Hijacked again! and Got any Cheese?

First of all, this is not the post I promised yesterday. And you can't see this, but I'm typing this for a second time in the last few minutes. I see this as a sign to give up for the day. My day was hijacked. and when I had a minute I snapped a picture and then the camera died. Oh, I have backup batteries. Dead too. Would you believe my third set just won't charge at all anymore? So While I wait for the batteries to charge up, I thought I'd show you this card.

This is another one of the cards I made the day these stamps arrived. And no, SPURS (Society for the Prevention of Unused Rubber Stamps) was a figment of my imagination, but I think it'll be a great name for my stamping sessions that I want to have at HL. They will be more like scrapbooking crops but with stamping for card makers, instead of instruction time.

Finished Size 5 1/2 x 4 1/4.
Stamps: Say Cheese (Hambo Stamps) I love you ( Studio G $1 stamps from Michaels)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia
Paper: Basic Grey Granola
Colored with Prismacolor Pencils
Circle punches and ribbon


I would say that I'm going to finish that tutorial and do the give away post tomorrow, but you know if I say it, it won't happen. So I'm not going to say. I am going to say good night and Choose JOY!!! Jacki

Edited to add: Yes, this is a mouse. Some of my friends know that I do not like mouse stamps--usually. House Mouse stamps creep me out -- seriously. I think it is because they are a little too realistic. This little guy is really cute to me and I love his swiss cheese wedge.

Best Wishes/Wishing You Joy

I'm having the hardest time remembering what day it is... We drove all day on Monday, but I kept thinking yesterday was Monday. I lost a whole day. I'm now aware that it is Wednesday... where has the week gone...

Here are the cards I made last night.

I love to use this image for my "expecting" cards. I've got a couple of people expecting babies. I only needed two cards but I got carried away. At least now I have a couple of extras in my stash.(smile)

All cards~ Finished Card Size: 4.25 x 5.5
Stamps: Bird on Egg (Savvy Stamps)Best Wishes from Small Greetings(Hero Arts), Wishing You Joy(Kolette Hall $1 stamps from Michaels)
Ink: Artprint Brown (Memories)
Paper: Basic Grey .. The blue/green is from Archaiac and the Pink is from Sultry
Other: Prismacolor Pencils, circle punches, square punches.
These cards are pretty straight forward, but if I ever leave anything out or if you have other questions, please ask.

February Classes At Michaels

Remember this card? I was playing around with the stamps from the $1 bin at Michaels that I have at home. When I went into actually make my samples neither of those stamps were available. I . And here is what I managed to come up with what was available at Michaels.



We only have corner rounder and no other corner punches in the classroom so I used a scallop paper edgers (scissor) to clip off the corners. I was really amazed that most of the $1 Valentine's Day stamps are GONE. I should have pulled them for the classroom when I bought them for myself. Doesn't matter I guess, because I would have had to have them available for the students. They get mad at me if they can't go and buy the stuff we used in class. I chose these colors, but they are welcome to choose whatever color scheme they want. I'm also going to show them how to use the CuttleBug and embossing folders. (This is Cheaper by the Dozen class so they will make 12 cards. I'll have other sentiment stamps available in case they don't want 12 that say "I do love you")

For this card we will use gate-fold card blanks. I'm teaching embossing (with embossing powder and a heat tool). Again, they get to choose whatever papers they want. I was thinking for this card, that if I don't add a Valentine's Day sentiment, it can be used as an anniversary or wedding card. What do you think?

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.

February Card Class

Here's a sneak preview-ish of one of my classes at Michaels in February. The Bear is Penny Black and the other images are Studio G straight from the $1 bin. Colored with Priamacolors. I say "ish"because for the class, I'm going to emboss the brown layer with the CuttleBug embossing folder.

On a personal note:

My printer issue has a temporary fix. My husband reminded me that I have a very nice laser printer. And after talking to my sister today, she is sending me a printer similar to mine except that it doesn't fax. It was my Dad's and it's been sitting in her house since he died in May of 2005. The good news is it will use the same ink I already have. One day soon I'll still get a new printer-- one that does all those things that mine did and have wireless networking capabilities. Then my daughter can take this printer back to college. It's a win/win! I knew God would work it out. Choosing Joy !

1st day at Michaels

Today was my first day at Michaels. I started the training for sales associate and I spent time planning my classes.
Since I last worked there several years ago, they have new policies for instructors that I'm excited about. As an instructor, all my class samples have to be made at the store, with Michaels merchandise, on company time. So tomorrow, I'm going to get paid to make cards. Isn't God wonderful??

I made another observation today. Working there is going to be good and bad. Good because I'll get to see and try out new products in person on a regular basis. Bad because I'll get to see and try out new products in person on a regular basis.

Speaking of...
Just out of curiosity, I bought a new super sticky Tombow Monoadhesive. It's in a pinkish non- refillable dispenser. It is more sticky that the kind I've been buying for many years. I used it on the textured card stock and it held the layers together much better.

If you're interested, I'll add a picture later. Got to go and feed the troops.

Wishing You Joy

This card is for my friend, Jackie, who is expecting her second child. That first baby has brought so much joy into their lives. I hope this second boy is as happy and easy going as his big brother.

I love the "wishing you joy" sentiment. and I really like this handwriting. It is the best dollar I ever spent.

Stamps: Nesting Bird (Savvy Stamps ), wishing you joy(Michael's 1 dollar stamp)

Printed Paper: Watercolor Block (Provo Craft)

Ink:Brilliance Graphite Black( Tsukenko), Lavender Lace, I think(SU)

Coloring Medium:Prismacolor Pencils

Other: Ticket Corner Punch (SU) Flowers (Prima) Large Brads

I received this image in an image swap. I was excited to see it at the Stampbuzz, because now I can get one for myself. Which reminds me, I need to add it to my order

I have so much to do, that I don't know where to start. Normally I would start at the top and work my way downstairs, but I think I am going to start in the Card Castle this time and work my way up. I am anxious to show you my new space. I am trying to sort things as I move them into the room. Eventually, whatever doesn't fit in the room is going "bye bye" I am actually trying to condense things from two spaces into the one. I used to have storage in the basement and I worked on the first floor. I didn't see a lot of my collection, because it was down there. Now I'm forcing myself to get rid of old stuff. The stamp drawers are organized now, but I need to make new labels for them.

Am I the only one who had tons of images stamped (and sometimes colored or painted)? I don't think I need to keep them all. I always stamp more than I need. I color a couple( or a few) and then pick the one I like best for the card. Now I'm stuck with too much. Any suggestions???

Choosing Joy! Jacki

Happy Hamiversary

The day I made this card, I made several with this paper and ribbon I found at Michaels, so you might see it again.

I thought I would try the Hambo's Soda Shop Pigs in an anniversary card. Hambo has a stamp that says "Happy Hamiversary" to go with the pigs. It's funny, but I didn't get that one when I ordered, so I chose a regular happy anniversary from what I have here.
I made this for my "niece" who celebrates her 1st wedding anniversary this week. It's hard to believe that it's been a year already since the wedding.

Finished Card size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4
Stamps: Soda Shop Pigs(Hambo Stamps), Happy Anniversary (Michael $1 Stamps)
Printed Paper: Brown Polka Dots (Chatterbox) Blue Polka Dots (SU)
Cardstock: White card and corkscrew edge(Georgia Pacific)
Ink:Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukenko), Basic Brown (SU)
Other: Prismacolor Pencils, Corkscrew Paper Edgers(Fiskars), Ribbon( Go with the Grain)

Wishing You Joy

The center of the flower was a black and white fabric covered brad that I rolled around over the surface of the Cool Caribbean ink pad.

I like how these flowers coordinate with the Cool Caribbean cardstock and ink. The background stamp is SU and the "wishing you joy" is a Michaels $1 stamp.

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!