Fab Friday #76

Contrary to popular belief, I did NOT die, get kidnapped by a band of gypsies, run off and join the circus or go into the Witness Protection Program ... I am ALIVE AND WELL!!! I knew before the month of October started that I was going to have a hard time trying to get ANYthing done because I had SO many things on my calendar!!! Happy to report that I have come out on the other side relatively unscathed and happy! Today is our annual Halloween Carnival at the neighborhood elementary school ... something I ALWAYS look forward to (even though by tonight I will be exhausted and STILL happy!). Lots of work, but MUCH fun!

Fab Friday is upon us ... and since I have made quite practically NOTHING for Halloween, I was happy to be able to put some stamps and ink together for today's challenge and bring out a little bit of spooky at the same time!

Stamps: Among the Branches
Paper: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Typeset Specialty DSP (fringy bits leftover from my Witching Decor Kit - the witch hat one!)
Ink: Tangelo Twist
Accessories: Rhinestone Basics (colored with black Sharpie), Bitty Bat Punch (retired ... admit it ... y'all have one of these and vow NEVER to sell it!), Circles Collection Framelits, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Sewing Machine

Nice and simple sketch ... which gives you a LOT of room to "interpret" and PLAY!










Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

Off to the races!!! My day will be full of cakes (for the cake walk), pumpkins (for the pumpkin carving contest), costumes, kids, games, music, food, laughter and FUN! Whew!!! I'm wiped out just THINKING about it! Let the good times ROLL!

Monday Montage #54

So ... here I am ... AGAIN ... working on some digital stuff!!! I am STILL keeping the home fires burning at my cousin's house (which I will be doing until Tuesday). I honestly do not know HOW single mamas do it!!! I know that when my kids were little that I was the one who did most of the things with them and took them hither and yon for lessons and play dates and activities and what-not ... but I also know that I was SO grateful that my husband was home at the end of the day and I could get him to take over while I went and sat in a coma somewhere to unwind!!! I think that I have been riding the train through Crazy Town all dang week! Sheesh ... but I digress ...

I created this layout using MDS (which, I know, is retired!) ... however, I DID use the download called "2015 Seasonal Snapshot" which also mirrors the "tactile" version that you can actually buy from Stampin' Up (I'm getting pretty hooked on the Project Life stuff!)! I cheated and added a couple of old "retired" embellishments from MDS ... couldn't help myself!

My son and I did a hike up to the top of Squaw Peak in September ... it was a LOT of steep uphill kinda stuff, but the views were A-MAZ-ING, the company was great (thanks, Devan!), and it kinda smelled like magic (LOVE the way everything smells as the seasons start to change).

Stamps:  NONE
Paper: 2015 Season Snapshot (digital)
Ink:  NONE
Accessories:  MDS files - Season of Style Washi Tape (retired), Warm Weather Woodcuts (retired)

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... these ladies got it goin' ON!!!

Fab Friday #75

My brain has apparently taken a vacation!!!! I am currently in Florida (hence, the reason my brain goes all dumb!) ... I got to do the whole Disney World thing last weekend (ohmygosh! what a RIOT!)! I am now busy taking care of my cousin's absolutely ADORABLY adorable littles (they are 7, 5 and 1 1/2). In the flurry of activity I ran through trying to get myself together, I kinda totally SPACED the fact that I had Fab Friday today!!!

Happy for me that I have the most FABULOUS Project Life App on my phone!!! And ALSO lucky for me I have Stampin' Up's "Let's Get Away" Project Life kit on my Project Life App!!! How AWESOME is THAT??!!??

I realize that this is super duper simple and easy ... but that's one of the super GREAT things about this app ... it brings the best of so many worlds together!!! Stampin' Up has some of the most fantastic Project Life Kits ... I actually own this kit in the "hand's on" version, so I could actually recreate this in "tactile" mode!!! Cool, right???

Stamps: None
Paper: None
Ink: None
Accessories: Project Life "Let's Get Away" Kit (in digital form used with the Project Life App for iPhone)

True Confessions Time ... I actually "cheated" just a tiny bit on this (aside from the fact that I went digital)! The "Tangelo Twist" color in my layout is actually Tangerine Tango ... SOOOOO close!





Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

I will be in Florida for a few more days ... it is SO hot here!! The humidity is doing WEIRD things to my running ... I am running MUCH faster than usual (not a humidity thing, but I am SURE it is an elevation thing!), but my distance is WAY off!!! I can't run very far because it is SO hot (by the time I get the kids up and dropped off for school!)!!! Sigh ... you can't have everything ...

I've Fallen in a Rut and I Can't Get UP!!!

In a rut, in a rut, in a rut-rut-rut! For the first time in MONTHS my craft room has been clean for more than a day or two ... which makes it INFINITELY much more fun to go and spend some time creating! However, each time I go to make something, it seems I end up crafting down the same path ... and everything I make ends up looking like everything else I make!!!! I really need to get out more ...

I made this card as my sample for today's Free for All Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers (aka SCS). I called the challenge "50 Shades of ... Purple!" I love purple ... a LOT!! And I especially love how it can be adapted to create for ANY season during the year ... purple ALWAYS looks good!!

Stamps: Vintage Leaves, Writing Notes, Happy Scenes, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Very Vanilla Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Leaflets Framelits Dies, Mini Treat Bag Framelits, Washi Punch, Gold Sequin Trim, Linen Thread, White Perfect Accents (colored with gold Sharpie)

Believe it or not, I am leavin' on a jet plane later today ... I'm headed to ... wait for it ... FLORIDA!!! By MYSELF!!! I'm actually going to be little-one sitting for my cousins ... and they just so happen to live just a few short miles from ... wait for it ... DISNEYWORLD!! I am leaving a little early so that I can spend a couple of days running around in circles like a crazy person ... but I am SO excited!!! Pictures to follow for SURE!!

Have a splendid weekend!!! (Isn't splendid such a GOOD word???)

Monday Montage #53

October ... fall ... the sights, the smells, the decorations!!! Happy to report that my Halloween decor is FINALLY all up!! I spent the better part of last Saturday making some fun things with my daughter to hang in HER college abode it makes my heart happy to know that she is as excited about Halloween as I am (and that I have trained her properly!)! The Monday Montage girls are at it again ... and I'm excited to share with you what I made!

For some reason I have had the HARDEST time shifting seasons with my body and brain this year ... I'm still clinging onto Summer with the tips of my fingernails! However, after my run on Saturday through the canyon (which smelled AMAZING, by the way), I think I am starting to let the change happen. So I actually stamped a very "fall"-looking card ...

Stamps: Kinda Eclectic, Six-Sided Sampler (sentiment)
Paper: Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist, Very Vanilla
Ink: Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey
Accessories: White Jute Ribbon (sponged with Hello Honey), Chalk Talk Framelits, Washi Punch, Into the Woods Elements, Linen Thread

Before I know it the month of October will be OVER ... I have MANY adventures planned, so I know that it's going to be QUICK!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... so much creativity and inspiration from BOTH of them!!

Fab Friday #74

Well, dang!!! I spent the better part of yesterday spookin' the halls at my house (I make a BIG deal out of decorating for Halloween ... lights outside, big spiderweb, more lights, 4-foot Frankie on the porch!) ... and it's been RAINING nearly ALL NIGHT!!! Good thing I have me some Fab Friday creativity to look forward to (the Team is just FABulous!!)!!

There are SO MANY sunflowers out and about at the moment ... all over my neighborhood, in the canyon where I run ... they are just so very HAPPY!!! So that was the inspiration for this card for this week's Fab Friday Stampin' Challenge. The sketch this week is AWESOME ... and I got a little carried away (that seems to be a thing with me!)!

Stamps: Endless Thanks
Paper: Soft Suede, Basic Black, Delightful Dijon, Very Vanilla, Vellum, Happy Haunting DSP
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Fun Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Pansy Punch, Petite Petals Punch, 1/2" Punch, Washi Punch, Linen Thread, Burlap Ribbon, Sewing Machine

I couldn't stop with just one flower! And even though ya hafta "fussy cut it", the little embossed "Fun Frame" Textured Impressions folder is so dang cute! Now if I could just get over my obsession with the Burlap Ribbon ...








Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

Hope to have a nice, fun and crafty weekend with my daughter ... she's coming down from school and we're going to make some Halloween decor for her cute little house (she's SO excited to be able to decorate this year ... and is even looking forward to trick-or-treaters ... DEFINITE perk to renting a house instead of an apartment!)!!

Spookin' the Halls ...

Was home from work a couple of days ago and had a VERY long list of "to-do's" I had hoped to accomplish. But then, alas, I got sucked in to the BLACK HOLE (aka Pinterest)! So very MUCH fall/Halloween cuteness and creativity I thought I would weep ... but instead I got crafty!! And it was FUN!!

True confession ... my fireplace is one of my favorite things in my whole house. It's GORGEOUS!! And it looks AWESOME decorated for the holidays ... I mean, really??? How could it NOT??? Initially, I had the idea I was going to create just a burlap garland ... and perhaps "sprinkle" it with a few fall-colored leaves (happy for me I had some "leftovers" from my Spooky Witch Halloween Hat class!).  But, as you can see, I did a bit more than that!  I strung the leaves (which can be easily cut out using the Leaflets Framelits Dies and then embossed with the Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing folder) on some Linen Thread ... and used some wooden beads I had bought a couple years back to make a fall garland that NEVER HAPPENED!! GO ME!!

First, I made this burlap garland (thanks to my friend Ali who happened to have a HUGE spool (we're talkin' Costco-sized here, people!) of burlap ribbon left over from things she had bought to decorate for her daughter's wedding reception last June.  FIFTY WHOLE YARDS of it!!! And I used every last INCH!!  This was SO easy!!  I used some twine and an upholstery needle ... ran the twine right down the middle of the ribbon in a long running stitch and then just pulled the ribbon up tight!!! It just gathered beautifully!!!  Nice part is that I will be able to use this for MANY different holidays!!

I found this cute little chalkboard disc "garland" at one of my favorite fun places to shop ("All That Stuff in the Barn" in Midway, Utah). A couple of weekends ago I had a "sleepover" with some of my girlfriend's up above Heber in the beautiful hills! GREAT time! GREAT food! GREAT shopping! LOTS of laughing ... I cut some rather large letters out with my Silhouette, then I laid the negative cut of the letters down on the chalkboard disks and just filled them in with chalk!!! (Not gonna lie, took me a while to come up with a 7-letter word that was appropriate for Halloween!)! Bonus???? When we switch to November, I can just erase the letters and do something little more "Thanksgiving" appropriate ... 7 letters ... I need to start thinking about THAT one NOW!

I pulled out an "oldie but a goodie" for this little banner (translate ... it is RETIRED!). I also pulled out anything from my patterned paper stash that looked like "fall" to me ... I also used some FABULOUS Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon from a few years back (this project REALLY helped me use up some of my hoarded stash!)! I sewed the ribbon to the banner pieces I had cut out to make the garland ... SUPER easy!

Paper:Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze, Tangelo Twist, Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss, Cherry Cobbler, Happy Haunting DSP, Color Me Autumn DSP (retired), Motley Monsters DSP (retired)
Accessories:Perfect Pennants Bigz Die (retired), Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon (retired), Leaflets Framelits Dies, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Linen Thread, Wood Beads, Chalk and Chalkboard Garland, Burlap Ribbon, Sewing Machine

I went to ComicCon with my daughter and her friend last week ... SERIOUSLY???? Oh.My.WORD!!! We had SO MUCH FUN!!! I love to dress up anyway, so this gave me an excuse (don't judge). Han Solo in carbonite? Yeah ... HAD to have our picture taken with THAT!!! I was proud of the fact that I made all THREE of the costumes we are wearing (for those who are out of the loop, I am "Sally" from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" ... my daughter is "Little Sister" from a video game called "BioShock" ... and her friend, Quinn, is Mal Reynolds from Firefly (to be totally fair, I only made his coat ... and I got the suede for $1.99/yd which makes this even MORE cool!!)!

And ... well ... Iron Man ... and War Machine ... and me in a Captain America shirt ... can't think of how it gets much better than THIS?? GOOD TIMES!