Money may not grow on trees....

....but hearts do! Before I get too far into this post, my son Will, who is almost 4, insisted that I put some of his creations on my blog. He usually wakes up from his nap and goes straight for my scrap drawer. I let him take whatever he wants and he goes to his table and cuts and glues and cuts and glues. He's always very proud of what he comes up with and of course I give him a ton of praise to help boost his ego. So, today he created the little top note Valentine on the left below. On the right is a gingerbread man that he made a couple of days ago and it just had to be in the photo too. He's a creative guy in the making....he didn't fall far from the tree!

And...then I have to show you the pheasants that are still coming around. Still 4 of them, and they are happy as can be because Andy is still out feeding them.

In this picture below, you have to notice the platform birdfeeder behind the pheasants - that stands about 5 feet high from the ground - it appears that about 3 foot of it is covered up by snow. If you look beyond that feeder, you can see that the drifts just keep going up and up from there. We think (but haven't gone out to confirm) those drifts reach a peak of about 12 ft from the ground. I can't wait until Sunday and Monday when it's warmer - I'm gonna be out taking some photos of our awesome drifts.

Oh, and where those pheasants are standing - somewhere under there are some Blue Spruce trees....

Okay, on with the show! Here's creativity in progress:

If you notice over on the right side of my blog, I've opened an Etsy Shop!!!! You can click over there to get there or go to: http://stampedsilly.etsy.com For those of you not familiar with Etsy, it's a website that sells only handcrafted and vintage items. You can find all sorts of great things over there, and I think it's great to support crafters - handmade is so much better than mass produced......
Here's the finished product:

Cute - huh.....and see hearts DO grow on trees! For those of you that are in the Denison, IA area, these will also be for sale at Splurge! in uptown Denison - across from the courthouse.

Here's a detail shot:

And here's the same card, I just swapped out the DSP.

And a detail shot of that one:

FYI - I love the new Satin Ribbon - it is just SO easy to work with. Oh, and those clear mount stamps - phew....they are lifesavers! I just don't see much for wood mounted stamps in my future....poor things!

Okay - time to go. Enjoy your day - the sun will come out tomorrow, and it'll be about 50 degrees warmer!!! (that is really something - huh?? )

Poppy Love

that's right - POPPY love. Not puppy love. I've been seeing these little flowers all over, and I love them. I need to perfect them quite a bit, but still, I really like them.
And, well, my ric rak is a little off proportion wise, but it's what I had....I'm on the hunt for something new there.....

Here's a detail shot. Don't be suprised to see more of these from me - I just think they are adorable. And my mother in-law really likes poppies too, so I need to dream up a card for her upcoming birthday!

So, other than being snowed in, or really drifted in - I've been stamping like mad, and have lots of new things to show you! I'll warn you tho - Cupid is still in my pocket, and I don't think he's going anywhere for a while. I haven't been this into Valentine's ever - wonder what's gotten into me? Maybe it's all of those pregnancy hormones...I just don't know. And, maybe I'm making up for those first 12 weeks when I just couldn't do ANYTHING!

Well, peeps - I'll be back with more for you to drool over.....

Jen

My Heart's All a Flutter!!!

Alrighty - the mad recycler that I am....I had these really cute jars that I saved (after cleaning out the refrigerator when we lost power during the last blizzard). I thought they would be really cute with some candies in them for Valentine's and here's what I came up with.
I decorated the lid using Real Red Satin Ribbon. This stuff is awesome to work with. I'm not sure I love the way I did the ribbon here - almost wish I would have just broke out the sewing machine and stitched it into a ruffle....now I have another idea tho (secret, secret - I have more jars!). I tacked it to the lid using sticky strip, then cut a piece of pattern paper (from the Sending Love DSP) using the circle cutter, and attached that to the lid. Added my sentiment - viola - lid done. It's the most important part after all.

Then I stamped the hugs & kisses in Real Red on Very Vanilla. I colored in parts of the image with my Pretty in Pink marker, and the dots with the Real Red Marker. Then I glittered to my hearts content. I thought that was fitting with the very glittery DSP.

There's an close-up for you.

I cut one of the flowers out of the DSP, and tacked it onto the other side. The opposite sides then have hearts punched out using the Heart to Heart punch. Other than the ribbon, I really like it. Now, it just needs to be filled with some Hershey's Hugs and Kisses and it'll be perfect. (Unbelievably, I couldn't find any *ANY* Valentine's candy in our local Wal-Mart - usually they start putting that out before Christmas is even over. Maybe I need to send Cupid their way??)

Let me know whatcha think....

Jen

Cupid has struck me!

Here's another little card for you using the Love You Much stamp set. Remember you can earn this stamp set free - check out this post.
This card is super easy peasy and just as sweet as can be. I stamped the heart trio image from the Love You Much stamp set with Whisper White Craft Ink on Real Red. Then, I punched those out using the Heart to Heart punch. I trimmed some of the bottom of the front of the card off - about 3/4", then used that awesome new pinking hearts border punch. (You gotta get this!) I layered a strip (out of my scrap pile) of Real Red onto some sparkly new Sending Love DSP, then put that behind the border punch so that it really popped! Oh, and to make the hearts appear like flowers, I used my paper piercer and free handed some stems. Then stamped a couple of leaves in Old Olive Craft Ink. (Craft ink is GROWING on me!!!)

I decided to leave it just this simple. I wanted a clean look, and that's what I think I got! Believe it or not, NO RIBBON!! The ribbon was calling my name, and I tried to add some, but I just couldn't make it happen.....I could have maybe substituted the leaves with some ribbon knots.....there's an idea.....hmmmm.....I should have thought of that earlier!

What do you think? I love to hear your comments!

How I love you....

.....let me count the ways. I'm on top of the Valentine's this year. I've been very inspired by other stampers, and seeing the Valentine's just has gotten me in the mood. Plus, it helps too that my 3 year old, Will, is constantly calling hearts Valentime's. I think it's so cute. So, these little birds, below, are each holding Valentime's.

So, this card was quite simple and I came up with the whole thing all by my lonesome! No sketch to follow, no inspiration. I just stamped the row of birds (from The More the Merrier Stamp Set), and went with it. And I gotta tell you - I {heart} this card. The birds are stamped with black stazon on watercolor paper, then colored using markers and blender pens. I really like to color this way. You've got a lot of control, and you can even take color away if you need to highlight here or there.

And what do you think of those hot new epoxy brads??? (You need these!) Aren't they super cute? Today is the first day you can order these. And remember - if you place an online order - either from my website or email me - you will get your name put in the hat to win the Love You Much stamp set.

Alrighty peeps - I must go - it's freezing (literally) here, and I need to get a fresh cuppa coffee!

As promised....

......I have a card showing you the Love You Much Stamp Set (that you can earn absolutely free! Check out yesterday's blog post) I turned to the Mojo Monday blog for some inspiration. I love a sketch challenge, and it had been so long since I'd participated in one, I thought it was high time! Blank sketches are great to work with because you can interpret your own design without being influenced by colors or stamps, etc. Anyway.....this was quite simple - I stamped the Love You Much in black stazon, then stamped the flower portion in Real Red on a scrap, which I cut out. (you know how I like to cut tedious little objects out!!!!) I colored the image with SU! markers, then shadowed with a gray watercolor crayon and blender pen. I always like the way shadowing really helps ground an image. It completes me!

There is the card in it's entirety. It's a little more busy than what I typically put together, but I still really like it. That's the great thing about Stampin' Up's Designer Series Papers. They easily work together. Just remember to use a large pattern with a small pattern. Never two large patterns on the same page. It's easier to pull off two small patterns together. This is also why I went with just a plain Chocolate Chip square and border - to break it up a bit.

Check out that new pinking hearts border. Isn't it super sweet? And the glitter in the new Sending Love DSP. I love the fact that it's pre-glittered. I get my glitter fix without the mess. (Yes Karen - you too could have mess free glittered paper!)

So - whatch think? Cute card? Leave me a comment - I just might have something up my sleeve for you....... :)

Introducing....

Stamp Set of the Month.......

What? What's this about you wonder? Well, here's how it will work....at the beginning of every month, I will announce the Stamp Set of the Month that you can earn FREE! from me. All you need to do, is go to my website: www.jenarkfeld.stampinup.net and place an order or email me an order. These orders have to be other than club or workshop orders. Every time you order, I will put your name in the drawing for the Stamp Set of the Month. Simple - eh? So, this month, the Stamp Set is Love You Much. It's perfect for upcoming Valentine's. And, I will be sure to show you a ton of inspiration with this set this month too!


That's it for today all.....I'll be back tomorrow with a couple of cards from this set to show you!

Ta-ta!

Good frigid day all! It hasn't reached 0 degrees here today, I don't think that it ever got above
-3!!! Brrr.....

On a warmer note - I am posting the NEW Occasions Mini catalog for you to drool over. Just be sure not to dribble on your keyboard!!! Yes, it's that good! One thing that I am thrilled about are the new clear mount stamps. REPEAT: CLEAR MOUNT STAMPS! You are guarenteed to get the same superb quality rubber stamp, but you now have the option of purchasing them wood mount or repositionable clear mount. Clear mount has so many benefits....I am pretty sure that it's the route I'm taking. The take up less space, you only need one set of clear blocks, and all of your repositionable stamps will work with them, and *ding ding ding* they are less expensive. In the end, your clear blocks will more than pay for themselves! So, go ahead - take a peak - click on the brochure below:


All items will go on sale Tuesday January 5th!
Then: New Year equals Sale-A-Bration time! I love the stamp sets in the Sale-A-Bration catty this year - really, really love them! Plus - new this year is a scallop punch that I super duper am in love with! FYI - the punch will be available for sale in the new catty that will come out in July - but hey, why not earn it for free???? Oh, I should remind you - EVERYTHING in the Sale-A-Bration catty is free, and these stamps will not be offered ever again. When you place a $50 order thru me, you earn an item! Sweet - huh! And, if you host a workshop, you can earn even MORE free. Hello....who doesn't love more freebies?? AND, there's more! I'm going to sweeten the offer even more.....book and hold a workshop during the Sale-A-Bration period (Jan 5th - March 31st) and I will add $25 to your free merchandise hostess dollars! A super good deal for you! Call or email me right away to book your workshop. You wanna see the spectacular things in the Sale-A-Bration Catty? Click on the brochure below:



Alrighty peeps - that's all for today - I've got another offer for you tomorrow, so be sure to stop back!

Okay gang...we're back in business!

The hustle and bustle has calmed down after all of the holiday hoopla, and I'm ready to buckle down. Due to our recent blizzard, there wasn't a whole lot of hustle - more like a lot of couch time under the blankets with the boys close at hand! After the electricity was restored, the heat turned back on, and a much needed shower....I discovered that the electricity in my craft room wasn't working. UGH!!! It just never seemed to end. Not every room in our house has great lighting (due to the fact that it's a 120 year old house), and the craft room probably has the worst of all. Finally, after Andy spent numerous hours trying to get our driveway cleared, I sent him down to the basement to see what the problem was - an easy fix. Breaker had been flipped - I'm sure caused by the gazillion power surges we had. Then, I go to turn on my computer - no internet service....that took a few days to correct - it was on the providers end, so nothing I could do about it. But trust me, I was trying everything! It had been 5 days without internet and I was feeling like I'd lost all

connection with the outside world! How easily one becomes "in dire need"!

While in boredom, we did have a good time feeding these beauties:

These guys were HUNGRY - they were eating what the squirrels dropped out of their feeder, then once Andy saw them coming up to eat, he started putting out some extra corn for them. The one thing that did was bring on more squirrels too. So, we are now feeding 4 squirrels and 4 rooster pheasants, and tons of other great birds too - Cardinals (my fav!), Blue Jays, Gold finches, Nuthatches, Juncos, and of course, Sparrows! We are a nature family, so this is always entertainment for us!

Okay, yeah, I know, you guys want to see some projects. Well, now that Christmas is over, I can show you this trio of frames I made for my little 6 month old nieces' room:

Frame #1:

Frame #2:

Frame #3:

Here are some detail shots:

I used a combo of DSP, chipboard, some new felt flowers (these go on sale w/ SU! on Jan. 5th!!). You are even getting a sneak peak of some of the new DSP that comes in an awesome, gloriously HUGE pack of paper, and it's a steal!

This butterfly is die cut, and then embossed. I'm coming around on the butterflies - I didn't really like them for a LONG time, but man, they are growing on me....

Aren't these little felt flowers adorable? I just love them - from the moment I saw them.

Making this girly stuff really gets my hopes up for a girl. Guess we'll know in a little over 3 months! Yikes - 3 months!!!! I don't know what to do with girls, but guess I could figure it out. Better not get my hopes up.....

Well, this is the last post of 2009....bye, bye '09. And here's to 2010! Stay tuned tomorrow - 2010 has some great things in store for you - that's right - FOR YOU, my blog followers, my customers, my friends!

I hope that all of you had a great holiday season!

Ta-ta dearies!

Jen

A birthday card???

Yes, a birthday card right smack in the middle of the Christmas season....don't fret my blog peeps - I'll have more Christmas stuff coming up for you. What I'd really like to show you is the awesome NEW SU! things that I've been playing with. But, unfortunately, they are items that I've submitted to Paper Crafts to *crossing fingers* try and get published. So, now I need to come up with some other items to show you some of the new and awesome things SU! has coming out in January. I will tell you that the clear mount system ROCKS!!! I can't tell you how much easier it is to stamp. I'm going to feel bad for my wood mount stamps, because I have a feeling they are going to get neglected...poor things!

Alrighty - you came here to see a creation right? Here you go:


I had fun developing this card - I took the background piece (Certainly Celery), ran it thru the Big Shot using the Polka Dot Texturz pad. Then, I used a small paintbrush and brushed some Frost White Shimmer Paint onto the raised polka dots. The cupcakes were stamped with Stazon (my favorite black ink), then colored with watercolor crayons. Again, I used the paintbrush and shimmer paint to do the frosting - which just turned out so cool - I loved it! FYI - the shimmer paints are only available until January 4th - you NEED this stuff, you really do. So, to order some - go to my SU! website and click on the shop now link at the top right corner. The cupcake image was cut out using the circle cutter, and the Melon Mambo scalloped circle was cut with the Big Shot and the large scalloped circle die.


I stamped the Wish Big stamp ( not SU) and layered it onto Chocolate Chip, then put a ribbon on it to make it appear to be a tag. I think that's it....it was really pretty quick to throw together. The Crazy for Cupcakes set is one of my favorite for birthdays - I just wish it was clear mount now, but I'll deal!

Okay - that's it for today....the baby is kicking, and I've got restless legs, so must move them.....

Thanks for stopping by!
Jen

Gift goodies

I have a thing for gift packaging...I just love a pretty wrapped gift. When I take sweets to the neighbors at holiday time, I want that to have some good presentation too. One thing my mom got me started on was giving snack mixes instead of candies and cookies. They are easier to make, and just as yummy. My mom is even clever enough to come up with some good names for her snack mixes. So, this year, I purchased these windowed coffee bags, and thought they would be awesome to give some yummy stuff away in. The one pictured here is not filled yet - I need to get to cooking away. Cookies would be awfully cute in this bag tho too!
Here are the tags on the front:

They are glittered with a two way glue pen and dazzling diamonds. C'mon people - you know I almost always have to have 2 things on my projects - ribbon, and glitter!!!!
Here is the entire bag.

Do you see anything that might be a sneak peak???

Here are the tags again, and little closer, just so you can REALLY see the glitter glittering!

Hmmm, now I wonder what yummy item I should fill this with???

Thanks for stopping by today!

I LOVE snow!!!

This project has been done for quite some time - and those of you that are in my Stamp Club will realize that this is familiar. It's the tote that we made at our November meeting. My customer and Stamp Club member, Judy was the one who originated the idea, using the paper and ribbon, and it was so stunning, I had to duplicate it. The original that was made for Stamp Club was this one. Those in the other Stamp Club loved it so, most of them went with this design also. It's quite striking, and a great use of the flocked pattern of the Christmas Cocoa DSP. I added the tag - which is, of course, vellum snowflakes!!! Are you sick of seeing those from me yet???

Detail shot of gift tag:

Back side of gift tag:

Isn't that snowflake paper just gorgeous?

In the meantime...it's been snowing here in Iowa. I LOVE it!! I think you can tell a true Iowan by whether or not they like snow. And, if I wasn't carrying around this little item in my belly, I'd be able to get my snow pants on, and out there I'd be. Building a snow fort with my little guys. Will loves the snow just as much as I do, and has been dying to go out. I let him out this morning for about 10 minutes. But since it was only 3 degrees out, I couldn't let him out there very long. He was bummed out to have to come in, but maybe this afternoon the sun will warm up the air a bit more. Anywhere - here's a shot of some of our snow.

One of those poor little trees is completely buried under a snow drift. I hope it doesn't get hurt, the poor little thing!

I feel bad for any little birdie out in this house. Out there in the blowing snow - brrrr!!! Those snow drifts behind the birdhouse are about 5 feet high in the high spots. In a few days, I'm sure they will be transformed into some pretty cool forts. Good thing, my hubby is good at building forts, and enjoys it just like Will and I do.

Okay peeps...gotta get this posted so that I can get my Stamp Club stuff prepped. Gotta trim the tree tonight, and then an ultrasound bright and early in the morning to see the little one and after that Andy and I will be getting our Christmas shopping done.

So, ta ta!!!

Tag Box...

....are you wondering just what a tag box is? I was when I first heard it. Well today, Splitcoast had a Technique Challenge (they do every Monday apparently) to make a Tag Box. I was quite curious, so checked it out. It's a little box made from shipping tags, and if you don't have shipping tags, not a prob - just make a couple. The directions are on Splitcoast - just go to the lower right hand side of their home page, and click on Monday: Try a New Technique under the Weekly Challenges headline. Then, click on the challenge for 12/7/09.

I did absolutely no stamping for this one. And it went together very easily and quickly.


For my focal image I used the snowflake punch to punch two snowflakes out of vellum cardstock. (this is one of my new fave things to do, if you haven't noticed!) I used my 2 Way Glue Pen all over the top snowflake and then sprinkled it with Dazzling Diamonds. I should warn you that this WILL cause your vellum snowflake to curl up. In some cases, I'm okay with this - but in this case I wasn't thrilled with it. So, I used some more 2 way glue, and stuck it down to the snowflake under it. FYI - they aren't lined up on purpose! I then layed the entire snowflake bundle on it's front, being careful not to bend any "arms" of the snowflakes, and put some weight on it for a while so it would flatten back out.
The rest is pretty self explanitory. Just paper, and ribbon!

This was a very simple project - and QUICK!!! I will be using these for my mail lady with some specialty cocoa and yummy marshmallows tucked into it. (Kris-don't tell your mom ahead of time!! Should I stick one in my mailbox for you and Zoey too??? I'm sure she'd deliver it to you!)

Okay peeps - that's all for today - Jay Leno is distracting me - I must go now!!!!

Jen

Deer Thanks...

As I type this blog post (actually on Sunday afternoon), I'm sitting in my chair, listening to my 3 year old snore on the couch (since he refused to nap in bed today), and watching Ma and Pa Cardinal gorge themselves on sunflowers seeds out of our feeder. The snow is beginning to fly, and I couldn't be happier. I'm ready for snow, and a White Christmas. Okay. On with the show....





Yesterday I showed you the treat bag that I gave to our "retired" babysitter. Today I'm showing you the thank you card that went with it. Again *gasp* with a Winter Post stamp used. But also, the Thanks from Thank You Kindly set.

I again used the snowflake punch, but left off the glitter. My paper is all now retired - Baja Breeze, the DSP is retired too, and i can't remember what it is....even the ribbon is retired :( !!! I loved the DSP tho - because I have 3 packs of it open in my stash!!!! Crazy - I am such a paper hoarder.

Alright - I'm somewhat brain dead today - I don't have much for you, nor a whole lot to say....except what's rolling thru my head...."as long as you love me so, Let it SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!!!!!" There you have it - now you'll be singing it too!

Ta-ta folks!

More Winter Post creations....

Okay - so, once I got the Winter Post set out, I just couldn't put it away. I do so love this set. Well, a couple of weeks ago, our old babysitter, well, she's not old, she's just not our beloved babysitter anymore - but still much loved; she showed up at our house with a BIG bowl of homemade Chicken Noodle soup. She had seen on FB that Andy (dh) was less than impressed with the homemade Chicken Noodle soup I had made, so she brought us some of her yummy stuff, which was MUCH better than mine.
I needed to return her bowl to her, and since we were headed to the town that she moved to for a photo session of my boys, I made up a batch of Chex Mix and filled one of these too too cute coffee bags.

Of course I had to jazz it up with some ribbon - last years Riding Hood Red striped ribbon. Then, I stamped the skaters in Choc. Chip, colored them with watercolor crayons (you must get these!) and die cut it with my Big Shot (you need this too!). I used a Nestabilities dies to cut the shapes. That's what's SO nice about the Big Shot - you can use it with about any die on the market; it's very versatile. I thought the skater image still needed a little sumpin' sumpin', so I added the little postage mark - in Ruby Red, but it's been stamped off twice! I didn't want it to stick out like a sore thumb, and even with stamping it off once, it was a little too vibrant.


I punched two snowflakes with the snowflake punch - one in Ruby Red, and the other in vellum cardstock. The vellum one, I then used a two way glue pen all over, and added some Dazzling Diamonds (my fave glitter!). I also added glitter to the cuffs and hat brim of the lady skating.

FYI - when you use the two way glue/glitter on the vellum, it will curl as it dries. I happen to like this look if it's in the right setting. Reminds me of the way that Queen Anne's Lace dries. My snowflake here hadn't started to curl just yet.

Thanks for stopping by peeps!

Jen