In All Things, Give Thanks!

I love the Fall and even more so, I'm really excited that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Despite how hectic the holidays can be, I love all the togetherness! There's nothing more rewarding then lots of time with extended family and to me, that's what the holidays are all about.  

Since I was in a Thanksgiving kind-of mood, I made this Thanksgiving card! for the new challenge on the DRS Designs blog this week, "Fall-ing For You."

 

 

I started by stamping and coloring the Autumn Flower Spray (452L) with Copic Markers. I used a Nestability die to cut it out and  then sponged brown ink around it while it was still in the die. Next, it was matted with brown and yellow card stock cut from Nestability dies. I stamped the *NEW* Give Thanks Bible Verse (585E) on yellow card stock and cut it out with a fishtail die. The green card stock that was used to mat it was cut out the same way. The card stock base was made from brown card stock to form an A2 size card, and the stamped portions were adhered in place as shown. I cut a tab from green card stock and added three yellow pearls to embellish the upper left corner of the matted image and this card was complete!

I hope you like it!

 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend! 

 

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Brilliant Fall

Gotta love technology these days! It's been about a week without my desktop computer thanks to a virus and some other unwanted programs. It only took me about five days to use the virus scan protection program on our computer to figure out what was wrong and to clear up the problem. I'm glad to be back online without having to squint to see everything on my little phone!

So without having a computer to distract me for the last week, I was actually able to get some stamping done! Here's my latest creation that I made for the latest DRS Designs blog challenge. It's for a color challenge that's perfect for Fall! 

I used their new Sunflower Hurricane Candle (167K) as the focal point on this card. I colored it with Copic markers and used a new embossing folder in the background. I still had vellum laying out on my desk from one of the last cards I created and thought it would be perfect to highlight the Brilliant Fall Greeting (502D) on this card as well.  Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Smiles, 

Jennifer

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Thanksgiving Pumpkin

It's Thursday already and time to show off another DRS Designs Blog Challenge card. The theme this week is Sunflowers!

I chose to use the Pumpkin with Leaves stamp (165K) for the qualifying element for this challenge. I carefully colored it with Copic Markers and then masked and sponged tan ink around it while it was in a Nestie die.  I used this same technique to add color to the stamped One Line Happy Thanksgiving sentiment (841D). (See my own tutorial for this HERE.) I also stamped the plaid that I used in the background. This was done with the Woven Plaid stamp (613P).  I used brown ink and stamped it in 2 opposite directions. It gives a warm and cozy feel to this card, don't you think? The final touch was to decorate the sentiment banner. I used a brown button, threaded with orange embroidery floss that I neatly tied in a bow.

Tis the season for sunflowers, won't you play along?

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Thanksgiving Sunflowers

This past Saturday DRS Designs released some great new stamps perfect for making Thanksgiving cards and I'm sharing some of them off today with this bright and cheery card!

I used the Sunflower Trio (345G) to decorate the Beauty of An Autumn Day Greeting (788G).  The sunflowers were colored with Copic Markers and then I added some bling to them with Yellow Stickles.  The greeting was stamped with brown ink and then I used a Nestie die to cut it out.  I sponged yellow ink around it before taking it out of the die.   The new Checkerboard background stamp (342P) was used to create the background panel.  The Swiss Dots embossing folder, some brown grosgrain ribbon, and few brown brads made this card complete.

Here's a close up of the greeting panel.  Aren't those sunflowers gorgeous?!?! 

Run over to the New Release page to check them out along with the rest of the new stamps HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Telescoping Sunflowers

I couldn't help but be inspired and in awe of all the telescoped cards in the gallery at SCS recently. I just had to give it a try for this weeks Sunflower challenge on the DRS Designs Blog and I thought the large size of the Sunflower Pumpkin Patch (105P) would be perfect for this technique. (See the tutorial for how to create a telescoping Image HERE.)

The image was colored with Copic makers and distressed with Vintage Photo ink.  I embellished this card with some sheer copper ribbon tied in a knot and added Yellow Stickles to the Sunflower petals.  This looks really nice with the shimmer from the copper cardstock.  I added the Small Autumn Greetings sentiment (422B) to the bottom right corner, right over top of the ribbon band. 

Here's what the telescoped layers look like from the side.  There's quite a bit of dimension here! This finished card size is 4.5" x 5."

Thanks for stopping by and please come back to visit soon!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Happy Harvest!

This is such a wonderful time of year! I love taking walks in the cool Fall air, where your face is warmed by the sun and kicking up leaves that will soon blow away. I love all the smells of Fall too, like the smell of fallin' leaves, and the yummy smells of making homemade goodies like applesauce and pumpkin muffins! Plus, with Thanksgiving right around the corner what's there not to love!?!? I can't wait to spend that day with family!

DRS Designs just came out with some wonderful stamps to complement the Fall season. I've used 2 of them on the card I made for this weeks bonus Midnight Madness sketch Challenge-MMSC78. The focal image I used is the Autumn Flower Spray (452L).

I colored it with Copic Markers, masked it, and sponged light brown ink around it while it was still in a Nestie die. The Shine On Harvest Moon greeting (470D) is also new. It is all one stamp, but I split it up to use better with this sketch. The edges of the yellow panel were distressed with Vintage Photo Distressing ink. Finally, this card was elegantly embellished with a matching red-orange bow and 3 clear rhinestones that I colored brown with a Copic Marker.

Make sure to run over to the New Release page over at DRS Designs to check out all of their new stamps now available for purchase.

Also, one more reminder, don't forget to nominate your favorite blogs and online galleries for DRS Designs new "By Invitation Only" contest! They could be picked to win FREE stamps! Please read all the contest rules HERE.

Happy November to you! Have a wonderful day!!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Sunflower Basket

Thanks for all your patience with my scanty posting lately.  Hubby is still home from work on vacation, and we've been busy going here, there, and everywhere! I'm actually enjoying him being home, but it leaves me with very little stamping and blogging time.  We're also preparing for a family vacation that we'll be going on soon, so that is taking up some of my free time as well.

Today I actually had a bit of time to myself and wanted to share my sunflower basket cards with you.  I received several of these stamped images from my friend Nancy--Thanks, Nancy! This sunflower basket stamp is by Impression Obsession and I used Copic Markers to color it. 

I originally made the Thanks card first and loved the way it turned out, so that when I needed a birthday card recently I decided to create the same card and change the sentiment.

Here is a picture of both versions. 

Here's a close up of the Thanks card.  The Thanks sentiment is by Serendipity Stamps.

The sentiment on the birthday card is the Birthday Wishes Come True Greeting (E508) by DRS Designs.

I dressed up the birthday card a bit by adding my favorite Yellow Stickles to the sunflower petals.  It really brightened this card up!

Thanks for patiently waiting for me to post.  A DRS Designs new release is just around the corner, so I'll be posting more frequently very soon!

Thanks for stopping by, I greatly appreciate your visit and your comments!

Until next time...

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Ever Heard of Scraplings?

Have you ever heard of Scraplings?

Scrapling cards are strips of cardstock that measure 1.25”x 8.5" scored at the 4.25" mark so that you have a tall and very skinny card.  Best part is that you often have scraps laying around that are this size from making larger size cards.   It's always great when you can re-use your scraps!

I've been busy trying these out. I made several Scraplings yesterday during my Scrap Therapy session--Papercrafting seems to be a complete stress reliever these days-I love disappearing into this other world where it's just me, my stamps, paper, and ink and not a care in the world!  Can you relate to this?

Anyways, here they are!

Like I said, very tall and skinny! However, these are not even as skinny as they should be! I made them a bit wider to accomodate my stamped images and to also include room for a bit of matting.

I used stamps from DRS Designs on each Scrapling. 

This first one uses the Holly/Candy Cane Postage Frame (H998).  I colored it with Copic Markers and then carefully cut it out along the Holly border. I covered the postage frame part with red cardstock and added the Triple Holly (F1004) image in that space.  The background was created using White Staz On ink and the Lines O'Plenty Background (H366).

Next up with a bit of Golden flair, is my Sunflower Scrapling.  It is very similar to the one above, since it is also a postage frame stamp.  This one uses the Sunflower Postage Frame (H710), and it too was colored with Copic Markers.

As you can see I added brown cardstock to the area where the postage should go.  I stamped this image a second time and then colored and cut out the bottom sunflower to fill the postage frame space. After matting it with green cardstock I added some ribbon.  The yellow base was embossed with the Stars Cuttlebug Embossing folder to add a bit of texture. 

Finally, the last one is also for the holidays.  It uses the Vertical Let It Snow (H233) stamp. 

This image was colored with Prismacolor Pencils and the colors were blended with Gamsol.  A bit difficult to see, but by looking closely, you can see that the red cardstock base was stamped with the small snowflake from the 4 in 1 Snowflake stamp (D096) and white ink.  This Scrapling was the plainest of a ll three, so to bling it up a bit I added Stickles to the Snowman's face and to all the snowflakes. A bit of red ribbon dressed it up too.

So, what did you think of my Scraplings?  Do you have a favorite? Are you brave enough to give them a try? Leave me a link if you do, I'd love to see yours!

Have a great day!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Sunny Sunflower ATC's

Back in June, I joined a Sunflower ATC swap over at the Stamp Shack. Although I have a ton of Sunflower stamps, I wasn't quite sure how I was going to make mine. I hadn't given it much thought and it still seemed like a challenge to me since I'm rather new to the ATC scene. Overtime I forgot about--the due date isn't until mid-September, so I knew I had plenty of time to figure out what I wanted to make for this swap.

It wasn't until last week when I made this card, that everything fell into place & I inspired myself! Have you ever done that?

Here are the Sunny Sunflower ATC's that I worked on this past weekend for this swap.

I colored the image with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol. Then I masked the sunflower and sponged blue ink around the flower petals, and stamped the sentiment at the top. Once I had it adhered to the yellow cardstock background I added my favorite Yellow Stickles to each petal to really make it "pop!"

Stamps: Sunflower by Kodomo Inc., sentiment by A Muse
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink French Blue
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by American Crafts
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Yellow Stickles
Finished Card Size: 2.5" x 3.5"

Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers, along with Gerbera Daisies, maybe because they are so similar in shape?? What's your favorite flower?

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Thank You!

Going on vacation is always something I look forward too, but I there's nothing like being at home and sleeping in your own bed! My DH and I spent last week in Gatlinburg Tennessee with his family. We had a ton of fun, ate tons of good food and had many great laughs, but I'm glad to be home--a week can go by so fast yet feel so long all at the same time.

I spent majority of Sunday working in my Stamp room working on some ATC's & coloring images, which you'll get to see here on my blog very soon. I also created this Thank you card.

This card was made for DH's Aunt, who surprisingly bought me a pair of shoes that I didn't want to by for myself while we were on vacation. She claimed that it was because she had yet to buy me a birthday present this year--my birthday was in February! She's so sweet! Over the course of the week we spent some time talking about my papercrafting hobby and I wanted to create a card for her so she can see just what I do. I thought sending her a handmade Thank you card was just the way to do it! I can't wait for her to get it--I know she'll be surprised!

The layout I used for this card is from last week's SCS Sketch challenge #241. I colored the image with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol, and used chalk to shade the background. I spiced it up a bit by adding Yellow Stickles to each petal. Have I ever told you how much I love Yellow Stickles? I think it really helps to make Yellow flowers "pop!"

Stamps: Sunflower image by Kodomo Inc., Thank You sentiment by Lockhart Stamp Co.
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by American Crafts
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Ribbon by Pebbles Inc, SU! Word Window Punch, SU! Ticket Corner Punch, Yellow Stickles, Chalk by Inkadinkado
Finished Card Size: 4.25" x 5.5"

Well, thanks for stopping by today & hanging in there while I was gone all last week. The stress and wedding festivities prevented me from preparing some projects and blog posts that I wanted to post while I was gone, so sorry for that. But, I'm home now & eager to play with my paper & ink, so you can look forward to seeing more projects from me this week.

I hope you have a good week!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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You Are My Sunshine!

All last week the DRS Designs DT previewed all of the new releases that just became available this past Saturday.. Did you place your order? You can find all of DRS Designs New Releases HERE.

Today I'm showing off this bright & cheery card I made using the new Bloomin' Huge stamp. As soon as I saw it, I thought it looked like a sunflower to me. Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers and so, I decided to color this one in yellows and browns and paired it perfectly with the new "You are My Sunshine" sentiment.

The flower bloom was colored with Prismacolor Pencils and I blended the colors with Gamsol. It was matted on brown cardstock and then I added yellow Stickles to each petal. When it was dry I added some brown grosgrain ribbon to it. I stamped the same image repeatedly on the cardstock base with brown ink to decorate the background.

The sentiment was stamped below the image in brown ink as well.

Stamps: DRS Designs- Bloomin' Huge (M1023), You Are My sunshine Sentiment (D1089)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, SU! Close To Cocoa
Paper: Smooth white cardstock by Office Depot, Colored Cardstock by American Crafts
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Chocolate Ribbon By Ribbon and Bows Oh My, Yellow Stickles
Finished Card Size: 6" x 5.5"

So, which of the new releases is your favorite? I think this one is my favorite & you can bet you'll see more cards made with this one soon!

Thanks for visiting today!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Sunflower Pot

My sister's 28th birthday was this past Monday and since she's a huge fan of my cards I knew I had to make her one. I've been seeing more & more of those cute little flower pot cards and so I decided to give it a try for her birthday card. Like me, my sister is huge fan of sunflowers so I tried to create them with some paper punches I had. Here's what I came up with...

Overall I thought this was really cute & my sister loved it, but this was another one of those projects that I was completely surprised by how small the finished project was. I thought this card would fit perfectly in an A2 sized envelope (meaning that the finished card was approx. 4.25" x 5.5"). Well it did fit, but I could have added about 2" across and about another inch or so to the height--my A2 envelope was too big for this card! The pull out card was so narrow that I had to type my inside message just to make it fit and look nice. As you can tell, I used a very small font.

But, now I know, and I've revised the dimensions that I used to create this card so if I want to make it again I'll have them on hand.

I decorated the back as well by heat embossing the Sunflower Recognition stamp by DRS Designs in copper embossing powder. I signed my name with 2 hearts and my sister's birth date.

Stamps: DRS Designs Sunflower Recognition stamp (C786), Studio G Clear Stamps-Happy Birthday
Ink: Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Creamy Brown, SU! Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Paper: Smooth beige cardstock by The Paper Company, Dark Brown cardstock by American Crafts, Bazzill Bling Yellow Cardstock
Accessories: EK Success Flower Punch, Flower die cut from Cricut and George and Basic Shapes Cartridge, Nesties, Cuttlebug and Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Colored Safety Pin by Joann's Scrap Essentials, Ribbon by Michael's Dashes, Dots and Checks, EK Success Slim Line Border Punch, Creative Beginnings Copper Embossing Powder, Heat Gun

Thanks for visiting here today & Thank you to all of my readers! I appreciate all of the comments you leave me. I really look forward to reading them everyday!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Sunflowers and Bleach!

Happy Fun Filled Friday everyone! With the Holiday last weekend, this week sure flew by didn't it?

Well, Sunday I announced that we were going to use bleach in our card making this week. Did you give it a try?

Here's my card:

This is my first time using bleach with my card making! Normally, I use it with laundry and that's it, but I think I like this new way of card making! I'm sure you can plan on seeing more bleach cards from me in the future!

This card was rather quick for me to make. First, I heat embossed the image with black embossing powder. Then I used a paint brush to apply bleach to the areas I wanted to highlight and lighten. Once the bleach was dry, I trimmed the area around the image and then mat it with several different colors of cardstock to help "pop" the bleached areas. I used a yellow Bic Marker and some yellow chalk to add yellow tones to the areas highlighted with bleach. Sunflowers are supposed to be yellow, right?

Next, I formed the background column that I used to add some green brads and green ribbon to my design. The card base was made from green cardstock and it measures 5.5" x 5.75." I then adhered the background piece to the center of the card base and then adhered the matted image to it.

So, what cha think?

Don't forget to check out Kimmy's Bleach card here.

Stamps: - Inkadinkado
Ink: Embossing Ink by Rubber Stampede
Paper:
Accessories: Black Embossing powder by Creative Beginnings, Household bleach, a paint brush, Bic Markers, Chalk by Inkadinkado, Ribbon by The Paper Studio Ribbon Trends, Brads by Making Memories

Have a great weekend!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Card Sketch Wednesday #1

Starting today I will offer sketch challenges on my blog every Wednesday. If your an avid card maker like I am, you probably love to try out new sketches! You'll even have a chance to win some goodies! Read on...

Sketch Wednesday Challenge Details:
The details are pretty simple--make a card of any theme you choose utilizing the card sketch posted on my blog and then on the sketch challenge announcement post, reply with a comment posting a link to your blog or online gallery so that everyone can view how you utilized the sketch. You have all month to complete each challenge. So there is no confusion, a "month" runs from the first day of the month through the last day of the month--example July 1st-July 31st.

Bonus Opportunity for Participating in Sketch Wednesday Challenges:

Each month, I will assign a number in order from all of the comments/links posted from all qualifying participant weekly sketch challenge cards and draw one lucky winner for a package of blog candy from me! All of the blog candy goodies that I will offer will be craft/card making related--embellishments, ink pads, images, stamps, ribbon, punches etc.

July 9, 2008-Sketch Wednesday #1:

** Please note: blog candy duration for July will run from July 9th through July 31st. For any card utilizing this sketch, please comment with a link to your challenge card here on this post.

Here's the first sketch! Have fun & Enjoy!

Here's my card!

• Stamps: Sunflower-Kodomo Inc., Sentiment-Amuse
• Ink: Staz On Jet Black
• Image colored with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with Gamsol
• Cardstock: Bazzill
• Patterned Paper: DCWV
• Ribbon: Michaels-Dashes, Dots, and Checks
• Accessories: Buttons-Button Ups Adhesive Buttons-Stickopotamus

I can't wait to see your cards! Make sure to post the links to them here, on this post, so we all know where to look to see them.

Smiles,

Jennifer

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