JustRite's Christmas Blog Hop #3!

Welcome to JustRite Stampers’ newest Wednesday feature, 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hops #3! 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! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card & project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog! We are in week 3 of JustRite's 12 Christmas Blog Hop! (If I keep this up, I might actually be able to send some homemade cards this year! ) LOL!

Today's card uses the set Vintage Christmas by JustRite. The ornaments were colored with Copic colors, R81, R83, BG10, BG32, Y21.. They were then cut out, edges inked, Crystal lacquer and glitter were applied. Rhinestones were also added to their centers. The image was stamped again in silver. It was cut out using my Small Circles die by Spellbinders. I left it on after cutting to airbrush with Copic BG10 . Then the cut ornaments were placed on foam dimensional dots. The frame was also stamped in silver, cut out with a Large Circle Spellbinder's die and rhinestones were added. I inked both circles' edges with silver, then I layered them over a scalloped circle. (Spellbinder's die too!) The paper is by K & Company and was hand stitched with silver tread. As a final touch I added silver ribbon and 2 vintage buttons.
Love the look of the these old fashioned ornaments!
Would you like more Christmas inspiration? Be sure to stop by these talented ladies' blogs!

JustRite Blog
Debbie Olson
Becca Feeken

Sharon Harnist
Jeanne Streiff
Michele Kovack <------- Me! : )

Mona Pendleton
Heidi Blankenship
Beate Johns
Sankari Wegman
Selma Stevenson
Kellie Fortin
Angela Barkhouse
Pam Imholtz
Kazan Clark
Liz Weber
Stephanie Kraft

Have a wonderful day! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Give Thanks Nested Frames by JustRite!

Good morning! Autumn is just around the corner although today in Chicago you wouldn't know it! It is supposed to reach 87 degrees with high humidity. But I'll take a random warm day here and there! JustRite has come out with a new fall inspired stamp set. It is called Give Thanks Nested Frames. This set is perfect for Thanksgiving cards! I stamped mine with brown Memento Ink an colored the leaves and acorns with my Copics, TG03, YG63, B31, B33. The edges were sponged in a deep brown. I cut and layered the frames. The edges were also glittered! (Big surprise there huh? LOL!) The sentiment was also stamped in brown and cut out with an oval Spellbinder's die. I did a bit of airbrushing with Copic YG03. The edges were also sponged in brown ink. The cardstock is by Papertrey in Ripe Avocado and Cream. The cream panel was embossed with the Linen Impression plate.

The leaf was created using 2 different Spellbinder's leaf dies. I used old dictionary paper and a piece of cream felt. The felt was sprayed lightly with adhesive and a chunky glitter was applied. I added a button and piece of old lace tied with twine.

Be sure to check out the JustRite blog to see the other designers creations with this fabulous new set!

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My girlfriend Jen's benefit was held this past Saturday......and we were able to raise a little more than $10,000 for charity! Which is so awesome and definitely the way Jen would have wanted things! Today should have been her 39 birthday.......I guess she will have her cake wearing her angel wings........

Thank you for all of your support and well wishes!

Crafty Secret's DT Challenge.....Halloween!

Good morning and happy Monday to you!! Today is our Crafty Secret's DT challenge for September! Vicki challenged us to make anything Halloween themed! I decided on the Halloween Treats stamp set. I just adore this cute little owl and colored him with my Copics. I cut him out and added a foam dimensional dot behind him. The tree was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I punched a circle from a piece of scrap paper and used the negative space to sponge a white "moon" directly onto the DP. I adhered the owl right over it, so that he is sitting on the branch.
The sentiment was stamped on vellum and adhered with a Halloween brad. A larger piece of vellum was run through my spider web Cuttlebug folder. It was hand stitched with black thread and small brads were added to the corners. I piece of glittery, sheer ribbon was tied for a finishing touch.

Be sure to check out the rest of the team's amazing Halloween projects! : )
Vicki Chrisman Team Leader

Pam Hooten

Heidi Blankenship

Marisa Grosson

Linda Duke

Michele Kovack < ----------ME! : )

Melissa Phillips

Flo from France

Julie Campbell

Mary Hamer

Heartwarming Vintage blog
Crafty Secrets Website

Wishing you all a wonderful day!!!!! : )

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!!!