Let the lights shine for CI #219

Hello and welcome!! It's the Sunday before Colour Inkspiration #219 closes and I''m so glad that I've managed to find some time this weekend to create a card. There is still one day to go if you want to enter this week too.

These colours and the photo - and this week's hot weather in Melbourne - made me think of relaxing summer evenings spent dining with friends and family. How lucky are we in Australia and New Zealand that we have Christmas and New Years in amongst our Summer?

When I went to look at What had arrived in my recent SU order, I found the Celebrate the Miracle stamp set. 

I decided to use this stamp for this Challenge because we are fast approaching the first anniversary of the terror attack in Bondi, Sydney. This was during Hanukkah celebrations last year. What had started out to be an evening of food and relaxing in Summer - just like the photo - before the tragedy.  And whilst I am not Jewish, I do have some friends who are  - as do many of us. 

Lost Lagoon and Crumb Cake with my first use of the lovely Softly Woven embossing folder form the base layers. This texture from this folder is gorgeous and very tactile and am sure it will quickly become a faourite.

Water Color paper is used for the top layer and a very soft wash using just Azure Afternoon.

The traditional candelabrum is embossed in gold before the candles and flames are stamped with ink.

The newish Stampin Positioner and dark lines on the lid made it so easy to line up the candles and flames with the base. 

There are several ribbons placed behind the top layer and the star is stamped and fussy cut and added on the side. 

Thanks for popping by today and I hope that you can add your own entry into CI #219 too!

Card stock: Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake, Water Color Paper, Basic white

Inks: Azure Afternoon, Crushed Curry, Lost Lagoon

Stamps: Celebrate the Miracle

Accessories: Everyday Arches Dies, Softly Woven EF, Gold EP, White, blue and gold ribbons, Essentials Twine - White

'Til next time,

Jan

Happiest Christmas Houses for JAI #797

 

Happy Friday and welcome!! We are almost two thirds through Spring in October and how many birthdays are there in October?! So many!! Including mine yesterday which was a mini big birthday - a 5 rather than a 0 one. It was a fun and relaxing day!

This week at Just Add Ink, Lou would like us to Choose Two or more out of Numbers, Letters, Spots and Stripes. Our design team have created a fabulous variety of cards to inspire you so I hope that can pop on over and be inspired to join us. You have until Wednesday 4th November to create your project and enter.

For my card I've chosen to add Letters and Stripes. And, if you look between the snowflakes there are also "Spots" so there are 3 of the 4 items on my Christmas card this week!!!

No, these houses are not the new ones in the current catalogue. These are from an older Stampin Up suite. But they are similar and these houses, die cut from the DSP,  do meet this week's challenge as each house has stripes going one way or another.
And one of the things I love dearly is the little VW, as I still have a silver one parked outside my house too.

The die cut snow bank is stamped with a sentiment to fulfil the Letters part of the Challenge and then raised up on dimensionals so that the Striped houses - die cut from the DSP and also card stock for strength - can sit slightly underneath it. The trees are also die cut from the DSP and card stock. A holly wreath is added to each house.

In Australia and New Zealand most houses still add a wreath to our doors but often it's made of tinsel as real holly doesn't grow as it's Summer here. Ours is actually a wooden hoop with a spray of holly and other decorations hot glued to it and it has a tiny string of lights that wrap all around the hoop and looks fantastic esp at night. I will try and find a photo...

Thanks for popping by today! I hope that you can be inspired to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the cards our design team have created to inspire you and you have til the evening of Wednesday 4th of November to enter your project. I look forward to seeing what you create!

Card stock: Basic White

Designer Series Paper: Trimming the Tree (retired).

Stamps: Coming Home (retired) Dashing Deer

Inks: Misty Moonlight, Momento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Home Together Dies, Basic Rhinestones

"Til next time,

Jan

Hello Sunflower Friend JAI #796 Paper Piecing

Happy Friday and welcome back! It's the second week of Daylight Savings for those of us in States in Australia that observe it. It means I have to try and remember before messaging and waking friends an hour earlier than intended! Oops!! It also means that we finally have some sunlight after dinner and have summer's long evenings to look forward to. Our garden is looking good - very colourful again which brings me to this week's challenge at Just Add Ink.

At Just Add Ink Kerry would like us to Just Add Paper Piecing to our projects. Paper piecing has a couple of interpretations. In sewing it means creating a pattern on paper and then piecing and sewing material into it. In card making it usually means using designer series paper to either insert into a pattern, similar to the sewing method or to fill and colour a stamped image. 
Our design team have created both types of Paper Piecing and we can't wait to see what method you will choose to use for your projects!.  You have until Wednesday, 21 October to enter your card on the Just Add Ink blog.

For my project I decided to paper piece a checker board background for my card using the Radiant Foils Specialty Paper and the Sunflower Fields DSP. The foil has a copper tone to it that goes well with the Pecan Pie in this paper.

I cut a 9x9cm of copy paper and started with adding 3cm wide strips of the DSP and then cutting 3x3cm Foil squares to glue over the top. Then I added this to a piece of card stock to give it a little more strength.

Then it was time to design the rest of the card. The Sunflower EF seemed a natural choice. The image is coloured using Blends and Copics and the sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso and cut with the this delightful curved die included in the dies set. Then some strips of card stock, a touch of twine and a few pretties added - and they really sparkle! - and this card is done.

Thanks for popping by today and I hope that you feel inspired to create your own paper piecing for our challenge at Just Add Ink and I look forward to seeing what you make! And in the meantime, I will go and plant some sunflower seeds in the garden that I saved from the flowers I grew last year. Yes, it's my favourite time of year - the anticipation is almost as good as seeing the flowers themselves.

Card stock: Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Basic White

Designer Series Paper: Radiant Foils, Sunflower Fields

Inks: Early Espresso, Momento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Radiant Sunflowers

Accessories: Die cutting machine, Radiant Sunflowers dies, Sunflower EF, Twine, Radiant Gems

"Til next time,

Jan

 

Funky Folds Blog Hop - October

lI'm joining in with this months Funky Folds Blog Hop. We are a group of like-minded paper crafters who love to make cards with funky folds. Funky actually means "modern and stylish in an unconventional or striking way"... in other words, cards that are not your usual rectangle/square portrait or landscape style. Think 'easel', 'pop-up', 'gatefold', 'z-fold', 'shaped' or 3D cards etc. The list is endless.

All Blog Hops have an 'anything goes' theme and you may have come from Mo Roote's blog and her fabulous project!

My card is called a WV Fold card as that is the shape you see from above.  I was inspired by a card made by Susan Campfield and mine is for a special,  pink loving friend's birthday. 

I've used the Flowering Meadow Bundle and several pieces of the Velvet Meadow DSP . 

This paper features some white flocking on the images which adds another layer of texture and interest - it's especially lovely in person as it's designed to be touched.

The flower images on the front of the card are fussy cut from the DSP whilst the greenery is cut using the dies that co-ordinate with the stamp set. You can see the raised white dots on the left of the card and flower centres feature the white flocking too.

These daisies on the inside, smaller panel, are created using coloured card stock and the stamp and die bundle.

This last page is rather busy - the happy birthday is die cut from Pink card from the Velveteen Assortment pack. It's special flocked paper that works with the white details in this DSP. 

And this area on the back is added for somewhere to write a message. The sentiment stamps used here are retired now and were offered as a monthly special stamp set earlier this year. 

Thanks for stopping by to see my card!

Next you are heading off to see Tracy Held and her amazing project. If you get lost along the way, there is a full list of those taking part at the end of this post.

Card stock: Berry Burst, Peaceful Pine, Daffodil Delight, Cloud Cover, Bubble Bath

Inks: Berry Burst, Versamark, Bubble Bath

Stamps: Flowering Meadow, Fern & Flora, Fabulous Sayings, Attention Shoppers (retired).

Accessories: Die cutting machine, Flowering Meadow dies, Fern & Flora dies, Well Worded dies, White EP, twine

See below for a full list of those taking part in this month's Hop.

Colour Inkspiration #218 Boxes of Joy

 

It's a long weekend in Melbourne as Friday was a holiday in honour of the Footy Final and the weather was cold outside so it was the perfect time to head for the craft room.

At Colour Inkspiration this week, they have a combo with a Winter warmer feel.

And it made me think of perhaps doing something Christmas related.

I had bought the Box of Joy stamp set recently and mainly because of the "Spoiler alert: it's not a pony" sentiment as 2 of my teenage nieces are horse mad and this saying made me smile! But in the process of deciding what colour of card stock to use as the box...I realised I had used all 3 colours and so decided to use them all for this week's challenge.

All three of the little boxes are made using last year's Jolly Delivery dies and embossed using the Plaid EF.

This image from Unbridled Beauty was my starting point and I wanted the fun sentiment to be a highlight so it is embossed in white on red card. 

I also have a teenage nephew and he is car mad....though the ironic thing here is that I am the only family member with a VW! 😂 A retired set for the image but the new set provides the sentiment again here. Black satin ribbon beneath the red & white twine helps give that black tie masculine look.

And last but not least is this adult - or maybe not - chocolate themed gift box. 

The sweet images are also from the Box of Joy and are coloured with Blends and fussy cut. I forgot to show the back of the boxes - each has the smallest round Spotlight on Nature used as a white piece of card and a small gold circle over the locking circle used to keep te box closed.

Thanks for popping by and I hope that you like my entry for CI #218 and this encourages you to create your own project for this great challenge!

Card stock: Real Red, Basic Black, Pecan Pie, Basic White, Gold Foil

Inks: Pecan Pie, Momento Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Stamps: Box of Joy. (Current). Unbridled Beauty, Jolly Delivery and Home for Christmas are all retired.

Accessories : Die cutting machine, Perennial Postage Dies, Spotlight on Nature dies, Plaid EF, Jolly Delivery Dies, White EP, Red grograin ribbon, Black satin ribbon, Red & White twine.

"Til next time,

Jan

Koookaburra Flys away with the Star JAI #795

 

Happy Friday and welcome to what in Melbourne, is a long weekend to celebrate the AFL footy final. Something many of us here in Victoria raise eyebrows about. But this year, will be interesting - Sunshine for the holiday on Friday and for Sunday but game day- rain and apparently during the game! Perhaps the weather is responding to neither of the teams being local?? Or perhaps it could be to give those of us not particularly interested in the game a reason to be in our craft rooms. 😉 Perhaps I could support the team with longest odds whilst I make a card and maybe you might join me? 😀

This week at Just Add Ink  we have one of our regular challenges - to Just Add Stencils, Dies or both. And from now on, these challenges will have a theme to help spark your creativity. This week the theme is KIDS. Our design team has pulled out all the stops, lots a of dies and a few stencils too to help give you some starting points and we'd love you to join us and add your entry over on the Just Add Ink blog. You have until Wednesday 30 September so lots of time to plan your creation.

For my card....I took this and kind of hopped with it! I used lots of dies to create my Aussie Christmas scene card. You will know the old Nursery rhyme, Hey Diddle Diddle -where the dish ran away with the spoon. Well, let me give you an Aussie version - where the Kooka(burra) flew away with the star! 😂

Firstly, the kangaroo and joey and the cheeky little kookaburra are all from the Joyful Christmas stamp set. Unfortunately there are no dies with this set - and no NZ animals which I do find rather sad as a Kiwi myself....but we'll save that for another day.

For the background, I've used the wonderful Christmas Words Hybrid EF which has both the EF to emboss all these words and then a matching die to cut them all out - which was used to cut out the sentiment after I coloured it using Blends. You do have to move quickly if colouring so the ink doesn't spread off the letters.

Then the Tree and all it's decorations are from the retired Decorative Trees Bundle. Here the base tree is water coloured on regular card stock and then the some Red foil is used to create a tinsel effect and then there are the foil baubels and the glimmer star  and tree base are all cut using dies from this set. 

This card I will use to send to family members and / or friends with kids as the roo and joey seems a real family friendly image to me and whilst it might be going out on a bit of a tree limb for this challenge I hope it is something the kids enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you might like to join us at Just Add Ink for this challenge and I look forward to seeing what Kid friendly Die and /or Stencil creations you might make this fortnight!

Card stock: Shaded Spruce, Basic White, Gold Foil, Gold Glimmer

Designer Series Paper : Joy of Christmas (long retired), 

Stamps: Joyful Friends

Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Shaded Spruce, Blends.

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Christmas Words Hybrid EF, Decorative Trees Bundle, Water Brush, Wink of Stella, Red and white twine

'Til next time,

Jan

Joyful Koala for JAI #794

Happy Friday and welcome! Here in Melbourne, Spring has officially sprung! And the garden is listening with the jonquils and daffodils and blossoms all beginning to bloom! So it is a very pretty time walking past the neighbour's gardens to the dog park this time of year.

At Just Add Ink  this week we have a Clean & Simple Sketch for you from me! So I hope that you like working with it. Our design team have all created beautiful projects to inspire you and we really hope that you will join us. You have until Wednesday 23 September to enter your project - card or scrap layout - over at the Just Add Ink blog.

September 1 is also the day the SU Catalog with Christmas products has now been released and so I chose to create an Aussie themed Christmas card for this sketch. 

This beautiful koala in a wreath of gum leaves is a gorgeous image and this is the first time I've coloured it up, I am the only member of my close family living "over here" so this will be winging it over the water to NZ. 

Of course we need a little bling and there is some Silver Glimmer paper behind the sentiment and Wink of Stella all over the koala image.

The leaf from the Ferns & Flora Dies could be a eucalyptus leaf and so is added on the lower circle - to give the koala the energy to make it "across the ditch" as we say. 😅

I've been here in Australia over 25 years now and that is almost half my life....it wasn't my original plan but I suspect many people have made plans that change as time goes on too!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope that you can pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the projects from the design team and entrants and I'd love to see your creation too!

Card stock: Basic White, Coastal Cabana, Grey Granite, Peaceful Pine,

Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Peaceful Pine

Stamps: Joyful Friends

Accessories: Die cutting machine, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Postage Stamp Dies, Plaid EF, White Twine, Metallic Sequins collection.

These days I'm mostly a hobby Demo but I'm thinking about running some small number classes for people able to come to me in the run up to  Christmas. So if you'd be interested, please leave me a comment either here or on my Insta @mcqueenjan or via the SU Demo search and I'll be in touch.

'Til next time,

Jan