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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Tiramisu Wedding

 

I was asked by the school Principal if I would make a wedding card for one of the teachers.  I also needed it to be bigger than my usual cards so that all the staff could sign it.

So I went searching for some challenges to give me some inspiration.  I have only made one or two wedding cards and I don’t have many stamp sets that are appropriate for a wedding either, so I was a little stressed.

I found a fantastic sketch at Mojo Monday that I thought would work well with a larger card (my card is actually one A4 sheet folded in half).  I’m sure I’ll be using this sketch again, it’s a beauty!

I also found a “new to me” challenge site called The Lollipop Ladies and their challenge is Tiramisu with the additional challenge of layers.  I thought they would be lovely colours for a wedding card (and just a little different without being too different).  I used shimmery white, vanilla, crumb cake and a dash of espresso for the colours and of course there are lots of layers too.

And this is what I came up with:

 

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The only set I have for a wedding card really is an oldie (but one of my favourites), Always.  I clear embossed the heart onto shimmery white with crumbcake ink and cut it out and then stamped the hearts again onto vanilla and used white embossing powder.  I cut these hearts out smaller so that there was the embossed crumbcake dots showing around the outside. 

I used the double bow tutorial by Ann Schach again too, but it’s a triple instead of double this time and I decided not to crumple the ribbon on this one.  I also dug out an old sentiment stamp (that I love and have had in my collection for years) and stamped it with espresso.

 

Ingredients :

Stamps : Always, Happily ever after (Artee)

Card : shimmery white, vanilla, crumb cake

Ink : espresso, crumb cake, versamark

Other : big shot, polka dot ef, finial press ef, clear embossing powder, white embossing powder, pearls, crumb cake seam binding

 

Hopefully all the staff, but especially the bride-to-be, will like what I created. 

 

Kathy

Friday, February 24, 2012

Big and beautiful

 

This week at Just Add Ink we have a great sketch challenge from Bronwyn.

JAI 106

 

Here is what I came up with :

 

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I decided to try to make a collage for my background and then cut it into three panels to fit the sketch.  I used a few different stamps and colours and I think it worked quite well.

The flower is big and beautiful.  I made it as I’ve made these paper flowers before but this time I used the island floral die, fancy flower punch and the five petal flower punch.  It actually looks better in real life, it kind of looks a bit flat in the photo but it isn’t.  I also decided to see how it would look with different coloured petals.  I used pink pirouette and blushing bride and spritzed it with champagne shimmer mist so it’s actually a bit sparkly.  I really like how it turned out.

I also tried something new with the bow.  It is a double bow with crumpled seam binding.  I found a really great tutorial by Ann Schach here if you’d like to give it a try too.

 

Ingredients:

Stamps : French foliage, nature walk

Card : crumb cake, white, suede, pink pirouette, blushing bride

Ink :  crumb cake, suede, river rock, calypso coral, baja

Other : big shot, island floral die, fancy flower punch, 5 petal flower punch, crumbcake seam binding, antique brad, metallic brads

 

Please take a look at what the rest of the JAI design team created using this sketch as their inspiration and get creative yourself.

 

Kathy

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Triple Z

 

This is another z-fold card I made using the SAB dsp and my new triple treat flower and punches.

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It has a boho kind of look which doesn’t translate particularly well in a photo unfortunately.  It does look prettier in real life.

I really like the band on this one.  I used the tasteful trim die to cut the border pattern from peach parfait and I did some faux stitching on it too.

 

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Ingredients :

Stamps : oval all, triple treat flower

Card : confetti white, peach parfait, white, everyday enchantment dsp

Ink :  crumb cake, suede

Other : big shot, tasteful trim, beautiful wings, oval punch, 5 petal punch, fancy flower punch, boho punch, everyday enchantment brad, mat pack, white pen

 

This paper pack is really gorgeous and is free with a $100 order!  Please email me if you’d like to place an order :)

 

Kathy

Friday, February 17, 2012

Happy Sunshiny Card

 

This week at Just Add Ink we have a colour challenge.

105 (RR) - Colour Combo (Kim)

 

And this is what I came up with…..

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I had seen a sketch challenge early last year and had bookmarked it (it was even before the days of “pinning”) hoping to give it a try one day.  I thought it was such a cute sketch!  Well I finally decided to use it with this colour challenge and I love the way it turned out. There is a tutorial by Shannan Teubner here if you’d like to give it a try too.

My daughters had been bugging me for a while to buy the triple treat flower and I finally gave in and got it.  This is my first card using it and they were right, it is very pretty!  I’m sure we’ll all have lots of fun coming up with different colour combos for it.  I decided to white emboss it onto wisteria and pool party cardstock for this challenge.

 

Ingredients :

Stamps : Triple treat flower, so happy for you

Card : white, pool party, celery, subtle dsp stack, wisteria

Ink : versamark, stazon, crumb cake

Other : white embossing powder, square punch, stripes ef, big shot, designer printed brad, fancy flower punch, 5 petal flower punch, boho punch

 

One of my daughter’s teachers is getting married in a few weeks and I thought I might even give her this card.  It’s kind of an unconventional wedding card but I think it would work.

Please take a look at what the rest of the design team have come up with using these colours and give our challenge a try yourself :)

 

Kathy

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Bubbly Mermaid

There is another wonderful sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I just had to play along.





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I brayered the circle with pool party, turquoise and NQN and then stamped the splash from extreme elements with white over the top.

My girls’ love this bubbly mermaid card.  It will be a great one to have on hand ready for one of the many  birthday parties my youngest gets invited to :)


Ingredients :
Stamps : extreme elements, cc designs mermaid, so happy for you
Card : pool party, island indigo, white, brights dsp stack
Ink : white, stazon, memento black, nqn, pool party, turquoise
Other : copics, nesties, big shot, tasteful trim, brayer, polka dot folder, square punch, designer printed brads


Kathy

Friday, February 10, 2012

Z Flower

I have my stamp club tomorrow and our hostess asked if I could show them how to make a Double Z fold card.  I decided to work this in with the challenge at The Paper Players this week which is to add a flower to your project. There are so many beautiful cards on their site, it is inspiring.

This is the outside of the card.  I have used a band to keep it closed and added a beautiful paper flower, which is something else I’ll be able to teach my club ladies.  I first saw one on Joanne Leddy’s blog, there is a tutorial here if you’d like to see how it’s done.


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This is how the card looks once you remove the band and open it up.


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Ingredients :
Stamps : Fresh Vintage, Field Flowers
Card : black, vanilla, everyday enchantment dsp, poppy parade
Ink : stazon, calypso coral & lucky limeade markers, crumb cake
Other : boho, fancy flower, 5 petal flower punches,  everyday enchantment ribbon and brad


I think the ladies are going to love making this card.
I hope so anyway :)



FYI : I have been asked if I would provide the measurements for this card, so here they are.
         I have altered it from other z-fold instructions I've seen so that I didn't have to use 12 x 12" card.
       
         Cut base card at 15 x 27cm
         Score at 4 1/2  and 9 cm in from both ends. (Card is in landscape orientation).
         Fold in second score line at both ends and fold back out on first score.


Kathy

Composition Books

 

This week at Just Add Ink we have a Back to School Challenge.

 

During one of my dreaded annual school book buying excursions  I found something interesting. OfficeWorks had Composition books for sale.  I have often seen altered composition books on US craft blogs and I have  wondered what they were and how they were different from our school stationery.  Perhaps they have been in Australia before, but I’d never seen them.  Anyway, they are just like your usual lined exercise book except that the cover is made of much sturdier card.  So they are great books to cover and keep. 

I bought a couple for my girls to give them on their first day book at school.  They both love to write and often write poems and stories at home so I thought a special book for each of them would be a nice back to school present.

I chose papers, colours and stamps to individualise them.

 

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This one is Keeley’s book. I chose this stamp because it shows two of her favourite things to do: writing and eating biscuits!  It actually looks like her a fair bit too!  Her favourite colours are pink, green and blue.

 

 

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This one is Kate’s (as you could probably guess).

She plays the violin and loves purple.

 

 

I gave the girls their books on Wednesday (their first day back) and they absolutely loved them!

It would probably be a good idea to go back to officeworks and buy some more of these and make them up for my girls’ friends for birthday presents.  It would be a good way for me to use up all the pretty dsp that I’ve been hoarding.  I bought these ones the first year I was a demo I think and I love them but have been keeping them for a “special occasion”?  I’m glad I’ve finally put them to good use.

I tried glueing the paper on at first but totally mucked that up, so I tried using the big shot adhesive sheets.  They worked much better!

 

Ingredients :

Stamps : CC Designs Cookie Emma, pencil,  Greetings Farm Chibi Violin

Card : white, wasabi, regal rose, bashful blue, subtles dsp stack, spring fling dsp?

         white, wisteria, subtles dsp stack, spring fling dsp?

Other : big shot, timeless type alpha, square scallop, tasteful trim, subtles button, copics, sanding block, big shot adhesive sheets

 

The rest of the JAI team have some great back to school ideas.  Please take a look and join in with our challenge.

 

Kathy

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Celebrating Dance

 

There is a great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches again this week.  It’s a long sketch so I raided my “random envelope box” (Yes I really do own such a thing!) and made a card to fit one of the long, skinny envelopes I had.

 

Usually when I see a sketch it takes me quite a while to think of what I might do with it, what sets to use etc.  But I had a very different experience with this sketch.

As soon as I saw it I knew immediately what it was!

It was a stage with one dancer in the spotlight!  Obviously!

The night before I saw this sketch, I had read an email from Rita and in closing she said “ I am off to watch Dance Moms. It is worse than Toddlers and Tiaras!”  I have watched Toddlers and Tiaras before and I thought “could that even be possible?”  So I watched it that night too, just to see.

Well obviously it left a lasting impression on my psyche or something because as soon as I saw this sketch I pictured a stage where there were lots of dancers but just one was in the spotlight.  That’s what the show was about basically.  All the Mum’s were whinging about a certain one being the favoured one, the star who shone and who always had the spotlight on her.  Then there was another part where there was a Mum’s dance and one Mum changed her part of the routine during the concert so that she would be the one “in the spotlight”.

So Thanks Rita (I think?)  It was an experience and at least I got a card idea out of it!  I don’t think I’ll watch again though – too traumatic!

 

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Ingredients :

Stamps : Perfectly penned, Under the big top

Card : pale plum, concord crush, blushing bride, x-press it blending card

Ink : memento black, perfect plum

Other : subtle dsp stack, copics, big shot, tasteful trim, circle punch, dazzling diamonds

 

I just have to say this is one card that just hasn’t photographed well.  It looks much better in real life.  I have purposely made the “stage” dark and the other dancers can be seen but all the focus is just on The One !

I have put dazzling diamonds on the underside of her tutu (between the folds) and on her crown too. She looks very pretty and it will make a great card for one of my daughter’s friends.

It was so obvious to me that this was a sketch of a stage that I was actually surprised that none of the design team had done one.  They have made some really gorgeous cards that amazingly have nothing to do with dancing at all! Ha Ha! Please take a look at FMS and I will be checking the other entries to find out if anyone else saw a stage or if it really was all because of that show!

 

Kathy

Friday, February 3, 2012

Happy Paisley

At Just Add Ink this week we have a valentines colour combo challenge.

That is to add any red plus white.

I decided to use the challenge colours, but make a birthday card instead.


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My 2 youngest daughters like me to buy them a Stampin Up set for Christmas each year.  They spend ages going over the catalogues trying to decide which set to choose :)  Anyway this was my 10 year old’s choice this year.

I thought I would use it for this red and white challenge, it kind of reminds me of a bandana.

The red I chose is one that I very rarely use actually, it’s Rose Red.  But I thought it looked pretty and really suited the paisley print. 


Ingredients :
Stamps : Perfectly Penned, Spiced Paisley
Card : white, rose red
Ink : rose red, stazon, white
Other : white gel pen, circle punch, pearls, big shot, polka dot ef

I think this card will be great for one of my daughter’s friends.
Just right for a tween or teen.

Please take a look at what the rest of the JAI team have come up with this week and give our red and white challenge a try.


Kathy