

Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

A Special Pendulum Christmas

Happy Boxing Day everyone!! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day full of joy and peace with lots of fun and relaxing moments too. Have you been off to the Sales today or are you waiting for the biggest sale of the year in Saleabration 😀We had a lovely day that started with Midnight Mass and then we had a long lunch with friends and a total of 6 doggies - and yes they all got along beautifully!

As most of you will know, Sally Junior arrived in August from Guide Dogs Victoria and so I wanted a special card for the staff there for Christmas. Sally was given to me as a Companion and we've undergone further training and she's now a registered Assistance Dog so comes with me everywhere I go and she's truly changed my life for the better so I am indeed very grateful.
I found this cute card by Karolyn Loncon and decided to CASE it using mainly Stampin Up products except for the cute doggy which is another gorgeous MFT creation.

It is a pendulum card and the dog's head moves from side to side. Karolyn has a link to YT video on her page that shows how to add the pendulum.

 I did need to make two adjustments to the mechanism - instead of a penny, I used a 5c coin - but same idea. I also didn't have a slider disc so instead used two mini dimensionals on top of one another and rubbed them well with the embossing buddy so they were no longer sticky and it works well 😊
I coloured the dog to be a Golden Lab and then took liberties with the harness lol.

The harness reminded me a little of Sally's working harness so I had to make another didn't I 😀
The background inking is some distress Inks and the doggy image is coloured in a mixture of Copics and Stampin Blends.

And whilst I was on a roll....there is one last one coloured to be a chocolate Lab

for yet more doggy friends....

Such fun but quite detailed though I'm sure they will all be swinging their way through Christmas!

Card Stock: Melon Mambo, Tranquil Tide, Whisper White

Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Blends: Lovely Lipstick, Blackberry Bliss and Razzleberry Combos

Stamps: Hearts Come Home

Accessories: Big Shot, Layering Alphabet Edgelits, Irridescent and Metallic Sequins Assortments, Black EP

Non SU:  Deck the Howls by MFT, Copic Markers, Distress ink (Salty Ocean) TH/ Ranger, Watercolor Card stock Ranger

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season!!

Happy stamping until next time.

Jan

Window Gift Boxes for JAI #439

It's the last Friday before Christmas and all through the town not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.....I couldn't resist this fun Christmas storyline 😊The busiest time of year for us card makers and I still have a few on my list yet to make.... It's been a year full of ups and downs - sad goodbyes, a full on but cute as young foster dog and no one could've predicted the arrival of Sally (Junior ) from Guide Dogs who has indeed changed my life for the better too. 

And we also have the last Just Add Ink challenge for 2018 too! Suggested by the lovely Patrice. This challenge is well timed to help you complete those special projects for Christmas and beyond that require a little something more than a card - a Gift Box! The challenge runs for TWO WEEKS, and will close on January 2 2019. The design team did have a lot of fun with this one and we hope that you will too! Although the team won't be voting on entries, we hope that you will share your projects to encourage others too.

I've had the Window Box Thinlits in my craft collection for a rather long time and now they've come in handy for a Just Add Ink challenge! They make a good sized box - quite big and deep - and the die set comes with a few different dies to use for decoration too.

These particular boxes will come in handy to gift a few Body Butter gifts that I have been making lately - the 100ml containers fill them perfectly 😊

As you can see, I've used the same layout to decorate each box to keep it simple - a combination of new and older framlets and some of the lovely Christmas release papers.

Card Stock: Tranquil Tide, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White,Copper Foil

Designer Series Paper: Joyous Noel

Stamps: Merry Christmas To All

Accessories: Big Shot, Merry Christmas Thinlit Dies, Window Box Thinlits, Pretty Pines Thinlits, Burlap Ribbon, Copper and White EP's

Thanks for stopping by today  - and throughout the year too! I'd like to thank you all for the lovely encouraging comments that mean so much and help keep me creating and sharing with you. And may you all have a safe, peaceful and very happy Christmas and I look forward to seeing what crafting adventures await us all in 2019!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Dragonfly Rainbow for JAI #437

Happy hot Friday and welcome!! Summer has truly started with a bang here in Australia - 35 degrees yesterday and we are expecting 38 in the city today so it could well get to 40 degrees where we are just north of Melbourne. The heat definitely played a part in my card for this week's Just Add Ink challenge!

Yes, it's time for a new challenge and this one is a good one that just might make you put your thinking cap on too 😊It is another of Tina's popular letter challenges and this week it's the letter "I" think Ice, (with or without the cream on top), Incredible and another Summer constant....Insects 😀

The design team had fun with this one so we hope that you will too and we'd love to see what Interesting Items you can come up with starting with "I" as the main focus for your projects.

As I said earlier, I was inspired by the Summer heat and have used both an Ink blending technique and Insects as the focus for my card. The Inky background uses a rainbow of Distress Inks on watercolor paper which helps to get a smooth blend effect. I am no expert but I found after laying down a couple of colours that it helps to go back to the first colour and go over the edges to help them blend better. Distress Inks stay wet a little longer than SU inks so that also helps with the blending process.

Here, I was going for a hot evening's sunset effect where the dragonflies (Insects) would indeed be flying around lol!

Dragonfly wings are pretty shiny in real life so I opted for some Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper for the top layer of these little fellows and a few rhinestones sprinkled here and there for further glitz.

Stitched Rectangles I hear you say!! But no, these are not those ones - not yet 😊

This lovely stamp set from the Annual Catalogue is one I've neglected for a little while so it was good to have a reason to pull it out for this challenge as it reminded me of the fabulous sentiments it has amongst the images too.

Card Stock: Whisper White (thick), Basic Black, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper

Ink: Versamark

Stamps: Dragonfly Dreams

Accessories: Big Shot, Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits, Basic Rhinestones, White EP

Non SU: Distress Inks (Ranger/TH): Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon, Blueprint Sketch

Watercolor Paper  -Ranger/TH, Stitched Rectangle Framelits SSS

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the fun "I" Items our Incredible design team have created to Inspire you and I look forward to seeing what  you feature in your project for this week's "I" letter challenge!

In the meantime, it's back to the pool for this melting little Ice block ....😅

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Signs of Santa Getting Ready for JAI #436

Happy Friday everyone and welcome 😊It's almost Summer and already our garden is bearing fruit - and lots of it! Strawberries are ready, and there are signs that ripe cucumber and tomatoes are not far at all. All that is missing is the sun which has been strangely absent lately.

It's also time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink and this week we have a lovely clean and simple sketch from the equally lovely Narelle! Sketches are often a favourite challenge - so versatile and this one is no different. Either use it as is or flip it around and your major design decisions are made for you!! Our talented design team have so many fabulous samples for you so I hope that you can take a moment and pop on over and see all the inspiration they have made for you.

For my card I decided to flip the sketch to fit in these delightful elves!! These cheeky eyed fellows are too cute not to be the main focus!! As much as I usually prefer to stamp my own images and colour backgrounds myself, the fun images in this set of papers co -ordinate perfectly with the dies so are designed to be cut out and used as they are so what could be easier!! 😆 All these images also contain flocking  - in the stripes layer, the presents the elves are carrying and also Santa and his pom pom so even the bling is even added for you - woo hoo!! So all I did was add some thicker card stock behind the papers to give them the strength needed to be popped up.

As I don't yet have the Layering Oval Framelits, I used the same Stitched Oval Framelit for the sentiment and it's backing layer - I just fussy cut the white layer around the stitching to create a suitably smaller oval. Yes, the only stamping required here was for the sentiment - so unusual for a card by me but so quick and easy and just as festive for this busy time of year 😀

Card Stock: Garden Green, Poppy Parade, Silver Glimmer, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Santas Workshop Specialty
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Signs of Santa
Accessories: Big Shot, Santas Signpost Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for popping by today and I hope that you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see the fabulous variety of cards by our design team and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fabulous clean and simple sketch too.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Merry Christmas to All for JAI #435

Hello, happy Friday and welcome!! It's a bit crazy how close to Christmas it is already so it is definitely time to start on making some cards to celebrate. Here in Melbourne, we have a few days of Spring to go and we have had a good hit of Summer heat in recent weeks and are now are back in the grip of a Wintery blast -it just takes the whole Four Seasons in One Day analogy to a whole new level!

It also sets the scene beautifully for this week's new challenge at Just Add Ink - a cool and crisp Inspiration Photo for you from Kim. Perfect to get your Winter snow and tree feel on, the design team had a lot of fun with this and so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and see all the fabulous examples to inspire you this week.

For my card this week - I was inspired by the leafy and classic snowy feel of the photo and pulled out the gorgeous Joyous Noel DSP and had my first play with the elegant Merry Christmas to All stamp bundle. The DSP itself is stunning - leaves of green, white and beautiful copper!

To accent the lovely leaves, I turned to the Pretty Pines Thinlits and also the Softly Falling EF added to the Vellum circle and let the copper and die cuts do the work.

Although I did colour some basic rhinestones with Blends to add another touch of bling too.

Card stock: Merry Merlot, Whisper White, Copper Foil, Vellum
Designer Series Paper: Joyous Noel Specialty
Stamps: Merry Christmas To All
Accessories: Big Shot, Merry Christmas Thinlits, Pretty Pines Thinlits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Gently Falling EF, Copper EP, White EP, Copper Thread, Tranquil Tide Cotton ribbon

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous inspiration from the team this week and I look forward to seeing what you will create for this fun challenge.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Varied Alphabet for JAI #434

Hello and happy Friday and welcome back! It's been a busy couple of weeks with last weekend being Stampin Up's Onstage event. I was lucky enough to attend the Melbourne On Stage Local with some of our JAI friends - the team being split between the Melbourne and Brisbane venues. And it was with great joy that we learned that THREE of our JAI design team mates are on this year's Artisan Design Team so an extra special time for all of us as we celebrate their fabulous achievements!! (BTW I will be back later to share some swaps and roomie gifts I made for the weekend 😊)

And it's also time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink! This week Nikki has challenged us to Add a Big Bold Sentiment to our projects. The design team had such a lot of fun with this and so I hope you have a moment to pop on over to see the  projects and are inspired to join us. There are so many options and themes the world or word...is your oyster 😀

For this week's challenge I actually made 2 cards. Both follow the same design and use similar products - just use different papers for the bases and colours. The "big bold sentiment" is from the Lined Alphabet stamp set and some Wink of Stella is applied to the card stock.

Version 2 is similar - just a reverse of the colours and a slightly different background DSP - but both are from the same pack.

Hopefully you can see the Wink of Stella touches on the sentiment and flowers.

Card stock: Night of Navy, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Delightful Daisy
Inks: Versamark, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Night of Navy, Garden Green
Stamps: Lined Alphabet,Varied Vases, Sunshine Sayings
Accessories: Big Shot, Layering Alphabet Edgelits, White EP, Vase Builder Punch, Wink of Stella, Glitter Enamel Dots

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fun challenge too!

Happy stamping until next time 😊

Jan