Just Add Ink #391 - Just Choose Two

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Hello, & happy Friday ~

The last weekend before Christmas! Have you been amidst the Christmas crazy lately? I have! Lots of creating, shopping, planning...& still more to do. I'm well behind with actually writing in the cards I've made for family & friends  :(

We have a fun new Choose Two challenge from Kim over at  Just Add Ink today. I took the opportunity to pretty up some more of my Christmas gifts with jute twine & cute little tags.

If you look closely you'll see I've added some gold twine & a couple of little gold bells that were available in the last Holiday Catalogue. I always hoard embellishments. Time I use some of them up...

If you're not too busy with all the extra running around & chores that this time of year brings then join us over at JAI for some crafting fun. You could always use this challenge to catch up on your last minute Christmas handmade gifts & packaging. Or there's always New Years cards....Please note that this challenge runs through to the 3rd of January, 2018.

My in-laws are joining us from Interstate for Christmas, hopefully the weather won't be too scorching & it will be a relaxing & fun day with full bellies. However you celebrate Christmas, I hope it's the same. Enjoy this special time with family. Merry Christmas, & thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog over the past 12 months, & extra thanks to those of you who stop long enough to leave some comment love. It's nice to know people still make the time.

See you next year!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #389 - Just Add Inspiration

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Good Friday morning friends ~

Welcome to our latest challenge over at Just Add Ink. Kelly has given us a great inspiration pic. Being so close to Christmas I'm still working on all my packaging so today I'm sharing a little Pillow Box all fancied up with designer paper, burlap, ribbons & trim. Inside is a gift card to the Dendy Premium Cinemas here in Canberra - a luxurious way to enjoy a movie on date night. Hmmmm I should be gifting this one to myself....

At the recent Stampin' Up! On Stage event in Melbourne I was lucky enough to room with a few fabulous ladies, one of which was the super talented Narelle Farrugia (that woman seriously cracks me up, she is too funny). It is a tradition for 'roomies' to give each other small gifts, & Narelle's was packaged very similarly to what I have done here. So my version is a CASE of hers (slight differences in designer paper & washi but basically the same - why change it if it ain't broken I say). Narelle graciously allowed me to share with you all because I didn't have time to get a different project ready. It has been super busy for weeks now, & I know I'm not alone in this! I'm not sure if Narelle blogged her original gift box to us roomies but pop over to check for it.

Hopefully this close up shows you the different layers of cardstock, designer paper, ribbons & trim (each of these items are current & can be purchased, except the corrugated c/s used for the Pillow Box itself).

If you've still got some Christmas crafting to get done, pop over to JAI & pick up a few card & packaging ideas. Don't forget to take a pic of your work & upload to join the challenge fun & share your ideas with us all. Here is the inspiration pic for you.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm off to have my hair done shortly, then I'm out with the girls for dinner tonight. Tomorrow I have Elf duty at Little Athletics with the twins, & on Sunday I'm off to see Mama Mia the musical - very much looking forward to that. I hope you have something nice planned for your weekend!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #387 - Just Add a Colour Combo

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Happy Friday ~

Welcome to the latest Just Add Ink challenge. Nikki has given us a festive colour combo this week....very fitting for this time of year.

I've taken one of Stampin' Ups! retired white gift boxes (2016/2017 Holiday Catalogue - I hoard all things craft) & dressed it up with designer paper & a heat embossed poinsettia - stamped in Cherry Cobbler, then again with Versamark & Clear Embossing Powder, I did the same with our new leaf punch (oh the convenience!) & added the lovely mini sequin trim. Fairly simple but dresses up a little gift really well I think. These boxes are going to contain some chocolates for the teacher aids in the twins classrooms.

Do you still have Christmas goodies to create? We'd love you to join us at JAI for some crafting fun, although keep in mind it isn't a Christmas specific challenge.

It was absolutely awesome & so much fun to spend time with my beautiful crafting friends at On Stage in Melbourne a fortnight ago. The time goes so quickly though...so a few of us have decided a road trip to meet halfway is in order sometime during February. We've found a nice spot with water close by & I just can't wait!

Gorgeous Kid finished Year 11 exams this week so no more school for him until February next year. He told his boss he's available for extra work & they've already taken him up on it. He hasn't had a day off yet lol.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #385 - Just Add a Sketch - Pizza Gift Boxes

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Happy Friday friends ~

It's an exciting day! I'm hopping on a plane to Melbourne to meet up with some of my lovely JAI girlfriends for On Stage this weekend. I'm so looking forward to lots of laughs & good times. A shame not all of us are going to be at the same event...others are attending Gold Coast (waving to you Lou), & a few of the girls way over West aren't making the trip across this time (we'll miss you).

Anyway, welcome to the new challenge at Just Add Ink. Kim has given us a sketch this week. I'll pop it at bottom for you. I decorated some little Pizza gift boxes with the gorgeous Year of Cheer Suite. I love the foils...Specialty Designer Paper & Washi, Embossing Powder...all beautiful in copper.

Super easy to put together, they were not so easy to photograph. I wrapped the base of the box with copper Washi.

 
I used the Add a little Glitz Christmas stamp set for my sentiment - but you're not limited to creating Christmas packaging with this one.

As per the sketch I've tucked my ribbon (1cm shimmer in Powder Pink & Pool Party & the Metallic Edge in Silver) strategically under the sentiment, which is raised on dimensionals, added a couple of copper sequins & voila, finished!

What I neglected to notice until I was photographing these cute little boxes was my omission of the twine element at the top :(  oooops. I've been too distracted making what's inside these little boxes...but I can't show you those until later :)

Why don't you join the challenge fun this week?  Pop over to the JAI blog, be inspired by the design team samples & head into your craft space to get creative. We love to visit your blogs to see how you've been inspired.

Be sure to pop back next week because I'm certain there will be a bunch of On Stage photos floating around blogland. Until then....thanks for stopping by, & have a great weekend. I will be! Squeal.

Patrice x

Colour INKspiration Challenge #21 - With Sympathy

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Welcome to a new Colour INKspiration challenge - our 21st! I think I'm kicking the hop off today....regardless of where you start, do make sure you get right around to see all the lovely projects the Crew have created to share with you. If you haven't joined us over on Facebook yet, click here to be taken to our FACEBOOK GROUP.

Here is the inspiration colour palette. Hopefully these beautiful bright colours will inspire you to join the challenge fun and share your projects with us. 

The last thing I would have expected to create using these colours is a Sympathy card. But I needed one, & it needed to be beautiful for its intended recipient. My card was completely inspired by a card I received last year that I fell in love with instantly. You can check out the original by Nikki here.

I started by cutting my sentiment. I 'painted' the bottom half of the sentiment with the aqua painter & a little reinker (just a drop or two in the lid of the stamp pad works beautifully). While that was drying I splattered some Soft Sky ink with the aqua painter onto my card front. Once my sentiment was dry I slathered it in Versamark ink & heat embossed with Clear powder giving it a lovely smooth shiny finish. I then popped it up on dimensionals & offset it a little.

Below is a close up to show the sparkle :)

To continue on with the blog hop click on the next blog image below & you'll be taken to see what super talented, Lou has created to share with us today.

In just two more sleeps I'll be seeing a lot of my lovely blog friends in Melbourne at the Stampin' Up! On Stage event. Getting excited now! Thanks so much for taking a little time to stop by, and if you've left a comment thanks, I love reading them.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #383 - Just Add Cake

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Happy Friday friends ~

We have a delicious challenge from Chloe kicking off today over at Just Add Ink. We're adding cake!

My three tiered cake is a PTI set that I purchased many months ago & hadn't taken out of the packaging - Paper Clippings: Birthday. It's inked in Pink Pirouette & Berry Burst. I made it into a shaker card with lots of pretties - pearls, various sized sequins, seed beads....

Come visit us at the JAI blog for some inspiration & to join the challenge fun this week.

Sorry so short & sweet today, it's been a busy week...& I'm all out of chat. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #381 - Just Choose Two

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Happy Friday friends ~

We've survived week one back at school - yay us! The nice weather is here, & the garden is colourful once again. I really love this time of year. Hard to believe Christmas isn't too far away either....eeeek I have another few birthdays to get through before I can even think of that!

We have a Choose Two - Embossing Paste or Colouring or Sequins challenge from Jan kicking off at Just Add Ink today. As my new Stampin' Blends arrived earlier this week I couldn't resist having a quick play. Out came my Birthday Bloom favourite again....I've used Pink Pirouette & Old Olive here, with a little touch of Cherry Cobbler in the centre. What you can't see is all the shimmer on this card, unfortunately.

I really enjoy using the Embossing Paste, & if you haven't tried it yet I urge you to get yourself a pot. So. Much. Fun!

We'd love you to join the challenge fun with us so pop over to the JAI blog, grab yourself some inspiration & get busy. We really do enjoy popping past your blogs to see what you've created, & leave you some comment love.

Now that the warmer weather is here our two youngest are doing Little Athletic's each Saturday morning again, swimming lessons have resumed & life gets that much busier for this taxi mum.

Yesterday I had my hair cut & coloured, & today I'm lunching with a friend to celebrate her birthday. This evening is my semi regular dinner with the girls (four of us have been catching up every six weeks or so for too many years to remember) & we always have so much to talk, laugh & commiserate about. Our dinners don't roll around nearly as often as we'd all like.

I hope the start of your weekend is as good as mine.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #380 - Just Add a Sketch

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Happy Friday friends ~

The school holidays are almost over, & while it has been nice to relax & hang with the kiddos it'll be just as nice to get back into routine next week. Our weather has warmed up beautifully this past week & with daylight savings starting a few days ago I'm feeling quite content with my lot in life!

We have a great sketch challenge (designed by Narelle) over at Just Add Ink this week. I was pretty short on time (being school holidays) so whipped my card up fairly quickly & without a great deal of thought & planning - I already had the bloom stamped & waiting for colour.

I've layered a Whisper White panel on a Berry Burst card base & added a strip of the new Specialty Washi Tape. I gave the white panel a good flick of gold Wink of Stella (now retired), added some gold twine & sequins to finish. Pretty simple!

The bloom was coloured with a Watercolour Pencil, & Aqua Painter - I just moved the colour around a bit, no special skill required. Believe me!

I coloured the stamens with the gold Wink of Stella pen also. The whole card is quite sparkly in real life.

As always, the design team have created lots of lovely projects to get you inspired. Go over to the JAI blog & join the challenge fun. Here is the sketch for you.

I had a lovely week in Queensland catching up with a handful of friends. I spent a few nights on the Sunshine Coast, went to the Eumundi markets & sampled plenty of food, visited Montville for a gorgeous view & delicious cake, bbq'd & played darts with fun friends, had a tavern dinner....it wasn't all about food....well food & friends go together so I guess it was :)

The remaining four nights were spent in Brisbane visiting my BFF & gorgeous Godson. We went to Kinky Boots at the theatre, did a little shopping, visited some farm animals, went out for brunch, lunch & supper, kicked back, had nana naps...it was a really nice time. The weather warmed up a little quickly with it reaching 37 degrees the day I was flying home. Even the locals were telling me it was unseasonal to be so warm at this time of year.

Back next week. Have a great weekend, & take care.

Patrice x

Colour INKspiration Challenge #18 - Happy Birthday Gorgeous

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Welcome to a new Colour INKspiration challenge. We are a group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators from Australia & New Zealand who love to share projects using fabulous colour combos found on Pinterest.

At first glance I loved these colours! However, if I'm being honest I struggled using them together....who would have thought I'd find all that pink too much? Perhaps it's what I've done with it. Regardless the end result is growing on me....

This is my first play with the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamps, & I just love those little flowers. There was a lot of fussy cutting involved, fortunately I find it quite a therapeutic activity.

I used the sponge brayer to add Powder Pink ink to my Whisper White front panel, graduating from dark to light, bottom to top - not sure you can see that so well in the pic. I've also added splatters with my Wink of Stella pen, flicking it randomly - love the effect.

I've carried the sponging through to the inside of my card, & again added some shimmery splatters.

Here is the inspiration colour palette. Hopefully these colours will inspire you to join the challenge fun and share your projects. If you'd like to join the challenge follow this link >>> https://www.facebook.com/groups/349642308720075/ to check out all the details on our Facebook Page.

If you're following the hop you may have come from my beautiful friend, Nikki. I just love everything she creates! To continue on with the blog hop click on the next blog image below & you'll be taken to see what my other beautiful friend Kelly has created to share with us today.

Edited to add - I'm currently away in Queensland enjoying some sunshine & warmth. I had a little mishap & posted this a week early! OMG! I tried to rectify fairly quickly but if you've already seen my card, that's why. My apologies to the rest of the Crew :(

Thanks so much for taking a little time to stop by, and if you've left a comment thanks, I love reading them.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #377 - Just Add a Colour Combo

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Woohoo it's Friday ~

And that makes me happy because I have some fun plans today. First up is a trip to the hairdresser for a root freshen up - the greys seem to appear a lot quicker than they used to. Following that I'm meeting a gorgeous girlfriend for lunch & a pedi. Very much looking forward to few chores & a bit of me time.

We have an awesome colour combo from Rochelle for our new challenge at Just Add Ink today. Once again I pulled out my Bouquet Bunch framelits (slightly obsessed). I enjoyed a little watercolouring too which I don't do nearly enough of. Surprisingly I ended up making several cards using this colour combo while I had the supplies on my desk, two of which were CASEd from a gorgeous 'Thinking of You' card I received from my BFF a couple of weeks ago.

Pop over to JAI to check out the design team inspiration - always so much gorgeousness to see. Remember you can add a neutral colour to our colour combo challenges! Here's the palette for you.

We've had family from New Zealand staying with us this week. Let me just say the house has been more chaotic than usual as there is a four year old in the mix. Yesterday afternoon I let the twins finish school an hour early & we went out for some Flip Out trampoline fun, then stopped at San Churro for yummy sweet treats afterwards. Nice!

Next Friday I'm heading up to Queensland for a week. I'll be going to both the Sunshine Coast & Brisbane. Time for a little sun, some quality time with my BFF & gorgeous little godson & I'm very much looking forward to seeing a few friends too - one is an old high school friend I haven't seen in well over 20 years. Lots of catching up to do!

See you back here again soon.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #375 - Just Add a Sketch

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Happy first day of Spring ~

I'm so looking forward to the weather warming up & all the blossoms & flowers blooming! My absolute favourite season of the year.

I've been offline for the past week recovering from a surgery so it's very nice to be back sharing a card with you today. My head is clear again & I'm ready to get out of the house & resume normal routines.

Kim has given us a sketch for the new Just Add Ink challenge kicking off today. I'm still using up scraps of dsp, this time with a tiny peek of the Silver Metallic-Edge ribbon layered underneath. And my birthday 'go to' stamp set Cool Treats.

Be sure to pop over to JAI & check out all the gorgeous variations of this sketch by the design team. Here is the sketch for you to try.

Not a lot of other news, as I said above it's been pretty quiet around our house this past week. Gorgeous Kid turned 17 & we've hardly seen him since. He's out driving at any spare moment. It certainly has made the juggle of getting kids where they need to be on time tons easier, particularly with me out of action. The hubby has really stepped up!

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great weekend!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #373 - Just Add Stencils

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Happy Friday lovely friends ~

We have a brand new challenge over at Just Add Ink and Karren suggested we add stencilling to our projects this week. Fun!

Considering it's been a bitter cold few days in Canberra, this little jar of flowers looks more like spring! It was so fun to create. I broke out my new Embossing Paste & Pattern Party Decorative Masks for this card - I love the texture! If you haven't tried the new Paste you really must, it's sooo easy to use.

Another new feature on this card is the Beautiful Bouquet stamp set & matching Framelits. I didn't actually use the stamps here, rather I cut the flowers out of scraps of Whisper White c/s & used my Watercolour Pencils to add colour roughly then moved it around with my Aqua Painter. I was very happy with the result.

I'm not sure if you can see the shimmer I added with Wink of Stella in the above pic but it does show a bit more of the texture created by the Embossing Paste.

The design team has created lots of gorgeous cards for your inspiration this week so pop over to JAI & check them out. We'd love to see your own stencilled projects so join the challenge & link up!

Have a great weekend!

Patrice x

Colour INKspiration Challenge # 15

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Welcome to a new Colour INKspiration challenge. We are a group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators from Australia & New Zealand who love to share projects using fabulous colour combos found on Pinterest.

When I saw You've Got Style in the new catalogue it was first on my wish list. You see this gorgeous lady reminds me so much of my dear grandmother. Although my granny does prefer to drink tea... I've been itching to ink this old gal up. Don't you just love her?

Here is the inspiration colour palette. If you'd like to join the challenge fun you can follow this link >>> https://www.facebook.com/groups/349642308720075/ to check out all the details on our Facebook Page.

To continue on with the blog hop click on the next blog image below & you'll be taken to see what the lovely Monique Fielder has created to share with us today. 

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #371 - Just Choose Two

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Happy Friday friends ~

A bit of an exciting week in our house....our big boy, Gorgeous Kid sat his driving test yestrerday and got it! OMG!! My son is allowed to drive, on roads, all by himself. Well he will come 21 August when he actually turns 17 - do you think he was keen to be ready for the big day? Ohhh just a little bit whole lot!

We have a new challenge over at Just Add Ink today. Di has asked us to choose two - kids, pets or patterned paper. My card is kind of a cheat now that I think about it. Originally I chose kids & patterned paper, however, this little cutie elephant could kind of sort of be a pet, don't you think? I know I'd love an elephant in my back yard :)

So I pulled out my must have set A Little Wild and created a suspension spinner card for a sweet little girl turning 5 a few weeks ago. The sentiment was heat embossed using a stamp from the Big on Birthdays set. My chosen designer paper is now retired, but being a paper hoarder I still have a ton to get through....

I coloured little Ellie with my copics.

Laid flat so you can see the silver thread giving it the spin effect.

And a cute little bottom!

There are so so many possibilities with the choose two challenges, so pop over to JAI & join us for some fun this week. The design team have lots of awesome cards to inspire you. Don't forget to link your project up.

Have a great weekend!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #369 - Just Add Inspiration

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Happy Friday ~

We've survived our first week back at school! Yay us! It's been a tough gig getting up early and back into routine. We've had extra cold mornings of late. Totally can't wait until the warm weather returns.

Rochelle gave us a lovely inspiration pic to use for our new Just Add Ink challenge kicking off today. I'll post it at bottom for you.  My interpretation was quite literal (as usual), and I had lots of fun sponging a background of blue with my distress inks and splashing a bit of water around.

Using the Up & Away Thinlits I cut the hot air balloon several times and glued each layer together to give it dimension. On the top layer I used a dauber to sponge several inks - Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight and Real Red - then slathered it with Fine Tip Glue Pen. It gives a lovely shiny, textured finish. My little clouds have been covered in Wink of Stella so they're super glittery in real life!

The design team have created some fabulous projects this week so head over to JAI to check them out. If you'd like to join the challenge fun with us then get busy and link up (details on the blog). Here is the Inspiration Pic for you.

I'm off to dinner with my girlfriends tonight, while hubby goes to the footy - Brumbies - (I don't know why he punishes himself watching Australia play New Zealand, we all know who's going to win hehehe). Have a wonderful weekend all.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink ##367 - Just Add a Colour Combo

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Happy Friday crafty friends ~

Welcome to a brand new challenge at Just Add Ink.  Today we have a colour combo from me!  Some of the girls found this a little challenging, see what you can do with Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Smoky Slate & Lemon Lime Twist.

I made a sweet thank you card for a beautiful friend of mine using the Daisy Delight stamps & matching punch.  A couple of details:

• The stitched rectangle mat was created using the largest square from the Stitched Shapes Framelits - if you don't cut all the way through one end you can reposition the die to create a rectangle - so versatile;
• Window Sheets are great for making little see through jars - StazOn ink & Jar of Love used here; and
• Crystal Effects (retired) were used on the daisy centre & sprinkled with lots of Dazzling Diamonds glitter while it was still wet.

I love that bright pop of Lemon Lime Twist.  Don't you?  If you'd like to check out all the design team inspiration head over to JAI, and join us for some colour combo fun.  All the details are on the blog.

We're in the midst of school holidays here in Canberra so it's busy times all round.  Lots of fun holiday activities.  Lazy mornings in our pjs & we're all enjoying the non routine of it!  Back again soon with more to share.  Have a great weekend all.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #363 - Just Add Anniversary

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Good morning ~

We're making anniversary cards over at Just Add Ink this week. Chantell gave us this challenge.

I got myself all in a muddle this week. I had lots of ideas and not one of them was working for me. So I ended up with this super CAS card - I didn't want to go for pinks and reds as I had my husband in mind when putting my card together.  Less is more for that man.

Using the Bold Stripes Cover Ups die from MFT I created black and white stripes with Thick Whisper White c/s and Basic Black c/s.  I die cut my sentiment three times, so the silver foil is layered on top of two black layers.  It gives a nice contrast in person, but not as easy to see in the pic. I added a few of the cute little sequins from the new Mini Trim as a finishing touch.  I did carry the black and white through to the inside of my card with layers, and stamped 'happy anniversary' and added some little red love hearts.  Then I called it done!

Despite having lots of fun new goodies out of the brand spanking new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue I just haven't had time to play yet.  I'm sure I'm not the only one still looking longingly at my BBB (big brown box for those of you not part of the crafting world).

I did get the new Planner though!  Oh my!!!  I love it and cracked it open immediately.  It's already ruling my life. Seriously, check it out when you get the opportunity.

Exam time is almost upon the two teens in our house.  Then nearly four whole weeks of school holidays.  Our youngest is off at a special Principal's lunch today because he's been working hard with his reading and writing and doing a super job.  His twin sister doesn't understand why she isn't invited too ;)

That's about it from my part of the world.  We're still enjoying lovely sunny days, but the temps have dropped significantly.  It's been freezing in Canberra.  Long weekend ahead for us - Gorgeous Kid is off to the Coast with his mates, the twins are visiting their grandparents and hubby is off camping in the Victorian High Country.  I can see lots of crafting in my near future.  Yay!

Have an awesome weekend.

Patrice x