Wee Little One!

Finally getting around to scrapping my grandchildren after almost two years of card making only!!!

Shame on me, my bad!

 

Here's one of my favorite photos of Harper at only two months old.

Those beautiful eyes have been mesmerizing from day one!

 

 

Papers used were from the gorgeous new DCWV paper pack,

"hello darlin' Stack"

 

I love the soft water color look of this page.

The rub-on sentiment was Prima,

Nursery Tales Collection.

 

 

 



The flowers were in my Bazzill stash from their terrific closeout sale when they sold the company here in Phoenix.  Gotta start using all those goodies!

 

Thanks for letting me share my precious little granddaughter with you!

Lots to catch up on!  She turns two in October!

 

~Jan~

Paper Piecing for SFTW!

When I stamp, I often forget that paper piecing can really add so much texture and color to your image. And, I'm not always in the mood to color that day!

 

 

For the challenge this week at

Stampin' for the Weekend,

we are highlighting "FLOWERS!"

 

I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of flowers and Valentine's on the girls' projects,

so I  limited the stamped and paper flowers and went with a flower garden theme.

 

 

The image is one from "Sparkle Creations" that I've had for quite some time.

Even though Sparkle, the owner, has closed shop for now, due to have a baby sometime this summer,

I wanted to create a card showcasing the way pattern paper piecing can add so much

to a simple image.

Also, the twine and tiny rhinestone earring make her so adorable!

So, don't forget to get out those tiny scissors and create!

 

Enter your own project at

"Stampin' for the Weekend"

and win a great prize (sponsor is a surprise!)

 

I would love to know you were here, so please leave a comment!

We get so many wonderful entries, but I'd like to know who's out there reading this!

 

Have a great Valentine's weekend!

~Jan~

 

 



"Something Spooky"

Yep, there's some real spookiness going on over at

Stampin for the Weekend!

 

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~

Back after what seems like FOREVER!

As some of you may know, I have been very ill for quite some time.

Without going into a lot of boring detail, I suffered from severe anxiety and weight loss from issues stemming from the sleep deprivation caused by Ambien.

Yes, you either increase your dosage (which I refused to do) or give in to the fact that while taking it, you will sleep shorter and shorter periods of time.  I had hit bottom at two hours per night for several months. Take my word for it, sleep meds are not the answer. 

 

But, I am thrilled to say that I am better now, close to my "fighting weight", and feeling like I can again join the rest of humanity in enjoying life!

 

Enough of that...

 

I made my first challenge card today in a very long time!

 

 

 

I have been exploring the stamp blogs as if I had never seen any of them before!  Six months can leave one very mesmerized!  But then, it now all seems new and fresh to me!

 I saw this challenge for a "Silhouette" card on

http://sweetstampsblog.blogspot.com/

Sweet Stamps!

First off, I LOVE the stamp images they offer, and second, I have none!

So, I grabbed what I DID have and made this sweet heat embossed card.

 

Thanks for coming back after my having abandoned my blog for so terribly long.

Please forgive.

 

Paper:  MME, "Lost and Found"

Images: Tim Holtz and TPC

Embossing Powder:  Stampendous, "Detail Black"

Flowers: Prima



Hoppin' off to school!

I have been trying to be in several places at one time this past few weeks,

and my scrap time has been greatly reduced.

(Translates to "I have little time to color".)

 

So, this week I took out my Crafter's Companion,

Beatrix Potter, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" CD-Rom.

 

How cool are these!

 

The Decoupage sheets contain several versions of the same image, with various sections seperate from the image so that you can fussy-cut and layer making an adorable 3-D project!

 

My bad for not having discovered these sooner!

 

 

Because so very often I need a card for an unplanned occasion, I leave them blank or don't add a sentiment on the front at all!

 

I can think of many ideas for this little card.

 

 

The details literally just POP off the card!

 

 

I have been a longtime Beatrix Potter fan, and these character stamps, CD's, and pre-colored images are perfect!

 

 

Check out all of the wonderful options that Crafter's Companion offers at their store here!



DCWV Monthly Card Sketch Challenge

This month's card sketch is:

 

So I quickly grabbed my "Wild Splendor" and made this!

 

I am so in love with this collection!

The fall colors are perfect and the gold foil and gold/bronze sparkle is

just enough...

 

 

Depending on the light reflection, the leaves actually DO turn just just as they do IRL!

Truly "beautiful"!

 

Enter your own project at

DCWV Diary

for a chance to win some terrific paper!

 



DCWV Autumn Melody

"Family Traditions"

 

I wanted to capture the magic that was so evident in the photo where my grandson is reading to my mother,

his great-grandmother.

There will only be so many moments like this in

this lifetime.

 

 

Hayden had been reading at a very high level for some time, but my mother had never had the opportunity until last November to sit down and share a book with him. I know she loved it, having read to me and my sister, and then to my children from the time we were all very young.

At only 6, he was reading at a third grade level!  He has since started second grade this year, and is in a Gifted Program, so I'm sure he will be passing us all up and reading everything he gets his hands on now!

 

These DCWV papers are so gorgeous to work with!

Fall colors with a touch of elegance...

 

 

The gold foil on the leaf pattern paper is my all-time favorite for this time of year!

Even in small amounts die cut, border punched, or as trim, this paper steals the show!

 

 

The coordinating stickers make putting together a finished layout a breeze!

My banners have a beautiful sheet music print and comes in the stack, too!

I only wish my photos would do it justice.

 

My mother hates photos of herself, but I have a  feeling she'll

make exceptions for this one!

 

Please leave a comment so I know you've been here!

I love reading them and returning the favor by going to your blogs and seeing

your own creations!

 

Thank you, too, Fiskars, Spellbinders, and Prima

for their amazingly wonderful products!

 



Crafter's Companion shows "Friendship"!

My challenge entry this week at

Crafter's Companion

is this adorable little S.w.a.l.k gal

and a sweet sentiment from Henry Thoreau.

 

 

 

This particular stamp set is called "With Sympathy", but I look at her and she just appears to be deeply sincere whatever her message and can be used for

 many occasions.

And I love to color these with my markers!

 

Inside of card reads...

 

 

and is a combination of sentiment from MFT,

and silhouette image by Unity Stamps.

 

I hope to win a gift certificate from Crafter's Companion so I can get more of these adorable stamps!



Sweet Blossom Layout!

As soon as I opened this DCWV stack,

 I fell in LOVE with these poppies!

I wanted something SPECIAL for my home this next Spring, and I knew these flowers would be gorgeous on a wall hanging!

We actually grow the California poppies here in Phoenix, so how perfect!

Of course, my house isn't painted in this delicious red/orange herringbone, but only because the HOA would have a hissy fit! LOL!

And the little shutters?  I cut matchsticks and dyed them with a Copics marker!

I die cut the house using my Cricut, "Heritage" cartridge,

attaching it to the background poppies paper.

I then cut the flower images from a second sheet of the stack paper,

curled, and layered them.
  A bit of brown micro beads, and they come to life!

It's hard to see clearly, but the doorknob is a resin flower.

Also, difficult to see, is the background printed texture! Looks like linen!

The felt row of flowers and green lace are from Prima!

The sentiment is the heat embossed,

 "Flower Path" from

Stampendous!

Thanks for looking at my project today,

and get started on those home decor items of your own! 

Friends and family LOVE handmade Christmas gifts!



DYSU Challenge- Play it "COOL"!

The Stamping Boutique

* Winner's Choice of 3 Digis

Copic Maker Scrapbooking

* 6 copic ciao marker (North/South America), Martha Stewart punch (rest of the world)

Scrapper's Delight

* $5 Gift Certificate

Wow! 
SUMMER and Challenge #80 is already here!

Here is my little summer gal, colored with Copics.
The frame around the little hula girl is cut out of the patterned paper and
 popped up on the card.

I also added a little sparkle by adding some Embossing Powder and mica crystals onto the frame. I even heat embossed the shell to make it prettier.

The bling was added to simulate "waves".

The sandals are from my ever-growing collection of charms.

Join us at

 "Do You Stack Up?"

and you could win a fantastic prize!

Supplies:

Papers; DCWV, "Pocket Full of Posies"; Bazzill Cardstock

Stamp ("Hula Kiddo"), Embossing Powder, and Mica Fragments; Stampendous

Flower; Prima Marketing
Bling; Zva Marketing

Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge!

My card for the challenge at

Skipping Stones Designs:

and the sketch I followed:

I used the SSD stamp set, "Always Here".

I love the way the gorgeous butterflies and dragonfly heat emboss so clearly.

I dug through my older stash and the papers, flowers,
and even the black pearls were all from Prima Marketing.

The vow I made today is to educate myself more on my camera and the lighting process that causes the colors to look entirely different from what they are IRL.

It was frustrating today to try and get a photo when the yellows and golds were showing up differently on the embossed butterfly than on the ink stained flowers.

I had plenty of natural light in my little photo alcove and the white backdrop seemed bright enough. And it was too da!#&%#  hot in Phoenix to stand outside to

take a picture!

I found a great tutorial posted today by Debbie Carriere at My Favorite Things that I think addresses that very issue.  To see for yourself, go HERE!

In the meantime, I'm still working on the hubby for a new camera. If anyone has any suggestions for a good point and shoot SLR, please send them!
I am rather unhappy with my 3 year old Nikon Coolpix...constantly having to replace the AA batteries (doesn't use a special battery with a charger) and the settings are resetting themselves on their own.  hmmm...a haunted camera maybe? 

Well, based on the many number of times I've entered the SSD challenges,

the odds should be on my side to win soon! 

Wish me luck!

DCWV June Card Sketch Challenge!

The monthly Stack-A-holic card and layout sketch challenges at

DCWV

go until the end of the month,

so hurry and get yours in!

Here's my card!

I can truly call myself a "Stack-A-holic"!

DCWV papers are my "go-to" papers 90% of the time! 

They have a stack for almost any occasion!

Thanks for looking!

DYSU Challenge #69- Case the DT!

Little Darlings - $10 Gift Certificate

A Day for Daisies - $16 gift certificate

The Paper Shelter - $20 Gift Certificate

This week we have a special challenge!

Pick a card that one of us made

and is posted in this challenge,

case it,

and post it on your blog!

Please tell us who's card it is, and if it's not obvious, what about that designer's project inspired you!

I chose this adorable little Paper Shelter image!

She reminds me of those carefree days of Summer in my own backyard, enjoying the

weather and no school! 

I love using game pieces and lined paper on my projects,

and coloring her was so much fun!

For the list of sponsors, please go to the DYSU blog!
And check out all the other cards there!
I know there will be at least one you'll want to copy!

Good luck!

Pastels for Spring!

The challenge at JustRite Inspirations this week is

"Perfect Pastels!"

How absolutely gorgeous to see all of the beautiful

design team posts!

On my card, I took inspiration from the colors and the black of the vintage typewriter in the inspiration photo!

I tried something new this time around and am not sure how I feel about it.

I heated the ribbon on the edges to allow it to curl slightly, hoping to give it more texture and not look so flat. 

In the photo, it appears to be just crooked ribbon or paper...

Perhaps not a technique I will use layered under another element again.

IRL, it really looks pretty.

I added a sparse amount of crushed glass to the butterfly wings, also.

Jury's still out on that one, too...

To break down my supplies, I used:

JustRite stamps; Fleur dis Lis Labels Twenty,
Greetings from Paris,
and

Victorian Nested Frames and Sentiments (No longer available)

Dies; Spellbinders, Nestibilities Labels Twenty and Fancy Tags Three

Papers;  DCWV, Prima, and Echo Park

Embossing Powders, Crushed Glass Glitters, and inks;  Stampendous

Hope you enjoyed, and remember to always TRY new things.

I may very well use that technique on another project and LOVE it!

This card has also been entered at
Victorine Stamps (Anything Goes)

Happy Spring!

This card was made for the sketch challenge over at

Craft's Meow

I used the sentiment from Craft's Meow's, "Fly Free".

The DP is My Mind's Eye, "Lost and Found, Madison Avenue" collection

The flower is Prima and the little brads are brown felt ones from my stash.

I love using ribbon as a border, especially ruffled a bit!

It seems strange making a Spring card when the temperature is in the low 90's today!

Thanks for looking at my blog!

A most difficult challenge...

You would think a simple,

single layer layout on a card would be simple!

Think again!

The Waltzing Mouse sketch challenge this week is to create a card using only ONE layer...that means no die cuts, no mats, no layers of any kind!

 For those of use who love to use ribbons, and trims, and all sorts of goodies piled on our cards, this was HARD!

 I stamped and embossed the label from Waltzing Mouse "Holiday Labels 14"

and the sentiment from "Rescue Remedies Additions" directly onto pattern paper from Prima's "Songbird" collection.  Then, I stamped and glitter embossed a few extra little

birds!  It was really difficult to walk away at that point.  This really challenged me as far as keeping it simple and one layer!

Entered at Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenges