JustRite Friday Challenge #70: Pretty Papers

A really FUN challenge with great prizes is posted over @ JustRite Papercrafts:  to create your own 'pretty papers' using a JR stamp to create your BG paper. This was not my first idea (I'm still planning to do that!), but I thought this 'Showers bring Flowers' sentiment from Spring Words would make great BG paper to accompany this gorgeous rose DP from Cosmo Cricket's Evangeline 6x6 paper pad.
I've stamped the Mother's Day sentiment and a small rose also from Spring Words onto a Nested Oval Medallion Label (JR Custom Design template by Spellbinders) and popped that up on a Lacey Square. Where my DP meets my handmade BG paper, I've added Making Memories ric-rac, a tea rose created using Tim Holtz Tattered Pinecone die and leaves cut from Spellbinders' Rose Creations. Pearls from Want2Scrap finish off my card.
There's still 3 days to enter the competition over @ JustRite Papercrafts, so why not join in the fun?!!!

My Sheri Crafts #83: Marvelous Monograms

Our challenge this week @ My Sheri Crafts is to create a card or special project using a monogram -- how FUN is that?!!!
Since I've had 5" wooden letters from Michaels now for waaay too long, I decided to put one to good use! When we moved into our current home a few years ago, I was able to have my own craft room and had great plans for how I wanted to decorate it, but then the economy tanked and so did my plans. Though I still have the 'new home' white walls, I am slowly getting a few decor items and will use this "M" (my first initial) somewhere in the mix.
I first repainted my white letter with green Making Memories paint from my stash, covered it with some now long ago retired SU cardstock, added pearls and a tiny bow from my fiber stash. Green & browns are my decor color choices for this room and I've toyed with painting the walls a buttery shade of yellow to keep my room bright, so I think this will work beautifully once that goal is accomplished. In the meantime, I can enjoy it on a nearby shelf!
So put your own monogram ideas in action and join us for this fun & creative challenge here!

JustRite Friday Challenge #69 Entry #2: Spring Fling

I sadly need a couple of sympathy cards and since this is in memory of a sweet lady who loved flowers, I thought it would be appropriate to use pastel feminine spring colors. To me a spring's butterflies signify hope. Our hope is that the grief felt by her dear daughter will soon be replaced with precious memories of her beloved Mother.
The pastel colors and butterfly fit JustRite's current Spring Fling challenge. I absolutely LOVE the sentiments in JustRite's With Sympathy Clear set and though I didn't use it today, the rose stamp is absolutely stunning! I've used SBs' Romantic Rectangles to die cut my black and pink layers and simply sandwiched a floral rounded corner rectangle between them for contrast. My floral BG paper and hand cut butterfly are from Cosmo Cricket's Evangeline paper pad. A simple row of pearls finishes off the card.

Stamp: JustRite's With Sympathy
Ink: Memento's Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket's Evangeline 6 x 6 Paper Pad; Black/Pink CS from stash
Embellishments: SB's Romantic Rectangles dies; hand-cut butterfly; pearls from stash

TSTR #107: Bright & Beautiful Spring AND JustRite #69: Spring Fling

I set out yesterday to create a card for The Shabby Tea Room challenge (and realized along the way that I could use it for JustRite's current challenge also), but had no idea this was going to be literally such a 'challenge' for me?! Why is it sometimes you just cannot come up with papers/colors that coordinate and are exactly what your mind tells you they should be?! Sooo frustrating!
After many hours, I did achieve a card that I really LOVE and though it's a bit more simple than I first imagined, I'm quite sure my MIL will still love it as it has a lot of elements I know she likes: tree, bird, eggs, butterfly, lace and bling -- so that's what really matters! I still hope to have another JustRite card done before the deadline on Wednesday, but holding my breath it comes together much faster than this one! ;~)

Stamps: JustRite's Spring Words & Backyard Birds
Ink: PTI's Dark Chocolate
Paper: Making Memories Boho Chic; Kraft & cardboard from stash
Embellishments: PTI butterfly from With Sympathy; Recollections Bling; Hobby Lobby Lace; Various Copic Markers to color main focal piece/lace 

My Sheri Crafts #82: MSC Turns TWO!!!

Happy Second Birthday, My Sheri Crafts -- Woo-Hoo!!!  It's a birthday party as we help Sheri celebrate her challenge blog's birthday today and she asked us to create fun birthday projects (cards, invites, favors, party decor) for toddlers or kids under 5. Bright colors, balloons, cupcakes....NO elegant cards...FUN, FUN, FUN!!!
I played with my new BossKut Gazelle die cutting machine and some GORGEOUS files available from Monica here! Her files are very intricate, beautiful and cut perfectly -- she is a very talented lady indeed.

Close-up of papercraft die-cut projects

I used Cupcake Wrapper 13 and Place Cards 13 for my projects today because the flower she used perfectly matches my DP. The cupcake wrapper was cut down by hand to create Molly's crown also. I had fun creating my card for a 2-year-old little girl and really love the sweet little place cards that you can personalize with each guest's name!
A huge thank you to not only Monica for her generosity in sharing these gorgeous files, but also to my sweet friend Marilyn for loaning me her adorable little tea set to use today! I only wish my photo light tent was larger so I could have used more of her treasured pieces! Thanks also to my DD for unknowingly loaning Molly, her American Girls Doll, to complete my party scene today -- it's the 'cost of long-term storage' that allows me to play with her beloved American Girls Collection whenever I wish -- hee-hee -- can you tell, I really don't mind at all?!
So hop on over to My Sheri Crafts and post your very own birthday projects for a child under 5; we can't wait to see what you come up with to help us CELEBRATE!!!

Stamps: JustRite's 50pt. Myriad Pro Font
Ink: VersaFine's Vintage Sepia
Paper: PiggyTales Cinderella line
Tools: Bosskut Gazelle die cutting machine
Embellishments: Clear gems from stash

JustRite Friday Challenge #068: Color

I totally LOVE this JustRite Friday Challenge: to use black & white & a pop of color -- always a fabulous combo! A pop of color, such as with my Raspberry Fizz felt flower (Spellbinders' Spiral Blossom One), just seems to totally set off a black/white design!
For a bit of texture I used white letterpress paper to die cut my Spellbinders' Lattice Rectangle. Next I added Want2Scrap's Black/White Pearl Nestabling to the edges. My JustRite Loving Thoughts sentiment (Heart to Heart Set) is stamped inside a border from Hugs to You Set on vellum and heat embossed with black embossing powder. The vellum centerpiece is mounted onto a white Labels Eighteen die cut and another black hand-cut one. A few more pearls for my flower center and sentiment label and a beaded hat pin finish off this card. You have until 8 PM on Wednesday to add your project for this challenge if you'd like a chance at some lovely JustRite stamp sets!

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #81: Easter Pastels

The theme I chose for My Sheri Crafts Challenge this week is Easter and using pastel colors on your project.
I had sooo much fun creating this Easter card and my handmade flowers from coffee filters! The paper/flowers reminded me of dressing up for Easter Sunday. I used cone-shaped coffee filters and discovered that the Spellbinders' Spiral Blossoms One fit perfectly. Since it's a folded cone shape, it cuts 2 flowers (or you could slit it apart and cut just 1).
There's also room to cut a few leaves out of the left-over pieces -- who could ask for more? The soft paper filters are easy to roll up/work with. I spritzed mine with Tattered Angels Cherub Pink (Olive Vine for the leaves), let dry and rolled them up.
That fabulous Easter sentiment is from the new clear JustRite Spring Words stamp set -- LOVE it! It's popped up on a Spellbinders' Lacey Square that I modified by re-cutting one edge to make it a rectangle, which better fit my greeting.
PLEASE pop over & see all the other DT creations @ My Sheri Crafts for this bi-weekly Challenge; we'd LOVE to have you join us with your own project too!!!
Here's a close-up of my coffee filter flowers:

Stamps: JustRite's Spring Words
Ink:  PTI's Berry Sorbet
Paper: MME Lost & Found Market Street; DCWV's Mat Stack; 
PTI Vintage Cream CS
Embellishments: ZVA Creative Pearls; MS Doily Lace Punch & ribbon

Masculine Get Well: Tim Holtz and JustRite Style

We've had a bunch of family/friends with various health concerns lately and I'm very hopeful it's over already! I needed a couple masculine cards and thought this would bring a smile to both intended recipients' faces. I chose PTI's Kraft CS, a staple for me when doing masculine themes, as well as darker colors.
I started with a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base and using Spellbinders' Labels Seven, die cut a piece of Core'dinations' Ebony & Ivory with Kraft core and embossed with Diamonds in the Rough EF just along the edge, sanding lightly for more dimension. I stamped Tim Holtz fabulous old pickup truck in VersaFine Onyx Black, die cut again with Labels Seven and attached off center to my previous label. Next I used JustRite's Times New Roman 15-pt. Alpha stamps to create my sentiment (both inside and out), die cutting the front one with SBs' retired Labels 5, distressed with Black Soot ink, added screw brads and attached with foam tape.

Here's my stamped inside sentiment:

JustRite Friday Challenge #67: Birthday Bash

The current challenge at JustRite Stampers is to create a Birthday card -- pretty simple, huh? I created a spring birthday card in pinks/greens using paper I've had in my stash for a long time!
I was thrilled to have the new JR Spring Words and With Sympathy clear stamps I won on the last challenge to help me create today. I just LOVE this sentiment and think it will work well for masculine birthdays also! I added a little decorative element from the Sympathy set below to compliment it and tie in my colors. Also LOVE Spellbinders' Edgeabilities and used those for my edging detail along with some decorative trim. Hand-colored crinkled seam binding and a pearl flourish complete this one.

Stamps:  JR's Spring Words and With Sympathy
Inks: VersaColor Opera Pink & Memento Pear Tart
Paper: Basic Grey's Sultry; PTI's White & Ripe Avocado CS
Embellishments: Want2Scrap Pearl/Flourish; Hobby Lobby trim; Hug Snug Winter White Seam Binding (colored with Copics)

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #80: Easel Card w/Shamrock

Using Beate's awesome tutorial here, I created my round scalloped easel card with a mixture of greens, including the required shamrock for our challenge this week @ My Sheri Crafts. If you're planning on joining us and we HOPE very much you WILL, you're asked to create an easel card and use a shamrock.
I began by cutting my two shamrocks with my Gazelle, making the 2nd one just a bit larger than the first. Lining the outside of that 2nd shamrock with liquid glue, I then added a dusting of Deep Forest ultra-fine opaque glitter from The Art Institute -- LOVE it!
Following Beate's directions, I cut my card from a combination of Bazzill and Papertrey Ink CS and choose to use my shamrock as the focal point on the front. My sentiment (Inkadinkado) is stamped (PTI's Ripe Avocado ink) onto a Spellbinders' Labels Fourteen die cut, decorated with Want2Scraps' Lime Green gemstones and mounted with foam tape, which allows my easel card to stand open -- so FUN!!! Looking forward to seeing your shamrock easel card soon!