Fun Photos and a Blog Award

Coffee of the Day - Caramel Truffle

No card to post just yet as I wanted to share a few family photos with all of you. The first of these are Tyler and his date, Rachel, at Prom last night. Don't they look so nice?! They went with a big group of friends on a party bus that they rented and then to After-Prom back at the High School following the dinner & dance. Breakfast at Waffle House followed. Tyler was excited because he won a Pitts Steelers blanket in addition to some work-out equipment at After-Prom. I was cringing as he showed it me, because being the proper southern gal that I am, I'm a big Dallas Cowboy fan, but dear hubby David has corrupted the boys and they all cheer for the Steelers. my poor dear Daddy is rolling over in his grave at my crucial error in raising these boys that they are Steelers fans. I am so very sorry, Daddy. I really tried! But they do root for the Texas Longhorns! I promise! hook 'em!

The next photo is from the trip David and the boys took to Raccoon Creek park in PA. Tyler and Ryan (our youngest) are in a movie at school and Tyler needed to be 'scruffy' for his part. These photos are taken prior to mom and dad insisting that he get his hair cut and shave his beard for a job interview for the summer. They had a great time at the park. Too bad weather didn't co-operate so that they could stay for a few days as they had originally planned.

Next I am the blessed recipient of this cool blog award from Sue over at Sue's Sentiments. I am supposed to pass it along to 7 people, but have decided to increase that number to 9 - my new peeps on the Digiments Design Team. Please click on the links on the sidebar to see their great blogs! I am truly humbled to be in the midst of such amazing talent. (I think Michelle made a wee mistake by putting me in the midst of these ladies, but shhhhhhh...... don't tell! wink, wink!)

the rules for receiving this award:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. On your blog, link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs you’ve nominated

Fancy Pants House Mouse Get Well card

Coffee of the Day - Starbucks House Blend

This is what I call a double duty card - it covers 2 magno challenges in one! ;) House Mouse Monday Challenge was to make a get well card and Jenn Balcer has posted a sketch challenge over on her blog for the weekend. Well, that was the incentive I needed to get my stampin' mojo back in action after being sick all week. Do you know how hard it is to make a get well card when you feel pukey? yes, you can feel my pain! :) So I finally decided to get busy stampin' anyway and see what the end result might be...........

I couldn't for the life of me track down any mousies that fit the 'get well' theme, so I went with the Hot Cocoa pair. What DOESN'T chocolate of any kind cure?!?! ;) I originally started this card as a masculine themed one, since most of the 'feel better' cards I send tend to go to guys. But once I was almost finished I saw this itty bitty little Petaloo felt flower sitting on the floor under my chair where it must have fallen last week. poor thing! It was pretty thick, so I tore it in half and made it feel welcome on the card. I guess it would still work for a guy since the tones are more neutral. The coloring is all watercolors. Edges are inked in vanilla craft. Papers are SU! and Fancy Pants. and always lovin' the little dew drops! (okay, I MAY have gone Dew Drop happy on this card - but don't they make YOU happy?!)

Please notice the new blog buttons over on the right hand side. One is very important for you to pay attention to EVERY DAY. If you click on the Breast Cancer button, it will take you right to the site where you can help sponsor free mamograms to the less fortunate. Click it every time you visit my blog please. It means so much to someone you don't even know! The other button announces my new DT - Digiments! I received notice yesterday that I was accepted! What an honor to be chosen! It has been several years since I have been part of a DT, and I appreciate so much that Michelle is giving me the chance to join her team! So many phenom people tried out, dear friends of mine with lots of amazing talent. Not that it says anything about me, 'cause I'm not all that - I'm just me. I burn my toast & eat my burgers off of paper plates with the best of 'em! :D But that she would take a leap of faith that I could create something special with her designs. That makes me feel truly special.

And each of you are super special, too! God says so! :) Love ya!

Jennifer

Glitter Pink 'I Thank God' card

Coffee of the Day - French Vanilla

Showing another card made using this beautiful verse from Digiments. I had such fun creating with it the first time, I decided to make another card with it and for a happier occassion. I really can't wait to see the other sentiments and verses that Michelle comes up with once her store opens up. I feel like the woman from those commercials a while back, standing at the door, saying over and over again, "open, open, open!" I'll be sure to post just as soon as she has her Grand Opening! I know that we are all anxious!


I once again went with these gorgeous K & Co. Que Sera Sera papers. Thanks to my blogging friend Dru over at Garden of Dreams, I have decided to try to add a little more glitter on some of my projects, so this one's border was first painted in pink shimmerz and then highlighted in fruit punch stickles. lots of shine here, friends! For the charm, I sanded it pretty well with sandpaper and then used my sponge to add some black Staz-on to help age it, which was quickly wiped off (kinda like antiquing it). The paper roses are more from the Prima line like I used on the other Digiments card. I love these little flowers!
The rhinestone flower is also from Prima and the drop dead gorgeous ribbon (sorry the one tail folded over in my scanner! you know the troubles my scanner gives me from previous posts I've made!) is from May Arts. The flourish stamp in the bg of the verse is that neat Michael's find I keep telling you about. man, that is such a cool stamp and all for only $1!!!!
The matting on the verse was distressed and then accented with gold ink. Helps add to the overall shine of the card. Card base edges were once again inked in white craft and then again in gold to add to shabby feel. Oh yes, the paper that the verse is printed on is more of that beautiful pearlescent paper that I had shown you earlier this week. such a wonderful glow to it irl!


Enjoy your weekend! We are swamped here - State Choir competition, SAT's, prom, Spring Retreat at Camp Burton, Maple Festival in town, and me being sicker than any dog I know with a flu bug that's been livin' the high life and settin' up house for almost a week now. blech, icky poo, yuck! no fair food for me! :( and I look forward to the Maple cotton candy every year.......... oh well, maybe next time!

Shabby Pierced Flowers

Coffee of the Day - Spiced Hazelnut

Another card using the fun and beautiful designs from Angel's Landing. This time I'm going with the floral design from Pierced Flowers. Rather than piercing the flowers, I used my white gel pen to ink the dots. I also added my shabby/vintage feel to the flowers. Hope you like the different approach I took.

The papers are more from the K & Co. Que Sera Sera collection. All pieces of the card, (except the ticket), have been sprayed with pearl glimmer mist. This did cause the inks to run on the flowers and leaves, but I liked that touch in this instance. The flowers and leaves were then sprayed with the ink air tool using the cocoa marker to help age. The piece of paper that the floral bits are mounted on is actually some pearlescent paper I found at a paper shop on the other side of Cleveland a while back. So glad I remembered I had it. You will see it on another card I post in a few days. Some of the flowers are popped up on foam tape and many of the leaves and petals are curved up to give more dimension coming off of the card. Trim is more from JoAnn's. Card base is stamped with a great flourish stamp I found in the $1 bin at Michael's.

Hope that all of you are having a great week so far!

Jennifer

Prima 'I Thank God' Sympathy Card

Coffee of the Day - French Vanilla

I sadly was in need of a sympathy card this past week, so I turned to a wonderful verse that always seems to bring comfort as well as encouragement - Philippians 1:3. The actual digi sentiment is from an up-and-coming company called 'Digiments' that will be opening soon. I look forward to seeing all of the other neat designs that will be featured, as I have thoroughly enjoyed using this one.

Because the card was going to be mailed, I tried to keep the embellies fairly low to the card as opposed to big ribbons and such. Also wanted some soothing colors, so I turned to these beautiful papers by Prima. The little rose in the bottom corner is a new one from Prima also, from the Nursery collection, but it reminds me of the vintage millinery flowers. Chipboard photo corner was covered in same paper and then sanded to distress, my handy dandy ink air tool was used to lightly spray cocoa ink over the verse and the edges were sponged. The swirl flourish stamp in the corner is from a new Inkadinkado stamp that I received from them. I am loving this flourish, and you will see it pop up in so many places! The trim is a new one from Prima also (I love the way it echos the same design as the MS punch!), and the button comes from Stampin' Up! I inked the edges of the main cs piece in white craft ink as I almost always do. ;)

Have a beautiful day!

Jennifer

Marrakech Latte and Cafe! yummmmm......

Coffee of the Day - Larry's Beans Mexico Blend (my last bit of this yummy blend!)

I had a lovely Saturday, and I hope that you did as well! My middle son, Mick, wanted to go visit a friend who lives near PA. The drive takes about 1 1/2 hours, but there is a HOBBY LOBBY there!!!! So I offered to stay and bring Mick back after they went to the movie and did whatever else they were going to do. (did I happen to mention that this friend is a GIRL!?!?!) anyhow, not only was there a Hobby Lobby, but there was also a JoAnn's and a Michaels all within the same 5 minute drive! and there was a CHILI'S!!!!! the closest Chili's Rest. to us is on the other side of the Cleveland airport and that is almost 1 1/2 hours away. So needless to say, I was in little hoggie heaven!!!!!! oh yeah, STARBUCKS, TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! an individual one (with drive thru) and one at the Barnes & Noble. Can you tell I live in a small area and am like a little kid going to Toys 'R Us for the first time? They want to get together again the weekend after next, so I so very graciously volunteered to drive again......... oh, the sacrifices we Moms make for our children!!!! ;)

I guess you would probably like to see a card while you are here. I made another card using my fun coffee stamps from Stamps Happen, Inc. of the Janlynn Corp. I decided to partner them with something completely off-the-wall: the new Marrakech paper collection by Basic Grey. Now I know you think I've lost my ever lovin' mind, and while you might just be right, I do like the way this turned out. I also used some of my coffee paper that I made this past week with the used coffee grounds on cs. Doesn't this look cool?!?!?!? More of the neat May Arts mesh ribbon and a vintage button complete the look. I challenge you to grab some paper that you wouldn't think to use with a particular stamp and just GO FOR IT! you will probably be surprised at how your creativity will flourish when you push yourself just a wee bit further than you think you can go. We all need that every once in a while!

Love ya!

Jennifer

Angel's Landing Daisy D Sugar Glider

Coffee of the Day - French Vanilla

I have another fun card using a delightful image from Angel's Landing! This little sugar glider just melted my heart! She is soooooo cute! Now I admit that I had to research how to color her properly, so I hope I did her justice. Wanted to give her a fun flower embellie and some pretty papers, so I dug into my treasured stash of Daisy D's.

The main image cs is distressed by way of wrinkling the edges while still damp from watercoloring/sponging around the little sugar glider. This gave a really cool effect. I then distressed the matted bit. Her lovely flower is a felt one from Petaloo, while the button is again from SEI. The way cool trim is another nifty find from the trims section at JoAnn's. I frayed the edges a bit. Just added a little tag from the local office supply that is popped up on foam tape (thought the sentiment a perfect pun for her, but also appropriate for a friend needing a boost of encouragement!).

Have a great weekend! Love ya!

Jennifer

Quickie Stick Chick Mother's Day with Sparkle!

Coffee of the Day - Seattle's Best Cinnabon

Just a quick post today, as I am starting to get behind on some stamping commitments. yep, horrible I know. I HAVE to stamp this weekend. feel my pain?!?! ;)

Anyhoooooo...... my son, Tyler, has a best friend, Nathan, who is a Marine. Nate has been home for 2 weeks on leave and it has truly been wonderful to see him again. All of the boys really love Nate - he is a friend to all of them - more like another brother. Well, he will deploy to Iraq again soon and I wanted to send some cards with him for the soldiers to have to send back home, even from their base in SC. So I loaded him up with a little over 100 cards, some I had made, some I have collected from friends and SU! demos who know that I send cards out to the Marines. This is one that I tossed in the mix.

You know how I love my American Art Stamps stick chicks and Basic Grey! So both came to good use on this card. I added some great sparkly cord & vintage lace trim that I found on Etsy, punched a few flowers & added rhinestones to the centers, inked up a chipboard flower, and then finished it off by doing some paper piercing. I haven't pulled out my paper piercing tool in a while (mainly 'cause I always end up poking myself with the darn thing! ), so decided to give it a go. Thought it was a pretty simple card that will hopefully make some Mom of a Marine somewhere very happy!

When saying your prayers today, please add a special one for all those serving in the armed forces. It isn't about whether or not you agree with the war, they are there putting their lives on the line regardless. And if not in Iraq, then somewhere in the world. Thank you to the American soldiers! We salute you!!!! :)

Jennifer

Aussie Tree Huggers by Angel's Landing

Coffee of the Day - Caramel

I'm using some of my new, adorable digi stamps from Angel's Landing. These images are just wonderful and print out so nicely! and they're cute to boot! ;)

eta - Judi just sent me an email and she has posted my card on her blog for Angel's Landing. Wow! how cool is that?!?! I am so excited I almost spilled my coffee! She really is wonderful - you should go check out her blog and website!

The card base is some of the 'coffee paper' that I made several days ago and mentioned in a prevous post. I don't know what else it might be officially called, but this is what I like to call it! I took some used coffee grounds prior to tossing them onto my garden and sprinkled them onto some SU! natural white cs. Once the grounds dried, I just brushed them off into the garden (you could put them in the trash if you want - I like to compost mine). They leave such a way cool effect on the paper. More projects will come using this same technique.

Decorative papers are Basic Grey Archaic collection, chipboard leaves and sentiment are from Colorbok My Wildlife eco-friendly collection & sanded to distress, and buttons are from S.E.I. I like the way all the elements come together on this fun card!

Have a great day! :)

Jennifer

p.s. I'm also using this card for the Wacky Wed. Challenge, which is to use buttons and/or chipboard on your creation. It just so happens I used both! :) It also fits for the Digital Tuesday Challenge to celebrate Earth Day - use green and brown on your card. This is about the most eco-friendly card I've ever made!

The Digi Shack

I just found out this evening that I won the sketch challenge over at The Digi Shack with the card that I posted here. Head on over to their site and check out the fun digi images that they have to offer. Lots of cute ones! This digi stamping is great fun! :) you should try it, too!

Their free flower download won't be available much longer, so hurry over!

The Devil and the Duck

The Devil & the Duck

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm..
He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.
He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.
Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'
But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.'
Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?'

So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.'
Sally just smiled and said, 'well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help?
She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'


Thought for the day and every day thereafter:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is...You need to know that:
God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.

He has seen your whole life... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets.
It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Always remember:
God is at the window!
When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!

Happy Birthday Mousies with Cuppie!

Coffee of the Day - Cinnamon Hazelnut

I made this card for a challenge hosted by Paula. Paula's challenge was to create something using the mosaic embossing technique. I don't have a die cut machine, so Paula sent me the supplies. I really appreciate her helping me out! But gosh it was a challenge for me to use these colors. That is part of doing challenges though - to get out of our comfort zone. Plus you know that I don't normally do 'cutesy' type cards, so I was stumped at first. But then the mojo started jumping and off I went!

The paper was first inked over with white craft ink. This causes the embossing to really pop. I then grabbed my wonderful mousies from House Mouse to go along with the 'Happy Birthday' message on the embossed cs. The cupcake icing is covered with a heavy coating of cotton candy stickles. The glitter flowers are another of the ones from Heidi Grace (like the ones I used on my spring HM butterfly kites card). The embossed piece is mounted on sahara sand cs to help accentuate the colors of everything else. All the pastels in the HM piece don't show up so well in the scan, but irl it's all pastel-y and soft! oh yes, the candle flame is painted with beeswax shimmerz.

I'm working on some things with some fun digi images I got from Angel's Landing. Also have created some cool 'coffee' paper to play with later in the week. My boys were even impressed with it, so I look forward to getting it inky and making some cards. New coffee inchie stamps from Rubbernecker are here, so we'll see what I can come up with!

have a good one everyone! sending big hugs your way!!! :D

Jennifer

p.s. oh yes, I had a little mousie stop by my blog yesterday - Mudpie Mouse from House Mouse stamps left a message. How cool is that!?! Play in the HM Monday Challenge and a little mousie may just stop by and say hello to you, too! ;)

House Mouse Monday Challenge - Spring Butterfly Kites

Coffee of the Day - Irish Cream

Here is my submission for this week's House Mouse Monday Challenge. The theme for the week is 'Spring'. I am using more of the K & Co. Que Sera Sera papers with this adorable stamp. The butterflies are painted in Beeswax shimmerz to make them sparkle. The blue/turquoise paper is actually the flip side of the floral paper. The glitter flowers are some by Heidi Grace that I found in my stash. I'll have another project to show later in the week showing the other flower that comes in the package. I covered the mousies in Crystal Effects to help them stand out on the cs. They seemed to be lost in the grass without it! Trim is vintage and an Etsy find. oh yes, the card is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square.

As you can see I didn't take a stamping break at all. God worked on me and my pride at not being accepted to the DT, 'cause that is all it really was - plain ol' pride rearing its ugly head. (plus being sick, but that's a whole other story) I ended up stamping Sunday night and enjoying myself immensely. So essentially, if God tells me to stamp and create, then that is what I will do. He has a much greater purpose and plan for me than I can possibly understand. And he has it all worked out to a 'T' if I just allow myself to follow Him.

So everyone have a great day! It's rainy and cool and totally glorious here! :D

A Manly Man card! plus 'Ask me how I know' part 2

Coffee of the Day - Irish Cream

Last week Paula had asked me to make some more masculine cards to help inspire her, as she was needing some stamping mojo aimed toward her in that direction. Well I am one of the oddballs who happens to enjoy making manly man cards! Probably comes from being surrounded by all my guys! anyhooo - while I was making the cards for the Rubbernecker challenge, I wanted to keep using my Classic Sketches set by Stampin' Up!

This card uses paper by SU! and Basic Grey Archaic collection. The photo turns are by 7 Gypsies. The bg was stamped with SU! sanded bg that was inked with both creamy caramel and close to cocoa. The sentiment is from the SU! set, Sincere Salutations - one of the BEST all purpose sentiment sets on the market imo. A simple card, but a classic one that shows off the image well.

Now on to the next edition of "Ask me how I know....."! Did you know that you can singe off your eyebrows getting too close to a burning candle?! go ahead, "ASK ME HOW I KNOW......." Well, it started like this.......

Last night David was preparing to leave for this conference in Michigan. I had lit a candle in our bedroom while he was packing. I was telling him how much I enjoyed the fragrance of this new candle I had picked up at JoAnn's a while back using one of those lovely 40% off coupons. He asked what the fragrance was - I told him it was some kind of Fresh Herbs or something along those lines. While I was describing the scent, I leaned down to inhale the gorgeouseness of it all (I'm an herb freak). All the while I was inhaling the gorgeouseness, I forgot that my nose has been stuffy while I've not been feeling well and got closer than I normally would have because, gosh, I couldn't smell that gorgeouseness! what was wrong with my lovely new candle!?????! I remember just last week that it had a very strong scent to it while it burned! hmmmmmm..... so I kept leaning in closer (yep..... I'm a goober to the nth degree! stuffy nose and all) well suddenly my forehead began to feel warm. now I've been quite feverish lately, so I didn't give it much thought. but then there was that aroma - that OTHER aroma - you know the one - the one that smells like burning hair! it was my eyebrows! I ran my fingers over my eyebrows and they started falling off in my hands. oh goodness....... some days I wonder why I get out of bed. oh yes, it is so that I can be the comic relief in someone else's day. so all of you out there in cyber space can point me out to your loved ones and say, "at least you aren't like HER!" and laugh! :D

so just how long does it take for eyebrows to grow back in?

Sugared Inka Rose Believe

I made this card this morning for the sketch challenge over at the blog, Stamping with Annie B. She is celebrating her 1 year blogaversary with a cool challenge and giveaway of a Mytimeless template from PTI. I had just received this amazingly neat stamp from Inkadinkado for free (from sending in some of my cards) in the mail the other day, so was anxious to get it all inky. Look closely and you will see that the rose is comprised of 2 birds. There are several stamps in this line from Inka - really fun!

The papers are Basic Grey Sugared collection and SU! pink pirouette sponged with white craft and choco chip. I spritzed the base with pearl glimmer mist to give it some shine. The main image and actual flower were outlined with a glitter gold gel pen to add a little more sparkle.

Well, that does it for me for a while. I am tired and stamped out. I have made lots of challenge cards lately, which have been lots of fun, but tough while not feeling well. Also received the news that I didn't make the Digital Stamp Oasis Tuesday Challenge Design Team. So I'm gonna take a break from the inks and rubber for a bit. Maybe some rest will help get the crafty flow going in the right direction again.

Everyone have a great day! love ya! :)

Witches love their shoes! ;)

Coffee of the Day - Starbucks House Blend

Ever since I first saw the stamp set, 'Humor in High Heels', in the SU! catty, I knew it was one I had to have. so onto my first order from that catalog it went - and I have had a great time playing with it ever since! So when the lovely people from the Janlynn Corporation gave me the opportunity to choose some of their wonderful stamps, I knew this witches shoes stamp was going to be on my list. Now you add Lori Craig to the mix and her fun weekend sketch challenge, and I had a card in the making!!! ;)

I wanted to use non-Halloween colors on this card to make it super fun. and goodness, you should see the sparkle and bling these chicks can flaunt! there is shine all over this card! each witch has been adorned with either a spica glitter pen or frosted lace stickles. and yes, I have a pair of socks almost identical to one of these, but I'm not telling which witch! :D I had to cut off part of the bow in the scan, so it makes it look kinda funky in the photo - sorry bout that.

have a great day and go strut your stuff with style!!! :)

Jennifer

Shirley's 2 Girls 'Mary, Mary' Nursery Rhyme Color Challenge

I have been doing lots of blogging lately and have come across some really fun sites! One of those that I found is Shirley's 2 Girls. There are 2 challenges currently going on over at the blog, so here is my submission for one of them. This challenge is to use the theme of the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary, Quite Contrary" and the colors: lavendar, orange, lime, black, and white. Well, hence the challenge for me! As much as I love purples, they present quite a problem for me when I stamp. And I discovered while looking through ALL my bazillion sheets of decorative papers that 1. most of my papers look alike, 2. I have waaaaay more paper than I will ever use, and 3. what in the WORLD was I thinking when I bought some of these?!?! I mean - REALLY! ;)

But Basic Grey to the rescue!!! Green is from the Lilykate collection and orange is from Ambrosia. The stamps are SU! and are from this past SAB promo - Botanical Blooms. I hand drew the little butterflies, so please don't look at them too closely! I also watercolored the prima flower in almost amethyst to match the inks since I couldn't find one in a similar shade.

The great things about challenges is that they are, well, challenging! but really they help me to get outside of my regular comfort zone/rut/same ol' same ol' stamping style. So I encourage you to try a challenge out this week sometime. I'm working on several others, too.

Digital Stamp Oasis Tuesday Challenge - Shabby Wild Roses

Coffee of the Day - it's actually tea today - Irish Breakfast - one of my fave blends! :)

My card today is for the Digital Stamp Oasis Tuesday Challenge to make something shabby using digi stamps. well shabby I can do! I don't have any of the DSO images yet, so I turned to one of my fave digi designers who offers free downloads of her wonderful creations - Mel Stampz. These flowers are from her 'Wild Rose' download. you might remember the parachuting bunny with flowers card I did right before Easter - that is one of hers also.

I'm using more of those way cool papers by Daisy D's - always perfect for shabby. gosh, I am really gonna miss this company! Everything is matted on a river rock base that was stamped with the SU! Sanded bg and then sponged in vanilla craft and edges inked in river rock. I did a big 'no no' in the digi stampin world for the flowers, I watercolored them! I am blessed with a printer (or the ink I should say) that allows me to watercolor to my heart's content without the inks bleeding. I painted each flower in butter cream shimmerz to add a little shine, since part of the challenge was to add some kind of 'bling' somewhere. I didn't think pearls or rhinestones would fit on this card, so I added some touches to the flowers. Each one was also dotted with a drop of liquid pearls in the center of the stamens. The red flower is popped up on foam tape for extra dimension. I matted the trio on a piece of watercolor paper sitting on my stamp table - perfect size and great texture. Also used one of my new FREE Inka stamps that arrived yesterday on the 'leaves' and flourish of the photo corners. Photo corners were inked in vanilla kraft, edged in river rock, stamped with flourish in same river rock, and then sanded to distress. Sorry to have rambled on, but there's lots of detail that doesn't always show in the scan.

Everyone have a great weekend! I'm still sick, seem to be getting worse - hence the tea rather than coffee, but at least I'm still able to get some stamping done! :) actually did 3 cards yesterday, which for me is HUGE! Stop and smell the daffodils today! :D

Jennifer

p.s. Head over to Jacksonbelle Embellishments through Monday for Lindsey's Spring Sale of 25% off everything in the store!!! Use the code SPRING09 at checkout.

Rubbernecker Wacky Wed. Double Card Entry! :)

Coffee of the Day - Spiced Hazelnut

Wanted to play in the Rubbernecker Wacky Wednesday Challenge again this week. It was a fun one, but it certainly lived up to the name CHALLENGE! I made 2 cards this week, using some paper that I made. I used to make this kind of vintage paper all the time, but seemed to get out of the habit. When I saw the stamp set 'Classic Sketches' in the new SU! catty, I knew it was time to start playing around with it again! So this WW challenge gave me the perfect excuse. I used colors that I wouldn't normally have put together, but then again, that is what a challenge is all about, right?! ;)

You can see the inspiration piece of fabric we were given to work with. In one card, the mosaic one, I actually used the squares as inspiration as well. My colors for this are SU! pacific point, night of navy, and forest foliage. Also added craft white and gold to the mix. BG cs is the gold, images were embossed in gold onto white paper (yes, the mosaic one is really white under all that mess!), inks with watercolors were added, black was spritzed with the ink squirty tool (I HAVE to find out what the official name of that tool is!), both flowers are Prima sprayed with walnut gold glimmer mist. Ribbon on one is May Arts and brads are SU! that were sanded to distress. Buttons on mosaic are vintage Etsy and trim is Prima. Edges of both main images are inked in gold - mosaic one in gold glitter pen for a little more sparkle. Both cards have a subtle shine irl.

Have a happy day!! :)

Jennifer

Digi Shack Challenge with Lilykate

Coffee of the Day - Larry's Beans Mexico Blend (a really good non-flavored coffee!)

The Digi Shack is having their first challenge over on the blog. I decided to play along since you get to try out a way cool digi stamp! too bad my printer is weird and crops it no matter how I try to get around that! so I just made do and used my brand spankin' new Cutterbee circle cutter and cut out the image further! The overall card size is 4" x 4" to really show off the digi image.

The papers are some from Basic Grey that I had never used before (GASP!!!), Lilykate. This is a really gorgeous collection! and it went perfectly with the image from Digi Shack. I printed the image onto SU! Very Vanilla cs, used SU! markers to color, but then went over them with a watercolor brush to soften. I added shimmerz butter cream to each flower as well as the veins of the leaves. The whole thing was then spritzed with the ink spray tool in pink and cocoa. I inked the edges in sahara sand. I don't have a scallop edge tool in a circle shape, so I just cut out a strip using my punch and then taped it all around the back of the circle. This caused the whole thing to pop up in the center - very cool result I wasn't expecting. added some extra thick foam tape to help with the dimension on the card. Buttons are SU! and baker's twine is Martha Stewart. the great sentiment is one by Inkadinkado. sponged and spritzed same as main circle.

Hope that all of you are having a great day! I am sicker than a dog these days. Made it tough to get a card done - I was all thumbs! ;)

Jennifer

blog candy announcements

cool blog candy here at Bev's blog!

more blog candy here at Jodi's blog!

and even MORE here at The Artistic Stamper blog!!!

and I mean LOTS of cool blog candy in each giveaway! race over to each site!!! :)

A Cool Elvis is in da House! ;)

Coffee of the Day - Larry's Beans Mexico Blend

One of my fun online friends is Lori Craig. She has the greatest blog, but is also a way coooooool person! Now, she is an Elvis fan and knows that I am as well. When my fam & I went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a week or so ago, I had to tell her about the great display they had of Elvis stuff. I was thinking about her when I saw the costumes, card, jukebox, well, pretty much all the neat stuff that actually belonged to Elvis. I mean folks, he actually touched, wore, sat in, spilled Coca-Cola on ALL this stuff! how cool is that?!?!?! (okay I was the same way about Bob Marley's shirt, but he doesn't have a line of stamps by CHF!! GRINS!)

anyhow, I digress.......... so as Lori and I were emailing back and forth about all this fun stuff, she was asking me about my Elvis stamp collection. Then lo and behold, yesterday I get this package in the mail with 2 Elvis stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms! She sent me these way cool stamps that I didn't have yet! how amazing is that?!?!?!? oh yeah, I was doin' the happy dance and showing my guys, who didn't show anywhere NEAR the enthusiasm these awesome stamps required!!!! shame on those boys!!!!!! okay, so they had spent the entire day backpacking. but this is ELVIS!!!!!!

anyway...... I had to stamp with these babies PRONTO! so here is the first card I made. I embossed the King in black, masked him, and then sprayed the white cs with graphite glimmer mist. The piece was then matted on a distressed piece of black cs. The bg paper is Die Cuts with a View Wedding paper, but I love the paisleys. thought it went well with the feel of this stamp. The flourishes are some felt adhesive from K & Co. Buttons are more of my vintage finds at Etsy.

thank you, thank you, thank you, Lori! I love these stamps! and you have thrilled me with your kindness and generosity! :)

A Cuppa with Gruffie - HM Monday Challenge

Coffee of the Day - Starbucks House Blend

Got a jump start on the House Mouse Monday Challenge by actually playing ON TIME!!! what is up with that?!?! well, Dave and the boys went backpacking in PA for the day yesterday. The guys are on Spring Break this week and Dave took off a few days to spend with the fam. They originally were going to take a 3 day backpacking trip, but the weather at the park they were headed to was going to be rainy and cold the entire time, so they decided to stay home and just do day trips. Works for me, since they brought pizza home with them last night! ;) So I had a chance to do some fun stamping. yeah, I know, like anything ever keeps me from that!!! grins!

I love this Gruffie image - you know me and a coffee or tea pot! I added the little flowers to bring something a little fun to the card. yep, I like to do that a lot, too! Papers are SU! and Basic Grey Urban Prairie. Used my neat Martha Stewart punch for the borders and added this prima twill trim that ended up being a perfect match. Toss on a prima flower and some dew drops, ink the edges in white craft, and ta da - we have a card! the center image is popped up on foam tape to add dimension. All coloring is done with watercolor brushes and SU! inks. Card size is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square. oh yeah, I almost forgot the most important part - the House Mouse Monday Challenge was to create multiple images - either through stamping several images or by cutting your image into several pieces. you can see what I chose! ;)

have a lovely day!

Jennifer

Digital Stamp Oasis DT Challenge Opening

Digital Stamp Oasis is starting a new Tuesday Challenge blog and looking for several people to form the Design Team. By posting this on my blog, I am expressing my interest in a position. I am new to digi stamping, having only done a few cards so far, but goodness, it is quite addicting! I like being able to size the images based upon whatever project I'm working on at the time.

For more information, see the DSO post here. Happy stamping!

A Coffee Card! :)

Coffee of the Day - Cinnamon Hazelnut

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Easter! What a glorious day to recognize the overwhelming love our Saviour has for us! We spent the morning at a phenomenal church service, then came home to relax for the rest of the day. I prepared a simple dinner while David and the boys took the dogs to the park for several hours. I don't know if I have mentioned our amusing pups - Mocha and Latte`. They are labs, about 7 years old (actually Easter is their birthday!). Mocha is a chocolate and Latte`is a yellow. They bring us such joy. Actual sisters, they were a Mother's Day gift after our beloved Riley, a black lab David had for many years, passed away. Anyhow, dogs were worn out, dinner was delicious, David got his golf fix watching the Masters final round, the boys spent the evening playing their PSP's, and I basked in the joy of being greatly blessed with a beautiful family!!

This card uses 2 more of my fun Stamps Happen, Inc. stamps from the Janlynn Corp. You know I had to pick coffee stamps! I pulled out some Basic Grey Archaic paper, which I haven't used in a while and is getting quite, well, archaic!!! I am in desperate need of more masculine cards, as Dave has been pulling all of them from my card basket and using them. (which is really what they are there for, right?) The way cool mesh ribbon is from May Arts that I found over at Stamper's Dream. seemed perfect to add to the 'manly' feel of the card, since the guys forbid me to add 'girlie ribbon' to a guy card! :D Wanted to keep the sentiment generic, so I utilized an old SU! one and stamped it multiple times.

Have a great day!
Jennifer