Fab Friday #19

Hello, Friends ... and welcome to Fab Friday!! It's sketch time, again!! Oh how I love me a fun sketch ... and this one IS a fun one!! AND I got a chance to use some of my new pretty paper and ribbon (I am going to be LOVING these colors for the next couple of years!!) I think that Coastal Cabana is going to be right close to the top of my list, too! This color is just sooooo lovely!!






Here is the actual sketch ... I took some liberties with the "circle" portion of this. I decided to let this peacock-sorta bird from World Treasures serve as the circle

Stamps: World Treasures, Express Yourself
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, So Saffron
Accessories: Ticket Builder Punch, Word Window Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Paper Piercing Mat/Tool, Quatrefoil Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Strawberry Slush Ruffled Ribbon, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Whisper White Bakers Twine


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
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Amy O'Neill
Marla Reed
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

Artisan Wildcard Wednesday!! - 05/29/13

This week we are doing something NEW and FUN!! KEEP READING 'cause you won't wanna miss this (it involves getting something for FREE)!!

Wasn't Sarah Sagert just plain ol' FANTABULOUS (again??) LOVE her style!!



I decided that, with my newly-painted front door, I needed to make a new wreath (the front door got a second coat of paint today, so I am still waiting for it to set AND for the weather to clear up so that the lighting is decent ... had to use an INSIDE door!)!

This was VERYVERYVERY easy to make! I tore squares of DSP that were approximately 3" square (don't worry about being exact ... I was WAY off on some of these!)! I pushed my finger down into the center of each square and pulled the sides up to form a "cup" of sorts ... then I hot-glued each square onto a foam circular wreath form ...

See?? Pretty cool, eh? This took hardly ANY time at all. Not much more than an hour!! FUN, EASY and QUICK!! My kinda project, I tell ya ... (I could've told y'all that I slaved over this for HOURS, but I decided to tell ya the truth!) The package of DSP has 12 sheets in it (two of them were clear sheets with a printed design, so I didn't use those at all) ... I tore up 10 of those sheets to use for the wreath. Didn't use ALL the pieces (and I didn't go back through and count what was left!), but I would say that this wreath takes about 10 12"x12" sheets of DSP ...

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Quatrefancy Specialty Designer Series Paper
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Foam Wreath Form, Glue Gun, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding

Now for the FUN part ... this week, for everyone who leaves a comment on this post (and on any of posts by the Artisan Design Team members who are participating in this blog hop!), you will entered in a drawing to WIN something FREE and FANTASTIC (aka "blog candy" ... either product or a handmade item from one of the Artisans! I will be giving away NEW, UNUSED product)! FOUR chances to win from me:

* LEAVE A COMMMENT below; AND/OR
* Repin THIS PIN; AND/OR
* Share THIS POST on Facebook (friend me if you can't see it!); AND/OR
* Place an online order with ME via THIS LINK

All comments, repins, shares and orders have a deadline of MIDNIGHT (MST) MAY 31!! Don't miss out!!

Check back on my blog THIS WEEKEND and I will post the winner(s)!!! I may actually pick more than ONE, so be sure to ENTER!!

Please note ... each Artisan is doing their OWN giveaway with their OWN specific rules, so be sure to read-read-read!!

Cool beans, right??? Because WHO doesn't like FREE STUFF?????

More brilliance coming your way via Amy Bollman! Check it out!!

The Big Black Hole ...

This is where I have felt I have been ... swallowed into the Big Black Hole!!! First of all, our house has needed a paint job (VERYVERYBADLY!) for many years. Painters arrived a week ago Monday and were supposed to be done by last Thursday. Due to (a) crummy weather - rain, (b) crummy weather - high winds and (c) a crummy crew chief who stopped coming to work in the middle of our job (right about the time one of the company's brand-new-$800 paint sprayers disappeared), the painters are still plugging away ...

I've also had TONS of deadlines in the past two weeks ... and it was my baby girl's birthday yesterday (ok, she's really NOT a baby since she just turned 19) ... I haven't had much time to do any "extra" crafting lately, so not only do I feel like I've been LOST in the Big Black Hole, my craft room LOOKS like one!!

This card was created for today's Free for All Challenge over on SCS. I call it "Repeat After Me..." Basically, the idea is to add more than one of at least ONE element ... get it??? Repeated elements? I kinda went a little crazy with that ... repeated butterflies, repeated staples, repeated buttons. Ta-DAA!!  Going to send this as Card #9 in my "Cards for Crayton" Challenge ...

Have LOTS of family fun planned for the weekend, as it is the Memorial Day holiday here in the States. I went with my mom to put roses on Dad's grave yesterday ... and I'm going up again today to add some lovely daisies. Oh, how I miss that man ... love you, Dad!

TTFN, Friends!

Stamps: Ciao, Baby!
Paper: Strawberry Splash, Very Vanilla, Gingham Garden DSP
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Elegant Butterfly Punch, Petite Butterfly Punch, Petitie Curly Label Punch, Not Quite Navy Taffeta Ribbon, Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Bold Brights Buttons, Staples

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 05/22/13

It's Wednesday again!! And that means the Artisans have been HARD at work once again!! Didn't you just LOVE Sarah Sagert's wonderful creativity??? She is one of those people I truly admire and respect ... that woman ALWAYS comes up with the BEST ideas!!


I've always struggled with "dude" cards (as you know!) and "plain and simple" cards. So I gave myself a challenge today to try to do BOTH!!! I had to keep asking my daughter, "Is this ok?" I always feel like I need to add more ... but, in reality, I feel like I kinda like this one, anyway!

Stamps: Amazing Family
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry DSP, Neutrals Patterned Paper
Ink: Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Antique Brad, Natural Ribbon Trim

Onward and upward ... to someone ELSE whose talent always puts me in awe ... Amy Bollman!!

Freaky Sneaky Peeky!!

This month, the Control Freaks are featuring items that were available as part of Stampin' Up's "sneak peek" into their new catalog!! Did ya SEE what Patty Bennett made???? Wonderfulness!!






I am featuring the new set called "Label Love" ... AND it has a LOVELY new punch that goes with it!! (It, happily enough, is called the "Artisan" punch ... makes me happy!)! These were samples that I just happened to make for SU's Regional event here in Salt Lake City last month (and the "tiling" technique is what I demonstrated ... I'll be showing a bit about that in a future post!)! So, here is my first card ...

Stamps:  Label Love, Blooming with Kindness
Paper:  Whisper White, Crisp Cantaloupe
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories:  Large Scallop Edgelits Die, Artisan Punch, Delicate Designers Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Simply Scored




This one was quick and easy ... and kinda dude-like. I sent it to my nephew in Spain (which makes this part of my "Cards for Crayton" challenge, too!)!

Stamps:  Label Love
Paper:  Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding, Very Vanilla, First Edition DSP
Ink:  Baked Brown Sugar, Early Espresso
Accessories:  Artisan Punch, Small Oval Punch, Simply Scored



And ... DRUMROLL ... c'mon now!! Y'all KNOW you have about INFINITY of these little mailboxes in your crafty stash!! Admit it ... you DO!! Because we ALL had to buy them out at Target when they were "new" several years back. I have SOOOO many of these that I HAD to pull one out!!

Stamps: Label Love, Rain or Shine
Paper:  Strawberry Slush, Whisper White, Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP
Ink:  Pacific Point, Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo
Accessories:  Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Old Olive Scallop Dots Ribbon, Curvy Label Punch, Artisan Punch, Pearl Basics

Next up?? The ever-amazing Connie Babbert!! She just ROCKS!!

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 05/15/13

Welcome Wednesday Wow Watchers!!! (How's THAT for alliteration???) If you've just arrived here from Sarah Sagert's blog I'll bet you are STILL smiling!! That girl NEVER ceases to amaze me!!




My card this week as a "companion" card, of sorts, to the one I posted LAST week for the Artisan Wednesday Wow Blog Hop. Last week, I focused on making a card for mothers ... this week, as turnabout it fair play, I am showcasing a card for fathers ... and bowties just make me smile (seeing as I have a son who is a dyed-in-the-wool bowtie wearer!). They make me happy ... what can I say??? It is what it is!!

Stamps:  Dapper Dad, Amazing Family
Paper: Not Quite Navey, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Parker's Patterns DSP
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy
Accessories:  Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Not Quite Navy Taffeta Ribbon, 1" Square Punch, Sewing Machine

Next stop is on Amy Bollman's blog!! More smiling to be had, I'm sure!!

Busier and Busier

It seems as if I am always running from one crazy-busy activity in life to the next ... just when I think that things are gonna "slow down" a little ... they don't ... the current crazy thing in my schedule THIS week is that our house is getting painted ... FINALLY!!

We had ivy on the front of our house for YEARS. It looked REALLY cool, but my husband was always complaining about how damaging it could be to the house. One day, without warning, he went out and pulled ALL of it off. Which would have been okay if we had actually been PLANNING on painting the house any time soon ... which we weren't ... so it left these AWFUL "vine trails" all over the front of the house ... grrrrrr!!! I think it's been about ten years or so since that happened ... starting this morning the painters will be here bright and early to get 'er done!! VERY excited!

This is a card I made for my father in law a couple of weeks ago for his 81st birthday (the man still works like a horse ... 10-12 hours a day ... and runs circles around all the rest of us!!). I've been so busy I haven't even had time to post it! Go figure ...

Happy Monday, everyone!

Stamps:  The Open Sea, Best of Birthdays
Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Sycamore Street DSP (retired)
Ink:  Basic Black, Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron
Accessories:  Large Oval Punch, Ticket Corner Punch (retired), 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Early Espresso Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Sponge

Artisan Wednesday Wow - 05/08/13

Hello, again, Artisan Wednesday Wow followers!!! How GORGEOUS was the project made by my fellow Artisan and SUPER talented friend,Sarah Sagert?? She is a-MAZ-ing!!



The stamp-y goodies we received for this month TOTALLY lend themselves to making tributes for our moms and dads. So ... this week I am showcasing a card I made for my own sweet mother for Mother's Day ... Nothing super fancy or intricate ... just a simple bunch of flowers. And because she is my mother and she loves me, she wouldn't care WHAT this card looks like ... she would love it even it were drawn with a thick black sharpie. (She has previous Mother's Day cards I have given her still displayed in her china hutch and on her dresser in her bedroom ... a fact that does NOT go unnoticed by me. It makes me happy each and every time I see them!) Yay for moms, right??

Stamps: Best of Flowers, Amazing Family
Paper: Primrose Petals, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry DSP
Ink: Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin Ribbon, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Large Pearl Basics, Sewing Machine

Next up? The ever-fantastic Amy Bollman!! She NEVER disappoints!