All Things Spring Challenge with 3 Girl JAM

HAPPY MONDAY FRIENDS!

I have a short but sweet post for you today!

For my Designer Day with 3 Girl JAM, I created a bright and cheery card to follow the theme for the current 3 Girl JAM 3GJ Challenge Blog.

The theme is All Things Spring with Ribbon.

I used the Mistletoe Green Crinkle Ribbon to give a feel of soft spring grass along the bottom of my card.  I love pleating this ribbon for many different effects.  I love the grass look it gives here.

Other products used:
Yellow Card Base -- David Tutera Celebrate Card Set - Brights
Frame layers -- Recollections card stock (various colors)  
Frames cut using Shapez Frame 2 Die by Spellbinders/Xyron
Butterflies cut using Shapez Butterfly Die by Spellbinders/Xyron
Design on Butterflies was made using Untiy Stamp Co. Chicken Wire Background stamp by Christy Tomlinson then heat embossed
Sentiment from Unity Stamp Co. "...everything wonderful" set by Lisa Arana
Inks used:  Colorbox Imperial Purple, Colorbox Blossom Pink, Ranger Sunshine Yellow, American Crafts Powder Blue, & American Crafts Apricot 

Remember 

to 

Keep Crafting, 

Because 

♫ CRAFTING ♫ 

♫ ROCKS ♫ 

\m/-_-\m/ 
:O) Jessica

~~~ Mixed Media Tag with the *NEW* Lace @ 3 Girl JAM ~~~

!!! HAPPY MONDAY !!!
Blends and 3 Girl JAM-mers

I am happy to be the Design Team Member posting at 3 Girl JAM today!

I was super excited to get to play around and create a Mixed Media Tag for a swap I am in with a fun group on FB.  I spoke with my swap partner about her "favorites" and she was super sweet to give me a lot of ideas to work with.  As soon as she said "pinks, blues, silvers, whites, and greens", I grabbed the NEW Lace from 3 Girl JAM!!!  

This lace is beyond Gorgeous and I can't wait for it to be released so all my friends can play with it in their creations, too.  The colors are scrumptious and I adore the mixed colors Julie created and will have available!

Now, because I didn't have any "official #10 Tags", I improvised.  I grabbed for my medium thick chipboard and cut out my tag shape at 4 1/8" x 8 1/2" to meet the swap requirement.  Alexandra, my swap partner, was so understanding and okay with the idea of a more sturdy tag!  YAY!!! (I didn't think to take a pic of it before I started, though....DOH!)

I first painted a thin coat of white acrylic paint on both sides of the chipboard and let it dry.  

I wanted a lot of texture and dimension, so I grabbed for my Studio Calico "Huey's Masks (elongated hexagons)" and my gesso.  I placed the mask flat and at an angle, then took a plastic spatula to spread on the gesso.  After smoothing it out, I lifted the mask and allowed for the gesso to dry before my next phase.

I sprayed a thin mist of Colorbox Spritzer - Glacier Lake on the surface.  Because it was a very dark tone, I sprayed a tad of my Pink Perfect Pearls and then wiped some of the excess spray with a paper towel, using single strokes from the top of the tag to the bottom.  

I wanted to spray a bit of my "homemade" pink spray next, but I couldn't get my mister unclogged (LOL).  Again, I improvised.  I tapped the tip of the spray "straw" onto the tag in various places.  I loved that the drops followed a path down the indentations of hexagons from the mask I used.  So, I continued this step several times until I got my desired effect.

I sprayed a bit more of the Glacier Lake again and wiped off the excess.  I then used a little of my "homemade" green mist in the lower left and upper right corners to offset the blue and pink a bit.

Now, to show the colors of the lace against my semi-finished tag.  GORGEOUS, RIGHT?

I wanted to stick to the colors Alexandra requested and started hunting for some gorgeous elements to use on the tag.  I grabbed my new doilies and my beautiful metal embellishments from Miriam's Crafting Supplies along with one of my absolute faves from her shop....flat back pearls. 

I sifted through my entire stash of designer papers, not really certain which ones I would use, but selected some that were matching the color scheme I was working with.  

I chose to work with the pink fleur de lis paper and the black and white Eiffel tower papers from the Carta Bella Paris Girl 6x6 pad.

Before I applied any embellishments, I decided to stamp and emboss a gorgeous rose bouquet first.  I used the bouquet of roses from the Echo Park set called "better with love" by Unity.

I used a white embossing powder and staggered my image several times around the entire tag.

To give the entire tag more, I went around the outer edge with some of my Distress Ink - Vintage Photo.

I started to embellish the tag first, by pleating and adhering the wider blue/green lace just under the hole at the top.

I then created a second row of lace, using the same technique, but with the thinner pink lace this time.  

For the center of my tag, I first adhered the small silver doily to be a backdrop for the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares I cut with my Big Shot.  

I also cut a 2" circle with my hand punch.  I inked the edges of all cuts with my Distress Inks in Tattered Rose, Shabby Shutters, and Weathered Wood.

I picked out the Eiffel Tower stamp from the Unity 12/12 KOM, "Everyday Fairytale" and inked it with some Embossing Ink.  

After stamping it to the chevron print paper from the Carta Bella, Carta Bella Paris Girl 6x6 pad, I sprinkled some silver embossing tinsel and activated it using my heat gun.  

I fussy cut around the edges and placed that onto my layers in the center of my tag.

To give more depth to the center layers, I placed some of the flat back pearls around the edge of the circle that was still exposed and looking quite bare.  

I love the added color this gave the area and wanted more . . . . more is better, right?  The metal corner embellishments gave me the same desired effect and added more dimension, too.  

I added the same colors of pearls to the lower corner of the tag and decided I could put them away!

I created a cluster of paper flowers below the tower after adding some larger white corner embellishments to the bottom left and the upper right (just under the pleated lace) of my tag.  

I added a small grouping of flowers to adorn the top corner, too.  

I wanted to offset the large cluster of paper flowers on the bottom, by using some of the FABULOUS Crinkle Ribbon from the 3 Girl JAM Shop.

I created a triple bow on my 3 Girl JAM Bow Maker using the Red & Blue Mixed Ribbon from the  Red, White & Blue Bundle along with the Christmas Candy Ribbon from the Seasons Bundle.

Using some twine, I added a key charm to the center of the bow as I was making it with the Bow Maker.  A final touch --- adding the binder ring!

ALL IN ALL, I give Mixed Media Projects a TWO THUMBS UP!
Now, if only I could conquer the management of more time to work with Mixed Media, I would be ONE ECSTATIC CRAFTER!

The 3 Girl JAM Challenge for the month of January is
ANYTHING GOES with Ribbon!
A Crowd Favorite!

You'll always find LOADS of inspiration at the 3 Girl JAM Challenge Blog!
Stop over for wonderful ideas from the Design Team and all those who are linking up!  The Challenge will remain open until January 31st .

We'd love for you to Link your Anything Goes Projects to JOIN THE FUN and for a chance to WIN a Gift Certificate to Shop at 3 Girl JAM!!!!

For more 3 Girl JAM Product and Project Ideas, be sure to check out the 3 Girl JAM Pinterest Boards!

~*~*~ AWESOME DISCOUNT ALERT ~*~*~

Stop by 3 Girl JAM to shop around and place an order
for any of the amazing products that are

a MUST HAVE in your stash!
SAVE 10% OFF Your Order ---Just use the Discount Code JB10 during checkout!!!

Thanks for Stopping In Today

Remember 

to Keep 

Crafting, 

Because 

♫ CRAFTING ♫ 

♫ ROCKS ♫ 

\m/-_-\m/ 

:O) Jessica

Card Making with FUN New Techniques - "Scrap Tag" & "Diamond Fold"

WELCOME TO THE SHAQUE

CRAFTY BLENDS

If you stopped in yesterday, you found out that I have been stepping outside of my comfort zone a wee bit and diving into some fun challenges.  These challenges are really getting the mojo to work some overtime.

I shared a Tri Shutter Fold Card yesterday and have 2 more cards to share with you today.

The first card is a New Technique to me called "Scrap Tag".  It is a great way to use up those small tidbits of scrap paper you have kept in your studios.  The technique was shared by a New Friend I met on Scrapbook Friends and More Crafts (a SUPER FUN group of Crafters on Facebook), Brandy Martin.  I couldn't wait to try it out.

I started by gathering all the scraps I had left over from my Altered Treasure Chest last week.  If you missed that post, check it out HERE.

I sorted them out by patterns and started folding away.  You simply make a quick loop from the strips and adhere the ends together.  Your strips can be skinny, chunky, short, or long.  There really is no wrong way to play with this technique.

One of my favorite things about this style, is the uniqueness of the dimension it gives to the card.  You can choose to fold the "loops flat" or leave them rounded and more puffy.  I opted for something right along the middle of the spectrum for mine.

I grabbed a Christmas Tree Die Cut that I also had laying about (I have to remember to see if I own this die because I want more of these....LOL).  The tree was cut from some Core'dinations card stock I have in Produce Greens.  

Does the sentiment HAPPY HOLIDAYS look familiar?  Well, I had mentioned those in the Altered Treasure Chest post as well. 

 I had cut all the Subway Word Out from a pattern paper, but decided not to use it on that particular project.  I knew it would come in handy soon, though!

I gave the tree a little extra "pizazz" and I embossed it with my Sizzix Swirls folder.

To finish off my card, I added some scraps to the inside and used my Spellbinders Postage Stamp die cuts for the sentiment tag.  The sentiment "Believe in the magic of Christmas" is from the Unity Stamp Co. Kit of the Mon (Aug 2012) called COLOR of the Seasons.  I inked it up using my Tim Holtz Barn Door (red) Distress Ink.

I really love how simple this technique was to play with.  I also enjoyed that I found justification in my "paper hoarding" since I had kept the pieces that were already "perfect size" for this style!

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For my second card, I tried another new Fancy Fold.  This time, it was the Diamond Fold Technique.

And, I am so eager to try more of these now too!

I followed the steps in this wonderful Diamond Fold Tutorial on SCS.

As a self-claimed STACK-A-HOLIC, I was ecstatic to play with my newest DCWV 12x12 Stack, called the Playtime Stack.

It has wonderful images and patterns and 1/2 of the entire collection is Glitter embossed!  eeeeekkkk---SPARKLY!

Here are the sheets I used

and

here are several views of the finished card!

FRONT VIEW-FOLDED IN

The focal image/sentiment is a Unity Stamp Co. set called Birthday Jubilee by artist Joslyn Nielson

I heat embossed it with some Whispers embossing powder--Baby Blue.

I used some of my paper flowers that I ordered from the sweet Adele G. at Glimpz of Memories on Facebook.  I love twirling the wire stem around a skewer to give it the "vine" look sometimes.

FRONT VIEW - SLIGHTLY UNFOLDED

FRONT VIEW - FULLY OPENED

For the side panels (rectangles), I used by Spellbinders Persian Motif dies to cut a few medallions.  I simply sliced them down the center to fit within the panels and to layer a small onto a larger one for added affect.

INSIDE VIEW - FULL

Again, I adorned the sentiment square with some lovely paper flowers from Adele G. at Glimpz of Memories.  The triangles were cut from the the same sheets in the DCWV Stack - the Playtime and a few scraps I had left over from another project.

INSIDE VIEW - CLOSE UP OF SENTIMENT

I {LOVE} all the Birthday Sentiments in the Birthday Jubilee set by Unity!  

They really helped bring my cards to a great Grand Finale!

If you try either of these techniques, I would love to stop by and check out your creations!  Feel free to leave me a link to a post, facebook page, or any other site so I can visit you, too!

Remember 

to 

Keep Crafting, 

Because 

♫ CRAFTING ♫ 

♫ ROCKS ♫ 

\m/-_-\m/ 

:O) Jessica

~ ~ Live Each Moment ~ ~ with 3 Girl JAM

HELLO Sweet Blends

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am here with a quick project to  share with ALL of YOU!!!

I was so happy to get back into crafting mode after a VERY LONG time away from sharing some projects.  I created a card using a St. Patrick's Day color scheme and some fun other  elements.

I started with a 4.25" x 4.25" black card base.  I cut two Persian Motifs from my Spellbinders  set.  The largest motif,  green polka dot pattern paper, is from the amy tangerine - Sketchbook paper pad.   The smaller green motif, is from Core' Produce Green card stock.  I cut a black circle using my 2" circle punch to place behind the smaller motif.  The sentiments are from a Unity KOM , and were fussy cut after stamping on white card stock.   I used lots of foam squares for dimension.

 Because I like to stick with things that make me smile....of course there is some 3 G irl JAM Crinkle Ribbon on my card.  The small bow was made using my Bow Maker and Sterling Crinkle Ribbon (Celebrations Bundle).

But, that's not all....

The Flair Button in the center of my card is also from 3  Girl JAM.

It is from of the Christmas Flair Set 

(psssttt... which is in the shop for only $2.99 right now)

. . . and look, on a card in February....WHOOP...SCORE...BONUS!!!!

I am glad to be back and hope you feel inspired by my card today!

Keep Crafting

Because

Crafting

Rocks

\m/-_-\m/

~Jessica B.

Unity FWF & WCMD Challenge #4 - Sketch

Happy FRIDAY Blends!!!

Hope you have fun crafty plans 

included somewhere

along the line

this weekend

and that all

of you are doing well.

Last night I 

had some MOJO

to craft a project for the 

Unity - WCMD Challenge # 4 Sketch!

and
with today being FRIDAY
that means it is time
to share in the linky at Unity
for
Friends with Flair FRIDAY!

I started with Kraft card stock (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").

I knew I wanted

to use a few other stamps that

have been crafty neglected

from my collection.

 

I first stamped the wonderful Unity Stamp - in circle me background stamp

by artist Susan K Weckesser,  using a Rubber Stampede

inkpad in Petal Pink.

I then inked the Iron Orchid Vintage Handwritten

itty bitty by Unity with my 

Big and Bossy embossing ink and heat embossed

with Whispers - Opaque embossing powder.

I used the large Motif from the  Spellbinders Die Cuts - Persian Motifs

to cut the center medallion.  

I stamped the sun and cloud images along with

the small sentiment from

the Unity set Create you Day, also by Susan K Weckesser,

with my embossing ink onto the motif.

For a new technique,

I decided to try to use Pink Flocking Powder

over the wet ink and love the effect

it gave me.

I had a large circle in my scrap box and simple matched it to the top

of the card and cut where necessary.

I added a short string of Pink Beaded trim above that.

For the sentiment, I grabbed some cute

stickers by K*Company.

Here is the sketch I followed!

I am super excited to have

you stopping by

today 

and, as always

Remember 

to 

Keep Crafting, 

Because 

♫ CRAFTING ♫ 

♫ ROCKS ♫

 \m/-_-\m/ 

:O) 

Jessica