Bookmarks?

Okay ... so here I go AGAIN!! Is this a box of BOOKMARKS??? I'm not quite sure WHAT they are (as in my last post ... I just confuse mySELF!!)!! Another sample I made for Leadership ... had a VERY clear vision of what I wanted this to look like. It came together pretty easily ...

... and once again, it is up to the discretion of the paper crafter as to WHAT to use this for ... I think these little tags are cute, nonetheless ... :) Gift tags? Bookmarks?

Stamps: Pretty Petites (SAB)
Paper: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral
Ink: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Accessories: Two Tags Bigz Die, Scallop Circle Punch, Curly Label Punch, Petite Curly Label Punch (SAB) , Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Silver Mini Brads

I have these photographs, framed, sitting on my piano. They are photos of both ME and MY HUSBAND ... taken when we were both, respectively, three years old. And, although the photos are NOT "vintage" enough to be paired with the timeframe the old-time bicycle and ferris wheel images evoke, I thought they made for a cute pairing!!

How's THAT for a short blog post???

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental (SAB), Letter It Alphabet
Paper: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, First Edition DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: 1" Square Punch, Vine Street Textured Impression Embossing Folder (SAB), Designer Naturals Buttons, Early Espresso Stitched Ribbon, Linen Thread

Whatzzit???

Huh?? As I was making samples for Stampin' Up's Leadership Conference I was wracking my brain trying to come up with things that were "different" for some of my samples. This is an example of one of those ... I had a pretty clear picture in my head what I wanted to make ... just not a very clear idea of what it was that I HAD when I was finished!!

See??? When you open it up, it has five cute little "pockets" inside made with the Petite Pockets Die ...

... and inside each pocket is a little "card" made with the Two Tags die ...

but ... What IS it??? "Five Reasons I Love You?" "Five Happy Birthday Wishes?" "Five 'Honey-Do' Certificates?" I guess that is up to whoever makes it, right? I'm still trying to figure it out!!

As for the dimensions (which I know I'm gonna get asked about), I can't exactly remember, since this was one of my last samples made and I had to get them in the mail to Stampin' Up. I think the overall dimension is 5.5" x 5.5". Let's see ... two pieces of cardstock that were 5.5" x 7.5", scored at 5.5",6" and 6.5" along the 7" side. Fold the scored lines "valley/mountain/valley" and overlap the valleys from each piece to created a fold in which you can tuck the pockets. Does that makes sense? I hope so!! (I'm guesstimating the overall measurements since I didn't write them down ...)

It snowed yesterday so we FINALLY have some blue sky today (living in a "bowl" with mountains on either side of the valley makes Salt Lake City have the WORST air quality in the US until a storm system can come in and blow it all out!). YAY for blue skies!

Stamps: Oh, Hello
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler Basic Black
Accessories: Petite Pockets Die, Two Tags Die, Basic Black Scalloped Polka Dot Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Large Oval Punch, Adorning Accents Edgelits Die, Paper Piercing Essentials Pack

Blue Jeans, Freezing Rain & FitBits

Not gonna lie ... gonna start off straight away and admit that this card was my personal FAVE of all of the cards I created for the Leadership Sample Boards. Why? The little blue jeans are stinkin' ca-YOOT!! AND ... I had so-so-so much fun creating the "denim" for the background ... I used my Simply Scored diagonal score board on some Pool Party cardstock, then rubbed over the entire piece with a sponge laden with Island Indigo ink!! Couldn't resist adding the little "stitches" with my white signo pen, either ... so there ...

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Adorning Accents Edgelits Die, Simply Scored, Sponge

Yesterday we had freezing rain. I was called on, last minute, to drive a friend and her daughter (who is ALSO my friend ... HI JENNI & MARIS!!) to the airport. The roads were DISASTROUS!! HOWEVER ... because I was only traveling on "main roads" that had already been salted, the going wasn't so bad. Where I DID run in to trouble was trying to park in my garage. Our garage is behind our house in an alley. And, since we live on a HILL, the alley, in turn, is a HILL!! ICESKATINGRINK!! After three failed attempts where I had (a) put my car in low gear, (b) attempted to crawl LIKE A SNAIL down the alley (NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL), (c) drove on TOP of the snow instead of down in the already-created tire ruts, and (d) watched my garage go WHIZZING by my left side as I went slip-sliding past it, I decided to try ONE MORE TIME (I know ... what WAS I THINKING??). Last trip down was nothing short of a miracle!! It started VERY badly ... car started sliding FULL TILT ... the brakes were only making me slide a little LESS fast (don't get me wrong, I was zipping along!), but I was sliding all over the UNIVERSE. Very.Little.Control.BRAINLESS! After what I was sure was going to be a collision with the retaining wall and/or my fence and/or garage door, this is where I ended up ... no kidding. And yes, this is the view from inside MY OWN garage - lined up perfectly to pull in!! #awesomedrivingskillz!!  I needed to haul TWO buckets of salt out there to give me some traction because I could NOT move an INCH! (And yeah, I DID slip and fall on ... the ice ... once ...) Don't think I'm gonna venture out at ALL until some THAW happens!! But, I digress ...

So, I got a FitBit in the mail yesterday!! LOVELOVELOVE it!! From about 1:00 p.m. when I put it on (after it was charged) to the time I went to bed at about 10:30 p.m. I had logged over 11,100 steps and 56 flights of stairs (yeah-yeah ... I was crazy enough to run up and down my stairs until I could earn my "50 flights" badge on my FitBit homepage). Over 5 miles!! Probably won't accomplish THAT every day, but I am doing all that fitness craziness in order to not have to USE this second creation ... hardly ... (PS - if ya wanna join me on My Fitness Pal so we can cheer each other on, email me your username!)

I got the pattern for this tissue box cover on Splitcoaststampers HERE. I had seen the owl SOMEwhere on Pinterest (I think), but sadly, forgot to save a link so I could give credit ... pretty cute though, eh?

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Read Red, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Basic Black, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Owl Builder Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Oval Framelits, Box of Tissue

Oh Happy Day!

And so ... today I am sharing two VERY different things that I created with the same stamp set ... which just happens to be one that you can earn for FREE with any $50 order during Stampin' Up's Sale-a-Bration promo (which just started YESTERDAY!).

FIrst off ... a card. I was going for sort of a "quilted" look. Not quite sure I achieved that, but I DID try to evoke a little but of springtime with the colors, butterflies and flowers. January is always the coldest, grayest and most BLEH month for weather. Can't WAIT to see the sun!! (We suffer from nasty inversions in the Salt Lake Valley ... cloud cover gets trapped in between the mountain ranges on the extreme west and extreme east sides of the valley ... kinda like living in a bowl! ... and any nasty pollutions and what-not get trapped under the cloud cover until we get a storm to blow it outta here .... which is where we are right now ... again ... waiting for a storm to expose the blue skies above the cloud cover!)

Stamps: Bloomin' Marvelous (SAB)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Ticket Duo Building Punch, Simply Scored

Next up? A scrapbook layout. And yeah ... that IS me ... in my wedding dress! I made my friends who were going to Leadership Convention in Florida (where this sample was posted) PROMISE NOT to throw darts at this ... OR (especially) draw big ol' mustaches or Harpo-Marx-style eyebrows on it, although I KNOW they were tempted!!

Same stamp set, totally different look. I used the Natural 7/8" Cotton Ribbon to create this pearly flower (with help from the Jumbo Sticky Rounds!) ...

And, of course, I HAD to add at last ONE butterfly in there somewhere!!

Stamps: Bloomin' Marvelous (SAB), Madison Avenue (SAB)
Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Small Oval Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Natural 7/8" Cotton Ribbon, Pearl Basics, Linen Thread


Wedding dresses started to get really FUN and INTERESTING a few years AFTER I got married (but, hey ... at least "back in the day" most of 'em had SLEEVES!)! I'm pretty sure my daughter is NEVER gonna wanna even try my wedding dress ON ... but it IS properly boxed up in a closet downstairs in the event that SOMEday I find something to do with it!!

Monday-Monday ...

How is it that the weekend is already OVER?? I had soooo many plans for things I wanted to accomplish over the weekend and sooooo many of them just didn't happen!! Sigh ... one more day woulda done it! I'm gonna blame it on the fact that I smacked my head on the bathroom cupboard Saturday night ... luckily for me, I didn't need stitches, but it did make me see STARS ... and BIRDIES ... and RUBBER DUCKIES!!

So today I'm gonna share a couple more things I made for the SU Leadership display boards ... and this first one uses the cute little Petite Curly Label punch (again!)! I think layering it with the regular ol' Curly Label punch is gonna be one of my new favorite things!!

Stamps:  Pretty Petites (SAB)
Paper: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Petite Curly Label Punch (SAB), Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Rhinestone Basics, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Piercing Tool/Mat

I have ALWAYS wanted to make these little curly ribbon hair accessories, so I finally broke down and researched how to get 'er done (thank HEAVEN for PINTEREST!)! Wrap the ribbon pieces on a dowel and then soak them in some water (just long enough to make sure the ribbons are soaked through). Put the in the oven for 25 minutes at 275 degrees and VOILA!! Easy-cheesy!! (And since there was not a SOUL at home when I finished this to take a photo ... not like my husband woulda modeled it for me ANYway! ... and since my doggie was a VERY unwilling model, I had to use this teddy bear to show it off!)

I added a little button in the center of the ribbon curls ...

Stamps: NONE
Paper: NONE
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Whisper White Baker's Twine Headband, Dowel





That's pretty much all for today ... it's 10 degrees outside ... think I"m gonna hafta bundle up like mummy to survive!!

Sale-a-Brate Good Times ... The Freaks!

There's a party goin' on right here ... a Sale-a-Bration to last throughout the year!! (Excuse me while I have a high school flashback!!) Welcome to the Control Freaks Blog tour ... Sale-a-Bration style!! If you have been following us around the block, you should have just come from the ever-incomprable Dawn Olchefske!! What a woman!!

This month we are sharing some creations we have made using stampy goodness from the 2013 Sale-a-Bration catalog. LOTS of great stuff to be had in there!! First off? Don'tcha just LOVE the Petite Curly Label Punch??? I sooo love that it allows me to layer with the regular ol' Curly Label Punch. I kinda got carried away with the layers on this baby ... and I even SEWED on it, too! Too-too fun!

Stamps: Pretty Petites (SAB)
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Petite Curly Label Punch (SAB), Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (Buttons - SAB), Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Sewing machine

Next up, a birthday card! I really LOVE the images in the Patterned Occasions Stamp Set!! This little cupcake just makes me happy (because, face it, who DOESN'T love a CUPCAKE??)

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Real Red
Accessories: Scallop Square Bigz Die, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Window Frames Framelits, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Real Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Mini Brads, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Paper Piercing Tool

And finally, a little-bitty backpack!! I used a handful of Bigz dies to help me out ... Fancy Favor, Top Note and Two Tags!! The paper, buttons and ribbon ... LOVE these colors together!!

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Fancy Favor Bigz Die, Top Note Bigz Die, Two Tags Bigz Die, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Linen Thread



Next up?? My fellow Freak and BFF JanTink!! She is a paper-crafy wizard!!

Fab Friday #10

Welcome to Fab Friday!! I am in FULL Valentine mode, so I could not help myself when I created this card for our color challenge this week!! The only problem?? This card ended up a little ... um ... BIG!! Which means I'm gonna hafta mail it in something other than a standard-size envelope! (I seem to be doing a lot of this lately!!)

Look at all the pretty colors!







Here's a link to the Fab Friday Challenge Blog so you can play along:

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Check out the Fab blogs of my fellow Fab Friends:

Mindy Backes
Cindy Beach
Jason Casper
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Amy O'Neill
Marla Reed

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Hearts a Flutter, Morning Post Alphabet
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette, Crumb Cake, Red Glimmer Paper
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Cherry Cobbler Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Neutrals Buttons, Regals Buttons, Linen Thread, Sewing Machine

Time to SALE-A-BRATE!!!

I am soooo very happy that I FINALLY get to share the projects I made for Stampin' Up's Leadership Conference for the sample boards!! THIS Is was I was working on ALL through November ... 24 projects in THREE weeks!! EEEeeek!! I nearly lost my mind, but I was happy with everything (mostly!) when I was finished!!

Soooo ... what IS Sale-a-Bration, you ask??? Allrighty, then ... I'll TELL ya!! It's a special promotion that runs from January 22 - March 22, 2013. For every $50 you spend, you are able to choose one set from the Sale-a-Bration brochure for FREE!! That's right ... FREE!! As soon as the link becomes active, I will post the beautiful brochure with all of the available free goodness here on my blog. But, in the meantime, I will be giving you a "sneak peek" of what is in there.

The stamp set I used to create BOTH of these cards is probably my FAVORITE offering for Sale-a-Bration! LOVE the vintage-y look of these images!! This ferris wheel is the BEST!!

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental (SAB)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB), First Edition DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories:  Vine Street Textured Impression Embossing Folder (SAB), 3 1/2" Circle Original Bigz Die, Wide Oval Punch, Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon, Neutrals Buttons, Linen Thread, Simply Scored

And here is an old-fashioned bike ... don't think I would have even been able to get UP on one of these things, let alone make it GO anywhere!! But I DO love it, anyway (and I am doing my best to convert my friend, Cheryl, to the Summer Starfruit Lovers Club ... I really happen to LIKE that color!!).

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental (SAB)
Paper: Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Summer Starfruit Stitched Ribbon, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB)

It was chilly whilst we were in Anaheim for CHA (never got outta the 50's)!! But it is freakin' FREEZING here at home ... currently 19 degrees (which is a step up from the ZERO degrees we dropped to a couple of nights ago!). Not expected to get over 21 today ... BRrrrrrrrr!! I am tempted to take my electric blanket to work with me!

Happy Wednesday!

Good Times ...

First things first ... here's a fun birthday card I made for my cousin's daughter who just had a birthday! But, this isn't the first card I made for her this year. Actually, I had started out making her a baptism/birthday card. It is customary for children to be baptized at the age of 8 in the LDS Church, so I got myself all geared up. I used my Cricut, embossed, be-ribboned, blinged ... it was a fabulous creation ... and then I went back on my list to double check her birthday and realized that, since her birthday was on December 29, I had miscalculated the dates and she had actually SEVEN and not EIGHT!! Back to the drawing board ... good thing my OTHER cousin (cousin #1's sister!) has a daughter who IS turning 8 next month, 'cause I'm READY!!

I got the inspiration for this cute little owl with balloons HERE. What a fun idea!! I hadn't ever thought of adding hearts to the owls body to make his wings look like they are a-flappin'!! Pure genius!!

I'm headed back to Salt Lake from CHA in Anaheim today. It has been SOOO cold here!! (The highs during the day only get into the mid 50's!). And it is gonna be even COLDER at HOME ... where the HIGH temp is expected to be 12 ... sigh ... I've had SUCH a great time hanging with my friends and hanging out at Disneyland, too (can't be THIS close and NOT go there ... especially since my annual pass only has a couple of weeks left on it!)!

Aren't we gorgeous??? LOVE these ladies ... BEST part about coming to events like this is hooking up with the people ya know ... just fabulous! From left to right - Deb Felts, Lori Tecler, ME, Kate Baldwin, Karen Hunsaker and Lynn Mercurio.

Can't WAIT to start sharing the samples I made for Stampin' Up's Leadership Conference with you this week. Now that Leadership is actually over I am officially allowed to share what I made!

Stamps: Occasions Alphabet
Paper: Early Espresso, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Owl Builder Punch, Oval Punch, Heart-to-Heart Punch (retired), Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Early Espresso Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Designer Brads (retired)

2012 Artisan Design Team January Project- Part 3

One more for ya this week ... and I am actually "bi-coastal" as we speak!! My dear friend, Jeanna Bohanon, took a "Flat Wendy" with her to Stampin' Up Leadership Conference in Orlando ... and, according to the pictures she has been posting of "me" on Facebook and sending via my phone, we are having a GREAT time there!! And, as of 1:15 a.m. THIS MORNING I arrived with my son and met up with some friends in Anaheim for CHA (Craft and Hobby Association trade show). Which means, of course, the obligatory stop at Disneyland ... but, I digress ...

I have had the idea for this card in my head for over a week. Was glad to get it outta there and into existence!! The fabric ruffle is my most-favoritist part!!! I really struggle with the "simple" concept when it comes to card making (and my friend, Cheryl, is the one who suggested the red ribbon!) ... but I really like how this came out!!

So ... since the trade show doesn't start until TOMORROW, we are off for a day of play at Disneyland!! YAY!! Oh yeah ... and "Flat Wendy" continues to enjoy her time in Orlando ... I brought a "Flat Marisa" (aka Marisa Gunn) with ME ... so I am partying from coast to coast!

Stamps: Ciao Baby
Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Red Glimmer
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Simply Scored, Petite Curly Label Punch, Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Neutral Basics Buttons, More Amore Designer Fabric

2012 Artisan Design Team Projects for January - Part 2

Where does the time go? Can't believe I am already gearing up for Valentine's Day! It seems that each and every year goes by more and more quickly! What's up with that??

For my second Artisan project this month I decided to use this shadow box frame. I have had this thing forever!! (I actually have another one, too ... a friend of mine was cleaning out her crafty supplies and brought me what she had to see if I could use it. Like, I was gonna say NO??? NOT!!) I picked out several of my favorite family pictures from the last year or so and resized them to fit on 2" mats.

Closeup #1 ... upper-left corner ...

Closeup #2 ... upper-right corner ... my favorite element on this WHOLE project it the mat behind my son's graduation picture ... it's the little card/tag that the ribbon from the Artisan Designer Kit was on ... FUN!!

Closeup #3 ... lower-left corner ... more banner tags!! LOVE these, too!

Closeup #4 ... lower-right corner ... I even found a spot for the flower "bouquet" from the Artisan Designer Kit, too!

So, there ya have it!! Now I just have to find a fun place to hang this!!

I have one more Artisan project to share with you on Friday ... see you soon!

Stamps: Ciao, Baby
Paper: Real Red Core'dinations Cardstock, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, More Amore DSP
Ink: Read Red
Accessories: Typeset Alphabet Dies, Hearts A Flutter Framelits Dies, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Petite Curly Label Punch, Artisan Designer Kit, Pearl Basics, Linen Thread, Sanding Block, 12"x12" Shadow Box Frame