Love U

Hi!!! I just wanted to stop quickly to share another card I created for the current Moxie Fab World Olympics of Stamping challenge. This card in particular is one of my favorites and one of the simplest I've created lately.

Create It:

1. Cut and score a card to measure 4 1/2 x 5 1/2. Stamp your background. It's a love card so hearts in this case are quite fitting.

2. Stamp the sentiment with Versa Mark and heat emboss with white.

3. Using a tracing wheel create a faux stitch around your sentiment. Stamp a "U" in the center of the "O". With foam tape adhere your sentiment to the center of the card.

4. Finish by adding string and an embellishment. I had a spare little rhinestone heart.

This card as you can see is a very easy one and at the same time very elegant. Easy way to impress a loved one. Pair it with a box of chocolates and your good to go.

At home we're all still feeling a bit yucky. This nasty cold is lingering. Hopefully we'll be all better soon. Everything's much better when there's a bit of sunshine not only outside but in the heart.

Thanks for visiting!!!

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: basic white, PTI's berry sorbet

Stamps: Wedding Colllection (not sure of the company), Martha Stewart's alphabet set

Ink: PTI's berry sorbet, versa mark (heat embossing)

Other: tracing wheel, silver string, heart charm, foam tape, white embossing powder

:{Embellish}: Color Challenge

Unbelievable how fast the week went by. Not complaining one bit just an observation ;)

I hope your week's been productive. Mine has been good. Unfortunately we (daddy, mommy and child) have all the flu. I don't know what is up with us lately I think it's been the inconsistent weather patterns. Oh well, we are just cranking up our Echinacea and oregano oil intake it makes colds a lot milder. We should all be better by tomorrow, Lord willing :)

Shall we talk cards...

I love the colors Embellish has chosen for this week. They are so springy.

Now for my take on this challenge. Being that the colors are such a lovely reminder of what's to come {SPRING} I decided to make a card for the season :)

I love this little bird so much. I bought it a few months ago and this is the first time I use it. I'm afraid it won't be the last time you see it :)

I also made this card with the current Moxie Fab World challenge in mind, Olympics of Stamping. It has been great seeing so much inspiration.

I encourage you to check both of these challenges out.

Have a fabulous evening :)

Blessings,

Jessica

Moxie Fab World Challenge

Hello, hello!!! Have you been to Moxie Fab World lately? Cath has had an incredible celebration all week long and with celebrations come challenges and giveaways. Now who doesn't like that, right.

Inspired by the current Vancouver Winter Olympiads the challenge is to create a card(s) using mostly stamps. For details you can go here.

Create It:

1. Cut and score a card to measure 4 1/4" by 5".

2. Stamp big and small circles at random.

3. Punch a 1" circle on the bottom right corner.

4. Distress edges lightly.

5. Stamp sentiment and images.

6. On a separate piece of cardstock stamp a cupcake color with color pencils and cut out. Set aside.

7. Punch out a 1" circle. I chose a dark yellow.

8. Adhere the circle using foam tape so that it can pop up through the opening you created in the bottom right big scalloped circle.

9. Adhere cupcake using a foam tape as well.

10. Finish off by adding some shimmer to create focus and definition.

There ya have it. A complete happy little birthday card :)

Thanks for visiting and remember to find a moment to create.

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: Basic white

Stamps: Borders and frames Technique Tuesday (I need to double check) PTI, G Studio

Ink: Palette raw sienna, winter lily, orangerie, Memento Pink

Other: Circle punch, star dust stickles, foam tape

EBTKS Challenge

Yay!!! I'm back with a card I created for the EBTKS challenge. I haven't participated in one for a while. I tell you if I don't jot it down on my calendar it won't get done. Anyhow, I'm glad I got this one in :)

Here's the sketch. Pretty neat, huh.

Now for my creation... I know, my card doesn't look exactly like the sketch. When I was at the EBTKS blog I noticed the lovely day bed Kelly Marie used as an inspiration for this challenge and that's the image that stuck to my mind :)

Here's a side view so you can some details. I added shimmer to the dots and I popped up the two center squares.

Create It:

1. Cut and score an A2 size card and set aside.

2. Cut 8 squares frames. I used my nestabilities.

3. Adhere to a separate piece of cardstock. Use foam tape for center squares. Distress edges lightly.

4. Adhere the finished piece to yet another piece of cardstock ( I used brown). I then cut 2 strips of aqua mist cardstock. I used them as borders.

5. Now you can adhere the finished piece to your panel card. I rounded the edges to soften all those sharp angles. Distress lightly all around.

6. Stamp sentiment across bottom and dots across the top and add shimmer.

7. Finish off by adding an embellishment. I chose a flower with a rhinestone.

Pretty simple once it's done ;) Hope you were inspired to create something.

Thanks for visiting.

Blessings,

Jessica

A Little Pop

Hi there!!! I can't believe Wednesday is already here. Time really goes by quickly. I wanted to stop by and share a sweet card I created a bit ago.

Birdies, clouds and yellow have been my favorites recently. Even though there are no clouds in this particular card I managed to get the other elements in ;)

I really like this card I think because of this little detail here:

In real life the tiny paper bow looks so cute. I think I'll be adding more of these to my cards. It's simple things like this one that add so much to any project. Not only that but it also brings the attention to one place making it pleasant to the eye which is what you want. So next time you're crafting try to incorporate a single element that will make your project pop.

Have a great day!!!

I'll be back later with my take on the EBTKS Sketch challenge. We have till tomorrow for this project. So if you haven't created anything yet I highly encourage you to :)

Blessings,

Jessica

Just For Fun

Hey!!! How's your Monday morning so far? Mine is great. Can't complain when the sun's out :)

I wanted to stop quickly to share a card I created just for the fun of it. I've been looking at this red chrysanthemum color for a while. I love it. I was just not certain how to incorporate in my projects. So the solution... just use red chrysanthemum.

Here's my card:

Very simple design and easy to re-create. I really like the strip half way across the card. It's amazing what these little details do to cards. I also embossed lines to add a bit of more interest. I finished off with stitched buttons. Like most of my cards I added faux stitch using my tracing wheel. I distressed the edges a bit to bring the focus more to the center.

Here's a close-up of the details:

An Announcement:

Remember I had some good news to share with you all? Well it's back on the meter. Stay tuned for that very, very soon. I'll have a sweet prize coming up (can't announce it yet). So if you haven't become a Recapturing Wonders follower this is the time. Let's just say a *monthly reward* ;)

Have a great day!!

Blessing,

Jessica

Celebrations!!

Happy Saturday!!!

This month there were over 6 birthdays between family and friends. Today I wanted to stop quickly and share one of the birthday cards I created. This one in particular was for a sweet friend of mine. I wanted to make it a bit more personal so I added her name to the card.

Here's a close up of the banner. I added some shimmer to the edges for some pizzaz ;)

Create It:

1. Cut and score a card to measure 4" x 6".

2. Stamp a border and distress edges lightly.

3. Stamp sentiment.

4. To create the banner I stamped polka dots in different colors then cut out a small triangle and used it as a template. Then I traced it and cut out one for each letter of the name.

5. I wrote each letter using a felt marker (grey).

6. Distress each triangle.

7. Cut a piece of string. I used baker twine in brown and white. I then taped each little triangle to it. Make sure you tape the name backwards *Y S L E H C*. That way when you flip it, it's properly placed ;)

8. Finish off by adding shimmer to the edges of each little triangle. I used star dust stickles.

There ya have it, a personalized birthday card. Pretty simple to create. Next time you have a birthday try giving this design a try. Let me know how it goes ;)

Before I leave I wanted to leave you with a sweet thought I found this morning:

"We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, 'Be still, and know that I am God'." {Psalm 46:10}

May this day be a moment of silence that brings you closer to Him. May His warmth comfort you and accompany you wherever you go today and always.

Blessings,

Jessica

And The Winner Is...

Happy Friday!!! I wasn't planning on being away for so long. We had a rough week here at the Rosario residence. First my daughter got miserably sick with the stomach flu this was on Valentine's day 2 days later I get sick with the stomach flu so up until yesterday we were out of commission here. I'm still a bit weak but definitely better than yesterday.

However, I'm happy to be here and announce the winner of my blogiversary giveaway :)

Karen, please contact me with your mailing address. Thanks, everyone!!

I have 2 birthday cards I created and want to share with you all. *Light permitting* I'll post them up later :)

Blessings,

Jessica

PTI Flower {Embellishment} Challenge

The festivities continue over at Nichole's blog. Have you been following it? It's full of great inspiration, eye candy and contests. I haven't participated in every one of them, I admit. I do choose those that capture my attention. This one in particular really got me in a crafty mood :)

The contest was to create a sheet of flower embellies and create a card using one of them. How cool is that!! Ever since I began paper crafting one of the things I was known for was creating handmade embellies. So I couldn't pass this one by ;)

Here's my take on this lovely challenge:

To create the flower embellishments I used a flower stamp (the only one I possess). I stamped it 14 times 7 times in magenta and 7 times in orange. Then I took my scissors and cut and cut and cut. I popped up the smaller flower and either added a button or shimmer. The end result was so worth all that cutting :)

Here's a close up of the embellies.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Have a great day!!

Blessings,

Jessica

:{Embellish}: Color Challenge

It's here, another Embellish Magazine color challenge!!! I get so excited when these come around because they always inspire me. Have you tried them before? If not, I highly encourage you to especially since they have a prize ;) You can go here for details.

The colors this time are the following... the theme/element is "birthday".

When I saw these I was not too thrilled let me tell you. But the DT did such a fantastic job that I knew I had to give it a try :)

So for my creation. I did something a little different. I didn't have a big and bold birthday image (I specifically wanted a big cupcake). So I tried printing some yummy images but to my disappointment found out my printer is having issues. So what's a girl to do-don't have a stamp, can't print one... you paint one!!

And that's what I did :)

I took my water color paints out and stroked away till I was satisfied with the image. The result a jumbo, yummy hand painted cupcake. Not bad, for not having the proper elements, ay!! To finish off my card I went ahead and stamped the sentiment and added a mini embellishment on the upper left side of the card. I didn't want *dead* space so I simply cut out a strip of green cardstock (to balance the colors) rounded the corners, distressed and added a brown circle (punched out in a standard size whole punch) and I pierced it to make it simulate a little button.

Thanks for stopping by!! Hope you found a bit of inspiration. Now you can go ahead and give this a try ;)

Wanted to leave you with a sweet quote on Valentines weekend:

*When you're in love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams* Dr. Seuss

Have a lovely weekend!!

Blessings,

Jessica

A Bird's Life

So the other day I went on a walk. As I was strolling down the hill I noticed a birds nest. I was with my daughter so as any *good mother* would do I stopped to give her a lesson. I talked about habitats and about bird *traditions* according to its species. I also told her of the care a mama shows for her little chick and I compared it to how God cares for us and how Jesus said that He would've loved to keep us warm under His wings as a mother hen keeps her chicks and protects them. She looked at me puzzled and said, "mama, are you a bird?"

I love the simplicity of a child. Oh, that I could have more of it. Somehow me sharing all these details about a birds life made her tender mind think I was one myself. I mean, come on how else could you know much of a bird lest you were one? Right? I simply smiled and gradually transitioned to other themes :)

Moments like these I believe create fond memories. In times of relaxation away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. When you pause for a moment and connect at a different level- that is life and when we add more of these instances we are creating memories worth recalling over and over. Not to mention they refuel us to go and face the, well you know, the unavoidable hustle and bustle :)

The image above is from {expressing you vinyl} in Etsy. I just discovered her shop and it is full of pretties. This one in particular went along with my post today and I just couldn't resist it. Go check her out :)

Now for the card, shall we? It is following the same theme too.

This is as simple as it gets. A few days ago I mentioned me purchasing some Hambly stickers from Michael's, remember? So here's another creation using these cuties. I tell you I have never been into stickers because the can look kind of cheesy/tacky but these make me want to use them again and again. They add to your projects and simplifies them too (great for those last minute cards).

I decided to leave this one completely blank. Some of my friends have been requesting cards without sentiments. So I'll be making a few of these.

Have you created anything lately using stickers. Let me know I'd love to see it :)

Have a lovely Friday!

Blessings,

Jessica

A Mother's Heart

Happy day to all!! Lately I've been thinking a lot about motherhood. The challenges, the joys, the commitment and the solemness of the call. I feel this sacred burden on my shoulders. Everyday I wake up before anyone else does seeking counsel from on high pleading for guidance, wisdom and above all love. Then almost to soon to distinguish between the turmoil and quietness I sense as if it were a balm being poured down my very soul- I experience peace.

I thank God for allowing me to grow with my mother and also for allowing me to become one as well. There's nothing like the warmth of a mother's heart. It shatters away fear and it fulfills the yearning to belong. That quiet place of rest and of solemn beauty is worth more than the best piece an artist could every paint or the most lovely melody a composer could ever write. It's a knowledge that only one can hold and pass on it is the key a mother carries in her heart. That is love.

I created this card with some of these thoughts in mind. I stamped the sentiment inside.

Nothing like a good old fashion handmade *quilt* to express the love we have for our loved ones, ay!! I think I'll be sending this little one to my mommy as a *just because*. Perhaps you have someone in your life that can use a little *comfort* or has been one for you. Why not let them know?

Sending happy thoughts your way!!

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: kraft, PTI Raspberry Fiz, Paper Company off white

Stamps: PTI Quilter's Sampler

Ink: Palette burnt umber, Versa Mark water mark

Other: scallop scissors, felt markers, corner rounder, making memories mini button brads

Love Song

Happy Tuesday!! Hope your week's going well. I just wanted to stop by quickly to share a whimsy Valentine's day card.

I recently bought Basic Grey's Birdie Trio stamp set and I'm so loving it.

Create It:

1. Cut and score base card to measure 6" x 4" and set aside.

2. Cut another piece of cardstock same color as base just a bit smaller (so you can layer it) and distress with white pigment ink. You might want to dry a bit with a heating gun so your color doesn't smear.

3. Stamp the birdie once with light pink and a second time using a darker pink. Cut out the wing to create a mini embellishment.

4. With a white gel pen draw two long legs. Adhere the birdie.

5. You can use any sentiment you'd like. I wasn't feeling any of my sentiments so I took my white gel pen and wrote this one. To go with it I also drew a couple music notes :)

You can add as much or as little as you want to this card. I thought of leaving mine clean and simple. It makes for easier and inexpensive mailing ;)

Have a great day!!

Blessings,

Jessica