A Cat on a Scooter? Why not.

Emily on the Paper Smooches DT shared a project a while ago with Chubby Chums riding Spiffy Scooters, and I cannot find it - but that was my starting off point for this card!

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps: Chubby Chums, Spiffy Scooters, Nine Lives; Spectrum Noir markers; Wink of Stella clear glitter pen; Memento Tuxedo Black & Gray Flannel inks; Tumbled Glass distress ink; Wplus9 banner die; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

The cat's eyes and the scooter are coated with Dimensional Magic for shine (the scooter's lights were coloured with Wink of Stella first for glitter & shine). The little puffs from the scooter are stamped with Tumbled Glass & the edges of the panel sponged with it as well. The scooter sentiment says "scooting by to say hi," but I wanted to make this a birthday card, so I used washi tape to mask off the 'hi' while inking the sentiment. And then while flipping through my PS sentiments for Happy Birthday I saw this...double pun? Oh yaaaaaah baby!  

I may have giggled to myself a few times while making this...I had fun :)
I'm entering over at Paper Smooches SPARKS for Anything Goes week one, and Simon Says Stamp's Anything Goes. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Cute & Cuddly!

So this week I was addicted to making baby cards. Lots and lots of baby cards, and lots and lots of buttons. I find it therapeutic to do the repetitive sewing. When I saw Vicki's challenge this week for Flashback Friday was BABY stuff, I pulled out some stash & went to it.

Supplies: PTI stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Spectrum Noir markers; Stampin Up paper; Corner Chomper; classic small circle Nesties; buttons 

I had a piece of off-white paper sitting on my desk - no idea what manufacturer - and decided to use that for the image panel. The colouring turned out mottled & textured and made the bear look furry, almost like I know what I'm doing! The buttons are a recent gift from a crafty friend who knew I have had a heck of a time finding green buttons in any amount. All the other stuff has been kicking around for at least 2 years, especially that paper. I pull it out & then put it away again, and I think this might be the first time that bear has made it onto a card. 

Since a bear is a critter, I'm also entering over at Simon Says All Creatures Great & Small.

On to the therapeutic side of things - this has been a tough week. Riley was diagnosed with depression in December (which we knew was coming). Unfortunately the meds weren't working, so on Tuesday the psychiatrist changed his med regime and I kept him home all week to keep an eye on him. So far it's not worse but it's not better yet either. I realized Friday that it's been two years since one or the other of my kids has been depressed and/or suicidal. Add that to the obsessive nature of autism and I am just.so.tired.

Abby cut her foot a month ago - necessitating an emergency vet trip, pain meds, and complete rest for a week. And then last week she reinjured the same foot, which seemed to be healing well UNTIL Thursday morning she didn't wake up with me (which is very weird) and when I went to check on her, her foot was swollen and obviously infected. Another emergency vet trip, antibiotics for minimum three weeks, and pain meds. 

And I'm diabetic - and my sugars have been crazy for months, despite med adjustments. So last Tuesday I thought to myself gee, my toe hurts - and lo and behold, with no injury, a blister had formed under the nail pushing the nail nearly all the way off. And it's not healing. So I predict antibiotics are in my future as well, when I finally get in to see the doctor tomorrow. 

Add in the snowstorm we just got that has left 5-7 foot drifts by my back door, and I am so ready to scream UNCLE I can't even tell ya. Thank goodness for crafty things, good friends, and the Internet for bringing me distractions and support! If you made it through all that, thank you :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Candy Cane Mouse!

The challenge to use Candy Canes for this week's Merry Monday gave me my idea right away, it just took me the whole week to actually get around to it!

Supplies: Candy Cane Mouse digi from Bugaboo; Spectrum Noir markers; Hero Arts sentiment; Diamond Stickles; AC papers; Festive Berries distress ink; red rhinestones

Cute & simple! This is also perfect for the Simon Says All Creatures Great & Small challenge. 

xoxo,

Jessi

My World is Brighter

I'd pulled this stamp out with my Valentines stuff weeks ago and then it got buried underneath all that stuff. *koff need to clean my desk koff* I didn't really have a plan in mind other than wanting something bright, and I think I did it!

Supplies: Studio G sentiment; Memory Box sunburst stencil; Distress inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, and Spiced Marmalade; Versamark & clear EP

I inked the sentiment in Versamark & then the Spiced Marmalade ink to be able to emboss it. I then tore a piece of paper to act as a mask before applying the stencil & blending the inks. Finally I sponged the edges of the panel with Mustard Seed to help make it pop.

I had three challenges in mind while creating:

CASology - HOT

Simon Says Stamp - All Things Bright & Beautiful 

Open-Minded Crafting Fun - NO pink and NO red

xoxo,

Jessi

Flashback Flowers!

Squeaking in at the last minute for Vicki's Flashback Friday - Flowers challenge! I pulled out some of my oldest stamps to play and then kept making cards that didn't use the flowers. (DOH) Since I got lots of inks out I'm also popping it in at STAMPlorations January Challenge (stamps & ink) and the Simon Says Anything Goes challenge. 

Supplies: floral stamps from Basic Grey; sentiment from Stampendous; Distress inks in Picked Raspberry, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean; Versamark; Stampendous black detail EP; black rhinestones

And you can see pretty clearly why this stamp set isn't pulled out often...distress inks are my go-to and these stamps just don't ink particularly well with them despite all the conditioning tips & tricks. I think this set has been kicking around for 4 or 5 years? 

 STAMPlorations January Challenge

Simon Says Anything Goes

Stamp Smiles (Vicki) - Got Flowers?

xoxo,

Jessi

Best Farter Ever!

A thought I'd never had before yesterday - I need to make more fart cards. When I saw Torico's card for the latest Naughty or Nice challenge I had "farter" stuck in my head while I was working on Father's Day cards. I finally managed to gel my idea yesterday morning, and I LOVE IT and everybody here thought it was hilarious :)

Supplies: star paper from Simple Stories; 'Farter' AC Thickers; 'best ever' Memory Box alpha die; 'poot' and 'ew!' Kaisercraft mini alphas; Paper Smooches cloud dies

My absolute favourite part? POOT.

I may blame it on living in a house full of boys, but I always, always laugh at fart jokes. 

Life's short. Eat beans!

(I'm also popping this in at Simon Says masculine challenge...because of COURSE farts are a boy thing! lol)

xoxo,

Jessi

Father's Day Brainnnnnsssss

I've got a quick Father's Day card to share that I just love - this Whimsie Doodles zombie is one of my very favourite ever images.

Supplies: Whimsie Doodles digi; Jillibean Soup alpha stickers; Amy R stamps (Father sentiments); Antique Linen distress ink; Bic markers; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

I used a variety of sentiments from the Amy R set to create a tone-on-tone background on the kraft - if you click to see full size it's a bit easier to read those. Some Dimensional Magic one the eyes, brain, and arm bone, and some smudges of 'dirt' on the shirt, and our zombie is ready!

Popping this in over at Simon Says Wednesday Father's Day/Masculine challenge.

xoxo,

Jessi

Mother's Day buttons!

Did you know that the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers have a Mother's Day challenge running until Friday? If you're like me & still haven't posted all your Mother's Day cards, you should enter :) I'm also entering these two cards in the following challenges:

The Pink Elephant - Mother's Day
Simon Says Spring Flowers
Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes

Supplies: flower stamps from Basic Grey; classic small oval Nesties; sentiment from PTI; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Wplus9 banner dies; buttons & ribbon from stash; Distress inks in  Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord, Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade

Supplies: paper from Basic Grey; classic small oval Nesties; rose from Stampin'Up; sentiment from Paper Smooches; Distress inks in Bundled Sage & Spiced Marmalade, ribbon & buttons from stash

Whenever I decide on sewing buttons on in a pattern, I think of Lindsey :) Unfortunately on the second card I ran out of the lighter coloured orange buttons ;)

xoxo,

Jessi

Mother's Day Leftovers

Another one for Simon Says Wednesday Challenge to use Spring Flowers - and also for the Love Those Leftovers challenge at Our Creative Corner. Every item (except the gems) was scavenged from my pile of 'oh, nope, that doesn't work on this card' stuff!

Supplies: Daisies stamp from Flourishes; sentiment from PTI; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Purple Twilight Adirondack ink; yellow glitter fabric paint

The shimmery green/blue/purple piece has been sitting on my desk for months, as had the piece of vellum. I had tried to use the vellum on a Christmas card, but the sentiment didn't show up well enough - and  the ink smeared when I tried to wipe it off, so I knew I'd have to use it on something where I could cover it up. The daisy panel was stamped this way because I was planning on cutting out the three full daisies to pop them up on another card, and decided against it. The blue fabric peeking out was a similar thing - I thought melting it would produce a better match than it did. 

I could probably make another dozen cards with just leftovers...I should probably clean up my desk :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Doodle Pantry Lily

Here's my entry for the current Doodle Pantry challenge and the Spring Flowers challenge at Simon Says Wednesday challenge!

Supplies: Doodle Pantry digi stamp lily; Bic markers; PTI sentiment; Barn Door distress ink; crochet mat; yellow crushed velvet flock from Doodlebug; red rhinestones

I printed out two copies of the lily so that I could pop up the blooms after colouring. I also added some flocking for pollen, lol. Lilies are actually one of my worst allergies, but I do love how they look. From a distance!

xoxo,

Jessi

Playing with Easter Stencils

I still can't figure out how Blogger is making my photos look better than they do on the computer, but I will TAKE IT! While I was in Vancouver I bought some embossing paste & a couple of stencils to try out, and I am loving the messy fun! Now to branch out & try something other than just paste on paper :)

Supplies: Tim Holtz stencil; Dreamweaver embossing paste; Doodlebug stickers; American Crafts card stock; classic small oval Nesties

This was my very first stenciled background, so I trimmed along the edges whimsically to feature the parts of it I liked ;) To create the little scene, I cut out two partial green ovals and freehand cut some hills - the top one is popped up on foam tape so that the chick & bunny could be tucked behind. 

This is perfect for the current Simon Says Stamp challenge to make Easter cards! And now back to my regularly scheduled (ha!) cleaning of the bathroom. I shared this on Facebook but in case you missed it, you might get a chuckle:

Connor: MOMmmmmm, can you come dry Mimi off? She's soaked!
Me: I'm cleaning the toilet right now
Connor: But she's really wet!
Me: OK, you come clean the toilet & I'll dry her off
Connor: ummmmmm....cleaning bathrooms is really not my speciality (exactly how he pronounced it, lol). I'll dry the dog.

Ah, kids are fun. Sometimes ;)

xoxo,

Jessi

'tis the season

This is probably one of the easiest cards I made this year, and I LOVE IT! 

Supplies: paper from simple stories; poinsettia die cut from K & Co; 'tis the season sticker from SRM; rhinestone strip from Dollarama

I bought two packages of these great SRM stickers (on sale! Woot!) and have only used about half of one of them. Such a great buy :)

I'm entering this in two challenges:
little red wagon - anything Christmas
Simon Says - BLING it on!

And now I'm going to go break out some new crafty goodies & play at my desk for a bit!

xoxo,
Jessi

Deck the Halls!

More Christmas cards! I know :) Just a few, I promise. I won this sweet little stamp from Crafty Creations Challenges & it arrived just before Christmas, and I just had to ink it up & colour it.

Supplies: stamps from Whiff of Joy; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Sakura Stardust clear glitter pen; Ranger white enamel; Picket Fence distress stickles

Very simple layout with the large stamp - I just used some grey paper for a border. After colouring, I added glitter pen, stickles, and enamel - I've covered the snow splotches in the stamp with enamel & then added more for extra snow.

I hope that everyone had a merry Christmas, if you celebrate it - we had a gloriously relaxed Christmas, including a big dinner in our pajamas. We're buried under what feels like a ton of snow & ice - in the last two weeks we've had about a metre of snowfall, plus a two day long ice storm. We've been incredibly fortunate in that we only lost power for a few hours a couple of times (I know many in the same storm have been without power for days). 

I'm entering this in three challenges:

little red wagon - anything Christmas

Crafty Creations Challenges - anything goes

Simon Says - BLING it on

xoxo,

Jessi

Make your own Background

Since Chris asked so nicely, I will put together a tutorial for this background technique...but it's going to take me a few days :) I absolutely LOVE how this card turned out!

Supplies: Flourishes stamps; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Labels 5 Nesties; Studio G clear glitter glue; Stampendous fun flock; Yellow Daisy & Pearl glimmer mists (Tattered Angels); distress inks in: Squeezed Lemonade, Spun Sugar, Salty Ocean; Cuttlebug embossing folder

This was intended to be a piece of 'faux patina', but when I was done with the inking I decided I liked it as is. I inked the 'wrong' side of the embossing folder with Salty Ocean ink, and then after embossing sponged it with more Salty Ocean, Squeezed Lemonade, and Spun Sugar inks. I then sprayed it with the two glimmer mists. I really like how the mists help the inks blend even more. After colouring the image & die-cutting it, I painted the glitter glue onto the fairy's wings, and added Fun Flock for the dandelion fluff. 

Popping this in for the "Make Your Own Background" challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge!

xoxo,

Jessi

Purple Trees

This tree stamp is quite likely my most-used image at Christmastime - it just makes for such a simple elegant card! Although the final design is clean & simple, there was a lot of inky mess making them.

Supplies: Stampin' Up tree stamp; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Distress inks: Dusty Concord, Salty Ocean, Shaded Lilac; lilac chalkboard glimmer mist from Tattered Angels; Shimmer mist from Tsukineko; sentiment from Stampendous

The panels were made by first punching 1" circles from Post-its, and sponging the various distress inks. Then the panels were laid out & sprayed VERY liberally with the mists - see how super sparkly? Love it :) When they were dry, I peeled off the post-it circles & gave them a quick blast of hairspray. The glimmer mist tends to come off all over everything otherwise. A light coating of hairspray seals them - the sparkle will still rub off if you pet the card, but not nearly as much. The trees were then stamped in grey, and stamped again without re-inking. The panels were trimmed to size, adhered to the card bases, and the sentiment stamped last. (and yes, I held my breath on every one!)

I'm popping this card set in for several challenges:

CAS on Sunday - Winter Theme - ending December 6
Paper Playtime - Anything Goes - ending December 6
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes - ending December 3

xoxo,
Jessi

Thank you!

One of these days (ha, stop laughing!) I'm going to organize myself so that I don't binge-post. Not really. But it's nice to think that someday I might be that sorted out.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American pals - I hope you're all having a wonderful day enjoying your holiday traditions with the folks you love!

I've got a thank you card to share first today - this time of year I tend to create ALL THE CHRISTMAS CARDS ALL THE TIME and neglect my stash for other occasions...so this week I've been working hard on making everything BUT Christmas cards. (insert whine here...I just want to play with snowmen!)

Supplies: paper from Fancy Pants; Tumbled Glass distress ink; Versamark & clear EP; Stampendous sentiment; pearl strips from Dollarama; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crochet mat

Entering this in a couple of Thank You themed challenges:

Andrea's Savvy Handmade Cards - until December 3
Crafty Creations Challenges - until December 3

Be right back (naturally) with some more cards :)
xoxo,
Jessi

Heather's Sketch at Simon Says Stamp

I had a request to make a pink/fuchsia card for a sweet 9 year old granddaughter, and the sketch from Simon Says Stamp's challenge this week was a perfect starting point.

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Colorbok glitter papers; Raisin Boat peacock stamp; Bic Markers; White Sharpie; AC Thickers; rhinestones from Dollarama

Here's the sketch:

The banners were handtrimmed by marking the centre of the strips on the back, since they were wider than any of my banner dies or my square punch. The glittery 9 is perfect in the place of that banner element in the sketch!

I've been lucky enough to make cards for this little girl since she was a baby - it is really something to have the honour of doing it every year.

xoxo,
Jessi

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving Sunday in Canada, and I have a few last-minute cards for the occasion to share with you before we head off for the 2.5 hour drive to my brother-in-law's.

These two are for the CASology prompt CRISP - this time of year I'm constantly crunching on acorns when I'm out walking the dog. Luckily she doesn't try to eat them anymore - but she DOES still chase falling leaves! In addition to acorns being crisp, I stuck with a kraft & white theme because that, to me, is one of the crispest combinations there is.

Supplies: scraps of kraft patterned paper; Jane's Doodles stamps; Brushed Corduroy & Antique Linen distress inks; classic small oval Nesties; Cuttlebug embossing folder. 

My second card for CASology features a leaf - a pretty common choice for this week, looks like!

Supplies: sentiment from Jane's Doodles; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; chocolate Liquid Pearls; classic small circle Nesties; script paper from MME; leaves from a bag of awesome goodies from Barb

Something about the semi-circle of Liquid Pearls just really makes me happy with this card - that and the different shades of cream/white. Yum. I am apparently becoming even more of a CAS addict than I thought :) I'm also popping this post in over at the STAMP challenge at Simon Says - clear stamps here :)

Be right back with another definitely NOT CAS card :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Avian Sympathy

Unfortunately I need to build up my sympathy card stash, so a couple of low-key card making sessions are in my future this week.

Supplies: kraft cardstock; stamps from PTI; Brushed Corduroy distress ink; Paper Smooches kraft twine; scrap of HOTP printed vellum

Not really much to describe here - I just stamped directly on the kraft layer, and added a stamped piece of kraft over where I attached the vellum, to hide the adhesive, tied the bow, and ta-da. 

Popping this is in at The Kraft Journal - Buttons, Bows, or Bangles and 

Simon Says Stamp: Use a rubber/clear stamp

xoxo,

Jessi

Moxie Smooches!

So I was digging around in my "oh god where am I going to put this stuff?" box (it's a big box....) and found not only this package of Martha Stewart envelopes BUT this package of puffy heart stickers...and voila:

Supplies: Paper Smooches sentiment; Worn Lipstick distress ink; Martha Stewart envelope; Sticko heart stickers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; red rhinestones from Dollarama

I envision this being a hug & smooch in an envelope - the kind of mail that you open & feel loved :)

Adding this to the Moxie Fab World Handmade Cards - Stickers & Tape challenge & the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes. 

xoxo,

Jessi