Special Reason for JAI #357

Happy last Friday in April everyone :-) It is incredible to think the year is passing so quickly. We have been very lucky to enjoy a mild Autumn so far. But it would seem that is over as we had hail yesterday amongst the 40 or so mm of rain and there was snow in the mountains. Time to wrap up and bring out the winter woolies :-)

This week at Just Add Ink we have a colour challenge for you that was suggested by me :-) These warmer tones seem a lovely way to warm up your crafting or could just as easily be used for a Spring inspired creation too. As always, our lovely design team have created a fabulous array of cards to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment to pop on over and take a look and join us.

This lovely floral set is retiring and I will miss it!  I came across a new water colouring technique thanks to a Facebook video by Alisa Tilsner. Here she stamps the image in a lighter ink and then uses a darker coloured Watercolor pencil and an Aqua Painter to add shading.
I used this technique with the flowers - stamping in Sweet Sugarplum (stamped off twice), and then colouring with the Rich Razzleberry pencil and blending it with the Aqua Painter. As we don't have an Indigo pencil I used the Aqua Painter with an ink pad instead - this was a little trickier as you have to manage the water carefully on Whisper White, but it worked :-) So if you don't as yet have the pencils you can still try this technique with ink pads.

Yes, it was a week of new techniques - this is for a special sister so a special card was in order :-)
 I found a great tutorial for the Twist and Pop card by Maymay here and will leave the measurements and instructions to her. The only thing I changed is instead of using a piece cut at 8 1/2 x 10 1/2" for my insert, I used  8 1/2 x 11" to cater for our slightly longer card bases here in Australia.

You can see the colouring better here without the die cut overlay and perhaps also the liberal dose of Wink of Stella applied to everything :-)

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop over to Just Add Ink and see the fabulous creations by the design team and I look forward to seeing what you will create with these warm colours this week too :-)

Card stock: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Sweet Sugarplum Glimmer (Saleabration)
Designer Series paper: Blooms and Bliss
Inks: Versamark, Sahara Sand, Sweet Sugarplum, Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry (pencil)
Stamps: Special Reason, Rose Wonder, Suite Sayings
Accessories: Big Shot, Stylish Stems Framelits, Hexagon EF (retired), White EP, Aqua Painter, Brights Enamel Shapes

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Stacking Animals for JAI #353

Happy Friday everyone and welcome! Here in Australia it is the end of Daylight Savings this weekend.  Even more than the cold, I am not looking forward to the darkness of Winter...but lets not get ahead of ourselves -we are not there yet and there is still the odd warm day in next week's forecast and hopefully for a while yet  :-)

And we have a challenge for you that we think you will enjoy at Just Add Ink this week!! Karren has suggested that we Just Add....Critters to our projects this week. A "Critter" according to Google is "a living creature, an animal" so there are many options for you to consider and we hope that you can join us. The design team have all had such fun with this and it shows in their amazing creations so I hope you have a moment to pop on over and join us.

For my card, I turned to  a stamp set that hasn't seen as much ink as these adorable images deserve. It's called Stacking Animals and so that is exactly what I did  with it :-)  I was initially inspired by a card on Pinterest by Laura Bassen and then decided to see how many "critters" I could get on the page as it is all about them this week after all. I do like how they appear to be looking at each other once they are stacked up!  I coloured them with Copics and added them over a light Distress Ink with some Wink of Stella and water flicked background for interest and sparkle.

Card stock: Whisper White thick and standard
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Suite Sayings
Accessories: Wink of Stella
Non SU: Tim Holtz Watercolor Card Stock, Salty Ocean Distress Ink, Stacking Animals Bundle (SSS), Copic Markers

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a great week and can take a moment to join in the fun at Just Add Ink .  I so look forward to seeing what "critters" you will add in your projects :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Swirly Inspiration for JAI #314

Happy Winter friends - or Summer if you happen to be in the Northern Hemisphere :-) Here in Melbourne we have had a week of crisp and chilly mornings and beautiful sunny days. Surely the best we could hope for!!

And it's time for a brand new challenge at Just Add Ink! This week, Di has found a fabulous photo for us all to use. You can take whatever inspires you from the photo - the fruit themselves, the shapes, or the colours. Our lovely team have all made stunning creations to inspire you so I hope you can pop on over and take a look :-)

Here is the photo:

And here is my card:

Yes, I must confess I am totally addicted to Swirly....and it does represent the fruit quite well from the  pic don't you think?? This did come together quite quickly in the end. Initially I was a bit thrown by the colours (and missed seeing the green) and I did start with another stamp set....but after a bit of a struggle I saw Swirly sitting there and an idea quickly formed - one of those lovely moments :-) The design was centred around the main flower of course and a little overlap of the swirls. The Blackberry and Daffodil ones have stamped and die cut centres and the green are left plain to represent leaves. Then all it needed was a greeting and some of the now ever present Wink of Stella :-)

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick for the base, and standard), Blackberry Bliss, Crushed Curry
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Blackberry Bliss, Emerald Envy ( a new favourite too!), Versa mark
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Suite Sayings
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, White EP, Triple Banner Punch, Basic Rhinestones

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 our fabulous team have made to inspire you and I look forward to seeing what you will create with this fun photo challenge too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Swirly Birthday - Sneak Peek

Hello and welcome to a wet and wintery Thursday here in Melbourne! We had a quick dog walk in the rain this morning - truly the first time I've had to find wet weather gear in months so we do really need it.  And the car said 11.5 degrees Celsius - yes, Winter is indeed coming after our warm Autumn! The snow fields that are a few hours north got a good dumping of snow...all good for those who want to go skiing in a few weeks when the Ski fields open.  I'll happily stay warm and dry inside though  :-)

Today's card was for a lovely friend's recent birthday. Her style of card making often involves beautiful layering and as this was also my first play with the new Swirly Bird stamp set I decided to create a layered flower for her.  I've also used a couple of the new In colours - Emerald Envy is such a lovely and warm green - and Sweet Sugarplum for the flower centre. It is teamed here in a girly combo with Melon Mambo and Pink Pirouette. I hope she likes it :-)

The inside is quite clean and simple so there was room to write :-)

And it's hard to see but there is some sparkly Wink of Stella on the coloured card stock floral layers. The background is water coloured using a lot of water and a little Pacific Point ink. I find adding a layer of thick white card stock under the water colour paper helps with reducing the warping effect. It also gives it the additional height without needing to use dimensionals - which is especially good if it needs to go through the post :-)

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Sweet Sugarplum, Whisper White - standard and thick, Water Colour Paper
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Sweet Sugarplum, Black Stazon, Emerald Envy, Pacific Point
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Suite Sayings, Birthday Blooms
Accessories: Big Shot, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits, Basic Rhinestones, Aqua Painter, Clear Wink of Stella

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Birthday Celebrations

It would seem our mild start to Autumn has ended as the last few days have been filled with rain, wind and cooler temperatures. Of course it had to come but on a positive note it does mean we can finally get out those winter woollies that have been waiting to be worn :-)

Today's card was made for a friend's recent birthday and doesn't have any sign of cool weather about it LOL - and has safely arrived so I can now share it with you.

The main image is stamped on watercolour paper and coloured using an Aqua painter and ink pads before being fussy cut and added with dimensionals. It's still my favourite way to colour and I love that the lines in this image give you some ideas on where to add shading and detail.
A few scattered gold embossed dots, a gold Washi strip and thread add a little bit of bling whilst trying not to take away too much from the star blooms :-)

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White (thick), Watercolor paper
Designer Series Paper: Brights Stack
Inks: Black Stazon, Momento Tuxedo Black, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Versamark
Stamps: Birthday Blooms, Suite Sayings
Accessories: Gold EP, Gold Metallic Thread, Metallic Sequins Assortment, Gold Washi Tape (Saleabration), Aquapainter, Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying the change of Seasons and taking time to enjoy the little things about today.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Thank You

Hello and a happy ANZAC Day to you - for those not familiar with ANZAC Day it commemorates primarily the landing at Gallipoli of Australian and New Zealand troops now 101 years ago and how since then the two nations have stood side by side in many battles and we are thankful for all of the people who served then and are today as well. There are dawn services in both countries and also Gallipoli and a few other places including France. It's a solemn morning and then in the afternoon there is always a game of footy to cheer for!

Continuing the thankful theme - I have a card today that was made recently for a lovely friend. This is a Case of a card by Amy K. I changed a couple of things and added a few more details - aiming to put my own stamp on it - yes a terrible pun if I do say so myself :-)

The main pink flower is made using two of the blooms - both stamped off first in Melon Mambo and then full strength for the details.

And a liberal dose of  Wink of Stella is applied both to the large flowers and the butterfly for a bit of after dark sparkle.

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Garden Green, Mometo Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Garden in Bloom, Suite Sayings
Accessories: Triple Banner Punch, Basic rhinestones, Silver Metallic thread, Wink of Stella

Thanks for stopping by today :-)

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Pink Birthday Blooms

This last week has really seemed to fly - the clocks went back an hour as Daylight Savings came to an end and I never would have have thought that one hour can make such a difference but it really does!

Today's card is for a special friend's birthday - it is a real joy as a card maker to be able to make a card to give a friend that is just for them and this is one of those moments:-)

Pink was definitely the order of the day - and CAS. So the flowers are all shades of pink, the leaves have a little variation and I couldn't resist using the leaf edgelit along the side for a unique  effect :-)

And a little Wink of Stella is added to the Blackberry Bliss flower centres and Pirouette flowers for some sparkle too!

For the inside - the Lost Lagoon coloured DSP features a little softly falling rain -always much needed for a garden to help it grow. But in all honesty, it was chosen more for it's colour :-) The greeting is from the Birthday Blooms - and the script matches the wording on the front - love how that pulls it all together.

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick), Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzaz

Designer Series Paper: Wildflower Fields (Salabration)

Inks: Blackberry Bliss, Pear Pizzaz, Mossy Meadow, Pink Pirouette 

Stamps: Botanical Blooms, Suite Sayings, Birthday Blooms

Accessories: Big Shot, Botanical builder Framelits, Basic Rhinestones, Wink of Stella

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying creating and the changes of the seasons.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Peek A Boo JAI #305

Welcome and a very happy Friday and April 1st to you! I hope you've managed to dodge any April fools tricks today:-) I have a small one planned for our music group practice tonight ...will just see how that one goes - it's always good to have a bit of a laugh isn't it and this one will seem to be at my expense so should be fun!

And we have a fun new challenge at Just Add Ink this week that we are sure you will enjoy! Tina has suggested a great sketch for us all to use. It has classic lines and lends itself to much interpretation as you can see from the fabulous cards that the design team have made to inspire you so I hope you can take a moment and pop on over and have a look.

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I've had this cute stamp set since winning it at On Stage Local in November and this is it's  first inking. The leaf images are stamped on card stock and then punched using the Festive Flower punch - then a little fussy cutting to reveal the little fellow hiding underneath :-) The sentiment is white embossed and I've used some of the silver cord trim and rhinestones to add a touch of bling.

Card stock: Lost Lagoon, Soft Sky, Pear Pizzaz, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Sweet Dreams (Retired)

Ink: Pear Pizzaz, Lost Lagoon, Versamark

Stamps: Friends and Flowers, Suite Sayings

Accessories: Big Shot, Elegant Dots EF, Festive Flower Builder Punch, Blender Pens, White EP, Silver Cording Trim, Basic Rhinestones

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

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Another Easter Card

A very happy Palm Sunday to you! Easter is just around the corner and I have another card to share  with you that might help give you extra inspiration to join us at Just Add Ink and our "Just add E" themed challenge. You can see my original post related to this challenge here.
This card was supposed to be a little masculine but it ended up with a few flowers none-the-less - and was inspired by JAI's Rochelle Blok's card this week. I love her rustic Cross so wanted to make one of my own and decided to team it with the Sunburst die.

Of course the gold foil does make it a little difficult to get a good photo as it reflects and shines so well....but shine is what we want for an Easter card  :-) I stamped the Petite Petals on corresponding card stock before and punching the flowers. Later versions may well involve a layer of vellum and some background stamping on the white circle but I was looking for a clean and look for this one as it was for a male.

Card stock: Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Gold Foil, So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White, Corrugated Kraft
Inks: Island Indigo, so Saffron, Soft Sky
Stamps: Petite Petals, Seasonal Wishes (Retired)
Accessories: Big Shot, Sunburst Thinlit, Banner Framelits, Petite Petals Punch, Bird Punch, Linen Thread, Basic Rhinestones
Non SU: Stitched Circle Dies- SSS

Whilst walking at our local park this week we have noticed that cricket pitches are being replaced by posts of various kinds. I was delighted to see Rugby posts amongst them - in AFL (Australian Rules football ) heartland, it is quite unusual and certainly made this ex pat New Zealander's heart skip a beat. Rugby being our national game :-) Of course the dogs have other uses for them too :-0

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you are enjoying the change of seasons - the overnight temperatures have dropped seemingly instantly this weekend and the mornings and evenings are considerably darker later and earlier respectively. Daylight Savings is likely coming to an end soon.

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan

Easter Blooms JAI #303

It is mid way through March and yet the Summery temperatures remain - so unusual and the garden would love some rain yet I know in a few months we will all be looking forward to the heat again!

 We have a new fun challenge at Just Add Ink. This week, Tina has suggested that we "Just Add.....E" That could be Elephants, Eggplants, Embossing......or as the Season is fast approaching... Easter :-) The design team have created a wonderful array projects to inspire you so I encourage to take a moment to pop on over and take a look and see :-)

Yes, I chose Easter as my "E" element - I have a few Easter cards to make each year and I just couldn't resist another play with one of the few sets in the Occasional catalog that I was not instantly in love with. However, since their arrival in the last couple of weeks they have barely left the crafting table - so am definitely making up for lost time :-) Here, they are teamed with the colourful Wildflowers Fields DSP available for free as part of Saleabration and plenty of bling.

Card stock: Whisper White (Thick), Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Pool Party
Designer Series Paper; Wildflower Fields (SAB)
Inks: Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive
Stamps: Botanical Blooms, Seasonal Wishes (Retired)
Accessories: Big Shot, Botanical Builder Framelits, Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can take a moment to pop over to Just Add Ink and see all the fabulous inspiration the design team have created for you and I look forward to seeing what you will make using the letter "E" this week too!

Happy stamping until next time,

Jan