Life is Beautiful - Just Add Ink Challenge #769

It's Choose Two time again at Just Add Ink with some very versatile options.

So many possibilities! I ended up choosing numbers and words for a postage collage card. 

I started off by using the blocks die to cut my segments, placing them back inside the frame on a sticky mat to do the ink blending. The stamping was done in three parts using my MISTI - the stamps are reasonably small so you can sit quite a few of them on and ink them all at once. The postage themed stamps were last, and they are tricky little devils! They're so small and fiddly and they keep sticking to my fingers when I try to position them, lol. So forgive me if there's a wee bit of crookedness going on! Then I added highlights with a white gel pen. Foam tape was used behind the blended panels to give dimension and the sentiment was embossed with white and raised also.

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage, Lake Sunset (Waffle Flower), Rest & Relaxation (Honey Bee)
• dies - Postage Collage, Postage Collage Blocks
• distress inks - spun sugar, worn lipstick, salvaged patina
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Bermuda bay ink (SU), MISTI, foam tape, white gel pen, masking corners stencil (Waffle Flower), white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals

We look forward to seeing how the options inspire you!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Congrats - Just Add Ink Challenge #744

This week at Just Add Ink it's a Choose Two challenge and the options are

It occurred to me I could combine two options - rainbows and flowers - in one fell swoop by using some very old but new-to-me things a friend sent, and that's how this card was born.

As I wanted the rainbow floral panel to be the focal feature, I kept everything else very plain and picked a versatile greeting that can be used for many occasions.

Materials used:

• other - congrats die (stash), floral 3D embossing folder (Stampin' Up), Big Shot, Scratch-Art card, nail buffer, craft foam

Check out more samples to inspire you over on the challenge blog and if you feel like creating, we'd love to see it. Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Sending Love - Just Add Ink Challenge #739

This week at Just Add Ink it's our choose two challenge and our options are:

For my simple card I picked colouring and a variation on thinking of you.

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Overlapping Hugs Additions (Waffle Flower)
• stencils - Postage Collage Roses (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Postage Collage (Waffle Flower), large love (stash)
• other - dye inks, blending brushes, Big Shot, mini pearls, Dimensionals

There's more samples to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog and if you do create, please share it with us in our gallery.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Always Believe - Just Add Ink Challenge #733

Howdy! It's not my week to create for Just Add Ink challenges, but with this choose two combo, how could I possibly resist? Plus, it was yours truly who suggested it in the first place, lol!

I had plenty of ideas for this but in the end went with a stamp set I've had for three years and never used. GASP! I know, I know! Mind boggling! I'm so glad I did though 'cos it was lots of fun inking and colouring. Here tis:

I masked off my moon and did the background first, using oxide inks on watercolour paper then adding water splatters and the moon detail. Once that was all dry I stamped Santa and his sleigh, colouring it with distress watercolour pencils - these are pigment, so they show up over ink. Because the pigment tends to obscure lines, I stamped again over the top once all the colours were dry. I embossed the 'magic swirl' in gold and added gold to the edges as well, co-ordinating with a gold on black sentiment sticker.

Materials used:

• stamps - Stamptember 2021 (Tim Holtz)
• distress oxide inks - wilted violet, villainous potion, black soot
• other Tim Holtz products - moon mask, distress watercolour pencils, Holiday Talk metallic sticker
• other - aqua painter, blending brushes, gold embossing powder, heat tool, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, kraft heavystock card, watercolour card, Versamark ink

We'd love you to join in our challenge and create, so grab your Santa supplies. This challenge runs for two weeks and there won't be voting as normal, it's completely for fun! 

As always, there's more samples to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog. 

This will probably be my last post before Christmas, so I just want to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. Thank you for your support during the year, it means a lot.

Cheers!

Kerry

Thinking of You - Just Add Ink challenge #718

It's Friday, which means a brand new Just Add Ink challenge, and this week we've our choose two combo:

As happens often with a choose two, I ended up using all three, lol. I love the many ways you can add texture (both physical and visual) and this is most definitely a favourite with me. 

Working on watercolour card (texture) I blended a mix of green inks. After die cutting the 'shrooms (more texture from the embossed bits) and foliage, they were coloured and everything splattered with both brown paint and white ink (more lovely texture). I love layering dies that have an embossed aspect to them, making them more realistic - what's not to love? Once they were all placed I wrapped linen thread around and lastly added a sentiment strip. 

 

Materials used:

• distress oxide inks - bundled sage, forest moss, antique linen, gathered twigs
• distress inks - barn door, lumberjack plaid, aged mahogany, scorched timber, rustic wilderness
• distress paint - scorched timber
• other - watercolour card, mushroom dies, Big Shot, blending brushes, water spritzer, linen thread, All Occasions sentiment strips (Paper Rose), Dimensionals, craft foam, Kuratake white ink, fan brush, Country Road Garden Builder die (Spellbinders)

There are more samples to see over on the Just Add Ink blog. I do hope you'll be inspired to play along.

Entering in challenge #255 at Tic Tac Toe, choosing the left vertical row of leaves, ink blending and multiples. 

And also Time Out Challenges #271 where the theme is friendship/encouragement/support. 

Thanks for dropping by.

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

Celebrate - Just Add Ink Challenge #703

This week's challenge with Just Add Ink is so versatile you'll want to jump right into your crafting supplies!

Pretty hard to resist, right? I chose balloons and bright colours for a celebration card suitable for a number of occasions - birthday, anniversary, job promotion, etc.

I began with stencilling the balloons using distress inks, two shades of each colour. Once that was done I die cut the stitched border then added the confetti and streamers using gold pigment ink - pigment ink sits over the top of dye ink easily. The gold has a lovely subtle sheen and certainly adds to the celebratory atmosphere! 

Materials used:

• card - basic white, brushed metallic gold, vellum, gorgeous grape
• distress inks - squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, salvaged patina, peacock feathers, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry, wilted violet, villainous potion
• other - balloon/confetti/streamers stencil (stash), blending brushes, golden glitz pigment ink (Delicata), slimline stiched rectangle die, Big Shot, celebrate die

Which two options would you choose? If you create, be sure to share it with us over on the Just Add Ink blog, we'd love to have you!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Entered in Just Us Girls stencil week challenge.

Just Add Ink #698 - Choose Two

It's a choose two challenge this week at Just Add Ink and the options we're giving you are

I chose flowers and leaves for a clean and simple watercoloured card. 

I embossed my stamped image, which gives a nice border when I'm watercolouring, and used my Zig real brush markers. I absolutely love these markers but you do have to be choosy with paper as they don't blend well on all brands. Here I used Ranger's distress watercolour card, stamping on the smooth side. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Caring Thoughts/Dear Friend (Simon Says Stamp)
• card - distress watercolour (Ranger), gorgeous grape (Stampin' Up)
• other - Dimensionals, MISTI, Wordies Sentiment Sheets - Everyday (Creative Expressions), craft foam, water brush, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, black ink

We'd love you to get out your own flower, leaf and pot supplies, create and share on the Just Add Ink blog. Head on over to see the lovely samples my team-mates have made to inspire you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Just Add Ink #693 - Just Choose Two

Welcome to another Just Add Ink challenge. This week it's a choose two option, with your choices between

Here in the southern hemisphere March heralds the beginning of my favourite season of the year, autumn. Recently I noticed that one of my nearby neighbours had a crop of beautiful yellow sunflowers in their front yard and the cheerful, happy 'faces' not only made me smile but also inspired my card featuring autumn colours and sunflowers, with my 'choose two' options being squares and circles. 

For my background I did some ink blending with oxides and after dry embossing, inked over the raised areas with another oxide. To preserve the vividacity of the colours I smooshed some distress micro glaze over everything. My window frame got some distressing treatment and ink, then I added the sunflowers (which were already made up in my stash) and attached them all to my background. I made some little bunches of sisal threads and added those, splattered with vanilla and gold paints and lastly added a sentiment. 

Materials used:

• card - blackberry bliss, very vanilla, basic white (Stampin' Up)
• distress oxide inks - fossilized amber, ripe persimmon, candied apple, seedless preserves
• other Tim Holtz products - baseboard window frame, ground espresso archival ink, metallic sticker, blending tool, micro glaze
• other - floating foliage 3D embossing folder (Altenew), sunflower dies (Simon Says Stamp), Big Shot, fan brush, Dimensionals, craft foam, sisal thread, distressing tool, sanding block, sponge dauber, blending brushes, stitched rectangle die

There are more cards to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog. I do hope you'll join us and thanks for stopping by.

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

JAI #683 - Just Choose Two, Take Two

I've made a second project for the Just Add Ink choose two theme this week, picking trees and ornaments. It's a card design I've been wanting to make for some time after seeing gorgeous samples on Pinterest, and as the elements fitted right in with our 'just choose two' options, what better time?

Anyone dreaming of a white Christmas?

I cut the ornament die from masking paper and attached the outside portion to my kraft card, sponging inside with white ink and adding white artist's pastel around the edges for extra intensity. Using a white gel pen I went around the outline of the ornament then used my MISTI to stamp the image in permanent ink just where I wanted it. The gel pen was used again for the snow highlights on the cabin, trees, smoke and ground before the mask was removed. Next I set the inside part of the mask (the ornament) over my image and gave a light sponge of brown ink around it for shadowing. Once that was removed, the whole front panel got a splattering of white paint.

Materials used:

• stamps - Winterscape (Tim Holtz)
• card - distress kraft heavystock (Tim Holtz)
• inks - picket fence distress ink, vintage photo oxide ink (Tim Holtz), Nocturne (Versafine Clair), titanium white (Pan Pastel)
• other - ornament die (stash), Big Shot, blending tools, MISTI, white gel pen, craft foam, picket fence distress paint (Tim Holtz), paintbrush, gold cord, mini glue dot, sponge dauber, masking sheets (Lavinia)

Which two of our options will you pick? We'd love to see your projects in our gallery!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #683 - Just Choose Two

Less than two weeks till the big day and our new Just Add Ink challenge is right up your Christmas alley! Here's our Choose Two options:

I picked ornaments and presents, choosing to make an ornament as a gift to commemorate my grandson's first Christmas:

I bought ornaments from Spotlight that come in two halves. The image was printed on vellum (so it can be seen from all sides) and coloured with markers, then fussy cut and adhered inside one half with grit paste. I added glitter, mica flakes, baubles and 'candy' confections, keeping the embellishments pretty simple because I want the stamped image to be the star of the show. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Beary Merry Christmas (Mo Manning)
• card - vellum
• other - clear rock candy glitter, mica flakes, baubles, confections (all Tim Holtz), Stampin' Write markers, twines, fillable bauble (Jolly & Joy)

There're plenty more samples to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog so do pop over to look, and thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #673 - Just Choose Two

In the mood for crafting? At Just Add Ink this week we've our Choose Two option to inspire you.

I chose doors and windows for another decor piece. This project was very time intensive to make but extremely satisfying once completed.

The whole house was made from heavyweight black cardstock. Once I'd die-cut all the pieces, I spread grit paste randomly over the walls, allowed it to dry then dry-brushed with various distress paints. The marks on the window panes were made with a white gel pen to mimic cracks and cobwebs and there's semi-transparent plastic on the insides for glass. 

The grass is crypt paste coloured with reinker and all the leaves were adhered to the house using glossy accents and spread over the lawn while the paste was still wet. The thin threads are the string from a hot glue gun (how perfect are they?) and I grunged up the tiny jack o'lantern with some distress crayon. The same heavyweight card was used for the fence and for the sides of the box I created a kind of gothic wallpaper vibe by stamping a damask pattern and embossing in black. 

But the most fun part? It lights up!

As Tim Holtz would say, "tiny lights for the win!" lol.

This is not a large piece - the box measures just 12cm x 12cm and the mansion is about the same height. Fine-tip glue and squeezers (reverse tweezers) were definitely my friends, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Damask (Tim Holtz)
• card - black mixed media heavyweight
• dies - Village Collection, Graveyard colorize (both Tim Holtz)
• distress paints - black soot, pumice stone, hickory smoke
• other - Big Shot, hot glue gun, distress grit paste opaque, distress grit paste crypt, rustic wilderness oxide reinker, spatula, white gel pen, artificial leaves and jack o'lantern (Temu), square vignette box (Tim Holtz), glossy accents, tiny lights clear (Tim Holtz), black embossing powder, heat tool, Sidekick, collage medium opaque

Check out what my team mates made using their two choices over on the Just Add Ink blog and, as always, we'd love you to join us by adding your creation to our gallery. 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #668 - Just Choose Two

I really wanted to play along with this week's Just Add Ink challenge because the choose two options are right up my alley:

My choose two options are - duh - timber and tearing (hopefully the little tears in my distressed edges count) and if sisal can count as twine then I've got that covered too!

My starting point was the leaf die. I rummaged through some prepared pieces I had on hand, finding this gorgeous rusty hinge and cracked pistachio combo, and cut out the die. I knew I wanted some texture, so embossed some watercolour card with the timber part of the challenge and used the debossed side for a change. I fiddled and played around with it a bit before ending up with this combination of elements - ie some more of the rust/pistachio for a layer behind the timber, then more embossing for my background piece. The finishing touches were sisal, dots and a sentiment strip. 

Materials used:

• card - cajun craze (SU), watercolour
• embossing folders - Pinewood Planks, Timeworn Type (SU)
• distress inks/oxides - rusty hinge, cracked pistachio
• other - sisal fibres, distressing tool, Big Shot, sponge dauber, copper clay dots, Buckeye Leaf die (The Greetery), Dimensionals, craft foam, Wordies Sentiment Sheets - Friendship (Creative Expressions)

Check out which options my team mates chose over on the Just Add Ink blog.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #643 - Just Choose Two

This week at Just Add Ink we have our choose two option:

In a perfect example of serendipity, DD needed a wedding card last weekend, so I used embossing and white as my two options to create this for her.

I used a heavyweight white card with my 3D embossing folder - the photo doesn't do justice to the fabulous depth of this. After running around the edges with my Versamark ink pad, I dipped them into gold embossing powder and melted it to leave a barely-there-but-vital border and gave the inside insert the same treatment. On a separate piece of card I also gold embossed the sentiment and die-cut these, adding them with mounting strips, and my card was complete. (I did toy with the idea of adding some gold pearls but decided the card was busy enough already and I wanted the stunning embossed image to be the star of the show.)

Materials used:

• stamps - Happily Ever After (Trinity Stamps)
• card - Distress white heavyweight (Ranger)
• embossing folder - Book Cover Engravings 3D (Altenew)
• other - gold embossing powder, heat tool, Happily Ever After dies, Big Shot, craft foam, mounting strips, water spritzer

Do check out what my team mates have created to inspire you over on the JAI blog and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #632 - Just Choose Two

This week's Just Add Ink 'choose two' is perfect if you're making Christmas cards:

I picked deer and sparkle, although there are some trees in my background too. 

This snowy scene designer paper from some years back was perfect for embellishing. I stencilled snowfall grit paste then added some freehand around the ground too. Clear rock candy glitter was spritzed all over and I added some mica flakes for that extra touch of sparkle. For good measure, I also splattered white ink everywhere - it's not quite a snowstorm, but it's definitely snowing, lol. The deer was cut from white card and ink blended, with three layers for more dimension.

It's very difficult to photograph 'sparkle' but I've tried here and if you look closely you can see the glitter in the snowflakes (you might need to click on it to enlarge it).

Materials used:

• card - night of navy, basic white, soft suede, Christmas Backdrops (Tim Holtz), Feels Like Frost DSP (SU retired), watercolour
• Tim Holtz products - Darling Deer die, snowfall grit paste, mica flakes, clear rock candy glitter, speckles stencil, spatula, glitter duster, Sidekick, Christmas token, picket fence and vintage photo distress crayons
• distress oxide inks - antique linen, vintage photo, ground espresso
• other - sewing machine and thread, black marker, craft foam, night of navy bakers twine, Dimensionals

Do check out what my team mates have made to inspire you over on the JAI blog and it goes without saying we'd love to see your own creations in our gallery.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #622 - Just Choose Two

It's time for another Just Add Ink challenge and this week it's a 'pick two' variety.

I chose 'friends' and 'foliage' for my mixed media piece.

I can definitely picture these three birds having a good old natter as they perch there, can't you? Just catching up or maybe sharing where the best food supplies or nesting materials are. 😀

Materials used:

• stamps - Entomology (Tim Holtz)
• card - crumb cake and basic black (SU), Curators Meadow Solids pack and 6x8" Collection pack (49 and Market)
• other Curators Meadow Collection items - 12x12" Rub-On Transfer Sheet, Laser Cut Elements
• other Tim Holtz products - picket fence and frayed burlap distress paints, vintage photo distress archival ink, ground espresso distress oxide ink, rusty hinge distress spray stain, distress crackle texture paste, mini bubble stencil, palette knife, water spritzer
• other - sponge daubers, distressing tool, craft foam, Dimensionals, Wordies Sentiment Sheets - Friendship (Creative Expressions)

Head on over to the JAI blog to see which two items my team mates picked for their amazing creations, and of course we'd love you to 'choose two' and join us.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry