A gift from my upline and the thank you card I sent!

A couple of weeks ago, I received a package in the mail that I did not order. Much to my surprise, it was from my upline Shari and included a Winter Cozy Mini Medley collection! How cool is that? Even the packaging is cute!!

So, last night I set out to work on a thank you card to send out to her. When we first thumbed through the Spring Idea Book, I saw this cute little bird stamp set called Bird Basics. I loved it, but Shari, not so much! Well, being the person that I am and can't help it, I used the darling little bird from the set on her card! HAHA

I started to stamp out the bird image with Crystal Blue ink on White Daisy CS but found the image to be a little flat and boring and tried to think of what could make it more interesting. Then I remembered that the new set Intrinsic Backgrounds had a stamp that had a feather like look to it. I used the Stamp Kissing technique and stamped the bird image with Crystal Blue ink and then inked the bird image in Twilight, kissed the image onto the Intrinsic Background stamp and stamped over the Crystal Blue image to get a 2 tone look. I repeated the same steps to make the wing by using Buttercup and Creme Brulee.

If you have not visited Stampinwithmarkiesmom yet, you really need to! Faith is truly talented and I am always inspired by the cards and projects that she posts. I was visiting her blog this morning and came across this tutorial for a Funky Fold card. As soon as I saw it I knew that this was going to be the card that I would make for Shari! My card however is smaller than Faith's card. I made mine 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 so I could put it in a regular sized envelope to mail. For the piece that gets folded, I made it a 6x6 and it folds down to a 3x3. This card was too fun to make and I will be making more of this style!

I love this angle of the card as it shows all of the dimension! It is hard to tell from this picture, but I did use pop dots on the bird itself as well as on the wing. To make the wing look a little more "feathery" I scissor distressed the edges and curled out the end of the wing. Too bad it will get smashed and lose its curl in the envelope!

All supplies used on this card are CTMH (of course they are, I can't send my upline a card with anything but CTMH!!)

Stamp sets: Intrinsic Backgrounds, Bird Basics and Say it in Style.
Paper: Emporium
Embellishments: Sweet Leaf Ribbon and Black Bitty Brads
Technique: Stamp Kissing

I hope that I have inspired you in some way today!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

3 hours and 21 cards later.......

Does this card look familiar? It should, because I posted this last week! LOL Well, after 3 hours I have completed ALL 21 thank you cards for my hubby! Yeah!! I must really love my hubby. I guess this is the least that I can do for him since he paid for all of the supplies used on these cards and all other cards, scrapbook pages and papercrafting projects. I just thought I would share the finished project with you all



This is all I have for tonight I hope you all have a great day tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Meet Suzie Q from InStyle Stamps!

Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE to shop! I know, there must be somthing wrong with me. It is pretty sad when my hubby's clothes take up 3/4 of our closet! The reason I am telling you this is that I thought I was going to have a hard time with little miss Suzie Q because she is carrying more shopping bags than I will bring home in a year. LOL Well, when I found this cute little box at Archiver's last week I knew exactly what I was going to use it for. I thought it would be cute to put Suzie Q on the front of the box and use it to hold receipts in since she is holding shopping bags.


To make Suzie Q, I stamped her 5 times. Once on Cocoa, Buttercup, and Colonial White CS, once on patterned paper and twice on Crystal Blue CS. I then cut out and glued on each of the shopping bags and Suzie Q's top. Everything else was colored in with CTMH markers.


Supplies used to create card:
Stamp: Suzie Q, InStyle Stamps
Paper: My Reflections Emporium paper pack
Embellishments: Hero Arts sparkle flower, American Crafts boutique blanc ribbon, CTMH Clear Inspirations charm
5 1/2 x 7 1/2 box (unsure of company that makes it, but purchased it at Archiver's)

I hope that I have inspired you in some way!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Sneak peak of CTMH's new stamp set Happy Endings!

SSHHH Don't tell anyone, but I am giving you a little sneak peak of CTMH's My Acrylix Happy Endings stamp set! Isn't this princess just the sweetest thing? Just wait till you see the rest of this set! I really love the new My Reflections Daydream paper pack so I created yet another card using the papers from this set. Remember to check out my website on January 2nd to check out the Spring Idea book and see all of the AWESOME new paper packs, stamp sets, and embellishments that CTMH has to offer! I will say that I personally think that this is the BEST Idea Book ever!! But then again I say that about EVERY Idea Book that comes out! LOL


Anyhoo.....On to the card...... To create the dress for the princess, I stamped the princess onto White Daisy CS, Blush CS and then again onto patterned paper from Daydream. I cut out the dress bottom and each of the sleeves from the Daydream paper and then cut the middle of the dress out of the Blush CS. Once adhered to the image stamped on the White Daisy CS, I used my glue pen on the dots and then on the whole middle section and sprinkled Prisma Glitter on. The wand was stamped onto White Daisy CS, cut out and then glitter was adhered on with my glue pen. Like my last card, I used a white gel pen to put dots on the black cs. Thanks to Faith over at stampinwithmarkiesmom for the inspiration!

Close up of the details on the princess.


Most supplies used to create these cards are CTMH
Stamp set: Happy Endings, Say it in Style
Paper: My Reflections Daydream paper pack
Embellishments: Sweet Leaf cordoroy buttons, White Daisy Grosgrain Ribbon, Sweet Leaf Ribbon Rounds, Colonial White Waxy Flax and Clear Inspirations (star)
Non CTMH items: Nestabilities, White Gel pen

I hope that I have inspired you in some way!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Jen

Whimsy Stamps Design Call

I am so sorry that it has been several days since I last posted!! With the kids and the hubby home since Thursday, I have not had time to create anything new! Since we have been on the go ALL week, we all decided to take advantage of the fact that we had no plans today and that we were all going to take it easy and do NOTHING! Well, nothing for me means a day to "play" with my stuff. I was able to get my club pages done for January (yeah) and create a couple of cards using Close to my Heart's new paper pack Daydream.

As I was browsing SCS today I ran across this post for Whimsy Stamps design call. So, I thought I would give it a shot and enter a card for the January guest designer position because I think that their stamps are simply adorable! The requirements for the card were to have at least 3 layers and 3 embellishments with an animal image or an image from Whimsy Stamps. Plus I had to post this card to my blog and announce their design call and do this ALL before tomorrow! I know there are more than 3 layers and I hope that the 8 sparkles and the ribbon count for the 3 embellishments, the only problem is I am not sure if they will see this in time. Even if I don't make the guest designer position, I will still be buying a few of their stamps!!

Here is a close up of the layers. I pop dotted the matting and the bunny. Also, it is hard to see in this picture, but I stamped the bunny onto the background paper with the dots and stars and cut out the inner part of his ears and his nose.



All supplies on this card came from Close to my Heart.
Stamps: A Birthday With, Say it in Style
Paper: Daydream (new in the Spring Idea Book)
Ink: Black and Blush
Embellishments: Sparkles and Sweet Leaf Ribbon Rounds
White Gelly Roll Pen

Well, thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Jen

9x9 Swap page and a Thank you card

This is going to be a quick post, but I wanted to check in and share this card and page with you all before I head out for the evening.

Yesterday, my hubby asked me if I could come up with a thank you card that he could give along with a gift that he purchased for some of his co-workers in his office as an end of the year Thank You. The gifts that he picked out are martini glasses with a couple of mini bottles of liquor and lime juice in them. So, I went to Archiver's and found this cute little martini glass stamp and got busy trying to figure out how I was going to make it. I ended up embossing it with silver embossing powder and coloring it in with a ctmh Twilight marker and adding Liquid Glass on top to make it look like it was a glass. I need to make 21 of these so I had to keep them fairly simple.....that actually proved to be rather difficult as I LOVE to add lots of bling and layers. Here is what I came up with......

I thought that I would also share a 9x9 page that I made for a unit swap that my upline holds each month. The swap for December was due on the 13th and I did not get started on this page until midnight and finished at 4:00am on the 13th! I know, nothing like waiting till the very last minute to get it done! I had NO idea what I was going to do except that it needed to be a 9x9 page made with the Aspen papers and colors. Thank goodness all I had to make was 6 of these pages!! The most time consuming part of this page was paper piecing the little snowman and the bird! Yes, I stamped the snowman 3 times, once on Colonial White, once on the patterned paper and once on the Twilight CS. The snow around him is Liquid Applique with glitter and heated.



Here is an upclose shot of the snowman......

I will post the supplies used a bit later......

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #47

I LOVE the weekly sketch challenge over at the Taylored Expressions blog! If you are up for fun challenge, head on over and check it out! Once again, I don't have cupcakes on my card, but I did use this darling little lamb from the stamp set A Birthday Wish from CTMH!! I have been looking at this stamp set for some time now and finally broke down and bought it and now I wish I had not waited so long to purchase it! The patterned paper that I used is from the Key to my Heart paper pack.



I stamped the lamb onto Bamboo cardstock and then again onto Colonial White cardstock. I added Liquid Applique to the head of the Bamboo image and sponged it with Bamboo ink and added 2 black Bitty Brads for his eyes. I then cut around the mouth of the image stamped on colonial white, sponged the edges with bamboo ink and pop dotted it onto the bamboo image for dimension. I then cut out the body from the colonial white with the exception of the hands and feet and sponged it with bamboo ink and adhered. It is hard to tell from the picture, but I used my Stardust glitter pen on the necklace on the lamb. The flower in the lamb's hand was stamped onto colonial white and colored with Baby Pink marker, cut out and then adhered to his hand.





Most supplies are CTMH:

Stamps: A Birthday Wish, Say it in Style
Paper: Key to my Heart, Cocoa and Colonial White CS
Ink: Bamboo, Cocoa and Baby Pink
Embellishments: Sorbet and Creme Brulee Ribbon Round Collections, Black Bitty Brads, Liquid Applique and Stardust Gelly roll pen
Nestabilities: Circle, Scalloped Circle and Rectangle
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

You Hold the Key to my Heart

I just love these pictures of my kiddos!! But it kind of makes me sad to scrapbook these because I see how fast time is rushing by me. These photos were taken 8 years ago although it feels like just last year. I showed this page to my hubby and he said thanks for depressing him! I said I know, I feel this way everytime I scrapbook pictures of the kids when they were this little.

This LO was made using a sketch from Page Maps and using the Key to my Heart paper pack and stamp set that Close to my Heart is featuring as part of National Papercrafting Month in January. This gorgeous paper pack features CTMH's new scrumptious colors: Juniper, Creme Brulee, Sorbet and Tulip. The border, key and title are all created with stamps that come in the HUGE "E" size stamp set in the Key to my Heart package. If you click on the Key to my Heart picture to the right, you will find details on how to get your kit at a discount or for FREE!! But don't delay because this promotion is only available until January 31st, 2009!

Most supplies for this page are ctmh:
Paper: Key to my Heart
Stamps: Key to my Heart
Embellishments: Spring Blossom Brads, Spring Blossom Mini-Medley, White Daisy Just Blooms, and Sorbet Ribbon Rounds.
Technique: Embossing, 2nd generation stamping and ink distressing
Non ctmh: Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities

I hope that I have inspired!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Art and Soul.....Have you watched this web show yet?

If you have not watched Art and Soul on CTMH TV, you really need to! This is a great program that highlights a project, shows you step by step how to create it and then offers you a discount on the products used to create the project!! Plus after the featured project, there is a ton of tips and techniques for card making, scrapbooking and paper crafting. Each show only runs approximately 12-15 minutes which makes it much easier to find the time to watch!

The latest show features this card using the My Reflections Perfect Day paper pack, My Acrylix Life's Creation, Sorbet Ribbon Collection and the Spring Blossom Mini-Medley. In this show they will show you step by step how to create this gorgeous card. And to make it even easier for you to create it after you have watched the show, there are detailed instructions that you can print out and use when you are not sitting at your computer. Now, I will tell you that I did not follow the instructions EXACTLY for my card. Instead of machine stitching around the edge of the card and the accent piece, I just used my paper piercer and poked holes for a little added accent.

Also, if you don't have the Originals Card Confidence Program that the sketch and template for this card come from, you can easily use a round object like a quarter or a button to trace around to get the look of the accent piece. Although, I would highly recommend that if you don't have this amazing book, that you look into investing in one. I am always referring back to my Originals book for inspiration. Whether it is for a card sketch or to see how certain embellishments are used or to use one of the many tips and techniques that are featured in the book, I always find exactly what I am looking for!

So, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to CTMH TV to watch the latest episode and while you are there, maybe get caught up on the previously aired shows! A new show will air on Tuesday December 23rd, 2008. So, mark your calender and then tune in every other Tuesday for a new show!

All supplies used for this card are Close to my Heart:
Paper: My Reflections Perfect Day
Stamp: Life's Creation
Inks: Cocoa (for distressing) Juniper and Tulip
Embellishments: Spring Blossom Mini-Medley and Sorbet Ribbon Rounds Collection
Technique: Paper Piercing and Rock 'n Roll

If you do happen to take the 12-15 minutes to watch any of the Art and Soul episodes, please leave a comment and tell me what you think of the program, likes and dislikes! I would really love to hear your thoughts!

I hope that I have inspired you in some way today!

Thanks for stopping by

Jen

As Promised.......Meet Jasmine!

Isn't she the cutest mommy you have ever seen? I stamped her on watercolor paper and used my blending pen for her hair. I am not too thrilled with the way the coloring turned out on her dress, it looks a little blotchy to me. Maybe I need to look into the Copic markers........ Anyhoo, even with the blotchy coloring, I still think that Jasmine turned out pretty sweet! So, if you thnk Jasmine and Roxy are super cute, you will LOVE the other stamps that InStyle Stamps has to offer.

Supplies used:
Stamps: Jasmine (InStyle Stamps), Key to my Heart and Welcome Baby (ctmh)
Paper: Key to my Heart (ctmh), watercolor paper from Archiver's
Embellishments: Juniper Brads, Cocoa Ribbon
Technique: Blending pen and edge distresser
Nestabilities regular and scalloped oval

I hope this has inspired you in some way.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Can I have a drum roll please?

Did I say I would share my excitement this weekend? Sorry, my bad! What I really meant to say is I have some super exciting news to share today! LOL

I am so excited to announce that I was invited to join the InStyle Stamps design team!! If you have not heard of this line of stamps, it's ok, they just opened up for business today! In fact, if you buy one of these super cute stamps this week, you will be automatically entered for a chance to win some yummy blog candy! So, hop on over to InStyle Stamps and order your favorites before the end of the week!




For my introduction to this darling line of stamps, I would like for you to meet Roxy. Isn't she just to die for? This is just one of 7 darling diva's that are avaiable for sale I have to say that I have had a ball playing with them! For this card, I stamped the image onto 2 different patterned papers from Basic Grey and then again on Colonial White Cardstock. I cut out the pants from the brown patterned paper and the top from the dotted paper and adhered them to the image that was stamped on the cardstock. I colored Roxy's hair with my Prismacolor Pencils and odorless paint thinner.

Card Suppies:
Stamp: Roxy, InStyle Stamps
Ink: Cocoa, Close to my Heart
Paper: basic grey archaic
Embellishments: Chocolate Ribbon Rounds (ctmh), Winter Cozy Buttons (ctmh), primula brown flowers, Hero Arts gemstones, Stardust Gelly roll pen, edge distresser (ctmh) and oval Nestabilities.

Make sure that you come back tomorrow to meet Jasmine! I know that you are just going to love her too!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Jen

Last one I promise!!

I know, I know, I am getting tired of this paper pack too! BUT I do have 1 last card using the Everlasting papers to show you before I move on. In my search for all things crafty, I decided to locate a local Stampin' Up! demonstrator to see if I could find someone who held monthly classes. Yes, I know I am a consultant for Close to my Heart, but I find that both companies have awesome things to offer! Anyhoo, I found an amazingly talented demo that only lives a few blocks from me. Over the year that I have been going to her monthly card group I have learned soooo many cool techniques.


This brings me to the card that I made using Prismacolor Pencils and odorless paint thinner. If it had not been for Terri's card class, I would have never learned about this technique! The stamp set Bundled Up by ctmh has been one of my all time favorite stamp sets, but I am sad to say that it will be retiring as of December 31st 2008. If you like this set, hop on over to my website and buy it before it is gone forever!

The sketch that I used for this card is Beate's Weekend Challenge sketch #67 and I am sad to say that I followed her example pretty closely becuase I loved the way her card looked!

One more cool technique that I used with this card is Liquid Applique. This was my first attempt at using this stuff and let me tell you, it will NOT be the last! I wish you could see the fine details of the snow around the sled as it is actually raised and looks like they are really sledding through snow. Before I applied heat to the Liquid Applique, I sprinkled Prisma Glitter over it all to add a little sparkle to the snow.

Most supplies CTMH unless noted:
Paper: My Reflections Everlasting level 2 paper pack
Stamp set: Bundled Up
Accessories: Cranberry ribbon, Cranberry Waxy Flax

Techniques: Edge Distresser, Liquid Applique, Prisma Glitter

Non ctmh: Prismacolor Pencils and odorless paint thinner (don't remember the name)

Hope this has inspired you in some way! Stay tuned over the weekend as I have a big announcement to make and it has a little something to do with the InStyle Stamps picture that I have on my blog!! I am soooo excited!! Now off to play!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Decorative Machine Stitching on Cards? Who Knew?

For this card, I pulled out my top of the line (in 1998) Bernina 180e sewing machine and decided I would try one of the many different decorative stitch's my machine has, for a little something different. I started at the edge of my paper and held my breath as the machine started stitching away. It was much easier than I thought it was going to be and I ended up stitching on bothe the top and the bottom of the card. For the rest of the card...... The flowers are sponged with Cranberry Ink to match the flowers on the paper and have 4 Colonial White Bitty Brads and 1 regular sized brad for the centers. The center of each button was sewn with the matching embroidery thread. I sponged around the card and the image piece with both Cranberry and Desert Sand ink and the rest of the papers have Desert Sand sponged around the edges.

I have been busy this week getting ready for a Mystery Hostess Night on Friday where we will be making 4 scrapbook pages using the My Reflections Everlasting paper pack from CTMH. In getting ready for this event, I have been creating cards, pages and dimensional items to showcase each of the papers in the kit and show how versitle this pack really is. Both cards from today and the one I posted previously were created for this purpose. And as much as I love how all of the projects are turning out, I think I need a break from these colors! I need something a little more bright and cheery!!

For this card, I used the Splitcoast Stampers sketch challenge #206 and just HAD to pull out my Fun Times stamp set back out to use these adorable jumping frogs! I stamped each frog 2 times, once in 1st generation and once in 2nd generation, to get the lighter shade of Ponderosa Pine. I cut out the middle section of the frog and adhered it to the main body after it was cut. I just could not resist putting bitty sparkles on the spots of the frogs back! For the sentiment, I used Happy Day! and covered the a with a red sparkle to make it look like Hoppy Day!

All supplies used are Close to my Heart:

Paper: My Reflections Everlasting
Stamps: Fun Times and Delight in Everything
Ink: Ponderosa Pine, Cranberry and Desert Sand
Accessories: Bitty sparkles, red sparkle, Colonial White buttons from the Holiday button collection, Just Blooms White Daisy and Mini Medley Shades of Chocolate (mini flowers)

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

I liked this sketch so much......

That I decided to make another card using it! I am not sure what it is about this sketch, maybe it is the different paper layers, or the way the whole sketch just comes together and compliments the main image. I don't know, but I promise this will be the last card using this sketch becuase I need to move on to a different sketch challenge.

It may be hard to tell from the picture, but the flower is stamped 2 times on Desert Sand CS and cut out. One flower was kept whole while the other flower had the center part cut out and pop dotted onto the whole flower for dimension.The corner stamp from Adorning Corners was stamped in Desert Sand ink and the leaves and dots were colored in with Ponderosa Pine and Cranberry ctmh markers. I added the sparkle using a Gelly Roll Stardust glitter pen. I just love this little pen!

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Everlasting (ctmh)

Cardstock: Ponderosa Pine, Desert Sand and Colonial White (ctmh)

Stamp sets: Fair Blossoms and Adorning Corners (ctmh)

Inks: Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine and Desert Sand

Ribbon: Cranberry (ctmh)

Circle and scalloped circle: Nestabilities

Glitter pen: Stardust Gelly Roll

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

A little Bella fun!

I can hardly contain myself! I finally broke down a few weeks ago and purchased some Bella stamps. If you have not been to the Stamping Bella website, you really need to visit soon! I will never forget the first time I came across their super cute stamps, I think I spent a couple of hours just drooling over all of the fun stuff that they have for stampers. Being that I am a consultant for Close to my Heart and LOVE the versatility and ease of use with the My Acrylix stamps, I really have a hard time buying "other" companies stamps. But I could not resist the super cute Bella stamps and bought a few.....OK so maybe a few is understating my purchase. BUT......they have been really fun to color in and play with. So having said that, here are a couple of cards that I have created so far with my Bella stamps.

Supplies: Coming soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

It's a GIRL!! Cupcake Challenge #44

I made this card using the Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #44. Now, I know there is no cupcake on the front of this card. I do not have any cupcake stamps as of yet, so I used one of my favorite stamp sets from Close to my Heart, Flower Child. I stamped the image onto patterned paper first and cut out. Next, I stamped the image on Colonial White cs and cut out the babies head, colored it and adhered it to the flower. The stem is stamped onto Sweet Leaf cs and cut out. I pop dotted the flower for dimension, although it is difficult to see in the picture.

I am so excited to say that this card will be going to some good friends of mine who just had a beautiful baby girl yesterday!!

All supplies are Close to my Heart

Paper: Life Delights

Stamp Sets: Flower Child, For Every Occasion

Buttons: Winter Cozy Craft Buttons

Ribbon: Sweet Leaf Designer Ribbon Rounds

Inks: Blush, Chocolate, Sunny Yellow, Staz On Black

Scalloped circle and image circle: Spellbinders, Nestabilities, Classic Circle

Snow Friends and Splitcoast Stampers sc204

I took some much needed time for myself last Thursday and Friday and just played. I pulled out stamp sets and paper packs that I purchased months ago and still had not done anything with. I turned on the computer and surfed the net looking for sketches and inspiration. What I found as I was surfing were some pretty fun sketch challenges that I decided I needed to participate in!

This first card I followed Splitcoaststampers sc204. I have to say there were quite a few times while putting this card together that I almost threw it in the trash. I can't tell you how many times I pulled the ribbon off, or pulled each layer away to try something else. Funny thing is that each time I would try something different, I always went back to the way it looked originally. That should teach me to always go with my first choice! LOL

This second card was inspired by Beate at fresh & fun. When I saw her card, I knew that I needed to re-create it using CTMH's Snow Friends stamp set. My stamped image was a little smaller than the one that Beate used for her card so I had to improvise a little by cutting down the piece of CS that the image was stamped on. I also had a heck of a time finding a circle small enough to fit! But all in all I thought it turned out pretty sweet!

All supplies are CTMH:

Paper: Aspen

Stamp set: Snow Friends

Ribbon: Creme Brulee

Glitter: Prisma Glitter

Brads: Outdoor Denim

Twilight Corduroy Brad: Winter Cozy Mini-Medley Accents

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!

Jen