Blue Jeans, Freezing Rain & FitBits

Not gonna lie ... gonna start off straight away and admit that this card was my personal FAVE of all of the cards I created for the Leadership Sample Boards. Why? The little blue jeans are stinkin' ca-YOOT!! AND ... I had so-so-so much fun creating the "denim" for the background ... I used my Simply Scored diagonal score board on some Pool Party cardstock, then rubbed over the entire piece with a sponge laden with Island Indigo ink!! Couldn't resist adding the little "stitches" with my white signo pen, either ... so there ...

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Adorning Accents Edgelits Die, Simply Scored, Sponge

Yesterday we had freezing rain. I was called on, last minute, to drive a friend and her daughter (who is ALSO my friend ... HI JENNI & MARIS!!) to the airport. The roads were DISASTROUS!! HOWEVER ... because I was only traveling on "main roads" that had already been salted, the going wasn't so bad. Where I DID run in to trouble was trying to park in my garage. Our garage is behind our house in an alley. And, since we live on a HILL, the alley, in turn, is a HILL!! ICESKATINGRINK!! After three failed attempts where I had (a) put my car in low gear, (b) attempted to crawl LIKE A SNAIL down the alley (NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL), (c) drove on TOP of the snow instead of down in the already-created tire ruts, and (d) watched my garage go WHIZZING by my left side as I went slip-sliding past it, I decided to try ONE MORE TIME (I know ... what WAS I THINKING??). Last trip down was nothing short of a miracle!! It started VERY badly ... car started sliding FULL TILT ... the brakes were only making me slide a little LESS fast (don't get me wrong, I was zipping along!), but I was sliding all over the UNIVERSE. Very.Little.Control.BRAINLESS! After what I was sure was going to be a collision with the retaining wall and/or my fence and/or garage door, this is where I ended up ... no kidding. And yes, this is the view from inside MY OWN garage - lined up perfectly to pull in!! #awesomedrivingskillz!!  I needed to haul TWO buckets of salt out there to give me some traction because I could NOT move an INCH! (And yeah, I DID slip and fall on ... the ice ... once ...) Don't think I'm gonna venture out at ALL until some THAW happens!! But, I digress ...

So, I got a FitBit in the mail yesterday!! LOVELOVELOVE it!! From about 1:00 p.m. when I put it on (after it was charged) to the time I went to bed at about 10:30 p.m. I had logged over 11,100 steps and 56 flights of stairs (yeah-yeah ... I was crazy enough to run up and down my stairs until I could earn my "50 flights" badge on my FitBit homepage). Over 5 miles!! Probably won't accomplish THAT every day, but I am doing all that fitness craziness in order to not have to USE this second creation ... hardly ... (PS - if ya wanna join me on My Fitness Pal so we can cheer each other on, email me your username!)

I got the pattern for this tissue box cover on Splitcoaststampers HERE. I had seen the owl SOMEwhere on Pinterest (I think), but sadly, forgot to save a link so I could give credit ... pretty cute though, eh?

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Read Red, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Basic Black, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Owl Builder Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Oval Framelits, Box of Tissue

Freakin' NEW Catty Stuff!!

'Tis the season ... NOT Christmas ... but the time of year that lovers of Stampin' Up YEARN for ... NEW CATTY SEASON!! You should have just come from the fantabulous blog of the amazing Patty Bennett ... didn't you just LOVE what she created? She's a stampin' GENIUS!! LOVE all her beautiful "doily-ness!"

Our theme this month is to share some things from the upcoming new catalog (to be available July 1) and/or stuff from the current Summer Mini. Let me tell ya, there is a LOT of stuff in the new catalog that is gonna put me into the Poor House ... the new In Colors are GLORIOUS, and the Bigz Die that I bought to make this card was soooo much fun to layer with a lot of the other things we already have. The Wisteria Wonder cardstock is gonna be a fave, for sure!!

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink: Concord Crush
Accessories: Bigz Perfect Pennants Die, Bigz Scallop Square Die, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, World Window Punch, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder, Pearl Sticker, Dimensionals

I made the bottom image portion of this card using the new set called "Simply Soft" ... soooo purdiful! I love two-step stamps!! And the Pear Pizzazz seam binding "seems" to go really well with the Lucky Limeade cardstock ... YAY!! Glad to see the old "standby" - Sincere Salutations - is safe for another year of stampin'! And what is NOT to love about this new GORJUS Lace Ribbon Border Punch??? I mean, c'mon!! It's LUVERLY!!

Stamps: Simply Soft, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Ink: Black Stazon, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Decorator Label Punch, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder, Pear Pizzazz Seam Binding, Dimensionals

Last, but not least, is this Kleenex box cover. I also used the Bigz Perfect Pennants die (again!) for this. Love how it looks! And butterflies??? Y'all KNOW how I am about butterflies!! I mean, what's NOT to love about 'em??? This little box has a permanent place on my desk now ...

Stamps: Precious Butterflies, Fabulous Phrases
Paper: Early Espresso, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Ink: Early Espresso, Pool Party, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Bigz Perfect Pennants Die, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" x 15/16" Oval Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Chocolate Chip Scallop Dots Ribbon, Pearl Stickers, Dimensionals, Box of Tissues

Next up?? Jan Tinklenberg ... LOVE her work!! Can you say "cupcake??" Go check it out!!