Finally...a project for you all to see!

So, I've actually gotten a little stamping done this last week. Of course, I did very little of it here in my own home, but mostly at my good friend Michelle's house. She had her annual Hostess Appreciation Tea last week, and designed these adorable Make & Take's for everyone to make. Michelle is my only remaining downline after my long break, and I'm always amazed at the things she creates! I loved the creativity of this!!

We started with some of the light chipboard that comes in the back of your DSP packages. Ran that through the new Big Shot with the scalloped note die, along with some Bella Rose DSP. Then, we used some of the mini dies with Pink Pirrouette, Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red to decorate. Behind the bird/flower combo is a mini binder clip - the embellishment is added with pop-up glue dots! We also added some ribbon to the top of the clip (which I could have dyed, but I preferred to leave it white.)

I really love the little bird and flowers, and especially the fact that his wings are separate so you can add them on with some dimension. Isn't he just the cutest?? Michelle, you really outdid yourself this time! I'll be helping Michelle get her own blog started soon...so you can look forward to seeing more of her work soon.

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: None!
CS: Bella Rose DSP, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette
Ink: None
Acc: SU! Big Shot, Scalloped Note die, Birds & Blooms Sizzlits Dies, white taffetta ribbon, silver brads, pop-up glue dots, mini binder clips

TFL!

Quick post from Insanity-ville!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA for so long - this moving business is crazy, and add in the pregnancy and I'm just a walking disaster!! ;-) My poor husband has had to do all the heavy work, and I can only unpack in short bursts of time...so it's all going a little slower than I would have liked. I have, however, stamped! I will try to find my card reader to upload a few photos, and now that my desktop computer has arrived, I can get back to my regular files, and photo-editing software. Just need a monitor for it! My stamping desk is currently piled about a foot high with things that need to be put away, but I am making progress.

Julia's first day of school went well, and she had a second first day of school because we were able to get her a spot in an alternative school in the school district. It is a parent participation, child-focused philosophy which we are very excited about. She seems to be enjoying it, although still having some problems at drop off time. Hopefully as we get more settled into our home that will improve.

This Monday, September 1st (5-8pm Pacific time) is the next Paper Pretties SIYJ Party (Stamping in Your Jammies) and I can't wait. I've invited all the local Pretties to come to my house for the party to stamp and chat (both in-person and online!) so if YOU love the Pretties and live in the San Jose area and would like to come to enjoy the party in-person as well as online, send me an email!

Ok, I'll be back soon with some eye-candy I hope. Gotta go do some more shopping first!

Thanks for checking in with me!
-Jana

Happy Belated Birthday Jackie!!!

So, I dropped the ball (not uncommon these days!) and we were a little late with our Virtual Birthday Party for Jackie...but better late than never, right?!

Unfortunately, I have not yet had time to stamp...and I'm in charge of Party Favors! What's a girl to do?? Cheat...and show you what I will use as inspiration when I DO finally get to stamp again! So, in surfing around I found this awesome site (Bellissimo Favors) that had favors for ALL occasions, and even though Jackie's birthday is in the summer, I couldn't resist this beautiful beaded Snowflake ornament!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Julia, so I'm actually hoping to get a little time of my own finally, and perhaps I'll even get something made for Jackie. So sorry we were late, but we hope your day was spectacular!! And, if you haven't already, be sure to check all the other Prettie Girl blogs to see what THEY brought to the party!

Thanks for stopping in!
-Jana

Housewarming gift

A friend has recently moved house, and I thought making a fun little journal to write notes (perhaps phone messages?) into would be a useful thing. And while I was at it, I made a matching photo frame.

I used the now retired Outlaw SU! DSP for both projects. For the journal, I also used the Think Big stamp set along with some Very Vanilla, Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip cardstocks. I attched the paper to the journal with my red liner tape, and for the frame I used modpodge (both on the frame and then to seal the paper on top.) To finish off the journal I added some grosgrain and gingham ribbons on the spiral binding. I have a contrasting paper lining the inside covers as well...looks very cute!

I really hope she likes them!!!

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Think Big
CS: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla, Outlaw DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow
Acc: grosgrain ribbon, gingham ribbon, modpodge, red liner tape.

TFL!

Hi everyone! Just a really quick post to say hi and let you know we're here safely and still getting settled. Got phone/internet setup yesterday finally...so finally got online last night for the first time. Of course, most of our internet time is spent researching cars (I need one!) and other things we need to buy for the house...and the rest of the time is spent unpacking or making Target runs. I did get a chance to go to my friend Michelle's for her New Catty open house yesterday where we made adorable little frames with some of the new sets so I'll try to film that today so I'll have something to post once these run out (which I think might be tomorrow!)

Thanks everyone for all the well wishes...they are much appreciated. Someday when I have time I'll write a post about the move - and lessons learned! :-)

Thanks for dropping in!
-Jana

Circle Journal - final Entry

I had the priveledge of doing a wonderful circle journal project organized by Michelle Tweedy. And while we all got off track on occasion, I'm so excited to say I have finished and mailed my final journal.

This last one I got was for recipes. For me, one of my all-time favorite treats from Maine is Whoopie Pies. I know I've written of them often on my blog...and they are such a wonderful treat I can't help myself! I also thought the title Making Whoopie would be fun to include!! :-)

I used some Berry Bliss paper to cover the pages after punching it with my spiral notebook punch. For the title side I layered Close to Cocoa on Pretty in Pink on Whisper white. I stamped the Making with Newsprint Alpha and Whoopie with my Jumbo Outline Alphabet both in Chocolate Chip ink, coloring the overlapped areas with a versamarker. I then added the grosgrain ribbon to the bottom. For the opposite page, I made a little pocket with some more Berry Bliss DSP, adding a close to cocoa button. Then, I tucked the recipe in the pocket, giving it a little tag first. It was pretty simple, but I'm quite happy with the result, and I hope Allison enjoys the recipe!

Thanks for checking in today. Hopefully we're getting settled into the house by now, and we've managed to get Julia registered for Kindergarten. This will be her 3rd year of it...altho her first at an American kindergarten! ;-) Have a wonderful day!

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Newsprint Alphabet, Jumbo Outline Alphabet
CS: Whsiper White, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Berry Bliss DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, versamarker
Acc: grosgrain ribbon, sprial notebook punch, round corner tab punch, pink brads, neutrals buttons, linen thread

TFL!

I'm Falling for You...

Here's the other card I managed to make using the new Falling For You set from Paper Pretties. I really love how the coloring on this card turned out (of course because I used my Prismas!) and I think she looks just like my cousin's daughter on this card. I think I'll have to send it to her!

I went with a fairly simple layout, but I added the linen thread to the corners of the main image to help it stand out a little more and frame Sophia in. I like the linen thread with these colors and image since it adds an additional touch of fall. I've added a close up photo of the main image below so you can see the colors even better...they come out so much brighter with the Prismas than when watercoloring!

For the sentiment I trimmed the strip of paper to 1/2" wide, then I punched the 2 ends with my 1/2" circle punch to round them out a little. Lastly, I sponged on some pumpkin ad chocolate chip inks to fade out the white a little and add some interest.

Have a great day everyone!

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Falling for You by Paper Pretties , flannel plaid background
CS: Stamper's Select White, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Old Olive Prints DSP
Ink: Brilliance black, Chocolate Chip, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie
Acc: linen thread, sponge, paper crimper, prismacolor pencils, OMS, blending stumps, ticket corner punch, 1/2" circle punch

TFL!

Onesie Card

So, now that I'm no longer living in Germany, I'm going to stop doing my German Phrase of the Day. I guess I'll have to think of something else fun to do to open all my posts, but right now (since I'm writing this while still in Germany because I'm not TOTALLY insane, and I don't even have internet at our new house yet) I'll have to think on it. Perhaps I'll run a blog candy contest so you all can help me decide what to do.

Ever since I saw Jane's cute little Onesie card that she made using Lauren Meader's awesome instructions, I knew I had to make one too (since you all know I'm into anything baby right now!) and what is cuter on a little baby onesie than a turtle? This is the adorable little turtle from the new Paper Pretties Beach Bum set, and I totally love him. This time, I colored him with my prismacolors, then I added some shadows in a complementary color to help him stand out even more. I'm quite happy with the effect, and will have to try that more! For the snaps at the bottom I used some tiny little button brads I had from GinaK...aren't they cute?? Oh...I just love this card. Not sure WHO will rate high enough to get this one...but I'm sure I'll find someone! :-)

Ok...today is a busy day as we try to get settled into our new home here in California. I have posts all lined up for this week...so hopefully by the time I finally run out I'll have my computer, internet, and have actually CREATED something! :-)

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Beach Bum by Paper Pretties
CS: Stamper's Select White, certainly celery
Ink: Brilliance black
Acc: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, blending stumps, circle punches, scallop punch, button brads from GinaK

TFL!

SIYJ Challenge: Party Related item

German Phrase of the Day: Auf wiedersehen Deutschland! = Goodbye Germany! I can't believe we fly to California tomorrow...our time here has passed so quickly, and so many things have happened. Our daughter is now fluent in German, and while my husband and I can't claim the same, we can certainly get by. And we've seen SOOO much here in Europe. I will really miss our travels, but we knew it couldn't last forever. Who knows...maybe we'll be back in Europe in a few more years. :-) My husband is pushing for Barcelona next.

ETA: Ok, it's Friday morning, we leave for Frankfurt airport in 22 hours, and my house is STILL not all packed!! And what am I doing?? Checking on my blog! I'm sick. Ok...back to work!! :-) PS to my family, all is good, and I'm feeling fine - just don't ask how poor Phil is!

This card was for the last of the SIYJ challenges Charmaine issued Friday night - to make something party related. Since I had already make a treat bag, I figured I should make the pool party invite to go with it! I used a very simple layout, and again used the wonderful Bali Breeze dp (since it goes with my prismacolors so well!) I hand wrote the invite portion on the top, trying to match the type style of the sentiment from the bottom. It was a very quick and simple card, but that's good right now! If you haven't checked it out yet, be sure to check out the Paper Pretties gallery for more cards created for the party, and to just see more great samples made by my fellow Prettie Girls, and customers alike!

Have a wonderful day everyone, and wish my luck tomorrow as we head to Frankfurt to get on our plane! Especially hope that our Business Class upgrades came through!! :-) I could use some comfort right now. I'll try to post when we're in California to let you all know we made it, pets included.

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Beach Bum by Paper Pretties
CS: Stamper's Select White, Brilliant Blue, Bali Breeze DSP
Ink: Brilliance black, Black marker
Acc: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, blending stumps, Organdy ribbon from Mike's

TFL!

September SOTM Peek...

German Phrase of the Day: Herbst kommt. = Fall is coming. And with it, all the wonderful rich earthy tones that I love! I realize it's still a little ways off (further where I'm going!) but it will be here before we know it.

I used a color combo I found online (sorry, can't remember where) for this card, and decided to do a little color blocking as well. The 2 Close to Cocoa pieces are stamped with the flannel plaid background, the Really Rust piece with Paisley and the Certainly Celery piece with Aida cloth. But...it's the main image I love the most. Isnt' she just the cutest?? Sophia is busy raking up the leaves, probably so she and Cooper can jump in them. I know my brother used to rake all our leaves together and we'd jump in together. It was great fun!

I colored Sophia with my Aquapainter and WWC for this card since I don't have many earthy Prismacolor pencils yet...guess I'm gonna have to fix that soon! This Falling For You Sophia will be going out to all Stamp of the Month subscribers in September. She won't be available for purchase from the Paper Pretties Boutique though until October...so if you want her soon you'd best sign up! And don't forget to tell Christie I sent ya. I totally love this Sophia since she reminds me of my falls growing up in Maine. Fall in California just isn't quite the same. Oh well!

Have a wonderful day everyone...and I'll be back with my last post from Germany tomorrow.

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Falling for You by Paper Pretties , Paisley Background, Aida Cloth background, flannel plaid background
CS: Stamper's Select White, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Really Rust
Ink: Brilliance black, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Really Rust
Acc: WWC, Aquapainter, Satin Ribbon

TFL!

Prettie Wednesday 3 by 3

German Phrase of the Day: Wir mussen abmeldung. = We need to unregsiter. Here in Germany, you register in the city you live in. Not to pay taxes, or for anything beyond them knowing you live where you live. You need to show your registration (or prove it in some cases) for various things...although it's rarely come up. However, now that we are leaving we have to "un" register (abmeldung) and EVERYBODY seems to want a copy of that. Which means to cancel many things, we have to wait and send stuff out within just 3 days of leaving. Phew...a little bit down to the wire for me...but we'll manage. But that means, just 3 days from now we're getting on a plane and leaving. OMG...it's scary writing that, and I'm writing this more than a week ahead of time (yes, I'll admit, I've been pre-writing my posts so I can keep providing YOU with eye candy even though I'M most likely completely insane by now!)

ETA: 10am German time, and we are officially abgemeldet (unregistered.) A totally painless process, now to make the copies!! And yes, in case you were wondering, I actually AM going crazy now that it's down to the wire and I still have plenty of packing to finish. Of course, not so much so that I can stay away from you all! ;-)

Anyway, on to the card. Jodi challenged all the Prettie girls to make a 3 by 3 card a few weeks ago, and I loved her for it! This, I could handle even with the limited supplies I still had available. The base is some lovely bazzill textured cardstock topped with some Webster's Pages patterned paper from the Paper Pretties boutique. Isn't it lovely?? The sentiment and the beach bag are both on stamper's select white and colored with an aquapainter and my SU! watercolor crayons. I colored around the image with a little Sahara Sand to try to tone down the bright white a little. The ribbon is some navy grosgrain.

Happy Hump Day everyone...I hope the rest of your week is great. Think happy thoughts for me as we get closer to the big M day! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Soakin Up the Sun by Paper Pretties
CS: Stamper's Select White, blue textured Bazzill paper, Webster's Pages DP
Ink: Brilliance black
Acc: WWC, aquapainter, navy grosgrain, circle punches, ticket corner punch, word window punch

TFL!

SIYJ Challenge: Make a 3D item

German Phrase of the Day: Yes, I do like bugs! = Ya, ich moechte kaefer! I also like cute little boys splashing in the water!

For the second challenge on Friday night to make a 3D item, I decided to make a party treat bag. I had some extra bags laying around which made it pretty quick to put together. Cooper is of course colored with Prismas and mounted onto some more of that wonderful Bali Breeze DSP. I made the top part with my SU! outline alphabet set and some fun little rain dots. I hand wrote the name at the bottom.

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Beach Bum by Paper Pretties Jumbo Outline Alphabet from SU!
CS: Stamper's Select White, Taken With Teal, Bali Breeze DSP
Ink: Brilliance black, tempting turquoise marker
Acc: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, blending stumps, Organdy ribbon from Mike's, rain drops

TFL!

SIYJ Challenge: Black and White with a Splash

German Phrase of the day: Machst du kaefer? = Do you like bugs? I do like bugs...especially since that is our daughter's nickname! In German we call her Julia Kaefer-Kaefer! :-) (someday I'll have my husband show me how to get the oomlots...but for now I cheat and just use an e after the letter that should have an oomlot - it helps for pronunciation too.)

One of Charmaine's challenges Friday night was to create a black and white card with just a little splash of color. It was a very fun challenge, although Wade does make it a little easier. I colored him in with my prismacolor pencils, then used some crystal effects on his goggles and flippers. I stuck with the more classic colors for an old fashioned snorkeling setup, to match his old fashioned bathing suit!

The black layer is actually thicker than regular cardstock and has a little corrugation to it. It was in some packaging I got at some point, and ended up in my scrap drawer so I thought it would be perfect for this challenge! I trimmed the sentiment to just 3/8" wide, then stuck the end into my word window punch to round it off. The flat end is hidden under the ribbon knot. To finish the card, I added the 3 real red brads. The black layer is popped up on dimensionals on top of the Stamper's Select CS white base sized 5.25" square. Be sure to go check out the other wonderful creations from the PJ Party Friday night in the Gallery!

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Bugs & Fishes by Paper Pretties
CS: Stamper's Select White, Real Red, Black corrugated CS from ??
Ink: Brilliance black
Acc: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, blending stumps, word window punch, Bazzill polka dot organdy ribbon, real red brads, crystal effects

TFL!

Catch THIS Beach Bum!!

German Phrase of the Day: Sein wie zum strand gehen = Let's go to the beach! When I first started playing with this little Cooper, I was in love! His little tummy is just SOOOO cute! How can you not love a little guy looking up at you like that?

This is the first card I made with my new Beach Bum set. I had so much fun coloring him with my Prismacolor pencils, and after I finished coloring him I knew I had to come up with a fun layout. I love this cuttlebug folder, and happened to have a piece of white already run through it, so I swiped my Tempting Turquoise pad across it to make lovely little bubbles for Cooper to swim in! For the matting behind the image, I cut strips of Tempting Turquoise and Taken with Teal, then cut alternating angles on the edges. I like the 3D look it gives. I also liked putting my word window punched greeting onto a punched circle - this was a card of trying new things for me, and I like how it turned out. Of course, with Cooper, how could I NOT love it?!?

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Beach Bum by Paper Pretties
CS: Stamper's Select White, Taken With Teal, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Brilliance black
Acc: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, blending stumps, word window punch, circle punch, cuddlebug embossing folder

TFL!

Prettie Peek Bugs & Fishes

German Phrae of the Day: Erzaehle mir etwas von dir. = Tell me something about yourself. I used to scuba dive (before child) and hope that my husband and I can start up again after this little one we're growing now has gotten bigger. It's such a wonderful experience to float peacefully through the water watching all the fishes. I love it!

Here's Wade all set to jump in the pool, or perhaps grab his tanks and swim with the fishes! I seem to have just discovered this awesome SU! paper Bali Breeze, but it's perfect with all these new water sets we've got coming out at Paper Pretties tonight! I love how the white polka dot lines look like they could be water reflections. Wade was tons of fun to color, and I just love his towel looking wings (or is it a wing looking towel?) and the mask and snorkel are perfect! I added some crystal effects to his mask to make it a little more real looking...see that shine?

Don't forget, Paper Pretties is releasing 4 stamp sets TONIGHT! Come join the Prettie Girls and stamp in your jammies starting at 8pm Eastern time in the Paper Pretties Party Forum. Charmaine, our wonderful hostess, has some great challenges lined up to get your creative juices flowing, and where you could win fabulous prizes...and of course there will be lots of fun chatter! And who knows, I might even pop in to say a quick Hello.

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Bugs & Fishes by Paper Pretties
CS: Stamper's Select White, Real Red, Taken With Teal, Basic Black, Bali Breeze DSP
Ink: Brilliance black
Acc: Prismacolor Pencils, OMS, blending stumps, word window punch, Bazzill polka dot organdy ribbon

TFL!