Stamp Your Heart Out

Visit Me on my NEW Improved Site!

2008-02-13T07:43:00.002-06:00

Stamp Your Heart Out

has

Moved!

I have moved to a new location. You can click the link above or visit me at http://igotstamps.com

Change is in the Air!

2008-02-12T08:29:00.000-06:00

First I want to say that I have a small change to my website in the works. When I started blogging I had no idea that I'd post on a regular basis, or that I'd end up with so many readers. In order to continue to grow I feel that it is time to make a small change. I will not be getting rid of this blog - in fact I have imported all of my posts into my new site, but starting Sunday, all new posts will only be posted over there.

I am asking a HUGE favor of all of you. If you have me listed in your Blog Roll, if you could please update it to reflect my new website. I will have a post on top on Sunday that will re-direct everyone to my new site, and if you want you can start to head over there as well.

My new website is : http://igotstamps.com

This card was made for the Feature Stamper Challenge on SCS. This week the honored stamper was Sarah Green. I choose this card to CASE. As you can see I kept the layout, but made a lot of changes to the card. I flipped the layout sideways to accomodate the image I wanted to use. I also changed the stamp set and color combination. I felt that hemp twine was more masculine than silver cording, as was the HodgePodge Hardware in lieu of the flowers.

I look forward to see you at my new site!

Jenn

Stamps: For Father, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, All Holidays
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel. Going Gray, Basic Black, Old Olive, Bordering Blue, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: crafter's tool kit, HPH, 1/16" hole punch, ticket corner punch, natural hemp twine
Techniques: watercoloring, faux stitching

My Handsome Friend

2008-02-11T10:53:00.000-06:00

When I first started the Technique Challenge today I didn't think I would go through with it. Faith was the guest host and showed us a Spray, Ink and Smoosh Technique to make background paper. Seeing the entire sheet of Glossy White card stock didn't do much for me. After it was cut out and layered I was in love. I think it looks like a serene body of water. I LOVE this card!

To start I sprayed a fine mist of water on Glossy White card stock, dropped a few drops of Handsome Hunter and then some Sage Shadow. I got the Dynamic Duo from my Color Wheel. I wanted to use colors that I don't normally reach for, and while I can go through a ton of Sage Shadow, Handsome Hunter is not something I often use. The base of my card is a 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 piece of Confetti White card stock. I also used Going Gray along with the Handsome Hunter and Sage Shadow.

The sketch is one of Julee's and is Mojo Monday Sketch 13. I wanted to keep it simple to show off my lovely patterned paper.

Jenn

Clear Envelope Book

2008-02-10T11:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I spent the day with some fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrators that I met via SCS. When we get together we normally each plan a 3D project to make. This is what Jackie, aka hpyscrpr2, brought along for us to make. It is one of the clear envelope books that was the new tutorial last week.

I think that this is so vibrant and cheery and I absolutely love the colors and paper that we used to make this book. The book uses So Saffron, Rose Red, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi and Cutie Pie Designer Series paper. Matching ink colors were also used along with the Garden Whimsy stamp set. We finished the book off with Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabi Double Stitched Ribbon as well as some 1/4" Whisper White Grosgrain.

I can see myself making a lot of these books to carry pictures of Colin and Evan in and to give as gifts. I think they would make perfect gifts for Mother's Day, Graduation Gifts or little books to put in Birthday Photos.

Jenn

One of a Kind Now Available!

2008-02-09T09:21:00.000-06:00

Stampin' Up! has announced that the One of a Kind stamp set is now available! I know that there were lots of questions as to when it would be back and the answer is now!

I thought I'd add just a quick update.

Jenn

This Hugs For You!

2008-02-09T07:51:00.000-06:00

Today is the day that these adorable Monkeys are going to be available, starting at 10 pm at All That Scraps. I made this card for the Limites Supplies Challenge. The goal was to make a non-traditional Valentine's Day card, meaning no pink, no red, no hearts. I LOVE the color combo in this card. I found a piece of Basic Grey Dasher paper that I forgot was in my stash and based the other colors off of it. I also used Beate's Sketch Challenge 34.

Well today I am off to stamp with some fellow SCS'ers. Teresa, aka paynete and Jackie, aka hpyscrp2, and I are getting together. Last time we spent hours talking and stamping so I am sure today will involve much of the same.

Have a great Saturday!

Jenn

Stamps: Monkey Love by C.C.Designs
Paper: Blue Bayou, Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Basic Gray Dasher
Ink: Soft Sky, Basic Gray, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Slit Punch, 1/16" hole punch, certainly celery 5/8" grosgrain, crafters tool kit, basic black stampin' write marker
Techniques: watercoloring

Double the Love

2008-02-08T07:54:00.000-06:00

These monkeys are so adorable and so much fun to color in. I have lots of visions for this set. I made this card and it folds like Beate's file folder card but it is held closed by the slit punch at the top of the main image. I think I should sponge the edge in Cool Carribean to make it stand out a bit more, but this is the photo I have to work with this morning. The sketch was in the latest Paper Crafts magazine and was used by Dianna Digoy.

Again for this card I used the new C.C Designs set, Monkey Love that will be released Saturday at 10 pm at All That Scraps. I also used the new Polka Dots background.

Did you know that All That Scraps has a new blog? If you want to win a Giga or Mega punch head on over and them know what you think. A winner will be drawn on Tuesday, February 12th at 10 pm Central Time.

Jenn

Stamps: Monkey Love and Polka Dots by C.C. Designs Paper: Cool Caribbean, Purely Pomegranate, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Basic Gray dsp Ink: Basic Gray, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose Accessories: Slit Punch, 3/16" corner rounder, chocolate chip satin ribbon, large oval punch, silver brads, designer label punch, dimensionals. AquaPainter Techniques: watercoloring

Monkey Love

2008-02-07T14:07:00.000-06:00

Do you want to see what was waiting in my mailbox for me this afternoon? This adorable little monkey and some wonderful new background stamps! It's perfectly fitting that I'd get some monkey stamps especially since I have two of my own monkeys who happen just to look a little more human. LOL!

This new stamp set from C.C. Designs called Monkey Love will be available at All That Scraps this Saturday starting at 10 pm. These sets are called Itzie Inkies and come in a very sturdy CD Case already mounted on EZ-Mount foam. On my Purely Pomegrantate layer I used one of the new Big Ol' Backgrounds called Hearts.

I'm off to play with the other monkey in the set, and he's just as cute as this one. I did seperate my sentiment and made the dots with my Chocolate Chip marker. The inside reads "thinking of YOU".

Stamps: Monkey Love and Hearts Background from C.C. Designs
Paper: Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Basic Gray Blush
Ink: Basic Gray, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, River Rock
Accessories: small and large oval punch, crop-a-dile, silver eyelets, silver brad, May Arts ribon, AquaPainter

Happy Heart

2008-02-07T10:13:00.000-06:00

I just have time for a quick post this morning. I thought I had until next week to get the Auction Basket in for Colin's school. It turns out I have to have it in by tomorrow. I'm working on that right now, but I wanted to post another card I made with yesterday's sketch. This one is a little simpler than the last, but I still am very pleased with how it turned out. Plus I have almost used up all of my Ginger Blossom scraps which makes me happy since I tend to get down to a few scraps, open a new package and never use the remaining few pieces up. My goal for this year is to be less wasteful with what I have and to use it before it retires.

Here is my Auction Basket. I have 52 cards and envelopes in the basket. Some I have duplicates of, others are originals. I showcased some of my favorite cards by slipping them between the photo box and the lid, which I put on the bottom of it. I called it a Year Full of Cards Basket since there are enough to send out one a year.

Jenn

Celebrate Today

2008-02-06T11:13:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a difference a day and a little bit of meds makes. We are all doing much better. Thanks for the well wishes. I appreciate all of them. I am feeling so good that I even got a card done this morning. I think I may get a lot of stamping done if the weather continues it's course. We are looking at 5 - 7 inches of snow today and right now it sounds like freezing rain is hitting the side of the house.

I made this card for today's Sketch Challenge. I am using up scraps of Ginger Blossom paper before I dive into my 2nd package of it. This card just fell into place and I love when that happens. I did use a wide variety of stamps and I'll list those in the card recipe.

I really love how you can make such vibrant flowers and how easy they are with the Sale-a-Bration set So Many Scallops. I simply inked this one up in Groovy Guava, rocked and rolled it in Rose Red ink and punched it out with my Scallop Punch. I then punced the center with the 1" circle punch and So Saffron ink. A few polka dots curteousy of the Three for You punch box and a little sponging with So Saffron ink and I was set. The stemp is from Garden Whimsy and is stamped off once in Old Olive ink. I set the flower and center of it up on dimensionals.

Stay warm today!

Jenn

Stamps: So Many Scallops, Garden Whimsy, Celebrate Everything, Three for You Punch Box
Paper: Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Whisper White, So Saffron, Ginger Blossom dsp
Ink: Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Old Olive, So Saffron
Accessories: Sherbet Ribbon Originals, 1/16" hole punch, silver brads, 3/16" corner rounder, 1" circle punch, dimensionals
Techniques: rock and roll

Retro Funk

2008-02-05T17:00:00.001-06:00

Today we all woke up not feeling well, so I decided to call the pedi and get the boys in. Both of them have sinus infections and are now on antibiotics. Roger and I are dealing with the same stuff. I think it's due to this very odd weather. On Friday we got 10 inches of snow, on Sunday another 2. Today it is nearly all gone! Tomorrow we hopefully will miss the big part of the storm, but Northern IL is supposed to get another 10 - 12 inches. Yesterday it was in the lower 50's by dinner time. I don't get it. Roger stayed home and I didn't get much stamping done, but took a few moments while Evan napped and Roger and Colin picked up the medicine at the pharmacy.

Both of these cards were made for the Color Combination Challenge on SCS. The colors are Ballet Blue, Real Red and Apricot Appeal. The first card was inspired by a layout I saw in a Paper Crafts magazine ad. They had used Designer series paper and I made my own since I didn't have any to match the color theme.

I promise to catch up on all of my comments as soon as I'm feeling a little better. I am so far behind with visiting sites and reading posts in Google Reader. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to return the favor soon.

Jenn

Card 1:

Stamps: Spring Solitude Hostess Bundle, Enjoy Every Moment
Paper: Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Basic Gray, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue
Accessories: dimensionals, paper piercer, mat pack, vintage brads, 1/16" hole punch, AquaPainter
Techniques: rock and roll

Card 2:

Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment, It's Beautiful
Paper: Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, Real Red
Accessories: crafter's tool kit, brocade blue 5/8" grosgrain, pretties kit, round tab punch, silver brad, mini glue dots, dimensionals. ticket corner punch

Fortune Favor

2008-02-04T11:45:00.000-06:00

Colin, Evan and I are all home today. We all still have some sort of small annoying cold, but I didn't think it was bad enough to keep Colin home from school. I attempted to take him there, but when the stop lights were out, there was accident after accident, semi's were pulled over to the side of the road and visibility was only about 5 feet in front of our car I turned around and went back home. I think safety is more important than driving a 4 1/2 year old 5 miles to school in those conditions. So we are downstairs playing GeoTrax and I took a few minutes to put this together for Try a New Technique Challenge on SCS.

I think that these would make adorable party favors for a preschool Valentine's Day party. I may just have to make a few more. I felt like I was back in grade school making this. We used to make these all of the time. Mine wasn't standing as tall as I wanted it to after I put the candy in, so I took out the candy and used my 1/16" hole punch to punch a small hole in two opposite points. I then used hemp twine to pull it nice and tight and it stands perfectly now.

In the center I cut a hole and put a Valentine's Day pencil in. I decorated the top with a scallop punch, and stuck it to the pencil with pop up glue dots. I then added the little mouse from Happy Heart Day. The base is a 8 1/2" square of Chocolate chip and the Berry Bliss paper was cut into 1 3/4" squares and then in half again to decorate the points.

It looks like sleet and rain are headed our way today and another snow storm is due tomorrow night. This certainly has been a wierd winter. Last night I found out that while we were driving in white out conditions that 2 inches fell in 1 hour. That is a lot of snow at once.

Jenn

Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: Chocolate chip, Berry Bliss, Whisper White, Regal Rose
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in pink, Blue Bayou
Accessories: AquaPainter, scallop punch, 1/16" hole punch, hemp twine

Answering a Few Questions

2008-02-03T21:46:00.000-06:00

What does it mean when it says One of a Kind is temporarily discontinued?

Stampin' Up! is looking into some alignment issues with the stamped image and the punch. Mine lines up perfectly if I turn the stamp at an angle before I stamp it. I used it at a class today and it worked perfectly for everyone there too.

What is the size of the card in my It's time for Sale-a-Bration post? I used a 8" X 8 1/2" piece of cardstock as a base. The finished size is 4" X 8 1/2".

How do those IKEA bars "hold" onto your punches? The punches actually sit fairly squarely on top of the bars. There is just enough clearance space for the punches to sit on top and rest against the wall. I have had my 2 year old and 4 1/2 year old throw a bouncy ball against the wall right at the punches and they still stay stable. I haven't had one fall yet.

I think that is it for questions the last few days. If you left one and I didn't answer it please let me know. It's not intentional, I haven't been feeling 100% the last two days and haven't been online much.

I am also so very thankful that we even got home alive tonight. I had a class today, and as we drove home we drove right into a White Out condition. It was awful! I-57 was 1 lane headed south with traffic traveling in the middle of the road. We were going only 10 - 15 miles per hour and it was all we could do to safely stay on the road. Luckily the storm didn't hit until we got to Peotone, but it was the longest car ride ever. When we finally got to our exit in Manteno, we couldn't even see the ramp or what was ahead. I hope we never get caught in a storm like that again. Route 45 was even worse than the interstate and we just had to hope that there wasn't a car driving at us. Visibility wasn't even a foot in front of our car. If there had been a hotel alongside the road I would have stopped for the night. Everytime I saw a car in the ditch I was just so thankful it wasn't us. It's still snowing terribly out there too.

Jenn

Sketch Journal

2008-02-03T08:13:00.000-06:00

This is a very quick altered journal that I made while taking part in VSN a few weekends ago. I am using it for a sketch journal. Often I will come across a card that I love because of the sketch that was used. I then jot it down in my journal. I find it is easier to look at a blank sketch instead of the actual card that I liked. It is much easier to focus on the sketch instead of the stamp set used or the original color combination. I still want to stamp out the word sketch and add it to the front of the notebook before I apply a coat or two of Mod Podge. However, this has gotten pushed to the side as I am working on other things.

I want to thank you all for your well wishes. I feel great this morning. I think sleeping in, taking a nap and going to bed early yesterday is just what I needed. I didn't get a single thing stamped, but I had fun just lounging around since it is not something I normally do. This week I hope to get back into the swing of things.

Have a great Sunday!

Jenn

P.S. I aplogize for any typos. For some reason the Spell check on Blogger isn't working. I try to go back and re-check everything but invariably something falls through the cracks. My fingers type faster than my brain works sometimes.

Stamps: Big Deal Alphabet
Paper: Cutie Pie dsp, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip craft
Accessories: crystal clear ep, heat gun, xyron sticker maker, double stitched ribbon in Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Groovy Guava and River Rock
Techniques: altered journal

One of a Kind Blooms

2008-02-02T17:43:00.000-06:00

I'm going to be a woman of few words today. I feel like I have been awake for weeks, although Roger and the kids let me sleep in until 9 am this morning and I took a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon. I feel like I am fighting off a cold that hit suddenly, but I feel much better now that I have gotten a ton of rest. I'm sure that going to bed early tonight will be just what I need. I'm one of those people who can sleep 24 hours straight when I feel like I'm getting sick and I'll be back to 100% the next day. I better be as I am teaching a class bright and early tomorrow. This is one of the cards we will be making. I used my new Pretty Petals background stamp and accented the Build a Brad with a Eastern Elegance Rub On. The Taken with Teal designer series paper strip is from Bali Breeze. To highlight my flowers I used a Regal Rose marker and dipped it in Rose Red re-inker. It then gave me more dimension to my flowers. I love that marker technique and I hope everyone tomorrow will love it too. I'll post a recipe for the card later. Now I am just relaxing. We did get to play outside today in the snow.

It's time for Sale-a-Bration!

2008-02-01T17:16:00.001-06:00

Today is the first day of Sale-a-Bration! I am so excited for this wonderful sale that Stampin' Up! has to offer. If you haven't seen the Sale-a-Bration catalog yet you can view it on the Stampin' Up! website. For every $50 you spend you can choose one of six items for free. There are 5 stamp sets and 1 set of Rub Ons. I used one of the stamp sets, Friendship Blooms and the Rub Ons to make this card.

In addition to this wonderful special Stampin' Up! is also offering two specials for you if you decide to sign up during Sale-a-Bration. You can get a Free stamp set up to a $47.95 value, plus the Starter Kit is 20% off and is only $159.

I am very excited about these promotions, and I hope you are too.

Jenn

Stamps: Friendship Blooms
Paper: Bashful Blue, Cutie Pie dsp, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Rose Red
Ink: Bashful Blue, Rose Red, So Saffron
Accessories: 1/4" square punch, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8" square punches, 1/16" hole punch, soft subtles brads, 3/4" circle punch, Bashful Blue Taffeta ribbon, Love and Happiness Rub Ons, dimensionals, blender pen

Be Lulu's Valentine!

2008-02-01T14:49:00.000-06:00

Since we had so much snow dumped on us last night I wanted to make a nice cheery card. I was going through my Designer Paper pile and came across this piece of Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl paper that I totally forgot I had. I thought it paired nicely with Real Red, Certainly Celery and Blue Bayou. I am so far behind on Challenges this week so I skipped right to Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. If I focus too much on all I want to do I end up not getting anything done.

This card measures 8 1/2" X 4". I stamped Lulu from Love Ya Lots by C.C. Designs onto Whisper White cardstock 3 times and then punched her out with my 1 1/4" square punch. Under the row of images I used my Crop-a-Dile to dry emboss 3 circles. I also added 3 flowers that were punched out and layered from my Boho Blossoms punch. The sentiment is also from C.C Designs, but it is from the Love Ya Much set.

I don't know about you, but I am certainly glad it is Friday! I am looking forward to my Hostess Club on Sunday and spending tomorrow doing as little as possible.

Jenn

Stamps: Love Ya Much, Love Ya Lots by C.C. Designs
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl, Basic Gray, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou
Ink: Basic Gray, Close to cocoa, Sahara Sand, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Corner rounder (retired), Boho Flower Punch, Vintage Brads, Dimensionals, Word Window punch, crop-a-dile, blue bayou double stitched ribbon, AquaPainter

February Class by Mail

2008-01-31T19:07:00.001-06:00

Tonight I put the finishing touches on my February Class by Mail projects. I am totally in love with the Embrace Life and One of a Kind stamp sets. I had my class all planned out before the One of a Kind stamp set was temporarily discontinued so I decided to just plug along with it. If you are interested in this kit I have information over on my Demonstrator website on my Events page or you can e-mail me at startstampin@comcast.net . I had some questions about how the entire class by mail program works. This is a pre-order type of program. I collect orders or RSVP's for the class. When a minimum of classes is ordered I place my supply order and as soon as I get the supplies from Stampin' Up! I cut and mail them to you. It typically takes me a full business week to receive supplies once my order has been placed. After that the turn around is typically 1 - 2 days, depending on the amount of orders for me to get my Kits out to you.

I am sure hoping that everyone in my classes enjoys making these cards this month as much as I enjoyed designing them.

Jenn

A Peek into my Stamping Space

2008-01-31T15:17:00.001-06:00

Today has been a crazy day! We are expecting 6 - 10 inches of snow tonight so this morning I dropped Colin off at Preschool and Evan and I headed over to Target to pick up milk and things we would need if we got snowed in for a day. We rushed back home so I could exercise and take a shower before we headed back to pick Colin back up. Then it was lunch, playing and a bunch of cleaning.

I gave my stamping space a bit of a overhaul. I get bored with the same set up all of the time and I'm constantly re-organizing to make room for more and more stuff. In a few years I may end up with the entire 600 square foot space. I'll just have to kick the kids toys out and we'll be set. Actually my dream is to add on to our house so I can have a room upstairs with lots of windows and natural light. I keep talking about my stamping loft when I put the second story addition onto our ranch style house.

Anyway you will now see how OCD I am. I cannot work if I have any clutter on my table. I can only have a few things left out each time - Sunlight lamps, grid paper, Stampin' Scrub and Mist, ATG Gun, Table Top Paper cutter, Scor-Pal, Fiskars paper trimmer and my stack of catalogs. After I create each and every card I put everything away and start over! It keeps me organized and sane. I always put my scraps into the right cellophane bag, ink pads away and punches back on my rack.

As you can see I have 3 Two Drawer filing cabinets and there is a drawer for each color family. I keep full and half sheets of cardstock in a hanging file folder, one for each color. All of my scraps have their own cellophane bag, the size that you can buy on a Stampin' Up! supply order. I think there are 50 in each pacakage. These are kept in cheap magazine storage bins on top of my white cabinets. I think I got 4 of them from LTD for $5.

My punches and ribbon are all stored on racks that I got from IKEA. The bars come with baskets, cups and hooks. They are super cheap, ranging from $0.99 - $2.99 an item. They are very sturdy. I'm not fond of the way all of the ribbon hangs in the baskets, but it works for now. Behind my table I also have a rolling storage cart I got from Costco. You are supposed to be able to hang 12 X 12 folders in it. I haven't purchased any yet, but the bottom shelf has 12 X 12 paper holders that lie flat. I also have to use the drawers to hide Stampin' Sponges since my two cats go crazy over them and are constantly stealing them.

My husband and I did 99% of the work in finishing our basement so we are still waiting on a drop ceiling. I can't wait because I am sure it will brighten my dungeon up a lot. For now we have other things that rank higher in priority that we want to spend our money on though. LOL! But we did the drywall, electricity, flooring, moulding and the rest by ourselves with a little help from family along the way. I never want to drywall again in my life! That was one labor intensive job.

Now that I am organized again I can hopefully get some stamping done, so I can share a project with you.

Jenn

Christmas Cards in January!

2008-01-30T07:41:00.001-06:00

When I was looking through the Stampin' Up! catalog I immediately fell in love with this card, so I decided to CASE it. I want to get a head start on my Christmas cards this year and SCS has a challenge to make 10 each month. They can be the same design each month or can be totally different. I"ll probably go the different route because I get bored by repetition.

I followed the same layout and color scheme that is in the catalog (see page 38). I did chance my buttons to Earth Elements buttons since I didn't have any neutrals laying around, but since the cards colors are in that color scheme anyway they work.

I am dreading taking Colin to school. We had a huge rainstorm, followed by snow and it's about 40 degrees colder out this morning than it was yesterday. Yesterday could have almost been like summer at 45 degrees and to wake up to a bitter cold 4 degrees is not fun. I know all of you gals in Canada have it much worse than we do, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Stay warm!

Jenn

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Whisper White craft, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: White ep, heat gun, Earth Elements buttons, mini glue dots, linen thread, very vanilla taffeta ribbon, 1/16" hole punch, vintage brads, 3/4" circle punch, sponge
Techniques: heat embossing

YoYo Yellow?

2008-01-29T16:21:00.001-06:00

I didn't expect today's Color Combination to be such a challenge. What did we get to work with? YoYo Yellow, Basic Gray and Going Gray. I decided to just pick a sketch and go with it. I was complaining that the sun wasn't shining today wasn't I? Now I have enough sun on my table to keep me going for a while.

I tried to balance the brightness of the yellow with both of the gray colors. This is definitely not a combination I'll be rushing to use time and time again.

Jenn

Stamps: Artfully Asian, Absolutely Fabulous, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Paper: Basic Gray, Going Gray, YoYo Yellow, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, YoYo Yellow, Old Olive
Accessories: Blender Pen, 1/16" hole punch, vintage brads, dimensionals, key tag punch, designer label punch, 1" circle punch, horizontal slot punch, basic gray taffeta ribbon, wheel guide

One of a Kind Dahlia

2008-01-29T12:47:00.000-06:00

I'm still working on my scrap paper pile and went straight to it when I started on yesterday's Technique Challenge. I can comprehend messing up scrap paper more than I can my cherished Designer series paper packages. Speaking of tomorrow I am getting a brand new package of Berry Bliss! I am so excited. The directions for this fold can be found here.

I love the Dahlia and I am certainly going to try this again, but with different paper. My circles were punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch and that makes a fairly good sized Dahlia. I just wish that the colors on this card were a little more vibrant. Maybe it's just the lack of sunlight over the last two days.

Today is such a dreary day. It is relatively warm, but there is no sun shining and the fog is thick and oppressive. I feel like crawling back into bed. It would be particularly nice since it actually hurts to breathe today. I did a new workout yesterday and I have never done abdominal work with resistance bands attached. It wasn't too bad during the workout or yesterday but I woke up nice and sore today. Hopefully when I go downstairs to stamp and turn my sunlight lamps on it will be a bit more cheery in the house.

On a side note, if you are attending my class this Sunday there has been a little change in the class projects. It has just come to my attention that One of a Kind has been temporarily discontinued to deal with a punch alignment issue. I'm very glad that Stampin' Up! stands behind their product and listens to concerns and issues with them, but I don't want to base an entire class on a stamp set that I can't sell to you that day. Therefore, we will switch to using Embrace Life instead. I'll save my One of a Kind for next month. We will still learn the Faux Silk technique though.

Stamps: One of a Kind
Paper: Soft Sky, Always Artichoke, Wintergreen
Ink: Always Artichoke
Accessories: Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain, Ice Rhinestone brad, 1 3/8" circle punch
Techniques: dalhia fold

I need new goals!

2008-01-28T12:46:00.001-06:00

This year I set two main goals that I wanted to accomplish. One was getting a card onto Stampin' Up!'s Stamper's Showcase. That happened a few days after the new year started. My second goal was to get something published in a magazine. I was completely shocked when two of my cards got picked up for Paper Crafts Holiday specia,.that will be out in October 2008. I am basically out of goals. So this weekend I sat down and started on Christmas cards. I plan to make 10 of one design each month. I completely CASE'd the Stampin' Up! catalog when I fell in love with the Peaceful Wishes card. I'll post them when I finish. Instead I'll share the first Polished Stone card I ever made.

This was made for the January VSN. I was surprised at what an easy technique this was. I didn't have any metallic re-inkers so I just opted to use Apricot Appeal and Rose Red re-inkers. I thought my pattern was a little busy so I stamped my flower from Time Well Spent onto it and then cut it out. The rest of the card came together nice and quickly which is exactly what you want it to do when you face a 45 minute time limit.

Then this weekend I found out that this card has been picked to be Girls Night Out Honors gallery. What a great way to be recognized by your stamping peers. I hope the rest of this year turns out to be as good as the first month has been. I hope you all find as much success in your stamping goals this year as well.

Jenn

Stamps: Time Well Spent
Paper: Basic Black, Apricot Appeal, Bali Breeze dsp, Sage Shadow, Glossy White
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Rose Red, Basic Gray
Accessories: 1/16" hole punch, vintage brads, basic black grosgrain, black gingham ribbon, mini glue dots, dimensional, white gel pen
Techniques: polished stone

Hoppy Birthday!

2008-01-27T09:18:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we attended a birthday party for my cousin's daughter, who just turned 4. I wanted to make a card she would enjoy and when I saw Beate's Inspiration Challenge I knew just what to do. I just had to have the Unfrogettable stamp set and it doesn't see much ink. I used it for a Boy Scout event last year and I don't think I've used it since. This is card is very bright and outside of my comfort zone. I don't often use Bold Brights and I pulled two out for this card - Green Galore and Real Red. Plus I used all of the Bold Bright green hues for my watercoloring. I used Julie's No Copics, No problem technique with my watercolor paper and I'm still learning the ins and outs of it.

I also wanted to remind you that there are only a few days left in the Valentine's Day bundle from Stampin' Up!, as we head into Sale-a-Bration starting on February 1st.

Today it's supposed to be close to 40 degrees outside, and after the past week of being -5 it feels like a heat wave. I'm sure that we'll be outside playing in the snow for a bit. I also started working on my Artisan Award entries. I am so nervous about them and I don't want to be working on them at the last minute. I'm sure I'm going to have plenty of rejects to show to you though.

Have a happy Sunday!

Jenn

Stamps: Unfrogettable , Lily Pad wheel
Paper: Green Galore, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Watercolor, Very Vanilla
Ink: Jetblack stazon, Stampin' Write Markers in Green Galore, Glorius Green, Gable Green, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink Regal Rose, Sage Shadow
Accessories: slit punch, 1/16" hole punch, red gingham ribbon, 1 3/8" circle and scallop punches, dimensionals, AquaPainter
Techniques: watercoloring

For You

2008-01-26T07:39:00.000-06:00

Every February my son's school has a silent auction in order to raise money for the school. Last year I made up a basket of hand stamped cards and items to be raffled off. This year I was asked to do the same. I have a ton of scraps of Designer Series paper that have retired, so I have made it a mission to put them to use. This is one of my favorite patterns from the Wintergreen designer series paper that retired at the end of December. I paired it up with Soft Sky, Always Artichoke and Certainly Celery cardstock. I kept the layout fairly simple so that I can mass produce a few of each design.

I really like how this turned out. I like the clean lines and the way the white flower just pops off of the page.

Have a great Saturday! We have a few errands to run and a birthday party to go to, so I'll be in and out today. I hopefully will get some stamping done along the way.

Jenn

Stamps: One of a Kind
Paper: Soft Sky, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Wintergreen dsp, Whisper White
Ink: Always Artichoke, Soft Sky
Accessories: Soft Sky double stitched ribbon, vintage brad, 1/4" and 3/4" circle punches, 1/16" hole punch

Hi There!

2008-01-25T07:55:00.000-06:00

This card was one of my VSN creations. I used Lauren's Sketch last she posted last Saturday for it. I found that if I had a sketch and a color combination waiting on my desk it was a breeze to go through the challenges.

This care is fairly simple, but it is one of my favorites. I stamped Tres Chic in Sage Shadow onto Sage Shadow cardstock. I then stamped the circle from So Much onto Really Rust cardstock, cut it out with my coluzzle and then used the sketchy lines as a paper piercing template. The flower was then stamped in Basic Gray ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock and watercolored in with an AquaPainter and So Saffron ink. I added a Jumbo eyelet and a square Fire Rhinestone brad in the center. The flower is set up on dimensionals. I then added the sentiment from Fundamental Phrases and tied a bow around the top with Whisper White taffeta ribbon.

This would be a very easy card to mass produce and keep on hand to send out to a friend you haven't heard from in a while. I hope you all have a great day! I have Mission Two on my plate again. I hope I can move afterwards. LOL!

Jenn

Stamps: So Much, Fundamental Phrases, Tres Chic
Paper: Sage Shadow, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla
Ink: Sage Shadow, Ruby Red, Basic Gray, Chocolate chip
Accessories: coluzzle, crafter's tool kit, CAD, jumbo eyelet, Fire square rhinestone brad, dimensionals. very vanilla tafetta ribbon
Techniques: paper piercing

Single Embrace

2008-01-24T07:04:00.000-06:00

This card was made for yesterday's sketch challenge. It is one of my favorite cards in a long time. I started with a piece of River Rock cardstock. I layered it with Whisper White that I used my 3/16" corner punch to add the scalloped border to. After I figured out where it was going to fit on the card front I stamped the little dotted image from One of a Kind in River Rock right over the panel. It may be hard to see in the photograph. I then layered a piece of Ginger Blossom designer series paper on top of the Whisper White layer.

To do the image panels I first cut them out and placed them right next to each other on my grid paper. I then stamped the Embrace Life image three times letting them overlap from each panel. In hindsight you can't really tell with the sentiment layer on top of them. I watercolored them in with Groovy Guava, a touch of Rose Red and Old Olive ink. The sentiment layer is matted on Basic Gray cardstock. I added the flowers from the One of a Kind stamp after I had punched them out with the Boho Blossom Punch. I added a brad to the center of each flower and they sit up on dimensionals.

I am going to be featuring this card in my classes next month. I hope everyone really likes creating one for themselves.

Jenn

Stamps: One of a Kind, Embrace Life
Paper: River Rock, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom dsp, Rose Red, Basic Gray
Ink: Basic Gray, River Rock, Groovy Guava, Old Olive, Rose Red
Accessories: Boho Flower Punch, 3/16" corner rounder, dimensionals, vintage brads, 1/16" hole punch
Techniques: watercoloring

Total Lapse in Brain Activity

2008-01-23T07:43:00.000-06:00

Last night I had a total lapse in brain activity. I looked up the color challenge, was browsing through Google reader, helping Colin with his 100 days of school project and working on dinner. I was multi-tasking to the extreme and I was so proud that I had gotten so much done.

While browsing through Google reader I saw Simone's post about setting your custom White balance and I have always wanted to try it out. I get the kids upstairs, follow the steps and I can't get it to accept my photo. I think I have some more research to do on that subject. I educated Roger on what he needed to do with the oven when the timer went off, how much time to set on the veggies in the microwave and what to do when the rice cooker popped. I figured I could have at least gotten the card uploaded to SCS and ready to post tomorrow here.

It didn't hit me until I was typing in the accessories that I left an entire layer off of my card. D'oh! I figured I'd post it anyway and show that I make mistakes in my stamping hobby too.

We ate dinner, cleaned up and I added the layer that was sitting finished next to my grid paper, the scalloped sentiment layer. Now my card is complete and I am happy. I even made 2! I just love these little Love Birds from C.C Designs Love Ya Much set.

The sketch I used is Julee's from Mojo Monday 21, and you can find the sketch here.

Jenn

Stamps: Love Ya Much by C.C. Designs, Fundamental Phrases (To My) by SU!
Paper: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Real Red, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Slit Punch, Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon, 1/16" hole punch, vintage brads, AquaPainter , scallop and 1 3/8" circle punches

Black and White with a Splash of Red

2008-01-22T13:44:00.000-06:00

I made this card for one of the VSN challenges. The challenge was to use black for your main image panel. I decided I wanted to try out the bleaching technique, and I failed miserably, but I love this card!

I kept the layout fairly simple since I was reading up on a new technique, to me at least, so I started with a 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" Basic Black cardstock base. I then layered a piece of Whisper white in which I had stamped the leaf image from Embrace Life in Basic Black ink. The main panel is matted on Real Red.

To start my main panel I stamped the image in Whisper White Craft ink and then heat embossed it with White embossing powder. I then took Clorox bleach and an old watercolor brush and put bleach on the inside of the flower petals. Do you see a difference? I don't. That is why I failed miserably in my bleaching technique. I even went over it 4 or 5 times until I couldn't stand the smell of bleach anymore and gave up.

I tied a simple basic black bow under the main image panel and added my sentiment punched out with the word window punch.

Do you remember last week when I mentioned I got the Billy Blanks Elite Boot camp? Well the Mission One DVD has been nice and easy and I feel like I've been back to the gym, so I love it. I did that 4 times last week and the schedule says to do Mission Two today. It kicked my butt! I exercise after I've dropped Colin off at preschool and after I've had a little breakfast. Today I feel like I can't move. Muscles I didn't know I had are hurting even while sitting still. I hope tomorrow when I have the Mission One DVD on my schedule I can actually move. LOL! At least it's a good kind of sore, but I have been falling into a dead sleep the moment my head hits the pillow.

Have a great Tuesday! We are dealing with snow here, and the roads are absolutely awful.

Jenn

Circle of Thanks

2008-01-21T07:28:00.000-06:00

This was the first card I made for VSN this weekend. The challenge was to make a circular card using this sketch. I pulled the color scheme from a table with a runner I had pulled from a magazine and stuck in my inspiration journal. The colors are Bashful Blue, Sage Shadow, Barely Banana and Whisper White. The image was one I had received via Wish Rak. I still don't have the Fun and Fast Notes stamp set and it's still on my wish list. Hopefully, I'll break down and buy it soon. I stamped the background with the Polka Dot background stamp and then colored in my image with an AquaPainter.

To make the round card I took a 4 1/4" X 11" piece of cardstock that was scored at 5 1/2". After the card was folded in half I put my coluzzle on top letting it hang over the folded edge of the cardstock. I then cut it out and that is how you end up with a circular card.

To finish it off I put on a piece of Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon and decorated it with a piece of HodgePodge Hardware. I forgot I had this tin sitting around, so hopefully I'll stop hoarding it and actually use it again.

Jenn

Stamps: Polka Dot background, Fun and Fast Notes
Paper: Bashful Blue, Sage Shadow, Barely Banana, Whisper White
Ink: Jetblack Stazon, Regal Rose, Barely Banana, Mellow Moss, Bashful Blue, Going Gray
Accessories: dimensionals, vintage brad, 1/16" hole punch, pretty in pink taffeta ribbon, HPH, AquaPainter, coluzzle
Techniques: watercoloring

Build a Brads meet Chocolate

2008-01-20T09:35:00.000-06:00

At my last Hostess Club meeting I used up a tin of Build a Brads. I knew I was getting low so I brought a second tin with me. As I was taking the empty tin off of the table I used the opportunity to show everyone how quickly you can punch holes in one side to add a ribbon handle with the Crop-a-Dile. I then decided I would turn it into a little purse.

As with a lot of things I intend to do, it got set off to the side. In the last week I remembered it after a conversation with some fellow Control Freaks. So I pulled it out and took some measurements. The bottom of the tin requires a 3/4" X 12" strip to go around the bottom of the tin. A 1/4" X 12" strip will wrap around the lip of the lid. I used Ginger Blossom dsp on mine. You can click the photo for a larger view.

So that the ribbon wouldn't be in the way of the chocolates I used some sticky strip on each end and stuck it flat to the inside edge of the tin. I used a 8" piece of River Rock double stitched ribbon. Next time I may use a slightly smaller piece, so that it doesn't stand up quite so much.

After the outside of the tin was decorated I used my Eastern Elegance Rub Ons to decorate the window of the tin. If you do this just be careful to not apply too much pressure because there is the possibility of pushing the thin layer of clear plastic out of the window.

My purse was done, but I had no idea what I was going to put into it, until Lisa Martz mentioned that she found that Hershey Nuggets fit into the tin. I found with mine that 6 fit comfortably, but will slide around if stood on the side like mine is. If you have a belly band around the middle of the tin you can fit 12. I have another tin that I plan to do this with later when it is empty.

To decorate my nuggets I used Avery labels. I stamped them with the image from Embrace Life in Basic Gray ink and then colored them in with Regal Rose and Mellow Moss ink. I then wrapped the label around the piece of chocolate.

I bet you didn't know that Stampin' Up! sold Nugget Tins and the best part is that they come with the wonderful Build a Brads in it!

I have had such a fun stamping weekend! I still have a couple of projects to finish for VSN, but I got 11 projects done that are ready to show you over the next few days. Since my blog will be running it self I can finish my Sale-a-Bration swap cards. I finally decided on a design, but I'll post that after the swaps have been sent back to the participants.

Jenn

Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: Ginger Blossom dsp, Avery Labels
Ink: Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss
Accessories: CAD, River Rock Double Stitched Ribbon, sticky strip, blender pen, Eastern Elegance Rub Ons
Techniques: nugget box, watercoloring

Embrace Chocolate

2008-01-19T08:53:00.001-06:00

Last night I completed all of the VSN challenges! That was a first for me. This is one of the cards I made using Beate's Sketch Challenge. I know I don't have my sentiment on the right, but I realized that after I had already stamped it onto the main panel. I know I'm going to do another card with this sketch at some point so I'll stick more closely the next time.

The inspiration for this piece were these tiny little shoes made of Chocolate, in Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla. I dug into my stash of retired Designer series paper and used the Loves Me designer series paper from last winter's Mini catalog. I used the same colors that I wrote down after seeing the shoes. The image is stamped in Basic Gray and is colored in with a blender pen with Pretty in Pink and Mellow Moss. I added the Eastern Elegance Rub Ons to my ribbon. I had forgotten to tie it to my dsp layer before adhering it so I used my horizontal slot punch and it goes around the front of the card.

I'm sorry for the lighting in the photo. I was working on this late last night and better photo lighting is still on my list of "To buy". Today I'm hoping to get a bunch more of the VSN challenges done. I don't know if my kids and husband will let me get all of them done like last night, but I'm going to try. It's bitterly cold outside, so it's nice to stay cozy and stamp.

Jenn

Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: Pretty in PInk, Loves Me dsp, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss
Accessories: ticket corner punch, blender pen, 5/8" chocolate chip grosgrain, Eastern Elegance Rub Ons, horizontal slot punch
Techniques: watercoloring

Cup of Happiness

2008-01-18T15:44:00.001-06:00

I haven't gotten much stamping done today. Well I didn't do any stamping today to be more precise. I have been organizing my space and making sure my shopping list for Virtual Stamping Weekend is complete. I'm sure it will look like a whirlwind hit in a few hours. If you are around you should come join in the fun at SCS. I always do.

I was challenged to use the Sale-A-Bration Rub Ons, as were all of the Control Freaks, so this is my challenge product. I didn't go the card route, but I'm sure I will do one sometime soon. Instead I decorated this little tea set that I found in the Target $ Spot. It was actually $2.50 but wouldn't this make a perfect Valentine's Day gift for co-workers or your children's teachers? I think so.

All I used for this project was the Love and Happiness Sale-A-Bration Rub Ons, a cellophane bag, Valentine's Day M&M's and a piece of Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon.

I know this will be asked, so I'll answer it now. I have never washed anything with Rub Ons, but I read on the Stampin' Up! forum on the Demonstrator website that other people have. But you really should hand wash them to be safe. I also read that there may be a product to seal the Rub Ons to the cup, but I haven't researched that end yet. If I find the answer I'll let you know.

Also when you place your Rub On on the cup, make sure you get it where you want it the first time because mine stuck almost immediately.

Jenn

Retired Stamps For Sale!

2008-01-17T14:14:00.000-06:00

I am clearing out some of my retired sets. If you are interested in any of the following sets, please e-mail me at startstampin@comcast.net . The prices do not include shipping. I will ship single sets in a Flat Rate Priority Envelope for $4.60. Two or more sets will ship in a Flat Rate box for $8.95, as will Simply Scrappin' Kits. All items will be sent with Delivery Confirmation service from the USPS. If you are interested in more than one set, contact me for combined shipping.

Jenn

FOR SALE
*Please note that these sets can only be shipped within the United States*
In the Spotlight - $25 - sold
Garden Silhouettes - $25 - sold
Bunny Hugs (Spring 07 Mini) - $10 Slight Staining on block with Bunny -
Doodle That (Spring 07 Mini) - $8
That's Nice (Spring 07 Mini) - $10
Off the Chart (Spring 07 Mini) - $12
So Many Sayings (Fall/Winter Collection 07) - NUM $15
Blooming with Happiness (Idea Book 06-07) Mounted Like New - $12
Double Line Doodles (Fall/Winter Collection 07) - $15
Looks Like Spring (Fall/Winter Collection 07) - $20
Bundle of Joy (Fall/Winter Collection 07) - $17
Just So Sayings (Spring 07 Mini) - $13
Friends and Flowers Simply Scappin' Kit (Idea Book 06-07) $10 NIP
Friends and Flowers Simply Scappin' Kit (Idea Book 06-07) $10 - NIP
Big Blossom (SAB 07) - $10
Happy Harmony (SAB 07) - $10
Delight In Life (SAB 07) - $10 - slight staining on one block

Non- SU!
Autumn Leaves clear stamps - Swirls v:1 by Rhonna Farrer - $10

I am trying to get these over to my Ecrater site, so you will be able to use both Google Checkout or Paypal.

ETA: Due to Stampin' Up!'s policy these can only be shipped within the US.

Cheery Hugs

2008-01-17T07:15:00.000-06:00

The other day Beate posted her first Inspiration Challenge on her blog. I instantly knew I would add it to my pile of stuff I want to get done. I actually started on it on Tuesday night, but it got pushed to the side and I just cleared off my workspace with the intentions of finishing it.

I have to say I really like the cheery colors and the way the sentiment layer just pops off the page with the white scallop background. The other think I love is that this is a card that would be so easy to mass produce as a Thank You. The sentiment from All Holidays fits perfectly in the 1 1/4" circle punch and I didn't take a photo before I mailed it off.

I often look to items for inspiration for colors, but have to start doing the same for layouts as well. I did change mine to a standard sized card instead of going the square route.

We have a long weekend ahead of us, and I sure hope my kids behave so I can get some stamping stuff done. Winter and the cold weather are starting to wear on my nerves. We really need to get them outside to run out their energy. While we do get out in the winter, it's not nearly enough as they need. To top if off the flooding around here has closed down most of the parks since they all double as retention ponds. I sure hope it warms up and dries out a bit over the next few weeks.

Jenn

Stamps: All Holidays, Petals Jumbo Wheel, Polka Dot background
Paper: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Whisper White craft ink
Accessories: 1 1/4", 1 3/8", scallop circle punches, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain, dimensionals, white embossing powder, heat gun
Techniques: heat embossing

Roughing Up a Stamp

2008-01-16T13:51:00.001-06:00

I had a question posted to my blog (on this post). Pam wanted to know exactly what I meant about roughing up a stamp.

Here is her question:
I love your card! I was wondering what you mean by roughing up your stamp. can you explain? I hate how hard it is to ink these kind up.

When you get a really smooth set like Birthday Whimsy, you might often see the ink "pooling" or looking uneven on it when you ink it up. This results in an unevenly colored stamped image, and personally I hate that.

To solve that problem I follow a few simple steps. Clean the ink off of your stamps so you don't get ink on your clothes or carpet. Take your stamp and you can rub it gently on your jeans. If I have something else on that day I may rub the stamp lightly across the carpet tiles in our basement since they are sort of rough. I have also used my Stampin' Up! white sanding blocks to rub across the smooth surface of the stamp.

You don't want to rub too vigorously or hard, but you want to get rid of the slickness of the smooth surface. I then clean my stamp again to make sure there is no fuzz or anything else on it. Then ink your stamp up and look to see how the ink is sitting on the surface. Sometimes you need to repeat the roughing up steps again, but often once is enough. You will notice that the ink is smooth and not "pooling" on the surface. You will then be guaranteed a smooth image when you do stamp it.

I hope that answers your question! If anyone needs further explanation just post your question here and I'll be sure to get to it.

Jenn

ETA: Here are some additional tips from readers. Thanks Mary and Kimberleigh! I hope you don't mind me adding them to the text portion for easy referrence.

Mary said - You can also use an adhesive remover, 200 grit sandpaper or the light side of an emery board.

Kimberleigh said - One of those big pink erasers the kids use for school work nicely as well!

Thankful Flower

2008-01-16T08:06:00.000-06:00

Did I not say I really liked this color combination? I am playing around with the set as I come up with my swap card for a Sale-a-Bration swap I am in. While I really like this card I think it would take me forever to make 30 of them, so it is in the maybe pile for now. I still have a day to play before I make my final decision though.

Again I used the same colors as in the last post, but I changed up my layout. I did try to doodle around the edge of the image, but I didn't leave myself enough room on my first attempt so you can't really tell. I think I'd have to make the main panel a little larger to accommodate the doodling. I do really like the flower stamped behind the sentiment and I think I'll keep that element for my swap card at least. Now to narrow down the sketch. I do know I am probably going to stick with the color combination though. I really like it.

Stamps: Merci
Paper: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Regal Rose, Going Gray
Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/16" hole punch, vintage brad, AquaPainter, Double hole punch

Soft Sunflower

2008-01-15T16:06:00.001-06:00

Two things inspired me when making this card. One was Beate's layout, that you can find here. The other was a bag I saw in a magazine. I often clip pictures with colors that inspire me. This particular purse had Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery and Pumpkin Pie in the color scheme.

To make this card I started with a 4 1/4 X 8 1/2 piece of Soft Sky cardstock. I then layered Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery that I stamped with the Polka Dot background stamp. To make the scallops I punched out a 1 3/8" circle in a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. Around that hole I punched out a Scallop circle. I clipped the circle and molded it so that it would be in a straight line. The rest of the card is fairly straight forward. I really like this color combination. I think I may have to write it down as a keeper.

Jenn

Stamps: Merci
Paper: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Soft Sky
Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/16" hole punch, vintage brad, AquaPainter, Theater Ribbon Originals,

Feel the Burn

2008-01-14T19:15:00.000-06:00

I decided that I needed to get a new exercise video today. I am getting bored of my treadmill and my Tae Bo videos from the late 90's are out of date in VHS format. So today I got the new Elite Boot camp. I was surprised at how easy it was until they introduced the resistance bands into the mix. My arms and legs are feeling really sore and I only exercised at 10 this morning. Evan loves to exercise with me and he was so tired he actually took a nap this afternoon.

I'm stuck in a bit of a rut with my stamping. I need the inspiration to come back, so today I picked a color scheme out of the Spring/Summer Collection 2008 and just went from there. It's a nice and simple card and that is usually what gets me back in the game.

Hopefully tomorrow I won't be too sore to pick up a stamp. LOL!

Jenn

A Few of my Favorite Things

2008-01-13T16:23:00.001-06:00

I wanted to start playing with the Merci stamp set so that I can get a feel for how I want my swap cards to come out. I'm loving this butterfly! I stamped it onto Whisper White card stock in Basic Gray and then pulled my color scheme from the Bali Breeze designer series paper. I was actually going to use the paper on this card, but in the end I decided that simpler was better. The bottom is embellished with 3/4" circles punched out of Tempting Turquoise card stock to give it a bit of dimension, and I thought a simple bow out of Basic Black grosgrain would fit nicely against this layout.

There is an optical illusion with the sentiment square. It was punched with the 1 3/8" square punch as were all of the white image squares and I measured the Basic Black square a million times against the others. They are all the same size, but yet it appears smaller than all of the rest with the Whisper White layer. I'm not sure why that is, but I still love the way this card came out.

I am heading out to Walgreens to get some photos to add to a scrapbook page. I am hoping to get some pages done. I hope you are all having a nice relaxing Sunday!

Jenn

Stamps: Lots of Thoughts, Merci
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Accessories: 1 3/8" square punch, 3/4" square punch, basic black grosgrain, AquaPainter

For the Love of Chocolate

2008-01-12T15:43:00.000-06:00

Let my preface this by saying I HATE Chocolate cake. Don't buy me one, don't serve me a piece and don't offer me a taste of yours. It's one of those things, like Chocolate ice cream that I won't eat. The only form of chocolate I like are the little round cups that taste more like peanut butter than anything else.

Anyway, I'm sitting here mounting my stamps that arrived yesterday and I'm looking at the Birthday Whimsy stamp set and Chocolate Cake with Pink Frosting is the image in my head. So as soon as I finished mounting the rest of my stamps that was the first thing I had to stamp.

I colored in the frosting with a Pretty in Pink Stampin' Write marker and then finished the rest of the cake with Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Basic Black and So Saffron. I did have to rough this stamp up a little bit to get good coverage because the rubber is so smooth. One rub on my basement carpet tile and the markers colored beautifully. After I stamped it I used a Versamarker to color over the icing, put on heat and stick powder, heated it up, doused it with dazzling diamonds glitter and heat set one last time. *Whew, that was a lot*

I have this gorgeous cake sitting on my table and I'm at a loss as to what to do with it. I had a total brain freeze, so I pulled out my Winter Mini Control Freaks Swap cards and I cased a layout from ChiChi Allen. The base of the card is a 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 piece of Chocolate chip and the top is 1/2 inch smaller piece of Pretty in Pink. I scored the left side at 1" and attached it to the base. I then punched my holes with the Crop-a-Dile and put my Chocolate Chip satin ribbon through it. I wasn't going to by this ribbon until I heard it also comes on the Ribbon Originals (Theater, if I remember correctly) and had to get it. It's gorgeous and so silky!

I did stamp the flourish from Friendship Blooms under my cake layer and the entire layer is set up on dimensionals. I did find that the prongs of my brads were a little long after putting them on the main image layer so I snipped them with some metal snips I found in my husbands workbench.

I think the rest is pretty self explanatory. I also want to apologize for my lack of posting yesterday. I spent most of the day in a pair of PJ's I had put on after waking up. I have to wear fresh PJ's if I lounge around during the day. I'm just odd that way. After that I scrubbed my house so I'd have plenty of time to play once my Sale-a-Bration stamp sets came, but my kids decided to spend the afternoon fighting. I changed my PJ's for some black and white stripped referee attire and that was that. I didn't get anything besides half a clean house.

It sure felt good to stamp today.

Jenn

Stamps: Birthday Whimsy, Friendship Blooms
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Going Gray, Barely Banana
Accessories: Crop-a-dile, Versamarker, Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat Gun, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, 1/16" hole punch, ticket corner punch, dimensionals, silver brads

Learning Curve

2008-01-10T16:03:00.001-06:00

I think I told you about my complete surprise at Christmas? If I didn't you'll hear about it now. I got a Cricut! I was completely surprised because I hadn't even asked for one. But I knew when I did some research that I wanted the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More Cartridge, and because I'm impatient I wanted it NOW! Well NOW didn't happen. I looked everywhere I could think of - JoAnn's (didn't carry them here), Michael's, Walmart etc. Either they didn't carry them or they didn't have that particular cartridge in stock. So I ordered mine from All That Scraps. While it shipped quickly I was in agony over waiting for the USPS to bring it to my mailbox. Well guess what arrived today? You got it, my brand new cartridge.

While my Cricut has been unpacked and on my table for some time and while I painstakingly had to read the manual from start to finish on Christmas day I still wasn't brave enough to use it until I had the cartridge I wanted. So today I pulled it out and I learned some things along the way.

1. Stampin' Up!'s colored cardstock comes off of the cutting mat 10 times easier than Whisper White. The back of the Whisper White tends to pile and peel and I actually partially ruined a piece trying to reposition it. So don't press your white on as hard as you do the other colors. (I haven't tried dsp, so I don't know how this will work)

2. You have to be patient when removing your cut out images and one thing I am not is patient. I was able to remove all of my die cuts with the Cricut spatula that came in my box.

3. Remember to set your paper size if you are using a size smaller than 6" X 12". I already have nice groove lines in my mat from using a smaller piece. Good thing it came with 3 mats!

4. When you want a piece to mat a cut out on use the same size in a Shadow, don't up the dial 1/2". It doesn't look as cool.

5. Set your blade depth to 4 and it works perfectly with Stampin' Up! cardstock, both Whisper White and the rest of the colors. I tried 3 to start and it didn't really cut my bag deep enough to separate it from the rest of the piece of cardstock.

So if you have a Cricut, there are a few of my tips. But this gadget is really cool! I'd personally never spend the money on one myself (I'm cheap that way), but as a gift it was perfect. The Tags, Bags, Boxes and More is an Awesome cartridge. I can see hours of playing time and a million and one projects. It only took me about 5 minutes to cut my bag, take it off the mat, score and assemble it. This is going to be great for party favors for my kids!

Jenn

ETA: I used the George and Basics Shapes cartridge for my hearts.

A Little Birdie Told Me . . .

2008-01-09T20:07:00.000-06:00

That this sketch challenge was not going to work for me today. I have been playing with this on and off all day long and I have not come up with a Kick Stand card that I like. Therefore I am posting one of my rejects, where the panel got moved up onto the front panel of the card. I like the paper, I like the idea, I'm just not having luck.

I'm going to watch a movie instead and try again in the morning.

Jenn

Happy Hearts Day Class

2008-01-09T16:13:00.000-06:00

I've been talking to some of my customers in other states on the telephone and the one thing we wish we could do is get together and stamp. While it sounds fun to pack up all of my stamping supplies and drive 5 or so hours, it's just not practical, unless I'm vacationing near them and just happen to have extra space in the car for all of my stamping supplies. Maybe if I owned a conversion van it would work.

So today I spent the day typing up the directions on how to complete these projects with step by step photos. If you haven't seen one of my tutorials click here, and you'll see just how I format my class directions as well.

I want to Thank all of you who took time to complete this months projects! I don't have any left at this point in time. I hope that you'll like next months projects even more.

Jenn

Wild Embrace

2008-01-08T16:27:00.001-06:00

Nature sure took a wild hold on life last night. I sure hope everyone who lives in far Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin made it through the storms okay. The warm weather was followed by thunderstorms and tornadoes and my heart goes out to everyone in Wheatfield that lost a house last night. We fared pretty well. There was a lot of flooding around town, but we were not personally affected by it.

I had a chance to sit down and try out the Color Combination today and I started out thinking I'd be unhappy with any outcome. The colors chosen were Wild Wasabi, Barely Banana and Blue Bayou. I was wrong. I love my card! I think I'm going to make a few more to have on hand. The layout is fairly simple and I masked the main image to set the blossoms behind it. I used my horizontal slot punch to allow me to weave the ribbon behind the image before tying it and the larger Word Window surround is hand cut.

Stamps: Embrace Life
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Barely Banana, Blue Bayou, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Barely Banana, Rose Red
Accessories: crafter's tool kit, photo corner punch, ticket corner punch, horizontal slot punch, wild wasabi double stitched ribbon, word window punch, dimensionals, blender pens

Spring Fever in January?

2008-01-07T20:03:00.001-06:00

Today the temperature topped at 67* in Illinois! The last two days we have broken a century old record high. I don't know what to think, but I do know that the minute the seasonable weather comes back we are all going to regret it.

So here is a card that looks nice and spring like to celebrate and I didn't even sit down to stamp it until the boys were in bed. I spent the day outside with a light sweatshirt on and we loved it!

This card was part of the Featured Stamper Challenge on SCS and you can see Nancy Riley's original card here. I chose to keep the layout and sentiment. I changed the color scheme, ribbon and added the stamped frame border.

Since I'm beat from a day of running around outside I'm going to keep this short and sweet and say Good Night! Here's to spring like weather in your neck of the woods.

Jenn

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, All in a Row, All Holidays
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Basic Black
Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Basic Black
Accessories: coluzzle, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 5/8" real red grosgrain, 1/4" basic black grosgrain

Mmmmmm . . . chocolate

2008-01-06T10:20:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a quick post since I have to head out for my class this morning. Here is the package of Chocolates that will be going inside of the purse along with the wallet. I used items that are available in the Valentine's Day Bundle. I used Real Red, Soft Sky and Whisper White. I stamped my images in Basic Gray. I don't think I even use Basic Black anymore. I then colored them in with Soft Sky and Real Red classic ink with a Blender pen. I then used the scallop punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches to decorate the front of York peppermint patties.

I do have a card that goes along with these items, but it is very similar to the two butterfly cards I have posted recently so I'm not going to post it again. I really hope that everyone has a great time making these projects today. I know I had fun designing them.

Have a great Sunday!

Jenn

Look Ma! No Stamping!

2008-01-05T10:19:00.000-06:00

I made a little gift card wallet to go along with my purse. There is no stamping on it. I used a piece of Bali Breeze designer series paper with my Build a Brad for the closure. On the inside I took a velcro dot that had been cut in half and it holds the wallet closed.

I am loving these huge snow storms that dump snow on us, but the snow is gone in about a week. Last Monday night it was frigid cold and we got another few inches of snow. It has stayed above freezing all night and this morning it poured so a good deal of the snow is gone. My favorite thing is that on Monday they are saying that we will get into the mid to upper 50's!

Roger finished the sump pump and it is working correctly with no leaks. I'm so glad we caught it before we had a flooding issue. My stamping space is in the basement as is the kids playroom. We would have had a lot of clean-up to do had that been the issue. We also now have a functioning faucet on our kitchen sink. I don't have to turn it off at the supply valve when it won't shut off with the faucet and I don't have to worry about it falling apart when I try to push the lever down.

I hope you all have a productive weekend. Tomorrow you will get to see the chocolate treat bag I have to go inside of this purse.

Jenn

A Sneak Peek

2008-01-04T22:05:00.000-06:00

This coming Sunday I have my first Hostess Club meeting of the year. After I made the purse yesterday I knew my ladies would love making these, so I came up with a few projects around a purse. Over the next few days you'll see the wallet and bag of chocolate that is going to go inside of this bag. I also have a card and another project in the works.

I am running so far behind today. We are having major plumbing issues. When it rains it pours and I'm just glad it's not pouring water inside of my house. First our sump pump went out and then our kitchen faucet broke. I'm holed up in the basement while Roger works on the sink right now. I have to say I feel blessed because my neighbors were out of town over the last few days. I saw them come home today and all afternoon there was a fire and water damage emergency truck over at their house. When I finished with my doctor's appointment there were three of those trucks there. I sure hope their sump pump didn't go out while they were on vacation. Tomorrow I'll have to head on over and see if they need anything. What a welcome home.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Tomorrow I am finishing up Hostess Club projects and relaxing.

Yesterday Karen asked me how I like the Tabletop Cutter from Stampin' Up!. I honestly love it. I had a small learning curve, basically it was me forgetting to push down the finger guard bar to hold my paper in place. It cuts beautifully and I can cut at least two sheets of cardstock at a time. It honestly makes prepping for classes so much easier. I do have the small portable Fiskars cutter from Stampin' Up! and I have to get a new one. I have used mine for 1 year and prepped for all of my workshops and classes with it. Over time the plastic bar has loosened and it doesn't cut as straight anymore. Plus I was going through a million blades. I had a Fiskars Rotary cutter that my mom bought me about 4 years ago that I loved, but again I was going through blade after blade. One day a spring snapped and I could now longer push the blade down to cut. I love that the Tabletop cutter has a self sharpening blade and I'll never have to replace it. I was worried about it with the kids around, but the blade is actually not directly on the handle from what I can tell. I rubbed my finger across the handle part and didn't cut it. I have trained my kids to never touch anything on my table and they are pretty good about it. But they know to never touch my paper cutters or scissors if they are within reach, but I try to put them up each time I use them to avoid accidents.

Jenn

Tweetheart Purse

2008-01-03T16:02:00.000-06:00

This afternoon I was browsing the SCS Gallery and came across this purse by Jami. I just knew I had to try one out for myself. What's better is that my newest C.C. Designs stamp set that will be released tonight at Midnight came in the mail today. I knew I had a few lunch sacks sitting around that I had bought for an event and then didn't end up needing them, or I had forgotten to take them.

I cut my bag down to 3" in height and then cut my Chocolate Chip cardstock 1/4" larger than my bag measurements. I layered it with some designer paper by Basic Grey from the Infuse line. I have been hoarding this paper forever. I then added the Round tab punches, outlined them with a white gel pen to add stitching and then used my horizontal slot punch to clip a notch out of the top of them. The 1/4" Whisper White grosgrain is inserted into the tab punch and to secure it I stapled it to the back layer. You can't see the staple because it is sandwiched in between the bag and the Chocolate Chip layer of cardstock.

I colored my bird image in with Copic Markers that match the Stampin' Up! In colors and blended them with the colorless blender pen. These can also be found at All That Scraps. I think that these would make adorable Valentine's Day purses with a few York Peppermint patties in there that have been decorated with the Scallop punch. I have many ideas running through my head for my stamp camp on Sunday. I have to decide just what projects I want to use this month.

I finally made the Showcase!

2008-01-03T15:59:00.000-06:00

Stamper's Showcase that is! The only problem is that they completely butchered my name and have me down as Jeannie Dierks. LOL! But I am so excited to finally have a card up there. I made this for one of the ControlFreaks Swaps about 6 months ago. They have been putting up a lot of the swap cards from this swap in the last few weeks.

You can see the original card here.

Let's Go TP! Part II

2008-01-03T10:20:00.001-06:00

You've let your stamp with the dampened Toilet paper sit overnight to dry, so now it's time to move on to the second part of the tutorial. You can see that the paper is dry and you no longer see the color of the rubber through the paper. It will have also loosened from the stamp so you can lift it right off with no ripping or tearing of the paper.

I have experimented with coloring in the image with Stampin' Pastels, Blender pens and ink refills and the AquaPainter. The only result that seems to work is the Stampin' Pastels chalk. Just take your applicator and dab, don't rub or the papers will pile and tear, the color onto the cast toilet paper. I didn't take step by step photos of my coloring but I'm sure you can figure it out.

Here is my image fully colored in with Stampin' Pastels. You can finish your card off at this point or you can take your Versamark pad and dab it on top of your image. I like to set my Stampin' Pastels so that they won't rub off when the card is handled or is placed in an envelope. After I dab on my Versamark I pour Crystal Clear embossing powder on the image and Heat Emboss it. Now when you are heat embossing you have to be very patient and not burn the toilet paper. Once it is heat embossed you will notice that your colors are much more vibrant.

I have only attempted to trim my toilet paper cast image with my Stampin' Up! Table Top cutter. It cuts it neatly without tearing the image. You can try the Fiskars slide cutter or a rotary cutter, but be careful in your experiments because the paper can shred easily.

Here is my image cut, matted and with a brad added to the center of the flower. I like to add brads to make sure that all layers of the toilet paper are going to stay together and on the card when it is handled. I simply take my Paper piercer and use it to punch through all of the layers with the black part of my mat pack under my image. You can easily put a brad through a hole punched with the paper piercer. This way you aren't limited to where your 1/16" hole punch will reach on your image either.

Here is what my card looks like completely finished and embellished. There are endless possibilities to this technique and I hope you have fun experimenting with it on your own.

This is the original card I made using the toilet paper technique.

Let's Go TP! Part I

2008-01-02T18:26:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I told you I would show you how to use Toilet Paper in your paper crafting room. You can see the original card I made here. Today I will show you Part I of this two step process. To complete this you need a rubber stamp, 8 squares of single ply toilet paper, and an AquaPainter or Watercolor brush and water.

Step 1: Take your stamp and place it rubber side up on your table.

Step 2: Taking one square of Toilet Paper at a time use your AquaPainter to wet down the toilet paper. I find that it goes quicker if you wet the AquaPainter down with some extra water in a glass. Repeat for all 8 layers.

Step 3: After you finish all 8 layers your toilet paper cast will look like this. You will now need to leave your stamp and paper as is overnight or until it is completely dry. You may be tempted to dry it with a hair dryer or Heat Gun, but I do not recommend this. I ruined several tries by experimenting with both of these. The toilet paper burns very easily.

Make sure you come back tomorrow to see Part II of Let's Go TP!

To an Unforgettable 2008!

2008-01-01T17:55:00.000-06:00

As I finally get around to using the computer today I realized that the older I get the harder it is to recover from staying up two nights in a row past midnight. I'm exhausted! While the rehearsal dinner and wedding were lots of fun and I got to meet up with old friends as well as new, the mom instinct still kicks in and I have problems sleeping soundly past 7 a.m. as I listen for my kids to wake up. I found out that this happens even when I'm not at home and the kids are safely waking my parents up before the crack of dawn instead. I am so happy that we decided to spend the night in Tinley Park instead of driving home. We started our drive around noon today to give them plenty of time to catch up on all of the snow that fell last night and the amount of cars in the ditch along the side of the road was unnerving. It's still snowing by the bucket load and I'm glad to be inside with no place to go until Thursday when Colin heads back to school.

Here is to an Unforgettable 2008 for all of us! I hope you achieve all you set out to do and that this is the start of an unforgettable year.

Jenn

Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: River Rock textured, Cameo Coral, Rose Red, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom dsp
Ink: Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Always Artichoke, Going Gray
Accessories: Sherbet Ribbon Originals, Crop-a-dile, Silver eyelets, AquaPainter

One Year Anniversary of Blogging!

2007-12-31T07:59:00.001-06:00

I can't believe that today is my First Blog-iversary (that's blog and anniversary combined). Looking back I've come so far in terms of my cards, projects and regular postings. Thank you to all of you who visit here. I really do appreciate it!

I made two simple one layer cards with the newest C.C. Designs Little Bits kit called Love Ya' Lots. This set and it's companion Love Ya' Much will be released on January 4th at All That Scraps. I have always wanted to make a plain white card where my focal image was in a dry embossed square, but I only have one embossing template. So to make this card I made my own template. I simply took a Post It Note, traced it onto some scrap cardboard I have left over from Stampin' Up!'s designer series paper packages and cut the square out. I put the template on my light table and then centered my stamped image on top of it before embossing with my stylus. After the image was colored and the sentiment stamped I tied a simple light pink grosgrain ribbon (retired SU!) around the spine of the card.

I repeated the exact process for the second card, this time using Lulu the cat. These are so easy to make and they are going to make adorable Valentine's Day cards to mail out to friends and family.

Today is going to be a hectic day. Roger's best man from our wedding is getting married at 7 tonight with the reception to follow through until the New Year. To top it off we are expecting 4 - 6 inches of snow tonight. I am so glad we decided to get a hotel room instead of driving home. I'm not worried about Roger and I, I'm afraid of all of the other people out on the road. Last night coming home from the rehearsal dinner the traffic was already crazy, and it wasn't even New Year's Eve yet. Colin and Evan are going to stay nice and cozy at home while my parent's babysit. Someone asked my last night why I didn't bring them to the rehearsal and if I'd be bringing them to the wedding. Even though my kids are pretty well behaved I'm not that crazy! Roger has to work this morning so maybe I'll get some stamping time in as Colin and Evan make their own artwork on their brand new easel.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve!

Jenn

Stamps: Love Ya Lots by C.C. Designs
Paper: Naturals White
Ink: jetblack stazon, pretty in pink, close to cocoa
Accessories: light table, embossing stylus, light pink grosgrain (retired SU)

Stamps: Love Ya Lots by C.C. Designs
Paper: Naturals White
Ink: Jetblack Stazon, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: light table, embossing stylus, light pink grosgrain (retired SU)

Mane Squeeze

2007-12-30T10:58:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week I got the newest release from C.C. Designs in my mailbox. It is called Love Ya' Lots and has a matching set called Love Ya' Much I immediately wanted to color in this lion. He is absolutely adorable! This set will be released on January 4th so you'll have plenty of time to make your Valentine's Day cards to send out.

I made this card for the Limited Supplies Challenge as well. I stamped the lion onto Confetti White cardstock and colored him in with blender pens. I added a piece of designer series paper a simple piece of taffeta ribbon and stamped the sentiment. I wanted to keep as much focus on the lion as possible and I think I accomplished that.

Stamps: Love Ya' Lots by C.C. Designs
Paper: Confetti White, Loves Me dsp
Ink: Jetblack Stazon, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Sahara Sand, Basic Gray
Accessories: Pretty in Pink Tafetta Ribbon, Blender Pen

Fluttery Love

2007-12-29T10:46:00.000-06:00

I was catching up on blog hopping and I noticed this sketch. Sometimes I see a sketch and print it out to try later. This was one I had to do right away. It is a simple 5 1/4" square card, but the results, in my opinion, are stunning. I used retired Loves Me designer series paper on this one. I added faux stitching around the edges and layered the Word Window punch on the largest Oval punch from Stampin' Up!. I set the sentiment up on dimensionals.

The butterflies are from Happy Heart Day a new set from Stampin' Up! that will be available for order as of January 2nd. I stamped them in Jetblack Stazon and colored them in with a blender pen. To give them some pop I outlined them in Sahara Sand and they look like they pop off of the page.

I wanted to make a sample to use in my January classes with current supplies, so I used the same sketch, but since the Limited Supply Challenge said no punches I changed it a bit. I also made a standard 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 card to fit into a standard A2 envelope. I stamped the sentiment in Groovy Guava on the designer series paper and it doesn't stand out enough for me so I'm sure I'll tweak the card for classes and probably use some of the new designer series paper. I had some Ginger Blossom paper cut to use and then I grabbed Groovy Guava ink accidentally so I changed my dsp to match.

Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: Confetti White, Loves Me dsp (retired), Chocolate chip
Ink: Jetblack Stazon, Pretty in Pink, Taken with Teal, Regal Rose, Sahara Sand
Accessories: blender pen, large oval and word window punches, dimensionals, crafter's tool kit, chocolate chip marker

Stamps: Happy Heart Day
Paper: Whisper White, Groovy Guava dsp
Ink: jetblack stazon, groovy guava, wild wasabi, sahara sand
Accessories: wild wasabi double stitched ribbon, blender pen

Retro Flowers

2007-12-28T08:02:00.000-06:00

I am slowly getting back into the habit of stamping. I had to do something after building castles with Mega Blocks for 3 hours this afternoon. Colin insisted that we had to use all 120 pieces in the bag and we each had to have a chance to pick the starting block for our castle. There is only so much building a mom can do in a day without going insane.

We headed downstairs where the GeoTrax trains and their drivers rode around my table, hence the crooked sentiment. I was actually browsing the Splitcoaststampers Gallery and came across a card that screamed CASE me with Spring Solitude. Here is the original by seewah.

We are getting ready for another full weekend, so if you don't see me around for a day or so you know that I'm still around but unable to stamp. We are celebrating Christmas with my extended family and Roger is in a wedding for the best man from our wedding. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Stamps: Spring Solitude, Polka Dots
Paper: Confetti White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black, Jet Black Stazon, Regal Rose
Accessories: ticket corner punch, mini glue dots, dazzling diamonds, black gingham ribbon

Lovin' Winter

2007-12-27T10:33:00.000-06:00

If you were to look outside you would not believe that we got 10.2" of snow not even two weeks ago. Yesterday the temperature topped 48 degrees and the sun was out for a while. This has been an unusual winter marked with ice storms, heavy rain and some snow here and there. I don't mind a huge storm if I don't have to drive in it and if the snow disappears quickly. Despite the warmer temperatures there is still the bite of winter air outside and you aren't fooled for that long.

We are finally settling back in after a few days with family. We have presents unpacked and each has found it's own place inside our home and Colin and Evan have enough new toys where they can play independently long enough for me to stamp something. Hopefully I'll be able to try out all of my new toys this week too. I was completely surprised to get a Cricut for Christmas especially since my Mom told me that she had bought one for my sister and was asking me all of these questions about it. I never expected to get one for myself courtesy of my parents, sister and grandma. I also got a Scor-Pal and Xyron sticker maker. I keep taking up more and more of the basement stamping area and the playroom part keeps getting smaller and smaller. As I stamp I can feel a GeoTrax Train rushing by my feet as the boys build the course around my table and chairs.

This card was made with yesterdays Sketch Challenge and I used some retired paper I had left over from last Winter's Mini Catalog, and I think it was called Loves Me. I'll have to dig out the mini to be absolutely sure though. I used my C.C. Designs Little Bits Wintertime Fun set. I wanted to make it feel more like a Valentine's Day card than a Christmas card and since there is still snow on the ground here come February this set is perfect for Valentine's Day too. I added a Heidi Swap Ghost Shape heart as well as a foam flower from American Crafts. Both of these items and the stamp set can be found at All That Scraps if you are looking to get some for yourself.

Stamps: Wintertime Fun by C.C. Designs
Paper: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Loves Me dsp, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Ink: Palette Noir, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand
Accessories: 3/16" corner rounder, 1/16" hole punch, coluzzle, Heidi Swap ghost Shapes, American Crafts Greenhouse Foam Flowers, mini glue dots, blender pens

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T08:57:00.000-06:00

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Jenn

Toilet Paper in the Stamp Room

2007-12-24T08:06:00.000-06:00

It's not just for the bathroom anymore.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. The main image of this card is made from Single Ply Toilet paper. I used a stamp as a mold to make a raised image by using a Watercolor brush (an AquaPainter works too), water and toilet paper. You then have to let it dry overnight, or a hair dryer with a diffuser on the cool setting works well too. Just make sure not to burn the paper.

Anyway, you take your stamp and place it on your table image side up. Take one square of toilet paper and lay it over your stamp. Take your brush with water and dampen the area over the raised image on the stamp. It will move into the creases and indents. The first piece is hardest to work with but as you add each layer it will get easier. After the first piece is damped lay over the second square of toilet paper and repeat the dampening. You will do this with all 8 layers. I used Scott brand toilet paper and it worked out well. After all 8 layers are done set it aside to dry overnight, but do not use a Heat Gun to dry it. I found out it burns the paper if left on too long.

After your image is dry trim the paper the size you want it. I used the Stampin' Up! Table Top cutter. I don't think it will work with a regular Fiskars slide cutter or Rotary cutter. The paper tears very easily. I then used Stampin' Pastels to color the raised areas of my image. To keep them from rubbing off and to intensify the color I took Versamark and patted it on top of my image, added Crystal Clear embossing Powder and then embossed very carefully. Do not leave direct heat on the Toilet paper layer for very long.

I will try to have a photo tutorial up over the next week or so for all of the visual learners. I'm one of them too when it comes to crafting.

After the main image was done I just used it as I would any main image and finished off my card. The rest of the card is pretty simple so I'll leave you with a recipe for it. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas Eve. This morning is a normal day for us as Roger has to work and then his parents, brother and wife are coming over to celebrate with us. Until then I do have some time to stamp!

Jenn

Stamps: Spring Solitude
Paper: Rose Red, Basic Gray, Bali Breeze dsp, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Toilet Paper
Ink: Stampin' Pastels, Versamark, Rose Red
Accessories: Heat Gun, Crystal Clear embossing Powder, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain, 1/16" hole punch, dimensionals, vintage brads
Techniques: cast toilet paper

Garden Solitude

2007-12-23T08:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I decided to check out the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. The inspiration piece was a Sticky Note pad that was purchased at Target. You can view the item here. I knew I would have an easy time with this one. I have always wanted to try out a round card, so I used my coluzzle on the second to last circle and let it overlap the fold in my card a bit. After I cut the circle out I simply stamped my flower from Garden Silhouettes in Whisper White craft ink. I then heat set it to prevent smearing of the ink. I punched out flowers with my Three For You Punch Box punch and placed them on my card before stamping the bird and sentiment. I also heat set these to prevent smearing. To give the flowers a bit more dimension I laid them onto my mat mack and used my stylus to press in the center. I attached them with mini glue dots and added a touch of Sakura Gelly Roll pen in the center for some sparkle. A simple knotted piece of white grosgrain is tied around the fold in the card to finish it off.

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Spring Solitude
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun
Ink: Whisper White Craft Ink
Accessories: Three For You Punch Box, White Grosgrain, Stylus, Sakura Gel Pen, Coluzzle

Evan's RAK from Beate

2007-12-23T07:24:00.000-06:00

If you have ever received a card in the mail from Beate you'll know the excitement that comes with ripping into the envelope. When you know it's from Beate you know the contents are going to be absolutely amazing. I am floored by the beauty of this card and by the heartfelt message inside. Thanks so much Beate! I let Evan look but not touch because this beauty is a keeper.

Jenn

What Happens When . . .

2007-12-22T15:25:00.000-06:00

you wait until the last minute to go Christmas Shopping? The answer for me is that the toy you promised your oldest child for behaving while his little brother is in the hospital is sold out so you have to buy something even more expensive to appease him, you have no idea what to get anyone, presents are in shopping bags all over your bedroom, you're not sure if you even remembered everyone . . . and the list goes on.

Yesterday Colin had his eye appointment and is eyesight is improving tremendously. His pediatric opthamologist is very impressed with him and he is down to patching only 4 hours a day. The bad thing about patching is that when he goes out in public people ask strange questions and we get lots of odd looks. Today at the bank Colin was asked if he got a Red Rocket BB Gun, because apparently he looks like we forgot to warn him "You'll shoot your eye out!".

Today I spent 4 hours bleaching every surface in my house and I can say that it is a almost compete germ free zone. The bad part is that I am completely exhausted and just want to lay on the couch doing nothing for the rest of the day.

Here is the project I made for the Ways To Use It Challenge - It's a Wrap. I saw the project on Craft Weekly TV and I thought it was perfect for this challenge. You can find it on December 7, 2007 and the episode is called Boxing Match. I only made 1/2 of the box shown and it holds standard sized cards and envelopes.

Have a Great Saturday!

Jenn

Stamps: Happy Heat Day
Paper: Rose Red, Bali Breeze dsp, Tempting Turquoise, Watercolor paper
Ink: Basic Gray, Stampin' Write Markers (Pretty in pink, Tempting Turquoise, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa)
Accessories: Sticky Strip, AquaPainter, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain

Thank You from JenMarie

2007-12-22T07:21:00.000-06:00

JenMarie sent me this gorgeous one layer card. I'm jealous because I have problems pulling these off and hers is stunning. JenMarie was one of the winners of my last blog candy contests. The colors in this are so pretty and in real life you can see the sparkly glitter she added to the center of each of the snowflakes. Thank you JenMarie!

P.S. If you have a blog let me know and I'll add it here.

Jenn

RAK from Alison

2007-12-21T07:18:00.000-06:00

Look at this gorgeous and festive card that came my way all of the way from Canada from Alison. I'm sure you all know her blog Stampin' When I Can as a fabulous resource for Stamping Tutorials, Blog Candy Alerts and her wonderful cards.

Thank you Alison!

A Thank You from Tracy

2007-12-20T14:13:00.001-06:00

I have received a few RAK cards and Thank You cards for Blog Candy in the mail over the last few days (or in this case weeks ago). I'm sorry I didn't get this gorgeous card from Tracy posted sooner. Tracy was the winner of one of my Blog Candy contests and sent this card in return to express her thanks. It is is just gorgeous. Thank you Tracy!

Stamp Room Heaven

2007-12-20T10:56:00.001-06:00

I made it into my stamp room and it is just heavenly to ink up my new stamps. I am so happy right now. I wanted to start out easy so I pulled out this week's sketch challenge, selected a color scheme from the January issue of Stampin' Success and got to it. This card took me a long time, but it could be because I made two of them at once. I am making it a priority to send a bunch of cards into Stampin' Up! this year. So needless to say, if you CASE this card or any of my cards please don't send them in to Stampin' Up! for contests or to make it onto Stamper's Showcase. I'd appreciate it. In the last week I there was a card showcased that is almost the exact duplicate of one that I made in August but didn't send in.

This is the very first time I have inked up A Beautiful Thing and it is exactly that - Beautiful. It is so easy to line up the solid flower image with the smaller outline image without the use of the Stamp-a-ma-jig and we all know I love my SAMJ.

This card is fairly simple to figure out so I'll just leave the recipe. I am going to hopefully get a lot of stamping time in today in between playing with the kids and cleaning the house. Today is also the last day of school for Colin until 2008 so with no where to go I should have a lot of time to play.

Jenn

Stamps: A Beautiful Thing
Paper: Rose Red, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, Bali Breeze dsp
Ink: Rose Red, Taken with Teal, Old Olive
Accessories: ticket corner punch, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8" circle punches, 1/16" hole punch, silver brads, dimensionals, horizontal slot punch, turquoise grosgrain (retired)

Wish Upon a Star

2007-12-19T10:21:00.000-06:00

I am finally feeling back to my normal self, Colin is back to school and Evan is finally drinking the soy milk we are forcing upon him. Hopefully this is a turn for the better. Roger is even back to work for the first time in a week. Now we are just scrambling to get everything together for Christmas. My tree has exactly 5 ornaments on it, so I don't think I'm going to have my beautifully decorated tree full of paper ornaments to show off, but there is always next year.

Thanks again for all of the well wishes!

I made this card last week before Evan got sick and forgot to post it here, so today is as good of a day as any. I am even going to get into my Stamping Room today to make something. I mounted new sets last week and never got a chance to ink them up. I'm just hoping that when I do sit down I will feel creative and make something I can actually post.

This card is one of my favorites because I am learning how to use my Stampin' Up! Markers to work like Copics and it's all due to Julie's tutorial - No Copics? No Problem! Check it out because it is amazing.

Stamps: Elzybells
Paper: Soft Sky, Wintergreen, Watercolor, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink: SU Markers, Basic Gray
Accessories: AquaPainter, Vintage Brads, Crafter's Tool kit, Soft Sky double stitched ribbon

We are finally home!

2007-12-17T09:39:00.000-06:00

Evan was finally discharged from the hospital late last night after maintaining a normal temperature for 24 hours and being able to eat and drink without any problems. He is adjusting to being home and getting to do what he wants when he wants instead of being confined to a hospital room. Nothing ever came back with a positive result so this is all a mystery to us. It's just some viral infection. They do think he picked up the stomach flu somewhere along the way and he worked through that in the hospital.

Colin and I now have the stomach flu. UGH! Evan cycled through his within 24 hours so hopefully we will too.

I hope that in a few days I will be able to get back into the swing of making and posting projects. Today I hope to be able to read through all of your kind comments and well wishes. We really do appreciate them.

Jenn

Evan Update

2007-12-15T09:45:00.000-06:00

As of Saturday morning Evan is still hospitalized and will remain so through tomorrow. Each day we hope and pray that we will get the clearance to come home. Today was looking promising until he came down with stomach flu like symptoms around midnight. I was jolted awake by my poor baby throwing up.

The pediatrician has been in and said that we have ruled out mono and meningitis. We are very thankful for that. But the bad thing is that nothing has come back with a positive result. We know he has a viral infection, but we don't know what or why or how long it will last. We are expecting 8 - 10 inches of snow today and the pedi feels more comfortable with him staying because we could possibly get stranded at home with a very sick and dehydrated baby.

I wish I had time to read through all of your well wishes, but I am just home to shower and change clothes at this point in time. Please pray that we will be home again tomorrow. Evan and all of us would really appreciate it.

Jenn

Evan has been hospitalized

2007-12-13T10:05:00.000-06:00

Long story short - took him to the ER because he threw up his meds. Temp lowered to 99, and got a shot of rocephin (sp?) since he couldn't keep the Zithromax down.

Got home and he turned a weird shade of purple and started shaking uncontrollably. Called the pedi who told us to call 911.

We think he had a febrile seizure. He was cold to the touch but had a fever of 105. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and admitted. We don't know what he has at this point in time. They want to make sure it isn't mono or meningitis.

Will update as I get a chance.

Jenn

Rose Filled Life

2007-12-12T08:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday when I looked at the color combination for the day I wasn't sure of the outcome, but now that is together I am really liking it. The color combination is Rose Red, Certainly Celery and Pumpkin Pie. For good measure I threw in a little Basic Gray and Whisper White.

What I want to draw your attention to is the medallion made with my new punch, and the best part about it is that it is FREE! That is if you own Stampin' Up!'s scallop circle punch. Dannie Graves posted a tutorial on her blog and I tried it out for the very first time yesterday and my medallion is a result of that. The things people come up with to use Stampin' Up! products in a new way just amazed me. Now why couldn't I have thought of that?

Today is probably going to be a very unproductive day. Evan had a mysterious fever that appeared last week on Monday night. It lasted until Wednesday night and all weekend he was fine with maybe just a low grade fever. Yesterday after his nap it was 104 and I called the pedi. I didn't know why it was coming back since he isn't presenting any other symptoms. One look at his throat and they said it was most likely strep. So we head home with antibiotics and are trying to make him better. He was very fussy all night and I feel like I got next to no sleep. But now he seems to be getting worse. His fever is 104.5 and he can't keep the Motrin in his stomach and can't keep the antibiotics down either. I'm waiting for the pedi to open so I can call and find out what to do for him. Cross your fingers he gets well soon. I hate when my kids are sick. So if you don't see me around posting you know I'm cuddling on the couch with my baby instead of stamping. At least I got my new stamps mounted last night so if he happens to take a nap I can play with new stuff.

Jenn

PS. Can you tell we got absolutely no sun yesterday? I'm sorry my photo is so dark. I think I convinced my husband to get me better lighting for Christmas though!

Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment
Paper: Rose Red, Basic Gray, Certainly Celery, pumpkin pie, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1/16" hole punch, vintage brad, pumpkin pie grosgrain, dimensionals, crafter's tool kit, scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, heat gun

Darling Penguin

2007-12-11T07:36:00.000-06:00

The Ways To Use It Challenge was to make a Gift Card Holder, and it was perfect because I came across this tutorial by Nancy and I've been wanting to make some up.

I've been drooling over the Cutie Pie designer series paper for a while now and finally broke down and bought some a few weeks ago but haven't had a chance to dive into the package. I was also very happy that it didn't end up on the retiring accessories list from Stampin' Up! today. So again my color scheme was pulled directly from the paper. The base is Rose Red, the belly band is Certainly Celery and I used Whisper White for my image layer.

The tutorial does not include a belly band but you can make one very easily. All I did was cut a 1" strip out of cardstock and wrapped it around the gift card holder. I then cut off the excess and adhered the back together. I think it ends up being just shy of 7" long.

The main image layer features the new Little Penguins set from C.C. Designs and can be found at All That Scraps. I recently bought some of the Copic markers and I wanted to try them out so this was my first attempt at coloring with them. For my first attempt I am quite pleased. I am sure I will get better as time goes on.

Here is the inside of the holder. I used my slit punch to make the part that holds the gift card in. I am going to dress up the inside a bit more, but I didn't have a chance before I took the photo.

These are so quick and easy. I think they make giving a gift card even better when they are packaged so nicely.

Jenn

Stamps: Little Penguins by C. C. Designs
Paper: Rose Red, So Saffron, Cutie Pie dsp
Ink: Palette Noir, Copics, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" circle punches

Birthday Doodles

2007-12-10T09:31:00.000-06:00

After all of the freezing rain we got yesterday I needed to make a nice bright cheery card. I just opened my package of Cutie Pie designer series paper so I chose my color scheme right from there. I started with a Rose Red base and layered it with the polka dotted designer series paper. I used my slit punch to make a little tab and to make my paper slide under to where I wanted it I used my paper snips to enlarge the punched area. I then stamped my Doodle This flower twice. Once in Basic Gray on Whisper White paper and once in Blue Bayou on Blue Bayou cardstock. I colored the top flower in with my AquaPainter and Bashful Blue classic ink. To hold the two flowers together I set a Jumbo eyelet with my Crop-a-dile.

The layer under the flower was made my cutting a circle out with my coluzzle from So Saffron ink and then I added 3/4" punched circles of Certainly Celery to the back of this layer. I then stamped the lined circle image from So Much onto the back and used it as my paper piercing guide. To finish the card I added Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and the sentiment is from All Holidays.

I hope you all had better weather yesterday than we did. Tonight we brace ourselves for yet another ice storm. Is winter over yet? At least I made a run to the grocery store and stocked up on milk and fruit so if we can't leave for a few days we'll be all set. There must have been a huge milk run because I didn't see a single gallon or half-gallon of milk in Kroger. Surprisingly the store was pretty empty though. The ice from yesterday is melted off the streets as the layer of salt is really thick, but the streets in our neighborhood are still pretty treacherous. When taking Colin to school there was a teenage boy attempting to walk up his driveway and for every step he took forward he slid back three. I'm so glad I don't really have to walk on all of the ice.

Jenn

Subtle Silhouette

2007-12-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

This past week the Ways to Use it Challenge was to use tape in your design and not just the tape you use to hold your layers together. At first I was stumped and then I remembered something we learned at the Louisville Regionals, how to use sticky strip to adhere glitter to your cards or projects. From there I was off and running.

I absolutely love the Soft Sky and Always Artichoke combination. I also wanted to use my Wintergreen paper to make something besides a Christmas card. With my Garden Silhouettes stamp set out I was on my way. I stamped my main image in Always Artichoke and without re-inking my stamp I stamped once to the right and once to the left of the main image. It didn't have enough texture for me so I then inked up Aida Cloth in Soft Sky, stamped off once and then onto my main image panel. I also sponged the edges with Always Artichoke ink. I really like the effect.

Then instead of using ribbon I ran a piece of sticky strip across the main image panel and my Wintergreen dsp. After I peeled the liner off I dumped Dazzling Diamonds glitter onto the top of the strip and I had a nice faux glitter ribbon strip. I then added the large and small oval punches and stamped my sentiment. I do have to say that this is one of my favorite cards this week.

We are home bound today. We had huge freezing ice storms last night and early this morning and our street and driveway is not very safe to drive on. We also are expecting at least another 1/4" of ice today. I hope that it melts quickly, but with the temps in the high 20's right now I don't see that happening. Stay safe and have a great Sunday. I know I'm going to take advantage of the weather and stamp a lot.

Jenn

Dashing Goodbye

2007-12-08T10:24:00.000-06:00

I am officially saying goodbye to my stash of Dashing dsp. After a few packages, I have finally used up every last scrap on these two cards. They were both made with this week's sketch challenge. On the first card I made a winter scene with the adorable penguin from Punch Pals. I stamped the trees three times and then added snow by tearing some Whisper White cardstock and adding Dazzling Diamonds glitter to it with my 2 Way Glue Pen. I then popped the penguin up on dimensionals.

I added the sentiment by punching it out with the Word Window punch and then tying it to my 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon with natural hemp twine. To keep the tag in place I added a mini glue dot to the back of it.

Stamps: Punch Pals
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, VV, WW, Dashing dsp
Ink: Basic Gray, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red, Soft Sky, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Word Window punch, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain, dimensionals, AquaPainter, 2 way glue, dazzling diamonds, sponge

On the second card I used the same paper but changed out the stamp set. On this card I opted to use Peaceful Wishes. I love this set. The stamps combine easily to achieve the effect you want. On this image panel I combined the red berries and foliage with the pine tree image to add a splash of color.

Instead of tying my ribbon in a bow I ran it under the main image panel and then added my sentiment right to the layer. Two vintage brads anchor the piece.

Today we are going out for Greek food! We are combining my brother's and sister's birthdays and celebrating both on one day. I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon with family. I hope you all have a great afternoon enjoying something you like to do.

Jenn

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, River Rock, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Real Red
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain, paper piercer, vintage brads

Lovely Shades of Green

2007-12-07T08:14:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, the Color Combination was Old Olive, Certainly Celery and Summer Sun. I don't know why two greens I like gave me such a problem when I only had to pair them with one other color. The first card is evidence of that. I just had no idea where I was going I guess, or I simply chose the wrong layout or the wrong stamp set. It could be a cute card, but the main panel just does nothing for me at this point in time. I honestly wasn't even going to post it, but I figured that I should post things that work out as well as things that don't.

It's quite a simple layout and card. I used Oh, So Lovely and stamped it in Basic Gray. I love Basic Gray classic ink and it has almost permanently replaced my Basic Black. It doesn't smear and is softer and more subtle than the black ink. I then used an AquaPainter to color in the image with Always Artichoke and Summer Sun. The bow is Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon.

This second card is my favorite and it takes on a whole new feel. I like Garden Silhouettes so much more with this color combo. The sketch is from Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try. While digging through my stash of designer series paper I came across a neglected Palette O'Prints that I never got to and used it for my Certainly Celery layer.

Today I have a Vendor Fair at my MOM's group as well as our winter brunch. I am so excited to have a morning to myself, converse with other moms and have a catered breakfast. Then this afternoon I have to take inventory of my stock and see how many more Christmas cards I actually need to make. I am also working on learning the in's and outs of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. I hope to use it to develop my own personalized website. I am so excited about that, but right now I feel like a fish out of water. Once I get a start on it I hope it all falls into place, so keep your fingers crossed on that.

Have a great Friday!

Jenn

Stamps: Oh So Lovely
Paper: Old Olive, Whisper White, Certainly Celery
Ink: Summer Sun, Basic Gray, Old Olive
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain, dimensionals

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes
Paper: Old Olive, Certainly Celery POP, Whisper White, Summer Sun
Ink: Old Olive, Summer Sun
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Crafter's Tool Kit, Sponge, Three For You Punch Box, Silver Brads, dimensionals

New Banner

2007-12-06T10:43:00.000-06:00

I created my new blog banner today in Paint Shop Pro X using a free scrap kit from Shabby Princess called Holiday Magic. The font is Scratch from DaFont. I also used EyeCandy 4000.

I get a lot of questions following the uploading of my blog banners so I wanted to include the information here for you. Any questions, please post them in the comment section.

Jenn

Don't Open Until Christmas

2007-12-06T08:20:00.000-06:00

When I saw yesterday's bonus sketch I almost skipped over it, but I am bound and determined to use up my Wintergreen and Dashing designer series papers over the next few days. I think I did actually accomplish the task with Dashing yesterday with a few cards I made.

The bonus sketch was a "gift card", and is supposed to look just like a wrapped gift. I sat down and got my certainly celery and striped paper in order and had no idea what I was going to add in the upper left hand corner. I pulled out stamps and punches and then ended up just using paper. I just fiddled with the paper until I found a way to make a bow I liked. I cut 7/8" strips of the Wintergreen striped paper and then looped it over and stapled in the middle. If you look at it from the side it resembles a figure 8. I then make a smaller layer on top and to cover the staples I made a little loop of designer series paper this time highlighting the other side of the paper. The ribbon strings are a 7/8" strip cut in half. After I figured out the length I wanted them I cut a triangle notch into the ends. The only stamping on here is the sentiment from All Holidays. This is a super simple card and would be so easy to mass produce for holiday cards.

Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Always Artichoke, Wintergreen
Ink: Always Artichoke
Accessories: staples, dimensional

Blog Candy Winners

2007-12-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks for all of the congrats on my 300th post. I honestly wouldn't have made it so far without all of my readers.

By overwhelming response it looks like Flaky Friends is the set that most people are sad to see retired.

Since I didn't realize how much paper I actually have sitting in my storage unit, I have decided to share the wealth with 3 lucky winners. At this point the envelopes are stuffed with Stampin' Up! designer series paper. Hopefully, I'll actually have room for the new paper when it gets here. I really do need to invest in Stampin' Up!'s 12 X 12 storage unit. At least I'd keep it all better sorted.

Without further ado, the lucky winners of the designer series paper are:

canben said...
I'm equally sad about the 2 sets I am losing! I'm losing both Linen and Headline Alphabet! Good thing I had JUST convinced my hubby I needed the Jumbo Outline alphabet!

JenMarie said...
Congrats on the hits!!So sad to see Frosty go!!

amyd8776 said...
Congratulations on your 300th hit. Your blog is wonderful. I love the book.I am sad to see Bodacious Bouquet and Cold Play retire. I'll have to find new favorites.

Please e-mail me with your snail mail address at startstampin (at) comcast (dot) net. I will get your envelopes in the mail on Saturday. I am at home with a sick toddler so a mid week trip to the post office is not in my future.

Congrats ladies!

Jenn

I'm so super excited!

2007-12-05T12:33:00.001-06:00

I about fainted when Beate asked me to be a guest tutorial writer for SCS and to make a tutorial for the Double Pocket Bag. You can now see it on Splitcoaststampers by clicking here.

Snowstorms and Flowers

2007-12-05T08:43:00.000-06:00

I feel like I am so far behind on challenges on SCS and they really are my favorite. They have helped me come so far in the past year as a stamper. For this card I started out with the Color Combo challenge from last week but deviated at the end. The color combo was Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Basic Gray. I just had to have some nice cheery flowers in the midst of all of this snow, so I deviated at the last minute.

I love this sketch! It is one of Jen del Muro's and you can find her Sketch For You To Try here. As I was looking through my designer papers I came across a Palette O'Prints from Stampin' Up! I didn't think I had hoarding issues, but obviously I do. Actually it's not hoarding as much as buying more than I need. I am slowly conquering that issue and I am trying to use what I buy and buy only when I need things. That being said I do have 2 brand new packages of paper coming from Stampin' Up! that are going to be in the new catalog. I am so excited for spring papers. Hopefully when they get here next week spring will arrive too. Wishful thinking on my part huh? We had a snow storm last night that actually left snow on the ground. I think I'd like snow much better if it fell only on grassy areas and avoided the streets and sidewalks. I am stuck inside with Evan so I can't complain much. He has a mysterious fever, and has for 2 days now with no other symptoms. I hope it passes soon.

Stamps: Time Well Spent
Paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery POP, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Festive Favorites buttons, Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon, mini glue dots, dimensionals

Meander Book & Post 300 Blog Candy!

2007-12-04T07:36:00.000-06:00

When I saw this as part of the Holiday Blitz Tutorials over at Splitcoaststampers I knew I wanted to make one, but I didn't get around to it until yesterday. I used some Fall Flowers designer series paper from Stampin' Up! that I have laying around still. I really need to use my scraps up before the new catalog is out, or before I get my hands on the new designer series paper I ordered on Saturday.

Instead of using coasters for the front of the Meander Book I used the backing that comes with the Designer Series paper and I cut mine to 3 1/4" square because I liked the size better in comparison to my pages. I then used my Bind It All to bind the covers and pages together. The front is stamped in Always Artichoke and Ruby Red ink using the sentiment from All Holidays.

This is the first page of the inside of my book. It has a picture of Evan this summer as he played in our blow up pool. It makes me feel nice and warm on this freezing cold Winter day. I long for some warmer weather already and it has just started to get frigid cold here.

I used my 1 1/4" circle punch to punch a notch out of the pocket pages and then used Always Artichoke cardstock with the corners rounded for journaling tags.

If you haven't tried out this tutorial, you really should. It is such a neat way to make a little book of photos to keep in your purse or can be a great gift for grandparents this Christmas.

I can't believe that I've made it to Post 300 already! The end of this month marks my first year blogging and it has gone so fast. To celebrate I have some Blog Candy for you! I have so much Designer paper sitting in my stash there is no way I am going to get through it all without sharing some for you. I have Stampin' Up! paper, as well as My Mind's Eye, Basic Grey and a bunch of other 6X6 sheets to share. Just leave a post here telling me which Stampin' Up! set you are sad to see on the retiring list. The link it in my post below on December 1st, or you can go to the Stampin' Up! website here to see it as well. I will use Random.org to pick a winner on Thursday morning.

Cosmic Penguin

2007-12-03T14:01:00.000-06:00

Another busy weekend has come and gone and I am in a lull between creating projects. My cutter that I have had for at least the last 4 years suddenly broke. I debated getting another of the same, but instead I opted for the Tabletop Paper Cutter from Stampin' Up! since there wasn't a big price difference and everyone is raving about how well theirs works. My cutter won't be here until tomorrow and the small Fiskars cutter I have does not cut in a straight line anymore. I don't know why but it is always slightly off and bugs me.

Until my paper cutter arrives I am using up some scraps. I made this quick card today with Wintertime Fun from C.C. Designs. I used some Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl paper and layered it on Blue Bayou cardstock. My main image panel is Basic Gray and Whisper White. I used a Heidi Swap Ghost Shape Heart and then put a Festive Favorites button on it to make it pop a bit more. It is much more apparent in real life. The penguins stomach is colored in with Crystal Ice Stickles.

Finally Finished!

2007-12-03T13:59:00.000-06:00

I finally finished my Advent Calendar. It kind of bugs me that I messed up on my color pattern so that all of the rows but the last line up, but I'm not going to redo the last row just yet. Colin and Evan are very happy it is done and that there are treats inside of the tins.

A Quick Card

2007-12-02T08:45:00.000-06:00

I am heading out for a class today so here is a real quick and easy card that was also made for the Limited Supplies Challenge. I used the wreath from Thank Snow Much that was a little larger than the 1.5" square maximum stamp size, but it was under 2", so I went with it anyway. This card came together really quickly and features paper and designer paper from the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit. I am just down to bits and pieces of it at this point in time. I can't wait to see the newest kits come January.

Have a great Sunday!

Jenn

Stamps: Thanks Snow Much, All Holidays, All in a Row
Paper: Real Red, Winter Bright dsp, Wild Wasabi textured, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Wild Wasabi, Real Red
Accessories: dimensionals, crafter's tool kit

Snow Flurries

2007-12-01T09:30:00.000-06:00

Today we are supposed to have some nasty weather and it is supposed to involve some snow flurries and freezing rain. I sure hope that isn't the case. At least we have about 2 weeks of dinners sitting in our deep freezer so we don't have to go out if we don't want to. I sure hope if we do get the storms that they clear out by tomorrow because I have a class that I have been looking forward to and have had everything prepped for a while now.

This card is for the Limited Supplies Challenge. I had seen a card with a layout like this in Papercrafts magazine and loved the idea of it. So when I saw the Mini main event theme I thought it would be a perfect option. The snowflakes are stamped in Whisper White craft ink and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. Each circle is sponged on the edges with Real Red ink and popped up on dimensionals.

Stampin' Up! has released it's Retired List today as we get ready to get a brand new catalog in just one month! You can view the Retired List here. Also remember to check out the Wrapping Up the Holidays Promotion and if you have someone who is hard to buy for there is a Five Fantastic Gifts Under $25 link you can check out.

Due to the overwhelming response to the C.C. Designs stamps over the past week, Christine at All That Scraps has decided to move the release date up! You can now purchase Wintertime Fun and Little Penguins today!

Stamps: All Holidays, Snow Flurries
Paper: Naturals White, Winter Bright dsp, Real Red
Ink: Whisper White craft, Real Red
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain, dimensionals, white ep, heat gun, 1 " circle punch, 3/4" circle punch

Winter Clipboard

2007-11-30T10:18:00.001-06:00

I can't believe I waited so long to alter this 9 X 9 clipboard from Stampin' Up!. It was so easy and here it has been sitting in my cabinet for the last 6 months. I am definitely going to have to get some more of these because they can make wonderful presents for Christmas. It literally took me 15 minutes from start to finish to complete this. Now I just have to get Colin and Evan to the mall to take their picture with Santa so I have something to put on it.

I started with a piece of sponge and I just rubbed Real Red craft ink on the top of my board. It took all of a minute and it covers wonderfully. Craft ink is something I am just starting to acquire and I don't know why I haven't used anything but Whisper White for the last year. It is so rich in color and covers chipboard so nicely. I also like to emboss my letters before I cut them out because it is actually easier to cut and the letters have so much more depth and dimension to them.

From there I took pieces that have been leftover from my Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit. I used the Stampin' Up! glue stick to adhere the paper to the chipboard and then ran over it with my bone folder to make sure there were no bubbles and that the paper was in full contact with the clipboard. When I had my paper where I wanted it I took a sanding block and lightly sanded the edges so that everything is nice and even and it has a slightly distressed look to it. From there it was so easy to add the die cut stickers to my project. On the bottom I have Favorite Winter Traditions across the bottom. This way I can change out pictures all winter and keep the clipboard on display.

Dare to be Different

2007-11-29T08:01:00.000-06:00

One of these snowmen is a little different than the others, can you tell which one? That reminds me of a Sesame Street song. I added some Pumpkin Pie buttons and copper Stickles to the middle snowman to make him stand out a bit more. This is a Little Single Bit called Little Snowman that will be released on December 7th by C.C. Designs. You can find these stamps at All That Scraps, along with the Sugar Coated Brads, Piggy Tales designer paper and Stickles.

Stamps: CC Designs Single Little Bit - Little Snowman
Paper: Artesian Pool Grass Cloth, Avana Exclusive Prisim, Grean Tea Orange Peel, Bazzill Coconut Smoothies, Piggy Tales - Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater collection
Ink: Soft Sky, Sahara Sand, Palette Noir, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray
Accessories: Sugar Coated Brads Blue Jean, dimensionals, AquaPainter, Copper Stickles

Dashing Box

2007-11-28T19:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I came across this tutorial for an oval box and I just had to try it out because it looked so simple and easy. It is simple and easy, but along the way I had somehow cut the wrong size ovals so this is actually my second box. The first one I had stamped, but I didn't want to do the same thing twice so I added some Dashing designer series paper to the outside of my box instead. I think this is absolutely adorable! Wouldn't you love to receive a present in a box just like this? I know I would.

These last two days I have been helping a friend of mine from college get her house in order for a Historic House walk this weekend. I haven't had time to do much myself at home. This is actually the first new thing I have made since Sunday. I miss my daily stamping and crafting time. My hope is that tomorrow I can sit down and finish my Advent calendar. I got my number stamps yesterday and they are all mounted and ready to go. I also want to get some of the SCS challenges done, so hopefully there will be some more variety in my cards. I do have one more of the cards that is going in my tin to share with you, so that will post tomorrow morning, but from there on out hopefully it will be less repetitive.

Jenn

Snow Pals

2007-11-28T07:46:00.000-06:00

Lulu loves her new snow pal and takes great care in building him. This card matches Lucky on his sled but I added a few Prima Mini Me's in Aqua along the side of the image to add a little more interest. I am having so much fun with this new set. You can have your very own on December 7th. Head on over to All That Scraps and check out the new Winter Playtime set from C.C. Designs. You won't be disappointed.

Stamps: CC Designs Winter Playtime
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray, Grean Tea Orange Peel, Bazzill Coconut Smoothies, Piggy Tales - Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater collection
Ink: Palette Noir, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst, Going Gray, Soft Sky, Basic Gray
Accessories: corner rounder (retired), 1/8" hole punch, AquaPainter, Prima Mini Me's Aqua, Mini Glue Dots, May Arts Two tone light blue ribbon

Penguin Parade

2007-11-27T08:01:00.000-06:00

This is Lulu and Lucky's newest buddy. This penguin is so adorable and is so much fun to color in. He will be part of the Winter Playtime set that is going to be released on December 7th by C.C. Designs and can be purchased at All That Scraps.

I used the same materials on this as on my decorated tin. I did add Copper Stickles to the penguins beaks to give a bit more flair to my card. The bottom is stamped with one of the sentiments from this set Happy Winter.

Stamps: CC Designs Wintertime Fun
Paper: Artesian Pool Grass Cloth, Avana Exclusive Prisim, Grean Tea Orange Peel, Bazzill Coconut Smoothies, Piggy Tales - Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater collection
Ink: Palette Noir, Basic Gray, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: AquaPainter, Copper Stickles, May Arts Turquouise Brown Striped 5/8" grosgrain

Waterfall Class

2007-11-26T16:18:00.000-06:00

This Sunday I have my last Hostess Club meeting for this catalog period and I promised that I would do a Waterfall Card. Now I have seen samples on Splitcoaststampers and I looked at the tutorial before, but I never realized how neat this card was until I held one in my hands and tried it out. All I have to say is WOW! This is actually the first one I have ever made and I think I will stick to this design and stamp set for my class as well.

I started with a Blue Bayou cardstock base and layered it with Soft Sky and Blue Bayou designer series paper. My paper strips are made from Soft Sky and I used Whisper White for my image layers. I simply stamped the images from Wishing You Cheer on the first two panels and then broke the sentiment up in half for the last two. It is soooo easy once you have your pieces cut and ready to assemble. The only part that made me think a bit was where to put the adhesive to hold the strip in place. I just held my paper in place and pulled the strip to see how it would flip and I had it figured out in seconds.

I didn't want to overwhelm this post with pictures so I added the progression of the card as it is flipping through the rest of the images in the side of the picture. You can click on the photo for a closer look.

Jenn

Have you heard?

2007-11-26T09:12:00.000-06:00

All That Scraps is looking for 6 new design team members for a rotating Design Team! You can find all of the information here.

Jenn

Wintertime Hi!

2007-11-26T07:18:00.000-06:00

Lucky got a brand new sled just in time for Christmas and is ready for some snow. I think he is just adorable. I stamped him in Palette Noir ink onto Coconut Smoothies cardstock twice. I colored him in with Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip ink. I then used one image to add more dimension to his head and hand. Both of those layers are popped up onto dimensionals. I wanted to make Lucky look like he was rushing down the hill. I then colored in the sled with Ruby Red ink and his scarf with Pumpkin Pie. I then used Copper Stickles to add some sparkle to his scarf. I had never used Stickles before today and I am hooked. It is so easy to control the flow and it adds so much dimension and texture to your project.

I am also in love with this May Arts Textures and Two Tones Light Blue ribbon. It sparkles and shines perfectly and is so easy to tie in a perfect knot. Plus it matches perfectly with the Piggy Tales designer paper. This is from the Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater collection and has been so much fun to work with.

This is the first of four cards that is inside of my Accents and Elements Tin.

Stamps: CC Designs Winter Playtime
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray, Grean Tea Orange Peel, Bazzill Coconut Smoothies, Piggy Tales - Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater collection
Ink: Palette Noir, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: corner rounder (retired), 1/8" hole punch, AquaPainter, Copper Stickles, dimensionals, May Arts Two tone light blue ribbon

Where has time gone?

2007-11-25T11:51:00.000-06:00

This weekend has just flown by and I am now just sitting down to stamp for the first time in what seems like weeks. On Friday I was greeted by my new Design Team kit from C.C. Designs and in it was a cute new set featuring Lulu and Lucky called Winter Playtime. I knew I'd make it a top priority when I finally had a chance to stamp. I am working on a tin of cards to give away as a Christmas gift. You can never have enough Winter cards to send out just to say Hi! when the weather is blustery cold and dreary.

I started with a plain Accents and Elements tin that I had left over from the Spring Mini catalog from Stampin' Up! Sadly I still have the accents in it and the sheets are almost full, but since I just ordered a bunch of empty tins I figured I better start experimenting. I have 4 cards that are 4 5/8" X 5 1/8" inside. I will show those to you later as I am still working on the finishing details. I wrapped a piece of Artesian Pool Grass Cloth cardstock around the center then added a strip of Avana Exclusive Prism cardstock. To make it look like ribbon I cut a strip of Piggy Tales designer series paper from the Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater collection. It matches the May Arts Turquoise Brown striped 5/8" grosgrain ribbon perfectly!

I then focused my attention on the main image panel. I used Chocolate Chip cardstock by Stampin' Up! then layered it with Green Tea Orange Peel Cardstock and stamped my image on Bazzill Coconut Smoothies cardstock.

This is Lulu and her Snowman image from Winter Playtime, that will be available for purchase on December 7th at All That Scraps. The set comes with 3 image stamps, 3 snowflake stamps and 2 sentiments. I colored my images in with various SU! inks using my AquaPainter. I then masked my image and stamped my snowflakes. To finish it off I sponged the edges of my cardstock in Soft Sky ink before putting the layers together and attaching it to the belly band of my tin.

It felt so good to sit down and stamp. I feel like I have been slowly coming down with a cold, so I have been resting a bunch. Hopefully as we start a new week the cold will be in the past. I sure hope so because it is no fun to take care of two energetic boys when I am feeling tired and physically drained. Have a great Sunday!

Jenn

Let it Snow and a Colin Funny

2007-11-22T09:15:00.000-06:00

We don't really need the snow. I was just kidding about that, but there are flakes floating in the air. This is one of the Jumbo Paperclips that I have been selling at my last few Vendor Fairs. I simply took the scallop punch and punched two pieces of blue bayou cardstock. Onto that I put a layer of Wintergreen designer series paper. I then sandwiched a jumbo paperclip in between with some E6000. Let me tell you that stuff stinks - literally, but it works so well. I then stamped the snowman from Punch Pals, colored him in, cut him out and popped him up on a dimensional. So simple and easy and everyone asks for more.

This morning Colin is yelling at me that he doesn't want a girl Christmas tree and I can't for the life of me figure out what he is saying. He then goes on to say "But the tree has a skirt on. Next year take the skirt off and put Christmas tree pants on instead so we can have a boy tree!". That gave me a good laugh.

I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Jenn

Getting Closer to the Finish Line

2007-11-21T16:49:00.001-06:00

I'm so close, yet I have so much more to do on this project. At this point I am stalled. I am waiting for my Big Deal Numbers to be delivered and that won't be until Monday. I have hung it permanently on my wall for now. I am so happy with the way this is all coming together. Today I decorated the tins by wrapping paper around the base and then adding the scallops in Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke. I then layered a 1 3/8" circle of coordinating Wintergreen dsp to each one before I attached them to the board with Velcro dots.

I did get some more Jumbo clips stamped today. I had a few orders from the last Vendor Fair I did and today I got a call for more. This time I did get a photo of them and I will save that post for tomorrow. We are celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents. I have my sweet potatoes baked and now I'm ready to make some Sweet Potato Casserole. My brother who hates sweet potatoes even eats this one. It is very yummy!

Colin is getting sick. He started with a cough yesterday and today I feel something settling into my chest and am achy all over. I hope it's just a 24 hour thing. I have another Vendor Fair on Saturday and I can't afford to be sick. To top it all off it has been dreary and rainy all day today and tonight we may get 1 - 3 inches of snow. It was just 67 degrees two days ago. I am not ready for this at all.

Have a great Thanksgiving and check back tomorrow for the Jumbo Clips.

Jenn

Friendly Butterfly

2007-11-20T15:32:00.000-06:00

Introducing the newest member to my rubber family - Time Well Spent. What a wonderful gift! This is a new Level III hostess set that was sent as a gift to all active demonstrators. It is so cute and I am already in love with it.

I didn't have much time to stamp lately so I decided I had to sit down and do something today. I am so out of my groove right now and I think it's because it's been so long since I actually stamped. Sure I've played with paper, but it hasn't involved ink as of lately. I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge for this card and used today's Color Combo Challenge - Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White. I did throw in a little Regal Rose too. The base is wheeled with my Jumbo Whimsy Wheel in Wild Wasabi classic ink. The sentiment is stamped in Regal Rose. I then colored Friend in with my Versamarker and the flowers with my White gel pen before adding Vintage brads with my paper piercer. The rest is fairly simple to figure out.

Tomorrow Colin has his Thanksgiving program at school and I can't wait. It is sure to be real cute.

Jenn