Just Us GIrls #69...I beg your pardon but this looks like a rose garden!

Oh my goodness!  Just WAIT until you see alllll of the beautiful roses blooming in the Just Us Girls challenge garden!  I'm telling you, they are knock your socks off GORGEOUS!  Thanks to the fabulous grunge rose technique illustrated by none other than Mr Tim Holtz, Just Us Girls is challenging you to join us in the garden with your handmade flower.

I used grungepaper, ink and stickles on my flower and was pleased to find, the more you add and play with this flower, the prettier it gets.  There is no one way to do this, because I tell ya, EVERY way is stunning!
See what I mean?  These flowers are so realistic looking when you are done.  I highly suggest a glue gun for gluing the petals...less wait time.  Also, you don't need to do these with grungepaper, cardstock works well too.  To stick with the garden theme I had going, I chose DP from the Once Upon a Springtime Graphic 45 collection plus a Martha Stewart butterfly punch....the vintage seamstress measuring tape(which fits the City Crafters Challenge this week for stitching), seam binding, and custom colored Want2Scrap Kimmie bling swirls are simply because I loved them on this card.  The layout was inspired by the current Mojo Monday sketch #175

If you haven't already visited the Just Us Girls blog, you are in for a treat!  If you already have, then just nod knowingly and smile!  :)  I hope you'll stop by all the JUGs girls blogs and leave a little love along with our fabulous guest designer, Carla Suto! and then JOIN US in the celebration of handmade roses!  Can't wait to see what you make! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Shabby Tea Room and Mojo140.... Just {Be}

Hello friends!  Today I was inspired by the creative gals over at The Shabby Tea Room and Mojo Monday to make this card.  You see, I had this fabulous photo of the Eiffel Tower that my dear and talented friend, Traci {TVP}, took that I HAD to use!  I had originally printed it for the I Love Paris challenge over at City Crafters Challenge blog but it really needed it's own card to shine.  A huge shout out of THANKS to City Crafters who awarded me their winner's badge for the I Love Paris Challenge!  I was so honored to be named among such a talented group!  Merci, ladies!

The Shabby tea room polka dot tea party has a lovely pink and polka dot inspo picture.  Check it:

And Monday Mojo had a great sketch which I turned upside down:

And made this:

I opened Traci's Eiffel Tower photograph in Word and changed it to black and white with a pink tint.  Isn't the perspective on that picture awesome?  So dynamic and powerful, I thought.  I grabbed some pretty floral paper from Anna Griffin, dotty biscotti from PTI and cool number graph paper from October Afternoon.  The paris label tab is something I printed from the Graphics Fairy and trimmed to a label shape and then adorned with black gems from Want 2 Scrap.

The fancy doodad (how about that for technical terms??)  layered from back to front is a glimmer misted white cupcake liner, a crochet doily scrap and a vintage looking button from Michaels.  I added a loose bead to the pearl head sewing pin with a dab of glue and the "Be" chipboard piece has been rolling around my desk for far too long now...its seemed a good fit for the majestic Eiffel Tower which has withstood the test of time (it was inaugerated in 1889!) and had no other choice but to just "Be". 

Sometimes it is good to just "BE" in the world, isn't it? 

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

Just Us Girls #33 Color Challenge...show your colors!

Your patriotic colors that is! Here in the US of A we will be celebrating Memorial Day on the last day of this month. To honor that, our Just Us Girls DT member, Lisa, has challenged us to make something red, white and blue plus kraft(optional). Check out the challenge details and join us, won't you?

I also called on the fab sketch from Mojo Monday #138 and the chipboard challenge at The Shabby Tea Room to help me bust out the red, the white and the blue in honor of our service men and women. 

I used a great star embossing envelope from cuttlebug plus a swipe of cream ink from Papertrey to make the background stars pop.  The scallop-circle-star medallion came in a bag of goodies from my friend Jane!  I treated each piece of this interlocking chipboard piece with something different.  Papertrey bitty dot paper on the scalloped frame, white paint and chunky irredescent glitter on the circle and glue fine glitter for the star...hellooooo sparkles!  I also used the edge of a paper doily that was scrunched and adhered to the back of the scalloped circle for a little more vintage goodness.

So, what do you think?  Ready for some red, white and blue???  I don't know about you, but I'm whistling Yankee Doodle and I'm mighty hungry for apple pie!  ;)  Before you get started, check out the JUGs DT for more inspiration.... 

Guest Designers, Teresa Kline and LeAnne Pugliese

Pam Imholz

Maria Levine

Lisa Kind

Mona Pendleton

Alicia Weiman

OK kids, let's get crafting!  Link us up over on the JUGs blog so we can see what you did.  Thanks so much for stopping by today. 

Supplies:

Paper: Papertrey, October Afternoon

Ink: Papertrey

Embosser: cuttlebug

Craft Supply: glitter, acrylic paint, paper doily, buttons, ribbon and embroidery floss

For My Sweet Pops...Monday Mojo 105

Happy friday everyone!  It's October 9th and it's my dad's birthday today.  I decided to go with the light-hearted Sweet Kawaii set from My Cute Stamps and a customized sentiment for my sweet Pops!  He has a bit of a sweet tooth lately so we'll be bringing some frozen treats to share along with our card. My layout was inspired by this fun sketch from Mojo Monday.

the sketch:

my card:

Isn't that happy little frozen treat just so cute??  I stamped the popsicle on the white cardstock using brown and blue ink and then restamped in blue ink on Papertrey grid paper to paper piece layer over the original stamped image on white.  The sticks and the popsicle shadow were colored with Zig brush markers.  The large scallops at the bottom are made simply with a circle punch and lined up carefully to look like scallops.  The "pops" letters were stamped and then detail cut.  I am loving the look they have when detail cut!  Oh, and one final tip, the "for my sweet" letters were stamped on white cardstock.  Instead of cutting each one out individually, I just snipped in between each letter and then fanned them as I adhered them to the side of the scalloped oval.  MUCH easier than placing them one at a time. 

A layer of sponged Pacific Point blue on pretty much everything enhanced the frozen chill on this card ;)  Once I start inking, it's sometimes hard to stop!

Thanks so much for coming by today.  I'll see you tonight at midnight PST with a new Just Us Girls challenge!  We've decided to move forward with fun challenges from the girls at JUGs!  Tune in...there is a challenge, some blog candy and fabulous blinkies to be had by all!  And check out who was Kristen's  "Chic of the Week" for last week's challenge..could be YOU next week!  Hope you can come play with Just us Girls!

Supplies:

Paper: DCWV, SU! Papertrey

Stamps: My Cute Stamps, Provo and SU!

Ink: SU!

Punches: CM, SU! and Nestabilities

Craft supplies: zig markers and ribbon