This week – at least what’s left of it – over at Just Add Ink, there’s a funky sketch challenge for you to play along with…

I just love the simplicity of this sketch and envisage that I will be revisiting it again many times!

Here’s what I did with it for the challenge…

I used a similar technique as I did for the Just Add Vintage challenge a little while back, combining a couple of background stamps and some embossing powder.

If you’d like to play along with this sketch challenge, head over to Just Add Ink before midnight Wednesday and link up your entry!

Tell ‘em I sent ya

“Just Add Ink Challenge #24″
Stamps: Baroque, Sanded, Upsy Daisy (greeting)
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Kraft
Ink: Versamark, Soft Suede
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, White Embossing Powder, Brayer

We’re up to week 23 at Just Add Ink and the girls have come up with yet another fabbo challenge to get your creative juices flowing…  Just Add DSP!

After a false start that I just couldn’t bring myself to make public, I used the opportunity to make a 12×12 scrapbook page using a photo from our recent trip to Sydney…

The great thing about Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper is that all the hard work is done as far as co-ordination.  No longer can I be found wandering the aisles of my local scrapbooking stores hunting down papers that will work with the one that have in my hand, that invariably doesn’t have a solid cardstock colour that matches either.

The papers in this layout are all taken from the Sweet Always pack, and I have only used seven of the 12 different designs that make up the pack, so the options for mixing and matching are pretty much endless!

Here’s a closer look at the detail…

The ribbon rose is a gorgeous idea that was detailed in our demonstrator publication, ‘Impressions’  that we demonstrators get each month.  It’s such a sweet and simple idea and a whole other way to use ribbon (and it uses ribbon, I will tell you!).

The idea of using it as a flower centre was one that I gleaned from one of the most talented scrapbookers I know, who also happens to be a Perth girl – Tanya Tahir.

I have never seen a layout of hers that I haven’t gazed open-mouthed at.  Such a talent and a lovely girl too

So there you have it – Just Add Ink Challenge #23 – a fabulous reason to hide away with some pretty papers and turn them into something prettier.

“Just Add Ink #23 – Designer Series Paper”
Stamps: None
Paper:Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Sweet Always DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip for sponging
Accessories: Top Note die, Little Leaves die, Timeless Type Alphabet Dies, Die Cut Blooms, 1-3/8″ Circle Punch, Regal Rose 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Button Latte, Linen Thread, Chocolate Chip Marker, Stampin’ Sponge, Glue Dots

This week, Just Add Ink brings you another colour challenge, and what a cracker it is!  The lovely Bronwyn Eastley – fellow DT gal – came up with this one…

I can honestly say that left to my own devices, I would likely never have combined these colours in a single project, but that’s why they call it a challenge, right?!

Here’s my contribution…

Saved by my DSP collection

All I did was punch out 1-1/4″ circles from whatever Designer Series Papers that I could find with the relevant colours.

A bit of embellishing here and there (quite literally) and I was all done.

Hop on over to Just Add Ink to check out some fabulous creations with this combo and while you’re there, have a go for yourself

Just Add Ink Challenge #22
Stamps: Seeing Spots
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP, Cottage Wall DSP
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Sunny Day Simply Scrappin’ Kit, 1-1/4″  and 1-3/8″ Circle Punches, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads, Boho Blossom Punch, Button Bouquet, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot grosgrain ribbon

This week over at Just Add Ink, we have a sketch challenge for you.  It’s a beauty of a sketch, with so many possibilities, two of which I discovered for myself when I wasn’t sure about the first card I made, so made a second.

Here’s the sketch…

And here’s my first go at it…

The colour combination is a bit left of centre, and came about as a result of having tidied my computer desk and finding a selection of cardstock under the various debris.

This brought about a vague recollection of having seen a picture online somewhere and taking inspiration from the colours in it, then being distracted by some other random cyber stampin’ sighting and forgetting about it until the long overdue desk clean up.

I wasn’t super happy with the result (that will teach me for tidying up!) so I made a second one…

The colours in this one are much more my speed

I also had fun with the scallops around the edge, wanting to something a little bit different.

In fact, let’s make a game of it – you tell me how I did it

And then tell me which card you like better, ’cause I’m still undecided…

“Just Add Ink #21 – Take 1″
Stamps: Pick a Petal, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Summer Sun, Whisper White, Raspberry Tart (just $11.02 until Tuesday!)
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Rose Red
Accessories: Rose Red 1″ Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Clear Buttons, Soft Subtles brads, Scallop Border Punch, Crimper, Stampin’ Dimensionals

“Just Add Ink #21 – Take 2″
Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP, Sweet Always DSP
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: 1/2″ Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

This is a FUN one!  Not that all the Just Add Ink challenges aren’t, but I did enjoy making this card, as much as it took a little longer than usual…

So the challenge this week is to Just Add Stitching – real, faux, whichever grabs your fancy.

Here’s what grabbed mine….

Ribbon flowers!  I also added a couple of rows of faux stitching along the top and bottom of the Mellow Moss strip just in case ribbon flowers didn’t technically meet the stitching criteria

Being less of an embroiderer than a stamper, I Googled ribbon flowers to figure out exactly what I needed to do, but didn’t really find what I was looking for.

Then I had a vague recollection that Kristina Werner had done a similar thing ages ago, which I dutifully searched for – and found – in this post that she did back in January 2008.

I actually managed to include a second challenge in this card, as I caught a glimpse of Karen Giron’s Sweet Sunday Sketch #71 and had to have a go.

Here’s the sketch that helped inspire the card…

If you have a window of stamping opportunity and a fairly patient mindset, I would encourage you to give ribbon flowers a go!

Entries for Just Add Stitching close at midnight on Wednesday, so get out your sewing machine or your Mat Pack and Paper Piercer and jump in to the challenge!

Stamps: Embrace Life, Tiny Tags, Sanded background
Paper: Always Artichoke, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Whisper White, Tea Party DSP
Ink: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Pretty in Pink and Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Ovals Original Die, 1/2″ Circle Punch, Crafter’s Tool Kit, Always Artichoke Stampin’ Write Marker, Chit Chat rubons (retired),  Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

So I have only just managed to make good on my promise to be back “later today” (at least according to my West Australian clock), but here I am with my entry for this week’s Just Add Ink challenge.

This week it’s another colour challenge for you and it was a large challenge for me as it involves Elegant Eggplant, which I can just never seem to make anything decent with!

Here are the colours…

And here is my contribution, that I’m not at all sure about, so please be kind…

As it turns out, the greatest challenge for me was finding a sheet of co-ordinating DSP to go in the background of the photo, but as you can see, that was a challenge that I didn’t manage to meet.

I got out my Circle Scissors Plus for this one, which I must do more often, as I am rather partial to a circular element on a card, but quite often forget to include one.

I also dusted off Garden Whimsy for the first time in ages, which is another thing I try to do with challenges – incorporate a recently neglected stamp set at the same time.

So there you have it, a very bright and very challenging combination of colours.

The challenge for the week closes at midnight this coming Wednesday, so if you’d like to have a go at these colours for yourself, pop on over to Just Add Ink and play along!

Some extra stampin’ tips for you to try….

• Add some visual interest by popping your feature images up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and extending them outside their “frame” as I’ve done with the butterflies

• Tone on tone stamping – as I’ve done with the curly stamp with Elegant Eggplant ink on the Elegant Eggplant background – fills a bare space, but without being too busy and ‘in your face’

“Just Add Ink Challenge #19″
Stamps: Garden Whimsy
Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Taken with Teal, Melon Mambo
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Taken with Teal, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Circle Scissors Plus, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Melon Mambo Polka-Dot grosgrain, Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

If you’ve been playing or following along at Just Add Ink for a while now, you would be aware that each week there is a new challenge posted.  Well this week there’s a fun twist on our regular challenge, and I’m sure you’re going to love it!

Before I get into the details of the challenge and my own entry, here’s a little how-to on the whole blog hop scenario in case you’re as new to this as I am….!

There are ten stops on the hop – all of the Design Team members and the Just Add Ink site itself – and it’s arranged in a loop, so it doesn’t matter where you start, just follow the links at the end of each post so that you get around the whole lot.

Chances are you’ve come here from Amanda’s blog or perhaps you’ve just popped in on the off chance that there’s something new to see.

Either way, it’s great to have you here

You’re going to want to make sure you see everything, as at each stop there is a technique tutorial!  The challenge from Just Add Ink this week is to incorporate a technique from one of the tutorials into your challenge entry!

I told you this was going to be fun!

Alrighty, let’s get started shall we…?!

My tutorial is all about a technique that I just love and never get tired of…

Watercolouring

The cast of characters

First stamp your image using Staz On ink onto water colour paper

I like to use the Classic ink with an Aquapainter for watercolouring, so to get my 'palette', I squish the lid of my ink pads a bit.....

...and some of the ink is transferred to the inside lid of my inkpad, from where it can be picked up with an Aquapainter

Because you only want a very light covering of ink for the first layer, pick up the ink from the edges of the colour "puddle" with your Aquapainter and make sure it is quite diluted

This is the first layer of colour - very light. It's important to ensure that each section is dry before moving onto the next section so that the colours don't bleed together

For each subsequent layer of colour, start with a more concentrated line of ink towards one edge of the image (see the centre of the large flower on the left), making sure to work in small areas at a time and only once the first layer is completely dry. For this image I am imagining that there is a light source coming from the right, hence my shadows will be towards the left of the image

Remove the excess colour from your Aquapainter by brushing it on your scrap paper

Return to where you painted the darker strip of colour and blend it outwards in a circular motion so that there are no hard lines. This is what your image will look like when each section has a second layer of colour

Continue with a third layer of the same colours, each time using more ink and upping the saturation of the colours

Now I have chosen slightly darker colours and gone over the same areas again in the same way as before - paint a strip of colour towards the left of the image, get rid of the excess colour from the Aquapainter and blend outwards with a circular motion. This is the fourth layer of colour (gotta love watercolour paper!)

This is the fifth layer of colour - darker again. The centre of the flowers now have three layers of More Mustard, one of Close to Cocoa and one of Chocolate Chip. The flower pot has three layers of More Mustard, one of Really Rust and one of Chocolate Chip

I also like to colour the background of my watercoloured images to add more depth and realism to the picture, so making sure that your previous colouring is completely dry, let’s move onto the background….

In the same way as we did with the stamped image colouring, the background also starts with a very light layer of colour

For the second and subsequent layers of background colour, start with a stronger line of colour at the edge of the image, remove the excess colour from the Aquapainter and blend out in a circular motion - same as before

When you've finished colouring your image, this is what you'll have....

...also this...

..but the most exciting thing you will have is this!

Layer upon layer of ink upon the very absorbant and forgiving watercolour paper takes you from this to this!

Here’s a quick frame by frame to compare each step in the process….

For the final card, I wanted to keep to a fairly simple layout, so as to keep the focus on the watercoloured image and not end up with anything too busy…

I used my brand new Tiny Tags set with the matching Jewelry Tag Punch for my little greeting, but as it is so tiny, I felt that attaching it with a standard brad would be a bit overpowering, so I made my own, slightly smaller one…

Using the smaller of the two Crop-a-dile hole punches, I punched out a tiny bit of Chocolate Chip cardstock and stuck it in place using Tombow Mono Adhesive.  Then I squeezed a drop of Crystal Effects onto it to make it shiny and brad-like.

It’s actually still quite cloudy and not quite dry here (in fact not dry at all!) as I was too impatient to wait to take the photo’s and get started on my tutorial.

Should you  have a go at making your own brads, you will notice that they do end up a nice shiny version of the colour of the cardstock underneath, as opposed to the murky, cloudy whitish/brown number that you can see above

So there you have it, my contribution to what is a bumper week of tutorials!

Don’t forget once you’ve finished the hop, your challenge is to choose one of the tutorials, make a project using it as your entry and link it up over at Just Add Ink.

I’ve seen a few of the projects already and my guess is you won’t be able to stop at just one…!

To continue on the tour, just click the image below and keep on truckin’!  Next up is Delys…

Enjoy!

“Just Add Ink Watercolouring Tutorial”
Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons, Tiny Tags
Paper: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Patterns DSP – Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip, Watercolour Paper
Ink: Staz On Jet Black, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White (sponged around edge of Kraft)
Accessories: Aquapainter, Jewelry Tag Punch, Crop-a-dile, Crystal Effects, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Over at Just Add Ink this week, we have a colour challenge for you!  I chose to bust out my Aquapainter and Watercolour Paper this week, hence the title of my post.

Here are the colours…

And here is my card…

I had no idea where I was going with this, I just sat and watercoloured while my small girl played Dora games next to me on the computer.

Aside from the occasional utterance of some Spanish phrase or other from the little one, we sat mostly in companionable silence doing our thing.  Such a nice thing to be able to do

If I’m not back before Sunday, which at this stage is a fairly likely scenario, Happy Mother’s Day to all the lovely mums out there.  May your day be filled with lovely things that hopefully don’t include a bunch of kitchen appliances from the department store catalogues that always appear at this time of year.

Seriously, can we not have something frivolous and whimsical instead of white and practical for Mother’s Day?!

Although having said that, I’d change my tune quite happily for a Thermomix….

“Just Add Ink Challenge #16″
Stamps: Embrace Life, Trendy Trees
Paper: Watercolour Paper, Soft Suede, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, Sweet Slumber Specialty DSP
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Soft Suede, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Versamark
Accessories: Soft Suede Polka Dot Ribbon, Button Latte, White Embossing Powder, Corner Rounder Punch, Aquapainter, White Gel Pen, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Kitchen String

This week over at Just Add Ink, there’s a sketch challenge for you to try!

At first I was very challenged by this challenge as the sketch doesn’t have a great amount of detail, but as I played around with ideas, including a fairly ‘out there’ colour scheme, I ended up loving the result.

Here’s the sketch…

And here’s what I did with it…

In the end I stuck fairly faithfully to the sketch design, using a hunk of ribbon for the wide element across the top and adding my own touch of a greeting in the bottom right.

And did I not mention that the colour combination was a bit mad?!  I can’t tell you where it originated, other than the depths of my brain.  I just started pulling out some colours and spreading them out on my desk.  I ended up using no less than six of them, plus white, in the final project.

I had a particular someone in mind as I made this card and also had some gift packaging to do to go along with it, so in keeping with the colour scheme and overall design, I made a custom gift box:

I’m not going to tell you what’s inside or who it’s for as it should be due to arrive at its destination some time today and I have no wish to spoil the surprise in case the recipient should be checking in.

Here are the box and card together…

Very floral and rather bright and busy, but hopefully it will do the job of bringing some much deserved sunshine via the mailbox of a lovely friend of mine today

Head on over to Just Add Ink to check out the rest of the Design Team’s take on this sketch and have a play along yourself!

“Just Add Ink #15 – Sketch and Gift Box”
Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Sweet Little Sentiments
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Sweet Always DSP
Ink: Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Kiwi Kiss, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip,
Accessories: 1″ Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain; Small, Large and Scallop Oval Punches; 1/2″, 3/4″ and Scallop Circle Punches; Corner Rounder Punch; Small Star Punch; Rich Regals brads; Stampin’ Dimensionals

It’s a couple of weeks since we returned from our Easter holiday down south  and in something other than my usual form of scrapbooking an event a good many years after it actually occurred, I have completed a page using one of the photo’s I took on the trip.

Go me!

My almost seven year old doesn’t have a scrapbook page of her second birthday yet, but at least she has a beach layout featuring herself from a fortnight ago, right?!

Here it is, the Just Add Ink theme for the week being vintage…..

The journalling reads:

She’s a few years younger than I was when I went to Dillon Bay for the first time but Hannah was just as captivated by this beautiful stretch of beach as I remember being.  Miles of baby-powder white sand and the bluest blue water you ever did see

I grunged up the picture a bit using some Pioneer Woman actions in Photoshop and also some post-printing sponged on ink around the edges, so the baby-powder-esque sand isn’t done a great deal of justice in this photo but it really is a sight to behold.

As for the layout itself, it was rather a collaborative effort, as I used elements of things that I loved from all over to put it together.

The custom made Designer Series Paper to the left of the layout was inspired by the amazing artist that is Teneale Williams.

I started out with a 12 x 5 inch piece of Baja Breeze cardstock and stamped all over it with the Sanded background stamp – first in Soft Suede, then in Versamark.

After that, I inked up my brand new Medallion stamp – also in Versamark – and stamped it in a fairly tight fitting pattern all over as well.

The whole sheet was then covered in Clear Embossing Powder and blasted with my Heat Gun.

Once it was embossed, I loaded up my Brayer with Soft Suede ink and rolled it several times all over the sheet, giving the exposed, un-embossed cardstock a gorgeous rich brown colour and leaving the embossed parts the original Baja Breeze.

This technique is called emboss resist, because the embossed part “resists” the ink that is applied.  It’s a wonderful technique

As you would very likely be aware, the process of embossing leaves quite a shiny finish and being a vintage theme, I wanted a flatter, less shiny finish, so this is where my second collaborator comes in…

I was at the workshop of a gorgeous customer and friend on the weekend and she’s one of those super clever types who tries her hand – and succeeds amazingly – at everything arty and crafty.

*waving Mandy*

During the make and takes, as I sipped on the Nespresso coffee that was whipped up for me (have I mentioned recently how much I love my job?!) I was browsing her collection of ATCs and cards and 3D projects and checking out her funky workspace and came across a card that looked very much like emboss resist, but with no embossing.

Mandy kindly let me know that the way to get rid of the embossing after the resisting had been done was to iron it!

I was keen to use this technique immediately, hence its appearance in this very challenge entry, and I was even more pleased to have a use for my iron, since it doesn’t see the light of day very often in a more standard role….

Basically, you just lay some sheets of copy paper over the embossed area and using your iron on high, go right over the top, thereby melting off the embossed area, which is lifted away when the copy paper is removed.

How cool is that?!

The third collaborator was another gorgeous workshop guest and a good friend of Mandy’s who is also one of those super clever crafty types.

*hi Lisa*

Lisa sent me the link to a tutorial for some particularly funky (and I thought, vintage-y) paper flowers using the Scallop Circle Punch and Crimper.

You can find the tutorial –>HERE<–

To make mine, I first stamped the Medallion onto Naturals Ivory cardstock using Baja Breeze ink, then punched out three Scallop Circles.  After following the tutorial linked above, I sponged some Soft Suede ink on the edges of the flower and added a Button Latte button and Linen Thread to the centre.

I was really happy with the way it came together, as vintage style is not something I would usually try my hand at.

If you’d like to challenge yourself to create something with a vintage twist, head on over to Just Add Ink to check out some DT inspiration!

And if you’d like any further information on my layout or the products that went into creating it, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

“Just Add Vintage – History Repeating 12×12 Layout”
Stamps: Medallion, Vintage Vogue, Sanded
Paper: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Naturals Ivory, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla textured
Ink: Soft Suede, Versamark, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies, Eyelet Border Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Button Latte, Linen Thread, Stamping Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write Marker