A Challenging Card

I didn't have much time tonight for being creative because tonight was the first night of my self-defense classes. THAT, I must say, was AWESOME! I'm ready to kick some butt! :)

I did manage to find time between work and my class to make this card. This is a combination of this week's color and sketch challenges on SCS. My card base is a piece of Soft Sky cut to 8" X 9 1/4". I scored it at 4" so my card size is 9 1/4" X 4". I stamped the front of the card with the swirly stamp from 'Baroque Motifs' in Soft Sky. I then scored the front of the card, along the long edge, at 3/4" and folded that back. I used sticky strip to make sure it stayed put. I used some scrap pieces of Purely Pomegranate and Basic Black to make scalloped strips, using my corner rounder punch without the guide. I stamped the bird from the 'Always' stamp set in Purely Pomegranate on Whisper White cardstock and then masked it to stamp the branches from the same set in Soft Sky. I cut that piece out using my Spellbinders Nestabilities. I also used the Nesties to cut a Purely Pomegranate Oval and a Basic Black scalloped oval for matting. If you think you'd like to have the Nesties and don't want to pay full price for them, check out this site. They'll send a coupon code to you once a month for 40% off the price of one item and you can use it on the Nesties. You'll have to register with them, but that part is absolutely free. Their customer service has been excellent and I haven't had any problems with the product. That's how I've built my collection... one set a month.


Here are some close-ups since the pics don't do the card justice. Hopefully, you can see a little more detail here. I've made a couple more cards this week and hope to have them posted by the end of the weekend. Check back with me later!

Toodles!!

Which One?

I'm absolutely exhausted tonight, but it was one of those nights when the stamps were calling my name as I was thinking of going to bed. I can't say "no" to the stamps, so a new card was born! The first card is my submission for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I also used the colors from this week's SCS color challenge. As I was putting the card together, though, I wondered how different it would look if I left off the Pretty In Pink panel.
This second image is the same card minus that panel. Which one do you like best?


The card base is 5" X 5" in Chocolate Chip. I stamped a piece of Certainly in Celery with the Boho Backgrounds stamp set in Chocolate Chip. I sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip classic ink before adding it to my card base. The flower from the 'One Of A Kind' stamp set was stamped in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla cardstock. I sponged the edges of that piece with Pretty In Pink classic ink. I also stamped the flower on Pretty In Pink and Certainly Celery. I cut both of those pieces out using my paper snips (that qualifies for the "Ways To Use It 163" challenge on SCS). The Pretty In Pink piece was layered over the image on the Very Vanilla and Dazzling Diamonds glitter was added to the edges. I stamped the small flower from the 'One Of A Kind' stamp set on Pretty In Pink cardstock using Chocolate Chip classic ink and punched it out using the 1/2" circle punch. That piece was used for a Build-A-Brad and added to my Certainly Celery flower. Those two pieces were added to the Pretty In Pink flower with Stampin' Dimensionals. The "You are one of a kind" image was stamped in Chocolate Chip ink and then I added a Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon. The entire piece was matted on a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and then added to my card front.


Here is a close-up of the flower so you can see the dimension. This turned out to be a very elegant looking card. Let me know which one you like best! Toodles!

Long time, no post...

I've been slackin' on my bloggin', but that's because I've been organizin'. I have a "stamp closet" in my stamp room and I think the contents had been spontaneously multiplying when the door was closed. It was to the point that I couldn't find what I was looking for, although I had a general idea of where everything was. My stamp sets had no room in the closet and had migrated to a bookshelf in my stamp room. I would have taken "before" pictures, but the chaos actually looked organized. Everything was stored in neatly labeled boxes, but there was just TONS of STUFF... stuff I'll never use and hadn't thought about using in a year or more. I have downsized considerably and will be having a sale on Saturday, May 3rd. I've already notified all my fellow stamp addicts, and I can envision this turning into a stamp party quick, fast, and in a hurry. I am TOTALLY not against a stamp party, so come on over!!

Our little canine visitor has moved on. I absolutely didn't want to take him to a shelter, but we wound up taking him to a local no-kill shelter and making a donation to help with micro-chipping and neutering. He was just the sweetest little guy, but he was a nervous pee-er and you never knew which direction it was going to go. We have fairly new carpet and furniture so we tried putting him in the kitchen with a baby gate. The little guy was quite a jumper, though, and could bound over the baby gate in one leap. We put him outside, but he just cried to come in and tried to dig out under the fence. We never got any calls from anyone trying to claim him and couldn't seem to find anyone who wanted a loving, nervous, peeing, leaping, digging Dachshund. Ernie had had enough by the time the little guy left, too. He had a great time playing for the first 24-48 hours and then the "new" wore off. Ernie realized someone else was begging for my attention and he just wasn't going to have it. We're confident that he'll find a new home soon, if he hasn't already. The shelter was sure he'd be adopted quickly based on his size and age and the fact that he was so stinkin' cute.

I have some more big news... MY SEWING MACHINE IS HERE!!!! I had ordered the Singer Futura CE-250 sewing and embroidery machine through JoAnn's (it was out of stock when I went to buy it) and it arrived today! Curtis just doesn't understand my excitement, so if any of you would care to jump up and down while screaming and embarrass yourself with me, I would really appreciate it! I really, really want to take it out of the box and play, but I have to finish some other projects that I had already started. Like reorganizing my stamp closet and getting everything ready to sell. Hopefully, I'll find some time this weekend to get it set up and play around a little.

This card is a result of cleaning out the stamp closet. I had stacked all my patterned paper up next to a stack of "traitor" (that's non-Stampin' Up!) card stock and the floral piece happened to be lying on top of a piece of brown. I kept looking at that paper and saying to myself, "Self... that floral paper looks splendiferous on that brown cardstock and it kind of reminds me of the Doodle stamp sets". I used the "traitor" patterned paper with Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, and Blush Blossom card stock. The Blush Blossom was supposed to be cut 1/4" larger than the Certainly Celery piece all the way around, but I was on the phone with my sister-in-law and cut it the wrong size. It still worked and looks quite nice, if you ask me. I stamped the corner swirl stamp from "Doodle This" on the Certainly Celerly panel in Certainly Celery classic ink. The flower was made by stamping Ruby Red card stock with Whisper White craft ink and heat embossing it with detail white embossing powder. I stamped the flower again on Blush Blossom cardstock using Ruby Red classic ink. I used my glue pen to add Dazzling Diamonds to that piece, which you can't see very well in the photo. I stamped the flower again on Certainly Celery card stock and just cut three petals out to use as leaves. The stamped image is on the back side, so I just stamped it to have the shape to cut around. The center of the flower is a "Build A Brad". I used the 1/2" circle punch on Certainly Celery cardstock and then added dots with my Signo white gel pen. Once that dried, I added the acrylic topper on the brad. The flower was added to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Well, I guess that's about all I have to say right now. Hope you're having a fabulous week! Toodles!

Just Another Card

I started this card last night to challenge myself in a couple of ways. First was the color challenge this week on SCS. The challenge was to use Basic Gray, Cameo Coral, and Blush Blossom. Mission accomplished. The next challenge was to learn a new technique - watercoloring using Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write Markers. I did stray from the color challenge by watercoloring the leaves with Certainly Celery and Old Olive. I also embossed the Cameo Coral and Blush Blossom layers with the Swiss Dots A2 embossing folder. Each piece is embossed 1 1/4" from the top and from the bottom. That left a strip across the center of the card 1 1/4" wide that isn't embossed. It's hard to see that part in this photo. I tried to take it from different angles, but still couldn't get the embossing to show up very well. You may be able to see it a little better by clicking on the photo to enlarge it. The ribbon is Basic Gray Taffeta from Stampin' Up! Toodles!

Our Dog Has A New Home!

We put posters up today in our neighborhood, hoping someone would call about the dog I found yesterday. We haven't heard the ring of one phone yet, so we've decided that we're going to give it to Curt's sister and her family! Congratulations on the new addition to your family, Nicole!!

JUST KIDDING!! She'd KILL us if we gave her a dog! We'd be banned from ever visiting again! Actually, it would probably be worse than that!

We Have a Visitor

My parents would be the first to tell you that I have a soft spot for any critter that looks the least bit homeless. It started when I was VERY young and I've NEVER grown out of it... not even slightly. Tonight, on my way home, I saw this little guy standing right by the side of the street. He was dining, but it was far from fine dining if you know what I mean. He was scrawny (you can see his ribs) and was shivering and had no collar. I whipped my vehicle into the nearest place I could pull over and called to him. He came to me, although a little reluctantly. I brought him home where I introduced him to the back yard with a bowl of fresh water and some food. He ate a couple of bites and headed straight for the back door. It wasn't too long until those brown, pleading eyes had convinced me that he really needed to be inside. SSSSSOOOOOO... we brought him in and introduced him to Ernie, our Lhasa Apso, and Smith & Wesson, our two cats. He and Ernie have had the grandest time playing and are already quite comfortable with one another. Curtis is out in the garage now, cleaning our extra crate, so our little visitor will have a place to sleep tonight... in our bedroom... right next to Ernie's crate. I think all the commotion has given Curt a headache, but he sure is a trooper! When we got married, he didn't like the idea of indoor pets AT ALL. I wasn't going to part with Smith & Wesson, though, so he caved. That was in February 2004. In September 2005, he bought Ernie for my birthday. Tonight he really didn't have a choice since I just showed up at home with doggie in tow. I'll be calling the radio station tomorrow morning so that, HOPEFULLY, we can find his home. IF it happens that we don't find his home, he WILL be learning some manners. He seems to be very comfortable indoors, but lacks some much needed manners that Ernie learned in obedience training. He appears to be a Dauchsund mix, but we're not sure. With all the exitement tonight, I didn't get much else done, so I'll try to post some new projects in the next couple of days.

"B" Is For Bling

Well, isn't this just the cutest little card? Amy has me hooked on making all those little dots. It's time consuming but, boy, does it add some "WOW" to a card?! Actually, I should have made two of these... one with the dots and one without... just so you could see the difference.

This, my friends, is FREE rubbah! Well, maybe not completely free. It was a gift from Stampin' Up! to those demonstrators who attended Regionals this year. I just got it in the mail today. I inked my stamp up using Stampin' Write Markers in Taken With Teal and Pumpkin Pie and then stamped it on Whisper White CS. I used my glue pen and (yes... you guessed it) added some Dazzling Diamonds to the "b". I layered that on Taken With Teal and Basic Black CS before adding my dots with my handy-dandy Signo White Gel Pen. I cut two small strips from Bali Breeze DSP and matted those on Taken With Teal CS. Those pieces were added to my card base, which was Pumpkin Pie, Taken With Teal, and Basic Black CS (with dots).


My next card uses the "Time For You" stamp set and the "Afternoon Tea" Designer Series Paper from the Ocassions Mini Catalog. My card base is Chocolate Chip with a layer of Groovy Guava. I cut three strips of the "Afternoon Tea" paper and matted those on Chocolate Chip CS. The image was stamped on Very Vanilla with Jet Black StazOn ink. It was then watercolored using Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, and Basic Black classic ink pads and an AquaPainter. I punched the corners using the Ticket Corner Punch and then matted it on Groovy Guava and Chocolate Chip. "Vintage" brads were added to the corners. My ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

I also managed to get all my quilt blocks and backing cut for a baby quilt. Hopefully, I can get that finished by the end of the week. Toodles!

Handbag Question Answered

Beth asked if I sell my handbags. Yes! Please e-mail me (jen_barrett@sbcglobal.net) for complete details on the bag you're interested in. I'm working on getting a website up and running, but it's not quite complete yet. Once it's finished, I'll provide a link to it from this page! Thanks for all your great comments and encouragement!!

It's In The Bag!

I was hoping to get more done today, but it wasn't meant to be. I made three more handbags, all three identical to this one. Black and white patterns seem to really be "in", so I thought I'd give it a stab. I hope to get some cards completed tomorrow... we'll see!

A Little Behind...

I'm not saying I have one by any means, but I AM a little behind in posting projects to my blog.



This first card is one that was sent to me by my dear friend, Amy, earlier in the week. I had a slight medical scare late last week and Amy sent this as a "thinking of you" card. I LOVE it and now I think I'm going to have to purchase that stamp set. The skunk image is from the "Pun Fun" stamp set and reads "I stink you're sweet!". Thank you, Amy!!! I love you!








The next little project was my mom's idea. We were wandering around Michael's earlier this week when she walked up to me with these cute wooden letters in her hand. She wanted to make something with Emily's (my niece) name on it. A friend of mom's, who is a school teacher, said that Emily would learn to spell her name earlier if she could see it spelled out all the time. We found a piece of birch wood that worked great for the background and then found a piece of scalloped birch trim. Acrylic paints were on sale, so we picked up a couple of bottles that I thought would match the patterned paper from the Simply Scrappin' "Special Delivery Girl" kit. We covered the birch panel with the patterned paper, adhering it with Mod-Podge. The letters and the trim were painted with the acrylic paints. I HAD to add some glitter, so I used a can of spray glitter and added a coat to all of the letters. The trim and the letters were adhered using the new Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue from Stampin' Up! I added a bow to the top corner of the 'E' using a mini glue dot. A flower from the "Special Delivery Girl" Simply Scrappin' kit was added to the lower right-hand corner using Stampin' Dimensionals.



This card was made using the "Time Well Spent" stamp set. Each image, except the word "friend", was stamped with Jet Black StazOn and then colored with markers. I colored the "friend" stamp using a Basic Black Stampin' Write marker and then stamped the image. The entire image reads "Time spent with friends is time well spent", but I only wanted the word "friend". That image was also colored with the markers. Each image was punched out using the 1 3/8" square punch and adhered to a piece of Certainly Celery CS. That piece was layered on a piece of Tempting Turquoise CS that had been scalloped with a corner rounder punch. I used the 1/4" circle punch on it after making the scallops.
You'll never guess what I did next. I ADDED GLITTER!! That's right... I used my glue pen and applied Dazzling Diamonds. I thought you'd never guess! :)


This card was made using the "Tart & Tangy" stamp set. Each stamp was colored with Stampin' Write markers and then stamped on Whisper White CS. I covered each image in Versamark ink and added Iridescent Ice embossing powder before heat setting. The images were layered on Old Olive and then Real Red CS. This layer was added to a Pumpkin Pie card base and "Celebrate Good Times" was stamped in Old Olive from the "Celebrate Everything" stamp set.


















This card is the product of last weeks color challenge on Splitcoast Stampers, which was Real Red, Night of Navy, and Glorious Green. I'm not sure I like the bow, but I had an empty space there that needed to be filled. The toolbox image is from the "For Father" set in the Occasions Mini Catalog. It was colored using Stampin' Up! watercolor crayons and an AquaPainter. I added some brads to make it more manly and refrained from using glitter. Once I find a way to make glitter look manly, though, watch out... it'll be on EVERYTHING! The Real Red layers were embossed using one of my new Cuttlebug folders.












...And last, but not least... a card I made when I got home from work today. This card was made in response to Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I used the "Afternoon Tea" Designer Series Paper and some lace that I found at Wal-Mart. It was 6 yards for 99 cents. Yep... that's 18 whoppin' feet for 99 cents. I just can't pass up a deal like that! The card base is Groovy Guava and the image, which is from the "All Holidays" stamp set, was stamped in Chocolate Chip classic ink on Whisper White CS. I cut the stamped image out using my Spellbinders Nestabilities and then cut a slightly larger oval in Groovy Guava. My friend, Amy, inspired me to add the dots around that layer and I LOVE it!! They were added using the Signo White Gel Pen from Stampin' Up! I then cut a scalloped oval from Soft Sky CS, again using the Spellbinders Nestabilities, and layered my image and Groovy Guava ovals on that piece. Those three layers were added to my card using Stampin' Dimensionals. I really like the way this one turned out, even though there's not a speck of glitter on it. It's very simply elegant and SOMETIMES (I said sometimes) less is more!

Enough writing... I have to go make something! Toodles!

Sew Fun!

I had started this quilt within the last couple of weeks and just finished it up yesterday morning. All of the rag quilts I've made have been pastels, so the bright colors were a nice change. All fabric was purchased at JoAnn's.











My next little project, which actually went very quickly, was this handbag. I had purchased part of the fabric (the starburst pattern and the brown that was used for lining) knowing that I wanted to make a purse. The next week when the JoAnn ad came out, it showed this handbag using the same colors I had already purchased along with three other prints. Luckily, I hadn't started making my purse yet. They referenced the book that was used for this particular bag (Bag Boutique: Making Fabulous Purses and Totes by Amy Barickman) in the ad, so I jumped on Amazon and ordered it. While I was waiting for my book to arrive, I went back to JoAnn's to get the rest of the fabric prints I needed to complete the bag. I started it yesterday afternoon around 3:30 pm and was finished shortly after 7 pm. It turned out SUPER-DUPER cute. It measures 7 inches tall, 11 inches wide, and 3 inches deep - the perfect size for all the stuff I tote around on a daily basis. I LOVED making it, so there may be many more to come! Toodles!

Out of Control!!

Well, the layers on this card got way out of control quick, fast, and in a hurry. I sat down with the intention of completing a card using two challenges from Splitcoast Stampers. The first was the sketch challenge from last week and the second was the color challenge from this week. The colors were Creamy Caramel, Mellow Moss, Apricot Appeal, and Cameo Coral. My card base is Cameo Coral matted on Mellow Moss with the top left-hand corner being pierced. The flowers, from the "Bloomin' Beautiful" stamp set, were stamped in Jet Black StazOn ink and then watercolored using all of the above mentioned colors in classic ink. I used the Aquapainter for my watercoloring. I trimmed my stamped image so that the main part of it was 1 1/2 inches wide, but I trimmed around the flowers so they'd hang over the edges. This piece was matted on Apricot Appeal and Mellow Moss. The next layer has the blossom definition stamp from "Bloomin' Beautiful" stamped in Mellow Moss on Apricot Appeal cardstock. This image was matted on Cameo Coral and Mellow Moss. The next layer is a piece of Creamy Caramel matted on Apricot Appeal and Mellow Moss. The bee was stamped from the same set in Jet Black StazOn. I watercolored him with Apricot Appeal and then used my Basic Black Stampin' Write marker to give him his stripes. I cut the bee out with my handy-dandy Spellbinders dies (If you don't own any of these yet, all I can say is WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? They're the bomb!) The bee image is matted on Apricot Appeal and Cameo Coral, both of which were cut using the Spellbinders Nestabilities. You should know me well enough by now to know that I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter... it's on both flowers and the bee. The second photo was taken at an angle so you could really see the bling. Well, this one has the record for having the most layers of any card I've made. It's absolutely smashing (way better in real life than it is in these photos), but not one I'd duplicate for swaps or just for the heck of it! TTFN!

Look, Ma... No Bling!!

I've made two cards in a row that have absolutely no glitter or embossing powder. This could, quite possibly, be a record for me. The first card is in response to Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #41. I also used this week's color challenge on SCS, which was Basic Gray, Soft Sky, and Whisper White. The base of my card is Basic Gray, a layer of Soft Sky, and a layer of Whisper White. I pierced the upper and lower right-hand corners of the Whisper White layer. The next layer is a piece of Soft Sky that I embossed using one of the new Cuttlebug folders. I really wish they'd print the names on the folders so I could find them when I need them. Anyway, it's the one with diamond shapes scattered across it. I used a Classic Basic Gray ink pad to ink up the negative side of the folder. I put my Soft Sky cardstock inside the folder and embossed it. When I took the Soft Sky piece out - WAH-LAH! - it was Basic Gray with Soft Sky diamonds. Great... now I have that stupid song stuck in my head... "Lucy in the sky with diamonds". I stamped "Grad" in Basic Gray on Whisper White cardstock and layered it over Soft Sky and Basic Gray cardstock. I used the Ticket Corner punch on the corners and then added four vintage brads.

This card was designed for a friend who asked if I would make a gift set of ten birth announcements. I used paper from the Simply Scrappin' Special Delivery Girl kit along with Groovy Guava, Sahara Sand, Apricot Appeal, and Whisper White cardstock. Scalloped edges are accented with the uni-ball Signo Gel Pen. Images are from the By Ones & By Twos stamp set and the onesie was paper-pieced. A piece of Whisper White taffeta ribbon adds the finishing touch.

I still can't get over the fact that I haven't touched any glitter in days. I'm going to have to go use it for SOMETHING!!

You're Gonna LOVE This!

Our next PMS will be held on Saturday, April 12th, from 2-5 p.m. We’ll be making a card organizer using the “Forget-Me-Not Keeper” on page 193 of the Spring-Summer Collection 2008 catalog. This will be a great place for you to keep track of the cards you want to send out as well as a place to store cards you’ve already made or bought. The cost of the class is $20, which includes the “Forget-Me-Not Keeper” and all materials used to give it lots of bling. Payment is due by April 1st. I’m strictly enforcing the payment deadline this month, because I have to know exactly how many keepers to order in advance. I want to make sure I have enough for everyone, but I also don’t want any leftovers. Please bring basic supplies if you have them (scissors and adhesive). If you are unable to attend the class, you can order the kit, which will include detailed instructions and supplies needed to make the project(s). This is going to be a splendiferous project and I know you won’t want to miss out on it!

Special this month… Bring a friend with you. If that friend is a new customer to me and they place a minimum $35 order, you’ll only pay half the class fee. Keep in mind that I need to know how many attendees I’ll have by April 1st.

As always, I’m looking forward to PMS!! Happy Stampin’ and I hope to see you there!!

I Lied...

I was on my way to bed when I remembered that Curtis had asked me to make an anniversary card for one of his customers. I used Baroque Motifs for this card along with Basic Gray, Soft Sky, and Whisper White cardstock. The flourish and flowers were stamped in Soft Sky and Going Gray classic ink. "Cherish" was stamped in Soft Sky. It was then offset just a tad and stamped in Going Gray. The Soft Sky image gives the appearance of a shadow. I used a glue pen and added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the flowers (go figure) and tied a piece of Whisper White taffetta ribbon around the left-hand side. Okay... NOW I'm going to bed!

A One Card Day

Well, I thought I'd get more than just one card completed tonight, but it wasn't meant to be. This card uses a retired set called "Bareback". The base is Chocolate Chip with a layer of River Rock over that. The DSP is "Apple Cider" and the two pieces on this card were scraps left over from another project. This is the best kind of card, because I didn't even have to trim my scraps to make them work. I sanded the edges of the brown piece to soften the edges and tied a piece of the Chocolate Chip poly-twill ribbon (Occasions Mini Catalog) around the striped piece. I used the ticket punch to punch the corners of the Very Vanilla image before layering it on River Rock. I added brads to the corners and then added another layer of Chocolate Chip under the image.

It's storming here, so I think I'm going to bed. I love listening to the rain and thunder at night! Toodles!

What a GREAT Weekend!

Before I get to the crafty stuff, I have some bragging to do. Branden and Lauren (my step-children) took part in a math contest on Saturday. Lauren was one of two students selected from the 4th grade at her elementary school and Branden was one of two from the 5th grade. They called me on Saturday afternoon after the contest to let me know how they did. Lauren placed 3rd out of 12 students and qualified for the state contest, which will be held on April 26th at Missouri State University. Branden placed 9th out of 28, so they both did a great job! Congratulations Branden & Lauren!

Well, I had a productive weekend! We had PMS on Saturday and had a really good time. We had a small group in comparison to our past groups, but we had a blast! Here are three of the projects we made. We also made an Easter basket, but I don't have a photo yet. I'll work on that!

This is a spring bouquet that we made using chipboard and cardstock. I found the little ceramic flower pots at Hobby Lobby and we used floral foam and dowel rods to "plant" the flowers. Flowers were stamped with Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, and Rose Red inks. We used classic ink on everything except the chipboard flower. For that one, we rubbed a craft ink pad over the surface of the chipboard until the color was good and then added Iridescent Ice embossing powder and set it with a heat tool. We had several different ribbons to choose from. I used the Bashful Blue Striped Grosgrain Ribbon on this particular bouquet. After the flowers were "planted" we ran 1/8" (they're just skinny... no one really measured) strips of So Saffron through the crimper and then wadded it up before placing it in the pot on top of the floral foam. Ok... this part is VERY technical... flowers are secured to the dowel rods with Scotch tape. :)







Our next project was a card to match our flower bouquet. We used the "Cutie Pie" DSP, along with Certainly Celery, So Saffron, and Whisper White CS. We stamped the small flower from "Ginormous Flowers" in Certainly Celery classic ink on a metal edge tag and adhere that with a glue dot after adding a So Saffron brad. "Friend" was stamped in Certainly Celery from the "Fundamental Phrases" stamp set and then punched out with the round tab punch. We added faux stitching to the bottom piece of DSP and then tied a piece of Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon around the front. This was CASE'd from the current Stampin' Up'! catalog, page 93 (as was the bouquet).






This is the Easter card we made at PMS. This was CASE'd from fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, Brenda Taylor. The base of the card is Pretty In Pink with a layer of So Saffron over that. We added a piece of Spring Fling DSP to the top half and stamped "happy easter" from "A Good Egg" on the bottom. The chick was stamped on Whisper White using Jet Black StazOn. We colored it with So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie markers. The chick was stamped again on scratch paper using Jet Black StazOn. We stamped the flower image over the top of the chick again in StazOn. The flowers were colored with SU! markers in Pretty In Pink, Sage Shadow and So Saffron. We cut the egg part (chicken butt) out using paper snips and covered the entire thing with Versamark ink. We added Iridescent Ice embossing powder over that and set it with a heat tool. The egg was then added to the chick, which was layered over So Saffron and Pretty In Pink CS. Before adhering this piece, we added a piece of Pretty In Pink grosgrain ribbon with a ribbon slide from "Hodgepodge Hardware" to the front of our card. Thanks, Brenda, for the inspiration!!






This card was inspired by Beate's weekend sketch challenge and by a co-worker. I don't actually know the co-worker, but she has an 8 year old niece, Mariah, who has Osteosarcoma (the most common type of bone cancer and the sixth most common type of cancer in children) and is having surgery today to have a leg amputated. We (Mariah's aunt's co-workers) decided to have a card shower for Mariah. Everyone was encouraged to bring a card in today with postage so that they could all be mailed to Mariah at the same time. This card has a base of Pretty in Pink and then a layer of Sage Shadow. I stamped the flower from "So Much" in Jet Black StazOn on glossy white CS. I then used sponge daubers with Classic ink in Pretty In Pink, Sage Shadow, and So Saffron to color the flowers and the background. I used a glue pen to add Dazzling Diamonds glitter to each flower (I know how much girls love glitter!!). I used the teensy-weensy flower from "Time Well Spent" to create a border around the sentiment and added a piece of Pretty In Pink grosgrain ribbon to the left side of the card. I hope Mariah likes it! Please keep her and her family in your prayers.


Next, I needed some manly birthday cards and came up with this using Beate's weekend sketch challenge again. I used the "Wanted" stamp set with Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla, and Really Rust CS. The paisley patterned paper is from the Outlaw DSP. "Celebrate Your Day" is stamped in Chocolate Chip and is from the "Celebrate Everything" stamp set. The medallion has four layers, two of which are "popped up" on Stampin' Dimensionals. I used the Chocolate Chip poly-twill ribbon (I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this stuff!!) from the current Occasions Mini Catalog (see link above on right).





This card was created using last Wednesday's sketch challenge from Splitcoast stampers. I used "traitor paper" along with Brilliant Blue, So Saffron, and Whisper White CS. "Birthday Whimsy" was used and I stamped the packages in Old Olive, Rose Red, and So Saffron (they were stamped off on my grid paper several times before actually stamping on my CS to give them the faded appearance). The sentiment was stamped in Brilliant Blue classic ink. I used Spellbinders Nestabilities to cut the circles (regular and scalloped).






This card was CASE'd from Jenny Moors and I really, really like hers! The card base is Blue Bayou and Soft Sky CS. I pierced the edges of the Soft Sky piece. The truck was stamped in Blue Bayou classic ink on Whisper White and then again on Blue Bayou. I cut it out using paper snips and a craft knife and then used a versamark pen and embossing powder to add the chrome and tires. The Blue Bayou truck was then layered over the one stamped on Whisper White. I used Spellbinders Nestabilities to create the ovals (regular and scalloped). Images are from the "Loads Of Love" stamp set.







This was adapted from this card for my sister-in-law, Tammy. She fell in love with the card and wanted me to make another one that she could put by her desk at home. I found these great three-dimensional photo frames at Michaels that worked great for adding the flowers with Stampin' Dimensionals.

WHEW - That's all for now. Toodles!

Real Quick Card

I needed an anniversary card and thought I'd take advantage of Beate's weekend sketch challenge. Normally, I like to use all Stampin' Up! products, but this card was for my personal use and I have a LOT of "traitor paper" that I purchased before becoming an SU! demonstrator. I'll never be able to use it all, so I might as well bite the bullet and give it all away or sell it. Anyway, this is my card for the sketch challenge. I used Not Quite Navy as the card base and Very Vanilla is matted on that. The image is stamped in Not Quite Navy classic ink on Very Vanilla CS and then I pierced a border. The patterned paper is the "traitor paper" and the ribbon is an "off-brand" as well. TFL!

It's Definitely Missouri Weather!

On Saturday we enjoyed a 12 mile bicycle ride in shorts and short sleeves while the temps made it into the low 70's. This morning we awoke to almost 9 inches of snow and temps that didn't make it out of the 30's today. Ernie enjoyed the snow several times today for very short periods of time on each outing. I'm not sure you can see it or not, but his lips are covered in snow in the third picture. He likes to "root" in the snow!























This is a card that I made when I was trying to figure out what I was going to do for the swaps I'll take with me to this Friday's Stampin' Up! regional meeting. I had already made 20 of the "Essence Of Love" cards seen in a previous post (River Rock, Basic Black, and Whisper White CS) and wanted something that wouldn't be too terribly time consuming.

The image was stamped with Taken With Teal Craft Ink and heat embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. I used Taken With Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, and Whisper White CS along with Bali Breeze DSP. The ribbon is Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon.


By the time I finished this one, I had decided that it took way too long for me to think about making another 19 of them.








Then I started tinkering with some other ideas last night and came up with this card. With Curt's help (he punched all the pieces for the flowers) I was able to get 20 of them made in a reasonable amount of time. The stamp set is "She's All That" from the Occassions Mini Catalog. I used Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, and Whisper White CS. I ran a glue pen along the edges of each flower piece and added Dazzling Diamonds before assembling the flowers. The flower was added to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. The image was stamped with Basic Black Craft Ink and then heat embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. I thought it turned out very "crisp" and I love it mostly because it's got lots of bling! The second photo is a closeup at a little different angle so you can really see the sparkle.

When I finished with those cards, I still wanted to have some more swaps, so I made fourteen of these cards real quick. These are "business builders" and are little cards measuring a whopping 2 1/2" X 4" that hold a business card. I used More Mustard, Old Olive, and Brocade Blue CS and classic ink. Images are stamped on Whisper White and include stamps from the "Baroque Motifs" and "Sincere Salutations" sets. The "tabs" to hold my business cards were made using the Slit punch.

I STILL didn't think I had enough swaps and I had eight of these 2008 calendars left and wanted to use them up. I added Fall Flowers DSP to a 4" X 4" chipboard coaster. The calendar was added using Sticky Strip. The stamped image is from "Time Well Spent" (Level III Hostess Set) and was stamped in Jet Black StazOn. The flowers were colored with a Really Rust Stampin' Write Marker and the word "Friends" was colored with Soft Sky classic ink and a blender pen. The image was matted on Soft Sky and Really Rust CS. I also stamped the itsy-bitsy flower from "Time Well Spent" in the bottom corner of each page of the calendar in Really Rust classic ink. Of course, I used a glue pen on the flowers and added Dazzling Diamonds to finish it off. Each calendar has magnets on the back. I put one on my fridge just to test it out and they look maw-velous!

Toodles!

Occassions Mini Catalog Is Available

The new Occassions Mini Catalog is now available. Order your new stamp sets from the Occassions Mini Catalog before March 17th to take advantage of the last days of Sale-A-Bration.

Customers

When you spend $50 on Stampin' Up! merchandise, you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward. There's no limit-for every $50 you spend, you can select another free Sale-A-Bration reward!

Hostesses

When you host a workshop of at least $300 (before tax and shipping), you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward in addition to all of the regular hostess benefits!

New Demonstrators

During Sale-A-Bration, anyone who joins as a demonstrator can choose any stamp set--a value of up to $47.95--from the Spring-Summer 2008 Collection! Plus, new demonstrator recruits get 20 percent off the Demonstrator Starter Kit--over $350 of Stampin' Up! products and business supplies for only $159!

March PMS Is Coming!!

It’s that time of month again! "PMS at Jen’s" will be held on Saturday, March 15th from 2 pm to 5 pm. I have several projects planned for this month. We’ll be making a spring bouquet with a matching card and an Easter basket with a matching card. Either of these projects would make a great gift or just something fun to keep for yourself! I only have 10 spots available for this class and the cost is $20. Seats are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis and payment is expected in advance to reserve your seat. I look forward to seeing all of you on the 15th!!

P.S. I will be attending the Stampin’ Up! regional seminar in Tulsa, OK on Friday of this week and hope to have some new things to share with you when we get together. Happy Stampin'!