Fab Friday #32

Welcome to Fab Friday on this Black Friday!! Hopefully, y'all have done all of your shopping ... and after a NAP you can play along with this week's challenge!!

I had a TOTALLY different idea in mind when I started this card ... and in the end it turned into something SUPER simple. It was actually MUCH more complex in my head. I always seem to struggle with "simple" ... so this card kinda made me happy!

Stamps: Snow Day
Paper: Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White
Ink: Gumball Green, Real Red
Accessories: Northern Flurry Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Coastal Cabana Ruffled Ribbon, Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon, Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Rhinestone Basics, Season of Style Washi Tape, MDS (Old St. Nick - sled)

Here's the actual color palette we are playing with this week ...









And ... 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

Have a happy weekend, my friends!!

A Day of Thanks ...

So ... as we are doing the busy-hustle-and-bustle get ready for the annual Thanksgiving Day Feast (at least here in the U S of A), I'm taking a quick "timeout" to come and wish a very happy day to you all ... and tell you how grateful I am for you and the kind comments and support that have been shared with me since I started this blog waaaayyy back in the day!! You have shared so much with me ... ranging from nice comments about things I have created, to prayers and support for me and my family when we have faced difficult times ... AND you have laughed with (AT??) me when I have told ridiculous stories about my life adventures ... you are all the BEST!!

I am sharing a card with you today that I made for my friend and her family. One of our Stampin' Up "family" members, Kimberly Van Diepen, has been at her husband's hospital bedside for over a week since he had some VERY unexpected strokes!! We have all been praying for the Van Diepen's and sending hugs their way ... I KNOW that this is so helpful to those on the receiving end, because I have been there myself (and y'all were there!!)!!! Isn't that what paper crafting and card making are about? To do something you love and share it with others in some form or another? Makes me happy!!

Stamps:  Off the Grid, Chalk Talk, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry
Accessories:  Chalk Talk Framelits, Season of Style Washi Tape, Gingham Garden Washi Tape, Burlap Ribbon, Essentials Hardware, Linen Thread, eCutter (Cricut)
MDS: Feathered Woodcuts

Have a WONDERFUL day, wherever you may be!!

A Joyful Weekend of Wreaths

Ohhhh what fun!!! Seriously!!! On Saturday I had some of my friends and family join me for a holiday wreath-making class. We had the BEST time!!! A VERY SPECIAL "shout out" and "THANKS" to my BFF, Bree Renwick (check out HER wreath making class blog post HERE!)!! If it hadn't been for HER, this class would NEVER have happened!! Thanks to lots of encouragement (AND some lovely photos she had already taken of her own gorgeous COMPLETED wreaths!), I was able to pull a class together ... and boy, am I glad I did!!! I made this wreath AFTER everyone went home for the evening ... well, I started it, anyway!! I got up early Sunday morning to finish it off!! Also, another big THANKS to our fabulous friend, Alanna Wharf ... it was because of HER lovely wreaths HERE that EITHER of us even got started on this to begin with!!

I realize many of you have probably already seen these wreaths floating around the web-o-sphere ... they are SUPER DUPER cute!! AND they are pretty darn easy to make as well (which is what made doing them with a crowd SO much fun!)!!!

I didn't get an actual "close-up" photo of the finished "Winter Frost" wreaths (which were all Bree and Alanna's idea!) ... but here is a picture of my darling little cousin, Skye ... she is a WIZARD with some adhesive!!!

Finally, I did a scrapbook page in MDS (My Digital Studio) to remember the event ... lots of laughing, some Christmas movies, good stories, delicious goodies and LOTS of hugs!!! I need to do something like this again SOON!! AND we skyped with Bree's group while they were doing their class at the SAME TIME up by Walla Walla, Washington. I am REALLY bummed that I forgot to take a screen shot of our Skype conversation ... it was so much fun seeing everyone (and, let's face it ... with ALL those women visiting and laughing at BOTH locations, it was a bit noisy!!)!! LOVED it all!!

Season of Style Wreath
Stamps: Festive Flurry
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Paper: Season of Style DSP, Gold Foil
Accessories: Festive Flurry Framelits Die, Gift Bow Bigz Die, 12" Foam Wreath, Pearl Basics, Gold Pen, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Bone Folder

Winter Frost Wreath
Stamps: NONE
Ink: Coastal Cabana
Paper: Winter Frost DSP
Accessories: Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die, Gift Bow Bigz Die, Frosted Finished Embellishments, Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, 12" Foam Wreath, Bone Folder

Freakin' Jolly Holiday!!

Welcome to the Control Freaks Blog Tour!!
This month the Control Freaks are celebrating Christmas in STYLE!! If you just come from the EVER-amazing Dawn Olchefske!! LOVED the little bit of bling she added to BOTH of her projects!!

BOTH of my creations are a "Holly Jolly" Christmas cards! (Didn't realize they BOTH said that until AFTER I had created them!! I love the old-time-y feel of the Naturals Composition DSP music sheet behind this one. I created the "banner" using MDS (because if I can't find what I need in my stamp cupboard, I SURELY can in my MDS library!)!

Stamps:  None!
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Natural Composition DSP, Red Glimmer DSP
Ink:  None!
Accessories:  1 3/8" Square Punch, Burlap Ribbon, Little Leaves Sizzlets Die, Itty Bitty Circle Punch, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine
MDS: Bright Christmas II (Holly Jolly Christmas)

Next up, a little bit of the same kinda color combo ... a little more "Holly Jolly" ... but with a little bit of red glimmery paper!! I'm started to actually get EXCITED about the upcoming holiday season, aren't you????

Stamps:  Tags 4 You, Notable Notions
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Red Glimmer DSP
Ink:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories:  Festive Flurry Framelits Die, Chalk Talk Framelits Die, Linen Thread, Victoria Lace Trim Ribbon, Pearl Basics, Northern Flurry Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Next up? My BFF, Jan!! Her cards are GOJUS!!!

Monday Montage #7

Woot! Woot!! It's time for another Monday Montage!! I'm grateful on so many levels ... but mostly because I found this card that I never posted that I made when I did a presentation at Stampin' Up Regionals here in Salt Lake last April!! I didn't get to make something "new" because ...

... I have food poisoning!! Or some other such monster ... and it's been makin' me MISERABLE all stinkin' day!! I'll probably live ... probably ... but am VERY glad I had SOMEthing I hadn't posted yet that I could share with all y'all ...

Stamps: Label Love
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Pumpkin Pie, Brights Designer Series Paper Pack
Ink:  Basic Black, Coastal Cabana
Accessories:  1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Owl Builder Punch (for small black dot in eye), Bitty Circle Punch, In Color Boutique Details, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Artisan Label Punch, 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Simply Scored, Sponge

Click on the "back" button below to see Kaitlyn Zumbach's happy creation ... on the "next" button to see Amy O'Neill's brilliance!

Fab Friday #31

"The hillllllssss are aliiiiiive, with the sound of muuuuuusic!" Okay ... sorry about that!! I couldn't help myself!!! I just felt like singing while I was making this card for Fab Friday this week ... and I guess I haven't been able to shake that urge!!

Here is the sketch we were working with this week. I LOVE to see what different people do with the same starting point ... which is why I love me a good sketch or color challenge (or ANY place that gives you something to work with when you start!) Sometimes just a little motivation is all we need to help spark our creativity, right???

Stamps: Timeless Talk, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Modern Medley DSP
Ink:  Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories:  Chalk Talk Framelets, Hexagon Punch, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Edge Grosgrain Ribbon, Regals Candy Dots, Hung Up Cute Clips, Sewing Machine

And ... 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

Have an AMAZING weekend!!

A Little Romance ...

Happy Wednesday!! I was looking back though some of my photos and came across this ... it was one of my Convention Display Board samples and I FORGOT to ever post it!!! YIKES!!

I made this card with things from the "Venetian Romance" suite. There is almost NO stamping (just the focal image). The rest of this is just designer series paper ... isn't it LUVerly????

I started my online Body Pump fitness challenge on Monday ... isn't it FUN when we discover entire GROUPS of muscles that we forGOT we even OWNED??? SERIOUSLY??? My deltoids are hurting when I RUN??? What is up with THAT??? Everything is apparently connected to everything else ... it's GOOD pain, though, RIGHT???? Sheesh!!

Stamps: Lovely Romance
Paper: Soft Suede, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Venetian Romance DSP
Ink:  Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Ovals Framelits Dies, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Pearl Basics, Very Vanilla Seam Binding

LOVING this beautiful fall weather we are having here in Utah ... the trees are still hanging on to some of the lovely leaves ... although I noticed on my run this morning that many of the trees were already totally bare ... sigh ... Ol' Man Winter is on his way!

Jolly Holiday Wreath Class

Who's with me??? I've seen SOOOO many of these wreaths made this year ... aren't they DARLING???? Who wants to come and play???

Hope to see some of ya there!!

Hugs!!

FOILED Again!!

Oooooo!!! Aaaaahhhhh!! I have been LOVING the foil sheets that Stampin' Up has in their Holiday Catalog!!! SHINY!!! PRETTY!! FUN!!!

I made this card for the most recent Control Freaks card swap (many of you may not know this, but we started out YEARS ago as a swap club ... still going strong!! The Blog Tour is just a fun "side" thing we do!)! The Expressions Thinlits dies are also a new fave of mine ... LOVE 'em!! I also used this as a sample for today's Free for All Challenge over on Splitcoast.

Stamps: Wishing You
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Gold Foil, Season of Style DSP
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Chalk Talk Framelits, Expressions Thinlits, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Designer Label Punch, Stylish Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Season of Style Washi Tape, Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Edge Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Basics

As many of you may know, I've been seriously getting in to running this past year (and falling ... down manholes ... but that's a whole DIFFERENT story!)!! I am starting to train for a half marathon (I have clear until next summer, actually, but I am hoping to be ready enough that I can do at least ONE before then!)! This Monday I am also starting a weight lifting/toning challenge with a group of people online (yeah-yeah-yeah ... a lot of my friends DO live in my computer!)! I expect to be VERY sore over the next several weeks ... hopefully I will be able to lift my arms up to the keyboard so that I can at least continue blogging ... and STAMPING!! OHMYGOSH!! I also hope to be able to lift my hands up to my craft table!! YIKES!!!

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!!

Monday Montage #6

Welcome to another Monday Montage!! I guess 'tis the season because it SNOWED today!! It didn't really stick much in our neighborhood, but it really did look pretty coming down on top of the fall leaves. It kinda got me feeling all holiday-ish ... and I WILL admit that I started listening to Christmas music on November 1 (ok ... haters don't be hatin' ... I really LOVE my collection of Christmas music and 30 days just isn't enough time to really enjoy it for me!!)!

Which brings me to my project ... I've wanted to make some Christmas-y letters for quite some time. I had the opportunity to work in the Stampin' Up booth at the Pinners Conference last weekend. One of the OTHER booths had some really FUN wood things to alter, and these letters just happened to be amongst them ... 'nuf said!! The only SAD part is that when I went to take a photo the battery for my GOOD camera was TOAST ... so this pic was taken with my phone (UGH!!)! I will repost a better one as soon as the battery charges a bit more ...

I started by tracing the letters on to the patterned papers I had chosen. Then, I painted the letters a lovely Early Espresso-ish kind of color. The rest was easy ... once the paper was adhered to the letters (after they had dried, of course), I sanded the edges of the paper so that they would be flush with the wood. Add a little bit of bling and ribbon, and VOILA!! Easy cheesy!!

Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Whisper White, Season of Style DSP, Red Glimmer Paper
Ink: NONE!
Accessories: Burlap Ribbon, Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon, Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler 1" Stitched Edge Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Basics, Naturals Buttons, Linen Thread

Hit the "Next" button to check out what Amy O'Neill has come up with, or the "Back" button to check in on Melissa Stout!

Fab Friday #30

Ooooooo! Look at ALL the pretty colors!! I love me a purdi-fied color challenge, and this one is it!

I played with the Woodcut Feathers in MDS and printed me out some feathers for my creation ... and I'm getting excited about them. Think I'm gonna have my eCutter make the next batch, instead of printing them out and cutting them myself!

Stamps: Off the Grid, Gorgeous Grunge, Another Thank You, En Francais
Paper:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Linen Thread, Designer Natural Button, Label Bracket Punch
MDS: Feathered Woodcuts

Here's a little graphic of the pretty colors we are working with this week ...







And ... 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

Happy Fall Y'all!!!