Just Us Girls Wild Card Challenge #108 - Alter and Decorate a Frame

Hi everyone!  Are you ready for a Wild Card challenge from Just Us Girls?  We have a really fun one this week brought to us by our very talented and out-of-the-box crafter Elise!  I didn't think I would be up for this one, but it was so easy, I'm so glad I took on the challenge!

The challenge is to alter and decorate a frame.  I already had a frame in my possession that I purchased a long time ago (I got it for $.97!).  However, I had no idea what I was going to do with it until I made a visit to one of my favorite stores I go to for inspiration...JoAnn's.  While I was ambling around, I found this picture frame in the Christmas section (yes, they are featuring Christmas decorations already!).

It caught my eye and I took a picture of it for inspiration.  I often do that while I'm in stores and see something that I can recreate or use for inspiration.  I went to the button section of the store and found some amazing buttons.  I bought some snowflake buttons and some crystal poinsettia buttons.  Then I purchased some green glitter paper.  When I got home, this is what I created with my new and old supplies.

I arranged the poinsettia buttons in a tree formation, added the crystal star on top, and some glitter dots for the trunk.  The ribbon treatment was created from ribbon I've had for a long time.  The sentiment is from the Secret Santa stamp set by My Time Made Easy and it's stamped in Riding Hood Red ink.  This will look very pretty on my shelf in the living room for the holidays (if I don't give it away as a gift first).  I can see me altering another frame in the future.  This was such a cool project!  And wait until you see the other girls' projects!  You can see them on the JUGs blog and at their own blogs.

Elise Durenberger

Lynn Mangan

Maria Levine

Vicki Dutcher

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Just Us Girls #97 - Technique Challenge: Alter a Notebook

Happy Saturday!  We have a birthday to celebrate this week at Just Us Girls!  Pam is having a birthday on Tuesday and we'd like to wish her a very happy birthday!  Please stop by her blog and leave a birthday wish for her!

The Just Us Girls technique challenge this week is brought to us by our wonderful Maria.  She is challenging us to alter a notebook.  I love altering notebooks and have done many.  I usually alter the composition notebooks (both the large and small sizes), but I had these Moleskine blank pocket journals I purchased at Borders a while ago to alter.  I tried a Tim Holtz style of design on this...not sure I like the outcome!  What do you think?

I started with these stamps from Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 line called Botanical Art.  The flower, butterfly, and sentiment are from this set.  It looked a little bare, so I added the dragon fly from PTI's Happy Trails and the splatters from PTI's Grunge Me.  The closure is a brad and an elastic band I got at my LSS.  I love this type of closure.  I don't know if you can see it, but I stamped SU's retired cheesecloth stamp over the entire cover in Versamark for some texture. 

I don't know if I overdid it or not...did you ever hear Coco Chanel's advice that you should always take off the last thing you put on so you don't over accessorize?  That's what I was thinking as I was adding more images!  LOL!!

The JUGs girls definitely didn't over accessorize!  Stop by the JUGs blog and their personal blogs to leave them some love!

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kristin

Maria

Pam

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great weekend!

My Last Post as an "INK" Girl!

Happy Sunday everyone! Sundays have been my day to post for Artful INKables, and today will be my last one! My term as an INK girl has ended and I have one last project to share with you. I used one of the newest sets called Sexy & Sweet.
I've had this idea to make a mini notebook using this set. I covered the front of the notebook with paper that looks like notebook paper (I just bought it at my LSS, but I can't remember who makes it!). I colored only part of the sentiment with a red marker. The actual sentiment says "You're on My To Do List". I cut the image and mat using nesties, and added the ribbon and glitter dots. The back is covered with navy cardstock. I have one of these in my purse that I use as my inspiration notebook. How many times have you gone into a store and liked a color combo or the layout of a card at the card shop? I jot these things down in it to use later. This set has a lot of suggestive sentiments and other images that I wouldn't use, so I wanted to show how you can take this set and use it in other ways. I like that!

I'd like to thank Kristin, owner of AI, for asking me to be a member of her Design Team this term and the other INK girls on this team for a fun ride! And I'd like to congratulate and send best wishes to the new INK girls! Have fun!

Thanks for stopping by today! Love your comments!

Think Ink Tuesday Challenge

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I wish my turkeys could always look this good! It barely makes it to the platter before my hubby is cutting into it! LOL!! This is my favorite holiday...great food, I love the fall weather, and NO GIFTS TO BUY!!! Definitely low stress! I hope you are having a great day with family and friends!

I have a Think Ink Tuesday challenge from Artful Inkables today. Deb Young is challenging us to use chipboard. I don't have too much of this stuff, but I had gone shopping with my great stamping friend, Cheryl Rowley, this past summer and we happened to find some fun chipboard albums at Michael's for $1. They also had coordinating paper already cut to cover the chipboard! Couldn't be much easier! I had this image of the dog and cat from AI's newest release called Creature Comforts already colored and waiting to be used somehow. I decided to cut it out and pop it up on two nested ovals. I wanted to add some dedication on the front like some photo albums have, and came across these black label maker alphabet bubble letters that I had gotten at JoAnn's ages ago in the clearance bin. I came up with the "friends 4 ever" because these two look like they are best friends! How many of you have a dog and cat? I only have a dog, but my neighbors had a dog and cat and they fought, but were also best friends (kind of like kids, right?). I thought this album would be cute to document the friendship between these two pets. I finished off the metal ring with some blue and black ribbons.

What types of chipboard do you have in your stamping stash that you are saving for just the right project? Letters, photo albums, flower shapes, or maybe you are saving the cardboard that comes with SU dp? Pull them out and put them to good use! And while you are at it, link your project to the the Artful Inkables Think Ink Tuesday challenge here. If you upload to an online gallery, use the code AIC08. This challenge goes until Tuesday, December 8. You could win an AI grab bag of stamps! We'd love to see how you use this material.

Thanks for stopping in and enjoy your day. Rest up for the shopping tomorrow! LOL!!

Recipe

Stamps: Creature Comforts (AI)

Paper: PTI white, bashful blue, black, Colorbok shaped paper

Ink: Memento tuxedo black

Copic Markers: E15, 18; YR12, 14; B21, 34; R20; W-5

Accessories: Nesties, chipboard album, ribbon, bubble letters, dimensionals