Jennifer McGuire, ink.

Can't think of a title...

2009-11-10T21:24:27-05:00

... but I am posting anyway. :)

Just a quick post tonight before working on the new card drive post. :) And, just fyi - we will be posting the final list of Cards for Kate and Eric soon and then we will pick prizes. (But, yes, you can still send in cards for Kate and Eric's family. It just won't be for this round of prizes.)

I also should give a shout out to my dad. He has ended up being the kind soul who goes to the post office every single day to pick up all the cards you send in. Dad, you rock.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I really like what Tim wrote again on his blog today (don't tell him I said that - again - ha) about really feeling motivated by hearing from you all. In fact, I am starting today to make a better effort of leaving comments on my favorite blogs, too. I rarely take the time to do so, but I realize that is wrong - it only takes a few seconds, ya know? (I will also continue to share some of the gems I find out there on twitter.) Also, he is right - when you give you get - so I will doing more prizes from random comments. (I have some prizes planned for the next few days...)

These are some cards I did back in the spring, but I don't think I have shared them yet. Everything is Hero Arts and Bazzill cardstock. Some pieces were cut with my Silhouette.

Supplies: Hero Arts stamps, Bazzill Cardstock, Silhouette die cuts, Creative Impressions ribbon

Night.

A giveaway and a match made in heaven...

2009-11-08T21:07:35-05:00

Hey there, stampers.

My friend, Tim, gave me a great idea. (Once and awhile he has a good idea, huh? Ha - just kidding. :) Anyway, I saw that he randomly gave a prize to someone who had left him a comment - without warning. Love that idea, so I am totally copying. (Thanks, Tim!) This may be the new way I give away goodies - just randomly pick a name from any post. (So, yes, leaving comments is a good thing to do... it lets me know you are out there!) I picked someone who left a comment a few days ago to win these chipboard goodies from K&Company...

And the winner is Dawn T who left a comment on 11/4. I will email you to get your address.

Next, I wanted to share some cards I made a couple months ago at a retreat. These were such fun to make because they use two of my favorite stamp companies - Papertrey Ink and Hero Arts - a match made in heaven. I really like that both of these companies sell made-in-the-USA stamps - the quality results in crisp stamped images. THIS set from Papertrey is my favorite... it is designed to add buttons to. Instead, I used little punched circles and shapes of Hero Arts stamped goodness. (I mostly used THIS and THIS from Hero.) I then covered them with Glossy Accents for some shine. Easy to do! Here they are. If you have questions on specific stamps, just let me know. (ETA - the die cuts I used are from Spellbinders. Love THESE!)

Supplies: Hero Arts and Papertrey Ink stamps, Hero Arts notecards, Ranger Glossy Accents, Spellbinders dies, Cuttlebug and Sizzix embossing folders, EK Success punches

And a quick note to all you wonderful gals from my classes this weekend... THANK YOU. I had a blast - such a classy event. Will link you up with the videos soon. Hugs!

Night-night, everyone.

Lots of randomness...

2009-11-05T21:26:15-05:00

Happy Thursday.

Lots of stuff for ya tonight.

First - like many of you - my heart is aching for the folks at Fort Hood. If you want to find out easy ways you can help our soldiers, please visit HERE. I love the Operation Write Home folks (aka Cards for Heroes).

Next, for all you generous cardmakers, my friend Gina told me about THIS post. It talks about a little boy who is very ill and celebrating Christmas early. People are sending cards from everywhere for him. The link shares a great article about him. I added this to my list of things to do.

Also, be sure to check out the awesome kit that Crystal Wilkerson designed to raise money for our little Kate. I know many of you wanted to know how to give money to help out Kate's family - here is one great way to do it. I love the designs! Click HERE.

And! In case you missed it, Creating Keepsakes announced their new Dream Team designers! Lots of great artists here, including some of my friends. I have gotten lots of emails from people - yes, I will be continuing with my roll with CK. I love the people and I love the work. :)

I am busy working on class prep for my classes in Columbus this weekend. So excited to be teaching. I don't travel to many end user events and stores due to family, so when there are ones close by, I am thrilled. Here is a little peek at one of the projects we will be doing... sporting Hero Arts, Distress Inks and Claudine Hellmuth Sticky Back Canvas.

And, I gotta share something, huh? Here goes...

I have received emails about this card that was in Creating Keepsakes. The card is actually made from Grungeboard - just cut to 8.5x5.5, scored, folded and painted. I then decorated it like I would a regular card. I just think it is fun to shake things up and use something besides paper for a card. :) I adore this message stamp from Tim Holtz.

(c) Creating Keepsakes - uses Grungeboard, Stampin' Up heart punch and die, Hero Arts pearls, Tim Holtz stamp, Papertrey Ink background stamps (on the hearts), embossing powder, Making Memories patterned paper.

Off to go through a few more Cards for Kate. Night.

Birthday Gift Meets Scrapbooking Goodies

2009-11-04T09:30:52-05:00

Colin was invited to one of his girlfriend's birthday parties. Her name is Eva and she is the cutest little 3-yr-old in the world. I wanted to get her a special gift. Since she is a Montessori child, too, I knew she would love art stuff...

... with a scrapbooking twist, of course. :)

Colin and I headed to the store to collect papers and stickers and gems and pink stuff and glue and such. We cut the 12x12 papers down to 6x6. (I do this for Colin, too. Makes it go farther.) We filled a cute basket with the goodies. I used Glossy Accents (the only glue that truly holds very well) to add Making Memories glittery letters to the front for her name. (Turns out this was a good choice - little Eva was sporting silver glitter shoes at the party.) Add a flower and button. Perfect gift for a cute girly...

Supplies: Hobby Lobby Basket, Making Memories glitter chipboard, flowers, buttons and Glossy Accents to hold it in place

And we needed a girly card to finish it off. Decided to use the ultra-cute Stamping Bella butterfly. I adore their stamps (and the owner!)... so cheerful and fun. Something this world needs more of right now. Used a Hero Arts greeting and background, Copic marker coloring and finished it off with a glitter pen. Yep... I added my own little party hat...

Supplies: Stamping Bella butterfly, Hero Arts greeting and background, Copic Markers, glitter pen, pom-pom, google eyes

By the way, I wanted to quickly introduce you to the works-with-any-style-project stamp. My new best friend...

Off to work. Have a great day.

(Oh, by the way... I think we have already found 10 children to collect cards for! So excited. Once it is all lined up, I will share the info. Thanks!)

Card Drive Update & Shares

2009-11-01T21:37:25-05:00

Hey!

Before I share some projects, I thought I would give an update on the Card Drive. Here are a few things:

I still have to go through the packages I have received in the last week and get them added to the list of people. Once I get them all in (probably a week or so), we will start picking winners of the 90+ prizes. Jana and Kristina are going to help me, along with a sweet angel who contacted me from here locally who said she would help. (Thanks, Mary Kay!)
Instead of announcing the 90+ winners all at once, I likely will announce them over the course of several weeks. This will make shipping easier and make it more fun. :)
You are still welcome to send Cards for Kate! (See below.)
If you want to send encouragement/sympathy cards for Eric's family, please do so. Kathy said I can send them to her and she will personally deliver them to his family. She thinks they would appreciate it. So, please, send them in! (Also, any cards that have come in recently for Eric will be passed along, too.)

Now... time for a new Card Drive! Here is what I am thinking:

I am going to come up with a list of children who need some love in their mailbox - between 5 and 10 kids. (Kate will be one of the children.) I will post the kids info here. If you are interested in making cards, you can send them to any of the children/families.
I am looking for kids who could use our cards. Please email me if you know of anyone. A few of you contacted me before. I don't want to miss anyone, so please email me again to remind me. It would be helpful if the child has a website that updates us on how they are doing, since many will be interested.
This will be an ongoing card drive. At the beginning of each month, I will announce some prizes. At the end of each month, I will draw names for prizes. The number of prizes will depend on the number of children. Say we have 10 children... there will be 10 prizes. (Example: If you send in cards for Child 1 and Child 4, you will be eligible for Prize 1 and Prize 4. So, for your best chance at winning, be sure to send in cards for each child. :)
More details and info will be shared soon. In the meantime, feel free to continue to send cards for Kate and contact me if you have info on a child who we could collect cards for.

Thanks so much, everyone. Hope this makes sense. I do believe in the power of one person reaching out to others... even if it is through a card.

Next, how about some sharing? 2Peas just posted lots of new projects. Here are mine, followed by some great ones created by other girls there.

These are gift bags I made for Colin's teachers. I love layering die cut shapes for dimension. (Click HERE for more info.)

(c) Twopeasinabucket.com - more info HERE.

Here are some pencils for his teachers, too. (I like to give them gifts here and there. Little handmade things.) So easy to make using those rockin' Sassafrass flowers.

(c) Twopeasinabucket.com - more info HERE.

Here are some of my favorites:

Kelli Crowe is so fun... and so are THESE great cards. I am so doing this.
Mary is amazing and HERE is proof.
Jen G is soooo good.
Great holiday card ideas HERE.

Oh, and I normally don't like to bore you all with family stuff, but I couldn't resist sharing this. :)

Off to catch up on email - once again. Night. :)

It's candy time...

2009-10-30T21:59:25-04:00

Happy Almost Halloween. (And a happy birthday to my dad - love ya!)

I figured that since this weekend is a sugar-filled one for many that I would share some more candy bags I have created for different classes. I shared on idea HERE a few days ago. Also, please watch THIS video on how to make them. All stamps are Hero Arts and the felt branches are from Prima.

Keeping this short tonight - need some extra sleep. But in the meantime...

Questions about Cards for Kate and Eric

2009-10-29T21:33:40-04:00

Hello!

I am home and catching up. Just doing a quick post about Cards for Kate and Eric. I have been getting lots of emails asking questions.

First, yes, please do keep sending cards for Kate! I am going to continue collecting. So please keep them coming! I will draw for the prizes in the next week or so, but you can still send cards. I hope you do!

I have received thank you emails from Kate's mom and Grandma. Here is a message from her Grandma, Shirlee...

Kate and the whole McRae family have been receiving as Holly puts it "tons" of cards. They all have enjoyed and continue to enjoy them a lot! Holly told me when Olivia and Will come up to the Ronald McDonald House that is the first thing they want to do is get the cards out and look at them. Kate has been pretty sick this week, but have no doubt once she gets her spunk back and feels better she will love looking at her cards! I can't tell you what a ministry you have reaching kids and their families in these types of situations. God is truly using you and many others with the gifts He has given you!
Holly wanted me to tell you that she has been wanting to thank you and even has a thank you sitting at Kate's bedside. Just has not got it done yet. She has been pretty over whelmed with Kate's care. She will be getting in contact with you. Thank you Jennifer for all you involved, its been such a huge blessing!! --- Shirlee Bouck (Kate's grandma)

And, if you haven't heard, Kate and her family will be on Dr. Phil! I will let you know when I find out more.

Many people have been asking about Eric's cards. I will let you know what I find out. In the meantime, please keep his family in your thoughts.

I am also thinking about how to best continue the card drive. In addition to Kate, maybe we can come up with a list of kids who need cards and you can send cards for any of them. I will then sort them and mail them out. Not sure, but as soon as I know, I will pass on the info.

More soon. Hugs!

An alcohol pumpkin :)

2009-10-27T22:11:00-04:00

I love to play.

Play with my inks and tools and stamps.

Here is a good example of some fun I had the other day with alcohol inks. I made an alcoholed pumpkin. :) So fun. I just punched a circle from glossy white paper. Cut the top and bottom to round it out like a pumpkin. I then put on lots of Mountain Rose, Butterscotch and Copper Alcohol Inks. I did many layers - letting them dry between - to make the color dark and intense. Yum. The background of the card is stamped with my favorite new Cling stamp from Hero Arts. I then distressed the heck out of my notecard with the Tim Holtz Edge Distresser. (And, when Colin asked what it was, and then found out it was from Tim, he walked off with it - ha.) And that grass patch was covered with Rock Candy Stickles. My new favorite. It is non-glitter glitter - clear pieces that just catch the light. And it dries clear. Love it. And the speaking/caption/balloon thingie is a punch - a must-have. So, here it is...

Supplies: Hero Arts notecard, background and greeting, EK Success punches (balloon and circle), Ranger Alcohol Inks, Rock Candy Stickles, Bo Bunny green paper, Tim Holtz Edge Distresser

I love using two different sizes of google eyes. Too fun.

Have a great one...

Sad news

2009-10-26T08:13:02-04:00

Hello, folks.

I got new this morning that Eric, the boy we were collecting cards for, died peacefully last night.

I am really not sure what to say, but I do know that I will spend a lot of time thinking of him and his family today. I know he now has comfort and peace... and I pray for the same for his family.

And, a huge thanks to all of you who sent cards. I know that love you were sending his way will be helpful to his family now.

And, if you are the praying type, please send up some for my brother-in-law and his family. (The ones who I did my first card drive for - the family in Africa.) His mother passed away a couple days ago. This is especially hard since his father passed away last year. They will be coming home for a few weeks. We hope to see them while they are here.

Sorry to pass on this sad news. Please go give your loved ones a big hug. I know I will.

(Please don't miss my last post - it has a bit of information on the Card Drive.)

Fancy embellishments...

2009-10-25T20:46:00-04:00

Hey there.

Awhile back, a kind gal named Cheryl emailed me about some beaded flower centers that she just started making. I was intrigued and she was sweet to send me a few to play with. I love them. I really like anything that adds a lot of interest with little effort. So, even if you make a simple card, it is eye-catching. I paired the lovely centers with an embossed background and some elegant Papertrey Ink stamp greetings. (If you are interested in her beaded flower centers, click HERE.)

Supplies: Sizzix embossing folders, Cheryl's beaded flower centers, Hero Arts notecards and flowers and pearls and Papertrey Ink greetings

When you have a moment, please go check out the Card Drive Prize List HERE. Even if you didn't send any cards, I think it is worth looking at. All of these people and companies were so generous to donate during these rough times. So, next time you are itching to spend some money on your hobby, you may want to consider buying from one of them. Just to pay it forward. Anyway, here are a few stamp prizes I thought I would share...

PRIZE 88: FOUR new stamps sets donated by Pink Paislee!

PRIZE 89: The entire first release of new stamps donated by Wags 'n Whiskers Rubber Stamps! This is a new stamp company - check them out HERE.

PRIZE 90: A ton of rub-ons from My Sentiments Exactly. These are some of my favorites!

More later...