Stampin! with Jaydee

Dasher makes another appearance

Hi Everyone.

Happy Tuesday.  Hope you are all having a great week so far.  Before we get to tonight's card, I wanted to clarify a couple of things on last night's post - oh... and I updated last night's post to show the inside of the card I made, too.  I don't know why I missed that last night!

The rules of CASEing.... When I case for a challenge (as opposed to CASEing for personal use, or in workshops, etc.), I follow the rules from splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper CASE challenge.  For that challenge they request that you change at least two things about the card and note what they are.  It became ingrained in me to do that, so I follow the same rules for other challenges, too.  So, I apologise if I confused everyone with the "rules of CASEing" and hope that clarifies it.

Secondly, a couple of you have asked me what The More the Merrier set looked like, just in case you can help Pat out so that she doesn't have to go the eBay route.  So, I popped along to splitcoast and copied the index card that features all of the stamps in the set.  It was a level 3 hostess set from the 2009/2010 catalog.  I used the snowmen a lot last year.  Here's the index card

Now.... on to tonight's card.  I used the sketch from FreshlyMadeSketches last week.  They really do produce some amazing sketches.  Of course, I had to pull out Dasher and my Mocha Morning DSP.  The sketch called for elements on the side of the horizontal element.  I thought... ah ha..... I have little reindeer from some ribbon that I have.  Can you believe it is actually ribbon? So, I used those for that element.

Then, of course, I had to add a few pearls.  Actually, I like the way the pearls pick up the circles in the Mocha Morning DSP.    I really wanted to "do" Dasher in flocking powder, but didn't have any brown flocking powder.  I do think he would be fabulous with a little texture.

As always, thank you for visiting my blog.  You know it means a great deal to me.  I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday.

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

Hugs

Jaydee

Paper Players Challenge # 57 - Dasher

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday night.  We have a fabulous challenge across at the Paper Players for you this week.  The very talented Nance has provided us with such a wonderful sketch.  I had tremendous fun working with this sketch.  In fact, the idea for the card came together in minutes.  Very unusual for me!  Here's Nance's sketch.  I told you it was fabulous!  We hope that you will be inspired enough to join us and show us what you can do with this sketch.

I decided it was time to introduce you to my favorite, all time, amazing, stunning, Stampin' Up! Specialty Designer Series Paper - Mocha Morning.  It is so rich and luscious - absolutely gorgeous.  It has a very formal side, and then a less formal side.  I am completely in LOVE with this paper.  As this particular piece has a really rich gold look, I decided to pair it with the Gold Metallic Paper and my favorite Christmas animal... Dasher!

Here's my take on the sketch:

  

I decided I liked this card so much, that it will be one of the Christmas cards I make this year.  Looks like I am going to need to buy more of the Mocha Morning paper :-)  It really is gorgeous paper.  The sheen on it is really hard to see in the pic, but it's subtle and classy.  I must admit, it was great to take out Dasher again.  The thing I love about this particular stamp is that you can use him on a fun card, or on something more formal like this one.

I know that Gold, Early Espresso and Vanilla are different colors for Christmas, but I like it :-)

Card recipe:

• Card stock:  Gold Metallic, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso
• Stamps:  Focal image:  Dasher.  Sentiment:  Contempo Christmas
• DSP:  Mocha Morning Specialty Paper
• Inks:  Early Espresso.  Versamark
• Accessories:  Early Espresso ribbon
• Tools:  Big Shot.  Top Note Die. Gold Embossing Powder.  Stampin' Dimensionals

 On a personal note:

Before I start - a shout out to CINDY tonight.  Cindy sent me an email yesterday to let me know that she has 35 cards on their way for our Operation Write Home card drive.   WAY TO GO, Cindy.  This is wonderful.  That's another 35 servicemen/women and 35 of their family members that will be touched by your gift.  Looking for details on our card drive - check out this link.  You still have plenty of time to join in our card drive and a chance to win SU goodies courtesy of me.  It's such a great cause, so I hope you will join us.

Well, I may no longer be blond.  But I certainly had a blond moment or two this weekend.  Firstly, I was writing checks to put in the post yesterday.  I walked to the post box, raised the flag to let Mr Postie know there were goodies inside for him.  I went back into the house, cleaned the countertop and realized that I had forgotten to put one of the checks in the envelope.  Yep, I'd written the check, the envelope and stamped it.  Closed it.  Taken it to the post box.  Mmmm... but forgot to put the check in. 

Secondly, I saw the challenge for this week and got all a flutter.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the theme.  I scratched my head.  Contemplated my stamps.  Contemplated my navel.  Nothing.  Finally at around 9.30pm I came up with an idea and went with it.  I was going to put my card up onto the Paper Players blog and my own but it was going to be waaaaay late as I needed a Crystal Effects element to dry.  Imagine my absolute surprise when, this morning, I went to load my card -with the CE element now dry, only to find that I had made a card for NEXT WEEK!  yep.. NEXT WEEK.  Mmmmm.... oh dear.  Now I was really back to square one, because I hadn't even looked at the challenge for THIS week!  Luckily, as I said, loved the sketch, so it came together quite easily!

So, Lou is still in Hong Kong.  He tells me he is still on schedule to get back on Wednesday and I will certainly be glad to see him!  He's had a tough couple of weeks and I am sure he is going to be glad to get home for a week, too!

Don't forget to visit the Paper Players and check out the amazing design team inspiration cards - and then play along with us.

I hope you all have a truly wonderful Sunday.  One filled with love, laughter and the things that make you happy.

Hugs and prayers for all that need a lift tonight.

Jaydee

 

Dasher in the Snow

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday and welcome to Jaydee's SU stamping space.  And before we get going on the card, I'd like to give a shout out - and thank you - to Terri U. :-) 

Well, we are back in to the swing of things!  I did manage to spend some time in my stamping space yesterday and a little tonight ....and to do some challenges.  This challenge is for the stamping411 challenge number 122.  Now, you know that I'm a real fan of the Operators at Stamping411 - and encourage you to mosey on across there to see the amazing inspiration and submission cards. You are guaranteed to be inspired.  Also... I really encourage you to participate in their challenges.

As for me.... well.... I'm not sure my mojo is really where it should be.  I had this great idea for Dasher on acetate in a shaker card.  let's just say that the idea was great in concept... but .... errr..... well... disastrous in execution.  I putzed and faffed for 2 hours - and it was really bad.  Here's a thumbnail.

I had thought this through on the plane and it really seemed good in my befuddled brain.  Well, all I can tell you is that the flight back must have been way too long... (well it did take nearly 30 hours to get back :-)) because when I put it together..... aaaarrrrggggh!   Oh well.... there you go - it has potential.... but as my dear, late English teacher, Mrs Tucker, would say "An E for effort, dear!" .  So.. it was back to the drawing board.

I still wanted to use Dasher.   (My hubby has decided an intervention is required because I'm addicted to Dasher.  However, I really like showing you the variety of things you can do with a single stamp.)  So, after my disaster, it was back to the drawing board.  I still wanted to do Dasher in the snow - but took a different tack.

I was much happier the second time around, but still want to work on the shaker card idea!  I put the disaster version out for you as I think someone may be able to take the idea and really make something of it!  Here's the second version.

I created a more ethereal winter scene by tearing a piece of vellum and then glueing glitter on the vellum.  I also glittered the snowflake.  Here's a close-up for you.

I wanted to defocus the sentiment, so stamped that on vellum, too.  I used the embossing folder for the background, especially as it mimics Dasher's horns.  

A really quick card that is easy to put together and the whole card from start to finish took me 15 minutes, which was great considering how long I had spent on the first version! :-)

If any of you are inspired by my first disastrous version of Dasher - I would LOVE to see what you do with it to make it work.  I think the shaker card has potential, but it's going to need me to spend a little more time thinking about it.  However, if you do something....please post a link in the comments to share with everyone.

As always, thank you for spending time in my area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits are always much appreciated - as are your comments.  It's your comments - and knowing that you pop by regularly that keep me doing this.  So, if you feel inclined, please share a comment and please..... share a link to something that you have created.  If you have been inspired to create something out of a card that you have seen on my blog.... we would love to see it.

I hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday and that you get to spend time doing the things you love - with those you love the most.

Peace

Jaydee

Dasher - in Soft Suede

Hi Everyone.  Welcome to Jaydee's Stampin' Up! SU stamping space.

Today's card is yet another Dasher card... how many times can I use Dasher - and in how many different colors.  I used the Christmas Cocoa designer series paper.  The soft suede and whisper white give a soft, dreamy color scheme that reminds me of hot cocoa on a cold night.  Which... it is here today!

How did I deal with Dasher?

1. I used Versamark on Dasher.  I stamped onto a precut circle (using my circle scissor plus and my stamp-a-ma-jig for perfect placement).
2. I then used both gold embossing powder (use your embossing buddy for easy cleanup on the paper) for Dasher.   THEN.... I used Iridescent Ice embossing powder on the antlers.  I carefully applied the iridescent ice and then the gold embossing powder on Dasher's body.
3. The stars in the antlers are echoed in the paper and the iridescent ice and the snowflakes seem to fit together!
4. Then... for something completely different, I used half pearls from my Pretties Kit for embellishments

I had fun making this card.  I'd had this idea in mind for a while - but today's Mojo Monday 107 challenge sketch seemed the ideal time to use it.  I cut a circle using the DSP and then used my big shot and my scallop circle die to give a third layer to Dasher.  Here's a close-up of the antlers and how fabulous the gold embossing powder looks.

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

Have a fabulous day.

Peace

Jaydee

Dasher - Old Olive

Hi Everyone.  Happy Friday.  Welcome to Jaydee's SU stamping space! Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes.  It's friday.  Has anyone ever written an ode to the absolute unbelieveable joy to the end of the work week?  If they have, can you let me have a link.  It's been a tough week this week and I haven't gotten to do anything creative.  I sure have spent a lot of time on the phone listening to people talk, though :-)

So... tonight's card is... gosh, what a surprise.... Dasher.  Question of the day... what on earth is Jaydee going to do when Christmas is over... try to turn Dasher into the Easter Bunny? :-)

Splitcoast Wednesday card sketch 246 inspired me to do two cards this week.  Both very, very, very different.  I posted the Big on Christmas Snow card yesterday - and here's my Old Olive ode to Dasher.  Oh.. and please... no-one remind me that there is already a new Wednesday sketch that I haven't even gotten to yet.  :-)

I used the Dasher image from the Christmas Jingle simply scrappin kit.  I also used the large scalloped circle die with my big shot and the texturz plate with my big shot.  I loved the way the polka dots on the card stock mimicked the polka dots behind the Dasher image from the simply scrappin kit.  You'd think I'd planned that, wouldn't you?

Jaydee tips:

1. with the texturz plate - run 2-3 pieces of spare card stock... anyone NOT have spare card stock?.... underneath your texturz plate for more texture
2. take a sanding block and gently rub over the textured image to take the top layer of ink off.  You will see that the dots are now raised and more visible, and very like the ones behind Dasher.

  
  I love this wide striped grosgrain ribbon.  It's immensely versatile.  However, the most versatile stamp in my entire stamping space is ... without a doubt... Dasher.  You can see all my Dasher cards - and how varied they are here.  Considering that this stamp is less than $9.00 on preferred pricing - it's an absolute steal.  I promise you, you will find no end of uses for Dasher.  I can see him as gift cards, Christmas cards, dressing up a menu card for the Christmas table, as an ornament... you can see many other inspirations on splitcoaststampers.com.

It's Friday.. so take a mosey on over to my friend, and fellow demonstrator Jean Fitch's website. She does Frugal Friday for you.  Jean takes a stamp and highlights it and then finds the best uses of this stamp set on the web.  It takes her ages to put this together for us - and there's lots of great information.  So go check out this Friday's featured stamp Think Happy Thoughts,

On a personal note.  It's beginning to scream Fall.  We finally had some rain over the last two days.  It felt - and smelled - fabulous  I just love the smell of wet earth after a drought.  The trees are beginning to turn - but not with their usual magnificent veritable cornucopia of colors.  This year is going to be a more controlled - and less spectacular - fall season, I think.  So, to make up for it, I went and bought myself a bright orange jersey .... I know... I know... any excuse to buy something.  Actually, it's amazing that I didn't find an excuse to buy another stamp set instead!  My jersey is almost an exact match with Pumpkin Pie.  So... how many of you also describe colors to match SU papers?  Or whatever your favorite paper is???  Come on... fess up!

I hope you have a fabulous Saturday and that you get to spend time doing the things you love - with those you love the most.  I'd ask you one thing.. can you all go across to either of these links and click to feed homeless animals... if you are a dog lover you can click this link freekibble.com and if you are a cat lover click this link freekibblekat.com.  I visit every day and do my clicks.  I do it, not only because I love animals, but because I want to support a young lady who decided to show us all what a difference one person can make.  So do yourself - and homeless animals a favor - click the links and go check it out.

Peace and hugs to you all

Jaydee

Delightful Decorations becomes Candy Cane Dasher - Huh?

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday night.  Today has been a very long day at work.  I started at 5.00am and finished at 8.00pm.... no wonder I feel as though I need to put up a WANTED ad for my Mojo!  So... today I decided to do my MojoMonday sketch.... except... I just couldn't find my mojo - I think it left town without leaving me a forwarding address!

The sketch this week was really interesting and I knew it was going to push me into places I don't normally go - which, as I've said before, is a very good thing for all of our creativity.

However... today's journey really took me into some strange places. So... here's the sketch.  It's a really interesting sketch and one I knew would be different for me. 

So let's see where I began.  Oh yes... It screamed Delightful Decorations for me

Yes, definitely.  Something subtle and refined.  Silver Shimmer Paint on Basic Grey.  It's worked for me before.  Why wouldn't it work this time.  No reason.  Errr.... mmmmm.... Maybe a Whisper White matt.  or maybe not.

Maybe a Going Grey matt.  Or maybe not.  Mmmm.... something is not quite right here.  Not only that, but I obviously couldn't cut around the decoration right either, because I seem to have created an indent where SU had never intended there be one.  Oh dear.  Time for a walk around my stamping space and a commune with my pussycats.

OK..... so... I have another idea.  Dasher!  Yes.  but not in grey and silver.  But still something muted and refined and sophisticated?  But... I want to try the new technique I learned from Carole'Anne.  OK.. So let's get out the bridal paper and my brayer. 

I love this technique.  It gives a whole other dimension to the fabulous Bride Speciality Paper.  The fact that you can color it to any color you want (so long as you have the stamp pad and a brayer :-)...)  in this case Red. Jaydee tip:  it's really easy.  1) Ink up your brayer really well.  2) Make sure you have a spare piece of paper underneath.  3) Apply the ink as though you were applying paint.  Up - down - side to side.  4) Reink and apply as required until you get the right coverage. 5) Make sure it's dry before you touch it!  Actually... joking aside - its fabulous - it keeps the sheen in the background - and I love it.

Now what.... Real Red and Whisper White... What about the ribbon and the circles? 

My stamping desk is now overflowing with circles, ink, brayers, ribbon, mac, spare paper, folders.... Now I know my Mojo has gone on vacation.  I really was unhappy with every single thing I did.  BUT.... I was committed to finishing this.  I'd started it for goodness sake and spent a fair amount of time pfaffing around - I was going to finish this.  At the end I thought... forget it - I'm not putting this up.  THEN.... I did what I do with all my finished creations.  I tried it out.  How do I do that? 

I stand my cards up on top of my Ink storage - step back... take a look and decide whether or not I like it.  You know what... I like it.  It's not muted and subtle and sophisticated.... but it sure is striking.  Let's ignore the 16 pairs of scissors and stuff that's all over my desk.....  So... I stand back again.... and decide that it's worth putting this up.

So.... here it is.... Candy Cane Dasher!  But please don't ask me to cut around Dasher's horns again :-)

Isn't he fun?  I actually ended up liking the brayered background and the fact that Dasher managed to hold his own against the strong background.  I also love the ribbon.  So many vertical and horizontal elements to contrast the curlicues of Dasher's horns.  

Isn't it wonderful how the creative processes work.  Do you too go down a creative deadend and then end up doing a u-turn and doing something entirely different.  If you don't like the card... please try the technique of changing the color of the Bride Specialty Paper.  You will love it - I promise.  I have another card this week using this same technique.

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visit is always appreciated - as are your emails and comments.

Peace and hugs
Jaydee

Dasher - Make Merry

Hi Everyone.  Happy Tuesday.  I'm hoping to get some time to play tonight - especially as there are a couple of challenge cards going through my head!  Today's card uses the SU Dasher stamp.  Anyone surprised?  You can see my other Dasher stamps here.  Today's card also uses the same layout as the one I used yesterday - based on the sketch from our Divas across at stamping411.

Yesterday's card used a traditional color scheme of Real Red and Garden Green, whereas today's uses the Old Olive and Very Vanilla paper from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' kit.  I loved the mixture of colors, it's so warm and soft.  The embellishment is also from the same kit!

Jaydee tip:  Some of you have written to ask how I get such crisp images from my solid stamps.  Conditioning your solid stamps is essential.  The minute I have mounted my image, I get out my SU sanding block and gently buff the image - just like you would your toe nails.  I use the same backwards and forwards movement.  I then rotate the stamp 180 degrees and do the same thing again.  That way, I make sure I buff the entire image.  The key is to "rough" up the image just enough to accept ink better.  Don't be too rough - just like you wouldn't be too rough on your toe nails! :-)  The difference in the ability of the rubber to accept ink though, is amazing when you use this technique.  I know this is old hat for some of you... but some visitors haven't been stamping quite as long - so forgive me if you already know this :-)

Card contents:

Stamps:  Dasher and Berry Christmas sentiment
Card stock:  Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Paper:  Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin
Embellishments:  Ribbon - Mistletoe (love it.. it's all satiny and gorgeous), round mistletoe "brad" from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin kit

On a personal note:  I was thrilled to see that my Patterned Pines Clean and Simple card had been nominated as a CAS favorite across on Splitcoaststampers for this week.  So, it's been a thrilling week for me what with the Stamping411 team recognizing a different Patterned Pines card and now SCS.  It's always so wonderful to get positive feedback and recognition.  So I'd like to give a shout out to Kristin and Kittykat across at SCS who nominated my card.  :-)

I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday and, as always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visit is always appreciated.

Peace and hugs

Jaydee

You can run your mouse over the thumbnails to see the larger image and I've put the product numbers underneath the images for you.  I welcome your comments or questions.  Your feedback is always welcome.

   

Christmas Jingle 115696, Berry Christmas 116509, Dasher 116816

Dasher - Merry Christmas

Hi Everyone.  Happy Wednesday evening.
For those of you who follow my blog - you will remember that I promised you a Christmas card made using the same sketch challenge as the card from yesterday.  This Dasher card is based on the 2sketches4you challenge.  I really liked the layout and was inspired to do two different cards using the same layout and same inspiration.
I just LOVE this stamp.  For under $9.00 it's incredibly versatile and you can see all my Dasher cards here.  I combined Dasher with the Merry Christmas sentiment from Christmas Greetings (which is $10.95 on the preferred pricing).



I used the flocked paper from the Christmas Cocoa DSP.  Now... for those of you of a "certain age" - like me... you may remember that flocked paper was THE thing back in the day, especially in British pubs. :-)  So, I was a little reluctant when I ordered it.  However, I love it.  I've taken a close up of the card so that you can see the texture and detail on this paper.

I'm not sure how much you can see, but I did set it so you could zoom.  The detail on the paper is fabulous and I mixed that with the texture from the grosgrain ribbon, against the smooth texture of the White Vellum and Real Red Card stock.  I thought that the Eyelet border punch was the ideal punch to go with this paper.

I embossed Dasher and the sentiment in White Embossing powder.

I loved the way the card turned out - it has a retro feel but with a modern touch - and still has those clean lines that I love - but with a lot of detail once you start to look at it - and also touch it.  It really is a very tactile card.

Card recipe:
Card Stock:

Real Red, White Vellum

Designer Series Paper:

Christmas Cocoa (no longer a sneak peek - available for order from September 1 :-)..)

Stamps:

Dasher (116816), Christmas Greetings (115448)

Tools:

Circle Scissor Plus, Eyelet border punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig (wouldn't make a card without it!)

Embellishments:

Real Red grosgrain ribbon

On the personal front:  My DH is still in China.  He's unable to access my blog every day - as the Chinese government have blocked access to social networking sites.  Consequently, I have to cut and paste my page and send it to him in a word document, so that he can get his daily "fix".  So, today I'd like to give a shout-out to my DH - I miss you, Pierluigi, and you'd better hurry home because your TO DO list is getting longer by the day :-)

I hope you have a fabulous Thursday - and that you get to spend lots of time doing the things you love - with those you love the most.

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere - your visit is always appreciated.

Peace and hugs
Jaydee

Dasher - Red and White

HI Everyone.  Happy Saturday!

I found another new sketch team yesterday 2sketches4you.  Click the link and go check out what the teams and players have put together as inspiration for you.  I loved the sketch and will definitely play again.

I decided that Stampin' Up!'s Dasher needed to come out of my "Christmas Stamp drawer" again...and combined him with the Christmas Cocoa Designer Series Paper and, of course, my Big Shot texturz plate.

 

This particular sheet from the Christmas Cocoa paper has very subtle detail and the detailing on the texturz plate didn't show up that well in the shots - so I've done a detail for you so that you can get a better idea.

I actually love this paper as you can use it not just for Christmas.  Dasher has certainly turned into one of my favorite stamps..... and it cost under $10.  You can see the many ways that I've used Dasher under the categories here.   One stamp can give you many different uses - always a good thing in my stamp collection.

I also wanted to do a crisp clean red and white, as I hadn't done a red and white Christmas card yet. 

I loved the layout - I thought it was very flexible.

Card recipe:
Card Stock:

Real Red, Shimmery White (my absolute favorite for Christmas)

Stamps:

Dasher, Short and Sweet (sentiment)

Ink: 

Real Red

Embossing:

White Embossing Powder

Designer Series Paper: 

Christmas Cocoa Powder

Embellishments:

Ribbon:  Whisper White
Rhinestones:  Jaydee Tip 1:  I didn't want to use the full brad - I just wanted to use the Rhinestone from the brads from the pretties kit.  All you need to do is turn them over and using your rubber and paper scissors - or other sharp tool and you can lift the clips that hold the rhinestone in the brad.  I flipped them back and then pulled apart the housing for the brad.  Voila....  rhinestones without the whole brad.  I decided to highlight the circle theme and placed them in a circle above Dasher
Jaydee tip 2:  when using your texturz plate - you can get a deeper impression by placing a couple of scrap pieces of card stock underneath the card stock you are using when running it through your big shot.

Tools:

Big Shot, Circle Scissors Plus. Jaydee tip 3: The CSP, is the one way that I can guarantee the exact size of circle I want.  I used it to not only cut out the Dasher, but also the matts and just one dial twist on the CSP, got me the exact size circles I needed.  The key to success with the CSP is either lots of Dotto on the glass matt, or a low tack spray like Krylon sprayed onto the glass matt.  This helps keep the card stock in place until you want to remove it - and you get a nice clean circle and no paper slippage. 

On a personal note:  I spent a great night on the deck with my friends Brenda and Cherie.  It was a fabulous evening under the stars sharing great food, great wine and great conversation.  My only regret is that the usual array of "critters" didn't visit.  However, the Hummingbirds kept us entertained for a while.  They are amazingly territorial and behave like Kamikaze pilots when a rival comes anywhere near their food sources.  It was a great evening, even though it was windy - so thank you to Brenda and Cherie for taking time out to spend the evening with me.  Lova ya, girls!  I met both of them thru Stampin' Up.... It's amazing some of the great people I have met face to face - and also through the virtual world of the www.

As always, thank you for spending time in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visit is always appreciated.  Your questions and comments are always welcome.

Have a fabulous Saturday doing the things you love - with those you love.  Whether it's enjoying a great cup of coffee, reading a book, walking your dog, cuddling your cat, hearing the laugh of your child... have fun!

Peace and hugs
Jaydee
P.S.  I'm having some trouble with my feeds through feedburner so you may not be getting the automatic notifications that I have updated my site.  It's going to take a couple of days to sort out by the looks of things, so I hope you will come back daily and have a look at what's being featured today. :-)

Stampin Up Dasher - Mojo Monday 99

Hi Everyone
I loved the MojoMonday 99 sketch that I decided to do it twice.  You know by now that I can't resist using Stampin Up's Dasher...... and I hadn't done a red Dasher card, so thought it was now time.  I was also dying to use the new shimmer paint and the new Christmas paper from the Mini Catalog.  So a sneak peek for you today!  I know I've said this before, but for $9.00 you just can't go wrong with this stamp.  :-)

Card recipe:

Card stock:    

Whisper White (A2 - vertical)
 Real Red Matt cut at 4 1/8 x 5 1/4

Designer Series Paper:

Christmas Cocoa from the new Mini Catalog (available for order 9/1).  I cut two pieces 2 3/14 x 3 1/2 and 1 5/8 x 2 3/8.  I matted both of them on whisper white to make them stand out from the background

Central Image:

I inked Dasher with the new Shimmery Silver paint (available 9/1) using a sponge.  I stamped him on Real Red card stock 3 1/2 by 2 3/8.  and I mounted him with Stampin Dimensionals.

Ribbon: 

The Ribbon is the Basic Grey Taffeta ribbon and I cut a piece to fit behind the central image and also made a bow to fit in with the sketch challenge. 

Sentiment:

  Where would I be without my Short and Sweet? - which I inked in the shimmery silver paint

Ink: 

I used the new Shimmer paint for both Dasher and the sentiment.  Jaydee tip:  when applying the paint, I found it best to shake the bottle well and then apply a small amount to a cheap sponge (the little yellow ones you can buy at your local craft store) and then gently dab the image or sentiment.  That way you get just the right amount of coverage and don't waste too much.  When you stamp the image, stamp lightly, dont press very firmly.  Play around a couple of times to get the right amount of pressure for you.  Cleanup is a breeze.  I simply rinsed the stamp under lightly running luke warm water as soon as I had finished with it and gave it a quick rub with my finger.  I then patted it dry with a paper towel.

I didn't want to detract too much from the central image of Dasher, so I used the sutble shadings from the new Christmas Cocoa paper. It gives just a little pattern and interest.  In the end I was actually pleased with the result and would like to retry the card, this time on a silver silver card instead of the Whisper White.  However, I realized I hadn't ordered any silver paper!!!! and didn't want to use the grey.

On the personal front, my neck is starting to feel a little better and has a little more mobility, but it's taking much longer to do things than normal.  Picking things off the floor that I have dropped, becomes a major undertaking... but at least it is getting better.  The basement is almost back to normal.... but not quite yet.  However, at least I can get to things that I need and am starting to find new places for my goodies.  I have more space that I had before, so that makes me really happy!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and got to do the things you wanted to do, with those you love.  Keep an eye out tomorrow for another sneak peek from the upcoming mini.  I am crazy about so many of the things in the new mini and have really enjoyed playing with those that I have received as a pre-order and can't wait to demo them.

Peace and hugs
Jaydee

P.S. I did notice that it looks as though there is a lighter area across the paper near the horns, but it's not actually on the paper, so it must be the new photo editing software i'm trying out!

Dasher - MojoMonday 98.... and Halloween Hoot Bonus

Hi Everyone!

Happy Monday.... I hope you all had a great day.  Today felt like Friday 13th for me! :-)  However, I managed to escape for an hour and play in my stamping space.  Yesterday I promised you Stampin Up Halloween Hoot cards... and they are in this post.  However, I wanted to start off with a card using Dasher with the MojoMonday 98 challenge.  Every week the team do a great job with the challenges.  I was so inspired by the sketch... even though there's a circle in it!  What is it about challenges and circles these days! :-) 

So.. you will probably be seeing a couple of different cards with this sketch this week.  I have two versions of the same card.  I couldn't resist using Dasher.  So, question for you all.  How many cards can Jaydee possibly make with Dasher?  This is the 5th that you are seeing.  It's amazing how much use I can get out of a stamp which costs less than $9.00.  To be honest, I haven't seen a bad card made with Dasher on any of the forums.

Here's today's version... in fact there are two for you.  I decided to try it with an Old Olive ribbon ... and then one with the Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon.  Leave me a comment and let me know which you think works best.  I love them both, but for different reasons.  The fact that there isn't a single version here shows you that I couldn't make up my mind!!!!

I love the simplicity of the layout.  I really love the Crushed Curry as an accent on the Christmas cards.  I created a 5.25 x 5.25 card in Shimmery White.   I inked the Dasher image in Old Olive and then used my Crushed Curry marker to color in the horns.  I matted the square with both Crushed Curry and Whisper White.  The sentiment is from the Christmas Greetings set.  I hope you like them.  If you like the Dasher cards, then you might like these ones, which I published previously here and the second card down here and.... one more here.  Enjoy!  For under $9.00 it's an astonishingly versatile stamp!

Now... for you Halloween lovers... I promised you a Halloween card made using the Halloween Hoot.  Here's one.  I promise you another one tomorrow night.  

I found it really hard to actually photograph this card, but I had great fun creating it.  

I stamped the Cauldron in Versamark and then used black embossing powder to create it.  I stamped the witch in StazOn and colored her face, the lacy hem of her dress and the band of her hat with in color markers.  I then stamped the sign, the sentiment and the owl.  Finally used the moon stamp and the "bubbles" stamp.  I used the Uniball pen to color the moon.  I used sponges to ink in a twilight sky.  I also layered black and basic grey paper to give a little depth to the ground.  I "buried" the sign in the layers, almost as though it was a gravestone that was falling over.  The key for me was the sponging.  I wanted to make it look as though the sun was picking up the key areas of the scene.  What was difficult to catch was the fact that I'd used a gel pen to highlight areas.  You can see it close up.. but on the photo, it was pretty tough.

I hope you enjoy.  And for you Halloween Hoot lovers, I hope you found another little piece of inspiration.  If you need more - check here and check back tomorrow, as I will have another Halloween Hoot bonus.

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

I wish you an inkspirational day full of the time to do the things you love - with those you love.

Peace

Jaydee

Dasher and Autumn Days - Clean and Simple

Hi Everyone!

Happy Tuesday!  Three cards for the price of a single visit today!  I decided to do a couple of clean and simple cards for the holidays.  These are cards that can be done in around 10 minutes.  I love cards for the holidays which still look stylish, but can be made quickly.  I used Stampin Up's Dasher for two cards and then Autumn Days.

How many times can I use Dasher?  :-) I absolutely love this stamp and for $8.95 it's an amazing price for such a versatile stamp.  I've shown you two Dasher cards already and here are two more.  

Dasher - Blue and White - for the diva coffee break challenge this week.  This is their design challenge DCDB#137.  Check out this site  for weekly color and design challenges.  I loved the layout this week and couldn't help but use Dasher. :-)

I loved the simplicity of the layout challenge.  I stamped Dasher with white embossing powder onto a Night of Navy matt which was 2 1/2 inches square.  I then cut a piece of Whisper White card stock 2 3/4 inches square.  The final matt is another piece of Night of Navy 2 7/8 square.  I placed the image onto Shimmer White paper.  The ribbon bow and the ribbon around the card are both Night of Navy.  The sentiment is from Short and Sweet (another set that I get a tremendous amount of use out of.) I stamped it in Night of Navy.  Thanks to the Divas for the challenge - I enjoyed working with the simplicity of the layout.

One more Dasher card for you.  This next one uses Garden Green card stock and features the fabulous in color Crushed Curry.  I hadn't realized how fabulous this color was until I started using it with my Christmas Colors.  The vibrancy of the red and green really highlight the gorgeous yellow tones of the Crushed Curry.

I cut a circle into the Garden Green card stock using my Circle Scissors plus and stamped Dasher onto a piece of Whisper White card stock and matted him behind the circle.  

I used Garden Green classic ink to stamp Dasher and used Crushed Curry marker to color in his horns.  I then used my Versamarker to cover the image and used Iridescent Ice embossing powder to give him the bling that I wanted.  The sentiment was stamped in Garden Green ink on Whisper White paper.  The sentiment is from the Many Merry Messages set.  

I used the Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon. Jaydee tip:  The polka dot ribbon is very versatile and with a little manipulation of the ribbon you can create either a plain ribbon with a plain bow and knot; a polka dot ribbon with a polka dot bow and plain knot; a plain ribbon and bow, with a polka dot knot.  In this case I decided to highlight the polka dots, but also show the plain side to fit with the scalloped Crushed Curry matt. If you are looking for pointers on tying the knots with this ribbon, just drop me an email or leave a comment.

My final clean and simple card is a thanksgiving card.  I used the challenge from Splitcoaststampers.  For this card I used Very Vanilla paper as the card and used my Big Shot texturz plate to create some texture and background.  I love my big shot and use the texturz plates often.  I stamped the pine cone image from the Autumn Days set onto Very Vanilla.  I colored the image with Soft Suede and Old Olive markers.  The image piece is 2 1/4 square with a thin matt of the Old Olive.  I used the textured card stock for the Soft Suede backing.  The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes and was stamped in Soft Suede

So there you go.  Three cards for the price of a single visit today.  If you like the Dasher cards and haven't seen the others I've posted here and here.  I'm thinking he might make more appearances before Christmas :-)

Tomorrow is my MojoMonday on a Wednesday update :-)  I hope you enjoyed the clean and simple cards today and would love to hear your feedback.  

As always, thank you for spending time in my area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visit is always appreciated.  

Peace

Jaydee

On a personal note.... many thanks to those of you who have visited and left comments and visit my page everyday.

Full of Life & Dasher - Mojo Monday on a Thursday - twice

Happy Thursday!  Two cards from the same challenge for you today.
I created two Stampin Up cards from the same sketch challenge - Dasher and Full of Life.  Very different cards with very different stamps. 

I know it's not Monday, but today was the first day that I could upload my MojoMonday 96 submissions.  I must admit it took a little while to work out what I was going to do as circles don't often feature on my cards.  And that is the great thing about challenges.  They force you to get out of your square focused life and see things through a different aperture :-)  I decided to do two cards.  One a normal card and the other an acetate or see-thru card.  If you haven't tried MojoMonday - you really should.  The team does an amazing job and the challenges are a lot of fun.
Here's submission number 1 - the "normal" card.

 

I love this Full of LIfe set and the Lennon phrase really appeals to me.  I used the Autumn Traditions paper for the triptych panels and also to matt the saying.  The card is Soft Suede and the saying is stamped on Sahara Sand.  I used the pretties kit medium sized flowers and half pearls to decorate the card.  The flowers on the pretty kit are white, so I took my Aquapainter and my soft suede ink pad and used them to soften the color to a pale latte.  I wanted to keep the colors monochromatic to keep the focus on the sentiment.

I know I promised to keep away from the Christmas theme... but I couldn't help myself.  My name is Jaydee and I'm an addict :-)  I seem to be addicted to Christmas this week.  So, here's the second take on this layout.

 

I love the acetate or "clear cards" and really wanted to do something for Christmas with this one.  Of course, I had to use Dasher.  If I'm addicted to Christmas, then I'm seriously addicted to Dasher.  I just love this stamp and it's incredible value, too.  He's going to be appearing often on my cards this year.  It was very difficult to photograph, but I tried to arrange it so that you could see that it's just Dasher and the ribbon that is on the front of the acetate.  The green circle is behind the Dasher image and the The back of the acetate is Real Red and the front of the backpiece is a triptych of Merry Moments designer series paper.  I stamped the image with Green Garden ink and used Crush Curry marker for the horns.  So, two very different cards, and I actually like the way both of them turned out.  

On the personal front:  only a couple more days of vacation and there are still so many things I want to do!  Not least of which is spending a little more time in my stamping space.  Mind you, tomorrow is also house maintenance.  I do wish I could wiggle my nose and the house would clean itself.  Well, after spending years watching Betwiched as a child, I can wiggle my nose, but nothing ever happens!

As always, thank you for spending a part of your day in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.  Your visits are always much appreciated.

Peace

Jaydee

Lennon card:  Sentiment:  Full of Life (111500).  Cardstock:  Soft Suede (115318).  Paper (115668).  Ribbon:  soft suede (115612).  Pretties kit (flowers and pearls) (109114)

Dasher card:  Stamp:  Dasher (116816).  Paper:  Merry Moments (115672).  Garden Green (102584).  Real Red (102482).  Sentiment:  Many Merry Messages (116586)

Dasher - Christmas in July

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday!

Stamping411 had a great challenge this week.  I'd been looking at my new Stampin Up Dasher stamp and wondering how I could use it.  I saw this layout and thought... OK... Christmas in July!  I also love the new Merry Moments DSP and decided to use them both together. I love the results and will definitely be ordering more of the paper.  The sentiment is from the Many Merry Messages set. 

This is definitely a card my friends will be receiving this Christmas!  I used Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the two stars and on two stars on Dasher's horns.  I stamped the images on Shimmery White card stock.  It's going to be one of my favorite card stock choices for Christmas Cards.  I stamped Dasher in Real Red Ink and then wiped off the ink on his horms and used the Crushed Curry Marker to fill in the horns.  I used Crushed Curry ink for the star and Garden Green ink for the sentiment.

Jaydee tip:  For putting glitter onto small areas, I prefer the Tombow Adhesive.  Of all the things I've tried, this is the one that works best for me.  It's white when it first goes on, but dries clear and I find I have almost no loss of the glitter afterwards.  I also use the Embossing Buddy to make the paper less static before I apply the glitter.  One more tip..... tired of chasing bits of glitter around your workspace?  I found a great way to deal with that.  I bought Swiffer dry sweeing cloths and keep them in my stamping space.  I cut a small piece of a single sheet and it does an amazing job of picking up the glitter.  One other thing... .make sure you buy the ones that aren't scented! They are overpowering with their smell of vanilla and lavender.  (I love the smell of vanilla when I'm eating ice cream... but I'm not fond of vanilla in perfumes.) Cutting a small piece of the sweeping cloths makes sure that they last a long time.  They really do make clean up of glitter and embossing powder so much easier.

On the personal front:  what a glorious day again today.  I love Sunday's where I can spend time creating, time on my deck and time with my DH.  He's home for a couple of weeks, which is really great.  I got to play around with more of my new stamps today and have some great cards to put onto the blog.  I'll be putting up new pics every Monday thru Friday, so hope you will come back and visit. 

I hope you have an inkspirational day with time to spend doing the things you love.  As always thank you for visiting and spending time in your day in my little area of the stamping blogosphere.

Peace
Jaydee

P.S. Don't forget the do the poll.  It's always interesting to see what the favorite in-colors are.

Card recipe:  Real Red Card Stock (102482), Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (115672), Shimmery White Card Stock (101910), Garden Green card stock (102584).  Sentiment Many Merry Messages (116586).  Glitter:  Dazzling Diamonds (102023).  Inks:  Garden Green (102272), Crushed Curry (115659), Real Red (103133).