Boho/West Themed Graduation Card

Today, I wanted to share a graduation card that I made for my cousin. I actually used this card for my very first swap, as well.

I used the Boho West - Style Watch colors for this card: Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose, and Pretty in Pink.

1. The Paisley background was stamped in Close to Cocoa classic ink on Close to Cocoa card stock.
2. The medallion image from the Wanted set was stamped in CTC on Purely Pomegranate and then punched with the scallop circle and sponged with Close to Cocoa.
3. The sentiment is from the Occasions Mini set Live Your Dream and is stamped in CTC, and both the Pretty in Pink and the Regal Rose layers were sponged with CTC.
4. The paisley and star were stamped with Very Vanilla craft ink on Choc Chip, cut out, and attached with dimensionals.
5. And I used glue dots to attach the ribbon.

I've got a nephew who's also graduating this year and I think I'll try this card in blues for him. The arrangement of the medallion, ribbon, and star on the left makes me think of shooting fireworks celebrating their achievement.

Stamps - Wanted, Live Your Dream; Paper - Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate; Ink - Close to Cocoa (classic), Very Vanilla (craft); Accessories - Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain, Vintage brads, Dimentionals, Sponges, 1/16" handheld circle punch

Hope you enjoyed the card today.
God Bless!
Jessica

Time Spent With Friends

Time spent with friends is always time WELL spent. That's one of the reasons I love Stampin' Up! It gives us one more reason to spend time together having fun!

My first hostess wanted to earn the Level 3 set called "Time Well Spent." It is such a beautiful set with so many pieces. I'm glad to report that she was able to get it!! So here is a card that I made using that set.

It is very simple and uses only 2 colors: Groovy Guava and Ruby Red, along with Whisper White. I stamped the Floral background in Groovy Guava ink on Groovy Guava card stock and layered that on a Whisper White base.

The flower and sentiment from Time Well Spent were watercolored using the Groovy Guava and Ruby Red Classic Ink Pads and a blender pen. A Fire rhinestone brad adds just a touch of bling to the center of the flower.

You could easily change the stamp sets and colors used to make this and have a card to suit any occasion.

Stamps - Floral (background), Time Well Spent (Hostess Level 3); Paper - Whisper White, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red; Ink - Basic Black, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red; Accessories - Fire Rhinestone Brad, Blender Pen, Paper Snips

MOO-ve Over!!

I found this picture from years ago and thought it would make a funny scrapbook layout. BTW - this is my very first 6x6 page! The Really Rust paper matched the photo perfectly and the Hemp Twine and torn edge added that perfect touch of rustic.

I used Tombo Mono Multi liquid glue to adhere the twine. It did leave shiny spots where there was excess. The neat thing about Stampin' Up! is that they carry so many color coordinating products. I just applied some Really Rust pastel (chalk) to those areas and it really blended them in. You can still see them if you look closely, but they've got a matte look now so they're not as noticeable.

One other thing I wanted to mention was how I adhered the ribbon on the corners. I could have cut the edges even with the card stock but I decided to wrap it around to the back instead. I had never tried this before and had just bought some Mono Multi to try out, so that's what I used first. Unfortunately, not only did the Mono Multi not hold it, but it caused the color from the Really Rust paper to bleed right through the ribbon. Yuck! So I replaced it and tried Glue Dots on the back. Those aren't holding either, so next time I do this I will use Sticky Strip.

Paper - Really Rust, Basic Black, Soft Sky; Accessories - Natural Hemp Twine, Signo White Gel Pen, Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon, Twill Tape. I also used a non-SU! black gel pen for my journaling

God bless!
Jessica

My Calendar

Just wanted to post a list of the things on my calendar. I'm going to place a link to this post in the left sidebar. So if you ever want to know what I've got going on, just click on that link and it will bring you back to this post. I'm going to keep this list updated on a regular basis - so be sure to check this out periodically.

• June 1 - Fresh Cut promo begins
• June 1 - eScape promo begins
• June 13 - WORKSHOP
• June 15 - List of stamp sets that will be RETIRING comes out
• June 30 - Occasions Mini Collection ends
• June 30 - Fresh Cut promo ends
• Juen 30 - eScape promo ends
• July 1 - Demonstrator's can begin ordering Sneak Peek items for the F/W catalog
• July 12 - Creative Crafts Class - Scrapbook Centerpiece
• July 30 - Aug 2 -- 20th Anniversary CONVENTION in Salt Lake City!!
• Aug 10 - LAST DAY for Spring/Summer catalog
• Aug 11 - First Day of NEW Fall/Winter catalog
• Aug 11 - New Catalog Open House

We all need a little inspiration

This is one of the door prizes that I made for my first open house. It's a covered Jr. legal pad. On the outside of the cover I stamped the definition for "Inspire" from the Define Your Life set.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from the Live Your Dream set shown in the Occasions Mini. There's also a pocket on the inside. I made a beaded pen to match, but I haven't taken a picture of that yet. I'll update this post later so you can see both of them together.











The second picture shows you what it looks like inside. Click on it to see a bigger image. If you looks closely you'll see the curved edge of the pocket on the left side.

Stamps - True Friend, Define Your Life, Scratched, Live Your Dream; Paper - Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White; Ink - Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Versamark; Accessories - Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon, Vintage brads; Punches - 3/16" Corner Rounder, Ticket Corner, 1/16" handheld circle

My Favorite Card!!

Just thought I'd share my favorite card with you. Of course, I'll probably have a new favorite pretty soon, but this is it for right now. ;-)

Isn't it pretty!! This is the "toile" look. All you need to do this is matching ink and cardstock in one color. This is one of the simplest things you can do and it makes a really striking card.

Stamps - Lovely As A Tree, Live Your Dream (sentiment); Paper - Blue Bayou, Whisper White; Ink - Blue Bayou; Accessories - Blue Bayou double-stitched ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge hardware; Punch - Designer Label

I see some chocolate hiding in there...

This is the second project we made last night at my very first workshop. Aren't they cute!! They're called Peek-a-Boo Boxes. I did forget to have them tie the ribbon on, though -- Sorry ladies! The second photo shows them open. I used the "Hugs & Kisses" stamp from the All Holidays set to decorate the outside. So, of course, I had to put Hershey's Hugs and Kisses on the inside! Who doesn't love chocolate!!

These darling little boxes would make great party favors, Secret Sister gifts, or all occasion gift giving boxes for smaller items.

Box on the Right: Stamps - Boho Backgrounds, Priceless, All Holidays; Paper - Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Whisper White; Ink - Versamark, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate; Accessories - Vintage brads, Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon; Punches - 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, 3/4" circle; 1/16" handheld circle; 1-1/4" circle, 1-1/4" square

Box on the Left - Stamps - Priceless, All Holidays; Paper - Groovy Guava, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White; Ink - Versamark, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate; Accessories - Eyelets (Basic: Sahara Sand), Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon; Punches - 5 Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms, 3/4" circle, 1-1/4" circle, 1-1/4" square; Crop-A-Dile

New Look!

I discovered this wonderful site today to help new blogger's learn their way around. If you're interested in starting your own blog, or improving one you already have -- go check it out at http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com/

I followed the article instructions from this site to convert my 2 column blog template to a 3 column one, add a search box, and center my header. If I had more time before my workshop tonight, I'd make some more improvements, as well. I can already see why so many people have blogs - they're addicting! But not quite as much as stamping and scrapbooking, lol!!

So, if you happen to stop by my blog and it looks "weird" it's probably because I'm in the middle of playing around with it! ;-)

First Workshop Tonight!

Well, I've spent the last couple of days getting ready for my first workshop, and tonight is the big night! The funny thing is that I'm not nervous any more, or at least not at this present moment ;-)

I'm just excited. I really enjoy making things from the heart. And I think I'm going to enjoy sharing this passion with others and seeing others discover their creative potential almost as much as I enjoy making things with my own hands. I may enjoy it MORE!

Well, I've got to make some final preparations. So, ladies - I hope we see you at the workshop tonight! I've got some fun things planned that you won't want to miss.

May God's blessings be upon you!
Jessica

Big Announcement!!

For those of you who have never bought Stampin' Up! products, this might not seem like very big news. But for those that have - it's huge! As of today, Stampin' Up! is now accepting customer credit cards!! This includes debit cards, as well. And if you need to split your order between two forms of payment, we can also do that.

So with that happy news - I wish you a blessed day!
Jessica

New Scrapbooking Class!

I've scheduled my first scrapbooking class. It's officially titled "Quick & Easy Scrapbooks" and it's going to be held Saturday, June 7th from 3:30 - 5:30. I plan on doing 2, maybe 3 projects.

These will include:
1. Either an altered CD album OR a coaster album
2. A scrap portfolio OR a papersack album
3. And possibly a darling little "purse" album.

So if you'd like to scrapbook, but don't think you have the time -- or if you already create traditional scrapbooks and would like some help scrapping "outside the page" then this is the class for you!

I'm not sure of the location yet, so seating may be limited. And I have to work out a price still. If you're interested, please e-mail me to get more information!

A Girl's Best Friend

My best friend rocks. And , no, I'm not talking about diamonds or rubies. I'm talking about my best friend Tanya. She's so awesome she convinced my DH to let me go to Stampin' Up!'s 20th Anniversary Convention this summer in Salt Lake City!! How cool is that! (I'll be posting more on this at a later date.)

She and I are taking the kids to the Sedgwick County Zoo today for Earth Day. Their website said there were almost 8000 attendees last year. Can you picture trying to wade through thousands of kids, without losing your own, just to see see the lions and tigers and bears! Oh my! I think we're a little crazy, don't you?! Pray for us!

When I get back later today, I've got to get the materials prepared for Tanya's workshop on Friday. I'll be demonstrating watercoloring and then we're going to be making a card and a Peek-a-Boo box. They're cute, if I don't say so myself ;-)

Have a great and wonderful day!
Jessica

Getting Started...

Well, I've decided to give blogging a try. This is all new to me, so please bear with me as I learn my way around :-)

I hope soon to have a bunch of fun projects listed here, and maybe even some tutorials, sketchs, and templates. I have my first workshop Friday night, though, and I'm pretty nervous. I've been trying to get everything ready and practice enough so that I can give a smooth demonstration. So, I might not get any pictures posted here until next week. Hopefully between now and then I can learn how to get this blog looking and functioning the way I'd like.

Have a great and blessed week!
Jessica