Better Late Than Never!

I am playing catch-up and will have several posts for your viewing pleasure today. ;) I THOUGHT today was the 29th... and well... after getting to work yesterday, I realized that my mental calendar was a little wonky. :) So... even though all of the other girls posted their JiFFy post yesterday, I'm bringing in the caboose today. If you're new to my blog, a group of my stamping buddies & I get together once a month Just For Fun (hence the term 'JiFFy') and create a project using the same stamps & paper.

This month, Kim sent us a package of the CUTEST paper (Crate Paper's 'Little Sprout') & paired it with Carole's pick - MFT's Cuddle Up Carter. The Carter images are based off of Carole's son, who happens to have Cerebral Palsy. You can read Carole's wonderful blog entry to learn more about Carter and his diagnosis here. Kim, the owner of MFT, is generously donating $2 from the sale of each Cuddle Up Carter set to the Europed's organization !

Here is my little carter, all dressed in his jammies and slippers. I think keep this card on hand for when one of my little guys gets a frog in their throat. :) I traced the blanket image onto green felt and stitched it in place.

Make sure to check out the other Jiffy Girls' challenge cards (unless you already did that YESTERDAY). ;) I can't wait to take a look myself! (I didn't want to peek until my card was finished.) Have a good one!!!

Lori Craig, Alli Miles, Carole Burrage, Kim Hughes and Michele Boyer

Just For Fun

Hey everyone! I wasn't sure if today's post would make it to my blog or not! My internet service keeps going in and out (mostly out)... but is scheduled to be fixed SOON! Yeah! :)

I'm super excited today because a group of my favorite stamping friends have started a monthly "get-together" --- a Just For Fun (JFF) Challenge! Each month, one of the girls sends out some fun patterned paper to each of us... and another girl selects a stamp for us to use. Since the paper/stamps are selected on the down low, it's fun to see what kind of combination we end up with. And.... I can't WAIT to see everyone's different versions. :)

This month, Carole sent us this fun heart print paper from American Crafts to use. I've been dying to get my hands on this Whiff of Joy image too (Willow with Hot Chocolate) so this was a great excuse to finally take the plunge and buy it. :)

I've been saving this pair of brown corduroy pants that my son use to wear (the snap broke) & wanted to try to cut it out with my Nestabilities dies. I tried over and over and couldn't get it to cut... but it did leave a nice smashed outline - so I trimmed it with my scissors & it worked just fine. I love putting fabric on my cards. It's a cheap, unique way to add texture! :)

The sentiment is from Kim Hughes' Hugs & Kisses set. I thought it was made for this image and paper combo! :)

I colored Willow with my go-to tool (Copics). I have a cool tip for you Copic lovers! If you have a bottle of Copic Blending Solution (the stuff that goes inside of the 0 Blending Pen), try dipping a tiny paint brush in it and using it to highlight your colored images. It's easier to control than the Blending Pen and you can customize how much blending solution you want to add.

To get a little more texture, try dipping a small gauze into the blending solution and dabbing onto your colored project. The first thing I colored on my image was Willow's green sweater. If you look closely, you can see the texture this technique produced. I would recommed not coloring anything else on your project until you're finished with the gauze/solution because it's easy to make everything surrounding it textured too.



Thanks for joining me for my first JFF Challenge! Make sure you check out the other girls' blogs to see what they came up with!!! :)



Carole Burrage

Michele Boyer

Alli Miles

Lori Craig



SUPPLIES:

Stamps:

- Willow with Hot Chocolate (Whiff of Joy)

- Hugs & Kisses (Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ink:

- Timber Brown Stazon, Onyx Black Versafine (Tsukineko)

Cardstock:

- Coredinations

- Spring Willow Medium, Suede Brown Dark, Simply Smooth White (Prism)

Printed Paper:

- "Hey There" Everyday Line (American Crafts)

Accessories:

- Copic Markers

- brads: Aged Copped Hodge Podge Hardware (SU)

- Heart XL Ghost Shape (Heidi Swapp)

- Aqua satin ribbon (Michaels)

- Creative Cafe green felt ribbon

- Stardust Gelly Roll pen (Sakura)

- Oval Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)
- Corduroy

Tools:

- Sewing machine