card making

Celebrate Today

/ Jodi / 25 Comments

PP238 CYCI64
It’s Friday!  Reason enough to celebrate – eh?

PP238 CYCI64 2

The card I am sharing today, however, is in celebration of a special couple’s anniversary:  my Dad and “Mom II” Carole.

It is such a joy to celebrate their happiness.  They are such great role models of a truly caring, loving married relationship.

Though my biological parents divorced when I was young,  I am happy for both of them that they have found loving, lasting marriages on Round 2.

(And for those of you that weren’t around when I was a new blogger close to a year ago,  I’d love to share one of my favorite posts with you from back in July of last year to read the story of my reunion with my Dad.)

PP238 CYCI64 3

So Dad and Carole, I join you in celebrating your upcoming special day.  I thank you for your love and example.  And most of all, I love you dearly.  Celebrate YOU!

For my cardmaking friends, I am submitting this card for two of my favorite card challenges:  The Paper Players, which is hosting a Die Cut Challenge this week, and Can You Case It, which is hosting a color challenge this week.

CYCI64pp239

And here are the “Ingredients” for my card:

StampinUp’s Crazy About You Stamp Set for the flowers and leaves
StampinUp’s Perfectly Penned Stamp Set for the sentiment
Lil’ Inker Designs Stitched Mat Rectangles for the Die Cut stitches and cut out rectangles
SU Whisper White, Black, and Crisp Cantaloupe Card Stock
Inks:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistsachio Pudding, Memento Black
Boho Blossoms Punch
Wink of Stella Clear Brush
SU Pearl Embellishments
Old Olive StampinWrite Marker for leaf veins
Adhesive

Celebrate today and EVERY day – at Life in Between.

Cheers & Happy Friday Hugs,
Jodi

My Most Favorite – for 33 years!

/ Jodi / 50 Comments

33 anniversary card

Today, my hubby, Marty, and I celebrate 33 years of marriage.

Yep – 33 years ago today – a very young and naive 19-year old girl said “I do” for now and forever to a 23-year old boy about as different from her as Eddie and Eva on Green Acres (okay – maybe I wasn’t quite that glamorous and Marty wasn’t quite that Midwest farmer, but we were – and still are – a pretty classic example of opposites attracting.)

And you know what?

He is still my favorite!

Maybe even more so….

I tell people that are going through “stuff” in marriage, there are good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks, good months and bad months…

Heck – there are even tough years…

But, you know what?

Life isn’t perfect.

People aren’t perfect.

And marriage and monogamy with that one special someone is a pretty special thing.

And I am so fortunate in so many ways for so many things and so many years and so much love and safety and stability and genuineness and standbyidness….

Yep – Merv (that’s what I call the hubster) – you are STILL my MOST FAVORITE!  (and this is the card I made for him.)

I love ya,
Gert (that’s what he calls me)

I know – we are goofy!  🙂

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Chicks & Rubber Duckies

/ Jodi / 15 Comments

rubber duck 1

I’m going to a baby shower this weekend, so I had fun using the same technique I used for my Watercolor & Painted Petals Note Card to make this little bitty Rubber Ducky card.

rubber duck 2

I used the rubber ducky stamp from StampinUp’s Something for Baby stamp set and embellished with a white gel pen and pearl for the eye.

I can’t get enough of this fun technique and know I will be doing more of it.

And speaking of having fun and making cards, I had a few chicks over one night this week.  We ate chicken fajitas and Cadbury mini egg blondies, washed it down with some wine and G&Ts, stamped, and made…

chicks stamping

some CHICKS!  (Easter Chicks that is!)  So here we are… Chicks making Chicks!   Thanks to Head Chick Stacey for leading our “class.”

chicks and chicks

Aren’t they cute?!

Easter Chick

Here is a video tutorial on how to make one similar done by Deb Valder.

We made ours a just a little different by adding a little holder for a Cadbury Egg.

Easter Chick side

Happy Friday from this crazy Chick!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Watercolor & Painted Petals Note Card

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

mini watercolor painted petals

I really enjoy trying new techniques in creating handmade cards, so when I saw a tutorial done by Jill Foster for Penny Black featuring water coloring combined with stamping to create these mini watercolor creations with a clean and simple white on white background, I couldn’t  wait to make one.

mini watercolor painted petals 1

The technique includes masking off watercolor paper to create the “frame” and then watercoloring the background.  I used some golds and greens from my Sakura Koi Water Color Pocket Field Sketch Box (actually the only watercolors I own right now).  After drying, I stamped the flowers on using StampinUp’s Painted Petals stamp set by coloring them with my Stampin’ Write Markers in Rose Red, Blackberry Bliss and Mossy Meadow and then gently spritzing the stamp with water to loosen the look before stamping.

mini watercolor painted petals 2

I then used those same marker colors and added a little water to them in my watercolor tray to randomly tap splatters all over from a paint brush.  The last step involved using a Penny Black Footnotes stamp with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in “tea dye,” which I smudged for the vintage imperfect look before stamping on the top edge and corner.

mini watercolor painted petals 3

Once dry, I simply removed the masking tape (blue painter’s low-tack tape is easier to remove and less likely to lift the paper too), put some dimensional adhesive tape on the back and adhered to a white card base.

mini watercolor painted petals 4

I loved this technique and plan to try it with other colors and stamps, and I can’t wait to share this card with somebody special.

Wishing you a wonderful day and week.  Spend some time doing things you enjoy with people you love.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS  I am submitting this card for a new challenge I just learned about at canyoucaseit.com where this week’s challenge is “Designer’s Choice.”

Designers-Choice-001

I won!  Thanks to the CYCI Designer Team for the great honor!

Winner-001

Hello There in Watercolor Bokeh

/ Jodi / 18 Comments

hello there bokeh 1

Hello There Friends!  It’s Friday!  Thanks for visiting today.

For this week’s Friday card, I had fun experimenting with an abstract watercolor and bokeh technique Diane Dimich featured recently here. 

For the blues/greens, I mixed some stamp reinkers with water, and I used some watercolor paint for the red/oranges – just to try a couple different ways.  Once I decided on my color palettes, I brushed my watercolor paper with some clear, clean water using a water brush, then began randomly dabbing the colors all over covering the entire surface.

watercolor bokeh 2

Once it dried, I daubed white inked circles in multiple layers overlapping from a template I created using a piece of acetate cut with the Stampinup Circle Framelits to give the bokeh effect I love so much in photography.

watercolor bokeh 3

Once I was pleased with the effect, I mounted it onto cardstock with a white border, stamped the Hello There greeting in black and embellished with a few simple rhinestone gems.

hello there bokeh 1

I haven’t finished the rest of the painted sheets yet.   I think I will save them for when I need a particular card that I can add just the right greeting and message to.

So here’s to Friday, the weekend, creativity, sharing, and all the wonderful things to enjoy at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Just Sayin’

/ Jodi / 15 Comments

Just Sayin Blended Bloom and Crazy about You 3

Just Sayin’…

I’m ready for Spring.

I’m ready for flowers.

I’m ready for sunshine.

So when I saw this week’s Paper Player’s Challenge (PP236) was to make a “Clean and Simple Floral” card, I couldn’t wait to play along!

 My Card Recipe:  I heat embossed the StampinUp Blended Bloom floral image in black onto Whisper White card stock.  Using a sponge dauber, I sponged Crushed Curry ink in the middle, then light to dark shades of “orange” (Crisp Cantaloupe, Tangelo Twist, Tangerine Tango).  For some extra pizazz, which is so hard to capture in the photos, I added a light brush of Wink of Stella on the petals.  I then “fussy” cut the flower out and adhered it to another white layer using an antique brad (to which I stamped the image with Memento Black ink underneath just for some extra dimension).  I used my favorite new Lil’ Inkers Stitched Rectangle Border Die Cuts to create the edge of the white piece and to the front of the Tangerine Tango card stock base.  I adhered the white to the orange using foam tape to add extra dimension.  The final step was to stamp “Just Saying” in Memento Black ink using the Crazy About You Stamp set.

I love this simple stamp and how this card turned out, and I can’t wait to share it with someone.

Just Sayin Blended Bloom and Crazy about You 2

So today, I’m “just sayin'”…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Happy Spring!

Happy Birthday #25 Nick!  Thanks for bringing such joy to my life and making every March 17th one of my favorite days of the year!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Celebrate Today

/ Jodi / 17 Comments

Happy Birthday Nick Celebrate Today

Celebrate today!

Celebrate every day!

Hey – it’s Friday…

and it’s a birthday weekend around here!

My “baby” turns 25 in a few days.  How did that happen when I am only like (ahem)….  Hey – I just realized as I am typing this I am the exact reverse number…. 

In my current “clean and simple” (CAS) mode, I made this card using the StampinUP Celebrate Today stamp set.  It is so fun and festive!

After stamping the birthday balloons in Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist, I heat embossed the stars inside the balloons, as well as the birthday greeting, with silver glitter.  A few star sequins and some white baker’s twine for the balloon strings finished off this card.

I am so looking forward to spending time together with my family and celebrating.  I’m not sure how I got so lucky having two wonderful sons, an amazing daughter-in-law and a dear girlfriend, and a hubby that puts up with my shenanigans… but I’ll take it and run with it!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Butterfly Birthday Wishes

/ Jodi / 14 Comments

butterfly birthday 2

I have several birthday girls on my list this upcoming week.  Marty (hubby)’s Aunt turns 92 young years young, and I have a wonderful cousin and a sweet niece all celebrating their special days.

I love, Love, LOVE this Stampinup Butterfly Basics stamp set!  It is appropriate for young, old, and everything in between.  It has so many complimentary pieces to create fun collages.  And it works so nicely with the Butterfly Thinlits to add an extra pop of WOW.

Hopefully it will be a bit more Spring-like next week when these are received by the birthday girls. After all – in our part of the world we Spring Ahead into Daylight Savings Time this weekend – Woohoo!

butterfly birthday 1

I saw a card done by Heather @ HandcraftingwithHeather and thought I would use it as inspiration, but I just so loved how she did it that I practically CASE’d (copied) it completely.  I changed it up a bit, but be sure to check out her beautiful creation here. (CASEing is a huge compliment in the stamping world!  And such a great way to get your creative mojo flowing when it is waning) 🙂

I did try it two different ways, one with a purple (Blackberry Bliss) border and one without.  Which way do you prefer?  Clean and Simple (CAS) or with the border?  I should have tried one more version without sponging the edges with the Blackberry Bliss ink and keeping it all white (Very Vanilla) for even more simplicity.

butterfly birthday inside

What I love about this stamp set is it gives you everything in the one set to create a million different versions, colors, and distinctly different (or similar) cards.  Many times I use a number of sets together, but for this it was just this set and the thinlit to cut out the butterfly.  I only used three colors on the front of the card, carried to the inside, and even on the envelope:  Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, and Hello Honey.

butterflly basics envelope

So Happy Friday!  Happy Spring Coming Soon (fingers crossed), and Happy Birthday Aunt Francie, Sarah, and Dawn!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Come On Get Happy

/ Jodi / 10 Comments

hello you thinlits circle framelits so social happy birthday card

A very special little lady reminded this past week that her birthday is coming soon, so I wanted to come up with a fun, unique card for her.

I was inspired by a cute idea I saw done using circle framelits in fun colors with a die cut greeting by Mayuri at Candles in the Garden.  Once I made my card and checked the link to credit, I realized I hadn’t even come close to doing Mayuri’s design justice!  She used a beautiful inlaid technique on her card which I may have to try some time.

For my card, I cut multiple sizes of circles using the StampinUp Circle Framelits and layered them on top of each other on black paper.  I then cut out two layers of the word “happy” from the StampinUp Hello You Thinlit Set.  I covered “happy” with a glossy layer of Crystal Effects to give it a little more pop.  I then stamped “@birthdaygirl” from the StampinUp So Social Stamp set and added a few sequins for embellishment.

For some reason this card reminds me of the song, “Come on Get Happy” with the psychedelic Partridge Family bus colors, and it makes me smile.  (I know – sometimes I’m living in my own little happy place…)  🙂

I hope the birthday girl will enjoy her card.

Happy Friday friends!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Perspective

/ Jodi / 11 Comments

Moon Lake Thoreau What You See

Today is my brother’s birthday, and this is the card I made and sent to him.  He is a purist and likes simple and uncomplicated things.  He is also a deep thinker, so though this card may not be a “stunner” in the creative artistic sense, I think it is perfect for him.

The StampinUp Moon Lake stamp is stamped onto white paper.  I then overlaid it with vellum that I stamped the sentiment on and stitched it to the white (so you can lift it to see the boat and tree clearer – kinda symbolic of the message if you get my drift).  I added a few clear star stickers to embellish just a bit, framed it up with black and then blue card stock and adhered to a white card base.

I’m thinking of my brother today and wishing him a year full of simple, uncomplicated pleasures and happiness.  I love him dearly.

What do you see today?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi