Jana scraps??

German phrase of the day: Wie geht es dir? = How are you? (literally means How is it going for you? You can also shorten this to just Wie gehts - pronounced vee gates)

Well, I try to scrap. However, most of my scrapping was done in preparation for classes, and this layout is no exception! This is from Easter LAST year, and I made this layout for a scrapping class I taught. I actually CASEd this layout from one I found on splitcoast, but I'm sorry to say I can't find it again right now.

I used the Word by Word background stamp and cut out different words to use as little "Levi tags" around the layout. I also used the new retired Border Builders set for the bottom (LOVED that set!) The ladies at my class really enjoyed making this layout...although people always seem to worry about direct-to-paper techniques. I guess I was intimidated by them at first also, until I realized you just can't screw them up!! :-)

Thanks for visiting today...I'll have more new stuff when I get back, but for now you're still stuck with some oldies - but at least I'm not posting repeats yet!! ;-)

TFL!
-Jana

Giggles

German phrase of the day: Willst du mich auf den Arm nehmen? = Are you pulling my leg? (literally translated: Do you want to lift me in your arm?)

I made this card last year for the contest SU! had for demos using the new hostess sets. I HAD to have the A is for Adorable set as soon as I saw it thinking of all the wonderful scrapping things I could do with it.

I got the inspiration for this card from some really cool patterned paper I had seen, and I wanted to imiatate that look with stamps. It was a lot of work with the Stamp-a-ma-jig, but I think the everall effect was worth it.

Colors used were: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Only Orange and Pink Passion. Hmmm...might have to find this set and play some more, I just love those flowers from Burst into Bloom!!

TFL!
-Jana

Yeah Me!!! New banner FINALLY working!

I knew I could overcome this tricky little thing called technology!!! I finally figured out how to get my blog banner up and working. Yeah!! Actually, I cheated a little. I looked at how my friend Yvette did hers (because Stephanie made her banner also) and sorta copied what she did! I'm so happy!!!

Anyway, if anyone has problems please email me...but I think for now I'm all set. Happy Day!! :-)

Off to Italy...have a glorious weekend everyone!

Huggs,
Jana

More Birthday Fun.

German phrase of the day: Ist das Leben nicht schoen! = Isn't life wonderful! (literally, isn't life pretty!. (Sidenote: oe can be used in place of an o with an umlaut - because I'm too lazy to look up the code to do that one!)

Yesterday I got this beautiful card from my online stamping buddy Kyla (otherwise known as Vitality!) She does some of the most beautiful cards! And it's funny, because I know when I"m browsing around SCS, I can pick out her cards because she has such a distinctive style...lots of layers, lots of ribbon, and drop-dead gorgeous!! Be sure to visit her blog...you won't regret it!! Also, she's having a Cards for Troops contest right now...so you can go read all about it!

For this card she used the stamp set demonstrators got at Regionals this year, Double Line Doodles. It will be in the new Fall/Winter 2007 catalog coming out in July. I just can't wait to see the new catalog. People who went on cruise got a sneak peak at all kinds of special goodies, and some are sharing those peaks with those of us not fortunate enough to go (THANK YOU!) Guess I better start saving my money now, because I already have a half dozen things on my wish list just from the little peak I've gotten!

I have so many things to look forward to in July... the new Harry Potter Movie (ok, I guess that's in June) The new Catalog, the new (and last!) Harry Potter book, and a week long vacation with my daughter and hubby (we're thinking England and Scotland, but haven't finalized it yet) So, overall, July will be a good month! :-)

We leave for Tuscany tomorrow...so you all can think of me "Under the Tuscan Sun" I'm going to upload some photos of projects I did LAST April to post while I'm in Italy (and not stamping) so that you all won't miss me too much (Internet connection willing!)

TFL!
-Jana

RAK addresses needed...

Ok, so I have heard from the winner of the Rockabella card, but 2nd and 3rd I still need addresses for, so could Shawn and Cheryl who both correctly identified my quote as being Hannibal from the A-Team (I LOVED tv in the 80s!!) please email me your snail mail addresses and I'll sendyou each a Bella card!

Huggs!
-Jana

SCS Sketch Challenge

German Phrase of the day: Ich weiss = I know. Alternatively, there is Ich weiss nicht = I don't know.

I LOVED today's sketch for the sketch challenge. SO MUCH FUN!!

I thought it was a good excuse to use more of my new patterned paper from DCWV that I got it Pipoos a few weeks back. The colors really go with SU! stuff quite well, which is nice for me.

I decided since I had everything out, I'd make 2 cards, using more Bella images from Stephanie. Funny thing is, one of these cards is for a very good childhood friend, also named Stephanie - her bday was last weekend (yes, I'm late as usual!)

For the bday card, I think I'll have to stamp some purple hearts down the side...when we were kids (7-11 years old) we had what we called the Purple Heart Gang. Stephanie, her sister Jill, and I did everything together. I was always so jealous of them, because they were only 13 months apart in age, and more like best friends than sisters...but they always included me with their fun. PHG4EVEH!

The cards are quite straight forward today. I used my may arts polka dot ribbon, and the dark color is Elegant Eggplant, NOT black. I took a few liberties with the sketch, but came pretty close! Need to make my book so I can sketch it into my book then take upstairs to my craft room since Internet up there is not very reliable. Painted with my aquapainter and ink pads...think I'll add stickles to Emmy Bella's top - she needs some sparkle! Oh, and maybe some bling to her purse, just cause I can!! I suppose I could add some sparkle to the cake too...what do you all think??

Supplies:
Stamps: EmmyBella, Cakeabella, & Retail Therapy by Stampingbella; Butterfly Wishes by PaperTreyInk
CS: Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant, white, DP by DCWV
Ink: Certainly Celery, Buckaroo Blue, Elegant Eggplant, Close to Cocoa, Summer Sun
Acc: May Arts Ribbon, Word Window Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, sponge.

What do you think of my new German Phrase of the day?? I've decided that as a way to better incorporate learning German into my favorite activities, it needs to become part of my blogging. So, I will try to include a new German phrase every day! Beate - feel free to correct me if I get things wrong here!! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Happy Scraps

Scraps are happy when they get used, that's why this is my Happy Scraps stash. I totally CASEd this from Julie, because I figured since she was the featured stamper this week on SCS and I knew I wanted to make one of these, I'd get a 2fer....but then I made it a 3fer by adding the little Levi tag!! :-)

So, for complete directions on how to make this, go to Julie's blog. I used the Petals & Paisleys designer paper, along with Certainly Celery for the bottom. I stamped the title with Big Deal, and the happy is from Polka Dots & Paisley. I did use the new rounded tab punch for a top closure, but since I don't have any Velcro yet, you can't actually see it because it wouldn't stay closed for the picture. I still have to put the tabs inside for the different folders, and then I can just sort my scraps into here! Yeah!!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Big Deal, Polka Dots & Paisley
CS: Petals & Paisleys, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Cool Caribbean, Regal Rose
Ink: Regal Rose, Cool Caribbean
Acc: Tag Corner Punch, Rounded Tab Punch, sponge, sticky strip, silver brads, large envelopes from office supply store.

TFL!
-Jana

Inspiration Challenge

I loved the purse that Jeanne used for this week's Inspiration Challenge over at splitcoast - I sure hope she tells us all where she got it!!

I used the baby wipe technique (put reinker on your baby wipe, then "swipe" it down your glossy cardstock) to create the background. I used Always Artichoke, Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie, Marigold Morning, and Rose Red reinkers. Then I stamped the large doodle from Doodle This in basic black. I stamped the flower on shimmer white cardstock, painted it with my aquapainter and the same colors as the background (still had the reinkers out!) then used my new Sakura fine tip glue pen and added some dazzling diamonds to the spots on the petals. I rounded the corners, sponged the edges with some cool Caribbean, then mounted on to Cool Caribbean and popped it on the card with some dimensionals.

Lastly, I added the light blue may arts polka dot organdy ribbon. I am SOOO in love with this ribbon. I LOVE polka dots, and I LOVE organdy, so to combine the 2 is like heaven for me! Thanks for yet another addiction Beate!!

Oh, and thanks for all the correct responses - guess I'm not the only A-team fan around!! :-) I'll be emailing numbers 1, 2, & 3 to get snail mail address.

Supplies:
Stamps: Doodle This
CS: Always Artichoke, Marigold Morning, Glossy White, Shimmery White, Cool Caribbean
Ink: Always Artichoke, Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie, Marigold Morning, and Rose Red, basic black
Acc: Aquapainter, May Arts ribbon, corner rounder punch, sponge, baby wipe, dimensionals

TFL!
-Jana

I've been tagged again!

Nancy over at Nancy's Creative Mess has tagged me - this time to list 7 things about myself. Then I have to tag 7 others - so I'll look for a few who haven't been tagged with this one yet!

1. This is the longest I've gone without a paying job since I was about 15. I haven't worked "for pay" in almost 2 years now (SU! doesn't count since it never actually "paid" as hubby would say)

2. I knew about 5 German words before we made the decision to move to Germany. Since then I've learned a few more....but REALLY need to get working at it since my 4-year-old daughter is now having to translate for me!!

3. I was actually living with another guy when I met my husband (at work) and we became good friends. He was quite thrilled when I told him I was leaving the other guy and quickly swooped in to scoop me up!

4. I used to be a total TV junky, but I haven't watched much TV for about 3 years now because A) I finally realized it's not that good, B) I'd rather spend that time stamping, and now C) all the TV here is in German (so perhaps I SHOULD be watching, might learn something!)

5. Quite possibly my favorite vacation with my hubby was when we drove across the US in a 10 year-old truck we had just bought from my dad. We had so much fun seeing parts of the country we'd never seen before, and can't wait to do a trip like that with our daughter (altho I think we'll be driving her across France before the US at this point!)

6. My first "real" job (not counting babysitting) was at Burger King. I started just before my 16th birthday and continued there through high school. And that's where I met my first boyfriend.

7. I have been using the Internet since I was 14 years old (that's 22 years!!!!!) back then it was called "bitnet" and it was almost exclusively university computer geeks! I chatted with guys around the world, and would stay up chatting until 3 or 4 in the morning. My parents got a little upset when I got photos (totally innocent photos!) from a 6'6" 30+ year old guy in Pennsylvania. My "handle" for the chat rooms was "Baby" since Dirty Dancing had just come out.

Ok, so now I'm going to tag Linda, Gina, Yvette, Rachel, Stephanie, Jenny, & Julie

I just Love it when a plan comes together!

The first comment correctly identifying that quote will get this card! 2nd and 3rd will also get RAKs, just cuz I'm in a good mood today! :-) Therefore, I've turned on comment moderation.

I'm so impressed with myself. I went upstairs at 8:05 after getting my daughter to bed. I knew I wanted to make just one more Bella card last night, and I had all these wonderful Bella images from my friend Stephanie. I also REALLY wanted to use my new Au Chocolat paper which I hadn't even opened yet (for shame - especially since I got it way back in Paris!) I loved this project over at Splitcoast where kathyj30 brayered a sheet of Au Chocolat with cool caribbean ink to get another color, and thought that would be fun!

So, with Au Chocolat in hand, I cut my cardstock, inked up my brayer with Pink Passion and got to work. I layered it on Pink Passion, then had to pick out which Bella to use. For hot pink, we needed to Rock! So, I chose Rockabella. I colored her in (used markers this time...still too lazy!) and then decided she needed some glam...so I pulled out my stickles. Now I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but the glitter seems to get "stuck" in my stickles, and I just get the clear gel coming out sometimes. So I stick in my paper piercer, pull it out, and it works for a second, then gets stuck again. I did this a few times - once even pulling the nozzle top right off! Then, a big spluge came out! Poor Bella!! I used my small watercolor brush to clean her up, and then used that to spread the stickles around more evenly. I had already sponged her edges, so now I just needed to assemble everything - but first, some paper piercing which you can't see. I left my stamp room at 8:36! Phew...just 30 minutes!

I will admit, when I went back up this morning (after sending Phil and Julia off on a bike ride to the Rhine for a picnic!) I added the silver touches.

I just LOVE her glittery jumpsuit, and her electric blue guitar!! Fun, fun, fun!

Supplies:

Stamps: Rockabella

Paper: Pink Passion, Chocolate Chip, Au Chocolat

Ink: Black, pink passion, tempting turquise, summer sun

Accessories: brayer, silver ribbon, silver brad, silver eyelets, crafters toolkit

TFL!
-Jana

Cruisin' with Bella

As soon as Emma announced this Bella I just HAD to have her. And thankfully, my wonderful friend and upline Rachel bought her for me for my bday!! :-)

My first car out of college was a brand new 1993 Toyota Corolla. How boring!! So, several years later (well, I guess only about 4) when I decided I wanted a new car, my then boyfriend (now husband) didn't balk too hard at the idea of me getting a convertible. Actually...I had fallen in love with the Toyota Celica. It was such a CUTE car! All rounded, with big bug-eyed headlights. I HAD to have it.

Oh, I did my due-diligence. I test drove the Mitsubishi Spider, the BMW Z3, the Mazda Miata, but nothing compared to my wonderful little Toyota. So, I bought one! It was all black, with a black leather interior, cloth top, and glass rear-window. I LOVED that car with all my heart, and when I was driving, we were one. Have you ever had that kind of relationship with a car where your thoughts of what you want the car to do seem to magically get transferred to the car? I imagine that is how it is for people who have their own horse when riding. For me, the best way to spend a sunny afternoon was to take my car for a drive on the winding roads up in the Santa Cruz mountains with the top down. That was my zen!

Of course, in 2002 (just 4 short years later) when I got pregnant, I could barely get in and out of the car at just 5 months, so I had to sell it and trade in my fun, carefree lifestyle for a Subaru Forrester. Oh well!

Ok...sorry for the rambling. I guess the news that my Sisters just bought a brand new Porshe 911 has me waxing poetic over sports cars. I think I just need to go rent one and take it for a drive on the autobahn this summer....maybe I'll drive down to Strasbourg.

So, Cruisabella. I colored her with my blender pen again (gotta fill up those aquapainters...and find my missing one!) and ink refills. I based it loosely on SCS sketch 118. I decided that angular cut piece would make a cool road. I drew the lines with my white gel pen, then added the sentiment from Loads of Love Accessories in some HPH, and it was good to go! Hope you enjoy!!

Oh, almost forgot to add - when I showed cruisabella to my husband to get coloring advice, he looked and said "looks like a '67" to which I said "Stingray, right" and his response was "no, just a corvette, they didn't call them stingrays back then." Guess it's a guy thing!

Supplies:
Stamps: Cruisabella by Stamping Bella, Loads of Love Accessories
CS: Old Olive, Basic Black, Confetti White
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Basic Black, Real Red, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Yoyo Yellow
Acc: Zig Painty Pen, Hodge Podge Hardware, White Gel Pen, Blender Pen

TFL!
-Jana

2 Tall Bellas

***Edited to add credit and link for making my own stamp!!***

I got to stamp again! Yeah!!!

I knew I wanted to make a bella card, and I had these FlowahBella images on my desk that my mom stamped for me before she left. I bought her the FlowahBella stamp because she loves flowers, and she didn't have any Bellas yet!

Anyway...I decided I wanted to make another tall card, and I really wanted to use my new Big Blooms set that was sitting still uncut, etc. So quickly put on my cling vinyl and cut them out, then chose a color scheme from the SU! color wheel. Regal Rose, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery with a touch of Apricot Appeal.

I also managed to use my new May Arts polka dot ribbon from the Jody Morrow ribbon share I recently participated in. I added some SU! lavender grosgrain for some added color and depth. Lastly, I used my Marvy Uchida scalloped giga square punch for the first layer behind the bella. I punched two, trimmed a tiny bit off each, then adhered them to the back of Bella carefully lining them up. It really wasn't hard at all!

Oh, and I made myself a shadow stamp for my bellas. I followed the tutorial to make these cute little shadow stamps using the oval punch on Heather's blog here! Thanks so much to Peggy S. for helping me remember where I saw it! Guess I was having a "senior" moment last night!! Yikes!

I didn't have any water in either aquapainter, and was too lazy to walk down a flight of stairs to get some, so I used my blender pen in my watercolor crayons, and it worked pretty well. It's a pretty simple card, but I had fun. I'm hoping to stamp more this weekend.

My second tall Bella is my birthday card from Stephanie. She posted this to her blog last week, but it's so pretty, I had to post it again!! It's hard to see in the photo, but this Bella is wearing a sparkly top - too cute!!

Love the card Stephanie, thank you!!

TFL!
-Jana

Finally caught up!

I'm finally caught up on all my blogs. Sorry I didn't always comment, I was speed reading trying to get my google reader count down to 0. It seemed to be stuck on 100+ for a VERY long time!!

So, I was just looking at the incredible new designer paper Stampin' Up! will have in the upcoming Fall/Winter 2007 catalog - and I just love the paisleys!! So then I started thinking...wouldn't it just be the COOLEST thing if they had a paisley brass template to match the Polka Dots & Paisleys stamp set??? I mean, would that not be the most fun thing ever to emboss???

Ok, I know, I need to go to bed. Still no stamping done, but hubby should be home from Tel Aviv in the next hour or so. Yeah!! (he left for Tel Aviv less than 6 hours after we got to our house from the Barcelona trip!)

Oh yeah...I changed my photo over on the right also. It showcases my new shorter hair (thanks mom!!) and was taken from the top of the Gothic Cathedral in Barcelona. You can see some of the city's skyline, and the Mediterranean Sea in the background. I LOVE Barcelona!!!

Goodnight!
TFL,
Jana

Birthday Bonanza

I love my birthday...doesn't everyone?? And one of best things about having a birthday (since it most surely isn't getting older!) is getting fun mail! Over the past week I've gotten some wonderful cards from my online friends from blogging and splitcoast, so here are the latest.

First, this amazing notepad in a tin from my friend Yvette. It's just amazing, isn't it?? I recognize 2 stampin' Up! stamp sets (office accoutrement and Sincere Salutations) but don't recognize the rest. The flower on here is made of suede I think - it's quite interesting!! And Ilove the fact that it "locks" closed, and then you click the button to open the tin again! So very cool!!

Inside, there is a notepad for taking those daily notes, along with a pocket, and a pen. I think this will have to live downstairs so I can see it all the time and keep my grocery list in it!!

She also included this beautiful matching birthday card...isn't it just gorgeous?? I love the use of the cuttlebug - that is my favorite embossing folder!! It's just amazing. Thank you so much Yvette...I LOVE it!!

Next up is a birthday card from my stamping hero Beate. I remember seeing this card (or something like it) on her blog a while back and admiring the combination of stamps and designer paper....and now I get to admire it in person! She gets these amazing papers from Eclectic Paperie and claims to have an addiction. Don't we all??? :-)








I also got this wonderful card from another of my Diva buddies, Linda Schmitt. She designs such wonderful projects, I always love swapping with her! This card is no exception. I love the twill tape stapled on. I always forget to use my twill tape...I think I will challenge myself to pull it out and use it! Thanks for inspiring me again Linda!











And then I even have 2 non-birthday cards to share. The first is from my friend Stephanie. She sent a load of things to my mom to bring to me, and this card with Bellas inside was given to me when I got BACK from Barcelona! Mom had almost forgotten it! I remember when Stephanie posted this card, I instantly fell in love with it, and that stamp set! Such an amazing card. I love the embossing...the stamping...the coloring...everything! Also, Stephanie sent me this really cute candle in a pot which I love! Now I'll have to take a bath soon so I can light it! :-)





This last card was from an SCS RAK club member, and it's just gorgeous! I don't think you can get the full effect from the photo, but it is embossed with black ep, iwht just a hint of gold glitter in it! I'ts incredible!!! Ilove the coloring and shadingthat she did, and she even sent me one of my favorite flowers...pretty neat, huh?? Thanks so much Beverly!

Three times I'm it?

I got tagged three times while I was sleeping last night. First by Michelle, a wonderful artist over at Painted Desert Serenade. Then again by Alison (whom we all know and love) at Stampin When I Can. And when I was making up my list of 5 favs, I discovered that Julie Masse over at Stampin With Julie tagged me too (and she's also forcing me to get Green Thumb from Paper Trey Ink with all her beautiful creations!!)

I'm only allowed to list 5 of my favorites, and right now I have 84 subscriptions (YIKES!) and I have to admit I'm pretty far behind after being out of town for a few days!

So, going alphabetically (How google lists them) here are a very small number of my favs:

Blogabella: Emily is just so much fun! Her blog is always full of wonderful chatty stuff and never fails to makeme laugh. Not to mention her incredible Bellas that she creates! We ALL love them!!

Creative Expressions by Stephanie is another that I always check out. Stephanie has become a wonderful friend of mine over the past few months, and I love catching up on what she's creating, either herself or with her daughters!

Kyla Maestas's Sweetwater Designs is another of my favorites. I've "known" Kyla for a few years now through her online group Stamping Diva's, and she's such a wonderfully talented stamp artist - not to mention a very nice person as well!

Erika's Stampin' Mama blog is always a fun read. She has wonderful projects, tutorials, and her scrapbook pages are always amazing! And, she's a fellow New Englander to boot! Can't beat that.

And for one more, Yvette's Cyber Spot. She's another Diva sister - and she's from Down Under (but lives in Knoxville!). Her work continually inspires me, and I'm sure it will you as well!

TFL!
-Jana

Craft CritiquePen and Marker Carnival!

Looky...I made the latest Craft Critique Carnival!! Thanks guys for thinking my card was worthy!!

Sorry I have no photos for you all today...I am having a rather nasty allergic reaction to some antibiotics, so no stamping, no photo taking, nothing.

However, I DID have a wonderful mail day today!! I got my May Arts ribbon from Jody Morrow's April ribbon share, and it is absolutely GAWGEOUS!

And, even better, I got the most incredible birthday gift from my bday, blogging and Diva buddy Yvette! It's the most amazing thing, and I promise I will take photos tomorrow once this antihistamine finally makes me stop itching!!

Thanks for coming by today...and I promise I'll get back on track soon!

TFL!
-Jana

Card from Michelle

This beautiful card was created by my amazingly talented downline (and VERY good friend!) Michelle. It such a simple card (unusual for her!!) that I just loved it for it's simplicity!

She wheeled a Cool Caribbean card with the wonderful new petals wheel from the spring mini catalog, then highlighted the images with a white gel pen. Next, she cut the oval, then put the white cardstock on the inside and stamped the flowers and greeting and tied the ribbon. I beautiful, quick, easy card! LOVE it!! Thank you Michelle!

I got several beautiful cards while I was gone which I will try to take photos of and update in the next day or two. And, I'll be making some cards with my adorable new Cruisabella stamp that my wonderful friend and upline Rachel sent me for my birthday! :-) Love new Rubbah!!!

TFL!
-Jana

Stained Glass Windows

I suppose considering the number of cathedrals we've visited with incredible stained glass windows that this technique is quite appropriate for me to be sharing with you all. :-)

Here is a card made using the sticker things for those awesome pens. I know I've seen these in the states...they come on sheets with very intricate designs - although I chose a pretty simple one. And I believe they are all laser cut.

The photo is not so great color wise, as the pink scalloped piece is Pink Passion, but you get the idea. I colored my stained glass piece and after it was dry, mounted it inside the pink passion scalloped square with a square cut out. Then, I put the black behind. Then I just took a piece of Lovely Lavendar cardstock and stamped some doodles from Doodle This (because it's new rubber!!) which white craft ink, and poppped the stained glass piece up on dimensionals. All in all, a very simple, quick card once you have the inner squares cut out. Maybe I do need a mega square punch!

TFL!
-Jana

PS Dinner last night was amazing!!! It was actually an 11th century castle, and I ordered a house special steak cooked on hot stone. The brought me a large hunk of raw beef, and a VERY hot stone on which they then cooked it for me at our table. Perfect for a carnivore like me!!! I'm LOVING Barcelona! I promise to update the family blog this next week when I get back and can sort through my 1000+ photos from the last 3 weeks!!!

Fun New Toys from Pipoos

I got something new at Pipoos last week! They had a kit for some cool cards which included these outline stickers, cardstock, transparencies and Glaze 3D roller pens by Sakura. I chose to make my own kit, and got one sheet of the stickers (you'll see on another post) and the pens. I really like them!!!

For this card, I firstpreparred the stained glass panel by cleaning the transparency, rubbing it with my embossing buddy, then stamping the flower from Doodle This with Encore Silver ink and covering with silver detail ep. After brushing away the excess powder with a small brush (why do I still have to do that even when I use the embossing buddy??) I heat set it. Next, I got to color in the flower with my new gel pens.

I really liked the way the go on. Very smooth, and you can move the ink around since it's so thick...like working with paint a little. However, you do have to be careful because if the space your filling isn't entirely closed off, you can get some mixing of colors (click on the card to see the larger image and you'll notice that a little!) You then have to let the ink dry for several hours, and if you touch it, it will get messed up!!

While it dried, I prepared the card. Elegant Eggplant for the card itself, with Pink Passion stamped with Linen background down the side along with a strip of whisper white that's been pierced the full length. Once the card was assembled, I punched out the hole for my stained glass piece with my giga scalloped square punch (now I have a cool looking square to use somewhere else!!) and I was good to go. Oh...except I had to add a little silver ribbon to cover the "seem" from where I stamped linen the second time. I hate leaving those showing.

TFL!
-Jana

PS Barcelona is AWESOME!! Having a wonderful time, heading out for my bday dinner at a 13th century castle!! :-)

Happy Birthday Yvette!

Today is my good diva and blogging buddy Yvette's bday. Hers is just 2 days before mine, so we get to share a birthday weekend. Hope you're having lots of fun today Girlfriend!! And I'm sorry, your card will be quite late (as in, it hasn't been mailed yet!)

Here's a bday card I finally finished making today (and no, it's not going to Yvette!). I started this card about a month ago, made the waves and the sand and stamped the crab in red on red. My 4 year-old daughter declared that did not look good, so I re stamped him in black. Then it sat on my desk for about a month. Finally, this morning I pulled it out from under the pile and finished him off. I think he's cute!! However, do not expect to see any more of this card. I do NOT like cutting things out, and this crab is at the very top of that list!! From now on, he's getting stamped and watercolored, and NOT cut out!!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Crab & Company
CS: Cool Caribbean, Creamy Caramel, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Whisper White
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Whisper White, Basic Black, Cool Caribbean
Acc: Google eyes, mini glue dots, sponge

TFL!
-Jana

What Jana Needs...

So, I'm a "me too" person! And when I saw this on Nancy's blog, I just had to try as well!! I typed "Jana needs" into Google, and here are the top 10 responses:

Jana Needs
...Your Help (isn't that the truth!)
...psychotropic medications (hope not!)
...to get her butt in here (can I send it on it's own? Then maybe what I have left will be normal sized!)
...an agent (stardom here I come!)
...shoes badly (ain't that the truth, I only brought like 6 pair to Germany, perhaps in Italy at the end of the month?)
...to balance her upper and lower body and work on quad width as viewed from the front (whatever!)
...them by August 27th (and don't be late!)
...a singer (I'll have 2 on Sunday when my "sisters" call to wish me a happy bday!)
...the java virtual machine for the monitor function (java, yes, virtual machine? Think not!)

Try it out yourselves....it's fun!

I"m all packed for Barcelona. 3 days of child-free bliss with my hubby. And doesn't it figure, the weather here in Germany will be in the mid-high 70's and sunny, while in Spain it will be rainy and high 50's!!! Oh well...who needs the sun - I'll have better things to do ! :-)

I'll post a card before I leave, and will try to post once or twice while gone. Hubby is bringing his laptop to check email, so I can check/update my blog! Hah!

Quickie butterfly kiss card

Here's a quickie card I made for you all today. I used my new DCWV 6 by 6 paper stack that I picked up at Pipoos in the Netherlands yesterday, and of course my new Butterfly Kisses stamp set. I based it loosely on the sketch challenge layout from last week over at SCS, but just from memory. And I made the butterfly the same way as yesterday's card. I had only 20 minutes to complete a card and wanted something quick and cute. I've had no time for stamping, and I doubt that will change over the next few days so I'm trying to squeeze it in whenever I can!! :-)

Hope you enjoy this quickie card!

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses by PaperTreyInk
CS: Certainly Celery, Basic Black, DCWV Floral Prints designer paper, Vellum CS
Ink: Rose Red craft ink
Acc: clear ep, crafters toolkit, empressor stylus

TFL!
-Jana

New Acrylic!

I broke down and ordered one of the PaperTreyInk stamp sets. I mean, how am I supposed to resist all those incredible butterflies? Huh??? So, I got the idea for this from a few different samples I've seen. I loved Ellen Hutson's sample on their gallery with the butterflies stamped on a window sheet. But, I wanted a little more to it, so I stamped and embossed on vellum cardstock, then I dry embossed from behind to give them more dimension.

I'm not totally happy with how the card turned out, but I love the butterflies themselves. Very 3D! For the background I just stamped a few of the matching smaller images (LOVE EM!) in lighter colors. And, I followed the advice of bending the acrylic to get the sentiment curvy.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses from PaperTreyInk
CS: Whisper White, Pink Passion, Elegant Eggplant
Ink: Whisper White, Pink Passion, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace
Acc: Clear Embossing Powder, velvet ribbon (from a TexasJodyLynn ribbon share!!), empressor stylus

TFL!
-Jana

Good Mail Day

Yesterday was a very good mail day!! I got 3 cards, and only 1 was a birthday card!!

This first card was from Allison Filio over at Stampin' When I Can. We all know Allison as the blog candy announcer, and a mighty great stamper! She used the LawyerBella for this card, and I absolutely LOVE it! Thank you Allison!!!
The second card I got was a welcome to the SCS RAK club from Trina, SCS name Beena. I just love this card, and it uses the SU! classy brass template On the Spot and matching stamp set....and it'siwth my favorite color, Cool Caribbean! Thank you Trina!!
The last card here is from my wonderful friend Michelle. She made me this adorable birthday card using one of the Simply Scrappin' kits, and I LOVE it!! Thanks Michelle!!
TFL!
-Jana

Weight Loss Book...

I'm back from Paris...what a great time! I"ll try to find a good picture of me to replace my grand canyon picture over there in the next couple of days. Now the countdown is on to Barcelona this weekend - a nice getaway with dh for my bday weekend while our little one stays home with her nana and gramps! I can't wait!!! :-)

Today's post is a notebook I made a couple of weeks ago to start keeping track of my weight and measurements. I've actually been loosing weight since moving to Europe, despite the incredibly delicious breads and chocolate. I'm convinced it's because I actually walk places here, and I no longer have an In 'n Out burger around the corner from my house. Whatever it may be, I'm not complaining!! :-)

Of course for this type of book I HAD to use Barbella. And my Loves Me designer paper had the perfect colors for this book. Then all I had to do was stamp the title using my retired Typeset Alphabet and put on some Mike's ribbon! Super quick and easy!!

Promise I'll have some new stuff tomorrow with all my new Rubber (and some new acrylic!!! :-O)

Supplies (all supplies by Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Barbella by Stampingbella, Typeset Alphabet
CS: Loves Me DSP, Chocolate Chip, Naturals White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Stazon Jet Black Ink
Acc: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Mike's ribbon, sponge

TFL!
-Jana

MIA for a few days...

Hi everyone...it's crazy here. Trying to confirm my hotel in Paris (not going well) and get everyone packed up and out of here by lunchtime. Wish me luck!! At least my husband is already packed and meeting us in Paris (he's in lovely California right now, sleeping!)

So...I'll be gone until Monday, but thought I'd leave you with some pictures from last weekend's trip to Holland. Had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the flowers! Happy Easter/Passover/Spring everyone!

TFL!
-Jana

Technical Difficulties...

My banner was posted and looking beautiful...in Firefox! However, Alistamps kindly pm'd me over on SCS to let me know that it was NOT working so well in Internet Explorer. Figures Microsoft would be the one to screw me up! So...until I work that issue out...I've pulled down my beautiful banner Stephanie made me. Watch for its return soon!

TFL!
-Jana

Color Challenge card #2

I made this card for CC#108 this week. I decided to try swiping a classic inkpad over my cuddled cardstock this time to see how it would turn out - and I like it! It gives a little messier look than with the craft, but I think it still turns out ok.

I painted this stampingbella with reinker and ink from my inkpad lids - I wanted a little stronger color than I can usually get from my WW crayons, and I wanted a little more translucence than they give. My biggest mistake was coloring her shoes before her legs were dry...she's got a little pink bleed going up her calves there. Oh well! Guess I got impatient as usual!

I was going to add some hardware or something to this card to give it a little more oomph, but couldn't figure out what or where, so decided to leave well enough alone. What do you all think? I guess I could add a bookplate with a greeting in the lower right corner. Will have to think on that.

I can't show you the first card I made for CC108 this week, because I'm sending it to someone special for her birthday, and since she reads my blog I don't want her to see it before it arrives. However, I will share it in a week or two.

Supplies:

Stamps: StampingBella

Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Pretty in Pink, Always Artichoke, Confetti White

Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Bravo Burgundy, Pretty in Pink, Always Artichoke, blush blossom, mellow moss

Accessories: aquapainter

TFL!
-Jana

I have a new banner!

My good friend (and fellow blogger) Stephanie made me this adorable banner! Isn't it just great?!? I love the colors and the images she used...it's just perfect for me!!

THANK YOU STEPHANIE! Be sure to go visit her blog if you haven't already...it's awesome! And she made her own banner too!

Also, many thanks to my wonderful friend and upline Rachel for talking me through the installation process and reading tons of nasty html code to get it properly installed. Sorry if you visited during that process....but I finally got it to look just right! Shower Rach with some love over at her blog, Friends Happen for me too!!

Thanks everyone...let me know what you think!

TFL!
-Jana

PS I did actually stamp today...I'll try to get my color challenge card posted in the morning. It's getting late here and I need to hit the hay! Nighty-night!!

PJ party invite

I LOVE this Bella. As soon as I saw her I had to have her. She's just so cute...and those fuzzy slippers look like mine! (I have a thing for fun slippers - got a pair of fun, furry psychedelic colored ones at Walmart for only $4 when I was in the US last time!)

As many of you may know, my upline lives in Southern California, and I USED to live in Northern California. So, every 3-6 months one of us would make the trip to visit the other. Occasionally, my sideline would make the trip with me as well, and we'd call it our Friends Happen Pajama Party South (or North if we convinced Rach to come up to us!) We even made t-shirts one year to commemorate it! So, when I saw this Bella I thought she would be perfect for making invitations to a pj party! Now if only someone would come over HERE to visit so that I could HAVE a PJ party!!

I used more of my DP from last summer's mini because I liked the soft blue flowers and thought they matched her flower pj's so well. I colored her in with an aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons again, and I put 1 tiny rhinestone in the center of the flower on her top. I also put stickles in the centers of the flowers on the bottoms. I mean, she's a Bella...she needs some bling, right?? I just love how these Bella cards come together so quickly - they practically make themselves!

Supplies (all supplies SU except where noted):
Stamps: Jammybella by StampingBella, Sincere Salutations
CS: Bashful Blue, Petal Patch Designer Paper, Confetti White, Pretty in Pink
Ink: JetBlack Stazon, Night of Navy
Acc: WWC, Lt. Blue Gingham, Lt Pink Gingham

TFL!
-Jana

Orchid Oppulance is challenging

Not sure if you all know this, but I HATE Orchid Opulence. It is the color I hoped would be retired, but wasn't. I just think it's hard to use, hard to pair with other colors, etc. So, when the Diva group I belong to had a color challenge for one of the swaps using Orchid I was not excited to say the least.

Now, this card here was created by Yvette, an amazing stamp artist! If you haven't visited her blog yet, you should! I just LOVED this card! Below, is the card she got from me. I think I definitely won in this exchange!! I think I still owe her a better card...but I'm not sure I'll be able to create one with Orchid!!

I used the So Very and Delight in Life sets on mine. The other colors were just white and gray...which really didn't help my imagination. Oh well. Some colors I just wasn't meant to use!


Supplies:
Stamps: So Very, Delight in Life
CS: Going Gray, Orchid Opulence, Whisper White
Ink: Orchid Opulence
Acc: Cutter kit for distressing, black organdy ribbon, silver cord, corner rounder punch

TFL!
-Jana