Friday 29 May 2020

Just Add Ink #507 Sketch Sympathy




Happy Friday to you and welcome!! It's the last weekend of Autumn in Australia and from next week the restrictions will ease a little more here in Victoria. Cafes will open for a small number of sit down customers for the first time in what seems like ages. Being cautious seems to be paying off in our little corner of the world which is good news.

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This week at Just Add Ink we have a great Clean and Angled sketch for you from Jackie. A sketch is a great way to get the creative juices going as you just to have find images to fit the shapes provided. The design team have created some gorgeous cards to inspire you so I hope that you can pop on over to take a peek and we'd love you to join us!

Sympathy card using Stampin Up's Silhouette Scenes and Well Said bundles and created for JAI #507 by Jan McQueen. More info @www.janscreativecorner.blogspot.com

I found this beautiful DSP that is retiring and decided to showcase it along with the Silhouette Scenes Dies that are staying on. One exciting product that is coming is some white sticky foam that we can die cut - that will make stacking multiple layers of card stock words a thing of the past! 


Blackberry Bliss and a layer of white card stock bring out the colours in this pretty paper and the Dandelion die cuts are my take on the circle sketch element. And yes - 3 layers of white card are underneath the gold layered sentiment to give it definition and strength.


To create the tag for the sentiment, I first embossed it with White Embossing Powder and then used the smallest Stitched Rectangle to cut it out. It gives a long, thin banner. To cut the sides down, simply use the width rectangle that you'd like the banner to be and that will give you the perfect size for whatever sentiment you need.



Card Stock: Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White, Gold Foil
Designer Series Paper: Lilly Impressions
Inks: Versamark
Accessories: Big Shot, Silhouette Scenes Dies, Well Worded Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies,White EP, Irridescent Sequin Assortment.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can pop on over to Just Add Ink and I look forward to seeing what you will create with our fun sketch this week!

Til next time,
Jan











Saturday 23 May 2020

Social Stamping - Animals




Welcome to another hop at Social Stamping a fabulous idea by the lovely Kelly Kent to enable us to be able to create together whilst so many are stamping alone during Isolation.

This week the theme is "Animals." Be it a pet, a wild animal or a new rescue, animals have all noticed the changes to our lifestyles during this time whilst we all spend more time at home. So many shelters have had an increase in the adoption of cats and dogs as people realise they are such good company especially when they have more time to give - and all our beloved pets will be enjoying having us around more during this time too.

You may have just arrived here from the lovely Peta Stephens and her fabulous projects or you can start the hop and click on the Next button at the bottom of each post to make your way around.


Not great photos today with Melbourne's fog and rainy weather but I created a fun puppy Wedding Card using two retiring sets - my all time favourite, Happy Tails and the versatile Piece of Cake. 

You may notice that the two dogs are facing each other - and there is only one such image in the stamp set. I used the Stamparatus and Silicone Sheet to create a mirror image of the stamp and used Blends and Copics to colour the dogs and flowers on the cake. Some sequins from the Peaceful Poppies complete this CAS card.

This is of course the perfect time to introduce you to my current best furry friend - Sally (Jr). Sally is a special girl who graduated from Guide Dogs Victoria last October as a Companion and with extra training helps me as an Assistance Dog. She enjoys both her work in harness and her play time out of it very much and always asks for her bed to be moved to beside the craft table when I'm making cards and finds it the perfect excuse to sleep the afternoon away! 😀





Next you are off to see the gorgeous projects that Julia Quinn has created to inspire you.
I hope that you enjoy your hopping around blog land and enjoy the coming week.


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Card Stock: Whisper White, Gold Foil
Designer Series Paper: Lilly Impressions 
Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Versamark 
Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Subtles EF, Black Shimmery EP, Peaceful Poppies Sequins Assortment.

Til next time,'
Jan

Friday 22 May 2020

JAI #506 Inspiration Retro Birthday



Happy Friday everyone and welcome!! This week, with restrictions starting to ease here in Australia people are starting to go out and about more. There is more traffic on the roads and on the odd occasion that I have been out, the social distancing doesn't always seem to be done as well as it could be. I am cautiously optimistic but as someone who does have health issues I would encourage everyone to continue to be careful and maintain the space between others for everyone's safety.


At Just Add Ink this week we have a gorgeous Photo Inspiration for you suggested by Nikki
There is so much to love about this photo - the rich colours, circular shapes and all the different textures and foodie goodies! Our lovely design team has created lots of amazing things to inspire you so I hope that you can pop on over to take a peek and we'd love you to join us!


For my guy card I was inspired by the bowl shapes and the colours to create another retro style project inspired by Laura Bassen. You can seen another similar project I made last week, here.

These are quite easy to make when you can decide on the colours and the Challenge Photo makes this easy! The process is simpler than it looks - create two different coloured layered circles, cut them in half and use one half from each to create your card.


The swirls do line up better when spaced a little way apart so that is where here I've used Black Glimmer paper and added the sentiment on top. It wasn't easy to not add some sort of sequin or gem but this is a Guy card and I decided CAS would be best.




Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you are inspired to join us at Just Add Ink this week and I look for to seeing what you create with this gorgeous Photo challenge this week.

Til next time,
Jan





Saturday 16 May 2020

Social Stamping - Sunshine!

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It's time for another hop over at Social Stamping, a fabulous idea of the lovely Kelly Kent to enable us to be able to create together whilst we still have to stamp alone. 

This week the theme is "Sunshine." Sunshine is something that seems to make everything better  doesn't it! Whether it be the heat of Summer or, as it is here in Australia at the moment, a comfortable warmth in late Autumn. With everyone staying at home we have more time to appreciate the sunshine and all that goes with a beautiful day outside.  I have a dog - sometimes two to walk -  and we are seeing so many more people at our local park that has a great walking track. It's great to see people out and about whilst distancing and enjoying the current slower pace of life.

You may have arrived here from my lovely friend Chantell Randall's blog and her fabulous projects or you can start the blog hop here by clicking on the Next button on the bottom of each post.


So I decided to create a fun "Sun" for the Sunshine theme and create a male 50th birthday card. Recently, I saw these fabulous Retro inspired cards by Laura Bassen and several Cases of this over facebook and blogland and decided it was time I had a go myself! I am a fan of a rainbows and sunshine-y  bright colours but it took a bit of fiddling to to get a balance even I was happy with here.


The swirl design is a lot easier to create than you might think. It is simply a matter of layering the different circles on top of each other, cutting them in half and then swapping out the colours from another circle created the same way. Below are the left over circles from this card ready to be used for the next one. A little space between the circles does allow the best match up of the swirls.


Seeing as this gives a real Retro vibe, I thought it would work well for a 50th - someone old enough to know about Austin Powers, yeah baby!😆😂😂The sentiment comes from the latest generations' texting abbreviations... so a few years covered this week! Each letter and number has at least 3 layers to give them height impact and strength.



Next you're off to see the gorgeous projects that Shannon Kissane has made to inspire you. Enjoy your hopping around the different blogs this week and I hope that you are able to take some time out to enjoy the Sunshine this week. If you get lost along the way, just click the Banner at the top of the page to go to the full list of participants.

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Card Stock: Whisper White, Blueberry Bushel, Balmy Blue, Real Red, Poppy Parade, So Safron, Pretty Peacock, Coastal Cabana, Cajun Craze, Terracotta Tile, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, Gold Foil, Black Glimmer
Inks: Versamark
Stamps: Lined Alphabet (retiring)
Accessories: Die Cutting machine - Layering Alphabet Dies, Large Number Dies.
Non SU: SSS Stitched Circles Dies.

Til next time,
Jan

Friday 15 May 2020

JAI #505 Hang In There



Happy Friday to you and welcome! It's been another week in Isolation here in Victoria and the restrictions haven't changed that much yet. It's a good excuse to spend some time crafting if one is ever needed. 😀

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It's a new challenge week at Just Add Ink  and Chantell has suggested a very timely theme challenge - to Just Add Thinking of You. In these uncertain times when so many people's lives have changed and there is a lot of concern both financially and health wise, it is a great way to send kind thoughts especially when you can't meet up in person. The design team have created some truly fabulous projects to inspire you and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to the main blog and take a peek and of course, we'd love you to join us!


I have created a card with a friend in mind and used the new Ornate Style bundle for the floral spray and the vellum background frame. The sentiment is from the Share Sunshine PDF and it is with intended irony that the layers are angled like they are just hanging on....after all, we want to bring a smile to someone's face!


Blends brought this image to life and I paired it with a single vellum frame in an effort to keep it  Clean and Simple (CAS) and give a modern twist to this vintage inspired bundle.



Card stock: Whisper White (thick and standard), Gold Foil, Vellum,
Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black 
Blends: Old Olive combo, Lovely Lipstick combo, Balmy Blue Combo, dark Calypso Coral and light Petal Pink.
Accessories: Die cutting Machine, Ornate Layers Dies, Subtle EF, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Metallic Sequins Assortment.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can pop on over to Just Add Ink and see what the design team have created to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this great theme too! 

Til next time,
Jan




Saturday 9 May 2020

Social Stamping - Families

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Hello and welcome! We are hopping again over at Social Stamping where the lovely Kelly has set the theme of "Family." With everyone keeping Social Distancing regulations most of us are missing family catch ups and hugs. Tomorrow in Australia and New Zealand it is Mother's Day - one of the biggest family days of the years so instead of catching up in person maybe we can send some handmade love in the form of a card instead. No, it will never be the same but it is a good start.

You may have arrived here from the lovey Liz Gross and her stunning projects or you can start the hop here by clicking the Next button at the bottom of each blog post.



For my card I have not made a Mother's Day card,  instead I've made a card for one of my sisters. She has a beautiful garden full of flowers she can pick throughout the Summer months and so hopefully she will like this.


I am more of a Clean and Simple style lover rather than ornate and vintage so I tried to create a white on white look with the different frames around the bouquet to keep it fresh. Blends were used for colouring and a good splash of Wink Of Stella sparkle is one of the  finishing touches.


The sentiment panel was cut with the Stitched Rectangles - a set that compliments these ornate dies and it's trimmed down further by using the side of a longer rectangle to continue the stitched effect.
I've already decided I need to CASE myself here and just swap the Blue and Petal Pink flowers around -it is a good when just occasionally you can inspire yourself. 😁

Next you're off to see the fabulous projects that Michelle Strazds has created for you. Enjoy your hopping around the different blogs and I hope this encourages you to make a card for family members too!

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Card stock: Whisper White (thick and standard) Basic Black
Designer Series Paper: Ornate Garden Specialty
Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Blends: Balmy Blue, Daffodil Delight, Lovely Lipstick, Old Olive, Calypso Coral (light), Petal Pink (dark)
Accessories: Die cutting machine, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Ornate Layers Dies, White EP

Til next time,
Jan

Friday 8 May 2020

#JAI 504 Dressed To Impress in Pyjamas



 Happy Friday everyone and welcome! It is mid Autumn here in Australasia and whilst the trees are as colourful as ever and the weather variable that is about all that is going ahead as expected for this time of year. There have been some good things come out of this and appreciating the little things such as a handmade card or a day full of sunshine are amongst them.

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It's time for a new Challenge week at Just Add Ink and so we have this pretty and feminine Colour Challenge from Tina to spark your crafting interest.  It's just in time for Mother's Day here in Australia and New Zealand, too!
 Our lovely design team have created a gorgeous array of creations to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a peek as we'd love you to join in the challenge with us!


This week I decided to play a little more with the fab elements of the Dressed to Impress stamp set as the perfume bottle and shoes in that set caught my eye early on....but the shoes didn't quite make it to this card. I currently have a "pop up " craft space as I'm not at home and to my horror found I was missing Basic Grey and Rococo Rose card stock and the latter ink pad too so I improvised! You can do the same if you don't have the exact colours, just use the closest that you have.


I did have Blendabilities Pens in both of these colours so for the Perfume bottle I mimicked the stamp image and scribbled over the bottle. To create the Basic Grey circle, I coloured over the top of the lighter Smoky Slate card. In real life you can hardly tell it isn't factory made but the camera is a little less forgiving.


The sentiment is from the current Share Sunshine PDF which is part of Stampin Up's Covid 19 Giveback download. I simply coloured over it with a Blend and voila, an individualised version!


Thanks for popping by today and I look forward to seeing how you used these pretty colours in the Just Add Ink gallery this week.

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick and Standard), Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride Glimmer
Inks: Smoky Slate, Momento Tuxedo Black.
Blends: Rococo Rose, Smoky Slate, Light Basic Black 
Stamps: Dressed to Impress, Share Sunshine
Accessories: Die cutting machine, Stiched Shapes Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, White Crinkled Seam Binding, Metallic Sequins (retired)

Til next time,
Jan





Saturday 2 May 2020

Social Stamping - Birthdays in Isolation

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Hello and welcome! We are hopping over at Social Stamping and this week the lovely Kelly has set the theme as "Birthdays in Isolation". The timing couldn't be better with Stampin Up releasing a digital download stamp for all your Isolation needs!

With Social distancing restrictions currently across every state and territory in Australia and indeed around the world, birthdays are being celebrated differently than we have ever known them. We can't  give a birthday hug let alone have a special party. This is Kelly's birthday month - and today also happens to be one of lovely sister's birthdays in NZ too so this theme has come just in time to help us all celebrate whilst social distancing.

You may have arrived here from the lovely Sheila Pybus blog and her gorgeous project and you can also hop around all the different posts by clicking on the Next button on the bottom of each blog.


For my card this week I used DSP and images from the All Dressed Up bundle to compliment the sentiment which is from the Share Sunshine Digital Download. 


The flowers are coloured using Blends and then die cut - I don't mind fussy cutting but it is much quicker to build a spray of florals if you don't need to 😀The Sentiment and backing panel are both cut with the same Stitched Rectangle die and slight trimming of the stitching enables the main panel and not the backing to be the focus.


Thanks so much for popping by and Next you're off to see the stunning project that Andrea Sargent has made! Enjoy your hopping around blog land.😊

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Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Vellum
DSP: 6x6 Sampler
Stamps: Dressed to Impress, Share Sunshine
Inks: Blends -Mint Macaron, Rich Razzleberry Rococo Rose
Accessories: All Dressed Up Dies, Wink of Stella, Stitched Rectangle Dies, 3D Lace EF