Being My Friend

Browsing through the challenge sites I found some with a common theme (click on each icon to be taken to the challenges):

A Cut Above August challenge with optional twist of Fall Flowers

Inspiration Station August prompt

So because I love (a) sunflowers, (b) Autumn colours and (c) ink blending with stencils, I decided to play along.

I cut the die from watercolour card and stencilled with distress inks. My background has been embossed with a woodgrain pattern that's difficult to see on such a dense black, but I promise you it's there! 

Materials used:

• die & stencil combo - Sunflower Cluster (Waffle Flower)
• distress inks - fossilized amber, rusty hinge, lumberjack plaid, aged mahogany, vintage photo, walnut stain, mowed grass, rustic wilderness
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, grip mat, linen thread, sentiment strip (Paper Rose), foam squares, Lumber Large embossing folder (Tim Holtz), water spritzer

Hope you have some creativity in your day. Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Patchwork Wishes

Welcome to a new Tic Tac Toe challenge! Here's the grid to pick three-in-a-row elements:

I chose the left vertical line of friendship, any colour, any shape die for some colourful rooster fun.

Materials used:

• die & stencil combo - Country Rooster (Papertrey Ink)
• other dies - Essential Arches (Spellbinders), Best Wishes (stash)
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, paper clip, gingham ribbon, craft foam, distress tool, foam squares, sewing machine

I hope you'll join the fun and create and share. Be sure to check out more samples from my team mates over on the Tic Tac Toe blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

My Kind of Weird

It's time for a new challenge with All About Papercraft and this month we're celebrating friends.

The world would be a darker place without good friends. I love that my bestie and I chat multiple times a week in spite of living thousands of miles apart and not having seen each other in person for a while. We were initially drawn together through our shared love of crafting but over the years have found many other commonalities, including a zany and sometimes weird sense of humour, so my card was created with her very much in mind and I know she'll crack up when she sees it.

The speech bubble die I used actually cuts in the opposite direction so I flipped it over, drew around the inside edge with a white gel pen, then fussy cut and sanded to get the look I wanted. Behind the patterned paper pieces I dry embossed some black with a hearts folder - it's not terribly obvious, but gives a little texture and interest IRL. 

Materials used:

• stamps -  Little Weirdo (Unity Stamp Co)
• dies - stitched rectangle (Poppystamps), speech bubble (SU)
• SU inks - Bermuda bay, lemon lime twist, calypso coral, Sahara sand
• other -  triple heart punch, MISTI, Big Shot, water brush, craft foam, patterned papers from stash, white embossing powder, heat tool, white gel pen, acrylic dots, hearts embossing folder

We'd love you to play along with the challenge! Check out more samples to inspire from my teammates as well as our special guest designer, over on the All About Papercraft blog.

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kerry

Sew Amazing

Over at Just Us Girls it's CASE a design team member week. 

I don't think I've ever taken part in this particular challenge before but Carol's card caught my eye.

Regular visitors will know I am rather partial to a postage collage card, so today I sat down to have a play and here's the result:

To make it my own I made the following changes:

• flipped the angle
• changed the wildflower theme to sewing
• swapped the gingham background for polka dots (to mirror the stencilling)
• substituted scissors and spool for the pen
• moved my sentiment (just because) 

Thanks for the inspiration ladies! Sew much fun! 

Cheers

Kerry

Baked With Love

The Time Out challenge for this fortnight held great appeal so I couldn't resist having a play with dies, stencils and pastels. 

Here's my offering:

Other than the yellow postage frame, everything else was cut from white card and coloured with inks. As usual, there are multiple layers to my sentiment die-cut. 

Materials used:

• dies, stencils and subsentiment die-cut - Waffle Flower Baking Fun collection
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, foam squares, sheer ribbon, stitched rectangle die

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello - Tic Tac Toe Challenge #287

Welcome to my first challenge as part of the Tic Tac Toe Challenge design team! Here's our grid to choose three elements in a row - vertical, horizontal or diagonal. 

I picked the right vertical row of embossing, enamel dots/sequins and frame for a soft and sweet friendship card.

My background piece was dry embossed, sponged on the edges and lightly distressed. The flowers were die cut then stencilled and attached to the background, then I added the frame. I stencilled a second layer of flowers, trimming them to include just a few key blooms, and added these with foam over the first. There are two layers to the frame and sentiment and the last touch was a couple of groups of enamel dots.

Materials used:

• dies - Rising Wildflowers die/stencil combo (Pinkfresh Studio), Nesting Postage Stamps (Hero Arts), hello and rectangle from stash
• inks - serenade and wintergreen (Catherine Pooler), indigo skies (Altenew), bundled sage (distress), soft sea foam (Stampin' Up)
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Scripty embossing folder (SU), matte decorative dots (SU), foam squares, distressing tool

I hope something in the grid will inspire you to create and join us. Do pop over to the Tic Tac Toe blog for more ideas from my fellow DT members, and thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

I Knew You Could Do It

This week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches sparked an idea this morning, then that idea sparked another and before I knew it, I was making a card for two challenges lol. Cutting close to the wire for FMS, but I made it!

  

Here's my deceptively simple card - 

The background is distress spray stains on watercolour card and it took me four attempts until I was happy with it, lol - that's what I meant by deceptively simple! Once I had that right, the rest was easy. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Sentiment Strips 2 (Altenew)
• dies - Pooh & Friends Silhouette (Spellbinders)
• distress spray stains - dried marigold, ripe persimmon, barn door
• distress mica spray - flickering candle
• other - Big Shot, water spritzer, heat tool, craft foam, white embossing powder, MISTI

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Leaves For You

Today's card is me stepping waaaaaaay outside my comfort zone! Lol. It began as I was browsing the new challenge themes out there and saw a graphic which I initially dismissed as 'not my thing' but which continued to niggle at the back of my mind. A second look had me thinking of a particular die set, then two more challenges dovetailed in to solidify the design taking form in my head. Eventually I asked myself, 'What have you got to lose? It's only card, after all.' So here it is, a step outside the box for sure but I'm happy with it.

Subtle piercing in the background enhances the quatrefoil shaping.

Entering into the following challenges:

   

For Inspired by... I was inspired by the graphic vibe, leaf shapes and colours, and from the Tic Tac Toe grid I chose the middle horizontal row of any shape die, free and fall colours.

Materials used:

• stamp/die combo - Overlapping Hugs Additions (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Foliage Shaker (Pinkfresh Studios), Quatrefoil Panel, Quatrefoil Texture (both Waffle Flower)
• other - Big Shot, Dimensionals, MISTI, white embossing powder, heat tool

I hope you have some crafting in your day. 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

Let's Get Together - Just Add Ink Challenge #749

It's time for a choose two challenge with Just Add Ink and I just love our options this week!

I ended up with all three on my card.

I began with a piece of watercolour card which I sprayed with oxides, then stamped the coffee beans and stencilled splodges and coffee cup rings before adding some ink splatter. Next was more stencilling on opposite corners, this time with volume paste, and once that was dry I added my focal feature. The mini coffee 'posters' were distressed and inked around the edges. A few white splatters and sentiment were the finishing touches. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Coffee Cafe (Stampin' Up)
• stencil, cup, cake, posters - Coffee & Chocolate collection (Stamperia)
• distress products - oxide sprays in antique linen and saltwater taffy, distress ink gathered twigs, mini stencil splatters, picket fence paint
• other - blending brush, Dimensionals, craft foam, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, volume paste (Stamperia), heat tool, distressing tool, sponge dauber, paint brush
• layout inspired by a Vicky Papaioannou art journal page

I do hope you'll be inspired to create and join us in our gallery. Thanks for dropping by. 

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

Tropical Friend - Just Add Ink Challenge #742

From the first time I saw this week's Just Add Ink inspiration pic - and every time since - I was/am instantly transported back to the outdoor seating area of my parents' home in Brisbane where they retired to from New Zealand. They've both been gone a lot of years but it was lovely to have those happy memories resurface, so even though it's not my rostered week, I couldn't resist playing along.

I just love layered bird dies - and colouring them - and this one is a particular favourite. The background foliage was cut from watercolour card I had sprayed with a mix of spray stains and oxide sprays. Everything else was cut from white card and ink blended. I heat embossed the sentiment on vellum. 

Materials used:

• stamp & die - Overlapping Hugs Additions (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Feathered Friends 9 (Papertrey Ink), all others from stash
• distress oxide sprays/spray stains - twisted citron, mowed lawn, salvaged patina
• distress inks - mustard seed, ripe persimmon, picked raspberry, seedless preserves, vintage photo
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, heat tool, Dimensionals, craft foam, black rhinestone, sponge dauber, white embossing powder

If you're inspired to create as well, we'd love you to share on the Just Add Ink blog. Check it out for more samples from the team too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Nobody Can Be Uncheered With a Balloon

Especially a shiny red balloon!

In what I'm calling my Pooh series, I'm back with another card using Spellbinders Pooh Bear dies, this time featuring everyone's favourite depressive donkey. The quote from Pooh himself is very fitting for Eeyore and I'm thinking some (uninflated) balloons inside the card is a great way to send a simple pick-me-up.

I made some modifications to the die-cuts - I cut two heads, trimming the second to make a muzzle and inner ears. Apparently this colouring is more used for merchandise rather than the classic look from the books, but I think it gives him a bit more cheer. 

Materials used:

• dies - Tigger & Eeyore, Pooh & Piglet etched dies (Spellbinders)
• distress inks - kitsch flamingo, lost shadow, hickory smoke, candied apple, brushed corduroy, tumbled glass
• other - Dimensionals, craft foam, Sidekick, blending brushes, computer & printer, alpine aster ink (Altenew), clear embossing powder, heat tool

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Favourite Day

Drawn by the irresistable nature of a Pooh Bear, I've made another card for the Festive Friday challenge.

This time my picks from the inspo list are yellow, red, bear, colouring techniques and friend sentiment. 

Once again I die cut from heavy watercolour card and coloured on the more textured side to give a real 'fuzzy/furry' kind of look. Unfortunately I kept smudging black all over Pooh's face, so had to compromise and cut the black parts from black cardstock. (Yes, there were a few non-Pooh-approved words bandied around when things smudged for the second time! Piglet was definitely blushing.) This time I created Pooh's red shirt by cutting two lots of body and arms, then trimming them down. My sentiment is a Pooh quote, again typed on the computer in Pooh font. 

Materials used:

• dies - Pooh & Piglet (Spellbinders)
• distress inks - fossilized amber, candied apple, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, seedless preserves, brushed corduroy, tumbled glass
• other - Dimensionals, craft foam, blending brushes, Bubble Bath ink (Stampin' Up), Big Shot, computer and printer

I think I may possibly have one more Pooh card in me ... hmm, ok, maybe two. Stay tuned. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Just Add Ink #699 - Colour Combo

You all know I love to play with colour, so even though it's not my week to create for Just Add Ink's new challenge, I couldn't resist.

Coastal cabana always makes me think 'water', especially paired with another blue. Toss in some berry and my mind immediately says 'tropical' - what can I say, it's just how I'm wired, lol. So I now had the perfect opportunity to play with some new dies to make a card for someone going on holiday.

I began with ink blending, masking off an area to do the water with coastal cabana 'undercoat', then starry sky. That was then covered while I did the sky with a light blending of berry burst and starry sky, using a small circle mask for the moon. There are two layers to the trees as well as the porthole window and I embossed the blue background for added interest. My die-cut sentiment is also two layers and features more ink blending to give an ombre effect.

Materials used:

• dies - Coastal Escape View (Spellbinders), Playful Alphabet (Stampin' Up)
• card - basic white, basic black, starry sky, gold foil
• inks - coastal cabana, starry sky, berry burst
• other - 3/4" circle punch, masking paper, blending brushes, Simple Stripes embossing folder (SU), Big Shot, gold brads, Dimensionals, craft foam, white gel pen

Relaxing in the tropics looking at a beautiful sunset sounds awfully good to me! Where do I sign up? 😁 What do these colours make you think of? We'd love you to share your creations with us over on the Just Add Ink blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Best Friends

I was chatting with my bestie earlier today, telling her I had tidying to do in my craft room. Her response was to tell me to remind myself, 'it's tidy time, not play time'. A couple of hours later ... a die I was "tidying" caught my eye and gave me an idea for a card for the Color Throwdown challenge this week. 

I might have sat down to play...

You can see why I was distracted, can't you? Red challenge, red cardinals - well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! She will still give me grief for it though, lol. 

I cut two layers for the branch and darkened it a little with ink so it would stand out from the background. I also cut two of each bird so I could cut the wing separate and give it dimension. The birds were edged with ink and I used markers to colour the faces and beaks with a dot of white gel pen for the eyes. 

Materials used:

• card - distress kraft heavystock (Ranger), real red, basic white (Stampin' Up)
• dies - Cardinals and Birdhouse (Cottage Cutz)
• other - picket fence distress ink, Dimensionals, craft foam, white gel pen, alcohol markers, blending tool, Wordies sentiment sheets - Friendship (Creative Expressions)

Thanks for dropping by!

Cheers

Kerry

Just Add Ink #689 - Colour Combo

Are you ready for another card challenge? It's not my week at Just Add Ink but it's a gorgeous colour combo and you know how difficult I find those to resist, lol. Here's the swatch:

I've added touches of gold to the palette for my card.

As usual, I've done multiple layers of the sentiment die for depth. I love how the white pops against that gorgeous swirling background of rich colour.

Materials used:

• card - basic white, gold metallic, glossy photo paper
• dies - layered hummingbird (Simon Says Stamp), hello (stash)
• other - Big Shot, computer and printer, Dimensionals, gold pearl, craft foam, metallic sticker (Tim Holtz), alcohol ink background (Etsy)

There's lots more to inspire on the Just Add Ink blog, so head on over and take a look. We'd love to see your own creation in our gallery this week.

Thanks for dropping 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

JAI #675 - Just Add the Spotlight Technique

It's technique time at Just Add Ink this week.

In case you're not familiar, this is a colouring technique used to bring attention to a focal point on your card. There are a few ways of doing it, the most common being highlighting a portion of a stamped image, especially by die-cutting a shape to isolate the area. I looked around for other methods and found two I really liked - Gina K used stencils (see here) and Jennifer McGuire used windows (see here). They inspired me to try something a little different.

I stamped and stencilled in grey, adding a pop of colour only to the birds. Once die-cut I moved the separate pieces around to give me a nice grouping for a slimline card, added a plaid die to the background for interest and texture, and embossed my sentiment. After everything was mounted the final touch was a few dew drops here and there. 

By keeping everything other than the birds in tones of grey and white, it really makes them pop visually, drawing your eye directly to them. 

Materials used:

• stamp/stencils/die combo - Songbirds on Branches (Pinkfresh Studio)
• other stamps - Itty Bitty Greetings (Stampin' Up)
• card - basic white, smoky slate 
• inks - lost shadow distress ink, hickory smoke archival ink, salvaged patina and twisted citron oxide inks
• other dies - plaid slimline die (Pink and Main)
• other - Big Shot, MISTI, blending brushes, craft foam, Dimensionals, white embossing powder, heat tool, adhesive dew drops (Craft Consortium)

There are more samples to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog. I do hope you'll join us and add your creation to our gallery.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

I'd Pick You

This week's palette over at the Color Throwdown caught my eye, but it's taken me a few days to sit down and put ink to card.

I seem to have pumpkins on my mind - perhaps because of all the fall/Halloween creations popping up everywhere I look, lol. 

I cut the pumpkins and wheat from watercolour card and coloured them using a variety of dye inks, then sponged some light aqua on my background and gave it a little water splatter. The fruits were arranged on some navy gingham and the sentiment also stamped in navy. I also die cut some leaves/vines and coloured them with a dark aqua. In fact, it's so dark it's almost green, so I'm not sure if it will be allowed for the challenge but I'll enter anyway. A very simple card but I love it and this colour combo is one I'll try to remember for another time.

Materials used:

•  stamps - Pretty Pumpkins (Stampin' Up)
• card - basic white (SU), navy gingham (Etsy), watercolour
• inks - night of navy, pumpkin pie, wild wheat (SU), fossilized amber, ripe persimmon, crackling campfire (Tim Holtz Distress), mountain mist, volcano lake, lagoon (Altenew)
• dies - garden builder, seasonal decor (Spellbinders Country Road collection), stitched rectangle (Paper Rose), pumpkin leaves (stash)
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, MISTI, water spritzer, brown Copic markers, sponge daubers, white gel pen

Hope you're having a crafty day. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry