Finally Spring!

Hoppy Easter

Beach Wishes

 Greetings Blogging Friends!

Spring is finally here and I am thrilled! My sincere apologies for falling so far behind in my postings these last two month....traveling for work....but now I am back and have TONS of great things to share. Before I get everyone caught up (it a long post so grab a beverage and stick around :)), I wanted to give a shout out to all of you....

A HUGE thank you to all of our supporters who designated Stamp to Cope, Inc. as the donation recipient when they shopped through Smile.Amazon and shared their Thrivent Choice Dollars.  Through your generosity in 2014, STC received over $1000 in 2015!  Thank YOU!!!

Creative Corner
Working on lots of techniques to share with our service area and prepare for our annual Berea Learnshops fundraiser July 10 - 26, 2015.  I will be conducting 4 workshops and am blessed that the slots are filling up! If you are going to be in the Berea area and would like more information, please check out the website for class offerings and registration information.

The cards pictured this post were created during both April and May.  The Hoppy Easter card took advantage of the paper doily craze that seems to have overcome crafters these days.  Patterned paper and ribbon offset the popped up bunny focal element. Using a few neutral soft leaded colored pencils gave the bunny some shading without it looking to over powering.  Three blue gems to match the eyes and paper to add follow the rule of threes.

The Beach Wishes card was create for my brother's birthday. He lives in the Ocean City, MD area and loves to walk the beach collecting shells. I stamped the bottle on a separate piece of white cardstock and used colored pencils to give illusion and depth.  Sometimes it is really challenging to create masculine cards so keeping it clean and simple seems to work best.

Dreams of Summer

Thank you 

Gracie's Birthday

For the Dreams of Summer card, I focused on a paper-piecing technique and adding dimension with pop up pieces. The jar was stamped on the pattern paper and then again on a piece of white card stock. The body of the jar was cut from the pattern paper and adhered onto the white card piece. I then stamped the label on cardstock and cut out to layer on top of the jar. The entire jar was then cut out and dimensional pop dots were added to the back and placed on the card.  The jar lid was colored with a silver gel pen and then twine and the mini clip were added.

I really like using white ink but I never seem to find a brand that actually keeps a crisp white look once it soaks into the paper.  It was really great to use the Fun Stampers Journey Whipped Cream ink and watch stay vibrant even after drying...YAY! Now I will have to try this technique on black and see if it will create a chalk board look.

This last card was made for my grand-daughter Lila Grace (her granddaddy and I call her Gracie). She lives far away from us so we don't get to see her much so making her special cards helps us stay connected.  I thought is stamp was so cute and she loves pink.

Upcoming Events

Stamping Workshop for Volunteers - June 3-6
Learnshop Fundraising Workshops - July 10-26
Walk with the Arts - September (awaiting exact date)
Survivor pARTy - October (awaiting exact date)
Womens Wellness Day - first weekend in November
Arts Day at Simmons Elementary School - November 24

Much more in the works so stay tuned.  Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT week.
Love
Jeannette

February Frantic into March Madness

Hello Bloggers!

Wow, what a snowy and travel intense time it has been for many of us. I hope things are finally starting to look like Spring in your world. I chose the post title "February Frantic into March Madness" because it seemed to mirror my perception of my own life since my last post.  I was also hoping to trick some of you sports fans into reading my blog thinking it would have something to do with basketball ;).  (Ok, all you readers who really KNOW me, you can quit laughing now and get up off the floor!)

While I truly have not had time to post until now, I have definitely not been idle in my passion and sharing about Stamp to Cope and my belief that ART HEALS!  Instead, I have been focusing on expanding our art offerings, networking connections, and healing art packages. Based on feedback from our long time followers, I have also been working intensively with new product testing and technique mastery with the intent to add a more advanced skill set of activities. Look for future posts to cover many of my discoveries.  The images for this post will provide a little window into the evolution.

The card above was so different from my usual and so very much fun.  I took making an "interactive card" to a totally unique level. Using Gelatos, I colored the color spectrum on white card stock. (How many of you remember ROY G BIV from science classes) Since Gelatos are water based, they will dissolve when the wet brush makes contact.  By cutting out little ovals of each color I was able to make a set of water color paints.  The focal image was stamped on watercolor paper using solvent ink so it will not smear when the recipient begins to paint.  The image is tacked on with repositionable pop-up tape so it can be removed to paint and a sentiment is hidden underneath so the card still expresses a greeting after the "painting" has been removed.  When you open the card, a surprise awaits....

 AN EASEL...too fun! I made the easels out of pumpkin colored card stock and they fold down and fit into a pocket element on the inside of the card.

Now, here is a look at a few of the technique and product mixed media items I have been creating.  Great ideas already in the works for how to transition my findings into cards.  I look forward to your feedback.

Artful Words, Graphite, Alcohol Markers, and Watercolor

Collage, Graphite, and Acrylic Paints

Acrylic, Watercolor, Colored Pencils, India Ink Market, Collage

One final fun smile type project... Paper Dolls of influential women in my life...there are way more than 4 but here is my start :)  Thanks for stopping by and I hope this post inspires you to create something today! Stay safe and warm.  Blessings,
Jeannette

Light Bright Art

Happy February Bloggers!!!

Is it too late to wish everyone a Happy 2015? I have missed sharing the Stamp to Cope happenings with everyone and am excited to get out these updates.  Before doing a run down of what we have been working on, I wanted to share a few cards created recently.

As many of you know, photography is not a gift I possess and likely will struggle with throughout all of the technology advancements. However, I do want to share creations and tips here and in other social media.  Some of my challenge (they tell me) is having the correct lighting. Well, for Christmas, my dear mother-in-law gave me funds to purchase a portable light box.  Let me know what you think...

This elephant card was made for my hubby for his birthday in January.  I just love the cute elephant and thought the button gave it a masculine feel. Since his birthday is so close to Christmas, I kept with the red and green traditional coloring.  The image was colored with wax pencils and then cut out and popped up on the card.  The picture above uses my original approach to taking a photo...wait until mid day, stick it on a chair, and cross my fingers. :)  The picture below uses my new light box.  Clearly, I still need lots of practice, but I could take the picture any time of day and I thought it looked cleaner.  Thoughts? Tips? Tricks? It came with three backing options...gray, black, and white. I will have to test them all.

So, you might be wondering what has kept me away from my blog for such a long time...check out some of the things in the planning for 2015

o Completed applications for participation in Berea Festival Learnshop

o Donation work with Thrivant, Amazon Smiles, and Fun Stampers Journey

o Traveling for work and promoting Stamp to Cope

o Connecting with Pink Link

o Preliminary planning for Board meeting

o Creating workshop kits

o Making Cards for Berea Arts Council for fundraising efforts

I am looking forward to a very busy and tremendous outreach year!!! Have a blessed week and thanks for stopping by!!!

Jeannette

Merry and Bright!

Greetings bloggers,

I wanted to stop in with a quick post to say hello and send Christmas greetings.  This year I tried to be a little more organized around my Christmas Cards by making a few throughout the year.  My plan was to then have the bulk of them completed by the time Christmas rolled around.  Well, I started out strong but as the year moved along so did my focus.  I also found that I did not take pictures and sometimes forgot to stamp the back identification or match the envelopes. I still think it is a good idea and I did have about 20 completed but when it came time to actually sign and send, I did not have as many as I needed.  The unanticipated result--short on cards and short on time to make them.

Well, enter the most fun FSJ Artists Trading Stamps (ATS).  An Artist Trading Stamp is a small stamp set with a very distinct focus.  They are usually very reasonable in price and include just what is needed for a clean and crisp card. Sometimes, for me, the less to choose from the easier a card plan comes together. The snowman was a single ATS and the ornament with the "Merry & Bright" sentiment was an ATS set.  I was able to use the sentiment on both and keep the same color scheme.  A great way to keep the same general theme but change up the focal image for some variety. They were super fun to make because once the cutting of the paper was done, I could play with the individual scenes and change them up.

All of us at Stamp to Cope, Inc. want to thank you for your love, prayers, and support!  Blessings to everyone this holiday season, Merry Christmas, and have a blessed 2015.

Jeannette

Celebration, Graduation, Reaffirmation...Oh My!!

Greetings everyone! Hope you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.  I truly have so much for which to be thankful and being able to use my cardmaking skills to share important events is just the icing on top. November is an example of when it all comes together..... :)

The first request I received was from my most awesome brother who wanted a set of party invitations with a winter festive theme.  I embossed the snowman, rubbed ink over the raised sections before adding some glitter, and then stamped the sentiment. However, I really wanted something special so his guests would have an easy way to remember the date.  So I created a pocket fold on the inside and made a snowflake shaped magnet with the date to slip inside...his guests can put the magnet on their fridge and enjoy a little festive sparkle.

A second request came with the most exciting news....Our daughter, Carly, would be graduating from college in December!! I was so tickled that she asked that I make her invitations because it gave me a way to be a part of such an important time in her life.  I was also a little concerned that they would not meet her artist eye standard but I wanted to take the challenge.  I created the mortar board from foil cardstock that I pounced with blue alcohol ink to match her school colors. The tassels I made by hand winding gold twine between my fingers and slip knotting together.  The brads held the pieces together and I popped it up on a creme colored cardstock that was gold embossed with a corner stamp.  I knew she wanted to have a place to send everyone a picture, so inside I created a pocket tab.  I am happy to report that she was super pleased with the final product...yeah!

Now it was my turn.... My husband, Greg, and I will be married 15 years in December.  If you follow this blog regularly, you know that I was diagnosed with Cancer in 2003 and Greg was diagnosed with Cancer in 2011.  To be both a survivor and a support partner brings so many unique blessings to our life that we really wanted to use the upcoming anniversary as a milestone to renew our vows, recommit our marriage to Christ, and to rejoice in our new normal.  This was the most challenging design for me because I wanted it to say so much...winter beauty that mirrored a snowy original wedding evening, God's presence in our union, the festive joy of the Christmas season, celebration of our Lutheran heritage, the excitement that we have been given a second change at life, and the reality that I was going to get a chance to marry my soul mate again. A tall order for one simple invitation...

To begin, I stamped the romantic couple sleighing onto the middle of a piece of white cardstock. I then clear embossed the quote from Martin Luther and a ridge for the snow horizon and snow. When I rubbed on blue ink, it resisted everywhere the clear embossing was placed. I gold embossed the Christmas Star and added shadows to the sleigh.  Using vellum, I silver and gold embossed the sentiment and mounted it all to a blue card base bringing it all together.  We are both so thankful for this opportunity and sense of awe in life that it seemed appropriate to share our rejoicing during this time of miracles!!!

Have a wonderful week and thanks for being part of our mission.

Jeannette

Guiding Light

Greetings Blog Readers!

Thank you for your patience while I finished out Survivor activities during our special month. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who sent support, prayers, donations, love, and volunteer hours our way. You are all Guiding Lights and your dedication/inspiration is so very much appreciated.  Here is a little something to show we are blessed!

If the cold weather, holiday sale advertisements, and houses already displaying Christmas decorations are any indication, the Fall is over. However, I refuse to give in just yet!  So even though I have already made some super cool party invitations, sent out hand made Thanksgiving reminders, and begun coloring images for my Christmas cards, this post remains focused on the still present beauty of autumn.

Last post (if you can remember that long ago :0), I shared a water color technique using an embossed image.  I am still fascinated by water coloring on cards but I didn't really feel the embossed line technique gave the "fine art" look I was trying to achieve. I pulled out a new Fun Stampers Journey light house stamp to make a Thank you card and tried something different. Using warm fall colors of distress markers, I colored individual sections of the stamp to align with an autumn day and stamped the image on a piece of water color paper. Water based markers will react to water even after they have dried so I went over the lines of the image with a water damp paint brush to move the color enough for shading and highlights.  I loved the results! I hope you will give this technique a try and share your results.

Have a blessed week!
Jeannette

Pink Ribbons and Pumpkins!

Happy October everyone!!!

October is the BEST month because it hosts two of my very favorite things...  Breast Cancer Awareness events and Halloween (aka my birthday).  What's not to love :)  Needless to say, it is a very busy month for Stamp to Cope as we participate in awareness festivities around our service area. Here is a quick peek at our recent events...more updates coming soon.

Big thanks to my wonderful husband, Greg Jones, for helping at our table during Berea First Friday on the 7th. Great opportunity to spread the mission, fund raise, and, connect with survivors.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by.  Lots of love to all my survivor sisters to participated in Paint the Town Pink.

Pink Ribbons are not the only focus in October, we love Pumpkins too!  Had an opportunity to try out a new Artist Trading Stamp from Fun Stampers Journey  that I just love.

White embossed stamped image onto water color paper and tested a new water coloring technique that a friend of my described.  The trick for me seemed to be wetting the sections with clear water first and then lightly tapping in the color. I like out the "painting" came out but think I might prefer a black outline or plain gray ink without the emboss.  Big Happy Birthday shout out to Gailanna who advised she is proudly displaying this card on her refrigerator...love you.

Spread the word and share the mission!
Blessings,
Jeannette

Stamp Kit Bicycle Birthday

Happy Monday All,

This week is starting out full of inspiration and I am excited to share this bicycle birthday card that I created with the FSJ August Kit of the Month set.  Getting a kit delivered directly to me once a month is a new concept I am trying out so I can share my experiences with those of you who have been interested but can not decide which product line to go with or even if it is something for you. I have weighed the pros and cons for years now and finally decided that I cannot make an informed decision if I do not investigate more thoroughly. Aren't I nice to "take one for team" in the name of research :)?!

August was the first kit I received and I had no idea what would be included and whether I would think the monthly investment would be worth what was in the package.  The research I had done in the past identified that these types of kits can range in price from about $18.00 (plus taxes and shipping/handling) to $69.00 (plus taxes and shipping and handling) and very few give you any specific details of upcoming so they can be creative or product trend sensitive. However, they do post what is in past kits so have been able to watch how they tend to go.  I have noticed that most have lots of paper and accessory fillers but they are usually very light on the stamps provided. Some provide inks and adhesives but not all of them provide pre cut pieces or even ideas. Since I am a stamper first, I wanted one with an emphasis on the stamps themselves. Some organizations let you get the kit individually after it has been revealed if any are left after they send to the subscribers but a premium is then attached.  Others do not have a subscription option but have a limited time offering and seemed to be a higher price tag. The Kit system I chose is retail $24.95 plus the s/h and tax and requires a 6 month commitment.

It really was kind of fun to have the stamp set, all the card stock already cut, the inspiration photos, instructions, and little bag of accessories all nicely put together so I just had to stamp.  Since I was not sure what to expect exactly I enjoyed the surprise like anticipation when opening the package. The set included a full set of unmounted rubber stamps (11 stamps total, backer board, and nice storage envelope), accessories, papers, and full size color photo instructions to create four quite cute cards. It was kind of amazing how immediate my inspiration vibes kicked in...I had 2 cards complete by the end of the evening.  The really stunning news for the family....I made a very minimum mess!!!! Wow!  I found that I used the instructions just for inspiration because none of my finished cards looked exactly like the pictures.  Another benefit of not following specific instructions for me...I had left over product and was able to make a 5th card...bonus :).

I am posting this example of one of the cards I created. I stamped the fence twice (using a gray ink) to cover the entire card focal front.  I then went in with a dark gray colored pencil to create the shading. I used colored pencils to create the sky and used the grass stamp that came with the kit at the bottom. I stamped the bike on a scrap piece of white card stock and fussy cut out around the image.  I did not cut in between the tire spokes.  Instead, I lined it up where I planned to pop it up and pencil lined the outline of the fence and where the grass would be on both tires. After coloring the bike and the wheels, I used pop up tape and lined up the fence portion.  Used a cool gray marker to create the shadow under the tires so it looked grounded and went with the direction of the sun. The layering papers were precut and pre pierced as part of the kit as was the ribbon and white card base. Hope you like the final product.

For this first Kit experience, I was quite pleased..product was quality, all pieces provided as needed, instructions clear and colorful. Based on the going price of an 11 piece set of stamps and cardstock I was satisfied with the overall value. Would liked to have seen some extra sheets or length of ribbon in case of a person messes up but there was a nice list provided that indicated additional products might need and the color of inks used which I thought was helpful.  Excited because the September kit ships on the 10th and I am already looking forward to the surprise inside!  I will keep you posted as I continue this experiment!

Thanks for stopping by and have a GREAT day!
Jeannette

No Line Stamping

Greetings Blog Readers!

Happy Monday everyone hope you enjoy the last week of August 2014...where did the summer go? Quite a reminder that the Fall and holiday season is upon us as the card world starts turning to making Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Winter themed products.  Before I get swept along in the holiday card frenzy, I wanted to share something that still embraces Summer colors and a fun cupcake to close out some Summertime birthdays.  This cupcake stamp is from the new Fun Stampers Journey collection and the large open spaces make it ideal for the "no line" stamping technique.  

On a piece of white cardstock, I stamped the cupcake is a very light color (buttercream) of ink to give the slightest outline for guiding the coloring.  I then used colored pencils to color the image over the light lines to create shading and depth using the pencil colors. The enjoyment of this technique is the ability to be as creative as you would like...you can choose to follow the shading and shapes of the stamp or you can choose to create your own emphasis and shading areas. By the time you are finished, it looks like an original drawing and not a stamped and colored image.  Go ahead and sign your name to advertise your coloring talents :).

Hope everyone has a great and creative week!

Blessings,

Jeannette

What's Up?

Greetings bloggers!

Whats up?! Great things!  So excited to share some wonderful news with you.... Our Learnshops fundraiser was a great success and STC received a check for $686 for our efforts!  A HUGE thank you to everyone for the support. I also received an invitation from one of the mixed media participants to share in a craft event October in TN.  What a great opportunity for further outreach.

In an effort to offer quality workshops for our survivors and Learnshop participants, mastering new techniques is important. I am excited to share that last week I earned my Spectrum Noir Certification and am now an "Accredited Colorist". I just love earning mastery in COLORING :).  You will notice an added blinkee on the blog site and this one really blinks!  My card today shows a sample of the unique and wonderful blending only alcohol markers can achieve.

Speaking of new blinkees, you will also notice I am now a Journey Coach.  Last post I mentioned that I was researching an additional fundraising option. I am super happy to share that I have joined an organization called Fun Stampers Journey , a partner organization with Spellbinders Paper Arts. Fun Stampers Journey manufactures and sells stamps, dies, and paper craft items which perfectly aligns with the resources we provide to our Survivors. (Some of you may remember our fundraising efforts through The Angel Company before it went out of business.)  As a Founding Coach, I have set it up that 100% of the commissions for orders placed through my Fun Stampers Journey Page will go directly to STC.  This is a great way for folks to purchase fun arts and crafts products AND support the STC mission. As an added benefit, when we need to purchase crafting products for Survivor Totes, I can get them at wholesale prices and add to the donation amount! Next time you are in need of stamps, dies, embellishments, inks, papers, or accessories for crafting, stop here first.

Thanks for stopping by and blessings for a great week!!!!
Jeannette