TGIF #400 - Product Challenge

Let's play! This week's TGIF Challenge is a Product Spotlight ... we each picked something we wanted to showcase and ran with it!

Soooooo ... I have been working on my Christmas cards for-EV-ER! The past two weeks have been pretty intense with holiday prep going on left and right! Lucky for me I had some parts leftover from making the Christmas cards, so I just used them!

I used the Tree Lot Dies to make this lovely little forest scene! A couple of the "snow" layers served as a mask so that I could create the background by sponging over them with some Evening Evergreen ink. 

See how fun?? I also used a strip of Evening Evergreen embossed with the Whimsical Woodland 3D Embossing folder. I used a sentiment from Beautifully Happy to turn this into a wintry birthday card.

Stamps: Beautifully Happy

Paper: Whisper White, Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen

Ink: Versamark, Evening Evergreen

Accessories:  Tree Lot Dies, White Embossing Powder, Whimsical Woodland 3D Embossing Folder

I have mailed Christmas cards, delivered neighbor and finished shopping ... now I need to WRAP, cook and clean up! Can't WAIT to spend time with my family!

Monday Montage #227

Still in "Deck the Halls" mode over at my house! To be honest, I've been working on my Christmas cards for weeks ... but I AM approaching the finish line!! YAY!! And over the weekend we had "Keebler Elf Sunday" at our house.  The kids come over and we make cookies for our friends and neighbors ... about 1,000 of them, to be more accurate! They are then bagged and tagged and made ready for delivery! It's a busy process, but we have it down to a science and get it done in a few hours. We love this family tradition, during which we also watch "Jingle All the Way" ... the best worst Christmas movie of all time!

I used my Cricut to make these fun little tags too label all the bagged cookies. Aren't they cute??? I got a new Bosch mixer for myself as an early Christmas present (my old Kitchenaid bit the dust a couple of weeks ago after more than 20 years of faithful service!) and it was HEAVEN to use!! These cookies are honestly the tastiest, softest and most delectable little cookies EVER! You will LOVE them!

Stamps: NONE

Paper: Soft Suede

Ink: Sakura White Gelly Roll, Gold Metallic Cricut Marker

Accessories: Bakers Twine, Small Gold Ornaments

Lucky Pennies

2 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. salt
3/4 C. (1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened)
1 C. firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 C. molasses
1 large egg
granulated sugar (for coating cookies)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. In a separate large bowl, use a wooden spoon to cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the molasses and egg and mix until well blended. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to roll into balls.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a spoon to scoop the dough out of the bowl, then roll it with your fingertips into balls that are about one-inch in diameter (I think we actually go up to 1.5" diameter). Roll the balls in a shallow bowl of granulated sugar. Place the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes or until the cookies are crinkled and set.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat until all the dough is used. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month and at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Special note: This is a recipe that does NOT double/triple very well. If you want to make LOTS of them, you should make a separate batch of dough each time.

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Bree Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma

Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK

Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance 

Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK

Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots

Emily Kimmey - EMK Creations

Julie Warnick - Creating on the Run - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK

Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU ARE HERE

Just a few more things to pick up and I will be done shopping ... and HOPEFULLY Christmas cards will be in the mail Tuesday (FINALLY!!)! Gettin closer every day!

Click "Next" to see Bree Renwick... and "Back" to see Emily Kimmey - you'll love them!

MonM

Monday Montage #226

 

 

Trees are up ... lights are on the windows and eaves on the front of the house ... some presents are purchased ... and my Christmas cards have actually been started! Still a very looooong way to go, but I am making a dent!! Took a little time out from all my Christmas projects to make ... what?? A Christmas card!! YAY for Monday Montage!

Woof! Woof!! Woof!!! Doggies just make me happy! The sweet little scottie dog in the Christmas Scottie Set is so dang darling!! He also comes with a Scottie-shaped punch! Could NOT get any more cute than that!! Combined with some folded DSP, heat embossed snowflakes, stamped tone-on-tone shpes and a good neutral ribbon and VOILA! A few white-embossed snowflakes and three gold sequins wrap this all together. 

Up close you can see how the stamped Crumb Cake circle of plaid and the little accent sequins all add just the things this card needs!

Stamps: Christmas Scottie

Paper: Real Red, Garden Green, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Gingham Cottage DSP

Ink: Versamark, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Stylish Shapes Frames, Double Oval Punch, Natural Finish 7/8" Ribbon, Pastel Sequins, White Embossing Powder

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Bree Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma

Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK

Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance 

Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner 

Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots

Emily Kimmey - EMK Creations

Julie Warnick - Creating on the Run

Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU ARE HERE

Hopefully I will be MUCH more prepared with Christmas gifts/cards the next time I post!

Click "Next" to see Bree Renwick... and "Back" to see Julie Warnick - LOVELY creations!

MonM

TGIF #396 - Inspiration Challenge

Happy Post-North American Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday!!)!!! Hoping that those of you who,celebrated had a wonderful day full of food, family and friends! This week we are doing a TGIF Inspiration Challenge!

Wreaths have always brought me a sense of peace. Looking at the greenery in the inspiration pic and seeing the word “peace” made me think about how I really wanted to make a wreath. Having just received my preorder for the 2023 January-June Catalog, I knew that the Citrus Fun Bundle could help me make a lovely wintry wreath!

I had a good time creating the splatter all around my card with a Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Blend by flicking the brush tip of the pen against the edge of the cap on the pen and sim it at the card … pretty fun, eh?

Stamps: Citrus Fun

Paper: Whisper White, Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen

Ink: Versamark, Soft Succulent, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Polished Pink

Accessories:  Citrus Dies, Natural Finish 7/8" Ribbon, Citrus Embossing Folder, Pastel Sequins (coming soon), White Embossing Powder, Gold 1/4” Shimmer Ribbon

Grateful to have been invited to be on the Challenge Team with these fine ladies, and VERY grateful for the friendships I have made because of my participation as a demonstrator for Stampin’ Up! Counting my blessings!

Freakin' Divine DSP

Here we are again! It's time to play with stamps, paper and ink with the Control Freaks! Bree Renwick made the most ADORABLE Christmas card with her take on this month's theme "Divine DSP".  I absolutely loooooove me some pretty DSP, don't you??? Lucky for me, my new box of goodies for the January-June and Sale-a-Bration order came TODAY ... just in time to play with!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eeeeep and EGADS!!! Not only am I totally enamored with the new Dandy Designs DSP (which you can also earn for FREE during Sale-a-Bration starting in January!), but the Adorable Owls (which you can ALSO earn for free!) stamps are sooooo very cute!! They are making me smile all over the place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The colorful hexagons behind the owls are done by tearing strips of cardstock, taping them together and then cutting them with the die of your choice (learned this fun trick from the ever-talented Cindy Schuester!). Such a fun background, don't you think???

Stamps: Adorable Owls
Paper: Granny Apple Green, Balmy Blue, Coastal Cabana, Fresh Freesia, Whisper White, Watercolor, Dandy Designs DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Balmy Blue, Fresh Freesia, Mango Melody

Accessories: Tailor-Made Tags Dies, Beautiful Shapes Dies, White 3/4" Frayed Ribbon, Wink of Stella, Pastel Sequins

 

Gearing up for a lovely Thanksgiving feast with my family and some friends. I am so grateful for the blessings in my life ... this will be the first holiday season without my beautiful mama and I'm trying to carry on so many of the lovely traditions she established for our family. I'm so lucky to have had her to raise me and be my friend!

Next up? Cindy Elam! She made SEVERAL cards that you are going to LOVE!

Chillin' With My Gnomies!!

Guess what??? I'm SOOOO stoked! I am now a member of the TGIF Challenge Team!! YAY!! I am soooo excited!! This time around we are Chillin' With My Gnomies!

Gnomes are a HOOOOOT commodity right now ... they are literally EVERYwhere! I have always had a warm and fuzzy spot for these silly creatures! I had a hard time deciding if these little dudes were doing Fall or Winter so I kind of planted them between seasons! The pants, hats and shirts of these little gnomes were paper pieced using different patterns from the "He's the Man" and "Rings of Love" DSP packs.  I also used the Fern Embossing Folder for the background and embellished with the little embossed snowflake images from "Trees for Sale" stamp set and a few little gold sequins from the Pastel Sequins coming out in the next new January-June Mini Catalog.

I used some of the Natural 7/8" Ribbon with a few twists ... I distressed it with some Early Espresso and Soft Suede ink and then ran a single piece of Linen Thread through the middle with a needle ... I like the rustic feel to it! I'm loving the texture!

Stamps: Kindly Gnomes

Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede, He's the Man DSP, Rings of Love DSP, Blushing Bride

Ink: Versamark, Memento Black, Blushing Bride, Smoky Slate, Early Espresso, Soft Suede

Accessories: Scalloped Contours Dies, Natural Finish 7/8" Ribbon, Fern Embossing Folder, Pastel Sequins (coming soon), Linen Thread, White Embossing Powder

Very blessed to be playing with paper, ink and stamps with these ladies ... it's going to be an AWESOME ride!

Monday Montage #225

 

 

I cleaned my craft room. And it was glorious ... for about a DAY! Then I spent about four days in a row working on my Halloween costume! KA-BOOM!! Pins, thread, fabric, paper, foam, paint ... it's all EVERYwhere!! However, it wasn't TOO hard to clear a space to be able to create a card for this week's Monday Montage!

 

 I loveLOVELOVE this Perfect Pomegranate stamp set!! It was a hostess set for the last Sale-a-Bration campaign. I didn't earn it, but my friend (and fellow Monday Montager, Cheryl Curtis, did!)! Cheryl was kind enough to give me this set as she didn't feel it was her "cup of tea" ... and it has been sitting, unused, since I got it a few weeks ago! FINALLY got a chance to play with it! It is, sadly, no longer available (sorry 'bout that!)!! But I could NOT resist because it is soooooo purdy!

See what I mean???? I loved using the gold foil and gold embossing powder to create lovely accents ... I love fall color combos!

Stamps: Perfect Pomegranate, Framed Florets

Paper: Merry Merlot, Very Vanilla, Gold Foil

Ink: Versamark, Merry Merlot, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow, Mango Medley

Accessories:

Stylish Shapes Frames, Natural Finish 7/8" Ribbon, Rustic Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots, Gold Embossing Powder, Stapler

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Bree Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma

Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange

Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance 

Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner 

Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots

Emily Kimmey - EMK Creations

Julie Warnick - Creating on the Run

Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU ARE HERE

Going to see several of my Monday Montage friends at the end of this week at OnStage in ANAHEIM (and take advantage of the fact that we are staying next door to Disneyland!)!! I can't WAIT!!

Click "Next" to see Bree Renwick... and "Back" to see Julie Warnick - Christmas and Fall are covered beautifully by them!!

MonM

Happy Holidays from the Freaks!

I seem to have skipped right past fall and gone to Christmas (as far as card making goes!)!! But the Control Freaks are ramping it up for the holidays already!! If you just came from the super-creative Bree Renwick you would have seen some happily haunting Halloween cards! I LOVE them!! Because I am STILL reorganizing/cleaning my craft space, I decided to use some of the things that were left out from the card I posted last Sunday night ... and they worked GREAT!! 

I have always loved the combination of gold with Very Vanilla ... it is just so elegant!! This card actually came together quite quickly and easily ... I am really loving how the Whimsical Woodland 3D Embossing Folder provides such a great contrast in the background!

It was really hard to capture the gold sentiment ... I used some gold embossing powder over Versamark ... hard to tell, but in person in looks SO shiny and fun!

Monday Montage #224

 

 

Halloween decorations are UP ... but I still need to work on a costume AND have our second annual Weixler Family Oktoberfeast (I need more weekends this month!)! Craft room is still a DISASTER ... which makes creating tricky at best! BUT, I shall persevere! So here is this week's Monday Montage creation.

 

 

Something NEW is on the horizon ... the Fitting Florets Collection! Stamps, dies, DSP, embellishments ... my oh my, but this stuff is PURRRRDY!

Also played with my new Stitchery stamps (looks very legit around the edges, don't you think??)!

Here's a close up ... used my Petal Pink and Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends for the flowers and a little bit of Old Olive/Mossy Meadow for the greenery. The images from this set are SOOO elegant!

Stamps: Framed Florets, Stitchery

Paper: Whisper White, Petal Pink

Ink: Black Memento; Stampin' Blends - Light and Dark Petal Pink, Light and Dark Daffodil Delight, Light and Dark Old Olive, Light and Dark Mossy Meadow

Accessories:

Framed Florets Dies, Gold Adhesive-backed Swirls, Gold 1/4" Shimmer Ribbon

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Bree Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma

Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange

Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance 

Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner 

Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots

Emily Kimmey - EMK Creations

Julie Warnick - Creating on the Run

Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU ARE HERE

TOMORROW is the day I plan on reclaiming my craft space ... every last inch!! I need to work on some things and need a clean slate to work on!

Click "Next" to see Bree Renwick... and "Back" to see Julie Warnick - clever creations as usual!

MonM

Monday Montage #223

 

 

And just like that we are working our way into fall! Sooooo glad we have cooled down (a little bit!)! I can actually feel a little crisp in the air ... what a speedy year this has been!

 

 

The He's the Man Suite of products?? Yep! I am an absolute FAN! These cards practically made themselves!! The images (which are just printed and pre-diecut ... easy peasy) are the BOMB! SUPER easy to just throw them together and then VOILA!

Not a single stamped image on either of these cards ANYwhere! Every single diecut is just so much fun! I used the Splatter Embossing Folder (from the Stripes and Splatters Duo) on each of these cards ... and just inked them a little with some Early Espresso ink and a sponge! 

Stamps: NONE

Paper: Sahara Sand, He's the Man Specialty DSP

Ink: NONE

Accessories: Rustic Metallic Dots, Stripes & Splatters Embossing Folder (Splatters)

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Bree Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma

Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK

Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance 

Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner 

Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots

Emily Kimmey - EMK Creations

Julie Warnick - Creating on the Run - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK

Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU ARE HERE

Had the whole family over for dinner today ... and I'm POOPED! It will probably only take about 2 and a half minutes to fall asleep~

Click "Next" to see Bree Renwick... and "Back" to see Emily Kimmey - they both have brilliantly bright and spooky!