Jennabee Crafts

Blog Candy Winner is.....

2011-09-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Fall Blog Hop Blog Candy is:

CRAFTY MATH CHICK!!!

Congratulations Meredith!!

I have posted a picture of the Blog Candy that will be sent out to you (picture is below this post) as soon as you email me your address! {Should you decide are not interested in receiving what I am offering in the Blog Candy, please don't hesitate to let me know!}

Otherwise shoot me an email with your address @:

barbermjl@yahoo.com

and my little package of goodies will be on it's way!

Thank you everyone for the sweet comments you left on my Fall Blog Hop card! Each one made me smile!

Until next time!

~jenna

Blog Candy and a little chit chat....

2011-09-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Here's ANOTHER blog post where I am NOT posting a card...HOWEVER, I think you'll enjoy this post anyway!

Here is a photo of the BLOG CANDY that I'm giving away from The Fall Blog Hop!!!

I hope you get a chance to take a peak to see what exactly I am giving away.

There's some seam binding, a vintage style stamp, some VINTAGE buttons, some linen and some lace (of COARSE!) you also get that card sitting in the background! There is still some time left. So, if you want to let any of your friends know about my Blog Candy give away... feel free!

I will announce the winner tonight!

Good Luck, everyone!!

Are any of you familiar with Karen B Barber or Michelle Zindorf?? Well, they happen to be friends of mine and we recently got together, along with some other fellow stampers, for some lunch and STAMPING!! I thought I'd share some pictures of that day.

Here we all are (except me, I'm taking the photo) at lunch at an adorable little Tea House. There were 7 of us. Pam (whose on the far left), Cindy (sitting next to Pam), and Michelle (sitting in the back on the left). The there's (Karen's mom) MaryLou (sitting at the far right end), Karen sitting in the center, and Alivia.

After a really nice lunch, we headed over to Michelle's house to get some stampin' done! Here's Michelle showing us the first card that we were going to be creating.

Here are Karen and Alivia sponging away...

We completed three cards that day and had a lot of laughs!

At the very end I wanted to get a photo of myself with the two people I thought you all would be familiar to you.

So here are Michelle (left), Karen (right) and me (center) after all the stampin' was over. I'm looking forward to our next stampin' meeting!

Hope you all enjoyed my blog post today!

I'll be back a bit later to announce the Blog Candy winner!

~jenna

FALL BLOG HOP IS HERE!!!

2011-09-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

Hi! Welcome to the Fall Fun Blog Hop! A group of online friends decided the holiday weekend in the US would be a GREAT time to get inky together, and so we've put together a fall themed blog hop to inspire you as the autumn approaches. As you meet our stampy bloggers today, you may discover that some have goodies for you, so be sure and visit everyone on the list. We have hoppers from all over the globe today, and they are AMAZING artists.

Thanks for visiting us - grab yourself a nice fall beverage and enjoy!

Here is the full list of our blog hoppers today:

Lydia Fiedler
Libby Hickson
Kim Williams
Michelle Single
Lee Murphy
Sara Henton
Yapha Mason
Lisa Adametz
Jimmi Mayo
Jeanne Streiff
Bev Gerard
Dana Keith
Joan Ervin
Maren Benedict
Teresa Kline:ME
Hannah Clark
Dina Kowal
Wanda Cullen
Korin Sutherland
Taylor Usry
Monika Davis
Harriet Skelly
Kim Schofield
Cathy McCauley
Mary Marsh
Julia Aston
Bridget Finlay
Alison Habetler
Leslie Hanna
Sue Farrant
Michelle Hanway
Misti Oblander
Judy Rozema
Jenna Barber
Tammy Hershberger
Eva Dobilas
Kerri Michaud
Cheryl Navarrete
Neva McMullen
Marianne Baugher
Samantha
Cindy Wallach

This is my Fall Blog Hop card:

I recently acquired some linen while visiting a garage sale a few weeks ago. This man took out a huge box of fabric swatches and asked if I would be interested. At first I said, "No, thank you!" But then I thought I should look through the box just to humor him. When I found a book of linen swatches in that box, I kinda did a little, "Oooooh!!" And then he told me to just take it! He was really looking to just get rid of it! I was happy to take that book of linen and so there's a piece of it on my card!

If you have any questions about how I made this card or what I used, please do not hesitate to ask!

Oh! And did I mention that I have put together a little BLOG CANDY for you!?! Just leave me a comment and let me know if you are interested in being entered. I will select the winner on Friday, September 9th 2011.

I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think of my Fall card!

Now head on over to my AMAZING Dirty Dozen Sister, Tammy Hershberger's blog and check out HER Fall Blog Hop card!!

Thanks for stoppin' by!
~jenna

An Antique Shop Excursion (and the goodies I found)...

2011-09-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

It's been a little while since the last time I blogged. I have been pretty busy since my daughter has started school. I am trying to get used to the new routine and so my blog has kinda been the last thing on my mind. But, I am back now and excited to to share with you how my Labor Day weekend is going.

My husband and I decided we'd start our Labor Day weekend by taking a little trip about an hour and half North from where we live here in, OH. We went and visited some antique shops with the girls and seriously had an amazing time. I have been visiting antique stores since I was about 11 or 12 years old. I know I shared a little bit about that with you in an earlier post.

I apologize for not posting a card today however, stay tuned... I'll be uploading one card tomorrow.

Here are the pictures from our day of visiting 3 different Antique shops.

The first shop:

The photos above were taken outside of, "The Little Shop of Antiques." They had THREE huge rooms FILLED with lots and lots of goodies.

Here's a photo of my husband, Mike checking out some super old photos. It was nice to see him enjoy going through all the different things they had at the shop. Thank goodness they had some old tools for him to go through and some old fishing gear, too.

Layla and Brooklyn made themselves right at home. Here they are looking at some old jewelery and a bunch of other stuff on this little table. Layla is 6 years old, so my husband and I knew she'd do very well going in and out of each shop and listen to us when we tell her not to touch something. Brooklyn on the other hand is 2 and a half. We thought we might run into a little trouble with her touching too much stuff, and possibly breaking something, but she was amazing. In fact, we were told several times throughout the day how well behaved our children were and how pleasant they are! My husband and I were so proud of them!

Here's Layla and her dad checking out some old tools. Again, this place was chock full of goodies!

Brooklyn saw me taking a picture of her daddy and her sister and BEGGED me to take a photo of her. So, so cute!

The girls each got a little gift from the shop. Layla picked out a beautiful antique hand fan for a $1 and Brooklyn picked out some grapes on a vine for .50! Then, the owners son asked if we would like to feed the chickens. The girls were so excited.

Here's Layla feeding two of the many chickens that were there. Brooklyn and Layla were given a whole piece of bread each. Brooklyn thought the boy was giving her the piece of bread for her to eat herself. It just so happened that when my husband put Brooklyn down to feed the chickens, one of the chickens grabbed the whole piece of bread from her hand and ran. Brooklyn started crying hysterically. She definitely got a little freaked out. But, she enjoyed the rest of the time watching Layla feed the chickens.

And then we were off to the next shop which was right up the road from the one we were at!

This was another HUGE barn filled with MORE goodies! Check out that awesome baby carriage above!

Mike found this awesome wrought steel stove.

Here's Layla checking out some things she thought were way cool! (Can't you tell by the look on her face??)

Then, my husband couldn't find me for a bit. He was calling my name and I yelled out to him, "I'm over here." And he found me...

I found this little nook FILLED with all different types of vintage lace and seam binding. There were some buttons and fabric in here, too. And so many other FUN things for ME to look at.

Here are my girls and I still hanging in this little nook.It took me a while to get out of there. I wanted to make sure I saw EVERYTHING!

Then, my girls found this neat little basket filled with these things that looked like Maracas. They were Darnings. (Thanks Grandma for letting me know what those were). The girls kept shaking them, thinking that they'd make a sound of some sort. It was super cute!

Here are the girls again at another table filled with goodies. Layla found this necklace of pearls and thought they were so pretty. I think Brooklyn thought they were pretty neat, too!

And then, once again, we were off to the next shop....

This place is called, "The Secret Garden." WOW, was this place GORGEOUS! Do you see those canvas' hanging outside the barn? They are weather proof paintings that you hang outside your house. They were so very beautiful! I wish we could have taken one home with us!

Check out this awesome chair! It was made from an old door and some amazing branches. And check out that hand painted "Welcome" sign... So BEAUTIFUL, right?!?

And here comes a picture of one of my most FAVORITE things that I saw that day...

Check out this OLD Chevrolet GREEN truck!!

WHAT A BEAUTY, RIGHT?!?

I think I might have taken like a HUNDRED photos of this truck. I think i am going to have to make ANOTHER vintage truck card using THIS green truck as my inspiration.

And my last photo of our travels for the day is one of my two girls sitting on this awesome bench @ "The Secret Garden." Mike and I were surprised at how they STILL had their beautiful smiles on at the end of our VERY long day.

Later on that night, Brooklyn and I were talking about our day together and she said to me, "Mama, today was a great day!" I seriously started tearing up, that MADE my day! Both of the girls thanked us and thanked us over and over! It was really hard to see this day end.

You thought I was finished, right?? Well, I thought you might like to see some pictures of a few of the things I got that day and mixed with some awesome finds from previous weeks.

So, i think you all know by now that I LOVE anything vintage! I use a lot of lace on my cards to give it that Vintage look. Well, I don't think you'll believe me when I tell you that this lace right here... well all of it combined MIGHT have cost me a total of $10! Yup, You heard me right!

I found these spools of Wool/Cashmere thread a few weeks back. They are from the 70's. They each cost me less than $2 each! Pretty fantastic find, huh?? I have already used some of the thread on some of my cards!! The thread is perfectly usable!

I also have a "thing" for buttons. VINTAGE buttons especially! I found this huge jar of buttons at an antique shop a few weeks back. I had sold some cards and decided I was going to go back to that shop and get this jar of buttons! The jar was priced at $15 but she sold it to me for $12! Pretty flippin' sweet, huh??

Lastly, here are some lose pieces of lace that I got for .75! There's quite a bit of it and so I store it in this little drawer set I have.

I hope you enjoyed this post, even though it didn't involve any cards or crafts! Remember to check out my blog tomorrow for a special FALL BLOG HOP card!

I also hope you are all enjoying this Labor Day weekend!

~jenna

Back to School...

2011-08-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Yup! Summer vacation is over here in, OH. It really went by so fast.

My daughter Layla is officially a 1st grader and I just can't believe it! She is growing up and becoming quite the little lady!

I want to share with you the card I made for her teacher for the first day of school. I was able to meet her teacher briefly and I think Layla is really going to like her!

Here's the card I made her:

I had so much fun creating this card. I used an old alphabet set and stamped it onto the lined dp. I then used a notebook hole punch to create the "notebook page" look. The apple was my favorite piece to make! I used my MS punch and punched out the apple with my red glitter paper. Then I punched the apple out in Early Espresso cardstock and Limeade cardtock and used those to create the leaf and stem. I love the three buttons at the top! Again, I had a lot of fun creating this one!

Here's my daughter Layla Paige right before getting on the bus.

She was beyond excited! I, on the other hand, was a wreck. But I will let you know, she saw no tears from me! I saved it all for when I got inside and closed the door! then I had to put myself back together for my youngest, Brooklyn Sophia, who cried quite a bit during the day. She would all of a sudden look up at me and say, "Mama, I want my Layla!" And then cry when I told her, "I'm sorry, Brookie! Layla's at school!"

I hope you like my "Back to School," card!

Till next time!

~jenna

Shabby Chic/Vintage- Estabished Elegance

2011-08-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

It's been a little while since I last blogged. My best friend for more than 20 years came from NY to visit my family and I here in OH, for a few days. We had such an amazing time! My daughters love her as much as I do. We are so blessed to have her in our life! I miss her very much. I am really looking forward to seeing her again at Christmas time!

Onto my card:

I created this card for the Inspiration Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers.com.

I absolutely LOVE the new Established Elegance set from SU! It's a beautiful Vintage style set which is RIGHT up my alley!

I used the small floral stamp in the set to create my handmade dp. I then colored the flowers in with Pink Pirouette and then added a bit of Blushing Bride to give the flowers some depth. I used Certainly Celery and then enhanced it with some Pear Pizzazz.

Next, I took the flourish stamp in the set and inked it up using Sahara Sand. I then stamped the flourish all around the flowers. Next, I took some Crumb Cake ink to give my paper that old distressed Vintage look. Next, I roughed up all the edges of my paper. I then took some Soft Suede ink and dusted each edge with that. After my dp was complete, I started to play around with it and created the above design!

I hope you like my Shabby Chic/Vintage -Established Elegance card!

Until next time...

~jenna

My DREAM truck....

2011-07-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!

I was asked to be a "guest designer" over on SplitcoastStampers.com for the color challenge this month! I am still so thrilled that I was asked!

The colors this week are: Pool Party (New SU! In Color), Wild Wasabi and Chocolate Chip.

I am not sure I would have ever thought to put these colors together, however I LOVE the way they look!

This is the card I created for the challenge:

Yes, ANOTHER vintage truck card! lol I DREAM of owning a truck like this someday!! (in this color, too!) You may have already picked up on the fact that I have a love for anything vintage! Well, my dream is to have all rustic vintage style furniture inside and out of my home! :o) A girl can dream... right??

Hope you like my card!!

Off to bed now...

~jenna

My Doily Card....

2011-07-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!

I had the time to create another card today! This card was inspired by a wedding cake called, "Petite Cake." Here's the website where you can find the cake. You'll have to go through the portfolio to find it. For some reason, I can't get a direct link! :/

My card fits perfectly in a 5"x5" card. I wish I knew someone who was getting married! I guess I'll just put it away in my stash of cards and wait till I have someone to give it to!

Hope you like my card!

~jenna

Sunflower....

2011-07-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!!

I just recently got this Scallop Square die for my BigShot and I absolutely LOVE it!! I have cut quite a few these scallop squares out, but haven't put them to use on any cards yet. So, this morning, after I stamped down this new stamp from SU! conveniently called, "Sunflower," I thought the scallop background would look cute! I started off with my image panel being 4.5x4.5 and all of a sudden it was cut down to 3x3! This card is pretty small measuring 4.25x4.25!

I absolutely LOVE this stamp and I think my card turned out pretty cute! I would say this stamp is a must have for anyone who has a love for Sunflowers.

Here are the deets on how I made this card:

Using my SU! marker Daffodil Delight, I colored all the petals directly on the stamp. Then, I took my Chocolate Chip marker and started to color the inside of the flower. The, I grabbed my Early Espresso marker and just colored in the center trying to blend the Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso together. Next I Stamped down the Sunflower onto my paper. The cardstock size I started out with was 4.25x4.25 but then I cut it all the way down to 3x3!

Next I sponged some Crumb Cake all around my image panel. Next I roughed up all the edges of my cardstock and the took some Early Espresso and sponged all around the roughed up edges.

Next I chose some Crumb Cake cardstock (3 1/8" x 3 1/8") to place under my image panel and then I used some Early Espresso cardstock (3 1/4 x 3 1/4) to place under that! I texturized the Early Espresso to help my image panel POP a bit more! As you can see, I LOVE layers! lol

I thought it needed ONE more layer... so, I chose some Very Vanilla cardstock (3.5" x 3.5") and sponged all the edges with some Crumb Cake and then a little Early Espresso. Then roughed up all the edges and added it to my base which is the Scallop Square that I cut out with Early Espresso.

Next, I used some twine and an Early Espresso button in the center and added a tiny tag (I LOVE the tiny tag punch and stamp set) and then sponged it a bit with some Crumb Cake.

Hoe you all like my Sunflower card!!

Happy Friday, everyone!!

~jenna

Collaging some new GOODIES!!

2011-07-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!

Well, I just want to begin by saying, I am sorry it has been so long! I have to be honest, the past few months were a little difficult around here. My husband had gotten laid off THREE times since he got back to work in March. He was laid off the whole winter (He's in the Union) and was lucky enough to be called back to work in March. We were SOO happy! Then, shortly after he was laid off AGAIN! Then called back, then laid off another time. It was rough around here. Thank GOD for family and ALL th support they gave! After a lot of praying and a lot of phone calls, my husband received a phone call from someone he had worked with and was asked by this man if Mike (my husband) was back to work yet. Mike said, "No. I keep getting called back and then laid off." Well, this man asked if Mike wouldn't mind being his "Right hand man." Mike responded VERY quickly with a, "YES!" So, after a few days (The man that needed Mike had to clear it with the Union first) He called Mike and asked if he could start that Monday!

That black cloud has finally lifted! With the Union, you never do know exactly what is going to happen, but for now, we are all smiles!! :o)

So, I now feel I can continue with my blog! I have been scrapping and creating cards the past few months, I just didn't really have much to say and quite frankly I didn't think anyone was really viewing my blog! Until I checked my email and noticed some messages asking where I have been! It was nice to know people are reading!

So, now I'm back and with a TUTORIAL on how to create this collage look.

Below are the colors that I used to create my card.

Sahara Sand

Pink Pirouette

Baja Breeze

Certainly Celery

Soft Suede

Regal Rose (Not Shown)

River Rock (Not Shown)

These are the stamps I used from SU!

French Script background stamp

These are the sets I used:

My Friend

Forever Young

Creative Elements

The size of the cardstock I used is 4x4 and I used Very Vanilla Cardstock.

Using my Baja Breeze ink, I sponged (in a circular motion) around my cardstock.

Next I used, Pink Pirouette and in a circular motion I sponged around the inside of the Baja Breeze.

Next, I used the Sahara Sand and again, in a circular motion I sponged inside and all around my cardstock. I find Sahara Sand really blends colors together well without altering the colors.

Now, using my large French Script background stamp, I inked it up with Soft Suede ink and stamped onto my cardstock.

Next I chose the flower from Creative Elements and inked it up in Regal Rose ink and stamped it down a couple times in my cardstock. Be sure to re-ink your image every time you stamp.

Now I used the clock image from Forever Young stamp set and inked it up in River Rock ink. Then I took the flower silhouette from My Friend and stamped it down at the bottom right corner.

At this point, I added a little more Baja Breeze to the edges of my cardstock to darken it a bit. Then, I grabbed another sponge and inked it up with some Certainly Celery and went around the silhouette flowers to add a it of green. Can you see it??

Now, I took some Soft Suede and went around the edges of my card. As you can see I used the direct to paper technique. I just "wacked" the edges of my carstock so it gave and "aged" look.

After I was finished with the Soft Suede, I began to "rough" up the edged of my cardstock. This again helps with the "aged" and vintage look I was going for.

Once your "collage" is finished, you can begin to embellish it if you'd like! I felt like there was so much going on with the collage that adding too much more would just look ridiculous. So, I let it speak for itself and added some wrinkled seam binding, a button, some linen thread and some PEARLS... OF COARSE!! :o)

I really hope you like my "Collage" card and tutorial! I really did enjoy creating this one!

Til next time!

~jenna

BTW: I believe you can click on the photos for a larger view!

Coming soon....

2011-06-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I know I have abandoned my blog the past couple of weeks and I am sorry,

but I will be back SOON!

PROMISE!!

Thank you so much for your patience!

See you soon!

~jenna

A Vintage MASCULINE card...

2011-05-18T12:55:00.000-07:00

I know, I know... this is NOT a tutorial like I promised, however I thought I'd post this "Father's Day" card I made this morning, anyway! I hope you all don't mind!

Can you believe I made a Vintage MASCULINE card!?!? I know... I can't, either!! I have to say I am pretty proud of myself! I have a TRUE love for anything vintage! I love distressing paper and dusting different colors on my paper to make it look aged! Not ALL my cards have that Vintage feel, but honestly, most of them do! lol

Growing up, I absolutely LOVED going to Antique stores with my mom and little sister Amanda! (yes I STILL call her my little sister and we're only 18moths apart!) I lived in NY growing up. About 20mins. from NYC. We had a bunch of Antique stores where we lived. My mom was always on a mission when we went antiquing. She was on the hunt for, "1964 World's Fair" memorabilia. We would have so much fun looking around the Antique stores with my mom. She'd ask if they had any "World's Fair" memorabilia and most of the time it would spark some conversation. I loved listening to the stories she and the store owner/workers would swap. She'd always light up talking about how amazing and fun it was for her when she was a little girl. Many times Amanda and I would walk around trying to guess what some of the "contraptions" were. We laugh a lot at all the wacky stuff there was. There were a few things I would always want to check out. Like looking at the records. I remember picking up an OLD Woodstock record and you could just tell that whomever owned that record played it A LOT! It was completely warped from the record player needle. Another thing I liked to take a peak at was the old "TIMES" magazines and newspapers. it was fun reading them and looking at the old stories. I think just about EVERY antique store had them. I also loved the colors of the plates and the simple, yet beautiful designs they had. Home decor item were definitely different, too. Lamps looked so neat. My mom also collected those 1950's pink/turquoise dish sets. She had this huge glass case in her kitchen which showcased her neat collection. My mom was even interviewed with all her antiques for a documentary that was being made on the "1964 World's Fair!" Pretty neat stuff, huh? So, like I said earlier... no wonder where I acquired my love of Vintage Flair. Thanks mom for all the AWESOME memories!!

About the card below:
Again, I am just so surprised I came up with something MASCULINE with a Vintage flair! I used Stampin' Up!'s! set called Countryside. I think this image is just PERFECT for a "Father's Day" card! My husband has a truck and it's black so I thought I'd try to color in this image to match his truck! I used watercolor paper and SU!'s markers with a blender pen for my image. I really enjoyed coloring this truck in! I'm not sure if you all know this about me or not, but I absolutely LOVE Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla. They are my "Go To" colors! The new Newsprint dp from SU! is also one of my faves right now. This card really did come together quite easily. Just thinking of all the old vintage items I used to see in those antique stores really helped me to put this card together! I hope you like it!!

I promise, my tutorial is coming soon....

Hope you all have a great day!

~jenna

Since many of you requested....

2011-05-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Last week was a very hectic week for me! I literally had something going on every day! I haven't quite been myself. I feel super sleepy all the time and not really up for doing anything. My allergies have literally sucked all the energy out of me! When I lived in NY, my allergies consisted of: stuffy nose, sneezing, and post nasal drip. Ya know... all that "good stuff." It lasted a couple of weeks and I'd even have a day or two in between where they just went away! Can I tell you... I'd MUCH prefer THAT over the lack of energy I have had this allergy season! I read that this is a horrible allergy season and people are really being affected! This lack of energy has somewhat brought on my depression again, which is just wonderful I tell 'ya! So far, the Allegra hasn't done anything for me... I'm going to try some Zyrtec, soon! If that doesn't work... I think it'll be time to go back to the doctor for some other Rx...

On my last post, I posted two cards that some of you seemed to want to know the details about. Well, this post is where you will find how to make this pink and white "Newlyweds" card.

Here are the supplies I used to make the card above:

Stampin' Up! stamp set called "On The Grow"
White (I used Shimmery White) Card stock
Pink Pirouette cardstock
The embossing folder I used was "Vintage Wallpaper" by SU!
I used a round 4" doily
To create the circles I used Nestabilities standard circles large
SU!'s Paper piercing pack
Pearls
Ribbon of your choice (I used some super thin silk ribbon)
I also added some pearl corsage pins and added a little rosette
Crystal Effects was used to create the "glass" appearance on the vase
Dimensionals and double sided tape were used to put my card together

The following markers were used:
-Pink Pirouette
-Blushing Bride
-Daffodil Delight
-Pear Pizzazz
-Garden Green
-Sahara Sand
-Crumb cake
-Gel Pen
-Blender pen

Measurements and details of the card:
-The card size is 5"x5"- I then embossed the front of my card using the Vintage wallpaper embossing folder. Next I roughed up the edges!
-The next layer: Pink Pirouette is 4.5"x4.5" I (faux stitched) paper pierced around that piece of card stock. Then i ran it through the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder THEN I used the gel pen to create the "stitching." If you use the gel pen first and then run your paper through the embossing folder (ef), you may get some gel pen on your ef. Sometimes that can be annoying when you put a darker piece of cardstock in your ef and the gel pen shows up! Now you can rough up the edges!
-Your next layer: Shimmery White (or white) is 4"x 4" This is also paper pierced, then put through your ef. Now you can use your gel pen to create the "stitching." You will also rough up the edges on this layer as well!
-Next I used the doily.

Time to Color!

I used Shimmery White cardstock and stamped sown my image in black Staz-On
I colored each of my flowers in using Pink Pirouette first. Then to add some dimension to my flowers, I used the darker pink, Blushing Bride. Just adding a bit here and there on each flower leaving the center white. Next I took my Daffodil Delight marker and added a bit in the center.
For the leaves on my image I colored each leaf with Pear Pizzazz. Then to add some dimension on the leaves, I added a bit of Garden Green marker where all the "shadow" markers are on my image! Next, I used Sahara Sand to outline the vase of the flowers. Then, I lined the whole image with some Sahara Sand. Using my Crumb Cake marker, I added a line under the image where the shadow of the vase is and then used my blender pen very lightly to move the color around. If you use too much blender pen on regular cardstock, it will begin to tear!

Once you are finished coloring in your image to your liking. (I tried to give you a loser view of the coloring on my image... hope the above photo helps!) You will now need to choose the proper size to cut out your image. Next, you will need to start layering your image. For each layer behind my image, I used the same Vintage Wallpaper ef and roughed up the edges as well!

After all your layers are competed, you can start putting together your card! I always wait to put my card together until the end. That way, if there is something I want to add, or take away I won't destroy the whole thing! I used some dimensionals and my double sided tape runner to put my card together!
Another thing is: I usually embellish my card after I have put it together! You can add some pearls or bling and use a punch to add your sentiment. You can also add the Crystal Effects to your image and sit your card up to let it dry!

I hope all these are the details that you were looking for! If you re-create this card using this "How To" I would LOVE for you to send me a link so I can see it! If there is something I missed or you have a questions regarding one of the steps, don't hesitate to ask!

FYI:
My next Blog post will be a TUTORIAL using SU!'s Top note! Let's just say, if you are looking for a sturdy little something to place a small card, some chocolate or whatever in it, this next tutorial will be RIGHT up your alley! Here's a little sneak peak of what it looks like! :o)

Some of the supplies you will need for the above project are: SU!'s Top note die, your favorite embossing folder (This should be one with a large design, the ef's with too much detail may become flimsy), Your favorite mini floral set, some of your favorite ribbon, some pearls (Obviously, right??) and a small oval punch. There are more supplies and details that will be given shortly!

See you soon!! Hope you all are interested in another tutorial!!

~jenna

Just a couple of cards....

2011-05-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

I'm going to keep this a short blog entry tonight. I am very excited about my new SU! products. I absolutely LOVE this new set called, "On the Grow!" As I've said earlier, I LOVE Vespa's!! The other stamp in this set is a vase of flowers that I just LOVE as well!! THe sentiments that are in this set are super sweet, too!! The first card you see, is one I have wanted to make for a while now! A RED Vespa card!!! :o)

I used Stampin' Up!'s new doily punch and created a border for my image piece! I love coloring this Vespa! I used Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Kraft, and Very Vanilla. i also used some AMAZING designer paper form Stampin' Up! I also used Seam Binding and created a double bow, added a button and some twine! I am just LOVING all these products from Stampin' Up! I hope you like my card!

This next card was created last week. I just LOVE these colors and anything with a "Vintage" or "Girly" feel to it is what I LOVE to create!! :o)

I'm not sure who I am going to send this to, but I just felt I HAD to create something since there was this HUGE Royal wedding going on! ;o)

If you need or want any details on how to re-create this card or what I used to create these cards, please don't hesitate to ask!!

I really hope you enjoyed my cards today!!

Till next time!

~jenna

Happy Easter Everyone!!

2011-04-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

SPRING IS HERE!!

You know it's April, because it hasn't stopped raining! I'm not complaining though. I lived in Tacoma, WA for about 9-10 months back in 2005-2006. Living in Washington was quite an experience. It rained often, the sky always seemed gray and after a while, I just HAD to get over it. And I did! I can now say, I love rainy days and I am thankful for rainy days! I do however enjoy the warmth of the sun as well and I am so looking forward to absorbing some of it SOON!

I want to wish each and every one of you a very, Happy Easter! I feel truly blessed that God is a major part of my family's life! Ever since I was a little girl, I LOVED going to sleep as fast as I possibly could, so I could wake up to that beautiful, CANDY filled basket that the Easter Bunny would bring me. I loved dressing up in the beautiful Easter dresses my mother would buy. Yes, we had the hats, the gloves, the purses and those sweet little patent leather shoes to match! We would arrive at church and all around were smiling faces! We were all so excited to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Back then, what I think it meant for my sisters and I was that we could finally eat the candy in our Easter baskets that we had not so willingly gave up for Lent. Little did we know how powerful this day would one day be to us! Now, Easter has such an incredible meaning to me. I'm just so thankful Jesus died so WE may live!

I have been talking to my daughter, Layla a lot lately about Easter. I want her to really love this day and enjoy all the little blessings that are given to her. I want her to enjoy in her own little way for now, just as I did, because I know one day she will understand just how amazing Easter is! We would normally make Easter eggs with Layla and decorate them with stickers, glitter, dye them, color them with markers or with crayon. This year, I found this AWESOME little idea on Family Fun website and I just HAD to try it out. IF it didn't work, then I would take out the food coloring, and get to decorating those hard boiled eggs! This is the little project Layla, Brooklyn and I created for this Easter :

These are seriously one of the EASIEST things I have EVER made!! They take absolutely NO TIME AT ALL!! Here is how you make these adorable little "Nests."

Ingredients and supplies you will need:

1 Cup of Chocolate

(I used Milk chocolate, but I am sure Dark chocolate will do just fine)

1 Cup of shredded coconut

a Piece of Wax Paper

Jelly Beans or Chocolate Cadbury eggs,

which we used, or any other egg shaped candy

Now: Heat your chocolate just as the directions on the bag suggests. After your chocolate is melted, stir in your cup of coconut.

Now you should have a lumpy mixture of chocolate and coconut. I created my "nests" using a tablespoon. I used a heaping spoon full of the chocolate/coconut mixture and placed it on the wax paper. I did this a little "messily" so that they would truly look like "nests." Then I took the same spoon and created a little dip in the "nests" for the "eggs" to sit. After the chocolate cools off a bit, place your "eggs" onto your little "nests" and... you're done! I stuck mine in the fridge so that they'd cool down faster. I think this literally took the girls and I, 15mins to make!

The tags I created for my little "Chocolate Birds Nests" took the longest to create! These tags were inspired by several tags I saw on Splitcoaststampers.com. I used the new SU! set Four Frames. Love this set! I used the large label punch that corresponds with this set to punch out the tag. I then used a little chickie from an old SU! set and to finish it off, I added a pre-made flower. Then I layered my punched frame onto Baja Breeze paper and cut around the frame to create another frame and then did that again using Sahara Sand for my base layer.

For this tag, I used the SU! set Four Frames and the I also used the set Easter Blossoms (for the little yellow egg). I used the label punch that corresponds with this set once again and then I layered the punched frame onto Sahara Sand paper and then onto Daffodil Delight. I also used some new White twine from SU!

Below, are the finished products in their cellophane bags made by SU! (We made a total of 5 of these nests with the above recipe). We then finished off the bags by adding some twine and some Very Vanilla Seam binding ribbon. (Can't get ENOUGH of that stuff!) Layla has asked me about ten times today, "Mom, when can we hand out our little nests? I can't wait, Mom! I just can't WAIT!"

I hope you enjoyed my post today. Again, if you have these few ingredients and about 15mins of time, I truly suggest making a few this Easter day! Again, they are super cute, super fun and best of all SUPER easy!

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask!

Happy Easter, Everyone!

~jenna

NEW Stampin' Up! Goodies!!!

2011-04-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

We are having a beautiful day here in OH. It's a little chilly, but the sun is SHINING!! :o)

I just recently received my new Stampin' Up! goodies. I was soo excited! I couldn't WAIT to ink them up!

The card I created this morning uses a new stamp from the SU! set called, "On the Grow." There's a Vespa and a beautiful vase of flowers!! I LOVE both of the stamps in this set, but my FAVE is this Vespa! I think Vespa's are super neat. IF I were to ever own one someday, I think I'd get one in this blue color... and I'd probably want a basket on the back of it and add a little houndstooth, too!?! :o)

As you've seen on several other cards of mine, I absolutely LOVE houndstooth! I think it's is so "chic" looking. I also used one of the new doily punches that will be available next month for you to purchase. At first I thought... "What heck am I going to do with a doily THAT size?" They re pretty small. But then the wheels started to turn in my head and VOILA!! I thought of using them as a border instead of just a doily!! Pretty neat, huh?? They are EASY to line up, too!!

Well, I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday!!

Til next time!

~jenna

BTW: If you have any questions about my cards, please do not hesitate to ask!

Finally BACK and with A Springtime Wreath....

2011-04-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

I have been away for quite some time now! A few weeks ago, I had decided to go to NY for a couple of workshops. It took me a while to prepare and pack for my trip. Then, I was off! My mother took the drive with me from OH to NY. We had such a great drive out to NY! My girls were (are) amazing! They behaved so well. Neither one of them shed a tear! Couldn't have asked for a better 12 hrs in the car, then what they gave me that day!
My stay in NY was awesome!! The girls and I stayed at my mothers house with my sister and her family as well! My girls were able to be with their cousins, Gianna and Gavin. They had SUCH a great time! I will upload some pics soon of our trip!
The week went by SUPER fast. It really is incredible how time FLIES when you are having fun! Wish it weren't that way! :o/
My mom, once again, took the drive with my girls and I BACK to OH. You see, my mother lives in NY. She took a 17 hour bus ride form NY to OH just to get in a car the next day to drive 12 hours with me and my girls! (She couldn't stomach the girls and I to taking that 12 hour drive alone). Believe me, I was MORE than HAPPY to have her with me!! So, after the week was up, she then drove BACK to OH from NY with me and the girls and spent a day and a half with us, then went BACK to NY on another 17hr bus ride! In total, my mother spent 58 hours of traveling! That's 34 hours on a bus and 24 hours in a car! Isn't that INSANE!?! I KNOW she loves me!! :o) Thank you MOM!!!~
It's great to be back home and back into a routine again! It took me about a week to get fully unpacked and re-organized! Yesterday was the first day I started crafting again. I didn't feel like I had any "mojo." So I gave up! Then last night, my most favorite website, Splitcoaststampers.com posted the inspiration challenge. I do LOVE this challenge, so I took and peak and thought, "MAYBE i'll play tomorrow." When I woke up this morning, I realized there was A LOT to do around the house still. So, I got to cleaning and then jolted upstairs to my craft room and got to work! I had an idea before I started crafting and started to take that idea and put it on paper!
This is what I came up with:

I am pretty happy with the way this card came together! I was not a fan of the stamp set, "Nature Walk" because I was afraid of that bird, but no I just LOVE playing around with it and coloring it in! One of my favorite stamps to use now! :o)
Well, I hope you are having a BEAUTIFUL Saturday! So looking forward to the WARM weather to come!!

Til next time!

~jenna

A little chit chat and a "HOW TO!!!!"

2011-03-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last blogged. I have been super busy with my girls. My youngest, Brooklyn, had acquired a WICKED staph infection. When my husband and I took her to the doctor to get checked out, one of the staph's he had mentioned that he thought Brooklyn may have had was Mercer. Now, I was unfamiliar with Mercer at the time of her appointment. I had never heard of it before. The doctor proceeded to tell us that he was going to put Brooklyn on a strong prescription, he then took a culture and said he'd call us if it was in fact Mercer. Normally, after my girls leave the doctor, I go home and google their diagnoses, which only makes me sick, so I decided NOT to look up Mercer. I am very happy I did not. I do know now just how serious it is and I am THANKFUL that was not the type of staph infection Brooklyn had. It took about 10 full days for it to disappear. Shortly after Brooklyn had this ordeal, our oldest daughter, Layla came down with a fever and cold like symptoms. So, we were off to the doctor yet again. Layla had an ear infection. It's just starting to clear up now and then today, I notice Brooklyn wasn't behaving her normal self. She was really cranky, uncomfortable and was just sitting on the couch. Yes, a 2 year old who wanted to do nothing but sit on the couch and cuddle... Hmmm.... something wasn't right. So I checked Brooklyn's temp and sure enough, she had a low grade fever. I am telling you, it NEVER ends around here!! I will be happy when the spring air arrives and we can open the windows and be (hopefully) GERM FREE!!

I have had a couple tutorials that I have been wanting to upload here on my blog. One is a bow. The bow that's on my owl card here on my blog. I know MANY of you have requested it and I promise it's coming. As EASY as it was for me to create it that day, I thought it would a piece of cake for me to create it again. It ended up not being that easy for me to duplicate. :o/ I have created several, however they were created with lots of tweaking. There are several things I want to perfect before I post a "How To" video on my blog. I want to make sure it is as straight forward as possible. Please bare with me.

For my blog post today, I wanted to show those of you who asked, how I colored in the hydrangea from the stamp set, "Because I Care" on the cards below. I have had several people request it, and so I decided I'd upload some pictures that may help you.

Here we go!

The supplies you will need are:
Scissors
Blender Pen
Concord Crush marker (CC)
Bashful Blue marker (BB)
Pear Pizzaz marker (PP)
Gel Pen
Staz-on Ink Pad
Crystal Effects
Watercolor Paper

You can click on the photos for a better view!

Step 1. Using Staz-On stamp down your image onto the Watercolor Paper.

Step 2. Using your Concord Crush marker begin coloring in your image. You will notice that there are some dark lines on the image. This is where you want to place your darkest color. Try your best not to color in the center of you flower.

3. Using your blender pen after each time you add CC to the center of your flowers, blend the color outward. While blending, leave some spots untouched in each of the flowers. You will fill those spots with some Bashful Blue and Pear Pizzazz later.

Step 4. Continue to color in your image.

Below is a better view of what it should look like....

Step 5. I know it takes a while, but after you complete coloring with CC crush and blending the color, this is how it should look:

Step 6. Using your Bashful Blue marker, begin to fill in some of the white spots you left after blending.

See how delicate it looks?? It really does give the flowers dimension.

Step 7. Now you will take your Pear Pizzazz marker and continue to fill some spots of you flowers with that. Again, this helps add dimension to your flower.

Step 8. When you are finished adding the BB and PP, you can go back and add some more Concord Crush if you'd like. Now you will need your Crystal Effects. You only need to drop tiny drops in the center of each of the flowers.

Step 9. You will need to wait until your Crystal Effects are dry, but when it is, grab your white gel pen and add dots of the gel pen onto your dots of Crystal Effects. (This is a little trick my mother in law taught me... love it!)

Step 10. Now you will need to stamp down the leaves of the hydrangea and begin to color them using Pear Pizzazz and your blender pen.

Step 11. This is another little tip my mother in law taught me... Adding color into the leaves. Just a bit though... Be sure to use your blender pen to blend out the color.

This is what they should look like finished....

Step 12. Now it's time to cut your images out.

Here are two examples for you to see....

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Bye for now! I do want you to know I truly enjoy reading your comments. They bring me such joy! It makes me love what I do even more! So thank you!

~jenna

BTW: Thank you, Suzanne for the little "nudge!" Hope this helped you! :o)

Dreamy Vintage Blossoms.....

2011-02-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

   Happy Saturday Everyone!!

   Today, over at Splitcoaststampers.com was the Inspiration Challenge! The past couple of days, I haven't been in a real "stamping mood." In fact, this morning even after I checked the challenge, I wasn't really that inspired. However, after viewing the challenge gallery a couple of times the ideas started FLOWING! I REALLY wanted to create a Vintage style card today! And so I used the inspiration site that was given to us to create this card! Here's the site and my inspiration piece:
   WallTAT

(you can click on the photo for a better view)

I first started to create this card by choosing the colors. Very Vanilla and Sahara Sand are my two MOST FAVORITE colors!! I just LOVE them! So, once I took those out, I grabbed a piece of Blushing Bride to go with them!! This is one gorgeous color combo!

Next I stamped down my image which is the Blossom branch from, "Easter Blossoms." I just LOVE this set! After I stamped down the image I colored it using Pink Pirouette and Blush Blossom. Then I added some pearls, lots and LOTS of pearls! I paper pierced the edges and then added some sponging with Sahara Sand and Pink Pirouette. Not too much though. I wanted it to have a soft look. Next I roughed up the edges as you can see in the photo above.

So, basically my brain begins to go numb and I just continue to add MORE layers and MORE sponging. Then I added some script to give it more of that vintage look! Sometimes I don't even remember creating a card! I get completely lost in it!

(click on the photo for a better view)

A couple of days ago, while I was sitting in my craft room COMPLETELY stumped and uninspired to create a card, I grabbed some of my FAVORITE seam binding, then my needle and thread and started to sew these adorable little seam binding roses! Aren't they cute? I used Pear Pizzazz seam binding for the little leaves. Since I am a PEARL FANATIC, I stuck a sweet little pearl in the center!

(you can click on the photo for a better view)

Next, I made a little bow out of some crocheted lace and then added a vanilla seam binding bow. This will fit comfortable in a 5x5 envelope! The great thing about these seam binding roses, is that they are VERY forgiving! You can squish and squeeze them and they will still stay looking as pretty as if you hadn't squished and squeezed them! :o)

(you can click on the photo for a better view)

So here it is! My"Dreamy Vintage Blossoms" card! I hope you like it! It really didn't take me long to create it and it can EASILY be duplicated!

Enjoy your weekend!

~jenna

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!

It almost feels strange saying that because it kinda feels like Halloween here in, OH. At least for me it does. It's such a dreary day. Every so often there are these strong gusts of wind. The weather has warmed up a bit, (so happy about that) so the leaves and branches are flying around out there. Just looks like a windy fall day out my window.

There a few things I would like to let you all know... If you have sent me an email and I have not responded, I apologize. I am still in the process of getting up to date with all my emails. Not having a computer for just one week, can really set you back! I also have my two ADORABLE little girls who crave my attention (and I theirs) so sometimes, cyber-space must wait...

Also, I WILL be posting a bow tutorial soon... I thought I would have time this week, but my daughter had a big project for school that I helped her with and that took up quite a lot of time! (We had to create a Valentine's box and make 30 Valentine's Day cards. Layla has really acquired the creative gene. Every one of those cards had to be PERFECT!)

I wanted to upload some pictures of scrapbook pages I have made. As you might already know... I started out scrapbooking. When it came to making a card... I just plain DREADED it! Now, I just can't seem to stop myself from making cards. I will need to get back into scrapboking though, there are just a TON of photos that are SCREAMING my name!

Here is a two page layout I created of my daughter Layla Paige. One of our FAVORITE books to read is, "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. It was the first book Layla memorized. Anytime we asked her to choose a book (and this was before she was two) she chose, "The Giving Tree." We still can read it without even looking at the book. It is such an amazing book, wether you are an adult or child. It is just so full of meaning.

Anyway, as you can see I love that book! So... one fall day last year, I had a little photo shoot with Layla and took a TON of photos of her. I could SEE the scrapbook page being created in my head with each and every shot.

It took me quite a while to finish these pages. But, it is Layla in a nutshell! She LOVES being outdoors. She collects all kinds of things like acorns, leaves, dirt, sticks, etc... She has such an imagination! She LOVED these pages when I showed them to her. I cut out the tree myself and texturized it and then sponged some ink on it. Then I used a BUNCH of buttons for the leaves and branches! That was fun! I felt like it looked a little "boy-ish" so I added a few flowers on the first page. For the second page, I left the flowers out focusing more on her and the rest of the quote from the book. If you didn't know, the book starts out with, "Once there was a tree, as she loved a little boy." Well, I changed it a bit to suit my little Layla girl... Hope you like these pages!

Below is a page I created for my daughter, Brooklyn Sophia. My husband had taken these photos of Brooklyn and I and to be honest I do not remember him doing so. When we got home and uploaded the pictures to our computer, I cried. He captured such an amazing moment. The room was quiet, it was just Mike, Brooklyn and I and she was beginning to really open her eyes and look around. Just amazing... Again, when I saw these photos, I just couldn't wait to scrap them! I think this one came out really great!

Hope you like it, too! I absolutely LOVE these photos. My mother had a dinner at her house where everyone brought a dish that was made from a Julia Child recipe. After we all ate dinner, we watched the movie, "Julie and Julia." My mom bought these Tulips and placed them in the center of the table @ dinner. A few days after the party, I noticed they were starting to wilt. So... I dressed Brooklyn up in this cute little outfit, stuck a bow in her hair, and let her "play" with the Tulips. At first, she was quite gentle. She had no idea what Tulips were and she was probably a bit confused as to why I would just prop her up on a table and let her play with these flowers! What you don't know is, when my oldest, Layla was just under two years old, I have propped her up on a table where there were sunflowers and let her play with them as well. There is the sweetest photo of Layla smelling this HUGE sunflower. It is one of my all time favorite pictures of my Layla girl. Anyway, I was kinda trying to mimic that moment we had with Layla, with Brooklyn! I have added the photo of Layla with the sunflower below... take a peak!! It's a cute one!! :o)

I am so happy I got to share these pages with you. They are very special to me. I hope you all have a beautiful day filled with lots of love!!

Till next time...

~jenna

Back up and RUNNING with a Blog Exclusive, too!!!!

2011-02-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I feel like it's been awhile! I had no computer last week. Last Sunday, after blogging, I turned my computer off and started some house chores that needed to be done. After I was finished I thought, "Hmmm... let me go online for a bit." I deserved it right? I had just folded AND put away piles of laundry, loaded the dishwasher, swept the floors, and was getting my girls ready for bed. So, I turned on my computer and there it was... a BLUE screen! "Blue?" I said. "This can't be happening!" I turned it off, counted to eighteen, and then turned it back on. Now the screen was black with a blinking curser. I knew my computer had decided to call it quits on me. I was devastated! I am still not sure whether I have lost everything on it or not. I spent a couple hours on the line with my uncle and we are pretty sure I haven't lost everything, but until I get that thing working again, I won't know for sure!

So, I went the week with no computer. Except, two days last week, Karen (my mother in law) lent me her computer while she was at work. I had some side projects that needed to get done, so i was SUPER grateful for that. After many discussions with my husband, we knew it was time for us to get a new computer. So we went to Best Buy yesterday where my husband purchased a new computer for me! YAY!! I am so happy to be BACK UP AND RUNNING!! :)

Here is a card I made for today's, "Technique Challenge." It's called a, "Sliding Pop-Up Card." Pretty neat, huh? It was a lot of fun to make. It took me quite a while, because I changed quite a few of the dimensions. I used SU! stamp sets, Flores Suaves, Elements of Style, and Just Believe. The colors I chose were, Soft Suede, Basic Black, and Very Vanilla (of course). I did start this card this weekend and had NO Idea WHERE I was going to go with it. So since I NEVER paste anything down, until I know for SURE that I am happy with it, this was quite easy for me to pull off! I cut out WAY to many butterflies, but my girls will have a blast using them. Brooklyn, (my almost two yr old), has already had fun playing with one of them! I am so happy Holly chose this technique this week! Now I have a new piece to display on my fireplace mantle! :)

The card above is a, "Blog Exclusive!" I made this for my mother. She has sent my girls so many beautiful items the past couple of months. I wanted to make her a really special card. She's not a big fan of bows on cards, so I wanted to make her a feminine card without a bow. I sent this out to her a week ago and she called me while she was opening it. She gasped when she opened it, so I think I nailed it! :o) I used a SU! set called, Baby Blossoms, and a SU! stamp Wonderful Mother. The colors on the card are, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, and Early Espresso. The ink I used was Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, and Blushing Bride. I added MANY pearls (of course). I paper pierced around the edges gave it some texture and started to put it all together. Im so happy she loved it!

Well, goodbye for now! So happy I can catch up on all the emails and comments I have missed the past week!

~jenna

A Tearful Inspiration.....

2011-01-29T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is a card I created for the Inspiration challenge on SCS! This was the site:

Rooms by Zoya B

I chose the Wizard of Oz room and the colors in Ariel's room! They are just so beautiful!!

While I was perusing the gallery, a really special memory came to mind...

Here it is:

My husband and I have lived in several different states! It was fun to move around, but we didn't have a home. We had an apartment and then we lived with a couple different relatives at times. At one point, My husband, Layla (my daughter) and I moved into my mother's house in NY. Layla was about two yrs old and had NEVER slept in a crib! She had always slept in a play-pen. Well, when we moved in with my mother, she had asked us if it was OK if she bought a COMPLETE BEDROOM for Layla. (The tears are streaming down my face now as I am typing this... kind of odd because I am NOT a crier!)
Anyways.....

We couldn't believe it! She took my husband and I to show us a set she was eyeing for a while and my husband and I LOVED it! She purchased the most GORGEOUS bedding, wallpaper trim, paint and anything else we needed! It was such a BEAUTIFUL gift! When my husband and I finished putting the room together and making it look PERFECT! I remember my mother, my husband and I walking with Layla into her new fully furnished room! She finally had her OWN bed! Yup! She went from a playpen to a toddler bed! Her eyes LIT up when she walked in! She was SOOO happy and so were we! Our little girl finally had a FURNISHED room!

So, I guess, I've been thinking a lot about my mom!

Here's the card I created with the inspiration!

Hope you like my card!

Here is how I made the upper part of this card.

First I grabbed my "GO TO," cardstock... VERY VANILLA! :) I used SU!'s new set Baby Blossoms. First I stamped the blossoms in Versamark then Pink Pirouette (for the larger part of the flower) and then stamped the smaller part of the flower in Versamark then Blushing Bride. I did the same with the leaves using Versamark and Certainly Celery. I then poured the clear embossing powder and heated my stamped images.

I then took a sponge and used Baja Breeze to sponge very carefully around each flower. The I roughed up the edges! I do this BEFORE running it through the Lattice embossing folder, that way when I rough up the edges, the paper won't tear! After I was done roughing up the edges and ran it though using the embossing folder, I paper pierced and did some faux stitching with my gel pen! :) When I was finished with the upper piece I set it to the side.

I then stamped a couple of the baby blossoms, cut them out and then used the Bird Punch for my leaves. I used another punch for my sentiment... added some PEARLS, (of course) and my sentiment was complete! I chose one new dp from SU! for the bottom of my card... After I adhered my top and bottom layer, I added my bow, then layered it on top of some PEAR PIZZAZZ cardstock and... my card was complete!!

What do you think?

Bye for now...

~jenna

A Rainbow, and Something Warm and Fuzzy .....

2011-01-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

It' been a while! My husband is out of town for a few weeks. He is taking some classes to gain some certifications for his line of work. He is a Union worker and the more certifications you have, the more likely you will be chosen for a job! He will come home on the weekends. Thank goodness for that! The girls and I miss him a lot during the week! Because he's not home, and there has been some "Odd" behavior on and around our block, I decided I would stay with my husband’s Grandmother! I am having a really great time staying here! My girls LOVE having this time with their Great Grandma!! They are getting A LOT of attention from her! We have been stamping a lot together, however I haven't had much time to do the challenges! i have missed them! However, Grandma and I have made quite a few cards this past week! We've had MANY late nights! Finally, on Thrusday, I checked the challenge and i just COULDN'T stay away! I created a card in my head the minute I read the challenge and just HAD to create it!

Here is one card I made based on a SCS challenge! Our challenge was to use more than 3 colors from the rainbow (or something like that).

This was a very easy and QUICK card! I LOVE these butterflies from SU! They are kinda my "Got To!" They just add that little touch that a card needs sometimes! I really enjoyed making this card. Like I've said before, I am not big into BRIGHT colors and I think they came together perfectly here! What do you think?

My Quilt Card:
I wanted to explain a bit (If you'd like to skip the story see card below).

I made the quilt card below for a SCS challenge, too! The challenge was “Warm and Fuzzy!” We were to choose a WARM color and add some "Fuzz." So, I thought, "What could be warmer than a Warm, fuzzy quilt?!" The warm color I chose was Baja Breeze (I painted my living room a "Baja Breeze" color, I love it so much!), and for the "Fuzz," I roughed up the edges on each of the layers! Just like a REAL quilt! :)

If you are wondering how long this quilt took to make, you will be surprised to know... really no time at all! Let me explain:

Two years ago, my mother had planned a vacation for the whole family out on Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard! It was INCREDIBLE!! Every house is just gorgeous there and the air is so crisp! We had such an amazing time! (So much so, that she rented a home again last year for all of us!! SO AWESOME!!)

There was a moment right before we were leaving Cape Cod in the house she had rented, where my mom and my two girls were sitting on the couch and I grabbed my camera and, "SNAP!"

Isn't this such a beautiful picture of a Grandmother and her two granddaughters!?! :) Love this photo! Well... moving on to my card... After I came home and saw this photo I realized I needed to something really special with it and give it to my mother. I started thinking... "Mom LOVES quilts... what if I take a peak at some of her quilting books, find a pattern, and use that to make my paper quilt?" So, it was about 11pm when I started researching the quilt books. When I saw this pattern, I KNEW it was THE one! I just started going at it. Punching squares like crazy! I used baja breeze dp from SU!'s 2009 catalog. I also added some Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, and Night of Navy. When I finished my paper quilt i was SOO pleased! I wasn't, however, please with the hour! It was 3AM!! Eventually, I got some sleep and started to look for embellies to add into the shadow box... I put a lighthouse and some seashells. Needless to say, she loved it! (Right mom?) It sits on her bureau in her bedroom! It really was so much fun to make and GIVE to her! :)
This morning, when i read Lydia's "Free For All- Warm and Fuzzy," I couldn't stop thinking about the quilt I left (not so willingly behind) on my bed! It hit me that I could duplicate that quilt I made with some NEW SU! dp, and use it for the challenge!! And that is exactly what I did!!
And here is my paper quilted card:

I used my most FAVORITE embossing folder to give it some texture, added a bow... OF COURSE, a new Rosette from SU!, some PEARLS (Of course, AGAIN), A stick pin, a sentiment and there you have it!! My card was COMPLETE!! :)

The photo's below are for you, Mom!! The girls were playing "Dress Up," and I snapped some photos!! Aren't they just SOO cute?!?

not sure why the text I wrote on Layla's card isn't appearing but this photo is of my Little Layla Paige!! She LOVES playing dress up!

This is my little Brooklyn Sophia playing dress up with her sister! When she sees the dress up chest being taken out, she IMMEDIATELY starts undressing! She LOVES picking out and putting on her little outfit!

Well, that's it for now! I really hope you enjoyed my story, my cards and my photos of my little munchkins! For all of you getting hit with snow... stay warm! Till next time....

~jenna

Owl Love you!

2011-01-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a "SNOW DAY," here in OH! It started off with a Two Hour Delay and then, they cancelled school! It's 5 degrees here! But, I'm nice and cozy inside! :)

I took a little break yesterday! NOT from stamping... just from my computer! Yesterday, after putting Layla (our oldest) on the bus, I spent the morning with my youngest daughter, Brooklyn! We colored, listened to music, had a snack, played peek-a-boo, and watched Sesame Street! Soo fun! When Layla got home from school, we had lunch and then put Brooklyn down for a nap! Layla and I had, "Mommy and Me time." Since Layla was the only child for about 4 years! The transition was a little difficult at first, but i promised her, "Mommy and Me time." What is, "Mommy and Me time?" Layla gets to choose what she wants to do with me! Whether it's baking, doing a puzzle, playing games, watching a movie (which she HARDLY chooses), or my favorite, crafting!! Yesterday, she chose crafting! She chose the stamp set, the colors and the technique! We had so much fun! She chose water coloring with pencils! I guess after seeing my card on Wednesday, she wanted to give it a try! She created a beautiful card!

Today, I decided to check out the challenge on SCS! It was to repeatedly stamp words/phrase to create a background for your image! I had purchased this stamp for my daughter last summer! I LOVE it!! That little owl is just SOO cute, right?!? I'm not a big V-day fan, but I thought I should try to make a card! So, here it is! I hope you like my card! Oh... and that bow? SUPER easy! If you'd like to know how, message me! I'll give you the deets!!

Have a great day!!

~jenna

It's raining, It's Pouring....

2011-01-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

It's quite wet out here in, OH! No sun shining today! Isn't it nice when the weather helps your creative juices?? Late last night, I checked the challenge on Splitcoast, and ran up to my craft room to play! I have been wanted to paint lately! It's been years since I've painted! I am a HORRIBLE painter! Seriously, I've even been told that! Anyway, I thought, I love holding a paintbrush, so how about incorporating some "painting" onto my card? Just to see if I could do it! I took out my watercolor pencils and an image I had stamped onto watercolor paper from SU!'s set called, "Fast & Fabulous." Put some water in a cup and started painting! I LOVED it!! And I feel like now I have had more experience with blender pens and coloring, now was the perfect time to try this! Here's the card I created!

After I finished painting the image, i set it to the side and went to BED!! At that point is was 1a.m!! EEEK! Anyway, my husband and I woke up a bit late, was able to get our daughter fed and ready for school on time!! :) After she left, I ran up to try to get my card finished as fast as possible! THAT was a task! I hadn't thought of a color combo for what I had watercolored! Oh, my!! After cutting MANY pieces of cardstock and not finding ANY combo I liked, I started to look outside. All I saw was fog, rain and GREY!! And then, all of a sudden it hit me! GREY!! :) So, I grabbed some grey cardstock, started cutting, running things through my Big Kick, grabbed my pearls, found some ribbon and.... VOILA!! After it was all put together, I thought those flowers needed a little something. So I grabbed some glue and put some dazzling diamonds in the center of each flower. Here's the picture where you can SEE them!:

I really loved this sketch when I was through with my card!! I'd love to hear what you think of my card!! Thanks for taking a peak!

~jenna

Growing pains....

2011-01-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

So, my daughter Layla woke up last night in excruciating pain!! My husband and I haven't seen her cry like that in a long, long time! She told us her arm was in a lot of pain! We felt so bad for her! We rubbed her arm and gave her some Tylenol and thankfully, she went back to sleep! We are pretty sure it was GROWING PAINS!! EEEK!

Layla woke up this morning perfectly happy! We got her all ready for school and after she left, I went on Splitcoaststampers.com to check out the Color Challenge! I am so thankful for Splitcoast because I believe it has helped me to become a better stamper! I learn new techniques and I am inspired every second I am on that site! :)

I decided I am going to upload some of the cards I have made in the past few days!

There are quite a few, but I would love to hear what you think of them! Also, I will upload cards i have NOT posted on SCS!! And if there are any cards I post that you would like to have more info about, like how to make it or what I used... don't hesitate to ask! :)

The card you see below is a card I made recently with a new SU! set called Easter Blossoms. I LOVE this set! I also used some SU! designer paper and added some black bling on each corner! I was so pleased when I finished this card! It kinda has a vintage feel (which is what I LOVE) but there is still something modern about it! Maybe it's the houndstooth designer paper?
This card is part of a "Vintage Set" I made! I was inspired by an artist I found on Splitcoaststampers! Her name is, Holly aka Toy! She created a FABULOUS gift set and I was so inspired! I plan on adding to this set. Maybe a faux purse? We'll see!

This is part of the "Vintage gift set" as well! I absolutely love Very Vanilla cardstock! I'd have to say, my two favorite colors from SU! are Very Vanilla and Saraha Sand! For this card, I used Very Vanilla, and Pink Pirouette cardstock. I added some lace, and some fabric and then used some seam binding ribbon to make a bow! I absolutely love how simple this card is!

This little box was made from SU! Milk carton die! I cut the top of it off to have an open box and used Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, and Pink Pirhouette. Again I used seam binding ribbon! And added some pearls... OF COURSE!

Stampin Up! has come out with some amazingly beautiful fabric! I LOVE it!! I didn't think I would use it on cards, but I couldn't help myself!! I used SU! butterfly die and cut out this big butterlfy and then used SU! die called Blossom Party for the center of the butterfly! I added some pearls, stuck a stick pin with some lace and... done! I placed a piece of texturized Pink Pirhouette cardstock and used Very Vanilla as my base!

This is a card I made for my niece, Gianna Lynn! She is such a cutie! We were talking on the phone one night and she asked me if I could send her some stamps!! HOW COULD I RESIST!! So, I thought I'd make her a little card to go into her box of goodies! I used SU! scallop circle punch for the bottom of the dress! Then I drew the top of the dress on some grid paper, ran both pieces through embossing folders, added some pearls and butterfly and... Voila! My little dress was complete! I made a double bow and added two strips of cardstock and then punched a border... and of course added some more PEARLS!!!
This was an EXTREMELY simple card! I absolutely LOVE how this one turned out!! I used Very Vanilla cardstock, some designer paper from SU! Punched out a black circle scallop and then stamped my image and punched it out with a circle punch! Super easy card!

I made this card in about 8 minutes thanks to an inspiration challenge on SCS!! :) I used some designer paper (which is the polka dotted paper), then I cut a piece of black cardstock, adhered it to some VV (very vanilla) cardstock added a bow and... done! SUPER easy! I happened to have two pieces of the dp (designer paper) and black paper that fit PERFECTLY inside my card!

This was a pretty easy card, too! I pretty much created this card in my head and then put it on paper! My mother in law, Karen Barber, taught me this technique. It's called "Black Magic" or "Chalkboard!" It is super easy and quite fun! After I figured out my layout, it was all pretty easy from there! I added pearls and a bow and again... I was finished!! LOVE the way it turned out!

So, now you have seen some more of my work! Again, I love to hear what you think! Stop by anytime!! If you have a blog, send me a link! I'd love to see your work, too!

Bye for now!

~jenna

And so it begins...

2011-01-17T20:13:00.000-08:00

My first blog...

When I heard about blogging, which was years ago, I thought , "That will NEVER be me. A blog? Who cares what I think?" But now... years later... after visiting SEVERAL blogs and thoroughly enjoying them, I have decided to change my opinion about blogs and decided to start one!

I realize that it will take time for people to notice my little blog, but I feel this will be a GREAT way for people to get to know a little more about me and things I love about life!

What you will read about on my blog:

My blog will have a lot about my family, friends, hobbies, and my every day joys and struggles. Here are few things you might like to know about me:

I have been married to my awesome husband for over 6 years! We have two very beautiful little girls. Our oldest, Layla Paige, who is five years old, is in kindergarten and absolutely LOVES school! She is also one of the best big sisters ever! And I'm not just saying that. She really an incredibly loving, generous, and forgiving sister! She impresses and amazes my husband and I everyday. Our youngest daughter, Brooklyn Sophia, who will be two in March, is an absolute riot! She is always making us laugh! She definitely knows how to get attention! We so enjoy watching her grow into her own.

I am lucky enough to be able to stay at home with my two girls! Being a stay at home mom gives me the chance do three things I love most in this world! Be a wife, a mother and an artist! Which brings me to why I am really starting this blog! I'd like to share with you some of my work! I love paper crafting! Whether it's creating scrapbook pages, cards and anything else I think of!

So, I'll leave you with some photos of some of my recent work! If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear them! I will take positive and negative feedback! Thank you for taking a peak at my blog!

~jenna

These cards were made with all supplies made by Stampin' Up!

Jennabee Crafts

Blog Candy Winner is.....

Blog Candy and a little chit chat....

FALL BLOG HOP IS HERE!!!

An Antique Shop Excursion (and the goodies I found)...

Back to School...

Shabby Chic/Vintage- Estabished Elegance

My DREAM truck....

My Doily Card....

Sunflower....

Collaging some new GOODIES!!

Coming soon....

A Vintage MASCULINE card...

Since many of you requested....

Just a couple of cards....

Happy Easter Everyone!!

**NEW** Stampin' Up! Goodies!!!

Finally BACK and with A Springtime Wreath....

A little chit chat and a "HOW TO!!!!"

Dreamy Vintage Blossoms.....

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Back up and RUNNING with a Blog Exclusive, too!!!!

A Tearful Inspiration.....

A Rainbow, and Something Warm and Fuzzy .....

Owl Love you!

It's raining, It's Pouring....

Growing pains....

And so it begins...

NEW Stampin' Up! Goodies!!!