Happy Holidays!

Seasons Greetings From the Sunflowers and Dragonflies Design Team!

We'll be back with some new challenges for you after the New Year.

We wish you lots of good cheer & a fabulous 2010!

As for me personally, I'll be spending time with family and friends over the next week, and I'm going to take this time to allow my computer to rest as well.  You can expect me back next Saturday, January 2nd!

Have a wonderful and Safe New Year!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Today I wanted to share with you the stamped Christmas cards I made to send out to all my stamping friends. 

I created several Christmas cards of the same design in blue, red and green to change things up a bit.  I used DRS Designs Silhouette Snowman (K247) as the main image.  It was heat embossed with embossing powder mixed with ultrafine glitter, and the Small Merry Christmas Sentiment (B1014) was stamped in a coordinating color.

This was the first time I'd ever mixed embossing powder with glitter.  I had so much fun and I'm in love with the results!  Just look at all the shimmer this green snowman has!   Of course this worked so well because of the stamps sihouette design.  I'm going to play with DRS Designs other silhouette stamps after the holidays to use up my embossing powder/glitter mixes that I have left over.  Oh what fun I've discovered!

Hope you all a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Smiles,
Jennifer

Tweet

Twinkling Christmas!

Are you sick of making Christmas cards like me?  Last night I decided to make a Christmas card that didn't look too much like Christmas. 

Stamps: DRS Designs- Glittering/Twinkling Christmas Greeting (G1000), Star Ribbon Slide (D963), Starry Background (H124)


Even though I used non traditional colors for this card, it is still very festive--The sentiment was heat embossed with an embossing powder/fine glitter mixture I created, so there's plenty of sparkle on this card.  

I heat embossed the Star Ribbon slide as well with yellow embossing powder and I painted it with Beeswax Shimmerz to give it some shine!  The red organza ribbon really gives this card the elegance that a Christmas card should have.

Happy Stamping and Happy Holidays to you!
Hope you have a wonderful Day!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Christmas Count Down is on--You ready?!?!

Four days and counting! The last few days before the big one!  You ready?

I have everything done and ready to go except the tree.  Remember last weekend I mentioned it fell??  Well that night we got it put back up, cleaned up all the HUGE mess, and we took our time decorating it again this past Saturday.  Well about 2 hours after we finished it fell AGAIN!!!!  I was so upset.  The few ornaments we managed to salvage from the first fall shattered to pieces with the second.  We never put it up again for the third time--it went right out the back door to the back yard--tree stand still attached! And there it lays on it's side, now snow covered and COLD!  

DH and I have concluded that it must be a foot too tall for the stand we have and it's trunk is crooked which made it a bit too unsteady to stand in the house. DH said that it has "scoliosis,"  in an attempt to comfort my tears.  I just can't bring myself to even put up another tree since I've spent so much time decorating it twice this year--not too mention we have to buy more ornaments.  My only dilemma is how do you have the family Christmas holiday without a Tree?

DH and I are off on Wednesday and we may drive around a bit and see if we can find any tree lots that might have a lonely tree that wants to come home with us--one without Scoliosis, and perhaps one with a discount since it's so close to Christmas. I'll let you know what we decide in a few days.    

I managed to do some stamping this weekend, which helped get my mind off the Tree disaster.  One of the cards I whipped up was this "Friends make Every Season Special" Christmas card. The snowflake image and sentiments are by DRS Designs. 

Stamps: DRS Designs- 4 in 1 Snowflakes (D096), Friends Sentiment (F300), Merry Christmas Arc (E102)

I used the 4 in 1 snowflake stamp to create the background using SU! Night of Navy ink.  I added some Crystal Stickles to the center of each snowflake and wrapped it with blue organza ribbon. Both sentiments are heat embossed with white embossing powder.

Well, I know that my Christmas tree mishap is just a bump in the road and we'll get over it.  I'm sure once the family comes over on Christmas Eve, it won't make a difference and we'll all sit back and laugh about it.

Hope you're surviving the holiday planning!

Until next time...

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

S&D22 Christmas Spotlight

The Sunflowers and Dragonflies DT is challenging you to use the Spotlight Technique this week.  My challenge card uses one of the S&D new Christmas Fairy stamps, the Garland Fairy.

I chose to accent her dress, some of the Christmas lights, her arm and part of her wings for my spotlight.  I also used a modified version of this weeks Splitcoast Card Sketch challenge for my layout--SC259.  The sentiment is the one line Merry Christmas stamp by DRS Designs.

Deadline for this challenge is next Friday December 25th.

To be eligible for this weeks prize drawing, please post a direct link to your challenge project from either your blog or an online gallery to the Sunflowers and Dragonflies Blog, specifically on the Challenge #22 Blog Post, so we can view it. If you upload to an online gallery, please use the keyword SD22.


Make sure to check out the Spotlight projects from the other DT members:
Beth N.
Beth U.
Kim H.


Happy Holidays to you!
Good Luck!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Let It Snow!

Christmas week is the only time I really like the snow.  There's something magical about a true white Christmas that makes me feel all warm inside.  So, I say "Let It Snow!"

All Stamps by DRS Designs.

Christmas is exactly 1 week away...Are you ready???

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Changing It Up A Bit!

For as much as I love to stamp and make Christmas cards this time of year, I think I'm all Christmas carded out!  We're celebrating a birthday today for of the girls I work with.  We're ordering out for lunch, someone else is bringing the cake, and it's my job to get the card--of course I had to make it!  With all of the Christmas cards I've been making, creating a birthday card was such a nice change!  But, have no fear...I still have many Christmas cards to post and share with you here on my blog, so, until the big day arrives, this will probably be the only non Christmas card you'll see here for a while longer.

Here's the birthday card I made for Cindy.

Stamps: Cake by Magenta, Sentiment by Impression Obsession

The cake image was colored with marker and I sponged yellow ink around the candle flame to create the "glow."  I added a bit of Yellow Stickles to it as well.  The sentiment tag was created using SU! Pink Passion ink, Nestabilities, and a Copper brad from Joann's Scrap Essentials.  I also used an EK Success Decorative Border punch, a brown Spiral clip, fun pink and brown ribbon and the Happy Birthday Cuttlebug Embossing folder.  I used Bazzill Bling cardstock in the background, which really gave this card some nice shimmer, but it made it a bit difficult to photograph. 

So, does Chocolate cake make your mouth water?

Happy Birthday, Cindy,

and

Happy Holidays to the rest of you!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Lovely As A Tree!

This is another Christmas I created back in April at Shackapolooza with my Stamp Shack friends.  I used  SU! Lovely as a Tree set to created this Christmas card.  The sentiment is from SU! as well.  I cased this idea from a Stamp Shack Friend, Thanh.  She created a similar card last year.

I used SU! Ballet blue ink on this card.  Every other tree was "stamped off" to make them look like they are in the background. 

I used Art Glitter Designer Adhesive glue to draw in branches in each tree and I sprinkled it with Ultrafine Royale blue glitter (by Art Glitter as well).   You can really see the sparkle and shine in this angled picture.

So, how are the holidays going for you so far?  As if things aren't hectic already, the little girl I babysit for knocked over my fully decorated Christmas tree the other day.  Thank God she didn't get hurt, but what a mess!  Did I mention I had just watered it about 2 hours prior?  Water, glass, pine needles and a mangled string of lights everywhere! I've been busy cleaning up the mess & have been slowly re-decorating it.  I still need to finish up my shopping and I have yet to start wrapping.  How many more days before Christmas?
Hope yours is going a bit better than mine! LOL!

Smiles,
Jennifer

Tweet

S&D #21 Baby It's Cold Outside!

And at 16 degrees this morning, it's more like "Baby, It's FREEZING outside!"

The Sunflowers and Dragonflies DT would like to see all your Snowy and winter creations to go along with our theme this week.

My challenge card uses the Christmas Fairy image from Sunflowers and Dragonflies new Winter Fairy Collection.   I colored her with Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol and Copic Markers, and I added Stickles to her wings to make her glisten.  I applied a snowflake punch out to 2 opposite corners of the image and added a blue spiral clip with sheer blue ribbon to the upper right corner.  The card front background was embossed with the Cuttlebug Snowflakes Embossing folder.  I created the sentiment tag using different Nestabilities and  stamped the sentiment by Impression Obsession with SU! Brilliant Blue ink. The plaid Paper is from a DCWV Stack 5 and the snowflake ribbon is by Offray.

The new Christmas Fairy images are now available for purchase.  You can find all 4 of them HERE.

Deadline for this challenge is next Friday December 18th.

To be eligible for this weeks prize drawing, please post a direct link to your challenge project from either your blog or an online gallery to the Sunflowers and Dragonflies Blog, specifically on the Challenge #21 Blog Post, so we can view it. If you upload to an online gallery, please use the keyword SD21.

Make sure to check out the Cake projects from the other DT members:

Beth N.

Beth U.

Kim H.

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

True Reason For the Season!

Today is my day to post on the DRS Designs blog. 

You can see my post HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today!

May you and your family have a wonderful Holiday Season!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Snowflake Wreath

Well, I'm back! Did you miss me?!?!?  With the holidays right around the corner things are crazy in my neck of the woods.  My husband and I cut down our Christmas tress this past Saturday and we've been decorating it and the house ever since.  Year after year I forget what a huge job decorating can be, but as soon as all those bins come up from the basement, I'm quickly reminded! 

I'm glad to be off of work today and that majority of the decorating is done.  I have a date with my stamping room! :-) After several days without stamping I'm starting to have withdrawls!  

Just a little secret...today's card is just a "fill-in," it's not one I recently created. I just haven't had a chance to show it to you, which makes it perfect for today!  I actually made it back in April when I went to Shackapolooza with all of my Stamp Shack friends.  I cased it from one of the cards my friend Kathy had, and she cased it from an idea she saw on SCS.  

The snowflake used to create the wreath is from PSX.  I know PSX is a retired stamp company and if you like this idea, DRS Designs has a similar wreath that could be used to create this card perfectly.  You can see DRS Designs Snowflake Wreath stamp and all of their winter images HERE.  I'll be showing you a card made with that Snowflake Wreath very soon.  Stay tuned for that.

As for today's project, I stamped the PSX Snowflake in SU! Ballet Blue and added a dot of fine glitter to the center of each snowflake.  I used my EK Success snowflake border punch to decorate the light blue panel--this is one of my favorite punches! I think it complements the stamped wreath perfectly! The sentiment, also stamped in SU! Ballet Blue is from SU!.

Here's a close up of the wreath.  The glitter dot dresses up each snowflake & gives this card the right amount of elegance!

Well, It's time for me to get off this computer & go stamp!

Hope your holiday preparations are going well,
until next time,

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Christmas Candy ATC!

I just completed another ATC swap over at the Stamp Shack.  This one was titled "Christmas Candy."

I strayed away from the candy part a bit & used a Christmas Gingerbread cookie image instead.  Both the image and the sentiment are from DRS Designs.  I used my rectangle Nestabilities for the ATC base--it's slightly smaller than the 2.5" x 3.5" standard ATC measurement, but I liked the change from the straight line border. 

Cute lil fella, huh? I think he's one of my favorite Christmas stamps!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

S&D #20 Merry Christmas!

Today beings the Merry Christmas blog challenge brought to you by Sunflowers and Dragonflies Creative Designs! Show us your Christmas cards and all things Merry for a chance to win a great prize this week!

Not only do we have great challenge for you this week, but we're also excited to share with you the new release of the Sunflowers and Dragonflies Christmas Fairy collection! These images were drawn by Jessica Grundy.  Here all all 4 images that will be available for purchase this Monday, December 7th.

Christmas and Garland Fairies

Poinsettia and Wreath Fairies

For this week's challenge, I've created a Christmas card using the Wreath Fairy image and a simple Merry Christmas sentiment by DRS Designs.

 

I colored the Wreath Fairy with Prismacolor Pencils and Copic markers.  I added Stickles to her wings to make her glisten.

Isn't she a beauty!?!?!

We hope that you'll join us in our challenge this week and show us your Christmas Cards. This week's prize is the Wreath and Poinsettia Fairies!  Deadline for this challenge is next Friday December 11th.

To be eligible for this weeks prize drawing, please post a direct link to your challenge project from either your blog or an online gallery to the Sunflowers and Dragonflies Blog, specifically on the Challenge #20 Blog Post, so we can view it. If you upload to an online gallery, please use the keyword SD20.

Make sure to check out the Merry Christmas projects from the other DT members:

Beth N.

Beth U.

Kim H.

Happy Holidays to you and Good Luck!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Christmas Peace

In times of war and economic uncertainty, I think many of us are wishing for peace this holiday season.  I couldn't help but make a card that was red, white, and blue to go with this sentiment.  It just seemed appropriate.

All stamps used on this card are by DRS Designs.  I created the background using the 4 in 1 Snowflakes (D096) stamped in light blue ink by Martha Stewart. The Snowflake Scroll (F875) was stamped in SU! Brillant Blue and the sentiment, Peace, Heart and Home Christmas Greeting (F986), was stamped in SU! Real Red.  The red panels were embossed with the Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder and embellished with sheer blue ribbon.  I added 3 red brads in the empty space to the left of the sentiment to complete my card front. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Happy Friday to you all and have a wonderful Weekend!

Smiles,

Jennifer

PS: Stay tuned for another Sunflowers and Dragonflies Blog challenge to be posted tomorrow.  New images are in store and they are adorable! Trust me, you won't want to miss it!  

Tweet

Handmade For You!

Amish Friendship bread is a favorite in our house and when it comes around I usually make quite a few rounds of it since each loaf rarely ever lasts long enough.  I must say, a slice of Friendship Bread with my morning cup of coffee is quickly becoming my favorite breakfast! 

This time I decided to try something different and I made a round of Friendship bread mini muffins instead of a regular bread loaf. I decorated my own bag toppers and I'm giving these as gifts to the girls at work. 

My bag topper was made with stamps from DRS Designs.  I used the interlocking snowflake background (H015)
and the Handmade for You Santa (F133), red and light blue ribbon and my EK Success decorative border punch.  I was a little pressed for time and wanted to keep these toppers fairly simple. I just folded them over the top of the ziplock baggie and used to staples to adhered it to the bag.

I jazzed up these simple bag toppers just enough to keep them from looking too plain Jane by adding Stickles to the Santa image and to the center of all the Snowflakes in the background.  Doing so made the entire presentation look so much more elegant!

So...do you think they'll like 'em?

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet

Christmas Poinsettia

There's no doubt, when I see poinsettias, it's definitely the Christmas holiday season! I've been busy this week making several christmas cards like this one to send to my stamping friends.

This card features the new Giant Poinsettia image (M093) and the Merry Christmas Arc (E102) from DRS Designs.  I colored the Poinsettia with Prismacolor Pencils and blended the colors with Gamsol.  I carefully cut the image out and adhered it to the card front with Pop Dots for added dimension. The white panel behind the image was embossed with my Cuttlebug Textile Texture Embossing Folder.

Enjoy and Have a wonderful day!
Thanks for your visit!

Smiles,
Jennifer

Tweet

Hat's On!

December, it is, and 24 days til Christmas! YIKES! I can feel the holiday stress coming on already.  However, one way I love to de-stress is by stamping & cardmaking.  Hiding myself in my stamp room makes me feel like I don't have a care in the world! Do any of you do this as well?

I love playing with all my Christmas stamps this time of year & not feeling funny about it--what I mean is, how odd would it be in April to use Christmas images then, when I should be thinking about the Easter Bunny and pastel colors?  It would just be weird and wouldn't feel right at all! So, how about a Golfer's Christmas card for today?!?!?

Stamps: DRS Designs-K448 Golf Ball Snowman, B364 One Line Merry Christmas Greeting

I created this Clean and Simple card for this week's Saturday Spolight With Hidden Potential's "Hat's On!" Challenge. This Golfing Snowman from DRS Designs is too cute, but even more adorable with his plaid hat on! He always makes for a quick card since there's not much coloring to him.  I used Copic Markers to color this image.  I colored around the golf balls with a light blue marker and then lightly lined the inside of them with a gray marker to enhance the "white look" of the golf balls since it was also stamped on white cardstock.  The sentiment I used is also by DRS Designs--it's their One Line Merry Christmas greeting and I stamped it with Real Red ink. 

Surprised there's no ribbon on this one?  I wanted to stay with the CAS theme for this as well, so I embellished it with only a single large brad. Trust me, I debated about this for a bit--ribbon is my favorite! However, I do love the way this card simply turned out!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Tweet