Azalea

Dear Ones~
Hope your week is going well. Today I have made a card to be entered in the Stamp TV Mix It Up Monday Challenge. This week we have been provided with this photo for inspiration.

 And here is my card:

I stamped the flower image from Melanie Muenchinger's Stately Flowers 4, colored it with my Zigs, and fussy cut it out. I really love the black stripes in the photo along with the soft pink. My flowers are a bit bright for my taste, but I don't have many Zigs to work with. So there you are...lol.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD White and Innocent Pink Card Stock

Kaiser Craft Shine Bright Patterned Paper

Spellbinders Splendid Circles Die

GKD Stately Flowers 4 Stamp

GKD Flowers & Frames Stamp for Greeting

Zig Clean Color Brush Markers

SU Black Ink

Black Nuvo Crystal Drops

The sun is shining today. I almost forgot what it looks like - lol!!!!! Our furnace went out 4 days ago, but we got it fixed today. We do have a woodburning stove, so we have stayed toasty. Life is full of surprises!!! Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your sweet comments. Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

Just Us Girls #386 - Photo Week

 Dear Ones~

This week is PHOTO WEEK over at Just Us Girls, and our gal Vicki has chosen this photo of inspiration. So many possibilities with this one.

 

Here's what I came up with:

 Don't you just adore this cute little snail, happy to have his cozy home be an old teacup? This is a digi stamp I saw in a challenge somewhere and just had to track him down. It's from a company called QKR Stampede, and the name of the stamp is One Man's Trash. What a hoot!! He just makes me smile!!! The card base itself is cut with the PTI Noted Scalloped die for that sweet stitched and scalloped edge. I LOVE it. I colored the image with Copics.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD White Card Stock

PTI Noted: Scalloped A2 Die

Paper Studio Textured Card Stock

Pebbles Basics Paper Pad Patterned Paper

QKR Stampede Digi Stamp

GKD Fabulous Flowers Stamp

Spellbinders Fancy Labels 2 Die

Spellbinders Oval Dies

Copic Markers

Nuvo Crystal Drops

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

 

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for leaving me all your lovely comments. They mean the world to me, my friends!!

~judy~

True Art

Dear Ones~
Hope your Sunday is going well. Today I made a card for the Stamp TV Monday Challenge. What's That You Say??? Yep, that's the challenge. Find a quote you love and reflect that quote in a card.

Here is my quote:

"Every artist dips her brush into her own soul, 

and paints her own truth into her pictures." 

Unfortunately, the author is unknown.

Here is my card:

My thought here was to have the pencil drawing the flower. In retrospect I would have done better to use black ink so it looked more like a drawing. Instead I did white heat embossing. But it was great fun to color the image with my watercolors. I also did a wash on the background. 

I have to say this is not the most favorite card I have ever made, but they can't all be perfect.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Sweet Mango and Ivory Card Stock

Strathmore Watercolor Paper

Colorbok Signature Patterned Paper

GKD Sending Love Stamps from the Kit

Majelo Mission Gold Watercolors

GKD White Embossing Powder

Nuvo Crystal Drops

I have a few more blogs to write and then I'm going to play in my craft room. I hope you do something wonderful today. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, I appreciate all your sweet comments.

Hugs~

~judy~

                                                                                                

Just Us Girls #385 - Color Week

Dear Ones~
This week is COLOR WEEK over at Just Us Girls, and our gal Lisa has chosen these gorgeous colors.  As always with color challenges, you are to use all three of the chosen colors as well as any neutrals that you need.  Neutrals are white, ivory, kraft, black, brown or gray.

Here's my card:

  

I like the simplicity of this design. It is a CASE from Tami White. You can see her card and video HERE. It was great fun to make, just stamping and not too many layers. I used mostly pink and grey, with just a hint of purple for the greeting and the scalloped oval die cut.

Here are the Ingredients:

PTI Soft Stone Card Stock

SU Smoky Slate and Basic Grey Card Stock

SU Wisteria Wonder Card Stock

SU Avant Garden Stamp Set

SU Sweet Sugarplum, Pink Piroette, Smoky Slate and Basic Grey Inks

SU Wisteria Wonder Ink

SU Layering Ovals Thinlits

Nuvo Crystal Drops

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

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments!
They always make me smile!!

~judy~

Dragonfly Dreams

Dear Ones~
This will be a quicky today. I wanted to play along with the Double D Challenge. This time we are to make a card with Things that Fly. Here is are the tiles they have provided us for inspiration:

 

 While I didn't use any of the above photos for my inspiration, I did make a card with something that flies.

I saw this design the other day on YouTube.  You can see the beautiful card Tina created HERE . 

 I had to make a sympathy card and I thought this design would be perfect for that. I have used the Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits from Stampin' Up. These are the most gorgeous dies, and there is a companion stamp set called Dragonfly Dreams.

 

Here are the Ingredients:

SU Soft Sky and Tip Top Taupe Card Stock

GKD Ivory Card Stock

SU Falling In Love Patterned Paper

SU Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits

Crafter's Secret Stamp for Greeting

SU Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your sweet comments, they truly make my day.

Hugs~

~judy~

 

It's Easy Being Green

 

 Dear Ones~
Hope you are having a wonderful day. Today's offering has been made for the Power Poppy Power and Spark monthly challenge. This month we are showcasing the new Pantone Color of the Year. The color is Greenery. It's a light, sunny yellow-green.



Here's my card:

I love this cute little parakeet from the Power Poppy stamp set Short Stack. Isn't he cute?? Here I colored the image with my Prismacolor Pencils. I smiled the whole time I was coloring him.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Applemint and Black Card Stock

My Mind's Eye Patterned Paper

Power Poppy Short Stack Stamp Set

Prismacolor Pencils

White Gel Pen

SU Balloon Pop Up Thinlits for the Bow

Black Nuvo Crystal Drops

Thanks for popping by. It's blustery here today, but not nearly as bad as our friends out East are experiencing. Stay safe, everyone! Love your sweet comments, I really appreciate them.

Hugs~

~judy~

Peony

Dear Ones~
This is my second post for the day. This one is for the Altenew March 2017 Inspiration Challenge. Here is the inspiration photo:

 

 And here is my card:

I don't have many Altenew stamp sets and am limited with what I can do, so I just went with the colors in the photo. This set is called Peony Scrolls, and it's the first stamp set I ever got from Altenew.  I heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder and water colored it with my Mission Gold Water Colors. I LOVE them, they are so beautiful and easy to work with!!! I finished the card off with some gold splatter and gold thread.

Here are the Ingredients:

SU Real Red and Daffodil Delight Card Stock

GKD White Card Stock

Craft Smith Patterned Paper

Tim Holtz Watercolor Paper

Altenew Peony Scrolls Stamp Set

Altenew Beautiful Day Stamp for Greeting

GKD Gold Embossing Powder

Mijello Mission Gold Watercolors

Paper Studio Embossing Folder

Stash Pearls and Gold Thread

So that's it for me, I'm outa here. Thanks for stopping by!! 

As always I adore your comments.

Hugs~

~judy~

Nail Polish Marbling

Dear Ones~
Hope you have had a good weekend. Mine was uneventful, which is a good thing.

This card has been made for the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday Challenge. This week Lizzie showed us how to do marbling with nail polish and water. Watch how she does it HERE. It was super fun to do, albeit kinda messy. And a word of caution, make sure to do it in a well ventilated area, the fumes can be pretty strong.

Here's my card:

Luckily I have a lot of nail polish. Not that I'm a fanatic or anything, I just seem to never throw them away. Anyway, Here I used a metallic silver, a metallic pink and a very dark red. I love the result. The thing is, it never comes out the same way twice....super cool. I embellished with PTI Day Dreamer flowers and leaves which I accented with a white gel pen.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD White Card Stock

PTI Day Dreamer Stamp

PTI Botanical Silhouettes Stamp for Greeting

GKD Cranberry Tart and Dusty Rose Inks

SU Basic Grey and Smokey Slate Inks

White Gel Pen

Nuvo Crystal Drops

Stash Nail Polish

Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate all your sweet comments. Time to start dinner, it's venison steaks and a salad. Yummo!!!! 

Hugs~

~judy~

White on Kraft

Dear Ones~
Today's offering was made for the Stamp TV Weekly Challenge. This week Chris has asked us to color kraft card stock with white colored pencil. I LOVE that look, so I decided to play along.

Here's what I came up with:

I think it's so much fun to color with pencil on kraft. You can get some amazing effects. This image is from Stately Flowers 4, and it lends itself very well to this technique.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Sandy Beach, Kraft, and Black Onyx Card Stock

Paper Studio Everyday Kraft Patterned Paper

GKD Stately Flowers 4 Stamp

SU Layering Circles Dies

Prismacolor Pencils

Nuvo Crystal Drops

Stash Ribbon

That's it for me. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. It's bitter cold here, I'm so looking forward to spring. Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments!!

~judy~

Just Us Girls #384 - Trend Week

Dear Ones~
This week is TREND WEEK over at Just Us Girls, and our gal Maria has chosen the trend STENCILS.

Here's what I came up with:

Aren't these goldfish a hoot? Can you tell the one on the very top is upside down? I didn't want them all swimming in the same direction...ha ha! Now you can never unsee it. 😄  I used a stencil called Mini Cell Theory by Crafters Workshop. I sponged it with GKD Blue Denim, Turquoise Sea and Applemint inks and used it as a background. I think it kinda looks like bubbles and I was going for an under-the-sea look.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Blue Denim, Sweet Mango and White Card Stock

Crafters Workshop Mini Cell Theory Stencil

GKD Applemint, Turquoise Sea and Blue Denim Inks

Hero Arts Color Layering Goldfish Stamp Set

SU Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie Inks

 Stash Dies for Sea Plants

Glossy Accents and Nuvo Crystal Glitter Drops

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

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments! They always make me smile!!

~judy~

Just Us Girls #383 - Word Week

Dear Ones~
 It's WORD WEEK over at Just Us Girls, and our gal Bobby has chosen the word GEOMETRIC. How much fun is that?? So many possibilities!

Here's my card:

I have had this big background stamp for awhile and haven't used it much. It's perfect for this challenge!! I recently acquired some Chameleon pens and this was the first time that I used them. I will need some practice, but they are fun to use. I don't think they will replace my Copics, even for shading, but they are great for some things.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Black Onyx, Blue Lagoon and Vibrant Violet Card Stock

GKD White Card Stock

Simon Says Stamp Abstract Triangles Background Stamp

Chameleon Markers

Die-namics Happy Hello Die

Stash Sequins filled with Glossy Accents

 I would like to welcome our March Guest Designer, Nance Salkeld. Her work is amazing. Just go check out her BLOG and I think you will agree.

Please visit the JUST US GIRLS blog to see the wonderful cards Nance and the rest of the team have made this week. 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 I hope to see you there. 

Thanks for stopping by, I adore your comments! They make my day!!

Thinkin' Spring

Dear Ones~
Today I made a card for the Double D Challenge. This time we are asked to Think Spring. Just look at the beautiful tiles which they have provided us for inspiration.

Here is my card:

This is just a little 3 3/4 inch square card, and I think it's so sweet. That is a new stamp set by Clare Brennan for Gina K Designs called Springtime Baskets. It's so much fun to color all those pretty pastel eggs. I used my Stampin' Up markers which have a fine point so I could get in those tiny spaces on the basket.

Here are the Ingredients:

SU Soft Sky Card Stock

GKD White Card Stock

Paper Wishes Patterned Paper

Spellbinders Beautiful Borders Die

GKD Springtime Baskets Stamp Set

SU Layering Circle Dies

SU Markers

Martha Stewart Punch

Stash Pearls

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for leaving such lovely comments. I really appreciate it, you make my day!!!

~judy~

Kraft and Colored Pencils

Dear Ones~
Whew - did we ever have some weather yesterday. A white-out blizzard after pouring rain. Just kill me now. And I was in Traverse City with my BFF, so we had to drive the 50 miles back to Grayling in it. I was never so glad to get home.

Today's offering has been made for the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday Challenge. This week it's to color on kraft with colored pencils. I LOVE this technique AND this look. Here's my card:

I discovered I don't really have any line art PTI stamps that would work for coloring in with pencils, so I chose to use this image from Melanie Muenchinger's STV stamp set Fabulous Frame. However I did use PTI's Graceful Greetings for the die cut greeting. The flower image was heat embossed with white before coloring. I LOVE the effect it gives!!!

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Kraft and Ivory Card

SU Dapper Denim Card

Authentique Something for All Seasons Patterned Paper

GKD Fabulous Frame Stamp

Primacolor Pencils

PTI Graceful Greetings Die

Spellbinder Scalloped Square

SU Nesting Squares

Darice Striped BG EF

Stash Twine

Judy Dots

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for leaving your lovely comments. They mean so much to me.

~judy~

Mod Squad Challenge - Bleaching with Color

Dear Ones~
This week over at the Mod Squad Challenge I am the host. I have chosen the Bleaching Technique as my challenge, but with a twist. After bleaching we need to color the image in.

The sponsor this week is Gina K Designs and Stamp TV

Stamp TV is a free online community featuring card making, stamping techniques and project videos for paper crafters using stamps and other products by Gina K. Designs. Be sure to check out StampTV for a ton of great videos and techniques. They also have weekly challenges. Shop Gina K Designs.

THE PRIZE

A $20 gift certificate to the Gina K Designs store.

I have two different styles of bleaching for you today.
Here is my first example:

 This is one way to do the bleaching technique. Here I stamped the image and then using a paint brush I painted the flower and leaves with bleach. I dried the bleached image completely and then used Copic markers to color it in. The image I used is a retired GKD stamp set duo called Heart Blooms. I didn’t realize until after I had started posting this that the stamp is no longer available, but any of the Year of Flowers sets by Melanie Muenchinger would be perfect for this.

Here are the Ingredients:

GKD Innocent Pink and White Card Stock

GKD Heart Blooms Stamp

Stash Patterned Paper

Cheery Lynn Ribbon Die

Spellbinders Fancy Labels 3 Die

Copic Markers

GKD Buttons

Bleach

Sitckles

And here's another way:

For this card I used the bleach as ink. I made an “ink pad” with some paper towel on a plate, and then poured the bleach directly onto the towel until it was juicy. The I just dipped the stamp in the bleach and stamped on the paper. The bleach doesn’t hurt the stamp – but to be certain you may want to rinse it under the tap when you’re done. After I dried the image with my heat tool I again used Copics to color it in. It’s really fun to see the bleached image appear as it dries with this technique. The image I used here is from the Gina K Designs stamp set The Wetlands.  

Here are the Ingredients:
GKD Charcoal Brown, Fresh Asparagus and Ivory Card Stock

We R Memory Keepers Wild Flower Patterned Paper

GKD The Wetlands Stamp

GKD Fanciful Tags Stamp for Greeting

Ranger Copper Embossing Powder

GKD Burlap Ribbon

Copic Markers

Stickles

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