Welcome Our December Guest Amy Kingsford!

Hi There! My name is Amy Kingsford and I have lived in Northern Utah my whole life. I am married to the funniest man I have ever met and am a mother to two very silly, but beautiful little boys, who inspire so many of my scrapbook pages!

I have been scrapbooking and crafting for over 12 years. And while my tools and techniques continue to change over the years, my passion for memory keeping remains the same. I enjoy repurposing everyday items, envisioning creative uses for my current scrapbook supplies and tools and blurring the lines between the paper and digital worlds to add interesting details to my pages and to make unique altered projects.

When I’m not busy being a stay-at-home mom or scrapbooking, I enjoy listening to live music, reading a good novel and hiking and geocaching with my family.

To find out more about me, visit my new site at amykingsford.com .

My layout “More Candy Canes?” was my favorite layout that I completed with the JBS’ December Kit. This page is about how I continue to buy candy canes year after year—not because I enjoy them— but because I like having them around as a reminder that Christmas is on its way! The striped-texture cardstock that I used for the background, the frosty plastic mat that I created with repurposed packaging from this month’s kit and a leftover sprig of greenery all went a long way to helping me create the holiday feel that I was looking for!

I took this photo of my son and my husband at Willard Bay, just before sunset this fall. It was a quick shot with my cell phone—but I just love that I was able to capture this tender moment and how their silhouettes turned out against the warm sunset and the cool water.

My favorite part of my scrapbook stash is my collection of notions—especially my buttons. When my grandmother passed away I inherited many of her vintage notions, including patterns, zippers, fabric swatches and a large stash of buttons. Each time I put one of her beautiful buttons on one of my pages I feel like a piece of her will live on in that memory forever.

Christmas Garland #14 by Megan Klauer

Today we have another installment in our Christmas Garland, this one by Megan Klauer. I love the regal quality of this little banner as it shares the good news to all the earth. Thanks for the inspiration Megan!

Supplies: Vintage Holidays Christmas Mini Paper Sheet, Vintage Holidays Christmas Accessory Sheet, Family Tree Aunt Grace Paper, Vintage Christmas Chipboard Buttons, Garnet Superior Stick Pen, Mercantile Exclusive Die-cut Journaling Card - Star

And Our Winner Is . . .

gems said...

The vintage cameras are so cool, where do people find these old things, there certainly aren't many places in Northern Ireland that sell such things!

November 28, 2011 2:28 PM

Congratulations Gems! Email me at doris.sander@gmail.com . . . :)

Cyber Monday Blog Hop Today!

Today's the Day for our first ever Cyber Monday blog hop! We want to get you well informed on all the vintage fresh shopping ideas that Jenni has in store for you tomorrow morning (or really tonight at midnight CST)! First up is the debut of her One-of-a-Kind Shop that you'll find stocked with unique items, most of which are limited edition as there is actually just one of each like this charming antique calendar shown here. You'll find many more of these items in peeks along the hop.

We're also sharing peeks of the December JBS Mercantile Papercrafting Kit. The ticket you see here is an exclusive stamp to the main kit. There's also an accompanying sad faced smiley. I'm thinking they would be a perfect pair for some "naughty or nice" Christmas projects. These will go on sale at midnight CST this Wednesday, November 30th.

So get to hopping! You'll find a list of participating blogs below. Come back here and leave a comment as to which one-of-a-kind item is your favorite and you'll be entered to win a prize! What prize? you ask. We're giving away a $10 gift card to JBS Mercantils plus a copy of Jenni's brand new e-book "Home for the Holidays" (kit not included). Leave a comment on this post on our Facebook page, retweet this link on Twitter, and swing by our message board for three additional opportunities to win. Drawings will close tomorrow, Monday 11/28, at 8pm CST. Happy sHopping!

doris sander http://sanderdk.typepad.com/meanderings_/

mindy miller http://mysecretheart.typepad.com/my_secret_heart/

leah farquharson http://amusing-to-create.blogspot.com/

briana johnson http://mypaperlust.blogspot.com/

megan klauer http://meganklauerdesign.blogspot.com/

jenni bowlin http://jennibowlin.blogspot.com/

lisa dickinson http://lisadickinson.typepad.com/gettin_by/

betsy sammarco http://justapharmgirl.blogspot.com/

jill sprott http://wordplaywordwork.blogspot.com/

waleska neris http://myorganizedmess.typepad.com/talking_to_myself/

becky novacek http://www.beckynovacekphotography.com/

shimelle laine http://www.shimelle.com/

Cyber Monday is on the Way . . .

Cyber Monday will be here before you know it! Jenni has already mentioned her new online class, "Home for the Holidays!" Stay tuned as the design team will be hosting a blog hop this Sunday with more information about the exciting new section of JBS Mercantile, "One-of-a-Kind" Finds! There'll be prizes! :)

Christmas Garland #13 by Doris Sander

Hello! Doris here! I have to tell you that I had so much fun creating this ornament that I had to make a layout using the same technique! It's really been so exciting seeing what everyone else comes up with for the Christmas Garlad. If you've missed any, you can find them all HERE. And stay tuned as we still have a couple more ornaments to share next week, then the finished product!

To start out, cut a 4x6 piece of carstock and choose seven of your favorite patterned papers (I ended up not using the black piece you see here). Trim the patterned paper into 1x1 inch squares and begin adhering them to the cardstock. Once the cardstock is completely filled, sew lines down each column and across each row in a grid pattern (optional). Adhere the 4x6 sheet directly to the top of your large chipboard heart then trim off the edges. Use an emory board to sand the edges smooth.

Adhere two of the small chipboard flag banner pieces as shown, then cover the fronts with Terrifically Tacky Tape (or glue). First place your chipboard heart in the center, then apply glitter to the remaining portions of the banner pieces.

Staple a length of seam binding tape to the heart and then tie it in a double bow. Sew some charms to the center of the bow.

Punch holes in the top of the heart to string it up. Done! So cute!

And now create a fun layout using the same technique!

These photos are from back in 2007. I had to photograph my neice's wedding. Gabriel was the ringbearer and somewhat traumatized by having to perform his duties with the assistance of his uncle instead of his mommy. Poor little boo.

Christmas Garland #12 by Lisa Dickinson

 

 

It has been fun to watch our Christmas Garland Project come together, piece by piece! My contribution to the garland is a simple scallop-trimmed heart with the jolly old elf himself in the middle.

Heart Garland by Lisa Dickinson

 

I started with a large chipboard heart base, covering it with a pattern from the Mini Pattern Sheet of the Holiday 2011 collection. I punched a scalloped border from the Christmas Carol Index paper and adhered it along the back edge of the heart.  The plastic Santa ornament is from the November Project kit.  I took apart the "halves" of the Santa and glued the front half to the center of my heart.  Topped off with a bit of twill ribbon, baker's twine, and a dangling chipboard button, it's ready to add to the design team garland.

 

 

Be sure and check back here, as we'll be posting the completed garland all together soon!

Christmas Garland #11 by Celeste Smith

To create my banner piece, I simply covered a chipboard star with pieces of Vintage Holidays Christmas Accessory Sheet I had sewn together. Then I added silver garland-like trim to the outside of the star to give it a festive Christmas feel. Instead of punching a hole to thread it along the banner, I made a loop so it will sit a bit higher on the strand.

We are very sad to report that Celeste is leaving the JBS team. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work and brilliant creativity this past year. Thanks Celeste! :)

Christmas Garland #10 by Mindy Miller

Watching this Christmas garland take shape, I've been been thinking how the individual pieces are so versatile. They would make wonderful ornaments for a tree or several hanging from greenery on the mantle would be a nice touch. Or how about using one as a gift packaging embellishment?

My contribution to the garland is an embellished chipboard star. The star is covered in patterned paper from the JBS Christmas collection and slightly distressed with Jenni Bowlin Brown Sugar ink and the Ranger ink blending tool.

I added a small pinwheel created with Core'dinations cardstock that is distressed with gold ink. The pinwheel was then topped with mini chipboard flags run end to end behind a Jenni Bowlin Vintage Christmas chipboard button.

Here's a look at how I added the jewel at the bottom and used the same piece of twine to create a hanger.

I threaded the length of twine through the jewel and then behind the star through two holes punched in the chipboard. The twine is simply knotted at the top.

Here's a list of the supplies for this project available at JBS Mercantile:

Chipboard stars

Christmas 2011 mini patterned sheet

Vintage Christmas chipboard buttons

Core'dinations scarlet wallpaper cardstock

Ranger ink blending tool

Jenni Bowlin brown sugar ink pad

There are still several pieces to add to our garland, so make sure you stop by again tomorrow to see what's next!

Mindy

Christmas Garland #9 by Keisha Campbell

For my addition to the garland-I used the chipboard house & new Christmas papers. And I grabbed a few goodies from Michael's-the snowman, Santa head, and the red glittered berry leafy ball bell thing!!! I also added some of that vintage German foil Jenni usually adds to the kits and one of her new brads.

Gorgeous! Thanks for the inspiration Keisha!

Welcome to the JBS Team Leah Farquharson!

We are very excited to announce the latest addition to the JBS team, Leah Farquharson! Please join us as we welcome her to the team and get to know a little more about her . . .

"Married to my soulmate, raising our two fabulous boys together in the South Florida metro area. City lover. Vegetarian. Sewist. Recently a new business owner/entrepreneur. Runner. Homeschool mom. Fantasy fiction lover. Photography and photoshop geek. Lover of all things creative. The Beach. Ice Cream. And a good haircut."

"This is my current favorite photo. I grabbed it a couple of months ago when I took the boys out for a walk at the end of the day. They were geetting kind of crazy in the house, so I decided to herd them outside to burn of some energy. I'm SO glad I grabbed my camera on the way out the door! I was able to capture this special sunset - and the special moment with them!

"I don't have a huge crafting space, but my favorite thing there are my button jars! I love color, and buttons are one of my favorite embellishments to add to my pages!"

And here are a couple scrappy shares from Leah to tide you over until her first JBS layouts debut in the Design Team Gallery with the December reveal.

Welcome to the team Leah!

Christmas Garland #8 by Waleska Neris

I love combining chipboard pieces. For my garland piece I decided to combine the large star and the small bird. These are perfect for Christmas and for this project they just seem to belong together. I cut out the holly berry leaves and bells from patterned paper then added some 'berries' to the bird's beek.

Supplies: Chipboard Stars, Bird Chipboard, Christmas 2011 Accessory Sheet, Christmas 2011 Mini Pattern Sheet, Christmas 2011 Wrapping Paper, Pearl and Rhinestone Charms - Garnet, Coredinations Embossed Cardstock-Grandma's Rocker Crosshatch, Coredinations Embossed Cardstock-Scarlett Wallpaper

Thanks for the inspiration Waleska!

November JBS Mercantile Gazette!

The November issue of the JBS Mercantile Gazette has hit the stands! It's another awesome addition! So inspiring! Get your copy now! It's free! Download it HERE.

The Great Pumpkin Challenge from Ranger

If you're into fall decorating this week, you'll definitely want to swing by the Ranger Ink Blog for their Great Pumpkin Challenge. Every day this week they'll have pumpkin's decorated by some of your favorite artists in the crafting world. Our very own Jenni Bowlin is featured today, along with the fabulous Claudine Hellmuth.

Today's mid-month release is the biggest ever! We've enlarged our vintage offerings to now include ephemera, bits and pieces, and one-of-a-kind items like the vintage toaster shown above. This month there are lots of items perfect for holiday crafting like the labels with the toy soldiers below. One-of-a-kind indeed means only one, so some of these treats won't last long at all. Swing by the Flea Market at JBS Mercantile this morning at 10:00 am CST to see all the goodies that Jenni has found!

Christmas Garland #7 by Ranjini Malhotra

When Doris came up with the idea of the entire design team creating individual pieces to be contributed to our Christmas garland, I thought it was a fabulous idea. I've loved seeing all of the girls' gorgeous pieces and it's been a reminder of how versatile and lovely Jenni Bowlin products are!
I wanted to use Jenni's tart tins and a Christmas themed bingo place card and concocted this piece. I chose the "Give" Bingo Card and added the Santa image and bell because it called to mind the Salvation Army Santas with their bells that collect for the needy during the holiday season and I love the giving aspect of the holidays.

The Santa card came from Jenni's new holiday collection papers, and I added it to the top half of the place card, after adding double stick tape and red glass glitter to edge the top of the card. I also backed the card with cardstock so as to prevent the place card from folding in the middle where the prescored fold is.

Glitter and foil are a must for Christmas, so I used the foil bits from the November project kit as well. But the real fun came about when I got out my can of red spray paint and painted the tart tin. I loved the option of custom coloring the tin so much that I can't wait to do the same for future holidays -- I can visualize lovely pastel painted tins all done up with clear glitter for Easter! Tip for spray painting, set the tin inside a shallow cardboard box in a well ventilated area. I used Krylon Short Cuts in Red Pepper, which is a 3 oz. can of spray paint I found at Joann's for $3.99. Use a light hand, hold it atleast 6" away from the tart tin and spray light coats waving the can back and forth as you spray until you get full coverage. It dries pretty quickly. I sprayed the inside first, then turned it over and sprayed the outside and let it sit to dry.

I also found a whole package of real silver bells - 12 for 50 cents (!) at my local thrift store and spray painted the metal bell as well. I attached the tin to the card by using my manual craft drill to drill a hole in the tin and anchoring it with a brad to the card so as not to worry about it breaking or falling off the card. I added one of Jenni's chipboard buttons in the center of the tin to cover up the brad and a white seam binding bow and baker's twine for hanging.

I can't wait to see the entire garland with all the pieces hanging side by side! In the meantime, you can view all of the individual garland projects by clicking on the tag "christmas garland" at the bottom of this post.

Christmas Garland #6 by Betsy Sammarco

Here is my contribution to the wonderful Christmas garland that is being created right before our eyes!

A covered a Chipboard Butterfly with one of my favorite new Christmas 2011 patterns: Carol Index. From the bottom of the butterfly, I've hung a crystal and Rhinestone Charm.

To create the center bundle of embellishments I glued wired ribbon, a paper flower created from the Trendy paper line, and a Rhinestone button together. These 3 things are adhered to the butterfly on a foam pop dot. The Rhinestone Stick Pin antennae are stuck right into the foam dot!


Keep coming back to the blog as the design team reveals their contributions to the Christmas Garland!

Internet Explorer Customers

You may have noticed we are working to update our website. We will be moving some items around and adding new categories. If you are browsing on Internet Explorer, the drop down menus may not be working for you at this time. We hope to have this issue cleared up soon, but in the meantime you can do the following to correct the problem . . .

Go to "tools"
Select "internet options"
Then "delete browsing history"

JBS Mercantile November Updates

Our November gallery has been updated! Check out the new pretties HERE! The November Project Kit is sold out, but we still have a half dozen the Papercrafting, Artisan, and Antiquarian Add-ons left and a couple of the NEW Extra Paper Packs. Oh! and don't forget we have lots of Red and Green products on sale just in time for holiday crafting!

Please note . . . we are updating our menu at JBS Mercantile. You may notice some glitches over the next day or two (especially with those using internet explorer) . . . please bear with as we work to improve our services for you!