Clean and Simple Spring

The Paper Players have the right idea this week with their challenge - Plain and Simple Spring!

I had the embossed background on my desk left over from last Monday - so I grabbed some Coastal Cabana and went to work.   I'm loving these colours together.

I'm not getting this posted until after the busyness of the day is over - it was a good one.  Hope your weekend was good for you too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Joan

Masked Silhouette

I created this yesterday using the colours for this week's Paper Players Challenge - Marina Mist, Crushed Curry and Slate Grey.  I was making the second technique card for my Team Meeting tonight.  

I called this technique "reverse masking" - but does anyone else have a different name?

Lots of snow has melted here today - all I did while I was walking was breathe in deeply - the fresh - unfrosty - air felt so good.  The birds were enjoying it too - singing away.  

Hope your day was tickity-boo!

Thanks for stopping by.

Joan

Warm Bermuda Boot

Well, it's Wednesday and I finally made it back into my craft room and finished to card I started for the Merry Monday Challenge this week - to create a Christmas Card using Aqua, Silver and White.

I chose to use Bermuda Bay as my Aqua colour - I love love love Bermuda Bay!

I used the Paper Players sketch from this week too - clean and simple - so the card came together easily.  I still have a difficult time with complete empty untouched space - so I threw down a few rhinestones for fun!

Tomorrow is a half day of teaching so I'm hoping to get a bit more stamping done - if I'm not exhausted again from this dog-gone cough I've still got!

Hope you are healthy and happy in your little corner of the world

Thanks for stopping by - 

Joan

Grungy Valentine

Today I joined the Dynamic Duos and Paper Players Challenges. I have a bit of a hard time with single layer cards - but that's why doing challenges is a good thing - they make you work out of your comfort zone from time to time.

I also thought it was time to see what the grunge look was like using subtle colours.  Not too bad, I think.

Hope your day is working out your way!  Thanks for taking time to stop by.  

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see what we have for you from MDS Monday.

Elephants and Mega Trials

Today's "main event" comes courtesy of a Tic Tack Toe challenge at The Paper Players -

My combination was Birthday-Dry Embossing-Ribbon.

I also used the sketch challenge from the New Catalogue Edition over at Create with Connie and Mary

I'm actually quite pleased with how my elephant card turned out - he's from You're Amazing.  I coloured his body using an aqua painter and ink.  I was also happy to use one of those fantastic brads that match the Summer Smooches paper.  I was disappointed that they were a limited time thing!

Yesterday I also played around with Christmas ideas for my Christmas in August.   I spotted the video tutorial by Dawn Olchefske  (on Stampin' Connection) using the design below.  I decided to try it out with Bells and Boughs.  What you see below is the final product....it's followed by my first attempt using the flourish from  Everything Eleanor  and colouring in the flowers.  I decided that was too busy and time intensive for a card stack.

 I tried a variety of spritzing ideas before settling on the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz.  I tried using Old Olive and More Mustard reinker with water in the new Stampin' Spritzer.  I do love how that new Spritzer works - and especially how you can spritz with any of our colours now!

So - I guess that's why some days it takes so long to get a post finished!!!

Today holds some garage clean up and babysitting Elliot this afternoon.

Here he is yesterday afternoon, playing at our house with his dad's hat on!

Ta ta for now - Hope you have a day full of smiles!

Thanks for dropping by.

Joan

A Bird, A Butterfly.....and a Snowman

Today I've used the Mojo Monday sketch along with the colours from the Paper Players....Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo and Basic Grey.  I love when I find challenges that challenge me to use things I rarely use - like Melon Mambo.  I like the colour 'cause it's so bright, but I'm not really a pink person so I tend to neglect it.

After I inked the summer image from "Four Seasons", I spritzed it with water to change it up a bit.  You can barely see the spritz marks in the photo.  I love how this set has a tiny image to go along with the scallop image for each season.

On Saturday, at our Extravaganza, I demonstrated the embossing resist technique after having coloured an image.  This is the little guy I used for my demonstration - I hadn't had anything to add him to.  But...today I remembered that Lesley Croghan - Always Playing with Paper is now hosting a Merry Monday Challenge helping us get a head start on cards for Christmas.  Yay!!!

I'm starting to count down the days with kids.....there are shockingly few!

Hope you have something fun/exciting to count down to.

Thanks for stopping by,

Joan

RockinRoll Seasons

It's such a sunshiny day today, that I just had to use bright colours for today's creation.  

I've started with the sketch from The Paper Players - and since the central focus was circular, I decided to try out the new "Four Seasons" set - it's one of the Hostess sets that will become available in 5 days!

I've used the Rock and Roll technique for both the scallop image and the little flowers .  The little bird is punched out and popped up.  The colours I've used are:  Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade and Tangerine Tango.  The tiny tag is tied on with Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine.

Hope you're having a super Sunday!  Thanks for visiting.

Joan

Fresh Hello

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers.  I hope it is an enjoyable day for you.

I've gotten off to a good start - able to do some creating this morning.  I've used the colours from The Paper Players ( Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight and Baja Breeze)  and the sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches.

I've always liked this fancy Hello and haven't used it near enough.  Two of the images have been used from the "My Friend" set and one flower from "Mixed Bunch.  The "band" across the card was created using the "Framed Tulips" embossing folder which I've trimmed around.

Hope your day is fantastic.  Thanks for stopping by!
Joan

Owl Hello

Finally pulled these little birds out....both the stamps and the punch.  I haven't used the punch in quite a while.

Today's sketch is from The Paper Players and the colours - Not Quite Navy, Peach Parfait and Sahara Sand are from Create with Connie and Mary.  Not many birds fluttering around outside today - what with the rain falling.  I'm glad for it though, cleans up the grass and such - temperatures are a bit low, but so far it's still rain!

Hope things are getting cleaned up where you are.

Don't forget to stop by my on-line store to take advantage of the discounted items from the retired accessories list.  Items on the retired list are "while supplies last" - so don't miss out!

Thanks for stopping by!  Joan

Watercolour Thoughts

Well, after traveling a total of three hours yesterday in varying degrees of snow and rain - it was nice to sit around and do practically nothing today!  I had a great time stamping with the ladies - but I was a bit warn out after driving.

Today's Paper Players challenge was to use watercolour - I used the AquaPainter with markers on Watercolour paper for the image.  

The colours are courtesy of Create with Connie and Mary - Concord Crush, Marina Mist and Certainly Celery.

Finally - the sketch is from Stamping 411 - I've changed it a bit because of the size of the image.

We had a nice visit with Elliot and his parents this evening - and now my daughter and husband are hunkered down watching the Canucks play.  I do believe I'll go waste a bit of time with a computer game before I head to bed.

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend - thanks for visiting.

Joan

Cherish Mojo

The Paper Players have this awesome colour combo this week - Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy and Pool Party - LOVE IT!  I was even able to use up some pieces that had already been embossed and set aside from other projects - yippee!!!

The sketch is the Mojo Monday Sketch - quick and easy!

The other project I have for you today, is the card I created yesterday for my daughter's 21st birthday - which is today.  I guess it can go along with the Friday MashUp! too - the fancy fold...but not for anything on the tic tac toe board.

We created a card with this design at our last Extravaganza.  It was one that Tamye got as a swap....I knew when I saw it's unique-ness that I wanted to use it for Allison's card.

For the white section, I used Heat and Stick powder, for the first time in ages, to make the glitter adhere to the stamped image and coloured in the sections with Wisteria Wonder. For the bottom section, I used Irridescent Ice to create the sparkle. The little sections are coloured in with a Versa Mark Pen.  And....because I had the lid of that pen off and on a number of times yesterday, I realized - for the first time- that the Versa Mark Pen has two different ends.  Just like our other markers.  It's so exciting to learn something new!  Duh!!!!!

The card is standard, except for the little accordion fold section on the front which is tied together with ribbon.

That section folds out for 6 available panels.

I coloured the stamp with the two different markers and huffed before stamping.

Two Way Glue and Dazzling Diamonds added the bling to the crown.

For the dress, I added some Crystal Effects to the dress, and then added the glitter on top of it.

I still have a couple containers of this Liquid Applique - I wish we still carried it!  It can be so much fun.  The cherries on top of each cup cake are done with the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Detail.

It's been a beautiful day here!  Baby Elliot is coming over for a visit again this evening!  WooHoo!

Hope you have something to look forward to too!

Thanks for stopping by

Joan

Tie Dyed Pig

I guess this may be a bit of a left over from last night .....we went to see Blue Man Group, and they are notorious for splashing/drumming paint around - so maybe this little guy was right in the thick of it!

The sketch comes from Mojo Monday and the theme is The Paper Players first for a month full of Humour.

More than anything, this paper makes me smile.  I just love the bright colours!

I'm "patiently" waiting for my daughter to arrive home from Mexico.  Her flight was delayed twice and then cancelled yesterday and delayed once today.  Once they took off though, they ended up landing in Las Vegas.  She's in the air again now, and I know she will be so, so happy to be home.  I've already got her bed turned down for her in case that's the first place she wants to go.

She is arriving home to better weather today though, so that's a plus.  Hope your day is going well.  Thanks for dropping by.
Joan

In the Spotlight

I haven't done the spotlight technique in quite a while....and of course I got carried away with things again yesterday.  Actually, I decided that the card I created for the challenge at The Paper Players (the sketch is from this weeks challenge) and SUO Challenges (creating a birthday card) was a bit too much for my technique class, so I revamped it using last weeks' Freshly Made Sketch to simplify it a bit.

I think these "Packed for..." stamps are perfect for this technique!  I stamped the image three times in a row and then punched out the small circles, to be coloured and backed with the large Not Quite Navy circle to create the spotlight.

Because everything is pretty straight forward of this card, my stampers will be given the option of which "Packed for" image they'd like to use.  The sentiment goes with all of them - Mom, Dad and Birthday.

I'm all packed for my next convention and looking forward to having a fantabulous time with Tamye!

Hope you have something to look forward to this week.  Thanks for stopping by.

Joan

CAS and Showers

Two quick posts this afternoon - the first is for The Paper Players challenge today to create a card using tags.  I used this large one yesterday and decided to use it again today incorporating the daisy stamp from the upcoming SAB set "Sprinkled Expressions".  Pulled out the daisy embossing folder too.

The second card today will be taken over to Elliot's baby shower this afternoon - I created it as a shaker card to go with Hand Stamped Sentiments shaker card challenge this week.  It was tons of fun to create.

Off to get ready for the shower - hope you have something exciting to do today!  Thanks for stopping by for a visit - Joan

One Last Halloween Card?

 I'm not sure, but this may be the last Halloween Card I create this season.....we'll see.  I've incorporated the Friday Mashup and the Paper Player's Sketch for this card.  The Friday Mashup! was:

1. Make a project featuring "A Belly Band".
2. Or Make a project using "Twine".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "Using Twine with a "Belly Band"

Below is the card without the belly band so you can see the sketch better.

 

 I had to use those little bats again, and although you can't tell from the photo - I added their eyes with white gel pen and then coloured them yellow.  I was sort of hoping to use rhinestones, but the smallest weren't small enough.

Next are the I and J pages of the anniversary book:

 I did case part of this page from someone on the My Digital Studio website.  She had used some sort of tag and I used the arrows. 

This page just has photos of the Jeffery family from the wedding reception to 2009.  Not every year is represented, but I sure am thankful for my Mother taking pictures of the four of us when she came to visit!

It's been a beautiful Sunday afternoon - hope you are enjoying fabulous fall weather where you are too.  Thanks for stopping by for a visit.
Joan

Merry Chickadee

 I finally got around to using this wonderful little chickadee - they're my favorite little bird.  The leaves and berries have been coloured with Frost White Shimmer Paint with a bit of re-inker added.  That way they  shimmer nicely on the card.  I applied the paint with an old blender pen that had lost its "stuff".   An Old Olive marker was used to colour the shading of the leaves.  I also used the shimmer mixture to distress the edge of the oval.

I really should have thought out what paper I was going to use for the rest of the card before I coloured the image though - the image uses Old Olive and the DSP and mat are Garden Green.  But that's okay - the Challenge over at The Paper Players this week is to use traditional red and green colours for a Christmas card - and both greens work.  Stampin' Royalty has provided the sketch for this card.  I have adjusted it a bit because my image was so large and I used 3 little Merry tags on the side.

This is the anniversary card my daughter made for my husband to give to me.  It wasn't what she had had in mind because she couldn't find the stamp set she wanted to use - that threw her for a bit of a loop  (It would throw me for a while too) - but I love what she's come up with.  She didn't realize until later that she put the world on upside down - I said her dad turns my world upside down anyway - so it's all good.   My gift from him was a trip to anywhere in the world I want to go - so the card is fitting!

Hope something turns your world upside down in a good way today - Thanks for stopping by! Joan

Daring Adventures

It's been a busy weekend - and we're heading into a busy week - but  it's all good!  I got this card ready today - covering 3 challenges - and then I spent the afternoon working on simple sketches to take to school for our newly formed "Birthday Bridgade" to work on for handing out to students on their birthday.

The three challenges for my Adventure card come from
The Paper Players - Have music on your card - I rolled the notes onto vellum and also used a small piece for the wing of the bird.

Freshly Made Sketches - the Sketch - I found a chipboard tag in my stash - I had to cut it down a bit to fit the card - but it feels good to get rid of another one of those tid bits lying around waiting to be used.

Create, Ink! - the Colours - Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray.  These colours could so easily be Halloween in nature - but I moved completely away with that - using the quote from one of the first inspirational women I was introduced through a child's level biography.  Helen Keller and Florence Nightingale were the first biographies I owned.

I don't read a lot of biographies anymore - but perhaps I should.  I hope you had a good weekend, and that there are things for you to look forward to through the week.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Joan

A Pool Party Day

Okay - so I'm talking about the colour and not an actual pool party - but believe me you certainly could have one here today.  The leaves are falling off the trees creating a wonderful golden carpet on the street - and yet the breeze is sooooo warm, it's an incredible September afternoon.

So - I'm working with the Paper Players sketch for this card and I incorporated two pieces  which were sitting on my craft table just waiting to be used.  The Pool Party matt had been distressed and then opted against for a card last week, and the centre medallion was made a number of weeks ago when I first got my SIMPLY SCORED and was playing around.    Ya almost need a box in order to give it to anyone - it's so high in the middle.  Oh well, gotta create something challenging every once in a while - right?

I had a fantastic time yesterday at our Extravaganza - it wasn't a big crowd, but a fun one.  Next weekend I have a music workshop to go to - so I may never get a Saturday to sleep in.  Maybe that's why I'm napping in the afternoon?  Hee Hee.

Here are the supplies that I used for this card -

Hope your weekend has been warm and wonderful - thanks for stopping by for a visit.  Joan

Lazing the day away...

I must say I have been fairly lazy today - it's all I can do to keep my eyes open.  Ridiculous!!!  I did, however, have a great time at Regionals yesterday.  Lots of see and learn!

After my nap....a waste of time, but necessary....I went to my stamp room to create this card for The Paper Players challenge to include a plant or animal on your project.  I was centering on the lion, but I guess I have a bit of flora happening too.

The two semi-circles are glossy paper which I rubbed with So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, and Marina Mist with the edges accented with Not Quite Navy.

I hope you have had time to relax a bit this weekend to prepare for the upcoming week.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by for a visit.
Joan

Fall Birthday Wishes

 We're having beautiful weather this weekend, but you can still feel the fall season moving into place with the crisp air in the early morning.  I just love that crisp fall air!  I also love shuffling my feet through the leaves once they've hit the ground.  Thankfully we aren't that far into the season yet.

Today's card is a combination of The Paper Players request for a Birthday card (it's amazing how many people I know who are born in September, so this is a very timely challenge!) and the sketch is from Stampin' 411.

Hope you are enjoying your long weekend - Thanks for visiting!
Joan