Strength Anchor Alcohol Ink Resist

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Caramel Rum

Happy Monday as we begin a new week! I hope you all had a most wonderful weekend and are ready for the adventure ahead as a new week sits before us. :)

I was able to do a bit of crafting, thankfully. bad healthwise, but still grateful for the time in my craft room.

At the beginning of the month, Jennifer McGuire shared on her blog several stores that were doing promotions to raise funds for the Bahamas in the aftermath of the hurricane. I was able to do my share and purchase several items. The stamp today was one such benefit product. here is her post if you would like to see some of the promotions and the companies that participated. a few are still active.

The stamp set is called 'Anchors the Soul' is in available from Honey Bee Stamps. I see now that there is also a coordinating die set for it. adding it to my wish list for Santa. ;) proceeds from the die set will also go to the relief efforts.

it's such a beautiful stamp set with such meaning. a friend of ours is going through some difficult times right now, so I wanted to create a card for her. we go to church together, and she also works with Dave out at Camp. both she and her husband and struggling with their health. I know how much those cards can mean when your health is weak. the knowledge that there is someone out there who is thinking about you can be so encouraging on a rough day.

I created a shadow effect with both embossing and craft ink in white on photo paper. the background is created with an assortment of alcohol inks. the teals, purples, and aqua shads don't show in the photograph for whatever reason, so I do apologize for that. it is a much more cohesive card irl.

the image was then cut with a Tim Holtz stitched rectangle die. I wanted to try the off the edge look for something different after seeing this done in several samples. it's matted on white cs and a white cs base as well. the pale blue layer is stamped with a Prima script mini bg stamp and the little greenery flourish. The word 'strength' from the sentiment is stamped along the side, and the full sentiment is stamped inside.

a tiny twine bow in red and rose from Wild Orchid Crafts help accent the anchor. sequins in red and iridescent white add a bit of sparkle while a distressed ticket adds another pop of color and interest.

Thank you so much for stopping by and your lovely words of encouragement as I post here again in the midst of my illness. y'all are the best! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Dare 2B Artzy - favorite color (blue is so soothing and comforting!)
Addicted to Stamps - for a lady/girl
Creative Fingers - anything goes
QKR - anything goes
Aud Sentiments - anything goes w/a sentiment
Creative Knockouts - anything goes
Southern Girls - tic, tac, toe: die cut, stamp, blue
Crafty Creations - anything goes

Epic Hipster Chimp Birthday Card

Coffee/Tea of the Day - White Chocolate Cinnamon Hazelnut coffee

Hooray, it's the weekend! I hope you have something absolutely fabulous planned, whether it's just relaxing with your favorite beverage and sweetie or chock full of activities with family and friends. Enjoy!

(vintage monkey birthday card)

Today is our son, Ryan's, birthday, so I am sharing the card that I sent to him. It's no secret in our family that monkeys of all kinds terrify me, so of course it's fitting that at least one person marks them as their favorite animal. sigh....I try to be kind and create a project or two for Ryan using primate images, no matter how challenging it is for me to do so. they flat out give me the heebie jeebies! ack!!! so anytime you ever see a monkey card from me, you know it is indeed a labor of love. ;)

I confess that all of the animals in the Tim Holtz Hipster stamp set make me smile! their expressions are a hoot! I purchased the matching die for the chimp, and will try to collect the others as I am able. it really does add so much to have the die for these.

according to Tim Holtz's video, stamp each image 3 times in order to have enough for die cutting all of the pieces. I actually stamped out 5 to add a few extra layers. all layers are separated by foam tape. Crystal effects were added inside the glasses for some fun and texture. his eye color doesn't show as vividly, but I really love the extra 'zing' the crystal effects adds.

The way cool background is created with a selection of distress oxide sprays sponged with distress ink. you can really see the distress ink in the way it wicked through the texture paste that was applied to the Stitching stencil. the Typo stencil peeks subtly through the back. such a great masculine look!

you know me - I have to re-purpose whenever possible! :) our monkey fella is matted by a piece of a Starbucks coffee cozy. edges were inked to distress. the piece of wood came from some work my hubby was doing in our house this past week. he had to do some drilling for plumbing, and this was one of several pieces I grabbed for craft projects. isn't it so neat?! it's tied with a piece of baker's twine that was also distressed. vintage buttons from the stash are added to word banners and a fun sentiment by Heidi Swapp.

Thank you for stopping by! have a great weekend! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Creative Craft Cottage - for the men in your life
Brown Sugar - anything goes
CRAFT - animals
Papercraft Ch - no designer paper
TTCRD - anything goes
Use Your Stuff - upcycle/recycle
Get Creative - anything goes
Allsorts - from boys to men
Crafty Calendar - lots of layers (5 layers in the chimp alone)
Let's Craft and Create - add extra layers (5 layers just in the chimp image)
Sognado Scrap - anything goes

Nautical Birthday Card

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Pecan Pumpkin Spice coffee

Hello to everyone! Yes, I have been away for quite a while. sorry to have been missing with no word. my health has not been the best, and unfortunately the beastie is back, so dealing with that. not going the chemo and radiation route this time. but this is going to be a post about happier things, so on to the crafty goodness! :) thank you to all who sent cards and emails to check in on me though. I really appreciate your kindness!!!

I haven't been able to craft for every holiday in my family, but have been trying to do what I can of late. I am sharing a card that I made for Tyler's birthday earlier this month. he loves all things nautical, so these images and stamps were the perfect fit.

I am having a grand time playing with the distress oxide sprays and crayons by Tim Holtz. you will see some upcoming projects featuring them, too. the bg was created with a mix of several distress crayons, sprayed with pearl glimmer mist to give a beautiful glow while also helping mix the colors. the paper was then embossed with the cool Seaside embossing folder by SU! I love those waves!

Nautical stamps are from a Tim Holtz mini blueprint set. a silver metallic gel pen was used to accent the images. other pieces are from the Sea Life, Let's Get Nautical, and She Sells Sea Shells sheets by Gecko Galz. (p.s. if you go to their blog, they frequently give away images! sign up for their newsletter and you receive a free sheet every month) little seaweed pieces are actually a Martha Stewart fern punch. each one was inked in several shades to replicate the grasses. various ribbons and twines are added for texure, and vintage buttons from my stash complete the card.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Check back soon for more projects. I hope to have some blog candy next month to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness month.  much love to all of you! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Crafting By Design - anything goes
Creative Moments - anything goes w/opt. masculine twist
House That Stamps Built - anything stamped goes
The Male Room - masculine w/embellishments
SSS Wed. - anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes
Retro Rubber Stamp - anything goes with a stamp older than one year (upon researching, I think the set was released in about 2013. I haven't had mine that long, but it looks as if these were released then. thanks!)
Corrosive Ch - anything goes
2 Sisters - something with the letter 's' (ship)
Country View - Under the Sea