FFF Challenge Announcement for June 27th, 2008

For those of you who may be new to my blog, Kimmy, one of my best friends, and I host card making challenges on our blogs every week called Fun Filled Fridays (FFF). We take turns every other week giving a challenge. These challenges are announced every Sunday, and we display our finished cards for that challenge the following Friday. Kimmy and I keep the details to ourselves regarding these challenge cards, so until her challenge post Friday, I have no idea what she is planning on making until I see it, just like the rest of you, and vice versa. I think it is so much fun to see how different or similar our cards turn out. We have shared our stamps and images so one day we'll end up making a card using the same image--I just know it! How funny will that be?

Well, without further adieu, this week I have challenged Kimmy to use those Beautiful Bella stamps we own! They are just too cute & I love how there is a Bella for ever occasion! Have you ever checked them out? Her Fellas are adorable too!

This past Friday I posted that I was getting together with some of my friends from the Stamp Shack at a LSS. We had a blast! It was tons of fun and Kimmy and I were there from 3pm til 12 midnight. We were the last ones in the store! My goal was to get a lot accomplished & not be running my mouth the whole time. Well, I got more accomplished at this crop then I have at any of the others we attended! I made 3 cards, one of which you will see very soon, and I plan on submitting the others to card making magazines. Wish me luck, but if they don't get accepted, I'll post them here of course!

At the crop, I was also able to do a little scrapbooking. My Husband and I recently moved into our newly built home (Well, it's been 3 months now!) and since construction started in September of 2007, I've been scrapping the progress ever since. (You can see pics of the construction progress on my blog starting here and working through the archives backwards.) However, the scrapping is way behind schedule! Construction has been done now for several months and I'm only at them putting up all the lumber-the house frame-in my scrapbook. I was stuck in a rut and then the big move took up a lot of my time and I just needed to match up my pictures with some fun papers to get me inspired to work on it again. I'm happy I've got another page started & well on the way!

Well, please stay tuned for Friday when I post my Beautiful Bella Challenge card and I hope you check back often. Have you subscribed to my blog yet? Go up to the top left hand side of my blog where you see the orange feed icon and click on the word subscribe! I've just added it!

Hope you have a relaxing Sunday!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Happy Sunday & FFF Challenge Announcement!

Happy Sunday, Happy Father's Day & Happy Birthday to my sister today! Boy, is today going to be a busy one!

However, I was able to pop in at my computer for a few to write up our new Fun Filled Friday Challenge Announcement. For this weeks challenge, Kimmy has challenged us to make a card with a unique fold. So, I guess this means that I can't make the usual A2 card with the side fold, or the top fold...this week, things need to be a little more interesting! Make sure to check back on Friday June 20th, so you can see what we each come up with.

So, what kind of plans do you have for Father's Day today?

With today also being my sister's 27th birthday the whole family is going out to dinner to celebrate both of them! We're going to Red Lobster--one of our favorite restaurants. For some reason my sister & I pick Red Lobster every year for our Birthday dinners, but we hardly ever eat there during other times of the year.

Unfortunately however, before I can enjoy dinner with my family I have to work in the wee morning hours then I'm meeting everyone at the restaurant at 2:30pm sharp! I know I'll be hungry!

Well, Happy Sunday to you all & Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!
Have a great week!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Fun Filled Friday Challenge Announcement!

Well, it's Sunday...time to announce this weeks Fun Filled Friday Challenge.

For this weeks challenge, I have Challenged Kimmy to create a card that is all

Black and White!

It can be any theme, use any sort of image, use any kind of embellishments, but the only colors anywhere on the card must only be black and white.

Kimmy and I are looking for our readers to join us for our Fun Filled Friday challenges. Let's see your Black and white cards! On Friday when I post my Black and white card you can post a link your challenge card on that post. Give it a try! I'd love to see your cards!

Well, it's Sunday and the weekend is just about over, so...

Have a wonderful week!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Birthday Gift Card Holder!

Well, finally as promised, Here is the Birthday Gift card holder I recently made. My theory...You can never have to many cards on hand for Birthdays, and Gift cards come in handy too! I think they make a great gift. How cute is this quick and easy gift card holder??

Unfortunately, the colors are a little washed out by my flash on the front. Imagine them alot more vivid than you see here. I heat embossed the sentiment (Impression Obsession) in dark blue embossing powder. Then I used my 1" circle punch to punch it out. I used my Inkadinado chalk to add some green around the edges. Next, I created the light blue mat using my Cricut, and the dark blue scalloped circle was made using my Marvy Uchida punch. (I know, I know, again I NEED those Nesties!) I pop dotted the matted sentiment on Doodlebug Designs patterned paper. The ribbon that ties the card together is adhered under the patterned paper.



In this picture you see the sentiment I put on the inside. I thought of this on my own using several packages of Studio G clear stamps. It fits though, doesn't it? I the birthday hat image is also a Studio G stamp that I colored with my Prismacolor pencils in coordinating colors. The hat is stamped on the back page--you can see a little bit of my handwritten message there.

This last picture shows the sparkle gift card in place.

I'm sure I'll be making more gift card holders like this very soon. I'd love to start making some up for Christmas. Any interest in a tutorial? The actual making of the card portion is really quick and easy to make. I made the one shown in this post from start to finish in less than an hour. Leave me a comment and let me know if your interested. I'd love to hear from you!

Stay tuned for our next Fun Filled Friday announcement tomorrow. I've challenged Kimmy with a color challenge for this week. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is!

Hope your weekend is a blast!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Wedding Gift!

Last weekend, my husband and I attended the wedding of very good friends of ours. I was in a bind a few days before the wedding and in my haste I decided to pick up a wedding card while I was out-and-about shopping. At this one particular store I picked up about 6 different wedding cards that were very simple in design, and what I thought would only cost a couple bucks. Boy, was I wrong!!! All 6 of these plain Jane wedding cards were no cheaper than $4.00! I could not believe it! It was right there and then that I decided I had to make time to create a wedding card for them. Besides, who doesn't like a homemade gift?

On my drive home from the store, the wheels in my head were turning as I tried to think of how to design a wedding card. I remembered Becky from the Stamp Shack teaching me how to make the cutest gift card holders when we went away for our Shackapoloosa weekend. Ding! Ding! Ding! The bells in my head went off & I decided that I was going to make them one, but call it a money holder!

The wedding invitation was beautiful--a shade of lime green with chocolate brown, which I knew were the wedding colors. So, I decided that those colors were going to be the basis for my design. I don't have very many wedding themed stamps, so I browsed through my rub-on collection and happened to find silver wedding themed rub-ons. How lucky was that? I forgot I even had them!






So, here are pictures of how it turned out!

This is the front view. I even found matching lime green polka-dot ribbon in my stash to match!











I used my Marvy Uchida scallop punches and pop-dotted them to add dimension to the front of the gift card holder.

Here is the inside flap. Again, I used my Marvy Scallop punches to create the opening where I would insert the folded bill. The rings you see on the other side of the scallop is on the last page, where I included our hand written message in a white gel pen.

I forgot to take a picture of the back, but it is green cardstock and on the back I used my custom stamp that says "Handmade especially for you by Jennifer" and heat embossed it in silver.

I've also made another one of these for a friends birthday, that I will show you in another post. It turned out even cuter than this!

Happy Monday everyone!

Have a great week!

Smiles,

Jennifer

Paper: Bazzill Cardstock

Accessories: Rub-ons-Royal Langnickel Brush Wedding Bells Silver, Ribbon-unknown

Gift: Green Money!

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New Challenge Announcement!

For this weeks Fun Filled Friday Challenge Kimmy has challenged me to make a Masculine card. Well, in looking through my stamps I don't have very many Masculine images at all. This might be a difficult challenge for me. But, then, isn't that what challenges are all about? It will be interesting to see what I come up for this one. I guess this will be good practice with Father's Day right around the corner.

Do you make masculine cards? Do you have any trouble making them? Let me see what masculine cards you've made, or why don't you partake in our Masculine challenge? Make a masculine card & on Friday when I post my Masculine Challenge card you can post a link of your card so we can all see it. I'd love for you to play along with us!

Well, I'm off to my Scrap Room to see what kind of Masculine card I can come up with. Wish me luck!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Blog Candy Winner!

Using Random Integer Generator the winning number is: comment #5


And therefore......the winner of my first-ever Blog Candy giveaway is...(drumroll please!)


Sherri! Congratulations!


Here's what she posted as her favorite stamping technique:

flipflops4sherri said...
My favorite thing to do is paper piecing. You first stamp your image on white cardstock, then stamp it again on patterned cardstock. Cut out the one on pp and glue it onto the white image. Voila, no coloring! Love it!


Sherri, you are the winner of 15 packages of Studio G acrylic stamp sets! Please email me your address so I can mail these out to you ASAP!

I'm spending the weekend making cards in my craft room! Stay tuned to see some new stuff on Monday!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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I'm Looking for Cathy!

Last week I posted my first ever blog candy giveaway and the winner was announced on my blog here, but I haven't heard from her yet.



Cathy...Are you out there? You've won my blog candy give away and I need your snail mail addy to get these to you! Please email me. You have until this Thursday May 29th to email me. If I don't hear from you, I will pick another winner on Friday.



You can see my original giveaway post here.



If you know Cathy, send her back to my blog to collect her winnings!



Thanks!



Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday weekend!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Weekly Challenge Announcement

For this weeks Fun Filled Friday post, I have challenged Kimmy to use a Happy Hopper stamp by Stampabilities. These little guys are just too cute & I know her and I just don't use them enough. I thought they would make a good challenge and we could put them to use! Besides, who doesn't love them?



I've already started thinking about how I will make my challenge card for this week. I know for sure that I am going to use my new Happy Hopper stamp that I bought last week at A Happy Stamper when I was in Washington DC. You'll have to wait till Friday, May 30th to see which one it is!



So, are you a House Mouse, Happy Hopper, and Gruffies fan? I'd love to get to know my readers, so post a comment here and tell me what are your favorite stamps?



Have a wonderful week!



Smiles,

Jennifer

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Blue Ribbon Award!

Double Take ribbons are given to Stamp Shack members who post work in the gallery that causes viewers to do a double-take, or when a viewer spots a stamped project that makes them say, "WOW! Check this out!!!" The Stamp Shack Creative Team recognizes stamped projects that have made them say exactly this!

The Creative Team showcases the best of the best, and this doesn't necessarily mean projects with the most embellishments, those that use the "hippest and trendiest" stamps, or what is currently popular in the rubber stamping scene. Recognition for this section is given at the discretion of the Creative Team for exemplary creativity and execution of stamping techniques. The Creative Team looks for artwork which utilizes creative techniques; those that are non-cookie cutter, or for artists who bring unique ideas to the Stamp Shack which have never been tried before.

I am proud to say that I've won my first Double-Take blue ribbon on the Stamp-Shack!

Here is my winning card...with ribbon attached!

I posted this card on my blog about a week ago. You can see the post here to learn how I made it.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Smiles,

Jennifer

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Winner Announcement!

Today is Thursday...


Using Random Integer Generator the winning number is: comment #2

And therefore...

...the winner of my first-ever Blog Candy giveaway is...(drumroll please!)

Cathy! Congratulations!

Here's what she posted as her favorite stamping technique:

Cathy said...
"Hi Jennifer and thanks for the blog candy offer..my favorite stamping technique I'm just learning is Alcohol inks with the applicator by Tim Holtz..there is no mess and it looks great..the shaving cream technique is fun too..l sprayed the shaving cream into a pan and added reinker colours and mixed it with a toothpick to get a look that l liked and placed the glossy side on top of the cream and wow it looked awesome."

Cathy are the winner of 15 packages of Studio G acrylic stamp sets! Please email me your address so I can mail these out to you ASAP!


Stay tuned for tomorrow when Kimmy and I post our Alcohol Ink Challenge cards.

Have a wonderful day!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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Check out my Slide Show!

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Don't forget!

Just a quick reminder...

Today is the last day to be elgible for my first ever Blog candy giveaway! You can read all about it and post a comment for a chance to win here. Winner will be announced in my blog post tomorrow, so if you haven't left me comment on that post yet, make sure to click over there and do so NOW! I'd hate for you to miss it!



Good Luck to all who have entered to play!

Smiles,
Jennifer

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I've been published...Again!

Ever since I became a serious card maker about 3 years ago, one of my goals was to get my work published. It took me a long time to actually take the plunge! First, I had to get enough courage to actually write the Editor and then I had to learn to let go of my 'precious' cards if any were accepted. Finally in December 2007, I answered a Birthday card submission call for the Scrapbook Trends CARDS Magazine. Within 2 weeks I had heard back from the Editor that my card was accepted and I quickly mailed in my original card for publishing of the May 2008 issue. I was ecstatic and could hardly believe that it was actually going to happen! I think the hardest part overall is the wait time to actually see it in print--5 months! Here is the cover picture of the magazine. This issue recently hit the new stand, so I am now able to announce this publication and share with you the chosen card! I haven't received my complimentary copy of this magazine yet, but if you have it, I have been told that it can be found on page 167.

The candle stamp is by Northwoods Rubber Stamps and it was colored with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with odorless mineral spirits. The "birthday" stamp is a single, clear acrylic stamp by Clearly Wordsworth, stamped repeatedly. All cardstock is Bazzill, and the brads are from Joann's Scrap Essentials.

This is the second time my work has been published. The first time was recently in the Spring 2008 issue of Just Cards Magazine. I had 3 cards published in that issue. You can see that blog post here.

Now, that I have accomplished the goal of having my work published I am learning how addicting it can be. Everything I make is made with the hopes of submitting it. I try to answer submission calls so I send in what the magazines are looking for and I hope to have repeated success in many magazines like many of my fellow Stamp Shack sisters have done. Within the past few weeks I have answered a few more calls hoping to have cards published in Fall issues of several magazines. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and you know I will keep you all posted!

Thanks for visiting today!

Smiles,

Jennifer

PS: Have you seen my First-ever Blog candy Giveaway post? Click here to read all about it. A winner will be picked on Thursday. It could be you!

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My First-Ever Blog Candy Give-Away!

Awhile back I participated in Kim's blog candy giveaway. I won a huge package of Studio G clear stamps for guessing the number Studio G packages in a tall vase pictured on her blog. I guessed 42 and there were 45 total packages. Well, some of those packages I already had, so I am passing the duplicates on to you, my blog readers! I have 15 packages up for grabs, and I will ship them to the winner for free!

***To be eligible to win, all you have to do is post a quick comment on this post before this Thursday May 22nd, telling me your favorite stamping technique. I'm looking for ideas for our up coming Fun Filled Friday Challenges and I will use your ideas to help guide my future Challenge Announcements. The winner will be picked randomly. Please pass this on to your family & friends-I want everyone to know about it!

The winner will be announced Thursday afternoon.

Smiles,

Jennifer

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New Challenge Announcement!

Kimmy's given the next challenge!

Challenge Announcement!

This week's Fun Filled Friday Challenge is to use Alcohol Inks. Remember that post where my Secret Sister sent me a box full of Alcohol Ink goodies? Well, now it's time for me to put them to use for the first time creating my own project. The only other time I've ever used Alcohol inks was a few weeks ago at the Shackapoloosa trip. So this challenge card should be interesting! Stay tuned for this Friday, May 23rd, when I post my challenge card.

Kimmy and I would love for you to participate in our Fun Filled Friday Challenges. If you would like to try this challenge, please post a link to a picture of your card on this post so that we can see your version of this challenge. I look forward to seeing your challenge cards!

Hope everyone had a great weekend--I worked! (YUCK!) However, Monday is my day off and I hope to get some card making done.

Also...tomorrow I will post my first ever Blog Candy Giveaway. If you're a stamper, you're not going to want to miss it! Stay tuned!

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Fun Filled Friday Challenge Announcement!

I have challenged Kimmy to make a card using this sketch for our Fun Filled Friday Challenge this week.

This sketch is found in the Sketch Gallery of the Stamp Shack. It was created by Kerry, one of our fellow Shackies. I love the patchwork look of this design, but I've never made a card like this before so, it should be a real challenge!

Stay tuned, as we will post our finished cards using this sketch this upcoming Friday, May 16th.

Kimmy and I would love for others to participate in our Fun Filled Friday Challenge. If you're brave enough to try this challenge, please post a link to a picture of your card on this post so that we can see your version of this sketch.

I look forward to seeing your challenge cards!




PS: Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there! Hope today is wonderful for you and full of much needed relaxation! Stay tuned to see the Mother's Day cards I made for my family! (Can't post them until I give them out in case they see them on my blog first!)

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We Have A Driveway!

Yeah! We have a driveway and a front porch! We have been in our new home for about 2 months now and the weather has finally shaped up enough to get the cement poured.

Last Monday the guys arrived and started taking down our temporary wood front porch and setting up the guide frames for the driveway.

After the city inspection on Tuesday and the rain on Wednesday they finally got to work pouring the cement this past Thursday. Here's the front porch, with nice rounded corners!






Here's the full view--I can't believe how wide it is! I'm so excited to finally be able to park in our garage, although we have to wait until late next week to drive on it!

In this picture you can see the decorative edge near the front of the house. I can already imagine having some type of shrubbery there!




Now, if only we could get sod in before the end of the Summer we'll be all set!


Hope you're having a great weekend!

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Home From Shackapoloosa!

We went, we shopped (Oh, did we ever! ) , we stamped, WE HAD A BLAST!

Well, I'm home from my Shackapoloosa weekend with my friends from the Stamp Shack. It was so much fun, and now I have the Shackapoloosa Blues! I miss it already. It went by so fast, that it's hard to believe we were there for 3 days.

Kimmy and I picked Nancy up at the Detroit airport. (She flew in from Maryland to go with us.) What would have normally been a 3 hour road trip for us took us almost 12 hours because of all the little detours we took to stop at 4 Scrapbook/stamping/craft stores along the way! It was so much fun. Nothing like a ladies road trip, ya know? We all spent some money, but I think we all could have done worse--I'm sure we all wanted too as well!

Our favorite stop was Stamping Day and Night in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was such an awesome stamping store. We were there for almost an hour and a half, browsing the shelves (she has tons and tons of stamps!) and talking with the owner. She also showed us a few water color techniques with Tombo markers.

The next 3 days were spent here with 12 other members of the Stamp Shack, cropping the entire time, in our privately reserved conference room. We played games, we did shoebox swap projects (17 of them!) and talked, talked, talked!

Well, I could go on and on about our trip, but I am just in awe about what a fabulous time we had. So, let me tell you about the fun package I received in the mail today. I am in a Secret Sister swap on the Stamp Shack. I received a package from her with 11 brand new bottles of Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks, the blending solution, the fabric handler, glossy paper, and several samples! You can see my goodies below. I was so excited to see this package...why? Not only because it was a package from my Secret Sister, but also because over the weekend I played with them for the first time and loved them! Two of the shoebox projects from Shackapoloosa used them. I love blending the colors and making my own backgrounds! So, the ironic thing...How did my Secret Sister know that just over the weekend I put them on my wish list? I am so excited to play with them! I already have a few ideas for the alcohol ink and some of my new stamps that I bought over the weekend. Can't wait to get working on them so I can show you!

On another note, Kimmy has announced this weeks Fun Filled Friday Challenge. Our challenge is to make a card incorporating some aspect of the Cuttlebug! So, stay tuned to see our finished cards posted this Friday.

Hope your weekend was a blast like mine!

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