Thanksgiving just around the corner!

Greetings dear friends,

This week I wanted to share my Thanksgiving card that I actually worked on during the summer months.  Again it is another tri-shutter card and I used some darling DeNami stamps.  The paper is from my collection of older Close to My Heart paper.

The stamps I used were DeNami's D136 Wheat Stalks,  PF49 Thanksgiving Chickies Stamp set, K87 Thanksgiving Chickies,  and I64 Stitched Circle.  The small Happy Thanksgiving sentiment is from Stampin' Up!

During this time of year, I want to express my gratitude to all the wonderful people in my life, including my circle of stamping friends.  Thank you for all your positive thoughts and encouragement during my journey of creating my blog.  Also thank you for all the inspiration you provided and your willingness to share your beautiful creations.

Blessings to all,
Jen

Aloha & Happy Birthday

Hi Everyone...I sure do miss summer vacation and all the time I had to create!  Work has kept me very busy and we are at the start of our Fall/Holiday Craft show season.  My girlfriends and I have four shows scheduled to sell our jewelry in the next couple months.  And my dear friend Betty is preparing to leave us for the warm sunshine of Arizona for the winter months.   Fall certainly is a season of change.

This card I created recently for my wonderful friend and co-worker Melodi.  and she LOVES the islands.  So it was only natural that her birthday card would reflect a beautiful person and the land she loves.  You ought to see her hula!

Nothing too unusual about this tri-shutter but I did add a 1/2" vertical strip on score fold three. That created a narrow but very strong place to create the lei in paper. When I added the flowers to the strip it made the card wider and more difficult to fit into a standard envelope.  Keep that in mind when adding embellishments too.

Mahalo for stopping by my blog!  And Happy Fall!  Let's hope we have more sunshine than rain, and more laughter than tears.

Jen

DeNami October Blog Hop!

Hello Everyone and welcome to the DeNami October Fall Blog Hop!  It is so much fun to participate in the hop and also see all the fabulous cards the other talented artists create. 

If you are following along the hop you have just arrived here from the talented Britta Swiderski's blog.  If you have gotten turned around or lost, you may return to the beginning at DeNami's Blog.

Your next stop is at the blog of fabulous Wendy Harrill.

When:  The blog hop starts on October 9 at 6 AM, PST.  However, you have until October 10, 2011, 11:59 p.m. PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize.)

Why: To be inspired by cards featuring DeNami Design Fall-themed stamps and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design Website.

Prizes:  We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to the DeNami website!  We'll be giving away on gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

Now on to the fun!  For this simple but eye-catching card I used the Leaf Accent stamps to create the stamped background on white.  The pumpkin was stamped, colored and cut out.  The leaves were punched from a variety of punches I have collected and layered under the pumpkin, which was popped with foam tape.  The sentiment was stamped and punched with Stampin' Up's Word Window punch.

After the card was assembled I decorated the pumpkin with Orange Peel and Lime Green Stickles.  This basic design can be used for a variety of cards. Give it a try!

DeNami Stamps:
H85 Brushed Pumpkin
PF51 Leaf Accents Stamp Set
E144 Thankful for You


Ink colors:
Memento Rich Cocoa, Ladybug, Bamboo Leaves Stamp Pads
Sunflower Yellow stamp pad
Copic Markers:  Y38 Honey, YR04 Chrome Orange, YG03 Yellow Green, YG63 Pea Green


Tools & Other Supplies:
Leaf Punches
Stampin' Up Word Window punch
DeNami 1/2" Orange Grosgrain ribbon
Stickles: Orange Peel, Lime Green
Foam Tape

Hi! Welcome to DeNami's September Blog Hop Tasty Treats!

I am so excited to be able to share with you.  I have just as much fun creating as I do hopping from blog to blog with so many creative, talented stampers!  

If you are following along the "hop", you just arrived from the blog of the talented Wendy Elliot.  If you have gotten turned around, lost, or want to go back to the beginning, visit DeNami's Blog. 

Your next stop along the hop is with fantastic 

Lisa Petrella!

When: The blog hop starts on September 11 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until September 12, 2011, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).

Why: To be inspired by cards featuring DeNami Design "sweet" stamps and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

Thank you very much for allowing me to share! Hope you have a lot of fun!

Here are my Tasty Treat cards...

I wanted to use the cupcakes stamps the most because many of us have the DeNami cupcakes, but may not have new ideas to use them.  Even the most seasoned stamper can use a different spin on things.  I get some wonderful ideas from blog hops so I hope I can give back some new perspectives too!

This was my first time using the Spellbinders Nestabilities on a card and I loved learning how to emboss with them also.  On the card above I added the lime green Stickles to the center of the circles on the edge. I used the larger two die cuts from the set to make these cards.

        

I backed the white die cut with a bright pink cardstock so there was a little peekaboo color around the edge.  Do you like the cupcake flowers?  Thought they were pretty fun!

For this last card I used the Spellbinders die cut as a stencil to chalk the pink/orange circles on the white. I cut another die cut in hot pink but trimmed off the beaded edge for the front.  I attached the card front to a hot pink card that I ran through the Spellbinders die cut on the fold and then lined it all up for the card.  Really like the non-traditional shaped card but it still fits in a standard envelope.

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure you leave a comment to be eligible for DeNami's prize giveaway!

DeNami Stamps:

G126 Sweet Friend Birthday

A84 Mini Cupcake

G138 Cupcake Tower

F187 Wavy Stem Trio
A88 Mini Polka Dot

Paper: Assorted Bazzill and solid cardstock.

Tools and Ink:

Memento Tuxedo Black Inkpad
Impress Cherry Pink Inkpad
Hot pink and Orange chalks

Copic Markers: YR02, YR04,Y02, Y06, Y11, R20, RV02, RV04, YG03, YG63

Stickles: Lime Green, Yellow, Orange Peel, Glam Pink

Spellbinders Nestabilities Beaded Circles
Stampin' Up Eyelet border punch
1" Circle Punch
3/4" Circle Punch
Corner Rounder

1/4" Pink Gingham Ribbon, 1/2" White Organza Ribbon 

Another Tri-shutter birthday!

The love affair continues.

Now that I am back at work, I miss all the stamping time I had this summer.  Now I have to really plan ahead to have quality stamping time.  

So the first week at school and we are celebrating five birthdays in our office!  So much fun!  I got busy and everyone got my favorite new card, the tri-shutter!  Here are the photos to share...

The first card was for John who was celebrating his 60th!  The paper is from Close to My Heart and I love the way it works with this card.  Under the stars on the front is a nice brown grosgrain ribbon.  Another embellishment was copper Stickles.

This next card was for my desk buddy Stephanie who is turning 50!  but I can't tease her because I am only a few months behind her!  Can you tell that she likes purple?  I can't take credit for the beautiful flower on the front but I did color the center stamens of the flower to coordinate with the rest of the card. Stamps are from DeNami and Stampin' Up.  The butterflies were punched with my Martha Stewart punch.

This next birthday card was for my stamping buddy Kristen!  Not sure if she likes pink and green but I love the way these colors play together.  The white flowers were punched with my Martha Stewart punch.  The butterfly on the front is a punch from Stampin' Up.

This next card was for my principal Mr. Ficken but I didn't get the greatest photo this time.  Guess I will just have to recreate it for a better photo.  Most of the stamps are from DeNami and I used Christmas Red Stickles to make the apples pop off the card.  I love happy birthday stamp that I used at the top and bottom of the card.  The wonderful thing about it is that when you fold up the card, you can still read happy birthday clearly.  If you try making a tri-shutter I highly recommend you fold it up before embellishing it so you can see how your embellishments will work with all the layers and folding.

This card is for my new co-worker Mickey who made the mistake of telling me her nickname was Ladybug when she was little.  I love ladybugs so this was an easy card for me to make.  The unusual silver paper I picked up about 15 years ago (no joke!) from a scrapbox. It has a wonderful hammered look.  The happy birthday on the front is a stamp from Stampin' Up.

So as you can see I had a busy week but I am looking forward to the DeNami September Blog Hop next Sunday!  The theme is Tasty Treats and I think there will be some darling cards to see!  I finished my selections tonight!  So much fun!

Have a great week everyone and I will see you all next Sunday for the "Hop!"

Jen

Happy Retirement!

I have a dear friend who retires in a couple days and here is the tri-shutter card I made for her luncheon!  My love affair with the Tri-shutter design continues...

The card is pretty similar to my other tri-shutter cards.  Stamps this time are from Stampin' Up.  Have a wonderful Sunday!

Jen

Back from the sun!

Had a wonderful week of sunshine, sand and campfires!   It was very relaxing and I made some great cards.  I will be posting some of them soon.

Here is a photo of the gorgeous sunset from our campsite on the bluff.  If you like to camp and you love the  ocean, you have to try Kalaloch National Campground.  Gregg and I have been taking our family to this spectacular stretch of beach since we've been married, 25 years ago.  Gregg actually started camping there as a boy.

Hope you have had a great weekend.  Look for some new cards to come!

Jen

DeNami Mini Cards Blog Hop!

Hi and welcome!  It's DeNami Blog Hop time and I am so excited to be able to share with you.  I have just as much fun creating as I do hopping from blog to blog with so many creative, talented stampers!  

If you are following along the "hop", you just arrived from the blog of the delightful Andrea Fisher.  If you have gotten turned around, lost, or want to go back to the beginning, visit DeNami's Blog. 

I hope you have lots of fun visiting today and enjoy the cards I have created for you!  All the stamps used for these mini cards are from DeNami.  If you wish to purchase them, check out their wonderful online shop !

Your next stop along the hop is with

the wonderful

Britta Swiderski.  

Please leave your comments below to be eligible for the DeNami drawing!  DeNami will be giving away TWO $20 gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop.  Comments need to be left by Monday, August 15, 11:59 p.m. PST.  Thank you very much for allowing me to share!

And now for my mini cards... 

Each card in the collection measures 3 1/2" square.  

They can be given individually or together as a gift set.

DeNami Stamps:

PF19 Bitty Bugs Stamp set  

D70 Open Ladybug

PF51 Leaf Accents Stamp set  

E147 Dropping You A Note

A66 Three Butterflies

E150 Water Lily   

D87 Steam Curl  

D128 Elegant Floral Blossom  

F147 Small Thank You Block

Paper:

Bazzill Criss Cross – Katydid (light green), Lily White, Hyacinth  (blue), Sunshine (yellow)

Tools:

Versafine Black Stamp pad

SU Scallop square Punch (1 1/2”)

SU Square Punch (1 3/8”)

Corner Rounder

Paper Piercing tool

Dimensionals or Foam Tape

Ribbon – Green, Pink

Stickles: Diamond, Firefly, Cotton candy, Yellow

3D Crystal Lacquer or similar product
Tombow Markers

Male Birthday Tri-shutter card

Hi!   Back from my quick trip to Spokane with my girlfriends for the Michael Buble concert and some bead shopping.  Now to post another card!

My Dad turns 83 in a few days and he really enjoys my handmade cards.   Since I am currently loving the Tri-Shutter design, and of course, DeNami stamps, I combined the two to make this fun card! Some of the other stamps are from Stampin' Up and Hero Arts.

The stars are punched and copper Stickles applied. The lattice that I used under the sailboats is from my newest EK Success punch  The front medallion was done with lots of layers of scallops and circles. Lots of fun to make and experiment with. You should give it a try!

DeNami Stamps Used:  PF39 Under the Sea stamp set, PF40 Nautical Stamp set

I love Turquoise!

As many of my friends already know,  I love turquoise...both the gemstone and the color!  I also like aqua, teal, and the whole blue green family.  So it is no surprise to see cards made from these colors.  This card, both inspired by DeNami's recent Sketch Challenge and a watch I made on Saturday, is only one example of my obsession...

Here is the watch:

And here is the card:

Although it is not an exact match of DeNami's Sketch, I was inspired in the layout from her sketch.  Here is a list of supplies used to create this card:

DeNami Stamps:

PF05 Rosevine Flowers stamp set - Daisy

E144 Thankful For You

Stampin' Up Top Note Die Cut

Stampin' Up Medium Oval Punch

Stampin' Up Scallop Oval Punch

Paper Piercing tool

Other Supplies:

White cardstock base - 5.5 x 8.5", folded

Turquoise cardstock - 5.25 x 4"

Black cardstock 

White cardstock - behind black 

Grey cardstock - scallop punched

Turquoise cardstock - medium oval punched

Stickles: Diamond, Yellow

Divine Twine:  Aqua and White twist

Hope you like my latest card!  It was a lot of fun to create and share with you.

Jen

Blossoming Birthday

Hi everyone,
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!   Had a lot of fun on Thursday and Friday, following the DeNami and Lawn Fawn Blog Hop!  Makes me wish I had a lot more time and money for stamping!  The two companies' stamps are so versatile and coordinate so well together, it was very inspiring.

In the spirit of combining stamps, I made the card posted below.  Found this stamp at a recent Stamp Expo and knew it would be perfect to team up with DeNami's images.

I have been wanting to make a card with the grey and pink color scheme and this one spoke to me.  The latice was punched with my new EK Success punch in white cardstock.  I used DeNami's rose from the Rosevine Flowers Stamp set.  The leaf is from the Leaf Accents Stamp set.  After stamping in black, each were colored with Tombow markers (can't wait to try out my Copic markers, that should arrive any day now!)  Although cutting out small flowers and leaves may not be your cup of tea, I think the card turned out sweet.

The stamped sentiment is from Make An Impression.  I bought it at the same recent Stamp Expo.

Oh, and one last note, the Pink Paisley background paper behind the sentiment, is also sold on DeNami's website and was created for them by Bella Press.

How you have a lot of fun stamping this week!  Until next post,

Jen

DeNami Sketch Challenge!

Now that I have a blog and can post photos of my card creations, I can start participating in DeNami's challenges!   I am so excited!  I just hope I have thought of everything.

Here is the sketch challenge template...

Using DeNami stamps, I came up with a fun idea using the Fuzzy Ball and Friendly Faces.  A list of supplies follow:

1 – 5.5 x 8.5” white cardstock (card base)

1 – 4 x 5.25” DeNami Navy cardstock

1.- 2.75 x 5” light blue cardstock

1 – 2.5 x 4.75” white cardstock

1 - .75 x 2.75” white cardstock

1 – 1 x 3” Golden Tangerine DeNami cardstock

DeNami white organza .5” ribbon

Versafine Majestic Blue inkpad

Tombow Markers:  025 light orange, 055 process yellow, 133 chartreuse, 173 willow green, 451 sky blue, 452 process blue, 925 scarlet orange, 933 orange

Stickles: Lime Green, Orange Peel, Yellow, Turquoise

DeNami Stamps:

D141 Fuzzy Ball 

PF52 Friendly Faces Set (Petit Fours) 

F148 Thanks A Bunch (sentiment)
A95 Mini Star

Happy Everything!

Here is a little pocket card I made this spring to celebrate the retirement of my dear friend and co-worker Kathy!  A special friend needed a very special card!

On a piece of 3-3/4 x 5" white cardstock I stamped DeNami D128 Elegant Floral Blossom on the left edge and right bottom corner in Versafine Black.  I also stamped the little ladybug in PF19 Bitty Bugs stamp set and colored them in with Tombow markers.  The "Happy Everything" is from Stampin' Up.    This card is decorated with a red button and black ribbon.

This white cardstock was backed in 4 x 5-1/4" black cardstock.  The pocket was made of red cardstock and trim with white cardstock punched with Stampin' Up eyelet punch.  Tucked under the white eyelet is a strip of black to make the eyelet pop.  I glued the edges of the pocket with the thinnest line of  Tombow's Mono Multi Liquid Glue.  It is one of the strongest, easy to apply, glue.  The dual tip is fabulous allowing you to apply a wide or teeny stripe of glue.

Whenever I think of it, I like to decorate the envelope to match the card. It really doesn't take much more time, since the stamps and markers are already handy.  Just keep your envelope close by and stamp it when you stamp the card.

Here is a photo of the same card using a yellow and black color scheme...

Notice I stamped the little butterfly from the same Bitty Bugs set.  Using the Word Window Stampin' Up punch, I made a tag with "Everything."  Since the tag was narrow I attached a black brad instead of trying to thread it on to the 1/4" ribbon.

Have a wonderful day,
Jen

And now a little Cricut...

Hi Everyone!  For those who know me, you know I LOVE my Cricut!  It is so fun to play with and I make lots of cute things for school.

Today I am posting a couple photos of a Thank You "card" I made with my Cricut to thank my co-workers for a wonderful birthday celebration.  I used the "Walk in My Garden" cartridge and cut a bunch of different flowers, hearts, leaves, stem, etc.  For the colors, I chose paper that were realistic and also coordinate well with the heart paper.  I created a four-panel card, attached the ribbon ties and then decorated it with the red paper (with sanded edges), the heart paper and the "Thanks A Bunch" sentiments.

The flowers were all arranged and glued in place inside the card. Be sure to arrange flowers from edge to edge so that when the card is tied, the flowers go all the way around, without a gap.

Then I covered the raw ends of all the stems with another four-panel piece of cardstock.  When the ribbons are tied, you can stand the card up, like a vase.  When they are untied, your message can be read on the inside.  This is what the card looks like untied and flat.

Here is a photo of the card, all tied up and standing.  When upright, the card is approximately 12" tall.  

Cute, huh?  I was so proud and I can honestly say that I haven't anything quite like it.

Hope you can try this out.  It really is fun!

Till next time,

Jennifer

For a Sweet Little Baby...

I was recently asked to create a baby girl card for my husband and his co-workers to give to another co-worker whose wife just had a darling baby (Congratulations Jennifer and Mike!)  Using the tri-shutter card template I had recently discovered on Splitcoaststampers.com, I put together the following card.  Using bright pink cardstock, pink gingham paper and some darling "Congratulations" paper I got a long time ago in a stack pack,  I assembled what a believe is my best baby card yet.

The stamps used this time were from a couple different Stampin' Up sets and DeNami.  DeNami makes the darling "Congratulations Circle" stamp (I57) and the "Circle Dot Frame" (I53).  The butterflies were created by punching butterflies using Martha Stewart's butterfly punch in dark pink and then covering the butterfly with pink Stickles.  There is a light pink butterfly underneath each one, like a shadow. The white eyelet border was made with a Stampin' Up punch. 

I have been asked what kind of cardstock I prefer.  I love Bazzill, usually Crisscross textured, but I also look for good deals, sales and decide ultimately for the color I need.

Have fun and don't be afraid to leave a comment,

Jen

A Little Birdie...

Today's card is a simple card that can be used for just about anything...Birthday, Congratulations, Thinking of you...

I used yellow cardstock and stamped the Small Tweety Bird Circle all over the background with sunflower yellow.  I colored in the little birds with a yellow Tombow Marker.

I stamped the Tweety Bird Border on white cardstock and colored them in.  Behind I used a random daisy print paper and the Golden Yellow cardstock.  Wrap the Yellow gingham ribbon around the plaque before adhering it to the front of the card.  Stamp "a little birdie told me..." at the bottom of the card and then glue down the plaque so the words show.

Thanks DeNami for such darling stamps! Thanks everyone for looking...
Jen

I Love DeNami Stamps!

I have been a stamper of cards for several years and I have collected many brands of stamps.  Now that I am refining my "styles", I have decided that my favorite stamps come from DeNami!  They have the just the right balance of elegance and cuteness, class and cleverness!

Here is a recent birthday card created with the DeNami Happy Birthday card stamp.  I used a pop-up pattern that I found on Splitcoaststampers and Bazzill lavender paper.  I finished it off with some mini lavender bling and lavender stickles.

Show and Tell...

In college, my dorm friends voted me most likely to come into their dorm room to show off my most recent Art projects.  When teaching Kindergarten, the art projects were always my favorite subject to teach.  Now I spend all my free time creating, showing and telling... now I can show everyone!  Nirvana!

So please bear with me as I start posting some of my card creations!  Don't be surprised if you see some beaded jewelry mixed in.  Or even a completely random thought from time to time.

I will do my best to describe how things were made, but if I forget, just ask!  This is all new to me!

Creating a beautiful world, one card at a time,
Jennifer