Playing in Paradise #55 - Sepia

When I first saw this week's challenge over at the Scrapbooker's Paradise blog  I thought about a few different ways the challenge could be interpreted. The inspiration photo lends itself to a sketch, there's the component elements of the photo, and obviously, sepia tones to work with. I made a little sketch, and then after I saw Allison's card using SU!'s 'Lovely as a Tree' I got stuck there :) 

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Little Black Dress;"
tree stamp from Stampin' Up!;
brads from Basic Grey;
sentiment from Hero Arts;
Versamark, Vintage Photo distress ink, clear EP;
Vintage photo & second-generation stamping for the tree image

You have until tomorrow (March 1st) to play along in the challenge! I'm really loving the variety of challenge ideas over there- check them out :)

I was up until well after 2 last night...my mom lives on the west coast, we're on the east, and that's a 4-hour time difference. I was lucky enough to have a good long (3 hours plus!) chat with her - but boy, is my bum dragging today!

xoxo,

Jessi

Chipboard Fun with Little Red Wagon

Chipboard seems to be one of those things that I buy sparingly, and then hoard once I've got some...why is that? So this week's little red wagon challenge (#121) is to use chipboard, and I got really into it. All the chipboard I used is from a single Martha Stewart package that has quite a bit left in it.

Supplies: papers from MME;
chipboard cupcake & sentiment from Martha Stewart;
standard circle Nesties; Cuttlebug embossing folder

Supplies: papers from MME;
chipboard cakes from Martha Stewart;
loads of foam tape!
rhinestone flower strips from $ store

Supplies: papers from Kaisercraft "Chapter One;"
standard circle Nesties;
chipboard from Martha Stewart;
sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas; Palette Noir ink;
blue & teal rhinestones 

Supplies: papers from MME;
sentiment from Inkadinkado; Palette Noir ink; Sakura Stardust glitter pen;
chipboard from Martha Stewart 

Supplies: papers from Fancy Pants;
chipboard heart from Martha Stewart;
'congrats' stamp (no maker's mark, unknown);
Spun Sugar distress ink; Sakura Stardust pen;
lots of foam tape!

Supplies: papers from MME;
chipboard from Martha Stewart;
standard oval Nesties; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Old Paper distress ink;
orange rhinestones

Supplies: papers from MME;
Wilton doilies;
chipboard from Martha Stewart;
'dew drops' from $ store

It felt good to make a dent in the stash...making room for new stuff is always a good idea, right?
The kids are on another snow day today, and so far no fighting. I expect pod people to burst out of their chests any minute now to take over the planet. I'll let you know how it goes ;)
xoxo,
Jessi

A blog award? {blushes}

I'm ba-aaaa-ck! My sweet li'l ol' computer is back home where she belongs...we now return to our regularly scheduled programming. {groan...but come on, you missed my corny goofball self! I know it!}

While I was otherwise occupied (thumb twiddling) I was super lucky to receive the Liebster Blog award from not one but two super sweet, super talented blogging pals. If you aren't already following these two, you are definitely missing out on major talent:

JJ Bolton, at Ribbon Girls, is a master of white space & deceptively CAS cards. I say deceptively CAS because the amount of detail that JJ puts into her work is definitely not simple. Some of my favourites among her recent cards are these rainbow delights and this amazing faux-letterpress card.
JJ is also a multiple Moxie Fab winner (and the only ever double-winner for the Medallions Challenge - holy carp!), sweet, generous, and kind.

Jen W, at JENerally Speaking, is another CAS stunner - even if she can't be trusted with white embossing powder. She's clever, creative, and crazy, leaves fabulous comments that make me laugh, and thinks I'm funny. Obviously she's very smart. (I must digress...the scene from Princess Bride where the grandfather says to wee little Fred Savage "Yes, yes, you're very smart....now shut up!") She's a Moxie Fab winner, racks up the challenge wins all over the place, actually, and some of my recent favourites are the sympathy cards she made for some special animals, and this fancy rainbow chick. I do loves me some rainbows, you know.

What is the Liebster Blog award? Here is a quick explanation.   'Liebster' is German for 'dearest'. The award is a 'share-the-love' arrangement, given to inspirational bloggers with less than 200 followers (based on Google followers).

Here's the to-do list of any Liebster award recipient:
1) Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you
2) Reveal your five blogger picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog
3) Copy and paste the award on your blog (see above)
4) Hope that those you award forward it to their favorite bloggers 

(JJ summed it up nicely, so I've borrowed exactly what she wrote!)

How do I pick only 5 people??? Luckily, in a sense, the limitation to 'under 200 followers' has helped me narrow it down! In no particular order, I've chosen these five fabulous ladies to tell you about:

*Sally from Cinnamon Sally Designs, who has a gift with flowers & butterflies that leaves me feeling inspired every time I visit her blog! She's a kind & sweet commenter, and a wonderfully creative soul. Some of my recent favourites among her cards are this 'fancy schmancy' Trigger card and this gorgeous cracked glass beauty.

*Barb from kinsale creations, who's hosted several challenges that have given me great inspiration (check the posts labeled 'barbles') and is close enough that we can eventually get together and craft! She's a talented photographer as well as card-maker, even if she can't be trusted with Glossy Accents...and she just had her first publication in the latest issue of Paper Crafts (happy dance!). Some of my recent favourites are this girly Thanks card and feline Never Give Up on Love card.

*Therese from Lostinpaper - talented, kind, sweet, and encouraging, and a master of CAS. She's a designer on several teams, and rocks them all! Some of my recent favourites are this cute little monster and this pretty aqua gem.

*Emily from My Little Slice of Bliss, who rocks the DeNami design team, Moxie challenges, anything she puts her mind to...and she's been an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. She's simply fabulous. Two recent favourites are this group of DeNami butterflies (especially that circle!) and this awesome chickie Valentine...since now it lives at my house (yar!)

*Theresa from My Sassy Cards, who's a Junior Trendsetter for There She Goes, and on the DT for Tuesday Morning Sketches & the Cupcake Craftroom...and a super sweet, kind, friendly, and talented person to boot. Not to pat my own back at the same time, but one of my recent favourites is this Easter card using one of my crocheted mats to PERFECTION, and this hilarious one that I need to make in bulk ...just sayin'. 

So, you should have already had lots of eye candy from checking out all these fabulous gals, but it feels like a naked post without something from me too, so here you go:

Supplies: papers from AC "Abode;"
stickers from Suzy's Zoo

Have a sun-shiny day! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Birthday Cow!

Supplies: papers all from MME;
cow clip from Fancy Pants; buttons from stash;
Stampendous Fun Flock - Cotton Ball;
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic;
sentiment from Kaisercraft; Palette Noir ink

Whose crazy idea was it to use different colours of embroidery floss?
(Oh. Yeah. Right....took forever but it does look cool!)

  Fuzzy bits & shiny balloon!

My poor computer isn't home yet...but I've managed to commandeer hubby's laptop which has a nearly full-size keyboard for my big clumsy fingers! Yahoo! Blurfing here I come...how I've missed you :)

I don't know that I've gotten a lot done without the internet - some housecleaning, and actually, a LOT of reading. I still have to convince myself to go tackle the bathroom, though. 

The 'computer brain repairman' (as Connor calls him) promised to have it ready for pickup today, so over the weekend I should get caught up on emails & such - I know there's a few there that I should have gotten to before, but of course I didn't expect to be losing the darn thing. 

xoxo,

Jessi
ETA: I've been blog-surfing but haven't been able to figure out how to bypass hubby's security settings to be able to leave comments...I'll be catching up on those this weekend as well. I miss you guys :)

Playing in Paradise #54 - stitching challenge

Supplies: paper & chipboard from Fancy Pants;
ribbon from May Arts;
brad & letter stickers from Basic Grey

Stickers were used as a template for the stitching - I laid out the stickers,
pierced through them, and then peeled them off before stitching with 3 strands
of embroidery floss

Supplies: paper from Basic Grey "Oxford;"
sentiment from Digital Princess;
Peeled Paint & Vintage Photo Distress ink;
peacock feather



Stitching done along the paper's pattern

Wow, this post will be short! My hard drive is having the disc drawer replaced, and I'm using the kids' Netbook...with Internet Explorer, its tiny keyboard, track pad, and none of my links. I thought pre-loading my pictures would be enough & could go from there....um, no. Ugh.
These cards are for Scrapbooker's Paradise PIP Challenge #54, which is to use stitching, real or faux, on your creations. You have until tomorrow at noon to play!
I can't wait to have my computer back - although something tells me, without blurfing & Facebook I just might get an awful lot done today...lol!
xoxo,
Jessi

A patterned paper challenge? Cool!

So Lily Pad Cards has a challenge running for us to use patterned paper.

I'm yer huckleberry...I looooove patterned paper. I try not to hoard it, but you know it still happens. So for this challenge I wanted to do a few different things with my patterned paper, rather than just enter every card I've made since it started :) There are already well over 300 entries, and still 3 and a half days left to link up, so lots of inspiration to be had! Anyhow, here are my entries, with a brief 'why' I thought it was a special use of patterned paper.

1. Lots of paper piecing, using 6 different patterns total.

Supplies: papers from MME;
Palette Noir ink; Vintage Photo distress ink;
Stamps from Market Street Stamps;
Black Sharpie

 2. Using up scraps of hoarded paper - in this case those adorable owls! - and trimmed 'just so' to extend the size of the scrap.

Supplies: papers from MME "Fine and Dandy;"
yellow gingham scrap; dew drops from $ store;
London Fog Memento ink;
sentiment from Cloud 9 designs

 3. Stamping & embossing on patterned paper; using textured paper.

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Sweet Threads;"
Vintage Photo distress ink, Versamark, and clear EP;
scrap of bronze corrugated paper;
clear rhinestones coloured with brown Sharpie

 4. Stamping on patterned paper; cutting out along design for added interest & dimension. The little

'pennant' shapes are part of an argyle pattern, and I left the points loose & bent each up

slightly for more dimension.

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Out of Print;"
swirl stamps from Autumn Leaves;
Worn Lipstick & Bundled Sage distress ink;
Martha Stewart banner;
London Fog Memento ink;
sentiment from Inkadinkado; silver pearls from dollar store

 5. Paper quilting. Fussy as all get out, but I love how it looks! I use a plain piece of copy paper

as the base for my 'quilt' so that I can fiddle around with the layout on the final card. These squares

are 3/4".

Supplies: papers from DCWV; scraps of solid cardstock;
Susan Branch letter stickers;
fuzzy ducks from Carlton;
labels 4 Nesties

 6. Cutting out elements - in this case the rose label - and using up tiny scraps. That lovely damask

piece was not quite half an inch wide.

Supplies: papers from MME;
Wilton doily; Palette Noir ink;
sentiment stamp from Wordsworth; velvet ribbon from stash

So, anyhow, if you use patterned paper, hurry up & link up a few cards to Lily Pad's challenge - and get some amazing ideas from the folks who've linked up already :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Little Red Wagon #120

Is it possible to read the words "Twinkle Twinkle" and not hear 'little star' come right after? Little Red Wagon's Challenge #120 is to incorporate 3 stars into your project. I wasn't sure about including more stars, so I'm not counting the stars in the patterned paper!

Supplies: patterned papers (and planet stamp) from Bo Bunny;
glitter papers from Colorbok; standard oval Nesties;
'alien' sticker from Recollections;
stars die from My Favorite Things;
buttons from stash; letter stickers from Doodlebug

 The little blue alien is made out of a fuzzy material - not felt, not faux fur, but soft & fluffy. And his little buddy has only one eye. That just makes me smile :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Shopping Our Stash #39 - Metal Mania!

And here it comes, the first of a whole bunch of challenge posts. I've been a busy bee :)
(As an aside, does it drive anybody else crazy to see one card with a list of 20+ challenges it fits right underneath? I can see combining 2 or 3, but once you get up that high aren't you kind of just looking for other things it happens to fit into? Anyway.)

This round at Shopping our Stash is Metal Mania - use anything metal from your stash. Gotcha! Once again squeaking in last minutey with only 10 hours left to link up - but I bet you've got brads, eyelets, etc. in your stash to work with!

Supplies: Paper from K&Co;
Martha Stewart butterfly stamp;
Stampendous Pirate Gold EP;
'thanks' stamp from Stampin' Up (Versamark);
Tsukineko Pssst! Spray;
stash:brads, microbeads, vellum

Glittery! And four sets of wings...

I found exactly four brads in this gold tone (the closest match to the Pirate Gold EP), and then thought hey, I have metallic microbeads too, don't I? Yep. 2 packages (unopened) in this gold colour alone. I might run out. Ahem.

The butterfly wings lay flat to go in the envelope, as I only glued along the body. I embossed first on the card base, then layered vellum-matching paper-vellum to give some extra lift. I've got to say, it felt nice to use something UP here (even if it was 'only' one colour of brad...still progress!)

xoxo,
Jessi

Chiclectic! Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger...

Well, it's been a while since you & I have gotten together, Trigger, and I feel bad about that. I was determined to make time for you this week, no matter what. And then, Cath picked this photo:

And a little part of me said "well, you didn't tell anyone ELSE that you promised to do the Trigger this week...no one will know."

Yikes.

But I kept my promise, and made a card, and got it photographed & ready before the deadline. All good, right? Here it is:

Supplies: all papers from Basic Grey "Sweet Threads"
except aqua cardstock from MFP;
sentiment sticker from Doodlebug;
various circle punches from Marvy; 3 spot embossing folders from Cuttlebug;
Colorbox Frost White pigment ink 

Poppy-uppy!

I thought of this pink & orange paper right away, but what else to do with it? Throw everything I had at it? Funny thing is, I really like the way the room looks, but trying to separate elements from the photo and make it into a pleasing card? HARD. So I went for the standby of colours, and stuck with the pink & orange, with a pop of aqua. Once I added the birthday sentiment I wanted some more white, so grabbed a Q-tip and painted some ink onto the embossed areas (since of course everything was already attached to the card and adding more white was a last-minute idea). Anyhow, if you've been thinking about joining up with this week's Trigger, it ends tonight, so skedaddle!

I haven't blogged for a few days longer than I anticipated - finally, after joking about it all winter, I fell on the ice! I'm very lucky that I didn't break anything, and I have no dignity anyhow, so no worries there. I do have some very tender areas but I'm a big wimp & have been taking advantage of my owies to rest :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Playing in Paradise #53 - Musically Inspired!

THERE IS NO WAY I'M GONNA BE LATE THIS WEEK, I said to myself after blowing last week's PIP deadline by only a couple of hours....so yay me, there's nearly 2 days left! And besides that, I have two cards to share. For For Playing in Paradise #53 you've got to be ....

Supplies: gorgeous brolly paper from MME (from dear sweet Emily!);
cardstock from MFP; standard oval & labels 4 Nesties;
stamps from Market Street Stamps;
Palette Noir ink; versamark & clear EP (raindrops);
Offray ribbon, Bow-Easy, loads of foam tape;
3/4" circle punch for ribbon 'tabs'

I received a care package from Emily  the week before last, and as soon as I saw this pattern I knew I had to finally break in my sad face sun from Market Street Stamps. If the song isn't already playing in your head, this sentiment is (well, I imagine it is, anyway) inspired by Bill Withers' 'Ain't No Sunshine.' And it plays in my head every time I look at the sentiment... 

Almost forgot! Little Red Wagon #119 - Cupid's Arrow

For the Cupid's Arrow Challenge at little red wagon, you don't necessarily have to go with a Valentine theme, but you do have to include arrows in your design. I went with both:

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Hopscotch;"
Fluffles & his gal from Stampendous; stamped with Palette Noir ink;
coloured with Prismacolor pencils;
Fun Flock (Cotton Ball) from Stampendous;
sentiment from Inkadinkado; stamped with versamark &
Tumbled Glass distress ink; embossed with clear EP;
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (on bows & eyes)

Fuzzy! Shiny! Poppy-uppy!

I love adding texture - especially when it can be done with lightweight touches like flock & glaze. And what's not to like about being able to pet your card? lol

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #38 - Hearts, Valentines, &/or Lace

A timely challenge, right? I'm definitely enjoying the challenge of digging for the older supplies in my stash (and finally use some of the stuff that I've been hoarding for no particular reason).
Once again I'm uploading at the last minute, 10 hours left until the linky closes, but anyhow....go have a peek at the 80+ entries this week at Shopping our Stash.
Here's mine:

Supplies: patterned paper is stationery from at least 8+ years ago;
large violin & sentiment stickers from PSX;
vellum violin - unknown;
envelope - stamp from Inkadinkado, Vintage Photo distress ink

It's -30C with the windchill today...I was going to try and take some pictures of the snowfall, but I'm scared to take the camera outside when it's that cold. I would NEVER hear the end of it if it got damaged! I do have a 3 km walk to the doctor's office later, and I'm bribing myself with a stop at Tim Horton's on the way there...

xoxo,

Jessi

I love the Internet...

...because it makes wonderful things like this happen. There's a sweet little boy named Sebastian who is having yet another surgery, and his amazing teacher wants him to be showered with cards while he recuperates. I found out about Sebastian from my dear bloggy buddy Emily Keaton, who linked to Amy Tsuruta's blog post, and to Ginger's original post telling all of us about this sweet little boy. What struck me the most about Ginger's words was how Sebastian is so cheerful, and she shares some great photos with his infectious grin. So here's my card (going in the mail tomorrow once we've dug out of the latest snowstorm):

Supplies: papers from MME;
stamp & sentiment from Daisy Bucket;
GOOGLY EYES! and white Inksentials pen;
standard oval Nesties

Given that Sebastian's medical issues mean he'll have more surgeries ahead of him, I wanted my card to be a cheerful encouragement rather than 'get well' in nature, so there it is :) I dare you to not be moved by the spirit this little man embodies!
xoxo,
Jessi

Wonders will never cease...

...I have something weird to share today. Weird for me, anyway. Cards, based on sketches. Not just one, but two.

(Sorry about that - I should have asked if you were sitting down first. Are you ok?)

I've been making a concerted effort to play in more challenges, but sketches just really don't seem to be my 'thing'. This week's Playing in Paradise #52 challenge for Scrapbooker's Paradise  is a sketch by the lovely Allison, though, and I wanted to give it a shot. And I don't hate it. Just call me last-minute Lucy again, because this challenge is only open until midnight!

ETA: I blew that one - the challenge ended at noon :( Boo, hiss!

Supplies: Papers, stickers from Simple Stories;
Fired Brick & Antique Linen distress inks (for sponging edges);
Sakura clear glaze pen; Mod Podge dimensional magic

I used the Dimensional Magic on the stars, dots, and 'birthday.' Oooh, shiny!

This next card is for a challenge I've followed for a while via my blogging buddy Theresa at My Sassy Cards, who practically DARED me to join in....so I gave it a whirl. This is a two-hour card...but I think it's worth it! The Tuesday Morning Sketch  is open until 8 PM Sunday each week.

Link to the challenge post here

Supplies: dark blue  cardstock from PTI (from JJ!);
patterned papers from Basic Grey "Hello Luscious;"
each embossed with Cuttlebug folders and sponged with
Broken China & Faded Jeans distress inks;
Peacock clip art from The Graphics Fairy; Sakura Stardust glitter pen;
Peacock feather, rhinestones, standard circle Nesties

Oooh, shiny! I used the glitter pen to trace the edge of the circle panel, and
around the embossed swirls, and heck, on the peacock's feathers as well.

Part of my reason for taking two hours (besides that I misplaced the dang peacock after die-cutting it and spent about 10 minutes looking for it) was that I couldn't get the feather to look right in the same orientation as the tickets in the sketch...and then I just couldn't get happy with the bottom banner detail. AGH! But, the whole idea is to be inspired by the sketch, not to drive yourself crazy, so I call it good. And I love the final card - I want to marry it :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Little Red Wagon #118 - Valentines!

It was very easy to keep this week's little red wagon challenge (open until tonight!) in mind while making cards - Valentine's Day or love themed. That's not the only type of cards I've been making, but it's certainly the lion's share!

Here are a bunch:

Supplies: papers from Bo Bunny;
alien sticker from Recollections (I added the googly eyes, because they make everything better...)
sentiment from MFT; hand-drawn speech bubble; Palette Noir ink;
standard circle Nesties;
black Sharpie for outlining the bubble & the stripy strip

Supplies: Red paper from Echo Park "For the Record;"
blue polka-dot paper from MME;
owl clip from Fancy Pants;
corner rounder; edges done with black Sharpie;
sentiment from CHF; Palette Noir ink;
Stardust pen on sentiment & owl's heart;
standard oval Nesties; polka dot embossing folder

Supplies: papers from Bo Bunny;
porcupine stamp from Michaels;
Palette Noir ink;
coloured with Martha Stewart markers;
standard circle Nesties

Supplies: paper from Bo Bunny;
sentiment from MFT;
Versamark & white EP;
blue rhinestones; Sakura Stardust pen

Supplies: paper from Fancy Pants;
heart stickers from PSX;
vellum clip from stash; sewn on with embroidery floss

I was trying to come up with anything else to say, and I got nothin'! Abby woke me up at about 3:30 to go to the bathroom, which is better than going on the floor, but not so good for me going back to sleep. And I have a dentist appointment shortly, so a nap will have to wait until after that...but at this rate I might fall asleep while they're cleaning my teeth. At least it's not my turn to clean something!
xoxo,
Jessi

Shopping our Stash #37 -People who need People

OK, this card is a little bit risque. Not too much, but a little bit...

Supplies: image from MFT;
Palette Noir ink; watercoloured with inkpads;
letter stickers from Basic Grey;
arrow and paper from ancient stash; corner rounder

This little doctor is so adorable that my goofy mind has to twist him up to use him :) Once again I'm squeaking in near the end of this challenge, which ends at midnight (right now there's 19 hours left) so quick! link up to Shopping our Stash #37, People who need People.... if only because now that song is playing on an endless loop in your head. You're welcome ;)

And for Emily's inquiring mind, I have some really poor photos of my hair! I had about 6 inches cut off, and  two sets of foils done - blonde and PINK! The pink is a temporary 3-week colour, and once it washes out all the pink parts will be blonde. Different & fun - the kids love it, and so do I :)

I'll try to remember to get a better picture!

xoxo,

Jessi