My Valentine

Hubby had to work again this year.... :(

We leave each other cards though and his always make me all warm inside (he doesn't make 'em but he sure knows how to pick 'em! LOL)

This year I didn't do the typical hearts and red/pinks...

We've been married for 16.5 years now and I can honestly say they've all been amazing. I've been so blessed.

xoxo

Blah.

Today is a blah day. We drive Daddy back to the airport to leave. Never fun. Never easy. BUT, we're so thankful he only goes for 7-8 days now instead of 12 or 13!! Count your blessings, right! I thought I'd share with you my blah card. YUP, I have them too. :) It was a card I saw that I loved & tried to re-create it (k, mine is totally different) with what supplies I had brought with me. IT DID NOT WORK. At least it's not what I was going for. I'm not sure if it's just that I don't like all those scalloped squares, or that they are mounted on black, or that my white is stamped (I wanted white embossing powder)...I'm thinking it's the celery base WITH a celery square - too much. I dunno. It's just blah.

and I'm not sure I could do anything to "de-blah" it. LOL.

.j.

It's a girl! :)

My Mom's boss's wife's son. HA, how's that for a mouthful. My Mom knitted a beautiful sweater for her and wanted me to make a card for her. She said that Mom wasn't a too girly girl, but how could I resist pink! :) So I tried to tone it down a bit with some greens and browns. Anyone remember that design paper from Stampin' Up!? LOVE IT, still have some as I bought a bunch of it when it was retiring! :)

Stamp Sets - Bundle of Joy, In the Stars

Paper - Pink ?? (the new (now old) In color) -- KICKING myself for not buying more of this. I think this is SU's BEST pink THUS far. *sigh*, some mellow moss in there, and white.

I used the word window punch (folded over) for a little homemade embellishment with a brad through it. The ribbon is the gorgeous taffeta ribbon from SU (my favorite ribbon "series"). I ran the base of the card through the cuttlebug using swiss dots, again my favorite folder.

what do you think? Photo is a little off, artificial lighting in my room...

.j.

Stamped Vellum

This is the last card I had "on file" to share with you while I was away :) It's great when I have a full day to stamp out a bunch of cards, photograph & then save them to share with you on stamping "droughts"! I've been in a creative drought for too long. Anyone else get grumpy when they haven't had that creative outlet?! I do!! :) This was a *very* simple layered card. I used vellum cardstock (a lot nicer to work with I find) and stamped it with white stazon. Because I don't like the look of adhesive behind vellum, I always use some sort of embellishment to attach it and in this case, I used some light pink brads. The card is very soft, but I think it's simplicity is pretty.
I'm no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator - wow. It's strange after nearly 7 YEARS not be a demo. I haven't done a workshop in a couple years though, but still was a great customer to myself! HA. I did *finally* order a stamp set I've had my eye on, called Trendy Trees. So, hopefully in my stamping time I'll be able to play with this set and be able to show you a few ideas.
Hope you all had a great weekend!
.j.

The Replacement.

A few small differences on this card that I quickly made yesterday, hiding in my room so she wouldn't notice :) LOL. I didn't drag out {her} cuttlebug to make my tan circle and of course the design paper is different, a little bolder. I thought {in a pinch} was good :) We had a wonderful day, spoiled & pampered and just AHHHHHHhhhhhhhh.... love those kind of days. I guess they're so special because them come like...ummm.... once a year!

What did you do this past weekend?

.j.

Mother's Day Weekend.

I managed to get my mother's day cards done before we moved and all my stuff was packed up. I got my inspiration here at this link:

http://silkeledlow.blogspot.com/2009/04/occ-sketch-challenge-ic175-butterfly.html

I used Stampin' Up!'s textured cardstock - love the textured cs, but it doesn't stamp well, so I always pull out my rubons for sentiments when I'm using textured papers. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, with lots of spoiling & even some pampering!

.j.

miss you.

As the house slowly looks more like a warehouse with boxes stacked high and little place to move, I find myself also preparing for the goodbye's that will inevitably come. I hate that ride to the airport with all the kids to say goodbye to Daddy week after week. I'm hoping being at Grandma's will provide some excitement and make the goodbyes less teary. Made a card ahead of time for the kids to write in & slip into his bag on one of his trips away. Again bits & pieces. Ribbon pieces that I simply glued behind the image (using glue dots, love those) and some natural hemp and a metal rimmed tag. The image was colored with Stampin' Up!'s watercolor crayons on watercolor paper. I love the softness that watercoloring creates and those crayons can make anyone feel like an artist :)
Posts will be sporadic as I try to organize my days. With homeschooling the kids now, that takes up my morning so the afternoon I try to get as much packing done as I can. Of course with three kids at home, there's still snacks and regular NEEEEEEDS for MOOOOOOOMMY! Stamping items are getting packed up as I try to sort things to take, things to store. Paper is my hardest - what to take, I do think hubby is going to die when he sees how much I want to take. Think I'll be holding boxes on my lap! HA. So I hope you are all having a great week - I shall pop in now & then for a break & a "visit" :) We got a snowfall last night (unreal, kids had a lemonade stand last weekend!!) so that was disappointing....hopefully it'll clear up for moving day.
cheers,
.j.

soft.

I think soft when I think of this card. I think it's mostly the plaid design paper that I used. I can't remember the company - bear something.... rats, should write these things down. My brain seems to be mush these days - perhaps the packing tape is giving off harmful fumes & I must quit packing?! :) The photo of this card is lame. Sorry. It does look better in real life. I stamped the image using markers and then didn't reink to give the card a fading "off" feel ??? The middle image is a rub on from stampin' up. I'm DETERMINED to use up my rub ons. I have hoarded for FAR too long. The time has come. So you'll see a bit of this & that on my cards as I try to use up before purchasing more (why is that so easy to do - the buying more I mean!) :)
Oh yes... and there's that fiskars punch again! Thursday already - hope you're having a great week, getting lots accomplished & making a few memories along the way!
.j.

moving thanks!!

It took me awhile to get my stamping stuff unpacked (admittedly, there's still more to do!), but I knew one of the first cards I needed to make were thank-you cards for all the guys that helped us move - we were gone already, house packed up, and we had seven friends {with muscles} go over to our place & pack the moving truck for us. Amazing! I have to stop sometimes and just say a prayer of thanks for all the great friends in our life! Now I say a prayer to find some here! LOL. I used the jumbo wheel "neighbourhood" for this card. Love that wheel. Cuttlebug also came out with this new embossing folder & I think it's perfect for those masculine cards! I pulled out my copics & got to work. TIME CONSUMING. Wrong card to make seven times over!! I hand drew in 'siding, planks & bricks. It was fun. I did notice that I don't like coloring on Stampin' Up!'s whisper white with my copics. It doesn't really {sink} into the fibers of the paper. I kept thinking it was me and my poor coloring technique, but then my last card I stamped using the Canson paper (made specifically for Copics) and the difference was AMAZING. So, now I know. I have come to realize I have a few favorite "must-have" pieces to my space:

(1) Cuttlebug. Use it on nearly all my cards! Weather it's the embossing folders, die cuts or nestibilities. I love this little machine.

(2) Centering ruler. Get one. You'll be so glad you spent the $4!

(3) Layer Ease. These rulers allow you to use your exacto knife and have a mat precisely 1/16" or 1/8" or whatever you choose. Must have for me.

(4) Good Black Ink. My favs are Brilliance Graphite Black & Stazon Jet Black.

K... there's a few. What are some of yours? Don't forget to mail out your On My Mind Card challenge!! :)))))

Enjoy your day,

.j.

Who are you thinking about?

Do you ever have someone on your mind? For some reason they just keep slipping into your thoughts? I know I do. Often I stop & pray for this person as I wonder if the Lord has placed them on my mind & heart for a reason. But, why not take it one step further... send them a note & let them know just that -- hey, you're on my mind! Wouldn't that be an awesome card to receive? Thinking that someone has been thinking of you throughout the week, misses you or simply has appreciated you! Sweet!
So a Saturday Challenge for you -- if right now while you're reading this you're reminded of someone like that -- send them a card this week. Let me know if you did this by leaving a comment. See how many of us brighten up someone's day next week, shall we? :)
I made this card using a sketch challenge over on SCC (splitcoaststampers.com). If I'm ever stumped & need inspiration, I always head over to their sketch file & pick out a few sketches to try out -- LOVE it! I pulled out the Bali Breeze design paper. Thank-you Danita who helped me figure out WHAT this paper was called! I layered it with tempting turquoise & River Rock. I used the paper piercing template out of the mat pak (great buy, you need one of these!!) to put the little punches around the river rock layer. I also used both my straight square & scallop square nestibilities for the layer on the stamped image. I used one of my new stamp sets from Stampin' Up! called Pocket Silhouettes. It's a great little set of four. Here again I used white as a base for the card.
Enjoy your weekend!
.j.

Hello Monday.

Hubby was suppose to come home this coming Friday, but flights were nasty expensive so he's having to wait until Sunday. *sigh* It's amazing even what two days makes when I'm on my own with the kids. All you single parents out there... MY HATS OFF TO YOU! Wow, you have an incredible job! So I thought this little pocket card was very fitting!! Give your guy a big cuddle tonight and be thankful he's laying there beside you :)

Stamps - On The Move (stampin' up!)
Paper - Chocolate Chip pocket card, mellow moss, regal rose, watercolor paper
Ink - Black StazOn
Other - watercolor crayons, ribbon (my stash & rose SU), heart eyelet, white brad, cuttlebug & embossing folder
This card was actually inspired by the LITTLE piece of green/brown ribbon at the bottom. I sometimes go through my design paper or other element and then base my card on that.... this time I took that piece of ribbon and thought I'd try to co-ordinate my card around that one element. What's an element that you have used to create a card/Scrapbook layout?

Middle of the Week.

Wednesday is here again. We were at a potluck last night & helped with crafts & decorations for the church. What a great family time! Doing projects & putting up Christmas trees. I've been doing a lot of reading & getting inspired to put a lot of *thought* into Christmas. Not just frantically running around trying to get through Christmas, but savoring the days. Enjoying the moments. Making time for traditions. It'll be a hard one this year with Daddy gone for the whole holiday time, but we'll have our little Christmas on the 22nd. We'll savor the time we do have. What are your traditions? I was reading the comments on another blog on Christmas traditions & I loved all the fabulous ideas. So I ask you.... what are your family traditions? Old ones and new ones you hope to create this season?
We open one gift on Christmas Eve (usually new PJs to slip on for the night), Christmas morning we open stockings & have a big breakfast & then usually take off for a long family walk. Once we get back home we open the gifts under the tree & then savor the afternoon's quietness. Kids playing, playing games, sipping hot cocoa. We have a advent quilt that gets hung on the wall (I'll have to take a photo to share with you) and inside each "house" is a slip of paper for each child. It's a clue to where they can find their "treat" for the day. They love it. They study their little clue and then run off in glee in search for the goodie that day. I typically just have a little treat in the actual house, but with three of them now there's not too much room. LOL. I put in a few clues last year and they LOVED those days when the house had paper inside & they knew they got to search for their treat. So this year I think I'll do that for each day. A little more planning on my part, but sure do love to see those smiles! We also have a Christmas Eve service that we attend and have a big Chocolate Fondue at Grandma's house. Mmmmmm. Lots of Christmas baking. Christmas Shoeboxes. Trip to Vernon to visit my family. Silver Star Mountain. Drive to view Christmas lights. I love this season. I read about picking someone who is less fortunate and making them feel loved the whole month through. I guess like a secret santa. A card in the mail. Some goodies. A gift. Makes us realize how blessed we are and how we can make a difference in someone's life.
Enjoy the season. It's here :)

Stamp Set - Season of Joy, Snow Burst
Paper - Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Creamy Caramel
Ink - Vanilla Craft, Bravo Burgundy, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa
Other - burgundy grosgrain ribbon, burgundy eyelets, stampin' dimensionals, punch.
Here's another attempt at a *brown* Christmas Card. I cut out the tree and popped it up. I sure do like this stamp set :)
Merry Christmas!
.j.

"Tis the Season....

We had a great family weekend, despite all our kiddos having coughs & sniffles, we really did have a great weekend. I even had some time to stamp with my girls yesterday so I will be able to show you some cards this week :) yeah. I'm hoping to get my Christmas cards DONE this week so I can mail out that first week in December. With the business of the month, I like to get those outta the way first. PLUS... then people can enjoy them a bit longer :)

After holding out on this past mini catalog from Stampin' Up!.... I caved! I had my eye on Seasons of Joy & Snow Burst but fought the URGE! Well of course a customer ordered BOTH of these sets (thank-you Debbie! LOL) and once there were in my hands I NEEEEEEEEDED them. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Well, those yummy sets arrived on Friday & I got to play with them. What a fun set. I saw a challenge about using browns for Christmas... very interesting. I thought I'd add in Bravo Burgundy as it has a browny-feel to it as well. Here's the recipe to start:

Stamps - Seasons of Joy
Paper - Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy, Brushed Gold, Chocolate Chip
Ink - Vanilla Craft, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa
Other - Wine Organdy Ribbon, Stampin' Dimentionals, Photo Corner Punch
I really took my time with this card (you wouldn't want to make 50 of them!). I started by stamping my white strip with Bravo Burgundy & the flower. Then I thought it would look cool if I could POP the PETALS. So I restamped on another sheet of paper and cut out allllll those petals :) I took a sponge and used Creamy Caramel & Close to Cocoa to *age* the whisper white cardstock and placed that on my stamped Chocolate Chip card base. I love the craft vanilla pad. It's so warm. The corner photo punch was another new item in my box of goodies this week. HOW EASY is that handy punch -- love it! I finished it off with a side bow. I'm happy with how it turned out. One of those cards that I didn't really have in my head... just played & this is what evolved.
We put the Christmas tree up last night (hubby is gone for Christmas so we wanted to get some festivities in while he was home... *sniff, sniff*) -- did you know there's only 4 shopping weekends left until Christmas. I love Christmas!!!
have a happy day!
.j.

OK, last one Marie :)

I decided to play with ONE more card for Marie's Challenge (see what happens when there's yummy prizes! LOL). Here's my card (this one measures 4.5 square):

Stamps - Peaceful Wishes, Canvas & All Year Cheer (3 maybe? my sets are all mixed up!)
Paper - Baroque Burgundy, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla
Ink - Palette Noir Black, Markers (close to cocoa, always artichoke, baroque burgundy), Versamark
Other - White Vanilla Grosgrain, Glassy Glaze EP (3 coats), Eyelets
Here's a close up again of the technique:

How many Christmas Cards do you all make & send out in a season?
have a happy day!
.j.

A Challenge & Christmas #6

And the Christmas cards KEEP ON COMING! :) Marie posts a challenge every other week and I love participating in them. For her most recent challenge, click here. She mixed it up a bit this time & instead of posting a sketch, she posted a *challenge*... one of my FAVORITE techniques - cracked glass. Seeing as I was on the Christmas trend, I thought I'd keep within my *theme*. So here's my card!

Stamps - Solemn Stillness, Weathered
Ink - Palette Black Noir, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke
Paper - Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Basic Grey DS Paper
Accessories - Vintage Brads, True Thyme stitched ribbon, Cuttlebug Snowflake, Dazzling Diamonds, Air Art Tool, Close to Cocoa Marker, Glassy Glaze, Sewing Machine.
Here's a Close up of the "cracked glass" image:

I have seen other stampers stitch their cards with *snippets* here & there and I thought it looked very cool. I love the stitching (could ya tell! LOL) as it gives it a great homey feel which I love. Christmas is the perfect season for that homey-cozy feel! So I gave it a try on this card & really liked how it came out. I just got the little snowflake cutter for my cuttlebug machine and thought I'd use some of my coasters to make my own snowflake chipboard.... a little two way glue & dazzling diamonds gave the card some glitter festiveness. I really like how it turned out.

Thanks for the challenge Marie!
.j.

Ewe Ok?

I haven't pulled out this set in awhile & thought I'd try making a "masculine" you doing OK kinda card :) I used Farm Fever for the main image & Canvas for the BG. Basic Grey, Basic Black & Brocade Blue were the card colors & the image was stamped on Whisper White. You can't really see the black eyelets that I put in to tie my grey taffeta bow around. I also did some paper piercing from corner to corner. I don't have the photo corner punches, but there's a great trick in using your 1/4" square punch and then use your 3/4" square punch to create a square donut (for lack of descriptive words this early in the morning :)) Then simply snip it on the diagonal and you've got photo corners! :) I'm loving my prismacolor pencil crayons and picked up some odorless mineral spirits, called Museum, at a stampin' store in Victoria. Not sure how it pairs up to Gamsol, but it worked better than what I had :)
Long weekend is ALMOST here :) Enjoy your day!
-.j.

Rain, Rain, go away....

Ahhh... winter has arrived on the West Coast. Rain. So difficult to make snowmen outta the stuff! :) Main reason why hubby is SO READY to move off the island & to a sunshine region. Arizona here we come! Who knows, might actually happen. What do they say if you dream long enough & hard enough.... I think I'd melt away, but he loves the heat (time for a vacation I think).
Stamped & colored some images last night, but no actually cards put together. This morning I have my list of to-dos that I'm doing good thus far ignoring. My cup of coffee is nearing its end which of course means I'm then going to have to "work". The usual Mom stuff: attempt the feat of Mt.Washmore (aka the Laundry!!), clean the bathrooms, put away and hide the clutter (company arrives friday - LOL)... not an easy task living in an unfinished house outta boxes. EEK. Then of course the truck is completely outta diesel (pleeeeze help me make it to the gas station!!), and grocery shopping is a must. Funny how every day looks the same. I might attempt a run today, but I did a big 10K on Monday and yesterday did a great 6K walk with my sil, so I may rest my legs and run hard tomorrow. One of those kinda days...
I also have a list of cards I need to make: couple of birthdays coming up, one I missed (*gasp*), Christmas Cards I need to START thinking about, a thank-you or two and of course a couple "just because". So I'll share with you one I did the other day for a friend who moved. I put versamark on the whole front of the colored image and embossed it with Iridescent Ice. Gave it the little something it was missing. Some Stampin' Up! wide grosgrain ribbon, polyshrink *charm*, some prima flowers and a little bling in the center! :) It measures 4.25 square. Fun little size. Now I just need to get it into the mailbox... and the to-do list lengthens :)

Have a splendid Wednesday!
-.j.

E-Swap Vellum Card

I was involoved in my first ever E-Swap! :) Basically you made a card and sent it to the *hostess* (via email) and once she had them all she put them in a word document & "mailed" it out to all the participants. It was fabulous. You only had to make ONE for starters, and now I have a bunch on my computer I can share with you. How great is that? I thought I'd start by showing you mine :). I went out on a limb (well for me anyway) and made the cardbase out of vellum cardstock. I was happy with out it turned out.

Stamps - Doodle This, Short & Sweet
Paper - Prints Designer Paper in Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Certain Celery, Vellum Cardstock & Whisper White
Ink - Black Staz On & Uni-ball Signo Gel Pen
Accessories - bashful blue grosgrain ribbon, vintage brads, oval punches, paper snips

Hello Monday.

A little late in my posting... not sure how the day got away from me. Got my 10K run in this morning -- ooooh... hurt a wee bit today! UGH -- Mondays! :) Love the final stretch though where I'm ALMOST done & happy I did it!! Here's another card I made while playing with the BIG ON CHRISTMAS set. How fun is this set?! Used the cuttlebug on this one with the snowflakes embossing *plate*, stitched the red piece of cardstock to match the ribbon (loving that Jersey ribbon from Stampin' Up!) and some silver cord to finish it off :) We're out tonight for a birthday party & then I'm hoping to stamp. Hubby is away so I must TAPE Prison Break and watch it with him.... my fav show! :))) Need to get some cards made for specific occasions, so hopefully I'll get that done to show you :)
Have a fabulous week!
-.j.