Some Major News....

Coffee of the Day - Pumpkin Spice

Some of you who follow me on Facebook know that I just recently returned from another trip out to Standing Rock, North Dakota. I actually took part in the evacuation/prayer walk from the Oceti Camp on Wednesday just before the police and other officials invaded.


 You can see me in the bright yellow poncho and red much boots.....but most importantly, listen to the words of Raymond Kingfisher. He speaks such wisdom, and truly from the heart. When we had walked over the bridge that covers Cannonball River, he again thanked everyone and spoke of the peace & dignity with which everyone had left. Everyone at Standing Rock continuously portrayed that peace he spoke of and it resonates with me today.

As I was driving back home to Ohio, I saw construction on a pipeline taking place along the highway of Wisconsin. the pipeline there is going right through farmlands. WHEN that pipeline breaks and leaks, because they ALL do, corn and soybean fields will be infiltrated with oil. this will then leech into the water tables. cattle graze upon that land. crops used for livestock and human consumption are grown upon that land. and it will all be tainted by oil one day. this breaks my heart.

every single time I return from Standing Rock I am made aware of so very many things, but never so strongly as on this trip.

I can not sit idly by and watch our very planet be ruined. I must continue to go to protests and speak out against not only the pipelines, but all of the other injustices that are taking place. we only have one planet. and oh my gosh, we MUST show love and compassion to everyone we meet. this building of walls must not take place.

so I have left all of my last remaining Design Teams to focus on my activism work. crafting will always be important to me, and I'm not giving it up completely, just on a professional level.

I thank all of you who have been so kind and faithful through the years. keep following if you would like. there will be crafty posts a few times a month.

I pray for all of you great peace and love! Jennifer

Thinking of You Birthday Card

Coffee of the Day - English Toffee

Super quick post today as I am on my way out the door to a pipeline protest. Also trying to get this card in the mail for a birthday next week.

Over in the Simply Betty Facebook group there is a monthly progressive challenge. this is the image that was provided this month. isn't she so lovely? we also had a color challenge to use. I decided to create a birthday card for Mick's girlfriend.

papers are from a pad I picked up at Michael's. flowers are from both Michael's and Wild Orchid Crafts. main die and matting one are by Spellbinders while the large flourish is by Sizzix. buttons are from my vintage stash. the sentiment is not from the challenge set, but is from Simply Betty. lace and baker's twine are also stash items. a bit of shimmerz paint accents the main image as does a white gel pen.

the large flourish is cut from a piece of re-purposed plastic packaging.

thanks for stopping by! enjoy your weekend! gotta dash......
Jennifer

Love and Joy Snowman Tag Card for Season's Greetings Challenge

I realize this is a late night posting for those of us here in the States, but over in the other hemisphere, it's early morning on Valentine's Day and the start of the very first challenge at the Season's Greetings Christmas blog! :)

The theme for our new challenge is "Anything Goes with an optional - Love" and of course any kind of Christmas project, too. it's a huge help to get started on those holiday cards and projects early, let me tell you! so I do hope you will join along! :)

for my card, I have used an assortment of stamps from the Unity Stamp Company: snowflakes from "Layers of Life Magical Bliss and Wonder," sentiment from "...a joyous season", and cutey little snowman from "One of a Kind Winter."

papers are from the Basic Grey 25th and Pine collection, snowflake die is by Sizzix, holly flourish die is by Cheery Lynn, buttons and holly sprig are vintage, and everything else came from my stash. little accents to the sentiment, tag, and card base were made with a gold spica pen. isn't the little straw a fun accent?!

thanks so much for stopping by! I do hope you will play along in the challenge with us! :)

Cutey Snail Mail

Coffee of the Day - Caramel

Hello and Happy Saturday to all of you! I am up on the Digi Bells blog today. here to share a little bit of  inspiration with you to get you started on your crafty way this weekend! :)

I hope all of you have subscribed to Elisabeth's wonderful newsletter. the image I am using is one I received as a freebie in my mailbox as a subscriber. you can sign up here.

The precious image is called "Kisses from Cleo the Snail." I needed a belated thank you note, so she seemed so perfect for a snail mail card!

while you won't find this exact image in Elisabeth's digi store, you can find plenty of other wonderful ones.

I used digital papers from Adrienne Looman's Peaceful Harmony collection, a selection of flowers from both Michael's and Wild Orchid Crafts, vintage buttons, and ric rack.  all dies are from Spellbinders. my white gel pen was used to add lots of fun accent dots.

Enjoy your weekend!

Valentine Love with Fab 'n Funky Challenges

Coffee of the Day - Pecan Truffle

Hello to all of you! I hope life has been treating you with all of the love and kindness each of you so deserves! :)

I have been super busy going to several protests and marches here in our lovely state. I've met some of the most fabulous people and had such a great time standing up for both human and animal rights. Several more on the schedule before the month is over.

But the news for today is the new challenge over at Fab 'n Funky! the theme is "Wild About You" and you can use either wild animals or go with a love theme on your projects. Our sponsor is The Paper Shelter who is offering a nice gift certificate to one happy participant!

Rather than use any of the images from the Paper Shelter store, I chose instead to use a few of their digital papers. for the base, I used paper from the "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" set and then added elements I cut from the "Hey Baby" paper.

the tag, gilded rose, red doily, and 'love' letters are all from Michael's. the pretty 'Valentine' sentiment piece that I punched out with a scallop punch is by Create with TLC. buttons and pale pink lace are vintage treasures. both red hearts were punched.  distressed red seam binding is from Zipper Stop.

little Prima flowers were added to paper flowers and then dotted with distress stickles. polka dots were added to the scallop heart with a white gel pen.

I hope to see YOUR entry in the Fab 'n Funky challenge this week! :)