Stampin! with Jaydee

Button Buddies Thanks

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

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

Here's what I came up with

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

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

So, what do you think?

Here's what I used:

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

On a personal note:

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

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

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

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Hugs

Jaydee

Button Buddies with Domestic Goddess for Stamping 411

Hi Everyone.  Happy Thursday.

Very quick post for you tonight... I am frantically searching the house for a document that I have lost and desparately need.  I am a very organized person and it is driving me crazy that I cannot find this document...... grrrrrr..... 

I really did want to share with you a card I made using the Stamping411 sketch this week.  It's a cool sketch and I couldn't wait to give it a whirl.  You can check out the fabulous design team samples and submission cards by clicking on the sketch below.  Sadly, I missed the cut off for submission.  But you can still pop along and see the fabulous cards.

 

This is another card I made for our OWH card drive.  And, for something completely different, it highlights yet another view of the Domestic Goddess DSP.  Well, if I haven't convinced you of how fabulous this paper is yet - and I haven't shown you a single ironing board or baking implement - you haven't been checking out the great cards I have managed to use this DSP on.

Also... I love these new designer brads - don't they look as though they are just nestling beautifully in the polka dot layer?

I really wanted to capture the colors on the flowers of the DSP and put them on my focal point, too.  I had to use one of the retired brads for the center of the flower.

So, what do you think?  Like the DSP yet? :-)

Before I go..... a big shout out to Soozie tonight.  I received a huge box of cards for our OWH drive last night.  They are all stamped and categorized and ready to be packed in a big box.  Just one more lot of cards to arrive - from Ann Marie - and then we should be finished and I can give you the final count.  I spent another 4 hours working on the cards last night and had a ball visiting with all the wonderful cards created by Soozie.  Soozie told me that she had never heard of OWH before, but was so inspired by what we have done for OWH this past year, that she really wanted to help out again with this drive.  I know many of you have submitted again - and others who have submitted for the first time.... I am so thankful to all of you.

My hugs and prayers to all who need a lift tonight.  For my blog readers in Texas - stay safe.  For my blog readers on the East Coast - stay dry.  In fact.. .it seems that just about everywhere is having problems - so stay safe everyone.

Hugs

Jaydee

Button Buddies for Simplyless - Clean and Simple

Hi Everyone.

Happy Tuesday - hope you are all having a wonderful day!

Tonight's card is for simplylessismoore.  The challenge is to create a clean and simple card with FRUIT as the theme.  Oh... this was just the greatest excuse to pull out my new Button Buddies set.  I didn't hesitate on this one.  Within minutes I had the layout, the image and the sentiment all in my head.

Here's what I came up with

 

I mean, seriously, were not this image and sentiment meant to be together?   And the buttons - just perfect for this image.  I think I am going to really enjoy this set!  I had originally done a square in Real Red behind the focal image, but felt it needed something a little softer, that's why I went with the scalloped square instead.  The round edges echo the round cherries better!

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

• Card stock:  Whisper White, Real Red
• Stamps:  Button Buddies.  Sentiment:  A Word for You
• Inks:  Real Red, Lucky Limeade
• Buttons:  Brights
• Tools:  Paper Snips (I stamped the leaf again and cut it out and popped it with dimensionals).  Mini glue dots for the buttons.  Stamp-a-ma-jig for the sentiment.  Nesties for the squares

So, what do you think?  I love it.  If you haven't checked out the Button Buddies set, you really should.  You can see the whole set below.  The set number is 122737

Also, if you haven't seen it... there is a Stampin' Up! special for August.  Buy 3 lots of the Designer Series Paper from the 2011/2012 SU catalog and get a 4th one free.  That's a 25% discount effectively.  Of course, it was a deal that I couldn't resist!  You can check out the details here.

Don't forget to pop along to simplylessismoore and check out the amazing array of design team cards and submission cards.  You are bound to find inspiration.

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

Have a wonderful Wednesday and, as always, thank you so much for popping by!

Hugs

Jaydee

Button Buddies and Friendly Phrases for Stamping411

Hi Everyone.

Happy Monday.  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  I certainly did, and managed to stay cool.  Lou, however didn't have such a great weekend. He left on Saturday morning to go to Hong Kong and finally arrived this morning!  His journey was quite amazing - in fact, I will share his email update with you tomorrow night!

I saw this sketch across on stamping411 and loved the clean lines. 

I thought about it for a while - especially how I was going to incorporate the circular element with the sentiment.  I also decided to use a color combo I have never used before - Cherry Cobbler and Blushing Bride!

This is a card that will be going to the troops - don't forget we are in the middle of our Operation Write Home card drive for the troops. 

I decided to leave the decoration on the inside very clean, to leave the service member lots of space to write their own message.

Card ingredients:

• Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
• Stamps:  Button Buddies, Friendly Phrases
• Accessories:  Regals Buttons, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Pearl, Cherry Cobbler ribbon

I have another couple of ideas for cards using this sketch, so might even manage to play along again this week.  You know the drill... pop along to stamping411 and see what the operators have created - sure to inspire you!  Maybe even inspire you to play along!

BLOG HOP ALERT!

One of the swaps I did for convention was an organized swap.  It was a FANCY FULL swap.  The cards were full cards, meant for sending.  The request was to create full cards, with multiple embellishments.  There were some corkers I can tell you!  Some really fabulous swaps.  The organizers have set up a blog hop for a few of us on Friday 7/29, to share with you some of the cards.  I hope you will come back on Friday and check it out.  I promise, you won't be disappointed.  I will be sharing with you the card that I made using Faith in Nature.  I just love that set!

On a personal note

Some of you have been asking how my leg is progressing.  Well, I can tell you it is certainly progressing in the right direction!  The swelling has gone down considerably - but still evident, the color is more muted and overall it is less painful.  It's impossible to fully straighten my knee, though and that's keeping me from driving.  The knee clicks and pops like crazy, a sure sign the meniscus is torn. I also can't turn it to the right. I still have a couple of weeks before I go back to the Dr and then they will determine whether to go in and fix it laproscopically or not.  The strangest thing about my leg? the overall color of the leg.  It's this ghastly pale custard yellow, which, when contrasted against my English pale pink upper leg, looks really odd!

I thought you might like a little pic of the progression.  I will spare you and show you only one shot.  You can see the overall yellow color of my leg - especially when you compare it against the color of my heel.  The blood pooled most on the other side, so I spared you that, too!  I also made the pic small so that you don't really have to look if you don't want to!  You can see that Bailey was not that impressed that I was disturbing him on his blanket to take this pic!  Honestly, no sympathy from my cat!  You can see the leg is still swollen.... but SO much better than the last set of pics I showed you!  So... thank you to all of you who have sent me good wishes, healing prayers, etc.  They were much appreciated

 

I can't finish my post tonight without mentioning a couple of things.  Sometimes events in the world are so large and so catastrophic - so utterly overwhelming, that it is hard to focus on them.  The incredible drought in East Africa is one of them.  It's stunning - in the worst possible way - how devastating this is and how many millions of people are affected.  It's also stunning how hopeless one feels to do anything effective to help.  Reaching out to the aid organizations and donating is the only thing I can possibly do.

Then, the events in Norway shock you completely.  Violent attacks of this magnitude are always shocking, even more so when they are done from inside.  I remember, all too well, the shock of the Oklahoma bombings, for instance.  I was amazed that one totally deranged, bigoted, astonishing small minded, grotesque individual could wreak such havoc.  The guy in Norway fits into the same category.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the innocent victims who were caught up in this atrocity.

Then, on the other hand, there are small events.  A single death.  The death of someone who struggled with fame, fortune, incredible talent, amazingly low self-esteem and the demons of addictions.  Addiction is a terrible disease.  Whether it's drugs, alcohol, overspending, hoarding, gambling, over eating, under-eating... addiction is a disease.  I'm a complete Jazz/soul junkie.  I was weaned on the stuff!  Amy Winehouse was an astonishing talent.  A woman with a voice that was not only technically amazing, but could make you feel pain and emotion like no-one since Billie Holiday.  A voice that was at once familiar, timeless and yet, fresh and totally inspired.  A woman whose lyrics were raw and unfettered.  A little girl trapped inside a womans body and an addicts mind.  I hope she is finally at peace.

I will finish on a lighter note.  I have a video to share with you.  Y'all know Im crazy about animals, well a colleague sent me this video link..... Check it out if you haven't seen it already.  It's phenomenal.  Just click on the pic to go to the link on youtube

I promise... it will leave you laughing.  On that note, thank you all for visiting my blog...you know your visits and your comments mean a great deal to me.  Hugs and prayers tonight for those in need.

Jaydee