My Angel Sister....

Edited to add a post script at bottom of this post. 8-30-2012
Hi all,
Here with a card that I made for my sister Diana.  She is my youngest sister and means the world to me. 

The day she was born my Mom called the school (I was in 8th grade at the time) and I walked home to babysit my 2nd youngest sister Beth while my Mom drove to the hospital to deliver our sweet Diana Rose.  My Dad met my Mom at the hospital because he had to take the train from Chicago, he worked at the Sears Tower at the time.  

My sweet little Diana Rose is now a lovely woman and this card is to thank her for being such an angel in my life over the past couple years.  She has been there for me at some of the most difficult times of my life.  She is a beautiful lady inside and out!  Here is the card that I made for her:

This card is being entered in the Cheery Lynn Designs challenge #42, which is all about doilies.  You can find the challenge information over at the Cheery Lynn Deisgns Challenge Blog: HERE 

Here are a few more pictures of my card and of the Cheery Lynn Dies I used to make it:

I used the French Pastry Doily (DL102) to create my angel.  I cut it into 6 equal pieces and used 3 pieces to make the angel.  I only removed the piercings at the "sleeves" and "hem" of the angel wings and robe and left the other piercings solid as I liked it better this way while designing it.  The angel's halo is the center piece from the Nautical Wheeler Doily.  The main portion of this doily die is peeking out from behind the purchased white paper doily as a beautiful decorative edge.

I used a lovely button for the face and added some twine for the hands as well as a rose "bouquet"

for her to hold.  You can also see the Tiffany Border B137 in this photo. 

I die cut two of the decorative corner dies and made a medium size rose with the mini and medium rose dies.  I added a baby rose from "I am Roses" tucked inside for the center of the bloom.

I then placed two more of these small roses on either side of the larger bloom.

These are the Cheery Lynn Designs dies that I used on my card.

This is one of the newest dies from Cheery Lynn Designs August release - "Embellishments #2".  I love all of the little pieces for making flowers and even leaf backings for handmade flowers.  I cut some of these pieces in hunter green to back the corner roses that I made for my card.  This is a fantastic die for flower creating!  I hope to play with it some more and maybe post a video!  There is so much you can do with the first two "build a flower" series released by Cheery Lynn Designs especially when you combine them with all of the other flower dies in their store!

Thanks for looking at my card.  I can't wait to see what other Doily creations are uploaded for this challenge.  It is always so fun to see all of the lovely inspiration! 

Jill

 Edited to add:
Post Script:  So excited that my card was chosen among all of the incredible entires for a "Weekly Spotlight" top 4 this week!  Thanks Cheery Lynn Design Challenge team!  I appreciate it so much!

A card for Make it Monday #77 - Ink Pads as watercolors

Hello all,
Tons to do today but I decided to take some time this morning to play with the new Make it Monday video - "Ink Pads as Watercolors" over at Nichole Heady's blog for Papertrey Ink:  HERE.  Dawn did a great job demonstrating this technique in her video and I decided to give it a go.

Here is my card:

 I stayed very close to Dawn's original card.  I don't have the dahlias set (Hmmm - may need to remedy that soon!) so after hunting through my stamps I decided to use Delightful Doilies to make my flowers.  And for the leaves (and little vines) I pulled out Strawberry Patch.  I stamped the background using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then to "paint" my card I used the following inks: Raspberry Fizz, Autumn Rose, Sweet Blush, Simply Chartreuse, and Prima's "Summer Field". 

I used the same sentiment that Dawn used in her card from the Tagged Sentiments set.  The only change I made was that I turned the sketch at the end because I made a stamping error and had to trim my cardstock down and mat it with black to make it all come together.  I thought it looked better horizontally in the end.  I also impressed my card base with the linen impression plate to add some interest and dimension to the background.

I also got (once again!) some little smudges of ink on my white card base.  Please ignore it in the pictures!  I try so hard to not have this happen but it did -again!  Does anyone know of any tricks for taking ink smudges off?  I tried an eraser with no luck and I don't have enough time to re-do my card right now!  I hope someone knows a way to fix it.  When I worked in banking we had this solution that took ink off of checks if we needed to fix the amount for some reason....wish I had some of that at home! LOL!

That is it for me today...thanks so much for taking a look at my card.  I would love to know what you think of it and this technique!  I hope you find time to play along!
                                   : )   Jill

Watermelon anyone?

Hello - I am here with a card for the Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge #39 - Hot Time in the Summer!
You can find the challenge at this link: HERE

My card is inspired by my son Tim.  Watermelon is my son's favorite summer food and is a BIG part of our summer eating!  As soon as Tim sees watermelon in the store it ends up in our shopping cart and goes back in throughout the summer weeks of grocery shopping.  So when I saw the title of this challenge that is what came to mind and I got to thinking about the Cheery Lynn Dies and how I might fashion a watermelon inspired card.

Here are some pictures of my card....and following that some pictures of how I made it - a pictorial tutorial of sorts if you will...

 Start by making the card base with the English Tea Party Doily Angel Wing.  I scored and folded my card stock and laid the folded edge against the straight side so it would not be cut (as per normal).

I used the oval scalloped stackers to make the pink melon and added it to my card base using a Papertrey Ink melon colored bitty dot paper.  I then cut the middle of the Cheery Lynn heart doily set out of black cardstock to make seeds for my watermelon.

 Here is a picture showing me placing the seeds...

 This QuickStik is the ideal tool for gluing down small elements to your projects!  I could not have glued the seeds down without it!

I then made a "melon" colored rose with a white reverse and cut out some felt leaves using the dies shown in the photo.  I only used the smaller die of the sweet williams dies - center of picture - for the base of my flower.   The flower was made with white card stock and then spritzed with the Mr. Huey's mist.  I left some of the white card stock showing as it reminded me of a rose in my garden that has a white reverse and is so beautiful.  I also liked the way it picked up on the white focal point diecut I used for my sentiment.

 Here is another shot of the finished card. I added a lovely tie and bow with some Twisted Lime Trendy Twine!  I love all of their two-toned twines.  You can find them at Annie's Paper Boutique:  HERE

As I was going to photograph my card I asked my son to hold it for a moment while I adjusted the direction of my lighting....this is what he did with it and I was able to catch him at it....LOL!  I told you he LOVES watermelon - apparently even "paper" watermelon needs to be eaten! After he took it away from his mouth he said "Sorry Mom, I actually put my teeth on your card!"

That is it for me tonight.  Thanks for taking a look at my card!  I am going to save it for one of Tim's teacher's next summer as they head into Summer Vacation.  The inside sentiment on a white die cut (I used the oval die again to line the inside) says "Enjoy your vacation" and is also from Papertrey Ink.

: )  Jill

Card 2 - Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge 108

Hello,
Here with another card for the Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #108: HERE.  I liked this sketch by the talented Belinda Chang Langner so much that I was inspired to make another card with some of the stamping leftovers I had on my desk from the first one. 

Here are some pictures:

 I created the sentiment by selecting words from several different sentiments within Waltzing Mouse Stamps set: Sewing Box Hugs!  I love how it turned out!

I had stamped these Sewing Box Hugs flowers from Waltzing Mouse stamps the other day in Berry Sorbet ink.  Last night I cut them all out and colored them with copics and edged them in some Marina Mist ink from Stampin Up.  Then I added the brad and some more copic ink to create the "stamens".  It was such a cute little flower I decided to make the second card to put it on!


Thanks for taking a look at my little card. Happy Crafting!
: )  Jill

A little Hot Cocoa anyone?

Hi Everyone,
Here tonight with a card I made all about hot cocoa.  Yesterday it was cool and overcast here in Seattle and my son wanted to go swimming (luckily in a heated pool...).  When he got out Grandma Jackie brought him a mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows to drink while he was drying off all bundled up in a beach towel by Mommy.  Aren't Grandma's the best!!!!  I think so.  I wonder if Seattle is the only place where you need hot cocoa in the middle of Summer?  Anyway the hot cocoa and marshmallows inspired this card:  

Thanks for taking a look at my cocoa card!
: ) Jill

Entered into:  Simon Says Stamp Challenge : Anything Goes:  HERE

A card for: The Play Date Cafe challenge #142

Hello,
Today, thanks to an incredibly beautiful post on my friend Kara Lynn's blog HERE I was inspired to make a card for the Play Date Cafe challenge #142!  This is the first time I have joined this challenge I believe and I just love the photo inspiration.  These warm summer colors appealed to me as soon as I saw them...perhaps because it is overcast and grey here in Seattle today!  So thanks Kara!!!! You warmed up my dreary day! :)

Here is the inspiration photo and the link to The Play Date Cafe's blog:
http://theplaydatecafe.blogspot.com/



And here is my CAS card:

Supplies:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink

Die:  butterfly - Cheery Lynn Designs

Impression Plate:  Cheery Lynn Designs

Glitter glue: Stickles Diamond

Adhesive: Scrapbuck.com 1/4" dimensional tape

Other challenges posted to:   52 Card Pickup

Thanks for taking a look at my card!

Happy Crafting!

: ) Jill

A mini-book for my son's 8th Birthday...Edited 7-23-12

Hello,
Tonight I wanted to put together a mini-book for the stamp-a-faire event over at Nichole Heady's blog for Papertrey Ink: HERE

I watched all of the videos over the past two days and decided to go with something similar to Melissa Phillips book after re-watching her wonderful video a second time.   The album is for my son's 8th birthday.   I really wanted the birthday photos to take center stage so I kept the book fairly simple.  I have never made a mini album from scratch like this before and I enjoyed the process.  I also learned a lot of things that I would do differently next time but I still like my final product.  I still need to add some embellishments to the pages but I added my journaling while the memories from the party are still fresh in my mind.  I also think I need to stamp on the "happy" die cut (or color it with my copics) to help it stand out but I am out of time tonight so that will have to be done later too!

This was Tim's first birthday without his beloved Papa Stu and we both struggled with how to celebrate it.  Some of you know that my sweet Stuart passed away from brain cancer 5 months ago.  We are still trying to figure out how to celebrate special days without him - these are the times when his absence is the hardest for us.  Tim did not want to have a party with his friends this year - he asked that only his immediate family celebrate with him.  So I planned a very impromptu pizza and salad party for the evening of his birthday and invited the family to come.  I have 6 siblings so it was a full house and it ended up being a very nice evening which helped the sadness of Stuart's absence to be less overwhelming.  I wanted to make an album of this birthday especially as I know as Tim grows up he will wonder and have questions about what his life was like after his Papa went to heaven. 

Here are some pics of my mostly finished mini album:

 If you have any suggestions on how to make the "Happy" look better I woud love to hear them!

 My sweet boy at breakfast - we have a tradition that you get to choose something special for breakfast on your birthday each year!  We always light a candle and sing with just "us" on the morning of each other's birthdays.

 My sister Beth who lives out of state sent a Tim a special package with his favorite - Mad Libs!!!

 The back of the mini-album.  I used light weight cardboard sandwiched between two pieces of die cut cardstock and a sheet of patterned bittdy dot paper for the front and back covers to make them sturdier.

A side view so you can see the pages and the colors used.  I think I can make a much better product now that I have this one mostly under my belt so to speak!  Thanks to all the designers that made such great videos and tutorials.  I learned a lot and had fun with this project!  Thanks for taking a look.  Stamp-a-faire was such a fun event! I hope I can participate more fully next year!

New cover picture - see edit notes below:

7-23-12:  Edited to add an updated picture of the cover.  I received some wonderful suggestions on fixing my "happy" as I wasn't pleased with it.  I changed the color and I tried to move the  hat but I will have to re-do the whole cover if I want to do so.  For now I am happier with just the new color!  Yeah!  Thanks for the lovely suggestions in my comments area!  So appreciate it! :)
                                                                    : )   Jill

A card for Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge #37 - White on white

Hello all,
I made a card for the White on White Challenge #37 over at the Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge blog: HERE. 

I made an oblong card...8" x 4".  I used the new Cheery Lynn Flower die for my flower and I just love it!  I put the flower together very easily with a sparkly brad and used tons of layers to make it nice and full!  I made it from vellum and it is so beautiful!  I think the photo doesn't do it justice!
I also used the decorative corner die - not sure of the name or die number and I can't find it on the site tonight.  Edited to add:  It is the Victorian Romance Flourish die DL151 - thanks for the info in your comment Kathi! I usually mark the die's number and name on the back of the die in permanent pen but I forgot to do so on this one. Edited to add: (Off to do so right now...)I used two of these corner diecuts arranged towards each other to make the focal point before adding the flower to the center of it.  I distressed the edges of the main panel (for added dimension) and then adhered the entire thing to the white 8x4" card.

Here are some photos:

I  love the simple elegance that you attain with an all white card.  I think it is perfect for this wedding card!  Thanks for taking a look and letting me know what you think!  There are some gorgeous creations this week over on the challenge blog.  I hope you get to go see them!   
                                                          : )   Jill

A card for Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge #31

Edited on 6-8-2012:  Added updated photos taken with natural light.

Hello all,
Here tonight with a card for the Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge #31 - Make it Manly.  You can find the information about the challenge:  HERE.

Here is a picture of my manly card and the Cheery Lynn Designs dies that I used to make it:

This photo taken on 6-8-12 - natural daylight.

I don't have a lot of masculine stamps so I used a wreath and went with masculine colors of kraft, ripe avocado, dark chocolate, fine linen, and rustic cream.  The card has an old time vintagey feel to it in person...but I don't know that the photo translates it well.  All of the cardstock is from Papertrey Ink.  The only non-cheery lynn die is the banner at the top of the card which is from

Taylored Expressions.   

Below are the Cheery Lynn dies that I used for the square diecuts and border on my masculine card.  Not pictured is the old parchmant embossing plate which I used on the two square mats to give them texture. NOTE:  I will try to get some "daylight" pictures tomorrow - these were taken with lighting in my basement so they do not show details like I would want.

These Cheery Lynn dies were used to create the flower and greenery around it:

 

 A close-up of the flower and other details - photos taken on 6-8-12 with natural daylight:

The flower itself is made from some cardboard paper protectors that are used to ship the cardstock I purchase from Papertrey Ink.  I try to re-use my packaging from all my products as much as possible to be GREEN!

The stamps are from two different companies:  The Square border is from Our Daily Bread Designs.
The wreath and both sentiments are from Papertrey Ink.  Inks: Jenni Bowlin and Distress. The heart chipboard is from Michael's.  The button is Papertrey Ink and the ribbon is from my stash and very old!

That is it for me tonight.  I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the card and the pictures need to be retaken during daylight so I may update this post tomorrow morning.  (If I have time! )  (NOTE: Post updated on 6-8-2012 at 2:34pm.)  I hope you find some time to play along with the Cheery Lynn Designs challenge.  It is a lot of fun! 

                                                Happy Crafting Everybody!
                                                          : ) Jill

A card for the MFT sketch challenge: MFTWSC74

Hello,
Here is my card for this weeks MFTStamps sketch challenge.  You can find the information for this challenge:  HERE.

This week's sketch looks like this:

Here is my card:

I made this card for a dear friend of mine that has been so sweet and supportive over the past 2 years while my husband was ill with brain cancer.  Now I just need to make about 50 more to thank all of the amazing people that have helped our family through my husband's illness and passing.   My son and I are so blessed because we are surrounded by love, prayers, and amazing support.  I also appreciate all of the friendships and cyber hugs and prayers of support that we have received on line.  You are all such wonderful people!  Creating is such a balm to my soul and to hear your sweet comments and support means so much!  So thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Happy Crafting!

:)  Jill

A card for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #68: Pocket Cards

Hi everyone,
Today is my nephew Cole's birthday!  Happy Birthday Cole!  Hope this year is full of blessings and adventures as you graduate from high school and begin to follow your dreams where they lead you.  In honor of Cole's birthday I made a birthday pocket card for the Make it Monday challenge over at Nichole's blog: HERE 

I loved the cards that Heather made but I am always intimidated when it comes to stamping my own backgrounds.  I know, however, that the only way to get good at something is to practice, practice, practice.  So....today I tried to make my own pocket card background for Cole's birthday card.  I did more stamping on this card than, I think, any card I have ever made before....and there are lots of stamping problems with it...but you know what - I am not going to worry about it anymore.  I had a great time making it and I did my best and learned A LOT!!!!  A lot about what to do differently next time LOL!!!!!  I want to do another card so I can correct some of the mistakes I made with this one but I have lots to do today and then we are off to a party in Cole's honor so this card will have to do.

Anyway here are some pictures of Cole's birthday card....it was made with love for one of the most special people in my life - my sweet nephew!  Love you TONS Cole!

Thanks for taking a look at my card making endeavor today. Does anyone else struggle with stamping their own backgrounds ?   Just curious...  As long as I am having fun I am going to keep trying...and I always have fun getting inky!  I just realized I didn't use a single die cut on this card - wow it has been a long time since that has happened too!  Maybe too long!!! Ha Ha!

   I have all week to play so hopefully I will get to try this challenge again before the week is over! 

                                                                      : )   Jill

A card for this weeks Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #99...

Hello all,
Tonight I had some time to sit down and play with the Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #99. 

 I decided to make a masculine card for Father's Day which is just around the corner.  It will be Tim and my first Father's Day without our beloved Stuart, Tim's "Papa Stu".  I thought I would be best served by getting my Dad's and Father-in-law's cards done early as doing them closer to the day may be a time when my mojo is sadly lacking. 

Here are some pictures of the card I came up with.  I was inspired by ALL of the wonderful cards by the mischief makers and loved the medallion on Lenet's card.  I hadn't made a medallion in a long time so I decided it would be a nice jump off point for a Father's Day card :


The sentiment stamps are from Waltzing Mouse's "Say it Loud" set.  The heart bling is from prima, and all of the papers are scraps from my stash.  The cardstock is papertrey ink's vintage cream.  The medallion is made with a die from MFT stamps and paper from a CD from Crafty Secrets - although I just received the chicken wire background set from Waltzing Mouse so I can now make my own chicken wire background paper in any color under the rainbow - so excited about that!!!!



 The letters I used are from a Studio Calico kit and are by Basic Grey.  I thought they looked very masculine!

The border is from a Martha Stewart punch around the page set.  I don't remember the name of it though - wish they were on the punches for me!  I used a piece of felt cut from a "sun" die for the center of my medallion and inked it up with some pumice stone distress ink to help it show up a little bit better and give it some dimension. It is topped with a button and twine from my stash. The black ink for the sentiments is archival ink - jet black.

Thanks for taking a look at my card.  I so appreciate reading everyone's comments and going to look at how everyone interprets the sketch.  It makes me realize how unique and special each one of us is in God's eyes when I see how much beauty we can create out of a single sketch idea!
Happy Crafting!
: )  Jill