Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I am so thankful for all of YOU!!!! My lovely crafty friends who visit my blog throughout the year and share in a love of creating with me!  I wish those of you that are celebrating Chanukah/Hanukkah and/or Thanksgiving a time full of blessings surrounded by all those you love!  I am off to enjoy time with my family today after attending a beautiful service this morning and thanking my Creator for all that is good in my life!  You are all part of the many things I am grateful for!  Blessings on this day and always!

:) Jill

Happy Birthday Jeanne!!!!!

Hello Friends,
Today we are sending very special Happy Birthday wishes to our dear friend Jeanne!

Happy Birthday Jeanne!!!!

 Jeanne blogs at "A Kept Life" and is a paper artist extraordinaire!!!!  I always enjoy my visits to her blog and come away inspired and ready to create!  She has a way with color and combining elements to create incredible cards and tags and other paper crafted items!   I hope you will pay her lovely blog a visit and enjoy some of the beauty within its many gorgeous entries!  And while you are there leave her some birthday wishes too!

Jeanne I wish for you many blessings throughout the year and a day filled with much happiness surrounded by everyone that loves you!  Thanks for your friendship here in blog land and sharing your many talents and lovely comments with me and so many others!  You are such a sweetheart!!!

I want to send a big thank you to our friend Joyce who so kindly organized this lovely blog hop for Jeanne.  She is our party planner extraordinaire!  Here is a list of links to everyone that is hopping in honor of Jeanne today:
Joyce (our blog hop cruise director!)
Cathy
Christina

Darnell
Jill (You Are Here)
Kara (Go Here Next)
Kim
Marybeth
Tracey 
Vickie

Crafty Hugs Everyone!!!!
Jill

Supplies:
Cardstock:  blush, rustic cream: PTI; 80lb base weight pink - Michael's
Stamps:  Friendship Jar - PTI; The craft spot - tiny tags 2
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Dies:  Cupcake: PTI; label: PTI; Doily - Cheery Lynn Designs
Other:  Flowers; twine, streamer paper; crocheted doily - Paper Bag Lady on ETSY

2013 Christmas Tags - Tag set #11 - Folk Art Star Tags featuring Serendipity Stamps

Hello Everyone,
I am still sick with a sore throat and cold and was feeling punk this morning so I sat and watched a Christmas movie and made this set of lovely star tags using a stamp from Serendipity Stamps.  I am adding them to the Serendipity Stamps Challenge #24 - Gifts and Tags.

Thanks for taking a look.  If you haven't see the other tags that I have posted for my 2013 Christmas Tag series you can click on these links:

Tag post #1  Candy Cane
Tag post #2  Peace On Earth
Tag post #3  Trees
Tag post #4  Pine Cone Trees
Tag post #5  Red Felt Snowflakes
Tag post #6  Sledding Fun
Tag post #7, 8, 9  Snowgirls, Gingerbread Sweeties and Reindeer
Tag post #10  Waltzingmouse Stamps Inspiration

Bye for now!
: )   Jill


Supplies:  Folk Art Star Tags:
Card Stock:  Kraft - PTI
Stamps:  Folk Star and To and From stamps - Serendipity Stamps
Dies:  Star Die
Other:  copic markers, twine, glue

WMS Pajama Party - Challenge #3 - Tag, You're It & 2013 Christams Tags - Tag Set 10: Waltzingmouse Inspiration

Hello Friends,
I am waltzing tonight at the Waltzingmouse Stamps November Pajama Party:

I have a set of tags to share tonight that I made on Thursday during some free hours this week!  It felt good to do some crafting as it has been a couple weeks since I have posted anything.  Tonight I am sick with a sore throat and it has been very cold here in Seattle so I am keeping this very short as I am down in my basement posting this and it is cold down here too!!!!  I was hoping to do some more crafting as it is Friday night but some hot tea and bed is what I am thinking is needed for me instead.

Here are my tags:

I was hoping to take some pictures outside in the daylight today but it just didn't happen....so I hope you can make do with these that I took by my kitchen window.  I used some of my favorite WMS sets:  Candy Jar Christmas Fillers, Sewing Box Christmas and Sewing Box Hugs.  And thanks to very fast service I got to use my new candy jar dies too!!!!  I am SO HAPPY about the dies coming our way from Claire!  What a lovely Christmas gift to myself!!!

Here are a few more pics:

 This tag of the sweet home is one of my very favorite WM stamps!!!!  The sentiment says "cozy winter wishes".  I also added some glitter smoke coming out of the chimney but it is hard to see since I added the twine bow and hanger. 

 A cozy pair of mittens....

 A sweet stocking with a plaid star and bow.....

 Some peppermint candies in a sparkly jar....

And of course what Christmas would be complete without some lovely Gingerbread men?!?

I wish I could stay up and play a little longer as my new stamps are loudly calling my name tonight!  But alas my bed is where I need to be AND my toes are freezing and I have only been downstairs for about 15 minutes now.  So...nighty night and happy pajama party everyone!  Thanks for hosting Claire!  And thanks for all of the lovely inspiration from the design team and Claire over the past few days!!!  You ALL inspire me!!!  And Lynn thanks for shipping so FAST!!!!  So happy with my new stamps and dies!

Hugs!
Jill

Happy Birthday Wishes for Christina!

Hello Crafty Friends,
Here with some sweet and very special birthday wishes for the lovely and talented Christina of Seaglass Papercrafts.  You may be familiar with Christina's gorgeous creations from The 12 Kits of Occasions blog  which is where I came to admire her cardmaking prowess even more!!!!  ( If you are not familiar with this lovely and talented group of women and the cards and projects they make each month you are missing out!  I love hopping around each month to each of their blogs to see all of the beauty they create!) 

I love Christina's card making style.  It is elegant and classy with just the right embellishments to finish each card!  I tried very hard to channel her lovely style on the card that I made to wish her a Happy Birthday:




I decided to use my "Lovely Layers" stamp set from Papertrey Ink and paired it with some stamps from the "Wreath for all Seasons" stamp set too.  I drew inspiration from a card that Dawn McVey made when this set was released.  You can see it HERE.

Christina I hope your day is filled with happy moments and lots of joy surrounded by the people you love!  May your year be full of blessings, health, and lots of happiness!  Thanks for sharing your love of crafting with all of us here in blog land!  You are a true inspiration!


Here is a list of links of everyone that is hopping along to send Christina "Happy Birthday" wishes today:
Joyce
Cathy

Darnell

Jeanne

Jill   - you are here

Kara - go here next

Kim
Lynn

Marybeth

Renee
Sharron

Tracey 

I am sending you onto the lovely Kara's blog at KandRdesigns.
Hugs,
Jill

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Welcome Home

Hello,
Had a bit of time to play in my craft room tonight and decided to play along with the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Welcome Home.  Here is the inspiration graphic:

I love wreaths, turquoise, and old barn wood and when I saw this photo I fell in love.  I have also had my new Rustic Wreath stamp and die set sitting on my crafting table awaiting time to play hence this card was born tonight in my crafty studio:

 

I used several stamp sets to create this card including:

Love Lives Here Holiday - for the sentiment; Mat Stack 1 collection - for that little acorn branch under the sentiment; Lovely Layers for the leaves on the wreath; And the die from Rustic Wreath cut from three different papers and wrapped in jute twine to create the wreath itself.  Also in keeping with it being an outdoor wreath I added some Aleene's Glitter Snow which gives it that frosty look with just a wee touch of snowy sparkle!

Thanks for taking a look at my card! I sure enjoyed the time spent making it this evening!
:) Jill

Supplies:
Cardstock:  Rustic Cream (PTI) and Berrylicious (MFT)
Stamps:  Love Lives Here Holiday; Mat Stack 1 Collection; Lovely Layers; Pinecone stamp - wood mounted - not sure of manufacturer.
Inks:  Memento and PTI and SU - various brown shades
Dies:  Lil Inker stitched square/circles; Rustic Wreath Die - PTI; Lovely Layers Die - PTI. Snowflake Impression Plate - PTI
Other:  Digital Papers - Iralamija Shop on ETSY and Gingham Papers - not sure of source but from ETSY.
Jute Twine: WMS; Aleene's Glitter Snow;  

Happy Birthday Big Brother!!!!

Hello Friends,
Today is my oldest brother Tony's  50th Birthday!  Wow!  The big 50!!!!!

  Happy Birthday Tony!!!  

You are truly the best big brother a girl could ask for!!!!  An all-around GREAT GUY!!!  And this card is for you!  :

I am also entering it into the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog SSCB#23:  Use up those scraps! 
Now if I just use this technique about twenty or thirty more times I may put a dent in all the scraps I have on hand!  It is a fun technique and I love the colorful cards it creates!!!  By the way I did not have any birthday sentiments from Serendipity to use on my card so I improvised by using the "Happy Holidays" sentiment from the "Old Time Christmas" stamp set item: 934QCL.  I masked off the word "Holidays" and just used the "Happy" to create my card.  I definitely need to order some sentiment stamps from Serendipity during this weeks sale!  Shipping is free for all orders over $10.00 until 11-12-13! 


Thanks for taking a look at my card!  And I also want to send a thank you to the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Team for choosing my card from last week as the favorite card for challenge #22. You made my week!!!!
:) Jill

2013 Christmas Tags: Tag #7 - Snowgirls; Tag #8: Gingerbread Sweeties; Tag #9: Reindeer

Hi everyone,
Here with a quick post of part of my weekend crafty endeavors.  I went to see my friend Kara following her surgery and wanted to bring her a little "feel better" gift so I made and gave her these tags to bring a smile:

Tag set #7 -  Snowgirls:

Kara texted me after opening my gift and said she liked them so much she is going to use them as ornaments on her Christmas tree.  Isn't that the sweetest!  I have to be honest I like these so much that I will definitely be making more very soon!   I LOVE snowgirls and boys!!!  And I love that I can print as much of this digital paper from Iralamija Shop on ETSY as I need!  :)  Yay!

 The little rose buttons are from Hobby Lobby but can also be made with a mold an some clay if you want.

 A view of the back:

Tag set #8:  Gingerbread Sweeties:

 I made 7 of these sweet gingerbread girl tags and will probably make more....thanks to Annette at Annette's Paper Bistro for the inspiration which led me to buy this die on Ebay and to make these tags!!!!  If you have never visited Annette's blog than grab a cup of coffee and spend some time paging through her beautiful creations!  I have long had her gingerbread men pinned to my "Tags Only" board on Pinterest. 

 The white on the gingerbread man is both chalk pencil and ink.  Most of these I did not put glitter on - can you believe it!?!  I glittered the one in the picture above but liked it better plain!!!!  LOL!

Tag #9:  Reindeer with scarf:
  I made 7 of these tags too!  The background paper on the reindeer is something I created on my computer using the names of Santa's reindeer.  I like this idea but need to learn how to use this new version of "Word" better to get the spacing right.  But this worked for now....

 That is it for me tonight.  Thanks for taking a look at my tags! The base of the tags are made with dies from Cheery Lynn Designs.com.
Hugs,
: ) Jill

Happy Birthday Tracey!!!

 

Today we wish the wonderful Tracey McNeely a very Happy Birthday!!!!!  

Tracey was one of the first bloggers I came to admire on-line.  She has a wonderful style that is admired by so very many of us card makers!  I love seeing what she creates each week and draw much inspiration from her lovely cards and projects!  Tracey's blog "In My Creative Opinion" can be found:  HERE. 

I came to know Tracey through her blog when I began to join in the Papertrey Ink "Make-it-Monday" challenges as well as their Blog Hops.  Her blog was one of the first that I ever subscribed to via e-mail and I love when her posts pop into my inbox!  

Here is a birthday card just for you Tracey - with a cup of cheer to say "Happy Birthday to YOU"!

 I cannot take credit for the design of this card.  I saw Nichole Heady use this sweet cup of cheer and birthday sentiment with the snowman die : HERE and I had to try it out!

I hope this year is full of blessings for you and your family Tracey!  Enjoy your day and thanks for making this craft I love so much extra special by your presence here in blog land!

I want to send a great big thanks to our sweet party planner Joyce!  Please check out the lovely inlinkz party list over on Joyce's blog: HERE and join in all the fun for Tracey's special day!

Hugs,
Jill 

Supplies:
Cardstock: Kraft, Scarlet Jewel
Paper:  Gingham - digital paper

Stamps: Shape Up Snowman Accessories, Tremendous Treats Christmas, In the Meadow. KaiserKraft background stamp: love, laugh, life.

Other: Snowman Shape Up Series Die; Medium scallop border die; Stickles Glitter glue - Diamond; copic markers.

SSCB#22 - Words and Verse: "Let Heaven and Nature Sing"

Hi all,
Had an hour to whip up a card today.  This is for the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog #22 - Words and Verse:

 Thanks for taking a look at my card!

: Jill


Supplies:
Stamp: Serendipity Stamps: Let Heaven and Nature Sing
Cardstock:  Kraft, Vintage Cream
Paper:  Iraliamija Shop - ETSY
Dies: Cheery Lynn Designs - oval; Impression Obsession - pine branch; Snowflake Emobssing Plate - PTI
Other supplies: twine, crochet flowers, vintage buttons, tombow glue, stickles - mercury