Smarty Pants!

The Pink Elephant is hosting a Graduation challenge this week, and with it being that time of year I've got a whole bunch of grad cards on the go. Here's one:

Supplies: pants/sentiment from Stampin' Up!; papers & bingo card from Simple Stories; pencil stamp from Alley Way; Karen Foster adhesive cork; classic small circle Nesties; 1 1/8" circle punch; Faded Jeans distress ink; stapler

I used scraps to paper piece the pencil & really just went to town having fun with the cork. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Wait a minute...

...just as I started to type, I realized that I combined these challenges last week. BUT, it did result in my very first shout-out from The Pink Elephant, so it must have worked! This week's challenge at The Pink Elephant is Mother's Day, and I'm popping in again with Virginia's View for the stitching challenge. 

Supplies: stickers & paper from Sassafrass; chipboard letters from KI Memories; bits of lace trim, buttons, embroidery floss from stash

I enjoyed making my card for the current Shopping our Stash challenge so much that I made another one with the same basic supplies :) The star & heart stickers are stitched on as well - dusting baby powder on the back deactivates the sticky, and lets you sew without gunking up your needle. 

I imagine I'll be popping in with more for Virginia's challenge, because I am stitching on everything these days, feels like. Except for the major under-the-fingernail-stab this morning, I'm finding it really relaxing!

xoxo,

Jessi

Pink Elephant meets Virginia's View

We've been going through some serious parenting challenges at our house. Like a lot of crafters, I tend to create as therapy. The time it took to pierce & stitch this card was the perfect antidote to a particularly horrid day. The pastel colours & stitching make it a great card for both The Pink Elephant's pastel challenge and Virginia's View stitching challenge. 

Supplies: papers from MME; veneer from Studio Calico; letter stickers from Basic Grey; Colorbox Frost White pigment ink; Tim Holtz design ruler; embroidery floss & needle

I have just scraps left of this pretty MME paper, so I arranged a bunch of them to create a sort of faux quilt look. I used a small piece of Scor-tape to keep them all in place, and then pierced around the edges for sewing. The sentiment banner strips are part of one of the patterned pieces in the collection, and I trimmed between the words at various points so I could bend the ends up for dimension. I was a bit flummoxed to find  that I had ZERO matching letters to add the "you are" part, so I patted some white ink on top of red letters to get the effect I wanted. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Playing with Watercolour

The current Pink Elephant challenge is to watercolour - and I decided it was high time for me to hop on the bandwagon & play!

Supplies: sentiment from Paper Smooches; medallion stamp from Stampendous; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Pearl, Cherub Pink, Starfish, Blue Skies, and Turquoise Blue; Distress inks in Victorian Velvet & Peacock Feathers; Neat & Tangled crystal clear sequins; Versmark & Moonstone EP; AC silver card stock; Cuttlebug embossing folder; silver paint pen

First I used the four coloured mists to paint the background, and then I inked up the medallion stamp with two colours & spritzed it with Pearl mist before stamping on the still-wet background piece. Once it was dry, I cut the panel to the size I wanted & stamped the sentiment. I love how the inks bled into the background - this medallion stamp is truly one of my go-to stamps. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Happy Easter!

Good morning & Happy Easter! I realized that I still had a few Easter cards to share (and three challenges to pop them in to) and so I figured I'd combine everything in one monster post :)

Supplies: Doodlebug bunny sticker; MME papers; Martha Stewart fringe scissors; Pink Cat Studio sentiment; Paper Smooches cloud dies; 1" and 1 1/8" circle punches

Supplies: Doodlebug bunny sticker; Fancy Pants papers; Stampendous medallion stamp; Inkadinkado Easter sentiment; Worn Lipstick distress ink; Memento Gray Flannel ink

Supplies: Stampendous chick stamp; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic markers; Corner Chomper

Supplies: Doodlebug stickers; classic small circle Nesties; Tim Holtz bubble stencil; Dreamweaver embossing paste; Corner Chomper

Still futzing with my camera - getting better with it, but I find it hard to photograph white still. To do the grass I cut out two partial circles and free-hand cut them, popping up the top layer and the chick for some fun dimension.

The challenges I'm entering:

Little Red Wagon: Easter Parade

The Pink Elephant: Easter

Open-Minded Crafting Challenges #8: Easter/Pastel

xoxo,

Jessi

I love hanging out with you!

Just a couple more Valentines to share with you for this year - although I will definitely be keeping up with the 'friend love' cards that I've been making, and making sure I'm mailing them too!

Supplies: paper & die cut card from K&Co; lacy oval Nesties; bling strips from Dollarama; crochet mat by me 

The entire pad of patterned paper has a cool shaped edge, so I trimmed it to allow that edge to show on my card....and then covered it up a bit. lol! For all the fussiness of the end result, this was a very quick card - I crochet the mats in bunches, rather than making one specifically for each card.

Popping this in over at The Pink Elephant for their Valentine challenge!

xoxo,
Jessi

More Purple!

I've already played along in the PURPLE challenges at FLOURISHES and CASOLOGY, but I thought I'd give it one more kick at the can & combine them both with the love challenge at The Pink Elephant. 

Supplies: stamps from Flourishes; Versamark & Dusty Concord distress ink; clear embossing powder; paper from Basic Grey; classic small oval Nesties; clear dew drops from Dollarama; glimmer mists in Cherub Pink, Blue Skies, and Lilac Chalkboard

To make it easier to paint with the glimmer mists, I embossed the heart & sentiment first, and then dabbed in the different colours of mist. I only have one colour of purple mist (the horror) and it's not very vibrant, so I added in the other two colours to give some variation.

I've had lots of card mojo the last week or so, so I have LOTS to share in the next bit - not even all purple!
xoxo,
Jessi

The Pink Elephant recipe challenge

This week's recipe challenge at The Pink Elephant was a tough one for me, since I really don't use border punches. I persevered, though, and OMG I'm so stinking pleased with myself! I love how it turned out. The recipe is two patterned papers, one border punch, and one heart.

Supplies: papers from Bo Bunny; digi image from Sweet Pea stamps (link to the artist's selection); Martha Stewart butterfly border punch & fine crystal glitter; American Crafts yellow glitter; Studio Calico heart veneer (embossed with versamark & black detail EP); Paper Smooches twine; Bic & spectrum noir markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; black & red rhinestones from Dollarama

I embossed the veneer heart with two layers of embossing powder for a more even coat. I've been enjoying my fairies so much that I went & bought five more images to work with (ching chou kuik has a fabulous selection of fairies & mermaids!) and have lots of fun cards made with them. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Christmas Recipe

The Pink Elephant has a recipe to follow for their challenge this week - two patterned papers, ribbon, and a sprinkle of sparkle. I posted this on my OneCraftyMama Cards Facebook page this week & completely spaced out on blogging it. The challenge ends today, so *whew* that I did finally remember!

Supplies: papers from Cosmo Cricket; image & sentiment from Bugaboo; bic & spectrum noir markers; 1.5" circle punch; classic small oval Nesties; Milled Lavender distress ink; Mod Podge dimensional magic; bells from Dollarama; ribbon from stash; Corner Chomper

My sprinkle of sparkle comes from those lovely shiny bells, and the DM on Stella's glasses & martini glasses. I so love this image :) For some reason earlier this season I hadn't been using many bells on cards, and in the last week they've been on almost everything!

xoxo,

Jessi

Winter Puppy

I knew exactly what stamp I wanted to use for the Winter challenge at The Pink Elephant - this is one of my very favourite stamps of all time, and it cost me a whole $2 for the set. Gotta love that!

Supplies: stamps from Inkadinkado; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; tree paper from Bo Bunny; snowflake embossing folder from Cuttlebug; Bic Marker; Ranger white enamel; Liquid Applique; yellow glitter fabric paint; classic small circle Nesties; googly eyes, twine & buttons from stash

I will never stop giggling when I paint 'pee' on a card, lol!

xoxo,
Jessi

I love you like....

**For my Shopping our Stash post, please scroll down or click here. Thanks!!**

**My Tuesday Morning Sketches post will be up as soon as the stamps get here - c'mon, Canada Post!**

The Pink Elephant is asking us to use digital images or papers this week - and since it's time to start on Halloween cards, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to use!

Supplies: digi stamp from Whimsie Doodles (including sentiment); Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Cosmo Cricket Matilda papers; Tonic edge distresser; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; buttons from stash

How could I possibly resist making the brain & blood all shiny? I also made the zombie's shoes bloody & gross.  (ewwwww)

xoxo,

Jessi

Numbers with Pink Elephant

I cannot get enough of this crazy rabbit from Paper Smooches. Add in this hilarious sentiment & I giggle every time I look at this card:

Supplies: Paper Smooches bunny; sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; papers from Bo Bunny; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

Shiny teeth & eyeballs! Yep. I love this bunny. A lot.

Joining in with The Pink Elephant's number challenge!

Now I think I'll go take a nap :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Kraft & Orange

So my evil doublemint twin Chris sent me an awesome bunch of goodies, including the Sew Easy tool - and this is its first outing. I knew I wanted to use up some MME paper scraps, and I decided to go with orange for this week's The Pink Elephant challenge.   Naturally, with the kraft I'm also joining in the "Sew-So Simple" challenge at The Kraft Journal! 

Supplies: kraft paper; patterned paper scraps from Indie Chic, My Mind's Eye; Sew Easy tool (from Chris the Awesome); Jenni Bowlin butterfly; rub-on from stash

After stitching on the kraft layer, I used foam tape to mount it on the white card base. I pierced freehand along the pattern on the patterned paper & sewed that as well, then added THAT layer with foam tape. Lots of dimension on this card. I'm loving the mix of oranges and pops of white. 

xoxo,

Jessi

I love the smell of new stamps...

...in the morning. Any time, really. I am still over the moon that I won the July release from Flourishes, and I'm having a great time getting them inky :) I have a rare-for-me triple challenge card to share this morning - for the Birthday Card challenge at Moxie Fab World, the paper-piecing challenge at little red wagon, and the Texture challenge at The Pink Elephant. 

Supplies: stamps from Flourishes - pinwheels & popsicles; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic Markers; rhinestone strips from Dollarama; paper piercer, black embroidery thread; yellow sparkle fabric paint from Tulip

I've coloured all the lanterns twice - once on the card panel, and once on another sheet. I then cut then out, rolled each one around a pencil, and attached with a thin piece of foam tape in the middle. This lets the lanterns have a rounded appearance (I really did squeal when I attached them - it worked just like I'd hoped!). This is my paper-pieced section - I hope it still counts. 

For texture, I've stitched along the 'wire' lines of the stamp, used foam tape to pop up the lanterns, added rhinestones; and painted around the lanterns with textured dimensional fabric paint. I love how the yellow glitter gives the same soft glow as lantern light! 

The 'birthday' challenge is pretty clear, I think. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Monochromatic at the Pink Elephant!

Monochromatic cards are some of my very favourites - and looking through my recent cards, I've apparently been in a monochromatic creative mood of late. The current challenge at The Pink Elephant is to make a monochromatic card/page, so here are a whole bunch! Turns out that my favourite monochrome themes are baby, sympathy, and thank you ;)

Supplies: striped paper from Stampin' Up!; sticker from Echo Park; buttons from stash

Lots of dimension for this baby card - and buttons are generally a favourite on those too!

Supplies: stamps from Unity; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Versamagic chalk ink (Aegean? I think?); patterned paper from Making Memories; Corner Chomper; pearls.

 I stamped the bird 'cameo' onto white cardstock with several inks before deciding on this one. I then fussy-cut around it, and added it to the card with foam tape.

Supplies: paper from Amy Tangerine; sentiment from Paper Smooches; rub-ons from Basic Grey (I think?); Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Corner Chomper

Another super simple card - the doodly paper from Amy Tangerine was perfect for using up some random rub-ons left over from another project and shoved into a random package. 

Supplies: All stamps from Paper Smooches; Labels 5 Nesties; Peacock Feathers distress ink

All the stamping was done with the Peacock Feathers ink - this card was inspired by this card that I made several weeks ago. 

Supplies: more pink striped paper from Stampin' Up!; onesies fussy-cut from Echo Park paper; sentiment from PTI; Memento Gray Flannel ink; pink pearls; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crochet mat

Another twins card! The 12" Echo Park paper has motifs large enough to fussy-cut and use as focal images. Love that!

Supplies: all stamps from PTI; Memento Gray Flannel ink

Butterflies are an image, like birds, that I reach for over & over again for sympathy cards. Grey is appropriately soft without being as harsh as black. 

SO! If you too feel monochromatic, link up over at the Pink Elephant by Sunday :) I'll be back tomorrow with my second card for this round over at Jingle Belles, and Saturday will be a special post for me as well!

xoxo,

Jessi

Another card for Gramma!

This card is for my sister to give our Gramma - she turns 80 next weekend. Sarah asked me to use quilling, and since I wanted all 3 cards (the first one is here) to be the same size & have the same sort of presentation box, I decided to do something a little different - quill with 5/8" paper.

Supplies: 5/8" quilling paper in rose & pink; AC Thickers; bling strips from Dollarama; Bazzill card stock; button from stash

I used 12" long strips to quill each petal, shaping the rose ones into tear drops and the pink into marquise. Once they'd dried in place, I glued on the awesome sparkly button (with the shanks removed) for a super-sparkly centre. The edges just wanted to be sparkly too! 

The box is shown here in the background - simple velvet flowers attached with a rhinestone brad from my ancient stash, and a length of ribbon to hold it closed. The box directions are quite simple - they're available here. 

With the pink, the quilling, and all the sparkle, this couldn't be a more perfect Feminine Birthday Card - so I'm popping it in over at The Pink Elephant, and also in at the Moxie Fab Birthday Card challenge.

I'm SUPER stoked for tomorrow....crafty surprise coming up :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Let's get Mixy & Matchy with a Pink Elephant!

Inspired by Lyndal's awesome blog post this morning, fun with titles!  I got so inspired by the Let's Get Trendy Now 3 series that I went out and bought some neon stuff for the challenge. And then of course, I couldn't decide what to use out of what I'd bought.

The sketch this week at The Pink Elephant was perfect for including everything. (Seriously - well, not every colour of cardstock, but I opened every package.) And this has ended up mixing so many fun patterns that of course I've got to pop it in the Mixy-Matchy challenge at Moxie Fab World. 

Supplies: washi tapes & neon cardstock from Recollections; Wplus9 banner dies; Adirondack Citrus ink; Squeezed Lemonade distress ink; argyle stamp from Unity & thanks stamp from Lawn Fawn - both from the super awesome Jen Wills!; Stampendous motif stamp; 1.5" circle punch; rhinestones from Dollarama; sequins from the fabulous Emily Leiphart!

I used the ikat patterned washi to create a solid sheet of paper to work with. The three flag tabs were created the same way - putting the washi on cardstock first, and then die-cutting it. You can just barely see the yellow Stampendous image on the argyle panel. It didn't really work by itself, so I stamped the argyle over top (without conditioning the stamp first - it's brand-spanking-new, but I wanted that distressed effect). 

So, challenges:

Mixy-Matchy at Moxie Fab World:  there's ikat, argyle, animal print, and chevrons. Check!

Let's Get Trendy Now 3: Neon: neon orange, yellow, green, blue, and pink. Check! 

The Pink Elephant sketch:

And now I've completed all 5 of the Let's Get Trendy Now 3 challenges - but I'm also right into all those trends, so expect to see a couple more kicks at the can! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Father's Day Pug Love

A super-timely challenge to make Father's Day cards from The Pink Elephant this week. I don't make a lot of 'cute' Father's Day cards, but this dog is just too perfect!

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Red Barn distress ink; Bic markers; polka-dot paper from Echo Park; Sakura black Glaze pen (for eyes & nose)

Our internet has been spotty all day - I blame the rain. SO MUCH RAIN. We had the tail end of a tropical storm over the weekend, and the backyard is underwater again. It dries out long enough to mow the lawn, and then rains again. Blech!

  

That pretty much sums it up at the moment ;) Then again, in August when it's eleventy billion degrees out & I'm melting, I'll remember these days of 13C fondly. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Grad Time - Squeal!

Completely by accident I discovered that this little grad cap confetti fits the hamster from Paper Smooches. OH YES.

Supplies: stamps from Paper Smooches (except edge - PTI); Glimmer Mists from Tattered Angels - yellow daisy, starfish, key lime, turquoise; Distress inks in Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers, Spiced Marmalade; Versamark; Stampendous black detail embossing powder; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Stampendous  Fun Flock; Spectrum Noir markers; Sharpie

The hamster has a fuzzy belly, naturally. With a teeny dimensional the grad cap is perched on his/her head, and the hamster is squealing with glee to be finished at last. 

The edge was done with a small flower stamp from PTI - I love the bit of interest it gives as a border, and by overlapping the impressions it gives a sort of abstract look. In my opinion, anyway. The hammy panel is edged with Sharpie to help it stand out.

Since The Pink Elephant is having a graduation challenge this week, I'm popping it in the linky over there - why don't you come play too?!

xoxo,

Jessi

Monster Birthday Wishes

So I'm still learning how to best use my alcohol ink markers, and playing around with mixing Bics, Sharpies, and Spectrum - plus a Prismacolor blender pen. I like to mix it up. I can't believe this is my first time playing along over at Annabelle Stamps - "Anything Goes" this week, so you can hardly go wrong there. Since I think this monster makes a perfect little boy birthday card, I'm also entering it over at The Pink Elephant, which is challenging us to make "Masculine Birthday" projects this week.

Supplies: Annabelle Stamps image & sentiment; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; papers from Bo Bunny; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; multiple marker brands; bling from Dollarama

After colouring my monster, I painted his balloon, his eyes, tooth, and toenails with Dimensional Magic. I love that stuff :) 

Not much to chat about, unless you want to hear minute details of a malfunctioning digestive tract...Riley is sick once again, after spending two weeks at home in April. The poor kid. It looks like he will need to undergo dietary sensitivity testing as a next step. As I keep saying, that's going to be a real blast since kids with autism don't already come with multiple food-based issues....insert sarcasm there. So, I'm going to go back to, uh, cleaning the bathroom. 

On a lighter note, my Mother's Day flowers came today! Rob ordered flowers for his mom, and for me. Her flowers arrived on time - mine, not so much. The florist that the national centre deals with here in town is about to close, and apparently my order fell through a billion cracks. Rob called at least 5 times on Friday, and countless emails and phone calls up to YESTERDAY still couldn't figure out what went wrong. So they're finally here, and now they're free. And, they came with a spectacular message:

Impossible to get a good photograph in my kitchen. Anyhow, it reads: "Feed the F*****G seals." That would be a Charlie quote from The Newsroom, the first season of which Rob & I have now watched 3 times. If he'd written something romantic I might have died of shock.

xoxo,

Jessi