Is winter over yet?

No. No, it's not. Sigh.
Friday we had a huge, messy, disgusting rain-sleet-snow combination, and today we're supposed to get the same thing. Gross. The sidewalks have been plowed, but no sand or salt put down, so today's walk to school was much more of a 'skid' than a 'walk.' Connor even fell once - all of us had some close calls. And I imagine I'll be listening to the radio all day waiting for school to be cancelled mid-day if the storm starts earlier than expected. District 2 in New Brunswick is closed today, and honestly, it feels like such a rip-off when they're cancelled and we're not! I can't imagine we'll have school tomorrow, though, if there's as much of a mess as there was after Friday night.

But, for now, I'm comfortably set up at the computer with my jammies back on, and a dozing, purring cat across my arms. She keeps lazily looking back if I move too much while I type!


Supplies: fairy image from Graphic 45;
papers from Basic Grey "capella;"
die cut Nestabilities lacey circle sponged with Peeled Paint distress ink;
"Make a Wish" stamp from Studio G 
 stamped with Peeled Paint & traced with Sakura Stardust glitter pen



Supplies: images all from Cicely Mary Barker fairy book;
medallion made from old book page;
Basic Grey button with a glitter brad in the centre;
Fairy wings glittered with clear micro-beads;
"Just for You" stamp from Hero Arts, stamped with Palette Noir ink

Not springtime yet, but at least I can play with fairies & dream about it, right?
Stay warm - and safe - and upright, if you happen to have to walk around out there!
xoxo,
Jessi

Earring Cards!

I haven't taken many photographs of earring cards yet, but realized I had a couple that turned out that I hadn't shared yet. Cheryl Mosher makes fantastic jewelry, and I am lucky enough to "shop" her goodies & take them home to play with!

I adore these wine cork earrings!

As usual, quilling is a bit tricky to photograph well - and the earring hearts are incredibly sparkly in real life, which just does not come through in this picture.

xoxo,
Jessi

Rainbow cards!

I haven't posted anything for the 30 Days of Creativity in a while...I haven't forgotten, just keep getting sidetracked with life piling up around me. But today I have a two-fer!

Day 12: Look at a child.  See how connected they are to their creative self?  Pretend you are a child and make something.

Day 14: Make something to give away.  Send a card to a friend or make a little gift for someone you care about.

Anyone who knows Connor, knows his love of rainbows. He colours nearly every picture with rainbow stripes - or at least uses the entire rainbow in each picture. One wall of his bedroom is painted with vertical rainbow stripes, just like he colours. He wears a rainbow striped scarf, and a matching hat until he outgrew it. He LOVES rainbows. One of the aides at his school calls him Mr. Rainbow. His fifth grade teacher was at the school to cover a maternity leave, and today is her last day. This is very sad, as she's excellent - I really wish there were some way to at least let her finish out the year so that there wouldn't be such a disruption for the students.

At any rate, of course we had to make her something! So, since the gift is from Connor, it may as well be inspired by him as well. He picked butterflies for the theme, and so armed with the idea of rainbows & butterflies here's what I came up with:

A rainbow of notecards...





...tucked inside a handmade box

My favourite.

Supplies: Good grief, I'm not listing them all! The flowers are from Recollections;
the butterfly die-cuts are Spellbinders;
the paper is from Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, K & Co, and Making Memories.

Connor brought this up to her this morning, and she took a picture with him & thanked him. I don't imagine her class is going to get an awful lot done today...and boy, are we ever going to miss Miss Lewis.

As an aside, I was thinking I might do up some similar themed packs for the market...I know I like to give packages of thank you cards when I go to a shower, and maybe I'm not the only one who thinks it makes a nice gift. As with most things, it might have to wait until I have the time. Hah! I'm almost done with 4 crafty kits, and that took me probably 4 hours yesterday with all the cutting & folding & sorting. Good thing I had several episodes of House, Grey's Anatomy, Glee, and Private Practice to catch up on. Now I'm down to one each of the last three.

Batten down the hatches - it's supposed to be pretty messy out there tonight. Hopefully by tomorrow morning everyone will be cleaned up & ready to come out to the market. The winter months get pretty lonely there!

xoxo,
Jessi

The Mysteries of Word Verification...

So, I didn't realize that in order to leave a comment people had to enter the lame-o word verification. Sorry about that! Luckily in my blog reading I came across instructions how to turn it off, and it made me wonder if mine was inadvertently turned on (get your mind out of the gutter). Anyhow, unrealized problem solved. Here come the spammers!



Supplies: Digital image from Squigglefly;
papers from Basic Grey "Curio" and by me;
Vintage Photo, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Wild Honey, Peeled Paint Distress Inks;
"Happy Birthday" stamp from My Favorite Things

I printed out four flowers to work with. I used a Quickie Glue Pen to trace over the lines of the flowers, and then embossed with clear EP. Then I used the 'floating reinker' technique - spraying the paper heavily with water, and then painting with reinkers. Then I cut out one flower (my favourite) to pop it up on foam tape for dimension, along with the upper leaves, and part of another flower to pop it up further. The orange background paper is made the same way as the mermaid card from the other day - ink applied directly to the paper, and then the paper is sprayed with water to blend.  

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Hopscotch" and "Wander;"
Lily fairy from Pink Cat Studio;
sentiment from The Angel Company;
standard circle and lacey scalloped Nestabilities

I love this sentiment - every day should have a little bit of whimsy in it! This is another digital image, which I coloured several times & cut out to pop up on foam tape. I was going to cut out the antennae, but {ahem} had a scissors malfunction, so the edge of her hair is glued down along with her itty-bitty arms and legs.


Supplies: Papers all from Basic Grey "Hopscotch;"
Sunglasses girl stamp from CC Designs;
"Celebrate with Style" from Hero Arts;
Labels 4 Nestabilities; brad source unknown;
flowers crocheted by me, blue flower dyed with Broken China distress ink

This girl is fun to paper-piece with funky clothes. I also embossed the blue label mat with the Swiss Dots folder, and swiped the raised dots with the Broken China ink.

I posted this on Facebook already, but thought I'd share it here too. Riley is really just starting to figure out the whole 'boy-girl' thing...the kids in his class are starting to talk about crushes and that sort of thing, and he has a lot of questions. Connor has basically ignored the whole thing (thank goodness). Anyhow, Riley comes up to me yesterday and says, "I want to tell you something true. Most men like to look at butts."

I had no response - I was too busy trying not to burst out laughing. Good grief. It may not always be fun around here, but I guess at least it's never boring!

xoxo,
Jessi

Make a Mermaid Wish

Supplies: Cuttlebug embossing folder, D'vine Swirls;
Mermaid image digital freebie, source unknown;
coloured with reinkers & glitter;
"Make a Wish" from My Favorite Things;
shell button from Dress it Up!

I wish I had always kept track of where I found things online - most people attach their name or company to the file name, but this is one that I should have noted myself and didn't. It's a beautiful image. I coloured two, and cut one with the circle Nestabilities, and fussy-cut the other one so that I could pop it up for dimension. For stability I glued her hands directly to the bottom layer - it would seem a little gruesome if one of her hands fell off!

I tried something new with this card - the background began as white paper. I used the direct-to-paper technique with Broken China, Peeled Paint, and Faded Jeans distress ink, and spritzed it with water. After it was dry (and curly...too much water!) I ran it through with the embossing folder to give it some swirly waves. Definitely messy, but fun, and I like how it turned out.

xoxo,
Jessi

I love this card!

I don't mind if it's not all that polite to toot my own horn...I DO love this card. It began with an image drawn by Mo Manning that is too precious. Then there was a happy accident of sorts - my printer's ink smears when I paint or colour over it, so I spray all my printed images with a clear acrylic sealer. This time I overdid it, and there was such a layer of sealant that the ink and paint pooled and some areas resisted it. This wasn't what I'd planned, but the unexpected effect is dappled and I think rather nice, especially on her cutie-pie overalls.

Supplies: Image and quote by Mo Manning;
coloured with every Distress ink I own I think;
papers from Basic Grey "Hopscotch,"
"Just Because" rub-on from Kaisercraft;
gorgeous two-tone sheer ribbon from May Arts

The fantastic quote was part of the set, and I wanted it large enough to read, which made it hard to fit on the card. And so the image turned into a hidey-hole for the quote's tag. If you look in the first picture, you can just see the edge of the tag peeking out next to the bow. You should be able to click on the picture to make it bigger, but in case I haven't done that properly, the quote reads,

"If we are ever to enjoy life,
now is the time.
Not tomorrow or next year -
Today should always be our most wonderful day." Thomas Dreier.

It sounds to me like a lovely reminder to treasure each day we have...something I don't always do, and so it's a timely reminder for me.

xoxo,
Jessi

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Supplies: all papers from Cosmo Cricket, "Togetherness;"
'happy happy' stamp from Daisy Bucket; Palette Noir ink;
brad from Basic Grey

I used two patterns from the package of paper, adhered them back-to-back, and then made the pinwheel. I even managed to attach it in such  a way that the pinwheel can still turn...that tickled me :) And I just love this sentiment - I only vaguely remember watching "Ren and Stimpy," but I can still hear the little tune in my head.

Supplies: paper from Cosmo Cricket "DeLovely;"
flowers from Recollections; brad from Basic Grey;
sentiment stamp from Inkadinkado;
Chickie Sundae stamps from Stampendous;
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic on glass & straw

 Thank goodness for bright colours this time of year - I can't remember the last time I reached for brown or grey papers, and they're often favourites.

Supplies: papers from My Mind's Eye "Tickled Pink;"
Stamps from My Favorite Things (ala modes collection);
buttons from Dress it Up!; colouring done with Prismacolor pencils & Dove blender;
white layer cut with Nestabilities Labels 4

I covet all of the girls in the ala mode collection from My Favorite Things - they release two a month, and they're just adorable with their oversized accoutrements. I imagine it won't be long before I give in and buy more. 

xoxo,

Jessi

And now for the boys...

Supplies: Papers & letter stickers from Basic Grey "Oliver;"
"baby boy is love" rub-on from Daisy D's

Supplies: Papers all from DCWV "Nana's Nursery - Boy;"
Baby duck sticker from Suzy's Zoo;
"Cute" rub-on from Daisy D's; buttons from Dress it Up! & Basic Grey

Supplies: papers all scraps from stash, circle embossed with Cuttlebug folder;
stickers from Sandylion (baby, tag, boat, bottle, hearts);
buttons from Dress it Up!

Supplies: papers, tag, and  robot  from Belle Blvd;
letter stickers from Basic Grey

I think I'm going to have some photo-heavy posts for a little while - now that I'm figuring out the camera, I'm ending up with a lot of photos in the "not blogged yet" folder, and I may as well get cracking on that! I haven't created a lot in the last few weeks, but maybe some blogging and blog surfing will get my creative mojo flowing again. I must say, though, that the few cards I did make turned out to be some favourites for me. 

With any luck, tomorrow I'll be at Wentworth all day with Connor's class on a ski trip - they've had it cancelled twice already for cold weather, but tomorrow is supposed to stay mild and calm. Fingers crossed! I do not want to be anywhere near here if it gets cancelled again. Last week I went with Riley's class, and although being a lodge chaperone is not the most exciting thing a person can do all day, it's nice to be someone who can spend the day on a class trip. I like it that the teachers know they can count on me to help if they need me. 

I didn't get a lot done during last week's trip as I hurt my hand, and then it got infected (dang diabetes...they aren't kidding about the infections!). I was actually about to head to the emergency room on Friday if my hand was still not getting better, as my sugars have been very high as well, but apparently my body took the hint overnight Thursday. Honestly, looking at my hand today, it hardly looks like the same mess it was just a few days ago. There are three huge scrapes, and one has gone from infected to scar tissue in 3 days. Switching to a different antibiotic ointment really did the trick. My sugars are still high, although lower than they were, but I've only been taking Metformin for a week, so I guess it takes time to get the body cooperating. I really would love to know how it works out that eating so much less drives my blood sugar even higher! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Baby Girls are Lovely

Supplies: All papers from Basic Grey, "Olivia;"
Stickers & die cuts from the "Olivia" accessories sheet;
little baby animal from Suzy's Zoo; matted on circles cut with standard & lacy circle Nestabilities;
'tiny fingers, tiny toes' rub-on from Daisy D's
 

Supplies: Papers all from My Mind's Eye "Tickled Pink;"
Rabbit is a digital image from Anne Bodils, paper pieced;
congrats rub-on from Kaisercraft;
buttons from Basic Grey & stash;
lacy circle Nestabilities

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Olivia;"
"BABY" blocks and striped border stickers from Susan Branch
Button feet from Dress it Up!

Supplies: Baby bundle from Sandylion;
papers from My Mind's Eye "Tickled Pink;"
buttons from stash;
"Congrats" banner cut with My Favorite Things' banner die & handwritten;
hands & feet buttons from Dress it Up!;
lacy circle Nestabilities

Vintage Sass!

Supplies: Vintage photos & sentiment tag from Crafty Secrets;
'happy birthday' from Studio G, palette noir ink & Sakura stardust glitter pen;
corner embellishments from Dress it Up!;
"doily" layer cut from lacy scallop Nestabilities, embossed with Cuttlebug folder
Pink dotted paper from My Mind's Eye

Supplies: Kitten photo & sentiment tag from Crafty Secrets;
ribbon from May Arts...yummy...must use it instead of hoarding!;
strawberry button from Dress it Up!;
paper from Basic Grey "Nook & Pantry"

My last trip into Truro to visit Carsand-Mosher's Photo Memories store I was on a mission for Christmas supplies, but these sassy little collections of vintage clips made their way into my basket. They're addictive - I keep finding myself reaching for them. The little sentiments that come with are perfect. They remind me very much of Anne Taintor. You can lose a lot of time browsing through her work - it just tickles my lady-funny-bone, the juxtaposition of classy vintage ladies with the sass we used to keep secret.
xoxo,
Jessi

Back to the regular grind...

Love, schmove! {lol!}

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...hopefully I can keep on this semi-regular posting schedule. We'll see!

So, how about another 30 Days of Creativity post? It's been a while. I got stuck on the one that asks us to create a self-portait by drawing or photographing...so I'm going to skip it & maybe come back to it later.

Day 10: Create something today inspired by nature!

I think a lot of what I create is inspired by nature. It's hard not to be inspired by nature, with its riot of colours and creatures.



Supplies: paper from Basic Grey "Curio;"
Yellow/grey bird die-cut from K&Co;
lace trim from Hero Arts




Supplies: paper from Mariposa Mat Stack, DCWV;
Happy Birthday stamp from Kaisercraft, stamped with Memories Art Print Brown
& glittered with Sakura Stardust pen;
bird die-cut from K & Co; cream lace "leaves" from Hero Arts;
button from Basic Grey; red flower crocheted by me

 Birds are one of my favourite natural inspirations. Realistic birds, cartoon birds, stylized birds...all gorgeous, and can be elegant or fun.
xoxo,
Jessi

The last Valentines, I promise.

Since tomorrow is the last market day before Valentine's Day, I thought I would just post the rest of the cards that I have photographed & ready.There are plenty more than these to choose from.

Supplies: Robot stamp from My Favorite Things;
coloured with Prismacolor pencils & coated with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic;
Black Magic Coredinations paper circle embossed with Spots & Dots cuttlebug folder
& sanded to show gray core; blue paper & tag from Cogsmo by Cosmo Cricket




Supplies: Stamp by Stampin' Up!;
 coloured with Prismacolor pencils & Dove blender solution
Paper from My Mind's Eye
Buttons from stash, heart buttons from Dress it Up!




Supplies: journaling cards from Webster's Pages "Hollywood;"
butterfly & flower heart sticker from PSX;
ampersand sticker from Cosmo Cricket; paper from Basic Grey "Curio"




Supplies: sheep stamp from Pink Cat Studio;
coloured with Prismacolor pencils, covered in Stampendous fun flock;
grass drawn by hand;
all papers from Basic Grey "Sugar Rush;" letter & heart stamps from PSX




Supplies: All papers from Cosmo Cricket "DeLovely;"
Pear stamp & sentiment from Hampton Art;
Pears stamped using Versamark & Adirondack citrus ink, embossed with clear EP




Supplies: Zebra journaling card & heart stickers from Fancy Pants;
coated with Stampendous Fun Flock;
baby blue patterned paper by Fancy Pants;
 pink dotty paper & blue button from Basic Grey "Hopscotch;"
pink layer cut with Nestabilities Labels 4 & cut in half to form frame;
Valentine sentiment from Studio G; pink mini heart button from Dress it Up!




Supplies: Journaling card & stickers from Fancy Pants;
'looseleaf' paper from My Mind's Eye "Tickled Pink;"
word search paper & blue button from Basic Grey "Hopscotch;"
heart buttons from Dress it Up




Supplies: Papers from Fancy Pants;
quilled flowers all made by me;
Valentine sentiment by Studio G;
stamped with Palette Noir ink & traced over with Sakura Stardust pen




Supplies: Heart drawn by hand;
flowers punched with Martha Stewart hydrangea punch;
rub-on by Making Memories;
rhinestones from dollar store




Supplies: Patterned papers from Bo Bunny "Crazy Love;"
vases punched with McGill punch;
flowers quilled by me;
'with love' rub-on from KaiserCraft




Supplies: Black dotted paper from Making Memories;
everything else from My Mind's Eye

 Happy Valentine's Day!
xoxo,
Jessi

Owl never stop loving puns!



Supplies: Owl die-cut with Sizzix sizzlet die;
Papers from Bo Bunny "Crush;"
Owl sentiment from CHF Kim Hughes set;
black/white layer cut with Nestabilities Labels 4;
Stampendous fun flock on the birdie's belly




Supplies: Paper from Bo Bunny "Crush;"
Owl journaling card from Fancy Pants;
sentiment "Who loves You?" from CHF Kim Hughes set;
faux 'dew drops' from the dollar store;
Sakura stardust glitter pen on the sentiment

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Frank.
Frank who?
Frank you for being my friend!

lol...
and one more funny, for those who love Big Bang Theory...

xoxo,
Jessi


Running out of titles...

...besides "Hey, look, another Valentine!"



Supplies: Monster stamp & sentiment from Daisy Bucket;
papers from Basic Grey, "Wander;"
buttons from stash & Basic Grey;
yellow layer cut with Nestabilities Labels 4




Supplies: All papers from Basic Grey, "Wander;"
letter stickers from various Basic Grey sheets;
triangle borders cut using My Favorite Things mini banner die

That little monster stamp has been kicking around for quite a long time, but I never get tired of him. I think it's the teeth - he must be a boy. As for the cheesy Wheelie sentiment, I saw it somewhere, but heaven help me if I remember where! I thought this cutie car paper was perfect for it, and perfect for a son's valentine.
xoxo,
Jessi

Anything Goes challenge for All That Scraps

I've followed the Wednesday Challenge blog for All That Scraps for quite a while - it's my go-to online store, with the best service I've experienced anywhere. However, I never seem to remember to post the things I've made for challenges - or, usually, what happens is that I don't photograph it in time. For once, I was determined that I was going to participate in the challenge, darnit, and here I am squeaking in at the 11th hour.
Whatever. Better late than never!
And, what better challenge for the first round I made it into than anything goes? Can't go wrong with that.

Supplies: World's Best Doctor by My Favorite Things;
coloured with Salmon Adirondack ink (skin), prismacolor pencils;
papers from Bo Bunny Crazy Love;
letter stickers & "I do" from the Crazy Love combo sticker sheet

Masculine valentines are HARD. Too much pink and hearts and frou-frou at this holiday for it to really be for guys, but I figure the sentiment might just make this one OK ;)
xoxo,
Jessi

Creative people that make me happy...

Day 9: Make a list of creative people you are grateful for today.
Well, it's kind of a long list...so I think I am going to narrow it down to maybe 10 people? And say something about each one, maybe? Each one has a blog that I follow, something I do nearly as religiously as I drink my coffee in the morning. Usually I do it at the same time. These aren't meant to be in any particular order...so try not to read too much into it!

Allie of Hyperbole and a Half. She never fails to make me laugh. I get giddy when I see the bold text that means she has a new blog post...and seriously, a lot of the time I wonder if she secretly knows me. Case in point, This is why I'll never be an adult. Go. Read. Love. If you don't think she's hilarious, then I can't talk to you any more.

Stephanie Severin of Ingenious Inkling. From her Thursday Link Love posts, which feature all sorts of fun things from her own trips around the internet, to her inspirational Quotes of the Week, to her fabulous art collection and photographs from all sorts of trips and vacations...and last but not least, her own card creations. One of my very favourite things about Stephanie's blog is that she posts cards she's not happy with, and explains why...most of us shy away from embracing those creations.

Jill Foster of Inspired By. I think I already covered this last week when I used a card of hers as inpiration myself...but not only is she a talented and creative stamper herself, she features new artists each week, showcasing their creations and those of her own that have been Inspired By the guest artist. In a sense, she teaches me how to be influenced and inspired by other artists while still making my own creations.

Lydia Fiedler of Understand Blue. She makes beautiful things - and tucks them inside the funniest stories. The other day she talked about raccoons and vegetables...and then shared a gorgeous simple card. And, she commented on my post the other day, and had me all unable to post anything for a few days...so she's gracious too :)

Susan Liles of Susiestampalot. She's a designer for two of my favourite companies to drool over (My Favourite Things and The Cat's Pajamas), she loves bright colours, and she has such funny tips, called Susie Q-tips. They range from the truly useful hint to the totally hilarious mishaps that, as she puts it, "Don't ask me. I don't want to talk about it."

Allison of Stampin' When I Can and the newly created Share the Mojo. I don't think I've seen a crafter who does more to share what's out there. Allison has two regular features on her blog - Sketch Links sorted by day, and Newly Discovered, which shares blogs as she comes across them. Allison also blogs regularly about her crazy funny kids, and includes a "positive note of the day," something that all of us might do well to think about as it applies to our own lives.

Susan from Simplicity by Lateblossom...now, I will never be a "clean and simple" stamper. I love it, I love to drool over it, but it's not my own style. The grand thing about Susan's blog is that she discusses design principles - not just as they apply to her beautiful CAS cards, but ones even messy cardmakers like me can use. And, not particularly related to crafting, but she also has a son with autism, and a blog called  Questioning Autism that I find very thought-provoking.

Mel from Mel Stampz...she doesn't post as frequently as she once did, but her blog is unbelievably full of ideas, links, more ideas...and loads of how-tos. Mel shares TONS of free things - templates, digital images, etc - and has an incredible ability to breathe new life into paper projects. Mel is also thrifty - and I must say, finding cheap ideas is always fun. I may love spending money, but getting more for less is always better :)

Carole from Mother's Little Helper...cracks me up. We share the same quirky sense of humour, and there's many a card of hers that I've sneaked a sentiment from. She loves bright colours, as I do, she works with some really fun stamp companies, and she just comes across as a truly fun & generous person. I love reading every new post.

Beate from Fresh & Fun...her creations are amazing! She puts so much effort into providing step-by-step instructions for what she's made, and the list of tutorials she's done for Splitcoaststampers is unparalleled, and as long as my arm. At least.

There you have it!
xoxo,
Jessi

I'm glad you're mine, Valentine!

Supplies: Papers all from Bo Bunny "Crazy Love;"
journaling card from Fancy Pants; buttons from Dress it Up!;
turtle shells, eyes, and heart coated with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic



Supplies: Papers from Bo Bunny "Crush;"
journaling card from Fancy Pants; buttons from Dress it Up!;
clear acetate hearts from Heidi Swapp

It's hard to capture shine in a photo if you're camera-disabled like I seem to be, but I *think* I got a half-decent angle on these babies...by now you're probably realizing that I am totally man-Valentine impaired. Yep. I have tried for years to overcome that, but the best I can do is offer a risque sentiment....hopefully the one I'm working on today will be worth taking a picture of & sharing. We'll see!
xoxo,
Jessi