Happy Blogversary To Me!!

Happy May!  It's my very merry blogversary!  I plan on having a minimum of four give aways this month so you will want to check back regularly.  This is my second anniversary and I am celebrating my crafty journey with you.  I am so happy for the friends I've made and and feel so blessed to have you in my life.  This is my small way of saying thank you for your kindness and encouragement.  I'm a little on the fence with my first treat of the month. .. this set of cards that I made with the Serendipity Stamps months.  Here's the thing - if you are following me chances are that you are a crafter yourself, and perhaps you have an entire arsenol of cards that you've created yourself.  However, if you are like me - you collect hand made cards from your friends like trading cards of your favorite base ball players.    So maybe you want the cards, maybe you don't... here's where I'm going to sweeten the deal a little - I'm going to include a set of the month stamps with the cards so you can have some fun of your own.    I love the way the months have little images that are appropriate for each month that they
represent and I hope you do too!

Here's photos of the cards I made!

Ok so if you'd like this set of cards with a set of the month stamps LEAVE ME A COMMENT.  I will pick one random winner from the comments left on this post between now and May 31.

Thanks for being a blessing in my life!

Jeanne

Serendipity Stamps Spring Release - Pear

Hi everyone!  I have two posts today - if you are looking for my 12 Kits of the Holidays - please scroll down - you will want to check this post out as well because there is some blog candy to be had!!  So glad you stopped by today!   I'm so excited to share with you part of the new Serendipity Spring Release!   Today the design team is featuring the new pear stamp and die set.  The set features a fancy die cut pear, a matching pear set and a sweet sentiment.  These items are also available separately.     To show you some of the possibilities I used the die and the stamp on different projects.   My first card features the die cut pear in gold foil on a card loaded with lots of trims and embellishments.

 For my second card I inked up the stamp in different colors.  This was easy to do using the tear drop shaped ink pads - I used Memento.  First I inked up the  bottom edge of the pear with red.  Next I inked up the entire part (yes even the part I inked in red) with Cantaloupe.  Last I inked up the stem. 

I added a little button topped with a gem as an embellishment.   The sentiment is stamped on the pattern paper, and across the top is a simple border punch and ribbon.

I hope you will see what the rest of the design team made with this beautiful new intricate die.  Just click on their names below.  And please leave a comment.  One lucky winner will receive the pear stamp and die set!  You have until 5-3-13   to leave a comment to be included in the drawing.   The winner will be announced on 5-6-13 on the Serendipity Stamps blog.

Miriam - Miriam's Delirium 

Jenny - One Krafty Kat 

Anya - Life Is What You Make It 

Cathy - Empty Nest Crafter 

Marybeth - Marybeth's TIme For Paper 

Pauline  - Craft Obsession 

Jeanne - A Kept Life 

More new releases will be featured this Thursday - May 2 - with another fantastic give away!  If you love Serendipity Stamps I hope you'll join us at the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog where a new challenge is announced twice a month and you can win a $20 discount off your next order.

Jeanne

Supplies Used: 
Gold Foil Pear - Finished Size: 5.75" x 5.75"
Stamps:  Serendipity 032D SM Thank You
Dies:  Pear Serendipity, Spellbinder Twisted Metal Tags & Accents
Ribbons:  5/8" Taffeta Iridescent Ivory May Arts, 7/8" Cluny Fan Simplicity, Button Twine Ivory May Arts, 3/4" Velvet Parrot Green May Arts
Pattern Paper:  Bo Bunny Cest La Vie Collection 12" Cest La Vie Couturiere, Art Nouveau Voila! 
Card Stock:  Papertrey Ink:  New Leaf, Stampin Up Very Vanilla, Graffix Gold Foil
Misc:  Wood Button, Hat Pin Ribbon Reel
Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia
Misc:  Bo Bunny Cest La Vie Noreworthy Journaling Tags (Envelope)
5/8" Yellow Rose Wild Orchid Crafts

Stamped Pear  - Finished Size:  5" x 7"
Stamps:  Thanks So Much 471QCL Serendipity
Dies:  Spellbinder Grand Decorative Ovals One, Grand Decorative Ovals
Pattern Paper:  Bo Bunny Cest La Vie "Art Nouveau" Voila!
Card Stock:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream, White, Stampin Up! Gumball Green
Ink  Versafine Olympia Green, Memento Cantaloupe, Lady Bug, Bamboo Leaves
Buttons:  Orange Button Stampin Up!  Wood Button Basic Grey, Gem: Recollections
Ribbon:  1/4" Olive Grosgrain, Button Twine Ivory May Arts

12 Kits of Holidays April Edition

Welcome to the April Edition of the 12 Kits of Holidays.   We used to be the 12 Kits of Christmas but decided to add some other holidays in here as well this year.  Just to refresh your memory, the 12 Kits is a group of 12 designers.  We've each been assigned one month to supply goodies to the rest of the group.   We all get the same ingredients to work with and on the last day of the month we reveal our creations!  It's interesting to see how we all use the same ingredients just a little differently to showcase our own style.  The hostess this month is Ms. Sharron Gregory of On Papillon Wings blog.  

Sharron's style is C&S and it seems obvious to me that she loves nature.  It's not unusual to see flowers, butterflies, animals and birds on her creations.   Just check out this amazing kit Sharron put together for us - My Mind's Eye "Winter Wonderland" paper, stamps from Plum Purdy and lots of embellishments.  And the nature thing?   I can't believe I made 7 (yep you read it right!) this time.   I think I could have kept going too!!   I will keep it short - promise.   So without further delay - straight to the designs!!!

Santa

 Joy Tag

 Cozy Cottage

 Christmas Cookies

 Carrot Nose Frosty

 

 Jingle

 Red Bird

Wanna see what the rest of the group did with the same kit?  Just click on their names below to hop on over to their blogs! 

Renee - It's a Patchwork Life

Marybeth - It's Time For Paper

Joyce - Cards By The Sea

Amy - Stamp N Paradise 

Christina Maclaren

Kim - Cupcakes Cards & Kim

Kara - K & R Designs

Jessica - The Paper Parade

Sharron - On Papillon Wings

Tracey McNeely - In My Creative Opinion

Kellly Schirmer - Gingham Girl

Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!

Jeanne

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Christmas Cookies & Happy Hearts, Dear Santa, Holly Jolly Christmas, Mr. Willie & Friends, Sharing the Holidays (Plum Purdy Designs); Merry & Bright Additions (PTI); Jingle All the Way (Technique Tuesday-Ali Edwards)
Card stock: Classic Crest White (Neenah); Ocean Tides, Pine feather, Pure Poppy, SS White (PTI); Baja Breeze, Old Olive (Stampin’ Up); Red Shimmer (LSS)
Patterned Paper: Winter Wonderland (My Mind’s Eye)
Dies: Zig Zag Ric Rac (Cherry Lynn); Buttons (Impression Obsession); Stitched Rectangles, Stitched Flag Sentiment, Gift Bow Topper, Instant Camera (Lil’ Inker Designs); Cosmic Star Set, Resting Birds (Memory Box); Stacking Stars (MFT); Holly Jolly, Merry & Bright (PTI); Seasonal Sentiments-’Joy’ (WPlus9)
Embossing Folders: Journaling Card (Cuttlebug); Snowballs (Sizzix)
Embellishments/Misc: Sequins (Martha Stewart); Rhinestones, Spare Parts-’Packages’, Silver Glitter Paper (The Paper Studio-Hobby Lobby); Pearls (Recollections-Michael’s): Ribbon (Offray, Reliant-Local Store); Felt (Local Quilt Shop)
Ink: Cottage Ivy, Love Letter, Tuxedo Black (Memento); Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive (Stampin’ Up); Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)

Things I added:
Santa 5.75 x 5.75"
Ribbon : Ivory Button Twine, 7/8" Sheer White Stitched Edge Red Ribbon May Arts, 1/2" Red/White Ribbon Stitched Poly Stampin Up!, Copic Markers, Dies: Spellbinder Standard Circles, Cheery Lynn Pinwheel Doily
Button, Red Mini Pearls Doodlebug - Color Ladybug
Joy Tag
Fiber: Twisted Burlap Natural May Arts, Jumbo Eyelet We R Memory Keepers, Ribbon: 1/4" Red Satin Offray
Cozy Cottage: 4.25 x 5.5"
Christmas Cookies: 4.25 x 5.5"
Fiber: Ivory Button Twine May Arts, Button, Copic Markers, Dies: Spellbinder Jar Labels, Ornate Squares
Carrot Nose Frosty 4.25 x 5.5"
Ribbon: Ivory Button Twine May Arts, 5/8" Baby Blue Satin Ribbon Robert Stanley Collection (Hobby Lobby)
Dies: Spellbinder Marvelous Squares, Button, Copic Markers
Jingle 4.25 x 5.5"
Ribbon Stitched Poly Poppy Parade Stampin Up!, Copic Markers, Gems Recollections, Die: Spellbinder Ornate Squares
Red Bird 4.25 x 5.5"
Dies: Spellbinders Petite Scallop Ovals, Petite Ovals, Ribbon: Ivory Button Twine, 1/8" White Ric Rac May Arts
Button: Basic Grey Fact/Fiction Collection, Copic Markers

TRR #52 LOVE LETTERS

How about some gorgeous inspiration from The Ribbon Reel Challenge Blog?  This one was picked out by Keilly and is appropriately called "Love Letters".  You are instructed to create a project using the colors in the inspiration photo and be sure to include a button, ribbon and twine.  Lots of things you can focus in on here - buttons, stamps, cards, doilies, twine, hearts, flowers - you get the picture!  I picked up on lots of those elements but the one that caught my eye first was the botanical print in red , wrapped in twine in the bottom left corner.  The rest sort of just fell into place and you won't hear me complain about that! 

Need a little more inspiration?  Check out what the rest of the design team came up with for this one!  We'd love it if you would join us!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz - Simple Treasures

Helen Berry - Helen Berry Designs

Keilly Mulvihill - Keilly's Little Blog

Lenet Mos - To Scrap or Not To Scrap

Michelle Bala - My Passion for Crafting

Pauline Pollington - Craft Obsession
Sarah Ingle - Lazy Daisy
Tammy Hobbs - Creating Somewhere Under The Sun
Zuzana Obert - Jelly Welly

Have a beautiful day!

Jeanne

Supplies Used:  Finished Size 5.75 x 5.75"

Fibers:  Ribbon Reel Hug Snug Seam Binding Lipstick Red, May Arts Twisted Burlap Natural,  12 mm Tape Measure Ribbon

Stamps:  Serendipity Stamps Geranium, Happy Birthday

Dies:  Cheery Lynn Sophie's Heart, Spellbinder Back To Basics Tags, Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangles

Pattern Paper:  Crate Paper Portrait Collection "Pearls"

Card Stock Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream, Pure Poppy, Kraft

Fabric Die Cut:  Basic Grey Fact & Fiction Collection 

Washi:  Recollections

Corner Rounder 1/8' Corner Chomper We R Memory Keepers

Buttons:  Papertrey Ink, Stampin Up!, Basic Grey

WPlus9 MMB #10 - Seaside Birthday

When I saw the Monday Mood Board over at WPlus9 I sort of hesitated about playing this week.  I saw the seaside inspiration and immediately thought of the "Guiding Light" set that has been on my wish list for a long time.  I don't have it so I guess I felt discouraged.  Like a moth to a flame I checked the site again yesterday and saw that lots of other people didn't have that set either - I expect most of us are buying more current sets before we can go back for older sets that we adore.  I felt inspired by the other designs I saw and got determined to make the most of what I do have.



It's been a few years since I've seen the ocean.  When my kids were younger it seemed like it was never a problem to take them out of school for a sea side escape.    These past few years it seems like it's been harder and harder to get everyone's schedules together (like aligning planets)  and I've been dreaming about going back again.  I'll paint a picture in words with my romantic notions of the ocean.  Picture yourself walking barefoot in the sand.  You are wearing a white battenburg lace dress, feeling the wind on your face, smelling the fresh salt air, and picking up little trinkets washed up by the waves - sea glass, shells - all made smooth from the waves and the sand....   Are you there yet?

OK then!  Nuff said!  Hoping to get to the ocean really soon - until then I will have to keep dreaming!  Thanks for stopping by  - have a beautiful day!

Jeanne

Supplies Used:  Finished Size 5" x 7"
Stamps:  WPlus9 Embroidered Bouquet
Dies:  Marianne Creatables LR0236, Cuttlebug Seashells
Card Stock:  Papertrey Ink Kraft, Vintage Cream, Stampin Up Baja Breeze, DCWV Glitter Paper
Ribbon:  Button Twine Natural, 5/8" Twill Teal, 5/8" Taffeta Iridescent Ivory May Arts
Extras:  Clothes Pin, Buttons

WMCCC - March - Navy & Lime

Have you been playing along with the Waltzingmouse Christmas Card Challenge?  This is an opportunity to make a few Christmas cards each month so that you won’t be in a panic come December.  It's also a great way to get some inspiration for how to put good use to those Waltzingmouse stamps.  We all know that December brings enough panic making preparations and gift buying without adding the pressure of having to make 50 cards in one month, so why not get started today?  You can see the latest challenge and get more information here.  Here's the good part - prizes are to be had and you can start joining the challenges any time you like - meaning if you're like me and didn't get to the February challenge until April - that's ok.  Post your project in April and link it up to the Gallery and leave a comment in the forum so other visitors can check it out.  

I'm still determined to get caught up so here is my submission for the March challenge which was a little trixie!  A color challenge of - get this - lime and navy.  Well I figured I can mix colors up with the best of them - red and purple, pink and red - but I can honestly say I've never done a navy and lime card until this one.  I stamped the snowflake background in Navy and that big ole Santa shoe print with the engraved tree in the lime green.   I think the colors added to the whimsy of the shoe print!  I had to add some gems because to me Christmas is all about the magic.

I hope it makes you smile - and maybe inspire you a bit to play along with the challenge.  There's enough magic in Christmas to spread around the whole year!

Jeanne

Supplies Used:  Finished Size 4.5 x 6.25"

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse Santa Was Here
Card Stock:  Papertrey Ink Spring Rain, White, Enchanted Evening
Ink:  Momento Pear Tart, Stampin Up Pacific Point, Night of Navy
Dies:Spellbinder Standard Circles, Pinking Circles
Ribbon - 1.5" Lime Striped  Grosgrain (Thanks JJ!), Twinery Midnight Blue
Gems/Glitter Flourish:  Recollections

CASE Study #138 - Hey Buddy!

Time for your weekly does of CASE Study Inspiration.  Our muse this month is the incredibly talented JJ Bolton of Ribbon Girls Blog.  JJ has such a clean style - always full of color, and usually some thought provoking element.  This week's inspiration photo includes a silhouette image of a girl flying a kite that sails in a sunny sky.  

Now I realize my card probably looks really simple to most of you, but I have to tell you how proud I am for creating my very first cloudy sky background!   I always say CASE makes me try new things and here's another good example of something I've been putting off because it looked way too complicated to me.  It was actually easier than I thought and it only took a few tries before I was happy with the shape of my clouds and the ratio of blue to white.  I found lots of tutorials on Utube.  I just used a piece of hand cut card stock and some Ranger/Tim Holtz distress ink.

If you need a little more inspiration I hope you'll check out some of the other CASE design team examples - just click on the names below.

Don't forget to check out our special guest DT member Ms. Anya Schrier from Life is What You Make It blog!

Chupa - Iwona Palamountain

Amy Wanford

Andrea Ewen

Christina MacLaren

Clare Buswell

Debbie Hughes

Jean Martin

Maureen Plut

Teneale Williams

Case is looking for some new Design Team members!  If you're interested you can get all the details here!  Thanks for stopping by -  I hope I see you over at CASE Study Challenge Blog!

Jeanne

Supplies Used:  Finished Size 4.5 x  6.25"

Stamps & Dies :  Papertrey Ink Fly Away

Ink:  Stampin Up Real Red, Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Tumbled Glass

Card Stock:  Papertrey Ink White

Twine:  Twinery Maraschino

Waltzingmouse Christmas Card Challenge - February - Hearts

Have you been playing along with the Waltzingmouse Christmas Card Challenge?  This is an opportunity to make a few Christmas cards each month so that you won’t be in a panic come December.  It's also a great way to get some inspiration for how to put good use to those Waltzingmouse stamps.  We all know that December brings enough panic making preparations and gift buying without adding the pressure of having to make 50 cards in one month, so why not get started today?  You can see the latest challenge and get more information here.

Here's the good part - prizes are to be had and you can start joining the challenges any time you like - meaning if you're like me and didn't get to the February challenge until April - that's ok.  Post your project in April and link it up to the Gallery and leave a comment in the forum so other visitors can check it out!

February's challenge was to incorporate a heart into your project.   I stamped the striped candies from "Candy Jar Christmas Fillers" and die cut them into heart shapes to go along with  the "Candy Wagon" image.  The hard part for me was deciding if I like it better in red or green.  I'll let you decide.

  

 Have a great day!

Jeanne

Supplies Used:  Finished Size:  4.25 x 6.25"
Stamps:  Waltzingmouse Candy Wagon, Candy Jar Christmas Fillers, Candy Jar Christmas
Dies:  Cheery Lynn Polynesian Sails, Spellbinder Petite Ovals, Grommet Tags, Classic Hearts, Waltzingmouse Cut File Candy Wagon
Extras: Silver Eyelets, Gems
Pattern Paper:  October Afternoon Holiday Style Collection 8x8" Pad
Card Stock:  Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream, New Leaf Papertrey Ink
Ink:  Real Red, Gumball Green Stampin Up!, Onyx Black Versafine
Ribbon:  May Arts 5/8" Taffeta Iridescent Ivory, 3/4" Velvet Woven Burgundy and Parrot Green, Twinery Pea pod and Maraschino Twine