JAI #585 Whimsical Packaging

Happy Friday everyone and welcome back! It's the middle of December already and I, like most of you I am sure, am busy creating for Christmas. This year I have added candle making, moisturisers for face and body to my repertoire and, rather amazingly I have even managed to propagate a few plants. So that busy time of the year it truly is!!

And it's the last Just Add Ink challenge for 2021!!! Nikki has asked us to Just Add Christmas packaging - the perfect challenge for this season of gift giving. This challenge goes for 2 weeks and the team won't be choosing winners so please comment on everyone's photos and share the love this Christmas.

I created a cute little box using the Window Box Thinlits and the Whimsical Trees bundle.

Whilst the Window Box is retired, it is still a handy tool for packaging little jars or sweets for gifts.

Once the box was cut out and assembled, a strip of the pretty Whimsy & Wonder DSP was wrapped around it, scoring it for the sides of the box as I went. Then natural twine and silver Elegant Thread topped off the side details. Whilst the top of the box is decorated with images and the cute tree dies from the Whimsical bundle.

Inside, is a little jar of body butter I've created and the box is the perfect size to gift it in.

Thanks for popping by today and also throughout the year! I really value the time people take to leave comments on my projects whether here on my blog or on my instagram account @mcqueenjan. We all need encouragement from time to time to inspire us and I really appreciate you all. Just Add Ink is a wonderful team of ladies whom I've been blessed to be part of for many years.  I hope you have enjoyed our challenges and projects throughout the year and come back for our annual Blog Hop in mid January!

I may post again before Christmas and the New Year so I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Day celebrating with family and friends - especially for those that haven't been able to be together for the last 2 years. And a truly fabulous year in 2022!

Til next time,

Jan

JAI #583 Wedding Sketch

Happy Friday everyone and welcome back again. It is officially the first week of Summer and we've had heat, hail and floods all in a couple of days what an interesting few months ahead going by the last two days!

This week at Just Add Ink, Kim has created this clean and fabulous sketch for us all to use. You can flip it around or use it as is. Our design team have created a gorgeous array of cards to inspire you and we'd love you to join us over on the challenge blog.

For my card I needed a Wedding card for a friend. So I used this week's Sketch to help me do that. 
The subtle rainbow background was created by sponging colour onto a stamp from the Artistically Inked stamp and the co ordinating leaves die was also used. 

The flowers come from the retired Pretty Perennials and the sentiment from another set. 

The embossed flowers I've used for the circle part of the sketch and the gold glimmer is of course for the edge.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the inspiration from the rest of the team and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this.

Card Stock: Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Be Dazzling Specialty

Inks: Versamark

Stamps: Artistically Inked, Pretty Perennials, Flourishing Phrases

Accessories: Artistic Dies, Perennial Petals Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Gold EP, Pearls, Sequins

Non SU: Tim Holtz/ Ranger Distress Inks: Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade, Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio.

'Til next time,

Jan

 

JAI #581 Legs and Thank You

 

Happy Friday and welcome! Here in Victoria life is slowly returning to a new normal after all of our weeks of lockdown. Finally I got to catch up with some lovely friends we have been missing and we are able to take our masks off outside. We are still being cautious and careful but so far so good.

This week at Just Add Ink, the lovely Lou has asked that we add Legs to our projects! How cool is that?!! Whether that be human, animal, insect or anything in between, any legs will do and we'd love to see them all!! Our design team have created a fabulous array of legs of all kinds to inspire you so I hope you might pop on over and come and join in the challenge with us!

I was needing a "thank you" card and so for my "legs" element I brought out the fun and retired Kangaroo and Company stamp set. Coloured with Copics and Blends the Roo and flowers are paired together with a little bit of sparkle and shine. The colours are hard to show sometimes but the colours below are a more true reflection of the card.

Card stock: Berry Burst, Whisper White, Soft Sea Foam,Silver Sparkle (Saleabration)

Inks: Majenta Madness, Momento Tuxedo Black, Blends: Lovely Lipstick, Shaded Spruce. Copics

Stamps: Kangaroo And Company, Peaceful Moments

Accessories: Die Cutting Machines, Kangaroo Dies, Rectangle Framaelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Basic rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are inspired to stop by the challenge blog and I look forward to seeing what you will create for this very fun and creative challenge!

'Til next time,

Jan

JAI #579 Peace with Bling

Happy Friday folks and welcome! It's incredible to think that 2020 is nearly over and Christmas is nearlu upon us. This year has been yet another different one but hopefully now we can start planning towards a new type of normal again soon.

At Just Add Ink this week we have a Choose Two Challenge where you can choose two items out of Foil, Glimmer and Shimmer for the main focus of your projects this week. Our design team have created such a beautiful array of cards to inspire you I hope that you can join pop on over and join us. 

For my card this week, I started with some beautiful retired Christmas DSP that has copper Foil leaves all through it. I added a copper foil sentiment, some glimmery green die cut leaves and....seeing as this was a challenge I suggested and I just couldn't stop with the beautiful bling, some shimmer with red sequins as well!😀

Here you can see the gorgeous details when the light hits all the foil, glimmer and shimmer.

Card stock: Merry Merlot, Whisper White, Copper Foil, Green Glimmer ( 6x6 Assortment)

Inks: Merry Merlot

Stamps: Peace & Joy

Accessories: Die cutting machine, Joy Dies, Regals Sequins (retired)

This is the first Christmas card for me so far so I'd better make a few more! Christmas cards are often when we pull out the bling and shine but projects for this challenge doesn't have to be limited to a theme or Season. So I look forward to seeing what you will create for this fun Choose Two challenge at Just Add Ink this week.

'Til next time,

Jan

 

JAI #577 Colourful Plants

Happy Friday everyone and welcome back! Today is a special day - and I can say so myself as it's my birthday! I am so glad too that Dan Andrews our Victorian Premier chose to have today as the day we can bring our long lockdown to an end!

This week at Just Add Ink we have a gorgeous Inspiration Photo challenge for you suggested by Kim. The design team have all created a wonderful variety of cards to inspire you. We'd love to have you join us. 

For my card I tried to recreate the Inspiration Photo leaves. I sponged a rainbow of colours onto water coloured card stock and then flicked some Distress Resist Spray and a little water onto the colours to recreate the water droplets in the photo.

Then the leaves were die cut and arranged in black and sillver foil pots to allow the colours to shine.

Card stock: Whisper White, (thick and standard) Basic Black, Silver Foil, Silver Glimmer

Ink: Versamark

Stamps: Pretty Perennials

Accessories: Die cutting machine, Plant dies, White EP,  Silver EP,  Rectangle Framelits 

Non SU: TIm Holtz, Distress Inks. Distress Watercolor Card stock.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can pop by Just Add Ink and I look forward to seeing what you create inspired by this pretty photo.

Til next time,

Jan

 

JAI #575 Sympathy

 

Hello and welcome! It's the start of Spring and that means the first week also of Daylight Savings for those on most of the East Coast of Australia and also in New Zealand. And being Friday, it's also time to share this week's Just Add Ink Challenge with you!

This soft and elegant colour palate was chosen for us to use this week by Patrice. The design team have a created a beautiful array of cards to inspire you over on the blog and we'd love to have you join us.

For my card this week, I chose the beautiful Artistically Inked DSP and the co ordinating dies as a starting point and added a Sentiment from Peaceful Moments. A touch of Gold Foil card and some soft crinkled ribbon and this card is ready to post.

Card stock: Mint Macaron, Whisper White, Gold Foil

Designer Series Paper: Artistically Inked

Ink: Versamark.

Stamps: Peaceful Moments

Accessories: Artistic Dies, Gold EP, White Crinkle ribbon, Nested Framelits, Gold Faceted Jewels.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope that you can pop on over to Just Add Ink and be inspired and I look forward to seeing what you create for this challenge too!

Til next time,

Jan

JAI #573 Pet Sympathy

Hello and welcome back! It has been a little while since I have posted due to a few personal things happening but happy to be back today with the lovely ladies at Just Add Ink.

This week we have a Clean and Simple sketch designed by....ME for everyone to use in your projects so I really hope that you like it! You can flip the sketch from side to side or from portrait to landscape as you can see from the fabulous array of projects that the design team have made to inspire you. I really hope that you can pop by the challenge blog and join us.

For my card this week, I created a pet sympathy card using a stamp set from my stash in memory of a beautiful Lab that I have known for almost 10 years. This beautiful yellow Labrador was the best friend of my previous dog and we walked daily together for most of her life. 

So there are some details in the card - such as the green sentiment tag that are very deliberately used. Her name was Tag. Named by the then child in the family because she wore a green tag when they met her. But she was also a sweet princess at heart and so this called for a touch of pink. 

This is where being able to make a card is indeed a privilege - so we are able to personalise the details for the people the card is intended for.  Even when your own heart also is full of emotion. 

Card stock: Majenta Madness, Whisper White, Soft Succulent

Designer Series Paper: In Good Taste

Inks: So Saffron, Soft Succulent plus Basic Grey Watercolor Pencil

Accessories: Square and Rectangle Framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Enamel Shapes (retired)

(Non SU: Fill My Heart stamp set by Whimsy Stamps)

Thanks for stopping by today and I look forward to seeing all the wonderful projects that you create for this week's challenge at Just Add Ink.

'Til next time,

Jan

 

JAI #563 Artiscally Sketched

Hello and welcome back! It is mid-July and a chilly weekend ahead here in Victoria. So it's a perfect time to head to the craft room. I was recently gifted a heated throw and it is the perfect accessory to use when seated at my desk as the room has no other heating. What do you do to keep warm when crafting?

This week at Just Add Ink we have a very Clean & Simple sketch for you all to use designed by me - so I really hope you like it! 😀The design team have all created such beautiful cards to inspire you so I hope you can join with us. With NSW and now Melbourne also in lockdown this weekend hopefully this helps you pass the time and is therapeutic too. 

For my card, I flipped the sketch and cut away part of the front of the card to use the card's construction to make sketch elements. This was my first play (yes, better late than never right?) with the Artistically Inked stamp set which was on backorder when I placed my order. The layers of the bloom are all so beautiful individually yet work together really well too. And I really love the greensand gold  in the DSP too, this is stunning and really deserves to be featured in it's own right.

The background is made using the individual leaf stamp and then the white die cut leaves are layered on top. The bloom is all stamped in Fresh Freesia, one of the new In Colours this year that is oh so pretty and then the double leaves. The gold trim is tied around the edge of the cut card stock.

Card stock: Whisper White (thick).

Designer Series Paper: Expressions In Ink

Inks: Fresh Freesia, Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green, Versamark

Stamps: Artistically Inked

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Artistic Dies, Gold EP, Gold Trim, Gold Faceted Gems

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

'Til next time,

Jan