What a Party, What a Night!

WOW! The forum was hoppin' last night...I couldn't keep up wtih Jackson in my lap for the first half, then having to sneak off and make/eat dinner then put Julia to bed for the 2nd half. But hey...it's almost 8am here and Jackson is still sleeping it off, so I can't complain! :-)

If you followed the blog hop, all the sneak peeks were revealed in the party forum last night, but if you missed it...here's mine! This little Sophia Ballerina is just so sweet. I truly love all the Sophias, and this is no exception. She is probably my 2nd favorite, after the Sophia in Snowflake Kisses - I just love snow angels!!!

Sophia is on some GinaK Pure Luxury White 80lb cardstock. I'm really liking this stuff...and I LOVE the 120 lb stuff!! She's colored in with SU! markers (gotta learn how to use Copics...then GET some!!) and cut out with my nesties. The scalloped piece is Pink Pirouette (perfect for our little ballerina!) as is the card base. The floral layer is from the Bella Rose DSP from SU!

I used WAY more accessories then I normally do on this card, but I wanted it to be "Fancy" (just like my sister, Nancy!) So I used 2 types of ribbon (May Arts polka dot organdy and SU! pink grosgrain) some flowers from the SU! pretties kit, and the metal bookplate from my silver hodgepodge hardware. Lastly, I used a tiny bit of stickles on the heart to give it a little shine.

This Sophia Ballerina is part of the Stamp of the Month club, and will be going out to all subscribers during the month of March! If you aren't a member, you'll have to wait until April 1st to order her...so bust a move and get on over there!!! Oh, and tell Christie I sent ya!!

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Sophia Ballerina by Paper Pretties
CS: Pure Luxury White, Pink Pirouette, SU! Bella Rose DSP
Ink: Black, SU markers
Acc: Grosgrain ribbon, may arts polka dot ribbon, HPH, stickles, pretties kit.

TFL!

Tart & Tangy SFYTT

German Phrase of the Day: Vergiss deine Tasche nicht! = Don't forget your bag. I have nothing interesting to add to that one...sorry!

Here's a quick card using Jen's Sketch for You to Try. I used the wonderful new Summer Picnic paper from the Spring Occasions mini catalog along with the cute fruit set Tart & Tangy. Love them both!!

To start, I divided the dsp into quarters with a pencil, then found the center of each square and punched either a circle or square from it. Then, I stamped the fruit onto some whisper white cardstock and punched it out with the slightly smaller circle and square punches. I adhered the ribbon, stuck the dsp on with dimensionals, then adhered the fruit pieces directly to the card so they are slightly below the dsp.

This was a really fun sketch to work with...thanks Jen!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Tart & Tangy
CS: Whisper White, Summer Picnic DSP, Certainly Celery
Ink: Real Red, Only Orange, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Acc: Wide Real Red grosgrain ribbon, circle punches, square punches, dimensionals

TFL!
-Jana

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

More CPS#53 along with a Technique Lovers Challenge

Hi everyone...here's another card for today. It's using today's Technique Lover's Challenge to mix up 2 or more designer papers along with that wonderful sketch from CPS #53 again!

For this card I used the Jersey Shore dsp from SU!. I really love those bright colors...and I thought these two patterns were perfect to go with the little rocket from Pun Fun. My good buddy Joanne stamped me some of these images to play with because I had seen her adorable cards and needed some of my own! Anyway...I colored the rocket with an aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons first, then cut it out with my coluzzle. I then cut a slightly larger circle out of Pumpkin Pie to layer it on. For the card I started with a standard size Brilliant Blue card and layered on a piece of the striped dsp with lightly sponged edges. Next, I cut the long strip curvy on one side with my CM Curvy Cutter. I then layered that on some more Brilliant Blue, also cut with the curvy cutter. I love that thing but don't use it nearly enough!

After I assembled those layers, I added some sparkle with my Spica clear glitter pen to the stars and the rocket since it needed a little something. Then...I attached my focal piece with dimensionals. It was really a super quick and easy card...I love those!

On the close up you can see some that shimmer...those Spica pens are so perfect for adding just a little shimmer and shine quickly to a card.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day...we're off the the spielplatz jetz (playground now) :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Pun Fun
CS: Watercolor paper, Jersey Shore DSP, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Palette Noir, brilliant blue
Acc: sponge, coluzzle, CM curvy cutter, Spica clear glitter pen

TFL!
-Jana

Prettie Wednesday!

It's another Prettie Wednesday...and I managed to finish cleaning the house. Of course, I couldn't let her take any photos in my craft room (it's a TOTAL disaster right now!) or in my daughter's room (same condition) but the rest of the house looks pretty darn good. Just don't go looking in any closets or cupboards!!! LOL!!

So...since we didn't get a Prettie Girl challenge last week during CHA, I created a card using this weeks sketch challenge over on SCS. I got the idea for this card from something my mother said (or perhaps it was Julia) while in Florida. It made me think, yeah...Wade IS the perfect Ringmaster!! (Maybe for a flea circus!)

Now, you might recognize the main image from a card back here. I have to admit...yes, he is recycled! But...that's only because I can't find my Wade ANYWHERE! I'm afraid I left him at my mom's house. Have you seen him mom???

I stamped the lions from the MFT set It's a Jungle Out There, and colored them in with my watercolor crayons and aquapainter. The dsp is SU! Chabon brayered with Real Red ink. Once I gave up on finding Wade the card came together VERY quickly since I already had the main image done!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Wade E. Bug from Paper Pretties , It's A Jumgle Out There from MFT
CS: Watercolor, Real Red, Basic black, Chabon DSP, stamper's select white
Ink: Palette Noir, real red
Acc: aquapainter, WWC, ribbon, rhinestones, giga scalloped square punch, brads, ticket corner punch, brayer

TFL!
-Jana

Celebrate grid style

German Phrase of the Day: Kann ich dir helfen? = Can I help you? Boy...could I have used some help the last few days, and thankfully I've had tons!

We got to Captiva on Friday to perfect weather. Even went down for a presunset walk on the beach (I'll try to post photos if I can get my mom's computer online!) and then I woke up Saturday morning with the worst sore throat I'd had since childhood. Over the course of the weekend I was feverish, achey, could barely talk, and just plain miserable. Luckily, my daddy took my to the walk-in clinic yesterday (Monday) and I got antibiotics..and so finally today I'm feeling alive again! Phew!! And even better, Julia's had a blast playing with grandparents and Aunties, so I haven't had to worry about her at all. THANK YOU!!!

So...I missed ALL the fun. I missed GinaK's release party Sunday night (Sorry Gina!) and the Paper Pretties Stamping in Your Jammies last night (Sorry Christie!!) I'm so bummed!! I've been so sick I haven't even stamped a single thing in 4 days!! So, today I'm showing you yet another of my VSN cards.

This card was for the final challange...leftovers! You had to make a grid card using only the supplies that remained on your desk. That was a little tricky since I didn't do all the challenges right in a row...but I also didn't clean everything up (since I never do!) in between so I did have somethings available. I used the Linen Prints dsp from SU! along with Chocolate Chip, Cameo Choral and Very Vanilla cardstocks. I also used the new Celebrate Everything stamp set for the creeting. I did the faux stitching with the All in a Row stamp set like Beate has taught us all. Overall, I was quite happy with the results. Especially that lovely chocolate satin ribbon!! That stuff is so lucious!!

Ok...so now I have to go catch up on everything. I'm sorry to all as I will probably not read all my usual blogs this week, but I HAVE to go see what the prettie girls created last night while stamping in their jammies together in Anahiem!!

TFL!
-Jana

Birthday Bella

German Phrase of the Day: Heute hat meine Schwester Geburtstag. = It is my sister's birthday today. Well, actually her birthday was in December...but it's a good phrase! :-) And actually, I sent this card to a good friend of my sister who's birthday was last week! (The same special lady who got the birthday card Julia made back here)



This was another VSN card, and I just love this Bella! I had just gotten her in the mail the day VSN started, so of course I had to get her all inked up! The challenge was to Bring on the Bling, so I added little bits of bling here and there. It's funny, several of my other cards had more bling to them, but this is what I came up with while working on this challenge. Oh well! I really like the party hat the best. When you look at the detail photo, you can see that I used some silver cord to make the frizzy bit at the top of her hat.


I also used another of my precious hat pins on this card. I just love those things, and am trying to be less stingy with them. See...I've used 2 now! ;-)



Quickly, I used the Cutie Pie DSP from SU!, BirthdayBella from Stampingbella (I think that's the one...I get confused sometimes though!) and the wonderful new cupcake set from MFT for the greeting. I colored her in with my aquapainter and watercolor crayons after stamping her with Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper.



Have a great day everyone! We had a wonderful time at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa yesterday, and I think today will be a taking it easy day around here with Julia - then tonight I get to have a date with my husband! WOOHOO!! :-)



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

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

Knitabella for Mom

German Phrase of the Day: Ich freue mich auf das. = I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow that is. Big happenings over at Paper Pretties!! We're having a big party tomorrow night starting at 7pm CST in their new forum. Haven't been there yet? Be sure to go create yourself a login so you don't miss out on any of the fun!!

Today's card was done using sketch 157 from Splitcoast. I wanted to make a card with Knitabella for my mom - she's a knitter. I stamped her the other day when I was stamping a bunch of Bellas on watercolor paper using my Palette Noir ink.

I colored her in with an aquapainter and my watercolor wonder crayons. They are so easy to use, and I love having all the colors right in front of me! I chose colors using the Porcelain Prints paper - Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery and a tiny bit of So Saffron for the yarn. Maybe she's knitting a baby blanket (and no...that is not a hint...I am not expecting mom!)

For the sentiment, I didn't have a stamp here that I liked, so I hand wrote the sentiment with a black gel pen. I don't have the best handwriting, but it works well enough. I clipped the corners with the SU! tag corner punch, sponged all the layers with Not Quite Navy ink, and assembled. I couldn't figure out where to add any ribbon...so I didn't! She's pretty simple, but I still like her!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Knitabella by StampingBella,
CS: Watercolor, Not Quite navy, Certainly Celery, Porcelain prints
Ink: Palette Noir, Not Quite Navy
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, tag corner punch

TFL!
-Jana

Happy Cupcake Day, Daddy!!

German Phrase of the Day: Meine Freunde sind mir sehr wichtig. My friends are very important to me. This phrase is very true - I don't know how I would get through life without my friends!

I'm also fortunate enough that some of my best friends are also my family. My husband, my siblings, and my parents. Today, is my Daddy's birthday...so I thought a birthday card would be appropriate. Of course, I still have his bday card here that I made months ago and was supposed to give him when I saw him in New Jersey...oh well! I'll give him a call later today though, so he won't mind!

For the layout for this card I used Julee's Mojo Monday #17 sketch (better late than never, right?) What a fun sketch to use! I also used some fun SU! Prints Designer Paper, and MFT's Icing on the Cake and a color combo that I found laying on my desk. I started with my punched scalloped circle because I knew I wanted to use designer paper for that, and I built the rest of the layers from that. I used my coluzzle for the white circle (Papertrey Ink's Stamper's select white - I'm almost out so will have to get some more soon!) and stamped the cupcake first with palette noir ink, then masked it using my Eclipse masking tape. That stuff is AWESOME! If you haven't tried it yet, you can get it at the Paper Pretties store as well as other places.

Once the cupcake was masked, I stamped the stand in Blue Bayou ink. I'm not sure I like it in Blue Bayou...but I guess it's ok. After coloring in the cupcake (carefully so as not to run the ink from the stand...guess I should have colored it before masking it!) I sponged the edges of the circle first with River rock, then just a tiny hint of chocolate chip. I layered the circle onto the punched dsp (which was also sponged just with river rock though) then I had to decide what to use for the rest of the layers.

I chose Blue Bayou for my standard card base, and layered some blue bayou prints designer paper on top of it (sponged of course!) Then I used some Chocolate Chip satin ribbon layered on river rock for the center strip, then punched circles from river rock and blue bayou for the edges. I layered the circles, then cut them in half to make the 2 little tabs that appear on the sketch. After assembling everything, I stamped and punched the saying. This sketch was awesome, and will for sure go in my sketch book for future uses! Thanks Julee!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Icing on the Cake by My Favorite Things
CS: Papertrey Ink's Stamper's Select white, Blue Bayou, River Rock, Blue Bayou and River Rock Prints DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, River Rock, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip, Ruby REd
Acc: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, sponge, dimensionals, word window punch, circle punches, Marvy giga scalloped circle punch, eclipse masking tape

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

Stamping with friends

German Phrase of the Day: Mein Computer ist kaputt. = My computer is broken. Kaputt is one of our favorite words. It was so funny to us when we first heard the word in Germany and realized that is how you say something is broken. We have so many slang words that have been appropriated from German.

Last week a friend of mine came over to make a few special Christmas cards. She wanted a special design for her girlfriends, a special one-of-a-kind card for her brother and new SIL, and then a more solemn card for the few older folks on her list (like her parents!) We sat down together and designed 2 new cards - for the more solemn card we cased this card I did a while back.

This first card is the special one for her brother and SIL who are expecting. We had some fun stamping this one, with lots of masking! Initially, we kept the teddy bear that is coming out of one of the bags on the left on teddybella, but it was too cluttered so we chose not to stamp it and it came out much better! She loved how fixafella looks a lot like her bro - which figures since I think Lisa likes a lot like Bella!

For the girlfriends card, we used Presentahbella. I actually purchased this stamp because I knew Lisa liked it and thought she would enjoy using it! While designing the cards together, I helped with color selection and the overall design of the card. I did much of the stamping for her, and let Lisa concentrate on watercoloring the images. Since she is quite an accomplished artist I figured this was the best way to break it down and keep us both busy while creating them.

On this Presentahbella card, we came up with the idea to hang the sentiment (from PaperTrey Ink) off Bella's ankle. Isn't that adorable? We just used some silver cord tied in the back so it doesn't show!! I love how little details like that really make a card.

We had a lot of fun making these cards together. I'll have to get Lisa all setup to stamp her own cards next year after I've moved back to the States...I've created another addict! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Teddybella, Fixabella, Presentahbella by StampingBella, Holiday Wishes by Papertrey Ink
CS: Watercolor paper, creamy Caramel, cranberry crisp, always artichoke, retired SU! DSP, blue bayou, whisper white, wintergreen DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, creamy Caramel, cranberry crisp, always artichoke, blue bayou
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, word window punch, spica glitter pen, WWC, silver cord, purely pomegranate satin ribbon, stitched cranberry crisp ribbon, ticket corner punch

TFL!
-Jana

Final Bella challenge card...

German Phrase of the Day: Immer mit der Ruhe. = Calm Down. Or literally, Always with the calm. I like the literal translation...it works! This is a good phrase for this time of year. Everyone is hustling about, trying to be sure to get the present they think will make that person on their list happy. I actually have almost all of my shopping done already, but I have to say I was really impressed when I read this post of Erika's about her family traditions for Christmas. I have such admiration for that - and only wish I had thought if it myself! I think next year when we're back in the states we'll try to do something like that with Julia - at least the providing Christmas presents for another child/family part. I think she's too attached to getting presents herself at this point to stop.

This is the last card I completed for the Bella challenges last weekend. This was a sketch challenge provided by Jamie, and she also required us to use our first Bella. I suppose this technically isn't my first bella, but it is the first Bella I purchased! I just love cosmobella and want to be her. She is so perky and cute...it's almost disgusting! ;-)

She is stamped with Palette Noir ink on watercolor paper, and colored in with aquapainter and Watercolor Crayons. After coloring her, I added some Crystal Effects to her glass, and some sparkle to her flipflops. I distressed the edges, then layered her on some Certainly Celery with distressed edges.

The card base is Chocolate Chip, and I used some more of my old spring mini paper that I still have stashed away. I love the colors of this paper, and thought the stripes would go well with this layout. I used some wide celery grosgrain, and stamped the Cheers sentiment onto some scrap paper and then punched it out with my word window punch.

When I first saw the sketch I was really ensure of it, but after getting this together, I've decided it works! Definitely different for me to put the image flush to a corner like this...but I like it! That's one of the things I love about doing these challenges, it forces me out of my own box and expands my thinking.

Thanks for visiting today!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Cosmobella StampingBella,
CS: Watercolor paper, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery, retired SU! DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, chocolate chip
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, Rhinestone stickers, word window punch, spica glitter pen, WWC, wide celery grosgrain, paper distresser

TFL!
-Jana

Snowbunnybella for Gina

German Phrase of the Day: Hast du schlechte Laune? = Are you in a bad mood? Actually, I'm in a better mood today. However, I have to clean...so it won't last long! ;-) However, I spent most of yesterday stamping some special projects..so I guess it's my turn to do some work!

Here's another of my Bella challenge cards from the other night. This card is my favorite of the 4 I made. It was for Gina's sketch challenge...which was an awesome sketch! I knew I wanted to use Snowbunnybella, and my snowflake paper, so I built the card from there.

I stamped the main image in Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper, and then colored her in with an aquapainter and my soft sky and blue bayou ink pads, along with blush blossom and summer sun. I added a little redness to her cheeks and nose (it's COLD, right?) with some pretty in pink. After getting her all colored in, I applied some liquid applique to all her fur trim. Then, before heating it, I added some sparkle with a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Gives her a little extra glam! I then clipped the corners with my SU! ticket corner punch (not retiring thank goodness!!) and layered on some soft sky, which had also been clipped, then finally onto the blue bayou where I added the silver brads.

The base card is Blue Bayou, with a layer of Soft Sky on top, both sponged of course. To make the diagonal piece, I cut a strip of designer paper a little longer than the diagonal of the card and layered it onto some blue bayou (both sponged). Next, I attached this to my card on the diagonal, then I just trimmed the overhang. I figured this was easier than anything else I could have tried!!

Once that was done, I popped Bella up on some dimensionals, then I added the Making Memories snowflakes on a pop-up glue dot, and I stamped the greeting from my GinaK Designs set Got Snow below the snowflake. I love my bellas!! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Snowbunnybella StampingBella, Got Snow? by GinaK Designs
CS: Watercolor paper, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Wintergreen DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Summer Sun
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, silver brads, MM snowflake and rhinestone brad, dimensionals, pop up glue dot

TFL!
-Jana

Bella de Ball Challenges...

German Phrase of the Day: Deine Wohnung ist sehr gemuetlich. = Your appartment is very cozy. Gemuetlich (actually spelled with a u with an oolot as opposed to ue) is pronounced: GAY-mewt-lihkh according to my calendar. Julia just asked me to read the phrase to her, and she new exactly what it said. She just amazes me!!!

Over the weekend I managed to make 4 new Bella cards for the Bella Ball challenges over on SCS. Last night before going to bed, I uploaded them all...and when I got up this morning I discovered they weren't coming up when clicking on the keyword search. I finally figured out that somehow in the last 2 weeks my Fan Club subscription had lapsed (Didn't they used to send us an email about that?) and so since it was a Sunday they had to be approved by a moderator. Therefore...I didn't get into the contests. Oh well...I still had fun making the cards. And hopefully, you all will enjoy them!

This first is one of my favorites. The challenge was to make a card using a non-bella StampingBella image. Since I recently ordered a few, this was an easy one. I really loved this topiary stamp when I saw it...I've always had a thing for topiaries. I decided I wanted to have three, so it was going to have to be a tall (or in this case, LONG) card. I flipped through my designer papers, and settled on this pattern from Porcelain Prints. I had actually just got this for free when I got my replacement pack of paper for the Holiday Harmony typo. I LOVE these colors together.

The card base is Not Quite Navy, sponged with the same ink. Then, I added the DSP (sponged of course) and the strip of Certainly Celery. Next, I worked on the topiaries. THey are stamped with Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper, then colored with an aquapainter and reinkers. I used Cameo Coral to color in the flowers, and some certainly celery to create some green around/among the flowers. For the bow I used Not Quite Navy, and for the pots, I used my Encore Gold pad. I wasn't sure I could watercolor with that ink, but it turned out looking quite cool, with a nice little shimmer to them. I used creamy caramel with a touch of chocolate chip for the dirt in the pots.

I lightly sponged some celery onto the watercolor paper, then attached them each to a celery mat, and then a cameo coral mat. Initially, I didn't think I could fit any ribbon on to this card (what, no ribbon? Perish the thought!!) and so I did the paper piercing in the corners to add some interest. Then, I realized I could put the ribbon on top of the celery strip and it might look kinda cool...so I did. I like how you can see the green strip through the sheer organdy.

I'll have to use one of my Papertrey Ink stamps for a greeting on the inside...something from the garden set I think. Ok...I'll post more as the week progresses....and if I have some time I'll try to post one more later on today.

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Bella's Topiary StampingBella
CS: Watercolor paper, Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Porcelain Prints DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, celery, creamy caramel, chocolate chip, cameo coral, Not Quite Navy, encore gold
Acc: crafter's toolkit, sponge, aquapainter, may arts ribbon

TFL!
-Jana

Presetahbella of the Ball

German Phrase of the Day: Bist du verrueckt? = Are you crazy? I've decided most of the people we know over here must just think of us as "those crazy Americans!" so Ja! Ich bin verrueckt! :-)

I made this card a couple days ago...it's one of the ones I stayed up late doing because I HAD to get her colored just right. Of course, everything takes more time than you think it will, and this was no exception.

I love how her foot is kicked out there...and I wanted to include a circle on this to continue the polka dots, so I thought having her foot outside the circle would look cute. I used my coluzzle and just stopped on either side of her foot. I colored her in with reinker (I wanted bolder color, and I was using several "in-colors" for which I have no crayons. If you look at the detail photo you can see I even gave her some makeup, and some sparkle on her eyelashes, hair ribbons, and shoes.

The card base is Purely Pomegranate with some wintergreen DSP and a small strip of always artichoke that was paper pierced. All pieces were of course, sponged.

Lastly, I added the greeting. I had to search to find a greeting I liked that would fit in my HPH bookplate, but at last one was found! I'm very happy with this card and think it looks almost as sassy as this adorable bella does.

Speaking of Bella, I missed yet ANOTHER SCS party last night...this was the Bella Ball. However, I have written down all the challenges, and am now heading up stairs to get started. I only have about 30 mins though before dh wants to meet up again to watch some tv and cuddle on the couch, so I gotta work fast!! ;-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Presentahbella StampingBella, Take a Bough by Papertrey Ink
CS: Watercolor paper, basic black, always artichoke, purely pomegranate, wintergreen DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, always artichoke, purely pomegranate, certainly celery, blue bayou, creamy caramel, chocolate chip, blush blossom
Acc: crafter's toolkit, HPH, coluzzle, spica glitter pen

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.

MFT Sketch Challenge #4

German Phrase of the Day: Ich werde dir einen Brief schreiben. = I am going to write you a letter. I don't know the last time I sat down and wrote out a letter the old fashioned way. Although...I did write in a few cards today...I suppose that's pretty close!

Sorry I'm so late today, I've come down with my husbands cold so I'm a little out of it! Here's a card I made a few nights ago for the MFT sketch challenge #4 over on Splitcoast. Have you checked out the member company forums yet? It's a great way to connect with all the others who love the same stamps as you! Of course, the love for Stampin' Up! is great, and always my first love in the stamping world, but I think my SU! stuff can be complemented with other stamp companies now. :-)

SO...I loved this sketch, and used my old Holiday Thyme paper for it. I stamped the tree first, then the presents, then I masked them all and stamped the rug. A little tedious cutting out the masks, but I'm happy with the results. I colored the balls in with my zig painty pen to give them some good gold glimmer, but all else is colored with ink pads and an aquapainter on shimmery white cardstock. Everything is of course sponged, and it was finished off with some true thyme stitched ribbon. Voila!

Ok...I'm going to bed now! Guten Nacht!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Home for the Holidays by MFT
CS: Shimmery White, True Thyme, Cranberry Crisp, Old Olive, Holiday Thyme DSP
Ink: Jet black stazon, True Thyme, Cranberry Crisp, Old Olive, brocade blue
Acc: , sponge, aquapainter, slot punch, zip painty pen

TFL!
-Jana

PS I finally cleaned off my desk this morning though...finally some space to stamp in. If I"m feeling better tomorrow I'll play with my brand new just arrived today GinaK's!!! :-)

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