OMG!!!

Hello Ladies. I have to gloat! I am the proud owner of an ORIGINAL Beate Johns quarterly meeting once!) and have greatly admired her work for as long as I can remember card. I can't believe it!!! Before you think I'm being smug and sassy, I have a confession to make. I worship Beate Johns, and have silently done so from afar for many years now. Just ask my upline, or my downline, or my sideline even, and they will confirm. I've been CASEing her for years (and in fact one of those "Beate Inspired" cards won a card contest at my up, up, upline'svisiting SCS and the gallery over on SU!'s demo website. So, to me, getting a card from Beate is like a devout Catholic getting a letter from the Pope himself! (well, ok, maybe a card from Shelli would rank up there, but you know what I mean!!) If you haven't visited Beate's blog (but really, who hasn't visited Beate's blog??) then get over there right now! It's AMAZING!!!

Anyway, here is the WONDERFUL card I got!! Isn't it adorable?? And I make her smile?! Oh...I'm just so giddy I can't help it. Please don't blush too much Beate...I just can't help it! And really, I'm not a stalker, I promise! :-)

Ok, enough gushing. I just can't seem to help myself! Maybe I'll frame the card to hang in my stamp room...do you think that's over the top?

Ok, sorry if I embarrassed you Beate, but I figured I really did need to come clean and admit to my hero-worship. Thank you for the card. And thank you for always being an inspiration to me!!! :-) And don't worry...I'll eat more than enough bread and chocolate for the both of us!!!

Bellaholics Anonymous!

Hi, my name is Jana and I'm a Bellaholic! It's been 2 weeks since I purchased my last Bella, and 16 hours since I last stamped a Bella.

I'm need of serious therapy!! I stamped for 2 hours last night...ONLY with my Bellas. I just love them SOOOO much! I'll keep showing you the cards...but I'm going to space them out some because I'll be traveling a LOT in April, so I'm trying to build up a few cards to keep in reserve for those "non-stamping" days!

But, what I wanted to tell you all is, there is a support group for us Bellaholics, called Bellaholics Anonymous. It just got started on Yahoo Groups, so RUN, don't walk your little tushies over there and sign up! And...if you sign up soon, you could win a FREE bella!! For those of you who have asked, you can get Bella stamps at the StampingBella website (also linked to the right) and I think perhaps in some stores. I've ordered all mine online, and Emily got them out to me pretty quickly! It actually only took 1 week to get all the way over to Germany from Canada...I was very pleased!

Hope you all have fun...and let me know if you're a bellaholic too. We must stick together!

TFL!
-Jana

Barbella meets SC116

I made this card for the Wednesday Sketch Challenge over at SCS, and while it's not exactly like the sketch, I think it's close enough! :-)

I made this card for a good friend, and my former aerobics and pilates instructor. She's been having a rough time lately, and just wanted her to know I'm thinking of her. This Bella looks a lot like her, and she always seemed to wear blue pants and tops! And get this...her name is Mercy! She did personal training with me before my wedding and I used to cry "Please...a little Mercy?!" I always thought it was funny. LOL

Anyway...she's another of my new Bellas. I have them all now, and managed to fit them into 2 CD jewel cases. I actually have 12 Bellas, plus greetings now! Wow!

Have a great day everyone!

Supplies:

Stamps: Flannel Plaid, Sincere Salutations, Barbella

Paper: Kraft, Buckaroo Blue, Chocolate Chip, Confetti White

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Buckaroo Blue, Jet Black Stazon

Accessories: Chocolate and bluebird grosgrain ribbons, WWC, aquapainter

TFL!
-Jana

I won a Bella!!!

I can't remember if I told you all, but a few weeks ago I won some AWESOME blog candy from a very creative woman in The Netherlands! You should definitely check her blog called Paper Creations. Included in this candy was THIS bella stamp (teddybella) and the shadow stamp, and some primas, and a GORGEOUS card Inge made! It was all just wonderful!! The package arrived on Saturday, and I was able to make this fun card with it.

I used some more petals and paisleys paper, and stamped oh baby on the tab. I managed to stamp that using my Everyday Flexible Phrases set by first stamping an "o" from the word mother by inking with a pen, then I stamped the "h" from mother, and then finally I stamped baby. These stamps are NOT easy to ink up with a pen for just one letter...but it worked out ok!

I colored this bella with markers, and I'm pretty happy with how she turned out. Overall, a pretty simple card! Thank Inge!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Teddybella, EFP
CS: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Petals & Paisleys DSP
INK: Basic Black, Going Grey, Soft Subtles markers
Acc: Soft Subtles brads

TFL!
-Jana

Hangin' with my Bellas!

Here is the first card I made yesterday with my new Bella stamps! These Sistah's are just so much fun to color. I really like the Playhouse papers from SU!, and thought it would be fun to use the colors from the paper to watercolor the stampin' sistahs.

I stamped on regular whisper white cardstock, and it actually worked out fine for watercoloring, altho since I used Basic Black the ink did bleed a little. Gotta remember to only use Stazon!!

I added a little bling to the sistah in the yellow dress...I just love the little flower in her hair!

If you can't read it, the sentiment (also from Stamping Bella!) reads:
Stamps: $6457.33
supplies: $7872.58
and then I stamped the remainder of the greeting inside...it reads:
handmade card: priceless

I think I'll modify the greeting for a card for my hubby to say "Happy Wife: priceless" what do you all think??

Gotta go do the color challenge now! Wish me luck!!

Supplies:
stamps: Stampin Sistahs, handmade card stamps from Stamping Bella
CS: Marrigold Morning, Pumpkin Pie, Playhouse, whisper white
Ink: Basic Black, pumpkin pie
Acc: HPH, Moss grosgrain, aquapainter, WWC, dimensionals

TFL!
-Jana

Bellas are IN the Haus!

My Bellas arrived!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited...but before I can even stamp with them, I have to tell you all the funniest story.

Most days the post arrives while we are all eating lunch. Because my husband works from home when not traveling, and because he often has evening phone calls with California, we eat our main meal of the day at lunch time (around 12:45-1pm) and then have a lighter meal in the evening.

So today, we're sitting at the table and I hear the post being dropped in our little box. My daughter loves to get the mail, so she looks to me for an ok before running over to the post box which is right next to our front door.

She opened the box, took out the mail, and didn't return. Finally I asked her to bring the mail over - hopeful at this point that it would be something fun for me! As she carries over a padded envelope she says "Mommy's stampin' Bellas arrived!" with a big grin.

My husband says "What?" and she repeats her previous statement. Finally, I asked for the package so I could see. Dang...how did she know?? There are no bellas stamped, just Emily's adorable logo on her return address label. Now I'm caught! I should know better than to let her get the mail when I'm expecting something craft related to arrive soon - but I really didn't think they would arrive so quickly!

My husband looks over at the package and says "Is this something from Stampin' Up!?" to which I explain "no...a different stamp company" trying hard not to catch his eye to see the accusation of "and how much did THIS cost?" there.

Oh well...I was caught "cheating" and spending more money on craft stuff instead of saving it for traveling. Guess we need a "guiltybella" now! :-)

Ok...off to paint on my Tack-it to these beauties so I can get them nice and dirty - and post a card for you all!

TFL!
-Jana

Coffee with Cream Challenge

So right after I finished that last post I thought I'd go check out the technique challenge for today, and of course I HAD to make a card!! You all are going to start thinking I"m a 1-trick pony with all my tall cards...but I love the freedom this form factor gives me (not that I'm doing anything different each time...same basic layout!!)

Anyway, This card came together pretty quickly. I probably shouldn't have added the stickles to the tree...but they were still out from my blossom cards, so I couldn't resist. Everything was twinkling this morning when I walked Julia to kindergarten since it had frosted last night and the sun was shining briefly this morning.

The cool ribbon is some my mom picked up for me at Mike's (thank mom!!) and the DSP is from Loves Me. Otherwise, a very straight forward, easy peasy card. Enjoy!

Supplies:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, linen background

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Loves Me DSP

Ink: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip,

Accessories: Mike's ribbon, stickles

TFL!
-Jana

Blossoms, blossoms everywhere!

I'm truly feeling a need for spring. Granted, we've had glimpses of what that wonderful state will be like here and there, but after a weekend of dreary rain (sorry to those who had snow - but I think I'd prefer snow to rain!!) and more predicted for the rest of the week, I could stand a little sunshine. Honestly, I don't think I've been this pale in YEARS!!! I really do miss that wonderful California sunshine.

So...I decided to bring spring to my stamp room this morning. I saw this amazing card by Anna741 on (where else?) splitcoast a while back. I loved the use of this patterned paper with the Both Way Blossoms set, and had to CASE it! I changed the colors since I have LOTS of plum over here - I don't know why - and switched to organdy ribbon, but for the most part, it's a shameless CASE!

I love the simplicity of this layout. It was so easy...I made 9 cards in about 45 minutes. That's just 5 minutes a card!! And that includes watercoloring all these blossoms with my aquapainter! I think tying the darn ribbons took longer than any other one thing!. Oh...and I did add some stickles to these beauties to give them just a hint of spring morning dew. Thank you Michelle!!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Both Way Blossoms, Small Sayings
CS: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Petal Patch DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum
Acc: Narrow Lavender Organdy ribbon, stickles

Thanks for visiting today, and here's to Spring! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Trifolding a Bunny Hug

I finally made one of Beate's Triangle Trifold cards (see her awesome tutorial here!) These are fun cards to make...and if you have 12 by 12 paper you can even make them a little bigger!

effect. It's colored with watercolor crayons and an This card is actually 4 by 4 when folded up. I used watercolor paper to stamp my bunny & basket so that I could get the full water coloringaquapainter...and I even floated in some color according to Debbie's instructions from back in December!

I've added a photo of the card open, so you can see my cute little chicky on the inside. If I make any more of this style card though, I'm definitely going to incorporate the greeting in a better way...I think it gets a little lost on this card.

Supplies
Stamps: Bunny Hugs
CS: Cool Caribbean, Whisper White, Regal Rose, H2O paper, Petals & Paisleys DP
Ink: Black Stazon, Cool Caribbean
Acc: WWC, Pink Narrow Organdy, Aquapainter, Ticket Corner Punch

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon Bons Winner....

There were some really great book suggestions from everyone...my reading list has grown considerably - thank you!!

A few that stuck out were, of course, the Harry Potter books. I'll admit something to you all, I LOVE those books, and I've probably read the first one 4 times by now. I now have all the British versions (yes, they translate them into "American English" for us Yanks, so now I'm going to re-read the whole series in it's original form) to read before the final book comes out this summer. In fact, I'm trying to figure out how to be in London for the release of the last book in July. Shouldn't be too hard!! :-) And for you Harry Potter fans out there, I just finished an amazing trilogy called "The Black Magician Trilogy" by Trudi Canavan. These books are all the size of HP book 5, and I finished the lot in just 5 days. Granted, I didn't stamp those 5 days, but I just couldn't put the books down!!! And Yvette, she's an Aussie!

A funny coincidence is that a couple of people mentioned the Phillipa Gregory books (including the winner!) and I just got 3 of them on hubby's last trip to the States. I'm starting with the Constant Princess (just started) and will try to read in chronological order from there.

Oh...and last thing to mention is several folks mentioned Stephen King. If you've read my profile you can see I grew up in Maine. Actually, I grew up in Bangor, a few miles from his home (everything in Bangor is only a few miles from everything else) and my father actually taught his son high school math. So, needless to say, I've read MANY of his books and also love his ability to suck the reader in.

Ok...enough about books! The winner is (by a drawing of all names out of a Tupperware dish)

Sharon who wrote:

There is a rather funny mystery by Sharon McCrumb (I enjoy most of her books) called St. Dale. Its about NASCAR racing.

Another interesting book, non fiction, is The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Caldwell

A few others, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Constant Princess, The Boelyn Inheritance.

So Sharon, please email me your snail mail address and tell me what color flower you would like so I can get you your bon bons as quickly as possible! :-)

Oh, and lastly, I wanted to say I laughed out loud when I read what Cindee had written " I struggle with...read? stamp? read? stamp? read? stamp???? Just not enough time in a day!" because I have that exact struggle once I've started a good book. I seem to get on a roll with either reading or stamping - can you tell which side I've been on lately?? :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon Bons here!!

Don't forget to visit my post here to register for Blog Bon Bons. Drawing to be held around midnight Pacific Daylight Time TONIGHT!!

Embossed Flowers for a Friend

Can you believe we're STILL doing tax stuff? Of course, our taxes this year are a little more complicated, since we've lived in 2 different countries and sold a house!! I thought I'd try to post quickly while scanning some documents for the hubby! Doing something I want, while doing something he needs, good compromise, right?? :-)

So...I've really enjoyed the cuddled cardstock Cindy sent me last month, and here's one of the projects I made recently. I sent this card to my upline and very good friend Rachel in SoCal, and now that I know she's received it, I can post! :-)

For this card, I just took the full quarter sheet (trimmed a little for layering) and pulled out my Stampin' Pastels to color and highlight it. I used the Bravo Burgundy, Elegant Eggplant and Always Artichoke pastels for coloring. Then, I just finished off by adding some ribbon and a tag created with this year's Designer label punch box kit (I trimmed the very vanilla tag down so it would fit on the punched artichoke label.)

It was a really simple card, but I think it turned out looking rather elegant! I think I"m going to have to break down and have my mom get me a cuttlebug before she comes over...it's just soo much fun! Especially after seeing all the cute die-cuts people are using for yesterday's Ways to Use it challenge over at SCS. :-)

Supplies:
stamps: Designer Label Punch Box
CS: Kraft, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
Ink: Always Artichoke
Acc: Stampin' Pastels, grosgrain ribbon, designer label punch

TFL!
-Jana

Last of the Funny Bunnies!

Here is the last of the Funny Bunny cards, and this is by far my favorite. So of course, I have to tell you the story behind it!

I first saw this cute card on SCS made by SleepyinSeattle and had a little chuckle. You see...I will turn 36 in 1 month (from today in fact!) and I have been very proud of the fact that I had NO gray hairs...NONE! I once teased my brother about all his gray (he's a few years older) and then challenged him to find a gray on my head, and he couldn't! So, about 2 weeks ago (around the time I discovered the card) I found a gray hair. I was DEVASTATED! How could this happen! So, when I found a 2nd gray hair this past weekend, I knew what I had to do...recreate the sentiment of the card with a whole slew of rabbits!

This card was so much fun...and the great part was my husband (quite possibly the least supportive person of my crafting!) looked at the stamped image and said "Wow, that looks quite difficult, a lot of work!" :-) Not often I get crumbs like that. So, originally I would not have included the ribbon, but one of my bunnies up front got an ink spot on him, so I had to cover it! I like the look of masking, but I'm usually too lazy to do much of it. I ended up with 5 masks by the time I finished!

I hope you all enjoy these...and don't forget to scroll down to get some Blog Bon Bons!!

Supplies:

Stamps: bunny hugs

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, Petals & Paisleys DSP

Ink: Basic Black, going gray, regal rose, certainly celery

Accessories: rose grosgrain, white wide organdy ribbon, key tag punch, aquapainter

TFL!
-Jana

SC115 - Petals and Paisleys fun!

I really enjoyed yesterday's sketch challenge, because I was able to cheat and use my new designer paper which I love so much!

My wonderful friend and downline Michelle had sent me this adorable butterfly made with the Paisley from Polka Dots & Paisley last month, but I couldn't decide what to do with it. When I started working on this card I looked over at a pile of stamped images waiting to be used and there it was...the perfect replacement for the sample card's flower! I also wanted to use the paisley on the piece for underneath...so the ghosting technique came to mind (I'm starting to love my brayer again!)

This was a pretty quick card, and I'm quite happy with the results!

Supplies:

Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley

Paper: Petals and Paisleys, Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise, whisper white, glossy white

Ink: tempting turquoise, cool carribbean, pretty in pink, versamark

Accessories: white narrow organdy ribbon, HPH, irridescent ice ip, dimensionals

TFL!
-Jana

Blog Bon Bons

I recently found the book Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik for sale at a bookstore in Dusseldorf for only 5 euros - and it was in English! :-) Since I had heard it was fun, I bought it, and LOVED it. While living in California, I was in a book club with some really neat women, but there weren't my closest friends. And while I enjoyed that book club...the group in Angry Housewives definitely had more adventures!!

So, in honor of Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, I'm giving away some Blog Bon Bons!! This time, I'm including a box of genuinely scrumptious Lindt Mini Pralines, some metal edged vellum tags, a Michael's spool of ribbon, my most favoritest card ever, and one of my paper shaped Big Blossoms (winner gets to choose any of the 54 current SU! colors!)

To enter to win this delectable prize, leave me a comment and tell me what book you have read in the last 3 years that is your favorite. (I'm looking for suggestions - my husband always comes home from the US loaded with books and craft supplies!) I will randomly select a winner by drawing on Saturday morning German time, so you have until about midnight on Friday (3/16) California time to enter. And may the luck of the Irish be with you! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

More Funny Bunnies

Last year there was an email going around which was sent to me by my good friend and fellow stamper Kallien. It featured 2 chocolate bunnies. One of the bunnies was saying "My butt hurts" and had a bite taken out of his rear side, and the other said "What?" and was missing both ears. For some reason, it struck me as hilarious! I knew I was going to have to re-create that once I got the Bunny Hugs set.

I printed the conversation bubbles from Word using my SU Harry Paul font. The hills were created by sponging Certainly Celery inside an oval I cut with my colluzle. I then sponged on some Bashful Blue for the sky. The bunnies were stamped with Basic Brown on Chocolate chip cardstock, and again I used a white gel pen to color ears and noses, which I then went over with the Pretty in Pink marker. The one tail has liquid applique puffed up.

After assembling the card, it still seemed like it was missing something, so I stamped the tulips across the bottom and colored the flowers in with Regal Rose and So Saffron markers. Sorry the photo is so dark...I really think my next chocolate bunnies will have to be milk chocolate! I hope you all are enjoying my humor attempts...the last funny bunny card will probably get posted tomorrow! It's my favorite!! :-)

Supplies:
Stamps: Bunny Hugs
CS: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink
Acc: Liquid Applique, white gel pen, SU font CD

TFL!
-Jana

Craft Critique Fabric Challenge Carnival

I'm so excited this morning...I got back from my aerobics class (YOU try taking an aerobics class in German!!) and was checking my usual list of blogs, and my Grumpy Bella Quilt Card made it on to the Craft Critique Fabric Challenge Carnival! I'm so honored!! :-)

Be sure to go check it out and see all the other wonderful ideas for mixing media in our papercrafting pursuits!

Big Rustic Charm

Since Julia was kind enough to take a nap today, I was able to complete the color challenge card today also!!

This color challenge had 5 colors...yup...5!!! Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, So Saffron and Cool Caribbean. I generally don't use Rust, I'm not really a big earth tones kinda gal...but I really like how this card turned out.

I used another cuddled scrap from Cindy's blog candy that I won last month for my center piece. I rubbed some Vanilla craft ink over it to highlight the flower a little more. I then built the card from that!

I went with a tall card again (can't seem to get away from those - Thanks Beate!) and I stamped the Paisley bg stamp on the top part of the base card. I stamped Linen onto the So Saffron piece, and then I sponged all the edges of both.

I wrapped the Chocolate grosgrain around to hide where the Paisley stamp ended (I don't like messy edges!) then layered on the so saffron and Chocolate Chip strip. I sponged the Cool Caribbean with the same color ink before putting on the flower piece, then stamped Aida Cloth bg onto the old olive piece in the same ink, and sponged the edges of that. Lastly, I distressed both of those with my handy-dandy distressing tool (LOVE it!!) then assembled and popped the whole thing up with dimensionals. Looking at it, it needed something more so I paper pierced the chocolate chip strip...and really liked it! Lastly, I added the sentiment with Basic Brown ink at the bottom.

I hope you all enjoy this one...I know I'm quite happy with the results.

Supplies:

Stamps: Paisley BG, Linen BG, Aida Cloth BG, Happy Harmony

Paper: Really Rust, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cool Caribbean

Ink: Really Rust, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cool Caribbean, Vanilla Craft

Accessories: Chocolate grosgrain, cuttlebug embossing folder, crafter's tool kit, dimensionals, sponge

TFL!
-Jana

Toying with Bunny Hugs

Sunday's Featured Stamper over at SCS was Toy, aka Holly. You should definitely check out her Gallery if you haven't already...many of her cards are in my favorites!! I just love all the layers she uses, and the dimension to her cards.

I case'd her Christmas Holly making it an Easter card instead. I used my new Bunny Hugs set again (no bunny this time tho!) and the incredibly versatile Petals & Paisleys DSP. I've decided the hardest part of these Featured Stamper challenges is picking which card to CASE! The featured stampers always have such amazing work, it's hard to pick!!

Ok...more Funny Bunny cards tomorrow...and maybe some Candy?

Supplies:
Stamps: Bunny Hugs
Ink: Regal Rose, Basic Black, WWC
CS: Regal Rose, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Petals & Paisleys DSP
Acc: HPH, Ribbon Originals, aquapainter, dimensionals.

TFL!
-Jana

Office Quickie!

This is one of those great 5 minute cards. Literally, from when I decided to make a card with my new Notations paper and spiral punch to when I slipped the hardware on was 5 minutes! I love the new Office Accoutrement set and coordinating paper and Accents & Elements tin. It made creating this card so quick and easy.

Supplies
Stamps: Office Accoutrement
Ink: Very Vanilla, So Saffron
CS: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Notations DSP
Acc: Spiral Punch, HPH, Celery Grosgrain, Accents & Elements "Little Reminders"

TFL!
-Jana

Stitching our Stamping Projects

The current challenge going on over at Craft Critique got me to thinking about this project I did a little under a year ago for a contest Stampin' Up! was running. The contest was to submit projects using the new , unreleased hostess sets. When I saw the "A is for Adorable" set the song "I Hope you Dance" by Lee Ann Womack kept running through my head--my mom requested it at my wedding back in 2000 and I still love it--and thus I thought up this project.

I made this little tag book for my daughter Julia and it is all still true today. And while I may not have won the contest, I still enjoyed creating this booklet.

As you can see on the second photo, I used the stamps from A is for Adorable to show the different hopes I had/still have for my little girl. On the tags inside I put a photo which I thought illustrated that thing along with some journaling.

The square you can't see says "D Dream". One of the things I really liked about this project was the stitching on the sides to keep the tag booklet closed. I used linen thread and the needle from my crafter's toolkit after having paper pierced the holes using the paper piercing guide. Having the real stitches added a nice feel to the booklet, as well as being visually pleasing.

I hope you enjoy it, and that it inspires you to capture the hopes you have for your own children!

Supplies used:
Stamps: A is for Adorable, Typeset alphabet, All natural
Paper: Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla
Ink: Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose
Acc: Grosgrain and gingham ribbons, 1/2" and 1 1/4" circle punches, crafter's toolkit, linen thread, white gel pen.

TFL!
-Jana

My new favorite set!

When I saw this card by my good friend Kyla (check out her blog...she does AWESOME work!) I just loved it - so much so that I asked to use it for my monthly newsletter! And it was her Chocolate Bunny card that inspired this card. Although, I think I have to remake the card stamping on Close to Cocoa, since it's really hard to see the brown ink on the chocolate chip!!

I used the WONDERFUL new Petals & Paisleys paper from the spring mini along with some Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White cardstocks. The bunny is stamped with Basic Brown, then cut out. His ears, nose and large eyes are done with the white gel pen, and then I went over his ears and nose with the Pretty in Pink marker. His tail is made puffy with liquid applique. I printed the sentiment from the computer using SU! Little Lamb font. I also used my coluzzle (need to get another size that will fit my scallop punches better!) giga scallop punch and some grosgrain to finish it off.

And now, can I just tell you how incredibly awesome the new Polka Dots & Paisleys designer paper is?? You just can't see how amazing it is in the catalog - they have not done it justice!! I am so in love. Need to figure out how many packages I"m going to have to order of this because I can see going through it at a very fast pace indeed!!!

Tomorrow I'll post the 2nd card created with this new set...another "Funny Bunny" card!

TFL!
-Jana

This week's Inspiration Challenge

...was VERY challenging indeed!!! I REALLY wanted to complete all 7 challenges this week, and IC66 was the final one. If you haven't looked yet, check out the inspiration piece here.

My card is not what I had envisioned...but it was a few hours between when I last looked at the painting and I started working on the card.

To make the card, I started with some Shimmery White (it was out!) and just squirted on some of my new stickles. Then, I used a piece of cardstock to smooth them around and get some swirly action going. Then, I left that piece to dry overnight.

I stamped the Big Pieces on Tempting Turquoise and Lavender Lace using matching ink, punched with the 1 1/4" punches, then placed gold brads in the centers. Finally, I layered these onto 1 3/8" basic black circles.

Once my background piece was dry, I put on the celery grosgrain for the "stems" down, then mounted this piece onto some brushed gold cs, then all that went onto the Basic Black card. Finally, i popped the circles on with dimensionals.

Definitely NOT my normal kind of card. I think it's what I would get if I tried to do modern art, which obviously I SHOULD NOT! However, I decided to share with you all so you can see sometimes I also make bad cards. Oh well!

Tomorrow, I'll share my Funny Bunny cards! I've been having SOOO much fun with Bunny Hugs today!! LOVE IT!!!

TFL!
-Jana

Another Fun Night of Stamping...

I have to post quickly cuz the hubby is due in to the Dusseldorf train station in just over an hour, and it's at least a 20 minute drive!!

Last night I was stamping with my friend Rachel in California. How you ask? I have a webcam, and we talk through Skype! It's great fun, and makes us feel like we aren't so far apart!!

So, I wanted to do a card for the Limited Supplies Challenge over at SCS (that's 6 in a row for me so far!) and this week's challenge was to use only bold brights, black or white. In general I like the BBs, but like others, I prefer to mix them with other color groups. But...I was game.

I pulled out my Do the Hula stamp set again, since I have been longing for the tropics, and just played. I used Green Galore, Pink Passion and Lovely Lavender, and stamped on them with the same color inks. I mounted my pieces all on basic black, and stamped the greeting on whisper white. I dyed another prima (I have pink fingers this morning - gotta get me some gloves!!) and added a rhinestone from the bling I bought last weekend at Pipoos. And, voila! Instant card! I really like the bright colors of this one. And guess what? We actually have sun this morning!! :-)

Not sure if I'll get to post tomorow...we'll see how the hubby is adjusting to the time zone and what he feels like doing. If I'm lucky, he'll take the little one out and give me some peace and quiet! We can always dream, right?

TFL!
-Jana

GREAT night last night!!

And yes, my husband is STILL in the US, so it's not what you were thinking!!

Have you ever just been in that "stamping zone" where ideas build on one another and you create something that you are so incredibly pleased with you think you'll never create something as good again? That's where I was last night. In fact, I was so amped up I couldn't even get to sleep when I did eventually go to bed - I was on a "stamping high!"

So...I'll tell you the progression. It all started when I was looking at Beate's blog yesterday, and I just fell in love with her Doodle That Bigger is Better card. I loved the layout, the crispness of the black and white together with 2 shades of the same (or similar) colors. It was exactly the kind of card I love. So, I decided I was going to CASE that card, but use my current favorite Cool Caribbean along with Tempting Turquoise. That is how this first card came into being. I changed a couple of things besides the colors...since I don't have any of the Doodle sets yet, I pulled out Riveting and this year's Ronald McDonald house set Wishing you the Best. And because of that, I went with circles. I tried to imitate her doodling in the background by stamping the donut part of the riveting stamp and then tracing the inner circle with my white gel pen...but It really didn't get the effect I was going for. Oh well.

At Christmas-time, my wonderful friend and downline Michelle gave me a bottle of neutral Primas. She knows I'm a Monogamous Stamper (until I started an affair with Bella...but that's another story!) and that I like everything to match my SU colors...so she bought me Primas I can dye!!! Never having actually done this before, I pulled out an empty brad container and my Cool Caribbean reinker. Boy, do those primas just SOAK up the liquid!! But...it worked!! Of course, being the impatient person I am, I used my heat gun to dry them (and be careful, they WILL burn!!)

Ok...so CASE card complete. I'm happy. Of course, while I'm sitting there looking at these cute little Primas I think "Gee...those petals look like hearts! I wonder what would happen if I cut 2 petals off and dyed them green?" Thus, the Shamrock card was born. The Primas for this card were dyed with Glorious Green reinker. And, since I had 3 sets of 2 petals just sitting there, I HAD to make a 4-leaf clover while I was at it!! The rest of this card is kinda ho-hum IMO, but I just LOVED the Prima idea.

Ok...by now it was 6:40 and I hadn't even fed my daughter yet. Uh-oh! Fast forward one and a half hours to after bed time. I cleaned up my stamp table and was about to put away Polka Dots & Paisley (I used the stem for my shamrock card) and then remembered I had really wanted to do a faux diamonds card with that set.

Since I had a piece of whisper white right there from the Shamrock card, I just used it. Didn't really pay attention to the size...just brayered on some Cool Caribbean (I told you...I LOVE that color!) and then stamped the paisley in black, applied my versamark and iridescent ice and melted away. So now, I have a beautiful piece for a card...but no idea what to do with it. That's when I looked up at my CASE of Beate's card and inspiration struck. Thus...this card was born!

Since the piece I used was rather large, I thought it would work well with a taller card. I had dyed some ribbon while dying the primas, so I tied that around the focal piece. (Both white grosgrain and narrow organdy) I stamped the flower outline on the Tempting Turquoise with versamark in a random pattern, then stamped the full flower (again in versamark) on the bottom of the Cool Caribbean before stamping the sentiment over the top in Basic Black.

I just love the black strip running down between the 2 shades of color. This is by far my most favoritest card that I've ever created...and I owe all my thanks to Beate for inspiring it! Thank you!!! Now, I just hope I haven't "jumped the shark" and it's all downhill from here!! :-)

And, if you made it ALL the way through this book of a posting, congratulations!! And thanks for reading about my creative process.

TFL!
-Jana

Whale of a pretty girl...

As any of my regular blog readers know, I don't post personal photos here on my stamping blog, because I have a personal blog for that. However, today I can't resist sharing something with you all. But first...the card!

When I was in the Netherlands over the weekend at Pipoos (don't you just LOVE that name?) I picked up some GAWgeous Pearl Paper. It just SCREAMS for any of the sealife stamps, so of course I had to obey (not that I'm generally one who takes orders, but occasionally I do listen!) So, I cuddled the paper with my NEW bubbles cuddlebug folder using the rolling pin method. It works...kinda! I mounted it on Lavender Lace, and then onto a Cool Caribbean card base. For the central image, I stamped my whale on shimmery white cardstock with jetblack stazon, then colored him using my aquapainter and H2O crayons. I've been working harder at my watercoloring...trying to follow the examples of all the experts out there, and I think it is getting better! You'd never guess I did a watercolor painting of the location of our wedding for my wedding invites...maybe I'll post that some day! (I got married BEFORE I started stamping...but I still had to design my own wedding invites!)

Anyway, I then mounted my whale on some more lavender lace and finally brilliant blue, tied some grosgrain and organdy around it and then attached to the card with dimensionals. I like him!

Ok...now to the other photos. My 4 year-old daughter has been home sick with a fever since Monday afternoon. She's feeling better, but still was a little high this morning for school, so we said one more day at home. Well, she brought me a handful of hairbands (you know, the little tiny ones for thin little girl hair) and asked me to put them ALL in! Now, you probably think nothing strange in that...except my daughter HATES it when I touch her hair. Even if I just push it behind an ear to get it out of her face she says "Mommy, are you playing with my hair? You know I don't like you to play with my hair!" Which is so sad for me, because I LOVE to play with hair!! So, when she asked me to put all these hairbands in, I of course said "sure!" even though I was reading my a.m. blogs. Then...she had to put one on her snow leopard's tale as well! I've also included another photo so you can see the back!! I was definitely busy (there are 15 total!) but we had fun, and now we're going to McD's for lunch because we NEED to get out of this house before I go completely bonkers!!!

Wednesday is Sketch Challenge day!

I really like the sketch challenges on SCS because it makes things so easy. Especially when I'm smart and combine it with the color challenge!! (maybe tomorrow I can make a card combining the limited supply challenge with the previous 3...that would be impressive ...hhhmmmm... guess what I'll be doing tomorow morning!!)

This week's sketch is a nice simple one, so I thought it would be perfect for some kids cards. I need some cards to send to some of Julia's friends back in California, and since her nickname is Bug, I thought this would work!

Totally quick and easy card (when you don't have a whiny 4-year-old with a slight fever preventing her from going to school but with more energy than PG&E demanding attention!) I got the colors for this card from the SU! color wheel, and thought the nice bright colors were perfect. I pulled out my Love Bug stamp set and had at it. Colors used are Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise and Rose Red (the dragonfly is Pink Passion). I used some grosgrain and organdy again for the ribbon accent, and clipped the corners for some brads on the focal image. Lastly, I added googly eyes...because every kid card needs googly eyes, right?

Ok...that's all the posts for today. (or, if you're starting at the top like a normal person, this is the first, you've got 3 more to go!!)

TFL!
-Jana

Color Challenge Card

So this week's Color Challenge colors were So Saffron, Certainly Celery & Regal Rose. Normally, when I use Regal Rose and Certainly Celery it is with Apricot Appeal. So...this was good to force me out of that box.

My friend Yvette has had some lovely cards using this Blooming Happiness set lately, so I decided to pull it out and finally put it to ink. Boy am I glad I did!

I stamped the images (cake and candles are 2 separate images!) with Basic Black and colored them with regal rose, so saffron and certainly celery markers. Then, I applied versamark to the entire image and covered with iridescent ice ep, which I then heat set. I just love the faux diamonds technique, and new it was time to finally try it out again!

The stamped piece is then layered on Regal Rose and Certainly Celery CS. The card base is So Saffron, stamped with the linen background in so saffron, with some additional so saffron sponged around the edges for good measure. (this card is SOOOOo saffron-y! LOL) Then I tied on the grosgrain and stamped the sentiment from the same set. Looking at it, it seemed to need something more, so I punched the word windows and wrapped them around the edge of the card attaching them with so saffron brads from the Regals brad set. Not sure if I went a little too far or not...my cards are usually pretty simple. But, I think it works.

Ok...one more challenge card to go!
TFL!
-Jana

Technique Challenge

This card actually covered 2 challenges. Monday's Technique Challenge and Tuesday's Color challenge. The technique challenge was to fray grosgrain ribbon...and since I had been playing with my acrylic buttons for my shaped big blossoms...I had an extra. When I put the frayed ribbon in and spread it around it looked kinda like a sun, so I thought I'd go with it.

My amazing friend and downline Michelle sent me some stamped images from the Bunny Hugs set since she knew I wouldn't be getting mine for a while still, so I was able to put them to good use!! I also CASE'd Beate's awesome idea of using the frayed ribbon as grass in the basket. So cute!!

So anyway, the colors here are Regal Rose and Certainly Celery along with Whisper White for CS. Images are stamped with Basic Black, then colored in with pretty in pink, certainly celery, close to cocoa and so saffron markers. I also added some liquid applique to the bunny tail. I just love puffy bunny tails!!!

Pretty straight forward card...hardest part was cutting everything out, something I DO NOT enjoy! But...it does look cuter I suppose! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Challenges aplenty!

I've been having lots of fun with the challenges over on SCS this week! So far, I've done them all since Sunday! I'm going to upload all my challenge cards so far this week here for you all to see if you haven't seen them on SCS.

I made this first card Sunday night. The new Sunday challenge is to CASE a card from a specified member's gallery. This week, the Featured Stamper was Atomic Butterfly, and boy does she have AMAZING work!! I chose this card to case, because I just loved the layout, and the colors. I kept the layout, but obviously changed the colors quite a bit. It was my first time inking up Do the Hula, and I LOVE it! Must play more!!

I used the Sentimental Journey DSP on some Kraft cardstock, stamped the markered images on Whisper White and colored them by "blurring the lines" with my blender pen (LAST week's technique challenge!) Both the Hula girl and surfboard were then cut out and popped up so they appear closer than the tree. Lastly, I stamped just the word Adventure from the Wish you Were Here stamp set and punched it out with my large oval punch to put in the HPH bookplate which I tied on with the narrow twill tape. I probably should have aged the twill tape a little...maybe I'll at least fray the edges now!!

TFL
-Jana

Bella-licious Blog Candy Alert...

My good bud Stephanie is having a wonderful blog candy drawing on her site....so head on over and tell her your 6 favorite Bellas and she'll stamp them and mail them along with a RAK to you if you win! How cool is that?!? I've been the fortunate recipient of some stamped Bella's from Stephanie, and they are SOO much fun!!

Good luck!!

I made a Tutorial!

I have a new appreciation for all those wonderful women who photograph and post tutorials now...this really isn't easy! Anyway, I promised a tutorial on the paper shaping technique I used to create my big blossom flower, and here it is! Sick kid and all. (Don't worry, she's not that sick, just a slight fever to keep her home instead of at kindergarten!)1. Gather your supplies. To complete this project you will need whisper white (or Very Vanilla) cardstock, your stamp(s) of choice (flowers, butterflies, anything you want to add dimension to!) ink, white glue, crystal effects, glitter (optional) and scissors.
2. Stamp your images. I used Big Blossom and kissed one of them to Paisley using Brocade Blue ink (I was hoping to get a china cup look to my blossom)
3. Cut your images out. At this point, you shouldn't cut right up to the edge, and it doesn't need to be perfect...you will be cutting them out again!
4. Apply a liberal amount of glue to the back of your stamped image...but be careful as it is possible to have too much!
5. Spread the glue around so that it completely covers the paper, all the way to the edges. I prefer to use my finger, but you can use the tip of the glue bottle, or a foam brush....it's up to you. Stick it to a second piece of whisper white cardstock.
6. Cut out your image again. If you have a smaller image, or if you've stamped several images on a piece of cardstock, you can skip this step and just cut once at the end. I do this extra cutting with my big blossom to save cardstock (and glue!!)
7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 again so that you have 2 layers of glue attaching 3 layers of cardstock. Put something flat (that the glue won't stick to as well, such as your Stampin' Scrub) on top of your project. Be sure whatever you use is clean or you'll get schmutz on your project (see, I'm learning German!!) Let your project set for about 20 or 30 minutes. You don't want the glue to dry, you just want it to set some. Check often though to make sure glue hasn't leaked around and attached to your "weight". Wipe any excess glue up every time you check.
8. Now you will cut out your project for the final time. I try not to leave any white border on these flowers, but it's up to you. I DON'T recommend using your good snips for this, instead use a pair that you can dedicate to cutting sticky things! Snips or similar scissors are ideally suited for this project though because they are small. As you cut, you are effectively "sealing" the edges of the 3 layers together.
9. Now, shape your project. The extra cardstock layers and glue make it possible to bend your cardstock to give it some dimension. For flowers, I like to curve the petals up in the middle, keeping the flower center flat to the table, with the ends of the petals coming back down to the table. If you use a butterfly you can have the wings bend up some. Have fun!
10. Set your project aside (or complete the 2nd layer) and allow the glue to dry completely. If the glue is really wet when you start, you may want to reinforce your shaping every 30 minutes or so. Once dry, it should hold it's shape very well!
11. Now, apply crystal effects to your entire image. This will further set your project, protect it from damage somewhat, and add a nice gloss. You will want an even layer, spreading it around with the tip. If you use too much, it may pool down near the tips of the flower, or in the center. You can remove excess with some scrap paper or even the tip of your bottle to use elsewhere. Also, be careful not to get any air bubbles.
12. If you want some real shimmer and shine, sprinkle a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter while the crystal effects is still wet. I placed my blossoms in my Paper Pals tray to catch the excess glitter for reuse, then I picked up a pinch of glitter in my fingers and spread it around. If you just pour straight from the jar you'll end up with too much (and yes, you can have too much glitter although I'm sure I know of a few who would would argue that point!)
13. Finally, do any additional embellishing, and adhere the 2 layers together using crystal effects (if you are doing 2 layers.) Set it aside to dry, preferably overnight. Congratulations, your project is now complete!

And the lightbulb went *DING*

My big light bulb moment while embossing Big Blossom with the glassy glaze was this. About 2 years ago, my upline's upline taught folks at HER upline's meeting about "paper shaping." It's a little time intensive, and messy, but VERY fun! And, it allows you to stamp your images on paper and then make that paper into a 3-D item. I'll try to photograph a tutorial on this sometime this week....but I wanted to share the results with you all now that it is dry!

For this project I stamped the Big Blossom with Cranberry Crisp ink, and also kissed to the Paisley background stamp which was inked with Cranberry Crisp ink. I also used several layers of whisper white cs, white glue, crystal effects, and a "small" amount of dazzling diamonds glitter (Look at that shimmer and shine!) Lastly, I used a Wonderful Weaves stamp to stamp So Saffron craft ink onto a clear button, which I then covered with crystal clear embossing powder and heat set. I tied some grosgrain through the middle, and that is my flower center.

This project would be a great topper to a box covered with Designer Paper, or instead of a bow on ANY gift! I've made several using the Petal Pushers stamp set which I then made into pins...but I think this might be a little too big to wear!! It's quite impressive in person though - I'm quite happy with how it turned out. And my daughter liked them so much, I had to give her one as well.

Be sure to check back for the tutorial...once I figure out how to take a picture with one hand while stamping/gluing/cutting with the other I'll get it posted!! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Pleather?? Brilliant!

Have you ever had one of those "Why didn't I think of that months ago?" moments with stamping? I did this week. I've been drooling over this card posted by Krystie Lee on splitcoast. She stamped the large flower from Big Blooms with craft ink and then embossed it with Ultra-Thick Embossing enamel. I just love the "pleather" look to the flower. Very retro!

So after looking at this card for the 100th time and bemoaning the fact that I didn't preorder that set, and now probably won't get it until at least April if not May, it dawned on me...why not try that same thing with Big Blossom? I could hardly wait to get to my stamp room (which didn't happen until Saturday after my trip to the Netherlands....more on that later!)

I inked up the big blossom stamp with my Real Red craft stampin' spot and stamped it on whisper white CS. Poured on the glassy glaze...and it barely stuck! Oh no!!! What's a girl to do?? So, I cleaned the stamp, then put lots of Versamark on it, then used my Real Red classic pad to add some color and stamped. This time, the powder stuck. I tried to get a few layers...but it didn't work well. Finally I pulled out my Versamarker and used that to get more versamark on so that more glaze would stick...and that helped!

So, with all that said, here is my pleather blossom! The photo doesn't do it justice....but the red ink didn't turn out all that bright. I'm going to have to play with this a little more! The card is 5.25" square, made with Cool Caribbean, with a layer of Chocolate Chip stamped with the flannel background in chocolate chip ink. I cut out my blossom and mounted it on Real Red cs, which I then cut out again. For the center, I punched one of the circles from the Loves Me designer paper with the 3/4" circle punch, and layered it on a circle of Chocolate Chip cs punched with the 1.25" circle punch. Then, before putting the flower on the card with dimensionals, I tied some chocolate grosgrain around, and put on a small bit of red gingham. Oh yeah, and the sentiment is stamped with the Happy Everything set...I just LOVE this set!!!

So, the good news is...creating this card gave me an even better brainstorm of what to do with this flower (I can't believe SAB is already over!!) and that project is drying as I type...so I'll try to post it tomorrow. Maybe I'll even create a tutorial if I can figure out how to take photos while stamping without a second adult around and no tripod! Wish me luck!!

Now about that trip to the Netherlands. I wrote yesterday that we were heading to Venlo after taking hubby to the airport. We actually ended up going down to Roermond, and I found the Pipoos there...and I'm in love!!! Finally, a scrapbooking store that carries Making Memories, Basic Grey, and TONS of other stuff!! I thought I'd been transported back the US! And amazingly, I controlled myself to just a few things...but I will be putting together some more blog candy in the next week or so...so keep your eyes open! Should be an exciting week around here!

TFL!
-Jana

45 Years of Marital Bliss...

well, at least from my perspective!

My parents 45th Wedding Anniversary was a week ago. I can't believe they have actually been married for that long (and they were together for at least 5 years before that!) As high school sweethearts I'm not sure THEY imagined they'd still be together so many years later...but I am very happy that they are. They have set a wonderful example for me of what it means to believe in the vows that have been exchanged, and they seem to understand that it takes work to make a marriage last! Now if we kids can just keep them from killing each other all will be good! ;-)

I made them this card (with a little incentive from Joan's Black & White card contest a few weeks back) and they have finally received it, so I can post it here now. You may have already seen it on SCS...my mom doesn't go there so I can "hide" cards from her there!

I stamped the French Flair background with White Stazon on to an SU Window sheet. (Anyone know how to get White Stazon off rubber??? A RAK to whoever can help me!!) I then wrapped it around to the inside of the card and adhered it inside with SNAIL. I embossed the Happy Anniversary sentiment with Sterling Silver embossing powder on Whisper White CS, then clipped the corners and mounted on Brushed Silver cardstock. This I attached with dimensionals (and managed to cover up the smudge!) And then topped it off with some white organdy ribbon with a little silver cord.

I was very happy with the end result...may just have to do more with these acetate window sheets! Have a great day everyone...we're off to Venlo in the Netherlands (after taking Hubby to the airport) to check out the scrapbooking store there. Who knows...maybe I'll find some good candy! :-)

TFL!
-Jana

Have you Thanked a teacher today?

Both my parents were teachers, and I was fortunate to have many excellent teachers throughout my school years...so I grew up with a higher than average appreciation for teachers. This Bella is just adorable, and perfect for those holiday gifts and end of year thank yous for the teachers in your life!

The ribbon here was part of the package I got from my friend Yvette, and helped inspire the colors for the card. I used Marigold Morning for the base, and decided to do a different fold today - trying to get out of my A2 rut!!

I stamped the flannel background in Marigold on the card "front" then folded it back. The ribbon was wrapped around and adhered with SNAIL. I watercolored the Bella with some Marigold, Pink Passion, Real Red, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa, and Blush Blossom. Then, I returned to my favorite ticket corner punch to clip the corners before lightly sponging the edges with Garden Green and mounting on a layer of Garden Green. I used gold brads for the corners, and then adhered this piece on top of the ribbon.

I was searching for a good sentiment, and decided this one from Wish You Were Here (a retired SU! set from last summer's mini!) would work great because isn't that the truth for all the teachers out there? I'm not totally happy with this card...but figured I'd post anyway! This was the last of my Bellas (well, there were 2 more that Stephanie sent, but they were confiscated by Customs - Julia Customs that is!! Perhaps I should post one of HER Bella cards!!)

I'm really hoping the Bellas I ordered make it to California within the next week so that hubby can bring them back with him. Otherwise, I just might go through Bella-withdrawal!!! ;-)

Hope you all have a wonderful Adventure today!

TFL,
Jana