Friday 26 February 2016

JAI 300 sketch challenge - two big milestones

This post celebrates two wonderful milestones; first we've reached our 300th Just Add Ink challenge - how awesome is that! (& there are prizes too). Today is also a lovely friend's 50th wedding anniversary so that's definitely worth celebrating with a card. Kim designed this fun sketch for the challenge so we hope you'll celebrate with us by playing along.
I loved Kim's sketch & it worked beautifully for this 50th wedding anniversary card.
I had an idea to in my head to use  the Bloomin' Love bundle with Number of Years bundle then saw this beautiful card by Mary Brown on Pinterest (as you do) so I think the final card ended up being a combination of both. I used a classic combination of white, black & gold, with a little touch of crumb cake - so elegant I think.
I created a little cluster using that beautiful heart die & 4 small coordinating flowers, gold heat embossed numbers, banner, & grounded it on a black banner.
The gold background on the card is an overlay of gold foiled vellum from the retired Winter Wonderland pack (2015 Holiday Catalogue), attached only at the top-back of the thick whisper white card base. That extra touch of gold added such elegance & shine I think.

300th JAI Challenge Fun
Pop over to the Just Add Ink blog to see all the team's projects for our 300th challenge. Even better, try the challenge yourself & you could win a prize too. All the details you need are here on the blog.

This design & sketch is definitely a keeper for future cards so you'll probably see it again soon. Hope you love it too. If you love the card, remember to pin it before you go & leave me some comment love if you'd like. You can also see & order all the supplies (except the vellum) from the store links below (& earn a free Sale-a-bration item with each $90 purchase ex shipping too).

Until next time, sending you all inky wishes
Di

Project Supplies
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one.  Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.
Note - Stamp sets & bundles noted below may be available in other mount options (eg wood, cling rubber or photopolymer). I have listed the option that I used, then alternative separate options at the bottom.. Please check the online store if your preference is different.

Friday 19 February 2016

JAI 299 inspiration challenge - a nice cuppa

It's time for a new challenge at Just Add Ink & this week the lovely Jan challenged us to use this image as our inspiration.

 I've also been challenged by a tendinitis flare up this week which has made it trickier to craft & type (gasp). Anyhoo, this is what I came up with:
Can you see the challenge in my card?  I used the image element layout, some colours & quite a bit of artistic license. I liked the ombre look of the delicious looking drinks, which made me think of my new A Nice Cuppa bundle of stamps & dies so that gave me my starting point. My colour combination s a luscious sounding mint macaron, watermelon wonder, blushing bride & cucumber crush.
I started by clear embossing the 'time for tea' stamp, then coloured the sentiment with a marker, buffed off the excess ink, then to add a little more depth I sponged around the image with white ink & buffed off again. I used watermelon wonder card behind to replicate the second jar. I used some Colour Me Irresistible dsp in mint macaron toadd another glossy element & give a nod to the fuzzy background. You can hopefully see the embossing better in this pic.
I  carried the tea theme to the inside, making a little pocket & using the adorable little teacup - this is in 2 pieces so you can make a plain cup or cut the sweet swirl.
Of course, the pocket wasn't complete without a teabag - jasmine is not my usual cuppa but it was the best match I had for the colour (as you must ;-) ). I was thinking a lovely gift card for T2 would be great in there too. I know quite a few friends who'd really enjoy that.
So, what do you think - can you see the pic in my card? I love seeing how all the team interpret our inspiration challenges too so pop on over to the Just Add Ink blog to see all our projects & play along with the challenge too.

I hope you enjoyed sharing a cuppa with me today too. Thanks for popping by. Before you go, here's a combined pic to pin for later. Leave a comment if you have any questions about my project.
Inky wishes, Di

Project Supplies
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one.  Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.
Note - Stamp sets & bundles noted below may be available in other mount options (eg wood, cling rubber or photopolymer). I have listed the option that I used, then alternative separate options at the bottom.. Please check the online store if your preference is different.


Product List

Monday 15 February 2016

JAI 298 - Just add V - for my valentines

This week's fun new challenge at Just Add Ink is to Just add V. These letter challenges are such fun as you can choose a theme, technique, colour, or anything that starts with the letter, like vellum, violets, vintage or..... Valentine! I'm a little late sharing these with you but hope you enjoy seeing them now.

This week Miss C asked darling man & I what we were doing for Valentine's Day & we explained that we don't normally do anything, however, it did make me think that I'd like to make a card to remind her of how much we love her, & of course then I wanted to make a card for my darling man too. I didn't have much time & only finished them on early Sunday morning  - luckily they both had a sleep in - but here's what I made.

for the darling man:
I actually squealed when I saw the Bear Hugs stamp & die bundle in the Occasions Catalogue at Onstage. I've had quite the bear obsession for many, many years so I HAD to get it. It wasn't available in time for Damo's birthday in November so I'm glad I got to use it first for him now.

Make it:
Stamp Mr Bear in soft suede ink on crumb cake card. To have him hold the heart, stamp & cut two bears, gently bend the paws over & secure with half a dimensional (which I saw & loved on this card). I curved the heart a little for more dimension. Use the negative of the Bloomin' Heart die cut as a frame for Mr Bear - I think this gave a nice nature-y (yes, that's a word) look to make Mr Bear feel at home.

Note: The background behind Mr Bear is embossed with the Woodland embossing folder - this beauty isn't available to order now but will return in our new annual catalogue due in June.

So, what do you think - like it? love the bear? I'm definitely in the 'love' camp :-)


and one for our big girl:
My card is based on this beautiful one I loved by Krista Driessen. So simple, pretty & the message (from Grateful Blooms) says it all. Thanks so much for the inspiration, Krista.

I chose to use pool party - still girly but not too sweet for the cool teen. It was so quick to make - a quick wash of colour for the background using ink from the lid of my pool party ink pad & an aquapainter onto thick whisper white, adhere the Bloomin' Heart cut, stamped sentiment, extra white layer then pop it onto the pool party base. I was tempted to add some other little details (Wink of Stella was very hard to resist) but in the end I let that beautiful heart speak for itself. Damien wrote the message so it was truly from both of us.

Here's one more close-up look of the details... cos it's just so pretty.

This would make a beautifully elegant wedding card too I think. What about you - like it? who would you give it to? Remember to share & pin both projects if you like them.

I hope you've had a lovely day today. Let's claim Valentine's day to tell everyone we love - family, friends, anyone who helps make you smile or grateful.

Inky wishes
Di

PS: Remember to check out the fab V projects made by the Just Add Ink team & we'd love you to try the challenge too.

Supplies 
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one.  Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.
Note - Stamp sets & bundles noted below may be available in other mount options (eg wood, cling rubber or photopolymer). I have listed the option that I used, then alternative separate options at the bottom.. Please check the online store if your preference is different.

For the darling man


For the big girl