Black Dogs are the GREATEST!

 Did you know that black dogs end up in shelters longer than any other color dog? For some reason adopters shy away from black pups. Personally, I think that is ridiculous because black dogs (labs, in particular) are WONDERFUL! I have my super great buddy, Wyatt (along with my chocolate lab, Morgan), and he is a great big ball of love. He's also a 100 lb. lap dog, but, alas....

The Newton's Nook and Simon Says Stamp Stamptember collaboration stamp set had this absolutely perfect little Turkey Day pup and I could not resist using him to create a fun Thanksgiving card! I colored him, black of course, with Copic markers and simply stamped and heat embossed the sentiment.

The background is Simon Says Stamp Fractured stamped in grey ink. Nice and simple. While this particular Thanksgiving stamp set is no longer available as it was a limited edition for Stamptember, don't you worry your little puppy loving head... you can check out the Newton's Nook collection at Simon Says Stamp and find ALL KINDS of cute critter stamps that you will just love!

Since this is such a simple card, I only took the one shot. Also... Wyatt was literally hunting me down because I got caught steeling treats for the photo. So... I will share a photo of Mr. Wyatt, since he inspired my card! YAY!

Coffee = Smiles

 

That's how math works, right? I mean, it must be. Because we all know it's true. Coffee = Smiles. And today is the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and THAT makes me smile, too! Because basically a whole bunch of talented crafty folks come together and post super fun projects showing off yummy beverages. Coffee, tea, hot cocoa... they all apply. And I am HERE for it, man!

If this is your first visit, WELCOME! I'm Jingle and you can find me on Instagram, too! 

You guys! I even pulled out my Dunkin Donuts scrunchy for this one. Because of course I have a Dunkin Donuts scrunchy. Do you not? 

I created this card with a wonderful amalgam of products from different places. That wonderful coffee cup is from the one and only Erin Lee Creative. I don't know if her coffee stamp set is available anymore, but her Harry Potter stuff CERTAINLY is, so you should just go buy that now because it's freaking amazing. The little mouse is an undeniably adorable stamp from the Simon Says Stamp and Colorado Craft Company Stamptember exclusive. Ummm.... CUTENESS! You can find all kinds of sets with these cute mice designed by Anita Jeram. They are incredibly adorable. And that sentiment. That wicked cute freaking sentiment? Yeah, that one is a wood block stamp from Simon Says Stamp so not only does it look adorable on a card, but it looks wicked cute on my shelf, too! I die cut the tiny heart from the Simon Says Stamp Mini Hearts die set - this is a super useful set to have around. I highly recommend it.

I colored this one with Copics. Shadows and I aren't actually really good friends because, well, quite frankly, I have very poor spacial orientation and struggle with the entire concept of 'where is my light source', but I think this one turned out pretty cute. All in all, I had a super fun time creating this card! Now, head on over to the Coffe Loving Cardmakers Blog to check out all of the amazing creations out there! 

TOADally Awesome

 So, as it turns out, frogs are cute. Well, some frogs anyway. Particularly the adorable frogs in the Toadally Unfrogettable stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I mean... JUST LOOK AT HIM!

He is colored with Copics and, well, he's just pretty much the cutest thing EVER! Nice and simple design for this one, but I feel like that image and the fun sentiment did all the work for me, so... simple it is! 

I hope you have a hopping good Monday! Hee-hee.... see what I did there... cuz frogs.... cuz.... 

okay. I'll go now.

Thanks for stopping by!

Because Beaches Make Me Happy

I am an East Coast girl. We live in a coastal town and let me tell you what the benefit of that is. The benefit of that, my friends, is that a nice walk on the beach or the simple happy making scent of ocean waters is never more than a few minutes away. And that, my dear friends, is what keeps me sane. Happy. Sane. I don't know... maybe both of those things. When I saw this amazing layered stamp set called Sea and Sky from Simon Says Stamp I was pretty sure it was designed for me. Or at the very least for the people like me. You see, my dear friends...it is FREAKING AWESOME!

So, I stamped the sky portion with cloudy sky ink because, well, I mean, it is a cloudy sky, so that just sort of made sense. I like to be practical sometimes. Sometimes. I stamped the water with a nice dark navy and then colored that with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. The sand is stamped with Stampin' Up Sahara Sand ink. Because it is sand. Again, with the practical. Who knows...maybe it will become a habit.

Finally, I added a whole bunch of sparkle with a Spectrum Noir clear glitter brush. You GUYS! If you don't have these get some. They add a TON of sparkle and shimmer. It's not subtle. I like my sparkle to...well, you know....SPARKLE!

I finished this card with a simply cut CZ Designs Wish I Could Hug You die cut sentiment because it was basically the perfect fit. I mean... the beach is like a hug. It makes you feel calm and cozy and happy. YAY beach! 

I hope you have a delightful day. Maybe with just a hint of salt water in the air.

Two Cards for the Price of One!

 Well, 'price' probably isn't the right word, but basically, I started out creating one card and ended up with two very different designs from the work I put into it. I kind of love them and how very different they turned out even though they use the very same basic supplies all around.

Here are the supplies I used:

Simon Says Stamp Leafy Leaves Background Stamp

CZ Designs Chunky Thankful Die

Prima Watercolors, Decadent Pies

And a Neat and Tangled Maple Leaf stamp that is no longer available, but you can find a similar one in this Simon Says Stamp set

Oh... and some cardstock, bristol, and May Arts twine. 

Fir this one, I stamped the background on bristol and watercolored it to create a nice fall background look. I then die cut the sentiment, saving the middle pieces, adhered the painted panel to a card base and then adhered the sentiment pieces back into the 'Thankful' to make a cool outline look. This let the background be the star of the show for this card.  A simple wrap and bow with twine finished it off nicely.

Now, as you know, I don't normally just jump into a supply list. BUT... for this one, I had to because... CHECK IT OUT! After making this card, I realized I had the perfect makings for a beautiful clean and simple design with the leftovers!

There is a slight chance I like this one even better. Even though the painting took a bit of time and effort and you can't really tell that as much here, BUT, alas...I still LOVE the way that die cut sentiment looks cut from the stamped and watercolored background. It's like.... perfect. So, I used the outline that was left over on a simple white panel and then just stamped a few maple leaves to finish it off in a nice deep red tone. 

Two cards from one set of work! LOVE IT! And I hope you do, too. Never forget to check out what your 'scraps' are giving you! You may just find some treasures in there!

A Little Halloween with a Little Potter Mixed In

Is that okay? Can I squeeze in one more Halloween card for this year? I had fun with this one, taking some fun Halloween stamps and giving them a bit of a Harry Potter twist. Because who doesn't love a sorting hat and a Nimbus 2000? Right? Right. Good. Glad we had this chat.

So, not gonna lie. This one sat on my desk for several days while I decided if I was brave enough to share it. Now that I'm looking at it fresh again, I think I actually really do like it. It's fun! I stamped the hat and the broom from the Simon Says Stamp Toil and Trouble stamps and dies set onto kraft paper and then colored with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I went for the weathered Sorting hat look on the hat and um..... I REALLY REALLY LIKE IT. K? K. Thanks. I die cut both pieces, along with the tree from the Ghouls and Tree die set from Simon. 

I finished the card by adding just a touch of Reverse Confetti patterned paper and then stamped, embossed, and die cut the sentiment and frame together. 

And, my friends, there you have it. A bit of Halloween and a bit of Harry Potter all rolled into one fun card. Now... where did I leave my robes, I gotta fly......

Because RAINBOWS!

Yup. I yelled rainbows. I'm gonna do it again. RAINBOWS!!! You guys, for reals, though. This awesome Build a Rainbow stencil and the accompanying die from Simon Says Stamp is freaking awesome. 

I used the SSS Rainbow Ink Cubes and blending brushes along with the stencil to create the rainbow itself. Then I die cut the bottom panel and inked the cloud edge to create the cloud look. LOVE IT. The sentiment is the You Are Enough die from Simon, too. Finally, I went a little old school and pulled out an old wood starburst embellishment, used a paint pen to make it white and then covered it with... you guessed it... STICKLES! I think Sterling (my toddler) is bringing back my love of glitter glue. Mostly because he puts it on everything he possibly can. 

Stenciling is super popular right now and it has never been a big thing for me, so I am trying to give it a shot here and there. I think I may end up loving it. This was certainly a TON of fun to create and not a SINGLE stamp was used to create it. WHAT?! That's craziness. Absolute craziness. I do adore how vibrant the colors are, though! That's pretty awesome! And the cool variation you get from using the blending brushes with ink... yeah, I'm liking that, too.

What technique have you been trying out recently? I'd love hear about it! 

Cute Spooks

 So, seriously. When you give me absolutely adorable Halloween supplies I just cannot help myself! I am loving creating these cards! 

For this one, I started by die cutting the  Simon Says Stamp Window Webs from a white panel. I just knew I had to create a super cool background to put behind it, so I decided to ink up another cardstock panel to create a night sky using distress inks. I then put a little white ink from a bottle of reinker on a paint brush and splattered it to create the stars in the sky.

You guys! This was a lot for me. LOL! I don't do a ton of messy things anymore, but I absolutely LOVE how this turned out and I super love that it uses those techniques and still results in a clean and simple card.

I stamped the absolutely adorable ghost witch stamp and the spider from the Too Cute To Spook stamp set from Simon Says Stamp and colored them with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I cut the ghost out, but you can purchase dies with the stamps if you prefer to go that route. Either way... this stamp set is THE CUTEST!

The sentiment is stamped and embossed on a strip of black cardstock to finish off the card. I am linking this little guy up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

I hope you have enjoyed my Halloween fun this week! I may do more, I may do some other stuff... we shall see. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment to let me know you are here! 

Because sometimes there are goodbyes

In February of 2013, I decided to apply to be on the Design Team for a stamp company that I absolutely LOVED.

That company was CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. I have been so fortunate to have been a part of this team since that call and I have loved every single minute of it! Michele has truly unique designs that are simply wonderful! She also has a heart of gold and put up with me through all of my ups and downs through the last few years. This team has truly meant a lot to me. Which is why I am sad to say that I have decided to step down. This is my final post as a DT member for CAS-ual Fridays and that is really hard to type. Wow. 

When considering what to create for today, my mind went to one place very quickly. Thank you. I wanted to create a card that said thank you to Michele, thank you to those who have followed my CFS designs, and thank you to those with whom I have designed over the years. So...

Funny... My absolute favorite CFS sets happened to be perfect for my card! What a coincidence! LOL! But really and truly... Michele - It's been awesome. Thank you. For everything.

Jingle Out.

Make for the Border!

Hello, folks! Happy Wednesday! We have a super fun new challenge this week! We are Running for the Border on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog this week! That's right, we want to see you use border stamps, border dies, create a border.... however you interpret the challenge, as long as it is AWESOME, of course! The Design Team is featuring Memory Box products this week. I pulled out this SUPER cute bow and string border die to create my card. I kind of love it. Kind of lots, actually.

I don't normally do horizontal cards, so that was an extra bit of challenge for me, but I love how this turned out. I used Lawn Fawn plaid paper to create the look of a wrapped gift and then stamped the border strip with HB2U using Lawn Fawn Milo's ABC's. 

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something fabulous based on the Make for the Border theme and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store! YES!!!! You totes wanna win that, yo. For reals.

Have a Happy!

We're Going WILD!

Hello, friends! It's time for another awesome challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! This week we are GOING WILD! You can feature whatever comes to mind when you think of WILD on your card. Wild colors, wild animals, wild flowers? What are YOU going to create?! The Design Team is featuring WPlus9 products this week. I absolutely LOVE WPlus9 stamps! I pulled out a recent favorite for my card today!



I just love this little panda!!!! The cuteness!!! I wanted to keep the design simple, but I also wanted to add some pop to the design so I used Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens for the grass. It glitters SO MUCH! I love it!



And now it's YOUR turn! Create something awesome inspired by the WILD theme and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store! WHAT?! Yup. That's an awesome prize, folks. It is, indeed.

Kids, have a super fabulous, spectacular day!

Loads of Fun!

Hello, all! It's time for another ANYTHING GOES Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge! This week, the design team is featuring Lawn Fawn products!!! YAY! Lawn Fawn or Lawn FUN?!

That was bad.

But oh, so good.

Okay...anyway... I'll get to my card now....



Umm... when did laundry get this FUN?! For reals, though. I had so much fun making this little shaker card! I used the stamps in the Loads of Fun stamp set both to set the scene and as little socks in my shaker! SO FUN!!!! I also added some marshmallow seed beads from Pretty Pink Posh to look sudsy.

That's a fun word. Sudsy. For reals.... say it out loud.

You're welcome.



Now it's your turn! It's anything goes week, so you can create whatever you want! It just has to be new and you have to link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to Simon Says Stamp! WOOT! WOOT!

SUDSY!

Yup. That happened.

Come play along! We can't wait to see what you create! 

Have a happy!

Hello, folks! It's time for a fun new Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge! This week we want to see Things with Wings! Incorporate something with wings into your design for this week to play along! The Design Team is using Doodlebug Design products this week. You don't have to use them to play along, but if you have some, we'd love to see how you rock that cuteness!

So, you know that sticker stash you have? Did you know you can create complete adorable card designs using it? 'Cause you totally can! And I had SO much fun challenging myself to do just that with these Doodlebug Design stickers! I added a fabulous little sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Handwritten Sentiments stamp set to finish off my design! 

Pro-tip: If you want to use foam tape to adhere your stickers, adding dimension and offering more layering options, simply brush the back with your EK Success Powder Tool to remove the sticky from the back!

>

And now it's YOUR turn! Create something inspired by our Things With Wings challenge theme and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp Store! WOOT! WOOT!!!

Have a Happy!!!

Dream Then Do - CFS Release Week with Discount and Giveaway!

It is Day TWO of the awesome new release from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! We have a wonderful, encouraging stamp set to share with you today! I think you are really going to love this one!



This set is called Dream then Do. It is absolutely STUFFED with absolutely fabulous, inspiring sentiments that stand as focal points on a card SO well! The fonts on this set? Umm... yes! I love them! I had some fun with some color on this one! I feel like this set was just MADE for this kind of card design. I think a couple of my team mates thought so, too! You simply MUST check out the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog to see the various ways people have rocked these stamps!



Isn't it FUN?! And this isn't even it, folks! We have MORE coming at ya later this week! Be sure to stop by each day! And don't forget to head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog to enter to win this stamp set!

And, if this release inspires you to do a little shopping, be sure to use the code JINGLE2016 for 15% off your order! WOOT! WOOT!

Have a Happy!

Seriously? Thanks.

Four colors. Seems easy enough, right? Create a card using four colors. Well, oddly enough, it was a little tricky. Four goes beyond my CAS two or three, yet falls slightly short of a more layered style of design for me. That, my friends, is why I was excited to try this Paper Smooches Challenge!

I decided to go the clean and simple route, as it is my favorite, for this fun, colorful card.



I die cut these super cute glasses and then adhered thin strips of cardstock behind the negative image to create a fun, playful look. I simply stamped the sentiment from Slang Gang in one of the four cardstock colors (Wisteria from Simon Says Stamp) to tie it in with the image and complete the card.



The inside has a simple 'thanks' to complete the sentiment.

I had a blast creating this little design. It is fun and playful and sticks to my simple style quite well. I love when a challenge leads me to, not only have fun, but to create a project I love! YAY!

Have a Happy! 

Hey There!

Hello, friends! Today is day TWO of the Design Team reveals for the Girlfriend Collection coming from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps this week! I have another super fun card to share with you. For today's card, I used the super fun 'Hey You' sentiment along with some seriously awesome dies!



I die cut the bottom of the smallest tag three times to create the little gold cardstock border. This tag die is going to be used a lot! I can tell! I then used the tiny circle and the cool starburst, both of which were intended to be cool flower center stuff, independently for a fun, graphic look. I am in LOVE with that starburst shape! I layered my washi tape (for those who follow me on Facebook, this is the ver same tape that died due to puppy curiosity later that day... *sadness*) over some foam tape to give it a little extra dimension. I then stamped the sentiment in apricot.



Be sure to head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has created! This is such a fun release!

Have a Happy!