Challenge #95 at DYSU!

 

WET OR DRY EMBOSSING!

YOU CHOOSE!
OR USE BOTH!

Our sponsors:

Robyn's Fetish!

* Winner's Choice of 5 Digital Stamps

      Birdie Brown

*Winner's Choice of 3 Digital Stamps

Paper Pretties

* Winner's Choice of 6 Digital Images

******************************************************

This week's challenge really put my new coloring skills

to the test!

 

I had the pleasure of working with the gorgeous

 "English Tea Cup" image from

Robyn's Fetish!

 

I used three copies of the image, cut them out, and then stacked them. Only then did I color them. That way, I could clearly see where the shadows and highlights would fall. This is my very first true mono-chromatic Copics project.

 

I am quite happy with the way it turned out!

Those lessons are really paying off. Thanks, Jennifer Dove!

 

 

 

The "Die-Sire" embossing folder, Floral Frenzy", is also something new.

You can find it on the Crafter's Companion store blog.

I love the pretty little flowers that really POPPED when lightly sanded!

 

Now, go check out the rest of the team's projects!



Mulberry Woods Everyday New Release!

At Crafter's Companion, we are celebrating another fantastic stamp set from

Mulberry Woods!

 

This little cutie-pie is from the "Everyday" collection.

There you'll find six new sets, each one so adorable that you'll want them all!

 

"Relax"

 

I will be the first to admit that when I see animal fur on an image, I choke!

And because I haven't mastered the art of coloring it with my markers (not yet, anyway) I am quick at grabbing a piece of fabric and dabbing the bear with some colorless alcohol. This gives the look of fur without any of that unpleasant stress and nausea that accompanies my regular "fur" sessions! LOL!

I used the same method to make "grass". I simply dabbed a stripe of solid green ink across my horizon, and using a cordoroy fabric, lifted the color in a vertical pattern!

 

 

The next obvious question is, "How did you make the tree?"

This was an idea I BORROWED from my friend, Jennifer Dove.

I ran the Co-ordinations cardstock through my embosser using a woodgrain folder and sanded. Then, I cut out the knot hole and attached the tree to the card front with

black paper rolled inside. (Your tree will stick out about an inch)

I attached some moss to the bottom, along with some flowers and punched butterflies, and my tree was done. Well, almost.  You certainly can't sit under a tree with no leaves and branches, so I dug through my scraps of silk flower pieces, and found the ivy.

 

 

From a slight side view, you can see how this is a 6 x 6 step card with the tree attached to the highest side.  I will probably not be mailing this, but I thought it would look sweet along with a nice gift of a gardening/flower magazine for a friend who needs a break.

 

Hope you enjoyed my sharing these ideas with you!

 

See you next week!

~Jan~

 



A Bevy of Butterflies!

In recognition of

Breast Cancer Awareness Month,

I made this layout using the prettiest butterfly stamp ever

and one of my favorite quotes!

 

Crafter's Companion

 has many different styles of stamp images...

funny, cute, sincere, and insightful.

I loved these butterflies from

"Flying Colors"

(part of the Sheena Douglas collection)

the very first time I saw them!

 

 

The proverb was taken from the internet.

I think it speaks volumes when it comes to the brave women who

face breast cancer every day!

"There, but by the grace of God, ..."

 

 

A side view showing the dimension I added to each butterfly.

 

I colored them with my alcohol markers.

Then, with the antenna and the Glossy Accents added, they really came to life!

 

 

This is definitely one of my all-time favorite layouts.

No personal photos, or even experiences journaled, but it simply reflects how I feel about the trials that one must be faced with when battling a horrible disease.

 

If you look closely, you will also see how I implemented a new embossing folder from Die'Sire!  More of that at Crafter's Companion later this week!

 I made the background layer more vintage by cutting and distressing the edges and inking it to appear more aged.

Paper:  Graphic45, "Botanicabella" 
Cardstock:  Bazzill

Thanks for sharing in this special project with me
and Crafter's Companion!



Cameo Greeting!

The challenge this week at
DYSU
is...

VINTAGE!
AGED!
DISTRESSED!

No matter how you say it,

Really throw on the ink, lace, ribbon, distressed edges,

whatever it is that speaks "old" to you!

And our sponsors:

Stampendous! 

* Silver & Gold Embossing Powders

Digi Darla

*Winner's Choice of 5 Digis

My Heart Pieces

* Winner's Choice of 3 Digis

 



Vintage is one of my favorite styles!

 

 

I used a Stampendous Jumbo Cling stamp,

and heat embossed the cameo image and then portions of the vintage floral frame
onto the basic chipboard dress form.

 

 

 

 

I embellished the cameo with a piece of a rhinestone bracelet I had, and

added the pearl, bling, ruffle and trim to the dress form.

The pin is handmade with assorted beads.

 

I will leave the inside blank and black, and when the occasion arises,

I will print out a message for the recipient.

 

Supplies:

Paper:  Cosmo Cricket

Chipboard: Pink Paisley

Stamp: Stampendous

Die: Spellbinders

 

 

 Please visit all of the Design Team's blogs
(their links are on my sidebar)
and leave them some love!
They have all been working so very hard and have some amazing projects to share!

 

 

 

 

Introducing Sky!

Today my card showcases an adorable little Toread nymph by the name of

 

"Sky".

 

She is cute, precocious, and very worldly.

 

I have visions of her scurrying around from here to there, crossing oceans and forests, without anyone being the wiser...

 

 

They may be "mythological" , but just like the unicorns and elves, fairies and gnomes,

do we really, truly believe they never existed?

LOL!  I 'd like to think they did, and still do, in some far away corner of the world.

 

 

I may only get as far as across this country, but this card will deliver a message of exploration and excitement... well, for me , anyway.

 

 

Each and every Toread has its' own personality depending on how each person colors it!  Go crazy with your markers and see what you can do!

 

I had a blast using:

 

7 Gypsies papers

Alcohol-Based Markers

Stickles

Recollections Brads

Leaf Charm, Blue Moon Beads

Cotton cloth, Dollar Store

 

 

Bye!!

 



Showcasing "Bouquet de Fleur" by DCWV!

My layouts this month

are made with the luscious new stacks from

DCWV

"Bouquet de Fleur",

and, hopefully, demonstrates how very versatile this stack is!

 

My first page is a very sweet and "girly" layout!

 

 

I fussy-cut the pink swirls from the pattern paper.

I wanted to take the elements of the adorable photos and bring them into my colors and embellishments. Hence, the tulle ruffled ribbon, quilt-like squares of pattern papers, and the large purple resin flower. The baby's momma is always saying how quickly the time goes by with her little ones, so I added the sweet, little clockface charm from the

Blue Moon Beads', "Trinket Shoppe" collection.

 

 

 

You can find the papers and the charms at your local Michael's.

 

The rhinestone swirls are from my Zva stash,

and the white satin flowers I've had for years.
 

 

My second layout is a more masculine one 

of her older child.

 

 

It is so hard for me to look at these photos and not be a little sad...

I babysat this adorable little boy from the time he was 3 months old until he was 16 months old. I shared with him learning to crawl, talk, walk, and felt as close to him as my own grandson.

He is getting so grown-up now.  He still calls me "Nanna Jan", and we get together as often as time allows.  How I envy my friend (their Momma) being able to stay home with these two precious children. They really are angels!

 

This stack has so many options, as you can see by these pages.

The plaid lent itself perfectly with the pattern on the tie,

and the green fussy-cut leaves fit well with the outdoor scene,

along with the jute twine and silk leaves.

Again, to add to the "time passing quickly" theme, I hung a small clock face from the same Blue Moon collection on the layout.

 

I am slowly getting back into scrapbooking the photos that I hold dear to me, and will surely start doing more if I continue to receive gorgeous photos like these on a regular basis!  Cards are fun, but the memories that these will preserve are priceless!
 

 

Thanks for letting me share with you today!

Now, time to start making your own memories!

And DCWV papers are the best place to begin!



Birthday Fishes!

Have you ever thought about hanging a tag

UPSIDE DOWN? 

I always think of tags as hanging DOWN,

 or off from one side...

 

I wanted the balloon string attached to the tag,

but wanted the tag to "float" UP.

 

Here's what I came "up" with...

 

This is the

Skipping Stones Design

sketch that inspired it all:

 

 

 

Flipped it over, and there you go!

 

Have fun playing!

There are no rules...just things that aren't done as a rule!

This fun little card also entered into the "Birthday" challenge at
By The Cute and Girly blog!

 



The wheels are turning at DYSU!

This week's challenge at
Do You Stack Up?

Anything with Wheels!


 

Our wonderful sponsors:

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps

* $10 Gift Certificate

Jelly Park

* Winner's Choice of 10 Digis

Pink Cat Studio

* Winner's Choice of 5 Digis

 

 

 

 Here is my card using one of our previous sponsors' images,

CI-325 from Crafty Individuals!

 

 

I love the way this stamp heat embosses!  Every sweet, tiny detail shows up!

 

 

I've found myself needing more masculine cards,

with male friends and family having birthdays and short stays in the hospital. 

That's also why this was left without a sentiment.

This way, I can use it for anything!

In case you're wondering, the black metal embellishment is a piece from an old library magazine storage container. I simply cut the corners and edges that contained the metal strips, and then flattened them and sanded slightly. The containers had gotten wet and were in poor shape anyway, so rather than throw them away, I recycled!

A length of mesh or two, some sprockets attached with brads, some ribbon,
and we're done!

Enter to win some fun images of your own!


Winter Blues

Brrrrr!

 

 

It's so easy for me to joke about the freezing weather sitting here in 100 degrees,

but come next Spring, I'll get pleanty of teasing about how I'm sweatin' it out!

 

 

The sketch challenge at

Craft's Meow

 this week is a terrific one!

And they are taking part in the "Hope You Can Cling To Challenge"

over at SplitcoastStampers! 

Of course, it wasn't until I had my sketch card finished that I saw that!

Now I get to make a few more cards during the course of October

for the challenge at Splitcoast!

 

 

I haven't had this TCM stamp long, and this is my first chance at inking it up!

"Let it Snow"

And, rather than just straight cutting the edges of my background paper, I chose to

wiggle the scissors around a bit. All it did was make my paper look crooked. 

Next time, it's paper cutter only!

 

Well, I love the little snowman image, and hopefully, that will be the main

focus when a recipient gets this card!

I plan on sending this, along with a few others before the end of the month,

to the MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

I plan on going through my box of previously completed cards and throwing those in the package, also.

This is something we can all do to help the cause and clean up all these cards we tend to "accumulate" over time.

If they've been posted before, no reposting and entering the contest with each!

Just remember, this is for the cancer patients!

 

Thanks for visiting me today,

and please, it's Breast Cancer Awareness month!

Do something to help your fellow BFF's,  "breast friends forever"!

 

~Jan~

 



Java, anyone?

DCWV

has so many terrific paper stacks,

but this one keeps making it's way into my hot little hands!

I love the shiny, metallic embossed fall pattern

in Autumn Melody!

 

And the tag sheets in the paper stacks makes throwing together a

card or layout so very quick and easy.

 

 

This card is one of my extra-special ones!

 

It has "Smell-a-vision"!!! 

 If you saw my earlier post this month, I demonstrated how to infuse the aroma of spices in your projects without burning/distorting them by getting the powders too hot.

This project was done very much the same way,

but I used instant coffee rather than spices.

 

 

Stamp your shape or image onto heavy scrap paper.

This time I used kraft cardstock...just happened to be convenient.

I stamped my heart image several times in case I didn't like one combination of chunky embossing powders, glitters, and instant coffee.

Mix the above ingredients, and sprinkle evenly over the paper,
enough to cover the area needed for your cut shapes.  (If you can stay within the lines, good! If not, just trim it up after)

I then melted it from the underside, NOT burning my fingers or the paper,

and then after cooling COMPLETELY, I cut out the heart shape that I wanted.

(If you want to see my earlier tutorial featuring pumpkin pie spices, go here.)

 

 

After securing my charms to the mug handle with ribbon, I glued down the aromatic heart.

Oh my goodness!

I'm not even much of a coffee drinker, but this smells amazing!

These adorable charms are from Blue Moon Beads, "Trinket Shoppe".

 

 

 This is sure to get someone's attention when they open the envelope!

This card is also entered into the "Glimmer and Sparkle" challenge at
 Simon Says Stamp.
 

 



Mischievous little Imp!

HOORAY!

 

This is a very big day for me!
Remember I said I had a big announcement to make in October! Well, here it is!

Today is my first Design Team post for the

Crafter's Companion

blog!

 

 I am so excited to be a part of their team!

It was my decision this year to make it onto a design team or two that truly inspires me and who carries products that I dearly love!

Well, here I am!

Between the lusciousness of the pattern papers at DCWV,

and the wide range of wonderful images and scrapping products from

Crafter's Companion, I'd say my creative life is complete!

 

If this release hasn't already captured your heart, it will soon!

These adorable nymphs make any card or project so much fun!
 

Because I have a grandson, my immediate decision was to use the

only little boy released so far in the collection.

He is sneaky, sweet, and adorable - just like my grandson.

I never know whether to hug him or put him in time out! 

Both are usually called for! ;)

 

Toreads,  "Xeru"

 

I can't wait to send this out!

It's bound to get a response from someone I haven't heard from in a while!

 

 

Getting out my markers and coloring this was so much fun!

And because he IS appears a wee bit precocious, I felt the red hair was appropriate

(hey, we've all known a few strong-willed red-headed children!)

 

I certainly hope you have had fun going through all of the projects this week!

I know I can't wait to grab my markers and start coloring those sweet little nymphs!

And my fun at Crafter's Companion has just begun!

~Jan~



Three's no crowd here...

This week, JustRite has terrific a new challenge!

"Three's company", meaning you must use three or more coordinating patterns

on your project.

 

This one I simply couldn't resist.

 

That and the fact that I have a very limited number of JustRite Stamps, and would love to win some!  They have some of the sweetest stamp sets ever!

The ones I love the most are those that coordinate with my Spellbinder dies!

Could a person ask for more?

 

I am trying to get some Christmas mojo, which is pretty difficult when the temperatures are still over 100 here in Arizona.
 

 

I used an OLD Christmas stack from DCWV that isn't from last year,

but the year before!

Talk about pulling out your old stash.

I actually like all the patterns in this stack and have no idea why I still have any of it left.  But there it is...

 

I wanted to give this "postal card" image from "Greetings from Paris" a holiday feel, and decided to go simple.

Just like a card would have been posted years ago.

Things were simpler then..sorry.  I regress.

 

The sentiment is from JustRite's

 "Christmas Nested Sentiments", another stash from the past.
(This one I couldn't even find on the store site)

  

I started out thinking I would layer several elements, and really pile it on,

but then chose to stop while it still looked like a holiday card we would have

received back in the 40's-50's. (No, I wasn't born until the later fifties

so I wouldn't actually remember!)

 

Hope you enjoyed today's trip down memory lane,

even if they were all someone else's memories.

 

 



Live, Laugh, Love!

DCWV

FOREVER AND ALWAYS

 

This is to be a hand-delivered card, for sure!

 

 

I absolutely LOVE black roses.

I don't know why.

I liked them long before the "Twilight" series made vampires and

red and black famous.

 

Even though this card is orange and black to reflect Autumn colors,

my favorite colors are red and black. 

 

The sentiment is an older Cloud 9 that I've had around forever, as are the roses.

The little orange flowers were a find at the Dollar Store!

Maybe it's me, but I love the simple elegance of this card.

 

Get your own "Forever and Always" stack at Michael's now!