JAI #325 Just add a sketch

Hello there,
oh my goodness what a change  - spring sprung into life this week - I'm sure it won't last but it was so nice to be lured outside by the sun and the few flowers brave enough to be out already. The almost new season also heralds the beginning of family birthday season. The new challenge at Just Add Ink this week  - to Just Add a Sketch from Tina - was just perfect for a fun card I thought up for my nephew. Here's the sketch.

And here is what I came up with.

My nephew has grown up by the seaside and loves to go to the beach so I created a fun underwater scene. I used a jar as the circle sketch element and turned it into a fun shaker house for a fishy. I also built in a little puzzle for my nephew using the new Labeler alphabet to create the inside outside riddle.

Hope you can join us for some sketchy fun at Just Add Ink this week! Don't forget to drop past the rest of the DT for some inspiration.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Jar of Love, Labeler Alphabet, Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Whisper White, Vellum
Ink: Night of Navy, Island Indigo, Marina Mist, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Everyday Jars Framelits, Fringe scissors, Window sheet, Foam adhesive strips, Brayer (R), Tear and Tape, Wink of Stella 

JAI #322 Just add a colour combo

Hello there,
well this week has had some ups and downs. I got time to stamp, that was a good way to start but then my laptop was dying (really not good news). It did serve me well for five years. Although it's a bit sad that we consider that well and truly the lifetime for a computer I think! So it was time to move on and upgrade. Before everything got chaotic I managed to tackle this week's Just Add Ink challenge. This week Rochelle wants you to Just add a Colour Combo. Here are the colours.

These colours had a very sweet vintage vibe to me and I knew instantly I wanted to make a jar of flowers.

Once again the weather was not my friend when I was trying to get a decently lighted photo.

Just a few things to note here that are a little out of the ordinary. Firstly, I used the burlap textured stamp in the Jar of Love stamp set to 'kiss' the water fill stamp for the jar on the front to add in a lovely watery texture. Now you may have noticed the jar label and be scratching your head and saying 'That's not in the Jar of Love' set and you would be right! I used a framelit from the PL Cards and Labels set, cut a label then cut both ends a bit shorter and used a Chocolate Chip marker to doodle a border that matched the stamped jar lines and had the perfect space to stamp the sentiment.

Hope you join us this week. Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT projects!

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Jar of Love, Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Blushing Bride, Sweet Sugarplum, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Everyday Jars framelits, Project Life Cards and Labels framelits, Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper, Subtles DSP stack, Early Espresso baker's twine (R), Venetian Crochet Trim (R), Sewing machine, Dimensionals, Tear and Tape

JAI #279 Just add a sketch

Hello there,
I've been trying to avoid the fact but Christmas is rapidly starting to approach. I don't even want to think of how many few weeks it is! So expect to see a few more Christmas cards popping up here. Which explains why that when I saw this weeks Just Add Ink challenge the first thing I thought of was Christmas card. This week we have a Just Add Sketch challenge from Narelle.

The first thing I thought of when I saw that circle element was shaker card!

The next thought was - penguin is a snow storm!

So I embossed a flurry of snowflakes and then pulled out inks and brayer and got inky :) For my shaker I started by colouring my penguin adding a sprinkling of snowflakes around him and then piled on a mix of sequins and glitter and closed up the shaker. (Do you hold your breath when you do that? I do!).

Hope you can join in this week. Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT's take on the sketch.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Sheltering Tree, Tremendous Treats Christmas (PaperTrey Ink)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Pool Party, Lost lagoon, Island Indigo, Night of Navy, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Tremendous Treats Christmas die collection, Copic markers, Stitched Circle die (Simon Says Stamp), Circle nestabilities (Spellbinder), Silver and Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper, Sequin/snowflakes SU! (R), Chunky clear glitter (To You and Yours Shaker kit), Brayer, White embossing powder, White gel pen, Acetate, Fine Tip Glue pen, Double sided tape (X Press), Dimensionals

JAI #264 Just add a sketch

Hello there,
another week has whizzed past - seriously how can it be the end of May!!! I'm hoping it will slow down a little as we pull into the weekend - ever the optimist I can hope can't I. I do know I'm likely to catch up with a couple of friends so that is a good thing. Hopefully the weekend will give you some time to join us for the new Just Add Ink challenge. This week we want you to Just Add a Sketch. This week the challenge is from me :)

This was a little something I came up with for my MIL for her birthday.

I created the base mat by die cutting the large butterfly (from SU! Butterflies thinlet dies) and temporarily adhering it while I misted Blushing Bride over the top. I then removed my mask and set the mat aside to dry. After that all it took was to add a few additional stamped details over the top and build up my central butterfly medallion. I did scrunch up the two scallop circles to add a little extra texture and bling. I'm going to miss the rich gold of the Champagne glimmer paper!

Hope you can join us this week. Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT for lots of fabulous inspiration.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless noted
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride, Naturals White
Ink: Calypso Coral, Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Butterflies thinlets dies, Project Life cards and labels framelits, Champagne Glimmer paper, 1 1/4" and 7/8" scallop circle punches, Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, Old Olive bakers twine, Jewels- rhinestones, Isocol, Double sided tape (X Press), Dimensionals, Dotto (R)

JAI #262 Just add a colour combo

Hello there,
I have something delicate and spring-like for you this week which is a lovely counter balance to the cold wintery windy weather and the house full of germs we've been dealing with for the last week or more. This weeks new Just Add Ink challenge was perfect as this week Di wants you to Just Add a Colour Combo. Here it is.

And here is what I came up with.

The colours just made me think of nature so I started with a Hardwood stamped base and for the pop on the top I made my flowers a bright Calypso. Special touches include trimming my flowers out and mounting them up over clear embossed fern fronds. That subtle sheen adds another texture to compliment the rough burlap and soft seam binding. Finally the sparkle of the sequins finishes it all off.

Hope you can join us this week - I'm sure you'll find the colour combo a favourite. Don't forget to check of the rest of the DT for some gorgeous inspiration.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Hardwood, Gorgeous Grunge, Itty Bitty Banners
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Naturals White
Ink: Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Bitty Banner framelits, 2013-15 In color sequin assortment, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Clear embossing powder, Edgers #3 die (PaperTrey Ink), 1 1/4" Burlap ribbon, Pool Party seam binding (R), Pool Party Bakers twine (R), Aquapainter, Tombow, Double sided tape (X Press), Dimensionals

JAI# 261 Just add Inspiration

Hello there,
well it has been a busy, but good, two weeks. First school holidays and then off to meet up with many of the Just Add Ink girls at the SU! South Pacific Inspire, Create, Share convention. Catching up with them is always a highlight of my year :)

Now it's time to get back into normal routines and that means it's time for a new Just Add Ink challenge - this week we want you to Just Add Inspiration. Trish found these lovely photos to inspire us. You can pick one or many elements out and use them in your project - the colours, patterns, objects. Here's the inspiration picture.

And this is what I came up with. Something special for my Mum for a milestone birthday.

I was trying to create a leafy branch scene - just as in the inspiration photo. It occurred to me that the SU! feather stamps and dies actually could/ do look like leaves too. Well I thought it was worth a try. I would have loved to add in some thin twiggy branchy bits but decided that was just complicating things a bit too much. My 'leaves' are a mix of ink and embossing in a lovely array of blue hues, brown and white. The base is watercolour paper and I started with a wash over that and then stamped some faint splatter. Then placed all the leaves and finished by stitching all around the edges and adding some detail to highlight the sentiment. Little vellum flowers finish it all off.

It looks much prettier in real life! My Dad saw it and said it was something special so I hope my Mum felt that way too.

Hope you can join us this week. Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT to see some lovely projects.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless noted.
Stamps: Four Feathers, Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Lost Lagoon, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Soft Sky, Pool Party, Vellum
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Lost Lagoon, Versamark
Accessories: Feathers framelits die, Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, watercolour paper (non SU!), Pool Party, White and Early Espresso embossing powders, Jewels - pearls, Double sided tape (X Press), Dimensionals, Sewing machine

JAI 226 Just add a sketch

Hello there,
well this week was delightfully peaceful which was a nice change from the previous one that was filled with the kids taking turns with allergic reactions and tummy bugs - urg! The sun has come out too which almost makes me feel like its spring except for the fact that we've woken to super frosty mornings. The challenge this week at Just Add Ink to Just Add a Sketch was just perfect for a flowery springy card (one can hope). Here's the sketch.

And here is what I made of it.

The inside (ick I just couldn't get the colour balance right on this one!)

My original colour choice was a blue/crumb cake palette (just perfect for the friend it was intended for) and then found I needed to add the red to make it all pop. I had fun putting it together, playing around with the flowers till I was happy with the arrangement and adding lots of texture with ribbon, twine, buttons, rhinestones and candy dots.

Hopefully you'll find the sketch as user friendly as I did. Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT for some great inspiration!
Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Flower Shop, Petite Petals, Gorgeous Grunge, Four You
Cardstock: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Versamark
Accessories: Pansy punch, Petite Petals punch, Hexagon punch, Season of Style DSP stack (R), Coastal Cabana ruffle stretch trim (R), Tea Lace Paper Dollies, White embossing powder, White Baker's twine, Brights Candy Dots, Brights button (R), Jewels - rhinestone, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (X Press)

JAI 214 Just add a sketch

Hello there,
brrrrr it was cold here this week! And of course the kids cross country run was scheduled this week so as a devoted Mum I was out there watching them. A very BIG and HOT cup of tea was well deserved after that!! I might note that as an occasional scrapper I was also taking photos - hmm they might be good candidates for a SU! Project Life page - once the new catalogue arrives on our shores in July - I am not counting down the days at all - really I'm not - (wink)!

OK it's also Friday (yippee) and that means a new Just Add Ink challenge and this week we want you to Just Add a Sketch (one designed by me!). 

This was made for a very sweet friend I know who loves tealy blues. Actually the design for the sketch came about by playing with the flowers and just liking how striking yet simple the three lines of flowers looked. In the end I decided not to add any rhinestones or pearls as I thought the gold embossing and flowers themselves were enough embellishment.

This sketch has a lot of possibilities so do join us and don't forget to check out the rest of the DT for lots of inspirational ideas.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Petite Petals, Fabulous Florets, Gorgeous Grunge, Million and One
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay,  Pool Party, Wild Wasabi, Gold Encore, Versamark
Accessories: Petite Petals punch, Corner rounder punch (R), Simpy Scored, Gold and White embossing powder, White Gel pen, Double sided tape (X Press)

JAI 188 Just add Grunge

Hello there,

well I did say last week that I'd worked ahead a bit and today I have another Father's Day card for you - this time it was for my DH. The challenge we have for you at Just Add Ink this week was just perfect for it - as this week we want you to Just Add Grunge. Think splatter, layers, messy - a little or a lot!

And here is what I came up with.

A very simple pop up element in the middle

I kept it all pretty simple, and tried to add lots of textural elements - like the stamped grungy layers and hint of burlap. I did love how embossing the chevron pattern looks! DH is a big fan of interactive cards and I'd glimpsed a card on my Pin feed that used an acetate insert and figured it should be easy to do - and it was! and still packs a punch - winner!

Adding grunge is a fun thing to do so do join us this week! Don't forget to check out the rest of the DT for lots of fabulous inspiration.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Positively Chevron, Gorgeous Grunge, World's Greatest (R), Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Real Red, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Grey, Real Red, Crushed Curry, Versamark
Accessories: Typeset Alphabet BigZ, Bitty Banner framelits, small star punch (R), Clear embossing powder, Antique brad, burlap, acetate, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (X Press)

JAI 185 Just Add a Colour combo

Hello there, 
well the school holidays are here and this Mama has been enjoying not making lunch boxes this week - its the little things that make a different sometimes - lol! I've also got in quite a bit of crafting time (big smile) but I must admit I whipped up my card for this weeks Just Add Ink challenge a few weeks ago. This week we have a lovely colour combo for you.

I really am loving this Dahlia stamp from SU!, when I bought it, it was a bit of a gamble but its one that has paid off. It can be super modern or you can shabby it up a bit and it still looks fabulous!

Lots of inky goodness here, layering grunge, text and flowers. The main dahlia on the front and then one on the inside I embossed so I could watercolour over with Coastal Cabana and not have the Raspberry Ripple bleed. I dragged my white bakers twine through the Sahara ink pad to tone the colour down a bit and added some faux stitching to ground the sentiment then finished the card off white rhinestones and sequins. Fun!

Hope you can join us at Just Add Ink. Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Delightful Dahlia, Gorgeous Grunge, Background Basics: Text Style (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Coastal Cabana, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Coastal Cabana, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Hearts a Flutter framelits, Print Poetry DSP (R), Clear embossing powder, Coastal Cabana ruffled ribbon, White Bakers twine, sequins, Jewels - rhinestones, Aquapainter, Tombow multi, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (X Press)

JAI 183 Just add a sketch

Hello there,

well the week is almost over - sigh of relief here - its been another busy one. And the weekend offers the chance to sneak in a little stamping :) so it seems a good time to tell you about this weeks Just Add Ink challenge. This week we want you to Just Add a Sketch. Here it is.

I'm still on the fence with the whole hexagon thing so I went a bit, well you could call it interpretive with the sketch. But if you look closely you see all the elements in the right place. For example the two flower heads, the butterfly and the splotches represent the four hexagons in the sketch.

Soft, girly and bit vintage with touches of shimmer (the splotches and lace are all stamped in Encore Gold) is how this turned out which was just what I was hoping. Always nice when that happens! Do check out the rest of the JAI DT for some inspirational ideas on how to use this great sketch.

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Field Flowers, Dictionary, Gorgeous Grunge, Creative Elements, Viola's Lace, Papillon Potpourri, Postage Collection,
Cardstock: Smokey Slate, Pear Pizzazz, Very Vanilla
Ink: Smokey Slate, Basic Grey, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake, Encore Gold
Accessories: First Edition DSP (R), Bitty Banner framelits, Honeycomb embossing folder, Corner rounder (R), Bitty Butterfly punch, Very Vintage Designer buttons, Island Indigo bakers twine, Dazzling Diamonds, Jewels - pearls, Two way glue pen, Dimensionals, sponge, Double sided tape (X Press)

JAI 182 Just add frames

Hello there,
we've enjoyed a lovely Spring interval only to be plunged back into wintery conditions this week - only to be expected I guess. But it might explain why I gravitated to bright colours for the challenge we have for you this week at Just Add Ink. This week we want you to Just add frames. Check out the rest of the DT for some fun and fabulous ideas for ways to add frames to your project. The first thought that popped into my head was photo negative frames.

Do you see what I mean by bright, but since this is going to be a birthday card for my nephew I figured bright colours were the way to go! Really it was all pretty simple - just a nifty filmstrip die (I knew it would come in handy one day - lol!) and a few black embossed racing cars. The colour change within the filmstrip seems to help create that sense of movement I think. A little bit of splotching detail and it was all done. Yeah I love being prepared ahead of time! Now I just have to get his birthday present sorted :o

Hope you can join us this week at Just Add Ink and have some fun adding frames!
Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Rev Up the Fun, Gorgeous Grunge
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Versamark
Accessories: Filmstrip Frame die (Tim Holtz), Linen/Canvas impression plate (Papertrey Ink), Black embossing powder, Two way glue pen, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (X Press)

JAI 175 Just add a sketch

Hello there,
well its back to our normal routines this week which is a relief. Although the kids and I really enjoyed the week we had up in Sydney. We even went to the beach - yes in mid winter! - ostensibly to build a sandcastle but of course getting wet turned out to be part of the experience.

Now onto this weeks Just Add Ink challenge - this week we have a great sketch for you. I loved this one and found it really easy to work with!

And here is what I came up with.

Ooh look another tag/banner ;) - but this time the sketch made me do it - lol! I went into this knowing I wanted something soft, pastelly and sort of shabby chic - well my version of it anyway. I decided that a jar full of flowers is just what I need for a birthday card. I didn't want to take the focus from that so to represent the ribbon element of the sketch I used an embossed border.To ground the flowers and also to also create a soft background for them I stamped some text and added a few stamped off Pool Party splotches as well. I did scratch my head a bit about what to use for the little banner up in the top corner but then decided to link it back to the jar by cutting a banner from the same stamped polka dot pattern and then added a bit of faux stitching. 

Hope you can join us and try your hand at this great sketch. Do go check out the rest of the DT for some awesome ideas!

Thanks for visiting,
Kim

Recipe: All SU! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Gorgeous Grunge, Tiny Tags (R), Friendship Jar (PaperTrey Ink), Background Basics: Text Style (PTI)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Blushing Bride
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, Basic Black
Accessories: Large scallop edgelit, Bitty banner framelits, Needlepoint border embossing folder, Jewelery Tag punch (R), Friendship Jar die (PTI), Calypso Coral Baker's twine, Piercing tool and mat, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (X Press)