Moo Thanks

It's Choose Two or More time with Just Add Ink and our options are

I chose gingham, circles and flowers for a sweet Thank You card.

Materials used:

• stamps - Little Miss Moo (Unity Stamp Co)
• dies - stitched rectangle, thanks
• other - Big Shot, Copic markers, foam squares

We hope you'll choose two or more things to play with from the list and share with us on the Just Add Ink blog. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

You Rock! - Just Add Ink Challenge #770

Today's offering is for the new colour combo challenge at Just Add Ink. I saw a card on Pinterest that inspired me and couldn't resist playing along.

Not a combination I would normally use without some other colours in there as well, but it turns out they were just right for this idea.

I blended the three inks on watercolour card for my background and added some distress oxide splatters in what I hoped were similar shades (the purple oxide turned out bluer than I would have liked). Then lots of water splatters to give a very mottled look, before adding more water spritzed over a stencil and blotted, for the rays of light. The stamped figure is coloured with Copics and I gave her outfit - including boots - some shimmer.

Materials used:

• stamps - Uptown Girl Loves to Perform (Stamping Bella), Sentiment Strips 2 (Altenew)
• SU inks - bubble bath, fresh freesian, highland heather
• other - stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, blending brushes, water spritzer, heat tool, clear Wink of Stella, Copic markers, fresh fressia Stampin' Blends, Dimensionals, Ray of Light stencil (MFT), craft foam, gems, banner punch

Do these colours immediately bring something to mind for you? We'd love to see your creations in our gallery.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Easter Blessings - Just Add Ink Challenge #747

Are you ready for another creative challenge with Just Add Ink? This week we have an inspiration pic for you.

It's been a long while since I used any of my Tilda stamps but I simply couldn't resist colouring this little sweetie with her (Easter) bunny, inspired by the adorable grey rabbit above.

I ink blended my background but the die-cut flowers and stamped image were coloured with Copics. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Tilda with her bunny (Magnolia Stamps), Itty Bitty Greetings (Stampin' Up)
• dies - Curio Spring Findings (The Greetery), Essential Arches (Spellbinders)
• other - Copic markers, craft foam, Dimensionals, blending brushes, distress inks, gingham designer paper (Stampin' Up)

What ideas does the inspiration pic give you? We'd love you to create and share with us over on the Just Add Ink blog, where you'll find more samples from the design team.

This card is also my entry in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, which is to use some patterned paper, and Time Out Challenges pick 2 challenge (I chose floral and arch).

Thanks for calling in.

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

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

Something Wicked - Just Us Girls Challenge #747

Welcome! This month I'm honoured to be Guest Designer with Just Us Girls challenges and for this week it's a colour combo.

The chartreuse and grey immediately made me think Halloween but the light blue threw me for a bit of a loop, I must admit. Luckily it didn't take long before an idea came to mind that I hoped would work.

The drink was coloured with Copic markers then I sponged some oxide ink through a bubbles stencil to make it look a bit more 'evil potion'-esque, lol. I shaped the bubbles to give them roundness and added some shimmer to the drink, drips and bubbles. Does it look suitably wicked? 👻

Materials used:

• stamps - Unravelled (Tim Holtz), Lovely Legs - Best Witches (Colorado Craft Co)
• dies - Boos Cocktails, Olive Martinis (Spellbinders)
• other - Copic markers, white gel pen, clear Wink of Stella, shaping mat and tool, Dimensionals, blending brush, MISTI, Bubbles stencil (Tim Holtz),  twisted citron and hickory smoke distress oxide inks, hickory smoke distress glaze, heat tool, gold POSCA pen, tumbled glass distress ink, hickory smoke archival ink, craft foam

We'd love for you to be inspired by this colour combo to create, and of course to share your creation! Do check out what the design team came up with over on the Just Us Girls blog.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Birthday Fishes

I love the Seize the Birthday challenge this week! 

I sat and had a play with the first idea that came to mind - but you never know, I might think of more before the week is out, lol. 

After cutting my postage die and positioning the blocks stencil, I inked with light and medium aqua, then placed my second stencil over the top (the waves) and inked with medium and dark aqua to get this tone-on-tone effect. Next I stamped some weeds along the "sea floor" before stamping, colouring and fussy-cutting the aquatic friends and cake. If you imagine those things at the top of the cake are candles (and that you could actually light candles underwater, lol), the blowfish is perfectly positioned to be blowing them out! (I know, my mind is a scary place 😉)

Materials used:

• stamps - Gill Friends (My Favorite Things), Big Bite (Gerda Steiner Designs)
• postage collage - A6 die and blocks stencil (Waffle Flower)
• other - blending brushes, Copic markers, waves stencil, Big Shot, MISTI, sticky grip mat, Dimensionals, foam tape, blender pen

Thanks for swimming by.

Cheers

Kerry

Just Add Ink #696 - Inspiration

Welcome back to another Just Add Ink challenge where this week we're offering an inspiration picture to help rev up your creativity. And a mouthwatering pic it is too - take a look:

How delicious does that look? Mmmmmmmm...

As my daughter has a wedding to attend in a couple of months, I picked that for the theme of my card.

Materials used:

• card - basic white, retired designer paper (Stampin' Up)
• dies - Celebrate colorize, Crochet (Tim Holtz), Curio Spring Findings (The Greetery), Congrats (stash)
• Copic markers - BV00, BV11, V09, BG11, BG34, C2, C4
• other - pearls, Dimensionals, craft foam, shaping mat and tool, flower punch

Everything was cut from white cardstock and coloured with Copics and I went for an ombre kind of effect on the 'congrats', which is two layers for added depth. The flowers were shaped before being glued on and as you can see, the colours in the pic inspired my palette too. I stuck a row of pearls along the edge of the crochet trim to match with the flower centres. 

With my daughter's birthday tomorrow and mine yesterday, we're treating ourselves to a high tea today, so there will most definitely be cake! I hope you have some yum in your day too and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Best Birthday

I was lucky enough to be picked as Featured Artist for the Color Throwdown challenge #780 (see my entry in this post), so this week I'm Guest Star Stamper and just take a look at this gorgeous combo!

As soon as I saw the palette I couldn't wait to sit and play - here's how my card ended up:

It gave me the opportunity to play with this new-to-me die set and I sure did have a lot of fun colouring and assembling. The largest rose has 8 layers (eight!) but they all come together very easily. I cut two layers of a fine border to add to the arch and love the subtle flourishes on the paper I used behind it. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Words Birthday (Simon Says Stamp)
• card - merry merlot, basic white, retired SDSP (Stampin' Up)
• Copic markers - R81, R83, R85, T1, T2, T4, YG63, YG67
• dies - Lovely Layers: Sweetheart Roses (Honey Bee Stamps), Essential Arches (Spellbinders)
• other - Big Shot, MISTI, Versmark ink, white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals, gems

I hope you'll get the chance to play along. Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Just Add Ink #688 - Just Choose Two

Time for another challenge with Just Add Ink and this week we've a Choose Two option. The choices are

Sequins made me think shaker cards and as I don't recall making one before, thought it was past time I gave it a go - everyone loves a shakety-shake card, don't they? 

I die-cut the polaroid frame first, cutting two because I thought those narrow sides needed a bit more strength, and I sandwiched my piece of transparency between them. I cut a piece of white card to match for my background, using oxide inks and a stencil to create the underwater scene. Next I stamped a number of turtles, seaweed and starfish and coloured them using Copics. Originally I'd planned for the sentiment to be stamped on the frame but it didn't fit, lol, so I had to adapt which turtles I used and where I put them. Just as I had everything ready to assemble, I dropped my frame on a black ink pad! So yeah, I cut a third and stuck it over the top - it's nice and strong now, lol. I've used a mix of clear and aqua sequins and bits for the shakety-shake. Love 'em!

Materials used:

• stamps - Turtley Amazing (Pink and Main)
• card - basic white, Bermuda bay (Stampin' Up), transparency/acetate
• dies - On Film framelits (SU retired)
• other - Seabed 3D embossing folder (SU), Big Shot, blending brushes, Ray of Light stencil (My Favorite Things), Copic markers, MISTI, thick white baker's twine, mounting strips, craft foam, Big Shot, clear sequins, Sea Level Sparkletz (Buttons Galore & More), Dimensionals, salvaged patina and peacock feathers distress oxide inks, water spritzer

Tip: After fussy-cutting the turtles and seaweed, I edged them with an aqua marker so there'd be no white edges showing up against the background. 

Check out which "two" my fellow team mates chose over on the Just Add Ink blog and as always, we'd love it if you joined the challenge.

Thanks for swimming by!

Cheers

Kerry

Easter Cutie

I have a sweet Easter card for you today - I know, you're thinking, "What! It's too early for Easter stuff!" but as my local supermarket had hot cross buns in store on New Year's Day (I kid you not!) it put me in the mood, what can I say? 😁 Also, when I looked at my Easter themed dies, it was pretty hard to resist this newly-hatched cutie, lol. 

The die cuts were coloured with Copic markers, while I sponged some ink around the edges of the tag and sewed a border on the gingham backing paper after distressing the edges a little. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Itty Bitty Greetings (Stampin' Up)
• card - pool party, basic white, retired gingham DSP
• dies - Chick with Egg (A Pocket Full of Happiness), Bunny Games (Tim Holtz)
• other - Copic markers, Big Shot, Dimensionals, mounting tape, sewing machine and thread, blending brush, pool party ink, MISTI, clear sequins, mini glue dots

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept Challenge #202

Welcome back to another challenge with The Card Concept. This month our board is called Christmas Cheer.

 I took the Christmas theme and colours, predominantly red and white, for my clean and layered card.

My caroling elves were coloured with Copics and fussy cut. Aren't they adorable? Such sweet little faces. Oxide inks were blended for the background together with a little water splatter. As a finishing touch I added glitter to the 'fur' bits and just love the texture as well as the subtle shimmer.

Materials used:

• stamps - Sing Joy! (by Mo Manning for Penny Black)
• card - basic white, real red, basic black, Merry Bold & Bright DSP (Stampin' Up)
• Copic markers - E00,11,21,33,41,50,55; G24,43,82; B0000,000; YR24,27; R24,29,39
•  distress oxide inks - antique linen, brushed corduroy, tumbled glass
• other - blending brushes, MISTI, water spritzer, Dimensionals, Quickie glue pen, distress glitter clear rock candy

Do check out more samples over on the Card Concept blog and remember we'd love you to create your own festive card and join us.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #680 - Just Add Alcohol

This week at Just Add Ink we're challenging you to...

This could be using alcohol inks or markers, featuring stamps/dies/embellishments to do with alcoholic beverages or something else alcohol-related. For my card I've used two of these.

I blended my background then stencilled over it with the same inks. The drink was coloured with Copics and I used micro glass beads for the salt/sugar on the rim - they give fabulous dimension and look so realistic I'm now craving a margarita!

Materials used:

• stamps - Supercalifragilistic (Simon Says Stamp)
• card - basic white, Bermuda bay (Stampin' Up)
• distress oxide inks - salvaged patina, twisted citron
• Copic markers - YG01, YG21, YG23, YG25, C0, C2
• other - craft foam, Dimensionals, MISTI, blending brushes, clear translucent glass beads, glue, stencil, water spritzer

We'd love to see what 'alcohol' inspires in you, and of course to have your projects in our gallery. Check out what my team mates created over on the Just Add Ink blog.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept Challenge #193

It's time for a new challenge at The Card Concept and this week you've a choice between two great inspiration pics, (a) New Arrival or (b) Busy Bee.

 

I couldn't resist those adorable forest animals in option a and took them as inspiration for my clean and layered baby card.

The animals are coloured with Copics and fussy-cut. For the sentiment I cut two layers of the dies and glued them together - I love the additional dimension this gives. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Woodland Friends (Isabel Cristina)
• card - basic white, mint macaron, cinnamon cider, Baby Milestones plaid (Nitwit)
• Copic markers - 
• racoon - C0,C2,C4,R20
• deer - E41,E42,E43,R20,E25
• squirrel - E11,E13,E15
• other - Well Scripted dies (SU), Big Shot, retired in-colour dots (SU), Stampin' Blends just jade light, mint macaron light and dark (SU), white gel pen

I do hope you'll check out the cards my fellow team members have created to inspire you. We'd love to see your own creation in our gallery.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept challenge #191

It's the second challenge of the month with The Card Concept so we have two mood boards for you to draw inspiration from, named Signs of Spring and Butterfly Blues.

  

My inspiration came from the flower and butterfly in option b and colours from both palettes (namely navy, yellow and turquoise).

I began by ink blending my background beginning with salvaged patina, ensuring it was lighter towards the middle. Then I placed my first moon mask and added chipped sapphire blending followed by night of navy. With the moon mask still in place, I added a little extra ink around the outside then blended on the second layer of the mask. After stamping the main images (fairy, flowers and butterfly) I used a wet waterbrush to remove some of the oxide ink from inside petals and wings, then coloured them using Copic markers. The next step was the foliage at the bottom which used first, second and third generation stamping to create depth. Lastly I added hints of white gel pen and some shimmer to all the wings.

Materials used:

• Lavinia stamps - willow, slender mushrooms mini, fairy bugs, Mae
• card - basic white, Bermuda bay
• Copics - Y02, Y11, BG11, BG32
• distress oxide inks - black soot, salvaged patina, chipped sapphire
• other - night of navy ink (SU), clear embossing powder, heat tool, MISTI, waterbrush, moon mask (Tim Holtz), blending brushes, craft foam, stitched rectangle die (Paper Rose), Big Shot, white gel pen, clear Wink of Stella, distress micro glaze

Do check out how the challenge graphics inspired my fellow team mates by heading over to The Card Concept blog, and thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry 

CTD Guest Star Stamper

I'm very happy to be the Guest Star Stamper over at The Color Throwdown, after my card was chosen for challenge #723. Here are the challenge colours this time around:

As red is my favourite colour I initially had berries in mind, especially as I'm really enjoying all our summer fruit at the moment. But looking through my files I found this image I've had for ages that just screams summer fun and beach parties, so I changed my focus to green, lol. I can easily imagine her posing there and saying, "come on beaches, let's get this party started!", can't you? 😂

I put a touch of sparkle on the flower centres because she looks like she'd love some bling. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Words Birthday (SSS), digital stamp (source unknown)
• card - basic white, soft suede, parakeet party, Sweet Treats polka dot
• Copic markers - YG01,YG13,YG23, R22,R27,R29,E23,E25,E41,B000
• other - mini banner punch (SU retired), in colour faceted dots (SU), craft foam, Dimensionals, clear Wink of Stella, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, sweet sorbet ink pad (SU)

Thanks for calling in. Do head over to the Color Throwdown blog to see what their design team came up with to inspire you.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept - Holiday Gatherings

For the first Card Concept challenge of the year we're using the theme Holiday Gatherings and here's our inspiration picture for you:

Right now in Australia it's the long summer school holidays, hot and humid. Recently I managed to catch up with an old friend and we reminisced about all the times we'd gathered together for a BBQ meal and swim in the pool, either at our place or hers, to celebrate the new year, a birthday or just friendship. It's these lovely memories that inspired my summer/pool themed clean and layered card.

Materials used:

• stamps - Gloria at the pool (Mo Manning), Bitty Buzzwords: Seasons (Honey Bee Stamps)
• card - basic white, flirty flamingo, daffodil delight
• other - Bitty Buzzwords: Seasons dies, Sidekick, blending brush, Copic markers, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, craft foam, MISTI, sun ray stencil (MFT), clear sequins

Do check out what holiday gathering creations my fellow team mates have made to help inspire you, over on The Card Concept blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept - Harvest Bounty or Christmas Joy

It's time for another inspiration challenge at The Card Concept and once again there are two amazing images and colour swatches for you to choose from. 

I picked option a, taking the crate of apples as inspiration for my clean and layered mini slimline card.

The crate is a digital stamp which I printed with the quote (from Mother Teresa) alongside then coloured with Copics. The papers from Mintay were a match made in heaven and I love that soft blue, don't you?Once I had everything assembled it needed a little something to give that finished look, so I got out my trusty sewing machine and added two simple lines of stitching. 

Materials used:

• stamps - All Things Apples (Power Poppy)
• card - basic white, Apple Season papers (Mintay)
• Copic markers - R29,39,89; G24,28,43; E53,33,35; E13,23; B000
• other - small banner punch (SU retired), computer and printer, white gel pen, sewing machine and thread

I hope you'll be inspired to take part in our challenge and to check out what my fellow team mates created for you over on The Card Concept blog.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #620 - Just Add Inspiration

We've a stunning inspiration pic for you this week at Just Add Ink.

That glorious rich blue with a hint of turquoise immediately made me think of uncharted mariner, the latest distress ink colour, which in turn brought water to mind and that's how I ended up with an aquatic themed card!

I just adore the supremely unimpressed expressions on the faces of these fish! 

Materials used:

• stamps - Oddball Fish (Stamping Bella)
• card - basic white, Idea-ology Kraftstock Stack - Warm
• distress/oxide inks - uncharted mariner
• Copic markers - Y11,Y15,Y19,B00,B000,B0000
• other - MISTI, Dimensionals, white embossing powder, heat tool, wave stencil, blending brushes, black marker, 2022-2024 in-colour matte decorative dots (SU)

Pop over to the JAI blog to see how this picture inspired my fellow team mates. 

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kerry