Not a Card - Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge

Welcome! Once again I'm joining in with the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge team for some creative fun.

This week we are being challenged to make something that is NOT A CARD. 

For my project I made tags (inspired by Alison Bomber) using Tim Holtz Moon Mask Stencils and distress inks together with Tiny Text and Winter Watercolor 2 stamp sets. 

Do head over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog to see what the design team have come up with to inspire you.

Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $25 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store - all you have to do is take out your crafting supplies, make something following this week's prompt, and link up at the bottom of the Challenge Blog post. You can join up to 5 times, giving you 5 chances to win! All winners are chosen randomly, so everyone has an equal chance.

Feel free to leave me some comment love and thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you back next Monday.

Cheers

Kerry

Travel - Just Add Ink Challenge #708

It's a choose two option this week with Just Add Ink! Here's what we've got for you:

I chose blending and embossing, though I did end up - as so often happens with a choose two - using some of the third element as well, lol. 

My turquoise background piece is a blending of two inks, then I lightly applied some embossing ink through a stencil and added embossing glaze in a matching tone. The glazes are transparent, which was ideal when I was after more of a 'hint' of colour, rather than a full-on immersion. My globe was cut from card in my stash that had ink blending already and I added more blending around the edges of the continents to mimic the look of an atlas (for those of us old enough to remember what they are, lol). There are multiple layers to my airplane for extra depth and sturdiness. I chose a lowercase alphabet for 'travel' to contrast with the uppercase stamped sentiments.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• dies - Vault World Travel (TH), Alphanumeric Tiny Type Lower (TH), stitched rectangle (Paper Rose)
• distress inks - salvaged patina, peacock feathers, wild honey, twisted citron
• other - compass stencil (Stamperia), salvaged patina distress glaze (TH), distress embossing dabber (TH), craft foam, MISTI, Dimensionals, Big Shot, blending brushes, heat tool

There are more samples to inspire you on the Just Add Ink blog and as always, we'd love to see your creations in our gallery.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello Friend

Today I'm playing along with this week's Tic Tac Toe Challenge. Here's the grid:

I picked the left hand vertical column - friendship, die cuts, ink blending.

My background piece was in my stash, stamped in Versamark and clear embossed, then some white ink blended lightly over it - this mutes the background colour a little while also bringing out the stamped/embossed portion. I die cut the bird and branch/leaves, then coloured with oxide inks, used bought paper flowers but changed the centres to match my card base, and went (maybe a little too) crazy with white gesso splatters lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Vintage Flora (Honey Bee Stamps), Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• dies - layered chickadee (Simon Says Stamp), branch, stitched rectangle (Paper Rose), friend (stash)
• distress inks - squeezed lemonade, stormy sky, twisted citron, mowed lawn, brushed corduroy, picket fence
• other - Dimensionals, Big Shot, MISTI, blending brushes, black gem, paper flowers and stamens, white gesso, fan brush

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Edited to add: The team at Tic Tac Toe chose my card as the Designer Pick for this week. Many thanks! 

The Card Concept Challenge #190

Welcome to another inspiration challenge with The Card Concept. Here's our mood board for challenge #190:

Inspiration for my mixed media card came from the luck theme and colour palette.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - basic black, basic white, garden green (all SU), black and white tartans (Paper Rose), grey houndstooth (Nitwit Collections)
• dies - Tailored (Tim Holtz), Playful Alphabet (SU)
• other - sponge daubers, MISTI, white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals, craft foam, garden green and basic grey inks (SU), Versamark, Big Shot

Do head over to the Card Concept blog to see what my fellow design team members have created to inspire you, and of course we'd love to see your own card in our gallery.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept - Colours of Autumn

Welcome to a new inspiration challenge with The Card Concept. This week's picture is full of the rich, earthy tones of autumn/fall but it may inspire something completely different for you!

I absolutely love the foliage colours and made a mixed media card inspired by these. The timber boat and dock are represented by the woodgrain panel.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - very vanilla and blackberry bliss (SU), woodgrain (TH), watercolour, Woodland Fall papers (PhotoGraphicScrap)
• TH dies - leaf fragments, fall foliage
• distress sprays - crackling campfire, crushed olive, villainous potion, rusty hinge, antique linen
• distress inks - antique linen, vintage photo
• other - blackberry bliss ink (SU), Versamark, vintage pearl embossing powder (Ranger), MISTI, Dimensionals, craft foam, Big Shot, water spritzer, heat tool, sponge daubers, amber gems (SU), paintbrush, blending brush, stitched rectangle die, distress micro glaze

Do check out the lovely cards my fellow team mates have created to inspire you over at The Card Concept blog and as always, we'd love you to join the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Great Adventure

I really liked the colours for this week's Color Throwdown challenge, so I sat at my craft desk yesterday to see what I could come up with. I was in the mood for mixed media and had a very happy time with inks, stencils, texture paste, stamps and dies.

I picked salvaged patina as my aqua blue, frayed burlap for my kraft and of course antique linen for the cream. Here's the result:

I used just a thin layer of texture paste and love how it gives such a subtle result while still making me want to touch it, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Create Happiness - Elements (Stamperia), Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - crumb cake, very vanilla, watercolour
• distress sprays/oxides/archival inks - salvaged patina, frayed burlap, antique linen
• stencil - Create Happiness - Compass (Stamperia)
• dies - Silhouette Birds (Tim Holtz), branch
• other - blending brush, sponge daubers, picket fence distress paint, paintbrush, heat tool, water spritzer, matte texture paste, Dimensionals, craft foam, small pearl, distress micro glaze

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

With Brave Wings

When I saw the Color Throwdown swatch for this week I really wanted to play along and after not much consideration at all, realised I really, really wanted to get down and grungy with some mixed media. 

Naturally, I dug out my stuff and got to playing! Spritzing, speckling, crackling, sponging - oh my, what fun I had and although (as happens so often, lol) my card ended up different to what I had originally visualized, I am very happy with it. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - kraft, watercolour
• distress oxide inks - walnut stain, gathered twigs, crackling campfire
• distress spray stains - crackling campfire, gathered twigs, antique linen, frayed burlap
• distress oxide sprays - ground espresso, walnut stain, wild honey, fossilized amber, dried marigold, ripe persimmon
• distress paints - antique linen, walnut stain
• other TH products - Brushstroke Butterfly dies, distress crackle paste, splat box, water spritzer, Sidekick, gathered twigs distress crayon, ground espresso archival ink
• other - leaf die cuts (SU), blending brush, sponge daubers, MISTI, Dimensionals, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, fan paintbrush, heat tool, early espresso marker (SU), ruler, baby wipe

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Your Beautiful Self

They've given us another gorgeous colour combo over at the Color Throwdown and once an idea came to mind I couldn't resist playing along.

Orange, pink and aqua aren't colours I use together very often but I think I may have to remedy that situation given how much I love the outcome, lol. Here's my card:

Isn't this hippo totally adorable? 

Materials used:

• stamps - Hippest Hippo (SU SAB freebie), Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - basic white, Tea Break designer papers (Kaisercraft)
• dies - tag, cloud, stitched rectangle
• Copic markers - R20, R32, C0, C2, C4
• Stampin' Blends - pale papaya
• other - pool party ink, blending brush, MISTI, Big Shot, Hippo dies (SU SAB freebie), pool party enamel dots, Dimensionals, craft foam, pool party organdy ribbon, white baker's twine

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #594 - Just Add Masking

Welcome! Are you ready for another challenge? At Just Add Ink this week we're asking you to

There are so many ways to use this versatile technique and we can't wait to see what you come up with. 

My project is one of those where you get the germ of an idea and it stays in your mind, persistent and inexorable, until finally, for the sake of your sanity, you just have to sit down and try it, lol. I'm sure I'm not alone in this, right? Right?

Here's my monochromatic landscape.

I used bought stencils/masks for the hills and moon but made my own for the trees by cutting a die from some stencil film.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - very vanilla
• distress oxide ink - frayed burlap
• stencils/masks - drifts & hills stencils (regular and slimline) by MFT; moon mask by Tim Holtz
• other - blending tool, Treeline die (Tim Holtz), stencil film, picket fence distress paint, paintbrush, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot Switch, masking tape, craft foam

I do hope you'll visit the Just Add Ink blog to check out the samples my fellow team mates have made for you, and hopefully be inspired to have a go yourself. 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

The Card Concept Challenge - Coffee or Cocoa

 Welcome to The Card Concept challenge #167 where our theme is coffee or cocoa. 

For my mixed media card I was inspired by the colours of the swatch and the coffee theme.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - very vanilla, soft suede, watercolour, cherry cobbler
• distress oxide inks - antique linen, vintage photo, frayed burlap
• other - Coffee Cup framelits (SU), Nothing's Better Than thinlits (SU), Splatters mini stencil (Tim Holtz), blending brushes, sponge daubers, antique linen oxide spray, craft foam, Dimensionals, ground espresso archival ink, MISTI, triple heart punch (SU)
• sentiment inspiration from Wanda Guess

As always, we'd love you to play along with the challenge. There's plenty more inspiration over on the Card Concept blog, so pop on over for a look.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #573 - Just Add a Sketch

Howdy! Welcome to my first posting as a newly-fledged member of the Just Add Ink design team. I'm excited to be creating alongside these talented ladies.

This week we have a sketch for you. Remember you can flip it, turn it or even reverse it to suit your needs, as long as the sketch is recognisable in the end result.

On my shabby/vintage card I've used a lacey die for my edging feature and a frame for my focal point. 

As I tend to be all about dimension, I cut three of the frames and stuck them together before stamping and embossing with a wood grain effect. The background paper was given a light coat of white ink just to fade it a touch so it didn't compete with my focal feature and the edges were heavily sponged (which draws the eye in) and distressed. Too much fun!

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text, Entomology, Attic Treasures (Tim Holtz), Hardwood (SU)
• card - watercolour, basic white, crumb cake, Rose Avenue dsp (Kaisercraft)
• distress oxide inks - kitsch flamingo, spun sugar, vintage photo, old paper, tumbled glass
• Tim Holtz dies - Crochet, Bloom Colorize, Decor Frames
• other - leaf punch and embosser, antique linen embossing glaze (TH), heat tool, Big Shot, MISTI, blending brushes, distressing tool, Dimensionals, stitched rectangle die (Paper Rose), picket fence distress ink, vintage photo archival ink, aquapainter

I do hope you'll head over to the JAI blog to see how my team mates interpreted the sketch and, of course, we'd love for you to join in the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Simple Beauty - CAS on Friday Challenge #200

Welcome to my blog! You've arrived just in time for another clean and simple challenge with CAS on Friday. 

This is challenge #200 and our theme is SPRING.

I couldn't resist using some gorgeous paper absolutely abundant with Spring flowers. 

And a whimsical part of me liked using a small daisy as the tittle (dot) over the letter 'i'.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Text (Tim Holtz)
• card - whisper white,   Emma's Shoppe Collection designer papers (Crate Paper), polka dot paper (unknown)
• other - Alphanumeric stretch lower dies (TH), craft foam, small daisy punch, shaping mat and shaping tool, Big Shot, stitched rectangle die, Stamparatus, glimmer enamel dot, alcohol marker, blending brush, mini glue dot, Dimensionals

You'll find tons more inspiration from my fellow team members over at the CASOF blog and, of course, we'd love you to join in our Spring challenge.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Welcome, Kitsch Flamingo

With a new distress colour released this past week, it was inevitable that I would be having a play with it. I chose to watercolour some flowers using this gorgeous new pink.

Materials used:

• stamps - Flower Garden, Attic Treasures, Tiny Text (all Tim Holtz)
• card - Sahara sand, soft suede, watercolour
• distress ink - kitsch flamingo
• distress oxide inks - kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, fossilized amber, mowed lawn, rustic wilderness, speckled egg, weathered wood, frayed burlap
• other - Harlequin stencil (TH), speckled egg distress embossing glaze (TH), linen thread, word window punch, Dimensionals, shaping mat and tools, sponge dauber, crumb cake marker, vintage photo archival ink (TH), embossing dabber

I shaped the flowers a little to curl the edges and 'bowl' the heads for some interest and dimension. I love the way they spread out over the edges of the background piece. 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry