Just Us Girls #175 - Masking Technique

This week's challenge is brought to us by Lisa and she has challenged us to use any type of masking technique.  I used basic masking and if you need a tutorial you can find it here.

I pulled out my Buckets of Love set from There She Goes and masked off the bucket so the heart cluster fit into it perfectly.  Coloured the image with Twinkling H2Os and used this wonderful Fab Friday sketch to put the card together.

For some inspiration to get you going, just hop on over to the Just Us Girls blog, and check out what the Design Team has created.  Then put your creative genes to work and add your card/project to the challenge post on the JUGS blog for the chance to be selected as Chick of the Week.  

The kids had a Prerosional Day on Friday and our new, provincial Family Day holiday falls on Monday, so it's a four day weekend for us.  We're off to the soccer pitch for my son's game on Saturday (fingers crossed for a win as they are in the playoffs), I'll be teaching the grade 5/6 Sunday School class this weekend, and then we will be doing some sort of fun, family activity (yet to be determined) on Monday to celebrate Family Day together :) 
 
Have a great weekend!  Back on Monday with my Mojo Monday card. 



What's In It?
Stamps:  Buckets of Love (There She Goes), French Script (Stampin'g Up)
Paper:   Going Grey, Black, Dots and Stripes (Echo Park)
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up), Twinkling H2Os,  Bling,, Dimensionals 

Happy Birthday Jessica

I am delighted to be a part of Jessica Knutsen's birthday blog hop.  She is the owner of There She Goes Stamps, for whom I was a Trendi for three months last year.  I loved working with her and her wonderful team.   Her real birthday isn't for a few days, but since it lands right in the middle of the next TSG release, it's a crazy busy time for her and the team.  Therefore, we are starting the celebrations early and giving her a birthday week :)  

If you have come from Lee Murphy's blog you are right on track.  If not, you can go to the list at the end of the post to start from the the beginning.

Deciding which TSG stamp to use was a no brainer.  I just loooove this sweet pea image!   I also happen to love sweet peas and can't wait to plant some in my garden so we can put some in a vase on our kitchen table and enjoy their sweet aroma.

Wishing you a wonderful birthday, Jessica!!  May you be spoiled rotten on your day and may the year ahead bring the fulfillment of some of your heart's desires :)

Now it's time to hop on over to Megan Lock's blog.

 

What's In It?
Stamps: Sweet Peas (There She Goes Stamps)
Paper:  Black and White
Ink:  Black
Accessories:  Lacy Circle and Circle Nesties, Twinkling H2Os, 5/8" Sheer White Ribbon, Button, Black Half Pearls, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

Second Annual There She Goes Blog Hop

Welcome to day two of the second annual Mother of All Blog Hops sponsored by There She Goes stamps. If you have come here from Tammy Hershberger's blog you are right on track.  If you just happened across the Hop, simply go to the There She Goes blog to start the Hop and to find out what is required to be eligible for the prizes being offered.

Each Hop participant was to chose a There She Goes set to showcase in their post, and as you can see, I chose Sweet Peas.  I absolutely love this image and the accompanying sentiments are great. 


I got my inspiration from last week's Limelight sketch.  I didn't add the inner circle as my image wouldn't fit the card if I did so (where is a Grand Caliber Scalloped circle nestie when you need one lol) but the rest of the card does follow the sketch.

The sweet peas are coloured with Twinkling H2Os and I stamped, coloured and cut out three additional flowers and popped them up for some dimension.  A little piece of sheer pink and white polka dotted ribbon, some black accents and I can smell the sweet peas in my mind :)   Such a lovely scent which reminds me of my mom who always grows them in her garden and has a little bouquet of them in a vase on her counter.

Now it is time to hop on over the the uber talented Iwona Palamountain's blog to see what she has created for your viewing pleasure.  Thanks so much for stopping by today and a huge Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there (((hugs)))! 




What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Sweet Peas
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Rose Romance, Certainly Celery, Black
Ink: Black
Accessories: Lacy Circle and Circle Nesties, Twinkling H2Os, PTI Medium Scallop Die, Sheer Pink, White Polka Dotted Ribbon, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Half  Pearls, Dimensionals

There She Goes April Sketch

 

This week's There She Goes sketch was a fun one to work with.  Love how you can dress it up as much or as little as you want to.

I decided to combine this sketch with this week's Color Throwdown as they had some wonderful earthy colours to play along with and it was perfect for this cute little gnome image from My Little Friend.

I coloured the image with Twinkling H2Os and my white gel pen came to the rescue for a slight colouring booboo the cat caused by jumping up on my desk while I was colouring the image.  Typical cat, has to be the center of attention and check out what is diverting my attention from him!  Needless to say, my payback was giving him a good brushing shortly thereafter LOL!

Next week and weekend are going to be very busy as hubby and I are once again cooking for the youth retreat at the church next Friday and Saturday.  There will most likely be 150 hungry mouths to feed and there is lots of shopping and prep to get done so things may a bit quiet here next week unless I get a chance to do some stamping this weekend so I can schedule a few posts.  We are always exhausted on the Sunday after all that work involved, and being that it is Mother's Day, I think the best gift I could get would be some quiet time reading a book in bed LOL!  Mind you hubby is usually in much worse shape than I am (he is the main cook, I'm seus chef , prep and clean up girl) so my guess is I'll be entertaining the kids for a good part of the day and will have to take a rain cheque on my reading in bed.  Or, maybe I can trade my hours in bed reading for a larger Mother's Day stamping gift....hmmm....that would be a great way to put a dint in my ever growing wish lists! 

Okay, I've blabbered on long enough!  Hope you are having a fabulous weekend and thanks for sharing a bit of yours with me :)




What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) My Little Friend

Paper: Crushed Curry, Recollections DP, Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizzaz
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Martha Stewart Border Punhc, Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, 1" Greeen Grosgrain Ribbon, Raffia, Button, Half Pearls, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Kitties for Jen

This is my card for this month's Sketch For Your To Try.   It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a month can go by!  Seems like just yesterday when it was the beginning of April!

I decided to use this adorable kitty image from There She Goes Catitude set.  Love this set, especially since we have a cat and my daughter is cat crazy :)   SO many fun images and sentiments that are "all cat" LOL!

I coloured the image with Twinkling H2Os and just had to use this paw print DP :)   Played around with which colours to use for some time and finally settled on these as pink and turquoise were just a bit too much for me this morning LOL!  A touch of twine adn a few dew drops (remember those LOL) and I called it a card.

Have a purrrrrfect day :)





What's In It?
Stamps:  (There She Goes) Catitude
P aper:  Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Cat Print DP, Brown  
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Twinkling H2Os, Pink Bakers' Twine, Dew Drops, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Paper Piercer, Dimensinals

TSG Vivacious Vellum Challenge

This week's challenge on the There She Goes blog is hosted by none other than yours truly :)   It will be a busy week as I post a challenge, tutorial and dollar store find this week but I'm up for it :)

My challenge is to use vellum on your card.  Remember when vellum was "the" thing to use on your card?!  I loved it then and actually still love the soft feel it gives a card, but seldom remember to reach for it, thus my challenge.

I based my card on this week's Splitcoast Stampers sketch and used one of my favorite There She Goes sets, Sweet Pea.  I simply adore sweet peas - their colours, shape, smell, everything about them.  My mom plants them in her garden every year and always has a wonderful little bouquet in a vase on her counter, so they hold many fond memories too.   

Now that I looked at the picture of my card I realized I am on a bit of a scored background bender...sorry about that!  Looks like I have done it on my past three cards!  Well, at least it isn't swiss dots, right?! LOL!  I anchored my vellum sentiment with black half pearls and put the glue dots under them to secure it and then added a layered, vellum butterfly, masking the glue with the half pearls.

Would love it if you joined us in the challenge this week.  Simply create a card and then link it to the post on the There She Goes blog.  The winner of the challenge receives a $5 gift certificate to the There She Goes web store :)  You could also find your card featured in the Trendsetting Spotlight on Thursday.  TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)   If you are uploading to a public gallery, simply use the keyword TSG102.

Have a fabulous day :) 



What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Sweet Peas

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey, SU DSP, Vellum
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Scalloped Oval and Oval Nesties, Scor-Pal, Twinkling H2Os, SU Border Punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punches, 5/8" White Satin Ribbon, Button, Glue Dots, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

There She Goes Round and Round Challenge

This week's challenge on the There She Goes blog is to make a card with no angles on it!  That means round or oval only - including what is on the card!   Kept having to say "nope, can't do that", "nope, that has an angle on it" as I thought of different things I could  use on a circle card - wasn't as easy as I though it would be!

I finally settled (aka: wimped out) on creating a scene with this adorable little gnome and his little mushroom house.  I just love this My Little Friend set!  So many cute images which are fun to colour and so many fabulous coordinating sentiments :)

After stamping some extra grassy bits (thanks Torinco for including that little image in the set!) I coloured the images with Twinkling H2Os and popped up the two focal images.  There was a "hole in the sky" that needed  something so I hand drew a cloud and added it into the scene.  Was about ready to call it a night when my wonderful daughter told me my line of orange half pearls was straight so I curved it instead - phew!

That's it for today.  Off to help with Hot Lunch at the school and then hopefully still have enough time before the kids get home to get inky again :)  It feels soooo good to be stamping regularly again!!





What's In It?
Stamps:  (There She Goes) My Little Friend
Paper: Real Red, White
Ink: Black
Accessories: Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Twinkling H2Os, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

There She Goes Release Previews - Day 3

Today is the third and final day of April's There She Goes release previews.  Torinco is the designer of this totally fun set and the clean designs and adorable images that characterize her style have come out in full force once again!  Gnomes are all the rage right now with Gnomio and Juliet in the theaters and this set had 31 stamps that will allow you to have loads of fun coordinating gnome images and sentiments.

If you have come here from Kim's blog you are right on track.  If not, you can go back to the There She Goes Blog and start from the beginning.

Isn't this little guy cute!!  Just look at that face :)   There are so many fabulous images in this set I had a hard time choosing which one to use!  You can't go wrong with any of them.  This little guy stole my heart for now so I coloured him with Twinkling H2Os and grounded him with a little grass.  

I decided to use Jen's March Sketch For You To Try as I haven't used this month's sketch yet, and as fate would have it, it is another skewed panel LOL!!  As fate was having a fun with me, it hit again with this week's Off The Wall color challenge, but this time is was a wonderful twist of fate :)  The colours are absolutely perfect for gnomes!!  So, one great twist of fate and one skewed twist of fate made their way on to this card.


I outlined my nestie to form the frame around the image and added three half pearls to the top right corner as that spaced needed a little something.  Never know whether to put the sentiment panel straight or skewed on these types of sketches so went with skewed, but am beginning to think straight would have been better?!  What do you "skewed panel experts" do?  I'd love to know!

Do you want to win this set?  All you need to do is go to each of the blogs in the Hop and leave a comment on their My Little Friend post.  Once you have left some love on each of the blogs in the Hop, head on over to the There She Goes blog and add your name to Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post.  A winner will be randomly chosen to receive their very own My Little Friend stamp set.

The full release party will be held on Saturday, March 26 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time over on the There She Goes Forum.  Winners of the release preview Blog Hops will also be announced at the Release Party.

Now it's time to hop on over to Melyssa's blog to see what kind of wonderful gnome goodness she has prepared for you.





What's In It?
Stamps: There She Goes - My Little Friends (set of 31 images for $24)
Paper:  Making Memories DP, Real red, Wild Wasabi 
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Twinkling  H2Os, Circle and Labels 17 Nesties, Half  Pearls, Dimensionals,

There She Goes Previews - Day 2

Today is day two of the There She Goes April Release Previews.  If you have come from Kim's blog you are right on track.  If not, you can go to the There She Goes blog and start from the beginning.

Chris Dark is the illustrator of the first preview set called Tulip.  I was beyond thrilled when I saw this set because tulips are my favorite flower!!  Her image is wonderfully realistic and I know I'll be using it many times over :)

I coloured my tulip with Twinkling H2Os and used the Just Add Ink sketch from a few week's ago.  Since tulips are a true sign of spring, I decided to go with some lovely pastels.  I scored the white background panel to give it a little something, and though you can't see it in the picture, the saffron panel is some SU DSP with a very subtle pattern on it. 

The rectangle is made from placing two lacy nestie squares together (think Spellbinders needs to put out a lacy rectangle set next!).  I'm happy with the soft feel to this card and can't wait to send it to a friend. Maybe a fellow tulip lover at that :) 

Today we also get to preview a set designed by none other than Jessica Knutsen, owner of There She Goes Stamps herself!!  Jessica has come up with a very fun set called Technology Bytes.  She has covered her bases too!  From cell phones to PCs, and lots of  hilarious sentiments to go with the images in this set.   You'll definitely get a good laugh when you read them.

I used this week's Sweet and Sassy sketch for my second card.  Yes, I know it has a skewed panel....eeeek, what is happening to me LOL!   It had the right size and shape panel I needed to fit the image I wanted to use so I went for it.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it :)

Since I use a PC (though I do dream of owning a laptop some day...),  I opted for this image and just had to use this sentiment because it hits close to home LOL!  The TSG on the screen stands for There She Goes of course :)   Couldn't resist adding that with a little heart next to it.  There are lots of other sentiments that I could have used and can't wait to make another card with this set so I can use some more of them!

Want to win these sets?  All you need to do is leave some love on every blog in the Hop and then go to the There She Goes blog and add your name to Mr. Linky at the bottom of the Technolgy Bytes and Tulip Blog Hop post.  A winner will be randomly chosen.  If you need the master hop list, just pop on over to the There She Goes blog and get it so you don't miss your chance at winning these great sets.

Okay, now it is time to go and check out the fabulous sneak peeks Melyssa has in store for you on her blog.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for the last sneak peek - it's adorable!




Tulip Card
What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Tulips (set of 8 stamps for $7)
Paper: Pretty In Pink, Cool Caribbean, So Saffron DSP
Ink: Black
Accessories: Lacey Nestie Squares, SU Scalloped Oval and Large Oval Punches, Scor-Pal, Twinkling H2Os, 5/8" Blue Satin Ribbon, Button, Glue Dot, Bling, Dimensinoals


Computer Card
What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Technology Bytes(set of 20 stamps for $18)
Paper: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, DSP
Ink: Black
Accessories:  SU Scalloped Border Punch, Scalloped Square and Square Nesties, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 5/8" Satin Saffron Ribbon, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals, Mini Heart Punch, Stickles, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

There She Goes Previews - Day 1

Today is the first day of April's There She Goes release sneak peaks.  I am so excited to be a part of April's release and blog  hop as a There She Goes Guest Trendie :)    

If you have come here from Tobi's blog you are right on track.  If you have tripped across the hop by visiting my blog, you can go to the There She Goes blog and start from the beginning.  If you visit each blog and leave a little love on each one, you could possibly win this set.  

Today's set is called Out of This World and is designed by Melyssa Connolly.  I absolutely fell in love with this totally adorable little space creature the moment I saw him (or her if you like).  I mean who can resist the cuteness of that face!!

I used this week's Flourishes sketch, flipped it, and combined it with the Just Add Ink colour challenge as the colours were perfect for this little alien :)

I coloured him with my Twinkling H2O's -- where are Copics when you need them!! -- and had great
fun pulling out my Spots and Dots embossing folder (which I haven't used forever) as it reminded me of the moon's terrain.  A few half pearls to make his eyes stand out a bit more as well as a few black accents and this little guy is ready to worm his way into somebody's heart.

Do you want to win this set?  Simply go to each of the blogs on the hop and leave them some love under the Out of This World post.  Once you have commented on every blog in the Hop, simply go to the There She Goes blog and add your name to Mr. Linky at the bottom of the post.  If you need the master Hop List, simply go to the There She Goes blog and start from the beginning.  The winner will be announced Saturday, March 26th, during the Release Party.

Thanks for popping in today :)  Be sure to come back tomorrow, as I'll be previewing not one, but two new sets!




What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Out of This World (set of  19 stamps for $18)
Paper:  Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Kraft, Black
Ink: Black
Accessories:  Twinkling H2Os, Crimper, Dots and Spots Embossing Folder, Scalloped Circle and Circle Nesties, Button, Twine, Glue Dots, Scor-Pal, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Flowers and Polka Dots Oh My!!

Yeah!!!! I've finally finished my work for hubby so I get to play in my craft area again!!  It feels wonderful and yet a bit strange at the same time.  However, I'm thinking I can alleviate that issue pretty quickly LOL!

That being said, it has been a sloooow go getting the old mojo back up and running.  Kind of like when you turn on the car and all you hear is whaaaaow, whaaaow, whaaaow and then silence.  So, what better place to rev up the old mojo than a sketch challenge, and this week's There She Goes sketch is where I'm starting off this week. 

I combined the sketch with last week's Color Q challenge (late again...).  Some pretty bright colours, but I just love orange and blue together so gave it a whirl.  With flowers never far from my  mind, I used the There She Goes Polka Dot Blooms set.  Needless to say, I was doing a happy dance when I first saw this set because I love flowers and polka dots and this set has them both :) 


As an aside, TSG has a giveaway for this challenge.  All you need to do is create a card that uses the sketch, and add it to the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post.  If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG98.  The challenge is open until the winner has been announced on Monday (Mar 21st). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store! TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)   By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday.  


Thanks for your patience with my minimal posting the past six weeks :)   I'm going to be stamping up a storm this week and hopefully getting my mojo back in full swing so I can post daily.  That being said, the kids are off for a two week Spring Break as of next Monday (21st) so that may derail my best laid plans once again, but I'll do my best to post as often as I can over those two weeks. 

Have a wonderful day (((hugs)))!







What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Polka Dot Blooms
Paper: Cool Caribbean, So Saffron, Blue, Black
Ink: Bliss Blue
Accessories: Circle Punches, Seeing Spots Embossing Folder, Crimper, SU Scalloped Border Punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Crimper, Polka Dotted Ribbon, Half Pearls, Dimensionals

Mojo Monday Gets Trendie

I combined this week's Mojo Monday sketch and the CR84FN inspiration challenge.  I just love the colour combination of the inspiration picture, and it is perfect for turning one's thoughts to Spring, especially after the 3 inches of snow we got this past weekend.  It came and went in a day - one of the benefits of living on the West Coast near the water - so it was short lived.  However, I must say it was nice to have the frozen version of water rather than the liquid one for a change LOL! 

I opted for the square version of the sketch this time as I wanted to use this gorgeous sweet pea image from There She Goes.  I coloured the image with Twinkling H2Os and used a heart in lieu of the circle in the sketch.  Due to the lovely soft feel of the inspiration pictures, sheer ribbon was my ribbon of choice.  Not totally sold on the button by the sentiment, but something was needed near the sentiment panel and after multiple attempts at what should go there, I settled on the button.  Darn decision making process on the placement and type of embellishments took me longer than the actual card!  It was just one of those indecisive days I guess.

It was great fun to get inky again and a wonderful little break from working for hubby, though I can definitely tell I'm not in my craft room as much as I usually am because the old mojo is harder to start up.  Or maybe it's simply due to my still recovering from skewed panelitis LOL!

Have a wonderful day :)






What's In It?
Stamps: (There She Goes) Sweet Peas
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Magenta, Girl's Paperie DP
Ink: Black
Accessories: 5/8" Pink Sheer Ribbon, Scalloped Heart Nesties, SU Border Punch, Twinkling H2Os, Button, Glue Dot, Dimensionals

I'm Getting Trendie

I have had to keep this news under my hat for way too long and it feels good to finally be able to spill the beans! 

I have the wonderful privilege of being a Guest Trendie for There She Goes Stamps for the months of March and April!  I am so excited to have this opportunity, and quite honestly a little intimidated, to be working alongside such an amazing group of talented ladies.  Check out the There She Goes blog for a peek at all the wonderful stampers on Jessica's team.

I'll be back with more information on challenges etc. as they come up. Until then, happy stamping :)