Sweet Snail

~ I know, I know...I'm a slacker! I've been papercrafting some over the past few months, but just haven't found time to update my blog! So, I'm back and promise to do better!!Creating tear bears and tear critters (torn from mulberry paper) is something I have enjoyed doing very much. I think, by now, I am up to 10 different critters, some of which are cute...others which are not worth sharing! :-) This sweet snail, however, is one of which I am quite proud! A fabulous pattern by myscrapchick.com was my inspiration. I used a spiral journaling template to draw on the shell, and little flower punches complete the antennae! Of course, I also had to use some chalk and a hand-drawn face! Super cute, huh?!!

Hope you're having a wonderful summer,
Jessica in Kansas

Bunny Boxes

~ This post is a little late, but I have to show you these adorable little bunny boxes that I created using a new cutting file designed by Shirley Clark of Paperthreads!!! How cute are these?!!! They were super simple to create, and I was equipped with little treat boxes that were a hit! I gave one to my secret sister at church, and I watched her study and awe over it for quite some time!!

Blessed by spring,
Jessica in Kansas

"Love"ly Tear Turtle

~ Can you say MIA??!! I know...I'm sorry I've been such a blogging slacker lately. Between my mom being ill with cancer & treatment, starting a new job, and the busy-ness of life in general, I have found little time for papercrafting. However, I have squeezed in a few projects since I last posted on February 4th, and they'll be showing up on the blog soon!

My first post for today is this little guy, who was such a joy to make! I was in a "Love"ly tear critter swap, which challenged us to create a tear critter with the love or sweetheart theme. Most people in the swap made elegant bears with dresses and candy, but I found inspiration for this love-ly turtle from a pattern designed by MyScrapChick.com. Thick mulberry paper, brown and green ink and chalk, a heart punch, a black marker, and a white gel pen were all the supplies I needed to make this quick and cute little turtle packed with love!! Doesn't he look hug-able?!!!

Glad to be blogging again,
Jessica in Kansas

Romantic Valentine's Day Recipes ~

~ Yes, I have definitely been hit by cupid this year!!! I'm loving all of the Valentine's Day themed cutting files I'm getting my hands on! These coordinating recipe pages all use cutting files by Carrie's Creations: the Love Words line, which I got as part of her Love Pack. I am excited about the variety of words, arrows, clippies, and dramatic heart shapes I was able to coordinate in these pages. I also cut a Valentine Muse (background on the 3rd page) for the first time, which cut smoothly, as all of Carrie's files do! Using the same papers, font, and color theme made several pages come together very quickly. All of these recipes are tried and true, so feel free to lift them if you're in the mood for some easy yum~yum this Valentine's Day!!

Hugs to you,
Jessica in Kansas

Sweet and simple Valentine's Day cards

~ Tis the season...for love, hearts, and Valentines!!! These elegant cards were simple to put together using a sketch required for a swap I had committed to. I used Jan Bryson's Itty Bitty Valentines cutting file for the hearts and sentiment, which worked out perfectly for this card. The scalloped border wrapped in silver ribbon was created using a border punch by Fiskars. The shimmery silver, burgundy, and purple cardstock are all from Cutcardstock.com. The elegant patterned paper is from ScrapWorks. I was challenged to avoid the typical V-Day colors of pink & red, which wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be!!!

Love is in the air,
Jessica in Kansas

Butterfly Purses

~ Paper and purses and butterflies, oh my!!! How cute are these paper purses in the butterfly theme?!! Shirley Clark designed this cutting file, and I couldn't wait to try it out. I just happened to have some butterfly themed cardstock by DCWV and found plain cardstock in coordinating colors. I embellished the handles with ink, doodling, adhesive gems, and some fun butterfly confetti pieces I found. The butterflies were cut from the file, assembled, and embellished with gems, color dots, Stickles, and hand-drawn antennae. A touch of velcro keeps the purse closed. Super cute...and super easy!

I can't wait to fill these little packages with goodies and brighten the day of a couple of my girlfriends!!

Thinking of spring,
Jessica in Kansas

Custom address book

~ I had been wanting to make a custom address book for quite some time...and I finally did it! I purchased a journal, wrapped the front and back covers with some fun patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, and added tab dividers that I created using Stampin' Up's Round Tab punch. I then used my Klic-N-Kut to cut the Fancy Frames and Border Strips, designed by myscrapchick.com, out of coordinating papers. "Addresses" is handwritten on a piece of ric-rac with a fine Sharpie marker. I finished it off by adding Stickles in various colors to some of the dots and the ric-rac. This is just what I needed to collect all of my papercrafting friends' contact information!!

Happy Wednesday,
Jessica in Kansas

More tear bears...

~ These fall critters were made back in November for a swap I participated in...and I just realized that I never shared them on my blog. The theme was fall. The jumper dress was cut from a pattern designed by myscrapchick.com. The rake and Indian corn are stickers, and the flowers are primas. I think I'm getting better at creating a personality with the eyes, nose, and mouth.
If you haven't tried tear critters, I encourage you to do so! They're not as hard as you might think...and so much fun to create!!

~ Jessica in Kansas

A Christmas Peeking Bear

~ I know it's a little past Christmas, but I forgot to post this fun little peeking tear bear I created last month!! Doesn't she look snuggly and cute?!!! The present and bow pattern were cut from a file in the Holidays Helpers collection designed by myscrapchick.com, and the most appropriate "don't peek" stamp is by Studio G. The gold cardstock is from cutcardstock.com.

Too cute not to share,
Jessica in Kansas

Valentine's Day Treat Boxes!!!

~ I've had some fun with 3-dimensional projects lately!! I had trouble getting into the winter holiday spirit, but cupid's arrow has struck me!! The cutting files for both projects below were designed by Shirley Clark of Paperthreads.

This first one is a super-fun Valentine Bear Treat Box...is it cute or what??!!! It is perfect for holding some holiday candy, a gift card, or home-baked cookies!! I added some chalk to the cheeks, and inked around a few edges before assembling. I also added a little detail to the eyes and mouth to give this little bear some true personality!

These Chocolate Treat Boxes are the perfect size for Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares. How fun are they?! You can see that they open up and are kept closed by the fabulous band that slides off and on. The best part is...they are super easy to cut and assemble...in fact, I'm planning to make them for all of my co-workers in the next week or two!!

Hope you enjoy the treats,
Jessica in Kansas