Happy Birthday Lisa!...JUGS29 47

Hi Everyone! This week, Just Us Girls is not only offering a Color challenge hosted by Maria however, there we are including a special twist :) We are celebrating JUGS DT member, Lisa's birthday :) so, if you play along, please feel free to use these pretty pastels to make a Birthday Card! Please hop on over to Lisa's blog & wish her a Happy Birthday :)Here is Lisa's Happy Birthday card:

Lisa lives in my hometown - Buffalo, NY! Small world :) Spring is probably in full blossom in that neck of the woods which made me think of sending Lisa a basket of flowers from my stamp garden :)

I used the SU Watercolor Garden Mini's set and stamped away! My dear friend Heather pointed me in the right direction for this gorgeous ribbon :) She always makes the most beautiful cards!

Hope you enjoy your SPECIAL day Lisa :)

For all the juicy details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls (found on my side bar) as well as Sue! Please don't forget to wish Lisa a Happy Birthday! :) Once you have your card photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our site. If you upload to on online gallery, please be sure to label your project as JUGS29.

Deadline to be considered for the weekly "Chic of the Week" will be 9:00 PM EST on Thursday, April 22nd. Our Inlinkz tool will also close at that time. Our top pick "Chic of the Week" will be announced on Friday morning following the deadline.

Ingredients Used:

Stamps: Basket by Judith, SU

Paper: K&Company DP, PTI, SU

Ink: Memento, SU, Ranger, Copic markers

Other: Spellbinders: # S4-189 Labels Three, # S4-190 Labels Four, #S4-171 Nested Butterflies, EK Success punch, Prima flower, Cuttlebug embossing folder, brads from stash

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Friendly Hooty... 22

Hello Everyone! Happy Martin Luther King Day to all celebrating :) I would like to thank Paige at the Cards Blog site for featuring my Valentine's card in the "love" theme, polka dot background, scallop challenge. Yipee Skipee!!! I have a little card to share that I made for my girlfriend, Lori! It is sort of plain & not really "frilly" but that is the sort of girl Lori is. Lori is a sweet nature loving, outdoorsy sort of gal. No makeup, no heels, no dresses for her... She is semi-retired & when in town, she volunteers locally at the Owl Rescue Program & when out of town at her second home, she volunteers with the Dolphin Rescue on Maui! How neat is that?! Paige is hosting another challenge this week focused on using trees/branches on your card. For some awesome information be sure to check out Paige's sample of inspiration as well as all the other girls & entrants!

Here is my Friendship Hooty card:

This card was very simple to make. I used 3 different patterns of DP from the DCWV The Green Stack which is 70% Recycled Paper! (Lori will be thrilled to know that :) I stitched the strips on to a piece of white cs then stitched the stamped & embossed rectangular scallop on top of that being careful to wrap the twine around first!

Using my SU markers, I applied SU Chocolate Chip marker to the branch & SU Green Galore marker to the leaves. Doing the little "huff" method (a.k.a.: breathe on the stamp to moisten the ink method!), I then stamped the image. On a separate piece of cs, I stamped the Hero Arts Tiny Owl image using Memento Tuxedo Black. I colored the image with the following Copic Markers: Dull Ivory E43, Caramel YR14, Dark Brown E47 then cut him out with my super duper sharp scissors! I sponged him a bit with some Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink then perched him a top the branch :)

That's all for today! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Stamps: Hero Arts Tiny Owl, SU Cheep Talk Paper: DCWV The Green Stack, SU Kraft, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, SU Chocolate Chip, Green Galore, Copic Markers: Dull Ivory E43, Caramel YR1, Dark Brown E47 Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Long Rectangle & Rectangle dies, EK Success punches, Making Memories brads, PTI twine, Buttons from stash, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF

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One Of A Kind... 26

Hello Everyone! T.G.I.F. :) Are you one of the LUCKY ones who have a loooong Holiday weekend? Unfortunately for me, working in a hospital we are open 24 / 7 & only recognize 6 of the major Holidays throughout the year :( I am not much of a football fanatic but I do try to cheer our home team on, the Phoenix Cardinals. Well, the "Cards" are playing this weekend in a playoff game against the New Orleans Saints. My DH is torn because he was born & raised in Louisiana! I am sure he will be happy either way :) Anyways, I made this card simply to have on hand. For color inspiration, I played along with the girls at the Color Throwdown, CTD75, using this rich palette of colors that LeAnne has chosen. If you want to see some gorgeous creations, I recommend visiting all the samples of inspiration that these girls have provided :)

Here is my One Of A Kind card....

I started making this card by first inking up the Rubber Stampede Music Background stamp with Memento Tuxedo ink. After cutting down to size, I sort of sat there looking at it, thinking hmm..."what now?" I knew I wanted to stamp some sort of flower image with the beautiful SU Rich Razzleberry ink.

So I inked up this particular flower image from the PTI Flower Garden set with SU Rich Razzleberry ink & stamped it on a separate piece of paper. I cut out the flower image because it just looked too flat to me. I set it aside, then stamped the PTI stem/leaf image, centered a Spellbinders Labels 5 die over the image then sent it through my Sizzix Big Shot Express machine. Still too "flat", I gave it some texture by sandwiching the Label in the Cuttlebug flourish EF.

Back to the stamped Music Background. It was too "blah" looking so I dressed it up by randomly stamping stems & flower images. The wee little tag was cut using a Spellbinders Labels 5 die centered over the stamped embossed sentiment. That was a little plain too, so I inked up the edges with Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo ink & stamped a few stem images. Happy now, I stitched up the card :)

That's it for today, I hope you stop by tomorrow as it is Saturday & that means time for a new Just Us Girls challenge! I am curious, do you have a favorite image that you like to "dress" up a plain background with? A flourish, a leaf... I would love to know! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Stamps: PTI Flower Garden, SU One Of A Kind, Rubber Stampede Music Background Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Rich Razzleberry, Garden Green, Mellow Moss Paper: SU Rich Razzleberry, Garden Green, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla Sprinkles: Spellbinders Labels 5, Making Memories hardware, Cuttlebug Flourish EF, Offray ribbon, EK Success border punch, (gold cord, embossing powder & button from stash)

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Just Us Girls Technique Challenge......JUGS15 58

Hi Friends! Thanks to all of you who played along with the Just Us Girls sketch challenge last week! Lisa's sketch was so incredibly popular :) This week, I am the Hostess for the JUGS15 Technique challenge & I chose to Add stitching to your project! It doesn't matter if you stitch something on your card by hand, faux stitch or put your machine to use! We simply would like to see your creation in stitches! :)

Here is my card:

As you can see, I stitched the entire perimeter of each rectangle :) I was first a "sewer" before I ever dreamed of playing with paper & ink! My dear mom taught me how to sew when I was very young & I was hooked ever since. I used to make all of my daughter's dresses & doll clothes :) I dusted off my sewing machine & gave sewing a try on my cards a few months ago. Now, I can't put it away :) I am so crazy about the new MTME © Pretty Printables: Flutters & Flowers & Fluttering-by digital paper! All the DP that you see here is from those collections!

Here is my Valentine Set:

I loove to give gift sets - so how easy to give a lovely MTME © In A Pinch gift box full of Kisses!

I just had to play along with the embellish magazine's color challenge with Hearts! Doesn't this photo inspiration look soooo YUMMY, bright & cheerful :)

For sketch inspiration, I played along with the girls at Kazan's awesome sketch #43 from 2Sketches4You. That long rectangle right smack dead center, was screaming for heart embellishments :) The text on this paper is so fun & whimsical! Believe it or not, I only used ONE stamp on this card - I think that is a 1st for me! I inked up the sweet MTME © sentiment with SU Basic Black ink & stamped it then, using the smallest beautifully ornate Spellbinders Labels 5 die, I placed it right over the image & cut it out with my Sizzix Big Shot Express machine. Please be sure to visit both of the challenge sites & take a peek at what the DT's & players have created for your viewing pleasure!

The MTME © In A Pinch template is so easy to use & versatile, you can pack it full of virtually any sort of sweet treats for your Valentine! :) All 4 panels make for great space to stitch your favorite DP to :)

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls & leave them some love:

Pam

Kristin

Dana

Tracey

Maria

Alicia

Gabby

Thanks for looking! I look forward to seeing you add some stitching to your project!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Template: My Time Made Easy LLC © Pretty Packaging: In A Pinch Stamps: My Time Made Easy LLC © Pretty Impressions: All A Flutter Paper: My Time Made Easy LLC © Pretty Printables: Flutters & Flowers, SU Pretty in Pink, PTI Pure Poppy, Office Max 65 lb digital brightwhite 
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, SU Basic Black Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Hearts, Hearts & Labels 5 dies, Cuttlebug Heart dies, EK Success border punch, PTI ribbon, buttons & cord from stash, Making Memories hardware

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Just Us Girls Sketch Challenge...JUGS14 30

Hi Girls! I hope you are all enjoying the first day of 2010! Now that the holidays are behind us, maybe we will all be able to find some "free-time" (LOL!) to create & play with our crafting products :) You may have noticed a new name along with her creation on the JUGS site? Well, that is Gabby & she has agreed to play along with us as our Featured Designer for the month of January :) What better way to start the New Year than with a Sketch challenge with Just Us Girls? This week, the Lovely Lisa is our Hostess for the Just Us Girls Sketch Challenge #14, JUGS14 & has dreamed up this amazing sketch for us all to play with!

Here is my card:

I made a trip to my local scrapbook store (LSS) this week & found this awesome Cosmo Cricket DP. It has a Western / Vintage look about it & made me think of one of my favorite SU sets, One of a Kind & the coordinating Boho Blossoms punch.

I cut those cute little hearts using Spellbinders Scalloped Heart & Heart dies. After inking up the edges of the Rose Red heart, I layered & adhered both heart sets on the card.

I inked up those various sized blossoms with SU Rose Red, More Mustard & Chocolate Chip ink & went to town, stamping away then punched out the 2 smaller punches with the Boho Blossoms punch. I hand cut out the larger blossom with my trusty little scissors :)

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls & Gabby's blog who will be this month's Guest Designer to see how they created their project! Thanks for looking! We look forward to seeing how you work your magic with Lisa's sketch!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to Just Us Girls and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Stamps: SU One of a Kind Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, SU Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, More Mustard Paper: SU Rose Red, Kraft, Bravo Burgandy, Chocolate Chip, Natural's Ivory, Very Vanilla, Cosmo Cricket DP, Bingo card courtesy of Tonya Daughty Sprinkles: Spellbinders Scalloped Heart & Heart dies, Cuttlebug Flower EF, SU Boho Blossoms punch, Making Memories brads, PTI button & twine, EK Success Oval punch, Sizzix Oval die

REMEMBER: Sunday is the THE OFFICIAL RELEASE day for My Time Made Easy LLC! Thanks for looking :) Be Sweet!

Here is a photo of my dear sister Tina (on the right) & I on our bicycles getting ready to hit the road for our first ride of 2010 :)

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Happy New Year! 25

Hi Girls! I would like to thank all of you for hanging in there with me during 2009 & I hope you all continue to follow me along this papercrafting journey - who knows where 2010 will take us? :) Hopefully all of you had a great New Year's celebration & are enjoying the First day of 2010 - maybe getting some crafting time in :) We stayed at home simply relaxing & enjoying the fact that we had a loooong weekend away from work! What did you do? A friend of mine has the flu, so I made her a Get Well Gift set that included a Get Well card & a My Time Made Easy LLC © Cutesy Cover Printable Packaging template to hold a 1/2 dozen of tea bags.

Here is my Get Well Gift set:

You may remember a few weeks ago, Kristin at Just Us Girls challenged us to use the Chalkboard technique? Well, I fell in love with it and used that technique to make the Lavender teapot :) I inked up the PTI teapot image with SU Craft White ink then using a sponge dauber, I sponged on some lavender chalk. After cutting out the teapots, I put them off to the side & slightly sprayed hairspray over to help "sit" the chalk which prevents future smudging. If you haven't tried this technique, I really recommend you give it a shot! The result is really fabulous! It was difficult to catch the suede look that this technique produces in these photos. The PTI teapot image appears much more deep purple than it really is. It is more of a medium shade of lavender.
I found this awesome sketch on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog. You should check out what all the DT girls have made for great samples of inspiration.I can't seem to stay away from the FREE MTME © Cutesy Cover template! This little bugger is so versatile & since it is available in various electrical cutting formats, I customized it to just the perfect size to hold 6 tea bags!
All the flower embellies were punched using various sizes of EK Success flower punches & are distressed a tad with Ranger Tim Holtz Antique photo ink, layered x 2 & crumpled to add a bit of character :) I stamped the center circle with the SU French Script stamp & sponged the edges.

Ingredients Used:

Stamps: PTI Tea Time, SU Sincere Salutations & French Script Paper: K&Company DP, SU River Rock, Natural's Ivory, Close To Cocoa, Bazzill Wisteria Ink: SU Chocolate Chip, Craft White, Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo Sprinkles: SU Chalk set & label punch, Spellbinders Scalloped Circle nesties, Making Memories hardware, EK Success flower punches, buttons from stash

REMEMBER: Saturday is an all new Just Us Girls sketch challenge & Sunday is the THE OFFICIAL RELEASE day for My Time Made Easy LLC! Thanks for looking :) Be Sweet!

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Shower Me With LOVE! 19

Hi Girls! Another "short" work week for me - YEAH!!! That means more crafty time :) First, I would like to thank the girls at the Embellish Magazine Blog for selecting my Snow Boy Friend card in their Top 6 for the Embellish Snowflakes Color Challenge :) I am doing the Happy Dance!!! Please be sure to visit the Embellish Magazine site & see all the beautiful creations!

This week, I am honored to be the Guest Designer at The Play Date Cafe along side the super talented Julie Ranae & all the girls on The Play Date Cafe's Design Team. This week Sweet Sarah is the Hostess & she has chosen this YUMMY color combination for The Play Date Cafe's Creativity Challenge #10, PDCC10. Sarah was inspired by a necklace that a friend had given her! How sweet is that? Sarah said "In certain lights this necklace is more of an orange with turquoise and brown but during the transition from camera to computer it's become a more dusky pink." Oh thank goodness - I love anything pink ;)

Here is my Shower Me With LOVE card: My interpretation of these colors are SU Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink & Chocolate Chip. The DP that I used to make this card is a retired collection from SU 2006! This was my very first pack of paper that I purchased from SU when my dear friend, Shana introduced me to stamping. I was saving it for a RAINY day! :)

After stamping the PTI flowery Umbrella image, I cut it out & pieced it on the embossed white oval then layered it on several more Scalloped Ovals. I love to layer anything & everything!!!

For sketch inspiration, I played along with this weeks Mercy's fun sketch, MTSC54.

I love this color combination! The pink & blue really show up nicely when layered on the rich chocolatey colored paper. For some great eye catching inspiration please be sure to stop by The Play Date Cafe, the Embellish Magazine & Mercy's site to see what ALL these girls have created!

Do you have any BIG New Year's plans? I would love to hear about them :) It is going to be a busy weekend here at Cupcake's! We have to ring in The New Year on Friday, Saturday is a NEW fun Just Us Girls sketch challenge & Sunday is slated to be THE OFFICIAL RELEASE day for My Time Made Easy LLC! I hope you have time to stop by to see what I have been up to :) Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Stamps: PTI Scattered Showers Paper: SU DP, Pretty In Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Whisper White Ink: SU Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip, Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Sprinkles: Cuttlebug Hearts & Swiss Dots EF & Heart dies, Spellbinders Scalloped Hearts & Ovals, Hearts & Ovals, EK Success punches, buttons & ribbon from stash

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Just Us Girls Template Challenge...JUGS13 38

Hi Girls! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday celebration :) Thanks to all of you who had the opportunity to play along with last week's color challenge! There were some pretty awesome creations out there to look at! This week, Dana is our lovely Hostess for the Just Us Girls 13 3-D / Template Challenge with the option to use the color BLUE & this week's challenge is sponsored by the very creative & talented Kelleigh Ratzlaff.There will also be blog candy for ONE lucky winner & a special discount available for all participants at the Digi Chick shop. For complete details, please hop over to the Just Us Girls site!











Here is my sample of Kelleigh's fun Take - Out Box template:
The base color of my Take - Out Box is made from Bazzill Guacamole cs. For all 4 sides, I cut panels using SU Chocolate Chip & BoBunny DP then I inked the edges a tad using Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo ink. After adhering all layers together, I stitched them on the main box.

To incorporate the color BLUE with my project, I made a few accent flowers using various size EK Success punches & Cuttlebug scalloped flower dies. To add some texture I ran all the flowers through the die cutting machine & then dabbed on a bit of distressing ink.

I made a tag to accompany the easy to make & versatile Take - Out Box template using the Spellbinders Labels 4 dies. I love flourishes!!!! So I inked up a flourish image from the SU Priceless set with SU Wild Wasabi ink & stamped it on the tag. I distressed the edges a bit & "popped" in an XL eyelet using the Crop A Dile II Big Bite.

I hope you can join along with Just Us Girls this week :) For complete details, please visit the Just Us Girls challenge site & be sure to visit ALL the DT girls & Kelleigh's blog to see how they created their project! Thank you Kelleigh for providing Just Us Girls with fantastic templates to play with & Hugs Dana for securing this challenge sponsorship with Kelleigh :) Thanks for looking! We look forward to seeing a variety of wonderfully decorated templates & don't forget to try to use the color BLUE!

Once you have your creation photographed, be sure to go to the Just Us Girls website and post a direct link to your project on our Mr. Linky. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by! Be Sweet!

Ingredients Used:

Digi Chick Take - Out Box Template

Stamps: SU Priceless Paper: BoBunny DP, Bazzill Guacamole, SU Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Taken With Teal Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo, SU Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi Sprinkles: EK Success flower punches, Spellbinders Labels 4 dies, We R On The Net eyelets, Making Memories brads, Offray ribbon, Cuttlebug Textile EF & Scalloped flower dies

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All That Shimmers Is Gold.... 26

Hi Girls! Happy First Day of Winter :) Hope you are all staying warm & safe where ever you may live. While the days to Christmas Day are dwindling down, I was able to create another special gift set for a dear friend of mine :) I would love to know what sort of weather conditions you experienced on the 1st Day of Winter 2009? Here in Phoenix, AZ it was about 65 degrees or so & sort of overcast. Be Sweet!

Here is my gift set:I wanted to make a custom gift box to pack those little Hershey Nuggets in, so I used the NEW My Time Made Easy "In A Pinch" Pretty Packages template © Lauren Meader. I cut this using my Cricut Expressions machine. Once assembled the final template measures 6 3/4" H x 3" W X 2" D. (Both panels for this size template fit perfectly on a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock).Perfect to accommodate my bag of treats :) Prior to assembling, I sewed all 4 multi-layered paper panels on. The Spellbinders Poinsettia's are layered x2, embossed with the Cuttlebug Textile EF & distressed with Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo ink. I tied it up with a BIG bow :)

(Note: you can rotate this image 360 degrees by doing the following... Within the photo, click and drag your mouse pointer to the left or right to spin the box! You can also use the left and right arrows on your keyboard or use the left and right arrows icons. You can also zoom in or out to get a better view of the box by using the (+) and (-) icons. Lastly, you can simply press the Play icon (circular arrow) to rotate the box automatically. Give it a try!)



The "In A Pinch" © MTME is such a versatile template that can be used for any occasion gift packaging year round & so much fun to accessorize!
I was so drawn to the color palette chosen by Jules this week at The Play Date Cafe. Jules describes these colors as "...more of a heavenly/angelic Christmas color scheme!" I think this color combo is so rich & elegant looking.
For some fun sketch inspiration, I played along with Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #52, MTSC52. For more inspiration, please be sure to visit both The Play Date Cafe & the Lord Have Mercy site!With a close up view, you can see the beautiful gold shimmer on the K&Company DP.

Ingredients Used:

My Time Made Easy "In A Pinch" Pretty Packaging template © Lauren Meader

Stamps: SU All Holidays, To You & Yours, PTI Vintage Ornaments & Fancy Flouishes Paper: K&Company DP, Bazzill Kraft, Admiral, SU Really Rust, Very Vanilla Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Antique Photo, SU Not Quite Navy, VersaMark Sprinkles: Making Memories hardware, Cuttlebug EF, Spellbinders Oval, Scalloped Oval, Poinsettia & Labels 4 nesties, EK Success border punch, buttons from stash, generic gold embossing powder & cord, Offray ribbon,

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