Good morning! It’s time for another JBWW Challenge. Jeanne and I decided last week that from now on, the weeks I host, you will be getting a sketch. Then on the weeks that Jeanne hosts . . . . well, it will be whatever she can dream up. Well guess what, it’s Jeanne’s turn this week and boy has she chosen a good one – Something’s Fishy! Yep, she wants you to pull out those sea critter stamps (crabs, fish, clams, etc.) and use them. Remember, to come back and post a link to either here or on Jeanne’s blog, Inky Paws, and if you are uploading to SCS, please use the keyword, JBWW.

I have two different cards today. The first is using images from Rubbernecker Stamps. I stamped the images in Adirondack Pitch Black and then colored them with Copic Markers. Stickles were used for the bubbles and a gel pen used for the water flow. The background paper, Memory Box Studio, was sponged with Adirondack Stream in a circular motion over the entire paper in order to blend better with the image.

Stamps: 86-17 Luncheon Meet and 86-14 Under the Sea by Rubbernecker

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Black, Memory Box Studio

Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black and Stream

Accessories: Copic Ciao Markers, Sponge Dauber, Mounting Tape, Blue Gelly Roll Jell Pen, Ranger Crystal Stickles, Brads, Ribbon

The second card today uses stamps from Gina K. Designs. The potty was stamped first and colored with Copic Markers, along with the background of the image. The crab/lobster (I think it can be either) was then stamped, colored and mounted inside the potty. One claw, hanging over the edge, is raised on mounting tape for dimension. The background of the card was stamped with the sentiment Way to Go in River Rock on River Rock.

Stamps: Just Be-claws and Way to Go! From Gina K. Designs

Paper: Georgia Pacific White, SU River Rock and Handsome Hunter

Ink: Palette Noir Black, SU River Rock and Basic Black

Accessories: Copic Markers, Ribbon, Mounting Tape, Black Artists Pen

I can hardly believe that it’s Wednesday already! The days and weeks are flying by and Christmas and the New Year are going to be here before I am even ready. By now I normally have the house decorated for the holidays and at least have some shopping done – but not this year! I suppose I will need to concentrate on the decorations this weekend since I do have a few things happening here at the house during the holidays. I must admit that I love to decorate for Christmas and can’t bear to take it down until after the first of the year. To me the house is always bare once the decorations are taken down and put away for the year. I am struggling this year though on how to put up a tree (on the floor) and keep the puppies away from it. I’ve thought about a table top tree but can’t find just the right size. A 4-1/2 foot table top tree just doesn’t get it for the main tree in the house – especially for someone who has put up at least three trees for the last few years. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll end up with the 7-foot tree on the floor and get after the pups every time they get near it!

One good thing however, is that I went through my recently made cards and realize that I’m getting close to having what I need for the Holidays. WOO HOO! AND, I can add one more in the box – I checked the Splitcoast Sketch Challenge this morning and what a fun layout. Roxie always comes up with something new and fun – I don’t know how she does it week after week. Anyhoo, here’s my card for today’s challenge.

I wanted to try this image from Gina K. Designs using Copic markers instead of water coloring as I did before. Even though I love to watercolor, the colors and shading achieved with the Copics makes the images take on a different look. For the snow, I painted on some Tulip White Puffy Paint and then sprinkled on some glitter (well, a whole lot of glitter) and set it aside to dry. I used some scraps of BasicGrey Figgy paper for the small panels (as if I don’t have enough scraps of this paper by now) and Always Artichoke for the panel underneath. The edges of all the panels (except the main back panel) were sponged with distress ink. Once I had the card completely assembled, I puffed the Tulip paint with a heat gun. Oh, and as you can tell, I flipped the sketch to fit the image.

Stamps: Got Snow? From Gina K. Designs

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, SU Soft and Always Artichoke, BasicGrey Figgy Pudding

Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black, Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, Soft Sky Double-Stitch Ribbon, SU Corner Punch, Brads

Accessories: Copic Markers, Tulip White Puffy Paint, Diamond Gold Ultra-Fine Glitter

Good Monday morning! My house is finally back to normal after the long Holiday weekend. Lance is finally back at work and Mallory is back at school. I didn’t realize how much I enjoy my quiet days during the week until they were all home at once. Don’t get me wrong, I love when everyone is together, but I also love the “ME” time I have during the days.

Yesterday afternoon, after Mallory had left and football was on the television, I headed in to stamp. I’ve had these adorable little tins from Gina K. Designs for weeks now and I’ve been wanting to do something with them. How nice it was to work on a project just for the heck of it.

To coordinate the set, I used BasicGrey Fruitcake paper and some new May Arts Ribbon that I just got from Jacksonbelle Embellishments.

I used the Punchy Words from Gina K. Designs for the card, coloring the stamp with Old Olive and Ruby Red makers. The edges of all the paper were sponged with distress ink. Ranger Liquid Pearls were added to each scallop, just because I wanted, and each layer of the sentiment is raised on mounting tape. My first instinct was to add antique copper brads (my favorite), but then realized that in order for the card to match the tin, I needed silver.

I cut strips of the Fruitcake paper. The bottom strip is 1″ wide and the strip around the lid is 5/8″ wide. The edges were sponged with the distress ink. The strips were then wrapped and fastened around the tin. I fastened the ribbon on the back of the tin with a little piece of double-stick tape and then tied off on the front in a bow. The sentiment on the top is from the Festive Labels set.

Stamps: Punchy Words and Festive Labels from Gina K. Designs

Paper: SU Ruby Red and Old Olive, BasicGrey Fruitcake

Ink: SU Ruby Red and Old Olive, Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink

Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Brads, Ranger Liquid Pearls, Various Punches, Mounting Tape, Sponge Dauber, Alterable Silver Tin from Gina K. Designs

As it has turned out, we are home today. We decided last night after watching the Weather Channel that we may want to shop just in case. Luckily we were able to find a fresh turkey breast and some other trimmings. This morning around 6:00 a.m., we made the decision to stay home. The weather in the Chicago region was not conducive for us traveling up I-65 and then turning around and coming home tonight. I made early morning phone calls and my mother and my aunt are now coming for dinner. I feel so much better knowing they will be with us this Holiday.

The turkey breast is in the oven now and I had an opportunity to check on Julia’s Ways to Use it Challenge on Splitcoast. It is such a fun one and heaven knows is right up my alley – stitching! Machine stitching, faux stitching, stitching stamps, stitching rub-ons, hand stitching…anything goes. I decided today that I could use one of the newer releases from Gina K. Designs – Got Snow.

The image was stamped on watercolor paper and then colored with Tim Holtz Distress Ink reinkers. The background paper, BasicGrey Dasher, is machine stitched to a layer of cardstock to match the card base. The edges of the image and the background were sponged in Vintage Photo Distress Ink. To create some added dimension to the image, I applied a small amount of Liquid Applique around the sled and the trees.

Stamps: Got Snow from Gina K. Designs

Paper: Watercolor, SU Old Olive and Soft Sky, BasicGrey Dasher

Ink: Palette Noir Black, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Accessories: Sewing Machine, Distress Ink Reinkers, Liquid Applique, May Arts Ribbon, Watercolor Brush, Mounting Tape, Brads

I hope each and everyone of you have a wonderful holiday!

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week so far and is looking forward to the weekend. I have a community service project tomorrow afternoon for Sorority and am looking forward to participating. We are boxing up items to send to our Service Men in Iraq. Of course, I still need to shop for some items, but I can get that done in the morning. If anyone has any ideas other than the typical books, magazines, toiletry items, please post a comment and let me know. One thing they requested was Ramen Noodles – we were all quite surprised, but after thinking about it, it did make sense. So anyhoo, I would love to have some other suggestions.

Yesterday I was able to get a few cards stamped just for fun and with my luck, none of them fit the Splitcoast Challenge today. One almost did, but I added just a few too many embellishments. Today’s Limited Supply Challenge is one embellishment or designer paper only. It is to only have one or two stamps - one of them a heart, and have limited layers.

You all know how much I love the new Way to Go by Gina K. Designs. Well an idea hit me this morning and I just had to RUN with it! There are just way too many possibilities with this set. I stamped the toilet bowl image and then stamped a heart. Colored them both with Copic Markers, cut a small slit in the water and slid the heart in. The sentiment, You Make My Heart Overflow, was typed on the computer (my specialty tool of choice) – hehe I just kill myself sometimes! Oh the joys of being BAD!

Stamps: Way to Go by Gina K. Designs, SU Love Matters

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, SU Pretty in Pink and Basic Black

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black

Accessories: Copic Markers, Ribbon, Mounting Tape, Computer (to generate sentiment), Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen