Two by Emerson

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey basics "Kraft,"
Cosmo Cricket "Boyfriend" and "Togetherness;"
stamps from Inkadinkado (grasses) and Digital Princess (flowers);
Emerson quote from My Favorite Things, "Clearly Sentimental about Emerson;"
Palette Noir ink (sentiment), Distress inks: peeled paint, fired brick, wild honey;
corner rounder for scalloped edges; bamboo crochet thread;
button from Basic Grey



Supplies: Emerson quote from My Favorite Things, "Clearly Sentimental about Emerson;"
stamped with Versamark & embossed with black EP;
kitty image a freebie from Motivet;
watercoloured with distress inks: Black Soot, Worn Lipstick, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo;
background paper from stash (unknown); 
standard oval & lacey circle Nestabilities 

 The first card is my favourite of the two - I struggled with it, but the red scallops and the bamboo/button ended up being just what I wanted. Bamboo is not the best material for tying bows...too soft, I guess. I love how it looks, but every time I use it I end up cursing while it slips through my clumsy fingers!

The kitty card didn't photograph so well - the fur actually turned out so much better than I had hoped. Colouring large images is a challenge for me, and often I think the end result is too streaky, or not shaded well enough...this time I felt it turned out looking like I wanted it to, shading included. (As Connor would say, FIST BUMP!)

xoxo,
Jessi

Day 15 of Creativity...

Day 15: Do you like to try new things?  What about trying something new do you like or dislike?

When it comes to crafty things, I like to try new techniques, but I do get discouraged easily. I definitely have my comfort zone of things I feel I'm good at - and I have to be in the right frame of mind to push outside that zone.

My most recent "new technique" is one I learned about from Splitcoaststampers - a beyond-fabulous resource for anything stamping related. Last week's Wednesday tutorial was on Delft Tile, and it looked simple enough for me to give it a shot...and I liked it so much I did two.

Supplies: white cardstock, scored at 1" with Martha Stewart scoring board;
floral & butterfly stamps by Inkadinkado;
sentiment by Studio G; silver eyelets from stash;
Dusty Concord distress ink; sponge; oval Nestabilities;
earrings by Cheryl Mosher

Supplies: white cardstock, scored with Martha Stewart Scoring board at 1";
floral & butterfly stamps from Inkadinkado;
sentiment from Wordsworth;
Tumbled Glass Distress ink; sponge; 1 1/8" circle punch

I really like how these turned out - I think I'd like to try it again using coloured cardstock.
xoxo,
Jessi

Some random funnies...

Supplies: Papers & tag from DCWV Animal Stack;
Stampendous Cotton Ball Fun Flock on the beaver's belly;
letter stickers from Basic Grey

Supplies: recycled card front;
letter stickers from Basic Grey;
snowflake punch by Martha Stewart

Supplies: Stamps from Inkadinkado;
coloured with Distress inks & markers;
papers from Cosmo Cricket "Delovely;"
doodled borders with Martha Stewart writing marker

Supplies: stamps from The Greeting Farm;
coloured with Distress inks & markers;
papers from Cosmo Cricket, "The Boyfriend;"
pig is fluffed with Cotton Ball fun flock;
balloons are cut out, popped up on foam tape, and glossed with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

 So, the first three may be obviously funny...groaners, but still obvious. The reason the pig one is funny?? Well, when I was trying to pick what paper I wanted to use, this paper just screamed BACON. As soon as I thought that, I couldn't shake it...so I just had to use it with the piggy :)
We trekked out to the sugar woods yesterday afternoon for fresh maple goodies. That was depressing! It was my first year not being able to eat the treats, although I hope I'll be able to one day figure out how to have an occasional treat without spiking my blood sugar through the roof. I did have a teeny slice (about an inch) of ice cream cake last night for Rob's birthday, and then felt sick & fell soundly asleep on the couch with my glasses on. Not good! Apparently they tried to wake me up to say goodnight, but I have no memory of it. I think I won't be eating any more of that. Back to the sugar woods - the boys had their first 'syrup on snow' candy yesterday, and they absolutely loved it! It was fun to watch their faces for that first taste :)
xoxo,
Jessi

MFW Tuesday Trigger: Button, Button

Once again, Cath at Moxie Fab World has provided us with a great inspiration photo, this week calling the trigger "Button, Button." I am in awe of the amazing cards people have submitted all week - I've been doing my best to visit the links all week so I can make sure to leave comments, instead of waiting until the last minute like I did the last few weeks...70 comments is a lot to hop around to in one day! lol

Here's the inspiration photo:

(From Country Living)

Gorgeous, right? I had all kinds of ideas going on, and in the end the execution was just, well, not what I had hoped. I was first inspired by the grid pattern of the buttons, and the greyish colour of the button cards. I also liked the idea of stitching, and the neatly trimmed ribbons.

Supplies: Grey cardstock (stash);
Cuttlebug embossing folder;
Buttons & stamp from Basic Grey;
Palette Noir ink; Tim Holtz design ruler for piercing;
banner cut by hand

Yeah....not exactly what I was hoping for. The stitching was a lot more difficult to keep even than I'd thought - I wish I had not used blanket stitch. The wonkier it got, the more I tried to make it look 'wonky on purpose' but really, I was just too far into the stitching to quit. Plus, I'd already sewn the buttons onto the panel and felt like I HAD to make it work. I love doing the Tuesday Triggers, but it seems like when I finish them on time I'm not happy with how they turn out! Oh well. It's still fun to play along.

xoxo,
Jessi

PS - Happy Birthday to my hubby Rob, who's 43 today...and doesn't look a day over 69 :)

Sympathies

Supplies: Sympathy stamp from Kaisercraft, stamped in Palette Noir;
All other stamps from Inkadinkado, stamped in Versamark & embossed in clear EP;
Labels 4 Nestabilities



Supplies: flower stamp from Fifth Avenue Floral, Stampin' Up;
stamped with Versamark & embossed with white EP;
coloured with Prismacolor pencils & Dove blender;
"Thinking of You" stamp from Inkadinkado,
stamped with Versamark & Worn Lipstick Distress Ink & embossed with clear EP;
debossed side of Cuttlebug Victorian folder;
standard & lacy circle Nestabilities



Supplies: painting from a book;
papers from Basic Grey "Curio;"
gold sentiment banner from Martha Stewart;
"With Sympathy" stamp from Kaisercraft, stamped with Palette Noir & embossed with clear EP

I don't particularly enjoy making sympathy cards, but when I do manage to find myself in the mood to make one I try to make several. Sympathy cards just need to be less...frou-frou?...which is a challenge for me.
xoxo,
Jessi

Just a note...

Supplies: typewriter rub-on from Michaels;
kraft paper from Basic Grey; lace trims from Hero Arts;
"Just a Note" stamp from Studio G, stamped with Versamark & embossed with black EP;
base is black cardstock - 'grey' layer is white vellum, as is the typewriter paper

It seems that typewriters are experiencing a surge in popularity - well, so far as their images go, anyway! I picked up a sheet of typewriter rub-ons a few months ago on a trip to Michaels & just finally broke them open. I nearly caved & bought a stamp set featuring typewriters this weekend, but I figure at the very least I should finish the rub-ons first. I made a slit in the proper area of the typewriter, and tucked the note into it so that the paper appears to actually be coming out of the typewriter. I know that I saw this idea somewhere, months ago, but can't for the life of me remember where to give credit.

The kids and their dad have been to visit Grammie for the last few days - up there they still have enough snow to go sledding, thank goodness! That's all the kids had talked about doing when they went, and our snow is reduced to crappy piles of grey icy ick. It's rather pathetic, but with all the snow we had this year, this has been their only sledding adventure. The places we normally go have been basically inaccessible for our little car. I managed to fill my days while they were gone, although I got very little done. A break was definitely in order - and I miss my boys, but I was glad to have some time to myself. I even took a plunge & coloured my hair for the first time in about 10 years. Still not committed to loving it...it looks strange to me without the grey! At least it's one that only lasts a month or so, in case I decide I hate it.
xoxo,
Jessi

All That Scraps Weekly Wednesday Challenge: Buttons!

With a challenge theme like buttons, how could I not play along?

Week 70 Challenge:

The challenge this week is to use buttons on your creation.  Have fun with it and let's see how creative you can get. 
Remember, every week there is a new and exciting prize being offered and in order to be eligible to win, your project must include a stamp that is sold in the All That Scraps store.Whether it is any of our wonderful in house designs or from the various other stamp companies that ATS carries, the choice is yours. Then be sure to link up your creation with Mr Linky by next Tuesday at 10pm est and only one entry per person please!   This challenge runs until March 15th.

I decided to pull out one of my favourite stamps - the birthday penguins from The Cat's Pajamas. Here's my card -

Supplies: stamps from The Cat's Pajamas;
stamped with Palette Noir ink;
papers from Cosmo Cricket "Delovely" (yellow) and AC "Abode" (red);
Cotton Ball Fun Flock from Stampendous;
buttons from Basic Grey;
Sakura Stardust glitter pen; Martha Stewart markers; Adirondack Citrus for the grass

And as you can imagine, this card is reaaaaally front-heavy. I should have made it as a top-fold card so that it would have a chance of standing up independently, but oh well. My scissors were just solid enough to keep it from tipping over for the photo - barely! I love this sentiment - every birthday I wonder if I'm going to feel like a grownup, and I have yet to do so.
xoxo,
Jessi

Paper Piecing Challenge in the Moxie Fab World!

Nothing like the last minute to get creativity flowing...here are three entries for Moxie Fab World's paper piecing challenge.

Supplies: Sweet puppy & sentiment from Inkadinkado;
papers from AC "Abode;"
orange flower from Recollections;
Distress ink (antique linen) & fineline marker for ground;
Puppy is paper-pieced using Basic Grey brown scrap & white cardstock



Supplies: cake stamp from The Cat's Pajamas;
All papers & paper piecing done with My Mind's Eye "Tickled Pink" papers;
pink polka dot layer cut with Nestabilities Labels 4;
Mod Podge Dimensional magic used on the cake stands, heart, and cherry on top;
Martha Stewart markers used for the dotty background



Supplies: stamps all from Cornish Heritage Farms Kim Hughes Collection;
banner paper from My Mind's Eye "True Blue;"
Owl & branch paper-pieced with Basic Grey "Origins" and white cardstock (eyes, beak, toes);
hat paper-pieced with K & Co "Citronella;" coloured with Martha Stewart markers;
buttons from Basic Grey; banner tag from Martha Stewart

I think my very favourite is Mr. Owl up there - I love his expression! I really, truly suck at creating scenes with masking - I am just too impatient, and I nearly always smear the ink. This particular owl card I had attempted via masking, and after the 4th botched image I decided I liked him better paper-pieced anyway. So there. (*blows raspberry*)
xoxo,
Jessi

Wishing you Well!

"Get Well" cards are something I don't make very often - I was going through my stash of cards last week & realized that the get well cards I had, I've had for quite some time. I received this darling little Pure Innocence doctor as a Teaser Time prize from My Favorite Things in January, and had only had a chance to use it once, so I pulled him back out & gave him a whirl. He's watercoloured using reinkers. 

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Archaic;"
doctor stamp from My Favorite Things;
coloured with Adirondack Salmon, and Distress Vintage Photo & Antique Linen;
"wishing you well" stamp from Hero Arts, stamped with Vintage Photo

I am nearly finished with my second package of "Archaic" papers...they have been my go-to paper for masculine cards for a long time, and I wish I could find some more! I really like how this turned out suitable for a guy, even though the PI image is pretty cutesy.
xoxo,
Jessi

The Ultimate Insult...

...my child wanted to buy his friend a STORE BOUGHT CARD. My shame and horror know no bounds. Sigh. I have no more words.

On that note, I have another challenge card to share for Moxie Fab World, this time for the Tuesday Trigger "Oh So Lovely." As Cath says, check it:

(image via Pinterest)

How gorgeous! I love the shabbiness of the painted chair, and that luscious bouquet of warm colours...so here's what I made:

Supplies: papers all from Basic Grey "Curio;"
flower silhouette stamp from Digital Princess;
stamped with Versamark & Adirondack Salmon ink, embossed with clear EP;
sentiment stamp from Kaisercraft, stamped with Memories Artprint Brown;
standard & lacey circle Nestabilities, lacey circle sponged with Memories Artprint Brown.

Basic Grey papers are so beautifully distressed, and the "plain" pages in the Curio collection really bring shabby paint to my mind, and the colours were perfect, so I knew I wanted to use them for this Trigger. I also knew that I didn't want to cover up any more of the scrumptious background paper than necessary!
xoxo,
Jessi