Just Us Girls #502 - Photo Week

I'm the host for Photo Week at Just Us Girls 

and this is what I chose to inspire you.  

For my card I made a Ball jar full of flowers.

The jar from PTI is colored with Distress Ink and heavily coated with Glossy Accents after stamping the stems.  The flowers are all layered ones from Altenew using their inks.  I've been doing a lot of clean and simple cards and have been itching to add more backgrounds so I used a NBUS stencil I purchased at a craft store by the lake and inked it with Antique Linen DOX.  I did a solid strip for my 'table' and added shadows with a PolyChromos pencil.  With so much going on, I decided to leave it sentiment free.

What catches your eye in the photo?  Please come see what the Design Team and our guest Tristan Dawes have made and then create a card to enter in our gallery.  You may be chosen our Chic of the Week and have a chance to be a guest designer.

Just Us Girls #497 - Color Week

Nancy is our host this week at Just Us Girls 

and her choices for Color Week are

It's such a lovely color combination for someone like me 

who does a lot of florals.  

I had already stamped this lovely background from MFT and pulled it out to color with Distress Inks.  I thought it needed a bright border and what better to use for Nancy's challenge than some paper she gifted me with last Fall when Michele and I visited her.  It was the perfect color.  I struggled with a sentiment and decided to leave well enough alone.

What will you do with the colors?  The Design Team has some wonderful cards for you to see, including our guest designer Emma DelFosse.  If you're chosen our Chic of the Week you too could be a guest designer.

Just Us Girls #474 - Trend Week

It's Trend Week at Just Us Girls and the trend that Carol has chosen is:  Wait for it!

Get out those wood background stamps, embossing folders or paper pads and make a card for this week's challenge.  You could even use wood embellishments.  I went the embossing folder route.

I inked up my TH woodgrain folder with HA Wet Cement before sending through my Big Shot.  The images are from Concord and 9th stamped in Altenew Ink.  I've chosen to leave off the sentiment mainly because I didn't know where to put it.😕 This was a set I thought I needed and have only used once.  I'm making it my priority to use some of my neglected stamps instead of buying new ones, although having said that I must confess I have bought a couple of new ones lately. 

The Design Team and our Guest Designer Lisa Elton have been busy on their wood/woodgrain cards and can't wait for you to check them out.  Your card in our gallery may make you Chic of the Week and a chance to be our guest designer in April.

Just Us Girls #341

It's Wild Card Week at Just Us Girls and Ina has chosen something different for us.

I used to do more shaped cards when I used my Cricut but I found a way to do one with my dies.

I cut two PTI jars and four of the hydrangea.  I embossed one jar to look like hobnail and stamped one of the die cuts with the hydrangea stamp, coloring it with Distress Ink.  The jar cuts are sandwiched between the flower cuts so the tops of the jars are hidden and the top of the back piece is scored and glued to the front.  I think this would make a great little gift card.

Now it's your turn.  Dazzle us with your folded or shaped cards.  If you are chosen as Chic of the Week, you will be eligible to be a guest designer in June.  Need more inspiration?  Check out what the rest of the Design Team has done at the Just Us Girls blog.

Addicted to Stamps #167

This week's challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More is "Make Your Mark" - use anything that makes a mark on your paper - markers, pencils, Zigs, whatever you have.

My card is a square, not something I usually do but I wanted to use the new Technique Tuesday stamp that Michele brought me when she visited last week, and it fit best on a square card.

I used my Zigs to color these delightful pansies that are stamped on a square cut with a SSS stitched square.  A larger  square cut the purple border.  I left off a sentiment mainly because I didn't know where to put one. ;)

Now it's your turn.  Make your mark and link up your card.  We'd love to see what you create.  There are 7 digis up for grabs from our sponsor Bugaboo Stamps.

Less is More #127

I love a sunset.  It's nothing short of awe inspiring to see the variety of colors as the sun goes farther down behind the horizon.  Why am I telling you this?  Because "sunset" is the color theme for Less is More. You don't have to do a sunset, just use the colors, but I did one anyway.

Distress Inks in Mustard See, Ripe Persimmon, Worn Lipstick and Seedless Preserves were blended across my panel.  The Penny Black image was stamped using HA India Black and the panel popped up on foam tape.  I decided against doing a sentiment but I think this would make a wonderful sympathy card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Time Out #17

It's great to have such wonderful friends in this cyber world we call blogging.  I have to give credit to a couple of them for the card I made, just under the wire I might add, for this week's Time Out challenge - "Birds of a feather flock together".

When I saw this card of Sarah's over at Funky Fossil Designs, I knew I had to CASE her and make a card from some stamped owls that Joyce from Cards by the Sea sent me a while ago.  I told Joyce I loved owls but had only one stamp so she sent me a packet of cardstock that she stamped with her rather large collection.  Then to top it off, she sent two small owl stamps that she had duplicates of.  How's that for a great friend!

Aren't they just the cutest. I colored them with my limited supply of Distress Markers but those colors went perfectly with the paper from Happy Campers by WeRMemorykeepers. I didn't have what I thought was a great sentiment for the front so I left it blank but it's a birthday card for a friend who is a hoot and a half.  Inside it says "I hope your birthday is a hoot!"  She'll love it.

ETA:  With the encouragement from two design team members, I will also enter my card into the Inkspirational challenge.  I should have known to do that right from the beginning because that's where Sarah's card was going, duh. (head slap)

Thanks for stopping by and while you're browsing why not stop by and say hello to Sarah and Joyce.  They make some fabulous cards you won't want to miss.

CASology #83

Just a quick post before I have to go to my parent's and fix them supper.  The weather is so bad that the home care giver can't get into town to do it.  People have been asked to stay off the highways and there's a 40 car pile-up just north of here that has shut down US 127 in both directions indefinitely between two exits.  Here in town it's very windy but I think the streets are okay.

When I saw this cue for CASology, I immediately thought of jump roping.  I remember junior high gym class and how we did a LOT of jump roping, even some fancy things.  I can still do it and probably should do it more just for the exercise.

Using a cut from the Cricut Going Places cartridge and a watercolor technique shown by Kristina Werner here, I made this.

Thanks for stopping by.  If you live where the weather is iffy, please stay in if you can, and if you must go out, drive carefully.

CTS #54

My heart and prayers go out to all those who lost their homes in the devastating storms that blew across the country Sunday.  While no damage, my son and his family are without power and the projected repair time is Saturday.  Fortunately they have a fireplace to keep warm but all those around them may not have the same luxury.  My parents (95 and 97) were without power last week for about 14 hours and we were scrambling for candles and put them to bed early as the temperature dropped in their home.   It makes me think of what I should be doing to be prepared.

My card today is for CASE This Sketch.

This is another sketch with SO many possibilities.

You'll have to look closely because this card is subtle.  Never mind, I'll just show you a close-up.

The card base is textured with the canvas impression plate from PTI and the strip of soft stone paper is embossed with the grosgrain ribbon from My Favorite Things.  The cross stamp from PTI's Stained Glass set. is a NBUS and is embossed in white. I'm thinking this would make a great Easter card.

I'm glad you stopped by today.   As winter and/or storms approach, please take a cue from the Boy Scouts and  "Be Prepared."

I'm Honored and Fusion #18

Two of my cards have made honor rolls lately.  I guess those things, or maybe it's my creativity, run in streaks.  You have a long dry spell and then all of a sudden your cards start getting some attention.  I got a shout out on Retro Sketches #81.  Thank you, Arielle, for picking my card.  This week, enough Muse #36 voters picked my card to land me an honorable mention.  Thanks to all of you who voted for me.  You can follow the links to see the winning cards.

Today I'm posting a card for Fusion #18.

I had an idea for this challenge early on but then the image I thought I had on a Cricut cartridge wasn't there. (I must have dreamed it). So it was back to the drawing board.  I ended up doing some fusing.

I found this cute utensil print in a Basic Grey 6 x 6 pack that I thought sort of/kind of mimicked the photo. I added some other papers from the pack to make the sketch.  It's not one of my favorite cards but I hadn't played the Fusion challenge for a while and wanted to get something in.

ETA:  Oops I missed the deadline for this challenge.  I had it written as Wednesday but it must have been by noon.  Oh, well.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you find joy in your day.

CASology #61

This morning we watched my husband's great-grandson play football.  Now you normally wouldn't call football players cute but these kids are 8 and 9 years old with helmets almost as big as they are.  They ARE cute!   Oh, btw, they won, 12 - 6.

Today's card is for CASology.

The Cricut cartridge A Child's Year is full of silhouettes.  I just had to choose one

Considering the fact that so many in my family are artists, I thought this would make a cute card.  I used the Watercolor Wonder stamps from PTI with Distress Inks for my background.  Quick and easy.  Truth be told, not really.  This is actually the third try at a background.  I tried water coloring and splattering but nothing turned out like I wanted.  Stamps to the rescue.  Wait!  Did I, a non-stamper, just say that?   I did, but that doesn't mean I will be buying a lot more stamps.

I'm glad you stopped by.  I love reading your comments so please leave one.   I'll be sure to return the favor.

Two Sketch Cards

I love this week's sketch challenge at Freshly Made.

I have a DSP called The Best of Brenda Walton from K and Company and there are some lovely large prints in it.  They were just perfect for this challenge.

This card is 5" by 7".  The color didn't come out quite right.  The purple lace is not quite that dark in real life.  The picture of the lilacs was just one on a single paper.  I used another image to make an A2 card.

There are a number of other images on this same piece of paper so I think I will make a few more from this sketch.  They will make good thinking of you, get well, or just plain note cards.