Sweet Things

As the days grow longer and the weather warmer I cannot but anticipate the aroma in the air of sweet, sun-ripend fruit. There's nothing like it. I in particular look forward to white nectarines and the plump almost glowing like apricots. Not to mention the yummy oranges I've been enjoying. Speaking of which, have you tried cara cara oranges? Excellent!! They're like a naval orange only sweeter and darker in color almost like the ruby grapefruit. I highly recommend them.

With all this nothing screams summer like the beloved strawberry. The color, the flavor, it's uses make this little jewel a favorite. I think we'd all agree it also makes for a great embellishment :)

That's exactly what I did. I used the strawberry as a focal point. I love Nichole's strawberries from her set Green Thumb. I've used this image numerous times and it's always a hit.

Create It

1. Cut and score a 4 1/4 x 4 card. Stamp woodgrain background, round edges and set aside.

2. Cut a strip of paper and stamp your sentiment. Distress lightly and adhere to your base card.

3. Stamp strawberry and cut as to frame it. Round edges, distress lightly and adhere using foam tape.

4. Finish off by adding buttons.

There ya have it a very simple and cute card. I think I'll create a bunch of these and give them away with a pint size strawberry basket (I'll store them in those paper natural color baskets). What do you look forward to as the weather gets warmer? I'd love to know :)

Have a lovely day (weekend).

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: Martha Stewart's kraft

Stamps: PTI's green thumb

Ink: Palette burnt umber, L'Amore red, landscape

Other: basic grey buttons, corner rounder

Stop!!!

Even if it's for a minute I enjoying stopping when I'm running errands with my little girl. She's inquisitive and I love that about her. She's also curious and admires the simplest things like a flowering bush by the car in the parking lot near Target or the translucent moon on a cloudless day. We stop... and soak it all in.

I never cease to marvel at the works of creation. It truly compels me to stop even if it's for a moment and thank Him (Jesus) the giver of all good things :)

This card was inspired by this very thought. Perhaps I'll save it and dedicate it to my little girl who invites me everyday to admire the beauty all around me.

I used some Lawn Fawn and Practicing Creativity goodness. Here you can see the extra layering I added to the tree. It looks fabulous in real life. The stop sign and the *click, smile* are rub-ons.

Thanks for coming by and hope you can stop even if it's for a minute to enjoy what's around you :)

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: Martha Stewart's kraft, K&Company handmade adhesive paper pad (tree), farmers market collection

Stamps: Lawn Fawn critters of the 'burb, Practicing Creativity Your Dandy

Ink: Palette burnt umber, PTI's vintage cream

Other: Imaginisce Off the beaten path rub-ons (scooter vacation collection), tracing wheel, silver pen, leather piece of string

Lacy Days Challenge

Hi there!!! I haven't been around blog world for a while. I wasn't planning on being away for so long but we (husband and I) are still trying to juggle one computer not for long, I believe this week is when I get my computer. Can't wait!!

Ok. Now for the fun stuff :)

I created this card for the Lacy Days challenge over at Caardvarks. I have never participated in any of their challenges and I think I've only been to their site once needless to say that will all change from here on :)

Creating a card with lace does not come natural to me. For some reason the end result always looks blah and over done. However, when I found this tiny heirloom lace I knew I had to buy it and give it another try. That very same day I also bought that yummy floral ribbon (MM). Well, a year later I put it to good use :)

In this close up I just want you to see the butterfly and the shimmery swirl. I love the depth and detail :)

As far as creating more cards with lace, I think I'll leave it to the pros ;) Well that's it for now I'll be back tomorrow (Lord willing) with more inspiration.

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: basic white

Stamps: Inkadinkado, stampology

Ink: Martha Stewart's green, Palette burnt umber, water lily

Other: Lace (JoAnn's) Making Memories ribbon, platinum stickle (Ranger)

On the Mend!

I've been wanting to create a card using the sewing machine from Lawn Fawn's sew lovely stamp set and I finally came up with something I was pleased with :)

When someone's under the weather I always want to create something bright, add a little sunshine to their weary, worn soul. This card I believe will do that to anyone who's despondent or just in need of a little *mend*.

Create It

1. Cut and score and A2 card base. Trace around (tracing wheel), distress edges lightly and set aside.

2. Cut a strip of your favorite pattern paper. I used a bright one so that it can contrast well against the aqua blue. Adhere the strip of pp to your base card. Place it a few cm off center to the top. Using your score-pal emboss two line to create a subtle border over and below the strip of pp. Add faux stitching.

3. Cut out a 3" oval and stamp your super cute sewing machine. Color with color pencils or whatever you use for coloring. Distress edges.

4. Stamp the sewing machine image again in a separate piece of cardstock color in and cut out. Set aside.

5. Punch two holes using a standard size hole punch on the sides of your oval Take a ribbon and *thread it* so that it goes through the back of your oval. Adhere at the back. To cover the little holes and to add some more detail place two brads in each little punch out.

6. Using foam tape adhere the sewing machine cut out. I love adding dimension to my projects.

7. Finish off by adding the sentiment. I kept it simple. I placed it right onto the base card :)

Thanks for dropping by. Have you created anything lately using Lawn Fawn Stamps. If you have leave me a link on the comments I'd love to see it :)

Have a great weekend!!

Blessings,

Jessica

Material:

Cardstock: Bazzill aqua blue, pp we r memory keepers Marguerite

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Sew Lovely, PTI's Quilter's Sampler

Ink: Memento london fog, palette burnt umber, ranger tea dye

Other: tracing wheel, brads, satin ribbon, silver pen, color pencil

Super Special!!!

It's already Wednesday, can you believe it? Hope you're accomplishing much as the week heads towards its end :)

I have a super sweet card I made yesterday. I bought the Farmers Market 12x12 pp stack a while ago at Michael's (it was on sale for $3.50) and been wanting to create a card. So I finally had some spare time to play with it. I love the images on this paper. Isn't that bunny cute?

The card is an easy deign. All I did was cut out some radishes and bunny from the patter paper adhere to the already faux stitched and distressed base, handwrite the word *special* and glue on the letters. Fast, simple and cute. Love that kind of projects :)

What have you been creating lately? Are you more into the simple, quick kind of look or more intricate detailed designs?

I'm off for the day... a trip to Ikea and a few other stops are on my to-do list :)

Blessings,

Jessica

Introducing Mia!!

Just wanted to pop by and share a picture of our Mia. As of 5 days ago we became an official dog owning family. We've been searching for a while and finally settled for a small breed. Mia is a 4 month old maltipoo. Her temperament is outstanding. She's calm and sweet. Took her to the vet a few days ago and even he thought she was amazing. The groomers went crazy when they saw her. You can cut her nails, comb her hair and brush her teeth without any trouble. She is definitely a keeper :)

You'll probably be seeing more of her here on my blog :)

**scroll down to see a card I posted earlier today**

Now I'm really off :)

Chao,

Jessica

Impressed!!

Good day!!! I have a sweet stamped card to share with you. I found a few stamps I haven't used in ages (that's the problem of companies coming out with new stamps monthly your good oldies get lost in the drawers) maybe, I just need better organization ;) Anyhow, I decided to search in *that* drawer and found some great images including the sentiment. So I got them all inked up and this is what I came up with- a simple, single panel, just stamped card. Can't go wrong with those :)

I'm off. I have a puppy to train, a little girl to get into her schedule, a pile of laundry, a house to tidy up and a collection of books I want to finish reading before May not to mention cooking, exercise, playground visit, and... I think you get the point :)

Have a lovely day.

Blessings,

Jessica

Tuesday Trigger

This week's Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World was inspired by Alicia Thelin. She chose these elegant victorian chairs. I'm not one to create much victorian style stuff let alone cards. But the pattern was nice so I decided to give it a try. My creation a simple *Happy Spring* card.

My trigger, the plaid pattern and of course green :) My approach was to create a faux image of an egg. I chose a medium size oval nestabilities template and cut the center of the card, I placed my pattern paper on the back and embellished with flower and pearls. To create the border I wrote happy spring all around.

Simple and sweet. I'm pairing this card with an embellished bag of egg shaped chocolates :)

Thanks for visiting. Hope your days are not merely growing longer but warmer especially in your heart.

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: PTI's spring moss, Farmers market collection

Other: fine tip black pen, flowers, creative cafe pearls, nestabilities oval, frayed burlap for distressing

{:Embellish:} Color Challenge

All right!! It's time for another Embellish Magazine color challenge. This time we are challenged to create a project with some specific colors but not only that we are to incorporate fabric as an element. How fun is that :) Go check them out here for details.

Are you ready for the colors? check them out!!

Uh-hum!!! They didn't inspire me at all. However, that's what challenges are for not to stress us out but to encourage the best creativity in us ;) So I decided to get crafty and this is what I came up with...

Needless to say I am thrilled with the potentials. This color combo proved to be doable ;) Here's a close up of my handmade fabric embellishment.

Create It

1. Cut and score a 4 1/2"x 3 1/2" card base. Draw a faux stitch around using a white gel pen. Set aside.

2. Using same color as base card cut an inch size strip of cardstock. Using color pencil trace lines in three colors (navy blue, red, green). Distress edges lightly. Set aside.

3. Cut a scalloped border again using same color as base card. Distress lightly. Adhere the scalloped border to your now striped strip of cardstock. Adhere the assembled piece to your base card.

4. Stamp a flower image on a piece of fabric and cut out. Using the ink pad color in the image. Cut another piece and place on the center of your flower (creates dimension) finish off by adding a red rhinestone (I also cut out a small leaf and followed the same procedure to color in). Adhere flower to your strip of cardstock.

5. Finish your card by adding a sentiment. I used some cork letter stickers (fun texture).

There you have it, a complete card ready to greet a friend :) Hope you where inspired to give this challenge a try.

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: The Paper Company kraft

Stamps: Hampton arts flower

Ink: Palette L'Amore, Martha Stewart's leaf bud (I used the inks to dab the fabric)

Other: scalloped scissors, rhinestone, Crayola color pencils, white gel pen, MM Chloe's Closet cork letters

High Five!!!

Happy Sabbath!! That means happy day of rest ;) Weekends are great and they serve just for that to restore our energy. To be renewed in strength and above all in faith. How's your weekend going so far. Mine is delightful. The sun is shining bright, my hubby is home, my little girl is growing to be such a great little helper and we just got a puppy (we now own a maltipoo. I'll share some pictures soon). Is there anything I should be complaining about? Maybe, however I've chosen to focus on the good things life has to offer ;)

Now for a card.

This card would be great for a boy or a grown man. I think we all agree it's a tough challenge to create masculine cards. I love the dimensions in this card and the colors. One thing that makes it masculine is the lack of decorative detail. Notice I didn't say the lack of detail but *decorative* detail ;)

Create It

1. Cut and score a 4"x5" card. Tie a string (bakers twine) set aside.

2. Cut a another piece of cardstock and either impress the sentiment or like in my case add a rub-on sentiment. Adhere to the center of your card using foam tape.

3. Using my alphabet stamp set stamp the word *high* vertically. Stamp the number *5* right next to it. Cut close to the edges and distress gently. Finish off by adhering with foam tape.

Now this couldn't have been simpler. I really love this number stamp set. It's from Recollection. I bought it at Michael's for less than $5. That to me is a great buy. Have you created anything with numbers lately. I love to see what you've made. Feel free to leave a link in the comment box.

Have a lovely day!!

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: watercolor paper rustic white

Stamps: Martha Stewart's alphabet, Recollections numbers

Ink: Martha Stewart's sea blue, Versa color mango

Other: Rub-on Heidi Swapp (I have to confirm), bakers twine (brown & white), foam tape, distress pad

Love Bird

Hi!! I wanted to stop by and share a Valentine's day card I never posted here on my blog-o. I made this one for one of my sisters and ended up sending her something totally different. Usually happens that way :)

I really like some of the elements of this card. Like the velvety ribbon and the word "love" with the tiny heart brad just puts a smile on my face when I see it. Another thing is the white border around each letter. I created it using my white gel pen. I'm sure it'll be fun to add some piercing to the white border as well or you can try different coordinating colors.

Little details like those make cards stand out. Try something new next time you create a card and see if you like it or not. Trust there are many cards that end up in the "never give this away" pile. But then again the point of creating is that there's no right or wrong and if you find something wrong then you can always renew, re shift your entire design patching a bit here cutting a bit there till your hearts content- that's true art :)

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: PTI's sweet blush, mm distressed brown

Stamps: wedding collection, G studio

InK: PTI's white

Other: creative cafe velvety ribbon, brad, foam tape

Lawn Fawn Store Now Open!!!!

Hi!! Have you all been to the Lawn Fawn store? That's right, it's officially open and it looks great. So pay them a visit and browse around. The stamps are cute, versatile and at a convenient low price ;)

Now for some Lawn Fawn inspiration :)

I created this card using 3 of the sets- petite florals (background) sew lovely (buttons and sentiment) critters in the 'burbs. They compliment each other beautifully. I love the puppy image-so adorable.

Thanks again for visiting and remember it only takes imagination to create-make each thought count ;)

Happy Wednesday,

Jessica

Lawn Fawn Sneak Peak 4

Sorry for the delay. I ran into a little technical difficulty :) No matter because I'm back. Have you visited Kelly Marie over at Lawn Fawn!?!?! The Design Team has out done themselves again. The cards are absolutely gorgeous not to mention creative. If you haven't seen them I highly encourage you to do so. Plus there's a give away involved so head on over to Lawn Fawn :)

"How Delightful", our last set of this months release is a very fun set. The images are super cute. Are you ready to see the complete sets? Then set your countdown timers because Lawn Fawn opens in less than 24 hours. So you'll be getting a complete peak very soon :)

Now for my creation:

I really like the homey feeling this card has and the best thing is it's relatively simple. The table I created using basic white cardstock. All I did was draw a trapezoid and some tiny rectangles for legs. I stamped and distressed it and added some silver to the tip of each leg. The floor I simply cut out a piece of kraft cardstock and using my scor-pal created indented lines (place the cardstock slanted on the scor-pal) and distressed. Then for the floor frame (I don't know the name) I cut out a strip of cardstock and with my scor-pal traced two small lines (trace the lines first then cut) I did the same for the picture frame. These are practically the ones that needed a bit of description :)

Thanks so much for visiting and leaving such sweet comments. Each and everyone of them makes my day. I'm so sorry I haven't been able to get back to all of you but not having a computer makes it a bit challenging (even though my husband is bending backwards to help me out). I'm so behind on my blog list. Trust me I'll be visiting soon and leaving you some love too :)

Hope you've enjoyed all the sneak peaks for Lawn Fawn's inaugural stamp sets.

Have a lovely day!!!

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: basic white, PTI's kraft

Stamps: How Delightful, Petite Florals

Ink: Versa color cinnamon, vanilla, Palette burnt umber

Other: stickles, nestabilities (square), scor-pal

Lawn Fun Sneak Peak 3

Hello, hello!!! Hope you had a great weekend :) Mine was good... as usual it went by too fast. But that's ok because that means it's time for Lawn Fawn's 3rd sneak peak!!!

This set is super cute and versatile. I love the whimsy flowers. Aren't they just adorable? If you enjoy creating backgrounds then this is a set for you. With all the flowers you can create wonderful pattern paper and backgrounds. That's exactly what I chose to create for this sneak peak.

Here's a close up so you could see the detail on the flowers. I love how the shimmer looks in real life. It just adds the right amount of pizzaz :)

Create It:

1. Cut and score an A2 card. Set aside.

2. Layer another card to go over your base card. Stamp away. I chose two of the many lovely flowers in this set. I stamped big flowers in row using split pea Versa color ink followed by the smaller flower. Repeat all the way. Alternating. If using pigment ink dry with heating tool to avoid smearing.

3. With a felt marker (brown) add random dots here and there. You can also use a single dot stamp. I just think it's easier to go with a marker :) With a pink marker add dots to the center of the small flower (pink).

4. Using a tracing wheel create a faux stitch around card panel. Distress lightly.

5. Using stickles trace each of your big (split pea) flowers. This will add a gentle touch of shimmer. While you're at it add some to your brown marker dots ;) Dry with a heating tool.

6. Cut an oval on your now pattern paper. Set aside.

7. On a separate piece of cardstock stamp tiny flowers and sentiment. Distress lightly around the image. Measure and adhere to the back of your *pattern paper*.

8. With my nestabilities oval and scalloped oval dies I cut out a frame to finish off my design. I also added mini rhinestones to my tiny super cute flowers.

9. Finish off by adhering the entire panel to your base card.

There you have it a complete card step by step. It is so simple. It seems complicated or a lot of hard work when you reading it but once you try it you'll realize it'll only take you about 10 minutes to create. So when you get this set make you you give this a try. I'm sure you'll come up with fantastic backgrounds and patter paper and who know what else. The sky is the limit when you use a little bit of imagination :)

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team has created.

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: PTI's spring moss, basic white

Stamps: Petite Florals

Ink: Versa Color split pea, cinnamon, Palette burnt umber, Ranger frayed burlap for distressing

Other: tracing wheel, stickles, rhinestones

Lawn Fawn Sneak Peak Day 2

Did you enjoy yesterdays Sneak Peak? I certainly did :) The DT did a fantastic job with it. Sew Lovely is a fun set- a must for any stamper.

Okay how about for todays Sneak Peak? I am so excited about this preview. Critters in the 'Burbs is probably one of my favorites from this release. Probably because I love little creatures :)

My creation- a fun *park* scene. You know those early Spring days when everything starts to come alive, first thing you notice are the little squirrels playing and chasing one another. I love it :) Well that's where I got my inspiration for this card.

Create It:

1. Cut and score an A2 card. Using my ink pad I gently stroked it side ways. Till I achieved that rugged look. You can go lighter or darker. This was good for me.

2. Cut a strip of green cardstock to resemble grassy hill. I just took my scissors and cut freely. Distress edges and adhere the strip.

3. Then using a tracing wheel go all around the card and around your *hilly* strip. Set aside.

4. Stamp tree bark using versa mark onto a brown piece of cardstock. Cut and set aside. Next stamp the tree top. I stamped it on a white piece of paper. To create the pattern paper I used another Lawn Fawn Stamp set that hasn't been revealed ;) Cut your tree top and distress lightly. Now for the tire swing. I stamped yet another image from Critters of the 'Burbs- the little tire. After I stamped it on a black piece of cardstock I then cut and tie a piece of bakers twine. This you are going to adhere to the back of your tree top. Now your ready to assemble your little tree. Adhere bark and using foam tape adhere tree top.

5. The squirrels are the icing on the cake for this card. I love them. Ok. Stamp your tiny squirrel on a white piece of paper and color in. I used my good old fashion Crayola color pencils :) Then to create the other one I used what some call the mirror imaging effect. All this means is that I stamped the image onto vellum using my palette burnt umber ink and then quickly but carefully place over a white piece of paper. This will transfer the image and make it look the *other* way. Then color and cut both of your squirrels. Adhere your little critters using tiny glue dots.

6. The sentiment is courtesy of a bag I was going to trash. I bought these cardstock tags from the $1 bin in Michael's and the back was a sample of what's in the package. Well that's the part I ended up using :) You can add any sentiment even chipboard letters would work well with this design.

Overall this is a great card perfect for a Spring greeting.

Hope you found some inspiration here on my blog-o. When you get your sets do give this design a try :) I'd love to see what you all come up with :)

Remember to visit the rest of the Lawn Fawn Design Team. I'm certain you will not be disappointed.

Have a great weekend!!!

Blessings,

Jessica

Materials:

Cardstock: basic white, PTI's spring moss, coffee bean

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters in the 'Burbs +

Ink: G studio aqua, palette burnt umber, adirondack lettuce

Other: tracing wheel, twine, color pencils, foam tape, mini glue dots