BUTTERFLIES AND JEWELS

Still on the subject of sales from yesterday, did you know that you can receive JoAnn printable coupons sent direct to your email? And did you know you can use the printable coupon more than once??? Just not during the same visit. If you are interested, sign up at Joanns.com. I have a nice little 40% off coupon waiting to be used on some cool new stamping/scrapping item.


If you don't like the color red, close your eyes because this card is definitely NOT for you! Here I've used another Cuttlebug embossing folder (Textiles) to emboss my background. The circle was made using a large Nestabilites circle die. I then punched holes about 1/8" in from the edge and again about 1/2" in from the edge then hand stitched using a backstitch. Once stitched I cut out the center of the circle using a smaller Nestabilites Scalloped circle.

I never throw any scraps away - because you never know where and how you might use it- which was the case for the left-over piece of DP. I cut it into 1/4" and place one piece in the lower right corner of the card and placed gems in the arches made by the scalloped edge. A white organdy ribbon was tied around the card and the red circle was adhered flat to the card and then tied a bow using the same ribbon to place in the center of the circle. I punched two Martha Stewart Butterflies. The first was from plain white card stock which I edge sponged in Ruby Red. The second was punched from a scrap of embossed white cardstock, lightly sponged in Ruby Red and then adhered only by the body to the first butterfly. Three small gemstones were added to the body of the top butterfly then it's wings were bent slightly upward. A glue dot holds it to the center of the bow.

Hope you enjoyed your visit today.

Until tomorrow - happy stamping.
Jill

I LOVE A GOOD SALE . . .

and our local scrapbook store is having a great one for anyone with a BigShot. Scrapadoodle in Peoria, Illinois has their Sizzix Bigz dies on sale until Sunday. The holiday dies are 50% off and their new Spring inventory of Bigz dies are 30% off. You know what that means of course . . .

I had to buy some things while I was there.

The heart medallion was on sale for $10 and the floral die for $14 - and the wonderful Inkadinkadoo acrylic stamp set - only $9.99. I'm VERY happy with my purchase.

This card was made using the floral die and a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I embossed a piece of So Saffron cardstock and cut out the flower then sponged Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip inks to give it more depth. I embossed veins in the leaves & stems with my SU!Mat Pack and stylus then lightly applied white craft ink to make the veins stand out. Both the flower and leaf image were popped up with dimensionals onto a Cuttlebug embossed background. I tore the bottom and sponged Pumpkin Pie to the edge and placed a piece of Pumpkin Pie DP behind it onto the inside bottom of the card. A piece of So Saffron ribbon was added around the DP and an orange gem stone was applied to the center of the flower to finish the card.

Not a very complicated card but sometimes clean and simple is the way to go. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to visit -

Until tomorrow -

Jill

ORGANIZATION TIPS & A CARD

I don't know about all of you - but I am forever re-organizing my craftroom/office to make my small craft space more efficient. This past week I revamped one tiny area to create a guest stamping space/BigShot work station. Previously this space housed just the brown lateral file cabinet that has been incorporated as part of the desk - but with a couple of Hobby Lobby cubicles which keeps my SU! cardstock and BigShot supplies within arm's reach, a 24x48x2" piece of knotty pine and some white paint I ended up with workstation #2. Eventually the lateral file cabinet will be replaced with a two drawer upright cabinet to allow more leg room - but for now it seems to work fine. I gave it a test-run last night when my friend Gloria came for the day to play. I had a great time stamping and chatting and eating - Gloria provided the yummiest, gooey brownies! Mmmmm! Delicious! (Confession: I ate 3 for breakfast this morning!)

The photo to the right is my main work space. This photo was taken a year ago so the wall space is much less open now. The shelving unit on the left has gained 2 additional levels, the white shelf above the desk has been replaced with a metal mesh shelf that attaches to the rail and holds my prima flowers in glass jars. I have added more rails to hold more punches on each side of the shelf and the photo grid has been replaced by 2 hanging 4-cubicle shelfs for my stickles, acrylic blocks, and my basic black, basic brown and craft white ink pads and I have two more rails to add as I'm already out of space. Since this photo was taken I've also added a small 30-drawer hardware cabinet to hold all my small embellishments. It is where the light is on the desk and the light is now centered. The colored pencils have been relegated to a cubby below the inkpads and 3-drawer cabinet due to lack of use. The 5-drawer container on the desk houses all my markers - the top drawer is SU! browns, greens, blues and grays. The second drawer is SU! reds, oranges, yellows, pinks and purples. Third and 4th drawers are miscellaneous markers and writing utensils. The bottom drawer is filled with my Copics - which for the most part never see the light of day! I have also added a white wire shelf with front just above the top of the desk that runs the entire length of desk. I keep my matpack, Koh-I-Noors, Crop-a-dile, Stampin'Round handles, brayer and Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp set there for ease of use.

I received an email this morning that contained a link to the online gallery of Susan Raihala. For those of you who like CAS cards (Clean and Simple) her gallery is a "must". While I was there looking at her work I found photos of a wonderful organizational tip. Make sure to check out these links for photos -
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1195314
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1195315
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1195316?cat=500&ppuser=49585

Would you belive that this card took more than 6 hours to create. Not that it really takes that long to put together - but I was busy chatting, eating, and coloring images before finally deciding what I was going to use to make my card. LOL!!

The "violets in egg" image is an original Jill's Jems colored with Prisma pencils. I used the pencils for the first time last night and they are a delight - but really no different than the less expensive Koh-I-Noors in terms of shading and blending. The one thing that gives them an advantage in my mind is the great variety of colors - but to me the expense is a little daunting. The pencils have gone onto my birthday "wish list" for hubby to purchase.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today. We got snow last night so for me it's a dreary day around here and to make it even worse - I'm off to work on my taxes!!! Hope you enjoy your day more than I'll be enjoying mine!

Until tomorrow -

Jill

I wish you could see this card IRL (in real life) because this photo does not do it justice. The touches of Stardust stickles to the flowers caused them to have a 3-d look - a very pleasant surprise. I used a recently released stamp from Flourishes called "Sweet Pea" and the set is GORGEOUS!!!! A while back I received several blog posts that gave a sneak-preview of this set and I fell in love so as soon as it was available I ordered it! Apparently so did everyone else who saw it because it sold out immediately and there was a slight delay in shipping.

I chose the colors as part of a SCS challenge being issued on Tuesday - Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Pretty in Pink- which worked well because I had already colored the image and had used all those colors. Since I was out of Kiwi Kiss cardstock I used Old Olive which coordinates beautifully with the Kiwi Kiss in the DP. I punched around the edges of the Baja Breeze and Old Olive the added faux stitching using a Signo White Gel Pen from Stampin'Up! Brads were placed in the four corners for added interest and to finish the card.

Now - here's the thing - I'm still not satisfied with it. I like the image, the colors, even the layout - but it just doesn't POP! Any suggestions????

Thanks for visiting - have a wonderful Wednesday - and remember to take a little time to play today.

Jill

HIPPETY, HOPPETY - EASTER'S ON ITS WAY!

Normally of course when you hear the words to the title of today's post, the brain continues to sing the words to the familiar Easter song and if not the words, at least the tune. The mind envisions a cute little white bunny hopping down a brick-paved path through a garden, flowers all around, and maybe a little white picket fence with a gate.

NOT, however, if you are the artist that designs for Whipper Snapper! In this artist's mind it's not a bunny at all but a grotesquely shaped FROG that is so ugly he's adorable!!!

I don't usually send Easter cards but I just had to color this image! He's too funny! Besides, I have a couple of people in my life going through some tough times right now that could use a bit of cheering up this Spring. Oh and if you haven't guessed the answer to the "knock,knock" joke, it's the "Easter Ribbit!"

I love Whipper Snapper and Penny Black's Critter images. They are so whimsical and cute - not to mention fun to color! But with a very limited budget for stamping supplies, I really can't afford to buy as many as I would like - so what's a girl to do??? Create her own!



This card was made with an image that I drew free hand then scanned into the computer to resize to fit my card. I printed it onto GinaK Luxury Cardstock and let it dry for a few minutes before coloring with Koh-I-Noor pencils and OMS. After Stampin'Up! came out with their crocheted flowers I thought it time to bring out the crochet hooks and threads again and whip up a few in different colors to have on hand - but this is the first one I've actually used. I have plans to print the image on DP so I can paper piece the galoshes. Can you picture them in paisley or polka dots??? Too cute!


I'm off to run errands and finish my prep for a workshop this afternoon. What are you doing with your day? Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy it.


Jill

SIXTH FOLDER SIXTH PHOTO CHALLENGE

Came across a fun little challenge on Anna Wights blog today and thought I would play along.

To play I had to go to my photos folder in my computer and post the 6th photo in the 6th folder. I was curious about what my 6/6 photo would be but was pleased that it was this one - the two people who loved me first and loved me best - my parents.

This photo was taken approximately 4 years into their marriage, making my mom 22 years old and my dad 24. We just celebrated his 82nd birthday this past weekend so that tells you how old this photo is. My mother passed away in 1994 just 2 years shy of their 50th wedding anniversary. Their young love lasted a life-time and beyond.

The second part of this challenge is to tag 6 others to play along. I am tagging Becca, Leslie, Sherri, Theresa, Faith, and Cindy. I don't know yet if each one will play along, but they've all been tagged. And if you want to know why I chose these ladies make sure to check out their blogs. Then I won't have to explain!

I don't have a card for you today - but thought I would show you a project that I did for a computer illustration class I was taking. The assignment was to create a fully illustrated menu for some type of restaurant. I decided to have a seafood buffet and use characters from various oceanic themed cartoons. I drew each image on the computer using Adobe Illustrator. What a blast this was!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

Jill

THINK SPRING!

This isn't the best photograph - but I didn't have time this morning before tripping off to dentist to take another - so this is what we get today. And though the photo may not be the best - I like the card alot. The layout is from the sketch challenge at Splitcoast this week and since Stampin'Ups! Sale-a-bration is still going strong for the next 12 days I decided to use the subtle shades from the Sale-a-bration Designer Paper and the Sale-a-bration Botanical Blooms watercolor floral set to keep the soft, airy feel of Spring.



The background cardstocks are Barely Banana and Baja Breeze. The flowers were created by coloring the stamp in two shades of Pretty in Pink/Bravo Burgundy, Barely Banana/More Mustard, and Bashful Blue/Brocade Blue then lightly misting before stamping the image onto Whisper White Cardstock. Using the leaf stamp for the same set, I colored only two of the leaves in Mellow Moss, lightly misted and randomly stamped the leaves - stamping twice before re-inking. Not Quite Navy Brads were added to the four corners before popping up the floral image with dimensionals.

This was a very quick card to make - the hardest part was lining up the strips of paper to have even borders all around. Very tricky and if you look closely you will see I didn't quite get them even. Tip: Use a ruler or piece of chipboard as a straight edge across the bottom of your mat then place the bottom edge of the strips against the straightedge. Once you get them placed with even spaces between each one, lift the top edge of each one, one at a time, and adhere into place. Then remove the chipboard/ruler and adhere the bottom edge of each one.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you enjoyed the flowers.

Jill

I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU . . .

I wasn't able to make a card to share with you today - but I do have one to show you. Michele Greenwood has generously allowed me to post a photo of this gorgeous card that she created. It is posted on her blog, Whimsical Creations. While you are there, scout around and see what other lovely pieces of art she has created - there is one entitled "chores" that's a must see! Made me LOL!!!!

I receive an email devotional each morning from Dr. David Jeremiah's website, TurningPointOnline.org and this mornings scripture reference used this verse from Jeremiah. It is one of my favorites and definitely one of those promises that I cling to when things get a little rocky in my life. Each new day brings new blessings and new opportunites to exercise my faith. (opportunity is just another word for challenges you know!!!) and like most exercise, I find this difficult. Have you ever seen Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade? Remember the part where he has to, literally, take a "leap of faith"? That is what I find so difficult about exercising my faith. What if I step out and fall??? What if... you can fill in the blank I'm sure because there are always a million fears to keep us right where we are - safe, comfortable and COMPLACENT. I am NOT a risk taker by nature and tend to hold on to the "known" with both hands. You want me to take a leap of faith? You are going to have to pry my fingers open and give me a firm push!

My email devotional this morning helped to remind me that I don't need to be afraid to "jump". Dr. Jeremiah writes, "As Christians, as we look down the road and cannot see what the future holds, we don't have to let the fear of the unknown hold us back from participating in the opportunity of a lifetime. We are blessed to have a God who knows what lies ahead, and we can trust Him because the Bible tells us He plans to give us a future and a hope. All we have to do is live according to His Word, leave the details up to Him, and allow Him to guide us into His will."

So, if you have challenges you're facing, go ahead. JUMP!!!! I dare you!

Jill

IT'S ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

You would think I would have a St. Patrick's Day card to post wouldn't you? But I only made one this year and I posted it the day I made it - so instead I'm sharing a beautiful, "hurry up" Spring card because I think we are all ready for warm & sunny days. Actually today has turned out to be a perfect Spring day here in Central Illinois! The sun is shining, the temperature is in the 70's. Life is good and I've spent my day reminding myself of all that is right, and good, and true in my life!!!

This stamp set is a hostess set from the current Stampin'Up! catalog called "God's Beauty". How appropriate for this day, don't you think. No matter what happens along the way to discourage, hurt or drag us down - there is always beauty to behold. Sometimes we just have to look a little harder for it.

I stamped the leaves in Momento Tuxedo black ink onto the debossed side of a scrap piece of embossed cardstock. Both the leaves and flowers were shaded using Koh-I-Noor Woodenless Pencils. I cut out the flowers and after adding the smallest of amethyst gem stones to the center of the flowers I popped them into place using dimensionals. The papers are Certainly Celery and Lavendar Lace Cardstock and Certainly Celery Paisley Designer Paper.

I really like this card. It is warm, cheery and brings a smile to my face. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Jill

SNEAK PEEK: MATCHBOX

Here's the next sneak-peek at the offerings in SU!'s Occasion Mini available beginning April 1st! The Matchbox Die! The actual size is right in between the small and large boxes containing wooden matches and is perfect to hold small gifts items (e.g. jewelry!!!!). The die cuts the box inside, outside and 3 label shapes for the top on one extended length die. This is one of the Bigz Dies so it is too wide to fit the Cuttlebug - but works beautifully with the BigShot.

I used SU! Bayou Blue cardstock (retired) to cut the inside box and SU!Bella Bleu Designer Paper to cut the outer wrap. I crocheted the double-petal flower, inserted a vintage button through the center then used white, allpurpose glue to adhere the flower to the box top. The ribbon is an exact match to the lighter blue in the DP though in the photo it appears gray. Not counting the time it took to crochet the flower, this little gem went together in under 10 minutes!

That's all for today. Short and sweet.

Have a great Monday!

Jill

LUCKY DUCK!!!!

Here's another "sneak peek" at what's being released from Stampin'Up! in April. This image and the greeting are both from the same set I featured on my post from yesterday, "Wagon Full of Fun". Isn't this little duck adorable??? I love the way he artist has his head tilted upward and captured such a delighted expression on his face. I envision another card with him standing under an umbrella, peeking out looking up to see that the sun has come out. The outside greeting would say "Heard you've been under the weather!" and the inside would read "Not to worry, sunny days will be here soon!"

I know I've NEVER said this before - but I ADORE MY KOH-I-NOR PENCILS!!!! Seriously! Look at the duck's head. That is 3 different colors - but you can't tell where one color ends and the next one begins because these pencils blend together so beautifully. Just gotta love them!


If you'd like to see a couple of other ideas for this guy, check out these cards made by:
Mercy Kerin - wonderful job of coloring!
Daotz - very cute idea!!!! (Also gives you peeks at other stamps in this set.)
Bev Rousch - look how she used the button!


SUPPLIES

SU! Summer Picnic Designer Paper (retired)
SU! Pumpkin Pie Cardstock
SU! Whisper White Cardstock
90# Watercolor Paper
Koh-I-Nor Pencils
OMR
Nestabilities - Oval & Scalloped Oval
SU! Night of Navy Ink Pad & Marker
Sponge Dauber
Tombow Adhesive
SU! Dimensionals
Hobby Lobby Orange Polka Dot Ribbon


Here's a sneak peek for tomorrow - make sure to come back and see what this is all about.





Thanks for visiting today.

Jill

YOU WIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME

I was so excited yesterday when I was notified by Feedblitz that I now have 50 subscribers to my blog!!!! I know that to some of you 'cyberg celebrities' that have 100's of subscribers that 50 sounds like small potatoes - but to me - it's like each one is a cherished friend. When I was notified of that milestone my first thought was that someone deserves blog candy - so this is what Bernadette T. from Ohio will be receiving.

5 - handmade cards

- a bag of vintage-style buttons

- a package of adhesive backed pearls

- an assortment of ribbon (not shown)

- an assortment of 6x6 designer papers (not shown)

Welcome to my blog Bernadette! I couldn't be happier!

This morning I planned to sleep in, get up around 8 and begin my household chores before stepping foot into my craft/computer room. I woke up at 5:30 and after a quick bathroom stop ended up - not back in bed - but in front of the computer! So much for the best laid plans! I always check my email to read my personal emails from friends and view the blog posts to the blogs I subscribe to (that takes ALOT of time there are soooooo many) and there it was! Notification from Feedblitz that I lost a subscriber!!! From elatation yesterday to sadness today! I'm new enough at this that I take the loss of a subscriber like the loss of a friend! I'm hoping that she just didn't have enough time to keep up with everything she had to get done in a day and that it wasn't the quality of my work - or HEAVEN FORBID! that I'm producing a boring blog!!!!

Okay - lets get on to today's card! I received a box from Stampin'Up! yesterday of new items that will be available for purchase beginning April 1st from the Occassions Mini. For the next several posts you will be getting sneak peeks of some of these items. The first sneak peek is from a new set entitled: WAGON FULL OF FUN.

There are several cute images in this set - but this little wagon was the selling image for me. To create the woodgrain look I started with a piece of More Mustard cardstock and dragged white Versamark Craft Ink across the paper leaving white blotches and streaks. Then I used Momento Cocoa brown ink and pulled it across the cardstock in the same direction again leaving streaks. That's all there is to creating a woodgrain look - sooooo easy! I learned this wonderful technique from GinaK on StampTV. If you haven't been to that site make sure to check it out - she's fantastic!!!!

After creating the woodgrain look, I stamped the wagon using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and cut out the wagon and handle in two separate pieces. I used a silver Krylon pen to color the metal strips and handle. I stamped the wagon again on the card front and then popped up the wagon and handle over the stamped image. The wheels were created using flat, gold "bling" I found at the local craft store.

The designer paper is a retired SU! paper called AFTERNOON TEA. At the top of the DP I placed a scalloped border created with Martha Stewarts beautiful punch and then used another of her line of punches to create the "greenery" around and behind the flowers. The flowers were punched using the SU! 3 of a Kind punch in Pretty in Pink, Lavendar Lace and Barely Banana. I accented each flower with tiny dots and added the tiniest lavendar gems to the center of each flower.

The greeting is handwritten because I don't have a "hello" stamp. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!!!! There is actually a stamp out there that I DON'T have!!!!!

It's 8 a.m. now and I hear the bed calling. Unfortunately it's too late to crawl back in so I best get up and get done with the "have to's" for the day before I spend anymore time at play.

Thanks for visiting - and to those of you who are subscribe to or follow my blog regularly - thank you, thank you, thank you. I really do appreciate all of you and your continued interest in my work.

Jill

FRIDAY THE 13TH

DID YOU KNOW: Friday the 13th superstitions originated in a Norse myth about twelve gods having a feast in Valhalla. The mischievous Loki crashed the party as an uninvited 13th guest and arranged for Hod, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Baldur, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Baldur was killed and the Earth was plunged into darkness and mourning as a result.

With the 12 around 1 matrix, we find the origins of a superstition linking 13 people at the Last Supper - 12 disciples around Jesus, his death creating bad luck, until he returns.

It was suggested by Charles A. Platt writing in 1925 that the reason 13 is considered unlucky is that a person can count from 1-12 with their 8 fingers, two thumbs and 2 feet, but not beyond that, so the number 13 is unknown, hence frightening, hence unlucky. (HUH? - I come up with a count of 20 - Charles must have had a frightening deformity if he only had 12 digits between both hands and feet!!!! LOL!)

In Scotland, there is no gate 13 in any airport, instead there is a gate 12B.

Inside of the German Lufthansa planes row numbers go straight from 12 to 14.

Some tall buildings have resorted to skipping the "thirteenth floor", either by numbering it "14" or as "12a".

Some streets do not contain a house number 13.

In some forms of motor sport, for example Formula One, there is no number 13 car.

In many cultures, getting married on any day of the week that falls under number 13 is highly discouraged.

There is a superstition that should thirteen sit at a table to dine, one will die in the next year. This prompted the formation of The Thirteen Club to debunk it.

The Code of Hammurabi, a collection of laws created ca. 1760 BC, does not contain a thirteenth law.

The Apollo 13 spacecraft malfunctioned after being launched on April 11th at 13:13 CST, forcing it to return to Earth without a landing on the moon and imperiling its crew.

(All info gathered from Crystalinks.com)

Well enough of that and onto today's card - Another CAS (Clean and Simple) one.

Very quick and very easy. Stay tuned for a tutorial next week on making the 3-d stamp.

Gotta run - need to be off to work now.

Have a great "blessed" day. I for one don't believe in luck - for there is only one God (no Loki) and He is in control.

Jill

CELEBRATING INDIVIDUALISM

*** NOTICE: ****I am resending this post today. Apparently only the 10 people I originally signed up to receive email notices received this. Unfortunately all of my readers who signed up through Feedblitz did not get their email. So if you are receiving this twice - please be patient until we get the problem corrected. Thanks.****

Whenever I post a card - whether here or on my Splitcoaststampers gallery - I always enjoy reading the comments that my readers/viewers leave behind. Many of my blog readers send private email comments rather than leave them on the blog and make suggestions on how they think I could improve my work. I LOVE THOSE COMMENTS!!!!! But I'm never really sure how to proceed because one person will tell me they feel there is too much bling or embellishment and the next person will tell me that they love the added extras! THAT dear friends is what is so wonderful about people! Each of us is unique - with our own preferences and attitudes - but when we combine our ideas and thoughts we learn and better ourselves (and in the case of crafting - our creations)! In the end, while I do try to make my cards attractive to the people getting them or viewing them, I make them to please MY eye. Any piece of artwork, whether a card, scrapbook page, quilt, photograph, or painting is an expression of the artist's preferences and personality. That is why I always try to encourage each of you to gather information and ideas from my blog - but then to go from there and create your own works of art - and yes, a card is definitely a work of art!





Today's card was made using this weeks color challenge on Splitcoaststampers. Always Artichoke, Rose Red and Black. And for those of you who prefer plain cards to embellished ones - this card is for you.

SUPPLIES
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Basic Black, Rose Red, Whisper White
Stamps: SU!Natural Beauty, SU!Small Script
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Red Brads

I hope you enjoyed the post today and will get busy creating your "masterpiece". I would love to see it when you've finished so leave a comment with a link or simply email me a photo.

Have a great day!

Jill

TOTALLY MALE

I played around with a new technique today and as I was working on this card I just wasn't sure I was going to like the result - but I was WRONG!!! I love it. I don't see that it looks like leather exactly (the technique name is FAUX LEATHER) but I definitely like the rugged, rough texture and the deep earthy colors I chose. I generally find masculine cards a challenge - but this one came out elegant yet totally male. It does take a little while to complete - tearing the small pieces of masking tape is time consuming - but the end result is worth it don't you think???

Supplies

Very Vanilla Cardstock

Chocolate Chip Cardstock

Masking Tape

More Mustard Ink Pad

Pumpkin Pie Ink Pad

Close to Cocoa Ink Pad

Chocolate Chip Ink Pad

Basic Black Ink Pad

Nature's Silhouette Stamp Set

Itty Bitty Backgrounds Stamp Set

Gold Brads

Raffia

UTEE

Acorn Buttons

It's Saturday - so once you've finished the house work and errands you absolutely HAVE to do today - take the rest of the day off! Take time to play today - play with your children, your spouse, your pets, your friends - because while our creative play time is important AND necessary to our well-being, NOTHING is more important than the people you love and the relationships you build with them.

Thanks for visiting today.

Jill

IF LIFE'S A BOWL OF CHERRIES...

...you know the rest I'm sure. I love the look of cherries in a bowl. So red and shiny - and soooo tempting. Maybe it wasn't an apple in the Garden of Eden - could it have been a smaller, much more tasty fruit - a cherry perhaps???? Makes MY mouth water just thinking about it!

This card uses an adorable little image by Karen Lockhart and though they are not in a bowl this cute country colander filled with cherries brings to mind family trips to Kentucky to visit my mother's relatives. One of my great-aunts was always out in her kitchen baking pies, cutting homemade noodles, and frying up that great Southern style fried chicken - such great memories!

The large image on the card was created by sketching a "dead" tree then stamping Pretty in Pink, Cameo Coral, Real Red, Kiwi Kiss and Old Olive around the branches with SU!'s Itty Bitty Backgrounds smallest dotted stamp. The sky was lightly sponged with Sky Blue and the tree and ground with Certainly Celery and Kiwi Kiss. I added grass with an SU! Old Olive Marker.

To color the cherries I used three shades of SU!markers (Bravo Burgundy, Real Red, Pretty in Pink) on WC paper. The colander was colored the same way using Brilliant Blue, Ballet Blue and Bashful Blue. The leaves are two shades of green (Old Olive, Mellow Moss). After cutting out the image I added Crystal Effects to the cherries to give them a more "juicy" and inviting appearance.

The background paper is a retired paper from SU! called Summer Picnic which is matted onto a piece of Old Olive cardstock. Originally I planned to use the flip side of the Designer paper which is light blue with cherries all over it - but it was too busy and distracted from the images.

The layout is very simple but I like it. It keeps the focus on the images - and Karen's image is too cute to hide! Thanks for visiting today and don't forget to check out the Lockhart Stamp Company to see more of her work.

Jill

AN IRISH BLESSING

I'm not Irish - and it's not St. Patrick's Day - so why a card in green with an Irish Blessing? Because this is what my hands created - all by themselves - with no plan or reason. This actually started out to have a beautiful, bright and cheery lily image as the focal point. Truly.

I started with the main image and a sketch (which can be seen HERE) by Laurie Schmidlin whose wonderful blog is Just Give Me Stamps. I decided to back the main image in Handsome Hunter because the stems and leaves had this color in them. Then I built the card from there. When I was finished I had this wonderful monochromatic card with a bright, colorful image and I HATED it. That's when I went online to find a verse about butterflies and found this Irish Blessing. Since the entire card without the image was green what better choice could there be right?




All products used on this card are from Stampin'Up! with the exception of the half pearls and the scallop punch.


Recipe
Handsome Hunter Cardstock
Very Vanilla Cardstock
Butterflies - cut out from Afternoon Tea Designer Paper (retired)
Small Sayings Stamp Set (small butterfly)
Handsome Hunter Ink
White Gel Pen
Half Pearls in 2 sizes
Martha Stewart Scallop Punch


Thanks for visiting today. Remember to take time to play and don't get discouraged if your first attempt doesn't come out right - just take it apart, change the element you don't like and save the original to repurpose at a later time. You might still see those lillies at some point in the future!


Jill

SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

...and I can hardly wait!!!! We have had snow on the ground almost everyday since November 30th! I'm definitely ready to see the lovely Spring shades of green, yellow, pink and purple when I step out my front door. With that in mind my card for today is a "think Spring" kind of card.

It was inspired by this photo from Room Service Home - an online company that sells home furnishing products. How I found this company was through Splitcoast's Inspiration Challenge. My first thought when I saw the photo was how lovely the colors in the roses on the candles are and I was prepared to stamp and color a rose in those shades. Then I noticed the blurred chair in the background. Such beautiful, soft Spring colors - and looks so similar to SU!'s retired Best Blossoms set - which I just happen to have. That pretty much settled it for me! The chair would be my inspiration piece.

I started by coloroing the leaves from the BB set with markers in Mellow Moss then lightly touched the edges in Old Olive. When I want soft colors I will lightly mist the stamp before stamping the image - which is what I did here. Then I reinked the stamp, misted again and stamped again. I repeated this process with the blossom image from the set using Pretty in Pink with a little Cameo Coral in the center of each blossom.

The bird is an image from SU!'s Natures Best set and was colored with Koh-I-Noor pencils and blended with Mineral Spirits. I cut out the bird and popped him into place on the background with a dimensional.

Once the bird was in place I stamped a few more blossoms, cut them out and popped them up with dimensionals too. I made a bow from a beautiful, ivory ribbon the inserted this gorgeous green pearlized brad into the center, then place the bow onto a bed of "leaves" created with the Martha Stewart Branches punch.

Sharon Johnson who writes the No Time to Stamp blog has a challenge going on for Spring-themed cards entitled "Cabin Fever". Why don't you join us and show us your beautiful colors of Spring?

There is one more item I would like to share today. This is a scrapbook page I created about an adorable little guy - my great-nephew Zachary. Isn't he the cutest??? This page is an all digital layout - no muss, no fuss.

Thanks for taking some time from your busy weekend to visit. Hope you enjoyed stopping in and that you were encouraged to "play".

Have a great Sunday.

Jill