I've been nominated!

Julie nominated me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger...THANK YOU!! Julie has a totally rockin' blog, and she lives in Maine, which makes her way Uber-cool!

So, now I get to tag 5 more bloggers...no easy task choosing just 5...especially to find 5 who haven't been tagged yet!!

So, for the Rockin' Girl Blogger award I hearby nominate:
Gina
Jenny
Yvette
Linda
Stephanie

If you don't already read their blogs regularly, go check them out! And give Yvette a shout out - she'll be returning stateside from the Land Down Under pretty soon I believe!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Jana

Summertime sparkles

German Phrase of the Day: Jeder moechte heute dunn sein. = Everybody wants to be thin these days. Well...I guess that's true...but few want it enough to do the right things - myself included!!

Ever have one of those cards that just doesn't quite turn out how you had envisioned?? While blurfing this morning (I just love that word Allison!!) I came across a card that had rounded corners on the bottom...and I liked it. But it also inspired me to then add patterned paper that would peak through a little...so of course I had to cut the top flap a little shorter. So...that was how this all started.

I did the faux diamond technique on the white circle, because, I mean, who doesn't like sparkle?? And then, I added the rhinestone brads. I think that's where I went over the top...but overall I'm still ok with this card. I think I'd like it better if I had used Cool Caribbean for the cards instead of old olive, but that's ok.

My husband and daughter should be back soon...and I still have to prepare a post for tomorrow. You see...I'm not going to be stamping this weekend, because I have a date with a young man named Harry. I still don't know WHERE I'm getting my book from, but you can bet I'll be up and out of the house plenty early searching all the bookstores between here and Amsterdam if I have to to find a copy. Then, I'm going to just sit, and read! My husband already knows I'll be in a total book induced stupor, and that he shouldn't count on me for anything. I made a big pot of chili for lunch today, so we even have leftovers available!! :-) So...off to find something to photograph for all those non-Harry fans who will actually be looking at blogs tomorrow. You don't know what you're missing!!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley
CS: Whisper White, Old Olive, Petals and Paisleys DSP
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive
Acc: Coluzzle, corner rounder, rhinestone brads, iridescent ice ep, May arts ribbon, Marvy giga scalloped circle punch

TFL!
-Jana

More Christmas in July, and post # 201!!

German Phrase of the Day: Ich habe zu viel gegessen. = I ate too much. This often happens to me, especially when we find really great restaurants over here. We actually found an AMAZING Mexican place up in Berlin - I was so excited to have some truly authentic Mexican food I couldn't stop eating!!! It's right across from the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, so if you're up that way and missing that good old fashioned Tex-Mex food, stop on in!

I can't believe I'm already at post # 201 in just shy of 8 months. Wow! And many of my early posts were Christmas cards (well, it was December!) so this year I decided to start early. I have to admit, I was inspired to make this card by Jan Tink. Her blog is so hilarious...if you don't already read it I suggest you go check it out! Back in June when she first got her preorder hers was the first Christmas Card I saw using the new In Colors - and I loved it! Since then I've seen hundreds, but I still credit her for my use of Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabi for this card. Isn't it Purdy?? And it's such a fast easy card - super simple to mass produce!! Even with the bling!!

So, if you haven't started thinking about it yet, Christmas isn't all that far off - and if you start now you really can send out 100+ hand-made Christmas cards this year. I've even done it not starting until Thanksgiving - but I don't recommend doing it that way!! I'm going to keep plugging away trying to create at least 1 Christmas card per week until Christmas...and ones I like I'll make multiples of. Still need to rework that last one...but I promise to show you what I end up with on it!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Hugs and Wishes
CS: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate
Acc: Ticket corner punch, silver brads, non-SU rhinestones

TFL!
-Jana

We're back...again!

Hi everyone. Sorry I have nothing new for you, but we just got back from Prague...which took a cab ride, delayed flight, train ride, bus ride, and then a 1k walk (dragging luggage) to get home. Oh well...at least we made it!

Had a great time in both Berlin and Prague. Berlin was fun, and Prague was amazingly beautiful. But, I think we're all a little tired of large European cities for a bit...and could use some good old fashioned R&R. Hopefully we'll get some in the next few weeks!!

However, I DID get to see the new Harry Potter movie, and loved it. I think it's the best one by far. Originally, I was going to see it in IMAX 3D, but turns out the IMAX version was in German, but the regular version was in English - I'm glad we checked! I mean...my German is getting better, but definitely not good enough to watch a movie I've never seen before dubbed in German. I think I would have gone insane!

Anyway, I'll try to get something new made tomorow morning...maybe Julia and I can have some craft time together. It's good to be home!

-Jana

Another card from Michelle

German Phrase of the Day: Kase isst man immer am Schluss. = You always eat the cheese at the end (of the meal). In our house, the cheese often is the meal, at least at dinner time. We follow the German custom of having our main meal for lunch (since dh is usually home and not on the phone then) and just have bread, meat, cheese and fruit for dinner. Oh...and Kase (supposed to have the 2 dots over the a) is pronounced KAY -zeh. Another of my favorites! :-)

I think I'll have to have Michelle be an official guest designer for my blog since she sends me so many beautiful cards! Here's another she sent as a thank you recently...and I can't even remember what it was for! (I could go back upstairs and get the card to read it, but that would take energy and I'm trying to get these all ready before we leave tomorow...and I still need to clean!!)

Anyhow, she used some of the little mini rhinestones I sent to her in her flower centers...aren't they cute?? And I really like the ribbon! This is actually one of Michelle's simpler designs, and I'm very proud of her!! Thanks as always Michelle!! Miss you!

TFL!
-Jana

Christmas card gone bad!

German Phrase of the Day: Das war ein Fehler. = That was a mistake. Fehler is pronounced FEH-lehr...and I make many of these!

This card started with the stamp in the uper right corner. I REALLY like the postage cancel stamp, and that is the only reason I pre-ordered this set. I wanted to use that on this card...but couldn't think of where to go from there. I did use my new square scalloped punch from Nicole at PTI to punch out the stamp...isn't it cute?

Anyway, I think I just tried to use too much. perhaps if I had moved the verticle ribbon to the left a little more, and angled the tag that way, and not used the circle image or the merry image it would have been salvageable. As it is, I will probably save it to send to someone who I know has no appreciation for my stamping...which means one of dh's relatives! (Did I really type that?!? Oh well!) Maybe once I'm home again I can try to re-work this one and then I'll post the result.

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Perfect Presentation
CS: Whisper White, Real Red, Blue Bayou
Ink: Basic Black, real red, blue bayou, Soft Sky
Acc: both tag punches, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, smallest square scallop punch from Marvy, Mike's ribbon

TFL!
-Jana

Text Boxed playtime.

German Phrase of the Day: Ich liebe neue Stempel! = I love new stamps! Every once in a while I come up with a phrase of my own...and I always double check the spelling on babelfish. However, it won't correct the phrasing, so Beate, or other native German speakers, please feel free to correct me when I screw up!

This is the only card I have made so far from my new Text Boxed set. I really like the set, just haven't had enough time to play yet. I was working on another, but it just didn't turn out quite right.

Have you checked the new sets released today yet?? I probably haven't since right now I'm probably on a train to Prague...hope we have internet at our hotel in Prague!!

For this card, I used the Fossil Stone technique from Pat Stamps technique junkies newsletter. I had a subscription for that which my friend and downnline Michelle got me for my birthday one year, and I really enjoyed it. I thought this technique would work perfectly with these leaves...and I was right!

I think it might have been a little better had I also clear embossed the focal image...might have given it a little more pop. But...it's ok. All stamps used are from the Text Boxed set...I did emboss the words with gold ep after stamping with gold ink. Hope you like it!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Text Boxed by Papertrey Ink
CS: whisper white, wild wasabi, brushed gold, garden green, glossy white
Ink: Wild wasaby, always artichoke, mellow moss, versamark, gold encore
Acc: Gold ep, clear ep, narrow white organdy, gold cord

TFL!
-Jana

ENORMOUS Silk flowers

German Phrase of the Day: Ich wurde so gerne im Suden leben. I would like so much to live in the South. Not that I've been north yet (altho by the time you all read this I"ll be in Berlin, so I can tell you about it when I get back!) but I definitely like the southern areas of Germany.

This card uses those beautiful silk flowers my friend Karin sent to me. I colored the largest using a sponge and my Purely Pomegranate ink pad. I would have preferred dying it with ink refill, but I forgot to buy those. Ooops! The middle flower I left white, and the smallest I sponged with Groovy Guava. Then, I used a pink rhinestone brad from the SU Fire collection for the center. Isn't it gawgeous?!?!

To give you some size perspective, the white card base is 6 by 12. That flower is HUGE!!! And this card came together so quickly...even coloring the flowers took next to no time. Hope you enjoy!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Sincere Salutations
CS: Whisper White, Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Prints DSP in Celery
Ink: Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava
Acc: Ice circle rhinestone brads, May arts polka dot ribbon from a Jody share.

TFL!
-Jana

Thanks Karin!!

German Phrase of the Day: Die Melone duftet herrlich. = The smell of the melon is wonderful.

I got this adorable card from my friend (and former customer) Karin who lives in London now. I haven't been over to visit hr yet, but I'm hopeful I'll get to see her soon.

Anywho...she sent me this adorable Stamping Bella card, and enclosed some GORGEOUS silk flowers for me to play wtih (you'll see the results tomorow!) And the had the incredible idea of spritzing the flower using the Color Spritzer tool. How brilliant is she???

We're heading up to Berlin today...it was Julia's last day of Kindergarten before a 3-week break. I'm hopeful I'll survive and still get some time during these three weeks to blog for you all! If she hasn't run me completely out of energy. And this time, I do have posts already to go...so maybe I'll even get a blog baby-sitter to publish them for me if I can't.

Thanks...and I'll write more when I can!

-Jana

Tag I'm it...

I've been tagged 3 or 4 times now, and I keep meaning to get to it, but I've been so busy stamping I haven't yet!

So, here are 7 little know things about me...

1. I'm really a homebody. I love all this traveling, but for me relaxation is just being at home doing what I love best - stamping! (that is, if I can't be on a beach reading!!)
2. I was born in a small town in Maine called Bucksport that was founded by Johnathon Buck. He was cursed by a witch (either that he condemned to death or thought to be his mistress) and to this day his grave marker has her foot - even though it has been replaced many times!)
3. I moved to California when I was 18 to attend Pomona College out in Claremont. And today, one of my best friends (and upline) lives in Claremont!!
4. I am addicted to pastries. Chocolate is fine, but I much prefer cake, brownies, croissants, etc.
5. I am thinking of writing a book about our time living here in Germany - think Pater Mayle meets Erma Bombeck! Just have to get up the nerve to start writing it!!!
6. I am the youngest of 3, and am living proof that IUD's in the early 70's were not effective!!
7. Lastly, I started this blog to maintain a connection to the stamping world during our 2 year stint here in Germany...and it has become one of my most treasured tasks! Thank you all for helping to keep me "sane" - or at least no more crazy than I was to begin with!! :-)

Ok...I'm not going to tag anyone because it seems to have made it's way around, but thanks to Gina, Michelle, and Adellina for tagging me!

And now, I'm off to take the dog to the TierPension (animal hotel) for our trip! Auf Wiedersehen!

-Jana

Quilt card

Normally, I try to only post one new card per day - especially when I'm going to be traveling and can't stamp for a while - but today I had to share this card I just finished! I followed a link from Allison's blog to this awesome tutorial for making a quilt card on Nancy's blog. I mean...with her instructions it was just so stinkin' easy! I used my Brocade Background paper to make the quilt, and of course the matching Baroque Motifs set for the center image.

Once I had the strips cut, and the adhesive on the under level it went pretty quick. After adhering all the strips, I decided to use my craft knife and a ruler to cut off the excess because I don't have the guillotine style cutter and I didn't think my trimmer would be a good idea. That worked perfectly. I wanted to add some ribbon or something, but decided that it really didn't add much. Perhaps some piercing around the vanilla layer on the Old Olive would look nice....but at this point I don't want to screw it up, KWIM ??

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
CS: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Brocade Background DSP
Ink: Old Olive, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Chocolate Chip marker
Acc: 1 1/4" square punch, Ice rhinenstone brad

TFL!
-Jana

New Catty Case wtih Zoofari

German Phrase of the Day: Das beste Obst bekommst du auf dem Markt. = You get the best fruit at the market. Yesterday we had veggies, today we have fruit. These were among my first German words...as I've said I do ok when it comes to food! ;-)

Last week there was a challenge on SCS to Case the New Catty. Well...my absolute favorite sample in the new book has to be the Boatloads of Love sample on page 53. I mean...the use of the designer paper is just wonderful, and the way they reused the punched out word window strip is just brilliant!

I hadn't used my new Zoofari set yet, and really wanted to get it a little dirty, so I pulled that out. And in looking over my DP, I decided that the Petals and Paisleys striped paper would work perfectly. I used my brand new aquapainter (I finally broke down and bought a new set...my old ones are getting a little frayed, and I promised Julia she could have them when I got new ones...she's been bugging me for them for at least 6 months!) with ink pads to color in my little animals there. I used some river rock to give them some ground. For the sentiment, I didn't have a happy birthday sentiment that fit really well in the space I had, and that I liked. So...I used a Happy Belated Sentiment from the "It's Your Birthday" set, and just stamped Happy first then Birthday, using my SAMJ to get the alignment just right. Oh yeah...and I used the balloon from Tutu Terrific...just decided they really needed a balloon, and that was the only one I could think of that I had. Maybe I should remedy that and get the Big Bold Birthday set from page 63...what do you all think??

I'm super happy with how this card turned out...now I just have to figure out who to send it to! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Zoofari, It's Your Birthday, tutu terrific
CS: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Petals and Paisleys DSP
Ink: Old Olive, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, basic black, cool caribbean, river rock, regal rose
Acc: aquapainter, word window punch, corner rounder, crafter's tool kit, bb brads, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig

TFL!
-Jana

Joy Fold Card for Beate's sketch challenge

German phrase of the day: Es muss frisches Gemuse sein. = It has to be fresh vegetables. I like the word Gemuse...it's kind of like amuse, but from the garden! ;-) Sorry...I shouldn't try to be funny!

Here is my shot at Beate's sketch challenge from this past weekend. I really enjoyed making this card, and love the overall effect. I think I should have added a rhinestone brad to the center of my medallion though...what do you think?

I got to play with my new stamps again, and the matching paper. Don't you just love the new matching lines SU! has this fall?? I can't wait to play more!!! I lightly sponged the edges of my dp with chocolate chip ink, and I just love the way that looks!

You can get directions for this card on Beate's site, but it's super easy once you've made one. I just needed to get the feel for it...might have to try this for some Christmas cards now!! I especially liked using my Hodge Podge HW for the closure, because I just don't use that stuff enough!! Need to stop hoarding!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
CS: Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Brocade background DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Old Olive
Acc: HPH, Dimensional, sponge

TFL!
-Jana

Thanks Michelle!!

German Phrase of the Day: Du musst das Fleisch noch salzen. = You have to put salt on the meat. Fleisch is pronounced fliesh. My daily calendar seems to be on a cooking theme this week, so I figured I'd stick with it.

Today's card was a beautiful thank you card from my friend Michelle. She always send me beautiful cards, and they always make me smile. We used to stamp together every week practically, since her older boy is about the same age as Julia, and I miss our stamping sessions. The kids would go off and play (most likely making a HUGE mess) and we wouldn't worry about it because we were having fun.

One of Michelle's favorite techniques is shaving cream...and I think her second favorite might be the faux shaving cream she used here. She sent this card back with dh as a thanks for the German wine and chocolate I sent for her. She doesn't have a blog yet, but I've been bugging her that she needs one! She does have a Stampin' Up! site though, so go see more of her work there!

Pick a Petal fun

German Phrase of the Day: Der Wein schmeckt sehr interessant. = The wine tastes very interesting. I hope you all are memorizing these, because I will have a test someday!! And in the test I'll include ALL my favorite words, of which Wein is certainly one! :-)

So, like I said yesterday I finally sat down and played with my new goodies while DH and DD were riding their bikes to the pool about 5 miles away (and 3 "villages" over.) I knew as soon as I saw sneak peaks of Pick a Petal I would have to have it...but then I saw people struggle with what to do with it...and I got worried. I decided for this card I wanted to go simple, and stuck with just 1 layer (altho, looking at it now, I'm thinking I might scallop one edge and put a layer of color under it...what do you all think? And which color would you use? Wasabi or Apricot??)

I used Purely Pomegranate (the greatest color ever created!) for the petals, and then took a 1" circle chipboard piece out, covered it with Apricot Appeal craft ink, and embossed it with my iridescent ice ep (no, I actually DID put it away, but it was near the front in my drawer of ep)

Once I had the flower basically created, I realized I didn't have anything for the stem...and it will be a while before I get Stem Sayings...it didn't even make my first order, but it's in the "Must Order this catalog period" column. So, I pulled out my PaperTrey Ink Faux Ribbon set and used that to make my stem...and I LOVE it! Of course, I had to use Wild Wasabi ink! Then, I finished it off with a greeting from Hugs and Wishes. Such a fun and easy card to make! I love new toys!!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Pick a Petal, Hugs and Wishes, Faux Ribbon by Papertrey Ink
CS: White CS from Papertrey Ink
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Apricot Appeal Craft
Acc: Iridescent Ice ep, On Board Blossoms & Basics

TFL!
-Jana

Color Challenge Inspired

German Phrase of the Day: Du bist ein guter Koch. = You're a good cook.

I had to play with my new stamps and colors today...I had waited long enough! I liked the the color combo Emily came up with for SCS this week, but decided to modify it to the new colors, so instead of Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, and Chocolate Chip I used Groovy Guava, River Rock, and Chocolate Chip. I liked it! I also got to use one of my new bling-brads from SU! Gotta love the sparkle!!!

I LOVE this new stamp set, Baroque Motifs, and have been drooling over all the samples I've seen so far. I'm not sure I like cutting out the flower here...but it turned out ok.

While I was up there I made a few other cards which I'll show you over the next week. I want to make at least one card per new stamp set!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
CS: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Ink: Groovy Guava, River Rock
Acc: Ice rhinestone circle brads

TFL!
-Jana

Happy 4th...on the 6th!

German Phrase of the Day: Wir kochen heute ein ganz besonderes Essen. = We'll cook a very special meal today - which is what many people did on the 4th. We however, spent the day driving through Germany...which was still quite enjoyable...and eating German, Italian, and Greek food. Independence Day is a little different when living overseas!

I didn't get into my stamp room until after getting Julia to bed last night, so I had to wait until this morning to take a photo. I'm quite happy with how this turned out. I stamped the fireworks in Purely Pomegranate (my new favorite color!!) and Brocade Blue. Then, I covered the white piece with Versamark and embossed with Iridescent Ice EP. I just love that faux diamonds look!! Then, I mounted the white piece onto Brocade Blue CS, and then onto Purely Pomegranate, and then I added the organdy ribbon and silver cord. Finally I mounted this onto my Bashful Blue card where I had already stamped the stars with Bashful Blue ink. The sentiment was stamped with my new Karen Foster Snap Stamps in Pomegranate ink, then punched with the word window punch. This was a super fun card to make...and I LOVE the sparkles!! Hopefully tonight I can make some card with all my new SU! stuff!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Fireworks from GinaK designs Karen Foster Snap Stamps
CS: Brocade Blue, Purely Pomegranate, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Brocade Blue, Purely Pomegranate, Bashful Blue
Acc: Versamark, irridescent ice EP, organdy ribbon, silver cord, word window punch

TFL!
-Jana

Wish Stephanie a Happy Birthday!

Be sure to go wish my good friend Stephanie a Happy Birthday, and enter to win one of the AWESOME ribbon racks that her hubby makes. Trust me...they are gorgeous, you don't want to miss this one!!

Have a great day!
-Jana

I'm back!

German Phrase of the Day: Ich benötige einen Job. = I need a job. Which I really do need to pay for all the new SU! stuff I HAVE to have. How sad am I? I went through the catalog and created my wishlist. I haven't even added the entire thing up...just those things that I need on the FIRST order...those things I can't wait too long to get. Wanna know the total? $500!!! I can't believe it! As I always say...good thing my husband doesn't read this thing! ;-)

So...guess what??? My GinaK blog candy arrived!! Is this not awesome??? I can't wait to go play with these adorable stamps! I'll be making a belated Happy 4th card this afternoon for sure. She even sent me some easy mount to mount them on...how cool is that? Ok...I'll post the card as soon as I get it made. I actually got the idea while browsing another Gina's blog...my good friend GinaP!

Thanks GinaK!!

-Jana

Saying Goodbye

German Phrase of the Day: Auf Wiedersehen = Goodbye (or more literally, until we meet again, just like Au revoir in French)

I hate saying goodbye. And one of the weird things about living overseas and getting to know other ex-pats is that occasionally, they leave and return to their original country. Thus, I am having to say goodbye to 2 good friends I have made in the short time I've been here. Both women were part of a group of scrapping English speakers (Americans, Canadian, etc.) that I have been meeting up with for the last 8 months or so...quite regularly since January. And while I will miss having them here, I know that I will continue to meet more people, and hope that I will meet up with them again when I too return Stateside.

This card was made for one of these friends. It was a VERY fast card...using some of my new Basic Gray paper which I love. I used my So Very SAB stamp set (and as always stamped the missed crooked!) and some organdy ribbon and cord to finish it off.

We're off to the Black Forrest, so I'll be a little quiet for the next couple of days...but I did get my pre-order items...and of course, my new catalog! I've been enjoying it immensely, and will of course bring it with me to continue to drool!

Have a wonderful July 4th all of you who are Stateside! We'll be celebrating here with German beer and Bratwurst! :-)

TFL!
-Jana