Baby Boy Gift Set

~ Babies, babies, babies...everyone I know is having babies...and lots of little boys! Some friends of mine had one right before Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to meet him next week, and wanted to prepare a little gift. I had purchased the adorable baby clothes below for them and wanted to create a coordinating gift card and bag! I used the clothing colors as inspiration for the patterned papers I chose. You may recognize the box-bottom gift bag, a cutting file designed by Sam & Hailey Designs. I've used this many times, and it's one of my most favorite files!!! The quick baby boy card was also cut, using a file by Jan of Sam & Hailey Designs. I do not think it is available in the Paperthreads store yet. It came together super quick and easily!! I added little buttons to the tabs, and then I used the words "baby BOY" on the gift bag, as well.

No news yet for us on the baby front, but I'll keep you posted!!

Happy Saturday,

Jessica in Kansas

Little Christmas Helpers...

~ How cute is this card?? I created it for a challenge on my MulberryMoms Yahoo group, which specializes in the use of mulberry paper. The Christmas tree paper piecing was cut with my Klic-N-Kut; file designed by Carrie's Creations (Christmas Tree & Bells). The mice were torn from gray mulberry paper using the Mice Helpers patterns by myscrapchick.com...don't you just love the little scissors and tape dispenser??? They are also myscrapchick.com patterns and were cut with my KNK. The chipboard tag is from Colorbok. I also used fiber, lots of Stickles, and ink for embellishing the mice! The cardstock is Naturals Ivory from Stampin' Up!

Ho Ho Ho,

Jessica in Kansas

I'm back!

~ Sorry it's been awhile! I was first busy balancing work with preparing for the holiday...then I was busy trying to recover from several days of wonderful family get-togethers. Now I'm ready to settle back into my routine of work and play...papercrafting play, that is!!!

I finished a couple of recipe pages, but hadn't had time to post them. The first is a slow cooker recipe page, which follows a sketch on Page Plans. This was created for the Iron Chef recipe swap I host on a monthly basis. I love this ribbon and was excited to find these chipboard button pieces and the perfect-colored flowers to use with it.

The second is a more simple page, for which I challenged myself to use stickers. I tend to keep my stickers put away, but a special girlfriend sent me these fun cardboard cooking stickers, which I could not wait to put to use. I love the distressed look of them!! I also added a touch of ribbon and pulled out the Fastenator to staple it on.

It's nice to be back,

Jessica in Kansas

Christmas Treat Boxes

~ How cute are these treat boxes? The files were designed by Shirley Clark of Paperthreads.com, who is another one of my favorite designers. I cut the boxes out with my Klic-N-Kut...then embellished and easily assembled. I used various patterned papers & cardstock, including shimmer paper by CutCardstock.com, Stickles, swirly background stamp by SU!, tag stamp & punch by SU!, and lots of inking for edges. What do you think? I love them!

Santa Treat Box

Present Treat Box

Snowman Treat Box (notice the tiny pipe!!!)

Tree Treat Box

Enjoy,

Jessica in Kansas

~ Birthday, birthday, birthday

~ I never have enough birthday cards ready to send, so I chose to take on the weekly challenge from The Cat's Pajamas, and create birthday cards this morning. The challenge was to use any cake image from the stamp line. Perfect...as I'd been dying to use this adorable penguin image! I also chose to combine the Color Inspiration #31 from the kwernerdesign blog. The colors are below...I wasn't sure what to think about the combination, but I love how the card turned out as a result of using them! Additionally, I followed Sketches! {by Tamara}'s Card Sketch #71 for the design of this project. With so much inspiration, I have to think less about what to create...and get to enjoy "playing" more!!! Can't beat that!

Have a great Saturday,

Jessica in Kansas

Little Fishy ~ a layout

~ This project has been a work in progress, and I finally finished it up this morning!! It's a layout about the fish and frog pond that we inherited with the purchase of our house. I love, love, love the pond and cannot wait to enjoy it with kiddos! When we moved in over the summer of '07, there were frogs (parents and babies) and goldfish calling the pond their home. Unfortunately the fish did not make it over the winter because our pump broke and the pond froze.

This summer, we purchased more goldfish and a few coy. One (or possibly more) of the fish had babies shortly after we bought them, so I enjoyed watching the fish multiply and grow over the summer. As my journaling strips illustrate, one of the highlights of my days has been to feed them. They were easily trained to feed in one spot of the pond. So much fun to watch...
This layout loosely followed Sketch #68 on Sketches! {by Tamara}'s blog. The banner, title, and adorable fish paper piecings were cut with my KNK and used Sam & Hailey Design's Itty Bitty Little Fishy file, found on Paperthreads.com. I also used some patterned paper by Sunburn Two Cool, a border ruler, and Aqua Stickles. This was my first time to use journaling strips, and it may be one of my new favorite ways to journal.

Enjoy,

Jessica in Kansas

Snowy Days, Frosty Nights, Warm Hearts

~ I am having a great time with the shimmer contest at CutCardstock.com and my new pre-cut cards I ordered from them!! I also love this sentiment from the Fairy Christmas stamp set by The Cat's Pajamas: Snowy Days, Frosty Nights, Warm Hearts! It was perfect for this snowy card following the sketch below from PageMaps, which was a swap challenge in one of my favorite Yahoo groups.

I also used a swirly flourish stamp from Hero Arts and white Staz-On ink, various snowflake confetti pieces in blue & silver, glittery snowflakes from Jolee's, patterned paper & ribbon from unknown sources.

Not quite ready for the real white stuff!!!

Jessica in Kansas

Fall is in the air...still!

~ I needed a fall card to send a friend, and I ran across a great sketch by 2 Sketches 4 You that I really liked and wanted to use. The Gold Leaf Metallic card back is from my new collection of shimmery pre-cut cardstock by CutCardstock.com, which I am LOVING to use! Aren't the transparent leaves gorgeous?!!

Hope you're enjoying the beauty of fall,

Jessica in Kansas

A little Christmas Kitty fun!!

~ It's a little early for me, but I created my first Christmas card last week! I love the shimmer of this fun project!!! This card was inspired by the Make it Glitter & Shimmer Holiday Contest at CutCardstock.com, by Color Throwdown #19, and by Sketches! {by Tamara}'s Card Sketch #70. I also used my new set of Pink Cat Studio stamps from My Little Stamp Shack. Materials:
- base: shimmery Curious Metallic Ice Gold pre-cut card from CutCardstock.com
- cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Bordering Blue (all SU!)
- stamps: Pink Cat Studio & Studio G (sentiment)
- dry embossing: brass snowflake stencils by All Night Media
- heat embossing: Rainbow Glitter embossing powder
- miscellaneous: 1" circle punch, ticket corner punch (SU!), silver shimmer ribbon, white gel pen, Not Quite Navy & Bravo Burgundy SU! markers

Meow!!!

Jessica in Kansas

Thankful ~

~ I'm feeling the holiday spirit!! I designed this layout for a page kit swap. It's quite metallic and shimmery, inspired in part by the "Make it Glitter & Shimmer" Holiday Contest through CutCardstock.com. The shimmery leaves are actually confetti, but I thought they were the perfect accent for the journaling strips and the large leaves, which were cut with my Klic-N-Kut (Maple Leaf & Acorn file, designed by Carrie's Creations). I added some shimmery bronze colored ribbon and used a leaf corner punch (EK Success) on the photo mats. The background cardstock is DCWV, the light and dark orange leafs are cut from Sunburn paper, and the shimmery bronze & tan papers are from CutCardstock.com. The layout design was inspired by Sketches! {by tamara}'s Layout Sketch #69. Thanks for letting me share!!!

With lots for which to be thankful,

Jessica in Kansas

From one chick...to another ~

~ I designed this card front in KNK Studio for a file swap hosted at Paperthreads.com. Instead of being assigned a theme, this time we were challenged to create a card front file...how practical, right?!! I got some great files, in return!! This is what I came up with. Of course, it was cut with my Klic-N-Kut!!

I love the bright colors...makes me think of spring! Before giving this card away, I'll probably add some brads or jewels to the flower centers...and maybe glitz it up a bit with some Stickles!!

Enjoy,

Jessica in Kansas

Thanksgiving Tear Bears

~ Below is the end result of my 4th attempt at creating tear bears or tear critters. I enjoy these so much, although they can be quite time consuming to make! One of my yahoo groups (MulberryMoms) is all about using mulberry paper in papercrafting. We had a Thanksgiving tear critter challenge, so I was inspired to create the Indian Princess and Pilgrim Boy below. The credit for the adorable outfits belongs to myscrapchick.com; from the Seasonal Dress-Up Collection. I paper-pieced and embellished the clothing after cutting with my Klic-N-Kut. Are they cute or what??!!!!! I just love the moccasins!!

Thankful for lots,

Jessica in Kansas :-}

A Whiff of Joy...

~ I just love my new Whiff of Joy stamp...isn't this image awesome?!! I love the detail on her jeans and the wispy hair! I used a sketch posted for the card contest on one of my Yahoo groups as inspiration for the layout. The top strip is actually a paint chip, which inspired my color choices. The blue strip was altered with a floral border punch. I used Golden Wheat ink, and the following SU! markers: Ballet Blue, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, More Mustard, & Ruby Red. The cardstock is So Saffron, the brown patterned paper is Wild Asparagus, and the blue paper is from ProvoCraft. Prima Obsession flowers , and brads and fiber of unknown sources complete the embellishments. Ovals punched from the paint chip provided a great space to stamp the sentiment.

Enjoy,

Jessica in Kansas

Chunky Apple Cake

~ I love the way this simple recipe page came together! I used a great swirly tree stamp by Little Paper Shop, some fun embroidered collage paper, and cute little mini apples cut with my Klic-N-Kut (apple file by Carrie's Creations). Coral pink and lime green is one of my favorite color combinations...it just makes me happy!!! I used Fruit Punch Stickles to embellish the tree, which I stamped with a SU! Cotton Candy Kaleidoscope ink pad. Coral chalk ink around the edge created a nice border...again, pretty simple, but I love it!!!

It's a delicious recipe, too!!

Jessica in Kansas

myscrapchick ~ check out these adorable paper piecings

~ I have discovered another source of adorable paper piecing patterns: myscrapchick.com. I recently tried a few of them out for a paper-piecing swap I joined, and I'm so impressed with how cute they ended up being!! Don't you just love the eyes?!!! The designer used big oval eyes on her examples, so I decided to try a small egg-shaped punch I have; I think they turned out perfectly!!!











This black kitty is complete with a pink ribbon bow and whiskers created with Stickles. I love her adorable paws and fun eyelashes...and the great big eyes! Is she cute or what?!!!




Oh Deer!!! Aren't these great?!! I understand that Kristi, the designer of myscrapchick's patterns, uses her scissors to draw and create! What a talent!!

I have plans for these paper piecings on scrapbook pages, but I just couldn't wait to show them off!! I'll post them again when the pages are completed!

Fun hugs from Kansas,

Jessica

Another chicky ~

~ My Hey Chicky stamp set by C.C. Designs made the blog again!!!! How cute is this one...holding the flower?!! This design started with the strange patterned paper in the background, which I was determined to use! I really like the colors (Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Cameo Coral, and Natural Ivory). The adorable chicky is colored with my SU! markers, and I added Stickles to the blue flower she's holding, in addition to the brads and the handmade flower, which was easy to create. I simply punched a large 5-petal flower, used my thumbnails to accordian-type fold each of the petals, inked the edges, and added Stickles to the centers of the petals. It almost looks like a Prima in real-life (pictures never do these projects the justice they deserve)! The blue and bright coral flowers are silk.

I hope you find inspiration here,

Jessica in Kansas

The Colors of Fall

~ I was looking for inspiration for a recipe page layout I needed to complete for a swap, and I found it in "The Colors of Fall" contest being hosted by CutCardStock.com. I just LOVE fall color combinations, and am reminded by the goodness of God during this season, in particular!! How refreshing it is to see the beauty of what surrounds us...especially during such a chaotic time for our nation!

For this recipe page, I used a version of Card Sketch #67 posted by Sketches! {by Tamara} for the layout design. Copper colored Stickles, chipboard buttons by Colorbok, ribbon from Hobby Lobby, border punch by Fiskars, and a swirly background stamp by SU! help complete the design. I love the red patterned paper, designed by Sunburn. The picture just doesn't do the page justice...but do they ever?!

Enjoy,
Jessica in Kansas

Halloween treats ~

~ I've been working on Halloween goodies!! This first project is a continuation of a set I started last week. Remember the Hey Chicky, Happy Halloween card I made using my favorite new stamp set by C.C. Designs?? Well, I just made a large candy bar wrapper that matches it. I'll be giving it to my boss on Friday as a little token of appreciation. Again, the hat die cut was designed by Shirley Clark.

~ Second, I tried out another one of Sam & Hailey Designs' box patterns. I am in love with this round-top gift box...so easy to cut with my KNK...and a breeze to assemble!!

How cute is that??!!!! I used some fun stamps from The Cat's Pajamas line, markers, and Stickles to embellish. It was the perfect little gift box for these Halloween treats I picked up for my new nephew!!

Wishing the election were over,

Jessica in Kansas

Color My World...

~ I completed this layout over the weekend and submitted it for a challenge on a designer's blog: Carrie's Creations. She designs paper-piecing cutting files which I use with my KNK, and I love the uniqueness, quality, and ease of cutting her files. This particular layout uses the die cuts in one of her files called Color My World. I just LOVED the pieces, and it was the perfect file to use for these remodeling pix of our basement, which my husband has called a "crayon box" and an "Easter egg"!! He was not fond of the color choices, but you can see that I got my way!!! That's what he gets for sending me after paint!!

The green room will be our first child's room...when that time comes. The yellow is a spare bedroom, in which my mom stays when she's here from Oklahoma. And turquoise is the color I chose for my new scrap-room, which has white cabinets installed!! We're just waiting on the countertop to be finished and delivered!! I've been very patient, but I am super ready to "move in" to my new papercrafting haven!! Of course, I'll have to post pix when that day comes!! *******My page was one of two entries submitted for the challenge, and there's a poll on Carrie's blog. If you feel so inclined, follow this link and click on "Jessica" on the poll (top, right side of blog). The prize is amazing, and I'd love to get my hands on it!!!! Thanks for letting me share!!

p.s. What do you think of the colors I chose??!!!!

"Colorful" hugs to you,

Jessica in Kansas

There's a new sheriff in town!!!

~ I got a new stamp set from The Cat's Pajamas line of "Clearly Swanky Stamps", and I could not wait to put them to use. I love this wild western version of Poochie!!! This recipe page was inspired by this week's The Cat's Pajamas stamp challenge and by a card sketch posted on Di Hickman's blog.

Besides the new stamp set, I used a SU! paisley stamp from the Fresh Fillers set. Ink colors include Night of Navy, Golden Wheat, and Holly Berry Red. Marker colors used are Rose Red, Night of Navy, and Creamy Caramel. "Bang" is applied using a dimensional adhisive dot.

I almost forgot to mention that this is a very yummy recipe if you're interested in slow cooker soups this fall!

Have a great day, Pardner!

Jessica in Kansas

Hey Chicky, Happy Halloween!!!

~ This z-fold card was a blast to create!!! I used my Scor-Pal, which makes it a breeze to get perfect scor lines each time!! I got a new stamp a few weeks ago that I couldn't wait to use. It's called Hey Chicky by C.C. Designs. I wanted to apply the stamps to a Halloween card, so I added a stamped witch's had to the chick after coloring with my favorite markers! It was the perfect size...what are the odds?!!! The Happy Halloween and hat stamps are by Studio G. The large witch's hat and mat was cut by my KNK and was designed by Shirley Clark of Paperthreads.

Hugs from a Kansas "Chick",

Jessica

Halloween Gift Bag & Card

~ I'm really into making my own gift bags as part of gift sets these days!!! I found a cutting file for a 3"X6" easy-to-assemble gift bag...complete with ribbon holes...and had to try it out! I was amazed at how well it went together - and how much fun I had making it coordinate with the Halloween ATC and card I had just made! It fit my little goodies just perfectly!!

The gift bag & orange web were cut using my Klic-N-Kut; cutting files by Sam & Hailey Designs. I loved the little spider stamp and circular Happy Halloween stamp with pumpkin in center - both from Studio G - and the mixture of patterned papers I used. I also put my circle and decorative edged square punches to use, and embellished with Stickles, printed ribbon, and hand-drawn mini-webs. I'm having fun with Halloween this year!!!

Jessica in Kansas

Heart Frame Cards ~ simple and elegant

~ I discovered another card cutting file designed by Jan Bryson of Sam & Hailey Designs that I'm in love with!!! It's a heart frame card. I cut these out of two-sided card stock, added the pictures, folded up, stamped the heart borders and down the right edge, added a brad to the half heart, and tied some ribbon on!! Last, but not least, I sparkled the stamped flowers up with Stickles, one of my favorite embellishments to use!! Tah-dah...two cards ready to give...just like that!!! I actually made these for my sister-in-law to give to our aunt and grandma. I snapped these adorable pictures of them during her baby shower, and just thought they needed to be shared in a creative way!!!Let me know what you think!!

Hugs from cold & rainy Kansas,

Jessica

Check it out...I was featured as a guest designer!!!

~ The blog known as Sketches! {by tamara} is one of my favorites for daily inspiration. I have used several of their sketches as designs for my projects in the recent past. Several weeks ago, I was honored when Tamara invited me to be a guest designer. My charge was to create an original card from any one of my favorite sketches posted on her blog. I could not choose just one favorite, so I chose two and sent both of my creations to Tamara for her choosing. Well, she posted both a week ago Saturday when I was featured!! Here is the link to the actual post featuring none other than...ME!!! There, you can see the projects and sketches I used. The cards I submitted are posted below, too!

This card used an interesting color combination that I was unsure about, but I ended up liking it quite well. It was also the first time I used this embroidered paper and fun lime green ribbon. don't you just love the monkey stamp, dragonfly brads, and silk flowers?!!!

This card, I am intrigued by!!! It is a stand-up tag card. When opened, the tag stands up and sits inside the little box base. When closed, it's flat and fits perfectly inside a regular card-sized envelope!! It was the first one of its kind I created, and I'm hooked now!!

I used a cutting file by Sam & Hailey Designs to make this awesome card in a jiffy!!! I just easily assembled and added fun foil paper, stamps and ink, fiber/ribbon, and some metal birthday embellishments!!

I hope you visit the link and see the nice write-up Tamara did when I was featured!!! Thanks for letting me share!

Hugs to you,

Jessica in Kansas

Boo! Page Kits

~ I just completed some page kits for my Designer Page Kit of the Month swap. Since it's October, I felt compelled to create a Halloween layout. I got to use Sam & Hailey Designs' Itty Bitty Halloween Creeps & Itty Bitty Halloween Scene files, which were perfect for these 6X6 pages. Of course, I can resize them to meet my needs before sending to the Klic-N-Kut, but these needed no re-sizing. Aren't they great die cuts?!!

Halloween hugs from Kansas,

Jessica

It's a Boy!!

~ Here is a card I made for a baby shower I'm going to this afternoon. My cousin is having her first child...a little boy!! I love the soft masculine color combination of blues, greens, and yellows. The card layout was inspired by this week's Card Sketch #66 on Sketches! {by tamara}'s blog...one of my favorite sources of inspiration.

The giraffe stamps are from the Mindy's Zoo set by Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps, and the sentiment is from a set by Stampabilities. The patterned paper is from DCWV and The Paper Studio. The So Saffron and Bashful Blue cardstock is SU! I also used the SU! circle and scallop punches, and markers in So Saffron, Bashful Blue, and Certainly Celery. Ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

Enjoy!!
Jessica in Kansas

Not-so-spooky Halloween recipe page

~ I created this recipe page for a monthly swap that I host. Since it's October, I wanted it to be Halloween themed, but I didn't want to use the traditional holiday colors. So, I mixed orange with a little cranberry, gray, white, and a touch of black. I like the combination!! The web die cut is actually part of a collection of challenge files I received from Chris Durnan of VisualDesignsbyChris. She is another fabulous designer of cutting files that I use with my KNK.

I also used a spider stamp, some two-toned cranberry and orange ribbon, my Stampin' Up! oval punches, and a hand-drawn simple web. The sketch used as inspiration is from Page Plans.

Happy Friday!!

Jessica in Kansas

Blimey Birthday Card

~ Joe's nephew turned 11 on Friday, so we needed a cute boy birthday card! I got this new set of Pirate stamps by The Cat's Pajamas, and just had to put them to use! I needed a little inspiration, so I used a TCP Tuesday sketch that was shared a few weeks ago, which is below. I also loved the combination of last's week's color inspiration on kwernerdesign's blog.

I enjoyed digging out the embossing powder and heat gun for this one!!

Thanks for letting me share,

Jessica in Kansas

Fall ATCs

~ I've never really got into the ATC (artist trading card) craze, but I did join an Off the Page Challenge posted in the forum at Paperthreads.com last month, which was hosted by Jan Bryson of Sam & Hailey Designs. She provided us with a variety of cutting files that were ATC size (the finished size of an ATC is supposed to be 2 1/2" X 3 1/2"). We had to use at least one of these files on an ATC. I created a series of fall-themed trading cards. This is what I came up with. The card on the the right has a hinge which holds it closed. The top left one actually unfolds if you unwrap the ribbon from the brad. The one on the bottom is just as it appears.
Besides using cutting files, I put my stamps, ink, punches, and fiber to use. These aren't my favorite projects to complete, but I can't say I won't accept the challenge again!!! I like how they turned out...and they came together quickly!

This month's Off the Page Challenge at Paperthreads is to create an altered journal or address book. You need to have a cutting machine and use the file that is sent to you free of charge when you commit to the swap: Itty Bitty File Tabs by Sam & Hailey Designs (super cute). There are extra (optional) challenges you can accept this month, and prizes are awarded to selected participants. If you like a fun challenge...and you have a cutter of any type, I recommend you check it out!!

Feeling fall,

Jessica in Kansas

Trick or Treat: a layout

~ Wow, I just finished this 2-page layout, and it was the most fun to create!!! I wanted to use some of the best new Halloween cutting files I had seen this fall, so I decided to incorporate them into a 12X12" Halloween layout. I don't have pictures to place on the mats yet, but that will come.Don't you just love the paper piecings on this page?!! The cutting files were created by Carrie Schwartz of Carrie's Creations. Witchy Poo Had A Boo-Boo is my favorite...she didn't see the tree up ahead!! The haunted house is actually meant to be an album cover, but I chose to use it this way!!! That's the beauty of cutting files...I get to use and manipulate them any way I choose!! So much fun...

The strip at the bottom is simply black and yellow cardstock with the patterned ribbon attached. The trick or treat embellishment on the bottom of the 2nd page is a Dress It Up element, and the title at the top is simply created with stickers. Let me know what you think!!

Halloween hugs to you,

Jessica in Kansas

Spooktacular Recipe Pages...and more challenges

~ I've had so much fun this weekend creating three sets of recipe pages for some swaps I signed up for. Each was inspired by a sketch that came across my inbox last week!

The first is for Home-Baked Macaroni & Cheese...an incredibly easy and delicious recipe from Kraft. The layout was inspired by Laura's Sketch 9 on the 2 Sketches 4 You blog.

The second recipe page was for a swap which required me to use a bat, ghost, or witch on the page somewhere...be it stamped, die cut, etc. I also challenged myself to used the Weekend Sketch Challenge #59 from the Fresh & Fun blog. Here is the sketch and how I interpreted it.

Finally, the third recipe page design followed a Sketch #83 from the CardPositioningSystems blog. The recipe is Chili Casserole with Cornbread...mmm...mmm...good!

I've had a fun weekend. Hope you have, too!!! Can you believe that October...and Halloween are just around the corner??!!!!!

Hugs to you,

Jessica in Kansas