card

Happy Birday

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

Happy Birday whimsical bird

Once a month, a group of us bloggers celebrate Bird Day – draw a bird, paint a bird, photograph a bird….. on the 8th of the month.  So Happy Bird Day!

I was having fun with it this month and wanted to send our special hostess, Laura, at CreateArtEveryday a belated birthday card.  Since I missed it last week, this one is belated for her birthday, but just in time for “birday!”  This one was inspired by the amazing whimsical artistry of stressiecat.

Then I saw a cute little drawing of some simple birds on Pinterest that inspired the little card below that I sent to my BFF Jill in honor of some big news in our families that she is going to be a first-time grandma.  We are SO excited!

a little birdie told me card

This last one was a struggle, and I need to try again. I saw a tutorial of a watercolor robin done by Welsh artist Alison Fennell.  I’ll have to keep working on the robin!

robin watercolor card

So Happy #BirdDay!  Enjoy the birds that are around you – whether real, drawn, painted, or photographed – and chirp, tweet and sing, because tomorrow is Friday!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

#DrawaBirdDay

Spooky, Screamy, Happy Halloweeny

/ Jodi / 27 Comments

pp265 halloween sheltering tree flower soft

This week’s theme for The Paper Players Challenge (PP265) is Halloween.

PP265 flat

I decided to break out the FlowerSoft for this week’s Design Team Inspiration card.  It makes such a fun textured Fall tree with lots of Halloweeny colors.

PP265 inside

Here is the fun sentiment on the inside.

My card isn’t very spooky or screamy, but hopefully it is happy halloweeny!

I gave a quick swoosh of green for the grass and blue for the sky in watercolor paint, then stamped the rest.

Here are the “ingredients” I used to make this card:

  • StampinUp (SU) Sheltering Tree Stamp Set
  • SU Holiday Home Stamp Set (Pumpkins and Ghosts and outside sentiment)
  • SU Mingle All the Way Stamp Set (Inside sentiment)
  • Inks:  SU Early Esperesso, Pumpkin, and Stazon Black
  • FlowerSoft Autumn Mix adhered with Tombow Mono Multi Glue
  • Early Espresso and Pumpkin SU Card Stock

Hope you are getting ready for a spooky, screamy, happy Halloweeny, and hope my paper crafting friends will join our challenge this week at The Paper Players!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Nothing is Ordinary

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

celebrate today and everyday watercolor leaf card nothing is ordinary

Celebrate Today….  and EVERYday!
Happy Friday my LifeinBetween Friends!

Last night, Hubby and I went to John’s Bar for our usual Thursday night date.  We had a couple drinks and dinner and were home in time to watch the Steelers football game.  After playing a little fetch with Mr. Charlie outside, I realized I didn’t have a post for today.  Of course I was looking forward to today being Friday (though this week sure did fly!), and I wondered what I wanted to say for a Happy Friday message…

While in the office for some meetings this morning, I noticed some beautiful new watercolor prints that were hanging on the wall that were added during a recent remodel, and I fell in love with them.  They were extremely simple, yet so mesmerizing and delicate and impactful.

I thought to myself, “I could do that!”

Well – it wasn’t as easy as I thought…..

As many of my fellow watercolor artist friends out there know, restraint is key, yet often oh-so-hard to achieve – especially for us beginners.

But I literally only spent about 10 minutes start to finish on this card, and I kinda like how it turned out.  I free formed the leaf with watercolor and brush, splattered a few fall-colored splashes, and then stamped the sentiment on top.

Nothing is ordinary.

Every leaf…
every watercolor painting…
every day….
every person….
has something special about it.
Embrace it, friends.
Cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Paper Smooches Pretty Phrases Stamp & Stazon Ink
M Graham Watercolors in Sap Green, Quinacridone Red, Nickel Quinacridone Gold
Arches 140lb Coldpress Watercolor Paper
StampinUp Very Vanilla Cardstock

Autumn Leaf

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

leaf watercolor 1

One Autumn leaf inspired me to create a little painting that closely replicated it in watercolor.

But then I decided to go a little free form and make it whatever color I wanted.

leaf watercolor 2

And then another color.

leaf watercolor 3

And then a little different shape…


leaf watercolor 4

All from one Autumn leaf picked up on a walk back from the mailbox.

The simple, smallest things that can create such joy…

Cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

A Paper Players Sketch Challenge with Hugs

/ Jodi / 33 Comments

PP264 Too Kind Hugs

As a guest designer for The Paper Players, I think Sketch Challenges are my favorite.  (I love a good color or theme challenge too!  – – – Heck – I guess I just love a paper challenge – eh?!)

This week, Claire presented us with this sketch for PP264 that I really fell in love with, so my card is pretty true to the sketch.

I haven’t used the StampinUp “Too Kind” flower stamp in a while.  I love it’s versatility and layers, so I did it in Autumn pumpkiny colors to pop off the black and (very vanilla) white background of the rest of the card.

pp264 too kind hugs flat

What would you do with this sketch challenge?  Join us!  I’d love to see your interpretation and creative expression of this sketch.

For my card, I used the following “ingredients:”

  • Stampinup (SU) Black and Very Vanilla Card Stock
  • SU Typeset Specialty DSP
  • SU Inks in:  Pumpkin, Tangelo Twist, Tangerine Tango, Mossy Meadow
  • Memento Black Ink
  • SU Too Kind Stamp Set
  • Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler Stamp (Hugs)
  • SU metal button
  • Black and White Bakers Twine
  • SU Adorning Accents Edgelit
  • Black Script Washi Tape

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Autumn Trees – to doodle or not to doodle

/ Jodi / 49 Comments

autumn trees watercolor doodle card

Happy First Day of Fall!

The other day – as I continue to convince myself how much I love Fall (and it really is happening!) I dabbled with a couple abstract watercolors of Autumn trees.  One I “doodled” up and the other I didn’t.

autumn trees watercolor card

Interesting what a different effect it gives.  And more interesting – I kind of like both.  (what do you think of that Charlie O and Laura!?!?)

So I asked my guys that evening, “Which do you like better?”

Hubby picked one… and my son, Nick, picked the other.

I knew that was going to happen!

Which one do you pick?

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Warm Thoughts of Fall Card

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

PP263 Fall CAS Challenge

This Wednesday, September 23, 2015 is the first day of Fall – the Autumnal Equinox – here in Mars and the rest of us in the Northern Hemisphere, so Happy Fall Y’All!

And this week’s Paper Player’s Challenge (#PP263) is to “Create a Fall Scene.”

PP263 Fall CAS Challenge 2

I’ve been having warm thoughts of Fall as this past week has to have been the most gorgeous ever that I can recall in recent history.  Seriously amazing here in Mars!  Crisp, cool mornings and evenings, pure blue sunny, sunshiney days, and NO humidity!  The birds seem happy, Charlie is in his glory, the windows and doors are wide open, and I even got hubby to sit out on the deck with me a little bit!

I am cherishing these glorious Fall moments!

For my Paper Players Design Team Inspiration card this week, I used:

Hope my paper crafting friends will join our challenge, and those who aren’t just enjoy the warm thoughts I send with this card and post!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

/ Jodi / 35 Comments

Fall Leave Doodlewash Watercolor Card 091315

Like the beautiful leaves of Autumn…

each unique

individual

and beautiful in their own way…

Fall Leaf Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful Watercolor Card

Be your own kind of Beautiful.

Wouldn’t want you any other way!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

A Color Challenge Card for The Paper Players

/ Jodi / 56 Comments

PP262 Wplus9 Hello Die Cut

This week’s Paper Players Challenge (#262) is a color challenge rich with Fall colors – Tangelo Twist, Lost Lagoon, and So Saffron.

For my design team inspiration card this week, I stamped the three colors randomly onto an acrylic block, spritzed it was a light mist of water, and then placed my paper on top to transfer the abstract image.

Once dry, I added a simple wreath of twine,  a black die-cut ‘hello’ sentiment, and finished it off with a few coordinating sequins.

PP262 Wplus9 Hello Die Cut 2

I matted this with black onto white card stock to create my simple Fall color-inspired greeting card.

For those that remember the wedding card I posted last week, this is the other card I mentioned that would feature the twine wreath.

Hope my paper crafting friends will join us with your creativity for this week’s color challenge at The Paper Players!  We love seeing what you do with it.

Cheers and Hugs,

Jodi

A Sprinkling Can Doodle Wash

/ Jodi / 31 Comments

sprinkling can watercolor card

Today I am celebrating my dear, sweet Joyce.

Today is her birthday, and I made this little card for her that I hope she receives in time!  (Yikes – just sent yesterday – so she may see it here before she gets it in the mail!)

Joyce is my second cousin by family, but she is also one of my dearest friends by choice.  She and her adorable hubby, “Oh Rob,” are some of our besties for so many reasons.

Joyce and Rob are true inspirations in the way they live their lives.  They truly CELEBRATE life!

They are creative and soulful and kind to others.

They are respectful of the environment.

They are generous with their time and money and gifts.

They are teachers, and they also love to learn.

They share their home (and their friends) in a way like no others.

They cook and preserve and eat with gusto!

They have open minds and open ears and open hearts.

They give REAL hugs – the kind where you really squeeze and hang on like you might not have another chance and like you really, genuinely mean it!  And they give kisses too – right on the lips!

And they have helped me through a lot of “stuff.”  (you know that kind of stuff we all have but don’t always talk about…)  Joyce and her family really helped me get through a tough time and period in my life, and for that, I will be forever grateful.

It’s funny how a post about Joyce turned into one about Joyce and Oh Rob…. but they are such a perfect pair and complement each other so beautifully, it is hard to  think of one without thinking of the other.  And that is a compliment and tribute to their marriage and the kind of people they are.

So please join in in wishing one of the world’s best a best birthday!

Joyce is, among so many other things, an avid gardener, so her card is a little “doodlewash” of a sprinkling can that I was inspired to do from a painting I saw by an amazing artist that I want to learn more from, RoseAnn Hayes.  Joyce is also an amazing watercolor artist, so I hesitate to even send my humble, feeble attempt to her, but she will love it anyway just because it was handmade for her from me.  🙂

On the inside, I wrote:

Thank you for sprinkling my soul with your kindness
and feeding my heart with your love.
You have helped me to blossom.

Wishing you the happiest of birthdays with lots of love, my Joyce!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi