Oh Baby, Baby!

I just love this card. It's another tall card...using more designer paper, and a Bella! Can't beat that. I bought 2 extra packages of this paper last summer because I loved it SOO much...and I'm glad I did because I keep using it!

I have a friend who is overdue at this point, and I'm not sure if she's having a boy or a girl, but I hope a girl so I can send her this card. Of course, if it's a boy, I'll just remake the card with more blue, so I suppose it really doesn't matter!

Oh...and can you see the bling at the bottom of her jeans? I just LOVE these little rhinestones I picked up in the Netherlands - think I"ll have to stop again this weekend to find more!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mamabella, AYC (not sure which number)
CS: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Watercolor paper, Petal Patch DP
Ink: Certainly Celery, Jetblack Stazon
Acc: WWC, Aquapainter, HPH, pink gingham, ticket corner punch, self-adhesive rhinestones.

TFL!
-Jana

Post # 100 - Bunny Hugs Basket

I can't believe I've already gotten to post # 100!! I must say this blog has been a wonderful thing for me - and I feel like I'm getting to know so many more stampers out there through the world of blogging! Don't you just love technology?

Today's project was inspired by an email exchange with Beate a few weeks ago. She said something about Easter baskets, and I decided I just had to make one of my favorite baskets. These are so simple to make, and so very cute!

For this one, I used my Bunny Hugs set (what else?) a piece of So Saffron CS, and some Petals & Paisleys designer paper. The bunny and basket are both stamped on close to cocoa with chocolate chip ink (I finally made a milk chocolate bunny!) and the eggs are stamped on whisper white. I stole the idea for the fuzzy bunny tail from my friend Linda (linked to the right) using frayed grosgrain ribbon. If folks are interested, I can post directions for this next week....heading out on our trip this morning so can't write them up just yet!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bunny Hugs
CS: So Saffron, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Petals & Paisleys DP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, basic black, old olive, regal rose, SS markers
Acc: white grosgrain, glue dot, white gel pen, SS brads

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon Bons Winner 2nd Try!

Ok...I'm really hungry for something sweet right now. Think I'll have to stop at the Backerei while I'm out running errands this afternoon and pick up a shokocroissant!

The winner is....

Susie who said...

I had never heard of whoopie pies until I moved here to PA 4 years ago.... can't go anywhere now without seeing those yummy devils food like cakes with delicious cream of peanut butter filling in the middle!

My favorite treat is chocolate lava cake with real whipped cream on top ~ decadent & fattening but oh so yummy!

Susie, please email me your snail mail address and what color you would like your blossom to be and I"ll get right to work!

So..if anyone would like to order whoopie pies, I just found this website for a woman in Maine who sells them mail-order. This photo is from her website, and it looks like the perfect traditional whoopie pie to me. If you'd like a recipe on how to make them with a cake mix, just search on google...SUPER easy! I just love them!!

Anway, thanks everyone for sharing your favorite treats...and I think I"ll have to try this Banoffee Waffle...sounds yummy!! :-)

Frizzy Bella, that's me!

I had to post another Bella...I was going through withdrawal! Of course, I stamped her a while ago...so it's not like I truly had the satisfaction of just creating her, but you know how it is!

This is Frizzybella. I had to have her because I have naturally curly hair (big pain in the you know what!) and it gets REALLY frizzy in humid climates - which Germany is much of the time!! Oh well.

For this card, I used one of my fabulous new Fabriano cards from StarlitStudios. Debbie and Emily made me get them. I mean, how am I supposed to resist such incredible looking cards when they post them constantly?? And it really is wonderful paper to watercolor on. You'd think since they are Italian I could get them here cheaper...maybe I'll look when we go to Italy next month! :-)

Stamped Frizzy with Stazon (of course!) colored her with aquapainter and Watercolor Wonder Crayons. Then, I stamped the sentiment (also from Stamping Bella!) in Stazon, and tied on this fun ribbon from Mike's. Very simple card to create....and I LOVE it! Now...to figure out who should get this beauty!! :-)

Oh...and I finally added a photo of myself over to the right.I thought a few people might like to see what I look like. This was from Christmas time in Arizona, a very dry climate, so my hair was under control that day!! I may try to update the photo periodically from places we travel around here in Europe. So, for next week maybe I'll switch to a photo of me with the tulips.

Supplies:
stamps: Frizzy Bella and Retail Therapy sentiment from Stamping Bella
CS: Fabriano square cards from StarLitStudio
Ink: Jet Black Stazon
Acc: WWC, Aquapainter, Mike's ribbon

TFL!
-Jana

Cuddling more cardstock!

My friend and downline Michelle left me a comment yesterday saying she couldn't wait to see what I've been doing cuddling all this cardstock - so who am I to say no?! All those beautiful Bellas will just have to wait a little longer to meet you wonderful visitors.

I pulled out TONS of scraps and just went to town with my (and mom's that she brought) cuttlebug folders and my pasta machine. It works SOOOOO much better than a rolling pin! Then, I was showing my mom how to just swipe the craft white ink pad over the embossed image to highlight it a little. Since I had a piece all ready to go, I went with it.

I used the snowflakes embossing folder with some Buckaroo Blue cardstock. After adding the white craft ink, I mounted it on a layer of whisper white, and then tied the silver ribbon around adding just a touch of navy grosgrain. Finally, I adhered this to my Night of Navy card, and added the greeting stamped on whisper white with Night of Navy ink and punched out with the word window punch.

This was a very quick and simple card just using scraps from my scrap drawer!! :-)

Supplies:
stamps: Warm Words
CS: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Buckaroo Blue
Ink: Night of Navy, White craft
Acc: snowflakes cuttlebug folder, silver metalic ribbon, navy grosgrain ribbon, word window punch

TFL!
-Jana

SCS Blogger RAK!

Yesterday was a good mail day. Not a good hair day (which is rare for me nowadays...gotta find a hairdresser here!) but a good mail day! I got another SCS Blogger RAK. It really is fun to get good mail, and cards are about the best! (Except perhaps stamps!!)

This beautiful card came from Nancy in Calgary. If you haven't been to her blog Nancy's Creative Mess yet, you are certainly missing out! I check it every day with my Google Reader, and have been very impressed with her artwork...so I was thrilled to get one of my own!

And, how amazingly does this patterned paper match last year's Island Blooms stamp set from SU!? LOVE it!!

Thank you Nancy!!!

More VSN Fun...A resistant boss!

I thought the 1st VSN challenge on Friday night was great! Such a cute idea to tie in a vacation-resistant boss for the Emboss Resist technique! I immediately decided to use the Do the Hula set for those gorgeous hibiscus. (Aren't you proud of me mom? I knew the right name!)

First, I brayered my glossy CS with pretty in pink ink. Next, I stamped the flowers with versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. Next, I sponged some pink passion around the flowers to make them pop. For the focal flower, I inked it up with Apricot Appeal, markered pretty in pink on the petals, then edged the petals with pink passion before stamping on whisper white CS. I stamped the leaves with Gable Green on Gable Green CS and then cut everything out. 2 leaves are adhered directly to the background layer, one is popped on 1 dimensional, and the flower is popped on 2 dimensionals.

Lastly, I stamped Aloha with pink passion on whisper white, lightly sponged some pink passion around the edges and clipped the corner with the ticket corner punch. Same with the pink passion layer, and then I put the brads in the black layer.

If I were doing this over, I would have added a layer of black between the background and the gable green base...or even a layer of pink passion. It definitely needs a little more. But, given the 45 minute time limit...I'm satisfied.

Supplies:

Stamps: Do the Hula

Paper: Glossy white, Gable green, basic black, pink passion, whisper white

Ink: Gable green, pink passion, pretty in pink, apricot appeal, versamark

Accessories: brayer, clear ep, ticket corner punch, narrow lt pink organdy

TFL!
-Jana

PS. Mom and dad got here this morning safe and sound...and I've been having a BLAST with my new pasta machine for embossing with my cuttlebug folders!! Now to make something with them all!! :-) However, mom did forget my Doddle This set...so I'll have to wait a little longer to play with it. :-( Oh well. I'll survive. I suppose.

Bella Luggage tag for VSN

I made a luggage tag this weekend! Of course, I can't find the actually luggage tag holders over here, so I purchased a "document sleeve" made by Herma (remember, used to make Hermafix which is now called Dotto!) and punched a hole at the top for my ribbon.

I made this for another of the VSN challenges, and was very happy with how she turned out. I stamped my Beachabella on confetti white CS, and watercolored her with my watercolor wonder crayons (WWC). After putting some polka dots on her bikini with my white gel pen, I decided I didn't like her beach mat, so I stamped it on the back side of some scrap DSP that was used as the middle layer on the tag, cut it out, and voila! a striped mat! I colored in some sand at her feet, but wanted some dots as well, so using my close to cocoa marker I colored in some of the sand around the crab from Crab & Company and stamped that (after masking her feet of course. Lastly, I stamped Beach Bound up the side. Guess you can take that 2 ways, huh?? :-) I'd love to be bound to the beach!! :-) Just a few more weeks til our trip to Barcelona though, so hopefully I'll see a beach while there.

Supplies:

Stamps: Crab & Company, Beachabella, Rough Edges Alphabet

Paper: Certainly Celery, Petal Patch DSP, Confetty White

Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Sponge, Aquapainter, WWC, Celery Organdy Ribbon

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon-Bon Leftovers!

So, I never heard from my Blog Bon-Bon winner Sharon (who recommended the book I'm currently reading even!) so it's back up for grabs! This time, I've added a little more. At Real this weekend (well, Saturday, since you can't shop in Germany on Sundays!) I found these adorable felt flowers and butterflies, along with these cute little crystal flowers. Not sure how I'll use them all yet, but they looked like fun, and were reasonably priced!...so a few of each has been added, in addition to the Lindt mini pralines, a paper-shaped big blossom in your choice of color, a spool of stitched ribbon from Mike's, some vellum metal edged tags, and of course, my favorite card! Oh, and I'll also punch some giga scallop edges circles, ovals and squares for you! :-)

So, to enter, leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite sweet treat is. Mine is a tie between brownies (almost any kind, but I do like chocolate with walnuts best!) and Whoopie pies. A bonus entry for anyone out there who can tell me what a whoopie pie is as well!! :)

ETA: Sorry...forgot to say I'll draw a winner on Thursday morning German time, so that's Late Wednesday night for you US-folks!! Be sure to come back and see if you're a winner - or leave me an email address so I can contact you!!

TFL!
-Jana

VSN on Splitcoast!

This weekend was Virtual Stamp Night over on Splitcoast Stampers. Because of the time difference I wasn't able to participate at the same time as everyone, but I did manage to squeeze in a few of the challenges, and boy were they fun!

Here is my favorite, the challenge was a Survivor challenge, and even though I think I've only watched the show a total of 2 times, I really liked this challenge. We had to create a "Survival Kit" by covering some sort of container, and if time permitted, put a few items into the kit.

I used a box from the Target $pot my friend Michelle sent to me. It came with some cute notepaper inside, which I have set aside for now. I covered the box with the Petals & Paisleys paper, then stamped the sentiment using the retired Newsprint Alphabet set. I also stamped Seeing Spots in the background.

After covering the box, I still had some time (altho not much sticky strip!!) so I quickly wrapped a strip of paper around an aspirin bottle, and then cut a circle with my coluzzle for the mini disk. I stamped TUNES on the mini disk (which does in fact have some great tunes on it - it is in fact the soundtrack from my wedding reception that a friend made for me!) Since this is a survival kit for a stamping weekend, I wanted to include some band-aide's for all the paper cuts, but couldn't find any in the allotted time (only 45 minutes!)

If you haven't done a VSN over on splitcoast, you should consider it. It was LOADS of fun (this was my first) and a great creative jump-start!

Supplies:

Stamps: Newsprint Alphabet, Seeing Spots

Paper: Cool Caribbean, Confetti White

Ink: Cool Caribbean, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Accessories: Pink Gingham, sticky strip, coluzzle, HPH, cutter kit

TFL!
-Jana

Have one for me Bella!

A very good friend of mine is turning 45 this month! WOW! She's the person who was there through good times and bad, standing beside me as I said "I do" and holding my hand when I was in recovery after the 3-months-too-early birth of my daughter (as you saw earlier this month, she's perfectly fine!)

She is also the person I went wine tasting with. Since we lived in Northern California, that was an easy thing to do. We made several trips up (and occasionally down) to different wine country areas. So, with her birthday fast approaching who better to send her a birthday greeting than CosmoBella??

with the She's stamped on watercolor paper (gotta find the rest of my stash...I know it's here somewhere!!) and watercoloredWWC and an aquapainter. I put some bling on her sandals...saw that on someone else's blog (sorry...can't remember where) and loved it! And I used one of the few remaining cuddle'd scraps I have from Cindy Keery, and just ran my white craft pad over it to highlight the words. It's a very simple card...but I hope my friend enjoys it. Inside I wrote "Have one for me!" since I won't be there with her to celebrate her birthday this year.

Supplies:
Stamps: Cosmobella by Stampingbella
CS: Buckaroo Blue, Rose Red, Watercolor paper
Ink: Jetblack Stazon, white craft
Acc: blue gingham ribbon, cuttelbug, aquapainter, WWC

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Candy Winner Sharon...

Hi Sharon...I hope you're out there! I still haven't heard from you, and hope to soon (unfortunately, no blogger account so I dont have any contact info!) Please email me your addy ASAP so I can mail you your bonbons (and don't forget to tell me what color blossom you want.) If I haven't heard by Monday morning Germany time, I will open it back up...and will probably throw in a few punched pieces of cardstock while I'm at it!

Thanks!
-Jana

A Bella for Dad?

I imagine the Bella stamps are not the first thing you would think of to use for making a card for your dad. However, my dad is quite special (but I suppose, all Daddy's are special to their little girls!!) My dad taught me to fish when I was 5 years old, and we continued to fish for YEARS. I mean some days in high school during spring...we would hop in the car as soon as school let out and drive an hour to hit our favorite fishing spot. We liked brook fishing. You know, I make cards for that whole "instant gratification" thing...same with Brook fishing. Fishing in a lake takes WAY too long, and an ocean?? Sorry, I'll take 10, 7 inch fish in an hour over 1, 200 pound fish in a weekend any day.

So, the Bella that made me place my first order was Stacyfishabella. I think she should be called Janafishabella, because if you think about it, I've been fishing for 31 years now!! And who is this Stacy chick anyway? Sorry Emily if you're reading this...you'll have to tell me who she is!!

The other thing about this card that I'm excited about is the faux woodgrain technique I used. I read Gina K.'s blog daily, and she had a link to this awesome video tutorial she created on this technique one day - and I HAD to try it! I loved watching the video because it really helped. I think I pushed a little too hard with the craft white pad, but it turned out ok. I'll have to practice more though.

ETA: Post from my mom!

Susi said...

Yes, my 2 daughters each did something great for their mother. The older one started reading the sports page and this one went fishing. Both activities I did for Love, but did not love.
The only thing Jana did not mention was the wonderful blackflies that swarm around every brook in Maine!! But, she never did complain. Dad will want to frame this one. Looks just like you honey. MommaBella

The "looks just like you" is unfortunately not true (I wish!) Thanks mom!

Supplies (all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Stacyfishabella by StampingBella, Bugs & Kisses
CS: Close to Cocoa, Buckaroo Blue, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Chocolate Chip, white craft ink, Always Artichoke marker
Acc: WWC, Aquapainter

TFL!
-Jana

OMG!!!

Hello Ladies. I have to gloat! I am the proud owner of an ORIGINAL Beate Johns quarterly meeting once!) and have greatly admired her work for as long as I can remember card. I can't believe it!!! Before you think I'm being smug and sassy, I have a confession to make. I worship Beate Johns, and have silently done so from afar for many years now. Just ask my upline, or my downline, or my sideline even, and they will confirm. I've been CASEing her for years (and in fact one of those "Beate Inspired" cards won a card contest at my up, up, upline'svisiting SCS and the gallery over on SU!'s demo website. So, to me, getting a card from Beate is like a devout Catholic getting a letter from the Pope himself! (well, ok, maybe a card from Shelli would rank up there, but you know what I mean!!) If you haven't visited Beate's blog (but really, who hasn't visited Beate's blog??) then get over there right now! It's AMAZING!!!

Anyway, here is the WONDERFUL card I got!! Isn't it adorable?? And I make her smile?! Oh...I'm just so giddy I can't help it. Please don't blush too much Beate...I just can't help it! And really, I'm not a stalker, I promise! :-)

Ok, enough gushing. I just can't seem to help myself! Maybe I'll frame the card to hang in my stamp room...do you think that's over the top?

Ok, sorry if I embarrassed you Beate, but I figured I really did need to come clean and admit to my hero-worship. Thank you for the card. And thank you for always being an inspiration to me!!! :-) And don't worry...I'll eat more than enough bread and chocolate for the both of us!!!

Bellaholics Anonymous!

Hi, my name is Jana and I'm a Bellaholic! It's been 2 weeks since I purchased my last Bella, and 16 hours since I last stamped a Bella.

I'm need of serious therapy!! I stamped for 2 hours last night...ONLY with my Bellas. I just love them SOOOO much! I'll keep showing you the cards...but I'm going to space them out some because I'll be traveling a LOT in April, so I'm trying to build up a few cards to keep in reserve for those "non-stamping" days!

But, what I wanted to tell you all is, there is a support group for us Bellaholics, called Bellaholics Anonymous. It just got started on Yahoo Groups, so RUN, don't walk your little tushies over there and sign up! And...if you sign up soon, you could win a FREE bella!! For those of you who have asked, you can get Bella stamps at the StampingBella website (also linked to the right) and I think perhaps in some stores. I've ordered all mine online, and Emily got them out to me pretty quickly! It actually only took 1 week to get all the way over to Germany from Canada...I was very pleased!

Hope you all have fun...and let me know if you're a bellaholic too. We must stick together!

TFL!
-Jana

Barbella meets SC116

I made this card for the Wednesday Sketch Challenge over at SCS, and while it's not exactly like the sketch, I think it's close enough! :-)

I made this card for a good friend, and my former aerobics and pilates instructor. She's been having a rough time lately, and just wanted her to know I'm thinking of her. This Bella looks a lot like her, and she always seemed to wear blue pants and tops! And get this...her name is Mercy! She did personal training with me before my wedding and I used to cry "Please...a little Mercy?!" I always thought it was funny. LOL

Anyway...she's another of my new Bellas. I have them all now, and managed to fit them into 2 CD jewel cases. I actually have 12 Bellas, plus greetings now! Wow!

Have a great day everyone!

Supplies:

Stamps: Flannel Plaid, Sincere Salutations, Barbella

Paper: Kraft, Buckaroo Blue, Chocolate Chip, Confetti White

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Buckaroo Blue, Jet Black Stazon

Accessories: Chocolate and bluebird grosgrain ribbons, WWC, aquapainter

TFL!
-Jana

I won a Bella!!!

I can't remember if I told you all, but a few weeks ago I won some AWESOME blog candy from a very creative woman in The Netherlands! You should definitely check her blog called Paper Creations. Included in this candy was THIS bella stamp (teddybella) and the shadow stamp, and some primas, and a GORGEOUS card Inge made! It was all just wonderful!! The package arrived on Saturday, and I was able to make this fun card with it.

I used some more petals and paisleys paper, and stamped oh baby on the tab. I managed to stamp that using my Everyday Flexible Phrases set by first stamping an "o" from the word mother by inking with a pen, then I stamped the "h" from mother, and then finally I stamped baby. These stamps are NOT easy to ink up with a pen for just one letter...but it worked out ok!

I colored this bella with markers, and I'm pretty happy with how she turned out. Overall, a pretty simple card! Thank Inge!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Teddybella, EFP
CS: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Petals & Paisleys DSP
INK: Basic Black, Going Grey, Soft Subtles markers
Acc: Soft Subtles brads

TFL!
-Jana

Hangin' with my Bellas!

Here is the first card I made yesterday with my new Bella stamps! These Sistah's are just so much fun to color. I really like the Playhouse papers from SU!, and thought it would be fun to use the colors from the paper to watercolor the stampin' sistahs.

I stamped on regular whisper white cardstock, and it actually worked out fine for watercoloring, altho since I used Basic Black the ink did bleed a little. Gotta remember to only use Stazon!!

I added a little bling to the sistah in the yellow dress...I just love the little flower in her hair!

If you can't read it, the sentiment (also from Stamping Bella!) reads:
Stamps: $6457.33
supplies: $7872.58
and then I stamped the remainder of the greeting inside...it reads:
handmade card: priceless

I think I'll modify the greeting for a card for my hubby to say "Happy Wife: priceless" what do you all think??

Gotta go do the color challenge now! Wish me luck!!

Supplies:
stamps: Stampin Sistahs, handmade card stamps from Stamping Bella
CS: Marrigold Morning, Pumpkin Pie, Playhouse, whisper white
Ink: Basic Black, pumpkin pie
Acc: HPH, Moss grosgrain, aquapainter, WWC, dimensionals

TFL!
-Jana

Bellas are IN the Haus!

My Bellas arrived!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited...but before I can even stamp with them, I have to tell you all the funniest story.

Most days the post arrives while we are all eating lunch. Because my husband works from home when not traveling, and because he often has evening phone calls with California, we eat our main meal of the day at lunch time (around 12:45-1pm) and then have a lighter meal in the evening.

So today, we're sitting at the table and I hear the post being dropped in our little box. My daughter loves to get the mail, so she looks to me for an ok before running over to the post box which is right next to our front door.

She opened the box, took out the mail, and didn't return. Finally I asked her to bring the mail over - hopeful at this point that it would be something fun for me! As she carries over a padded envelope she says "Mommy's stampin' Bellas arrived!" with a big grin.

My husband says "What?" and she repeats her previous statement. Finally, I asked for the package so I could see. Dang...how did she know?? There are no bellas stamped, just Emily's adorable logo on her return address label. Now I'm caught! I should know better than to let her get the mail when I'm expecting something craft related to arrive soon - but I really didn't think they would arrive so quickly!

My husband looks over at the package and says "Is this something from Stampin' Up!?" to which I explain "no...a different stamp company" trying hard not to catch his eye to see the accusation of "and how much did THIS cost?" there.

Oh well...I was caught "cheating" and spending more money on craft stuff instead of saving it for traveling. Guess we need a "guiltybella" now! :-)

Ok...off to paint on my Tack-it to these beauties so I can get them nice and dirty - and post a card for you all!

TFL!
-Jana

Coffee with Cream Challenge

So right after I finished that last post I thought I'd go check out the technique challenge for today, and of course I HAD to make a card!! You all are going to start thinking I"m a 1-trick pony with all my tall cards...but I love the freedom this form factor gives me (not that I'm doing anything different each time...same basic layout!!)

Anyway, This card came together pretty quickly. I probably shouldn't have added the stickles to the tree...but they were still out from my blossom cards, so I couldn't resist. Everything was twinkling this morning when I walked Julia to kindergarten since it had frosted last night and the sun was shining briefly this morning.

The cool ribbon is some my mom picked up for me at Mike's (thank mom!!) and the DSP is from Loves Me. Otherwise, a very straight forward, easy peasy card. Enjoy!

Supplies:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, linen background

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Loves Me DSP

Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip,

Accessories: Mike's ribbon, stickles

TFL!
-Jana

Blossoms, blossoms everywhere!

I'm truly feeling a need for spring. Granted, we've had glimpses of what that wonderful state will be like here and there, but after a weekend of dreary rain (sorry to those who had snow - but I think I'd prefer snow to rain!!) and more predicted for the rest of the week, I could stand a little sunshine. Honestly, I don't think I've been this pale in YEARS!!! I really do miss that wonderful California sunshine.

So...I decided to bring spring to my stamp room this morning. I saw this amazing card by Anna741 on (where else?) splitcoast a while back. I loved the use of this patterned paper with the Both Way Blossoms set, and had to CASE it! I changed the colors since I have LOTS of plum over here - I don't know why - and switched to organdy ribbon, but for the most part, it's a shameless CASE!

I love the simplicity of this layout. It was so easy...I made 9 cards in about 45 minutes. That's just 5 minutes a card!! And that includes watercoloring all these blossoms with my aquapainter! I think tying the darn ribbons took longer than any other one thing!. Oh...and I did add some stickles to these beauties to give them just a hint of spring morning dew. Thank you Michelle!!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Both Way Blossoms, Small Sayings
CS: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Petal Patch DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum
Acc: Narrow Lavender Organdy ribbon, stickles

Thanks for visiting today, and here's to Spring! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Trifolding a Bunny Hug

I finally made one of Beate's Triangle Trifold cards (see her awesome tutorial here!) These are fun cards to make...and if you have 12 by 12 paper you can even make them a little bigger!

effect. It's colored with watercolor crayons and an This card is actually 4 by 4 when folded up. I used watercolor paper to stamp my bunny & basket so that I could get the full water coloringaquapainter...and I even floated in some color according to Debbie's instructions from back in December!

I've added a photo of the card open, so you can see my cute little chicky on the inside. If I make any more of this style card though, I'm definitely going to incorporate the greeting in a better way...I think it gets a little lost on this card.

Supplies
Stamps: Bunny Hugs
CS: Cool Caribbean, Whisper White, Regal Rose, H2O paper, Petals & Paisleys DP
Ink: Black Stazon, Cool Caribbean
Acc: WWC, Pink Narrow Organdy, Aquapainter, Ticket Corner Punch

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon Bons Winner....

There were some really great book suggestions from everyone...my reading list has grown considerably - thank you!!

A few that stuck out were, of course, the Harry Potter books. I'll admit something to you all, I LOVE those books, and I've probably read the first one 4 times by now. I now have all the British versions (yes, they translate them into "American English" for us Yanks, so now I'm going to re-read the whole series in it's original form) to read before the final book comes out this summer. In fact, I'm trying to figure out how to be in London for the release of the last book in July. Shouldn't be too hard!! :-) And for you Harry Potter fans out there, I just finished an amazing trilogy called "The Black Magician Trilogy" by Trudi Canavan. These books are all the size of HP book 5, and I finished the lot in just 5 days. Granted, I didn't stamp those 5 days, but I just couldn't put the books down!!! And Yvette, she's an Aussie!

A funny coincidence is that a couple of people mentioned the Phillipa Gregory books (including the winner!) and I just got 3 of them on hubby's last trip to the States. I'm starting with the Constant Princess (just started) and will try to read in chronological order from there.

Oh...and last thing to mention is several folks mentioned Stephen King. If you've read my profile you can see I grew up in Maine. Actually, I grew up in Bangor, a few miles from his home (everything in Bangor is only a few miles from everything else) and my father actually taught his son high school math. So, needless to say, I've read MANY of his books and also love his ability to suck the reader in.

Ok...enough about books! The winner is (by a drawing of all names out of a Tupperware dish)

Sharon who wrote:

There is a rather funny mystery by Sharon McCrumb (I enjoy most of her books) called St. Dale. Its about NASCAR racing.

Another interesting book, non fiction, is The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Caldwell

A few others, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Constant Princess, The Boelyn Inheritance.

So Sharon, please email me your snail mail address and tell me what color flower you would like so I can get you your bon bons as quickly as possible! :-)

Oh, and lastly, I wanted to say I laughed out loud when I read what Cindee had written " I struggle with...read? stamp? read? stamp? read? stamp???? Just not enough time in a day!" because I have that exact struggle once I've started a good book. I seem to get on a roll with either reading or stamping - can you tell which side I've been on lately?? :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon Bons here!!

Don't forget to visit my post here to register for Blog Bon Bons. Drawing to be held around midnight Pacific Daylight Time TONIGHT!!

Embossed Flowers for a Friend

Can you believe we're STILL doing tax stuff? Of course, our taxes this year are a little more complicated, since we've lived in 2 different countries and sold a house!! I thought I'd try to post quickly while scanning some documents for the hubby! Doing something I want, while doing something he needs, good compromise, right?? :-)

So...I've really enjoyed the cuddled cardstock Cindy sent me last month, and here's one of the projects I made recently. I sent this card to my upline and very good friend Rachel in SoCal, and now that I know she's received it, I can post! :-)

For this card, I just took the full quarter sheet (trimmed a little for layering) and pulled out my Stampin' Pastels to color and highlight it. I used the Bravo Burgundy, Elegant Eggplant and Always Artichoke pastels for coloring. Then, I just finished off by adding some ribbon and a tag created with this year's Designer label punch box kit (I trimmed the very vanilla tag down so it would fit on the punched artichoke label.)

It was a really simple card, but I think it turned out looking rather elegant! I think I"m going to have to break down and have my mom get me a cuttlebug before she comes over...it's just soo much fun! Especially after seeing all the cute die-cuts people are using for yesterday's Ways to Use it challenge over at SCS. :-)

Supplies:
stamps: Designer Label Punch Box
CS: Kraft, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
Ink: Always Artichoke
Acc: Stampin' Pastels, grosgrain ribbon, designer label punch

TFL!
-Jana

Last of the Funny Bunnies!

Here is the last of the Funny Bunny cards, and this is by far my favorite. So of course, I have to tell you the story behind it!

I first saw this cute card on SCS made by SleepyinSeattle and had a little chuckle. You see...I will turn 36 in 1 month (from today in fact!) and I have been very proud of the fact that I had NO gray hairs...NONE! I once teased my brother about all his gray (he's a few years older) and then challenged him to find a gray on my head, and he couldn't! So, about 2 weeks ago (around the time I discovered the card) I found a gray hair. I was DEVASTATED! How could this happen! So, when I found a 2nd gray hair this past weekend, I knew what I had to do...recreate the sentiment of the card with a whole slew of rabbits!

This card was so much fun...and the great part was my husband (quite possibly the least supportive person of my crafting!) looked at the stamped image and said "Wow, that looks quite difficult, a lot of work!" :-) Not often I get crumbs like that. So, originally I would not have included the ribbon, but one of my bunnies up front got an ink spot on him, so I had to cover it! I like the look of masking, but I'm usually too lazy to do much of it. I ended up with 5 masks by the time I finished!

I hope you all enjoy these...and don't forget to scroll down to get some Blog Bon Bons!!

Supplies:

Stamps: bunny hugs

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, Petals & Paisleys DSP

Ink: Basic Black, going gray, regal rose, certainly celery

Accessories: rose grosgrain, white wide organdy ribbon, key tag punch, aquapainter

TFL!
-Jana

SC115 - Petals and Paisleys fun!

I really enjoyed yesterday's sketch challenge, because I was able to cheat and use my new designer paper which I love so much!

My wonderful friend and downline Michelle had sent me this adorable butterfly made with the Paisley from Polka Dots & Paisley last month, but I couldn't decide what to do with it. When I started working on this card I looked over at a pile of stamped images waiting to be used and there it was...the perfect replacement for the sample card's flower! I also wanted to use the paisley on the piece for underneath...so the ghosting technique came to mind (I'm starting to love my brayer again!)

This was a pretty quick card, and I'm quite happy with the results!

Supplies:

Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley

Paper: Petals and Paisleys, Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise, whisper white, glossy white

Ink: tempting turquoise, cool carribbean, pretty in pink, versamark

Accessories: white narrow organdy ribbon, HPH, irridescent ice ip, dimensionals

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon Bons

I recently found the book Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik for sale at a bookstore in Dusseldorf for only 5 euros - and it was in English! :-) Since I had heard it was fun, I bought it, and LOVED it. While living in California, I was in a book club with some really neat women, but there weren't my closest friends. And while I enjoyed that book club...the group in Angry Housewives definitely had more adventures!!

So, in honor of Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, I'm giving away some Blog Bon Bons!! This time, I'm including a box of genuinely scrumptious Lindt Mini Pralines, some metal edged vellum tags, a Michael's spool of ribbon, my most favoritest card ever, and one of my paper shaped Big Blossoms (winner gets to choose any of the 54 current SU! colors!)

To enter to win this delectable prize, leave me a comment and tell me what book you have read in the last 3 years that is your favorite. (I'm looking for suggestions - my husband always comes home from the US loaded with books and craft supplies!) I will randomly select a winner by drawing on Saturday morning German time, so you have until about midnight on Friday (3/16) California time to enter. And may the luck of the Irish be with you! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

More Funny Bunnies

Last year there was an email going around which was sent to me by my good friend and fellow stamper Kallien. It featured 2 chocolate bunnies. One of the bunnies was saying "My butt hurts" and had a bite taken out of his rear side, and the other said "What?" and was missing both ears. For some reason, it struck me as hilarious! I knew I was going to have to re-create that once I got the Bunny Hugs set.

I printed the conversation bubbles from Word using my SU Harry Paul font. The hills were created by sponging Certainly Celery inside an oval I cut with my colluzle. I then sponged on some Bashful Blue for the sky. The bunnies were stamped with Basic Brown on Chocolate chip cardstock, and again I used a white gel pen to color ears and noses, which I then went over with the Pretty in Pink marker. The one tail has liquid applique puffed up.

After assembling the card, it still seemed like it was missing something, so I stamped the tulips across the bottom and colored the flowers in with Regal Rose and So Saffron markers. Sorry the photo is so dark...I really think my next chocolate bunnies will have to be milk chocolate! I hope you all are enjoying my humor attempts...the last funny bunny card will probably get posted tomorrow! It's my favorite!! :-)

Supplies:
Stamps: Bunny Hugs
CS: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink
Acc: Liquid Applique, white gel pen, SU font CD

TFL!
-Jana

Craft Critique Fabric Challenge Carnival

I'm so excited this morning...I got back from my aerobics class (YOU try taking an aerobics class in German!!) and was checking my usual list of blogs, and my Grumpy Bella Quilt Card made it on to the Craft Critique Fabric Challenge Carnival! I'm so honored!! :-)

Be sure to go check it out and see all the other wonderful ideas for mixing media in our papercrafting pursuits!

Big Rustic Charm

Since Julia was kind enough to take a nap today, I was able to complete the color challenge card today also!!

This color challenge had 5 colors...yup...5!!! Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, So Saffron and Cool Caribbean. I generally don't use Rust, I'm not really a big earth tones kinda gal...but I really like how this card turned out.

I used another cuddled scrap from Cindy's blog candy that I won last month for my center piece. I rubbed some Vanilla craft ink over it to highlight the flower a little more. I then built the card from that!

I went with a tall card again (can't seem to get away from those - Thanks Beate!) and I stamped the Paisley bg stamp on the top part of the base card. I stamped Linen onto the So Saffron piece, and then I sponged all the edges of both.

I wrapped the Chocolate grosgrain around to hide where the Paisley stamp ended (I don't like messy edges!) then layered on the so saffron and Chocolate Chip strip. I sponged the Cool Caribbean with the same color ink before putting on the flower piece, then stamped Aida Cloth bg onto the old olive piece in the same ink, and sponged the edges of that. Lastly, I distressed both of those with my handy-dandy distressing tool (LOVE it!!) then assembled and popped the whole thing up with dimensionals. Looking at it, it needed something more so I paper pierced the chocolate chip strip...and really liked it! Lastly, I added the sentiment with Basic Brown ink at the bottom.

I hope you all enjoy this one...I know I'm quite happy with the results.

Supplies:

Stamps: Paisley BG, Linen BG, Aida Cloth BG, Happy Harmony

Paper: Really Rust, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cool Caribbean

Ink: Really Rust, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cool Caribbean, Vanilla Craft

Accessories: Chocolate grosgrain, cuttlebug embossing folder, crafter's tool kit, dimensionals, sponge

TFL!
-Jana

Toying with Bunny Hugs

Sunday's Featured Stamper over at SCS was Toy, aka Holly. You should definitely check out her Gallery if you haven't already...many of her cards are in my favorites!! I just love all the layers she uses, and the dimension to her cards.

I case'd her Christmas Holly making it an Easter card instead. I used my new Bunny Hugs set again (no bunny this time tho!) and the incredibly versatile Petals & Paisleys DSP. I've decided the hardest part of these Featured Stamper challenges is picking which card to CASE! The featured stampers always have such amazing work, it's hard to pick!!

Ok...more Funny Bunny cards tomorrow...and maybe some Candy?

Supplies:
Stamps: Bunny Hugs
Ink: Regal Rose, Basic Black, WWC
CS: Regal Rose, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Petals & Paisleys DSP
Acc: HPH, Ribbon Originals, aquapainter, dimensionals.

TFL!
-Jana

Office Quickie!

This is one of those great 5 minute cards. Literally, from when I decided to make a card with my new Notations paper and spiral punch to when I slipped the hardware on was 5 minutes! I love the new Office Accoutrement set and coordinating paper and Accents & Elements tin. It made creating this card so quick and easy.

Supplies
Stamps: Office Accoutrement
Ink: Very Vanilla, So Saffron
CS: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Notations DSP
Acc: Spiral Punch, HPH, Celery Grosgrain, Accents & Elements "Little Reminders"

TFL!
-Jana

Stitching our Stamping Projects

The current challenge going on over at Craft Critique got me to thinking about this project I did a little under a year ago for a contest Stampin' Up! was running. The contest was to submit projects using the new , unreleased hostess sets. When I saw the "A is for Adorable" set the song "I Hope you Dance" by Lee Ann Womack kept running through my head--my mom requested it at my wedding back in 2000 and I still love it--and thus I thought up this project.

I made this little tag book for my daughter Julia and it is all still true today. And while I may not have won the contest, I still enjoyed creating this booklet.

As you can see on the second photo, I used the stamps from A is for Adorable to show the different hopes I had/still have for my little girl. On the tags inside I put a photo which I thought illustrated that thing along with some journaling.

The square you can't see says "D Dream". One of the things I really liked about this project was the stitching on the sides to keep the tag booklet closed. I used linen thread and the needle from my crafter's toolkit after having paper pierced the holes using the paper piercing guide. Having the real stitches added a nice feel to the booklet, as well as being visually pleasing.

I hope you enjoy it, and that it inspires you to capture the hopes you have for your own children!

Supplies used:
Stamps: A is for Adorable, Typeset alphabet, All natural
Paper: Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla
Ink: Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose
Acc: Grosgrain and gingham ribbons, 1/2" and 1 1/4" circle punches, crafter's toolkit, linen thread, white gel pen.

TFL!
-Jana

My new favorite set!

When I saw this card by my good friend Kyla (check out her blog...she does AWESOME work!) I just loved it - so much so that I asked to use it for my monthly newsletter! And it was her Chocolate Bunny card that inspired this card. Although, I think I have to remake the card stamping on Close to Cocoa, since it's really hard to see the brown ink on the chocolate chip!!

I used the WONDERFUL new Petals & Paisleys paper from the spring mini along with some Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White cardstocks. The bunny is stamped with Basic Brown, then cut out. His ears, nose and large eyes are done with the white gel pen, and then I went over his ears and nose with the Pretty in Pink marker. His tail is made puffy with liquid applique. I printed the sentiment from the computer using SU! Little Lamb font. I also used my coluzzle (need to get another size that will fit my scallop punches better!) giga scallop punch and some grosgrain to finish it off.

And now, can I just tell you how incredibly awesome the new Polka Dots & Paisleys designer paper is?? You just can't see how amazing it is in the catalog - they have not done it justice!! I am so in love. Need to figure out how many packages I"m going to have to order of this because I can see going through it at a very fast pace indeed!!!

Tomorrow I'll post the 2nd card created with this new set...another "Funny Bunny" card!

TFL!
-Jana

This week's Inspiration Challenge

...was VERY challenging indeed!!! I REALLY wanted to complete all 7 challenges this week, and IC66 was the final one. If you haven't looked yet, check out the inspiration piece here.

My card is not what I had envisioned...but it was a few hours between when I last looked at the painting and I started working on the card.

To make the card, I started with some Shimmery White (it was out!) and just squirted on some of my new stickles. Then, I used a piece of cardstock to smooth them around and get some swirly action going. Then, I left that piece to dry overnight.

I stamped the Big Pieces on Tempting Turquoise and Lavender Lace using matching ink, punched with the 1 1/4" punches, then placed gold brads in the centers. Finally, I layered these onto 1 3/8" basic black circles.

Once my background piece was dry, I put on the celery grosgrain for the "stems" down, then mounted this piece onto some brushed gold cs, then all that went onto the Basic Black card. Finally, i popped the circles on with dimensionals.

Definitely NOT my normal kind of card. I think it's what I would get if I tried to do modern art, which obviously I SHOULD NOT! However, I decided to share with you all so you can see sometimes I also make bad cards. Oh well!

Tomorrow, I'll share my Funny Bunny cards! I've been having SOOO much fun with Bunny Hugs today!! LOVE IT!!!

TFL!
-Jana

Another Fun Night of Stamping...

I have to post quickly cuz the hubby is due in to the Dusseldorf train station in just over an hour, and it's at least a 20 minute drive!!

Last night I was stamping with my friend Rachel in California. How you ask? I have a webcam, and we talk through Skype! It's great fun, and makes us feel like we aren't so far apart!!

So, I wanted to do a card for the Limited Supplies Challenge over at SCS (that's 6 in a row for me so far!) and this week's challenge was to use only bold brights, black or white. In general I like the BBs, but like others, I prefer to mix them with other color groups. But...I was game.

I pulled out my Do the Hula stamp set again, since I have been longing for the tropics, and just played. I used Green Galore, Pink Passion and Lovely Lavender, and stamped on them with the same color inks. I mounted my pieces all on basic black, and stamped the greeting on whisper white. I dyed another prima (I have pink fingers this morning - gotta get me some gloves!!) and added a rhinestone from the bling I bought last weekend at Pipoos. And, voila! Instant card! I really like the bright colors of this one. And guess what? We actually have sun this morning!! :-)

Not sure if I'll get to post tomorow...we'll see how the hubby is adjusting to the time zone and what he feels like doing. If I'm lucky, he'll take the little one out and give me some peace and quiet! We can always dream, right?

TFL!
-Jana

GREAT night last night!!

And yes, my husband is STILL in the US, so it's not what you were thinking!!

Have you ever just been in that "stamping zone" where ideas build on one another and you create something that you are so incredibly pleased with you think you'll never create something as good again? That's where I was last night. In fact, I was so amped up I couldn't even get to sleep when I did eventually go to bed - I was on a "stamping high!"

So...I'll tell you the progression. It all started when I was looking at Beate's blog yesterday, and I just fell in love with her Doodle That Bigger is Better card. I loved the layout, the crispness of the black and white together with 2 shades of the same (or similar) colors. It was exactly the kind of card I love. So, I decided I was going to CASE that card, but use my current favorite Cool Caribbean along with Tempting Turquoise. That is how this first card came into being. I changed a couple of things besides the colors...since I don't have any of the Doodle sets yet, I pulled out Riveting and this year's Ronald McDonald house set Wishing you the Best. And because of that, I went with circles. I tried to imitate her doodling in the background by stamping the donut part of the riveting stamp and then tracing the inner circle with my white gel pen...but It really didn't get the effect I was going for. Oh well.

At Christmas-time, my wonderful friend and downline Michelle gave me a bottle of neutral Primas. She knows I'm a Monogamous Stamper (until I started an affair with Bella...but that's another story!) and that I like everything to match my SU colors...so she bought me Primas I can dye!!! Never having actually done this before, I pulled out an empty brad container and my Cool Caribbean reinker. Boy, do those primas just SOAK up the liquid!! But...it worked!! Of course, being the impatient person I am, I used my heat gun to dry them (and be careful, they WILL burn!!)

Ok...so CASE card complete. I'm happy. Of course, while I'm sitting there looking at these cute little Primas I think "Gee...those petals look like hearts! I wonder what would happen if I cut 2 petals off and dyed them green?" Thus, the Shamrock card was born. The Primas for this card were dyed with Glorious Green reinker. And, since I had 3 sets of 2 petals just sitting there, I HAD to make a 4-leaf clover while I was at it!! The rest of this card is kinda ho-hum IMO, but I just LOVED the Prima idea.

Ok...by now it was 6:40 and I hadn't even fed my daughter yet. Uh-oh! Fast forward one and a half hours to after bed time. I cleaned up my stamp table and was about to put away Polka Dots & Paisley (I used the stem for my shamrock card) and then remembered I had really wanted to do a faux diamonds card with that set.

Since I had a piece of whisper white right there from the Shamrock card, I just used it. Didn't really pay attention to the size...just brayered on some Cool Caribbean (I told you...I LOVE that color!) and then stamped the paisley in black, applied my versamark and iridescent ice and melted away. So now, I have a beautiful piece for a card...but no idea what to do with it. That's when I looked up at my CASE of Beate's card and inspiration struck. Thus...this card was born!

Since the piece I used was rather large, I thought it would work well with a taller card. I had dyed some ribbon while dying the primas, so I tied that around the focal piece. (Both white grosgrain and narrow organdy) I stamped the flower outline on the Tempting Turquoise with versamark in a random pattern, then stamped the full flower (again in versamark) on the bottom of the Cool Caribbean before stamping the sentiment over the top in Basic Black.

I just love the black strip running down between the 2 shades of color. This is by far my most favoritest card that I've ever created...and I owe all my thanks to Beate for inspiring it! Thank you!!! Now, I just hope I haven't "jumped the shark" and it's all downhill from here!! :-)

And, if you made it ALL the way through this book of a posting, congratulations!! And thanks for reading about my creative process.

TFL!
-Jana

Whale of a pretty girl...

As any of my regular blog readers know, I don't post personal photos here on my stamping blog, because I have a personal blog for that. However, today I can't resist sharing something with you all. But first...the card!

When I was in the Netherlands over the weekend at Pipoos (don't you just LOVE that name?) I picked up some GAWgeous Pearl Paper. It just SCREAMS for any of the sealife stamps, so of course I had to obey (not that I'm generally one who takes orders, but occasionally I do listen!) So, I cuddled the paper with my NEW bubbles cuddlebug folder using the rolling pin method. It works...kinda! I mounted it on Lavender Lace, and then onto a Cool Caribbean card base. For the central image, I stamped my whale on shimmery white cardstock with jetblack stazon, then colored him using my aquapainter and H2O crayons. I've been working harder at my watercoloring...trying to follow the examples of all the experts out there, and I think it is getting better! You'd never guess I did a watercolor painting of the location of our wedding for my wedding invites...maybe I'll post that some day! (I got married BEFORE I started stamping...but I still had to design my own wedding invites!)

Anyway, I then mounted my whale on some more lavender lace and finally brilliant blue, tied some grosgrain and organdy around it and then attached to the card with dimensionals. I like him!

Ok...now to the other photos. My 4 year-old daughter has been home sick with a fever since Monday afternoon. She's feeling better, but still was a little high this morning for school, so we said one more day at home. Well, she brought me a handful of hairbands (you know, the little tiny ones for thin little girl hair) and asked me to put them ALL in! Now, you probably think nothing strange in that...except my daughter HATES it when I touch her hair. Even if I just push it behind an ear to get it out of her face she says "Mommy, are you playing with my hair? You know I don't like you to play with my hair!" Which is so sad for me, because I LOVE to play with hair!! So, when she asked me to put all these hairbands in, I of course said "sure!" even though I was reading my a.m. blogs. Then...she had to put one on her snow leopard's tale as well! I've also included another photo so you can see the back!! I was definitely busy (there are 15 total!) but we had fun, and now we're going to McD's for lunch because we NEED to get out of this house before I go completely bonkers!!!

Wednesday is Sketch Challenge day!

I really like the sketch challenges on SCS because it makes things so easy. Especially when I'm smart and combine it with the color challenge!! (maybe tomorrow I can make a card combining the limited supply challenge with the previous 3...that would be impressive ...hhhmmmm... guess what I'll be doing tomorow morning!!)

This week's sketch is a nice simple one, so I thought it would be perfect for some kids cards. I need some cards to send to some of Julia's friends back in California, and since her nickname is Bug, I thought this would work!

Totally quick and easy card (when you don't have a whiny 4-year-old with a slight fever preventing her from going to school but with more energy than PG&E demanding attention!) I got the colors for this card from the SU! color wheel, and thought the nice bright colors were perfect. I pulled out my Love Bug stamp set and had at it. Colors used are Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise and Rose Red (the dragonfly is Pink Passion). I used some grosgrain and organdy again for the ribbon accent, and clipped the corners for some brads on the focal image. Lastly, I added googly eyes...because every kid card needs googly eyes, right?

Ok...that's all the posts for today. (or, if you're starting at the top like a normal person, this is the first, you've got 3 more to go!!)

TFL!
-Jana