BarnYard Animals Scrapbook Page

I have a quick post tonight with some things I want to make sure to mention here on my blog. Tomorrow I'll be at GinaK Design's Open House all day and am not sure I'll have time to do all this tomorrow. And, I can't do a blog post without some eyecandy, right?

First of all, I want to remind everyone of my Birthday Blog candy that ends tomorrow, Saturday January 31st. I have been forgetting to link the post in my last few blog posts and wanted to make sure to mention it one last time. Check it out if you haven't done so yet. I have really enjoyed reading everyone's comments. Thanks for taking the time to do so.

And, if you're looking for some more awesome blog candy, Gina is having a Copic giveaway on her blog - check it out!

Second, my PaperCraft Planet Sketch ends today -I'll announce the winner tomorrow. I have been enjoying everyone's cards and am glad that I do random numbers to choose the winners because it's so hard to choose!!

Last of all, I will be hostessing a Scrapbook Challenge on Splitcoast Stampers on Sunday, February 1st for their VSBN weekend. If you have a chance - check that out on Sunday. The winner there will get to chose a free GinaK Stamp set of their choice valued at $19.95 or less.

Whew... okay, now on to the eyecandy.... Check out this sparkly chicken -



In honor of my SCS scrapbook challenge coming up, I thought I'd share another layout that I completed recently for my Basic Grey Cupcake 6x6 Scrapbook. This paper has been perfect for all the pages!

For this layout, I used GinaK's Barnyard animals found in Poultry in Motion and Down on the Farm. I love these cute little critters! I stamped in black memento ink and colored with Copic markers and highlighted some of the areas with stickles and some Judikins' straw speckles.

Aren't Gina's chickens perfect for this photo? Here's close-up of two more little chickens...

Here's the second layout - this one of Ashley in the go-cart made me think of Gina's adorable wagon. I had to put a couple of her sheep in the wagon so they could go for a ride...

I used white liquid applique for the white sheep and a grey marker with stardust stickles for the other one.

Have a great weekend!
Jessica

Valentine Open House Project

Good morning!

The pictures of my projects aren't the best, but the colors are bright and cheerful, so I'm sure you'll look past the wonky lighting, right? lol!

We are having our Valentine Open House at GinaK Design's store in McFarland this Saturday, January 31st from 10- 4 and this is the free make-n-take project everyone who comes will be able to make. It's a little candy card that we'll make with Gina's new Sweetest Blessing stamp set using the ScorPal, scor-tape, cuttlebug embossing folders, and lots of different Marvy punches.

Liquid Applique with glitter adds the perfect frosting to this adorable cupcake, don't you think?



Here's the inside view....

Here's the quick measurements for you if you'd like to make this at home:

Card Base: 4.25" x 9.34"

Score at: 4" & 4.25" and then move your 4" score line over to the 4.25" inch line and score at 9"

** edited to add... I forgot to mention that this is a matchbook type card. So, you fold the 9" scored line up and tuck the front cardfront into it. To keep the flap in place, I ran a strip of scorpal tape along the scored line. Then, I put another strip along the bottom front edge and adhered the white grosgrain ribbon to it, to make it pretty. ******************

I forgot to get a photo of the template, but I can take a photo of it later today and add it to this post because we all know that a visual template is easier than written.

We hope you can join us on Saturday for this project as well as special sale events in the store!

Jessica

We Can Do This....

Good morning!

Aren't these little guys adorable all marching in a row? It reminded me of that old movie where the family moved away and the animals got left behind, so they searched for their owners while the owners searched for them. I think the movie was called "Homeward Bound" - or something like that?

So, the sentiment from Gina's new Tag Lines set was perfect. I think this card would be good for a family going through some difficult times together too, don't you?

I used Basic Grey's Offbeat paper pack and glazed brad and was pleasantly surprised at how well the red matched Stampin Up's new in-color red: Red Ridinghood. I used the cardstock and double stitched ribbon. The black cardbase has a little bit of silver metallic rub-on paste on just the edges for a little bit of highlight as well as on the nestability sentiment die.

The images were stamped in black memento ink and colored with copics. I added the spots to the puppy and loved how they turned out. Asela's Warm and Fuzzy stamp set has been a lot of fun to play with - the animals are all so adorable!!

Here's a quick peek of the inside of the card...

My February Class schedule has been added to the Website - so be sure to check that out if you're in the Madison area and are looking for classes. And, don't forget that we have our Open House this Saturday at the store from 10-4. We'll be doing a quick make-n-take card and a product demonstration that I'll share on my blog in the next day or so along with some great sales. Hope to see you then!

Have a great day!
Jessica

You're a Rock Star!

**** Birthday Blog Candy Information****

Good morning!

I know you're probably tired of seeing my use this orange Doodlebug cardstock, but today's card is the last of it for now. "Orange" you glad? *wink* Sorry, I couldn't resist... I do have a few more cards to share made with this paper, but haven't taken photos of them yet - so watch for them next week.

Anyway, here's another card based on my PaperCraftPlanet sketch for this week. You'll see that I took some liberties with it, but that's what sketches are for, right?


Using GinaK's 120lb. cardstock as the base, I embossed with the Swirls Cuttlebug embossing die and then trimmed off 1/4" so that the inside layer could peek out. The ribbon is some retired Stampin Up ribbon and the stars are Nestability dies. I cut the large orange star from DCWV paper which has a white core - so I sanded it lightly with my sanding block to highlight the edges.

EK Success' Flourish punch added a pop of color and swirls for the stars. I added a black Kaiser Kraft pearl to each of the swirl dots but it's a little hard to see in the photo. The sentiment from Rupa's Perfectly Polished set and is cut with a tag Nestability die.

Here's the inside view..


I cut a few more star nestability dies out of Doodlebug's specialty cardstock orange pack and a scrap piece of DCWV orange paper. You know how much I love using up my scraps! The sentiment is from Gina's Tag Lines stamp set and is cut with a nestability die too.

Have a great rest of your day!
Jessica

You Light Up my Life...

******* Don't forget to check out my Birthday Blog Candy*********

Good morning!

Today's card is another one for my PaperCraftPlanet sketch this week. This beautiful plate of candles stamp set comes from Rupa's new Perfectly Polished stamp set. The images in this collection are beautifully elegant - true to Rupa's style!

I stamped the images on Gina's 80lb. Pure Luxury cardstock in Memento ink and then colored them in with Copic markers. Then, I took Sakura's Clear Stardust glitter pen and traced a few lines of the image and then moved the glitter around with my Niji waterbrush. To highlight the entire image, I put a layer of Clear Crystal Lacquer over it. I love using Crystal lacquer over the glitter because it really makes the glitter pop!

Here's a full view of the card...

The card base is GinaK's 120lb. Pure Luxury cardstock - the stiffest paper you'll find for your white card bases. It embosses beautifully too. The decorative papers are from Doodlebug's Orange collection which I've been using a lot lately, but don't worry - I've almost used my entire pack up!

For the inside of the card, I wanted to go clean and simple...

So, I stamped the image in Black Memento ink again and then used my favorite sentiment nestability die to pop up the sentiment. Super easy and elegant - just the look I was going for.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Jessica

Relax...

*******My birthday blog candy is still going on - check out the details here.*******

Good morning!

Was your weekend a relaxing one? One of my favorite ways to relax is to take a nice long shower - there's just something about the steam and heat that help wash away my tension. After I finish, I love to wrap myself in this big white fluffy robe my husband got for me several Christmases ago. Ahh...

When I saw the folded robe in Rupa's new Perfectly Polished stamp set, I wanted to flock it to make it all fluffy. Doodlebug's white and orange flocks along with Sakura's Quickie Glue pen worked perfectly and I was so happy with how it worked. I hope you can see the texture in my first photo. Using my sketch challenge going on over at PaperCraft Planet this week I made this card last night.

To help with the application of the flock, I stamped the robe - and the towels that you see in the photo below - in Black versafine ink and embossed with Detail Clear Embossing powder. I think the ridges of the embossing powder helped to keep the flock in place. I colored the orange section with a Copic marker before I applied the flock just incase it went on a little spotty - I didn't want any white showing through.

I didn't stamp a sentiment on the inside of the card, but I did put this little stack of towels in the bottom right hand corner...

I popped them up to help them stand out a little bit. I colored with a light yellow and orange Copic marker before applying the flock here as well.

Have a great RELAXING day!

Jessica

Birthday Blog Candy!

**** Blog Candy Winner Announced************

I printed out all the comments, cut them apart, and laid them out on my floor and picked.....

Nancy said...
My sympathies to you for the loss of your aunt. Other than that, hope you have a great year.My sister was born one day before my 3rd birthday. We would have birthday parties together. 3 of my best girlfriends also had sisters the same age as my sister and we would get together and have doll parties. In fact, I think we may have a couple of photos somewhere of us with our dollies. Now that my sister lives far away, we really miss celebrating our birthdays together. I hope we can get together some year soon and have another birthday party!Thanks for the chance to win the wonderful blog candy!January 27, 2009 6:21 AM

Congratulations, Nancy!! Email me your mailing address at jessjean12@gmail.com and I'll get your goodies out to you!

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your birthday memories. It was really touching reading everyone's comments.

***********************

Hi!

To celebrate my birthday yesterday, I'd like to offer up some fun blog candy to you - all my blogging friends! I'm sorry the photo isn't the best... the shiny packaging and lighting just aren't cooperating with me. But, I can't waste anymore time trying to get a better photo - sorry!! lol!!

Here's a listing of what's included in the candy...

* A brand new ScorPal Mat

* 8x8 7Gypsies Hudson valley scrapbook pack

* Stampin Up Sale-a-bration 2008 Rub-on Pack

* Stampin Up 3 pack of sponges

* Stampin Up Level 2 Hostess Stamp set: Occasions Collection

* Cloud 9 Clear Stamps: Daughter/Girl

* Cloud 9 Clear Stamps: Son/Boy

To be entered for a chance to win these fun goodies, please leave a comment on this post about a birthday memory of yours by Saturday, January 31st. I'll announce the winner on Sunday, February 1st's here on this blog post.

Here's one of my favorite birthday memories...

I was lucky enough to be born on my Grandma Harriet's birthday - and she was a twin. Growing up, we would get together and share a birthday cake with all of our names on it. I always thought it was so special to share my birthday with grandma and her sister Helen.

When my grandma died several years ago, my Great-Aunt Helen would always send me a birthday card and sometimes include a photo of my grandma in it with her well wishes. I'm sorry to say that my Great-Aunt Helen died just a few days ago on Friday, January 23 - just a day before our birthday. She lived a wonderfully active life and will be greatly missed.

Now, it's your turn - leave me a note about a birthday memory of yours. I'd love to hear it!

Good luck!
Jessica

Sketch Cards...

Good afternoon!

I have two different card sketches to share with you today. The first card is for GinaK's Release Party Challenge #2 that is going on in her Forum on Splitcoast Stampers. For all the details about the contest, click here.

Here's the actual sketch...



And, here's my sample card...

I used Basic Grey's OffBeat paper pack and glazed brad along with SU's Kiwi Kiss and Tangerine Tango cardstocks. This paper pack works really well with the new In Colors - including Red Ridinghood too.

The images from Asela's Warm and Fuzzy stamp set were colored with Copic markers and then cut out with a Labels 1 nestability die. The sentiment is from Gina's Tag Line stamp set and works perfectly with all of the Nestability sentiment dies.

Next up is my sketch card for PaperCraft Planet....

Each week, one of the PaperCraft Design Team girls designs a sketch and is the hostess for that week. And, this week it's my turn! For all the specific details on my sketch, click here.

Here's a photo of the sketch...

And, here's my sample card...

This card is considered a 'scrappy' card because there isn't any stamping on it. I used Marvy's Scallop Heart punches, Tonic's Corner punch, and EK Success' Flourish punch along with Doodlebug's Specialty papers and some Embossed Prima Flowers. Kaiser Kraft Pearls add some delicate touches to finish it off.

I'll be back later today with my Birthday blog candy post... off to get photos of the goodies right now!

See you later -
Jessica

Sweetest Blessings Birthday Stamp a Stack Cards

Good evening!

Sorry today's post is up so late! My husband has been sick for the past several days and the kids have had me running since last night with sleepovers and friends, etc! There's a little lull tonight in the chaos, so I thought I'd share the cards we'll be making on Tuesday, January 27th at my Sweetest Blessing Birthday Stamp-a-Stack class at GinaK Designs store in McFarland!

We'll make 2 of each of the 4 cards you see in today's post AND will receive the brand new Sweetest Blessings stamp set as well! For more information about the class and how to sign up, click here.

A few quick notes about the cards... We'll be coloring the images in with Copics and decorating the cakes with stickles, glitters, crystal laquer, glitter pens, and liquid applique! It will be like a mini papercrafting cake decorating class! lol! To embellish the cards further we're going to be using Marvy's paper punches and EK Success' Flourish punch as well.

I mentioned yesterday that I would be having some blog candy up for grabs today, but I'm going to have to postpone that post until tomorrow because I CANNOT get a good photo of all the goodies I have to share! You can't even know how frustrated I am about that! Since today is my birthday, I wanted to start the candy today, but it's pretty hard to do that without a good photo. So - watch for it tomorrow afternoon.

I have a ScorPal Mat, a 3 pack of Stampin Up sponges, a Stampin Up stamp set, an 8x8 7Gypsies paper pack, a pack of Stampin Up rub-ons, and 2 sentiment rubber stamp sets all set to give away as my birthday blog candy. See, it's just not as exciting without the photos... is it?

I am also the hostess for PaperCraft Planet's Sketch this week and Gina has generously offered a free stamp set valued at $19.95 or less for the winner! The sketch details can be found here and the challenge is open until Friday, January 30th. I hope you'll get the chance to do a card and upload it to PCP to be entered into the contest!

And, while I'm talking about sketch challenges, I have one going on at Splitcoast in GinaK's forum too. That challenge runs until Tuesday, January 27th - and the winner gets the same prize: a GinaK stamp set valued at $19.95 or less.

I'll share my sketch cards in tomorrow's blog candy post - so pop back in tomorrow afternoon, okay?

See you then -

Jessica

You're Fin-tastic!

Good morning!

Did you join us last night for Gina's Release Party!? It was so much fun and filled with tons of projects from all of Gina's Design Team members. Here's the link, if you'd like to check into the thread to see all the photos scattered throughout the chatter.

I thought I'd share a couple of more 6x6 layouts that I've been working on lately. I used GinaK's Just Keep Swimming stamp set along with the sentiment from her new Fishy Friends stamp set that was just released last night...



I love that sentiment - and can't wait to use both fish sets together! Here's a closeup of the embellishments....

The flourish punch is for the waves, the raindots for the air bubbles for the fish and the stickles are for the sparkle! lol! I stamped the fish in Memento Ink on Gina's 80lb. Pure Luxury cardstock and colored with Copics. The sentiment is cut out with my favorite nestability for words - almost all of Gina's sentiments from her stamp sets fit into these word windows.

Now, on to my three little penguins...

Isn't that sweet? This photo was taken at our local zoo in Madison and Gina's Penguins from Sandy Claws worked perfectly with this photo, don't you think!? The papers and buttons for the pages are all from Basic Grey's Cupcake line. I used the Scallop Corner Punch for a fun layered look on a couple of the corners of the photos.

Here's a close up of these adorable penguins...

After coloring with Copics, I added Crystal stickles on their tummies and hats... just the perfect sparkle I was looking for!

If you'd like to see the other layouts that go along with today's pages, here's the links...

LifeGuards Kangaroos and Polar Bears Lions, Kids, and Bears - Oh My! Hip Hippo Hooray! Make a Big Splash! and Christmas Gifts

A few other notes of interest ...

* I am the hostess of a sketch challenge for GinaK that runs until Tuesday, January 27th at Noon. Check out all the detail here. And then, on Saturday (1/24), I'll be hostessing another Sketch challenge over on PaperCraft Planet. I'll share the details of that sketch in my post of Saturday. I hope you have the time to play with us because there will be a free GinaK Designs stamp up for grabs for each sketch winner!

* It's my birthday this Saturday and to celebrate, I'll be having some fun blog candy up for grabs - so be sure to pop back in Saturday to enter to win some fun stuff!

Thanks for taking the time to check in today!

Jessica

3x3 Boxes Galore!

Good morning!

Since my post today is filled with lots of photos,I thought I'd share the links to all Gina's Design Team member's blog here at the top of my post, so they don't get lost or overlooked. Tonight we're showcasing Sweetest Blessings, Tag Lines, and Gina's new Digital papers! She's offering her Debut Digital pack for FREE starting tonight and running until Sunday. Check out her blog for the coupon code!

Gina, Joanne, Cammie, Theresa, Kurtis, Erika, Donna, Mary, Emily, Melanie, and Cindy

I made two boxes to share today that are filled with sets of four 3x3 cards and matching envelopes - yep, I've been busy! lol! I'm planning on offering this as an upcoming class at GinaK's store in February.

I'm only going to show one card from each box for the sake of time and space, but I'll be going more into depth on each project in the coming days here on my blog, sharing the templates, details, and photos.

Here's my first card made with one of my very favorite GinaK Stamps ever called Sweetest Blessings....

I stamped the cake and sentiment at the same time - don't you love being able to do that with unmounted stamps and your acrylic blocks!? I used Black Memento ink and colored the cake with Copics highlighting the frosting with Stickles, the plate with Crystal Lacquer, and the cherry with the Clear Stardust Glitter Pen.

I also made matching envelopes for each card. Here's the card peeking out...

And, here's the front of the envelope just because it's all decorated too ...

I was so happy to see that Gina's Sateen Flowers work perfectly with SU's 5 Flower punch! The papers for this project are all retired SU designer papers and their textured Chocolate Chip and Purely Pomegranite.

Next up is my 3x3 box made with Gina's new Free with Three stamp set Tag Lines.

When I got this stamp set, I thought of how fun it would be to make a notecard with each of the sayings to give as little love/thinking of you notes. And, I decided to make another little box to store them in - one that I could keep out on my dresser handy to grab when I needed them.

Here's one of the little notecards....

Wouldn't this be a fun little card to tuck in my daughter's lunchbox when she aces her next test? I used SU's retired Afternoon Tea dsp for the cardfront. To embellish the Paper Punch-out, I ran it through my Big Shot with the Polka Dot Cuttlebug embossing folder and then sponged SU's cocoa ink over it to soften the look a little. The sentiment is stamped in Memento's Cocoa ink on watercolor paper (for the texture) and then cut out with a Nestability die.

The ribbon is SU's Felt ribbon that they recently sold in their Winter Mini catalog. I am afraid to admit that it's the first time I used it! I love it and now wish I had bought more! Isn't that the way it always goes...

Here's a bird's eye view of the whole box set...

And, finally, here's a close up of the matching envelope...

Well, if you'd made it this far you deserve a prize! lol! I will share the dimensions of these projects in a few days here on my blog.

I hope you'll join us at Gina's Release Party tonight in her member forum on Splitcoast. There will be contests and challenges along with more preview projects from everyone on Gina's Design Team. I have several things that I'll be sharing along with a Sketch challenge that I'll be posting at the 8:00 (CST) hour.

Rest up - the party starts at 7 (CST)!!

Jessica

Cutesy Overload!!

Good morning!

Are you ready for some adorable images? Today's previews are all about cutesy - which I LOVE! My first card showcases Asela Hopkin's new stamp set called Warm and Fuzzy and it is simply adorable. I had a lot of fun playing with these little images and have a couple of more cards to share during GinaK's Release Party Thursday night.

Here's a full view of the card...


The card size is 3x6 which is such a fun size to experiment with. The patterned paper is Basic Grey's Offbeat and the solid cardstock is SU's Really Rust and Red Ridinghood. They work really well together, don't you think? I stamped the image on GinaK's 80lb. Pure Luxury cardstock and then again on SU's Really Rust and Summer Sun and cut them out, layering them over the stamped images. Yep, I'm stuck on paper piecing right now - I just love the look!

The heart is from the new SU trio heart punch and worked well with this Labels 1 Nestability diecut. I was thinking of a pet collar when I used SU's Red Ridinghood striped ribbon paired with a SU buckle and buttons. The border punch is also from Stampin Up.

Here's a close up of Asela's adorable kitty and puppy - don't they look so happy together? Love is definitely in the air....


Check out these blogs for more projects that were made with Asela's Warm and Fuzzy stamp set... Gina, Joanne, Cammie, Erika, Asela, Cindy, Melanie, and Donna


The next project has lots of photos, so I apologize in advance - LOL! I couldn't help myself though - this is one of my very favorite 6x6 layouts that I've made recently!

These images are from GinaK's adorable Fishy Friends stamp set that she gave to all the Cruise Members way back last October. Isn't it perfectly cute!? It worked GREAT with these photos I took of my kids last summer at a mini golf course here in Madison.

Here's a closer look at the first page ...

I stamped all the images on GinaK's 120lb. cardstock in Black Memento Ink and colored with Copics. Then, I popped them up to create a little underwater scene to go with the LifeGuard chairs my kids were sitting in. After I had them all where I wanted them to be, I took some colored stickles and highlighted some of the stamped lines to make them pop!

See what I mean...

Here's a closer view of the second page with my son Isaiah...

I used Basic Grey's Cupcake 6x6 paper and buttons along with EK Success Scallop Corner Punch to decorate these pages. They will go into the same 6x6 book that my other pages that I made for Melanie's Blogaversary. * If you're interested in seeing the other pages you can see them here... Kangaroos and Polar Bears Lions, Kids, and Bears - Oh My! Hip Hippo Hooray! Make a Big Splash! and Christmas Gifts . I have several more layouts to share with you over the next few weeks that I've made with GinaK stamps.

Here's a closeup of those adorable fish - if you look really carefully on the photo, you can see that I added some clear raindots to simulate the air bubbles....

Whew! I told you there were lots of photos! LOL!

Here's the links of everyone else who took the time to play with Gina's Fishy Friends stamp set...

Gina, Theresa, Erika, Donna, Mary, Emily, Kurtis, and Melanie

I hope you'll pop back in tomorrow for the last set of previews before the Release Party begins Thursday night!

Have fun blog hopping!

Jessica