Jennifer McGuire, ink.

Jane's Doodles Blog Hop + Giveaway!

Hello!

Today I am part of a blog hop for Jane's Doodles. Jane is a sweet friend of mine who has her own clear stamps. I have linked to here many times in the past - both for her adorable cards and fabulous handmade buttons.

Here are a couple cards I made with Jane's birthday clear set. This first one also features the fabulous My Mind's Eye 6x6 papers (from HERE).

This next one is so very simple. I colored each dot with a different Big Brush Pen, misted lightly and stamped for a fun pattern. Love the messy dots.

Be sure to visit the other crafty crafters on this blog hop. Just click on the names to see their creations. These girls are SO talented and some of my favorite card makers!

• Jane
• Jennifer - Me
• Kelly R
• Lucy
• Donna
• Joy
• Alice
• Kelly
• Mariana

Oh, and to celebrate this hop, Jane gave me an extra birthday set to giveaway! Just leave a comment here by Monday for your chance to win...

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Card Supplies:

Copics	AC Adhesive	Memento Ink	Ink Blending Tool
Neenah White Paper	Stamp Press	THE Fiskars Trimmer	Big Brush Pens
Jane's Birthday Stamps	Corner Chomper	My Minds Eye 6x6

 

Upcoming Classes in Boston + Ranger Share

Hello, bloggers.

A few things today. First, I have two weekends of classes coming up in Boston.

I will be at Absolutely Everything in Boston on April 16 and 17th teaching 3 classes. You can find out more about the times and class descriptions HERE. And for info on where to call to sign up, click HERE. How about peeks at some class projects - all are very heavy on techniques and a variety of styles:

Also, Shari Carroll and I will be with Hero Arts at The Collin Rep Show in Boston March 25-28 teaching 3 classes, including a big one with Sizzix. This show is open to all (and only) store owners - click HERE for more info. Here's a peek...

Funny... from the looks of these projects, you would think I use a lot of pink in classes. But I really don't! Ha. I promise I have a good mix of cheerful, vintage and simple looks. :)

I also thought I would share a card that Ranger has up on the website. It features their new Shrink Plastic. Just lightly sand the plastic, stamp on it with Archival Ink, let dry and color with pencils and markers. Finally, heat it with your heatgun until it shrinks. SO fun. For instructions and supplies, click HERE.

By the way, the winner of the Neenah paper was Terri (luv in scrapin). Enjoy!

Take care.

How-To-Video: Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft "Inks"

Hello!

I have been getting a lot of emails about the new goodies from Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft. I thought I would throw together a quick video about them. This is a simple video just showing quickly how they can be used to get a variety of looks. HOWEVER, they are many great techniques you can do with them. But I will save those for a future video. Or two.

By the way, I was not paid to talk about these products. I tried them and loved them - and had to share with you.

You can get the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft products in a few places. I would recommend getting that HERE at Ellen Hutson or HERE at 2Peas.

There are two products I will talk a bit about here: Stamper's Big Brush Pens and Gelatos.

First? The Stamper's Big Brush Pens.

Stamper's Big Brush Pens are great for crisp and clear stamped images. The pen has bright india ink that is odorless, won't bleed through papers and is lightfast/archival/waterproof. One of my favorite things about these pens is that the nib is strudy and won't fray after using them on your stamps. And the point of the brush tip stays nice so you can get into tiny areas. Not only can you use them directly on your stamps for stamping, you can use them on paper, canvas, etc. Oh, and the colors are yummy.

For this card, I just colored right on the stamp and stamped onto the paper. (No misting.)

(By the way, that green patterned paper is from Hero Arts. It is thick enough to make a notecard with white on the inside. LOVE. Find it HERE.)

You can color right on the stamp and stamp immediately for a crisp look as I did above. Or, you can mist it with water for a watercolored look. One of my favorite things to do with these is to stamp with them and then - without reinking - lightly mist the uncleaned stamp and stamp again for a lighter look...

(Used another Hero Arts patterned paper for the card here too - HERE.)

I will show a few more examples in a few days using these pens. (You can get a peek at them in the video.)

Next? The Gelatos.

I have never used a product like the Gelatos and they are fun! They are somewhat like chapstick - you just twist to reveal more product. The consistency is also like a chapstick or lipstick - creamy rich colors that blend smoothly. There are Color and Metallic Gelatos. The Color Gelatos can be rubbed right onto papers for thick, vibrant color or add some water for a watercolor look or translucent tints. The Metallic Gelatos look amazing on colored papers. You can even color Gelatos onto your stamps for stamping. I have never used a product like this - such fun.

I used the Metallic Gelatos a bit differently. I first clear embossed an image on dark cardstock and then rubbed lots of the Gelatos over them. Love the results...

(Oh, and there are those lovely flowers that I am addicted to. Get them HERE.)

By the way, if you want more "official" info on these products, you can visit Faber-Castell Design Memory Crafts HERE.

More on these products later. In the video I mentioned a friend who uses these products a lot - Jill Foster. Her blog is amazing.

Take care!

 

Card Supplies:

Corner Chomper	AC Adhesive	Foam Dots	Black Dye Ink	Versamark
Ink Blending Tool	Stamp Press	Mini Misters	THE Fiskars Trimmer	Craft Sheet
Clear Embossing Powder	Wildflower Garden	Favorite Scissors	Heat Gun	Vagabond Die Cutting Machine
Heart Dies	Flowers	Leaves Clear Stamps	Lawn Fawn Critters	Sending Smiles
Friend Definition	Hero Patterned Green	Blush Hero Patterned	Styled Label Die	Neenah White Paper
Flower Bursts Background	Big Brush Pens	Gelatos

 

Saving money...

Hey, there.

So, the other day when one of the moms at Colin's school saw the Valentines we made, she complimented them and then said in the sweetest voice, "You must save SO much money by making your own cards!"

Yes, I am laughing with you.

If she only knew, right?

Anyway...

I thought I would share the invites for Colin's upcoming 5th birthday party.

Yep, he wanted a bowling party. With a Super Mario theme. And momma liked the challenge.

Found a Mario clipart online - one where he was throwing a fireball. But, of course, I replaced it with a bowling ball. The clipart was all the wrong colors so I removed the color in PS from everything but his face and re-colored with Copics. Audrey helped and Colin colored the bowling balls.

 
And since I am incapable of keeping anything I create simple, I did a fun fold. Which Colin loves.

 

And the funky fold opens up to reveal the party info.

Isn't that new Hero Arts + Basic Grey star background perfect for birthday invites?

We had to make 30 invites...

And Colin addressed them all.

 
Colin LOVED the cards and many of his friends have told him the same. That makes it SO worth it.

Now THAT is priceless.

:)

Night!

(Oh, the winner of the configurations was Barb E.)

 

Invitation Supplies:

Copics	AC Adhesive	Glossy Accents	Neenah White Paper	THE Fiskars Trimmer
Hero Hues Cards etc	Scoring Board	Star Background

Flip Die Cut Card + Giveaway

Hello. Saturdays are the best, aren't they?

I have a very purple card to share today. Not sure why I went with purple, but here it is. I used my favorite die cut to create a flap that opens to reveal the message. (The dark purple background is just a solid piece - this doesn't open like a traditional card.)

Lots of Hero Arts love on this baby, huh? Card supplies are listed below. Just click the pictures to find out more.

Also, I have a fun giveaway! This goes to a random past comment - one left by mamichelle! You are the lucky winner of these goodies that Heidi from Simon Says Stamps sent me...

BTW, if you have recently won a prize, I will be shipping this week.

I have some more giveaways to give... :)

Happy weekend to all!

Card Supplies:

Copics	Glossy Accents	Memento Ink	Adhesive	Neenah White Paper
Stamp Press	THE Fiskars Trimmer	Multi Purpose Plate	Thank You Definition	Tim Holtz Ornamental Die
Hero Hues Cards etc	Friends	Vagabond Die Cutting Machine	Flowers

 

Baby Cards

Hi!

Before sharing some cards, I gotta share with you a few comments people left on my blog yesterday. I had mentioned that I had spent a lot of time with my son on his class Valentines and ignored my cleaning and laundry and such. Many of you left comments relating to this choice I made - love that about crafters! Here are two of my favorite comments:

Samantha said, "My girls are 22 and 16. These kind of things, and the time spent together, are what they remember, which is worth every second and cent spent doing them, and all the other things left undone. Screw the laundry."

So true, so true.

And Karen said, "These are so cute! I can just see you snuggled up together, having some together time getting these done and Colin getting better. BTW, no justification needed. I remember a great stamp (Hanna Stamps maybe???) that said "A clean house is a sign of a lazy stamper." Now those are words to live by!"

Ha - true also. Just thought these ladies were so right. We crafters know how to use our time well. :)

Now... on to another project that took a lot of time and left a lot of dust and laundry to pile up... hee.

My son's wonderful teacher had a baby on Christmas Eve. So, over the holidays I spent a lot of time coloring little bears to put on a set of notecards for her...

I printed the baby's name on Neenah white cardstock and then stamped the Papertrey Ink bear over them. Then my 13-year old step-daughter and I spent lots of time together coloring them all...

I am not sure how many cards we did, but there were a lot...

The insides were blank so she could use them as thank you notes. And the bears had a little touch of glitter pen and Glossy Accents for shine. The bows on their necks were colored with Copics to match the bears perfectly...

And each card was embossed with little dots...

And I put them all in a few clear boxes...

... with matching stamped envelopes and a bow to finish...
Yes, it took a ton of time. But it was so worth it. Colin saw me put the care into the gift. And Audrey and I chatted about boys and vacations over hours of coloring. So, if you ask me, it was time well spent. :)

And his teacher loved them.

Thanks for stopping by today. I have more giveaways this week. But in the meantime I will be sending some Hero Arts stamps to Samantha and Karen for their wonderful comments. Thanks, girls!

See you tomorrow...

 

Card Supplies:

Corner Chomper	Copics	AC Adhesive	Glossy Accents	Memento Ink
Foam Dots	Neenah White Paper	Stamp Press	THE Fiskars Trimmer	Craft Sheet
Mini Glossy Accents	Clear Glitter Pen	Papertrey Baby	Dot Embossing	Hero Hues Cards etc

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope your day is wonderful.

I spent most of this afternoon working on Valentines for Colin's classmates - love it. Colin and I initially intended to create these together - having him do all the coloring. But after he was up all night with a double ear infection (and 3 hours at an urgent care this AM), I ended up doing the coloring while snuggled up on the sofa with him. He helped with assembly and such though. He loves when we do things for his classmates.

Here is a peek at what we created for 22 adorable kiddos...

I used Hero Arts robot, background and quote balloon stamps and little letters from Papertrey Ink. (See links at the bottom of this post - all supplies will be there.)

I created the message on my computer and stamped the quote balloon around it.

Colin stamped "beep" repeatedly on each piece with Soft Pool Ink. After coloring the robots, I added a bit of shine with a glitter pen and some fun with google eyes.

The red is an envelope that holds a little gift...
 
In the envelope is a tiny bag with a mini notebook and a fun small mechanical pencil.

These are such fun to create. I bought mini composition books (for less than 50 cents) and covered the front. The pencil image is from a Hero Arts digital kit and I added the face to it for fun. The smile actually is a Hero Arts stamp in THIS set - made it fast and easy. Then we stamped stars on the background.

Printing digital pieces like this makes crafting so much faster. But then by adding a bit of stamping and google eyes, it looks lovingly handmade.

I am sure many parents will wonder why I put so much time into these. Or that I must have so much time on my hands to create things like this. But it is just a choice I make - I love to make these fun little gifts because I know it makes them happy. In the meantime, my house is a mess and the laundry didn't get done. Oh well. :)

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Oh, and good news. I have some giveaways this week. Hint, hint. ;)

Take care.

 

Project Supplies:

Copics	AC Adhesive	Glossy Accents	Memento Ink	Distress Inks
Stamp Press	THE Fiskars Trimmer	Craft Sheet	Favorite Scissors	Robots
Message Balloons	Dotted Background	SImple Alphabet PTI	Pencil Digital	Fun Stamps
Soft Pool Ink	Clear Glitter Pen	Hero Hues Cards etc

A quick oldie...

Hey there.

Just popping in quickly to share an old card I stumbled across on my computer. Lots of inking-with-Distress-Inks-and-spritzing-with-water-before-stamping stamping. :) All stamps are Hero Arts.

Oh, and that is a pink card turned inside out. Love to add that bit of surprise inside.

Off to catch up on computer work. See you soon!

 

Rain

I love rain. Real rain that falls while I am inside, cozy with my family. The rain that feeds my flowers.

However, rain that falls in the lives of my family and friends - not so much. The kind of rain that comes with sadness, loss, struggles, etc.

And when someone has that kind of rain, sometimes the best umbrella comes in the form of a card. It is truly is amazing how uplifting a thoughtful card from a loved one can be.

And this card? I hope this umbrella blocks the rain away from one of my friends who has experienced a sad loss. I hope, I hope, I hope.

I like to make these types of cards a bit brighter, in hopes of brightening their day. I even made the little girl smile with a pen, and brightened her eyes with Black Enamel Accents.

The raindrops are Glossy Accents - perfect with the Echo Park cloud paper. (A new fave of mine.)

The girl stamp and die (that comes with a cute stamp set - look HERE) are from the sweet folks at My Favorite Things. I have a big crush on this die cut. Lovely.

I (unfortunately) bet that all of us have a loved one who could use an umbrella in the rain. Why not send them a card?

Hugs to you all.

 

Rain Card Supplies:

Copics	AC Adhesive	Memento Ink	Foam Dots	B&W Enamel
Self-Adhesive Lace	Neenah White Paper	THE Fiskars Trimmer	The Best White Pen	Favorite Scissors
Rain Girl	MFT Die & Stamps	Summertime Echo Park	Glossy Accents

Merry Christmas from my family to yours...

Just wanted to pop in to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Here is the front of our holiday cards (can't see the soft pool stamped snowflakes on the bottom...)

And a close up of my Silhouette cut pieces, stamped with Hero Arts stamps...

And the backs...

I made 150 of these bad boys. While sick with a terrible stomach bug. And with a kid who was sick with the same. And a husband out of town. But our family takes sending Christmas cards seriously, so I got them done. Colin did all the gluing. Ken usually does all the writing and such, but he escaped his duties due to his trip. :)

I truly hope your family time is amazing and that God gifts you with wonderful smiles and laughs. This time of year is even more special to my family because in addition to the birth of Jesus, we get to celebrate the births of two other wonderful folks.

December 24th is the birthday of my incredible mom...

(Photo by the amazing Erin Cobb)

... and the birthday of my lovely mother-in-law...

(Photo by the not-so-amazing me.)

Have a wonderful holiday, my sweet blog friends. See you soon.