Just Us Girls #783 - Word Week

Vicki is the host for Word Week at Just Us Girls and her word is "Water".

I had fun with this one and I'm thrilled with the results. 

I got this shaker bottle die and 'bottles' from MFT a long time ago and may have used it once.  The background was masked and colored with Distress Inks with the water spritzed and blotted.  A small piece of paper was distressed on the edge and rolled up to place inside with some cork for the stopper. The Betterpress sentiment couldn't have been more perfect.  

How do you see water playing a role on your card?  For inspiration, our guest Donna Mikasa and the rest of the Design Team have some fabulous cards for you to see.  

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Freshly Made Sketches #623

Hey there.  I'm so glad you dropped by.

I got the Honey Bee Lovely Layer Lures quite some time ago because I thought they'd work well for cards for my husband's son, grandsons and great-grandsons.  A number of birthdays are coming up so I pulled them out for the challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. 

I used wood paper for the corner to represent a dock and hung the lures cut from colored cardstock on  cork, cut with an MFT oval.  The stacked sentiment is from HB's Hook, Line and Sinker.  There are other die cuts in the set so I made another card with them.

While I had all the paper and dies out I actually made another set that will be ready to put on cards when I need them. 

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Freshly Made Sketches #371

While trying to decide what to do for Freshly Made Sketches, I ran across a NBUS set from Concord and 9th and a card was born.

I went back and forth between what background paper and what color the pineapple should be.  I loved the gold polka dots so cut it with a PTI die and then stamped the pineapple in Altenew Peach Parfait, embossing with rose gold.  Now for the sentiment strip.  I needed something darker and thought the cork gave some texture.    Here's the sketch I was working from.

I know it's square but I rarely do square cards.  They take more postage unless it's 4.25 by 4.25 and put in an A2 envelope which doesn't feel right to me.  Just my reasoning. ;)

Have a great day and thanks for dropping by.

Just Us Girls #459 - Photo Week

It's photo week at Just Us Girls and Maria has a colorful one for us.

What do you see that inspires you to make a card?  I first noticed the pumpkins - then the trees and this is how I combined them.

I recently got the floral hoop die from Concord and 9th and wanted to use it as the base of my wreath which I cut from cork.  The sprigs/branches are also from the set.  I made a smooshed  panel from Distress Inks to use for my MFT leaves and then inked up a SSS pumpkin.  The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted.

The Design Team and our guest Designer, Julie Beech, hope you find inspiration not only in the photo but in the wonderful cards they have posted on the blog.  If you join in the challenge, you have a chance to become a future guest designer.

CAS Mix-Up, CAS Watercolor, HLS Watercolor and Little Red Wagon #433

I have a second card for the CAS Mix-Up Challenge. 

I think this fun little owl looks great in cork. I colored the white of his eyes with a gel pen and his beak and talons with Distress Marker.  He's sitting on a branch die cut from real wood paper (my choice).  The sentiment was masked from a stamp that originally said "Howl are you?"

This next card is for CAS Watercolor Challenge,  HLS Watercolor Challenge and Little Red Wagon..

The heart of roses from SSS was heat embossed in silver and watercolored with Distress Ink. The silver embossed sentiment is from PB.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope your week gets off to a great start.

Inkspirational #153 and CAS Mix-up February

How would you be inspired by this word that's the challenge at Inkspirational?

For some reason the first thing that came to my mind was paper clips.  Yes, that's how I was inspired.

I have a number of shaped paper clips and used this circular one to hold my note to the cork board. 

Cork is one of the elements in the CAS Mix-up Challenge so I'm sending my card to their gallery having stamped the sentiment from PTI (on some ancient PTI paper),  embossed the background and used metal.

My desk is covered with partially finished cards and stamps ready to start new ones so I'd better get busy.  Have a great day!

Just Us Girls #411 - Color Week

Maria is our host for the color challenge this week at Just Us Girls and she has chosen

Rather "Fall-ish" looking to me and although that's where my head went first it took a U-turn and I ended up with this:

I cut the Concord and 9th leaves from patterned papers in the challenge colors although the patterns are so subtle that they are hardly noticeable. Sorry about the blurriness of the photo.  I think it's the shadows made from layering the pp on colored cuts to make them more stable.  

It took a while to decide how to present my leaves. I had them straight up and down but then how would I do the sentiment, and on what?  I angled them and liked that arrangement better.  I remembered a die cut from Avery Elle that I knew would fit in the corner and then stretched the rules a little and cut it from cork.  You can use neutrals with your design and I figured my cork was a neutral.  The sentiment is from My Craft Spot (closed). 

What do you think of when you see these colors?  Let's see you translate that image into a card for the gallery.

CAS(E) This Sketch #221

I have a quick and simple card for CAS(E) This Sketch, turning the sketch upside down.

A little cork, some ancient PTI paper with an equally ancient note punch for the top, and some enamel dots to represent push pins fill the bill.  The sentiment is from PB.

This one will go into my masculine file.

Thanks for dropping by.

Just Us Girls #368

Sue is the hostess for this weeks Just Us Girls and her word for the week is encouragement.

This card could be for anyone going through a rough time and you want to lift them up.  I made my card for my brother Bill who is going through treatment for throat cancer.

I've always liked this stamp set from PIT.  I 'tacked' it onto some cork which is on some woodgrain paper.

Our guest designer for this month is Cecile Ribon.  Go to Just Us Girls to see what she and the rest of the design team have made and then make an encouragement card of your own.  You may be selected Chic of the Week and be chosen as a guest designer for January.

And once you've made it, don't forget to send it. It could make someone's day.

PS: I don't usually enter my design team cards in other challenges but I thought this would be fitting for  the AAA Cards challenge - Masculine Cards.

Tic Tac Toe #12 and Time Out #59

This last Tic Tac Toe challenge had me stumped for a while although I knew I wanted to use some of that cork I HAD to have. ;)

Then I remember the roll of gold colored aluminum decorator  foil (yes, that's what the package calls it) that I confiscated from my mother's craft stash.  Of course I can make a masculine card with cork and foil.  It is metal isn't it?   ;)

To give some interest to the cork I die cut it with MFT's Peekaboo Dots.  The foil is cut with PTI stars and I cut one from brown paper and gold embossed the sentiment.

Time Out is looking for a masculine card with the optional twist of Mixed Media.  I hope die cuts and embossing and foil and cork are considered mixed.

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope your week is off to a great start.

Casology #141

I was a crafting fool yesterday.  I made 5 cards but still wanted to do one for CASology.  I mean if you get an honorable mention one week, you can't skip the challenge the next.  That's not polite. ;)  I had a difficult time coming up with something for their cue word - NEWS.  You had the option of doing a baby card to congratulate Gillian on the arrival of a baby boy but I don't have any baby worthy stamps.  I hope this will cover it.

I purchased some cork sheets a while ago and used that to "pin" the sentiment from HA to.  The other paper is from an old, old, old pad from PTI called Library Ledger.

Thanks for stopping by.  You'll get a look at the other cards as the week progresses, so please come back.