"Just a little bit SLOW"....

That's exactly what I've been lately! Ha ha! In blog land and my life lately. I seem to be "just" missing things lately. Oh well. I'll be better this week. Promise. I have a bunch of challenge cards ready to make today, so stay tuned.

Now on with today's card.

In honor of my lateness, I made this card for my cousin's birthday. Totally mailed it ON her birthday. Oops! The main image is from my new Unity Jan KOTM. Isn't too cute?! Goes perfectly with the sentiment that also comes in the kit. I'm having fun with these Unity stamps. :)

I'm excited to do some shopping tonight! Both The Greeting Farm and Sweet November are having new releases tomorrow that open tonight at midnight, which means earlier for me since I'm a west coast gal. Yay! Check them out, they promise to be fabulous!

Materials

Stamps: Unity Jan KOTM

Paper: BG Nook & Pantry, CTMH cs and Grace dp

Other: Copics, EK border punch, CTMH inks and ribbon, foam tape

Rotic invites for Josie

So it's that "love"ly time of year again where we all spend way too much money on our significant others on candy they don't need and flowers that will die in a few days. That's why I say "Bling!" show me the jewelry! Lol!

It's also that time of year for my friend Josie's annual "Rotic" luncheon. (romantic without the man--get it?) She asked me again this year to make her invites and this is what I came up with:

I had to make her 10 invites, two of each paper pattern. I based my sketch off of the Mojo Monday 121 sketch that's one of me favorites. I used the same fun paper that I bought at Target in the $1 bin. Yay $1 bin!! The quote stamp is one from a set of six clear stamps I bought for $3 at the Craft Warehouse in Wenatchee. Bargain bob's! Josie loved them since she invites all the special women in her life to share in the great food, love, and strong women.

Here's a close up of the sentiment. I printed the invite info on the inside on a separate sheet of paper and just put them in there loose. At the end of the invite I told them to "Go Green" and reuse the card by giving it to another friend. Good way to get my business info out there twice. :)

Materials

Stamps: CTMH Playful Flourishes and Soul Mates WP, Heidi Grace Love Quotes

Paper: CTMH cs, $1 bin dp at Target

Other: CTMH inks and bigger brads, Memento ink, Stickles, EK border punch, foam tape

Sketchy Saturday

"But wait!" you say....."that's not Anya"! You're right, but I already colored this Gorjuss Girl to go with this paper. I liked the sketch, but wanted to use some more of my RAK from Amy. I wish I printed off some smart-alec comment for this one since this Gorjuss Girl looks like she has an attitude. Something like, "so where's my chocolate?" or "it better be diamonds". Ha ha!

I went a little crazy with the corner punch on this one. If you want to see the original sketch, hop on over to Club Anya & Friends for Jess's fabby sketch.

Materials
Stamps: Gorjuss Girl RAK, CTMH Say It In Style and Fringed Phrases
Paper: KI Memories dp, CTMH cs
Other: Copics, CTMH inks, Kaiser rhinestones, foam tape, misc. ribbon, EK corner rounder and border punch

Another Challenge filled card

I absolute LOVE this card! Super fun and frilly. This uses some more paper from my RAK from Amy. These were actually the scraps from tomorrow's card, but I wanted to share this card first. The sketch of this card is based off of this card of Amy's. It also follows both the Color Chef Challenge #36 and Crazy 4 Challenges #21 which both ask to use pink. I think this qualifies. ;)

I've also fallen victim to Unity Stamps. The sentiment is from my January Unity KOTM and the butterflies were some of the free singles they sent me when I signed up. Like this company already! Free stuff? You can't go wrong! Another blogger, Naomi first turned me onto these stamps. I like her simple yet spunky style, and Unity stamps were usually the culprit.

Materials

Stamps: Unity Jan KOTM and singles

Paper: KI Memories dp, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, Memento ink, CTMH ink, Primas, Kaiser rhinstones, Stickles, EK apron punch

I'm baaaacckkk! :D

Ahhh! It's so GREAT to be back into the swing of my craftiness! It just makes me so happy to have time to play again. In fact, in an hour I'm meeting some girlfriends to have some crafty time together. Happy Happy, Joy Joy! (ah, Ren & Stimpy, I miss thee)



So onto the whole reason you've stopped by my blog today.....

I actually participated in some challenges with this one! Back crafting AND doing challenges?! I'm amazing myself! Lol! So the first challenge is the sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketches #51. It's my first try at this challenge and I'll be revisiting it for sure.

My other "virgin" challenge submission is to Raise The Bar #2 which calls to use a gifted item. Well this super cute Gorjuss Girl, and the paper, was a RAK from Amy over Christmas. Yay! Thanks Amy! I have a few more cards coming up that use some more of this RAK. Since my friend Sparkle is a "Bar-tender" at RTB, I decided to scrap-lift one of my favorite little details she occasionally does on her cards--the ribbon sentiment is raised in the middle to look like a waving ribbon. Love it! So cool, yet so easy.

I got the idea for the clouds on my main image from this fantastic card by Sandra. She does a much better job of it than I did though!

OK. Enough yaking from me! Have to pack up my mobile craft unit and go hang with the girls. ;)

Materials

Stamps: Gorjuss Girl RAK, CTMH Say It In Style and Simple Stitches

Paper: KI Memories dp, CTMH cs

Other: CTMH inks and buttons, Copics, Coluzzle, foam tape.

Hiatus....

Sorry I've been gone. I have just a bit too much on my plate right now and need to work on getting it all back to a managable level. Please bear with me as I don't really have time for craft's just yet. Hopefully by this weekend. Until then, take care and stop by some of my favorite blogs with the links on my sidebar.

<3 Jenn

....and too cute Chelsea

Yay! I've used ALL of my new Sprouts! ....well that is until I get Gigi in the mail from my winning card I made for CA&F's release party. ;)

Can you tell that my corner rounder has been my best friend lately? That, and the sentiment and music notes from my Love Birds ss. I think Chelsea is so darling. I think I'll have to make another card with her colored to look like Josie again. Josie is NEVER without her iPod, but she rarely wears a skirt.....

Well, I'm at the tail end of my paper from Amy. I have just a few random pieces left with no idea of how I'm going to use them. I'll think of something. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Materials
Stamps: TGF Chelsea, CTMH Playful Flourishes and Love Birds
Paper: Sassafrass Lass dp, CTMH cs and Bella dp
Other: CTMH inks and ribbon, Copics, Stickles, foam tape, EK corner rounder.

Super cute Ruby

I think Ruby is my favorite of the new Sprouts over at TGF. She kinda reminds me of my dear friend Josie. Their hair is similar, their style is similar, and sometimes Josie gives that slight grin that makes you wonder what she's thinking. Which is why I think I'll give her this card for her birthday next month.

The layout of this card is based on this sketch by Pam over at CA&F for the Sketchy Saturdays challenge. Again, another card with an oval. Think I need to invest in some oval Nesties.... but until then, using Ruby's shape as the oval had to do. This is one of my top 5 favorite cards I've made in the last few months. I love everything about it and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Materials

Stamps: TGF-Ruby, CTMH-Say It In Style

Paper: Sassafrass Lass dp, CTMH hollyhock dp and colonial white cs

Other: CTMH inks, brads and sunflower waxy flax. Copics, PTI buttons, misc. ribbon, foam tape

January Card Class

Here are the cards we're making at Card Class today. The first two use the NEW Veranda paper (my favorite) and yes, that "Love Birds" stamps set again. Also used the Felicity stamp set that is part of the promotional kit for National Papercrafting Month.

I thought having a more masculine birthday card might be in order. I always tend to design girly cards, and since there ARE men in the world still it might be nice to make something for them every once and a while too. So on this first card, I used the Felicity set in a "manly" way. The main image is a stamp designed to be used as a bird like in my last card, but I thought if I just don't ink up the beak, then it looks like a paisley. That paired with the cool argyle stamp from the same set as well as the cocoa side of this dp, and everything is set for a dude's birthday card.


Told ya you'd be seeing this Love Birds ss again! It's just too cute not to! Same idea with the stamping as in Wednesday's card as far as adding dimension to the bird cage and having the music flow out of the cage. The sentiment is so fun!


The third card also uses the paper from the Felicity kit and you might recognize it from a previous post. I didn't really feel like designing another card, so I just decided to use what I already had. ;)
Materials: All CTMH. Veranda L2pp, Felicity promo kit, Love Birds ss, Fringed Phrases ss, desert sand and bamboo cs. Cocoa, juniper, barn red, olive, hollyhock, and garden green inks. Juniper, buttercup and olive markers, hemp, basic button collection, Wishes card template.
Other: foam tape

Can it be?....

.....I did another Mojo card?! I know, I know. I can hardly believe it myself. When I saw this sketch over at the Mojo Monday blog, I totally fell in love with it's simplicity and usability (is that a word?). I know I'll definately be using it again.

Isn't this stamp so cute? This is one of the NEW sets from the CTMH Spring Idea Book called "Love Birds". The sentiment is darling, and I liked pairing it with the singing bird. You'll be seeing more of this set too. The paper I used for this card is a bargain bob from the $1 bin at Target. Set of 16 sheets of 5x7 Valentine paper. AND, I used my brand-new-yesterday EK crest border punch. LOVE IT! I've seen it used on quite a few blogs lately and fell in love. So excited when I saw it a JoAnn's yesterday, and at 40% off! :D

Materials

Stamps: CTMH Love Birds

Paper: Valentine paper-Target, CTMH cs

Other: CTMH inks, Crayola colored pencils, misc. ribbon, Kaiser rhinestones, Heidi Swapp felt flower and gel flower, EK crest border punch and corner rounder, foam tape.

Blonde or Brunette?

When I printed off my first of these Chibi's, I had a dilema....blonde, or brunette? I made the brunette one first only because I was using some chocolate cs with the card. But something pushed me to do another card with Chibi as a blonde. Now that they're both cone, I still can't decide which I like better.

THese cards also use some of the last of my blog candy from Amy. Good thing she sent me another package of goodies to play with for Christmas! :) I've loved using this Sassafrass paper and all the pretty embellishments. It's also made me realize that I really, REALLY need to buy some orange shades in Copics. Maybe some to color a redhead too! ;)

Materials

Stamps: TGF-Chibi Cake digi, CTMH-Say It In Style and For Every Occasion

Paper: Sassafrass Lass dp, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, CTMH ink, PTI buttons, misc. ribbons, Stickles

From Dahlia, with love

I'm really happy how the coloring turned out with Dahlia on this one. Plus, it might sound weird to TGF lovers, but I think she actually tones down the boldness of this Lemonade paper. I almost forgot that I had the matching Lemonade buttons until I ran across them the other day cleaning up my craft room. Lol! Amazing how your craft room can look like it was hit by a tornado so quickly. ;)

Materials

Stamps: TGF Dahlia, CTMH Playful Flourishes and Say It In Style

Paper: BG Lemonade, CTMH cs

Other: CTMH inks and edge distresser, BG buttons, Stazon ink

Pretty in pink Dahlia

I don't color blonde hair that often, but after coloring this Dahlia I need to do it more often. I like how she turned out. More Sugared paper. You getting tired of it yet? ;)

Lazy football day today. I love just lounging around in my comfy clothes watching football and movies all day....maybe some crafting too. Such a hard life!

Materials:
Stamps: TGF Dahlia, CTMH Felicity and Say It In Style
Paper: BG Sugared, CTMH cs
Other: CTMH inks, Copics, Nestie, Kaiser gems, foam tape

Mojo Chibi

First of all....I'm watching the Ravens STOMP the Patriots, 24-0, and that's only just the 1st quarter!! Ha ha Patriots!

OK, it's been a loooonnnggg time since I've done a Mojo Monday sketch, so long that I forgot that I have to actually post my card on my blog to link it. Unlike all the TGF challenges where I get to upload it to their gallery and share it on my blog as I wish. Ha ha! That's why you'll be seeing two posts today.

So this is the third Chibi I bought last week. Isn't she spunky?! Thought the sentiment was very fitting. She also went well with the last few pieces of my blog candy from Amy. Going to miss this paper. :( I'm also entering this into TGF's FFF challenge which calls for sparkle.

Materials

Stamps: TGF-Chibi Punk, CTMH-Fringed Phrases

Paper: Sassafrass Lass dp, mics. dp, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, Kaiser gems, Stickles, Nestie, Coluzzle, CTMH ink and liquid glass, CB folder, foam tape, EK border punch, misc. ribbon

"Hello" Lolli!

Another Lolli Anya card this time using some more Lemonade paper. Pretty much the same layout as yesterday too. I really need to buy a green Copic that matches that green better....

Materials

Stamps: TGF Lolli Anya, CTMH For Every Occasion

Paper: BG Lemonade, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, CTMH inks and embossing stylus, BG buttons

"Love"ly Lolli

Let the stretch of Valentine cards commence! You're going to be so sick of them soon. Lol! So here's some more of that Sugared paper. I'm totally loving my Noted Backgrounds from CTMH; adds just that right amount of umph.

Did I mention that I received my first consignment check from The Sweet Spot earlier this week?! Yay! So excited that my cards are selling! Lara says she has another check ready to mail. We might make the move to straight wholesale sale instead of consignment soon, with the exception of holiday cards. :)

Materials

Stamps: TGF Lolli Anya, CTMH Noted Backgrounds and Say It In Style

Paper: BG Sugared, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, CTMH inks, AC buttons, Nestie, Heidi Swapp chipboard heart, foam tape

Oops! Late post

I got my new Sprouts in the mail today!! Hence, the late post. Isn't Stella stinkin' adorable?! She was designed by my friend Amy Young. So talented that lady, I tell ya!

The layout for this card is inspired by a card by Robin at Club Anya & Friends. I found this old BG Sugared paper at that craft store in Wenatchee for only 20 cents a sheet! Yippee! The only problem is that it only has hearts printed on 1/4 of the page, so I used a stamp to add my own.

Off to finish making tacos. Yumm!! My fav! Have a great night!
P.S. GO TIDE!!

Materials
Stamps: TGF-Stella; CTMH Togetherness, Noted Backgrounds, and Say It In Style
Paper: CTMH cs and Bella dp, BG Sugared
Other: CTMH ribbon, inks, and paper piercer; Copics; foam tape

More Chibi

Here's a card using my last printed Shibuya. It also uses some of the last of my blog candy I got from Amy quite a while ago. Notice that the houndstooth stamp was my favorite lately? ;) Same with my new apron punch.

Now that the 12 Days of Sketches are over, I'll be able to share more of the cool new products and candy I've gotten recently. It's all sooo fun!

Materials
Stamps: TGF-Chibi Shibuya, CTMH Say it in Style, Noted Backgrounds, Notice the Details
Paper: Sassafrass Lass dp, CTMH cs
Other: CTMH inks, Copics, EK punches, Prima flowers, sparkles-Michaels

Chibi Chibi! Last of the 12 Days

Whew!! What a world wind of challenges! The 12 Days of Sketches challengs over at TGF officially ended Sunday night. It was a lot of fun, and lots of work to try and complete all 12 sketches.

Yay Chibi! So I've been stalling a bit on purchasing Chibis. At first I was kinda creeped out by their big buggy eyes, but after seeing them around blogland, they've really grown on me. Since I purchased some of the new release stamps over at TGF, I decided to buy 3 Chibis while I was there. Thank goodness they're digis so I could play right away!

I actually made three cards using this Chibi image, but these two used the final two sketches I had to complete for the challenge. Both of the sketches included an oval shape, and since I didn't have any oval die-cuts, I just used the shape of Chibi to mimic it. The first sketch is from Day 2 and the second is from Day 7. I'm so pleased with how both of these turned out. :)

Materials

Stamps: TGF-Chibi Shibuya digi. CTMH Playful Flourishes, Say It In Style, Notice the Details SOTM, Noted Backgrounds.

Paper: BG Lemonade, CTMH cs

Other: CTMH inks, black ribbon, and liquid glass; Copics; AC buttons and green ribbon; BG buttons; Heidi Swapp chipboard hearts; Stazon; foam tape.

I don't know about this one....

First of all....I was looking at all the entries in the TGF Gallery for the 12 Days challenge and noticed that I forgot to upload two cards. One got in on time, but the gallery was so overloaded with people scrambling to upload before the 8pm CST deadline that my last one got in a 8:01. :( I hope I'm not disqualified from the contest especially since that was the one I finished last week and put on my blog on the 1st.

Oh, well...just bummed me a little....now onto today's card.

I love this sketch from TGF's 12 Days of Sketches, and I had an idea, but when I put it all together I don't know if I really like it. The "disembodied" Anya head kinda creeps me out now I guess. Lol! This card also used Club Anya's hourly challenge from Friday for the 4pm hour which asked us to "sparkle". I had to angle the card to get the sparkle to show up.

***UPDATE*** I guess my card is good since it was chosen as the WINNER of this challenge over at Club Anya and Friends!! Yay! Thank you!

Materials

Stamps: TGF-Me Time Anya, CTMH-For Every Occasion and National Papercrafting ss

Paper: BG Lemonade, CTMH cs

Other: Copics, CTMH ribbon and inks, $1 bin sparkles, Gellyroll pen, Coluzzle

Triple challenge card

This card actually uses 3 TGF/CA challenges. The first is TGF's 12 Days of Sketches #12. Next is two of the hourly challenges from Club Anya from Friday's challenges. One is the 11am spot which called for "flower power", the other is the 7pm hour which called for using black & white with one other color. I always love using B&W with a pop of color. It's elegant an understated all at the same time.

Materials

Stamps: TGF-Dahlia

Paper: CTMH cs, Bo Bunny dp, MAMBI b/w dp, misc. dp

Other: Copics, Nestie, MM paper flowers, CTMH ink, CB folder, Heidi Swapp ribbon, $1 bin sparkles, foam tape, Sakura gel pens

Double challenge card

I hope this is legal....I'm using sketch #9 from TGF's 12 Days of Sketches and paired it with Club Anya's 10am spot of their hourly challenge today. Otherwise, I'm never going to get all these challenges finished! The 10am hour of CA's challenge called for sewing, so I used faux stitching since I don't have a machine.

Materials

Stamps: TGF-H/G snuggle, CTMH-Simple Stitches and Togetherness

Paper: BG Lemonade, CTMH cs

Other: CTMH inks, Nestie embossing die, Copics, EK punch, misc. ribbon, foam tape

Give me a 10!

First off....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

#10 sketch that is! This is another card designed with TGF's 12 Days of Sketches, and yet another one where I just saw an image and knew it would fit with this sketch. It's been a while since I've played with this set. I had fun paper piecing the balloon.

Materials

Stamps: TGF-Fly Away, CTMH-sentiment

Paper: BG Lemonade, CTMH Jingle L2 and cs

Other: CTMH inks, ribbon and sanding kit, Copics, CB folder, EK punch, foam tape