Just Add Ink

Thursday, January 21, 2010

JAI1 Email Entries

If you haven't already noticed on the challenge entry and the blinkie in the sidebar, (I made that! Can you tell I'm extra proud of myself?!), Just Add Ink accepts challenge entries via email. All you have to do is email your challenge entry to just-add-ink@hotmail.com with your name, (and feel free to add a few details about yourself and your creation), and we'll post it here for you! That means that you don't have to have a blog to enter our challenges. Isn't that great?

Today we got our first e-mail entry for our Just Add Ink Colour Challenge 1 and I'm very pleased to be sharing it with you, because it's so pretty! Any further e-mail entries will be added to this blog post so they're all in one handy location.

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Our first e-mail entry is from Monica Van Empel and I love how she's balanced the colours in this card. Isn't is sweet? Feel free to leave comments for Monica here, I'm sure she'd love to hear your feedback.

Monica Van Empel

Materials:

Stamps - Paris stamp set, Trendy Trees

Paper - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Rose Red
Ink - Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Rose Red, Taken with Teal

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Our second email entry is from Anna Bowden and I love how she's used strips of cardstock in the background of her card - what a great way to use the colours!

Anna Bowden

Materials:

Stamp set - Live Like You Mean It, (non-SU) Happy Birthday

Cardstock - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Rose Red, Taken with Teal

Inks - Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Taken with Teal, Whisper White

You can leave your feedback for Anna on this post - I know she'd love to know what you think.

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Another email entry! This card is from Esther Holt, isn't it sweet? I really like how the ribbon acts as a 'pull' to open the card - what a great idea! Thanks for joining in Es!

Esther Holt

Make sure you leave your feedback for Es on this post!

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Email entry number 4 is from Lisa H in Melbourne. Here's what she said about her card:

"Hi there Amanda, Danielle & rest of the fabulous design team,

This is my little creation, based on a lovely card I received that totally hooked me on butterflies! It’s great to be able to join in without having a blog. Thanks for setting this up and look forward to the inspiring creations."

Thanks Lisa! We're really pleased so many people are joining in! I think this is such a sweet card. I really like how Lisa has used the leaf image in different places - it really makes the whole card work together.

Lisa H

Materials:

Stamps – Great Friend

Paper - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Rose Red

Ink - Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Rose Red, Taken with Teal

Please leave your comments for Lisa on this post!

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Email entry number 5 is from Natalie Zapantis, and she said this about her card:

Hi,

My name is Natalie Zapantis. I've been a Stampin' Up demonstrator since May last year and am loving it!

I designed this card using the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set that Stampin' Up is using in its Help for Haiti campaign and the 5 colours in the colour challenge. The result is a colourful simple card which I hope you like as much as I do.

Thanks!

Natalie

Thanks for sending it in Natalie, it's such a pretty card! I love the DSP you've used in the background and the ribbon going across behind the hearts is really effective. Looks like I have yet another stamp set to add to my very long wishlist!

Natalie Zapantis

You can leave your comments for Natalie on this post!

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And the email entries keep rolling in! This next entry is from Gail Tomkins, and Gail has created a gorgeous page layout with the colour challenge. Gail's done a beautiful job of keeping the balance in the page with quite a few different embellishments, but still making the photo the focus of the page. Brilliant work, Gail!

Gail Tomkins

Colour Breakdown:

So Saffron - the colour on the Lady Bug's faces

Taken with Teal - the colours in the patterned paper and the letter 'e'

Rose Red - the flower, the Lady Bug and the title

Chocolate Chip - the ink I have used around the papers and the card stock

Whisper White - the card stock

Make sure you leave a comment for Gail on this post!

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Make sure you have a look at the fabulous entries we have so far and to leave some lovely comments - I know I love to get feedback and I'm sure you all do too!

Introducing The Design Team

Danielle and I would like to take this chance to thank all the talented ladies that took the time to apply for a position on the Just Add Ink Design Team. We would have loved to have given you all a spot, but unfortunately we couldn't.

We are thrilled to announce the following ladies will be part of our Design Team for January - June 2010. Please click on their names to go to their individual blogs and find out a little bit more about each of them and see some gorgeous items they've designed and created.

Thanks ladies for helping us make this challenge site gorgeous & inspirational.
Site Founders:

Amanda Reddicliffe

Danielle Daws

The Just Add Ink Design Girls:

Adding a JAI Winner or Top Picks badge to your blog

If you're reading this post, chances are you've clicked on the link on a Just Add Ink Top Picks post. Congratulations!

Here are two different ways to add the Just Add Ink badge to your blog.

Super Easy Way
The easiest way to add a badge to your blog it to right click on the picture and save the image on your computer. Then you add the badge to your post or sidebar by inserting it as a picture (exactly how you would have inserted your project picture).

We would appreciate it if you could please add a link to the picture back to http://just-add-ink.blogspot.com/

HTML Code
Some people prefer to use html code to add their badges (I'm one of those people!). So if you'd prefer to add your badge that way, here are the instructions.

Whether you are adding the badge to your blog post or on the sidebar, the principle remains the same. Ensure that you are editing in HTML format, then copy and paste this code:

<a href="http://just-add-ink.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt=""border="0"src="http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab121/Just-Add-Ink/99f5c573.jpg" /></a>

Hope that helps! Email us at just-add-ink@hotmail.com if you have any problems.

Blog Tutorial - Using Mr Linky

Blog Tutorial

Using Mr Linky

Hi there! If you're reading this entry, then chances are you're checking how to link your work to our site using Mr Linky. Here are the steps!

Step One
At the bottom of a challenge post, you'll see the Mr Linky gadget. It looks like this:

Step Two

In a moment you're going to enter your details, but first you need to get the DIRECT link to your entry. Go to your blog and click on the blog post (the title) that contains your challenge entry. I've used my blog entry as an example. You'll see this:

Highlight the address (at the top):

That's what you're going to enter as your URL.

Step Three

Back on Just Add Ink, type your name into the Your Name field, then paste your DIRECT link to your entry into the Your URL field. My example looks like this (you can't see the entire address - you can see the end part):

Step Four
Now click on Enter. Your entry is now linked!

Some important things to remember:

In your blog post about your challenge entry, you need to include a link back to Just Add Ink, preferably to the challenge requirements themselves.
Incorrect links are NOT eligible for Top 5 picks, and may be deleted (you can always re-link your entry correctly).
If you're having any problems, get in touch with us by emailing us at just-add-ink@hotmail.com.

Blog Tutorial - Leaving a Comment on a Blog

This tutorial was originally posted on my blog, Danielle Daws, after I had a few people email me to say they were having difficulty leaving a message. I thought it would be appropriate to post it here as well. You can see the original post HERE.

Blog Tutorial

Leaving a Comment on a Blog

Step One
At the bottom of a blog post, there are details about the post. When you move your mouse over these details, the word comments should highlight indicating a hyperlink. Click on this (the word comments at the bottom of the post you'd like to comment on).

Step Two
What will come up on your screen next looks like the picture below. If there have been previous comments made, they will also appear. All you need to worry about is what you see in the picture below. Click on the drop down menu that says select profile.

Step ThreeWhen the drop down menu appears, you'll see this:

Step FourFor the purposes of this tutorial, I am assuming that the viewer does not have a Google Account or any other type of blog. You can select Anonymous, but it's much nicer to leave your name (assuming you're leaving a nice comment!). So, select Name/URL. This screen will appear:

Step FiveEnter your name in the Name field (where I've put "Enter Your Name Here"), and leave the URL field blank. This means that your name will appear with your comment, but there won't be a hyperlink attached to your name. Click Continue.

Step SixWrite your comment in the Post a Comment box provided (where I have written "Leave your comment!").

Step SevenWhen you have finished writing your comment, click Post Comment. You should see this:

Please Note

If for some reason your screen says a message like: "Comment could not be published", just try again. I don't know why, but sometimes the comments don't go through first go.
Some bloggers have security measures on their sites. For instance, you may be required to type in a security word. This is just because the blogger is avoiding spam comments from being placed on their blog - it does happen!
Some blogs save your comment but don't publish it. There should be a message nearby that says something like "Comment will be posted after author approval". It's just another security measure.

That's it! I hope this little tutorial has been of use.

Tutorials...

The name says it all. This section is dedicated to sharing and teaching about our crafts. You’ll find tutorials in a variety of formats. Some will be plain text and more like an article, some will be step-by-step photo tutorials, and some could even be video tutorials!

The topics will vary dependant on the skills of our Design Team, and if there have been any special requests (yes, that’s you!). To give you an idea, the topics we currently have lined up vary from how to leave a comment on a blog to taking better photographs of your work. And there are plenty of craft techniques in the works too!

If you have any special requests, get in touch by emailing us - just-add-ink@hotmail.com - we'd love to hear from you!

My Space...

Do you ever wonder what kinds of craft spaces other crafters have? My Space is a section of Just Add Ink that will lift the lid on the crafting areas of a variety of people. From members of our Design Team to anyone who’d like to share their ideas! We’ll be looking at work spaces, organisation systems, inspiration… where the magic happens!

My Space is scheduled to appear on Just Add Ink once a month, but we’re completely open to it happening more frequently if you’d like to share your space! Get in touch with us through just-add-ink@hotmail.com and tell us about your space. Include some pictures too!