bigger frames

This is the before. Plain white frames with some detail on them. Almost like wood-work. These are GREAT frames! I am so lucky to get to play around with this stuff!

This one is my favorite! I love the way it came out. I think the paper just makes it, you know? It just wouldn't be the same without that great paper. The ribbon being on the outside of the glass is cool, too.

I like this one, it turned out ok. To be honest, something's wrong with it. I think it might be the thin ribbon. I think it needs to be bigger or a different color, or something. I don't know, but it needs something.

These are two other large frames, I covered their mats with tissue paper (polka dots) and wrapping paper (map). I was thinking for a childs room and a travel photo. As long as they sell to make money for the residents, my job is done!

before & after picture frames

Here is the before. Plain, white picture frames donated to the retirement home from Michael's arts & crafts store. They've been so generous in their giving! We're hoping to have a craft sale with all the projects that we've been working on here in the next month or so. I'll keep you updated on it!

And the finished products.
We covered the mats in the white frames with some great scrapbooking paper (also donated, thanks Michael's!!). For the black frames, we glued rhinestones to them (donated) in different patterns. The residents had fun, and they look great!

Make & Take book

Made this the other day for the "Make it, Take it" event at my local Michael's store.

I typically don't like construction paper, especially since I've been spoiled with such great cardstock and specialty papers! But was amazed at what could be done with 4 white lunch sacks, white glue, construction paper, and decorative scissors.

AMAZING!!

Sweet Treats

Made over 60 of these beautiful

--double flavored--

cupcakes for my girls to take to school. They are a combination of Strawberry and Brownie batter cakes. Got a new cake tip to try out on the frosting. Used Strawberry & Vanilla frosting, topped with extra large chocolate conversation hearts.

They were a hit!!

Stampin' Up! demonstrator site and online store

Stampin' Up! demonstrator site and online store

in store demo

made these the other day doing an in-store demo. Fun, Fun!! i got to stand in the front of the store with my supplies interacting with customers, teaching them tricks on the fly.

demo'd lots of distressing techniques (imagine that, my FAV!!) and how to use ink to color lace using ink pads & smooch spritz.

Michael's promotion board

we're having an open house at my local Michael's on March 3rd, 1pm-3pm. you can come in and meet the instructors, get info on the classes they offer, and sign up for them at a discounted price! check your local store, this will be a nation-wide thing!

so here is my board promoting some of the classes that i teach. lot's of fun, come craft with me!


see what classes your local Michael's is offering
click HERE

mini paper bag album

i will be teaching a great class at my local Michael's store later this month on paper bag albums.

these are super easy
-my kids are making one
cheap to make
-hello?! paper bags?!
-use the sticky tape OR hot glue
perfect size for scraps
-goodbye pile!

for info on these super cute paper flowers, click here.


love the distressed look on any (and every) thing.

it's almost better with the great earth tones of a good 'ol lunch sack!

worlds cheapest adhesive? dollar store glue gun, with glue sticks found at thrifts stores or the dollar store. i know not everything works with hot glue, but if it does, *cheap* *cheap*

every page is lined with scraps from my pile

all ink distressed, of course :)

you don't have to have scrap paper inside,

you can doodle, draw, or just adhere pictures

tabs are circle cut outs glued back to back around the edge of the sacks. great little page turners that can be customized!

you can also combine the paper with the doodles

here i did a two-tone page with coordinating paper

and "attatched" them with faux stitches (doodling)

you can "stitch" borders for another amazing sewn look

the word "spot" was me using the cricut to cut out the word "spotted" for another project.

here i used the negative of the word to let the bag show through

just another way to use scraps

the bookmark tag is cut out paper, placed back to back, with the ribbon adhered to the inside of them

for the back i continued with the negative use of die cut words and flowers

i love this little book. can't wait to fill all the little nooks & crannies with memories and treasures!

you can see a great tutorial here

scrapbook page

this is a page that i made to promote a new class that i am offering at my local michael's store called "sketched out 2". don't worry, #1 is also still available if you missed it :)

lots of stuff going on here, but i'm loving the shabby-ness of it. yes, that is a word, just not sure if i spelled it correctly ;)

if you want to learn to scrapbook, there are lots of classes available now. and don't tell anyone i said anything, but i think in march, all classes will be half off!!!

cropping with mom

this is my mom. isn't she lovely? i agree =D

we had a crop at my local michael's store, and look at all the goodies she made! i consider myself so, so, so fortunate to be able to spend time with my mother. my other siblings all live at least 8 hours away (one across the country!!) and don't get a lot of time with my parents. how blessed i am that God shook his head at me asking to move away as an adult.

my mom did a lot of techniques on these cards:

fussy cut
paper distressing
paper tearing
ink distressing
rubber stamping

she used:

ribbon
punches
rhinestones
brads
buttons
and forced me to learn the cricut (boy do i feel dumb! it was simple!!)

she made a hanging piece of wall art for my grandmother (on the right) and a mini album out of paper lunch sacks (on the left).

thanks so much for crafting with me, mom! seriously, the only thing better than family is crafting with family

paper flower how-to

i will be teaching a new class at Michael's starting next month titled "flowers WOW!". these are the wonderful creations we will come up with! just because you're you, and i love you, i'm gonna share my how-to with these. super simple!!

for these flowers, i started with a 6x6 square of cardstock. i rounded the corners (doesn't have to be perfect) and then, using regular scissors, cut into paper like a circle, but creating a spiral shape, trying to leave about 2cm in between cuts. when you get to the center of the paper, leave about the size of a nickel un-cut. starting with the outside, roll the paper around a pencil until you get to the "nickel" piece. here you can keep the flower tight or let it loose if you'd like, i let mine go just a bit.

i used hot glue gun on the "nickel" piece and pressed my flower into in lightly.

here's where the variations come in. you can use decorative scissors to cut the spiral, changing the look of your "petals"; ink &/or stamp the paper before you roll it. you can also spray glitter or shimmer mist onto finished flower, or mist lightly with water and smash with your palm. lots of cool things to do with these!!

birthday card

i used a piece of brown paper bag on this, wanna play "i spy"?

this turned out super cute, it's definatly on my "like" list. honestly, it's amazing how many projects i finish and end up not liking the results. this here, not one of 'em! lots going on, but there's no such this as too much.

baby & i have both been sick for the last couple of days, it was nice to get my fingers dirty. i love how i can jump into my hobby whenever i want. having a craft area in the house is so convenient. i'm so fortunate to be able to have a hobby. before i came across paper crafting, i was the person my family had wrapping all the gifts at Christmastime. that was pretty much the extent of my craftiness. i love it when God makes me blossom!

card is 5x5

i stamped a flourish then went over it in a glitter pen.

girl is heat embossed in a clear gloss.

i inked the lace before bunching it up behind the patterned paper.

to cut the scallops, i took the guide off my slit punch and made it into a border punch.


dimesionals, layers, and inky edges, OH MY!!

new inspiration

talk about a TON of pretty in one spot! i was on split coast stampers just looking around and came across a company i hadn't heard of before.
whiff of joy

AMAZING!!
it's vintage, inky, shabby, cute, and some extreme texture! LOVE it!!

tiny dancer

so my little girl is no longer tiny, but she will always be my tiny dancer.

it's odd the way things work out. my oldest daughter is a mini-me, in almost every way. it's seriously so obnoxious! i feel so sorry for what i put my mother through... i'm mostly kidding here. it can be horrible, but i am reaping what i have sowed and God has an amazing plan for my little leader. i got off topic. what i meant to tell you about was her dancing. this girl has some serious moves! ever since she could walk, she could keep a beat. she loves to sing, anything drama related, and when there's music, she can't sit still!

my other daughter is a diffrent story. first off, she's the spitting image of MY little sister. kinda freaky, in fact, maybe i'll post pictures of them at some point just so i can become the told-you-so fairy. well she (like my sister) has no rythem. she tries, oh how she tries, alas the girl can't even clap to a song in time. but more than anything, she is a princess and has always said she wants to be a dancer. we got her into dance classes, she had a blast.... for the first couple of months. she hated it and came to despise going on a weekly basis. needless to say it didn't work out.

no matter the outcome, my little girl will always be my tiny dancer.

this card turned out beautiful, totally more my style. INKY!! i got a new cartridge for my slice and was just dying to try it out, this is the outcome. comment me if you have questions, enjoy your week!

just in case she happens to pop in and read this, my sister needs to know that i'm not in any way trying to offend, i love her so very much. God knew exactly what i would need in a friend when he decided to one-up it and give me you as a sister. love you!!

shabby valentine

the valentine card i made last was cute, but so clean!! i just couldn't deal with it, so i had to make a shabby one! it's just not "jenn" if it's not ink distressed :)

many layers to this card, most of which i used tim holtz walnut stain on. the patterned bird and heart are from a SU (stampin' up!) set, so is the script that is stamped onto the patterened paper. the ticket stamp is a new one. well, not new, i've had it for about a year and half and never taken it out of it's package. it's from invoke arts and they have some great stuff! check them out here.

clean & simple

it's about that time of year again to think of love. when i think of lovey cards, i always go back to black, white & red. i just adore that color combination, so classy!

i made this for a Valentines party invitation for Sharon Care Center. and this has to be one of the most simple cards, only 2 pieces of paper, 2 stamps, 2 ribbons (well, one lace, one ribbon) and some stickles. clean & simple! ---which it usually not my style at all, so i'm amazed that it turned out cute AND i actually like it!!

my God, is an awesome God!!

this was the view i got the privelage of waking up to this morning. it's gorgeous! just simply breath-taking. i am in total awe of God's workmanship, he is seriously AMAZING!

i have been doing a study on the book of James and am swimming in 1:5&6. "..you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. but when you ask, you must believe and not doubt..." after looking outside, how can anyone doubt? my God, is an awesome God!

well, the power is back on so i'm gonna head to the craft room to bust out some valentines cards! enjoy your january!

Christmas wreathes

i made two wreathes this year. the red & white one was made for my mother in law. the blue and silver one was for us (hubby loves the look of those two colors at Christmas time!)

i got all supplies from the $ store and michaels AFTER Christmas last year when every holiday item was up to 80% off. i went back a couple of weeks ago to stock up on holiday items for next Christmas. can't beat clearance!

cupcake for a teenager

my baby turns 13 tomorrow!

when she returns from winter camp, there's a family potluck at church. instead of bringing a dish to share, i'm taking almost 100 cupcakes!

altered journal

my daughter is turning 13 this weekend. 13!!
thirteen. *sigh*
i will be the mother of a teenager and a 7 month old, all at the same time. talk about mid-life crisis!

i made this altered journal for her to take with her to winter camp. the good kid she is *cough* (this time, for now, but no really, she's a good kid, sometimes), all she wanted for her birthday was to go to winter camp with our church youth group. i am seriously so proud of that decision! i don't even think there's a boy involved (other than Jesus, of course)!

took apart a spiral bound notebook and covered the front and back with scrapbook paper using mod podge and hot glue. used my crop-o-dile on the edges before putting it back together. if this were for me, it would have beed completely distressed, however, that's just not her. so she picked out her ribbons and flowers and away we went!

prayers for her to not only have an absolute blast, but return home with the beginning of an itimate relationship with her heavely father.

homemade coasters

i tried my hand at homemade coasters this holiday season as a gift to my sisters. i started with a chipboard base and covered it with paper (scrapbook paper and sheet music) using mod podge. i then stamped sayings on 4 of them and stenciled a mustache on the other 4. i covered them again, in mod podge. i actuallt tried using a glossy spray finish, but didn't like the look so did it again in the podge.

i am the luckiest girl in the world to have such amazing sisters. i love you ladies!!

secret books

this year was a "homemade" Christmas. i had a secret book as a child, and remember fondly stuffing my treasures into the hollow space, and hiding it on a shelf to trick my sister who would, without a doupt scour my room in search of them.

i found some older hardback readers digests at a local thrift store. after covering the outside of the pages with mod podge and letting it dry, i used a craft knife to hollow it out. once hollow, i covered the inside with mod podge also.

hope the boys in the family enjoy keeping their treasures hidden from their younger siblings!

handmade childs quilt

this picture just does not do it justice!

i was working on this while the girls were in school (it was for my daughter) but didn't get it finished by the time winter vacation started, so i just kept working on it. my daughter came up to me and asked who it was for. after telling her that it was for her cousin, she begged me to make her one just like it. she said she had to have it! so i got it all finished and wrapped, under the tree (with an incorrect name on it) it went.

Christmas morning arrived and she went straight for the quilt, still wrapped and under the tree, tagged incorrectly. she picks it up and looks at me, "mommy, i know this isn't for cousin because we already gave her gifts to her. i was hoping it was for me. thanks mom, i love it!" and proceeded to tear into it.

at least i know my hard work was appreciated and she did in fact like her gift.

handmade quilt

over 10 yards of fabric in this queen sized "WSU" quilt that i made for my brother-in-law. boy did this thing give me some trouble!! it was all worth it though, hope you enjoy it scott!

my new website

it is still a work in progress, but since i have it listed in the side bar, i should probably share it with you :)
i now have a website to share my ideas on inexpensive home decor items, cheap meal ideas for your family, couponing tips, and of course, a place to sell my handmade goodies. please visit intricate simplicities.
keep in mind, i'm working on it a little bit every day, and with all the Christmas projects i'm working on, i'm not expecting the site to be fully up until after the holidays.
i will continue to post my craftiness here, and most of it can be purchased on the site.

merry Christmas! remember the true reason for the season!!

i mustache you a question

i am making some Christmas gifts for my family and came across this wonderful mustache template. my sister is just crazy, CRAZY i tell you, about mustaches.

i got this template from tiffanykelley she makes some pretty cool photo props out of them, pop on over and take a peek!

my project is not complete, so i'm not going to tell you about it, just wanted to share the mustaches. janell, enjoy!!

accidental favorites

my parents came over for dinner and it was like having an in-home babysitter!! my kids were still here, i still got to watch them play, but i got to bake and cook and actually get stuff done!

i've wanted to try this recipe for awhile now. i got it out of a rachael ray "everyday" magazine (courtesy of my mother, thanks mom!). my husband loves apple pie and the apple fritters looked like a little bite of pie (and a portion of the mess!). well, hubby didn't like them exactly as they came out, my first batch had powdered sugar on them. i guess he doesn't like powdered sugar. something about some movie ("children upstairs" or something like that), i guess the old lady gave them cookies with powder on them and they died. i don't know, i don't watch scary movies. it explains a lot though. he has always shuddered at my powdered donuts or french toast covered in white. oh well, more for me!

anyways, he wanted cinnamon sugar on his which got me thinking of elephant ears and funnel cakes. so once i ran out of apples, i filled a small ziplock sandwhich bag with the rest of the batter and squirted it into the pot of oil. cover that bad boy with powdered sugar (non for you, hun!) and viola!! just like the fair! i've been looking for a good funnel cake recipe for, i don't know, EVER?!

recipe:
Vegetable oil (for frying)
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup apple juice (or cider)
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg whites
3 apples (i used 6 & had extra batter) peeled, cored & sliced into rings
powdered sugar & cinnamon sugar for dusting

1: fill large pot with enough oil to reach depth of 2" and set to medium. in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. add 1/4 cup juice and the whole egg. stir to form a smooth paste. stir in the remaining juice and let stand until thickened (about 5 minutes). in a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff then fold into the batter.
2: working in batches, dip apple rings in the batter and fry until golden, about 3 minutes. turn to brown both sides. transfer to paper towels to drain and dust with desired sugar. serve warm.

if you like the fair, and have a hankering for funnel cake, skip the apples and put the batter into a decorating (for cakes) bag or snip the end off a ziplock and fill with batter. ENJOY!!

Fussy cut bird

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Merry Christmas!

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Happy card

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Baby boy card

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tea bag holders

so i did mine a bit diffrent than the tutorial, mainly to save paper. paper=$ afterall :)

found a great 36pc stack of holiday paper at Michael's for $12.99. i used my 50% off joannes coupon to make it $6.50. i think that was a great price since all the 48pc stacks were "on sale" for $11.99 and not eligible for coupons.

the thing i learned with this project: bone folders can be extremely handy!

Halloween cupcakes

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great tutorial

there's a great tutorial that i came across at splitcoast stampers for making tea bag holders. we're doing a holiday dinner at our church for the ladies and i plan on making these as take away treats. check out the tutorial here and i'll post pics of mine when i get them made.

feminine & fancy

YEAH!! i love how this turned out. so shabby, so chic.

This card promotes a card class that i'm currently teaching at our local Michael's store. Lots of diffrent techniques with this class and what great supplies we use!

Tim Holtz card

once again, this was made to demo what the ink distressing Tim Holtz class is all about. Love the shabby look! i walked away from this with inky fingertips, my favorite!

Tim Holtz style Halloween

It's about that time of year again! I made these samples for the Tim Holtz ink distressing class that i'm currently offering at my local Michael's store.

these were lots of fun, but then again, i LOVE to get down and inky!!

re-vamping a rocker

BEFORE (although i forgot to take the "before" shot before i had spray painted) meets AFTER:

i am just in love with how it came out! this fabric is phenominal (thanks wal*mart for finally carrying beautiful and current appolstry fabric!!) and it matches our decor. I did my dining set (you'll see that soon) in it along with a window valance for the kitchen.

We actually had a large garage sale once we decided to move, and tried to sell all of our furniture. i was so sick of looking at it, i came to the conclusion that it had to go! well, it didn't sell. none of it. so i got to spray painting! i sprayed it a glossy white then did a clear overcoat. my aunt (thanks aunt z!) has been helping me learn to sew now that i have a machine, so i decided to take apart the padding on the current chair and re-use it with better fabric. YEAH!! i'm so proud i didn't mess it up, well, that you can see in the photo anyways. "just flip it over!", that's what i say!

PS: i'm aware that i spelled appolstry wrong. wish i could find the spell check...