Just Us Girls {3-D/TEMPLATE} Challenge #94

Hi friends.  I'm here to share my JUGS 3-D/Template project with you.  Dana is our hostess this week and she selected a fun challenge that hopefully anyone can play along with!  Check it out:

Don't we all have some sort of plain gift bag laying around?  I have a ton in my collection of wrapping paper and gift cards.  I found this little, dark brown gift sack and I knew it was perfect for my project!  I kept my bag ultra simple to show you how easy yet effective a quick decoration can be on a simple bag like this one.  I already had some of Lauren's Spring Is Here paper printed from my last project, so I took the 5x7 piece and used a scalloped border punch on each long side.  I cut the left and right edges of my double sided scalloped layer to about 5 1/4".  I then scored down the middle and cut in about 1/4" on each side about 1" from the edge.  I kept it folded and cut from one slit to the next.  That gave me the opening I needed to slide the panel over my handles. 

I simply added two matching buttons from my stash, after threading with green twine and adhering with glue dots.  I added a triple loooped bow to hold my panel down, and I was finished.  It really doesn't get much easier than that...and Lauren's fabulous paper didn't need much to make it sing on this project!  It's such a lovely contrast with the dark brown...I couldn't bring myself to muddy it up any further.  My three wick candle fits snugly inside ready to give to someone when the occasion arises.

Well, that's all I have for you today.  I sure hope you can play along this week!  If you do, please add a direct link to your post using Linky Tools over on the JUGS blog, and use keyword JUGS94 in any online galleries.

Don't forget to visit our fab DT for some awesome inspiration!  Some of the girls are on break this week due to busy summer schedules, but please swing by and leave them some love anyway :]

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Lisa

Maria

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you stay cool this weekend and find time to get a little crafty.

Color Throwdown #151

Hi friends!  I'm here to share the card I made and today's palette at the Color Throwdown, where I'm your hostess!  Check out the palette our team came up with:

As you can see, I chose to work with part of the palette, vs trying to use ALL of these pretty colors.  Laura's Rainbows and Clouds dies and stamps were our inspiration this week:

My chosen colors from the expansive palette came straight from Lauren's Spring Is Here paper.  Today was the perfect opportunity for me to finally use it!!  Isn't the combo purty?!  Love it!!  I cut the rainbow from my patterned paper found in the Fresh Cut Expressions Collection 2 set.  I layered it on my circle by adhering the three stripes with Scor-Tape on the reverse side (small pieces that spread across the three stripes in different areas).  I left the tape backing intact and added a few small pieces of dimensional tape. 

Now, I know my rainbow looks offset, but it's NOT!  I promise!!  The bottom edges of my rainbow are perfectly aligned...I just used the clouds as an optical illusion.  I offset them as much as I could without revealing the edges of the rainbow.  Cool effect, huh?  I layered my circle and rainbow on another piece of my Fresh Cut Expressions Collection 2 paper cut from Lauren's new label cut file, Be Dazzled.

I layered some Saffron ribbon and satin, 'gold' ribbon on top to thread through my label die and create a double looped bow.  Tied it down with a green button from my stash and finished everything off with dimensional tape ;]  EASY, girly card, for a very, VERY dear friend of mine, Kristin Daugherty.  It's her birthday today, so I wanted to whip up a late card for her (she knows me well, and doesn't expect to receive any cards on time from me :).  So, with any luck, I'll stick this in the mail tomorrow and she'll have it by Saturday.


Oh, and my layout was inspired by the very talented Chupa's Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #20.  Check it out:

That's all I have to share with you today, but be sure to check out the rest of the team.  Some of our gals are taking a break, and some are playing along.  I'm linking everyone because I know they all would appreciate a little love if you're in a commenting mood ;]  

Bar

Broni

Carole

Danielle

Laura

LeAnne

Tammy

Keva ~ July Guest Designer

Have a great week and weekend!!

Color Throwdown #150

Hi all, and happy Wednesday :]  I'm here to share a VERY quick card I made for the Color Throwdown challenge.  Laura is our hostess and she selected this pretty palette:

I used the colors quite literally, which I normally try NOT to do, but like I said...this was a quick card and I LOVED all of the colors together.  So, I decided to just go with it.  I cut the frame using the MTME Killer Curves cut file, and then embossed it with one of my Cuttlebug embossing folders (birds and vines...not sure of the actual name).  I tied a teal, satin bow around the right side and popped it up with dimensional tape on a 4.25"x4.25" card base.  

My flower was created by cutting the pieces from my Fluttering By paper using the Blossoming Into Spring cut file.  I only worked with four of the flower pieces for my bloom, but I popped all of them up with dimensional tape except for the base and the top layer.  Before I adhered them, I sponged a pale pink followed by a rose red and stitched a teal button to the top layer.  I adhered the flower to my card with glue dots...and as you can see, that's literally all there was to my card.  Simple, but fresh...and sentiment free so I can use if for a myriad of occasions that pop up.  


We hope you're able to find some crafty time this week and can play along.  Remember, you don't have to match these colors exactly, just use the closest colors you have on hand.  Also, be sure to add a direct link to your post using the Linky Tools widget on the CTD blog.  Last but certainly not least, check out our CTD gals for a healthy dose of inspiration today:

Bar

Broni

Carole

Danielle

Laura

LeAnne

Tammy

Thanks for stopping by, despite my MIA status recently :|  Hope your summer is relaxing and happy ♥

Just Us Girls Challenges #91 & #92 :]

Ahhh...TGIF!  I'm back after several days of NO crafting :[  I've been engaged with lots of non-crafting stuff though, and it's all AMAZING, so I'm definitely not complaining.  I'll set aside crafting to enjoy life any day ♥  Maybe I'll share more on that another day...as things get even better...but for now, I'm going to share my JUGS92 card!  I'm your hostess this week for the Technique Challenge, and I'm challenging you to make a project showcasing your very own handmade paper buttons!

My button trial didn't work out so well initially, and I can't say I'm overly thrilled with this one but it is night and day better than the first!  I created my button using cut files instead of punches.  For this one, I used the MTME Elegant Curves - Circles cut file.  

I scaled the main layer to 1", and copied/pasted until I had five pieces.  I cut three out of SU Poppy Parade cs, and two out of white.  I added two small circles to the poppy pieces for my button holes, and added one larger interior circle to my white layers so that I would end up with a frame of sorts.  Here's a snapshot of what it looked like in SCAL:

After adhering the layers, I painted the sides with white acrylic paint to hide the poppy layers, and added a thick glaze (a little TOO thick) of Crystal Effects to the top.  Let it dry before touching the glaze otherwise you'll have to add another layer of glaze and you'll end up with the THICK layer I've got!

Check out the cutie-patootie rainbow and cloud pieces!!  These clever little images (and sentiment) are courtesy of Lil Inker - Rainbows and Clouds Dies and Stamps.  Laura is so talented...she never fails to amaze me with her new products.  Her eye for versatility and what the market is lacking, is phenomenal.  I love watching her humble company grow with each release and can't wait to see where this takes her :]  If you LOVE her products as much as I do, and you're looking for a temporary design team gig...check out her DT call!  You'll be a part of the very beginning if you get picked up AND you'll receive at least two of her current release products!  Win-win if you ask me!!

I cut my rainbow from four different sheets of my MTME School Plaid, and added a strip of the poppy to the top of my card.  I used Kathryn's sketch from last week's challenge (JUGS91) for my layout.

That's pretty much all there was too it other than some sponging and embossing.  Be sure to swing by the rest of the DT's blogs for a ton of inspiration this morning.  They turned out some gorgeous cards!!

Andrea

Dana

Elise

Kathryn

Maria

♥ Christina ~ July Featured Designer ♥

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you are enjoying this HOT summer and finding some time to get creative. Have a fab weekend.