Squeak!

Down to 7 hours left - I thought I could get another card in for the Young Crafters Unite button challenge that ends today. Woot! Got it in :)

Supplies: papers from Fancy Pants;
buttons from stash

Well, that was a short supply list! The owl scene is on a piece of paper designed to include birth info, which I didn't want to use. Enter a scrap full of fun baby-related words, and voila. The buttons are from a jar that I got from a friend a couple of years ago when she (gasp) gave up scrapbooking, and matched the colours in the paper perfectly. 

Still hot & humid here - although we're supposedly expecting rain, the humidity is down below 70%. Seems strange to regard that as a break, but I'll take it compared to the 90+ we seem to be stuck with. It's hot enough that poor Abby, panting at my feet, is panting hard enough to shake the computer table. Time for some more ice cubes for her. We made a big cube with milk bones in it (saw it on FB ages ago) - she loved it, even though the bones came out a little mushy. She didn't care! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Last-minute entries & inspired by Lindsey!

I was definitely flattered to see that I was in the top 3 over at Inspired By Stampin' Inspiration Challenge for last week's sketch  - I knew I wanted to play along with the inspiration photo this week, but for some reason I just couldn't get an idea going until this morning. There are only 7 hours left in the challenge - hey, still lots of time! IBSIC has a bit of a different take for their inspiration challenges - they provide a photo, and some guidance as well. Here's the inspiration photo:

And the directions: This week we have a Garden Theme for the challenge. Please use Pink, Green and Creams as your main colors.

I knew I wanted to use this particular rose sticker - it just took me some time to bring it all together.

Supplies: rose sticker from PSX;
all papers from Bo Bunny;
standard & lacy circle Nesties;
Peeled Paint distress ink;
Hero Arts sentiment

The cream circle is on a layer of foam tape, and the pink is on another. If you have time in the next 7 hours (or so, lol), check out this challenge at IBSIC - and stay tuned for the new one, posted Thursday.

And talk about mulling over a design for a long time - the Young Crafters Unite button challenge (#12) has been open for weeks, and I kept adding buttons to cards that were for other challenges. This morning, I was adamant that I would make a new card, with a button frame - something I love to do. What popped into my head was this really lovely card that Lindsey at Bashful Blogging posted on Monday, clean & simple tulips. I love how she embossed the tulips in white, and kept a white border around the main panel, and I included that in my card. Thanks for the inspiration, Lindsey :)

Supplies: tulips stamp from PSX;
Versamark & white EP (Stampendous);
Dusty Concord distress ink (for envelope & inked edges);
standard circle Nesties;
corner rounder; purple buttons from stash

Because I sew my button frames, I wanted to do that on an extra layer of card stock to hide the back of the stitching. Once I was done, I trimmed the edges carefully & rounded the corners of the panel, and inked the edges directly with the ink pad. The panel is then glued directly to the card base.

There are 10 hours left for the Young Crafters Unite challenge, so hardly last minute at all! Actually, that's enough time that I might end up being able to come up with another card...stay tuned :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Last minute scramble times four!

For some reason, challenges that end mid-week just don't compute in my brain! So here are last minute entries for 4 different challenges:
Inspired By #27 - ends tonight
Inspired by Stamping Inspiration Challenge #12 - ends tonight
Young Crafters Unite Challenge - which ends Friday, not today like I'd written down...
Yes, Virginia, I'm Inspired (which I missed the deadline for, so 'after the last minute?')

Swear to peanuts, I might actually be organized about SOME things.

Stop laughing.

Seriously, guys!

OK, so I'll start with Inspired by #27, where we're to create something inspired by this photo:

I was primarily inspired by the colours (yellow and lime green), but also by the lovely sugar sparkles.

Supplies: floral stamp from Inkadinkado; sentiment from Studio G;
Adirondack Citrus dye ink; Mustard Seed distress ink;
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter;
Sakura Stardust glitter pen

I dabbed Dimensional Magic onto the flowers with a toothpick, and then sprinkled glitter over them. The DM dries raised (like glossy accents) so it has more dimension than using glitter glue. I used the glitter pen over the stamped sentiment, and then inked the edges of the card with the Citrus ink pad. 

Tammy  introduced me to the IBSIC Challenges, and wasn't I lucky enough to be part of their top 3 last week? (Squeal! Does winning things ever get boring? I don't see it.) This week's challenge is a sketch, and here it is:

Supplies: chickie stamp & yellow fun flock from Stampendous;
Palette Noir ink;
sentiment stamp from Hero Arts;
brads from Basic Grey; washi tape from K & Co;
embossing folder from Cuttlebug;
star stickers from stash

Fluffy! Pet it!

This card does double-duty for Young Crafters Unite and Virginia's challenge - I used flowers for YCU, and rainbow colours for Virginia's challenge.

Supplies: Colorbox Frost White pigment ink; white EP;
Tsukineko Psst shimmer spray;
TAC sentiment; London Fog memento ink; assorted gems;
flower stamp from Stampin' Up;
distress inks: Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed,
Peeled Paint, Broken China, Dusty Concord;
Sakura Stardust glitter pen

Stardust pen along bottom edge of card, and the word 'whimsy'

Having endured the mother of all homework sessions - I'm ready for bed, and it's only 8 PM. Having two kids experiencing homework meltdowns at the same time...no. I don't recommend it. Especially don't recommend the part when, distracted by the children freaking out I ignored the dog's single solitary warning bark before she peed...on unfinished wood flooring by the back door.

Yeah, is it bedtime yet? Ah, it's all over & cleaned up now.

xoxo,

Jessi

No colouring allowed!

Oh, this challenge is one after my own heart...I'm not at all confident about my colouring skills, and I'm too big a fan of instant gratification to practice often. The current Young Crafters Unite! challenge (#9) is right up my alley. The challenge rules permit three entries per person, and I thought I'd put all of mine in the same post. You've got until May 15th to join in with your own projects that have no colouring.

Check out the challenge HERE!

I chose different 'not-colouring' techniques for my cards: first, stamping with coloured ink.

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Piccadilly;"
crocheted mat by me (using Lacy Circle nestie);
floral die-cut from K & Co;
silhouette stamp from Inkadinkado; 'Mom' from Paper Smooches;
Faded Jeans distress ink

 Second, not using stamps!

Supplies: patterned paper & stick pin from K & Co;
Antique Linen crackle paint;
vellum stained glass from Hot Off the Press;
button from Basic Grey;
seam binding from girls paperie;
greeting stamp from Gina K; Vintage Photo distress ink

 Third, embossing:

Supplies: papers all from Basic Grey "hello luscious;"
stamps from Paper Smooches;
Versamark & white EP;
lace piece (trimmed in half) from girls paperie;
resin flower from May Arts;
scalloped edges made with corner rounder;
white Liquid Pearls

xoxo,

Jessi

Challenges abound!

I've got more challenge cards to share tonight, so I'll get right to it.
First up is a card for two challenges: Tuesday Morning Sketches, and Crafty Creations Challenges. Lindsey at Bashful Blogging suggested that I join up at Crafty Creations Challenges, which has Flower Power as its challenge this week (open until Tuesday!). Thanks, Lindsey!
Tuesday Morning Sketches #141 has this sketch this week (open until Sunday):

Because this is the monthly judged challenge, there's an extra twist for the sketch: Think Spring! And more than anything (except mud, and I am NOT putting that on a card until it's out of my yard) FLOWERS say Spring to me.

Supplies: papers all from My Mind's Eye;
mesh tape from Barb;
sentiment from Paper Smooches;
Versamark & white EP;
pearls & rhinestones from the dollar store;
flowers quilled by me

My next card is for the Young Crafters Unite #8 - Sewing. That challenge is open until April 15 (Sunday). I used letter stickers as a template for the piercing for the sentiment. 

Supplies: papers from Basic Grey "Piccadilly;"
Bo Bunny letter stickers;
die-cut borders from Doodlebug;
ribbon rose from Offray

It's been a while since I participated over at Young Crafters Unite, so I'm glad to be back at it!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see what's up at Playing in Paradise this week :)

xoxo,

Jessi

YCU #5 - CAS? Yikes!

You know that CAS is not my go-to style, right? It's haaaaaaard. (you must read that in your head as a super whiny teenage voice.)

Link to the challenge post here

But I wanted to participate in the latest Young Crafters Unite challenge, so I persevered. This is the card that earlier in the week I said had taken me 3 days and I wasn't happy with it. Final count was four days.

Supplies: paper from DCWV "Mariposa Mat Stack;"
tulips stamp from PSX; London Fog Memento ink;
sentiment stamp from Inkadinkado;
coloured with Prismacolor pencils & Dove blender

Still not too happy with it - I had a hard time shading the purple pencils, and the London Fog ink was too light for the main image. Whatever. It's a simple, single-layer card that took me more time than some of the most complicated quilling designs I've done. Go figure.

xoxo,

Jessi

Young Crafters Unite Challenge #3 - Masculine Cards!

Since I participated in the Young Crafters Unite masculine blog hop last week, I've been in a 'masculine' card making mood - many of them were similar (bikes, anyone?) to the ones I shared during the hop, so I've got something a little different for today. The deadline for the Masculine Challenge is today, November 15, so if you've got a boy card kicking around upload it now!

Supplies: all papers from Graphic 45 "A Proper Gentleman;"
Old Paper distress ink; clock stamp on envelope from Bo Bunny;
peel-off sentiment; black rhinestones; black embroidery thread

Close-up of the dimension with foam tape & stitching

All the extra clocks were cut out of the remaining patterned paper I used for the card front, and then popped up on single & double layers of foam tape.

And last but not least, check out this post and leave a comment to enter to win some blog candy...I'll be drawing the winner on Wednesday.

xoxo,
Jessi

Young Crafters Unite Blog Hop!

Hello & TGIF! I've got a few cards today to share as part of the Young Crafters Unite masculine cards blog hop. 

To find out more about this new challenge blog, check it out here. This is just the third challenge so far, but already it's quite popular. Something I like about the challenges is that there's several weeks to link up, and everyone is welcome to enter, no matter your age. 


So, if you're following the order of today's hop, you should have come from The Constant Scrapper, Janice Daquila-Pardo. Without further ado, here are my masculine cards:

Supplies: Papers all from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2, "Sunshine;"
 Wild Honey & Vintage Photo distress inks;
'happy birthday' from Hero Arts; tree from Stampin' Up!;
brads from Making Memories

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Wander;"
bicycle stamp from Recollections;
birthday stamp from Hero Arts;
Memento Tuxedo Black ink;
buttons from Basic Grey, yellow buttons from stash

Supplies: papers from My Mind's Eye "Paris & Co;"
sentiment flag cut by hand;
Vintage Photo distress ink; sentiment stamp from Inkadinkado;
sailboat clip art from The Graphics Fairy, printed twice & popped up on foam tape for dimension
bamboo crochet thread for cross stitches

If you get lost or a link doesn't work on the hop, head back over to Young Crafters Unite for the master list & more information. All the posts should be live by noon Central US time. Happy hopping! Head over now to see what Suzanne  has created over at For His Glory, and thanks so much for visiting me :)


xoxo,
Jessi

Young Crafters Unite Challenge #2...#2

Super exhausted from two long {unproductive} days at the Fibre Festival - but wanted to pop in at the last minute to link up another couple of cards to the Young Crafters Unite Challenge #2 - Envelopes to Match party.

Supplies: papers from Martha Stewart;
frankenstein stamp from Studio G (includes sentiment);
Palette Noir ink; Cuttlebug embossing folder (swiped with ink);
Labels 4 Nesties; tombstone button from Dress it Up!

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Sweet Threads;"
sheep & sentiment stamps from Pink Cat Studio;
standard circle Nesties;
sponged with Tumbled Glass distress ink while still in the die;
Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Martha Stewart markers & fineline pen;
Stampendous Fun Flock in Cotton Ball

To be frank, I love Halloween...puns...
The "Thank Ewe" card is actually a set of 6 - all with a matching stamped envelope.
I think I'll be back tomorrow, once I get some sleep! I also got my flu shot on Friday, and that tends to have me dragging for a couple of days.

xoxo,
Jessi

A Challenge Made for Me!

Seriously, when I saw this challenge, how could I NOT enter?

Click here to go to the challenge post!

Decorate the envelope? But of course. Often I just use a narrow piece of matching paper, but for this challenge I thought I'd make sure to do something slightly more elaborate. Since I always make sure to keep the envelope safe for mail delivery if needed, I tend to only decorate the left-hand side. Besides stamping & colouring the little dog, I drew some grass for her to sit on.

Supplies: Papers from We R Memory Keepers "Autumn Splendor;"
buttons from Basic Grey & stash;
Puppy & sentiment from Inkadinkado;
Memento Tuxedo Black ink;
Martha Stewart markers & fine line pen;
burlap recycled from a package of soap!

Now, don't ask me why I didn't just photograph the envelope head-on. I can't answer that.

The kraft circle is popped up on foam tape, and the buttons are sewn on with embroidery thread, and the puppy's eye is paper-pieced.

Since three entries are permitted for this challenge, expect to see two more coming up this week!

xoxo,
Jessi