Letting Things Go

I recently had my first attempt at a collage layout in my art journal, though it's probably more of a 'clean and simple collage' than a true collage, lol. It incorporates an autumn theme and colours and while it didn't end up looking exactly how I'd imagined, I let that ideal go and have come to love it. 

I began with covering the double spread using paints in yellows and oranges then stamped and clear embossed large leaves. Once dry I sponged over the background with blue and did some stamping of text with brown ink. Unfortunately I forgot to use permanent ink and used dye ink instead, so when it came time to glue the fussy-cut images and give the whole thing a coating of collage medium, the dye ink smudged, turned the blue to a murky green/brown and ended up darker than I'd intended. Lesson learned, sigh! I shadowed the collaged images with marker, added a sentiment and splatter, and darkened around the edges to draw the eye in. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Sketchy Leaves (Tim Holtz), script (stash)
• collage images - Autumn Stories (Maremi's Small Art)
• other - distress paints, clear embossing powder, heat tool, collage medium, Big Brush Pens 

I'm entering this in the Four Seasons Challenge for this month, which is autumn/fall.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Carpe Diem

I was really drawn to the graphic for the Colorful Options challenge this month.

So dramatic! I really wanted to create but didn't want to fall back on Halloween or autumn as a theme. As I love the suited image in the collage, I decided to try something along those lines. Here's how it turned out:

I made my background with distress spray stain and oxide spray on watercolour card, then stamped over it with archival ink. The gentleman is three layers and for fun I added the orange tie as a sort of reverse of the image in the collage. As the background stamping is about living life to the fullest, I thought the Carpe Diem sentiment die was a perfect fit.

Materials used:

• stamps - Do What You Love (Pinkfresh Studios)
• dies - Gentlemen, Tailored (both Tim Holtz), stitched rectangle, Carpe Diem (stash)
• other - crackling campfire distress spray stain and oxide spray, water spritzer, Big Shot, MISTI, hickory smoke archival ink

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Here for the Candy - Just Add Ink Challenge #772

Welcome to a new Just Add Ink challenge. This time around you can take the colours or the image or both as inspiration for your creation. If you choose only the colours, you must use at least three of those given.

The witches' hats and jack o'lanterns were the main inspirations for my Halloween card.

I started by creating the background, cutting from white and inking before stamping a number of iconic Halloween images. Next I constructed the cat using dense black card and a touch of sparkle for the witch hat. Cutting the postage collage die came next, then adhering the background segments and this was attached to my card base before I added the cat, jack o'lantern treat bag and sentiment. The confections were cut down through the middle with a craft knife to make them less bulky.

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage Spider Web and Postage Collage Spooktacular (Waffle Flower), Tree Branch, Slender Mushrooms Mini and Mini Meadow Mushrooms (Lavinia), Tiny Frights (Tim Holtz)
• dies - Bewitched and Woof-or-Treat (Spellbinders), A6 Postage Collage and Blocks dies (Waffle Flower), Postale (Tim Holtz)
• other - distress inks, Big Shot, blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, white gel pen, MISTI, white embossing powder, heat tool, Confections Halloween ITim Holtz), Deco Sheets Halloween (Tim Holtz), craft knife

I hope the mood board inspires you to create - it certainly doesn't have to be Halloween themed, the colours allow pretty much anything! Just be sure to mention what your inspiration was. Whatever you choose, have fun making and do share with us using the Just Add Ink linky. There are lots more samples to inspire you on the blog too.

Entering into the Double D challenge of Halloween colours.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

From Our Patch to Yours

I had one of those moments that fellow crafters will recognise - I was going through my stash of dies looking for something, when I came across a set I picked up ages ago at a craft sale and have never used. It's autumn/fall themed and very cute - and you know how much I love autumn. As I was about to bypass it, sad that it's the wrong time of year for it, I reminded myself that it is autumn on the other side of the globe and surely there'd be an appropriate challenge around. I was right! (click on the icons to go to the challenge)

     

So I happily sat down and began to play...

For the background I used patchwork patterned paper dry-brushed with gesso to mute the tones a little and also enhance the rustic feel. Most of my die-cut pieces were cut from coloured card and inked for dimension, then raised on the card surface. I don't have a stamp with this sentiment so I printed it on the computer.

It doesn't feel like spring here today, it's very gloomy and raining and now I'm wishing I had some pumpkin to make soup! Lol. (Sorry about the photo - as I said, gloomy day.)

Materials used:

• dies - Pumpkin House (Papertrey Ink)
• other - Autumn patchwork paper (Etsy), craft foam, Dimensionals, distress inks, blending brushes, Big Shot, computer & printer, white gel pen, white gesso, paint brush

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Leaves For You

Today's card is me stepping waaaaaaay outside my comfort zone! Lol. It began as I was browsing the new challenge themes out there and saw a graphic which I initially dismissed as 'not my thing' but which continued to niggle at the back of my mind. A second look had me thinking of a particular die set, then two more challenges dovetailed in to solidify the design taking form in my head. Eventually I asked myself, 'What have you got to lose? It's only card, after all.' So here it is, a step outside the box for sure but I'm happy with it.

Subtle piercing in the background enhances the quatrefoil shaping.

Entering into the following challenges:

   

For Inspired by... I was inspired by the graphic vibe, leaf shapes and colours, and from the Tic Tac Toe grid I chose the middle horizontal row of any shape die, free and fall colours.

Materials used:

• stamp/die combo - Overlapping Hugs Additions (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Foliage Shaker (Pinkfresh Studios), Quatrefoil Panel, Quatrefoil Texture (both Waffle Flower)
• other - Big Shot, Dimensionals, MISTI, white embossing powder, heat tool

I hope you have some crafting in your day. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Wrapped in Fun

I think this is probably my last Halloween themed card for the year - my mind seems to be latching on to Christmas pretty firmly, lol, but I couldn't resist one more play with some spooky cuties for the Inkspirational seasonal challenge.

Colouring and cutting delightful mummies was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Materials used:

• stamps - Mummified (Mama Elephant), Unraveled (Tim Holtz)
• other - MISTI, blending brushes, grass edge dies, branch die, essential arches dies, Copic markers, craft foam, distress inks, moon mask

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kerry

My Favourite Boo

I'm rushing in with a last-hour entry for the Inspired by... challenge! 

I was inspired by the use of soft colours for a Halloween card and the Boo, which fits my sentiment stamp so perfectly.

A very simple card; some stencilled clouds, stamped images which were fussy cut and raised on the background. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Boo Crazy (Tim Holtz), Boo Sentiments (Waffle Flower)
• other - cloud stencil (My Favorite Things), blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, MISTI

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Hey Pumpkin - Just Add Ink Challenge #771

Howdy and welcome to the first challenge under our new format at Just Add Ink! We do hope you'll embrace the changes and have fun joining us in creating. For this fortnight's challenge we have upsized our classic Choose Two - now it's Choose Two or More and your options are:

I couldn't help noticing the alliteration going on in those choices, lol, and for my card I chose plaid, patterned paper and pets plus added a couple more 'p' words - purple and pumpkin. 

The pupkin is cut from watercolour card and coloured with distress inks. There are three layers to the frame and two for the sentiment.

Materials used:

• dies - Pupkin (Spellbinders), Nesting Piercing Ticket Frames and Hey Pumpkin (Waffle Flower)
• other - distress inks, blending brushes, Big Shot, black marker, Dimensionals, Hocus Pocus Worn patterned paper (Etsy)

Check out the rest of the design team's samples over on the Just Add Ink blog. I hope you'll choose two or more items from our list and have some creative fun of your own - and if you do, please share with us! Remember, you now have longer to create as the challenge doesn't close until Wednesday 22nd.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Something Wickedly Adorable This Way Comes

Two current challenges feature pumpkins on their mood boards.

  

For me at this time of year, as we're coming into spring and not autumn, pumpkins make me think Jack-o'-lanterns and Halloween. I love the fun, cutesy aspects of Halloween and that had a heavy influence on my card.

I combined some different die sets to dress up Mickey and Minnie and had such a blast putting them together. Apart from the black, everything else was cut from white card and coloured using Copics. I did have to really squeeze Mickey's head inside the opening of the pumpkin costume and Minnie's hat is not a perfect fit, lol, but they seem quite happy about it! 😉

Materials used:

• dies - Steamboat Willie, Bewitched, Pupkin, Woof-or-Treat (all Spellbinders)
• stamps - Ghostly Greetings Sentiments (Catherine Pooler)
• other - Copic markers, Sidekick, Dimensionals, MISTI

Hope you have some fun and cutesy in your day! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Life is Beautiful - Just Add Ink Challenge #769

It's Choose Two time again at Just Add Ink with some very versatile options.

So many possibilities! I ended up choosing numbers and words for a postage collage card. 

I started off by using the blocks die to cut my segments, placing them back inside the frame on a sticky mat to do the ink blending. The stamping was done in three parts using my MISTI - the stamps are reasonably small so you can sit quite a few of them on and ink them all at once. The postage themed stamps were last, and they are tricky little devils! They're so small and fiddly and they keep sticking to my fingers when I try to position them, lol. So forgive me if there's a wee bit of crookedness going on! Then I added highlights with a white gel pen. Foam tape was used behind the blended panels to give dimension and the sentiment was embossed with white and raised also.

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage, Lake Sunset (Waffle Flower), Rest & Relaxation (Honey Bee)
• dies - Postage Collage, Postage Collage Blocks
• distress inks - spun sugar, worn lipstick, salvaged patina
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, Bermuda bay ink (SU), MISTI, foam tape, white gel pen, masking corners stencil (Waffle Flower), white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals

We look forward to seeing how the options inspire you!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Our Finest Gifts

Today's card is for the Christmas Crafts All Year Round challenge. We're to create a project inspired by the song, The Little Drummer Boy. 

I used the line 'Our finest gifts we bring' as inspiration for my card.

The little elf is three layers of kraft heavystock - there are some very delicate areas on the die where I felt extra strength and support was essential. The gift boxes are all two layers; paper over card. I used the woodgrain paper, kraft and muted colours to give a rustic kind of feel, appropos of a visit to a stable. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Elegant Christmas 2 (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Santa's Helper (Tim Holtz), circle
• papers - Christmas Blessings and Add-On paper pack (Mintay)
• other - Big Shot, blending brush, Dimensionals, foam tape, vellum, brushed corduroy distress ink, clear dots

By the way, did you know The Little Drummer Boy (originally known as the Carol of the Drum) was first recorded by the Trapp Family Singers in 1951? Sound of Music, anyone? 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

I Pick You

It's apples galore today with a card made for the Color Throwdown challenge.

  

The apples in the mood board look scrumptious so I decided they were the perfect pick (pardon the pun!) for my card:

I started by die cutting a bunch of apples and leaves from watercolour card then colouring with distress inks. Initially they were to sit in a wheelbarrow so that was cut, coloured and assembled next - then I discovered the proportions were out and the apples looked rather giant in the barrow, lol, so it was exchanged for the barrel. I put the barrel together and arranged the apples then glued them in place, added the extra leaves and blossom, then stamped and cut the sign. Some gingham paper gives it a real country feel as well as more yellow.

Materials used:

• stamps - Berry Special (Lawn Fawn)
• dies - Autumn Elements (Karen Burniston), Bushel Basket (The Greetery), Essential Arches (Spellbinders)
• distress inks - twisted citron, mowed lawn, abandoned coral, festive berries, lumberjack plaid, antique linen, brushed corduroy, vintage photo
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, Copic markers, Dimensionals, craft foam, acrylic dot, white gel pen, MISTI

I'm pretty sure colouring and assembling die cuts is my favourite crafty task, so you can be certain I had tons of fun putting this together!

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Talk Like a Pirate

I didn't expect to be back so soon with another adorable pirate seagull, but it was unavoidable after discovering the Festive Friday challenge!

From the inspo list I've used black, white, twine, jewels and a nautical sentiment.

I began with die cutting the parchment, distressing the edges then giving them a good inking before stamping a few images I hope give it at least a passing resemblance to a treasure map, lol. My pirate was next and I added adhesive pearls to the necklace die piece and a gem for the unpatched eye. 

Materials used:

• dies - Inquisitive Seagull and Pirate Add-Ons (Waffle Flower), parchment (stash)
• stamps - Treasure Hunt Sentiments, Postage Collage Tropical Sunset (both Waffle Flower)
• other - distressing tool, Big Shot, twine, pearls, gems, white embossing powder, heat tool, small banner punch, Dimensionals, blending brush, Copic markers, white gel pen

So fun! Hope you're not getting sick of these guys!

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Leafy Thanks

It's stencil week at Just Us Girls and who doesn't love playing with inks and stencils?

I was in the mood for some warm colours so here's what I ended up with.

After die-cutting my background piece, I sponged the edges with antique linen then stencilled the leaves. They're mostly dijon and cinnamon with hints of blackberry here and there for extra depth of colour. The stems were added with another stencil and of course - you know me - I then did some splatter with the dijon and cinnamon. I die-cut two of the 'thanks' and layered them over the vellum shadow before adhering. 

Materials used:

• stencils - Thankful Leaves (Kristina Werner)
• SU inks - delightful dijon, cinnamon cider, blackberry bliss, early espresso
• other - blending brushes, MISTI, stitched rectangle dies, thanks dies, Big Shot, antique linen distress ink, fan brush, water spritzer, craft foam

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Aaarrgh! There Be Treasure!

The current Tic Tac Toe challenge caught my eye and fired up my imagination Big Time! 😂

So many delightful possibilities! The nautical/ocean aspect appealed to me most, so I picked the right vertical line of die cut, ocean, shaped card for some adventurous fun with my old friend the inquisitive pirate seagull.

I used some designer paper for the background and coloured the gull, cork and map using Copics. Stamping the sentiment was the last step before attaching everything to the bottle base.

Materials used:

• stamps - Treasure Hunt Sentiments (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Inquisitive Pirate Add-On (Waffle Flower), Whale in a Bottle (Spellbinders)
• other - Copic markers, designer paper (Astahasset), Big Shot, MISTI, sponge dauber, Dimensionals, foam tape, Memento tuxedo black ink

Hope your day is full of treasure. Thanks for stopping by, me hearties! ☠

Cheers

Kerry

Sending Love

I think I might have mentioned in a previous post how much I LOVE the current Color Throwdown colour combo, so when I saw the Tic Tac Toe challenge board and an idea came to mind, it was beyond my capabilities to resist using them again! And yes, it's another Christmas card, lol.

  

From the TTT board I picked the diagonal row of letters, free and rectangle shape. Here's my card:

I began with my envelopes - die cutting, sponging the edges and stencilling the features on the fronts. Then I worked on the foliage, cutting from teal card but adding depth of colour with Copics. Rhinestones were used for the berries and I clear embossed the sentiment after stamping in red. 

Materials used:

• stamp - Sending Love (Hero Arts)
• dies - nesting postage stamps infinity dies (Hero Arts), mini holiday greens (Tim Holtz), postage collage mini seals, envelopes (both Waffle Flower)
• stencil - postage collage addressed envelope (Waffle Flower)
• patterned paper - Cool Collab (MFT)
• SU cardstock - pool party, coastal cabana, Bermuda bay, poppy parade
• other - Copic markers, Big Shot, clear embossing powder, heat tool, sponge dauber, craft foam, rhinestones

Hope you're having as much fun in your day as I did making this! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Merry Birdie

I absolutely love, love, LOVE the combo at this week's Color Throwdown! 

I've often used this combo and especially love it for Christmas - it's just that little bit different and also bright and cheerful. As soon as I saw the board I knew I had to play along and that I had to dig out some papers I bought a few years back that fit the challenge to perfection! They feature red, white and three shades of aqua. 

So cute! 

I cut several layers of  'Merry' for depth, also raising it with foam. The little birdie was coloured with Copics and a bit of paper piecing. On the background I blended some aqua ink then stencilled over it with the same colour. 

Materials used:

• dies - Overlapping Vertical Merry Word die, Birdie Friends in Winter (both Waffle Flower)
• papers - Cool Collab 6x6 (My Favorite Things)
• other - Copic markers, Sidekick, silver thread, silver pearls, blending brush, sparkle fade stencil (Tim Holtz), Dimensionals, craft foam, white gel pen

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Thanks So Berry Much

Having used cardstock and ink called blackberry bliss for my last card, it was still in my mind when I saw the current challenge at Inspired by...

So I wanted to use blackberry bliss again but also incorporate some of the other colours, as well as have a touch of that 'farm fresh' feeling. This is how my card turned out:

I found some delightful Blackberry Fairies and used one here - isn't she adorable? I fussy cut the image, sponged the background with green, blue sky and clouds, stamped the sentiment at the top of my arch, then assembled everything together. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Berry Special (Lawn Fawn)
• image - Blackberry Fairies (Ginger Journals)
• dies - Essential Arches (Spellbinders), stitched rectangle (Paper Rose)
• other - blending brushes, cloud stencil (MFT), Big Shot, clear dots, craft foam, Dimensionals, MISTI

It was a lot of fun making something different to my usual and I'm still loving that blackberry colour. It looks a bit dark in the photo - unfortunately it was 5pm by the time I was taking pics and the winter sun was weak and low in the sky, but I hope you can tell it's dark burgundy and not black! 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Thank You Sunflowers

Today's card brings you some pretty sunflowers! I'm taking part in two challenges:

  

I took the colours from the mood board as inspiration for my die-cut florals and card base.

A very simple card - cut the die, use the co-ordinating stencils to colour, attach to card layer then base and add die-cut sentiment and embellishments. I did ink around the edges of the layer behind the flowers for a bit more visual depth. 

Materials used:

• dies & stencils - Sunflower Cluster (Waffle Flower), Thanks (stash)
• distress inks - spun sugar, picked raspberry, wild honey, spiced marmalade
• Altenew inks - silver sage, eucalyptus
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, clear gems, craft foam

It's so fun inking up dies! I do hope you're having some inky fun in your day too. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry