Just Add Ink #777 Blog Hop - Just Add Something Seasonal

 

Happy New Year and WELCOME to a new Just Add Ink Challenges year! As usual we are starting things off with a Blog Hop from the whole design team. 

So a special welcome if you have just arrived from the lovely Nikki Spencer and her very pretty card and perhaps you may like to grab a cuppa (or maybe you already have one) whilst you take a tour of all of our team's projects.

For the first challenge of 2026 we're asking you to "Just Add Something Seasonal."

What do we mean by Seasonal? Yes, it could be weather related - which is of course different in every hemisphere. But it also could be that it's almost Valentines Season - and here in Australia it's wedding season as well. Or you may have a personal Season to share. Hopefully our design team projects will inspire you to pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog and join with us in this first challenge of the year.

For my card, I have chosen Sunflowers. Yes, it is Summer in Australia and I really do love sunflowers and have many growing in my garden each Summer. I collect the seeds from the flowers each year so that I have plenty for the following one. There are giant ones along the backyard fences and some dwarf plants in pots too. So this was an easy choice for me!😊

The 3D Sunflower EF (an Online Exclusives product, still available) is something I have made a few cards with but this is my first attempt at colouring it realistically. You can use all sorts of methods. 

I was inspired by a technique by Claire Daly who first used a brayer to add ink to the debossed (background or downward) area of the EF before colouring the raised petals and leaves.

So I've added some Balmy Blue ink using a brayer to the flat areas of the debossed (downward ) side of the EF before using it with Basic White card stock. I was a bit light with this so went back over it adding some more of the ink using a sponge on the Basic White card.

For the focal images, I've used a combination of Stampin Blends and Copics and suddenly we have this bold, amazing image with big pops of colour!  I love the way it looks like the flowers have the hot Summer's sun shining on them (and haven't we had a few days like that here already!)
Finally, a sentiment from a retired Sunflower set was used and a touch of ribbon, twine and sprinkling of rhinestones and we have our first card of 2026!

Next you're off to see the fabulous Chantell Randall and her amazing project - Enjoy!

I hope that you feel inspired to join in the challenge with us and start the year creatively! If you get lost along the way you can pop by Just Add Ink to find a full list of our team taking part or see below.

Card stock: Basic White, Basic Black.

Inks: Balmy Blue, Versamark, Blends, Copics

Stamps: Celebrate Sunflowers (retired).

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Sunflower 3D EF, White EP, Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon, Linen Thread, Basic Rhinestones.

Here is the full  Blog Running List if you get lost along the way:

1. Lou Kitzelman

2. Kerry Parkinson

3. Tristan Dawes

4. Tina Gillespie

5. Narelle Farrugia

6. Nikki Spencer

7. Jan McQueen - You are here.

8. Chantell Randall

9. Joanne Stubbings

'Til next time,

Jan

                                              

JAI #636 Blog Hop - Just Add Your Favourite

 

Hello and welcome to the annual Just Add Ink Blog Hop!! Every year we have a Blog Hop for the first Challenge week and we have a wonderful theme for the challenge that we hope you will all enjoy! 

So whether you've just arrived from the lovely Di Barnes's blog or you are starting here, it might be time for a cuppa as you click around the whole design team's beautiful project's!

It's the beginning of a new year with new lots of new things. But there is something that we all love to hold on to whether new or old - our Favourites!!

That's right!! This Just Add Ink challenge you can have free range adding as many favourites as you like - but you must please tell us what your favourites are in your post! Our design team have many favourites from techniques to colours to stamps - and we are sure you do too! We hope this Hop inspires you to share your favourites with us over at the Just Add Ink blog.

I have two cards this week to share with you this week. My favourite flowers are sunflowers - I love how they follow the sun and are so dramatic! And colouring is a favourite technique for me too!

This, Clean and Simple version in particular, is inspired by a favourite photo of my much loved Black Lab, Sally sniffing a Lemon Bling sunflower plant in our garden.

You can see in the photo that the sunflower is a dwarf bloom and is a brilliant lemon colour...and a few Hungry Caterpillars have found the leaves.

This is what inspired my colouring of the first card. 😊

You can also see the sparkle here from the Wink of Stella - another favourite of mine to bring a subtle and often surprising sparkle.

I kept the same layout for this more traditionally coloured Sunflower. And added die cuts from the coordinating bundle of dies to a white background instead of using an embossing folder. The white on white technique for adding texture is yet another favourite!

Add a few rhinestones and more Wink of Stella and we have another beautiful sunny day to remember!

These are my favourites.

 Next you are off to see the favourites of the beautiful Rochelle Blok and you are in for a treat with her gorgeous creation. Enjoy!

Blog Hop list - in case you get lost along the way,  you can click on the Just Add Ink Blog Hop graphic to go to the JAI blog. Alternatively you can look at the list below:

1. Chantell Randall 

2. Kim Badelt   

3. Annie Alexander      

4. Lou Kitzelman

5. Nikki Spencer

6. Di Barnes

7. Jan McQueen - you are here

8. Rochelle Blok

9. Kerry Bunting

10. Narelle Farrugia

11. Joanne Stubbings

12. Tristan Dawes

13. Tina Gillespie

14. Fiona Bradley

'Til next time

Jan

 

Just Add Ink Summer Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our first Just Add Ink challenge for 2022 and in celebration we are having a fun Blog Hop! You may have arrived from the lovely Kim's  colourful project or you may be starting here.If you get lost along the way. clicking the challenge graphic will take you to the Just Add Ink blog and a full list of everyone taking part.I hope you have a lot of fun Hopping around using the Next button at the end of this and everyone's posts and are inspired by the Summer themed projects to join in the challenge yourself! 

This is the first of two projects I created this week. Both are Sunflower themed as they are a Summer favourite of mine and I have some growing in my garden again this year.

This image is coloured with a mixture of Copics and Blends and features the beautiful Sunflower Dies as a background. I do love a white on white texture with a pop of colour.

In this version, the colours were sponged first and the image stamped over the top and embossed in Black afterwards. The background uses the Subtles EF and it is indeed Subtle.

Which of these do you like better?  

You're off to see the lovely Nikki"s project next which is super pretty. I hope you enjoy the Hop and don't forget to come back and join in the challenge!

Card stock: Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape, Basic Black, Be Dazzling Specialty Paper (Sab)

Inks: Versamark, Momento Tuxedo Black, Blends

Stamps: Celebrate Sunflowers

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Sunflower Dies, White EP, Black EP, Crinkle White Ribbon, Purple orgnaza ribbon (retired), Basic Rhinestones, Metallic Assortment Sequins, Sequin Trim, Faceted Gems.

Til next time,

Jan

 

Just Add Ink #539 Sunflower Border

Hi there and welcome to another Friday in paradise.😄There is a sense of peace with many students returning to school this week. Another piece of "normality" returning as Covid restrictions continue to slowly ease here in Australia. 

Also a sign of normality, it's time for our new challenge at Just Add Ink! This week Di Barnes has suggested this fun choose two out of these three creative elements to have as the star of your projects. Lots of variety in the choices by the design team this week to inspire you so I hope that you can pop on over and take a peek and join us!

It is mid -Summer here in the Australia- Pacific region and one lovely flower is the Sunflower. These beautiful big, flowers follow the sun on it's journey through the sky each day and is a wonderful reminder that we all can do our best each new day.

The image was embossed with the Shimmery Black EP and watercoloured using a Water brush. Then it was die cut along with some other elements from the set. The background is another of the pages of the gorgeous Oh So Ombre DSP Stack. 

A border was created using the Stitched Rectangle framelits and the sentiment fussy cut to create a banner to complete this week's challenge elements.

Thanks for stopping by today and I look forward to seeing what you might create using Borders, Banners or Bows for this week's Just Add Ink challenge!

Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Black

Designer Series Paper: Oh So Ombre Stack (Saleabration)

Inks: Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, Early Espresso 

Stamps: Celebrate Sunflowers

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Sunflower Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Shimmery Black EP, White EP, In ColorEnamele Dots

'Til next time,

Jan

Just Add Ink #525 Sunflower Thank You

 

Hello and happy Friday everyone!! The year is passing quickly and with October we are now in the middle of Spring - or Autumn / Fall  for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere. That means lots of new colours in flowers and leaves and mild to warm but not too hot temperatures - my favourite time of year!

Once again it's time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink. This week Chantell has asked us all to add a Thank You to our projects. Thanking the people that mean so much to us - especially during these times when it may not be so easy to meet them in person  - is a wonderful activity to be able to do and helps keep us all together whatever the circumstances. Our lovely team have created so many different colour themes and styles of thank you so I hope that you will be inspired to join us!

For my card this week, I chose to water colour a Sunflower and then added texture to the background using some white on white die cuts. This is similar but different to a couple of cards I posted previously here.

The sunflower and leaves are embossed using the retired Black Shimmery EP and then water coloured with inks and a Water Painter. The background is created using some of the co-ordinated dies for a white - on - white look. I love how this adds texture in a clean way.

Ink colours used include Daffodil Delight, Bumble Bee, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red. You can see some of the shimmer from the embossing powder in the photo above too.

Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Black

Designer Series Paper: Painted Poppies

Inks: Versamark, Daffodil Delight, Bumblebee, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Shaded Spruce, Mossy Meadow

Stamps: Celebrate Sunflowers

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Sunflowers Dies, Stitched Rectangles Dies, White EP, Shimmery Black EP, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you can pop on over to Just Add Ink and be inspired to join us. I look forward to see what you will create to say thank you this week. 

Til next time,

Jan

Social Stamping - Celebrate

Hello and welcome to another fabulous Social Stamping Blog Hop. These hops were originally started as a way of staying connected when all of Australia were under lockdown because of Covid 19. Mostly this has eased except for those of us in Victoria where the restrictions now are even tighter than before so these hops are a lifeline for me! This month the theme is "Celebrate" which is perfect for Spring birthdays or any festive theme so I am sure there will be a wonderful variety of projects for you to enjoy!

You may have just arrived from the lovely Julia Quinn and her fabulous projects or you can start the Hop here and continue by just by clicking the Next button at the bottom of each post. To find a full list of participants, you can click on the Social Stamping image at the top of this post.

This is the first of two cards I created using the gorgeous Celebrate Sunflowers Bundle which recently arrived for me. Being a lover of all things Pink I had my first play with the new Majenta Madness and water coloured the main bloom and the lovely Just Jade for the leaves. Embossed in Shimmery Black it gives it a crisp black sparkle that is much more obvious in real life. 

My second card was inspired by a lovely white on white creation by Angela Meiritz-Reid. I loved the background and thought it would compliment my favourite coloured bloom. 

Here the bloom is coloured as though through a pink lens...that was the feel I was going for. All the different die cut leaves and flower frames are used in the background to create a textured white on white effect. 

Thanks for stopping by today! Next you are off to see to visit my lovely friend Chantell Randall and her beautiful projects that I know you will enjoy!

Card stock: Whisper White (thick and standard)

Designer Series Paper: Samper Pack 6x6 (SAB)

Inks: Versamark, Daffodil Delight, Majenta Madness, Just Jade, Cinnamon Cider, Early Espresso

Stamps: Celebrate Sunflowers

Accessories: Die cutting Machine, Ornate Layers Dies, Sunflower Dies, Shimmery Black EP (retired), White EP, Basic Rhinestones, Silver Sequin Trim, In Colour ribbon (MM)

Til next time,

Jan

 

Just Add Ink #518 Tropical Tent Card

 

Hello again and welcome back to another Friday, and another week closer to Spring!! Here in Melbourne we are almost at the end of Week 2 of Stage 4 Restrictions and we are thankfully starting to see some improvements. One of the bonuses of being at home most of the day is being able to make the most of the increasing sunshine hours we've been blest with. The days are getting longer and we are getting some glimpses of beautiful sunsets that I'm sure will be even better as Summer comes along.

This week at Just Add Ink we have one of Tina's fun alphabet challenges and she wants you to Add things beginning with the letter "T" to your projects. Whether that be Tea Tree  or Tortoises or Turquoise....  whatever begins with the letter T we would love to see! Our lovely design team always enjoy these too and the variety of subjects and T elements are so fun to see! So I hope that you will be inspired to pop on over and take a peek and we'd really love you to join with us too.

I'm calling this a Tropical Thanks acetate Tent card. Try saying that quickly three times, lol! 😀

The lovely Celebrate Sunflowers bundle just arrived here this week and this is my first of likely many cards using it. Sunflowers are my favourite summer flower of all time and I usually plant some each year. 

The Acetate Tent Card tutorial I used to make this is from Split Coast Stampers. Yes, I did change the measurements slightly to fit Australian C6 sizes but it is easy to do. 

This card would've come together so much quicker if I had followed my own rule. Which is to go with the first idea that comes along. Instead of that though, I started using coloured die cuts and even some inside the tent window. But in the end, the simple white die cut blooms I had first intended seemed best.

Card Stock: Whisper White (Thick and Standard), Pumpkin Pie, Acetate

Designer Series Paper: 6" Sampler (SAB)

Ink: Versamark

Stamps: Celebrate Sunflowers

Accessories: Die Cutting Machine, Sunflower Dies, Gold Faceted Gems, Black Shimmery EP

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the design team cards and I look forward to see what "T" elements you will choose to create with this week too!!

Til next time,

Jan