FRIGHT NIGHT

I know as a country we don't go much for Halloween, but it is growing.  It is a shame we don't carry more Halloween stamps in our Idea Book & Catalogue, like the US does.  Luckily for me, I have a super friend in the States (waving at you Diana!!) who sent me a set called "House of Haunts", which I have drawled over for quite sometime!  Tonight being Halloween, I thought I would share the quick card I made yesterday, while having a play with this delicious stamp set!

Of course, I pulled out my trusty sponges to give my background the real moodiness and atmosphere a spooky Halloween scene needs!

Happy Halloween to you all!  ♥

Stamps:  House of Haunts
Cardstock:  Old Olive, Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Whisper White
Inks: Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Bluching Bride, So Saffron, Old Olive, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Sponges, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig, post-it-notes, Regals Brads, Piercing Tool

JAI #91 - A COLOUR CHALLENGE

I have been away from JUST ADD INK on a wee break for a while, but have actually been able to participate in this weeks gorgeous challenge brought to you by Bron Eastley!

 How do you like these colours?!! Aren't they GORGEOUS!  This is the wee cutie I came up with:

Of course, I had to decorate the inside as well. I left the sentiment off the front of the card, but I think it makes a nice touch on the inside instead. What do you think?

I hope you will play along with us at JUST ADD INK this week.  I look forward to seeing your creations!  Make sure you visit what the other JAI designers have come up with too, you won't be disappointed!

IT'S NOT TOO LATE!

To take advantage of the Stampin' Up! October special, if you haven't already done so. For more details, click HERE.  Contact ME to place your order or book a workshop!

 I love the Stitched Stocking promotion and while I haven't had much time to play, I do have a teaser for you!

Stamp Set:  Stitched Stockings, Contempo Christmas
Cardstock:  Old Olive, Whisper White
Inks: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Regals DSP, Mat Pack & Piercing Tool, Dazzling Diamonds, 2 Way Glue Pen, Dimensionals

CHRISTMAS POP-UP

As most of you already know, I am primarily a card maker.  I tend to stick to the typical flat card, but this week I thought I would share a super cool Pop-Up card with you.  These cards are actually very easy to make and you can find the fantastic tutorial for this card HERE.

Keeping with the Christmas theme, I chose to use the set "Snow Swirled" for this card.  I really love the filgree tree!  I have also teamed it with the Soft Holly wheel, along the card base.

The best thing about this card?  It folds flat!!  So you can still pop this in the post.

 If you have never made one of these free standing Pop-Up cards, why not have a go?!  I promise you won't be disappointed with how easy they actually are!

THE TIME HAS COME.....

To start working on making those Christmas cards if you want the recipients to get them in time!  I always promise myself that I will get a head start every year and make them early!  Every year, October rolls around and, YIKES!!!  I haven't even begun to plan for Christmas.

With that in mind, and limited time to actually craft,  I came up with these wee cuties.  You can easily knock off a one of these simple Christmas cards in under ten minutes.    Swap colours and ribbons, add some bling, and Viola!  A cute, clean, simple Christmas card to add to your stash!

I have stamped a clear block in my chosen ink colour (to match the ribbon of choice) and stamped on Very Vanilla or Whisper White.  This creates a fast background and gives the impression of texture.  I then stamped Dasher and the sentiment in a contrasting, colour.  Add a few Basic Rhinestones to the antlers and it is done.  I coloured the Rhinetsones with a permanent marker to match the background colour also.

So there is another use for Clear Blocks Ladies!  Don't just use them for mounting your clear stamps, stamp with them too!  They come in a variety of sizes and prices, and are ergonomically designed with fingers grips on all four sides.

The best thing is that Stampin' Up! Have now added a storage case for you to store them all in one place!  It also opens out flat and has a foam core to protect your blocks and is only $35.95! 

Contact ME today to place your orders for this handy storage case and the verstatile clear bocks!

SEPIA SILHOUETTE

I just want to say Thanks to everyone who has contacted me or left comments on my last blog post.  I really enjoyed making that card and a few of you have asked for a tutorial.  So here it is!

I decided to do this CAS, sponged card in sepia tones and also make it a sympathy type card too.  Never seem to have one on hand when I need one!

Because I do so much sponging and brayering, I make my templates out of acetate, so I can use them over and over again.  Simply hand draw your hills/clouds across the acetate and cut out.  I also put a sticker on the acetate, so I don't lose it!!  It is all but invisible otherwise *grin*

Mask off the sides of your card with post-it-notes.  I didn't worry about covering the bottom part, since I wanted to taper out the colour before I got to the bottom.

Place your cloud template on you card and gently sponge your clouds in small circular motions, starting at the top of your card and moving your acetate down the card as you go.

I also move the acetate across the page, so the clouds don't look uniform.  (See the sticker position).  The other reason I like acetate, is that you can see exaclty how much colour you are putting on the card.

Swap templates and sponge in the hills, letting the ink run out before you get to the bottom of the card.

Use your Stamp-a-ma-jig to place your sentiment where you want it.  I have used Word Play.

Using a marker, ink up the silhouette image of your choice.  For me, it was the single flower from Inspired by Nature.  Stamp your image.  Card done!

The colours I have used are: Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, and Crumb Cake.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial.  I would love your feedback!

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

I can't believe I have been away so long from my blog!!  I like to be able to put up work on a regular basis, but just haven't been able to get a thing done over the past few weeks.  I decided to take a leaf out of my friend Kim's book and create a Clean and Simple card (CAS).

I went back to my first love - sponging!  Using Kim's idea of masking a portion of the card, I went to work and created my background.  It really suited the new Hostess stamp set "Simply Soft", so I got a chance to ink it up!  This was originally a line art stamp, but I decided to create the silhouette again, by colouring in the stamped images in the same marker - in this case, Chocolate Chip.  Not a single embellishment in sight!  Be sure to check out Kim's site, Joyful Creations with Kim, too.  She does the most amasing CAS cards!  Tell her I sent you, won't you?

Thanks Kim for giving me the kick start I needed *mwah*