Tenia is my MUSE!

ok, so everybody knows the ever-fab Tenia Nelson from Jazzy Paper Designs, right? She's the guest MUSE at MUSE this week, and as soon as I saw her card I thought OOOOOH! (As an aside - she is also one of the organizing forces behind a terrific blog hop coming up on April 2 in support of Autism Awareness - Light it Up Blue for Autism Awareness - come join the Facebook group & check out all the fab crafters & sponsors coming together for a cause that is so close to my heart.)

So my card - I was inspired by Tenia's layout, the smidge of vellum, the embossing, the kraft, the splatters - and came up with this:

Supplies: Gladiolus & splatter stamps from PTI; FAITH stamp from Stampabilities; Frayed Burlap distress ink; Versamark & Pirate gold EP; Tim Holtz tissue tape; kraft card stock; cream vellum; stitching supplies

As an extra wink to Tenia I used the music tape :) Here's her card:

I'm also entering my card over at The Kraft Journal for this week's CAS-Faith challenge. 

Whew, three posts before 5 a.m....gotta love it!
xoxo,
Jessi

I'm so far behind....

....I can see my own rear end! At least that's how it feels at the moment. Kid problems, med roulette for Connor & for me, and the side effects....so far for Connor it's just playing with dosage (medicating a growing teenager is an interesting challenge) but the doctor prescribed a second cholesterol drug for me. Add in the side effects from THAT with the stress going around here? My arse is seriously dragging.

So, I'm ignoring the chunks of stuffed animal littering the floor (along with the remains of tissues scavenged by the dogs, sigh) and getting some crafty stuff going. It's been ages since I played along at MUSE, and ages since I did some collage stamping, so off I went! I had intended to follow the colour scheme of Therese's card as well, but it veered to a more rainbowy palette & I went with it.

Supplies: stamps all from CTMH; washi tape from WRMK and Recollections; Studio Calico arrow; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Neat & Tangled crystal clear sequins; distress inks in Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn

The extra splots of Dimensional Magic were to make up for an accidental splot where a sequin wasn't going to work. I rolled with it. Those sorts of things always happen at the last minute. I masked the green circle, and the washi is wrapped around  the edges of the panel.

Here's Therese's card, the inspiration for MUSE this week:

xoxo,

Jessi

MUSE #41 - Christmas circles!

I was inspired by the fun & funky card that guest MUSE Janet made for this week's MUSE challenge - and now that I'm diving headfirst into ALL THE CHRISTMAS CARDS I had to play!

Supplies: snowflake & circle stamps from PTI; sentiment from AmyR Designs; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Distress inks in Peacock Feathers & Tumbled Glass; Studio G clear glitter glue; teal rhinestones from Dollarama

This is the first time I've tried stamping with glitter glue - I used a paint brush to smooth it onto the stamp, and cleaned the stamp in between every time so that none would dry on the stamp. It was time consuming (and hard to photograph!) but stunning in real life. Just the right amount of subtle shine. I love the bokeh trend & can see me using it a LOT for Christmas cards this year. 

Here's Janet's gorgeous card - I was inspired by the circles on her tree, and the blue & white colours, and smidge of sparkle on the star!

 You have a little longer to play - the MUSE link up is here. 

xoxo,

Jessi

MUSE - I'm here for you!

Darnell is the lovely guest designer at MUSE this week - and besides being hilarious, she's clever, kind, and incredibly well-spoken about the subject of breast cancer this week. Read her post here - she discusses the symbolism behind the card she created, and you will come away feeling loved. I promise.

My card is very literally inspired by Darnell's - the layout, the torn vellum and patterned paper, the pearls, and even the same stamp set (I think - I have the same sentiment as her card, but chose another from the set that I hadn't inked yet. NBUS bonus!)

Supplies: stamps from Flourishes; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Spectrum Noir markers; HOTP patterned vellum; MME patterned paper; pearls from Dollarama

Here's Darnell's card:

I've tagged this card with 'get well' also - this sentiment is one that would be perfect for those incredibly difficult situations where a loved one is awaiting test results, and a traditional get well card would be inappropriate in that case.

xoxo,
Jessi

Hello, MUSE!

It's been a while since I played along at MUSE - not for lack of trying! I keep ending up with unfinished projects in pieces (or the recycling bin). This week's card falls perfectly into my current inky experiments, though, and I went right to it:

Supplies: Butterfly stamp from Martha Stewart; sentiment stamp from Paper Smooches; flourish stamp from PTI; Versamark; Stampendous Detail White EP; Memento Tuxedo Black; Distress inks in Salty Ocean and Worn Lipstick

Karen M.'s card   

I was inspired first of all by the inked background - the blue/purple tones - the layout - the white embossing & black border - the butterflies - and even the same sentiment. I did use my heat gun to dry the inked piece before embossing the butterfly, but some extra powder still stuck. I kind of like it, though - like a little scatter of butterfly magic :) 

xoxo,
Jessi

Muse #23

Always one to leave things until the last minute...today, Friday, is the last day of school. The boys had 19 teachers & staff that they wanted to write thank you cards for (and that's doubling up on the ones they have in common, like administrators. 19 individual people). That pretty much cleaned out my thank you card stash, so the next few days will be seeing a number of thank you cards here on the ol' blog. Nothing like a few challenges to get the mojo going.

This card is going to the guidance counselor, who is well-loved by both boys. I was heavily inspired by the current Muse, Anita (in France), specifically by the use of rhinestones & sequins, pink & blue, and lots of white space. I also love the horizontal lines. And, since I pulled out sequins again, throwing my crafty hat in the ring over at Let's Get Trendy Now 3 as well.

Supplies: piercing tool & Tim Holtz design ruler; stamp from Lawn Fawn; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Martha Stewart pink rhinestones; sequins from Emily; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

I didn't measure the distance between the pierced lines - I just lined up the ruler with the bottom edge, and then from each subsequent pierced line. The sequins stay on perfectly with a little toothpick dab of DM (I use the clean end of the toothpick to push the sequins flat onto the glue dab). This felt very outside my comfort zone but I like how it turned out!

Here's Anita's card:

The Muse challenge linky closes on Saturday, and the Let's Get Trendy challenges all end on Sunday. 

xoxo,

Jessi

ETA! Linking up with Muse, I see that they have changed their voting/submission deadlines. WOOT! The linky will now stay open until Monday mornings, and voting will start then. I think that's fabulous - I have a terrible time getting linked up on Saturday morning ;)

MUSE #19 - Happy Birthday Flowers

Oh em gee. I am so tired! And I haven't done anything yet today...well, nothing that required me to get off my rear end, anyhow. Yesterday, though, I mowed the back lawn. It was well over a foot tall, but the lawnmower wasn't cooperating & needed to get some TLC (from someone who knows what they're doing, *koff koff* not my husband) . It's going to take another go to make it look 'right' - at this point it might have been a better idea to get out there with a machete. Sheesh. Lawn care is really not my thing.

My mom & her friend arrived safely & we're doing our level best as a family to exhaust them. I think it's working ;) The kids had a great time looking at some old photos of their great-great-great grandfather, various great-greats, and their grandmother as a little girl. (We won't mention the photos of their MOTHER as a little girl, lol.) I'm getting copies, naturally, so I'm hoping to share them with you guys in a few weeks.

OK, onto the MUSE challenge - right away when I saw Michelle's card I wanted to try the floral oval motif. Let me just say - for a clean and simple look, this was not a clean and simple process for me. (3 tries, people.)

Supplies: leaf & floral stamps from PTI; caps sentiment from Annabelle Stamps; script sentiment from Paper Smooches; Memento Tuxedo Black & London Fog inks; Distress inks: spiced marmalade, picked raspberry, shaded lilac, broken china, shabby shutters; Picket Fence stickles; Liquid Pearls in avocado, white, & blue; Sharpie; classic small oval Nesties

I think the process is probably pretty straightforward, but I will say this - DUDE, I gotta remember next time to erase my pencil lines before adding the Stickles/Pearls. D'oh. I was primarily inspired by the floral oval, the bright colours, and the really fun sentiments inside the oval. Here's Michelle's card - 

 And since I'm a last-minute Lucy you have just a few more hours to get your card added into the linky over at MUSE. 

xoxo,
Jessi

Muse #10

**For my Drunken Stampers post, please scroll down or click here. Thanks!!**

OK, I lied....I'm back before tomorrow because I got a card made for the current MUSE challenge that will end before I get home. I was inspired by the bright colours, layout, and circles on Ardyth's card:

Supplies: Daisy Bucket sentiment; Inkadinkado circles stamp; Versamark; Kaleidacolor Fiesta inkpad; clear EP; green fibre paper from stash

I also wanted to incorporate the embossing that Ardyth did on the sentiment - I used the same Kaleidacolor inkpad as for the circles, but used Versamark first so that I could clear emboss it. 

OK, gotta run!

xoxo,

Jessi

Oh, Saturdays...

Saturdays, we have to stop meeting like this. Last night I got a whopping 20 minutes of sleep. I'm estimating, based on the song that was playing when I woke up...I had to grab my mp3 player because SOMEONE wouldn't stop snoring OR roll over when nudged/shoved/pounded.

At least there's coffee. And I made some cards. Actually, I finished making cards for every single challenge I had written down. Here's the one I made for the current MUSE challenge, inspired by Marion's card.

Supplies: washi tape from We R Memory Keepers; Basic Grey brad; flowers from Studio G; sentiment from CC Designs; Memento Gray Flannel ink

I was primarily inspired by the blue & yellow colours in Marion's card, the washi tape, and the linear layout. I am nowhere NEAR the only person who put it on an angle! 

 Off to get ready for a sleepy morning at the market - here's hoping I can stay awake long enough to get home & take a nap.
xoxo,
Jessi

Muse #4

Once again squeaking in at the last minute for the current MUSE challenge...haven't slept well in days, and it's starting to wear on me. And the poor dog:

Up at 2 to start the day today...and she won't go back to bed, but insisted on being all up in my grille while I tried to at least be productive with my early start to the day. Poor sleepy us ;)

I did manage to get an idea for the MUSE challenge, while digging around looking for something else. Don't you love how that works? I pulled out this purple circle & green scalloped piece, and *ding!* it came to me:

Supplies: random purple & green stuff, lol; Palette Noir & Spun Sugar inks; We R Memory Keepers yellow washi; CTMH stripy stamp; CC Designs sentiment; pink 'happy birthday' sticker from Doodlebug

     I was inspired by the green & purple colour scheme of Therese's card, the bright funky feel, and the positive sentiment...and the stripy straw! I love how it stamped in a rough way - it was the last touch I added & I love how it looks. Sorry for the dark picture - any brighter with the editing & you couldn't see the pink stripes. 

And now to link up with a whole 6 hours to go! Woot! Lots of time to play along :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Muse #3 - a close call!

Seriously, 34 minutes to spare as I'm typing this up - if I'm not the last person to link up I'll be amazed! Having a snow day today gave me an extra morning to play along with some challenges - and MUSE is up first because OMG, half an hour left!! I was inspired by Laurie's layout (fab sketch material!) and the bright orange/green/yellow colours:

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey; sentiment rub-on from EAD Designs; chipboard cupcake from Martha Stewart

Don't forget to go back & vote for your top 3 at MUSE in oh, about a half-hour :) Thanks so much for the inspiration, Laurie!

xoxo,

Jessi

Muse #2

*whew* I thought I was going to miss this one! Muse Challenge #2 ends at noon today. I wrote down a number of different prompts for me to take back to my desk about Suzanne's card...hot pink, xoxo, black, bold flowers, rounded corners...and I drew a rough sketch. I think the first thing to pop out at me was the xoxo sentiment - after all, that's how I end my posts :)

Supplies: all paper from Recollections; Pink Paislee chipboard alphabet; black Sharpie

Hot pink was really the first item I decided to go with - this doesn't seem to be a colour I use often, so I really wanted to. I love the way Suzanne's separated the different patterned papers on her card, and I wanted to have a similar effect. I cut along the pattern in the chevron paper, and then edged it with black Sharpie to make it stand out against the background. 

Can you believe it, there was only one 'x' in this package of letters? How often do you need more than one? I thought about using a different colour, but I really liked the pop of black against the bright colours in Suzanne's card, so I went with an abbreviated sentiment instead. 

Thanks for this week's inspiration, Suzanne! There are 9 hours left to play while I'm typing this, so if you scurry you can play too & link up over at Muse. As for me, I'll be back shortly with my promised fun announcement a little later on :)

xoxo,

Jessi

A DRINKing MUSE!

FINALLY I've felt the mojo start to come back! Playing for fun makes a big difference. I just sat down, put P!nk's new CD on loud enough to bother the kids, sang along (with the wrong words, natch) and MADE CARDS! And I like them!

***angels singing***

The one I'm going to share is for two challenges - the brand-spankin'-new Muse Challenge #1, and CASology #28. And, exactly how Muse is supposed to work, I was not only inspired by Amy's card, but by Jenny's card that was inspired by Amy's. Clear as mud?

So, my creative process here - I made a sketch of Amy's card, and wrote down a couple of notes about the elements she used: stripes, white space, white pearls, yellow flower, black sentiment. I started out by laying out papers to go with the sketch, and then decided to try to incorporate CASology's DRINK prompt. That reminded me of Jenny's card - and took care of my yellow image!

Supplies: papers from Fancy Pants & Sassafras; stamps from Paper Smooches; Palette Noir ink; Sharpie; white pearls. 

The striped paper is adhered directly to the card base, and then the white cardstock on top. The orange paper is adhered with strips of foam tape, and so are the cup & the white square. Thanks to Jenny for the polka-dotty cup inspiration, and to Amy for being the first Muse designer! 

                                                  

xoxo,
Jessi