Catch the Bug - I'm so EXCITED!!!

During the Christmas in July challenge at Bugaboo, I was  the lucky second-place winner - which means I get to join the Bugaboo Crew for 3 months as a guest designer! Today's my first day on the blog, celebrating Freebie Friday with this cutie pie: AKV Winter-Sled:

Make sure you check out what the DT and my fellow guest designer Dawn have done with this sweet image, and then head on over to pick it up for your very own! 

Supplies: AKV Winter - Sled image from Bugaboo; Spectrum Noir markers; MME papers; Basic Gray button; Timeless Twine; Bow Easy; classic small circle Nesties; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; googly eyes

It really seemed like the inner tube needed some shine :) I tied the twine bow using the Bow Easy, and then sewed it to the centre of the button to keep it aligned how I wanted it. 

With the bow, this is perfect for the Creative Card Crew challenge - BOWS. The Pink Elephant is also having an Anything Goes challenge this week. 

I'll be back tomorrow morning with my first Bugaboo Saturday challenge card! 

xoxo,

Jessi

The Forever Card

Sometimes you get an idea, right? BRILLIANT idea, love it, can't wait to get it on paper. And then when you start getting it on paper, not.one.thing. goes the way you expected. I started by quilling a snowflake. Then I made the card base out of kraft paper, and sewed on some snowflake-embossed vellum. You'll note you don't see these things on this card. I stamped a sentiment, and that's not on this card either. After about 2 hours of fiddling, I decided to add some more vellum, and that's where it became pretty trash. It wasn't until after I'd done all the piercing that I realized my ruler wasn't aligned properly. Sigh.

Supplies: kraft paper; metallic brown card stock; Cuttlebug embossing folder; doily, vellum, and canvas from stash; classic small circle & snowflake Nesties; Martha Stewart large snowflake punch; 3/4" circle punch; button from Basic Grey; Snowflake stamps from Stampendous; Antique Linen distress ink; Tim Holtz design ruler; chocolate brown embroidery thread

I broke two needles while sewing this by hand. It's hard to see in the photos but the kraft is stamped with snowflakes. There's a small circle of metallic brown cardstock behind the button.

For all the annoying things that went wrong trying to make this, I love how it turned out. Now back to my desk to try and turn my original vision into a card!

I was inspired by the Merry Monday recipe challenge, and the little red wagon Kraft challenge.

xoxo,
Jessi

Twist my arm...

...I was all done with Halloween cards, and then two of my favourite challenges had Halloween themes this week. Twist my rubber arm, shucks, I guess I can make *one* more? Tiddly Inks wants to see a black color combination or include black cats!! And at Open-Minded Crafting Fun, they'd like to see Halloween or Dress-up. 

Supplies: Cat Love Fever digi from Tiddly Inks; Spectrum Noir markers; papers from MME; black gem things from Forever in Time

This kitty lover is adorable! She's got her cutie pie costume for Halloween, and even better - cooperative kitty accessories!

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #175 - Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'!

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

This week's Shopping our Stash challenge is SO MUCH FUN! 

 ROUND. 

Use round images (NOT just a round die-cut), or make a circle card, or use a brayer (it's long and round), etc. -- OR -- use a Western theme, since I got this idea from the theme song of Rawhide: 

I love a challenge with plenty of options! I went with a round image, a donut:

Supplies: Tiddly Inks donut digi stamp; Bo Bunny papers; Cuttlebug embossing folder; home made enamel dots; Wplus9 banner die; computer-generated sentiment; Liquid Applique; Spectrum Noir markers; real sprinkles! 

A closeup of the texture from the Liquid Applique - when you heat it, the sprinkles melt into it a bit. I love the look! Beware, though, that the colour will transfer from the sprinkles - so be careful what you put on top if you try it!

Ready to create something ROUND?  Join us before next Monday,November 3rd!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

 Chana

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #273 - Doodle Pantry!

Good morning, sketch fans! This week at Tuesday Morning Sketches we have a very popular returning sponsor - Doodle Pantry! 

I have quite the collection of Doodle Pantry images, and decided to use one I hadn't yet - this is Cute Cake:

Supplies: Cute Cake pre-coloured digi & sentiment from Doodle Pantry; papers from MME; silver paint pen; brad from Doodlebug; Liquid Pearls & Yellow glitter glue (highlights on cake)

Our sketch is from Debbie this week:

This challenge is open until next Sunday, November 2nd-  hop on over & see what the design team has created for you!

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

Nina

xoxo,

Jessi

Babies EVERYWHERE!

Babies and weddings, they seem to come all at once, don't they? There've been a whole bunch of new little people welcomed into the world lately, and I've got a whole bunch of baby cards to show you. How perfect that Little Red Wagon is having an "Oh, Baby" themed challenge this week!

Supplies: papers & elements from Echo Park; Timeless Twine; AC Thickers letter stickers; home made enamel dots; Corner Chomper

The banners & 'little man' element were part of a piece of patterned paper, fussy cut to add some dimension. 

Supplies: sentiment from PTI; Memento Gray Flannel ink; die cut train border from K &Co

Supplies: Papers from Doodlebug; stickers from Basic Grey; classic small circle Nesties

I'm particularly excited about this card, because the circle cut out was a piece of scrap paper & I made it into an "on purpose" element. Yay!

Supplies: Baby Love sticker from Basic Grey; papers from MME; Corner Chomper; classic small and lacy circle Nesties; Crochet Mat (available here)

Another scrap card - the striped piece of paper is missing a corner, and I just arranged my layout around it :) 

Supplies: stamps from PTI; Spiced Marmalade distress ink; classic small circle Nesties; buttons from stash

You surely know by now that any time I go on a baby card binge, there are gonna be buttons :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Sunflowers at JUGs!

Seriously got the crafty going over the weekend - I LOVE those times, where the ideas come faster than I can get them on paper!

As soon as I saw the Just Us Girls photo inspiration, I knew what I wanted to do. It's time for me to tuck away my autumn-themed stamps and papers, but I wanted to make ONE MORE before I did that. 

Supplies: Sunflower stamp from Jane's Doodles; sentiments from Hero Arts; Memento Tuxedo Black  & Gray Flannel ink; Mowed Lawn distress ink; Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; Walnut Stain stickles; paper from MME

So the grey sentiment? I store my ink pads upside down, and had already stamped it before I realized I'd picked up the wrong one. Oh well. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Precious and few...

...are friends like you!

Supplies: Flower & butterfly stamps from Flourishes; sentiment from PTI; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Palette Noir ink; clear detail EP; Spectrum Noir markers; vellum; yellow & clear glitter glue

This is one of my favourite stamps to colour! I wanted this to be a bright and cheery card. The butterflies are covered with clear glitter glue, and the flower centres with yellow. Palette ink stays wet on vellum long enough to emboss easily (and using clear EP means no stray specks show up!)

The vellum is wrapped around the panel and taped at the back, and then the entire panel was adhered using foam tape for a little dimension. I'm entering this over at Addicted to CAS:

xoxo,

Jessi

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

As I mentioned yesterday, Becca at The Damsel of Distressed Cards has written a beautifully brave post about domestic violence. October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but until I read Becca's post I had no idea.

Since Becca was brave enough to share her story, I'll share mine. It was 20 years ago, but it still affects me today. Not every day, but it's there. At 18 I lived with my boyfriend, who I'd been dating for about 2 years. He was prone to anger, to temper tantrums. He was excellent at belittling me and making me feel unworthy. He simultaneously made me feel that I was unlovable - and also that I was a slut. The emotional abuse was constant. The physical abuse began with a bang. I came home from studying with a male friend, to accusations of cheating. My cat attacked him, and he threw her across the room. I lunged at him to grab the cat away, and he shoved me so hard that I flew backwards across the room into the doorknob. I hit it between the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae.

I left him the next day, amidst his tears and apologies. It didn't last, though, and within a month we were together again. He even went to the doctor with me when I sought medical help again because the pain was still horrible, and the stereotypical "I fell into a door, I'm so clumsy" scene took place.

We moved back in together several months later, and the emotional abuse continued. I didn't think I deserved any better. He gave me an STD. He would grab my arms hard enough to leave handprint bruises. He was much more careful because now we had housemates to hear. One of those housemates was Rob.

Rob saved me. I would have continued to stay, but Rob encouraged me to leave - and told me that he'd help me do it, and help me rent a new apartment. Rob convinced me that I was worth being treated like I was loved. I don't think it's much of a surprise that we fell in love and married. After all, this is the man who yesterday, when I'd had an awful day full of tears, I showed him the card I made for this post, and he said "Look at that. You MADE that. When you have those days, remember that you can take a piece of paper and turn it into ART. That's amazing!"

Supplies: sentiment from MFT; all other stamps from Inkadinkado; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, Brushed Corduroy

I wanted to create something to express encouragement. And I'm out of words. It's been a long time since I told this story to anyone. 

xoxo,

Jessi

sMOOches!

This card was a special request for a couple who raises cows & makes their own cheese...I think I got it! And it's perfect for the Anything Goes challenge at SPARKS.

Supplies: Paper Smooches Chubby Chums and Santa Paws; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Squeezed Lemonade distress ink; Spectrum Noir markers; Mod POdge Dimensional Magic; K & Co grass die cut; loose green glitter

The eyes are all accented with Dimensional Magic - I wanted to keep this as flat as possible for mailing to the US. 

xoxo,

Jessi

A Jolly Halloween!

First of all, I'd like to share a fellow blogger's post with you - I just read Becca's story last night, and shared it on Facebook, but I wanted to draw more attention to it. Today I'll be making a card for this cause in solidarity. Domestic violence encompasses far more than physical violence, and affects far more people than we know. Please head on over to The Damsel of Distressed Cards, Becca's blog, and be inspired to join in.

And now for something completely different...10 points to Gryffindor for recognizing the reference!

Supplies: clip art from The Graphics Fairy; Cuttlebug embossing folder; kraft card stock; Versamark; black EP; Timeless Twine; Tonic distressing tool

This card was inspired by the Kraft Journal colour challenge (and the vintage feel of the graphic). I'm also popping it in over at Open-Minded Crafting Fun for the Pumpkin/Jack o' Lantern challenge. 

It's the end of October. I'm not sure where the rest of the year went but ACCCCCK!

xoxo,

Jessi

Vintage Halloween

I was recently trying to sort out some of my image files and came across several printable Halloween posters from The Graphics Fairy. One of them was perfect for Lesley's The Challenge #17. I'm also entering it over at ALBC - BOO!

Supplies: clip art from The Graphics Fairy; papers from MME; Tonic distressing tool; yellow glitter fabric paint; glitter buttons from Dollarama; Kraft twine from Paper Smooches

The verse reads:

When the Owl & Witch

to gether are seen, 

There's mischief brewing 

on HALLOWE'EN.

There's just a smidge of kraft but I combined both the sketch & colours this time around. 

Be right back with another vintage Halloween card!

xoxo,

Jessi

GLITTER!

I found some solid glitter paper at the dollar store last week, and I bought all the colours. (I'll give you a minute to process that shocking news!) With the current Paper Players challenge to make a CAS gold or silver card, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Supplies: Rose heart from Flourishes; Sentiment from Paper Smooches; Worn Lipstick distress ink; Versamark; Moonstone EP; classic small circle Nesties; silver glitter paper

Back to crafty joy!

xoxo,

Jessi

The Stamping Chef Facebook Challenge

Did you know that The Stamping Chef has a Facebook group?  If you love Tamara's images you should totally join. They've recently resurrected their FB challenge, and I *had* to play. It took a couple of tries, because it's a tricky recipe!

Your project should include:

Zombified Stamping Chef digi

gauze

cotton balls

The Zombified image, sure, but the other two ingredients? ...my SOS card from Tuesday was my first attempt. This time I did it! The gauze is there, I promise:

Supplies: Zombified digi from The Stamping Chef; Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; black and grey card stock; purple rhinestones from Dollarama; cotton ball and gauze

I coloured the image first, and then thought to have her bursting out of the card. As I sliced an "x" in the middle of each piece of cardstock I said to hubby - well, this is either going to be spectacular or a hot mess! I used a distressing tool on each exposed edge of the cardstock, rolled & glued the black pieces, and then the grey. 

After peeling back the cardstock to make the window, I taped the gauze down on three sides, leaving the bottom open so I could tuck the zombie in. She's adhered using different heights of foam tape to enhance the looming feel. Then I pulled apart the cotton pad to look misty and used double sided tape to stick it underneath the other elements so the tape wouldn't show. 

There's a touch of glitter pen on her hair, and on her eyes, and my Walking Dead-loving fourteen year old said she's hot for a zombie. Win!

Check out the Stamping Chef FB group, and of course their challenge & shop as well - I'm entering this in Challenge #52 as well :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Ewe Make Me Feel

Here it is, my last card for the Pink Christmas challenge at Jingle Belles! I see they hit their goal of 125 cards (plus a couple) - YAHOO! I made this one this morning after seeing the new Creative Card Crew Challenge of bows.  And as pink is definitely a non-traditional Christmas colour, I'm also popping this in at Merry Monday. 

Supplies: all stamps from The Cat's Pajamas; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Spun Sugar distress ink; Timeless Twine; Bow Easy; MME papers; Cotton Ball Fun Flock; pink rhinestones from Dollarama

I paper-pieced the scarf & pockets, and added Fun Flock to the belly & 'hair' of the sheep. The bow was tied & then stitched into place. 

I can't tell you how excited I am to see the many entries at Jingle Belles - thank you for helping raise awareness for such a great cause!

I have been crafting like crazy the last couple of days - and binge-watching Downton Abbey Season 4 - so when I come up for air prepare for a barrage of posts! lol!

xoxo,

Jessi

Pink SPARKS!

I have a couple of last-minute cards for the PINK CHALLENGE at Jingle Belles, and decided to combine  them with a few other challenges (two birds, one stone, yada yada).

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Spun Sugar & Worn Lipstick distress inks; Bic markers; googly eyes

I'm entering this over at Paper Smooches SPARKS for the Anything Goes challenge too :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #174 - Halloween!

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

One of the best things about being on the Shopping our Stash design team is the constant inspiration to look 'outside the box' for craft supplies. Last week my husband came home with onions in a black mesh bag (instead of the usual orange) and I thought OH! I need that! It's perfect for the loads of Halloween cards I'm making at the moment - and not coincidentally, our challenge is all about Halloween this week! 

Supplies: Zombified digi from The Stamping Chef; Spectrum Noir markers; PTI sentiment; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; papers from MME; black rhinestones from Dollarama; onion bag

Once again Connor helped me out with colour choices. I'd coloured her skin grey and eyes & lips red (creepy as heck!) and he suggested purple for her outfit and aqua for her hair. I love the wonky layout that came together. The netting was hard to secure - it's wrapped around each corner and taped down, but the edges continued  to shed a little. Probably a dab of glue on the cut ends would solve that problem for next time.

Ready to create something spooky?  Join us before next Monday,October 27th!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

 Chana

Barb

I'm also going to pop this in as my third entry for The Stamping Chef #51.

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #272 - Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps!

I am excited to share my card with you for this week's Tuesday Morning Sketch - Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is our sponsor, and I got to work with Pippin's Christmas Lights. CUTE PENGUIN!!

Supplies: Pippin's Christmas Lights digi from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps;  Spectrum Noir markers; papers from Bo Bunny; SRM sticker sentiment; Cotton Ball Fun Flock; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; classic small oval Nesties

I couldn't get a close up photo (I gave up after a dozen tries) - Pippin's hat and belly are soft and fuzzy, and the Christmas lights were dotted with glitter pen and then coated with Dimensional Magic. So were his feet & beak. 

This is another terrific sketch for using up scraps. No new papers were cut into for my card :)

This challenge is open until next Sunday, October 26th -  hop on over & see what the design team has created for you!

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

Nina

xoxo,

Jessi

Pink Sunset Season's Greetings

I knew as soon as I saw the Silent Night prompt at Merry Monday that I would use my favourite tree stamp of all time to create a night scene. I decided to go a different route with it by including the Kraft Journal's glitter challenge and the Jingle Belles' Pink Christmas theme.

Supplies: Stampin' Up Lovely as a Tree; Stampendous dots & sentiment; Versamark; Pirate Gold and Kaleidoscope embossing powders from Stampendous' distress inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Antique Linen,  and Worn Lipstick; kraft card stock; Tattered Angels gold glimmer mist; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Studio G clear glitter glue

It's SO SPARKLY! I began by masking an area for the moon and blending the distress inks together. I stamped the trees (using generational stamping) and then stamped the greeting & the snowflake dots & embossed them. The snow drifts were made by tearing paper, inking the edges, and then painting them with glitter glue. I very lightly sponged Antique Linen ink across the sky. The kraft cardstock was embossed with the Swiss Dots folder and then generously sprayed with the Gold glimmer mist. It is truly super sparkly :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - H is for...

We have a fun twisty challenge for you this fortnight at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - Hopeful Halloween. Doesn't Edna look awesome? Now, what do we mean by Hopeful Halloween? There are choices! You can make:

1. A Halloween card

2. A Breast Cancer Awareness card

3. A Pink Halloween card

Awesome, right? The team went nuts with all different stuff - fun, pretty, hilarious, cute. I went with cute!

Supplies: Tiddly Inks pumpkin; PTI sentiment; Spectrum Noir markers; Purple Twilight Adirondack ink; Cuttlebug embossing folder; WPlus9 banner die; classic small circle Nesties; googly eyes & sparkly buttons from stash

This pumpkin's eyebrows make me happy!  Pretty straightforward creation.

Check out the AMAZING inspiration pieces by my teamies:

Barb

Chris

Donna

Karen

Lee

Lindsey

Lynne 

Michelle

You've got until Friday, October 31st, to join in with us! 

And don't forget to stop by and leave our guest designer PAMELLIA some love!

Since I'm using a Tiddly Inks image (I don't see it in the store, it was a long-ago freebie) I'm entering their current challenge of Non-Traditional Halloween Colours.

xoxo,

Jessi

Daniel Craig wants YOU to make a Pink Christmas card!

*augh! I mis-scheduled this post - sorry it's late!*

It's week two of the Jingle Belles Pink Christmas challenge! I wanted to make a completely different card from my first - I chose a saucy image from The Stamping Chef, because BOOBS. Most appropriate given the cause! 

Supplies: Checking Out (For the Year) from The Stamping Chef; sentiment from Bugaboo Stamps; Spectrum Noir markers; Cotton Ball Fun Flock from Stampendous; Fine Crystal Glitter from Martha Stewart; American Crafts card stock; Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls embossing folder; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; MME fuchsia rhinestones

Her hat & the trim on her dress are fuzzy with Fun Flock, and I sparkled up the present using loose glitter. Her eyes & cleavage are sparkly too! 

There's no limit to how many times you play, so please link early and link often!!! We'd also love for you to pass the news along to all your card-making friends, so we've made a special challenge graphic and a paste-able blurb to make this really easy to blog about! :)

The "Pink Christmas" prompt will run at JINGLE BELLES from 12am on Friday, October 10th to 6pm on Wednesday, October 22nd; as in previous years, Stephanie and Lauren pledge to donate $4 per linked-up card to The Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The only requirement is that all link-ups be NEW holiday cards with some noticeable pink on them... so in other words, not just Rudolph's NOSE, lol!

Participants may use sketches, combine challenges, and include any other colors in addition to pink; you can showcase however many cards you'd like in one post, don't worry, we'll still count every single one of them towards the total!

Thank you very much for your support!

♥♥♥

I hope you'll visit the Jingle Belles blog to find out more - and I can't wait to see your pink Christmas creations! Don't forget to  stop by and see what Lauren and Stephanie have created this week :) Right now the linky is at 58 entries - and the goal this year is AT LEAST 125 cards, so let's get going! 

I'm also going to pop this card in at The Stamping Chef #51 :) 

Back to my pink crafting spree!

xoxo,

Jessi