Addicted to Love...and...

bling! I can never resist picking up more bling, because you KNOW I'll use it. And I never seem to have what I might consider "enough." So when I saw Vicki's Flashback challenge this week I knew I'd have to use bling - and I dug out an ancient Stampin' Up stamp that's been in my stash since about 10 years ago (I think - I don't have the case).

Supplies: Stampin' Up stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Sharpies; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; red rhinestones; 1 1/8" circle punch

After stamping & colouring the frogs, I punched them out in different ways to make  them look...bouncy. I doodled around each frog circle, and then added Dimensional Magic to their eyes and hearts.

Since the linky closes in an hour, that's it for now :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #286 - Sami Stamps!

**Don't forget I have blog candy up on my Snarky Anniversary Post!**

We're on to Melissa's favourite sketch of 2014 at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and ohhhh our sponsor Sami Stamps generously provided this absolutely perfect image - is it ok to love my card? Because I love my card.

Supplies: On Your Arm digital stamp from Sami Stamps; Spectrum Noir markers; sentiment from Doodle Pantry; 1.5" circle punch; May Arts cream twine; Hero Arts lace; Fancy Pants paper; Antique Linen distress ink; buttons from stash

*happy sigh*

I love it when it turns out just the way I pictured it in my head!

Here's the sketch:

This challenge is open until next Sunday, February 8 - hop on over & see what the design team has created for you! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa (off this week)

Nina

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #186 - Love me Do!

**For my Snarky Anniversary blog candy post, please click here**

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please click here**

OK, so hopefully now you've got a Beatles earworm like I do! This week at Shopping our Stash we want to see your LOVE themed projects!

Supplies: Daisy stamp from Flourishes; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Spectrum Noir markers; sentiment from Doodle Pantry; AC yellow glitter; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; classic small oval Nesties; embroidery supplies; buttons and paper from stash

Everything on this card has been in my stash for years, with the exception of the sentiment - maybe a single year? But I've never used it until now. I stamped the daisies twice so that I could pop three of them up. After colouring I gave the centre of each daisy a generous coat of Dimensional Magic & then added the loose glitter. To sew the sentiment I just pierced around the edges freehand. A little distressing around the edge of the polka dot panel and voila!

With Valentines Day just around the corner, join in with the SOS crew and get your love vibe on!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

And you have until Monday,February 2nd  to join in!

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #185 - Not Your Normal Paper

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

So this week at Shopping our Stash might be a toughie - because don't we all hoard this special stuff? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? We want to see you use  a specialty paper you had to have: glitter paper, foil paper, honeycomb paper, corrugated paper, canvas, cork, etc.

I went big and used 2, woohoo! I was inspired by the sketch & photo at FUSION to dig out my wood paper.

Supplies: MME wood veneer paper; cork paper; Paper Smooches kraft twine; Flourishes rose heart stamp; Versamark and Pirate Gold EP; classic small circle Nesties; Studio Calico kraft butterfly stickers; AC Thickers letter stickers; lace and button from stash

The Thickers have been in my stash long enough that they are falling off the carrier sheet - pretty sure that qualifies them as ancient. Vicki over at Stamp Smiles is doing a Flashback Friday challenge celebrating old stash - this week is alphabets, and so I'm entering this over there as well. 

Here's the FUSION graphic:

AND lest I forget, join in with the SOS crew and use some of that fabulous specialty paper! 

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

And you have until Monday, January 26th to join in!

xoxo,

Jessi

Birthday Bash Photo Inspiration!

Continuing the week-long birthday celebration for Bugaboo's 5th birthday, we have a photo inspiration challenge for you today.

There are so many terrific elements to draw from in this photo, and finally I let myself be captured by the cute elephant on top.

Supplies: Bugaboo Stamps Edward Valentine; Spectrum Noir markers; rub on sentiment from Making Memories; Tim Holtz design ruler & embroidery supplies; googly eyes; paper from stash

Tons of inspiration from the designers - go check it out & don't forget to enter your creation!

xoxo,

Jessi

Cupid rhymes with...

It's time for the sketch challenge celebrating Bugaboo's 5th birthday! Like Bugaboo's other week long challenges, there is a master post with all the week's challenges listed (each day's linky opens at 7 a.m.)

Here's the sketch: 

Supplies: Bugaboo - Stella Love-Stupid Cupid; Spectrum Noir markers; Labels 4 Nesties; 1.5" circle punch; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Wink of Stella clear glitter pen; Studio Calico veneer hearts; Stampendous Carnelian & shabby pink Frantage EP; K&Co paper

I coated Stella's glasses, heart antennae, arrow, and boots with Mod Podge. The hearts were an experiment - I wanted to give them something OOMPH-y. I used a glue pen for the first layer of Carnelian embossing - I did 2 with that, and then sprinkled the Frantage on top. 

Head on over to the master post to see the other designers' creations & enter yours!

xoxo,

Jessi

You Octopi My Thoughts!

I'd been wanting to make a Valentine shaker card and this week's challenge at The Pink Elephant gave me a push to get 'er done :)

Supplies: image & sentiment from Zap Pow!; Spectrum Noir markers; home made enamel dots; classic small oval Nesties; Shrinky Dink plastic; various microbeads & confetti bits

This octopus just always has to be purple :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Come One, Come All!

It's Bugaboo's 5th Anniversary! WOW! You've got to have a party for that, and my goodness there's a terrific line up of challenges for you this week, and priiiiiiiizes :) Head on over to Catch The Bug to see what's in store! 

Today's challenge to kick it off is Big Top Bingo!

I've gone with the bottom line of Animal, Bright Colours, and Buttons:

Supplies: Big Heart Bear from Bugaboo Stamps; Spectrum Noir stamps; tags from K&Co; classic small circle Nesties; patterned paper from American Crafts; buttons from stash; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; googly eyes

This bear just couldn't be cuter! 

Make sure to pop over to Catch the Bug to see what the other designers have come up with & to check out the challenges for the week! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Monster Love

I love this week's Take Your Pick challenge at The Kraft Journal - I paired it with the {expired}sketch from Fusion, and this adorable monster!

Supplies: Monster digi from Dawn Moore; patterned paper from K& Co; Making Memories rub-ons, Cuttlebug embossing folder; kraft card stock; 1 1/8" circle punch; classic small oval Nesties; Spectrum Noir markers; Mod Podge dimensional magic; Tim Holtz design ruler & embroidery supplies

The green piece of paper is a misted snippet that had been laying on my desk - no idea what I used to make it. The end of the patterned piece came die cut that way (the whole pad is). The monster's eye, tooth, horns, and heart are all coated with some Dimensional Magic for gloss :)

Here's the FUSION sketch I used, although it's expired:

And the Kraft Journal options: 


Back to the crafty grind (oh, poor me, lol!)
xoxo,
Jessi

Shopping our Stash #184 - Hide & Seek!

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

Oh, this is a fun challenge from Shopping our Stash this week - hide & seek! 

use a hidden element on your project (tag in a pocket, a picture of someone playing Hide & Seek, a pull tab that reveals a message, etc.)

I am just in love with how my card turned out - I love it when the final project matches the idea I had in my head!

Supplies: SO MUCH STASH! Cuttlebug embossing folder (maybe used once before?); buttons, lace, doily, K&Co die cut elements; Tim Holtz design ruler & embroidery supplies; glassine bag & pink clothespin from the lovely Amy Tsuruta 

The scrap of patterned paper I used had stitched elements, so I began by using those as a template to add purple stitching along the left-hand side. I tried to do some random-ish crazy stitching as you can see - that took forever and still ended up having a discernible pattern, but I loves it. I stitched the lace in place, and added the doily to the glassine bag to help cover up the adhesive. I then stitched the buttons on top - stitching through lace, glassine, and two layers of card stock. My fingers! 

Finally I used the little clothespin to attach the "smitten" tag to the "I love you" tag, some foam tape to stick those onto the glassine bag, and omg I love it. The "10 reasons I love you" card is just waiting to be filled in for the recipient.

So now that I'm done patting myself on the back (no I'm not, lol) why don't you check out how the other SOS gals interpreted the Hide & Seek theme? 

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

And you have until Monday, January 19th to join in!

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #283 - Bugaboo Stamps New Release!

Good morning! We're working with Jenee's favourite sketch from 2014 this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches - Bugaboo is our sponsor, and Jenee has a great prize up for grabs too. I'm featuring one of today's new releases on my card - this little Love Monster is too cute :)

Supplies: Love Monster - coloured from Bugaboo Stamps; patterned paper from AC; Cuttlebug tag die; PSX letter stamps; classic small oval Nesties; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Picket Fence distress stickles; Purple Twilight Adirondack ink; heart brad, buttons, and purple cardstock from stash

I printed out two copies of the Love Monster so I could pop up the monster for dimension. I then gave his eyes, teeth, horns, heart, and tail spikes a coat of Dimensional Magic for gloss.

Here`s the sketch:

This challenge is open until next Sunday,  January 18 - hop on over & see what the design team has created for you! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

Nina

xoxo,

Jessi

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - W is for...

WOW it's cold! And this week it definitely was, with windchill temperatures reaching wayyyy down into the minus 30s Celsius. Why do I live where the air hurts my face? The Snarky Stampers want to see your Winter themed projects this fortnight. Alas, I have no snark - something about the actual cold made me warm & fuzzy while I was creating.

Supplies: fairy image from Sweet Pea Stamps; Spectrum Noir markers; sentiment from Paper Smooches; Purple Twilight Adirondack ink; Sakura Stardust and Wink of Stella glitter pens; snowflake paper from AC; Tonic distressing tool; purple rhinestones from Dollarama; Dylusions purple spray; Tattered Angels copper & Turquoise mist; classic small circle Nesties; Versamark; shabby pink & gold Frantage EP from Stampendous; Cuttlebug embossing folder

The purple circle was created using my Faux Faux Patina tutorial (here).  After colouring the fairy I used the Wink of Stella pen to colour in her wings, and then used the turquoise mist to paint the background. All the panel edges were distressed gently, and then I rolled up the corners of the fairy panel to tuck in some gems.

What does winter have you thinking? Check out the huge variety of snarky and beautiful cards from the Sistahs:

Barb

Chris

Donna

Karen

Lee

Lindsey

Lynne 

Michelle

You've got until Friday, January 23rd, to join in with us! 

And don't forget to stop by and leave our guest designer NANETTE some love for her beautiful project!

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #282

Back to our regularly scheduled programming! For the first weeks of 2015, we at Tuesday Morning Sketches have picked our favourite 2014 sketches to revisit. This week it's Debbie's favourite!

Supplies: all stamps from Paper Smooches, Green Acres; papers from AC (a Christmas pack, even!); Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Spectrum Noir markers; Wink of Stella black glitter pen; Distress inks in Salty Ocean & Mowed Lawn; classic small circle Nesties; googly eyes & rhinestones from Dollarama; Cotton Ball fun flock from Stampendous

Some simple masking to get the farmer & cow nice & close together, fun flock to make the cow soft & fuzzy, and hand-drawn grass. And googly eyes, of course :)

Here's the sketch:

This challenge is open until next Sunday,  January 11 - hop on over & see what the design team has created for you! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

Nina

Because I've used all Paper Smooches stamps, I'm also entering my card over at the Anything Goes challenge at SPARKS this week :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Light Bright NBUS

I think this is the first January on record that I haven't had my mojo go on vacation without me! I haven't been entering as many challenges but I'm still creating, so woohoo! I made this card with two challenges in mind - CASology's prompt LIGHT reminded me that I had this Unity stamp in my stash that hadn't seen ink yet...which led me to Darnell's NBUS #3 challenge!

Supplies: stamps from Unity; Memento Gray Flannel ink; MME paper; yellow glitter glue

I paper-pieced the lampshade with some foam tape for dimension, and then decided to use the same paper as the background. The panel's smaller than I intended because first I stamped off-kilter, and then I trimmed it off-kilter. I just went with it :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Anything Goes at Catch the Bug!

There's a super easy challenge for you this week at Bugaboo's Catch the Bug - ANYTHING GOES! I took the opportunity to use one of my favourite images twice - Love Blocks - Day after Forever.

Supplies: Bugaboo image - Love Blocks: Day After Forever; cuttlebug embossing folder; Tattered Angels mists; Distress inks in Dusty Concord & Seedless Preserves; Colorbox Frost White pigment ink; embroidery supplies

Super sparkly! I used inks on the image first, then sprayed with (I think Pearl?) glimmer mist. When I went to assemble the card I found the image too dark, so I sponged on a little white pigment ink. 

Supplies: Bugaboo's Love Blocks - Day after Forever; Tattered Angels blue skies mist; Distress inks in Broken China, Worn Lipstick, Peacock Feathers; doily

I kept my second card simpler - still super sparkly!

Make sure to head over to Catch the Bug to see what eye candy all the other designers have for you - and play along before next Friday, January 9th, for a chance to win a bunch of Bugaboo goodies!

xoxo,

Jessi

OK, nice this time...

I already entered the Naughty or Nice challenge with a naughty card, but I thought I'd pop in with my last Valentine share & link it up again as a nice entry :)

ETA: BRAIN FART! I totally meant to enter in the Pocket challenge at little red wagon also. My kingdom for a working memory.

Supplies: papers & die cuts from K&Co; Wilton doily; red rhinestones from Dollarama; library pocket from the fabulous Lindsey of Bashful Blogging :) 

When I bought this packet of die-cuts I knew there were a few in it that really seemed meant for scrapbooking rather than cards, but I came up with a card idea! The library pocket makes it easy for the giver of the card to write down their reasons, and  then tuck it back into the pocket. Since the pocket was deeper than the card, I put a strip of Scor-tape down near the bottom so that the card didn't fall in too deep. 

Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who celebrate it - around here we really never have, and since at the moment I'm fighting off a kidney infection (booo, hiss) I wouldn't be any fun to celebrate with anyhow. At least I'm starting to feel human again!

xoxo,

Jessi

We Mix Well!

Nothing says cute like Paper Smooches - and puns :) This is for the fun & cute challenge Kim's hosting this week on the Paper Smooches main blog.

Supplies: Paper Smooches 'bebopping' stamps; Versamark; Clear & Pirate Gold Stampendous EP; Barn Door distress ink; Gray Flannel & Tuxedo Black Memento ink; Studio Calico star veneer

The treble clef is clear embossed on top of the sentiment, and the veneer stars were triple-embossed with gold. Love adding embossing to veneer - it really stretches their 'usefulness' as embellies :)

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

Seize the Sketch #13, Revisited

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down 2 or click here**

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

Thanks so much :) 

We're halfway through the current Seize the Sketch challenge, and so there's some more eye candy from the design team to share! This paper from Fancy Pants created the perfect scene for me:

Supplies: papers from Fancy Pants; cloud dies from Paper Smooches; rub-on hearts & sentiment from Making Memories

You really do have to love it when the patterned paper does the heavy lifting for you!

Here's the sketch:

Head on over to the Seize the Sketch blog to see who's playing along again, and don't forget to link up with us by Sunday, February 16!

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #138 - ohhhh, Shiny!

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

Shimmer, shine, sparkle....that's what we want to see this week at Shopping our Stash! 

true story.

Being the overachiever that I am, I made two cards. Mostly because I had punched so many circles that I was determined to use them up, but still.

Supplies: stamps from Annabelle Stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Barn Door distress ink; Bic markers; Stampendous yellow fun flock; googly eyes; American Crafts yellow & scarlet glitter; Martha Stewart crystal glitter; miscellaneous scraps of card stock & glitter paper; black rhinestones from Dollarama

I added some yellow flocking to the bee, because bees are so soft...and dangerous....but soft :) I've also used loose glitter on the flower centres, heart, bouquet wrap,  and the bee's wings. 

 Come & play along with this challenge until next Monday, February 17th - hop on by & leave the rest of my teamies some love!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Michelle

Chana

Donna

Chris

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi