Iris Dreams birthday card

I had so much fun making this card - I just love colouring these Sweet Pea fairy images. I've combined 3 challenges for this card - the Little Red Wagon Seeing Spots challenge,  the Open-Minded Crafting Fun challenge to use ribbon,  and the Seize the Birthday - May Flowers challenge.

Supplies: Sweet Pea digi stamp "Iris Dreams;" Spectrum Noir and Bic markers; Martha Stewart crystal glitter; Cuttlebug tag die; Annabelle Stamps sentiment; May Arts ribbon; Distress inks in Seedless Preserves, Broken China, Dusty Concord, Tumbled Glass; Tattered Angels glimmer mists in Chalkboard Lilac & Blue Skies; Versamark; Sapphire EP; Sakura Stardust clear glitter pen; Sharpie white paint pen

I printed out two copies of the image so that I could pop up the flowers (and one arm). Once I'd coloured everything but her hair I asked Connor what colour her hair should be, and he chose blue. After colouring I added glitter to the flower centres & her hair. A smidge of glitter pen on her eyes, and ta-da! The background was made with the faux-faux patina technique. The ribbon was heated with my heat gun to melt & warp it a little, which also stiffens it & helps it hold its shape. (As a side note, isn't it funny how we tend to use the same techniques over & over in little bursts? I think 90% of my ribbon has been melted lately!)

xoxo,

Jessi

Monochromatic at Seize the Birthday

I'm getting ready to send a big bunch of cards out to my awesome sister, and so while I've been making cards the last few weeks I've been making doubles of some. This is one of my 'doubles' - little differences, so I don't get bored :) They're perfect for playing along with the gals at Seize the Birthday, with the topping option of Monochromatic.

Supplies: image stamp from Paper Smooches; sentiment from Flourishes; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Purple Twilight Adirondack ink; paper from Memory Box; Bic Markers; Timeless Twine; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (OF COURSE)

Supplies: image stamp from Paper Smooches; sentiment from Flourishes; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Purple Twilight Adirondack ink; washi tape from We R Memory Keepers; Bic Markers; Timeless Twine; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (OF COURSE)

Shiny eyes, noses, teeth, and balloon. Happy :) And I only stuck my finger in the wet gloss on one balloon, so yay me :D

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #209 - CC Designs!

Good morning! A new Tuesday Morning Sketch, and some Paper Smooches stamps, make Jessi a happy girl :) This week we're being sponsored by the awesome CC Designs again:

Supplies: Paper Smooches Party Posse; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Bic Markers; Ranger white gel pen; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Wplus9 banner die; Amy Tangerine papers; corner rounder (for scalloped edge); Timeless Twine; classic small circle Nesties; googly eye

Every time I use this little turtle, I *have* to gloss up his shell & toenails. I was also inspired to try getting him all speckly by Pamela Ho's card for the PS SPARKS Ocean Challenge a few weeks ago. My white gel pen wasn't particularly up to cooperating, but I do like how it turned out. Different!

This one is for Tuesday Morning Sketches PLUS the Seize the Birthday 'anything goes' challenge & the Moxie Fab World "birthday card" challenge. I definitely make more birthday cards than anything else!

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, July 28th.

Don't forget to visit the rest of my teamies!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Laura

Melissa

For once I'm not live-blogging early in the morning - we're off to Miramichi for a visit with Grammie. It's going to be a busy week!

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Paper Players!

It's my first time playing over at The Paper Players - I had printed out their last several challenges & didn't make it in time. I LOVE tic-tac-toe style challenges, so it was just a matter of narrowing down what I wanted to do. I've used the sketch from Seize the Birthday #20 as well.

Supplies: papers from Sassafras 'wee bundle;' Paper Smooches stamps (sentiment & leaves); Peeled Paint & Shabby Shutters distress inks; Memory Box leaf die; felt banner & ribbons from stash; Corner Chomper

The card base & circle were rescued from another project that went in a different direction - the sentiment is from one of my new-to-me Paper Smooches sets that I picked up from Barb's crafty sale. I should really just stamp it on every birthday card I send, because I am never on time ;)

Here's the tic-tac-toe grid from The Paper Players - I've played the third row down, birthday-yellow-ribbon. 

And here's the sketch from Seize the Birthday #20:

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Birthday #18 - sorta....

So, we got a new printer, right? I'm back to printing out copies of sketches rather than hastily (badly) drawing them on scratch paper. One perhaps might think that that would mean a more faithful rendition of a sketch. One would be incorrect. Here are 2 cards that I made for the current Seize the Birthday challenge - both of which really TRIED to use the sketch. Truly, honestly, they did.

Supplies: image from Stamp Fairy - Barry Balloons; Bic markers; balloon paper from Bo Bunny (dotted paper unknown); My Favorite Things stacking stars die; classic small Oval Nesties; Stampendous Fun Flock; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic 

Fuzzy body, shiny nose & balloons. Cuteness! Alas, not the sketch. It does have stars, though.

This one doesn't even have stars! Sheesh. I was thinking 'two of the same shape in a different size.' Except I printed out the image & sentiment bigger than ideal for the concept...sigh.

Supplies: Dino digi image - unknown; Bic & Spectrum noir markers; sentiment from Pink Cat Studio; papers from MME and Bo Bunny; Labels 4 Nesties....

Again, the sketch:

We had such a fun & fabulous weekend - and I have SO MUCH TO DO and so much DONE to show you! It's a really great feeling :) Be right back with something that I am bursting to share :)

xoxo,

Jessi

10 minute Seize the Birthday dash!

As part of my mad dash of challenges (yep, I still haven't shared them all!) I decided to combine the current 10 Minute Craft Dash with the sketch from Seize the Birthday. I thought that would make it easier to complete my card in 10 minutes...but here's the thing. Usually I would glance at the clock at the beginning & end of creating, but I figured out how to use the stopwatch on my MP3 player. I didn't even know it had such a thing! (I didn't know it had a 'record' function either...there is a 6.5 hour recording with about 30 minutes of chatter, and hours of my husband snoring. lol!) Having the stopwatch going in my line of sight? I dropped everything I picked up. I'm putting it somewhere else next time!

Supplies: yellow paper from Stampin' Up; green from MME; velvet ribbon from Webster's Pages; sentiment from Annabelle Stamps; floral & butterfly stamps from Inkadinkado; Gray Flannel Memento ink; Mustard Seed, Bundled Sage, & Milled Lavender distress inks; brads from stash

Although I had all my supplies set out before the timer started, I forgot about the two circular elements of the sketch until the rest of the card was assembled. And, I mis-applied the foam adhesive so that part of the panel is bulgy. Gah. But it was less than 10 minutes, darn it. I can try again :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Seize the Birthday 16 - Doing it RIGHT this time :)

It feels odd to have been quiet over the weekend - I am still scraping myself around after the creative blitz prior to Mother's Day. I have a whole bunch to share, though, so hold on to your hats & prepare for a bunch of posts :)
Although I already created a Mother's Day card with this sketch, I wanted to play along properly too with a birthday card. Seize the Birthday #16 is open until Tuesday at noon:

Supplies: papers from Ruby Rock-it; May Arts jute ribbon; Spellbinders butterfly; Mrs. Grossman's sentiment sticker

 

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Mother's Day?

So the idea behind the sketch blog "Seize the Birthday" is to increase our stash of birthday cards...but when I was sitting at my desk, this Mother's Day card came to play with their sketch :) I really, really love how bright & cheerful it is:

Supplies: papers from Echo Park; trim from Webster's Pages; AC Thickers; classic small circle Nesties

The 'measuring tape' paper is a little snippet from a patterned piece. The circle panel is popped up on a double layer of foam tape for dimension. I'm not even sure how I'm going to post all the Mother's Day cards I've been working on - last week was incredibly productive!

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Birthday #11 - Masculine Birthday

This marks the first time I've managed to play along during the masculine sketch challenge at Seize the Birthday - woot!

Supplies: papers from little yellow bicycle; Timeless Twine; digi image & sentiment from Clear Dollar Stamps; classic small oval Nesties

How I love a really bad pun :) I printed out 2 copies of the digital saw, and fussy-cut & layered one for a bit of dimension. Here's the sketch:




xoxo,
Jessi

Seize the Birthday #11

Yesterday morning was a super productive crafty time for me - I am stoked that I've got all sorts of fun stuff to share this week :) Starting with (I think) the first sketch card I've made in weeks - this one for Seize the Birthday #11:

Supplies: Basic Grey rub-ons (floral patterns); EAD Designs rub-on sentiment; black & white cardstocks; black rhinestone strips from Dollarama

One of those crazy cards that just sort of made itself. I love it when that happens!

Here's the sketch - open until Tuesday if you'd like to play along with your feminine birthday card (next week is the masculine challenge if you're thinking ahead!):

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Birthday #7

I don't know why I haven't managed to play along with the masculine version of the Seize the Birthday sketches yet, but I just haven't! Here's another girly one for you:

Supplies: papers from MME Reunion; Webster's Pages trim; Sizzix Labels die; Mrs. Grossman's sticker sentiment

I found this package of mixed birthday sentiments again - it came with three sheets, and got lost in the chaos of my desktop. I do love the convenience of a nice-quality clear sticker :)

Here's the sketch:

The linky is open until noon on Tuesday.

xoxo,

Jessi

Seize the Birthday #3 - Feminine

I don't know what it is about this peacock stamp that has me pulling out crepe paper, but every single time I use it I do. I had a bit of a fiddly time thinking of what to use for the heart elements in the sketch at Seize the Birthday, but once I knew what I wanted to use - and I love how it turned out. Super fun & feminine!

Supplies: patterned paper from Basic Grey "Piccadilly;" stamp & sentiment from Raisin Boat; Palette Noir ink; Martha Stewart markers, Peacock Feathers distress ink (natch!); Picket Fence distress marker; Sakura Stardust gelly roll pen; 1/2" square punch (for banner notch); buttons from Basic Grey; ribbon from May Arts

A little touch of glitter in the centre of those beautiful feathers! 

And here's the sketch - the linky will be open until Tuesday at noon:

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #85 - Suits ME to a T!

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

This week at Shopping our Stash we want you to dig into your stash and use at least 2 items that begin with the letter T: tag, tape, twine, trees, tinsel, tattered angels products, tin foil, tin cans, trim, tea bag, tea cup, tomahawk, tangerine, tigers, turtle,  etc.  Be sure to list what they are in your post!

I was all full of ideas until I sat down. ACK! And then, I spied this little turtle, and it went from there.

Supplies: turtle & butterfly stickers from Penny Black; grass die cut from (I think) K&Co; label, tag, and papers from Kaisercraft; Timeless Twine; polka-dot embossing folder from Cuttlebug. 

I've also used the sketch from Seize the Birthday's first challenge, with the feminine twist (linky open until noon today!):

This Shopping our Stash challenge is open until Monday January 21st.  Don't forget to check out what everyone else has been up to!

• Carla
• Leslie
• Alica
• Deena
• Paige
• Lauren
• Linda
• Michelle
• Sandie
• xoxo,
• Jessi

Seize the Birthday Linky Party!

 Seize the Birthday? Now here's a challenge I think I'll be playing along with often! Birthday cards are by far the most popular, and I am always running short (especially of masculine ones, which is what makes the concept of this challenge so appealing). The first linky party is open until tomorrow, the 18th!

I have an extra-girly card to share with you - although of course the female peacock is not the one with the glorious plumage...let's just ignore that little factoid, shall we? okthanks.

Supplies: stamps from Raisin Boat; Palette Noir ink; paper from Bo Bunny; crepe paper from Dollarama; Peacock Feathers distress ink (how could I not? lol); Picket Fence distress marker for highlights; Martha Stewart markers for beak & green feathers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen

I LOVE this image, and this sentiment. Too often we equate aging with a fading of beauty, and I don't believe that is true. Every wrinkle and grey hair is an experience lived, earned, and survived, and if surviving isn't beauty? I don't know what is. 

xoxo,

Jessi