Just Us Girls challenge #839 - Die Week

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. I am here to share my card for this week's Just Us Girls challenge and this week is Die Week and Sue has given us the theme of 'thank you'. So grab your thank you or thanks dies and join in the fun with us.  We all love our dies don't we and I cannot wait to see all your gorgeous creations. Our guest this month is Julia Aston so please pop over and show her some love.

I used a favourite thank you die from Spellbinders and I love that it has a shadow.  Whilst I was getting that die from my stash I came across the 'build-a-wreath' die set that I haven't used yet so thought I would bust that out too.  As the thank you die cut is quite large I decided to make a square card for a change so that I could comfortably fit everything in.  I hope you like it.

Here is my card:

A closer look at the details:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by creating my card base; I cut white card to 11" x 5 1/2" and scored it at 5 1/2" to make my 5 1/2" square card base.  I also cut a white panel 5 1/4" square and embossed it using a leafy folder.  I used coloured card from my scraps bin to cut out all the branches for the wreath, the flowers and the gorgeous bow (my scraps bin could keep me going until the end of time I think lol!) and assembled the flowers and bow with liquid glue.  I die cut the thank you from gold mirror card and the shadow from vellum and adhered them together using liquid glue.  I arranged the branches to make the wreath shape and adhered them with liquid glue onto my embossed panel.  I added the bow at the top and the flowers on the bottom of the wreath using foam squares.  I added tiny slivers of foam tape behind the thank you word and added that into the centre of the wreath.  I finished off with some gold disc sequins.  I added some scrap white card behind my panel and adhered it to my card base using double sided tape.  For the inside I cut another white panel 5 1/4" square and partially embossed the bottom using the leafy folder.  I had one flower and two branches left over so added them to the bottom right corner using liquid glue.  I stamped the sentiment in the centre with dark brown ink before adding the panel to the card base using double sided tape.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Beautiful Blossoms challenge - anything floral goes optional mood board

Can You Handle The Pressure challenge - use an EF optional twist: bees

Colorful Options challenge - rusty brown (option 2 and 4)

Creative Inspirations - hello autumn

If You Give A Crafter A Cookie challenge - sweater weather (inspired by the colours)

Mix It Up challenge - ATG + optional embossing

Pinspirational challenge - orange, red, brown & yellow

The Four Seasons challenge - anything goes fall optional mood board

Tic Tac Toe challenge - top row across: letters/numbers, dimension, sparkle/shine

Triple B challenge - birds blooms or butterflies and optional mood board

Try It On Tuesday challenge - emboss it

I can't wait to see all your die cuts this week and look forward to seeing your entries in the linky. Please pop over to the challenge blog and leave some love for the rest of the design team.

I appreciate you stopping by.

Love and hugs,

card supplies:

Spellbinders - thank you dies

Spellbinders - build-a-wreath die set

Spellbinders - branching out embossing folder 

Spellbinders - envelope of wonder stamp sentiments clear stamp

Spellbinders - gold smooth discs color essentials sequins

Gina K Designs - dark chocolate ink pad (to stamp inside sentiment)

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (not available but other options are here and here)

Limetree Craft - 300gsm smooth white card (for card base)

I have Affiliate Links for the Gina K Designs store. If you are considering making a purchase I would appreciate you using my links as it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you x

Just Us Girls challenge #835 - Die Week

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. I am here to share my card for this week's Just Us Girls challenge and this week is Die Week and Vicki has given us the very easy 'anything goes'.  So as long as you use a die cut on your project this week you're fine.  We all love our dies don't we and I cannot wait to see all your gorgeous creations. Our guest this month is Betty so please pop over and show her some love.

I pulled out this adorable bird die (it's from a Christmas set but in itself it's not particularly christmassy) and went with a purple monochrome colour combo.  Aside from assembling the bird it all came together fairly quickly.  I hope you like it. 

Here is my card:

A closer look at the cute birdie:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a white panel 4" x 5 1/4" and using a stencil and a trio of purple inks created the fun ombre striped background.  I die cut the bird from purple, white, orange and black scraps and adhered them together with a mix of liquid glue and foam squares.  I die cut the scalloped label from white and left the die in place whilst I blended the mid purple ink around the edge; this gives a cool white border when the die is removed.  I added some scrap white card behind the scalloped label and adhered it to the background using liquid glue.  I stamped the sentiment onto white card using black ink and used the coordinating die to cut it out (I also cut another 3 from white so that I could stack them up).  The bird was adhered to the bottom of the label with foam squares and the sentiment was added to the top right with liquid glue.  I finished off with some smooth black sequins. I added some scrap white card behind the panel and adhered it onto the card base with double sided tape.  For the inside I cut another white panel and added three lines using the background stencil at the very bottom.  I stamped the sentiment in the centre with black ink and adhered the panel to my card base using double sided tape.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

A Cut Above challenge - ATG with a die cut optional twist fall flowers

Addicted to Stamps & More challenge - birthdays

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG with a featured critter

Daisy Chain challenge - animals

Double D challenge - feathers (please delete if birds are not allowed)

Heart's Quest Celebrations of Love - BEWAS (birthday)

Moving Along With The Times challenge - feminine

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - monochrome

Stencil Fun challenge - use a stencil optional theme CAS design style

Unicorn challenge - layer it up

I can't wait to see all your die cuts this week and look forward to seeing your entries in the linky. Please pop over to the challenge blog and leave some love for the rest of the design team.

I appreciate you stopping by.

Love and hugs, 

card supplies:

Spellbinders - Christmas bird poinsettia die set (I only used the bird)

Spellbinders - scalloped labels 46 - discontinued

Spellbinders - nature's dance stamp & die (for sentiments) - both on sale!

Spellbinders - dynamic backgrounds stencil set (only used one) - on sale!

Spellbinders - black smooth disc color essentials sequins

Gina K Designs - ink pads - light lilac, medium lilac and dark lilac

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (not available but other options are here and here)

Limetree Craft - 300gsm smooth white card (for my card base)

Versafine Clair - nocturne ink pad

coloured card from my scraps bin

I now have an Affiliate Link for the Gina K Designs store. If you are considering making a purchase I would appreciate you using my links as it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Thank you x

Just Us Girls challenge #830 - Die Week

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. I am here to share my card for this week's Just Us Girls challenge and this week is Die Week and Ina has chosen 'use a forgotten favourite'. I know we all have dies that we used to love but then new supplies come along and they get relegated to the back of the draw; this challenge is the perfect opportunity to show them some love and I cannot wait to see all your gorgeous creations.  Our guest this month is Bonnie so please pop over and show her some love.  

I've had these talk bubble dies in my stash for years and to be honest I think I've only used them once but I love the look of these types of dies.  I decided to go with a fairly simple but colourful and playful design on my card and I hope you like it.

Here is my card:

A closer look at the details:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a white panel 4" x 5 1/4" and using coloured card from scraps bin die cut lots of the talk bubbles.  Once I had played about for a while and settled on the layout I stamped the sentiments on to each one using black ink.  I added foam squares to most of them except for the two that were hanging over the edge of the panel; these were added with liquid glue.  I added some scrap white card behind the panel and then adhered it to my card base with double sided tape.  I debated adding embellishments but in the end I decided not to.  For the inside I cut another white panel and added three of the talk bubbles to the bottom with liquid glue.  I stamped the sentiment in the centre with black ink and then added the panel to the case base with double sided tape.  It was a fairly quick and simple card to make once I figured out what I was doing.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Creative Moments challenge - pastels or brights 

Double D challenge - potpourri challenge (I was inspired by the shapes and colours)

Fab 'n' Funky challenge - something beginning with B (birthday)

Papercraft challenges - sunny days and bright hues

Word Power challenge - sentiment as the focus of your card

I can't wait to see what forgotten dies you grab this week and I cannot wait to see what you create. Please pop over to the challenge blog and leave some love for the rest of the design team. 

I appreciate you stopping by. 

Love and hugs, 

card supplies:

Simon Says Stamp - talk bubbles die set

Paper Smooches - birthday sampler stamp (no longer available)

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (not available but other options are here and here)

Limetree Craft - 300gsm smooth white card (for card base)

Versafine Clair - nocturne ink pad

coloured card from my scraps bin

Just Us Girls challenge #826 - Die Week

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog. I am back to share my card for this week's Just Us Girls challenge and this week is Die Week and Carol has chosen 'butterfly'. I think everyone loves butterflies so I'm sure this will be a really popular theme and I cannot wait to see all your gorgeous creations.

I decided to use the Lawn Fawn butterfly wreath die set again but this time I only used the butterflies and not the wreath part.  I went for a soft colour combo and a bright card base and I think it turned out really pretty.  I hope you like it.  

Here is my card:

A closer look at the details:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by die cutting the main part of the butterflies from white card and the inside parts were cut from vellum.  I used my Promarkers to colour the backs of the vellum in oranges and yellows and adhered the two parts together with liquid glue.  I cut an arch from white card and did some soft ink blending with sea glass ink and I also die cut a slightly larger arch from vellum and adhered them together with double sided tape.  I die cut some grass from green card x 2 and adhered them to the bottom of the arch using liquid glue.  I die cut a decorative panel from white card and roughly ink blended some orange and yellow inks (just using what was left on the brushes) to add some interest behind the arches.  I stamped the sentiment in black ink the upper left corner of the panel before adhering the arches with foam squares.  I cut teeny tiny slithers of foam tape for the backs of the butterflies and adhered them randomly over the arches.  I stamped the happy birthday sentiment in black ink and used a sentiments strip die to cut it out.  I adhered it with a mix of foam tape and liquid glue.  For a finished touch I added some gold metallic pearls.  I decided to make a coloured card base for a change and found this pretty orange pearlescent card in my stash.  I cut it to 4 1/4" x 11" and scored it at 5 1/2".  I added some scrap white card behind my panel and adhered it to the card base with double sided tape.  For the inside I cut another decorative panel from white card, added another grass die cut in the bottom right corner and one more butterfly with liquid glue.  I stamped the sentiment with black ink in the centre of the panel.  The inside of my card base was an off-white colour and didn't look that good against my bright white panel so I cut another piece of the orange pearlescent card and adhered it inside the card base with liquid glue before adding the white panel on top.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

A Cut Above challenge - ATG with a die cut (3rd entry)

As You Like It challenge - favourite sentiment (it has to be happy birthday as 90% of my cards are birthday cards)

Aud Sentiments challenge - monochrome and/or birthday + sentiment

Craft Rocket challenge - birthday

Crafty Animals challenge - ATG must include an animal

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG with a featured critter

Die Cut Divas challenge - ATG must use a die cut

Girlz and the Art of Letters challenge - B is for butterflies

Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge - inspiration photo

Heart's Quest Celebrations of Love challenge - BEWAS (birthday)

If You Give A Crafter A Cookie challenge - in the garden

Triple B challenge - birds, blooms and/or butterflies optional inspiration board

I'm sure our gallery will be full of beautiful butterflies this week and I cannot wait to see what you create. Please pop over to the challenge blog and leave some love for the rest of the design team.

I appreciate you stopping by.

Love and hugs, 

card supplies:

Lawn Fawn - magic iris butterfly wreath add on die set

Spellbinders - notched corner frames die set

*Gina K Designs - sea glass ink pad

Gina K Designs - black, gold & silver metallic pearl mix

Gina K Designs - fancy frames mini stamp (for happy birthday)

Gina K Designs - sentiment strips die set

Tiddly Inks - flutter by to say hi stamp (I cut off the hi part!)

Clearly Besotted - fresh grass die (retired)

Mama Elephant - B2B arches die set

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (not available but other options are here and here)

Versafine Clair - nocturne ink pad

Stampin' Up! - cardstock vellum (no longer available)

*I now have an Affiliate Link for the Gina K Designs store. If you are considering making a purchase I would appreciate you using my link as it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you x

Just Us Girls challenge #822 - DT card

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog.  I am a little giddy today as I have some exciting news to share with you - I am joining the Just Us Girls challenge Design Team - woohoo!  As you may remember I was a guest designer for them back in February and they asked me if I would like to join them as a permanent designer, and of course I immediately said yes!  Today I am sharing my first card for them and it's Die Week and Vicki has chosen 'use a sentiment die'.  

I was so nervous making my first card as I wanted it to be 'good enough'; the team is super talented and I hope I've done them proud.  I wanted to make my sentiment die the star of the show so did a faux embossed background using the die and then cut one from gold as my focal element.  I hope you like it.

Here is my card:

A closer look at the details:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a white panel 4" x 5 1/4" and die cut lots of the hooray sentiment from white card. I added them to the white panel with liquid glue, staggering them by one letter on each row but made sure one was complete along the second row.  I then decided to die cut the panel using a stitched rectangle die.  I stacked 3 more white words on top of the one on the second line and then finished off with one cut from gold mirror card.  I liked that the word went slightly outside the die cut panel.  I added some scrap white card behind the panel and then adhered it to my card base with double sided tape.  I stamped a sub-sentiment using black ink and die cut it with a sentiments strip die; this was placed below the gold hooray with double sided tape.  I finished off with some gold and black pearls.  For the inside I die cut another stitched rectangle and 1 more hooray word from white card.  I added the word with liquid glue and stamped the sentiment above it with black ink.  I adhered the panel to the card base with double sided tape.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

A Cut Above challenge - ATG with a die cut (entry 3 of 3)

Colourful Options challenge - option B - black & white with a pop of colour

Dragonfly Dreams challenge - use die cuts

Neglected Stuff challenge - my die is really old and I don't think I've ever used it!

Word Power challenge - make the sentiment the focus of your card

I'm sure this will be a popular challenge as we all love our dies don't we?  I cannot wait to see what you create.  Please pop over to the challenge blog and leave some love for the rest of the design team.  

I appreciate you stopping by. 

Love and hugs, 

card supplies:

Avery Elle - hooray die (currently on sale!)

MFT - you wow me stamp (for both sentiments)

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (not available but other options are here and here)

Versafine Clair - nocturne ink pad

gold mirror card from my stash

*Gina K Designs - master layouts 02 (for stitched rectangle)

Gina K Designs - large strip sentiments die

Gina K Designs - black, gold & silver metallic pearl mix

*I now have an Affiliate Link for the Gina K Designs store. If you are considering making a purchase I would appreciate you using my link as it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Thank you x

Just Us Girls challenge #809 - guest designer

Welcome back to my blog lovely friends.  I was honoured to be asked to be a guest designer for the Just Us Girls challenge for February and immediately said yes. They have fun weekly challenges and I hope you will join in.  

They have set themes for each week so it is always easy to play along.  Here is the schedule:

Week 1. Die Week

Week 2. Word Week

Week 3. Mood Board Week

Week 4. Anything Goes using a stencil Week

Week 5. Case a DT Member Week

Obviously I will only be sharing 4 cards with you as there are only 4 weeks this month.  

So as it's Week 1 the theme is Die Week and the prompt is 'use a heart'; here is the graphic:

I had just received my Gina K Designs kit when I sat down to make my card so of course I had to use the gorgeous heart frame die and matching stencils on my card; it was perfect timing!  I used a purple and green with a touch of black colour combo and made a 5 1/2" square card for a change.  I did go a bit wonky lining up the die on the stencilling but rectified that by using a green Promarker to colour in any missing areas and I think it looks ok.  I hope you like it.

Here is my card:

A closer look at the details:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by creating my card base by cutting a white piece of card cut to 11" x 5 1/2" and scoring on the long side at 5 1/2".  I cut the heart frame from white card and used the square die to cut it out.  I took another piece of white card and used the matching stencils and purple and green inks and created the beautiful design.  I adhered the stencilled panel and the die cut heart panel together with liquid glue but as I said I went a bit wrong and it was stuck good and proper so just grabbed a green Promarker and carefully filled in any gaps.  I added a black mat layer behind with double sided tape. I ink blended the heart from the centre with the same purple inks and popped it back in place with liquid glue.  I cut a purple piece of card 4 3/4" square and embossed it with the swiss dots embossing folder and again added a thin black mat layer behind with double sided tape.  I added the purple panel onto the card base with double sided tape, added some scrap white card behind the heart frame panel and also added that to the purple panel with double sided tape.  I stamped the sentiment in black ink and used the coordinating die to cut it out.  I added the sentiment over the heart using foam squares.  I finished off with some black pearls.  For the inside I cut a white panel 4 5/8" square, stamped the sentiment in the centre and stamped two corner images in the top right and bottom left corners; I used Promarkers to colour these in.  I added a thin purple mat layer and also a thin black mat layer behind with double sided tape.  This was then adhered to the card base with double sided tape.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

* to be updated *

I'm sure this will be a popular challenge as we all love our dies don't we? Please pop over and check out the gorgeous creations by the talented design team. 

Love and hugs,

card supplies:

Gina K Designs - heart frame die & stencil (in current Mega Kit but will be available next month)

Gina K Designs - swiss dot embossing folder

Gina K Designs - graceful greetings stamp & die (for outside sentiment)

Gina K Designs - floral wishes stamp (for inside sentiment)

Gina K Designs - in the corner stamp (for inside decoration)

Gina K Designs - black, gold & silver metallic pearl mix

Gina K Designs - ink pads - lovely lavender, wild lilac, jelly bean green, fresh asparagus

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (currently not available but they have alternatives here and here)

Limetree Craft - 220gsm black card

Versafine Clair - nocturne ink pad

Green Promarker

purple card from stash

*I now have an Affiliate Link for the Gina K Designs store. If you are considering making a purchase I would appreciate you using my link as it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Thank you x