Tuesday Morning Sketches #319 - Sami Stamps!

We have a lovely simple sketch by Debbie this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and returning is a wonderful sponsor - Sami Stamps! You'll love her whimsical designs - and the design team was fortunate enough to get to play with them!

Supplies: Sunflower Kitty from Sami Stamps; Spectrum Noir markers; sentiment from MFT; Brushed Corduroy distress ink; MME papers; Nesties label die

Here's the sketch:

This challenge will be open until next Sunday, September 27 - hop on over & see what the rest of the team has made! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris

Melissa 

Nina

xoxo,

Jessi

Catch the Bug - Photo Inspiration!

There's an inspiration photo for the challenge this week at Catch the Bug, and it's especially perfect with Thanksgiving coming up in the US!

GET IN MA BELLY!

As soon as I saw the turkey, well, I knew I had to get Stella out to play.

Supplies: Stella-Turkey from Bugaboo stamps; Spectrum Noir markers; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Wink of Stella clear glitter pen

I printed out two copies of the image so that I could pop up some of the elements, sparkled Stella's earrings, and coated the earrings, bowl, and glasses with Dimensional Magic. 

The rules are simple: Create a photo inspired project and post a link to it on Bugaboo Stamps  challenge blog, Catch the Bug,  by 11/29/14 at  6:00 AM EST to be entered a random drawing for three digi prize packs –ten ( 10) (using Bugaboo only) seven (7) or four (4), using any image! 

Make sure you head over to see what the other designers have come up with!

xoxo,

Jessi

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a couple of Thanksgiving themed cards for you & thought I would combine them in this post. I'm entering both of these in the little red wagon (Giving Thanks) & Naughty or Nice challenges (Give Thanks). This first one is a cutie-patootie and I'm entering it at The Kraft Journal as well (no patterned paper).

Supplies: House Mouse sticker; sentiment from Jane's Doodles; Brushed Corduroy distress ink; kraft & white cardstock

This one is definitely different! There's a Design Team Call at Naughty or Nice, and BEING NAUGHTY IS SO MUCH FUN! 

This second card I'm popping in at 

little red wagon

The Stamping Chef #50

and of course, Naughty or Nice

Supplies: digi image from The Stamping Chef; sentiment done on computer; Spectrum Noir markers; patterned paper from MME; banner die from WPlus9

Tamara's images at The Stamping Chef are MADE for your cheeky side :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #172 - It's the Most Colourful Time of the Year!

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

It's definitely getting into autumn in the northern hemisphere - in fact, the furnace is warming my feet right now as I'm typing! In honour of the season, we at Shopping our Stash want to see you use those fabulous autumn colours in  your projects this week - red, orange, gold, yellow, brown!

Supplies: pumpkin bouquet stamp from DRS Designs; sentiment & leaves from Jane's Doodles; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Brushed Corduroy, Fired Brick; Wild Honey, Antique Linen distress inks; Spectrum Noir markers; various colours of Stickles; classic small circle Nesties

I stamped the pumpkin bouquet twice to be able to pop up the bouquet portion. Pretty straightforward card :)

Ready to create?  Join us before next Monday, October 13th!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

 Chana

Barb

xoxo,

Jessi

Give Thanks!

**Don't forget about the Snarky Stampers/Rubber Dance blog hop!**

I haven't played along at The Kraft Journal in a while, and I love this week's sketch! I decided to make another Thanksgiving card, since Canadian Thanksgiving is just a couple of weeks away. I'm also entering this card at Little Red Wagon's Fall challenge. 

I was inspired by my Snarky Sister (and Evil DoubleMint Twin) Chris, who shared a card here using pencil crayons on kraft. I haven't done that in ages, so I dusted off my Prismas and got busy. 

Supplies: Stamps from The Craft's Meow; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Prismacolor pencils; Lily bee papers; Claudine Hellmuth orange paint; classic small circle Nesties; buttons & green rhinestones from Dollarama

See that horizontal strip? That was a whoopsie. I'd dotted it with orange paint, and then when I set it aside to dry, stuck my big ol' thumb in the wet paint. AUGH. Luckily I noticed right away, so I went back to the drawing board & used a toothpick to make it look more like I meant to do that. Once it was dry, it seemed to need a little extra something, so I added the gems. Opportunities for embellishment, people, not mistakes ;) 

Here's the sketch:

xoxo,

Jessi

Thankgiving Mum

So this digi mum has been printed out & in my stash since last year....and I forgot about it until yesterday. I do love making cards for the very last second, though :) It's not like they go bad if they don't get used until next year!

Supplies: digi mum image from Graphics Fairy; patterned paper from MME; kraft die cut & natural twine in a bag of goodies from Barb; Cuttlebug embossing folder; buttons from stash; Tonic edge distresser

After running the edge distresser around the printed piece, I then gently folded up the edges to rough them up a bit more, and then mounted it with foam tape. 

little red wagon is having a Thanksgiving challenge this week, and Papercraft Star's inspiration photo  with orange flowers & straw had me remembering this image & reaching for the kraft paper! 

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

A last kick at the can...

...for the All That Glitters is Gold challenge at Moxie Fab World, which ends tonight. I've done another "Faux Patina" card:

Supplies: sentiment stamp from Jane's Doodles; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Stampendous Pirate Gold EP; Versamark; Distress inks in Brushed Corduroy, Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, and Spiced Marmalade; sheer orange fabric

The embossing folder was inked with Brushed Corduroy, and then I used it to emboss the white paper. After applying the other colours, and letting it dry, I swiped my 'dirty' Versamark pad over the top, sprinkled on the embossing powder (knocking off a lot) and heated. (My dirty pad is the one I use when I'm double-inking stamps with Versamark & dye inks, or for techniques like this. I have a clean pad for just straight embossing.) The leaf die is one I got in a bunch of fun stuff from my Barb! 

I cut a square of the sheer fabric & frayed the edges, but it wasn't gathering the way I wanted, so I used the heat gun to get it to pucker up a bit, and secured it under the leaf with a couple of stitches. It's very hard to see in the photo but it really adds texture.

You just might see a similar card to this one in one of my posts tomorrow...just saying :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Kraft Journal Autumn Colours

When I saw the colour inspiration photo for this week's Kraft Journal challenge, I thought right away of one of my multicolour ink pads. Perfect match!

Supplies: kraft card stock; stamps from Jane's Doodles; Pumpkin Patch Kaleidacolor ink pad; Labels 4 Nesties; Prima paper leaves; brown rhinestones from Dollarama.

To be honest this isn't my favourite card I've ever made - my 'random' stamping didn't turn out quite how I wanted - but I do like how the inks blended & made the leaves look. 

Here's the photo:

Most of this week I've been working ahead on design team cards, but as usual I have some good stuff saved up for the weekend - including a really awesome pat-myself-on-the-back card for tomorrow's Drunken Stampers Challenge!

xoxo,

Jessi

Sunflowers

The inspiration photo for the current Curtain Call challenge is absolutely stunning - and as soon as I saw it I had ideas. Plans, big plans.

Supplies: paper from MME; 1/8" quilling paper

Supplies: stamps from Jane's Doodles; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Distress inks in Shabby Shutters, Spiced Marmalade, Antique Linen, and Frayed Burlap; Bic Markers; Versamark pen; clear embossing powder

The quilled flower is pretty easy - the petals are made from half-length strips, and the centre from two strips joined together & rolled tightly. I use Aleene's Tacky Glue (and a toothpick, and a light light hand with the glue).

On the second card, after colouring the sunflower I coated & embossed it so that I could stamp the leaves in the background. I like the texture this gives too :)

The challenge is open until September 30th, so lots of time to play along!

xoxo,

Jessi

Happy Thanksgiving - Tuesday Morning Sketches #212

I'm back with a second card for the current sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches - the stamps so generously provided by DRS Designs arrived while I was off (not enjoying) camping.

(Here's my previous card, also using DRS Designs stamps)

The stamps that I chose to work with this time around are Thanksgiving themed - as I've said MANY MANY times, autumn is my favourite season. No mosquitoes. It used to be for the gorgeous foliage, and the crisp air...now I just like the fact that I can go outside without DEET.

Pumpkin Bouquet

Happy Thanksgiving sentiment

Supplies: stamps from DRS Designs; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; banner die from Wplus9; classic small circle Nesties; scrap orange card stock; Timeless Twine; embossing folder from Cuttlebug; Bic markers

It was a horrific camping trip, it really was. The whole week has been fairly miserable, actually. I try not to wish time away, but this is honestly one week I am happy to see the rear end of. 

How's that for cheerful? lol. Keeping it real, folks.

 Head on over to the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog & play along before Sunday night for a chance to win a prize from DRS Designs :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Lily Pad Flowers Challenge

Knowing that more quilling paper is on its way to me has made me comfortable using up the last little bits of different colours that I was hoarding saving just in case, and since I love to quill flowers most of all, I thought that I'd enter my most recent cards into Lily Pad's Flower Challenge. It's open until April 26, so you have lots of time to link up your own floral creations - with no product restrictions, you really can't lose :)

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Oxford;"
dragonfly die cut from K&Co;
standard oval Nesties; Sakura Stardust pen;
London Fog Memento ink; Stampin' Up sentiment;
pearls & rhinestones from dollar store;
flowers quilled by me

Supplies: papers from My Mind's Eye;
Labels 4 Nesties;
London Fog Memento ink; sentiment from My Favorite Things;
Sakura Stardust pen; pearls from dollar store;
flower quilled by me

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Out of Print;"
standard circle Nesties;
Peeled Paint distress ink; Hero Arts sentiment;
pearls from dollar store;
flowers quilled by me

Supplies: papers from My Mind's Eye (from Emily!);
labels 4 Nesties; pearls from dollar store;
Carnelian pearlustre EP from Stampendous;
Versamark, Studio G sentiment;
flowers quilled by me

Supplies: Paper from Basic Grey "Sweet Threads;"
pearls, swirls, and rhinestones from dollar store;
flowers quilled by me 

Have a happy Wednesday :)
xoxo,
Jessi

Thankful for Friends!

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.  ~George MacDonald

Yesterday I planned to give thanks for friends, old and new. This week I reconnected with a truly dear friend from high school that I hadn't spoken with in a long time. Four hours' time difference, busy lives, and it's easy to let weeks slip into years. Wednesday another friend came over for dinner, and she's headed over right now for coffee & girl talk. I know that I have folks I can count on, and friends who support me, and I am a lucky person to have them. 

That doesn't mean that I don't have rough days. I try not to vent too specifically here, but you know, sometimes life really sucks. Sometimes it's hard to feel happy, and to look on the bright side. Sometimes you have to do things like dedicate a week to being thankful to remind yourself of all the wonderful things that are part of your life. And sometimes you receive something so unexpected and lovely in the mail that it makes you cry.

Created by Emily Keaton, sweetest blogger EVER

Emily's card and sweet heartfelt note inside really did make me cry. And I feel like I'm going to cry again just writing about how much it meant to me to receive it. So, instead, just thanks, Emily. It means so much to me, and has a special spot right on my desk.

Supplies: papers from We R Memory Keepers "Autumn Splendor;"
'wheat' stamp from CHF; sentiment from Anna Griffin;
Autumn Leaves Kaleidacolor ink pad;
leaves from Prima, green one inked with the autumn leaves pad;
buttons from Basic Grey & stash;
Tonic edge distresser

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Indie Bloom;"
leaf punch from Martha Stewart;
fibres from stash;
'happy' letter stickers from Basic Grey;
'thanksgiving' stamp from Anna Griffin, stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Supplies: papers from My Mind's Eye "Lost & Found 2: Sunshine;"
leaf punch from Martha Stewart;
'happy' from MFT; 'thanksgiving' from Anna Griffin;
Memento Tuxedo Black ink

xoxo,
Jessi

You make me so happy...

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Max & Whiskers;"
sentiment & puppy stamp from Inkadinkado;
Brads from Making Memories;
Palette Noir ink

"You make me so happy I could wag my tail."

Isn't that a great sentiment? Not many things look happier than a dog wagging its tail. Abby occasionally wags hers so hard that she ends up waggling her whole rear & falling over. As you might have guessed, what I am expressing thankfulness for today is my pets.

Gertie

Sophie

  

Maggie

gratuitous mitten  shot :)

Abby

I think an important element of gratitude is to remember the small things, the little pieces of life that make it worth living. Obviously I'm grateful for the big stuff, but it feels nice to remember how many things come together to be part of my life and give me joy. 

xoxo,

Jessi

ETA: I've added a "gratitude" label so that you can view all these posts in one section, if you're interested. Make sure you leave me a link if you're in the Gratitude Challenge too - button & link are up in the top right of my sidebar :)

A week of Thanks

A while back, Susan at Simplicity wrote a post about being grateful, and it resonated with me. And then, it got all official-like ;) Canadian Thanksgiving is a week from today, and I'd like to take this week to feature thanks of all kinds. First up, a Thanksgiving card:

Supplies: Papers & brads from Basic Grey "Indian Summer;"
graphic from The Graphics Fairy, printed twice & the bloom popped up;
leaf button from Dress it Up!;
Tonic edge distresser; Old Paper and Bundled Sage distress ink

I'm thankful that, this year, both of my children will actually be willing to partake in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It will be the first year that I've cooked a whole bird in what feels like forever, because with autism, it's common to have many sensory issues around food. We spent many years adapting what we all ate because really, who wants to cook 3 different meals for supper? Connor still doesn't like gravy, but I can deal with that. There have been holidays when we've just had hot dogs, because that's what the kids would eat. And beyond being grateful that they WILL eat a traditional meal, I'm grateful that we all can eat a traditional meal, and that all of us understand how lucky we are.

What are you feeling thankful for today?
xoxo,
Jessi

Give Thanks, Darnit!

It has not been a banner week around here, I've got to say. If I had to pick an overarching theme, it would be "what can go wrong, will." And then it will, again.

As only one example, the tired sad old car died. Kaput. Bought used Blazer, had it for two days, the brake line busted today.

That's it. No more venting. Instead, I want to give thanks. Thanks that my kids are healthy, and that Rob & I are still kicking. Thanks for the gorgeous weather we've had for the last few days. Thanks for the roof over our heads, food on our plates, and unconditional love from our pets.

And thanks to those of you who keep coming back - I can't even express how much it means to me that you come back to visit.

So, to go along with my thanks, some cards for Thanksgiving and autumn.

The illustrations are from a Sandra Boynton daytimer that I recycled.

Supplies are beyond my concentration level just now, but if you are wondering leave a comment & I can look it up for you.

xoxo,
Jessi

Give Thanks!

A fun trip to the museum with Riley's class this morning - I've never been to the Cumberland County Museum before, and it was definitely worth going. Perhaps next time we have visitors we should take them there! It was a rather rushed tour of only about 45 minutes or so, but to be honest, it seemed a little long for some of the kids. I'm pretty sure the one thing Riley won't forget is the tiny tale of the "Great Amherst Mystery." They have a little spooky scene set up with writing on the wall saying "You are mine to kill." I'm sure that's going to come up at bedtime tonight, and probably for a great many nights to come. For a boy who enjoyed the Haunted House at Upper Clements Park so much, Riley has suddenly become very timid about anything hinting of spookiness. Halloween will be rough this year!



Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Scarlett's Letter";
Various leaf stamps from Hero Arts;
Ink used: Versamark, Distress Ink, Colorbox Chalk;
gold tinsel embossing powder from Stampendous;
ribbon: Offray; tag hand-cut; sentiment stamp ("give thanks") by Stampin' Up!

But, before Halloween, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And autumn is in the air - Connor wore pants today for the first time since June. Even I have been wearing socks around the house - and this morning there was a lovely crisp chill in the air. Hard to imagine that only three weeks ago it was 40 degrees...and I don't miss it one bit!
xoxo
Jessi