Let Our Lives Be Full......

It is my most sincere wish that our lives be full of both Thanks and Giving!! 

So, I missed the 30 days of Thankful on Facebook, but I do try to start each day reminding myself and thanking my God for all that I have been blessed with.  Here is my short list:

A God who loves me enough to die for me

My husband, quirky, charming and patient

My kids, smart, challenging, kind, fun

My parents, gaining health, supportive, loving

My coworkers, accepting, encouraging, fun

My Church, loving, supportive, nurturing

My Friends.....you know who you are and I hope you know what you mean to me!

I could look around, like so many, and focus on my fears or what I feel I don't have, but when I examine the larger picture, I have more than some; I have less than others.  My struggles are smaller than some.  I am surrounded with resources, with encouragers, with people who genuinely care for me.  With all this, I can do anything.  Life is.  It's good at times, it's hard at others.  But, I am grateful from the tip of my nose to the bottom of my toes.

So, here's some art.  Enjoy!

Images, sentiments and dies from Stampin' Up!

Enjoy.  Be Safe.  Relax.

Be Awesome, 'cuz you are!---Jane

Imagination Trumps Knowledge.......

 Happy Monday.......here we are again!!  I've got some fun new images from I Brake For Stamps to share today!  I wanted to break from holiday cards and make something arty this weekend.  I'm loving these new Stamp Release Sheets from I Brake For Stamps!  They are so much fun to play with and they all work well together!

There's a lot going on with this card and I am completely in love with it!  I wanted to create a background with a mixed media feel to it.  I started by creating a resist using the checker board strip stamp from the Einstein Half Sheet.  I added multiple layers of color using distress inks and my nonstick kraft sheet.  Then,  I layered several other images from Einstein Half Sheet, Binoculars and Golf Half Sheet and Wood Background Half Sheet.  I used white pigment ink, black ink and some distress ink.  I almost didn't want to cover it up!

I chose the main image from Binoculars and Golf Half sheet and popped it up on dimensional tape when adding it to the project.  To finish things off, I added the cute little tag found on the Einstein half sheet with a portion of the "Keep Calm" sentiment from the Wood Background Half Sheet (I'm sorry if I'm confusing you, but you really do need them all!!)

My second card features images from Glass and Eye Chart Sheet and Einstein Half Sheet.  The cracked glass image is embossed and colored with three different blue distress inks.  Great images for masculine cards!

You can get artsy too---be sure to use my coupon code:  SAVE10JANE when you visit the IBFS store!

Go ahead....be artsy...be awesome!  TTFN, Jane

Angels Among Us

Happy Thursday!!  With the holidays just about upon us, I'm starting to focus on Christmas cards.  While I like the traditional holy family images, it's always fun to step outside of the box with more non traditional images and colors.  It's a nice stretch of creativity!

Today, I have two cards to share that feature the beautiful Angel Choir image from Technique Junkie Stamps.  It's a great image to color!  I finished the above card by stamping onto water color paper and then using distress inks and an aqua brush to add color.  I love to water color especially when I have a strong urge for the soothing effects of coloring. 

When I'm not feeling much like coloring, it's still an awesome image with lots of possibilities.  My second card features the Spotlight technique.  It's a great way to highlight a few of the beautiful cherub like faces:

Either way, it's an awesome image and perfect for a non traditional Christmas card.  You can find Merry Christmas 2 in the Technique Junkie store also!

Make your day awesome, TTFN--Jane

What's Up??

Happy Wednesday, Friends!! Birthday celebrations are what's up in my neck of the woods!  Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps continues a month long celebration of 8 wonderful years serving our customers!  I hope you've been following along over at the Sweet N Sassy Blog for weekly deals and inspiration!  I don't want you to miss anything!

Today, I have a few samples I created using Sweet N Sassy's What's Up? clear stamp set and matching dies.  The first card, above ^, is pretty straight forward and makes use of a number of the dies--there are 15 dies in total some are chunky and some are skinny----good for lots of creative ideas!  In addition, the stamp set is full of just the right kind of encouraging words--perfect pick me ups!

My second card features What's Up along with Words of Life-Collection 2, Message of Hope, Keep In Touch Too and Words of Life-Common Words 1.

 I struggle with out of the box thinking, at times so, it's always fun to pull bits and pieces together like this--I surprise myself!

Keep in mind, for a few more days (through Thursday) your $80+ dollar purchase will include your choice of a free stamps set valued up to $15.95 over in the Sweet N Sassy Store.  Be sure to use code BDAYFREESET when placing your order!


Have a great day!  TTFN, Jane

For Unto Us.....

 

 Happy Monday! It's time for an I Brake For Stamps share!  Thank you for joining me, again!

It's time to start (or finish?) those Christmas cards!  I know lots of folks like to pick a design and then make multiple cards to send out.  Seeing as I bore easily and don't send to a gigantic number of people, I like each of my cards to be unique.  Also, I have a huge collection of images and feel like they should all get a turn!

For this card, I selected this beautiful holy family, Christmas Image, from I Brake For Stamps, as the focal point.  I started by stamping the manger image and then masking it.  I added the For Unto Us background, also from I Brake For Stamps, using distress ink and then ran my water brush over to create a sky like effect.  The rest of the image is colored using distress inks to water color, as well.  I've been practicing my water coloring lately....I like the softer images you can create and, it makes me feel all arty :)

You can save on your Christmas or Holiday cards, in the I Brake For Stamps store, by using my coupon code:  SAVE10JANE.  Get the jump on it and shop now! 

Be awesome!  TTFN Jane

It's Party Time!

It's a party over at the Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps!  We are celebrating 8 years of blessed business with a gigantic birthday bash AND, you are invited!!!  Feels pretty good to be you right now, doesn't it?  Make sure to visit the SNSS Blog for details and inspiration!  I don't want you to miss one single thing!

I can tell you this: there's a hefty gift to be won.  Be sure to leave a little love in the comment section for everyone who is hopping and sharing their talent and inspiration with you.  There will be a GRAND prize of an $80 prize pack awarded to one random person who comments throughout the hop.

To celebrate, I have a cute little card and mini gift bag all ready to bring some birthday cheer!  Both feature images and dies from Birthday Bash and Birthday Bash Die Set.  I love playing with these adorable images!

 I created my background using all of the sentiments from Birthday Bash.  I used post it notes to create a frame on my pink card stock and then stamped the sentiments inside using Versamark.  Then, I heat embossed with white powder.  It created the perfect backdrop for this yummy looking cupcake die cut!

 This close up shows the fun little prills I added that do look good enough to eat!

I was just itching to use my new Gift Bag Punch Board so, I created this fun little gift bag.  It's decorated with some scrap designer paper and candles, also from the Birthday Bash Stamp and Die sets.  The sentiment is from Keep In Touch, Too stamp set.

Make sure to join in the fun all month at Sweet N Sassy Stamps.   Be sure to visit the blog and facebook page for more details and inspiration!  Also, shipping right now (through Nov 12) is FREE with code: BDAYFREESHIP

Most of all.....Good Luck!  Be Awesome!  Jane

I got crafty with:

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like.....

Happy Saturday, Friends!!  Today, I'm showing off some goodies from Technique Junkies!  If you are looking for some Christmas card inspiration, head on over to the Junkies Designer Blog!  It's the 30 days of Christmas, over there, for your card making pleasure!

My card is a shabby chic rendition that features the Merry Christmas sentiment.  I started by constructing my background using the new Fresh Chevron background stamp.  The chevron image that you can see is just a shadow of the standard imprint.  After inking the stamp in black, I stamped it off once before stamping on white card stock.  I added a few stampings of the Ornate Medallion image using several colors of distress ink:  Concord Grape, Vintage Photo and Mowed Lawn.  The Vintage Photo stampings are also lighter as they are stamped off too.  I added extra shading and shabby, by distressing the whole piece with Vintage Photo ink also.  This helped to tone down the more vibrant Mowed Lawn ink and give the whole background a unified look.

In addition, I shaded the sentiment piece with Vintage Photo.  I went over each letter of "Merry Christmas" with an aqua brush to remove some of the ink from the lettered area.  This created contrast from the background and made the letters "pop" a bit.  The remainder of the color was added with distress markers.

Have yourself an inky day!  Be awesome. You know you can.....
TTFN, Jane