Time to Say Goodbye to this Blog

I can't believe that we are into the middle of July already. As I promised I am starting a new blog JLH Designs Inc and today is the start of a new day.
Closing Scrap N Stamp was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and this blog is the last remnant of the store.
My new blog will have the same great project ideas and inspirations, along with blog candy, that I will be offering every month.
Hop on over to the new and improved JLH Designs and don't forget to leave a comment or become a follower in order to be entered into the drawing.
Take care everyone and I hope to see you over there!

Just A Reminder...

Good afternoon everyone,
I can't believe that we are half way through July (well almost...). I wanted to remind everyone that I'm going to be starting a new blog,
JLH Designs Inc. The site will have its first blog posting on July 15th and to commemorate the event I will be giving away some great blog candy.
So if you are a follower here please switch over to the new blog. I hope to see you all there and maybe some new faces as well
Have a great afternoon
Jodie

Fourth of July Weekend

Good morning everyone,
The nice thing about being a Canadian living in the United States is that I get to celebrate the independence of 2 countries! LOL I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know for some of you, the lucky ones, you have the day off today, but for some of us, we still have to work today! :-(
But to help brighten your day, I created a card using the traditional red, white and blue colors...

The image is a digital stamp from 2 Cute RubberStamps. Heidi is releasing the stamp on Tuesday, July 6th, but you, my lucky followers are some of the first to see this wonderful owl. I colored him in with my Copic markers, then added glitter to the image with the AtYou Spica Glitter Pens, from Copic. I also added jewels to the front along with a ribbon bow.

Then for the inside I stamped a saying using the JustRite stamps, along with more paper to the inside to continue the theme. Please enjoy and have a great Monday!

I'm Moving...

Good afternoon everyone,
Well I'm moving my blog at least! LOL I've decided to try my hand at card making, at least on a somewhat professional level. I've got an etsy store, JLH Designs. Here I'll be selling the cards you see on my blog, and then at the end of every month I'll be donating 10% of my monthly sales to the Jacksonville Humane Society.
I'll be moving my blog to jlhdesigns.blogspot.com as of July 15th. Here is the first card that I've got listed in my store, which by the way has free shipping. When you go to www.etsy.com, look for the title Mermaid of the Sea, that should bring up my card...

She was made with a new stamp that I received from .Queen Kat Designs, a great company that carries a wide variety of stamped images. Here is a close up of the card, which I colored in with my Distress Inks...

and then of course the inside had to be done LOL...

Hope you enjoy the card and have a great afternoon - Jodie

2 Cute RubberStamps Monday

I can't believe that it's been so long since my last post. Even though I've posted on other blogs, I have to remember to update my own...

Since Father's Day was yesterday, I was inspired to do a masculine themed card.
This cutie is from the company 2 Cute RubberStamps. I actually tried a new techniques, at least new for me, coloring with my Distress Inks. I've come across various blogs where the stampers have colored in their images with Distress Inks and the results were amazing. This first try came out ok, but some experimentation is still needed. Next time I'm going to try stamping onto watercolor paper and see what happens.
For added interest I went around the flowers with a gold pen...

...then I used the AirBrush System from Copic on the tag. I cut the tag out using a Shapeability from Spellbinders, then before I popped the tag out, I used the AirBrush on it...

I hope you enjoy the card and have a great Monday - Jodie

2 CuteRubberStamps

I may have mentioned that I am on the Design Team for 2 CuteRubberStamps. They not only offer unmounted stamps, but digital stamps as well. The stamps are supercute and work well for use with your Copic Markers. Here is my Monday post...

I colored in the HulaHoop Hamster with my Copic makers, but added the shading with colored pencils and a blender pencil. Don't use Gamsol with your Copics or a mess will insue!!! I used a Martha Stewart corner punch for the photo corners, then used the matching border punch for the layered strip.
Finally I added Flower Soft for that added depth and voila!...Don't forget to visit their blog where you can also link up to the etsy store. Happy Monday everyone, take care!

Happy Memorial Day!

Hi everybody, I hope you are all having a great Memorial Day. Sadly I'm off to work, at o'dark early I might add - LOL, but thought I'd get a post or two in so that you'll be able to enjoy my card with your morning coffee.
This will be my last post as the Guest Designer for Critter Sketch Challenge and it's been a blast. The ladies are great and uber talented. Here is my latest creation for the "purple" challenge...

For this card I wanted to go old school, meaning I took out my Tombow pens, used watercolor paper and did a watercolor technique. The image is from Me and Carrie Lou and I used a gold sparkle embossing powder. I also used my Coluzzle to cut out the saying and punched a few butterflies for added depth.
Please enjoy and thank you for stopping by, take care!

Critter Sketch Entry - Challenge #15

Happy Monday everyone! It's been a crazy morning, life just didn't knock on the door, it busted the door down! Everything that could have gone wrong did, computer died, work called me in unexpectedly (always happens when I'm in my PJs) and the gas tank was empty. Needless to say I'm back home and life has quieted down! LOL
Here is my latest entry for the Critter Stetch Challenge Blog.

This little guy is done using Dustin Pike's digi stamps, colored in with Prismacolored pencils and Gamsol, plus I used some of the new FlowerSoft, that is in a finer texture than the original. This stuff is amazing!
Please enjoy the card and feel free to leave comments! Take care!

Critter Sketch Challenge Entry

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a great day. As some of you may remember, I am the Guest Designer for Critter Sketch Challenge Blog, for the month of May. The sponsor is artist Dustin Pike and he's got some adorable digital images, here is my entry...

This firey guy was colored in with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol (or otherwise known as Odorless Mineral Spirits). The paper is from Coredinations and Glitz Design.
Please enjoy and don't forget to check out the blog for great card & layout ideas!

Guest Design Team Member for May

Good morning everybody,
As some of you may know I was asked to be a Guest Designer at Critter Sketch Challenge Blog. This blog is a great source of creative inspiration, whether you do cards or scrapbooking. Here is my entry for the latest challenge, #12...

I colored in the image with my Copic markers and the image is a digital stamp from artist Dustin Pike. The paper is from BoBunny, Bazzill and of course Washi paper.
Please enjoy and thanks for looking!

Scrapbooking Retreat in Perry, GA

Hi everyone,
The weekend has been fabulous so far. I was lucky enough to attend a scrapbooking retreat this weekend hosted by Create N Crop. The event has been well run and we received a ton of great stuff. My table mates, Evanda, Brenda & June have been friendly and fun. Here are some pics of the New Perry Hotel...

The Hotel has a great history and the grounds are wonderful. Here is a picture of part of the garden area...

So, not only have I met amazing ladies, I've actually gotten some work done. LOL! I was asked on Friday to join the Design Team for 2 Cute Rubber Stamps and that my first posting was this Monday! Needless to say I've been creating a bunch of cards using their digi images, which are adorable by the way. All I can say is life is good!
Tune back in tomorrow when I'll post my card and post a link to this new stamp company plus they also sell rubber stamps for those not familir with digital stamps! Have a great weekend everybody!

Bombshell April Blog Hop

It was EXTREMELY early, this Wednesday, April 28th, but since I couldn't sleep, I thought I'd post my entry for the Bombshell Stamps Blog Hop. Well apparently my internet had other ideas. So after getting Rob up and realizing he wouldn't have time to fix it before heading off to his job, here I am in Panera's using their WIFI system to add my image. Of course I'm also enjoying a leisurely breakfast and coffee so my incredible frustration with the internet is subsiding! LOL
The theme of the hop is Pink, so here is my entry...

I colored her in with my Copic markers and added her dress with the new digital stamps that Bombshell is offering. I printed them on print paper and paper pieced her together. Here are the other ladies in the hop so be sure and pay them all a visit.
Thanks for stopping and please don't hesitate to leave a message!

Kas
Patti
Meredith
Katie
QueenBScraps
Steph
Erika
Sy
Angie
BoHoRose
Kelli
Stempelientje
Cheryl
Kathi
jheuser
Alison
Shaz
PerkyNihilist
Danielle

Critter Sketch Challenge Blog - #10

Good morning everyone,
I have been lucky enough to be asked to be a Guest Designer for Critter Sketch Challenge Blog. This blog has wonderful challenges every Monday, and their Design Team has done some incredible work. Here is my entry for the latest challenge, where we had to use 10 things on a card...

The 10 items that I used are 1-image, 1-image mat, 1-card mat, 1-piece of ribbon, 1-print cardstock trim, 1-cardstock trim, 1-saying and 3-dew drops. I colored in the image with my Copic markers and AtYou Spica Glitter Pens. The stamps are from Outlines Rubber Stamps and the paper is from BoBunny and Coredinatins!
Please enjoy the card and soon I will have an Etsy store running, where most of the cards can be purchased along with my previous class and store samples.
Have a great day!

Upcoming Classes

Good morning everyone - Well I am now on the Hobby Lobby teaching schedule. My first class is a stamping class and starts Apr. 27th at 10am. The four cards are definitely "feminine" themed, great for Mother's Day or for that special someone in your life...

My next class is a scrapbooking class, a 2 page, 12x12 layout, again with a feminine tone, which can be used for Mother's Day, for a grandmother, your little treasure, the possibilities are endless...

OK, so here is the final class that I'm teaching at Hobby Lobby. This is a Copic marker class, geared towards crafters who have these great coloring tools, but aren't getting the maximum amount of benefits out of them. This is a technique driven class, you will have ample opportunity to practice, plus you will be leaving with a detailed handout, a blank color chart so that you can keep track of your markers, plus we will be finishing one card for you to take with you...

All of the samples can be seen up close and personal at the Hobby Lobby at Regency.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Jessica Lyn Original...

Good morning again, I've been up for awhile and am heading back to bed after this. But as crafters, you all know, when the creative door knocks, we HAVE to answer!LOL
So I was reading the comments from previous posts and came across a very complemtary one from a lady named Jessica Lynn. She owns a stamp company, Jessica Lynn Original so of course I had to check it out. I downloaded her free digital stamp, just to try it out, and here is my card...

I printed the image onto copy paper a bunch of times, took it to my local Office Max with my cardstock and had them print it onto that. Unfortunately I can't print directly from my printer then start coloring because the ink runs if I use any kind of wet medium, and Copic markers definitely qualify for that! I colored in the images with RV09, RV91 for blending, then G28 for the leaves. I pop dotted up the various layers, to give depth, then added my saying & embellishments. I really like these images, and can't wait to get more. The saying is from Impression Obsession, one of their clear sets. Please enjoy and thanks Jessica for the inspiration!

The Sad News...

As I'm sure many of you have heard by now, the Crop Shoppe has announced that they are closing their doors. Having been a business owner, I'm sure that this decision was not an easy one for Courtney.
This economy has hit small businesses hard, making it almost impossible for them to keep their doors open. I cannot stress enough how important it is for Jacksonville, as a community, to support our local scrapbook and rubberstamp stores.
Don't get me wrong, the larger chain stores do have their place and serve a purpose, but if you want outstanding customer service, all the latest products in this industry and knowledgeable staff, the small "mom & pop" stores are second to none.
Think about it this way, when you walk into a local, privately owned store, you can rest assured that the staff working are there knowledgeable about ALL their products. Ask any questions and you will get an answer. How many times have you walked into a big box store, not been able to find anyone to help you and on the off chance you do find someone, they have no idea what you are talking about or how to help you?
The Crop Shoppe will be missed...

Blog is Under Construction & Upcoming Classes

Good morning everybody! I'm sure you've noticed that my blog is undergoing some changes. I'm in the process of updating and personalizing the look and feel of the blog, so please bear with me. I'm hoping to have everything finalized by the end of the weekend.
But onto another Outlines project...

This card is clean and simple, compared to a few of my other projects, but the Outlines stamps work perfectly for that look. I stamped the image a number of times on different colors of cardstock and paper pieced the candles.

I then pop dotted up the piece to give dimension to the card and added a bow at the top.
Also, in other news, I have scheduled a few classes at Hobby Lobby. I will be teaching stamping, scrapbooking and Copic markers. Here is the direct link for the class schedule,
Hobby Lobby classes. Mine begins on Tues. April 27th, then if you click on the "NEXT" icon at the bottom right, you will see my other classes in May. I will be posting class samples later on in the week.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day, and please feel free to leave a comment or two.

Outlines Rubber Stamps - Project One

As some of you may know, Outlines Rubber Stamps has graciously chosen me to be on their 2010 Design Team. Well about a month ago, I received a wonderful package in the mail, filled to the brim with amazing rubber stamps!
Over the next little while I will be showing my projects, we had to complete 8, that I made with just a few of these wonderful images. Here is the first one...

This line of stamps lends itself beautifully to paper piecing and paper layering. With the cake I colored in parts of the image with my Copic markers and colored pencils.

Then for added depth, I pop dotted up the cake with puzzle pieces, and finished it all off with 3D pearls from Hero Arts. Hope you enjoy the card and that you have a wonderful day!

I'm Glad to be Back - & Mojo 133

Well, it has been a rough number of weeks. Thank you to everyone for all your words of wisdom and condolances. It has meant more to me than you'll ever know.
Scrap N Stamp had been such a HUGE part of my life for the past 6 years, that it was hard to face the truth that I would no longer be going to my second home, any longer. It was so tough in fact that I had even lost my will to craft!
But I'm working part time at Hobby Lobby and am finding my way trying to balance out work, family and my passion, crafting. I am glad for all those who have chosen to stick with me, I promise we will enjoy our crafting adventure together, discovering great techniques and inspirations along the way, so with no further ado...my first card, created in my new craft room.

You may recongnize the style of this image, it's from Pink Cat Studio, their digital store. I've been a fan of their stamp line for a number of years now ( and the fact that they are Canadian has in no way influenced my opinion!). I have a few of their stamp lines and was thrilled to see them come out with wonderful digital stamps, or "digis" and they are called.

To color in the image I used a combination of my Ciao and Sketch Copic markers B32,G07,R37,RV06,RV14,Y17,YG23 and YR16. Then, of course, to add depth I used some puzzle pieces and for some final pizazz, I added a touch of glitter. The small circular metal pieces, were cut out from the Spellbinders Impressabilities. I have found these to be more useful as embellishments than as actual embossing templates.
Hope you enjoy and the card have a wonderful evening!

MMSC40 - "Bombs" Away

I hope everyone had a happy and romantic Valentine's Day. Rob surprised me with a CD of wonderful Motown love songs, a dozen long stem roses and a beautiful card. After 12 and 1/2 years of marriage the man still has got "it"!LOL
But now onto my latest crafting project... As some of you may know I've been a card marking fiend as of late. Not only trying to get onto various design teams, but also to participate in as many challenges as I can. It helps me, not only with getting those creative juices flowing, but I send a lot of ATC trades out and am always in the need of handmade cards. Here is my latest creation using Bombshell Stamps...

I just adore these images, they have spunk, character and pizazz (hopefully that's spelled right!LOL) I colored her in with Copic markers, along with the shells in the corner. I then went over her with Twinkling H2Os and the shells I went over with Shimmerz Paints, love both of those mediums by the way! Hopefully you enjoy the card.
On a personal note, as many of you are aware the store is closing in 2 weeks. I didn't realize how much product I actually have, and some of it I'm ashamed to say has never been opened.
Well, starting next week, I'm going to be offering blog candy once a week, my loss is going to be your gain! Stay tuned for more details and I hope you all have a wonderful night!