Life is Beautiful - Just Add Ink Challenge #769

It's Choose Two time again at Just Add Ink with some very versatile options.

So many possibilities! I ended up choosing numbers and words for a postage collage card. 

I started off by using the blocks die to cut my segments, placing them back inside the frame on a sticky mat to do the ink blending. The stamping was done in three parts using my MISTI - the stamps are reasonably small so you can sit quite a few of them on and ink them all at once. The postage themed stamps were last, and they are tricky little devils! They're so small and fiddly and they keep sticking to my fingers when I try to position them, lol. So forgive me if there's a wee bit of crookedness going on! Then I added highlights with a white gel pen. Foam tape was used behind the blended panels to give dimension and the sentiment was embossed with white and raised also.

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage, Lake Sunset (Waffle Flower), Rest & Relaxation (Honey Bee)
• dies - Postage Collage, Postage Collage Blocks
• distress inks - spun sugar, worn lipstick, salvaged patina
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Bermuda bay ink (SU), MISTI, foam tape, white gel pen, masking corners stencil (Waffle Flower), white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals

We look forward to seeing how the options inspire you!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Well, Hello There! - Just Add Ink Challenge #768

This week's Just Add Ink challenge is a sketch - not one of my strengths, I admit, so I was surprised and enthused when I actually had an idea for a card. I rotated the sketch 90º and sat down to create.

The colour scheme I've used might be familiar - yes, it's the teal, red and white combo again, this time with some added black. So versatile! 

I began with constructing Mickey, then the circle feature which has an ink sponged piece behind it. Then it was simply a matter of more ink sponging on the background, attaching die-cut pieces, and adding the focal image. I used Distress black heavystock card for all the black pieces - not only is it strong, it's also a very dense black and has an almost velvety finish. Perfect for a famous mouse! 😉

Materials used:

• dies - Steamboat Willie Duo Etched dies (Spellbinders), Vault Picture Show (Tim Holtz)
• other - blending brush, Dimensionals, craft foam, Big Shot, R46 Copic marker

Check out more sketch inspiration over on the Just Add Ink blog and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Our Finest Gifts

Today's card is for the Christmas Crafts All Year Round challenge. We're to create a project inspired by the song, The Little Drummer Boy. 

I used the line 'Our finest gifts we bring' as inspiration for my card.

The little elf is three layers of kraft heavystock - there are some very delicate areas on the die where I felt extra strength and support was essential. The gift boxes are all two layers; paper over card. I used the woodgrain paper, kraft and muted colours to give a rustic kind of feel, appropos of a visit to a stable. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Elegant Christmas 2 (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Santa's Helper (Tim Holtz), circle
• papers - Christmas Blessings and Add-On paper pack (Mintay)
• other - Big Shot, blending brush, Dimensionals, foam tape, vellum, brushed corduroy distress ink, clear dots

By the way, did you know The Little Drummer Boy (originally known as the Carol of the Drum) was first recorded by the Trapp Family Singers in 1951? Sound of Music, anyone? 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

I Pick You

It's apples galore today with a card made for the Color Throwdown challenge.

  

The apples in the mood board look scrumptious so I decided they were the perfect pick (pardon the pun!) for my card:

I started by die cutting a bunch of apples and leaves from watercolour card then colouring with distress inks. Initially they were to sit in a wheelbarrow so that was cut, coloured and assembled next - then I discovered the proportions were out and the apples looked rather giant in the barrow, lol, so it was exchanged for the barrel. I put the barrel together and arranged the apples then glued them in place, added the extra leaves and blossom, then stamped and cut the sign. Some gingham paper gives it a real country feel as well as more yellow.

Materials used:

• stamps - Berry Special (Lawn Fawn)
• dies - Autumn Elements (Karen Burniston), Bushel Basket (The Greetery), Essential Arches (Spellbinders)
• distress inks - twisted citron, mowed lawn, abandoned coral, festive berries, lumberjack plaid, antique linen, brushed corduroy, vintage photo
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, Copic markers, Dimensionals, craft foam, acrylic dot, white gel pen, MISTI

I'm pretty sure colouring and assembling die cuts is my favourite crafty task, so you can be certain I had tons of fun putting this together!

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

To A Classic - Just Add Ink Challenge #767

It's time for an inspiration challenge with Just Add Ink and here's this week's photo prompt:

I took the cars as inspiration and made a birthday card. 

Naturally the car is red - we all know red cars go faster, right? 😁

Materials used:

• stamps - Road Signs bold prints (Hero Arts), All About You (MFT)
• dies - Classic car (Spellbinders), Vault World Travel (Tim Holtz)
• other - Sidekick, MISTI, Dimensionals, craft foam, black embossing powder, heat tool

We hope you'll be inspired to join our challenge with your own creative projects. 

Thanks for driving by.

Cheers

Kerry

Talk Like a Pirate

I didn't expect to be back so soon with another adorable pirate seagull, but it was unavoidable after discovering the Festive Friday challenge!

From the inspo list I've used black, white, twine, jewels and a nautical sentiment.

I began with die cutting the parchment, distressing the edges then giving them a good inking before stamping a few images I hope give it at least a passing resemblance to a treasure map, lol. My pirate was next and I added adhesive pearls to the necklace die piece and a gem for the unpatched eye. 

Materials used:

• dies - Inquisitive Seagull and Pirate Add-Ons (Waffle Flower), parchment (stash)
• stamps - Treasure Hunt Sentiments, Postage Collage Tropical Sunset (both Waffle Flower)
• other - distressing tool, Big Shot, twine, pearls, gems, white embossing powder, heat tool, small banner punch, Dimensionals, blending brush, Copic markers, white gel pen

So fun! Hope you're not getting sick of these guys!

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Leafy Thanks

It's stencil week at Just Us Girls and who doesn't love playing with inks and stencils?

I was in the mood for some warm colours so here's what I ended up with.

After die-cutting my background piece, I sponged the edges with antique linen then stencilled the leaves. They're mostly dijon and cinnamon with hints of blackberry here and there for extra depth of colour. The stems were added with another stencil and of course - you know me - I then did some splatter with the dijon and cinnamon. I die-cut two of the 'thanks' and layered them over the vellum shadow before adhering. 

Materials used:

• stencils - Thankful Leaves (Kristina Werner)
• SU inks - delightful dijon, cinnamon cider, blackberry bliss, early espresso
• other - blending brushes, MISTI, stitched rectangle dies, thanks dies, Big Shot, antique linen distress ink, fan brush, water spritzer, craft foam

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Aaarrgh! There Be Treasure!

The current Tic Tac Toe challenge caught my eye and fired up my imagination Big Time! 😂

So many delightful possibilities! The nautical/ocean aspect appealed to me most, so I picked the right vertical line of die cut, ocean, shaped card for some adventurous fun with my old friend the inquisitive pirate seagull.

I used some designer paper for the background and coloured the gull, cork and map using Copics. Stamping the sentiment was the last step before attaching everything to the bottle base.

Materials used:

• stamps - Treasure Hunt Sentiments (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Inquisitive Pirate Add-On (Waffle Flower), Whale in a Bottle (Spellbinders)
• other - Copic markers, designer paper (Astahasset), Big Shot, MISTI, sponge dauber, Dimensionals, foam tape, Memento tuxedo black ink

Hope your day is full of treasure. Thanks for stopping by, me hearties! ☠

Cheers

Kerry

Lush Berries - Just Add Ink Challenge #766

Hi all and welcome. It's Friday, which means a new Just Add Ink challenge and this time around we're asking you to...

Here's my one layer Christmas card:

I dry embossed first, changing the orientation of the embossing folder so it would work for one layer, then stencilled before stamping my sentiment. Next I inked very lightly around the outer edges of the card - this helps draw the eye in and made it look less like a branch floating in the middle of nowhere, lol. All those speckles on the background are gold ink splatters. I used ink for this rather than paint as I wanted them to be very subtle; they give a lovely sparkle when they catch the light but are pretty impossible to catch on camera (of course!). Of course the debossing shows on the inside front, but I don't think the recipient will mind too much, do you?

Materials used:

• stamps - Christmastime 3 (Tim Holtz)
• stencils and embossing folder - Lush Berry Branch (Altenew)
• distress inks - bundled sage, peeled paint, candied apple, lumberjack plaid, brushed corduroy
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, MISTI, sticky mat, golden glitz ink (Delicata), fan brush

I hope you'll have a go at making a one layer card and share it with us in the Just Add Ink gallery.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Sending Love

I think I might have mentioned in a previous post how much I LOVE the current Color Throwdown colour combo, so when I saw the Tic Tac Toe challenge board and an idea came to mind, it was beyond my capabilities to resist using them again! And yes, it's another Christmas card, lol.

  

From the TTT board I picked the diagonal row of letters, free and rectangle shape. Here's my card:

I began with my envelopes - die cutting, sponging the edges and stencilling the features on the fronts. Then I worked on the foliage, cutting from teal card but adding depth of colour with Copics. Rhinestones were used for the berries and I clear embossed the sentiment after stamping in red. 

Materials used:

• stamp - Sending Love (Hero Arts)
• dies - nesting postage stamps infinity dies (Hero Arts), mini holiday greens (Tim Holtz), postage collage mini seals, envelopes (both Waffle Flower)
• stencil - postage collage addressed envelope (Waffle Flower)
• patterned paper - Cool Collab (MFT)
• SU cardstock - pool party, coastal cabana, Bermuda bay, poppy parade
• other - Copic markers, Big Shot, clear embossing powder, heat tool, sponge dauber, craft foam, rhinestones

Hope you're having as much fun in your day as I did making this! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

The Purple Emperor - Just Add Ink Challenge #765

It's colour time at Just Add Ink! Here are this week's challenge colours:

Did you know there's an Australian species of mushroom that's bright purple? I've never seen one but I love that they're out there! They were the inspiration for my card:

I cut the 'shrooms, leaves and grass from watercolour card and coloured with inks. My background piece was ink smooshed before being embossed and I think this combination is a very mushroomy sort of colour, don't you? Of course there simply had to be some splatter involved, lol, but water this time, not paint. The rough twine and sentiment strip were the finishing touches. 

Cortinarius archeri, commonly known as the "purple emperor".

Materials used:

• dies - slimline grass edges, mushrooms (stash), Funky Florals 3 (Tim Holtz)
• distress inks/oxides - antique linen, pumice stone, frayed burlap
• Stampin' Up inks - highland heather, gorgeous grape, lost lagoon
• other - mushroom embossing folder, Big Shot, blending brushes, water spritzer, twine, Dimensionals, sentiment sheet

These are much prettier than the common-or-garden toadies I get in my lawn after a long damp patch of weather, lol. I'd be quite happy if purple emperors popped up in my yard! 

There's plenty more inspiration for these colours from my team mates over on the Just Add Ink blog, so be sure to check those out, and of course if you decide to create we'd love you to share it with us.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Merry Birdie

I absolutely love, love, LOVE the combo at this week's Color Throwdown! 

I've often used this combo and especially love it for Christmas - it's just that little bit different and also bright and cheerful. As soon as I saw the board I knew I had to play along and that I had to dig out some papers I bought a few years back that fit the challenge to perfection! They feature red, white and three shades of aqua. 

So cute! 

I cut several layers of  'Merry' for depth, also raising it with foam. The little birdie was coloured with Copics and a bit of paper piecing. On the background I blended some aqua ink then stencilled over it with the same colour. 

Materials used:

• dies - Overlapping Vertical Merry Word die, Birdie Friends in Winter (both Waffle Flower)
• papers - Cool Collab 6x6 (My Favorite Things)
• other - Copic markers, Sidekick, silver thread, silver pearls, blending brush, sparkle fade stencil (Tim Holtz), Dimensionals, craft foam, white gel pen

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

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