Just Add Ink #394 | Romance

There’s nothing like a challenge deadline to raise the bar and get some of my to-do list done early!

Thanks to a fabulous theme of “Romance” by Nikki, it’s full steam ahead on the Valentine’s & anniversary cards required around here in Feb.

Image may contain: text

The first card I made for this challenge was very non-traditional.  I have no idea where the idea started, but I wanted to use the phrase ‘you are my sunshine’.

Just Add Ink #394 Romance | kelly kent

The Sunshine Wishes Thinlits have the cute ‘sunshine’ die, the stamp set has the ‘are my’ and the YOU is from the Sale-A-Bration set called Celebrate You.

Using the Multi-Purpose Adhesive sheets with the words is my favourite way to adhere them to my cards.  No messing around with liquid glue or tiny bits of tape.

Just Add Ink #394 Romance | kelly kent

The background was made by stamping the dandelions from Birthday Celebration in Versamark then heat embossing in white before spritzing and swirling some yellow & gamboge (orange) Brusho Crystal Color.  Add some glitter dots, a coordinating DSP background and my non-conventional romantic card is done.

Fun fact: I bought Brushos just so I’d be able to tell my customers what they are like…. and I can’t stop using them!


After my fun take on romance, I decided I should make a card in a similar style but with a more traditional colour theme and sentiment.

Just Add Ink #394 Romance | kelly kent

This card has a Sunshine Wishes Thinlit (love), Celebrate you Thinlit (YOU) and stamped sentiment (MORE), just like the other card.

Just Add Ink #394 Romance | kelly kent

It also has a Brusho background with cute emboss resist hearts from the Yay You stamp set – but pink Brusho???  It turns out if you add just a tiny tap of the Brilliant Red Brusho, you can achieve a gorgeous soft pink.  So many possibilities!!!

Two cards – one screams romance and one slides up quietly with a romantic gesture.  Do you have a favourite?

Just Add Ink #394 Romance | kelly kent

If you’d like a reason to start you V-Day card making early, or maybe you also have an anniversary in February, or you’ve got a wedding to go to, visit the Just Add Ink blog to join the challenge.

While you’re at the blog, you can see all the design team card – what a talented bunch, not to mention a collective group of some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet!

Thanks for sharing in the crafty fun with us!

kelly kent | mypapercraftjourney.com

Stamping Sunday Blog Hop | Brusho Crystal Color

Welcome!  THanks for joining us today for the first Stamping Sunday (forth Sunday) blog hop.  On the fourth Sunday of each month, I get the privilege of hopping with this amazing group of women, including for January our guest designer Stesha Bloodhart.

To see the full Stamping Sunday line-up, click on the cute blue frog below…

Even though this is our first hop for the month, I’ve already shared some Stamping Sunday projects with you – we put together a tutorial bundle for January full of projects based around the theme for this hop (Brusho Crystal Color) and the second Sunday hop.  5 great projects with detailed instructions & measurements on working with Brushos & Sale-A-Bration favourites.  You can find all the information here.


Today I have two fun projects to share with you working with the Brusho Crystal Color.  They are so much fun.  If you’re new to Brusho, check out my introductory post by clicking here.  This runs through the basics of different application techniques and styles.

The fastest and best way to get comfortable with using Brusho is to clear some work space, wear some old clothes and have a play!!!

They work with a range of different cardstock/paper materials including Watercolor Paper, Shimmery White cardstock and Thick Whisper White cardstock.

Within the Thick Whisper White category is our gorgeous Petal Passion DSP.  It’s made from a heavy white card, similar in texture to the Thick Whisper White – which makes it perfect for colouring.

My favourite technique for this cardstock, is to apply the powder to the DSP when it is dry, then spritz with a water filled Stampin’ Spritzer.

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

The way the colour spreads is just magic!  I used a water filled Aqua Painter to move the colour through all of the flowers, creating a more concentrated colour in these areas.

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

This technique is so easy.  Why not cut up a whole sheet of DSP into card front size pieces and get happy with colour!!!

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

Cut the DSP into three equal panels, apply a different colour Brusho to each one and spritz & paint before adhering them to the card base in order.

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

And finally for this set of cards, apply more than one colour to the DSP, with care to tap specific colours over specific flowers.  Spritz to spread the colour then use an Aqua Painter to fill in specific flowers & leaves with the colours that are most concentrated in that area.

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

This was the first card I created using all 5 Brusho colours that I actually liked!!!

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

These cards for me, highlights what I love most about Brusho – they give everyone the chance to be artistic & creative with colour, without needing to plan how that will happen!

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent


My second project focuses on the intense colours you can create using Brusho.  Because it’s a pigment colour, it has the potential to be so vibrant!

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

You may have seen this butterfly on Pinterest and other social media sharing outlets.  It’s called Beautiful Day and is available in the Occasions catalogue.

You’re seeing it lots because it’s a fantastic stamp for showing off colour!!!

I’ve the used the yellow Brusho on Shimmery White for the watercolor background.  I wet the Shimmery White with my spritzer (seriously saturated), added Brusho colour and then spread with my Aqua Painter, leaving it to dry when I was happy with the colour & style of the wash.

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

The butterfly was heat embossed in white on Shimmery White cardstock.  I then wet specific parts of the butterfly with large droplets of water from my Aqua Painter and added Brusho colour (Yellow, Gamboge & Brilliant Red) to the top before sprtizing to move the colour around.

Once dry, I fussy cut it the butterfly and attached both Brusho layers to an upright z-fold card.  This design folds flat for posting…

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

and sits up for displaying on the mantle…

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

and opens up with a space to write your message…

Stamping Sunday Brusho | kelly kent

To make this card I cut a regular piece of A4 card in half long ways (cut at 4-1/8″, 10.5cm).  I scored at 3-15/16″ (7.4cm) and 5-7/8″ (14.8cm).

The Painted with Love DSP layer is 3-7/8″ x 5-5/8″ (10cm x 14.3cm).

The front panel is 3-3/8″  x 4-5/8″ (8.6cm x 11.7cm).  Shimmery White for Brusho is 3-1/8″ x 4-3/8″(8cm x 11cm).

Writing panel on the inside is 3-5/8″ x 2-1/2″ (9.2cm x 6.2cm) for the Rich Razzleberry and 3-5/8″ x 2-1/4″ (8.5cm  x 5.5cm) for the Whisper White layer.

It’s all anchored down when folded with a double layer of cardstock (Pumpkin Pie & Basic Black) in an exclusive Sale-A-Bration Thinlit set called Celebrate You.  This is free to earn for any purchase or workshop of $180 (Australian dollars).


To keeping hopping and see the rest of the design team’s amazing Brusho creations, either click here to visit Lynsay Mahon in Canada, or click on the blue frog below to choose from the list.

Thanks for joining us.

To shop for essential Brusho supplies used in this blog post, see the suggestions below, or visit my online store.

(Australian shoppers only).

To purchase the Brusho tutorial – digital tutorial which can be sent anywhere across the globe, click here.

Have a great week!

kelly kent | mypapercraftjourney.com


Get started with Brusho….

Happy Australia Day 2018

Image result for happy australia day images

Today Australia celebrates Australia Day.

Despite some controversy over recent years about the purpose & significance of Australia Day (particularly the date it falls on), I like to take the opportunity each year on 26th January to appreciate the country I live in.

The freedom we are afforded, the opportunities we are given, the strength of our nation and the way in which we continue to evaluate & evolve in a constant dialogue to be better.

I constantly feel lucky to have been born into a country (I am first generation Australian with British parents) with such beauty & grace.  The beach is the place that most reminds me of this – which makes it particularly lucky that this is where I’ll be on Australia Day 2018!


Seriousness & politics aside, we have another small issue when it comes to national pride…..

What colours best represent Australia?

Australia Day 2018 | kelly kent

Our flag is red & blue so we often have these colours as our official duo…

Australia Day 2018 | kelly kent

 

But our sporting identity is green & gold, there’s always green & yellow when there’s sport involved….

Australia Day 2018 | kelly kent

Which colours most make you think of Australia?

I love both combinations and consider the red & blue to be more traditional and the green & yellow more modern.

Either way these cards were so fun to create with Brusho Crystal Colour!

Pop back in on Sunday to see the Stamping Sunday blog hop and some great Brusho projects from the design team!

Have a happy & safe long weekend!

kelly kent | mypapercraftjourney.com


Product List

Play date with Brushos

Yesterday my gorgeous best friend, Cait, visited for the day.  She’s crazy talented with a sewing machine – see her work here – and loves all crafts.

Since we were on my turf (and I suck at sewing actual projects), we played with paper and watched tennis.

Ready to impress with cool new products, I pulled out the Brusho Crystal Color pots.

Have you seen Brushos before?  They are teeny tiny watercolour ink crystals that react with water to create intense colours & amazing patterns.

Stampin’ Up! is offering a pack of 5 colours – Brilliant Red, Gamboge (orange), Moss Green, Prussian Blue & Yellow.  See them in my online store here.

Watch the Stampin’ Up! video…

You can either mix thoroughly to get a vibrant solid colour or use water spray to spread the crystals and end up with colour separation & patterns.  They blend beautifully – and did I mention the colours???

No two projects will be the same and you’ll end up with a unique design every time.  They don’t actually have a mind of their own – it just seems that way!

There’s one thing I’ve learnt while playing with Brushos…..  they are highly addictive.

But they are also a product that’s different from other colouring mediums we’ve had at Stampin’ Up! before.  Practice makes “perfect”.  You need to get down & messy with Brusho to get a feel for how they work.

Browsing videos, blog posts and tutorials may help if you’re not sure where to start.  You can find the Stamping Sunday tutorial here – full of projects and tips for using Brushos as a beginner.

Today, Cait and I splashed around the water and made a heap of different Brusho samples.  Brusho Techniques | kelly kent

This is not a comprehensive list of what you can do with Brusho – just some ideas to get started.

If you’ve just got your Brushos, I suggest you cut up a piece of Shimmery White cardstock into tag size pieces and get playing.  Our tags measured 2″ x 3-7/8″ (5 x 9cm) – 12 per A4 page.

Shimmery White is durable enough to play but more economical than Watercolour Paper.  It also gives you a nice shimmer through your Brusho colour!!

Here’s each of the techniques in more detail…

Brusho - Baby Wipe | kelly kent

Brusho - Emboss Resist Ombre | kelly kent

Brusho - Emboss Resist | kelly kent

Brusho - Emboss Resist Painting | kelly kent

Brusho - Watercolor Background | kelly kent

Brusho - Custom Watercolor Background | kelly kent

Brusho - Marbled | kelly kent

Brusho - dry application | kelly kent

Quite a lot of the magic of Brusho is in the finished product – once the colour has settled, once it’s dry.  Sometimes you need to walk away and come back later to see the amazing!!!

If you haven’t yet purchased Brushos, you can buy them in my online store. 

Other supplies you may need…. 

Happy inky fun ahead for Brusho owners!
kelly kent | mypapercraftjourney.com