Monday Montage #126

Happy Monday Montage Day!!! The weekend was fun ... and over in a wink! Why do Mondays and Fridays seem SOOOOO long ... whereas Saturdays and Sundays seem to zip by before you know it??? Sheesh!! At least I got a lot done ... AND I got time to get crafty! I guess I don't have much to complain about, right??? Just wish I had another day "off".

I am pretty sure it's hard to make an ugly card using the Buffalo Check background stamp. I have seen SOOOO many cute things made with it. I hope it NEVER retires!!! It goes with just about EVERYthing ... kids cards, girl cards, boy cards, kid cards ... it's simply the BEST, don't you think??

True confessions ... as much as I loved creating this card, it was one of those that everything went wrong with while I was working on it. I have two Painted Harvest sets (the one with the sunflower). One of them doesn't stamp well, and the other one does. I even have them marked (not sure why I"m keeping the not-so-good one). I had some trouble with my Cajun Craze ink pad ... pretty sure I need a new one!! When I finally got it stamped, I realized I was using the funky stamp set. So I had to stamp it again with the better one. THEN, when I finally got it how I liked, I started to fussy cut it out. Then I realized I hadn't cleaned my fingers and I smudged Early Espresso ink all over my lovely sunflower! Stamped it a third time ... was good to go, then!!! (This was, of course, after I had stamped the Buffalo Check background and realized I was having issues with my ink pad ... so I stamped that three times as well!). Moving on to the leaves behind the flower. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do for a sentiment, so I kept messing with the placement of the leaves and berries ... took me three times to get that how I wanted it, too!! Sheesh!!! I was DETERMINED to get this card done! It just took me MUCH longer than I had planned.

I cut the sentiment out using one of the Stitched Shapes oval dies ... then I used the criss-cross border die from the Stitched Labels thinlits to "frame" it in on the top and bottom, which I then trimmed above and below to end up with the shape I used for the sentiment.

Stamps: Painted Harvest, Buffalo Check
Paper: Gray Granite, Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Cajun Craze, Festive Farmhouse DSP
Ink: Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Gray Granite, Basic Gray
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Stitched Labels Framelits Dies, Braided Linen Trim, Linen Thread

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 - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK
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 - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

It's that time of year again ... fall ... Halloween ... you know what I mean!!! So I am heading off to the Happiest Place On Earth for a few days this week with my BFF, Cheryl. I am getting SUPER excited!!! Just hope I can get myself together before it's time to go!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Bree Renwick ... I end up spending more money on supplies by looking at what THEY have made!!! They are AMAZING!

Fab Friday #127

I am relived to say, as I typed this, that my Christmas tree is not only UP, but it is decorated, as are my fireplace mantel, piano, and my dining room. It seemed to take me FOREVER to get into the groove to get it done. And, to be honest, I turned into a mound of mushy tears as I unpacked ornaments ... thinking of those who gave me each one ... marveling on the beautiful faces of my babies in their "first Christmas" ornaments ... and remembering all the love and joy that came with each and every one. I don't think I have EVER cried so much whilst decorating my tree!!! Not sad tears, mind you. These were tears of joy, gratitude and amazement for the very beautiful life I have been blessed with. On top of it all, I had actually finished my Fab Friday card EARLY (as in DAYS ago ... I know, I know ... don't faint!). It's lovely to be on top of things every once in a while!

This card is reminiscent of clean, sparkly winter snow ... and even though it wasn't my intention, I feel it evocative of snow sledding as a child on those great old Flexible Flyer sleds! Scary and exhilarating!!! I think I have actually caught the Spirit of the Season!

Stamps:  Snowflake Sentiments
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Ink: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Soft Sky
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies, Rhinestone Basics Jewels, Corner Rounder Punch

What inspires YOU this season ... it's a Free-for-All!!






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

More house cleaning, more shopping, more running hither and yon. All with a heart full of love and gratitude for the blessings of life that make my life as wonderful as can be!

Monday Montage #105

Can I just say I am STUFFED??? STILL??? Thanksgiving was last Thursday, and I haven't been hungry since!! We made another feast on Sunday (mostly so that we could have leftovers), so now my fridge is full of leftovers and happy ... and I am FULL and happy, too!! So, on to Monday Montage!

What a crazy week!!! Even when I SWEAR I am going to do ALL my Black Friday shopping online, I STILL end up in some sort of mall or store. It was fun to spend some time hanging out with my daughter and getting some things checked off of our list. If only I had my Christmas tree up!! At least this card got decorated, right???

Stamps: Merry Patterns
Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Gold 1/8" Ribbon, Classic Label Punch

My goal by the end of this week is to have most of my Christmas shopping completed, and to have my Christmas decor all up (as well as my mama's!)!! Wish my luck! I am going to NEED it!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... BEST projects EVER!

Mon

Fab Friday #126

Not only is today Black Friday (for all you shopping enthusiasts!) ... it is also FAB FRIDAY!!! And my friends on the Fab Friday Design Team have cooked up some REALLY good projects to share! (Cooking ... yeah ... I've done a LOT of that in the past few days for Thanksgiving ... as I am SURE is true for many of you!! BEST thing about Thanksgiving is the LEFTOVERS, baby!)

For any of y'all who have been hanging out with me here from time to time, you KNOW how I struggle with "simple and easy" cards. I just don't know where to STOP most of the time ... and just keep going and going. NOT this week. This card was quick and easy ... and I hafta admit that I actually kinda LIKE it!!

Stamps:  Snowflake Sentiments, Acrylic Block for Rectangles
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Ink: Real Red, Lemon Lime Twist, Emerald Envy
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies, Rhinestone Basics Jewels

Even though I went "Christmas-y" with this color combo, you could go a LOT of directions with this. I'm thinking cards for little boys!!






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 get busy with some Black Friday shopping (all online, of course!!)! It's so nice to be able to shop from the comforts of home ... in my jammies ... with NO crowds!!!

Happy Holidays from Happy Freaks!!!

After a bit of a hiatus, I am THRILLED to announce that the Control Freaks are Blog Tourin' again!!! Oh how i have missed playing with these fantastically creative women!!! Did you just come from the incredible blog of the ever-amazing LeeAnn Greff?? LOVE her whimsical and beautiful creativity!!

It snowed here in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Snow definitely helps my brain make the transition into the holiday season. I wasn't even feeling excitement about making Christmas-y cards until last week. NOW I am getting REALLY into it. I love the charm of the new Hometown Greetings Edgelits Dies ... they are SOOOOO adorable!! Equally as charming are the sentiments that come in the coordinating Hearts Comes Home stamp set!!! Couldn't resist making a bit of a starry night on this card!

Stamps: Hearts Come Home
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Hometown Greetings Edgelits Dies, 7/8" Striped Ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Something else that gets me into the holiday spirit??? MUSIC!!! And I held out for as long as I could NOT listening to any Christmas-y music ... and finally caved this past week. What can I say??? I have been collecting tunes since I first got married. I have a VERY large collection, and need more than 3-4 weeks to really listen to it all!!

Stamps: Sheet Music, Hearts Come Home, Merry Patterns
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Early Expresso, Crumb Cake, Garden Green
Accessories: Pinewood Planks Textured Impression Embossing Folder, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Hometown Greetings Edgelits Dies (for the tiny heart) Foil Snowflakes, 3/8" Burlap Ribbon

Next up???  ... the ever-incomparable Mary Brown!! Can't even COUNT how many of her creations have inspired me over the years!!

Monday Montage #104

I'm not quite sure I have EVER had a week more magical than this past one ... I spent Monday through Wednesday at the Happiest Place on Earth (my home away from home aka Disneyland!). Then, I spent Thursday through Saturday hanging out with some of my VERY bestest friendies on the planet Earth ... my Stampin' Up peeps!! What a GREAT week!!! Now it's time for Monday Montage!

You have NO idea how hard it was for me to NOT use any of the "new" stampy goodness I acquired whilst at Stampin' Up's OnStage event this past week ... we are sworn to SECRECY until 1:00pm MST November 13. And there are SOOOOO many things I want out of the Occasions Catalog ... y'all are gonna D.I.E.!!!! But I got to play with these Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits, which was almost just as fun!!

Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Soft Sky, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Swirly Snowflakes Thinlits Dies, Island Indigo Ombre Ribbon, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Silver Thread, Corner Rounder Punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

I LOVED hugging all of my friends ... and laughing and eating ... and of COURSE, STAMPING!!! What a super fun week!!! This week is gonna feel quite dull in comparison. But I guess "normal" this close to the holidays is a good thing, right???

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

Mon

Fab Friday #123

Woot! Woot!! for Fab Friday!! This has been a very looooonnnngg week!!! TGIF, baby!!! And tomorrow is SATURDAY!!! I have been needing me a Saturday for a while now!!! Playing with some paper was a good way for me to start off my weekend!

I never intentionally start off making something with the idea that I'm NOT gonna use ANY stamps!! Sometimes, it just happens! As is the case with this card ... I had a lot of stamps in mind that I was GONNA use, but it just didn't end up turning out that way!!

Stamps: None!
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Powder Pink, Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper
Ink: None!!!
Accessories:  Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies, Sunshine Wishes Thinlets Dies, Ruffled Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 7/8" Striped Ribbon, Project Life Corner Rounder Punch, Rhinestone Basics

I LOVE how simple this is ... and how many different directions you can take it!!








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

Is there any way I can get an extra weekend in my weekend? I need to PLAN to have an entire WEEK where I have NOWHERE to go, and NOTHING to do except stay home and work on some of my homebody projects ... my house could use some SERIOUS spring/deep/Swedish death cleaning!!

Monday Montage #101

It's raining, it's POURING ... and summer just SLAMMED straight into fall here in Utah!! Holy COW!!! It was 90 degrees last week and today it is in the 40's ... and it's been raining for two days straight. I LOVE rain! But I think my body/mind are in shock! Welcome to another episode of Monday Montage. I got some NEW goodies to play with, so I really enjoyed creating!

I totally love sunflowers!! I think sunflowers and daisies are my favorite flowers ... and like Meg Ryan says in "You've Got Mail" ... "don't you think daisies are the happiest flower?" I DO!!! And sunflowers are right up there in HappyLand with them!

Stamps: Painted Harvest, Eastern Medallions (sentiment)
Paper: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Berry Bliss, Tranquil Tide, Wood Texture DSP
Ink: Sahara Sand, Berry Bliss, Early Espresso
Accessories: Classic Label Punch, Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon

I guess now I don't have any excuse to complain about how HOT it is for outside running ... I actually LOVE running in cooler temps ... but I do NOT love running in the RAIN!!! What's a girl to do???? I DO love the fall, though ... hopefully we won't get any snow in our yard this week ... there has been a TON in the mountains just east of us, so I'm crossing my fingers it STAYS there!

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

Mon