Stamping

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

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

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

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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

Lunchbox Love – Notes for Kids

/ Jodi / 29 Comments

PP261 Cheerful Critters Schoolhouse DSP

Happy Sunday!

It’s time for another Paper Players Design Team inspiration card.  This week’s challenge (PP#261) is a theme challenge:  Lunchbox Love – Notes for Kids.

It is back-to-school time for many, and how sweet is it to put a little note in your child’s lunch box or bag to brighten their day?

I recall writing little notes on napkins or cutting out heart-shaped pieces of papers on occasion when my boys were little.

That time flew by so fast.

My boys are grown, but they still get handmade cards.  And oh how I love when I receive a handmade card from them – even now!

So here is my design team card, and I can’t wait to send it to a sweet little one that needs some encouragement or a congratulations on a job well done.

For this card, I used the StampinUp Cheerful Critters Stamp Set and Schoolhouse Designer Series Paper.  I purposely offset my “framing” to show our kiddos that they don’t have to be perfect or “stay in the lines” (since I obviously didn’t!).  A silver metal button and white baker’s twine bow finished it off.

You know – no matter how old we are – any of us would appreciate a little “lunchbox love” – eh?   I hope this will encourage you to send a little note to someone you love.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

 

Lovely as a Tree

/ Jodi / 28 Comments

PP259 Lovely as a Tree Masculine Birthday Card
It’s Sunday again, and that means design team inspiration for The Paper Players!

This week’s challenge (#PP259) is a sketch challenge, and here is the sketch we were to use to design a card from:

I needed a birthday card this past week for a dear friend who is hitting one of those biggie decade birthdays so thought I would use the design to make his card.

pp259 2

I used my ALL TIME favorite most versatile stamp set in the entire world (I might be exaggerating a teensy bit, but hopefully you get my point).  Lovely as a Tree from StampinUp was one of my very first stamps I bought, and one that I still use often – Winter, Fall, Summer, Christmas, Masculine, Feminine.  Such great versatility.

pp259 3

I think I did pretty good sticking close to the design sketch and like how this birthday card turned out for our special friend.

Play along with us – any of you paper players!  I’d love to see what you design with this sketch.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Let’s Get Beachy

/ Jodi / 58 Comments

PP258 Wetlands Beach Theme

This week’s theme at The Paper Players is to make a “Clean & Simple” Beach-Themed card, so for my #PP258 design team inspiration card, I used a watercolor abstract I had made when I was at the beach recently.

I stamped some cute little seagulls on it from the StampinUp Wetlands Stamp Set.  Then I simply added a black die-cut “hello” greeting, matted the scene in black, and put on a crumb cake card stock.  Voila – a clean and simple “Let’s Get Beachy” card.

PP258 Wetlands Beach Theme

Hope some of you will join us this week at The Paper Players with your interpretation of “Let’s Get Beachy!”

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

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

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