Paper Players Sketch

I can't remember if I mentioned it here on the ol' blog, but next week I'm off for a trip home to Vancouver for three weeks. Definitely beginning to enter panic mode with creating (much more fun than panic mode with packing/laundry!) and blogging - I know I'm not going to be catching up on comments, and that drives me batty. I hate not getting around, even when it's for a good reason.

I played with the sketch from The Paper Players for one of the many birthday cards I'm getting ready to bring with me:

Supplies: papers from Simple Stories; kitty chipboard from October Afternoon; Paper Smooches sentiment; Gray Flannel Memento ink; classic small circle Nesties; Corner Chomper; green rhinestones from Dollarama; Sakura Stardust glitter pen (on sentiment & around white circle)

Puppy update: Last night was a lot smoother, as we got Mimi her own crate (she's already crate-trained for sleeping) and now she's got a safe place to go when she wants to. We took her for her first 'sidewalk walk' yesterday, and considering she'd only ever been on the previous owner's property (a farm) she did really well with traffic & staying on leash without yanking. Going where she wants to will be an issue for a bit probably ;)

All right, back to panicking!

xoxo,

Jessi

Last-minute Jingle Belles!

For the love of Pete, I made this card last week & forgot to post it! It's for the almost-finished 'red' prompt at Jingle Belles:

Supplies: American Crafts red mirror card stock; Wilton doily; bling/pearls from Dollarama; cardinal image recycled from greeting card front

The image is glittered along the branches - love it - and I just kept adding more sparkle :)

And in other news - the reason I am covered with dog slobber today (because you can tell!) is we added a new member to the household! Her name is Mimi, and she's a ten-month-old black Lab mix (mixed with what? not sure, but her head is GIANT). Abby needs a buddy, and after several months of searching after deciding that, we found her one. She's a moving target & hard to photograph, but this is her:

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Sketch #14 reminder!

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down two or click here**

**For my Shopping our Stash post, please scroll down one or click here**

We're nearly halfway through the linky for Seize the Sketch #14, and we've got some new ideas from the design team for you!

This is one of those cards that came out just as I'd pictured it in my head - happy monkey clapping! - and is completely different from my first take on the sketch. You've got to love that versatility in a layout. 

Supplies: Shabby Shutters distress ink; papers from MME; sentiment stamps from Hero Arts; large medallion stamp from Stampendous; butterfly veneers from Studio Calico; kraft twine from Paper Smooches

Here's the sketch - you've got until Sunday March 2 to link up your creation:

Head on over to the Seize the Sketch blog to see who else is sharing some eye candy today!

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping Our Stash #140 - Heavy Metal!

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

We've got a great challenge for you this week at Shopping our Stash - we want you to use METAL on your projects! Brads, clips, staples, charms...you get the idea.

I've used the last four matching silver brads in my stash - how are there so many shades of silver? 

Supplies: stamps from Unity; paper from DCWV; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; lord only knows where those brads came from.

So what metallic bits & bobs are languishing in your stash? Dig them out, and come & play along with this challenge until next Monday, March 3rd - hop on by & leave the rest of my teamies some love!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Michelle

Chana

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #238 - Yours or Mine Papercrafts!

Good morning! Once again a busy Tuesday around here - stay tuned for my Shopping our Stash & Seize the Sketch posts coming up later this morning :)

Right now, it's time to share this week's Tuesday Morning Sketch with you - and it's adorable! We're sponsored by Yours or Mine Papercrafts this week, and they're offering a $10 voucher to the lucky winner.

Supplies: digi stamp from Stamp Fairy; papers from Simple Stories; Doodlebug sticker sentiment; Bic Markers; Wplus9 banner dies; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; classic small oval Nesties; googly eyes & ribbon from stash

I love how the different sized pupils in the googly eyes give this bear a slightly panicked look - I imagine I'd be wearing one too if I was floating away! The balloons are coated with the Dimensional Magic because that's just how I roll :)

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, March 2nd - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Kris

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Fusion Butterflies

Even though I found my ideas slow to translate to paper this week, I was lucky to make several cards that I absolutely love - you know that feeling when it turns out exactly as you'd hoped? This one, inspired by the current Fusion challenge, is one of them:

Supplies: Martha Stewart butterfly punch; PTI sentiment; Versamark; Stampendous White detail EP; Ranger enamel accents; Tim Holtz ruler & piercing tool; embroidery thread; lots of vellum

I punched out 16 butterflies & adhered them with a teeny dab of my Quickie Glue pen, just enough to keep them from sliding around. I then used my Tim Holtz design ruler to pierce the stitch lines. The sentiment strip ended up wanting to be over one row of butterflies (you can just barely make them out under there in the full-size photo). The enamel dots were made on a scrap piece of acetate, and then when they were dry I glued them onto the sentiment strip. 

I was inspired by the photograph this time around:

*happy crafty sigh*

xoxo,

Jessi

Merry Monday Holly Jolly

Ah, Sunday morning...time for a last-minute Merry Monday card! I'm often given commercial cards by lots of kind folks, so that I can recycle them. This holly piece was made with 2 copies of the same design.

Supplies: American Crafts metallic red card stock; red rhinestones from Dollarama; recycled greeting cards

To create the 3D holly I used the second card & fussy cut just the holly sprig, and then popped it up with foam dots. The rhinestone berries were the finishing touch.

xoxo,

Jessi

SoSS Challenge #2 - U is for UNUSED!

We're so thrilled with the turnout for our very first Snarky Sisters challenge - thanks so much for coming to play with us! Continuing with our alphabet-inspired theme, this week is brought to you by the letter U - as in, unused. We want you to dig out something you've never used, or haven't used in a looooooong time (and make sure you tell us what it is!)

As a quick aside - you don't always have to be snarky to join in with us! Snark is always welcome, but it's not required :)

I think I can speak for most crafters when I say - the challenge with an "unused" challenge is deciding what to use. I have a terrible habit of buying things because they're on sale, without always thinking through to the "will I use it?" criteria. That, and buying mystery boxes. They're always worth it (I've never been disappointed) but that doesn't mean I use it all, either.

All that to get around to - this Stampendous flower, which has been in my stash for a minimum of 2 years & has never seen ink. The enamel accents haven't been around quite as long, since November, but still. I NEEDED THEM, you'd think I might have used them by now!

Supplies: Stampendous stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic Markers; prismacolor pencils; Ranger enamel accents

The flower was stamped on a kraft panel, intended to be the card front. That worked out, as you can see {sigh}. The markers weren't as intense on kraft as I had hoped, so I added some Prismacolors to brighten it up, and then fussy-cut the flower out. And then the enamel, which in true Jessi fashion I did a bit of, and then some more, and then just barfed on ALL THE DOTS EVERYWHERE OMG LOOK MUCH DOTS SO MANY. very exciting.

(It's possible I've had too much coffee already.)

ANYWAY

In our crystal balls we can see you have crafty stuff you're not using, so join us, won't you? The linky will be open until Friday March 7, and you should go check out what the other Sisters have been up to:

Barb

Chris

Donna

Karen

Lee

Linda

Lindsey

Lynne

Michelle

xoxo,

Jessi

Vintage Fairy

My mojo has gone no-jo...not so much that the ideas aren't coming, but it's taking forever to translate them to paper (and plenty of paper is being wasted in the process). It's like my fingers KNOW I'm in a rush!
It took three days to finish this, but I do like how it turned out at long last. I've gone with vintage colours & feel for the SweetPea Stampers challenge, and Wings, Fantasy & Fiction for the Stamping Sensations challenge. They both end February 26.

Supplies: SweetPea digi stamp; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Prismacolor pencils; Basic Grey papers; Wilton doily; Cuttlebug tag & embossing folder; Victorian Velvet distress stickles; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; loose copper glitter; Antique Linen & Brushed Corduroy distress ink; classic small oval Nesties; tonic distress tool, emery board, random copper brad, pearls

I embossed & then lightly sanded the paper, and distressed the edges of that & the fairy panel. The tag was distressed, crumpled, and then inked.

xoxo,
Jessi

Seize the Sketch #14!

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down 2 or click here**

**For my Shopping our Stash post, please scroll down or click here**

Thanks so much!  

Amy designed the sketch for us this week at Seize the Sketch, and the design team rocked it - cute, fun, elegant, soft, bright, multilayered & CAS - a really versatile sketch indeed!

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark & black detail EP; papers from Bo Bunny; Bic Markers; googly eye!

I cut out the neon green "pow" mat by hand, and outlined it with black marker to make it pop-pier (hah!). 

Here's the sketch, which is open until Sunday March 2:

Don't forget to check out the design team's fabulous projects!

Amy

Cathy

Jen N 

Jen M

Jessica

Jessi - that's me!

Lesley

Lori

Lori T

Rose

Sarah

Sherry

Stacey

Tangii

Vicki

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #139 - Embellish Me!

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

Now, here's where reading the challenge description is important - we don't just want to see embellishments this week at Shopping our Stash - we want to see embellishments that YOU have made!  I had  to go with my most recent 'hey, I can do that!' which is clay embellishments.

Supplies: Martha Stewart clay kit; papers from Basic Grey; sentiment from Hero Arts; Versamark, white detail EP; lace from stash; Wilton doily; Neat & Tangled crystal clear sequins

No idea where the lace is from - it was SO the perfect colour though. Although the clay embellishments are bulky, they are incredibly light so they are easy to adhere to the card. Mail, not so much. 

So now, what are YOU going to make for an embellishment?  Come & play along with this challenge until next Monday, February 24th - hop on by & leave the rest of my teamies some love!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Michelle

Chana

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #237 - Stitchy Bear's Digi Outlet!

Good morning! Tuesday is such a busy day around here, and to kick it off here's my card for Tuesday Morning Sketches. This week we're sponsored by Stitchy Bear's Digi Outlet, which offers digital stamps from a variety of artists, so there's something for everyone.

My card features the work of Alipeeps Art, Starry Eyed:

Supplies: Starry Eyed, Alipeeps Art digital stamp; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Shaded Lilac & Picked Raspberry distress inks; Pearl Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels; Sakura Stardust clear glitter pen; star stamps from Stampendous

I coloured her hair purple first, and then decided I wanted an outer-space vibe :)

To create the sentiment panel, I stamped the lilac star swirl, and the pink sentiment, and THEN sprayed it with glimmer mist. After it dried, and the inks blended, I re-stamped the sentiment to give it a shadow effect.

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, February 23rd - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Kris

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Naughty or Nice?

I almost didn't think I was going to get a card made for this week's Merry Monday prompt - I spent most of the week in bed with that stupid kidney infection, and my back was so uncomfortable that I just couldn't sit at my desk. I did finally get to play yesterday morning for a bit, and caught up on some DT work while I was at it :) I squeezed this one in the middle!

Supplies: paper from Simple Stories; cat stamp from Inkadinkado; sentiment from the Cat's Pajamas; Bic markers; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Wplus9 banner die; Martha Stewart large snowflake punch; Milled Lavender distress ink (for edges of circle & banner)

I'm not sure I've ever used this stamp! I placed the googly eyes as askew as I could & still cover the illustrated ones, for a maximum demented look on the kitty's face. 

xoxo,

Jessi

OK, nice this time...

I already entered the Naughty or Nice challenge with a naughty card, but I thought I'd pop in with my last Valentine share & link it up again as a nice entry :)

ETA: BRAIN FART! I totally meant to enter in the Pocket challenge at little red wagon also. My kingdom for a working memory.

Supplies: papers & die cuts from K&Co; Wilton doily; red rhinestones from Dollarama; library pocket from the fabulous Lindsey of Bashful Blogging :) 

When I bought this packet of die-cuts I knew there were a few in it that really seemed meant for scrapbooking rather than cards, but I came up with a card idea! The library pocket makes it easy for the giver of the card to write down their reasons, and  then tuck it back into the pocket. Since the pocket was deeper than the card, I put a strip of Scor-tape down near the bottom so that the card didn't fall in too deep. 

Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who celebrate it - around here we really never have, and since at the moment I'm fighting off a kidney infection (booo, hiss) I wouldn't be any fun to celebrate with anyhow. At least I'm starting to feel human again!

xoxo,

Jessi

We Mix Well!

Nothing says cute like Paper Smooches - and puns :) This is for the fun & cute challenge Kim's hosting this week on the Paper Smooches main blog.

Supplies: Paper Smooches 'bebopping' stamps; Versamark; Clear & Pirate Gold Stampendous EP; Barn Door distress ink; Gray Flannel & Tuxedo Black Memento ink; Studio Calico star veneer

The treble clef is clear embossed on top of the sentiment, and the veneer stars were triple-embossed with gold. Love adding embossing to veneer - it really stretches their 'usefulness' as embellies :)

xoxo,

Jessi

I love hanging out with you!

Just a couple more Valentines to share with you for this year - although I will definitely be keeping up with the 'friend love' cards that I've been making, and making sure I'm mailing them too!

Supplies: paper & die cut card from K&Co; lacy oval Nesties; bling strips from Dollarama; crochet mat by me 

The entire pad of patterned paper has a cool shaped edge, so I trimmed it to allow that edge to show on my card....and then covered it up a bit. lol! For all the fussiness of the end result, this was a very quick card - I crochet the mats in bunches, rather than making one specifically for each card.

Popping this in over at The Pink Elephant for their Valentine challenge!

xoxo,
Jessi

Pink Fairy

I just found the Sweet Pea Stampers challenge, and I'm squeaking in with a card for their LOVE challenge ending tomorrow. I'm also entering the current Stamping Sensations challenge - Wings, Fantasy, and Fiction - which has two weeks left to go.

Supplies: fairy stamp from Sweet Pea stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Martha Stewart loose glitter - pink & crystal; Martha Stewart clay kit; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; pink rhinestones from Dollarama; sheer ribbon from stash

Oh, glitter. How I love you. The pink rose was made with the Martha Stewart clay kit, mixing red & a tiny bit of white. I wanted "something" to go with it - I played with leaves, buttons, rhinestone swirls - and then I spotted this length of pink ribbon on my desk. I tried bows, loops...and finally got the bright idea to cut the notched ends & give it a quick blast with my heat gun, making it crumple. I love how it turned out!

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Sketch #13, Revisited

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down 2 or click here**

**For my Shopping our Stash post, please scroll down or click here**

Thanks so much :) 

We're halfway through the current Seize the Sketch challenge, and so there's some more eye candy from the design team to share! This paper from Fancy Pants created the perfect scene for me:

Supplies: papers from Fancy Pants; cloud dies from Paper Smooches; rub-on hearts & sentiment from Making Memories

You really do have to love it when the patterned paper does the heavy lifting for you!

Here's the sketch:

Head on over to the Seize the Sketch blog to see who's playing along again, and don't forget to link up with us by Sunday, February 16!

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #138 - ohhhh, Shiny!

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

Shimmer, shine, sparkle....that's what we want to see this week at Shopping our Stash! 

true story.

Being the overachiever that I am, I made two cards. Mostly because I had punched so many circles that I was determined to use them up, but still.

Supplies: stamps from Annabelle Stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Barn Door distress ink; Bic markers; Stampendous yellow fun flock; googly eyes; American Crafts yellow & scarlet glitter; Martha Stewart crystal glitter; miscellaneous scraps of card stock & glitter paper; black rhinestones from Dollarama

I added some yellow flocking to the bee, because bees are so soft...and dangerous....but soft :) I've also used loose glitter on the flower centres, heart, bouquet wrap,  and the bee's wings. 

 Come & play along with this challenge until next Monday, February 17th - hop on by & leave the rest of my teamies some love!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Michelle

Chana

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #236 - All Dressed Up!

We've got a brand-new sponsor this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and you are going to love the adorable images All Dressed Up has! I'm working with My Best Friend  - I couldn't resist choosing this one as my pup is my best girl :)

Supplies: digi stamp My Best Friend from All Dressed Up; papers from Basic Grey; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; bling from Dollarama

Now, I completely spaced on the twist this week, which is to use LACE or PEARLS (or both!) - you don't have to use the twist to play along with us, but you do need to use it for a chance to win our handpicked top spot.

Here's the sketch, designed by our former teamie Laura:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, February 16th - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Kris

Melissa

xoxo,
Jessi

Don't even think about it!

Oh man...this card was FUN to make! It fits in perfectly with the anti-Valentine challenge at Snarky Stampers, of course, and also with the Naughty or Nice: LOVE theme. 

Supplies: free cupid clip art; computer-generated sentiment; googly eyes; classic small circle Nesties; red card stock

Oh, Cupid. Your aim is ridiculously bad sometimes.

xoxo,

Jessi

Doodle Pantry Peacock

This card turned out to be fairly simple - once I had the peacock all gussied up, it just didn't feel like playing with a sentiment or patterned paper. It wanted to be the star!

Supplies: pre-coloured peacock digi stamp from Doodle Pantry; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crochet mat by me; Liquid Pearls in Avocado & blue; Tumbled Glass distress stickles; yellow glitter glue 

Since I didn't have the precise colours to match the green, I used a piece of plastic packaging to mix together a small amount of Avocado LP and yellow glitter glue, and then applied with a toothpick. The blue dots on the tail are 'pure' blue LP, and the details on the wing & cheeks were done by mixing together the blue LP & stickles & applying with a toothpick. It had the rather odd effect of dulling the sparkle, but I think the overall look is neat!

I'm fairly certain this is also my first time using the partial die-cutting technique - perhaps I'll get brave enough to try it again :)

Entering this in the monthly challenge over at Doodle Pantry :)

xoxo,

Jessi