DCWV/MAY ARTS CHALLENGE!

 

These two companies joined forces so that you could see some of the projects the readers have created!

I chose to make a mini accordian with the Snap Shot Stack!

 

I was gald to be a part of this collaboration!

JustRite Vintage Masculine Card...

and how I love vintage!

This week's challenge at JustRite Inspirations

calls for a VINTAGE MASCULINE card!

(JRC #74)

I loved making this card. 

I used my JustRite, "Fleur de lis Labels Twenty"

along with the coordinating Spellbinder die, Labels 20.

The sentiment is from the discontinued "All Occasion Nested Sentiments" set.

The background is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder,

and the DP is Graphic 45, "Proper Gentleman".

The background embossed frame is popped up from the card base, the die-cut harlequin label is popped up from the pattern paper, and the sentiment is popped up from that! So you can see that there is a ton of dimension to this card.

I added the "bow tie" to give the card an elegant, formal look.

The rhinestone really added some pizzaz.

My husband noted that this is, so far, HIS favorite card.

This card has been entered in the challenges at
Card Makin' Mamas (Father's Day)
Sentimental Sundays (Special Guy)

Thanks for reading my blog today.

Please leave a comment, as the kind words really make my day!

And visit the JustRite Stamps blog and join in on the fun!

Challenge #75 is here already!

Wow!  It's already June 1st, and we're on challenge number 75!

                            

                               Our sponsors this week:

The Digis showcased by the DYSU DT

$15 Gift Certificate

Winner's Choice of 3 Digis

That also means I've been on the DT at "Do You Stack Up" for a whole term now and we are welcoming our next group of design team members!

Feels good NOT being the "new gal" for a change!

The new team members will have some goodies up soon!

In an attempt to be trendy, Some Odd Girl's "Coffee Kaylee" is sporting
hot pink bangs.  Ok, it's an attempt for ME to appear trendy...
I've been seeing the young kids around with portions of their hair tinted with some very vivid colors! Gotta give 'em credit for expressing themselves!

I paper-pieced her pants, both the solid and printed sections, along with her shoes.  Her little sassy t-shirt and barrettes are colored with silver gel pen.

Hope you like!

DYSU NEW Design Team members!

Here they are!

The four newest members of our delightful little Design Team!

#12- Archana

#20- Rebecca Lynn

#21- Barb

#23 Meredith

You'll be seeing more of them and reading more about their lives very soon!

We look forward to having you all here!

Go to "Do You Stack Up" for the links to their blogs amd a short bio of each one!

"Ant it cute?"

Doodle Dragons is having another challenge and this one is really terrific!

"Don't Bug Me!"

(Use a bug)

Any kind of insect - as long as it has 6 legs.

Actually, 8 legged arachnids would probably qualify also...

and remember, they must be one of Dustin's images!

With so many cute critters to choose from,

 it's easy to make a fun card for someone you know!

I picked the "Antsandwich" image from the recent April Members Release, and

paper-pieced    every    single    layer    on that burger!

I used a simple variation of the "JOY CARD" fold for this.
My understanding is that is where you have a tri-fold card base, and then apply the image, sentiments, and/or embellishments in a way
that allows them to interlock when you close the card. 
This helps keep your card closed, and really makes for a unique front.

Perhaps you can see the overlap better from a bottom view...

Starting at the bottom, the individual parts of the sandwich were colored with Copics, cut out,
and each one layered to form the sandwich,

Then I applied Glossy Accents on the cheese slices to make them look like real melted cheese.

I used a silver gel pen for the little sword and clear seed beads for the sesame seeds.

"Victory is mine", he says!

Check out the rest of the Design Team's projects at

Dustin Pike's Blog!

Just playin' around...

Thought I'd dabble in my embossing powders again today.

My day's not complete until I plug in the heat gun!

Believe it or not, I painstakingly tinted the ribbon to match the large pink flower!

Why do our photos do this to us?  

With the outside temperatures well over 100, I do my flower-gazing indoors!

This card is entered into the challenges at:

The Shabby Tea Room (inspiration photo)
Sentimental Sundays (Posies and Sentiment)

DYSU is Under The Sea!

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps
* $10 Gift Certificate 



The Stamping Boutique
* Winner’s Choice of 3 Digis

Melonheadz -  http://melonheadzillustrating.blogspot.com/
* $15 Gift Certificate
 

Challenge #74...

I used the Melonheadz "Mermaid" image,

and had so much fun making this cute little card!

You might say her little starfish lost its' "charm" when I lopped off the ring and chose not to use it as a charm but as a hair barrette!

I have really gotten to where I love working with these step cards! It gives a nice perspective when you want to highlight a particular element.

My netting was a combination of

May Arts green mesh and a white veggie bag from the grocery store! LOL!

The "sand" is Stampendous "Crushed Glass Glitter" in Gold and Fresh Green.

The sparkle on the mermaid is simply Stickles.

The image is colored with Copics, and the background is embossed with

Cuttlebug, "Swiss Dots".

That pretty much wraps it up!

Have a great day!

Jan

Hey, Friend!

Welcome to the next stop of your hop at

Waltzing Mouse!

The challenge this month is to use felt or cozy fabrics!

If you've gotten here by other means due to the challenge at
Stampendous,
Thank You and please enjoy my project!

Sentiments are by Stampendous

Dotted frame is Waltzing Mouse, Vintage Labels

I decided to recycle something from my stash of boxes, containers,

and objects that I have hoarded for the last 2 years. 

After pulling out the only felt shapes I own (Heartfelt, CTMH) , I recalled having an empty Close To My Heart kit box from back in the early days of my scrapping!

It was perfect for decorating and using as a future gift box!

I'm always looking for a clever way to give something special that's a bit different from the everyday.

I stamped and heat embossed the label from the "Vintage Labels" set, and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the coordinating Labels 18...easy!

The Close To My Heart punch-out felt pieces made it pretty easy, too!

This was as simple as just a card to make, and it will be such a fun gift to give!

What shall I fill it with?  The options are many!

 I made the little matching gift card, adding the felt and embossing.

Thanks for taking the time to hop today!

And before you hop on, please remember Claire in your prayers, and send her strength to continue all the wonderful accomplishments she's had thus far.   
Please show your appreciation to ALL the women in your lives, today and everyday;
mothers, daughters, family, friends, neighbors,...
We tend to take them for granted,
assuming that they are doing what they do because it is expected of them.  
We are strong when we need to be strong,
and tender when the situation requires it.
Love each other.

Cardstock:  Bazzill
Stamps:  Waltzing Mouse (Vintage Labels),
Stampendous (Happy Messages, Sunny Flowers)
Die:  Spellbinders Nesties, Labels 18
Embossing powders: Stampendous

Also entered into the challenge at
Stampendous Impressions (Gift Box and card)

A little birdie told me....

I was so excited to see the Design Team's theme this week!

BIRDS!

Enter and you could win:

Meljen's Designs - http://www.meljensdesigns.com/
* Winner Choice of 4 Images



Robyn's Fetish - http://robynsfetish.com
* Winner’s Choice of 5 Digital Stamps


Little Claire's Designs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Love in the Spring"

I had been working on this project for my submission to

Stampendous Impressions (May challenge - a gift item)
for over a week, and knew it would be great to post it here for my

 "Do You Stack Up?"  
friends, too!

I decided to take pictures as I went along as a type of photo tutorial...and to give a tip or two on what to do and NOT to do!

Now, let's begin...

I started with this simple metal bird cage I have used a a photo backdrop
for a long time.

It seriously needed a facelift!

I wanted to give a vintage, old look to the papers on the bottom of the cage (twigs),

so I spritzed some old music sheets with a variety of colors of glimmer-type mists.

After letting several layers of the color dry thoroughly,

 I ran them through our paper shredder.

(I use it more as a scrap tool than to shred bank statements!)

 I also misted the silk ivy vines just to give them a hint of shimmer.

A tiny bit of moss gives the "female bird" something soft
for her and her eggs to rest on.

The next step has a warning included...lol!

Plastic "eggs" can NOT be heat embossed!

They looked adorable until they started collapsing on themselves. 
Kind of hilarious, and sad at the same time....
Next time, I may choose to go with wooden eggs...
But, I didn't have the energy to run out to my local craft store, so I needed to come up with a simpler solution...using the plastic ones....

This didn't stop me from using my favorite "go-to" bird egg finish...
Stampendous, Shabby Blue Embossing Powder.
I simply covered them with glue and sprinkled the perfectly colored powder all over the eggs and let them dry. A spritz of matte sealer, and they're good to go!
Still the perfect "bird egg blue"!

Oh, wait, the fun's not over!
If you've read along this far, thank you so very much!
For the record, this IS the longest post I've ever put together!

Next, I stamped two copies of the bird from Stampendous "Jumbo Songbird" rubber stamp onto a fine cream muslin and layered it with some batting.  Then, I sewed around the shapes and cut them out, producing two cute, PUFFY little birds as blank canvases.



What is terrific is that fabric heat embosses quite well!
A teensy bit of glue to hold the embossing glitters in place and hitting it with a heat gun is so easy!
Stays right where you want it, and will NEVER rub off!
They HAD to have some tiny rhinestone eyes, too!

I frayed and inked the edges of the birds to give them an even more rustic appearance.
A little Stampendous, Powder Blue Fran'tage Color Fragments
sprinkled into the "nest",
and then I assembled the cage.  (Eggs, Birds, Ivy...)

As the finishing touch, I added the Prima flowers to match the hues of my mother's  sofa and a splash of color to the project!

Ta-da!

Hopefully, this is going on my mother's end table in her livingroom.
She loves all things "country", and especially, birds.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Stampendous, "Jumbo Songbird"
Embossing Powder: Stampendous

This project is also being entered in the challenge at
LESSology (Birds of a Feather)

Again, thanks for all of your patience and reading through this post!