JAI 309 inspiration challenge - Circle of Spring

It's time for an inspiration challenge at Just Add Ink, and this is the image Jodene challenged us with.

I loved everything about that beautiful blanket, so this is what I made with the very sweet Circle of Spring stamp set, which I'm delighted to say is carrying over into our new annual catalogue.

I hope you can see the inspiration colours in the watercoloured wreath & both the colours & chevron pattern in the banners. I gave a more grungy nod to the wooden chair with my Hardwood stamped & sponged background (in smoky slate & white).

The wreath is stamped in basic black on thick whisper white then coloured with my aquapainters & pool party, calypso coral, blushing bride, pear pizzazz & smoky slate ink (taken from the ink pad lids as usual). Normally I'd have used basic gray for a floral image outline as it's a bit softer but I like how the black turned out here anyway. I actually stamped & cut two wreath images for more depth. You can see the layers better here.

I'm running so late with this post, so I'll come back & add my full supply list later. Supply list now added!
Thanks very much for visiting. Just add a comment if you have any questions or just want to say hi & I'll reply back to you. Remember to pin my card for later inspiration if you like it too.

Once you've pinned away, go see all the design team's projects here on the Just Add Ink blog, to see all the fab ways they've been inspired to use the image  & please join in the challenge with your own creation too.

Until next time, inky wishes
Di

Supplies

Print Recipe

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 plus other options at the bottom of the list. Please check my online store for all options.

Circle Of Spring Photopolymer Stamp Set $28.00	Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set $26.00	Wonderful Wreath Framelits Dies $41.00	Banner Triple Punch $38.00	Aqua Painters $20.00
Pool Party A4 Card Stock $12.25	Basic Gray A4 Card Stock $12.25	Calypso Coral A4 Card Stock $12.25	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride $12.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock $15.00
Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock $12.25	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad $12.25	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50	Watermelon Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50
Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush $14.00	Stamping Sponges $6.00	Big Shot $169.00
Big Shot Magnetic Platform $70.00

Retirements lists out now - Annual & Occasions Catalogues

Wow, that year went fast. Our new annual catalogue arrives on June 1st so it's time to start making room for all the new goodies by saying goodbye to lots of others. Our current 2015-16 Annual Catalogue and Occasions end officially on May 31st, but from today, any items not carrying over are only available while stocks last, which for a lot of goodies won't be long.

Important Discount Bundle Note: Bundled Items in the Annual & Occasions Catalogues that carry over will not be discounted in the new catalogue as a discounted bundle so the bundled item appears on the retirement list even though some or both items will still be available

Annual Catalogue Retirement Lists

The list is huge so download & print it, grab your catalogue, a cuppa & a comfy chair & great bargains or go straight to my store to shop. Some items are discounted by up to 50%

See & download list (alpha order)
See & download list (page order)

Shop the retirement list in my store

Use my hostess code FMRAEFHT when you place your online order & I'll send you a special retirement thank you for ordering from me
Important - dont' use the code if your order is $250 or more. You'll earn at least an extra $25 Stampin' Rewards to spend on any items you choose.

Retirement list - don't miss ... the list so far!I could be here all day writing as there's so much, but since you need to get to the lists quickly, start with...
All 2014-16 in-colour items as shown in the left pic - especially ink refills & cardstock. They'll sell fast.

Punches, including all our scallop circles, ovals, word window, cupcake, hexagon, itty bitty accents set (heart, star & flower), label bracket, note tag & lots more super useful punches.
Dies- Many of our nesting dies are being replaced (circles, squares, ovals etc). All of our fab Bigz style dies are going too.
Embossing folders - so many very useful backgrounds are going - too many to list.
Paper - Most paper packs & coordinating card packs
Project Life - lots of card, accessory & stamp packs.
Hexagons - my whole fave collection of hexagon shaped items - Six Sided Sampler stamps, punch, hexagon hive thinlit die & honeycomb embossing folder are all retiring. These I will miss terribly.
Little essential tools: We won't be selling the fab Simply Scored Stylus separately any more, so get one before it's gone!

Stamps - there are so many I don't know where to start, but a few that stand out are:
Swallowtail  - a fave stunning large butterfly background stamp (lots of Swallowtail projects here).
Zoo Babies - the cutest animal set for babies & kids cards
Skating By & Hey Girl - great sets for kids cards, with useful elements for other uses too. Kids sets are some of the most sought after stamps - we all need cuteness for our little & big-little people.
I'll share some others as I have more time.

Occasions Catalogue Retirement Lists

This has been my favourite Seasonal catalogue ever, as can be seen by how little of the catalogue I don't own. I've been anxiously awaiting news of what's carry over to our new catalogue & today's the day.

See & download List (alpha order)
See & download List (page order)

Shop the retirement list in my store
Note: Occasions retirements are listed together with the annual catalogue retirements. Click to sort by "Newest" & you'll see them first.

Use my hostess code FMRAEFHT when you place your online order & I'll send you a special retirement thank you for ordering from me
Important - dont' use the code if your order is $250 or more. You'll earn at least an extra $25 Stampin' Rewards to spend on any items you choose.


My Top Picks
This is my initial not to be missed list of Occasions Catalogue retiring items:
A Beautiful Ride stamp set: this fabulous little vw beetle set is so great for lots of occasions & people. See my cards here.
The fantastic Cup & Kettle framelits & A Nice Cuppa bundle - such a unique & useful stamp & die bundle for the so many projects.
Paper packs: None of the paper packs are carrying over. I've had lots of fun with the huge It's My Party Stack (& the coordinating items in the same suite), gorgeous fresh, floral Birthday Bouquet pack & Shine On heavyweight kraft & foil pack.
Curvy  Corner Trio Punch - this carried over from the 2015Holiday Catalogue but sadly now retiring. It's been a very popular item with me & at my classes for awesome tags so I will really miss it. It's also a Weekly Deal this week at 25% off.

Speaking of weekly deals, today's the last day to shop our weekly deals too, so make sure you have a look here in the store at what's on offer at 25% off.

Happy shopping! Please leave a comment if you have any questions, or contact me by e-mail or phone if I can help you with anything. Remember you can purchase all items from my online store, BUT only while stocks last.

Thanks for checking in with me. I'll be back next time with a  new project.
Inky wishes, Di

JAI 307 colour challenge - bear hugs birthday

It's time for a colour challenge at Just Add Ink & Nikki has chosen this combination.

To be honest, my initial reaction was "uugghhh!" totally due to the inclusion of delightful dijon - I don't think it's particularly delightful, but I'm sure others do. If you're not familiar with the shade, I should also add that the button pic does not show its true deep mustardy-ness.

However there's a reason it's called a challenge so I gave myself a good pep talk (as you do) & came up with this idea using my honey loving friend, Mr Bear. The dijon actually played along very nicely with the greys & the card came together quickly. It would have been finished even quicker  if I hadn't added some grunge to the almost finished card, decided I didn't like it & started again!

I think the sentiment from Party With Cake adds fun & humour & prompted me to add LOTS more of honey for Mr Bear (well, Winnie the Pooh seemed to really like it).

More about the card
- All elements are stamped in basic grey archival ink on thick whisper white card. I LOVE this ink. It's waterproof, stamps beautifully & is such a great colour - not as harsh as black but still nice & deep.
- Mr Bear, the honey pots & floor are watercoloured only with delighful dijon & smoky slate ink pads & an aquapainter. Love that you can get so many shades from the same colour. I hand cut them rather than using the matching dies so I didn't have a white edge. I also curved them to make more of a 3d look (using the rounded end of my paper piercing tool) & popped them on dimensionals.
Here's a closer pic:

Mr Bear made another appearance on the inside. Aren't the sentiments in Party With Cake perfect?

The card grew around the elements so the finished front is a little larger than standard (15.5 x 12cm / 6-1/8 x 4-3/4in. to be exact) so I made a matching envelope with the envelope punch board using delightful dijon envelope paper. See, I'm trying to embrace the dijon.

To grunge or not to grunge - a cautionary tale
You may recall me saying I re-made the card after adding some grunge to my first version. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a grunge-hater & thought it could work here - & bears are kind of messy but I think I chose the wrong splatter & then did too much, so it was all over for me :-o.
However, my darling man actually liked the grungy version more than the clean version, so I thought I'd share it here too & you can decide which you prefer, Please don't judge my grunge :-)

I did like the softer look of the floor in this one, & the inside which I did after I finished the non-grungy version. Somehow the bear holding the honey makes me smile & I liked the dijon line around the card.

 

So, what do you think - grunge or not?

Thanks very much for visiting today. I hope my Mr Bear card made you smile. It certainly made me smile making it. I'll leave you with a final combined pic for you to pin for later. Do check out all the team's creations on the JAI blog too, as they've used the challenge colours in so many great ways.

I'd better fly as tomorrow's a big day. I'm going to our Stampin' Up! Onstage demonstrator event where we'll get our first peek of our new 2016-17 Annual Catalogue. Exciting, huh! Stay tuned for more info as I can share.
Inky wishes, Di

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 plus other options at the bottom of the list. Please check my online store for all options.

Print Recipe

Product List

Bear Hugs Clear-Mount Bundle	Party With Cake Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Basic Gray Archival Stampin’ Pad	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad
2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers	Whisper White A4 Thick Cardstock	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Basic Gray A4 Card Stock	Delightful Dijon A4 Cardstock
2015-2017 In Color Envelope Paper	Aqua Painters	Everyday Chic Designer Washi Tape	Subtles Candy Dots	Envelope Punch Board
Bear Hugs Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Bear Hugs Framelits Dies	Party With Cake Clear-Mount Bundle