So Proud of You Steampunk Chemistry Card

Top Pick at Pile it On
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Tea Thyme (currant, citrus, and thyme - without a doubt one of my very favorite teas!)

Hello, everyone! Before I forget, the place in Ann Arbor, Michigan where I order all of my delicious teas is having a sale on some of their classic Japanese green tea. they only charge a very minimal shipping fee, so check out the store if you think you might be interested.  the sale is for a limited time only, so hurry over! my hubby only likes green tea, so we have tried several of these. we also enjoy many of their herbal blends. I like all kinds of tea, and have yet to find any of theirs that I don't enjoy. they are great both hot and cold. :)

The card I am sharing today is made for our oldest son. You might remember that he moved to Delaware this spring to start a new job. We just learned that not only has he done well in his job, but he has received a promotion! :) Tyler works in a laboratory and now oversees the entire operation as the Supervisor. They are training him to be the Department Manager! I am so very proud of him! :)

so of course I had to make a card for him. that is what all crafty moms do, right?!

the images come from The Graphics Fairy and Create with TLC. papers are from my beloved Basic Grey stash, this time from the Origins collection.  I used the mini gears stencil from The Crafters Workshop over the base sheet of designer paper, which was then edged in Sensational Sage embossing powder by WOW!.

main image die is by Spellbinders, banner die is by SU!, and wheel cog dies are by Tim Holtz. tag is stamped with Prima stamps and tied with seam binding  from Zipper Stop which has been distressed with several shades of ink. burlap flower is from Petaloo. vintage buttons and metal cogs are from my stash.

for those of you who have asked and left such kind comments, I am still dealing with my seizures on a daily basis. sometimes they are really bad and it's hard to get out of bed. other days I am able to get to my craft room for a few hours. at this point we are just hoping I am able to go to Tyler and Danielle's wedding next month. most of the time just trying to get Palmer outside to go to the bathroom causes me to go into seizures, so getting to a wedding is a big prayer. I can't ride in a car without them taking place either. but we have lots of hope and faith. :) and in the scheme of things, I have so very much to be thankful for. these are more annoying than anything.

Thanks so much for stopping by! love to all of you!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Shopping Our Stash - get krafty (card base, matting piece, cog die cuts)
TTCRD - anything goes
A Bit More Time to Craft - anything goes
Card Mania - anything goes
Creative Crafters - anything goes
Use Your Stuff - anything goes (with a title or sentiment)
Pile it On - vintage/retro
A Vintage Journey - get sentimental
Crafting by Designs - anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wed - anything goes
WAW - anything encouraging goes

Sunflower Garden Birthday Greetings

Winner at County View Challenges
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Pineapple Lemon tea

The weekend is here! Hooray! :) I hope you have something absolutely wonderful planned. share with me what you are up to.

I am finally sharing the card I made for my MIL's birthday. she recently moved into an assisted living down in San Antonio and really loves it. when I got in touch with her on her birthday, she was on her way to a water aerobics class. she has always been one to stay busy, but it's so nice to see that she is continuing that still. She is flying up for Tyler and Danielle's wedding, and it will be wonderful to see her again. :)

The sunflower garden image is from Make it Crafty. I added touches of distress stickles to the flower centers as well as the edges of the main piece. I sure hated that they discontinued the distress stickles, but I tried to stockpile as much of it as I could find. :)

These are about the last of my pieces of the Authentique Meadow papers. I might have a tiny scrap or two left, but that would be about it until I can find more online somewhere.... time to put on my Sherlock digs and go searching! ha!

main die and matting are by Spellbinders and the banner one is by SU!  pretty little sunflower is from Wild Orchid Crafts. I look forward to seeing the store once the new owner has taken over.

vintage buttons, burlap doily, and ticket are from my stash while all ribbons & ric rack are from Really Reasonable Ribbon. birthday stamp is by SU! 

thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy your weekend! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Allsorts - flowers all over (also tiny flowers on lower paper)
Colour Crazy wk 29 - anything hand colored goes
Creative Fingers - anything goes
Country View - in the summer garden
Southern Girls - tic tac toe: yellow, stamp, bling (distress stickles) or white, blue, yellow
Craftaholics R Us - anything goes
That's Crafty - close to nature
Sheepski - for someone special (my MIL)
Crafty Sentiments - add a sentiment
Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers - C is for Coloring

Just Chillin' Little Fairy

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Orange Ginger tea

We are slowly getting closer to the weekend... do you have any fun plans?

one of our favorite groups is out at Camp right now, so Dave is working the long week. It's a group called Camp Sue Osborn and it's for anyone with special needs. Last week was for the Alumni - those who have graduated from the program. this week if for anyone up to 18 years old, I believe.  they stay through Saturday rather than leaving on Friday when most of the camps usually depart. head over to the website to not only see photos of Camp, but have your heart brightened. :) these are some amazing people, flat out. the campers are amazing, but the staff are some of my favorite people in the whole wide world. :) I love those folks with everything I have. it tears me up that I can't be out there right now. yucky seizures. blech blech blech. but really. go to the website.

now on to my project for the day...

I know I promised to share the card I made for my MIL, but I am sneaking this one in instead. I think I am sending it to Danielle, Tyler's fiancee. the wedding is coming up very soon, and I think she needs a reminder to just chill a bit. :) pre-wedding jitters can be a bit un-nerving, can't they?

the adorable fairy image and sentiment are from LOTV, green digital paper is from the Prima Strawberry Kisses collection, and chevron stripe digital paper is from the American Freedom free collection by Raspberry Road Designs.  main die is by Spellbinders, banner die is by SU!, and floral die in the upper corner is by Sizzix.

lace, washi tape, vintage buttons, and ticket are all from my stash. purple twine and green satin ribbon are from Really Reasonable Ribbon. flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. the UK store is closed right now, but you can buy their products from RRR and other retailers. I added a faux stitching border with a white gel pen and also some splatters with white Mr. Huey's spray.

sparkles & shine were added to the fairy's wings with a wink of stella glitter pen and to her bobbers with a pink spica glitter pen.

btw, spending time with everyone at Camp Sue is what inspired our son, Ryan, to work with children on the autism spectrum at Hope Bridge. he loves it there. :)
and almost all of the Camp Sue staff will be attending Tyler and Danielle's wedding, so it will be great to see them then!

I hope you have a most wonderful day! thanks for stopping by! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Digistamps 4 Joy - anything goes summer or winter
Crafting by Designs - anything goes
Crafty Creations - anything goes
Scrappy Land - anything goes w/die carried in their store (Sizziz and Spellbinders)
Simon Says Stamp Wed - use a die or punch (dies by Sizzix, SU!, and Spellbinders)
Crafty Sentiments - add a sentiment
TTCRD - anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown - stitching, real or faux
Unicorn Ch - stitching, real or faux
Crafteezee - summer
Cutie Pie - bingo: buttons, ribbon, die cut, but also added bow, glitter, and flowers :)
Incy Wincy - tic tac toe: stripes/checks (subtle chevron stripes on the banner paper, but it's a bit hard to see. feel free to enlarge the piccy), splatter, stitching
Coloring in Scrapland - fairies
Scribbles Designs - fun in the sun
Fabrika Fantasy - summer
Daisy Chain - summer
Dragonfly Journeys - summer lovin'
Make My Monday - fantasy
Sparkles - fairies

Happy Birthday Fly Guy

Featured at Little Red Wagon
Top 3 Pick at Sweet Stampin'
Top 3 Pick at Colour Crazy Craft Challenge
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Tea Thyme

Today we celebrate our son, Mick's birthday. We were blessed this past weekend to be able to get together for a quick lunch with Mick and his girlfriend, Lauren, as well as Tyler and his fiancee, Danielle. Mick and Lauren came to Ohio for a tattoo convention and concert while Tyler and Danielle came into town to get their marriage license.  We were only able to spend a few hours together, but it was wonderful to see everyone. unfortunately, I ended it all by having a really bad seizure episode, but that is the way it goes these days. :( can't seem to kick these things.

this is the card that I made for Mick. I used the "Fly Guy" image from Power Poppy on the outside and the "Leaping Trout" image on the inside. I didn't get a photo of the inside of the card. sorry.

all dies are by Spellbinders, with distress stickles being added to the cat tails. vintage buttons are from my stash and wide grosgrain ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon. Happy Birthday stamp, linen thread, and little banner punch are by SU!  papers are from the Authentiqe Meadow collection. I am just about out of it and down to a few little scraps... will need to buy more of this wonderful paper! I obviously love it very much! :) little dots were added to the matting die cut with a white gel pen.

I will be back in another day or so to share my MIL's birthday card. her birthday was yesterday.

thank you so much for stopping by!
Jennifer

Challenges:
a2z Scrapbooking - birthday bash
Always Happy Birthday - anything Happy Birthday goes w/cake option
Crafter's Cafe - lots of layers
Dies R Us - birthdays (Spellbinders)
Crop Stop - anything goes w/products they carry (Authentique, distress stickles, Spellbinders)
Use Your Stuff - birthday
Dare 2B Artzy - birthdays
Inkspirational - birthday
Sweet Stampin' - occupations or hobbies
Brown Sugar - use 2 patterned papers
Moving Along with the Times - masculine
Little Red Wagon - lights, camera, action movie inspiration (A River Runs Through It)
The Male Room - fish/fishing
Colour Crazy week 28 - anything hand colored goes

Magical Coffee Unicorn Cup

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Butter Rum coffee

Today's card showcases lots of new things for me. isn't it fun to try out new techniques and products on your projects from time to time? :)

over at the Coffee Loving Cardmaker's blog, there is a neat mini challenge going on to use products from any of the Super Sponsors. I was blessed to receive a great kit from WOW embossing powders, so I knew that I wanted to use some of the things included. But during the last blog hop, I also picked up this great 'Unicorn Coffee Cup image' from Crafting Desert Divas. so this seemed like the perfect time to put all of these fun items together onto a card!

I created the background paper by taking several shades of distress oxide inks and sponging them onto white cardstock. The distress oxide ink pads can be found at Super Sponsor Ellen Hutson. I then spritzed with water.

I took the Prima Crackle stencil, added WOW clear embossing ink and the WOW bonding powder, heat set, and then the gold foil that is also available from WOW.  there is a bit of a learning curve with the bonding powder and the foil, as the foil needs to be applied while the melted powder is still warm. I sure do love the way this looks, especially with that stencil. it creates a gorgeous veining similar to what you would find  in rock formations. so cool!!! EH also carries the WOW products in the USA.

I used the distress oxide inks to color most of the cutey unicorn cup. not so sure I will use them for watercoloring again.  I think they are better suited for regular stamping due to the nature of the ink. but for my first time using these inks, it was fun to experiment.  I added touches of a wink of stella glitter pen to the horn and little pearls to the flower centers.

ribbon & gold cord are from Really Reasonable Ribbon. flowers are from Petaloo and Wild Orchid Crafts.

Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Challenges:
Coffee Loving Cardmakers Super Sponsors Challenge - Crafting Desert Divas, WOW embossing powders, Ellen Hutson
Cute Card Thursday - ribbons & bows
Crafting With an Attitude - anything goes
Crafting by Designs - anything goes
The Crafty Addicts - anything goes w/optional pets theme (why yes, I would love to have a pet unicorn!)
Tuesday Throwdown - color challenge
Always Fun - anything goes
613 Avenue Create - create your own bg paper
Crafty Friends - fairy or fantasy
Di's Digi - try something new (distress oxide inks, foils)
Simply Create Too - no pattern paper

Strawberries and Cream Fairy and new Birthday Blog Candy Winner

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Salted Caramel coffee

Hello and Happy Monday once again! :)

I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend! We had a surprise visit from Ryan and his fiancee, Elizabeth, who arrived here Thursday evening. They came to rescue a beautiful Australian Cattle dog puppy that they have named Lady Sybil after the character on Downton Abbey. she is such a treasure! They are calling her Sibby for short. of course she and Palmer became fast friends and played together all weekend. :) it was sad for the two of them when everyone had to leave, but Lady Sybil has a glorious new life ahead of her!!!

so of course you can understand why I have not been on the computer for a few days. ;) Moon Pie came out of hiding a few times to say hello to Sibby, but would quickly retreat to  his library nook (a hidey hole he has created in my book cabinet).

Today's crafty share is a card I made to say thank you to our lovely neighbors who gifted me some fresh picked strawberries from a local farm. wasn't that so nice of them?! :) The boys and I used to go pick strawberries from the very same farm that our neighbor and her daughters went to, so it was a bit nostalgic to be on the receiving end. and oh my goodness, did they ever taste wonderful in salads that week!

digital paper is from the Prima Straberry Kisses collection, adorable fairy image and sentiment are from LOTV, and small strawberry image in corner is from Power Poppy. the cream portion was covered in liquid applique that went a bit haywire when heated!

matting die is by Spellbinders and is edged in acrylic paint to distress. ivy flourish die is by Cheery Lynn. little red and white flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts and the main flower is from Really Really Reasonable Ribbon, as are the ribbons. vintage buttons are from my stash.

I also have a new birthday blog candy winner to announce. I didn't hear back from one of the prize winners, so the 2nd place prize will go to:

12. Alicia O'Bryant

Everyone have a great week!

Challenges:
Dragonfly Dreams - summer (strawberry picking is a summer tradition around here)
Corrosive - anything goes
Crafty Calendar - totally girly
2 Sisters on the Blog - fruit
Colour Crazy - anything hand colored goes
Crafty Catz - anything goes w/summer fun option (strawberry picking is a summer tradition around here)
Creative Fingers - anything goes
Cute Card Thursday - anything goes
Creative Moments - anything goes

America, Wild & Free

Winner at Eclectic Ellapu
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Cranberry Mango tea

Happy 4th of the July to all of you who live here in the USA! :) to my friends from other parts of the world, hello to you and happy Wednesday! :)

Even though it's just Moon Pie the cat and I here at my house today, spending the day with Netflix and books, I hope that those of you who have the day off are enjoying the holiday and celebrate safely with your loved ones.

I made today's card for all of the staff out at Camp. Dave took it with him as he and Palmer left this morning. this week is Family Camp, with some of those attending having once been staff members themselves and now back married with their children.  some of the family members have been coming to Family Camp for more than 15 years! isn't that so cool?

The flag image is from Paulette at Create with TLC.  you might remember it from the card I made for Memorial Day. I had printed out 2 copies and thought it would be perfect for a card for today, too. our nation's flag never fails to inspire a sense of pride in me, no matter how I feel about things going on around the country. I believe that we CAN come together and be better if we unite in love. :)

The paper and neat added elements are from a free kit I picked up at Raspberry Road Designs. The kit is called "American Freedom." There is currently a store wide sale going on with everything 50% off.  but there are LOTS of free goodies over there to check out, too. this was my first time to print out any of the things I had bought, and they printed quite nicely. that is always a good sign!

behind the flag image is a piece of paper packing that I stamped with a SU! cheesecloth bg stamp then crumpled before adhering. the tag is stamped with a star stamp and then distressed. twine, rick rack, and Zipper Stop seam binding are tied through with an aged Wild Orchid Crafts rose bloom added. vintage buttons, a ticket, and re-purposed denim belt loop give more fun to the card. faux stitching borders finish the card.

Have a fabulous day no matter what you do! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Always Fun - patriotic
Simon Says Stamp Monday - red, white, and/or blue
Crafts Galore Encore - anything goes
DL Art - red, white, and blue
Eclectic Ellapu - red, white, and blue
Crafty Gals Corner - red, white, and blue

A Squirrely Thanks

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Lemon Basil tea

Happy Monday! I bet you don't hear that very often. grins! but we have to find something good about every day, and I choose to rejoice in the fact that I woke up this morning to the sound of birds chirping their beautiful songs. :) I have a happy and content cat sleeping on the sill of the front window where he can keep an eye on all of the critters in  the front yard when he wakes up, a dog who finds joy in every little thing from a stick in the driveway to the squeaky unicorn toy that drives hubby up the wall, and a family that texts me every day with the stories of their lives. blessings? oh yes! I have them in abundance!!! so it IS a happy Monday! :)  not easy, but happy.

 so I am sharing with all of you a card I made to say thank you to a group of amazing people who came out to Camp for a service project. about 70 people arrived several weeks ago to help transform Camp through painting, cleaning, and various fix-it projects. I don't have any photos to share, but what they did is amazing. I want to make them several thank you cards, but this is the first. I work so slow these days, and my list of cards to make is so very long....

The adorable squirrel thank you image is from LOTV, papers from my Authentique Meadow collection, grass die by My Favorite Things, and felt cut with a die by La La Land. I added a twig from outside to use as a fun bit of whimsy. all other items are from my stash. there is a little sparkle on the card with touches from a wink of stella clear glitter pen.

For my birthday blog candy winners, please check this post. congratulations to the winners! I'll have more candy later this fall. in fact, I have blog candy planned all the way through Valentine's Day! :)

Have a wonderful week! I'll see you back again in a few days with another project. :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - anything goes w/an animal
Crafty Animals - anything goes w/an animal
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes w/patterned paper
Love to Craft - anything goes
Sweet Stampers - animals
Angie's - anything goes
Alphabet Ch - 'G' is for Great Outdoors
CRAFT - thank you
Sunny Day - any animal
Ching-Chou Kuik - thank you/sympathy

Birthday Blog Candy Prize Winners! Hooray!

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Strawberry Lavender Mint tea

I know all of you are on pins and needles wanting to know who the happy prize winners are from my Birthday Blog candy, so I will get straight to it...

Winners will have one week to contact me with mailing addresses or else they forfeit their prizes and other winners will be chosen.

for Mo's Digital Pencil gift certificates, I will use the email address you provided in the Inlinkz to send your certificate.  I will send you Paulette's email address or you can find it on her blog at Create With TLC. I will be sending each of these store owners a list of the winners so they will know to expect to be hearing from all of you. :)

Once all prizes have been claimed, I will delete the Inlinkz database from my original post to keep within the new privacy guidelines.

Here we go!!!!

Grand Prize Winner:

14. Stef H. (Glitterbabe)

Second Place Winner:

9. Rhonda Miller

Third Place Winner:

4. terriavidreader - Terri Scott

Create With TLC Gift Certificate Winners:

6. Valerija

3. KT Fit Kitty

Mo's Digital Pencil Gift Certificate Winners:

10. Fikreta

1. Annie

2. Annabel

Thank you to everyone who joined the fun! I am sorry that I don't have a prize for all of you. Check back again in the fall because I will have more candy for you then. :)

Thank you for making my birthday a very special one! :) YOU are the best present I could ever receive!!!!
Jennifer

p.s. make sure you have downloaded the wonderful free images from Paulette at Create with TLC on both pages. then please stop by and say thank you to her for her very generous gift to all of us. :)