signs of Spring

Getting the bikes out:Dusting off my retro wheels:

Bigger bikes & Rubber boots:
Double-dares in the puddles:

Enjoying this very "springy" day today.

Head over to the mSB Blog today to check out the design team's latest Easter-inspired projects.

Here's my layout featuring a photo taken at last summer's Passion Play that Daria acted in. If you ever get the chance to come and see it........ it's so worth it.

Blessings to you for a wonderful Easter weekend.

{from the farm},

j.

only two

Wow......look at that photo. This was taken back when there were only two little munchkins running around this house. This is the layout I created for my April post at myStampBOX. You can read the details here. It was featured last Friday. Pretty old school technique (resist technique), but a fun one to use nonetheless. It's a great way to stamp a title and use it for journaling on a layout as well.

Here's another layout using the same resist technique that I created last summer.

Working on another few mSB layouts today...........have a design team challenge on my hands...........a PASTEL (Easter) project!!!!!!! Yes....PASTELS!!!!! That's a hard one for me b/c I LOVE big, bright pops of colour on my layouts. Gotta keep this one a little more subdued. Chill out, jill -- you can do it!!!!!

enjoy your day {from the farm},

j.

Drawing Inspiration from ........

...... a colour & "stuff". Just some pretty stuff to look at today -- and some notes to special people in my life. {Sigh..........} This bedroom was the inspiration photo for my oldest daughter brand new bedroom -- we are just done it. I'll share photos very soon :)

Always love a good barn door in the house (seriously.......I have one too).

And why not yellow? LOVE it!!!!

Love the collection of photos -- thinking I should do something like this in my front entrance. Mental note to a friend: need to start collecting different photo frames, Lisa!!!!!

cute butterflies ....... thinking VINYL!!!!!! {hint hint}

who can cut me frames like this? or can I find them at auction/garage sales? a must-do project with sister!!!!!!

enjoy the day {from the farm},

j.

NEW mSB Team BLOG HOP

It's a WELCOME BLOG HOP today at myStampBOX, and we are thrilled to introduce our new designers to you. If you stumbled upon our blog hop today, be sure to start back at the myStampBOX blog so you don’t miss any of the action!

Come visit all of our returning design members' blogs, and you will be introduced to our new team members one by one. Make sure to leave a comment on each participating blog and a final comment once you return to our home page. On the way enjoy our welcoming cards made with our fun myStampBOX stamps.

But first we would like to thank all the wonderful and talented designers that are leaving our team. A BIG thank you goes out to:

Stephanie Ackerman, Maryfrances Fabbri, Cari Locken,

Eva Pizzaro, Kristen Swain & Melissa Wright

(These girls ROCK!!!!!)

Thank you for your hard work over the last 6 months. You’ll always be a part of the myStampBOX family. Best wishes from all of us in your next crafty adventures!

Now… let’s find out more about who will be joining the myStampBOX design team. Follow the blog hop and visit each of our returning designer blogs. Each team member will be introducing a new member of our team. At each stop, please leave a comment. When the blog hop is complete, return to the myStampBOX blog and leave one final comment to have a chance to win a myStampBOX stamp set of your very own!

Here's the order of participating blogs -- in case you get lost along the way:

mSB Blog

Agata Pfister

Jaine Drake

Jill Hildebrand (YOU ARE HERE)

Jolene Johnston

Allison Cope (coordinator)

We hope you enjoy our little welcoming blog hop!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on each one of the design team blogs and the mSB blog for your chance to win!

Good luck and happy hopping!

To start things off here, I created a card for ALL the new mSB design team members, WELCOMING them to our team. We are all so excited that you have come to share your fabulous talents with us -- I am especially looking forward to all the AMAZING blog posts coming up in the next few months!!!

(mSB stamps: mini alphas & Colour Me)

And.... now it's my honour to introduce to you:

Marsha Valk

Hi! My name is Marsha. I live in the Netherlands together with my sweet husband. I'm a part-time crafter, part-time shop assistant, part-time graphic designer, part-time photographer, part-time housekeeper and part-time cook... who loves to blog, interact with friends and has recently learned to crochet. It's a miracle I still have time to sleep ;-). My inspiration comes from anything from a walk around the block to magazines, blogs, patterned paper and photographs. Oh… and I love color!

WELCOME TO THE TEAM, Marsha!!!!!!

(Here's a little something for you)

(mSB stamps: Seal It!, Just add words & mini alphas)

Now…. Check out our next new design team member and a fun card at Jolene's blog! And don't forget to leave a comment here for your chance to win!!!

remember these // Show & Tell

just sharing a few "older" layouts today.

i like looking at them and remembering the moments.

{from the farm},

j.

building up a background

This layout is being featured on the mSB Blog today. Our design team challenge was to "build a background" on either a card or layout using mSB stamps.

I decided to use my Abundant Blossoms stamp set to build up a diagonal design behind my photo. I used four different ink colours by Close To My Heart (Archival Black, Grey Wool, Grey Flannel & White Daisy) to stamp different flower designs across the background, making sure to overlap the images to get a layering effect. Then I cut out other stamped smaller flowers (stamped in Archival Black ink), snipped the petals & attached them to the layout using tiny black brads. I turned up the petals to add some dimension to the LO. Then I added my own machine stitching & embellishments.

Here are some close-ups:

I used the blank rectangle from the Just Add Notes stamp set for my journaling blocks. An easy way to fit in your journaling and bring a little pop of (ink) colour to your page!!!


Go check out what others from the mSB design team did to "Build A Background"............ and build your own in your scraproom today.


{from the farm},
j.

my A-Z Favourites List

Thought this would be fun. It may tell you more about me than you ever wanted to know.


Actress - Halle Berry
Book - Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell) -- a good one from my childhood.
Colour - turquoise
Day - Friday
Eating-out Restaurant - Red Lobster
Fruit - strawberry
Gum - anything spicey
Horror movie - The Candyman (Ron & my first date movie)
Ice cream flavour - chocolate
Juice - apple
Knight - Lancelot
Language - English
Musical - Les Miserable -- just saw it again; still LOVE it!!!!!
Number - 4
Olympic athlete - any of the Summer O gymnastic dudes (wowzers)
Pickles - my grandma's
Quote - "Without His love I can do nothing, with His love there is nothing I cannot do".
Reality TV show - Amazing Race
Singer(s) - Il Divo
Talkshow host - Ellen
Underwear - Hanes
Vegetable - fresh peas picked straight from the garden
Weather - bright, hot & sunny (with a chance of meatballs)
Xmas song - Joy to the World
Year - 1998 (the year I became a mom)
Zodiac - Scorpio


Hope you have a wonderful day {from the farm},
j.