Christmas bears!

Supplies: All paper from Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses;
polar bear stamp by Imaginisce; Merry Always stamp by Hero Arts;
'From Our House to Yours' stamp by Stampendous; rhinestones & black fibres from stash

Supplies: All papers from MAMBI; ribbon from Offray;
Polar bear & penguin, and greeting stamp from The Cat's Pajamas;
candy canes from stash - bought a lifetime supply years ago!

xoxo
Jessi

Christmas, continued...

Supplies: papers from Doodlebug; gingerbread sticker from ?;
Sentiment from Stampendous, coloured with markers; 'cookie cutter' button from Dress it Up!;
miscellaneous rhinestones & brad



Supplies: papers from Cosmo Cricket;
Fluffles the Cat stamp & fun flock from Stampendous;
large snowflake layer cut with Spellbinders die & sponged with Versamark chalk ink

We had a glorious Christmas - the weather cooperated with our drive to Miramichi to visit Grammie and Poppy, and there was just enough snow on the ground to look festive without having to shovel it. The main snow came after we were already home. The boys had a blast Christmas morning opening all of their gifts, and if they didn't get everything they wanted, they haven't said anything about it. {whew!} At last count, Christmas Eve, I could have sworn Connor had at least 250 things on his list, and was still adding to it. I really wasn't sure that he understood us telling him that wishing for everything wouldn't mean he got everything. Riley tested us this year - he sent his letter to Santa sealed, without allowing either of us to read it. He asked a lot of questions about logistics, too - I'm not sure that we have much more time to enjoy the kids believing in Santa. Even Connor asked me if Santa was pretend, and I passed on answering that by turning it around: "Well, what do you think?"
Boxing Day we were lucky enough to eat a huge Christmas feast prepared by Grammie, and to have Rob's brother Ian & his kids come to join us. The older all 4 get, the more fun it is to watch them play together. (They range from 3.5 to nearly 12.)
xoxo
Jessi

Vintage Christmas



Supplies: Papers by Basic Grey; doily by Wilton;
angel, tag, and rub-on sentiment & snowflakes by K & Co.




Supplies: Everything by K & Co.



Supplies: everything by K & Co except lace by Hero Arts

I know that I mentioned earlier in the season that I had found some beautiful vintage goodies to create with - these are just some of the gobs of Christmas cards I made with all of it. I found that most of the vintage-style cards that I made were very difficult to scan because I tend to use a lot of layers and bulky embellishments, which I guess is true of most of the things I make!
xoxo
Jess

It's almost the New Year!

It may be almost the New Year, and Christmas may be finished once again, but I have oodles of Christmas cards still left in my little blog folder that I never got around to showing...so I'm typing up a few posts to finish them off in the hopes that by the actual New Year, I will have made some awesome new stuff WITH my awesome new stuff. I still have to motivate myself to put away the Christmas craft supplies for next year so that I can put away my new goodies!
The good news is, if you are local, that the Sackville Farmer's Market resumes on January 8th. This year, as in the last few years, you have a chance to stock up on cards for next year at half-price! Packages of 3 cards, and Christmas-themed earring cards will be 40% off, or $6 each. 


Supplies: Image by Pink Cat Studio; papers from Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses;"
Snowflake punches by Martha Stewart; fun flock from Stampendous;
snowflake gems from Michael's




Supplies: image & sentiment from Pink Cat Studio;
paper from Doodlebug; snowflake punch & glitter by Martha Stewart;
brad by Basic Grey; lacey circle Nestabilities; watercoloured with Stampin' Up! pencils

And these are just two of the pretties you could pick up on the 8th :) Hope everyone's having a lovely holiday!
xoxo
Jessi

A Jolly & Fun-Filled Christmas!

Supplies: papers & snowman from My Mind's Eye;
snowflakes made using Martha Stewart punch & glittered;
sentiment rub-on by KaiserCraft

See, I told you I just don't say "Merry Christmas"!
The kids got a grand surprise this week - a package from Germany, with spyglasses and a letter with instructions from the BND (the German intelligence agency) to look out for Decepticon activity in our area! They have both been concentrating on watching out on our walks home from school - and they are LOVING it. Ah, Tom, he knows the way to these little boys' hearts.
Our other excitements....Connor has lost 2 teeth this week, one of which has been a real pain. The new tooth had grown out of the gum in front of the baby tooth, so the pressure wasn't pushing it out, and it was nearly impossible to get a hold of to pull it. Finally, after easily 3 months of real trying, it came out Saturday. Once that was out, Connor put his efforts into wiggling the other loose tooth he had, and only a few days later out it popped.
Apparently I should have said Connor's other excitements, because really, all the news seems to be his - he had a consult from the IWK regarding assistive technology, and, long story short, we have some really amazing options to run with, and he should begin training in January. Yes! Six months to become proficient before heading off to middle school - I think we can do it :)
xoxo
Jessi

Moxie Fab Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Challenge - LOVE!

Moxie Fab has the challenges that seem to get me going the most - this time it's a series of 4 favourite occasions for paper crafters. My first finished & scanned one is in the theme of love.



Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey, Sugar Rush;
snow-couple & heart rub-ons from Royal Langnickel;
snowflakes (Martha Stewart punches) from glitter paper;
heart button from Dress It Up!

Now, besides the background paper, it may not be immediately obvious why I'd put this into the challenge. It looks kind of Christmasy...but if you look closely, you'll see what I'm thinking: in the circle are the words "I love you for who you are." Check out the challenge details at Moxie Fab's blog entry.
xoxo
Jessi

Joy to the World!

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey Jovial;
rub-ons (holly & poinsettia) from Royal Langnickel;
"Joy to the World" tag from K & Co

...and now I have that song in my head!
I realized a few days ago that very few of my cards actually say "Merry Christmas" - almost every one has some other holiday greeting on it. I've been making an effort to purposely use all the "Merry Christmas" stamps I own (at least 5) - but it's strange, they are never my first choice!
The second Sackville Midnight Madness is coming up this Friday, December 10, so I am working my tail off trying to make as many things as possible before then. Pressure always helps creativity for me. Added to that pressure was the need to get a certain package sent off to BC, and of course the last thing to go into that package was something handmade. I have NO IDEA who waited until the last minute to get that done, but it's done now & on the way.
xoxo
Jessi

Season's Greetings

Supplies: K & Co paper, die cut girl, tag;
doily sponged with Old Paper distress ink;
Offray ribbon

Well, I've been cranking out the Christmas cards - and hardly had a chance to take pictures of any! I always say that I'm in it for the fun parts, and it's totally true. The plain old cutting cardstock, folding and trimming, and photographing or scanning is just not my favourite. I made a trip to Truro on Saturday to Carsand-Mosher for new goodies, and dug into them this morning. Among them were a few little Christmas bits, including more vintage yumminess like this little girl. And doilies are quickly becoming a staple for me. I found some fantastic ones in the "wedding craft" supply that state on the package that they are greaseproof. I worried that they wouldn't take ink well, but in fact that seems to improve how smoothly the ink applies.
I'm on call for homework help, and already by question number 5 Connor's yodeling that he can't do it alone. One more pretty before I go:

Supplies: Paper from Making Memories;
poinsettia/sentiment die cut from K & Co;
pearls from Dollarama

xoxo
Jessi

One month until Christmas!

That thud you heard, was me hitting the floor with a heart attack. All I can hear in my head at the moment is "STOP WASTING TIME!" (This, as I'm puttering away on the computer instead of doing something purposeful, like running around flapping and squawking "One month 'til Christmas!" repeatedly.)

Without further ado or lollygagging:

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey, Eskimo Kisses;
Snowman cupcake stamp & fun flock on scarf & hat from Stampendous;
Liquid Applique & microbeads for frosting, rhinestone strip from Dollarama;
sentiment rub-on from Kaisercraft

And, now I'm off to flap and squawk.
xoxo
Jessi

I want rats in a bag, please.

(Overheard as Riley plays in the kitchen...he has now added that he would like them chocolate-covered! And, apparently, they will cost 16 cents. lol)

Tomorrow Connor will play in a dodgeball game in River Hebert - the first time he has signed up for anything extra-curricular. He's pretty excited. I have scrapbooking club tomorrow after school, so Rob will drive out with the bus and then drive Connor back separately afterwards to make it to work a little faster. I'm not sure Rob has ever been on a school trip - and this one only has 16 kids, all in grade six, so I'm not even sure it counts. Still, I don't think I'll look this gift horse in the mouth.

Supplies: Papers all from Imaginisce;
stamps all from The Cat's Pajamas;
penguin & bear covered in white Fun Flock, Stampendous!;
felt leaf & poinsettia from Hero Arts; brad from Basic Grey

Now, I have no idea why it looks otherwise, but the two white ovals are the same colour, from the same piece of paper. Go figure. I love these little felt embellishments - for several years I've bought every package I could get my hands on, and then I tend to use them sparingly. So far I've been good about using them this year, and I hope to find some more this weekend as now I'm out of the poinsettias, and nearly out of snowflakes. Today was a bit of a slushy day weather-wise, so the snowy Christmasy days are not far off....I hear jingle bells!!

xoxo
Jessi

Do you ever get the feeling...

...that you're waiting for the other shoe to drop? Sigh.

First, I should start off by saying that Midnight Madness was a success, and as usual, a lot of fun. It feels like a long night by about 11:30, and since the market is only 3 hours long, a 6 hour sale really is a long time. The set up was a little different, and I had a different location for the first time since Cathy started hosting these sales, but I was squished in with some great people. I was super happy to be away from the doorway, which every year I somehow would manage to forget meant I'd be fixing things that had blown over all night long.

Supplies: Papers from Imaginisce; green layer embossed with Cuttlebug folder;
Santa stamp from Inkadinkado; red fun flock from Stampendous!;
huge snowflake from Spellbinders die; rhinestones from Dollarama

Now for the shoe! Last week Connor had a massive allergic reaction to something. Tuesday he started with a few hives, and I just kept an eye on it. By Wednesday after school the rash was huge and his eyes started swelling & off to the ER we went. The doctor gave him prednisone & benadryl, which seems to have stopped the reaction. Today is the last day for medication, so we'll see if it reoccurs when we stop. A referral is in for an allergist to do a complete allergy screening. I do not anticipate that being a pleasant experience. At all. We have a few other health issues circling around here too, and as a result between 3 of us, we had 5 appointments last week.

Supplies: Papers from Imaginisce; snowman & frogs digital stamp from Pink Cat Studio;
red and white (on scarf) fun flock from Stampendous!; rhinestones & googly eyes from Dollarama;
"Merry Always" sentiment from Hero Arts; flatback gift buttons from Dress it Up!

This isn't really such a big deal, considering, but more of a straw/camel's back sort of deal, but the washer just died. Again. We bought it in 2008, a front-load Kenmore, for about $700. Then in the spring of 2010 we spent another $400 on it when the brace holding up the bucket broke. That's not including the extra $100 we spent on a used washer to see us through the month we spent waiting for the replacement part to come in. Plus, I was in the middle of doing laundry! So now I have a soaking wet, stinky load waiting, and I can't get the water hoses undone so that I can switch the washers around. For once, I guess it's a good thing that we never throw anything away around here, as we still have that used washer. Knock on wood that whatever this problem is, it is easily fixed, and the last mechanical one for a while.

I think I need a nap! lol
xoxo
Jessi

I'm going Midnight Mad!

From the town of Sackville's website:

Midnight Madness, Friday, November 19th.
Live entertainment, horse drawn wagon rides, visits with Santa Claus, hot apple cidar {sic} and hot chocolate, sidewalk vendors and great Christmas shopping.

Now, what they don't mention, and what I haven't seen advertised this year, is that the annual craft sale at the Bridge Street Cafe is taking place once again, from 6pm to midnight. Even though it's been happening for the last 5 or 6 years it's still good to put the word out & let folks know what's there, so I hope some ads pop up in the next few days. This year will see some familiar faces - me of course! - as well as my dear friends Cheryl & Dee. Cheryl makes fantastic jewelry for all tastes & styles, and Dee does the most incredible things with fibre - visit her blog to see a bit of what she does.
For more information on Midnight Madness visit the Sackville community calendar and check out the various links for November 19th.

And now let's see if we can pull up a Christmasy card for you....

Supplies: papers from MAMBI;
snowman circle rub-on from Royal Langnickel;
button present from Dress it Up!;
"Season's Greetings" chipboard from my vast Christmas stash :)

xoxo
Jessi

Autumn birthday

Supplies: paper from Basic Grey Origins, 12"x12";
acetate butterfly by K&Co; Happy Birthday stamp from Digital Princess;
stamped with Peeled Paint Distress ink & covered with Sakura Stardust glitter pen;
yellow & black gems from Dollarama

It will take me a while to get the Christmas cards I'm working on scanned & edited - I have been creating up a storm & just haven't felt like sitting at the computer to do it. I don't think anyone would find it a stretch that I like the making part best :)
xoxo
Jessi

ETA: I swear this was pre-scheduled to post last week...so I will have to make sure I come & check up on my posts to see that they're going through!

Look familiar?

Supplies: white cardstock, embossed with D'Vine swirls Cuttlebug folder;
Spellbinders butterfly and oval die-cuts;
sentiment stamp from My Favourite Things, embossed with silver EP;
silver paint pen for edging; rhinestone swirl from $store;
 and LOTS of Martha Stewart silver glitter

This was the third of a run of butterfly cards that I *had* to make with the glittery butterfly. The pink one I showed a few weeks ago, and I made an aqua one prior to that for my friend Cheryl's birthday...that's what started the whole thing, so let's blame her. The glitter is horribly messy, but it just looks so fantastic in real life that I keep doing it. As usual, it's hard to capture sparkle in a scan, but I think this does show some of the texture the glitter adds.
We're off to hopefully finish the last of our Christmas shopping today - Monday we got the boys' lists done, and now to work on some grown-ups. We tend to do the easy stuff first since really, the boys do the work for us, and we just have to go looking.
xoxo
Jessi

Thank Ewe!



Supplies: Paper, Basic Grey's Urban Prairie;
stamps: sheep, sentiment from Pink Cat Studio, grass pattern from Stampin' Up;
Ink: sky is Broken China distress ink; grass is Citrus Adirondack ink;
Fun Flock on sheep by Stampendous.

This could be a challenge - I have Connor beside me comparing Thomas the Tank Engines and expecting a response every few seconds! Ah, you've got to love scripting in the morning.

The stripy paper above is one of my favourite patterns of all time (of all time!) and I bought extra, and then hoarded it. I'm trying to be on a 'use it or get rid of it' kick with crafty supplies, but it's a process. At least that's what I'm trying to convince myself. I didn't do anything foolish like make a pledge not to buy new supplies - that would be ridiculous. I picked up all sorts of gorgeous Christmas paper yesterday, and I can't wait to cut into it. Vintage is big :) Expect to see lots of lace & doilies in the near future!

Anyhow, about this card, of course I love puns. The sheep, from one of my favourite companies, Pink Cat Studio, was stamped & then masked so that I could sponge the sky & grass. After that, I covered the sheep with Fun Flock, because, seriously, how can you resist a fuzzy sheep? And I suppose that's about it. Now off to hear more about how James and Edward (Egward, he always says) are both useful and yet, they are different in very important ways. LOL!

xoxo
Jessi

Cute as can be!

Supplies: Paper from Basic Grey Oliver, 12x12 pack;
rub-ons from Making Memories & Daisy D's;
buttons from stash

I find baby boy cards hard to make - even ones that start out as gender-neutral often end up frilly and girly by the time I'm done. So, with this cute monkey & train I decided to not do too much to it & let it stay boyish. I hope! The "Oh Baby!," arrow, and "cute as can be" rub-ons are all from Daisy D's, and the orange "Celebrate!" is from Making Memories, and honestly was an afterthought. Once I had the buttons all sewn on, it just seemed to need another pop of colour.
Right now I'm buried in Christmas cards, preparing for the first of 2 Midnight Madness events that are held in Sackville every autumn. The first, if you're local, is Friday, November 19th. I'll be set up in the Bridge Street Cafe, the same location as the farmer's market, from 6 to 12 pm, along with lots of other crafters. Closer to the event I'll be sure to post relevant links to the Town of Sackville, which has plenty on the go during Midnight Madness, for families, for students, and definitely for shoppers.
xoxo
Jessi

Birthday Puppy

Supplies: papers, all Basic Grey "Max and Whiskers";
Dog stamp, Inkadinkado; birthday rub-on from Pebbles

I love these papers - check out all the little bones, doghouses, and dogs! This puppy dog is too adorable - the sentiment 'he' comes with says, "you make me so happy I have to wag my tail." I've stamped him on patterned paper, and then again on brown, and once more on white. Then, I've fussy-cut the whole dog out of the brown paper, and just the eye from the white paper. This allows the puppy to have that rakish patch over his eye.
Back to the Christmas Card {Salt} Mines~
xoxo
Jessi

One-of-a-Kind

Supplies: Rose stamp - Fifth Avenue Floral, Stampin' Up!, stamped with Colorbox
white pigment ink and embossed with white EP;
Sentiment stamp Hero Arts, stamped with Colorbox chalk ink & embossed with clear EP;
Rose coloured in with floating reinker technique, using Spiced Marmalade Distress ink.
Papers from "Nook & Pantry" by Basic Grey.

I hope it's OK to say that I love how this turned out, because I do! I love all the colours that I got from using just one ink, and I love how simple the layout stayed. Anything else on this card would be too much.
The boys & I are still riding our bikes back and forth to school, although we are almost the last ones. There are one or two other kids who ride a few days a week. Every morning this week it's been below zero when we start out - gloriously bright and clear, but CRISP is an understatement. Our plan is to ride until the snow falls, but from the creaking and groaning of the bikes in the cold, they may not cooperate.
xoxo
Jessi

A Little Piece of Heaven

Supplies: recycled card (moon & bear, cloud background);
rub-ons (green & blue stars, 'sweet baby') Daisy D's;
vellum quote (heaven) DCWV; mauve & mint cardstock

This was the very last of these sweet baby bear cards I had from a package I bought on clearance years ago. The moon is covered in glitter, and the little bear & duck look so cute snuggling up together.... The bear/moon piece is cut out & popped up on foam tape for dimension. The star is cut out as well, and carefully glued to a piece of bamboo thread so that when the card is standing, the star sways. The cloud background is from the back of the original card, and the vellum quote is free-hand cut into a cloud-ish shape to go along with the sky theme.
Things around here are fairly quiet - for now! Halloween was a lot more fun than last year, mainly because last year Riley had a fever, and both Connor & I came down with the same thing immediately afterward. We made it all the way down to the school, and even an extra block over, and they made out like bandits - 3 reusable shopping bags full of all kinds of goodies. I think what impressed them most was that by going down towards the school, they ran into some of their classmates out trick-or-treating. Usually we are among the first to go out, and so they only see their friends when they come by our house.
Sarah diligently pointed out that I have been a big slacker in terms of posting, so I am going to schedule a bunch of posts right now so hopefully there should be something to look at most of the week!
xoxo
Jessi

Well, that was a bust!

Ha! I must have done something wrong, because my pre-post was a no-post, even though everything seemed to be filled out correctly. Better luck with this one...we hope...
Hmm, so what to say today? The kids had a doctor's appointment yesterday - the doctor we have now is a complete tool. You would think that in a doctor's office, the DOCTOR would be least likely to stare at your autistic child tic-ing (how would you spell that, anyhow...ticking? doesn't seem right), but this guy just gaped at Riley like he had a second head. Plus, he has some sort of inability to converse with the kids, even with something as basic as Riley asking to go first. Now, you'd think, knowing my kids, that Riley would be able to wait, but no. He has always gone first at the doctor, and for some reason this guy keeps picking Connor first, and is unable to switch, even though all he does is check weight, blood pressure, listen to their chests. Doesn't seem like it would be important who went first, right? Ugh. Anyhow, everyone is healthy, and everyone's weight is headed in the right direction. Connor is up to 86 pounds, and Riley went down to 105. It's very hard to know what to say to Riley - Rob & I have to lose weight, and I am actively trying to, but Riley just needs to maintain where he's at, more or less. He was so excited to have lost 5 pounds that I'm worried about what message we're sending, even though I continually stress that what we all need to do is eat properly and exercise, and our bodies will naturally be the size they are supposed to be. Everyone is different, right? But when he's reading food labels and asking me if he should not eat bread because it has some fat in it....anyway, it's an ongoing issue.

Supplies: Papers all from Cosmo Cricket, Material Girl;
Flowers from Bo Bunny; button and letter stickers Basic Grey;
lace, ribbon, and embroidery floss from my crafty stash

This paper from Cosmo Cricket, Material Girl, is filled with so many awesome crafty patterns, and I drooled over it everywhere I saw it online for months before buying it. I bought it in May, and have made I think 3 cards. Every time I sit down to work with it, I just don't have any ideas that I like. I found the pattern for this sweet little dress with apron on a blog that I follow, called Fairy Blossoms and Life, by Alex Maldonado. She shared it in PDF format, which, if you print at the 'multiple pages per page' setting works out to be the perfect size for a card.
Off to make some apple granola crisp - I can't for the life of me remember where I got the recipe from, but if it's good I'll share it. It's got coconut, so I don't see how it could possibly fail :)
xoxo,
Jess

Let's see if it works!

This should hopefully post on Tuesday morning - fingers crossed that I've been able to follow the directions :)
The boys have started going swimming every Tuesday and Thursday evening with the teenage son of one of their aides (how's that for convoluted grammar?). They are having a blast! He's 16, and an experienced swimmer, and comfortable around kids who are different since his mom has worked with special-needs kids for years. My guys are loving going out with their "teenager f riend B," and Connor is determined to teach him all about Transformers. Obviously, everyone must be schooled on the subject (or at least able to competently fake it). I am really hoping that the extra exercise helps them both with some of the stress they're experiencing with this so-far difficult year of school. Riley is coping okay, although we have noticed an upswing in tics - now he's got a funky pants-tugging one that almost looks as though he's giving himself a wedgie. Connor usually regresses through TV shows, and we've gone back past Thomas (which was a regression in itself; he had given it up) all the way to Teletubbies. He didn't even regress that far in the summer.  Sigh.

Supplies: Plain white cardstock, embossed with Cuttlebug folder;
Die-cut flowers, K&Co; tag cut with CB die;
"with sympathy" stamp from Wordsmith stamped in Peeled Paint distress ink;
tag tied with bamboo crochet thread

xoxo,
Jessi

Pre-scheduled posts...

Since I appear to be unable to remember to post regularly, I think I am going to try auto-posting. At least that way, the one time I remember to pop in may result in a few days' worth of things to see. I also know the closer to the holidays we get, the fewer things I'll be able to remember. Who am I kidding, I'm lucky to remember my own name most days, let alone anything else! Finally my Christmas supply order came in the mail on Thursday, so I finished sorting through last year's supplies and now just have to make some room in my crafting cave so that we don't have to trip over boxes of stuff until January. The problem is, what to put away until then?? It's always a chore to get done, thus my putting it off until there's no choice.

Supplies: Papers from K&Co, Citronella;
cherries image rub-on from Royal & Langnickel;
circular "thank you" rub-on, Kaisercraft;
"cherry on top" sentiment stamp from Stampendous;
plain "thank you" rub-on from Making Memories

xoxo,
Jessi

Making up for the Week of No Sleep...

...is a bad time to learn new things, I guess! I managed to have all sorts of scans done, and then thought with the new software that I could zip into another process and come back...and apparently you can do that, but your hour (plus) of work will be gone when you come back. So, disgusted with myself & the computer, I left it alone for a few days.

Supplies: Papers by Basic Grey, "Urban Prairie";
rub-on sentiment by Making Memories;
rhinestone swirls from $store; butterfly punch by Martha Stewart

Every once in a while I make a card that I just love when I'm finished, and this is one of them. I like that I used up some strips of these papers that I'd been hoarding, I loved that the butterflies on the patterned paper peeked out 'just so', and I love the swirls. Yes, I have way too much fun with this stuff :)
Today was the start of the school's scrapbooking club - Connor's teacher is hosting it, and there was a fantastic bunch of kids. Now that's my kind of "volunteering" - go hang out with crafty people who want to learn more, and clean up after themselves. Anytime!
xoxo
Jessi

The Week of No Sleep

Supplies: Images courtesy of Mel McCarthy, MelStampz;
Background solid paper, Basic Grey; Broken China Distress Ink for colouring;
embroidery floss & Tim Holtz ruler for border stitches;
miscellaneous beads for flower centres & oval border

I promise, in real life the beads are a much closer colour match!
I'm fairly certain that last night was the only night this week that I got more than 3-4 hours of sleep, and at that it was about 5 hours. I don't know if it's the change of seasons or what, but I'm pooped.
I have a last-minute order for tomorrow morning, so off to work on that, but hopefully with some sleep I'll be back to share some more cards over the weekend.
xoxo
Jessi

Moxie Fab Season's Giftings Challenge

Well! That last post was much more chatty than I'd intended, and since I'm really starting to feel the pinch of time (and it's almost time to feed the kids!) I'd better get on with it. Ornaments are one of my time-tested favourite handmade gifts to give. There are so many different creative ways to decorate a tree (and a house) and it can be a perfect way to say a little thank you to all the many people who touch our lives. Better yet, it's something that even the youngest child can help with in some way! Since I learned how to do paper quilling, snowflakes have been one of my go-to ornaments to make, so it was a foregone conclusion that I would submit them as my entry for the Moxie Fab Season's Giftings Challenge.  I am often asked if they are time-consuming, and I guess they are, but I usually do my quilling in front of the T.V. (see, I'm not watching Grey's Anatomy, I'm WORKING!) and work free-form, rather than from a pattern. For a snowflake, I just start from some variation of 6 points, and let it go from there.

All of my close-up photos of just the white snowflake were fuzzy, even worse than this last one of the blue & white snowflake...my hope was to show that there is a second layer with just the 'centre star' and circles. Imagine it with me :) And, yes, eagle eyes, that is a plastic spoon being used as a hanger, and the box is holding the "dead Transformers" that Connor is collecting. Necessity is the mother of invention, right?
xoxo
Jessi

Moxie Fab: Decor to Make the Season Bright!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I get started early on Christmas - but not this early. When I saw the week of Holiday Cards & More challenges posted on Moxie Fab World, though, I knew I had to get cracking. I had ideas, dang it, good ideas, and you can't win if you don't try, right??
And now we're at the very last few hours to enter the contests, and I'm squeaking in right under the wire. Again, anyone who knows me, knows that I work best at the very last second. In this case, it wasn't so much the making of them that was last minute, but the taking pictures. As you'll see, not only was I delayed in taking the pictures, but interrupted too!

So, the making-of details: ingredients are...3-inch styrofoam balls; Aleene's tacky glue; one package of tissue paper (20 sheets); length of sheer ribbon (per ball); straight pins. Using my Cuttlebug and standard circle Nestabilities, I cut out roughly 12 kajillion circles from the tissue paper, using the #2, 3, and 4 dies. I cut through 10 sheets of tissue at a pass. Then, by hand, cutting 4-6 circles at a go, I cut a swirl for a rolled flower. There are a lot of tutorials for these - the one I learned from is by Joanne Basile. Given the thinness of the tissue, it crumpled beautifully - sometimes a little too much. I found it easier to apply the glue to the ball & then press the rolled flowers into the glue, rather than applying glue right to the tissue. Sadness lies that way. After getting about halfway around the ball (and wondering why, exactly, I hadn't bought the smallest size ball), I tied a double knot in the sheer ribbon, poked 3 straight pins into it, covered them liberally with glue, and sunk them as far into the ball as they'd go. After letting that whole thing dry, the next day I was able to completely cover where the ribbon was attached.
After the entire ball was covered and dry, I got foolish & decided to do two crazy things - make another one, and cover the first one with glitter. Not glitter glue, which I could understand, but loose glitter, which is the colour I wanted. Martha Stewart fine crystal glitter, applied by cautiously painting the ball in segments with the tacky glue, sprinkling the crystal glitter on, shaking off the excess...dropping the dish to catch the excess so that my living room and cats all sparkle... I don't think it comes across in the photo, but the glitter was such an incredible joy to apply that only one of the balls has glitter on it (although, my guess is that plenty will rub off onto the second one simply from being in the living room...)
xoxo
Jessi

{Yawn}

Totally fighting the urge to go back to bed...the wind was howling last night, and Rob was working later than usual, so I had a bad case of  "omg, what's that noise?" I know I saw 3 a.m., and then I saw 5:15 when Rob finally got home...so 6:30 was not my friend. And it doesn't look like 10 a.m. feels kindly either! Rob has an extra day off this weekend for Thanksgiving, so I hope to learn a bit more about camera handling and photo editing. Well, camera handling at least!

Connor has had provincial assessment tests every day this week (grade 6 literacy) so you can imagine the fun & joy that has brought into our lives. He's had several meltdowns at school, which I am oddly pleased about. Normally he saves all his stress for home, and behaves well at school (except for crying), but even though it's obvious to everyone that his outbursts at home are from stress at school, that's not what the 'powers that be' think. The more times we can document that he is not handling the lack of support well, the better. I am so very tired of reinventing the same damn wheel every school year - they've had virtually no support other than having aides, and to struggle to keep that seems like an extra kick in the rear.

Riley has been getting more anxious about following time schedules, to the point that he's packing Connor's lunch for him in the morning, and getting his bookbag ready. A few mornings this week he even picked out Connor's clothes to speed him up! It's driving Connor a little nuts being "bossed around," but just maybe he'll finally get the hint that it really bothers Riley to feel rushed in the morning. I don't hold out too much hope - Connor follows far too much in my footsteps as far as 'flexible time' goes.

Supplies: paper from Basic Grey, Scarlet's Letter;
stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms, Inkadinkado, Basic Grey;
ink: Ranger distress ink, Wild Honey and Peeled Paint
Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart

The large butterfly was created by enlarging a clip art butterfly & printing it out on cardstock, then cutting it out to create a negative mask. I used a sponge to colour in the 'sky' and grass, and then used the Peeled Paint ink to stamp the grass, flowers, and sentiment. Then I cut out the whole butterfly, and mounted it on the card which had been stamped with the grass in Wild Honey. The butterfly is punched out of the same piece of patterned paper, and the edges sponged with Wild Honey. This is a messy fingers card for sure :)
xoxo
Jessi

Gone Fishin'

We don't want to miss the Rick Mercer Report - Connor is "his biggest fan!" So, this will be short & sweet. Working hard on some Christmas ornament designs, possibly for a certain little sister's present...and that's all I'll say about that :)

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey, "Max and Whiskers";
silhouette stamp from Digital Princess, stamped with Versamark and Memories Art Print Brown, embossed with clear EP; fish button from Dress it Up!; sentiment from Inkadinkado

 So, a rare masculine card that I'm happy with how it turned out - and that stayed actually masculine after I got started with it!
xoxo
Jessi

Happy World Card Making Day!

Woohoo! It's my first blog hop, so if that's how you found your way here, {{{HELLO!!!}}} And here's a sparkly butterfly to celebrate:

Supplies: Papers all from SEI Chocolat;
Happy Birthday sentiment from MFT; stamped in Palette Noir;
Butterfly cut with  Spellbinders die, painted with glue, and dusted with glitter;
rhinestone swirls from the dollar store

The boys go back to SMILE today - I just popped over to find a link, and here's a great page to explain it (plus my boys are both featured in the SMILE memories page, linked at the left. AWwww!) The YMCA is renovating the gym, so the fall session of SMILE will only be in hour-long sessions in the pool. Hopefully both boys have the same volunteers as last year so that they don't need that pre-swim time to get to know a new buddy. That's not the only reason to want the same volunteers - they both really liked their guys, and Riley seemed quite attached to his, which is really the first time he's seemed to care one way or another. I think he likes having someone who can throw him around in the pool!
 Off to get ready for the farmer's market - fingers crossed the rain that's threatening holds off until afterwards!
xoxo
Jessi

I know this is not a weather blog...

...but it's 34 with the humidex today. October 1st. That is INSANE. {weather rant over...for now...} Seriously, I feel like all I think about is weather lately!

Tomorrow is World Card Making Day (yippee!) so I am planning to participate in my first "blog hop" - wish me luck! We'll see if I can figure out how to do it. (And Rob just walked past, read what I had written, and snorted quite loud. It's a real occasion, sponsored by Paper Crafts Magazine - honest to peanuts. (Boys! Harumph!) {What is with all the ellipses & asides? I don't know.}

Supplies: Paper by K&Co; buttons from stash & Basic Grey;
sentiment stamp from TAC; Colorbox chalk ink & clear embossing powder;
fairy artwork from a Michael's $spot card

See you tomorrow!!!
xoxo
Jessi

Thank Goodness for Helmets!

This morning on the ride to school, Connor flipped over his handlebars. He slammed the brakes on at the last second, and the whole bike went over. Luckily, because he was wearing a helmet, the only injuries are to his knee, elbow, and scraped palms. I already knew helmets were life-savers, but I could definitely have done without seeing one in action. I was only about 15 feet behind him, and it was horrifying to watch. What a trooper, though - both kids carry first aid kits in their bookbags, so we hunkered down & took care of the bloody bits right then, and then carried on to school.

It's time to run & pick them up now, so here's a card & I've got to run - and get my helmet on!

Supplies: Robot card, border strips from Bella Blvd;
orange & white polka dots paper from Imaginisce; googly eyes from the dollar store;
Happy Birthday sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas, stamped in Palette Noir

xoxo
Jessi

Wow, that was short!

Supplies: Paper by MAMBI; wedding cake sticker from Wiltons;
quilling paper from Lake City; quilled circle painted with iridescent fabric paint, Tulip.

So, where did autumn go? We had a few promising days of crisp scented air...and now suddenly we're back to the humid days of nearly 30 degrees! It's just not right.
Besides weather whining, I got nothin'! It's a pretty quiet week around here so far - knock on wood - maybe everyone is settling into the routine of a new school year after all.
xoxo
Jessi

Fingers crossed...

...but whatever I've been trying seems to be helping the cold stay mild. Knock on wood, toes & fingers crossed, etc, and so on. Today's supposed to be the last nice day this week - the entire forecast is for rain, rain, and more rain. Rob ordered rain coats for those of us who are biking every day, but they won't arrive until late this week at the very earliest. And, tomorrow is picture day - here's hoping the boys manage to stay clean & dry until their turn comes around! I hate getting the photo proofs back with big smudges of lunch on their faces (or spilled down their shirts...)

Supplies: papers Basic Grey "Capella;"
rhinestone swirls & brad  from dollar store;
rub-on from KaiserCraft; plain flowers from dollar store;
Colorbox chalk ink & copper embossing powder

Another hard-to-capture card - if I weren't so keen on shiny, sparkly stuff a) my house would be cleaner - it shines, but not in the "right" way! and b) maybe my cards would be easier to get an image of. The flowers here were great fun to play with - they began life as plain Jane cream-coloured flowers in 3 shapes and sizes. I smooshed them all over with brown ink, then sprinkled them with copper embossing powder. Each flower took 4 applications to get coverage I was happy with - the powder has to be heated, and if you don't hold it steady, bye-bye flower. This made for uneven layers of the metallic finish, but trust me, it looks very cool in real life. (I bet that gets said a lot on the Internets, lol).
Happy Monday! (don't say THAT one a lot!)
xoxo
Jessi

Rob gave me his cold

In the wonder that is microbiology, would it be too much to ask that the cold HE caught would be the same as the cold the kids & I already had a few weeks ago? Sigh. So, round two for colds this month. Hopefully this one is as mild as the first.


Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" (12" and 6")
brads also from Basic Grey; stamps from Inkadinkado;
sidewalk hand-drawn, coloured with markers & watercolour pencils.
Granny's glasses also have dimensional gloss for shine



Supplies: all papers from Basic Grey "Marrakech"
Stamps from Inkadinkado; stamped with Palette Noir Ink;
sidewalk hand-drawn, coloured with markers & watercolour pencils.
Sassy girl's sunglasses have dimensional glaze as well.

Back to the kleenex box -
xoxo (cough, sniffle)
Jess

Happy Saturday!

It was a topsy-turvy week for the kids, so we're having a lazy time of it. Connor & Rob are watching a Star Wars marathon & making (truly gross) strawberry-banana ice cream. Riley is making Rescue Heroes adventures in the kitchen. I am going to play on the computer for a little & then head off for a lovely lazy nap - I could start out watching Star Wars but every time I try to watch it I fall asleep anyway. I may as well go to a more comfortable place & wake up refreshed instead of cramped!

Supplies: Tulips stamp by PSX;
all papers Basic Grey; ribbon: Offray;
sentiment by Studio G stamped with Colorbox chalk ink

The tulips were stamped out multiple times, and then I paper-pieced them by cutting everything out & gluing it onto the original image. Several segments of the leaves & blooms are cut out and popped up with foam tape to make it dimensional. I really love how this turned out :)
xoxo
Jessi

Give Thanks!

A fun trip to the museum with Riley's class this morning - I've never been to the Cumberland County Museum before, and it was definitely worth going. Perhaps next time we have visitors we should take them there! It was a rather rushed tour of only about 45 minutes or so, but to be honest, it seemed a little long for some of the kids. I'm pretty sure the one thing Riley won't forget is the tiny tale of the "Great Amherst Mystery." They have a little spooky scene set up with writing on the wall saying "You are mine to kill." I'm sure that's going to come up at bedtime tonight, and probably for a great many nights to come. For a boy who enjoyed the Haunted House at Upper Clements Park so much, Riley has suddenly become very timid about anything hinting of spookiness. Halloween will be rough this year!



Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Scarlett's Letter";
Various leaf stamps from Hero Arts;
Ink used: Versamark, Distress Ink, Colorbox Chalk;
gold tinsel embossing powder from Stampendous;
ribbon: Offray; tag hand-cut; sentiment stamp ("give thanks") by Stampin' Up!

But, before Halloween, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And autumn is in the air - Connor wore pants today for the first time since June. Even I have been wearing socks around the house - and this morning there was a lovely crisp chill in the air. Hard to imagine that only three weeks ago it was 40 degrees...and I don't miss it one bit!
xoxo
Jessi

Argh!

So, I messed up. I read my appointment time at the diabetes clinic wrong, (as in, 1 pm, instead of the correct 11 am) and volunteered to go on a field trip with Riley's class. I called to reschedule the appointment, and not only can I not get one shortly, I CAN'T EVEN BOOK IT! The appointment schedule is so booked up, I can't even make an appointment until mid-October. How can you run an office that way? The poor receptionist told me that I should try calling mid-October, and that they'd be able to tell me then when I could book. Not that I can make the appointment then, but that they can tell me when they'll be taking bookings. Like it's a freaking cruise, not a doctor's office. I can't wait for them to suggest I'm being noncompliant with my appointments when apparently it's harder to get into than, I don't know? Fort Knox? Ridiculous.

{rant over. Thank you.}

Supplies: All papers Basic Grey, "Origins"
rub-on pears from Royal Langnickel; sentiment handwritten

Corny, but I love this card anyway.
xoxo
Jessi