Caffeine Trip

Hi everyone! It's Monday, but that's ok because it's going to be a short week for me! We have Friday off, so I'm looking forward to a short week.

The Saturday Spotlight blog has a challenge going on to create something with coffee in mind. They even provided this picture as inspiration.I just got a coffee-themed set from Paper Makeup Stamps called Caffeine Trip, so I thought I'd play. Crazy 4 Challenges has a nice sketch challenge this week (love them!), so I thought I'd use that as well.So I combined the two challenges and came up with this.I wanted to use the blue and brown from the inspiration picture, so I went with Basic Grey's Marrakech dp. I pulled the colors out of the print to color the coffee cup. The steam is popped up for more dimension. The sentiment is from the same set.

Pretty simple card, but I'm very happy with it (probably because it was so simple to make)! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Our Creative Corner Challenge

I read on Silke Ledlow's blog that this was her last challenge on Our Creative Corner, so I had to play in her honor! She created a sketch for the challenge, which I love! I loved the sketch, but changed it a bit to accommodate the image I wanted to use. I turned the sketch on its side and placed the sentiment differently. I think that will be ok, don't you?This stamp set is from WPlus9 Design Studio and it's called Just A Note. They sponsored our Just Us Girls challenge a few weeks ago, and I loved this set so I purchased it.

We were invited to our friends' house for dinner a few weeks ago and I needed to send a thank you card. They are very musical....they have their own band (he plays base and she is the lead singer) and perform frequently around town and she is a piano teacher as well. So I thought a music-themed card would be in order.

The dp is from Making Memories called FaLaLa. I stamped the music staff in chocolate chip on PTI's vintage cream and the sentiment in riding hood red. I then aged the piece using creamy caramel and close to cocoa inks. The ribbon is from SU called Alpine (from last year). The brown piece under the image was run through the distressed stripes folder, and the red layer was punched with SU's new border punch.

That's it for today! Have a great Sunday, and thanks for stopping in today!

Just Us Girls - Template Challenge #26

Are you ready for another Just Us Girls template challenge sponsored by My Time Made Easy? Mona is our hostess this week. Have you been to her blog lately? Fabulously talented girl!Lauren Meader has generously given the JUGs DT a new template to peek called Slip Cover. It will be released on April 1st. It's a cute box that's intended to hold cards, but you'll see the DT and Lauren using it in a variety of ways. Here's mine.Lauren's templates are SO EASY to make (thank goodness!)! However, this cute little box took FOREVER to make! And NOT because of the template! I knew the color palette I wanted so I pulled up the template in the SCAL software (that I purchased at Canda Craft) and printed it out on my Cricut. I also cut the navy mat out and then reduced the size a bit (on SCAL) to cut out the white piece. The box came together in litereally minutes! Very little adhesive was needed as well. So what took so long? That little bit of a white mat! I redid it 3 times!

First, I stamped the grid in navy ink using Argyle Amazement from MTME. Then I stamped the floral image, also from Argyle Amazement, in Memento tuxedo black. The flowers were individually colored with copic markers. Now in take one, all the flowers were colored green. But when I put the pretty ribbon (probably a $1 find at AC Moore) on the box, it didn't look right. On take two I used the three different colors for the flowers and loved how it matched the ribbon. But....I stamped it on the wrong side, so the bottom edge did not match the edge of the box! UUGGGHHHHH!!!! Take three is what you see above, finally!! After coloring all the flowers, it was too white, so I overstamped it in Green Galore ink with a small script stamp I have (company unknown). I loved the way that looked! Each flower center was embellished with star dust stickles.

The flowers are Primas, and the coral one beneath all of them was cut with the Fanciful Flowers cut file from MTME. It was really cool to cut just one of the 8 images on that cut file. I ungrouped them in SCAL, then deleted all the ones I didn't want. Then I put a scrap piece of coral cardstock on the Cricut mat and cut! Just like using a punch with a scrap!

The bow was made with the Bow Easy tool (you can google it to find a variety of places that sell it...I got mine at a stamp show). I finally figured out how to use that thing after watching video tutorials and practicing making bows! This one is a double bow, which I think looks extra special. The sentiment is from So Sentimental, again from MTME. I stamped it in navy, punched it with a scallop punch, and then sponged green ink around the edge.

I think that's it! Whew...lots to say! Now if you want to play our JUGs challenge, you do not have to use a MTME template (although MTME has one for free called Cutesy Cover which you could use). All you have to do is use a template to make a 3-D project. There will be one randomly chosen winner who will have their choice of a FREE template from MTME! They are really so much fun to make! You can get all the details and see what the JUGs DT has done on the JUGs blog. Here are direct links to the DT blogs to leave them some love and see more details of their projects:

Kristin Bueter

Pam Imholz

Alicia Weiman

Dana Gustafson

Maria Levine

Mona Pendleton

Tracey Cuccia
Stephanie Kraft, March Featured Designer

This is Stephanie's last week as our Featured Designer and I'd like to thank her for all her wonderful projects! Thanks for stopping by today and reading through this long post! Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Yesterday was my Mom's 81st birthday (and I forgot to take a picture of her....ugghh!). But here is a picture of her in December with her new great-granddaughter, Ava.I had her over for her favorite dinner that I make...Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza. I got this recipe from Rachael Ray and we all love it! Being from Buffalo, we all love our chicken wings! I also had her sister, my favorite aunt, Joannie over for cake and coffee. Anyway, I made this card for her. My mom loves yellow and so I thought this floral image I just got from Gina K designs called Spring Florals, was perfect.I used a dp from Basic Grey's Origins and the yellow piece (PTI's Lemon Tart) was run through an SU folder. I used some Certainly Celery twill ribbon to tie it all together and some PTI buttons as an accent. The sentiment is from the same Spring Florals set. I added some yellow and star dust stickles to the image and swirled some Certainly Celery ink around the image and sentiment. The card is a 4 3/4" square to fit my 5" envelope. My mom really loved the card and what was in it...a gift card to her favorite grocery store (it's what she always asks for!).

It was a really nice first day of spring yesterday, and I'm hoping today will be just as nice (although I think it's going to rain...better than snow)! Enjoy your Sunday, and thanks for stopping in today!

Recipe
Stamps: Spring Florals (Gina K designs)
Paper: PTI white and lemon tart, Origins dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, certainly celery, copic markers
Accessories: Nesties, twill ribbon, yellow and star dust stickles, buttons, floss, embossing folder

Just Us Girls - Color Challenge

Happy Spring everyone! Today at around 1:30 it will finally be Spring! I'm hostessing the Just Us Girls challenge this week, and I thought Spring colors were in order for this week.I surfed around the Pottery Barn Kids website to find something in the colors I wanted, and found this picture. It was perfect for what I was looking for! I loved all the pale colors! Here's what I came up with.I have a bunch of Magnolia stamps and just do not use them enough. I purchased a few Magnolia Easter stamps last year, but never used this one. I just love that little bunny she's holding! She's colored with about 20 different copic markers (so I did not write them down!). I used Basic Grey's Urban Prairie dp. The floral dp is more green than it looks in the picture. The sketch was based on Mercy Kerin's sketch from a couple of weeks ago. I feel my sewing straight stitches needs work! They are a little crooked! The roses are Primas I picked up at my LSS a few weeks ago, and the nesties are new as well. I think this is a very interesting shape.

The Just Us Girls team, as well as Stephanie Kraft, March Featured Designer, have done a beautiful job with these colors. You can see their work on the JUGs blog, but here are links to their blogs.

Kristin Bueter
Pam Imholz
Alicia Weiman
Dana Gustafson
Maria Levine
Mona Pendleton
Tracey Cuccia

Stephanie Kraft, March Featured Designer

Thanks for stopping in today! Have a great weekend!

Recipe

Stamps: Tilda with Bunny (Magnolia), All Holidays (SU)

Paper: PTI white, barely banana, certainly celery, Urban Prairie dp (Basic Grey)

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, close to cocoa, copic markers

Accessories: Nesties, MS border punch, star dust stickles, Prima roses, dimensionals

Lucky Me to Have You!

Hello everyone! It's Monday...again! The beginning of a new week and I have a card I made for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I wanted to do a St. Patty's Day card for my MIL. She always has all of us over to her house for Reuben sandwiches on St. Patty's Day! Yum!!! The sketch was perfect for this very simple card. The sentiment is from Paper Makeup Stamps new release called Lucky Me. I altered the sentiment a bit...the stamp says " Lucky me to have a friend like you!" I took out the words "a friend like" because I'm giving it to my MIL. Very easy to do with a marker and a stamp-a-ma-jig. The shamrock image is from a Studio G $1 set. The dp is from Basic Grey's Origins that my friend Cheryl gave me. I purchased the ribbon in the $1 bin at Michael's on a shopping trip with Cheryl too! I just picked up the flowers today at JoAnn's, and they reminded me of carnations, which my MIL loves! So they found a place on this card for her! I felt they needed some leaves, so I punched some with a MS punch out of celery and garden green card stock.

On a side note: my dh and I went to the Irish Center in South Buffalo (a huge Irish community) to have some Guinness and Harp beer, listen to some Irish music, and watch the girls do some Irish dancing. These girls (and two boys) are always so amazing to watch. This group has travelled many times to Ireland for competitions and have won!

Well, that's it for me today. I hope you are celebrating St. Patty's Day this week! Thanks for stopping in...have a great week!
Recipe
Stamps: Lucky Me (PMS), Studio G $1 stamps
Paper: Barely banana, garden green, Origins dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Garden green
Accessories: Nesties, flowers (K & Co), ribbon (Michael's), MS punch, star dust stickles, distressed stipes folder, dimensionals

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!