Fab Friday #97

Wonder of WONDERS!!!!! My craft room is CLEAN (more or less!)!! So I have actually been able to working on some sewing projects (my Halloween costume!) and some cards (as in THIS one!!)!! Happy Fab Friday, Peeps!!!

This cable knit embossing folder, though ... SERIOUSLY????? It is A-MAZ-ING!!!

Stamps: Botanical Builders, Labler Alphabet
Paper: Soft Suede, Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzazz, Sweet Sugarplum, Peekaboo Peach, So Saffron, Halloween Night Specialty DSP
Ink: Perfect Plum, Emerald Envy, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake Soft Suede
Accessories: Cable Knit Dynamic Textured Expressions Embossing Folder, Botanical Builders Framelits, Tags & Labels Framelits, 2 1/2 Circle Punch, Sewing Machine

GREAT sketch!!!  LOTS of possibilities!!











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
Amy Koenders
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Jan Tinklenberg

Since I have finished my Halloween costume (and I am SO beyond excited about it!), I plan on spending this weekend getting ALL my fall and Halloween decorations up inside/outside my house!!! It's my FAVE!!! Can't WAIT!!

Cleanin' Up

Ok ... I'm going to totally come clean. My craft room has been an absolute DISASTER since about April. NOT kidding. Which is why I haven't done a ton of stamping. I was so wrapped up in training for the Great Wall Marathon ... and then traveling to China and DOING the Great Wall Marathon ... and then getting back into the swing of things once I got back. I just haven't been "feeling it". I stamped this card today for FUN. I actually "borrowed" the stamps and dies to make this from one of my bestest customers (her order was sitting here unused ... it NEEDED some attention!).

Stamps: Thoughtful Branches
Paper: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Peekaboo Peach, Pumpkin Pie, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Beautiful Branches Thinlits Dies, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Baker's Twine Trio Pack, Pearl Basics

Soooooo ... last week one of my friends asked if I'd do a card class with her and some of her friends. Of course I said yes. BUT this meant that I HAD to finally take a backhoe and forklift into my craft room and see if I could find any flat surfaces. After spending the better part of last Friday cleaning-cleaning-cleaning and then having the friends over to stamp, I FINALLY had a clean craft space. Something I hadn't had for MONTHS!! And I felt that I could FINALLY have people over and invite them down to my basement (which is where my craft room is ... on the opposite end of our family room). Fast forward to this week ... hubby gets a bee in his bonnet and decides that son #2 (who has been living with us since January) needed to be moved into the former room of son #1 (who hasn't actually lived here since 2007) because it had more wall space and a bunch of built in shelves for storage. And with that, hubby spent two days boxing up all the things that are still here that belong to son #1 and helping son #2 move into the former room of son #1. Still with me??? Subsequently, my basement was clean for a grand total of THREE days. The net result??? My basement is a TOTAL DISASTER (again! but now WORSE!!). Boxes, piles of boxes, piles of clothes, piles of paper. My hubby's "answer" to this is that we can "pick through the boxes" a little here and there for the next few months until it's all sorted out (with the help, of course, from both sons #1 and #2). AREYOUFREAKINKIDDINGME???? I'm supposed to leave my basement in utter upheaval for the next few months through the holidays???? Ummm .... no ... not gonna happen. I need some order in my life!!! SHEESH!!! So I need to get my boys in gear and get the mess cleaned up!! Sigh ...

At least I can stamp in my CLEAN half of the basement (otherwise known as my craft space!!).

Happy Fall, Y'all ... Freaky Style!!

Happy Control Freak Blog Tour Day!! I had to take a break from cleaning my bedroom and TOTALLY reorganizing my closet (it was SO hard to break away, I tell ya) to sit down and play with some stamps! If you've been hopping around, you just came from the amazing Julie Davison!!! Weren't her projects FABULOUS??!??

Oh Halloween ... how I LOVE thee!!! I'm quite certain I am NOT ready for the "holiday season" ... but I AM ready to put up my Halloween decorations!!! My FAVE!!! And what says "Happy Halloween" more than a Mason jar full of floating eyeballs???

Stamps: Jar of Haunts
Paper: Basic Black, Old Olive, Halloween Night Specialty DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive, Real Red (marker)
Accessories: Halloween Night Baker's Twine, Everyday Jars Framelits, Silver Sequin Trim, Halloween Night Designer Washi Tape, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

Ok ... I know that Floral Phrases is NOT a fall stamp set. However, I DO have a wedding to go to during October, and this set was just calling to me!!! The images in this set are SO gorgeous!!! Hmmm ... Maybe I'll have to try one in CHRISTMAS colors!!! But NOT YET!!

Stamps: Floral Phrases
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Baker's Twine Trio Pack, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Delicate White Doilies, Pearl Basics

I was all mentally geared up to go for a run this evening after I finished typing up this post. And for some reason today has been TORTUOUSLY HOT!!! Not sure I'm gonna want to face it ... I guess I'll have to get up early and go in the morning!!

Next up??? The super-clever Connie Babbert!!! More things to make your fall a happier place!!

Monday Montage #78

Welcome to another round of Monday Montage fun-ness!!! I was able to have some of my stampy friends over on Friday to make some cards. This is one of the ones we made (it's actually a case of a card a made a while back ... changed up the color scheme and the orientation). It was SO much fun having friends over to stamp with as I haven't done it for a while!!

Monochrome ... I seem to be drawn to this a lot lately. I spent Saturday being sore from going to the gym (started in on weight training again) ... but that was my legs. TODAY I am sore in the shoulders. I guess that means I did something RIGHT, right????

Stamps: Flourising Phrases
Paper: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Flourish Thinlits, Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits, Blushing Bride Sequin Trim

I'm going back to the gym in the morning (I have a dear friend/neighbor who has convinced me that getting up at 4:30am is a good idea so that we can get the gym thing DONE!)!!! I'm not so sure I agree just yet ...

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... their creations NEVER disappoint.

Fab Friday #96

No ... I did NOT fall off the planet ... I did NOT get eaten by a troll ... I did NOT quit blogging!!! Sheesh!! I really need to clean my craft room so that it will be easier and MORE FUN to create things!! Welcome to another edition of Fab Friday! We are on challenge #96 ... hard to believe we are this close to 100!!

I am feeling a bit of fall in the air. I am having THE hardest time letting go of summer. But, I do have to admit, that the smells and sights of fall are beginning to take over my brain. This card was a SUPER DUPER challenge for me. I really struggled with this color combo (which is why we call this a CHALLENGE, right???). In the end, I kinda like what I came up with, and had a chance to ink these pretty feathers for the first time!!

Stamps: Feather Together
Paper: Very Vanilla, Emerald Envy, Delightful Dijon
Ink: Emerald Envy, Delightful Dijon
Accessories: Gold Sequin Trim (SERIOUSLY??? This is the ONLY thing I used besides the stamp set and cardstock!!)

I challenge YOU!!!











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
Amy Koenders
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Jan Tinklenberg

Now I HAVE to go clean my craft room ... have friends coming over this evening to stamp, so I gotta hustle!! Have an AMAZING weekend!!

Monday Montage #77

Happy Labor Day weekend (to all my friends in the US) ... and HAPPY MONDAY MONTAGE to all the rest of you!! It's been a gorgeous weekend ... the temps have cooled down a bit, got to go for a lovely drive in the canyon with a good friend, and spent some time doing some shopping up at an annual event called Swiss Days (up Big Cottonwood Canyon in a little town called Midway).

I'm sharing this card even though it's not "all SU". I made this for a very dear friend of mine. She lost her sweet fur baby, Toby, who had been her friend for more than 14 years. It was SO sad. And I wanted a card appropriate for the occasion.

Stamps: Hot Diggity (retired)
Paper: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Paw Print Digital File from Silhouette, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (retired), Small Heart Punch (retired), Owl Builder Bunch, Word Window Punch (retired)

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... beautiful, creative and amazing inside and out!!

Fab Friday #95

Friday ... it's Friday ... it's FAB FRIDAY!!! I swear I have spent SO MUCH TIME in my car in the last couple of weeks! I thought it was hard being the "Taxi Mom" when my kids were little. It seems that was NOTHING compared to all the running around that I do now that I have three 20-somethings. Ok ... to be fair it's ONE of my 20-somethings who has me hoppin' like a frog on a hot rock!! But I'll get back to that in a minute!

It is barely September. I am NOT ready to do ANYthing remotely Christmas-y ... and I seriously mean that!! I was attempting to make a "fall" card ... and I kept pulling out this new "Christmas Pines" set. I am just choosing to pretend that this DOES work as a fall card. So there ...

Stamps: Christmas Pines, Gorgeous Grunge, Sprinkles of Life (sentiment)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Garden Green, Crumb Cake
Ink: Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Burlap Ribbon, Venetian Lace Trim (retired), Pearl Basics, Linen Thread

Another fun layout, right???











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
Amy Koenders
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Jan Tinklenberg

I've put SO many miles on my car the past month. When you have a college student offspring who is trying to move ALL their stuff to a NEW apartment (which took several weeks and about 100 trips in the car to find!) ... and who is also trying to figure out school (transfers and such) AND trying to find a new job AND finish a two-week course for something (it's a long story) ... anyway, all this adds up to me ... in the car ... all the time!! I seriously need a nap!!