Just Us Girls Sketch Challenge

Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year brings everything your heart desires!

Today is Saturday and that means a challenge from Just Us Girls. It's the very first JUGs challenge of 2010 and I'm the hostess! It just so happens to be a sketch challenge, which is my nemesis because I am sketch-challenged! But I managed to pull off a sketch for you that the girls really rocked! Here is the sketch.
So what do you think? Did I do a good job and do you think you can work with it? I have total confidence in you! LOL!! Here's what I did with the sketch (which I flipped on its side to accommodate my image).I purchased this stamp last year from Alota Rubber Stamps because I didn't have any fun New Year's images. I actually purchased another, but it really didn't work with this sketch. I started with my dp, which is a new digital one from Lauren Meader's new store, My Time Made Easy, which was designed by my friend and fellow JUGs DT member Kristin Bueter. It's Magenta and Tan stipes, which matched really well with SU's Riding Hood Red and Sahara Sand. The glass, ribbon, and confetti are all part of one stamp, but I cut them apart so that they could be placed where I needed them to be. The ribbon is on dimensionals, but not the confetti (too small for that!). I covered them with Platinum and Star Dust Stickles. The glass was covered with Crystal Effects and was very wet when I took the picture! Here's a closeup of the glass so you can see the shine from the CE.I only have one stamp (I think!) that says "Happy New Year", but it was too big. So, I created this on my computer.

You can see the cards the girls created and the details of the challenge on the JUGs blog. But you can also go to the girls' personal blogs to read more about their cards too! We have a guest designer for January, who totally by coincidence is my new fellow Paper Makeup Stamps DT member Gabby Arriaza. So please stop by and leave them some wonderful comments.

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

Gabby Arriaza, guest designer

I hope you have a chance to play! I'll be making sure I comment all week, so I will see your card if you do one! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Our Newest Addition to the Family!

I don't have a card today (maybe later), but I do have something more important to share. My nephew Michael and his wife Tanya (see their wedding photos here) had their first baby on Tuesday. Ava Noel is just the cutest little thing....well not so little! She weighed in at 8lbs. 9oz.! Here are my first pictures of her.

Are those the chubbiest cheeks or what? These were the only photos I got of her before she showed us she had some serious lungs! LOL!And this is my mom, the proud great-grandma! It almost looks like Ava is smiling here in Grandma's arms! So cute!

Thanks for letting me gush! If I don't happen to pop in later, I hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve and a very Happy New 2010!

Artful INKables Think Ink Tuesday Challenge

Hi everyone! I hope you made it through the holidays in one piece! I spent yesterday napping and watching TV all day long! I think it finally caught up with me. I even napped at my in-laws house on Christmas Day! It really felt good!

Well, in all the hustle and bustle, I forgot to post this card for the Artful INKables Think Ink Tuesday challenge! So sorry! I was supposed to have it post on Christmas Eve, but forgot to do the post! I worked so hard to get the card done by then too! Oh well!

Now let me tell you about the Think Ink Challenge that DT member Michelle came up with. She wanted us to make a card that signifies what our New Year's Resolution will be. That was a tough one for me at first. I have many resolutions, but I thought of a stamping one that I really need to stick to. I recently reorganized my stamping area and found that I have TONS of decorative paper. So much that it will take me until the next decade to use up! So I decided that I really need to focus on using all that old dp. So, here is the card I did with one of the newest releases called Creature Comforts from AI and some old dp from SU called Cerise.Cute, huh? This image is just so sweet! I can imagine it on kids' Valentine's greetings. And I love red and brown together, so I used two pieces of the Cerise with the chocolate chip which was run through the hearts embossing folder. I put star dust stickles all over the images as well as the web. Love that stuff!

So why not display your New Year's Resolution in the form of a card? We'd love to see it! You can find all the details on the Artful INKables blog. Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy the last week of the decade!
Recipe
Stamps: Creature Comforts (AI)
Paper: Very vanilla, vintage cream, chocolate chip, Cerise dp
Ink: Memento tuxedo black
Copic markers: R27, 29, 32, 59; E27, 31, 33, 35, 77; B32, W-7
Accessories: Nesties, heart folder, star dust stickles, PTI ribbon, dimensionals

Just Us Girls Template Challenge

The Just Us Girls team has a great template challenge for you today. DT member Dana Gustafson has secured templates from Kelleigh Ratzlaff Designs from The Digichick Shop for us to use today, as well as great blog candy from them for you! Check out the details on the JUGS blog.

I used the Triangle Tube template for my project today. Dana also issued a bonus challenge to use blue.

I started with Blue Bayou cardstock and printed the template right on my printer. The dp is from Graphic 45. I cut the edges with a Martha Stewart border punch and added the pearls. I put the tassels on the ends sort of as a handle to open the box. You can just pull it to open it and find the goodies inside! The ribbon is satin and was a Walmart find!

The JUGs design team have done some fabulous things with these templates. You can see them all on the JUGs blog, but please stop by their blogs and read about them.

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

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I've been absent for a while because I have been busily getting ready for this holiday! It's gets busier and busier every year for some reason! I hope you had a great day with family and friends! As John Lennon said:

And so this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over, and a new one just begun...

I have a quick scrap page of my nephews with Santa Claus today to share with you. I don't scrap much, but Paper Makeup Stamps' Makeup 4 the Weekend challenge is to make a holiday scrap page. I'll give this to my niece in an album that she can add to.

That's Ethan (5) on the left, Santa in the middle of course, and the little guy on the right is Kristoff (2). He's a little tough guy who's afraid of Santa! Look at that face! How cute is that? I used Snow Happy set from PMS for this page with PTI's fresh snow ink.

It's late and I'm so full and tired, so I need to lay down and relax! Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Just Us Girls Color Challenge

Happy Saturday everyone! The Just Us Girls team has a wonderful color challenge for you today conjured up by the lovely and talented Tracey. Raspberry, green, red, and kraft are they colors she chose.I received this beautiful image from Silke Ledlow. We swapped some stamped images recently, and I was so thrilled to receive this beautiful wreath from the Flourishes set called Christmas Wreath. I immediately sat down one afternoon to color it, not with this challenge in mind, but rather with this dp in mind. Then it was so close to Tracey's colors, I decided to use it for this challenge. You can't see the red, but there are red stickles on the very tiny berries in the wreath. It took me an hour to color this, and then I colored another! I used 23 copic markers in all that I did not write down! The sentiment is also one from Flourishes that Silke sent to me.

I made two of these easel cards and I'm giving them to my mom and in-laws. My MIL likes these easel cards because she says my cards are too heavy and fall too easily! So this easel card is perfect!

I do hope you stop by the JUGs blog to see the details of the challenge and see the beautiful cards the girls came up with once again. Below is a link to each of their blogs, so stop by and give them some love! And give an extra congrats to Kristin, Pam, Mona, and Tracey for being asked to be on Lauren Meader's new design team! There is some exciting stuff going on over there and these girls have been busy helping Lauren get it up and running! Congrats girls!

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

Thanks for stopping in and don't forget to stop by the JUGs blog and play this week! Happy Holidays!

Recipe

Stamps: Christmas Wreath (Flourishes)

Paper: PTI white, kraft, rich razzleberry, Cottage Wall dp

Ink: Memento tuxedo black, rich razzleberry

Copic Markers: too many to list!

Accessories: Corner rounder, red and star dust stickles, dimensionals

Candy Cane Beaver

I have another Christmas card to share with you today. I've had this image from an Artful INKables set called Holiday Treats and Tails colored for a while and decided it needed to be made into a card.I used SU's retired Ski Slope dp and the Mojo Monday sketch from this week. I'm busily finishing my Christmas cards (I know...last minute) and other handmade gifts. I also have to finish my shopping this weekend! So much to do, so little time! At least I'll have some time off over the holidays to recover! I hope you have a great weekend an finish all your holiday projects, too! Thanks for stopping in today!
Recipe
Stamps: Holiday Treats and Tails (AI)
Paper: Neenah white, real red
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, real red
Copic Markers: didn't write them down!
Accessories: Nesties, SU ribbon, crystal effects, oval punch, dimensionals