Bright be your Easter

Have a wonderful weekend and for those who celebrate it, happy Easter!


Image courtesy of Clearly Vintage.

Just Us Girls #80 color challenge...and happy birthday LISA!

Hey JUGs fans!  This is BIRTHDAY week at Just Us Girls!  First, our dear Elise and now, our hostess with the mostest, the lovely Lisa Kind!  Lisa picked our challenge colors this week and bonus challenges us to make it a birthday card.....well, THAT was easy since I needed a card to send to my friend! Happy Birthday Lisa!  Not only do the JUGs want to wish Lisa a very happy birthday but check out this post over at My Time Made Easy for a complete list of creative ladies who are kicking off the birthday wishes in beautiful style. 

I've been trying my hand at crepe paper streamer flowers lately and I just happened to have this pretty pale coral color!  Having fun with distressed cardboard for the leaves, music paper bordered with Nestabling pennant in silver and lots of other fun and shabby details.

Including these vintage cream colored pearls I salvaged from a piece of jewelry.  LOVE giving new life to bits and baubles.

Ready to infuse some new vigor in your color palettes?   I think you'll love playing along with Just Us Girls this week in color challenge #80!

Kristin Eberline

Pam Imholz

Maria Levine

Lisa Kind

Andrea Matthews

Kathryn Berthiaume

Elise Durenberger

And please also leave some love for the FABULOUS April guest designer, Teresa Kline!
 

Paper: Papertrey Ink, vintage book print

Stamps: Clearly Vintage and Papertrey Ink

Bling: Want2Scrap

Ink: Staz on, SU!

Dies and punches: Papertrey Ink, spellbinders and Martha Stewart

Embosser: Cuttlebug

Craft Supply: twine, beads, buttons, floss, crepe party streamer

Zip on over to Want2Scrap for a zipper flower tutorial!

**Looking for my Just Us Girls post?  Please click {HERE}**

Hello friends!  I hope you can zip on over to the Want2Scrap today and check out an simple tutorial on how to make your own flowers out of zippers!   I have been noticing these fab flowers all over the place and I had to make one myself. 

Click {HERE} to head on over to Want2Scrap.

I used mine on a fashion oriented card because I do so love the trend of vintage seamstress items and the dress form trend that has been all over lately. I was able to tuck in bits of vintage goodies in the pocket inspired by the challenge over at City Crafter Challenge blog.
 

This pocket would be great with a fabric store gift card tucked inside too!

Check out the bits of Want2Scrap bling adorning my zipper flower and also, my handmade original button card.
 

The button card was designed in Word, printed, and then I added the glamour girl stamp in the center from Clearly Vintage. Isn't she fabulous dah-ling?!
 
Ready to make your own zipper flower?  Zip on over to the Want2Scrap blog for all the details!  Happy flower making...
 

Supplies

Bling: Want2Scrap (Black Rhinestones, Silver Rhinestones, Turquoise Rhinestones, Pink Rhinestones)

Digi Button Card:  Designed by Dana Gustafson, http://www.paperdaydream.blogspot.com/

Stamps: Clearly Vintage Glamour Girls

Paper: October Afternoon

Die cut dress form:  Girls Paperie

Craft Supplies: sewing machine, buttons, silver thread, pinking sheers, zipper, seamstress pins, vintage measuring tape and bias tape wrapper, glitter glue

Just Us Girls Technique Challenge #59...Gatefolds Galore!

Happy Saturday!  Ready for the latest with Just Us Girls?  Our talented Kathryn has chosen Gatefold cards this week!  So get your scoring board out and let's make some gatefold cards!

Gatefold cards generally have two flaps that fold and either overlap or meet in the front of the card.  The "gate" can meet in the middle, off to the side, or, in my case, be shaped.  I chose this adorable cupcake cut file by the super fab Kelleigh Ratzlaff.!  I kept trying to make this card "cuter" but the fact is, the cut file does all the work!  Awesome!  I just added a little papercrafted frosting in the Color Cue #9 color pallette (I'm too late but I couldn't resist this color combo) and voila, card confection!

 I decided to try my hand at a handmade crepe paper flower.  I made mine simply by cutting individual petals our of crepe and then pinched the bottoms to create the petal shape before I glued it down to a circle punch that served as my flower backing.  I later added glitter to the edges using a little Scotch quick dry adhesive and martha stewert glitter.

See how cute this cuppie is?  The muffin top lifts to expose the top of the cupcake "liner paper" which I pinked to give it a real cupcake wrapper look.  The bottom striped paper panel hinges down to expose the entire inside for writing your message or stamping a cute cupcake image like I did here.

OK, ready to play "gatefold" with us?  Be sure to check out the designer examples at Just Us Girls, including our guest designer this month, Cheryl Rowley, for lots of inspo and then join us in our gatefold challenge.

On another note, I am riding high, my friends, on the creative spirit I witnessed last weekend at two classes led by Tim Holtz!

Weeeee!  What a fun creative festival it was last weekend!  Tim is an incredible teacher, inspiration and an all around cool guy to hang out with.  He and Mario ran a seamless show I tell you!  I can't wait until they come back to town for another round of creative fun....I am so there.  I am sure these ladies are too!
So glad to be sharing creative space with some of my favorite sisters in scrap and stamp and Tim Holtz last weekend!  What a fabulous day!  (and I just counted that I said the word "creative" far too many times in the last couple of sentences, but hey, what can I say, the man bleeds creativity and you just can't help but catch the fever of "I NEED to make something" and THAT is so exciting!!!  I can't wait to show you what we made but I'm still poking at my projects...so someday soon :)  In the meantime, check out Tim's blog for a classroom photo that illustrates how lucky we were to sit  front and center for the whole day (I am fourth from the front and my pals are right near).  Our theme was christmas so you could say that I am excited for the Twelve Tags festival this year, oh yeah, you could say that!  Bring it on!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I appreciate it so much!  Have a good one, friends!

Merci!

HI everyone!  I am excited to share this card over at the Want 2 Scrap blog today.  I hope you'll hop over and check out the details.  I couldn't wait to put this shabby flower to work when I made it last week and I am so pleased with how the card turned out!   

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Bling: Want 2 Scrap
Paper: Webster's pages, vintage dictionary print, DCWV cardstock
Stamps: Stampin Up
Ink: Staz on, Ranger distress ink and Stampin up!
Flower cut file: Kelleigh Ratzlaff designs
digital vintage image: the graphics fairy blog
Die: Nestabilities
Craft supply: paper doily

Want 2 Scrap and Shabby Tea Room summer fun...vintage charmer

Inspired by the summer fun challenge over the Shabby Tea Room  I made this card using this darling vintage charmer of a bathing beauty from Clearly Vintage for the Want 2 Scrap blog and for the Shabby Tea Room challenge.

Is she not a doll or what?  I *wish* this was me at the beach but I am more the image of sunburned, ball cap wearing, sand in my sandwich, giant sand pit digging mama then glamourous beach blanket beauty...not that there is anything wrong with my reality...except maybe the sand in my sandwich....there is no way that is ever right!  ;)  Anywhoo, I would love it if you would hop over to the Want 2 Scrap blog and check out my post there and "follow" that blog if you don't already.  Currently the Want 2 Scrap folks are scurrying everywhere to be ready for the summer CHA show but there are big things in store to further promote the blog SOON and you will want to be in the know for SURE!

Thanks for hanging out with me today.  Could you pass the sunscreen, please? 

Throwdown {my} Shabby Chair......

Have I got you scratching your head with my post title?  LOL...here's the deal, there are three amazing challenges out there that I am DETERMINED to participate in this week and two of them are set to close tomorrow.  The third I have a lofty goal to make more than one project for and, like so many of you out there reading this, I am short on creative time lately.  Thus, I present you with my three-fer for the Color Throwdown Challenge #90, the Shabby Tea Room "comforts of home challenge", and the Three Cheers for Chairs Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.  Whew!

*sigh* oh do I love a cushy chair with pretty surroundings plus a good book.  This is one way I refresh and take little me moments whenever I can.  I would love a hideaway as gloriously girlie as the one above.  So far I haven't scored a vintage chair as pretty as the one above from the Graphics Fairy blog but I do have a color palette in my house that is very similiar to the throwdown colors this week.....especially in the celery color department.

I still love this set from Stampin Up called Handbill Headlines...hmmm, based on the last couple of posts, I must be having another honeymoon with some of my faves from SU! despite their earlier retirement.  I paired this juicy Refresh stamp with the sleek swirls from Papertrey Ink's Fancy Flourishes and a chandy stamp from Studio G that has been patiently waiting it's turn to be stamped.  Tiny bling from Want 2 Scrap accents the lamp shades and the center of the "F" on refresh.  Let's see, what else?  Oh!  That length of lace was a major score during a local thrifting session!  It is oh so pretty!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you can also throwdown your shabby chair and REFRESH soon!  And for all you mommies out there, I hope you get to do whatever refreshes and renews your heart and soul next sunday, May 9th, Mother's Day here in the states.

***if you are looking for my Just Us Girls sketch challenge card, please see the post below***

Supplies:

Digi: the graphics fairy blog

Stamps: Stampin Up, Papertrey, Studio G

Ink: Stampin Up

Paper: Stampin Up and Georgis Pacific

Chipboard: Tattered Angels

Buttons: Papertrey Ink

Bling: Want 2 Scrap

Punch: Martha Stewert

Embosser: Cuttlebug

Craft Supply: embroidery thread, lace, ribbon

Just Us Girls #27 sketch challenge

It's new challenge time with Just Us Girls!  Just posting pictures right now as we have just arrived home from a spring break vacation to Disneyland!  Check out all of the juicy challenge details at Just Us Girls and I'll be back tomorrow with all of my project details and design team links!!! 

EDITED:  Happy April!  Just Us Girls is proud to welcome Sue Lelli as our guest designer this month!  Sue has been a committed challenger with us since the beginning.  Please welcome Sue at the link below.  Also, JUGs says a fond farewell to DT member, Tracey Cuccia.  Tracey's creative style and wonderful personality will be missed but we know she'll be around every now and again.  Tracey is going to be focusing her extra energies on family....the best and brightest reason to realign your priorities in my opinion!

OK, are you ready for a fab sketch with tons of possibilities?  Our sketch diva this week is the one and only, Kristin Bueter!

You'll see that I chose to turn this sketch on its side...

Yum!  Strawberries!  Really amazing summer strawberries are just around the corner here in California.  I loved this vintage fruit box lable the moment I saw it at the Graphics Fairy blog.  Check it out!  You can download and print your very own for f-r-e-e!  LOVE the graphics fairy blog....always amazing eye candy over there!

Ready for more sketch goodness with the design team?  Check them out....

Kristin Bueter

Pam Imholz

Maria Levine

Tracey Cuccia

Lisa Kind

Mona Pendleton

Alicia Weiman

Guest Designer, Sue Lelli

Supplies:

digi image: the graphics fairy blog

stamps: clearly vintage

punch: Martha Stewert, CM

Paper: georgia pacific

ink: papertrey ink, SU! and colorbox

craft supply: ribbon, button, prima flower, craft gems

Just Us Girls #25 color challenge....and Benjamin Bunny

Hello friends!  It's saturday and time for a new challenge with Just Us Girls!  The amazingly talented Lisa is inspiring us with color this week.  Once I saw her inspiration piece with shows Beatrix Potter's, Peter Rabbit, I knew right away I wanted to make a card featuring his buddy, Benjamin Bunny!

Benjamin has been caught stealing onions!  Isn't he the cutest little vegetable thief you've ever seen?  I paired Ben with some Cosmo Cricket DP from a few seasons ago that is vintage easter colors all over the place!

It's all in the details!  To pull some of that sage-y green down to the bottom of the card, I punched the tiny daisies and adorned them with the perfect pink pearl from Want 2 Scrap!  I glued only the centers of the flowers to the background paper so the petals could fly free.

The craft store flowers were dressed up with Martha Stewert glitter and a spritz of antique rose glimmer mist to give a slight blush to the peach ribbon rose.  The seam binding was a steal at a local second hand store.

Ready amazing color inspo from the design team?  Please check them out!

Kristin Bueter

Pam Imholz

Maria Levine

Tracey Cuccia

Lisa Kind

Mona Pendleton

Alicia Weiman

Guest Designer, Stephanie Kraft

Thanks so much for coming by!  Can't wait to see what you make!

Supplies:

Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Georgia Pacific

Ink: Papertrey Ink and Colorbox

Punch: EK Success

Pearls: Want 2 Scrap

Craft Supply:  pinking shears, sewing machine, ribbon flower, silk flower and seam binding

Buona Fortuna in 2010! .....a Cards challenge and get sketchy all in one!

Oh my!  It's almost 2010!  Can you believe!?  That is so crazy!  I could wax poetic, and since this is my blog and you can excercise the right to skim...I think I will a little! ;)  First some business....this bottle tag is inspired by the challenges going at the Cards magazine blog (make something for new year's) and the gals at Get Sketchy(trash to treasure).

The "trash" is the plastic pocket that I filled with glitter and sealed as the background for my "2010" pinwheel.  That plastic pocket was emptied of it's Webkins online code by my girls and tossed towards the trashcan until I snatched it up.  It's a great way to capture the look of tossed glitter (think confetti at midnight) without the mess of loose glitter.  Thanks Get Sketchy girls for the inspiration to dig a little deeper ;)

The Cards challenge was to make a little something New Years.  Hubs and I are attending a gathering at Traci's and our sweet Traci turned me on to this easy drinking, not-too-sophisticated-for-the-girl-who- likes-WHITE ZINFANDEL (which is funny because I live in one of California's "wine country" areas home to many a fine Cabernet, Pinot, Merlot etc) Italian Chianti from Trader Joe's.  But hey, I'm 75% Italian so that makes sense, right?  But anyway, back to Cards and I'll revisit the Italian in a minute. 

I used a fab vintage New Years image I found at Clearly Vintage.  Cora shares wonderful images every saturday and right now she has been sharing Holiday images daily!  Sooo awesome of her.  You gotta check her out. 

Conveniently, the image Cora shared had a blank lable on the champagne bottle.  This was the perfect spot for a custom label or message.  I opened the vintage image in Word and layered TextArt spelling out "Buona Fortuna" or Good Fortune/Good Luck in Italian.  I also added a tiny star to the lable which is a shape that has long been a favorite of Traci's.  I felt a message in Italian was appropriate considering the wine bottle it will adorn, the wishes for my friend in 2010, my heritage and the fact that Traci and I are planning a trip to ITALY in 2010!!!!!!! 

Wooooowheeeeee!  This trip is a life long DREAM for me and I am beyond excited.  It's months away but the planning, the dreaming and the saving has already begun. Among many regions of northern Italy, we will be visiting the area that my family (both maternal and fraternal) is from, the Lake Como area.  There is even a street named for my family name (Via Garzelli)...now for a small town girl from Cali just knowing there is a street named for my family in Italy really gives a girl a sense of ROOTS...and they are pretty strong to begin with here at home.  Traci has been to many of the places we will be visiting (her travel pics on her blog are delicious!) so I am looking forward to her being our guide in many ways and also re discovering all of these places together.  There are also some new stops on the list.  I recently asked her "can we do all that in 2 weeks?"  (eeek! two weeks!!!) ...she is sure we can!  This is one of the many things I love about this dear girl...her OPTIMISM and enthusiasm for travel and discovery.

Well, I am sure I will be talking more about this trip as I go along in the coming year.  And you can for sure expect lots of photos and hey, maybe a scrapbook page or two??? LOL! 

I want to thank all of you for the wonderful birthday wishes for my little girl...she was feeling quite famous yesterday.  And I also want to wish each of you buona fortuna e felice anno nuovo...good fortune and happy new year!!!  THanks so much for coming by!

Supplies:

Digital vintage Image: Clearly Vintage

Paper: georgia pacific and paper pizazz

Ink: Papertrey

Stamps: CTMH

glitter; martha Stewert

punch: SU

Other craft supply: star trim, corsage pin, pearls, pinking sheers