card

Anchors, Knots, and Easy Faux Enamel Dots

/ Jodi / 32 Comments

PP256 Square Nautical Hope Anchors the Soul

This week’s Paper Player’s Challenge is to make a square card.

pp256

So I created this card for my design team inspiration card that I sent to a special guy who has just completed a very important milestone with lots of hope for continued health and happiness.  He is a guy full of hope to anchor his soul and one who embraces life more than anyone I know.

faux enamel dots

It was fun layering on designer series paper and gold netting, embossing, and knotting, and creating fun faux enamel dots.

faux enamel dot close up

They are so easy to make, and you can create so many fun shapes and colors and designs.  I simply cut some paper with my Stampinup Owl punch that has a variety of circle sizes and a heart, laid them on a piece of wax paper, and put a “dollop” squeeze of Stampinup’s Crystal Effects on to dry for several hours.  After they are dry, any excess can be snipped off with scissors, and you are left with beautiful little dots and button-type accents.   I’ve featured them here before also.

The sentiment is from Neat & Tangled.  I love this simple, inexpensive stamp that I have featured before (in fact about a year ago here).

Hope my cardmaking, creative, artistic friends will join us at The Paper Players Challenge #PP256 this week!  All “Hip to be Square” cards are warmly welcomed!

(And “Oh Rob” – hope you feel all the love I put into this card just for you! <3)

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Don’t play with your vegetables

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vegetable card radishes

Remember being told to not play with your vegetables as a child at the dinner table?

I’m still playing with my veggies – watercolor painting these days – just for kicks.

Aren’t the radishes radishing?!

Certainly not some of my finest art work, but fun nonetheless.

vegetable card green onions

I had some scraps of paper and the urge to continue after recently painting my Lazuli Bunting, but was obviously getting a bit tired and punchy by the time I got to the green onions and carrots.

vegetable card carrots

Maybe I should stick to cooking and eating my veggies.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Watercolor Lazuli Bunting

/ Jodi / 18 Comments

lazuli bunting

I am a bit obsessed with watercolor lately…

My youngest son told my oldest son last week when he was over – “Paint, paint, paint – not so many cookies being baked around here – Mom’s too busy painting!”

Of course they were teasing – like they constantly do to me…  (I’ve come to realize it is their way of expressing their love – at least that is what I’ve convinced myself of to maintain sanity!)

But – I do become a bit obsessed with things… (and I am on vacation this week, so scheduled a few posts ahead)

So – when I recently posted my Papa Cardinal watercolor, a sweet blogger friend, Deborah @ CircadianReflections commented how lovely it was and how she wished cardinals were in her area of the world.

I asked Deborah what her favorite was.

When she commented it was a Lazuli Bunting….
I had no idea.
So I Googled,
and I feel in love with this precious little blue bird.

So here is my interpretation of this beautiful little bird that graces the West Coast of the United States…
but not Mars.

Hope it does a teensy bit of justice to this glorious creature.
Thanks for sharing with me Deborah!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Here’s Looking at You

/ Jodi / 23 Comments

PP254 Frames

Hi All – I am on a little vacation this week.  A fun trip to the beach with some girlfriends from GFC (Girlfriend Camp).

I thought it would be fun to send Hubby a little card while I am gone to let him know I miss him.

pp254 inside

The challenge this week at The Paper Players is to make a CAS (Clean and Simple) Card with the theme: “Frames.”

The first thing I thought of was glass frames as Hubby and I are at that fun stage in life where we are always looking for our reading glasses and/or sharing each others.

pp254 frames close up

And… After 33 years, my heart still does stop and skip a beat when he looks at me.  ❤

Hence the design for this week’s Paper Players Design Team Inspiration Card.

Here’s what I used and how I made it.

Card Recipe/Ingredients:

I simly drew and watercolored a heart on a piece of watercolor paper, splattered it a bit, and stamped the sentiment on with Stazon JetBlack Ink.

I then die cut the glasses out and put a thin layer of Crystal Accents for a glossy accent on them.  When that dried, I adhered it with small glue dots, and assembled the layers on the card.

I added a little line heart on the inside from StampinUp’s Hello Life Stamp Set.

So – Here’s looking at you, Merv.  And if you look back, I might wink.  😉

Cheers and Hugs,

Jodi

A Pork Chop in Every Bottle of Beer

/ Jodi / 9 Comments

watercolor pork chop in every bottle of beer

So we have a friend…

We’ll call him “Rodney,” because – hey – his name IS Rodney.

Rodney’s 60th birthday was this past week, and he is one of our buddies at our local “Cheers” here in Mars called “John’s Bar.”

John’s Bar is hubby’s and my Thursday night date most weeks, and we have a gang of regular buddies we hang out with.

Rodney is one of them.

Rodney has a secret to maintaining his “girlish” figure – – – and I daresay he is quite a good looking boy for his ripe ole’ age of 60.

Rodney’s drink of choice is beer.  Lite Beer.  Coors Light Beer.

Sometimes beer is his dinner.

Because you see Rodney’s philosophy is “there is a pork chop in every bottle.”

rodney birthday card pork chop in every bottle of beer

So I made this silly little fun watercolor card for Rodney’s birthday.

watercolor pork chop in every bottle of beer 2

Of course this is all in jest.  Rodney usually has a nourishing meal to go with his pork chop.   

Happy Birthday Dear Rodney!  Love ya Buddy!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

A Happy Thing – Forever and for all Eternity

/ Jodi / 19 Comments

A Happy Thing Forever and for all Eternity

Happy Sunday Friends!  Time to share my design inspiration for The Paper Players Challenge this week.

This week is a color challenge (PP253) with these cool colors.

pp253

My card today is a special one, because it is an anniversary card for my oldest son and daughter-in-law who are celebrating their 2nd wedding anniversary tomorrow.

So hard to believe it has been two years already in one breath…  And then funny to think it is only two years as I feel like Colleen has been my daughter-in-law forever.  🙂

For my card, I used the StampinUp Happy Thing Stamp Set for the bird and Paper Smooches Pretty Phrases for the sentiment.  Some pretty colored paper and DSP from StampinUp, a little bit of watercoloring, a few candy dot embellishments, and a tiny bow of linen thread completed this card for our two happy lovebirds.

Happy Anniversary dear Jake and Colleen… forever and for all eternity!

I couldn’t love you any more… forever and for all eternity.

Love,
Mom

Papa Cardinal in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 48 Comments

watercolor cardinal

I had fun painting Papa Cardinal in watercolor this week in celebration of my Three Month Watercoloriversary!  (How do you like that made up word?!)

It’s been three months since I first ventured into the world of watercolor and shared my very first watercolor on April 4, 2015.

I think I am making some improvements, and I KNOW I still have a long way to go, but oh what a fun journey it is.  I’ve been trying to paint at least one thing a week.

Thanks to Laura @ CreateArtEveryday for initially nudging me out of the nest and encouraging me every day to continue, and thanks to all the other great artistic bloggers and family and friends who have really encouraged and supported me.  This is something three and half months ago I wouldn’t have even ventured at.  I would have told you I could barely draw a stick figure.

papa cardinalI used this photo of Papa Cardinal at the feeder in our backyard as my pose of choice to roughly draw the shape.  I then took LOTS of artistic license in creating an artsy version of him.    Because – hey – if I wanted him to look exactly like the photo – what’s the point?  Just take the photo – right?  (or maybe that’s my excuse…)  I put him on a branch instead of the feeder, because the feeder totally detracts from his handsomeness.  And then I spiked his hair a bit too to spiff him up.

We have several cardinal families hanging out here in our backyard here in Mars.  Maybe I’ll venture to draw Momma or Baby soon.  Baby is pretty grown up and there are other new kids now too.

Oh what a bird nerd I have become!  Thanks for visiting, and happy weekend – enjoy doing things you love with those you love – at life in between!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Painting Pairs of Pears

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pear purple watercolor

I’ve been wanting to watercolor pears…

They seem like a fun loose subject, so I decided to give them a try one evening this past week.

I started with this purple one – because…

why not?!!?!

Then I did this more realistic colored one in golds and brown tones.

 

pear golden watercolor

After painting that pair, I was still enjoying, and wanted to be even more creative, so I decided to try one in patriotic colors of red, white, and blue.  For the “white,” I used frisket to mask, and peeled it off when dry.

 

pear red white and blue

Then I wanted to do one even more colorful and looser, so I did this rainbow pear.  A little out there – eh?!?

pear rainbow watercolor

It was fun to take the same basic shape and make so many different images with it.

Yep – painting pairs of pears is what I do…

at

life in between.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Four Seasons of Sheltering Tree

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

Sheltering Tree Summer Notecard Brusho

It’s Sunday, and that means it’s time for another Guest Designer Inspiration Card for The Paper Players Challenge.

This week’s theme challenge is “The Great Outdoors” for PP252.

pp252
When I think of outdoors, I think of trees.  And when I think of trees, I adore how different they look in all four seasons (at least where we live here in Mars).

Sheltering Tree Fall Notecard Brusho

So I heat embossed an “empty” tree from the StampinUp Sheltering Tree Stamp Set with Early Espresso (Dark Brown) embossing powder onto four pieces of watercolor paper.

Sheltering Tree Winter Notecard Brusho

I then broke out the Brusho Crystal Colours again and sprinkled and spritzed different colors onto each tree to represent, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring.

Sheltering Tree Spring Notecard Brusho

I backed each tree with a piece of Early Espresso card stock and then adhered to Very Vanilla for the card base.

I stamped some fun sentiments from the Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler to make them into basic notecards.

Doesn’t it make a fun set?

Hope you are enjoying whatever season you are in!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

So Sweet

/ Jodi / 26 Comments

pp251

I have always loved mailing cards to family and friends.  It is such a simple way to bring such great joy.

Who doesn’t love receiving a special card or note in the mail amidst all the bills and “junk?”

Electronic communication is quicker and easier and more immediate (and I am all about that!), but knowing that someone took the time to choose, or even better yet make a special card, hand write a note, address the envelope, adhere postage, and take to the mailbox or post office, is quite flattering – right?

My BFF Jill makes the most amazing handmade cards, and I am always so thrilled when I find an envelope in the mail with her handwriting on the envelope.

I hope people feel that way when they receive a card from me.

I hope they feel the love.

I hope they appreciate the time and effort.

I hope it makes them feel special.

That is why it is such a thrill for me to be a Guest Designer for the Design Team at The Paper Players and make a card each week to inspire others to create and share this joy.

pp251 sketch challenge

This week’s challenge is a sketch challenge based on the photo above.  We get to make whatever we want that closely resembles this sketch inspiration.

pp251 inside

I used this as an opportunity to create a “thank you” card.

There are so many people I could send this card to….

I truly believe one of the best ways to feel gratitude is to think of all the special sweet things people do that “make your day.”

It doesn’t have to be something big…

It could be a stranger’s smile…

a word of encouragement…

a compliment…

a gesture of kindness…

The happiest people are those that see and appreciate these cherished moments.

It is so good for the soul to take time to realize these sweet gestures, and even grander when you have the opportunity to reciprocate or give thanks and appreciate.

pp251 flat

So I will look forward to sending this card to a special sweet someone who made my day.

And I hope I’ve inspired you in a small way to show gratitude, appreciate kindness, and cherish the moments.

I used the following materials to create this card:

  • StampinUp Hello Life Stamp Set, Best Day Ever Stamp Set, Bloom with Hope Stamp Set
  • StampinUp Whisper White, Black and Gray Card Stock and Timeless Elegance Designer Series Paper
  • Sakura Koi Water color paint for flower
  • Pearl Embellishments

Wishing you a Sweet Day!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi