Different Strokes for Different Folks

Every year I'm surprised at which of my creations catch other people's interest and attention. The old adage of 'different strokes for different folks' certainly rings true in the creative world. Here are the nine cards of mine that garnered top votes on Instagram for 2024:

This prompted me to scroll back through my blog over the past year and choose my own personal top nine - though mine aren't in any particular order. 

I had to laugh at there being only two on both grids! How many (if any) of your favourites are here, I wonder? I'd love you to tell me in the comments!

Meanwhile, as this will definitely be my last post for the year, I would like to thank you all sincerely for taking this creative journey with me. Thanks for calling in, for commenting, and for coming back, lol. I hope 2025 brings you much crafty joy.

Cheers

Kerry

Always Believe - Just Add Ink Challenge #733

Howdy! It's not my week to create for Just Add Ink challenges, but with this choose two combo, how could I possibly resist? Plus, it was yours truly who suggested it in the first place, lol!

I had plenty of ideas for this but in the end went with a stamp set I've had for three years and never used. GASP! I know, I know! Mind boggling! I'm so glad I did though 'cos it was lots of fun inking and colouring. Here tis:

I masked off my moon and did the background first, using oxide inks on watercolour paper then adding water splatters and the moon detail. Once that was all dry I stamped Santa and his sleigh, colouring it with distress watercolour pencils - these are pigment, so they show up over ink. Because the pigment tends to obscure lines, I stamped again over the top once all the colours were dry. I embossed the 'magic swirl' in gold and added gold to the edges as well, co-ordinating with a gold on black sentiment sticker.

Materials used:

• stamps - Stamptember 2021 (Tim Holtz)
• distress oxide inks - wilted violet, villainous potion, black soot
• other Tim Holtz products - moon mask, distress watercolour pencils, Holiday Talk metallic sticker
• other - aqua painter, blending brushes, gold embossing powder, heat tool, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, kraft heavystock card, watercolour card, Versamark ink

We'd love you to join in our challenge and create, so grab your Santa supplies. This challenge runs for two weeks and there won't be voting as normal, it's completely for fun! 

As always, there's more samples to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog. 

This will probably be my last post before Christmas, so I just want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. Thank you for your support during the year, it means a lot.

Cheers!

Kerry

Happy Birthday Gullfriend - Just Add Ink Challenge #732

It's new challenge time at Just Add Ink and this week Tina gives us a sketch to play with.

For my card I turned the sketch to landscape orientation and got out a cute and whimsical seagull.

Materials used:

• stamps - Inquisitive Seagull (Waffle Flower)
• dies - stitched rectangle, wave, Inquisitive Seagull (Waffle Flower), Dancin' Birthday Dragon (Spellbinders)
• distress oxide inks - tumbled glass, uncharted mariner, squeezed lemonade, saltwater taffy
• other - Big Shot, craft foam, Copic markers YR04 and YR07, white gel pen, blending brushes, water spritzer, MISTI

Do check out the great samples my fellow team mates made to inspire you and we hope you'll share your own interpretation of our sketch if you create.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Christmas Wreath - The Card Concept Challenge #212

It's time for a new challenge with The Card Concept and this month the moodboard features a stunning Christmas wreath to inspire you. 

I chose to go vintage collage for my card which incorporates both wreath and tartan from the pic. 

I added ink to the background pieces to provide cohesion as well as enhance the vintage vibe. My wreath was cut from card coloured with various inks as well as some mica, so it has a lovely sheen and glow when it catches the light. For the bow I attached plaid washi tape to card and die cut from that. The stars were thick chipboard but I removed a couple of layers as I didn't want that much bulk; the chipboard sentiment strip I left as is, as it provides a nice base for the gentleman to stand on. 

Materials used:

• dies - Vault Collection Christmas 2021 (Tim Holtz)
• papers - Christmas backdrops (Tim Holtz)
• ephemera - Christmas ephemera pack, Baseboards & Transparencies Christmas 2023 (TH)
• other - antique linen and vintage photo distress inks, sponge dauber, blending brush, Big Shot, Christmas design tape (TH), distress inks and mica stains, Dimensionals

I hope the moodboard gives you inspiration for your own cards and that you'll share them with us over on The Card Concept blog. Do check out the samples from my fellow design team members. 

This card is also being entered in the current Christmas Kickstart challenge. 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Happy Holidays - Just Add Ink Challenge #731

Looking for ideas for more Christmas cards? We've got you covered this week at Just Add Ink with this lovely inspiration pic:

I was lightly influenced by the red and white colours but didn't pick any particular item, rather using the overall Christmas theme as inspiration for my card.

As I didn't want the sentiment to steal any limelight from those gorgeous images, I chose a silver-on-white sticker. 

Materials used:

• dies - Postage Collage and Postage Collage Blocks (Waffle Flower)
• papers - Merry & Joy 6x6, 6x8 add-on pack (Mintay)
• other - Big Shot, craft foam, sponge dauber, Holiday metallic stickers (Tim Holtz), Dimensionals

There's more samples to see over on the Just Add Ink blog, so do pop over and check those out, and of course if you create, we'd love you to share your projects using the Linky tool. 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

A Day As Sweet As You - Just Add Ink Challenge #730

Welcome to a new challenge with Just Add Ink. This week we are asked to...

So many options for this one but I ended up using one of my favourite Stamping Bella images for a very simple card.

Who else remembers toffee apples being a childhood treat? I don't recall the occasions, but I do remember that satisfaction of biting into the juicy apple and then the crunch as you bit through the toffee coating. Ours were always red toffee - and now that I think about it, they were probably chock full of red food colouring and we all know how bad that is today. Ah, nostalgia!

Materials used:

• stamps - Caramel Apple Bundle Girl (Stamping Bella)
• other - Copic markers, computer & printer, Essential Arches dies (Spellbinders), Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, Autumn Spice papers (Etsy)

We'd love to see your fruity concoctions in our gallery, so do share if you create. And pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see more samples to inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

We Wish You Joy

I love this week's word theme at the Just Us Girls challenge and happily played along.

I'm also loving this new-to-me die set from Honey Bee Stamps. You just can't help but adore this sweet face!

I die cut all the pieces from white, vanilla or beige card and added shading with either ink or Copic markers. The antlers have two layers to give them a bit more strength, likewise the letters J and Y have three layers for dimension. The sticker initially read 'we wish you a merry Christmas' but I just cut off those first three words to use. 

Materials used:

• dies - Lovely Layers Vintage Reindeer (Honey Bee Stamps), Large Letters (retired SU)
• other - gold glitter card, Christmas patchwork papers (Etsy), Big Shot, Copic markers, blending brush, metallic sticker (Tim Holtz), vellum, Dimensionals, white gel pen

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Naughty or Nice - Just Add Ink Challenge #728

It's time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink and this week we've a Choose Two option.

Patterned paper and pens were my picks for a fun festive card.

The looks on their faces is rather sassy, so I just had to go with an equally sassy sentiment, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Oddball Boy and his Reindeer (Stamping Bella), Stamptember 2020 (Tim Holtz)
• other - patterned paper (SU retired), MISTI, water brushes, Clean Color real brush markers (Kuretake), small pennant punch, Sahara sand marker (SU retired)

We have more samples to inspire you over on the JAI blog and we can't wait to see which options you choose to create!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Thankful Blessings - The Card Concept Challenge #211

Hi there and welcome/welcome back! Today's card is for the new Card Concept challenge for November. Here's the moodboard:

I took those gorgeous autumn leaves as inspiration for my card featuring some very happy, free-flying mice, lol.

Lots of colouring and fussy cutting for this one, but they're so adorable, how could I resist? 

Materials used:

• stamps - You Autumn Know (Lawn Fawn)
• dies - stitched rectangle
• other - Copic markers, blending brush, white pigment ink, cloud stencil (My Favorite Things), Dimensionals, black marker, white gel pen, white embossing powder, heat tool, MISTI, craft foam

Do check out more samples from my team mates over on The Card Concept blog and if you're inspired to create, we'd love you to share in our gallery.

Thanks for floating by!

Cheers

Kerry

Winter Wonderland

Experiencing a white Christmas was on my bucket list for quite some time and it almost happened the year my daughter was living in Scotland ... until a little ol' global pandemic came along and then nobody was going anywhere - hardly leaving the house, let alone to the other side of the world. Ah well, such is life. Now I enjoy winter in December through card making instead, lol. 

Today's card is for three challenges which happen to dovetail together very nicely.

 

 

My Tic Tac Toe choice was the top row of ink blending, snow and tree.

I began with masking my paper for the snowy ground and blended the sunset sky (red sky at night, shepherd's delight 😉). Stamping came next, then small touches of puff embossing powder on the tree branches and at the feet of the deer before gesso splatters for falling snow. I die cut some snowflakes to tuck behind, cut my scene into three parts to mount, stamped a sentiment and called it done!

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage Winter View (Waffle Flower), Tiny Text Christmas (Tim Holtz)
• inks - blushing bride, lumberjack plaid, cherry cobbler, Versafine Clair nocturne
• other - snowflake dies, Sidekick, blending brushes, hills and drifts stencil (My Favorite Things), MISTI, craft foam, paint brushes, white puff embossing powder, heat tool, Versamark pen, white gesso

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Three Wise Penguins

I absolutely love the theme over at the Christmas Kickstart challenge this week and just had to play along.

My card features three playful penguins bearing gifts - and how adorable are they? 

I cut my pieces from black and white card then used Copics to colour, keeping to soft pastels apart from a pop of red on each wee cutie. My background was ink blended before stencilling the star and spritzing with shimmer mist for some gorgeous sparkle, which - as I'm sure all crafters know - just doesn't photograph well. Sigh! Everything was kept very simple because I wanted those penguins to really be the star of the show (excuse the pun!). 

Materials used:

• dies - Playful Penguins (Spellbinders)
• other - Copic markers, Big Shot, blending brush, Sparkle stencil (Tim Holtz), Dimensionals, shimmer mist, shaded lilac oxide ink, Christmas tiny text remnant rubs (Tim Holtz)

Thanks for waddling on by.

Cheers

Kerry

Getting Cozy - Time Out Challenges Guest Designer

This week I'm Guest Designer with Time Out Challenges and the theme is

This challenge is being sponsored by Newton's Nook with a $25.00 store credit as the prize for the challenge winner as chosen by the Design Team. Winner also gets an invitation to Guest Design for a future challenge.

I don't know about you but I don't need it to be cold out to be happy to sit down with a chai latte and a good book - I'll quite happily admit to those addictions, lol. Having said that, I did use autumn tones for my card because one, it's my favourite season and two, they're just cozier - and of course, Melbourne weather does often forget it's spring and tosses in a few autumnal/wintery days too!

Materials used:

• stamps - Exquisite (Tim Holtz), Itty Bitty Greetings (Stampin' Up)
• papers and die cuts from Mintay Golden Days collection
• dies - Papercut Cafe (Tim Holtz), book die (stash)
• distress oxide inks - antique linen, brushed corduroy
• other - blending brushes, Dimensionals, Big Shot, MISTI, Copic markers C0,C2

There's more card samples on the Time Out Challenges website and if you're inspired to create, they'd love you to share.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Let Life Surprise You - Just Add Ink Challenge #726

It's Friday, which means a new Just Add Ink challenge, and this time around it's an inspiration moodboard. 

I couldn't resist using the adorable little ginger kitten and tartan blanket as inspiration for a simple layered card.

Kittens are so playful and sweet, I challenge anyone not to go gaga over them, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Three Little Kittens (Mo Manning), Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• other - Copic markers, blending brush, MISTI, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, craft foam, white gel pen, blue distress ink

Which aspect of the pictures makes you want to create? Whatever you choose, we hope you'll share and link up on the Just Add Ink blog.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

The Silence of the Night

I don't usually delve into the darker side of Halloween, but I'd been playing with moon backgrounds the other day and had one which reacted quite differently to what I was expecting and ended up being a little on the spooky side. Then two things converged: one, I was thinking there was just a little time left for one last Halloween craft project, and two, I saw this week's theme of stencilling at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. My mind put those things together and I decided there was no harm in playing with that spooky background to see what I could make.

Here's the result:

I stencilled fractured cracks over the moon and decayed over the gravestones, then added trees, ghosties and a couple of sentiment stickers. 

Materials used (mostly Tim Holtz):

• dies - Vault Fright Night
• stencils - Fractured mini, Decayed
• other - moon mask, distress oxide sprays and inks, Curiosities sticker book, water spritzer
• not TH - blending brushes, Big Shot, heat tool

I hope you enjoy your Halloween, whether it's spooky or cutesy or anything in between! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Christmas Wishes and Gingerbread Kisses - Just Add Ink Challenge #725

I'm back with more stencilling! It's not my scheduled week but I couldn't resist playing along with the new Just Add Ink challenge, lol.

I love, love, love all the layering stencils that are so popular in the craft world at the moment. Here I combined two Christmas-themed stencil sets, unifying them by using the same ink colours throughout. 

Materials used:

• stencils - Postage Collage Gingerbread, Postage Collage Christmas (Waffle Flower)
• dye inks - wintergreen (Catherine Pooler), picked raspberry, tea dye, rusty hinge (Tim Holtz)
• dies - Postage Collage, Merry Christmas Print (Waffle Flower)
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, Dimensionals, vellum

Have you some stencils you just love using? Dust them off and create, then share over on the Just Add Ink blog; we'd love to see them.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry