Using up Scraps

Supplies: papers & xoxo tag from My Mind's Eye;
doily from Wilton; button from Basic Grey; bamboo thread;
stickers (owls, polka-dot border, corners) from Fancy Pants

Supplies: animal tower from Pink Cat Studio;
stamped with Palette Noir & coloured with markers;
pig watercoloured with Worn Lipstick distress ink;
animals coated with Stampendous Fun Flock;
sentiment stamp from Kaisercraft; yellow embroidery floss;
papers & button from Basic Grey "Sugar Rush"

Every once in a while I get annoyed with myself for hoarding scraps of paper - especially Basic Grey paper! I tend to end up with the covers of a pad & a stack of strips, and then they stay there in the drawer, mocking me! Last week I made several scrap-stash-buster cards, and here's a couple of them. The owls card additionally finished off the sticker sheet - bonus - since of course you can't throw out a sticker sheet that has a single corner piece left, or 1.5 inches of border....well, you can't if you're me, anyway.

Riley's birthday is tomorrow - my baby is going to be 11 years old. *sniff* Both kids want to see "Rio," and it opens tomorrow, so Riley decided that's what he wants to do for his birthday. Just from watching the preview they've both started saying "AWKWARD" all the time :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Mother's Day is Coming Soon!

Supplies: vintage card from Crafty Secrets;
papers from Basic Grey;
gold banner from Martha Stewart;
Mother's Day stamp from Kaisercraft;
stamped with Versamark & embossed with pirate gold EP

Click for a larger image (or to be able to read the sentiment!)

With Easter so late this year I completely spaced out that it's less than a month until Mother's Day. YIKES! Get ready for a slew of MD cards in the next little bit. Next to Christmas, it's probably the occasion I make the most cards for. (oooh, nice grammar, English major...) This morning I started on some little gift card holders that I think would be perfect for spa certificates or gee, hmm, crafty gift cards? Too bad Rob doesn't read my blog :)

With only three sleeps to go until my trip, I somehow foolishly agreed yesterday that I would go on a "girls only" field trip this morning - another chaperone had to back out at the last minute. Not sure what I was thinking, really. Probably that it's nice to know that the teachers know I can always help out - instead of thinking of how much I still need to get done before Saturday.

I saw some crocuses on my way to pick up the boys yesterday, and there is a pair of blue jays building a nest right outside the computer window. I can't quite spy the nest itself, but they've been going back & forth carrying all kinds of twigs for a few days now. Could spring actually be here? Then again, Friday it's only supposed to be a high of 1 degree, so maybe not quite yet.

xoxo,
Jessi

MFW 350 Cards & Gifts Week - Card Sets Challenge!

I have just recently started to enjoy making card sets - multiples have never really been my idea of a good time, but now that I've cottoned on to the "similar, not identical" concept I seem to be good to go. I made a card a few weeks ago that I just loved and decided to base a set around a similar design. Each one features a different quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, from My Favorite Things' Clearly Sentimental About Emerson. This set is also to enter into Moxie Fab World's 350 Cards & Gifts Week's Card Sets Challenge (*whew*): 

I couldn't decide which group photo I liked better (and neither is really all that great, but anyway) so I stuck them both in. Supplies for all the cards are the same:

Clearly Sentimental About Emerson from My Favorite Things; stamped with Palette Noir ink; papers all from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy "True Blue;" (except for two scalloped red pieces from Basic Grey "Curio"); stamps from various companies: grasses from Inkadinkado; floral silhouette from Digital Princess; butterfly unknown; bamboo crochet thread; all buttons from Basic Grey; distress inks: Tumbled Glass, Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Fired Brick; corner rounder for the red scalloped borders.

These will be all wrapped up in a cello bag with a pretty ribbon...once I find where I put the darn bags. I'm in such a dither getting ready for my trip (4 more sleeps!) that I have been making even more of a cluttery mess than usual. At least the floors are clean underneath all the paper, right?

And before I completely forget, I also took a half-decent picture of the baby blanket I mentioned the other day. For those of you who crochet, the whole thing is done in single crochet baby yarn. Next time I'm definitely reading the pattern more carefully. Each row was about 15 minutes, so each band of colour took just over an hour.

The adorable puppy is Connor's "Rover," who has been with him since he was born. And well-loved!

xoxo,
Jessi

Graphic 45 Fairy

Supplies: Fairy, paper frame/panel from Graphic 45;
wings sparkled with coarse crystal glitter from Martha Stewart;
brown patterned paper from My Mind's Eye "True Blue;"
greeting stamps from Kaisercraft;
stamped with Versamark & Vintage Photo distress ink
and embossed with clear EP

Through a misunderstanding ordering from a new-to-me company I ended up with several sheets of Graphic 45 "Once Upon a Springtime" tags, but no paper pad. Luckily the colours seem to match easily with other companies' products - not always the case, right? Anyhow, I really love this collection (and others...someday I'll manage to get my hands on some!) The fairy panel was popped out of its frame to glitter the wings, and then popped up on doubled foam tape for extra dimension. The frame panel is also popped up on a single layer. The bottom of the panel was a little wide, and so I doubled up the sentiments. These clear stamps from Kaisercraft drove me bonkers the first bunch of times I tried to use them...until I conditioned them. I've read about conditioning stamps, but I've never done it until these. I bought 3 sets, and they all needed it and now work beautifully, even with distress inks (usually a crapshoot with clear stamps, in my experience...)

The computer did a scary thing on Saturday morning - it went into 'power saving mode' in the middle of playing a game online. It took the whole day to figure out how to get it back for more than a few seconds at a time, and the initial troubleshooting (with Rob talking to the IT guy at work) had us thinking it was the video card on our year-old computer. Nuh-uh, please don't do that. And the printer has croaked - and though we saved the old printer, apparently we made sure to use every dang drop of ink before switching to the new piece of junk (barely 6 months old, and dead as a doornail, and with a full $60 ink cartridge that won't work in the OLD printer...) So, in advance of my trip, and just in case (heaven forbid! knock on wood...please!!) something goes more permanently wrong with the computer, I've been uploading pictures to Blogger. I figure that way I'll have cards to share while I'm gone. By the way, the original problem was solved by unhooking all the cables & rebooting the computer, then hooking them all back up and rebooting it again. As long as I live, I will never understand how that works.

xoxo,
Jessi

You're super, Mom!

Supplies: Super Mom & sentiment from Gina K;
stamped with Palette Noir & coloured with Prismacolor pencils;
Superman paper from Hot Off the Press;
buttons from stash

Supplies: collage paper from Basic Grey "Curio;"
die cut bird, butterfly, bee from K&Co;
mother's day stamp from Kaisercraft, stamped with Palette Noir

Supplies: papers & floral die cuts from K & Co;
velvet ribbon from stash;
Mother's Day stamp from Anna Griffin;
stamped with Vintage Photo distress ink;
butterflies on envelope made with Martha Stewart punch

Supplies: waterlilies image from recycled card front;
paper from My Mind's Eye "True Blue;"
roses from Recollections;
Mother's day stamp from Kaisercraft, stamped with Palette Noir

I think Mother's Day is one of my favourite occasions to create for - after all, girlie things are what I love best, and what's girlier than a day all about the special women we love??
Today I'm spending the day with my Gramma, and I'm going to enjoy every single precious minute with her spunky self. It's been almost 5 years - too long - and I can't wait!
xoxo,
Jessi

A Burst Of Blooms - MFW's Tuesday Trigger

Although I had it clipped to my desk all week, I never did get around to creating something for last week's "Farm Fresh" trigger. Looking at all the submissions just kept "Clean and Simple" stuck in my head, and CAS & I are kind of frenemies. It never looks "right" when I try to leave a card CAS, and then I add too much stuff & wreck it. Every time, I swear. Anyhow, I was relieved to see a much-more-my-style trigger this week: Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger: Burst Of Blooms
(Japanese flower scarf from Attic 24)
Flowers. My mind went instantly to flowers...and the idea of crocheting a little garden. I'm saving that idea - I think it would work really well for the gift card holders I'm making for Mother's Day, so that there's no concern about fitting things into envelopes. So I shelved the crochet idea, but kept the floral cluster in mind, and here's what came out of it:



Supplies: paper from My Mind's Eye "Tickled Pink;"
flowers from Recollections; brads from Basic Grey;
"Mother's Day" sentiment from Kaisercraft, stamped with Tumbled Glass Distress ink;
pearls from stash

I think that floral scarf would make a fabulous beginning to a blanket - I just love the rainbow of colours. Hopefully I'll get a photo of the baby blanket I finished yesterday - it's for Connor's fourth-grade art teacher, who is expecting his first child later this month. I think it's so cool that Connor wants me to make gifts for new babies. Usually he picks the yarn as well, but this time I went ahead & chose. He has excellent colour sense, but I had a PLAN. (More about that when I actually have the blankie to show you.)
xoxo,
Jessi

Quilt-y Baby Cards

I don't generally make multiples, but when I do a 'technique-y' card I sometimes decide to keep going if I like how things are turning out...or like with a bargello card I did yesterday, if I keep messing up badly enough but am too stubborn to give up...(that one I do like..still have to take a photo, though!). These are really similar, but besides the obvious difference in gender intention I still think they're different enough from one another. Go with me on this! lol

Supplies for both: scraps in coordinating colours;
Cuttlebug folders: swiss dots, polka dots, dots & spots, Victorian;
Nestabilities lacey circles;
footprints stamp from Stampcraft;
stamped with Versamark and embossed with white EP

The how-to is pretty obvious, I think, but just in case - I cut my scrap pieces to 1x4 inches, then embossed them each with a different folder. After embossing I trimmed to 1"x1," and began adhering them to a cardstock layer, staggering each row slightly. I trimmed each quilted piece to the size I wanted after adhering all the squares - too many times I've done it directly on the card front, and it never fails to look lopsided. Each envelope has a single row of squares in the different patterns. It only takes a minute or two to add something to the envelope while you're at it, but people comment all the time on how much they like that. Ah, it's the little things that make us happy, right?

Thanks for the kind comments about my friend's illness. No further news yet, but after the initial shock we've all sucked it up and are trying our very best not to panic until we need to. (Well, not need to, but you know what I mean).

On my own health - diabetes is a crappy disease. Not that you didn't already know that, but anyway...the past months have been a rollercoaster ride, and I don't particularly enjoy rollercoasters. Last week the doctor added a second medication to help control my high sugars, and for the past 3 or 4 days I have actually begun to feel like myself again. I haven't cried since Monday - hah! hopefully that doesn't jinx it - and talking to my mom last night, she said I sounded like myself for the first time in months. It's funny how many things are affected by high blood sugar. I never would have suspected that it would affect behaviour and emotions as much as it does. At least now I know - besides the physical signs, my indicators tend to be emotional. I mentioned this to someone last week, and for the next several days Connor watched me test my blood anxiously, finally saying, "Are you going to cry? It's only a number, you don't have to cry if it's a big number!" I've been so exhausted and emotionally drained with everything happening the last few months, and I've definitely noticed that I don't feel like creating. I do, but I had to force myself to go sit at my desk to create. Yesterday & today I've made about 12 cards - I don't remember the last time I made that many in a week! Maybe just knowing that I have a break on the way is helping too :)

Blah, blah, blah-de-blah, lol!
xoxo,
Jessi

Go-to Sketch...

Supplies: Paper from Basic Grey "Sugared;"
butterfly punch from Martha Stewart;
Fired Brick distress ink (butterfly edges);
ribbon & pink pearls from stash

Looking through Paper Crafts magazine a few weeks ago, I thought "Gee, I really like this sketch. I should give that a try! Butterflies would be perfect!" Well, here it is, just not quite how I pictured it. I gave myself the extra push to use up some of my ancient hoarded Basic Grey scraps - and I like that - I just feel like it's not a "me" card. Maybe it's the ruffled ribbon? Meh.
xoxo,
Jessi

Birthday Fishes & Oceans of Joy

Supplies: stamps from Hero Arts; Palette Noir ink;
All papers from Cosmo Cricket "Delovely;"
white gel pen; confetti balloons & happy faces; shrink plastic for window

 Hard to get a photo of a shaker card, but anyway - the whale is paper-pieced, and the flowers on the whale stamp are coloured in with white gel pen. The yellow flowers are on the patterned paper itself. I had a hard time getting my hands on acetate sheets (without buying a whole box for $30...that puts a serious dent in the craft budget!) so I tried using shrink plastic. I actually like it better - it's sturdier, still see-through, and less staticky than regular overhead sheets. It's a little bit more expensive, but since I can buy a year's supply for $5 instead of a lifetime's supply, I don't mind so much!

Supplies: All stamps from Hero Arts; Palette Noir ink;
watercoloured with ink pads;
Versamarker, clear embossing powder; Sakura stardust glitter pen;
paper from K & Co "Citronella;"
white banner tails from Martha Stewart banner diecut,
trimmed and tucked behind each end of the sentiment banner

Usually I don't bother creating scenes that require masking - I'm not patient enough. I usually end up trying to get away with cutting only one mask, and then trying to move it before it's dry and smearing everything. Or, somehow I don't align it properly & I end up with a white ghost shadow instead of a smooth line...I just find it a pain in the rear. I'm pretty impressed that I managed this one in only 2 tries (hah!) and even used masking successfully on the envelope. Ta-da!

The tempation to use my blog as a diary is overwhelming sometimes. Does anyone else get that urge to over-share? Things have been rough here lately, to understate it. Yesterday I got some really scary news from a close friend, who will need surgery shortly. Cancer? Don't know. It's hard to be supportive when you're busy freaking out yourself. It does put my problems in perspective, but it doesn't get rid of them. To add to that worry, I will probably be gone when the surgery happens, so I will be absolutely no help. I'm going home for my first visit in 5 years in 11 more sleeps, thanks to my family who are spiriting me away for a break. Alone. It's been a long time since I've gone away, so I think it will be easier for the kids than it was the last time.

Let's end with a funny, shall we? Yesterday Riley was goofing around, and Connor gave him a withering look and said "Riley, you're such a weirdo." Hello, pot, meet kettle? It made us laugh, anyhow :)

xoxo,
Jessi

Strength for Today - In my Beautiful Balloon Challenge

Supplies: Hot air balloon stamp from The Greeting Farm;
sentiment stamp from Kaisercraft; both stamped with Palette Noir;
papers from Cosmo Cricket "Togetherness" and
My Mind's Eye "Fine and Dandy - True Blue" (the clouds);
crepe paper "clouds" (sigh...); button from Basic Grey;
Labels 4 Nestabilities
Click image for larger view!

The sentiment is a little hard to read here - it really isn't as blurry in real life, I swear. It says "Wishing you STRENGTH for today and HOPE for tomorrow."
So, I decided to use this stamp because of a challenge at Moxie Fab World (no way!) to use hot air balloons in an innovative way...not sure this qualifies as innovative, but I gave it a whirl. I did try something new that I thought looked much better in my mind's eye than on the card - I folded crepe paper a bunch of times, and freehand cut out clouds, then stitched them on the card & crumpled them a bit. The button was meant to mimic the sun. The balloon is paper-pieced with patterns from "Togetherness," and a strip from the background paper is attached to the envelope to draw them together. (Pun not intended, but I like it, so it stays! lol)
Back again soon!
xoxo,
Jessi