A little Baby Celebration for JAI #775

 

Happy Friday and welcome!! It is hard to believe it is only a few weeks to Christmas - no I'll not do the daily count yet as it will scare me just as much as you!! I hope that you are getting there with your preparations and all is going to plan for you and your family.

This week at Just Add Ink we have a fun, wonderful and broad Challenge for you from Lou - to Just Add a Celebration. It could be a season of Celebration such as Christmas, an individual Celebration for example, a Birthday or any other time we celebrate! The whole Just Add Ink design team have come together to provide you with inspiration and we are very grateful how you, our loyal JAI followers have responded to our new format and also for the new followers that are now joining in with the extra time available to enter. It is wonderful to see you all filling the the gallery with beautiful creations!

My card is to celebrate a new baby girl arriving soon! 
I haven't had to make a baby card for a little while so I've turned to an old favourite and retired stamp bundle and teamed that with the pretty Crochet EF. Babies are such a special reason for a Celebration!

If you were wondering why there was no sentiment visible on the outside of the card, well that is because it is a little interactive. The recipient presses the bottom of the little flower to release the elephant's toe and uses the ribbon handle to open the little elephant card and view the hidden sentiment. It's a little bit cute! 

 I've used a lot of different stamp and die sets to make this card. Sometimes as crafters, use just the one stamp and die bundle and sometimes we can use quite a few depending on what we are looking to make and for whom. Being able to personalise a card for friends and family is what is so special about being able to make a card. One thing that I kept the A Litte Wild bundle for is it's versatility. The die cut animal card is one of three shaped cards that can also be used as gift cards. So I will colour up another little ele the same for the gift card. 

Thanks for stopping by today to see my card! I hope that you can pop on over to Just Add Ink to see what all the rest of the design team have created for you too. And I hope that you might feel inspired to join us and create something for a Celebration too. I can't wait to see what you will make!

Card stock: Basic White, Bubble Bath

Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers

Stamps: A Little Wild (retired), Welcome Home (retired)

Accessories: Die cutting machine, Crochet EF,  Little Loves Dies (retired) Country Flowers Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Gold Twine, Pink ribbon, White textured ribbon, Iridescent pearls.

'Til next time,

Jan

JAI #614 Under the Sea

 

We are almost two thirds the way through Winter and it has been a cold and wet one this year. 

It does give a good excuse to be inside and in the craft room don't you think?

And This week's Just Add Ink's Challenge to Just Add... Under The Sea is suggested by Kerry and is such a fun theme. The design team all have used a variety of stamps and ideas to inspire you so I encourage you to pop on over to the main blog and check them out.

I needed a baby card and so decided a mermaid would be a way of adding Under the Sea.

I didn’t have anything appropriate in my SU collection yet so this cute wee Mermaid is from a Clip Art Digi stamp I purchased from Etsy. She is easy to colour and was cut out by hand.

The "sea" background is created using Distress Inks and then cut out with the Framelits.

And the little white "sea grass"is from a now retired SU die set called Little Loves. 

Pink glitter paper provides the little touch of bling needed for princesses and mermaids alike and this officially is now a completely unstamped card. Whilst lots of Wink of Stella and some enamel dots provide the finishing touches.

Card stock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Pink Glimmer

Stamps: non- SU Digi stamp

Inks: Copics and Blends, Background (non SU, Distress Inks)

Accessories: Die Cutting machine. Stitched Shapes Framelits, Playful Alphabet Dies, Well Worded Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Little Loves Dies, Wink of Stella, Enamel Dots.

Thanks for stopping by today and especially to those who take the time to leave an encouraging comment. 

I so look forward to seeing what you will create for this fun challenge at Just Add Ink this week!

A Big Welcome for JAI #418

Happy Friday and welcome! It's officially Mid - Winter and tonight is one of the rare occasions we have the sound of rain on the roof to help us lull off to sleep. So much of the country is in drought and even the local parks known for being soggy in Winter are cracked and dry so it is very welcome.

It's time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink and this week's soft and pretty colours have been suggested by Jo. As always, our lovely team have created beautiful projects to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and pop on over and join us.

I will say that pastels are not my go-to colours....so this was a bit a challenge. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and pastels are mine. But challenges  (like in life) are all opportunities to grow and to the rescue here was Soft Sea Foam. When I first saw this colour I thought it looked to be a lovely "neutral" baby colour. So this was the perfect opportunity to explore that ....tho it didn't end up so neutral :-)

The background uses an Aqua Painter and it is much easier to get a smooth effect with a new brush. Over time the rough, water colour paper causes the brush bristles to split like hairs and that means a rough finish. I opened a new brush today and really noticed it gave me more water and a softer finish which was perfect for this project.

Once the background was dry, the sentiment was stamped also in Sea Foam.
And the cute images from A Little Wild were embossed in white and added over layering circles.

And the leaves die cut is also part of the same cute little bundle.

Card stock: Sea Foam, Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Inks: Sea Foam, Blushing Bride, Versamark

Stamps: A Little Wild

Accessories: Little Loves Framelits, Layering Circles Framelits, Iridescent Sequin Assortment, White EP, Aqua Painter

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to head to Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous projects the team have created to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this soft and pretty colour combo too.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

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