Turkey Day is on Its Way!!!

~ I just LOVE this time of year!! Spending time reminiscing, eating, relaxing, laughing, and playing games with family is something I love more than a lot of things! I'm getting really excited as next Thursday approaches...and then, as we all know, the rest of the year flies by!

In my excitement about the holiday season, I've completed a few festive papercraft projects. They are both from cutting files designed by Shirley Clark. The first is a Turkey Treat Box. How cute is this?? I filled one with Hershey's Nuggets and gave it to the receptionist at work today! She was extremely appreciative!
The second is a turkey holding a sign. I plan to use him on a layout with holiday pictures and hand write our family's last name on the wooden sign!
I hope you've been inspired to be excited about the upcoming holiday!!! Have a super weekend!

Gobble, gobble!
Jessica in Kansas

Hanging On To Warm Weather & Fun Colors!!

~ So, I just heard on the news that we may get some of that white stuff early next week. I'm shivering just thinking about it!! I always look forward to the first snow, which is usually beautiful in Kansas, but then I'm ready to bid winter farewell!!!

Just thinking about the arrival of winter has inspired me to think warm!! Therefore, this post includes bikinis and fun summer color combinations! I'll soon be posting some Thanksgiving & fall projects, but in the meantime...This tear bear is ready to soak up some rays at the pool or beach! Isn't she cute??!!! She was inspired by one of my favorite patterns from myscrapchick.com. I tore and assembled this Teeny Bikini Bear from thick mulberry paper, added a few details with chalk, pens, and punched shapes for the eyes & nose. The bikini was cut using my Klic-N-Kut from the myscrapchick.com pattern. I embellished it with a swirly background stamp, a Prima flower combined with a pink jewel, and some fun Stickles...a staple in my scrap room! She's one of my favorite tear critter creations yet!!
~ Check out these fabulous gift ideas! My friend, Shirley Clark, developed this Post-It Cover pattern and sent me the cutting file. Talk about incredibly easy, fabulously fun, and very versatile...
These went together quite quickly, and I love the possibilities. The band can be left plain or embellished in numerous ways. I was obviously in a flowery mood the day I made these!! I think I'll create and give these to the ladies at work this holiday season!!

~~~ One of my favorite blogs to visit is Lisa's Stampin! Weblog, and she's offering some awesome blog candy this week. Follow the above link to her site and tell her "hello"...even if you don't win, you'll benefit greatly from the ideas on her blog!!

~ Warm, wintery hugs from Kansas,
Jessica

A few cards...

Happy November!!! I have some catching up to do with my blog, so here it goes!! Below is a menagerie of greeting cards I have made and given to special people in my life over the past few months.
This card was made for my precious nephew on his 1st birthday! I used a Stampin' Up! stamp set, different patterned papers, paper tearing & various inks, some twisted fiber, and lots of bright colors. He did not know any better, but I thought it was super cute and boyish...especially with a googly-eyed elephant!
This one was made for some great friends of ours who got married. I got to use my new scalloped oval punch from SU!, some fun clear stamps, and the silver cardstock, which I just LOVE! The color combination is a little different, but I am trying to steer clear of my habits when it comes to choosing colors for my projects!
Here's another challenging color combination. A good friend and co-worker of mine turned 50 last month, and this image & sentiment called her name!!! This card was pretty simple, with layers, mats in black, and a colored image. I had to tie in some black since she's officially over the 2nd hill now!!
This last card was fun to make. It was for Joe on our 3rd wedding anniversary. I used different stamp-type stamps on 1-inch squares, and cut the "3" from a template. The different blues were intentional since that's his favorite color. He was as impressed as a guy gets about these things!!

~ Happy fall,
Jessica in Kansas

Cute Purse Bag & Card

~ I created the gift set below for my secret sister at church. She loved it!!! I used files designed by Jan Bryson of Sam & Hailey Designs. The Super Quick Mini Purse Card was extremely easy to cut and assemble, and the Extra Tall Purse Bag was perfect for a bag full of homemade peanut clusters!!!

~ Pretty cute, huh?!!! I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the coral colored paper, then cut the flowers out with a big punch. One center is chalked, and the other is embellished with a flower sequin, sent to me by my great friend, Lisa! I love how the set coordinates...and how easy it was to create!! Thanks to Jan for the great cutting file...and my Klic-N-Kut for simplifying my life!!

Crafty hugs from Jessica in Kansas ~

Stuffed (pizza & envelopes)

~ This recipe page was created for my monthly Iron Chef recipe page swap. The challenges were to use the same color on color, add some dimension, and find inspiration from a provided sketch. This is what I came up with!I was in the mood for brown, paisley, and punches the day I created these!!! My Cuttlebug did the paisley embossing for me, and I simply punched out the squares and inked the raised images to distress them a bit. The paisley pieces on the bottom left were punched from a Creative Memories punch. Mini brown envelopes and some crinkled dark bronze paper made their way onto the pages, too!

Ready for a new week!!
Jessica in Kansas

Giraffe, Baby, & Cuteness, Oh My!!!

~ A few months ago, I completed this layout. I've had it hanging on my wall to enjoy since then because I just love it bunches!!! The fabulous giraffe paper piecing was cut from a design by myscrapchick.com. Is it cute, or what??!!! The title is made of glittery chipboard letters, and I used glitter around mats, some magic mesh, and the oval cutter to finish it off. The soft colors, wonderful pix, and no blue make this one of my favorite baby boy layouts ever!!

The pictures don't do it justice. The colors are soft oranges on white.

On a blogging role tonight!!!
Jessica in Kansas

Butterfly Tear Critter

~ I created this spring butterfly tear critter several months ago, and she's been patiently waiting for her spot on my blog!!! She's made from torn mulberry paper, flower, heart & swirl paper punches, ink, chalk, and detailing with pen/markers. I also included a few gems as the flower centers.

Enjoying fall, but ready for spring temps again,
Jessica in Kansas

Baby Shower Invites

~ My previous post showed a baby shower gift and card I made for my good friend's shower. I was responsible for helping to throw her fabulous shower, and one of my tasks was to send invites. Of course, they needed to be handmade since they were coming from a papercrafter's home!!! This is what I came up with.
I just love the pregnancy stamp by Studio G, as it even sort of looks like my friend, Jessie! I used gel pens to outline the image, and some shimmery flower pieces attached with brads. The pre-cut cards of shimmery cardstock is from CutCardStock.com. The BABY stamp is a single dollar stamp from Michael's, I think. I really like the blue ribbon best, but I ran out and had to finish some up with the pastel stipes.

Happy Saturday,
Jessica in Kansas

Baby Blocks & Shower Gift

~ I had the pleasure of throwing a baby shower for one of my best girlfriends last month. It was fabulous!! I wanted my card to be extra special, so I chose a cutting file designed by Shirley Clark. The Baby Blocks card was made using my Klic-N-Kut, various pastel colored cardstock, a swirly background stamp, ink pads for edging, and Crystal Effects for the binky & bottle nipple!

It was created to compliment my gift and wrapping. She loved it and truly appreciated the handmade effort!!!Hugs from Kansas,

Jessica

Super Sweet Shopping Bear

~ I'm so excited to show you this little lady!!! I created her months ago from a cutting file designed by Carrie of Carrie's Creations. This Shopping Bear is ready for a day at the mall with her girlfriends...or a night out on the town! She's going to be part of a scrapbook page soon! I'll share that once completed! I've been having fun making tear bears, but this cutting file called my name!! It was so easy to cut and piece together! The funnest part is choosing the papers and adding details to the face!! It's a blast to make them come alive!!

Hugs from Kansas,
Jessica

Tweet Girl Birthday Layout

~ Below is a project I completed quite a while ago that's been patiently waiting to be shared with the world! This Tweet Girl is a paper-piecing pattern designed by my friends of myscrapchick.com. Isn't she adorable? And how fun are the Girly Girl Titles used throughout the layout?!?!!! They were created by one of my favorite designers, Carrie of Carrie's Creations. These two elements fit together perfectly and provided the "cuteness" I needed for these birthday party pictures of some of my favorite kiddos in the world!!

Have a 'tweet nite!!!
Jessica in Kansas

4 Sale: Ice Cream

~ This little peeking salesman bear has ice cream 4 sale!! You just better hurry before he enjoys it all for himself!!!

Every tear critter I make with mulberry paper gets a little easier! The key is to create the cutest face with chalk, punched eyes & nose, and white & black pens. The sign was created and printed from the computer & a ticket corner punch. The popsicle is from a package of Dress It Up embellishments.
It's hard to say no to such a cutie!!!

Happy crafting,
Jessica in Kansas

Catching up...recipe pages galore!!!

~ Welcome back to my blog!! I know it's been awhile. This summer has been a strange one for me. I have spent much less time in my scrapbook room than usual...no good, I know!!!!

I have managed to get a few projects completed in the past 2+ months, so this and my next few posts will be catch up posts! The following are recipe pages I've created, mostly for my monthly Iron Chef recipe swap...which I look forward to without fail!

Pineapple Sunrise Smoothies: This layout used a fun new stamp, my SU! markers, some fun multi-colored fiber, various Prima flowers and coordinating brads, and a fun foot clippie! These were a blast to create!!

White-On-White Cupcakes: This is the most recent layout I created, and it was quite a challenge. Due to the nature of the recipe, I wanted to use only whites as much as possible. Of course, white font would not have shown up, so I had to use a little gray. I also used my Cuttlebug embosser to add some texture, some sheer white ribbon, and a tag with a stamped cupcake accented with white and silver ink.

Thyme Chicken & Mushrooms: This slow cooker recipe page followed a sketch and a few challenges. I had to use this colorful ribbon, which I placed behind the bottom, right flower. I also had to use the pink & brown polka-dot sticker as inspiration. All of the flowers I used on this page were made using punches.

Creamy Spinach Ravioli: This layout was a blast to create. I wanted to use the orange flowers and decided to explore the complimentary colors of blue and orange. I was quite pleased with the way the designs and colors fit together. This is a yummy recipe, too!!

Original Ranch Pork Chops: This simple page was inspired by the colors in the ribbon. I also had the big die cut and foam flowers that I wanted to use up. Colorful fonts and mats, a border punch, and some adhesive jewels finish it off.

Lemon Orange Frosty: This page was inspired by the fun lemony ribbon I had. I used a foam lemon stamp, yellow ink, orange accent marker, various flowers & brads. Simple pages, and I love the way the blue pops off the page!

Cheesy Chili Soup: My challenge for these pages was to use greens only. I had fun with the monochromatic challenge, using ribbon, confetti shamrocks, a border stamp, some green fiber, and big silk flowers.

Broccoli Whole Wheat Mac N Cheese: This page followed a sketch challenge, as well. The heart in oval was cut with my Klic-N-Kut, using a pattern from Carrie's Creations' Valentine Oval file. I also used up some heart stickers, scraps of various colors, and even pulled my circle cutter out for this one!!

Happy September,
Jessica in Kansas

Sweet Snail

~ I know, I know...I'm a slacker! I've been papercrafting some over the past few months, but just haven't found time to update my blog! So, I'm back and promise to do better!!Creating tear bears and tear critters (torn from mulberry paper) is something I have enjoyed doing very much. I think, by now, I am up to 10 different critters, some of which are cute...others which are not worth sharing! :-) This sweet snail, however, is one of which I am quite proud! A fabulous pattern by myscrapchick.com was my inspiration. I used a spiral journaling template to draw on the shell, and little flower punches complete the antennae! Of course, I also had to use some chalk and a hand-drawn face! Super cute, huh?!!

Hope you're having a wonderful summer,
Jessica in Kansas

Bunny Boxes

~ This post is a little late, but I have to show you these adorable little bunny boxes that I created using a new cutting file designed by Shirley Clark of Paperthreads!!! How cute are these?!!! They were super simple to create, and I was equipped with little treat boxes that were a hit! I gave one to my secret sister at church, and I watched her study and awe over it for quite some time!!

Blessed by spring,
Jessica in Kansas

"Love"ly Tear Turtle

~ Can you say MIA??!! I know...I'm sorry I've been such a blogging slacker lately. Between my mom being ill with cancer & treatment, starting a new job, and the busy-ness of life in general, I have found little time for papercrafting. However, I have squeezed in a few projects since I last posted on February 4th, and they'll be showing up on the blog soon!

My first post for today is this little guy, who was such a joy to make! I was in a "Love"ly tear critter swap, which challenged us to create a tear critter with the love or sweetheart theme. Most people in the swap made elegant bears with dresses and candy, but I found inspiration for this love-ly turtle from a pattern designed by MyScrapChick.com. Thick mulberry paper, brown and green ink and chalk, a heart punch, a black marker, and a white gel pen were all the supplies I needed to make this quick and cute little turtle packed with love!! Doesn't he look hug-able?!!!

Glad to be blogging again,
Jessica in Kansas

Romantic Valentine's Day Recipes ~

~ Yes, I have definitely been hit by cupid this year!!! I'm loving all of the Valentine's Day themed cutting files I'm getting my hands on! These coordinating recipe pages all use cutting files by Carrie's Creations: the Love Words line, which I got as part of her Love Pack. I am excited about the variety of words, arrows, clippies, and dramatic heart shapes I was able to coordinate in these pages. I also cut a Valentine Muse (background on the 3rd page) for the first time, which cut smoothly, as all of Carrie's files do! Using the same papers, font, and color theme made several pages come together very quickly. All of these recipes are tried and true, so feel free to lift them if you're in the mood for some easy yum~yum this Valentine's Day!!

Hugs to you,
Jessica in Kansas

Sweet and simple Valentine's Day cards

~ Tis the season...for love, hearts, and Valentines!!! These elegant cards were simple to put together using a sketch required for a swap I had committed to. I used Jan Bryson's Itty Bitty Valentines cutting file for the hearts and sentiment, which worked out perfectly for this card. The scalloped border wrapped in silver ribbon was created using a border punch by Fiskars. The shimmery silver, burgundy, and purple cardstock are all from Cutcardstock.com. The elegant patterned paper is from ScrapWorks. I was challenged to avoid the typical V-Day colors of pink & red, which wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be!!!

Love is in the air,
Jessica in Kansas

Butterfly Purses

~ Paper and purses and butterflies, oh my!!! How cute are these paper purses in the butterfly theme?!! Shirley Clark designed this cutting file, and I couldn't wait to try it out. I just happened to have some butterfly themed cardstock by DCWV and found plain cardstock in coordinating colors. I embellished the handles with ink, doodling, adhesive gems, and some fun butterfly confetti pieces I found. The butterflies were cut from the file, assembled, and embellished with gems, color dots, Stickles, and hand-drawn antennae. A touch of velcro keeps the purse closed. Super cute...and super easy!

I can't wait to fill these little packages with goodies and brighten the day of a couple of my girlfriends!!

Thinking of spring,
Jessica in Kansas

Custom address book

~ I had been wanting to make a custom address book for quite some time...and I finally did it! I purchased a journal, wrapped the front and back covers with some fun patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, and added tab dividers that I created using Stampin' Up's Round Tab punch. I then used my Klic-N-Kut to cut the Fancy Frames and Border Strips, designed by myscrapchick.com, out of coordinating papers. "Addresses" is handwritten on a piece of ric-rac with a fine Sharpie marker. I finished it off by adding Stickles in various colors to some of the dots and the ric-rac. This is just what I needed to collect all of my papercrafting friends' contact information!!

Happy Wednesday,
Jessica in Kansas

More tear bears...

~ These fall critters were made back in November for a swap I participated in...and I just realized that I never shared them on my blog. The theme was fall. The jumper dress was cut from a pattern designed by myscrapchick.com. The rake and Indian corn are stickers, and the flowers are primas. I think I'm getting better at creating a personality with the eyes, nose, and mouth.
If you haven't tried tear critters, I encourage you to do so! They're not as hard as you might think...and so much fun to create!!

~ Jessica in Kansas

A Christmas Peeking Bear

~ I know it's a little past Christmas, but I forgot to post this fun little peeking tear bear I created last month!! Doesn't she look snuggly and cute?!!! The present and bow pattern were cut from a file in the Holidays Helpers collection designed by myscrapchick.com, and the most appropriate "don't peek" stamp is by Studio G. The gold cardstock is from cutcardstock.com.

Too cute not to share,
Jessica in Kansas

Valentine's Day Treat Boxes!!!

~ I've had some fun with 3-dimensional projects lately!! I had trouble getting into the winter holiday spirit, but cupid's arrow has struck me!! The cutting files for both projects below were designed by Shirley Clark of Paperthreads.

This first one is a super-fun Valentine Bear Treat Box...is it cute or what??!!! It is perfect for holding some holiday candy, a gift card, or home-baked cookies!! I added some chalk to the cheeks, and inked around a few edges before assembling. I also added a little detail to the eyes and mouth to give this little bear some true personality!

These Chocolate Treat Boxes are the perfect size for Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares. How fun are they?! You can see that they open up and are kept closed by the fabulous band that slides off and on. The best part is...they are super easy to cut and assemble...in fact, I'm planning to make them for all of my co-workers in the next week or two!!

Hope you enjoy the treats,
Jessica in Kansas