Friday, November 22, 2013

Let the Christmas Holiday begin!

our current challenge is
GET FESTIVE!
I chose to use one of my favorite Stampendous images.
He was originally released for Halloween, but serves nicely as a Christmas owl
when you add snow and a touch of holiday red! 
 
 
I was away from my computer when I colored this image, so I wasn't as secure about the
colors as I would have been had I Googled owls.
 
 
Colored with Copics, I love the pop of red on his belted top hat and bowtie!
 
 
The snow on the branches is a bit difficult to see in the photo,
but gives texture and dimension on the card IRL!  :)
 
 
This is how the easel card will appear in the 6 x 6 envelope when I mail it out.
Papers used were DCWV, several of their 6 x 6 stacks of glitters and foils!
 
Please check out the new challenge at Stampin' for the Weekend!
And please leave a comment so I know you stopped by!
I love the company!
~Jan~


Friday, November 8, 2013

Celebrating Fall with Bugaboo!

This upcoming challenge at Stampin' for the Weekend
is all about Fall!

My grandson very recently became a BIG brother,
and I know that a lot of attention is going to the new baby!

 
I thought this card would be a great way to remind him
 that Grandma has not
forgotten her "used-to-be-little", big boy!
We are also celebrating his making the
"Principal's List" 
(apparently that's a good thing!)
 
 
Using Bugaboo "BB Bratz Ruler Boy" image.
 
 
I popped up the little guy so he sits comfortably on the ruler.
The sentiment is an old rub-on from my stash.
 
If I stick this in the mail today,
he will have it before I see him again!
He loves getting mail!
 
Thanks for joining us at Stampin' For the Weekend!
If you haven't seen them, check out what the rest of the design team has put together for Fall!
And now on to our upcoming challenge; the theme is Fall colors . sponsored by
Bugaboo
and
Scrappiness Designs!
 
~Jan~
 


Monday, October 28, 2013

It's a GHOUL!

Or should I say GIRL!
 
I have a brand-spankin' new granddaughter!
 
Harper Skye
was born Tuesday morning!
 
And she is a cutie!
 
Forgive my cheesy smile.  I just had a hard time containing my excitement!
 
  7 hours old...
Mother and baby are doing great!
 
GREAT-Grandma, Hayden, and Harper.
 
They came home on Friday, and I was able to spend the weekend feeding and changing, and burping and cooing....
 
 Hayden even set the TV remote aside long enough to hold and feed his little sister.
We'll see how long that lasts!
 
3 days old...
 
I wish we could bundle them up tight and keep them like this forever!
 
Now I have a grandson and granddaughter, so I suppose life is pretty great!
I can only imagine how some of you with TONS of grandchildren do it!
 
~Jan~
 


Thursday, October 24, 2013

"Something Spooky"

Yep, there's some real spookiness going on over at
 
The challenge is to create something spooky for the holiday!
 
Easy enough with all those terrific images out there!
 
I chose to use one of my favorite sponsors,
Saturated Canary!
She's gorgeous and rather scary at the same time!
 
 
 
Image used:
"Withering Fairy"
 
Colored with Copics, and paper used is Graphic 45.
 
Have fun, and create something really scary! LOL!
 
~Jan~

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Fall Float!

House Mouse
"Fall Flight"
 
Whether she's sailing downward, or across the sky like in this card,
this little guy appears to be having the time of his life!
 
Love these leaves and the adorable expression on her face!
 
 
This card is entered in the Blog Hop Challenge at
"Anything Goes with Twine"
They have some great prizes and the designers have offered up many of their own
goodies as giveaways!
Who doesn't want to win some House Mouse?!
Have you seen the new Gruffies?  CUTE!


It's TIME!

I know I have mentioned my grandson many times on my blog,
and even posted layouts of him.
NOW, I am waiting to hear about the birth of my second grandchild,
a girl this time!
 
Hayden will have a new, little sister!
 

I am a little over the top today!

My immediate family grows bigger!  Yeah!
 
(I only wish my dad were still here to meet our new member.
But I know he's watching and very happy, too!)
 

I never imagined I would be this excited,
but the timing is terrific!
I am feeling great, have regained my weight from
my earlier illness,
and can't wait to see and help care for this new little bundle!
 
I will, for sure, be posting some pictures soon!
Thanks for the few of you who DO visit my  blog and read all my rantings at times!
 
I truly appreciate you!
 
Be back soon with photos of the new
baby girl!
(And hopefully she'll have a name by then!)
~Jan~


Monday, October 21, 2013

Are you scared yet?

Dustin Pike has done it again!
The new August release is full of adorable (and frightening!) Halloween images!
As always, each with it's own whimsical twist.
 
See all the new images and find out how you can get hundreds of terrific digitals images at
Here is my card made with one of those cute guys!
 
 
 
Isn't he just too scary?  LOL!
I would have preferred to use cheese cloth, but all my scrapping supplies are pretty much packed in boxes at the moment.
The tissue paper worked fairly well as mummy wrapping,
don't you think?
 
Have a great day, and join us over at the
anytime for a challenge and chance to win some images!
We've been on vacation, but the fun is about to begin again!
 
~Jan~

Friday, October 18, 2013

"Stampendously" Spooky!

There's nothing really scary about these little fellas,
but they sure do make adorable Halloween cards!
 
 
You can capture this image yourself either at the
Stampendous store or from the House Mouse website.
 
 
Challenges:
 
Colored using Copic markers.
 
Thanks for looking today!

Friday, October 11, 2013

New Stampin' for the Weekend Challenge!

Well, here I am!
Finally ready to buckle down again and start creating on a regular basis!
You have no idea how happy I am to feel well enough to be making projects again!
 
As a new design team member of
Stampin' for the Weekend,
 I have this adorable Stamp Fairy image card in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 
Everyone hears every day how important it is to get your yearly mammogram, but how many people actually follow through each and every time?
I purposely have mine on or around my birthday in November, which means it's just around the corner.  I will be calling and scheduling my next visit very soon.


The image is Stamp Fairy's  "Molly Fairy 3", and my papers are
DCWV, Birthday Wishes 6 x 6 Stack.
I love coloring with my Copics, but felt this little gal needed a nicely printed fussy-cut dress.
 

 
 Inside of card!

 
 
Please join us at Stampin' for the Weekend for the current challenge,
"Anything Goes".
The sponsor is Stamp Fairy, so if you have any, we'd love to see them! 
 
Also, don't forget to have your mammogram when it is due.
The life you save could be your own.
 
 
Thanks for looking today!
Please leave a comment and become a follower!
I love to see how many people are actually out there reading this!
~Jan~

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Special Announcement!

Upon returning from my two week vacation, I will be joining
the terrific Design Team at
Stampin' for the Weekend!
(Thanks, Rebekah, for this great opportunity!)

They feature some amazing sponsors, only one of which is
Saturated Canary!
 
 I love their images and can't wait to work with these and many other sponsors!

Here are a few of my past projects using Saturated Canary!
Aren't they adorable?




 
If you aren't already familiar with this blog,
go check them out!
Great challenges, wonderful prizes,
and a terrific team! 
 
See you October 2nd!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Dear friend...

I made this card for a good friend who recently took a nasty spill off her bike.
She is recovered now, but spent a long while in the hospital.
 
Being a retired "cowgirl" myself, I knew she would appreciate the ol',
 "Get back in the saddle" attitude!
 
 
The layout I copied from Jennifer Dove's amazing card that's very similar, except that I added the charms and crackle painted my fence.
 
 
My friend received her card the other day and couldn't stop gushing over it!
Now that's why I, as a card maker, do what I do!
Bringing a little happiness into someone's life!
 
 Entered in challenge at
Stampin' for the Weekend (Summertime colors)
and they're having a DT call!  Fun blog!  Check them out!
and


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Catch me if I fall...

This little guy appears to have a nice, soft place to land!
The leaves were colored with Copics and fussy-cut so they could pop up off the card.  Not an easy task. 
I am now appreciating the girls efforts who have been
cutting out these little leaves for their projects!
 
 
 
I actually stamped one of the House Mouse images (Fall Float) twice in order to have the extra leaves for the "landing pad".
 
 
With some curled edges, they really appear to be FLOATING on the page!
This is definitely one of my fall favorites!
 
 
I will be entering this card at

Simple SPOOKY Easy Easel Card!

As long as I had my
Stampendous, "Pumpkin Gate" stamp
all inky,
I decided to make a second card for the
 
 
I love the Halloween paint chips from Stampendous.
Makes for a GREAT place for these guys to rest.
 
 
A simple sentiment was all that was needed.
 
 
I also decided to punch holes on each side of the gate post so I could slip a small ribbon through and tie a tiny bow.
 
Enjoy your week!
Thanks for looking and please leave a comment!
I love knowing you were here!
~Jan~


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Craft's Meow September Challenge!

Sending Butterfly Kisses!
What a terrific way to celebrate saying goodbye to summer!
Cooler weather is on its' way!
 
Techniques abound over at Craft's Meow this week!
Check out all of the DT's great tips on how to ink up your projects!
 
I used the blending ink colors to mimic water colors and also used the metallic look for my background.
 
Using my favorite little stamp,
"Butterfly Kisses"
I heat embossed her over a misted green/blue background, and then highlighted her delightful little wings with some vibrant color!
The background is embossed with
Spellbinders'
M-Bossabilities, "Flora".
I inked it in Momento, Gold and Copper, and then rubbed on some
Copper metal Rub-n-Buff.
It really shines!
 
My little butterflies were stamped and fussy cut to pop off the card!
 
 
This card says so long Summer and welcome Fall !

Entered into the challenge at Craft's Meow (techniques)
and
Moxie Fab World, (All that Glitters)
Simon Says Monday Challenge Blog (Embossing)
Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog (Embossing)

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Stampendous Faux Watercolor

I was thumbing through my copy of Paper CRafts magazine and I was so impressed by Stampendous' DT Tenia Nelson's inked "watercolor" project, that I had to see if inks could really look like true watercolors!
 
I combined the two stamps, "Castle Gate", and "Pumpkin Gate" by
blending my background "watercolors" with regular ink pads and blotters, and then stamping and heat embossing the Castle Gate on top.
 
I think it worked very well! 
Tenia used much brighter colors on her card, so the variations really popped. Mine is a more subtle, blended style.
I also took a tip from another blog site, and added the small swirl at the bottom using the lower portion of the "Thinking of You" sentiment stamp from Stampendous, turned upside down!
You simply wet your stamp with water, stamp your image over the dry ink, and allow it to pull up some of the color!   I love the effect!
 
 
The little pumpkins were inked and fussy cut, then popped up over the gate image.
 
 
I am entering this in the Stampendous September Challenge, "Fall Fun"!
And throwing out a big thanks to Tenia at the DT for the terrific idea!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Doodle Dragon Christmas in July

Here's yet another of the adorable images available right now at Dustin Pike's store!
blog has so many cute samples for you to enjoy.
 
 
 
 
Check out this terrific collection where you buy 50 images
and get 50 more free!
There are also monthly challenges where you can win some images!
Just use a Doodle Dragon image on your card, and your illegible!
And we have freebies on the website!


Friday, August 30, 2013

Whoodo you voodoo this Halloween?

"Frazzled"
When I received this little Unity/Ippity "Itty Bitty" stamp in the mail, I just HAD to put together some cute cards for a select few members of my family and friends who would appreciate the humor of having "someone" in their lives to put a voodoo hex on!
(I happen to know a friend's attorney who better watch his back!  whaahahaa!)
 
 

 
So I made a trio of the little ghoulish girlies!
I was cropping away from the house and away from my markers, so I colored them with pencils.
Not thrilled as I would be with the Copics, but the basic look works well enough for this purpose.
I just think this little doll is too cute NOT to utilize her.
I know MY doll and pins will get used!
 
 
The burlap paper is the new release from DCWV!
I love that it comes in the 6 x 6 pack and cuts really easily
with your paper cutter
(cut burlap side down for a nice sharp edge)
The paper is also DCWV,
"Bewitched".
 
Have a great week!
And celebrate 110 years of Harley Davidson by keeping your eyes on the road and pay attention to those bikers!
Most accidents are caused by the drivers of the cars,
not the bikes.
 
~Jan~


Stampendous Challenge Part Two

I have another House Mouse project for the August challenge at Stampendous today.
This time it is a simple holiday card with another
adorable House Mouse!
 
Hanging Around
 
Close up of image
 
I debated adding "snow" to the branches and leaves but didn't want to distract from the cute little image!
 And notice the difference when shadows were added to the image.
They didn't show up very well in the photo, but adding shadows gives dimension!
 
 
 
I am so excited to see these little images available at Stampendous!
My Christmas cards are almost completely finished and it's only August!
Yippee!
 
Papers: October Afternoon
White Trim:  May Arts
Red Trim: Recollections
Copics Markers
 
Have a great weekend!
~Jan~


MFT November Sketch Challenge!

This week at MFT ,  the sketch challenge #462 is  a fairly simple one!.   Here's my take on a much needed Get Well card for my ...