Stampin! with Jaydee

Easy Events - Gender Neutral

Hi Everyone.  Happy Thursday....oh...yes.... it's almost a long weekend!!!

Before I post a quick card for you tonight, I wanted to give a shout out to KELLI, LORI and BRENDA.  YOU GUYS ROCK.....  3 more boxes of cards arrived today.  I cannot tell you how exciting it is.  Soozie and Rach also let me know that they have cards on the way.  I can't wait to sit down this weekend and start to package up and sort the cards.  I will also be taking photos of the cards that have been sent in and creating slide shows.   I promise you will have lots to oooohhhh and aaaaah about - and lots of inspiration is in store.  Thank you to all of you who have participated in the card drive.  I really appreciate the rest of you letting me know that cards are on their way, or about to be posted.  It feels like Christmas - only better.  Because the boxes that are arriving are full of goodies to pass cheer on to so many people.  Thank you!

As I have not had a single minute to get into my stamping space this week..... nor did I get the chance to stamp this past weekend... well, it means that I have no cards to show you.  So, I have to show you the gender neutral version of the baby card that I made.  You saw the baby girl card here, the baby boy version here and tonight... here's a gender neutral version for you

I've got to tell you.... I am in love with Wild Wasabi and Pool Party!  You will notice that I kept the polka dot theme going..... this time I reversed the base layer to be debossed.  The square layer embossed and, of course, I made the little dots on the umbrella white with the uni ball pen!  If I haven't convinced you yet, that this is the cutest baby card image..... you can't say I haven't tried:-)

Today, Stampin' Up! revealed the new Holiday Mini and it is full of wonderful goodies.  Really fabulous stuff.  You can click on the mini below and it will take you to the mini catalog on-line 

Let me point out a few of my favorite things from the mini for you:

Quilted Satin ribbon in either Cherry Cobbler or Early Espresso - both on page 30

 

• Pick your Poison DSP on page 10
• Mica Flakes on Page 21
• The Sounding Joy stamp set on page 23
• Frostwood Lodge DSP on page 28
• Christmas Lodge stamp set on page 29 (mine is on the way!!!!)
• Mini jingle bells on page 30
• Snow Burst embossing folder on page 33
• Stitched Stockings Stamp Set with matching buider punch on page 34
• 25 and Counting stamp set with the matching Peekaboo Frames Die - on pages 36 and 37

I promise you, there is something for everyone.  Not forgetting, of course, the fabulous Simply Scored!    

Don't forget....... please let me know if you have cards coming for the card drive, so that I can make allowances for that as I start to get them ready this weekend.  I will be drawing the names of the grand prize winners this weekend, too and packaging up my little thank you gifts for those who submitted cards but were not the lucky winners.  I do appreciate all of you.

Have a wonderful Friday everyone.  For those of you who on the East Coast who have let me know you are OK.  Thank you for letting me know.

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

Jaydee

Easy Events - Little Boy Blue

Hi Everyone.

Very quick post for you tonight.  Once again, I hope all my blog readers on the East Coast are safe and dry.  I continue to speak to colleagues who live out in upstate New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and hear their stories.  I hope all of my blog readers are OK.

I promised to share the other colors that I made with the Easy Events set for the Paper Players sketch challenge #61.  You can see my original card here.  That was the really girl version.  I also made a masculine version.  I know that Lou hates it when I use ribbon on "boy" cards, but seriously, for babies... the card is appreciated much more by the Momma than by baby!  So, I think a little bit of ribbon is way ok!!!!

Once again, I love the repetition of dots and stripes!  I know... I have some kind of disorder!

Here's what I used on the card:

• Card stock:  Pacific Point, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
• Stamps: Easy Events
• DSP:  Patterns Back - Brights
• Accessories:  Pacific Point ribbon (retired).  Brights Button.  White Baker's Twine
• Tools:  Big Shot, Polka Dot embossing folder.  Stampin' Dimensionals. 

Now that you have seen the second of these cards... you know you are tempted to buy this fabulous set :-)  Funny thing... when I saw this set in the catalog I said... no way, Jose!  When I heard it was one of the sets from convention, I said. Oh.  No!  BUT.... I love it!  So... it shows that it's worthwhile going to a friend's house, or your demonstrator's house and trying something out... Or in my case, flying to Utah!

On a personal note

Thank you to all of you who left a message for me on yesterday's post.  I really appreciated your wonderful, warm comments.  It was the first - and only time I have actually submitted a card for publication.  I'm tempted to try again, but, it's really pretty stressful.  I know there are some people who really are amazing at knowing exactly what to design to be of interest to a magazine.  You learn what pops on a page and trying to think of what trends will be month's from now.  me... I get nervous enough just putting cards on my blog.  You would be surprised how many don't actually make it to my blog - never mind for submission!  Anyway, it was great and i really did like the card, and am so grateful to all of you.

Shout out to my hubby tonight who is, as always, on the road again!

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

Jaydee

Easy Events - Paper Players Challenge #61

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday night.

I hope you are all having a great weekend and that my blog readers in the path of Irene are safe and dry.

It's my pleasure to host the Paper Players Challenge this week and we have a sketch for you.  I first saw this sketch at convention and loved it.  We hope that you will join us this week.  Even though the sketch has a circular focal element, you can make it any shape you like.  You can also turn the sketch on its side if that suits you better, too.

I decided to stay with the Easy Events for this sketch, but make baby cards instead.  However, I couldn't decide whether to make a gender neutral card, a baby boy card, or a baby girl card.  So.... being the over-achiever (or nutter.. whichever you prefer :-)...)  I ended up doing all three.  I promise I will show them to you over the next week, but decided to go with the feminine and girly pink one for the challenge.

Isn't that cute?  Don't you just love all the pink?  I know pink isn't a color I normally lead with, but I do think the Melon Mambo goes so well with the Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon.  For the background, I used texture Melon Mambo layered over the Melon Mambo base.

I then chose Regal Rose for the square and ran it through my Big Shot with the polka dot embossing folder.  I love the fact that the polka dots on the embossing folder match the polka dots on the umbrella!  I used a white gel pen to make the dots on the umbrella pop.  A Regal Rose button finished off the card.

• Card stock:  Whisper White, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo
• Stamps:  Easy Events
• Accessories:  Brights Buttons, Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon
• Tools:  2 1/2" circle punch.  Big Shot.  Polka Dot embossing folder.  Stampin' Dimensionals.  (Both the square layer and the focal layer were popped up on Dimensionals.)

We really do hope that you will join us this week.  The entire design team loves visiting your creations.

I hope everyone stays safe and dry this weekend.  Prayers and hugs for those of you who need a little lift.

Jaydee

Baby Bundle - Paper Players Challenge #58

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday.  I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend.

Well, you all know what Saturday means!  Yep, it's the reveal of my card for the Paper Players weekly challenge.

The very talented Anne Marie has a great color challenge for us this week.

Now, I have to admit that I am not really a pinky type of girl, so this challenge pushed me waaaay outside of my comfort zone.  However, that's the greatest reason to do challenges that you aren't comfortable with.  They stretch you and grow you creatively.  It helps if you remember to use Pretty in Pink instead of Pink Pirouette.... don't ask me how I know that Pink Pirouette isn't as pretty with Regal Rose and Rose Red... nope...don't ask!!!  :-)

The colors screamed girl to me - and I immediately thought of a baby girl card.  I hadn't made one for OWH yet, so thought this was the ideal opportunity.  I have to tell you that Lou said he really liked this card... so... it was good to be pushed out of my zone!

 

So, what do you think... suitable for a boy :-)  Maybe not, but I think it's perfect for a baby girl and a mommy who loves pink!

Here's what I used:

• Card stock:  Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Very Vanilla
• Stamps:  Baby Bundle, Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Inks: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
• DSP:  Patterns Pack - Subtles
• Accessories:  Bling.... of course.... I couldn't resist, so I pulled out my Basic Rhinestones, Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon
• Tools:  Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin' Dimensionals, Modern Label Punch (adjusted to make it short enough to fit the sentiment), I drew the little ribbon for her hair and cut around it with my paper snips and added a tiny little rhinestone. ****** I also used my Bow Easy to make the double bow. 
• Tip:  to tone down the Very Vanilla, I took a Sponge Dauber and some PiP classic ink and sponged the edges a little.

Now, it's over to you.  Don't forget to pop along to the Paper Players and check out the fabulous design team cards.  They really have gone out of their way to provide you with a wide variety of inspiration and I know you will find something you love.  Then, why not join us and show Anne Marie what great creations you can make with her color challenge?

You can check out the fabulous design team cards at their blogs:

• Ann Schach
• Anne Marie Hile
• Carrie Gaskin
• Lauri Ingram
• LeAnne Pugliese
• Lesley Groghan
• Nance Leedy
• Sandra Azzopardi

On a personal note:

Lou and I have been busy checking out tiling and what color flooring we want.... a new bath for me... oh yeah.... you have to see my new bath!  Of course, we needed a new toilet to go into the master bathroom, too.  Then ... new faucets... then Lou decided it was about time we really put in a heated towel rack.  We had great fun this afternoon arguing over granite choices.  It's so exciting and I promise I will share pics with you of the before and after as we finish up each of the spaces.

Today the weather was glorious and tomorrow is going to be even better.  Highs in the upper 70's, very little humidity, sunny..... GORGEOUS!

Hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.  Oh... and for those of you who have followed the story of Rachel, the little girl who wanted to help children in poor countries get access to better drinking water.... check out this link for the updated totals.  AWESOME... and if you ever thought $9 couldn't make a difference.... this proved us all wrong!

Hugs

Jaydee

***** at convention I met Carrie Gaskin, aka Artistic Avenger and she was wearing these fabulous little fascinators that she made out of SU products.  I thought of Carrie when I put this little bow in her hair... this morning I remembered why it reminded me of Carrie even more.... she put a bow in the hair of her monster card - if you missed it, you can check out her fabulous card here.  So, Carrie, thanks for inspiring me indirectly and directly!  While you are on Carrie's blog - check out this great card, too.  You will definitely be inspired to buy the Snow Much Fun set!

Baby Welcome to the World - Baby Bundle meets Word for You - blog question

Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday night.

Happy 1st day of summer!  Yes, it's the summer solstice.  Aren't I supposed be covered in wode, in a long flowing hemp or linen dress camped out at Stonehenge? :-)  Nah... not this year, maybe I will just sit here and enjoy typing up my blog post and celebrating the official start of summer a little differently!!!

I made tonight's card using the Paper Players CAS sketch from our challenge this week.  The Players realized that this is our 52nd sketch!  So, not only are we celebrating the first official day of summer - but 1 whole year of Paper Players challenges. I am totally indebted to Lesley for inviting me to be a member of this team.  It's the coolest bunch of crazy talented, errr. all round crazy... stampin ladies.  I hope they won't mind me calling them crazy - but I am crazy mad about all of them!

So, here's my second card using the sketch.  I called it "Baby, Bling my Wheels!"   It also serves as an intro to a new blog question.... more about that, after the card!

Isn't that cute?  I mean, seriously, what male doesn't like blue and a little bit of bling on his wheels!  And he does have the rather smug look on his face! :-)

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up, unless otherwise noted:

• Stamps:  Baby Bundle, A Word for You
• Inks:  Pool Party, Night of Navy, Basic Grey, Not Quite Navy.  I used copics to color "Charlie's" face and my blender pens and Basic Grey ink to create the shadow under the pram.
• Card stock:  Whisper White, Night of Navy
• Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

I stamped the focal image onto the focal layer and then again onto a spare piece of card stock.  I colored all elements of the initial stamped image, except for the carriage.  I colored that on the spare piece that I had stamped.  I snipped around it and then stuck it down on top of the original focal image.  I did the same for the baby face.  It gives it just a little bit of depth and texture and makes little "charlie" - yep, I named him over a year ago! - look as though he is sitting inside the carriage. 

To bling his wheels - I took basic rhinestones and colored them using a Sharpie marker.  These basic rhinestones are fabulous and the fact that you can color them really easily, makes them even more versatile.

Now... as you have all enjoyed reading the responses to the blog questions over the past week - I thought we should use the upcoming HUMP DAY to establish a weekly blog question.  I thought answering a question mid-way through the week seemed like a good idea :-)

BLOG QUESTION FOR THIS WEEK:..... and what it has to do with this card!

As it's the first day of summer and school's out for most children and teachers are taking a well deserved rest.... I thought it would be a good idea to ask a teacher question.

QUESTION: WHO was your favorite teacher at school - any grade - and why? 

To add to the fun, I will be sending a little bit of bling in the post to one lucky person who answers the question.  The name will be drawn at random and will be announced on my blog before the new question is asked next week.

I'll start you off......

It's tough to decide on a single teacher.  Mrs Bingham and Mr Carter were my two favorite teachers from junior school.  We also had a brand new teacher in my last semester of junior school.  I was all of almost 11.  This was her first teaching assignment and she brought us all take aways from her recent trip to Japan.  A pair of chopsticks and mint topped toothpicks.  For some of you that might not sound exotic... but it sure was for me!  She arrived dressed in traditional Japanese garb, in the most amazing robe, with her hair pinned back and wearing black flat silk Mary Janes.  She looked so exotic and amazing.  She told us all about Japan and her trip. A pity I cannot remember her name - but I sure remember her.  She really reinforced what a biiiig world this is - and how this world really needed exploring.

High school.   by far.... my two most favorite all time teachers..... the Great Mrs Tucker and the fabulous Mr Clarke.  Mr Clarke taught geography.  I think he would be amazed to know that I have visited over 30% of the world's countries and still remember so much of what he taught.  In fact, I think he'd be VERY surprised!

But.. the overall winner is definitely the very venerable, much maligned, sometimes greatly appreciated MRS TUCKER!  (My best friend Pam - if she is reading this - will be shuddering at my choice!) 

Mrs T was my class form teacher, my Religious Instruction teacher, as well as my English teacher in my first year of high school.  She taught me to appreciate - NO LOVE - the English language and the written word.  She taught me to stretch my vocabulary beyond the bounds of an 11 year old.  She taught me that you can be firm, control a class, but be kind and compassionate.  Ultimately, she taught me something I would never have expected.  How sometimes, the strongest, most amazingly together people, can fall apart.  10 years after I left school, I went back to England and decided I wanted to look up Mrs T.  Only to find that her husband had died a year earlier and Mrs T had decided that she could no longer continue to live without him and had taken her own life.  Seriously... it broke my heart.  However, she has stayed with me for over 40 years and the lessons she taught me back then, continue to this day.  Mrs T... you were the greatest. 

Actually, I have a photograph of my first year - taken with Mrs Tucker.  Anyone correctly guessing which one of these cute little girls is me - will get a brand new roll of ribbon from the new catalog.  How about that?  Another incentive to add your own favorite teacher memories and have a look at this picture!

Isn't that just a motley crew.... seriously?  But there is Mrs T, God Bless her!  So... which one do you think is me?  No, Lou.  You can't play cos you know!!!!  And anyway, what would you do with another roll of ribbon in the house!!! 

I know that so many of you are teachers and I say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you for what you have done!

As always, thank you for visiting my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  You know your visit means a great deal to me - and your comments are enjoyed by not only me - but each other!  Over to you to tell us about your favorite teacher.

Prayers and warm hugs for those of you whe need a little lift.

Hugs

Jaydee

Welcome Baby Boy - Clean and Fairly Simple!

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday night

Tonight's card is another one that I made for one of my blogging friends.  Now, normally I wouldn't show you these cards... however, as I haven't been able to craft since I made these cards.... they are the only ones I have to show you.  I REALLY am having withdrawl symptoms.  I really wonder if I will have any mojo when I get back into my studio!

I love making cards for occasions.  The birth of a new baby is always a wonderful occasion to celebrate.  I decided to use the fabulous Baby Bundle set.  I REALLY love this set.  I hope they don't retire it this year.  Mind you, even if they did - it wouldn't stop me using it!

I decided to follow the same sketch that I had used for the baby girl card, but clean it up a little.  I went for Night of Navy and Marina Mist as my main colors and used the textured card stock on the base layer.  Clean and Simple seemed the right thing for a baby boy.

Here's what I came up with

 

Keeping with the theme of three.... I decided to add three pieces of the Marina Mist ribbon.  However, as my fingers were in a pretty sad state, it took me ages to tie these bows.  It really was pretty frustrating.  Mind you... it didn't stop me doing it three times did it!!! :-)

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

• Card stock:  Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Whisper White
• Stamps:  Baby Bundle.  Sentiment - Inside Out Baby Papertrey
• Accessories:  Marina Mist ribbon
• Inks:  Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Real Red.  Browns are Copics

On a personal note:

I was a good girl today.. I exercised before I did my blog update.  In fact, I stopped work at 5.15 so that I could get 45 minutes in before starting my tasks for the night.  I also did a 2 mile walk after dinner last night as well as the exercise before dinner.  I could feel it in my legs a little this morning.  How sad is that!!! However, I did feel that I had done some exercise - so that was good.  I do find that exercise helps to clear my mind and I suppose that is all part of the relaxing and dealing with stress!

I won't get into my stampin space until this weekend, but have some ideas I am playing around with and can't wait to try them out.  Mind you... sometimes what goes on inside my head isnt exactly great when it gets out onto paper!  Anyone else have that problem? 

ooh.... and the 1st April is coming up.  That means one thing. No, not April Fool's Day!  It means that I get to order the MASCULINE goodies out of the new summer mini.  I really do have some ideas on what to do with those goodies.  One of the great things about being a demo is getting to pre-order things that you really want to get.  Mind you, I am counting down the weeks to the sneak peek of the new catty, too!

If anyone is looking for an update on the kitten that Lou picked up whilst riding his bicycle one night last year.... he has become my constant companion.  Doesn't matter where I am, he can be guaranteed to be pretty close.  Right now he is fast asleep on "his" chair opposite my crafting table.  he is still absolutely fascinated with water.  He hates getting wet, but is fascinated with water.  Strange animal!  He's an absolute sweetie though and has really settled into the house and has really calmed down a great deal.  Luckily he still chitters at me when he sees me or wants to communicate.  I love it and hope he never grows out of that.  He's still a dinky little thing and makes my other cats look like giants!

Prayers tonight for those of you who need a warm hug or a little lift.  I hope you have a wonderful Thursday and that you get time to spend doing the things you love, with those you love.

Hugs

Jaydee

Baby Steps - Sweetness Unlimited

Hi Everyone.

Happy Friday.

Some of you may remember THIS baby card.  I love the card, but it really did take a lot of time to design it and put it together - never mind cutting out all the little elements.  Well, it's great to be able to do that, sometimes, though, you need a three minute version.

I wanted something that would be easy to post, easy to create yet keep the same colors and theme.  Here's my one layer, three minute baby card using Blushing Bride, Concord Crush and Basic Gray.

  
  
Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up!

• Card stock: Very Vanilla
• Stamps:  Sentiment:  Sweetness Unlimited.  Elephants: Baby Steps
• Inks:  Blushing Bride, Concord Crush, Basic Gray
• Accessories:  Basic Pearls
• Tools:  Clear Block H, Stamp-a-ma-Jig

I know it doesn't have as much detail as the original - but I think it's cute.  The great thing about this set... you can use it for boys or girls and change up the colors any way you like.

On a personal note:

Sometimes, when major tragedy strikes, it is easy to become overwhelmed by it.  We tend to focus on the bigger picture and sometimes don't see the smaller things.  Sometimes, it takes that smaller "thing" to make that connection tangible.  I saw two images this week; two stories, actually, that made my heart break.  They were also the two "things" that made me take the only action that I could.  Use my wallet to donate.  This one called "I will come again tomorrow" absolutely broke my heart.   This one "Why even tsunamis can't cut doggie bonds" reinforced my belief that animals feel so much more than we give them credit for and the fact that they are so often the helpless victims in times of crisis.  It also brought home how many thousands of pets have also been affected by this tragedy.

I donated to the WSPCA, who are currently on-site working with local agencies to rescue and re-house animals.  I also donated to the American Red Cross and tomorrow will be making a donation to a new organization I found thanks to my fellow Paper Players design team member, Anne Marie.  This organization is called shelterbox. I know that sometimes we just don't know where to go to offer help, so hopefully these links may be of use to some of you. 

I was so pleased to see that Stampin' Up! had made a donation to the American Red Cross on behalf of all us demonstrators.  Over the two years that I have been a demonstrator, I have seen SU respond to crises in areas that they do business.  As SU is not sold in Japan, giving a donation to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts in Japan was a great thing.

Hugs

Jaydee

Baby Bundle

Hi Everyone.  Hope you are having a great week.

Quick post for you tonight. 

I created a card using the color challenge across at 4craftychicks.  The colors... Concord Crush, Pretty in Pink and Basic Grey.  I also used sketch number 31 from the papercrafts go to sketches to create my card.  Don't forget to pop along to the craftychicks site and check out the design and submission cards.

I haven't used the Baby Bundle set for a while, and decided it was time it came out for a little ink-love.  I did this version.... then I did a 3 minute version!  Whenever I create a card, I have been trying to force myself to make two cards - a simple one layer card and a more complex card.  I'll show you the sime 3 minute card using the same theme and same colors in a different post.

In the meantime, here's my baby bundle

I decided to incorporate the grey into the individual items.  Each square has the grey, pink and concord incorporated into it.  I had great fun cutting around those tiny little individual pieces, I can tell you :-)

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up!

• Card stock:  Very Vanilla, Concord Crush, Pretty in Pink
• DSP:  Lap of Luxury (120436)
• Stamps: Baby Bundle (120576); sentiment "welcome baby. sweetness unlimited" - sweetness unlimited (115562)
• Accessories:  Ribbon:  Concord Crush In Color ribbon; Pearls - Basic Pearls
• Inks:  Concord Crush, Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey

What do you think?  Sometimes, I want a baby card that is a little more sophisticated and I thought that this sketch really did lend itself to using the little pieces from the set, as opposed to the baby and the pram.  Is that a word they use in America?  A pram?  Or is that really a left over from my birthplace?

I had passed over the sentiment - but it really is super cute.  I got it as part of Sale-A-Bration and am so glad that I did.  I really think it is a perfect sentiment.

On a personal note:  Another long day today and Lou is, of course, out of town!  This time he's in rainy Seattle - at least he is on the same continent for a change :-)  I have got to finish up some stuff for work, then go make my dinner, feed the pussy cats and.. oh yeah... find my father's death certificate.  I have an appointment at the clinic tomorrow and need to take that along.  Now... finding that could take a while.  Especially as it is amongst all my other genealogy stuff!

Continued prayers tonight for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  It must have been wonderful for the rescue workers when they found a 70 year old woman and rescued her after 4 days.  It must have made them feel so good.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday filled with love and joy.  Don't forget to reach out to say hi to someone you haven't spoken to in a while... just because.

Hugs

Jaydee

The cycle of life and shout out to Germaine

Hi Everyone.  Happy Thursday night.  I hope you are all enjoying a fabulous week.

Well, I logged on to do my blog update tonight and was just about to check on Leslie's website to see if there had been any change.  Before I even got there, I noticed that there was an updated from Janna, who had asked us for prayers for Leslie.  Here was Janna's message on my blog post for yesterday.  "Thank you everyone for the prayers for Leslie. I found out that she has gone to be with our Heavenly Father. Please continue to pray for Mark, his kids, and her family through this difficult time.
On a positive note, one oft best friends gave birth to a healthy baby girl a few hours ago!"

Such incredibly sad news.  The loss of a young mother, a woman filled with love and youth and so much to give, is so sad and brings sorrow to my heart.  So, my prayers to Mark and Leslie's family and friends as they try to come to terms with this loss and begin their grieving and mourning. 

However, Janna's second comment really got me thinking about the cycle of life.  How often one life is lost and another is created - often very close together.  It should make us all appreciate how special this life is that we have, appreciate every moment in every day - regardless of how difficult that must be..... if we feel pain - any emotion at all... even unpleasant ones... then we are alive.  That in itself is a wonderful thing.

So... tonight's post is dedicated to the cycle of life - welcome baby!  As soon as I read about the beautiful new baby girl, I knew which card I had to post tonight.

Janna - this one is for you, my friend

I'd like to give a huge shout out to Germaine tonight.....  Germaine.... girl, you ROCK!   I got back from the vet tonight (no.... I wasn't there for me... but for my poor little Muffin cat)..... and there was a box on the doorstep.  It certainly looked as though it had done the rounds... a dinged corner - and I mean really dinged.... well... imagine my surprise when Lou shouted.... IT'S ROYAL MAIL!  I screamed, "Germaine!!!!!"  So.... there was a box of gorgeous cards hand crafted by Germaine.  

Now.... there are three special things about that..... 1) Germaine joins the ranks of you wonderful ladies who have donated to the Operation Write Home card drives that we have run.  That's a very select group!   2)  Germaine suffers from Fibromyalgia and other ailments that make it very difficult for her to craft, as she is in constant - often excrutiating - pain.... and 3......  Germaine lives in England and these cards are going to US troops!!!   And... on top of that... the cards are GORGEOUS!  Germaine, my friend, you are one very special lady!   And... I got goodies for ME!!! Germaine, you have made some troops and their families, very, very happy!

On a personal note:

I spent a several hours prepping cards to send in a box to OWH last night.  I stamped the backs of 400 cards and put them into a box.  and that, ladies and gentlemen, is only part of our card drive.  I couldn't believe the variations in styles and colors and layouts..... it took me far longer than it should have to stamp the backs of the cards because I couldn't stop looking at each and every one and then stopping to take pictures for you to see later in the month.  I am going to dedicate a week at the beginning of November and showcase the fabulous creations from each of you who participated in our card drive.   Once we are done we will have over 1,400 Christmas cards for the drive.... LET ME REPEAT THAT.... REALLY, REALLY LOUDLY!!!!!  THIS CARD DRIVE WILL HAVE GARNERED OVER 1,400 CARDS....  ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED CARDS!!!!! Amazing... You guys really are amazing.  So, the first box will be going off on Saturday.

We managed to stand in the little area they are landscaping next to the deck to0day.  Oh... it is going to be lovely.  We bought a fountain back in July (yep... that long ago).... it is an urn shaped like an Ali Baba jar and the water tinkles down it with an almost metallic sound.  It got installed today and the plants went in.   Of course, being a woman... I decided I wanted a little change..... right now we have slate flagstones steppers down and are waiting for the river rock to fill in the spaces...... when I stood underneath the tree next to the fountain I decided that a little patio area would be perfect.  It's in the shade, under the tree and next to the fountain.   Lou had bought me a marble top bistro table and bistro chairs years ago when we lived in California.... I now think they have found their place.  mmmmm..... now I have to tell the landscape designer.  ooops~

Prayers tonight for Leslie's friends and family and especially her husband, Mark.  For Germaine - you rock my friend.  For T and Pri.  Interesting that their names should sound the same and they suffer from the same ailment!  John and Sue... I hope John is progressing Sue.  For Lesley, Rach, Adelle and their furbabies.  And for all of you who need a little lift.

Remember..... LIVE each moment of each day.

Hugs to you all

Jaydee

 

Paper Players Challenge #17 - A Word for You

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday night.

Tonight's card is for the Paper Players Challenge # 17.  It was LeAnne's turn to host     the inspiration challenge this week.  I must admit, it was an interesting challenge!  The color combo is great - pink, black and white.... but I had this issue with the baby dressed in black.  I don't know why.... I think it goes back to my mother.  Mother always said, children should never wear black.  Obviously that was running around in my head because I kept looking at the pic and thinking what a super cute child... .but she's wearing black!!!!  Really, its a super cute outfit.  It's just amazing that something that my mother said to me all those decades ago still sticks :-) Anyway.... I decided to keep with the baby theme and, of course, I couldn't resist making a big pink bow!

Don't forget, if you want to know how I made my bow - you can check out my bow making video.

So, here's my card:

I have to tell you, I am in love with the newly configured Patterns Pack Designer Series Paper that Stampin' Up! have come out with this year.  You can see that I used two pieces of the Pink Pirouette from the subtles pack.  I love the fact that they have given us variety packs of the color families, rather than entire packs of one color.  Also.... I love the patterns this year, too!  

As we don't have Pink Pirouette ribbon, I decided to use Pretty in Pink.  In fact, I actually like the contrast, and slightly stronger pink.  I couldn't help adding a Pink button from the new Subtles buttons pack and a little twine.

The sentiment is from the new A Word for You set.  

You have seen me use this layout before.  It really is one of my fall to layouts and is incredibly versatile.

Card recipe:

• Card stock:  Pink Pirouette, Basic Black, Whisper White
• Inks:  Basic Black
• DSP: Subtles Patterns Pack
• Stamps:  A Word for You
• Acessories:  Subtles Buttons, Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, twine
• Tools:  Needle, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-a-Ma-Jig

Card instructions:

• Cut Basic Black card stock to A2.  5 1/2 x 8 1/2.  Score and fold at 4 1/4 - fold on the top
• Cut DSP to 5 1/4 x 4 and adhere to Basic Black card base
• Cut Pink Pirouette layer to 4 1/4 x 3 1/4
• Cut Basic Black layer to 4 x 3.  Adhere Pink Pirouette and Basic Black Layers together using Stampin' Dimensionals.
• Cut Whisper White to 1 1/2 x 3 3/4 and cut polka dot DSP to 1 1/2 x 3 3/4.  Place white overlapping the polka dot paper.  The finished piece should be 2 3/4 high.  
• Ink up sentiment and stamp onto Whisper White layer
• Cut satin ribbon to fit under sides of the polka dot and white layer and secure
• Make bow and adhere bow to ribbon and top layer.  Adhere this layer to the Basic Black mat layer using dimensionals.
• Once the focal layers are complete, adhere to card base using dimensionals.

Tips:

• Check out my video on how to make a bow
• I try to tie my buttons to my bow to secure them.  I use twine and a needle to do that.  You can dye the twine by using a marker and coloring the twine directly, or you can use a brayer and run your twine through your ink pad, using your brayer to help you pick up ink.  (Place twine between brayer and ink pad and pull.)  I kept the twine the natural color, because it reminded me of the color of the blanket in the inspiration photograph and gave a little different texture.
• Don't like the baby sentiment?  Just about any of the sentiments from the A Word for You set would work with this very sophisticated color scheme and layout.

On a personal note:

We have had dreadful flooding in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  On Thursday some areas reported a whole summer's worth of rain in a 30 hour period.  It just didn't stop raining.  Considering that we have had a very wet summer, the rain didn't soak into the ground and has caused massive flooding.  Many people have some kind of water damage, from flooded basements, to much worse.  Additionally, many businesses have been flooded out, too.

We were at the farmer's market this morning.  One of the farmer's was telling us that he has had 40 inches of rain this summer!   Considerably more rain than normal.  No wonder we have felt the humidity so much this year.  Luckily we have had no damage, but many have not been so lucky.

A big shout out for Brenda and Cherie tonight.  They are running their race for Pancreatic Cancer tomorrow.  They will also be wearing tutu's.  Yep.... tutu's.  I can't wait!  Additionally, Brenda let me know that she has almost 500 cards for the Operation Write Home Card Drive.   YIKES!!!!!  A W E S O M E!  One thing that struck me from Brenda's email tonight..... "it feels so good making these cards, knowing that they are going to such a great cause".  I know how she feels.  I know that many of you do, too.  I really appreciate all of you who have supported our card drives this past year.   Now.  I need to get down to making my cards!  That's my task tomorrow.

Prayers tonight for Germaine, T, Pri, John & Sue.  For Lesley, Adelle and Rach and their furbabies.  For Cam and Janna who have not been well this week.  To all those affected by the floods.

I hope you have a fabulous Sunday.  Thank you so much for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  You know your visits, your support and your comments are greatly appreciated.

Hugs

Jaydee

Baby Blue Onesies (Baby Tees)

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday evening.  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Tonight's card uses the Baby Tees jumbo wheel.  I am loving this wheel!  The challenge at Palspaperarts this week was to create a KISS (keep it simple, sweetie) masculine card.   Well, I couldn't resist doing yet another baby card.

I saw a card on the blog of one of our regular blog visitors where one of the onesies had been cut into a tag.  I know I made a comment, and I know that I loved it and filed away the idea.... what I can't remember is WHO this talented person was... so, if you recognize the onesie being used as a tag, please can you let me know so that I can give credit.

Here's my clean and simple baby boy card.  Oh, Rach!  It's not Baja Breeze...it's Marina Mist.  I know you will be proud of me using a different blue :-)

Card recipe:

• Card stock:  Marina Mist, Whisper White
• Inks:  Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler (for the heart on the onesie tag), Craft Whisper White
• Accessories:  Marina Mist grosgrain ribbon, Subtles buttons collection, Onesies Jumbo wheel, white embossing powder
• Tools:  Wheel guide, heat gun, versamark, paper snips, mini glue dots

Card instructions:

• Cut Marina Mist to A2 (11 x 4.25).  Score and fold at the 5 1/2" mark - fold at the top
• Ink up Onesie wheel in Craft Whisper White ink and run across the bottom of the card base
• Cover with white embossing powder and heat set
• Ink up wheel with Marina Mist and run across Whisper White - just far enough that you have the onesie that you want to color.  Cut out onesie and color using your favorite markers.
• Wrap ribbon around card and tie.  Add onesie tag and then add button

That's it.  you are done! It was a very quick and easy card.  Couple of tips:

• When embossing, prepare the card stock with an anti-static cloth.  I use a swiffer cloth.  I cut them up into pieces and put them in a drawer underneath my embossing powders so that I always have them on hand.
• When you heat emboss, heat from both the back and the of the surface.  This helps to stop the paper bending a little when it gets too hot.  It also seems to keep the embossed image looking shinier. 
• After you have finished embossing, you can clean up the stray bits of embossing powder with TACK CLOTH.  You can get tack cloth at your favorite hardware store.  It's brilliant for picking up messes and stray bits of embossing powder.
• I always keep a very fine paint brush for removing any embossing powder that has gone a little astray.  I can carefully take it off the card stock before heat setting it
• If you are wrapping a present to go with this card - you could always cut out a gift tag using the onesie and use it on the outside of the gift

On a personal note:  Lou and I had a great weekend and it was topped off last night by a visit from Brenda, Cherie and Bethany.  I met Brenda through Stampin' Up!.  I found her on line and saw that she was doing classes.  I signed up for a couple and I am so glad I did.  Not only did I renew my love of stamping - I found a marvelous friend.  Then, if that wasn't enough, Brenda introduced me to her daughter, Bethany!  What a gift they both are to me.  And, if that wasn't enough.... (mmmm... this is beginning to sound like one of those late night infomercials... and... if you phone within the next 10 minutes, we will send you another friend! :-)...) but seriously, Brenda introduced me to Cherie.  It is always an amazing time when I can spend the evening with the three of them.  I am incredibly blessed to call them all my friends. 

Lou, loves looking after us and making sure we are happy whilst we spend a little girl time.  Love you, Lou!  Last night we spent some time on the deck - baking in the heat I might add - but hey, that's what you do for friends, right?  Brenda loves the heat - I hate the heat.  Brenda conversely hates the cold - I love the cold... so our house is always about 20 degrees too cold for Brenda!  So, we started the night off in the heat on the deck and came inside so that I could finally cool down!  But it was gorgeous sitting out there.  Trish, we all talked about we are ready for you to come and play with us when you are finally feeling up to it.

All in all, it was a great weekend.  I got to spend time with my darling hubby, time with my dear friends and time in my stamp room!

In case any of you are interested, little Charlie is still with us.  He is just the sweetest thing.  He'll never be a big cat and he's not the prettiest of cats - but he is absolutely adorable.  He chitters and chatters and talks to you and is so grateful that you bring him food.  No-one has come forward and said they lost him and we really think that he was dumped.  So, he's still with us for a little while.

Prayers for Trish, Germaine, John and Sue, T (who is apparently starting to feel better!), Pri, Missy's family, Arthur and Hugo.

I hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday and you all know that I appreciate you stopping by to visit my little area of the stamping blogosphere.

Hugs

Jayde

Congrats

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday night.

Very quick post for you tonight.  This was a card that I made for the Justusgirls color challenge (orange, navy, green and white)... love that color combo! . The sketch uses the fabulous sketch from ourcreativecorner for this week.  I love being able to combine a color and sketch challenge!

The card uses the new Baby Tees Jumbo Wheel.  It was an opportunity to use this cool new wheel along with a masculine color scheme. That of course, led me to a baby boy card.

 

The colors really are fabulous together and I really enjoyed making this card, coloring in the tees and the sketch was great!

Card recipe - all product Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

• Card stock and inks/markers: Night of Navy, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
• Stamps:  Baby Tees Jumbo Stampin' Wheel.  Sentiment: Papertrey
• Ribbon: Pumpkin Pie (retired)

Card instructions:

• I'll be back later with the sizes.  I am not at my stamping desk right now so don't have access to my card to measure it up for you, but will do that later tonight when I get back into my space.
• I inked up the Baby Tees wheel with Night of Navy ink and rolled onto Whisper White card stock.  I colored the images using Night of Navy, Pear Pizzazz and Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write markers.  The colors are so vibrant together and really make the card pop.
• I cut the Whisper White to 5 1/2" inches and let the height be dictated by the size of the tees.
• I put a Pear Pizzazz mat behind the Whisper White to lift it from the Night of Navy base and adhered it to the top of the card.
• I stamped the sentiment "congrats on your new little bundle" in Night of Navy, onto Pumpkin Pie card stock.
• I tied a piece of the Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White ribbon around the Pumpkin Pie layer and adhered it to the bottom part of the card base.

Tips:

• An image as bright and bold as this, needs a strong sentiment.  That's why I chose to go with this particular sentiment.
• I wanted to stamp the image in Night of Navy so chose to color with my markers instead of my blender pen and inks.  If I had used my inks and blenders, I would have had to have used my Stazon, and I didn't want to introduce black into the card.

Why is it that I love making baby boy cards?  I asked myself that same question, so decided it was time to make a baby girl card, too and you will see that later this week!

On a personal note... still hot and muggy here. Mind you, the one very positive side benefit of the humidity and heat is the wild flowers..... we drove down to the cities last weekend and anywhere there wasn't farmland - there were carpets of wild flowers and grasses.  Better than I have ever seen them.  Even the medians in the middle of the highway were so beautiful, they made me want to take off my shoes and run through them like I did when I was a child.  Just beautiful.  Mother nature sure knows how to paint a beautiful picture.

Our furniture still hasn't arrived for our deck... I think they must be sending it by ship... man.. how long can it take to get two chairs and a coffee table.  Just to tease us, Restoration Hardware sent us the cover to protect the coffee table via UPS.  thanks guys!  but can I have the table to put the cover over, please? Oh, well!  I know we will really appreciate them when they arrive.

Well, it's back to work (yes I am trying to do this post quickly between conference calls).... I'm not usually this late, but last night was a long day and a late night and I didn't get to my post:-)

Prayers for Trish, as always.  I know this is a tough journey and one that you often feel you are doing alone.  Stay strong, my friend.  For T & Pri.  Rach, time is indeed your friend.  Hannah will always be with you and will always be around you, looking over you all.  Germaine, I hope Pri is healing.

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone.  Thank you so much for your visits, your comments - and your support

hugs

Jaydee

You're Invited

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday night.

Very quick post for you all tonight, as I know that many of you will be very busy with 4th July preparations.

Tonight's card was created for the Paper Players challenge.  The challenge this week is a theme challenge.  The theme?  Make a baby card.

Pop along to see the other design team creations.

Corie's fabulously creative welcome baby card

LeAnne's adorable baby girl card

Lesley's adorable baby boy card

Marlene's creative baby girl card - Marlene is the Guest Designer for July

Then... it's over to you.  We would really love to see what you create.  All you need to do is upload a new baby themed creation to your blog - or public site - so that we can pop along and check it out.  You have until midnight on Friday to upload your creation.  A winner - the headliner - and 3 "cut aboves" will be announced by Lesley on Sunday.  I hope you play along with us.

I have made several baby cards in the last couple of weeks, so thought that I would change things up a little and create a baby shower invitation card.  I wanted to create a card using a reasonably sophisticated color palette, with clean and simple lines.  I took the Tiffany box idea and turned it into the shower card.

I used the Baby Bundle (120576) set and some retired Sweet Slumber DSP.  At this point - all the DSP I own is retired, whilst I wait for the arrival of the new papers:-)

Here's my take on the challenge for this week.

With this card, I really had to do the inside as well.

You can see that I tied the inside and the outside together using the same colors, and similar elements on the left hand panel.  However, I used different stamps for the inside panel than I did on the outside.  However, because they are all baby elements, the panels work together.

The color scheme of Riding Hood Red, Daffodil Delight and Baja Breeze works really well with the Sweet Slumber DSP. 

Card recipe:

• Card stock:  Riding Hood Red, Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze
• Inks:  Riding Hood Red, Versamark
• Stamps:  Baby Bundle (120576)
• Papers:  Sweet Slumber (retired SU DSP)
• Sentiment:  retired rub-on

Card instructions:

• Cut Riding Hood Red card stock to A2 horizontal
• Cut Daffodil Delight 3" square
• Cut sheet of DSP 2 7/8" square
• Wrap Daffodil Delight ribbon around the DSP and tie a bow.  Then adhere to Daffodil Delight using dimensionals
• Stamp left panel of card with elements from the baby set in versamark.
• Place sentiment and adhere "parcel" to card front.
• For the inside, stamp elements down the left hand panel, stamp sentiment - or details, tie a piece of ribbon and adhere the inside panels.  

Baby invites can be very detailed, or very simple, it really depends on your taste - and the number of invitees :-)  A simple invite, showcasing a parcel, can be changed up for multiple uses.  For a female birthday invite, a tiffany blue card stock piece and a beautiful piece of white satin ribbon would be a great alternative.  

On a personal note: I want to leave you with a pic from pickings at the Farmer's Market today.... the baskets were overflowing with wonderful, freshly picked vegetables.  Just gorgeous.

Every week our baskets are commented on.  I am so pleased that we invested in these fabulous market gathering baskets.  Seriously, they make the veges look even better.

I have to tell you that the Red Bib lettuce is crisp and buttery and just yummy.  The heirloom tomatoes are on the bottom of the basket in the middle.  All you can see are the sungolds and baby tomatoes.  The Walla Walla onions are amazing.  I wait with baited breath every year for the start of the Walla Walla season.  We will be sorry when Asparagus season is over.. and we only probably have about another week for the asparagus.   What you can't see are the freshly harvested baby potatoes.  Oh... we had those for dinner tonight.  Boiled for about 10 minutes, sprinkled with Maldon salt, a little pepper and a little goat's butter.  Oh - heaven.  There is nothing like freshly harvested baby potatoes.  They still taste earthy and buttery and just fabulous.

I know that these may seem totally mainstream to many of you, but here in Minnesota, the winters are long and it takes a while for Mother Nature to start producing her natural bounties.  My favorite discovery - heirloom tomatoes.  I'd never heard of them until we started frequenting the market.   Oh boy.... cultivated tomatoes never tasted as good as Heirlooms..

As always, prayers for Trish, Germaine, T, Pri, Arthur, Missy and Rach.  I hope you all have a fabulous week.  Don't forget to play along with the Paper Players - we'd really love to see your baby themed creations.

Hugs

Jaydee

Charlie's Cousin Bertha :-)

Hi Everyone.  Happy Thursday night.  I am happy to report that tomorrow is Friday and it is officially the weekend come 5pm CST!  And a long weekend at that :-)  I am also happy to report that my SU order is finally in.  It took me 2 hours refining, adding, deleting, refining again, checking, checking it again, and then I finally pressed the submit button.  So, you will be seeing lots of new things in the future.  I'm really excited about the new colors, stamps, etc.  I even ordered some of the old stamp sets.  I realized that for the card drive cards, I was really missing a few essentials - like children's birthday cards, teenage cards, etc.  So, spent a little money to fill that gap.

Tonight's card introduces Bertha - she's Charlie's cousin.  If you don't know who Charlie is, or didn't read my post where I introduced Charlie - check out the Hello Baby post.  I made this card for the CAS-tastic challenge.... a white and blue card - with a little bit of yellow.. well, this is another one I didn't get the chance to post :-)

Tonight's card isn't an SU stamp... In fact, there's a story around this stamp.  I'd seen a stamp used in a British magazine (whilst I was looking for magazines for Trish's chemo day care package) and saw this really cute baby set with a baby in a pram.  We didn't have a really cute baby set like that, so I decided to buy the one I had seen in the magazine.  So, what happened?  Well, 2 days after I had ordered it on the internet, the SU preview came out and.... well... you know the deal.... there was this uber cool baby set "Baby Bundles" - which I absolutely love and adore.....  well... it was too late to cancel the other one.  So I thought I would use the other stamp from the non-SU set.  Charlie's cousin was nicknamed Bertha... why? I can hear you asking.  I have no idea.... :-)

Meet Bertha!

And here's a closeup

Isn't she just adorable?  I had such fun coloring her and I used my Crystal Effects on all the bubbles and the water in the bath - although it's pretty hard to see that.  Once again, I had to stamp this image 5 times before I got a relatively clean image - and it still isn't perfect as you can see from the heart in the baby bath.  But, the image is so cute, that I will forgive the manufacturer of the stamp set:-)

Card recipe:

• Card stock:  Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
• Inks:  Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist, Pacific Point
• Accessories:  Crystal Effects, Daffodil Delight ribbon, dimensionals
• Stamp:  Non Su, sentiment "hello baby" from Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Tools:  Big Shot, Polka Dot texturz plate, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Sanding Blocks

Card instructions:

• Cut Marina Mist card stock to a be a 5" square card - folded vertically. 
• Yellow layer is run through the Big Shot with the square lattice folder and is 5" x 1 3/8"
• Marina Mist horizontal layer is 5" x 1"
• Adhere Marina Mist layer to Daffodil Delight layer and wrap ribbon around and tuck under the edges.  Secure well with glue
• Run the Marina Mist card base through the Big Shot and the large polka dot texturz plate
• Cut Whisper White layer to 2 11/16" square - this gives the image just a little breathing room - and stamp image onto square using StazOn and a stamp-a-ma-jig
• Color using markers, ink and blender pen - whatever your favorite coloring medium is.  I used Blender Pens and inks.  You can see that I kept my Blush Blossom ink pad..... its THE only color for coloring bodies that I use.
• Once coloring is dry, apply crystal effects to the water areas in a fairly thick layer and allow to dry.
• The Pacific Point layer is 3" square.

Tips:

• I wanted the polka dots on the background card base to echo the water bubbles around the baby.  To make the dots a little lighter in color, I used my sanding blocks to take off the top couple of layers.  This really highlights the dots. and makes them feel as though they are a natural extension of the bubbles. 
• The Marina Mist needed a darker blue to make it pop - and Pacific Point is the perfect accompaniment for that purpose.
• I added just a little more color to the cheek areas of Bertha, this helps to add a little dimension to her face, but I kept the coloring very light all over - just a wash really.
• IRL the card has great texture, from the square lattice embossed Daffy layer, to the raised dots, to the raised water in the bath and the bubbles.  I love it when I get a card in hand and it has texture.

So, I hope you like Bertha.  I have a feeling that you will be seeing a lot more of Bertha and Charlie.

On a personal note:  The card drive is over.  I know that Adelle and Trish have both sent me cards - so I am really looking forward to seeing those and adding them to the collection.  Cherie also has more for us.  We really have a fabulous selection of cards for the drive.  I am really excited about it.  I will be photographing more of the cards this coming weekend and will start to showcase them.  Bilbo will be doing the draw tomorrow, so don't forget to come back tomorrow night to see who won the draw.  I promise .... it will be very easy to spend $100 in the new catty.  I know it was very easy for me to spend that... and then some!

Ann, you asked me about the next card drive.... I'm thinking that doing a drive for Christmas seems like a logical thing.  So, if anyone is up for it... I'm happy to do another card drive for Christmas and to offer up another $100 shopping spree with me .  I will be making cards, so would be very happy to run another drive if you guys are interested.  It also gives you plenty of time.  I will also be making some Spanish language Christmas cards, as maybe the Spanish speaking troops don't get catered for as much.... I will also be doing some Kwanzaa and Hannukah cards.  I got both of those sets as part of SAB this year, with this in mind.

Today has been a very long day... I was presenting at 7.30 a.m. and I am NOT my best at that time in the morning, I can tell you.  Tonight is a very late night - and then I have a meeting at 7am tomorrow.  I REALLY need to win the lottery!

Earlier this year, I was asked to join a card swap group.  I received my swap cards today... oh... boy... I cannot wait to share some of them with you.  Drop dead gorgeous.  Seriously, just amazing.  So, I will post them for you so that you can take a peek and give you a link to the websites of the talented ladies who created them.

Oh... and talking about talent and blog links... I have to share this one with you.  I am a great fan of this particular lady.... her cards always leave me awestruck.... here's a perfect example for you... you really have to go check it out - it's jawdroppingly fabulous.  Oh.... and if that one isn't enough..... let's check out this beauty.  Intimidating they both are... but totally inspiring.

And Trish - just for you.... I came across this talented lady from down under a couple of months ago and couldn't find her again.  I saw a card that she made and really wanted to bookmark the site - but forgot... anyway, I found it again.  You are going to LOVE her cards and the way she decorates the inside.   Just amazing.  So, pop along and check out Teneale's site - I promise you will be there for a while!

Thank you to those of you who have taken the time to give me your thoughts on the blog and how it can evolve.  I am still collecting thoughts and suggestions, so if you have any others, let me have them.  I will compile a list from you all and let you know what changes you can expect based on your feedback!

Before I go, I have one last pic for you tonight..... A picture of the Big Girl's Blouse Bailey..... he so loves boxes... he really gets more excited about the UPS man arriving at the door than I do... mind you... he doesn't care who arrives at the door so long as they are bringing a box!

I opened the box, turned around to get a drink of water before looking through the cards.... and what do I see... Bailey inspecting the cards.  Yep... I think  he approved!

Prayers as usual for Trish, Germaine, Pri, T, Arthur, Missy, Rach and Robin. 

As always, thank you so much for spending a little time in my area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits, your support, your comments - and your feedback, are greatly appreciated.

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and if you are traveling - safe travels.

Hugs

Jaydee

Hello Baby!

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday night.

Tonight's card features one of my favorite sets from the new catty - Baby Bundle.  I just love this set.  You may remember my diaper/nappy card - well, I used some of the same DSP (retired from the SU clearance rack) just because I love it with this pram.

I saw this great sketch on sweetstop.  I don't often do square cards, but loved this layout and decided to use it for this card.  It really allowed me to play around with some of the cool DSP that I have in my stash and bring out some new colors.  I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying the color renovation.  I am sooooo pleased that SU did it... and... you know I have said this before - I wasn't too impressed at the time..... but now that I am playing with it.  Awesome!

Pop along to sweetstop and check out the challenge, as well as the design team and submission cards.  I know you will find something to inspire you.  So, here's my take on the sketch.

I named this baby... his name is Charlie... why?  I have absolutely no idea - but I just love him ! :-)

I'm also in love with this color combo - I think the Riding Hood Red and the Baja Breeze go beautifully together.  The dots on the paper led my color choices for the rest of the card.  I also love the checkered background paper from the retired DSP kit!  I can't tell you how much fun I had making this card!

I bought a couple of English crafting magazines for Trish and had a quick look through them at the bookstore before I bought them and sent them off.  One of the things I noticed was that they were using a lot of charms as embellishments.  I realized that I had seen some of these beady things at the local craft store and decided I would give them a try on a card someday.  Well, the little scallops seemed just the right place to put 4 of them and made a great change from the normal sentiment.

Card recipe:

• Card stock:  Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red
• Inks:  Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi, Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight, Going Grey
• Accessories:  alphabet beads from LSS, Whisper White satin ribbon, died with my Baja Breeze marker - again I wanted the white lines on the edge to stay white, so used my marker to color it instead of my brayer
• Tools, big shot, nestabilities (large square), mini glue dots for "baby" and ribbon.  Dimensionals for both layers of the focal image.  Scallop border punch.  Stam-a-ma-jig for pram, "Charlie", bottle and rattle

Card instructions:

• Cut card stock to make a 5 1/4" square card
• Stamp image with StazOn and color with your favorite colors.  You can see that I used two other stamps from the stamp set - the rattle and the babies bottle.  I placed them both on the ground, because that's what babies always do.... and I thought that the look on "Charlie's" face seemed to say... ooooops :-)
• The blue checkered paper is 5" square.  The spotted paper is 3" W x 2 1/5" H
• The scallop border finished size is 5 1/4W x 2H
• The checkered strip is 5 1/4"w x 1"H

So, I hope you like Charlie's card.  Luckily I do have somewhere to send this card - but the baby isn't named Charlie! 

Don't forget - the Paper Players easel card challenge is going on through Friday.  We'd love to see what you create - and they really are easy cards to make and can get pretty addictive.  You can find the details on the challenge here

On a personal note:  I have to say that the postman must think it is my birthday.  4 boxes arrived via USPS today... Lou couldn't work out what I'd ordered - especially as two parcels arrived from SU earlier in the day (catalogs for my customers and the long lost Itty Bitty Buttons!).

Well,  the 4 boxes are 4 boxes of cards for the OWH card drive... Oh YEAY!!!!!  So, thank you to Beth, Rach, Soozie and Cam.  I can't wait to open them up and take them out and admire each and every single one of them.  I promise you all that I will take pics from cards chosen at random from each of our fabulous contributors and post them on my blog for you to admire.  I don't know who was happier - me or Bailey and Bilbo.  They inspected each box, rubbed against them and then sat on them!  So, I know they approved.  I think it's their way of saying thank you to you all.  In addition, Trish let me know via an electronic card today that she has also posted cards for the drive.  WOW, Trish.  with all that you have going on, I cannot thank you enough!  Adelle and Terri also let me know that they are sending cards... You have already seen some of Lynn's and I still have to show you Brenda's..... So, I think it's going to be a bumper crop to send to OWH.  The next few days are going to be very exciting.  Bilbo is looking forward to drawing the winner of the $100 shopping spree and I can promise you that spending $100 on stuff from the new catty is going to be easy for you!  So huge thank you to all of you - and to others who may have sent cards that I haven't received yet.

I did get to spend some quality time in my stamping space this weekend.  I made a few cards for challenges - rare that I seem to get those done these days.... but I mostly concentrated on making cards for the card drive. 

Here's one that I made using a non-SU set.  It's very rare that I buy non SU sets and working with this set made me realize why.... it took me 6 goes to get the image stamped evenly.  Now, it's not as though I'm a novice stamper - and it's not as though I don't make a lot of cards.... so, it really is just the stamp and not my stamping ability.  I almost never mis-stamp a card using an SU set.  However, the image was worth it... you all know that there was no way that I couldn't water color this cat using shades of orange... Bailey wouldn't have it any other way!  It also gave me a great excuse to pull out Cajun Craze... I am SO loving this color.

I know you can't see it in this pic, but I did use a glitter pen on the flowers, his eyes and nose and his collar.  Of course, I had to pull out the polka dot embossing folder, because it really echoed the spots on the pussycat's coat.  I hope someone gets a kick out of receiving this card from their loved one/friend in the forces.

Well, I am off to make some more cards and to finish packing up the care packages for my SU customers.  My catalogs arrived today and I will be putting them together with some cards made with the new goodies, new color paper samples, information sheets, and a couple of surprises.  It's my way of saying thank you to my customers ... thank you guys!   Then, we will get to sit outside on the deck and have dinner tonight.  Finally!  It hasn't rained the whole day.... AMAZING!

On the prayer list tonight, Trish, Lynn, Arthur, T, Pri, Germaine and Rach - so please keep them in your thoughts.

Tomorrow - I'll be posing a question for you all.  I really want to know what you would like to see on my blog that you don't see today and what you like, and wouldn't miss if I it wasn't there.  So, tomorrow, I will ask that question and ask you to please leave a comment - or send me an email.

As always, thank you to all of you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits, your support and your comments are always greatly appreciated.

Don't forget - smile at a stranger, it may change their life.

Hugs

Jaydee

Sneak Peek: Baby Bundle and Occasional Quotes

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday.

Tonight's card is a sneak peek for you - as is tomorrow's card:-)   I was looking for a really cute little baby set and had even considered buying a non-SU set that I had seen.  Lo and behold, in the new 2010-2011 catty is the cutest set.  It's called Baby Bundle.

I made two cards with it today and will share them both with you over the next week.  Tonight's took me out of my comfort zone!

I really wanted to make a diaper - or as my English friends would say - a nappy.  It took me a little while to get it done... much cutting and scoring of paper.  In the end though, I got the template right and managed to use many of the little stamps in the set and get the effect I was looking for.  One of our colleagues is expecting their first baby in about 2 weeks and we are hoping it's a little boy.  If not, then I will remake the card with girlie colors!

Here's the first view of the card.

I bet you are all wondering why I chose spotted paper for the diaper?  All will be revealed in a second.  Did you notice the new ribbon?  Yep, that is ribbon from the new catty.  The Congratulations stamp is from the Baby Bundle set - as are the little booties you can see hanging from the button.

I stamped the booties onto a Whisper White card stock scrap and then colored them in with my Marina Mist marker.   Talking about that... can you see that the blue card stock is different, too.  Yep.  That is Marina Mist - and the green.... well - that's one of the new In Colors - Pear Pizzazz.  It is my favorite green.  It's a little darker than Certainly Celery and less yellow.  So a little more saturated.  I am loving the Marina Mist.

So.... back to why the spotted paper.

Yep, the baby carriage has spots on it!  So, I colored the dots on the pram(baby carriage) to match the paper.  I used Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz and Riding Hood Red markers to color the dots, the wheels, hubcaps and heart.

The baby is a separate stamp.  I used my stamp-a-majig to place the baby in the spot I wanted him and colored his top with Marina Mist.   Did I tell you already I was in love with Marina Mist :-)

I used my Versamark to stamp the other images around the baby - bottles, rubber ducks, hearts, rattles... it seems to be that babies always come with a lot of accoutrement - and I wanted the card to reflect that.  Also, the images are really cute!

Here's a view of the pull out

The "hello baby" is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set.

Of course, I had to put something on the inside.  Luckily, the new catty comes with the choice of a level 3 Hostess Set which is absolutely amazing - Occasional Quotes.  The quotes are perfect for inside - and even outside cards. 

The inside sentiment for this card is a quote from Carl Sandburg:  "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on".  Isn't that cool!

 

What a pity I didn't press down with as much force on the bottom of the stamp as I had with the rest of it... if I had then maybe Mr Sandburg's name wouldn't look as though it was printed in Going Grey!!

Trish - I knew you would want to look inside!  I got to spend some quality time with Brenda and Cherie again today - twice in two days.  That's pretty amazing.  We were talking about you Trish - about how brave you are and how beautiful you are.  I know how hard it is to lose your hair.  It was the one thing that my brother commented on and lamented.  He was blessed with a full head of thick hair right up until he started chemo and it really bothered him - really bothered him when it started to fall out.  You know what.... he looked even more handsome afterward and we got to really see his deep brown eyes and the shape of his face.  Trish, you are such a beautiful person that there is no way that your beauty isn't going to be shining  through like the sun after a rain shower.  Hang in there my friend, keep your eye on the end goal and go buy some gorgeous hats and .....remember to look in the mirror with your buzz cut and tell yourself that this is temporary and that you are indeed still a beautiful woman.  As Missy said - you are our hero.

Tomorrow is the start of the Paper Players challenges.  Tomorrow's challenge is a theme challenge.  Lesley will be updating her blog sometime around lunch time Eastern Standard Time.  So, check out the Paper Player's inspiration cards tomorrow and please....... won't you play along?  We are really hoping you will.  Here's the website link Paper Players - we really look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Brenda is having a card drive for the troops at her stamp camp tomorrow.  Brenda - thank you... you know that those cards will make so many people happy.  The rest of you - and I know that many of you are participating :-)  thank you!!!! - You have until the end of June to get your cards to me for hugsandhope and/or operation write home.  I promise you, if you are the lucky winner of the $100 SU shopping spree - you will find lots of things to buy from the new catty!

I love this new Baby Bundle set and the Occasional Quotes.  I can't wait to play around with more of the sets that I got.  UPDATED:  I realized that I had forgotten to put a link to the template that I found for the diaper.  I adjusted the size, adjusted the middle portion and made it much wider and I also made it longer to create a tuckover at the top.  But this was the best template I found.  You can find it at this link.

I hope you all have a fabulous Sunday, filled with love, laughter and moments of beauty.  Cherie... you'd better say confession for the June bug tomorrow.....  

Hugs to you all

Jaydee

Robin's Eggs

Hi Everyone.

Happy Monday night.  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

The weather was glorious here today and I even managed to spend 20 minutes outside at lunchtime sitting on my deck and eating my lunch.  There was a gentle breeze, the birds were singing and the sun was shining.  What else can one want to make a day great?  Well, if you are Dee in N.H... then watching a bear in your yard!  Now, that would have made my day absolutely complete!  Dee, I am really jealous.

Whilst we are on the topic of nature, I made a baby card this weekend.  I wanted to make a card that was different and didn't include Teddy Bears.  Yes, I know, it makes a change :-)

I love the Nature's Nest set and, after seeing the robin's in the garden this weekend, thought... mmmmm... now... that would make an interesting baby card.  So here is my Nature's Nest baby boy card.

I had great fun coloring in the image with my blending pens and classic  Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise and Mellow Moss inks.  Of course, I absolutely had to make the eggs robin's egg blue and then match it with Tempting Turquoise card stock and Chocolate Chip satin ribbon.  I don't use TT much, but when I do, I absolutely love it.

I wanted to keep it clean and simple so elected not to decorate, emboss, or stamp the background.  I decided that the ribbon needed to be plain with no bows or anything.  In the end I was really happy with it and I love the unconventional take on a baby card.  

Some of you have asked me how I know so much about the new catty.  Well, we demos get a magazine called Stampin' Success and there were a couple of items in there.  In addition, demos can see the list of supplies used in the magazine and there were a couple of new items listed in the supplies list.  So, having played Sherlock Holmes, I managed to piece together some of the new items :-)  Unfortunately, I haven't actually got my hands on the new catty yet, but I am beginning to feel like a child at Christmas time.  I know the present is out there for me but I just can't get my hands on it:-)

I started a card last night using a color combination I have never used before - but love.  How unfortunate that half of it is retiring!  The color combination was Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy.  I almost finished the card, but couldn't quite get it finished.  I pfaffed for quite a while, but nothing fell into place.  So I put it in my drawer and left it over night.  Unfortunately the stamping elves didn't come in and finish it for me, so I had to take it out and try to make it work.  In the end, I think it did work.  You will have to decide for yourself later this week.

I hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday filled with bird song, magic and spending time with those you love.

As always, thank you so much for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits, your support and your comments are so very much appreciated.

Hugs

Jaydee

Puppy Dog Tails and Smooch

Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday.  The weekend is on its way.  However, I wish Spring would come on back!

Tonight I will be sharing a card using the Everything Nice (another one of those that I speculate may retire in a couple of weeks!)  It's a set I recently bought and have had fun using.  I'll also be sharing my thoughts on SmoochSpritz.  Finally!  I can hear Adelle say:-)

To the card first.  I used the theme challenge from crazy4challenges, which was to incorporate something from the nursery rhyme "What are Little Boys Made Of?" in honor of Frances soon to be grandson!  The color challenge from colourq  was to use Crushed Curry, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, Whisper White and Brilliant Blue - a combination I have never used before!  Two great challenges from two great sites and I couldn't wait to play along.... You know the drill :-)  pop along and see the great inspiration and submission cards... and why not think about playing along?

So.... the theme of little boys and snails and puppy dog tails was perfect.  Why?  Because one of the sayings in the set is "snips and snails and puppy dog tails"!  Perfect!  I also had just purchased the P is for Paw wheel and I thought it would be great to incorporate that.

I looked at the challenge colors and thought they would be perfect for a baby boy card.  So, that is exactly what I did.

Whilst we are on the topic of animals... Bailey had been in the photo tent whilst I was getting ready with my goodies... and.. thank you Bailey... had left a little clump of hair which is visible in the bottom right hand corner.  I swear that cat is just one big hairbaill!  And... there's a "ghost image" in the middle of the card at the bottom, too.  I need to clean my lens.  Looks like Bailey stuck his wet nose on the lens!  Cats.... they are into EVERYTHING!

I colored my wheel using markers and backed it with Crushed Curry.  I colored the sentiment with markers too, to tie them together.  A couple of Certainly Celery and Brilliant Blue buttons and we were done.  You can see that I did use the Polka Dot embossing folder for the background.  I thought the dots on the background helped tie into the horizontal strip, which also has dots on it!  I decided that Brilliant Blue is a color I am going to miss.  I don't use it often, but I will miss it.   I really enjoyed playing with the theme and the colors - such a happy card:-)

Now... onto Smooch Spritz.  Here's Jaydee's thoughts on using this and you don't want to know how I know all of these things.  Let's say... spraying yourself in the eye with Smooch isn't a particularly clever thing to do!  All the pics below should enlarge if you run your mouse pointer over them! 

BTW... I LOVE the Smooch Spritz, so don't be put off by my list of how to use it... I just wanted to try to let you have the insights that I have learned over the last couple of weeks.... but I love... love.. love using it.  In fact, I just ordered my second bottle of Very Vanilla!

1. Get yourself the Color Catcher... I didn't want to because I thought I had more than enough cardboard boxes and wouldn't need it.  Well, if you want to make one - ensure that it is at least 10 inches deep and 10 inches high.  I initially used a box from SU and kept spraying all over the desk. The color catcher certainly helps.
2. Shake VERY well before using.
3. Spray at least 6-10 inches away from the paper.
4. Ensure the nozzle is pointed directly at the paper when you spray.  I have placed a black dot on the opposite side of the nozzle using permanent marker to make sure that I don't spray in my face or to the side of the box.
5. Remember the bottles are glass and may roll if the surface isn't perfectly straight
6. Try not to pick the containers up by the top as they make come off and you can drop the container
7. When you want to spray on a small area - I'd suggest cutting the piece of paper a little bigger than you need.  That way, you can cut the area you want to have on the card.
8. You DO NOT need to push the nozzle all the way down like you would hair spray, cleaning liquid, etc.  The harder you spray the more liquid you get and I find the gloopier it is.
9. Mind you... if you don't spray hard enough - this is what happens.... you get SmoochGloop instead of Smooch Spritz.  Not pretty!  So, play around a little until you get the feel and look that you like.  I tend to spray and move my hand as I go - just as you would hairspray.
10. If the nozzle gloops up, you can take it off and soak the nozzle in household cleaner for about 30 minutes.  Mine haven't clogged by the way!
11. I use my heat gun to help dry the spray...... why?  because I am impatient!  If you pick it up immediately after spraying, it will smudge
12. I LOVE layering.  The Silver and Vanilla tend to be colder colors and work together.  The Gold and Log Cabin are warmer, so I tend to combine the two. 
13. YOUR SPRAYS WILL NOT BE EVEN..... which drives me crazy... however, I have to get over myself, because it isn't meant to be even.  When you look at this sample you can see why I suggest making the card piece just a little bigger - that way I can cut off the big spot that I don't like - the rest of it is perfect, though.
14. The Gold Glow is gorgeous and I love it on the darker colors as well as the lighter colors, it really looks like fools gold on the paper.

    

Here are examples I sprayed for you.

On the right, you can see the smooch GOLD GLOW on both white and crumb cake (aka kraft).  On the left is golden glow  on chocolate chip and basic black.  Golden Glow is the perfect name for it.  It really does look like fools gold!

Let's take a look at the SILVER FOIL on the dark and neutrals.

  I love the blueish tinge it gives.  It's really pretty.  

Now let's look at it on the neutrals. This time... I mixed it with the Very Vanilla - so that you can see the blueish grey tinge from Silver Foil  with the lighter color of the Very Vanilla.  I thought it would be a good way to show you the two together.  They look great alone, but together they really add another dimension.

Well.. I hope that gives you some insight.  You can see the other cards I made using SmoochSpritz to get a feel of them on projects by clicking HERE

As always, thank you so much for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  If you have any questions on using the SmoochSpritz, or any other techniques, just leave me a comment or sent me an email.

Have a fabulous Wednesday!

Hugs

Jaydee

 

Button Balloons

Hi Everyone.  Happy Friday night.

It rained today and I swear the grass went from brown to partly green in a couple of hours.  It was wonderful to feel and smell the refreshed air.  The shoots are coming up on many of our plants and our bulbs are starting to make their appearance known.  Spring is just the most magical time of the year.

Which reminds me... magical is what I was playing with tonight.   Here's a sneak preview for you.  I received some of the new goodies I ordered today.  They arrived at around 9am and I didn't get to open the box until 6pm.   You have no idea how hard that was for me!  I'm loving the new Smooch Spritz from the mini and the set that you can see the preview of is called a Little Bit of Magic.  I don't know about you, but I spent a lot of time playing fairies as a girl.  Mostly borrowing my best friend Pam's ballet tutu.  So, I bought this set to make a birthday card for Pam - her birthday is this month.  I also think it's perfect for little girls and scrapbook pages.  Hopefully I will get this card finished tomorrow... but I have to do taxes first!!!!

Tonight's card is based on a card I saw in a stamping magazine.  It was bright and cheerful and had button balloons.  I decided that I absolutely had to create one.  Especially as we have a colleague who let us know that he and his wife are expecting.  Lou and I thought this card was perfect to congratulate parents to be when we didn't know the gender of the baby.  PLUS... it kept me going with my resolution to use colors, stamps, embellishments, etc that I don't normally use.  Well, I can say, with all honesty, that I have never combined these colors before.  Nor have I used buttons for balloons.

 

Card recipe:

Card stock:    Gable Green, Bashful Blue, Whisper White.

Embellishments: Playground buttons - Sherbet (116312), Grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, Silver elastic cord, corner rounder

Inks: Basic Grey (balloon strings), Chocolate Chip - sentiment

What would I change about this card:  the ribbon - the ties are too long and need to be shorter! and... the sentiment is a little thicker on the bottom.... grrrrr

Card size:  A2.  Blue layer: 4 3/8" by 3 1/8.  White layer: 3 1/8" by 2 5/8"

I drew three strings using my Basic Grey marker.  I ran silver elastic cord through the button holes.  Button colors are Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue.

I rounded the corner of the Whisper White and adhered it to the Bashful Blue.  I also rounded the corners of the Bashful Blue.  I then stamped the sentiment and tied the ribbon around the blue and the white to hide the bottom of the white edge. 

I adhered the buttons using 3 carefully placed mini glue dots on each button.

I adhered the focal image to the Green Galore base using dimensionals.  I then finished up the card by rounding the corners of the card base.

I think its such a happy card and I loved working with these colors.  It's fabulous to work with these soft spring colors after the rich colors of autumn(fall) and winter.

Once I have my magic card finished, I will have some tips on using the Smooch Spritz!  I have a few great sets to show you over the next couple of weeks.  However, I still have cards I made this weekend to show you, too.  I'm hoping I can get taxes over tomorrow and Sunday morning and then do a little stamping... hopefully.  I've only made one card since Sunday and it's driving me crazy.    I found myself on a conference call yesterday designing a card in my head.  Well that was all well and good until someone unexpectedly asked me a question.  errr... mmmm..... well :-)

As I type the end of this post, the sun is setting behind the hill - what gorgeous colors Mother Nature gives us.  Lilacs and pinks and greys and indigo - what an absolutely glorious sunset.  It's nights like this when I wished we didn't live in a valley.

Happy Easter everyone.  I hope you have a great weekend and get to spend some good quality time with the family and for those readers who are not in the USA - have a great long weekend!

Hugs

Jaydee

Baby Bear

Hi Everyone.

Happy Thursday night.  Tomorrow is Friday... yay.... spring is on its way.. the snow is beginning to melt...and we even had a thunderstorm today!  So, old-man winter may well be on his way out!  Not that I'm counting out a few more snow storms before May!

Tonight's card is a change of color for me, and also uses a stamp set I haven't used before - Teddy and Train.  So, still trying to keep up with my new year's resolutions and choose different colors and stamps!

For the card I used Brocade Blue, Brilliant Blue and Bashful Blue... so all BLUE..... so unlike me.  

I had great fun water coloring the teddy bear in various shades of brown and ran my texturz polka dot plate through my big shot

I love the Teddy from this set.. he's just so cuddly... mind you, I guess if I was doing a girl card then it would be she's so cuddly :-)

 

So... of course, I would have water colored the bear to have the shadow on the left side (looking at him) and photographed him with the light coming from that side, so the shadow on the card is on the other side!  you know... sometimes... really... I amaze myself!!!

Anyway, here's what I did:

I ran a piece of Brocade Blue card stock through my Big Shot with the large polka dot texturz plate.  To get the polka dots to stand out - and match with the lighter blue of the DSP - I lightly sanded the dots with my sanding block.  You can see that this takes the top layer of color off and really helps to tie it in with the lighter blue of the stripe DSP.

I adhered the striped DSP to the card stock and cut three layers of matt to go underneath the teddy bear.

One in Brilliant Blue, one in Brocade Blue and the top one in Bashful Blue. 

On the Bashful Blue layer, I stamped the image of the Teddy in Brown StazOn ink.

I then stamped it again on a piece of Whisper White and used this one to color.  I colored the teddy in close to cocoa, chocolate chip and creamy caramel and his ribbon in Brilliant Blue marker

I snipped around the Teddy and adhered him over the stamped image on the Bashful Blue layer.  I used dimensionals to mount him to the Bashful Blue layer.

I stamped the "Bundle of Joy" sentiment in Chocolate Chip on the Bashful Blue layer.

I stamped "hello" and "baby" in Chocolate Chip on Bashful Blue using Tiny Tags and punched them out with the jewelery punch.  A small blue half pearl finished off the two Tiny Tags.

I was really pleased with it.  It's a great boy card, has enough interest in layers, colors, etc. yet still manages to feel "clean".

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday... remember.... only 20 more days left of Sale A Bration!

As always.. thank you to all of you for visiting my little area of the stamping blogosphere!

Hugs

Jaydee

Eye Candy

Happy Tuesday night everyone.

For those of you arriving at my blog expecting a pic of that all time fabulous eye candy George Clooney... sorry.... I meant card eye candy! :-)  However, if I ever get close enough to take a picture of the handsome George, you will all be the first to know!

I promised to show you some of the cards that were pulled from the collection that was sent off for charity this weekend.  There are some really cool, very different cards for you.  I am sure that you will find something inspiring.  I'll be featuring the last of the cards tonight and tomorrow.   Tonight's cards use sets as diverse as Cheep Talk, Embrace Life, Nursery Letters, Nursery Necessities, Wonderful Words and Best of Cluck.

Firstly, let's take a look at the "big-girls-blouse-Bailey" and how he handles the stress of the day!  Whilst I was getting ready for the girls to arrive on Sunday, Bailey decided to join me in the basement.  However, there was way too much activity going on, so he decided to find himself a quiet warm place to dream.  Mmmmmm... inside  a blanket that I had put on top of the coffee table.

I think he's comfortable, warm, cozy and VERY relaxed!

So.. onto the gallery.

Love this pink and black color combination, the double ribbon and the tag.

 

What a great use of the Nursery Necessities set and the Nursery Necessities wheel - and, of course, the color combination is perfect for a little boy or a little girl!

 

Isn't this cute!!!!!

 

Love this grey and yellow color combination.  I have to find a use for this combo.  I also love the repetition of the flower from Embrace Life.  This is the first of two cards you will see over the next two days that really makes me think I should have bought this set!!!

OK... so I love this card and it really made me laugh!  It uses the retired set "Best of Cluck".  I thought the background stamp treatment - two different ones - really added to the barnyard feel!

 

I don't own Cheep Talk... but this card makes me think I should!  Love the colors, too!

 
I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday.  I am pleased the weekend is coming up.  I'm hoping to get into my stampin space this weekend.  I really NEED to do some stamping, not least of which is a congratulations card for my niece who got engaged on Saturday!

Hugs

Jaydee

Nursery Necessities meets Sending Love

Hi everyone.  Happy Monday night.

Tonight's card uses Nursery Necessities and the new Sending Love Specialty DSP.  You can see my other cards using Nursery Necessities here.  I needed to make a card to welcome Jenna - Karen and Raul's new baby.  I am so thrilled for them and I know that Karen is crazy about Tigger... I didn't have a Tigger stamp... so I made her a girly baby card and have packaged up some Tigger goodies for Jenna's bedroom!

I used this week's sketch from the stamping411 team.  I loved the way they had set the background papers - and thought they worked perfectly with the new Sending Love Specialty DSP.... LOVE this fabulously sparkly and interesting paper... and I mean interesting - in a good way!

Before we start with tonight's card, I would like to give a big shout out to Lynn - Lynn is the second person to send me cards to support my card drive.  Don't forget, if you want to win your very own Big Shot - or up to $100 dollars worth of new SU products - of your choice - from SU.... join my card drive.  You find details here on this card drive and the blog candy!  Tomorrow, I will be highlighting some of the great cards that Beth sent to me for the card drive.  So, thank you ladies... you ROCK!!!!

So here's Jenna's card

 
  

Isn't that pretty???? :-)  Well, I think it is.  I also managed to keep to my NY resolution... colors I don't normally use!!!!

So, let me give you the details on this card - and.... I managed to get my hands around my favorite satin ribbon from the new occasions mini!  I love... love...love... this ribbon - it's just so amazing to work with. 

Card Recipe:

• Very Vanilla and Pretty in Pink card stock
• Sending Love Specialty DSP (117153)
• Nursery Necessities stamp (113506)
• Epoxy Brads in Pretty in Pink from the new mini (117271)
• Pretty in Pink satin ribbon - from the new mini (117289)
• Medium Jewelry Tag Punch (love this with the Tiny Tags stamps!!!) (117190)
• Tiny Tags "baby" sentiment (118592 clear mount, 118091 wood mount).  I was really blah about this set... until I got it and realized how many times I would actually use it!  So, I'm so pleased that I did buy it!
• Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder (117335)
• Scallop Trim Border punch (118402)- one of the free choices with SAB and the co-ordinating scallop corner punch from the new mini (118870)
• I stamped the elephant in Rose Red craft ink and then embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  I then cut it out and placed it on the white background with stampin' dimensionals.
• I cut a piece of the Sending Love Specialty DSP on an angle - to match the sketch and paired that with a piece of Pretty in Pink DSP run through my Perfect Polka Dots impressions folder.  I also cut that on an angle.
• I placed both pieces of DSP onto a card base of Very Vanilla and then wrapped a piece of the Pretty in Pink satin ribbon around the card.
• I cut the legs off one of the epoxy brads and attached it to the bow of the knot with about 4 or 5 mini glue dots!  I really wanted to make sure it stuck!
• I punched a piece of 2 7/8" Pretty in Pink paper using my new scallop punch and the co-ordinating corner punch.  My thanks to one of our fellow crafters on SCS  LyndaLee28 for posting the sizes that she found co-ordinated with the Scallop Trim Border and Corner punches.  It made it easier for the rest of us!!!
• I stamped the "baby" sentiment using Pretty in Pink classic ink onto a piece of scrap Very Vanilla and then punched it out with the Medium Jewelry Tag punch.  I pushed it under the brad and secured it onto the mini glue dots that I had already placed there.
• A couple of Very Vanilla dn pretty in Pink matts behind the elephant... and the card was complete

Again, a card that could be created using any color scheme and could easily be made into a birthday card, an anniversary card, just by changing out the focal image and the sentiment from the Tiny Tags - seen below.

 

I also have to highlight the fabulous new DSP - but the pic really doesn't do this gorgeous paper justice!
Have a fabulous Tuesday everyone and thank you, as always, for visiting my blog.

Jaydee

Nursery Necessities - Red, White and Blue

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday night!  Tonight's card uses Stampin' Up's Nursery Necessities set.  I love this set and needed to make a card for a baby boy.  I used the boat stamp and wanted to give an old, worn, feel to the boats.  Something that evoked a feel of boats that had been used for many years at a beachside cottage.  I think you know what I mean.  I also, don't think I've ever used Red, White and Blue in a card before, so this seemed like the ideal time to bring out the colors I don't normally use together!  Day 6 and still meeting SOME of my resolutions!

I used the Stamping411.blogspot.com challenge 132 for the second time this week - I thought it was ideal for this card.

So... my new goodies are on their way - and should be delivered tomorrow!  oh, yeah!  playtime this weekend!

So, here's my new baby boy card

I loved the way the sails and the boats themselves had that aged feel!  Now, why didn't I ever have that idyllic pretty little beach side or lakeside cottage that you always see on movies.. .the ones where children run around and skim stones, ride tires, jump into water from picturesque jetty's, etc!!! OK... so, let's get back to reality!

Card recipe:

• Real Red, Brilliant Blue and Whisper White card stock
• Real Red craft ink with transparent embossing powder, white embossing powder for the left sail and the sentiment, Brilliant Blue ink for the boats
• I inked up the red sails and was very inconsistent about the inking, especially close to the edges.  Once I had inked them up, I covered them with transparent embossing powder and set it with my heat gun.
• I used white embossing powder on the white sail
• I stamped the boats in Brilliant Blue ink
• I stamped the sentiment lines in Versamark and then used white embossing powder.
• I used dimensionals to lift the boats off the red base
• I wrapped the gingham ribbon around the red matt and tied a fairly rustic knot to go with the feel of the card
• Put the whole thing together... and voila... done!

I hope you like this simple, yet masculine, card!  My second masculine card this week.  So, how long are these resolutions going to last?  :-)  I'm now hoping that I can work on the other resolutions... doing some exercise and eating better.  The chocolate I had today doesn't count, right :-)

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits - and your support are ALWAYS appreciated.  Have a fabulous Thursday everyone.  Details on the January blog candy will be available by the end of the week, I promise!

Now, I have to go make a little girl card to welcome Jenna - who was born to our friends Raul and Karen today!  So, so, exciting!

Peace and hugs

Jaydee