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

JAI #676 - Just Add Inspiration

It's an inspiration challenge this week at Just Add Ink!

If you've been here lately you'll know I've been having tons of fun with some Halloween themed cards and more, so it will come as no surprise, I'm sure, that a pumpkin would conjure up more wicked fun in my head!

Cute as a ... well, as a pumpkin, lol. 

The layers are coloured with Copics and the spider webs were stamped with white pigment ink. The final touches to Edison were some googly eyes and tendrils of spagnum moss (which dropped dust everywhere, let me tell you! lol)

My daughter and a friend carved some jack o'lanterns over the weekend (she loves Halloween as much as me!) - here's a pic:

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Frights, Unravelled (both Tim Holtz)
• card - basic black, basic white, Halloween stripes (Etsy)
• dies - Edison colorize (Tim Holtz)
• Copic markers - YR04,YR07,YR09,YR14,YG25,G99,T10
• other - MISTI, white embossing powder, heat tool, picket fence distress ink, craft foam, Dimensionals, 7mm googly eyes

Check out what aspects of our mood board inspired my fellow team mates over on the Just Add Ink blog. 

Happy Halloween! and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Here for the Candy

Another Halloween play, trying out an idea to fill the witch's cauldron with sweets instead of potion. I just love these confections - both Halloween and Christmas versions - but these ones in particular do make me crave candy corn! You can get it here in Australia but I usually try to be good and resist, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Unravelled (Tim Holtz)
• card - smoky slate, basic black, watercolour, vellum, mixed media black heavystock
• distress oxide inks - milled lavender, dusty concord, villainous potion, lost shadow, black soot
• dies - Toil & Trouble (Tim Holtz), Witch Please (CZ Designs)
• other - blending brush, MISTI, villainous potion embossing glaze, heat tool, confections Halloween, craft foam, Dimensionals, distressing tool, water spritzer, craft scalpel, Big Shot, sponge dauber, hickory smoke archival ink

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry 

Boo

I've been seeing Halloween makes for a few weeks now and thought, "come on people, it's only July!" Now we're into August and I've been sucked into the vortex ... roflol. 

Saw a card that inspired the idea for the raised portions I've done here. Wasn't sure if it would work but I like it, I think the splintered vibe adds to the creepy ambience. 

I began with stamping the webs onto two pieces of black card and embossing with white, then cut one with the diamond die and stuck some of the shapes onto the other black piece. Once attached I spritzed with various oxide inks (dye inks won't show over black, you need the pigment) and also sprayed oxides onto watercolour card to use for my skeleton. The bats were cut from black gloss card and I bent their wings to give them some movement. When they catch the light they reflect other colours and look terrific.

There are two layers to the sentiment, as usual, as this adds more depth, and the background piece is watercolour card sponged with ink then spritzed. 

Materials used - all stamps, dies and inks are Tim Holtz unless otherwise noted:

• stamps - Unravelled 
• card - basic black, watercolour
• dies - Mr Bones, Toil & Trouble, Alphanumeric Theory
• distress oxide sprays - antique linen, frayed burlap, pumice stone, lost shadow
• other - white embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, MISTI, craft foam, Dimensionals, blending brush, Simply Diamonds die (Pink Fresh Studios)

Thanks for creeping by.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #624 - Just Add a Diorama Card

This week at Just Add Ink we're challenging you to make a diorama card. Diorama cards can be as simple as a shadow box card or more complex with many layers, but whichever style you choose it should contain a scene which is viewed through an opening.

I chose a Halloween theme for my project and kept it structurally simple (just three layers) as I wanted the hard work to go into the details and not the design. And oh boy, I had so much fun making all these quirky/spooky bits and pieces!

On the middle layer I put the tree - made up of three branch die cuts - on the left side.

And on the right side of the middle layer is the front pumpkin. The back pumpkin, together with the cat, gravestone and crow, are attached to the base layer.

The 'sky' background and sentiment lettering are coloured with mica sprays so they have a wonderful sheen to them when they catch the light. I mixed some crypt grit paste with green reinker to make lichen to cover bits of the 'tree'.

And there's more crypt paste on the gravestone to give it that lovely aged and weathered look.

Bring on Halloween, I say! I'll be interested to see if I get any trick or treaters in my new neighbourhood - though, regardless, it's a great excuse to have lollies on hand! 😂😉

Materials used:

• stamps - Unraveled (Tim Holtz)
• card - black mixed media heavyweight, watercolour
• Tim Holtz dies - Mr Bones, Mischevious, Pumpkin Duo, Regions Beyond
• distress mica sprays - flickering candle, jack-o-lantern, peppermint stick, hocus pocus
• distress oxide inks/sprays - antique linen, brushed corduroy, pumice stone, black soot, stormy sky, weathered wood, speckled egg
• other TH products - crypt texture paste, rustic wilderness re-inker, moon mask, iced spruce and shabby shutters distress crayons, candied apple distress paint, Idea-ology adornments - Halloween, picket fence distress ink
• other - water spritzer, heat tool, blending brushes, Dimensionals, stitched square die, white gel pen, branch die, white embossing powder, Stamparatus, Big Shot, Sidekick, paintbrush, sponge dauber, mini glue dots

Check out more diorama cards over at the JAI blog and, as always, we'd love to see your creation in our gallery this week.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry