Peace

My Sweet Shy-Cat in her toasty nest next to the wood stove.

Hi, Friends......

I am here to share a Christmas card I made inspired by the Winnie & Walter Rerun #17 Challenge. This is where they select an older W&W set to "rerun" with the DT making all sorts of gorgeous projects with it. This month the featured set is their In Bloom: Hollie's Festive Florals. You don't have to use that particular set to participate....but if you don't have it, you must use a W&W product (It can be a freebie!) and be inspired by something the DT made with the set. Easy peasy.....and so much fun!!!

WHAT INSPIRED ME:
I don't have the showcased set, but I was inspired by these two designers:

Love the JOY surrounded by motifs by Vanessa!

Love that strip across the center of Lydia's card!!!

Here's what I made. I liked the design so well that I made three of them to put in my stash to use next Christmas!! This is my favorite time of year to make Christmas cards.....no pressure!! :)

I wish you could see the dry embossed snowflake pattern on the white background better! 

Supplies used include:
Winnie & Walter - Essentials: Katharine Cutaways die set
Winnie & Walter - In a Word: Peace Cutaway die
Winnie & Walter - Our Town stamp set
Winnie & Walter - Scenery: Big Bang Confetti stamp set
WOW! Embossing Powder - Opaque Bright White Regular
Darice - Snowflakes embossing folder
Distress Ink in Black Soot
Core'dinations heavy duty white cardstock
Scraps from my stash of blue and silver cardstock

Thank you so much for stopping by. I wish each of you a very Happy New Year!!!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:1. Winnie & Walter Rerun #17 0 In Bloom: Hollies Festive Florals
2. Die Cut Divas December Challenge - Layers or Layer It
3. DL.Art Thankful Thursday Challenge #195 - Anything Goes
4. WOW! Embossing Powder December Challenge - Winter (must heat emboss or use one of their products)
5. Crafty Creations Challenge #331 - Any Holiday
6. The Paper Girls Challenge #118 - Anything Goes
7. Cards in Envy - Celebrate the Season (flat cards only)
8. DL.Art December Linky Challenge - Anything Goes
9. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge #34 - Anything Goes
10. Crop Stop December Challenge - AG (use a product CS sells)
11. The Artistic Stamper December Challenge - Christmas

Fall Back in Time......to Thanksgiving!

Here is Skippyjon taking a much needed rest from his misadventures next to his "Uncle" Othello.  It's sweet how often one of our big neutered males will take on the role of "uncle" to a half-grown kitten.  Skippy teases Othello mercilessly, but Othello kind of likes the little squirt, nonetheless.

Hi, Friends.....
 
Yes, I know it is winter and that autumn is past, but there is a reason I made a fall card. Sadly, the gals over at Always Use Rubber (formerly Twofers) are closing up their challenge blog and I wanted to get in on their very last challenge with the theme of Summer &/or Fall, which is a nod to the peeps living in the southern hemisphere. So.......out came my unused autumn-themed backgrounds that I still had on hand and I made a Thanksgiving card for next year.  Yay!

I found a pretty double-embossed background I liked a lot.  I went ahead and put it on a maroon mat and then decided to try something different. (I should have done this next step before I matted, but it worked fine this way, too.) I laid one of the stencils from the Artistcellar - TEXTures 2 Series 4-stencil set over the top and sponged on some Distress Ink in Walnut Stain.

Then I angled the same stencil over the background and sponged again using Distress Ink in Fired Brick. I hadn't ever tried doing this on my backgrounds before, but I like the effect. I think these colors give my background a smoky, fiery depth.

Here's my card:


Other supplies used:
BRAND NEW Lawn Fawn - Large Stitched Rectangles die set (How did hubby know that all those things I ordered online for him to give to me for Christmas were just what I wanted????!!!  lol...)
Darice - Fall Leaf Background embossing folder
Gold embossing powder
Inky Antics - Script Sentiments #1 stamp set
Versafine ink in Maroon
Crinkly Ribbon from Karen at Little Scrap Pieces

Since some of you might be unfamiliar with my double-embossing technique, I am including this close-up so you can see the detail. It also shows the gleam of the gold embossing powder better than the full shot above.

On this particular one, I sponged Distress Inks over the surface of my Fall Leaf embossing folder and misted lightly with water.  Then I ran a piece of Core'dinations heavy duty white cardstock inside the folder through my Big Shot. The paper not only gets embossed, but also gets a watercolor effect from the inks.  After it was completely dry, I lightly brayered Versamark ink over the raised pattern and heat-embossed with gold powder. I did this step 2 or 3 times to get a nice build-up of gold on my pattern for that chunky texture that reminds me of heavy vintage jewelry. LOVE!!!

(NOTE: I have lots of different kinds of gold embossing powder. My favorite for double embossing is a mix that I made of several varieties that is a bit chunky to make a rougher almost beaded texture....not at all good for embossing sentiments, for example, but perfect for this! Each brand and grade gives a different look.)

Hope you enjoyed my card! It was fun going back in time to fall and revisiting those blazing colors!!! Quite different from this current scene outside my craft room window:

A big thank you to Jane, Zoe, and Christi over at Always Use Rubber for all the work they have put in to their fun challenges. I am really going to miss your creative themes and sweet comments!! I wish you much rest, relaxation, and fun crafting times in the future.

Thank you, everyone, for stopping by! I appreciate your comments so very much!!! Have a lovely day.

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Always Use Rubber Challenge #6 - Summer &/or Fall (must stamp)
2. Simon Says Stamp December Work-it-Wednesday - Use a New Product (I used my new LF stitched rectangle die set.) 
3. Die Cut Divas December Challenge - Layers or Layer It
4. Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #323 - Anything Goes
5. HeARTful Stamping Challenge - Anything Goes
6. The Paper Girls Challenge #118 - Anything Goes
7. Cards in Envy - Celebrate the Season (cards only) (Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season, so I hope this card qualifies!)
8. DL.Art December Linky Challenge - Anything Goes
9. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge #34 - Anything Goes
10. Crafty Creations Challenge #331 - Any Holiday (I chose Thanksgiving.)
11. Inspiration Destination Challenge #118 - Anything Goes
12. Fashionable Stamping Challenge #118 - Anything Goes
13. DL.Art Thankful Thursday Challenge #195 - Anything Goes

Caroling Mouse Tag

Hi, Friends.....

I am here with a tag that I thought I was making for the Ellen Hutson Tag Challenge several weeks ago, but to my dismay I realized that I wasn't following the theme and so it didn't qualify!! Eeeeek.....how did I miss that in the challenge guidelines???? lol.... So I am finally getting around to posting it in my after-Christmas specials. :)

The cute little caroling mouse is an ancient Hero Arts stamp I found at a thrift store. The date on it says "1980"!! (Holey moley.....Even I wasn't rubber stamping clear back then!!! I didn't know ANYONE was rubber stamping back in those days!!)  I picked it up some time ago and I think this is only the first or maybe second time I have used it. 

I stamped the little mouse with Versafine ink in Vintage Sepia and heat embossed with clear powder. Then I colored her with watercolor pencils and my water brush and colored over the dress with my Wink of Stella pen to add some sparkle and shimmer.

TIP: The flower (which already came with the glitter on it) was a little bit too white, so I colored the petals with my Spectrum Noir EB1 marker which gave it just the right vintage tone.

Other supplies used:
Graphic 45 paper from the 12 Days of Christmas collection
My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Oval STAX die set
Prima flowers that I layered
Want 2 Scrap - Adhesive Pearls in green
Frilly eyelash fiber from the thrift store for the ties

Considering I am not a tag maker, I am very pleased with how this one turned out. It helped a lot to make this one smaller than my other gargantuan-sized one!!! lol... Hope you enjoyed this one, too!
 
<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this in the following challenges:
1. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make it Sparkle
2. A2Z Scrapbooking December Challenge - Anything but a Card w/ Hero Arts for focal
3. Great Impressions December Challenge - Anything Goes
4. WOW! Embossing Powder December Challenge - Winter (must heat emboss or use one of their products)
5. Die Cut Divas December Challenge - Layers or Layer It
6. Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #323 - Anything Goes
7. HeARTful Stamping Challenge - Anything Goes
8. The Paper Girls Challenge #118 - Anything Goes
9. Go Tag Thursday Tag #28 - It's Christmas

Spring is Coming...(sometime!)

This reminds me so much of my dear sweet Aliyah and my Shy-Cat.  We lost Aliyah several months ago at age 15.  Her coat was striped and white pattern.  We still have 15 yr old Chaienne (though in failing health) who is the kitty on my blog header.  She isn't solid orange tabby like the kitty in the photo, but this is a startling likeness of my two old ladies.  Main difference is they were arch-enemies from kittenhood on.  They never once in their 9 lives sat peacefully beside each other like this!!  lol....  

Hi, Friends.......

Super-quick post to get this springy anniversary card posted and squeaked in under the deadline at the Mod Squad Challenge - A Little Bit of Spring.  I'll write more about it after I get it linked up!!  :)

(a few minutes later....)
Okay....got it linked up so I am back.  Whew!  I loved the idea of making a springy card because we are in the middle of a winter storm right now.  We have around 16 inches of snow on the ground, which for right here is quite a bit.  So some flowers and spring colors sounded like a fun challenge!

For this card I used some reclaimed gift wrap that a friend had wrapped a present for me in a few years ago. It was so pretty that I couldn't just discard it!! It makes a pretty background here, I think. I heat embossed a happy little image from Uptown Rubber Stamps. I don't think I have ever used this image for an anniversary card before, but I LOVE it on here!! I wish I could remember for sure who gave this stamp to me....but I think it was the same gal that this card is going to! (I have finally gotten a LITTLE bit smarter and write the name of the person who sent me something on a bit of washi tape and put it on all my gifts to remind me where they came from!!! I always think I will remember....I mean HOW could I possibly forget?....but I do. It's like that old saying..."Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most!! Hahahahaha!!)

Other supplies used include:
Prima flowers
Sizzix - Branch with Leaves die
Scraps of lavender, and shimmery green cardstock from DCWV
Adhesive pearls and rhinestone from stash

Hope you enjoyed this springy card. If you live in a snowy place, maybe it will help give you hope for warmer days ahead!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenge(s):
1. Mod Squad Challenge - A Little Bit of Spring
2. Simon Says Stamp Work-it-Wednesday - Use a Die Cut
3. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make it Sparkle
4. DL.Art Thankful Thursday Challenge #195 - Anything Goes
5. Pixie's Snippets Playground Weeks 260-261 - Use Snippets

Don't Put the Christmas Supplies Away Yet!!!

Couldn't decide on a cat pic to post, so I pulled this cute one out of my files.  Awwwww......

Hi, Friends.....

Am I the only one that keeps Christmas cards I have received on display for months, sometimes longer when it is a special one from one of you?  If you are like me, though, you can't stand to just put last year's Christmas cards in a box, never to be unearthed again....or worse, to throw them any of them away!! Horrors!  Right after Christmas is the time when I like to remake some of the lovely commercially-made cards I have saved from several years back.  Oftentimes, they require but little embellishment to give them new life. 

CARD #1:  I do the same thing with adorable pet promotional cards my vet hubby receives in the mail....turning them into cute and festive cards for me to send out. Here's one of them:

I have several die sets that I turn to for these remade cards. Here I used some retired Clearly Besotted dies for the modern tree and tinsel garland. The foam snowflakes (yes, I still have a few of these that have 7 points!!! Wha-aaaat?) are from the dollar store and the little sentiment sticker is from Echo Park.

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. SUYP - December Cats Only Challenge #13 - Krimbo Cats
2. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Party Time! (Anytime you have a kitty near a Christmas tree, it is party time! Eeek!!) 
3. DL.Art Thankful Thursday Challenge #195 - Anything Goes


CARD #2: Another easy idea for a card to make for next year makes use of some of those large prints found in 12 x 12 paper stacks. Being a cardmaker, I often pass by those in favor of the smaller prints and end up with a lot of these leftover. Since I really want to use them up and be done with the last bits of some of these ancient stacks, I dress them up a bit with die cuts and stickers. Here's one I made earlier this season:



I covered the card base with the large town scene and put some glitter glue here and there. Die cuts include the same retired ones from Clearly Besotted and also from my Spellbinders - Holiday Tags die set. Some snowflake stickers from Echo Park finished up this simple but fun card.

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Simon Says Stamp Work-it-Wednesday - Use a Die Cut
2. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make it Sparkle
3. DL.Art December Linky Challenge - Anything Goes

Hope you liked these quick cards. They aren't fabulous or outstanding in their technique or design, but they still have that handmade touch that adds warmth and depth. And....it makes use of something that might otherwise get discarded. Have a wonderful in-between week. Hope you are crafting during this lull with some brand-new supplies!!

<3
Janis

Naughty Kitty Christmas

Naughty Skippyjon has knocked over my little fake tree and is chewing on the bristly branches.   Now that he has discovered how enjoyable it is to gnaw on these scratchy things, I can't keep him away from it.  He thinks getting sprayed by the water bottle is a fun game!!  Merry Christmas!!!

Hi, Friends.....

Merry Christmas to you! I love it when Christmas lands on a Sunday and we aren't traveling so we can attend worship at our little country church. We live in North Central Idaho and almost always can count on a lovely white Christmas. This year we have a fresh blanket of snow over the old snow and it is just gorgeous. Our little community is transformed into a Norman Rockwell-esque painting signed with a flourish of snowflakes by the Master Artist himself. I just love celebrating our Savior's birth together with my neighbors in this beautiful place where we are privileged to live!

The reason I am posting on my blog on Christmas Eve is because my friend Fiki over at Bad Kitty's Craftroom has an adorable digi image she drew and a fun giveaway if you link up a project with her digi. I meant to do this way earlier in the month, but things just got away from me and all of sudden I remembered!! EEEEK!! Well, it is soooooooo cute of an image that I didn't want to miss out.  I printed it and went right to work coloring with my Spectrum Noirs and Ultra-fine Sharpies.

Here's another naughty kitty.....well, not too naughty, just typical.  He has opened one of his gifts (not sure if he waited until Christmas or not, but prob not!) and now he is completely ignoring the brand-new fishy toys and is sitting inside the box!!  Hahaha.... so much the way cats are!!!

Other supplies used:
My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Square STAX die set
Sticker with sentiment by Echo Park
DCWV paper
Baker's Twine

Thank you so much, Fiki, for sharing your adorable art with us and for your sweet giveaway!! 

Merry Christmas to each of you!!!  I hope on this special day when we exchange gifts and spend time with family and friends that you will remember to be thankful for the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ....and the salvation from sins that He made possible.  

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."  Luke 2:11

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Bad Kitty's Christmas Giveaway (use Fiki's digi to be eligible)
2. SUYP - December Cats Only Challenge #13 - Krimbo Cats
3. Simon Says Stamp National Christmas Card Day Challenge
4. Little Scrap Pieces Show-it-Off Saturday Linky Party (12-24)
5. Simon Says Stamp Work-it-Wednesday - Use a Die Cut

Happy Hanukkah!

This is my Judith picking her way on TOP of the overhead fencing on my chicken yard to be with me while I take care of my chickens.  Doesn't she look like a wild cat with her puffy wintertime  coat?  She's actually quite small and very sweet.

Hi, Friends.....

Well, I don't know about you, but December activities and recuperating from November activities drained my mojo and so I have done very little crafting this month. Good thing I sent hardly any Christmas cards last year or I wouldn't have had any leftover ones to send this year!! Ha. I really need to do better next year. Now that it is close to Christmas, I am finally in the mood to make (next year's) holiday cards!! lol...

I have a Hanukkah card to share with you today. My next-door neighbor is a dear Jewish gentleman and it is fun to have a chance to help celebrate his holidays. I used a free digi image from Michael Strong at The Born Doodler. He has a new menorah image for free download on his blog right now, but I used one from last year. (Thanks, Michael!!)

My gold Star of David is from a kit my daughter found at our local thrift store and put in my stocking last year. I had lost track of it and found it the other day!  It had been a deep fuchsia color, but I wanted it gold so I colored over it with my gold Elmer's - Painters Marker. I colored my menorah with a gold Pilot extra-fine tip marker and my ultra-fine tip Sharpie markers. (My regular Spectrum Noirs were not fine enough for the tiny little spaces on this design.) I covered the card base with very shiny blue foil cardstock and attached the menorah with dimensional foam squares over the star. I finished it off with some shimmery gold twine.
 

INSIDE:  The sentiment is from A Creative Journey with Melissa - Fall and Winter Holiday Sentiments stamp set.

Hope you enjoyed this shiny and shimmery card!! It was fun to have a good excuse to use my foiled cardstock.....which I hoard and only peek lovingly at every few months! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!!!
 
<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. All Sorts Challenge Week 394/395 Blue Bingo
(I used Blue and Yellow, Dimension, and No Designer Papers)
2. Little Red Wagon Challenge #373 - Follow the Star!
3. The Male Room Challenge #50 - Winter/December Celebrations (must be masculine)
4. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make it Sparkle
5. Cards in Envy - Celebrate the Season (cards only)
6. DL.Art Thankful Thursday Challenge #194 - Winter Holiday
7. DL.Art December Linky Challenge - Anything Goes
8. Little Scrap Pieces Show-it-Off Saturday Linky Party - Anything Goes

Feminine Twist Tag Challenge - Take #1

Hi, Friends....

I am here with a tag that I made for the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2016 Challenge. Now I will tell you right off that I am NOT a tag maker. I don't understand how it can be so hard for me because everyone else just kind of makes tags in their sleep using lots of delicious scraps and bits of ephemera. Not me. I agonize. Ugh. lol...

Part of my problem is that I don't know how big to make them. I asked my crafty friend Karen Ladd, who makes lots of super-fun tags all the time, how big hers are. When she told me they were only about 4 inches long, I was stunned. How can you do something in that small of a space???? I have no idea!! So you will have to bear with me as I try to make a few tags for this challenge. This is going to be a REAL challenge for me!!

For this 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2016 Challenge we are asked to make a tag inspired by one of the designers for the event. I started at the very beginning and chose the first tag I came

Laurel Beard's tag that inspired me.

to....by the talented Laurel Beard! 

Here is the adorable Santa Claus tag she made. ---------------->

I don't use very many Santa motifs at Christmas (so that was a challenge already) but I wanted to use her Santa as a starting inspiration point for my tag. I knew I had Mr. Claus-themed items in my stash, though, so how hard could it be???? (I was still saying this hours later as I tried to put all the elements together in some meaningful arrangement! Ha.)


Here is what I came up with.

This tag is about 8"x4" and so I really scrambled to scrounge enough things to fill it up!! I should have asked Karen about size BEFORE I started this one!! Ha.

I was tickled to use a cute little Santa journaling card from Pretty Little Studio that had been in my stash for a long time! I stamped "Dec 25" with my SMASH date stamper.

For the red double embossed tree, I dry embossed the red cardstock with my Darice - Christmas Tree folder, brayered the design with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with a sparkly white powder. Then I fussy cut just the tree out of the design. You can't see it in this photo, but there is a sparkly rhinestone in the star atop the tree.

Supplies used include:
Premade kraft tag base
DCWV scraps
My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Oval STAX die set
Stampendous flocked adhesive snowflakes
Darice - Diagonal Stripe Background embossing folder on red scrap behind the journaling card
A bit of ancient metallic gold punchinella
Quietfire Designs - We Believe in Santa!
Versafine ink in Olympia Green
Martha Stewart Edger Punch - Doily Lace
Ribbon that Gloria Stengel sent me a long time ago :)
Rhinestones from my stash

Whew.....that's a lot of supplies!! I think cards are easier. lol... But I am pleased with how the tag turned out and I will try making some more for this challenge. Thank you for stopping by!

<3
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this tag in the following challenges: 
1. 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2016 Challenge
2. Die Cut Divas December Challenge - Layers or Layer It
3. Craft Calendar December Challenge - Christmas Time
4. Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - AG Christmas
5. Creative Corner Challenges - Vintage/ Retro Christmas
6. Crafty Ribbons Challenge #178 - Christmas
7. Tuesday Throwdown TT321 - Make a Tag
8. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - 'O' Christmas Tree
9. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
10. WOW! Embossing Powder December Challenge - Winter (must heat emboss or use one of their products)
11. The Cat's Pajamas Tuesday Challenge #328 - Snow
12. Mod Squad Challenge - Holiday Dimension