Christmas bears!

Supplies: All paper from Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses;
polar bear stamp by Imaginisce; Merry Always stamp by Hero Arts;
'From Our House to Yours' stamp by Stampendous; rhinestones & black fibres from stash

Supplies: All papers from MAMBI; ribbon from Offray;
Polar bear & penguin, and greeting stamp from The Cat's Pajamas;
candy canes from stash - bought a lifetime supply years ago!

xoxo
Jessi

Christmas, continued...

Supplies: papers from Doodlebug; gingerbread sticker from ?;
Sentiment from Stampendous, coloured with markers; 'cookie cutter' button from Dress it Up!;
miscellaneous rhinestones & brad



Supplies: papers from Cosmo Cricket;
Fluffles the Cat stamp & fun flock from Stampendous;
large snowflake layer cut with Spellbinders die & sponged with Versamark chalk ink

We had a glorious Christmas - the weather cooperated with our drive to Miramichi to visit Grammie and Poppy, and there was just enough snow on the ground to look festive without having to shovel it. The main snow came after we were already home. The boys had a blast Christmas morning opening all of their gifts, and if they didn't get everything they wanted, they haven't said anything about it. {whew!} At last count, Christmas Eve, I could have sworn Connor had at least 250 things on his list, and was still adding to it. I really wasn't sure that he understood us telling him that wishing for everything wouldn't mean he got everything. Riley tested us this year - he sent his letter to Santa sealed, without allowing either of us to read it. He asked a lot of questions about logistics, too - I'm not sure that we have much more time to enjoy the kids believing in Santa. Even Connor asked me if Santa was pretend, and I passed on answering that by turning it around: "Well, what do you think?"
Boxing Day we were lucky enough to eat a huge Christmas feast prepared by Grammie, and to have Rob's brother Ian & his kids come to join us. The older all 4 get, the more fun it is to watch them play together. (They range from 3.5 to nearly 12.)
xoxo
Jessi

Vintage Christmas



Supplies: Papers by Basic Grey; doily by Wilton;
angel, tag, and rub-on sentiment & snowflakes by K & Co.




Supplies: Everything by K & Co.



Supplies: everything by K & Co except lace by Hero Arts

I know that I mentioned earlier in the season that I had found some beautiful vintage goodies to create with - these are just some of the gobs of Christmas cards I made with all of it. I found that most of the vintage-style cards that I made were very difficult to scan because I tend to use a lot of layers and bulky embellishments, which I guess is true of most of the things I make!
xoxo
Jess

It's almost the New Year!

It may be almost the New Year, and Christmas may be finished once again, but I have oodles of Christmas cards still left in my little blog folder that I never got around to showing...so I'm typing up a few posts to finish them off in the hopes that by the actual New Year, I will have made some awesome new stuff WITH my awesome new stuff. I still have to motivate myself to put away the Christmas craft supplies for next year so that I can put away my new goodies!
The good news is, if you are local, that the Sackville Farmer's Market resumes on January 8th. This year, as in the last few years, you have a chance to stock up on cards for next year at half-price! Packages of 3 cards, and Christmas-themed earring cards will be 40% off, or $6 each. 


Supplies: Image by Pink Cat Studio; papers from Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses;"
Snowflake punches by Martha Stewart; fun flock from Stampendous;
snowflake gems from Michael's




Supplies: image & sentiment from Pink Cat Studio;
paper from Doodlebug; snowflake punch & glitter by Martha Stewart;
brad by Basic Grey; lacey circle Nestabilities; watercoloured with Stampin' Up! pencils

And these are just two of the pretties you could pick up on the 8th :) Hope everyone's having a lovely holiday!
xoxo
Jessi

A Jolly & Fun-Filled Christmas!

Supplies: papers & snowman from My Mind's Eye;
snowflakes made using Martha Stewart punch & glittered;
sentiment rub-on by KaiserCraft

See, I told you I just don't say "Merry Christmas"!
The kids got a grand surprise this week - a package from Germany, with spyglasses and a letter with instructions from the BND (the German intelligence agency) to look out for Decepticon activity in our area! They have both been concentrating on watching out on our walks home from school - and they are LOVING it. Ah, Tom, he knows the way to these little boys' hearts.
Our other excitements....Connor has lost 2 teeth this week, one of which has been a real pain. The new tooth had grown out of the gum in front of the baby tooth, so the pressure wasn't pushing it out, and it was nearly impossible to get a hold of to pull it. Finally, after easily 3 months of real trying, it came out Saturday. Once that was out, Connor put his efforts into wiggling the other loose tooth he had, and only a few days later out it popped.
Apparently I should have said Connor's other excitements, because really, all the news seems to be his - he had a consult from the IWK regarding assistive technology, and, long story short, we have some really amazing options to run with, and he should begin training in January. Yes! Six months to become proficient before heading off to middle school - I think we can do it :)
xoxo
Jessi

Moxie Fab Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Challenge - LOVE!

Moxie Fab has the challenges that seem to get me going the most - this time it's a series of 4 favourite occasions for paper crafters. My first finished & scanned one is in the theme of love.



Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey, Sugar Rush;
snow-couple & heart rub-ons from Royal Langnickel;
snowflakes (Martha Stewart punches) from glitter paper;
heart button from Dress It Up!

Now, besides the background paper, it may not be immediately obvious why I'd put this into the challenge. It looks kind of Christmasy...but if you look closely, you'll see what I'm thinking: in the circle are the words "I love you for who you are." Check out the challenge details at Moxie Fab's blog entry.
xoxo
Jessi

Joy to the World!

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey Jovial;
rub-ons (holly & poinsettia) from Royal Langnickel;
"Joy to the World" tag from K & Co

...and now I have that song in my head!
I realized a few days ago that very few of my cards actually say "Merry Christmas" - almost every one has some other holiday greeting on it. I've been making an effort to purposely use all the "Merry Christmas" stamps I own (at least 5) - but it's strange, they are never my first choice!
The second Sackville Midnight Madness is coming up this Friday, December 10, so I am working my tail off trying to make as many things as possible before then. Pressure always helps creativity for me. Added to that pressure was the need to get a certain package sent off to BC, and of course the last thing to go into that package was something handmade. I have NO IDEA who waited until the last minute to get that done, but it's done now & on the way.
xoxo
Jessi

Season's Greetings

Supplies: K & Co paper, die cut girl, tag;
doily sponged with Old Paper distress ink;
Offray ribbon

Well, I've been cranking out the Christmas cards - and hardly had a chance to take pictures of any! I always say that I'm in it for the fun parts, and it's totally true. The plain old cutting cardstock, folding and trimming, and photographing or scanning is just not my favourite. I made a trip to Truro on Saturday to Carsand-Mosher for new goodies, and dug into them this morning. Among them were a few little Christmas bits, including more vintage yumminess like this little girl. And doilies are quickly becoming a staple for me. I found some fantastic ones in the "wedding craft" supply that state on the package that they are greaseproof. I worried that they wouldn't take ink well, but in fact that seems to improve how smoothly the ink applies.
I'm on call for homework help, and already by question number 5 Connor's yodeling that he can't do it alone. One more pretty before I go:

Supplies: Paper from Making Memories;
poinsettia/sentiment die cut from K & Co;
pearls from Dollarama

xoxo
Jessi

One month until Christmas!

That thud you heard, was me hitting the floor with a heart attack. All I can hear in my head at the moment is "STOP WASTING TIME!" (This, as I'm puttering away on the computer instead of doing something purposeful, like running around flapping and squawking "One month 'til Christmas!" repeatedly.)

Without further ado or lollygagging:

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey, Eskimo Kisses;
Snowman cupcake stamp & fun flock on scarf & hat from Stampendous;
Liquid Applique & microbeads for frosting, rhinestone strip from Dollarama;
sentiment rub-on from Kaisercraft

And, now I'm off to flap and squawk.
xoxo
Jessi

I want rats in a bag, please.

(Overheard as Riley plays in the kitchen...he has now added that he would like them chocolate-covered! And, apparently, they will cost 16 cents. lol)

Tomorrow Connor will play in a dodgeball game in River Hebert - the first time he has signed up for anything extra-curricular. He's pretty excited. I have scrapbooking club tomorrow after school, so Rob will drive out with the bus and then drive Connor back separately afterwards to make it to work a little faster. I'm not sure Rob has ever been on a school trip - and this one only has 16 kids, all in grade six, so I'm not even sure it counts. Still, I don't think I'll look this gift horse in the mouth.

Supplies: Papers all from Imaginisce;
stamps all from The Cat's Pajamas;
penguin & bear covered in white Fun Flock, Stampendous!;
felt leaf & poinsettia from Hero Arts; brad from Basic Grey

Now, I have no idea why it looks otherwise, but the two white ovals are the same colour, from the same piece of paper. Go figure. I love these little felt embellishments - for several years I've bought every package I could get my hands on, and then I tend to use them sparingly. So far I've been good about using them this year, and I hope to find some more this weekend as now I'm out of the poinsettias, and nearly out of snowflakes. Today was a bit of a slushy day weather-wise, so the snowy Christmasy days are not far off....I hear jingle bells!!

xoxo
Jessi