Saturday, May 26, 2012

Colour Q 138

Evening

As we had plasterers in today finishing off the ceiling and patching up holes made by us removing old, ugly shelves, thermostats etc, there was nothing much to do but to head down to the studio since I have heating down there (having the heater on made it too hot for the plasterers).  It meant that I got a head start on this week's Colour Q challenge - these are the colours for this week's challenge


Aren't these heels so cute?  Anyway, my card was inspired by this wrapping paper I saw whilst doing some Christmas shopping last year



and this tutorial on how to make it.  I love this pattern, as you can see I've even used it for the background image of my blog.  Here's the finished card



Now, if there is anyone reading my blog that makes dies, I would really love it if you could manufacture one to make this pattern.  Whilst it is relatively easy to make, it is also really easy to mess it up.  Every now and again, the punched pieces misaligned ever so slightly and they didn't quite line up/join together as well as I would have liked.

The sentiment is from Best Dad Ever and has been embossed using White EP.  I made the flag ends because I don't yet have a die for that :)

Thanks for visiting, hope you're enjoying your weekend

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted
Stamps:  Best Dad Ever
Ink:  Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pool Party, More Mustard, Poppy Parade
Accessories:  Heat Tool, White EP, 1-3/4" RD punch

Friday, May 25, 2012

JAI 119 - Sketch Challenge

Hello

This week at Just Add Ink we have a sketch challenge for you.  Take a look



And here's what I made


I really like how this has turned out.  I was extremely worried about the dreaded '3 brad element'.  In fact, it took me a couple of hours, and a couple of test runs before I actually got the guts up to pierce the holes in my card.  You're probably wondering what the big deal is, but if you look back at all the cards I've made, you'll see that I've NEVER put 3 brads in a row - every time I've tried they've just looked dumb and I've torn the card up and started again without the brads.

I was glad to finally open my Spice Cake DSP and put my new flower die to work.  Thanks Flickity Flick for my wonderful birthday present :)  The sentiment has been embossed using my very special, only to be used on special occassions, White Pearl EP, which has given the sentiment a beautiful pearlised sheen.  I've had it for ages and wish I had of bought more.

Well, that's it from me.  Make sure you check out the other Design Team's creations - they are all absolutely gorgeous.

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

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise
Stamps:  Hmm can't remember the exact name - it was a SAB set from this year though
Ink:  Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger)
Cardstock:  Very Vanilla, Pool Party, More Mustard, Spice Cake DSP
Accessories:  Big Shot, Flower - Daisies #2 die, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Heat Tool, More Mustard Brads, Tombo Mono Multi liquid glue, White Pearl EP (had for ages), Rustic Wood Button (PTI)

Saturday, May 19, 2012

ColourQ 137

Hi

Back again for Colour Q Challenge #137.  These are the colours we had to work with


Pretty, aren't they.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with these, except that I knew it was going to be something floral.  Then on Tuesday, I was able to sign up for the 'A Cut Above' class for the Big Shot.  One of the topics was making shaped cards and they used the Stampin' Up! Framelits Labels Collection, which I have, and that got my mind ticking over.  This is what I made



I made my card using the largest framelit and then cut a piece of watercolour cardstock the same size and adhered that to the folded base.  Then I cut a frame using the largest and the next size down.  I used the Brushless Watercolour technique to stamp the images on the watercolour paper.  The sentiment is stamped using Basic Gray ink on vellum.  Since it is stamped on vellum, it stayed wet enough for me to emboss with clear EP.  The vellum strip is attached to the back of the frame and the frame is attached to the card using foam mounting tape, so it pops up.

You may be wondering how I got it to stand up like that.  Well, it's magic, lol.  Nope, the card stuck with dotto to the front of my black sharpener, which has blended into the background very nicely.

Well, that's it from me tonight.  It's late and I given myself a bit of an injury whilst photographing the card.  Ended up taking a tumble after my chair slipped out from under me as I went to sit back down on it after adjusting the card to make sure it was straight.  Going to have a bit of a bruise on my thigh I think :)

Thanks for visiting, hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Nature's Moments (Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous), Birthday Basics (PTI)
Ink:  Shaded Lilac, Shabby Shutters, Broken China (Tim Holtz - Ranger), Basic Gray (SU)
Cardstock:  Basic Gray, Vellum (SU), watercolour paper (LSS)
Accessories:  Big Shot, Framelits Labels Collection, Clear EP, Heat Tool (SU), Mini Mister (Ranger)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Embellish Magazine Bicycle Colour Trend Challenge

I have wanted to play along with Embellish Magazine's challenges since they started but I've just never found the time.  Well, this week I have - yay.  Here's the inspiration photo and colour palette


Cool photo, hey?  Bikes are so popular at the moment.  I've even got myself one to ride around on.  Here's what I made to submit for the challenge



Unfortunately, out of ALL the ink I own, I don't really have a yellow that matches with this - I thought More Mustard would be OK, but it's not.  Too bad we didn't get Crushed Curry - that would have been perfect.  Oh well, I'll have to wait until the new 2012-2014 In Colors come out here - I think the yellow one will be a good match.

Anyway, I tried to make my own DSP using the bicycle stamps from my Hero Arts On the Go Bike set, the sentiment and the arrow diecut is also from the same set.  I like the way it has turned out - I just wish I had of had the right yellow.  It's annoying me.  I probably could have gone with a slightly darker blue too.  Oh well, at least I finally got to play along.

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise
Stamps:  On The Go Bike (Hero Arts/Sizzix)
Cardstock:  Whisper White
Ink:  Basic Grey, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Orchid Opulence (retired)
Accessories:  Big Shot, Dimensionals

Sunday, May 13, 2012

ColourQ 136

Oh my, what a busy day.  I thought Mother's Day was supposed to be nice and relaxing.  Oh well, it's been a good day, even if it's been non stop.

I'm really enjoying participating in the Colour Q challenges.  This week's colours are just gorgeous, take a look (I want this scarf)


I had lots of ideas spinning through my head for this week andI had a few shipments of new goodies on their way to me and I wasn't quite sure they would arrive on Friday.  Luckily they ALL did and this what I made using my brand new die. 


I've seen this Memory Box die on Debby's blog and thought it was just gorgeous, so when I had to order something, it just found it's way into my cart.  Funny how that happens. 

I have actually inlaid the die cut into the top panel which I found to be quite a fiddly task with two broken nails - couldn't pick anything up off my desk. A few deep breaths were taken when adding the sentiment, because everything was finished before I added that.  Thank goodness it is straight, with no smudges or inky outlines :)

I really love how it turned out and can't wait to use it again.  In fact, I  made another couple of cards using the cut white cutout from the white panel.

Well, got to go, I'm time converting in my head and that's never a good thing.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you've had a fantastic day


Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise
Stamps:  Botanical Silhouettes (PTI Anniversary)
Ink:  Always Artichoke
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Pear Pizzaz, Daffodil Delight, Tangarine Tango
Accessories:  Big Shot, Prim Poppy die (Memory Box), sticky strip, dimensionals

Friday, May 11, 2012

JAI 117 - Colour Challenge

This week at Just Add Ink, we have, what I thought was the hardest colour challenge ever!   Take a look


Looks pretty inoccuous but, boy, did I struggle with this.  It was SO hard to pair these colours together.  When I found something that would work with one, it would look awful with the other.  I think I went through 2 sheets of cardstock before I found a stamp set that I thought worked with them.  What do you think?


I really like how it turned out, and I finally used this set, which I really love, but hadn't used since I bought it.  The big and little circles (I guess that's what you'd call them) are stamped in So Saffron and the middle sized ones are stamped in Daffodil Delight.  The sentiment panel is Daffodil Delight, with the sentiment embossed in white EP.  I used a bit of bling to highlight the centres.

Make sure you check out what the rest of the DT have come up with - they didn't stuggle like I did and there are some beautiful cards for your inspiration.

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

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps:  Happiest Birthday Wishes, Spot Dot (PTI)
Ink:  So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  Heat Tool, White Embossing Powder, Basic Jewels - Rhinestones

Sunday, May 6, 2012

ColourQ 135

Hi

Back again this week for ColourQ challenge 135.  Aren't these colours sweet together?


When I saw them, I knew exactly what I was going to do.  Take a look



It hasn't turned out quite as cute as I imagined it in my head, but I'm pleased with it none the less.  I've had this set for awhile now but hadn't gotten around to using it.  The balloons were pretty easy to cut out, and the saffron one is popped up on a double layer of dimensionals.

Well, I'm off - it's been one of those days and I've still got 101 things to get done.

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:  All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:
Stamps:  Up, Up & Away
Ink:  So Saffron, Ruby Red, Pool Party, Early Espresso
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Early Espresso
Accessories:  Big Shot, In the Meadow Die (PTI)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Please Indulge Me

as I quitely (or not so) toot my own horn.

The card that I entered in the ColourQ 134 challenge was chosen as the Colour Queen.  I cannot tell you how excited I was when I saw the post this morning.  There was a tear or two!!  Check out the cool badge I now have in my sidebar.

Now I have the closing deadlines stored in this sieve like brain of mine, I will be trying to play along more often.  In fact, I've already worked out what I'm going to do for this week's colours.

Thanks for visiting *toot toot*