Happiness Shared !

This background is a Hero Arts DesignBlock. They are the perfect size to fill and entire A2 card. This one is called Happiness Grows. The daisy is from the set called Flowers for Daisy from GinaK Designs. The daisy was stamped and colored on white card stock and positioned behind the hole I punched in the background layer. I guess in this case, it isn't a background?

I'm excited about two things this morning!

1. My friend Gina(and family) is stopping by to see us today. I thought I would give her a nice non-Christmas-y friend note.
2. It's official! Today is Saturday December 20th and I'm finished my Christmas shopping! Yeah!! If you read that long story about my Target experience, I should give you a present! LOL. The experience on Friday afternoon was opposite. Everything I wanted was easily found. We were in the right place at the right time--even for some things that are sought after and hard to find this year. And now with all the hustle and bustle over, I can relax for the next few days and get my spiritual self ready for the real Christmas.
   

And to my offspring and spouse... (wink) bake up the cheesecake and get the cappuccino brewing! --actually we need to come up with something else to go with the cheesecake since I don't do coffee anymore. ( We didn't do Santa, but as a joke, I told them one year that the Santa that visits this family doesn't do cookies and milk. She loves cherry cheesecake and cappuccino.)

Have a blessed day as you prepare to celebrate the holidays.

September Birthdays

I have a lot of September birthdays in my world, so I'm going to be making birthday cards for the next several posts. Here's on that I put together recently. I colored this when I did this one and this one. I guess it's been sitting on my desk for a while. It's amazing the things I find when I clean up that desk! I am going in again to attempt to totally clean it off. The problem is I keep finding things that completely shut down the "clean up" mode and start "create" mode. I'm going to try to do both today, I hope...


So this card...
Martha Steward border punch, Paper Trey Flower Garden, Hero Arts Black Gemstones, Stampabilities Happy Birthday, Prismacolor Pencils.

I'm just waiting on two more updates for my prayer post. Be blessed today! Jacki

Hero Bear

A little while back, Aaron the president of Hero Arts, was featured blogger for a week on the Hero Club Blog. He talked about how Jackie started the company, and reminisced about some of the earlier stamps etc... There was some discussion shortly after that amongst the Hero Artists about our oldest Hero Arts stamp. I dug out my first Hero Bear and found a card that I made with it 8 years ago. This card was actually made while we were vacationing with my BIL and SIL. I was stuck in the room with a sick child 104 degrees temperature at times and all... I'd brought along markers and images to color if I had time and a very few card making supplies(no embellishments). Turns out I had plenty of time. I stayed with the boy who was only 4 at the time for two days while he slept and watched TV. The others did all the things you can do while on a beach vacation while I stayed and kept an eye on my boy. I wouldn't have been anywhere else! This is one of the many cards I made in those few days. Since it has been a while that I colored that stamp, I decided to color the image and make a new card.

You can't really tell by the picture, but I pieced the chalkboard in the bear's hand. The white StazOn ink wasn't as crisp. I have plenty of embellishments this time. It looks like I tried to use my entire button collection. This one is colored with Prismacolor pencils and the sunflower is made with a Martha Stewart punch and a button for the center. This card will accompany one of teacher gifts, which by the way are not made yet. Did I mention that school ends for the year THIS FRIDAY!??!!! There's nothing like the last minute...

If anyone is interested, I'll post the Hawaiian Meatballs recipe tomorrow. Also, I had chance to talk to Sarah yesterday afternoon. I mentioned how much I love the cookbook she sent me. The recipes are for every day people. I'm very picky eater. When it comes to my cookbook collection, I sadly admit that most of them are just for decoration, because I never use them. The fact that I used one of these recipes at my first opportunity to cook after it arrived says a lot about this book's compatibility to my cooking and eating style. So having said all that, Sarah still has cookbooks left. Originally the books were complied to raise funds for a mission project and sold at $10 each. Her church continues to help a church in that country. If you'd like to get one of these cookbooks she's lowered the price to around $7.50 which includes shipping. You can contact Sarah. -- or email me and I'll pass it along.

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My oldest daughter currently has 3 jobs at the mall and the second daughter (the famous one) is still waiting and applying. That's all for today. Blogging time is over. Chauffeuring time commences. Choosing JOY! jacki jones

Cranberry Crisp and Chocolate Chip

I think this is the last of that color scheme for a while because I'm down to a quarter sheet of Cranberry Crisp. Click here to see the other cards with this color combination.

Finished Card size:4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: Background (Cornish Heritage Farms) Birdy Basket (SU)
Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black(Tsukineko), Cranberry Crisp (SU)
Other: Ticket Corner Punch (SU), Ribbon (Martha Stewart Crafts)
Colored with Prismacolor Pencils

Here is another "Love is Kind" Card.

Finished Card size:4.25" x 5.5"

Stamps: Love is Kind (Stampabilities) Swirl ( SU)

Ink: Basic Brown, (SU)

Other: Cloud Paper Edgers ( Fiskars), Ribbon (Martha Stewart Crafts

On a Personal Note: I got an email of concern from one of my online friends. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to post a prayer request and then disappear for a couple of days. We put the "b" in busy this weekend. Other than that, I'm fine. My condition is ongoing. I really need to be on medication, but I'm rebellious and I hate side effects so I avoid it until I can't deny that I need it or something. I know once I find a good dermatologist, they will put me on a course of Prednisone. The problem with the Prednisone is it really does alter my personality a little. I'm a little more aggressive and cranky. The last time I was on it I made these wild cards. On the other hand, I may get a lot of organizing done while I'm on it. I want to get the skin thing under control before the surgery. So much to do...

I'm hoping for a sunny morning so that I can take pictures of the mail boxes I made. One of them is very cupcake-y.

Get Well Soon...

I made a couple extra Get Well cards to have on hand.

Finished Card size: 5.5" x 4.25"
Stamps: Heart with Swirls (Studio G), Get Well Soon(Stampin Up)
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa,Cranberry Crisp (SU), White(Georgia Pacific)
Ink: Basic Brown(SU)
Coloring Medium: Prismacolor Pencils
Other: Ribbon (Martha Stewart Crafts), Ticket Corner Punch (SU)

Love Cards 2008

I can't believe I'm almost finished with my Valentine's Day cards. Will I actually mail them as I intend to??? We'll soon see...

Here is my love 2008 collection. I guess you can tell that I'm stuck on this color scheme now. I'm working on cleaning off my desk so I think I'm at the end, but I have a couple more cards to show you before I get sick of it.

"A Friend Loves" Cards
Finished Card size: 5.5"x 4.25"
Stamps: Background Hearts 1 and 2 (The Angel Company), Heart with Swirls (Studio G), Bible Verse(My Sentiments Exactly)
Ink: Basic Brown, Cranberry Crisp (SU)
Other: Scalloped Heart Punch and Ribbon (Martha Stewart Crafts),Heart Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, clear dimensional glue, glitter




"Love is Kind" Cards
Finished Card size:4.25" x 5.5"
Stamps: Heart with Swirls (Studio G), Love is Kind (Stampabilities)
Ink: Basic Brown, Cranberry Crisp (SU)
Other: Scalloped Heart Punch and Ribbon (Martha Stewart Crafts),Paper Edgers Corkscrew, clear dimensional glue, glitter

Here's another tip to lessen the waste and weight of your cards. I always have 1/4 in strips left over from cutting my background cardstock. Sometimes I use them instead of using a full piece of cardstock to create the look of a mat as I did on this last card.




We have a snow day here (nothing sticking). I have new stamps from SU and Cornish Heritage Farms, so I'm going to play. I just might be back with more cards today.

Bulletin Board ...done!

Just a few pictures of the completed bulletin board.

First, the big picture.

Here's one of just my artwork. I thought teacher lounge... lounge, fireplace, get it??


I snapped this one in my room before going to the school.

More close ups...
I originally bought these light strings for my snowman ornaments.


This wreath, took me two hours to put together using one of Martha Stewart new Christmas punches and a glue pen. In case you don't already know, you can use Michaels' coupons on all Martha supplies now. I definitely did. The base for the wreath was made by cutting a circle frame (with the Coluzzle) from one sheet of green paper. I think this wreath is around 4 inches... maybe? I punched another full 12 x 12 sheet of same paper. I also used a few punches of a slightly lighter green hoping to create some variations. The red poinsettia is a glittery pick that I cut apart and and hot glued to the wreath. The center ornaments are Jolees from a Christmas sheet of presents or packages.. I ended up replacing the center with a Mary Engelbreit 3D sticker with an elf and the words Christmas Joy.


This second board only got coordinating computer generated signs.

On a personal note. I can't believe I ran out of laundry soap. I wash everyday! Anyway, I went to Walmart after putting this up at school, so I need to go and throw in a load. I've got a lot of cleaning and cooking to do before Thanksgiving. It's overwhelming actually. But, I'm excited about the holiday. I'm happy that my girls are coming home. Tomorrow I go to pick up the freshman and the older one comes home on Tuesday. Yippee!!
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ETA: In my spare time, I've been working on some Christmas images. Hopefully I'll be able to turn them into cards before long. I've decided to celebrate 200 posts and 2 years of blogging on Tuesday morning. Come back if you can for the celebration! I might even finish up one of my fall cards by then... I couldn't get any further behind... lol.

Change is good...

Random updates and happenings...

• The cable company still doesn't want my business (sigh). I'm not much of a TV watcher anyway, but there are certain members of my family that are grieving. I have an antenna so I get basic news and a few of my favorite shows-- a little fuzzy, but I can see them. Customer service is a big deal to me. One of the reasons, I haven't launched my stamp line is that I don't have time to devote to customer service and/or filling orders. It's a BIG deal. Last week, my order from Dick Blick came sooner than I expected. Yesterday, I received my second order of smARTworks stamps in the mail. Once again, the order was right, well packaged, and prompt-- not to mention great stamps and the free stamps she always includes. There are several companies that I regularly purchase from because I know I can trust them. I started thinking about that today, I made some changes to my blog (that's how the title of this post fits in. -wink). Instead of just listing my favorite businesses among my interesting links, I created a new link list just for the businesses I have positive experience with. I'll be adding to it over the next few days. You may also notice that I added a picture my kiddos. :)... inspiration...my Christmas card. lol


• I realized that I can print my outlook calender so that it will fit in my favorite day timer binder. I was out shopping for 2008 calendar and besides being pricey, there is always more stuff in them than I actually use. Besides, I love Outlook. I fiddled around with it and couldn't figure out how to print anything other than full size sheets. One night I asked my husband (who was the one who suggested I start using Outlook a year or so ago) and of course he knew! I figured that all I would have to purchase was monthly tabs, right? After going to the third office supply in two days, and not finding what I wanted, once again the electricity kicked in on my brain and I realized that I could make monthly tabs with Outlook, colored card stock, and the Tab Punch from Stampin Up. DUH! The only problem with that is finding the time to make them. But once again I'm excited. You do realize that it doesn't take a lot to excite me, right.

• I noticed today, that I am getting close to 300 posts! Wow. I don't know why that is amazing to me. I had as many on my 360 before I switched over to blogger. Actually with Thanksgiving coming, I've been blogging for 2 years. I want to think of a creative way to celebrate those milestones. I do have some things I can give away as blog candy. I stumbled upon a bunch of Martha Stewart on clearance at Michaels. I found packs of cards and envelopes regularly priced at $ 7.99 for $1.00. They begged to come home with me, but when I got home all the other cards and envelopes protested because of the over crowding so they can't all stay. I figured I would give some of them away along with some other goodies I have stashed. But I'm not finished with my busy day so I'll think about that tomorrow. I also bought a clear stamp from Target today. I've resisted up until now, but this one was intriguing. --another clearance find, marked down from 1.99. The acrylic blocks that they sell with the dollar stamps are very thin in my opinion for stamping, but perfect for making pins.

I was talking to my friend from MI today, and during that update, I realized all at once that I've had many answered prayers.

1. Each of the kids had a concern in the past few months that have all been resolved, or are in the process of being resolved.
   
2. I am actually teaching classes at Michaels and I think I have a following already. She is a very nice lady! lol


3. I got the preliminary test results to my heart tests yesterday. I spoke to a nurse. My doctor who has been out of town will evaluate the tests results and then we will discuss whether or not treatment is necessary. I'm having Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVC) Non-life threatening, but annoying. They can be aggravated by sugar, caffeine and stress. --Let's see, I have had stress in the last few months. The sugar and caffeine can be explained by the Raspberry and Peach Sweet Tea from Sonic. They just don't make sweet tea up north like they do here. I think I almost overdosed on it the first few weeks or so after we got here. I have cut down on sugar and chocolate and totally cut out caffeine a few weeks ago, but I'm still having the episodes. But I see it as a plus that at least, I'm not crazy (or having serious heart problems)and they were able to "see" what my heart is doing.


4. Here is a bonus! I have son who challenges me all the time. ~ Mom, do you know the square root of 23, 085? ~Uh No! ~ 151.93748. So there you have it, I learn something new everyday!



5. I met my new friend today. We had a great lunch at Atlanta Bread. We met at Hobby Lobby and shopped together. I'm looking forward to getting some scrapping done soon, if they let me crash the weekly group meetings. Dawn is another answer to prayer. I have a lot of scrapping/stamping fanatic friends online (and you know who you are), but since Staci and Karen left me in Augusta in 2001, I haven't lived near a friend who shared my level of craftiness. This is not a particularly flattering photo of her, because I just pulled out my camera and said "say cheese", but she is a beautiful lady, inside and out!

It's Chick-fil-a night so I'm headed out to buy dinner. Then I get to go to middle school for a math class. It seems that they are teaching something new in advanced math that they want to parents to understand. I don't think by brain goes there anymore. The most advanced I get these days is paying bills and balancing the checkbook!

If you're still here, check out Trish's post today I want to be like the coffee bean!
I'll be back tomorrow with the color pencil thing.

True Friends

ETA: to answer questions at the bottom.



A friend of mine, who also moves a lot, mentioned that she'd like to have a card with this quote for the friends she leaves behind when she moves. It's a nice way of saying "So Long" to friends you meet along the way. I have a stamp with this saying, but when I saw this at The Stampbuzz, I knew right away I needed this one. The font and script is much more interesting than the one I already have.



Stamps: True Friends (Stampabilities)
Printed Paper: Vineyard Jersey Stripe and Vineyard Flowers (Heidi Grace) still my favorite!
Ink: Certainly Celery (SU) Brilliance Victorian Violet( Tsukenko)
Other: Flowers (Prima) , Hydrangea Punch (Martha Stewart), Small Flower (unknown), Lavender Ultrafine Pastel Glitter(Stampendous), Ticket punch (SU)

Yes, Flossie it's double stamped if that's what it's called. I stamped the green first and moved the stamp just up and over slightly for the purple ink. and no Dina, I don't have a stampamajig. Yes, purple with green are my Default colors. (smile)
Yes, Energyfree, some friends do leave BIG giant dinosaur footprints. I feel so blessed to have met some of the most terrific people in the world!

Left Overs

I didn't get any cardmaking done today. Between the graduation announcements, moving projects, and a rescheduled band concert, I've been too busy for stamping therapy. There was a tornado warning the last time the band concert was scheduled, so it was cancelled that night and rescheduled for tonight.

I just realized that I had a couple of "left over" cards. They were made when I was cleaning up from a fairly productive cardmaking week a while back.
I think this was the week I was headed to GA and I knew the house was going to be shown while I was gone. I tried, but I can't just clean my desk. As I began to put things away, I'd come across something that would make a "really quick card". ... which almost never turns out to be really quick because it always leads to more scraps and then more "leftover" cards. Think "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"

Both cards utilized a simple sketch I doodled with the flowers in mind.

This first one, was made with a Michaels $1 stamp, Martha flowers stickers and 3 sheets of Creative Imaginations paper. (background words, small stripes and large stripe)

My daughter was able to use this card to congratulate her teacher who is pregnant after couple years of trying.

This second one features the Heidi Grace paper from the Just a Note Pig. and circle punches. I didn't add a sentiment at the time. I'll just do that when a need arises.


If I get the announcements in the mail tomorrow, I'll be back in the cardmaking business. I received my SU order from my party last week, so I even have some new stuff to play with.

Be Blessed!

many thanks!

You are probably tired of seeing thank you cards made with photos so I promise this is the last set for awhile! ...at least for a couple days... (wink)


Again, I used the same "sketch" just different photos and paper. These cards are for my Michigan stamping friends and the photo is cropped down from the photo I took of the flowers they sent me.
I actually used all the " Martha" flower stickers from the first pack and had to go back for another pack. The more I think about it, these are a good buy, even w/o a coupon. I don't know where I bought this paper, but it has been in my file cabinet for as long as I've had the cabinet.

Tweeked Floral Photo Thank You

I don't know if it was seeing it enlarged on the computer screen or what, but little things that bothered me before I blogged about this card turn into big things... Anyway, I fixed it and now I love it. I trimmed down the yellow layer and added the brown behind it. I also added a little more brown to the flower. .

While I had the stuff out I made a couple more. Now I have to go back to Michaels to get more Martha flowers! Sigh...

Floral Photo Thank You Cards and more..

Edited at the bottom:

on the Martha stuff. After thinking about it, maybe the prices aren't that much different. I bought those dimensional stickers for $4.99. The sheet measured approximately 6 x 9. The Jolee's stickers of this type average around $3.99 and those sheets are half this size.



The sticker used on this card is one of the Martha Stewart stickers I bought last night. I colored it using a paint brush and ink from and SU Barely Banana reinker mixed water. I darkened the center of the flower with ink from a Brilliance Coffee Bean reinker. Of course I mixed more wash than I needed to color the flower so I painted the excess on off white cardstock and used it as the background. The photo was taken of the flowers sent to me/us by the coworkers at my husband's job. This is the thank you card I'm sending to them.

I also have cards made from the flowers my local friends sent to me, but since they read this blog, I'll wait on showing you the pictures until they get their cards.

ETA: Here is a link to Martha Stewart line online. Martha Stewart Crafts
I realize that opinions and taste will differ. I like the stuff. If nobody else likes it and it doesn't sell, I'll go and buy everything on clearance! LOL! ;)

I {heart} Martha Stewart!

I rewarded myself with a half hour at Michaels tonight. After I endured a trip to the mall with the know-it-all teenagers, I browsed in peace while they stayed in the car.

Martha does everything with style. What ever you think about her personality, you know anything with her name on it will be classy. I was impressed at the presence and elegance of the display. You can't miss it, and it grabs your attention as if you know what you are about to see is something important. Initially, because of the prices I didn't feel the need to immediately start a collection. Instead, I took it all in and allowed my creative wheels to churn. I could see purchasing several items for a specific project. (Who am I kidding, doesn't it always start off like that??) So while I was there, I decided to get these dimensional stickers, because they are perfect for the the cards I am currently working on. They will be much better than the flowers I was going to use. I love punches and there were 3 or 4 that I could have bought, but since I couldn't decide on one, I decided not to decide today. Mind make up, I left Martha and went to the clearance isle where I spotted an Arnold Grummer Paper Mill Complete paper making kit. Several years ago I used to demo and teach classes on paper making with this set at Michaels. Mucho fun, but not $70 fun. Today, I got it for $19.00!!

Next stop Krispie Kreme. It has been a Krispie Kreme kind of day. I'm on medicine that makes me anxious (that's the nice word for it) I'm on day 8 of 12 and tapering off so I 'm looking forward to being myself in about a week. I've been nurse all day to my daughter who is recovering from the wisdom teeth extraction thing, and did I mention that I had to take the other two teens to the mall?? So the stop at Krispie Kreme took a long time. The "motley crew" that was there seemed to be doing things other than waiting on customers. On a positive note, during my wait, only a half block from Michaels, I decided on I needed two of those punches and remembered that I had enough money to get them tonight! Of course it would make more sense to go back now since I was only a half block away than to come all the way back tomorrow.

This is what came home with me. The brick piped nylon ribbon, because I don't have a ribbon that color (shock) and hydrangea piped nylon because it was purple (enough said).

One last opinion, I liked the trendy colors. I hope they keep the design line small and design all new stuff with new colors frequently. Now that I am thinking about it, I went to the smaller of the two Michaels near me. I may have to pop into the big one to see if there is a bigger selection. I wonder if they would let me take pictures?

Good night and go to Michaels tomorrow and see for yourself!