YAY...it's SATURDAY!

I slept in until 11a.m. this morning...gasp! And now I'm leisurely looking at all my stamping sites and "window shopping". There are several things that are currently on my "I NEED this list" but I can't afford them. Sigh. Maybe I can talk hubby into it when we finally get out tax $ back.

So...what's on my "I NEED this list"?

1) Copic Markers - These are artist grade, alcohol ink based markers. They ain't cheap! These are carried at multiple places - I would probably get mine from Clear Dollar Stamps since I design for them and get a special deal. HERE is a blog that has a tutorial and shows how awesome these markers work!

2) Nestabilities - These are thin metal die cuts in different shapes and sizes with both straight edges and scallops so you can create layered looks. You can see them used HERE. They sell these at different places and that's the main thing I've been looking at this weekend. A few places and prices I've checked (in case anyone else is looking):

wolfcamera.com each set is $15.89 plus $6.95 s/h - they do NOT carry the embossing mat

ucutathome.com each set is $22.49 but you can sign up and get a monthly coupon for 40% off so it breaks down the cost if you make your purchase over multiple months. They carry the embossing mat for $6.95.

overstock.com each set is $19.99 plus $2.95 s/h. They do NOT carry the embossing mat.

allthatscraps.com each set is $24.99 and free s/h with purchases over $25. They also have the cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder in stock that I've been eyeing.

3) Bind-it-All - Just what it sounds like. It's a little binding machine where you can make your own little scrapbooks. Once again, available in many places (including two local scrapbook stores). I've been eyeing this for well over a year but can't convince myself to spend $60 on it. It's also available at Clear Dollar Stamps among other sites. I imagine the weight of this might make it cheaper to buy locally though instead of paying shipping! HERE is a site that shows the machine and a few projects they made with it.

4) Score-Pal - As seen in the first posting showing the Copic markers...the score pal is a little (well not so little) gadget for scoring your paper. This can be used functionally (like for making your card fold in half or for making boxes and such) or it can be used decoratively (like you saw in the card. This is probably lowest on my list because I can make do with my paper trimmer and a scoring blade. But my Fiskars paper trimmer doesn't cut (or score) perfectly straight. So it'd be a nice gadget to have.

5) Cruise - Well, this is only if I won the lottery! But doesn't THIS look like fun?

Ok...now that I've spent all my virtual money and shared all my good finds...I guess it's time to share a card with you!

How about this card?



This uses new stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps. This set will be available on June 1st. It is called "Shore Treasures" and is a set of 16 stamps for $12.99. The sentiment is something I printed on the computer. I was originally going to do a single crab (mostly a white based card) but then I thought it'd be cuter to stamp him randomly all over the background. Well, then I had to COLOR him a zillion times! Next time, just shoot me! LOL. :-) I loved working with this set. It's the same one I used for the little lunch tin I posted yesterday. I will be posting more used with it over the next few days.

World's TINIEST lunchbox!

Ok...maybe not THE tiniest...but pretty darn tiny! How cute is this?



This little lunchbox used to hold bubblegum. It is about 2 inches by 3 inches by 1 inch deep. I used some printed "cork" paper and cut a strip the 1 inch width. Wrapped that around the lunchbox to hide most of the printing (and all of the advertising). To work around the handle I used the "Word Window Punch" from Stampin Up and punched an opening. The handle fit perfectly through the hole. Then I clipped of the ends of the punched out portion and glued it back in place (so there is no gap under the handle...only the handled edges remain "punched" and open. From there it was a matter of layering cardstock and decorating the tin.

The stamp set is a new one from Clear Dollar Stamps. It will be available June 1st! The "My Seashell Collection" I printed on the computer.

I really love how this one turned out.

Jane

Clear Dollar Stamps...June Reveal

Ok ladies (and gents) it's the time you've all been waiting for. Drum roll please....

Oh, wait, that's right, I'm not the host of Dancing with the Stars! Well, I'll get on with my reveal then (it's just as exciting anyways...although I wouldn't mind seeing that Jason fellow close up).

Here's my first set to reveal. This is called "Petal Hugs" and is a set of 7 for $7.99. There is a background that coordinates and it is "Petal Fun" for $7.99. I had WAY too much fun with this set...and I normally struggle with floral designs. I'm just not a girly girl kind of woman...but I was truly inspired by this set and the color scheme I went with.

First, here is the whole set I made (then I'll show each item):



Here is the card:



My favorite thing about this card is the green layer. I stamped the flower outline in green ink (so it's hard to see) then I used my piercer and pierced the flowers. Also, the flower itself has stickles (glitter glue) on it.

Here is the pedicure set:



Found this at the $1 store. Thought it'd work perfectly with my colors..and it does! It had a topper and I just made my cardstock the same size and slid it over their topper. Easy enough.

Here is the little mini album:





This is made with two coasters (cut down to 3 1/2 inches) and then one sheet of thin weight paper for the inside. The directions called for "patterned paper" but I just created my own patterned paper by stamping. I covered the coasters with paper as well. The colors match the items above - I wasn't able to get a picture I was thrilled with. The colors look off to me in the picture. Sorry for that.

And lastly...here is the gift bag to store it all in:



Hope you enjoyed today's reveal.

Jane

Hedgehog Thanks

I received this image in a swap. I believe the stamp is from Penny Black?



This is a really bright card for me...but I think it came out very cute. Hopefully hedgehogs are greyish in color??? Hmm, not sure on that. But it's what felt right. And if I'm wrong? Well, I have creative license...so I'm still right! LOL.

I have been SOOOO busy and have a LOT to share. Will try to post each day for awhile. So keep coming back!

Jane

Happy Memorial Day!

I would like to take the chance to say...THANKS to anyone who has served our country...present or past. Also, thanks to their families for sacrificing family time and allowing their spouse/dad/mom to serve. I don't always agree with the President (well, maybe more like RARELY agree with the President) and I don't think our troops should be over in Iraq. But as long as they are there, I still choose to support them - because they are doing what they are asked to do. And it's something I wouldn't want to do. So my hat goes off to them. In honor of Memorial Day I made this simple card.



The "ornament" is one I picked up in a grab bag at a convention. I honestly don't remember from which company. The "Proud to be an American" stamp is from a new $1 set at Michael's. It's the whole reason I bought the set. I used CTMH outdoor denim cardstock (which has a white core). I sanded the cardstock to distress it. Then I stamped the saying over and over on the background.

Hope you like it. I've been busy this weekend. I have one more non-Design Team project to share. And then I've made 8 projects so far for the Design Team (and will be able to start sharing those at the end of the month). So lots of good stuff coming! Be sure to check back.

Jane

Raining Anywhere?

We've had the strangest weather here lately. May usually holds 100+ degree days for us. This past week we had rain and temperatures down in the 70's! Wow...I've been loving it! Unfortunately, I'm sure the hot weather will soon be back. In the meantime, I became inspired and made this card.



The little boy is from High Hopes. The saying is from Clear Dollar Stamps...it's from part of a set that will be released in June. Shhh...don't tell anyone that I'm already using it! :-) The saying just fit this little guy perfectly and I had to use it. You'll be seeing more of the set late next week when I can start sharing my previews of the June releases.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. Take a moment tomorrow and remember those who we've lost.

Jane

Simple House Mouse Cards

I needed to make 3 more House Mouse cards for my Mouse-a-Round swap. I wanted something simple with a punch of color for added interest. I very rarely use orange in my cards but like the effect just a LITTLE bit of orange gives. See if you agree...



Looking at these today...I think maybe I would have stamped the image twice and cut out just the hat and pop dotted it for dimension. But these are already in the envelopes sealed and ready to go. So they go out as you see them.

The saying is a Hero Arts one. One of my favorite greeting stamps.

Jane

Dirty Shanks Twisted Humor Card Swap

I joined THIS swap on SplitcoastStampers. There is still room so if this sounds like it might be of interest to you...go check it out! I joined the swap for two reasons...foremost because it IS for those with a twisted sense of humor. (Umm...I think I meet that requirement! LOL) But also I joined because it had a small committment - only six cards. The downside of this is that I'll only get a similar amount back in return. Wouldn't it be wonderful to make 5 cards and get 25 in return??? Boy, that'd be my kind of interest rate!

Anyways, without further ado...here's my card

OUTSIDE


INSIDE



The stamp I used is from an old Close To My Heart set. The text (Flies Spread Disease - Keep Your's Zipped) is all from the computer. For the inside I made a landscape word document and then made the margins as small as I could (but equal). Then I added a 2x2 table. Then I added blank returns until the top/bottom sections were equal. Then I went to the center of the bottom row and center justified the saying. It was still slightly off from center (due to the margins) so I added a few spaces. Then I went into table properties and removed the lines so it'd print without lines. I printed once on paper first and folded that to make sure everything was where I wanted it. Then printed on cardstock.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!

Jane

What's My Name's Hidden Meaning?

What Jane Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I have a dream...

Well, maybe it's more like "I have a goal" but dream sounded better in the title line! LOL.

I've wanted to share our "story" for a long time. The story of our journey to parenthood. But that story is full of pain and heartache. Years of infertility, miscarriage, infant loss, prematurity, etc. It's been almost 11 years since my daughters passed away. Previously I was too emotionally embroiled in the subject to write about it. But I am thinking it's finally time.

Originally, whenever I invisioned this...I saw it as an article (or book) against irresponsible infertility treatments and doctors. But as time has passed - so has my anger. I still believe there is a warning and something to be learned from my experience. But I believe there is a bigger picture. A picture of the human spirit and of survival. And that's where I'm planning on going with this story.

Anyways, as scary as it is, I wanted to put it down in writing...for all to see. Now I've made a goal and I've made it public. So I HAVE to do it! :-)

Gotta go get ready for work. I'll be stamping some cards for my sick and twisted swap tomorrow...so come back and visit!

Jane

I've been busy! New artwork to share!

Guess what next week is? It's the last week of school! Wow...how did that happen so fast? Well, I totally blew off "Teacher Appreciation Week" this year...so couldn't blow off an end of year gift for my kids' teachers. But I also needed to keep it simple and cheap.

So I decided on notecards. My kids go to Roadrunner Elementary...and I have a roadrunner stamp. The colors are red and blue. Perfect...I have red and blue cardstock and ink. I decided I'd make some simple quick notecards. Well, then I remembered my youngest son's teacher won't be at the school next year. So I probably shouldn't make her roadrunner notecards. So now I'm having to design two sets. Then I made my older son's set and I spelled the teacher's name wrong! So I had to make that set TWICE. There was nothing simple and quick about these notecards yesterday! LOL.

This is the first set...the Roadrunner ones. I blurred the teacher's name for privacy but that is what is on the bottom right. I made two with the red card base and blue roadrunner and two with the blue card base and the red roadrunner.

Then for the second set of cards I toadally cheated. One of my friends had sent me a sample card and precut set to make 8 more of the same card. Her card was floral in nature and I was planning on doing that theme (good generic theme) until I was told that she liked frogs. So I set off to use the same design and incorporate the frogs.

Here is Bonnie's sample card:



And here is my spin on the card:



I ended up doing two versions...the "dressed up version" seen above and a more simple version (minus the ribbon and the dimensional adhesive).



I finally decided on the simpler version for the teacher gift (in case she's mailing them I don't want them to cost her more in postage) and I stamped some envelopes to match.



Now to figure out how to package them so they seem bigger! :-) I have some clear card boxes. I think I'll box them in there. Maybe make a matching gift bag for them to go in. I also need to make some cards for a sick/twisted swap. I'm behind on my Mouse-a-Round swap. And I need to get started on my Design Team work. Anyone want to come be my stamping helper??? :-)

Jane

MIA...

Sorry I've been MIA for a couple days. Dang job sure gets in the way of my playing with my stamps! :-)

I did make some little gifts for my coworkers but forgot to take a picture before I gave them away. I used the stapler from Tthe office set at Clear Dollar Stamps and made little 3x3 cards that said "Holding it together?" Then I bought packs of Extra gum and put them in bags along with a note that said "Here's a little something Extra to help you hold it together." They were very cute if I do say so myself.

More to share soon I hope.

Jane

The Law of the Garbage Truck

'The Law of the Garbage Truck'

Many people are like garbage trucks.
They run around full of garbage, full of frustration,
full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it
and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.
Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people
at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people
do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...

Love the people who treat you right.

Have compassion for the ones who don't.

Keep moving forward...only make sure you are going in the right direction.

Keep a sweet, sweet spirit in your heart and above
all --- keep the faith!

NEVER LET YESTERDAY
FILL UP TODAY

A New Card Fold

I saw this card recently on SplitcoastStampers. So I decided it was time to try my hand at it. I love how it turned out. However, I think in the future I would modify the size a bit. This turns out a little small for my liking and doesn't fit in a standard size envelope. You could make it 4 1/4 square pretty easily and then you could use a regular card envelope.

Anyways, without further ado...here's my card...

Here it is closed:



Here is what it looks like opened:



The tutorial calls for using magnets for closure...but I didn't have any. So, instead I used a 1/4 of a round tab of self adhesive velcro. It works well enough.

Well, I hope you LOVE this card...'cause it's about all I got accomplished this weekend! :-)

Jane

One more bird card...

I slept till almost 11:30 this morning and I STILL feel tired. What's up with that? I have no idea if we have any plans today or not. I need to do a couple hours worth of work. Would also like to go into town to the used bookstore and trade in some books. But don't know what hubby has planned yet.

Hopefully, I'll have some time and energy to create a few new things this weekend. I joined a new swap - it's for twisted humorous cards. So need to start thinking a little sick and twisted...shouldn't be hard for me to do! LOL.

Well, without further ado...here's a new card for the day...



This rustic looking card was very simple. I'd just gotten my new cuttlebug and had to play with it. So the cardfront...first I stamped my "Thanks"...then I placed my embossing plate over most of the front but not all of it. Then I fed it through the 'bug. Then I did direct-to-paper over the area with my brown ink. This would probably be a pretty good "guy" card because of the colors and the minimal embellishments. All stamps are from Clear Dollar Stamps.

I've been trying to decide if I NEED Copic markers....anyone want to enable me and tell me why I need them? What makes them so unique and layerable? Any good suggestions of tutorials?

Thanks!

Jane

Needle Lift?

I'm just loving this little porcupine!



It's kind of hard to tell, but the white panel has a black panel behind it. That kind of blends in with my dark photobox.

Yesterday I gave this card to one of my coworkers who was having a bad day (along with a bunch of her favorite candy). Hope it cheered her up!

The porcupine and saying are from Cute Critters over at Clear Dollar Stamps. I can't quit playing with this set!

Jane

High Hopes Horse

I was stamping some images for a swap and I messed up this image. Normally the image shows the whole horse. Well, I don't have him mounted yet and I was just using the plain rubber...putting it down onto paper and pressing on the back. Sometimes this isn't the easiest thing to do because as you are putting it down and picking it up you can make it smudge. This guys hooves got smudged. SO I couldn't send him in the swap. But I wasn't going to throw him away either! Instead I colored most of him and then trimmed and cut out a portion of the image. You'd never know I messed up the image because I chopped off the part that was damaged.



Main Image: Kenny from High Hopes Rubber Stamps
Background Stamp: Stampin Up
Cardstock: Stampin Up
Ink: Marvy Black and Stampin Up

This is one of the cards I made with my friend this weekend. She's a SU consultant so I was using most of her supplies.

Enjoy!

Jane

Monday, Monday...

Do we really have to start a week all over again??? Man the weekends fly by. My only consolation is that my weeks fly by just as fast. So before I know it the weekend will be here again. :-)

Yesterday I went and stamped with a friend for a few hours. That was a really nice break. She made some items using my Cute Critters set (what can I say...that set is adorable!) I made one card using a High Hopes image and one card using Cute Critters...and then a few small 3x3 cards that I haven't quite finished yet.

But, for today this is what I have to share...another sample using the same set as yesterday. If you like birds...this is a nice set. I love some of the sayings and it's pretty versatile.



Here I've used it to create a tin. It'd be a great little gift for a teacher or even a graduate.

One more sample with this set to share tomorrow. For now...I gotta get ready for work. Have a great day!

Jane

Another New Set to Showcase!

Good morning everyone! Hope you are having a great weekend! My husband's birthday is on Monday so I wanted to do something to surprise him over the weekend. I hired my niece to babysit the kids overnight. Then I reserved us a place at a local B&B. I got steaks and stuff to BBQ. Then Friday morning I left him with a note and a gift to open. The gift was a stuffed bear (from the $1 store) and he was wearing a cowboy hat and boots. That was his hint (the B&B was a "Ranch"). The note told him to make sure the bedding was washed (so my niece would have fresh bedding) and to pack a suitcase. That's all the clues he got. I worked half a day and then came home and whisked him off to the B&B. I think it was just what we BOTH needed! A break from the kids, some relaxing downtime, etc. I was kind of bummed because the jacuzzi was broken and that was one of the reasons I chose the place. But it all worked out. They had a pool table outside and we played pool. We BBQ'ed our dinner. Walked down and petted the horses. Sat on the back patio and watched the sun set. Etc.

When I got home yesterday I had to work for a few hours and then I got caught up on some image swaps. And today I'm stamping with a friend...and tomorrow it's back to work.

Anyways, without further ado...here are a couple samples of another new set from Clear Dollar Stamps. This set is called Spread Your Wings.





I really like how the SB page turned out. It'd be cute for a little one's kindergarten graduation.

Ok...off to go get dressed and do MORE stamping!

Jane

More Cute Critters!

Ok...can you tell I LOVE this set yet? This set should be available TODAY...so go get yours. (Honestly, it really is one of my favorite sets...such cute images and I love all the sayings that go with them.)

Here is "critter #3"...



The sayings that go with the skunk say "WHEN LIFE STINKS YOU CAN COUNT ON ME","CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW LITTLE STINKER", AND "HOPE YOUR DAY IS STINKIN' BIG".

And lastly here is "critter #4"...



The sayings that go with the duck say "YOU QUACK ME UP" AND "GOING QUACKERS WITHOUT YOU".

This card took maybe a max of 10 minutes. I think I foresee a set of notecards in my future using this set.

I'll be sharing another new set starting tomorrow. So come back for more!

Jane