All blog content, including designs, text, and photographs are COPYRIGHT © Janette Olen. Everything posted here is shared for your personal inspiration and enjoyment only and may not be used for publication or for design team submissions. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

SNSS blog candy winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the blog candy drawing! I drew the winner by random.org and here is the result:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

11
Timestamp: 2008-11-29 22:57:53 UTC

Comment #11 belongs to Sue D

Sue D said...
Cute set and I like all the words too and your card. Thanks for the chance to win.

Please email me at janette.olen@me.com with your info so I can get your card out to you and so Korin send the stamps.



November 22, 2008 10:42 AM

Friday, November 28, 2008

Sweet N Sassy November blog hop

Well, here it is Black Friday in the US. Were you out standing in line trying to get some good deals at 4AM? I have never been able to do it mostly because my hubby has to work and there is noone to watch the girls. Well if you did, I hope you were able to get what you were looking for.

Speaking of Black Friday...Sweet N Sassy has a super duper fabulous sale!!!

Use code BLKFRI08 at the Sweet n Sassy store to get an additional 15% off your order, even on top of sale items! Most stamps are already 15%-25% off and there are free stamps with a $50 order. Korin stocks Copics, Stampavie stamps, papers (including Basic grey), embellishments, nestabilities, as well as her own line and so much more. Plus, if you leave a comment that Janette sent you in the comment section of your order I will also personally send you a card and a little goodie as an extra special thank you.

On to my project for you today. Sweet N Sassy stamps has moved to an every other month release and December is an off month so we are going to focus on some classic sets this month. One of my favorite sets from SNSS is called Christmas cheer and it is over the top cute! Many of us will be giving gift cards for Christmas this year so one of the challenges this week on Splitcoast was to create a pop up gift card holder. Here is one that I made to show you:



I stamped my image and colored it with copics. I used liquid applique sprinkled with glitter on the top of the stocking and a spica glitter pen on the heel and toe. I also a white gel pen to draw stitches in on it so that it would match with the stitching I did with the sewing machine around the image. My layout is from Jen DelMuro's sketch for you to try this week. The only thing is that I wish I would have popped up the puppy's head- next time though. I sanded the edges of the dp.



Here is the inside


If you would like to make one of these you can find the instructions HERE.

Supplies:
stamps- Sweet N Sassy stamps Christmas cheer
CS- soft sky, white, real red, basic grey figgy pudding dp
accessories- rect. nesties, sewing machine, liquid applique, glitter, spica glitter pen, copics (R27, R37, R59, BG72, YG99, B00, E21, E31, E33), white gel pen, corner rounder punch, circle cutter, stitched ribbon, white brads


Don't forget you still have a couple more days to take advantage of the super sale going on at SNSS where many sets are 15-25% off and you can free stamps with a purchase of $50 or more. You can do all your shopping one place because they also carry papers, embellishments, nestabilities. So head on over and take a peek. Sandy also has a project to show you today.



BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

Sweet N Sassy Stamps- ME!- remember to comment on THIS post if you have not already done so. Christi also has candy to give away. LAST DAY TO ENTER

Huge candy on the SNSS blog (6 sets) enter through Nov.30

Have a wonderful day and happy shopping for some of you!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Sketch challenge 204

Hi everyone! Are you all busy getting ready for Thanksgiving? I sorta am- my dd and I are trying to clean the house. I am doing what I am able. I am still not feeling well and my hubby has it pretty bad now too. So, it appears that we will be going out for dinner tomorrow. It actually sounds like a good idea to me at this point and then maybe just have my mom and m-i-l over for dessert after. I think I can handle that.

Well in between cleaning I did manage to make a card while I was taking a break- ok if you know me it was a long break LOL. I used some newly released images from DRS Designs for today's challenge.



I first stamped the 2 trees and colored them with copics. I then accented them with a white gel pen to look like snow and stickles. I used chalks to create the sky with the sun rising or setting. I painted the snow with angel wings shimmerz. The penguin was colored with copics and a spica glitter pen, cut out and adhered with pop dots to my scene. I ran the white card base layer and blue strip through my cuttlebug. The cardstock is a really pretty pearlescent that I found at Wal-mart and was pretty cheap. I stamped by snowflake bg on the white square and stamped my sentiment over that.



Supplies:
stamps- DRS designs D122, F179, H187, E638
CS- pearlescent white and blue, white, black
accessories- silver edge ribbon, chalks, stardust stickles, angel wings shimmerz, spica glitter pen, copics, black brads, corner rounder punch, snowflake cb folder


Today starts the sweet n sassy monthly blog hop and the schedule is listed at the top of my sidebar on the right. The DT members are sure to have some awesome projects to show you over the next few days.


BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

Sweet N Sassy Stamps- ME!- remember to comment on THIS post if you have not already done so. Christi also has candy to give away. Enter both through Fri Nov. 28th.

Huge candy on the SNSS blog (6 sets) enter through Nov.30

Debbie- has some awesome candy for you, enter though the 26th.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and many blessing to you and your families!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Color challenge day with Riley and SNSS

Today's colors for the SCS challenge are vanilla, really rust and going gray. With Thanksgiving coming in only a couple days I thought it might be nice to make a couple last cards for the holiday. For the first card I had some basic grey dp that fit perfectly for this challenge so here it is:



I stamped the scripture on shimmer white paper in rust ink and sponged grey around the outside. I punched 2 borders out of black paper and attached them to the top and bottom of the verse. Here is a closeup:



Supplies:
stamps- Sweet N Sassy Stamps Thanksgiving scripture
CS- going grey, black, shimmer white, rust, basic grey ambrosia dp
accessories- Fiskars sunburst border punch, shimmer brads, pearls, satin ribbon


This great set is just one of the many stamp sets that are on sale at Sweet N Sassy stamps for 15% off. In addition you will receive free stamps with a $50 purchase in addition to the free shipping with $50 too. If you decided to take advantage of the sale just be sure to mention that Janette sent you in the comments section of your order and let me know and I will personally send you a card and a little something as an extra thank you.

I do have another card to show you. This card is a triple challenge card- I used the mojo 62 sketch for the layout, the color challenge, and the hanna stamps weekly challenge which was to create a scene.



I colored Riley with copics and I created sky and grass with chalks. I stamped the sentiment and sponged rust around it and ran my black ink pad along the edges. I punched out 2 strips and adhered them to the top and bottom according to the sketch.



Supplies:
stamps- Hanna Stamps everyday sentiments, turkey Riley
CS- black, rust, vanilla, grey, fall flowers dp
accessories- MS zig zag punch, copics, square punch, grey grosgrain, stampin pastels


BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

Sweet N Sassy Stamps- ME!- remember to comment on THIS post if you have not already done so. Christi also has candy to give away. Enter both through Fri Nov. 28th.

Huge candy on the SNSS blog (6 sets) enter through Nov.30

Debbie- has some awesome candy for you, enter though the 26th.

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, November 24, 2008

DRS Challenge #9

Today starts a new biweekly challenge over at DRS designs. The challenge was to use one of the awesome postage stamp images as the main image. This was an exercise in thinking outside the box because when you first view these stamps you might not realize how versatile they are. I have to admit that I first only thought of them for my envelope art but what an awesome way to coordinate your card and envelope. Have a look:



I started by creating my bg paper using the snowflake bg stamp, an essential glue pad and glitter. I stamped my snowman image and colored it with copics. I accented the snowman with a spica glitter pen and painted shimmerz on the snow. I stamped my sentiment in the middle of the frame. I did pop the snowman up with pop dots for dimension. I also sponged the image while in the nestability die.

Here are a couple more views:




Supplies:
stamps- DRS designs F686, H015, A277
CS- pearlescent blue CS, white, prism blue CS
accessories- glitter, essential glue pad, ribbon, rhinestones, marvy scallop corner punch, square nesties, paper piercer, angel wings shimmerz, spica glitter pen, copics, martha stewart snowflake punch


You can see all the great envelope art stamps on the DRS website and be sure to check out the other DT members challenge cards for some inspiration over on the DRS designs blog and check out the details if you would like to play along with us.

BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

Sweet N Sassy Stamps- ME!- remember to comment on THIS post if you have not already done so. Christi also has candy to give away. Enter both through Fri Nov. 28th.

Debbie- has some awesome candy for you, enter though the 26th.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

High Hopes challenge #9

Today starts a new challenge for high hopes and therefore a new chance to win some stamps. A random winner will be drawn from all those who participate in this week's challenge. It is an awesome sketch brought to us by Ila (SCS craftess). Here is the sketch we had to work with:



Here is my sample:


Image was colored with copics. I did have a little problem with bleeding this time so I had to try and fix it. The green from the shirt bled into the beard so that is why I outlined it with a white gel pen. I ended up liking the white gel pen but I could not fix the dog bleeding- oh well, it is not too bad. I added spica glitter pen to the beard and bone bow. Stickles were added to the trim of hat and boots as well as poinsettias. Speaking of poinsettias...this card is inspired by my dear friend Korin (owner of Sweet N Sassy stamps) and I have affectionately named her an enabler. You see I saw the ribbon and poinsettias on some of her cards and knew I *needed* them. Well, truth be told it is not too hard to get me to buy ribbon LOL. I also decided to sand the edges of my dp which is also something I saw Korin do. I have sanded my white core CS before but not dp as I did not know basic grey sanded so well and had a white core also.



Supplies:
stamps- high hopes Christmas treat, Sweet N Sassy sentiment
CS- basic grey dp, white, artichoke
accessories- stardust stickles, spica glitter pen, white gel pen, ribbon, ponsettias, gold brads, oval punch, corner rounder punch, sanding block


Ok, so I mentioned that you have a chance to win some high hopes stamps. You can check out the details HERE.

BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

Sweet N Sassy Stamps- ME!- remember to comment on THIS post if you have not already done so. Christi also has candy to give away. Enter both through Fri Nov. 28th.

Debbie- has some awesome candy for you, enter though the 26th.

Well, have a nice day and thanks for coming by today!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Sweet N Sassy stamps blog candy and High hopes candy winner

Hello! I have drawn the winner for the high hopes blog candy by random.org and here is the result:

Here are your random numbers:

17
Timestamp: 2008-11-22 15:39:13 UTC

Comment 17 belonged to Christine who said not to enter her into the drawing because she owned them already so the following comment belongs to Dawn.

Dawn said...
Janette!!! I had no idea it was today!!! Hope it has been happy and thanks for the chance to win! I have had so much fun playing along with the HH challenges... thanks again
Dawn

Congratulations Dawn!! I will get the card and stamps right out to you. Hope you will enjoy them.

As promised this is my second blog candy offering this week for you. Korin, the wonderful generous owner of Sweet N Sassy stamps has given each DT member a set of stamps to give away during the month of November. So this week it is my turn and Christi's turn for blog candy. The set I am giving away is called Primitive Christmas and Korin will mail it directly to the winner. Here is a picture of the set:



I will be mailing this card to the winner that I made as a sample to show you all.



I colored the image with copics and then added shimmerz to the trim and used a spica glitter pen on the beard. I used the mojo61 sketch for my layout. The sentiment was stamped in between 2 score lines and I framed it with paper piercing.

Have a closer peek:



Supplies:
stamps- Sweet N Sassy stamps Primitive Christmas
CS- kraft, red, black, white
accessories- scorpal, angel wings shimmerz, copics, spica glitter pen, fiskars border punch, striped grosgrain ribbon, paper piercer


So to win, just comment on this post by 11:59PM EST on Friday Nov. 28. I will announce the winner on Saturday the 29th. Don't forget that Christi also has a set to give away on her blog so be sure to check it out!

Thanks for coming by today and good luck to everyone!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Chocolate is Sweet N Sassy

Hey there! I can not believe it but I have another cold! This is completely crazy. This time I can't taste anything which I guess is both good and bad. Anyway, the challenge on SCS today is to use something chocolate on your card. Since I can't taste chocolate right now, chocolate ink, ribbon and pencils will have to do LOL.



I colored this image a couple weeks ago with prismapencils and gamsol but just had not had a chance to put it into a card. It worked out well today because since I am feeling pretty lousy I did not have much energy even for stamping. I used a spica glitter pen on the snow and painted the primas with shimmerz.

closeup:


Supplies:
stamps- Sweet N Sassy stamps Winter at Home
CS- choc chip, white, soft sky dp, afternoon tea dp
accessories- taffeta ribbon, sewing machine, primas, coffee shimmerz, angel wings shimmerz, prismapencils, gamsol, SU oval punch, shimmer brads


I will be drawing the winner for the high hopes blog candy tomorrow so be sure to comment on THIS post if you have not already done so.

Also, I will be starting a new blog candy drawing tomorrow so hope you can stop by.

Have a nice weekend!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

It's My Birthday BUT....

It's my birthday today but you get the presents!! Tina Russell of high hopes stamps has generously given all the divas stamps to give away as blog candy and today it is my turn. How cool is that?! So I have 4 unmounted rubber stamps for my winner. They are sitting princess, fearless knight, frog prince, and rock wall. I have made a card as a sample to show the stamps that the winner receives and this card and maybe a couple other little goodies will be sent to the winner by me. Here is the card:



To make this card I first stamped my knight image twice (once for a mask) and then stamped the rock wall over the mask. I stamped the princess and frog and they were cut out and added to the main panel after coloring. I used copics to color it and sponged in the ground and sky. I did use a prismapencil on the ground for some shading. I used gold stickles for the crowns and shield, stardust stickles on her dress, spica glitter pen on the knight bolts and rhinestones in the crown. I distressed the edges of the image and sewed it onto my cocoa matte which was also distressed. The layout is the sketch challenge for today on SCS.




Supplies:
stamps- high hopes sitting princess, frog prince, fearless knight, rock wall
CS- celery, cocoa, bliss blue, white
accessories- copics, stickles, rhinestones, organdy ribbon, sewing machine, edge distresser


Ok, so how can you win? Simple just leave a comment on THIS post and tell me about your favorite birthday memory. I will be drawing the winner on Saturday Nov.21 at noon EST by random.org. One entry per person please and good luck!

BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

SNSS blog- giving away 6 stamp sets enter till Nov 30

Chris and Jessica- each giving away a SNSS stamp set, enter through Nov.21

Hope you like my card and the goodies. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Feelin a little Sweet N Sassy

Hi everyone, I hope that you all had a nice weekend!

Every Monday, one of the DT members posts a challenge on the sweet n sassy blog. This week it is my turn to host the challenge. Since it is our 1 year anniversary I thought it would be fun to do a challenge around the number one. You can see all the details to play along on this post.

I have a few projects to show you today- 2 of them for the challenge and 1 from the DT round up this past weekend. Here is the first card sample that I made for the challenge:




I colored the image with copics and cut it leaving a white border around the image creating the illusion of an extra layer. I accented the image with stickles on the stockings and spica glitter pen on the flames in the fireplace and candle. The sentiment was accented by framing it with piercing and I tied a ribbon at the top to finish it off.

Supplies:
stamps- Sweet N Sassy Winter at Home
CS- white and red
accessories- copics (E21, E31, E33, E37, R27, G21, B21, B23, B24), prismamarker (black, 10% & 40% grey, crimson red, dark green, orange), red grosgrain, stickles, paper piercer, square nesties, spica glitter pen


Here is my second sample:




Supplies:
stamps- SNSS Winter at Home
CS- white, red, baja breeze
accessories- stickles, copics (BG72, G21, R27, E31, E33, E37), prismamarkers (10% & 40% cool grey, burnt ochre), striped grosgrain, paper piercer, corner rounder punch


For my project for the DT round up, I decided to make an altered frame because I thought they might make nice Christmas presents for family or friends.




I painted the back and sides of my frame with acrylic paint and then covered the front with some patterned paper. I added a ribbon at the top. I thought it might be nice to create additional inserts for the recipient to be able to change out the scripture if they want.



Supplies:
stamps- Sweet N Sassy Stamps Rejoice and Thanksgiving scripture sets
CS- basic grey dp
accessories- sponge, paper piercer, pearls, corner rounder punch, marvy corner scallop punch, square nestabilies


Be sure to check out the other fabulous creations from the DT on the SNSS blog post.

BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

SNSS blog- giving away 6 stamp sets enter till Nov 30

Chris and Jessica- each giving away a SNSS stamp set, enter through Nov.21

A new high hopes hop started today. Just find out who has the candy by checking out the divas' blogs which are listed on the right on my side bar. Enter through Nov.19 at 2PM EST.

I will also be having 2 different blog candy give aways this week so stay tuned this week for the details.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

High hopes challenge #8

This week's high hopes challenge is to use both buttons and brads on your project. If you play along with us you have a chance to win some stamps. Here is my card for the challenge.



I colored Santa with copics and used a spica glitter pen on his beard and hair and applied liquid applique sprinkled with glitter on the trim of the hat. The image was sponged with artichoke ink while still in the nestability die.



Supplies:
stamps- high hopes Santa portrait
CS- artichoke, basic grey wassail
accessories- artichoke buttons, brads, copics, liquid applique, glitter, spica glitter pen, nestabilities, moss taffeta


Be sure to check out what the other divas have done on the high hopes blog- they are absolutely gorgeous!!

BLOG CANDY UPDATE:

Sweet N Sassy-
HUGE candy on the SNSS blog- 6 sets!!! Chris has a set she is giving away. Jessica also has a set to give away too.

Don't forget about the sale going on at SNSS where most stamps sets are 15-25% off and there are free stamps with $50 purchase too.

High Hopes- challenge- have a chance to win some stamps for playing along with the weekly challenge. A new high hopes hop starts tomorrow (Monday).

Have a blessed day,

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Ways to use it challenge- watercolor paper

Today's challenge on SCS was to use watercolor paper which is something I use pretty frequently so I enjoyed this challenge. I chose to use one of high hopes new stamps for the challenge.



I also combined today's challenge with yesterday's sketch challenge. The image is colored with an aquapainter, inkpads and twinkling H2Os. I used angel wings shimmerz for the snow and frosted lace stickles on Santa's hat and suit.

Here is a close up for you:



Supplies:
stamps- high hopes reindeer games
CS- watercolor paper, white, real red, olive, ski slope dp
accessories- stickles, angel wings shimmerz, twinkling H2Os (ruby red, chestnut brown, cedar wood, forest green), ink pads, taffeta ribbon


Blog candy update:

Sweet N Sassy- Michelle and Faith have 2 different sets to give away. Chris also has blog candy for you. Enter till Saturday Nov 15th.

Have a nice day!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Sweet N Sassy color challenge

Hi everyone! I want to thank all of you who have praying for me to get better. I am improving but not 100% yet. I actually ventured out of the house today and it was the first time in 7 days. I had to have blood taken and unfortunately had a bad reaction. This was the first time it happened to me. I got very dizzy and nauseous and nearly passed out. It then happened again later in the day when I went to the post office. So, my friend came and drove me home and I spent the rest of the day on the couch. I did have a card that I started for the sketch challenge but did not finish it. I made a card for yesterday's color challenge that I did not post on my blog yet so that is what I have to show you today.



I just love this little bird! It is one of 6 newly released stamp sets from sweet n sassy stamps on Nov.1. I colored my image with copic markers and shaded with twinkling H2Os. I then cut in out and raised it up with pop dots and raised the head higher than the body. I sponged the oval while it was still in the die.

Here are a couple close ups:





Supplies:
stamps- Sweet N Sassy stamps Cozy Feathered Friends
CS- pacific point, certainly celery, white
ink- basic grey, memento black
accessories- copics (B21, B23, B24, G21, cool greys), twinkling H2Os, taffeta ribbon, celery brads, corner rounder punch, white gel pen, stickles, SU scallop punch, oval nesties, snowflakes cb folder, cb vintage corner dies


Blog candy update:

Sweet N Sassy- Michelle and Faith have 2 different sets to give away. Chris also has blog candy for you. Enter till Saturday Nov 15th.

High Hopes Hop-ending Thursday. Divas' blogs are listed on my sidebar so you need to find who has the candy first.

Have a nice day and thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,

Monday, November 10, 2008

High Hopes POTM

The card I have to share today I made a couple weeks ago and I am glad that I can finally post it. I am so excited because my card is the sample on the high hopes website for the project of the month (POTM). If you click on the project link you will see my card there- woohoo my card is on the website. Each month high hopes features a selection of stamps and they are 25% off for purchasing them as a set. You can see then HERE.



I colored my image with prismapencils and gamsol as well as adding some twinkling H2Os for shading. The spots on the dragon were accented with a spica glitter pen and stickles were added to the flower center and the ribbon and rosette. The ribbon was stamped on white and cut out. The sentiment was stamped on a ribbon tag and sponged in the die.

Here is a closer view:



Supplies:
stamps- High hopes Lenny's love me nots, ribbon/rosette, sentiment
CS- afternoon tea dp, wild wasabi, white, soft sky dp
accessories- prismapencils/gamsol, twinkling H2Os (spiced pumpkin, forest green, chestnut brown), wasabi ribbon, stickles, spica glitter pen, ribbon tag trio, white gel pen


Blog Candy update:

Sweet N Sassy- Michelle and Faith have 2 different sets to give away. Chris also has blog candy for you. Enter till Saturday Nov 15th.

High Hopes Hop-A new hop starting today. Divas' blogs are listed on my sidebar so you need to find who has the candy first.

Have a nice day and thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,