Cards and Countdowns . . .

I think I have done MORE stamping this summer than I EVER have (TWO sets of wedding invites kinda put me over the edge . . . I will be sharing the second set I made with y'all coming up here very soon!). As busy as I have been, I try to squeeze in some stamping that is just for "fun" as often as I can, as it is UBER-good therapy (how's that for German? Just practicing!! At the rate I am going, I will speak MUI-good by the time I get to Europe . . . har-de-har!!)

The featured stamper on SCS last Sunday was Joanne (aka jojot - FS133). She is such a wonderful stamper and a great person, too (I got to play with her a lot when we were on the There She Goes design team at the same time). Her gallery is HUGE and FABULOUS! I had a hard time choosing just ONE card to CASE, but this is the one I ultimately settled on:

Joanne's ISC Natural Silhouetter

I loved the simplicity of the two colors, and that border!! Sheesh!! UBER-GRANDE!! (Gettin' better!) I only have one border/corner punch combo, and that is the MS spider web duo . . . TOTALLY not working here, so I used my trusty ol' Cricut to create a similar feel with the swirly-twirly-border-y thing!

Stamps: Kind and Caring Thoughts
Paper: So Saffron, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Cricut Storybook Cartridge, ticket corner punch, keytag punch, 5/8" and 1/4" black organza ribbon, Sizzix Damask embossing folder

And SOMEBODY HELP ME!! I am having a JANTINK FLASHBACK!!! We had so much fun hanging out together, and Jan brought LOTS of stamps I didn't have (WHAT??? Could it be possible that there are stamps I DON"T own???) During one of our gab-stamp-n'-eat-chocolate sessions I got to play with these "extreme" stamps . . . LOVE 'em!! C'est Magnifique!! (Wait!! Now I am wandering into the oo-la-la French area . . . NOT gonna help me in Germany! Sheesh!)

I ended up posting this for last week's LSC - LSC234 - which was to make a masculine card with NO bling and NO ribbon. Could it be that we all struggle so much with this dang masculine cards because we own sooo many flowers and BUTTERFLIES??? Hmmmm . . . COULD be!!

Stamps: Extreme Guitar, Extreme Elements, Just Jawing
Paper: Soft Suede, True Thyme, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: small star punch, linen thread, paper distressing tool, paper piercing tool/mat, pop-up glue dots

Which leaves me to the countdown . . . ONE WEEK from today I will be leavin' on a jet plane (hmmmm...could there be a GROOVY song title in there somewhere??) I can scarcely believe it!! Man, oh man, I can't WAIT!! (Which is NOT a foreign language at all . . . unless you consider American Slang foreign . . . which many people DO!)