Happy 17th birthday to my son.

Good morning!

Today I'm sharing the card I made for my son's birthday a few days ago.  He loves the color green so I thought I'd use that color with silvers and blacks.  Masculine/teen boy cards aren't the easiest to make for us card makers but I have to say that this one was pretty fun to work on!

I used dies and stamps from PaperTrey Ink - I love the size of those candles & numbers!  

Birthday Trio die collection

By the Numbers die collection

By The Numbers mat die collection

Suffix Style die collection

Polka Dot Parade #12 die

Polka Dot Parade #12

The 'birthday' sentiment was die cut twice - once with soft stone patterned paper and once in vellum, to soften it a bit.  The gunmetal twine is from The Twnery - love their shimmery baker's twine line!

For Isaiah's birthday note, I almost always try to put a list of things I love about him at the age he turns, so it was fun writing the 17 things I appreciate right now.  He is such a good kid and is becoming a great man - I'm blessed to call him my son.

Here's my favorite photo of him just shortly after his first birthday:

He looked like such a big boy with his hair trimmed around his ears and sitting so big and tall.  In all reality, he was a tiny little peanut - not even 20 pounds yet and in the 3rd percentile for his height.  He is still pretty small for his age - and he probably always will be on the shorter side since it's in his genes.

'

And, here he is today at Christmas time.  Almost all grown up but still my little guy at his heart.  Love this little man.

Thanks for endulging this mama today who is counting her blessings.  

I hope YOU have a great day, filled with lots of blessings & things to be thankful for too!

Jessica

It's party time!

Good morning!

This past week, we had a huge party day at school in my class.  The 100th day of school happened to fall on Valentine's Day this year (a week later than usual due to our snow days this year).  Since I'm a bit crazy and thought we'd get all our excitement over in one crazy day, we also celebrated our annual "Un-birthday party" where we have a day to celebrate everyone's birthday in our class.  We exchange presents, have a pinata, eat cake, etc.  So, needless to say it was a super fun exciting day celebrating all three special events in one day and after it was all done, I went home and found myself in bed by a little after 8:00 that night.  Nice way to celebrate Valentine's day, huh? ;)  

Anyway, the card I'm sharing today was made thinking about all those fun events and is filled with lots of elements on it, just like my day was at school!  Wow - it's a busy card for me, but I like it!

I used the new Shape Up stamp set with coordinating dies for the pennant banner at the top of the card, tucking a couple of doily scraps underneath for more textures and tied a cantaloupe baker's twine bow around since it matched the SU crisp cantaloupe ink I used for the triangles.

Then, I used the Birthday Bash stamp set with it's coordinating dies for the bottom of the card.  After I stamped the sentiment in the different inks (from my markers) I felt like it was a bit washed out and not as defined as I wanted, so I traced around the letters with a fine tipped black pen.  I used another pen to make lines around the entire white card base and used a copic marker to color between them.

The present's bow and candle flames were cut from felt.  It's hard to see but I cut several layers of the candles and the presents to give them a bit more weight as they were layered on the card front.  It's a surprisingly flat card because I didn't use any dimensionals on it - it's all glued on flat.  Nice for mailing.

I hope you have a great day and find a reason to celebrate the 'little' things in life today.  That's one of the best things I love about teacher Kindergarten and 1st grades... they get excited and celebrate EVERYTHING! ;)

Jessica

Make a Wish!

Good morning!

I have a bright birthday card to share today using a couple of Jenny Suchin's adorable owls from her Happy Owlentine's Day stamp set available through The Craft's Meow.  A bit of Copic coloring and some crystal lacquer for the balloons, eyes, birthday hat, and sign and this CAS simple was finished!  I like how large this image is - it makes card making with it pretty simple, don't you think?

Have a wonderful rest of your day!
Jessica

Card Details
Stamps: Happy Owlentine's Day (TCM)
Ink: Versafine
Card stock: SU; DCWV spring papers; PTI white
Other: SU ribbon; button; MFT tab die; crystal lacquer; Copics

Make a Wish!

It's another Paper Pretties' birthday blog hop!  This time, we're honoring Janet - happy birthday, Janet!  I created my card using my favorite Paper Pretties birthday stamp set: Surprise Sophia.  After stamping her and coloring her with copics, I created the card with Echo Park's 6x6 A Walk in the Park paper pack.  There is such fun paper pack with lots of bright colors and patterns - perfect for a birthday card.

Here's the list of participating Paper Pretties' designers - check out each of their links for lots of birthday inspiration and wishes for Janet!

• Paper Pretties Blog
• Amber Hillman
• Chris Veneruso
• Dominique Hornberger
• Frances Byrne
• Jacquie Peifer
• Jennifer Greco
• Jessica Fick - you are here!
• Taylor Usry
• Heather Lee-Reppen
• ARTish (Illustrator)
• Jackie Rakoski
• Joni Mastronardi
• Lisa Rasmussen
• Nadine Buhl
• Tracey Vincent
• Nancy Bush
• Janet Rossi  (the birthday girl!!!!!)

Card Details
Stamps: Surprise Sophia (Paper Pretties)
Ink: Memento
Card stock: Echo Park Summer Days 6x6; Copic Xpress Blending card stock
Other: Copics; Sewing machine; Baker's Twine; Ruffle Ribbon

Happy Hopping and happy birthday, Janet!
Jessica

Cat's Pajama's Challenge: Pink!

 

Good evening!

I have a quick card to share that I made to be entered into The Cat's Pajama's challenge for this month - and the deadline is looming, so I better hurry up!  The challenge was to use Pink on our projects... so - here's my take on using pinks with Alma's adorable stamp sets.  I haven't gotten these particular ones inky in a while, so it was fun getting them out and playing with them tonight!

Card Details

Stamps: The Cat's Pajamas - Be Still my Beating Heart; Smells Like Cake

Ink: Versafine Black; Memento black; Vivid pink

Cardstock: GinaK chocolate; PaperTrey white; Basic Grey dp

Other: EK Success border punch; copic markers and sakura glitter pens; corner chomper; pink silk ribbon from Starlit Studio; BG button

and the inside - with my favorite little penguins... up to their usual mischief -

I've also added my card to the fun challenge going on over at Simon Says Stamp challenge this week.  The challenge was to use 3 different embellishments (ribbon, doily, and button) and 2 patterned papers (dots and light pink on the outside from Basic Grey and/or one on the inside) and 1 image.  I may have strayed a bit from this one since I paired the cupcakes with the kitty on the top though... but, we'll see.  I'll enter it anyway!  lol!

Have a great night!
Jessica

Happy Bearthday!

Good morning!

I hope you've enjoyed your Christmas holiday with your family and friends! We spent a few days up north with our families - thankfully not being too bothered by the snow and ice storm that came through Wisconsin over Christmas. We have been relaxing at home the past few days playing with new toys, chilling out, and eating lots of sweet treats.

I have a fun boy birthday card to share this morning on my blog that I made with Stampin Up's Build-a-Bear stamps and several different colors of Gina's card stock. Since it's for a boy, I had to watch the embellishments that I usually like to add!

Everything is colored with Copics on GinaK's Pure Luxury white card stock. The striped ribbon across the bottom of the card was the inspiration for the colors I choose - I think it's an older SU ribbon.

and the inside...

I am back to work tomorrow - have you seen the H U G E sale that Gina is having online this weekend? With every $35 purchase, you get to pick a FREE stamp set valued at $20.95! Who does that?!? So, needless to say - I believe Shelly and I will be busy tomorrow packing orders, don't you?!


Have a great rest of your day! We may be headed to buy my new SLR camera today - YIPPEE! I've been saving my gift cards and received some money from Christmas to put toward it... so, it ends up looking like I won't have to pay too much out of pocket for it! Double YIPPEE!!

Jessica

Happy Birthday to Ashley!

The big day has officially arrived - my Ashley is 9 today! She is growing up so fast - but we all say that as parents, don't we? I thought I'd share the card I made for her tonight as well as a few photos of the birthday girl.

She has re-discovered her love for My Little Pony ... so of course I had to buy this adorable stamp set from Stampin Up. It's so cute and I know it will get tons of use from both her and I over the years.

and the inside...

Card Details
Stamps: Stampin Up images; Holiday Greetings (GinaK)
Ink: Memento; Copics
Cardstock: GinaK white & ivory; DCWV girl nursery dp
Other: Circle Punches; Circle Nestabilities - plain & scallop; stickles; sakura glitter pen; Marvy scallop circle; rhinestones; ribbon; EK Success border punch

The rest of my post tonight is all about the birthday girl but, before I go on about that let me invite you back to my blog tonight at 10pm CST where the entire GinaK team will begin sharing Previews for December 3rd's New Release stamp sets.

I hope to see you back then!

Ashley is in love with stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes. She never really got into 'Barbies' or dolls and only occasionally will play with her Polly Pockets. Hanging out with her big brother and dad, she has become quite the tomboy and video gamer. Yet, she can be quite the girly-girl at times too.

You can't put her in a box - which is one of the things I love the most about her!

She LOVE to dress up and is always coming up with her own costumes. She decided to be a pirate one night and made her sword and found some stamps to give herself 'tattoos' - thankfully these ones wash right off!

She also is very theme-oriented. On this particular day, she found her stuffed penguin and searched high and low through her belongings to find the perfect outfit to match her penguin. Trust me, you don't want to get in her way when she has an idea in her mind ... lol!


So, bear with me now as I'm going to share some photos of my little girl's two special birthday parties! The first one was last week with her girlfriends from school...

The girls came after school on Friday afternoon and spent a couple of hours with us eating, doing crafts, watching movies, playing games, and hanging out together. It was a nice time and thankfully everyone got along perfectly! (anyone who has girls knows that doesn't always happen with 7-9 year olds!)

Here's my friend Sharri's little Abbi and my Ashley together at the party. I babysat for Abbi from when Sharri went back to work after Abbi's birth until last fall - so she's more like a sister to Abbi than a friend since they grew up together!

Here's one more photo of the whole clan - aren't they cute?

Then, on Saturday we headed to Build a Bear to have a small birthday party with her cousins and her friend Abbi. The staff were amazing and did such a great job with the games and activities.


Here's Ash fluffing up her puppy - or giving her a 'bath' ...


Here are the girlfriends again...

After the fun with the animals, we headed over to Claire's to get her ears pierced. She has been wanting to do that for a while and I told her she had to wait for her birthday. I wasn't sure if she'd go through with it because she's pretty squeamish - but she did it and her ears are so pretty now! lol!

Thanks for hanging in there with me - she loves to ask me about my blog and I told her that I was going to talk about HER today because it's her birthday. And, typical Ashley is THRILLED with the attention! lol!

BIG hugs to my girl today on turning 9!
Jessica

Pink Daisies

Good evening!

I hope you had a nice weekend - it was a busy one for me but very enjoyable! Between spending time with my mom and sister who came for a visit and working on my Spirit of Christmas online class, I didn't have time to make anything new to share with you tonight. So, I decided to pull out this card that I made a while ago but haven't shared it here on my blog yet.

Using this Sizzix Daisy die, I cut several daisies out of some White watercolor paper and then painted them with ArtQuest's Pearlescent watercolors. I layered several together and paired it with some gorgeous SEI cardstocks which matched some SU cardstocks perfectly (Rose Red & Bermuda Bay, in case you were wondering). The sentiment is from a SU rub-on pack.


It's going to be a great week - I have several new GinaK stamp sets to cut and get inky this week because believe it or not, previews for our August release begin next Monday, August 24th already!! This is going to be an awesome release - I keep hearing from EVERYONE who has seen these stamps, that this is their favorite release YET!!

And, my Christmas stamp-a-stack class is almost finished and ready to be added to GinaK's online store. It looks like Friday, August 21st will be the day it goes live. I'll be sure to have all the details here on my blog and over on StampTV when it becomes available for purchase.

Have a great rest of your night!
Jessica

Happy Little Ducky!

Good morning!

I love this little Stampin Up duck image - isn't it cute? Rather than making it into a baby card, I paired it with this Penny Black sentiment and decided that it would be a fun all occasion card - perfect to send to a friend wishing them a happy day!

Here's a closer look at the duck that I colored with Copics and highlighted with my Stardust glitter pen...

The inside sentiment fit perfectly with the outside sentiment... 'happy day!'

Thanks for stopping by today - and I wish you a HAPPY DAY, my friends!
Jessica

Spoil Yourself Silly!

Good morning!

I have another birthday card to share with you this morning made with this super cute Penny Black image. I love how cute he is in the tree - doesn't it look like he's relaxing and waiting for an unsuspecting bird... lol!

Here's a closer look so you can see the embossing, sparkle and rhinestone collar...

This DCWV paper pack is very busy - but so fun with the colors and patterns. I couldn't resist using more of it on the inside of this birthday card...

Thanks for checking in with me today! I hope you have a chance to do something fun for YOU today!
Jessica

Birthday Girl...

Today is my niece's birthday - yes, there are LOTS of birthdays this month, aren't they!? I've had birthdays on my mind and have been making quite of few birthday cards lately! lol! The birthday girl's favorite color is blue - so it's a very blue birthday card today!

I stamped this image (I'm sorry, I don't know where she comes from... it's an unmounted one from my collection) in Memento ink and colored with copics, I added some Waterfall stickles for some added sparkle.

Because kids LOVE their name on their cards, I used a Hero Arts ABC set and stamped out her name and then highlighted with stickles.

I forgot to take a photo of the inside of the card - oops!

Have a great rest of your day - I hope it's a fun one!
Jessica

Froggy Birthday Wishes

Good morning!

I have a fun birthday card to share today that is filled with Frogs! I recently bought this Penny Black clear frog stamp sheet and finally got a chance over my vacation to play with it! I stamped all the images in versafine and clear embossed them before coloring with Copics.

Here's a closer view of this scene from the 'pond' -

After I colored everything, I used my Pebbles pearlescent chalks to shade the water, bushes and sky. The sentiment is from SU's Define your Life - I haven't used it for so long and forgot how much I love it!

I had to get a few more of the images from this set on the inside of my card...


I may have to save this birthday card for my son - he LOVES frogs! When I homeschooled him a few years ago, we 'raised' several tadpoles into full grown frogs and kept them for quite a while before we decided to 'set them free' into the culvert behind our house. I have a feeling they didn't survive long though... lol!

Thanks for checking in with me today - I hope my card today put a smile on your face! I sure was smiling when I made it!
Jessica

Birthday Ducky!

Good morning!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday so I thought I'd share the card I made for her today on my blog. Isn't this birthday duck adorable? I stamped the image in Versafine ink and embossed with detail clear embossing powder and then colored with Copic markers. I highlighted some of the polka dots on the presents with Pink stickles.

I colored GinaK's Pure Luxury Sateen flowers with the same 2 pink markers as the image. I love those markers for customizing my embellishments!

Here's the inside of the card...


Thanks for checking in with me today!
Jessica

Summer Flowers

Good morning!

I have a bright card to share this morning with you made with some of my favorite Stampin Up designer papers for summer - I love the bold colors these papers have! I paired them up with Carolyn's Framed Flowers stamp set and some prima flowers. The sentiment is from Gina's Autumn Leaves stamp set.


I used some Memento markers to ink up the grass and flower stamp set and then dabbed some Mono multi adhesive on the flowers and added some Prima flowers. I love how this looks. I used the large Rectange Deckled Nestabilites (the 2 largest dies in this set) for the main image.

Once again, I combined two of Gina's stamp sets for the inside sentiment (Notes to Mom and Eclectic Summer Sayings)...


I'm the hostess this week for our sketch challenge over on StampTV and this is my card sample. I hope you'll have a chance to play along and share your card with us over on StampTV.

Also, I've added several more cards to my Etsy shop. I hope you'll have a chance to check them out. If there is a specific card that you've seen here on my blog recently that you would be interested in purchasing, send me an email. I can add it to my Etsy shop.

Have a wonderful day!
Jessica