What NO stamps?...JUGS37 52

Hi Everyone! This post is a little bit different than the usual JUGS challenge post for me because this will be my farewell post as a Just Us Girls Design Team member. I would like to thank ALL the JUGS girls, the players & friends of JUGS & all of you who visit my blog for sharing all the fun over the past 9 months with me! I have had an awesome time creating along side all these talented girls. I have decided to pursue other creative opportunities that I will be sharing in the near future :) On to the challenge:

This week, Sweet Pam is our lovely Hostess of the JUGS37 "getting digital with My Time Made Easy" challenge which is sponsored by Lauren Owner of MTME© & you know what that means - a fun prize!!!
I have to say, this is a first for me - not ONE stamp was used to create this card! Goin' digital - I used a few prints from both the MTME Pretty Impressions Printables© Flutters and Flowers & Shutterfly collections. I made the flower embellishment using a print from the © Flutters and Flowers Collection & the yellow polka dot paper is from the © Shutterfly Collection.

For sketch inspiration, I played along with Kazan's awesome sketch from 2Sketches4You:

Here's a close-up view:

I used a few die templates from both the Spellbinders™ Nestabilities S4-249 Big Scalloped Circles LG, S4-250 Big Scalloped Circles SM to make the distressed flower embellishment. Terre taught us all how to make these fab lil' embellies at the Spellbinders™ retreat :) If you enlarge the photo you will surely notice that my printer ink did not fare so well when spritzed with Glimmer Mist :( but after all, it is a homespun distressed embellishment, so that is OK right? :) I got a little creative & used a Spellbinders™ S5-023 Mega Ovals LG die template to cut out the pre-printed Cosmo Cricket sticker.

That's all I have for today. For all the challenge details, please visit the Just Us Girls site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls including our newest members Andrea & Kathryn. Once you have your project photographed, head on over to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our site. If you upload to on online gallery, please be sure to label your project as JUGS37.

Deadline to be considered for the weekly "Chic of the Week" will be 9:00 PM EST on Thursday, June 17th. Our Inlinkz tool will also close at that time. Our top pick "Chic of the Week" will be announced on Friday morning following the deadline. Thanks for looking! Be Sweet!

Supplies Used:

Paper: My Time Made Easy Pretty Impressions Printables© Flutters and Flowers & Shutterfly, Cosmo Cricket DP, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Tattered Angels Electric Blue Glimmer Mist, Ranger

Other: Spellbinders™ Nestabilities S4-249 Big Scalloped Circles LG, S4-250 Big Scalloped Circles SM, S5-023 Mega Ovals LG, S5-024 Mega Classic Scalloped Ovals LG, S4-242 Big Scalloped Borderabilities™ Petite, W-001 The Wizard™, Tattered Angels Glimmer butterfly chip, button, twine, ribbon, brad & stick pin from stash

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Naturally Sweet...JUGS35 42

Hi There! Time again for another Wild Card Challenge with Just Us Girls. This week Alicia is the Hostess & is challenging us all to incorporate dry embossing when creating.

I made this card for my sister, Tina who will be loving my 2 fur babies & keeping an eye on my house when I am gone on a few upcoming summer vacations ;) I think this is a fun & sweet non-traditional thank you card. What are your thoughts?

Dry embossing is such a crazy popular technique whether you use a Spellbinders Impressabilities™ template ;), an old fashioned scoring tool & ruler, a score board, a light table & stylus, etc.... Whatever product/method you use, we sure would love to see it!

To incorporate dry embossing on this card, I embossed a piece of F-001 Red Premium Craft Foil using the I2-1012 Cherries Impressabilities™ template. If you have never attempted this combo, I suggest you give it a try! It is super easy & the results are stunning! If you haven't already & would like to see a tutorial I shared on a previous post, please feel free to click HERE. I am really have fun using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist these days! Briefly to make the pear you see here, I sprayed Glimmer Mist on a plain piece of cs, dried with craft dryer, stamped with a stamp from the Waltzingmouse Pic-Nic Patterns set, (which by the way comes with some fun, versatile background images), then cut out using a Shapeabilities™ S4-268 Nested Pear die template. (Just in case you like the I2-1012 Cherries Impressabilities™ template &/or the Shapeabilities™ S4-268 Nested Pears die templates they are Limited Edition products & you know what that means! When they are gone, they are gone! I'm just sayin'!

For all the details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls (found on my side bar) as well as LeAnne & Teresa! Once you have your project photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our site. If you upload to on online gallery, please be sure to label your project as JUGS35.

Deadline to be considered for the weekly "Chic of the Week" will be 9:00 PM EST on Thursday, June 3rd. Our Inlinkz tool will also close at that time. Our top pick "Chic of the Week" will be announced on Friday morning following the deadline.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Pic-Nic Patterns, Sweet Hearts

Paper: graphic45, K&Company, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Tattered Angels Caramel Apple Glimmer Mist, Memento, Ranger

Other: Spellbinders™ Nestabilities S4-161 Labels One, Shapeabilities™ S4-268 Nested Pears, S3-150 Ribbon Tags Trio, I2-1012 Cherries Impressabilities™, F-001 Red Premium Craft Foil, W-001 The Wizard™, Husqvarna sewing machine, brads, ribbon & sanding tool from stash

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Just Us Girls Wild Card Challenge...JUGS18 32

Hi Everyone! Thanks to all who played along with last week's Just Us Girls template challenge - so many creative gift packaging ideas! Darling Dana is our wonderful Hostess of the JUGS18 Wild Card challenge this week & she challenged us all to create a Pennant Banner to decorate our home. BONUS: focus on LOVE or VALENTINE'S DAY! Whatever your heart desires! If you are like me & have never made a pennant banner, please don't be afraid, give it a try & check out Jenn's awesome tutorial on SCS & the gallery for some inspiration:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/pennant_banner/

Here is my BE SWEET pennant banner:(I apologize for the huge photo, but it is difficult to read if it is any smaller) My Dearest Mother-In-Law, Barbara, is the one responsible for teaching me the two words: Be Sweet :) Barbara is a very soft spoken Sweet Southern women, who speaks slow & softly with a lovely Southern drawl :) Now for some pennant details: I cut the actual triangular shapes using the Cricut Celebrations cartridge then using the Sizzix Bigz Scalloped card die, I cut the scalloped edges. After rubbing the edges with Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage photo ink, I cut the scalloped strips to size (8"), then adhered them to the pennant fronts. The back side looked messy so I cut plain pink triangles, adhered them on then stitched the 3 layers together.Once the layers were stitched together, I inked up several images from the Lizzie Anne Designs Vintage Valentine set & randomly stamped the pennant. All the letters were cut using the Cricut Plantin Schoolbook cart. The cool feature on this cart is the Shadow button. Which means, once I cut the letters from the Making Memories DP, I then used the Shadow feature to cut the same letters from Bazzill Pomegranate cs. After all the letters were cut, I simply layered & adhered them together.The Prima flowers are goodies I purchased at CHA. I rubbed on a bit of Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink to give them a little aged look. ALL the other flowers that you see were cut using various Cricut carts.When I was at CHA, I stumbled upon the Making Memories Love Struck DP line! I had this project in mind, so I scooped up a few sheets :)I fastened Memory Makers XL Grommets to all the corners with my Crop-a-Dile 11, then looped a piece of ribbon between 2 pennants & tied a bow to connect them.

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls (found on my side bar) & Gabby, JUGS January Guest Designer. Thank you so much Gabby for sharing your awesome artistic flair with Just Us Girls! It was all our pleasure :)

Once you have your pennant banner photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used: Stamps: Lizzie Anne Designs Vintage Valentine Paper: Making Memories Love Struck, Bazzill Pomegranate, Cameo Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, SU Chocolate Chip Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Heart die, Cricut Celebrations, Accent Essentials, Plantin Schoolbook cartridges, Prima flowers, Making Memories hardware, Offray ribbon, buttons, twine, white cs from stash

REMINDER: Mark your calendar for the February MTME Release on FEBRUARY 1st! Lauren has some new great products & she will be offering a Give Away on her blog!

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Just Us Girls Color Challenge......JUGS16 48

Hi Everyone! Yep, it is Saturday already & that means time for another challenge with Just Us Girls! Thank you all who played along last week in our technique - stitching challenge! My goodness - Over 120+ entries with so many beautiful creations! Let's get to this week's Color challenge! Kristin is our wonderful Hostess for this week's JUGS16 Color Challenge & has put together this gorgeous color palette for us to create with:Here is my Valentine's card:For what it's worth, I think this color combination looks so soft & romantic together :) With that thought in mind, I made this gift set to accompany some goodies of sorts for my Valentine!
Can you believe I only used one stamp to make this card? That would be the "LOVE" image that came from an old SU set that dates back to the year 2000! For sketch inspiration, I played along with Mercy's awesome sketch challenge, MTSC56. To see some beautiful cards, be sure to visit Mercy, her DT & all the players entries! I bought this treasure second hand at a local stamping show a few years ago & this is the first time that I inked it up! Worked like a charm! Speaking of charms, I added the lock & key charms for a little extra meaning to my honey :)

Here is my Valentine's gift set:The MTME © Shutt-erfly template is so versatile & pretty, I thought I would make one to accompany my Valentine's card :) In case you don't know, all the MTME © Pretty Packaging templates are available in many different formats, making them totally customizable!As the saying goes, "BIG surprises come in SMALL packages!" I made this Shutt-erfly © simply by typing the following measurements in SCAL: 5.5" W, by selecting the "Keep Proportions", SCAL automatically figured the length! Amazingly, I made this little beauty with just ONE sheet of 12" x 12" cs! If you figure that out, that costs less than 25 cents to make! The assembles measurements are 2.5" W x 5.5" H x 2.5" D. Perfect for that special little something! :)Again, I used only ONE stamp on my gift box! The reason being, I used the gorgeous, whimsical MTME © Pretty Printables: Fluttering-by pink Definitions DP which speaks volumes for itself! I made the BIG heart tag using various sizes of Spellbinders Scalloped Hearts & Hearts dies. After stamping the SU "with LOVE" sentiment, I centered a Spellbinders Labels 1 die over the image & ran it through my die cut machine, rubbed some Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink around the edges, sewed on a little heart & attached it to the BIG heart tag with a brad.

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls & leave them some love:

Pam

Kristin

Dana

Tracey

Maria

Alicia

Gabby

Thanks for looking! I look forward to seeing how you color your world using Kristin's color combination!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:
MTME © Pretty Packaging: Shutt-erfly template
Stamps: SU Love Is A Great Thing, Yummy Paper: MTME © Pretty Printables: Fluttering-by DP, OfficeMax Brightwhite, SU Basic Grey, Bravo Burgandy, Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, SU Bravo Burgandy Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Hearts, Hearts & Labels 1 dies, Cuttlebug Flourish EF, Making Memories hardware, JoAnn charms, Cricut Expressions, SCAL, Sizzix Big Shot Express, buttons & twine from stash

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Just Us Girls Technique Challenge......JUGS15 58

Hi Friends! Thanks to all of you who played along with the Just Us Girls sketch challenge last week! Lisa's sketch was so incredibly popular :) This week, I am the Hostess for the JUGS15 Technique challenge & I chose to Add stitching to your project! It doesn't matter if you stitch something on your card by hand, faux stitch or put your machine to use! We simply would like to see your creation in stitches! :)

Here is my card:

As you can see, I stitched the entire perimeter of each rectangle :) I was first a "sewer" before I ever dreamed of playing with paper & ink! My dear mom taught me how to sew when I was very young & I was hooked ever since. I used to make all of my daughter's dresses & doll clothes :) I dusted off my sewing machine & gave sewing a try on my cards a few months ago. Now, I can't put it away :) I am so crazy about the new MTME © Pretty Printables: Flutters & Flowers & Fluttering-by digital paper! All the DP that you see here is from those collections!

Here is my Valentine Set:

I loove to give gift sets - so how easy to give a lovely MTME © In A Pinch gift box full of Kisses!

I just had to play along with the embellish magazine's color challenge with Hearts! Doesn't this photo inspiration look soooo YUMMY, bright & cheerful :)

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the girls at Kazan's awesome sketch #43 from 2Sketches4You. That long rectangle right smack dead center, was screaming for heart embellishments :) The text on this paper is so fun & whimsical! Believe it or not, I only used ONE stamp on this card - I think that is a 1st for me! I inked up the sweet MTME © sentiment with SU Basic Black ink & stamped it then, using the smallest beautifully ornate Spellbinders Labels 5 die, I placed it right over the image & cut it out with my Sizzix Big Shot Express machine. Please be sure to visit both of the challenge sites & take a peek at what the DT's & players have created for your viewing pleasure!

The MTME © In A Pinch template is so easy to use & versatile, you can pack it full of virtually any sort of sweet treats for your Valentine! :) All 4 panels make for great space to stitch your favorite DP to :)

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls & leave them some love:

Pam

Kristin

Dana

Tracey

Maria

Alicia

Gabby

Thanks for looking! I look forward to seeing you add some stitching to your project!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Template: My Time Made Easy LLC © Pretty Packaging: In A Pinch Stamps: My Time Made Easy LLC © Pretty Impressions: All A Flutter Paper: My Time Made Easy LLC © Pretty Printables: Flutters & Flowers, SU Pretty in Pink, PTI Pure Poppy, Office Max 65 lb digital brightwhite 
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, SU Basic Black Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Hearts, Hearts & Labels 5 dies, Cuttlebug Heart dies, EK Success border punch, PTI ribbon, buttons & cord from stash, Making Memories hardware

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Just Us Girls Sketch Challenge...JUGS14 30

Hi Girls! I hope you are all enjoying the first day of 2010! Now that the holidays are behind us, maybe we will all be able to find some "free-time" (LOL!) to create & play with our crafting products :) You may have noticed a new name along with her creation on the JUGS site? Well, that is Gabby & she has agreed to play along with us as our Featured Designer for the month of January :) What better way to start the New Year than with a Sketch challenge with Just Us Girls? This week, the Lovely Lisa is our Hostess for the Just Us Girls Sketch Challenge #14, JUGS14 & has dreamed up this amazing sketch for us all to play with!

Here is my card:

I made a trip to my local scrapbook store (LSS) this week & found this awesome Cosmo Cricket DP. It has a Western / Vintage look about it & made me think of one of my favorite SU sets, One of a Kind & the coordinating Boho Blossoms punch.

I cut those cute little hearts using Spellbinders Scalloped Heart & Heart dies. After inking up the edges of the Rose Red heart, I layered & adhered both heart sets on the card.

I inked up those various sized blossoms with SU Rose Red, More Mustard & Chocolate Chip ink & went to town, stamping away then punched out the 2 smaller punches with the Boho Blossoms punch. I hand cut out the larger blossom with my trusty little scissors :)

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls & Gabby's blog who will be this month's Guest Designer to see how they created their project! Thanks for looking! We look forward to seeing how you work your magic with Lisa's sketch!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Stamps: SU One of a Kind Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, SU Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, More Mustard Paper: SU Rose Red, Kraft, Bravo Burgandy, Chocolate Chip, Natural's Ivory, Very Vanilla, Cosmo Cricket DP, Bingo card courtesy of Tonya Daughty Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Heart & Heart dies, Cuttlebug Flower EF, SU Boho Blossoms punch, Making Memories brads, PTI button & twine, EK Success Oval punch, Sizzix Oval die

REMEMBER: Sunday is the THE OFFICIAL RELEASE day for My Time Made Easy LLC! Thanks for looking :) Be Sweet!

Here is a photo of my dear sister Tina (on the right) & I on our bicycles getting ready to hit the road for our first ride of 2010 :)

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Just Us Girls Template Challenge...JUGS13 38

Hi Girls! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday celebration :) Thanks to all of you who had the opportunity to play along with last week's color challenge! There were some pretty awesome creations out there to look at! This week, Dana is our lovely Hostess for the Just Us Girls 13 3-D / Template Challenge with the option to use the color BLUE & this week's challenge is sponsored by the very creative & talented Kelleigh Ratzlaff.There will also be blog candy for ONE lucky winner & a special discount available for all participants at the Digi Chick shop. For complete details, please hop over to the Just Us Girls site!











Here is my sample of Kelleigh's fun Take - Out Box template:
The base color of my Take - Out Box is made from Bazzill Guacamole cs. For all 4 sides, I cut panels using SU Chocolate Chip & BoBunny DP then I inked the edges a tad using Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo ink. After adhering all layers together, I stitched them on the main box.

To incorporate the color BLUE with my project, I made a few accent flowers using various size EK Success punches & Cuttlebug scalloped flower dies. To add some texture I ran all the flowers through the die cutting machine & then dabbed on a bit of distressing ink.

I made a tag to accompany the easy to make & versatile Take - Out Box template using the Spellbinders Labels 4 dies. I love flourishes!!!! So I inked up a flourish image from the SU Priceless set with SU Wild Wasabi ink & stamped it on the tag. I distressed the edges a bit & "popped" in an XL eyelet using the Crop A Dile II Big Bite.

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls & Kelleigh's blog to see how they created their project! Thank you Kelleigh for providing Just Us Girls with fantastic templates to play with & Hugs Dana for securing this challenge sponsorship with Kelleigh :) Thanks for looking! We look forward to seeing a variety of wonderfully decorated templates & don't forget to try to use the color BLUE!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to the Just Us Girls website and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Digi Chick Take - Out Box Template

Stamps: SU Priceless Paper: BoBunny DP, Bazzill Guacamole, SU Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Taken With Teal Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo, SU Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi Sprinkles: EK Success flower punches, Spellbinders Labels 4 dies, We R On The Net eyelets, Making Memories brads, Offray ribbon, Cuttlebug Textile EF & Scalloped flower dies

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Just Us Girls Color Challenge......JUGS12 38

Hi Everyone! Thanks to all of you got their hands dusty & played along with the Chalkboard technique challenge! This week Tracey is our lovely Hostess for the Just Us Girls Color Challenge!
Here is my LOVELY :) Flower Garden card that I made using this YUMMY color combo:I was at my local craft store the other day, browsing around & I found this cute BE MY VALENTINE stamp made by Stampabilities! How Swwweeeet is that? :) To make my card I inked up my new LOVELY stamp with VersaMark ink & embossed with white embossing powder. I repeated this with a SU heart image stamp for my background.

This is my LOVELY :) Flower Garden gift set surely to please my SWEETHEART :)I made a coordinating gift box using the FREE My Time Made Easy Cutesy Cover Pretty Packaging template available NOW for download at the My Time Made Easy store. Since the MTME templates are available in multiple cutting formats, I was able to use my Cricut Expressions to cut 2 various sizes of the MTME Cutesy Cover boxes. The larger of the 2 measures 3 3/4" W x 5" H & the smaller one measures 2" W x 2.5" H. These boxes make a perfect sized box for any ocassion!(Note: you can rotate this image 360 degrees by doing the following... Within the photo, click and drag your mouse pointer to the left or right to spin the box! You can also use the left and right arrows on your keyboard or use the left and right arrows icons. You can also zoom in or out to get a better view of the box by using the (+) and (-) icons. Lastly, you can simply press the Play icon (circular arrow) to rotate the box automatically. Give it a try!)



I love the multi-platform cutting format files available for the MTME templates because you can size the template to fit your needs with just a few clicks of a button on your personal electric cutting machine! TOTALLY CUSTOMIZABLE! This flower garden is bloomin' with LOVE! :) To make all these hearts, I used several tools: Fiskars Scalloped punch, Spellbinders Scalloped Heart & Heart dies & Cuttlebug heart dies. For little accents pieces, I sewed on several buttons.
For sketch inspiration, I played along with this week's MOJO Monday Sketch Challenge #117, MOJO117. If you haven't already, you should visit the MOJO girls & see what samples of inspiration they have to offer!

I hope you can color your palette with the BRILLIANT colors that Tracey has selected & join along in the fun this week with Just Us Girls :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls blogs to see how they created their project! Thanks for looking! We look forward to seeing what you make with these colors!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to the Just Us Girls website and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used: Stamps: Stampabilities Be My Valentine, PTI Everyday Button Bits, SU heart Paper: PTI Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, Bazzill Guacamole, SU Whisper White Ink: SU Wild Wasabi, Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo, VersaMark Sprinkles: Fiskars Scalloped punch, Spellbinders Scalloped Heart & Circle, Heart & Circle dies, Cuttlebug heart dies & Swiss Dots EF, PTI Pure Poppy ribbon & buttons, EK Success Scalloped border punch

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