MOUSE IN THE HOUSE!!!!!

Hah! Did that get your attention??? I do have a mouse in the house - it just happens to be a "House Mouse" stamp that I used for today's card. Did you know that their is a blog that offers a new challenge every Monday for House Mouse enthusiasts? Well there is! It's called House Mouse & Friends. I don't own many of this brand of stamp but I have always thought they were adorable - so I do have a few. The challenge for this week (ending tomorrow) is to make a card for a mom. It doesn't have to be for your own mom - just for someone you think is a great mom.

I bought this stamp to use for a couple of Valentine cards and then didn't - so it has been sitting on my desk since the end of January unused. I thought it would be perfect as it reminds me of a little kid offering his handmade Valentine to his mom.

The image is stamped on Whisper White in Black Stazon Ink and colored with Kohr-I-noor pencils and Gamsol. The DP is from SU! a retired pack called "Afternoon Tea". The flowers were created with a couple of punches and an embossing "punch" I picked up at the local craft store. The branches are made with the Martha Stewart branch punch. A few dots with a white gel pen and a couple of small half pearls in the center of the flowers finished the card.

Personally I love this card. The layout helps bring it all together and was from a wonderful sketch from the MOJO Monday blog. If you have trouble with design check out this blog. They offer up the best sketches I've seen anywhere.

I know this is the second post for the day - but I'm on a roll!!!! LOL! Seriously - this is the last one today I promise. If I make anything else I'll save it for tomorrow!

Jill

MONOCHROMANIA

Here's another challenge card. Stamper's Dream is hosting a challenge this month with blog candy. The challenge is simple enough - make a card using one color (and white or ivory) then post it to your blog, website or SCS and leave a link on Michelle's blog for a chance to win some blog candy.




I used Mellow Moss as my one color and stamped my main image from Paper Studios onto Whisper White cardstock. I then applied small dots by using a stamp from SU!'s Itty Bitty Backgrounds and finished the piece by sponging Mellow Moss around the edges. The DP is a piece I've had for a while and sorry to admit, I don't know where I got it. The gemstones are from Hobby Lobby and the ribbon is SU!Mellow Moss Taffeta.


This was VERY quick to put together and produced a very rich and elegant card.


Hope you liked the card today - I would love it if you would play along and leave a link to your creation here on my blog as well as Michelle's. If you post to Splitcoaststampers make sure to include SDDC5 as one of your keywords as well as in your title.


Have fun playing -

Jill

Is anyone else out there having difficulty producing a birthday card for a teenaged male??? He's not into sports so a sports themed card is not the right choice. Lighthouses and boats seem too grown up. Cutesy animals that I might even use on a grown man's card seem to say he's a little kid yet. I really struggle with this age group in the male sex.

I wanted to participate in a couple of different group events with this card which is why I chose this particular color scheme: Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun. I apologize for the poor photo - it is either a result of the photo editing software I am using at work - or my camera is no longer working properly. Of the two I hope it is the software. But whatever is going on the image is soft and the color is not true. e.g. the stripes on the truck window are light blue and the light orange is actually Summer Sun!

The other group challenge event I was participating in was to use Sizzlits Dies to embellish the card. I love buttons and purchased the SU! Sizzlits Button die when it first became available - but this was the first time I used them. The die comes with 4 different button choices but my favorites are the little square/diamond shaped buttons. I think they're so cute.

The truck was colored using Koh-I-Noor pencils & mineral spirits on Whisper White cardstock. I love this technique because the colors blend so smoothly and remain vibrant and the pencils themselves are very inexpensive. Check out Gina K Design blog for a comparison between these pencils and Prismacolors. I was impressed! Seems I made the right choice - not just because of the money but for their blending capabilities as well.

That's it for today. If I get home and find that I can make the photo look more like the original card I will probably re-post it so you might want to take a peek at this post tomorrow and see if it looks any better.

Have a good day today and enjoy your weekend. If you get a chance to play this weekend I would love to see what you've made. Leave me a comment with an link to your blog or photo.

Thanks -

Jill

TECHNIQUES TUESDAY (ON WEDNESDAY)

Last night a group of us met for our monthly A to Z Techniques Class at a local cafe and made three cards during the class. We meet the 3rd Monday evening of each month at 5 p.m. for dinner then begin stamping at 6. This was our 2nd meeting and to date we have created 6 cards using different techniques as well as a sample to adhere to a 6x6 instruction page which is then kept in one of the SU! 6x6 post albums. By year's end each participant will have made approximately 36 cards and have a wonderful reference album to keep.

These are two of the cards that we created as a group while "learning" the techniques of "Dry Embossing in Less than 30 seconds" and "Ghosting". At our first meeting one of the women commented how much she loved the look of dry embossing but never did it because it always took so long.

Enter the BigShot and Embossing Folders! Quick and easy. I also demonstrated embossing with Texture Plates and Brass Stencils using the BigShot to show how easy it is now to get that beautiful embossed look to your projects (of course with stencils it is imperative to sandwich the items correctly or it doesn't work - ask me how I know this!) . Put away those light tables and styluses ladies - it's time to move forward. Another nice thing about using the BigShot (or Cuttlebug) to emboss is that you are not limited to sheer, light colored papers that can be seen through on a light table. It is not just as easy to emboss black cardstock as it is white.

The first card uses the SU! stamp sets Butterfly of Happiness and God's Blessings. The solid butterfly was first stamped in Bashful Blue with the dotted butterfly outline stamped in Not Quite Navy. Then I overstamped the solid butterfly using a Glue Pad (available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby) and then added SU!Diamond Dust glitter. The butterfly was adhered to the card using a glue dot in the center of the body leaving the wings free to be folded up as if in flight. The background is a Cuttlebug Embossing folder used with Whisper White cardstock. The bottom edge of the card is handtorn and a piece of Bashful Blue Designer Paper was added to the inside bottom of the card so that it would show from the front.

The second card uses the Ghosting or Versamark Resist technique. I stamped an image from SU!Garden Collage (retired) in Versamark onto a piece of Glossy White cardstock then brayered SU!Sage Shadow over the image. Once it sat for about 30 seconds I wiped off the excess ink leaving a nice white image on the cardstock. I used a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder to emboss a piece of Sage Shadow cardstock and made a bow of white organdy adding a string of pearls as it was being tied to finish the card.

Both cards are very quick and easy to create and fall into the "Clean and Simple" category.

Hope you enjoyed today's post. As always comments and feedback are GREATLY appreciated.

Enjoy your day and take time to play.

Jill

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

Last week on several of the blogs I visit there was a challenge going on to use colored pencils to color the main image on your card. The work was beautiful and it inspired me to try something new. I have some Crayola colored pencils (you can stop laughing now ladies!!!!) and I had used them occasionally to produce realistic looking skin tones - but that was as far as it went. Even as a child in school I preferred crayons to colored pencils because of the smooth, "penciless" results - so I never bothered to use them. After viewing the work of the very talented women on these other blogs I realized the key is the type of pencil you use - specifically a wax based pencil such as Prismacolors or Kohr-i-noor (spelling on this one might me wrong!) and the blending method you use. So off I went to the hobby store to purchase colored pencils, odorless Mineral Spirits (aka Gamsol) and blending stumps from Taiwan. I picked up the largest set of Prismacolors - and after recovering from a little episode of hyperventilating put them down and picked up the smallest set. Much better price for my pocket book - but VERY limited on color choices. Then I saw the woodenless Kohr-i-noor pencils. A nice variety of colors - 24 pencils I think - for 14.99. Yep - those were definitely the best choice for me.

This card is the result of my first attempt at coloring with colored pencils (not watercolor pencils). I'm pleased with the result I achieved with the medium - and will definitely be using it more often now.

Recipe:

Stazon Jet Black Ink

90# Watercolor Paper

Daisies image from Rubbernecker

Kohr-i-noor pencils

Gamsol

SU! So Saffron Cardstock

SU! So Saffron Ribbon

I also wanted to show you the difference in color when using watercolor paper and when using Whisper White. Using a scrap piece of Whisper White I stamped the image then colored a few petals using the same colored pencils as I did on the card. The watercolor holds the vibrant colors of the pencil while the Whisper White keeps the pencil on the surface. When I blended on the WW, much of the color dissipated leaving a much lighter/pastel look to the image.

Hope you enjoyed the practice sample today. I hope you'll give this technique a try. It is a bit time consuming - but loads of fun!

Thanks for visiting today and have a great day.

Jill

SLEEPY SUNDAY SYNDROME

It's already 1:30 on Sunday afternoon and I don't feel as if I've accomplished much of anything- even though I've been busy all morning! I cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the floors, straightened the house, made a card, called Farm & Fleet re: auto repair AND showered. So why then is the house STILL a mess and I haven't posted my card? It's just that sleepy Sunday syndrome I guess.

The card I created today uses only Stampin'Up! products. A Sizzlits, "Swirls & Scribbles" was cut from Mellow Moss and used as a flower stand for SU!'s Bloomin' Beautiful vase of flowers. In choosing colors I used Whisper White and Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip and Mellow Moss. The DP is really just a strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock to which I added dots using a white Gel Pen from Stampin' Up!. I used the BigShot and the Top Notes Die to cut the Cameo Coral background. The main image was stamped in Jet Black Stazon onto Watercolor Paper then colored using Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Mellow Moss and Old Olive Markers.

It took a while to figure out the layout I liked best - but once I figured that out the rest of the card went together quickly.

Hope you enjoyed the post today. Enjoy YOUR sleepy Sunday - whether you're working, playing or napping.

Jill

TWITTERPATED

NOT ME!!! The stamps I used are from the Twitterpated line from Imaginesence - and the best part - besides the fact they are totally adorable - is that they are only 99 cents each!!!! Can you believe that??? The little fox is my favorite - how can you resist that cute little face?
I tried to keep the cards very simple today - not alot of layers or embellishments so that the main focus remained a simple greeting and the image itself.

Recipe for FOXY:
Really Rust Cardstock
Old World DP
Imaginesence Fox Stamp
SU! Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Mini Buttons
Watercolor Crayons
Aqua Painter
SU Markers
Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities
Watercolor Paper
Stazon Jet Black Ink


The little bluebird was stamped in Stazon Jet black ink on watercolor paper and then colored with Watercolor Crayons, SU! Markers and an aquapainter.

The musical notes were handdrawn and cut from Basic Black cardstock.

The sentiment is from SU!So Many Sayings.

Cardstock: SU! Whisper White and Tempting Turquoise - the background was dry embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder and the Bigshot.

That's it for today. Cute, quick and easy. Thanks for stopping by today - now I'm off to re-organize my cardstock and practice some watercoloring techniques.

Jill

BACK TO BASICS

How many cards does one person need??? I make about 4 cards each week - have a stash of almost 300 cards now - and still making them. I love it - I can't help myself - but I will NEVER use all these cards!!!! I'm giving some away (about half I think) to one of my nieces to spread out among her mother and aunts - but that leaves a kajillion more to do something with. Any ideas???

I've started scrapbooking again - which is always fun. I have an album for each year - but got seriously behind in 2005 when we opened a family business - and I decided the start of the New Year was a great time to get going again. This is the first page in my 2009 book - because it is the from the first photo shoot I did in 2009. The page is pretty basic - but I like it all the same. Maybe its because of the adorable baby in the photo. She is my newest "great" niece, Layla. Isn't she beautiful?????

I created this layout digitally and created the pink polka dot paper myself. The other items are "freebies" from Scrap Girls. The thing I like best about digital scrapping is that the products aren't "consumable". I can use them again and again on different layouts - changing color, shape, texture, etc as I go. Talk about "cost effective!" I also enjoy not having a mess to clean up!!!

Today's card was created for a Splitcoast challenge "Ways to Use It". The challenge (which wasn't very challenging) was to use stripes on your project.

The image is a Paper Studio design which was colored with Watercolor Crayons, misted and stamped onto watercolor paper.

The sentiment is from SU!'s Like it a Latte. The DP and Cardstock are also from SU! in shades of Certainly Celery and Garden Green. The ribbon is from the Martha Stewart line.

A little metal, some distressing and sponging to finish.

Thanks for visiting and for your feedback - whether it's comments left here, on SCS or sent to my email, I appreciate hearing your thoughts and opinions.

Jill

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

I'm back! Finally! I've been children/house sitting for the past 2 weeks for my SIL and her hubby while they were out of the country. I thought I would get to run home each evening to play and post - but out of the two weeks I only managed one post. I returned home on Friday afternoon sick with a sore throat, headache, fever & congestion which totally put me out of commission until Tuesday evening. These are the two cards I've put together since then.


The first card was inspired by this GORGEOUS card by Rachel Jakes. If you have never seen her work be sure to check out the link - SHE IS AMAZING!!!!

I was planning on keeping the same soft tones she used on her card - but I love this ribbon so I had to up the color in the main image.

Recipe:
Pink Pirouette Designer Papers
Half Pearls
White Gel Pen
Gentler Times Stamp Set
Martha Stewart Branch Punch
Pretty in Pink Ink Pad
SU Markers: Regal Rose, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, Handsome Hunter
Whisper White Cardstock

I handcrafted the rose using a couple of SU punches, Pretty In Pink Cardstock and Ink Pad.




This card was made using this weeks sketch on Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge as well as a challenge being hosted by my Stampin'Up! Supervisor to use Sale-a-bration sets.

I'm not a huge fan of the color orange - in fall cards definitely - but using this color was definitely new for me. I tend to lean towards pinks, greens and earthy tones, But since I was challenging myself to use someone elses sketch I decided to get outside my comfort zone and stretch a little.

RECIPE:
Botanical Blooms (Sale-a-bration set)
Ribbon (Sale-a-bration set)
Pumpkin Pie Designer Papers
Pumpkin Pie & Whisper White Card Stock
SU Markers: Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Really Rust

I hope you enjoyed today's post and that something I've shown has inspired you to play. Don't be afraid to step out of the box and try something new - a new color combo, a new technique, a new idea. Sometimes (as in the case of my rose) - you'll surprise yourself at what you can do.

Have a great day and take some time today to count your blessings.

Jill

46 DEGREES - INSIDE!!!!

Yes - you read the title correctly. It was 46 degrees in my house today. Apparently our furnace decided it was time for a major cleaning - and only wanted to work part-time. I understand about only wanting to work part-time too - but when you have a job as important as keeping my toes and other body parts warm - full-time operation is a MUST!!!!

So, while I was shivering waiting for the furnace man to arrive I sat down at my desk to play a little (frozen fingers and all!). I used one of my favorite retired Stampin'Up! sets - Easy Elegance - colored the image with markers - gave it a spritz with water - then stamped it on Whisper White CS. I repeated this step a few times and offstamped occasionally to produce the lighter values in the flowers.

Once the image was stamped, I cut it out using a Spellbinders Label die and the BigShot. Without removing the image from the die, I sponged Bashful Blue all around the images leaving a white border. I sponged More Mustard and Close to Cocoa throughout the flowers and along the edges. I used these same colors to sponged the label and the lighter colored leaves which were punched using the Martha Stewart Branches punch from Very Vanilla cardstock. The image was matted with Going Gray cardstock which was sponged around the edges in Basic Black to draw out the muted grays in the Designer paper. The DP is from the "OLD WORLD STACK" by DCWV and available at Hobby Lobby.

I added faux stitiching around the image, mat and label then assembled the card. To finish I added amber colored gems to the center of each flower and covered the entire image with Stardust Stickles.

TIP FOR THE DAY: Clean your furnace sensor and blower motor monthly! Otherwise you will end up a frozen popsicle before it can be fixed!

Thanks for visiting - and as always - make sure to take a little time to play today.

Jill

SONG OF GRATITUDE

I know it's been a few days since I last posted anything - which also means it's been that long since I've had a chance to really sit down and play at my creative station (aka desk). I ran home from work tonight long enough to get to make one card before dashing back out the door to stay with my nieces and nephew for the next two weeks while their parents are out of the country. But you know me - if I don't get to play a little each day - I have withdrawal!

I used the BigShot and several different Nesties and Cuttlebug embossing folders to create today's card - along with a bit of bling. Gold metallic ribbon, pearls in two sizes, and Stickles in two colors. The DP is called "Old World" and is from Hobby Lobby. The cardstock colors are Bayou Blue and Mellow Moss.

Thanks for visiting and remember to take some time today to play.

Jill