STAMPlorations Dragonfly

Nothing like entering at the last minute - I made this card for the January Sketch & Theme challenge at STAMPlorations and just had too hard a time sitting at the computer to type up my post! I used the sketch & also the theme of Clean & Simple - leaving white space as a priority, and not going too over-the-top with embellishments:

Supplies: Dragonfly stamp from PSX; sentiment stamp from STAMPlorations; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Wilted Violet distress ink; Spectrum Noir marker; Sizzix embossing folder; Diamond stickles; random bling

I used a snippet of unused dipped paper that went well with the purple & pink tones for the side panel. The dragonfly was stamped twice, and the wings fussy cut to pop them up. They were coloured with exactly the same marker as the body, and the Stickles turned them this awesome hot pink. Happy unexpected thing! 

You've got just under 24 hours to share your project with STAMPlorations - hurry up! 

xoxo,

Jessi

FUSION cards

I have a couple of cards for the current FUSION challenge - before the deadline, unlike the last couple times. (Go me!) I have still not figured out why being at the computer is painful when being at my crafting desk is not - I blame the keyboard. I've been in for a massage therapy appointment, and tomorrow I get in to see the physiotherapist, so I'm really hoping for some improvement soon!

Anyways, here are my cards:

Supplies: All papers from a kit from eons ago - no idea who made it; Doodlebug red doily; blue button from stash; heart button from Dress it Up; classic small circle Nesties

The first card was inspired by the sketch & by the floral wreath - the neutral tones to a lesser extent, as they informed my background paper choice & then I ran with what I had. 

Supplies: Mouse & balloons from Bugaboo; Spectrum Noir & sharpie markers; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; sentiments from Paper Smooches; black Wink of Stella pen; Diamond Stickles. Doodlebug papers; Tumbled Glass distress ink for sponging

The second card is purely based on the sketch - it seemed like an ideal layout for this card!

You still have 2 days left to link up your projects at FUSION:

xoxo,
Jessi

Shopping our Stash #236 - Inspired by A Book!

You would think as an avid reader I would find this week's Shopping our Stash challenge an easy one - create a project inspired by a book. Wellllll. Most of my reading is mystery novels (or crime procedurals) and so maybe not so perfect for a card. *ahem* I also had an order last week for a little girl's birthday card, and so when I was thinking about her favourite things I also thought back to some of the books my kids enjoyed until not long ago. (As an aside, childrens' book illustrations are an excellent way to learn more about colouring!) Olivia the pig was a character they really enjoyed, and lo and behold, there's an Olivia book about ballet. 

Supplies: ballerina image from Tiddly Inks; Spectrum Noir markers; Wink of Stella clear glitter pen; Purple crushed velvet flock from Doodlebug; Basic Grey letter stickers; AC thickers sparkly 4; classic small oval Nesties; miscellaneous sequins and bling

The little miss this card is going to just recently had her hair cut short and loves ballerinas - so I found an image that I could give a haircut ;) Since she's brand new to my (enormous) stash of Tiddly Inks I'm popping this in over at Open-Minded Crafting Fun  for their first monthly challenge, Try Something New. 

The SOS DT made sure to share which book inspired our creations - make sure you do in your post too! 

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

Chana

And you have until Monday February 1 to come play!

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #336 - Debbie Foster!

Good morning sketchers! This week at Tuesday Morning Sketches our own Debbie is the sponsor - head over to the main blog for a peek at the adorable prize up for grabs! She has also chosen her favourite 2015 sketch for the challenge this week:

Supplies: papers from American Crafts; Memory Box leaf frond die; resin flower from Recollections

This is a perfect sketch to use up some of the bits & bobs of patterned paper we all hoard save :)

This challenge will be open until next Sunday, January 31 - hop on over & see what the rest of the team has made! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris

Melissa 

xoxo,

Jessi

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - T is for -

Technique! Pick your favourite, try a new one, it's all good with the Sisterhood :) I really honestly intended to pick a new technique, but spending most of my time not able to sit at the desk is really sucking. (I can't remember if I mentioned it on my blog, but I fell & managed to get whiplash. My shoulder is in a lot of pain and I'm not too functional at the moment). SO I went with my latest favourite technique, ink dipping, and some quilling :)

Supplies: Distress inks in Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon, Twisted Citron; May Arts sheer ribbon; quilling paper, bling, stick pins, seam binding from stash

Go see what the Sistahs made, and then make your own & link up!  You have until Friday, February 5 to play along. 

Barb

Chris

Donna 

Karen 

Lee

Lindsey

Lynne 

Michelle

Don't forget to leave some love for this week's guest designer,

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #235 - 3-2-1!

Welcome back to Shopping our Stash! We've got a fun mini-recipe challenge for you this week - use 3-2-1. If you haven't played before, make sure you check out the design team to see how it's done. This is one of my favourite types of challenges because it's so broad in how you can interpret it. For my card, I used

3 stamps

2 patterned papers

1 wood veneer embellishment

Supplies: Stamps from Paper Smooches; Memento Tuxedo Black & Gray Flannel ink; Basic Grey papers; Spectrum Noir markers; cat veneer piece from Lindsey :)

The DT made sure to share how each of us interpreted the recipe - make sure you do in your post too! 

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

Chana

And you have until Monday January 25 to come play!

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #335 - Jennifer Tomasic Sinsley, CTMH Demo!

Good morning! Glad to have you back to play with us at Tuesday Morning Sketches! This week we're sponsored by  Jennifer Tomasic Sinsley, a Close to My Heart demo - and there's a fab stamp set up for grabs for the lucky random winner! We're playing with Melissa's favourite sketch from 2015 this week:

Supplies: stamps from Lil Inker Designs; Spectrum Noir markers; Wink of Stella clear glitter pen; paper from Authentique; classic small circle Nesties; googly eyes; bling strips and washi from stash

Here's the sketch:

This challenge will be open until next Sunday, January 24 - hop on over & see what the rest of the team has made! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris

Melissa 

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #234 - Something New!

This week at Shopping our Stash we want to see you break open some of your new stuff - hopefully Santa knows you're crafty ;) You've already seen the products I'm about to show you BUT I did make this card first - using my new Distress Ink colours, Mermaid Lagoon, Twisted Citron, and Wilted Violet:

Supplies: Distress inks in Mermaid Lagoon, Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet; stamps from Waltzingmouse; Versamark and white EP

My first play with these inks was to try them together with Becca's dipping technique - ooooooooh they are gorgeous together! I amped up the splashy factor with splat stamps and then embossed the sentiment - as you can see, I didn't wait quite long enough after stamping the purple paint strokes, but I kinda like the excess embossing powder there. Happy accident. 

So what's your newest stash? Get ready to play with it - and check out my teammates for some more inspiration:

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

Chana

And you have until Monday January 18 to come play!

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #334 - Stitchy Bear!

Like I mentioned yesterday, I need to stock up on other kinds of cards now that Christmas is finished - so both my posts today have thank you cards :) We're revisiting the design team's favourite sketches of 2015 over at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and this week is Jenee's pick. We also have Stitchy Bear returning as our generous sponsor.

Supplies: unknown image & text stamps; Thanks sentiment from Lil Inkers; Nesties label die; Doodlebug paper; watercoloured using distress inks: Mermaid Lagoon, Twisted Citron, Ripe Persimmon, Mowed Lawn, Festive Berries; Versamark & clear EP

Here's the sketch:

This challenge will be open until next Sunday, January 17 - hop on over & see what the rest of the team has made! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris

Melissa 

xoxo,

Jessi

Thank You Butterfly

Now that the Christmas rush is over, time to start stocking up the other card categories - I was down to a single thank you card. Conveniently little red wagon is hosting a thank you challenge this week!

Supplies: butterfly stamp from Gina K; sentiment from PTI; Sizzix embossing folder; Tim Holtz stencil; May Arts twine; Versamark & black detail EP; Distress Inks in Mermaid Lagoon, Twisted Citron, and Wilted Violet

I began by embossing the butterfly on watercolour paper and painting it with distress inks. After stamping the sentiment I wanted a little something else for the background, so I sponged Twisted Citron ink using the bubbles stencil. I didn't mask the butterfly but rather just sponged lightly towards the middle of the panel. Having the time to just play and create again is awesome :)

If you'd also like to enter the little red wagon challenge the details can be found here. 

xoxo,

Jessi