LOA From TRS

 Hello my friends and followers.  Yet again my health is interfering with my card-making and I must slow down and let my body try to heal.  I felt I should share this as you won't find any recent card posts.  I'm hopeful to be able to return to Three Room Studio’s Design Team, I just don't know when.  So please check back every couple months.  I'm guessing I won't be back until sometime after the new year.  

Stay well and healthy, and have a wonderful holiday season!!

Jill

#TRSSKETCHCHALLENGE07 - Just a Note

Well hello my "sketchy" friends!  I'm sharing my Three Room Studio Stamps Sketch Challenge card with you.  I'm sorry I posted my blog a couple days late, life happens, right?!!  For me it seems my health keeps getting in the way.  Be patient and hang with me!

The sketch challenge was actually last week at TRS.  I posted my card before the week was out, but am just now getting to my blog.  Here's a picture of the sketch we used to make our cards. 

As I contemplated my card design within these parameters, I was drawn to one of my favorite stamp sets, It's a Ponderful Life.  I just love the little frog stamp, so that's what I used for the centerpiece of my card.  Not just one frog, three frogs- because more is better, right?!  Here's a picture of my card and most of the items I used to color it. 

 First I die cut the panels that I would be using with my MFTs stitched rectangles dies.  I used #80 NSW for both the background and smaller frog panel.  The card base is #110 NSW, as is the "Just a Note" paper piece I cut by hand and colored with the Copic YR21 to match the card perfectly.

The background is made by ink blending Distress Oxide inks, beginning at the bottom with Evergreen Bough, then Broken China, and finally Salty Ocean at the top.  Leave plenty of room to overlap your colors for a smooth transition.  I then used my anti-static bag along where the horizontal line would be so that I would have a crisp embossing line once my panel was completely dry.  I generously used a small ink pad of Versamark directly to the paper while I held a sheet of copy paper in place for my line.  I then used Distress Embossing Glaze in Broken China to create a shiny, but darker side to the background panel (plus I just like to find ways to use the Distress Glaze, I love it!).  I then spattered lightly some Pearl Mica Spray by Wendy Vecchi.  

Next I went about coloring my three frogs that I stamped with my MISTI for perfect alignment.  I chose YR21, YG17 and BV04 as my mid-tone colors for the frogs, then used some lighter and darker tones of each to achieve some semblance of dimension.  I had a big Copic accident well into my coloring.  A big blob of green dropped onto the belly of my green frog.  So as you can see, that frog has spots!!  Luckily I was able to salvage the accident, though truly that frog looked better without the large spots.  I adhered my background panel to my white card base then used some foam tape to adhere my froggy panel.  I then stamped the sentiment on my prepared sentiment strip using the stamp set Simple Sentiments.  I used some snail adhesive on the back of the strip and a narrow strip of adhesive backed fun foam along the outside half of the sentiment strip so that it layed flat when placed along the edge of the frog panel.

That completes my card.  A pretty basic one this time.  In case you don't realize, these weekly challenges are not just for the Design Team, but for all fans of Three Room Studio.  So show off your stuff on Instagram using #trscardchallenge and on Facebook at Three Room Studio's Fourth Room.  We'd love to see your creations!  To see all my card creations, visit me on IG @jktaylor911.

Thank you for visiting my blog, I am truly grateful,

Jill ✂

Three Room Studio's 5th Birthday - Instagram Hop card

Hey there friends and crafters!  Happy you found your way here.  Believe it or not, due to some health reasons, I had not posted on my blog for a while and as I was attempting to create this blog entry in Chrome (my usual browser) my blogger account was just gone!  It gave me some weird error message that I was unable to work around.  Finally, I decided to check another browser, and voila!!  I could suddenly access my account and get this blog done.  I was freaking out!!  I'm a bit rushed to get this posted in time, so forgive me if this post is not up to my usual standards.😅 If you are following along on the IG Hop, then you've just come from Sandy Allnock's post/blog.  Just my luck to follow such a great artist and creator.  I'm quite a fan of hers, so yeah... no comparison's please!!😆😏

My card for the IG Hop is one I created with Sandy Boone (TRS owner/illustrator) in mind.  So it had to be a birthday card!  I've not made a slimline format card before, so I thought this was a good time.  For this card I used 3 stamp sets from Three Room Studio.  The main image is from the YAY! stamp set, as well as some of the sentiments, I used the grasses stamps from It's a Ponderful Life, and the small dragonflies and a sentiment from the Believe in Fairies stamp set.  I also used a Happy Birthday sentiment from Concord and 9th.

For this card, I first stamped the woman image in Copic friendly ink.  I then went about Copic coloring the background.  I added the dark grass stamp in the foreground last to add depth and dimension to my picture.  Then I colored this fun lady.  I added some black dots to her top for interest.  I then worked on the frame.  I used a MFTs rectangle die that I had to partial die cut twice in order to make the opening so long.  Fortunately it worked out on my first attempt!  I then decided to ink blend the frame as well, using the colors of my picture as inspiration.  I used Distress Oxide Inks (from the top first), Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, (then from the bottom) Mowed Lawn all the way up and Peeled Paint just at the bottom over top of Mowed Lawn.  Using my MISTI I positioned the sentiments and stamped them in Versa Fine Clair ink (dark blue and green).

After looking at it and thinking something was missing, I added some pale grass to the bottom of the frame and two little flying dragonflies.  I also colored over the word Hooray! with a green glitter pen (but you can't see it in my pictures).

For the final step in this card, I chose a fun holographic cardstock from Simon Says Stamp to fill the space between my picture and the frame.  It really looks cool!  I also used some dimensional foam tape to the back of the frame (it made that holographic paper show up even better).

A close-up of my card:

I hope you enjoyed my card and all the other one's on this special IG Hop.  I believe your next stop is with the fabulous Erica A-B, @erica_cacacraft  back on IG.  Have a great day and don't forget to check out the TRS fan site on Facebook, Three Room Studio's Fourth Room for all things TRS!

Stay crafty my friends,

Jill ✂

TRS Instagram Hop - Fairy Love card

Hello my crafty friends!  I'm finally getting around to posting on my blog - for good reason, too.  Three Room Studio is hosting their first Instagram Hop on Saturday, April 25th.  If you are following along the hop, I'm sort of in the middle of the pack, after Sam- @samvandesigns.  I hope you are as blown away as I am not only on the fabulous stamps with this release, but the sheer talent in our group.  There are so many GREAT cards!!  The images are so great to color, which if you know me is sorta my jam.  My card could be viewed as a 2 for 1 deal.  The inside panel is just as nice as the outside panel and could be used for a card front by itself as well!  I didn't really intend on that when I started, it just sorta worked out that way.  Here is the front view of my card:

As you can see, this is a window card, but the window is open, no acetate.  So when you open the card it's the cute frog scene and a sentiment. 

Let's dive into how I made this card.  I started out with a standard A2 folded card base in Neenah Solar White and covered it with Altenew's Washi tape in Watercolor Nebula then die cut a square window in the front, with the card in landscape position.  The 2 stamp sets I used from this TRS new release were Believe in Fairies and It's a Ponderful Life.  I knew I wanted the fairy on the outside and the frog inside the window.  I decided the fairy would be made from 40 lb. vellum.  I first fussy cut her out, then I colored her from the back side first with Copic markers, then used some Prismacolor pencils on the front.  I felt like she needed to sparkle, so I used some Ranger Stickles Glitter Gel in Nebula on her wings, which caused them to curl forward just a bit when they dried.  I actually love that 3-D dimensional look. Then I used some liquid shimmer on her dress- Shimmer Stix by Imagine, which has like double the shimmer power of Wink of Stella.  I finished her off with a white colored pencil for highlighting. 

Next I created a stencil with the same square cut out of it.  I positioned it in the same place as the window, then temporarily adhered it to the inside panel.  First I stamped the frog, then masked him using Post it Notes with full adhesive.  Then I stamped the lily pad he was sitting on and masked that as well.  Then I lightly marked the water line and then did some ink blending with Distress Oxide inks for the water and sky.  I then stamped the background grass from the frog stamp set, using MFTS Hybrid ink.  I added lighter and darker tones to the grass with my Copic markers so the grass had some depth to it.  I uncovered my frog and lily pad and Copic colored them.  Next I stamped the foreground grass in a very dark grey color, again to make it feel closer to you and give the scene depth and dimension.  Finally I removed my stencil and I just loved my little scene!  

Next I went back to the front of the card, used some vellum tape to secure my fairy along the left border of the window.  Next I used my Embossing Buddy to remove any static from my card front, then stamped the sentiments in my MISTI with SSS white Pigment ink, followed by some Ranger embossing powder in Silver Pearl.  Next I stamped the star clusters in the same ink but used Ranger's Iridescent embossing powder on them, for a little sparkle!  Last, I finished off the inside panel with some cattails, small dragonflies and a sentiment (all from the 2 TRS stamp sets)..

I hope you like my card and are enjoying our IG Hop!  In fact, just hop on over to Kevin's post @kevinbray10 and see what card design he came up with.  If you like what you see, don't forget to stop by the store - Three Room Studio, I believe the stamp sets are available for purchase.  We also have a Facebook page called, Three Room Studio's Fourth Room.  There you can catch all the DT cards, the weekly challenges, and even post your own creations (we love that) or just post to IG at #trscardchallenge.

Thanks again for stopping by- be safe, be well, and happy crafting (a safe activity, yay!),

Jill ✂

TRS Coffee "Full set Syndrome."

Welcome to the new week and all the Coronavirus madness!  I hope you all are taking full advantage of this social isolation by digging into your crafting!  What better way to stay safe, right??  Well, I decided I was not happy with my previous coffee cards and wanted to redeem myself.  So I think I hit a home run, or at least close to it.  I combined stamp sets Awesome Coffee with Retail Therapy and came up with this:

Using my MISTI, I centered then stamped the coffee cup in front.  I then created a 2-piece mask with Mask It.  I probably could have made a single mask, but I was considering a pattern on the mugs.  An idea I later scrapped.  I masked over the full cup first, then stamped the cups on either side, moved the mask over to the second position and stamped the right outside cup, then moved the mask to the second position on the left, and stamped the last cup on the left.  Easy peasy! Once that was done I began my Copic coloring.  I first colored with 3 color family markers for the shading for each of the five cups.  After I colored the lids, I felt the shading was a bit understated.  So I added C3 and C5 to the cup's shaded areas (depending on the cup color).  I added a little white colored pencil details to the lids as well.  I then stamped and masked the coffee bean rings onto the cups with some MFTs Hybrid ink in Hot Fudge, then stamped the main sentiment in MFTs Hybrid ink in Steel Grey.  I then die cut a banner from MFTs Blueprint Sketch and white heat-embossed the smaller sentiment on some shimmery, Black Pearl cardstock by Crafter's Companion.  I then trimmed my card panel to 4.25" x 5.0"and mounted my card panel to the same Black Pearl cardstock for my card base. 

  

I hope you enjoyed my card, poking a little fun at one our crafter's neuroses!  Stay safe and healthy.  Stay indoors and craft more during this difficult time.  God bless you and thank you for stopping by.  Don't forget to visit https://threeroomstudio.com to shop, or click on the blog for all things TRS.  We have a FB page called "Three Room Studio's Fourth Room" for the design team and TRS fans to post their creations.  We'd love to see what you make!

Jill✂

TRS Photo Inspiration Challenge card for March

 Thank you for visiting my blog!  I made a very different type of card this time- using patterned paper and paper piecing for this challenge. Here's a picture of the Photo Inspiration for this challenge (see right).       













I've watched a few other card makers do this technique recently, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Here's what I came up with:

I used stamps from TRS- Moving Sentiments.  The paper pack that I used is from Echo Park, a 6x6 pad called Celebrate Autumn by Lori Whitlock.  I chose it because it had patterns that I liked and would work well with my design concept, and they were the right colors, of course!  First I selected the papers for the background wall and floor, cut them to size and adhered them to my card panel.  I then cut a narrow strip of white card stock to be base board for my wall.  I then went about stamping the boxes and potted plant onto the tan fabric-like paper, then did some Copic coloring on top of it.  The paper was light enough that the potted plant colors worked well on it.  The boxes I colored shadows for dimension and colored the tape and tape dispenser.  I did stamp on white card stock for the lamp and the cat, as I needed some lighter colors to balance out the card.  I Copic colored those as well.  I then fussy cut everything, then arranged them to my liking.  I decided to use some foam squares behind the boxes only to achieve a dimensional look.  The other pieces are adhered directly onto the paper.  Next I heat embossed the sentiment in Copper embossing powder from Stampin' Up!  I tried a few different colors, but felt the copper was the most complimentary.  Last, I cut my completed panel down to 4" x 5.5" and adhered it to a top folding white A2 card base, allowing the white to show along the sides of the card, again to coordinate with the white strip on the card.  This was a pretty fast card to put together, and I must say that I am surprised how much I enjoyed making it, and I love all the coordinating colors.  I do think that this set lends itself to paper piecing well.  I hope you give it a try... use up some of that patterned paper I know we all have!  If you are so inclined, come play along with us and the TRS challenges.  Visit Three Room Studio's Blog for all the details and post your creations using TRS stamps to Instagram at #trscardchallenge or on Facebook at Three Room Studio's Fourth Room.  You can also see all the DT cards in those locations as well.

Have a wonderful day and happy crafting!

Jill ✂

Awesome Coffee Cards

Hello crafters, thanks for visiting my blog.  March has arrived in Montana and we are seeing some lovely spring weather (and the snow is almost gone already- except in the high mountains of course!)  We here at the TRS design team are making coffee themed cards using the new stamp set, Awesome Coffee.  Though the weather seems to be shifting, I still want my coffee hot, so my cards reflect that!  I made two cards because I made an alcohol ink rainbow background on Yupo paper and cut it in half for two backgrounds.  Here are my cards:




















The first card I made by stamping the coffee cup and sleeve onto some mottled light tan card stock from my stash, that I also used for the card base.  I used the "kissing" technique to transfer a stamp pattern onto the sleeve, then stamped the sentiment shadow in a darker shade of teal, then stamped and embossed the sentiment in black.  I used my Copic markers to create shading, then I fussy cut out the image.  Next I die cut the background Yupo paper using a Deckle die from Spellbinders.  I foiled the next layer.  It is a toner graphic image on card stock by Creative Vision Stamps called Foilables.  There are several patterns to choose from.  I foiled this one using bright blue foil.  I adhered the layers, drew in the surface the cup was on, and stamped the 4 point stars in the stamp set in purple, then placed light purple gems from Hero Arts in the centers.

For the second card, I started by stamping then embossing the coffee bean rings.  I arranged them like a rainbow.  Next I stamped the coffee cup and sleeve on two different patterned papers from the 6 x 6 bundle called Lively by Authentique.  Again I used some light brown Copic markers to create the shading on both elements after I had stamped the sentiment and shadow.  I then fussy cut both out. Next I stamped the coffee cup lid on shimmery black card stock in Versamark ink, then used some silver embossing powder, heat set it, then fussy cut it out.  I adhered all 3 pieces together, then used some dimensional foam squares to pop the cup up off the Yupo panel.  Next I die cut a frame from MFTs in white, then adhered those pieces onto a layer of orange card stock, then adhered that to a white A2 top folding card base. 

These cards were pretty quick and simple to make, since my cards are usually more complex with lots of Copic coloring or water-coloring, which takes more time.  I'm enjoying the paper piecing that I've done on my last couple of cards.  It's a good way to use up your scraps or just use the loads of patterned paper we all have laying around.  Plus it looks pretty cool too and saves time!  I hope you enjoyed my cards.  Don't forget you can join in on our theme if you have the Awesome Coffee stamp set only available at the Three Room Studio website.  Post your creations on IG using #trscardchallenge or post on FB at Three Room Studio's Fourth Room.  You'll also have the opportunity to see the other DT cards while you visit the sites.

Come see me again soon with my next post.  I really appreciate you visiting.  Hopefully I help your creative process as well. 

Craft creatively my friends!

Jill ✂

February TRS Color Challenge- Mermaid Shaker Card

Welcome back to my blog, I hope you are having a delightful, productive weekend.  I've been suffering with some acute on chronic GI problems this week, so I surprised myself when I completed this card on time!  This is my DT card for Three Room Studio's monthly card challenge.  You can participate as well by checking out their blog for the monthly photo inspiration, then post your card using TRS stamps to Instagram using #trscardchallenge or post it to their Facebook page, Three Room Studio's Fourth Room.  Initially I wasn't planning on this being a shaker card, but once I got to a certain point, I got stuck.  Does that ever happen to you?  I thought I knew where I wanted to go, but then I didn't really like it and I'd spent a lot of time on the background and coloring the images that I didn't want to scrap it.  So, I switched gears (or really directions) and turned it into a shaker card.  So here's my finished card.  Below, I'll explain what I used and how I made it.

Here's the inspiration photo:

























I started off this card by white heat-embossing a waves stamp from I believe Hero Arts (it's unlabeled in my stamp bin).  I then used 3 shades of blue/green ink from Gina K. Designs and ink blended the background, going from light to dark as I went
down the card.  Using an oval stencil I cut from masking paper, I repeated the colors but more intensely.  Next I stamped the TRS images from "Mermaid at Heart" stamp set in black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs, then colored the images with Copic markers that coordinated with the color palette above.  On the mermaid tail I used the 0 Copic blender to create little dots in the lighter colored areas, then followed with dots of ink from a Gelly Roll pen in Clear Star (see other photo below).  I then fussy cut all the images out. 






Next I prepared the frame.  I first ran it through my die cutting machine using Altenew's Dotted Scales Debossing Cover Plate.  Next I die cut that with the frame die from Mama Elephant.  The dotted scales are subtle, but coordinates nicely with the theme.  The "celebrate" die cut is from Birch Press Designs.  I had previously die cut and colored it for another project that I ended up not using it for, however it was perfect for this project.  I believe I used a mixture of embossing powders together to achieve this metallic dark blue/green color.  Next I applied X-press it foam tape around the edges of my card panel then glued the little fish and sea horse in place and added various elements for my shaker (sequins, glitter, glass balls, etc.).  I glued a few of them in place so that when the card is held upright, some of the elements stay at the top/middle.  I then carefully placed the frame and clear acetate window that I had previously glued in place onto my card panel.  Last, I glued the lovely mermaid and sentiment in place then adhered it to a standard folded card base.

The specific Copic markers I used were R20, R22, E07, BG11, BG72, BG75, B99, and E53, E55, and E57 for her hair.  Skin colors were:  E50, E00, BV00 and R20 to cheeks and R24 to lips.

I hope you enjoyed my underwater shaker card.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  I will have this posted to Instagram and FB, and you can see all the DT cards up on the TRS blog or just #trscardchallenge on IG and you'll see all the cards from all the challenges.

Thank you again for visiting my site.  Stay crafty my friends!

Jill ✂

Sending Loads of Hugs and Kisses from Three Room Studio (TRS)

Well, hello my friends!  I'm here on the TRS design team, sharing two Valentine's Day cards with you using current non-Valentine stamps from TRS.  The TRS weekly card challenges are starting off with of course a Valentine theme for February.  We are to make these cards using non-traditional stamps from TRS.  This challenge can be found on Instagram at #trscardchallenge.  It's not just for the Design Team either.  Play along with the TRS weekly card challenges by visiting their blog to see what the current challenge is and post your cards on Instagram.  New challenges will post every Saturday.  We'd love to see what you are making!  This first challenge wasn't hard at all, as you will see from not only the cards I made, but the ones made by the team as well (check out TRS Blog).  My first card is a rather CAS card (unusual for me), using stamps from three different sets (Let's Hygge, Skate Sleep Repeat, and Loads of Love.)

I first checked for sizing of the mug and hearts on the Avery Elle scalloped heart die cut I wanted to use.  Lucky me, it fit!  So I die cut the heart first, then stamped the mug (I removed the ink from the back of the mug where the cluster of hearts would be) inside my MISTI.  Next I stamped the cluster of hearts.  I decided to color the image with my Copics first, then finish the rest of the stamping (just in case I didn't like how I colored it).😁  Next I stamped the floating hearts, and the sentiment and heart on the mug using Catherine Pooler ink in Peppermint Scrub.  I colored a grey shadow at the base of the mug so that it didn't look like it was floating.  Next I used a finger sponge dauber to add color (Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide ink) to the edge of the scalloped heart, as it sort of disappeared when placed on the background panel.  That panel was die cut using a Hero Arts background die.  I wanted the background hearts to be translucent, so I adhered a panel of 30# Platinum Translucent Vellum from Grafix to the back side of the front panel.  I cut it about 1/2 inch long so that I could score it at the top and adhere it to the back panel at the top.  I did this to retain the translucent look to the background hearts.  Last I used some foam tape to adhere the scalloped heart to the card, for a little dimension.

My second card is a little more "typical me" with lots of coloring and scene building.  I first stamped the woman and cart in my MISTI, then added the cart contents, masking small areas where needed.  The stamps I used from TRS were:  Retail Therapy and Loads of Love.   I then masked that entire image so I could use my Copic airbrush to color the background.  I used Altenew and Honey Bee Stamps stencils on my background.
Once the background was dry (it didn't take long), I colored my stamped images with Copic markers in mostly reds, pinks, and blues since I felt the color palette would be too busy if I added more colors, since the background was so vibrant.  I drew in extra boxes inside the cart, and drew in a shadow of the cart on the ground as well.  I used clear Wink of Stella on the hearts and X's and O's.
Back to my MISTI I used my embossing buddy to remove static and any remaining stickiness from my Copic airbrushing.  I then stamped the sentiment in Gina K's Black Amalgam ink first, then in Versamark and then heat-embossed it using WOW's Black Glint embossing powder.  The sentiment stamps were from TRS, SSS, and Hero Arts.
Finally, I trimmed the card to 4 inches and mounted it onto some red card stock that had a strip of Adhesive Glitter Paper in pink from The Ton adhered to the right edge.

That concludes my February Valentine post for Three Room Studio.  I hope you can see how you can use non-traditional stamps for just about any occasion.  Save your money and stretch the stamps and supplies you have.  I bet you'll be surprised!

Thanks again for visiting my blog.  I hope you found it useful.  Please visit Three Room Studio to see not only the products but also their blog (which is linked to on the top of the Home page) which will show all the DT's Valentine's Day cards and everything TRS.  Enjoy!

Jill ✂

Three Room Studio First Design Team. I'm in!!

Hello friends and fellow crafters!  I'm happy to announce (a little late) that I was chosen to be on Three Room Studio's first Design Team for 2020.  I'll include a couple winter/Christmas cards that I made with the December release, but my first complete card blog for TRS will be in early February just in time for Valentine's Day!

I've been busy with the holidays (just like most people) and recovering from a total hip replacement (early damage to joint due to hip dysplasia... yes, just like dogs).  I'm recovering well, I just can't sit for too long as things really stiffen up.  Below is a picture of  the amazing design team that I'm on.

Just as promised, here are the two cards that I made with the December Release.  The first one was made using the stamp set "Let's Hygge."  I'll be honest, I didn't even know what that term meant until it was explained to me.  It's a word used to convey all the things you do in winter to get cozy.  Hence, it's a term primarily used in places that have long, cold winters.  I also used the stamp set "Moving Sentiments" for the cat, plant, lamp shade, sentiments and window elements.  I colored it using Copic markers and a white gel pen.

The second card used the stamp set "Skate Sleep Repeat" as the focal point of my card.  I ink blended the background using Distress Oxide Inks then stamped a Simon Says Stamp Holiday Background stamp in varying tones of green.  I die cut an oval from the center and replaced it with an oval piece I had stamped and colored (with Copics) the skater image on, then die cut 2 oval frames.  Using the MISTI I was able to stamp the image over 3 layers so that she appears to be one image over all the layers.  I masked the skater and ink blended the blue background before I adhered it to my card.  I hand lined the hash marks around the oval, then cut the width of the panel to 4 inches.  I mounted it to a dark blue-green cardstock that I applied some clear Wink of Stella to the outside edges for a little sparkle.

I hope you make your way back to my blog to see what other neat cards I'm making for TRS.  Check out their website www.threeroomstudio.com as well as their blog that's on their website for all things TRS.  We also will be having a weekly color challenge that will be posted to Instagram.  The DT and any other crafter who uses TRS stamps can join in.  I believe the # is #trscardchallenge. 

Thanks so much, I look forward to engaging on my blog again and hopefully inspiring some of you on your crafty journey!

Jill ✂

I'm Baaaack!! Let's celebrate with a couple wedding cards.

Hello my dear crafty friends, I know it has been awhile... a long while!  Not only has this past year (yikes!) been a medical challenge for me, but also for my husband and son who is 20.  Let's just say that 2019 has been just awful for my family, so please keep us in your prayers as we continue to deal with medical issues (and let's not forget the bills!).  We've been fortunate enough to not have financial problems our entire 30 year marriage, but this year has definitely taken its toll.  Medical bills up the you know what!  Anyway, my crafting has definitely seen a slow down this year.  I'm just now starting to get back into the swing of things.

I recently had a need for two wedding cards, one for my best friend in California and the other for a good friend to give to her nephew who's getting married soon.  She loved the first card I made for my best friend and asked me to make another just using the colors in her nephew's wedding.  I so enjoy making cards for a specific person or event.  These cards you will notice are very different in style for me.  I also used some new products, so that's always fun!

I started the foundation of my cards on some watercolor paper from Ms. Sparkle & Co.  I chose the light grey and light pink papers then used some white Glitz Glitter Gel from Gina K. Designs through a SSS Falling Leaves stencil and let it dry overnight.  I knew I wanted to use the beautiful butterflies from Spellbinders, they are a layered or 2-piece die-cut and I wanted to use the Platinum vellum for the top layer ( a product I bought several months ago but never used).  I also wanted to use similar colors in the cards that the weddings had in them.  For the layering paper behind my front panel I chose a paper pack from Clarity Stamps called Indian Summer- very organic colors and designs.  Reminded me of how alcohol ink flows and dries on Yupo paper.  Anyhow, I chose fall colors for the first card and blues and maroon for the second card.  Each card also got a 1" strip of the paper to place underneath the lace adhesive strip I used on the cards.  I have a stash of silk and paper flowers in my stash and picked out ones I thought would look nice.  The cards are a bit bulky with the flowers but I knew they would be sent in a box, so I wasn't too worried about that.


I fiddled with the arrangements until they came to my liking.  I taped down the paper strip/lace strip, then used my hot glue gun to adhere the floral elements securely.  I adhered the butterfly layers with some small glue dots just in the middle along their bodies then repeated that to secure the butterflies to my card.  I added pearls and gems from my stash.  The sentiment strips are from Tim Holtz Ideology, called Small Talk and are adhesive backed.  Lots of wonderful sentiments black on white and white on black.  When I was done, I felt the right upper corner was a bit bare, so I stamped in a light grey ink from Altenew a "Wedding Wishes" sentiment from Stampin' Up's Floral Phrases stamp set.  I also used other sentiments from that stamp set on the inside of the cards.  For the second card I added a couple flat die cuts under the flowers.  I used silver glitter paper and a Penny Black sprig die plus a MFTs Abstract Heart die in pink paper with shimmer added.  FYI I also recolored the dark paper flowers to Navy Blue with my Copic markers.  Worked great!  I added a large pearl to the dark red flower as well.

I prepared the white card bases from 110# Neenah Solar White Classic Crest cardstock.  The first card I stamped a large sunflower stamp at the top and bottom of the inside panel, again in a very light grey ink (my friend is to have a sunflower in her bouquet).  For the second card I stamped a large butterfly instead in the same manner.  I stamped some sentiments on the inside then mounted my cards to their corresponding card bases.
 I do think they came out quite lovely and elegant!  I hope the recipients enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

I hope you enjoyed my cards as well.
Hopefully I'll be able to post more often.

Take care and God bless,

Jill ✂

Status Update

Well, as we in the medical field joke, if you're a patient and in the medical field, something will go wrong!  We also say that about really nice people.  Those mean-spirited, drug using, abusive individuals never seem to have the same medical problems/outcomes that we do.  It's silly, I know, but sometimes it does feel that way.  Maybe I need to get a little nastier or something!!  Not really, but frustration is running high here.  I thought I'd update you on where things are going for me, medically speaking.

So I was supposed to have that Pyloromyotomy surgery on Nov. 13th in Seattle.  Well, I wake up from anesthesia to be told that they started it, but had to stop.  They discovered a mass coming out of the wall of my stomach, looking like the shape of a mushroom's head and attaching to (OK, now just guess!) - my pylorus, the very thing they were going to operate on.  It is not the safest thing to biopsy the mass right then and there (I wish, but I know better), so we had to quickly make arrangements to return to Missoula for an Endoscopic biopsy the very next day!  Needless to say, my husband and I are a bit nervous and concerned.

I get put to sleep, they use ultrasound in my stomach to take biopsies and we wait...and wait...finally the night before Thanksgiving (2 days later than expected) the doctor calls to say the biopsy was NON-DIAGNOSTIC!!!!  That means, they didn't get any cells they were expecting to be able to make a diagnosis.  In other words, the doctor MAY have missed!  Now they do say that 3-4% of biopsies never get a definitive diagnosis (I hope I don't fall into that category), but what this means is I'm getting another biopsy!  Yep, it's tomorrow.  I should hear by Monday or Tuesday the results.  But here's the problem.  No matter what it is (cancer would obviously be the worst), but even if it is a benign mass, the surgeon still has to deal with it because it's in the way.  Depending on what it is will determine how much bigger the surgery will be.  So no matter what, it will have an impact.  I'm stressing because I've paid all my deductible for the year and desperately want to get it done before the end of December, otherwise it's going to cost me a lot more.  Traveling, food and lodging is already expensive enough.  Now we have to do that twice!!  Can you feel my frustration???

So, I've not been in the right frame of mind for much crafting.  Once I have the "bigger" surgery, my recovery will be longer, too.  So please be patient with me.  I will return, it's just going to take some time.  Keep me in your prayers, and God bless you all this Christmas season.

Take care and happy Christmas crafting!

One of last year's favorites/ Copic colored

Jill ✂      

Rest & Restore

Hello my crafty friends, it has been a while, I know.  I thought I'd update you on what's happening with me.  I've decided to take a break from Design Teams for a bit, as I have some health issues making it difficult to meet Design Team obligations.  While recovering from my elbow surgery at the end of August, I decided to do a little mini craft room remodel.  Hopefully you follow me on Instagram where I have posted pictures (jktaylor911).  It's about 90% done, but I also decided to reorganize a lot of my crafting supplies.  I chose the Totally Tiffany's ScrapRack to help me out.  It will take several weeks, maybe months to get that done.  I just got all the supplies and will work on it off and on.  Another surgery looms closely now.  Next week I will have abdominal surgery to try and help my lazy stomach.  In medical terms, it's called Gastroparesis- my stomach muscles don't work properly to move food out of my stomach.  It causes severe bloating, abdominal pain and more.  I've been suffering with this for a few years now and finally got desperate enough to agree to the surgery.  I'm not sure how long it will take me to recover and feel like crafting.  I was thinking of blogging some of my favorite creations from this last year (that were not DT creations).  So don't give up on me, I will be back!  And hopefully feeling better and ready to create and blog.  And after a bit, perhaps get on another DT again!  But I'm going to first spend some time just creating for me, using the many stamps and dies I've bought over the last year and haven't had time to play with.

So farewell for now, but hopefully not for too long.  Please check back with me in a few weeks' time, hopefully I'll be able to post something by then.  Thank you for visiting me, I hope to be sharing again soon.

Have a wonderful Holiday season, God bless you and happy crafting!!

Jill  ✂ 

Witt & Sass Ghost in a Jar DT Project

Welcome back my crafty friends, I have a spooktacular card to share with you.  I'm still recovering from surgery on my arm, but was still able to complete this card, though at a snail's pace!  I made it for Witt & Sass Stamp Company featuring the stamp set Ghost in a Jar.  This is such a fun stamp set, used alone or with other 

W & S products, such as in my card here, I also used:

-the Background Builders Wave Stencil on the water AND in the sky! 

-I also used the Background Builders Sand and White Caps in the foreground sand area.

-Additionally, I used the new Sassy Pack Boo-licious (the sequins and cool sequin bats). 

I used A LOT of other products as well on my card.  I'd have to say this is somewhat mixed media, as I used Distress Ink, Distress Oxide Ink, Dye and Hybrid inks, Copic Markers, acrylic paints, and colored pencils on this baby!

Here's the colors of the products I used from above: (the Distress Inks/Oxides I strictly used on the background areas around the jar)

Distress Ink- Antique Linen and Gathered Twigs

Distress Oxide Ink- Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass, Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean, and Faded Jeans

Dye Inks- Memento Tuxedo Black and London Fog (the jar and it's elements were stamped in London Fog)

Hybrid Inks:  MFTs Brick Red and Steele Blue (used on the label)

Acrylic Paint- DecoArt Matte Metallics in Pewter and DecoArt Media Fluid in Carbon Black (used on the label and metal ring at the top of the bottle) and Acryla Gouache in Primary White (for the highlights on the bottle)

Colored Pencils- Faber-Castell Polychromos in Burnt Ochre, Raw Umber, Walnut Brown, Warm Grey II, Warm Grey V, Dark Indigo, Black and White

Copic Markers- E21, E23, E25, E51, E53, YR000, YR20, BV000, BV01, BV04, B000, B00, B02, C1, C3,C5,C7 and BG90

Clear Wink of Stella

Paper Elements- American Crafts Spooky Boo! paper pad, EK success Sticko Halloween stickers and other miscellaneous papers from my stash.

Dies and Punches- Top Note Die (?), Large Cross-Stitched Rectangle by Lawn Fawn, and Fiskars Postage Stamp Edge Punch.

I truly had fun making this card and challenging myself to color the glass jar as realistically as I could. Also mixing it up with a variety of coloring products was a great change of pace.  I hope you give it a try.  Coloring glass can be one of the most difficult things to color, but fun too once you begin to master it. If you are still reading down here (congratulations!), shoot me a comment, I'd love to hear from you! 

If you enjoyed this card, please visit my Instagram account where all my cards get posted.  I am jktaylor911.  Also take a look at wittandsassstampco on Instagram where you'll find lots of inspiration from the other designers. 

Witt & Sass has a daily blog with all the DT cards throughout the month and lots of W & S information.  We also post our creations on the Witt & Sass Facebook page (there's so much goodness out there for you to learn and enjoy). 

Wishing you blessings and spooktacular crafting,

Jill ✂  

My Crafting Arm is Killing Me!!

Just a quick note to let my followers know I am having some elbow surgery on my R arm this Wednesday, August 29th.  What that means is no crafting or cardmaking for at least 3 weeks.  And definitely no blogging on the computer!  So when you wonder why I'm so quiet and not posting projects...well, that is why.  Hopefully after 3 weeks I'll be good to go, or I may need physical therapy first.  Not sure, I'll cross that bridge as it comes.  But don't think I'm gone altogether, just a few weeks.  And I believe Amy Purdie has it all figured out for Witt & Sass (perhaps a guest designer while I'm gone?).  But seriously, Amy couldn't have been more supportive and understanding.  She treats her DT so well.  I am truly blessed!

So come back in about 3 weeks or so and see if I'm back.  I know Amy's got some great fall treats in store for y'all.  So it's not goodbye, it's "I'll see you again soon!"

As always, blessings to you and happy crafting,

Jill ✂🏥

Witt & Sass Launch - You are Beautiful, You Amaze Me Shaker card

Hello again!  Welcome back to my blog.  Today I have something very special to show you.  I made it for the Witt & Sass launch of the "You Are Beautiful" stamp set.  My card is sparkly, it's shiney, it's elegant, it's pink and gold, and it's floral!!  AND it's a shaker card!  What could be better than that?  I know, it's very girlie, girl... but I'm sorta that way, so I do love it for a change of pace.  Warning- this did take me quite some time to make (but I'm not known for my card-making speed!)  For me, the key to making this lovely card, aside from the great stamps and layered stencils from Witt & Sass, is Gina K's Wreath Builder Stencil.  I used the smaller stencil and my MISTI to achieve this nice round/balanced wreath.  To make this card, I used two products from Witt & Sass:  the You are Beautiful stamp set and the Layered Stencil Floral.

How I made this card:

I started by first stamping the wreath using the largest floral cluster and the largest single flower stamp in the set.  I used the Gina K. Designs Wreath Builder Stencil to help me position my stamps and stamp them in a circle.  I started with the largest floral cluster and stamped it twice on opposite sides of the cardstock.  I then created two masks of each end of the floral cluster, so I could stamp the large single flower in the two gaps, but it overlapped a bit, so that's where the masks came in handy.  I stamped the other flower into the gaps, then I used the tiny flower trios in the stamp set to fill in any areas that looked a bit barren.  I set this aside to work on my background paper so I would know what colors to use when I colored my wreath.

For the background paper I found this lovely pink 6 x 6 paper that had some variation in color to it.  Not quite ombre, maybe closer to a watercolor look.  I decided to use the Layered Stencil Floral on it from W & S in slightly darker pinks than the paper (but I did not want it bold).  I started by using the floral stencil's solid flower shape and used Distress Ink, Spun Sugar on both the large and small floral shapes.  Next I shifted the stencil so that the stencil flower petals lined up with what I just colored.  I started with Nuvo Embellishment Mousse in Pink Flambe' on a rag and rubbed it in.  It needed additional color, so I grabbed my Distress Oxide Ink in Picked Raspberry and very gently pounced it on with my mini ink blending tool.  Once a section was done, I quickly ran over to my embossing station and put some Ranger Holographic Embossing Powder over the freshly inked flowers and heat set it.  I repeated those steps until my entire pink paper was done.  I then trimmed it down to 5.75" on both sides, as I didn't want my card to exceed 6" on any side. 

I returned to my floral wreath and practiced colors on a scratch piece of paper before I just dove in.  I wanted 3 colors of roses, one matching the background paper, the other two variations of pink.  I also wanted 1-2 flowers between any same color flower.  Fortunately the numbers of flowers worked!  I started by coloring all the same color flowers first with my Copic markers (I used a 3 color combination on them- but did I remember to write down which ones?  Yikes!  The answer is no 😞

(that's something I have to work on before I clean up my space!)  Anyhow, then I colored the leaves, again I masked a few areas and tucked in some leaves from the large single rose where I thought it needed more for balance.  I used 3 Copic markers in the BG family, then used C5 to make the leaf crease down the center.  I colored the small dainty flowers a deep red, then went around with my Sakura Jelly Roll pen in Clear Star to the centers of all the flowers in the wreath.  Then I used Clear Wink of Stella on all the roses.  Last, I decided to heat emboss the 3 small circle clusters as a single stamp from the You are Beautiful stamp set.  I didn't want them to be too overbearing, so I only stamped them 3 times with Versamark ink, then used my Stampin' Up! Gold Embossing Powder.  I trimmed my wreath cardstock to 4" x 4", rounding the two bottom corners.  I then went about fussy cutting the inside of my wreath using my handy #11 Penblade (the yellow, pointed one).

I placed my wreath cardstock onto the pink background to where I liked how the background flowers showed and left enough reveal on all sides.  I cut down my pink layer a bit more and rounded the bottom  two corners.  

Very Important step:  If you secure your bow with a brad, do it now before proceeding any further, or it may be impossible to use a brad at all!  I made a 3 piece bow from some Stampin' Up! ribbon I had that matched my card nicely.  I made a hole through all 3 pieces of ribbon with my pokey tool, put the brad through it, then poked a hole about 1/4" from the top of my floral wreath, in the middle and pushed my brad through the hole and opened the legs on the back side to secure.

Next I picked out some foiled white cardstock from DCWV to frame and support my pink paper (it was not the heaviest of papers and I was making a shaker card, so I wanted more rigidity).  That layer ended up being 5.75" x 5.5" (well below my 6" max.).  It also brought out the gold elements in my card.  I then adhered that to my card base, that was a top folding card of 11" x 5.75" total (I wanted not to have to cut into a 12" x 12" piece of my cardstock, I prefer using my 8.5" x 11" cardstock for my card bases.)

Next I lined up my wreath paper onto the pink paper, then marked very lightly in pencil the corners.  This would help me when I finally adhere my wreath paper onto the pink paper.  Next I marked a few points of the inside of the wreath onto the pink paper, then removed the wreath paper and drew a very light almost round circle.  I would eventually add my adhesive foam tape around my marked pencil line, ensuring  none of the tape would show.  But first I needed a piece of acetate for my shaker window.  I decided to use one of the floral stamp's sentiment on the acetate.  It just barely fit! So that I got the sentiment centered, I went ahead and glued the acetate in place on the backside of the floral frame.  Once secure, I stamped the sentiment inside the middle of the wreath, using the help of my MISTI for perfect positioning and no slipping around with the ink.  I used Ranger's Archival black ink and did double stamp it to make it darker (not a problem when you use a great stamp positioner!)  I set it aside to dry, while I made my shaker element.

I used Scotch 3M foam adhesive tape around the circle I had drawn on the pink paper.  I decided to make it double think for more dimension and room for more goodies inside the shaker.  I carefully used an antistatic tool along the inside of the tape ring so that my shaker elements wouldn't stick to it.  I used several products on the inside, all light pink, gold, white, holographic/rainbow, and a few tiny hexagons in those colors and a few blueish-green ones that matched the leaves and ribbon on the wreath.  I also used a few pink gem stickers from DCWV inside and outside on the pink paper.  I feel that a few elements glued in place inside the shaker helps keep all the shaker elements from falling to the bottom (unless that's what you want, of course!).  So once all the shaker bits were added...drum roll please... I very carefully laid down my wreath paper onto the foam adhesive ring (using my corner markers as a guide.  One thing I forgot to do was put more double thick foam tape around the rest of my wreath paper.  The edges sagged a bit.  I had to fix it.  I very carefully cut the foam tape lengthwise in half and measured approximately the length I needed.  I stacked them up double, removed the release tape and gently wedged them in place along the outside edges.  Harder to do this way than to have had it done before I placed the wreath paper down, but you can't tell the difference, so only you and I know!!  

Last, I chose 6 of the shaker elements and glued them to the pink paper, 3 each on opposite corners.  Now, finally, this card is done.  Though a little time consuming, I love how it came out, I hope you do too!  I can't help myself but shake my card around and look at all the pretties inside!  

Thank you for visiting my blog (this one more lengthy than usual), I know!  I hope to see some of your shaker creations using Witt & Sass products.  Remember if you are following a challenge from an order you received from W & S, use #wscardchallenge on Instagram so we can see what you create.

To see other Witt & Sass Design Team creations, go to the  

Witt & Sass Facebook page (you'll need to join first) or check Instagram at @wittandsassstampco.  Also the store's website has lots of inspiration and information about  W & S, some of it quite funny!  Their website is:   https://www.wittandsassstampcompany.com/  
  

Also, don't miss out on all the Blog stuff, too.  You'll find that at: 

https://www.wittandsassstampcompany.com/blogs/news  

**For your convenience, I've linked the W & S products to the store and linked to the various social media platforms as well!**

However, if you just want to see more of my stuff, visit me on Instagram, that's where all my work is located.  I'm jktaylor911.  I don't blog every card, so IG has so much more!

Thanks again, and happy crafting!!

Jill ✂