10 minutes + red = FUN!

I had a chance to play again with the current 10 Minute Craft Dash (open until midnight tonight, Saturday the 15th). Not only did I have fun, I think I outdid myself for time - between 6 and 7 minutes. I used a heat gun to speed up the mist's drying time. I am certain I've used mists more in the last month than I have in the entire last year!

Supplies: stamps from two different PTI sets, from Barb; Barn Door distress ink; red rhinestones; Pearl Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels

Hard to capture the sparkle! The good news is that using the heat gun cuts down on the paper warping - just give it a blast on the 'wrong' side and the paper will uncurl a little. 

xoxo,

Jessi

Playing in Paradise #97 - Christmas Sketch!

Happy Friday! You know what that means around here - a new challenge up at Scrapbooker's Paradise! Allison is our hostess this week, and she's got a fabulous sketch:

Supplies: papers all from My Mind's Eye; corner rounder from EK Success (for making the green scalloped layer); yellow timeless twine; Mustard Seed Distress ink (inking around the puppy panel); Yellow Daisy Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels) for the puppy piddle; kraft paper; Liquid Applique; standard small circle Nesties; snowflake buttons from Dress it Up!; Palette Noir ink; Inkadinkado stamps

I've said it before & I'll say it again - this stamp is one of my very favourites ever. 

Have an idea for this awesome sketch? Link it up with us by next Thursday, December 20, for a chance to win a fabulous prize & be a guest designer with us :) And don't forget to stop by & see what my teammates have created:

Allison

Merlie

Nina

Angela

Depending on how much I get done today I'm hoping to be back with another post - best laid plans and all that jazz :) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Something the cat coughed up?

So I checked out the awesome tutorial on Splitcoast yesterday for the Crinkled Ribbon Flower, and for the first time in history went over to my desk to make one RIGHT NOW. I have some sheer fabric that came in a collage pack, and I used that for all but the 'fringed' piece. Once I assembled the whole thing I admired it and then made a mistake. I showed it to my husband, who said:

"what's that supposed to be?"

and

"it looks like something the cat coughed up."

I swore it would look better once it was ON something, so here's hoping it does:

Supplies: paper from Sassafrass; cream adhesive lace from Hero Arts; leaf die from Memory Box; Olive Vine Glimmer Spray - Tattered Angels; Peeled Paint distress ink; Studio G sentiment; brad from stash; stick pins made following Yvonne's fabulous directions here. 

I am loving those stick pins - I'd like to find some longer corsage-style pins but these ones will do for now! And I have a LOT of beads left over from previous crafting explorations, so I could conceivably make a lot more of these. At least a million. 

Well, that was a nice little break from Christmas. Now back into that mess ;)

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #81 - Sentimentally Yours

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

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash lends itself BEAUTIFULLY to elegant cards - and I know I have some fabulous Christmas sentiments that were MADE for this! We want to see your cards that 

Feature a sentiment - no images on your card!

Here is a chance to use those bigger sentiments that don't always fit on a typical card. Don't forget to shop your stash for your project! Here's my card:

Supplies: sentiment from PTI; Bundled Sage Distress ink; standard small & lacy circle Nesties; paper from Memory Box; brad from Basic Grey (score! one more colour GONE); random piece of pearl strip; felt snowflake from ?

It's one of those great things about shopping your stash that sometimes your ingredient list just...well, can't be too specific about the ingredients. Where did it come from? Some dusty corner at the back of a drawer. Or, not in this case but has TOTALLY HAPPENED TO ME, off the floor under my desk ;) That's where I keep all the really good stuff.

Thanks for your well-wishes about my shoulder :) I've had the x-rays, which boy has technology come a ways since the last time I had one - and ouch, because my arm did NOT want to move the way it had to. No update yet which I take as good news - a fast phone call after tests is NEVER a good sign! I'll be sure to let you know when I know more. 

OK back to the task at hand (can you tell, I've finished the first pot of coffee already? Eggnog. Sugar AND caffeine. AWESOME. And I'm starting to hear smells....)

This challenge is open until next Monday, December 17, and don't forget to check out what everyone else has been up to!

• Carla
• Leslie
• Alica
• Deena
• Paige
• Lauren
• Linda
• Michelle
• Sandie
• I'm going to go get some breakfast and hopefully calm down a little ;) lol!

xoxo,
Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #176 - Close to my Heart!

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! This week is JUDGED CHALLENGE week at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and you know what that means - follow the sketch & don't forget the TWIST for a chance to win a spot in the hand-picked Top Five :) The fabulously fun twist this time around is:

Non-Traditional Christmas

How do you interpret that? Theme? Colours? It's up to you! 

Debbie, a demo with Close to my Heart, is our generous sponsor this week! Here's the fun sketch we're working with, designed by Cheryl:

Unfortunately my stamps are still on their way - they are walking here, and it was snowy yesterday ;) You'll be seeing another card from me for this challenge as soon as they do get here. I didn't want to wait until then, though, so I've made something else to share in the meantime:

Supplies: stamps from Woodware, from Jen!; Memento Gray Flannel & Palette Noir inks; papers from Cosmo Cricket; standard oval Nesties; felt snowflake, sparkly brad, pearls, and purple glitter all from stash; coloured with Prismacolor pencils; Liquid Pearls & clear glitter glue for the snowy ice.

It is hard to capture the sheen of the Liquid Pearls - and swear to peanuts, the coverage is a lot more even than it looks in the photograph! 

So how do I consider my Christmas card unconventional? Purple, and fishing. I have truly never seen a Christmas card featuring fishing. 

This sketch will be open until next Sunday, December 16. Make sure to hop over to the design blog and see the amazing creations by all my teamies: 

Lee, the Best of the Best designer

Angela 

Bonnie

Cheryl

Dawn

Debbie

Laura

Theresa

Melissa

Be right back with my Shopping our Stash post!

xoxo,

Jessi

Home for the Holidays with little red wagon

The team at little red wagon wants us to share holiday cards made featuring a house! I made this one with a HUGE sticker from Bo Bunny:

Supplies: cardstock stickers from Bo Bunny; foam tape; clear glitter glue from Studio G

\

I had trouble initially figuring out how I would use the great big sticker - there are two parts, the house panel & the green frame. I make my cards all one size, unless I have a special request. Finally I decided to leave a border between them, and so I cut the frame sticker to act as a border at the top & bottom. It was AFTER adhering everything that I decided to paint the glitter on (of course), so I used a paintbrush and held my breath. I love how it turned out :)

Now I've got to go make some more naughty Christmas cards...this time for a special order :)

Have a happy Monday!

xoxo,

Jessi

Silver & Gold? Together?

So for some reason, when I first sat down to attempt the current DYSU challenge of silver & gold, I realized that apparently there are some colours that I just don't seem able to combine. Metallic colours. Everything else is fair game. Trying to find a silver and a gold that worked together & didn't make my eyes hurt was haaaaard (nice whine, right?) BUT that is why these things are called challenges. I persevered & I actually like what I made:

Supplies: gold glitter paper from Colorbok; stamp from Inkadinkado; Versamark; Moonstone embossing powder from Stampendous; standard small & lacy oval Nesties; gold bells from Dollarama; crocheted mat by me 

This glitter paper is fabulous - I can't bring myself to hoard it even, because it is just too perfect for Christmas cards! The bells are sewn on by poking a single hole in the paper oval, threading the bells on, and then going back down through the same hole. This keeps them just loose enough to still ring - after all, why put bells on if you aren't going to let them jingle?? 

The silver & gold challenge is open until Tuesday at 5 PM

In personal news...I hurt my shoulder for the umpteenth time last week, and I can't figure out how I'm doing it. I'm fairly certain that I'm just old & creaky, but I have an x-ray booked for this morning to see what's what. I'm right-handed, but I use my left hand constantly while crafting, and I'd noticed that I keep fumbling or outright dropping small items. Last night I was filling a water glass from the cooler in the fridge, and my hand just suddenly decided to stop holding the glass. That was annoying and also kind of scary when I started thinking about it. Fumbling small items is one thing, but a full water glass? And how big of a puddle can one glass of water make? I don't know, but a dog and two cats were on it so fast my head spun, lol. I think they were disappointed to find out it was only water. 

Be right back with another post - I told you I was a busy girl last week!!

xoxo,

Jessi

10 Minute Craft Dash!

Oh my goodness, I played along in the 10 Minute Craft Dash again! This round is #8, and since it calls for featuring RED I felt like I could do it! I do find it hard to start with more than one colour as my inspiration - even though I often make cards that could fit a multi-colour challenge, colour is usually not my guiding creative factor. But I digress. After I made my first card for the challenge, at 7 minutes 30 seconds (give or take on the seconds...working from an analog clock), I decided to make it a set of six. Here it is:

Supplies: washi tape from Recollections; penguin stamp from Woodware (from sweet kind Jen at JENerally Speaking!); sentiment from Inkadinkado; Palette Noir ink; image coloured with a red Sharpie & Prismacolor pencils

I don't do so well photographing sets - this is more of a 'see, there really are 6' shot ;)

This challenge is open until December 15th!

OK, that's my last post for today....I think...I'm not promising ;) 

xoxo,

Jessi

Crafty Creations Challenges #199 - Winter Scene

Winter scene? This should definitely be a popular challenge this week! The team at Crafty Creations Challenges wants us to share our Winter Scene creations this week (until Tuesday night). Here's one from me:

Supplies: snowman die-cut from K&Co; Sakura glaze pens - clear & black; snowflake flatback buttons from Dress it Up; rub-on sentiment from EAD Designs; sparkle snow paint (on glossy paper, then torn & layered) for the snow on the ground; background paper from Memory Box

This package of die-cuts from K&Co included  two of each design - one with glitter, one without. The magpie in me couldn't resist adding some little touches to this 'naked' snowman ;)

xoxo,

Jessi

Irreverent Cards - Be Warned!

I shared these on Facebook last night, and I'll warn you: the closer it gets to Christmas, the more inappropriate I get with my cards. I get naughty, and this year I got probably downright rude....not for me, because I have a terrible potty mouth, but for a card ;)

A few weeks ago working on a masculine challenge the idea for a Breaking Bad Christmas card popped into my head, and I couldn't let it go. I HAD TO MAKE IT. And since I spent enough time at my desk this week  to make....wait for it....68 cards, I was sleep-deprived enough to finally get to it. I'd made the blue "meth" a while back, and just had to wait for the rest of the idea to come together. Ready?

Supplies: Really? You wanna know? LOL! blue cardstock; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Sapphire; Doodlebug letter stickers; PSX letter stamps; Salty Ocean distress ink; snow paint on glossy paper for the snow; rhinestone strip (cut apart) and blue bells from Dollarama; shrink plastic & blue Sharpie for the "meth"

I am going to hell. I made a Christmas card that said 'bitches.' If you watch the show, it makes sense...if not, well, scroll on. The next one is clearer ;)

Supplies: paper from Bo Bunny; image & sentiment from Bugaboo; Timeless Twine; red bells from Dollarama; standard & lacy oval Nesties; coloured with inks & glimmer mists; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic on the martini glass & Stella's glasses

I'm foolishly excited that I managed to remember not to 'glossy' Stella's leg & arm that are hanging outside the glass. And the gloss stayed where I put it. It's the little things, sometimes.

Speaking of little things...a knock on the door about an hour ago. Sunday morning. Not something that happens at our house, ever. And who was it?

CANADA POST. 

Delivering a parcel. On a Sunday. A true moment of WTF. 

It was from my mommy ;) And so I unwrapped the box, and laughed when I saw it was a seaweed box that she'd been encouraging me to eat from while I was out there, because she bought it but ended up not liking it. 

And then I opened the box, and guess what she used to cushion the box's contents?

All the seaweed packets I hadn't eaten.

I am still giggling - and actually pretty stoked to eat the seaweed. I love that stuff & have no idea where to get those little snack packs around here ;) My mom is the best!

I'll be back with a marathon of posts...I didn't photograph all 68 cards, but I did get a boatload of challenges finished!

xoxo,

Jessi