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

Inspired by the current Deal of the Week and also by my quest to use some of my recently lesser-used stamp sets, I pulled out Bella’s Bloom a couple of days ago and realised that I should have done so a lot more frequently these past months.

It’s so pretty!

I’m really loving this colour combination too – Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink – and although I am excited about the upcoming colour renovation, I have to admit that I will miss The Moss.

If you have a favourite colour or 17 that will disappear in the renovation, I encourage you to lay claim to some cardstock, inkpads, re-inkers and ribbon while there is still currently stock available.

Retiring colour stock is now available only on a ‘while stocks last’ basis, so it’s a good idea to grab some while you can!

Contact me today to place your order for any retiring colours, and also any of the current Deal of the Week stamp sets that strike your fancy…

Some extra stampin’ tips for you to try…

• Use the 1/16″ hand held Circle Punch or a paper piercer to poke some holes through the scallops of the border punch for prettier detail

• The Wide Oval Punch is the perfect size and shape to layer between the outer die shape and the inner perforated oval of the tag from the Lots of Tags set of Big Shot dies that I have used here as the focal point

“Bella’s Bloom card”
Stamps: Bella’s Bloom
Paper: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Sweet Always DSP
Ink: Versamark, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, BigShot, Lots of Tags die, 1-1/6th” Circle Punch, Wide Oval Punch; Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink Markers; Always Artichoke 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

It’s not super often that I stamp just for fun and without a specific reason or recipient in mind, but this afternoon I did just that and had SO much fun!

I had received the gorgeous Asian Artistry Level 2 hostess set from the Autumn/Winter mini a good few weeks ago, and hadn’t even got around to mounting it, so I rectified that today, pulled out some of the very small amount of Haiku DSP that I have remaining in my stash and made this…

The next thing I plan on rectifying is the amount of Haiku DSP that I have in my stash, which coincides nicely with the fact that it’s part of the current Deal of the Week, but only until tomorrow night, so if you’d also like to build your stash of DSP to the tune of more Haiku, Raspberry Tart, Pink Flamingo, Tea Party or Sweet Slumber, then you’d best be contacting me asap to make sure you get it at its current awesome price!

Here’s another Haiku creation that I don’t believe I have shared here yet…

This one also uses the awesome Two-Step Bird Punch, which is such good fun and has loads of possibilities for use.

The thing I think I love best about Haiku is the colour combination.  It’s not one that I would likely have come up with on my own, but it works so well and has become a bit of a fave.

It’s Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, So Saffron and More Mustard for those of you wishing to play along at home

If I haven’t managed to sway you in the direction of Haiku yet, check out some more projects I have posted previously –>HERE<– and –>HERE<–, then make sure to order yours before the Deal finishes tomorrow night!

Asian Artistry Haiku Card”
Stamps: Asian Artistry
Paper: Haiku DSP, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, More Mustard, Old Olive, Watercolour Paper
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Aquapainter, Old Olive 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Horizontal Slot Punch, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

“Haiku Bird Card”
Stamps: Sanded, Trendy Trees (greeting)
Paper: Haiku DSP, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, More Mustard, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Ink: More Mustard, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Two Step Bird Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 3/4″ Circle Punch, Big Shot, Top Note die, Tangerine Tango Striped Grosgrain, Clear Buttons, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

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

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

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

We’re headed off to the south coast of WA for a few days of beach walking, chocolate eating, egg hunting and general chilling out and I’m SO very looking forward to the break, but before we head off, I just wanted to pop in quickly to share this little Easter gift that I made for Hannah’s lovely teacher Mrs Bolton.

I found some Easter eggs that were Pink Pirouette and Baja Breeze recently, so I grabbed a pack of each and thought I would create the gift around those colours.

I had no idea if the chocolate was any good at the time, but have taste-tested the leftovers and am happy to report that they taste just fine

You can’t really see inside the box, and I forgot to take pictures during the process, but I punched out eight 1″ circles for the eggs to sit in and popped that in the bottom of the box so that they would sit nice and straight and not roll around in there!

The lid was made out of Window Sheet rolled in the Scribble Jumbo Wheel using White StazOn ink.  It was my first foray into White StazOn and I am an instant convert!  I love the way it looks so pretty and dries so instantly on something as non-porous as plastic!

Here’s a close up of the little tag…

Right, I’m off to pack and get an early night before we head off in the morning.

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe Easter and I’ll see you all in a few days!

“Happy Easter Mrs Bolton!”
Stamps: Occasionally, Scribble Jumbo SA Wheel
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Baja Breeze Patterns DSP, Window Sheet
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, White StazOn
Accessories: Small Tag Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Double Rectangle Punch, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Baja Breeze 1″ Stitched Gorgrain, Stampin’ Dimensionals

So I mentioned in a previous post that I would be back the next day with an additional card showcasing a similar look to that day’s card but in a different colour scheme.

And I had the best intentions in the world of doing so, but as it turns out, not a single spare second to fulfill my promise, between a super fun Saturday afternoon workshop (hi Sharima and girls!) and a school fete all day Sunday.

But I’m here now, just in time so that you can all rush at me to purchase Framed with Love before it is no longer available after tomorrow…

Here’s the card:

You can see that I used the same wallpaper-ish effect of stamping the scroll-y image repeatedly in the same way as the previous card, but that’s pretty much where the similarity ends.

Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Kraft would have to be one of my absolute favourite colour combinations and was perfect for this birthday card for my dear Mum-in-law and Mama to my girls, whose birthday was back in December.

Now if you would all form an orderly virtual queue, I can take your last minute orders for Framed with Love or any other set that you will be requiring from the Summer Mini, as well any Sale-a-bration sets that you might qualify for should your order be in excess of $100.

No pushing now, I will get to you all in time, and while you’re waiting, you might like to check out the next post due to pop up tomorrow showing you a sweet project with another Summer Mini set

“Mama’s Baja Birthday Card”
Stamps: Framed with Love, Occasional Greetings
Paper: Baja Breeze, Kraft, Naturals Ivory, Chocolate Chip, Parisian Breeze DSP (retired)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Baja Breeze 1″ Double Stitched Ribbon, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Button Latte, Linen Thread, Stampin’ Sponges

We’re up to week 10 over at Just Add Ink and we have another fun challenge for you to play along with.

This time, you need to put something together using this delightful palette….

When I saw it, I had thoughts of submitting my blog header as my challenge entry, as it pretty much fits perfectly, but given that none of it is Stampin’ Up! and it doesn’t involve any ink, I thought better of it and moved on…

I love the soft, prettiness of this combination, but my own stamped creation is somewhat busy and loud as it turns out…

I think it’s the combination of the stamped upper panel and quite detailed DSP at the bottom that sort of shouts at you…

What do you think?

For the top part, I repeatedly stamped the decorative scrolly-type stamp from  Framed with Love out of the soon to be defunct Summer Mini catalogue, turning the stamp each time so as to fill the space with a fairly regular and tight fitting pattern.

You probably determined for yourself that the Stamp-a-ma-jig is pretty much a must-have for this  part…

See that Close to Cocoa 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon across the centre…?   Well it’s not actually Close to Cocoa at all, or at least it wasn’t when it started out.  It’s Whisper White that has simply been coloured in with the brush end of my Close to Cocoa Stampin’ Write Marker.

How cool is that?!

Aren’t you just so glad that you popped in today and had your ribbon colour possibilities extended in direct proportion to the number of Stampin’ Write Markers that you own?

If you own every colour, then a roll of Whisper White 1/4″ Grosgrain and some Very Vanilla in the 5/8″ will enable you to custom make your own ribbon colours in varying widths as well!

You’re welcome

The main stamped image is another from Framed with Love, as is the long skinny stamp that stretches across the card underneath.  I wanted to get the most out of the one stamp set, and aside from the greeting out of Vintage Labels, managed to stick to just the one stamp set.

Check out the neat and perfect cutting out in this shot (whilst trying to avoid the less than stellar stamping if you would….)

The perfect border here is due less to my scissor wielding talents, and more to the fact that I now own a very exciting piece of die-cutting machinery plus a die that matches this stamp perfectly!

It’s coming up in less than a week’s time with the amazingly extensive Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue, and without going into too much detail, I can tell you that it starts with “B” and ends in “ig Shot”, so deduce from that what you will

I have another card to show you tomorrow that uses the same decorative scrolly-type stamp in a similar way, but in an entirely different colour combination, so pop in over the weekend to check that out.

In the meantime, head on over to Just Add Ink to check out the amazing array of projects inspired by this combination of colours, and play along for yourself if you like!

Oh, and don’t forget that both the Summer Mini Catalogue and Sale-a-bration are all done and finished come April 1, so if you *need* anything out of either of those catalogues, you’d best be contacting me quick smart!

Just Add Ink Challenge #10 – Colour Challenge
Stamps: Framed with Love, Vintage Labels
Paper: Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Kraft
Ink: Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Whisper White 1/4″ Grosgrain (coloured with Close to Cocoa Marker), Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ dimensionals