Snowflakes for Christmas

WOW... Okay so it has been a ridiculously long time since my last post!!  Our poor little man has been quite ill off and on for the last three weeks.  I am sure everyone has decided I have just dropped off the face of the earth or something!!  Well, guess what.... I haven't and I have a great CASE project to show you today!  Today is Featured Stamper day over at SCS which deserves an automatic YIPPEEE!!  I love browsing through the galleries of these wonderfully talented artists!  Today's Stamper is Shadow's Mom!!  For those of you who don't know, the challenge is to look through the featured stamper's gallery and choose an item to CASE!! I chose her Noel Tree Card.  Here is my take on her wonderful creation.  I call it Snowflakes for Christmas!!

Snowflakes for Christmas Card

 I do not have a snowflake embossing folder so I created a similar look using a different technique.  I stamped the snowflakes with Versamark dazzle and embossed with stardust powder.  My paper is from TPS's Holiday Winter paper pack.  the blue glitter gems are from hobby lobby (I don't remember the manufacturer - sorry).  I distressed and inked the edges of the red snowflake paper and traced the edges of the christmas tree with a a blue glitter pen.  I also added diamond stickles to the white snowflakes in the tree cut out.  I attached the tree with dimensionals.

Well I know it is a little early for Christmas but I have got to get started early this year.  I am anticipating a lot more orders than I am use to and don't want end up in panic mode!!

I hope every one has a wonderful Thanksgiving and for those of you traveling.... please be safe!

Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

CASE Challenge

Well that's pretty obvious isn't it!!  You guessed it, today's card is for the Featured Stamper Challenge over at SCS.  We were to CASE a card from this week's featured stamper - Nines.  She has so many wonderful cards to choose from it took me a while to pick one but I finally got to one that grabbed me!

I needed a Sympathy card so I adapted the colors and sentiment to suit my needs.  Here is my card...

Sympathy Card

As usual this card was entirely with scraps!!  The Sentiment is from SU and the floral images are from DOTS, all stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black.  I dry embossed with CB's Tiny bubbles.  I then brayered over the bubbles with Versamark Dazzle and applied kaleidoscope powder and heat set.  I rounded the only the bottom corners - I really like how that makes it look!!

Well my peeps that's all I have for today!  Not much time for crafting lately but I'll be back again as soon as I can!

Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Double the Challenge!

Today I am submitting a card for two challenges!  Woohoo!  It's not very often that one of my creations qualifies for more than one challenge but today it just worked out that way!  Maybe the goodness of the Liebster Award is giving me a hand.  Who knows, anyway here is my card for today...

Orchid Tile Card

Both challenges are over at SCS, the first being the 400th Technique Lover's Challenge (woohooo!!) Cut It Up! We were asked to take an image and cut it up any way we wanted - it just had to be cut up!  Well I am certainly not a 'Random' kinda girl so of course mine are cut into neat little squares!  (Me and OCD are close friends/enemies!!)  So The image I decided to use is this old tried and true stamp that I inherited from some one's getting out of the hobby give away.  It has no name or company on it so sorry I can't help with that.  Anyway, every time I use this stamp I have so much because I get to color - I always stamp the image in black and color the flowers what ever colors are in my mood that day!!  So I did just that today.  I stamped and started my therapy session oh uh I mean coloring session!  Then it hit me... wasn't there a challenge from last week that was about coloring??  I didn't have anytime at all to craft last week - the only thing I did was glance through some galleries and look at what the challenges were but I didn't have to do any of them.  So I got on mt computer and checked.  Sure enough last thursday's challenges was Ways To Use It - Crazy For Crayons!!!  How lucky is that!  So back to the card... there really isn't a lot to tell this time.  I stamped and colored the image as I said, then cut it up and mounted the pieces on to some scrap purple cardstock and mounted those pieces onto the card front.

Hope you like it!  I hope to get back to my regular crafting addiction soon!  These spur-attic moments of speed crafting is not cuttin it - - I need more I tell ya, I need MORE!!! 

 Well until then thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day,
 Shabby Jo 

Liebster Award!!!!

WOW!!  I am so honored and humbled today by one of my fellow paper crafters, Terri!!  Thank you so much - you totally made my day, my week, heck my whole year!!!  I began my blog at the tugging advice of a friend to share what I love to do so much - PLAY!!!  My proverbial playground has so many stations I couldn't list them all here without everyone falling asleep but let's just say I love to make things and I love to make them my own way!  It is such a wonderful feeling to know that other people are actually peeking into my little world and enjoying what they see.  Thank you Terri so very much for being such a faithful follower and for thinking of me for this awesome award!!

 

ABOUT THE AWARD

Liebster is a German word meaning "Beloved," "Favorite," or "Dearest." This award is a peer to peer award in which fellow bloggers present the award to their favorite bloggers with less than 200 followers. The origins of this award is unclear, but is believed to have originated by a German blogger. This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion to share your dearest and most beloved blogs that have less than 200 followers.

RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award onto your blog. Give the award to five bloggers who you appreciate that have less than 200 followers. Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award!

Like Terri, I follow quite a few wonderful blogs of some very talented people!  Choosing five was extremely difficult but rules are rules!!  So here goes....
Marilyn of Paper Dreams
Missouri is keeping a little secret...but today, I'm telling!!!  I love Marilyn's take on the challenges, her eye for color combinations in uncanny!  All of her creations are beautiful, clean and inspiring!

Kris of Purple Night Owl
I may not have ever met Kris in person but I can tell you she is fun and whimsical!  How do I know? Go check out her creations and you will see for yourself!

Shae of Glitter and Bonbons
Again, a person I have never met yet we have so much in common!  We have very similar interests and hobbies! From fabulous cards to beautiful roses, she is amazing!  I must admit, I am quit jealous... she has only been blogging for a little over a month and is already blogging like RockStar while I am still in groupy status!  Go check out all the wonderful things that make her happy!!

Lois of Clownmom Creations
This wonderful lady is a pleasure to follow!  Everything she makes is nothing short of stunning!  you just have to see for yourself on this one!

Last but not least...
Cathymac of Golden Inkspirations
I swear I have a kinship to this woman!!  She loves Golden Retrievers and Coloring!!!!  What more in life does one need anyway?? I think our dogs even look alike! ha ha ha!!  Anyway, her work is B-E-A-Utiful!  Her style is very classy and unique!  I hope you wag your tails on over to see her golden creations! 

Please take just a few of your time and visit all these wonderful blogs. I just know you will love them as much as I do and be prepared to be inspired!!  Don't forget to l eave a little love when you visit. Thank you!!

Thanks again to Terri for thinking of me. You are AWESOME!!
 
Thanks for stopping by, 
Shabby Jo

Halloween Birthday Invitaions

Halloween is coming and with comes parties themed for the season!  A friend and her son both have October birthday's!  This year her son wanted a Halloween Birthday Party!!!  Oh what fun!  I was asked to do the invitations and just could wait to dive in to this spooktacular task! I even got to play with Edward on this project!

Halloween Birthday Party Invitation

I printed the invitation verbiage and spooky tree onto orange card stock.  I created shadow cut files from the ghost and pumpkin stamp from stampabilites - Fall Holidays set, using MTC.  Then sent the cut files to my darling Edward (my eCraft!).  I then stamped the images onto their corresponding shadow cut outs.  For each ghost and pumpkin there are actually two of them.  I glued two together with the embroidery thread in between.  I threaded them through the orange card stock and attached to the back.  Then I adhered the orange card to the black card base.  I added the foam glittery bat I got from hobby lobby.  And there you have it!  They turned out really cute, everyone loved that the ghost and pumpkin were 'hanging' freely from the tree - it made it fun!
Now I have to get my creative juices in high gear.  I am hosted my SAHM Play Group's Annual Halloween Party!  We will have fun and spooky snacks, spooktacular crafts, and ghostly games!  I can't wait to see all the kids and their costumes and I especially love seeing their completed crafts!  Well about a week left to prepare so I better get cracking on it!


Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Halloween Card

I know I know, another week has gone by between posts!!  I am just crazy busy these days with too many balls in the air and did I mention I never did learn how to juggle!!  My darling husband knows how and it makes my son really laugh when ever he shows off his juggling expertise!!  Okay sorry, I digress....

Well at least for the last few days it has finally started to somewhat resemble the fall season around here!  I love this time year.  The colors, well to tell the truth all the wonderful fall colors are in my house via my much loved fall decorations.  We don't get a whole lot of color changes in my area of the world.  So I create it every year inside my house - I LOVE IT!!!!  I also get excited about Halloween.  I love to see all the kiddos in their costumes and smiling faces going through our neighbor on the ever so long awaited candy hunt of the year!!  From the little ones barely learning to walk with their parents toting the pumpkin shaped basket, to the toddlers saying trick or treat while holding out their bags all by themselves this year, to the ones that everyone knows are 'too old' but you fill their bag anyway, and everyone in between!! 
Today's post kicks of the Halloween Season with a BAM!!  It is a card for a challenge they do over at Splitcoast stampers every Saturday.  It's called the Inspiration Challenge!  I love it to the say the least!  The host chooses a source and you gather inspiration and create away....  that's it, no other rules, the door is wide open!!!  Here is this past Saturday's Inspiration source Magpie IC357.   I chose the backgammon plates for my inspiration.  As soon as I saw them I thought Halloween - I mean who wouldn't right?  Black and Orange spell Halloween right?!!  Here is my card...

Halloween Card

 What I really love about this card is how cute it turned out in such little time!!  This card maybe took me 20 minutes to make and I made it all from scraps!!  I cut and adhered the top square background then added this adorable ribbon I got from Tuesday Morning a wile back just below the background piece.  I cut random triangular shapes from  orange and black.  I angled, flipped, flopped and moved the pieces around until I got the look I wanted.  The white is just the background showing through.  I then cut nesting sized pieces for the sentiment.  I distressed all the edges and inked the edges of the top one with Momento Tuxedo black.  I also very lightly ran my dauber over the entire piece so it wasn't so stark white!  The Happy Halloween sentiment is from Stampabilities - Fall Holidays. 

I hope everyone else is enjoying this time of year.  I know some of you actually get more crafting done because you live where the white fluffy stuff locks you indoors a little more than you like!!

Happy Fall and Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Falling Leaves

Wow, I have been so busy I didn't realize how long it had been since I blogged!  Gosh has it really been over a week??  Time flies when you having fun right!!  Well I have still been crafting a little this week but I have mostly been working on getting myself and my life organized - HAH!!!  More on that later... For today, here is a card I did for this weeks Free 4 All challenge over at SCS - Fall Leaves

Falling Leaves

I bought several packages of these silk leaves last year at Hobby Lobby.  I have been itching to use them and kinda already had a card sketch in my mind but other things kept coming first.  When I saw today's challenge was all about fall leaves I jumped for joy and grabbed my leaves and went to work!!  I created the window using coredinations nostalgia cardstock in green and burgundy. The leaves are, as I said abive, from Hobby Lobby and the ribbon is from my stash (I save every piece of ribbon I come across!!)

As for my mention of the big nasty "O" word... organize... I am trying (once again mind you) to get a better handle on my household management and reorganize my studio to create a better work flow and hopefully cut down on the cluttery mess that always follows any project I work on!!  For my household arena I am employing lists galore!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LISTS!!!  When I have the right lists and use them I fell so much more at peace with the world!!  I am also employing a few tips and tricks from the good ole Flylady.  She has a ton of great ideas but there is also a ton of stuff that just doesn't work me so I am picking and choosing from all different resources and rebooting my Home Management Binder!!!  I might even post some results when I am finished - we'll see!!!  Well, none of this reorganizing is going to get done by itself so I am signing off for today and hope to be back sooner than a week this time!!!

 Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Anniversary Easel Card

Today's post is an Anniversary Easel card I did for my in-laws that I also submitted for today's Ways To Use Challenge WT393 -Fancy Folds over at Splitcoaststampers.  This was my first time to attempt one of these little cuties and I must say it wasn't the easiest card to make by far but oh did it turn out cute!!!  Just think what I could do if I actually practiced at these and knew what I was doing!!!

So it is 47th wedding anniversary for my Mother and Father in-law and I looked up what the traditional and modern gifts were and they both said BOOKS!!!  I am not the kind of person to buy someone else a book unless I happen to know about one they want - which hardly ever happens.  Plus both my MIL and FIL have electronic readers.  So anyway, while doing my daily check-in over at SCS I wnet to see what today's challenge was and oh my gosh... problem solved.  Check out the challenge to get all the deets but just know that this little Easel Card baby was one of the options!!!  How perfect is that - I get my card and a book all in one, yaaahhhh!!!  Now I don't have a particular site that I got my idea from.  I checked out the tutorial from SCS here.  Then I looked at probably a hundred different sites to get the hang of how they worked and the different styles out there and came up with this....

Anniversary Easel Card

Part of what made this card difficult for me (beside having never done one before!!) was that I do not have a die cut that makes this book shape so I had to design one in inkscape first then make an svg file for good ole Edward (my eCraft) to work with!!  The yellow DP under the sentiment card is SU! Bright Collection Patterns Pack is TPS Deja Blue.  The card and book base are actually from scraps box.  Is is somewhere between  SU! Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point but I don't know exactly the brand or name -sorry.  I inked the edges of the book easel with a blended combination of Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive.  For the book base I did a lot of soft sponging all over with SU! Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and CTMH Oak Brown.  I then went back over the edges with Tempting Turquoise and just a tiny bit of Old Olive.  For the inner white "page"  I created the wrap around text (also in inkscape) and printed it then using the hinge method I gave to Edward to cut out!!  The text is 1Cor 13:14 repeated all the way around.  Lastly, I created the sentiment in PSE10 and printed it out on Whisper White and inked the edges with Tempting Turqouise.  The ribbon for the 'book mark' is from my scraps. 

Well I hope you like it and I also hope to practice and get better to bring you more of these in the future!!

If you would like the svg files send me an email and I will send you the files!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

When you begin with Paris...

Hello everyone and No I am NOT in Paris!!!  I wish!!!  Today I bring you a wedding card I did for a dear friend.  She knows this wonderfully adorable couple who were getting married and I was honored when asked if I would make a card for her to give them!!

So yes, I have to give a little background first... First of all did I mention how fabulous this couple is??  Can I tell you I haven't had the pleasure of meeting them??  Yes, you read that right.... I am bragging about two people I have never met before.  I know how fabulous they are through the eyes of my dear friend who speaks fondly of them often.  So, I kinda feel as though I know them too!!  Okay, back to the wedding card (I digress, get use to it!!).  The couple took a trip to Paris where he proposed to her under the Eiffel Tower!!  I will give you a moment to soak that in.... OMG! How Romantic is that - A Fairy Tale Romantic - That's How Romantic!!!  With that the design theme was chosen.... Paris of course!!

Here is the card!

Paris Dream Wedding Tri-Shutter Card

My friend brought the couples' "Save the Date" card and wedding invitation to use for color inspiration.  The dp is Destinations Afar by Katie Pertiet.  The center panel was created by embossing a piece of SU! Tempting Turquoise with the Paper Studio's Intricate Swirls folder and inking the edges with SU! Pacific Point and Tempting Turquoise.  The dp panels were matted with coredination cardstock and edges inked with CTMH Wild Flower.  The four corner panels were matted with SU! Daffodil Delight , edges inked with Wild Flower and then coredination cardstock also with the edges inked with Wild Flower.  All of the embellishments; the center photo of Paris, the tassel tied to the corner of the photo, and the four corner photos of the couple were all cut from their Save the Date package.  Those cute photo booth pictures of them.... the couple had them taken in a photo booth in Paris after the proposal - and acceptance of said proposal of course!!!  As for the sentiment, I personally get to take credit for that one!!!  I was struggling at first what to say on this one.  They are both very beautiful, educated and sophisticated people.  The typical cutesy stuff was not going to cut it on this one.  But then all of a sudden it hit me, I ran it by my friend and she loved it!!  After all, how else could a story continue on from Paris but as a dream!!  I wish them all the happiness in the world and that their marriage is one dream come true after another!!


Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Count Your Blessings

Well, I am officially calling it the Fall Season at my house!!  Though I am in Texas and we really don't have such a season, still I am ready to bring our the beautiful fall colors!  Today's card starts off the season quite well I think!  I entered this card into this weeks Sketch Challenge: SC402 over at SCS.

Count Your Blessings - Thanksgiving Card

The dp all came from the Paper Studio's Natural Botanical pack.  The solid cardstock was from my stash.  The big beautiful sunflower came from Hobby Lobby ~ everything FALL if 40% off right now!!!  The leaves and raffia are from a large box of random "greenery" that I have.  I inked the edges of the background piece with SU! Pumpkin Pie and the horizontal piece with Old Olive.  For the sentiment piece, I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities - Big Scalloped Squares Large to cut and emboss the shape, inked the edges with Pumpkin Pie and stamped the sentiment (unknown designer) with Old Olive.

Don't you just love the color combination?  I certainly do!!  Now if only we could get a little more of what northern states know to be Fall down here!!!

That's it for today hope you enjoyed my little appetizer of Fall because there is more to come and wait till you see the main course!!



Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Well Traveled Birthday

Today I am posting a card I actually did last month.  I made a Tri-Shutter Card for my brother for his birthday!  I didn't want to post it until I knew he had received it first!!  And then well I had moved on to my next projects and kept forgetting to go back and post it!!  So here you go folks...

My brother has loved motorcycles for as long as I can remember and has owned a few here and there!  Though I am terrified for the people who ride motorcycles... I acknowledge and understand my brother's passion for The Ride!!  He currently has made the switch from the 'crotch rockets' I remember from the past to the more sophisticated ride of a Harley touring bike.  He and his wife enjoy long cross country rides together on his new bright red beauty!!  When I started working on his card they had just returned from a trip that took them from southern Oklahoma to northern Wisconsin!  They had a wonderful time seeing all that beautiful country.  Okay so all of that to give you the reason for the elements I chose for his card.

Well Traveled Birthday - Tri Shutter Card

For the front and back panels, I searched and searched until I found a digital image of a map of the state of Wisconsin (most of their trip was centered around being in Wisconsin).  I made sure that specific cities of significance were visible.  I distressed the edges of the map pieces with red SU! Real Red and the center sentiment piece with SU! Old Olive.  As for the motorcycle - just when I was about to give up on finding a sticker of a motorcycle that was red, I was walking down the sticker isle for the last time in the last available store in my area when my 2 1/2 year old son said, "look mommy, motorcycle!!"  I looked where is little finger was pointing and there it was!!!  Not just a motorcycle - but a RED one, yeaaahh!!  My little man saved the day!!  I would tell you the sticker deets but I have forgotten and already threw away the outer packaging, I'm sorry.  I can tell you I got it at HL and it also had a leather jacket, gloves and a helmet.  The other dp is from the Paper Studio's glory 2 God paper pack.  The ribbon accents are 1" grosgrain.

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's post.  If you are new to my blog and want to see the details of how make a Tri Shutter Card, check out this post.


Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Butterfly Birthday

This is my second post for today so please be sure to scroll down to check out my really cool Snake Party Invitations!!

This card is for a sketch challenge over at Splitcoaststampers - the Sketch Challenge 401.
This is the sketch...

This was my first sketch challenge and I was excited to participate!  I actually found it kinda relieving... Half the work is done for me - the design of the card.  All I had to do was fill in the blocks - how fun is that!!

Well, a few weeks ago I was given the Inkadinkado Gem Stone Insects stamp set.  I thought it would be really great to make a card using those stamps and send it to the thoughtful giver!!!  So here is my card...

Butterfly Thank You Slider Card -Closed

Butterfly Thank You Slider Card -Open

First of all as you can see, I modified the large horizontal front piece (piece #4). I turned it into a message slider!!  It took my a little while to figure how the mechanics but I finally figured it out.  I plan on doing a tutorial and posting it this weekend.  The glitter white background piece was dry embossed with cuttlebug's Tiny bubbles folder then embossed with versamark and kaleidoscope translucent powder.  I promise the picture does not do it justice - I have got to learn how to capture the glitter in my photographs!!!  Anyway, the butterfly paper for piece #2 I created with the small butterfly from the set using CTMH Wild Flower.  The other stamped images were also done with CTMH Wild Flowers then embellished with glitter pens and small gems from Hobby Lobby.  I Love how this turned out - beautiful and elegant!

Okay, well that is all the time I have for today but hopefully I'll be back tomorrow to post about an awesome wedding card I did last night!!
 
Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Snake Party Invitations

 Ssssoo, a friend of mine has called the famous Mr. Clint - The Snake Man and he is bringing all his ssslithering friends to meet her youngest son and his friends at his 4th birthday party!!  This little boy is so excited - what little boy wouldn't be?!!  Live Snakes at your birthday party - how cool can you be!!  Or shall we say, how cool can your momma be!!!  Well this brave lady asked for help for the invitations and of course we came up with something great!!

Now before I show the cards I must show you something else first!  I was almost finished with the invitations, I was just putting my little Create by...Stamp on the back when I realized that for someone who isn't one of mr. snake's best friends... I sure had a lot of snakes in my studio!!!!

I had stopped and had a little chuckle to myself and just had to take a picture!!

So, for the front my friend had the idea that she wanted a big snake coiled up on a bed sand.  So with some glue, sand, and nice glass of my favorite wine spritzer we made a small mess but had big time fun doing it!!  I created an SVG image of a coiled up snake and sent it to Edward (my trusty eCraft machine!!) to cut them all outof this awesome snake print paper from the Paper Studio that my friend found!  I dry embossed each one with the Tiny Bubbles folder from cuttlebug, then I wiped my versamark pad across the top to apply it to just the raised bubbles then used clear embossing powder and heat set.  I took each snake and ran it along my pinky finger curling the edges to try and give them some dimension - it worked great!!   I used red satin ribbon for the tongue and Walaa we have snakes!!  It was almost creepy how realistic they turned out!!  The clear embossing gave it texture to add to the realism!!  I must admit - they were pretty awesome even though they were snakes!!

Snake Party Invitation Front

Once I got to the inside I just could not leave it plain.  I mean the front was so awesome that when I opened it I really felt let down by all that white!!  So I put Edward to work again and cut out some wavy strips from the same snake paper.  I ran them through my Xyron and then applied the same techniques as I did the snakes!  They turned out great.  I grabbed my little sponge and SU daffodil delight and went to town.  Aaahhhh, now that's much better!!

Snake Party Invitation Inside

 Well, if the birthday boy is happy with them then we are happy with them!  I can't wait for this exciting party and to see how our son reacts to the big snakes!!

Hope you enjoyed today's Sssshow, have a great day and come back ssssoon!  Okay so I'm being a little corny... Sssoo Sssue me!!! he he he!

Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Double Gate Card

Phew is it a whirl wind in my house lately!  This year when everyone started talking about starting again I was actually listening!!  My son started school this year - well sorta!  We decided to enroll him in MDO two days a week.  That is school enough me.  On our first day (oh I meant his first day!!), he did great - Mommy was the one who needed major amounts of Kleenex!  I was doing GREAT until it was actually time to leave him there :(  Then the emotions boiled up so bad I could hardly contain them.  Well my little man could tell his mommy was upset so that's when he got upset - I just had to walk away.  Don't you know I was told that after being upset for maybe two minutes he was terrific the rest of the day!!  When I picked him up he certainly very happy to see and ready to go home but he was also very excited to tell me all about his day and his new adventures!  Though I miss him terribly when we are apart - I know this will be good for him, for us for him to spend more time with other children his age and learn knew things from someone other than his SuperMommy!!

So how did I keep myself from getting in car and going up there and getting my son back, you ask??  Well I took the opportunity to spend some time in favorite Cyber house - Splitcoaststampers!!  I Love Love Love this place!!  If are into ANY kind of craft and want to meet some really awesome people, you have got to check this wonderful place!  It is full of Fun, Ideas, Tutorials, and beautiful Galleries Galore!!!  I have been participating in a few of their challenge and have really enjoyed it!  I decided I was going to started sharing my challenge experiences on my blog!

This week's Try a New Technique Challenge was to make a Double Gate card.  You can check out the challenge here.  This was so cute that I just couldn't resist!!  Here is mine...

Double Gate Thank You Card - Opened

 This is a close up of just the front when the card folded up!

Double Gate Card -Closed

I actually made this whole card from my scraps box, so no deets on the paper.  The Castle Stamp is from D.O.T.S - S162 Miss August Chelsea.  The inside sentiment is unkown - if you know, please let me know in the comments below!  I used the nestabilities big scalloped squares for the inside sentiment and outside tag.  I distressed the edges with CTMH Oak Brown and SU Melon Mambo.  A little hemp cord to tie it all up and walaa!  I absolutely love these cards!!  A thought occurred to me though...  Wouldn't these make adorable little birthday invitations??!!!  Now I just need to plan a party!! Thanks Judy for such a fun challenge!



Thanks for stopping by, Shabby Jo

Sending a little Sunshine

Today is a get well card that is all about sending Sunshine to someone under the weather!!  I'm sure why but I seem to be a Sun kick lately, don't I??!!!  Oh well, what ever the reason, I am enjoying it quite brightly!!

Sending a Little Sunshine Get Well Card

Not the greatest picture, I know, I was in a hurry sorry!!  So not much to say other than I rummaged through all my yellow patterned paper and grabbed the ones I thought complimented each other the best.  I used my Tim Holtz paper distresser on all the edges except the card base and 'sunshine rays' and rubbed SU daffodil delight on the edges as well.  I really like the effect it gave!

Okay so get out your scissors and make someone some sunshine!!  Now say that real fast ten times!!

Thank for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Army Strong Birthday Card

Hi there everyone!  I am super excited about this card I made - it is Army Strong!!!!  Okay, so my nephew has recently decided to follow his daddy's big foot steps and join the Army.  HOOAH!!  While I am not particularly happy about it and I am happy for him!  This is what he wants to do and I support that 100%!!  He is doing so well, we are so proud of him!  Well, about the same time as his birthday this month, he graduates from his 'special training'.  So I thought an Army themed card was totally in order!  Here you go...

Army Strong Birthday Card

I chose a Z-Fold card because I thought it would work well with all the elements I had!  The paper on the far right side was actually given to by someone a long time ago and I have held on to waiting for it's moment of glory.  Well I think that moment certainly arrived with this card!  The image is so powerful to me it was perfect all by itself and I could bare to wright on it so that's when I came up with the little panel in the middle for my personal note.  Simple yet Strong is how I feel about this one!  I really hopes he likes it - it will be hand delivered to him by his daddy (my Big Brother!) when he goes to attend his graduation ceremony!!!
Before I start to cry and get all mushy I will sign off for the night...

Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Get Well Card

Wow, it's been over two weeks since my last post!  I'm so sorry peeps but here I am today with an adorable Get Well Card for you!  I got my idea from Sugnaysmom.  This was such a cute card that I really didn't change alot. 

Warmest Wishes Get Well Card and matching envelope

I made my own background by stamp repeating with flowers from Stampin Up's Itty Bitty Backgrounds directly on the card base.  I also used it on the envelope to make it match.  For the sentiment tag I used the heart from SU Framed Fun to make a background in SU tempting turquoise, I embellished it with hemp twine.  For the coloring around the sun, also from Framed Fun, I used SU daffodil delight and tango mandarina.  I really like this design and thought of a few more modifications to try so you will probably being seeing that cute little sun face again!!  Well folks, that's all I have for today, hope you enjoyed my little bit of sunshine for the day!


Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

With Sympathy

Unfortunately I have needed to make two sympathy cards this week.  These cards are always so difficult for me.  As I know others have, my husband and I have suffered some mountainous losses and I know all to intimately that pain, that physical pain you have when you lose someone dear.  My heart pours into these cards and I pray over each one to provide, even if just a speck, some comfort to the receipt and for them to know that I am thinking of them and praying for their comfort, strength, and peace.

Here are the two I made.  Both were for men who have passed away so I wanted them to be on the masculine side...

CARD #1

With Sympathy Card

The burgundy background is from Core'dinations nastalgia, the cross patterned paper is from the Faith paper pack by The Paper Studio.  The sentiment is from Stampin Up.

With Sympathy Card Close Up

I tried to take a close up to show you that I took a glitter pen and drew over the lines of the large cross to the left of the sentiment.  I thought it added just the right amount of something extra.  The photo doesn't do it justice!

CARD #2

For this card I used craft paper, misc green from my stash and the middle patterned paper came from the Linen Closet matstack by Premium Stacks - I love that stack!!  I used green brads and hemp cord for added embellishments.

With Sympathy Card

I hope the recipients have at least a moment of comfort when they receive these cards.  And I pray that peace returns to their hearts soon.


Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Encouragement Card

A few days ago I saw this card and was inspired...

I just LOVE Rainbows with all their beautiful colors and the joy they bring to those who are lucky enough to catch the site of one!!  I have even seen a double rainbow or two in my life - Double the Joy oh Boy!!!

Anyway, back to my card, here is my take on the concept...

Encouragement Card

I had so much with this and I walked away with even more ideas to use next time!!  For this one I used scrap card stock that I cut into 2" x 4" pieces, folded them in half lengthwise and stacked them cumber bun style!  I did find this to be pretty thick so I will likely ditch this step next time and just use single layers.  The blue background, white frame and clouds were embossed using the Cuttlebug d'vine swirl folder. The clouds were cut from glitter paper with my eCraft for a little contrast and bling!!!

Well I hope you enjoyed this little cutie and I hope it offers you some inspiration as well!  Have a beautiful week!!

Thank you for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Welcome Baby Card

Here is a quick Welcome Baby Card...

Welcome Baby Card

GEEZZZ, where has the week gone???  It has been a tad above normal craziness at my house this week!  So sorry about not posting all week but here's a little card I did for a family friend.

First, I gotta talk about that adorable ribbon!!!  So, while I was out running other errands I decided to stop in at Hobby Lobby (that place just pulls me in I swear!!!!) just to see if they had anything I couldn't live without for this baby card I knew I was going to make later that evening.  Well don't you know I came across this row of, I'll just call it 'alpha ribbon'.  It has been there for as long as I can remember but I have just never felt the need to buy it, UNITL that day!!  The baby's name is Jack so I grabbed the "J" and headed home!

This card is assembled on a white card based.  I used the brown/white/blue polka dot paper from the paper studio, white rick rack, blue card stock from my scrap stash, the piece that the letters are attached to I grabbed a metallic gel pen and drew some lines on it.  It looked to plain before!  Anyway, for the white card stock behind the sentiment piece, I embossed it with the cuttlebug embossing folder: spots and dots.  I tied my new ribbon in a cute little bow, attached with glue dots and waalaa!  I really like how it turned out.  I may find myself  'collecting' the entire alphabet because now ideas are just flying through my mind!!!


Thank you for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Wooden Photo Blocks

A few years ago my mother-in-law saw these super cute photo blocks at a craft show and thought Hmmm... we could make those!  So she got my father-in-law to cut the blocks to size and then she and my sister-in-law went to town making tons of these cute little things.  Here is one she made for my son's room!

Wooden Photo Block - Baby Boy

 Isn't it just so adorable!!  If you're like me, looking at something like this makes my head spin with all the endless possibilities!  This one was made using a sheet of scrapbooking paper cut to size and a yellow duck dimensional sticker.  The embellishments on top are made of yarn and ribbon.  The clip used on this one is called a Bulldog clip and they are at Staples and Office Depot.  I actually prefer the square ones like this!  It gives you another place to add a little touch of something.

So with those little guys in my memory bank... I went to a friend's house sometime around memorial day and she had a little square sign on her front door commemorating her late husband who served in the Marines during Viet Nam.  It was made of cardstock and had contact paper on both sides for protection.  She hangs on her front door during every appropriate holiday.  Well a vision of one of these blocks instatnly popped into my mind!!!  So I politely asked if she would mind if I made her something a little more durable and she was delighted at the offer!  So I opened up photoshop (PSE10) and went to work.  I found this patriotic digital kit that I just had to have!  From this kit I used the blue stars bordered paper in the background, the swirly do dads in the bottom left corner and the title block (I modified it to remove the blue ribbon in back), and the gold bow.  The red and white wavy stripes at the bottom, I created in Inkscape.  I was lucky and located the USMC and Semper Fi logos in the public domain!!  Then, I printed it out on matte photo paper and decoupaged in to my painted block, added the ribbon and yarn to the top and waalaa!!!

Wooden Photo Block - Patriotism

Now, I know what ya'll are saying... How is she going to hang this on her front door?  Well, I wandered this myself!  I wanted this to able to be hung but then still look pretty when brought inside.  If I put hooks in the top to be hung by then she would have these ugly hooks staring out when it was inside.  I also wanted the ribbons and such to be able to come off so they wouldn't get damaged by the outdoor elements when it was hanging on her door.  So here is what I invented (with a little labor assistance from my father-in-law!)...

I had him cut me a piece of wood with dimensions that matched the top of the block.  Then cut some slits in it so the eye hooks could slip through it, then with a slight turn the eye hooks will hold it in place.  I attached the ribbon and such to this piece of wood instead of to the block.

Here some photos to show you how it works...

Photo block without the plate for hanging

Underside of removable wood plate

Wood Plate placed on top of photo block with eye hooks 'open'

Wood plate held in place by eye hook 'closed' by turning a quarter turn

Eye hooks covered by ribbon and such!

 I hope you made this far... I know this was a long post!  I hope you find it was worth your time.  If you decide to make one of these I would love to what you came up with.  Post a comment with a link to your gallery or blog or send me an email to info@shabbyjodesigns.com.  That's all for today - Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Thank you for stopping by,

Shabby Jo

Tri Shutter Tutorial

I have had a few questions about this Tri Shutter Card from my previous post. So I hope this post will answer them!
Here is a photo of mine again...

Tri Shutter Card

First, where did I find out about them?  

I have a search that I do when I am wanting something new but I am experiencing 'creators block' (!!).  I do a Google image search for 'handmade cards'.  I browse through the images and sometimes I end up spending my craft time discovering new blogs and websites!  However, sometimes I find some really cute ideas that power up my creative engine!  This was definitely one of those of power up days!!  My image browsing brought me to this site...SewDelish.  Here is the image that caught my eye;

 

I went back to my search and changed it to 'tri shutter card' and what the ????????? Where have I been?  Am I the LAST one in the crafting world to find out about these??  Oh I have got to browse more. Ha! instead of get out more / browse more!  Sometimes I crack myself up!!  Anyway, I digress...

I went back to SewDelish's and I clicked on the tutorial she referred to and... Big Surprise... it's Splitcoaststampers!!  I looked through it and was already suspicious of something I didn't think would work well for me so I went to work figuring this thing out!!  Here's are a few things I learned through this process...

When deciding to make one of these rewarding beauties you need to first decide what size you want it to be when it is closed.  I had just purchased a box of envelopes for a super good price and wanted to use one of those.  They are for 5 x 7 cards.  So I got out my scrap paper, ruler and thinking cap.  Hey, I think my next project will be to make me a real thinking cap!!  Sorry, again I digress...  After looking at the card and figuring out the mechanics of it here is the simple 'formula' I cam up with...  First a drew a template so to speak for illustration purposes..

Tri Shutter Card Template: score lines-Black, cut lines-Red, size of card when closed-Green area

Okay so basically you take the width of the closed card and divide by 2.  In this case, 5 divided by 2=2.5".  This gives you the measurements of the two smaller panels on the sides.  Then for measuring for the top and bottoms panels, you want the center to be greater than the top and bottom by at least an inch.  So for this card the top and bottom are 2" and the center is 3", totally 7".

Now what to do you do with all those calculations and measurements you ask!!  Well, you start scoring and cutting...Except, First...do you notice the areas that look like T's on their side on both outer sides of the card.  The tutorial from above as well as others I looked at said to score the complete height of the card at the given intervals (for this card it would be 2.5", 5", 10", 12.5")  the first time around, I did it that way.  I know it makes it easier to score but it scores that middle section which makes it fold less gracefully than if you don't.  So I tried it again and did not score that section at all and I think it makes a big difference.  For example, the first score line I started at 2.5" from the left and proceeded to score until I scored 2 inches then picked up my scoring bone and went down three inches and started again and scored to the bottom and did the same thing at 5", 10" and 12.5".

Now that you have all that scoring out of the way, get your cutting tool and cut along the cut lines.  then you simply fold the top and bottom panels using mountain / valley and waalaa, you have a tri shutter card.  Just lay it flat on your work surface again and embellish to your heart's desire!!

Well, I hope I explained this well and you are able to follow through with me and be able to make your what ever size you want.  If you any questions, just leave a comment and I will do my best to answer.

Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Tri Shutter Card

I am so excited about my latest project! It's called a Tri Shutter Card and OMG it is fabulous and fun and full of endless possibilities!!  I was surfing the net the other day and came across this awesome new card design - well it's new to me anyway!  My SIL's birthday was coming up so Yippee, I used that as an excuse to try it out!  She loves all the animal print stuff that is popular these days so off to Hobby Lobby I went to find some cool animal print paper!!  Here is my final product...

I am so pleased with how it turned out, I just can't wait to make more!!  This is one of those designs that I really hang on to because it has the ability to be totally personal and different each time I make one without it looking like the same card just different paper.  With all those little sections in it you can really disguise the template so to speak.  I really love it and see many more in my future!!

I posted a tutorial for this card here if you would like to see the template for this as it is an unusual size of 5 x 7 closed, 7 x 15 open!  Most I have seen are smaller to be able to utilize 12 x 12 paper.  I plan on making templates for other sizes as well so be sure to keep an eye on the Tri-Shutter Card Tutorial Label in the Labels section on the right.

Thanks for stopping by,
Shabby Jo

Today is the First day of a new journey

Hello, I am Shabby Jo and I have been card making and scrap for the last 15 years and scrapbooking for the last 10!  I truly enjoy creating new designs for my cards and nothing warms my heart more than to know my card has brightened someone’s day!  And who doesn’t just love it when you finally finish those 4 scrapbook pages of the vacation you took 2 years ago and step back and say YES! That’s it, it’s perfect! It’s Done!!  I Love it all ~  The creating, the cutting, the coloring (no it’s not just for kindergarten!), all the little flowers and bows made from ribbon, and phew… I better stop, I’m making myself dizzy!! So why this Blog??   Let’s start with a snip from a song… “Oh I get by with a little help from my friends, Mmm,I get high with a little help from my friends, Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends ~Beatles  You guessed it…. My husband and a friend convinced me I should do something with my “talents”!!  As my friend said in her wonderful speech of encouragement, "...You should let yourself shine and be seen"!  Immediately a bible scripture popped into my head...    "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do the people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." ~Matthew 5:14-16.    I went home and told my husband about my conversation and the scripture that wouldn't leave my mind.  His response??  "So does that mean you've decided to believe us and start something up?"  So after a lot of thought, pacing, and research, I decided to start with a blog and see where it goes!!    So why “Shabby Jo” you ask?  Well, one of the things I say after finishing  a project using a new technique or idea, and I don’t know why – I just do, is “HhMmm. That’s not too Shabby! I like it”  So it just popped out there when I was trying to decide on a name!  The Jo, well that one isn’t as long to explain!  It’s my middle name and while playing the name game with a very dear friend of mine, I threw out the Shabby and Designs and almost before the last syllable left my mouth she yells out Shabby Jo Designs!!!!  And so she was born!! I am very excited and can't wait to share with you all the new fun and exciting things I hope to learn and create!!  I will be posting current projects I am working,  new techniques I am learning and the occasional reviews. Thank you for stopping by and be sure to click the Follow Me button so you don't miss out on anything!!! Hope to see you again soon!!  Shabby Jo