Just Add Ink #571...Just Add Lines

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 Happy Friday ~

We have a brand new challenge over at Just Add Ink & this week we're adding 'lines' suggested by, Kelly. I chose the pretty You're a Peach designer paper & fussy cut those sweet little florals. A little vellum, a gold hoop & thread with some white heat embossing all layered on Calypso Coral cardstock & voila, card made.

If you'd like to join the challenge head over to JAI for some inspiration from the design team & all the details you need. Here is the banner for you.

Not much has changed in the past fortnight, still doing lockdown in the ACT & still home schooling...it feels never ending. I'd love to be able to share some excitement, but honestly there is none. We've been doing large puzzles, watching Netflix more than usual & doing too much online shopping - but I do like when the parcels arrive lol.

Thanks for stopping by, & I hope things are more interesting in your part of the world.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #565...Just Add a Colour Combo

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Hello beautiful friends ~

Welcome to our latest Colour Combo challenge over at Just Add Ink. Lou has chosen a trio of colours for us to work with this week - Polished Pink, Pale Papaya & Basic Black.

I rather love this card. It's incredibly simple & to be honest I think it's because I paired it with an orange envelope. You compare the pics below & let me know what you think?

It was a no brainer that I had to cut into some of the delicious new Expressions in Ink designer paper for this challenge. The hard work is done for me. What a gorgeous splash of colour....layered over some (retired) patterned vellum. I added the beautiful floral die cut in the Artistic dies set & a heat embossed sentiment from the Artistically Inked stamp set. I think this would be a perfect suite for beginner crafters.

We'd love you to join the challenge fun with us. Pop over to JAI for more inspiration & all the details. Here is the banner for you.

Quick update on the landscaping. Our plants have been delayed by a few weeks thanks to Covid & NSW going into lockdown. They arrived yesterday & are being put in the ground today! I'm so excited. It's nearing completion with the finishing touches almost done! Yay!

Have a great weekend!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #561...Just Add a Shaker

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Hello hello ~

It's new challenge time over at Just Add Ink & Nikki has given us a super fun 'shaker' challenge this week!

I had fun sponging this heart all over....I made my own template using a long retired die & some acetate. The shaker component sits on top of my Berry Burst base card. It was created using the Stitched So Sweetly dies. I added some chunky glitter & various sized sequins from my stash for the fun interactive 'shaking' experience that comes with this type of card.

Miss 9 had a sleepover party recently so this card was created for her sweet little friend who loves all shades of pink. The envelope was personalised with her name (using the Tidy Alphabet stamps...do you remember those from a dozen or so years ago?) which gave her a thrill.

We'd love you to join the 'shaker' challenge fun with us so pop over to JAI for lots of lovely inspiration & to check out all the details. 

Our massive landscaping job is finally nearing the end. We're in month four, the fencing went up a few days ago & all the new furniture was delivered yesterday. The plants will be going in next week - cannot wait to have greenery back. My beautiful new water feature is out of stock Australia wide so I have to wait until September for that :(

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #559...Just Choose Two...photo heavy

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Happy Friday crafty friends ~ 

We have a new challenge over at Just Add Ink starting today. It's a 'choose two' from, Di. I love choices, don't you? I went with stitching & stripes - the stitching is in my square, if you look closely you can just see them. I used the retired Stitched Shapes from Stampin' Up!

You all know how much I love the (soon to retire so I stocked up) True Love designer papers. This is the first time I have used them uncoloured. I really do like! I've fussy cut two layers here so there is some dimension since it's otherwise a fairly plain card. And to finish....a little pop of pink using the In Colour jewels.

If you love a fun challenge join us by popping over to JAI for inspiration & challenge details. Here is the banner for you.

We had a lovely week away at Airlie Beach & Daydream Island with our friends. We caught Jimmy Barnes for a few live shows too... HUGE FAN! Visited Hamilton Island & Whitehaven beach. We got a lot done in a week. 

The view from our stay at Airlie Beach

The view from our room on Daydream Island

 Toni (right) & I settled in our VIP seats for the first twilight show

Brian & I second twilight show

The man himself, Jimmy Barnes & family

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #555 - Just Add a Colour Combo

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Woohoo, it's Friday ~

Welcome to the latest Just Add Ink colour combo challenge, suggested by Rachael.

I finally cracked open my Prettiest Birthday stamps....love this image. Coloured with Magenta Madness they almost look like lollies good enough to eat. I'm looking forward to colouring it in several shades but for this challenge I think all the pink just pops!

There is plenty of shimmery sparkle on this card too...which I never seem to be able to capture, sigh.

Come join the challenge using these gorgeous colours, pop over to JAI for some inspiration & all the details. Here is the banner for you.

I spent all of yesterday at the hospital with my big boy - previously known as Gorgeous Kid (he's a man now so it kind of doesn't fit). He had all four wisdom teeth removed under a GA. Defence has approved him a week of leave to be at home for his recovery. It's nice being able to look after him...even if he does look like Dracula lol.

And our landscaping continues....it seems never ending. Can't wait until I can step outside & not end up dusty & dirty. There are no pavers or grass or greenery of any kind out there at the moment. Sooooo looking forward to seeing the finished product! 

Enjoy your weekend!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #553...Just Add a Sketch

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Hello & happy Friday ~ 

It's the start of a brand new challenge week over at Just Add Ink. Kelly has designed the sketch for us to use. 

I've gone completely out of my comfort zone & cracked into the Sweet Ice Cream suite here, using some of the new In Colours. I think I love them all. Miss 9 always has parties to attend so this card will be used in no time, I'm sure.

Up close it's all sparkly with Shimmer Paint.

If you'd like to join the challenge fun head over to JAI to check out the details & get some inspiration. Here is the banner for you.

No interesting news from me this fortnight....our huge landscaping job (have I even mentioned that yet?) is still in progress & my entire back yard is a bomb site - not helped by three days of rain this week. It's nearing the end they tell me so hopefully I can get to the fun part of planting soon. We're also incorporating a fire pit & a large urn with flowing water. Hubby has been taking time lapse video for the 6-7 weeks that the workers have been here so once that's all put together I can share a start to finish.

It's Mother's Day here in Australia on Sunday. I found a little notation in our family calendar that we're going out for brunch. I've no idea where but I'm excited to know Gorgeous Kid will be hanging with us. I don't see him nearly often enough now that he's all grown up & away from home.

Hope all is well in your world. Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful weekend! Happy Mother's Day to those of you celebrating. 

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #543....Just Add a Sketch

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 It's Friday ~

Kelly has given us a fun sketch challenge to work with this week over at Just Add Ink. I'm totally loving on the True Love designer papers. So much so, that I need to order a second packet already!

Here I've coloured the florals softly with my copic markers & popped up on dimensionals, adding a little copper thread underneath for interest. And once again, Label Me Bold stamp set to the rescue. I love these small sentiments as they just fit in anywhere.

Why don't you join the challenge fun with us? Pop over to JAI for some gorgeous inspiration, & get busy with your own version of this awesome sketch.

The twins had a birthday this week! They're getting old enough now that they like to celebrate separately. So little Miss had a sleepover pizza party with the girls last weekend & they spent most of it in the pool thanks to lovely weather! This weekend Master is taking a friend to the coast, while his sister stays in Canberra. He'll have his own pizza party & beach fun. Let's hope I can transport his cake in one piece!

Here is her cake. My girlfriend makes amazing cakes, & a really good size so you're not eating it for days on end. We all love her oreo balls - which she has decorated in Miss' favourite colour purple. If you're local & want one of these for yourself leave me a comment & I'll happily pass on contact details.

Thanks for popping by today. Have a fabulous weekend!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #541...Just Add a Blended Background

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 Happy Friday ~

Over at Just Add Ink this week, Nikki has set a pretty cool challenge to add a blended background to our projects. Back story .... I made a card a couple of weeks ago that I wasn't entirely sure of. So it's been sitting on my desk & I've been looking at it & looking at it trying to decide if I like it or not. Late last night I decided to whip up something different .... & because it was late my fallback was the gorgeous SAB paper  Oh So Ombre'. Bit of a cheat move but it is beautiful paper.

I also coloured some of my other favourite paper - True Love - & fussy cut it, popping it up on dimensionals. Label Me Bold seems to be my go to for quick & easy sentiments these days too.

When uploading my card I realised I must like this colour combo because I found a card I'd made for a previous challenge using the same colours. Hmmmm.

If you fancy joining us this week, pop over to JAI & check out some inspiration from the design team & the challenge guidelines. 

News for me this fortnight is that we bought a coast cabin! Exciting. The beach is beautiful, with gentle waves (thinking we may invest in a kayak too) & dog friendly. I'm going to love morning walks & chatting to everyone else's doggos on the weekends & holidays that we visit. The twins are beyond thrilled at the prospect of meeting new friends & being 'free' to explore their new area. Gorgeous Kid is looking forward to going down with his mates when the folks aren't there!

I've spent some of this week out purchasing lots of new items to furnish it....I really thought that would be more fun that it actually was!

Have a super weekend, whatever you get up to!

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #532...Just Add a Sketch

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 Happy Friday ~

We have a brand new sketch challenge over at Just Add Ink today & I chose to colour these cute little hippos from MFT. I did a little blending in the background with Pretty Peacock, Peekaboo Peach & Mango Melody (very lightly). I splattered my clear Wink of Stella pen all over for some shimmer & added a few enamel dots in similar colours from my stash.

This card went on its way to Queensland for a sweet little boy's 4th birthday earlier this week.

I think you'll get lots of use out of this super versatile sketch so pop over to JAI & play along with us. Here is the banner for you.

Life has been pretty busy around these parts of late. Everything is gearing up for the busy Christmas season, so lots of end of year activities on at school, & I've been getting to as many gym classes a week as I can. The weather has warmed up beautifully & we're currently looking to buy a little weekender down the coast....

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #518...Just Add 'T'

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Happy Friday ~

I'm sharing my latest make for the new Just Add Ink challenge this week. Tina has asked us to 'Just Add T' to our projects so I've made a tri fold card. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to use up some of the designer paper I like to hoard collect.

I don't have the SU! Free as a Bird stamps so there was lots of fussy cutting involved in the embellishing phase - & plenty of Bird Ballad paper used! Bonus!

The card folds nicely to fit a standard (Australian) size C6 envelope.

Here it is opened out with plenty of space to write my message. I used the new SU! Family Party stamps for my numbers - GK's godmother is turning 50 soon! I could have embellished or stamped more, but I'm a less is more kind of gal 😝

I found a fabulous, easy to understand & follow tutorial by Sharni Haines here if you'd like to give one of these 'wow' cards a go yourself.

We'd love you to join our challenge so pop over to JAI & check out all the details & some design team inspiration. Here is the banner for you.

Thanks for stopping by today, & I hope you & yours are keeping safe.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #516...Just Add Inspiration

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Happy Friday ~

Welcome to the new challenge Just Add Ink challenge, a really pretty inspiration pic from Jackie.

I went with the celebratory theme as I need lots of birthday cards during August...& honestly I just can't wrap my head around Christmas in July with all this year has thrown us. I chose the red, pink, aqua & white colours from the pic, & added some shimmer embossing paste & silver thread for texture.

If you'd like to join us head over to JAI & you'll find some gorgeous inspiration from the rest of the design team. Lots of variety this week, which is what it's all about. Here is our challenge pic.

Our not so little Humphrey bun has become unwell so we're off to see our wonderful vet today. Let's hope we can fix him up & be back to bunny cuddles in no time. We love him so much. Here is is relaxed on the ottoman watching tv with us :)

Thanks for stopping by, & I hope all is well in your part of the world.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #514....Just Add a Colour Combo

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Hello hello ~

I'm here to share my latest card for the Just Add Ink challenge. We have a colour combo this week - Pretty Peacock, Pool Party & Smoky Slate - chosen by Kelly.

I cracked open my new So Much Love stamp set. I've popped my bloom up with dimensionals,  layered on vellum, designer paper from the Neutrals 6x6 pack & Whisper White cardstock. The gems are from the Noble Peacock Rhinestones in last year's annual catalogue.

If you'd like to join the challenge fun this week, here is the banner for you, & head over to JAI for some inspiration from the design team. We'd love to have you play along.

Well no sooner did we send the kids back to school after home schooling during the Covid isolation period & it's holiday time again. It has been nice to have a few play dates & cousin time this time around though, & we're grateful to all be healthy happy.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #512....Just Add a Sketch

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Happy Friday ~

We have a new sketch challenge from, Tina, kicking off today over at Just Add Ink.

My card didn't end up at all as I intended. I cracked open my new In Good Taste designer paper, thinking specifically of making something masculine. While considering what elements I was going to add to the centre I happened across a gorgeous card made by my friend, Nikki. She had used a lovely non traditional colour combo with the Forever Fern stamps. Given the stamps were still sitting on my desk brand new out of the packaging I decided to have a little play.....I thought the foliage was so pretty I just had to use them straight away. And voila, I have a pretty feminine birthday card to add to the stash.

Colours used are Grey Granate, Blushing Bride & Early Espresso with a touch of the new Brass Glimmer paper.

Here is the sketch. We'd love you to play along with us. Pop over to the JAI blog & see what it's all about. Lots of inspiration from the design team to get you started too.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful weekend.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #504...Just Add a Colour Combo

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Happy Friday friends ~

I'm a bit late with my post today...juggling home schooling is quite a distraction. I'm sure I'm not the only one struggling to remember which day of the week it is either :)

We have a brand new colour challenge over at Just Add Ink today. Tina is asking us to use Rococco Rose, Smoky Slate & Basic Grey. What gorgeous colours. As I was creating my card I realised I have not used Rococco Rose before. How can that be?

I still love the retired SAB Happy Birthday To You stamp set. That cake is divine! So out it came for a little watercolour wash. I stamped two images, colouring & die cutting the flowers of the second, & popping them up on the cake base.

I've used vellum to soften the Smoky Slate dsp I've used on my Basic Grey card base.

We'd love to see what you come up with using these colours so pop over to the blog & check out the design team inspiration, along with the challenge rules. Here is the graphic.

Hope you're all keeping well during these very trying times. 

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #502...Just Add a Sketch

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Happy Friday ~

Over at Just Add Ink this week, we have a fun new sketch from, Tina. I think sketches are one of my favourite challenges....half the work is already done for us :)

I pulled out my Petal Pallette stamps & watercoloured with Blueberry Bushel & Smokey Slate. My accents & embellishments are silver - not sure if you can see properly in the photo as it has been bright & sunny here so quite difficult to capture without shadows - & the sentiment is heat embossed.

If you'd like to join the challenge fun pop over to JAI for some inspiration from the design team. Here is the sketch for you to use.

Another week of isolating & social distancing behind us. The ACT goes back to school next week so I'll be back to home schooling the twins. That proved interesting at the end of last term....fingers crossed for what's ahead. Meantime during the holidays my two have had more ipad time than usual, & we've been getting out for our daily walk. Fortunately the weather in Canberra has been really good, mostly sunny & mild so I've pottered in the garden a lot. Anything to keep busy & out of the fridge & pantry....a fair bit of baking has also been happening in our house. Not good for my waistline at all.

Hope you are keeping well. Thanks for stopping by today, & I hope to see your project over in the gallery.

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #494....Just Add a Colour Combo....pic heavy

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Happy Friday ~

Welcome to a new challenge week at Just Add Ink. Di has given us a really pretty, soft colour combo to use - Smoky Slate, Soft Sea Foam & Petal Pink.

I went with a Very Vanilla base for a nice change. I tend to use white as my go to usually. I've heat embossed the poppies & leaves on  Fluid 100 Watercolour Paper & coloured with an Aqua Painter. My final touches were a few gold sequins & a liberal spray of Shimmer Paint - which doesn't show up in my dodgy pic unfortunately (dodgy because it was very quickly snapped in fading light at the end of a busy day).

The design team have created so many pretty cards using this colour combo. Head over to the blog to check them out & join the challenge. Here is the graphic for you. You can use neutrals & metallics in your creation.

We had a busy weekend just gone. Gorgeous Kid had a Parade at Defence on Saturday. My two little people turned 8 on Sunday. GK was able to spend the day at home with us now that he's based at Duntroon in Canberra. We had lots of fun at Ten Pin Bowling & I made a cake. I'm certainly not a domestic goddess in the kitchen, but the kiddos loved it so that's the main thing!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #492...Just Add a Sketch

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Happy Friday ~

Yay, we have a new sketch challenge kicking off today over at Just Add Ink. Jackie designed this one & I love it. So versatile!

It's no secret that the Happy Birthday To You stamp set is my very favourite of the SAB offerings this year. After stamping my image twice on Fluid 100 watercolour paper, I used Gorgeous Grape Ink in various strengths to colour. Then I cut the flowers on the second image with the new matching dies! So. Much. Quicker/Easier (than fussy cutting).

If you'd like to join the challenge fun head over to JAI, check out the inspiration from the design team & get cracking in your craft space. Here is the sketch:

If you've got any questions about this card, just leave a comment & I'll get back to you. Thanks for stopping by :)

Patrice x

Just Add Ink #487 - Just Add a Sketch

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Happy Friday friends ~

I've had such a busy few weekends....three out of six have been spent in Sydney. We've had a family wedding, a birth, lots of socialising & Christmas parties too & this weekend our big boy is coming home to Canberra from his posting in Brisbane. So excited to have him here for Christmas. The twins are beside themselves that they'll be seeing their big brother again.

Jackie has given us an awesome sketch challenge over at Just Add Ink this week. I loved it so much I made three cards in one afternoon using it. I'm completely drooling over the new designer series paper in the new mini catalogue. I've used the Best Dressed papers for my card today - how stunning are these blooms - with a base of Blackberry Bliss. The centre panel is popped up on fun foam & I've spritzed the flowers with champagne shimmer mist (this has to be my favourite item ever!).

With Christmas only days away I really hope you have time to pop over to the blog to check out the inspiration & join in the fun. Here is the sketch image for you.

However you're spending Christmas I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas to you!

Patrice x