Room to Bloom

It's the first Friday of the month, which means a new challenge over at All About Papercraft. This time around we're given a colour palette and have to use at least three of the colours on our creations.

I managed to incorporate all of them on my card:

I had fun watercolouring the sweet image and adding it to layered papers in the challenge colours. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Puddles to Petals (Unity Stamp Co)
• dies - Essential Arches (Spellbinders)
• other - papers from Etsy, linen thread, Big Shot, water brush, distressing tool, craft foam, blue marker

We can't wait to see what you can create with these colours! Do check out more inspiration from my fellow design team members over on the All About Papercraft blog.

Thanks for calling in.

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

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

He Knows If You Are Sleeping...

I'm taking part in this week's Color Throwdown challenge. Here are the colours:

Now, you might not think these are Christmas in July colours (or in December, for that matter lol), but sshhhhhhhh! someone is peeking around the door frame to see if you're sleeping or awake...

This was very simple to make. Once the stencilling was done, I simply cut out the image and attached it to some grey card which had been edged with ink. The last step was stamping the sentiment over the top. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Bold Tidings mini (Tim Holtz)
• layering stencils - Peeking Santa (The Ton)
• distress inks - squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry
• other inks - blush blossom, smoky slate (SU)
• other - blending brushes, MISTI

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Beach Life for Me - Color Throwdown Featured Stamper

Howdy and welcome! Today's card is for Color Throwdown challenge #836 where I'm honoured to be Featured Stamper. 

Up in the northern hemisphere they're enjoying summer and these colours are absolutely perfect for that, aren't they? So bold and cheerful! I've used summer as inspiration for my card.

All the die-cuts were cut from white card and coloured with inks. That gorgeous large 'beach' die-cut is three layers and given an ombre look, which regular visitors will know I love to use on my large sentiments. The background was stamped with three inks using a sea sponge for a light, speckled effect I hoped would imitate sand but it's very subtle and you have to look hard to see it, lol. There are three shades of orange on the beach towel and I love how vibrant this is! All in all, a very fun card to make, with the added plus of giving me warmer days to look forward to as winter digs her claws firmly in, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Oversized Beach (Waffle Flower)
• other dies - Lovely Layers: At the Beach (HoneyBee)
• inks - antique linen, dried marigold, spiced marmalade, ripe persimmon, picked raspberry, brushed corduroy, picket fence (Tim Holtz distress), crumb cake (SU)
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, MISTI, white embossing powder, heat tool, sea sponge

I hope these colours inspire something in you too. Pop over to the Color Throwdown blog to see what their design team came up with.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Letters to You - Just Add Ink Challenge #755

Welcome back to my blog and another Just Add Ink challenge. This week it's a colour combo suggested by yours truly.

Here's my postage themed 'Hello' card using these colours.

The background is misty moonlight blended on white card then stencilled over with grit paste. The various envelopes come from two die sets and are edged and "addressed" in smoky slate. Each of the faux wax seals has three layers of clear embossing powder over the outer circle for a shiny, 'waxy' look. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage, Postage Collage Winter View (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Postage Collage miniature, Envelopes, Postage Collage Mini Seals (all Waffle Flower), Hello (stash)
• stencils - Post Card (Stamperia), Postage Collage miniature (Waffle Flower)
• other - blending brushes, craft foam, Distress grit paste opaque (Tim Holtz), clear embossing powder, heat tool 

Visit the Just Add Ink blog to check out more samples to inspire from my team mates and if you do create, we'd love you to share it with us.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

You Rock, Gullfriend

I'm joining the Color Throwdown challenge this week with a fun and playful card.  

The water and duck in the pic, as well as turquoise being one of the options, made me think ocean theme. From there it wasn't much of a leap to those irrepressible, irresistable, inquisitive gulls you've met here before. 

Aren't they a hoot? I think they have a bit of a Blues Brothers vibe going on with their sunnies, lol, hence the choice of sentiment. 

I began with ink blending my background, turquoise for the water and oranges for the sunrise/sunset sky or beach sand, however you'd like to interpret it. To make the sea foam I applied Versamark ink using a sea sponge then sprinkled with white embossing powder - love how wispy the effect is! 

Materials used:

• dies - Inquisitive Seagulls (Waffle Flower), Smart Glasses (Spellbinders), other glasses from stash
• distress inks - salvaged patina, peacock feathers, dried marigold, spiced marmalade, ripe persimmon, antique linen, pumice stone
• other - blending brushes, sea sponge, white embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, G09 Copic marker, sentiment strip (Paper Rose)

Also entering in Inkspirational Challenges, where the colours match their mood board. 

Hope your day rocks and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Quilted Hugs

When I saw the picture and colours for this week's challenge at Color Throwdown, I immediately got an idea and today I sat down to make it happen.

Totally inspired by the quilted fabric in the pic, I broke out some new goodies for my card.

The same colour inks have been used throughout but for the quilted background I kept them light, going heavier on the stencils and die cuts. For the scissors I cut two, colouring them separately then attaching the red handle over the grey body. I had sew much fun putting this all together! 

Materials used - all stamps, dies and stencils are Waffle Flower:

• stamps - Postage Collage Sew Fun 
• dies - Postage collage die, Postage collage blocks die, Sew fun die, Tiny square texture die 
• stencils - Postage collage sew fun, Tiny square
• distress inks - barn door, tumbled glass, faded jeans, lost shadow, lumberjack plaid, hickory smoke, vintage photo, antique linen
• other - Subsentiments Quilted Diecut (WF), craft foam, Big Shot, Dimensionals, blending brushes, MISTI

I hope you have as much fun in your day. Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

You're Not Old - Just Add Ink Challenge #750

I thought the colour combo of this week's Just Add Ink challenge were perfect to use with a fairly new-to-me die set.

My immediate thought was 'retro' and as I do love me a cheeky or punny card, a sentiment that pokes light fun at aging seemed perfect. Here's how it turned out:

All the TV pieces were cut from summer splash then I added shading to some with the matching ink. The pink and peach pieces just needed a bit of sponging around edges, then it was simply a matter of attaching everything. 

Materials used:

• dies - Vault Atomic Retro (Tim Holtz)
• other - Sidekick, sponge dauber, craft foam, Dimensionals, corner rounder punch

I was thinking of sending it to my brother, whose birthday is today, but as he's younger than me I decided it was probably safer not to make fun of his age! Lol. There's more samples to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog.

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello Friend

Today's card is for the current challenge at Color Throwdown.

Such gorgeous colours! I used them on a simple floral friendship card.

All the pieces were die cut from white and coloured with inks. The adorable little seal had two applications of clear embossing powder added to the outer ring and an epoxy heart centred to match the heart on the envelope. Because the sentiment is in gold, I added a smidge of gold wax around the edges of the embossed background. 

Materials used:

• dies - Wildflower Stems #2 and #3 (Tim Holtz), Dry Flowers (Waffle Flower), Postage Collage Mini Seals (Waffle Flower)
• inks - antique linen, fossilized amber (Ranger distress), soft lilac, lavender fields, volcano lake (Altenew), wintergreen (Catherine Pooler), lemon lolly (Stampin' Up)
• other - blending brushes, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Distressed Tile embossing folder (Stampin' Up), metallic word sticker (Tim Holtz), vintage gold wax (Art Alchemy), craft foam, white bakers twine, epoxy heart (Altenew)

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Gull-tastic Birthday - Just Add Ink Challenge #745

It's time for a colour challenge with Just Add Ink and this week's picks are

My whimsical offering was inspired by a card by Kathrin that I just love and I had fun incorporating the challenge colours in there. 

I don't have petunia pop so substituted with picked raspberry distress ink, and I used both the balmy blue and soft sea foam for the water to differentiate it from the blue sky. The grey was used on the gull and umbrella pole, while the sand was inked with neutral brown and overstamped for texture. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Inquisitive Seagulls, Postage Collage, Postage Collage Beach Days (all Waffle Flower), Friendly Seagulls (Stampin' Up)
• dies - Postage Collage, Inquisitive Seagulls (both Waffle Flower), Fair Winds (Spellbinders), Word Bubbles (Stampin' Up)
• other - blending brushes, grip mat, Big Shot, craft foam, MISTI, white gel pen

And speaking of birthdays, it's my birthday today! I'm now old enough to have my doctor visits bulk billed! 😂😂😂👵

If you head over to the Just Add Ink blog you'll find more samples to inspire you. We'd love you to create and share with us.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Floating By - Just Add Ink Challenge # 735

Welcome to Friday and a new challenge with Just Add Ink. This week it's a colour combo suggested by Rochelle.

With summer splash in there I immediately thought 'water', so created a fun pool/beach scene.

Materials used:

• stamps - Bubbles (Tim Holtz), You Autumn Know (Lawn Fawn)
• dies - Poolside (Concord & 9th)
• other - Big Shot, white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals, MISTI, vintage gold wax (Art Alchemy), sponge dauber, craft foam

Check out more samples over on the Just Add Ink blog. We'd love to inspire you to create and join us.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Live Gently

Happy new year!

I'm starting off 2025 with joining in the Color Throwdown challenge, and what a challenge it is! 

It was lovely to be getting inky and playing again and I just could not go past using a birdie die, one of my most favourite tools.

I used a circle punch to create a mask for the moon and blended two shades of grey and some black ink for my background, adding a touch of shadowing to the moon afterwards with ink leftover on the brush. My branch was die cut from black, the bird from white and coloured with inks, again in two tones of grey, black, and a touch of cream. These were mounted with dimension, as was the back panel, and the finishing touch was a sentiment sticker.

Materials used:

• card - white, black
• distress inks - lost shadow, hickory smoke, black soot, antique linen
• dies - layered chickadee (Simon Says Stamp), branch
• other - 35mm circle punch, moon mask (Tim Holtz), blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, Small Talk sticker (TH)

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun - Just Add Ink Challenge #724

It's colour combo week at Just Add Ink and this time around we're giving you two colours (plus neutrals) and an option to pick a third!

I picked purple as third choice for my ghoulishly fun card.

I began with misty moonlight card, inking it darker around the outside then splattering with white gesso and white embossing the sentiment. The other bits were all die cut from either black or white card and colour added with Copics. A few dots and dashes of white gel pen were the finishing touch. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Boo Sentiments (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Sweet Ghosts (Waffle Flower)
• other - Copic markers, Dimensionals, blending brush, Big Shot, white gel pen, white gesso, fan brush, water spritzer, craft foam, white embossing powder, heat tool, MISTI

I can't wait to see what you create with these colours and what third option you pick! Do share with us over on the Just Add Ink blog, but before you do pop over to see what my team mates came up with to inspire you.

Thanks for floating by.

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

Joy

The good folks at the Color Throwdown challenge must really love this colour combo, as it's the third time this year they've given it to us to play with (see CTD785, CTD788) - but as I love it too, I'm certainly not complaining!

The summery vibe in the pic made me think Christmas (which is a summer event here Down Under), so I got out my inks and a stencil and got to playing.

I blended two shades of pink on the flowers and added tiny touches of gold paint to the centres. The same colours were used for the inner pieces of the Joy die and I must say I am loving pink for Christmas! It's just a softer shade of traditional red and works so well with other seasonal colours. 

Materials used:

• distress inks/oxides - tattered rose, worn lipstick, bundled sage, scattered straw
• stencil - Poinsettia background (Waffle Flower)
• card - watercolour, vellum, gold foil, pink
• other - gold Posca pen, Dimensionals, blending brushes, Holiday Talk metallic sticker (Tim Holtz), Sidekick, Joy die, craft foam

It won't be long until we're all crafting Xmas goodies in earnest - where on earth does the time go? 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Shabby Vintage for Two Challenges

Two challenges made me swoon this week:

 

I simply adore the colour combo the Color Throwdown people are offering and you know already that I love to dabble in a bit of shabby/vintage every now and then, so it's really a no-brainer that I'd want to play along. In a further stroke of kismet, I knew I had some shabby/vintage-vibe papers and embellishments in exactly the challenge colours - it was absolutely meant to be, lol. Here's my card:

Once I'd decided on which pieces to use and their layout, I sponged all edges and distressed a little. I stamped images and text on the tags then added some light background script stamping on the clock and flowers as well as randomly on the background paper. All the pieces are layered and I sewed around the border - plus, of course you knew there'd be ink splatters. As I'd used materials from a collection called Grandma's Attic, I thought 'Hugs' was a most appropriate sentiment because that's what grandma's give - this nana certainly does! 

Materials used:

• stamps - Postmarked (Honey Bee Stamps)
• papers and ephemera - Grandma's Attic collection (Mintay)
• distress oxide inks - antique linen, vintage photo, brushed corduroy
• other - Dimensionals, craft foam, sponge daubers, white bakers twine, sewing machine and thread, hugs and shadow dies, Sidekick, soft sky card (long retired SU), vellum, white ink (Kuresake), fan brush

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello Friend - Just Add Ink Challenge #714

Welcome to a new challenge with Just Add Ink and this week we've a colour combo for you to play with:

These gorgeous rich colours would be perfect for an autumn theme, but for today's offering I decided to use birds instead and pulled out my Songbirds on Branches suite. 

I stamped, stencilled and die-cut the images before arranging them on my peacock background, which I'd inked darker around the edges to draw the eye into the centre. They're attached with dimension and a little excess trimmed off the edges. Once the sentiment was on, I covered it and the birds then splattered liberally with gold paint.

Materials used:

• stamp/stencils/die - Songbirds on Branches (Pinkfresh Studio)
• card - pretty peacock, basic white (Stampin' Up)
• other - blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, MISTI, sticky mat, Big Shot, Wordies Sentiment Sheets - Friendship (Creative Expressions), tarnished brass distress paint, fan brush, VersaFine Clair nocturne ink

I hope you'll check out what my fellow team-mates created and decide to join us using these beautiful colours.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Birthday Dinosaur

When I saw the options in this week's Color Throwdown challenge I immediately had an idea.

I thought they suited a card for a little boy, so got out my dies to have a play and this is what I came up with:

I stencilled the terracotta layer to get the look of plaid fabric. The pocket I curved to give it shape and adhered it only around the U portion so you can actually add something in there. 

Materials used:

• card - night of navy, copper clay, basic beige, basic white, basic black (Stampin' Up)
• dies - Birthday Dinosaur (Spellbinders), overalls and number die from stash
• other - Plaid Builder stencil (My Favorite Things), blending brushes, Dimensionals, Big Shot

So cute! 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

With Love and Hugs - Just Add Ink Challenge #704

Welcome back to another Just Add Ink challenge and we've a beautiful colour combo for you to play with. Don't forget you can add neutrals in black, grey, brown, white and vanilla as accents if you wish.

These colours are so soft and feminine and I immediately wanted to go with a shabby/vintage look for my card.

I began with die cutting the flower and leaves, colouring all the layers with different intensities of flirty flamingo and basic beige inks. The bird was next, coloured using lemon lolly and some greys. I very lightly tinted the mini postcard die with more beige and stamped in grey archival ink. The two small postage stamps have freesia backgrounds and some beige and grape inks on the stamped images. For my background I stamped with Versamark and embossed with white, then did a watercolour wash using the two purples. After everything was assembled, the finishing touch was some white paint splatters.

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage (Waffle Flower); Vintage Flora, Blooming View and Postmarked (Honey Bee Stamps)
• card - Distress watercolour (Tim Holtz); basic white, fresh freesia and basic beige (Stampin Up)
• dies - Bloom colorize (TH), Layered Chickadee (Simon Says Stamp), Postage Collage (WF), Nesting Postage (Hero Arts), Mini Postcard and Blooming View (HB)
• inks - lemon lolly, flirty flamingo, fresh freesia, gorgeous grape, basic beige, smoky slate, basic grey (all SU), hickory smoke and black soot archival (TH), Versamark
• other - water brushes, blending brushes, Big Shot, MISTI, Dimensionals, postage collage stencil (WF), white embossing powder, heat tool, blender pen, black rhinestone, distressing tool, craft foam, picket fence distress paint, splatter brush, distressed tile 3D embossing folder (SU)

We'd love these colours to inspire you to create and share, just head over to the Just Add Ink blog to join the linky. While you're there, take a look at the beautiful samples my fellow team mates have made.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Submitted to the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge Lots of Texture (dry embossing, heat embossing, layering dies, layers) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge Anything Goes