Polkadot Flowering Meadow for JAI #786

 

It is almost Winter here in Australia and the days are getting shorter, cooler and wetter already in Melbourne. Thankfully, spending time inside in our craft spaces is as handy in Winter as it is in the heat of Summer!

It's time for a new Challenge at Just Add Ink. This one is from Kerry and she would like us to "Just Add Polka Dots" to our projects this week. Our design team have all created projects featuring different Polka Dots in different colours and textures. We look forward to seeing what you would like to create for this.

You have until Wednesday 3 June to enter this challenge.

My card for this challenge features some new products from the Flowering Meadow Suite and a die from the Spotlight On Nature Circle dies creates the front window that opens all the way to the inside of the card.

The flowers and leaves are attached to the outside of the window using glue dots and some flowers have stems that attach to other flower heads. This gives the flowers a little more strength and also the front of the card in general.

And inside the card there are a couple of supporting leaves that add to the design when closed and give a clean design of their own when open.

The Polka Dots that are the Challenge focus are from the Striped and Dotted DSP and is in Lost Lagoon, one of my all time favourite colours. The sentiment is from the Fabulous Sayings set and was still available last time I looked if you are interested in getting it.

The flowers were inked first in Pretty in Pink and then some Petunia pop is sponged onto the stamp before it's stamped onto paper. This was to celebrate the retiring In Colours. Next the flower stems were die cut and attached to the flower heads - and to the lower ones too using glue dots.

Thank you 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 cards created by the rest of the design team and entrants too. And I look forward to seeing what you might create for this challenge too!

Card stock: Lost Lagoon, Basic White, Coastal Cabana,

DSP: Striped and Dotted Specialty

Ink: Lost Lagoon, Pretty in Pink, Petunia Pop

Stamps: Flowering Meadow, Fabulous Sayings

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Flowering Meadow Dies, Basic Pearls.

'Til next time,

Jan

Simply Beautiful watercoloured for JAI #785

Happy Friday and welcome to you! We've been a bit spoilt in Melbourne by a warmer than usual Autumn. But in the last 24 hours we've gone from a maximum of 21-25 degrees Celsius to having snow on the hills! So we've quickly pulled out the jumpers (sweaters) scarves, puffer coats and electric blankets and I'm writing this post snuggled up in bed, finally nice and warm! Hopefully it's a bit warmer where you are but cold weather is the perfect excuse to stay inside in your craft space and make a card or layout for this challenge isn't it?😄

This week at Just Add Ink is another of our now standard and rotating challenges: Just Add Stencils, Dies or both. You have until 7pm on Wednesday 20 May to join with us for this fun challenge. The design team have used all sorts of themes, dies and stencils in our projects to hopefully inspire you and so can you! We'd love to see what stencils and dies that you love to create with.

My card features lots of dies this week. There are the Simply Beautiful bundle dies that are used to cut these gorgeous floral images and the main flower centre. This is a gorgeous SU Online Exclusives bundle that is now in the Last Chance section and soon to be gone forever so if you like it, then you will need to be quick. It is great for colouring with blends or water colouring  I have again gone with water colouring and have CASED (Copy and Selectively Edit)  a similar card I made for an earlier challenge that you can see below and here. Yes, I mostly kept the design!

The background, detailed Leaf EF came as part of the Starter Kit bundle of products from Sizzix when I recently bought a new Big Shot. Also included were a number of framelits -  an arch, square and sentiment frame plus a number of leaf dies - including the two Smoky Slate ones used here.

When watercoloring, I love adding a light layer of colour first (Balmy Blue) and then, as it is drying I'll add another layer of usually the same colour. Here, though is some diluted Azure Afternoon to add a little more oomph to the flower centre and inner parts of petals. For the leaves, there is Smoky Slate and those delicate leaf dies.

The sentiment is from the January SU Stamp of the Month, Fabulous Sayings. I love that there is an array of both handwritten sentiments and incredibly, it is still available for only $9.00 with a qualifying order.

These sentiments don't have dies so a quick and easy way to cut them out is to trace around the stamp with a pencil, stamp inside this outline and then fussy cut it using the pencil line.

I really look forward to seeing what Dies or Stencils or combination of them that you would like to use in  and your project at  Just Add Ink this week!

Card stock: Basic White, Thick and Standard,Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon, Silver Foil

Inks:  Balmy Blue, Azure Afternoon, Smoky Slate, Versamark 

Stamps: Simply Beautiful, Fabulous Sayings

Accessories: Die cutting machine, Simply Beautiful Dies, Metallic Sequins Assortment (retired). 

Non SU: Sizzix Starter Pack Thinlits - Leaf dies x 2,  Sizzix EF - Leaf Motif, Tim Holtz Watercolor Card Stock.

'Til next time,

Jan