Just Us girls #311-Color Challenge Week!

Hi! It's still warm in Western New York, but this is the last weekend of summer! Autumn is official on September 23 (or is it 22nd?)  Anyway, Maria has an autumnal color challenge for us this week! She wants us to use RED, YELLOW and ORANGE on our projects!  Great challenge, Maria!

Here are my cards!  I have an August birthday and I have NEVER been SO late with my thank you notes!  Because of that I've made 15 variations on this first card so that I can get them written and sent soon!  I'm showing you three of my cards, so I hope you like!

 First up, I used Paper Smooches "Best Buds" stamp set , stamped on water color paper and colored with clean color real brush zig pens and water on a regular paint brush.  This one got a little dirty when I used a stencil brush on the edges with soft suede and got to much in an area. I had to 'dirty' up the rest in an effort to hide my error! I used a black sharpie for the ziggy lines around and also used lots of stickles for sparkle and shine!  The 'thanks' die cut is from Your Next Die. A perfect fit!

Same card, different photo-see the sparkle?

 And, two different cards with an altered placement of the focal image.

We sure hope you'll join the JUGS team in the challenge this week!  LOTS of DT inspiration can be see HERE!  Link your card or project to the site by 9 pm ET on Thursday, Sept. 24!  You may also have a chance to be our Guest DT member for November!

Thanks for coming by today!

Cheryl

Just Us Girls-Trend Challenge! #310

Hello!  Now that we are back in school I sure welcome the weekend!  So happy that Saturday is here! One reason to ALWAYS be happy it's Saturday is a new Just Us Girls challenge! This week it's my turn to host and I picked BALLOONS as the trend !  They are every where lately, don't you think?!  In dies and stamps and in all shapes and sizes!

I used a new stamp set from Darcie's Heart and Home rubber stamps that I got when Lisa and I went to the Stamp and Scrap Tour show when it was in town. It's so much fun to see sooo many products in person! We spend the day and a few dollars there! I colored the duck with my Clean Color Zig Pens and fussy cut him out by hand. (I'm such a wimp-I want dies for every stamp now!).  The balloom is cut using a die from MFT. I used real twine to tie it in his open wing.

The background is made on watercolor paper using Ken Oliver's Colorburst Powders.  Lisa showed them to me when we were in our Local stamp store in August.  She is such an enabler!  I bought 3 or 4 that day. Before even using them I saw that Taylored Expressions was carrying all the colors and as long as I was ordering I ordered the rest of the colors!  Geez! Anyway, I tapped a little powder onto watercolor paper in a few areas (crimson, yellow and orange) and then spritzed carefully with water from a distance away.  Then I waited and watch the water work.  If the paper curled and water went to the edge I used a little paper toweling to wick that off.  I wanted it kind of splotchy so I dried it with my heat gun. I did the same with green and ultramarine blue on paper before cutting the balloon. I used a little clear wink of stella on the balloon to add sparkle.It picked up a little color.
I understand Ken Oliver has some You tube videos so I think I'll watch how he uses his powders before I play again! However, I kind of like how mine came out!

We, at Just Us Girls, sure hope you'll look over your crafty supplies and find balloons you can use (or even just circles!) and join us in the week's challenge!
Check out our blog for tons of inspiration!

Just Us Girls #309 WORD WEEK!

Hello friends! Well, I'm in a fallish mood despite the extreme summer heat we're having here in Western New York!  Lisa is the Just Us Girls Host for this week and she has a challenge with a touch of fall as well!  Her WORD CHALLENGE to inspire us this week is APPLE!! Isn't that perfect!?  I couldn't wait to get started on it! Luckily I didn't have school today so it was first on my list this morning! (And I always have a Looong list!! You too?)  Use the link above to visit the blog for loads of apple inspiration!

 For my card I used this great Gary Paulsen image from Impression Obsession.  I don't know the title, but if you love it just search Impression Obsession. They have stamps sorted by artists, and he's a true artist!   I stamped it on watercolor paper in Ranger Archival Jet Black ink (waterproof).  The image is colored with my Clean Color Real Brush Zig Pens and a paint brush with water.  It's so fun to water color this way.  I love those things! Easier and quicker than getting out my reinker bottles.

I used a piece of craft foam to mount my image on instead of dimensionals. that way the main panel doesn't sag.  The orange layer is Summer Sunrise (PTI) stamped in Cajun Craze using the large gingham stamp (Impression Obsession).  Those pieces are mounted on a Blackberry Bliss card base.  It's a perfect purple with oranges and yellows for those fall cards!  
Oh, yes, and I sure hope you can see the APPLES in the image so you know I did follow Lisa's challenge!
Please join us this week in the challenge!  The details are on the Just Us Girls blog!  You have until Thursday at 9 pm ET and could win a change to be our guest DT for November!
Have a great weekend!
Cheryl