Tweet Birds Journaling Wallet

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Spiced Hazelnut coffee

Good morning! I hope everyone is having an amazing weekend so far!

Work and migraines have kept me from crafting the way I would like. I'm afraid my projects and posting will become more sporadic because of Camp. Staff training begins on Tuesday and runs for two weeks. then Camp opens to our summer programming, which runs through the middle of August.  

I'm not sure if all of you are aware, but my husband has been the director of a Christian camp for more than 20 years. I help wherever needed throughout the year, but in the summer I do all of the shopping. that means I am gone almost every day picking up groceries and supplies. that person you see in the store with several grocery carts? that's probably me. :D

but on to today's project! 

I was blessed to win a year's subscription of Gecko Galz tin toppers. Today's project is made with the Tweet Birds set. not sure if it's in the Etsy shop yet, but I'm sure you can find something similar until it's released. here is a link to the tin toppers section of the store.

when I saw the sweet images, it reminded me of the various cards I use when I am out shopping for work. so I thought it would be fun to create a little wallet.  I repurposed a mailing envelope into the wallet base. the papers used throughout are from Yvonne Preston's My Crafty Little Corner shop on Ko-fi. 

I used all 6 of the cards in the set, cutting out the birds for the back cover from one. the little ephemera pieces are from an Amazon Haul find. 

the pockets were created from a tutorial I saw on Youtube several years ago. because so much of my crafting materials are in storage, I was trying to be creative with what I have on hand. the pockets are stamped with a flourish from one of Tim Holtz's sets. 

I intentionally left the back of the cards blank for writing or photos. the wallet will either be sewn into the journal or be inserted into a pocket, not sure yet.

a mulberry flower and found button complete the front of the card. I used the tin topper title on the cover, too. 

thank you for stopping by today! 

Challenges:

Gecko Galz - Tweet Spring

Critter Crazy - anything goes w/a bird, critter, or fish

Creative Fingers #323 - anything goes

Allsorts #850 - anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore - anything goes

Ally's Angels - anything goes

Art Journal Journey - birds

Outlawz - anything but a card

Outlawz main challenge - linked on anything but a card

Baby Girl Nature Journal Cover

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Thyme mint tea

Hello! I'm back after spending almost a week in Maryland with one of my sons and his family for Mother's Day. so wonderful to be with them, playing with granddaughters and enjoying their company. unfortunately I had troubles with my car, but they were able to help me find an excellent repair shop in the town where my car broke down. I was able to stop at one of our favorite antique stores as I was driving back. picked up several vintage items to use in journals. that's always a plus! :)  

Today I am sharing with you the cover of one of the baby journals. I have used Graphic 45 papers for the cover, adding a vintage baby card and advertising, postage stamps, woodland ephemera, tickets, and pretty trim. the spine is covered in a thin weave burlap for durability and to go along with the nature theme.

Now that I am back home, I'll be getting back to crafting again. trying to do as much as I can before the chaos of summer begins. I'll be working every day at camp, so not a lot of time to craft. 

have an amazing day!

Jennifer

Challenges:

A Perfect Time to Craft - anything goes

Crafting From the Art - anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore - anything goes

Daisy Chain - layer it up

Love to Craft - anything goes

Craft Rocket - not square

Outlawz - anything but a card

Outlawz main challenge - linked to anything but a card challenge

Stormy Lighthouse ATC cards

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Cinnamon French Toast coffee

Hi there! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. :)

I'm sharing some ATC cards I made for the new monthly ATC challenge over at Gecko Galz. As I work on the two baby journals, I'm also redoing the nautical themed journal I made for Tyler and Danielle several years ago. yep, nothing like adding more crafting to my schedule! ha! so this month's sheet works well.

the card edges are distressed with scissors as well as ink. I cut apart the title of the page and used parts of it on the cards. because these will be going in a journal, I added graph paper to the backs for writing space and accented with some vintage sea/ocean ephemera I recently purchased on Etsy. burlap ribbon finishes each card.

thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope all of you have an amazing week! 

Challenges:

Gecko Galz ATC - use provided image

Tag Along (and ATC) - anything goes or add some pink

Creative Crafters - anything goes

ATC Around the World - anything goes

Fairy and Baby Accordion Tag

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Mango green tea

Hello!

Today's project is an accordion tag. This will fit into a pocket in the baby journal. I'm hoping to get my sewing machine out of the garage in the next week or two so I can start making pockets and the signatures for the journal.

The single fairy image is a freebie on the Gecko Galz blog. the image of 3 fairies is from the Gecko Galz Breath of Spring collage sheet. I used images from this same collage sheet on the altered envelope from last week.

papers are from Carta Bella and 49 & Market, in addition to some of my avocado dyed paper. vintage baby ephemera and clip art are also added. mulberry flowers and May Arts wrinkled ribbon, and hole reinforcement stickers finish the trifold tag.

I'll be back in a few days with more to share. I've been under the weather for a bit, so not getting as much crafting done as I would like.

thank you for stopping by! have an amazing day!

Jennifer

Challenges:

Gecko Galz - Fairy Lands

Sleep in Peace and Safety Baby Journal Card

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Earl Grey with lavender tea

Top 3 pick at Word Art Wednesday

I have another journal card for you today. it's for our granddaughter's baby journal. 

Sorry, but I can't remember where on the internet I found this beautiful image. the sentiment is from Word Art Wednesday. paper is from Graphic 45 and is the main collection I am using for this journal. 

I wanted to keep the focus on that spectacular image and the scripture, so I kept embellishments to a minimum - a seam binding tab, mulberry flowers, and a vintage button.

(photo editing made this paper much darker than it is irl)

the back side has a portion of a doily. I will be adding a photo of our granddaughter asleep in the hospital right after she was born. yep, my heart is melting! 

remember how very loved you are!

Jennifer

Challenges:

Word Art Wednesday - anything goes w/a sentiment

Enchanted Fairy Journal Card

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Maple Pecan coffee (this weekend is the 100th anniversary of our local Maple Festival!)

Gecko Galz Staff Choice Winner

Hello, everyone!

Today I'm sharing another journal card using a free image from the Gecko Galz blog. it's fairly simple, but I try to mindful of not adding too much bulk to the journals I make. they always end up stuffed to the gills anyway! :) the base is yet another advertising postcard. I told you my mail box has been inundated with them lately! ;)

bg paper is from the Basic Grey Tea Garden digital collection. sentiment was created with a label maker, the linen ribbon is tied with yellow, white, and gold baker's twine. this creates a perfect little tab. a little mulberry flower completes the card. I added a paint sample card to the back. this was one of many we collected when trying to decide on the paint color for our living room. 

I hope you have a most amazing weekend surrounded by those you love!

Jennifer 

Challenges:

Gecko Galz - Fairy Lands

Crafty Catz - anything goes

Creative Fingers #321 - anything goes

Fairy and Woodland Altered Envelope for Baby Journal

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Thyme and mint tea

today's post is going to be photo heavy, so grab a cup of your favorite beverage before you begin scrolling. ;)

my husband is always saying that I save just about anything and everything, and he's not wrong! this envelope arrived in the mail the other day, and I knew it would be perfect to alter for our granddaughter's baby journal. I saved that adorable bear image the best I could. he makes me smile!

This piece will actually be sewn into a journal signature. I've repurposed the envelope and advertising postcards, which are the bases for the inserts. 

(this shows how it will be in the signature)

all of the cutie little fairy images come from a Gecko Galz collage sheet called Breath of Spring. papers are from Carta Bella and Simple Stories. baby ephemera is from Graphic 45. sentiments were generated with my label maker. 

a precious little "it's a girl" floral enclosure card sits on the right side.

and here are the inserts;

thank you for hanging in there to the end! :)

Challenges:

Gecko Galz - fairy lands

As You Like It - brights or pastels (I tend to like pastels best as I've gotten older. I find those shades very soothing)

 Creative Knockouts - 2 or more patterned papers

Easter Bunny ATC cards

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Pumpkin spice coffee

Gecko Galz ATC winner

Hello! We're getting closer to the weekend, phew!

My project for today uses the images provided at the Gecko Galz ATC challenge. I realize these are Easter themed, so will save them for next year. I'll probably turn them into cards to send to our grandchildren. 

I've added a few of my own touches, including tickets, postage stamp, flower sticker, and buttons. the bg paper for the waving bunny in the lower right hand corner is from the new Tim Holtz pink palette collection. 

Have a most amazing day!

Jennifer

Challenges:

Gecko Galz ATC - use provided images

Crafty Gals Corner - spring

Sisterhood of Crafters - make someone smile

Woman of the Forest Journal Flip

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Peach green tea

Hello again! thanks to all of you who have stopped by! :) and a very happy Earth Day!

my project today is for an upcoming nature journal. I have used the free image found in the Gecko Galz fantasy challenge for April. I really love the way this turned out.

the papers are from the new Tim Holtz green palette collection. ephemera is also by Tim Holtz. the base for this flip is another advertising postcard I received in the mail. I seem to have had quite a few of these arrive over the past few weeks, so I'm glad to be able to reuse them. a piece of natural ribbon creates the tab, and the vintage button is from my stash.  

have a fabulous day, and I'll see you tomorrow with more to hopefully inspire you.

Jennifer

Challenges:

Gecko Galz fantasy - use provided image

A Perfect Time to Craft - anything goes

Ally's Angels - anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore - anything goes

L'il Patch of Crafty Friends - anything goes

Little Red Wagon - Happy Earth Day (base is an advertising postcard received in the mail)

Floral Bunny Card

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Spiced coffee

Sparkles Top 3 

Hi there! I'm back with another project to enter into the challenges over at Gecko Galz. Today's post is for the card challenge, using the provided image. 

bg paper is from the new Tim Holtz pink paper pack. I printed the rabbit image twice and cut out several features to pop up on dimensional foam tape. lace, tiny mulberry flowers, and a used postage stamp complete the card. simple, but still mailable.

have an amazing day! 

Jennifer

Challenges:

Gecko Galz card - use provided image

Crafty Animals - must include an animal

Critter Crazy - must include a critter

Moving Along with the Times - spring

Sparkles Forum - rabbits and pastel colors

Large Gothic Bat and Skull Journal Tag

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Whispering Wildflowers tea (a delicious herbal from Bigelow)

Top 3 Pick at Two Old Bats

Crafting From the Art Top 5

Hello!

Today I'm sharing a large journal tag I made using the free image from Gecko Galz for their monthly gothic challenge. Eventually I want to make a gothic themed journal, so this is a first start.

I don't know about any of you, but I get quite a few advertising postcards in the mail. they are of differing sizes which make them perfect for journaling ephemera. I used a large one as the base for this tag.

the background paper is from Mintay and covered in a piece of patterned tissue paper by Tim Holtz. I then sandwiched a piece of black glitter tulle between the base and gothic image. a sticker of red rose stems was added for a pop of color. the edges were trimmed in Tim Holtz washi tape.

the back is decorated with parchment paper accented with another floral sticker and pieces of Tim Holtz transparencies. a tab at the top of the tag complete with vintage button finishes the project.

thank you for stopping by today! :)

Jennifer

Challenges:

Gecko Galz Gothic - use the provided image

Creative Fingers - anything goes

Craft Rocket - layer it up (the front of the tag has 6 layers)

CRAFT - anything goes

Crafting From the Art - anything goes

Two Old Bats - anything Halloween or mood board inspired

K-Pop Birthday Card

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Caramel Vanilla coffee

Hello and happy weekend!

I've a few projects to share with all of you in the upcoming days, but need to wait until the sun is shining a bit more in order to photograph them. 

so I'm going to share with you the card I made for our granddaughter's 5th birthday. all of our granddaughters, (and their fathers, too!), adore the Netflix show, K-Pop Demon Hunters. at Christmas they put on their own concert for us. it was fabulous! :)

the digital image is from the Etsy store, Celi Arts Co. the bg paper is from Simple Stories.  the card is accented with polka dot ribbon and handmade enamel dots. sentiment stamp is by Simon Says Stamp. simple, but she loved the card. hooray!

I'll be back soon to share all that I have been working on. have a fabulous remainder of your weekend!

Jennifer

Happy Easter and a Fun Easter Basket

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Earl Grey tea with lavender

Outlawz winner

Happy Easter to each of you! What a glorious time as we celebrate our risen Saviour!

I was blessed to be able to go to St. Louis last weekend to celebrate our granddaughter's 5th birthday. She had a party on Sunday, but Saturday was a special event at a nearby apple orchard. She was able to hunt Easter eggs, have a picture with the Easter Bunny and her dad, plant seeds, pet a wide variety of farm animals, ride rides including a train, and play miniature golf. whew! LOTS to do. 

but in order to collect Easter eggs, she needed a basket. so we decided to make one. she picked out the fabric, ribbons, and flowers. I found the basket when David and I were searching antique stores for furniture for the house. the ribbons and flowers came from Really Reasonable Ribbon, which sadly, is closing. I've bought so many ribbons and flowers from Bonnie over the years. I wish her the very best in her next endeavors!

Our granddaughter received so many compliments on her beautiful Easter basket. :) I'll share her birthday card in a few days. 

May you and yours be abundantly blessed today and every day!

Jennifer

Challenges:

Outlawz - anything but a card

Crafty Catz - anything goes

LeighSBDesigns - spring bunnies or anything goes (my granddaughter did carry this with her when she met the Easter Bunny!)

Crafty Gals Corner - anything goes w/spring optional twist

A Perfect Time to Craft - anything goes

Moving Along with the Times - spring

Outlawz main challenge - linked to anything but a card challenge

Redecorating!

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Peach green tea

Hello! I know it's been a bit since I last posted, but hubby and I have been super busy around the house. 

Back when our boys were in college, we turned our dining room into a game room, complete with big comfy couches and a large television so the guys could all do their gaming together. since it's been a while that any of them lived at home, we decided it would be nice to have a dining room again. 

so hubby declared last week, out of the blue, that it was time to go find some antique furniture. I'll never say no to antique shopping! so off we went. we found some gorgeous pieces at fabulous prices, always a good thing!, and have been working on painting walls and moving things around. it's all been a very nice early anniversary present to us. :)

needless to say, that has left NO time for crafting. I do apologize for no posts. I had so many projects planned for this month, but they will have to wait. 

I don't know that I will be back to share again before Easter, so I wish all of you a most blessed holiday!

love to everyone!

Jennifer

Boho Baby Journal Cover

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Mystery coffee (hubby made it this morning before leaving for an early breakfast meeting)

Hooray! another weekend is upon us!

as I work on several other projects, I thought I would share photos from journals I have previously made. I'll get pictures of more of the pages from the completed baby journals as I visit family over the next few months. 

This is the cover from our oldest granddaughter's journal. they had gone with a boho themed nursery, so I tried to incorporate that into the journal. 

the precious sleeping animal teepee image is surrounded by a painted chipboard frame, wooden heart, metal Tim Holtz arrow, mulberry flower, and real feathers. I am forever picking up feathers from the ground. I don't know the birds from which they come most of the time, but I do think they add a beautiful, natural touch to craft projects.

I try to incorporate as much actual vintage ephemera as I possibly can in the journals I make. that could be advertisements, book pages, sheet music, greeting cards, post cards, and of course beautiful vintage buttons. 

sharing what I have made in the past invigorates me to keep crafting. it's inspiring. do you feel the same way? do you ever go back and look at the things you have made?

I hope you have an amazing day, knowing that you are truly and deeply loved!

Jennifer 

Challenges:

Try it On Tuesday - make it feminine

613 Avenue Create - anything goes w/things with wings option (do feathers count?)

Little Red Wagon - include an animal (several sleeping critters at the tent)

As You Like It - favorite main color and why (PINK - as the mom of 3 boys, I really appreciate pink. it helped me maintain my femininity when surrounded by so much testosterone)

Creative Inspirations #36 - anything goes

Crafty Gals Corner - anything goes w/heart option (wooden heart)

Paper Funday - anything goes w/fur or feathers twist (both)

Outlawz - anything but a card

Minnie Mouse Happy Birthday card

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Nutty Coconut coffee

Hi there!

Today I am sharing a quick card I made for our granddaughter's second birthday last weekend. We were very blessed to be able to spend the weekend with them to celebrate this exciting milestone.

She wanted a Minnie Mouse themed party. Danielle bought Disney t-shirts for all of us to wear. of course the star of the day wore Minnie! I was Pluto and hubby was Goofy. so appropriate for him! :D

The card is fairly simple, using a few fussy cut images I found online and papers from Simple Stories, a Tim Holtz sentiment, ric rack, and vintage button.

I hope all of you have a most amazing day! 

Jennifer

Meet the Newest Member of our Family

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Cinnamon French Toast coffee

Hooray, it's the weekend! 

I ended up not feeling too well this week, plagued by nasty migraines and seizures, so crafting was not on the agenda unfortunately. but I wanted to share with all of you about the newest member of our family.

over the past few years we have sadly had to say goodbye to our precious pups, Brutus and Palmer. it's still hard to type this without crying. we are 'those' people whose dogs and cats are huge parts of the family. their loss is devastating. 

so last January David had finally decided that he was ready for a new dog. we had been watching the website of our favorite rescue center when he saw a chocolate lad puppy. so off we went. 

we brought home Watson, a 6 month old chocolate lab/Chesapeake Bay retriever mix. he is so full of personality and enthusiasm for EVERYYHING!

he has quickly grown into a big cuddly bear. like all of our dogs, he absolutely loves going to camp every day to run and play and greet everyone. we are so very blessed to have him in our lives! :)

have a fantastic weekend!

Jennifer

Journal Cabinet

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Caramel Vanilla coffee

Top Pick at Crafting from the Art

Hi there!

I'm almost finished retrieving files and folders from my corrupt external hard drive. have saved as much as I can. still so much has been lost though. lesson to me to back up the back up! I did learn that most external hard drives only have a 3-5 year lifespan. I would have thought it would be much more than that. 

anyhow, as I was going through my blog trying to save photos, I realized that I never shared the picture of the cabinet I made to hold all of Ryan and Elizabeth's journals. there are 5 journals total, each with about 40 or so pages. it was fun to make the cabinet. my sweet hubby helped by cutting the mdf board for me. 

inside and outside are covered in Tim Holtz papers and then edged with his washi tapes. I did use mod podge to adhere the papers as well as seal them. this helps keep the cabinet somewhat protected. each journal is covered in Tim Holtz fabrics. you can't see it in the photo, but the cabinet does have pretty little feet to elevate it. 

I plan to make cabinets for Mick and Tyler's journals, too, but must finish baby journals first. 

hopefully I can get some crafting done this week to share. have a fabulous day!

Jennifer

p.s. if you want to see some of the elements made for this journal, go to the sidebar on the right and select 2022, mainly in July. 

Challenges:

Outlawz - anything goes but not a card

Crafting From the Art - anything goes

A re-post that I most certainly needed

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Pumpkin Spice coffee

Hello to everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend so far.

I was sad to discover that I lost the entire folder of my craft project phots when my external hard drive became corrupted. that's more than 20 years of photos, just gone. so I've been spending the past few days going through each post on my blog to save what pictures I can. it's been quite eye opening. my style has changed and also circled back around over the years.

the thing that has struck me more than anything is how I used to share my faith. I've gotten away from that for whatever reason. my faith certainly hasn't changed, but how I express it definitely has.

I came across this post from 2013. I have no recollection of the circumstances that prompted me to write, but I was impacted by the reminder that this message holds just as true today, with our political and social climate being less than kind and loving toward 'others'.

I'll share the entire post here, or you can follow the link to the original.

may God speak to your heart in the same way He has spoken to mine, both then and now.

love to all of you!

Jennifer

one day I will stand in front of God and have to answer many questions about how I lived my life. one of these, I'm sure, will be "did you love my people?" how will I be able to look Him in the eyes and say, "well, I chose to love only certain ones, God. some had different opinions than I did, some looked different than I did, some well, they just weren't really that clean or smelled kinda funky, so they weren't all that easy to love. and gosh, God, some just weren't very nice. some were down right mean to me."

and I have a feeling God will shake his head in sadness and reply to me, "and what about those times when you were mean and outspoken and said things in anger you didn't really intend to come out the way they did? or that time back in the 80's (and 90's) when you were just kind of a pain and thought you knew everything, but in fact still had a lot to learn about kindness? how lovable were you then? and didn't someone still wipe your brow and soothe your soul and tell you how beautiful you were?"

and He will remind me of the people who dropped off food at our back door when David didn't have a job or sent cards or texts when I was going through chemo or built a front porch as I went through more treatments for my cancer or the outpouring of cards when Tyler was hit by a car or the multitudes of other blessings that happen each and every day.

He will let me know that no matter what my sin, I was loved always and there were people who let me know.
so by following in HIS footsteps, I have to pass along that same love to others - regardless of their life choices. I am to love others unconditionally. understand that I am not asked to love the sin, but instead to love the sinner, for that is what each and every one of us is. we are all on a journey and can only do this with the help of one another and God's grace.

I am not the judge. I do not sit in judgement upon anyone. I can't. it's not my job. I am only called to love my neighbor. and I am working on it. it's not easy. it's one of the hardest commandments in the Bible. but it's worth it. we have to help each other out, not push each other down. that is what it means to be a follower of Christ, in my opinion.

I'm not here to debate the Bible - just stating my thoughts and opinions. each of us is entitled to our own. I'm weary of the hate and mud slinging from both sides. A & E has a right to suspend whomever they want as far as I am concerned. it's their network, they can do what they want. The Robertsons can say what they want when they are away from the series. they have that right as well. I just don't necessarily agree with them.