So... 2015 has passed... Although I did do some fun things during the year, they were overshadowed by a separation and the passing of my loving mom. I'm not going to lie, it's been one of the most trying years of my life. On the other hand, it has shown me just how strong of a person I am. For that I am grateful. For 2016, I would like to travel more, do fun things with the kids, visit Dad as much as possible, eat healthier, dance a lot and keep my body fit as time allows. Many women out there know how hard it is being a mom and working full-time. This, coupled with other personal issues I won't go into, makes it that much more difficult. I really love my job and the people I work with, which makes up for quite a lot. I have some pretty cool friends who I am very grateful for. I have two beautiful, healthy children that are growing up faster than I care to think about. Still, it feels like a little something is missing.....like a piece of a puzzle. I am hopeful that 2016 will be a better year for my family and I. Certainly, I plan on making the best of it, having fun, staying calm and reducing stress in any way I can to stay healthy for my kids and myself. I hope everyone out there had a great start in the new year and may it continue to be great!! xoxo p.s. Keep on smiling! Jackie Continue reading

Dear Friends, Followers, It has been a year and a half. There is a reason why I have not posted in such a very long time, but I will not get into that. It's been rough and it continues to be rough, but I do the best I can and make the best out of what I can. Let's talk about some cool things. Last year in May I got a new job! Yep! It's at the University here in the Materials Science Institute, Department of Material Physics. No.... I have not become a scientist! ;-) I do all the admin stuff for the chair and I get to work with very cool nerdy scientists! It's been over a year now and I am still enjoying myself. Lots to do, crazy fun co-workers who have become very dear to me and a cool boss. What more could you ask for? Then.... we decided to get a kitten as promised to the kids. Her name is Kayla <3 and she is a wonderful and gorgeous kitty. Meanwhile she's a year old and beautiful as ever. So glad to have her! ADORABLE!!! Here are a few past events... and creations .... Card for my BF Anja.... Going away card for a student.... Birthday card for my daughter... birthday cake for her.... decorated by her dad A good luck lady bug... ;-) A late evening swim.... healthy food.... mmmhhhh... power breakfast A water rafting trip with my awesome friend Daniela! :-) Awesome Coca-Cola photo with my BFF Christine! <3 My awesome friend Daniela & I at Triberg Falls.... and... co carting...like SUPER FAST! and.... riding the quad in the Allgäu... :-) Mountains baby.... Got a cute little shark grey car and named her Peggy ;-) Saw my first ever ice hockey match in Zurich! It was totally AWESOME! Still keeping active... yay for me. :) Last year's Halloween fun :D Fasching this year... don't we look fabulous?! ;.) My new glasses.... And that's a wrap for today! Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Spend it with your family or friends, enjoy quality time with each other, be happy as much as you can, laugh a LOT and stay healthy. Life is too short, trust me. I promise the next post will not be in another year. I aim to post regularly. :-) Take care.... Jackie Continue reading

I am happy to announce that I will be working for the renowned Max-Planck Institute at the University of Stuttgart in an administrative capacity for the Professorship of Material Sciences some time in May 2014. I'm extremely excited about this position and cannot wait to start my new job. Until then, I will be taking care of my recently operated shoulder and hope that in 3 months time, I can get back into my all-time favourite sport: TaeBo® !!! Of course, Zumba® too!... But TaeBo® will always be number ONE! I also plan on scrapping more again. At least I do make cards now and then... (for Dad) On the house business: We should be getting our tool shed soon. After that, hopefully our back yard will be taken care of by the gardener and we'll have some grass to look at. :-) Last, but not least, our carport will be constructed. After that it's just a few little things, such as a few light fixtures, some painting, wall fixing and a canopy roof for our front door. It's all coming together very nicely. My best friend Christine is coming to visit in May and I cannot wait to see her. I hope she can come see the house! :-) Y'all take care! Continue reading

Hello! My name is Jacqueline M. Schimmel and I am available for hire for the following positions: Executive Assistant Personal Assistant Executive Secretary Team Assistant Marketing Assistant Project Assistant Investor Relations Manager You get the idea... I am married with two children long out of diapers and my family planning... Continue reading

Hey there! Hope everyone out there is doing great! I just wanted to give an update. The walkway to our house is coming along and in a few months we should have a carport as well as grass in the yard! YAY! Also, there was a spontaneous mini class/school reunion at the Alte Münz in Kaiserslautern (the old hangout) and it was so great to see everybody. :-) We should do this more often, seriously! It was also wonderful to see my parents... even if it was only for a little bit! :) On 17 February we celebrated Danny's 12th birthday! Where on EARTH has the time gone?? Woahhhh. He really is turning into a young man. On 19 February would have been my friend Cirsten's birthday... I still remember every year, even though she's been gone since 1999. RIP Cirsten. And... I did get a bit creative... just a bit... :) And here is a beautiful sunrise for you from awhile back.... Have a super day! Continue reading

Now that 2013 is over, I can reflect on what all has happened during the year. First off, we finally got started on our house building plans on the property we had bought quite a while earlier. In February it got started amidst the nastiest weather you can imagine.....wind & plenty of continuous rain. No worries, it all worked out. This was 18 May 2013. Up in just one day. Freaky, huh! The fun part was picking out the sanitary items, floors, wallpaper/paint. And furniture. YAY! ;-) We moved in on the 27th of July 2013....the hottest day of the year, go figure. A measily 37°C. I thought the movers were going to pass out on me. They did an awesome job! I planned the kitchen with IKEA. Unfortunately, the first two bozos they sent to build the kitchen obviously had no idea what they were doing. They began at the wrong end of the kitchen counter and so it was months before the kitchen was finally taken care of. I was able to work in the kitchen tentatively though, so no prob there. ;-) To say the least.... I am estatic about my kitchen. I just LOVE it!!! Mid September Jenna celebrated her 10th birthday. (August 2nd actually, but it's vacation time so we had to postpone.) Her wish was to have a sleep over birthday party, which I consented to (only God knows why...what on EARTH was I thinking??). I believe there were about 9 girls....holy hell I tell you. Never, never again....even Jenna said she never wants to do anything like that again. LOL It was a bit much. Here are some impressions.... They played some fun games.... first one was seeing how many m&m's they could suck up with a straw in a certain amount of time. Then they had foil fashion, where they needed to make fashion out of aluminum foil in a certain amount of time. The boy and girl team did a great job, but Jenna won. LOL And they had to carry her up and down the stairs so that her outfit wouldn't rip. Hilarious. She looked like a mannequin being carried like that. Later they played wii Sing... too bad I didn't film that. ;-) In the evening we watched "13 going on 30" the main character of which just "happens" to be Jenna. teehee -- I was glad when it was over...too many kids is just too chaotic. Also in September, Danny began 6th grade and Jenna started 5th grade in the Gymnasium, which is a whole new ballpark compared to elementary school. She's workin' it like a champ though, very independent and ambitious. I just hope it stays that way! Intro and welcoming day at the new school with her friends. Here are a few images of the scenery around here.... Great walks, beautiful weather, gorgeous views... Despite all the stress involved with getting the house built and settling in....I think we made some pretty terrific memories already! :D... Continue reading

I gave in .... it would have been too much work to rebuild another website. And I do still want to blog! So, I bit the bullet and signed up for Typepad premium again. We've settled into our house and have really gotten a LOT done in a short amount of time. We have most of the lamps we want installed, most of the furniture. Just a few more pieces of furniture and some of my crafts and it will look really cool. The patio has been completed and in spring we will have the landscaping done. Can't wait! I will be posting photos in a little bit, so watch for those. This is the best choice we could have made. The neighborhood is great, neighbors are nice ;-) and the landscape is just gorgeous. I don't know how many sunrise/sunset photos I've already published via Instagram... but it's quite a few I'm sure. :-) Can't get enough of it. The kids enjoy now being able to just go out and meet up with other kids in the area. What a turnaround! They love it as well. :-) We are very much looking forward to Christmas in our new house. It's a whole new and wonderful feeling and I am more excited than I have been in a long time! I kept the Christmas cards simple this year, due to lack of time and my scraproom is not organized the way I want it yet. ;-) But... at least I sent them, right?! As soon as the tree is up (this weekend) I will definitely post photos of that... Our first Christmas tree in our own house. Yay! So...stay tuned for more!.... Have a wonderful day whereever you are in the world! Continue reading

Heads up! I made it through the move.... close to two months we have lived in the new house already and I feel very comfortable. It's so much different than living in a rented apartment. Everything is new (basically) and it's a real neighborhood here. Feeling very blessed right now. First glimpse... Continue reading

To say the least, I've been pretty busy as we starting building a house this year and will move in the end of July! YAY! It's pretty exciting stuff! I've hardly been able to "create" anything. Mostly dealing with things revolving around the house, obviously....like picking out flooring, wallpaper, paint, furniture, etc. Here are a few things I did do along the way... As soon as we are settled in the house, I will be creating once again. Here are some photos of the house....so far... The front/side view View from the back... still a mess at that point tiled stairs to the basement View looking from the back of the house... :-) Mosaic in kid's bathroom bathtub in our bathroom tiles in our guest bathroom... (will be the same for master baths) And most recently the kitchen floor tiles... So, things are coming along. :-) But I gotta tell you... I cannot wait until it's finished! At times it can be a royal pain in the booty! :D Exciting and stressful at the same time. We will survive! Oh.. yes, I almost forgot! I am now an official Bokwa® Fitness Level 1 Trainer! In case you don't know what that is, here is a video that says it all. Continue reading

Hi People! Ever since I closed up my side business, I've blogged even less, which doesn't really make any sense, since it was supposed to give me some more time. ... Yeah, right. The joke was on me. LOL This past year just FLEW by! I'm like HELLOOOO?! Now it's 2013! GEEZ! 2012 was a mixed year starting off with my hubby having an operation and one week later it was my turn for my schoulder. It took a good six months before I could do any TaeBo and I thought "YAY", but then I kept getting sick with either flu or stomach problems, etc. All of a sudden my hip starts hurting for no apparent reason. If it's not one thing it's another, right?! Could I get a break here? C'mon! Then I started having stomach problems here and there, then my hands would shake, I got headaches, felt dizzy and out of breath a lot, out of energy, my heart began to race and over the Christmas holidays I lost 3 kilos, which didn't make any sense, because I ate like a horse and did absolutely NOTHING. Someone said maybe it's my thyroid and a light went on. I had hyperthyroidism years ago, but I thought it was gone. The general blood tests never seem to reveal the problem, only when they specifically test all of the hormones, etc. that have to do with the thyroid. I looked at the results and nearly all of the values were off... and I mean scary off! So, I got some medicine to tied me over until I can see the specialist in about a week. Glad I finally figured out what the heck was going on with me. Hopefully I can get the right dosage and turn into a calm person instead of a nervous wreck. Shaky hands and an often resting pulse of 110 bpm will do that to you. The good things that will come to pass this year: We will be moving into a brand spanking new house in the summer! It's one part of a duplex house, but it's roomy nonetheless. I'm SO EXCITED! A new place, a "home" to call our own, new rooms for the kids (at 9 and 11 they are still in baby rooms... well, some of the furniture and definitely the walls are baby). We get to get rid of SO MUCH CRAP! Good GOD that stuff builds up over time. We did get rid of quite a few books by selling them online. But there is so much other stuff. I need to purge clothing, scrapbooking supplies and lots of other unnecessary JUNKO. ;-) At first I was totally keen on having one of those Swedisch country houses built. A country style home, but where we will be moving it would stick out like a sore thumb unfortunately. It's just a totally different style of house, even though I still love them. But, the more and more we looked at... Continue reading

These are the Xmas cards I made this year....which is over in less than twenty minutes! Happy New Year everyone!!! Continue reading

It has been a long while I know. My mojo has been in a hole somewhere and I haven't been able to get it out. I've been having pains here and there, my shoulder, my hip, etc. I so cannot wait for winter vacation. I'm truly tired. Working, household, kids & school, planning our house....well, it's starting to do things to my body all of this stress. Not being able to do sports, namely TaeBo is stressing me out even more. I've become a real homebody, but not out of choice, believe you me. Hopefully, I can get up enough mojo for some Christmas cards or I will feel extremely bad about not sending any this year! Yikes! Hope to be able to blog more frequently next year. Much of it will probably be about moving and the house. So exciting! Until then....happy winter! Continue reading

Hallo Scrapper, Vor einigen Wochen gab ich bekannt, dass ich bis zum Ende des Jahres mit meinem Nebengeschäft (Scrapbooking für Andere) aufgebe. Nun habe ich beschlossen es ab sofort einzustellen. Nimmt es mir bitte nicht übel, es ist nur etwas was ich hinter mich bringen möchte und einfach in die Zukunft blicken möchte und "leben" möchte. Als ich damals das Ende mitteilte, spürte ich wie eine große Last von mir fiel. Das hat mir gesagt, dass ich für mich das Richtige tue und mein Bauchgefühl stimmt. Natürlich werde ich nicht aufhören zu scrappen...ich werde es nur nicht mehr als Business betreiben. Das bedeutet ich werde immer mal wieder bloggen, facebooken, pinteresten und instragramen bis zum es gehtnichtmehr. LOL Da hab ich genug zu tun. :) Ich würde mich freuen wenn ihr bei meinem Blog vorbei schaut....jetzt privat. Den Namen behalte ich aber. Klingt einfach cool! :D Wir sehen uns in der Scrapbookingwelt! Falls jemand Fragen hat, gerne mich anmailen. ;-) Cya soon! Jackie Continue reading

Hey Everyone, A few weeks ago I announced that I was ending my business as of the end of this year. Well, I've decided to cut it short and end it effective immediately. No hard feelings, it's just something I really need to put behind me to just move on and "live". When I wrote that blog post awhile back I felt a large weight come off me, so my gut feeling must be right,..right? I will still keep this hobby up, but will no longer be practising it as a side-business. That means I will update my blog now and then, will facebook, pinterest and instragram the heck out of everything. LOL - That keeps me busy enough as it is. :) Stay tuned for anything that interests you on my blog....my now private blog. I'm keeping the name though! Just like the ring of it! :D See you around in the scrapbooking world! Should you have any questions, feel free to shoot me... an email that is. ;-) Cya soon! Jackie Continue reading

Hallo! Ich dachte ich muss mal wieder wat schreiben, weil mir klar wurde, dass es schon wieder EINEN MONAT her ist! Sorry! Am 25. Juli wurde mein Dad 75 Jahre alt. Wow! Er ist wahrlich gesegnet von vielen Schutzengeln, wofür wir alle sehr dankbar sind. Diese Karte hier habe ich ihm gemacht und es wird noch ein Album folgen (wenn es fertig ist)....dann kommen auch dazu Fotos. ;-) Was war noch los? Am 2. August haben wir Jenna's 9. Geburtstag gefeiert. Die Zeit geht rasend schnell vorbei wie man so schön sagt. Unglaublich wie sie gewachsen ist und so selbstständig geworden ist. Und sie wird auch von Tag zu Tag hübscher....also Jungs! Uffbasse! Sie wird eine Herzensbrecherin sein! Meine kleine Süße. :-) Da, die eine Oma ihr ein Fahrrad schenken wollte und sich es sich aussuchen sollte, habe ich symbolisch eine Fahrradkarte als Pop-up-Karte gestaltet (mit der Cricut Expression ausgeschnitten). ;-) Sie fand die Karte und natürlich das Geschenk ganz toll. Gefeiert haben wir im Freibad, was eine super Idee war weil es fast leer war als wir ankamen. Die Menschen waren sich wegen dem Wetter unsicher und es war Samstag (Einkaufstag), und natürlich auch Sommerferien wo viele weggefahren sind. Die Kinder hatten super viel Spaß! Sie haben entweder den Sandkasten belagert (Eltern fragten schon höflich, ob sie denn bitte Wasser für den Eimer ihrer Kleinen haben dürften - LOL) oder sie hüpften im Pool herum. Als kleines Gastgeschenk, gab es von mir handgemachte Geldbeutel aus Eistee Tetrapaks. Die Anleitung dazu gibt es hier (nur auf Englisch): http://spoonful.com/crafts/carton-wallet Die Kinder fanden es voll cool....und ich fühlte mich auch "voll cool", dass ich ihnen eine Freude machen konnte damit. ;-) Im August haben wir auch noch mitgeteilt bekommen, dass wir nun doch einen Platz in der Kernzeit für Jenna hätten (nachdem wir eine Absage erhielten). Da sind einige ihrer Freundinnen und Klassenkameraden. Wir fanden es nicht schlimm, dass sie keinen Platz bekommen hatte, weil der SportHort wo sie war auch super ist. Die bieten unglaublich viele Aktivitäten und Sport an. Wir haben dann ihr die Entscheidung überlassen und sie entschied sich für die Kerni, was jetzt sowieso nur noch ein Jahr ist. Das war alles mit einem lachenden und einem weinenden Auge, da sie von Anfang an dabei war seit dem Kindergarten. Ich musste einfach ein schönes Andenken für den Hort/Kiga machen von Danny und Jenna....und habe ein kleines Mini-Anhänger-Album gestaltet...ich denke es hat ihnen gefallen. Am 08. August hatte meine beste Freundin Christine Geburtstag die so so weit weg von mir wohnt... :-( Deshalb gestalte ich ihr eine Karte mit Herz, um ihr zu zeigen wie sehr ich sie vermisse... Diese Karte habe ich ausschließlich mit der Heissprägetechnik gestaltet...mit SEI Mimosa und Hero Arts Stempel, und Zing Embossingpulver. Ich liebe diese Farben! Und Christine hat es auch gefallen. Derzeit arbeite ich gerade an einer Kundenbestellung für ein Ehe-Reise-Buch. Klasse Idee! Vielleicht kann ich hier mal ein paar Fotos zeigen wenn ich das ok bekomme. ;-) Letzten Sonntag war es ja... Continue reading

Hey there, thought I'd blog since I realized yet again....that it's been about a MONTH. sowwy My dad's 75th birthday was on 25 July 2012. Wow! He has been truly blessed with a ton of guardian angels, which we are all very thankful for. I made him this card and he will be getting a nice album (when it's finished) ... I'll post photos later. ;-) What's been going on... well, on 2 August we celebrated Jenna's 9th birthday. Time flies as they say. Incredible how she's grown and how independent she's become. She's just getting prettier by the day....boys, watch out! She's going to be a heartbreaker for sure! :D My little cutie. Since her one grandma wanted to get her a bike and we wanted her to be able to pick it out, I made a pop-up card with a bike (cut with cricut expression) as a symbol of this plan. ;-) She loved it! We celebrated at the pool, which was a fantastic idea since it was pretty much empty except for us. People were unsure of the weather, plus it's summer vacation (people are away) and the kids had a super time. They either took over the entire sand box (had parents asking for "permission" to get a bucket of water for their toddlers - LOL) or they were jumping around in the pool. As a little gift and thank you for coming, I made these cool wallets out of iced tea cartons that I got directions from at this site: http://spoonful.com/crafts/carton-wallet Well, the kids thought those were just so awesome. Made me feel awesome too. ;-) In August also, we found out that we got a place for Jenna at another daycare (where some of her friends and classmates are) after we had actually received notice that they could not provide a place. We had been ok with that, since the place she was at was great as well, offering so many things to do and lots of sports. We decided to leave it up to her, so she wanted to go to the new daycare, which is only for another year anyway. We were all happy on the one side, but it was sad as well since she has been there from the beginning of her Kindergarten days. So, I decided I needed to give them something to remember both Jenna and Danny by and made this little mini tag book, which I think they liked. Then it was my best friend Christine's birthday on 8 August who lives so far far away from me... :-( So, I always make her a nice card to show her how much I miss her... This card was made entirely with the heat embossing technique...using SEI Mimosa and Hero Arts stamps, plus Zing embossing powders. I love these colors! And she enjoyed it too. Currently I'm working on a customer order for a few pages of a Marriage Travel Book. Neat idea actually. I may show a... Continue reading

Mein Entschluss steht nun fest. Da der Großhändler den ich hatte übernommen wurde und das neue Unternehmen nun Umsatzsteuer erhebt, die ich leider nicht absetzen kann laut meiner steuerlichen Aufstellung, musste ich kapitulieren und den Entschluss fassen mein Nebenjob als Scrapbook Designer aufzugeben. Es ist einfach nicht profitabel und durch diese Steuergeschichte erst Recht nicht. Ich liebe die Arbeit zwar, aber meine Zeit ist mir verdammt wertvoll. Dann ist es einfach an der Zeit einen Schlussstrich zu ziehen. Versteht mich bitte nicht falsch, ich verzichte nicht auf mein Lieblings-Hobby, sondern werde einfach ab 2013 keine Kundenaufträge mehr annehmen. Auch Kurse werde ich nicht halten. Was ich tun werde ist Scrappen, für mich und meine Familie und unsere Erinnerungen und natürlich immer meine eigenen Karten. Ich bin es so gewohnt meine eigenen Karten zu machen, dass ich mir gar nicht mehr vorstellen kann welche zu kaufen. Es war keine leichte Entscheidung weil ich unbedingt wenigstens ein bisschen Erfolg damit haben wollte ...zumindest einen kleinen Gewinn. Aber dann gibt es Kosten um die man nicht herumkommt wie z.B. Steuerberater bzw. Buchhaltung und das nimmt einem einfach das bisschen was man vielleicht verdient hat oder hätte können. Es ist traurig, aber es ist nun mal so. Ich tue mich manchmal etwas schwer mit dem "Nein" sagen und mache manchmal Angebote die eigentlich keine Vorteil für mich bringen oder ich sehr kurzfristige Aufträge manchmal annehme und mich selbst unnötig unter Druck und Stress bringe. Neben meinem 75%-gen Job im Investor Relations Bereich, meine zwei Kinder, meinem Mann und den Haushalt zu organisieren, war mein Nebenjob welches durch dieses tolle Hobby entstand einfach eine zusätzliche Belastung geworden und hat mir teilweise unnötig Stress bereitet. Das war eigentlich nicht mein Ziel. Für so manch ein Scrapbook-Designer (vor allem in Deutschland...und insbesondere im Schwabenländle ...sorry...die leider nicht das Handwerk schätzen können bzw. den Aufwand und die Zeit die so was beansprucht) lohnt sich einfach die Mühe nicht. Manche legen keinen Wert auf die Erinnerungen oder auf diese Art von Handarbeit und können sich nicht dafür begeistern. Andere meinen... "Für sooo viel Geld mach ich das selbst." Aber, haben sie das Material, die nötigen Werkzeuge, die Erfahrung, die Zeit, ein Auge für Design um so etwas Einzigartiges herzustellen? Sehr wahrscheinlich nicht. Sie erwarten bei einem Auftrag, dass sie nur das Material zahlen, aber an die Zeit die man damit verbringt sich ein Design zu überlegen welches genau zu den Bildern passt und farblich anzupassen...auch ein Gefühl dieser Erinnerungen zu übermitteln..., dass für eine Seite manchmal eine Stunde vergeht damit es perfekt ist und den Nagel auf den Kopf tritt. Tja, daran denkt irgendwie keiner. Es sind nicht einfach lieblos Fotos im schnellverfahren auf Papier "gebappt". Da steckt einiges dahinter. Mal ehrlich, wer möchte denn für 5 EUR die Stunde arbeiten? Keiner. Und insbesondere weil ich das nebenher gemacht habe, merke ich wie kostbar meine Zeit ist. Zeit ist Geld wie man so schön sagt. Ich werde nicht von der Bildfläche verschwinden, auf keinen Fall. Design-Team Arbeiten wie z.B.... Continue reading

Actually, almost past the "considering" since the wholesaler I had was taken over and the new company now charges sales tax, which I am not able to deduct being in the certain tax bracket I'm in. So....I've come to the conclusion that I will be earning even less (meaning not profitable) than I was in the past. It's not worth the headache in the least. As much as I really LOVE designing and all, but if nothing remains (and seriously, my time is darn precious to me!), then what is the point. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up on the hobby, but as of the end of 2012 I will no longer be taking custom orders for customers. Nor will I hold classes. What I will do is scrap, for myself and my family memories and of course ALWAYS make my own cards. I'm so used to that by now, that I refuse to buy and manufactured cards. It's a difficult thing for me to do since I wanted it to become a success to where I could earn at least a little bit of profit, but as business owners well know....there are other costs such as tax consulting or accounting that suck what little you may have made right out from under you. Sad, but true. Business taxes should be done by an approved tax consultant, so there you go. Also, I would just stress myself with deadlines or take on custom work at the very last minute (which is silly) and make deals that were definitely to my disadvantage (because sometimes I just can't say no). With working 75% in my day job, two kids, a hubby and a household to organize, it's just something that unnecessarily stresses me out. That is something that I was not aiming for. For some custom designers (especially in Germany...since many people do not appreciate the craft or your time, etc.) it's just not worth the effort...as sad as it sounds. Any design team I can be on is just fine for me. It's something I can handle. So, I apologize if I'm disappointing anyone out there that was counting on me, but I truly hope you understand my situation and my reasoning. I'm still there until Christmas time, so no worries. Oh, and I will try to blog more and make some free tutorials here and there, plus stay on top of the trends of the business, so we'll keep in contact! xoxo Jackie Continue reading

In den letzten paar Wochen habe ich an einem Monsteralbum mit ca. 47 Seiten gearbeitet... nur war es für eine Kundin und nicht für mich. Nachdem ich damit fertig war, musste ich einfach als Ausgleich was für mich machen. Da Danny zwei A4 große Seiten für seine Lehrerinnen brauchte (und die Blätter die er nachhause brachte ziemlich zerknittert waren) habe ich die zwei Seite vorgestaltet und habe ihn dann was er wollte auf einer Journalingbox schreiben und malen. Das ganze Material war schon vorhanden, das meiste davon wirklich "Scraps". Das Foto wurde mit Instagram überarbeitet...diese Fotos sind echt genial. Und, da die Lieblingsfarbe meiner Tochter blau ist und ihr gefällt was ich so mache, dachte ich, ich gestalte einen einfachen schönen Rahmen (den ich unter einen riesen Haufen auf meinem Tisch gefunden habe...ganz ehrlich jetzt) als Deko für ihre Wand. So, das war's dann für heute.... EINER MUSS JA das Kochen hier im Haus übernehmen. ;-) Danke für's Vorbeischauen! Allen einen schönen Sonntag, oder Sonntag Abend oder Montag Morgen, je nachdem wo ihr auf der großen weiten Welt seit! ;-) Continue reading

For the last few weeks I've been working on a monster custom album ....with ca. 47 pages, only it wasn't for me, it was for a client. After finishing, I HAD to do a few things for me. Since Danny needed two A4 sized pages dedicated to his two teachers he's had this year, I made those and had him write and doodle on the journaling spot. All of the papers were from my stash and scraps. Photo worked over with Instragram.... gotta love those. And since my daughter loves the color blue and the things I make....I found this Ikea frame underneath the mess on my desk (literally), I thought of something quick and simple she might like to decorate her wall with. Alright....that's all folks.... SOMEBODY has to do the cooking in this house! ;-) Thanks for looking! Everyone have a great Sunday or Sunday evening or Monday morning... depending where you're at in the big wide world! ;-) Continue reading

Für das Scrap-Art-Zine Design Team Blog sollte ich etwas für die Mittwochs Inspiration gestalten. Da das Datum auf den 4. Juli fiel und ich Amerikanerin bin, kam mir das gerade recht. :) Ich hatte noch nie irgend etwas in Bezug auf Deko für den 4. Juli, da ich mein Lebenlang überwiegend in Deutschland verbracht habe. Das war für mich natürlich eine gute Gelegenheit etwas für diesen besonderen Feiertag zu gestalten. In letzter Zeit habe ich mich ein wenig mit Mixed Media auf Leinwand befasst (eine totale Anfängerin in der Hinsicht) und deshalb dachte ich mir... warum nicht (jawoooohl) "noch" eine Leinwand gestalten. LOL Es hat super viel Spaß gemacht mit meinem Cricut wieder zu arbeiten und im Internet nach kostenlosem Clipart in Bezug auf den 4. Juli zu stöbern. Zum Beispiel habe ich die .svg Datei für die Freiheitsstatue hier gefunden, die Glocke und die Flagge im Internet unter kostenlosem Clipart welches ich auf Cardstock ausgedruckt und ausgeschnitten habe. Die Sterne habe ich mit der Cricut Basic Cartridge (Buchstaben) ausgeschnitten. Zuerst habe ich die obere Hälfte in Himmelblau und die untere grünblau mit Acrylfarbe angemalt. Nachdem die Freiheitsstatue ausgeschnitten war (cricut), habe ich alle Teile mit Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) umrandet und Stück für Stück auf die Leinwand geklebt mit ModgePodge. Die Chipboard Wolken habe ich zuerst mit weisser Acrylfarbe bemalt und eine dünne Schicht ModgePodge drübergestrichen damit sie etwas Glanz bekommen. Auf die Flagge habe ich ein wenig rock candy distress stickles und auf der Glocke rock candy crackle paint (beides von Ranger) gemacht. Die Metallverzierungen (Vogel & Stern) stammen von Tim Holtzs Ideology Kollektion und ich habe noch etwas alter Faden von Making Memories gefunden um den Stern zu befestigen. Danach habe ich ein wenig "gedoodlet" LOL. Der 4. Juli mag vorbei sein, aber es wird noch eine Weile auf meinem Sideboard verbringen. ;-) Für weitere Ansichten, bitte besucht den Scrap-Art-Zine Blog hier - http://scrap-art-zine.blogspot.de/ und schaut euch ganz viel Inspiration von den anderen Design Team Mitglieder an! Ich wünsche ein supertolles Wochenende! (Ja... ich weiss, dass es noch nicht Freitag ist.) LOL Jackie Continue reading

For the Scrap-Art-Zine Design Team I was asked to create something for their blog for Wednesday Inspirations. My date happened to be on the 4th of July. :) Since I've never had any decoration where the holiday is concerned as I've lived in Germany basically my entire life, I thought I would create something to decorate my home. And since I'm dabbling a bit in mixed media (by no means expert), I thought I would make...yes....yet "another" canvas. LOL I had a LOT of fun with this one, using my cricut and free clipart to depict a few symbolisms of Independence Day. For instance, the .svg file for the Statue of Liberty I found here and the bell and flag I found under free clipart on the internet and printed on cardstock. The stars I cut from Prima patterned paper with my cricut expression using the basic cartridge that came with the machine. First I painted the top part light blue and the bottom sea blue with acrylic paint. After I cut out the Statue of Liberty, I inked all the edges and assembled and adhered her onto the canvas. The chipboard clouds were painted white, inked and a thin layer of modge podge was put on top to give them some shine. On the flag I also put rock candy distress stickles and on the bell I used rock candy crackle paint (both Ranger). The metal accents are from Tim Holtz's Ideology metal collection and I found some old Making Memories threads to adhere the star with. Slapped on a few letter stickers and doodled here and there. The 4th of July may be over, but it will definitely be sitting on my sideboard for awhile. ;-) For more close-ups, please visit the Scrap-Art-Zine Blog here - http://scrap-art-zine.blogspot.de/ and check out all of the other inspirational creations from the Design Team. Have a super weekend! (Yes... I do realize it's not Friday yet. ) LOL Jackie Continue reading

I supposed I'm starting to get hooked on canvases for some reason! LOL - Gabrielle Pollacco inspired me with her recent work. I decided to make this one, possibly for my daughter... if she likes it. ;-) Used Making Memories Acrylic paint.. yep, it was a little thick being so old and all, but I was able to thin it with some water. Papers are from Marioposa collection (Die Cuts with a view), Prima shabby chic bird cage, Holtz metal corner, Prima flower & pebbles. Modge Podge and Glossy Accents holds it all together... Make yourself a canvas today.... so easy and so much fun!! Have a great week! Continue reading