Day of the Dead Skull Couple Halloween Cards

Top 3 Pick at Always Fun Challenges
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Tiramisu coffee

Happy Wednesday to all of you! :)
So I managed to finish the cards for my sons and their significant others and get everything in the mail, hopefully in time. well, I should say that hubby got it in the mail for me. ;) what a guy! I am working on his card today and will try to post it tomorrow if all goes well.

The bg for both of these cards is the same as what I created for the Halloween Candy Crow card I shared a few days ago. I tried to streamline the creative process as much as I could since crafting takes me so very long these days.

for a recap, distress oxide sprays as well as distress oxide inks were applied to watercolor paper. I used the Tim Holtz flame stencil over this, as well as the Prima messy script mini stamp. House stamp (and some of the sentiments) is from the Tim Holtz Regions Beyond set, owl and mushrooms are from the Tim Holtz Tiny Things 2 set, and the wonderful Dia de los Muertos skull couple are from the Tim Holtz Day of the Dead set. the other sentiments are from the Simon Says Stamp and Tim Holtz Stamptember 2019 collaboration set.

The skull couple comes in two sizes in the stamp set. I used the smaller ones and embossed with black ep. I then lightly watercolored the images after fussy cutting. edges were distressed with ink. with a last name like Scull, all of us in the family tend to gravitate toward and collect skull images.

sentiments were embossed with white ep onto black cs. each was then distressed with black ink.

moth images are from The Graphic Fairy. roses are from Wild Orchid Crafts and have had black soot distress stickles added to them. ribbons and trim are from Really Reasonable Ribbon. the mirrored hearts were first colored with a sharpie marker and then lightly sponged with timber brown Stazon ink to tone down the red as well as add some aging. (sorry for the glare in the photos)

this time I remembered my vintage buttons! :)  I also added these cool little seed pod shell fragments that I found out at Camp a week or two ago. they have been messy painted with distress crackle paint, I think in Shabby Shutters. I have had this a while, obviously, since the colors of distress crackle paint have all been discontinued. that was a sad day, as was the day they retired all of the distress stickle line. :( needless to say, I stocked up as much as I could.

Have a most amazing day! thanks for your continued support. :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
TTCRD - anything goes
Always Fun - Halloween
Crafting Happiness - Halloween
Crafty Cardmakers - Halloween
Double Trouble - color (orange, red, purple, brown) and optional twist of something that flies (moths and owl)
Pattie's Creations - autumn or Halloween
Sweet Stampers - autumn or Halloween
Tales From the Craftroom - Halloween
Creative Crafters - anything goes
SSS Wed Ch and SSS Work it Wed - anything goes

'Candy Made Me Do It' Halloween Crow

Top 3 at Sweet Stampin'
Winner at Fabrika Fantasy
Honorable Mention at Lavinia World
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Hazelnut Vanilla coffee

Hello to all of you!
I am sharing a card that I made for one of my son's and his wife for Halloween. we always send them candy for the holiday, even though they are all grown and have moved away. some traditions just last long beyond the nest. ;)

my crafting is extremely slow these days, so it's taking me lots longer to get these made. hopefully I will have the others finished tomorrow so they can get in the mail.

I had a great time creating the bg on this card. it's a combination of numerous distress oxide sprays in addition to regular distress ink. the main images were stamped with Memento ink. in lighter ink that matches the card base I stamped the Prima script stamp I have been using lately. it might not show in the photo, but irl it peeks through ever so slightly, which is exactly what I wanted. :) stamps used are from the Tim Holtz 'Regions Beyond' and 'Tiny Things 2' sets. the Tim Holtz flame stencil was also used before distressing the edges.

The crow was embossed with black ep. both it and the sentiment are from a special collaboration stamp set between Simon Says Stamp and Tim Holtz. I actually bought the set because of these stamps. :) it originally was one stamp, but I cut the sentiments apart from all of the images. that way I can get more use from them and it's easier to stamp one or the other. I lightly watercolored the crow after fussy cutting. it is popped up on a double thickness of foam tape. sentiment is embossed with white ep on black cs.

the candy bingo card is by Jenni Bowlin and is a digital download from Snap Click Supply. if you don't yet, check them out every Wednesday for their dollar specials. it's the best deal around!  they also have some kind of promotion that runs every weekend, ranging from 50% off certain brands to a sale on new products. I am not a rep for them, just a very happy customer! :) the card is edged in black soot distress stickles. they are also added to the flower by the sentiment.

both moth images are from The Graphics Fairy, ribbons and trim are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, flower is by Wild Orchid Crafts, and little candies are from a QuicKutz die. boy howdy, did those little goodies almost do me in! I also added a few twigs for the crow to rest upon. gosh, I just realized that I didn't add any vintage buttons! what is up with that?! :)

I hope all of you have had a wonderful weekend! bring on Monday. :)
take care!
Jennifer

Challenges:
SSS Monday Ch - spooky
Dragonfly Dreams - use black
Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends - anything goes
Allsorts - make your own bg
Crafty Calendar - Autumn colors/Halloween
Crafty Friends - embossing, wet or dry
Di's Digis - Halloween or Harvest
Sweet Stampin' - Halloween or black and orange
Shopping Our Stash - Halloween
Daring Cardmakers - make it spooky
CRAFT - Halloween/Thanksgiving/Bonfire Night
Lavina World - anything goes using stamping
Fabrika Fantasy - Halloween

Sending Love and Hugs Two Cats Tag Card in Pink

Coffee/Tea of the Day - White Chocolate Pumpkin Spice coffee

Hello and Happy Friday! :)
I am here with an entry in the Cat Lover's Blog Hop. There have been very few moments in my life when I have not had at least one cat in my family. I was a cat lover long before ever having our precious pups in our lives. Our current feline king of castle is Moon Pie. he is a rescue kitty who completely rules the roost! he and Palmer are the bestest buddies. :) in fact, he is sitting on the computer desk beside me   as I am typing.... silly guy! :D

My project uses some of the paper that I made for the breast cancer ribbon awareness cards from this post. rather than use it for the bg, this time I die cut a tag from it. Prima doily and script stamps were used on the tag as well. I die cut another tag from kraft cs and stamped it with one of the sentiments from the retired SU! Ribbon of Courage stamp set. edges on both tags were distressed with ink.

The gorgeous vintage cat clip art is from The Graphics Fairy. they were fussy cut and popped up on foam tape.  flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, vintage buttons, doily, and pink crochet trim are from my stash, and pink ribbon tying together the tags is from Really Reasonable Ribbon. decorative papers, as with the cards from the other day, are by Echo Park and Kaisercraft. oh yes, distress stickles were added in various places for a touch of sparkle and vintage loveliness.

Thank you to everyone who has left such heartfelt, loving comments about my cancer battle. all of you are simply the best!!!!

enjoy your weekend! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
SUYP - Meowleween or furry anything goes (featuring a cat)
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Crafting with an Attitude - anything goes
Krafty Chicks - gift packaging, tags, or anything goes (2 tags on the card)
A Bit More Time to Craft - anything goes
Crafty Animals - anything goes w/an animal
Creations in Pink - anything goes in mainly pink
Daisy Chain - pink or Halloween
Papercraft Business Ch - tag, you're it
Creative Crafters - anything goes
Bastel-Traum - favorite animal
TTCRD - anything goes
QKR Stampede - anything goes
Brown Sugar - anything goes
My Time to Craft - Halloween or cats

Thank You for Your Kindness and Blog Candy Winners

Creations in Pink Top 3 Pick
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Caramel Apple coffee

Happy Wednesday to everyone! isn't it such a glorious day?! :) the birds are eating so much from the feeder I am filling it up twice a day right now. so many beautiful varieties stop by to say hello and grace me with their lovely songs. the little chippies and squirrels come along to offer 'clean up' service, which keeps our cat, Moon Pie, entertained as he watches from the window. he sits mesmerized just watching and watching. the natural world never fails to bring me smiles each and every day! :)

for those of you who had asked, Palmer has recovered perfectly from his accident. thank you for your kindness! he has never before ventured into the road. the only thing we can think is that our son, Mick, had just picked up his dog, Brutus the day before. the dog across the street somewhat resembles Brutus from a distance and we think that Palmer was trying to go see him. our street is a major road and very busy. David and Palmer had just returned from a trip out to Camp, and David was bringing Palmer into the house.  in fact, we were supposed to be going to our friend's funeral....  we think that Palmer saw the other dog and wanted to go see him. regardless, the saddest part, besides Palmer being hit by the car, is that the driver didn't stop to see how he was. they just kept going. :( but thankfully he is doing just fine now. again, thank you to everyone who asked after our fun pup! y'all are so sweet!

now on to the blog candy winners!

the winner of the Pink/Thinking of You/Breast Cancer Awareness blog candy is:

5. Chris B.

the winner of the Halloween/Fall blog candy is:

2. Rhonda Miller

please send me an email at: jenscull at yahoo dot com by Sunay, Oct. 14 so that I can get your prizes to you. if I haven't heard from you by then, I will choose another winner and announce on Monday.

Thank you to everyone who participated! I will have another blog candy drawing the first of next month with a Christmas theme. :)

now for my latest card...

since I still had the Simon Says Stamp "Mandy's Flowers" set on my craft desk, for World Card Making Day I decided to keep playing with it. I used the SSS "Modern Rose Blooms" bg stamp on the kraft card base, which was also part of the kit that I had won. papers are from the Bo Bunny Early Bird collection. I think I am going to need to order a pad of this paper, because it really is lovely. a few of the papers even have coffee cups, so you know I will definitely be using those on upcoming projects! :) the flower center has been dotted with distress stickles.

the pretty floral border die is from Sizzix and was sprayed with pearl Tattered Angels glimmer mist for a wonderful shine. ribbons are from Really Reasonable Ribbons and properly distressed for a shabby feel. flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts. it was originally white, but I painted it with ink refills to match the flowers from the main image. doily, ticket, and vintage buttons are from my stash.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you have a most amazing day! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
SSS WCMD
Shopping Our Stash - giving thanks
TTCRD - anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes
Crafts Galore Encore - anything goes
Creations in Pink - anything goes in pink
Creative Craft Cottage - Halloween or pretty pinks
Pause Dream Enjoy - anything goes
Dream Valley - flowers
My Time to Craft - use kraft cs (card base)

From My Heart To Yours for WCMD plus Blog Candy

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Victorian Earl Grey tea (Earl Grey with lavender and roses, one of my very favorites!)

Happy World Card Making Day! I hope you are able to get crafty today, and if not, then perhaps sometime this weekend. :)

Some of you might know that October is the month that is recognized for Breast Cancer Awareness. I have been in remission from Triple Negative breast cancer for 6 years now. to say that I am blessed would be an understatement. I am thankful every single day. flat out. I do ask that you use wisdom in the ribbon causes that you support. just do a bit of research. I remember the kindness that so many people shared with me when I was going through my diagnosis and treatments, so kept that in mind when making my card for today's post.

I am afraid that my one day in the craft room this week was a bit much for my poor head and sent me into a tailspin, but I sure did enjoy getting inky again! I was super blessed earlier to have won a kit from Simon Says Stamp, so put some of the elements to use on my project that I am sharing. the sentiments in the "Mandy's Flowers" stamp  set were perfect for the thinking of you card I wanted to make. flower center is dotted with distress stickles. I sure love that stuff!

the kit also included an assortment of papers from the Bo Bunny Early Bird collection. I don't often use Bo Bunny papers, so this was a treat. very pretty and nice quality. I have several of their digital collections, and will definitely add some paper pads to my stash when I come across them.

ribbons are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, with the seam binding distressed as I love to do. :) pink crochet trim is some that I won a while back, so I apologize that I don't have the store to reference. vintage buttons are from my stash. isn't that floral button gorgeous?!  little flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts. so happy to see that the new owner has opened the store. hooray!

now I know that most of you are here for the blog candy! I have 2 that I am offering - one that is pink/thinking of you/breast cancer awareness themed and another that is Halloween/fall themed. I will have these open for only a few days so that they can be mailed out by the end of next week and the winners can get busy playing with their goodies! candy is open to everyone!!!! no need to post on your blog or become a follower unless you just want to. everyone is welcome to come to the table and share a cup of coffee or tea with me. :)

Pink/Thinking of You/Breast Cancer Awareness Blog Candy:

• Breast Cancer Ribbons
• House Mouse cling stamp
• Pink Washi Tape duo
• Heidi Swapp Journal Embellishments
• Prima cling stamp
• Pink polka dot plastic bags
• Pink Buttons with adhesive
• Pink mulberry flowers
• All items shown in photo
• Assorted other buttons, ribbons, and flowers not shown

*Inlinkz tool removed per new privacy laws since all prizes have been claimed. thank you for your understanding. :)

Halloween/Fall Blog Candy:

• Simon Says Stamp ink pads
• Simon Says Stamp cling stamp set
• 3 Treasured Times cling stamps
• SRM Stickers
• Fall Leaves Washi Tape
• Jack O'Lantern Painting kit
• WOW embossing powder
• All items shown in photo
• Assorted other buttons, ribbons, and flowers not shown

*Inlinkz tool removed per new privacy laws since all prizes have been claimed. thank you for your understanding. :)

I do try to add a few extra items to each blog candy package other than just the items shown. I want each winner to be happy with the goodies that they receive. :)

Winners will be announced on Wednesday, October 10. Please be sure that you have entered the appropriate blog candy by way of the little blog froggy link. if you are unable to do so, please let me know in the comments section. otherwise I will not know that you are interested in the blog candy.

*for those of you who are having difficulty adding links, I am very sorry. I have tested it myself and not had a problem adding a specific blog link. you might want to try that or come back again and try again later. I will add your names to each of the blog candy prize drawings. thank you for letting me know about the problem. if you don't mind, I can try adding your entries myself to see if that works also.

Thank you so much for being friends of my blog and stopping by with your kind comments! Have a most amazing day!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Colour Crazy - #40 anything hand colored goes
Creative Fingers - anything goes
Cardz 4 Galz - What's New? (new stamps, papers, and aqua ribbon)
Crafting with an Attitude - anything goes
Crafty Creations - anything goes
Paper Minutes - watercolors
TTCRD - anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown - for a cause (pink for breast cancer awareness)
A Bit More Time to Craft - anything goes
Creations in Pink - anything goes in pink (LOVE this challenge theme!!!)
Digi Doodle - pink for breast cancer or Halloween
Crafty Cardmakers - lace or ribbon (both here)

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

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

You are Somebody!

Coffee of the Day - Pecan Turtle coffee

Happy Friday and welcome to the weekend! Don't forget to enter my Birthday Blog Candy before the end of the month! new additions are being made to all of the prize packages, including the international packages, almost daily. :) you know you want to win. :) right now the odds are pretty good since only a few people are entered. looks like a few of you are going to possibly get LOTS of goodies! grins! you can gain more entries by linking up a birthday themed project. I have heard back from my friend, Mo, of Mo's Digital Pencil, and I'll be buying gift certificates from her store later today. you can't win in you don't enter!

now on to today's project...
I received these beautiful stamps from Reverse Confetti in the mail after having a lovely gift certificate arrive in my mail box from the owner, Jen Del Muro. What an incredibly nice person!!!! I wanted to make something with them right away, but had a few other projects that I had to complete first. But then God put someone on my heart. you know how that goes. and I have learned that when He speaks, I had better listen. He might be quiet, but He is mighty indeed. :)

so I got busy yesterday. I have used the sets "Tall Blooms" and "My Tribe".  Around here, during late summer and early fall, there are some wildflowers that grow along the roadside in the most vibrant purple. they are absolutely gorgeous! they stand out so beautifully from the brown wheatgrasses they grow alongside. I wanted to try to recreate that if I could. it's not easy to see the purples in my photo, but they are there.

(you may click on 

the photo to be taken to

another page to see it larger)

after the Coffee Loving Cardmaker's blog hop, I was so blessed to have won a neat kit from WOW embossing powders, filled with all kinds of goodies. included were the powders that I used on this card: Perissa and Caramel Macchiato on the flowers, and Skinny Chai Latte on the sentiment. The Perissa is probably more suited to scattering like you would do with frantage powders, but I really love the look here on the flowers. it is a gorgeous silver and copper color when melted. the caramel macchiato is a shade of copper.

The sentiment from "My Tribe" was stamped onto vellum with brown ink. it didn't show up so well, so I added the skinny chai latte embossing powder to see if it would help make it pop a bit. once embossed it created a neat marbling effect. this is only a portion of the entire stamp, but the person the card was for needed to know that she is somebody in God's eyes. :)

a few years ago I attended a women's leadership conference. one of the most powerful moments was when we were all told to stand up and repeat over and over again, "I am somebody." for this woman, who had been abused since the time I was a little girl, to say that was difficult because I have never believed it. the young woman receiving this card needed that encouragement yesterday. she immediately sent me a text letting me know how much it meant to her. so to Jen Del Muro, that portion of your stamp is powerful. it's not so much the card, but the message of the stamp you created. thank you. :)

The flowers were stamped onto watercolor paper, embossed, and then painted with SU! inks. after heat setting and painting, I double stamped the other images with ink to make it appear that they were in the bg. I used my SU! ink squirty tool in shades of brown and purple over the top.

beautiful die is by Spellbinders, copper glitter ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon, and miscellaneous sequins & lace are from my stash. flower is from Michaels, distressed with ink, and then a bit of distress stickles were added. paper is from my beloved Basic Grey, the Vivienne collection...sigh....

thanks for your patience with my long post. :)
have a most fabulous weekend!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Reverse Confetti Stock Your Stash - hello/just because
Crop Stop - anything goes w/a product they carry (Spellbinders, distress stickles)
As You Like It - favorite type of embossing and why: heat because I can use so many neat colors of powder for lots of neat effects. I do enjoy dry embossing, but it doesn't compare to the fun things I can do with embossing powders, such as here.  thanks!)
Aud Sentiments - anything goes w/a sentiment
Moving Along with the Times - June Blooms
Creative Crafters - anything goes
Back to Basics and Beyond - heat embossing
Crafting By Designs - flowers, flowers, flowers
Crafty Addicts - anything goes/w say it with flowers option
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Die Cuttin' Divas - embossing
Tuesday Throwdown - you are on my mind
Crafty Catz - anything goes w/beautiful blooms option

It's an Engagement! :)

Top 3 Pick at Creative Craft Cottage

Coffee of the Day - Cinnamon Hazelnut

So not only are you getting my first craft project in almost a year, but you are also getting the happy news of another happy engagement in our family! :)

I am so excited to announce that Ryan and Elizabeth are engaged!

This weekend we drove to Indiana for a surprise engagement party that Ryan (our youngest son, for those of you who aren't familiar) and Elizabeth's family planned. Mick (our middle son) and his girlfriend, Lauren were able to join us, too!

Ryan asked David and I to each write Elizabeth a letter. Of course I had to make a very special card to present my letter to her.

The little fairy proposal image is so sweet that I just couldn't resist using it. Papers are from the Prima Indeed digital pack, ribbons are from Really Reasonable Ribbon, mulberry flowers & leaves are by Wild Orchid Flowers, digital tickets and post cards are from Create With TLC, and little butterfly die is by Cheery Lynn.

vintage buttons, crochet trim, and doily are from my stash. lots of distressing was done with inks and a paper distressing tool. Stampdendous Frantage powders in wine were added to the main image. distress stickles in black soot were added to the butterfly. tiny pearls have been added both inside and out to the corners. the interior vintage button was tied with SU! linen thread.

it's a bit hard to see, but on the inside pocket, I have added a flourish that was die cut from some clear packaging that I re-purposed. the die is by Tim Holtz. it's a subtle, but very pretty element that packs a lot of punch irl.

Thank you for hanging in there and waiting on me to get something made! I hope you think it was worth it. ;)

and congrats to the happy couple!!!!

Challenges:
Southern Girls - die cuts (butterfly & flourish)
Crafty Creations - anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - any project with patterned paper
DL Art - flowers
Inspiration Destination - #146 anything goes w/optional spring/pastel colors
QKR Stampede - anything goes
Mod Squad - ready for spring
Die Cuttin' Divas - flowers
Craft-Dee BowZ - anything goes with a handmade bow
Creative Craft Cottage - make it feminine

Happiest of Birthdays, Pretty Fairy!

Coffee of the Day - actually, today I'm having a yummy tea - Strawberry, Lavender, Mint Green blend from a wonderful tea shoppe in Ann Arbor, Michigan :)

Hello to everyone! yep, once again I have been missing from my blog. all for good reasons, I assure you. I had even picked up a few goodies to do a birthday blog candy, and then didn't even get around to posting. how sad is that?! ;) I'll try to get that up by the weekend though.

I have been to several protests against pipelines and fracking, so traveling all over Ohio. hubby and I are also delivering water and other supplies to Flint, Michigan every Saturday to try to help the situation there. Even Palmer went along on our last trip! Country dog in the big city! :) of course he was a big hit. He celebrates his fist birthday next week.... oh how the time has flown! When not traveling, I am busy working at Camp. yep, life is lots of fun and filled to the brim!!!

So today I am sharing a card I have made for both the progressive monthly challenge in the Simply Betty Facebook group and for a very special young lady we know. :) I hope she enjoys it as much as we enjoy having her in our lives! :)

The challenge is to use at least one decorative paper, the colors red, black, yellow, and cream, and also add glitter.

I used Prima digital papers and elements from the Doodledux collection, added touches with stickles glitter and the wink of stella pen, included flowers from Michael's, Prima, and Wild Orchid Crafts, vintage buttons, and finished the card with glitter ribbon also found at Michael's. the inside is decorated, too, with elements from the same Prima digital paper collection. I added cream acrylic paint to the card edges.

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

Happy Easter!

Coffee of the Day - Moon Pie (I'll drink their coffee until it's gone, but we no longer eat their treats. discovered that they sadly use palm oil in their products. insert sad face here....)

Happy Happy Easter to each and every one of you! well, at least those of you who celebrate the holiday, that is. ;) Happy Sunday to the rest of you. :) may your day be glorious whether you celebrate the holiday or not!!!

I want to share with you a project I made for our son's fiancee's family. I also made one that I gave to our neighbors.

I started with a cardboard cheese box, pained it several shades of green with acrylic paint, added cs grass, and then topped with some fabulous wooden veneer fencing pieces I found at JoAnn's. the fence pieces were distressed with Tim Holtz distress markers. various sizes of Prima flowers dotted with stickles were added to complete the little garden boxes.

This sure does say 'springtime,' doesn't it?! :)

Have a wonderful day! Jennifer

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! :)

Merry Christmas, Little Elf!

Winner at Glitter 'N Sparkle

Coffee of the Day - Bourbon Pecan

Merry Christmas! the day we've all been waiting for is here! :) I hope and pray you are surrounded by people who love you and appreciate the fabulous person you are!!!!!

I am sharing the last of my Christmas creations with all of you today. this one was made for a very special young lady, and I am told she really liked it. :)

I used the adorable "Elf 3" image from Bugaboo and the current sketch for their Stella Says Sketch challenge. stickles, shimmerz paint, Viva Decor pearl pen, and a clear wink of stella glitter pen were used to accent the main image.

papers are from the Authentique Retro Christmas collection. sentiment above the image is by Create with TLC and the stamped sentiment is from Unity Stamps. main die is by Spellbinders and holly flourish die is by Cheery Lynn. little poinsettias are from Petaloo. lace trim and buttons are vintage. tiny jingle bell is by SU!

after my crazy, crazy past few weeks, I am taking several days off to recuperate! I will be back on Tuesday to post the winners of my GIU week though. see you then! :)

Challenges:
Stella Says Sketch - blast from the past
Creative Knockouts - Christmas Delight
Come and Get It - Christmas
Glitter 'N Sparkle - Christmas with glitter
Crafty Friends - sparkle
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - add a sentiment

Hello Winter Hot Cocoa Canister for GIU

Coffee of the Day - Bourbon Pecan

Well we are in the final stretch for my Growing in Unity posts this week. y'all have been so nice to me and left such kind comments on my projects! thank you so very much! :)

Here in northeast Ohio, especially the area of the state where we live, it gets downright COLD in the winter. currently our temps are in the single digits or teens. lots of beautiful snow is on the ground, with quite a bit of ice mixed in.

that means in order to keep warm, you need a big cup of coffee or hot cocoa! for our wonderful neighbors, I made a canister of homemade hot cocoa mix using a fun assortment of Unity Stamps.

I started with a re-purposed Nestle Quick container (it's actually part of the cocoa recipe) and added digital papers from the Design by Dani Woodland Spring collection. it's funny that the papers aren't a Christmas collection at all, but rather a spring one. I just loved the colors, though, to match the canister lid. ;)

images from the "Hello Winter" stamp set by Susan Weckesser were stamped on Stampin' Up! natural white.

the cutey girl was stamped and then cut with a Tim Holtz stitched die. I also stamped the doily from the Layers of Life "Magical Bliss and Wonder" set after masking. the trees were added and then several little snowflakes from the same LoL set in kraft ink. more snow flakes were made with Viva Decor pearl drops. the flower center is dotted with distress stickles and the snow on the ground is created with stickles as well.

more snowflakes from the LoL set, also stamped on the same natural white cs, with dual shades of blue ink, were fussy cut and added to the canister.

gorgeous burlap and lace ribbon from Michael's wraps around the canister and ties in a bow.

a beautiful glitter snowflake, also from Michael's, acts as a lovely little backdrop to the precious girl image by Susan.

a doily sprayed with glimmer mist and tree cut with a Tim Holtz die help accent the canister. a few snowflake stickers, also from Michael's give the final decoration. normally I would have added buttons, but our neighbors have 2 adorable little girls under the age of 3 and I didn't want to chance a button coming off and presenting a choking hazard to either one of them.

tickets were cut from the "Ticket to Christmas" set and lightly painted. I love the way the inks ran together to create a vintage look! distress markers were used to accent.

the top is decorated with a beautiful velvet poinsettia, gold glitter dusted berries, a pretty bow made with ribbons from Really Reasonable Ribbon, snippet of same burlap and lace, and a little pinecone.

that does it for today's post! if you would like the recipe for my hot cocoa mix, head over to this post. the mix used in this canister uses hazelnut flavored creamer. you can use all different flavors for fun!

thanks so much for stopping by! don't forget to leave a comment on any of my GIU posts for your chance to win a Unity Stamps grab bag! :)

check back tomorrow for my final post.
Jennifer

p.s. a reminder that you can enlarge any photo on my blog simply by clicking on it. the picture will open in another window for you. :)

Challenges:
Sweet Stampers - anything goes
Scrap 'n Challenge - Christmas in white and blue
The Crazy Challenge - everything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wed - make it sparkle (lots of glitter and rhinestones in addition to the pearl drops)
Shopping Our Stash - Winter Wonderland
Kraftin' Kimmi's Wonderful Wed - anything goes
The Crafty Addicts - anything goes or Let it Snow
Craft-Dee Bow-Z - anything goes with a handmade bow

A Cup of Joy Fold-a-Long cards for GIU

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge

Hip Hip Hooray! the long awaited day is finally here! Today begins my stint as a Growing in Unity gal, or GIU gal for short! to say I've been a Nervous Nelly is putting it MILDLY! my lawsie, do you have any idea how humbling it is to be chosen, but then to be assigned the week prior to Christmas?! ack!!! ;) no pressure..... nah..... NOT!

okay, so here we go....
I am a coffee lover. alright. some MIGHT say I'm an addict. of course I don't, but then I do drink out of a cup that can hold 30 oz. of the beverage of my choice! tee hee!

so to start off my GIU week, yep, I had to go with coffee projects!
now I'm going to warn you. all of my projects this week are going to be all mixy matchy. I've used stamps from various sets, so I will link them all in the body of my posts. I'm not very conventional. and my projects are about as far from CAS as you can get. that's just how I roll. :)

yeah, I also tend to 'talk' a lot! you should hear me irl! (insert my hubby's eye roll here....)

I came across this way cool card die from Sizzix and knew it would be great fun to use at some point this week. the die is called the Ornate Label Fold-a-long. papers are from Basic Grey, sniff sniff sniff..... okay, no more lamenting my fave paper company closing it's doors.....

I decorated the outsides with vintage button cards and distressed seam binding. each was stamped with a sentiment from the "Joy to Go" set. poinsettias from Hobby Lobby were then added.

inside I added images from the "Hello Love" and "Joy to Go" sets. the sentiment is also from "Joy to Go" and accented with vintage holly sprigs & pearl-ex drops. each image has accents of white gel pen stickles, shimmerz paint, and/or Viva Decor pearl paint.

thank you so much for stopping by! if you would like a chance to win a Unity grab bag of stamps, just leave a comment on this or any of my GIU posts this week. see you tomorrow! :)

Jennifer

Challenges:
613 Avenue Create - holiday happiness (coffee is my happiness every day & season!)
Come and Get it - Christmas
The Stamping Boutique - fancy folds
52 Christmas Card Throwdown - any previous challenge (May dies/punches combined with August watercoloring, since that is how I color all of my images)
Kraftin' Kimmie's Wonderful Wed - anything goes
Pattie's Creations - anything goes that's Christmas or winter
Color Inspiration Monday link up - anything goes as long as it's hand colored (water colored with SU! inks)

A Bittersweet Christmas Post....

Winner at Holly Jolly Christmas Challenges

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge

Today's Christmas card marks my last as a Design Team member over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra challenge blog. it makes me sad, but all good things come to a close so new ones can begin. :) I am so grateful to the time I had with these lovely ladies!

I'll be on the lookout for a new year round Christmas challenge blog to join, so will keep all of you posted as to how that goes. I love to make Christmas cards! :)

for my card, I used the cutey Winter Bird House image by Bugaboo, our constant, image was printed onto kraft cs and snow was colored with a pencil.  stickles was added over the top for a touch of shine and sparkle. wonderful sponsor. papers are from a neat pad I picked up at Target.

holiday twine was wrapped around the main image, which was cut with a Spellbinders die. upper corner is embellished with a poinsettia by Petaloo and holly leaves & berries from Wild Orchid Crafts. a little ribbon snippet peaks out for a touch of fun and whimsy. :) a doily and vintage button add interest along the border while a Unity Stamps sentiment completes the card.

enjoy your day and I'll see you back here tomorrow with another crafty project! :)

Challenges:
Creative Moments - anything goes
Fab 'n Funky - glitter & sparkle
Holly Jolly Christmas - anything Christmas
Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes
Christmas with the Cuteys - anything Christmas and cute
Dream Valley - Christmas
Melonheadz - winter is here
Creative Knockouts - winter wonderland/festive fun

Christmas Joy, Christmas Bells

Top Pick at Word Art Wednesday

Coffee of the Day - Creamy Chestnuts

In my opinion, it's never too early to be making Christmas cards! :) I make them all year long as many of you who follow my blog know.  Elisabeth Bell has soooooooooooo many precious stamps and digital images to make card making all the more easy!

for today's post I'm using the adorable Christmas Bells digi combined with papers from the Prima Blooming Retro digital collection, pretty mulberry flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts & Hobby Lobby, ribbons, lace, and other beautiful embellies to make a holiday card anyone would love to have pop into their mailbox!

of course a bit of glitter always helps to bring a bit of sparkle and shine to the the season, don't you think? ;) thank goodness for all the variations of stickles! all dies are by Spellbinders.

be sure to link up your holiday cards over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra Challenge blog for a chance to win a gift certificate from Bugaboo. and the Digi Bells challenge is still going on, too.  you KNOW you want a chance to win some of her gorgeous digis! :)

thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Challenges:
Catch the Bug - bingo; sentiment, distress, ribbon
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - cute or anything Christmas
Di's Digis - add a sentiment
Kraftin' Kimmie Wonderful Wed - anything goes
Fussy and Fancy - bingo: flowers, buttons, dies OR distressing, lace, buttons
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Southern Girls - punches & dies (sentiment punch is by Jenni Bowlin and dies are by Spellbinders)
Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - glitter and sparkle (stickles on die cut frame and for snow)
Creative Craft Cottage Digi - add a bow
Merry Christmas Ch - add a sentiment