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

Lush Berries - Just Add Ink Challenge #766

Hi all and welcome. It's Friday, which means a new Just Add Ink challenge and this time around we're asking you to...

Here's my one layer Christmas card:

I dry embossed first, changing the orientation of the embossing folder so it would work for one layer, then stencilled before stamping my sentiment. Next I inked very lightly around the outer edges of the card - this helps draw the eye in and made it look less like a branch floating in the middle of nowhere, lol. All those speckles on the background are gold ink splatters. I used ink for this rather than paint as I wanted them to be very subtle; they give a lovely sparkle when they catch the light but are pretty impossible to catch on camera (of course!). Of course the debossing shows on the inside front, but I don't think the recipient will mind too much, do you?

Materials used:

• stamps - Christmastime 3 (Tim Holtz)
• stencils and embossing folder - Lush Berry Branch (Altenew)
• distress inks - bundled sage, peeled paint, candied apple, lumberjack plaid, brushed corduroy
• other - Big Shot, blending brushes, MISTI, sticky mat, golden glitz ink (Delicata), fan brush

I hope you'll have a go at making a one layer card and share it with us in the Just Add Ink gallery.

Thanks for calling in.

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

Thinking of You - Just Add Ink Challenge #763

Hello and welcome! It's time for another Just Add Ink challenge and this week we've a sketch for you to play with.

Sketches are the type of challenge I usually find the most ... well, challenging, lol, and this one certainly gave me a few (more) grey hairs until I came up with an idea I liked. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Wild Poppies (MFT), Postage Collage Beach Days, Winter View (Waffle Flower)
• dies - tree (stash)
• distress inks - saltwater taffy, villainous potion
• SU inks - flirty flamingo, calypso coral, highland heather
• other - blending brushes, circle mask, MISTI, Sidekick, white embossing powder, heat tool

What does your creative mind think of when you see the sketch? We'd love to see your projects over on our Linky list, and check out some more samples to inspire you from my team mates.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Perk Up! - Just Add Ink Challenge #762

Welcome! I couldn't resist playing along with the gorgeous inspiraton picture at Just Add Ink this week.

A warm blanket, hot drink and something pumpkin-y - muffins or soup, yuuuuuummmm! (You all know how much I love pumpkin!) Add to those a book or movie and you have the perfect way to snuggle up on these cold and dreary winter days - and we sure are getting plenty of cold and dreary at the moment, lol. 

My background is a quilt die and stencil combo which I am loving. On the coffee cup I masked with leaf die-cuts and inked over, then used some of the leaves as accents. For the pumpkins I inked over die-cuts and used some swirly vines I had left over from a previous card. Both parts of the sentiment come from a stamp set that retired years ago - just proving that when you keep things 'in case you need it some day', it can pan out! 😂😂

Materials used:

• stamps - Merry Cafe (Stampin' Up)
• die & stencil set - Tiny Square (Waffle Flower)
• other dies - Coffee Cup framelits (SU), Door Decor (Concord & 9th)
• distress inks - antique linen, wild honey, ripe persimmon, vintage photo, rusty hinge, spiced marmalade, dried marigold
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, MISTI, craft foam, Dimensionals, mini library clip, banner punch, vintage photo archival ink

I must admit, for me the drink would be a chai latte, though I'd imagine the spices are similar to a pumpkin spice latte. Got me a craving for some pumpkin muffins now though...

See more creations inspired by our picture over on the Just Add Ink blog and if you make something yourself, we'd love you to share. 

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kerry

He Knows If You Are Sleeping...

I'm taking part in this week's Color Throwdown challenge. Here are the colours:

Now, you might not think these are Christmas in July colours (or in December, for that matter lol), but sshhhhhhhh! someone is peeking around the door frame to see if you're sleeping or awake...

This was very simple to make. Once the stencilling was done, I simply cut out the image and attached it to some grey card which had been edged with ink. The last step was stamping the sentiment over the top. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Bold Tidings mini (Tim Holtz)
• layering stencils - Peeking Santa (The Ton)
• distress inks - squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry
• other inks - blush blossom, smoky slate (SU)
• other - blending brushes, MISTI

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Sweet Wishes

When Festive Friday Challenges decides to celebrate World Chocolate Day, who am I to argue? Never let it be said I neglected the opportunity to make a card with a chocolate theme, lol. I'm dovetailing it with Just Us Girls and Inkspirational challenges too, as they both have a stencil theme.

 

From the FF inspo list, I used brown, cream, cherries and a sweet sentiment.

I've layered the box of cupcakes, cutting two from kraft card and one from white, stencilling with a variety of inks. The sentiment comes from the same release. Anyone else craving a cupcake/some chocolate now???

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Hey Cupcake (Waffle Flower)
• dies & stencil combo - Boxed Cupcakes (Waffle Flower)
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, white gel pen, craft foam, Copic markers, Dimensionals, white embossing powder, heat tool

Have a sweet day and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Gull-tastic Birthday - Just Add Ink Challenge #745

It's time for a colour challenge with Just Add Ink and this week's picks are

My whimsical offering was inspired by a card by Kathrin that I just love and I had fun incorporating the challenge colours in there. 

I don't have petunia pop so substituted with picked raspberry distress ink, and I used both the balmy blue and soft sea foam for the water to differentiate it from the blue sky. The grey was used on the gull and umbrella pole, while the sand was inked with neutral brown and overstamped for texture. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Inquisitive Seagulls, Postage Collage, Postage Collage Beach Days (all Waffle Flower), Friendly Seagulls (Stampin' Up)
• dies - Postage Collage, Inquisitive Seagulls (both Waffle Flower), Fair Winds (Spellbinders), Word Bubbles (Stampin' Up)
• other - blending brushes, grip mat, Big Shot, craft foam, MISTI, white gel pen

And speaking of birthdays, it's my birthday today! I'm now old enough to have my doctor visits bulk billed! 😂😂😂👵

If you head over to the Just Add Ink blog you'll find more samples to inspire you. We'd love you to create and share with us.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

For The Record

I think the folks at Festive Friday Challenges read my mind ... 

It's not long now until my SIL's birthday and I had decided to make him a music themed card as he not only plays multiple instruments, but also has an extensive vinyl record collection. Then I saw the current FF challenge ...

How perfect is that? I 'shopped my stash' for bits and pieces to create my card.

As you can see, from the inspo list I've used black, white, musical note, stripes, musical themed sentiment and vinyl record. 

Materials used:

• stamps/dies - Vinyl Style (Altenew)
• other dies - music notes and stave (stash)
• other - mini wheel stencil (Tim Holtz), blending brush, Dimensionals, Sidekick, craft foam

I hope he likes it! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Birthday Wishes and Cupcakes

Today's card is for two challenges, Inspired by... and Just Us Girls.

 

These challenges were the perfect excuse I really didn't need to bust out some goodies and play!

Materials used:

• dies - Postage Collage, Postage Collage blocks, Happy Birthday script word (all Waffle Flower)
• stencils - Postage Collage Cupcakes, Postage Collage Coloring, Confetti background (all Waffle Flower)
• inks - summer shower, seaside, coral reef, passion fruit (Pinkfresh), golden glitz (Delicata), twisted citron (Tim Holtz)
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, clear Wink of Stella

I chose colours that are festive but not too bold and added some sparkly touches on each panel for extra birthday zing. As usual there are two layers to the die-cut sentiment for strength and depth.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry 

Simple and Elegant - Just Add Ink Challenge #741

It's Friday, which means it's time for another challenge with Just Add Ink and our brief for you this week is to:

I made a soft-toned sympathy card - something we unfortunately often need to have on hand, especially as we get older. 

For my focal feature I used a stamp/die/stencils set from PinkFresh Studios. A few pearls were all the embellishments needed.

Materials used:

• stamp, die, stencil set - Butterflies in Bloom (PinkFresh Studios)
• sentiment stamp - Country Flowers (Stampin' Up)
• distress inks - antique linen, dried marigold, saltwater taffy, shabby shutters
• Altenew inks - alpine aster, soft lilac, lavender fields, deep iris
• other - blending brushes, pearls, MISTI, grip mat, Big Shot, craft foam, Dimensionals

Do visit the Just Add Ink blog for more samples of simple and elegant to inspire you and if you create, we'd love you to share in our gallery.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Sending Love - Just Add Ink Challenge #739

This week at Just Add Ink it's our choose two challenge and our options are:

For my simple card I picked colouring and a variation on thinking of you.

Materials used:

• stamp & die combo - Overlapping Hugs Additions (Waffle Flower)
• stencils - Postage Collage Roses (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Postage Collage (Waffle Flower), large love (stash)
• other - dye inks, blending brushes, Big Shot, mini pearls, Dimensionals

There's more samples to inspire you over on the Just Add Ink blog and if you do create, please share it with us in our gallery.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello

It's stencil week over at Just Us Girls and I'm playing along.

Also entering in Addicted to CAS challenge #275:

I began by cutting three 3cm squares and rounding opposite corners, then put them on my grip mat and used stencils for the water and land. The sky was blended with three colours and the birds were die-cut and given a little colour too. For the sentiment I die-cut three layers but used the third layer only behind "h", "e" and "o" to allow for the dimension under the "l".

Materials used:

• stencils - Uncharted Waters (Spellbinders)
• distress inks - salvaged patina, peacock feathers, shabby shutters, peeled paint, squeezed lemonade, saltwater taffy, picked raspberry, lost shadow, pumice stone
• other - blending brushes, grip mat, birds in flight die (Poppystamps), hello die (stash), Sidekick, craft foam, Dimensionals

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

The Silence of the Night

I don't usually delve into the darker side of Halloween, but I'd been playing with moon backgrounds the other day and had one which reacted quite differently to what I was expecting and ended up being a little on the spooky side. Then two things converged: one, I was thinking there was just a little time left for one last Halloween craft project, and two, I saw this week's theme of stencilling at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. My mind put those things together and I decided there was no harm in playing with that spooky background to see what I could make.

Here's the result:

I stencilled fractured cracks over the moon and decayed over the gravestones, then added trees, ghosties and a couple of sentiment stickers. 

Materials used (mostly Tim Holtz):

• dies - Vault Fright Night
• stencils - Fractured mini, Decayed
• other - moon mask, distress oxide sprays and inks, Curiosities sticker book, water spritzer
• not TH - blending brushes, Big Shot, heat tool

I hope you enjoy your Halloween, whether it's spooky or cutesy or anything in between! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Christmas Wishes and Gingerbread Kisses - Just Add Ink Challenge #725

I'm back with more stencilling! It's not my scheduled week but I couldn't resist playing along with the new Just Add Ink challenge, lol.

I love, love, love all the layering stencils that are so popular in the craft world at the moment. Here I combined two Christmas-themed stencil sets, unifying them by using the same ink colours throughout. 

Materials used:

• stencils - Postage Collage Gingerbread, Postage Collage Christmas (Waffle Flower)
• dye inks - wintergreen (Catherine Pooler), picked raspberry, tea dye, rusty hinge (Tim Holtz)
• dies - Postage Collage, Merry Christmas Print (Waffle Flower)
• other - blending brushes, Big Shot, Dimensionals, vellum

Have you some stencils you just love using? Dust them off and create, then share over on the Just Add Ink blog; we'd love to see them.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Let It Snow - Just Us Girls Challenge #750

Welcome back! It's my final week as Guest Designer at the Just Us Girls Challenge - I've had a ton of fun designing for these challenges and thank the JUGS team for the opportunity. Right now, it's stencil time!

I made a Christmas card using layering stencils as well as a standalone, and as I'm loving pink for Christmas this year, I paired a dusky pink with burgundy and white.

I started with my pink background piece, stencilling with texture paste, then I inked the snowman layering stencils and cut them using the postage collage die. Once they were attached I did gesso splatters (regular visitors will know how essential those are!). My sentiment was given an ombre ink treatment and a touch of sparkle before being mounted on vellum. 

Materials used:

• dies - Postage Collage (Waffle Flower), Festive Words (Tim Holtz)
• stencils - snowflake (stash), Postage Collage Snowman (Waffle Flower)
• distress inks/oxide inks - lumberjack plaid, carved pumpkin, black soot, vintage photo
• other - opaque texture paste (TH), blending brushes, Big Shot, Dimensionals, white gesso, fan brush, clear Wink of Stella, craft foam

I hope you'll get out your stencils and have fun creating - and if you do, be sure to share and link up for the challenge. There's more samples to inspire you over on the Just Us Girls Challenge blog, so pop over for a look.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Double Trouble

Today's card was inspired by a wicked challenge. 

I used four options from the inspo list - black, orange, candy and bats. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Boo Crazy, Mini Bird Crazy & Things (Tim Holtz), Gorgeous Grunge (Stampin' Up), Postage Collage Spooktacular (Waffle Flower)
• dies - Postage Collage (Waffle Flower)
• stencils - Postage Collage Spooktacular (Waffle Flower)
• distress inks - wilted violet, carved pumpkin, picked raspberry, black soot, lost  shadow 
• other - blending brushes, Dimensionals, Boo Diecut Subsentiments (Waffle Flower), Big Shot, white gel pen

It's getting close to the 31st but there's still plenty of time to get some more fun Halloween craft made! 😆👻 

Thanks for ghosting by.

Cheers

Kerry

Recycle - Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

This month I'm delighted to be a Guest Stamptember Designer over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  I'll be sharing a project each Monday in September alongside the regular members of the Design Team and hope you'll pop back each week to join me. 

This week's theme is RECYCLE and as it's the first Monday of the month, Simon Says Stamp are showcasing a brand/company and the design team are all using products from Brutus Monroe. (You don't have to use them to join in with the challenge, but if you have them they'd love to see them used.)

So, without further ado, let's dive into my project! 

I recycled a die-cut Spellbinders dancin' birthday dragon from an earlier card (this one). For the background I used distress oxide sprays and inks then stamped polka dots from Tim Holtz's Mr Rabbit set and splattered with Dina Wakely white gesso. I then sprayed with worn lipstick and picked raspberry Distress Spritz through the Brutus Monroe vortex stencil. I finished with a Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Birthday sentiment and some clear sequins. The whole panel was mounted on recycled corrugated cardboard to give depth and dimension. 

Do head over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog to see what the design team have come up with to inspire you.

The lovely folks over at Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a fabulous $25 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store - all you have to do is take out your crafting supplies, make something following this week's prompt, and link up at the bottom of the Challenge Blog post. You can join up to 5 times, giving you 5 chances to win! All winners are chosen randomly, so everyone has an equal chance.

Feel free to leave me some comment love and thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you back next Monday.

Cheers

Kerry

Hello Friend - Just Add Ink Challenge #714

Welcome to a new challenge with Just Add Ink and this week we've a colour combo for you to play with:

These gorgeous rich colours would be perfect for an autumn theme, but for today's offering I decided to use birds instead and pulled out my Songbirds on Branches suite. 

I stamped, stencilled and die-cut the images before arranging them on my peacock background, which I'd inked darker around the edges to draw the eye into the centre. They're attached with dimension and a little excess trimmed off the edges. Once the sentiment was on, I covered it and the birds then splattered liberally with gold paint.

Materials used:

• stamp/stencils/die - Songbirds on Branches (Pinkfresh Studio)
• card - pretty peacock, basic white (Stampin' Up)
• other - blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, MISTI, sticky mat, Big Shot, Wordies Sentiment Sheets - Friendship (Creative Expressions), tarnished brass distress paint, fan brush, VersaFine Clair nocturne ink

I hope you'll check out what my fellow team-mates created and decide to join us using these beautiful colours.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Happy Birthday Gullfriend - Just Add Ink Challenge #712

Jo has given us a sketch for this week's Just Add Ink challenge. 

I've created a sunrise over the sea scene with a bit of a pun sentiment that appeals to my quirky sense of humour, lol. 

My background is stencilled on watercolour paper using distress oxide inks. All the die-cut pieces were cut from white cardstock and coloured using oxides also. I have used some creative licence in moving the focal shape down a bit from what's in the sketch - well, those posts would look silly floating in mid-air/mid-ocean!!! 

Materials used:

• stamps - Postage Collage Beach Days (Waffle Flower)
• distress oxide inks - squeezed lemonade, saltwater taffy, dusty concord, villainous potion, uncharted mariner, black soot, brushed corduroy, vintage photo, spiced marmalade, lost shadow, walnut stain
• stencils - Uncharted Waters (Spellbinders)
• dies - Oh, Buoy! (Spellbinders)
• other - sticky grid mat, blending brushes, Sidekick, Dimensionals, craft foam, white embossing powder, MISTI, heat tool

What does our sketch make you think of? We'd love to see your creations in our gallery - just head off to the Just Add Ink blog and while you're there, check out what my fellow team mates have made to inspire you.

Entered in the Just Us Girls stencil challenge. 

Thanks for cruising by.

Cheers

Kerry