Just Us Girls #341 - Wild Card

Dear Ones~
Since this is the 5th Saturday of the month, it's Wild Card Week over at Just Us Girls. Ina will be our host, and she is challenging us to make our favorite folded or shaped card. Anything but square or rectangular.

 

Here's my card:

 I chose to make a card by taking an hexagonal die and cutting out a folding piece of card stock, leaving the top edge joined. The images are from a MFT Stamp/Die set called Strike Up the Band. Aren't those little mice just so cute?

Here are the Ingredients:

*GKD White and Blue Denim Card Stock

*Basic Grey Life of the Party Patterned Paper

*MFT Strike up the Band Stamp/Die Set

*PTI Graceful Greetings Stamp/Die Set

*GKD Black, Powder Blue & Jelly Bean Green Ink

*Stickles

*White Crystal Drops 

Please visit the JUST US GIRLS blog to see the wonderful cards the rest of the team, and our April Guest Designer Angie Cimbalo, have made this week.  I hope to see you there.

And remember, if you win Chic of the Week in any of our April challenges, you will be in the running to be chosen as our Guest Designer for the month of June!!  Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!!

For Caleb

Dear Ones~
Our sweet 8-year old grandson Caleb will be having his First Communion this weekend, and I wanted to make a gift card holder for him.

Here's what I came up with:

This is not really a kid card because I wanted it to be a keepsake. I did some foiling with my laser printer and laminating machine. I had see this VIDEO by Becca Feeken some time ago and thought it was brilliant, so I used the technique on the cross. I LOVE how it came out. All the text has been computer generated, printed with my laser printer and then foiled in my laminator. This little card measures 3 3/4"x5".

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD White Card Stock

Recollections Gold Mercury Glass Card Stock

Spellbinder Decorative Crosses Die

Lifestyle Crafts Woven Embossing Folder

Heidi Swapp Gold Foil

I will be entered this in the Simon Says Monday Challenge - Show Us Your Metal

That's it for me today, appreciate your taking the time to stop by. I adore your comments!!!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Dear Ones~
Happy Hump Day.....and it's sunny here to boot. Albeit chilly, but I will take it.

So I was surfing Melanie Muenchinger's blog yesterday, looking for a technique I had seen her do some time ago, and I came upon this adorable card, and the VIDEO to go with it.

 

I dunno, there was just something about this adorable card that caught my eye. I think it's so sweet and charming. I had been trying to think about what I would do for the 

Double D Challenge,  April Showers Bring May Flowers, 

and then it came to me. 

Here's what I came up with:

I have been on a vellum kick lately, and remembered that I had this background stamp that would work well if I heat embossed the image on vellum with white. I kind of like how it turned out, and it was so much fun to use all those teeny, tiny stamps from Melanie's set, Triple Play Frame.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD White and Lemon Drop Card Stock

PTI Vellum Card Stock

GKD Triple Play Frame Stamp Set by Melanie Muenchinger

GKD Stamper's Favorites Stamp Set

SSS Falling Backgrounds Stamp Set

GKD Inks In:

*Tomato Soup,*Sweet Corn

*Sweet Mango,*Grass Green

*Blue Raspberry

This will be entered in:

Double D Challenge - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Simon Says Wednesday - Anything Goes

Simon Says Work It Wednesday - Flowers

Thanks for stopping by, my friends, I adore your comments.

Just Us Girls #340 - Photo Week

Dear Ones~
This is Photo Week at Just Us Girls. Bobby is our host, and she has chosen this wonder photo for our inspiration.

 

So much great inspiration here. This is my sample:

 I have an old Flourishes stamp called Pears, and I thought of it immediately when I saw the photo. And the pink in the photo is so beautiful, and lends itself so well with that bright green. I colored these babies with my Prismacolors. No OMS, just a blender pen.

 

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Jelly Bean Green, White, and Passionate Pink Card Stock

Flourishes Pears Stamp Set

Spellbinders Labels 4 Dies

Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Martha Stewart Gingham Patterned Paper

Nuvo Crystal Drops

Stash Ribbon

Please visit the JUST US GIRLS blog to see the wonderful cards the rest of the team, and our April Guest Designer Angie Cimbalo, have made this week.  I hope to see you there.

And remember, if you win Chic of the Week in any of our April challenges, you will be in the running to be chosen as our Guest Designer for the month of June!!  Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!!

Faux Watercolor Lettering

Dear Ones~
Just a quick post tonight. I'm getting ready to go to Lansing to spend the weekend with the Princes and their mom and dad. We are taking the boys to the Grand Rapids Museum to see the Robot Exhibit. Good times. Himself is staying home with the dog.

Today's offering was made for the Make It Monday Challenge over at Papertrey Ink. We were taught how to do faux watercolor lettering with some stamping, ink, and a paint brush.

Here's my card:

This was really fun to do, and not very hard. The main thing is to have the right kind of stamp.

 

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Ivory and Wild Orchid Card Stock

Strathmore Water Color Paper

GKD Autumn Landscape Patterned Paper

PTI Graceful Greetings Stamp Set

Spellbinders Decorative Labels 8

GKD Ink in Wild Lilac and Lovely Lavender

Nuvo Crystal Drops

Martha Punches

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments. Have a lovely weekend.

Mod Squad Challenge - Water, Water, Everywhere

Dear Ones~
This week I and Vicki Dutcher are hosting the Mod Squad Challenge. Below is the info~

The Challenge

Our challenge to you is to incorporate water in some way on your card. You may do this through water images such as raindrops, or use water-based mediums such as water colors. You get the idea.

This week our SPONSOR is the wonderful stamp company  

Kitchen Sink Stamps.

 

Kitchen Sink Stamps offers us a discount CODE: ModSquad15.

  These stamps are amazing. Most have a multi-stamp feature that lets you get great detail in your images using several colors. There is real dimension with a 3-D effect! And one of the best features of this stamp company is that there are color recipes for most of the multi-step stamps, so you don't have to guess what colors to use. There are even alternative colors if you don't have the inks that are suggested. Maria from Kitchen Sink Stamps is a member of our Mod Squad Challenge Facebook Group so feel free to say Hi or ask any questions.

THE PRIZE

$25 GIFT CERTIFICATE to the store. 

You can pick your own goodies and there are lots of choices!

Here is a sample for you:

 

These cute little images are from the Kitchen Sink stamp set  Multi-Step Rubber Ducky.  I just think they are the cutest things ever! Here I used a die from Simon Says Stamp, Ring Frames. The background was watercolored with Brushos and sprinkled with salt for a nice texture. To finish it off I attached some sparkly sequins I filled with Glossy Accents.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD White, Lemon Yellow and Ocean Mist Card Stock

Memento Inks In:

*Dandelion

*Canteloupe

*Morrocco

*Tangelo

*Rhubarb Stalk 

Simon Says Stamp Ring Frame

Stash Sequins & Glossy Accents

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to head on over to The Mod Squad Blog Challenge and play along. I can't wait to see your colorful creations!!

Gold Finch

Dear Ones~
Oh what a glorious day it has been here. And it's the second one in a ROW!!!! The snow is almost gone,  just a little left in the ditches. Tomorrow I'm hanging out sheets on the line.

Today's offering has been for the Double D Challenge~

'Yellow' A Happy Place To Be

using the inspiration tile below to make a yellow card.

Isn't this just the most beautiful inspiration?

Here's my card:

I was drawn to the tile on the top right, where that darling Gold Finch is perched atop the bird house. The finches around here are just getting their beautiful summer yellow finery, and I just adore them. I have colored the awesome stamp from the Winter Wings GKD stamp set. That stamp can be colored into a Chickadee, a Gold Finch, or any other bird that's small and finch-like. It's one of my all-time favorite sets.

Here are the Ingredients:

SU Daffodil Delight Card Stock

GKD Winter Wings Stamp Set

GKD Fabulous Frame Stamp Set by Melanie Muenchinger

GKD Fabulous Holiday Fillers Stamp Set

GKD Sweet Corn Ink

K & Company Best of Susan Winget Patterned Paper

Zig Clean Color Brush Markers

Spellbinders Die

Nuvo Crystal Drops

So that's it for me today. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by, I love your comments!!!

Just Us Girls #339 - Color Week

Dear Ones~
This week is COLOR WEEK at Just Us Girls, and I'm the host. It's my first time hosting and I am thrilled to pieces. For my colors I have chosen LAVENDER, PEACH and IVORY.

 

And here's my card:

For this card I used the fabulous stamp set from Power Poppy called Springtime Love. I really like these colors together!! So feminine and pretty. My mom would have loved this, her favorite color was lavender, and she was all about "girly" things.

Here's a close up. 

I used my Prismacolor Pencils to color the image, shading peaches and lavenders together. I also used grays and browns to color the leaves, as in this challenge you can only use the challenge colors, plus light neutrals.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Ivory Card Stock

Lavender and Peach Momenta Card Stock

Power Poppy Springtime Love Stamp Set

Graphic 45 Patterned Paper

MFT Stitched Rectangle Die

Spellbinders Fancy Labels 2 Die

Cheery Lynn Allison's Ribbons Die Set

Stickles 

Stash Enamel Dots and Ribbon

Please visit the JUST US GIRLS blog to see the wonderful cards the rest of the team, and our April Guest Designer, Angie Cimbala, have made this week.  I hope to see you there.

And remember, if you win Chic of the Week in any of our April challenges, you will be in the running to be chosen as our Guest Designer for the month of June.  Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!!

Make It Monday #245 - Color Isolation

Dear Ones~
The Princes have left the castle. We had them for 5 delightful days, and it was such fun. And now I'm glad to be back in my craft room. Today's offering is for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday. The challenge this week is Color Isolation.  Have just a spotlight of color on your card.

Here's what I came up with:

 I did the background with Papertrey Ink's Friendly Flowers Stamp set, and also the focal. The background was stamped in Memento's Desert Sand Ink. I die cut the flower in GKD Dusty Rose Card Stock and the leaves in GKD Jelly Bean Green Card stock. Then I stamped the images with GKD ink. I like how it looks with the stamping on colored card stock.

Here are the Ingredients:

PTI Rustic White Card Stock

GKD Dusty Rose Card Stock

GKD Jelly Bean Green Card Stock

PTI Friendly Flowers Stamp Set

PTI Daydreamer Stamp Set

GKD Inks In-

*Passionate Pink

*Bubblegum Pink

*Fresh Asparagus

Memento Desert Sand Ink

Judy Dots

So thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments. Now I need to go rest. The Adored Ones wore me out...but in a good way.

Just Us Girls #338 - Trend Week

Der Ones~
This week is TREND WEEK at Just Us Girls. Sue is our host, and she has chosen SMOOSHING as her trend.

 

To SMOOSH you simply apply ink to an acrylic block or to your craft sheet, spray with water, and then "smoosh" your card stock into the color. It's probably my most favorite technique - you never get the same look twice.

Here's my card:   

                                                                                          

 I stamped the image and greeting from A Life She Loved Stamp Set by Taylored Expressions, and then I masked the image with frisket (liquid masking fluid). I used Distress Inks on my craft mat, sprayed with water, and just kept smooshing and drying in between until I got the effect I wanted. Isn't it "artsy"???? Ha ha!!! Then I rubbed the masking fluid off and painted the image with my Zigs.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Black Onyx Card Stock

Strathmore 140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper

Taylored Expressions A Life She Loved Stamp Set

Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Zig Clean Color Watercolor Pens

Sequins filled with Glossy Accents

Fine Tech Gold Paint

Please visit the JUST US GIRLS blog to see the wonderful cards the rest of the team, and our April Guest Designer Angie Cimbalo, have made this week.  I hope to see you there.

 

And remember, if you win Chic of the Week in any of our April challenges, you will be in the running to be chosen as our Guest Designer for the month of June!!  Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!!

 

 

Mix It Up Monday - Humor Me

Dear Ones~
Another snowy Sunday afternoon in Northern Michigan. But I digress....lol.
I made this card for the Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday Challenge. I entered my very first challenge ever, anywhere, over at Stamp TV on May 6, 2011. I had watched many of Gina's videos and was in love with her cards. Before that I didn't even know there was such a thing as a card challenge. And the rest is history. Now I'm on the design team for two wonderful challenge blogs, and I'm having a ball.

So here's my card:

 

The challenge was to make a humorous card, or something that would make the recipient smile. I guess this would do the trick, it's the best I could come up with.

Here are the Ingredients:
GKD Tomato Soup and Ivory Card Stock
GKD Primitive Blessings Stamp Set
GKD Dark Chocolate Ink
Basic Grey Life of the Party Patterned Paper
PTI Button Dies
SU Linen Thread
Judy Dots

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments. Hope your weekend was wonderful!!!

Tulips

Dear Ones~
Hope you are having a great weekend. Today's offering was made for the Power Poppy April Shower and Spark. This challenge runs all month long.

Here's my card:

I adore this new digi stamp, illustrated by Marcella Hawley. She is the owner of Power Poppy, and her work is just beautiful. For this challenge we are asked to pick only 3 marker colors to do the entire image. I chose Copics V22, YG93 and B21. These are all fairly light colors, but with Copics you can do layers to get more depth. For the tulips I colored them first with the violet color and then to intensify the shading I went over parts again with the blue. I love the way they turned out.

Here are the Ingredients:

Power Poppy Tulips in Hobnail Pitcher Digi Stamp

GKD White, Dark Sage and Powder Blue Card Stock

Copic Markers 

Signo White Gel Pen to highlight hobnails

Judy Dots

Not many supplies needed for this one. I totally enjoyed coloring this and had forgotten how much fun Copic Markers can be. I have been doing a lot of watercoloring and my Copics have been sadly neglected. Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments.

Just Us Girls #337 - Word Week

Dear Ones~

This week is WORD WEEK at Just Us Girls.

 Our host is LISA, and she has chosen the word RAINDROPS.

I would like to welcome Angie Cimbala as our Guest Designer for the month of March.  Welcome, Angie!  Please visit her blog and leave some love.
 

 

Here's my sample for you:

 I love this cute little image from Penny Black. Unfortunately I don't know the name of the stamp set, it's very old The raindrops are from a set by Ryn, LOVE her work. I heat embossed them with white and sponged the background with Memento Summer Sky.  Then I attached some sequins and filled them with Glossy Accents to make them look like raindrops falling off the flower "umbrella".

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Powder Blue and White Card Stock

Debbie Mumm Patterned Paper

Penny Black Image

Designs by Ryn Raindrops stamp

Spellbinders Circle and Lacy Circle Dies

Prismacolor Pencils

Memento Summer Sky Ink 

Stash Sequins & Glossy Accents

Please visit the JUST US GIRLS blog to see the wonderful cards the rest of the team, and our Guest Designer Angie Cimbala, have made this week.  I hope to see you there.

And remember, if you win Chic of the Week in any of our March challenges, you will be in the running to be chosen as our Guest Designer for the month of May.  Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!!

Feathers

Dear Ones~
I just got a new PTI stamp set and I was dying to use it. It's right up my alley as it looks like Zentangling.

Truth be told, I'm not too keen on this card. I stamped and cut out the feathers and then colored them with SU ink in Rich Razzleberry and Tip Top Taupe by mushing the top of the ink pad down on the pad and then picking up the ink with my water brush. The card stock I used was the same Rich Razzleberry color, but I don't think they match very well. I did some scoring at the bottom with my score tool, and then stamped the patterned stripes with a border stamp.

Here are the Ingredients:

PTI Rustic Ivory Card Stock

SU Rich Razzleberry and Tip Top Taupe Card Stock

SU Butterfly Basics Stamp Set

SU Awesomely Artistic Stamp Set

PTI What's the Doodle: Feathers Stamp Set

KSS Nesting Dolls Stamp Set

SU Rich Razzleberry and Tip Top Taupe Ink

Spellbinders Scalloped Squares Die Set

PTI Graceful Greetings Die for Greeting

This card will be entered in:

Make it Monday #224 - Score Lines 

Dies R Us Challenge #46 -  Use Scallops

Simon Says Wednesday - Anything Goes

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments!

Lovely Butterfly

Dear Ones~
Yeah, it's snowing. And that's all I have to say about that.
We in the card making community have recently lost one of our own, Tina Gilliland. I thought a butterfly card to send to the family was appropriate....butterflies always give me peace.

Here's my card:

I used 2 Cherry Lynn butterfly dies on this one. First I stamped a fairly large butterfly image from Paper Wishes with GKD Innocent Pink Ink. Then I attached 2 different butterfly die cuts on top. I think it looks rather delicate and pretty.

Here are the Ingredients:
GKD Ivory and Innocent Pink Card Stock

Paper Wishes Butterflies Stamp Set

Cheery Lynn Designs Exotic Butterflies 2 Die Set

Nuvo Crystal Drops

Stickles and Wink of Stella

Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

I will be entering this card in:

Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge # 226 - Back to Nature

Simon Says Wednesday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments. Have a happy weekend, dear friends.

Fun with Vellum

Dear Ones~
Happy Friday, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
For today's card I decided to try out something that I saw Jennifer McGuire do the other day. You can see the video that inspired me HERE.

Here's my card:

I thought it was so fun to use the vellum as part of the card front. The only thing I wish I had done differently was move the white element up more, I liked the way Jennifer's looked better.

This is a better look at the vellum, and inside patterned paper.







 Here are the Ingredients:
 PTI Day Dreamers Stamp Set
PTI Friendly Flowers Stamp Set for Greeting
GKD White Card Stock
SU Vellum Card Stock
DCWV The Trade Winds Patterned Paper
GKD Inks In:
*Pasionate Pink
*Bubblegum Pink
*Powder Blue
*Sweet Corn
*Grass Green
*Black Onyx

This card will be entered in:

Simon Says Monday - We Can See Clearly, use vellum or acetate

Simon Says Wednesday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments!!