Thanks Friend

Summer is passing so quickly and my teacher friends have to get ready to go back to school very soon. This card is for a world traveler friend of mine that I get to see in August! Just Us Girls #835 is Die Week and Anything Goes with dies. I LOVE this Hero Arts set, even with the teeny tiny eyelashes and mouth. I couldn't help pairing it with my seaside scene stencils!

Take a stroll though the team's use of dies for some fun reading and inspiration. Our August Guest Designer is Betty Keefe and she has a beautiful die cut card for you, too. We love to be inspired by your cards each week, too!

What I used:

• My Monthly Hero July 2026 Kit
• Concord & 9th Seaside stencils, Mini ink pads 
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• Red glimmer metallic and silver holographic card stock
• SU! patterned papers

I went looking for red card stock for the scooter and ran into a scrap of this glimmery red that I just love. (Source unknown) Then I found a scrap of holographic silver for parts of the scooter and another glittery piece for the lights. I just had to make her glasses match the scooter, too. I wanted to pop her up on a wobbler, but it stands way too high off the card. The second photo above shows the glimmer and sparkle better.

The scenery is ink blended lightly so that she could take center stage but I wanted the water and sky to match well with her dress. I made a couple of boo boos, but I wasn't going to start over after the die cut portion was adhered and they might escape the eye.

Come play along with us with your die cut creations!

Carol

Adventure Awaits You

It's time for our Pick Two Challenge at Time Out #319 which gives you six prompts to choose from to make a card. Use at least two of the words or all six! They are: Monochrome, Geometric, Floral, Stitching (faux or real), Birthday and CAS. I chose Geometric and CAS with the triangular waves, sails and sentiment, as well as the round sun. 

Newton's Nook is our generous sponsor for this challenge, offering a $25.00 store credit to our winner. The winner of our challenge will be invited to be a Guest Designer in a future Time Out Challenge, too!

Our Guest Designer for this challenge is Heather Heroldt, of Handmade by Heather, and winner of Time Out #314 as Guest Designer. Heather is a very talented designer and a frequent and loyal Time Out participant. We always love to see her work in the gallery, and we greatly appreciate her support. Treat yourself to a stroll through her BLOG for some wonderful inspiration!

What I used to make this card:

• Spellbinders Colorblock Landscape dies (2021)
• Memory Box Marina Sailboats dies
• Tim Holtz Ideaology Small Talk sentiments

I used the sun rays to make a gradient sea and sunset, and the circle to make the sun. The Sailboat is black to be a silhouette and the sentiment is black to match it. I hope it fits the clean and simple definition close enough...it has clean lines and white space.

Come play along with us! See you in the gallery?

Carol

Triangle Santa Tag

It is time for the Gorgeous Gift Tags Instagram Hop for August and the optional theme is Baby Shower. I usually have a use for the optional themes, but since I don't this time I went with Christmas to add to my stash. (Although this could be a cute gift tag for a Christmas present for a baby girl!) It can be a gift tag, decoration, place card, or an ornament. It is three-sided and each Santa has a slightly different hat. The variations are endless. Here he is (or they are)!

What I used:

• Simon Says Stamp Triangle Santa dies, Triangle Tab die
• Pink Fresh Studio Christmas patterned paper scraps
• Twine
• White ribbon
• Chalk (for cheeks and noses)

Here is the tutorial for the assembly of the tag/decoration/ornament. Last year I made a 3-sided bear version and added a little tag at the top (tied to the strings) with the To/From on it for use as a gift tag. The recipient of it loved it. I'll be making more of these soon enough, and I might need the penguin version, too...wink wink.

You can start the hop at my Instagram account if you wish: @sawithadtomakeit. The ladies are very  creative, so don't miss it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Get Your Sparkle On!

Whether it's a birthday party, a jewelry party, a dressy occasion, no particular reason or something special, it's always fun to add some accessories like bracelets. The Inspired By Challenge #IB400: "Bracelets" has a reason to celebrate...400 challenges!! Here is my party with all the glitz and shine from the bracelets worn by all the ladies. I was inspired by the colors, but of course the bracelets!

What I used for my card:

• Concord & 9th Handmade Holiday dies
• Ellen Hutson Spread the Sparkle stamp set
• My Favorite Things Pop the Champagne die set
• Sequins, pearls, enamel dots
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• White glitter card stock
• Silver glitter card stock
• Gray glitter card stock
• Teal Glitter card stock
• Cork adhesive sheet
• Pink and Main patterned paper (bottle)

Trying to use the challenge colors and lots of subtle sparkle, I die cut all the arms, then started adorning them with embellishments and die cut bracelets. I ink blended the arms a bit for shadow. The two silver bangles are free-moving for an interactive detail. Some of the arms are popped up on foam tape for dimension and the flying cork is made from some cork "paper" I've had forever. I was also inspired by my JUGS teammate Denise Morgans, @dennymor who always adds details from the front of her card to carry over inside her cards. In my case, the sentiment had to be split up over the front and inside to fit!

Can you hear the party music playing? 

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Thanks Friend

Here is a citrusy summer card I made with the July 2026 Hero Arts My Monthly Hero: You're the Zest. I have only scratched the surface of this kit and can't wait to play with the other elements in it. I went for the fun shaker first.

At Just Us Girls #834 this week we are doing our CASE a Design Team member challenge. My card could be CASEd with stripes, fruit, shaker, the colors, layout, etc. The team has a lot to share with you that may strike your interest as well, so take a little time and read along at each blog for the details on their cards, too. Remember, you are not copying a card directly, but taking inspiration from it and making your own design. It's fun to see the results!

I created the 5" x 3 3/4" front panel by first masking off the stripes to ink blend blue distress ink. Then I ran it though the Big Shot with the embossing folder from the kit. I love blue, white and yellow together, especially with an Italian theme (which this kit is) for summer.

I die cut and assembled the lemons and the shaker elements, then ink blended the leaves. The kit has little dies for the shaker elements and I added clay fruit. I place the lemons on my panel wher they fit best. Last, I just stamped and die cut the sentiment and was done!

What I used:

• Hero Arts July 2026 My Monthly Hero: You're the Zest kit
• Pretty Pink Posh fruit clay bits
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• Ranger distress ink pad

We can't wait to see what inspires you this week and what you make based on the card you CASE. Be sure to mention whose card you used and how you CASEd it!

See you in the gallery!

Carol

Cool Summer

I'm still getting out summery products that haven't been used yet and having fun with them. This card ended up as a snow globe of sorts, inspired by those whale in a bottle scenes that have mermaids and beach scenes inside them. I also decided to play at Freshly Made Sketches #746, so I needed a sentiment across the bottom area below the "center stage" of the card. Michele's card has a similar shape to the focal point on her lovely card, too.

What I used to make my card:

• Spellbinders Ahoy Matey die set, Rolling Tide stencils set
• Simon Says Stamp Summer Sayings strip
• Waffle Flower A2 Nesterd Domes die
• Concord & 9th Dew Drops
• Papertrey Ink Woodgrain texture die

I love this Captain Seagull and couldn't wait to try him out. The stencil is fun too! I started out with a white helm then decided to blend some gray on it for contrast from the seagull and to look weathered. There is a woodgrain texture on the bottom of the snow globe that I added on top of the woodgrain card stock. I completed the card with a few dew drops for splashes.

It is a gloomy and thunderstormy Sunday and I'm waiting for the sun to come out. It would be nice to be on a boat like this guy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

A Pink Villa in the Summertime

When The Greetery released their Dolce Vita Collection I was smitten with it. I especially fell in love with the villas! I've been looking at the rolling hills products for years, and when I saw that they used the stencils with the villa it was a no brainer. I kind of CASEd some of the colors on the back of the packaging for the die set's maiden voyage, but there are more card styles on their site that I want to try soon. I also tried her technique of swiping the ink on on the house with a blending brush to get the weathered stucco look. 

Our Just Us Girls Stencil Week Challenge #833 is what I made this easel card for with its striped hills like you see on open land from a plane or on the property. Please stop by and check out the team's blogs as well as that of our July guest Bonnie. Their stenciled projects are fantastic!

What I used for my card:

• The Greetery Countryside Villa Jumbo dies set, Rolling Hills stencils, Destination Summer stamp set
• Concord & 9th ink pads
• Ranger ink pads
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad

I watched a video of Becky making the easel card version and stopped it a LOT to be sure I was putting the pieces in the right places. All of a sudden it was done! I ink blended a light blue "cloudy" summer sky (more blue than clouds) above the hills (you can see in the second photo) and the view close up of the card in the side view shows hills and that sky (and a tree) behind the house.

Can't wait to see your stenciled cards this week! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Carol