Wade is such a Lovebug!

German Phrase of the Day: Im Februar fahren wir immer ans Meer. = In February we always go to the seaside. Well...that is true for my sister but not always so for me. This year however, we are joining them on Captiva Island, and I can't wait!! We arrived in Florida last night, and after a few days with my Aunt in Orlando, we'll spend a week at my parents house in Lakeland, then on to Captiva for a week! WOOHOO!! While here I'm hoping to meet up with the MFT Lady herself Kim...that will be so awesome!! :-)


Here is another Wade card I made when working on the Valentines from my Dec. Pretties box. Isn't he adorable? I just quickly watercolored him, and the rest of the card came together quickly since it was all precut and ready to go. I just love that!! Don't forget to go over to the Prettie boutique to see all three of the new sets, and check out the sale category...I know Christie has lots of things discounted right now!


For the supplies, you can visit this post. Sorry for the short one today but we've got things to do and places to see! ;-)

Have a great day everyone!

TFL!
-Jana

Prettie Wednesday!

German Phrase of the Day: Nein, ich kann mich nicht entscheiden. = No, I cannot decide.

2 Weeks ago Christie issued a challenge to the Prettie Girls, make a card with light yellow, apricot and light blue. Of course, I had to make a card with our sweet little Sophia! I also wanted to make a tall card because it had been a while since I had made one of these, and I really like them!

I used some Basic Gray Lily Kate paper because it had all the right colors! The card base is Barely Banana and the other cardstocks are Apricot Appeal and Bashful Blue. I also used some Bashful blue grosgrain ribbon.

I watercolored Sophia after stamping her with Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper. I used my watercolor crayons as usual, and stuck with the same colors as the challenge.

I was going to stamp the sentiment directly on the patterned paper, but it didn't look right, so I stamped it onto white and then mounted it on the Bashful Blue. I rounded 2 opposite corners to give it a slightly different shape because I didn't want another rectangle on the card.

When assembling the card, I slide the bashful blue layer under the ribbon (which was pushed through a tiny slit I cut in the fold of the card) and I liked how it looked. I then popped Sophia on her Apricot appeal layer on top of the blue.

As usual for me, it's a pretty simple card, but I really like it. It gives Sophia center stage!

Ok...I'll add the small print later, gotta go hop on a plane!!

See ya all in US time soon!!

Cutie Patootie

, German Phrase of the Day: Es war ein unglaubliches Feiern. = It was an unbelievable party. Did everyone have fun last night? I can't believe I had to miss most of it...but you don't wanna see me on 3 hours of sleep right before I have to get on a VERY long plane ride with my 5 year old alone. So...what did I miss?!?!?

First off...the Bon-Bon's winner is Karen! She made this beautiful card!! Karen, send me an email and let me know if you'd like the Wade E. Bug or Lovebugs sets along with your address and I'll ask Christie to send it out to you!

Today's card features Wade's little cutie patootie on her own. I was able to easily ink her up without inking him to stamp on this precut circle I had leftover from my December MFT box. Doesn't she look so shy and demure? But you know underneath the coyness there's a bug who knows what she wants, just like my little bug! Speaking of her...she just might be getting this little Valentine...I know she'd love it!

As I usually do I stamped with Palette Noir on a precut circle, then I colored her in with my aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons. At least until I have my prismacolor pencils, I would just die if someone took my crayons away from me! I put some stickles on her flowers to make them sparkle.

The designer paper is from the SU! Winter Brights SS Kit, and the card base is a 4.25" by 8.5" piece of Real Red CS. The ribbon is May Arts pink polka dotted organdy. Lastly, I stamped the greeting from an MFT set...I just love Kim's fonts!

I hope you enjoy this one...I'll have my Prettie Girl challenge card from 2 weeks ago posted here tomorrow. Not sure if it made it to Canada yet, but Christie just may not get a surprise when it does finally arrive!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Lovebugs from Paper Pretties
CS: Watercolor, Real Red, winter brights ss kit
Ink: Palette Noir, Real Red
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, ribbon, stickles

TFL!
-Jana

Another view...

Of these great new stamps! Wade is such a show off sometimes, and this card is perfect for that someone in your life who is the same. I wish I'd had this set about 3 months ago when dh took the GMAT in preparation for applying to business schools - he totally aced it! Instead, I'll save this card for when he gets accepted!

I thought Wade could use a little fancier outfit for this card, so I paper pieced his vest. I actually got the idea for this from Jillian's sneak peak back here. I mean, can you believe how cute that is?? I just think this little guy is so darned cute with his top hat and cane.

I used SU's retired Chabon paper for this, because I wanted to keep it monochromatic except that little bit of red to make it all pop. The grays go well with this happy dude! So, after I colored him in with my watercolor crayons, I glued on his vest, then added tiny sequins as his "studs." In college I dated a guy who was in the orchestra, and I remember he had fancy studs to wear with his tux.

For the matting, I punched 2 giga squares with my Marvy punch and spliced them together. I think GinaK did a tutorial on that many months ago, and I do it all the time! Works great for us poor schmucks who don't have nestabilities! (Speaking of Schmuck...did you know that Schmuck in German actually means jewelry??? Isn't that a hoot?!?) And you can barely see the line between the two pieces... Darn I'm good! ;-)

Ok, enough self-congrats. I finished off the card with some lovely ribbon and brads in the corners of the mat, then stamped popped him on with some pop dots and stamped my sentiment. I hope dh likes it!

Hope you all had fun at the party. I joined late so many folks had already gone to bed, but it was fun while it lasted! There's a rumor there might be a SIYJ sometime while I'm Stateside so I'm excited because I"ll be able to stay up and have it not be the middle of the night! Woohoo!!

Ok folks...I'll be back later with another post, but just had to share this little cutie right away!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Wade E. Bug from Paper Pretties
CS: Watercolor, Real Red, Basic Gray, Chabon DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, Basic Gray
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, ribbon, rhinestones, giga scalloped square punch, brads, ticket corner punch

TFL!
-Jana

Cool IKEA light...

Ok Ladies...can you imagine getting to alter this??? It's like having an acrylic paint can with a light in the middle!! how cool is that!?! I didn't see it on the US side, so it may be a Europe only kind of thing. If I knew for sure my husband could re-wire it I'd consider buying it anyway. In the photo in the little catalog I just got it has different kinds of balls around the outside - but you could do almost anything with it!!

Oh...and in this same catalog they have some beautiful glass vases with white designs on them. Can't wait to get my new SU! rub-ons and try that out with a few vases I have here. I think they'll make fabulous gifts for folks as we're leaving!

Anyway...just had to share. Don't forget the party tonight!!! Oh...and stick around til I get up...I have something VERY funny to share with you all! ;-)

Bis spaeter! (until later)
-Jana

New Stamps are almost here!

German Phrase of the Day: Warst du schon einmal verliebt? = Have you ever been in love? With a stamp? Yes...and this is my latest heartthrob!

They're here...they're here! Well...they'll be here at 8pm Central tonight! Introducing Wade E. Bug and his lovely lady. This set is just one of 3 new sets being introduced tonight over on the Paper Pretties website! I just love all 3 new sets, and can't wait to show you more!

Remember when I was making all those cards with my FABULOUS December MFT box? Well, I made a couple of Wade E. Bug cards too (I just couldn't share them back there!) This paper is just so gorgeous...and works perfectly with this set. Isn't she just adorable? I love the flower in her hair. I put some stickles on it to make it sparkle. And I added a little pink to her cheeks.

This sentiment is so perfect for me...anyone out there remember what my daughter's nickname is? Yup...Bug! That's why I always have to buy any cute bug sets I find...lucky me I got this one for free! ;-) I watercolored Wade and his love with my aquapainter and watercolor crayons. His vest is Certainly celery (done with reinker, because as I've said , I think that crayon is a little too light!) and matches this dp perfectly! I even added the little heart brad up in the corner, cute, no?

I'll be posting another card tonight (well, tomorrow morning for me!) using another of the new sets, but for now you make sure to visit all the Prettie Girl blogs (linked at right) to see more full cards featuring these three new sets. And don't miss the big party tonight starting at 8pm central (9 Eastern) in the Paper Pretties Party Forum. I'll be joining you all late this time - I can't do 2 mornings starting at 3am in 1 month! So...I'll just get up a little earlier than usual so I can join in for the tail end of the party. Be sure to save some cake for me!! :-) Oh, and remember if you don't already have a login to the Paper Pretties forum, you might want to arrive a little early to get that setup - or better yet, go do it now!

AND - you still have a chance to win some Prettie Candy. Browse the Boutique and email your 3 favorite items to us at paperprettiesprizes@yahoo.com. You could win 40% off any one item in the store!!

Supplies: (all supplies from Paper Pretties unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Paper Pretties Stamp set
CS: Bazzill Pink textured cs, Prism red cardstock, designer printed paper, Certainly Celery by SU!, watercolor paper
Ink: Palette Noir
Acc: white polka dot organdy ribbon, heart paperfasteners, aquapainter, WWC, stickles

TFL!
-Jana

Colorful Sophia and FREE STAMPS reminder...

German Phrase of the Day: Hast do schon ein Geschenk gehauft? = Have you already bought a present?Valentine's day is fast approaching...are you ready?! I will still be in Florida this year for Valentine's day, and dh will be here in Germany. So...I am actually getting things ready this weekend so he'll have a card each day he's here without us, and I'll leave some chocolate for him as well. Just need to think of good hiding places for everything! :-) If you want to skip the details of the card and be reminded of how to get FREE STAMPS, skip to the end of this post!

I made this card last week sometime when I decided I needed to use some more bright colors. I used the paper from the Winter Brights simply scrappin kit to paper piece Sophia's sweater, then I added some beads from my regals bead collection for the buttons. I always forget to use my beads, so this was good! I stamped the swirl from Priceless onto the upper corner to look like a snowy whirling wind.

After watercoloring Sophia, I added some glitter to the snow to make it sparkle. I used my Martha Stewart Carrera Marble glitter that I bought when visiting with Julie up in New Hampshire back in November. I have to say...I was not impressed with Martha's glitter! I MUCH prefer my dazzling diamonds, and this will be given to Julia for her to play with. I certainly won't use it again - there is very little sparkle and it looks quite flat. You can't even see that I added glitter on the close up photo! Oh well.

Are you all ready for what's coming tomorrow? Don't forget to link up your entries to win one of the BRAND NEW STAMP SETS that are being released TOMORROW night in the Paper Pretties Forum!!! Just make a card using light yellow, apricot and light blue and link it to this post here for your chance to win! And be sure to come back tomorrow morning for a more full peak at what's being released!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Priceless, Snowflake Kisses from Paper Pretties
CS: Watercolor, Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, Winter Brights SS Kit
Ink: Palette Noir, craft white
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, May Arts polka dot ribbon, regals beads, Martha Stewart glitter

TFL!
-Jana

Polished to Perfection

German Phrase of the Day: Lass dir Zeit! = Take your time! Literally translated it means Leave yourself (enough) time - which in my mind is quite different. I rarely leave myself enough time! And when you're trying to do a cool card in 45 minutes, it gets tough!

This was another VSN card that I really liked. The challenge was to do the Polished Stone technique. For the stone layer I used pretty in pink, regal rose, purely pomegranate and silver encore reinkers. I LOVE the way the colors turned out! And what better image for this funky background than Ipodabella! Since I still have my ipod and I rock out to it as often as I can I couldn't resist this cute little Bella. I really love the looking back Bellas...they're just so sassy!

I stamped Bella with Palette Noir ink on watercolor paper and colored her in using an aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons. I used the Purely Pomegranate ink pad for lowlighting her top and the heart on her jeans. I colored her purse with ink from the Encore silver pad...I love how it stays sparkly! I wanted to put some liquid applique on her top, but I couldn't find it anywhere! Oh no...how will I survive without it? Good thing I have some new coming from the Prettie Boutique!

To finish off the card, I mounted Bella on some Purely Pomegranate then Basic Black cardstock, then layered the polished stone piece onto Basic Gray before adhering it to my Purely Pomegranate card (cut 4 1/4" by 11") I tied the silver organdy, black grosgrain and silver cord around the card, then mounted Bella on top. Lastly, I stamped the You Rock! sentiment from the Hanna Stamps Things Hanna Would Say set that I won last year. I really love that set...it's very versatile!

Check out those boots she's got! I have some tall brown leather boots that I bought in the Netherlands on one of my Pipoos runs in the fall, and I LIVE in them! Of course, they don't have heels quite that high...otherwise I'd have broken an ankle by now!! LOL. But, I understand wanting to keep on the comfy boots. :-)

Hope you've enjoyed this card...don't forget Monday night is the big night at Paper Pretties! I'll finally be able to show you a full card using one of the new sets Monday morning, so don't miss it! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Ipodabella by StampingBella, Things Hanna Would Say by Hanna Stamps
CS: Watercolor, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Encore Silver, Palette Noir
Acc: aquapainter, WWC, silver organdy, black grosgrain and silver cord,

TFL!
-Jana

A month late and a Euro short?

I am a bad blogger!! I recieved this beautiful Christmas RAK from Allison when my in-laws got here right before Christmas and I never posted it. I did at least remember to send Allison a note letting her know I had received it...but Thank You Allison! I really loved it!! It was one of only 4 handmade Christmas cards I got this year!

Snowflake tri-fold card

German Phrase of the Day: Es tut mir leid. = I am sorry. This is the more formal way of saying I'm sorry, for when you are sorry for something you have done, like "I am sorry I didn't get the house clean because I was too busy stamping" for example! ;-)

Here's another card I made for VSN last weekend. The challenge here was to make a card with an interesting fold, so I thought a Cami trifold would be fun. Beate has a fabulous tutorial for these over on SCS, and once you've done a few they are SUPER easy!

I've been going through my projects getting some things uploaded for while I'm in Florida, and I realized I haven't posted a Snowflake card yet. I've shown you other things from this set, but not this adorable little penguin. Isn't he just so sweet?? I really love this little guy!

I started with Blue Bayou textured cardstock and folded it according to the directions. Next, I punched a scalloped circle of soft sky cs with my Marvy Giga punch and adhered that to what would be the front panel. Then, I opened my card up and used my coluzzle to cut a circle out of both layers of blues. Next, I took some watercolor paper and placed it on the inside layer where it would be and penciled in the circle of the opening, then stamped snowflake in the center so I knew he'd show through. After coloring him in, I adhered him down.

I stamped the snowflakes in various places on the Bayou Blue cs with Bayou Blue ink, then added the little Penguin prints across the bottom just inside the card (see photo 2) When I first got this stamp set in the mail from Christie I had NO IDEA what this stamp was. I thought it was some sort of weird looking holly, and I felt too dumb to ask anyone. Then, I saw this card of Julie's and realized, OHMYGOSH, those are Penguin prints...how cute is that?!?! Those guys are so brilliant!!

To finish off the card, I stamped the large snowflake in blue bayou on soft sky and cut it out. I added some dazzling diamonds to the open areas, then put star shaped rhinestones on each point and a rhinestone brad for the center, then I popped it up on the outside. At this point it had been 45 minutes and my time was up, but had I had more time I would have added some ribbon to the closure. However, I really enjoyed this challenge! And I'm glad I finally showed you Snowflake!

Supplies:
Stamps: Snowflake Kisses by Paper Pretties
CS: Whisper White, Blue Bayou and Soft Sky textured
Ink: Palette Noir, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky
Acc: aquapainter, WWC, dazzling diamonds glitter, rhinestones, rhinestone brad, coluzzle, Marvy giga scalloped circle punch, slit punch
TFL!
-Jana

S-3 and counting...

German Phrase of the Day: Kannst du Klavier spielen? = Can you play the piano? I did as a child. My mother wouldn't let me take viola up in the 4th grade when string instruments were introduced, she made me take piano lessons instead. Oh well...I still love her! :-) And maybe someday I'll go back and take those viola lessons.

Can you believe it, just 3 more days until 3 new STAMP SETS! I know you've all been wondering WHAT these adorable sets are...so here's another little peek
Isn't she adorable? I've been having so much fun with these new sets (and I only have 2 of the 3 so far...can't WAIT to get the third one. Fingers crossed for a delivery today!) I can't wait to show you this whole card, and all the others I've prepared for you all over the past 2 weeks. Don't forget to check the other Prettie Girl blogs today to see more sneak peaks (links on the right) AND we'll have Prettie Candy for some lucky person - enter to win by visiting the Pretties Boutique and selecting your 3 favorite items, and email the list to paperprettiesprizes@yahoo.com. You could win 40% off any one non-sale item in the store! While you're there, be sure to check out all the great stuff Christie has moved to the sale category - including ALL STAMPS!! And, if you've already got Sophia or Snowflake, don't forget you could win all 3 of these new sets by entering our first ever Cutie Pie contest!!

Lastly, don't forget the Prettie Launch Party is Monday, January 28th starting at 8pm Central in the Party Forum. Be there or B Square! (Am I old or what?!)

Prettie Candy alert!!

I almost forgot to tell you all...we're giving away some Prettie Candy with this new launch! To enter the contest, go surf around the Paper Pretties Boutique and tell us what your favorite three items are by sending a note to paperprettiesprizes@yahoo.com. One lucky winner will be picked at random and will receive a gift certificate for 40% off one regularly priced item on Monday night! I know there are some delish things in the boutique...so have fun surfing!

Prettie Wednesday, and another little peak!

German Phrase of the Day: Kannst du das nochmal sagen? = Can you say that again? Usually I just cheat and say "Bitte" which means please, but can also mean you're welcome and excuse me, and probably several other things I just don't know about yet. However, this is a useful phrase to know when learning a new language...so I've tucked it into my back pocket of phrases I try desperately to remember!

Yesterday was Prettie Wednesday! Julie issued this week's challenge, and wants us to create a Valentine for our Stamping Sisters (or other girlfriend) Then, we'll mail them out to arrive by Valentine's day to the next Prettie girl on the list. So my challenge to you all is make a Valentine for one of your girlfriends (real, or PSF's [pretend stamping friends] as Lauren calls them) and MAIL IT! I know...I'm TERRIBLE about mailing things, especially since it costs me 2 euros to mail cards back to the US (that's $3.00!!) but we make all these wonderful creations and don't share them as much as we should...so...get out those stamps, and those stamps! ;-) Now for another little sneaky peek....
What do you think of today's little looksy at the wonderful new stamps coming out on Monday at Paper Pretties? It's very hard for me to keep the lid on this one...I just love it!! You won't want to miss the party Monday night at 8pm central (which is 0'dark-thirty here!) Be sure to check the other Prettie Girl blogs (links on right) for more sneak peaks today, and remember you still have time to submit an entry to be our first Cutie Pie!! Oh...and speaking of pretties... have you checked out all the ribbon Christie has over there? She just got some brand spankin' new Valentine's ribbon from American Crafts and it is TO DIE FOR! Oh my gosh...you have got to go check it out!!

Now, for today's card. I made this the other morning using a Stampendous image I stamped while my friend Karin was here. She made this gorgeous card with it, and I had to CASE at least part of it! I mean, look at that flower?!? So...I started with the image stamped in Palette Noir on stamper's select white. I sponged a little Groovy Guava into the center, then some Regal Rose working out towards the petals. Then, I opened up the Purely Pomegranate and started sponging that inwards. I don't think I have ever completely colored an image using sponges. I always watercolor images like this. But you just can't get this kind of intense color with a watercolor brush! I mean...this just screams at you!

After I got the color right, I cut the image out, covered it with Versamark and embossed with iridescent ice ep. Then, I inked it up with versamark again and covered it with Glassy Glaze ep. After melting that I added one more layer to make it nice and smooth. Gorgeous, no?

I had already decided to use Julee's Mojo Monday #21 sketch...but now I had to figure out how to incorporate this flower into it. I played around with a few different sets and finally settled on this Think Big set that I have rarely used, but LOVE. I stamped the BIG with Palette Noir first, then added the shadow with Going Gray using my SAMJ (Stamp a ma Jig) then I added the dream with Purely Pomegranate. I stamped the Pomegranate layer with my floral background (again with Pomegranate ink) and hid the seam behind the ribbon!

The closeup really gives you more of the impact of this flower. In real life it is amazingly gorgeous if I do say so myself. Gee..I'm gonna start sounding like Jan Tink here pretty soon!

Have a wonderful day everyone, and be sure to come back tomorrow for another Paper Pretties Sneak Peak!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Think Big, Floral Background, Stampedous Flower
CS: Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Stamper's Select White from PTI
Ink: going gray, basic black, purely pomegranate, regal rose, groovy guava
Acc: sponge, iridescent ice ep, glassy glaze ep, black organdy ribbon, silver cord, 1 1/4" circle punch

TFL!
-Jana

Sneak Peek and 2 cards!!

German Phrase of the Day: In der Ruhe liegt die Kraft. - In calmness lies strength. I guess in December the calendar got all philosophical on us...huh! I like that the word Kraft in German means strength in English. So, when you use Kraft paper for your projects, you are imbuing some strength into your project! :-)

Today I have lots of fun for you all. First...sneak peak!
This is just a tiny bit of one of the new stamps we're releasing over at Paper Pretties on Monday. I've been having lots of fun playing with the 2 I have so far (the 3rd will hopefully be here today!) You won't want to miss this release...and be sure to check the other Prettie Girl blogs (links right there on the right side) for more peeks at the great new sets coming your way! And don't forget about my giveaway on THIS POST. You could win one of these new sets just by linking up your card using light blue, light yellow and apricot!!

I made 2 cards for today's sketch challenge. I really liked this sketch, and remember the card of Jen's that it's based on. So, it was no hardship to come up with 2 cards. The first here has been percolating in my little head for almost a month. The day we drove to Nurnberg I was up early and running errands before we left. The previous night had been VERY cold, with lots of fog coming in off the river (we live just a few miles from the Rhine) and we had the most incredible frost on everything. Driving to the next village over I go past some fields and forested areas, and the view with the sun just starting to show up (at 8:30am!!) was breathtaking. I actually wish I had Nichole's new set so I could use that sentiment for this card - I think that was the hardest part - finding a sentiment I liked!!

I started by inking up the trees with versamark, then I went over the ground and some branches with the dark gray marker, and then the trunks with the black marker before stamping it on glossy cs. I then embossed it with iridescent ice ep. Then, I brayered on the color for the early morning lighting. I masked the bottom with a torn piece of eclipse masking tape. That stuff is totally awesome, and you can get it in the Pretties Boutique!! First I added the pretty in pink, then Going Gray, then Basic Gray, and lastly Night of Navy. Then, I sponged a little gray onto the bottom and removed the mask.

I trimmed this piece down and then cut it into 3rds to layer onto the card. I used Night of Navy, Pretty in Pink and Basic Gray cardstocks for the various layers. The sentiment is from Touch of Nature, and the trees of course are from Lovely as a Tree.

The second sketch challenge card I did was with Sophia. I mean...it had been like 3 whole days since I had made a card with her...can't have that now, can we?? I bought this wonderful SEI paper at Pipoos over the weekend specifically to use for paper piecing. I liked the small floral pattern and thought it would work well with various stamps I have that need dressing.

I stamped Sophia in Palette Noir on watercolor paper, and then onto teh SEI paper. I colored her in with an aquapainter and watercolor crayons, giving her a slight yellow "glow" a la Debbie Olson (did you see her Wedding card today? OHMYGOSH!) I like the effect that gives. It's very subtle so you can't see it very well in these photos - sorry!

After Sohpia was colored and dressed I went ahead and finished up the rest of the card. Looking at it now, I wish I had punched tiny holes in each scallop...maybe I an still do it now. I think that will add a little. And I like the flowers, they are from my SU! Pretties kit. I added some Guava with my aquapainter to the center, then I used a sponge to add the Pixie Pink. Normally, I do NOT use Pixie Pink, but it matched this paper so well I had to. I love the bright colors here!

Anyway...I hope you enjoy the results of my stamping morning. Tomorrow is a cleaning morning (dh gets home tomorrow night, can't have him thinking ALL I do is stamp, even if it is!) so I'll share the card I did yesterday for Julee's Mojo Monday. I think you all will like it...I know I do!!

Card #1 Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Touch of Nature, Lovely as a Tree
CS: Glossy White, Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray, Night of Navy
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray, Night of Navy, going gray, basic black
Acc: sponge, brayer, may arts polka dot ribbon, iridescent ice ep, corner rounder punch

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Cuddle Me from Paper Pretties
CS: watercolor paper, Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Ally's Wonderland Queen's Lace by SEI
Ink: Palette Noir
Acc: aquapainter, WWC, corner rounder punch, pretties kit

TFL!
-Jana

Ice Skating Fun

German Phrase of the Day: Ich war gestern in Munchen. = I went to Munich yesterday. Maybe that's where you all are...in Munich! Or else no one likes my VSN cards. Ok...so today I'll show you something different!

I checked the color challenge this morning on SCS and thought, I LOVE those colors. I'm big into the blues lately, and adding just a touch of red helps liven them up a bit. I also wanted to use Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try (SFYTT) from Saturday. She really does awesome sketches!! Thus, Glideabella was created.

Glideabella was stamped with Palette Noir on watercolor paper, then watercolored with ink pads and WWC (I have to use the ink pads for the blues because they are "In Colors" but for all else I use the WWC - and for the red I again mix Real Red and Ruby Red to get closer to a true red.) For the blades on her skates, I picked up some ink from my Encore Silver ink pad with my aquapainter. I love how it keeps it's silver/sparkly tone. After coloring her in and mounting her on red cs, I stamped some snowflakes from Snow Fluries onto whisper white cardstock and punched them out with my 1/2" circle punch. I put them into the Build a Brads (these things are so awesome!) then adhered the ribbon to the standard size Soft Sky card, stuck Bella on with some dimensionals, then but my brads in right at the edge of Bella's layer. Lastly, I stamped the greeting with Real Red ink (altho if I had stamped it earlier I would have a little more space for it because I could have moved Bella over some!) The greeting is from GinaK's Sandy Claws set. I love this sentiment and think it works for so many different things.

So this weekend while dh and dd were in Frankfurt, she went ice skating for the very first time. My husband actually remembered to bring a camera with him (it helps that I handed it to him and said "pack this now please!") and even better, he remembered to take pictures! I'm kinda bummed that I missed her first skating adventure, but I'm glad he got to be there for it (and he even took video!) So, I will leave you today with a short video of Julia's first time on skates!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Glideabella by StampingBella, Sandy Claws by GinaK, Snow Fluries
CS: Watercolor, Soft Sky, Real Red
Ink: Palette Noir, Soft Sky, blue bayou
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, 1/2" circle punch,build a brads, double stitched blue bayou ribbon

TFL!
-Jana

More VSN fun

German Phrase of the Day: Nur wer schwach sein kann, ist wirklich stark. - Only when you can be weak are you really strong. I must be really strong today because I'm weak from lack of sleep! We were up until 2am trying to get all our projects uploaded to SCS, and dh's alarm went off at 5am today since he had to head to the airport at 6. :( Oh well...I'll sleep well tonight!

I think I'll give you a couple cards a day from VSN, but I probably won't be as verbose as I can sometimes get. ;-) The first card was the second challenge using an inspiration piece - chocolate shoes in cream, pink and brown! They were quite pretty, and appetizing! I pulled out my trusty Green Thumb set from PTI and got to work. I used my Au Chocolat paper and brayered pretty in pink onto it. I love that look! The layout is pretty simple, with the sentiment on top and some hodgepodge hw to add some ribbon.

The second card was one we did on Sunday. The theme was Little Black Dress, and we had to stamp on black. I stamped with white craft ink on the black cardstock, then embossed it with iridescent ice. For the pink side, I used my brand new K & Co. Valentines paper from a paper stack I picked up at Pipoos on Saturday. LOVE it!!!

For the ribbons, I used some lt. pink grosgrain, then added in some pink, black and silver narrow organdy along with some silver cord. I thought that helped dress it all up a bit. I then stamped the greeting from PTI's Faux Ribbon set in white craft on black cs and again embossed with iridescent ice ep. I punched it out with the large oval punch and attached it to the pewter bookplate using glue dots. For the eyelets holding it on the card, I used some Making Memories black and white eyelets I had bought a while ago but hadn't broken out yet. Lastly, I added 5 punched 1/2" circles of Pretty in Pink CS to the side. It just needed a little something extra, and I thought that might work. I really love this card, and will probably use it for dh's valentine this year. Since I will still be in Florida for V-day I'll have to hide it for him here somewhere! This is my favorite *card* made from VSN, but surprisingly it has received no comments on SCS yet. Go figure.

Here's a closeup of the sentiment...I just love the little bit of sparkle it gets!!

Supplies, Card 1:

Stamps: Green Thumb

Paper: Au Chocolat, very vanilla, chocolate chip

Ink: chocolate chip, pretty in pink

Accessories: HPH, May Arts Ribbon, cutter kit

Supplies Card 2:

Stamps: Priceless, Faux Ribbon from PTI

Paper: Basic Black, K& Co.

Ink: White Cr aft

Accessories: iridescent ice, pink grosgrain, silver pink and black organdy, silver cord, HPH

TFL!
-Jana

VSN was fun!

Sorry, no German phrase of the Day today - it's almost 1am and I'm tired!

Here was the first card I made for VSN yesterday. I liked this challenge, but couldn't think very well when we started so copied the colors and stamp set from an earlier card I made.

I'll try to write a little more to go with this tomorrow, right now I"m going to go snuggle with dh before he leaves for 4 days! Hope you all had great weekends!!

ETA: So, I started by cuting the circle with my Coluzzle circle cutter (leaving a bit at the top so it was still connected!!) I sponged all around the card, then worked on the layers. The top layer is whisper white. I stamped the sentiment and watercolored it, then I stamped and colored the flowers which I then cut out. I used some earth elements buttons for the flower centers, made a bow using double stitched ribbon, and matted it all on Ruby red, with a diagonally cut half layer of groovy guava in-between (just following the sketch!)

Stamps: Time Well Spent

Paper: RIver Rock, Confetti White, Ruby Red, Groovy Guava

Ink: RIver Rock, Ruby Red, Groovy Guava, palette noir

Accessories: EE buttons, groovy guava double stitched ribbon, rhinestones, aquapainter, WWC, coluzzle

TFL!
-Jana

PS Thanks to everyone who left a comment for Julia - she really loved hear them all!

Card by Julia (my daughter!)

German Phrase of the Day: Was sind deine Hobbies? = What are your hobbies? My wonderful 5 year old daughter Julia has many hobbies. Gymnastics, dancing, rollerblading, playing barbies / vet / legos / animals / you name it! But one hobby we share is crafting. I love it when she says to me "Mommy, can we go upstairs and do a craft together?"

On Friday afternoon we did that, and she wanted to make a special card. We have a good friend turning a significant age this month, and Julia thought it would be fun to make her a card. She wanted to use one of my MFT stamps, and she chose the women at the cafe. Next, she wanted a cake, on the cake plate. Once everything was stamped on the paper, she took it to her own desk to color and cut out. Then, she chose a color for the card base and I cut it for her, and she selected some ribbon and attached it herself! When she was done she was very pleased with herself and said "Mommy, I really want you to put this on your blog." I mean, how could I resist? She's quite irresistible when she's being cooperative (and I got 2 cards done while she worked on that - of course, I can't show them yet...sorry!) So, here is Julia's card - I even made her her own watermark! She would LOVE it if some of you left comments for her!

And now, since it is quarter past midnight and I have been awake since 5:30 am, I am going to bed. My friend Karin and I finished 2 of last nights challenges before heading to Pipoos and running other errands (she slept in lucky girl!) and then we just did the first 6 of Saturday's challenges. Phew... I'm tired! We have 10 more to do before she leaves Monday afternoon, so I think we'll be busy tomorrow!!Goodnight!!

Quick reminder...

...Blog Challenge for a FREE STAMP SET!!! Link up your cards on THIS POST - and get directions there too!

My first love...

German Phrase of the Day: Schweigen ist Gold. = Silence is golden. Oh how true that is. To have a silent house...such a luxury! I'll have 2 whole days of no husband, no child...just me, my friend Karin, and our stamping supplies...heaven! Of course, I had to spend all morning cleaning because I can't have my friend see just how bad the house had gotten!!!

Before I get to today's card, I have to do a little enabling! Paper Pretties is having an Out with the Old, In with the New sale right now! Christie has got a lot of things she's put on sale to make space for all the wonderful new things she plans on picking up at CHA. Oh...I can't WAIT to see what she finds! Also...she's continuing to add new products daily, so check back often!

Now, lest you think I've forgotten the love which first drew me to stamping, I have a card made with my trusty old SU! stamps today. Yes...I still have them. I even have some new ones from last month that I haven't finished mounting yet (must do that today so they are ready for VSN!) And... I'll be getting about 10+ new sets in February from the new Catty! I can't wait!!!

For today's card, I decided to try something out I saw on fellow Prettie Girl Jillian's blog. I stamped on my background paper. I know...you're not supposed to do that! I mean...they make it perfect already, why stamp on it??? But...I think it looks pretty cool!

I started with the 4 1/8" by 5 3/8" piece of River Rock Prints DSP. I stamped the swirl from Baroque Motifs using my Palette Noir ink pad (I'm gonna need to reink that sucker soon the way I've been using it!) then I sponged along the edges with River Rock ink.

Next, I stamped the focal piece using True Friend. I colored the flower image with markers, stamped it, then quickly went over the stamped image with my damp aquapainter to soften the colors a bit - just like Nichole taught us on day 4 of this month's preview. I like the softer colors! Next, I inked up the sentiment stamp with River Rock and colored in the non-fancy words with my Rose Red marker. I think Rose Red ink is so close to Purely Pomegranate that you can match them up pretty easily!

I roughed up the edges of the focal piece, then mounted it on some Purely Pomegranate cardstock (also roughed up), tied the organdy ribbon around it, then decided a Purely Pomegranate card base would work best and finished assembly. It's a very simple card, but I'm happy with it. I think I'll have to experiment more with this stamping on designer paper...it's fun! Now to go finishing picking up/organizing my craft room so I'll be ready to go with all the challenges this weekend!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: True Friend, Baroque Motifs
CS: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock Prints DSP
Ink: Palette Noir and River Rock ink pads; Rose Red, Regal Rose, and So Saffron markers
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, narrow organdy ribbon, cutter kit

TFL!
-Jana

Veggiebella's been busy

German Phrase of the Day: Sei doch vernunftig! = Be reasonable! But, I am never reasonable, why start now? I'm so excited for this weekend. Anyone else out there doing VSN this weekend? I have a girlfriend flying over from London and am sending dh and dd to Frankfurt Saturday morning until Sunday evening. All we have to do all weekend is STAMP, STAMP, STAMP! I can't wait!!! Of course, with the time difference we won't be starting until Saturday morning here (I think the first challenge is 6pm Friday night, so that's midnight here) we'll just get up in the morning and stamp - then take a break to go to a stamping store I've been wanting to check out. Come back, and stamp more!! We'll probably do the first half of Saturday's challenges Saturday night (6pm-midnight) then go to bed and finish up the rest on Sunday. It's gonna be awesome! So...if you're doing the challenges too, drop me a line!

Today's card is one I made a little while back. I had originally cut this cardstock for GinaK's launch party sketch #2 challenge, but couldn't make it work so I switched to basic gray paper for that one. I thought the flowery cuteness of this paper would work well with Veggiebella though!

As usual, I started with watercolor paper, and stamped my bella with Palette Noir ink. I colored her in with my aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons. Don't you just love her lavender overalls? I mean, doesn't everyone need lavender overalls??? I mounted her on some So Saffron cardstock, then using my 1/2" circle punch I punched 1/2 a circle to make room for the bow. Debbie Olson does that and I think it looks so cool - so I had to try it. Yeah...I'm a follower, I know it!

For the card, I started with a 4 1/4" by 11" piece of So Saffron folded in half. I layered on some Almost Amethyst, then my sponged dsp (I think it's from the retired SU! Uptown) I slid the ribbon under the amethyst layer, attached Bella then tied the bow. Lastly, I stamped the greeting from the Hanna Stamps "Things Hanna Would Say" set that I won last November because I just thought it was perfect for Veggiebella here. After punching it out with my word window punch, I lightly sponged the edges before adhering it down, and Voila!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Veggiebella by StampingBella, Things Hanna Would Say by Hanna Stamps
CS: Watercolor, So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, Uptown dsp
Ink: Palette Noir, Almost Amethyst
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, 1/2" circle punch, lt. blue narrow organdy ribbon, word window punch

TFL!
-Jana

LONG Post, with some Blog Bon-Bons!!!

German Phrase of the Day: Komm, lass uns tanzen. = Come, let us dance. Julia LOVES to dance. One of her favorite dancing songs is Rock Lobster by the B52's, so when my husband was surfing around looking at recent kids movies and came across THIS, well, we knew Julia would love it. Now to wait for it to show up here in Deutschland! In the meantime, she's watched the Rock Monster video several times!

I was a busy little stamper this morning. I got 5 cards made! One of them I can't share yet - it's for this week's Prettie Girls Wednesday challenge. This week, Christie challenged us to make a card with light yellow, light blue, and apricot. I'll share that card with you in 2 weeks on Jan. 30th - gotta give it time to get to it's destination first! But, if you'd like to play along, please come back and link your card here. Then, on Tuesday, Jan. 29th I'll draw a name from all of you who played along, and the winner will get a brand new NOT YET RELEASED clear art stamp set from Paper Pretties! I'll have Christie mail it directly to you! So...get creating and let me see your prettie challenge cards!

Ok...so on to the cards for today. First up, is the card from the December Paper Pretties MFT box. I made this one according to the wonderful directions Christie includes. She really makes it easy to get these cards done! I watercolored my chocolates from the Be Mine set using Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa, then I added a little shading to the white chocolate ones with Sahara Sand. Then, I added a little icing to the top with my white gel pen and chocolate chip marker. For the scalloping I used my corner rounder instead of scalloped scissors because...well...I like it better. Otherwise, I followed the directions to the letter.

For the second card, I used the same supplies, but I followed this week's MFT sketch challenge. I thought these supplies would make a wonderful card for that sketch, and I was right! I really love this designer paper!! For the chocolates, this time I added some diamond glaze to make them shiny. I wanted to do each chocolate individually, but it was coming out too fast. I may try again on another card!

Then the third card is the same supplies again, following Christie's directions again, except I used Sophia instead of the chocolates. Isn't she just too cute? And doesn't she look fabulous with this paper?? I so {heart} Sophia! She's almost as cute as my own little devil - er - angel! I watercolored her with my aquapainter and WWC (as usual lately!) and then flocked the teddy bear - but I was careful not to get too much flocking this time! In addition to piercing each bump of the scalloped circle, I also then added some white with my white gel pen. Looks like I have little tiny eyelets in each one, doesn't it? I think it looks cool! I finished it off with a sentiment from the MFT BE Mine set. I thought it worked perfectly with sweet Sophia and her teddy bear.

Then, the last card. Since I had all these supplies out already, I thought I'd keep going. And, they worked PERFECTLY for this week's sketch challenge over on SCS. So, the 4th card was created very quickly! I already had a stamped Sophia on some watercolor paper, so I just had to color her in, layer her on some basic black cardstock, mount her on the green cardstock, and assemble. Having all the supplies ready (and mostly cut) makes card making very fast and easy! That's one thing I LOVE about these Paper Pretty boxes!

Supplies: (all supplies from Paper Pretties unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Be Mine by My Favorite Things
CS: Bazzill Pink, and green textured cs, Prism red cardstock, designer printed paper, ultrasmooth white cs, basic black cs, watercolor paper
Ink: Palette Noir
Acc: white polka dot organdy ribbon, heart paperfasteners, aquapainter, WWC, white gel pen, paper piercer, corner rounder

TFL!
-Jana

Warm Friends

German Phrase of the Day: Ich bin so gestresst. = I am so stressed out. Actually...I'm not stressed right now. I'm still flying up around Cloud 10! I went right on past Cloud 9!! LOL

Here's another Sweet Sophia card. Isn't she just darling? For today's card I wanted to paper piece her dress, so I used the lovely SU! Porcelien Prints DSP for her dress and matching border. I used a coordinating paper for the card base, all on a standard sized certainly celery card.

I already had little Sophia stamped on some confetti cardstock with Palette Noir ink. I colored her in first with my WWC and aquapainter, then I stamped her again on the designer paper and cut out her dress. After adhering her dress, I flocked little Teddy there. I think I got a little TOO much flocking this time because it's hard to see all his details. But...such is life. I actually scraped some flocking off his eyes using my paper piercer. That helped!

Next, I punched 2 scalloped squares from the same paper and pieced them together to make 1 rectangle big enough to mount Sophia on (can YOU find the seem on this picture - I can't!). Then, I adhered the coordinating design of paper to the bottom part of the card, tied some lovely Satin Ribbon from a Jody Morrow ribbon swap around, and then stamped the greeting with Not Quite Navy ink onto Confetti white cardstock, cut it apart, and mounted them on Not Quite Navy cs. I adhered the greeting (from Snowflake Kisses) directly to the card, and popped Sophia up on pop dots. I just love this saying with Sophia and her teddy. I mean...what better friend can a little girl have than her cozy "stufftie"? It was a very quick card (or would have been if I hadn't been interrupted a dozen times by Julia wanting this thing or that) and I LOVE quick cards!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Cuddle Me and Snowflake Kisses from Paper Pretties
CS: Certainly Celery, Confetti White, Not Quite Navy, Porcelain Prints
Ink: Palette Noir, Not Quite Navy
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, Marvy Giga Scalloped Square punch, Satin ribbon from May Arts

TFL!
-Jana