Friday 27 April 2018

Bike Ride For JAI #406



Happy Friday and welcome back :-) It's been a busy time in our household. With a young foster dog around there is always something happening - lots of fun and games and walks. Honey is a total delight and it has been really lovely to see her relax as she settles in ...and  Yes, I'm tempted to "fail" as a foster mum....:-)


It's also time for our new challenge at Just Add Ink. This week, Tina has created a fabulous clean and fun sketch for us all to use in our crafting. You can use the sketch as it is or flip it around. Our lovely design team have created such wonderful cards to inspire you so I hope you have a moment to pop on over and see and come join us.


Those middle panel took me a few goes to cut right....it doesn't look that tricky, but trust me, it is a little more challenging than it looks! But that's all part of what makes it a challenge right :-)
I needed a special "thank you" card and to compliment the images from Bike Ride, I've add a sentiment, from the now long retired,  Beautiful Ride stamp set that featured a VW.


The background is water coloured using Ink pads and an Aqua Painter and some flicks of colour are added by using the lid of the Aqua Painter. And I was inspired by the talented Louise Sharp, to use the basket of flowers for my circle element.


The puppy (yes, coloured for Sally of course) is sitting on a Silver Foil die cut seat and some Basic Rhinestones on the background and flower centre adds some bling and sparkle.


Card Stock: Bermuda Bay, Basic black, Whisper White, Silver Foil
Inks: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Momento Tuxedo Black, Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist, Crumb Cake
Stamps: Bike Ride, Beautiful Ride ( Retired)
Accessories: Big Shot, Build A Bike Framelits, Aqua Painter, Basic Rhinestones
Non SU: Watercolor Paper (Ranger/ TH)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and join us - I so look forward to seeing what you will create with this fun sketch too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan


Friday 20 April 2018

Epic Celebrations for JAI #405



Happy Friday, and welcome! The school holidays have finished and the days are getting shorter and the nights colder. All definite signs that Autumn is here.


And it's also time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink. This week we have a fabulous Inspiration photo suggested by Kelly for us all to use. You can take whatever inspires you from the photo- the wood, the colours and textures. As always our lovely design team have created a wonderful variation of cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and hopefully join us.


For my card, I was inspired by the wonderful woodgrains, the striped cushion on the bed for the watercolour panel and all the textures and the mirror too. So I have a Tween birthday card all ready for my nephew and I know that guitars and music are in his list of "cool" things. Yes, sadly the Epic Celebrations set is now retired but I think it will come in handy for teen and guy cards to come.


I started by white embossing the guitar image in white over the water coloured panel. Then I coloured it using an Aqua Painter and ink pads. The guitar and headphones are coloured using the Blends and Copics too.


Card stock: Basic Grey, Black, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Wood Textures DSP
Inks: Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Basic Grey, Versamark, Momento Tuxedo Black, Blends: Night of Navy,
Stamps: Epic Celebrations (Saleabration)
Accessories: Linen Thread, Silver Sequin Thread, Metallic Sequins Assortment
Non SU: Watercolor Paper (Ranger, TH), Copics : C3, C5, C7

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see what all the lovely team has made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fabulous photo too.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Friday 13 April 2018

A Little Wild for JAI #404



Hello and welcome :-) It's Friday again and the first week of the school holidays has whizzed by and it's time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink.


This week, Di has suggested that we Just Add....a Shaker to our projects this week. Such a fun challenge! A chance to make something interactive and get out your sequins and beads and anything else you'd like to add that will shake. The design team as always have created gorgeous cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and have a look and join us!


I decided it was well overdue that I made a baby card ( yes, pun included, lol!!) So here I used the  sweet elephant from A Little Wild and coloured him lightly with Copics and used the Colour Lifter to help with shading.


To add to the celebratory feel, I also stamped some balloons and used Silver Metallic Thread to anchor them behind the elephant. A little bow on his trunk and a little box for him to stand on and it was time to put everything together.


The shaker window is created using the Stitched Shapes Framelits and is filled with Iridescent sequins. A few sequins found a home outside the window and some silver sequin trim matches the thread used too.


Card stock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Basic Black
Inks: Bermuda Bay, Powder Pink, Pool Party, Versamark, Momento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: A Little Wild, Balloon Adventures
Accessories: Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Window Sheets, Foam Adhesive Strips, Iridescent Sequins, White EP, Silver sequin strim, Tombow, Balloon Bouquet Punch
Non SU : Copic Markers - C1, C3, R00, Colour Lifter

So don't forget to pop by Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous cards our lovely team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you use as your shaker card inspiration this week!




A big thanks to everyone for your kindness too regarding losing my best furry friend, Sally. This last week I have had the privilege of welcoming my first foster - little Honey Balfour.  She is a 16 month old Kelpie/ Lab gorgeous girl available for adoption from Victorian Dog Rescue.  She has such a cute and expressive face and is a real sweet heart. She's settling in very well and is a pleasure to have around.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan


Monday 2 April 2018

A little Easter Story


Just popping in to wish you a very Happy Easter!! I hope that you're enjoying the long weekend and the opportunity to get away and/or catch up with family and friends. It's been rather busy here with church services and all but now it's time to relax and recharge and in some ways I have my own little Easter story to share too before we get to the card.


In the middle of Lent, on March 5, the sad day came for Sally the beautiful Lab to say goodbye. She had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer late November and she put up such a brave fight but it did spread and she let me know that she was ready to rest.  It was a sad day for everyone as we took her to our long-time friends at the Hallam Veterinary Referral Hospital.
For those that don't know, Sally was adopted as a 6 year old having been abused, had puppies and was frightened of everyone and just about everything too. I had just been told that I had 5 years to live with an inoperable tumour pressing on my brain that had also caused an aneurysm and I was discharged from hospital under Palliative Care. Sally was to be a companion but she surprised us all and became my unofficial and self taught Assistance Dog (she was too old to be officially trained). Three days after bringing her home she sniffed all around my head - she knew there was tumour there. When 6 weeks later I had a serious stroke causing significant left sided weakness, I had to decide whether to return her to the Shelter or as we had already bonded and she had started to come out of her shell whether to make the monumental effort to put her first and attempt to somehow give her the walks and socialising she needed.


As is obvious, I chose the latter and in return it was Sally that helped me walk again and am sure she is a lot to do with why I'm still here - almost 3 years longer than expected. Often in those early days I'd have to sit and rest on people's fences and on these occasions when she knew I was struggling she decided to take the lead. She would walk ahead of me just enough so that I could lean on her via the lead. She didn't look to left or right to explore - no, she'd just look back to check I was ok before slowly and steadily getting me home. She also would stand guard in the bathroom since I sometimes collapsed in the shower and she would always know before I did when I was about to be in trouble and would dance about and cry to alert me in time. It wasn't all work for her though as we also met a lot of other dogs and owners out walking and at the park as you do - some of which have become amazing friends. Sally had a few special dog friends - Monty,  above, whom she would play with for hours on end...


And our morning walking friends these last 7 years - her best girlfriend Tag and big Max who Sally adored.

It's been four weeks now and I am glad that she is at peace and know that it was the right time. A big thank you too, to all that have sent flowers and cards - it's so lovely to have such beautiful friends.
But it has turned my world upside down a little more than I expected. And not just mine, as one of her doggy friends is missing her too.
For now, I've decided to help an organisation to foster a dog looking for a new home whilst I make some decisions for the future. There are many dogs it seems that are killed in country pounds for no reason other than they have no room.  So groups from the city go out and rescue as many as they can take and they all need somewhere to live whilst they wait to be adopted  - which is where foster carers come in.
It is too early for me to commit to a new permanent furry friend yet but some company would be good and a new face on our morning walks should help cheer her friends too. So watch this space - I hope to hear in the next few days when I can bring home a furry foster friend to join us on our walks and adventures :-)

So with the telling of our little Easter story done, onto the card at last :-)


For a rather quick and simple card,  I've gone with last year's Easter Message stamp set.
The base layer is blended Distress Inks and and then I've stamped the palm on top in Tranquil Tide.
The main image is embossed in Gold and the Cross coloured using Watercolor Pencils. The little die cut branch is from the retired Botanical Blooms bundle.





Card stock: Tranquil Tide, Whisper White, Pear Pizazz
Ink: Versamark, Tranquil Tide, Watercolor Pencils
Stamps: Easter Message (Retired)
Accessories: Big Shot, Botanicals For You, Gold Embossing Powder, Metallic Sequins Assortment
Non SU: Distress Inks (Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio) Watercolor Card Stock -all Ranger (TH)

Thanks for popping by today and if you are looking for a new furry friend I can recommend adopting as one of the most rewarding experiences you can ever have. Not only will you have saved a life but you may well meet a faithful friend that will give you back far more than you can ever imagine :-)

I was asked by the Lort Smith Animal Hospital, whose shelter Sally (then called Cougar) came from to write our story for their Newsletter so I'll let you know when they will go ahead with that.


In memory of Sally, adopted 16/09/10 - 05/03/18


Jan