Accents & Elements Tin Album!

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Ok...this project was SOOOO much fun to make! I got the idea from my good friend Kallien who is doing a class on this...and SHE got the idea from Splitcoast (where else??) This tin was made by Staramaze which I admit I did case quite heavily! Be sure to click through to Sarah's blog for a wonderful tutorial on how to make these!!

Originally, I thought I'd make a cute tin album for my daughter of some photos I was planning to take over her decorating Valentine's Day Cookies with friends. Then...I saw my box of wedding photo proofs, and realized I really miss having photos from our wedding up here in our "temporary" home...and that they would be much more fun to work with. When I showed my husband his first reaction was "You cut up our wedding proofs??" to which I responded "Yes dear...that's why I brought them. We have the negatives in a firesafe in the US, so we can make more!"

I started with my tin, and belly band. I was too cheap to use one of my actual chipboard hearts, so I punched it out, then used the negative image to trace onto some thin cardboard and make my own heart to cover with our wonderful Loves Me paper. I swiped my heart across the Regal Rose inkpad to give it a little more shab. I measured my Pretty in Pink belly band, and layered some more Loves Me paper underneath just for the front. Then, I wrapped some brown Flirty ribbon around. On the heart, I added an oval of Pretty In Pink CS cut with my coluzzle, and I used one of the die cuts from the Sweet Nothings Accents & Elements tin. I stamped Celebrate Love using the Fancy Flexible Phrases set (I LOVE this set!!) Then I added some real chipboard colored with Pretty in Pink craft ink, tied with ribbons, and finished with a button from the regals set of buttons.

Lastly, I FINALLY got a heat gun, and so embossed on my tin! I first washed my tin (it's been handled a LOT) then rubbed my embossing buddy ALL over it. Then, stamped the Sweet on You image with versamark and embossed using detail Silver embossing powder. I think because I used the detail embossing powder, I didn't get as crisp an image - there was a LOT of extra powder that stuck, and I did try to wipe off as much excess as I could. I'll try again when I get more tins using the regular Sterling Silver powder to see if it works better.

For the inside, I used 4 pieces of Pretty in Pink CS cut to 4.5" by 5.25". I scored each piece at 1/2" on the long side to make the binding, then punched 3 holes with my 1/16" hole punch to insert the soft subtles brads.

For the cover, I added some Taken With Teal CS with faux stitching around the outsides, a square of Loves Me paper with the edges sponged with Chocolate Chip ink, and then stamped out names in Taken with Teal ink on Whisper White CS which I then punched out using my new Square Scallop Giga Punch. The ribbon is narrow white organdy, and I used a ribbon buckles from the Antique Brass hodgepodge hardware set. Finally, on the bottom is another die cut from the accents & elements tin with the date of our wedding.

The inside pages each have a strip of Loves Me DS Paper and the photos. I used the "Happy Today" stamp from Small Sayings to add a few words on the first two and last two pages with a Chocolate Chip marker. I thought about coloring the photos with chalks...but decided I liked leaving them as they are. Finally, for the last page, I again added some Taken with Teal CS and stamped the LOVE image from Love Matters, colored with markers, mounted, added some hardware and a little more flirty ribbon, and then stamped "the best is yet to be" from the same set at the bottom.

You could certainly do this much simpler than I did...but I wanted to put a lot into this one.

Groovy Giveaway!

So, I subscribe to a lot of blogs because there are so many wonderful artists out there! Today when I visited Stampin' Mama's blog she had a post about a Groovy Giveaway! So, I thought I'd post it on here as well so you all can go check it out if you haven't already. If you enter to win, please say Jana sent you! :-) And hey...it's such a great stamp set! Good luck everyone!!

Rebecca Paper for mom!

It's been a while since I've been up here and had a few minutes to myself, so I figured I'd better take advantage and update my blog while I can!!

I made this card a week or so ago, but since I was sending it to my mom, I had to wait until she had received it before posting, because she does check my blog daily!

My mom is one of my downline, and I wanted to send her a card along with the rest of my downline to tell everyone I was thinking of them even from afar! And I know she loves paisley! Altho, she really isn't a pink & brown person, I figured she'd like this one!! Plus...I got to use my new Marvy Uchida Giga Scallop Punch!!! :-)

For this card, I used the Polka Dots & Paisley set again, the Rebecca designer paper, and the Flirty ribbon! In addition, I used Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White CS, and Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose ink. I inked up the paisley with the Regal Rose ink pad first, then highlighted with the chocolate chip marker so I could get both colors on the image. As a final touch because it seemed to need something, I stapled on a bit of pink gingham ribbon and then stamped the greeting with chocolate chip ink in the bottom corner.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as my mom did!

TFL,
Jana

Splitcoast Color Challenge...

Ok...so today was the 100th Color Challenge on Splitocast. I'll admit, I'm not always great about posting to splitcoast (altho trying to be better!) But when I saw this color combo I KNEW I had to make a card! And, once I got to my stamp room and started thinking about sets, etc...I thought "Gee...I've always wanted to make a buckle card. Maybe I should try that!" and away I flew to Beate's AMAZING tutorial to make a Big Buckle Card.

This card was actually quite easy to make. Had I known how easy the buckle cards are I would have made them ages ago! I strongly encourage you all to try it if you haven't yet.

SO, for this card I used the Happy Harmony set. I just love all the different sayings, and the flowers are so delicate looking...perfect for Blush Blossom! I again did the expressionistic watercolor with the WW Crayons and watercolor paper. I lightly spritzed on some extra blush with my color spritzer, and then gently sponged the edges with some chocolate chip.

I stamped the front of the Cool Caribbean card with same color ink and the Linen stamp for some texture. For the greeting, I inked it up on my Cool Caribbean pad, then just colored the 2 words with the chocolate chip marker...a real time saver over doing the whole thing with markers - and great for when you don't have a certain color marker!

Oh yeah...last thing I did was I colored my organdy ribbon. I ran it over my blush blossom ink pad holding it down with a sponge...just gives it a hint of color! Now to figure out who to send this card to. Are there any card-worthy souls out there? :-) I'm sure I"ll find one or 2.

TFL!
-Jana

More Pink & Chocolate Paisley!

Since both DH and DD were gone for an entire day yesterday (they went to Amsterdam!) I got to stamp all day! Of course, since it's still Valentine's time, I made more valentines, and of course used more pink and brown. I promise, I'll put those colors away soon!!

For this card I used my Polka Dots & Paisley set again. I used Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White CS, and Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery inks. For the flower image, I stamped the center image first, then just kept stamping without re-inking for the other 2. I like the slowly fading look. After putting the card mostly together, I decided it needed a greeting, so Pulled out the Find Joy... stamp and stamped away. Oh no...not again! I stamped it upside down. Fortunately, my celery strip hadn't been on too long, so I was able to gently lift it up and flip it around. While it was supposed to be positioned closer to the top, it still works where it is, and I was able to salvage the card! Yeah!! Of course, I had already put the ribbon on, but it was easy enough to slide underneath. Phew! I hate to waste good cardstock, you know?!

So, this is one of the cards I created to send out to all my wonderful downline members. I actually made a card for each and every one (ok, so I only have 5 - not so difficult for me right now!) but I wanted them all to know I am thinking about them! Thanks ladies!! I hope you enjoy your cards!!

Later, I'll post some of the cards I made yesterday to send to friends and family in the States for Valentine's day. Have to download the photos still!

TFL!
-Jana

New Punch Holder

Ok, I have the most wonderful friend!! I never made it over to Bed, Bath, & Beyond when I was in the states, and so she went there for me, purchased the clear plastic over the door shoe holder (and went to Michael's to get me some "tack it again" to replace that which was confiscated at the Orange County airport because I forgot to put it into my checked baggage!!) and then sent it all over here to me. I mean, how many friends do you have who would do all that for you? (not to mention the other goodies she put in my box...thank you SOOOO much Michelle!!!)

So I was so very excited when my package arrived, I immediately ran upstairs (both flights) with my new shoe holder to put all my punches in. It's just so beautiful!! I love being able to glance over and see all my punches neatly stored and totally available. (see my new Marvey scallop punches in the bottom? Aren't they boootiful?!)

Now, the only problem with this, is I see I have 8 empty spaces. I mean...I just HAVE to fill them, right??? I'm so glad my husband doesn't read this blog... :-)

Now hopefully I"ll get my stampin' space cleaned up soon so I can take a picture of the entire thing for you all!

TFL!
-Jana

Photo Wallet

At Leadership conference in January, one of the make & takes was this incredibly cute Photo Wallet. And while I didn't get to go to the conference, I have seen several examples of this great project on Splitcoast. Since I have the directions, (thanks Rach!) I decided I needed to make one. (well, I actually made 2, one for hubby and one to give away as part of my blog candy drawing in a few more days!)

So, I started with a 12 by 12 sheet of Cool Caribbean CS (figuring, hey, that's kinda masculine, right?) And you can get 2 wallets from it because the outside is 12" by 4.5". I stamped images from Big Pieces in Cool Caribbean ink, then scored and folded my wallet.

The next step is to create the slots for the photos. This is achieved by adhering CS on each of the 3 rectangles with a 1" bit folded over, and then attaching a mini envelope sealed shut with one end cut off on the underside of the fold (see the photo for a visual "explanation." You can decorate the envelopes however you like, and they fold out, giving you space underneath for journaling. Then, you can create tags to go inside the envelopes onto which you can adhere photos, greetings, or anything else you can think of.

Lastly, create the bellyband from a 1" strip of CS scored and folded. I followed the SU! directions and added 2 brads and the circles with the heart for some additional color.

Now, to find some photos of my daughter and myself to put in my husbands...that way he'll have something to bring on his MANY trips and always have our beautiful faces to gaze upon! Hahahaha, I crack myself up!

Any of my California customers interested in making this project, send me an email and I'll get you hooked into a class!

TFL,
-Jana

Over 2000 Hits!

Ok...So I've finally passed the 2000 hits mark (since putting on my counter...but I can't remember when I actually did that!) That means....Blog Candy! Yup...figure I have to jump on the bandwagon too. So....check back early next week and I'll have a photo posted of my blog candy and how to enter to win.

Thanks for visiting!

-Jana

Friends Happen...

...with Stampin' Up!

I should really put a copyright after that line, since my upline Rach said it enough times at convention when I went with her in 2005! Friends Happen is the name of her group. And I don't think I could come up with a better name. It so accurately describes what happens when you have such a fun reason to get together with and meet new people. There are people in my life today who I probably would not have even met were it not for SU! and for that I am very grateful. So, I made this card, and then later when I was getting it ready to send (not telling to who...that is the surprise!) and I just wrote "Happen" on the inside. Actually, I was trying to figure out what stamp I have that I could alter to stamp the word Happen, but just needed to get the card out so didn't spend too much time trying. I need to now since I promised Rach I would make a few for her!

Yes, it is another pink and brown card I made while stamping with friends here. The base is Chocolate Chip, with some flirty ribbon and then the scallop punched Regal Rose. I colored the chipboard heart using regal rose, then stamped on it with Paisley in Chocolate Chip, and I REALLY liked how that turned out. Will have to do that again!! I added the Tempting Turquoise circle to better coordinate with the rickrack bit, and then decided to add dots with my Chocolate Chip marker to the scallops like I've seen so many others do. I like it! Lastly, I stamped "friends" from Love Matters into Whisper White with Basic Brown ink. After realizing that a rectangle just wasn't going to fit, I cut it out with my snips and then layered it onto more Tempting Turquoise. I colored it with Tempting Turquoise and Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal markers. I used dimensionals on both the scalloped circle and again on the heart, just to leave some room for those wonderful ribbons.

Have a wonderful day everyone...and the folks in my downline should be watching their mailboxes next week!

TFL!
-Jana

Lovin' Polka Dots & Paisly!!!

I really do love this set. When I was crafting with some other crafty englisch-sprechen women over here earlier this week I designed a few cards without even looking at Splitcoast...aren't you all impressed?? ;-) I've already posted a few of them, but I think this one is my favorite. As you can see, it is again using Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip. I mean, those are the colors I took with me, and once I had them out, I just kept using them! Anyway, I like this card layout because it's an easy one to use, and is one I tend to use over and over again when I can't think of anything better.

So, I stamped the paisley onto the Choc. Chip CS with Choc. Chip ink, then put a little white dot in the center of each flower with my White Gel Pen. The flower was inked with Pretty In Pink and Certainly Celery each time it was stamped, and the outline was stamped with Regal Rose. The Whisper White focal image was layered on Pretty in Pink, and then I tied some Celery grosgrain ribbon around it. Of course then, I had to tie on some Chocolate and Rose scraps onto that to tie all the colors together...get it?? TIE them all together?? Ok...It's been a long day, give me a break! Lastly, I stamped the Happy along the side with Regal Rose ink onto my Regal Rose card, and stuck the focal piece on with....you guessed it, Dimensionals!!

I hope you enjoyed this card...I've got another fun one coming next!

TFL!
-Jana

Playing with Happiness

I love Sell-A-Bration time...have I mentioned that lately?? I mean, who doesn't love getting FREE stamps? This year's selection was particularly amazing...and I'm FINALLY getting around to playing with them.

Today (after some obligatory vacuuming!) I pulled out Happy Harmony because I've seen so many beautiful cards with these flowers and the watercolor crayons. The technique is called Expressionistic Watercolors, and it is SOOO easy! Simply apply the crayons DTR (Direct to Rubber) wet your watercolor paper with a spray bottle or an aquapainter, lightly spritz your stamp (that has been colored with the crayons) and then stamp your image. The extra water will cause the colors to run a little more than normal, giving your piece an "expressionistic" look.

For my flowers, I colored them with the Regal Rose crayon first, then went around the edges with the Rose Red crayon. The stems are Certainly Celery, but for some reason came out a little muddy. I stamped the greeting with Timber Brown Stazon so it wouldn't run with all the water.

I layered the piece on Chocolate Chip and then Regal Rose cardstocks. For the card, I stamped the Flannel background on Chocolate Chip CS with Chocolate Chip ink, then tied the Celery Organdy ribbon around the card. I mounted the focal piece over the ribbon using Dimensionals. Then...I still felt like the card needed something more. So, I used my word window punch to punch out some Certainly Celery tabs and attached them around the edge of the card, securing in place with some antiqued brads. I'm not sure how I like them...what do you all think?

Ok, and finally, here are some examples of my "mistakes" while making this card. The first one (while being a little TOO expressionistic) is an example of why I really don't like having to mount my stamps every time I use them. I have to pay very close attention to be sure I don't stamp my greetings upside down.

The second example also illustrates that point with the greeting being at such an angle (and in reality, not one of my cleanest stamped images.) However, this image will not be thrown out...it's not so bad that I can't ever use it...perhaps I can salvage it somehow! And, as I always said in my classes and workshops, it's handmade, so it isn't supposed to be perfect!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and thanks for visiting!

Stamp Storage

Ok...here's my storage solution!!

I was talking with my upline last night just so giddy that my husband had finally been able to install my new CD rack over my stamping table. (He had to wait for me to clean the table off enough to pull it away from the wall!) In honor of finally have a place to PUT all of my stamp sets, I was finally labeling the clear plastic jewel cases I store the rubber in so I would know what is where. Easy to do with sets that came to Germany never having been mounted where I still had the stickers...going to be tougher for those sets that I ripped from their wooden blocks (which they really miss!) and stuck on waxed paper to get them here. Anyhow....I put the stamp set label on the spine of the jewel case, and then in a moment of actual thought, cut some cheap CS I bought for my daughter to play with into 4 3/4" squares, and stuck all the stickers on to there. Now, I can easily see what sets are inside each case (see the 2nd photo for a close up!)

I really do miss having my stamps all nicely mounted on wood. In my next post I'll demonstrate one of the problems with having to basically re-mount stamps each and every time they are used. Suffice it to say, it's a bit of a pain. However, if I truly wanted to bring the 100 or so sets that I absolutely COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT then I had to sacrifice my wood. I suppose for the good of all my stamps, wood was a small thing to give up, but I still miss it!!!

Big Blossom Kissed!

I got to play today! I just threw a few things into my bag as I headed out the door to stamp with friends here, and actually managed to design 3 different cards! All are using the same color schemes (since it was easier) but were lots of fun!

This card uses the Big Blossom Sell-A-Bration stamp. I was showing my friends how to "kiss" your stamps and ended up stamping this image. So of course, I then had to make it into a completed card.

I inked up my new Paisley background stamp with Regal Rose ink, then kissed my big blossom stamp to it, and then stamped onto Whisper White. I cut out my flower, then attached to Chocolate chip and cut out again (Can you believe I'm doing all this cutting??) I borrowed someone else's Creative Memories cutter that does wavy lines to cut out a stem from Certainly Celery and put it all on a Pretty In Pink card. I chose the phrase from my Love Matters set and stamped that in Basic Brown. Then, when I got home I pulled out my acrylic buttons and some brown grosgrain to do the flower center, and Voila! completed card! and SUPER easy!! I think I'll have to make some more of these!

Oh...and don't you just LOVE my new watermark? I got this from Cindy, you should check out her blog...and feel free to contact her about getting your own watermark!!

TFL!
-Jana

Love Notes...

I bought a little notebook at a small stationary store in Buderich the other day after taking Julia to the eye doctors - good news there is NO glasses!

Anyway, I wanted to do something fun with it, so started off by covering it with some wonderful paper from the Loves Me Designer Paper collection. (I just love the diagonal stripes!!!) Then, I wanted to use the Love Note die cut from my Sweet Nothings Accents & Elements tin, and for sure the wonderful phrase from Love Matters. I clipped the corners with me Ticket Corner Punch so I could put the Rich Regal brads in, and then stamped the Sweet image from Sweet On You into the Love Notes area. I tied the book closed with my pink gingham ribbon, and since it still needed something, I added the brown frilled ribbon from the Flirty Ribbon Originals collection to the spine!

CS: RegalRose, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Loves Me designer paper.
Ink: Regal Rose, Basic Brown
Acc: Rich Regal Brads, Flirty Ribbon, Pink Gingham Ribbon, Tag Corner Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, 1/16" punch, Sweet Nothings Accents & Elements.

Now, to figure out how to use this adorable little book. Perhaps I should start writing love notes to my hubby while he's away for him to read when he gets home. Hmm...shall have to think on this!

Oh...and there is a LOT of blog candy out there right now. Think I"m going to have to start giving some away! Maybe to celebrate getting to 2000 hits I'll have something!

Stampin' Class!

Today I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting another SU demonstrator here in the Dusseldorf area, Christina B. She's from Canada, and goes back there quite regularly to hold workshops and work her "day job." Today, she did a little mini class at the home of one of my American scrappin' buddies, and we made 2 fabulous cards! I just had to share them!!

This first card uses Bodacious Bouquet - one of my new favorites as several of you know! She paired it up with the retired Sassy paper cut and folded into a mini envelope. It was layered onto another strip of Sassy paper which was mounted onto a Real Red card. The flowers were stamped with Green Galore, Real Red, Only Orange and Pink Passion, but out and mounted (at varying heights) using SNAIL and either 1 or 2 dimensionals (it's hard to tell in the photo, but the green and one pink are flush with the cs, the orange and 2nd pink are with 1 dimensional, and the red has 2 dimensionals!) It was then finished off with a bit of black grosgrain ribbon. As many of you know, I really don't like having to cut things out, but it was such a beautiful card, it was worth it! :-)

The second card I just LOVED! I've been wanting the Happy Hearts stamp set for almost 2 years now, but have held out...but I got to use it today!! The card base is Chocolate Chip CS, with a rectangle of Rose Red on top (with the torn edge) then came the strip of Close to Cocoa with the antique brads. On top of this is a square of Bravo Burgundy and the stamped and (once again) cut out hearts. These were stamped with Bravo Burgundy, Rose Red and I think Regal Rose - but I'm not positive on that last color. Again, I have the hearts all at different heights! And lastly, we have LOVE stamped with alphabits and punched out with a little heart shaped non-SU punch. SOOO cute!!!

Thanks Christina for all the fun...can't wait for you to come and see all my fun toys!! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Paint Can Fun!

Ok...so not exactly a brand new creation, but at least something different! One last project I created while visiting my wonderful friend Rachel in Claremont is this darling paint can. She was holding a class while I was there, so I got to make my own project as well! :-)

For this project, I used the Loves Me designer paper, Flirty Ribbon and the Sweet on You and Happy Thoughts stamp sets, all from the Winter Mini Catalog. In addition, I used Whisper White and Taken with Teal CS, and Regal Rose and Taken with Teal ink. I just love how the images from Sweet on You fit right in our circle punches...I used the 1 3/8" punch for this project because I wanted to keep a hint of white around the outside edge.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the designer paper to the can so it would be nice and smooth, and to give it a little gloss (and protection!) and then adhered the rest of the elements after the Mod Podge had dried. To adhere the ribbons, I just used SNAIL, which was perfect!

For the top of the can, I used the Coluzzle to cut out the circle of Taken With Teal CS, and then stamped it with images from Happy Thoughts by inking just the image or the word. I only used SNAIL for the top of the can.

I hope you have enjoyed this project...watch for more to come soon! With my hubbie traveling again this week, maybe I"ll actually get some stamping done in the evenings!! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

More Delightful Cards

Sorry for the long silence...life in Germany has been quite hectic the last week with Hurricane level winds and visitors from the US. But, I wanted to post another photo of my Just Delightful cards.

I really liked this card...I love things at a diagonal!! All of these cards are so easy to make. To do the basic layouts (minus embellishments) took about 1-1.5 hours, then doing all the embellishments & stamping takes another 1-2 hours. So, in less than 4 hours you can really make 40 cards!

Ok...I'm hoping to stamp again SOMETIME soon...and so my next entry will have some fresh projects to post!

Thanks for looking!

-Jana

Simiply Delightful!

I so love Sell-A-Bration time! There really is nothing better than FREE stamps - or Simply Scrappin' Kits as the case may be! While in California, my friend and upline Rachel and I each made 40+ cards from the SAB Simply Scrappin' Kit.

In addition to the kit itself, we used 20 sheets of Whisper White cardstock for the card bases. We still had 3 sheets of solid 12 by 12 and 1 sheet of pattered 12 by 12 cardstock left, in addition to the unused die cuts! For embellishments, we used Hodge Podge hardware (Pewter) Rose grosgrain ribbon, and some Soft Subtles brads. And of course, a little dazzling diamonds glitter with 2-way glue to add a little shimmer here and there.

I'll add some more photos of a few individual cards later so you can get an idea of how they look in more detail. Everyone on my newsletter mailing list will be getting a message this week about how they can get a full kit to re-create these beautiful cards, including cutting and assembly instructions!

Have a wonderful day everyone...more tomorrow!

-Jana

Back in Deutchland!

Well...so much for good intentions. I was hoping to get TONS of stamping done while in Claremont, and ended up getting very little done. But, I did manage to get lots of shopping done!! I so miss Target and Michael's!!!!!

So, I did get a few things done while I was there, including this cute and VERY simple little card using the new Polka Dots & Paisley stamp set Stampin' Up! was kind enough to send to all of their demonstrators...for FREE!!! Just love those FREE stamp sets!! And I've barely even begun to use my SAB stuff.

Anyway, this card uses a color combination that I've recently fallen in love with - Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace and Certainly Celery. I think they just look wonderful together. I also used a bit of Hodgepodge hardware and some ribbon (of course!) and a little Dazzling Diamonds to add some shimmer and shine - altho that's harder to see in the photo. You can see this new set in the Spring Mini catalog which will be available online starting March 1st.

Rach and I did manage to finish up our 40+ cards from the new SAB Simply Scrappin' kit, so I"ll be posting a few of those over the next few days. I'm putting together some great kits for SAB, so if you're on my newsletter email list, be sure to watch for them!

Thanks for looking,
Jana

Well, here I am sitting in a sports bar using the internet terminal here to post another update! Sedona has been great, and we've been very busy...and tomorow I leave for my week of stamping insanity in Southern California! I hope to post a new project each day I am there!

In the meantime, here is the Chipboard Calendar that I made 4 of, one for my parents, and one for each of my siblings (I get to keep 1!!)

I CASED the one created by XXX on SCS (as usual) and she gave great directions. My coasters were a little smaller than hers, so I had to resize the calendars even more, so if anyone wants my files, leave me a comment with your email address and I will forward them!

I used a variety of stamp sets, papers and inks to create these, and had LOTS of fun designing them. They truly are VERY easy to create!! Once the pages were all stamped and assembled, I punched the holes in the top and then purchased some loose binder rings to hold the calendar's together. I of course added ribbon to the rings so they didn't look so plain!

I hope you enjoy these projects, and I will be posting many more soon, once I get my hands on some rubber again!! :-)

Have a wonderful new year everyone!

-Jana

All for now...

Ok, we're heading to the US in the morning...early! It's colder than you know what here right now (well, ok, maybe not that cold to some of you, but to this California-girl it's pretty gosh darn cold!) and I'm looking forward to some warmth!

With that in mind, here is a nice spring-y card that makes me feel a little warmer. When I first arrived in Germany I was doing an SU Diva Sister Swap for an online group of demos I belong to (many of whom have blogs listed to the right!) and one of the cards was supposed to be an emboss-resist card. Well...I didn't have a heat tool. So then I thought I'd just do ghosting with versamark and not bother embossing...but I didn't have a brayer. So, needless to say, I set aside my glossy CS with the image already stamped in versamark to wait. When my brayer finally arrived via good ole DSL, I went to town. I think I may have based the layout on one of the SCS card sketch challenges, but I can't remember which right now.

I used Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery, Glossy White and Whisper White cardstocks, Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery and versamark inks. The sets are Blossoms Abound and the butterfly is from Touch of Nature. I added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the butterfly to make it sparkle! And, of course a touch of ribbon!!

Ok...I will try to post some from the US, but I won't be quite as consistent...all depends on my access, and of course my access to stamps! Starting 1/1/07 I'll have access to both, and will be posting like mad!!! Expect a minimum of one post a day for the first week of January as I play with my wonderful friend and upline Rachel for a week! :-) Can't wait!!!

Have a wonderful Holiday everyone...and I hope to hear from you all in the new year!

Winter Wonderland!

Here's a quick and easy card I made using Festive Favorites because I was having so much fun with it!

Here I stamped the snowflakes from the set on the Buckaroo Blue card, then put a piece of Designer Paper from Holiday Thyme on. I stamped the snowmen in Basic Black on Whisper White, and used my aquapainter and open ink pads to add some quick color. Then, layered on Cranberry Crisp, roughed up the edges with my handy-dandy SU! cutter kit, layered on Buckaroo blue and roughed again!

Then, had to add the cute little tag as well with some frayed Silver cord! I just love this set!!!

Simple Ornament Cards

This card (yet another CASE, this time of a great card by Nuts4levibutts - dontchya love that name?) was a really fast easy card to make taking advantage of Stampin' Up!'s wonderful Designer papers.

I used my colluzle to cut the circle, stamped the ornaments and the string to hang them on and sponged the edges. Next, I adhered my designer paper to the folded card, tied some ribbon, and popped the circle up on a couple of dimensionals. Voila! Super easy, fast card!! I just love that kind!!

I used Old Olive for the base, Holiday Thyme designer paper and Cranberry Crisp stitched grosgrain ribbon. For ink I have Old Olive, Cranberry Crisp and Going Grey. You could also add a sentiment on the lower left side of the card (which I did for one card I recently used!) And, to change it up a little, I used one of the other designs in the Holiday Thyme paper as well!

Holiday Star and March of the Penquins

This star is at the top of our Christmas Tree. Since I didn't bring ANY of our Christmas decorations from California to Germany, I"ve had to make decorations this year. This star is SUPER simple to make, and with the wonderful Holiday Thyme paper, it's fast and beautiful.

I got the inspiration from Stampin' Andrea on Splitcoast, and she found the directions on Scraplovers.com . It's a fun one to do even with kids because it is so simple, and al you need is a 6" by 6" square of cardstock or designer paper, a stapler, and some adhesive.

I'm also going to post another recent project I made for an Artist Trading Card swap I participated in. I was inspired by this card by Emilymomto3boys on Splitcoast. I just loved the little penquin and al his sparkle. So, I changed it up a little and Voila! Easy ATC's, and I also made some into full cards because, it's just so easy to do!!

The hardest part of this card is lining up the circle punches. To do this, I trimmed my Cool Carribbean CS the proper width, and just made small marks where I would later trim for the lengths. I then found the center of that square and tried to center the 1 3/8" circle punch over that center. After punching the circles, I then trimmed the squares appart. Next, I mounted the Cool Carribean CS onto the Basic Black CS, then tried to center the 1 1/4" punch inside the punched circle of the top layer. This enabled me to get a ring of black on the inside as well, which I think added a lot.

The glitter window is the easiest part...simply lay your top layers onto the bottom (I used Confetti White), stamp your inside image, then place a square of packing tape on the BACK of your top layers (on the black layer) then lay that into some glitter, being sure to press the glitter onto the tape for full coverage. Finally, adhere your top layer to the bottom centering your stamped image.

I used the Wild About You, Snow Flurries and a hostess set from last year called Small Script for stamp sets, and just Basic Black and Cool Caribbean inks.

Bodacious Wonder!

I am just LOVING this Bodacious Bouquet stamp set. I really don't know how I held out as long as I did to get it! I have seen several beautiful samples with it on Splitcoast, and in particular many wonderful One Sheet Wonder sets, so of course I had to try myself. And it was a nice break from the Christmas Cards I've been making - altho now I have NO IDEA what I'll do with all these cards!

As I've already stated, I'm completely out of Chocolate Chip CS, so I couldn't do the color combo I really wanted, but I had also decided I need to try using Vintage Violet a little more, so I looked around for a combo I liked using that, and saw a STUNNING card on SCS using Vintage Violet with Rose Red. Of course I had to add Certainly Celery for a little gree, and some lightness.

I ended up with 8 cards in all. I decided not to use a template this time, although I usually do, and just see what the results were. They were ok. I tended to make 2 cards with a similar layout at once because that is how I cut the paper...but I guess that is ok.

So, all CS is Rose Red, Vintage Violet, Certainly Celery and of course Whisper White (it was in fact my last sheet of Whisper White - oh no!!) And same colors for ink. I used various ribbons (some Celery Organdy - both narrow and wide, as well as the vintage violet stitched grosgrain, pink gingham, and some silver cord). I used a few different background stamps, Print Pattern, Linen and Aida Cloth.

I also used the Bodacious Bouquet Dry Embossing template on a couple of cards, and LOVE the effect it gave! I'm going to have to play with that some more. I love the fact that it also has piercing templates, and so I pierced around a few of the blossoms to add some interest.

I used my beloved ticket corner punch once and put some brads in the little divots it creates. And on the last one I show here, I used the slit punch to create a scalloped border. It's actually quite easy to do - simply put your CS all the way in and punch, then move the punch over to line up at the top of the semi-circle you just punched, and punch again. In the end, you'll end up with 2 pieces of CS, one with the scallop,and one with the reverse of it. I just love the scalloped look - and have in fact finally given in an dordered the Marvy Uchida scalloped Giga punches (all 3 - circle, oval and square!) I can't wait to get them!!!

Yesterday I started a new project which was lots of fun...but I can't share photos of it until after Christmas. Suffice it to say, I'll be hitting the bier garten's here more frequently so that I can build up my collection of chipboard coasters!!! :-) I also was able to call my good friend and upline Rach last night through the computer, and with my webcam she was able to watch me stamp and see the projects I'm working on..perhaps I'll have to setup a live Stamp-Cam! :-)

Have a Tree-Mendous Christmas!

Ok...I know that's lame, but it is what this ridiculous dancing/singing tree we used to have always said...so I figured it would work!

Anyway, here is another Christmas card I made recently. I've been seeing so many beautiful samples with the Tree for all Seasons set lately, that I just had to play some more. And to think I almost left this set behind!

I used my Holiday Thyme paper along with Cranberry Crisp (almost gone - just a few scraps left!) and Handsome Hunter. Even though Hunter isn't in the holiday thyme color pallet, I think it work swell on this card!

I used my ticket corner punch again, because I just love making those notches for brads now! And I also used some gold ribbon from last year's Holiday Mini catalog. I stamped Merry Christmas from the All Year Cheer set (not sure if it's 1, 2, or 3) with Gold ink (can't emboss still!) and again I inked up the tree with Handsome Hunter, then using my Chocolate Chip marker I colored the trunk brown. I love how that looks, and it's so fast and easy! And before assembling, I sponged a little cranberry crisp along the edges of my designer paper, because "everything is better wtih sponging!"

Last night I was up stamping til midnight, adn I did a one-sheet wonder with my Bodacious Blossom set. Not Christmas-y this time, but not the color combo I had originally wanted to do with this set. I'll try to take pictures today during the sun-light hours (the few we get!) and post later on.

Enjoy!

Have a Bodacious Christmas!

Oh joy, oh joy...we got 2 holiday cards in the mail today!!! :-) I love to get mail!!!

I finally got around to mounting my Bodacious Bouquet stamp set, and I just love it! I've seen a few Christmas cards made with it on Splitcoast, and had to try my own. I basically CASEd this beautiful card by HoneyDipped with a few alterations, as usual!

I can't belive I'm already out of Cranberry Crisp CS, but I am (well, I have a few scraps left, but that's all) So I had to use Baroque Burgundy instead. I still wanted to use the stitched ribbon, so I had to use True Thyme for my other color, so it would all coordinate! Additionally I used whisper white CS, and the Warm Words stamp set for the greeting. Instead of stamping the background, I just loaded my Baroque Burgundy marker into my Handy-Dandy Color Spritzer Tool and splattered the background...I like it! Lastly, you can't really see in hte photo, but I did add some Dazzlign Diamonds glitter t the center of the flower to give it a little glitz!

I hope you have enjoyed this! Now to get stampin' some more!!

Gingerbread Men are Watching You!

I've seen a few variations of this card on Splitcoast, and of course, since I do have Hung up on the Holidays, I HAD to make one!! It's such a fun card to make, I actually made 4! :-)

I changed it up a little from this card by olse0231 because I wanted to add some color. Also, I'm running out of Chocolate Chip (I had just over 1/2 a sheet left...can't even find any 12 by 12!!) so that also precipitated some of the changes. That said, here are the details:

I used Kraft CS for the base of the card, and then included Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Real Red. I used Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa and Real Red ink. For punches we have the 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" square punch, corner rounder and ticket corner punches. For stamp sets it's just Hung up on the Holidays and Happy Everything (my other stamp set that I had been dying to use!!) and then I added a little red gingham and some gold brads to dress it up a little. All in all, a pretty fun card...and hopefully it will be as fun to receive as it was to make!

More Christmas cards tomorow!
-Jana

Christmas Cards!

So, I've been trying to make lots of Christmas Cards, but unlike years past, I've been making lots of different designs. I'm not sending handmade Christmas Cards to everyone on my list this year since I did just do the "We're Moving" postcard not long ago. I'll send out a photocard with Julia this year as always, but will probably rely on Shutterfly or the like for that. So, just what am I going to do with all these Christmas cards that I"m making just for fun? Why, send them out of course! So...anyone who sends ME a Christmas card all the way to Germany will get one in return. Extra points for a hand-made card - I'll include a little extra with yours back! Now, I will be gone for almost 3 weeks right over Christmas, so any that arrive while I'm gone will have to wait until my return...sorry!

In addition...I'm going to start doing weekly drawings from the comments I recieve. So...if you'd like a RAK or other hand stamped goodie sent your way, be sure to post a comment while you're here browsing.

Now, on to today's card. This time I combined this week's sketch challenge with a card that I've been dying to CASE created by my online stamping buddy (and creative genius extraordinaire) Kyla! (You can see her blog here!) So...I used my brand new Festive Favorites stamp set - Thanks mom - and totally cased Kyla's idea of stamping the trees in the background, and then popping up the snowmen in the front. SO CUTE!!!

So, this card used the True Thyme, Cranberry Crisp, Whisper White and Sahara Sand cardstock. Basic Black, Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme, Marigold Morning, Sahara Sand, and Buckaroo Blue ink. I also used my aquapainter for the watercoloring. I used Print Pattern and Linen background stamps, and the beautiful Cranberry Crisp and True Thyme stitched ribbons.

The Sketch challenge was for a tri-fold pocket card, so I've also included a photo of the card open so you can see the inside. Sorry the photo is so bad...for some reason my camera really didn't want to focus properly! So on the interior card, I used the Ticket Corner punch and lightly sponged Cranberry Crisp ink around the edges. I stamped the Happy Holidays Rivet directly on the cardstock in True Thyme, did the donut shading using Cranberry Crisp stamped off once, and then used the 1/2" circle punch to punch out one of the snowmen to pop up in the center. Again, thanks for the creative ideas Kyla!!

I hope you all enjoy this card! I know I do. I like it so much, I'm not sure I'll be able to send it away!!! But ,we'll see...maybe some lucky reader out there will get it!

Have a great day...more Christmas cards tomorow!

Bring on the Challenge!

SplitCoast Challenges are always fun. I've been trying to do more of them (altho I rarely seem to upload them to SCS! Bad Jana!!) I'm going to try to committ to do at least 2 challenges per week...perhaps that will be one of my new year's resolutions since I'm leaving for the states in 2 weeks I won't have much time to get to them all before I leave!

This time, I used Card Sketch Challenge 98 from a few weeks ago. I also cased this beautiful card by cork1035 for the focal image. It didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped, but overall I was happy with it! Once I have a heat gun I"ll be able to emboss all these wonderful things..for now I have to be happy with my 2-way glue pen and some Dazzilng Diamonds! The other day when DD went downstairs after a crafting session in our "shared craft room" (she has a small table near mine where she paints and does other crafts) my DH was appaled at all the glitter on her! Oh well...girls have gotta have some sparkle, right?

So, this card used Garden Green and Very Vanilla. I'm not super happy with Garden Green at the present momment...and may have been happier with a different color. Oh well. I inked the stamp up in Garden Green, then using my Choc. Chip marker, I colored in the trunk and a few branches to add some brown. Love that technique...that way you don't have to use markers for the whole thing...much faster! I added the gold brads to dress it up a little, and when it's closed, there is some narrow organdy ribbon to hold it closed. Stamped the inside with canvas before adding the "peace" greeting.

My favorites on SCS is getting quite large. I think I need to limit myself to 5 new additions per day, and for every 5 additions, I have to design at least 1 new card myself (or CASE as the case most often is for me!)

Ok...have a great day everyone...I'm going to STAMP! :-)

Thanksgiving - a little late!

I had a Traditional American Thanksgiving dinner here in Germany, 1 day late. We decided Friday would be easier for our guests so they didn't have to worry about getting the kids ready for school the next day, or to work themselves. So along with the full turkey dinner and all the trimmings, I decided to make little Turkey placecards. There had been so many adorable turkeys done on Splitcoast using various punches, I of course had to try my own! They are SUPER easy to make, and lots of fun!

I used the coluzzle to cut out the body from Cranberry Crisp, the 1 1/4" circle punch for the heads from True Thyme, and the large oval punch to cut out the tail feathers from the Holiday Thyme designer paper. I sponged the edges of all pieces with the appropriate ink color, then put them all together, attached them to a 1/4 sheet of Kraft CS folded in half, and stamped names using the newsprint type alphabet from SU! Our guests loved them!

Enjoy!

Origami Christmas Tree Card

Here's another CASE (Copy and Steal Everything.) I saw this beautiful origami tree card on Splitcoast (as usual!) and wanted to create my own. There are wonderful directions there, so I won't bother recreating them here. This was SOO easy to make...next I"ll have to make some not on a card to use as decorations for our tree over here!!

I used Basic Black, Old Olive, Marigold Morning and Cranbery Crisp CS, the SU! Holiday Thyme designer paper, black, old olive, & cranberry crisp inks, and the new Designer Label punch box and Aida cloth stamp sets, as well as the designer label punch, 1 1/4" and 1/2" circle punches. Oh yeah...and don't forget the wonderful Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon...so glad they held that over for the rest of the catalog year!!!

Such a fun and easy card...I love it!

Our Golden Bears

It was big game weekend in California, and our Golden Bears beat Stanford for the 5th straight year! We here are convinced that Julia has brought the good luck to Cal, and that coach Tedford is just lucky he started the year she was born! And while our golden bears will not be going to the Rose Bowl this year, again, they are still near our hearts at this season.

So...what better way to celebrate our win than with a Golden Bear Christmas Card! I had already decided I NEEDED to make one of the lovely new ornament cards (the first I saw was on Stamper's Showcase on the SU! Demo website created by Cathy Millen.) While I continued the ongoing process of organizing my stamping area, I noticed my new Pines stamp set (which I got for FREE, thank you very much) and I noticed how much the bear looks like the one used for Cal logo-wear. So...got out my ink...mounted the stamp...and voila! I used the pine twig from the Pines set to create the branch. Doesn't work quite as well as Peaceful Wishes, but I think it works well enough. I made the top of the ornament using some scrap rubber I had...and drew in the hook by hand with my Zig Painty Pen. And since I still don't have a heat gun over here, I couldn't emboss it to add some shimmer and shine, but I still think it's beautiful! And some lucky Cal fan will get this as their holiday card this year!

Colors are More Mustard, Night of Navy and Vanilla for the CS, Bordering Blue, More Mustard, Night of Navy and Going Grey and Always Artichoke for the ink. I then tied the bow using Navy Grosgrain and adhered it to the card with a glue dot.

I"ll be adding some more of my recent projects soon, so keep watching!

Happy Stamping!
-Jana