JustRite's Friday Challenge!

Good morning! After yesterday's somewhat "heavy" post, I thought I need to lighten things up around here! I had a bit of time yesterday to participate in JustRite's Friday Challenge. This week it is a beautiful color scheme.....cranberry, ivory, and black.

I paired these rich colors with JustRite's Nature Nested Sentiment's set and Baroque frames. I stamped the Baroque frames in Versamark and used black embossing powder. I cut the rectangles and sponged the edges in a deep brown. The sentiment is from JustRite's Nature Nested Sentiment's set and was also embossed. I used a Spellbinder's Fancy Tag's die to cut the tag. The deep red paper was cut using a Labels Fourteen Spellbinder's die. The background was embossed using the linen texture plate from Papertrey Ink. I did a bit of sewing and inking as well. Everything was layered using foam squares. Cinnamon Stickles was added to all of the edges. I ran a ribbon through the layers and tied a bow.

The leaves were die cut using the Assorted Leaves Spellbinder's die and old dictionary pages. I cut 4 leaves and Stickled the edges and added a button tied with twine. All of it was glued on top of my satin bow.

I want to thank you for your kind words yesterday. It means a lot to me when others share their personal stories and makes me realize that I am not the only one who has lost someone close to them. I needed that reminder. Tomorrow is the fundraiser for Jen........I am sure she will be smiling down on us and will be amazed at how many people came out to remember her life and celebrate the person she was.

So thank you for allowing me to share a bit of me with you......even when it isn't always the happy stuff in life!

Hugs to all of you! Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

Who Knew.....

In a million, zillion years, I would never, EVER have thought that my best friend would pass away. It will be a year this November since Jennifer's death. Unexpected. Tragic. A complete shock. She wasn't battling a disease, she died suddenly of meningitis......what doctors took as an earache at 37 years old. We grew up together and she was truly the one person in my life who always had the ability to make me feel like a rock star. She never judged, and she loved me unconditionally. She loved both my children and was Kyle's Godmother. We stood up in each other's weddings, shared the ups, as well as life's many downs. She was the constant in my life, even when things got turned upside down.

I have tucked my emotions away in a little "box" these past few months, but they are out in the open at the moment, raw. This Saturday, Jen's sister is holding a fundraiser to honor her memory. We will raise money for charities that Jen felt strongly about and remember her loving spirit. It has been difficult to say the least, to bring everything to the surface again. After Saturday, those emotions will get tucked back into their little "box" again. But in the meantime, I found these pics of Jen with my Cortney and Kyle in 2000. I decided to scrap them and remember...... I used a song from P!nk called Who Knew. It is one of those songs that brings tears to my eyes......

Noel's "Office Party" kit was used for this LO. (sold out)

I hope I did her memory justice............

12 Weeks of Christmas JustRiteBlog Hop #2!

Welcome to JustRite Stampers’ newest Wednesday feature! 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hop #2! Every Wednesday up until Thanksgiving, some of your favorite designers will be joining some of the JustRite design team for a series of Christmas blog hops, showcasing JustRite’s entire Christmas Collection of stamps! This week, it’s the Stamper’s Dream design team! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card & project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog!



So what do I have for you today? Welllllllll I have a fun little Christmas card done in very traditional colors with touches of silver! I used JustRite's Christmas Nested Sentiments and a frame from the Baroque Nested Frames set. I stamped the sentiment using Papertrey Ink's Leaf Green and cut it out using the Spellbinder's Grand Label's Four die. I left the die in place and airbrushed it with G16 . I used my Sakura glue pen to outline the perimeter and sprinkle silver glitter over it. The Baroque frame was stamped in Papertrey Ink's Pure Poppy. I cut it out and again added silver glitter. The designer paper was cut out using Spellbinder's Curved Rectangle's die. Glitter was applied again. I used my I-Rock by Imaginisce to attach the silver discs. I just added a pretty silver bow to finish the card off! : )

Please visit these designers’ blogs to see what fabulous Christmas projects they have in store for you!
JustRite Inspiration Blog
Michelle Rodgers
Amy Sheffer
Heidi Blankenship
Christina Fischer

Kazan Clark
Tosha Leyendekker
Laurie Schmidlin
Sankari Wegman
Cindy Lawrence
Kellie Fortin
Denise Marzec
Stephanie Kraft
Karen Giron
Kathy Jones
Leslie Miller
Carolyn King
Angela Barkhouse

Michele Kovack --------------------- (Me!)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

New Challenge and a Tutorial!

This week's challenge is all about scrapbooking style. Do you ever wonder what defines your style? I floundered with mine for a long time. I tried emulating other scrappers and sometimes failed miserably! But shabby, vintage......this was comfortable. Me. My style. Noel Mignon described me as a technique scrapper. I guess I would agree......I love to experiment, play and see what comes of it. So not only do I have a LO to share of my dear grandma....AKA: Nonnie, but I also have a tutorial down below on how to create the butterflies I used on my page. (Sweet Sue kit was used).
The pictures were taken on her 90th birthday. And yes.....that is my sister on the right.....we kind of look alike right? : )

I used my Cricut machine and the Storybook cartridge to create the title. I also added Shimmerz to make it sparkle and a bit of machine stitching.

Here is one of my lil butterflies, using the technique I will show you in a bit! : ) The flowers were created with Provo Craft's new Quilling kits. Can you say FABULOUS! Love the dimension of these flowers! And I also added Shimmerz spray to these too!

Here is my large butterfly! I love the texture this has!

So, if you are interested in making these butterflies I have a little tutorial for you. Now I happen to have these old Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders, but you could use ANY butterfly die and embossing folder.

Once you have your butterfly die and embossing folders, you will also need clear embossing powder and Versamark.

Die cut your butterfly and set aside. Stamp the inside of your embossing folder with the Versamark Ink.....on one side only! Slip your die cut butterfly into embossing folder and emboss through your Cuttlebug or Big Shot machine.

Your butterfly will pick up the Versamark on only the raised parts of the embossing folder.

Dump clear embossing powder on top of it, shake excess off, and heat emboss.

Now it should look shiny.

Grab some Glimmer Mist......

.... and spray it to desired colors!

Take a tissue and remove excess Glimmer Mist.

This is what it looks like when it is done. I inked the edges in a dark walnut ink when I was done to distress it and shabby it up a bit more.

Here is another example using a different embossing folder. I actually used this butterfly on the LO, but used a smaller Martha Stewart butterfly punch to make smaller butterflies!

If you would like to see the other DT's gals and what defines their style head on over HERE!

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!!!

I'm Gettin' Old!

OK, ok , I know 39 isn't really old......but today makes me realize how very fast time goes. How living each and every day to the fullest is so important. To take the little things in life and make 'em the big things. Relish in them. I try to do this. Everyday.

So here's a lil' card I have to share with you that uses the sentiment from the Baroque Nested Frame's set from JustRite. I stamped in in Olive on cream cardstock. I used a scalloped paper punch and distressed the edges. The butterfly was cut from a pair of Cortney's shorts, using a Spellbinder's die. (Yep.....still using up her crazy plaid shorts!LOL!) I dyed my own seam binding with Glimmer Mist and Coffee grounds (Tutorial HERE if you are interested. ) and plopped the butterfly right on top of it. I added a button, twine, and 2 pretty stick pins to finish it off!

I was complaining to my husband yesterday that there was no coffee in the house. (We are long overdue to grocery shop.....can you tell?) So this morning I woke up to a card that read:

To My Wife

You do that one thing.

You Know?

That one amazing thing?

I love the way you do that thing......

Then you open it up and it says: I call it, "putting up with me!"

HA HA! And best yet? He went to the store very early this morning and not only bought me coffee but made me a pot!

(Photo taken by Kyle!)

Thank you for the many birthday wishes! I appreciate them so much! It truly warms my heart!!

Have a great weekend! : )

So Very Thankful!

Good morning! I have a Cutting Cafe' card to share with you today! This particular sentiment is part of the, So Thankful Circle Word Printable set. I decided to use some fall inspired colors on this card. Fall is definitely in the air.....the temps are cooler, the leaves are starting to change, and my mums are planted! All papers are by Papertrey Ink and all circles/scallops were cut using Spellbinders. I did a bit of hand stitching, added a few rhinestones and adhered a felt leaf I found at Hobby Lobby. A simple card. But sometimes simple is good. : )

And on a personal note......Cortney started high school last week....but I have yet to get a good picture of my girl. I'll keep trying until I get a decent one.......hence the reason you haven't seen her cut mug on here in awhile. : ) Kyle is doing well in 8th so far.....no problems with the kids yet. (Thank goodness.....knock on wood!) He has joined several clubs.....Book Club, Drama, and Track and Field. He is already setting his sights on a private high school in the area.....so I am trying to get a date for him to "Shadow." This is a day where he follows another student throughout his day to see what it is like.

So life is busy. Life is good. Thank you for all of your sweet comments and visits!!!

JustRite Christmas Blog Hop!

Good morning and happy Wednesday to you! For the next 8 weeks JustRite will be featuring all of their new sets and maybe even a surprise or two along the way! They have some fabulous holiday sets out and believe me before you know it the holidays will sneak up on us! So this year, be prepared and get a head start on those holiday cards! (Cuz I am definitely one to talk....I am always so prepared! LOL!) For today's hop I chose the Backyard Bird's set. I colored the two cardinals and the ribbon with Copic colors, . Both were cut out and Crystal Effects was then added to them. I placed the cut out cardinal on top of the other cardinal using a foam square. The background was airbrushed with B0000 and BG01. The pine cones were colored with E31, E35, and E37 . The evergreen branches were colored with G00, G85, YG63, and YG95 . To create a matte for the image I cut out the center of a small doily and accordion folded the perimeter. I then smashed it down....gently, and added the cardinal image on top of it. The Kraft paper is from Papertrey Ink and was cut using Spellbinder's Label Ten . I hand stitched the perimeter with cream thread. Buttons were added as well.

I applied liquid applique to the branches, and while heating it up, I sprinkled glitter to it. Not sure who the paper is by....it was a scrap in my scrap pile.

Would you like FREE shipping??? : )
JustRite is offering a free shipping coupon code--
for September 8, 9th,10th-- please enter this code into the promotional code box at checkout CBHOP1 , the offer will expire at midnight PST and is only good for orders shipped within the United States and its Us Territories.


Would you love some more Christmas inspiration? Head on over to the rest of the talented DT! They are sure to get you in the holiday spirit!

JustRite Blog
Sharon Harnist
Becca Feeken
Kathy Jones
Debbie Olson
Kazan Clark
Stephanie Kraft
Angela Barkhouse
Michele Kovack < --------- ME! : ) Barb Schram
Heidi Blankenship
Sankari Wegman
Kellie Fortin

Thanks for popping on by today!!! Have a fabulous day!