{SFYTT & TCP} Got Love?? I Do!!

Whew! I am one busy girl, I tell ya! This weekend I went on a little retreat with some girls...I decided to try something different than scrapbooking, so I took some material and my sewing machine and made something fun! I can't tell you right now, but in a few days I'll post some pics of my creations! (one is for my SIL and she checks my blog regularly, so I can't tell you what I made until she sees hers;) LOL! I also took some supplies and made this card for the TCP challenge this week:

I also used Jen's SFYTT for the month of January for this one.

I used two TCP stamps on this one: The bear is from the set Honey Bear and the balloons are part of the penguin stamp in Got Love. I paper peiced the bears tummy, muzzle, ears and toes, and coloured the rest of him with copics (E25,27,29). Her heart is paper pieced, popped up with a dimensional and crystal effects on top for shine. The balloons are the same: paper pieced, the odd one popped up and crystal effects on all of them. Chocolate bakers twine was added to the back of the balloons and tied with a bow and glued to her hand. I used my new MME paper. A mix of 'Hazel' and 'Gertie'. The tealy colour is baja breeze and I embossed it with a swirly cuttlebug folder. I used my circle and scalloped circle nesties to cut out the main image and teal dp behind. I also used some TCP cutups on this one: Icing and Big Scallop. The 'Love' ribbon is  from American Crafts and I thought it was perfect for the challenge! And check out the shine on those balloons! I also CE'd (is that a word??) her eyes and nose:)

Here is a close-up of the balloons! You can see the dimension in this picture better.

And here is the inside of the card. I stamped the bear in chocolate ink, added some more hearts that were paper-pieced and glazed, a few strips of dp and the icing and big scallop dies again. I used the sentiment from the 'Got Love' set and stamped it as one line instead of two.

Another Krafty Challenge

Hello my cyber friends! Yay! I am almost done my first contract at the college..just have to complete all of my students evaluations on Monday and then I am done:):) And one week til I am lounging on the beach in Mexico!!! I am starting to get a wee bit excited!
I was desperately needing some craft time to de-stress from my last week on the job, so I headed down to my stamp room and made this card for this weeks Kraftin Kimmie Challenge. Here is the sketch:

And here is my card. I used this sweet little froggy family, coloured them with various colours of copics and added some little warty frog-like skin to the dad and son with dots of colourless blender. Mom and baby have a few white freckles. Mommy Toad is wearing her best pearls and of course her diamond wedding ring;) lol!

I used my new MME dp. I love this stuff! You're going to see alot of this in the near future I think! The cardstock that I used is SU's Old Olive, Dusty Durango and Pacific Point and some old pacific point striped ribbon. The orange bakers twine is from The Twinery and the green polka dot fabric brad is a new Stampin Up goodie!
Here is a close up of the whole fam damily!

That's about it for this one! Thanks for stopping by!

Cased Cards

Hello friends! Want to see what I've been up to? Tonight is my monthly Stamper's Group. Twelve ladies, plus myself get together once a month for some stamping fun! Here is what we're making tonight...

This first card was one that I found on Splitcoasters here. I altered it a bit and changed the colour pallette to suit the brighter, spring colours that I was going for. I used the new SAB 'Bliss' set from SU, and I think this is gonna be one of my favorites! I also used the new dp that is in the SU mini- can't remember what it's called (the one with the buttons, patterns, and dolls on it), actually everything is SU, being that it's a Stampin' Up! group:) And I love this colour combo: peach parfait and melon mambo...FUN!! I used the 'Rock and Roll' technique on the butterfly, using pumpkin pie (don't have peach parfait) ink and then the melon mambo around the edge, fussy cut it out and then added some pearls.

This second card is almost exactly like the original. I found it on a fun little blog called Understand Blue. It's pretty funny and has some sweet little projects, as well as being great for a laugh over morning coffee! This card is made using the faux-pressed flower technique ...doesn't it look  like the fabric is inlaid into the paper?? Tres cool I think!!
Thanks for stopping in! See you next time & Happy Stampin!
Jenny

{TCPTUES145} Hoping for Sunshine

Hello again! Two posts in one day...I know- Crazy right? When you are friends with me you have to be a cactus....I will give you all I have when I can. You have to be like a cactus and take it all in and absorb my attention and let it nourish you til the next time I see you, and I can't gaurantee when that will be!!! LOL!! Right now it's the weekend and I am feeling like a crafty girl, so I am giving you all some much needed love:)

I made this little darling for The Cats Pajama's weekly challenge (TCPTUES145). I love Stampin Up! cardstock (it's really all I own), but I really think that they need a nice aqua colour...it is the only colour they are lacking in! I might have to be brave and live on the edge and veer from my one true love and commit adultery in the cardstock department! marina mist. No. Tempting Turquoise. No. Taken with Teal. No. Baja Breeze. No. See what I'm saying? No colour fits the bill when you need that blue aqua colour! Any recommendations out there?? What do you use when you want that specific colour?

I love this colour combo...well, really anything and brown is good in my books;) I went with the colour combo anyway (even though my aqua is more of a tealy- Bermuda Bay to be exact) and I like the look of all those buttons and polka dots, so that was the other inspiration that I got from the challenge.
I used my un-inked brand-spankin-new TCP little 'Wednesday Adams' stamp for this one...doesn't she remind you of a little Christina Ricci (but sweet rather than goth). Someone once said that she looks like a Timm Burton character..think 'Nightmare Before Christmas' and I totally agree!!!
I also used Verve's sketch for week 3 of February.

I know what you're thinking, 'Jenny, what's with the yellow??'...I know there's no yellow in the picture, but what can I say? I'm a free-spirit and If you try to box up this creativity I'll come at you like a cornered mongoose;) lol!
I used so saffron, bermuda bay and early espresso SU CS. The DP is My Mind's Eye  Fine & Dandy 'True Blue', I think. I stamped her in memento, coloured her with copics, added some yellow and aqua stickles, and some crystal effects to the raincoat and boots, umbrella, and the puddle that I drew in with my multiliner (notice the reflection?? Whatcha think??) I cut her out with a circle nestie and slightly sponged the die with soft sky ink. I crazy-stitched around the main panel (Jan is acting up again, btw). I cut some CS with the TCP wave die (water theme), and wrapped with with a double layer of espresso and polka dot bermuda bay ribbon. I used MFT's sun die to cut out some yellow felt and layered a cork button (TCP) tied with bakers twine on top of that. I cut a white cloud out of felt (all MFT) and another smaller one out of white paper, where I stamped the sentiment. I cut another cork button, tied with twine and popped that on top of the ribbon knot.

See the stickles and the glossy CE? Cute, yes? I like how the puddle turned out too:)

I left the inside blank...the buttons were enough;) I may have gotten a little carried away...ya think? tee hee!!

A Valentine for a Single Gal!

Hey everybody! Boy Oh Boy! I've been so busy that I haven't even darkened the door of my stamp room all week! I had so much to do that I didn't want to take the chance of even peeking in or the gravitational pull might have drug me in and then I never would have gotten out;) LOL!!
Last night I did get some stampin time in and I made this little belated Valentine for my bestie, who's been having a bad run in the dating game....She is so beautiful, smart and absolutely hilarious, has a good job, has good morals....so not sure what the problem is with the men in her neck of the woods, cuz they should be beating her door down! Valentine's is such a commercialized holiday...the price of flowers is doubled, crappy Halmark cookie cutter cards make millions (hehe) and single people feel like leppers....I don't worry to much about it because with our lifestyle of DH being gone lots, it's really just another day...But I do LOVE all the cute little stuff out there- especially the paper crafting supplies!!!! And seeing the kids get excited about it is so fun too, so I guess all in all, it's alright:) So here is kind of a non-traditional card that I made for my bff. I think she'll get a kick out of it cuz it sure is a 'Jungle out There'!

I used Viva la Verve's sketch (VLVFEB2011week 1) and I really love this sketch!!! I also am entering this card in the Kraftin Kimmie guest dt challenge for April. The challenge was a recipe (3 CS colours, 2 DP, 1 ribbon and 1 button). I used black, kiwi kiss and melon mambo from SU as my CS colours, the 2 DP's are from BoBunnys Valentines line, the ribbon is SU and the button is from MFT. I used a circle cuttlebug folder to emboss the CS squares and SU circle punches to cut out the sentiment. I stamped the image and coloured her with my copics (R81, 83, 85, RV00, YG03,21, N5,7, T1 for shading, and O for the texturing on the fur). I added some crystal effects to the nose and eyes and traced around the inside of the nestie die with my copic multiliner for some 'pop'. I threaded the button with black floss.

I kept the inside really simple, as I want to write an uplifting little message:) I used another circle nestie and traced with the multiliner to give it some continuity. I really like how this card turned out! Sometimes it's fun to colour an image differently than one would expect!! Pink monkey's aren't found in nature, but she's sure cute on a card:) Thanks for stopping by! I am working on a super sweet TCP card that I should have done and posted by tonight!!



Betty's Buns

Hahaha- did the title of this blog get you thinkin? Any of you country music fans might know thats a George Canyon song that cracks me up...and this is a card featuring Kraftin Kimmie's 'Betty' and her buns of course;) lol!! This is the card that I entered for Kraftin Kimmie's weekly challenge last week. The theme was 'seeing red'....
I didn't follow a sketch and just kind of went with it:)

The dp is Crate Paper's 'Restoration'. I used SU cardstock for the base and mats, as well as strips cut using a MFT die.  I stamped my girl in memento onto TE choice snow white CS and coloured her with copics. She is cut out with a nestie and sponged with colorbox chalk ink in charcoal. I used some silver adhesive pearls on the nestie panel as well as on the corners. Black satin SU ribbon is tied around the cardfront and SU grey taffeta ribbon and a SU flower brad finish it off:) I also added some spica clear glitter pen to her eyeshadow, choker, flowers on her sleeves and her belt. I get lots of questions about which copics I use for hair...for the dark brown hair, I usually go with E57, E47 and E49 and then add some E00 or 01 on only the areas where I want major highlights (I find it looks more natural than using colourless blender 0 to get those super light areas..)

Here is a closeup of Betty and her buns.....Isn't she somethin'!! Man, I used to want Barbie's figure..now my jaw drops over a one dimensional rubber image;) haha!! I haven't finished the inside yet- I was running late and leaving for the weekend, and needed to get this uploaded to the Kraftin Kimmie blog before I left..I think I'll work on the inside tonight after the kidlets go to bed! Ah, bedtime- my favorite time of the day;) lol!

My Aunt that I was away visiting has some Kimmie stamps and I stamped a bunch of them to bring home with me to colour (thanks auntie!) and I have an idea brewing for a card to make for this weeks challenge (it's a recipe)...so you might see another KK post tomorrow if I happen to get carried away in the Stampin' room tonight!!
See you soon~
Jenny

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Howdy friends! Well, another work week has wrapped up for me:) Two more weeks on this contract and then we are off to Mexico for a week!!! YAY!!! Yesterday was my oldests 7th birthday!!! It was actually a pretty crappy bday for him...I felt bad:( I have to leave for work long before anyone wakes up, so I didn't even get to see him and wish him a happy day in the morning...he asked me if I could bring in cupcakes to school like the other moms do, and of course that was a 'No' being that I leave for work just before 6 and don't get home until 4.....but I did pack a little wrapped up present in his backpack to surprise him with.  I found a few balloons in the junk drawer and made his favorite food (pizza) for supper and Jake and my super sweet sister in law/ babysitter made some dinosaur cupcakes to surprise him with. So I guess it wasn't that bad all in all! I made him this card using last month SFYTT.

Not super-thrilled with the way this card turned out....far too much green!! LOL But I was in a hurry, so I just went with it. I stamped and masked the little toys in the wagon, coloured it all with copics, added grass. There are lots of brads (and some in the wagon wheels) and I added some paper peircing- which I never do- for some added visual interest. I cut the sentiment out with a spellbinders label die and pierced around the inside of the die before removing it from the paper to keep it nice and straight;) The felt cloud is cut from a MFT die and the green cord button is SU. I used some TCP divine twine to tie the button. The DP is BasicGrey's Marjolaine. I used kiwi kiss and brocade blue CS from Stampin Up. Both the little 'wyatt' stamp and the 'happy birthday' sentiment are MFT (the HB is from Little Loveosaurus). I used my new label die from MFT for the inside, added some repetative dinosaurs, the sentiment and some brads. Viola! Not too hard and Ryan thought it was pretty cool (see the icing on the left side of the inside?)! I didn't write on it....wanted to take the pic first and then forgot;) Jake stamped a card for his brother too! I'll post that one next time:)
See you soon!

{MFTWSC5} Welcome Little Kate!

Hello everyone! Hope that you all had a relaxing weekend! I had hoped to get more stamping done, but yesterday I took the boys to visit their grandparents (my hubbys parents) and we ended up staying all day! And last night I just felt the need to veg! So I watched a movie on TV (Maid In Manhatten) and I love those cheesy romantic movies! I got busy this morning and made this card for my hubbys cousin who had a new little baby girl and the shower is this weekend. I don't think I'll be able to make it, so I'll be sending this little ditty and a gift with my mother in law. I might take the boys and head south to visit some family. Ryan is off school Thursday and Friday this week. I work on Thursday though, so I think I'll pick the boys up from the babysitter and have everything packed and ready to go for after work. It's about a 3 hour drive, so we can be there for supper:) I've already told the boys about it and they are very excited to see their auntie and cousin Susie! If I back out now, they'll be pretty mad at mom!
The card is based on MFT's sketch for this week:

As you can see, I pretty much followed the sketch to the T...except the little sentiment tag. I didn't really want anything on the front, as I really wanted the use that Robert Munsch quote on the inside and I think that's a big enough quote. Sara is a teacher, so I thought she'd really like that quote...Robert Munsch is  legendary with those elementary teachers, I tell ya! I got 2 MFT packages in the mail Friday (can I get a WhoopWhoop!!) The new A La Modes are divine this month! I love this one with the bear and the fishing girl is.....nope, no words!!!! I can't wait to get her inked up! She will be the precious.....;)
I used My Minds Eye Fine & Dandy 'pretty in pink' designer paper that came as part of the WTG VIP package. I stamped her onto choice snow white, coloured her with copics and paper pieced the teddy's bow. I cut the image out with an oval nestie and sponged it with chalk ink while still in the die. I matted it with a scalloped oval nestie. I used an MFT scallop border die to make a double layer with dp and shite CS. I did a bit of sewing and added a SU white organza bubbly bow, topped with an MFT button tied with some TCP divine twine (man, that stuff is Goo-oood!). I added a teensy bit of clear spica glitter pen to the girls headband and the teddys nose and ears.

I am a little unsure of how the inside turned out. I wanted to stamp the sentiment onto another oval die, but it didn't fit quite right with the authors quote, so I stuck it on the bottom....see the nice ink smudge on the pink dp and the ribbon? Nice work, Jenny! lol
The sentiment  is also from the WTG VIP package set.

Thanks for popping in! I'll be back as soon as I can rustle something up for ya!:)

Sewing machine Update: Did I mention that this is the second main panel that I made for this card?? The first one literally got ate by Jan. She is a glutton, what can I say? She'll bite your finger off if you get it too close. After dislodging what was left of panel #1, I gave Jan (short for janome of course) a good chewing out. She was at the business end of a few profanities (none that even come close to blog-appropriate), and I very 'roughly' ripped out her bobbin and a few other random under-pieces, put everything back, gave her a new needle, and she actually ran a bit smoother for the rest of the card. I think she got my point;) We'll see how she preforms next time.

{TCP144) A Card & Happy News!

WOW!!! What a week I've had! My first week back at work brought lots of mixed feelings....from myself as well as the kids. They were pretty sad that mom wouldn't be there when they woke up! They already seem better though! And talk about exhausted when i get home, and then I am expected to play, read, cook supper, clean, do laundry....all while having a little one hanging off of my leg! How do you full-time working moms do it???? Hat's off to you all out there! At one point this week, I almost made the kids eat the 3 day old popcorn that was ground into the living room carpet for supper!!! This weekend is devoted to cleaning, laundry, and cooking some decent meals so I don't have to feel too guilty about serving KD, hotdogs and pizza during the week! Oh, and I'm sure I'll get a bit of stamping in to keep me sane! I didn't realize how much I was getting out of my little hobby until I hadn't had time for it!!! It's actually really good for me I think!

AND......I won the super duper title of Swanky Stamper of the Month over at The Cats Pajama's!!! YIPPEE SKIPPY!! There were so many phenominal entries this month that I really was saocked when Alma emailed me! Then I checked the MFT blog and I won a sweet little set just for having my comment on one of the designers sneak peeks selected! Oh, I know that's some serious good stuff, but my week of good luck goes on: My card for the MFT guest DT challenge was featured as a 'Favorite Find' on the MFT website and another card that I had entered in Jeanie Witmer's 'Thats Krafty Thursday' was selected as one of the winners!!!!!!!! Wow- What a week!!! I am on cloud nine!!!! I am overflowing with gratitude right now:)

So, here is the card that I whipped up last night for TCP Tuesday 144. Yay! A sketch from the uber-talented Leigh O'Brien to get your mojo flowing:

So- I let my creative brain take over a bit on this one....I flipped the sketch, made the circle panel a heart that I set off the top of the card a bit, and the rectangle panel has actually been replaced with the little bear and tag combo that is tucked inside of the 'valentine'. I dug out one of my all-time fav SU paper pack, Razzleberry Lemonade and used some old olive, melon mambo, and rich razzleberry CS. I got my TCP order in the mail yesterday and I couldn't wait to bust out the heart trio cutup die...oh yeah baby- buttah!! I nestled them to make some custom colour hearts, and tied a little heart button with some pink bakers twine. The tag is a spellbinders that was sponged with memento tangelo ink to match the tag. The big heart valentine is actually a Stampin Up! die (petal card, I think?) that I cut in CS and dp, attached them together and I folded two petals in and machine stitched around it to make the pocket! There is alot of machine stitching (straight and zigzag) and I left the ends uncut for some interest. Onto the bear: I stamped him with memento twice, coloured one up nice with Copics (I accidently used SU cs again, but the effect looks okay for fur, so I didn't bother redoing it..:)I coloured the heart bright pink, stamped the heart on DP and made some little heart punch outs with a handheld punch, adhered it to the main image over the pink heart and covered the whole thing with crystal effects. The nice bear was attached to a plain coloured bear with dimensionals to give him a little thickness. The tag is another spellbinders label die, sponged and stamped with a sentiment from the Love Letters set. An eyelet with 2 layers of the bakers twine was added for the final touch! Gosh, I think that's about it! Whew! Did I breathe there? lol
Here is a close up:

Geez, my sewing machine is still being a total b#$@*! Missing stitches here and there (like the bobbin isn't catching the top-thread) Any suggestions from other paper-sewers out there??

Here is a view with the little bits out of the Valentine....You could write a little love note to your sweetie and tuck it away in the heart for only him to see;)But you have to make your own- this one's for my guy! I think I'm gonna add another little tag in there and send hubby a little message....or Jake- he thinks it would ba a good valentine for him! He's a pretty special guy too!!
Speaking of Jake......

He whipped his little friend in front of the camera just as I was about to take the picture!! Little turd- he tries this all the time, and I usually have either his head, hand or a toy front and center!!!

Well, if you've read to the end of this long-winded post that thank you kindly! And if you are someone who just likes to look at the pictures, then thanks to you too!!! Please stop by again soon- I'll be posting as soon as I can!!
Jenny