JAI 32 - Just Add Material

Hello

I hope you had nice weekend. The weather didn't live up to the forecast (surprise!), but the sun is shining today so all is well with the world.  I did get out in the garden to do some fertilising and mulching, but there is still so much more to do. Hopefully, I will fit some more in today (between stamping, of course!).

I saw the Just Add Ink Challenge - Just Add Material on the weekend and decided to give it a go. Instead of adding material (which I do with almost every card I make - I'm addicted to ribbon, as you may have noticed!), I thought I would USE material to stamp on. Having been a quilter and embroiderer I have a good stash of fabrics to choose from. I've used a 'very vanilla' cotton, which I backed with iron on interfacing (to give it more body) before cutting out with the Top Note die and Big Shot. I was surprised how well this turned out. 

The main image from 'Upsy Daisy' was inked with Baja Breeze and some highlights were added with the Not Quite Navy Stampin' Write marker and stamped on the fabric. I sponged around the edges with Baja Breeze (carefully, as the edges will fray) and then went around the outside edge with the Not Quite Navy marker for some definition. The overall effect is quite a soft 'impressionist' look. To make it easier to work with, I mounted the stamped fabric onto some cardstock using the Anywhere Glue Stick. This is so superior to the newsagent type and doesn't go 'blobby' (a new technical term!).  The Top Note was then mounted on a background of 'Urban Garden' DSP for a monochromatic look.  The rest of the details are below.

 

Card Details
Stamps	Upsy Daisy, Occasional Greetings
Cardstock & Papers	Kraft, Urban Garden DSP, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze
Ink	Baja Breeze
Accessories	Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon
Tools	Oval and Small Oval Punches, Top Note Die, Big Shot, Cream Fabric, Iron-on Interfacing, Stampin’ Write Markers (Not Quite Navy), Anywhere Glue Stick, Sponge Dauber, Dimensionals

Enjoy your week.

 

OCC Sketch Challenge & New Goodies

Hi there

These last weeks of winter have been particularly cold, wet and grey in Melbourne so I'm really looking forward to some sunny spring weather.  The garden is certainly enjoying the rain, with my daffodils and azaleas now in full flower.  Lets hope that tomorrows forecast of a sunny day comes to pass!

The card I have for you today is based on this OCC Sketch Challenge and uses a couple of the new products from the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalgoue - only 4 more sleeps until we get to order - woohoo! The 'For You Flower' is one of the a la Carte individual stamps.  It has lots of possibilities - I've stamped another flower in Rose Red and then punched out the centre and popped it up on the full flower.  You can also cut out the centre with the 1 1/4" punch and then matt it on a 1 3/8" circle of a different colour. Highlighting part of the text with a different colour (using a Stampin' Write marker) also works well. This stamp matches a wonderful flat style punch which takes away the time consuming fussy cutting.

I've mirrored the 'For You Flower' with the flower spray from the 'Eastern Blooms' stamp set which has the same 5-petal flower shape. Stampin' Write markers direct to the rubber were used on the spray. I like the slight variations you get in the colour using this method. The rest of the details are below.

 

Card Details
Stamps	For You Flower (NEW), Eastern Blooms
Cardstock & Papers	Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip DSP, Whisper White, Rose Red
Ink	Rose Red
Accessories	Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Flat back adhesive Pearls (not SU)
Tools	Eyelet Border Punch, Fancy Flower Extra Large Punch (NEW), 1 3/8” Circle Punch, Stampin’ Write Markers (Old Olive, Regal Rose, Rose Red), Dimensionals

 Stay warm and have a good weekend.

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.

 

A Touch of Shabby Chic

Hi folks

Today I want to share with you a card I made for the birthday of a special friend recently. I had to go outside my comfort zone a bit to produce my version of the shabby chic style. To do this I've used (quite) a few techniques to add texture and interest to the card including embossing, distressing, sponging, spritzing and stitching (yes, the real thing with a sewing machine!).

The card is in the style of an easel which I really like as it sits nicely to display your handiwork and yet folds down flat for ease of posting (although this is slightly tricky with the embellishments I've used, in which case a small box is the way to go).  Finding a place to write your message is the slightly challenging issue though.

Due to time constraints I had to photograph it at night so the light is quite harsh.  One benefit is that I learned more about Photoshop elements in the process to cut out the background shadows. Without further ado, the first photo is the side view, showing the easel style:

The next photo is of the flower detail. I tried out a process that Shelli Gardner demonstrated at Convention this year. This involves using a bone folder to soften the DSP (or cardstock) so that the layers of the paper start separating to give a shabby, frayed appearance.

Here are the details of the products used:

Card Details
Stamps	Oval All, All A Flutter
Cardstock & Papers	Kraft, Baja Breeze, Confetti White, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Ink	Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke
Accessories	Chocolate Organza Ribbon (not SU), Clear Rhinestone brad (Pretties Kit), Small adhesive pearl (not SU), Flower (Pretties Kit)
Tools	Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Embossing Folder (Marg’s Melodies), Little Leaves Die, Big Shot, Extra Large Bird punch, Open Scallop Edge Punch (not SU), Sewing Machine, Sponge Daubers, Spritzer, Aqua painter, Dimensionals

I hope to be back at the end of the week. Until then, stay warm and dry!

 

JAI 29 - Colour Challenge

Hello

It has been a lovely sunny winters day in Melbourne today (Sunday) and I love having the sunshine flooding into my craft room.  I can see 'Pretty in Pink' blossom on trees in the neighbour's yard from my window (I'm upstairs) so spring must be coming soon, thankfully. I'm so looking forward to having more daylight to use after work.

Today I have a card based on the Just Add Ink #29 - Colour Challenge using the colours below. 

I love the richness of Rose Red and Always Artichoke and with Kraft and Very Vanilla these make a great combination for Christmas cards as well.

I have used Stampin' Write markers directly to the rubber of the lovely floral spray image from the 'Thoughts & Prayers' stamp set onto Very Vanilla. This has been sponged, matted and layered on more sponged layers! On the Always Artichoke layer I have dry embossed the border and then lightly sponged over it with a dauber to highlight the design. Anyway here it is.

 

Card Details
Stamps	Thoughts & Prayers, Sincere Salutations
Cardstock & Papers	Kraft, Always Artichoke, Rose Red, Very Vanilla
Ink	Always Artichoke, Rose Red
Accessories	Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Small adhesive pearls (not SU)
Tools	Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Decorative Border Embossing Folder (not SU), Big Shot, Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber

Enjoy your week.