I {Heart} Vacation!

Pin It

Just a quick share today as I am blogging to you while on the road!  Yep, I'm on vacation!  We are traveling through New England this week (so far New Hampshire and Portland, Maine…  up next: touring the lighthouses along the coast of Maine, a couple of days in Ogunquit, Maine and then on in to Boston!).  This is my favorite part of the world and I am drawn here every October….  One of these days I'll actually live up here!  (fingers crossed!  :)

So, just a couple of pics!

Castle in the Clouds, Moultonborough, NH

Fall color in New Hampshire

A Pug named Popeye in Salem, MA… Think he might've partied a little too hard last night!  :)

Hope your week is going well, too -- I'll try to pop in again in a day or two with some more pics…  :)

Oh, What Tangled Webs We Weave!

Pin It

Good morning!  Welcome to another spook-tacular DeNami Designs blog hop!  This month's theme is Halloween!  You have hopefully found your way here by way of Laura Petruso's swanky blog (you weren't trailed by any ghouls or goblins along the way, were you??), and if you have, then you are on the right track!  :)

Ok, so…  Halloween!  I have mentioned on this blog before that, while I love Halloween, I really, really, really don't like to be scared -- call me a chicken, 'cuz it's true….  Cute and fun Halloween is way more up my alley.  So, I thought what better for a cute and fun Halloween card than a chubby polka-dotted spider?!?

I used my favorite DeNami stamp -- the Circle Scallop Cling Stamp!  (I know, I know…  with all the super-cute designs in the DeNami arsenal, how could this unassuming little guy stand out as a favorite, you ask??  Well, silly, it's 'cuz it's such a versatile stamp!!  Seriously, I use it a lot… and in a lot of different ways!!  And look what a cute little spider it makes!!!  What's not to love?!? :)

{Bonus Footage:  So, at the risk of being labeled crass, I just had to share this next pic…  As I was setting up to take a "detail" shot (I was trying to show the glittery iridescence of my spider's web…), my little Emmitt decided he'd share his own version of "trick or treat" with you, my lovely readers!  Ha!  I guess this is definitely a photo-fail!  :)  }

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope this hop has been a real "thriller!"  I'm about to send you on your way, off to Lani M's "Mutant Scrapbooker" blog (could there be a more perfect blog name for today's theme?!), but before I do, I just wanted to remind you that you'll want to leave comments all along the hop because there will be two lucky commenters who will win mini shopping sprees from DeNami Designs!  :)

Good luck and Happy Hopping!

Think Pink!

Pin It

Hello, friends!  I am popping in tonight with a super-quick share…  And I'm wondering where all of my time has gone lately???  The last few weeks have seemed to pass in a crazy blur and, happily, I am a week away from vacation!  :)  I am still in the process of nailing down last minute plans and itinerary, so there is still WORK to be done!  whew!

But, alas, this is not why you're here!  (Is it???)

The card I'm sharing today is a card made with this month's Breast Cancer Awareness in mind (hence, the pink ribbon!  :)  I love that we take this month to shine a light on those who fight so courageously against this disease that affects so many of our mothers and daughters and sisters and friends…

To those who push onward and just will not accept defeat,
  To those who love and pray and laugh and cry and hold their hands,
    To those work tirelessly to educate us all so we might put an end to all this for good,
       Thank you!

For this card, I stamped an image from a Flourishes set I love called "Zinnias" and colored it with my Copics.  The patterned papers are from October Afternoon's new "Woodland Park" line and sentiment is Hero Arts.

Flourishes:  It's Time to Think Pink!

Copic Oz: Think Pink!  (for this challenge,  $5 for every card entered will go to the McGrath Foundation who do such amazing work supporting those affected by Breast Cancer, generously donated by X-Press Graph-X!  How cool is that?!?!  :)

Retrosketches #32

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are having great week!  :)

Mission: KitPossible

Pin It

Hi!  Welcome back for Round Three of Mission: KitPossible!  As you may recall, my friend Melissa Shea and I have been teaming up the past couple of months to challenge each other to use our Simon Says Stamp card kits…  Well, this month we are at it again…  And with the most challenging kit yet!  Here's a pic of the kit:

So Melissa and I exchanged cues to kickstart our mojo and had at it…  We each made a card using the other's cues and then one using our own…  

Melissa's cues to me:

• Use the chevron circle embellishment!
• Use the Liquid Pearls!
• Use a border punch or other kind of punch!  {note: I confess to inadvertently cheating on this one…  I didn't mean to -- I promise!!  I was working from memory and thought I remembered the cue to be to "use a punch or a die…"  It wasn't till I came to type up this post that I realized my mistake!  ooops!}

So here's my card -- which I really like, by the way!  :)

And my cues were:

• Make a shaped card!
• Use any color of ink other than black!
• Emboss something!

So here's my card -- 

I hope you like these…  I have to tell you I am so thankful for this creative push each month  -- it really forces me to look at (and use) these kits in ways I might not have otherwise!  :)

You'll want to pop by Melissa's blog to see how she has interpreted these cues…  I think she might also have a few "extras" she's already whipped up from this kit, too!  I'll be back in a couple of days with my "extras!"

Till then, here's hoping you are finding some crafty time for yourself, too!  :)

Girly Ghoul

Pin It

Hello and Happy Monday!  :)

Ok, so I love Halloween -- but I really, really, really, really hate being scared (I really, really, really hate it!)…  That's right -- no scary movies, no dark alley ways, no jumping out at me from around a corner --  I'm just not having it!   Sooooo…. that makes Halloween a bit tricky (ha!  how punny am I??)…  I like the idea of Halloween, but appreciate it best when its fun side is played up and its scary side is played down non-existant!  :)

So, on that note, my first Halloween card of the season is just that -- pure fun!  When I first saw this stamp set from The AlleyWay Stamps, I knew I had to get my hands on it!  It is too stinkin' cute!  And I just had to make it a little girlie…  :)  So here it is, my non-traditional take on Halloween!

{Sidenote:   If I have to be wrapped in cloth before I'm buried, will somebody puh-leeease put a big sparkly bow on my head?!?   I would be eternally grateful!  :)  }

This card was inspired by the color board over at The Alley Way Stamps Challenge.  I love the pinks and the greys!  For this card, I colored the mummy with Copics and distress-misted the background.  I was able to tie the color scheme together with some assorted Washi tape from my stash…

Hope you like it…  I always think it's fun to use unexpected colors for holidays that tend to have a pretty "traditional" color scheme.  You'll see me back again with more Halloween cards from this set -- it is too fun!  :)

Till then, holla back at your "ghoul!"  :)    ha!!

Gnome is Where the Heart Is!

Pin It

Hello again!  So last night I shared a card I had made for my new neighbors who just moved in two doors down…  Still haven't met them, but fingers crossed they will turn out to be pretty cool!

Tonight, I am popping in to share the farewell card I gave to my neighbors who just moved away.  So sad to see them go…  it has been fun getting to know them over the last several years….

This one is a paper-pieced bit of classic Lawn Fawn (I don't know why, but every time I think of Lawn Fawn, it's this set that springs immediately to mind!  :)  I totally love the Glossy Accents on the mushroom house -- kinda reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the gobs of sweets those naughty kids were scooping out of all different kinds of plants -- don't ask me why!!  :)

I even used the squiggly line to create my clouds…  see??

Anyway, this one is inspired by the "Getting Texty With It" challenge over at Lawnscaping… (and on that note, I want to give a personal shout-out to the über-fab Melissa Shea, who will be joining the Lawnscaping Design Team in October!  Way to go, Melissa -- go on wit yo bad self!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed it…  Next up from me is a non-traditional Halloween project that has had me "wrapped up" for a couple of days!  Ha!  :)  See you then!

Tag! You're It!

Pin It

Hello!  (and long time no blog, eh?)  Well, it has indeed been a few days since my last post, but that doesn't mean I haven't been gettin' my crafty on!!!  I have several new projects I will be sharing over the next couple of days -- promise!  :)

I wanted to pop in tonight to share a card I made for my new neighbors a couple of doors down to be accompanied by a batch of my famous (!) Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies {if I can stand to part with them when I see their golden brown gooey-ness emerge piping hot from the oven!! }).

But I digress.

Let me start by saying I have the best neighbors.  And we have the coolest quarter-of-a-block in our whole neighborhood.  Seriously.  I really lucked out five years ago when I bought this house (oh my goodness…  as I write this, I'm realizing that today is actually my fifth anniversary here in La Casa de Jen!!  :)

But I digress.  Again.

All of that is to say that my new neighbors have some big shoes to fill!  Hope they're as cool as my friends that moved!  (fingers crossed!)

Ok, let's get to it!  I wanted to make a welcome to the neighborhood card and was inspired by the current challenge over at A Blog Named Hero -- to use a tag in your project!  My tag started out plain white and I distressed the bejeezus out of it using my Distress markers to create the sunset.  All stamps used are Hero Arts, the house is colored with Copics, and there is Glossy Accents on the windows!

  

I hope you like it... (I have decided that I better keep improving at this paper-crafting thing or count on keeping my day job, 'cuz bricklaying is not one of my God-given talents!!!!  :)   I'll be back tomorrow to share the card I made to say goodbye to the neighbors who left!  Until then…  Tag!  You're It!  :)

"Like" It or Leaf It!

Pin It

Hello, my friends!  I have been out of town for the past week, away on business, but am happily back home now and looking forward to some serious crafty time!  I just have a quick post tonight….

DeNami Designs is hosting a competition on their Facebook page and my card has been selected as one of their finalists!  The challenge was an inspiration photo and I was inspired by the colors & the combination of florals and foliage (can't you tell?!?).

The card that receives the most "likes" on it will win…  Sooo… (shameless plug coming…) if you are so inclined, I would love it if you could swing over, check out the other worthy candidates, and then "like" mine!  :)

Click here to "like" me now!  :)

Thanks for stopping in…  Hope all is well with you in your neck of the woods…  'till tomorrow, my friends!  :)  

Teacher Want an Apple???

Pin It

Good Morning and Happy Hop Day!  :)  You are probably arriving here from Tenia Nelson's super-hip blog and, if you are, you're right on track!  Today, DeNami Designs is celebrating the annual rite of passage for children and parents alike -- Back-to-School!  I have to admit that when I first heard this was going to be the theme for this month's hop, I was a wee bit thrown…  I don't have kids, have been out of school for a hot minute or two, and kinda only think about Back-to-School long enough to realize it coincides directly with more traffic on my commute to work!  :-/

But then I stopped and thought about it, and remembered that I was actually one of those nerdy kids who liked school -- nay, loved school.  And I always looked forward to the end of summer and starting back to class -- new school supplies (shocker, huh?  Especially given what my adult hobby has turned out to be…  :), new clothes, waiting for the day they'd post the lists of what teacher you'd been assigned to  (and which of your friends were assigned to the same class)….  all of it!

So what says Back-to-School better than a spiral notebook and an apple for teacher?  Nothing, I tell you!  With that in mind, here's my card:

For this card, I knew I wanted to use the apple stamp from this Petit Fours set, so I decided to pair it with this leaf stamp to create my own patterned paper for my origami bow.  For the sentiment, I used this Petit Fours set combined with my own writing (no judgement, please!  :)  Finished it all off with some glitter and there you have it!

I hope you like it and think it's worthy of a passing grade!  :)  Speaking of a passing grade, I'm about to pass you straight to the head of the class -- to Amy Smidebush's blog, where I'm certain she's created something worthy of the dean's list!  :)  If you get lost somewhere along the way, or just want to start hopping from the beginning, remember you can always just head back to the DeNami Designs blog to get the full list in order!

I hope you enjoy today's hop and find lots to inspire you!  Remember to leave comments all along the hop for a chance to win one of two mini shopping sprees from the DeNami website!  :)  You have until 11:59 pm PST Monday, 9/10/12 to leave your comments!

And now…. Class Dismissed!  :)

Current sketch at RetroSketches

Missing You….

Pin It

Hello, and Happy Friday!  Today is actually a bittersweet day around here…  It's Moving Day for my little sister.  She and her boyfriend have decided to move to Key West, FL and today is the day they are heading off (literally) into the sunset!

Jessica in New England.  2009

Jessica is the baby in the family -- she came along at a time when Julie (my other sister) and I were just beginning to claim our early-teenage independence.  There are enough years between us to mean we only lived under the same roof for a very short period of time.  Julie and I had moved off to college before Jess even started kindergarten.

In my eyes, she has always been the baby (often spoiled and bratty, truth be told!  :) but in the last couple of years, I have been able to see her in a different light.  She graduated from college, moved to the Dallas area a couple of years ago, and has worked for the same company I do (in fact, I have been her boss for the last year!  ha!).  I have enjoyed watching her grow and mature and have been so proud of the way she has carried herself, both inside the work environment and out.  We have even travelled together on what have been some of my favorite vacations (like the one pictured above, where we explored the coast of Maine, enjoying the fall foliage, before heading to Quebec City).  

This is why her moving is so bittersweet….  I am happy for all the new experiences she'll have (and recognize that we only have a short period of time in our lives where we can set out unencumbered on new adventures), but I am so sad to see her go.  I will miss working with her, miss having her around, miss her.

Here's Jess's card…  When I saw this design (it's actually an embroidery pattern from the LiliPopo shop on etsy, which I just printed, paper pieced, and colored with my Copics), I knew it expressed just the emotion I was feeling…  well, that, and she's just so darned cute!

So, there it is…  Jess, I hope that Florida is all you hope it will be, that your days will be filled with sunshine and beautiful beaches, and that you will find love and laughter and much happiness in your time there…  Just know that we will be loving you and missing you here…  back home.  

Thanks for stopping by…  Here's hoping you have a fabulous weekend -- wherever you are!  I'll be back on Sunday, participating in this month's DeNami Designs Blog Hop --  see you then!  :)

This week's inspiration sketch at RetroSketches

Fairy Special!

Pin It

Hello, and Happy Tuesday!  I am so super-excited to share with you today, I'm just about ready to pop!  I mentioned here a few days ago that I had just completed my Copic Intermediate Certification and I have spent much of my crafting time since then "practicing" the techniques we learned in that class.  I have been having so much fun and it's been about all I've wanted to do for the last couple of weeks (sorry, laundry…  see ya later, feather duster!  :)

I received in the mail a couple of days ago this stamp by artist Hannah Lynn called "Bookworm Fairy" and I am in love…  She is so beautiful and sooo much fun to color!  You'll find that this card is definitely a departure for me, but I have to tell you, I'm just crazy about it!

I thought I'd present the card to you in stages so that you can see the coloring as I go…  soooo, without further ado…

Before I go any further, I must confess that the image you've seen to this point is not the one you're about to see on my card.  After I completely finished the one above, I masked it in order to color my background, which I totally, irrevocably botched.  Badly.  So, after a short, but intense, few moments of "losing it," I set out to do it all over again.  And better this time.

Isn't she beautiful?  If you love to color, I highly recommend Hannah Lynn's artwork.  So fanciful and fun!  :)

I am linking this card up to two Moxie Fab Challenges:  "Focal Point" and the "Gallon/Quart/Pint" Challenge.  You, too, can play along until Monday, September 24th.  :)

Additionally, I used this week's sketch from RetroSketches as the jumping-off point for my design.

Thank you for stopping by…  I hope you like this card!  I had so much fun making it -- twice!   haha!   :)

Talk to you soon!  

Love "Shell" Lift You Up!

Pin It

Hello (and Happy Labor Day to all my American friends!)!  Just wanted to pop in with a quick share this evening!  If you've been following for a while, you know I have a serious affinity for Darcie's stamps and shadowbox frames.  You may remember a couple of cuties I posted a while back (if you'd like a refresher, you can find them here and here).  Well, today, I wanted to share one that I made for my youngest niece, Leighton.  Leighton is a tomboy gone girly-girl, and I knew these turtles would be right up her alley!

For this shadowbox, I used Darcie's "Talilah Turtle" set and created my flower embellishments using her "Fleurs Abondante" set.  

Seriously, how cute are these turtles??  (Though I must admit they gave me a bit of grief…  I am used to stamping and then coloring an image, but this particular set does not lend itself to that technique.  I initially tried stamping and embossing the image and then coloring with my Copics -- ruining a couple, I fear, in the process…  Then I tried stamping with Versamark ink and applying chalks (nice result, though super-tedious!)…  But none of these really gave me the look I was going for.  I had never tried direct-to-rubber coloring (mainly because all I had was Copics and I didn't think that was possible with them…), but decided that was just gonna have to be the technique for these images…  So, I bit the bullet and bought a handful of markers designed for direct-to-rubber, and….. voila!  Colorful Turtles!  :) 

I did come back in and color my gems and pearls with my Copics for some added bling…  Gotta have that!  :)  And the sentiment is all mine -- not a lot of pre-made sentiments fit for turtles stacked on top of each other!  :)

You'll want to check out this week's challenge over at The Play Date Cafe -- gorgeous color combo and beautiful inspiration board!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I will be back tomorrow with a new card with lots of coloring on it that I can't wait to share with you!  Until then, I hope your week starts off with a bang!   :)