Part two of my challenging week – this time set by Narelle, a member of my ‘A Klass Act’ stampin’ team, on our online forum.

Narelle issued a challenge to use three different shades of the same colour – a monochromatic type scheme – for which I chose to focus on blues, specifically Brocade Blue, Brilliant Blue and Night of Navy…

It looks for all the world as though the focus is out on my camera in this photo, and truth be told, it may just be, but the blur is kind of magnified by the shadow stamping effect that I used with two different colours of blue ink…

This card gave me an opportunity to use some of the soon to be retired colours of cardstock in my stash – a stash that has been relocated to my stamping desk, right in front of my face so as to remind me that I really must use them as much as I can in these next few weeks.

Some of the retiring colours are already sold out, and many more are heading out the door in large numbers, so if you have yet to load up your stores with cardstock, ink and refills that are on the fond farewell list, be sure to get in touch to order some soon

“Upsy Daisy Blues”
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Sanded
Paper: Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Brilliant Blue, Very Vanilla
Ink: Brocade Blue, Night of Navy
Accessories: Large Oval Punch, Brocade Blue 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

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

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

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

Aaarghhhh!  I’m late!

And I’m exhausted due to my big girl having started back at school today and all the fun and frivolity and fresh new stationery (mmmmmmm!) that comes with the last week of the summer holidays.

But mostly I’m late.  To show you my card for the current Just Add Ink challenge (that kicked off …….last Thursday!)

Chances are you have already seen my card on the JAI blog itself, and I suspect that a good many of you have judging by the many, many challenge entries that are flooding in!

The challenge this week….?  Just add HEARTS!

This theme suited me perfectly as we had an engagement party to go to last weekend, so this card was created, photographed, emailed to the Just Add Ink girls and given away, all in the blink of an eye!

‘Tis a pity that it wasn’t blogged with such speed and frightening efficiency…

I’m not sure if you can quite make out the detail of the heart image, so here’s a bit of a closer look…

The heart image from Simply Said was stamped onto Vellum Cardstock in Whisper White Craft Ink and embossed with White Embossing Powder.

Then I coloured onto the back of the vellum using markers to create the stained glass window type effect.

Then with the two different sized square punches and a goodly amount of stuffing about to get the layers to line up, I created the little see through window-ish type thingamy that you can see in the above photo.

Then some background stamping, ribbon and a rub-on completed the job!

If you’re keen to join the challenge for this week and you have a window of stampin’ opportunity to do so between now and midnight on Wednesday, I’d encourage you to jump on in!

“Just Add Hearts Engagement Card”
Stamps: Simply Said, Sanded background
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Vellum cardstock
Ink: Whisper White craft, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Rose Red Wide Double Stitched Ribbon, White Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin’ Write Markers, Chit Chat Rub-ons, 1-3/8″ and 1-1/4″ Square Punches, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stampin’ Sponges

The very first time I saw the Jumbo Stampin’ Around wheel Neighbourhood, I just had to own it!

It was one of those things that, although I didn’t have an immediate pressing need for it (because as we all well know, so many stamping things DO fall into the category of immediate pressing need ), I knew that it would be perfect for so many things.

Nevermind that I could just tell it would be super fun to watercolour.  And at $15.95 for the wheel, it was a bargain to boot!

Here is a card that I made a couple of months back for the family of one of the little girls in my big girl’s school class that had just built and moved into their new house….

The process of watercolouring the image took forever, but if I recall, I combined it with a spot of mindless TV – one of my favourite combinations of activities – so thoroughly enjoyed the time!

You can sort of tell in the picture, but in real life the colours were amazingly vibrant, which is one of the things that I love about using watercolour paper – the ability to layer and shade and add depth of colour without the paper going all soggy and pilly (not sure if that’s a word but I’m sure you know what I mean…) in the process!

I have made at least two other cards with the Neighbourhood wheel, but have made the irritating discovery this afternoon that a bunch of pictures that I took back in late September have somehow gone missing – one of which was a picture of a card using this wheel that I gave to some new neighbours that moved in across the street and another that was a gift I made for a prac teacher in my daughter’s class at the end of Term 3.  That one didn’t use the Neighbourhood wheel, but was a project I was very much looking forward to sharing here as it used the Parisian Breeze DSP from the Spring Mini that finishes up at the end of the month…

I am trying not to think too hard about what other pictures I took around that time that I have also lost, so let’s change the subject shall we….?

Alrighty, who else loves the Neighbourhood wheel??!!  You can own one yourself for the bargain price of $15.95 that I mentioned earlier (plus $10.50 for the Stampin’ Around handle if you don’t already have one).  Not bad for hours of colouring fun and the cutest little houses you ever did see!

Contact me today to get yours….!

“Housewarming Card”
Stamps: Neighbourhood Stampin’ Around Wheel, Sanded, Short & Sweet
Paper: Old Olive, More Mustard, Ruby Red, Watercolour Paper
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Old Olive, a variety of inks for watercolouring, not all of which I can recall with 100% clarity, but inclusive of Baja Breeze, Going Grey, More Mustard, Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip…..
Accessories: Aquapainter, Choc Chip wide grosgrain ribbon, Stampin’ Sponges

The most difficult cards to make are always the ones conveying sympathy for the loss of a loved one, and I had reason to make one of these this week for a dear friend of mine who lost a long-time friend of hers in the most tragic and terribly sad of circumstances.

This is card that I took around to my friend today.

The soft look of the flowers in the Upsy Daisy stamp set is achieved by colouring directly to the rubber with Watercolour Wonder crayons, spritzing the stamp with water and stamping onto watercolour paper.  It was exactly the soft, muted look I was hoping for.

Thinking of you Deen…

“Just Because I Care”
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Sanded, Best Yet
Paper: Always Artichoke, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Mellow Moss, Watercolour Paper
Ink: Always Artichoke, Regal Rose
Accessories: Watercolour Wonder Crayons (Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke), Eyelet Border Punch, Rose Red wide stitched grosgrain, Button Latte Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Stampin’ Sponges

As promised, here are the whole cards that I gave you a brief sampling of yesterday.  I know that one of the cards has been received due to the very sweet and enthusiastic comment left earlier (*waving* SJ!) and I’m going to take a chance that the other two will have been found before the recipients check in here….

So here we go….

This card was sent to my lovely Aunty Mary, sister of my mum, frequent blog commenter, enthusiastic cheerleader and a wonderful influence in my life.  I wanted her to know just how much I love and appreciate her.

For the card itself, I stamped the birdie using Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.  Then I used markers in the colours of the cardstock I had chosen and coloured in the little “carved out” bits through to the cardstock below.

“A card for Aunty Mair”
Stamps: Always, Best Yet, Sanded
Paper: Old Olive, Cameo Coral, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Versamark, Old Olive
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Old Olive wide grosgrain, Old Olive & Cameo Coral Markers, Stampin’ Sponges

Here’s the next one…

This one landed in the mailbox of my dear friend and fellow demonstrator, Sarah Jane Kalé, one of many friends I have made due to my association with Stampin’ Up! and one of the reasons I am thankful that I became a demonstrator at all.

During the recent school holidays, SJ and I were meant to catch up with our little ones but on the morning in question I woke up with a raging migraine and had to cancel to spend the day on the couch with an ice-pack on my head.  Sarah offered to have the girls for me so that I could ice my thumping head in peace – just one example of the sweetness that is Sarah, not to mention that she is one of the most talented stampers I know!  Love ya SJ!

The sentiment on this card is perfect and I wanted to use a bunch of vibrant colours, so I chose a combination of markers that I liked based on the colours in my small girl’s current favourite dress and coloured the words all differently.  The Baroque background stamp is embossed with clear embossing powder.

“A card for Sarah Jane”
Stamps: Occasional Greetings, Baroque
Paper: Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Pink Passion, Whisper White
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Certainly Celery wide grosgrain, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink & Apricot Appeal Markers, Eyelet Border Punch, Button Bouquet Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Now for the last one…

This one went to Makeesha, another demonstrator and gorgeous friend who endlessly shares her boundless stamping talents.  I was looking forward to catching up with her at the Perth Regionals last weekend, but this time the migraine monster came visiting her and she wasn’t able to attend.

I wasn’t the only disappointed one, as I know many Perth stampers were busting for the opportunity to breathe the same air and maybe even exchange a word or two with Keesh, stamp-star that she is, and I’m sure she was also saddened to have to miss out on such a fun day of stamping.

For this card I inked up Garden Whimsy, which I haven’t done for quite some time, and was happy with how it turned out.  You might notice that the layout is pretty much the same as Aunty Mary’s birdie card, just different stamps and colours

“A card for Keesh”
Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Best Yet, Sanded
Paper: Bashful Blue, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon, Pumpkin Pie Marker, Eyelet Border Punch, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I hope you enjoyed checking out my cards as much as I enjoyed making them   If you’d like further information about any of the techniques or products involved in the creation of these cards, please don’t hesitate to contact me.