Shopping our Stash #162 - Triple Threat!

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

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is a fun one! We've got a list of supplies, and we want you to use AT LEAST three of them (you can use more, you can use them all, but at least three!) Make sure you list them for us :) 

Here's the list:

Ribbon, flowers, lace, pearls, sprays/mists,  punched elements or die cut elements, rhinestones, doilies (stamped will work too), dry embossing or scoring OR use three of one type of embellishment.

I ended up using four - flowers, pearls, die cuts, and a doily - to create a 50th anniversary card:

Supplies: PSX sentiment stamp; Versamark & Pirate Gold EP; AC gold textured cardstock; handmade gold paper; vellum; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; Prima flowers; brads from stash; Wilton doily; pearls from Dollarama

This was a hard card to photograph with all the metallic elements - and I notice now that these photos were BEFORE I fixed the pearl strip trying to make a run for it behind the flowers. HUMIDITY HOW I LOATHE THEE. 

So, are you ready to take on the triple threat? Check out the design team creations & join us 

before next Monday, August 4!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #260 - Your Next Stamp!

Good morning, sketch fans! It's my turn as sketch artist over at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and for once I found it super easy to work with my own sketch :) We're sponsored by Your Next Stamp this week, and I am in love with Cuddles, the sweet little bunny!

Supplies: Cuddles digi stamp from Your Next Stamp; Spectrum Noir & Bic markers; Barn Door distress ink; Paper Smooches sentiment; Doodlebug & misc. twine; rhinestones from Dollarama

I printed out two copies of Cuddles so that I could pop up the paws & heart - I really enjoyed colouring this cutie! To keep the twine in place, I notched the cardstock with a small hole punch.

Here's my sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, August 3rd - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created! I hope you get to play along - I always LOVE seeing what people come up with!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Taking a Header

I am no stranger to the OTHER meaning of taking a header - it's been a couple of weeks, BUT in the last month I've fallen flat on my face 3 times. Once courtesy of a dashing dog, and the other two from plain old lack of attention to surroundings. At Christmas I fell twice as well, two weeks apart, right onto my knees. One of those times was slipping on unexpected water in the basement, and I broke a toe. I'm honestly amazed that that is the worst damage! I must have bouncy bones.

BUT I digress. I have a card for the current Jingle Belles challenge to be inspired by their blog header, and it's Christmas - so perfect for little red wagon's Christmas in July challenge.

Supplies: papers from Cosmo Cricket; Wilton doily; Flourishes sentiment;Versamark & Moonstone EP; classic small circle Nesties; silver paint pen & pearl strips from Dollarama

I was inspired by the 'vintage purple' colour, the silver sparkly letters, pearls, and the doily/lace elements. Now to hope the humidity dies down a bit so that the pearls stay stuck for good - we've had humidity over 80% for weeks, and over 95% at times, but hardly any rain. Makes for icky sticky days - but not for sticky stuff. Just for things you DON'T want to be sticky. I'm possibly looking forward to autumn. *koff* don't yell at me!

xoxo,

Jessi

Fairy Journal

Oh, did I ever have fun with this project! I've altered a plain spiral-bound notebook:

Supplies: spiral-bound notebook; Sweet Pea Stamps fairy (ching chou kuik); Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; AC yellow glitter; Sharpie White paint pen; Studio G clear glitter glue; white pearl Liquid Pearls; Martha Stewart butterfly punches; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Versamark; Shabby Blue & Pink Frantage EP; vellum; embroidery thread; pearls & gems from Dollarama; Basic Grey brad; jewelry wire & beads; Offray ribbon; glitter buttons; flowers from Michaels; feathers found in the yard :) 

I think I remembered everything I used! The blue vellum at the top was spattered & embossed with Shabby Pink frantage EP, and then stitched to the cardstock piece, and then glued to the journal. I used loose glitter for the yellow, and painted the wings with clear glitter glue. To bead the binding, I used jewelry wire - this way the book can still open - and I've added a ribbon tassel to act as a bookmark.

I created this especially for the Sweet Pea Stampers Fairy challenge, and for the Catered Crop vellum recipe swap :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Merry Monday Buttons & Bows

Do you ever see a challenge, one that really isn't a challenge to you because you do/use whatever it is ALL.THE.TIME., and then completely blank when it comes to making your card? That would be me this week with the Ribbon & Button challenge at Merry Monday. All the time. I use them all the time! And I just could not make it work this week.

Supplies: tag stamp from Basic Grey; sentiment from PTI; Evergreen Bough distress ink; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Tattered Angels Route 66 glimmer mist; paper from MME; twine, fiber, gems, button from stash

The tag stamp is NBUS for me - and it needs conditioning, methinks. I tried to fix the patchiness by spraying with a subtle glimmer mist (fail), I tried to use a ribbon for the bow (also fail - no colour matches). Even the diagonal patterned paper pieces aren't parallel to one another, which (fail). Augh. All that said I kind of like the wonkiness. Not really, but I'm willing to live with it ;)

xoxo,
Jessi

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - L is for...

LAYER. As in, one layer. One single, measly, flat layer. Enough to strike fear into a stamper's heart.

To make it a bit more fun for the Sisters, Lee created Flat Edna for us - and we took her to show her the sights!

The terrific rugs you see above are all created by my friend Lisa Remington - so many creative designs! Edna loves  texture, and pretending to be a moose's willy. She loves the farmers market, but didn't particularly care for the giant rat at the car show - or for waiting interminably at the doctor's office. Currently she's having a wee snooze in my purse - I think she may've overindulged a bit. When Edna lets loose, she REALLY lets loose!

To make a left turn, my card for the one layer challenge is not at all fun or drunken - although I did use alcohol markers...

Supplies: stamps from Wordsworth, Annabelle Stamps, and PTI; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Spectrum Noir markers; Tumbled Glass distress ink

You've got 2 weeks to link up (by August 8th)) - and stop by & say hello to my sistahs:

Barb

Chris

Donna

Karen

Lee

Lindsey

Lynne

Michelle

And don't forget our fabulous guest designer, KAROLA! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Catch the Naughty Bug!

This has been a tough week. And I just deleted 3 starts-to-telling-you, lol. We had to find a new home for Mimi, because the boys were not adapting well. My husband & I had fallen in love with her, but the boys were having daily meltdowns. It was a heartrending decision to give her up, and we'd determined NOT to send her to a shelter but to re-home her privately. After nearly 2 months I'd given up on it, really, and then the perfect home came along. She's settling in really well, and is in a beautiful home with someone who loves her. After only a few days it's very obvious that we made the best decision for the kids, but it still sucks.

We'll always have goofy memories of her - and next week I'll have an entire kitchen floor again. 

Anyhow, onto my card - this one is for two challenges, the Bingo challenge at Catch the Bug, and the Mixed Media challenge at Naughty or Nice.

Supplies: Bugaboo Image & sentiment; Spectrum Noir markers; Dreamweaver embossing paste; stencil from Wal-Mart; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; AC blue glitter

Immediately after removing the stencil I added glitter - after it dried a lot of the glitter decided not to stay, but I like how it turned out & actually brushed off as much as I could to enhance the sorta distressed glitter look.  Of course, Stella is glossed up :)

I've used the last vertical row in the Bingo - blue, no designer paper, and texture. 

I played with quite a few stencils & glitter while creating this background, so I just might be back with a nicer entry for Naughty or Nice :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Sketch #25!

**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**

Mona is our sketch artist this week at Seize the Sketch, and I decided to go for a baby card! 

Supplies: bunny stamp from Unity; sentiment & cloud dies from Paper Smooches; Memento Gray Flannel ink; papers from Doodlebug; Spectrum Noir markers; button & twine from stash; 1.5" circle punch

I had fun playing with the very palest markers to create the sky. The button was threaded with twine & then I perfected the bow before sewing the button onto the card with embroidery floss. 

Here's the sketch:

The linky will be open for two weeks - play along by Sunday August 3rd!

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 #161 - Five a Day!

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

Five a day? Why of course, we want you to showcase your fruits or veggies this go-round at Shopping our Stash!  I actually had to really hunt for something to use for this challenge - finally I remembered this NBUS stamp from a PTI set:

Supplies: Stamps from PTI; papers from MME; Shabby Shutters & Picked Raspberry distress inks; classic small & lacy oval Nesties; Wilton doily; sparkly buttons from dollar store

The buttons are indeed two shades of pink - it just worked :) No idea why I hadn't used this cute cherry stamp before, but it'll be put to use again soon I'm sure. 

So, got fruits? Got veggies? Need inspiration? Check out the design team creations & join us 

before next Monday, July 28!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #259 - DRS Designs!

Good morning! This week at Tuesday Morning Sketches, DRS Designs is our sponsor. As soon as I saw Glow-Worm I knew I *had* to choose that one - my oldest friend used to write a version of the little poem in notes to me when we were in high school. I think I know where this card is headed!

Supplies: DRS Designs Glow-Worm and Glow-Worm Greeting; Bo Bunny patterned paper; Corner Chomper; AC yellow glitter; Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; googly eyes & black rhinestones from Dollarama

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, July 27th - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Happy Birthday, Girls!

I am excited to share these cards with you - they were created for the most adorable twin girls in the whole world! I'm very lucky to know their family. The twins are the youngest of four beautiful children who have some amazing parents, and I get to commemorate their birthdays each year (and steal hugs!)

Because the girls are identical, for ease they've assigned a colour to each girl, so I made the cards in their own special colours.

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Wplus9 banner die; Memory Box alpha die; AC Thickers "1"; Prima flowers; Wilton doilies; brads from stash

purple ink: Adirondack Purple Twilight

Pink ink: Picked Raspberry Distress Ink

The flowers were hand-dyed using a variety of Glimmer Mists. To change the sentiment (which originally read "I love you..." I masked the "I" with washi tape before inking. The 'we' is from a "welcome" stamp from another PS set. 

Since the twins are celebrating THEIR first birthday, I thought it more than appropriate to enter the Anything Goes challenge at Curtain Call celebrating THEIR first birthday :) Popping in over at Paper Smooches SPARKS as well :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Merry Monday Sequin Shaker

I coloured extra Bugaboo images when I was working on the Christmas in July challenges, and I knew I was going to use one of them for the Merry Monday sequin challenge - I changed my idea by the time I got around to putting it together & made a shaker card.

Supplies: Bugaboo marshmallow snowman digi; MME striped paper; Bazzill cardstock; Picket Fence stickles; Spectrum Noir markers; Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter; Snow Writer; Neat & Tangled crystal clear sequins; teal sequins from Michaels; clear Shrinky Dink acetate; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

I traced the shape of the snowman panel on the reverse of the teal card stock & used an Xacto knife to cut out the window shape. The snowman is decked out in Stickles, loose glitter, and Dimensional Magic on his nose & eyes, and there's Snow Writer on the snowball & at his uh, 'feet'. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Christmas in July with Bugaboo - Part Two!

*whew* I finished! YAY! Two of the Bugaboo Christmas in July challenges really stumped me, so I'm super excited to have finished them all :)  Lots of pictures so I'll get right to it - continuing in order of the challenges:

Monday's challenge, these fun colours:

Supplies: JJ Christmas- Cheers! from Bugaboo; sentiment from Stella Christmas - Boy List, from Bugaboo; Bazzill card stock; Spectrum Noir & Bic markers; pearls from Dollarama; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

Of course I had to shine up those boots along with the glasses!

Tuesday's challenge was a recipe: Kraft, Embossing, and Snowflakes:

Supplies: Stella Calendar Months - November from Bugaboo; Spectrum Noir markers; kraft paper from Basic Grey; Cuttlebug embossing folder; snowflake stamps from MME; Peacock Feathers & Antique Linen distress inks; Versamark & Pirate Gold EP; white Fun Flock; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic 

I learned from this challenge that I need more kraft cardstock, because this was the biggest piece I had! Fun Flock is on her muff, coat, and hat, and of course glossy boots & glasses again.

Wednesday's challenge was BINGO + make it funny. Both my kids thought this was hilarious, and also sooooooo inappropriate.  (Aren't the best things? lol) I used the right-hand vertical row - embossing, polka dots, and a bow.

Supplies: Stella Christmas - Santa Called from Bugaboo; Spectrum Noir & Bic markers; Cuttlebug embossing folder (snowflakes); papers from Echo Park; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Bow Easy; twine & bell from stash

Thursday's challenge was a tough one for me - I wanted to use one of my Bugaboo images, but didn't have any summery Christmas ones. So I went with being inspired by elements of the photo rather than the overall theme.

I used striped & yellow papers, and as a nod to the fuzzy coconut I made the penguin's antlers & belly fuzzy!

Supplies: Little Penguin Winter - Reindeer from Bugaboo; sentiment from Inkadinkado; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; googly eyes; Doodlebug Crushed Velvet flock in white & brown

And finally, Friday's challenge - another challenging one, and thanks to my Snarky Sisters who helped me out with some crafty C words (I was stuck on clear). I used Coarse Crystal glitter, a Chipboard Candy Cane,Circle dies, a Clear snowflake,  and my Corner Chomper:

Supplies: Marshmallow Snowman - Snowball from Bugaboo; papers from MME; Wilton doily; Basic Grey chipboard candy cane; Spellbinders snowflake & classic small circle dies; scrap piece of acetate; Picket Fence stickles; Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter; snow writer pen; button from stash; Corner Chomper

I added the Snow Writer paint before die-cutting, and that squished it a bit. Live & learn.

*PHEW*

So if you got this far, THANKS! And you still have 17 hours to play along with the whole week of Bugaboo challenges for Christmas in July - lots of fun stuff to see in that post!

xoxo,

Jessi

Christmas in July at Bugaboo!

Trying to make Christmas cards when I'm sweating is DEFINITELY a challenge, but I am determined to finish all 7 challenges for Bugaboo's weeklong Christmas in July event.

Up first is my Show Us Your Santa - using Stella Christmas - Boy List:

Supplies: image from Bugaboo; computer generated sentiment; Echo Park papers; Spectrum Noir & Bic markers; button from Dress it Up; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; classic small circle Nesties

I've added gloss to Stella's glasses, and the button list has headings of 'good' and 'bad' - and the sentiment? Pretty much how I feel for most of December :)

My second card is for the second challenge, a sketch, using Stella Calendar Months, November: 

Supplies: bugaboo image; Cat's Pajamas sentiment; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; papers from Echo Park; Spectrum Noir markers; Dress it Up snowflake buttons; rhinestone strip from Dollarama; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Cotton Ball fun flock from Stampendous; classic small oval Nesties

I always add that bit of gloss to Stella's glasses - and this time to her boots as well. I've also added Fun Flock to the 'fuzzy' parts of her hat & muff. Is that what you call the thing her hands are in, a muff? I think so. 

Here's the sketch:

And here's the link to the master post of challenges. See you tomorrow with more Christmas!

xoxo,

Jessi