Just For You #JAI 287 Inspiration

It's Friday all so quickly and our household is starting to return to normal routine after a busy week and a half :-)
And it's time for a new fun challenge at Just Add Ink where Jodene has found these wonderful photos for us all to use. The Team have been busy and made fabulous creations to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and have a look.

Here are this week's photos:

And here is my Mini Treat Bag:

I don't really have any leaf stamps at the moment but this colourful DSP has several of the leaf colours in the photos and then I took inspiration from the lovely yellow flower for the tag and the inside. 

I very nearly used the poinsettia for the tag but it is a nice surprise as you open the bag too :-)

The Tag greeting and bow are from the Mini Treat Bag Framelits and I used the Hello You Thinlits for the inside card. Again keeping it simple so the poinsettia and DSP can be the stars.

Card stock: Daffodil Delight, Tangelo Twist, Old Olive,

Designer Series Paper: Into The Woods

Inks: Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist, Old Olive

Stamps: Flower Patch, Reason For The Season, Crazy About You

Accessories: Big Shot, Mini Treat Bag Framelit, Flower Fair Framelits, Hello You Thinlits, Poinsettia Punch, Triple Banner Punch, Iced Rhinestones, Basic Rhinestones, Gold Cording Trim

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment and pop on over to Just Add Ink and be inspired by all the wonderful creations the Team have made for you this week and I look forward to seeing what you create with these photos too!

Flower Patch JAI #285

Welcome to another lovely Friday - this week has really flown! I had a lovely day yesterday for my birthday - lots of flowers and phone calls and lovely cards and the celebrations are due to continue on today too! So I have been totally spoilt :-)

And it's time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink and the lovely Nikki  has suggested these gorgeous colours for us all to use.  The design team have created really lovely projects to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look :-)

And here is my card:

These colours are so elegant and I couldn't resist using them for a friend's birthday card using a stamp set I haven't used for a little while - Flower Patch. With the Mint Macaron being a green it made sense to use that for the leaves and I love how the navy base brings out the "pink" tones in the Blushing Bride : -)

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick), Smoky Slate, 

Designer Series Paper: Neutrals Stack

Inks: Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron

Stamps: Flower Patch

Access: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Iced and Basic Rhinestones

Non SU: Stitched Fishtail Dies (My Favourite Things)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the wonderful cards the team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with these gorgeous colours this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Flower Patch JAI #277

It's Friday and we have a fantastic new challenge for you at Just Add Ink this week. Kim has suggested these lovely colours for us all to use:

Beautiful and fresh colours that are perfect for the first week of Spring we are about to see. A colour challenge is a great way to challenge yourself to use colours that maybe you wouldn't normally use or haven't used for a while and the Team have made some wonderful creations to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and take a look.

Here is my card:

I hadn't used the lovely Mint Macaron much before so it was a great opportunity to become more familiar with this gorgeous new In Colour. I decided to use the Flower Patch stamp to make a Spring flavoured Birthday card - it is a little bright isn't it ?! And the flower centre is one of the new Iced Rhinestones soon to be available to order - I am addicted to them already!

Card stock: Calypso Coral, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla

Inks: So Saffron, Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral

Stamps: Flower Patch, Gorgeous Grunge

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Project Life Framelits, Mint Macaron Ribbon, Iced Rhinestones, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop over to Just Add Ink and see the wonderful cards that the Team have made to inspire you this week and I look forward to seeing what you will make with this colour combination too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add a Sketch JAI #268

Such a beautiful day today - blue sky and sun and we're expecting a warm 16 degrees (Celsius)  - quite amazing for the end of June in Melbourne! But we will definitely enjoy it whilst it lasts :-)

Also ready for enjoyment is this week's challenge at Just Add Ink :-) The lovely Narelle has suggested a fabulous sketch for us to use. As always, the Team have created some incredibly amazing creations to inspire you so I do hope you can take a moment to pop on over and see them.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Yes, I surprised myself with the colouring here too Lol!  For those who don't know,  colouring is something I am still trying to learn!!  And having returned my Blendies to get some new stamps, it was time to get out my Aqua Painter and water colour paper and go in search of a tutorial. I didn't have far to go - there are many wonderful colourists including several of our Just Add Ink Team :-) As I was looking for this image I came across a version by our Australian Artisan Teneale Williams and tried to emulate her shading. And having gone to the trouble of colouring the leaves I decided to cut them out and use them too :-)

Card stock: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Basic Black, Water Colour Paper

Designer Series Paper: English Garden

Inks: Calypso Coral, Mossy Meadow, Crushed Curry,Versamark 

Stamps: You've Got This, Flower Patch

Accessories: Big Shot, Boho Chick EF, Black EP, Gold Metallic thread, Metallic Sequins pack, Triple Banner Punch, PL Corner Rounder Punch

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to stop by Just Add Ink and see all the wonderful cards the Team have made with this sketch and I look forward to seeing what you will create this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Tangerine Flower Patch

Today is indeed Winter (and not Autumn!) - we have a forecast of 12 degrees Celsius, rain, thunderstorms and hail and it is apparently snowing on the nearby Dandenong ( pronounced "dandy-nong") Mountains - so am really  glad  that I don't actually need to go out today except to take Sally the Lab for a walk. And yes, we've been out -just - because between the downpours there is the odd  short "moment" of blue sky and sun so Sal had a whole 10 mins at the Park lol! Not quite her usual 2.4km morning walk but it IS only 8 degrees as I type and the central heating was calling both of us :-)

And being Wednesday, it is also time for a new sketch at The Paper Craft Crew! I hope you have a moment to pop on over and see what the Team have made to inspire you this week. 

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card - I kept pretty close to the sketch but be prepared - it is a little brighter than usual!

In retrospect, some Pear Pizzaz card might have made a softer base card - and I might still try that - but in the meantime the Tangerine Tango is quite bright and cheerful on a cold winter's day don't you think?! I started from the bright piece of DSP which is not my usual comfort zone so thought I'd give myself and extra challenge :-)

Card stock: Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizzaz, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Birthday Bash

Inks: Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizzaz

Stamps: Flower Patch

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Banner Framelits, Linen Thread and Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to pop by The Paper Craft Crew and see what the rest of the Team has made to inspire you this week.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add a Design Team Member!

Welcome to another glorious Autumn day and I hope you are having a lovely Good Friday?! Today I have some wonderful news to share with you :-) As many of you will know,  I have been a Guest Designer with the wonderful  Just Add Ink Team over the last two months. I've had a fabulous time  and have been so warmly welcomed by the lovely ladies on the Team and had such fun creating for the challenges. And now I am so excited to be able to share with you that I have been asked to join the Team permanently!! Such a lovely surprise and honour!! So I am very glad that it is Friday already and  time for my first post as Guest Designer on the Team - woo hoo!!

This week Narelle has suggested a Just Add Inspiration challenge for you with a beautiful photo! So full of lovely Autumn colours for the first week in April :-)

So much to love about these photos and I hope you have a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see the wonderful and varied creations that the lovely Team have made to inspire you this week :-)

For my card I created a little bouquet of flowers using the fun Flower Patch set and and co-ordinating Framelits. The chevrons are stamped on some white card and then have a piece of Vellum layered over the top :-)

Card stock: Calypso coral, Whisper White, Vellum Card stock

Inks: Calypso coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizazz, Versamark

Stamps: Flower Patch, Work of Art, Positively Chevron

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Gold Twine, Gold EP, Non SU Sequins

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink to see all the wonderful ways the Team have been inspired by these photos and I look forward to seeing what you will create this week too!

In the meantime have a wonderful Easter long weekend - and don't forget for those in Australia to put the clocks back an hour Sunday morning as Daylight Savings Ends -  :-(  And I hope you have a wonderful time with loved ones and friends :-)  As for me, I'm going to be pretty busy today and tomorrow singing with a music group at our local church and am looking forward to a relaxing day on Sunday :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Flower Patch Happy Birthday

Today is another gorgeous Autumn day here in Melbourne - a bit chilly to start with but then the clouds cleared and we had " a bright sun shiny day" as the song goes :-)

With Sally (black Lab) having had two large molars (teeth) removed yesterday I am playing Nurse again. We didn't have a great night - a little bit of bleeding and she was obviously in pain for a while as the anaesthetic wore off. But having been through the mill with loads of leg surgery recently (bionic is how our lovely Vet refers to her!) she is a star patient and never really complains. By late morning she was keen to go the Park - pretty amazing!! 

And being Wednesday, it is time for another sketch from The Paper Craft Crew. The team have come up with a great variety of cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and pop on over to check them out. So here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Yes, I know  - I am usually the last person to go for DSP when I can have some white space but here the green and gold DSP seems to sit ok don't you think? I was quite surprised too as it's not a paper I thought I'd use much :-)

Card stock: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Gold foil Specialty

Designer Series Paper: Gold Soiree Specialty

Inks: Versamark, Calypso Coral, Pistachio Pudding

Stamps; Flower Patch, Four You

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Circle Framelits, Owl Punch ( flower centre), Gold Twine, Hexagon Punch

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a moment to check out all the varied cards the Team has created to inspire you at The Paper Craft Crew and I look forward to seeing your creation in the Gallery too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Just Add Eggs / Ovals

The Seasons are well and truly changing - though we had a short lived return to Summer yesterday with a lovely 33 degrees - quickly followed by a storm and a little rain - so maybe not quite Summer again after all ;-) 

And it's also hard to believe that Easter is only just a couple of weeks away!! So it's a fabulous suggestion by Nikki that this week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to "Just Add Eggs / Ovals" 

 Of course please don't feel limited to making an Easter themed project - ANYTHING using ovals or eggs is the idea of this challenge!!  So I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and see all the wonderful and varied creations that the Team have made to inspire you this week.

I decided to do an Easter themed oval - with a total of 3 Nieces and 1 Nephew so far (as surely the numbers need to even up a little lol?! ) this doting Aunty from afar is getting ready to post some chocolate love back home to New Zealand. And I've had the pleasure of meeting them all but the youngest who is only 8 weeks old ;-) 

This cute little box in a bag is made using the Mini Treat Bag Framelit. I saw a video by Linda Parker to expand the bag using 2 pieces cut with the largest of the bag dies. Detailed instructions are in Linda's video although I will look at putting together a quick and easy photo tutorial over the next couple of days. Suffice to say the little Lindt bunny fits inside perfectly and I added some Window sheet to give it the strength needed to stand the rigours of going through the mail :-)

Card stock: Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White, Gold Foil Vellum, Window Sheet

Designer Series Paper: In Colour stack, Gold Foil Designer Vellum 

Inks: Versamark, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizazz

Stamps: Flower Patch, Seasonal Wishes (long retired)

Accessories: Big Shot, Oval Framelits, Gold EP, Gold Sequin Trim, Gold and Silver Mini Clothes pegs, Calypso coral Ribbon (Saleabration)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop on over to Just Add Ink and see all the wonderfully varied projects the Team have made to inspire you! And I look forward to seeing what you will make this week with either eggs or ovals - or maybe even both :-0

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Feel Better Flowers

Good afternoon and welcome! Today has so far been much nicer than the weather forecast…but the clouds are now starting to roll in so maybe the rain is coming after all? Not that we really need it right now but we might be glad of it in the weeks to come.

Today's card is for my favourite Sister-in-law ( ok she is the only SIL  but still the fave! ) who has just been released from hospital after a nasty illness and is now continuing to recover at home. For inspiration I used the wonderful sketch at Just Add Ink  - always a favourite challenge for me and the sketch by Tina this week is fabulous as usual and so open to interpretation.

 And as my SIL is an avid gardener there were always going to be flowers and greenery :-)

So with the sketch and theme decided this card did come together quite quickly :-)

I used the largest flower from the Flower Patch set in the two colours and fussy cut the images so as to be able to layer them with dimensionals under each layer. And the fabulous framelits meant the leaves were cut quickly and easily too!

Card stock: Calypso Coral, Whisper White

Inks: Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizazz

Stamps: Flower Patch, Sassy Salutations

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Large Polka Dots EF, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I do hope you have a moment to check out the great inspiration at Just Add Ink this week and maybe you might be next to enter :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Flower Patch Birthday

It is a beautiful Spring Day here in Melbourne today - cool overnight with clear skies that has allowed the sun to warm up everything by lunch time. Just perfect really! 

We were up early this morning to head off on a reasonably long drive to take Sally (black Lab) back to the Vet Specialist surgeon as she is limping more with her right hind leg again and as I suspected, the tumour appears to have regrown somewhat ( thought to be Benign) and so Sally will have a CT Scan next Monday to check out what is happening both in her knee and look to see there is nothing anywhere else. The difficulty is that the pathologist who looked at her biopsy some months ago was quite unsure of a diagnosis (had never seen anything like it - and the Specialist the same) but didn't think it was a cancerous growth. So we will hope and pray that that is all it is and that total removal will be easier than first thought.

And now for today's cards - I  have been waiting for one to arrive in the mail before posting it here. These are CASEs of a cardI saw when I "Google'd" the stamp name some weeks ago. And now when I went to look for it again it appears to have been taken down as unable to be found! I do like to give credit on the odd occasion I Case a card and am sorry but am unable to do that this time. If anyone finds the original please do let me know.

So this first card is as close as I remember the original being.

And the second is very similar - just different greeting.

So as you can see the front of the card is cut out halfway using the Flower Fair framelits.

To do this, I first measured the size of the White card I was using as the top layer and I found it easiest to first stamp the base flower images and then when placing them in the Big Shot only placing the Top Plate halfway over the framelit to where I wanted it to cut. As where there is no top plate, there will be no cut. 

Next, using a ruler, I lined up the difference between the two flowers and drew a straight line to cut upon. 

Once the top layer is cut I then laid it onto the Bermuda Bay card front and marked where the cuts were so that I could cut the card from the same.

Then I simply stamped and cut the leaves and flower layers and added them separately with dimensionals and stamped the greeting - once with Momento Tuxedo Black and then in Bermuda Bay on a scrap piece of card and cut out just the centre which I then added on top of the black.

For the inside I covered the whole facing piece with the Back to Black DSP - such strong contrast to all the colours! And so the message it is written on the back of the card front. This way it doesn't interrupt the contrast with the DSP :-)

Card stock: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Crushed Curry

DSP: Back to Black

Inks: Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Crisp Canteloupe, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzaz, Momento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: Flower Patch, Perfect Pennants

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Calypso Coral Seam Binding, Basic Rhinestones, Itty Bitty punch pack

And just in case you're wondering, Sally is still quite happy despite the obvious pain she has in her knee at times and enjoyed chewing on a dental treat whilst I have been typing - suffice to say she finished long before I did!

 Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Flower patch birthday

Today I had lunch with an old friend I haven't seen in a few years because we simply lost touch and today when we met for a coffee it was so nice and also so easy to sit and talk. So it has been a lovely day!
And I have a card to share that I made a few weeks ago and have been waiting to arrive and now that it has I can share it with you :-) This was a card I CASED from one I saw while on a google search….strangely now, when I have looked several times in an effort to credit the original it is no longer able to be found. I did change colours and embellishments but as you who regularly view my blog know, I do like to give credit if I case a card but this time it seems that won't be possible unfortunately.

So here is my card:

The card base is Bermuda Bay and the white piece of card on top is first cut to sit just inside the full front card size. Next I stamped the larger images from Flower Patch onto the white piece of card and put it into the Big Shot with the co-ordinating framelits but I placed the top Plate of the machine only half way along the images - therefore cutting only where the plate is in contact with the card and framelits. I used some paper snips to but from the outside in to lose half the piece of cut out card around the flowers. Next I layered the other images from the set and also stamped the Make a Wish in Bermuda Bay and also in Momento Tuxedo black. the leaves behind the flowers are stamped separately and cut out and added behind the flower. Then, by lining up the white piece of stamped card with the outside of the base I used my paper trimmer to help me trim the Bermuda Baby layer back.

Instead of ribbon, I chose to use some of the lovely Gold Sequin Trim and add some Strawberry twine to help give it some colour boldness too :-0

For the inside, the beautiful Designer Vellum, gold specialty paper is first put onto a piece of white card before being attached to the base of the card. And the message is written on the back of the front piece of card…

Card stock: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Crushed Curry 

Inks: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Pink Piroutte, Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizazz, Crushed Curry

Stamps: Flower Patch, Perfect Pennants

Access: Big Shot, Flower Fair, Gold sequin trim, Designer Vellum - gold, Strawberry Slush twine, Basic rhinestones

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, I hope you have a great week!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Upcoming Special Wedding

Good afternoon! I hope you are having a relaxing afternoon wherever you are in the world today? Here in Melbourne it is Father's Day and a gorgeous sunny Spring Day it is too - 21 degrees Celsius with a slightly cool wind….so not quite Summer yet :-)
In our family there is another special day coming up soon  - my baby sister (Ok, she's obviously not a baby anymore…) is getting married to her partner of almost 10 years.

So of course  I want to make her and her lovely husband to be a special card. I know she doesn't have time to check out the blog so it is quite safe - if I thought for a moment she might then this post wouldn't be here :-) But two weeks out from her wedding…..well, you get the picture!!

And I also wanted to update a card I made some months back that actually won a challenge at Just Add Ink - and meant I had an exciting opportunity to be a Guest Designer for them for a challenge too! So you can see that post here but here is the original card:

So whilst I still like a lot about the card the flower stamp has now retired and I wanted to update it with a current one and less sponging on the chevrons.

So here is the new version:

Quite similar isn't it? So how many differences can you see?

There are only four :-) Firstly the flower has been changed,; also the card base is now Pink Pirouette; and there is an addition of a Brushed gold card layer  - and now NO sponging on the chevrons :-)

Card stock: Pink Pirouette, Pool Party, Brushed Gold, Gold Foil Specialty, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Gold Vellum specialty

Inks: Versamark, Strawberry Slush, Pink Pirouette

Stamps: Sassy Salutations, Flower Patch

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Oval Framelits,Beautiful Wings Embossilits,  Gold EP, Gold Sequin Trim, Chevron border punch, Heat Tool, Hemp Twine (Retired)

This is one of those cards I have been meaning to update for some time and so it feels good to get it done especially with some time to spare! As you can see there were lots of elements of the original I kept but just a few little changes can make a big impact.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Flower Fair for FMS

Today began chilly and foggy but eventually blossomed into a gorgeous sunny Spring day! I do love Spring - it's like a sneak peek of summer :-)
And when I saw the great sketch by Cindy at Freshly Made Sketches this week I knew which stamp set I wanted to use. Here is the sketch:

And eventually I decided on this colour scheme for a friend whose favourite colour is "purple" followed by pink :-)

So the card base is Blackberry Bliss to match the piece of DSP used across the card.  The flower images are from the wonderful Flower Patch stamp set that are so easy to cut with their matching framelits and are layered on dimensionals.

Card stock: Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Moonlight Stack

Inks: Lost Lagoon, Strawberry Slush, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizazz

Stamps: Flower Patch, Four You

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Hexagon EF, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you have time to go and check out all the great inspiration at Freshly Made Sketches this week and maybe you too might be inspired to join in the fun!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Be You (tiful)

Well it's official - Spring fever is here  - the flies have arrived! Always a feature of an Australian summer the much loathed insects are out again in force. They are quite different from the flies in New Zealand that I grew up with. These ones you try to swat away with your hand and they are not scared at all and come straight back to be annoying!

So its time for some protection inside (despite the gorgeous sun! ) and some card making. Today's card also loosely uses the sketch at The Paper Craft Crew this week.

 This is a card I decided I wouldn't use for my Design Team member sample in favour of the Sea Street Shaker card you can see in my earlier post. For this version I decided to drop the multiple scallops in favour of a longer scalloped piece of Silver Glimmer card stock.

So I hope you like my clean version of the sketch :-) I've used one of my favourite new stamp sets  - Flower Patch. I love these new photopolymer stamps! So easy to layer as you can see exactly what you are doing! I used one of the greetings that come with the set - just stamped it before I embossed the white card stock :-)

Card stock: Lost Lagoon, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Card

Designer Series paper: Moonlight Stack

Inks: Strawberry Slush, Lost Lagoon, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizaz

Stamps: Flower Patch

Accessories: Flower Fair Framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Strawberry Slush Twine

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you are having a great week wherever you are in the world :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Be you (tiful) for Freshly Made Sketches

Well, I know it is still August - so officially still Winter here in Melbourne - but with beautiful sunshine and our highest temperature in 3 months (21 degrees Celsius!) it is impossible to deny that Spring is in the air! And I must say that makes me happy :-) Whilst I can cope with Winter…like most people, I much prefer Spring :-)

So when I saw this week's fabulous sketch at Freshly Made Sketches by Linda, I knew which stamp set I wanted to use…all that remained was the colours to choose. I  do hope you have time to check out the great cards their Design Team have made to inspire us!

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Unfortunately the shadows are in play as it is evening here now but hopefully they don't detract too much from the colours. Please see the next photo as its clearer!

So I used the new Flower Patch stamp set and a combination of fussy cutting and the fabulous Framelits that co-ordinate with it. And bling - of course!! What is Spring without some shine LOL!

Card stock: Whisper White, Silver Glimmer 

Inks: Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, Smoky Slate, Crushed Curry, Old Olive

Stamps: Flower Patch

Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Fair Framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Paper snips and dimensionals

And yes. I decided to take another photo without the pink background :-) I usually photograph my cards with a white base and background…but then what to do when the card is mainly white?? So I've tried wood and white as I found the pink background painful on my eyes!! And it distracted from the card I thought….

Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by today. And thanks also to those who have enquired after Sally - will have an update in the next post. 

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan