Just Add Ink #366 | Just Add A

Hello stamping friends!! I'm super excited that its time for another Just Add Ink Challenge.  This week its Just Add 'A'. While this one did throw me a little as I didn't have any stamp sets starting with A, How weird is that? I thought more about the elements to go on my card for my Just Add 'A'

While we are right in the middle of Winter here in Melbourne my first thoughts went to the Autumn leaves and dies from the Stampin' Up! Colourful Seasons Stamp set and Seasonal Layers thinlits. I've also added the Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate which is another 'A'element to my card.

For my colour combo I've gone for one today that Stampin' Up suggested with the release of their 2017 - 2019 In Colours. Stampin' Up! released this list, as you say, of possible colour combinations to go with the new In Colours. I thought the one circled would be a fabulous one to go with my 'A' theme. Perfect colours for Autumn! Although I've swapped out Pear Pizzazz for Old Olive. I just liked it better. That's all.

Fresh Fig

Calypso Coral

Daffodil Delight

Old Olive

Click on the colour name to see all the Stampin' Up! products in that colour

I first started with the small Old Olive Ombre panel cut from the the Colour Theory DSP stack. I love the soft and subtle ombre on some of the DSP sheets. The graduation of colour is stunning! Once I had this ombre panel cut I then wrapped some Linen Thread to it and tied a Linen Thread Bow. Once the Linen Thread was adhered it was then layered with the Old Olive card base, the Shimmery White Layer and the Fabulous Foil Acetate Layer.

For the Autumn leaves I stamped the veins on the Fresh Fig one with Versamark and then heat embossed it with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder. The Daffodil Delight leaf I stamped the veins with Daffodil Delight Ink and embossed them with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder. The last leaf is in Calypso Coral and die cut with the more intricate of the Autumn Leaf dies. I then attached the leaves to the Linen Thread Bow with glue dots after I tied them together with the 1/8" Gold Ribbon.

Once the leaves were stamped and die cut it was then really a matter of figuring out the rest of the layout and what embellishments to used.

In keeping with the Autumn colour theme and the use of some of the products from the Colour Theory Suite I finished off the card with some of the super stunning and super sparkly Glitter Enamel Dots. Due to the dots on the acetate layer being quite busy I didn't think the card needed much else other than a little piece of Fresh Fig ribbon and a sentiment stamped in Fresh Fig. How stunning is that colour by the way? I'm not normally a purples person but this dark shade of purple is beautiful! 

Be sure to keep a look out at my future blog posts. I'm going to try to attempt to make some creations using every one of the suggested In Colour combinations. Should make for a fun adventure!

I do hope that you will come and join us this week at Just Add Ink for our Just Add 'A' theme.  I'm sure you will come up with some A-mazing creations! Ha! See what I did there! He, He!! All the details for this weeks theme are over at the Just Add Ink Blog. Make sure that you check out all the amazing (yep I did it again, HA!) creations from this amazing Design Team. Gosh these gals are so clever!!! Looking forward to see what you bring with your A-game!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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#TGIFC113 | Technique Time | Bokeh

Hello, Hello! Welcome to the weekend and welcome to another TGIF Challenge. I for one am very glad its Friday. Just a little tired at the end of the week. The days here in Melbourne are a getting a little colder and I'm feeling like I want to hibernate till Winter is over. I might just hibernate in my craft room for a while. I'd be happy with that!

This week over at TGIF Challenges we are using the Bokeh technique for our challenge theme. This technique has been around for a while now. It is so much fun to do and you (usually) get fabulous results very time. 

Bokeh is a photography term which is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens. Bokeh has been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light". 

The term comes from the Japanese word boke, which means "blur" or "haze". Check out these images here to see what Bokeh looks like. 

This blur or haze look is quite easy to replicate in the crafting world too. All you have to do is search Bokeh Technique for Paper Crafting on You Tube and there is a plethora of tutorials to show you how to do this fabulous technique.

Normally when doing the Bokeh technique most will do a watercolour wash first and then sponge the 'blurring' overtop of that, and I did originally start that way, but I thought why not use the Ombre DSP from the Color Theory DSP 6"x6" stack.

I've made some Bokeh cards before and I followed this tutorial that I found on Pinterest. Its very straight forward and really shows you how to do this Bokeh technique.

 I used the Layering Circle Dies and the Big Shot to cut me a circle template out of the Stampin' Up! Window Sheets so I had a few different size circles to sponge with.

With my circle template I used the Stampin' Up! Sponge Daubers and the Whisper White Craft Ink to add my 'Bokeh. I just tapped the white ink on the DSP with the daubers until I got the white coverage that I desired. Don't be afraid to overlap your circles as this is what makes the blur effect. You could just even 'stamp' down an inked up Sponge Dauber for that smaller circle size. Or if you wanted to go even smaller I have seen the eraser end of a pencil inked up and that 'stamped' down. Might have to try that next time.

To embellish my card and finish it off I've stretched out some of the new Copper Trim and then layered it with the Tranquil Tide Finely Woven Ribbon and the Black Mini Sequin Trim. How cute are those wooden hearts?? They are a new embellishment from the new Annual Catalogue - Hearts and Stars. They are etched wooden heart and star emebellishments and they are so very cute!!! Love them!!

Berry Burst

Tranquil Tide

Basic Black

Copper Foil

Click on the colour name to see all the Stampin' Up! products in that colour
 

I hope that I've given you some inspiration for the Bokeh Technique and I really hope that you will give this fabulous technique a go and join us for this weeks challenge. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

For all the details on this weeks challenge remeber to check it out at TGIF Challenges.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Stamp Review Crew | Labeler Alphabet

Hello and welcome! Its that time again! Third Monday of the month. Which means is Stamp Review Crew time! Oh yeah! Perfect way to start off the week with a fabulous blog hop.

If you are joining us for the first time we are a group of International Stampin' Up! demonstrators that show one Stampin' Up! stamp set at a time, every first and third Monday's of the month. Be sure to make your way around the hop by clicking the next button at the bottom of each post. If you get lost along the way click on the banner at the top of each post and that will lead you to the list of hoppers so you can continue seeing all the fabulous creations.

This hop we are using the Labeler Alphabet stamp set and I'm sure this fabulous bunch of crafters will show you amazing ways of how to use this stamp set.

It's got that label maker look but in a stamp set. A fabulous thing about this set is that it is a photopolymer set so you can see through the image for perfect placement when trying to line up all the images.

I've gone with a fabulous colour combo that I've seen with one of the new 2017 -2019 In Colours that looks just amazing. Basic Black, Lemon Lime Twist and Whisper White. Well in my case it's Shimmery White.

Basic Black

Lemon Lime Twist

Whisper White

Click on the colour name to see all the Stampin' Up! products in that colour

I started off with using the Labeler Alphabet stamp set to make a background layer by repeating the words 'Happy Birthday'.

I did use the Misti and rule some faint pencil lines to try and get the lines straight. Some of the letters aren't quite in line with the others but I like that slightly messy look.

Once the background words were stamped I used the Basic Black and Lemon Lime Twist markers to do a little splatter flicking. You use the brush tip end and flick it out away from you using the marker lid. The small splatters are a fun look and add that extra something to any card.

I then cut two of the Happy Birthday Thinlit die in Basic Black and Lemon Lime Twist and layered them on top of each other. I cut the Basic Black one first and when I laid it over the Happy Birthday stamped background it got lost in all that black but layering the two colours on top of each colour really gives that die cut some definition.

Lastly I finished of with a piece of a sentiment from the Happy Celebrations set. The whole sentiment actually said 'Birthday to you' but I only wanted the 'To You' part so I only inked up the part I wanted with Versamark ink and then heat embossed it with White Stampin' Emboss Powder. I've embellished the 'To You' underneath it with the super gorgeous Black Mini Sequin Trim and a small piece of the Lemon Lime Twist Ombre Ribbon. Gorgeous!

I hope that I given you some inspiration with this set and I hope that you remember to use this one because it is a fabulous set! Perfect to make your own sentiments ans sayings.

Now on to Heidi Baks for her stunning creations!

Heidi Baks

Dawn Tidd

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Stampin' Up! Artisan Blog Hop | Happy Birthday Gorgeous

Why hello my stamping friends! So happy to have you here for this edition of the Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team Blog Hop. We are using the oh so fabulous and oh so versatile Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set. It is super cute, super fun, super pretty and a little bit girly too! All the things I love it a stamp set.

Another fabulous thing about this stamp set is that it is one of the amazing bundles in the 2017 - 2018 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. WOOHOO! Buy the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set and the Happy Birthday Thinlit Die together and get 10% off!!! WINNING!!

What a fun and fabulous bundle!

My cards today are a homage or a tribute to the new 2017 - 2019 In Colours. They are so fabulous! I love, love, love them. They are the best ones Stampin' Up! have had for a while where I love every single one of them!!! 

I've made 5 cards today using each of the new In Colours, so just be warned I've taken lots of photos. All of the cards are the same but they all have a different feel with each different In Colour.

I've stamped the In Colour Classic Inks on Crumb Cake cardstock and that gives the ink a different colour look again as opposed to stamping on Whisper White Cardstock. Just gorgeous!! Almost has that vintage sort of feel.

 Berry Burst

Fresh Fig

Lemon Lime Twist

Tranquil Tide

Powder Pink

Here is a close up of one of the cards to give you a better look at some of the finer details. The cards have all been stamped with this open floral image to create a fun background, sponged around the edges with Crumb Cake ink and then using the Basic Black marker and flicking the brush tip end, small black splatters all over the front. 

I then layered Whisper White cardstock and a piece of Vellum embossed with the Petal Burst Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. The 'Happy Birthday' was die cut with Copper Foil. Make sure you use the Precision Base plate when die cutting with intricate dies like these. You'll get a better cut and you wont get those annoying little dots all over your die cut from the die. You'll get a smoother look die cut with the Precision Base Plate.

Each one is then accented with the fun and dotty balloon, stamped with Versamark Ink and then Heat Embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss powder. They are all then finished off with the black metallic thread, tying each balloon to the 'Happy Birthday' die for a fun birthday balloon look.

I'm so loving all these 2017 - 2019 In Colours. If I had to pick one to be my favourite, its like picking a favourite child, Ha!, I'm leaning towards Tranquil Tide with Powder Pink coming in a very close second. See I can't even pick just one I love them all that much! Which one is your favourite?

Berry Burst

Fresh Fig

Lemon Lime Twist

Tranquil Tide

Powder Pink

 Click on the colour name to see all the Stampin' Up! products in that colour

Now onto the other side of the globe with Shannon Lane in Canada. I'm sure she will have something with lots of colour that will sure WOW the socks off you! Love your work Shannon!

Allison Okamitsu

Aurelie Fabre

Cathy Caines

Dani Dziama

Holly Stene

Jennifer Sootkoos

Jessica Winter

Katy Harrison

Kimberly Van Diepen

Louise Sharp 

Maike Ulbrich

Martha Inchley

Mercedes Weber

Mindy Bingamon 

Miriam van Eyden

Paula Dobson

Rochelle Blok

Shannon Lane

Sylwia Schreck 

Tanya Boser 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Stamp To Share International Design Team Blog Hop | Delightful Daisy

Welcome to this months Stamp to Share International Design Team Blog Hop and my newest blog venture. I'm super excited to be the newest member of this design team and super excited to share my first blog post with the Stamp to Share gals. Thanks so much for having me!

Stamp to Share is a monthly blog hop featuring nine designers from the Stampin' Up! markets around the world.  Once every month we will each feature two projects showcasing one Bundle of Stampin' Up! product to inspire you.  

This month we are playing around with the amazingly popular Delightful Daisy Bundle.

Due to Daisy Punch, that is part of this bundle, exceeding all of Stampin' Up!'s sales expectations, here in the South Pacific market, this bundle is currently unavailable. We are currently waiting for the stocks of the daisy punch to be replenished. While we wait, the item numbers have been switched off for the Daisy Punch and the Daisy Delight Bundle to prevent the Daisy punch from being in a near-permanent back order status. The good news is that you are still able to order the stamp set on its own. Its just the punch that is unavailable for a short while and it should be available again in a few weeks time.

 While you wait for the punch to return to stock we are showing you lots of ideas that you can pin in Pinterest or save in your memory bank and have ready to go for when the punch does come back. Maybe you can try some of these ideas with a little bit of fussy cutting in the meantime.

I've got two cards for you today on CAS (Clean and Simple) and the other with a little bit more detail.

This card is a great Thank You card if you need to make lots of them to give out. I'm loving all that white space with this one and then the dramatic clear embossed black thank you and that gorgeous daisy standing on its own.

I used Garden Green to stamp the daisy stem and then stamped the daisy in Smoky Slate for a softer outline rather than black which can sometimes be a little harsh. I then stamped the daisy image again with Daffodil Delight Classic Ink on So Saffron Cardstock. I then fussy cut out the centre of the daisy to get that bright yellow centre.

As we don't have Basic Black Embossing Powder, I first inked up the 'Thank You' with Versamark Ink and then inked it up again with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. I then stamped down the 'Thank You' and then quickly poured over Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder for that shinny look to the sentiment. The clear embossing powder just makes the card look a little bit more special but still is keeping with that CAS look.

I hear you ask 'Why use black Memento ink when Stampin' Up! has the Basic Black Archival ink?' Fabulous question. The answer is because this set is a photopolymer set the archival ink can stain the photopolymer. I like to use the Memento Ink as you can clean it off the photopolymer stamp sets using the Stampin' Up! Stampin' Mist Stamp Cleaner.

To keep with the CAS look I added just a small bow to the daisy stem using the Gold Metallic Thread. Pretty!

The second card uses the large daisy image from the set as well as some other new products from the new 2017 - 2018 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.

I knew I wanted to use the large daisy image and also the new Night of Navy Gingham Ribbon. I thought they would go well together and give a bit of a rustic feel. My card then evolved from there.

To get the full daisy look you need to stamp 2 of the daisy images, punch or cut them out and then lay one on top of the other to get that full effect.

I did just start with having the daisy in the jar with a crumb cake background but it was 'missing' something. I kept looking at it and played around with DSP and the thought the Wood Textures DSP stack would continue with that rustic feel and then I thought what about some embossing paste too! How fabulous is that brick pattern from the Pattern Party Decorative Masks? Love the texture of it and loving the look of the embossing paste over the DSP for more of that rustic element.

How cute is that little jar? That is from the new Ronald McDonald House Charities Stamp Set - Sharing Sweet Thoughts. It is super cute and for every one of these stamp sets sold Stampin' Up! will donate $3.00 AUD to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Not only do you get a fabulous stamp set but you are also supporting a very worthwhile cause. Another fabulous thing about this set is that it co-ordinates with the Everyday Jar Framelits Dies from the 2016 - 2107 Annual Catalogue.

The 1/2" Gingham Ribbon is just gorgeous! Love, Love, Love!!! It comes not only in the Night of Navy colour but also it Smoky Slate as well. Cute, Cute, Cute!!

I do hope that I've given you some more ideas on using this set. If you are waiting for the punch to come available again there is always the option of fussy cutting with the Stampin' Up! Paper Snips.

Now on to Sandi MacIver in Canada with her amazing creations! She is just fabulous!

Monica Gale - UK

Amy Koenders - USA

Rochelle Blok - Australia - You are here

Sandi MacIver - Canada

Paula Dobson - New Zealand

Caroline Van der Straaten - Netherlands

Barbara Becker - Austria

Nadine Koeller - Germany

Moira Mcllroy - France

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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#TGIFC111 - Sketch Challenge

Hello and a big welcome to you!! SO happy to have you here today! We have an all new challenge for you today over at TGIF Challenges #111 and its my favourite type of challenge - sketch! Yay!

I do love me a good sketch and a do love to change it up a little. I may or may not have done that today. OK I have but I couldn't help myself! I just wanted to use some brand new products and it looked better to me changed around a little.

I had my very first attempt at using the NEW and oh so very fabulous Embossing Paste with the Pattern Party Decorative Masks. And I am very pleased to say that this paste is AMAZING!!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. I'm thinking of getting me some more so I never run out!! Its that good!

I've used the large circle mask today. You get 4 masks in the Pattern Party Decorative Masks so all different looks for all different creations. The circle mask almost looks like a Mandala which are so on trend at the moment. You just lay the mask over your cardstock and scrape the paste over the mask with the Palette Knives until you have achieved the look you are after. Its really simple to use and it dries really quickly so you don't have to wait around for hours for your card to dry. TIP : Becuase the paste dries really quickly make sure you wash your mask and palette knives straight away otherwise you may have a difficult time trying to clean off dried on embossing paste.

This large circle mask teams well with the stamp set and the dies from the Eastern Palace Suite which is what I've done here today. With the card base being Night of Navy, I put the card together with Powder Pink, Pool Party and Gold. Love this colour combo.

I've also used some other new products from the new 2017 - 2018 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue - Mini Sequin Trim, love that new size, Pool Party Solid Bakers Twine and Pool Party Shimmer Ribbon, so gorgeous!!

Night of Navy

Pool Party

Powder Pink

Gold Foil

Click on the colour to see all the Stampin' Up! products in that colour

 Here is a You Tube clip that shows you how to use the new Embossing Paste. Another fabulous thing is that you can colour it too with the Stampin' Up! Re-Inkers. Got to love that!

 Be sure to stop by and check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team and why not play along yourself?

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

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Stamp Review Crew | Colourful Seasons

Welcome stamping friends!! Welcome to another Stamp Review Crew Blog Hop!

If you are joining us for the first time we are a group of International Stampin' Up! demonstrators that show one Stampin' Up! stamp set at a time, every first and third Monday's of the month. Be sure to make your way around the hop by clicking the next button at the bottom of each post. If you get lost along the way click on the banner at the top of each post and that will lead you to the list of hoppers so you can continue seeing all the fabulous creations.

We are hopping today with an all new set from the all new 2017 - 2018 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue - Colourful Seasons. Oh yeah! Got to love new products!!!

Colourful Seasons is a fabulous and very versatile set and has something for all the seasons. As we are currently in Winter here in Melbourne, Australia, I'm creating with some of the wintry products in the set. Although we don't get snow here in winter I've had a play (again) with the snowflakes to give you that winter feel.

I started with embossing the snowflakes on Shimmery White cardstock with White Stampin' Emboss Powder for that white on white look. I love the subtle and soft look of the white on white and it is such a classic look. Over top of the embossed snowflakes I've flicked the Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker for some soft splatters to continue with that soft and subtle look.

Next once the splatters were dry (they didn't take long) I wrapped some Solid Whisper White Bakers Twine around the card base. Again keeping with the soft and subtle colour theme.

Next I embossed the 'Life is a beautiful thing' sentiment using White Stampin' Emboss powder onto Pool Party cardstock. After embossing then I used the Stitched Shapes Framelits to die cut the circle. As I stamped that sentiment I really took notice of it. Life really is a beautiful thing and especially in nature like the snowflakes for example they really are an amazing work of art and that's just the snowflakes. One teeny tiny part of creation!

I finished off the card with some of the snowflake dies that come from the co-ordinating thinlit set, Seasonal Layers. How gorgeous is that Pool Party, Gold and White colour combo. So pretty! Love it!!

Pool Party

Gold Foil

Whisper White

Click on the colour to see all the Stampin' Up! products in that colour

I hope that I've given you some inspiration with this set. If you would like to see another of my Colourful Seasons creation check it out here.

Now on to my friend from all the way on the other side of Australia in Western Australia, Kelly Kent. She will knock your socks off. Love her creations!

Kelly Kent 

Karen Gooch

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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