Just Us Girls #703 - CAS Week

 Hello friends!  The new challenge over at Just Us Girls is the CAS Week challenge.  Nancy is our hostess and she wants us to just use the center of the card.  I like this challenge!

I need to send out some Halloween cards to the kiddos in the family.  I chose to make this cute black cat for my great-niece who has a black cat.  I started with the stencils.  Since we had to use just the center of the card, I used an oval masking stencil over the spider web and then the spiders.  The cat was die cut from black cardstock and I added an orange band to the hat and pink for the eyes and nose.  I added star dust stickles to that orange band and crystal effects to its nose.  I used wobblers to add the cat to the main panel.  I stamped two sentiments in orange ink and added another sentiment on orange card stock stamped with black ink.  I found these silver stars and added them for some sparkle.

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our October guest, Bonnie Klass, on the JUGs blog.  This is Bonnie's last week with us, and I'd like to thank her for her beautiful cards she shared on our blog this month.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe

Stamps:  Sentiment Strips: Halloween (Pretty Pink Posh)

Paper:  White, black, orange

Ink:  Versafine onyx black, clementine, rocky slope, licorice

Accessories:  Layered Spider Web stencils (PPP), Masking Ovals stencil (PPP), Spooky Cat die (SSS), stitched rectangle (MFT), crystal effects, star dust stickles, silver stars, wobbler

Just Us Girls #696 - Word Week

 Hello!  Bobby has chosen a great word for the Just Us Girls Word Week challenge this week.

MOON

What a great word, considering we just had that beautiful moon in our skies last week!

I really wanted to use my Tim Holtz moon stencil, but in my mess of a craft room I couldn't find it.  Organizing that room is on my to do list!  So while searching, I found this slimline tree stencil from ARTplorations and pulled that along with my newest purchase of this cat.  I'm not a cat person, but when I saw this cat I couldn't resist!  So it took me a minute to figure out how to get the moon in there (this is my second try!).  I first stenciled the trees using a blue ink for the background.  I didn't want to make it too dark because of the black cat, but in hindsight I think it could have been darker.  Then I die cut a circle from a piece of masking paper and, while the stencil was still in place, laid it over the stencil.  I then used yellow and orange inks to get the moon shape.  The cat was die cut and assembled and adhered to the card.  I chose this cute sentiment and embossed it with white embossing powder.  The band on the hat was sparkled up with some star dust stickles and I added some black crystals.

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our September guest on the JUGs blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe

Stamps:  Sentiment Strips: Halloween (Pretty Pink Posh)

Paper:  White, black, orange

Ink:  Versamark, marigold, clementine, slumber

Accessories:  Beyond the Trees stencil (ARTplorations), Spooky Cat die (SSS), circle die (Spellbinders), stitched rectangles (MFT), white embossing powder, star dust stickles, crystals

Just Us Girls #652 - Word Week

Hello friends!  I hope everyone who lives in Florida is doing well.  It's terrible seeing all the devastation on the news.  

This week's challenge over at Just Us Girls is the Word Week challenge.  Ina has chosen the word scraps. 

I have been wanting to use my scraps (which I have so much of!) with this strip die.  I started by stamping the image and coloring it with copic markers.  I die cut it three times for dimension.  Then I die cut the scrap strips and adhered them on the card base.  The sentiment was die cut three times and stacked for dimension too.  I added orange pearls and stamped the sentiment on the envelope.

You can see more from our JUGs design team and our new guest for October, Lynne Jardine, on the JUGs blog.  Welcome to JUGs for this month, Lynne!

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe

Stamps:  Halloween Envelopes (Pretty Pink Posh)

Paper:  White, green, orange, black

Ink:  Memento tuxedo black, Versafine onyx black, copics

Accessories:  Halloween envelopes die (PPP), Boo die (Lil' Inkers), slim strips die (Pink Fresh), pearls

Just Us Girls #607 - Photo Week

Hello!  Cecile is hosting Photo Week over at Just Us Girls, and she has chosen the cutest photo!  I just love it!

 

I knew right away what my card would look like, and it came out just as I imagined.  I've had this fox from Whipper Snapper for a long time and had to look for it!  It's a wood mount stamp too.  I started by stamping the fox, then the banner.  It took me three tries before I got it right!  The banners are one stamp, so I had to mask each one to stamp the other.  It should have been easy, but for some reason was a pain!  After that, I used a stencil for the clouds and stars.  The fox was colored with copic markers.  I added star dust stickles to the stars and glossy accents to his nose.  

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our October guest on the JUGs blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe

Stamps:  Rizzo (Whipper Snapper), Festive Fall Bundle (Gina K)

Paper:  Recollections white, black

Ink:  Memento tuxedo black, Versafine onyx black, mandarine spice, pumice stone, copic markers

Accessories:  Festive Fall Bundle stencil (Gina K), stitched rectangle die (MFT), star dust stickles, glossy accents

Just Us Girls #604 - Word Week

Hello friends!  It's Word Week at Just Us Girls this week.  Carol chose HALLOWEEN! 

I had fun making this mini slimline card.  I had several gnomes from this stamp set already colored with copic markers.  I was hoping to use more of them, but was only able to use this little gnome witch.  I started by using a bat stencil and some molding paste for the background.  Then I started laying out the images.  I mounted this black piece onto a white mat and layered this onto a peach colored base.  I added shimmer and crystals.

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our new guest for October, Nora Noll, on the JUGs blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe

Stamps:  Halloween Gnomies (SSS)

Paper:  Recollections white, black, orange

Ink:  Memento tuxedo black, copic markers

Accessories:  Halloween Gnomies dies (SSS), layered bats stencil (SSS), master layouts 7 dies (Gina K), molding paste, Halloween sentiment strips (SSS), crystals, shimmer

Just Us Girls #558 - Color Week

Hi friends!  It's getting closer to Halloween and Maria chose some fun Halloween colors for our Just Us Girls Color Week challenge.  However, these could be used for any card!

 

I was going through my fall collection of stamps and found this cutie. It's from La La Land (I'm not sure they are still in business) and the insert had the colored image on it, so it made it easy for me to color the image!  She's colored with copic markers.  Once I finished coloring it, I die cut it with a stitched rectangle.  Then I created a mask for the image.  I laid it on top of it and blended some orchid ink around her.  It looks very faint and sort of blue in the photo, but it's really orchid and looks so pretty.  I stamped the sentiment on it and mounted it on black cardstock then purple gingham.  There is shimmer on parts of her outfit, glossy accents on the lollipop, and purple crystals.  

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our October guest on the JUGs blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe

Stamps:  Pumpkin Marcie (La La Land), How You Bean Candy Corn add-on (Lawn Fawn)

Paper:  Recollections white, black, gingham (Lawn Fawn)

Ink:  Memento tuxedo black, shaded lilac, copic markers

Accessories:  Stitched rectangle die (MFT), Audrey cutaways (Winnie & Walter), glossy accents, crystals, shimmer, craft foam

Just Us Girls #511 - Photo Week

Hello everyone!  It's Photo Week at Just Us Girls and Bobby chose this pretty fall photo.

 

I made quite a few Halloween cards this year and this is the last of the ones I've made and maybe my favorite.  I've had this pumpkin die from Lil' Inkers for a long time and I don't think I've ever used it.  It die cuts the semi-circle and pumpkins all in one pass.  I then die cut the entire panel with a stitched rectangle.  I die cut another from thin cardstock to have a mask for the pumpkins while I sponged the clouds in the background with distress ink.  Then I colored the pumpkins with copic markers.  There is a separate die for the eyes and mouths to make them into jack-o-lanterns.  I added the die cut grass and stamped the bats on the panel.  The inside panel was sponged with more distress inks and spritzed with shimmer.  The white "stars" were made with a white gel pen.  I adhered that panel to the black base and added the main panel with dimensional tape.  Lastly, I added the Boo! die cut.  I loved how all the colors looked together when complete.  There's also shimmer on the Boo! die cut and pumpkins.

 

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our October guest, Chris Dring, on the JUGs blog.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Spooky Cuties (Reverse Confetti)

Paper:  Recollections white, X-Press It, green, black

Ink:  Versafine onyx black, wilted violet, squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, wild honey

Accessories:  Stitched rectangle (MFT), simple grassy hillsides (LF), harvest moon and Boo dies (Lil' Inkers), mini cloud stencil (MFT), shimmer, craft foam 



Jack-O-Lanterns

Hello!  I'm posting the fourth of the Halloween cards I made this year.  This one is an Impression Obsession image.  Cute, right?  This is one of those images that you only make one or two of because of the amount of coloring involved.  It was all colored with copic markers.  I die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle and mounted it on a purple card base, which was stamped with a gingham stamp in coordinating color.  There is of course shimmer on many parts of this image.

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Jack-O-Lanterns (Impression Obsession), gingham background (MFT)

Paper:  X-Press It, purple

Ink:  Memento tuxedo black, flirty fuchsia, copic markers

Accessories:  Stitched rectangle (MFT), liquid stardust (LF), craft foam 



Halloween Cutie

Hi friends!  I go to a stamp class every month at my stamp store taught by Stephanie Klauck of My Favortie Things.  This was one of the cards we made in class.  This design is all Stephanie's...I just put it all together!  The pieces were all die cut by her, but I colored them with copic markers.  The background was sponged with wilted violet distress ink using a cloud stencil.  It was so fast and easy to create this card because those images are so fast to color.  I added shimmer to everything and sequins to the background.

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Spooktacular Friends (MFT)

Paper:  Neenah, black, orange

Ink:  MFT black, wilted violet, Versamark

Accessories:  Spooktacular Friends dies (MFT), tucked in turf die (MFT), sequins, shimmer, craft foam

 



Happy Scarecrow

Hey there!  Yesterday I posted the first of five Halloween cards I've made.  This is the second.  I went to a stamp show in August and this die caught my eye in a big way!  I just thought it was so cute!  So I bought it (of course).  I die cut all the pieces and sponged some ink on the pumpkin, patches, rats and grass (a Lawn Fawn die) to give it some dimension.  I sponged the clouds in the sky with wilted violet distress ink using a mini cloud stencil.  Super easy card to make, but I'm so in love with how cute it is!

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Mr. Bones (PTI)

Paper:  Recollections white, green, black, purple, orange, gray, shiny gold

Ink:  Versafine onyx black, wilted violet

Accessories:  Scarecrow (Elizabeth Crafts), stitched rectangle (MFT), simple grassy hillsides (LF), shimmer, mini cloud stencil (MFT)



Halloween Candy Corn

Hey friends!  I had time to make about a dozen (or more!) Halloween cards.  I usually don't do this because of time constraints, but since I'm now retired (and own a bunch of Halloween stamps), I sat down and made them.  I'll be sharing them here over the next few days.

 

This one is the How You Bean? set and the Candy Corn add-on from Lawn Fawn.  Don't you just love those faces on the candy corn?  I especially love the faces that are getting squished in the jar and the ones that have bites out of them!  So cute!  I colored the candy corn and jar with copic markers and die cut them.  The background was sponged with Distress Oxide inks to mimic the candy corn.  I stamped and embossed the sentiments and die cut them as well.  I added sequins to the background and shimmer on the jar and candy corn.  Now I want some candy corn! 

 

Happy Halloween!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 Recipe
Stamps:  How You Bean? and Candy Corn add-on (Lawn Fawn), Spooktacular Friends (MFT)
Paper:  Recollections white, X-Press It, black
Ink:  Gina K amalgam, mustard seed, carved pumpkin, copic markers
Accessories:  Stitched rectangle (MFT), How You Bean dies (LF), skinny strips dies (MFT), sequins, shimmer, white ep, craft foam



Just Us Girls #366 - Photo Week

It's Photo Week at Just Us Girls and I cannot believe I'm already making Halloween cards!  Where did the time go?  Anyway, Chris chose this great photo to inspire us.

 

I'm using some old and new products here today.  I used a new stencil and sponged carved pumpkin and wilted violet inks through it.  Then I went to work on the main image.  I stamped the pumpkin on the circle die cut and also made a mask from it.  I put the mask on the stamped pumpkin and stamped the cat.  The mask makes the cat look like he's standing the pumpkin.  I also stamped some bats to fill in the white space.  Before adhering the main image to the card base, I put some washy tape behind it.  The last thing I did was die cut the sentiment from white and black cardstock and layered them together.

 

I used this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches as my starting point.

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our October guest on the JUGs blog.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Spooky Cuties (Reverse Confetti)

Paper:  Recollections white, black

Ink:  Versafine onyx black, pumpkin pie, garden green, carved pumpkin, wilted violet

Accessories:  Parquet stecil (Neat & Tangled), cross stitch circle STAX (MFT), spooky die (Lil' Inkers), washi tape, fun foam



Just Us Girls #315 - Color Week

Happy Saturday everyone!  I don't usually make lots of Halloween cards (even though I have lots of Halloween-themed stamps!), but Chris chose some colors for our Just Us Girls color challenge and they screamed Halloween!

 I've had this Northwoods rubber stamp for a few years and it's never seen ink!  I thought it was perfect for this color challenge.  I stamped it in black ink and then sponged the orange ink then the purple around it.  I wanted some water droplets, but instead of using water I used Perfect Pearls biscotti mist.  I wish I would have used water because it washed out the black ink.  But it sure is shimmery!  My friend Cheryl bought the mist for me after we used it in a class we took and we really liked the look of it!  This card is a square 4.25 x 4.25 sized card.

 

You can see more from the JUGs design team and our guest, Julie Gearinger, on the Just Us Girls blog.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Scarecrow (Northwoods), Happy Haunting (PTI)

Paper:  Recollections white, black

Ink:  Archival jet black, seedless preserves, chipped sapphire, spiced marmalade

Accessories:  Perfect Pearls Mist biscotti, sequins, fun foam





Time Out #42 - Home Sweet Home Challenge

The new challenge over at the Time Out blog is our Home Sweet Home challenge.  This is where we provide a photo from a room in a home for you to be inspired by. 

Look at this fabulous photo for this challenge!  Love it!

 

So I was obviously inspired by the pumpkin on the right with the harlequin pattern.  I used an emboss resist technique on a piece of pattern paper.  The paper is from an old SU Halloween paper pack and was a black and white pattern.  I stamped an old SU harlequin background stamp in Versamark ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  Then I sponged over it with spiced marmalade distress ink.  I really love the look!  I cut the piece in two parts and stamped the sentiment and spider on the base.  The sequins were on my desk from a previous card, so I added them too.



 

You can see more from the Time Out design team and our guest for this challenge, TaeEun, on the Time Out blog.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Tremendous Treats and Mr. Bones (PTI), Harlequin (SU)

Paper:  Vintage cream, basic black, Night and Day dp (SU)

Ink:  Versamark, Versafine onyx black, spiced marmalade distress ink

Accessories:  Mr. Bones and Spider Web Trio dies (PTI), clear embossing powder, sequins, fun foam





Just Us Girls #264 - Photo Week

Hi everyone!  I'm a little late getting my post up this morning for the Just Us Girls challenge.  Maria chose this fabulous picture for our photo challenge.

 

Here's a close-up of the photo so you can see more details.

 

I've had this stamp for about two years and it's never seen ink.  I saw it at my LSS when I was there with my friend and fellow JUGs teammate Cheryl.  It's from Northwoods and they have the most amazing boards to show the use of the stamps.  They are so bright and glittery and we just can't figure out how they get them that way!  I don't know if I've done it justice, but I was pressed for time!  I colored the pumpkin with copics and added some Wink of Stella shimmer over the top.  I cut it out and mounted it on an angled piece of gray cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed it with white powder.  Then I mounted the main piece on top with dimensional tape.  The black piece looked bare, so I added the stitching and the enamel dots.

 

You can see more from the JUGs DT on the blogs below.  We'd also like to thank Wanda Cullen for being a great guest this week!

 

JUGs blog

Cheryl Rowley

Chris Dring

Ina Grehan

Maria Levine

Nancy Leppek

Sharyn Polesel

Sue VanDeVusse

Vicki Dutcher

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Pumpkin (Northwoods), Mr. Bones (PTI)

Paper:  X-Press It Blending Card, black, gray, pumpkin pie

Ink:  Versamark, Memento tuxedo black, copics

Accessories:  Tipped tops die (PTI), Wink of Stella shimmer, enamel dots, white ep, dimensional tape



Halloween Treats!

 

Happy Halloween!  I was busy making Halloween treats for my students last night.  It was a last minute idea (of course...why would I plan anything ahead of time?).  On my way home from work, I was thinking how I could get crafty and came up with covering Hershey candy bars.  Simple enough especially when I had some great DCWV Halloween paper and my Silhouette to make labels!

 

I cut the wrappers to 5.5" x 5.5" and wrapped it around the candy bar, securing it with some Scor-tape.  Then I started stamping labels.  These labels are from My Time Made Easy.  They are the Occasional Label cut file and coordinating stamp set.  I also used MTME's A Spooky Surprise stamp set for the sentiment, and Reverse Confetti's Spooky Cuties for the images.

The ghost on this one is from the MTME set and the witch's shoes are from the Reverse Confetti set.

These only took about 1.5 hours to complete 24 of them.  It was hard to not eat one!  I guess the sentiment held me back!  LOL!!

I hope you have a spooky Halloween!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  A Spooky Surprise and Occasional Labels (MTME), Spooky Cuties (Reverse Confetti)

Paper:  DCWV Halloween Stack, Neenah white

Ink:  Pumpkin pie (SU), pear tart, sweet plum, dandelion (Memento Luxe)

Accessories:  Occasional Label cut file (MTME), Scor-tape



Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween (almost)!  I went down to my craft room for something and decided to make two Halloween cards for my nephews.  This one is a little washed out in the picture.  There is some green in the pattern paper and I added some green to the main image.  That piece was die cut with My Favorite Things Vertical Greetings die.  The stamps are from Reverse Confetti:  Spooky Cuties and Spooky Sentiments.  I ran the black piece through a spider web embossing folder, and adhered a spider button on the web.  Kind of hard to see here in the picture, but you can see it if you look closely.  On this one, I added black enamel glaze to the eyes for some dimension and a Wink of Stella brush for some shimmer on the ghost.

This one was made in the same manner.  I used a copic marker to color in the "31" and added a spider sticker to the stamped web.  There's a spider button on the embossed web as well.

 

I used this sketch from Clean & Simple sketches.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Recipe

Stamps:  Spooky Cuties and Spooky Sentiments (Reverse Confetti)

Paper:  Neenah white, black, Eerie (BG)

Ink:  Versafine black, copic marker

Accessories:  Vertical Greetings die (MFT), spider web embossing folder, enamel glaze, Wink of Stella brush, spider buttons, Memory Box jewel spider sticker