Shaped Cards? Oh mannnnnn....

I just don't *do* shaped cards. Engineering and me are not besties.  But my resolution to play along in all the Jingle Belles challenges means you'll see at least one a year, and here it is!  ;) I also kept Vicki's Only Words challenge in mind.

Supplies: stamps from Autumn Leaves; classic small oval Nesties; Distress inks in Festive Berries and Broken China; Versamark and clear EP; red rhinestones; Wink of Stella clear glitter pen; crochet mat by me 

The stamps are from one of my oldest stamp sets - I remember buying them from eBay. They're probably ten plus years old, and they don't cling well anymore. I inked the sentiment with Versamark and then the Festive Berries ink so I could emboss it. The blue swirls and edge of the oval panel are traced with the Wink of Stella pen for some subtle sparkle. 

To make the card base I used the largest oval die, and aligned it over the fold to leave about 1" uncut as the 'hinge.' That's about as challenging as I get ;)

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #281

Good morning! And welcome to Tuesday Morning Sketches' annual Anything Goes challenge! No sketch this week, but we want to see you stretch your creative wings - try a new technique, do something to challenge yourself :) I decided to make an ornament. A sweet friend surprised me a few weeks ago with an impromptu trip to the spa (facial massage? OH YES) and a cute manicure kit packaged in a jar. This piece of fabric was used to decorate the jar, and I thought "I have to make something with that for a thank you!"

Supplies: fabric; thin grosgrain ribbon (Offray); LOVE sticker from Simple Stories; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crochet mat by me

I began by choosing a mat, and then cut the fabric circle to nestle inside. I fiddled & fiddled with what else to add, and finally settled on just the simple LOVE.

This challenge is open for two weeks, until January 4th - hop on over & see what the design team has created for you! 

Debbie

Jenee 

Kris 

Melissa

Nina

xoxo,

Jessi

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - V is for...

Vintage! One of those truly timeless trends - vintage is always in style! The Snarky Sisters want to see you get your vintage on with us this time around :) These clip art sets from Crafty Secrets are perfect for a quick card:

Supplies: Crafty Secrets photo clip & sentiment; patterned paper from MME; Tonic edge distresser; buttons from stash; crocheted mat by me 

It's been a week. And I am very thankful for all my friends - including those that are in the computer :)

You are going to love the variety the sisters have come up with for you!

Barb

Chris

Donna

Karen

Lee

Lindsey

Lynne 

Michelle

You've got until Friday, December 12th, to join in with us! 

And don't forget to stop by and leave our guest designer LINDA some love!

xoxo,

Jessi

Babies EVERYWHERE!

Babies and weddings, they seem to come all at once, don't they? There've been a whole bunch of new little people welcomed into the world lately, and I've got a whole bunch of baby cards to show you. How perfect that Little Red Wagon is having an "Oh, Baby" themed challenge this week!

Supplies: papers & elements from Echo Park; Timeless Twine; AC Thickers letter stickers; home made enamel dots; Corner Chomper

The banners & 'little man' element were part of a piece of patterned paper, fussy cut to add some dimension. 

Supplies: sentiment from PTI; Memento Gray Flannel ink; die cut train border from K &Co

Supplies: Papers from Doodlebug; stickers from Basic Grey; classic small circle Nesties

I'm particularly excited about this card, because the circle cut out was a piece of scrap paper & I made it into an "on purpose" element. Yay!

Supplies: Baby Love sticker from Basic Grey; papers from MME; Corner Chomper; classic small and lacy circle Nesties; Crochet Mat (available here)

Another scrap card - the striped piece of paper is missing a corner, and I just arranged my layout around it :) 

Supplies: stamps from PTI; Spiced Marmalade distress ink; classic small circle Nesties; buttons from stash

You surely know by now that any time I go on a baby card binge, there are gonna be buttons :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Shopping our Stash #167 - Don't Crimp My Style!

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please scroll down or click here. Thanks!!**

Er, or, maybe yes, crimp my style? lol! This week at Shopping our Stash we want you to include a crimped element - use a paper crimper, corrugated cardboard/paper, or ric-rac. 

I could have SWORN I had some corrugated metallic papers in my stash. I dug through everything and conceded defeat. And then I cut the flap off of one of my storage boxes by my desk. Have x-acto blade, will deface :) Because I knew this was going to be a big fat embellished card, I decided to make it 5.25" square so it can be delivered in a little box.

Supplies: Mainly scraps or stash - lace, buttons, canvas, cardboard, vellum. May Arts cream twine; Spellbinders butterfly dies; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crocheted mat by me

I peeled one side of the paper off the cardboard to expose the corrugated bits, and tore it to about the right size for the background piece. So that all the stitching didn't show on the inside of the card, I assembled everything just on the canvas piece and then glued THAT to the card base when I was finished. 

The crocheted mat had a glaring white middle next to the creams & browns, so I cut a piece of vellum to soften it. It's held in place by the stitches in the centre holding the butterflies, button, and bow. 

Since this is a non-standard card shape, I'm also entering it over at the JUGs Wild Card challenge!

So, if you'd like to crimp your own style, join us before next Monday, September 8th!

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

 Chana

Barb (off this week)

xoxo,

Jessi

Doodle Pantry Lily

Here's my entry for the current Doodle Pantry challenge and the Spring Flowers challenge at Simon Says Wednesday challenge!

Supplies: Doodle Pantry digi stamp lily; Bic markers; PTI sentiment; Barn Door distress ink; crochet mat; yellow crushed velvet flock from Doodlebug; red rhinestones

I printed out two copies of the lily so that I could pop up the blooms after colouring. I also added some flocking for pollen, lol. Lilies are actually one of my worst allergies, but I do love how they look. From a distance!

xoxo,

Jessi

I love hanging out with you!

Just a couple more Valentines to share with you for this year - although I will definitely be keeping up with the 'friend love' cards that I've been making, and making sure I'm mailing them too!

Supplies: paper & die cut card from K&Co; lacy oval Nesties; bling strips from Dollarama; crochet mat by me 

The entire pad of patterned paper has a cool shaped edge, so I trimmed it to allow that edge to show on my card....and then covered it up a bit. lol! For all the fussiness of the end result, this was a very quick card - I crochet the mats in bunches, rather than making one specifically for each card.

Popping this in over at The Pink Elephant for their Valentine challenge!

xoxo,
Jessi

Doodle Pantry Peacock

This card turned out to be fairly simple - once I had the peacock all gussied up, it just didn't feel like playing with a sentiment or patterned paper. It wanted to be the star!

Supplies: pre-coloured peacock digi stamp from Doodle Pantry; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crochet mat by me; Liquid Pearls in Avocado & blue; Tumbled Glass distress stickles; yellow glitter glue 

Since I didn't have the precise colours to match the green, I used a piece of plastic packaging to mix together a small amount of Avocado LP and yellow glitter glue, and then applied with a toothpick. The blue dots on the tail are 'pure' blue LP, and the details on the wing & cheeks were done by mixing together the blue LP & stickles & applying with a toothpick. It had the rather odd effect of dulling the sparkle, but I think the overall look is neat!

I'm fairly certain this is also my first time using the partial die-cutting technique - perhaps I'll get brave enough to try it again :)

Entering this in the monthly challenge over at Doodle Pantry :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Merry Monday Chickadee

Well! This Merry Monday challenge was quite the challenge - this is the 3rd version of this card (the other 2 were never finished due to UGHness, lol)

Supplies: Inkadinkado chickadee stamp; Stampin Up tree stamp; Brushed Corduroy & Barn Door distress inks; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; ribbon from stash; Corner Chomper; crochet mat by me

xoxo,
Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #232 - Me!

Well look at that, it's Tuesday again! Time for a new sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and the sponsor this week is me :) With Valentine's Day approaching, I'm offering the winner 12 crocheted circle mats in Valentine colours:

This is also TWIST WEEK, which means for a chance to be our handpicked winner, you will need to follow the sketch AND the twist, which is MONOCHROMATIC.

Supplies: PTI sentiment; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Cuttlebug embossing folders; Versamark & white detail EP; classic small & lacy circles Nesties; Martha Stewart clay kit flower; crochet mat by me

How are there so many different shades of white? Boggles my mind sometimes. I used vellum for the circle & the banner to tie them together, and added the embossing to add yet another shade of white. 

Here's the sketch:

This sketch is open until next Sunday, January 19th - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Kris

Melissa

xoxo,
Jessi

Flourishes Release Challenge

By now I guess you all know I can't pass up a chance to win Flourishes stamps...although my heart sank a little when I saw it was a shaped card challenge. ACK THAT'S HARD! But not only did I stick with it, I even decorated the inside. Go me!

Definitely a challenge to photograph this card, since it didn't want to cooperate by standing up.

Supplies: Flourishes' Dahlia stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black & Gray Flannel inks; Milled Lavender distress ink; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; classic small & lacy ovals; crochet mat by me

After colouring the dahlias, I added Dimensional Magic to the vases for a bit of shine, and lightly sponged the edges of the oval panel with Milled Lavender ink. 

For the inside of the card, I stamped the same dahlia image with Milled Lavender ink, and stamped the sentiment in Gray Flannel. I think that this card is going to head out to my little sister :)

This Flourishes challenge ends tomorrow, so still some time to give a shaped card a try! 

xoxo,

Jessi

Chickadee Noel

Chickadees are one of my favourite birds - they are just such fun little creatures, and they always seem so happy. They're also quite friendly, at least around here, and if you have something they'd like to eat, they'll land right on your hand! I've made quite a few versions of this card this year, but I think it's the first I've blogged. Popping it in over at CAS on Sunday - Christmas challenge.

Supplies: chickadee stamp from Impression Obsession; noel from PTI; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Peeled Paint distress ink; classic small & lacy oval Nesties; Bic markers; Sakura Stardust glitter pen; Stampendous fun flock; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; crochet mat by me 

I've added glitter pen to the ornament hanger & sentiment, and glossed up the ball part of the ornament. After colouring the chickadee, I added Fun Flock to all the white areas, because they are just so FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE (um, Despicable Me reference. It's early in the morning). 

I'll be mass blogging pretty much the whole week trying to get everything shared! I've been a busy crafter plus I'm trying to avoid housework as long as possible...

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #227 - Stamp Fairy!

Good morning! Before I get to my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, I've got to tell you - I am so far behind on commenting that I am going to scrub my bloglovin feed & start fresh. I've been behind for weeks, and then on Friday our computer monitor died....we've got a new one, but that feed has snowballed out of control. And it's December. I can't handle one more thing to feel behind about!

Now onto the fun stuff :) Stamp Fairy is our sponsor this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches, and I chose this adorable tangled Santa to work with! Check it out:

Supplies: Santa image from Stamp Fairy; patterned paper scraps; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Stampendous Fun Flock; Liquid Applique; Mod Podge Dimensional Magic; Tumbled Glass distress ink; classic small & lacy circles; crochet mat

When using so many different textured products, it's really important to consider how they will interact - Dimensional Magic does NOT like to be heated (it cracks). And Fun Flock will stick to anything wet. So after colouring this adorable little Santa, I added the Liquid Applique snow, let it dry, and heated it. Then I added the DM to the lightbulbs, and let it dry overnight. Finally, I added the Fun Flock to his hat & jacket cuffs. 

Here's the fabulous sketch (I love how it looks like a present!)

This sketch is open until next Sunday, December 8th - be sure to hop around & see what the rest of the team created!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Kris

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Thank you!

One of these days (ha, stop laughing!) I'm going to organize myself so that I don't binge-post. Not really. But it's nice to think that someday I might be that sorted out.

Happy Thanksgiving to my American pals - I hope you're all having a wonderful day enjoying your holiday traditions with the folks you love!

I've got a thank you card to share first today - this time of year I tend to create ALL THE CHRISTMAS CARDS ALL THE TIME and neglect my stash for other occasions...so this week I've been working hard on making everything BUT Christmas cards. (insert whine here...I just want to play with snowmen!)

Supplies: paper from Fancy Pants; Tumbled Glass distress ink; Versamark & clear EP; Stampendous sentiment; pearl strips from Dollarama; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; crochet mat

Entering this in a couple of Thank You themed challenges:

Andrea's Savvy Handmade Cards - until December 3
Crafty Creations Challenges - until December 3

Be right back (naturally) with some more cards :)
xoxo,
Jessi

CASology #71 - BELL

Where has the week gone? Crazy! Yep, I pretty much took a week off of everything - lots of naps, wearing jammies, reading, and more naps. It was awesome. I'm not sure that I'm done quite yet ;)

I have a card to share for this week's CASology prompt, BELL. I LOVE bells on Christmas cards!

Supplies: Sentiment from PTI; Versamark; Stampendous Pirate Gold EP; gold glitter paper from Colorbok; Bells from Dollarama; classic small & lacy oval Nesties; crocheted mat by me 

I used a needle & thread to string the bells together, and tie them around one of the loops on the crocheted mat. The thread was then pulled  taut & taped to the back of the mat so the bells would stay put.  And I'm going to need more of this glitter paper!

xoxo,
Jessi

Drunken Stampers #149 - Thing - Chipboard

I made my first card for today's Drunken Stampers challenge to use chipboard, and then I thought I would challenge myself to use the same Christmas-themed package of printed chipboard to make a non-holiday card. (pats self on back)

Supplies: paper & chipboard from Prima; Webster's Pages lace; Liquid Pearls 

I just doodled with the Liquid Pearls around the elements on the patterned paper, and added a little bit to the lace. Ta-da!

Supplies: paper & chipboard from Prima; lacy circle Nesties - mat crocheted by me 

Lots of layers & texture!

Come play with us up until next Friday night, November 15th. And don't forget to go see what my fellow Yellow Canaries have created for you:

Barb - Barb's Creative Corner

Donna - Challenge Host - Yellow Dog Greetings

Jacki - Scullduggery

Jessi - that's me!

Lindsey - Bashful Blogging

Lynne - Scrapbook Lynne's

Vicki - The Cheerful Stamp Pad

xoxo,

Jessi

Tuesday Morning Sketches #221 - me!

I am so excited - I am  the sponsor this week at Tuesday Morning Sketches :)  As you might guess, that means crochet mats! I've been meaning to update my sale page with the new colours I have available, and today's as good a day as any. My favourite is white - it goes with everything! - but I now have white, cream, rose pink, chocolate brown AND red, KRAFT (woot!), black, sage green, butter yellow, and variegated blue. I am still on the lookout for more colours (especially neon) but if you have a request let me know, and I'll see what I can find!

Here's the prize for the winner this week:

2 ovals and 2 small circles each in these colours - black, white, kraft, red, and cream.

I also designed this week's sketch - I find this one of my go-to layouts, and it works for a fun or a pretty card - I went with pretty :)

Supplies: papers from MME; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Versamark & white detail EP; sentiment from PTI; floral silhouette from Inkadinkado; crochet mat by me :)

Here's the sketch:

This sketch will be open until next Sunday, October 27th. Don't forget to check out what everyone else made - I am in love with them!

Angela

Bonnie

Debbie

Jenee

Laura 

Melissa

xoxo,

Jessi

Keep it Simple - all is white!

My sweet friend Barb is the October guest designer for Keep it Simple!, and I had to play along - this challenge is new to me :)  Since I'd just made my previous card for the Flourishes challenge, I had crocheted mats on the brain & used one here too:

Supplies: Stamps all from PTI; Versamark; Stampendous white detail EP; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Memento Gray Flannel ink; classic small & lacy oval Nesties; white mulberry paper; crocheted mat by me

After stamping & embossing the pretty damask label, I cut out around it, leaving a small border around the edge. I was really liking the different textures, and wanted just one more layer - lucky there was a piece of white mulberry paper in my stash. White on white cards are so hard to photograph (and uh, keep clean, if you're "inky fumble fingers" when you work like I am!) but so, so elegant!

There are still 2 days left to play in Keep it Simple's All is White challenge - come on, you know you wanna :)

xoxo,

Jessi

Flourishes Lace & Pearls

So the current (for a couple more hours) Flourishes challenge to use Lace & Pearls was kind of a challenge - not so much because I wasn't sure what to use, but I had too many ideas. I think just about every set I own by Flourishes works well for this theme! Anyhow, I went with Dahlias, and one of my crocheted mats:

Supplies: Dahlias stamp set from Flourishes; Memento Gray Flannel ink; Bic & Spectrum Noir markers; Prismacolor pencils; gingham paper from MME; sentiment from PTI; pearl strips from Dollarama; classic small & lacy oval Nesties; crocheted mat by me

I'm trying to practice colouring a bit, and I really find using markers to lay down the base colour, and Prismacolor pencils to shade makes it easier for me. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out!

xoxo,
Jessi

Moxie Fab Smooches!

The Anything Goes challenge at Paper Smooches SPARKS again...I know...is there Paper Smooches rehab? I've used one of my crocheted mats on this card as well, so I'm including it in the General Craft Supplies challenge at Moxie Fab World. 

Supplies: Paper Smooches stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Antique Linen Distress ink; classic small & lacy circle Nesties; Bic Markers; black rhinestones from Dollarama; crocheted mat by me (available here)

I got a little carried away with the rhinestones, but bling. Come on. Is there ever too much? :)

Hmmm, let's see....I haven't chatted much lately because I've been feeling pretty crummy, but the last few days I've finally been feeling a little more human. I applied to several craft fairs (and was accepted! yay!) and so my mojo is kicking into overdrive getting ready for those. I'm so incredibly grateful for friends (both in the computer and in real life) who have talked me off my virtual ledge so many times in the last little while.

And a shameless Facebook plug - I've found (after deleting that folder of photos a few weeks ago) that I have more cards to share than I'm blogging. For the most part, if you 'like' One Crafty Mama Cards on Facebook, you'll be seeing cards that won't be on the blog.

xoxo,
Jessi