Just Judy Designs

Freshy Made #31

Hi there

As I write this post, it is thundering outside and the hail is pounding on the window of my craft room.  What better way to spend a stormy Autumn day, than stamping!

The card I have for you today is for my husband's birthday on Wednesday and I have used this week's Freshly Made #31 sketch. I love the sketches the DT come up with as they give you plenty of scope but aren't too prescriptive with the elements. Here it is:

I borrowed the 'Up, Up & Away' stamp set from a lovely friend and it will definitely be on my 'to buy' list as it has a great combination of elements and sentiments that would suit lots of occasions. We took both our Mothers (when in their 70's and 80's) hot air ballooning over central Australia a few years ago, so I have created a background that reminds me of that fabulous experience.  It was freezing cold as the sun rose and looking into the distance you saw a hazy backdrop of the land and the sky blending together.  I hope it will remind him of that time.

Project Details
Stamps	Up, Up & Away, Sincere Salutations, Texture Jumbo wheel
Card stock & Papers	Night of Navy, Sahara Sand (Smooth & Textured), Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Ink	Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Bashful Blue
Accessories	Cherry Cobbler brads
Tools	Ticket Die (not SU), Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, Dimensionals, sponge daubers

Enjoy the rest of you week.

 

Nautical Birthday

Hi there

It is a wet and muggy day here in Melbourne after the heat of yesterday.  It will be a good afternoon to be in my craft room as it too wet for the usual Saturday chores (woohoo!). It is wonderful to be getting regular rain for the garden, though.  It is all so lush and green at the moment, but it won't be so good for my new roses that are already weighed down with flowers.  I have taken a few photos which I will share with you later.

A real change of pace now after the candy colours of my previous card.  I was chuffed to win the JAI challenge this week and thank you to everyone who left a lovely comment.  It is very uplifting! Today  I have a very textured and dimensional masculine card using the lovely 'Sail Away' a la carte stamp that is now retired, unfortunately. Red and blue are my automatic 'go to' colours for nautical projects, which I have teamed with Vanilla Vanilla and Sahara Sand. I've made the sails 3-D and sponged on some Sahara Sand for depth, distressed the edges and popped up both layers.  The striped Bakers Twine lifts the large panel of 'Night of Navy'.

Project Details
Stamps	Sail Away, Party This Way
Card stock & Papers	Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Real Red, Very Vanilla
Ink	Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Real Red
Accessories	Mini Silver brads, Brights & Regals brads, Red Bakers Twine (not SU)
Tools	Square Lattice Embossing folder, Big Shot, Modern Label punch, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, Carl Corner Punch, Distressing tool

 I will be back with some more Christmas inspiration soon.

Men & Motorcycles

Hi there

Cards for the men in our lives isn't one of my strong points.  However with a few male birthdays in the coming months, I have taken the opportunity to try out my recently acquired a la Carte stamp 'Motorcycle'.  This stamp is in the current Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue, that ends in a couple of weeks on 31 July.  It is a really detailed stamp, with options for colouring as well.  I found this great sketch over at the MFT Stamps blog while I was surfing and I think it is perfect for what I have in mind.  I also want to give it the girly treatment at some point too.

 

I have gone for a bold and masculine look  in this first card with lots of texture from my favourite Square Lattice embossing folder.  I was really disappointed to see Ruby Red retire last year, but  Cajun Craze is growing on me and I like it combined with Night of Navy and Sahara Sand.  I've created my own  striped cardstock using Versamark and the 'Solid Stripes'  stamp which is a great option for small areas.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Motorcycle, Solid Stripes, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card stock & Papers	Sahara Sand, Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, Basic Black
Ink	Stazon Black, Versamark
Accessories	Black brads, Linen Thread
Tools	Square Lattice Embossing Folder,  Oval Nestabilities, Big Shot, Dotted Wave Border Punch (not SU), 1/2" 1", 1 1/8" Circle Punches, Small Star Punch (Retired), Watercolour Crayons, Going Gray Marker (Retired), Dimensionals

While I was on a roll I decided to make a second card with the same sketch.  My husband always says  of a any motorised device - 'the red ones go faster', so I've gone with a classic red and black colour scheme with a dash of silver for this one.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Motorcycle, Oval All
Card stock & Papers	Basic Black (Smooth & Textured), Cherry Cobbler (Smooth & Textured), Brushed Silver, Black Stripe DSP
Ink	Stazon Black, Versamark
Accessories	5/16" Silver Brads, Basic Gray Corduroy Button (retired), 1/8" Black Taffeta Ribbon
Tools	Diamond Plate Embossing Folder, Oval Nestabilities, Big Shot, Large Oval Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Watercolour Crayons, Going Gray Marker (Retired), Aqua Painter, Black Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Distressing Tool, Dimensionals

Although I like both options, I think the red might be my might favourite - what do you think? 

Enjoy your week.

 

Rustic French Foliage

Hello

I've been more absent than not from my blog recently and that has been disappointing for me. However, as happens, life threw up an unexpected challenge in the last 6 weeks in the form of a health crisis, so getting through each day has been my focus.  I now have the diagnosis and treatment regime that will hopefully allow me to manage the condition, as it will be an ongoing one for the forseeable future.  I'm taking a few weeks off work to recuperate and identify strategies to manage the pressures of work and find the balance in life necessary to keep enjoying all of the things I want to do.  One of the things I'm going to try is meditation and I will keep you posted on how I go. Our health is such a precious gift that we often take for granted and despite having the knowledge of what we need to do, it is often easier to put it off.   From now on, I want to start each day giving thanks for having the opportunity to enjoy it and to share the things I love, including being creative!

Enough philosophy for today.  It is another grey and cold day here in Melbourne, so my rustic French Foliage card is very fitting.  Although colour challenges aren't really my thing, I thought this lovely rich  combination from Colour Q Challenge would be perfect with the 'French Foliage' stamp set.

 
I stamped up half a sheet of Very Vanilla, using Crumb Cake on the 'Sanded' background stamp first and then the French Foliage images over the top. I will get 3 cards from this half sheet, which makes it very economical for a set of cards. This is the first card that I came up with, for a masculine birthday:

Project Details
Stamps	Sanded Background, French Foliage, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card stock & Papers	Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
Ink	Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake
Accessories	Pewter Jumbo Brads, Twine (not SU), Tag (not SU)
Tools	Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Scallop Border Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber, Cropadile

This second card takes on a more feminine look with the lovely Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon (hopefully coming to our new catalogue) and flower created with the large flower die from the Birds & Blooms Sizzlit set.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Sanded Background, French Foliage, Tiny Tags
Card stock & Papers	Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede (Smooth and Textured)
Ink	Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake
Accessories	Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon, Linen Thread, Flat Back Pearl ('Latte', not SU)
Tools	Birds & Blooms Sizzlit Die,  Big Shot, Open Scallop Border Punch (not SU), Jewellry Tag Punch,  Small & Medium 6 Petal Flower Punches (not SU), Small & Medium Corner Rounder Punches (not SU), Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Sponge Dauber

 I hope to be back soon with some more creations.

Mmmm.....Not Sure

Hi there

Despite my best efforts, life hasn't slowed down and my creative time has been suffering accordingly.  I still live in hope that I will get some more time shortly . I have spent some lovely time with my friend Fiona who has been visiting from WA for the last 5 days.  We managed to spend one day shopping, had 'afternoon high tea' and a couple of lovely evenings together.

I do have a card to show you though, but I'm not sure that it hits the mark.  I always find male cards a challenge and this time is no exception. I think I need to work on building up a stash of male cards so I can whip one out without any stress .  I've used the main image from 'Lovely as a Tree' stamp set (stamped twice in Basic Gray and Sahara Sand) and some of the retired 'Urban Oasis' DSP. 

The details are as follows: 

Card Details
Stamps	Lovely as a Tree, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Urban Oasis DSP
Ink	Basic Gray, Sahara Sand, Basic Black
Accessories	Black brads
Tools	Corner punch, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

Back soon, hopefully .

Loads of Love

Hello

It is another wet and windy day here in Melbourne; back to winter with a vengeance. It's perfect for staying inside and stamping though :).  The card I have for you today uses the stamp set 'Loads of Love', which has been around for a number of years.  I've only recently acquired it and this is the first time I've inked it up. 

The main truck image lends itself to a number of techniques, but today I've gone for watercolouring with Watercolour Crayons and Aquapainter, after first stamping the image with Stazon black.  The main colour is Night of Navy and the hearts are Cherry Cobbler, coloured with a marker (the new colours aren't currently available in watercolour crayson) and then blended with the Aquapainter. As this card is intended for my Mum's husband John, I wanted something fairly bold and I really like the richness of these colours together. To give it a bit more of a masculine look, I've used the Big Shot to emboss the right hand side of the Crumb Cake card base with the 'Diamond Plate' embossing folder.  I hope it is sufficiently masculine, what do you think?

 

Stamps: Loads of Love, Perfect Punches
Cardstock & Papers: Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Regals Patterns Stack, Watercolour paper
Ink: Stazon Black, Cherry Cobbler, Bashful Blue 
Accessories: Night of Navy Taffeta ribbon and brads
Tools: Wide Oval punch, 'Diamond Plate' embossing folder, Big Shot, Watercolour Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Sponge daubers, Dimensionals

Happy stamping!

 

Extreme Birthday

Hello

Yesterday I said I would be showing you a card that is neither pink or floral and for those who know my usual style, quite outside my comfort zone!

I needed a birthday card for a pre-teen boy so I took the opportunity to use the 'Extreme Elements' stamp set with the tutelage of friend and fellow stamper Christine. IMarina Mist, Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso are the focus colours on a Confetti White background. I made up an A5 panel which gives plenty of room to work with and you can choose how to divide up the panel when the design is complete. Here is the card I made with one of the panels.  Despite the variously shocked looks (I was told appeared) on my face when advised to continue to stamp, over stamp and spritz past my comfort zone, I'm pretty happy with the end result!  Unfortunately, the photo doesn't do justice to the richness of the colours IRL.

 

Card Details
Stamps	Extreme Elements, Perfect Punches
Cardstock & Papers	Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Confetti White, Marina Mist
Ink	Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Marina Mist
Accessories	Neutrals Buttons, Stranded cotton
Tools	Large Star punch, Wide Oval Punch, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals, Stampin' Write markers (Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Early Espresso), Spritzer, Pritt glue

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Seaworthy Birthday

Hello

It has been a while since my last post, having been busy with work and life in general. I've also been making some swaps with some products from the new Catalogue, which I will be able to show you on 1 September. Can't wait to have all those yummy new colours and stamp sets to play with!

Today I want to share with you a card I made for our Godson's 19th birthday today - Happy Birthday Joss! I always find masculine cards a bit of a challenge, but it is hard to go wrong with Kraft and Night of Navy. The side panel was made using the wax paper resist technique with Baja Breeze and Night of Navy to get the watery theme going. I have recycled the cord from a clothing label to make the square knot (instructions courtesy of Google!). The surfing image is from the Seaworthy stamp set and the sentiment is from a retired stamp set - Riveting. I hope he likes it.

Card Details
Stamps	Sanded Background, Seaworthy, Riveting
Cardstock & Papers	Kraft, Night of Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink	Versamark, Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories	Recycled Cord, Jumbo Pewter Eyelets
Tools	Wax Paper, Iron, Cropadile, Dimensionals, 13/8” Circle Punch, 11/4” Punch, ½” Circle Punch,

Enjoy your week.

 

'Men in Our Lives' Blog Hop

Hello

Welcome again to the Art with Heart team monthly Blog Hop - thank you for visiting my piece of cyberspace! The Art with Heart team led by Claire Daly, is a group of more than 90 Stampin' Up! Demonstrators from across Australia. If you would like to be part of this supportive group of talented paper crafters email me for more details.

You may have come from the blog of the lovely Kathryn Ruddick, but if not, you can join the Blog Hop from here by clicking on the link to the next blog at the bottom of this post. We hope you can take the time to visit each blog and check out the inspirational projects.  If you leave some 'comment love' on each blog and then email Nikki at  nikki@inkyart.com.au, you will be in the running to win some beautiful Blog Candy. You have until 6am EST on 9 August 2010 to leave your comments. Only those who are not Stampin' Up! demonstrators are eligible to win the Blog Candy.

This month our theme is the 'Men in our Lives'. It may sound strange, but I struggled with this one for a bit until I realised that I have much to be thankful for in the lovely man who is my Mum's husband. My Dad passed away when I was in my late twenties.  Mum reconnected with a childhood friend a few years later and they have been happily married for nearly 20 years. 

None of this is particularly unusual, except that in the past 18 months Mum has been having a lot of medical issues that started with a hospital acquired staph infection after a knee replacement operation. John has been an absolute rock throughout the entire time and has taken over all the household chores including the cooking, shopping, laundry and so on as she is confined to a wheelchair at the moment. This is in addition to ferrying her to and from the never ending list of medical appointments, many of which require a 5 hour round trip from their home in the country to Perth.

Given I am so far away, I truly appreciate having a wonderfully kind and compassionate man taking such great care of her  - thank you John from the bottom of my heart. This is the card I made for John to express my gratitude.

I have white embossed the lighthouse image from the 'Uncharted Territory'stamp set three times - onto the Baja Breeze background, as well as Kraft and Confetti White. The lighthouse and cliffs were cut out and paper pieced over the image on the background. The same process was used for the sailing boat. I have finished it off with some jumbo pewter brads and the sentiment from the 'Life Definitions' stamp set. I'm pleased with the way it turned out and the image is symbolic of John's role in Mum's life. The full details are below.

Card Details
Stamps	Uncharted Territory (Retired), Life Definitions
Cardstock & Papers	Basic Gray, Kraft, Baja Breeze, Confetti White
Ink	Ancient Page 'Coal Black', Baja Breeze
Accessories	Jumbo Pewter brads
Tools	White embossing powder, Heat Gun, Cropadile, Sponge Daubers

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you visit the next stop on the Blog Hop - my lovely and talented friend, Chistine Blain who is also having a birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Christine!

Have a great weekend.

Starry Congrats

Hello again

The card I have to share with you today was made for our 18 year old Godson to congratulate him on successfully completing his Tertiary Enabling Programme. This is a 6 month course designed to prepare young people to undertake a full time degree course.  Well done, Joss.

Stars came to mind, so I got out my Classic Stars jumbo wheel and Real Red ink pad and quickly prepared a half sheet of starry background.  This is a great way to prepare backgrounds and I should use them more often. This was teamed with Night of Navy and more Real Red for a bold effect. The small and large star punches were used to cut out the blue outline star which was popped up over a strategically placed star on the background. A silver star brad was added to the centre to finish it off.  I like the bold sentiment from the retired Congrats stamp set which has been white embossed.

 

Card Details
Stamps	Classic Stars Jumbo Wheel, Congrats (Retired)
Cardstock & Papers	Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink	Real Red, Versamark
Accessories	Small Star Designer Brad
Tools	Large and small Star punches, Dimensionals

It is going to be a wild and woolly day in Melbourne as the storm from WA reaches us.  My nicely swept path and driveway is now piled with leaves from the very large  Liquidamber tree in the front yard. Oh well, they have to come down eventually!

Have a great weekend.