Happy Freakin' Birthday!

Oh how I am LOVING the snow today!! It's been coming down lightly, but steadily all day!! And if it keeps this up for about another MONTH, perhaps we will catch up with all the snow we HAVEN'T been getting all winter!! So today was PERFECT to stay in and stamp! This month the Control Freaks are celebrating birthdays!! Melissa Davies NAILED it, didn't she??

This peacock ... it has been BEGGING me to do something with it from the moment I laid eyes on it!! I'm kinda liking using my acrylic blocks to make background patterns lately ... a little Pool Party ink on this one and I went to town! I also used some of my Stampin' Blends on the peacock wing ... I think I like how it turned out!

Stamps: Beautiful Peacock, Small Acrylic Block
Paper: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Dapper Denim, Melon Mambo, Stampin' Blends
Accessories: Rhinestone Basics, Simply Scored

This is how I used to roll ALL THE TIME!!! Using a TON of stamp sets to create a $100 card!! Hahaha! (For those of you wondering, a $100 card is one that requires about $100 worth of supplies to make ... so this one has three stamp sets, an embossing folder, some thread, THREE punches, and of course ink and paper!)! Flower Shop has been a "staple" for me. I LOVE this set!

Stamps: Badges & Banners, Flower Shop, Timeless Textures
Paper: Berry Burst, Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Berry Burst, Dapper Denim
Accessories: Polka Dot Basics Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Pansy Punch, Badge Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Linen Thread

Next up???  ... lovely Deb Henderson!! She knows how to celebrate and has made some BEAUTIFUL creations! Click on the "next" button to check them out!

Monday Montage #110

It's SNOWING!!! We are watching the Olympic Games IN the house ... and it's FINALLY snowing OUTSIDE the house!! We have had maybe THREE snowstorms (most of which have been really nothing) this entire winter!! We are supposed to get at least 6 inches in my neighborhood by tomorrow! WOOOHOOOO!!! Thanks to the Monday Montage blog hoppers, I also got to STAMP in my (still) clean stamp room! I have missed having this space SOOOO much!! It's GREAT!!

I have been DYING to use this Party Pandas SAB set. And I have really struggled with WHAT to do with it that doesn't look like things I've already seen. So, in my own true use-too-many-tools style, I kept adding and adding and adding to this ... it's HARD for me to NOT to!!! I tried to make this look kind of like a bamboo tree ... not quite, but not too bad!

Supplies: Party Pandas
Paper: Basic Black, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Old Olive
Ink:  Basic Black, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: May Flowers Thinlits Dies, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies, Bitty Banner Punch (retired), Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing gFolder, Burlap Ribbon

I didn't realize until Saturday evening that I actually have tomorrow OFF!! (It's President's Day!)! Since we are self employed, we don't get a lot of holiday time ... but there is some sorta schedule, and I ALWAYS forget that President's Day is one weird day that we DO take off!!! So YAY for THAT!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... they are always better-better-BEST!!

Fab Friday #131

'Kay wait ... my body and mind have absolutely NO idea what time of year it is!!! We have had the most crazy and unseasonably temperate (aka dare I say WARM) winter all season. And then BAM!!! The last few days have been FA-REEEZ-ING!! Like HURT MY EYEBALLS cold!! I hope I don't end up getting sick now that my body temperature has been on such a roller coaster! At least I have been able to enjoy stamping in my nice CLEAN room!! I'm still pretty giddy about it!! So without further adieu, Welcome to Fab Friday!

During The Great CleanUp, I found my Smoky Slate Gingham Ribbon!!! YAY!!! So I HAD to, of course, use some of it!! So here it is ...

Stamps: Colorful Season
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Melon Mambo
Accessories: Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Smoky Slate Gingham Ribbon, Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies, Ovals Collection Framelits Dies, Pinewood Planks Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

I'm quite sure I kinda "over-embellished" myself ... but I think I still am close enough to the sketch, don't 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

I think I shall crank up my electric blanket, put on my favorite pair of sweats and just concentrate on the Olympics for the next few days. How does that sound??? I think it sounds PERFECT!!

Monday Montage #109

Oh man ... I can't TELL ya how much fun it is to be back in my crafty space again!!! And it's CLEAN!!! And I can FIND things!!! And I'm not crafting on the floor or on the coffee table in my basement. HALLELUJAH!!! I'm enjoying this SOOOOO much!!! I finished this card for our Monday Montage team ... and my room is STILL clean (I actually put things away as I was going along!)! What is UP with THAT???? I hope it lasts!!

As I stamped (during the Super Bowl), it was so fun to listen to my boys all enjoying the Super Bowl together (I kept running over to check the commercials ... AND to watch JT do the halftime show!)! Isn't having family around the GREATEST???

Now that I know where all my stuffs are, I am AMAZED at the stamps/diecuts/punches I have that I kinda forgot about (and how many I have that I haven't ever even used!)!!! That's what brought this card about ... think I've only used this set ONCE!

What's not to love about a teeny tiny umbrella???

Supplies: Weather Together, Timeless Textures
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Powder Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Powder Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Sky, Pool Party
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Umbrella Weather Framelits,Rhinestone Basics Jewels, Corner Rounder Punch (retired)

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... I think I wanna be them when I grow up!!

Fab Friday #130

I believe I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!! Yes, I do!!! They don't always come as quickly as we would like them to, but they DO come!!! I made this little card in my FINALLY clean craft room. It has been SUPER disheveled (aka DISASTER) for over a year since we had a flood in our basement ... aka there was water coming out of HUGE holes in my ceiling and raining down on my craft room floor!! The mess was soooo big an so deep and so tall, I could not pick it up, there was no way at all!!

And then I got to make the most STRESS-FREE creation that I have had the chance to create in many a moon (like, over a year1)! It was FUN!!! It was liberating ... it was DIVINE!!!

Found a stamp set I didn't even realize I had purchased ... so I went to town with it!

Stamps: Tranquil Tulips, Beautiful Peacock
Paper: Powder Pink, Berry Blast (Yeah, yeah, yeah ... I used the WRONG "pink"), Sweet Sugarplum
Ink: Powder Pink, Berry Blast, Sweet Sugarplum, Garden Green
Accessories: 1/8" White Grosgrain (retired from last year's Valentine's suite), Flourishes Thinlits Dies, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Classic Label Punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Corner Rounder Punch (retired), Softly Falling Textured Impression Embossing Punch

OOooooo-laaaa-laaaa!!! I feel hearts and flowers and all sorts of sweetness coming from this combo!!






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

And just so y'all can SEE for YOURSELVES ...THIS is the "before and after" shots of my crafty space ... and the before is actually not as bad as it WAS when it had the holes ripped into the ceiling!!! SOOOOO very happy to have that behind me!!

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!