Designs by Jax

Inspired by Blogland

2012-01-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

The week has come to a close and a new one is about to begin. Let's send it out the door with some superb inspiration from our friends around the blogosphere.

I know I've showcased Jenny already, but THIS CARD seriously had me gasping.
Check out this amazing PHOTO of snow. I love this woman's photography...as her title says, it just makes me happy.
Love this silly CARD by Debby.
A fantastic nautical SCENE created by Anya.
Some gorgeous paper piecing done on THIS card by my friend Savannah.
I really love the CAS style of BOTH of Lynn's cards and some fabulous colors too. (and I'm really excited that we will be meeting up at the end of Feb.)

That's all for today. One of these times I'm going to find something I really like and just CASE it to show you how inspired I really am by these people.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Stamp It! 3 Ways Blog Hop

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello.

Welcome to the Stamp It! 3 Ways blog hop. I am over the moon excited to be participating in this fun event. Stamp It! 3 Ways has to be one of THE BEST issues I've been able to participate in. The concept is to take one stamp set and show three very different ways to use it. It is a must have for you devoted stampers out there!

Click HERE to get your own copy.

For today's hop, several designers from the issue are taking stamp sets that were featured in the magazine and are using them in fun and creative ways. I'm using "Beyond Borders" from Mint Motif, which also happens to be featured HERE on the PC connection blog.

So, here's the true story about the card I've created. I had the stamps sitting out on my desk and my 4-yr old came along and started fiddling with them. She took the stamp on the far left and was making it into fun shapes. She said, "Mom, look, it's a balloon". She was making the shape without the block, but, as I stared in disbelief, the idea for this card formed. Here's what came out:

It sure did look like a balloon, well, more like lots of balloons. I curved that stamp on my block, stamped it and then doodled in the rest with a sharpie. To finish off the realism of the balloons, I added highlights with my white gel pen.

What's a blog hop without a prize, right? Paper Crafts has been kind enough to give me a copy of Stamp It! 3 Ways to give to one of you. Leave me a comment below telling me which of the five borders is your favorite by Sunday, January 29^th at midnight and I will draw for a winner. And, if you want to win the bomb-diggity of all prizes, leave a comment over at the Paper Crafts Connection as well.

Now it's time to see what the rest of the designer's have cooked up. Check out their blogs and leave comments there too for more chances to win.

Jaclyn Miller <----That's me!

Happy Hopping!

Springy Sympathy (CFC #37)

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

Friiiiiiiiddddaaayyyyyyy! Woo-hoo. Payday! Now I can buy groceries. :)

Alright, so Friday on my blog really means a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. This week there's a cutesy tootsie little sketch from our dear Laura.

(psst, did you notice that it has our sponsor listed on the graphic as Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps? Ok, just checkin')

For the ole sketch-a-roo, I decided to use up some of my paper scraps. The pile has been growing and I'm pretty sure if I hadn't dug into it, it would've taken over my craft space. I decided to make a sympathy card for this challenge. Many of you probably know the amazing Teri Anderson. Her father passed away this week, so I'm gonna send this one her way.

Please make a trip to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see what our sponsor is giving away for a prize and to see what my teamies have been up to.

So glad you visited!

Just A Note (PDCC #116)

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hello friends.

Some new, bold and a little challenging colors are coming your way from The Play Date Cafe. Kapow!

I like to call these plum, pear and, my fave, moldy cheese (think of the veins in bleu cheese)

A pretty simple card this week. The fun part of this is that blue rose that I twisted and stitched all by my super self. I quite like how it turned out and had no idea I was able to do that. :)

This week is bittersweet at The Cafe as we are saying good-bye to Andrea and Michele. Even though my style is completely different from Andrea's, I'm always amazed by how intricate and gorgeous her work is week after week. Nobody can put together layers quite like she does. She is one of the sweetest girls ever too!

Michele is one amazingly organized gal. I think I could learn a thing or two from her. I will miss her quirky style and some of the fun cards that she has brought to the PDCC. I particularly remember getting a good chuckle out of one she made using a bra stamp. We will miss you both and your beautiful work girls! Please let them know how much they will be missed by stopping by their blogs and leaving them some love.

Also, pop into The Play Date Cafe to see what this week's sponsor, Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps, is offering up and to check out the projects done by our design team. They have done an amazing job showcasing these tough colors.

Have a wonderful day!

This Week in Parenting (TWIP)

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

First of all, thank you to all of you who gave suggestions for my son's birthday present this past week. There were some amazing ideas there for me to consider. I really appreciate your input.

Onto this week's parenting adventures. It was a big week at the Miller household as my sweet, not so little, 4-yr old lost her first tooth!

We were sitting at the table at breakfast and she started to whimper a bit. I asked her what was the problem and she calmly showed me how loose her tooth was. I was like, what? You're only 4, how can that be, your brother and sister were in first grade before they lost theirs. So, in my disbelief, I proceeded to tell her that if she wiggled it and pulled it out, she would get money for it. Two hours later, it was in her hand as you see it in the photo. So, not only is she my early bloomer at everything, she is also my motivated and courageous child too. God must have some amazing things planned for this little girl. I'm just sad at how quickly she is growing. She is my last and already this week, we are going to the school for her kindergarten meeting. I just KNOW I'm going to cry that first day this one gets on the bus, and I'm not a touchy-feely, get all emotional kinda gal. So, that will be a big deal. Before I know it, I'll blink and she'll be all grown up. Sniff, sniff.

There are actually a few positives to her going off to school though. I have been wanting to volunteer at an animal shelter or vet's office for quite some time now. Having the free time available will allow me to do that. Plus, I have been focusing a lot on my health, so having a morning where I can just go out for a run whenever I want will be quite nice. Of course, my husband's idea of using my free time is to get a part-time job. ;)

Thanks for popping in today and I hope you have a great day!

Candy Cups for Your Loved Ones

2012-01-23T08:59:00.001-05:00

You may have seen this fun tutorial run over on the Technique Tuesday blog this past week.

Do you like to give special things to your loved ones for Valentine's Day? It seems like every store has aisles and aisles of candy for this holiday. So, let's create these cute, little candy dishes today to put all of that sweetness in.

These are actually cupcake wrappers and they are so easy to make. Start with the pattern found HERE. I created my own background paper using stamps from Smooch by Ali and the heart from Sweet Baby by Ali. Cut out your pattern and glue the ends together.

To hold my liners in place, so that my goodies didn't fall through the bottom, here's what I did. Place the liner inside and punch 2 holes in the back and three holes in the front, going through both the wrapper and the liner.

Then thread your ribbon through the holes, placing both ends out the middle hole in the front.

This also prevents your ribbon from moving around on the outside of the cup. Tie a bow in the front and place a 5" x 5" square of tissue paper into the cup. Fill with candy and your cups are ready to please all of your guests and family members (or if you're me, they can go straight into your mouth)

As I mentioned above, these are actually cupcake wrappers, so you could just as easily wrap them around your baked cupcakes and frost.

Now, go make a whole bunch of them for everyone you know. :)

Inspired by Blogland

2012-01-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

Are you ready to be inspired? Let the eye candy begin.

What a fabulous masculine CARD by Karen.
I'm normally not a shabby chic individual, but THIS CARD by Andrea blew me out of the water with its gorgeous neutrals.
Therese makes such beautiful CAS cards like THIS ONE.
THIS is one amazing scene that Nina created. She has some awesome stuff on her blog too.
I love how Emily made THESE cuties look like their snuggling in a tree.
Eli was so creative with her "around the house" item on THIS card.
How about THIS for being creative with what you've got.

I hope you enjoyed. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

A Black & White Affair (CFC #36)

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Black and White. White and Black. Opposites attract. You would think it would be easy to work with such wonderfully polarizing colors, wouldn't you? For some, maybe. For me, I struggled. I don't know if it was the wide array of possibilities, or the lack of any other color being used with it, but I definitely had trouble. I finally rested upon a clean, one layer card to fulfill this week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays.

I went back to that same set that I used last week from Close To My Heart - Boutique Borders. Sometimes old sets have the best stamps. I then combined that with several sentiments from Technique Tuesday. I love to combine words from a variety of sets. I think I like this one, but I also think I could've done so much more. Maybe I should do a study in Black and White.

Pop into CAS-ual Fridays to see what this week's sponsor, Cindy Coutts is offering up. You are sure to be inspired by the design team while you are there.

Coffee At Its' Cutest

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi guys. I'm a bit queasy right now, so this post is gonna be fast. My youngest has the flu and I'm certain it will be passed around...it usually is.

It's time for an amazing neutral challenge at The Play Date Cafe. I have been seeing neutral everywhere lately and there's just something so cozy about it. Observe:

As I stared at this inspiration board, I really wanted to pull out a few paper bags and recycle some stuff. Or tear apart some cardboard and shape it into something neat, but instead, I decided to make a coffee bag with a tag as a gift. (Coffee is earthy and counts as recycled, right?)

I bought this bag at The Container Store and cut a hole in the front. I filled a plastic baggie with coffee grounds and tucked it inside. Made the tag and tied it on. Simple and neutral.

Hop on over to The Play Date Cafe to be inspired by the design team's work.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

TWIP (This Week in Parenting)

2012-01-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Did you know that a mom is a walking dictionary? This past week has really pushed my brain to the edge and back. My youngest is obviously curious and trying to learn things, so she has been constantly asking me what words mean. Do you know how to explain the word realize, or way? I found those two particularly difficult. Then I made the mistake of saying freaky...and, of course, the next words out of her mouth were, "what does freaky mean?" Maybe I just need to dumb down my vocabulary a bit....but then I wouldn't have all those learning moments...or I wouldn't be exercising my own brain. Forget trying to use Webster's too. You've gotta love when a dictionary describes the word production as "the act of producing". You don't say? I wonder if they have a dictionary that uses kid's lingo. You think? I'm gonna have to look into that.

So, we have two dogs. They are like my children too. Actually, they were like my kids before kids, and darn good practice for it too. My sweet yellow Labrador turned 12 last week. She was the first thing that my husband and I bought together. I remember when we brought her home, how scared she was in the car. She has had many adventures since then and led a good, long life. Anyone who has pets, knows how sad you get when you realize they are coming to the end of their life. I'm hoping she has another 3 years left in her, but it's all on God's time and I've had to start preparing my children (ok, and myself) for the inevitable. That is a hard thing to explain to young kids. Often times, it is a kid's first experience with death. I'm sure once the time comes, God will help me through it. In the meantime, I've been giving my furry friend a bit of extra attention knowing darn well that today could be her last.

Opening her present at Christmas.

Sitting in the park with my other dog and my husband who is, oh so thrilled to be holding them. (he has a love/hate relationship with them...well, more of a hate, but I keep trying)

Before I go today, I need your help. My son is turning 9 in a few weeks and I have NO flippin' idea what to buy him. He's very athletic (plays basketball and baseball) and loves to watch football. He also likes Lego's and video games. The problem is that this kid grows tired of all material things in like a week. PLEASE help me with ideas.

Until next week's adventures.....

Inspired By Blogland

2012-01-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

Well, the weekend is almost over. How about I cheer you up with a few adorable projects from around the crafty blogosphere? Here are some that caught my eye this past week (and there were so many more, but we'd be here all day).

This stamp set from Unity has me "rolling" on the floor and I love how Stephanie used it on her card HERE.
Are you ready for Spring? I sure am, and apparently Laurel is too. She used such cheery Spring colors on THIS beautiful card.
Oh my heavens, the dedication to the stitching in THIS amazing card.
THIS is just plain pretty and she has a super funny picture of her dog.
Black and white perfection can be found HERE.
Jenny has recently sprung up on my radar and I'm finding that I am in love with everything that she makes. THIS CARD was no exception. She is amazing at making things from scratch...I think I'll try to convince her to participate in Gallery Idol this year.
And, I pretty much love everything that Aga makes on HER BLOG. She is always making my jaw drop.
Finally, I just love THIS super easy, but cute project that my sweet friend, Savannah made.

I hope your eyes were overcome with pure crafty awesomeness and that now you are feeling inspired to go create!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Scallops (CFC #35)

2012-01-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Friday. It's here. Any big plans for the weekend? Nothing much here. In fact, our weekends are pretty uneventful right now. Of course, I know that will all change come Spring once baseball starts up.

Well, it's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. Are you ready? This week it is to use scallops in some way on your card. I don't really own a scalloped edge punch, so I decided right off the bat that I wanted to use a stamp somehow. I dug deep into the stamp stash and pulled out a very old, but one of my favorite stamp sets from Close To My Heart called Boutique Borders. It has this delightful polka-dotted scallop stamp in it. I got to playing and this is what came out:

In real life, this kinda looks like an optical illusion. My daughter said it looks like it's popping out at you. I kinda wish now that I would've just done the whole thing close together all the way down instead of spreading them out. The colors here are moonstruck, ocean, sorbet and sweet leaf...but they look sorta rainbow. I'm definitely gonna use these colors together again on something else.

This week's sponsor at CFC is Annabelle Stamps. Hop over to CAS-ual Fridays to see what they are offering up and to be inspired by the DT's work.

Have a great weekend!

Wine & Birthdays (PDCC #114)

2012-01-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

Those two go well together, right? You know what else goes well with wine; this week's colors from The Play Date Cafe. Check it out:

As soon as I pulled out the Vino set from Technique Tuesday, I knew I wanted to use it for these colors. It just fit. At first, I tried to color in the grapes, but I'm not so good at coloring. Then, I thought, why not utilize the white space and this is what came out. I really liked the minimalist approach.

This week's sponsor is Simon Says Stamp. They will be joining us once a month as a sponsor.

There are some gorgeous projects from the Design Team this week, so you won't want to miss them. Take a peek over at The Play Date Cafe and then get your craft on with these colors!

.....and why not have a glass of wine too while you're at it. :)

Clear & Simple Stamps iPhone App

2012-01-11T08:32:00.000-05:00

Just a quick pop into here today to share a sneak peek of one of my projects being featured on the Clear & Simple Stamps iPhone App.

If you have the App, be sure to pop in and take a looksie. If not, click the image to get a copy! There are lots of great samples to look at and this company has wonderful stamps. (they have an amazing new release line-up this month)

Have a great day!

TWIP (This Week in Parenting)

2012-01-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

One day this week, I woke up to find a note on the counter in the kitchen. It read:

dear elizabeth,
I Save the cinnomon crunch Just For You.
Love, Haley

Is that not the sweetest thing ever?

I'm finding that my son is getting more and more frustrated by the realization that he is the only boy in the family. His sisters play together A LOT and it is usually with Barbies, or babies, both non-boy toys. Ellie even informed me that she didn't want her sister to go back to school this week. I asked about Ethan and she said, no, just Haley. This piggy backed on top of Haley telling me the other night that she doesn't love her brother. Sigh. That makes me sad. I can completely understand him feeling left out. It makes a mom wonder if she should've had an even number of children. Sadly, he is reduced to playing video games and throwing the football around in the yard by himself. Yeah, another kid would've been nice...too late for that though.

So, what is a mom to do? Anyone know when the "protective older brother" phase will start to kick in? We are doing our best to try and fill his brotherly void with parent time and play dates, but I know it just isn't the same. On the bright side, my 7-yr old really likes to go out of her way to be kind to others and she is SO into nice notes.

Speaking of notes, I just realized that I never shared a family project with you guys. Awhile back, I picked up a few of those small metal mailboxes at JoAnne's. Each of the kids helped me choose papers to decorate theirs with. Here's how they came out:

We have a chore list here that the kids can pick and choose from. They mark when a chore is done on the list and then at the end of the week, they get paid for what they did. To pay them, I put the money in an envelope and place it into their mailbox. The flag goes up and they know they have mail. I've also put envelopes next to the mailboxes so the kids can leave notes for each other if they'd like. Sometime we will write encouraging notes to them as well. It's a great way to communicate with each other and the kids think it is incredibly fun. Now I need one for mom and dad, right? :)

Inspired By Blogland

2012-01-08T08:39:00.001-05:00

Here on this little ole blog of mine, I'd like to start another regular post. If you ever frequent The Moxie Fab World, you've probably seen Cath's "Out & About" posts. Those are one of my favorites. I really enjoy getting out into the blogosphere and meeting new people and being inspired by their words and projects. Sometimes, I find somebody new that I just have to add to my list of blogs to visit. There are so many wonderful crafters (and other bloggers) out there and they deserve recognition. That said, I'd like to list things I've seen over the past week that have really inspired me. I hope to be able to do it every week, but it could end up being a bi-weekly, or even monthly thing...but always on Sundays. Sit back and enjoy the few projects that really caught my eye this week.

THIS CARD by Laurie had me swooning with its soft patterns and gorgeous colors.
I decided to play along at the Lawn Fawn CHA challenge this week and as I was browsing the gallery of entries, I almost fell out of my chair at THIS ONE. (it ended up winning)
Virginia wowed me with her use of vellum on THIS CARD. I am inspired to get my vellum back out.
I am a huge fan of background stamping and boy did Tracey do it justice with THIS CARD, and using my favorite colors too.
Finally, I love how Valerie mixed and matched the papers on her trio HERE.

That's it for now. I hope you were inspired too. One of my goals for the New Year is to make it out to blogs more frequently and leave some love for all of you. You deserve it.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Chip Off The Old Block (CFC #33)

2012-01-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

Finally, it's Friday. The kids went back to school this week and it sure is hard getting back into the swing of things when they are home on break. I've been dealing with foot pain this week too. Last week after my little holiday candy eating endeavors, I decided I needed to burn off some of those calories and go for a bit of a run. I ended up running 3.25 miles outside in a new pair of running shoes. After all, it's never this warm in January in Indiana. I guess that's where it all went wrong and my foot just gave out. I've been icing it and taking ibuprofen with the hopes of the pain going away, but it just seemed to get worse. I finally gave in and saw a podiatrist. You know what he told me - that my brand new running shoes suck. Well thank you for that advice...not only did I waste $40 on the shoes, I also wasted $40 for him to tell me that. Anyway, Dr.'s orders are one week with no foot activity. Booooooooooo! It's gonna be hard for this girl to sit still, and of course, right after I FINALLY convinced hubs to do workouts with me.

Friday means a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. This week we are using chipboard in our projects. I'm sure you've got some tiles, letters, or other sorts of chippy stuff in your stash somewhere. Break it out and see what you can do. I pulled out some banners by Fancy Pants Designs and came up with this:

So, here's the super fun catch. The winner of this week's challenge will get a spot as a guest designer for CAS-ual Fridays (easy, don't hyperventilate)! Now you don't have any excuse to not play along. On top of that, Simon Says Stamp is offering some goodies too. That my friends is what we call WINNING!

Hop over to CAS-ual Fridays to get all of the juicy details.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Wintry Shades of Blue & Green (PDCC #113)

2012-01-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Oh friends, I'm so anxious to share today's colors with you. They are so inspiring and perfect for Winter (and I'm not just saying that because I picked them). I LOVE the photos I was able to find for this combo...now if only I was more into shabby chic.....

Here they are:

My favorite is that little snowman with his tree - so stinkin' cute. This week's sponsor at The Play Date Cafe is once again The Sweet Stamp Shop (who, btw, is currently holding a design team call). I've broken back out "Old School Rock" and this time used a few other stamps from the set. Not surprisingly (since it's my favorite color), I had a pretty hefty stash of Aqua papers in my scrap basket, so I put them all together to create this:

Now that you've seen what I can do with these colors, how about you give it a go yourself? Still needing some inspiration, then hop on over to The Play Date Cafe and see how the rest of the team used them. While there, see what our sponsor has up for grabs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Numbers & Chevrons

2012-01-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

What is going on? This is total craziness; already several posts this year other than DT work? I think that means I'm off to a great start, right?

I HAD to play with the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger again this week. Cath has provided one fantastic (and again graphical) photo as inspiration - By The Numbers.

I love what you can do with numbers and rows of numbers. I just so happened to have this fantastic number stamp from Jillibean Soup.

This card took some careful precision to line up those numbers in a chevron pattern - much harder than it looks. In fact, I had a few takes before I got it right - but, really happy with the end result.

Have a great day!

SUPPLIES

Stamps: (Sweet & Sour Soup) Jillibean Soup by Unity

Dye Ink: (Sweet Leaf, Buttercup, Sorbet) Close To My Heart

Die: (Brothers & Sisters stamp) WPlus9

This Week In Parenting or TWIP

2012-01-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday. Welcome to the first of what will be a new weekly post on my blog. I have been wanting to come up with something that I post every week that is a great expression of me and my life. Enter TWIP or This Week in Parenting. I have three children, ages 8, 7 and 4. There are a lot of things that go on in this household that sometimes have me shaking my head. In fact, this parenting thing is one of THE HARDEST jobs that God has ever entrusted me with. I thought it would be fun to share questions, dilemmas, laughable moments and other such parenting adventures in this post. This could very well change some over time as I tweak what works and what doesn't. You can join along in this little journey.

That said, let's get started with the first TWIP post.

We have many fun conversations with our children around here, some of which give us a glimpse of what just may be ahead for us. On Sunday, when we were getting ready for Church, my 4-yr old came into our room and asked my husband if she could wear nail polish. He informed her there wasn't enough time to paint them, to which she responded in a sad tone, "Awww, I really wanted to wear it so the boys would chase after me." Oh my. Later on, I asked her if she thought boys were cute and she shook her head yes. My son says ewww every time I ask him about girls, but my 4-yr old is already interested in boys? Gee, wonder which of the two will require more creative parenting.

In December, my 7-yr old daughter got baptized. She accepted Christ into her heart last year and we've been talking to her about baptism here and there. She has been very interested in taking her Bible with her and reading it. She very religiously takes money as an offering to Church without being told. She was ready and we made sure she understood what it meant.

Here she is telling everyone just how much she loves Jesus!

With that came a lot of questions. The hardest of which was:

"If God made everything, then who made God?"

My response: "Well, nobody made God.... (and then after I really thought about how confusing that was to her and how little sense it made, I said)...I honestly don't know how to answer that. There are some things we just can't think about".

Doh. What a stupid answer.

My hubs respons: "You can ask God that question when you see him in heaven."

Much better response.

I'm chalking this up to one of those moments I was thoroughly unprepared for. After all, I'm trying to instill the importance of Jesus into my children's life, but can't even answer all of their questions? Like I said, parenting is hard. I'd love to know how would YOU answer that question?

See you next Tuesday for another "This Week in Parenting" post.

A Year of Hair

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are.

2012. A new year. New beginnings.

I was trying to decide what would be fun to do for a New Year's post; a year in review of activites? My Top 10 favorite products? Highlights? But, as I was browsing through folders on my computer, I almost chuckled as I came to the profile one. As I scrolled, I noticed that I sure did have a plethora of hairstyles and colors this past year. I remember my hairstylist once saying to me, "you sure do like to express yourself through your hair!" You know what, she's right. I do. And, I find that my hair is just another way to show my creativity and love for all forms of art. To me, it's just another palette like paper or wood.

So, I give to you, the many looks and colors of 2011, or "Ways Jax Expressed Herself Through Her Hair!"

In the beginning, there were long, rolling waves and almost black hair:

Long got boring, enter shoulder length and back to original hair color:

And then there was blonde. I always wanted to try out blonde...and since it was summer, I just HAD to go shorter too.

Ok, so blonde wasn't for me and only lasted about 8 weeks (of which is eternalized on my new license and passport). Back to brown and well, nothing more you can do cut-wise than to go shorter.

Can also be worn this way if you are feeling especially silly:

That was the shortest I have ever had my hair...probably won't be that short again.
Finally, we come to my most recent do - not knowing what to do. (and a super cute photo of my gorgeous family)

In honor of 2012, I dyed my hair my favorite shade of deep brown by Loreal - Espresso. I'm gonna go for some length again, I think......but, there could be some red, purple or spikes in the cards for a new hairdo of 2012. Just sayin'.

....and with that, CHEERS to hair that grows back. Happy New Year friends!

Ushering in 2012

2011-12-29T10:56:00.001-05:00

Hi guys.

Well, 2012 is almost here. Can you believe it? Another year come and gone...it sure makes a person feel old. But, I can honestly say this has been one of the best years of my life. In January, I set my word of the year to be "contentment". There have been a few moments here and there where I struggled, but I really feel like I have everything I will ever need at this point in time.

Yesterday, I read THIS POST and felt like it summed up how our family approached contentment over this past year. There are a few on that list that I need to evaluate again (like unplugging), but yeah, we have done a really good job as a family and it shows. Our biggest struggle has been trying to explain to our children that we don't have as much money as some other families in our community. Several times our son has said his friends have something much more expensive than he does or that they get way more for their allowance. And, it's hard when even people in your family throw away dollars at everything they want. It comes down to a WANT vs. NEED and we are identifying the differences together. It really is amazing how much you can say no to once you realize you can live without it. We also ask ourselves constantly, "will this purchase make a difference in God's eternal kingdom?" When you see that things are just things, it really changes your perspective.

So, what should be my word for 2012? I'm still working on that one, but I've been thinking a lot about giving...giving money, giving of my time, giving of my belongings. That could very well be the next goal for this family. Only the new year will tell. And speaking of the new year, I'm gonna be making some changes on my blog here too. You can see that I've already given it a face lift, but I'd also like to add a regular post each week that reflects on who I am as a person. Plus, I'm looking at doing a post called "inspired by". I don't think people in this crafting community get enough recognition for their amazing work. I think it would be fun to showcase some of my favorites.

Here's to the New Year of changes and beginnings!

The All Things Love Technique Tuesday Blog Hop

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's blog hop time for Technique Tuesday again! Now that Christmas has passed, we are all starting to think about the next big holiday - Valentine's Day! So, we are showing off cards filled with love.

For my card, I've used a bit of sponge brayering, masking and stamps from "Loving Words by Ali" and "Sweet Baby by Ali".

Be sure to check out the rest of the TT tech's blogs for other amazing love-filled projects.

Jaclyn <---you're looking at it.

Teri

Comments are our life blood and we love reading them. So, to give back to our fans, we will pick one lucky person to win the Bear Necessities stamp set and one to win the Home Tweet Home stamp set. You don’t need to comment on all the blogs to be eligible to win. But the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Comments must be posted by midnight on Dec. 28th. The winner will be announced on Dec. 29^th sometime on the Technique Tuesday blog.

I really hope you had a wonderful Christmas (and that you didn't eat TOO much food and goodies!) Thanks for hopping along.

Packaged Pretty (CFC #33)

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

We are officially leaving town today. Everything is all packed up and ready to go. It will be a short visit this year, but we will make the most of it. Last night we had our Christmas with our kids. I asked them all what they wanted for their special Christmas dinner and, of course, in their usual fashion, they all said different things. We finally agreed on cheese-filled brats! Although, mom bought a tray of shrimp for herself...followed by a few glasses of wine.

We have been trying to emphasize to our kids the value of presents. It's really hard to teach them that they don't just appear out of thin air, but are bought with hard earned money and work. Plus, when they are just receiving, they lose sight of the whole giving side of Christmas. We decided to do an exchange within our family. That allows the kids to be able to pick out something for someone else and see how it makes them feel when they see someone opening a gift they picked out. It's something small, but we hope a step in the right direction.

Along with giving the gifts, comes wrapping them. I try to let my kids do their own wrapping too, but sometimes my obsessive compulsive, crafty perfectionist comes out and takes over. I like to make my gifts real purdy. I had a blast with this week's challenge at CAS-ual Fridays to make brown packages tied with twine...a card with kraft would've worked, but I took the challenge literally and made myself a pretty package out of an old Trader Joe's brown paper bag.

I used some brand spankin' new stamps from this week's sponsor, Market Street Stamps. I masked off some butterflies and started embossing that text all over in white. I then removed my masks and stamped the butterflies in brown. I also spritzed my package with some glimmer mist. To finish it all off, I wrapped some cotton twine around it and topped it with a white embossed butterfly and a tag using some more of that bag and stickers. Pretty slick, huh? I'm loving the whole earthy feel of it.

Now it's your turn. You've got two weeks to come up with something perfectly CAS (clean and simple). The design team has lots to look at over at the CAS-ual Fridays blog. Be sure to stop in and check it out.

Have a most wonderfully blessed holidays everybody!

Nuts About You (PDCC #112)

2011-12-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

Only 3 sleeps until Christmas morning. I have been running around like mad trying to get my ducks in a row. We always travel out of town for the holidays and spend them with our family. We are blessed that most of our family lives within 3 hours of us. It is fun, but making sure I've got everything done and packed can be a challenge, especially when there are gifts involved.

Today I bring you a new color palette from The Play Date Cafe. They are mostly traditional holiday colors, but I couldn't resist the addition of one of my new favorite colors - lime green. Feast your eyes upon this:

Since I have been in gift-giving and wrapping mode, I decided to make a gift bag using these colors. I've also used some fun new stamps and dies from this week's sponsor, Lil' Inkers.

I think I already have a gift bag for hubs once Valentine's Day comes around. (oh my, already gonna have to start thinking about that) Hold onto your hats and be prepared to be inspired by the rest of the design team over at The Play Date Cafe blog. Be sure to visit and to see what Lil' Inkers is offering up as a prize. Oh, and you have two weeks to work on this one, so you have a bit of a break over the holidays. Have fun with it!

Fun with Dies & Stripes

2011-12-21T11:56:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy week, especially now that my kids are already on Christmas break. I've had some pretty long to-do lists, but amazingly, I seem to knock them out each day. Yesterday, I found myself with a bit of down time and a killer urge to craft for a bit. I needed that time to just relax for a few moments. I came across this week's Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World, Stripe-tastic. Oh my, I couldn't resist both those colors and those stripes. So deliciously graphic. Right up my alley.

It has been a long while since I have had my cuttlebug out and played with my dies. I dusted it off and came up with this:

I wish it would stop raining and being gross here so I can take some picts outside. It sure is hard to see that sentiment, isn't it? Anyway, I was having so much fun with dies and those stripes, that I decided to do another.

Which do you like better? I'm really glad I had some time to sit down and craft. It has been ages since I've made a card for a challenge. This was really fun and I was feeling so inspired.

It sure has been quiet in cyberspace lately. I hope that means you are all enjoying your holidays and gearing up for the best Christmas ever! Toodles!

Paper Smooches Winner

2011-12-19T07:08:00.002-05:00

Happy Monday. Since I know how Mondays usually go, wouldn't it be nice to see who the winner of the Paper Smooches post is? Using random generator, I drew comment number 66 which ended up being......

...Wendy Ten Hove...

Congratulations Wendy, you have won the new Yummers stamp set from Paper Smooches! Thank you so much to everyone that stopped by my blog and for the couple of you who helped me to reach 200 followers. It was so fun to read about everyone's favorite treats and I hope that many of you DO go make your own memory game. It was so easy and fun and my girls and I have played it several times already.

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Something Special To Share - and a Giveaway!

2011-12-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, am I incredibly excited about today's post!

Yesterday Paper Smooches released a NEW stamp set called "Yummers" and I am here today to help promote this sweet set! (am I one lucky girl or what?) This is the second stamp set from their new "Kismet collection". Did you see the first stamp set in the collection called "Forest Whimsy?

This new set is SO versatile and can I just say how excited I am to have a copy of it? I LOVE to bake and give goodies to people. This set is just what I needed to help personalize those items. Since there were so many ca-ute images in this set, I wanted to showcase as many as possible. They were just the right size to make a miniature Memory Game for my girls...and since it is for girls, I went a little crazy with the glitter.

I started by cutting 20 little cards 2" x 1.5" wide. I stamped the back of each card the same.

Then, I went to town on those fun images and made 10 pairs of cards.

To store this and make it portable, I took a small piece of felt I had lying around and sewed a small pouch. I stamped the front using Staz-On and added a small velcro dot.

Wouldn't this make a great stocking stuffer? Or how about a great travel game for waiting rooms? I came downstairs one morning this week to find this. They were playing a few games before school. :)

Lucky for you guys, I have a "Yummers" stamp set to give away to one lucky person! Please tell us what your favorite yummy treat is. You have until midnight on December 18th to leave a comment. I will post the winner here on Monday, December 19th.

For more chances to win...please visit the Paper Smooches Blog and the ever awesome Kim Kesti.

One Last Christmas Card (CFC #32)

2011-12-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hiya Peeps.

It's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. This week it is all about envelopes. Create a card and a coordinating envelope to go with it.

I think this will be my last festive card for the season. I used some Paper Smooches stamps on this one to create that garland.

This week's sponsor is Sherri Thompson and she's providing a fun prize. Be sure to check out what the other Girl Friday's have done over at CAS-ual Fridays.

Mr. Snowman Ornament (PDCC #111)

2011-12-15T07:52:00.000-05:00

It's Play Date Cafe time! It's also everyone's favorite challenge - COLOR SPLASH!

Are you HO-HO-HOPPING up and down with excitement? (that was really bad, wasn't it?)

This week's splash is AQUA. Remember, our color splashes mean the majority of your project is done in Black and White with only a pop of the accent color. Are you ready to get started? Well, hold your horses, I wanna show you my cutie-patootie project. It's perfectly Christmas. :)

Say hello to Mr. Snowman.

He's all nestled into our Christmas tree. I actually made him all from scratch. The pattern was created using cardstock and by tracing the bottoms of tins around my craft space. For the hat, I sewed a tube, flipped it inside out and tied the top closed with a strap of fabric. I think I'm going to tie this guy onto the gift I got for my sister-in-law. Won't he be cute?

There are some complete beauties in the gallery this week from the rest of the design team. You won't want to miss them, so jump over to The Play Date Cafe to check them out. While you're there, see what our sponsor Cindy Coutts is offering up as a prize.

p.s. I have a post to share on Friday that I'm pretty stoked about; you won't want to miss it!

Creating Color Using A Rubber Brayer

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hi guys. This tutorial was shared yesterday over on the Technique Tuesday blog. When I first started stamping, way back when, the woman I was learning from pulled out this funny looking rubber roller tool. I was a bit skeptical as to its uses, but she then showed me how you could create a resist using it on glossy cardstock. It turned out to be pretty darn cool. Read on to find out just one of the many uses for that funny tool; a rubber brayer.

Here's how to do it. You will need:

Glossy Cardstock
Versamark or other clear ink
A stamp of your choice
Dye Inks of your choice (I used three)
Rubber Brayer
Foam or mouse pad

To begin, stamp the image onto the glossy cardstock using versamark ink. I used one of the newest stamp sets from Technique Tuesday, "Joy To The World". It really does have to be glossy cardstock; this technique will not work on a matte finish.

Now, take your rubber brayer and roll it onto your LIGHTEST color first. Then roll the other two colors onto the outside.

It should look like this once it is loaded up - very shiny and wet.

Place a mouse pad or other soft surface under your cardstock. Roll the brayer onto the stamped image making sure to start at one end and slowly rolling to the other. Continue to roll on color until it is smooth. Your image will appear like magic!

That's it! I finished out my card by die-cutting the brayered image and keeping it simple. Here's the finished product.

I'd love to see how you use this technique. Post a project online and link it up to Technique Tuesday's Facebook page.

Rockin' The 80's (CFC #31)

2011-12-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Bring on Friday! I always love Fridays, and not just because of the weekend, but because it means I get to showcase my style in the newest CAS-ual Fridays challenge! I REALLY love clean and simple cards; making them, seeing them, and being inspired by them.

This week's challenge really pushed me beyond my normal boundaries. I'm glad Michele has such brilliant ideas for challenges because I love how it turned out. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to add mist to your project. This can be done in many ways, as suggested by Michele below:

• Use pre-made misting products available at your local or on-line retailer.
• Create spray mist using a mix of re-inkers and water squirted through a spray bottle.
• Create opaque splatters with a mix of acrylic paint and water flicked off a paintbrush.
• Add fine water droplets to your background of distress inked paper.
• Utilize an airbrush system or marker misting tool
• Channel your inner child and spray ink or paint from a brush onto paper by blowing through a straw

Here's how it came out for me:

I began with a glossy cardstock. I stamped my image in versamark ink; it creates a resist on your sheet. I then used my rubber brayer to add color. To finish the effect, I used my fingers dipped in water to splatter water droplets on the cardstock. This created that dotted effect you see. Pretty fun, huh?

Now, let's see what you can do. Our sponsor this week is Sweet Stamp Shop and I bet they are offering up one wowsa of a prize to the winner. Hop over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see what it is and to be inspired by the rest of the team.

Have a wonderfully blessed day and weekend friend!

Let It Snow (PDCC #110)

2011-12-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

Has it snowed in your neck of the woods yet? We've had a few flurries here, but nothing substantial. I'm not complaining though. I'll take the rain and warmer temps over snow any day.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well this week's new color challenge at The Play Date Cafe worked for a Christmas card. They looked awesome with the cutie patootie stamps I got from this week's sponsor, DRS Designs. Check em out:

I love that photo and I super love the bright, bold colors. Here's how I showcased them:

The penguins and sentiment are all one stamp that I colored in with markers. To create the snow effect, I stamped and embossed onto an acetate sheet and put it over the card. Acetate is really hard to photograph, so this looks much better in real life.

You won't want to miss seeing how the rest of the design team used these colors so be sure to stop by The Play Date Cafe.

Have a great day!

An Advent Calendar

2011-12-07T08:19:00.001-05:00

Hey guys.

I wanted to pop in today to share with you an advent calendar I created last week. I had been seeing a few pop up on Facebook and Pinterest and was feeling inspired. Plus, I have REALLY been wanting to make one for, well, forever, but always find that by the time I decide I want one, it is already mid-December and there's no point. On December 1st, I decided to go for it! (that's right, I'm a professional procrastinator) I dropped ALL of my duties for the day and didn't stop until it was done. I worked from 9 am to about 5:30 pm straight, only stopping for lunch. I recruited the help of my 4-yr old to help choose embellishments (although I think she may have slowed the process a bit).

So, what did I go with? That in itself was a tough decision since there are so many cute options. In the end, I decided to use what supplies I had on hand so I wasn't spending any money on it. I had a scrap pack that was Christmas themed from several years back and thought this would be a perfect chance to use it up. I was actually quite surprised at how much Christmas stuff I had on hand. The winner was an envelope style calendar that hangs on a string. That way I could stuff whatever small items I could find into those envies.

Wanna see it? Ok, but I apologize for the crappy photo quality - it's in a dark hallway of my home and the lighting stinks.

Here is the entire banner, every single envelope is different:

And some up-close shots:

I had several tiny clothespins in my stash to help hang the envelopes, but as you can see, I ran out and had to switch to binder clips. I'm not even sure if you can still buy those tiny clothespins anymore or where you would get them?

It was definitely slim pickins on supplies at the end - I even ran out of 2's and had to use a "Z" instead. Since our family focuses on the Christian themes of Christmas, we thought it would be best to include an activity of some sort in each envelope that the kids had to complete before they were able to have the prize. Our activities included things like, looking up verses about Jesus' birth, answering questions regarding the Nativity, or things they can do to encourage or show kindness to others (my son really struggled with the one where he had to hand out a compliment to every family member). It has been incredibly rewarding for me so far and I'm glad that I took the time to do it. I guess in my haste to complete everything, I sacrificed quality because small pieces have been falling off every day!

By the way, I traced, cut and glued every one of those envelopes. If you're going to make one, I HIGHLY recommend buying pre-made envelopes and just covering the fronts. THAT is what took me so long to make.

I hope you are feeling inspired to make your own now. Even if you start late, you will then have it for next year. Don't put it off like I did, it is so worth the effort!

Blasting Some Tic-Tac-Toe (CFC #30)

2011-12-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

What a fun challenge at CAS-ual Fridays this week - it's another tic-tac-toe and as soon as I saw that I could put Aqua and Orange together, I became a bit giddy. Those are two of my favorite colors together (along with a bit of lime green). Here are the options you can choose from:

I also got to add a few stripies to my card as well. Since this week's sponsor is Paper Temptress, I added a few strips of their paper to my card (the top and bottom strips). The stamps are another goody from Technique Tuesday. This card was a GREAT way to use up some of my scraps!

So, are you ready to be uber inspired? Yeah? Then, hop over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog and see what the rest of the design team chose to do with the board. Plus, find out what Paper Temptress is giving away for a prize.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Turn Up The Carols (PDCC #109)

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi.

How is everyone faring with the holidays around the corner? One of my favorite things to do around this time of year is listen to Christmas Carols. It's my guilty indulgence. My husband hates it because the instant the Friday after Thanksgiving hits, I tune into the all carols music channel and it is on pretty much 24 hours a day. It almost gets to the point where I get tired of it...almost. I'm a huge music fan. I find that music just takes me away to a place that is so relaxing at times. It can affect my moods even. That's one of the reasons why I was so excited to receive the stamp set I got from this week's sponsor at The Play Date Cafe, Sweet Stamp Shop. It's called "Old School Rock" and it's awesome.

That being said, let's take a look at this week's color palette and the card I put together.

Some simple paper piecing here and to finish it all off, I glued down some string and chalked the edges in pink. Be sure to hop over to The Play Date Cafe to see how the rest of the team was inspired and to see what is up for grabs.

Thanks for stopping by - hope your day is fantastic!

Little Treasures Technique Tuesday Blog Hop

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

So, have you busted a few buttons off of your pants yet? Feeling like a three-toed tree sloth?

You know what might help perk you up a bit? How about a blog hop with Technique Tuesday! Yay for chances to win goodies! See, we are into the spirit of giving at TT.

This month, we are playing with Technique Tuesday’s Little Treasures stamp sets. These affordable little stamp sets are a great way to try out Technique Tuesday’s stamps. They sell for just $2.99 each. From ones of flowers to ones with Ali Edwards’ handwriting, there are a lot to choose from. These are some of my favorite stamps to purchase and use, especially for my daughter who LOVES having her own stamps.

Since we are all into the holiday spirit, I chose to put together a fun little card using "Flurry". I have used this stamp set so many times already.

I had a bottle of crackle glaze gathering dust in my space and thought it might be fun to see what I could do with it. As it turns out, it makes a great frosty looking window!

Isn't that too fun? I originally embossed the snowflakes in clear, but once I put the crackle over the top of them, they got lost. The white embossing looked much better!

Be sure to check out what everyone else is doing with their Little Treasures.

Tanis

Ashley

Charlene

Daniela

Tobi

Laura

Sharyn

Kris

Jaclyn <------you are here

Teri

We want to give some Little Treasures stamps to two of you today. From the comments received on all the blogs, we will pick one lucky person to win the Love Makes the World Go Round stamp set. We’ll also pick one person to win the A Million and One by Ali Edwards stamp set. You don’t need to comment on all the blogs to be eligible to win. But the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Comments must be posted by midnight on Nov. 30th. The winner will be announced on Dec. 1^st sometime on the Technique Tuesday blog.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday - so glad you made my blog a part of your week!

Ported in Cozumel, Mexico

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our first day at port was at the small island of Cozumel, Mexico. If you follow the road around the island, it is a total of 41 miles...that doesn't include the northern end. We were blessed to be the ONLY boat in port on that day, so it seemed almost deserted as we drove around. Toby and I are HUGE research nerds and we spent an insane amount of time before the cruise reading and taking note of what were the best things to do and places to go. Since we were looking to really enjoy each other's company, we opted to find the most secluded places on the island. We read that the southern tip and the east side had the most secluded and beautiful beaches.

We figured the best way to get around would be to rent a car, so we trolled around in this little guy.

When we arrived in the port, it was actually raining, but as we drove along, the sun began to shine and wouldn't you know, we saw this...just another reminder from God that He had His hand in every part of this amazing trip.

Our first stop was Palancar Beach. When we arrived, a tiny man came out and sputtered something about it costing $2 to park, even though we parked ourselves? I'm not sure, but I think he may have been full of it. :) Talk about having the beach to yourself. I think maybe 10 people showed up the entire time we were there.

This fella was giving me major stink eye as I crept up to take his picture...I backed away slowly.

After lunch, we decided to continue driving around to the east side of the island where the waves are unbridled and the water is a lovely shade of blue-green. The island is careful to preserve their nature and you are not allowed to take anything off of the beaches on this side of the island. We stopped at Playa Chen Rio.

Did you see hubs hiding in the rocks?

And, no visit to an exotic island is complete without sampling the local beverages...which I'm pretty sure were 80% liquor and 20% mixer...a Rum Punch and Blue Margarita.

That's it for Cozumel. Tomorrow, onto Belize, and let me tell you, it was the most memorable part of my trip! See you tomorrow in paradise!

'Tis The Season (CFC #29)

2011-11-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is already less than a week away? I swear November didn't even exist for me. Time simply can't go this quickly. My mind can barely wrap itself around the holidays already.

Friday means it's time for a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. This week we are serving up another sketch, but this time it is from design team member, Karen Baker. Take a looksie:

Our sponsor this week is Tradefish Designs and we have been lucky enough to sample a few of their stamps. I received some wonderful Christmas sentiments to put to good use.

To create this, I used a square mask and sponged it with some orange to create the background. The bird and swirl are some tiles from Technique Tuesday that I embossed in clear and rolled ink on using a sponge brayer.

There's surely a delightful prize up for grabs this week, so jump over and check it out at the CAS-ual Fridays blog. While there, I'm sure you will also be inspired by the design team's work.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Fall Like Pocket Card (PDCC #108)

2011-11-17T07:49:00.000-05:00

If you are here to read about my cruise highlights, click HERE or keep on scrolling down.

Sometimes I just plain can't think of anything to make for my design team assignments. As I just came off of one amazing vacation, my brain was in recovery mode and did NOT want to think at all. Luckily for me, I popped into Jennifer McGuire's blog this week and saw this adorable pocket card. I was so inspired by it's uber cuteness that I decided to make one of my own for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge.

Up first are this week's fun Fall colors:

I love these warm tones and would do my entire house in these colors if my husband let me (still being debated). Here's my take on that pocket card:

Our sponsor this week is the ever cute and adorable Lawn Fawn. It's tough to see on my card, but I added a bit of texture to those acorn tops using the "Schoolhouse Backgrounds" set. Pop on over to The Play Date Cafe blog to see how the design team was inspired by these colors and to see what you could win.

Also, I will be posting the first of five posts later today about the Paper Crafts cruise. You won't want to miss it!

A Cruise To Remember

2011-11-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

I AM BLESSED! I AM BLESSED! I AM BLESSED! and did I mention that I am blessed?

As most of you know, I spent a week on a cruise ship with some amazing people, touring some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen. Thank you again Cristina Kowalcyk, Paper Crafts Magazine, and all of my fans who voted for me in Gallery Idol, for making this trip possible.

I thought it might be kinda fun to recap the trip. That way, you can all live vicariously through my photos. I'm going to do a series of posts over the next several days to showcase highlights from the cruise. Let's start with the days at sea and the crafting time.

DEPARTURE DAY

It was a beautiful morning over the port in Miami

As we pulled up to the port, the Carnival Liberty loomed

The Lido deck was full as we sailed out to sea

CRAFTING AT SEA

I had NO IDEA how many goodies we were going to get on this cruise. I mean, OH MY WORD! Paper Crafts knows how to do it right! Cristina and I got straight to it!...and I had to show some hometown pride by wearing my Colts jersey.

I hung out with all of the Paper Crafts peeps - Teri Anderson, Kim Kesti, Susan Opel and Brooke Mathewson, who did an amazing job organizing all of the activities for this cruise.

Between crafting sessions, I had to goof off a little bit...

But don't worry, I clean up well too. I really enjoyed dressing up for the formal nights.

And, when you're in the middle of the ocean, you tend to see nature in its rawest form - a full moon, a rain storm, and the sunset - absolutely stunning.

So many wonderful memories were created and I loved meeting all of the other crafters. One of my favorite parts of the trip was being able to socialize each night at dinner with our group. I think we may have been the party table! :)

All of this was only one portion of the trip. Come back tomorrow and see how we spent our time at the first port, Cozumel, Mexico.

Tag, You're It! (CFC #28)

2011-11-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another new challenge for CAS-ual Fridays!

This week we are creating tags or cards with tags. Sometimes I really enjoy doing tags because it is a smaller surface to work on. Other times I find them extremely difficult because I tend to over think them. For today's project, I tackled the chevron trend by cutting squares in half and placing them in the chevron pattern. I topped it off with a punched heart, buttons and a sentiment from Technique Tuesday.

Hop over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see what this week's sponsor, Purple Onion, is offering for a prize. There's also a few amazing projects to look at and inspire you while you're there.

Now, TAG - you're it and it's your turn to create tags! Thanks for stopping by.

Color Splash Week (PDCC #107)

2011-11-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

I bring you a new color story for The Play Date Cafe. Guess what? It's COLOR SPLASH week! (a bit ironic that this week is "splash" week since I am off "splashing" in the ocean right now) On the tails of Halloween and all things orange, this week's splash of color is orange. That means we want you to create a project using black and white with a "splash" of orange.

I pulled out a few of my Technique Tuesday stamps and created this fun thank you card:

Don't you just love that posie? It sure does pop in black and white, doesn't it?

Let's see what you can do with orange. This week's sponsor is The Scrapping Cottage - Cottage Cutz and they're offering up something wonderful for you to get your hands on if you play along and win. Check out what the design team has done over at The Play Date Cafe.

New Issue From Paper Crafts

2011-11-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to pop in today to say Hi...oh, and to point you in the direction of the newest issue released by Paper Crafts magazine. The issue is called "365 Cards" and can be found HERE. I have three cards making an appearance in this magazine. I love the concept that you can make one card each day. I have a feeling that many of them are super easy to make too. There's always time to make cards, right?

Here's one of the cards that can be found on p. 17 in this issue:

Great story about this card; I originally had the sentiment say "Have A Happy Opposite Day". My husband took one look at it and said, it really should say "Have An UNhappy Opposite Day"...and that, friends, is why I love my spouse. He's so smart. :)

On The Edge (CFC #27)

2011-11-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

Yeah, that's right. I have been on the edge - teetering between the point of insanity and pure bliss. But, today is the day that I go over the edge to pure bliss. I'm hopping on that plane this evening for Miami. Pray for safe travels friends!

The edge is what we're focusing on this week for our CAS-ual Fridays challenge. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a card that has some portion of it going off the edge of your card.

I have had a bit of woman love for the "Monsters Ink" stamp set from Technique Tuesday. I think I have a crush on that cute, big-eyed monster. Yep, he made an appearance again. I paired him with another TT set, Chit Chat.

This week's sponsor is Lil' Inker Designs. They have some really cute designs. Make sure you pop over to CAS-ual Fridays to see what you could win and to view the rest of the design team's work.

Have a great weekend!

AGE: it's only a number (PDCC #106)

2011-11-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hi guys.

I am officially gearing up for the Paper Crafts Cruise! I am probably knee deep in packing and organizing, and packing and organizing and packing! I had no idea how much work it was to prepare for a cruise. I have a feeling that I will be coming home from a very exciting and eventful vacation, but probably more tired than ever. I can't wait! To be able to see places I've never been before and the sunshine and sea, and best of all, to hang out with other crafty peeps.....okay, deep breaths.

On to a new color story challenge for The Play Date Cafe (sorry, had to switch gears there or I might have hyperventilated). This week's super trendy color combo is grey, yellow and pink.

I have been seeing this combo everywhere. I really want to see what you guys can do with it. I decided to go ultra CAS for my card this week since I feel like these colors have a very mod feel to them.

Alright, so I know there isn't much to this, but I really did put some thought into it...I even had bling on there and ended up taking it off. Each of the strips of color was masked off using masking tape and then colored with watercolor pencils. I then stamped the sentiment over the top. The inside of the card reads "life begins at" and then I can add an age with stickers later on. I think this card would work well for a man (despite the pink) or for someone who doesn't like elaborate things.

What do you think? Too simple? Missing something? What would you add?

This week's sponsor is Practicing Creativity and they provided the stamps on this card. Please be sure to visit The Play Date Cafe for inspiration and to see what they are offering up as a prize.

Some Random Sharing

2011-11-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

Have you played at CAS-ual Fridays yet this week? There's a fun sketch for your personal use. When I was trying to put together my design team project for this, I had a really hard time with it. I'm not sure why, but it took me three tries to get one I liked.

You know what that means?

Yep. There are two unshared cards floating around on my laptop. I think it's time for them to make an appearance. Say hello to card #1.

.....and card #2.

I had my kids vote on which one they liked best and they chose #2. How about you, which is YOUR favorite?

October’s Technique Tuesday Stamping Tech Blog Hop!

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

I've got a little something to cheer up your usual Monday morning today...and who doesn't need cheering up on a Monday, right?

Welcome to October’s Technique Tuesday Stamping Tech Blog Hop! With Thanksgiving drawing near, we often think about things we are thankful for in our lives. My list is too long to share! Let's just say that God blesses me abundantly every day of my life. Since we are all starting to think about our thankfulness, Technique Tuesday thought it would be great to have the Stamping Techs all share a few Thank You cards this month.

For my card, I used "This One by Ali Edwards". I really like that arrow stamp and thought it would be neat to use it in an interesting color palette. There's some more white space on this one - shocking, I know.

Be sure to check out the blogs of everyone taking part in today’s blog hop.

Jaclyn <-----that's me

Teri

We want to give thanks to one of you for taking part in the blog hop today. Leave a comment on any or all of the blogs and you may win one of TT's newest stamp sets, "I Pick You". You don’t need to comment on all the blogs to be eligible to win, but the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win!

Comments must be posted by midnight on Nov. 2nd. The winner will be announced on Nov. 3rd sometime on the Technique Tuesday blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy The Ride (CFC #26)

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Friday!!!!!

Friday means a new challenge at CAS-ual Fridays. This week we are using stamps from our sponsor, Lawn Fawn. The challenge is to use the sketch provided below by our design team member, Laura Davis. I have been on a major white space kick lately. So, it should come as no surprise that this week's card uses lots of that beautiful, creamy white space. I've also been utilizing masking a lot. The tickets are one great way to use masking.

Be sure to take a look at what the design team came up with for this sketch over at CAS-ual Fridays. While you're there, take a gander at what Lawn Fawn is offering for a prize.

I'm spending some time with my family this weekend. My mom is having a "harvest party" for all of the grandkids. I'm also going to be taking some family portraits for a friend of mine. I love taking photos at this time of year. All of the colors are so beautiful and it makes for great picts.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your beautiful, Fall weekend!

How About A Good Cuppa? (PDCC #105)

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

I HAVE FOUR SISTERS.

My family is very close. We have helped each other through the hardest of times. There are definitely moments of tension, but we always come back around with a big old family group hug. As you can probably imagine, four hormonal sisters make for an interesting dynamic. But, we are strong and we love each other dearly. That is why each year, we plan a sister trip just for the five of us. We take turns planning where we are going and what we will do. Our ideas don't always line up, but we always seem to create some really great memories.

One of my sisters spent some time in Holland, MI. While she was there, we visited her as a family and I fell in love. What a beautiful, quaint little town! We decided to go back later on for one of our trips. My sister showed us some of her favorite hang out spots. One of those places was an eclectic coffee shop called Lemonjello's (pronounced lee-moan).

Why am I telling you this? Well, not only because I wanted to share that little jewel of a city with you, but also because this week's Play Date Cafe photo inspiration shows two of those wonderful coffee drinks we enjoyed while we were at Lemonjello's.

Observe.

Looks delicious, doesn't it? Well, it was!

Here's my card for this week. A little out of my normal CAS mold, but I like how it turned out. This week's sponsor is The Kraft Outlet.

So, here are a few other photos from our trip (these are a few years old)

My parents named us after several of the Charlie's Angels (I was named after Jaclyn Smith), so we ALWAYS have to do an angels pose whenever we are together. Boy, was the guy at the hotel desk MORE than happy to take our picture.

There's a beach nearby, called Tunnel Beach because you walk through a tunnel to get to it.

And then we go and take goofy photos like this...well, SOME of us got the memo that it was goofy.

Near the beach, was this "U-shaped" tree. We thought it was so unusual, that we stopped and took some photos in it.

Thanks for taking a little stroll down memory lane with me today. If you are interested in ever visiting Holland, MI, shoot me an email and I'd be happy to share the places we went with you.

Remember to pop on over to The Play Date Cafe to be inspired and to see what you could possibly win this week.

2011-10-26T16:12:00.000-04:00

Falling Icicles

2011-10-25T08:56:00.003-04:00

Hey guys. It has been a little while since I have shared anything just for the fun of it on my blog. I thought it might be fun to just drop in and post something that was feeling neglected in a folder on my hard drive. Since we are drawing nearer to Christmas and I'm sure that you've all got Christmas cards on the brain, how about a fun Christmas card using a non-Christmasy stamp?

I thought that this stamp sorta looked like icicles, so I grabbed a few Christmasy ink colors and created that pattern. To make it a bit more shimmery (like when the sun hits those icicles), I added some glitter using my glue pen. Simple and cute.

Maybe...this gives you a head start on a few of your own ideas too. :)

Have a beautiful day friend!

Supplies
Cardstock: (white) Georgia-Pacific
Clear Stamps: (Beyond Borders) Mint Motif, I heart Papers, (A Wreath For All Seasons) Papertrey Ink
Dye Ink: (cranberry, olive, garden green, black) Close To My Heart
Other: (glue pen) Sakura, (glitter) Martha Stewart

Crafty Friends Rock! (CFC #25)

2011-10-21T00:01:00.000-04:00

You know what?

Crafty peeps rule.

Really.

They are the best.

I know you know what I'm talking about. After spending almost two years in the blogging realm, getting connected to all of those crafty friends out there, I realized they are some of the best people around.

We pray for each other. We encourage each other. We laugh. We support. Most of all, we can relate to what it's like to be obsessed with the healing nature of being a craft goddess. Have I mentioned that I love you guys?

Today's card for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is dedicated to my sweet, sweet crafty peeps. The challenge is to "add color" and we are showcasing the newest release from Clear and Simple stamps.

We are really excited to have Clear and Simple stamps as our sponsor this week. Did you know their stamps are made in the US from the highest quality photopolymer? They also have lots of open images great for coloring and they've even added new larger sets to their store.

So, amazing crafty person, hop over to CAS-ual Fridays and be inspired!

Happy Trails.

Happy 2nd Birthday PDCC!!!!

2011-10-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome.

You picked a great day to stop by my blog. Today we are celebrating the...

second birthday of The Play Date Cafe

...and boy, do we have a flurry of prizes and sponsors for you this week to do it up BIG! Sponsors like, Sweet Stamp Shop, The Twinery, and Layers of Color. And, not only are we giving the Cup of the Week a prize, but we are also giving prizes out to our Fab 4. If you've never played with us before, now is your best shot at goodies!

So, I guess you need to know how to play, right? Well, all you have to do is use this color palette with the suggested colors (but feel free to interpret them your own way) of Mauve, Egg Yolk and Artichoke:

Since it is our birthday, what better to create as a project this week than BIRTHDAY CAKE! I absolutely adore all of those "cake in a jar" recipes that I'm seeing all over pinterest, so I made my own. I used yellow cake for the egg yolk color and I whipped up a "mauve-y" batch of buttercream frosting.

I also layered several die cut tags to make this jar super fun and pretty. So, now that you know how great it's going to be to play along at the Cafe this week, stop over there to jump start your creativity by viewing all of the Design Team projects, and don't forget to see the prizes up for grabs while you're there. Have a blast with this one friends and Happy Birthday PDCC!

Googly Spiders (CFC #24)

2011-10-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

Friday = Clean and Simple design fun.

Up this week at CAS-ual Fridays - create a card for Halloween that DOESN'T have orange in it.

Since I'm not a big fan of Halloween, I don't have much in my stash to create with. Luckily, I had a few SRM stickers that helped me out in my creative process.

The spiders and the sentiment are both SRM stickers. I stitched a few lines for the spider trails. I love having my children around to help critique my work. So, I called my son in the room and asked whether I should google eye or not. Once I put them on, he got a big grin on his face and this card became googly!

Stop on over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to be inspired and to see what this week's sponsor, Clear Dollar Stamps is offering up for a prize. Have a fabulous weekend!

Still Feelin' The Hexagon Love (PDCC #103)

2011-10-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Thursday. It must be hard to be Thursday; having to stand in the shadow of Friday. We like to make Thursdays feel special around here with an amazing little color challenge called The Play Date Cafe. I'm head over heels for this week's colors because it includes my favorite color in the whole wide world - TEAL!

Oh, and what a deep, dark, rich and glorious shade of teal it is...and couple no less with a rich autumny orange and smoky gray. I'm swooning over here. Somebody pick me up off of the floor please.

I'm still a little hexagon crazed after last week, so wouldn't ya know they made it onto my card again this week. This card is also a bit out of the mold for me. There's some fancy stampy layering with a Tim Holtz twist.

Originally, I had planned to use those hexagons as masks and just remove them, but I kinda liked the way they looked taped to the front, so I only removed one for the sentiment. I used my sponge brayer to create the background and just added several different stamps. I wish my teal would've been deeper, but you've gotta go with what you've got.

I've gotta give a shout out to this week's sponsor, Clear Dollar Stamps. See what they are offering up for a prize over at The Cafe and check out all of the fun projects while you are there. Thanks for stopping in...and give Thursday a big hug too while you're at it. :)

Supplies

Clear Stamps: (This One by Ali Edwards) Technique Tuesday, (Many Thanks) Hero Arts, (Artsy Tim Holtz stuff) Stamper's Anonymous, (Sweet & Sour Soup) Jillibean Soup

Dye Ink: (Autumn Terracotta, Lagoon, Grey Flannel, Black) Close To My Heart

Sponge Brayer

Operation Julie's Smile Blog Hop (CFC #23)

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hello friends. Today is a special day. Today is the day the crafting community shows how kind and caring they really are. Many of you know my dear friend (and boss), Julie Murray. She is an amazing organizer and a fantastic leader. Recently, she found out that she was going to need some dental work done. So, today we are holding a blog hop for her. You should've jumped here from Ruby McGuire's blog. Read more about this hop below:

“The creative blogging community is coming together this weekend to help one of our friends, Julie Ranae. You may know her as the Design Team Coordinator for many wonderful companies from bakers twine, die cuts, rubber stamps and more. What many people don’t know about Julie Ranae is that she has had some pretty major dental surgeries in her lifetime due to medication she had to take as a child. It was in her plans to think about having all of her teeth replaced at some point in the next 5 years, a decision that was pretty easy to plan out. But then it happened…she chipped her front teeth on a weekend a month ago. The dentist told her there was no way to save them & that it was his recommendation that she give in and have them all her teeth removed soon, but for that day, they needed to get her front teeth done so her gums could begin to heal. He said he would 'work out payments with her to have ALL this work done...but when she called to make her appt for the first step of impressions, they told her the amount of money that was needed and that the 'payments' applied only to the two teeth that were extracted that day. Her husband Paul was with her & that too, was his understanding as well. So this is how she has found herself in this situation…Needing at least $4000 to get started and another $3000 to finish the process…a total of $7000."

Because of this, Nicole Rixon, owner of Sweet Stamp Shop put together this benefit after finding out about this situation and before Julie Ranae knew it, it took flight! Because Julie is an event organizer by trade, she has taken on the job of organizing all of the blogs in this hop as her way of ‘working overtime’ for what she needs, the same as if she were able to work overtime at an outside job to pay for the work to be done.

It is the goal of all of these generous friends & sponsors to help make this situation more do-able for Julie so that she can share a brand new smile with all of us soon. And that is why this week's theme for CAS-ual Fridays has to do with smiling.

I created my "smile" themed card using stamps from this week's sponsor, The Craft's Meow.

Because there are so many amazing people out there who are willing to help Julie out, this blog hop is quite large. Be patient and take your time. You have a complete weekend to get around to all the blogs to be eligible for prizes by leaving comments. If you get lost along the way, a complete list of blogs on the hop is posted on the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog.

Here's the fun part. There are over $2500 in prizes donated by many very generous companies. A complete list of sponsors is listed on the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog. Prizes will be drawn from Blog Comments left, from the PayPal Donation list and for Blog Hop Hosts.

If there is anything you can do to help with a financial donation, there is a donation button ready for you to click (you can find it over on the right side bar). Any amount is appreciated and ALL DONATIONS will be eligible for prizes from our sponsor pool of over $2500.”

I hope you enjoyed your stop here on the hop! The next stop is Michele Gross’s blog. Make sure you leave a comment here before you go so that you can have a chance at the amazing prizes up for grabs and if you can, please make a donation so we can help bring back a new smile for our friend.

In Love With Hexagons

2011-10-06T07:53:00.001-04:00

Hi friends. And a special, warm welcome to the several new followers who have joined us over the past week. I love seeing that number grow because it tells me that I am inspiring some new faces, and to me, that's what this hobby is all about. So, a hardy hello and thank you for being a part of the team.

I have a new Play Date Cafe color story for you this week. Since we are in October, these are some fun Halloween colors for you.

We are also showcasing stamps from our sponsor, Stampotique. I chose to use their hexagon stamp with a simple hello. Hexagons are SO trendy right now and I love seeing them used everywhere.

Be sure to stop over at The Play Date Cafe to be inspired by the rest of the design team and to see what our sponsor is offering up as a prize.

Before I go, I want to talk health. Do any of you have hypothyroidism? I have been dealing with EXTREME fatigue over the past two weeks. They have tested my TSH a few months back but everything came back normal. I'm just wondering if there is a chance that I could still have it since I have many of the symptoms (fatigue, always cold, rash, can't lose weight) and it just didn't show up in the preliminary blood work. Inquiring minds want to know. :)

Thanks for stopping by today peeps. Have a great day!

Supplies
Rubber Stamps: (hexagon, small hello) Stampotique
Dye Ink: (grape sherbet, wild flower, sweet leaf, black) Close To My Heart
Sponge Brayer

WCMD Cards and A Winner

2011-10-04T16:16:00.002-04:00

Good morning, or afternoon depending on where you are in this world!

First off, let's talk winner. I know that's what you came here for today. ;) I used my trusty old fashioned method of dumping all of the names into a bucket and letting my 4-yr old draw one out.

The winner of my World Card Making Day prize is (drum roll)......Marlena M.!!

Congrats Marlena and when you get a chance, shoot me an email with your address in it. Thank you so much to all of you who stopped in on Saturday and enjoyed the day's festivities. I really enjoyed hopping around to all of your blogs to view your favorite cards (I'm still working on a few of you). I so appreciate each and every one of you and hope that you were somehow inspired.

So, did you all enjoy your day of crafting? I only managed to get three measly cards done and I wasn't really feeling any of them. In fact, I've been feeling quite rotten lately - I think it's probably sinus related. I've been struggling with bouts of vertigo and it's making me nauseous. I finally broke down and bought a Neti Pot yesterday in hopes that that would clear out all the gunk. I was still somewhat dizzy today, but it seems a bit better, so I'll keep at it.

Anyway, since I didn't really like any of the cards I made on Saturday, I'm not going to be entering them into any contests. That means I will share them with you.

These two were inspired by the colors in one of my husband's ties.

I guess I was feeling a bit geometric that day because then I came out with this:

Hubs says this would be a great thank you card for someone in the service as he thought the pattern looked like the chevrons on their sleeves. I think yellow and green would've been more appropriate - so maybe you could give it a try. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! Sending hugs your way.

Happy World Card Making Day! (& A Giveaway)

2011-10-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

It's finally here. The most awesomest day ever conceived.

WORLD CARD MAKING DAY!

I think this special holiday deserves some special attention, don't you? I thought it would be fun to celebrate all of its spectacularness by looking back at a Top 10 collection of my favorite cards from the past year. I often find it interesting to see which cards are a designer's favorites from their own collection. A lot of times, what I find are my own favorites are very different from what are other's favorites. A special day also warrants a super fun giveaway, so there will be a special surprise at the end of this post.

Shall we get started?....Starting with #10:

I love what you can do with squares and patterns on a card - geometric has always been one of my favorites

Each garland was created using varying sizes of dots - a great way to get use out of even the smallest stamps

I love the unique color palette on this card and so much fun with dots

How fun is that rainbow of buttons?

This is a little out of my normal design style, but I love how the colors came together in such a feminine way

Clean. Bold. Graphic. Geometric. Sigh.

I didn't like this card when I made it, now it's one of my favorites. I think it's because of the warm, vintage colors and the unique combo of patterns.

Bright colors + polka dots = happiness

You had to know that a Gallery Idol card was bound to show up in my Top 10 list since I poured my heart and soul into every one of those cards. I have to say that once I started creating that popcorn and saw how perfect it was, I had trouble wiping that smile off of my face. Plus, popcorn is such a huge part of my family life and one of my favorite snacks!

And my most favoritest card from the past year, another Gallery Idol entry...#1

It's just so me! And as soon as I saw how perfectly this card went from conception to completion, I giggled out loud every 5 minutes. It came together perfectly. This one will remain in my collection forever. :)

Speaking of Gallery Idol, how about I give away a few of the leftovers from all of those delightful prizes I received. Here's a pile of what you could win.

(select papers, tags and embellishments from the American Crafts Margarita collection, select papers, die cuts and tissue paper from Pink Paislee Daily Junque collection, Summer Breeze stamp set from My Little Shoebox, a copy of the Sept/Oct issue of Paper Crafts magazine and a few loose die cuts)

Leave me a comment below telling me about a card that YOU'VE MADE that is one of your favorites. Leave me a link to that card, and I'll do my best to stop by and take a look. Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you. There's no need to be a follower of my blog, but if you find that you love all of these cards and my style, wouldn't it make sense to join the club? :) You have until Sunday at midnight EST to leave a comment and I will post a winner on Tuesday.

Now, raise your champagne glass and give a toast to the best day ever! CHEERS!

Loopdy Loop (CFC #22)

2011-09-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

You + Me + Friday = A New CAS-ual Fridays challenge! :)

This week's challenge is to incorporate loops into your project using ribbon. How appropriate that this week's sponsor is Ribbon Carousel, who were kind enough to send us a few samples of their product. Here's how I put mine to work.

I created that flower using a strand of ribbon. I looped the ribbon back on forth in one single stack and then just ran a tacking stitch through the middle of it. Once I knotted it off, I splayed it open and out popped that gorgeous flower. I covered up the tack stitch with my brad. I also hand stitched the orange flower by drawing my pattern and then punching tiny holes with my paper piercer.

Now it's your turn. Let's see what fun and exciting ways you can create loops or tabs with ribbon. Be sure to stop by CAS-ual Fridays to be inspired as well. Ready, Set, Go!

Supplies:
Clear Stamps: (Simply You) Technique Tuesday
Dye Ink: (Black, Sweet Leaf) CTMH
(Orange Floss) DMC, (ribbon) Ribbon Carousel

Curl Up with some Good Book Colors (PDCC #101)

2011-09-29T00:01:00.000-04:00

So, are you guys ready for World Card Making Day yet? My daughter just asked me what that was. I told her a day where you get to spend the ENTIRE day making cards. My husband was quick to chirp in and suggest that making only one card still counts as participating in the event. Riiiiggggghhhhtt. Who is HE kidding?

How about a tantalizing neutral color palette in rich tones from The Play Date Cafe to get your creative juices flowing.

I love these warm colors; they make me want to curl up under a blanket with a good book. And, I made sure to provide some super creative book reading names for these colors as well - Wine (because who doesn't want a glass of wine by their side when they're reading), Smudge, Leather and Parchment. I decided to play off the old book theme and make a weathered looking card.

I went for some stampy layering and sponging. This week's sponsor is Paper & Such, so be sure to pop by The Cafe to see what they are offering up as a prize and to view the awesome work of the design team.

Thanks for stopping in.

Supplies
Cardstock: (Storm) Bazzill Basics, (Kraft) The Stamp Company
Patterned Paper: (Stella & Rose) My Mind's Eye
Clear Stamps: (This One by Ali Edwards) Technique Tuesday, Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous
Dye Ink: (Vineyard Berry, Black, Goldrush, Chocolate) CTMH
(Twine) Hobby Lobby

2011-09-28T18:34:00.000-04:00

Gearing Up for World Card Making Day

2011-09-27T11:44:00.000-04:00

You may or may not have heard about this holiday just for card making nerds like myself. It's called "World Card Making Day" and it's just over the horizon. I get pretty amped about having an entire day devoted to paper, scissors, glitter and all things cards. I pretty much tell my husband he is on his own and in charge of the kids for that entire day...don't judge. A mom needs a day of relaxation every once in a while and this just so happens to be the way I relax best.

Last year was the first year I actually participated in this annual holiday. I woke up early that morning and found a few challenges I liked. I then devoted my time to making cards for those. Here's one of the cards I made last year for a Technique Tuesday challenge to use markers:

If you want to see all of the other cards I made, you can check out this post HERE, HERE and HERE.

So what do I have planned for this year's big party? Well, I've joined the Paper Crafts blog hop and I think I'm going to do a Top 10 List of my very favorite cards I've made over the past year. There's probably going to be a giveaway too as I have a few goodies left from the Gallery Idol spoils that I won't ever use. Be sure to stop by here on Saturday to see what I have in store.

Let the countdown begin - 4 days and counting.....

Technique Tuesday Stamp Party!

2011-09-26T06:00:00.001-04:00

Hola Bloggies!

It's time for a super awesome Technique Tuesday Stamp Party! Woot, woot! Are you excited? I'm excited!

We thought it would be an amazingly fun time to show off some of the newest stamps that Technique Tuesday has available. Each of the Stamping Techs is throwing something together for a hopping good time. Did you know that Technique Tuesday has a huge selection of clear stamps, all made of high-quality photopolymer? I'm kinda fond of them myself. :) You can check them out by going to the TT Web site.

For my project, I'm showing off the stamp sets, "Dream Big", "Swanky Sentiments" and "Smooch".

Be sure to check out the blogs of everyone taking part in today’s blog hop.

Tanis

Ashley

Charlene

Daniela

Tobi

Laura

Sharyn

Kris

Jaclyn <-------you're here

Teri

Remember, hopping around and leaving comments on everyone's blogs gives you the chance to win one of the Hearts by Ali Edwards stamp sets, which just happens to be one of TT's newest stamp sets. You have until midnight on Sept. 29th to leave comments. The winner will be announced on Sept. 30th sometime on the Technique Tuesday blog.

I'm so glad you dropped by today, happy hopping!

Let's Give Monochromatic A Try (CFC #21)

2011-09-23T00:01:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday friends. It's time for another CAS-ual Fridays challenge. Have you all been enjoying this fun new challenge for clean and simple cards? I know I sure have. This week we are going to try our hands at Monochromatic cards. We are looking for three shades of a color + brown. The stamps being showcased are from our sponsor Stampotique.

I used my watercolor pencils to color in her dress, hair and flowers. There's a lot of other great projects to be seen over at the CAS-ual Fridays blog, so be sure to stop by and take a look. Thanks to all of you who continue to play along each week. It has been so fun looking at all of your work and being inspired. Have a great weekend everybody!

We Hit 100! (PDCC #100)

2011-09-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hey you. Did you notice that number up there? Yeah, the 100? This week we have officially hit 100 color stories!!! Hooray. It's time for the balloons, the party favors, cupcakes and noise makers. Oh, and how about a gorgeous color story to boot. I know you will be inspired by this week's Fall palette.

Of all of the color stories that I have done up to this point, this board of inspiration is one of my favorites. I just love how everything came together in the photos. I also love the richness of the colors.

For this week's project, we used stamps from our sponsor, Lawn Fawn. I chose the stamp set "schoolhouse backdrops".

The very first day that I got this set in the mail, my daughter told me that she had to practice writing her spelling words very neatly. Lightbulb. I smacked that middle stamp onto a block and let her go to town stamping her very own lined paper. Later on, I took a peek at what she had done and it turns out that that stamp was PERFECT for her practice. Her words were so nicely written. If you have young children, I would highly recommend this set! Now, I'm sure you're anxious to see what I came up with for this week. Here it is:

The bottom uses the background from the set. To create that rose, I just glued three of those old school fabric flowers together, and smooshed them as I did. I then sponged the edges a bit with some terracotta. And, that's the end for today. Scoot on over to The Play Date Cafe blog to see how the rest of the team was inspired for our 100th color story. :)

A Fun Textured Background using Watercolor Crayons

2011-09-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

Howdy Peeps. Did you happen to catch this tutorial that debuted over on the Technique Tuesday blog a few weeks ago? If not, keep on reading for a fun new way to use those watercolor crayons they sell.

Check out that background behind the guitar. Yep, that was created using one of those magnificent crayons.

Here's how to do it. You will need:

A Technique Tuesday watercolor crayon in your favorite color (I used Cobalt Blue)
An old wash rag (make sure it's one that's expendable)
A square of white cardstock
A square of burlap (any local fabric store should carry burlap)
Something to protect your work surface

Begin by coloring one side of your burlap square, make sure you color it pretty heavily so that there is plenty of color to transfer.

Place your white cardstock down on your work surface and place the burlap, colored side down, on top of it.

Wet your rag and wring it out so that it isn't too wet.

(Note: The wetter it is, the more your texture will look like watercolor and will blend together. The drier it is, the more of the texture look you will get.)

Place your damp rag on top of the burlap piece taking care not to move it around. Apply gentle pressure with the heel of your hand to moisten the burlap. Gently lift the corner of your burlap to see where it's at. If it looks too dry, try pressing a little bit harder to force some of that water out of the rag.

Carefully remove the rag and the burlap from your cardstock. It will be wet, so you will need to set it aside to dry. Depending on how much it curls up when dry, you may need to stuff it in a heavy book overnight to flatten it out. Once it's dry, it should look like this.

At this point, you can stamp over it or use it as a background. I finished mine off using the "Rock On" stamp set.

Experiment and have fun with this. Try using different fabrics and objects for different textures. Try mixing colors on one piece of burlap. Try using a spray bottle instead of a wet rag. There's no limit to what your creativity can do.

I'd love to see how you use this technique. Post a project online and link it up to Technique Tuesday's Facebook page.

Small-ish (CFC #20)

2011-09-16T00:01:00.001-04:00

It's Friiiiiii-day, It's Friiiiiii-day! Woo-hoo!

These past few weeks of September have FLOWN by. I can't believe how fast my days go. The worst part: I don't feel like I get anything accomplished. Where is all my time going?.....Oh, that's right, I'm on the computer all the time. :)

Well, a Friday wouldn't be complete without a new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. I LOVE this week's challenge. Mini Cards! How fun. They're so cute in all of their 4" x 4" smallishness. I wish I would've had more time to keep on playing with some other ideas, but here's what I came up with.

A bit of Technique Tuesday goodness going on here. I added a bit of glitter glue to the center of the flowers for some sparkle. This week's sponsor is Annabelle Stamps. I'm sure there's some amazing stuff to look at over on the CAS-ual Fridays blog, so hop on over there and take a looksie. Thanks for stopping by today! Have a magnificent weekend!

Supplies:
Clear Stamps: (chit chat, swanky sentiments) Technique Tuesday
Dye Ink: (baby pink. lagoon, sweet leaf, black) CTMH
(Glitter glue, pink satin ribbon, rhinestone) Hobby Lobby

You Rock! (PDCC #99)

2011-09-15T00:01:00.001-04:00

Yo. Wassup crafty peeps?

Man, have I been in a crafting dead zone lately. I've been trying to focus hard core on eating healthier and exercising. It pretty much takes all my brain power to do both. I've got nothing left for being creative. Luckily, I have both an adorable stamp to work with AND some amazing colors to use for The Play Date Cafe this week. Observe:

A last hurrah for summer before we hop right into those Fall color palettes! Doesn't that lavender lemonade look so refreshing? There's just something about lemons in general that make me happy. This week's sponsor at the Cafe is Paper Makeup Stamps and they were so kind to send me a little cutie this week. He's called "Eyepod".

I used my water pen with an ink pad to color him in. I kinda like how he turned out all blotchy - makes him look more...monster-y. Be sure to see what stamps the rest of the team are showing off and stop into the Cafe to give Stacy a gigantic warm welcome. Have a fantastic Thursday!

Supplies:
Cardstock: (white) Georgia-pacific, (yellow)
Rubber Stamp: (eyepod, sentiment) Paper Makeup Stamps
Dye Ink: (black, spring iris) CTMH
Fiber: (white twill) Technique Tuesday
Watercolor pencils, water pen

Boo! (CFC #19)

2011-09-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hi friends.

It's Friday. Let's get up to date on the latest CAS-ual Fridays challenge.

This week - Paper piecing on a Fall-themed card.

Hmmm. Not a big paper piecer - well, not until recently. Problem. I don't have many "outline" type of stamps in my stash. I wish I had some leaves, but alas, I don't (oh why, oh why didn't I just impulse buy those leaves). So, the next best thing to Fall - Halloween. Yeah, I went there....again. This is so weird. I never make Halloween projects and we don't even do Halloween at my house, but yet, this is now my third Halloween project. In this case, it was because I had the new Monsters Ink stamp set from Technique Tuesday sitting on my desk and thought, boy wouldn't he be cute paper pieced....and this is what emerged:

He needs a name, don't ya think? How about Sly? I colored in his teeth with my white gel pen and of course, topped him off with googly eyes!

A huge thanks to this week's sponsor, Scraperfect, and to our special guest designer, Stacy Rodriguez who just so happens to be joining the team with me at The Play Date Cafe real soon. Now, get your but on over to CAS-ual Fridays and be inspired!

Good Friends and Good-byes (PDCC #98)

2011-09-08T00:01:00.029-04:00

Good friends? What defines them? I was once at a gathering where we were doing an ice breaker. The question we had to answer was, what quality do you think is the most important in a friend? That's a tough one. God has showed me quite a few things about friendships and relationships over the past few years. My answer: RELIABILITY. I've found that a LOT of relationships that we have are totally one sided and that sometimes people just don't follow through on what they say they are gonna do....at least, that's how things are in my world. That's why I say reliability - I like people who make a date and stick to it, and I like people I know I can count on to be there for me through the thick and thin. That's my kind of friend. I think it's safe to say that good friends are hard to come by these days. What do you look for in a friend?

So, why am I talking about friends, you ask? Well, two reasons. One - it pertains to the card that I made for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge and two, we are saying good-bye to some good friends from the team this week. I'm so sad to see them leave, because Libby and Tracey have been such invaluable additions to this team. Libby has been so much fun to follow on FB and her blog. She always has such fun and witty things to say about her life and kids. It has been such a joy to travel alongside her as she moved to a new city as well. Tracey has the most amazing ability to make flowers of all kinds shine! She has a knack for making them so beautiful and unique and I'm always awed by the papers that she chooses to put together. She also made me my most favorite birthday card ever! Both will be missed.

When I chose my stamps from this week's sponsor, DRS Designs, I had no idea how appropriate they would be. As promised, the "friend" card:

And, that's all she wrote. End of game. End of story. End of post. Until we meet again......

p.s. I have a really fun new technique using watercolor crayons being featured over at the Technique Tuesday blog today

Supplies:
Stamps: DRS Designs
DP: (Stella & Rose) My Mind's Eye
Ink: (goldrush, lagoon, moonstruck, chocolate) Close To My Heart
watercolor pencils
glossy accents

Happy Literacy Day! (CFC #18)

2011-09-02T00:01:00.004-04:00

If you haven't checked it out yet, don't forget to join in on the Technique Tuesday Blog Hop and comment for your chance to win a prize.

Happy Friday friends. I've got a special treat for you today. In honor of International Literacy Day, the CAS-ual Fridays team is pulling together to create cards based on a book. Doesn't that sound fun? We are asking that you also use red, white and black on your project; the red being "read" (that Michele, she's so clever)

For my project, I chose the book "10 Apples Up On Top" by Dr. Seuss. If you have a child that is just starting out in reading, you've probably got this one in your stash or have seen it come home from the library. If you haven't seen it and have an early reader, I would highly recommend it. It's so cute and fun.

The three pals take turns showing each other just how amazing they are for being able to stack so many apples on their heads. They brag about how they are able to do so many things with them stacked so high.

For my card, I played off of the stacked apples and used the sentiment "you are amazing" because I thought it fit with the theme of the story and how proud of themselves they were.

When I showed this to my daughter, it didn't have any leaves. She said it was boring. So, I added the leaves....oh, out of the mouth of babes. But, she was right. :)

Hop on over to CAS-ual Fridays to see what books the rest of the girls were inspired by. Plus, see what this week's sponsor, Paper & Such is offering up for a prize.

Supplies:
Cardstock: (white) Georgia-Pacific, (black) The Paper Studio
Rubber Stamp: (tiny fruits) Close To My Heart
Clear Stamp: (This One by Ali Edwards) Technique Tuesday
Ink: (cranberry, black) Close To My Heart
white gel pen

Movie Night (PDCC #97)

2011-09-01T00:01:00.009-04:00

Do you guys have movie nights at your house? Toby and I are HUGE movie watchers. It is definitely one of our hobbies and I could probably tell you lines from several of our favorites. Although, I'm one of those people who doesn't like to watch reruns of TV shows. I just don't understand how people can watch something they've already watched on TV....again...over and over. But, with movies, I can. I know, double standard, but it's just different.

Around here, it is a must have to pop some popcorn to enjoy for during our movie. It all started with my dad who would always whip up a batch of self popped kernels covered in all that delicious butter (and usually a concoction of some weird salts he found in the cupboard). He has passed the mad "popper" skills down to me and we no longer do microwave popcorn in this house. My kids request their popcorn with a glass of chocolate milk! So, it was perfect when I received the stamp set from this week's sponsor, Tradefish Designs in the mail. Included on the "Snack Time" stamp sheet was a bucket of popcorn I just had to use!!! (I had a few flashbacks to my Gallery Idol project with all of those fabric kernels)

This week's is another Color Splash in the Cafe and along with the Black and White, we are asking you to use a splash of red. PERFECT for a striped popcorn bucket. Here it is folks:

I thought that the paper being torn reminded me of how we tear open those bags of microwave popcorn. A stretch? Ok, maybe, but it still looks cool, right? I also added the dotted border around the outside with my white gel pen to kinda mimic the look of movie theater lights.

Thanks for stopping by today and be sure to pop into The Play Date Cafe sometime this week to see what the rest of the design team did. Please also help us give a warm welcome to the newest designer joining the team, Stacy Rodriguez.

Supplies:
Cardstock: (white) Georgia-Pacific, (black) The Paper Studio
Clear Stamp: (snack time) Tradefish Designs
Ink: (black) Close To My Heart, (versamark) Tsukineko
White embossing powder, white gel pen

Technique Tuesday Printable Blog Hop

2011-08-31T06:00:00.075-04:00

Howdy!

I’m super excited about today's post. As many of you know, I was recently invited to be a Stamping Tech for Technique Tuesday. Today, I'm taking part in my first blog hop with the other TT techs! Hooray!

We are playing with the new Printables Technique Tuesday recently debuted at the scrapbook conventions they go to. These three printed sheets (Candy Cane Wishes, Harvest Time and Hocus Pocus) consist of designs you can cut up and use to decorate cards, scrapbook pages and other fun paper crafted projects. They will be available through TechniqueTuesday.com soon.

For today's project, I've decided to showcase the Hocus Pocus sheet. I've created an invitation to a Halloween party, along with a decoration that you could use as a centerpiece for that party. Take a gander:

For the candy bowl topper, I began by covering a dowel rod with twine (Peapod from The Twinery). I then simply cut apart the sentiments and added a few extra touches, like the googly eyes and some glossy accents. I adhered all of them to the rod using glue dots and then cut out that cute little spider to add on as well. I topped it all off with the circle punched at the top and and an orange bow around my coffee mug. The rod is held into the bottom of the cup by a Styrofoam ball cut in half.

One of the awesome things about these printables is that those circles work perfectly with my 1.25" circle punch. So, I punched a few out and added them to the front of this super easy invitation. I added some stitching and a few stickers to spell out "you're invited" and there you have it!

Be sure to check out the blogs of everyone taking part in today’s blog hop.

Tanis

Ashley

Charlene

Daniela

Tobi

Laura

Sharyn

Kris

Jaclyn (you are here)

Teri

We will pick one lucky person from all of the comments left on each of the blogs to win Technique Tuesday’s Verbose stamp set. This is our way of saying thanks for your comments! You don’t need to comment on all the blogs to be eligible to win. But the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Comments must be posted by midnight on Sept. 2, 2011. The winner will be announced on Sept. 3rd sometime on the Technique Tuesday blog.

Thanks for hopping along!

Almost Halloween, or is it? (CFC #17)

2011-08-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, I know Halloween is still like two months away. And, to be honest, I'm not really that much into Halloween anyway. BUT, when I received the amazingly awesome package of stickers from the CAS-ual Fridays sponsor this week, I couldn't resist. (Thank You SRM Stickers!!!)

See what I mean? Candy Corn!!! (p.s. I don't really like candy corn either, but it sure does look great on a card, right?) Aren't those stickers the cutest? You might've guessed that this week's challenge is to use stickers!!! For my card, I used the candy corn stickers and the sentiments are stickers as well. The background is embossed with clear dots and the orange panel is stamped in versamark with dots as well.

Have fun with this one and be sure to stop on over to the blogaroo for some awesome inspiration. Thanks for stopping by today!

Peace & Pastels (PDCC #96)

2011-08-25T00:01:00.002-04:00

Howdy. Guess what today is?

It's my birthday, my b-b-b-birthday! (Did any of you ever watch South Park? Remember when Cartman sang this little birthday song?) I'm 34 years young today! Nope, I don't feel any different. Do I have anything big planned? Nope, nothing there either. In fact, I told hubs not to buy me any presents since we will surely be spending a small fortune on our cruise. My only request - birthday cake and a party hat. Yep, that's all it takes to keep this girl happy. (and if it's ice cream cake, even better!) I had wanted to make myself a birthday card for this week's Play Date Cafe, but we were lucky enough to get some stamps from our sponsor this week, Market Street Stamps. That's right, you guessed it, they weren't birthday ones. But, they are pretty "hip". Here's how I used them with this week's colors.

Ok, so yeah, this is a pretty simple card. But, I am not a huge fan of pastels. So, those of you who have weeks where the colors are just too hard, please know that even I, the one who picks them, have weeks where they are hard for me. This would be one such week. Crazy, huh? The color story coordinator picking colors she has trouble using. :) Enjoy this week's challenge and be sure to stop over at The Cafe to be inspired by the design team.

Supplies:
Cardstock: (Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart, Melon Mambo) Papertrey Ink
Clear Stamps: (Hippie Chic) Market Street Stamps
Dye Ink: (Sorbet) Close To My Heart
Watermark Ink: Tsukineko
Clear Embossing Powder

Cauliflower: Who Knew?

2011-08-24T08:35:00.000-04:00

Today I want to talk about:

CAULIFLOWER!

This crazy, brain-looking vegetable has always scared me just a bit. Anyone else agree? I never know what to do with it other than dip it into ranch. But, I want to share with you today one of the coolest things ever that you can do with cauliflower.

First, let me begin by giving you a bit of back log about how this veggie caught my eye. It shouldn't be any secret by now that I struggle with maintaining my weight. I've done Weight Watchers so many times, I feel like I should walk around with a t-shirt that says: "Yeah, I'm on WW....again, so what?" Recently, I've taken up running and have found that the good old WW plan I've followed for years, doesn't seem to be taking off the pounds anymore. I'm stumped. So, after talking to a few people and doing some research, I've decided to count calories (they do it on The Biggest Loser, so it has to work, right?) and watch my carb intake.

But, I love carbs.

That's pretty much all I eat and to cut them down will be a definite challenge. One of the first things I thought about was rice and noodles. I mean, how can you have a hearty meal without rice or noodles? So, I started searching the Internet for substitutes.

Enter Cauliflower.

Apparently, there's this thing called "cauliflower rice". Yeah, right. My skeptical side says whatever, that sounds nasty. But, I'm desperate. So, I decided to give it a go.

Ummm, hello? How did I not ever try this stuff before?

IT IS FABULOUS!!!! You MUST try this stuff. Not convinced? Well, let's see how this compares calorie wise.

1.5 Cups brown rice = 250 calories
1.5 Cups of cauliflower rice = 45 calories

Yes, please....and the cauliflower rice isn't all chewy and funky textured like that brown rice can be.

So, here's what I did. I processed 1/4 head of cauliflower in my food processor until it was the consistency of rice. In a skillet, I browned a bit of chopped red onion in 1 T. of olive oil and a pat of butter. Once the onions were browned, I added the cauliflower. Cook it for about 4 min (stirring every minute or so) and then add in 1 clove of chopped garlic and salt/pepper to taste. Cook until it is soft (though I left mine al dente). Place it in a bowl and add chopped tomatoes and about 1 oz. of feta cheese. Stir it all together and it's complete!

I topped my "rice" with baked salmon and a bit more feta. Tada!

I used THIS RECIPE as a jumping off point and then added my own flair. Now, it's your turn to give it a go and let me know what you think.

Next up on the food agenda - cauliflower mashed potates! ;)

Happy tasting!

Monday Madness

2011-08-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

That's right, it's madness. Not only did I participate in the Tuesday Trigger yesterday, but I also am participating in the newest Embellish challenge. Two challenges in one weekend? That's pure craziness. I knew I had to play the Tuesday Trigger, but I'm not sure what exactly caught my eye about the Embellish challenge. Perhaps it was just because that was what was open on my desktop when I sat down to craft? I don't know, but what I do know is that these were some seriously hard colors to use without just going all out Christmas. (In my mind, I was trying to justify holly as a flower) Well, I managed something and here's what it looks like:

There it is, plain and simple. The flowers are embossed in white and I actually colored all of my pearls brown to match. Enjoy and have a great Monday!

Supplies:
Cardstock: (brown) Bazzill Basics
DP: (something blue from Portrait Collection) Crate Paper
Peapod twine from The Twinery
Wood Alphabet from Daily Junque: House of Three, Pink Paislee

Sunday Surprise! (Tuesday Trigger)

2011-08-21T18:12:00.001-04:00

Hiya peeps! Yesterday I was able to sit down and actually do some crafting. I absolutely could not resist this week's Tuesday Trigger over at The Moxie Fab World. When I saw this photo, I fell in love with that color palette - so fresh, unique and bold. I just HAD to play, and trust me, it has been a while.

So, I already mentioned that I love the color palette. I chose to use those colors. I also loved that bold black frame and table. It makes such an impact in this space. I copied that boldness on my card using a black frame and black ribbon. The other thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous light. I loved the crystal effect. So, I added a bit of rhinestone bling to my card to mimic that. Here's what it looks like all put together:

Thanks for stopping by today and taking a peek.

Supplies:

Cardstock: (white) Georgia-Pacific, (blossom) Bazzill Basics

DP: (tabs from house of three) Pink Paislee, (pico de gallo from margarita) American Crafts

Clear Stamps: (Simply Silhouettes) Wilson Designs

"Love Always" from SRM Stickers

Rhinestones from Happy2Scrap.com

Star Studded (CFC #16)

2011-08-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

Ready for another fun-filled Friday here on the ole blogaroo? This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is to use one of my all-time favorite techniques - EMBOSSING! It can be dry embossing or heat embossing. I LOVE heat embossing. It was one of the very first techniques I ever learned and when I first saw that powder melt away, I instantly fell in love. There's so much you can do with it.

For today's card, I used some stars from this week's sponsor The Stamps of Life. I LOVE this set. I have been needing to fill my star stamp craving for a while and this is it. In fact, one of the beautiful stars from this set will be featured using a kissing technique in an upcoming issue of Paper Crafts. Too bad it is still about 5 months out. Super sad face.

Super happy face to today's card. Take a look:

The stars are all embossed in silver and cut out. The sentiment is also from that same set. I'm realizing that I need to be better about listing what supplies I use on my blog, so I'm going to TRY (please don't take my word for it) to start doing supply lists at the end of my posts. Have a great day everyone and please click over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see what everyone else has done.

Supply List:

Cardstock: (white) Georgia-Pacific, (robin) DCWV

Clear Stamps: (All4Stars) The Stamps of Life

Versamark Ink: Tsukineko

Silver Embossing Powder

Embossing Folder: (d-vine swirl) ProvoCraft

Button created using mold from Mold Muse and clay

Something A Bit Feminine (PDCC #95)

2011-08-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hi All!

Three cheers for my creativity returning. I am thrilled about the card I am sharing with you today - I giggled a bit while making it and that's usually a good sign that it's a keeper. :) Perhaps it's because I've made a renewed push to exercise and eat healthier again. I always feel better about everything when I take care of myself. I'm trying out a treadmill from a friend of mine who wasn't using it anymore. I have pushed myself to run 1.5+ miles for four days in a row! I've gotta look good in that bikini on that cruise. :)

Here's a look at this week's colors from The Play Date Cafe. I REALLY like this grouping - so fresh and a last hurrah for summer.

This color story actually started with that photo of the umbrellas from Pottery Barn - I absolutely fell in LOVE with those umbrellas. I chose to use that photo for my inspiration. Say hello to my nautical feel wedding card:

I think it's a pretty fun twist on a traditional wedding card. There's a lot of Wilson Designs goodness going on here. The striped paper at the bottom was actually created using the line stamp from "Simply Silhouettes". The frame is also from that set. The couple is from the coordinating set "Spring Silhouettes". I also did a lot of embossing on this card - all of the dots are embossed with white, as is the couple. The frame was first stamped with navy and then I embossed clear over the top of it to give it a shine.

This week's sponsor at The Play Date Cafe is Avocado Arts. There are also some amazing projects to feast your eyes on from the rest of the design team. It's worth making the trip over there to check it out. Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you are enjoying these last few days of summer with your kids.

A Co-op Challenge (CFC #15)

2011-08-12T00:01:00.004-04:00

Hi All. It's Friday! Let's take a look at this week's new CAS-ual Fridays challenge. It's a super special one this week. We are teaming up with Clean And Simple Stamping to provide you a fun sketch to use.

For some reason, I have a harder time with sketches - maybe because when I look at one, I have a hard time breaking free from the exact layout. You'll see by looking at my take that it's pretty close to the sketch.

Because this week's challenge is a co-op, feel free to link up your entries at both our site and the Clear And Simple Stamps site. Our sponsor is Clear Dollar Stamps. Please also give a very warm welcome to Angeline Yong who is guest designing with us. Her work is amazing and she really knocks CAS out of the park every time. Make your way over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see how the rest of the design team was inspired too...everyone has a little bit different take on the sketch. Have a great weekend!

School's In (PDCC #94)

2011-08-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

My kids went back to school on Tuesday. It's kinda funny. About a week and a half ago, I was really feeling sad for them because summer seemed so short and they didn't get to do much because it was so hot. But, they must have a "back to school" radar because I have never been so glad for the peace and quiet that I've had the past two days. Is there some secret code that tells kids to act up the week before they go back? I'm just sayin'. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to getting back into my routine and spending some time whipping this house back into shape.

Now, how about a new color challenge for The Play Date Cafe?

This week's inspiration photo is actually one from my own portfolio of snapped picts. I found this grouping of doors and lights so intriguing at this angle. These were in the quaint little town of Holland, MI. What a cool place that is! It also has my favorite color - teal!

With this week's sponsor being Practicing Creativity, I put some of their stamps to good use. Check it out:

I still feel like my brain is on creative hiatus. I've really been struggling this past week to put together anything that I'm in love with....but as with everything else, I suppose the creativity comes and goes. At least it has teal!!!!

Stop by the PDCC blog to check out the other projects the girls have put together and give a hearty hello to this week's guest, Courtney Baker. I'm off to catch some zzzz's now (well I at least I am at the time I'm writing this, this getting up early for school stuff is wearing me out!) Buh-bye.

Unbelievable

2011-08-08T12:00:00.015-04:00

UN...BE...LIEVE...ABLE.

That describes my Friday of last week. I woke up to the news that I had not won the Gallery Idol competition. Being the passionate competitor that I am, and knowing that I had poured my entire being into every one of my entries, I was bummed. I may or may not have even cried for a bit. Honestly, I really had my eye on that prize. I don't think it's even possible for a person to want to win a prize more than I wanted to win that cruise.

Stay with me here friends, this story gets really good and I'm not even to the unbelievable part yet.

So, I was emotional. Then, I see that Susan Opel from Paper Crafts magazine is calling me. I wonder in my head, now why on Earth is she calling me? I think to myself, she is just checking up on me to see how I'm feeling. You need to know that my mind was really in a fog that morning and not much made sense. I answer and the call goes something like this:

Susan: How are you doing?
Me: I've had better days.
Susan: Well, what if I told you I could make your day a whole lot better?
Me: (hesitantly) O..K...?
Susan: I just talked to Cristina and she is unable to go on the cruise and said she wants the runner-up in the competition to have it. Since you were the runner-up, we are giving the cruise to you.

[PAUSE]

(at this point I'm trying to process in my mind what is actually happening; it just can't be real)

Then the water works started. I couldn't stop crying because I was just in such disbelief. I couldn't believe that Cristina,the rightful winner, had given up receiving any kind of prize. People just don't do that kind of stuff, do they? But she did, and I can't believe it. I am completely humbled. What an amazing sacrifice that was for her. She is one exemplary human being! (and because I can't say it enough, Thank You again Cristina!) I know God is going to bless her tremendously for what she has done!

I know, I just know in my heart that God knew how badly I wanted to go on that cruise and made it work out that way. I don't even know why Cristina can't go, or why God felt like I should get to have it, but He did. I AM BLESSED. God has humbled me a lot through this experience. I am reminded at how far I have come and I need to be thankful for that. None of this would even be possible if God hadn't gifted me so richly to be creative.

I was overwhelmed with emotion during the last week of the competition. So, so many of you left me such sweet comments on FB, my blog and in my inbox. So many of you reposted my annoying "vote for me" status updates. I had so many unexpected acts of love thrown at me that I just lost it at one point realizing that people really, really cared about me and believed in me. Friends, that revelation is beyond precious to me. I will hold it in my heart forever. Thank you.

If you haven't already, you MUST check out the work of Cristina - the 2011 Paper Crafts Gallery Idol - a true winner all around. There's also a few special posts about this whole thing over on the Paper Crafts blog today. And with that, I will close because I'm pretty sure nothing is more UNBELIEVABLE than that.

Now, who's gonna blow all of their savings and GO ON A CRUISE with me? I need a roommate! ;)

Jax

Colorful Dots (CFC #14)

2011-08-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday Friends!

Fridays around here are "clean and simple" and we have a great new challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays this week! Our sponsor is Glue Dots and boy do those things have some great versatility. One such way you can use them is by covering them with GLITTER!!!! Isn't that fun? Check it out:

My project only shows one way you can use them with glitter. You simply must visit the blog to see what creative ways the rest of the design team has used their glue dots...they are amazing! Now let's see what fun ways you can use your glittery glue dots too! Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

You Are The Greatest Box (PDCC #93)

2011-08-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

Well friends, this is it. The end of the voting road for the Gallery Idol competition. Today by noon (MDT) is the very last chance you have to make your voice heard. Please check out my project and vote by clicking the image at the top right.

It's time for a new color challenge at The Play Date Cafe. Since pink seems to be the in color for this year, how about another round of some pinks - this time they are nice and bright!

I think this is my favorite color story so far. I just love all of the pictures and the vibrant colors! Now that the stress of the competition has worn off, I was able to sit down and actually enjoy doing some stamping and playing. It has been a little while since I've done anything unique for PDCC, so I decided to decorate this round box that I had lying around. It was a take away from one of the Technique Tuesday classes I took at CKC last year.

I covered the bottom with some fun paper from lime twist (how fitting with the photo, huh). Then I stamped the words onto some melon PTI cardstock using a stamp from "Loving Words by Ali Edwards" by Technique Tuesday. To top it off, I die cut my butterfly three times using transparency and glittered the back of each one. I then stapled them all together and added a bit of bling and ribbon.

This week's sponsor is Pink Persimmon. We are so happy to have our newest designers joining us this week as well - Denise January and Julie Day. Give them a big round of applause! Don't miss the awesome projects that the rest of the design team has done using these colors. Check it all out over at The Play Date Cafe.

Party Bow Tutorial

2011-08-03T12:53:00.000-04:00

So, I'm in the final round of Gallery Idol. The theme was to create three projects that are cohesive in thought for a party of some sort. (and if you haven't already, I would love for you to check out my project HERE and go place your vote)

But, it isn't always easy to get to that end result. In fact, I had two pages full of ideas before I settled on the painting party theme. Wanna hear some of them? They are as follows:

Game Night (using Scrabble tiles for the theme, this was my Plan B)
Murder Mystery Party with "Bloody Mary" as the drinks
Robots using a robot head attached to sunglasses for a favor and robot sleeves for cups
Adventure to Atlantis, never materialized
Skate Party
Disco Party

Once the theme is decided, it isn't necessarily smooth sailing from there either. I had one idea solidified, but believe it or not, the paint can with brush for the card was my second attempt. My original card idea was just to drip paint down the front of white cardstock. It was a very simple design. Too simple and very boring.

I played around with a few other things as well. And, sometimes, stuff just gets thrown to the side even though it's really neat, simply because it just doesn't work. One such item was the party bow that I created out of paint chips. So, I thought it would be fun to show you guys how to make your very own party bows! I used one of those leftover paint swatches for this tutorial. This is what we are shooting for:

STEP 1: Cut your paper into strips. You can you any size, but the wider your strips are, the less of them you will need.

STEP 2: Glue the ends of your strip to the middle. Repeat for all of the strips.

STEP 3: Layer the strips on top of each other to form a circle.

STEP 4: Staple through all of the strips in the middle and it should look like the image below. Repeat steps 1-3. Layer the second bunch on top of the first one using a glue dot.

When you are finished putting the two layers together, you can add anything to the top to help cover up the staples. I've used a button on this one, but you could also use a punched circles or even a tied bow. Use your creativity. Here's a few I put together.

The bottom one is the one I was going to use on my paint project. It is actually made from painter's tape. If you are going to use tape (they have some really neat colors of duct tape nowadays), make sure you double it over and stick the two sticky sides together before you begin.

Simple as that. Instant party bow and super easy to make. Hope you enjoy making a few bows of your own. Happy trails!

BIG NEWS!

2011-08-02T07:04:00.001-04:00

If you're looking for details on my Gallery Idol project, "It's A Painting Party!", CLICK HERE.

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday!!!!!

I LOVE Tuesday - Technique Tuesday, that is!

That's right, I'm a

TECHNIQUE TUESDAY STAMPING TECH!

I'm so excited to be joining the Technique Tuesday stamping team along with Ashley Harris. Many of you know how much I love their product line and I couldn't be more excited about this match-up. Look to see some amazing creations using their stamps in the future (and I'm sure lots of free goodies). Here's a project you might remember that uses their stamps.

Thank you for sharing my news with me. Have a great day!!!!

P.S. If you haven't already, remember that this is the FINAL round of Gallery Idol. I would love to have your vote. Click the image at the top right to go the voting site. Thank You! I have been completely blown away this round by all of the love, emails and support I have received. You guys are so sweet. ;)

Paper Crafts Gallery Idol: Final Round

2011-08-01T14:00:00.004-04:00

Well friends, this is it. Here we are in the final round of this Gallery Idol competition and I couldn't have done it without you. This has been one surreal and crazy ride. Lots of sweet tea, chocolate, and YOYO (you're on your own) meals have been involved. And yes, even a few tears have been shed; both those of frustration and happiness. But when all is said and done, I'm just so thankful to be here and so thankful for all of the kind comments and support. I truly have the best followers a girl could have! THANK YOU! That said, shall we move on to my final project? I say yes too! Let's break this bad boy down and take a looksie.

Give a high five to IT'S A PAINTING PARTY!

THE IDEA:
When I saw that we had to make three projects for this round, I thought "what the shnikees", it was hard enough just to do one project! I banged my head for a day and a half for ideas. In the end, I decided to be completely original. Enter Painting Party. A few years back, we were getting ready to put our house up for sale and needed to paint every room a neutral color. One of our friends mentioned to us that we should have a painting party. We were like, what? They said we should get pizza and beer and invite over a few friends for the day to help us knock it all out quickly. Yeah. Totally awesome thought and it worked. All of the painting was finished in one day! I wanted to capitalize on that idea and put together three projects that would work for a painting party. So, let's take a look at each of the projects individually.

THE INVITE:

Alright, it shouldn't be a secret anymore that I love to make totally unique and creative cards. This is Gallery Idol after all. I've gotta break out all of the guns and show what I'm made of. Most of my time and energy went into this card since that is where my strength lies! I used my trusty method of finding a photo that I wanted to mimic and printing it out for templates. Then I started cutting and gluing. The sentiment was created on my computer using PhotoShop. To top off the realism of it, I used my watercolor pencils to do some serious shading. A few things to note are that the bristles of that brush are made from real bristles (my husband was SO helpful with this project). The paint on the can and in the can is real paint - and that actually IS the color of my craft room! Finally, don't miss that the paint bucket handle is made from thick gauge wire.

PAINTING SUPPLY KIT:

It's time to put together a painting supply kit for each of your friends. The idea here is that when each person arrives, they find the kit with their name on it and those will be their supplies for the day. Each tag has a paint swatch with the name of a room on it. The room is the room they will be painting and the swatch is the color they will use. For picture taking purposes, I have reduced the size of the kit. Fun details of this kit include the name tag being made from canvas (drop cloth) and see that lime green band wrapped around everything? It is made from painter's tape! (and yes, it does actually come in lime green)

THE PARTY FAVOR:

Because your friends are totally rad for giving up their day to help you paint, you need to say thanks in a big way. How about this colorful paint can filled with all kinds of goodies? The paper sleeve around the can was created by cutting up strips of paint chips (boy did the lady at Menards give me the stink eye as I was choosing STACKS of paint chips). To keep the theme going, I made the tag using canvas. The lid is even topped off with a paint chip too...and don't you love that those Twizzlers match? You really could fill the can with anything from gift cards to chocolate.

(Pssst, I REALLY wanted to take these mix 'n pour paint cups and make them into cocktail cups, but these are really BIG cups. Might not be such a good idea when people are painting your house. LOL.)

NOW, GO VOTE!

Now it's time to vote. I bet you all are old pros at this by now, but in case you aren't, simply CLICK HERE to go to the voting site. If you haven't yet, register a valid email. Once you register, check that email for a confirmation and then return to the site to place your vote. This is the FINAL round that determines the winner of the prestigious title AND the cruise. Your vote matters NOW MORE THAN EVER!

Thank you SO much for riding this roller coaster with me and for coming by today to take a closer look.

Happy Voting! (and dreams of paint)

P.S. For more information on painting parties, check out THIS website. (I didn't make it up, I promise)

Long & Short (CFC #13)

2011-07-29T00:01:00.000-04:00

It's Friday!!!! Do you know what that means? That's right, I find out if I'm in the Top 5 for Gallery Idol! ;) Ok, so it's ALSO a new challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays. This week is a fun, but challenging one.

We are asking you to make a 4" x 9" card and to try and use just a small portion of it for the majority of your focus. Embrace the white space! Curious what that looks like? Well, I just so happen to have a card made up that does just that. :)

Notice how I put my elements to one end. You might have figured it out by the stamps that I've used that this week's sponsor is Lawn Fawn. This set is one of the newer ones called "Admit One". Be sure to hop over to the blog to see what they are offering as a prize and to be inspired by the rest of the team! Now, go give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by. Have an absolutely splendid weekend!