Crafting

A Happy Birthday Money Cake!

/ Jodi / 244 Comments

money birthday cake Jake 27

Monday is my son, Jake’s 27th birthday.

First of all – how did that happen?  Where did the time go?!  I feel like I’m still 27, so how could my “child” be 27?

Anyway – when trying to decide what to get Jake for his birthday, we thought money was what he would appreciate most.

But I hate just writing a check or enclosing money in a card.

I need to be a bit more creative and personal than that.

So here is what I made for Jake.  A birthday money cake!

I think this is a cake even pie lovers would like – right?!

money cake Jake 27

It really was quite simple to make.

The layers are stryofoam discs with rolled dollar bills pinned to them.

I then made a “bow” from a $20, a $5, and two $1 bills to represent 27 years.  The layers are covered with 100 $1 bills.

money cake making

I used an 8″ piece for the bottom “layer,” then two 6″ ones glued together (they were not as high as the others, and I wanted to create more height), and the top is a 4″ piece.

I finished it off with some ribbon and poked 27 candles in too.

money birthday cake Jake 27

So – is Jake going to love it or is he going to want to shoot me for making him work so hard to take it apart to get his money???

I’m guessing the latter, but that makes me smile.  🙂

And I think Colleen will get a kick out of it.

Yep – these are the things I do at

life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Out in the Woods

/ Jodi / 19 Comments

lovely as a tree sympathy baumgartel

I  recently made and sent this card as a sympathy card for dear friends.

I really enjoyed just sponging and layering and creating the background and using one of my all time favorite SU stamp sets, Lovely as a Tree.

When I saw the SUO Challenge this week was Out in the Woods, it seemed a perfect card to enter.  The challenge is to make a card featuring something you’d find out in the woods.

This card also reminded me of our great day at McConnell’s Mills on Sunday out in the woods.

Hope you get to enjoy some time out in the woods or just outdoors wherever you are and whatever season it is in your part of the world.  It’s always good to get fresh air whether warm or cool and enjoy the beauty nature provides us.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

 

Spooky Screamy Happy Halloweeny

/ Jodi / 14 Comments

Since I didn’t get to do any stamping and card making yesterday on #WorldCardmakingDay, I got up early this morning anxious to participate in The Paper Players Halloween Theme Challenge (PP216).  And it sure felt Halloweeny waking up to 49 degrees F outside this morning…

Halloween PP216

I’ve been looking forward to playing with the SU Holiday Home Stamp Set.  So many of the elements are perfect for a Halloween card.  I did some sponging to create the dusk sky, some masking for the moon and house, then some coloring and Wink of Stella.

pp216And this card gave me another excuse to use the Autumn-colored Flower Soft again.

Halloween 2 PP216

I’ve also been looking forward to using the SU Mingle All the Way Halloween sentiment here, so added it to the inside with a few more spooky, screamy bats.

Halloween 3 PP216

I really enjoy playing The Paper Players Challenges.  Such a talented, encouraging design team and lots of creative participants always inspire me.

With our first fire of the season crackling in the fireplace, a nice glass of wine, and rosey cheeks from a fun hiking adventure at McConnell’s Mills this afternoon with my buddy, Janet, this afternoon, I wish you a fun October and  fun Halloweeny times at…

life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

(PS  Looking forward to sharing a fun photo blog with you soon on our trip to McConnell’s Mills!)

 

Happy #WCMD !

/ Jodi / 4 Comments

jillibean youre tweet owl whoo loves youI couldn’t stay away……

I said I wasn’t going to post this weekend….

But I forgot didn’t realize just learned it’s World Card Making Day!

And seriously, with a major holiday like this, how could I not share and post and wish you a Happy #WCMD2014 ?!  🙂

So here’s a cute little fuzzy owl (made with brown flower soft glued to Mr. Owl from with Jillibean’s You’re Tweet Stamp Set.  I added some googly eyes, glossy accent hearts, and used Stampinup DSP, cardstock, ink, and ribbon in Chocolate Chip).  And since it kinda matches the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches FMS156 (maybe a stretch – but what the heck!), I thought I’d enter it there.

Here’s a close-up of Mr Owl.

jillibean youre tweet owl whoo loves you 2

And here is the Freshly Made sketch:

FMS156

And there are contests and challenges I need to enter – like this one here for my stamping friends to try too!

And I get to celebrate being selected as a “Cut Above” at ThePaperPlayers Challenge this week!  Thanks Laurie for choosing my googly-eyed punny tomato card.

Cut Above Badge

So Happy Saturday, Happy Fall, Happy Weekend, and Happy #WCMD2014!

Whooo Loves You?  ME!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Just Some Punny Tomatoes

/ Jodi / 9 Comments

Just some punny tomatoes for The PaperPlayers PP215 Sketch Challenge this week.

I just adore this punny saying and love adding googly eyes to these little tomatoes (#WPlus9 Punny Produce).  I made them in “heirloom” colors – and for some reason this card reminds me of The Brady Bunch (minus a row) 🙂

PP215 WPlus9 Punny Produce Tomatoes2

Here is the sketch to inspire us.

pp215

Happy Friday!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

A Simple Hello

/ Jodi / 8 Comments

My Friend FM179

Sometimes I struggle to keep things “simple.”

In life and in card-making 🙂

When I saw this week’s Friday Mashup, I had to play along.

Especially when I saw Cindy’s Card – she is the queen of clean and simple and beautiful card-making.  (Be sure to check out her site to see more of her creative, beautiful designs:  CindyLeeBeeDesigns)

I couldn’t resist trying the technique (blowing ink through a straw), and in the end, realized my card is not only inspired by Cindy, but ended up looking almost like it.

This technique reminds me of childhood spin-art and the recent melted crayon art trend.  Sometime it’s fun to just see what will happen.

I embossed the “hello” from the SU My Friend Stamp Set in black on vellum, which I “randomly” stitched onto the card.

Here is the FM179 challenge:  Create a project using the Ink Blowing Technique and the colors Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Basic Black.

My Friend FM179 2

A simple Hello My Friends.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

What is Froo-Froo Fussy-Fuss Anyway?

/ Jodi / 5 Comments

Happy Friday!  What a BEAUTIFUL Fall week it has been here in Western PA!

Wetlands Zindorf

Today, I’m sharing a card I’ve made for The Paper Players Challenge (#PP214), but I can’t take credit for the design.  I copied this one from one of my Stampin’ IDOLS, Michelle Zindorf.  You can check out her blog here and her much better version of the card here.  I had fun making it nonetheless.  Thanks, Michelle, for the inspiration.  And thanks, Jaydee, for the challenge.

This week’s challenge was to make a Masculine CAS Design.  I think I got CAS (Clean and Simple) confused with CASE (Copy and Share Everything)!

pp214

Cards for men are always a bit more difficult.  They don’t usually like all the froo-froo fussy-fuss many of us girls like.   🙂   Michelle did some brayering when she made her card.  I just sponged my colors on.   It was actually quite a quick and easy card to make using the SU Wetlands stamp set.  I added the taller grass, extended the ground, made the transition into the “ocean” a bit softer, and gave it an olive green background to be a bit different.

And while I’m sharing cards, here are two I made at “card class” this week with one of my other Stamping Idols and mentor Stacey Ailes.

boot and bandana

I had so much fun making this boot and bandana card.  Especially the bandana – which was started from scratch on a red piece of card stock, randomly stamped in black, then the most fun part of doodling in white.

en francais maple glow

It was fun to make this Fall-colored card look like it is “glowing.”

Check out Stacey’s blog here.  She is one very talented, creative lady – and an even sweeter friend! Her card is even more exquisite with an embossed gold maple leaf and framed in tiny pearls.

You can find instructions for both of these cards on her site.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Hope your weekend is just as you like it – froo-froo fussy-fuss or clean and simple!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

 

Longing for a Happy Ending

/ Jodi / 11 Comments

love

#Writing101 Challenge Day 5:  Be Brief

You discover a letter on a path that affects you deeply. Today, write about this encounter. And your twist? Be as succinct as possible.

————————————————————————

Well – of course its a love letter 🙂 …………
Bear with me, friends, on a fiction challenge.

————————————————————————

It was just like any other Friday morning in September.

Mikey and I were on our morning walk.

The sun was bright, the breeze light, the air crisp, and the crickets chirped their Autumn lullaby.

Mikey saw it first – or most likely smelled it first, and he tugged on the leash I was leisurely holding.

“What now,” I thought.

Then I saw it.

I couldn’t resist picking it up.

I unfolded the tattered composition paper that was tucked into the torn and faded yellowing envelope.

“My Dearest Love,” it began.

“I miss you more than the number of stars in the sky.  I miss you deeper than the depths of the sea.  The only thing that makes this time away from you bearable, is knowing that you are there, waiting for me, praying for me, longing for me – as I long for you.  I am the most fortunate man in the entire universe, because I know in my heart that you are…..”

The page was torn.  The rest of the story is lost – – – lost in time, lost in space.

Maybe it belongs to one of our neighbors.

Or maybe it has traveled for hundreds or thousands of miles – floating through the winds of time.

Mikey and I will never know.

He trudges ahead, sniffing and searching for the next treasure.

I smile and wonder…. imagining…. dreaming…. hoping….  longing…. for a happy ending.

love 2

(The card pictured here was designed for The Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge PPA213.  The challenge was to use:  Blackberry Bliss, Brown Sugar, Cajun Craze, and Always Artichoke.)

The thing I love most about it is the tiny gold embossed hearts amidst the plethora of random dots.  It’s like the hidden treasure – in the mass of chaos.

Kind of like life…

pp213

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

I love you from my head tomatoes

/ Jodi / 18 Comments

wplus9 punny produce tomatoes

I love this punny saying, and had so much fun making this card.  I couldn’t wait to share how cute it turned out.

When I saw Challenge #85 on the MUSE Challenge site, I thought this card was a good match.

For the MUSE Challenge, participants are provided with a photo to be inspired from and are asked to explain their interpretation.

Here is the inspiration card:

muse85

My tomatoes are placed in a similar position as the flowers in the muse challenge card.  It is also similar in its Clean and Simple (CAS) approach with plenty of white/blank space surrounding the featured image.  The flowers have leaves – the tomatoes sport stems.  Both cards have a similar font for the sentiment.

My inspiration for this card came from seeing Maureen Merritt at Mama Mo Stamp’s cute version of adding googly eyes to the tomatoes.

wplus9 punny produce tomatoes2

As we approach the end of fresh tomato season here in Western Pennsylvania, I thought it only appropriate to share this punny produce…

and let you know I love you from my head   TO – MA – TOES!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

PS  #Writing101 to continue later due to work travel schedule

Gearing up… for Fall & #Writing101

/ Jodi / 28 Comments

white christmas fall hello ppa219

I know – for all of you literalists out there – it’s not officially Fall until September 22 (at 10:29pm)  – (remember – we already talked about this here?!) – still 8 more days of “Summer.”

But will you indulge me to share one more Fall card – BEFORE it’s officially Fall??

I had so much fun on Saturday just “goofing around” at home.  We had no plans this weekend, and I told Marty I just wanted to “craft,” especially since the weather was so Fall-like.  🙂

I made a few cards, and I wanted to share this one that I made for the Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge (PPA219). 

PPA219

The challenge was to use these three colors:  Crushed Curry, Always Artichoke, and Cajun Craze (Fall colors – right?!)

I used the SU White Christmas stamp for the trees and sponged a combination of only the three challenge colors to create other hues of oranges through blending.  I used the fun Flower-Soft again for the Fall leaves and a Wplus9 framelit for the “hello” greeting.

I’m really happy with how the card turned out, and its vibrant colors are helping me in my quest to embrace Fall!

white christmas fall hello ppa219 2

Tomorrow I begin a WordPress #Writing101 Challenge.  It will be a 30-day challenge that provides a daily topic and a twist to the topic to challenge a blogger’s creative thinking and writing.  I’m looking forward to sharing with all of you.  Not sure where this will take us, but glad to have you along for the journey!

Another new adventure at life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi