EBTKS #21, PDCC #43 and STR #24...{congratulations}

Hello!  A quick post to bring you a card for three challenges today.  I generally don't try to combine challenges but these all presented themselves to me today when I was making a card I needed for an upcoming wedding.  The perfect storm if you will..

The play date cafe has some positively breezy colors this week and with the 100 plus weather today, I'll take breezy!

The ladies over at Everything but the Kitchen Sink called up some sketch creativity based on a front loading clothes washer!  a little something I know alot about as laundry never seems to stop its endless march.  LOL!

And the lovely Shabby Tea Room gals have challenged us to use metal this week.

Ahhhhhh!  Breezy!  See what I mean?  Also, these colors were perfect for the "something blue"  I like to include on wedding cards.  I do love a good tradition!  :)  The sketch allowed me to use my FAVORITE thing right now...a paper doily!  What is it about these things?  I just adore them! 

The up close and personal shows off the hand made flower using a cut file by Kelleigh Ratzlaff for the large focal point flower.  I used white cardstock spritzed with seafoam shimmerz.  I dressed up the center of this flower and two other Prima flowers with a regular office supply brass brad (my metal for the Tea Room girls) topped with a pearl bling from Want 2 Scrap.  From drab to FAB!  I now LOVE my brass brads for flower centers!  Thanks to adhesive pearls!  The pearl swirl is also Want 2 Scrap.  The flower grouping is finished with two pearl topped corsage pins...come to think of it, this ribbon, flower, pin combo reminds me of a pin-on corsage!   I knew those floral design classes would come in handy one day (hi mom!).

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope your day is cool and calm!  OH!  And don't forget to comment on this post if you'd like a chance to win some BLOOMERS!

Just Us Girls #41 plus some of my favie challenges....when life hands you lemons

...why you make *lemonade* of course!  Hey everyone! I am here with Just Us Girls #41...it's technique week!  Maria has picked out the very fun Ink, Spray, Smash technique.  Wanna get inky?  This one will do it for you!  So grab some reinkers, glossy cardstock and let's get smashing!  Don't have reinkers or glossy cardstock?  I'll bet you can achieve some similar effects with acrylic paint and cardstock and join in...but if you do have the goods, won't you join us in trying this technique?  I got inspired by the lemon patterned fabric I found this weekend in my fabric stash.  I don't know the maker on it as I recieved it in a swap years ago.  So glad I had this hidden away for a sunny day!  Did you notice mMy card says "Happy Birthday" on it?  Guess what?  JUGs girl, Kathryn Berthiaume is celebrating her birthday this week!  Be sure and stop by her blog and send some celebration wishes her way!  Happy birthday Kathryn!

Not only am I getting inspiration from this cool Practicing Creativity Designs sketch shown below by Dana/Kismet, Art, and Life blog but I am also joining in on the Cupcards {2 Go} FRUITY challenge hosted by the fabulous Sarah Martina Parker!  Double bonus that I had that lemon fabric in my stash!  :)  I used Courtney's You're Dandy stamp set to stamp the green line-stars on the half circle behind the *lemonade* glasses and I used the Happy Birthday sentiment included in the same set.

Check out my aluminum foil and embossed background!??  Whaaaat?  Oh yeah, aluminum foil + herringbone embossing folder equals DE-LISH texture for my summery scene.  Thanks so much to  the girls at Everything but the Kitchen Sink for the aluminum foil challenge and the Shabby Tea Room embossing challenge.  The shiny foil reminds me of the old time tanning reflection screens folks used to use to tan their faces (eeeeeek!) back before we knew that baby oil is not a good form of sunscreen (tried that one in my teens!) and tan faces mean wrinkles and other skin mishaps later on in life!  Or maybe the sun glinting off the corrugated tin roof of one of the barns outside where I grew up...hot like that deserves a break with an icy cold lemonade!

Check out the ink fun I had trying to discover which lemonade/limeade/pink lemonade shade I could go with...

The first sheet is yellow reinker only, the second is yellow plus two shades of green and the final was a pale pink and a yellow.  I ended up going with the paper in the middle to capture the yellow and greens of the lemon fabric.  Super fun technique you chose this week Maria!  You definitely won't want to miss out on all the JUGs design team card details.  I hope you'll hit up their blogs and leave em some love!  They are listed on my sidebar.  Also, don't forget the very talented Debbie Marcinkiewicz who is guest designing for us this month!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you join us in our ink, spray smash party this week.  Be sure and link your creation on the JUGs blog.

Supplies:

Paper: SU!

Ink: PTI

Stamps: Practicing Creativity and Stampcraft

Ink: SU!

Glitter: Martha Stewart

Craft Supplies: ribbon, seed beads, flower beads

Just Us Girls #38 plus EBTKS #17 ....cabbage rose tea party

Hi everyone!  Today I am pleased to share the latest color challenge from Just Us Girls!  Our super talented Alicia has chosen a gorgeous, and many times *tasty*, color combo of chocolate, vanilla and pink...otherwise known as Neopolitan icecream in my house! ;)  Check it out:

I also was inspired by the extremely versatile sketch from the Everything But the Kitchen Sink girls!

I'm really excited about this one for one big (centerstage like) reason...I made that flower myself from fabric scraps!  So loving it!  There are some amaizng tutorials HERE, HERE, and HERE to start or just search "how to make burnt edged fabric flowers" for a garden full of fabulous ideas!  For my flower, I cut by hand, and not too exactly, circles of fabric in several sizes.  The pink fabric is a crepe-y pice I grabbed out of the "free" box at my local treasure trove, The Legacy, the white satin is from a formal dress my crazy-talented  mom made me when I was 19 (eee gads!  that's 16 years of hoarding!) and the pink tulle was salvaged off of a wedding package we received 12 years ago (yes, confirmed hoarder, I know).  I ended up using about 15-20 circles in the end just layering them as I went until I got something I liked. 

See?  kinda fluffy huh?  I went for a few random burned edges which is the result of passing it through the flame versus near the flame which just curls the edges.  Use tweezers and work on a flame tolerant surface....fabric can be flammable!  Ask me how I know? ;)  You might want a little ventilation too...

I stitched the layers together with needle and thread and then Fabri-tac glued the white button and large gem to the center of the flower.  Other juicy details are my pretty butterfly from Want 2 Scrap, tea-stained trim I made myself and the perfect teacup image stamp from All Night Media turned tag with images from Papertrey Ink.  A paper doily sets the scene for my tea party...rose hip tea anyone?

Ready for some more amazing pink, vanilla and chocolate?  I hope you will visit the Just Us Girls DT (they are listed in my side bar) and leave them some lovin' for their inspiration and then JOIN us in our color challenge this week!  Be sure and link us up on the Inlinkz tool.  By the way, a shout out to all of you smashing digi designers for last week's challenge....154 entries!  Really amazing!  Thanks so much for your continued support and enthusiasm for Just Us Girls challenges!  We love you!  And a heartfelt thank you from me to you for all of you who visit and encourage me on this creative journey!  You make my day with your wonderful comments. 

Supplies:

Paper: Papertrey Ink

Stamps: All Night Media, Papertrey Ink

Butterfly accent: Want 2 Scrap

Ink: Papertrey Ink

punch: Fiskars

Craft supply: craft gem, tea stained seam binding, fabric scraps, paper doily

Rainbows and Sunshine....everything but the kitchen sink #13!

Howdy friends!  The girls at Everything but the Kitchen sink have a super fun sketch challenge going on that got me thinking WEATHER (weather, huh?).  Yep, weather!  You'll see what I mean....

I saw rainbows and

SUNSHINE! 

Oh happy day!  I flipped that sketch on the side and made some super happy sunshine rays with an amazing stamp set from Courtney Baker/Practicing Creativity!  BTW, the rays are distress stamped on purpose to leave a little white showing.....When you want this to stamp clean, it totally does!

Doesn't this make you want to celebrate something great?? 

One more shot of the rainbow to show off some clearly heavy HAMBLY with my fave grid overlay from Hambly too.  This card is see-thru, yeah! Love that!  Also, wanted to give a shout out to a local store, The Legacy, where I picked up this so cute recycled eyelet trim.  It's a great place to pick up second hand craft items and benefits a great cause.

Thanks so much for coming by today!  Have a good one!

Supplies:

Rainbow card:

cardstock: Papertrey Ink

overlay: Hambly

craft supply: buttons and eyelets

Oh Happy Day:

Cardstock: CM and Papertrey Ink

Stamp: Practicing Creativity

Ink: Stampin Up

Punch: SU! and CM

rubons: headlines sign

craft supply: button, embroidery floss, trim

Fork, Knife and Spoon with SCAL and a discount from Canda Crafts! EBTKS challenge too *whew*

Hey friends!  I have a card to share based on the awesome sketch from the girls at Everything but the Kitchen Sink!  This great sketch was the perfect thing to show off a new cut I made with my cricut and SCAL software.  The fork, knife and spoons cut out just as I had invisioned them!  I just think they are so cute!  and perfect for thanking our friends for a lovely dinner at their home. 

I was recently contacted by Canda of Canda Crafts and she has offered a sweet discount to all of my readers.  10 percent off your total order!  If you have ever thought about purchasing the SCAL software ( I am now a TOTAL believer!) now would b e a good time!  Check out all Canda has to offer with the link below.

Coupon Code: JUGS315
Expiration Date: 3/15/10
Discount: 10% off ENTIRE purchase
Canda Craft

Thanks so much for coming by today!

Supplies:
Paper: October Afternoon, Papertrey and Amuse
Cricut and SCAL
craft supply: ribbon

EBtKS sketch #1 ....Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me

I've been an awful good girl... ;)  OK, so I don't really want a sable...but I'd take the convertible that the ever amazing Ertha Kitt croons about in one of my fave Christmas songs.  Oh yes!  It's time for Christmas toon-age on my radio...for those of you resisting, just embrace it. LOL!  Did you all see the latest from the Kitchen Sink girls?  Check out their Sketch challenge #1 here.  This simple card has been rolling around in my head for a week but thanks to the SWINE flu (eek!), I'm getting it done at the last minute!

The sketch is based on the lovely Courtney Baker's fireplace mantle so I wanted to capture the feel of architecture and masonry with my textured and inked paper.  The stamp is one of my faves from last year and always reminds me of Santa, baby!

Some red embroidery floss hangs this "ornament" from it's ribbon bough.  Also, I cracked open the chamomile ink from Papertrey and it is JUST like toasted marshmallow against this cream cardstock.

So glad you stopped by today.  Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and wonderful weekend...