J Ross Artistic Designs -- JRAD

Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania

2012-01-12T22:00:00.011-05:00

One of my favorite pictures is of the beautiful wysteria and vines windows at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania....the whole gardens are just so incredibly beautiful and colorful to walk through. Can you tell I'm looking forward to another Spring trip?!The conservatory is huge, and we enjoyed a walk through some flowering Dogwood trees. WELL worth a visit/trip!!! http://longwoodgardens.org/

Flowers & Lattice for a Birthday

2012-01-12T21:45:00.003-05:00

Christmas Tree with a Cross

2011-12-20T22:57:00.004-05:00

Sometimes (most times) Christmas becomes a blur of shopping, baking, gifts, and decorations, and is a wonderful family time....but this year to help keep my feet grounded in the reason we celebrate this season of Christ's birth (hence Christ mas) is ultimately what He did for us on the Cross (John 3:16)...I added red lights that fade in and out in the shape of a cross. So as I see the beauty of the tree, I'm reminded in the symbolism of the "tree" of Christ's death and resurrection. Hopefully you can see them in the video - they looked much better in person :). May you have a Blessed Christmas with family, friends, or just quiet time with God to reflect on the past year, and look forward to the New Year.

Merry Christmas - Ornament

2011-12-20T22:05:00.009-05:00

Well, I know I haven't been around for a while...mostly just too busy, but thought I'd quickly share a fast Christmas Decoration I did using a Quilt Block pattern, a black marker & ribbon, some Distress Ink, and Merry Christmas rubber stamp. Hind sight says I should have used my machine to sew the edges, but oh well...next time.

Cozy Flannel Cabin Quilt

2011-09-14T21:42:00.025-04:00

This was made for hunting, camping or sitting by the fire for a great brother-in-law! The panel is Tracking White Tail Deer Flannel by Granola Girl Debbie Field, and other miscellaneous outdoor coordinating fabrics. I used my Electronic Quilt 6 software to come up with a simple and quick design.

I used free-motion quilting on the outside of panel, then followed the wood dividers in the panel. I roughly outline quilted some of the main characters of the panel to fill in the larger blocks, and to show up on the back of the quilt, and added their names.

New Baby Girl

2011-07-13T22:25:00.005-04:00

I made this Baby card for a dear co-worker - Using the Hampton Arts Carriage stamp, glitter, and some pink satin ribbon, fabric and pearls. Borders punched with Martha Steward's Eyelet Lace Punch around the Page set and EK Success Slim Edger Daisy Scallop Punch, with Cuttlebug embossing.

60th Wedding Anniversary

2011-07-03T00:19:00.009-04:00

I made this card for my Mother- and Father-in-Law for their 60th Wedding Anniversary - the Diamond one! :) I used the Cricut Paper Lace Cartridge, Storybook, Plantin Schoolbook, and Cuttlebug border and embossing.

Wedding Congratulations

2011-07-02T22:57:00.007-04:00

This card I made for a "proud Marine Corps Mom" who's son just entered the Marines and is getting married today - a really sweet couple - Patrick and Jackie!

I put a band around the card that had Marine Corps color rhinestones on the back center.

I used the Cricut Damask Decor cartridge, Cuttlebug embossed the background and Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace Punch Around the Page.

And an "Irish Blessing" for the pair!

Sunflower Birthday

2011-07-02T19:39:00.002-04:00

I used watercolors for this sunflower stamp...need more practice with the paints, but it turned out ok after all...had fun painting!

Flowers, Lace and Pearls

2011-07-02T19:28:00.007-04:00

This was for a friends Aunt who had a 90th Birthday! Punches, Lace, Flowers and Pearls...she gave me some "tidbits" about her Aunts personality and what she likes, and picked out the sentiment inside.

Anniversary Card

2011-03-24T21:46:00.002-04:00

I used "A Child's Year" Cricut Cartridge for this anniversary card.

Valentine's Day - Heart Trees

2011-03-24T21:23:00.004-04:00

This was a fun Valentine's Day card for my dear husband!

I found a wonderful Henry David Thoreau poem, Friendship, with a great section on "two sturdy oaks" whose "roots are intertwined insep'rably"...that worked perfectly for what I wanted to say in this card!

Cherry Blossoms - Birthday Card

2011-03-24T21:06:00.004-04:00

This was a watercolor of a Japanese Flower Tree stamp - with a Bird theme.

I printed copyright free sheet music for happy birthday and added some personalized words - with the birds all singing the melody!

3 Sisters and Fondest Memories

2011-01-22T22:38:00.005-05:00

A wonderful dinner and special times at Arielles Country Inn with 3 sisters and their husbands in Oct 2010! http://www.ariellescountryinn.com/

High School Pals!

2011-01-22T22:28:00.009-05:00

I had a wonderful visit in Oct 2010 with somc of my best buddies from High School - we had a wonderful lunch at Tilly Mints Tea Room, reminisced over old times and shared family stories! We are all truly blessed after all these years!
http://tillymints.com/

EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

2011-01-17T21:44:00.013-05:00

If you love flowers & garden artistry, and happen to be at Walt Disney World in Orlando FL, go to the annual EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival in the Spring - absolutely beautiful and so many flower photo opportunities. These are only a few of the topiaries and events that were there, but only a sampling - there were flowers everywhere!http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/special-events/epcot-international-flower-and-garden-festival/ These were actually taken in 2006, and it seems to get better every year!

There was an awesome exhibit of flower art that was in the form of 7 foot tall Walt Disney Postage Stamps - unbelievable the time these must have taken! http://www.disneylandreport.com/disneynews/060421ArtOfDisneyRomancePostageStampsReleasedWaltDisneyWorld.html

Simple Flannel Block Quilt

2011-01-01T15:16:00.010-05:00

This is a simple but stunning flannel quilt that can be made in 16, 12, or 10 inch blocks - great for fat quarters. This was a Christmas gift for my sister - I thought it was very cabin-looking for their beautiful cabin!

For the back I used very soft and warm Maywood Studios Shadow Play cream color flannel with 2 strips of left over pieces from the front, and free motion all-over quilting.

Montana-Modern Quilt

2011-01-01T14:44:00.009-05:00

This is a quilt I made for my Father-in-law from a "proprietor-made" kit I bought at a quilt show - unfortunately the kit she made had crooked cuts and some erroneous directions, so it took a little "finagling" to make it come out at least fairly straight to the eye, and the panel was a little skewed...all in all, though, it worked out fine (absolutely beautiful color scheme and fabric patterns!) and was a perfect Christmas gift for a weary family traveler visiting from Colorado!

This is a great Benartex pattern and panel by Janet Page Kessler - you can see the various combinations made from this pannel at the Benartex site: http://www.benartex.com/page/montana-modern-219.htm
I added the black border to make it a larger quilt.
I used free motion along with some straight line cris-cross stitching up the lines.

Pennsylvania Covered Bridges

2010-10-26T20:25:00.011-04:00

My sister and I recently took the driving tour of some of the Bucks County Covered Bridges in Pennsylvania - an absolutely wonderful thing to do. All the folliage hadn't changed yet, but beautiful nonetheless!! If you're ever in the area, definitely worth the relaxing drive through the country and along the streams and rivers to see some lovely preserved history of the

Bucks Co. 12 remaining Bridges.

Cabin Run built in 1871 on Covered Bridge Rd,

Plumstead Township

Frankenfield Covered Bridge built in 1872

Hollow Horn & Cafferty Rd, Tinicum Township

Frankenfield and interior boards - Built in 1872 - 130 ft long

The Loux Covered Bridge built in 1874
Wismer Rd in Plumstead Township

Uhlerstown Bridge in Tinicum Township with windows on both
sides overlooking the Delaware Canal and path.

I added a few links that have some good Bucks County information and maps:
http://www.letsget.com/html/Directory/community/comm_states/comm_counties_pa/comm_ya_bucks/covered_bri.html http://visitbuckscounty.com/things_to_do/default.asp?s=3676
http://pacoveredbridges.com/bucks_county__covered_bridges.htm
http://buckscountycbs.org/bridges.htm
You might also try the Lehigh Valley Covered Bridge Tour:
http://www.discoverlehighvalley.com/play/self-guided-tours/covered-bridge-tour/

Family Photo Album

2010-09-14T19:59:00.008-04:00

Was going through some old family photo albums of growing up in East Africa, and thought I'd share a few of my family photos I scanned in....memories of a lifetime seeming now so distant a past and oh so precious! Sharing the gospel and love of Jesus Christ!

LILAC Card

2010-09-14T18:46:00.006-04:00

This was my first attempt at making the beautiful Lilac card I saw on Joanne's blog "Mainly Flowers" http://joanne-mainlyflowers.blogspot.com/ I used Joanne's format, but don't have the book it originated from (Leone Em of Australia's "Floral Punch Craft V").

It was a little tedious, but very fun to craft (took an afternoon)...I used my Cricut Expressions with the Accent Essentials punch and took about 235 mini flowers to finish. And I'm not sure how Joanne crafted the cones, but I used styrofoam cones cut in half lengthwise. The leaves were also from the Accent Essentials, and I scored/creased leaf veins by hand using a bone scoring tool and the indentation on my Fiskars paper cutter. The background punches used were Martha Stewart's Arch Lattice Edger and Fiskars Effervescence Border. The script and inside of card was not done yet in these pictures. This will be for my Mother-in-law's September Birthday - hope she enjoys - I know she loves flowers and being crafty at heart, I know she will appreciate the love that goes in this card for her!

Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida

2010-09-02T21:45:00.019-04:00

An Awesome place to visit in Tampa Bay Area -
BUSCH GARDENS!!
http://www.buschgardens.com/

SheiKra Roller Coaster
http://www.buschgardens.com/bgt/Explore/Rides.aspx?id=597

Busch Garden's first Gorilla birth, Baby Bolingo was born in November 2005 to 33 year old mother Kishina. Bolingo means "Love" in the Lingala language in the Congo.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/13/Life/She_s_Big_Mama_to_Bus.shtml

Kumba Roller Coaster

Allotment Quilt

2010-05-07T22:21:00.001-04:00

I love the colors of this lap quilt I made for my loving sister (I love you Lin!) - using mostly Kaffe Fassett and Martha Negley fabrics. The idea came from Kaffe Fassett's "Country Garden Quilts" book and is called an Allotment quilt by Jane Brocket, after the European leased garden plots. This one is a flower allotment garden since my sister grows absolutely beautiful flower gardens!!

My dear kitty "pouting" after I had chased her off this quilt top about 3 times, and she was determined this was her place! ...so Lin, you're quilt has been blessed by the kitty!

I used free motion quilting on most of the quilt w/variegated thread.

Some of the different quilt patterns - I tried a dragonfly among the flowers in free motion.

The so-called "permanent-washable" (I think I used too much heat or for too long) iron-on didn't hold, so I hand-stitched roughly around edges to work with the adhesive. Permanent washable markers were used to color the pattern I got from a book of iron-on labels.

Quilt back pieced with a strip of various fabrics in garden colors.

I thought the Benartex Flower Show 3 Dahlias Gold was appropriate for her flower shows that she has had over the years!

A little computer graphics fun with colors

Great Horned Owls - Mom & New Baby

2010-05-07T20:51:00.000-04:00

We love the nature on Honeymoon Island State Park trails, and this was an experience I'll never forget! Myself, along with quite a few other much more experienced (looking at the incredible costly equipment) photographers spent hours and days (standing in the weeds and bushes) watching this Mother Great Horned Owl and her baby over the months as it grew, and until it fledged! And then, by a freak chance, we saw it on another side trail one day on it's own away from Mom. I was CAPTIVATED by this beautiful creature - just absolutely amazing!!

At first we thought it was just an adult owl, until we got home, and saw to our amazement, a little white baby peering out from under Mom's wing! (2/2/08)

2 weeks later (2/15/08) a ball of fluff! Mom seemed to sleep most of the time, but at any movement, her eyes quickly opened at attention.

A few weeks later (3/9/08) - I was so disappointed that I had missed a few weeks in between!

Getting brave going out on the limbs, and flapping it's wings as if to practice after watching Mom fly off to another tree.

The little baby grown and on it's own - park ranger at gate thought it was a male. (3/17/08)

Earrings

2010-05-07T20:34:00.000-04:00

Sterling Silver, Crystals and Pearls

Sterling Silver, Swarovski Crystals, Glass and Semi-precious

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

2010-05-01T22:48:00.000-04:00

A beautiful photo op and relaxing place to go if you ever visit here (central Gulf of Florida) is the Marie Selby Gardens in Sarasota! It's about 10 acres of great gardens, a conservatory and greenhouses full of incredible tropical plants - and a wonderful collection of orchids!! All overlooking the water. http://www.selby.org/ We visited in March during their Spring Garden & Plant Festival.

The banyan tree grove is great - the tree roots go on forever!

There was also a Fine Art show in the Selby House.
The boardwalks run along the water, and wind through the mangroves.

MY PHOTO'S LINK

2010-04-23T22:32:00.000-04:00

Some of my photos can be seen at my picassa web site here or at right....one of these days I'll have the time to go through and correctly tag and post all of them...maybe develop a web site. http://picasaweb.google.com/JRossArtisticDesigns/

Aspen Colorado - The Old Crystal Mill

2010-04-19T22:52:00.000-04:00

One of our favorite trips was a 4-wheel drive trip we took with the Land Rover dealer up to the old Crystal Mill outside of Aspen Colorado and past Maroon Bells - what a beautiful place to be in Fall when the aspen are changing!!! And boy did we have fun going through some of the streams and rock beds to get there. At the time we had just bought the Discovery, and were a little tentative at spots so we didn't scratch her up - the dealer was quick to assist when we needed it! It was a perfect weekend trip - we got to experience the Hotel Jerome and some of the world's most beautiful scenery! We're definitely a 4-wheel drive couple, and look forward to getting back to Colorado for some more outdoor fun when I am able to retire and do the snowbird thing between Florida and Colo. Thought I'd share a few pics from our trip!

Cottage Quilt (Queen)

2010-04-19T22:19:00.000-04:00

I made this cottage quilt (VERY fun project) for my mother-in-law with a queen-size kit (it comes in several sizes) I got from JoAnn's Fabrics using one of my coupons. :) It was my first attempt at free motion quilting, and it actually turned out pretty good. I love my new Husqvarna Saphire with extra quilting space! What a difference, and great for the free motion. It took me a few tries to get tension just right, but after that, went great...I tried to use some of the embroidery designs on the corners, but had a little trouble going through all the layers of fabric and keeping the design flowing (probably just need more practice and maybe should have lifted the foot more). For the label I used a piece of matching fabric, iron on label from a book, and went over the design with permanent fabric markers to darken it. I used Heat n Bond iron on adhesive (washable) to attach to quilt.

Focal Point Bead Sets

2010-04-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

I wanted to make some focal point bead sets that could be changed out on chokers, or just hanging at base of another necklace or chain. This was a fun and quick project.

Interchangeable Charm Bracelet

2010-04-19T22:00:00.001-04:00

This was an experiment (I'm sure someone already figured this out before me though) in making a charm bracelet with stones that I could change out in different colors to match what I was wearing. The colored beads have small clasps that can be interchanged.

Southwest Jewelry Set

2010-04-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

I made this Southwest Necklace, Bracelet and Earring set for my sister a few years back using lots of turquoise, coral beads, black onyx, glass, pewter and sterling silver beads and clasps.

Swarovski Crystal Cuff Bracelet

2010-04-19T21:25:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite bracelet designs that I got from "Something about Beeds" in Palm Harbor FL . http://somethingaboutbeads.com/ This Swarovski Crystal Cuff Bracelet uses Swarovski pearls and crystals along with sterling silver beads, clasp and 3-hole connectors.

Baby Scrapbook (22 page book)

2010-04-14T11:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry...I know this is a lot of pages, but each one hopefully has some fun ideas! I used smaller pic sizes to fit them all in. Hope you enjoy viewing these pages as much as I enjoyed making them...

For this book, I used my Cricut Expressions, Cuttlebug, computer, sewing machine, ink, and embellishments. I know digital is faster, but I had SO much fun making each page of this book in expectation of the new baby girl! I didn't have it totally done in time for the birth...maybe a few weeks late, but Mom and Dad were preoccupied anyway :) Isabella has been such a beautiful, happy blessing, and the family couldn't be more proud!! She was born with such a sweet disposition, and rarely cries! WOW! It's been almost a year now, and we miss her, and of course her Mom and Dad, across the 1900 miles, but were able to spend Christmas with them!

Lots and lots of beautiful ribbon in all shades show off the cover of this book!

The only page/idea I scraplifted was this Love That Baby one...unfortunately, I can't relocate the gallery I got it from, but it was a wonderful idea!

I loved this pinwheel idea, so I made it so it turns, and she can write dates or whatever on the wheel.

These pages include open-up pages that can include as many photos or sayings as she likes. The page below has envelopes with stationery in them to write special or fun moments remembered as she grows.

I used a lot of lace and ribbon on this page especially for Mom!

I used the "Butterfly Kisses" theme on this page for Daddy since that was a song played at the parent's wedding when father danced with the bride (his "baby" girl).

This last page includes some "Brag" tags that can be taken out and taken along to show friends & family - they can include sayings or photos.

On the back cover, I used my sewing machine to zig-zag stich a bunch of paper scraps together, and glue on to board cover. I used paint to finish edges of the book, and sand paper to weather or distress the front and back a little.

Magnetic Hematite Necklace & Bracelet

2010-04-14T03:00:00.000-04:00

Time to add some jewelry pieces...hope something inspires you. The sky is the limit with jewelry...you can even take apart old jewelry you haven't warn for a while, and add to a new creation. Just enjoy it!

I loved the idea of having jewelry that can be fashioned and worn in different ways as does magnetic hematite...I was able to find some varieties of shapes to add to this necklace/choker and bracelet set (or double them and wear as you like). I used freshwater pearls, crystals, glass, sterling silver and mother of pearl shell end beads with the hematite.

Queen size Rag Quilt

2010-04-14T00:33:00.000-04:00

This rag quilt (my second) I made for my husband for a trip to Colorado this last cold Winter. It was flannel on one side, and other side was cotton (so it didn't pick up too much lint)...he wanted something warm he could wrap up in like a sleeping bag...I used Warm and Natural batting. Note - since it was my second rag, I got a little self-assured when cutting the fringes, and cut a few too deep - DON'T do that, or you'll have to resew closed after you wash the first time like I did! :) But, all-in-all, it turned out pretty good. My husband actually helped me design and arrange the blocks for him using my Electronic Quilt software - we had fun doing that! (I think that was the most he could take of quilting though!)

Baby Rag Quilt

2010-04-13T21:57:00.000-04:00

Babys deserve something soft, and something that will last forever! I made this Baby Rag Quilt to welcome a new baby girl to our family last May, Isabella! It was my first rag quilt (second quilt I ever made), and I was surprised at how easy they are - I used 3 layers of flannel, one for the batting (probably could have used 2 with a layer of cotton in between to minimize the bulk, but it was nice and heavy - they live in Colorado!).

Valentines Day Card

2010-04-12T17:11:00.000-04:00

I made this card for my great husband! I used the Cuttlebug "Script" embossing folder for the front texture of this card, and layers of card stock - I cut out the hearts manually instead of using a punch to get the size and lengths I needed, and added a metal tag with Robert Browning's "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be" on front. I did a little bit of shading around heart edge with some ink that matched closely with red coloring.

Birthday Card - Tropical flair

2010-04-12T16:54:00.000-04:00

The idea for this card came from Kim MacNutt's gallery a few years back (Thanks Kim - your work is awesome) http://stampingbetweenthedishesandthelaundry.blogspot.com/ I used a palm tree and pineapple stamp and colored in w/markers, and stamped a letter-writing print in background.

Birthday Card

2010-04-12T14:54:00.000-04:00

I used embossing on the rose on this card - and tried blending different colors for the background on plain cardstock before stamping.

Christmas Baubles

2010-04-12T14:28:00.000-04:00

I made this Christmas card for my mother/father-in-law using Magenta self-adhesive peel off's in gold for the baubles (I also have some of Anita's and Stampendous peel offs I use). I created a pocket in the front of card to insert a tab with first part of verse (pre-printed, bought velum packet of verses), and continued the verse on the inside.

Father's Day e-Card

2010-04-12T13:43:00.000-04:00

I decided to try my hand at making my own e-Card for my father-in-law last year for Father's Day, and used one of my shell photos on my JRAD Photography site (see My Links at right). I just used various fonts to add language on in Photoshop (or it could have been Photo Impact Pro, as I have several). Next time I'll have to add music.

Anniversary Card

2010-04-12T12:59:00.000-04:00

This is a card I made for my sister and her husband for their anniversary...it was my learning to use multiple stamps and layers of paper in a collage on front of card. I also made a matching envelope from cardstock and hung a little pic of them by tassle/ribbon wrapped around center of card to dangle from top. The inside included a verse and wishes printed in special font on velum.

New Baby Card

2010-04-12T01:37:00.000-04:00

This is a card I made for a co-worker and friend when his wife had their baby boy. Actually, I think it was my first designer card, and I had a blast making it! I don't recall where I got the fold up insert idea from - I think from a library book or magazine a few years back. As you make cards, you're really thinking of the people you are making the card for, what their design style is, what their life-style is like, the personality of each individual, colors that match the situation or person! Each card made especially for that person is an adventure and a trip.

Simple Strip Quilt

2010-04-12T00:54:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm rather new at this blog site development, but having fun working it all out. I thought I'd start by sharing a recent quilt venture. I started quilting about a year ago, remembering my mother teaching quilting and sewing to the ladies in her Ethiopian (missionary) school...she loved to sew. I've been making quilts for various family members, but myself and my husband...he commented, "when do I get mine?" And he's so right...sometimes the most precious and most obvious are overlooked! Here are a few pics of the first quilt I made him - yes, I've made two for him now, and probably will be many more since I'm loving it! This quilt is an idea taken from a strip quilting book "Super Simple Strips" by Nancy Smith & Lynda Milligan...the pattern for "Blackberry Brandy" only I used greens, browns, tans and golds since my husband loves the outdoors, and more natural colors.