Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers #145

I've once again been named a Princess of Snark at the Sisterhood for my most unbecoming Sh*t Happens card.  (What can I say?  I'm on a roll.  LOL!)

I promise this next card won't be quite so disgusting but does carry a bit of sass.  The theme is Zaphrod Beeblebrox which I will admit meant absolutely nothing to me.  Apparently its a character from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which I will also admit, I DNF'd several years ago.  Just wasn't my thing.  (Sorry Sistahs!) 

They've graciously extended the prompt to include anything galactical which is something I can work with.  Here's my card.... 

I created a Distress Inked background to which I added plenty of stars using black and white paint splatters.  The dies are an older set from Spellbinders.  The sentiment is still available from Hero Arts.  I thought it coordinated well with the outer space theme and provided just a hint of appropriate sass.  I have no recipient in mind for this one but I'm sure I will put it to good use at some point.  :-)

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Another bit of "news."  My coffee card was featured on the most recent CAS Colours & Sketches challenge blog so I get to display this neat little badge.  

Their next challenge is a sketch.  I have another short crafting week this week but am hoping to get to play along.

Thanks for your time!!!  See you on the crafty side....

Jules

Library Challenge #43

I'm back today playing along again with one of my favorite online challenge groups. If you haven't checked out The Library Challenge, you really should.  If there's anything better than crafting, it's reading.

At the time of writing I am currently in the middle of several books.  I'm listening to Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes and really enjoying it.  I'm also reading a couple of books on my Kindle.  The first is At the Wolf's Table by Rosella Postorino; the second is The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict.  If you're interested in my reviews you can catch me @what_is_jules_reading_now on Instagram.

On to today's book inspiration.  I am ashamed to admit that I have never read this children's classic.  *blush*  But isn't that a gorgeous cover????

Because I haven't read it I took my inspiration directly from the cover illustration.  Here is my version....

I created the design by stamping the floral images onto a dark grey card stock using Versamark ink and then heat embossing with different colors of embossing powders.  The stamps are a mixture of several sets, all from Simon Says Stamp.  The embossing shows up better in the closeup below.....

My less than stellar photography skills don't do the card justice.  It's beautiful in real life.  (What can I say?  I'm a card maker.  Not a photographer.)

I'm off to see what new challenge is calling out my name.  Thanks so much for your time and if you happen to check out my Bookstagram, please say hello!

💖  Jules

JUGS # 508

I'm coming in on the last day to play along with the gals at the  Just Us Girls Challenge blog where the prompt is Designer Paper.

I do have quite a stash of patterned papers and certainly don't use them nearly enough.  I dug through my stash and found two patterns that drew me in.  Unfortunately they were loose in my stash so I don't know the manufacturer and I'm guessing they're fairly old.  Here's my card....

The floral paper made this card so easy to create.  I layered the floral on top of a coordinating stripe and then die cut out the Happy using an alpha die set from CZ Design/Simon Says Stamp.  I added some ink to just the lower portions of the letters and the stamped the birthday sentiment (also from Simon) onto a banner.  I finished it off with a few Nuvo crystal drops.  Easiest card ever.  

Are you a pattern paper lover?  Do you use it or just hoard it like me?  

I always appreciate your time.  Thanks so much!

See you on the crafty side....

Jules

Inspired By Challenge

I'm back with another Challenge du Jour, this time playing along with Laurel and her team at the Inspired By Challenge Blog.  The theme this week is Truckload of Fall.

Fall in south Florida is pretty much nonexistent with the only noticeable change (if we're lucky) being a drop in the humidity.  I always refer to it as Faux Fall.  We pretend.  We don our shorts, tank tops and flip flops and head to one of the many piles of pumpkins set up along side the road where we take sweaty Faux Fall Photos. (Totally serious.)  Fall is definitely one of the things I've missed most in my 36 years as a resident of this lovely state.

Enough babble.  On to the challenge.  I am totally in love with this inspiration photo!

I love the colors, the truck and the pumpkins to I mimicked it with my supplies and came up with this...

You will probably recognize the truck die.  It was part of Spellbinders Large Die of the Month Club last fall.  I grabbed a subscription JUST to get this truck.  LOL!  The Thanks and the pumpkins are also part of the same set.  The stamped sentiment is from a set by Honey Bee Stamps.  I did some minor stamp surgery to use just a portion of the included sentiment. I also used some rustic cream cardstock by PaperTrey Ink (one of my all time favs) as well as wood grain cardstock by  Ellen Hutson LLC. It's a fabulous 110 lb weight and perfect for card bases.  

Here's a closer look at the details....

Is it shameful to admit that you love one of your own creations????  'Cause I do love this card.  I may have to hoard it.  If any of you happen to receive it one day, you will know you're definitely loved.  

Your time is always appreciated.  Go out there and take some non sweaty fall photos for me, will ya?  Til next time...

Jules

Tag You're It Challenge #97

It's time for another "drive by" blog post.  Today I'm sharing a birthday tag I created with the current Tag You're It challenge in mind.  The theme this time around is Fun with Flags.  

I kinda cheated.  *blush*  Instead of a pennant type flag I cut a strip of colorful triangle patterned paper to serve as my flags.  (I go where the inspiration takes me folks.  LOL!!!)

Supplies...

MFT - tag dies

Simon Says Stamp - turtle and sentiment stamps

Crate Paper - background patterns

Thanks so much for stopping by and spending a wee bit of time with me.  See you on the crafty side....

Jules

Seize the Birthday #175 and (another) Self Pat

Hello all.  I had a very productive day in my craft room yesterday so I'll be sharing lots of challenge cards this week.  Before I get in to today's challenge of the day though I'd like to share a bit of Happy Monday news.  A card I shared several weeks ago was chosen as one of the monthly winners at Lil Inkers Designs this morning.  It's always a thrill to have one of my creations recognized and even more fun to get to display a cute little blog badge.  

Remember this one?

Thanks for the shout out Laura!

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On to today's challenge...

The Topping this time around at the Seize the Birthday blog is Geometric Shapes.  

After many unsuccessful attempts at triangles (I just kept seeing Jack o Lantern faces) I switched gears and went with squares.  Boring squares.  But I added some "oomph" by using some bright Catherine Pooler inks to make a "very vanilla design" a bit more vibrant.

The squares were created using the smallest two dies in a set by MFT Stamps.  I used Neenah Solar White cardstock in the 80 lb weight and then colored them by blending with ink.  (I also ink blended the blue background)  I then dipped each side of the squares in Versamark ink followed by a dusting of white embossing powder which, after heat setting, gives the squares a bit more pop.  

The sentiment is from one of my all time favs....the original Simple Strips stamp set along with the coordinating Simple Strips die from Taylored Expressions.  This set is ingenious!  A MUST HAVE in my opinion.  (She currently has several sentiment sets that work with this die.  Well worth the investment.

So that's my card for today.  Another completed challenge and another birthday card to add to my masculine stash.  I really appreciate that you took some time out of your day to visit.  Thanks!

See you on the crafty side.....

Jules

I'm Back!!! .... with CAS Colours and Sketches #341

Hello friends.  I am home again after my back to back trips to Missouri and Western North Carolina.  I enjoyed MO but my heart is still in NC.  My son and his family are still in search of their dream home so maybe, just maybe, I'll sneak in another trip later this fall.  :-)

I do believe this is my first time playing with the folks at CAS Colours and Sketches.  This time around they are doing a color challenge with the colors rose, gray and mint. 

I pulled out some "not new but never opened" (GASP!) products from Reverse Confetti and got to work.  No matter the season, it's always the right time of year for coffee.

I used less than a handful of Copic markers and some gray ink to do the coloring.  This is actually a Thank You card as you can see from the inside view.

I felt a bit rusty in JulieWorld (yes, my craft room has the name emblazoned in large red letters above my main desk...I'll save that story for another post if you're at all interested) but hopefully I will find my mojo soon.  

Thanks for visiting!  See you all on the crafty side.....

Jules