Spring Creation Self Challenge Project #24!

How's everyone tonight? Hope your weekend went well! I had a good weekend myself. It started off with spending the evening being crafty with friends at my local Michael's store! Then I enjoyed the company of my family all weekend for Saturday night dinner with my sisters & Mom and then again tonight I spent the evening with my family celebrating my great-nephew's 5th birthday! (He LOVED his Cars "Gear Up" birthday card btw! If you missed the post you can check it out here!) I'm exhausted and pretty sore but I turned my craft room light off for the night (after dinner w/ the fam!) and watched some Sunday night TV! Before we went out to dinner tonight I finished up a Spring card I was working on this weekend. I was having an issue with my stamping ink. :( BUT...here it is!

Do you recognize this cute little girl?? You should from last night's post! Yes, it is the same little girl holding a basket full of Easter eggs! This time around I thought, how fun would it be if I switched up the eggs for flowers and made a spring card instead!? :) Hope you enjoy it!

(Side View)

Thanks for looking and don't forget to check out my BLOG CANDY here!!!

~Hugs, JennRo~

Spring Creation Self Challenge Projects #16-23!

Good Evening! Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am posting some quick pics of Projects #16-23. Not much explaining tonight as I'm exhausted after being up half the night last night! Ahhh, what we do in the name of crafting! lol I hope you enjoy these creations!

--Project #16 of 30-- Small Paper Easter Basket--

Don't ya just love that little girl stamp?? She is sooo cute! I made a few different cards with her and am actually still using her in a few projects I'm currently working on! She's from "Pure Innocence". LOVE her! :)

--Project #17 of 30-- Pebble Magnet--

So I saw these cute little pebble magnets at a craft show one weekend and thought "I can make those!" Honestly, I wasn't sure how to do it but I figured it out and here is my first pebble magnet! They would make good paper weights or even thumbtacks!

--Project #18 of 30-- Cemetery Vase #1--

It is officially Spring here in Connecticut (though it certainly hasn't felt like it the last two days!) and until I can plant real flowers, I thought it would be nice to create Easter bouquets for my Father and Grandparents grave sites.

--Project #19 of 30 -- Cemetery Vase #2--

Easter Bouquet for my Grandparents.

--Project #20 of 30 -- Gear Up For A Happy Birthday Envelope--

About a week ago I created a "Gear Up For A Happy Birthday" Card for my Great-Nephew who will be turning 5 on Wednesday. Today I wrapped gifts (we're celebrating tomorrow) and realized I needed an envie for his card! Of course, I didn't have any that actually fit his card, so I had to make it! My first envie making (from scratch) experience! Not too bad if I do say so myself! :)

--Project #21 of 30 -- "Happy Easter" Blue/White Card--

I completed this card in Card Club at The Inspiration Station! So quick and easy, LOVE that! :)

--Project #22 of 30 -- "Happy Easter" Pink Ribbon Card--
I completed this card in Card Club at The Inspiration Station!

--Project #23 of 30 -- "Happy Easter" Yellow Polka Dotted Card--

I completed this card in Card Club at The Inspiration Station!

(Close up of the grass! It's a punch!!!! :) )

PHEW! That was a lot of creating! I hope you enjoyed what you saw today! Don't forget to sign up for my BLOG CANDY HERE!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Hugs, JennRo~

Polka Doodles Week #11 Challenge, Simon Says Stamp Distressing Challenge & Project #15 Spring Creation Self Challenge!

Hello All! The challenge this past week over on the Polka Doodles Challenge Blog was to create a card using this sketch as a base (four interlocking shapes). Easy right? The twist was that we were only allowed to use the Brown/Blue color combo! This proved to be a little challenging for me, as I had a hard time finding monochromatic blues and browns...but in the end, I was able to pull it together!

I've also entered this card in the "Distressing" challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog. We were asked to create a project using Distressing products; preferably Tim Holtz products. I'm pretty sure this project fits the call for distressing! I would love to try the glimmer mists because the Simon Says DT did AMAZING projects. You really need to check them out! Such talented ladies!

I created a "Happy Birthday" card using the rules of the challenges, for my Sister. Now, this would have been a great time to make a "masculine" birthday card but with a family as big as mine (and we're almost ALL ladies!) there is very rarely a time when I do NOT need a birthday card! lol Since her birthday is tomorrow (yikes!) I thought maybe I should get on it! lol Firstly, I cut my papers to the sizes I wanted and then distressed the edges of my all blue paper using the Tim Holtz Paper Distressing Tool. Once that was finished (and my dust blown away! lol) I stamped the "Happy Birthday" image. The stamp I used was something I had in my stash from many, many years ago by Stampendous. I used Tim Holtz's Vintage Photo Distress Ink for my stamp as well as to distress the edges of just about everything! After stamping the image I lightly brushed Perfect Pearls by Ranger in "Perfect Pearl" (how about that?! lol) over the image and around the edges of the blue paper to add a metallic-y shine to my sentiment. I added the small brads (I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was when I found these at Joann Fabrics this week!!! They're brown/blue!!! lol), to three corners.
I created my giant flower using my Cricut and the George & Basic Shapes cartridge (Flower2). I cut the flower in varying sizes (1.5in-4in) and papers. I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink on each of the flowers (Even the all brown one! The paper had a white core!), layered them, stuck the "Enjoy" brad through the middle and attached it to the brown polka dotted background paper. I adhered my background paper to my card and began to curl my flower into shape! I used a round pencil to help curl the petals as my fingers were just not that nimble tonight! After my constructing my flower I dusted the edges with the Perfect Pearls in "Perfect Pearl" to give it an extra sparkle or two!

After my flower was finished, I finished constructing the rest of my card. I added the Blue/Brown polka dotted strips flat on the background paper and used pop dots to adhere my "Happy Birthday" sentiment. I like my dimensions! :)

This picture (below) shows the "Perfect Pearls" in action! I wish the camera took a better image of it, but if you've used it yourself than you know how beautiful this Ranger product can make things! If you haven't used it...TRY IT! I love it!After I finished "constructing" my card, I added some "Ice" Luster baubles to some of the polka dots on the strips and then decided to add a few to my flower too! I put them on the brown polka dots (the baubles are clear) so they would appear to be brown. I bought brown pearls to add to the card and have NO idea where they ran off to! I had them in my hand earlier tonight and when I went to look for them they are nowhere to be found! :( Oh well, I think my Lusters ended up being enough!

I am not one to leave the inside of my cards blank. To me, the card feels unfinished if the inside is decoration-less! So, for the inside of this card I distressed the edges of the card and the blue card stock with Vintage Photo, rounded my corners on the blue paper, cut three more flowers, distressed the edges with Vintage Photo, stuck them together with a mini-brad and adhered the blue paper to the card. I did curl this flower's petals a smidge just so it didn't seem so flat compared to the flower on the front, but because the card needs to close (really? lol) I couldn't curl too much. I wrote in my message and TA-DAAAA! Finished product! (Big smile!)

Tip: I added glue dots to my flowers as I have to mail this card (how???!!! I don't know!!). This is not necessary but I wanted to make sure those layers didn't budge during transit!

I had fun creating this card, I just hope it gets to South Carolina in one (not too schmooshed!) piece! Since her birthday is Sunday, I'm thinking it'll be a little late! Whoops! ;)

Have you entered to WIN my BLOG CANDY yet?? There is still time!! Check that post out here! Good luck and thanks for visiting my blog!

~Hugs, JennRo~

FibroDuck Brings Fibromyalgia Awareness Through the Decades!

Hi all! As you may or may not know, I suffer from Fibromyalgia, a debilitating chronic pain disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. There is no cure and no definitive treatment plan as this disorder affects each individual differently. While researching this disorder to better understand it myself, I stumbled upon this great website...Fibroduck.com!

"The aim of Fibroduck.com is to raise awareness for Fibromyalgia, whilst making you smile!"

Since joining this FUN, creative way to raise awareness for Fibromyalgia, I have met so many people who "don't look sick" who are suffering with it right along side me. (BTW, I can't stand that phrase!! When I tell someone I'm disabled and they throw back..."well, you don't LOOK sick". Really?? GRR!) Anyway, I am still surprised when someone asks me why I'm taking pictures of this polka dotted Rubber Duckie and they say, 'oh ya, I have that' or 'my (whoever) has that'. I can't believe there are so many of us who suffer and yet so many to quickly reject our illness!!! I don't get it! Why isn't there more known about this? How many more people have to suffer before it's considered "ok" to talk about it?!

OK, I'm off my soapbox (for now, wink) and on to the FUN part of Fibroduck! Fibroduck is also a support group on facebook and every day Jaime (and her support team) ran a contest last weekend to win some yummy handmade jewelry! In order to enter the contest we had to submit a picture of our FibroDuck in a decade of our choice from the 1900's!! How fun is that??! I immediately thought 1950 Sock Hop and even went to a "50's Diner" for lunch the next day in the hopes of getting some great shots. That didn't work as I had expected it to, SO on to the party store we went, my niece Kristin, FibroDuckie and myself! Well, FibroDuckie made a TON of friends at the party store...seriously...who knew they made so many duckies!!?? I even found 1920's Flapper Duckies!! SO FUN! My niece had a good time laughing at my enthusiasm and I had a FAB time posing my duckie in all sorts of decades! Seeing as how I'm EXTREMELY indecisive, I posted my fave pics on my FB page and asked my friends to vote for which one I should submit. The photo that got the most "hits" was the one I submitted and GUESS WHAT??!! I WON the FibroDuck.com Decade Contest!!!! WAHOO!! :) Here's my entry:

Groovy 1960's FibroDuckie spreading the Fibro Word to his Peaceful Friends! Don't ya just love those glasses??!!

The best part of FibroDuck.com is that it's WORLDWIDE! So check it out! You can either look through the pictures page by page or choose your area of the world and look that way! Have fun and please remember, if you see a person who "doesn't look sick" getting out of a car parked in the handicapped spot, please, please don't judge. You just never know how much pain or how "sick" someone is just by looking at them. Please remember the old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover". For those of us who suffer with Fibromyalgia and other "invisible illnesses", that saying is our LIVES! For example, tonight I had Card Club and I was in sooo much pain and sooo exhausted I really didn't think I had the energy to create anything! But, I took a quick nap (can't say it helped though!), plastered a smile on my face and off I went with my pillow (to use in the chair!) in tow! I'm a good "faker" as my Chiropractor would say. With a smile on my face, you'd never know how much pain I'm hiding; some days I can hide it so well my Mom doesn't even know how badly I hurt.

OK, with that being said...CARD CLUB! I went to Card Club tonight at The Inspiration Station and had a good time! I LOVE that store! If you're anywhere close I highly suggest taking a trip! Many independent craft stores are more expensive than the retail stores, but this store offers great products, fabulous selection and prices that are usually cheaper than the retail stores! I love Card Club because not only do you make FOUR easy but FAB cards, you get to take home the stamp (or other product) you worked with!! YAY! So cute! I will upload pics, of the stamp set we took home and the cards I made, tomorrow along with a Saturday Sketch Card & a Bitten By the Bug 2 Card! I'm looking forward to my Friday-free of doctor appointments! Check back for those pics and creations tomorrow! Off to bed before I fall asleep and start drooling on the keyboard! Night all!

~Hugs, JennRo~

P.S. Don't forget to play along with the previous post for a chance to win some BLOG CANDY!!!

Spring Creation Self Challenge Projects #8-14 & Is That the Scent of Sweet Candy??!!

Jewelry was the theme this afternoon in my crafting corner! Check out some of my newest pieces! Again the photo credit goes to my friend Aleana Howard. Check out her website here!

-- Project # 8 of 30 -- Lock & Key Necklace --

It is hard to see but there are little crystals on the lock, where the bolts would normally be, for an added flare! -- Project # 9 of 30 -- Blue Shell Pendant w/ Silver Inlay Necklace --
This pendant called my name from the shelf and I knew it would make a GREAT birthday gift for someone I know who happens to be having a birthday really soon! (wink, wink) Hope she likes it!

-- Project # 10 of 30 --Flower/Star/Heart/Butterfly Enamel Pendants Necklace --
These little pendants are great because you can use them individually or in any combo for a fun look!

-- Project # 11 of 30 -- Silver Dragonfly w/ Green&Clear Crystals Necklace --

I just loved this dragonfly! I like simple pendants with a little added flare! Hmm..think I'll have to make one for myself! :)
-- Project # 12 of 30 -- B&W Butterfly w/ Crystals Necklace --
This is another charm that screamed my name as I walked by. It begged me to come home with me and the rest is history! Isn't she pretty??

-- Project # 13 of 30 -- Flower & Butterfly "Beauty" Sage Background Necklace --

I liked this series of charms because they were simply beautiful and reminded me to look for the beauty in everyday life.

-- Project # 14 of 30 -- "Beauty" Butterfly Sage Background Necklace --

So simple and so pretty! :)

I know it's really hard, but I'd love to know which one is your favorite and why! Do I smell some candy?? Some blog candy??!! Yes, indeedy! My VERY FIRST Blog Candy Giveaway!! How exciting!!?? Perhaps you'll be the lucky winner of one of these necklaces!!

In order to be eligible to win the candy you must:

1. Leave a comment on this post sharing which necklace is your favorite and why.
2. Become a Follower of my blog
3. Post this blog candy in the sidebar of your blog or write about it in your blog to give others the chance to win too!
4. Check back on Tuesday, March 30th to see if you're the random winner!

Good luck to all! The Blog Candy will close at Midnight (EST) Monday, March 29th so hurry, hurry! More card or layout making tomorrow...what will I come up with...?? NOTHING, if I don't get to bed! It's already 2:30am! YIKES! Good Night Bloggers!

*Hugs*, JennRo

Spring Creation Self Challenge Projects #4-7!

WOW! I've been awfully busy the last few days! I have been creating up a storm! I have a little bit of everything for you tonight (or maybe I should say, "this morning"...I really need to go to bed!! lol) My wonderful friend, Aleana, took these pictures today for me! My camera was just NOT cutting it! Hop on over to her website to see her AMAZING work!

-- Project #4 of 30 -- "Miss You" Metallic Butterfly Card --

This card is a design of The Inspiration Station where I took a "Quick & Easy" Card making class the other day! LOVED it! Really, they are all quick and easy! :D I took the class for this card. I knew as soon as I saw it on their website who I was sending it to! The "Miss You" sentiment is a stamp from my own collection as they didn't have a "miss you" stamp there to use. This was my very first "ink job" (smile) using Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Tim Holtz. It turned out a little darker than I would have liked but it was a learning experience! I wish you could see how beautiful this butterfly is in "real" life! We used "Perfect Pearls" Pigment Powder (another first for me!) and I LOVED it! I can't wait to stock up! :)

This picture shows the dimension and a close up of the Pearls! Love those too! :)

-- Project #5 of 30 -- Flowery Stamped Note card --

Another Inspiration Station Design. What a beautifully simple card to construct! Would you believe there are THREE different stamps on this card?? Stunning! I have wanted the lacy punch for quite some time and I think I'm putting it on my wish list for this weekend finally!Showing a side view of the dimensions again! LOVE my pop dots!! (And my pearlies too!!)

-- Project #6 of 30 -- "Thinking of You" Butterfly Card --

This card was SO, SO, SO easy to make! We stamped the background image twice; once on the card and once on a white piece of card stock. Colored in the white card stock buggies with our choice of coloring utensils (I used pencils, as my Copic class isn't until next month!), cut the buggies out and pop dotted them right over top of there counterparts on the card! Added some blueish pearlies (smile) and ribbon and VIOLA! Finished Product!! Oh, we also distressed the edges with Vintage Photo ink. Definitely got the hang of it now! :)Close Up of my handywork! :)Lastly, a close up of the Dimensions and Sentiment w/ BLING! :)

-- Project #7 of 30 -- "Oh Happy Day" Squirrel Card --

This last card designed by Inspiration Station was a little more tedious as there was inking, actual paper distressing and coloring to be done! Not to mention wrapping the twine and making sure to have enough left over to tie the button on! lol ;) "oh happy day" is a stamp with the dots added in with a black fine tip marker. The squirrel (Isn't he soo cute!!??) and the logs are stamped and the "bounce" line is hand drawn with a black fine tip marker. REALLY like this card!

Well, those are the card creations for the last day or so...stay tuned for another post featuring some jewelry creations! Which card was your favorite? *Hugs*

Project #3 Spring Self Challenge & Polka Doodles Challenge Entry

Good evening to all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! It was a gorgeous, warm & sunny weekend here in Northern Connecticut. I'm sure it won't last long but I've been trying to enjoy it while it lasts! I have been super duper inspired this weekend by a lot of new (and treasured not-so new) creation blogs and many hours spent wandering around both Michael's and JoAnn's Fabrics! Because I can never remember what products I want or where it was I first found them, I have decided to make a visual wish list. So while I was meandering around the craft stores, I took pictures (sometimes with my cell phone camera and other times with the regular camera) of the things I wanted to purchase at another time. Just a way I have come up with to help with my Fibro-fogged brain! I would love to hear your suggestions for remembering or wish listing! I need all the help I can get these days! lol OK, now on to the Project!

"Gear Up For A Happy 5th Birthday Mason"

Have you checked out the Polka Doodle Challenge Blog? It's FANTASTIC and there are so many great crafters! Be sure to check it out! I have been working on this birthday card for my Great Nephew for quite a few days. Piece by piece and a little at a time...it's finally finished! :) He is turning 5 at the end of this month (bet you couldn't figure that out?! lol) and is obsessed with the movie "Cars". I saw a really cute collection of "Cars" chipboard shapes at Michael's a few weeks ago and knew they would come in handy!

The Polka Doodle Week 10 Challenge was to create a card to celebrate a milestone birthday or anniversary. So Mason's 5th birthday was the perfect milestone I needed! The background card stock is black and the large 5 on the front is cut out from the front card flap.

I used the Cricut Alphalicious cartridge and the Design Studio Software to make the "5". I cut it once in white using the shadow function and again in bright red using the base number. Added some yellow card stock to the left side and adhered the white "5" shadow first. Then added the red "5" with pop dots to add dimension. I added the Lightening McQueen chipboard image with pop dots as well so he would be as high off the card as the number 5. Just to be certain he wouldn't drive away (heehee) I adhered him to the bottom of the 5 as well.

One of the movie's tag lines is "Gear Up". I decided to bring that into the card as an added bonus for my Car's loving nephew! ;) I cut "Gear Up" using the Cricut Alphalicious cartridge. I did one cut in black card stock using the base shift letters and a one cut in white card stock using the shadow shift feature. I adhered them together and plopped them on the yellow strip. As a finishing touch to the outside of the card I added a little line/dot border with a fine tip black marker around the yellow section and around the red "5".

There we have the front of the card! I took this picture to try to show the "5" cutout. In hindsight it would have been great if I took these pics on something other than a black table so the card would have shown up better! Oh well! (sigh)

For the inside of the card, I adhered two strips of white card stock that would stay hidden behind the solid part of the front flap. Using the Alphalicious cart (again!) and the DSS I was able to get my letters small enough to fit in this small space. I shadowed the "5th" with black and used the same yellow card stock from the front to make the milestone pop again! (Five is a BIG accomplishment you know! It takes a WHOLE hand to show your age! lol) The other words were welded together (FAVE feature of DSS!) and cut on black card stock.

Here's a closeup of the inside wording. I like how the letters came out different sizes. Usually I'm a perfectionist about my sizes and positioning of things but for this card, I let myself be a little crazy! (woohoo! lol)

It feels great to be creating again and participating in some blog challenges along the way! :) Check out the great blog candy opportunities on the right sidebar of my blog!

Happy almost Monday! :)

Blog Candy Craziness!!

Hey all! Still working on my next few projects but in the meantime check out the new blog candy offered at the sites featured on my side bar! GREAT blogs with awesome inspiration and fantabulous chances to win awesome blog candy! Check them all out!

A few Scrapbook Pages from the Past...

My FibroFriend Vicky asked if I would post some of my Scrapbook pages. I will have to work on getting some updated pics this weekend but here I've posted some older pages I just happen to have pictures of already! Enjoy!
This was a really fun day! I took my GodDaughter, Kaitlyn and my Great Nephew Mason (best buds btw) to CT's Beardsley Zoo. Mason was a little young but Kaitlyn had a blast! One of my favorite days still! I need to get an updated pic of this first page as it's actually journaled now! lol My favorite part of this page is that the map is attached to the outside of the page protector so you can actually fold it out and look at the map of the zoo!

I love this layout because I LOVE B&W pics! This is my nephew Stephen and his date Abby (and friends) at their Junior Prom. I loved that Abby wore a red dress and it was a great color scheme to scrap! I love using black pages and metallic accents!

Sorry this pic is so blurry! The boys are Mason (my Great Nephew) and Davey (my cousin's son) who are exactly 30 days apart! I just loved this layout because I love the border of trucks and the amount of pictures on the page is almost like a little movie of the boys playing. (smile)

The rest of the layouts I have for you are from my college roommate's bridal shower and wedding! The layout above and below are from her shower. I try to use the actual invitations, napkins, favors, etc. from any event if at all possible. So both Mechelle's bridal shower invites and her wedding invites were used in these layouts.

The invitation on this one is adhered to the outside of the page protector so the "reader" can flip it open and read the details!

I used the wedding ceremony program in this layout.

It's been a look down memory lane as these layouts came from 2006! I will have to update soon with some newer layouts...of course, I'm so far behind, I'm not finished with my 2007 album yet!! (smile) I chose to make yearly albums with some special smaller albums thrown in (ie: Disney or other fun events that deserve their own books!) Some people make an album for each child, some make an album for each catagory (Vacation, Christmas, Birthdays, etc.). That's what I love so much about crafting! There are no mistakes, just variations! ;)