Happy Summer

It's Word Week at Just Us Girls #827 and the word Vicki chose is Summer! I couldn't wait to make a card with this happy crab! (Oxymoron?) He is super easy to make and the honeycomb ball makes him even more fun than he already is without it! The team has created a fun mix of card ideas for you, as has Kellianne our June Guest Designer. Be sure to check out all the blogs for the details on their amazing cards!

What I used:

• The Greetery Hey Honeycomb Crab die set, Hey Honeycomb stamp set, Honeycomb Balls Tricolor Tropics
• Spellbinders Rolling Tide stencil set
• Stampin' Up! dot stamp (and oldie), Classic ink pads
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad
• Hero Arts Hero Hues mini ink pads

After die cutting and assembling the smiley crab, I created the background ink blending the sand. I inked up my dot stamp then stamped off on a scrap of paper before stamping on the panel to add a pale brown ink here and there for the sand granules. 

Next, I stenciled the waves in three colors. I spritzed water onto the panel to give a grainy look to the water. I matted the panel with the same red as the crab then stamped the sentiments. Last, I added the completed crab on foam tape to the panel. This is an A2 white card base.

What summer ideas do you have for a card? Can't wait to see the gallery!

Thanks for visiting!

Carol

Cruisin'

This set of dies that I used for my card below has been waiting for months until there was a reason to use it...and now at Time Out Challenges #315 we have a summery Pick Two theme for you! This red, white, black and gold ship has set sail and I have a wonderful friend closeby who books cruises for our neighborhood, so this is a special card for her. The words for our Pick Two are: Vacation, Summer, Water, Camping, Sun, Ice cream. I chose Vacation, Water and Sun. You must use at least TWO words from the list and if they are not obvious, please explain. 

Our wonderful sponsor, Newton's Nook Designs, is generously offering a $25 store credit as a prize for our Challenge Winner, who will also get an invitation to join us as Guest Designer for a future challenge.

We are joined by Sherri Schmidt, winner of Time Out #310, as Guest Designer. Sherri is a talented card maker and a frequent player at Time Out. She posts her work on Flickr as Sherrisonline. Even if you are not a Flickr member, you can still view her gallery. Sherri's designs are fun and her style is eclectic. Do treat yourself to a stroll through her gallery for some great inspiration. 

What I used:

• Spellbinders Deckside Dreams die set, Build a Summer Birdhouse die (anchor)
• The Greetery Postage die
• Gold card stock
• Vellum (smoke)

Come play along with your summer stash and be sure to visit the team's and Sherri's blogs for all the details about their fun cards! We also enjoy reading about yours, too.

Thanks for stopping in,

Carol 

Birthday Fishes

I'm playing with the new Greetery Honeycomb release and this time I made a mini card with the Hey Honeycomb Fish! I also made a small gift bag to attach my little card to the front. I could have made it a tag, but I wanted to try a card that stays with the bag permanently.

I'm playing along at the Inspired By Challenge IB391 with their Fish theme. My fish is swimming amongst the "bubbles" on the bag and the handle of the bag looks like mermaid or fish scales. I chose my colors not from the photo, but from the honeycomb ball.

What I used:

• The Greetery Hey Honeycomb Fish die set, Hey Honeycomb Summer Sentiments stamp set, Honeycomb Balls Tricolor Tropics

• Stampin' Up! Mini Treat Bag Thinlits die set (old), Turquoise sequin trim, Designer Series paper (old)

• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad 

The fish is so easy to die cut and assemble. Then I folded a piece of green card stock in half to make a mini card, and placed the fish die a little above the fold. I ran it through my die cut machine a few times until it cut through the front and back of the little card. Then I adhered the decorated fish to the card front.

I created the bag and used the sequin trim as handles. I popped up the fish on foam tape after stamping the sentiment inside.

This was a fun project. I've had this patterned paper forever and have used it for summer/water cards and projects often. Since I made a mini card I didn't make the honeycomb collapsible...it is permanently open.

Hope your summer is going swimmingly!

Carol

You Brighten My Life

It is Die Week at Just Us Girls #826 and our sweet hostess Carol Mayne asks that we use butterfly dies. I have never had butterfly dies before a few months ago. Check out the team's pretty cards and see what you are inspired by to make a card for our challenge!

What I used:

• Waffle Flower Mix n' Match Butterflies dies
• MFT sentiment
• Distress Oxide inks
• Stampin' Up! Blended Bloom stamp, Aqua painter
• Altenew Obsidian black ink pad

I saw a few CAS cards like this on Pinterest and made my own version. I started by stamping the flowers in opposite corners on the card front. The butterflies were die cut from watercolor paper that I had painted first with oxide inks. I only attached the butterflies to the card in the middle so their wings could be bent outward to look like they are fluttering. Happily, I was able to bend my clear stamp into the shape I need to fit it in between the butterflies. And that's it!

Come play along with us using butterfly dies!

Carol

 

YAY!!

When you need to congratulate someone or tell them you are excited for them, why not just use the word Yay! For our Just Us Girls Challenge #825 it is Anything Goes Stencil Week with our new teammate Denise!

What I used:

• Alex Syberia Carnival Party stencil and die set, Foxtrot Alphabet die set
• Spellbinders Silver mix Color Essential Gems
• Distress Oside inks
• Iridescent silver card stock

Our daughter worked at Crate & Barrel during all of her her college breaks and at Christmas she would buy two-sided satin ribbon that I just loved. They had red/green and silver/gold. So when I got this stencil set I had to use two different colors for the fun it creates. I know I will be using these stencils a lot. Finally, I added some sparkly gems to match the iridescent silver sentiment and that was it!

Get out some fun stencils and join us this week at Just Us Girls!

Carol

Fun & Laughs

Hello and thanks for stopping by! We have a fun challenge for you at our Time Out #314 Inspired By Challenge: A Favorite Beverage. There are several drinks that I call my "favorite" but I had supplies to make this one, a Muddled Strawberry-Lime Vodka Martini. The team has created a great variety of their favorites, so check out their blogs to read all about it. We are joined, too, by Joanne James of The Crafty Owl, and winner of Time Out #309 as Guest Designer. 

We have had this drink at The Cheesecake Factory a few times and really liked the fresh flavors. I also like Coconut rum and pineapple juice as my go-to tropical drink, iced tea with lemonade, and limeade, too! How about you?

The gradient color in the drink was hard to capture in a photo. It is darker on the top where the muddled strawberries are and I didn't have the correct size lime to die cut and add to the rim of the glass, but you get the idea, right? But you can see the acetate that is the martini "glass."

By the way, we are giving away a reversible wine/beverage bag that I made for the winner of the challenge. The winner will also be in the running for a future Guest Designer spot at Time Out. 

What I used:

• Spellbinders Olive Martini dies, Friends Sentiments Press Plate and die set
• Pretty Pink Posh Valentine Mug Additions dies
• Simon Says Stamp Wonky Stitched Rectangle dies
• Concord & 9th Orange You Sweet Dies, Mini ink pads
• Distress inks
• Patterned paper scrap
• Sequins
• Acetate

For this card I did all the die cutting first. after ink blending the colors I wanted the fruit and drink to be. Everything was assembled next. The no longer hoarded patterned paper has die cut stitching on it that's kind of swirly for a fun feeling. The photo doesn't show the details in the strawberries that the dies put there...so realistic!

Come play along with us!

Carol

Time For Sun

I love this time of year for cardmaking because I love everything that summer is about. The Paper Players PP787 has a sketch that inspired me to use some hoarded summer patterned paper, and to dig out a sailboat die set that I've had forever to CASE the sailboat in the paper. This is what playing in challenges does for me.

What I used:

• MFT Sailboat dies
• Park Lane Travel 12" x 12" paper pad
• Simon Says Stamp Summer sentiments

It was fun to match card stock to the patterned paper to create this sailboat. I cut into the patterned paper and like how it is "connected" to the sailboat now. I matted it then popped up my little boat on foam adhesive to stand out from the paper. The pre-printed sentiment was super easy to cut down and mat. Now I want to go out on a boat and cruise around islands like the boat is in the paper.

Hope your summer is kicking off well (or soon)!!! I appreciate you visiting here.

Carol