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!

Wedding Gift

German Phrase of the Day: Wie lange kannst du die Luft anhalten? = How long can you hold your breath? Julia likes to count how long she can hold her breath when swimming with her daddy. It does seem to get longer...altho it's funny to see her counting on her fingers while her face is underwater.

Today I have the gift that went with yesterday's card (the photo shows the card again too) I used one of the Plain Jane cigar boxes from PTI and the stationary set. I decorated the stationary and envelopes according to Nichole's awesome tutorial using the Porcelein Prints DSP. For the outside of the box, I used Certainly Celery cardstock around the sides, and the DSP on the top, with small strips of DSP on the corners to hide the edges. I also used some DSP to cover the tin which comes with the stationary to include the envelope seals. Overall, it only took me about 3-3.5 hours to complete the entire project, including the card. I figure that's pretty good!

Hope you all have a great day, and don't forget to come back tomorrow for Prettie Wednesday! (I remembered what day it is today...pretty good, huh?)

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Ambassador Monogram, Borders & Corners Monogram Edition by PTI
CS: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Porcelain Prints DSP, transparency sheet
Ink: Taken With Teal, Certainly Celery
Acc: Circle punches, scallop punch, celery grosgrain

TFL!

Name Frame for Baby Aimee

German Phrase of the Day: Ich habe Bauchweh. = I have a stomachache. Thankfully, I actually don't - unless you want to count hunger pains! I'm waiting for my water to boil for my pasta...need to eat!! Sorry about the silence over the weekend...I've decided that until we get moved, I'm going to take weekends off from Blogging to focus on packing and spending time with Julia to help her through this tough transition!

Today I have another project I made for my friend Lisa. She requested another baby name frame like the one I made her last year here. Since I already sent my chipboard letters back to the states in an earlier load, I decided to use the sticky letters and glitter this time (which is why I thought to use them for the previous ROCK card!)

For this I used a light birch frame I had here already along with some Close to Cocoa cs and Berry Bliss DSP. I attached the sticky letters, then glittered them with the Rose Pink Cosmo Glitter. For the dot on the "i" I used some GinaK flowers and bling. Finally, I attached some Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon to the back with a bow to hang the frame from...it had to have ribbon SOMEWHERE!!! :-)

Ok...finally finished up my project for this week's Prettie challenge from Jules which you'll get to see on Wednesday...and then got to do a little more stamping for the next Paper Pretties release... all I can say is I am in love!

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: None
CS: Close to Cocoa, Berry Bliss DSP
Ink: None
Acc: Sticky Cuts Letters, Fine Cosmo glitter, Flowers & Bling from GinaK Designs, Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon

TFL!

Open Me!

German Phrase of the Day: Gehst du mit mir ins Theater? = Will you come to the theater with me? My husband actually asked me the other day if I would be interested in seeing We Will Rock You. I was shocked! He RARELY plans outings...and for him to think of a date is quite the rare thing. It's been playing in Cologne just down the river ever since we moved here, but apparently it is ending in June so he thought we could go see it. WOW! :-) Now to figure out when.

This may not rock you...but I've been playing with my new GinaK stamps this morning. I had a tin that I made a belly band for and gave to my husband as part of his 10 Valentine's while I was gone, but since it was empty I recently "rescued" it from his basement office to re-use it. (What's HE going to do with it now??) I had been thinking, why limit myself to Altoid Tins with Melanie's new stamp set. I mean...Joanne made an adorable notebook, Melanie herself just put it on a bottle, so why not use the new What's In your Tin? set on this larger tin?

I stamped the outline and the Survival Kit sentiment from What's In Your Tin? Set 2 with white stazon onto the plastic window first. Then, I covered the bottom part of the tin with some retired SU! designer paper (linen prints I believe it's called) and covered the rim of the lid with the new Old Olive twill ribbon (I love this stuff!) and then I colored 2 flowers from my little round tin - the bottom with the Cameo Coral marker, the top with the So Saffron marker and put a rhinestone brad through the center. This was then attached with a mini glue dot.

Then, I took some mailing labels and stamped them with my linen background stamped off once using So Saffron ink. Next, I inked up one of the small flowers from Carolyn's new Framed Flowers set with my Cameo Coral and Old Olive markers and stamped the flower in the center of each label. Lastly, I attached the labels to the Hershey Nuggets and Voila! I have a great gift for a friend all ready to go.

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Spring Blooms, What's In Your Tin 2 by GinaK Designs
Ink: Old Olive, cameo coral, so saffron, white stazon
CS: Linen Prints DSP
Acc: paper flowers and brads from GinaK, old olive twill ribbon

TFL!

Prettie Wednesday

German Phrase of the Day: Das ist nicht leicht. = That is not easy. Actually, the projects today were both pretty easy. :-)

It's Prettie Wednesday, and today is the day I get to show you my Anything But a Card project. I bought this purse while in Florida thinking it would be fun to alter, and to put Luke & Lexi from Paper Pretties Sealed With A Kiss stamp set. On the opposite side there is even a heart shaped window into which you can put a photo!! When I got home and came up wtih my challenge I thought, Perfect! I can make this purse for Christie, our Prettie Mama!! (Sorry Christie...I promise I'll get it in the mail this week...I'm running a little behind on mailings right now!! Maybe I'll fill it with some tea bags and chocolate! :-)

I covered one side, the bottom and top with my Berry Bliss paper using Mod Podge. Next, I stamped Luke & Lexi onto some white cardstock and colored them in with my aquapainter and watercolor crayons. I sponged the edges first with Pretty in Pink, then with chocolate chip ink before mounting them on some Chocolate Chip CS and adding some bling to Lexi's necklace and earrings. Then, I used my slit punch to put some ribbon around them without hiding their faces...it's a neat little trick! Finally, I stamped the SWAK stamp in the middle with pink ink.

I left the sides of the purse blank, and on the back (with the photo opening) I stamped some hearts in pink. It was a fun project to create, and I hope Christie will enjoy it, even put a photo of her and Andy in it.

And guess what?! My GinaK stamps arrived today!! WOOHOO!!! Another post coming soon with them!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Sealed with a Kiss from Paper Pretties
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Palette Noir
CS: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Berry Bliss DSP
Acc: watercolor crayons, aquapainter, ribbon, slit punch, mod podge, bling

TFL!

Altered heart tin

German Phrase of the Day: Meine Tante kann gut Geschichten erzaehlen. = My aunt can tell good stories. Which is true...and her stories are so good because they are often true...like how she got me some AWESOME Barnie's Santa's White Christmas decaf coffee for FREE! (which is what I"m drinking right now...YUM!)

I made this tin for her while in Floriday, but forgot to show you all! It's one of those cool large heart tins from Papertrey Ink, and I covered it with last year's SU! Valentiney paper. I followed Debbie Olson's instructions for cutting otu the top, and I think it turned out pretty well. Mom only had an empressor stylus, but I think it worked ok. I used some teal velvet ribbon from the retired Flirty ribbon originals around the lip of the lid, and lastly I stuck on an organdy flower I had picked up at Joann's because I thought it was pretty. Worked perfectly for this piece.

My friend and fellow prettie girl Joanne had made some cute tins where she stamped on the center part...and I really liked that. But...since I had just gotten my rub-ons I thought those might work even better...so I went to town! It was sooooo easy, and I think it turned out great! You can't really see it all that well because of all the M&Ms inside...but I think it's from the SAB set and says "A Small thing done in Great Love is a Great Thing." I like that one!

I didn't film my cards from yesterday with So Hoppy, and there isn't a lot of light this morning so I'll try to take photos later this afternoon. Last night I sat and "mounted" 6 new SU! sets (that means I put the stickers on the back, cut them out, then applied my tack it again and again to them - I really do miss wood sometimes!) while watching Grease. I love that movie, and it's a great one to watch while doing something else because I don't have to actually WATCH the movie, I can mostly listen to it. Maybe I should try listening to it in German...see how much I understand yet! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: NONE
CS: Retired SU! valentine's dsp
Ink: NONE
Acc: Flirty ribbon, flower from Joann's, SU! Rub-ons, heart tin from PTI

TFL!
-Jana

Christmas Tree ornament

German Phrase of the Day: Bitte versteh' mich nicht falsch. = Please don't get me wrong. Let me tell you, this phrase is one of my pet peeves. My feeling is, if someone has to preface a statement with this or "Please don't take this the wrong way" then maybe they shouldn't be saying it. I can take constructive criticism, so long as it is that. Oh well..just one of my pet peeves. :-)

Here's an ornament I made as a sample for my ornament class I had last week. I used the holiday chipboard from SU! and covered it with real red craft ink, them embossed with Glassy Glaze embossing powder twice to get good coverage. I then sandwiched the photo between this piece and a solid square piece covered with some Dashing DSP. On the back I have Julia's name and the year. Now I've decided I have to go back and make one for every year out of her picture with Santa. Michelle...got any extra chipboard?? ;-)

I used some Red gingham to cover the seam, and I used my new crop-a-dial to set the jumbo eyelets (they are double set so it looks good no matter which side you are looking at! I finished it off with some silver cord and the wide celery grosgrain bow. Ok, can I say it again? Isn't she adorable? A total devil tonight, but still adorable!! :-)

Not sure if I'll post again until we get back from Nurnberg on Sunday, so everyone have a great weekend, and stay sane!! Christmas will be over soon. :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: none
CS: Dashing (on back)
Ink: real red craft ink
Acc: chipboard, red gingham ribbon, wide celery ribbon, silver cord, pewter large eyelets, crop-a-dial, glassy glaze ep

TFL!
-Jana

Holiday Baking

German Phrase of the Day: Der Braten schmeckt ausgezeichnet. = The roast tastes excellent. I thought this was somewhat suitable, even though I haven't been making any roasts yet - that will be on the 24th when we have our Pork Tenderloin roast. Yum!!

So, I haven't been totally neglecting my stamping. I've just been stamping containers for all this fudge I've made!! I made 4 different flavors of fudge to give away this year: peanut butter, toblerone, chocolate mint, and dark chocolate (counter clockwise starting at the bottom) My favorite is the peanut butter, so I made that one last so I wouldn't eat too much of it. Oh well...I still did! I just LOVE peanut butter fudge. I found some boxes to cover at one of the local stores, and so I wrapped them with the celebrations wrapping paper. I just love the bright colors! I put fudge, and a few kinds of cookies that Julia and I made together in these boxes.

But, I had SOOO much fudge leftover (I probably made close to 15 pounds of fudge total!) that I pulled out my coffee bags from Papertrey Ink and stamped on them with my Holiday Treats stamp set. Didn't they turn out cute? The boxes are going to close friends over here and 2 neighbors that we interact with a lot, as well as Julia's teachers as kindergarten. The bags will go to other moms at Julia's school who have been very helpful to me, and some other neighbors who are passing acquaintances. I just love holiday baking and sharing of treats. I hope our German neighbors and friends will enjoy the fudge!

For those who are interested, here is the fudge recipe I use:

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 T corn starch (although, I don't usually use this one)

Mix all ingredients in a large sauce pan and bring to boil stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat in:
3 heaping tablespoons Marshmallow fluff
3 heaping tablespoons peanut butter or 12 oz chocolate.
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Pour mixture into a buttered 9 by 9 pan and let set.

Over here I can't get Nestle's chips, so I use good European chocolate bars (Lindt was the maker of choice this year!) and it tastes SOOOO good! I think I will continue that tradition when I move back...I mean, we shouldn't have to settle for Nestle chocolate, right?

Have a wonderful day everyone! And enjoy some special holiday treats. :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Holiday Treats by PaperTrey Ink
CS: Handsome Hunter, Brocade Blue, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Kraft
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter, Brocade Blue
Acc: mini self-adhesive rhinestones from Pipoos, circle punches, scallop punch, silver cord, coffee bags

TFL!
-Jana

Santa's Christmas List

German Phrase of the Day: Faehrst du an Weihnachten zu deiner Familie? = Are you visiting your family for Christmas? I am actually staying here for Christmas this year, but my in-laws are flying over from Texas to be with us this year. We're looking forward to it!

Here's a notebook I made to keep track of Christmas gifts that I need to purchase. Of course, I didn't use it this year, so will have to save it for next year!

I started with a notebook from Target. I used some of the Holiday Thyme paper from last year to cover the front (also using my spiral notebook punch!) Then, I used my new CM curvy cutter to cut the snowy hills, and I edged them with a little pearl stickles to make them shimmer.

I stamped the sign and Sandy Claws onto watercolor paper with Palette Noir ink, and colored them in with my aquapainter and ink pads. Ruby Red and Wild Wasabi for Sandy Claws and his sleigh, with a little silver encore for the runners, and Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip for the sign. After I cut them both out, I added some liquid applique and a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter which I puffed up with my heat gun.

I stuck the sign between the snowy hills and adhered it with a dimensional, then I added Sandy Claws up in the sky with another dimensional. I stamped the title with my Karen Foster snap stamps - love them for getting perfect spacing!

The final step was adding the ribbons! This project was a lot of fun to make, and I love all the shimmer it has in real life. And this stamp set is just so much fun to play with!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Sandy Claws by GinaK Designs Snap Stamps by Karen Foster
CS: Watercolor paper, whisper white, Holiday Thyme DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, silver encore
Acc: aquapainter, dazzling diamonds glitter, liquid applique, blue bayou and soft sky double stitched ribbons, pearl stickles, CM curvy cutter

TFL!
-Jana

Remember that "special project" ??

Well...here it is. I made 15 of these favors using the tutorial on Beate's site, and made them place cards as well for the Thanksgiving Table. I used a TON of sticky strip, but they still pulled apart a little. I think if I had used less sturdy cardstock they would have held together better - but who wants to use cheap cardstock?? I used almost one whole package of Apple cider DSP, and then I used some River Rock and Chocolate Chip for the names and edging. They are tied shut with some River Rock double stitched ribbon. A little time consuming, but everyone thought they were adorable, so well worth it!

Yesterday, I got to spend several hours at the hospital holding my little nephew. He's so cozy.. and very content to just be held. I was in heaven! Julia went to the Boston Children's museum with her aunt, uncle and cousin and had a wonderful time. I think today we'll take the girls to a local zoo (where they have a giraffe named Jana!) before visiting with Camden again.

Here are a few pictures of Julia and me with Camden. The first was taken by Julia (not too bad, is she??) and the next of her was taken by me. She does such a great job when she holds him, and tries to sway a little even as she's seen her mommy do.

Baroque Candle

German Phrase of the Day: Viel Spass! = Have fun! This is a phrase I use quite often...usually when I leave Julia at kindergarten I will say it as I leave. And the good thing is...she usually does!

This candle is one I made very quickly as a sample to show the mom in charge of our kindergarten's booth at the Weinachtsmarkt. I wanted her to see a variety of projects I can create to sell at the booth to let her choose what she thought would work best. I probably won't make lots of these, just 5 or 10 so there will be some if people are interested. I used Baroque Motifs and River Rock and Purely Pomegranate ink for the candle itself, and then stamped the medallion in River Rock on Very Vanilla CS, stamping the small flower in the center with pomegranate, and putting in a rhinestone brad. I wrapped some purely pomegranate cardstock and river rock stitched ribbon around the candle, and then attached the paper medallion with a glue dot. All in all, this project took about 10 minutes to make, and most of that was melting the wax to get the tissue to stick on. I love making candles...so easy and so fast!

Hope you all are having a good weekend...gotta go finish up my Christmas cards!!

TFL!
-Jana

By the Seashore double challenge card

German Phrase of the Day: Kann ich mir dein Auto ausleihen? = Can I borrow your car? Since we have only one car over here, we are often checking each other's schedules before making plans to go anywhere so we know who will have the car. So far, we haven't had any problems surviving with just one...but I have to say the worst is when it's raining and I have to walk Julia to kindergarten because he has taken the car to go swim. I guess a little rain never hurt, right?

So, here is my double challenge card, for Sketch Challenge 149 and Color Challenge 139. I'm not a huge fan of this color combo (Ruby Red, Wild Wasabi, & Soft Sky) but I was happy to discover that my Fall Flowers paper pretty much went with those colors...I really like this spotted background.

I was having issues with my stazon pad...I did buy some reinker...guess I should use it now, huh? My images didn't stamp as crisply as I like...but I went with it anyway. The hat has sortof a sketched look! I really love this new set from MFT, and am so glad to have it now. I did color the dog in as a yellow lab even though my sweet doggie is black. I just can't find my neutrals WWC right now - they are buried under the mess on my desk somewhere!

I used a few ink pads on this one for the soft sky and blue bayou (her jeans) and wild Wasabi for her flipflops, but otherwise, I used my watercolor wonder crayons. I used watercolor paper for all my stamped images, allowing me to really enjoy the process of coloring everything in. You can use other papers for watercoloring...but this works SOO much better!!

I think my favorite part is the seagull on the pilings. I mean, didn't he turn out just perfect? He looks so cute sitting up there, and I'm quite happy with the shading on the posts.

Last night I had a few minutes and decided to try out one of the paper bows that were recently posted up on Splitcoast Stampers. They are super easy and quick to make. I think I'll have to decorate all of my packages with these this year!! If you haven't tried to make them yet I strongly encourage you to...they really are VERY easy!

Have a great day everyone!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: By the Seashore by MFT
CS: watercolor paper, soft sky, wild wasabi, ruby red, fall flowers dsp
Ink: black stazon, basic black, creamy caramel, chocolate chip, soft sky, wild wasabi
Acc: WWC, aquapainter, sponge

TFL!
-Jana

Great ideas for Designer Paper

German Phrase of the Day: Kannst du singen? = Can you sing? I like to think I can, but my husband informs me I'm really not that good. Of course, he has to listen to me when I have my ipod on and therefore can't hear myself! Poor guy!! Now, someone who CAN sing is Terry Fator. Since I don't watch TV much, I was quite impressed when I saw this guy on YouTube this week.

This project was inspired by a project featured in I believe a Papercrafts magazine. I saw it and loved it. Then...I saw it again on Polished to Perfection, and knew I HAD to make one. She has made 7 different trees over there, so be sure to go check those all out! They are totally awesome.

This tree was quite simple to make. I used 1/2" by 6" strips of the Wintergreen DSP. I used 1/2 of the first sheet I used for the bottom, and then progressively less as I worked my way up. I started with a styrofoam cone that I bought at Pipoos...but you all in North America should be able to get them anywhere! I used flat headed straight pins to attach the paper, and just lined up the two ends before sticking them on. No adhesive required. However...before I make another I will be getting a thimble...my finger and thumb are in GREAT pain tonight!! So, I highly recommend using one.

Oh...and there are lots more ideas of things to do with your pretty new patterned paper. I'll have even more things to show you over the next few weeks!

Don't forget to enter to win Blog Candy here!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: NONE
CS: Wintergreen DSP
Ink: None
Acc: styrofoam cone, straight pins

TFL!
-Jana

Name frame for Sher

German Phrase of the Day: Ich mag Montags nicht. = I don't like Mondays. This is for sure my daughter's feeling, as she loves her weekend days with lots of Daddy play time. On Mondays she had to go back to school, and more importantly, daddy has to work again and can't focus solely on her. Have I mentioned she's a daddy's girl before? ;-)

Today's project is a name (without the frame) that I did as part of my Diva Sister swap last month for my buddy Sher. She is the sister swap coordinator, and comes up with the awesome ideas for our swaps. Last month we had the grey black and white card, this framable name, and a card using chipboard. This was my favorite of the projects, and I was so glad to hear that Sher and her family liked it as well. I really love this stamp set, it's so much fun to build different families with it!

I did lots of sponging on this to try and add some depth to the white cardstock. I sponged all over with creamy caramel, then I sponged certainly celery around the edges, and then tempting turquoise on the very edge (only in about 1/8 of an inch or so) to make the colors blend into the matting. I actually got the color combo from the SU! color wheel, and used the same colors to color the people in as the cardstock I used for the layers. It includes Taken With Teal, Certainly Celery, Tempting turquoise, and for ink only some Apricot Appeal. I'm so glad they liked it! I'll be showing you what I made for this month's swap as this week continues. I finished them all yesterday and am popping them in the mail today! Phew!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Newsprint alphabet, All in the Family,
CS: Whisper White, Taken With Teal, Certainly Celery, Tempting turquoise
Ink: Basic Black, Taken With Teal, Certainly Celery, Tempting turquoise, apricot appeal, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, CHocolate Chip, basic black H2O crayon.
Acc: sponge, celery grosgrain ribbon

TFL!
-Jana

Geburtstag Party

German Phrase of the Day: Erklarst du mir das bitte? = Could you please explain this to me? Why did I decide to fly to California, return home the day before my daughter's fifth birthday, and plan her party for the day after her birthday? What was I thinking?!?

Julia's birthday party yesterday was an apparent success, based on the fact that there were 11 kids (9 party kids and 2 younger siblings!) running around screaming and saying lots of things in German that I just didn't understand!

The party was at one of those indoor playgrounds for kids. You know...the places that look like a giant habitrail? The place is called "Jungle Town" so we had kind of a jungle theme going which I started with the invitation I posted back here. For the goodie bags I wanted to use my new MFT stamps that I received while in California. They are so much fun to use, although coloring in all these animals between 11 and 12 pm is not exactly fun when making 10!! Oh well. Now I have to make some fun cards with the set so I"ll still love it! ;-)

I decided to just make a card front I could attach to the bags thinking that would be the quickest and easiest solution. So, I stamped on white cardstock with black ink for the animals, added the branch with basic brown, and then stamped the leaves with mellow moss and always artichoke. The grass on the bottom was artichoke also. Lastly, I colored them in with markers thinking it would be faster than watercoloring. Not so! I'm much better with an aquapainter than I am with markers. Oh well...I think they still turned out OK...and Julia was thrilled when she saw them in the morning. Her direct quote was "Just what I wanted them to look like, Mommy!"

Now...to make the the cupcakes to take to Kindergarten tomorrow! A mom's work is never done, right?

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: It's a Jungle out There by MFT
CS: Whisper White, always artichoke
Ink: Basic Black, always artichoke, mellow moss, close to cocoa, more mustard, going grey, basic brown
Acc: small white gift bags

TFL!
-Jana

Baby Kiyo

German Phrase of the Day: Bald gibt es wieder Kastanien. = Soon we will have chestnuts again. Soon equals now in our case...at least in London! Julia loved going to the park near our friend's home because she was able to pick up a TON of chestnuts right off the ground. Now what she will do with them I have no idea. She just tells her dad "They're for crafting daddy!" Now...where has he heard that before???

Today's project was "commissioned" by a friend of mine to give as a gift for a new baby. She wanted a name frame...and chose pink and brown for her color scheme. She's going to be here in 10 minutes...and I hope she likes it!! I used the Simon on board lower chipboard pieces, and a flower my friend in London gave me. The k and y are covered with some retired SU! paper (I think that was Rebbecca?) and the O is covered first with Regal Rose craft ink, then stamped on with the paisley stamp with close to cocoa craft ink, and the i is just covered with regal rose craft. All the pieces are then embossed a few times with glassy glaze ep to give them a nice shiny look. The flower over the i was covered with some of that wonderful Blonde Moments ultra thick embossing powder I talked about over here. The color is called Festive Berry, but it's a nice metallic pink in real life. I quite like it!

I used a variety of ribbons to finish off the letters and make them extra girly. For the base, I stamped the paisley from Polka Dots and Paisleys set and a flower from Polka dots and petals set with versamark ink. Then, I added a strip of close to cocoa cs, and some leftover ribbon from the winter mini ribbon originals set. The frame is about 7" by 9.5" and I bought it at a local store here for two and a half euros (about $3.50.) Tomorrow, I'll show you all the matching card!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Polka Dots and Paisleys, Polka dots and petals, paisley background, retired SU! paper
CS: Pretty in Pink, close to cocoa
Ink: regal rose, close to cocoa, versamark
Acc: Glassy Glaze ep, blonde moments ep, simon on board lower, pink gingham ribbon, taupe grosgrain

TFL!
-Jana

Technique Lover's Challenge

German Phrase of the Day: Die Unterhaltung war sehr interessant. = The conversation was very interesting. Unterhaltung is pronounced "oohn-tehr-HAHL-toong" - quite a mouthful, huh??

Last night I decided I had to make one of these fabulous 2,5,7,10 boxes like everyone else. They really are quite quick and easy, just like their sisters the 2-4-6-8 boxes...but I like the shape much better. I've never been one for squares.

For the box I decided to use some of my GORGEOUS new glitter paper that I purchased at Stempel Mekka. This piece came from a package of K&Company Christmas Glitter paper. Isn't it just gorgeous?!? It's super glittery in person, the photo just doesn't capture the beauty of this paper. I'm loving the glitter lately!

My box came together fairly quickly, and so I went up this morning to finish it off, and realized that my Merry & Bright set was perfect with this paper, so I stamped Merry on some SU! Shimmery White CS with Pomegranate ink, then sponged the edges. I wanted to mound it on a scallop, but of course don't have the right shape and size, so I made it longer but squatter by cutting 2 scalloped squares together. GinaK did a great tutorial on how to do this on her blog sometime last spring I think. I didn't do a great job...but it's hard to see the lines in the photo at least! ;-)

Lastly, I added the double stitched Purely Pomegranate ribbon at the top. I'm quite pleased with how this turned out...now to fill it and find a recipient!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Merry & Bright
CS: Shimmery White, Purely Pomegranate, Glitter Paper from K& Company
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Acc: Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon, Marvy square scallop punch, 1/8" circle punch, scalloped scissors.

TFL!
-Jana

Business cards...

German Phrase of the Day: Wie schlau du bist! = How cunning you are! Schlau is pronounced shlow...I'll have to remember this one! Oh, and for those of you in Maine, this is the sly kind of cunning, not "cunnin'" which means cute to a Mainer! :-)

So...a few weeks ago Amy at Heartfelt Greetings had a challenge to folks to make their own business cards. It was around the time that I was in and out of hospital, so I finally got to it last week. I wanted some cards to take to an activities fair I was going to for the American Women's Club of Dusseldorf, and thought it would be fun to stamp on them and make them pretty. (Sorry, the whited out bits are address and phone)

They took almost no time to make, and I like how they turned out with the soft sky and pomegranate colors. You know me, I can't give up my pomegranate!!

Anyhow...I'll try to get upstairs to stamp today. Yesterday afternoon Julia and I made Whoopie Pies! It was tons of fun, but ended up taking so long I didn't get any good stampin' time in....especially since we spent the evening planning a trip to London in 10 more days! :-) Can't have 3 weekends at home in a row can we?!?

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
CS: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky
Acc: MS Word

TFL!
-Jana

Christmas Ornaments

German Phrase of the Day: Kochen macht Spass. = It's fun to cook. Kochen (pronounced KOH-khehn) is to cook, Kuchen (pronounced KUH-khenh) is cake. So, I could also say ich liebe kuchen kochen meaning I like to cook cake! :-)

Today's project was SOOO much fun to make. I really love the new chipboard from the Holiday mini catalog. For this ornament I used the On Board Trimmings. I punched out the star from the center, then covered the remaining circle with real red craft ink. I like how the ink gives the chipboard a suede look. Then, I adhered some Dashing designer paper to the back of my piece...with the stripes showing through the star. You could probably use this for July 4th too...stars and stripes forever, yeah? (or I guess I should say Ja?)

Anyway...that wasn't all. On the back side, I decided to attach the star I had removed. So, I again covered it with the real red craft ink...let that dry a little, then covered it with Versamark and embossed on a layer of iridescent ice ep. Then, I put on another layer of versamark and did two layers of Glassy Glaze to seal it in and make it nice and smooth. Isn't it purdy?? I really liked this paper...and I love that I can showcase both sides so easily. I think I'll make a whole series of these and string them up like a garland across the divider between my living and dining rooms. Strung along on white taffeta ribbon, it will look simply perfect!! Can't wait to get a whole pack of this stuff...I just got a few pieces from my wonderful friend Michelle (Thanks Michelle!!) in the mail so I could play with them before I get to California. This is one of the fun projects (minus the embossing) we'll have available at our World Card Making Day event on October 6th! If you live in or near the Bay Area of California and would like more information about the event just drop me an email and I'd be happy to give you the details!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: none!
CS: On Board Trimmings, Dashing DSP
Ink: Real Red Craft ink, Versamark
Acc: White taffeta ribbon, iridescent ice ep, glassy glaze ep

TFL!
-Jana

The Weavers

German Phrase of the Day: Die Hose ist viel zu lange. - The trousers are far too long. Since I haven't been posting, I'm way behind on my calendar...that was from August 22nd!! I'll work hard to catch up again, I promise!

So, I finally played with my new All in the Family set. I just think it's the most adorable thing ever!!! First I stamped our name at the top, then I started with my daughter so I could center her in the middle, and worked out from there. I colored all the people with ink pads and my aquapainter. I was able to just line things up without the Stamp A Ma Jig, except for the glasses on my husband. Those I just didn't trust myself to line up properly. I guess this is the nice thing about having my stamps unmounted...I can eyeball things even easier.

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Big Deal Alphabet, All in the Family, Karen Foster Snap Stamps
CS: Whisper White, Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Blue Bayou, Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky, Basic Grey, Wild Wasabi, Summer Sun, Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocao
Acc: SAMJ

TFL!
-Jana