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!

Eeeek!! Dare I Say It????

... dare I NOT??? Okay ... so, it's TRUE!! Christmas is just TWO MONTHS away!! Aaaack!!! Didn't we JUST DO Christmas??? I think my husband finally took the lights off the house about 8 weeks ago ... sigh ... time to get EXCITED!!

Sooo ... here's a little Christmas card to gear us (ME up!!)!! The combo of red/black/white makes it easy for me to like this one ... somehow, that combo of colors almost ALWAYS looks good, no matter WHAT you do with it!!

I'm actually gearing up for our annual Halloween Carnival at the elementary school (yeah-yeah-yeah ... I don't have ANY kids that age any more, but I can't seem to tear myself away from helping pull it together year after year!)!! We have costumes, a cake walk, costume contest, pumpkin and cake decorating contests, trick or treat doors, spooky stories, carnival-type games, professional photos, a spook alley and DINNER!! It's such a fun event. I love watching the kids (AND their families!) have such a great time together! And Halloween IS my fave ... but I have to get ready to switch gears since I DO allow myself to start listening to Christmas tunes the day AFTER Halloween ... it's TRUE!! I decided 3-4 weeks is just NOT enough time to listen to all the stuff I have accumulated over the years!!

Stamps: Tag It, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Modern Medley DSP
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Chalk Talk, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Northern Flurry Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Victoria Crochet Trim, Whisper White Embossing Powder, Rhinestone Basics

I actually used this card as my sample for last Friday's Free for All Challenge over on SCS (and, to be honest, it is one of the few cards from the Convention Display boards that I had made that never found their way to my blog!)! I called the challenge "Tag-a-licous!" and the challenge was to put a tag of some sort on each creation ... easy enough!

Happy Thursday, Peeps!

Revisiting Zion ...

I guess I'm going to "give in" and admit that summer really IS over (I mean, it's OCTOBER, for cryin' out loud!!)! I had such a great summer!!! It was VERY busy, to be sure (and a bit DANGEROUS ... manholes, and baby savin' and what-not!) ... it started off on the BEST foot possible at the end of May with a family trip down to Zion National Park ... and so, I'm sharing a couple of scrapbook layouts I did of our adventures.

This first layout was at the end of a VERY long-but-beautiful hike across the West Rim Trail. The last part of the trail (after hours and hours and miles and miles ... about 7 hours and 14 miles) puts the hiker on the "downside" of Angels Landing ... and lemme tell ya, doing a VERY steep vertical drop after hours and hours and miles and miles DOES things to ya. I could DEFINITELY feel my quads for a few days afterwards!

I haven't done a "photo-on-photo" thing for a long time. I love the look of this ... I used a 4"x6" and 5"x7" copy of the same photo and layered them on top of one another (with a little trim of cardstock in between).

And FLAGS!! I kinda got carried away with those on this (umm ... and I'm not sure WHERE this thing is gonna find a "home" since it now sticks out on BOTH sides too much to fit in an album OR a frame!)! This is gonna make me THINK, I'm SURE!

Here's a close-up of the title ... I think this is the layout that finally pushed me over the "edge" with Gorgeous Grunge ... I mean, you can use that set with ANYTHING (EVERYTHING!)!!!

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet
Paper:  Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Natural Composition DSP, Brights Collection DSP
Ink:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze
Accessories:  Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies, Natural Trim Ribbon, Designer Naturals Button, 1" Square Punch

After we finished hiking, we went back to the house and played some croquet (and Weixler Family Vacation Standard, to be sure!)! My sweet little grandniece, Sammy, was SOOO interested in following her Daddy around ... it was just fun WATCHING them. It's pretty obvious that the feeling between them is mutual ...

Here's a close up of the "love banner" ...

... the "title" ...

... and the "digging" ...

Stamps:  ABC-123 Sketch Alphabet, Tag It
Paper:  Baked Brown Sugar, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Brights Collection DSP, In Color Collection DSP
Ink:  Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake, Real Red
Accessories:  Chalk Talk Framelits, 3/4" Circle Punch, Hearts Framelits, Decorative Label Punch, Linen Thread, Brights Candy Dots

I gotta a WHOLE lotta stuff coming your way this weekend ... Fab Friday, Control Freaks Blog Tour AND Monday Montage will be going up back-to-back-to-back, so stay tuned!!!

Stitching Here and There ...

One of these days I may actually FINISH posting my Convention Display Board Samples!! (I'm getting closer ALL THE TIME!!)!! Today I'm sharing two TOTALLY different cards with a common thread (well, actually, TWO common threads ... and one it them is quite literal!)!

First of all, I used my new-all-time-fave stamp set, Gorgeous Grunge, to splatter the background of BOTH creations (have a feeling I am gonna campaign that this set NEVER retire!)! Second, I sewed ... with an actual-honest-to-goodness-real-life sewing machine on both creations as well (hence, the oh-so-punny reference to "common threads"). Sometimes I think that adding sewing just makes the card look more "legit" for some reason ...

And what's not to LOVE about a Coastal-Cabana-Colored Chameleon??? I am in LOVE with this little guy!! Makes me happy ...

Stamps:  Tag It, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Whisper White
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Elegant Eggplant, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Chalk Talk Framelits, Corner Rounder, Coastal Cabana Button, 1 1/4" Circle Punch (to round edges on "celebrate" panel), 1" Square Punch (to create flags), Wisteria Wonder Chevron Ribbon, Sewing Machine

Card #2 ... more butterflies ... again ... I had envisioned that this card would look MUCH different than it does ... but I'm ok with how it came out, too. I think that the Crisp Cantaloupe looks kinda "rich" with the Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso, don't you??

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Crisp Cantaloupe, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Bitty Butterfly Punch, Paper Distressing Tool, Modern Label Punch, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Pearl Basics, Sewing Machine

Spent a BOATLOAD of time at the local "running store" yesterday trying to figure out what I can do about my nasty-ol' shin splints ... came home MUCH poorer with a new pair of shoes (which, I understand, happens QUITE often when you run every day!), TWO pairs of compression sleeves (fancy and colorful!) and a foam roller contraption that helps me pinpoint the muscles affected by shin splints and gives them a trigger-point, deep-tissue massage (it really hurts ... and feels awesome ... at the same time!)!! Headed out here in a few moments to try everything out! Wish me luck!!

Four Squares

And yet ANOTHER sample from Convention for the display boards ... if you're starting to think I made a LOT of samples for Convention, you would be right!! Twenty-four samples in all!! I was happy that I found ALL of them SOMEwhere on the boards during Convention!! (For those of you who haven't been to SU Convention ... there are a LOT of cards on display, so finding all of mine was no small feat!!)!

I used this sample for the Free for All Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers today as well. The sample was to utilize four squares somehow ... pretty simple, right???

I can't believe this week whipped by so quickly!! I was at the hospital with my mama again yesterday ... she has had a nasty bout of pneumonia, but seems to be on the mend!! Sooo grateful for all of the doctors and nurses and the skill and patience they have with all of us!

Stamps: Hello Lovely
Paper: Crumb Cake, Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Gingham Garden DSP
Ink: Crumb Cake, Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: In Color Button, 1" Square Punch, Baked Brown Sugar Ruffled Stretch Ribbon, Candy Dots, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Have a great weekend!!

Seasons Change ...

Last week the temperatures were in the 80's and 90's ... as I check today's weather forecast, it doesn't look like we are supposed to get above 57 ... AND there was SNOW up in the canyons yesterday!! What??? Are you KIDDING me??? I really hope we get a little bit of an "Indian Summer" to come back for a week or two. Slamming from one season to the next is a bit jarring ... but, I digress ...

I'm going to try VERY hard to finish sharing my Convention Display Board Samples with you over the next week. Life has been ca-RAY-ZY for me since about May. And just as I thought I was going to get back to "normal", my sweet mama ended up back in the hospital last week for a few days (and we were back there again YESTERDAY)! She's been struggling with a bout of pneumonia, but we seem to have her on the right track toward recovery. Keeping my fingers crossed!!

Every now and again I like to do a "tone-on-tone" thing ... which is where this card came from (and, of course, I can't help but throw me in a little bit o' grunge ... since I made this card when I had first received the Gorgeous Grunge set, I was doing ALL sorts of experimenting with it!).

Stamps:  Lovely Romance, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Subtles Color Collection DSP
Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories:  Labels Collection Framelits, Chalk Talk Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Pear Pizzazz Chevron Ribbon

This card was created by just playing with some DSP ... Venetian Romance DSP, to be exact! I love the combination of Island Indigo and Pistachio Pudding. I would probably NEVER have put them together had it NOT been for this DSP!! Another new color combo to love!

Stamps:  Lovely Romance, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper: Pistachio Pudding, Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Venetian Romance DSP
Ink:  Island Indigo
Accessories:  Blossom Punch, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Pnch, 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Bitty Banners Framelits, Large Scallop Edgelits Die, Pearl Basics, Natural Trim Ribbon

Well, since it's a kinda cold and cloudy day, I'm gonna stay inside, do a LOT of cleaning and throw some delicious SOMEthing into the crockpot. One of the BEST things about Fall is crockpot cooking!! YAY!

I Dig You!

Probably one of my FAVE images to come out of Stampin' Up's catalog this year was this little bitty shovel ... why IS it that when you take an ordinary thing (like, well ... a shovel!) and make it ITTY-BITTY that it becomes IRRESISTIBLE?? SERIOUSLY? I cannot STAND how freakin' ca-YOOT this little thing is!

I wanted to try something a little different ... seems like all of my layouts look like all of my other layouts (yeah, here I am again ranting about how everything I do seems to look the SAME to me!)! I love that we have the whole WORLD WIDE WEB via the Internetz on which we can look for inspiration (THANK YOU Pinterest and Google Image Search!)! I saw a similar layout SOMEwhere in my search far and wide ... couldn't even tell ya when or where, just remembered that I LIKED the idea of the split patterned paper panels in the background!

I think I am FINALLY getting the upper hand on this cold thing (but, let me tell ya, it's hanging on with it's nearly cold, dead fingers!)! I really need it to be the weekend already!! Sheesh!

Stamps: Tag It
Paper:  Baked Brown Sugar, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Brights Patterned Paper (Pacific Point)
Ink:  Real Red, Pacific Point, Baked Brown Sugar
Accessories: Decorative Label Punch, Victoria Lace Trim, Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Pearl Basics, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Have a FANTASTIC day!

A Rose is a Rose ...

With all the chaos that has been my life, I realized yesterday that I still have 18 samples that I did for the Convention Display Boards that I have NOT shared with you!! Which MEANS that I am gonna get busy in the next couple of weeks and share them all so that I can start changing seasons (we ARE, after all, approaching fall, Halloween ... and I'm not even gonna MENTION that holiday in December!)!

This was one of my favorite samples (I wish I had a better photo of it ... but since I no longer have it, this is what I got!)! I like the cleanness of it, but I also like the "roughed-up" rose and the little splatters of color ... sometimes things come together a bit better than I had envisioned (yay!)!

I have a nasty cold and laryngitis (my music-major son says I am hovering at about a B Flat and can sing with the bass section!)! I am DETERMINED that this will be the ONLY cold I will get this season ... this year ... FOREVER??? Here's hopin'!!

Stamps: Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Splash, Crisp Cantaloupe
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Splash, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories:  Fancy Flower Punch, Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, In Color Buttons, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Distressing Tool

Off to make myself another cup of honey lemon tea ...

Of Hiking and Manhole Covers ... Yep, That's My Life!!

First things first ... I am NOT getting old(er) ... (-ish) ... at least in my MIND I like to think that I'm not!! However, today IS my birthday (yes, it's true ... I'm 27 ... again)! I feel like I am more adventurous and willing to try fun, new things than I have EVER been (activities, food, music, friends!)! Heck, how can ANYone who goes to a restaurant and tells the server to "surprise me" NOT be considered adventurous??? But ... sometimes ... I seem to get myself into a pickle ... but, I digress ... I'll come back to that and the reference to manhole covers in a minute ... READER WARNING ... this is loooonnng ... and EPIC ... and SOOO totally TRUE!! None of the names/events have been changed to protect the innocent ...

Scrapbooking myself is something I just don't do ... pretty much EVER!! However, having had to create a myriad of things in this past year for Stampin' Up has often pushed me out of my comfort zone (something ELSE to which I have easily adapted ... most of the time ... which ALSO proves I am NOT too old, right??). Anywho ... I did this layout to highlight a hiking adventure I went on with my family this past June. We did the West Rim Trail at Zions National Park. It is a beautiful and scenic 17-mile undertaking, which I was MORE than happy to tackle. I LOVE being outdoors ... I LOVE hiking ... and I LOVE my family, so it was a winning combination all around. (Not to mention the fact that I LOVELOVELOVE my Woodstock "Happy Camper" shirt!!)

Stamps:  Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Natural Composition DSP, Neutrals Patterned DSP, Brights Patterned DSP
Ink:  Pacific Point, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight
Accessories:  1/2" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Brights Candy Dots, Sewing Machine



What on EARTH does ANY of this have to do with manholes, you ask? Well ... it seems that, lately (as in the past couple of months) I have apparently misplaced some small mount of finesse that I would like to think I HAVE had up until this point in my life. I run ... I run pretty much every day (and the odd fact is that I really don't LIKE to run ... but I DO love that I live in a place where I can be in a lovely canyon within minutes of my front door ... and the scenery distracts me from the fact that running is not always the MOST fun thing!). Many of my SU buddies KNOW that I run. And many of my SU buddies have asked if they could run WITH me while they were here for Convention in July!! No PROBLEM!! GREAT!! FANTASTIC!! What's NOT to love about having some of your BFF's along to run with ya?? Seriously, right?? So, at 4:45 AM (yes, you read that right!!) I went and picked up several of my stampin' buddies at their hotels to come and share my run with me (that's Mindy Backes, Marla Reed, ME and Bree Renwick in the photo). It was dark, but we watched the light come up over the mountains. AND ... just as we were coming out of the canyon something TOTALLY unexpected happened (while I was with my friendies ... of course ... because this has NEVER happened to me when I was ALONE!) ... I fell.flat.on.my.face!! SPLAT!! Have absolutely NO clue what happened there!! One of those instances where you try to just "jump up" and pretend nothing happened ... and that you are TOTALLY fine and IN CONTROL (even though your hair is screaming and you've ripped the freckles CLEAN off about half of your arm!)!! "Yeah ... I MEANT to do that!" I needed a better story, though ... telling people I have the grace of a hippopotamus is kinda embarrassing. So my daughter's BFF (hey, Tiffy!) told me that I should just tell people when they asked (because my arm looked THAT pitiful that people WERE asking!) that I had saved a baby ... I was kinda thinking something along the lines of a Zombie Apocalypse ... so my story was that I had saved a baby FROM the Zombie Apocalypse ...

It's a long story, I know ... but I AM getting to the manhole cover!! Just the other day (barely more than a MONTH from my baby-savin'-Zombie-Apocalypse experience) I was walking about a BLOCK from our business to our church in order to attend the funeral of my brother-in-law's father. It was particularly windy and I decided that I needed to avoid walking through the sprinklers at the corner ... the wind was blowing the water SIDEways into a big, wet ol' misty cloud ... and of COURSE I didn't wanna get my dry-clean-only skirt wet, right??

Soooo ... I stepped onto the grass adjacent to the curb .... and proceeded to walk around THIS fire hydrant ... took just a few steps and my whole perspective on the world changed ... I suddenly found myself dangling with one leg down inside that freakin' manhole!! My very FIRST thought was, "Sinkhole??? Are ya KIDDIN' me??" Then I looked down and realized that this little manhole had tried to EAT ME!!! The dumb lid had NOT been secure and it flipped up when I stepped on it! And I was now doing a semi-split ... in a skirt ... in the mud ... and my SHOE had fallen off down into the abyss of the manhole. Sooooo ... as I dragged my bruised, bloody and muddy leg outta that dumb hole I was feeling kinda NON-FINESSE filled. Here I only had ONE shoe and I was a hot mess!! And the funeral was starting in about FIVE MINUTES!! One of the neighbors who lived close to the fire hydrant saw the whole event in all it's spectacular glory. She seemed VERY concerned and wanted me to knock on the door of her surgeon-neighbor's house. I declined, reassuring her that I was FINE (despite my somewhat pitiful - there's that word again! - appearance). I hobbled over to the church ... shoe in hand ... and somehow managed to get a bit cleaned up and sneak into the service without too much fanfare. The fanfare??? Oh yes!! There WAS fanfare! As soon as the services were over we all took our turns exiting the building. As I was hobbling out one of the funeral directors looked at me and my one pitiful shoe in hand ... and the mud on my skirt ... and the ROAD RASH and LUMPS on my leg and blurted out, "Oh!! Are YOU the woman who fell into the MANHOLE??" What.the.HECK??? Has THIS been on the NEWS already??? Holy COW!! Apparently, the woman who saw me fall in was a bit concerned and called 911 ... which prompted a FIRE TRUCK and AMBULANCE to show up at the funeral (unbeknownst to me!). They came into the back of the chapel and peered around looking for the (again) pitiful soul who needed help!! I HONESTLY would not EVEN have had ANY idea that they were there for ME even if I HAD seen them! And I canNOT believe I MISSED the opportunity to have HOT FIREMEN giving me their undivided attention!! Dang!!! (But they did, thankfully, rescue my shoe!) I need to call the city AGAIN and have them send someone over there to secure that dang thing ... it's still kinda skeewompus! And I would HATE to think that there is another non-finesse-filled pitiful soul who may wander into its path!! (Not to worry ... I will make sure ... TODAY ... that that thing is made safe for all the world!)

Sooo ... today I am going to spend my day in Disneyland with my BFF and sister-in-law, Diann!! And HOPEFULLY I will not save a single baby ... or encounter a SINGLE zombie ... and I will do my UTMOST BESTEST to avoid ALL manhole covers!!

Make Your OWN!!

I have always had a "thing" for gingham ... ever since I was a little girl. It just seems to always be in style in some form or another (not dresses so much right now, as when I was young ... but in paper crafting it is HOT STUFF!)!!

This makes sample #4 that I am sharing from my Convention Display batch. The gingham in the background was made using the Stripes textured impressions embossing folder. I inked it up with a brayer (our stamp pads are so nice and juicy now, that you don't really need sticky "craft" ink); ran the piece of cardstock through my Big Shot inside the inked-up embossing folder; re-inked the embossing folder and rotated my already-striped piece of cardstock 90 degrees and ran it through the Big Shot again ... VOILA!!! Beautiful embossing gingham, people!! LOVELOVELOVE it!!

Getting ready to head up into the mountains for a few lovely days of hiking and laughing with a fabulous bunch of girls from church (ages 12-17). All the prep we have done (the shopping, packing and running around) always pays off in the end, but I will be glad to be up in the mountains instead of at home RUNNING around like a chicken without a head!!!

I'll be back for "Fab Friday" in a couple of days (even though I will still be campin' with the bears and such, I will still post somethin' to share!)!! Be sure to come back and tune in!!

AND ... BIG NEWS ... the Artisan Design Team Finalists will be starting a blog hop on SATURDAY, AUGUST 10 at 7:00 PM MST!! We are sharing ALL of the wonderful creations we made as entries for this year's contest!! DON'T MISS IT!!

Stamps: Hello, Lovely
Paper:  Smoky Slate, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Basic Black
Accessories:  Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Basic Black Chevron Ribbon, Essentials Hardware Clips, Paper Piercing Essentials Mat, Paper Piercing Tool, Brights Candy Dot

Share a hug with someone today ... you'll BOTH be happier for it!!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow ...

That's what this card makes me think of. Was kinda singing that in my head the whole time I was making it!!

And, I'll be honest ... I DID have to use the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line the colors up ... and I will also be honest and admit that I had gotten on the second-to-the-last color the FIRST time I stamped this ... and put the stamp upside-down ... which, of course, really screwed it up!! I kept thinking, "Maybe I'lll just leave that one off-kilter! Makes it looks kinda EDGY!! Nah .... just looks like I had my Stamp-a-ma-jig upside-down!!"

I am SERIOUSLY becoming addicted to the Gorgeous Grunge set, though! Sometimes all ya needs is a little bit of a splash of color somewhere and VOILA!!! It just makes me smile every single time I use it.

I also discovered last night that it is "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel. This makes me unusually happy. True Confession Time ... I LOVE the Discovery Channel ... and the History Channel ... and any GEEKY channel that shows documentary-type stuff. I don't watch much TV, but stuff like this ALWAYS sucks me in!! (Megaladon??? GIANT prehistoric SHARK??? How would I even have KNOWN that this thing EXISTED - and may STILL EXIST - if I didn't have the Freakin' Discovery Channel???)

I'm gearing up for church girls camp again. Making Secret Sister gifts for all the girls. EVERY year I always kick myself for not starting earlier!! Sigh ... seems to be the way I roll!!

Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge, Sweet Essentials
Paper:  Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink:  Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Brights and Subtles Buttons, Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Word Window Punch, Postage Stamp Punch

Get Well Sampler

Sample #2 ... I made this card as a samples for the Display Boards at Convention, too!! (Y'all are gonna get BLASTED with these samples for the next little while!)

I seem to struggle with doing the same color combos over and over and OVER ... so I was trying to reach outSIDE of my comfort zone. I think I am in LOVE with Coastal Cabana ... gonna be used a LOT at my house, that's for sure!!

Stamps:  Tag It
Paper: Midnight Muse, Brights and In Color DSP, Whisper White
Ink:  Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Midnight Muse
Accessories:  Hexagon Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Real Red Ribbon, Coastal Cabana Ruffled Ribbon, Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Rhinestone Basics

I have to work on making three different sets of cute and fun little gifties for my girls camp girls tonight ... which means about 45 little thing are gonna hafta get cranked out!! Who wants to come over and HELP me???? I sure could use it!!

Have a wonderful day ... smile at someone JUST BECAUSE ... it'll make BOTH of you happy!

First of MANY!

Today I am sharing with you the first of MANY (a total of 24, to be exact!) samples that I made for Stampin' Up's Convention Display Boards. I thought I was gonna LOSE MY MIND when I cranked these babies out ... I did them all in less than two weeks!! But ... I am VERY happy with what I was able to come up with ... AND I found that every single stinkin' sample I made was used on the boards somewhere ... so that made me do a Happy Dance!!

I actually used this one as a sample for today's Free for All Challenge over on SCS today, as well. I am REALLY getting into the whole "arrow" craze (the "&" is taking me a little bit of time, but I'm starting to get it ... kinda!).

I went and got a manicure/pedicure with my daughter yesterday ... my toes are kinda Bermuda Bay Blue ... which makes me happy! And getting to go do such a girly-bonding thing with my girl was fun, too!! I told the gals at the salon to start revving up their brains for my next pedicure as well ... making a pilgrimage to Disneyland for my birthday in a few weeks and I am gonna NEED something appropriately Disney-esque!!

Stamps: Hello Lovely
Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Coastal Cabana, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Coastal Cabana, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Pear Pizzazz Chevron Ribbon, Brights Candy Dots, Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Happy Weekend, my friends!