home again home again...

How does the rest of that line go?? Oh well. We're home. A little jetlagged, but hanging in. I"ll post if I get inspired in the middle of the night and have to go upstairs to create something! ;-) Otherwise, I'll try to get SOMETHING made tomorrow when P& J go to the pool. Thanks everyone for hanging in there!!

TFL!
-Jana

Prettie Wednesday...just barely!

It's 11:34pm. I've just squeezed this one under the deadline. Nothing like a little pressure, right?

2 weeks ago Joanne challenged us all to use a sketch she had been using pretty frequently on her blog for our weekly Prettie Wednesday challenge. I LOVE the sketch...but have to say tonight (sorry Jo...I truly just made the card tonight!) my muse was a ways off. Of course, I am pretty limited in supplies. It will certainly be nice to get back to my stamp room, even though I'm NOT going to be ready to leave Florida in just 36 more hours!

For this card I used some fun paper my mom picked up in the Prettie Boutique along with My Favorite Things recently released Eggstra Special Easter. I colored the egg and little chickie with watercolor pencils and my blender pen. I was too lazy to find the OMS to use Prismas tonight! The fowers came from my good friend Michelle. She often sends me care packages, and last week was no exception! :-) Thanks Mich!! The ricrak is from Mike's. it's a flannel material that is really soft and fuzzy to the touch. overall...I'm not happy with how this card turned out, so i will for sure have to make Joanne another card to make up for this lousy one. I have a brilliant idea inspired by Julia...but I need some supplies that are at home. Perhaps I'll show that one to you NEXT Wednesday!

Anyway...it now being almost midnight, I best get some sleep so I'll be ready to help fix breakfast for everyone in the morning! G'night everyone!!

TFL!
-Jana

GinaK release...a little late!

Have you all seen the gorgeous new stamps GinaK just released on Sunday? I'm sure you have, but if not...go see them NOW! I was so excited when I got my box at my mom's last week...but didn't get a chance to play until here in Captiva! I was finally able to photograph and upload my card today. Sorry for being so late!!

For this card I used the new Basket of Happiness stamp set for the image. I love this combination of the eggs and the flowers. It's just so fun to color. You could color the eggs pastels and have them already dyed...or leave them white...but I wanted some nice farm fresh brown eggs to go with my daisies. I tried out my mom's new Prismacolor pencils for this one along with OMS and blending stumps. I'm quite happy with my first attempt! For the greeting, I used the He is Risen stamp set.

This is a super simple layout...but great when you're just recovering from being sick, have limited internet access, and haven't stamped in like a week! As you can see, I'm loving my mom's nestabilities. In fact, tonight while watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with my dad, I nestled a bunch of ovals to take home with me! :-)

Ok...one more post for tonight. I'll return shortly!

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

Moose You!

German Phrase of the Day: Ich mochte ihn heiraten. = I would like to marry him. And I did! However, this year we are apart for Valentine's day (probably a relief to him since that gets him off the hook as he says!) So, I left him a card or sweets for each day I'm gone and he's home.

This card is one I made for a Valentine's swap, and I was so happy with how it turned out, I kept one to give to my dh! Isn't it stinkin' cute?? I really love simple cards, and this one can't be beat for simplicity. Yet, it's still really cute! I made the lot of them in about 45 minutes!! The most time consuming part was cutting out the heart.

I used the Sending Thoughts of Love set to stamp the X's and O's on the background of the pretty in pink layer first. Then, stamped the moose with Chocolate Chip ink onto whisper white. I then layered that onto an ever so slightly larger layer of Purely Pomegranate, and then put that onto the much larger chocolate chip layer. I tied the ribbon around, then mounted this onto the card. Lastly, I stamped the heart with pomegranate ink on pomegranate paper and cut it out. It's popped up next to the moose. Super easy, but super cute! And, perfect for me who can't be with my honey for Valentine's Day this year.

Ok...I'm all packed up to head down to Captiva, but I still need to get my parents and daughter packed up. I'm hoping we'll leave soon though. So, my next post will be coming from beachside! :-D I can't wait!!!

TFL!
-Jana

PTI Cigarbox

German Phrase of the Day: Wilst du mit mir spielen heute? = Do you want to play with me today? Ok...if there are any errors it's Julia's fault today. I don't have my calendar with me, so I asked Julia, what's a good phrase for today, maybe something like "do you want to play with my today" and she just spit that out. She continues to amaze me!! And this after she just made a "cell phone" with some designer paper scraps I had out on a table here. Wish I had been that smart/creative at 5!!!

2 announcements to make today. First, on Monday night (Feb 11th) the Prettie Girls are hosting a Stamping in Your Jammies LIVE from CHA. OK, so they won't be on the show floor, but they will have been all day so they'll hve LOTS of juice for us all!! Be sure to visit the Paper Pretties Forum Monday night starting at 7pm PST (That's 10pm for us on the East Coast!) I'll be signed in from my beachside location...probably with margarita or mojito in hand - and of course wearing jammies! :-)

The other announcement is GinaK has a new release coming on Sunday, February 10th over at her forum on Splitcoast Stampers from 7-9pm central (that's 8 to 10pm here on the east coast!) In the meantime, starting tomorrow morning Gina will have sneak peaks on her blog...and many of us on her design team will have samples starting on the 10th (I got my package yesterday, and I LOVE it - get your credit cards ready!!!).

Today's project is one I made for my aunt here in Florida. I used the Plain Jane cigar box and stationary set from Papertrey Ink, along with their monogram set and mini borders set. For the designer paper I used some Porcelain Prints from SU! I pretty much just followed Nichole's directions exactly...so go check her blog to make your own. I was luck and my aunt liked her new stationary set. The top photo is everthing in the box, the second is everything out of the box, and the final is a more side view of the box.

We're heading down to Captiva tomorrow morning. so I need to get busy packing! Sorry this post is so short!!

Hope you all have a great day, and my next posts will be from the beach. HOORAY!!!

TFL!
-Jana

Prettie Girl Wednesday

Ok...here's an unplanned post. I can't believe I forgot to upload the valentine card I made for Julie from the Prettie Girl challenge she issued 2 weeks ago. What a doofus! Oh well...guess I'll have to share that some other time after I get back to Germany - it's really cute! I'll let you know what this week's challenge is once I know! Gotta get my card from LAST week's challenge done still!!

Today I'll show you 2 cards I made yesterday. Unfortunately, my newest package from Christie didn't arrive before I left for Florida, so I asked Joanne to send me a few stamped images of Luke and Lexi from Sealed with a Kiss because I just love them! I colored this image with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. It's been a while since I've done that...it was fun but I'll be happy to have my watercolor crayons back!!

I used my mom's Basic Gray Two Scoops paper for both cards...I just LOVE it! And notice the nested sentiment? Mom has nestabilities too!! I loved cutting this sentiment out with the oval nestabilities then putting it on the scalloped regal rose oval. That is just the coolest thing!! The ribbon is from the Target $pot, and the ribbon slide is from my SU! package that just arrived yesterday afternoon. SOO much fun!! I spent a good portion of last night cutting out rubber!!

The second card uses my lovely Wade E. Bug. I stamped him on my cut and embossed oval. I colored him again with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. I have been so inspired by my fellow Prettie Girls who color wade all kinds of different colors that I had to follow suit and color him to match the Two Scoops paper. Isn't he fabulous with his light turquise wings with pink spots?? I thought the colors were very Easterish, and thought he could be all dressed in his Easter Sunday best. For the ribbon, I used some leftovers from last spring's Flirty ribbon pack from SU! Perfect!! The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Limitless Labels.

Ok...Mom and I are driving up to Mount Dora to go to some famous stamp store up there, and guess who I'm meeting up wtih?? Kim, the MFT Lady! I am soooo excited. Since I can't come join the CHA fun with all the other Prettie Girls, at least I get to meet Kim before she goes. And you can be sure I'll be there on the party tonight for her latest release...Twisted Sentiments? How perfect for me!! ;-)

Have a great day everyone!
TFL,
Jana

Panty Card

German Phrase of the Day: Niemand hat gesagt, dass es einfach sei. = Nobody said it would be easy. What a fantastic phrase, and appropriate for today. I was so SHOCKED, when I saw Gina's blog this morning. I mean...that's my card she posted. I really couldn't believe it! You can read about the process I went through designing the card over here, but I have to admit, I was really proud of that one! And to see it on Gina's blog was just so thrilling to me. The funniest part is, when I wrote the post with it for my blog, I actually wrote "Since I don't think I got onto Gina's team" in part of the post because I was CONVINCED at that point that she must have contacted everyone and I just hadn't made the cut. Funny how things work out, isn't it?

Here's another of my VSN cards. My husband just left today so I can start stamping again - and will therefore have more new stuff to show soon. In the meantime, this was for a challenge issued by one of my fellow GinaK design team members Frances, AKA Stampowl. She challenged us all to make a Panty card. I didn't want to make one in the shape of a panty (although they were VERY cute) so I pulled out my Thanks for Your Support set created by Langley Boy Designs and manufactured by GinaK. It's such a fun, tongue in cheek set - which I LOVE! I stamped the panties with Rose Red ink on Rose Red paper, then stamped the greeting wtih Rose Red ink on Whisper White paper and cut it out. I cut the strip of designer paper from some Cutie Pie paper I had on my desk, then added the ribbon with the buckle. Then, I decided it needed something for the inside, so I stamped the Just Deal with it from the same set and added the ampersand from my SU! Big Deal alphabet set. I mounted it on some Old Olive prints designer paper and voila! Completed card!!

Ok, off to stamp some! DH left this morning, so now I have more "free time" to stamp! I loved getting to have some time with him in a relaxed atmosphere where he didn't have to work, but I'm also happy to get some time for just me again where I can stamp. Aren't grandparents a wonderful thing?!?! :-D

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

Altered Book

German Phrase of the Day: Es ist schon so spaet? = It is that late already? Oh man...I better keep this quick because we're headed to Lowry Park Zoo this morning! Gotta see the Manatees!!

I made this altered album for VSN last month. It's one of the little albums from the Target $pot that my friends in California bought for me (Thanks Kallien!!) and I totally CASE'd this layout from the new Spring/Summer SU! catalog. I just LOVE this set and have since I bought it...and when I saw the sample, I knew I had to recreate it.


I used Elegant Eggplant and just stamped off for the lighter colors. Isn't it lucious?? For the green, I did the same thing with Old Olive. So I only used 2 ink colors on this whole thing, cool, huh? The polka dot paper is from the Old Olive Designer paper. The ribbon is from a ribbon share I did with Jody Morrow back in November. May Arts Satin ribbon...isn't it gorgeous?!?

Ok...Gotta run! But, take a look at Gina's blog today...I still can't believe it!! :-)

Have a great Sunday everyone!
TFL,
Jana

Here kitty, kitty!

German Phrase of the Day: Habst du haustier? Do you have pets? As I've talked about, we brought over our pets with us and have a dog and a cat here.

I made this card (and several others!) for my aunt because she just loves these Bellas! And this card is so perfect for her because she has 4 cats (yes...quite a few!!) We just left her house this morning and Julia was very sad to say goodbye, to her AND the cats!

It's a pretty straightforward card. Bella here is stamped with Palette Noir ink on watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. She's mounted on Taken with Teal cs, then Regal Rose. The card base is some leftover Cool Carribean, and I put some Petals & Paisley dsp at the top. The ribbon is SU! turquoise. And the sentiment is from the MFT set Essential Sentiments. Very useful set!!

Hope you all are having a great weekend...it's a beautiful day here in Sunny Florida, and let me tell you I am LOVING this sun! I've missed it for the last year or so! ;-) Also, sorry I'm not including the fine print this week...just not enough time to go back and find it all! Thanks for understanding!!

TFL!
-Jana

Ticket to drink

German Phrase of the Day: Die Geschafte schliessen um halb 21. The shops are closing at 8:30 pm. It has taken some getting used to that Germans will say half 6 when they mean 5:30. It can get confusing when making appointments and we're switching between English and German because I want to make sure they are saying what they mean.

When Karin came to visit me for VSN, she brought my new stamp set, Cheers to You! I HAD to have this set when I saw it online in the European catalogs, and I so love it!!

This was another VSN card. The challenge was to create a card inspired by a ticket, or with a ticket theme. I decided this was a ticket to drink! I made the background paper myself by stamping the martini glass multiple times and coloring in just the olive. Cute, huh? Then, who goes better with the Cheers to you martini glass than Cosmobella? I colored her outfit to match the card (old olive and cameo coral) then attached her to the card. I used the ticket corner punch to make the greeting look more like a ticket, and by adding 2 Bella charms, I managed to follow Beate's weekend sketch challenge from that weekend (it was #31)

TFL!
-Jana

Wade is such a Lovebug!

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


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


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

Have a great day everyone!

TFL!
-Jana

Prettie Wednesday!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See ya all in US time soon!!

Cutie Patootie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TFL!
-Jana

Another view...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TFL!
-Jana

Cool IKEA light...

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

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

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

Bis spaeter! (until later)
-Jana

New Stamps are almost here!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TFL!
-Jana

Colorful Sophia and FREE STAMPS reminder...

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

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

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

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

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

TFL!
-Jana

Polished to Perfection

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TFL!
-Jana