Thanks So Berry Much

Having used cardstock and ink called blackberry bliss for my last card, it was still in my mind when I saw the current challenge at Inspired by...

So I wanted to use blackberry bliss again but also incorporate some of the other colours, as well as have a touch of that 'farm fresh' feeling. This is how my card turned out:

I found some delightful Blackberry Fairies and used one here - isn't she adorable? I fussy cut the image, sponged the background with green, blue sky and clouds, stamped the sentiment at the top of my arch, then assembled everything together. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Berry Special (Lawn Fawn)
• image - Blackberry Fairies (Ginger Journals)
• dies - Essential Arches (Spellbinders), stitched rectangle (Paper Rose)
• other - blending brushes, cloud stencil (MFT), Big Shot, clear dots, craft foam, Dimensionals, MISTI

It was a lot of fun making something different to my usual and I'm still loving that blackberry colour. It looks a bit dark in the photo - unfortunately it was 5pm by the time I was taking pics and the winter sun was weak and low in the sky, but I hope you can tell it's dark burgundy and not black! 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Thank You Sunflowers

Today's card brings you some pretty sunflowers! I'm taking part in two challenges:

  

I took the colours from the mood board as inspiration for my die-cut florals and card base.

A very simple card - cut the die, use the co-ordinating stencils to colour, attach to card layer then base and add die-cut sentiment and embellishments. I did ink around the edges of the layer behind the flowers for a bit more visual depth. 

Materials used:

• dies & stencils - Sunflower Cluster (Waffle Flower), Thanks (stash)
• distress inks - spun sugar, picked raspberry, wild honey, spiced marmalade
• Altenew inks - silver sage, eucalyptus
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, clear gems, craft foam

It's so fun inking up dies! I do hope you're having some inky fun in your day too. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Thinking of You - Just Add Ink Challenge #763

Hello and welcome! It's time for another Just Add Ink challenge and this week we've a sketch for you to play with.

Sketches are the type of challenge I usually find the most ... well, challenging, lol, and this one certainly gave me a few (more) grey hairs until I came up with an idea I liked. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Wild Poppies (MFT), Postage Collage Beach Days, Winter View (Waffle Flower)
• dies - tree (stash)
• distress inks - saltwater taffy, villainous potion
• SU inks - flirty flamingo, calypso coral, highland heather
• other - blending brushes, circle mask, MISTI, Sidekick, white embossing powder, heat tool

What does your creative mind think of when you see the sketch? We'd love to see your projects over on our Linky list, and check out some more samples to inspire you from my team mates.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

And B-I-N-G-O Was Her Name-O

We're celebrating the birthday of my adorable grandson shortly, which naturally necessitates a card handmade by nana. I had already made the focal feature - his favourite character from the Bluey world - but when I saw the pick two options at Time Out challenges they inspired an idea for the rest of the card...

My picks were rainbow and star.

The background segments were coloured using distress inks then given a spritz of mica stain matching the silver of the 'mylar' balloons. Tons of shine when they catch the light! A white frame was a bit wishy-washy but the darker colour makes everything pop. The gift box was cut from scraps of smooshed card to match the balloon colours. 

As this is for my grandson and features a dog, I'm also entering it in The Male Room challenge

Materials used:

• dies - Postage Collage Blocks (Waffle Flower), Seasonal Decor (Spellbinders), Bluey, balloons (stash)
• distress inks - candied apple, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, mowed lawn, blueprint sketch, wilted violet, peacock feathers, picked raspberry, dried marigold, antique linen
• other - frozen fog mica stain (Tim Holtz), Dimensionals, Big Shot, blending brushes, craft foam

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Perk Up! - Just Add Ink Challenge #762

Welcome! I couldn't resist playing along with the gorgeous inspiraton picture at Just Add Ink this week.

A warm blanket, hot drink and something pumpkin-y - muffins or soup, yuuuuuummmm! (You all know how much I love pumpkin!) Add to those a book or movie and you have the perfect way to snuggle up on these cold and dreary winter days - and we sure are getting plenty of cold and dreary at the moment, lol. 

My background is a quilt die and stencil combo which I am loving. On the coffee cup I masked with leaf die-cuts and inked over, then used some of the leaves as accents. For the pumpkins I inked over die-cuts and used some swirly vines I had left over from a previous card. Both parts of the sentiment come from a stamp set that retired years ago - just proving that when you keep things 'in case you need it some day', it can pan out! 😂😂

Materials used:

• stamps - Merry Cafe (Stampin' Up)
• die & stencil set - Tiny Square (Waffle Flower)
• other dies - Coffee Cup framelits (SU), Door Decor (Concord & 9th)
• distress inks - antique linen, wild honey, ripe persimmon, vintage photo, rusty hinge, spiced marmalade, dried marigold
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, MISTI, craft foam, Dimensionals, mini library clip, banner punch, vintage photo archival ink

I must admit, for me the drink would be a chai latte, though I'd imagine the spices are similar to a pumpkin spice latte. Got me a craving for some pumpkin muffins now though...

See more creations inspired by our picture over on the Just Add Ink blog and if you make something yourself, we'd love you to share. 

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kerry

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! - Just Add Ink Challenge #761

It's time for a brand new challenge at Just Add Ink and this week it's a chance to drag your Christmas supplies out of storage and make with the ho-ho-ho!

I love making Christmas cards when it's actually winter here and I can add snow elements without it looking weird - or maybe it's just because I have the perfect excuse to go to town with the splatters! And I certainly took advantage of that on my card 😁, as you can see...

It's a veritable blizzard! 😂 I really wanted to emphasise the winter aspect, lol. 

For my background I inked the inside of the embossing folder before running it through. I used puffy embossing powder for the snow on the ground - love the texture. The baubles on the tree (what do you mean, you don't bring your tree home fully decorated?) were cut from glitter card then coloured with Copics. All the other pieces - apart from the obvious white bits - were cut from coloured card and inked for shading. As usual, I cut two layers of the sentiment die and applied some white pan pastel top and bottom for a wintery look. The whole thing got a spritz of shimmer mist so has a lovely subtle sparkle to it when it catches what little sun we have at the moment. 

Getting the tree is one of my favourite Christmas memories from when my girls were younger. We'd go to the same tree farm every year and take ages choosing just the right one before chopping it down and fitting it in the boot of the car. On the way home we always stopped and bought tons of fresh fruit - strawberries, cherries, grapes, apricots, watermelon. The cherries were usually almost gone by the time we got home, lol. 

Materials used:

• dies - Beach Bound, Beach Bound Holiday Add-Ons (HoneyBee), Merry Christmas print (Waffle Flower)
• other - snowflake embossing folder (Couture Creations), Big Shot, blending brushes, Copic markers, white pan pastel, puffy embossing powder, heat tool, craft foam, picket fence distress paint, fan brush

It was a very chilly day when I made this, which seemed appropriate, but it did make me laugh that it followed on the heels of the tropical/summery theme I used for my last challenge cards, lol. Talk about polar opposites!

We hope you'll join us in creating for this theme and share them over on the Just Add Ink blog, where there are more samples to inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

He Knows If You Are Sleeping...

I'm taking part in this week's Color Throwdown challenge. Here are the colours:

Now, you might not think these are Christmas in July colours (or in December, for that matter lol), but sshhhhhhhh! someone is peeking around the door frame to see if you're sleeping or awake...

This was very simple to make. Once the stencilling was done, I simply cut out the image and attached it to some grey card which had been edged with ink. The last step was stamping the sentiment over the top. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Bold Tidings mini (Tim Holtz)
• layering stencils - Peeking Santa (The Ton)
• distress inks - squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry
• other inks - blush blossom, smoky slate (SU)
• other - blending brushes, MISTI

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Warm Winter Friend Wishes

The current Inkspirational challenge captured my interest.

                                      

Some new wintery friends had just arrived in my mailbox and gave me the perfect opportunity to play along. They're rugged up nice and warm, just as I was while I created and the rain and wind argued outside. It's nowhere near cold enough to snow where I live but some days it sure feels like it - I must be getting old! 

I die cut first, colouring each piece individually using the matching stencils and doing two branches to layer for extra depth. The background was stencilled and sponged with white ink for a subtle, dreamy snowy scene. I'm sure you're as surprised as I am there are no white splatters, lol, but I wanted the snow to be secondary to those cute little birdie friends.

Materials used:

• stencil & die combo - Birdie Friends in Winter (Waffle Flower)
• other - distress inks, blending brushes, Sidekick, snow stencil, Dimensionals, craft foam, white gel pen, Subsentiments Fa La La diecut (Waffle Flower), sponge dauber

I hope you're having some warmth in your day and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Aloha - Just Add Ink Challenge #759

Welcome to another Just Add Ink challenge, this week a Choose Two combo that gives a ton of possibilities:

I had so much fun making my card that I ended up making a second, both using all three options with a tropical twist. 

The backgrounds are done as a whole piece then I used the blocks stencil to help place the stamps. I cut three layers of the blocks dies for some lovely frame dimension. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage Tropical Sunset, Postage Collage Beach Days (Waffle Flower)
• die & stencil - Postage Collage mini slimline blocks, Postage Collage blocks (Waffle Flower)
• other dies - Smart Glasses (Spellbinders), Vault World Travel (Tim Holtz)
• distress oxide inks - squeezed lemonade, saltwater taffy, salvaged patina, peacock feathers
• other - blending brushes, MISTI, T10 Copic marker, Big Shot, white gel pen, craft foam, Dimensionals

Head to the Just Add Ink blog to see which options my team mates used on their creations.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Beach Life for Me - Color Throwdown Featured Stamper

Howdy and welcome! Today's card is for Color Throwdown challenge #836 where I'm honoured to be Featured Stamper. 

Up in the northern hemisphere they're enjoying summer and these colours are absolutely perfect for that, aren't they? So bold and cheerful! I've used summer as inspiration for my card.

All the die-cuts were cut from white card and coloured with inks. That gorgeous large 'beach' die-cut is three layers and given an ombre look, which regular visitors will know I love to use on my large sentiments. The background was stamped with three inks using a sea sponge for a light, speckled effect I hoped would imitate sand but it's very subtle and you have to look hard to see it, lol. There are three shades of orange on the beach towel and I love how vibrant this is! All in all, a very fun card to make, with the added plus of giving me warmer days to look forward to as winter digs her claws firmly in, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Oversized Beach (Waffle Flower)
• other dies - Lovely Layers: At the Beach (HoneyBee)
• inks - antique linen, dried marigold, spiced marmalade, ripe persimmon, picked raspberry, brushed corduroy, picket fence (Tim Holtz distress), crumb cake (SU)
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, MISTI, white embossing powder, heat tool, sea sponge

I hope these colours inspire something in you too. Pop over to the Color Throwdown blog to see what their design team came up with.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Sweet Wishes

When Festive Friday Challenges decides to celebrate World Chocolate Day, who am I to argue? Never let it be said I neglected the opportunity to make a card with a chocolate theme, lol. I'm dovetailing it with Just Us Girls and Inkspirational challenges too, as they both have a stencil theme.

 

From the FF inspo list, I used brown, cream, cherries and a sweet sentiment.

I've layered the box of cupcakes, cutting two from kraft card and one from white, stencilling with a variety of inks. The sentiment comes from the same release. Anyone else craving a cupcake/some chocolate now???

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Hey Cupcake (Waffle Flower)
• dies & stencil combo - Boxed Cupcakes (Waffle Flower)
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, white gel pen, craft foam, Copic markers, Dimensionals, white embossing powder, heat tool

Have a sweet day and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Beach Vibes Only

It's been a while since I made a very clean and simple card but an idea popped into my head for a couple of CAS challenges so I went with it.

As I've been making lots of beach themed stuff lately (you'll see those in upcoming weeks), that was what came to mind.

I stamped the frame of the sunnies first then added the beach background, colouring it with Copics. My card background is a little bit of stencilled waves to add to the water theme, then some acrylic dots (clear and shimmery to look like air bubbles) and a sentiment rounded it off.

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Spectacular Adventures (Altenew)
• other - Copic markers, salvaged patina distress ink, blending brush, MISTI, Big Shot, Subsentiments Coastal (Waffle Flower), Dimensionals, opal rounds (SU), white gel pen, waves stencil

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

No Place Like Home - Just Add Ink Challenge #757

For this week's new challenge at Just Add Ink we have a gorgeous picture to inspire you:

As at the moment I seem to be surrounded by people acquiring new homes, I've made a shaped card to that theme. 

Loving the Mediterranean feel of the picture, I carried the blue and white colour scheme through to the inside, as well as patterned tiles and vines.

Materials used:

• stamps - Timeless Tiles (Stampin' Up), Paint-a-flower Carnations (Altenew)
• dies - Door Decor (Concord & 9th), Grapevine (SU)
• distress inks - prize ribbon, rusty hinge, bundled sage, peeled paint
• other - Big Shot, MISTI, frosted acetate, Dimensionals, blending brushes, Cajun craze ink (SU)

What does the picture bring to mind for you? We'd love to see your interpretation on our blog. You can also check out more samples from my fellow team mates here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Ahoy! Arrr you ready?

It's cold and wet outside - in other words, perfect weather for staying in and making cards. I had an idea for my first play with an add-on set of stamps and dies I recently purchased to go with my inquisitive seagulls. Please say a loud Ahoy! to pirate seagulls!!!

Their little faces arrr just adorable, even with an eye patch or pirate hat, lol. I made them a little 'grubbier' than usual as I figured pirates wouldn't bathe too often 😉. It was soooooo much fun making this! 

As I haven't yet decided what occasion to use it for, I haven't put a sentiment inside - that can be done closer to use.

Materials used:

• stamps - Treasure Hunt Sentiments (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Inquisitive Seagulls, Inquisitive Pirate add-ons (Waffle Flower), belt and buckle (stash)
• distress inks - antique linen, pumice stone, brushed corduroy, scorched timber, spiced marmalade, salvaged patina
• other - blending brushes, distress inks, Dimensionals, Big Shot, MISTI

I hope if your weather is nasty too, you've got something equally fun to play with. Thanks for swashbuckling by!

Cheers

Kerry

Gull-tastic Birthday - Just Add Ink Challenge #756

Friday means a new Just Add Ink challenge and this week it's time for a bit of fancy folding so you can...

It's been a while since I last made a card needing a belly band and initially I wasn't intending to play along, but I rewatched some fav YouTube videos recently and came across a gatefold card made by Ruth Hamilton that inspired me to get crafting.

Here's the front with the belly band on:

And on the inside...

I love aquas and teals, especially for a coastal theme, so used a variety of inks for my ocean scenes and repeated those colours when I stencilled the stripes to use as 'patterned paper'.  

This card is my entry for Seize the Birthday challenge #307 - Fancy Fold.

Materials used:

• stamps - Inquisitive Seagulls, Postage Collage Beach Days (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Oh Buoy (Spellbinders)
• inks - coastal cabana, summer splash (Stampin' Up), dew drops, teal cave (Altenew), frayed burlap, pumice stone, carved pumpkin (Tim Holtz distress), nocturne (Versafine Clair)
• other - blending brushes, two-step mixed stripes stencils (Waffle Flower), Dimensionals, Sidekick, MISTI, small banner punch, white embossing powder, heat tool

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry