Some of My Favorite Cards

 This is one of my All time favorite cards, done with one of my favorite techniques, which I learned how to do at http://www.circleofcrafters.com/irisfolding/

I posted this card at Split Coast Stampers for a Tea pot Tuesday Challenge, and Lydia at Split Coast honored me by posting this card on Split Coast's facebook page.

This is a card I did for Carrie, who was my Mother's best friend, they were friends for over 60 years.  She was always so good to my Mother, and I wanted to make something special for her  birthday.  This card is done with the Center fold technique.A favorite card fold of mine and I learned how to do it using a tutorial at...

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/centerstepcard/

 My husband colored this card for me with copics.  We both really like the Sugar Nellie images, and I sent this card to a special on line friend, Pat Smethers.  Pat honored me yesterday by Nominating one of my cards for the Split Coast Nominees list    For Favorite cards of the year.  Needless to say, it made my day, and brought "Happy" tears to my eyes.

 This card is special to me because it was made for a House Mouse Challenge.  I felt very honored when House Mouse asked me to be a guest Designer for a month last year.

This card was made using a Dreamweaver stencil and using embossing paste.  Lynn Harlow the owner of Dreamweaver stencils, honored me by casing this card to make one of her cards..

These are just a few of my favorites, but these are the ones that stand out the most in my mind right now.

I thank you so much for stopping by my blog, and sharing your very nice comments with me. 

To all who are reading this,  I hope you are showered with many blessings in the upcoming year.

Jill

More Christmas cards that I made

 My husband colored the Holly image with copics for me

 This is card cover that I  purchased from ODBD to use Flower soft on...


The card below, my Husband colored the image with copics for me...

I sent out over 60 Christmas cards that I hand made...and I did NOT make enough.  I was still trying to make more and get them in the mail.  But I think I'm finished making Christmas cards.  (for now anyway)  I'm a very slow card maker,   I think now I will try and figure out some New Year's cards to make to finish out my list.  Next year I plan to start earlier,  (I say that every year)

Card for Our Daily Bread Designs Challenge

It's been a while since I found the time to enter a "Our Daily Breads Design" Challenge.  The challenge that I am entering this card in is a "anything goes" challenge which always makes it easier to come up with a card.  The challenge can be found here  ODBDSLC136

I'm still working on My friend, Kathi's Christmas present to me...The 12 days of Crafting!
I told her at the rate I am getting the projects done, it will be more like the 12 WEEKS of crafting.

Our second day of crafting was to use embossing powders and she gave us this link to look at.

https://www.twopeasinabucket.com/cg_display.asp?cmd=display&seed_id=29881

and we were to use the above link to get some ideas.

Heat embossing is one of the techniques I really enjoy doing, but it's the first time I used three different colors of embossing powders on one card.  

Along with the embossing powders, I used brads, and ribbon.  The stamps I used are two of

Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps...Scripture Collection 1 and Bird Borders.

Also added this card to Word art Wednesday Challenge...
http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com/2012/12/challenge-60-faithanything-goes.html

Another Card from a friend...

 This is another beautiful Card I received for Christmas...The card was made by my Crafting  Buddy, Cherie...You can find Cherie's blog here 

http://paperinspirationsandcreations.blogspot.com/

Cherie's card above was made with lots and lots of neat details, and it took her a lot of time to make...I know because I watched her make part of it at my home.  She entered her card at a Cheery Lynn Challenge and won.  It really is a winner.

 Along with her card, this was One of Cherie's Christmas gifts to me, her Mother embroidered it for me on her sewing machine.  The word "Believe" was my Motivational word for the year 2012.
I read about the one word project on this website...

http://aliedwards.com/2012/12/one-little-word-2013.html

I definitely selected the right word for me for the year 2012.  I will share more about my word in a later post.

 

The above picture is some of the tags I have made in the last two weeks.  Cherie and Kathi, helped with some of the ideas at Craft night...
The tags were part of the 12 days of Christmas gift package that Kathi gave to us as our Christmas present.  The first day of Crafting we were to go to the following link...

https://www.twopeasinabucket.com/cg_display.asp?cmd=display&seed_id=29821

At the Two peas in Bucket Scrapbook site, and look at the tutorials done by Jennifer Mcguire on using different techniques in making tags.

This project with the 12 days of Crafting, is fun, and already I've learned some new techniques.  Looking forward to tomorrow's package.

Hope everyone is doing just fine...

thanks for stopping by

and Many Blessing to you,

Jill

I had a very nice Christmas...

Card that My friend, Kathi, made me for Christmas...Wow!  Lots of detail here, and the inside of the
card has almost as much detail.  Lots of time spent on this.  Beautiful copic coloring, and design.
Kathi's blog with more of her creative work can be found here.
http://katscreativebliss.blogspot.com/

Above is just one of the gifts that Kathi gave me for Christmas

Here is 11 more.
Kathi made for Cheri and myself (We three get together every week and craft together)

Packages for the 12 days of Crafting.

Each package came with a letter with instructions
and in each package crafting supplies that we can use for that days project or projects...

Okay, Kathi, if you are reading this, I did cheat!  I wasn't supposed to open my first envelope till
tomorrow morning, but I couldn't wait, and opened one tonight.
You should see all the work she put into this project, it is a crafter's dream present.!

Each letter gives us instructions and links to web sites and utube tutorials, etc.  To find more help
with that day's project.  Then a package with things from her stash to help us with the projects.
A little bit like a scavenger hunt.  It looks like a lot of work, but so much fun too,

I will update on this project, as I go along.

***************
I had a wonderful Christmas, no complaints at all, Being with my family was very special. 
I had a few moments where I felt a little like something was missing because I spent so little this year, did very little Christmas shopping, etc.  I felt like I didn't give enough.    But it's necessary for
me to keep my expenses down, and I think everyone did like what I gave for gifts.   I do realize
that the most important thing about Christmas  IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON...Our Savior's birth, and I felt it this year.  Felt it in the love of family and friends.  I am so blessed.

Hope all of my on line friends and everyone reading this, Had a very special Christmas too.

The card I shared above it just one of many beautiful cards I received in the last few weeks.  Will share more of the wonderful cards I received later.

Thank you to all of you who visit my blog, and leave me such nice comments.  Your thoughts and prayers have meant so much to me these past four years.  I never thought that I would ever even have a blog...Or that anyone would even visit. 

Many Blessings to you,
Jill

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Journal Jar

This is going to be one of my granddaughter's Christmas presents.  (She doesn't usually look at my blog...so I hope this time she definitely does not look at it before Christmas).  She likes to Journal, and I liked to do that as a teenager, (I still like to Journal)  I almost always had a diary going, when I was in high school.  I'm giving her a blank journal, It has extra alphabet letters inside, I'm going to let her put in her Initial, because she may want to use her nickname (Letter) instead of her name.

I filled my jar with Journal prompts that I found here...

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/crafts/gifts-in-a-jar/recipe-index

 Here is their pinterest link

http://pinterest.com/source/christmas.organizedhome.com/

Lots of neat Ideas for quick gifts...for stocking stuffers, etc.

Christmas card

I seem to be having problems with posting today, so I hope this posts correctly...Is it just me?  Or is it blogger?

I gave this card to a friend for Christmas.  The Merry Christmas is from a Dreamweaver stencil.  The die cut is from a Spellbinder die Shapeabilities...cut, fold and tuck.  I used my Stampin' Up, Lattice embossing folder for the background, and peel offs and a brad.

Have a Happy Jolee Christmas

 This is the card I gave today to my hair dresser.  The chair is a Jolee sticker.  I tried to duplicate her (my hairdressers) beauty shop as closely as I could.  Her dark brown floor was made with a cuttlebug embossing folder (Distressed stripes)  The tree is a branch (or fern stamp) stamped several times.  The tree stand was made using a spellbinder folder, The rug from an oval punch, the mirror also punched with a spellbinder die, and covered with aluminum foil.  The garland made with a sticker covered with flower soft.  Decorated the tree with snowflake buttons,  pearls and miniature light bulbs. (and a Jolee comb sticker)

Thank you for your words of comfort in regard to loss of my Uncle. 

Blessings,
Jill

Sympathy card and a Birthday Idea

I Know my Subject title sounds strange, to share a Sympathy card, and a Birthday Idea...

The Sympathy card, I made for my Aunt.  I recently lost my Uncle Bob, My favorite Uncle.  He was one of those people that everyone liked.  Always had a sense of humor, and could make you smile. 
My parents divorced when I was a young teenager, and my Uncle Bob was there for me through the difficult times.  Always supportive always trying to lift my spirits. 

As I was going through my family albums and scrapbooks, looking for pictures of my Uncle...

I found copies that I had made of a Birthday Present I did for him.  He had moved out of state, and I was trying to figure out how I could have a birthday party for him.  I came up with the idea of a Birthday Party in a box.  I think I have seen since that idea on party sites on the web, that you could buy gifts that would be a birthday party in a box.  But when I came up with my Birthday party in a box, I didn't know that you could buy something like that...or maybe in wasn't available in 1999, when I sent him his box. 

Some of the photos I took and scanned of his scrapbook (I made a copy for me too, so I could remember all that I sent him)  Didn't post for me...so I only ended up with a few...

The first page that didn't post was a page that said Surprise, and showed a group of people yelling surprise, I then showed on the next page, pictures of his family, and some wrote on an autograph page for me. I went to different family members and asked them to write some birthday messages on a page for me.

I then had this cover page that you see below

 The Next page in my book, had a paper birthday hat that I made for him and I told him to put on his birthday hat...

I then had a color page of a birthday cake with the candles lit...told him to blow out the candles
and make a wish.

 The next page was the same picture of the birthday cake with the candles no longer lit
I told him "good Job" and I hoped that he got his wish.

The next couple of pages, had printed birthday puzzles, games and birthday jokes.

The next page in the scrapbook was titled  " your gifts", and I had made a flat box and put a gift certificate in it, and some other small mailable gifts that other family members had given me to enclose in his box.

I also had a picture of a memory jar, and told him some things I remember from growing up, and enclosed some more pics.

It was Happy to have this as a memory, of something I gave to him.  He enjoyed it so much...

God Bless you, Uncle Bob!  You will be greatly missed.

Longwood Gardens

 This is just the first of many beautiful decorations at Longwood, This is located at the front entrance.

 This is at the entrance of the conservatory, Beautiful tree, but I had a difficult time photographing it, there is usually a lot of people standing in front of it, or walking by it, and the tree is slowly rotating.

How is this for a table-scape?  Just fabulous isn't it? 

We spent a lovely day at Longwood Gardens yesterday.  We have been visiting the Gardens for over 30 years, so it goes without saying, I have been there many times.   Each and every time we visit the Gardens we would see something different.  I could never get tired of going there.  As I was walking through the outdoor gardens, I was thinking to myself..."I wish everyone in the world would be able to see this place."  It is so beautiful, and peaceful.

The gardens were just wanted I needed right now.  After all the heartbreaking news on TV, and sadness I feel with another loss in our family (I will post more about that later)  I needed the serenity of yesterday.  All told I took 60 pictures yesterday.  I hope to post a few more later on.

Another Tea Pot Tuesday Card...

This is another card I made for the Tea Pot Tuesday Challenge.  This card is actually a week late.  It's going to one of the tea potter's daughter, Deanna, and I wanted to be sure to get a card to her even if it is late.  Deanna has had a lot of medical issues...so please say prayers for her.  Thank You...

My card was made using a Stampin' Up embossing folder for the background (fancy fans)
Die-namics die to make my flowers,
and a Cheery Lynn die to make my vine...
added stick on pearls, and peel offs for the edge of my card.

Sugar Nellie...Winifred

This is another image colored by my husband with copics.  He used E00, E000, E0000,
R0000, G00, E51, R02, C00, R20, E41, C00, E39, E34, C3, Y11, E30, BG72, YG00.
The digi is from Funky Kits, Sugar Nellie image, Winifred.
He made the digi rather large so it's a 5 x 7 card.  He didn't want me to embellish it too much
so I just made a flower in the corner with my Die-namics die, colored the flower with copics to match the sweater, and added the vine with die from Cheery, Lynn, added some beads

Tea Party Card for this week...

This is the card I made for this week's tea party...You can read about the tea party at Split Coast Stampers here  We were to make a card with Silver and Pink on the card...
My card was made with a stamp from Holly Berry House, I stamped the stamp with versamark, and heat embossed with Silver embossing powder, I then added some pink accents with copics.  I hand cut out the bell, and added a ribbon from Stamping up and colored with a copic marker.  I punched out a lace border trim, and added a sticker.  I put the bell on Stampin' Up's Glitter paper.

Christmas Pennant card

I saw a card at Split Coast Stampers that I just had to give a try...It was this card

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2274699

It was a fun technique and I will definitely give it a try again, it was a great way to use up scraps of designer paper that I had.  The Pennants were punched out with my Stampin' Up Pennant Punch...and my Christmas Designer paper is from Stampin' Up as is my Sentiment which was stamped with Memento Ink.  I added a spellbinder snowflake, ribbon, and a stick on gem.

Sugar Nellie...Rebecca

This another Sugar Nellie image, that my husband colored for me with copics...
He used N0, T6, T4, T2, C2, C4, E00, E000, E0000, RV000, B000, R02, YR000, E09, E33, E91, RV00, E34.

I added Prima roses, lace, ribbon, and dimensionals...

Cardinal Christmas Card

Another Christmas card, I made with Rubber Stamping.  My husband colored the images for me with copics...E37, G29, R46, C10, T7, R39, E31, E17, YR04
The birds are from Heartfelt Creations, and after they were colored cut out with a matching Heartfelt creations die (Cardinal family, HCD 706.  Added a bow and button, and some stickles on the branches for some bling.  One of my resolutions for the new year, is to learn how to make a CAS card.  I can't seem to get away from layers on cards, and extra embellishments, and I am regretting this when I go to mail cards...(the extra postage...Yikes!)  But the person I am sending this to is worth the extra postage.

Ornament Party part 2

 In my last post I talked about my daughter's ornament party.  This is her tree, and the tree is made up of nothing but HOME MADE ornaments.  The ornaments are mostly the ones we all have exchanged from the last 14 years of ornament parties.  It's a lot of fun each year to study the tree and remember which ones we each have made.

 As everyone walks in the door they put their baskets with their ornaments under the tree.  At the end of the party, the last thing we do is grab our baskets and take turns passing them around the room.

Close up picture of some of the ornaments.

Hope everyone is having a good week...

Blessings,

Jill

Ornament Party 2012

 The Ornament Party for 2012 was a big success, as I said before, I think this makes the 14th year in a row that my daughter has had her ornament party.  When you walk in the door at my daughter's home you're greeted with the nice warmth of the fire going in the fireplace.  Lots of decorations around the room, including her Nutcracker collection and her village house collection on her mantel.  Christmas Music is softly playing in the background.  You also know that Christmas treats are waiting in the Kitchen.  (Something I have trouble staying away from, but I think I have learn)

 Our Official greeter is my "grandpuppy" Trixie, sitting there on her favorite chair waiting for the guests.  My daughter has a little Santa suit for her, but it was too warm for her to wear this year, so she only has on her Jingle bell collar.

And here I am getting my official greeting, and my face "kissed" many times,  I guess she was glad to see me. 

I will post more pics from the party tomorrow.

Hope everyone is having a "Blessed" week,

Jill

Ornaments

Click on pics for larger picture

My daughter always has an ornament exchange party every year.  It started about 14 years ago to have a fun party for my grandchildren.  I don't think she ever expected it to  go on for this long.

It has become a yearly tradition and she has never missed a year.  The idea is to make enough ornaments to exchange (all the same) and then you will go home with the same amount of ornaments that you brought but they will all be different.

I talked her into changing the rules a few years ago, because after a while, I did get a little tired of making ornaments...smile.  We can now bring something else to exchange a long as it is home made.

This year I made what I call "cheater" ornaments.  They are party store bought...plastic snowflake ornaments that I bought at A C Moore and Michaels and I decorated each one.  They are all slightly different but then I am told that each snowflake is different.

My snowflakes are decorated with buttons, stamped images, spirelli, 3d tole images, recycled Christmas cards, and tea bag folding.

In fact Marie B from 

might recognize a tea bag folding star she made for me many years ago in a card exchange I was in with her.  I hope they like my ornaments, I was out of ideas and TIME this year, so I made something that would go rather quickly.