Stacked Stones Studio!

Hope you all have had a great Father's Day...whether you were celebrating your Father, the father of your kiddos - or any other guy that is a Daddy! This was my first Father's Day since my Dad went home to be with the Lord - and that fact alone made me conscious of celebrating those guys that work so hard to be a good DAD to their kids.  It is hard work being a good dad! I am sure you have your own "list of what makes a good Dad," but I thought I would share what I have been pondering today - things learned from my own Dad or from watching Royce with Weston. You're A Good Dad If... 1. You live everyday knowing that your kids are watching what you do more than listening to what you say...and you give them a great model to follow. 2. You know that while you might be the guy with all the answers to your kiddos - you go to your Heavenly Father for the BEST ADVICE ever. 3. You know that as easy as it would be to say "YES" to your kids, you take the ...

Well, hello there friends! I know - it has been awhile since we have gotten together to chat here...crazy life!  I have been doing some fun creating though - and want to begin sharing some of it with you. This past week, I was really inspired by the cards that Heather Nichols shared for the Make It Monday Challenge on the Papertrey Ink Blog.  If you would like to check out her tutorial, you can see it HERE . I ended up making a set of cards to send to my sister for her birthday...she is a busy Mom and I thought it would be nice for her to have a few cards ready for when she needed them.  These were really fun to make - and super easy. The basic pocket started out as a standard Kraft A2 size card that I trimmed off 1.5" and then stitched up the sides. If you don't want to sew, you could just tape or staple the sides. Before I created the pockets, I left the cardstock flat and stamped a background - starting with the largest stamps first and then filling ...

Ok...so you probably are totally laughing at me - since Thanksgiving was LAST week...but perhaps you will still enjoy this video and find some techniques that you could use on some holiday gifts...(except for the quirky turkeys). I LOVED seeing Tim Holtz make those cute turkeys... you can check his blog out here ....I made a few modifications because my computer is off being fixed and I couldn't print his pattern out to make the heads...so I had to just "punt" and draw my own. I think they turned out cute. I also have an idea for a way to use the rosette die for some Christmas projects so I will be back with a tutorial on those soon. Also - I totally will be using this basic card design with some of Tim's Mover and Shaper Dies that are Christmas themed... Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving...and for those of you that reside outside of the US...I am sure that you have days (perhaps not a holiday specifically) where you stop and focus on all the blessings you have i...

Here is a video I did showing a gift I made for Dad a few years ago. He was a professional baseball player...and had quite a collection of pictures and news stories that I was able to use in making the mini. I used a medical file folder...it's construction is VERY sturdy...and I love the long fasteners that make it easy to add additional pages...I think I am going to have to create another project with a medical file folder as a base so I can do a tutorial for you guys. Hope you are all headed towards a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for...and know I count you as a huge blessing in my life! {{hugs}} Jann

I love this picture of my Dad. It was taken soon after he graduated from college...and around the time that he and my mother married. Dad finished his freshman year of college and then was drafted into the Army...and served in Korea. He finished up college when he returned...I think he looks so dapper! My Dad was always super healthy. He played professional baseball - and even as he got older he had the physique of an athlete. I think that is what has made the past 10 months so hard. At 84 he was totally embracing life...traveling, hunting with his brother and playing golf several times a week. Back in January he had a regular doctor's appointment and his bloodwork came back with a total surprise...Dad was diagnosed with leukemia. He was referred to an oncologist - but the doctor sent word to Dad's doctor that he didn't really need to see him - the leukemia was so advanced that he would not recommend any chemo therapy for someone as old as my Dad. Even today, that both mak...

 My very dear friend and co-worker lost her husband yesterday.  He was a young man (remember I think you are still "young" if you are within 5 years of my age...yes it is a sliding window - but I'm ok with that!)  - and full of life and love for his wife, his children, his grandbaby girl and his work. In fact, he was in the middle of a presentation at work - and collapsed.  Such a shock to everyone - and we will all miss him very much.  Jess played soccer on one of the teams in Spain when he was younger - and I enjoyed learning a lot about the sport during the World Cup - Jess was a very patient teacher (up until I met Jess and Carole - I only had a working knowledge of Football and Baseball and a willingness to watch Basketball with my nephew) - but Jess sucked me into this sport that was totally foreign to me.  I am sure I will be tuning in the next time the World Cup Tournament is being played - although it just won't be as fun since I ...

Ok...this post is long overdue...but I finally have taken all the pictures. It is going to be a bit long - so hang with me here.  When I was doing the BIG STUDIO overhaul - I found a few kits or collections that were left over from classes that I have taught over the past year.  As you all know, I teach at local scrapbook stores and scrapping retreats, and I almost always end up with an extra kit or tool because someone cancelled or I had to buy a certain number of a product.  I am getting ready for the fall and spring round of classes - and need to move these things  out to make room for the new inventory. I would love for them to go to a good home...could it possibly be yours? *smile*  I only have one or two oftmost of these kits... If you click on one of the Buy Now Buttons and I have already sold it, you will get a message that it is sold out - and you can come back to this post and keep shopping. (shipping will be added at check out) My Mind's Eye...

Hello sweet friends... Hope you have had a great weekend - and are looking forward to the week ahead! I just got a notice on my phone that middle Tennessee is likely to experience frost tonight!  Woo Hoo - I think that may mean that FALL is actually on its way here! YEAH! I was able to re-tape the video tutorial on the mini canvases - it was a little frustrating having to tape it with the camera off to the side - so I am really hoping to get back to using my computer and the overhead camera again soon! I apologize for the number of times I was demonstrating something out of frame or the goofiness of telling you to "look at something" that you clearly COULDN'T see because my left hand wasand was in the way! LOL.  Oh well - I learned a lot by doing this one and hopefully will do better on the next one. This afternoon, I got to start on the project I told you about in the video...the mini album that we want to send  to the family of the kidney donor Royce received ...

So they are a GREAT place to spend a little Creative Play time. These first two tiny canvases ended up being small thank you gifts for two sweet friends.  I found several of these small canvases (they are approximately 2.5 - 3.5 inches) back in the art department at JoAnn's - I think they were no more than $1.  They are wood framed and are basically square or ATC (artist trading card) sized. Small...and totally un-intimidating. I used Distress Stain (yeah - I can't seem to stop playing with that stuff) on the blue one and on the autumnal version, I used acrylic paint and acrylic washes.  The dandelions were stamped and then I used Sakura gel pens to add some dimension to the canvas.  I stamped the pumpkins with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored them with Copics  - but you could use colored pencils or Bic pens - hey - you might even try crayons...remember we're just playing so anything goes! I cut the pumpkins out and popped them up ...