My New Blog

I HAVE MOVED!!!

Please come visit me at

http://jddesigns75.blogspot.com/

To all who may visit this blog --

First and foremost, thank you for stopping by.

Secondly, you'll notice it's been many, many (MANY!) months since I've posted.  It's been quite a ride for me the last couple of years.  My beautiful baby boy was prematurely born in July 2011.  So I spent much time loving on him and cherishing my time with him.  Now he's grown into a full-of-energy toddler which keeps me very busy.  And to top it all off, in December 2012, two days before Christmas, I suffered a stroke which left me completely paralyzed on my left side.  It has been (and continues to be) a long road -- but I've regained my mobility and much of my strength.

Thank you for understanding my absence from the blogging world during this time.  It is my hope to return one day soon as I launch my newest adventure -- jd designs -- a custom-order, papercrafting venture in which I plan to use my talent and love to design and create custom cards, invitations, banners, and other party supplies for those who may not share the time for or joy of doing it themselves, but still want that custom, homemade look we all love so much.

Blessings to you all,
JD

Happy 3rd Birthday to a Special Little Boy!

Today is my nephew's 3rd birthday!  I can't believe he's 3 already!  It doesn't seem like that long ago we were at the hospital celebrating his "Birth" day.  Yesterday, the family got together and partied Diego-style in celebration of his special day.  I made him a fun card and unique gift inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest.  {Are any of you as incredibly addicted to Pinterest as I am??}   The gift is a 20 questions book that he can record answers to various questions each year and add a picture to watch how he grows over the years and how his answers to the questions change.  I can't wait to do this with my little guy, too!

{{WARNING: This post is very picture-heavy from here on!}}

Until next time, Cricuteers!

~ JD ~

Card Catch-Up

Happy Holidays, Cricuteers!

I know I have been MIA lately.  Life has been so extremely busy between work, family / friend functions, the holidays, spending time with my little guy, etc. etc. etc.  The days just go by so fast.  My son turned 5 months old this week, and lately, I've been telling myself that spending time with him is the most important thing in my life right now.  As much as I'd love to be in my craft room sometimes or doing other things, I don't want to look back and feel like I deprived either of us of that time together.  My new motto is... "The dishes can wait.  The dust can settle.  I spending time with my little one while he is still little!"  I have managed to sneak some time in my scrap room while he's been sleeping or spending time playing with Daddy.  I just haven't had as much time for blogging.  So I thought I'd throw together a "catch-up" post of cards I've made recently.

Fun Birthday Card ~ front

{I LOVE this new style bow! So fun and easy!}

Fun Birthday Card ~ inside

Thanksgiving Card for my Grandma

Wedding Card / Gift Card Holder for my cousins ~ front

Wedding Card / Gift Card Holder for my cousins ~ inside

Until next time, Cricuteers!

~ JD ~

Irrelephant Thank You

My family has a long standing obsession of sorts with elephants.  My great-grandparents owned, operated, and lived above a bar called the White Elephant Tavern in Wisconsin.  In the front window of the tavern, they kept 3"-4" tall statue of a white elephant.  The tavern has since been sold, but our family obsession with elephants lives on.  So when my godmother saw an adorable infant sleeper covered in an elephant pattern, she just had to buy it and send it to me for my son.  The colors on this thank-you card (which I will be sending her this week) were inspired by the colors on the sleeper.

Front

Inside

JD'S SCRAP-IPE

♥ Solid cardstock from my stash ~ Stampin' Up!, Recollections, Paper Studio

♥ Patterned paper ~ DCWV Animal Crackers Matstack

♥ Elephant cut @ 2.5" ~ Create A Critter
♥ Swiss Dots embossing folder ~ Cuttlebug

♥ Crystal Stickles

♥ Sentiment ~ made on my computer

♥ Buttons ~ Favorite Findings

♥ Bakers' Twine ~ Martha Stewart Crafts

♥ Chocolate Chip classic stamp pad ~ Stampin' Up!

♥ Pumpkin Pie marker ~ Stampin' Up

CHALLENGES

♥ Paper Playtime ~ Challenge #60: Cricut Creations Thank You Projects
♥ the cuttlebug spot ~ Anything Goes

♥ More Than Favors ~ Wacky Wednesday #58: Buttons, Bling or Brads

♥ Bitten By The Bug 2 ~ Boy / Masculine Project

♥ My Creative Time ~ Throwback Thursday: Kid Friendly Project
♥ Die Cuttin' Divas ~ Challenge #40: Let's Be Thankful

Until next time, Cricuteers!

~ JD ~

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I found an amazing recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins on The Twinery's blog a while back.  They looked so yummy, I decided to make a double batch and share with friends / neighbors.  Each batch made 2 1/2 dozen muffins... so 5 dozen muffins later, I had PLENTY to share.  They were so good, I think I'm going to have to make some more to give to our families on Thanksgiving!  Gobble Gobble!

These pumpkin recipe cards / tags took a little creative thinking, but turned out so cute!.  First I decided how big I wanted my pumpkin to be using my Gypsy.  Then I typed up my recipe and formatted in MS Word to the right height / width / location on my cardstock.  After printing the recipe on plain white cardstock, I placed the cardstock face-down on my Cricut mat (because I needed to cut the pumpkin backwards - later on I realized I could have just "flipped" the pumpkin on my Gypsy).  Finally, after cutting all my pieces, I was able to put together these adorable pumpkin recipe cards.

Front

Back

Final Package Ready for Delivery

JD'S SCRAP-IPE

♥ Cardstock from my stash ~ Stampin' Up!, Recollections, Georgia Pacific

♥ Pumpkin ~ Create A Critter

♥ Early Espresso & White twine (from my stash!) ~ Stampin' Up!

♥ White gel pen

CHALLENGES

♥ Craft Your Passion ~ Challenge #83: Anything Goes + Brown

♥ My Craft Spot ~ Monday Challenge #32: Gobble 'til You Wobble

♥ Papercraft Star ~ Challenge #70: A Number

♥ Scrappy Moms Stamps ~ Terrific Tuesday Challenge: 3D with Twine and/or a Button

♥ Use It Tuesday ~ Cooking Up Fun

♥ Cooking With Cricut ~ Challenge #59: Fruits, Cornucopia, Harvest

Until next time, Cricuteers!

~ JD ~

P.S. I still have my Gypsy file and my MS Word recipe file.  If you would like a copy, please leave me a comment with your e-mail address, and I'd be happy to share!

Trick or Treat!

It's almost time for trick-or-treaters!  I love seeing all the little kids dressed up in their costumes.  This year, I will get to dress my own little guy up in his first costume (which we are keeping a top secret surprise until Halloween).  I can't wait!

I wanted to make something special for my nieces / nephews when they come trick-or-treating at my front door.  What do you think?

For the boys...

For the girls...

And even for the dog!

The body of the spider opens like a card...

JD'S SCRAP-IPE:

♥ cardstock ~ Recollections

♥ Spider Web embossing folder ~ Stampin' Up!

♥ Spider ~ Mini Monsters cartridge

♥ Googly eyes

♥ Stardust Stickles

♥ Orange / Black Decorative Trim ~ Hobby Lobby

♥ Wilton Treat Bags

♥ Candy

Challenges:

♥ Getting Cricky ~ Halloween Treat Holders

♥ Cricut 360 ~ Create A Spooky Project with a Spider and Colors Purple, Green, and Orange

♥ Crafty Sprouts ~ Candy Goes Here

♥ My Craft Spot ~ 3D Halloween

♥ Papercraft Star ~ Halloween Trick or Treat

♥ Decorate to Celebrate ~ Challenge #11: Halloween Party

♥ More Than Favors ~ Wacky Wednesday #56: Halloween

♥ Cooking with Cricut ~ Challenge #56: Purple, Green, and/or sketch

♥ Bitten By The Bug 2 ~ Color Purple

♥ Scrapbookaholic by Abby ~ Dilo En Espanol Challenge #2 Orange & Black

Until next time, Cricuteers!

~ JD ~ 

Birthday Wishes!

Today is my youngest sister's 17th birthday!  I can actually remember the day she was born.  I was 12.  Crazy!  Where does the time go?  Due to our crazy family schedules, we "half-celebrated" her birthday tonight.  We are going to "half-celebrate" again later this week or early next when we can all be together.  My plan was to give her a card tonight and her gift later, but I hit a creative block and by the time I found my scrappin' mojo, it was time to leave for dinner.  So now I'm not sure if I will give her this card or make her something different to go along with her gift.  We'll see...

FRONT

INSIDE

JD'S SCRAP-IPE:

♥ Patterned cardstock ~ DCWV Dots, Stripes, & Plaids stack

♥ Textured cardstock ~ DCWV Brights & Jewels stack

♥ Cream cardstock ~ The Paper Company

♥ Cupcake cut at 2 1/2" ~ Sweet Treats cartridge

♥ Stamps ~ Stampin' Up! Tagtastic, Vintage Labels, & Happiest Birthday Wishes

♥ Curly Label punch ~ Stampin' Up!

♥ Red Button ~ Favourite Findings -- Patriotic pack

♥ White / Natural cord from my stash

♥ Stardust & Black Diamond Stickles

♥ 1/8" Kiwi & Leaf ribbon ~ Offray

CHALLENGES:

♥ Die Cuttin' Divas ~ Challenge #36 National Dessert Day

♥ OWH Stars & Stamps ~ Masculine Card

Until next time, Cricuteers!

~ JD ~

Halloween Wishes & Candy Corn Kisses

Just a quick card to share with you today...

JD'S SCRAP-IPE:

♥ Black, yellow, and orange cardstock ~ Recollections

♥ White cardstock ~ Georgia Pacific

♥ Halloween gingham paper ~ Random find from my single sheet collection

♥ Candy Corn ~ cut from Smiley Cards @ 3"

♥ Googly eyes
♥ Sentiment ~ done on my computer
♥ Journal Bracket punch ~ ek Success

♥ 5/8" Black grosgrain ribbon with white stitching ~ Hobby Lobby

♥ Stardust & Black Diamond Stickles

♥ Candy stamp ~ Pink By Design: Cute Halloween

♥ Basic Black stampin' pad ~ Stampin' Up!

♥ Tangerine Tango & Daffodil Delight markers ~ Stampin' Up!

Challenges

♥ My Craft Spot ~ Color Challenge: Black with Orange or Purple

Until next time, Cricuteers!

~ JD ~

EEK! It's a Spider!

For those of you who don't know, I am NOT a spider person - in any way, shape, or form.  When I see one, my heart starts racing, and I immediately freak out.  Not quite shrieking-jumping-up-and-down freaking out, but more like standing-still, won't-move-because-I'm-afraid-the-spider-will-disappear-before-my-husband-can-kill-it freaking out.  So for me to make a card featuring a spider... well... that's a big thing for me.  But I saw this Sizzix embossing folder and really wanted to play with it... and you can't have a web without a spider... so I made a spider card.

What do you think??

JD'S SCRAP-IPE:
♥ Black and red cardstock ~ Recollections
♥ White cardstock ~ Georgia Pacific
♥ Spider Web embossing folder ~ Sizzix / Stampin' Up!
♥ Diamond Stickles
♥ Spider ~ cut from Smiley Cards (@ 1.75")
♥ Googly eyes
♥ Action Wobble ~ to mount the spider
♥ Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine ~ Stampin' Up!
♥ "Happy Halloween" stamp ~ Imaginisce: Halloweeny collection
♥ Photo Labels punch ~ ek Success
♥ Spider & Web stamp ~ Pink By Design: Cute Halloween
♥ Cherry Cobbler & Basic Black stampin' pads ~ Stampin' Up!

{{BIG}} thanks to Pink By Design for the Cute Halloween stamp set!  I won this set during their 3000 Facebook "likes" giveaway.  It is just what the name says... a very cute Halloween set.

CHALLENGES:
♥ Crafty Sprouts ~ Color Challenge: Red, Black, & Slimey Green (use at least two)
♥ Celebrate the Occasion ~ Challenge #34: Any Occasion using Black, White, & Red

Until next time, Cricuteers!
~ JD ~