A fun blog hop!

I don't usually post twice in one day but my friend Wendy at Gilby's Craftster is part of a blog hop and I thought you might like to hop along.  Here is where is starts and Wendy is along the way!  Say "Hi" to them for me :)
Blessings,
Jana

Freebie Friday a Day Late :0)

Well, last week was a wild one and I thought for once I was gonna have my act together but apparently not!  I am just now getting my post done for yesterday!  Oh well, at least it is done.

It's Freebie Friday at Jen's Digi Stamps Blog and it is a cutie!  I used the stamp to make an ornament.  I printed it two times, one I flipped then colored them both.  Then I just added a bow, wire for the antennae and a string to hang it.  When I glued them back-to-back I made sure not to glue the wings together so that I could separate them so it looked like he was flying.

 I have a little tip for projects that you color then cut out.  Try to cut right on the black out line then after you are finished cutting, take your black marker and lay it on the side of the cut and run it along side the cut edge.  That will make the white edges black and it helps cover up your cutting mistakes!  I do this with all my cuts.
I hope you enjoy the little critter.

I wanted to also remind you that the image is still available on the blog.  All you have to do is right click on it and choose "save image..." and choose where you will store it on your computer then you can insert it into a blank document and print it out any size you want!

I thought it would be neat for teachers to add it onto notes home or on worksheets or even make cute little Christmas cards for their students.  Just a few of many ideas I am sure you can come up with!
I hope you are enjoying a relaxing Saturday.
Blessings,
Jana

Polka Dot Challenge

Today is challenge day at Jen's Digi Stamps.  If you go to her blog then you can read about the challenge, link up your project for a chance to win a prize and see what the other design team members have created.  This is my project for the Polka Dot Challenge.  now I have to say, I am disappointed in myself.  I LOVE polka dots.  Polka Dots on anything and everything!!!  And LOTS of them!  But I fell a little flat on this one because I was trying to create a different type of card.  It is a spinner card.

 I bought a new book at Michael's that was on clearance called Interactive Cards by Tanya Fox.  It is an "Annie's Attic" book.  If you google spinner card, you can find directions to make them.  It is really quite easy and fun. The sentiment was stamped with one of K. Andrew Designs stamp sets called "Winter Wishes".  It is a mix-n-match set so there are a ton of uses for it.  Plus I really like buying from her because she donates to great charities with every single stamp set purchased.  Great girl!

 I used one of Jen's Digi Stamps and after coloring it, I cut it out and apart so there were two pieces, the puppy and the snowman.  Since the puppy has swiped the snowman's arm, I thought it would be funny if her were to "grab it and run!"  So the slider come in to play.

BTW, the inspiration for the coloring on the puppy was my dog Tiki.  Cutie pie!!!

Anyway, back to the project.....The puppy is attached to a penny that is stacked on a foam pop dot and then stuck to another penny.  When you tilt the card, the puppy spins across it with the snowman's arm trying to "get away"!  It cracked me up.  I need to make videos so I can show you how these work.  Maybe I will try one some day.  There are so many out there, not sure why I would want to compete but it might be kind of fun.

So how is this a challenge you ask?  You are challenged to create a project using polka dots!  Easy peesy!  Then just head over to Jen's blog and link it up for a chance to win.  It's very simple indeed!  I hope you will choose to play along.  If not, at least check out the other projects that our design team has posted on Jen's blog, they are very cute!

I have entered my card in a number of other challenges also - check out these challenge blogs:
foreverfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.com
4craftychicks.blogspot.com
ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.com
ooh-la-la-creationschallenges.blogspot.com
Have fun!
Blessings,
Jana

Freebie Friday

Hey Everyone!
It's Freebie Friday again!  I am really beginning to enjoy coloring the digi stamps.  At first it was stressful but I think I am getting the hang of it.  Now just to learn new tips and tricks.  BTW, YouTube is great for learning how to use your Copics.  So here is the card I made with the free digi stamp from Jen's Digi Stamps.

 I thought she turned out cute!  I really like the way her puppy turned out.  I am about to wear out my colorless blender cleaning up mistakes and trying to make things look highlighted and well blended but I hope that is going to get better.  I bought a refill for it today :)

I used my Cuttlebug embossing folders on it to give it texture since the papers were such soft colors.  The snowflake charms came out of my stash.  No idea where I got them.  Then I just used some pastel blue ink to ink the outside edges of the white card base.  I hope you are a little inspired!
Thanks for stopping by!
Blessings,
Jana

Dash and Friends Altered Cricut Box

Today is new release day at Jen's Digi Stamps.  These digis are so cute.  They feature a cutie pie named "Dash" and a few of his buggy friends.  Check out the other projects from the design team at Jen's Digi Stamps Blog.

Today I am posting the second altered Cricut box that I have made as a gift.  I have no idea who this one is for, it would have to be someone that is fun and has a sense of humor, don't you think?  If you want directions on how to cover these boxes, check my previous post, I have the measurements and everything to make your job easier.

 Here is the view from the top of the box.  Isn't Dash adorable!  He made me smile.  That is why the flower in the top right corner is stamped with a cute little "smile" stamp from K. Andrew Designs.  Her stamps are great!  You can link to her blog "Getting Crickiy" from her stamp store.

 Here is a close up of the handsome Dash.  I used some craft wire to give him some green antennae.  He just makes me want to giggle :)

 Most of the flowers were cut with my Flower Shoppe cartridge.  Love it!!!  The others were just from my paper flower stash.  I love using lots of flowers.  Can you tell?

Here are the note cards and matching envelopes.  The envelopes are cut from Just Because Cards and the flowers on the cards from Mother's Day Bouquet.  I hope you enjoyed the project for today and stop on over at Jen's a pick up a few designs of your own!
Blessings,
Jana

Altered Cricut Cartridge Box

Hi Everyone!
Thanks for stopping by today.  Last Saturday, me, my mom, my sister-in-law and my bestie Cindy spent the day together crafting.  The idea was that we would make Christmas presents.  Tonya, my SSIL made the CUTEST mini album from black envelopes (I should have her teach you how :)  Are you reading this Tonya!!!  My mom made cards, which she does a LOT and Cindy worked on the prettiest magnetic calendars made using the flat floral marbles.  Maybe I can get her to share a picture with us sometime.  Well, I decided it was time to learn how to alter Cricut boxes.  I have enough to give to people for years in one form or another!!!!  It took all day to figure it out and work out the details but here is the one that I completed.

The papers are from a Leaving Prints kit and the stamp is from K. Andrew Designs, Positive Thoughts set. I like her stamps because she donates to charities on every set she sells.  Nice girl! 

Before I started I sanded all of the edges because the cover of the box is slick.  I read on another blog that this is important, and IT IS!!!  Then I just used brown acrylic paint to paint all of the edges.  This is messy and time consuming but necessary.  I have made a lot of altered things that I wrap the paper around the edges and it is not always pretty so this time I tried this and I like the way it looks. 

 I made all of the flowers with the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  It was the first time using this cartridge and I love it.  The only thing is you have to experiment a lot to get the layers to all fit together nicely.  Not sure I like all of these but the paper makes them really cute.

 This black one actually turned out to be my favorite.  I got the sizing down by the time I made this one.  Then I used crystal glaze to add dew drops and used stickles on the flourish that I cut from Cindy Loo.  Love, love that cartridge. The tag was cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More.  Easy peasy!

So on the inside, I put 6 cards and matching envelopes cut from Just Because Cards.  It is the "carrot" card on page 72 cut at 3 1/2 inches.  I learned that if you want the finished envelope to measure 3 1/2 square then that is what you set your cut size at.  Then I just cut white cardstock at 3 1/2 x 6 3/4 to fold in half for the note cards.  The flowers were cut from the Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge.

I will be making more and sharing with you.  These will be gifts for teachers and co-workers.  Here are the dimensions I cut my papers.  It will save you a full day of experimenting if you use these :)

Outside of the Box:
Top 7 3/8 x 3 3/4
Bottom 7 3/8 x 3 7/8
2 long sides (this is the pink polka dot paper) 7 3/8 x 1 1/4
2 short sides 3 3/4 x 1 1/4

Inside of the Box
Long notched side (use the same pink polka dot to match the sides) 7 1/8 x 1 1/4
Long magnetic strip (covered to match inside of the lid) 7 3/8 x 1 1/4
Inside top 7 3/8 x 3 7/8

I hope this helps!

Freebie Friday at Jen's

Hi everyone!  It's my first official post as a design team member for Jen's Digi Stamps.  Even better, the image I used to create this simple card below is FREE!  So click on the link above to down load Dash the snail now and let your coloring adventures begin.  I know mine have!

I kept this one simple because I am still concentrating on improving on my Copic coloring skills.  I think I'm getting better. I've watched a ton of videos on YouTube and am reading all I can about it.  It takes practice, but I have always loved to color so now I have a good reason :)

The papers I used for this card came from my stash.  They were from a direct sales company called Leaving Prints that no longer is in business.  I have a lot of their papers, really loved them.

Go to Jen's Digi Stamps blog to see the other's designers projects made using Dash.
Happy Friday! and blessings,
Jana

Fight Like a Girl Blog Hop

I just wanted to remind everyone again of the "Fight Like a Girl Blog Hop" that begins today over at Jen's Digi Stamps Blog. The hop will last all week and there will be random winners chosen to receive prizes.  For details, check out the hop starting at Jen's Digi Stamps Blog.

Although I have not officially begun as a design team member (but will this week hopefully) I wanted to create a card using one of the new digi stamps in honor of one of my sister's in Christ, Kristi.  She has fought and won the breast cancer battle and just had surgery last Thursday to remove a very large and cancerous portion of her liver.  She is a fighter and has put her faith in Christ to get her through.  Here Kristi...this one's for you!!!

I'm not going into details on how I made it, I want you to join the blog hop!  So hop on over to Jen's and get started.
Blessings,
Jana

I'm on a Design Team!

I am so excited to be on my very first design team for Jen's Digi Stamps.  I have been wanting to get better with coloring using my Copic markers so now I HAVE too! :)  My "If the Broom Fits..." card secured me a spot on Jen's team and now I have to get busy.  I also wanted to let everyone know that Jen's Digi Stamps is hosting a Blog Hop starting tomorrow.  I hope you will participate.  Click on the picture below to join in on the fun!  I don't think I am part of it since I am so very new on the DT but I will certainly be hopping along tomorrow night after my daughter's volleyball game.

Check back later today to see a new project I completed yesterday.  I think you will like it.
Blessings,
Jana

If the Broom Fits...

This saying cracked me up!!!  It is a stamp from My Pink Stampers Halloween set called "Spook-alicious".  I had never bought any of the cute stamp sets that all the wonderful bloggers out there make so I decided I was going to buy some so I will be sharing some projects made with them in the future.

The other new thing I did with this project was try out the Copic markers I have been spending so much money collecting.  I use them a lot, but not necessarily for their intended purpose of drawing and coloring in images.  So I downloaded a digi stamp.  What is a digi stamp you might ask ? (don't feel dumb, I didn't know either) Well, it is basically an image that is black line, which makes it look just like a rubber stamped image but it is downloaded  and printed out.  The advantage of using digi stamps is that the image can be manipulated, flipped, rotated, and re-sized, unlike the rubber counterpart.  To learn more about digi stamping you can click here.

Now, I want to clarify...this is NEW to me, so I don't pretend to be an expert, I just wanted to share it with you.  The digi stamp in my card is from Jen's Digi Stamps.  It is the first one I have ever downloaded and colored.  My first attempt at coloring was not the best and this is only my second attempt so I still have a lot to learn about my Copic markers.  I really like coloring, have all my life, so this should be a fun adventure!

So here is my project. I would REALLY like to know what you think.  I am considering entering it into a design team challenge but would not want to make a fool of myself!  :)

 Everything I used came from my stash.  Things I have had around FOREVER!  The only new thing would be the baker's twine.

 Pardon the lighting. I usually do my photographing during the day with natural light but was eager to share this with you.

Close up of my coloring.  Still need some work I know.  Hey! If you know of any good YouTube videos that teach about coloring with Copics, let me know!  No one around here teaches the classes so I have to rely on the internet.

One more thing before I leave.  If you would like to try some digi stamps, there are tons of free ones on the web but I would like to ask you to stop in at Simply Betty's Stamps.  She does some really cool stamps and her family is going through quite a crisis right now and could use your prayers and a few sales to help them out.  Click on the link to read her story and check out her traditional stamps and digi stamps.
Blessings,
Jana

Solitude

Hello Everyone!
Happy fall!  I am so glad the cooler weather is here. It has me wanting to create, be outside again and there is that wonderful sense that the holidays are just around the corner.  LOVE IT!

Here is another layout I created for our Colorado vacation album.  This one is one of my favorites.  I was so happy with the way the photograph turned out.  It was a beautiful day fishing in the mountains and the sun was just sparkling off the water.  I had no idea whether I could capture that on camera or not but it and some more like it turned out really well.  This is actually the first layout I did when I started on this album.

Solitude is why we went to Colorado.  To escape the heat and the craziness of work.  It worked, I think this layout is proof of that.

 Again, I used a white background so that there was not too much distraction from the actual pictures themselves.  I wanted them to be the "stars."  I used Mother's Day Bouquet for the flowers and the Imagine cartridge Nursery Tails was used for the accent paper.

I did some more hand painting in the background which was a lot of fun.  The title was created on my Gypsy using Lyrical Letters.  I love that cartridge, it is so versatile, especially used with the Gypsy.

I also included a Bible verse on this layout. "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." ~ Mark 6:31  It seems extremely fitting for our vacation.

I can't close this post without mentioning a new movie I went and saw last night with a bunch of my girlfriends.  it is called Courageous and it was truly amazing.  Take the time to go and see it and take your man with you.  It is one of the most inspiring movies I have ever seen.  You will be blessed.  Don't forget your tissue though, it is a tough one but well worth the tears. (and I hate movies that make me cry)  I can't remember the last time that an audience clapped at then end of a movie but the house was packed and everyone clapped at the end.  It was great.  I plan on going again with my husband.
Have a blessed week! ~ Jana

BTW, there is a fun blog hop going on with Angie at A TuttleTime.  Click on the picture below to get started!