JAI #97 - Just Add Inspiration

Good Morning

This week at Just Add Ink the challenge is to use this photo I found in a Vogue, or maybe it was Harper's Bazzar I was flicking through whilst I was the hairdressers as inspiration for your creation.  (It will also explain the average photo as it was taken with my phone.)

Here it is

Of course, I fell in love with it, because, after all, it is an advert for Tiffany & Co, but I thought these little purses in such vibrant colours were just to die for.  Santa, if you're reading this, I would not be sad to see the pink one, or the blue one under our Christmas tree *wink*

I thought the colours in the photo looked very much along the lines of Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade, so they are the colours, along with a bit of silver that I have chosen to work with. 

And this is what I came up with

I cannot tell you how many versions of this I went through to eventually end up using this 'test' piece.  I tried it using my treasured textured Whisper White, with the Melon Mambo stamped off once, with it at full strength,with the Poppy Parade being brushed on using a marker, with the Poppy Parade being rock'n'rolled, with it being stamped on watercolour paper, with it being spritzed with water on watercolour paper, with 3 spritzes not being enough and 4 being too many - OMG it just went on & on & on.  In the end, I chose this one that was on plain Whisper White, with the Melon Mambo being stamped off once and the Poppy Parade being rock'n'rolled on.  The sentiment is from the same set and was stamped in Encore Silver and embossed with Silver embossing powder.  This should have taken 15 - 20 mins max, instead of the nearly 1-1/2 hours it actually did.

I hope you enjoy this inspiration photo and look forward to seeing your creations.  Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with too.  As usual, lots of beautiful creations to inspire you.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend

Supplies Used:  Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps:  Botanical Silhouettes (PTI Anniversary set)
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Encore Silver (retired by SU! but probably still available elsewhere)
Cardstock:  Whisper White,. Pool Party
Accessories:  Silver embossing powder, Heat Tool, dimensionals

JAI #93 - Colour Challenge

This week at Just Add Ink we have a colour challenge, check out these gorgeous colours that Kim picked out for us

I must admit though, I did struggle a little with them, especially the Melon Mambo, which is a tad bright compared to the others.  It took me 5 goes to come up with this

I've found myself in a bit of a 'packaging' mode and decided to give my unused Pillow Box die, which by coincidence, is part of the Stampin' Up! promotion this month, a whirl.

I cut it out of Whisper White and stamped it in alternating bands of colour.  The sentiment is stamped in Pool Party and punched out using the Modern Label Punch.  I used a couple of rhinestones to accent the tag, and tied it all up using the Organza Ribbon, which is one of my absolute favourite ribbons.

I'm off the the Stampin' Up! Regionals in Melbourne this weekend and I'm looking forward to catching up with all my stamping friends, many of whom I only see at this event. 

Make sure you check out the rest of the Design Team's creations - lots of pretty inspiration for you.  Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless specified otherwise
Stamps:  Faux Ribbon (PTI)
Cardstock:  Whisper White
Ink:  Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Melon Mambo
Accessories:  Big Shot, Pillow Box die, Modern Label Punch, Rhinestones, Organza Ribbon

A Sale to 'Die' For!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm posting this, it's been forever since I've posted a SU! promotion on my blog, but here you go!

During the month of November 2011, Stampin' Up! are offering 10% off selected Big Shot dies & embossing folders and a Big Shot bundle (if you don't already have a Big Shot).  The full details are listed below:

 And if you don't have a Big Shot?  Get 10% off the exclusive Big Shot Bundle!  The Big Shot Bundle includes the following:

 If you would like to take advantage of this great offer or wish to order any other Stampin' Up! products, please feel free to contact me, I can take orders from all over Australia and have them shipped directly to you.

Thanks for visiting and hope you are having a great day!  (It's a holiday here for the Melbourne Cup!)

JAI #91 - Colour Challenge

Wow, it feels like it's been ages since I've posted on here, well it probably has been.  Last Friday I had my first workshop in a very long time.  Oh my, I was so rusty, so many things had changed, hope I didn't mess up to bad.

Anyway, on to the challenge this week at Just Add Ink, we have a colour challenge - Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler and a Neutral of Choice

I was just thinking to myself I probably took the easy way out using Whisper White as my third colour, turns out it's what I should have been using anyway.  OMG, I really need to READ what the challenge is.  It wouldn't be the first time I have made a mistake because I didn't read the challenge properly.

This is what I made

and this is what is inside

This is the Sizzix Box #2, which holds these 2 pieces of fudge just perfectly.  I found the fudge at Aldi when doing the shopping, it was very reasonably priced and I thought they would be great for gifts for the staff at my son's Kinder.

For this one, I have stamped the polka dot image in Versamark and embossed using Cherry Cobbler embossing powder.  Can I just tell you how much I love the fact that SU! are offering coloured embossing powder.  I LOVE heat embossing - it's one of my favourite techniques.  I must admit I probably wouldn't emboss for more than one of these cause it was a little time consuming, but it adds that little bit 'extra' for the challenge.

The tag is from the Tags till Christmas set, which I was lucky enough to win during Prize Patrol at Convention this year.  It has also been embossed with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder and punched out using the Decorative Label Punch.  It was all tied up using White Organza ribbon.

The box is super easy to put together and depending upon how you decorated them, you could whip lots of them up in no time at all.

Well, that's all from me today.  Be sure to check out the rest of the gorgeous creations the Design Team has come up with - lots of wonderful inspiration, as usual.

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps:  Tags Til Christmas, Polka Dot Basics 2 (PTI)
Ink:  Versamark
Cardstock:  Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Accessories:  Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder, Big Shot, Sizzix Box #2 die, Sticky Strip, White Organza Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, pretty silver cord.
Fudge from Aldi

JAI #89 - Just Add Inspiration

Happy Friday to you

This week Delys has provided us with a beautiful inspiration photo to work with.  Look, isn't it beautiful

I took a very literal inspiration from this photo, using the colours and the silhouette, and this is what I came up with

I decided to try for an old style, polaroid/border photo look, so I masked off some glossy white cardstock and sponged some Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango and Wisteria Wonder inks over the image and sentiment that I had stamped in Versamark and embossed with Black embossing powder.  That panel is then mounted on a Basic Black card base using dimensionals.

Well, that's it from me.  Hope you have a wonderful day and weekend.

Thanks for visiting


Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps:  Trendy Trees, Love & Sympathy  (not available in Australia)
Ink:  Versamark, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango and Wisteria Wonder
Cardstock:  Glossy White, Basic Black
Accessories:  Black Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Dimensionals

JAI #87 Colour Challenge

This week at Just Add Ink, we have a colour challenge using a couple of the new In Colours - here they are

I must admit, the last few weeks I've been suffering from a lack of inspiration and this week was no exception.   I really had no idea of what I was going to do with these pretty colours until I came across some sketches I downloaded from PaperCrafts Magazine - I think they were the basis for their Card Ideas for Paper Crafters edition, but I can't find the link for where I downloaded and printed them out from now, sorry.

Anyway, this is what I came up with

It's a little embarrassing to admit it took me 4 goes to get this right.  First of all, I couldn't decide on the layout of the stripes, then once I decided on the layout, I couldn't remember what lines I was using to get the spacing right and then I put a great big finger print on one.  Anywhoo, this one turned out OK, so I quickly mounted it onto the card base before my son could cut it up - he was 'helping' in the studio and chopping everything he could find into teeny, tiny pieces.

I cut the banner using my Petal Cone die, I like how it is overhanging the edges of the card, I've seen it done before but never tried it myself.

Well, that's it from me today.  Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with - there a lots of absolutely gorgeous creations to spark your creativity.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy your weekend.  Hope your team wins!

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Faux Ribbon, Birthday Basics (PTI Ink)

Ink:  Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake (SU!)

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake (SU!)

Accessories:  Petal Cone die, Big Shot , Linen Thread, dimensionals (SU!), Buttons (PTI)

JAI 85 - Just Add Baby

OH MY GOODNESS, I was just preparing my post for tomorrow's Just Add Ink Challenge, and I've come across this, which I have totally forgotten about.  I started the post but never got around to finishing it. Oh dear, have a lot going on at the moment.  Sorry.

This week at Just Add Ink, Patrice challenged us to Just Add Baby.  I must admit that this week I have had so much going on and have felt so tired that I just didn't get around to creating something brand spanking new, so I have cheated just a little *blush*

The card that I have to show you today is the card I made for my friend Felicity's baby shower, but as I haven't shown it on my blog, I thought I would use it for this challenge

I stamped my Fox & Friends in Riding Hood Red, Baja Blue, So Saffron and Sahara Sand Craft Ink and embossed them using a clear pearl embossing powder that I've had in my stash for ages and absolutely love.  I love how it has given them a nice, soft feel.  The sentiment is from an old SAB set - one of my favourites.

I have embossed the front of the card using my Polka dots embossing folder on the 'wrong' side so the dots are debossed rather than embossed.

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamps:  Fox & Friends, Congrats (retired)

Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Sahara Sand Craft Ink

Card Stock:  Whisper White

Accessories:  Big Shot, Polka Dot embossing folder, Heat Gun, Corner Rounder (retired), dimensionals, Pearl Embossing Powder (from stash)

New Baby

Friends of ours had a baby a couple of weeks ago, this is the card that I made for her.

I've used some items that are now available in the new SU! catalogue.  I've stamped the pennants using Pretty In Pink ink and punched them out with the Petite Pennants punch.  The letters and sentiment were stamped in Versamark and embossed with Melon Mambo embossing powder.  These were punched out using the 1/2" RD punch.

For the background, I added some of the Bigshot Adhesive sheets to the back of Whisper White cardstock and then punched them using the Lace Ribbon punch.  I'm still not sure if I'd recommend this method to others as my punch didn't really seem to appreciate that very thin extra layer of glue and backing paper but it did make it a cinch to adhere to the card.

This card is a bit bigger than normal, from memory I think it was 21 x 20 cm with the 20 cm side being folded at 10 cm.  I can tell you that it fits into a DL sized envelope though.  And as extra long as this card is, I still couldn't fit the name William on, so Flickity Flick, young William will have to wait a bit longer for his welcome to the world card whilst I try to come up with another idea!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Supplies Used:  (All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps:  Pennant Parade, Fresh Alphabet (PTI), Welcome Littel One (Stamp A Rosa - I think, it's very old)

Ink:  Pretty In Pink, Versamark

Cardstock:  Whisper White

Accessories:  Big Shot Adhesive Sheets, Ribbon Lace Punch, Petite Pennants Punch, 1/2" RD Punch, Melon Mambo embossing powder, Heat Tool, Bakers Twine

JAI #83 - Sketch Challenge

It's sketch challenge time over a Just Add Ink this week.  This is what Bron came up with.

And this is my take on it.

I was inspired by last week's, use something from your stash challenge.  I found this DSP when I was digging out the piece I used for last year's challenge and was really surprised to see how well it went with SU's Rich Razzleberry.  I was almost a perfect match and I've had it for at least 8 years (and never used it).  I was also pleased to see how well Certainly Celery matched as well.  The doily is one that I picked up at the party supply shop across the road from my work.  The just leaves the sentiment.  There's a bit of a funny story behind this sentiment.  This is one of the very first stamps I bought when I first started stamping.  I remember telling my friend at the time, that if I had a 'Happy Birthday' sentiment and a 'Merry Christmas' sentiment, that I would pretty much be 'set' in my stamping needs.  I also very foolishly, said that I would be able to keep all of my crafting stuff in a 12" x 12" square craft tote.  Oh my, how delusional was I.  It's laughable really, when you look at how much stuff I now own.

Well, that's it from me today.  Be sure to check out what what the rest of the Design Team have come up with.

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps:  Happy Birthday (Stamp-It)
Cardstock:  Rich Razzelberry, Certainly Celery, DSP from can't remember but it was a well know brand, doily
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Big Shot, Circles #2 die, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, White Embossing Powder, Scallop Border Punch.

JAI #82 - Just Add Something From Your Stash

This weeks's challenge at Just Add Ink is to Add Something from Your Stash, preferably something you've not used before!  This was my idea and I found it extremely difficult as I was totally overwhelemed with options.  No real surprise there though, lol!

Anyway, this is what I came up with

It's based on a Make A Card Monday card by Kristina Werner.  The frame was so easy to do - I used my Martha Stewart Scoring Board - and it's so effective.

The paper is something I've had in my stash for at least 5 years.  It's so pretty and shimmery but I had never gotten around to using it.  The sentiment is from PTI and has been in my stash for well over 12 months without being used.  It's been embossed with White Embossing Powder. 

I really love how it's turned out and it's a design that I will be able to reproduce for the squillions of birthday cards that I need to make for September, and use some more of that unused DSP that is laying around in my stash.

I can't wait to see what you use from your stash for this week's challenge.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend

Supplies Used: 

Stamps:  Giga Guidelines (PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock:  Bashful Blue (SU!), pretty paper from my stash - no idea who the manufacturer is

Ink:  Versamark

Accessories:  Embossing Buddy, White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Dimensionals (all from Stampin' Up!), Martha Stewart Scoring Board

Another Sneak Peek

Here is another sneak peak of some of the new 2011 - 2013 In Colours.

In this card, which is basically a CASE of this card by Julie Buhler, I've used Pool Party and Island Indigo. I've inked up my clear blocks to create the background (again), and I've stamped the splodge from Extreme Elements in Going Gray. The guitarist was stamped in Versamark and embossing with Black EP. The sentiment is from PTI, and is one of my favourites!   Oh, the white layer is popped up on dimensionals.

Only a couple of weeks now until the new catalogue goes live - I can't wait - what about you????

I had something else written here and then my laptop went beserk (as it often does, it's very annoying) and deleted it.  I can't remember what I had written, so I'll just leave it at that, lol!

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise.
Stamps:  Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Birthday Basics (PTI)
Ink:  Versamark, Going Gray (retired), Pool Party, Island Indigo (available September 1)
Cardstock:  Whisper White Textured, Island Indigo
Accessories:  Black Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool

JAI #80 - Sketch Challenge

Hello

It's Friday (YAY!!) and that means it challenge time over at JAI.  This week we have a sketch challenge, brought to you by Bron, check it out

Bron originally called it a Pocket Card with a flourish, and this is my interpretation of it

I've made some packaging for a little block of chocolate.

I must admit, I'm quite proud of this because I made the packaging all by myself, based off a little box of complimentary mints I received at one of our Regional seminars.  It was a lot easier than I thought, and it took me less time to make the box than it did to stamp it, which isn't that suprising when you look at the quality of stamping here.  Not the best, I must say.  A lot of the credit has to go to my score board though, it made it super easy.

Do you like the colour of the cardstock  - it's the new In Colour, Wisteria Wonder.  I think it's gorgeous.  Do you like the stamp I've used??  That is the new Parlour Prints background stamp that will be available to purchase on September 1, 2011.  I've stamped it in Versamark and embossed using clear embossing powder

The sentiment is from Just Believe and has been stamped in Wisteria Wonder.  So are you excited to see what else is coming up in the new Stampin' Up! catalog - not long to wait now!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, lots of gorgeous inspiration for you!

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Just Believe, Parlour Prints (available September 1, 2011)
Ink:  Versamark, Wisteria Wonder (available September 1, 2011)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder (available September 1, 2011)
Accessories:  Heat Gun, Clear Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy (yes, really!), Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch (well, that's what I call it anyway), Vintage Brads, Bakers Twine, Sticky Strip, Martha Stewart Score Board

New Catalog Sneak Peek

Last week, I was able to place an order for goodies from the upcoming 2011/2012 Stampin' Up! catalog, one of the great perks of being a demo.  My order arrived on Friday and I put this together over the weekend.

It's pretty much a case of this card by Tessa Wise, with a couple of changes.  I've used the Delicate Doilies stamp set and one of the new 2011 - 2013 In Colours - Pool Party, along with Chocolate Chip and Wild Wasabi.  The colour combo I chose using my Colour Coach - additional colour swatches for the 2011 - 2013 In Colours will be available for purchase on September 1.   The senitment is from So Happy For You, that was available during this year's SAB promotion.  As per usual, I never seem to get around to using my SAB sets until SAB is well and truly over.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see my JAI DT submission for more catalog sneak peeks!

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Delicate Doilies (available September 1, 2011), So Happy for You (retired, SAB 2011)

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Pool Party (available September 1, 2011), Versamark

Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party (available September 1, 2011)

Accessories:  Heat Gun, Green Embossing Powder, Bakers Twine

JAI #78 - Colour Challenge

Howdy, this week we have a colour challenge at Just Add Ink

These colours ended up being quite versatile and I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do a masculine card, a baby card, since my friend Felicity welcomed her much anticipated bundle of joy to the world a week ago today, or something floral.  I decided on the floral and started off using my 'Just Because' set.  After faffing around watercolouring it, sprizting it with shimmer mist and cutting it out, I decided to do something completely different after getting sidetracked by something I found on the floor!  This is what I ended up making

And I totally love it.  The card base is Sahara Sand textured cardstock, as is the top panel.  I have stamped that panel with Sahara Sand ink by inking up one of my clear blocks and stamping directly onto the cardstock.  I really love the effect this technique gives.  I then coloured the inside of the Flower Garden embossing folder using Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Not Quite Navy markers.  I shoved the stamped piece into the embossing folder and ran it through the Big Shot and this is the result.  Then I just used dimensionals to attach it to the card base.  I did try adding a sentiment, but didn't like the way it looked so I trashed it and started again.  Not so much of a big deal because I had already accidently used my Early Espress marker instead of the Chocolate Chip one - oops.  To clean the inside of my embossing folder, I just spritzed it with a little Stampin' Mist and then popped a baby wipe inside and ran it through the Big Shot and it came out as clean as a whistle :)

Make sure you check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, lots of beautiful ideas to inspire you I'm sure.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend

Supplies Used:
Ink:  Sahara Sand; Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip markers
Cardstock:  Sahara Sand Textured
Accessories:  Big Shot, Flower Garden embossing folder (US only), clear block, dimensionals

Last Convention Make & Take

As promised, just a 'few' weeks ago now, here is another of the Make & Takes we did at the 2011 Stampin' Up! Convention.

Mine is a little different to most as the sample card had the Old Olive cardstock crimped and distressed with Early Espresso ink.  Here's where I admit that I'm not really a fan of the 'crimped' look - I think it's because it brings back too many memories of BAD 80's hair and associated fashions.  Anyhoo, I decided not to crimp and I'm SO glad I did because I just love how this has turned out.  I can't remember the exact dimensions of the card, except to say that it fits into the Small Open End Envelopes.

The card base and the piece the butterfly is stamped on is Natural Ivory cardstock, the Early Espresso scalloped border was punched using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch* and cut in half.  The butterfly was coloured with Not Quite Navy, Old Olive and Early Espress markers and it, along with the swirl can be found in the Creative Elements* set.  The sentiment is from the It's Your Day set*.  It's Your Day coordinates with the Great Day Simply Sent kit which we were all given during convention.  I'm yet to actually crack that open - no real surprise there though :)

Thanks for visiting, I'll be back to show you a card that I entered into the 2011 Papercrafts Gallery Idol competition.  I didn't make the cut, which is not suprising since there were SO many fabulous creations, but I love how the card turned out anyway.

Hope you have great day, thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:  (All Stampin' Up!)

Stamps:  Creative Elements, It's Your Day * (available for purchase September 1, 2011)

Ink:  Old Olive, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso markers

Cardstock:  Naturals Ivory, Old Olive, Early Espresso

Accessories:  Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch * (available for purchase September 1, 2011), dimensionals

JAI #76 - Inspiration

This week at Just Add Ink the challenge is to create something inspired by this gorgeous photo

Aren't the colours and the view just beautiful?  Anyway,  for this week, I decided to take some additional inspiration from the new US catalog that was released just last week and which is choc full of absolutely gorgeous samples, and this is what I came up with

This card is basically a CASE of the gorgeous card on the front of cover of the catalog, minus a few of the new items that are yet to come our way.  I have used the Creative Elements set, which will be available here on September 1.  The cardstock is from PTI and an almost exact match to the new Pool Party In Colour, which will also be available on September 1.  I have clear embossed with swirl and I tried very hard to dry emboss the oval, however my tearing got a bit out of control and ended up being a bit too close to the dry embossed line so you can't really see it.

The new US catty is absolutely gorgeous, so full of beautiful new products and samples.  I can hardly wait for the release of ours in just a few weeks as a LOT of those products are coming our way - we saw sneak peeks during Convention a few weeks ago.

Well, that all from me.  Be sure to check out what the rest of the DT have done - the photo has provided lots inspiration and therefore, lots of beautiful creations.

Supplies Used:  (All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps:  Creative Elements (available September 1, 2011)
Ink:  Versamark, Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake, Old Olive
Cardstock:  Whisper White Textured, Old Olive, Pretty In Pink, Crumb Cake DSP, Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories:  Heat Gun, Clear Embossing Powder, Decorative Label punch, Extra Large Oval punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Bitty Shapes punchpack, Photo Corner punch, White organza ribbon, Pearls

Fancy Folds Blog Hop - JAI 74

JUST ADD INK FANCY FOLDS BLOG HOP

Z Fold

Welcome to the next stop on the JAI Blog Hop, I hope you enjoyed viewing Delys' fabulous star card and you're ready to check out another Fancy Fold.  Too bad, I have made a fairly straight forward Z fold card, lol!

Here's a few more photos from differnt angles

Close up of the inside panel

Close up of the front

This card is fairly simple to  make.  All I did was take a 12x12 piece of Whisper White textured cardstock and cut that at 14.85 cm, which is the same side as a piece of A5 cardstock folded in half.  Then I scored it at 4" and 8" on the 12" side.  Here's a quick picture of it on my score board

When I folded it, I made a mountain fold at 4" and a valley fold at 8".  Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!

The card was inspired by a teeny tiny picture of a wedding invitation I saw in a magazine.  I have also noticed that I'm quite liking the sentiment stamped on a vellum strip at the moment.

Well, that's all from me today.  Thanks for stopping by, now it's time to move onto the fabulous, Kathy Tanner's blog where she has another awesome Fancy Fold for you to try.  Just click on the blinkie below to take you there.

Supplies Used:  (All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps:  Trendy Trees, Life (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black, Staz On
Cardstock:  Whisper White textured, Basic Black, Vellum
Accessories:  Dimensionals, SNAIL

JAI #72 - Just Add Colouring

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to Just Add Colouring - either using markers, inks, blender pens, aqua painters etc, etc, etc.  I've been dreading this one cause I'm not all that good at colouring, a fact that is evident by the amount of solid stamps I have in my collection :)

Anyway, after much deliberation and at least one other attempt that met the round file, this is what I managed to come up with.

I really wasn't sure where to start so I just stamped a few of the daisies onto the watercolour paper and started colouring.  The placement of the daisies is very similar to the M&T that we did at our  Regional Seminar last November - I have used different colours though!  Once I was finished, I had to decide how I was going to finish it off, so I turned to my trusty layout folder and picked this one from CAS.  The sentiment is from the retired A Little Birthday Cheer which has been embossed with Black Sparkle embossing powder.  In the end, I'm quite happy how this has turned out (just don't look at how many times I've gone out of the lines *ooops*)

Make sure you check out what the rest of the Design Team has come up with - some gorgeous creations for your inspiration :)

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:  (All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise)
Stamps:  Every Moment, A Little Birthday Cheer (I think - retired)
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolour Paper, Vellum
Ink:  Black Staz On, Versamark, Old Olive, So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Soft Suede
Accessories:  Heat Gun, Black Brads, 1/16" punch, Black Sparkle Embossing Powder (American Crafts), Dimensionals

JAI #70 - Sketch Challenge

This week at JAI it's a sketch challenge. 

To start with, I was a bit stumped as to what to do for this since I don't have the Scallop Circle die yet.  I was going to drag out my Circle Scissor Plus, (I did do that eventually anyway) but then I had another idea.

This is what I came up with

The doily I picked up from the party supply shop across the road from my work.  The rest came together quite quickly, suprisingly enough.  I have embossed the base using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder.  Because the card measures 5" x 5" I had to run it through twice.  There must be a trick to that which I am not aware of because I ended up with a bit of a line in it.  Luckily that doily was big enough to cover it up, lol!  The sentiment is from the L3 Hostess Set, Occassional Quotes and has been stamped in versamark and embossed with Silver Sparkle embossing powder that I have had in my stash forever!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with.  There are some absolutely spectacular project for your viewing pleasure :)

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps:  Occasional Quotes
Ink:  Versamark
Cardstock:  Whisper White
Accessories:  Big Shot, Embossing Buddy, Circle Scissor Plus, Heat Tool, Embossing Folder (non SU!), Silver Sparkle embossing powder (non SU!), paper doily (non SU!)

In reply

To this anonymous comment I received yesterday,

Jo, I can see you're excited about the opportunity we were given at convention for sneakie peaks. I'm shocked however that you are posting them all on your blog. Do you think it's doing yourself or your business (not to mention other demos) any good?? With three months until our own catalogue release, would you not be better off concentrating on the things you think are going to be retiring?

I just want to state the following:

1.  During check in at Convention we were all give a piece of paper that stated, and I quote, "We're excited to share the 2011 - 2013 In Colors with you!!!  Because these colours have not been released in any market, we ask that you not share names or photos of the 2011 - 2013 In Colours until June 1, 2011"

2.  During Pam Morgan's General Session presentation, she requested that we do not post photos of anything we had seen at Convention until June 1, so as not to ruin the surprise for those on the Alaskan Cruise (sorry cruisers, we did get to see the projects Pam demonstrated before you :))

3.  The kicker, and my personal favourite is a copy of an email I have from Australian Demonstrator Support which states, and I quote, "From the 1 June 2011 you may share photos of projects using the convention stamp sets.  Photos of the actual products cannot be shared until the catalogue is available to the public on the Stampin' Up! website on the 1 September 2011."

My post yesterday showing the Make & Takes we did at Convention and the 2011 - 2013 In Colors was based on WRITTEN CONFIRMATION I had received from Demonstrator Support themselves.

As for your assertion that I'm not doing my business any good, well I hate to disappoint you but I haven't had a thriving business since I returned to work fulltime, nearly 4 years ago.  Not that it's really any business of yours.  I hardly feel that my posting of the M&T will detract from your, or any other demo's businesses either when Stampin' Up! are offering a VERY generous Hostess Promotion at the moment and yesterday announced another promotion that will run for the month of July.

And, no, I do not think I would be better off concentrating my efforts on things that may be retiring.  I couldn't care less about what's retiring and what's not.  I am, however, interested in providing those who read my blog samples of new and exciting products when I have been advised I'm allowed to do so.

So thank you for visiting my blog, maybe next time you will be upfront enough to leave your name rather than hiding behind an anonymous comment.

Convention 2011 - Warning Sneak Peeks Ahead

Our Annual Stampin' Up! Convention was held just a few weeks ago.  I've been meaning to do an update but since there was a lot of stuff I was unable to share until June 1, I decided to wait until now.  This year Convention was 3 days, instead of just two, which meant we got to do some extra activities, such as the Pen, Pad, Marker - more on that a bit later *hint*.  Whilst I loved that it was 3 days, I still felt the time just whizzed by, there were a heap of people that I saw in passing but just never got around to speaking to because we just seemed to be continually moving from one thing to the next.

On Registration day we were very excited to find out what our Make & Take sets were going to be and they did not disappoint :).  We received the Creative Elements and It's Your Day sets and our Make & Takes were absolutely gorgeous.  I've only completed 3 out of the 4 and have only edited 2 of the 3 photos of them, so I will have to add the others in a later post.  Here is one of them - the No. 3 Card.

The floral image, the long frame (behind the floral piece) and the No. 3 are from the Creative Elements set.  This is a set of 8 and all of the samples I have show all of the stamps.  The floral image has been covered in Champagne Shimmer mist - the sample only had it on the flower but I didn't like how I went over the lines using the sponge dauber so I cover the whole lot!  As you can see, the M&T included SEAM BINDING so I am guessing that it will also be included in the new catalogue.  Just a head's up - start saving now ladies - all of the things we saw at Convention are absolutely gorgeous - you are going to want it all.

This is the second Make & Take I did - the Treat Yourself 6x6 Scrapbook page.  My friend Bron took a photo of me showing off the No. 3 card during our M&T session and I've cropped it down to finish off this page.  Convention is the ONLY time I ever complete scrapbook pages of myself, which is kind of funny, probably cause it's the only time I'm in the photos instead of taking them.

Again, all of the stamps are from Creative Elements, the big floral swirl, the long frame, the border and the sentiment which reads 'Treat Yourself Like You Own Best Company'.  Again, more SEAM BINDING (yay).  Also that Not Quite Navy scallop border hidden under the Old Olive flag was made using the RIBBON BORDER punch (yay - been waiting for that one).

Here are some more samples of the Creative Elements set from the display boards.

I really love the colour palette of this one.  The Butterfly is from Creative Elements.

The 'Create' is the 8th image in the Creative Elements set.  (And oops, I've cut the ribbon off from the side)

This one is pretty.  The flower has been popped up on dimensionals, but you could cut the flower into many layers to get a multi layer effect.

I really love this one, love the effect of the colouring of the flourish/swirl and the addition of the punched flowers.  Colour palette is very pretty too!

The M&T that I haven't finished yet uses the PETAL CONE DIE, another item I have been hanging out for. 

We were also told that our Demo pre-order will include more Christmas stamps so we can get a head start planning for workshops, making cards etc., so that was super cool. We were shown samples of 2 of the sets, but I'll have to do a separate post for those as I haven't edited the photos yet of the samples Shannon shared with us.  I can tell you that one of the sets will be Tags for Christmas, which was featured in the US Holiday mini which I won, along with the Tulips Embossing folder in the very first Prize Patrol - yay - that's 2 years in a row for me  - how lucky am I???
As I mentioned earlier, one of the activities we got to do was the Pen, Pad, Marker.  This is where you make samplers showing all the SU! colours of cardstock, marker and ink.  Kim & I didn't think we'd have enough time to complete it as we had a lunch date with the rest of the JAI girsl but when Nikki told us that it included the NEW 2011/2013 IN COLOURS we took one look at each other and hightailed it back upstairs.

So here it is, what you've all been waiting for - the 2011/2013 In Colours -

I LOVE them all and can't wait till our Demo pre-order in August.  As I've been typing this up, I've realised that my top in my M&T photo is very similar to Calypso Coral :)  I've also realised that we received a HEAP of information, so I apologise now as the blog posts will probably be all over the shop as I remember things.

I hope you have enjoyed all of these sneak peeks - honestly we saw SO many beautiful, beautiful things, I CANNOT wait for this new catalogue.  I've got a feeling it's going to be the best yet!  Hopefully I'll be able to update with some more convention info over the next few weeks (being honest here, lol)

Cheers

JAI #68 - Colour Challenge

This week it's a colour challenge at Just Add Ink, and very pretty ones at that! (Can you read the names?, they look a bit blurry to me - Pear Pizazz, Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum & Whisper White)

Having just returned from Convention (more on that in a later post), my mind was overflowing with inspiration.  One of  the projects that stood out to me was a book mark demonstrated by Shelli using the Clearly for You set, from the Autumn/Winter mini.  Here is a picture from the big screen, so it's not fantastic quality - sorry about that - the video guy seemed to have a bit of trouble focusing at times.

Another technique that I saw on a few swaps was the use of the clear block as a background stamp, so I decided to combine the two to come up with this

I love to read and purchased this bookmark die a little while ago as I am FOREVER losing my bookmarks.  It's cut from Whisper White textured cardstock.  I then grabbed one of my clear blocks that I've had forever and inked it up with Baja Breeze ink and stamped it directly to the cardstock.  The other images are from Nature Walk, also from the Autumn/Winter mini.  I used my Pear Pizzaz and Perfect Plum markers to ink up the floral image and the ink pad for the No. 147 sentiment.  A bit of linen thread through the top, finished off with a clear bauble from the now retired Pretties Kit added a little bit of extra something.  Oh, and the book I'm reading at the moment is 'The Burning Wire' by Jeffrey Deaver - author of 'The Bone Collector', this is another in the Lincoln Rhyme series.

I will be back over the weekend with my Convention round up post - lots of interesting information to share :)

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps:  Nature Walk
Ink:  Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum, Pear Pizazz and Perfect Plum Markers
Cardstock:  Whisper White textured, Baja Breeze
Accessories:  Big Shot, Clear block, Linen Thread, Bauble from Pretties Kit (retired), Bookmark Die - Papertrey Ink

JAI #66 - Just Add Flowers

Hello, wow Friday has come around quickly this week!  The challenge at JAI this week is to Add a Flower.  The inspiration for my first item came from my umbrella which I got a couple of years ago at the Stampin' Up! convention held in Canberra.  Surprise, surprise that it was raining in Melbourne last week and when I put my umbrella up, it reminded me that I had meant to make something based on it.  So here we are, nearly 2 years later

Another Petal Cone box, however this one I hand cut by tracing around another my friend had sent me.  I did change the colours up a bit, though.  Here I've used Pink Pirouette, Going Gray and Baja Breeze cause I needed to use the pre-cut scallop 1/2 circles I was given to help disguise the slightly dodgy cutting.  I also wanted to add a flower to the top but I couldn't work out how it would close so I dug out my Crop-O-Dile, that I have used just twice to add some eyelets and used a piece of Pretty In Pink tafetta ribbon to close it.

And then, instead of keeping my spare to use as a pattern, I decided to make that one up too!

This one was cut from Melon Mambo and also has Pink Pirouette scallop circles.  The edging is from the Ice Cream Parlour DSP & Quick Accents SAB pack (US/CAN only) and the ribbon is from the Ice Cream Parlour Ribbon & Buttons SAB pack (US/CAN only).  My friend looks after me so well, sending me extras she had earnt.  The Pom Pom Trim is from the current Australian Autumn/Winter mini catalogue.  Boy, the Crop-O-Dile had its biggest work out of its life, adding more eyelets for the ribbon closure.  It's the most it's been used since I got it 3 or so years ago *blush*.

Cute, hey?  I think I'll fill them with some choccies for the Nana's for Mother's Day!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, there's some gorgeous inspiration for you.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

Supplies Used:  All SU! unless otherwise noted

Stamps:  Fifth Avenue Floral
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Going Grey (retired - why, SU! this is such a pretty colour)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo
Accessories:  Petal Cone Die (US/CAN only), Big Shot, Scoring Board, Sticky Strip, Tombo Mono Multi, Crop-O-Dile, Pretty In Pink Tafetta ribbon (possibly retired), Melon Mambo Pom Pom Trim, Ice Cream Parlour DSP & Quick Accents, Ice Cream Parlour Ribbon (US/CAN SAB), eyelets from stash of stuff