Two Cards, Two Challenges

So much to do, so little time. We're all in the same boat, aren't we? Between cooking Thanksgiving dinner for at least 20, and Christmas preparations I can feel my to-do list growing. Don't get me wrong, I love making the big dinner. The smells, the anticipation, the company, and especially the delightful sounds of all the little ones running and laughing make all the work well worthwhile. And I've got a scrapbook to make before some of the company arrives for Thanksgiving. I owe little Kaylin hers. So part of my crafting time will be taken up with that. And speaking of scrapbooking, I've decided that once I get the last five done for family members, I'm cutting up all my 12x12 sheets that I want to keep, and giving away all the rest of my paper and scrapbooking supplies. It will be cards only from then on in. I'm looking forward to the extra storage space I'll acquire when I get to that point.

Anyway...I actually do have a couple of cards to share today. The first is for Muse. This is Vicki's Muse card:

It's bright and happy, and most importantly, it has POLKA DOTS! You know I love polka dots...Here's my take. It's a less bright version:

The front panel is a big chunk of dp from Fancypants. I got it when Sharon had her store open and have been hoarding it. I did use a TT small dot stamp with some Ranger Archival Cornflower Blue ink to add those bitty dots. The same ink was used for the CB balloon stamp (NBUS). A scrap of yellowy-green, a scrap of the Fancypants flipped over, and a white scrap for the sentiment panel. That's it for this one.

The next card is going into Fusion. You'll see a couple of diecuts on my card, and they're courtesy of Maria over at reislingmama. First see the Fusion inspiration:

I used both the ombre look and the sketch:

At first, I didn't have the embossing paste on the upper right. (Okay, okay, it's spackle...), but it looked a little unbalanced. So I used an MFT Polka Dot die, cut a scrap, and used it as a stencil for my dots. When they dried, I wiped a bit of Wink of Stella over them. As mentioned, the "you" and the bird are from Maria, and as soon as I saw this Fusion, I knew I'd use them here. The blue ombre ink is a Colorbox mini, and I used ME Smoke ink for the AE sentiment. Recollections white cardstock. And that's it. I'm going to shut up now. Happy dances everyone.