JAI 260 sketch challenge - with a touch of gold

If you love a good sketch as much as I do then you'll love this week's new challenge at Just Add Ink. The sketch Narelle has created is full of possibilities. Even better, most of the team are off to Stampin' Up! convention next week so this challenge runs for two weeks. That means more time for you to try it. Lookie!

Here's what I made with it - a very clean & simple creation with a touch of gold for a lovely friend's birthday. I really hope she likes it....& doesn't check my blog before I see her today - shhhh!

I used the butterfly as my circle element from the sketch, but also added a circle behind it to ground it to the card. I love that the Birthday Bash DSP has little gold foil elements in it which add a little more subtle bling. You can perhaps see the gold shimmer a little better in this pic.

My only uncertainty with the card was that I didn't want a sentiment to detract from that beautiful gold butterfly so I didn't add one. It felt weird to leave it off, but hopefully the fun gold embossed sentiment from Balloon Bash I added inside made up for any absence on the front. I don't know why this looks pink in the pic - maybe the early morning pic or bad photo editing did it ;-)

So what do you think? Did I do justice to the sketch challenge? Leave me a comment to let me know where/whether you'd add a sentiment. Do also check out all the lovely creations by all the design team & remember we'd love you to try this sketch challenge yourself.
Thanks for visiting today. Hope to see you back here soon.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies

Print Recipe

Big Shot	Butterfly Basics Photopolymer Bundle	Balloon Bash Photopolymer Stamp Set	Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper	Gold Foil Sheets
Card Stock A4 Crisp Cantaloupe	Card Stock A4 Bermuda Bay	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock	Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack
2-1/2" Circle Punch	Hexagon Punch	Heat Tool	Versamark Pad	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

Annual catalogue retirement list is here

Today's the day we share which products from our 2014-15 Annual Catalogue will not be carrying over to our new Annual Catalogue. It's always a sad day seeing favourite items on the list but the good news is that most items on the list are discounted - some 50% off. 

Important: All retiring items are only available while stocks last (until 2 June at the latest) so download the lists below and/or look at them in my store ASAP so you don't miss out.

Annual Catalogue Retirement Lists
Download Alphabetical List by Category
Download Annual Catalogue Page Order List
Google download tip - Choose 'download', not 'share' to see & save the documents

See & shop all retiring items in my online store

I've just seen the retirement lists this morning too so I'll be back later to update you on my full picks of the list. In the meantime, please don't miss getting retiring in-colour goodies (ink refills & card) as they'll sell out quickly. There are LOTS of punches, dies & Project Life cards retiring too ( more sobs) so I'd definitely look at them too.

How to Order
The quickest & easiest way to make sure you don't miss out on goodies is to order online from my store. I'll be taking order by phone & e-mail too so let me know if I can help you with any info or orders.

My Digital Studio
My Digital Studio (MDS), our digital design software & digital downloads is also being discontinued from 2 June (sob) so if you're an MDS user, this will be your last chance to purchase our awesome digital downloads. MDS & all digital downloads are 30% off until then.
Please order all digital downloads here via my online store for easiest access to them.

Download MDS download list as an excel spreadsheet

New Annual Catalogue coming in June
Our new 2015-16 Annual Catalogue begins on 2 June 2015 - almost 1 month early this year for us in the South Pacific - so that it will start on the same date in all Stampin' Up! markets - awesome news!

Even more exciting, I'll get to see it next week at our South Pacific Convention. I'll share more info & start taking requests for a copies as we get closer to launch date. Just wanted to make sure you had the date.

If you have any questions about anything retirement or SU, then please leave me a comment or e-mail me. Back soon!

Inky wishes, Di

Watercolouring with Love & Kindness

Today, I'm sharing the first of my mid March class projects with you. This class was one of those times when things don't go quite to plan but work out really well in the end. Why? I'd originally planned a Blendabilities marker class, but the surprise & sad discontinuation of the Blendabilities range meant I needed to re-think the projects.

Watercolouring was the perfect alternative to colour the sweet tulip bouquet stamp image (Love is Kindness) & we used using an aquapainter & our ink pads (using ink in the lid as a palette) on whisper white card.  Normally I prefer to use watercolour paper, but I needed a pure white card to match the DSP.
I made two versions of the card using almost the same supplies & the gals chose which one they wanted to make - in pink pirouette/strawberry slush & pool party or daffodil delight/pumpkin pie.

See the striped background? We created it by sponging the BRILLIANT Irresistibly Yours DSP with sponge daubers & ink. As the paper is white with glossy resist patterns it's easy to make it any colour you like.  While the Irresistibly Yours paper is no longer available, you can recreate the look using white card, our striped mask, sponge daubers & ink. Still easy & so effective.
I can't finish without saying that yes, I've used the Crazy About You die & stamp bundle again for the sentiments. Just. Can't. Stop. Using. Them :-)

More Love is Kindness
Once I started watercolouring I didn't want to stop, so I made another couple of cards with Love is Kindness  & Crazy About You. They're an unusual colour combination for me - hello honey, crumb cake & baked brown sugar - but I really liked how they turned out.

I used watercolour paper for this one, which makes it lots easier to blend. It also worked well with the Typeset DSP too.

I liked the clean layout of this one & discovered that the bouquet was easier to cut out than I imagined. :-)

Well that's it for me now. Thanks very much for Stopping by & hope you've enjoyed seeing my cards. I'll be back next time with the second project from the class. If you have any questions about anything, just leave me a comment.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies

Print Recipe

Love Is Kindness Wood Stamp	Crazy About You Photopolymer Bundle	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad	Aqua Painters	Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad
Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Sponge Daubers	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Strawberry Slush	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments	Hexagon Punch
Pumpkin Pie A4 Card Stock	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Gold Baker's Twine	Window Word Punch
Hello Honey A4 Cardstock	Typeset Specialty Designer Series Paper	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad	Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad	Watercolor Paper
Card Stock A4 Baked Brown Sugar	Punch Corner Project Life	Circles Collection Framelits Die