Monday Montage #118

How's it going, my friends??? Hopefully, you are all starting to enjoy the beginnings of summer ... for myself, I'm getting excited about some upcoming FUN and AMAZING summer plans with my hubby and the rest of my family. Finding time to stamp in and amongst the ins and outs of life is sometimes tricky, but it always makes me happy when I do it!! Especially when I have newer things to play with!!! Thanks for joining me and the rest of the Monday Montage girls for some crafty creativeness!!

I know I have mentioned before that I feel like I have made the same card over and over again ... I guess we all have our own style, right?? I had started out making something ENTIRELY different! The Garden Impressions DSP just makes my head SWIM!! I mean, seriously??? That stuff is GORRRRRGEOUS!!! Instead of doing something "garden-y" with it, I decided to pull out the Up & Away thinlits dies and make a happy balloon scene. Have you ever been to a hot air balloon festival??? Or actually BEEN in a hot air balloon??? I HAVE!!! It's noisy ... and HOT (the flame puts off some SERIOUS temps!)!! But the view and the experience is unlike ANYthing I've ever done before!! WOW!!! It was winter time and the landscape was stunningly beautiful and peaceful ... and I'm TERRIFIED of heights!!! But I wouldn't trade having done it for ANYthing!!

Stamps: Itty Bitty Greetings (this year's version of "Teeny Tiny Wishes" ... I LUUUURVE IT!)
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White, Balmy Blue, Garden Impressions DSP
Ink:  Night of Navy
Accessories: Up & Away Thinlits Dies, Seaside Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Detailed Trio Punch, 5/8" Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon, Stapler

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

Monday Montage Hoppers
Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts
Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma
Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner
Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots
Julie Warnick - Julie Warnick Stampin' Up! Blog - Not participating this week!
Kaitlyn Zumbach - Create with Kaitlyn
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

This week I have several things to keep myself busy! But the FOLLOWING week we are flying up to Walla Walla in our little plane (I call her Clifford because she is BRIGHT red ... "Clifford the Big Red Plane" ... hehehe!)! We're going to visit my bestie and fellow Monday Montage-r, Bree Renwick, and her family for the 4th of July. I am GIDDY with excitement!!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... STUNNING, STUNNING, STUNNING!!

Monday Montage #115

Another weekend come and gone ... another week and another Monday Montage blog hop!! Snow, rain, sunshine, heat ... I have NO idea what season we are having, but the days seem to be flying by more quickly (even though we have more daylight!)!! Let's get started ...

I got the most A-MAZ-ING dress recently. I wore it to church over the weekend ... and I got a lot of compliments on it AND I felt comfy and great in it!!! Why am I telling you this??? Because my card today was inspired by my lovely and happy lemon-y dress. It has blue-toned leaves with happy yellow lemons all over it (not to mention that it has POCKETS which makes it more magical than you can imagine!)! What do you think??

Stamps: Lemon Zest
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight
Ink:  Pacific Point, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Wink of Stella
Accessories: Best Badge Punch, Lemon Builder Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim

Finished my marathon last weekend. I felt pretty good when I was done (mostly I'm just proud of myself for making the attempt and finishing!) Training has taught me a lot about myself ... and it's so fun to have a team of people to train with ... they are super motivating for SURE!! I did a 9-mile recovery run on Saturday. I would have been just as happy with 6 miles!! At least it gets me up and going!

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

Monday Montage Hoppers
Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts
Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma
Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner
Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots
Julie Warnick - Julie Warnick Stampin' Up! Blog
Kaitlyn Zumbach - Create with Kaitlyn
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... you will be inspired!

Control Freaks "Splash of Color"

April showers bring ... a splash of color!!! Actually, there have been SO many lovely colors out my front door the past few weeks (on days when it's not snowing, that is!)!! The Control Freaks are celebrating the season by sharing their own "Splash of Color". If you've been hopping around, you just came from the beautiful colored creations of Kelly Acheson. BEAUTIFUL!!

I do believe it is quite difficult to make a bad card with the "Eastern Beauty/Eastern Medallions" coordinating stamps and dies. I honestly can't believe I haven't used it WAY more than I have ... it is chock FULL of beautiful images. Lately I've been really drawn to purples and blues for some reason. Good thing Rich Razzleberry and Bermuda Bay are sticking around for another year!!

Stamps: Beautiful Eastern Beauty, Timeless Textures
Paper: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Classic Label Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Rich Razzleberry Velvet Ribbon, Share What You Love Artisan Pearls

This little card is one I made while me and some of my Stampin' Up friends were visiting/eating/stamping at the home of my BFF, Jeanna Bohanon. She just brought up a bunch of supplies and gave us to the challenge to create something with what she had supplied. It was so much fun!!

Stamps: Banners for You
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Peekaboo Peach, Flirty Flamingo
Ink: Peekaboo Peach, Flirty Flamingo
Accessories: Bunch of Banners Framelits, Butterflies Thinlits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Basic Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Faceted Gems, Basic Black Ribbon



This Saturday I will be running in a race for which I have been training all season ... the Salt Lake City Marathon!! Yes ... I AM crazy!! However, I run with a team of amazing people who raise funds to benefit the Huntsman Cancer Institute and cancer research. It makes me so happy to be a part of this team!!

Next up??? The clever and creative Cindy Elam! I can't wait to see what she made myself!!

Fab Friday #135

I feel creatively reinvigorated!!! I spent last weekend with a bunch of my Stampin' Up friends in Las Vegas at OnStage!!! Oh My GOOOOSH!!! I got a sneak peek into the new catalog that will be coming out in June ... and I'm going to go BANKRUPT!!! I brought a few goodies home and was able to incorporate at least ONE new stamp into this week's Fab Friday Challenge!

I feel like I have been in a rut for ... um ... FOREVER!!! I haven't really liked much of ANYthing I have created in quite a while. But this card makes me SOOOO happy!!! I like the colors, I like the layout, AND I LOVE citrus! So there you go!

Stamps: Lemon Zest, Detailed with Love
Paper: Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Bubbles & Fizz DSP
Ink: Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight, Lemon Lime Twist
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Lemon Building Punch, Petal Burst Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Basic Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Linen Thread

Nice sketch!! I will definitely use this again!








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 will be on the road again this weekend ... with my hubby!!! We are headed down to Phoenix to make a furniture delivery for a client. Good thing I have an awesome son who is willing to come and stay at our house to keep an eye on things AND take care of our doggie!

Monday Montage #113

How can it possibly be Monday again ALREADY??? I could really get into having a 5-day weekend and 2-day work week, couldn't you??? It seems I always need a weekend to get over my weekend! So happy to be hopping around with the Monday Montage Team, though. Hopping??? Hahahaha! We just had Easter, so this made me giggle!

I literally have HUNDREDS of stamp sets ... and embossing folders ... and dies ... and punches ... and LOADS of ribbon and embellishments at my disposal. Lucky me!!! So why is it that sometimes I feel like I have NOTHING to create with??? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I placed an order with Stampin' Up on Friday ... and I can't WAIT to get my "new" goodies!! (This card was inspired by one made by fellow-Monday-Montager Amy O'Neill. I had the foreground figured out, but I used her ribbon treatment and leaf accents. Thanks, Amy!

Stamps: Colorful Seasons
Paper: Whisper White, Powder Pink, Pear Pizzazz
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delights, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Square Framelits Dies, May Flowers Framelits Dies, Burlap Ribbon, Ruffled Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

I was so blessed to have all of my kids over for Easter Sunday. How lucky am I that they all live within a reasonable distance (like, no more than an hour!)! We laughed, we ate, we decorated eggs ... we ate some more! Pretty good weekend if you ask me!

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

Monday Montage Hoppers
Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts
Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma
Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner
Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots
Julie Warnick - Julie Warnick Stampin' Up! Blog
Kaitlyn Zumbach - Create with Kaitlyn
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... soooooo good!!

Fab Friday #134

Two weeks ago today I was in Disneyland ... why can't I STILL be in Disneyland??? Y'all KNOW I would stinkin' LIVE there, right??? (But Walt's old apartment is now a shrine/museum, so where else would I stay??) In the midst of getting ready to have a fun family weekend full of hugs, food, visiting and dying Easter eggs (and watching LDS General Conference on tv!), I realized I needed to get on top of this week's Fab Friday card ... so here ya go!

I feel like you can't make an ugly card with this color combo. I'm not kidding. It's so great! This card just came together so quickly!! That doesn't happen very often, so I really appreciate it when it does!!

Stamps: Dragonfly Dreams, Timeless Textures
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Powder Pink, So Saffron, Night of Navy, Vellum
Ink: Soft Sky, Powder Pink, So Saffron, Night of Navy
Accessories: Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

This is fresh ... this is pretty ... this is FUN!








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 need to go buy some more candy for Easter ... because what I had already purchased seems to have magically disappeared!! How on earth did THAT happen??!??

Beautiful Bouquets from the Freaks!

Sunshine and blue skies!! What a BEAUTIFUL day it has been today!! If you have been following this blog tour all the way around, you just came from the beautiful bouquets of Melissa Davies. That's our theme this month, so let's get right to it!!

The flower patch in front of my house is SOOO confused right now!! We had a pretty long warm patch in January, and the poor little flowers thought it was time to start peeking up!!! Then, of course, Mother Nature had different plans!! We have been snowing for the past several weeks here, but today was GORGEOUS. I felt inspired to make a little bouquet to reflect how the weather has made me feel!

Stamps: Beautiful Bouquet, Burlap
Paper: Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Whole Lot of Lovely DSP
Ink: Crumb Cake, Powder Pink, Berry Burst, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Linen Thread

One more little spot of colors/flowers!! I am totally IN LOVE with the Whole Lot of Lovely DSP ... oh man!! The COLORS are A-MAZ-ING!! The patterns are equally incredible! I just barely ordered a package of it ... it's been out since SU's catalog came out last year ... why oh WHY did it take me this long to get on board??? Sheesh!

Stamps: Beautiful Bouquet
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Tangerine Tango, Powder Pink, Whole Lot of Lovely DSP, Vellum
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stitched Shapes Framelits, May Flowers Thinlits, Flourish Thinlits, Butterflies Thinlits, 3/8" Burlap Ribbon

Next up??? The creative Connie Babbert! That woman ROCKS!!

Monday Montage #112

Rain, snow, sunshine, snow again ... spring is really working on getting here!! And so are the Monday Montage girls! I'm excited!!!

As the seasons are TRYING to change, I am TRYING to help them along!! I love making banners ... and I haven't had a "spring" one to hang up before! I figured now was the PERFECT time to take care of that.

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Powder Pink, Tangerine Tango, Vellum, Whole Lot of Lovely Designer Series Paper
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), 3/8" Burlap Ribbon, Gold Library Clips, Butterflies Thinlits, Mini Stapler (retired), Stitched Shapes Thinlits, May Flowers Framelits, Flower Brads (retired), Alphabet Essentials Bigz Dies (retired), Linen Banners (from Michaels!)

Here's a more close-up view ... colors, butterflies, flowers! I even dipped into some of my "vintage" (aka "retired") goodies to complete the look. I have always loved the Bigz Rosette Die (NEVER going to get rid of that one!)! The Essentials Alphabet Dies are also always going to remain in my cupboard ... of COURSE I bought them RIGHT before I found out they were going to retire! And the little flower brads??? I NEARLY "donated" those to the local elementary school a while back ... but I'm kind of glad I didn't, as they made the PERFECT accent!!

We have had THREE snowstorms since last Thursday ... which we have REALLY needed! It's all melted already, but I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with more before the week is through!

Click "Back" for Kaitlyn Zumbach and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL!

Monday Montage #111

Happy Monday Montage day!! This past weekend was AMAZING on so many levels ... and I am going to be feeling the "glow" from all of it for a long while. But I'll get back to that in a minute. I have a card I made that I'd like to share first!

Sad, sad story about this beautiful stamp set. I really do LOVE it. It has SO many incredible floral images ... and a LOT of really good sentiments as well. It was one of the first things I ordered when the catalog came out last year. The sad part?? I somehow neglected to put the correct number in when ordering it (it comes in a bundle with thinlits dies). I only ordered the stamp set and NOT the dies!! Well DANG!!! So that means I have to fussy cut all the elements when I stamp this. Which is actually FINE, because I find fussy cutting kind of therapeutic. However ... KNOWING that there are a BUNCH of thinlits that could make this set even BETTER is a saaaaad thing, right???

Stamps: Beautiful Bouquet
Paper: Whisper White, Tranquil Tide, Whole Lot of Lovely DSP
Ink:  Berry Burst, Pool Party, Crushed Curry, Tranquil Tide, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Layering Circles Framelits Dies, Linen Thread

So ... this past Saturday I was able to participate in the Outclimb Cancer Challenge. There is a bank building in downtown Salt Lake City that has 24 floors. And the challenge is to climb to the top of all those stairs as MANY times as you can in 6 hours' time. In the process of training and getting prepared, I made all my best efforts to raise money for the event. I have NEVER been surrounded by so many selfless, happy, and wonderful people. Not going to lie ... it was VERY physically challenging! I participated last year and was able to complete the climb 30 times. This year I completed 28 climbs (I arrived about 10 minutes late, which had me at a disadvantage ... but that was my fault anyway!)! I am VERY happy with how it turned out. And feeling that I made even a SMALL dent in the funding of cancer research to find a cure just makes me happy on so many levels.

We woke up Sunday to about a foot of fresh snow. It was beautiful. Spent the whole day snuggled inside my house and feeling grateful for all the blessings in my life. Sometimes it is so easy to get so caught up in day-to-day routines that I forgot how fortunate I am.

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... both of these women ... as well as all of the others in the Monday Montage crew ... are also beautiful blessings in my life! I am more than grateful for the chance I have to play with them!

Fab Friday #132

Hello from the Winter Wonderland of Salt Lake City! Yeah ... yeah ... we are STILL sitting in the snow. AND there is a really BIG snowstorm due to hit us very soon. I cannot tell you HOW happy I am that I have NOWHERE to GO today!!! I can stay home ... inside where it's WARM!!! Maybe a Netflix binge is in order??? Or maybe LOTS of stamping??? Today's card is brought to you by all my friends on the Fab Friday Design Team!

This stamp set ... seriously???? Two-step stamping of the most gorrrrrrgeous sunflower-type of flower EVEH!!! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!

Stamps: Painted Harvest
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party
Ink: Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette, Pool Party, Soft Suede
Accessories: Burlap Ribbon

This color combo ... inSANEly amazing, wouldn't you say???








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

Perhaps I should run to the store and stock up on ALL the junk food and drinks I can think of??? Or perhaps some HEALTHY snacks??? Hmmmm ... #thestruggleisreal.

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!