Shopping our Stash #42 - Embossing

I found this week's Shopping our Stash challenge nice & easy. Hooray for that, because I found myself frustrated with a lot of my creating this week!

Supplies: paper & stickers from K&Co;
gemstone strip from $store;
cuttlebug embossing folder

close-up of the embossing

I think this technique is called embedded embossing? Not sure. I adhered the letters & then ran the panel through the Cuttlebug, so that the letters are embossed as well. I'm surprised I had the letters I needed to spell anything, because that sheet of letter stickers has been around a long time, as have the gem strips. Used the whole package too, so yay me!
As always the Shopping our Stash challenge ends on Monday afternoon, so you've still time to get yourself linked up over there!
xoxo,
Jessi

Flashback Friday 21.0 - Paper Piecing!

I'm pretty new to the Flashback Friday challenges, but I do love looking back & seeing how I've improved! This time around the Flashback is hosted by none other than Jen W, from JENerally Speaking, and she chose 'paper piecing' as the theme. My first paper-pieced card here was my second post in September 2010 - it's long been a favourite technique of mine. What I love about the original card? I made one quite like it just this past week. Check it:

Link to my original post here

And my new card?

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Little Black Dress;"
girl stamp from CC Designs; Palette Noir ink;
Labels 4 Nesties;
sentiment from Hero Arts; versamark & pirate gold EP;
Sakura Stardust glitter pen & Black Glaze pen;
ribbon from Offray

Sometimes things stand the test of time, I guess!

You've got until Friday March 23rd to link up your own first paper-pieced creation, so go have a look & see what you've got :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Multi-Loop Bows with Emily Keaton!

A challenge, hosted by the lovely Emily Keaton at Do More with Less? Yes, please! I'm one of those people who wanted to know how she made her fab multi-loop bows, and I was so sad originally to learn that it was using a Bow-Easy...because I was afraid of mine altogether until she sent me the link to this tutorial for the Bow-Easy. I kept messing up when watching it in videos, but the step-by-step photo tutorial helped me nail where I was screwing up. So now I'm finally using my Bow-Easy after a year or more of looking at it & wishing I could use it.

So, I was stoked to try out the multi-loop bow, but I will admit to quite a few (5! FIVE!) failures and several days of staring angrily at my card....because, as it turns out, embroidery floss is not my friend. At least not for this. Finally I switched to some hemp twine, and wah-la, awesome bow! And I love it, and I'm totally doing it again sometime.

Supplies: all papers from Echo Park "For the Record;"
Labels 4 Nesties; Peeled Paint distress ink;
sentiment from Hero Arts;
hemp twine from stash; Bow Easy

The challenge is open until Friday, March 23, so you've lots of time to get cracking & link up!
xoxo,
Jessi

Moxie Fab "A is for Apricot"

This week's edition of Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger ends tonight, March 11, so hopefully you have some time to get your craft on today! The photo Cath chose this week is a gorgeous one, as per usual:

I was inspired by the bowl. I used a piece of copy paper cut with an oval Nestie as a mask, and stamped the flourishes around it & embossed them in gold, and then added the sentiment & embossed it as well. This is much more CAS than my usual (and no patterned paper? GASP!) but I love how it turned out!

Supplies: cardstock from PTI (From JJ!);
standard oval Nesties (for masking);
Versamark & Pirate Gold EP;
swirl stamps from Autumn Leaves;
sentiment stamp from Hampton Arts;
teal rhinestones from $store

And some photos of my picture-taking process...lol!

'scuse me, whatcha doing?

Hello! Good morning! WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT YOU AREN'T PETTING ME?

OK, I'll go be sad while you take your stupid pictures. FINE. 

Oh, I love my dog. What a goof!
Lots of challenge posts coming up - it was a busy & productive card-making week, knowing that while the kids are on break it won't be!
xoxo,
Jessi

Ukuleles!

Sometimes I get a custom order that just tickles my funny bone - and this is one of them! Near the end of last year one of my regular customers asked if I could make a birthday card with ukuleles on it for her husband's birthday, and I said sure....but what was popping into my mind was "Tiny Bubbles" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." So I said that, and she said "The cheesier the better!" And my crafty heart sang those songs with joy while I came up with the funnest, cheesiest ukulele card I could:

Supplies: music paper from MME;
tulip stamp from PSX; Palette Noir ink;
coloured with Prismacolor pencils & Dove blender;
birthday rub-on from Doodlebug;
letter stickers from Basic Grey;
Ukuleles and Hawaiian clip art from Google Images;
Wild Honey distress ink;
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic;
Studio G iridescent glitter glue

Shiny! Look at those awesome ukuleles...I'm so proud of myself!

Tulips? Check.

Low-res Hawaiian clip art of hula girl? Check.

SHE'S PLAYING A UKULELE? Awesomeness check.

Tiny glittery bubbles? Check.

The fact that he liked the card so much that the next week he came & told me so himself? Beyond awesome. 

I made the ukuleles by using a black & white image, and swiping the Wild Honey ink pad directly on the card stock. Once that was dry, I painted the 'wood' of the ukes with the Dimensional Magic to make them shiny, and cut them out once that was dry. 

Next week I'll be teaching a kids' cardmaking class at the Joggins Fossil Centre, and if you're local I'd love for you to come! There's a number of activities through March Break, and here's the link if you're interested:

http://jogginsfossilcliffs.blogspot.com/2012/02/march-break-activities-at-centre.html Many of the activities require pre-registration, and all that info is available at the link.

xoxo,

Jessi

Playing in Paradise #56 - an inspiration challenge!

Link to the challenge post here!

All I could think when I saw this photo was 'little girl'...so I went with it!

Supplies: everything from K & Co except:
letter stickers from Bo Bunny;
sun on envelope from Market Street Stamps (Mustard Seed distress ink)

Sparkly sheep? LOVE. 

The Little Bo Peep scene was originally meant as a scrapbooking sticker frame, so I carefully trimmed around the parts I wanted to keep. I just love those sparkly little sheep, and the super cute sun!

The inspiration challenge at Scrapbooker's Paradise is open until Thursday at noon (Mountain Time!).

xoxo,

Jessi 

Birthday Fishes!

Since Cath posted the latest Moxie Fab World Challenge: The Cure for the Winter Blues, I've been staring at this paper from My Mind's Eye & wondering what I was going to do with it. Then I read this week's CREATE blog challenge to use confetti, and wah-lah, got it! I'm hoping the confetti trend really is on an upswing, because I've been having a hard time finding it the last couple of years, and people really love the fun of shaker cards. Well, really, what's not to love?

Supplies: papers from MME;
super cute blowfish from Imaginisce (from Allison!);
coloured with Prismacolor pencils;
sentiment from Hero Arts;
Palette Noir ink;
microbeads & confetti from stash

Hard to capture, but a slightly better look at the balloon & heart confetti

For the CREATE challenge to use confetti, you've got until Thursday morning (March 8) to email your card & blog post to Paige (details are at the bottom of the quilt-inspired gallery). For the Moxie Fab Cure for the Winter Blues challenge, you have until Sunday March 11 to link up.

xoxo,
Jessi

Little Red Wagon #122 - Use a Vintage Item

I had great fun playing along over at little red wagon this week - once I found my 'vintage item,' I just went to town playing with my card, and even used up some super-old craft stash. Score!

My true vintage item is the page of script, which was taken from the "Green Fairy Book." I've been using pages from it for years, since I found it for a dollar at the Salvation Army. Most of the illustrations were already cut out, but the pages are aged 'just right.'

Supplies: paper 'en francais' from MME;
dragonfly stickers (and stamp on envelope) from PSX;
button from Dress it Up!; Peeled Paint distress ink;
Sakura Stardust glitter pen; fibres from stash;
fairy illustration by Cicely Mary Barker

oooh, shiny :)

Fairies must have glimmery wings, right? I had such great fun with the fibres too - finding the bit of green fluff for the sympathy card in my last post reminded me to root through the drawer & see what else was in it. 

little red wagon's new challenges are posted on Wednesdays.

Report card day was yesterday. Both boys did well, especially considering that both of them are coping without aides for the first time (and on top of that, Connor is in a brand-new school). There are some definite areas of concern, but overall I'm very impressed with how both Riley & Connor are managing. (I will say, however, that I've never seen the word 'inconsistent' used so many times on one report...and nearly each use was accompanied by an A. Interesting.)

xoxo,

Jessi

Sentiments Required - Shopping our Stash #41

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is a great anybody-can-play kind of thing - you just have to use a sentiment. Easy-peasy!

I made quite a few cards with this challenge in mind, and here are two of them. I don't think I could have gone for more different creations if I'd tried! The first card...my husband's birthday is in a few weeks, and I totally thought of him while I was making it.

Supplies: stamps from CHF; coloured with markers;
Palette Noir ink;
standard oval Nesties, scrap cardstock;
orange paper from K & Co;
letter stickers from stash

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey;
sentiment stamps from Kaisercraft;
floral silhouette from Inkadinkado;
Peeled Paint distress ink & London Fog memento ink;
green fibre from ancient, ancient stash

The second card...I was pulling out something else from the 'fibres and confetti and microbeads' drawer and this piece staticked itself to my leg. Exactly what I needed! And, this used it up - the piece was the perfect length.

Now, on a totally different subject...I often show pictures of Abby, and as I was sitting at my desk Saturday morning I thought, oh, I haven't taken any pictures of my kitties lately. I should do that. And they obliged even! (Well, two of them did...the one known now as Sharp Parts doesn't hang out with us much anymore.)

Maggie and her many toes

Maggie should have this look on her face most of the time...she's not all that bright ;)

Gertie. Yikes.

After taking a whole bunch of shots of Maggie across the room, I looked down and saw Gertie giving me this evil eye. I'm not sure she could scowl harder if she tried.
xoxo,
Jessi

St. Patrick's Day!

Not the biggest of card-giving occasions, but there sure are a lot of fun options to play with. I do have several customers who like to have special St. Paddy's birthday cards, so I make sure to have a few to choose from. I had a great time making this card last week:

Supplies: image from Waltzingmouse Stamps (digi);
standard circle Nesties;
Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord, Broken China distress inks;
Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz (Sparkle) &
Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists (turquoise) 

Sparkly! and poppy-uppy ;)

Oh, this was messy and fun! The image is coloured twice, the second time fussy-cut & popped up on the die-cut piece. I did the first 'layer' of colours (watercolouring with Distress inks), let it dry, and then went over it again with more ink for shading.

The background was made by smearing the ink pads all over a piece of white cardstock, then using a dry sponge blending over the whole piece. Then I flicked water here & there, and when the whole thing was dry, I sprayed it with both colours of glitter mist. Messy, but super fun to make.

Bizarrely, no pod people appeared on the snow day. In fact, it just got better - they were HELPING EACH OTHER calmly. It's OK though, they were back to fighting & threatening each other with violence by the next day. {whew!} that was a close one! lol

xoxo,
Jessi