Purple Trees

This tree stamp is quite likely my most-used image at Christmastime - it just makes for such a simple elegant card! Although the final design is clean & simple, there was a lot of inky mess making them.

Supplies: Stampin' Up tree stamp; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Distress inks: Dusty Concord, Salty Ocean, Shaded Lilac; lilac chalkboard glimmer mist from Tattered Angels; Shimmer mist from Tsukineko; sentiment from Stampendous

The panels were made by first punching 1" circles from Post-its, and sponging the various distress inks. Then the panels were laid out & sprayed VERY liberally with the mists - see how super sparkly? Love it :) When they were dry, I peeled off the post-it circles & gave them a quick blast of hairspray. The glimmer mist tends to come off all over everything otherwise. A light coating of hairspray seals them - the sparkle will still rub off if you pet the card, but not nearly as much. The trees were then stamped in grey, and stamped again without re-inking. The panels were trimmed to size, adhered to the card bases, and the sentiment stamped last. (and yes, I held my breath on every one!)

I'm popping this card set in for several challenges:

CAS on Sunday - Winter Theme - ending December 6
Paper Playtime - Anything Goes - ending December 6
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes - ending December 3

xoxo,
Jessi

Thank you!

One of these days (ha, stop laughing!) I'm going to organize myself so that I don't binge-post. Not really. But it's nice to think that someday I might be that sorted out.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American pals - I hope you're all having a wonderful day enjoying your holiday traditions with the folks you love!

I've got a thank you card to share first today - this time of year I tend to create ALL THE CHRISTMAS CARDS ALL THE TIME and neglect my stash for other occasions...so this week I've been working hard on making everything BUT Christmas cards. (insert whine here...I just want to play with snowmen!)

Supplies: paper from Fancy Pants; Tumbled Glass distress ink; Versamark & clear EP; Stampendous sentiment; pearl strips from Dollarama; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crochet mat

Entering this in a couple of Thank You themed challenges:

Andrea's Savvy Handmade Cards - until December 3
Crafty Creations Challenges - until December 3

Be right back (naturally) with some more cards :)
xoxo,
Jessi

Shopping Our Stash #129 - Holiday or Winter - TWO WEEK CHALLENGE!

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down or click here. Thanks!!**

With American Thanksgiving coming up fast, the team at Shopping our Stash are giving everyone a challenge breather and keeping the current challenge open for 2 weeks - and we want to see your holiday/winter cards! 

I've used one of my favourite Christmas stamps, featuring Fluffles, as well as a long-hoarded felt snowflake:

Supplies: Stampendous Fluffles stamp; papers from MME; Sizzix label die; classic small oval Nesties; felt snowflake from Hero Arts (?); Basic Grey brad; 1.5" circle punch; Bic markers

And actually the papers are from a MME collection from last year, so that's stash for sure too! 

Come & play along with this challenge until TWO Mondays from now, December 9th (gulp!) - hop on by & leave the rest of my teamies some love!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Michelle

Chana

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #226 - BUGABOO!

Bugaboo Stamps is our sponsor this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and you just KNOW I had to choose one of their awesome irreverent images! JJ - Christmas Cheers is an image I know will get a lot of use from me during the holiday season...mostly because the closer Christmas gets the more I feel like climbing into a me-sized martini!

Supplies: JJ-Christmas Cheer digi from Bugaboo; papers from Echo Park; computer-generated sentiment; W Plus 9 banner dies; classic small circle Nesties; Corner Chomper; black Sharpie; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter; red rhinestones

I went to town with the Dimensional Magic - after colouring in JJ & shading the glasses, I added it to every glassy/shiny part of the image, including her specs & boots. The gift was 'wrapped' with a coating of loose glitter. This card's got a serious shine factor! 

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, December 1st (oh yikes! gulp!) - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Kris

Melissa

xoxo,
Jessi

Heather's Sketch at Simon Says Stamp

I had a request to make a pink/fuchsia card for a sweet 9 year old granddaughter, and the sketch from Simon Says Stamp's challenge this week was a perfect starting point.

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Colorbok glitter papers; Raisin Boat peacock stamp; Bic Markers; White Sharpie; AC Thickers; rhinestones from Dollarama

Here's the sketch:

The banners were handtrimmed by marking the centre of the strips on the back, since they were wider than any of my banner dies or my square punch. The glittery 9 is perfect in the place of that banner element in the sketch!

I've been lucky enough to make cards for this little girl since she was a baby - it is really something to have the honour of doing it every year.

xoxo,
Jessi

Drunken Stampers #151: Place - DINER!

This week's Drunken Stampers challenge is back to PLACE - and we want to see you create something inspired by a diner or food!

I was initially stumped, but then I spotted my Hot Concoctions set from Paper Smooches, and I thought 'hey, what about sitting nursing a cup of coffee in a diner for hours?' And then it took a bit of a left turn, but hey, that's how I roll:

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; papers from Basic Grey; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark; Stampendous Moonstone EP; Tumbled Glass distress ink; Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; classic small circles & Labels 5 Nesties; Liquid Applique; googly eyes

I masked the cup to add the saucer, and added the little cookies. (So cute!) The swirls, words, and cookies have Stardust pen on them - with the cookies I coloured them in lightly & then smudged with my finger to get the shimmer effect. 

Come play with us up until next Friday night, November 29th. And don't forget to go see what my fellow Yellow Canaries have created for you:

Barb - Barb's Creative Corner

Donna - Challenge Host - Yellow Dog Greetings

Jessi - that's me!

Lindsey - Bashful Blogging

Lynne - Scrapbook Lynne's

Vicki - The Cheerful Stamp Pad

xoxo,

Jessi

CASology #71 - BELL

Where has the week gone? Crazy! Yep, I pretty much took a week off of everything - lots of naps, wearing jammies, reading, and more naps. It was awesome. I'm not sure that I'm done quite yet ;)

I have a card to share for this week's CASology prompt, BELL. I LOVE bells on Christmas cards!

Supplies: Sentiment from PTI; Versamark; Stampendous Pirate Gold EP; gold glitter paper from Colorbok; Bells from Dollarama; classic small & lacy oval Nesties; crocheted mat by me 

I used a needle & thread to string the bells together, and tie them around one of the loops on the crocheted mat. The thread was then pulled  taut & taped to the back of the mat so the bells would stay put.  And I'm going to need more of this glitter paper!

xoxo,
Jessi

Shopping our Stash #128 - Use Product Packaging!

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down or click here. Thanks!!**

Sometimes I honestly think that scrapbooking companies put as much effort into the packaging as they do into designing the product it holds! I think we've all come across a package that is just too pretty to recycle, so we save it to "use for something"...well, at Shopping our Stash this week we want you to use it! I've used two different packages - the cream printed piece is from a package of Prima chipboard, and the green holly print is from a package of K& Co diecuts.

Supplies: Wilton doily; K&Co poinsettia sticker; MME "Merry" sticker; pearls from Dollarama; classic small circle Nesties; packaging 

Lots of dimension on this quick card - and just a smidge of sparkle :) 

Come & play along with this challenge until next Monday, November 25th - hop on by & leave the rest of my teamies some love!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Michelle

Chana

For a tattoo update check out the post below :) I promise to have Rob take some more pictures once it's fully healed so you can see the full glory of it!

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #225 - Paper Pretties!

Good morning! Melissa has another great sketch for us this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches - it was so fun to work with. Paper Pretties is our sponsor, and I was able to choose this super-sweet image to work with - Nestfull of Love.

Supplies: image from Paper Pretties; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; pink snowflake paper from Crate Paper; green & teal dotted papers from MME; Classic small circle Nesties; Bow Easy; twine; bells; pink gems from MME Lush

Here's the sketch - so perfect for attaching some bells in place of the charm! 

We have some exciting news today too - we have a new design team member! Make sure to give Kris a warm welcome :) 

This sketch is open until next Sunday, November 24th - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Kris

Melissa

Tattoo update!

I am so happy with how it looks - of course, I have to tell you, it is SORE right now! There will still be a few hours' work left (adding colours and a couple more flowers) but I love that it doesn't look unfinished at this stage. These photos aren't terrifically clear as they were taken with my phone - by myself - and it's hard to get the back of your arm without help, lol! The line of text is a lyric from "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and it reads "With every mistake...we must surely be learning." 

xoxo,

Jessi

Jingle Belles Holiday Traditions

Holiday traditions...there are just so MANY! How do you choose? Something I have found kind of fascinating over the years is how our traditions changed & evolved after having kids. There are loads of fun things that I did with my mom & sister growing up that I don't do with my boys (like opening stockings on Christmas Eve!) that I absolutely love, but just don't work with the myth of Santa Claus. And yes, both my teenagers still believe.

I'm pretty sure you all know by now, lol, but both boys have autism. Connor is 14, and Riley is 13, and although Riley seems to be a little doubtful, Connor still writes his Santa letter faithfully, and absolutely refuses to listen to any speculation that the big guy doesn't exist. We worried a lot about that as they went to middle school, and no matter what they hear, they make up their own minds. The pull of the magic is just too strong for them, and I completely support that. They have their entire lives to be adults, but precious little time left to enjoy the magic of being a child on Christmas morning.

Our Christmas day has evolved greatly from the time they were small. Decorations were a problem for a long time. Even something as simple as the library being decorated was enough to throw Connor off - instead of looking at books he'd have to pace along the shelves & touch all the books, as if to reassure himself that there was still order somewhere. We couldn't put presents under the tree before Christmas Eve until they were about 9/10 years old - they wouldn't open them, but the presence of presents was something they became so obsessed with that I would have gone absolutely bonkers. We still don't go crazy with decorating. The boys help decorate the Charlie Brown tree the first day after school's out for the holidays, and it's done however they like - I put the lights on & make sure that it won't fall over, and the rest is up to them. When they had trouble with eating a variety of foods, we'd let them have hot dogs on Christmas. In our view, Christmas magic is in the enjoyment of the day - especially in watching our kids enjoy the day - and if they love hot dogs & not turkey? That's ok. They've grown to enjoy the traditional meal, but I'm glad that we were able to let go of our ideas about what made Christmas "perfect" and focused instead on what would make Christmas perfect for THEM. These days that includes making sure that each pet has their own stocking filled with treats from Santa, a special breakfast, and relaxing. We don't rush around, we don't require a lot from them, and we sit back & watch them enjoy their new stuff.

So, my holiday tradition cards for Jingle Belles are with stockings & ornaments - two of the traditions we've always kept to!

Supplies: Stockings die cut from Kaisercraft; Peacock Feathers distress ink; sentiment from MSE!; Corner Chomper

Supplies: ornament & bow die cuts  from K & Co; sentiment from PTI; Stampendous Pirate Gold EP; Versamark; red rhinestones from Dollarama 

Thanks for reading my ramblings :)

xoxo,

Jessi

TAWS DT Call #3 - I saved the best for last!

I am so stinkin' pleased with myself over this card it's just disgusting. Rob petted it & petted it and asked how I did the ornaments - and swear, if he likes it that much? It must be pretty neat! I really think I saved the best for last with my cards for The Alley Way Stamps DT call :)  Looky:

Supplies: TAWS ornament & sentiment freebies; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Bic markers; Liquid Pearls; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; PS black twine; gold sparkle EP; Versamark; classic small circle Nesties; distress inks in Fired Brick, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed.

This is another background made using the Faux Patina technique. The folder was inked with Spiced Marmalade before embossing the white cardstock. I then sponged the other colours of distress ink over that, and embossed with the gold sparkle powder.

The ornaments were coloured by sponging on Barn Door & Spiced Marmalade distress inks, and the 'hangers' were coloured with a gold Bic marker & then paper-pieced. I doodled on the ornaments with Liquid Pearls, and once that dried I coated them with a thick layer of Dimensional Magic. The twine is taped to the back of each ornament & then wrapped around the main panel, and a little bow tied on each. 

Look at all that luscious sparkle!

I'm entering this in a couple new-to-me challenges:

By Lori Designs: bows  (ends Tuesday)

ALBC: Sparkle & Shine (month of November)

Paper Playtime: Sparkle (Nov. 24)

Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards: Monochromatic (Nov 21)

Thanks so much for coming to visit :)

xoxo,

Jessi

TAWS DT Call #2

I've got two cards to share today, both of them for The Alley Way Stamps design team call - I have had so much fun playing this week! I have soooooo many new projects to share with you guys I'm all giddy about it :)

For this card, I FINALLY learned how to paper-piece digital images with the 'new' printer...that I've had for six months. *koff* I hate figuring that sort of thing out - which way do I put in the paper, is it going to jam, etc etc etc. It was so easy in the end that I feel a bit like a doofus for not managing it sooner, but oh well. Now I've got it :)

Supplies: Mittens digital images from TAWS; sentiment from PTI; Memento Gray Flannel ink; papers from Echo Park; classic small circle Nesties; Corner Chomper; Stampendous Cotton Ball fun flock; twine

I printed out 4 mittens (in case I messed up!) on two sheets of paper - one plain white cardstock, and one with the patterned paper. I then fussy-cut the mittens, and fussy-cut the cuffs separately & added Fun Flock so they would be soft. The twine is taped on to the back of each mitten, and then I tied the loop into a bow. After they were stuck to the card. I don't recommend that, lol. Tie the bow first!

I'm going to pop this into a couple of new-to-me challenges:

Stamping Sensations: Christmas  (until Nov. 28)
613 Avenue Create: Anything Goes (ends today!)

Be right back with my 'last' card for the TAWS call :)
xoxo,
Jessi

PS Sparks DT Call

You all KNOW how much I love my Paper Smooches stamps...so of course I'm throwing my hat in the ring for their DT call over at SPARKS! I have a whole bunch of cards to share so here they all are. Each card is followed by the challenge picture that inspired it:

Supplies: Stamps from Paper Smooches; Bic markers; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Barn Door distress ink; Versamark, Black Detail EP; Sakura black glaze pen; crepe paper; Tattered Angels glimmer mists - yellow daisy, candy apple red, tiger lily

Inspired by this photo - the teal & the ruffles: 

Supplies: speech bubble stamp from Lawn Fawn; all other stamps from Paper Smooches; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic Markers; Distress Inks in - antique linen, barn door, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, mowed lawn, salty ocean, seedless preserves, peacock feathers; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

SHINY EYEBALLS & TEETH!

Inspired by this photo - the rainbow words!

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic Markers; Recollections neon cardstock

Inspired by this photo - the neon ears!

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark; clear detail EP; Distress Inks in - barn door, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, mowed lawn, salty ocean, seedless preserves

The stars, notes, and treble clef are clear embossed around the sentiment.

Inspired by this photo - the multiple colours & square pattern:

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Shabby Shutters & Spun Sugar distress inks; Echo Park paper; canvas; buttons from stash

Inspired by this photo - the canvas, the buttons, the colours:

Supplies: Paper Smooches bunny; The Cat's Pajamas sentiment; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Spectrum Noir markers; classic small circle Nesties; Bo Bunny paper.

Inspired by this photo - the frames!

If you made it this far, WOOT! 

xoxo,

Jessi

You're out of this World!

I feel like I'm running around in circles flapping like the chickens in Chicken Run....so many things to do that I'm certain I've forgotten most of them.

The Alley Way Stamps is having a design team call - and I'm sharing the first of my cards for that:

Supplies: TAWS stamps; Simple Stories paper; classic small circle Nesties; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark; Stampendous Black Detail EP; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; staple

I left this picture dark so you can see the world stamped with Versamark on the graph paper...love that little touch!

The sentiment is embossed with black detail EP, and the pencil was paper-pieced by first stamping on kraft card stock, then pink & grey, and twice on the yellow so that I could give it some extra dimension. The staple was a last-minute idea and I love it. I think it's my favourite part of the card!

I've made it to #210 in the Great Cath Hop - and I'm starting to go numb in my left hand. Besides being behind in my own regular blog comments I'm scared of making it worse, so I may be a quiet visitor for a while. Too many craft shows coming up to not be able to use my hand!

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #127 - Use Something on Your Desk

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down or click here. Thanks!!**

True confessions time - this challenge was hard for me. Not because there's nothing on my desk, though - because EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS ON MY DESK! I have a corner of a room - so every inch is covered in stuff. To be honest, though, if I HAD a dedicated craft room? It would probably still look like this.

trust me. I know where EVERYTHING is, unless I was just using it. That stuff I can never find. God, it looks even worse in the photo than it does in real life...how IS that? 

So, since I obviously have PLENTY to choose from (and a fondness for CAPS today, what's with that? lol) I decided to go with something that had been sitting on the desk a loooonnnnng time - this little red cameo.

Supplies: Papers from MME; flower stamp from PTI; sentiment stamp from Paper Smooches; Webster's Pages cameo & trim; Barn Door distress ink; Sakura Stardust gel pen; Corner Chomper; green rhinestones from Dollarama

So the total of things that were on the desk:

-distress ink

-dies

-cameo

-stardust pen

-paper smooches sentiment stamps 

-Corner Chomper

-paper pad

I had to reach for the trim, the PTI stamp, and the rhinestones. That's it. I know, I need help.

Come & play along with this challenge until next Monday, November 18th - hop on by & leave the rest of my teamies some love!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Michelle

Chana

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #224 - There She Goes!

Good morning! Time got away from me yesterday & I never did make it back with more cards - I was too busy making them & goofing off ;) I always get thrown off by long weekends, and my husband has 5 days off in a row this time - he booked off extra days so he could be home on my birthday (cue the awwwwws!) It's not that I don't enjoy it, but a good deal of my memory is apparently based on routine, and having people home all day isn't part of it. lol

SO this week's Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge is our monthly Twist challenge, and this time around we'd like to see Thank You cards. Our sketch was designed by Laura, who recently stepped down from the team. I love this sketch - and in fact, was inspired to create a whole set of neon thank you cards with it!

Supplies: Washi tape & cardstock from Recollections; Versamark; Stampendous White Detail EP & sentiment; Distress inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry; Adirondack Citrus ink; 'splat' stamp from Unity; stars stamps from Paper Smooches; Wonky Rectangles Spellbinders dies; stacking stars dies from MFT; yellow glitter paper from Colorbok

I am really happy with how these turned out!

Here's the sketch:

This sketch will be open until next Sunday, November 17th - check out what everyone else made!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Melissa

PS - another tattoo update!

I have only got the picture on my phone, and I can't figure out how to upload it to the computer - but it's not done yet. So far the lilies themselves are fixed, and next weekend will be the rest of the half-sleeve. This way he can go back & touch up the lilies if necessary. Since it's the third time inking in the same spot, it's hard to tell until it's healed how well the ink took. 

(omg I had an idea - did you smell something burning? I can snag the pic from Facebook! I left this ramble in because hey, you may as well laugh. lol)

(remember, here's the before. Shudder): 

So there's far more depth & shading, more details added to the petals, and the 'ribbon' area is successfully blended in. You can still make it out, but it no longer jumps right out. I'm all flappy with excitement about the rest of the tattoo - I cannot WAIT! Eeek :) 

xoxo,

Jessi