Stampin! with Jaydee

3D with Jaydee - Piece of Poison meets Frightful Sight meets It's a Wrap

Hi Everyone.  Happy Halloween!

I wanted to make some Halloween cards, along with 3D items for some key people in my life.  Originally I had purchased the It's a Wrap Holidays stamp set, but then I realized that I could create labels for the Hershey nuggest in MDS.  

Then, I realized I wanted some of the Frightful Sight DSP, but hadn't ordered any.  No problem... MDS to the rescue!!!!  I cannot believe how I had missed making hybrid projects with MDS before this last week or so.  I started by choosing the paper that I wanted - and decided to go with the spiders.  

Itsy bitsy's anyone?  Then I thought...mmmmm... what for my focal point.  MDS to the rescue again!  I created a tag, using the tag punch in MDS, choose the spider element from the Piece of Poison download and added the sentiment from the Chat Room Occasions download.   I then sized the whole thing to suit my needs

The last thing I needed to do for the front, was to back it on Basic Black card stock and add a couple of embellishments.  

Of course, I then had to complete the inside.  Easy peasy.  A little Old Olive card stock, a bat from the Bat punch (now retired) - and a silvery moon courtesty of one of my round punches.  It was also the ideal time to bring out the picket fence punch from Martha Stewart.

The last thing I needed to do was to make a box for my Hershey Nuggets.  I don't have the fancy die for that, so used  basic piece of white paper to work out the size the box and lid should be, made sure it worked, then cut it out of Basic Black card stock for the insert and the retired Halloween DSP from last year.  I colored a little of the Very Vanilla Velvet ribbon using my black Sharpie and added two strips of the ribbon on either side of the box.  Last thing I needed to do... bring out the old MDS again and create a tag from the Piece of Poison set.   

Now... I am guessing by now that you have gotten a little tired of all the sneak peeks.... so here is the whole ensemble together.

So, what do you think?  I think its a really cool set and I was as pleased as punch with myself.  I really didn't want to spend the money on the DSP knowing that I would only use a couple of sheets of it, so printing it from MDS was absolutely the right way to go.  The great thing about SU, is that I could take actual DSP (used for the box), from 2010, and it all just blends so beautifully together.  

I thought the addition of the black lace ribbon from last year was perfect, too and gave a great feel of texture and reminded me of an old hag's tights!  The picket fence, punched in black, is perfect for the inside, as it echoes the lace from the front.  The two strips of velvety ribbon are great on the box too, as it ties the elements together.  Of course, the metallic silver paper, was perfect for the moon!

Now... I guess, you might like to see what I did with my MDS and the Hershey's nuggets, right?

Isn't that label from Pick your Poison embellishment download great?  I used the brain and the spider from the Pick your Poison download and sized it to fit behind the name.  

I hope you liked the projects - I was certainly pretty pleased with them.  I won't say that it was quick, cos it wasn't, but well worth it, I thought.

Now, Mr Bilbo would like to send you his usual Halloween greetings.   (This was the first thing I ever made from MDS - back in October 2009!)  Wow... I think I've improved a little since then :-)  However, I still wouldn't change a thing on this card, except, I would add real ribbon and a real button.  Still love the ditty, though!

 

Warm hugs and prayers for those who need a lift tonight.  I hope that tonight brings out a little child in all of us and that we celebrate just that.... children and the innocence and wonder that we all once had - and that is still deep down inside us!  Well, for me.. not so deep!

Hugs

Jaydee

3D with Jaydee - Halloween Candy - Last minute projects

Hi Everyone.

Quick post for you tonight.  I made a few last minute - VERY last minute - Halloween projects today.  I am showing you some of them tonight, and then my favorite set tomorrow.

Halloween can be scary for some little ones, so I loved this template from Laurie Furnell.  She's an amazing artist and I couldn't wait to use the template. As I am not a knitter, I had to make one change - and that was to leave the monster with no hair.  However, they did come out cute :-)

aren't they just the cutest things :-)  I'm not sure what's happening with my printer, but it seems to have a black line running through ... mmmm....   However, they are adorable.  No way, I could have created something that fabulous without Laurie's template.

Then, I decided to hop on the Mummy wagon.  Ever since I saw the SU project with the twill binding around a can, I have wanted to do something, but decided that twill tape was too expensive.  So, I spritzed up some tissue paper using my smooch spritzes, tore up the tissue paper and wrapped the individual pieces around the Hershey bar.  I punched out a couple of circles for the eyes, and here's what my dirtied up Hershey Mummy looks like.

Doesn't he look as though he's been around for a few hundred years :-)

I then decided I needed something different - and found a fabulous bat template from about.com.

So, if you are looking for a couple of last minute, easy to make projects for the kids or grand-kids, I hope you have seen something that sparks your interest.

If you are looking for more fabulous Halloween inspiration - check out Dawn's blog.  She has a great alternative to candy for Halloween a couple of posts down.

On a personal note:

Lou and I are enjoying our time off, but it is going by so quickly.  What with so much to do and so many decision to make - and re-make.  Yep, re-make!  Plus so many things to do around the house to winterize it.... time is going past very quickly.

I hope that my readers on the east coast have managed to survive the amazing storm that has just come through.

Warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

Emboss Resist Sunflower for the Paper Players Fall Blog Hop

Happy Saturday everyone!  If you have been to the Paper Players Blog, you will know we are having a blog hop today!  Everyone on the team has created a Fall project!  We are linking our projects up on our blogs this week, and some of us have blog candy to share! So be sure to check out each blog.  Here is the Blog Hop list...click the names to visit their blogs.

 

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile
Cindy Hall

Jaydee (you are here)

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Rita Wright
Tara Bilbao

My card was created using the Sunflower background stamp along with Four Frames.  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs.  I used the Embossed resist technique on the background "First Edition" DSP.  I did mix things up just a little though, to make sure that my sunflower image retained it's color.  Of course, I had to add a little butterfly :-)   I did need a layout, so used the FreshlyMadesketches challenge as my inspiration

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up!:

• Card stock:  Early Espresso, More Mustard
• Stamps:  Sunflower (background); Four Frames (frame); Petite Pairs (sentiment); Kindness Matters (butterfly)
• Inks:  More Mustard, Early Espresso
• Accessories:  Twill tape (dirtied up with Early Espresso on the Good Grid stamp. 
• DSP:  First Edition; Neutrals Patterns Pack
• Tools:  Versamark Pen; Clear Embossing Powder; Heat Gun; Stampin Dimensionals; Mini Glue Dots
• Card size:  5 1/4" square.  More Mustard Layer 5" square.  First Edition Layer 4 3/4" square

Tips:

• I inked up the First Edition with a layer of More Mustard
• I then inked up my Sunflower stamp with More Mustard and used my Early Espresso marker for the middle - roughing up the application to give more texture
• I stamped the image onto the First Edition and then used my Versamark Pen to lay down a layer of versamark over the image.  I sprinkled the image with clear embossing powder and heat set
• Finally, all that was required, was more layers of More Mustard around the edges of the sunflower, making it lighter towards the edges

Tomorrow we will have a lovely challenge hosted by Ann!  What will it be?  Be sure to visit the Paper Players blog tomorrow morning to play along!  For now, please click HERE to visit Julie's Blog.  She is the next person on our blog hop! Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous Saturday and thanks for stopping by

Hugs

Jaydee

Christmas Ornament for Pals Paper

Hi Everyone. Happy Thursday.  I hope you are all having a great day.

Well, I managed to get one card made tonight after spending the whole day on "new house stuff".  Honestly, I would never have thought it would take so much time to decide on a bath and a refrigerator and a shower unit!  Whatever did we do before the internet when it wasn't so easy to find out what people thought of a specific make or model, or manufacturer.  Before the days of the click of a mouse to do price comparisons and stock checks.  For those of you much younger than me, you have no idea how great it is to have these conveniences :-)

Now.  When I was ready to make a card, I really needed a push in terms of what to create.  One of the challenges that I haven't had time to play along with in yonks is Pals Paper Arts.  I mosied along to check out what they had this week.  It is a challenge to use ribbon.  Oh.... now.... you all know that it is very hard for me to use ribbon on a card.  Yep... Never do that :-) 

I had recently ordered the new nestabilities ornament die and decided that it was a great opportunity to bring out my Big Shot and the die.  I also had some old silk ribbon lying around and that dictated my color choice.  I pulled out a sentiment from Stampin Up's "Christmas Greetings" and a couple of embellishments from the mini catalog - the felt Winter Wishes holly and leaves and a few of the mini jingle bells. 

I couldn't quite find the right DSP to use with the ornament, so decided to bring out my sponges, Lucky Limeade ink, some Smooch Spritz and some Frost White Shimmer Paint.  Here's what I cam up with

I know you can't see all the detailing on the ornament, but it has "texture" from the sponges, the shimmer paint, and the smooch spritz.  It also has a little shimmer thanks to the latter two things.

I think the bow is gorgeous.  Silk ribbon is really beautiful to work with and I used a little tape to secure it in position at the top, and a little more for the "legs" of the bow.  I popped the ornament up using Stampin' Dimensionals. 

To create the ornament, I used the ornament die as my stencil and sponged inside the ornament die.  I then used my Big Shot to cut out the shape and that gave me the nice vanilla edge that allows the ornament to pop from the green Jolly Holidays DSP.

So, what do you think?  I pfaffed for ages trying to get the ornament the right color and used several different DSPs before I realized, it really just wasn't working for me.  I checked with Lou what he thought about the card, because I was not at all sure - and he loved it and said he would buy it!  those three little words, "I'd buy it!" indicates his approval :-)

Recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

• Card stock:  Old Olive, Very Vanilla
• Stamp:  Christmas Greeting
• Inks:  Lucky Limeade.  Sentiment stamped with Martha Stewart metallic ink
• DSP:  Jolly Holiday
• Ribbon:  don't remember :-)
• Accessories:  Winter Wishes felt holly berries and leaves.  Mini Jingle Bells
• Tools:  Big Shot; Nestabilities 2011 Heirloom Ornaments; Bow Easy

On a personal note:

Bilbo Baggins has asked me to send a personal message to Cindy.  Some of you may remember that Mr Bilbo had 3 teeth removed yesterday and is not quite feeling himself.  However, he was very pleased to find a little parcel delivered to him by the postman tonight.  I took a picture of the fabulous card, home made envelope, and his favorite yummy nummies that arrived in the post courtesy of Cindy.

Isn't that a fabulous little collection.  The card, using French Foliage, is perfectly matched to the DSP envelope.  Cindy, your card is really gorgeous and I appreciated so much that you sent Bilbo a little gift.  Cindy was our major prize winner for the latest OWH card drive.  Her name was pulled out of a little shaker box by my 4 legged, very handsome, assistant, Mr Bilbo Baggins.  Cindy was very grateful to Mr Bilbo Baggins and sent him these fabulous treats and card to say thank you for choosing her as the winner of the Stampin' Up! shopping spree :-)

As always, thank you so much for spending a little time in my area of the stamping blogosphere.  I know that there are so many places you can visit, so do appreciate that you spend a little part of your day here.

Warm hugs and prayers to those of you who need a little lift tonight. 

Before signing off, I wanted to send a link to a story about a very special man.  This story highlights how you can make such an enormous difference in the lives of others.

Hugs

Jaydee

Easy Events meets Silver Glitter Paper

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday.

Tonight, I have another card made using last week's FreshlyMadesketches sketch :-)  I really do love the sketches the team puts out.  My last card was a fall inspired card - this one is all about Christmas with lots of bling!

I pulled out the Snow Burst embossing folder, the Easy Events Christmas stamp, some of my newly arrived silver glitter paper and a few basic pearls.  I also used my nestabilities for the circular elements.  Here's what I came up with

Isn't that paper just gorgeous?  It really is so luscious in real life.  I can't wait to use it for some snowflakes!

On a personal note:

My poor little Bilbo was at the vet today and had to have three teeth removed.  He's a little loopy tonight, but seems to be doing OK on the pain meds.  He's just the most adorable, sweet natured, lovable cat and the vet techs just love him.  Luckily our favorite vet tech also baby sits for us, so he was very comfortable with her, but I don't think he was too pleased with her after she had pulled out his teeth!

Lou and I have spent the last two days up in Minneapolis meeting with the builder, going over the official plans, etc. and then, yesterday, we spent the whole day in the design center choosing finishes.  Oh, boy!!!!  We were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day and didn't get everything done.  We don't like the appliance, lighting or carpet packages, so we are waiting for our allowance number and then can go do some shopping.  We choose flooring, kitchen and bathroom door types, handles, tiling, grout color, paint color, ceiling color, window types, trim, exterior colors.... aaaarrrrghhhh it was exhilarating, exciting, exhausting and well.... really... exciting :-) Of course, I woke up at 5am wondering about the decisions and had we chosen the right colors, should we have gone with THOSE floors, etc.  In the end, once I had woken up and re-looked at everything, there is only a couple of things we will change.  Still so much more to do and decide, but it's wonderful.  Thank you to all of you who have sent me emails or left comments of encouragement..... we really do appreciate it!

Now... I am off to look at faucets in the brochures we picked up!  Lou is having dinner with a friend, and I am going to cuddle my Bilbo and make him feel loved :-)

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday.  Warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

Sweet Details for FreshlyMade

Hi Everyone.

Happy Monday.  I hope you are all having a great start to your week.

This is another image that I downloaded from Stampin' Up! via My Digital Studio.  I aboslutely LOVE these images from Sweet Details.  I also love that you can size the flowers any size you wanted.

I saw the great sketch across at Freshly Made last week and was really inspired by it.  I wanted to do something different for the circular element, and that's when I saw this daisy from the Sweet Details set.  I downloaded it (product id 125870) - cost me $3.95 - printed it on my new Epson printer.... loving this printer!!!!  Colored the image using my Copics, fussy cut it and I was ready to work on the rest of my card.

I made this card for my best friend in England - I wanted something that reflected the fall colors.  I just love the warmth of Cajun Craze and decided to work with that on all layers of my card, except for the focal image.  It was a great excuse to play along with my Big Shot, my Color Spritzer, and use some of my neglected DSP packs.

Of course, I had to pull out some pearls, too!  I thought that the middle of the flower needed a little texture, so used 3 different size pearls.  The circle under the flower was cut out using my nestabilities and colored with the SU Tea Stain ink to warm it up and fit better with the yellow flower.  The scalloped layer was also created using my nestabilities and gave me the opportunity to carry the green through to the lower layers of the card.

Isn't it a great layout?  I thought it was.  In fact, I thought it was such a great layout, that I made another card with it - you will see that tomorrow!

I have decided to add another category to my side bar - Fall To Layouts.  Sometimes I find myself looking for a great layout and forget which ones that I have enjoyed using.  So, from now on, as I make cards and load them, if I really like the layout, I am going to add them to this new category.

I think this image would be wonderful used to create wrapping paper.  I think it is such a pretty image, as is the other image that goes along with this set.  Once again, even though this is a hybrid project, you wouldn't know it from the quality of the printed image.

So, what do you think?  I know I can hear Brenda saying, "there she goes, fussy cutting, again!" and she's right... but it just seemed the fit :-)

On a personal note:

Loving being on vacation.  No time in my stamp room today, but we did get other things done.  I also managed to read, play a word game on my ipad, spend some quality time with the kitties and spend some quality time with my handsome hubby.  All round.... a great day!

Warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift again tonight.  I do hope that your Tuesday is filled with love and laughter - and time spent doing things you love.  Why not take a moment to reach out to someone that you haven't spoken to for a while and just send them a quick card saying "thinking of you"?

Hugs

Jaydee

Paper Players Challenge #69 - Artistic Etchings

Hi Everyone.  Happy Sunday

Today, I feel like the white rabbit.  I am late!  I am late!  I am late, for a very important date! :-)

I don't think I have ever not posted my Paper Players challenge card on Saturday night.  However, I only got the chance to make this card late in the afternoon yesterday and.... for some reason.... I just couldn't get this sketch to work for me.  It's not the sketch... It was just me.  Because I haven't had the chance to play with my goodies for a while, it really takes me quite a while to get back into things.  I tried 4 different cards (completed none of them), before I finally gave up and walked away for a while.

I came back and decided that I really wanted to do something with Artistic Etchings - the image shape just seemed to fit - only to find that it wasn't quite the right size.  Then, I had a brainwave.  My Digital Studio.  Yep.  AGAIN!  I logged on to Stampin' Up! and paid $3.95 and downloaded Artistic Etchings.  That allowed me to scale and print the Eiffel Tower the size that I wanted it.  You can see that it's a gorgeous quality printed image.  You would never tell that this hadn't been stamped with StazOn.

For the rest of the card, I used the physical Artistic Etchings.  You can't see it very well, but on the two layers of vellum, I stamped the crown, scroll and key images all over the first layer of vellum, and the underlying newsprint.  The second layer of vellum was left clean, and all I did was stamp the sentiment in Early Espresso.

Here's what I came up with

Isn't that image great?  I was really pleased with the quality of it.  Considering, I have always avoided MDS for cards, I certainly have made up for that this week!  I also downloaded some sentiments today.  For some reason, sentiment stamps just never seem to be the right size.  They are either too big or too small, but with MDS, I can create them any size to fit my card - within reason!

Card recipe:

• Card stock: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso
• Stamps:  Artistic Etchings physical and digital (Eiffel Tower digital)
• Accessories:  Basic Rhinestone (top of the Eiffel Tower), Satin flowers (retired)
• Paper:  Newsprint, Vellum

So, what do you think?  Do any of you use My Digitial Studio (or other digital software) to create hybrid cards?  What do you do about sentiments when you just don't seem to have the right one, or it's not quite the right size?

We hope that you will pop along to the Paper Players this week and join us and play along with Nance's sketch.  You can check the other design team cards, too:

Julie

Ann

Cindy

Anne Marie

LeAnne

Lesley

Nance

Tara

On a personal note:

Lou and I spent some time shopping for appliances yesterday!  One thing we decided.... we were definitely going to get another induction stove.  When we replaced our failing stove a few months ago, we opted for Induction.  I have always cooked with Gas until we moved here and love how accurate and responsive it is.  We would have had to pay to put Gas in and didn't want to do that, so we elected to try induction instead.  It gives me the same responsiveness as Gas and I love the fact that the top never really gets hot.  It cooks so beautifully and I am absolutely IN LOVE.  So, we choose an induction top instead of the standard gas top that the builder installs. 

We had great fun looking at new fridges and freezers and dishwashers and stuff.  Isn't it ridiculous to get so excited about appliances?!!!!  It's been 7 years since we replaced the refrigerator that was in the house and technology has changed a lot since then.  Our old fridge is working great still, but the newer ones certainly have some fancy features!

As this is the first weekend of our vacation, we also took the time to do "date night" on Friday.  We went to see Ides of March, with the ever handsome George! - and then stopped for a quick bite to eat before coming home.  It's great knowing that we have two whole weeks together to relax, do things around the house and just have fun.  We were supposed to be doing a cruise around the med to Turkey and Israel, but gave that up when we bought the house.  We decided to save the money and put that into things we were going to need in the new house.  Also, it has been such a very, very, long two months at work, that being at home relaxing was just what I felt like.

I did get time in my stamping space today!  YAY!  I actually made 3 cards.  Yep.  3 whole cards.  I am off to go and try and make another one.  It was great to "get crafty" again.  I have missed it a great deal over the last month.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday and that you have a fabulous start to your week tomorrow.  Warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

Piece of Poison

Hi Everyone.  Happy Thursday

I made a Halloween card tonight.  Yep.  I did.  It is so rare that I do that, that I didn't even buy the Piece of Poison stamp set - I did the MDS version instead!!!  And, after playing around with it tonight, I am so glad I did.  Cos I could re-size all those little meeces (mice for the rest of us who don't remember Mr Jinks!) 

I saw this really gorgeous card across at casestudychallenge and went way off in a different direction color wise.  For some reason.. and I have absolutely no idea why, I decided to use the layout and create this halloween card.

Once again, out came the Mocha Morning DSP.  You guys cannot tell me that I haven't shown you an amazing array of different things to do with this DSP!  It also gave me an excuse to bring out the black lace ribbon from retirement and add an antique brad.  So, check out the gorgeous card across at casestudy.  I used the focal layer and clean lines of the design for my inspiration and used flocked DSP instead of a stamp for the background.  Instead of the flower in the top left hand corner, I did the lace holder and antique brad as the "holder" for my tag. 

The whole of the focal image was printed on to Sahara Sand DSP. and the skeleton was colored with a gel pen, as were the tails and eyes of the "live" mice.  The two in the skeleton's hands are not alive, consequently, they don't have sparkly tales and eyes :-)   I don't know... you can blame the happenings in Ohio over the last two days (still steaming about that) - and the idiot who decided to shoot the red-tailed hawk through the head with a nail gun in California- for my bleak card tonight.  What is it with these people.  .....Anyway.... back to my card

I love the clean lines, the DSP gives so much texture, along with the ribbon and the gel pen adds just the right amoung of ghoulishness even in normal light.   I love the different size mice around the skeleton's feet.  Reminds me of the pied piper of Hamlin! :-)

So, what do you think?  Can you see the layout from the inspiration card in my card?  Don't you love that skeleton.  I decided his hands really needed something, so gave him a bigger mouse in one, and a little dangly one in the other.

I don't often play around with MDS for cards, but seriously, if you see something you like, and know you won't use it that often, MDS is a small amount to pay.  So long as you have a printer that prints on card stock (and I know do!!!) it's a worthwhile investment.

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up!

• Card stock:  Basic Black, Sahara Sand
• Stamps:  MDS version of Piece of Poison
• DSP:  Mocha Morning
• Accessories:  Black Lace Ribbon (retired); Antique Brad
• Tools:  MDS, Gel pen, Stampin Dimensionals

On a personal note:

Thank you to all of you who left a message for me last night.. I really was upset about the happenings in Ohio.  I had tried to avoid the coverage and was not aware of the sheer number of tigers until I read my messages last night.  That incensed me even more.  They are endangered animals for heavens sake.  Most people don't need one - never mind nearly 20.  The sad thing is that so many of those animals were completely lost and unsure once their cages had been opened.    It is a phenomenon not unknown to caged animals.  Which is why so many of them were still so close to their cages not knowing where to go, or what to do.  Beverly, I hadn't thought about the people who were so close who could have actually helped.

Ann R, welcome to our little blog family :-)  We are glad that you find a little peace and connection here.  I started my blog back in 2009 as a way to maybe attract SU customers and as a place to house my cards for challenges.  Little did I realize that my SU business would be the least of the reasons why I continue this blog.  It's my regular readers and commenters that keep me doing this so regularly.  The connection with all of you means a great deal.  I have met some amazing people through this blog - virtually in physically - and yes, I did get a couple of SU customers.  Adelle, Robin K and Beverly.  Well.. Robin led me to Beverly!  and I am so glad to have gotten to know all three of you. 

My blog also introduced me to Missy, Beth, Germaine, Trish (we miss you Trish), Soozie, Linda, Jan A, Kelly, Rach, Lesley, Andi, Ann, AM, Jodi, Cam, Lynn, Sue, Ruth Ann, Cindy, Marcia, Jeanne, Rita, Terri, Sally, Linda, Lori, Judi, , Doris, Barbara, Yvonne, Cyndi, Patricia, Sandra, Tammy, Marge, Christy, Michelle, Amy, Monika, Elizabeth...  some of you visit regularly and comment, some of you only when something really strikes you.  Others visit and don't leave a comment.  Some of you come for the cards, some for pictures from my garden.  You have laughed with me (remember the turtle story, anyone?!), some of you have cried with me (Trish, anyone?)  Whatever your reasons for visiting, you leave a little bit of yourselves and I am grateful.

I hope you have a beautiful Friday.  One filled with love and laughter and joy.  Do something kind for an animal will you, if you can.  Just for me?

Prayers and especially warm hugs for those of you who need a lift today.

Jaydee

Sunflower Butterflies

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday.

I have a quick card to share with you tonight.  Continuing the theme of the layout that I have used over the last two days, I decided to mix things up just a little.  Still the same layout, except this time it's vertical and I used a background stamp instead of DSP.

My new Sunflower stamp arrived at the end of last week.  It took me a long time to order this stamp, but I do love it.  I also ordered the Kindness Matters set.  I love the butterflies in this set, but had always been worried about them being too small.  For my layout, I decided to use my markers and color each of the butterflies individually and then "fussy" cut around them and arrange them in place of the circular element from the cards I showed you the past two nights.

For some reason, don't ask me why... I decided to go with a purple theme.  Now, those of you who visit my blog regularly will know that purple is just not a color I use often.  However, I DO love Elegant Eggplant.  In fact, I hadn't realized how much I loved EE until the new Wisteria color came out this year in the In Colors.

Here's what I came up with

Cutting out the butterflies sure was relaxing :-)

I have one more card for you using this same layout and will share it with you tomorrow.  Hopefully, I have shown you that there are ways to take your fall to layout and change it up to create different cards and yet keep the same layout.  This layout is really quick and easy.

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up!

• Card stock:  Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Very Vanilla
• Stamps:  Sunflower Background Stamp; Kindness Matters
• Inks:  More Mustard, Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum
• Tools:  Stamp-a-ma-jig

On a personal note:

Those of you who visit regularly will know that animals are something near and dear to my heart. I have always had a very soft spot for animals, the aged, children, the disabled - any sentinent being unable to fight for themselves.  I don't know whether it is nature or nurture.  I think probably a bit of both.  My mother was the same. 

I abide and abhor keeping wild animals.  Keeping wild animals of any shape or size should NOT BE ALLOWED.  I cannot tell you how the debacle that unfolded in Ohio upset me.  Caged animals upset me.  Caged wild animals - beautiful beasts of the wild - upset me even more.  That someone was allowed to keep over 50 beautiful animals caged up and then to have many of them shot outside their own cages... well.... that whole situation just drives me absolutely demented.  I don't blame the police for doing what they did.  Do I like it?  NO!  Do I wish something else could have been done instead.  ABSOLUTELY!  In the end... no-one should be allowed to keep wild animals like that.  I hope that this situation now brings to the fore the need to set down laws - and enforce them.  Maybe then over 50 animals would have not died in vain.

Talking about fauna.... Our little avifauna are having a ball :-)  Kelly, we had talked about leaving our fountain in the hope that the new owners (hopefully we can sell the house!!!!!!) will get enjoyment out of the fountain and the creatures that visit it.  It's amazing that we have managed to create a little area of respite for the animals in our quarter acre.  It's taken time to create that environment.  Providing food, lodging, water, trees, shrubs and hiding spaces took some time, money and patience... but we have been rewarded over and over again.  Our backyard is chemical free and a safe space.  It is also a healthy space in terms of the fact that nature controls that space as it was meant to.  Many people are horrified when raptors visit their garden.  Us.... we are thrilled.  That is the way of nature and when raptors visit, the balance is restored.

Linda... I promise I will take some pictures of our fountain and its visitors when we are on vacation over the next couple of weeks.  It's going to be interesting in our new house, because we think we will discover some new birds as the terrain is so very different.  We did see our first wildlife whilst walking the plot a couple of weeks ago.  Well, Lou did.  A two and a half foot garter snake, just wending his way along to the woods.  I love it and was sorry that I had not seen him.

Warm hugs and prayers to those of you who need a little lift tonight.  Rach, I hope that you are feeling better today :-)

Hugs

Jaydee

Button Buddies Thanks

Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday.  Hope you are all having a great week so far.

Tonight's card is the other version of the layout that I used in last night's card.  This one, though, is very different in color, DSP and elements.  However, the layout is exactly the same.  I needed a couple of thank you cards, and this Spice Cake Pool Party DSP makes me happy just looking at it :-)  I decided to use Button Buddies as my circular element.  I played around with the sentiment choice for quite a while.  It really needed something happy and cheerful.  Looking through my stamps I discovered the retired Curls and Swirls Verses and decided that would be ideal.

Here's what I came up with

Don't you think that font seems to fit with this paper?  I love the Very Vanilla with the Pool Party.  I think this is my favorite of the 2011/2012 In Colors.  I stamped the flower from Button Buddies using Craft Whisper White ink onto Pool Party card stock.  I then covered it with embossing powder (an off-white) and heat set it.  A little fussy cutting was required around the flower. 

To secure the button onto the flower, I used a needle and Baker's Twine.  I pushed the needle through the first button hole and sewed it to the flower and then back again, tying it off underneath.  I then popped the button up on the sentiment using Stampin' Dimensionals.  My Pool Party marker colored in the flower in the sentiment, and all that was required was a single little pearl in the middle of the flower.

So, what do you think?

Here's what I used:

• Stamps:  Button Buddies, Curls & Swirls Verses
• DSP:  Spice Cake
• Card stock:  Pool Party, Very Vanilla
• Accessories:  Brights Buttons, Basic Pearls
• Inks:  Indigo Island, Pool Party, Versamark
• Tools:  Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Stamp-a-ma-jig

On a personal note:

It was wonderful watching the juncos at the fountain today.  There were several of them along the button, amongst the rocks, drinking.  We then saw the hairy woodpecker fly in, land on the side of the fountain and take a drink.  Really... this fountain is one of the best things we have done for the wildlife.  They just love it.  One of the young deer was caught licking the side of it last night!  An indication of how little rain we have had, and how little standing water there is around.  We have decided that in the new house, we need to incorporate a fountain at the back and one out the front - right outside my office window!

This week we were choosing colors for the exterior and we even found a chandelier for the dining room.  Oh boy... this is so exciting.  It's going to be a long wait over winter whilst they finalize the plans, we choose all our fittings and finishes and then they start digging and building.  Neither Lou nor I have ever built a house before, we have always bought existing houses, that this is a whole new ball game for us.  Lots of work on our old one to get ready to sell it.  Not least of which is doing a spring clean and sorting through 13 years of living in this house! :-) 

As always, thank you for visiting my blog... I really do appreciate it.  Warm hugs and prayers for those who need a little lift tonight.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Hugs

Jaydee

Winter Post - Christmas Greetings

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday.  Hope you all had a great weekend.  We certainly did, except for one thing.  It was too short :-)  It really needed to have been about 5 days longer.  And...those 5 more weekend days would have taken us straight into our two week vacation :-)

I managed to make three cards yesterday - all using the same layout.  I had this idea in my head of combining the deer from Winter Post with the Mocha Morning DSP.  I played around a little and it wasn't working for me, until I turned the card horizontal instead of vertical.  Then, it all came together.

After I had made the card, Lou looked at it and said the paper was perfect, because the pattern on it reminded him of Christmas bells.  Now, I had never looked at it that way, but he was absolutely right.

Here's what I came up with.

So, what do you think?  Can you see Christmas bells in the Mocha Morning DSP?  I surely can.  I used some Dazzling Details on the focal element, but it's showing up really green in the photograph.  I promise you it isn't that green :-)

I love the CAS lines of the card, and I love that it showcases this gorgeous DSP without overpowering the focal image and the sentiment.  I have to admit, Christmas Greetings is one of my favorite typefaces.  It just seems perfect for Christmas cards and is just the right size, too. 

A great thing about this layout.... you can size the sentiment and focal layers to match whatever it is you want to pair up together.  I will have the other card I made using this same layout tomorrow.

On a personal note:

Gorgeous weather here in Mn this weekend.  Cool, crisp and clear.... and... even though our hummers and other summer birds have moved on to their journey south..... our JUNCO's arrived back today.  They seem early, but it has been cold, so I am guessing that they know something we haven't quite figured out yet. :-)  Lou coudn't wait to tell me that they had been sighted in the garden.  They are our constant winter companions and I love to watch them flit backwards and forwards all winter.   We also have a couple of late red winged blackbirds in the garden.  They have been hanging around with the grackles.  The grackles only ever visit us on their migration thank goodness :-)  But the blackbirds must have thought that it was a really good idea to travel in numbers.  I love listening to their call as they come in to land.  They so remind me of summer.

As always, thank you for visiting my blog.  Warm hugs and prayers to all those in need of a quick lift today.

Hugs

Jaydee

Paper Players #68 - Winter Wishes

Hi Everyone

Happy Saturday night.  LeAnne has a great challenge for us all this week at the Paper Players.  To create a CAS card using the colors green and red.   Well, considering that I had a couple of new goodies arrive in the mail on Friday - it was the perfect time to pull them out and use them!

I had seen the Winter Wishes Stitched Felt goodies in the Holiday mini and decided they would make great decorations for cards.  All I needed was some card stock, a few rhinestones that had been "freed" from their housings, a little Seam Binding Ribbon and my brand new Simply Scored board (love the really clean lines it scores!

It seems forever since I pulled out Garden Green, but it was the perfect match for the Winter Wishes Stitched Felt.

Here's my card:

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up!

• Card stock:  Whisper White, Garden Green
• Stamps:  Sentiment:  Christmas Greetings, 115448
• Focal image:  Winter Wishes Stitched Felt wreath, 124108
• Ink:  Cherry Cobbler
• Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon; Rhinestones Fire Circles
• Tools:  Simply Scored, Glue Dots, Snail, Stamp-a-ma-jig

This was such an easy card to make.  I stamped the sentiment (using my Stamp-a-ma-jig) and then scored the lines above and below the sentiment.  I secured the wreath using sticky tape and secured the rhinestones using mini glue dots.  The ribbon was adhered to the wreath using glue dots, too.  That's really all it took.  I don't think it took me longer than 15 minutes from start to finish.   I love these felt embellishments, I can't wait to use the snowflakes, too!

We hope that you will play along with us.  I am sure you will be inspired by LeAnne's challenge and the fabulous design team cards.

On a personal note:

As my regular blog readers may remember, it has been a crazy couple of weeks.  These crazy weeks mean that I don't get any time in my stamping space.  It was lucky that this week's challenge was a CAS challenge! :-)  Lou and I left home at around 7.30ish this morning as we had to go up to the cities to do a few things at the garage with our car.  We took the opportunity to visit some furniture stores to get some ideas.  Of course, we also took the opportunity to go past our new lot and make sure it was still as gorgeous as we thought it was.  Well, it was/is!   The weather sure is colder up there than where we are.  It's amazing how much different 130 miles can make in Mn.  I walked the lot and the wind was blowing across the wetland and rustling the remaining leaves on the trees.  What a gorgeous sound!

It was great visiting the furniture stores and trying out goodies we know we could never afford.  It's always nice to dream though :-)  We used it as an opportunity to check out the holiday decorations, too.  As our new house will have a porch running along the front of the house from the garage to the end of the house, we are looking forward to decorating it for each season.  Many of the houses around the new house had put up decorations for halloween.  Yep.. it really is that close!

One more week until Lou and I get two whole weeks off work.  We ccxxxxx       8annot wait!  We will be sorting out our existing house, going through cupboards and cleaning out and getting ready to pack it all in a few months.  Rather do it now whilst the weather is still good, than wait until the depth of winter.

As always, thank you so much for visiting my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits do mean a great deal to me.

I hooep you al have a wonderful Sunday.  One filled with love and laughter and lots of time to spend doing the things you love - with those you love!

Warm hugs and prayers to those who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

3D with Jaydee - Faith in Nature

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday.

I have a little 3D project to share with you tonight.  Some of you may remember the interchangeable coasters I shared with you in this post.  The great thing about those coasters is that they are flexible and you can change them out for the seasons.  However, they are pretty good quality, so, they end up being a little bit pricey.

I decided to share a more affordable project with you tonight.  Still using coasters, but this time the plain glass coasters that you can get pretty cheaply at any hobby or super store.  You need a couple of things:

• Your favorite stamp - just make sure it fits with the size of the coaster :-)
• Glass coasters
• StazOn ink
• Alcohol markers
• Piece of paper cut to the same size as the coaster with the image you are using stamped on to it
• A non-alcohol based fixative

For my coaster art, I used the pear from the Faith in Nature set and my copic markers. 

One of the key things to remember as you get started.... alcohol markers and StazOn do not play well together.  If you stamp the StazOn image onto the coaster and then try to color it, it takes off the StazOn.

To get around that, I lay the stamped image on spare paper underneath my glass coaster.  I then used that as the template.  I laid down a little bit of color on the glass.  Let it dry, then I stamped on the image using StazOn.

Now... as the color isn't intense enough at this stage, I let the StazOn thoroughly dry and then turned over the coaster and colored underneath the glass where, of course, there is no stamped image!   You have to work the alcohol markers very quickly, otherwise you get streaking.... but a little streaking is perfectly ok... it gives it texture and I think looks great.

Here's how mine turned out:

All that was left to do, was to spray the fixative on the top and the bottom and that stops the image wearing off.

I can't wait to do some for Christmas. I just haven't decided which image to use yet.  I wonder I could use part of the snowman from Snow Buddy?   Mmmmm.... now I really need to think a little harder

So... I think it's a cool project, the coasters are really pretty inexpensive and I think wrapped up, they would make a great gift.  They are really easy to make, once you know the trick about StazOn and the alcohol markers.

On a personal note:

Thank you to those of you who left wishes for us yesterday.  I did enjoy reading your comments and Andi... "It all started with a carpet.." would make a great book title, actually it would have made a great blog title, too.  Cindy... definitely a good plot for a movie... honestly... what a weekend!  But, as Beth said... we won't forget this one in a hurry.

I am so pleased that so many of you thought about the wildlife.... Thank you Kelly and Linda...  We really had thought about it.  We get so much pleasure out of our little garden that I wouldn't want to give that up for anything.  We are hoping that we will get a whole new set of birds and animals to visit us.  Our builder told us that he saw 15 Sandhill Cranes in the wetland behind our lot.  15... how absolutely amazing.  I don't think we will be that lucky, but boy.  I'd love to! 

So, Jeanne... we are definitely taking the fountain with us.  In fact, we have decided we will have one outside my office and one outside the family room in the basement.  So, we should be covereed at the back and front :-)  We've also lined up a place for our bistro table and chairs... under a couple of trees that look out over the wetland and the woods behind. 

Beverly.... yes.. you will notice I provided NO details on what led to me calling Lou and idiot driver :-)  Yvonne... you are right...these little incidents really do make you realize how fragile life is and how quickly things can change.  Ruth Ann and Rita... thank you for your good wishes and thinking about us.

Rach.... thank you for thinking about Mamma Rose.  She is doing well.  So much better than we had anticipated she would.  She saw the video we sent to her of the model home we chose and is so excited.  We hope and pray that there might be a way to get her to visit with us.  I know she would love it.

So.. thank you all..... I am feeling much better today.  Still a little stiff, but grateful :-) 

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone... I hope it is a day that is filled with love and laughter and lots of time spent doing the things you love!

Warm hugs and prayers to those who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

A busy weekend

Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday.

I apologize for being MIA the last two days.  It had absolutely been my intention to update my blog yesterday and to have a card to show you.  However, this weekend.... life had absolutely other plans.

Let me begin by saying a huge thank you to those of you who took the time to wish Lou and I a happy anniversary.  It meant a great deal to us.  So... thank you!!!

We had planned a quite day looking at a couple of houses on Sunday (more about that later) and then going for a nice dinner up in the twin cities at an Italian restaurant to celebrate.  We had planned a return home by late morning on Monday, so that Lou could do some things around the house, and I could spend some time crafting.  Sounded like a great plan.  And... well it was a great plan.

We left on Sunday, drove up, and visited a few open houses.  Why were we visiting open houses on our anniversary, I can hear you asking?  Good question!  It all began because I wanted to tear up the carpet and put down wooden floors in our house.  Rip out the bath, knock down a wall, and put in a new bath.  Now, you gals will all understand how these things can happen.  Mmmm... that turned into a thought of mmmmm.... if we are spending more money on our house, on things that will not get us much of a return on investment, maybe it's time to look at new houses.  We did just that.  However, we looked in the Twin Cities, because we end up there a lot to go to shows, etc.

We visited a house on the parade a month ago.  Fell in love with the house and found a plot of land that is, without a doubt, the best and most wonderful piece of land we have ever looked at.  That led to a discussion with the builder and we have been going backwards and forwards for more than a month with the builder on plans and prices.  On Sunday, we decided to look at other houses and other lots, just to make sure we knew what we really wanted before visiting with the builder on Monday morning.

On Sunday night, we were driving into St Paul to a little Italian restaurant and had a little accident.  We are both OK.  I have a little whiplash, but we are OK.  The car... it was mostly OK.  It was one of those stupid, ill-timed, how on earth did that happen, moments.  The sort of thing that happens when you don't concentrate for a micro-second.  By the time we got to the restaurant, the car was functioning.  The passenger side air bags were no longer functioning - cos they had inflated!  However, we were OK.  Dinner was a little subdued and we drove back to the hotel knowing that we would have to visit the car dealership the next day to survey the damage.

We visited with the builder, finalized on a house, THE lot, and a price.  After a month of negotiations, it was amazing to finally get through that.  We then went to visit our lot, take some pictures, and visit with our car service people.   Mmmmmm..... let's just say we got home at 8pm last night, and we weren't driving the same car home that we arrived at the garage in.  Our wonderful car showroom manager (we have bought 3 other cars from him over the years), offered us up a deal.  He takes over our old car, fixes it up, we drive out with a new one for a small amount of money - less than we would have paid to fix it.

What a whirlwind of a day... and this all started because I wanted to replace the carpet!!!!!  I can say that we are thrilled, absolutely thrilled about our new home.  We should begin building in December and should be in the new house in Spring.  I can't wait to share pictures of the amazing piece of property that we were lucky enough to own.  It's such a special piece of property, that the builder was looking to put a much, much, more expensive house on it, but realized that we loved it and would take good care of it and would leave a lot of it in its natural state.  So, we convinced him that we could do all of that, on the condition that we could build a lot, lot, lot, smaller house :-)

The car... well.....  the less said about that the better. :-)  Let's just say that I was very calm during the incident, but was not calm when I found myself pacing backwards and forwards in 5" heels in my Sunday best, with cars whizzing past me at 80 mph.  I do remember shouting (very loudly) at Lou about what an idiot driver he was.   But.... we are both way OK and very lucky that we were driving the car we were.

So... now you know the whole story about why I didn't get back to do some crafting yesterday and why whiplash may make it a little harder to do some crafting.  

Next time I decide that I want to pull up the carpet - or do any kind of home renovation project, will someone please beat me over the head with their purse/hand bag and tell me to get over it :-)  Please!!!!! :-)

I promise that over the next couple of days, I really will try and do some crafting, so that I will have something to share with you.  Lou and I are on vacation, staying at home, for two whole weeks at the end of October.  We are both looking forward to spending some quality time together, doing things around the house, and planning our new one.  I get a new crafting space... oh yeah... now that is also exciting :-)

As always, thank you for taking the time to visit with me.  Your visits do mean a great deal to us, and your good wishes were an extra bonus for us!

Have a wonderful Wednesday.  Stay safe. 

Warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift.

Jaydee

 

Happy Anniversary

Hi Everyone.  Happy Sunday.

Tonight I dedicate my blog post to my handsome, fabulous, hubby.

Today is our anniversary and we will be spending the day enjoying our time together.  We hope that you all have a wonderful Sunday.  One filled with love, laughter and time spent doing the things you love.

For my darling Lou.....

All my love

Jaydee

Paper Players Challenge # 67

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday.

Sorry that I have been MIA the last two days.  It has been a really, really long week and I ended up working all day today, too.  Actually I got more done today than normal, because no-one was bugging me via IM at work! :-)   I did manage to get into my stamping space later this afternoon, though.

I realized this morning that it was my turn to host the challenge across at the Paper Players this week.  How on earth did I forget that!!!  So, I had to quickly rush and make a card using the colors that I chose for this week's challenge.

My immediate reaction had been to use my French Foliage set, but I decided to push myself to create a fall colored card that was not fall related.  I looked at one of my favorite sets - Friends 24x7 and decided that this would be ideal.  I really do love this set and could never get rid of it.

Then, I needed a layout.... so, I went along to FreshlyMade and used the sketch for this week.

Once I had made my stamp choice, I then chose a little piece of the Wonderfully Worn DSP to provide the vertical element.  The last choice..... what element would go in the corner?   mmmm.... sentiment.... definitely... what?  no ribbon?  seriously?  me... no ribbon???  never!

Anyway, here's what I came up with

So, I sneaked the Cajun Craze in the sentiment and the branch under the bird.  I also used it to pepper the background (along with Bravo Burgundy and More Mustard).

Of course, I had to give the bird a little bit of life and color a little Basic Pearl with a sharpie and add it as his eye.

We hope that you will pop along to the Paper Players and check out the fabulous design team creations - and they are fabulous - and we also hope that you will play along with us this week!

Have a wonderful Saturday.  Hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight

Hugs

Jayde

Nature's Pace - Blooper Night and views from our fountain

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday.

Sometimes....well.... I just amaze myself.  Yep.  pretty amazing, I am.  For all the wrong reasons!  Sometimes, I spend ages (and I mean forever) on a card and then look at it... think its OK...then I photograph it and think .... HUH!?????  what on earth!  Well, tonight's card is one of those... HUH... what on earth cards!

I decided to use the great sketch that freshlymade had from last week - you can see the sketch here and combine it with the Paper Players music theme.  I really was tempted to use the new Nature's Pace set and use soft, subtle, neutral colors.  I also thought it was ANOTHER great excuse to pull out my Mocha Morning DSP.  (Do I really need another excuse?)

Well.  I did all of those things... and I even tied it together with a music them.  Yep.  it all came together in my head.  Then.  Well, something just happened between my brain and my hands!

I do believe... I stamped the music notes upside down on most of the lines!!!!! grrrrrrrrr. 

Anyway, here's my card.

I love this set.... I love the sentiment.... I love the Mocha Morning DSP and I love the Seam Binding Ribbon.  The more I use it, the more I love it.  I also love this sketch!  You know that I have been using tags a lot on cards recently, and I really do think they add a great dimension to the card.  Normally I tie the ribbon at the top of the tag, but thought that a simple brad would be best this time and then use the ribbon as the "element" called for on the sketch.

Now.... I have to share these pics with you.  I was sitting talking to Lou watching our fountain.  I so rarely get to spend even a few minutes looking at it these days, but Lou is away (again!) and I happened to be getting water in the kitchen when he called.  So, I decided to spend a few minutes sitting on the chaise talking to him.  I noticed that Charlie was sitting on the window seat fascinated by something.  

I saw what he was looking at and immediately said to Lou, "gotta go get my camera. ciao".  I rushed down stairs, got my camera - and this is what I captured

Sorry about the glare..... but it was the best I could do.  You can see Charlie's ears and the top of his head in the bottom left hand corner.  It was a female and 5 poults.  These are the last ones to be born.  We had two lots this year, and these are the younger ones.  It is wonderful to see them back in the garden.  They were actually drinking from the fountain as it cascades down the side.  It was really pretty cool.  I am astonished by the amazing things I have seen at this fountain since we installed it.  I can't wait to see what comes visiting us next year.

Beth.... I had to smile at your daughter being incensed by the theft of the books - as well as the car.  Your comment brought a smile to my face, because I would have been the same way!  I love my books!!!! I remember when my house was burgled a decade ago  looking at the jewelry and CDs that they had left behind and wondering what on earth was wrong with them.  Why had they taken some and not others.  I was almost offended that they hadn't found all my stuff worth stealing.  How dumb was that reaction?   I also remember that they had stolen the microwave and that there had been a chicken in there from the night before.  they took they chicken out of the microwave and took the microwave.  the cats discovered the chicken, tossed it on to the floor and devoured it.

Well, the thing that comes next is a Keystone Cops routine..... we realized the house had been burgled, called the police.  The police came into the house, guns waving, rushed into the house in case anyone was still in there, rushed into the kitchen and both of them... yes both of them... slipped on the greasy floor!!!!  I was right behind them and saw them both skating around trying to find a footing and not being able to.  They both collaposed in a heap, amongst all the chicken fat and bones, in the middle of the kitchen floor.   I mean, seriously.  How could I not laugh!  The whole situation wasn't in the least bit funny... but that little vignette surely was!

Anyway, Beth.  I hope your daughter manages to get it all sorted out with the insurance.

Germaine, how wonderful to hear from you after so long!  I hope that you are doing well!

Adelle, you asked about the coasters... I got mine on amazon - they were a little bit more expensive than some you can get, because they came in a wooden holder.

Beverly, I had to smile at your comment yesterday.... I am so pleased that I still manage to surprise you.

Rach.... I still HATE GREEN PIGS!!!! :-)

Linda.... you know... reading (back to Beth's daughter, too!!!!) is really good for the mind.  100miles without flapping their wings once.  That's AMAZING.

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone.  I do hope that it is full of warmth, love and laughter.  Warm hugs and prayers for those who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

 

Butterfly Thank You

Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday night.

I had to make a thank you card on Sunday and it needed to be a little bit formal.  Of course, that ensured that I pulled out the Mocha Morning DSP.  I just LOVE this DSP.  I think it is one of the most gorgeous DSP combos I have seen from any manufacturer.  It appeals to my design sensibility and I love the rich color scheme.  It makes the Early Espresso look so warm and inviting and rich and smooth and glorious.  OK.  I think you get the message... I love this DSP.

It was one of the rare occasions that I didn't use an SU stamp set, too.  I bought this stamp set for some of the sentiments - just perfect for my OWH cards. 

The butterflies seemed the perfect contrast to the formality of the color scheme, and added just a little whimsy.  Of course, I couldn't resist a little bling in the form of pearls either.

This layout is a variation on one I have used before.  It certainly seems to be a fall to layout for me.  To soften the darkness of the Early Espresso, I made the focal layer a little wider than normal.  It also allowed me to capture a little more of the trails of the butterfly.

Well, I don't know about you... but I think it's awfully pretty.  Not adjectives I generally use when describing something containing such a strong, masculine, color scheme.  The gold, the butterflies, the pearls and the "trails", all work to soften the overal masculine feel and make it more feminine.

Here's the inside:

Card supplies - all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

• Card stock:  Very Vanilla, Early Espresso
• DSP:  Mocha Morning
• Inks:  Gold Encore, Early Espresso.
• Accessories:  Pearls (non SU)
• Stamp:  Happy Trails (non SU)

Before getting on to the personal note for tonight......

Cindy and Marcia, just wanted to let you both know that your OWH winning orders are in the system.  :-)

Beth... I saw your post on Rach's blog and wanted to let you know that I was thinking about your daughter. 

On a personal note:

Gorgeous fall days here right now.  The colors are about 50%.  It never ceases to amaze me the wondrous color scheme that Mother Nature bestows upon us at this time of year.  The skies have been clear and blue, perfect backdrop to the greens, golds, yellows, reds, rusts of the falling leaves.  It makes me happy just thinking about it.

It seems our little hummingbirds took advantage of the incredibly strong winds a couple of days ago and began their journey south.  Soon it will be time for the Juncos to return to our garden.  The Oriole's came a couple of times and left us with a parting gift.... the sight of their beautiful orange plumage flashing through the trees.  I love the fact that we have 4 full seasons here.  It creates a wonderful rhythm to the year. 

One of the things that struck me when we first moved to the US, was the fact that people decorated to support the changing of the seasons.  Other than Christmas decorations, not something that we had ever done before.  I love it.  I love to see how different houses favor different times of the year and tend to do more around one or two seasons than others.  Other neighbors take advantage of any occasions to hoist a different flag; a new wreath on the door; new annuals on the front porch..... I think it's really incredible that so many of you get into the spirit of the season.  It inspires me to do the same.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday.  Filled with joy, laughter and love and time spent doing the things that you enjoy.

Warm hugs and prayers for those who need a little lift tonight, including you, Beth.

Hugs

Jaydee

Cardinal Christmas - Silent Night - Paper Players Challenge #66

Hi Everyone.  Happy Sunday.

I finally managed to get into my stamping space and had to whip up a card for the Paper Players Challenge this week.  The fabulous LeAnne has a theme challenge for us this week, and I know it will get your creative juices flowing!

Isn't that a cool theme!  Make a card inspired by your favorite song... or include music on your card.  Don't forget to pop along to the Paper Players to see what our fabulous design team have composed for you... ha. ha. ha.  I am so funny :-)  I must have had my Corny Flakes for breakfast :-)

Ok... enough of my terrible jokes... let's get back to the reason you are here.  This is my take on the challenge... You will noticed that I used some Christmas DSP from the 2010 catalog as the background.  The words from Silent Night are printed on the DSP.

I then took a piece of Vellum and inked up the Cardinal from Cardinal Christmas.  To get the variations in color, I used my Stampin' Write markers and huffed and puffed on the stamp as soon as I was ready to stamp onto my vellum.

It's critical to let the ink on the vellum dry before you do anything with it.  It takes a little while, but I fixed up the rest of my card, did some emails, etc. whilst waiting for it to dry.  Here's the finished card:

I'm sorry the photograph isn't that great!  It looks a little muddy, and it really isn't. I obviously had the wrong setting on my camera.

I do loive the simplicity of the image and the subtle wording in the background.  The fact that the background is stamped on a Crumb Cake color base, helps to soften the overall effect of the starkness of the vellum.  I added a little pop of Elegant Eggplant for the berries to lift the color scheme a little.

Card recipe:

• Card stock:  Cherry Cobbler
• Stamp Set:  Cardinal Christmas
• Colors:  Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Elegant Eggplant
• Accessories:  Vellum; Riding Hood Red striped ribbon (retired)

I had all sorts of other ideas in my brain... like Monster Mash.... I really thought using the Make a Monster set on a Halloween card would be fabulous.... but, my creative juices just aren't functioning that well.  I really don't know whether it's because I'm tired, or whether sitting on my you know what on conference calls all day has just jaded my creativity.  Whatever it is... I hope my creative juices come back soon, cos the drought is bothering me :-)

Don't forget to visit the other design team members and check out their fabulous creations:

Ann

Lesley

Rita

Tara

Julie

Cindy

LeAnne

Nance

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.  As always, thank you so much for visiting my blog.  Warm hugs and prayers for all those who need a lift.

Jaydee

3D with Jaydee - Seasonal Projects

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday.

Normally on Saturday I share with you my Paper Players challenge card.  However, I don't have one ready yet!  Lou and I were out on a date night - overnight - last night and we have only just gotten back.  So, I shall be spending time in my stamping space tomorrow making my challenge card, and cards for the week.

I do have a project to share with you tonight.  I found some photo coasters on-line and decided to use them to make seasonal inserts.  I had such fun making them and am working on other occasions to create inserts for!

Tonight I am going to share with you inserts for Christmas, Valentines and Fall. I used a variety of stamp sets for these, mostly SU.

Before I show you my project though.... lots of great SU news to share with you tonight.  Contact your SU demo for more details - or I would be happy to provide you with more info.

• Updates to the clearance rack HERE

• Free Big Shot if you join Stampin' Up! this month - details here

• Free stamp set if you buy Stampin' Up! Simply Sent card kits

• The announcement of a brand new product - Cookie Stamps - check them out here

• Finally, enter to win $400 in MDS products - check out the detail here

Here's the Valentine one:

For this insert I used the Confetti and French Foliage stamp sets.  The hearts were punched out from the fabulous glimmer paper and placed onto Blushing Bride card stock.  The sentiment is from Short and Sweet.

Well, you can see that I made four inserts - each with a different saying.  The focal image is the bird on the snowball from Snow Much Fun.  The sentiments are from wordsworth.  Of course, I had to bring out my Dazzling Details and cover the snowball in lots of bling!

Then, for the fall ones, I pulled out my French Foliage stamp set and inked up my favorite leaf with Stampin' Write markers.

I used the Confetti stamp as the background.  I them stamped the leaf 4 times on to spare card stock and cut them out.  I adhered the leaf to the bases and stamped the sentiment.

The photo coasters came in a set of four.  So, I made 4 inserts for these three occasions.  I can't wait to try them out for others.  I have the inserts stored in a little bag along with the coasters.  Makes it easy to slip them in and out.  I thought they were really cool.  What do you think?

On a personal note:

Lou and I went to see a comedian last night - Robert Dubac.  His comedic one man act is titled, "The Male Intellect:  Any Oxymoron?"  It was hysterical.  Lou and I laughed almost non-stop for 90 minutes.  The men - and the women - in the audience appreciated his sardonic, dry, very witty, observations on men's brains, women's brains... and how we each mis-understand each other.  It was a great use of the $28 we paid for the tickets!  We then went to have dinner at the hotel.  All round it was a great date night.  This morning, a relaxing start to the morning with breakfast at the nearest Caribou and then a little shopping. 

The fall colors are just starting to emerge.  It was a beautiful drive up - and back.  I absolutely LOVE this time of year.  The weather was in the 60s as a high, the air was crisp and the skies were blue and clear.  Absolutely .... gorgeous!

I hope you all have a gorgeous Sunday.  Fill of fun, laughter and love.  Warm hugs and prayers to those who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee