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

Washi's up?

Long time no see - I just this morning realized I haven't posted anything since Tuesday! It's been a busy week - lots of crafting I can't show you yet, and I didn't have anything pending for a challenge closing soon, so I just lost track of myself. ANYWAY, here's a fun washi card for the current "Washi's Up?" challenge at Catered Crop.

Supplies: all stamps from Paper Smooches; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic Markers; washi tape from We R Memory Keepers and Recollections

This is a modified version of the washi background I made here - it went a little wrong, and instead of starting over I decided to stop here with this funky look. (This is a lesson on why you should probably not get up & walk away in the middle of doing something that requires focus...you might forget what you were doing when you come back!)

"Washi's Up?" will be open until November 9, so lots of time to play still.

xoxo,
Jessi

Wedding Sequins

Sequins are of course one of the hottest paper crafting  trends at the moment - I am usually not the first on a trend, but this one is definitely growing on me! This time of year I tend to make a LOT of wedding cards, and I made these two similar cards - one in silver, one in gold.

Supplies for both cards: Martha Stewart wedding cake stickers; sequins; Liquid Pearls; lacy circle/oval Nesties; Bazzill cardstock; gold mirror paper

I got a little carried away with the sequins on the gold card - they just kept jumping on :)

There's a sequin challenge over at Catered Crop until August 17. 

Back to the crafty salt mines - I've been spending so much time playing that &*%^# Candy Crush that I'm neglecting my stamps. You know it's bad when your kids walk by & say "You're STILL on Level 65? How long are you going to be there?" Forever, apparently. *sobs*

xoxo,

Jessi

Summer Lovin' at Catered Crop

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...

Even though summer really isn't my favourite season, there are still some things you just can't do other times of the year! Catered Crop's current challenge is called Summer Lovin', and I suppose I can bring myself to enjoy summer for just a little bit to fit in ;)

This is a Mo Manning image & sentiments that were offered by her as freebies ages & ages ago, and this is the first time I've coloured it with markers.

Supplies: Mo Manning digi image & sentiments; Timeless Twine (denim); Amy Tangerine papers; Bic and Spectrum Noir markers; 1/4" hole punch (for tabs to wrap twine); polka dot ribbon from stash; classic small circle Nesties

I tried to shade her hair with colours that were too far apart - I'm happy with the end result, although it is definitely not what I attempted, lol! And the 'pointillism' background is such a fun one - absolutely perfect for me, and I've been using it more & more. 

Be right back with a number of posts - I am definitely a creature of habit, and my 'habit' does not include having my husband on vacation from work & wanting to do STUFF. Sheesh!

xoxo,

Jessi

Cute & Cuddly!

Remember I posted a few weeks ago about my friend who's expecting twins?  Well, she's nearly to D-Day at 36 weeks. She looks AMAZING and those little girls are estimated to be between 5 and 6 lbs each, which is wonderful. I wanted to make sure to have more twin cards on hand since the few I made had been snapped up already. Here's one, which would be good for any gender combination: 

Supplies: kraft card stock; classic small circle Nesties; sentiment from PTI; Brushed Corduroy Distress ink; bears sticker from PSX; buttons from stash

I have a number of baby sentiments, but very few that aren't definitively singular - for example, "look who's new!" It's not NOT plural, and yet it doesn't look right. The kraft card was a perfect choice to go with the cute little bears, and the button frame....well, by now you must know that button frames make me happy :)

This is perfect for the "Brides and Babies" challenge this week at The Kraft Journal, and for the Button Up! Recipe Swap at Catered Crop. 

Be right back with one more post for today - I'll save the rest for tomorrow :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #201 - Sweet & Sassy!

Good morning! This week at Tuesday Morning Sketches we are sponsored by Sweet & Sassy Stamps :) I like to keep my DT prompts pinned up at my desk so that I can see them while I'm working on other things. This sketch ended up inspiring me to pull out some quilling paper!

Supplies: yellow card stock from Bazzill; sentiment stamps from Paper Smooches; Mustard Seed distress ink; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; yellow gems; We R Memory Keepers washi tape; embossing folder (unknown); yellow Sharpie

I layered 2 kinds of washi tape on card stock, and then trimmed to the size I wanted for the 'tabs.' I also traced the sentiment & the two rectangular mats with the glitter pen. I was also inspired by the current Mellow Yellow challenge at Catered Crop  to use a palette of yellows for a bright & cheerful card! (That challenge is open until Saturday, June 8).

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, June 9th.

Don't forget to visit all the other talented ladies on the DT:

Angela

Bonnie

Dawn

Debbie

Jenee

Laura

Theresa

Melissa

Off to make breakfast for the kiddos! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #195 - Clearly Digital Stamps!

Good morning & happy Tuesday! Always a busy one around here :) This week at Tuesday Morning Sketches we have Clearly Digital Stamps as our sponsor - formerly known as Clearly Dollar Stamps - home to some very fun & inspirational images. Debbie created our sketch this week, and guess what? I made a tall card! Her sketch was perfect for one, and yet will also easily adapt for a regular quarter-fold size. You've gotta love that!
I thought this would be a perfect sketch to make a birthday card for my sister's new sister-in-law:

Supplies: cupcake paper from JJ!; Sizzix labels die; classic small oval Nesties; super-sparkly Thickers from American Crafts (from Barb!); Doodlebug letter stickers; aqua twine

Do you know what? Thickers should totally come with little 'th' and 'st', etc, stickers in their packages. Just sayin'.

sparrrrkly!

The card measures 4" wide and 8" tall, and fits perfectly in a 'legal' envelope. And its super-sparkliness makes it perfect for the current Catered Crop challenge, Just Add Glitter!

Here's the Tuesday Morning Sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, April 28th.  And, did you know - if you 'like' Tuesday Morning Sketches on Facebook, you can have access to the sketch the evening before it goes live?? 

Don't forget to visit all the other talented ladies on the DT:

Mary J, Best of the Best Designer 

Angela

Bonnie

Dawn

Debbie

Jenee

Laura

Theresa

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Easter Lilies

It's a trifecta of challenges today - with a single rather simple card! I also wanted to show off another way to use one of my crocheted mats. White is by far my most frequently used colour.

The Pink Elephant has an Easter challenge on this week - it's open until next Sunday. Catered Crop is having a Flower Power challenge - open until March 30. And Doodle Pantry is having a challenge to use one of their images, not just a sentiment - open until March 24. I just *had* to buy this set, Lily Collection, while I was already shopping thanks to my TMS teammate Debbie.

Supplies: Doodle Pantry lilies, pre-coloured digi stamp; lacy circle & classic small circle Nesties; foam tape; Corner Chomper; ribbon from stash; yellow Stampendous Fun Flock; crocheted mat.

I printed out two of the digi images, and fussy-cut one of them so I could pop it up on foam tape for dimension. I also added a little bit of yellow Fun Flock to the stamens for texture. The ribbon is tied right through one of the loops on the die cut.

A closer look at the fuzz & dimension.

There's still time to enter my giveaway if you'd like to win some crocheted mats to play with - click here for that post!  It's open to anyone worldwide, and you do not have to be a follower to enter. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Pink Elephant Easter challenge

Catered Crop Flower Power challenge

Doodle Pantry image challenge

Catered Crop & Papercraft Star

We're still buried in snow here - and more is falling. It's hard to estimate the actual snowfall because during this blizzard we've had winds gusting at 80 - 100 km an hour. Parts of our driveway are bare, and other parts have 5-foot hard-packed snow drifts. All three of the men are outside right now trying to dig out. The kids are also hoping for a snow day tomorrow - I don't know about that, but I do know everything is still a mess right now!

I've got some more cards to share - first up is one for both Papercraft Star #131 (LOVE) and the current Catered Crop - Polka Dots.

Supplies: washi tape from Recollections; die cut from K&Co; dark pink gems from Dollarama

Be right back with more lovey-dovey cards :)
xoxo,
Jessi

Upcycling, distressing, twine & gems, OH MY!

I'm still crafting like crazy getting ready to be away, and up until I leave I swear I'll be waiting for glue to dry (or cursing the embossing powder I spilled in my lap) or doing SOMETHING crafty. Building up my stash of cards to bring with me (at this point, possibly an entire suitcase? getting close, anyhow) means I'm keeping up with nearly every challenge I had noted in my little book. And then some. This particular card was made with 3 challenges in mind:

  Crafty Creations Challenges #184

to use gems & twine

(ends Tuesday)

little red wagon #147

upcycling!

(ends tonight)

Catered Crop

No Stress to Distress

(ends September 1)

Supplies: clip art from the Graphics Fairy;
Broken China Crackle Paint;
stick pins from Little Yellow Bicycle;
twine from Paper Smooches;
sentiment from Stampendous;
Broken China distress ink;
Sakura Stardust clear glitter pen

Click to see full-size

I bought some Crackle Paint months ago, and have only used it a handful of times, mainly because I don't think to add it until I've already started to assemble my card, and well, adding it then tends to be messy. And, in fact, I hadn't used the Broken China colour at all, so yay me! for cracking it open :) Of course the crackling and torn edges are my distressed elements for Catered Crop!

The upcycled items for little red wagon ...that fabulous clear blue button - it's hard to see with the twine bow, but you can spy it in the full-size picture. This is one of hundreds that my mother-in-law gave me in a tupperware container last winter. There are some really fun & funky buttons hidden in there amongst the standard shirt & jacket buttons! And, my other upcycled item - a popcorn box:

This panel is about twice as wide as my card - lots left over for another project!

I tried mightily to include some peacock feather fronds on my card (as you can see in the above photo) but no matter what it wasn't gelling, so I let it be. 

As cool as the blue button is, it does have a very plain centre, which I knew would be perfect for one of Emily Keaton's multi-loop twine bows! That link will take you to her tutorial. I sewed on the stick pins, then the button, then the twine bow. That made it much easier than trying to use the twine for both looks & function. So, we have twine, but we also need gems for Crafty Creations Challenges....but I've never made a peacock card that DIDN'T have gems, so twist my rubber arm! I used 3 shades of blue gems (and used up the tail end of one pack - no hoarding! Pat on the back there!)

You wouldn't think so based on the number of exclamation points, but I need to go pour myself another coffee...5:30 AM and one cup isn't going to do it! I'll be back - I have more challenge cards coming up :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Photographing white-on-white...

...it's not for the faint of heart. Or the impatient. My first card is for a challenge new to me, Catered Crop, and this edition (ending tomorrow) is White Pages. I decided to really challenge myself and create a completely white card. In fact, I made two - completely brain-farted over the fact that one of them is for an upcoming DT assignment that I can't show you yet (oops!) and so I went back to the drawing board & came up with this:

Supplies: Frost White pigment ink - Colorbox;
white detail EP - Stampendous;
stamps from Inkadinkado, Kaisercraft, Glitz;
standard small & lacy circle Nesties;
mat crocheted by me

Honest to Pete, you can read it/see it if you click it & view full size.

If it's any consolation (no, it's not) I took even worse photos of my DT project. Honestly, this is legible in person. 

My second card is for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner - denim plus 3 ribbons/twine & 3 buttons/brads. I wasn't going to play along, because I didn't have any ideas, and then while I was looking for something else I found some denim-patterned paper, and an idea was born!

Supplies: Faded Jeans distress ink;
papers & clips from Simple Stories "Summer Fresh;"
buttons from Basic Grey;
sentiment & twines from Paper Smooches

So, I've got the denim-patterned paper panel, the denim pocket on the little tag, Faded Jeans distress ink (how could I resist?); and then black, red, and kraft twine; and three teensy buttons to finish off. I really like how it turned out - these kind of cards that happen by accident are my favourite. You'll have to hurry if you want to play along at OCC in this recipe challenge - the linky is open til midnight.

And now to go cook supper - mmm, pasta....garlic...onions.....and lots of big smooches all around afterwards, I'm sure ;)

xoxo,

Jessi