Shaped Fairy Card

When I saw that the current Sweet Pea Stampers challenge was shaped cards, I knew I wanted to use this particular image - originally I thought I would make the card by using the outline as a template for the card shape. Then I realized it wouldn't stand up. Darn physics. I ended up using the largest die in the Wonky Rectangles set to make my base.

Supplies: Sweet Pea digi stamp - Dream of Iris; Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; peacock feather; Wonky Rectangles spellbinders dies

I added glitter pen to her eyes & the iris centres, and then just on the 'shaded' areas of her hair - and used my finger to spread the glitter around her hair a bit. It gives a much softer shimmery look. I would have used loose glitter but I was making this less than an hour before I was planning to give it to Donna, my Snarky Sister :) No time like the last possible minute! Donna & her family were headed past us on vacation, so we met up & had a great time together at the zoo with our families. It is a crazy fun thing, meeting someone through blogging & hanging out in 'real life' - I totally recommend it!

It's hard to see in the pictures, but to make the card base I scored the fold line, and used washi tape to stick the die so that it wouldn't cut on the fold. I wanted to keep the wonky rectangle shape, so there is a bit of an opening at the top of the card but it still works :)

I also purchased 3 new images from Ching-Chou Kuik last week, so you'll see some more of these images shortly :)

xoxo,

Jessi

CASology: WOOD

I can't be the only one who writes down challenges, decides I don't have any ideas, and then essentially accidentally creates a card perfect for said challenge? Right? *crickets chirping*

Well, I did exactly that with this week's CASology prompt. When I was finished I looked at it & went "oh, I guess I DID have an idea!"

Supplies: Paper Smooches sentiment; Versamark; Stampendous White Detail EP; Antique Linen distress ink; Wilton doily; Studio Calico wooden hearts; classic small circle Nesties; paper unknown

I found the woodgrain paper a little too yellow, so I softened it by sponging it with Antique Linen. I sponged the sentiment & circle panel as well after embossing. I absolutely LOVE the font of this sentiment! 

Here's the cue card:

xoxo,

Jessi

Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers - S is for...

This was a fun stretch for most of the Snarky Sisters - I probably spent 2 weeks just shopping around for digis that I might want to work with, and there was so much choice I couldn't choose! I did finally settle on this fun Cogsley Copperpot image from The Stamping Chef. 

Supplies: digi gal from The Stamping Chef; Dylusions sentiment; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; paper from Kaisercraft; those AWESOME gears from a forgotten corner of my stash; Peacock Feathers distress ink; SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS: TN2; EB2, 7; BT1, 2, 4, 5, 7; FS3,7

After colouring, I had to gloss up those AWESOME boots, her eyes, and of course the goggles on her hat with Dimensional Magic. 

Since I used exclusively Spectrum Noir markers, I'm entering this card in their background challenge - I used some of the same markers used on the image itself to dot around it & create a background. And since this is my first Stamping Chef card, I'm also entering their Anything Goes challenge.  

AND, you know you want to stretch your crafty horizons & play steampunk with us! You've got 2 weeks to link up (by July 11th) - and stop by & say hello to my sistahs:

Barb

Chris

Donna

Karen

Lee

Lindsey

Lynne

Michelle

And our fabulous guest designer, SHELLY! Man, our guest designers are seriously amazing. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Tiddly Inks & Spectrum Noir

This card ended up  taking a left turn from my original idea - monochromatic purple - but I love how it ended up! Still having fun playing with my Tiddly Inks images, and last weekend I increased my Spectrum Noir marker collection (hello purples!) and had a chance to play along with the SN Facebook challenge & Tiddly Inks sketch challenge.

Supplies: Tiddly Inks Flying High digi; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Corner Chomper; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; home-made enamel dots; paper straw, eyelet, twine, seam binding from stash. SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS: 

EB1; FS8,9; PL2, 4; BT2, 4; OR1; CT1,4 

Shiny balloons!

I made the background using several of the same markers that I used to colour the image, pressing lighter/harder to vary the size of the dots. This is my current absolute favourite background technique (as you'll see with my Snarky Sisters card in an hour or two). 

Here's the sketch from Tiddly Inks:  (open until Monday)

(I used the straw in place of the banner)

and the Spectrum Noir background challenge is also open until Monday.

xoxo,

Jessi

Just Merry NBUS Players!

First of all, don't adjust your screens or double-check your calendars, it's true. I have a Merry Monday card for you on a Thursday.

*thud*

I'm shocked too!

And on top of that, I paired it with the fun sketch at The Paper Players - which I liked so much that I made a second card with it. And I found some actual honest-to-goodness NBUS in my stash, which is a rarity. I am more of a use-it-to-death crafter ;)

*thud*

 I used the same NBUS on both cards - the middle-sized banner die. I've used the large one a million times give or take, and the small one once or twice. Well, now I've used the medium one twice! This first card, the little holly-type stamps are also seeing ink for the first time (well, and the paper pad too, but since Barb JUST gave it to me on Saturday I don't think that's in the true NBUS spirit!)

Supplies: papers from MME; Worn Lipstick distress ink; stamps from Flourishes; Cherub Pink & Pearl mists from Tattered Angels; pink & blue gems; banner dies from WPlus9; glitter buttons from a dollar store in Vancouver

I sprayed the sentiment circle with the Cherub Pink mist & immediately dried it with my heat gun to stop the ink from running. Once I assembled the card I gave it a couple quick shots of Pearl mist for overall shine :)

Forgive my rambling & going on - I'm trying to cook supper, and also listening to Riley & his friend kill video game zombies - and my train of thought has been derailed more times than I can count in the last 20 minutes it's taken me to get this far. AUGH!

This second card is using the same banner NBUS, a new package of Bazzill cardstock, and some letter stickers from Doodlebug that are so old they aren't sticky any more. Made it VERY easy to place them since I had to add my own glue! I've also used the Paper Players sketch, and the colour combination from Just Us Girls.

Supplies: banner dies from WPlus9; Bazzill cardstock; Market Street Stamps sun; Doodlebug letter stickers; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; MME paper scraps

Before I forget, here's the challenge graphics for 

Merry Monday (card #1)

The Paper Players (both cards)

Darnell's NBUS challenge (both cards)

JUGs (second card)

Thanks for bearing with my mind skipping all over the place! I hope this isn't a sign of the rest of the summer - it's been a tough one. Again, transitions+autism=suckage.

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Sketch #23!

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

**For my Shopping our Stash post, please scroll down 1 or click here**

Welcome to a new challenge at Seize the Sketch! This time around Lee Ann is our sketch artist, and she's created a sketch that I thought would be PERFECT for wedding cards!

Supplies: papers from MME; sentiment from Paper Smooches; Stampin' Up Not Quite Navy ink; classic small oval Nesties

In order to make the oval element work on my card, I cut the oval into two pieces, and covered up the 'gap' with the rectangular panel. I love the funky modern feel that the yellow & navy combo gives this card. 

Here's the sketch:

The linky will be open for two weeks - play along by Sunday July 6th! 

Check out what the rest of the amazing DT did!

Cathy

Colleen

Jen

Jessi - that's me!

Katie

Lee Ann

Lesley

Lori Turner

Lori Tecler

Marybeth

Mona

Rose

Sandy

Sherry

Vicki

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #157 - Colour My World!

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

This week at Shopping our Stash, we want to see you create with your favourite colour! Your project doesn't have  to be exclusively that colour - but we should be able to look at it & know right away which colour is your favourite. Make sense? 

Supplies: Mermaid digi from Tiddly Inks; Spectrum Noir & Bic markers; paper from Bo Bunny; sentiment from Pink Cat Studio; clear & yellow glitter glue from Studio G; home made enamel dots; Sakura Stardust glitter pen

I was so happy with how her tail turned out that I took a picture & texted it to my husband. I still get excited when blending WORKS! lol After colouring this adorable mermaid I painted her with clear glitter glue on her tail, and yellow on her hair. 

So what is YOUR favourite colour? Come and play with us before next Monday, June 30! 

- and don't forget to check out what the rest of the gals made:

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #255 - Digital Delights by Louby Loo!

Good morning! This week at Tuesday Morning Sketches, Digital Delights by Louby Loo is the sponsor - and we have a fun sketch to play with, of course :)

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; scraps of card stock, vellum, and handmade paper; classic small oval Nesties; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; googly eyes; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Distress Inks in Broken China, Shabby Shutters, Peacock Feathers, and Squeezed Lemonade

I've broken out a stencil that I've never used before - part of a package at Wal-Mart for $4, with 12 patterns. AND you get what you pay for ;) Theoretically I'm sure it's possible to realign the stencil and make a larger piece with it, but in practice....not so much. At least it was a relatively inexpensive lesson to learn! 

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, June 29th - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris (off this week)

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Rainbow Celebration

100 challenges! Woohoo! That's a definite cause for celebration. I love playing along with CASology, and I knew I HAD to join in this week. My card didn't end up nearly as CAS as I'd have liked because I had a classic opportunity for embellishment.

Let's just say that WOOHOO! was not what I said when my marker slipped while edging the last side of the panel. *koff*

So now what? I had already worked on this baby for a half hour. I wasn't going to trash it & start again. 

Supplies: Paper Smooches cat & sentiments; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Versamark; Clear Detail EP; Bic markers; Tim Holtz stencil; Distress inks in Barn Door, Squeezed Lemonade, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves.

I tried all sorts of embellishments but finally decided on the punched circles - nothing else looked even close to right that close to the edge of the panel. But then it felt like there was a big hole in the design - and enter the nutty kitty! His full body was too much, so I decided to have him peek in on the fun.

My intention going into this card was to practice ink blending - I've just used red, yellow, blue, and purple. Rainbows say celebration to me :) Anyway, this was a bit of a gong show in the making, but I do love the crazy cat poking in, even if he wasn't part of the original plan!

Happy 100, CASology!

xoxo,

Jessi

Flaming Orange Fairy

It's no secret that I love fairies! As soon as I saw the inspiration photo at Our Creative Corner I knew I wanted to make an orange fairy card, and it's also perfect for the current Fairy challenge at Creative Card Crew. 

Supplies: fairy stamp from Sweet Pea Stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Spiced Marmalade distress ink; Paper Smooches sentiment; Spectrum Noir & Bic markers; Wplus9 banner die; American Crafts yellow glitter; Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; MME paper

After colouring the fairy, I went over her eyes with the Stardust pen, and her cleavage - and then rubbed it with my finger to smudge it a bit. I coloured the sun & then used the yellow glitter. I find that works much better if using coloured glitter. However, as you can see on the upper right wing, even alcohol markers will affect your glue pen - and transfer some of the ink *facepalm* Scratch paper, Jessi, come on. lol!

Here's the inspiration photo for Our Creative Corner:

Be right back!

xoxo,

Jessi

Brace yourselves,

because I made lots of cards for lots of challenges, and so there will be a ton of posts :) First up, it's Sunday, and that means I'm ready with my Merry Monday card:

Supplies: Inkadinkado bird stamp; Stampendous sentiment & Moonstone embossing powder; Versamark; Worn Lipstick distress ink; Cuttlebug snowflake folder; pink dotted paper from Creative Imaginations

I love this colour combo & use it all the time for Christmas cards - especially combining it with more elegant/traditional Christmas imagery. 

Be right back :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Quirky Fairy

First of all, I've got to apologize to all my blog buddies - I marked my bloglovin' feed as read. The last couple weeks have been crazy town and I was never ever going to catch up. I figured a fresh start might help. June is the month of transitions, and kids with autism+transitions....well, you can imagine.

Anyway, onto the crafty bit. Karen (my Snarky Sister) is the guest designer this month for Quirky Craft Challenges, and they've got a great fairy challenge going - and I lurrrve fairies :) And since fairies have wings (whoa) this is also perfect for the current (for another 10 hours) Open-Minded Crafting Challenge, Things with Wings.

Supplies: Fairy & sentiment from Flourishes; cloud dies from Paper Smooches; Spectrum Noir & Bic markers; Broken China & Shabby SHutters distress inks; Picket Fence & Tumbled Glass distress stickles

OOOH, SHINY!

For the Quirky challenge, you also had to choose three items from the fairy ring:

I've added a punched circle for my sun, the clouds, and LOTS of sparkles with Stickles. Actually, I guess I used 4, since I also added a sentiment. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #156 - Oldest Die or Punch

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

Well, I had a brain fart. I made my card for today's Shopping our Stash challenge without thinking about when it would go live ;) So here's some inspiration for NEXT year! We want to see you use your oldest die or oldest punch - make sure you tell us what it is!

My oldest dies are the classic small circle & oval Nesties - and I bought them on the same day, so I wanted to use them both on my card:

Supplies: pre-coloured Tools digi image from Doodle Pantry; sentiment from Studio G; Fired Brick distress ink; papers from Simple Stories; classic small circle & oval Nesties

Nice & simple!

Dig our YOUR oldest dies/punches and  come and play with us before next Monday, June 23! 

- and don't forget to check out what the rest of the gals made:

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #254 - Doodle Pantry!

Good morning everybodeeeeeeeeeee (you have to be picturing Grover in your head, arms waving, when you read that. Go back & do it again.)
The sketch that Melissa designed for Tuesday Morning Sketches  this week was so much fun to play with - and I love how my card turned out! Doodle Pantry is our sponsor this week, and I thoroughly enjoyed colouring this awesome parrot - I hope I did the fab illustration justice!

Supplies: Parrot Play digi from Doodle Pantry; Bic and Spectrum Noir markers; Cuttlebug embossing folder; classic small & lacy oval Nesties; pleated ribbon from Recollections; buttons from stash

As happens with a lot of my animal cards, I presented this to the kids for final approval - and got an enthusiastic thumbs up (and then a lecture from Connor on all sorts of scarlet macaw facts). 

Here's the sketch - I love the shaped edge! You'll see quite a few interpretations of it with the DT cards - this team is so talented :)

This sketch is open until next Sunday, June 22nd - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Happy Father's Day!

I've got one last Father's Day card that you won't see until Tuesday - it's a DT card that my brain farted on when it would be posting live ;) I have two for you today, though! The first one is for the Anything Goes challenge at Paper Smooches SPARKS:

Supplies: Paper Smooches Beboppin' stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black & London Fog ink; Versamark; clear detail EP; Distress inks in Barn Door and Mustard Seed; Doodlebug letter stickers

The Anything Goes challenge runs until next Saturday.

My second card is for two challenges: Doodle Pantry, where the theme is Make it Manly; and The Pink Elephant, which is specifically calling for Father's Day. 

Supplies: pre-coloured digi from Got Tractor? at Doodle Pantry; classic small oval Nesties; sentiment from Studio G; Vintage Photo distress ink; papers from Simple Stories; unknown woodgrain washi

The lopped-off edge of the oval wasn't my intention, but when it was done? I liked it, so I went with it. I think this layout would make a good sketch :)

Father's Day was a tough one for me for years - despite years of effort my father & I are estranged, and although I'm not happy about that, I've finally made peace with the fact that I have made every effort possible. You cannot change how someone else behaves, you can only control your own reaction to it. I feel sad that my kids do not have a grandfather in their lives, but I can't force that to happen. 

It's only taken me oh, 15 years or so, but finally I think I've managed to transfer most of my feelings about Father's Day to gratitude that my husband is a wonderful father that I am lucky to have as a coparent. He is an incredibly supportive dad, always there for the boys - and always there for me. I shared this picture on Facebook this morning - we really need to take another with all four of us, since this is from 2012 and the boys are both taller than I am now. Plus Rob's beard is much uh, manlier, and my tattoo is completely different. 

l-r: Connor, Rob, Riley, me :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Santa Hats!

My Merry Monday card - it must be Sunday :) This week the challenge is to incorporate a Santa hat - how cute is the prompt picture?? 

Supplies: image from Whimsie Doodles; Spectrum Noir and Bic markers; patterned paper from Bo Bunny; seam binding & glitter buttons from stash; white fun flock; classic small oval Nesties

I'd printed this image out at Christmas, coloured her face, and then....never made her into a card. She was waiting for this one!

xoxo,

Jessi

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #10 - G is for...

I don't think the Snarky Sisters are alone in having a love/hate relationship with glitter - so messy, but OMG SHINY!

Supplies: Stamps from Stampendous; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; American Crafts glitter; Picket Fence distress stickles; Studio G clear glitter glue; Bic markers

OOOH, SHINY!

I coloured the image first so that any gaps in glitter wouldn't be TOO glaring, and then used a glue pen to fill in the different areas with different colours. I really don't want to talk about it.

I mixed the Stickles & clear glitter glue together and used a small paintbrush to paint the sketched rectangle for some extra OOOH, SHINY! 

You know you're dying to get messy and glittery! Besides, the dog's fur is looking a little blah lately. Couldn't she use some sparkle too? Come & play with us in the next two weeks. The linky will close Friday June 27. Check out what my sistahs got up to:

Barb

Chris

Donna 

Karen

Lee

Lindsey

Michelle

And don't forget our fab guest designer, Regan!

xoxo,

Jessi

Just us Girls & Jingle Belles

So the Snarky Sisters decided we needed to get out & about and play in someone else's sandbox for a change - and with an acronym like JUGs, well, it just made the choice that much easier ;) So it's my very first time playing along with the Just Us Girls challenge, and I have a feeling it won't be the last.

Supplies: Everything randomly from my stash except the SRM stickers I used (trees & sentiment)

When I thought about what to use for the four panels, I remembered that I still had lots of these SRM stickers, and hey, wait, the current Jingle Belles challenge was green & red...and ta-da.

Here's the JUGs sketch:

The linky closes tonight, so you'll have to hurry! Jingle Belles is current until next Wednesday :) 

I haven't been around to comment as much lately - I've had several big orders to work on, and so I've been trying to be good about MAKING stuff. I promise I'll be around eventually!

xoxo,

Jessi