31 May 2024

Just Add Ink 704: Colour Challenge

I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the very talented Design Team at Just Add Ink. As some of you might have read recently they celebrated their 700th challenge and I reflected on being there at the start of their challenge journey and so gosh what an absolute thrill in a good but also slightly scary way to be joining them "officially" as part of the DT.

One of the reasons I have enjoyed JAI over the years so much is the range and complexity of different challenges they post and for my starter DT card, it is no exception with a colour combo palate I found challenging. I was thinking to myself I maybe out of my depth here, if I'm honest.



I actually own all 4 colours from SU! and their reinkers so that was a good starting point but looking at the palate which certainly looks a pretty combo it wasn't reminding me of anything.

I then had decided on birthday balloons when I realised that was one of the parameters for last week, so it was back to the drawing board.....

As it's Autumn down under I thought of leaves and I still think this is an idea to play with. So play time  with a set called Delightful Leaves (PFS).

1. stamp and stencil below


2. stencil on top of some watercolouring with reinkers


Both were OK but I wasn't going ohh I love this when I had a light bulb moment and thought I would recreate a card I had made recently which you can see HERE but this time I would make my own Ink Drop Papers. I've used the reinkers, diluting with water and shimmers sprays to make a wash on watercolour paper and even if I say so myself I love it and I had a great time blending the colours. I was drying with my Heat Tool between colours, I was worried a couple of times I might make "mud" but I quickly dabbed at anything that looked dirty forming.


I then created 3/4" paper strips from my homemade DSP and also backed them up with a scrap of card stock also cut a tiny bit smaller than 3/4".

I've used my newest and latest embossing folder I have just bought Exposed Brick 3D (SU!) as my background. Added a brushed gold leaf which was already cut from the Lovely Layers: Spring Greenery (HB), I have popped some 1mm foam squares under the top bits to support them and then popped up a die cut out Hello using Gorgeous Grape (SU!) card stock with a vellum shadow. I have die cut the word out 3 times and glued together to make something a tad more sturdy with a hint of dimension. This die and shadow comes from SSS and looks like it was part of STAMPtember and so wouldn't be available to buy now but any sentiment or appropriate die cut would also work.



I'm really happy how this turned out and the shimmer sprays mixed with the reinkers means my homemade DSP is actually quite shimmery and really pretty IRL. If you're new to my blog thanks for popping in and I normally abbreviate the stamping companies I use a lot and you can find a key at the very bottom of the blog page if you can't guess it.

I am very pleased to get the first DT card done so now I can sit back and enjoy seeing what everyone created with this colour combo.

✿Karen✿

26 May 2024

AAA Card Challenge 266: Sketch Challenge

I am so looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for this sketch challenge. I have struggled for months with it. The joy of being on the Design Team, I get to see a year's worth of challenges and can work away at my own pace. This one has had me stumped as all I can see is "Mickey Mouse". I was going to use some circle dies and make a Mickey but didn't really have anything to use with the 3 black circles etc. and I've never been very good with punch art on a card.

Imagine my relief when I got a new stencil set which has triangles on it and then it was like yah I can make Christmas trees with it. I have to say this was quick, easy and only required moving the post-it note around to cover up triangles I didn't want to blend by accident. So this would be great to recreate for bulk card making for Christmas.




Supply List:
Stamps: Itty Bitty Holiday (MFT)
Ink: Mint (PFS), Meadow (PFS), Ocean Breeze (PFS), Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper: Hammermill White
Other: Leaf and Sky Blue clear drops (PFS), Overlapping Triangles stencil (PFS), 1/2" blending brushes (PFS)
Challenges: AAA #266, JUG#728


I look forward to seeing what the Design Team and the entrants create with this sketch so hope you can play along too. I'm also going to play along with Just Us Girls as they are wanting stencils this week and my card is 3 stenciled triangles.


✿Karen✿

24 May 2024

Anyone need a hug??

I'm delighted to be the Guest Designer for CAS on Friday latest challenge and the theme is
HUGS

Normally I'd choose a cute critter hugging but I thought I would try something different and still hopefully be Clean and Simple. I've stamped a 4" x 5-1/4" panel with the fab flower from Miss Your Smile (PFS). This is actually the first Pinkfresh Studio stamp and stencil set that I bought and it's quite large. It has lots of hugs related sentiments and rather than colouring it up I thought I would just die cut the word hugs with a word die and colour the letters up. 

I've coloured up the die cut letters in multiple colours so I can also play along with Pinkfresh Studios May challenge too; this month it's Flower Power plus/minus a colour combo. I have flowers and I have used the 5 inks for the combo even if I had to stamp a wee sentiment in one of the colours to include it in the mix. I have glued 3 die cuts behind each letter for a bit of dimension as well. The sentiment I have just cut out by hand as there was no dies for this set,



Supply List:
Stamps: Miss Your Smile (PFS)
Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne
PFS Inks: Bubblegum, Sunkissed, Citron, Ocean Breeze, Atlantis 
Paper: Neenah Solar White
Other: Big Hugs die (MFT), blending brushes (TE), sticky stencil mat (WF)

Thanks for popping in and hope you can join in with the CAS on Friday challenge and maybe try a different way of sharing "hugs".

✿Karen✿