Just Us Girls #20 Split Negative

I had to quick do another challenge card before the Daytona 500 gets underway. I decided to play along with the Just Us Girls challenge #20 to make a split negative image. I haven't made one of these in ages but I've always loved the look of this technique. I stamped the butterfly image on white and black cardstocks and embossed with white and black inks. I cut them down the center, taped them together from the back, and then die cut them with Nestabilities circles and scalloped circles. I added a touch of red smooch to the little markings on the butterfly. The DSP is by Kaiser, and the flip side is the reverse color, so I decided to do a split negative of the paper as well. The sentiment is done on punched ovals and the ribbon is by SU!
Ok, I'm off to see the kick off of the 2010 NASCAR season. GO TONY!!
Have a great Sunday and thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

Happy Saturday :)

I made a couple challenge cards today, and first up is the Just Us Girls #16 challenge. This week Kristin challenged us to create something with Burgundy, Blush, Vanilla, and Gray. I used the Fifth Avenue Florals set, stamping the images with Versamark and embossing with Claret ep and cutting them out. I used 2 different die cuts and embossing folders for the mats and crimped some leaves out of silver metallic cardstock. I added some MS silver microbeads to the stamens of the flowers.

This card is a double challenge card following the Crazy4Challenges#20 which is a sketch this week. It's also for the OCC challenge which is to use the colors of blue and green. My friend Michelle sent me this adorable stamped image a while ago and I pulled it out and colored it with Tombows for this card. I added some glaze with pens, and some dazzling diamonds on the frosting. The sentiment was made with a Just-Rite set, embossed with silver ep and I added some Geo sparklers tiny stars. I used scraps of green and blue for this one.
I hope everyone is having a pleasant weekend so far. Take care and make it a great one!

Carol

It's the Weekend!

Happy Saturday everybody! I hope you're all having a great weekend and staying warm!
First up is a card for the C4C19 challenge which is to make a birthday card. My birthday stash was getting low anyway, so this was the perfect opportunity to add to it. The image is a clear stamp I got from a $1 bin at Joanne's. I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed it with clear ep. I colored it with Tombows and added a few stickles to the candles along with some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the frosting. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. I used some pink passion and pacific point cardstocks, embossing the pink with the numbers ef and layering all on a white cardstock base. Lastly, a few snippets of ribbon were added for interest.
This card is for the JUGS15 challenge to add stitching. It's also for the OCC 3D challenge to create a 3D card. I used an old piece of self-adhesive fabric binding on the vertical panel and stitched it down to real red cardstock with my sewing machine. I used a scalloped punch on that panel. The hearts were cut with my Cricut from Vintage Cream and Real Red and popped up on dimensionals on each layer. I laid down a few diagonal strips of Scor-tape and added some MS tinsel glitter for the background. The Lovey Dovey heart from the "A Little Somethin" SU set was stamped with Versamark, and embossed it with red ep. I added a few Geo Sparkler red heart stickers to the top and the smallest heart and finished it all off with a red grosgrain ribbon tied in a knot. I just couldn't seem to get a good picture of this card for some reason. I tried using red and black backgrounds, but they looked even worse than this photo! Maybe my camera just doesn't like glitter or something?! LOL
That's it for me today, but thank you to all of the ladies who gave us these great challenges and samples for inspiration! Have a fabulous weekend!!

Carol

Just Us Girls #14

Fortunately I had time to make this card today for the JUGS 14 challenge. This week we were given a sketch to follow, and I found it very easy to work with. I've had this navy scrap of DP for quite some time and decided to pair it with some new leaf green cardstock. I punched the white border with a scalloped punch and stamped the "So Many Sayings" sentiment with Night of Navy ink. The floral image is from SU! Echoes of Kindness, stamped in Night of Navy and colored with a blender pen using New Leaf and Night of Navy inks. The ribbon and button are by PTI (new leaf) and the flowers were in my stash. I added a few crystal stickles to the flowers, but it looks blue simply because I was too impatient to allow it to dry before taking the photo :) I'm getting a box ready to mail on Monday filled with cards for our soldiers overseas and this one is going along for the ride. I know the sentiment will be perfect for the recipient.
That's it for me today........but have yourselves a wonderful weekend!

Carol

Just Us Girls #10 sketch challenge

They have a sketch challenge over at the Just Us Girls blog this week and it's a fun one! It was easy enough for me to make another last-minute Christmas card. I love it when things come together quickly, especially when there's SOOoo much to do this time of the year!
I started with the image from Many Merry Messages and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black on wc paper, and embossed it with clear ep. I colored the images with Tombows and added red stickles to the gigantic nose of the reindeer in the center. The DP was a well-loved scrap (mfr unknown) that I've had forever. I layered the image on a panel of scrap green cardstock using Labels four Nestabilities. The brads were pink, but I made them red by dipping in Versamark and then red ep and heating them (twice). I wonder why I'm unable to find Red or White brads or eyelets anywhere? It seems I always have to buy assorted packs just to get a few red or white ones. Anyway, the flowers are from Making Memories and the ferns were made with a MS punch. Ribbons were from my stash. I'm already tired of making Christmas cards and hopefully I'm just about finished with them now. Soon I'll have to start baking, but I always do that last. If I bake cookies too soon, there are none left by Christmas!! LOL!!!
Have a wonderful Sunday whatever you're doing and TC!

Carol

Just Us Girls #9

The challenge over at JUGS#9 this week is to make your best holiday gift box or bag made from a template. I didn't use a template for this box because I learned how to make a box for anything by reading Sharon Johnson's blog where she has a great tutorial for making boxes. I made this box using PTI white cardstock and decorated it with PTI dsp (hugs and thanks Silke) and ribbon, including a matching tag. Here are the cards that are going into the box. I used 3 different Sarah Kay images and coordinated the water coloring to match the cardstock. Each card has a different embossed top note die cut that color coordinates with the card base. I stamped the images on water color paper and colored them using Tombows, then cut them with a Nestabilities Labels 4. I added a little matching ribbon on each one too. The sentiments were done with a word window and a modern label punch, and each is different. I used a rolling Inkadinkado stamp for those. This set is going to my neighbor because she's such a thoughtful and kind person and we're extremely fortunate to have her (and her DH) living next door!

That's my best boxed gift so far this year, but I'm working on more, so hopefully I'll have more to share with you soon!

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for the fun challenge ladies!

Just Us Girls #5

The challenge over at JUGS#5 this week is to make a holiday card with a photo. I've been trying to come up with a design for a Christmas card for a friend, using a photo of the beautiful gate to her home. This is one of the samples I made, and since it fits perfectly with today's challenge, I thought I'd post it. I embossed the sentiment at the top of the picture with gold ep and also embossed the gold scalloped circle, along with the tiny house image inside. The stamps are from PTI. The ribbon is from Michaels and I used Hunter Green and Really Red on this one.
Thanks for the great challenge ladies........and if you have time, click the JUGS link above for the details to this challenge. They're giving away freebies just for playing along before the deadline:)
Enjoy a Happy Haunting Halloween Everybody!!

Carol

ETA: For those wondering how I embossed on the photo without melting it - I printed the photo on regular paper, not photo paper.

Just Us Girls #4

I recently began playing the Just Us Girls challenges (JUGS) and this week for #4, we're challenged to add a 3D flower to our project. They posted a great video tutorial by Mona, so go check it out and see how easy these flowers are to make!

I used yellow and lime green tissue paper for my 3D flower, and cut them using the Blossom Nestability and a leaf shapeability. I know the leaves weren't really intended for flowers, but I thought why not?! I like how they look with the flower. I didn't brayer my tissue paper, I just smeared my ink pads (celery and so saffron) all over it randomly since they were already colored. I added some PTI bitty box dsp, a gemstone brad, and a sentiment stamped in Versafine Onyx black ink (from the Sincere Salutations stamp set). Quick, easy, fun, and I really like the look of this 3D flower! Thanks for the great challenge ladies, and as always, thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!!

Carol

Mojo109 and JUGS3

I made this card for the MoJo#109 sketch challenge and the JUGS3 color challenge to use aqua, red, and cream. I substituted Baja Breeze since I didn't have aqua, and used PTI vintage cream and Ruby Red. The dsp is retired Ski slope and the snowflake image is from the snow swirled set. I used some red Geo sparklers on the snowflake and just noticed that one fell off, so I'll need to fix that. The circular panel was stamped with a G studio stamp in ruby red and a silver geo sparkler was added to the center of that. The vertical panel was faux stitched with a white gel pen and the ribbon is from a bobbin spool. The circles were cut with punches and Nestabilities. The bow was made with a Bow-Easy using riding hood red ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by on this sunny Monday. It's great to see the sun shining again :)

Carol