Not Too Late to Sale-a-Brate!!

Hey and Happy Monday, friends!! What a CRAZY weekend!! Cooking, baking, creating ... and flood watch! Not to mention a big ol' family get-together yesterday!! (The flood was at my mom's condo building, not my house!! Thankfully, she was not too greatly affected!). I was finishing up my last project at about 11:20 p.m. last night (with a due-date of midnight, I barely made it!)! Some weekends are just like that ...

It WAS great having my two-(too?)-far-away college kids home for the weekend, as well as being with my closer-to-home college kid and the rest of our extended family. AWESOME!!

Wanted to remind everyone that it is NOT too late to jump in on the great deals for this year's Sale-a-Bration promotion (see brochure by CLICKING HERE!)! For every (ANY?) $50 ya spend, you can choose any one item from the brochure for stinkin' fa-REE!! That's right!! And who DOESN'T love FREE??? This card here was creating TWO of the "free" items available ... the Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper AND the Vintage Verses Stamp Set. Don't miss out!! (If ya haven't noticed, I DO have a "Shop 24/7" button on the sidebar to the right ... just sayin' ...)

Stamps:  Vintage Verses
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo, Whisper White
Ink:  Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories:  Scallop Trim Border Punch, Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Rhinestone Basics

'Tis a Monday, so I'm headed out the door for a run and then off to work! I hope today's Monday goes MUCH better than the Monday I had at work last FRIDAY ...

Artisan Wednesday Wow - February FB Project!

It's WEDNESDAY ... and y'all KNOW what that means!! This week the Artisans are sharing the projects we made for Stampin' Up's Facebook page for the month of February. Did you SEE Sarah Sagert's BEAUTIFUL boxed card set??? She.ROCKS!!


I think I used at least 75% of the goodies in the current Sale-a-Bration catalog on this silly little card (well, maybe NOT, but I DID use a LOT!) ... I just got started and could NOT stop myself! I had this thing for dresses with pleats when I was a little girl. I had several of them (which means my mom, obviously, ALSO had a thing for 'em!)! I loved spinning in them AND fanning the skirts out to show everyone how pretty they were. Which is what inspired this little card ...
Stamps:
129642: Pretty Petites Stamp Set
Paper:
127540: Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper
122925: Calypso Coral Cardstock
122924: Pool Party Cardstock
100730: Whisper White Cardstock
Ink:
126983: Calypso Coral Classic Stampin’ Pad
126982: Pool Party Classic Stampin’ Pad
123002: 2011-2013 Stampin’ Write Markers (Calypso Coral)
Accessories & Tools:
125594: Designer Rosette Bigz XL Die
130159: Hearts a Flutter Framelits Dies
129381: Oval Framelits Dies
130492: Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
117335: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
130812: Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack (Pool Party Ribbon)
129405: Petite Curly Label Punch
119854: 1 ¾” Scallop Circle Punch
119680: 1 3/8” Circle Punch
118874: 2 3/8” Scallop Circle Punch
119869: ½” Circle Punch

See what I mean??? I kinda used it ALL up on this card ... sometimes I can't HELP myself!!

Onward to the superlative scrapbooking skills of Amy Bollman!! I LOVE the layout she did for her darling son's third birthday!!

Shameless Self-Promotion ...

Thanks to my BFF (and fellow Artisan Design Team Member), the ever-awesome Jane Lee, I am now LEGIT on eBay!! She taught me how to get my act together ... so I have posted FIFTY retired stamp sets for sale!!

You can check 'em out HERE!!

WENDY'S RETIRED STAMPS FOR SALE ON EBAY!!

(I added a tab for a new page at the top of my blog, so you can find the link there, too!)

And this card'll give ya something to look at (has LOTS of Sale-a-Bration goodies on it!) ...

Stamps: Vintage Verses (SAB), Madison Avenue (SAB)
Paper: Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories:  Labels Collection Framelits, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Linen Thread, Pearl Basics

Choose the Right ...

Last week, my adorable little cousin, Emma, turned 8 years old. I actually remember turning 8 years old myself (which was a reaaalllly long time ago!)!! I remember the little white, lacy dress I had with the navy blue grosgrain ribbon tie that went around my (then-non-existent) hips. I wore that dress on the day I was baptized.

For children raised in the LDS faith, turning 8 is a big-mega-deal!! That is the year you can choose to be baptized. And the little shield on this card is an icon that helps us remember to choose the right in all that we do (hence, the acronym CTR). Back in the day (when I was a young girl of 8), children were given little silver rings with a green CTR shield logo at church upon turning 8. In recent years, CTR rings have kinda become a fashion statement (coming is all sizes, shapes, colors and designs!), if you will. I have seen so many different incarnations (MUCH better than the little adjustable, wrap-around dealio I got when I was little that not only had a green shield, but also turned my finger green! Which I still have, btw, but I digress ...)

Of course, adding flowers, ribbon and blingy rhinestones to the CTR logo also goes a long way in winning the smile from an 8-year-old (I was TACKLED with hugs when I gave Emma this card). What better response to giving a hand-made card is there than getting crushed by hugs from a 8-year-old??? Can't thing of one single response I have EVER had that made me happier!!

Truth be told, I actually still wear a ring with the CTR shield on it ... every day. Reminds me to try to be my best in all that I do (and it was pointed out to me that I WAS wearing it by the same 8-year-old!!)! Certainly put a happy on MY day!!

The other day when I answered the phone at work, the person on the other end asked the ever-common question "How are you?," to which I gave the ever-common reply, "Great! How are you?" His response? "Happy!" That was my FAVORITE!! Think I'm gonna use that one whenever anyone asks "How are you?" Made my day!!

Have a gloriously-fabulous weekend, everyone!

Stamps: Raining Flowers, Bloomin' Marvelous (SAB)
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Cricut, (CTR logo was an SVG file I found online), Melon Mambo Taffeta Ribbon, Oval Punch, Little Leaves Sizzlets Die, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Rhinestone Basics

Whoooosh!!!

That sound?? Just the sound of another weekend come and gone!! Honestly, how DOES that happen so quickly every single weekend??? And I never seem to get HALF the stuff done that I plan to!! Yikes!!! While there was a MAJOR sporting event going on downstairs on the tv there (I have never been able to "get" how you can stayed glued to a 4+-hour slow-moving game of football!), I was upstairs playing with MDS on my computer and watching old episodes of "Bones" on Netflix ... but, I digress ...

This card was a lesson in stamp-a-ma-jiggin'! I went several years stamping where I NEVER even TOUCHED a Stamp-a-ma-jig! Have NO idea how I got along withOUT one!! I can't seem to stamp "straight" to save my life!! This is quite simple (which is something you KNOW I struggle with), but I kinda like how it turned out ...

Stamps: Madison Avenue (SAB), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Calypso Coral
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Adorning Accents Edgelits Die, Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Rhinestone Basics, Word Window Punch

And remember a few years back when we were ALL rushing to buy these tea tins so that we could embellish the heck out of 'em??? Well, like so many things I HAD to have ... I HAD to have more than one ... which means I STILL have several in a box in my storage room, so I decided to pull one out and play with it!!

Close-up on the left ...

Close-up on the right ...

And here is HOPING-HOPING-HOPING that Punxsatawney Phil got it right this year (apparently, he did NOT see his shadow on Saturday, which was Groundhog Day, so he predicts an early Spring). I need some sunshine and warmer temps VERY VERY BADLY!!

Be sure to tune back in on Wednesday ... the Artisan Design Team will be starting our weekly Wednesday Wow blog hops!! You won't wanna miss it!!

Stamps: Vintage Verses (SAB), Bloomin' Marvelous (SAB)
Paper: Sycamore Street DSP (SAB), Island Indigo
Ink:, Island Indigo,Pool Party, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Tasteful Trim Bigz Die, Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Rhinestone Basics, Tea Tin

Bookmarks?

Okay ... so here I go AGAIN!! Is this a box of BOOKMARKS??? I'm not quite sure WHAT they are (as in my last post ... I just confuse mySELF!!)!! Another sample I made for Leadership ... had a VERY clear vision of what I wanted this to look like. It came together pretty easily ...

... and once again, it is up to the discretion of the paper crafter as to WHAT to use this for ... I think these little tags are cute, nonetheless ... :) Gift tags? Bookmarks?

Stamps: Pretty Petites (SAB)
Paper: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral
Ink: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Accessories: Two Tags Bigz Die, Scallop Circle Punch, Curly Label Punch, Petite Curly Label Punch (SAB) , Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Silver Mini Brads

I have these photographs, framed, sitting on my piano. They are photos of both ME and MY HUSBAND ... taken when we were both, respectively, three years old. And, although the photos are NOT "vintage" enough to be paired with the timeframe the old-time bicycle and ferris wheel images evoke, I thought they made for a cute pairing!!

How's THAT for a short blog post???

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental (SAB), Letter It Alphabet
Paper: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, First Edition DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: 1" Square Punch, Vine Street Textured Impression Embossing Folder (SAB), Designer Naturals Buttons, Early Espresso Stitched Ribbon, Linen Thread

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

Oh Happy Day!

And so ... today I am sharing two VERY different things that I created with the same stamp set ... which just happens to be one that you can earn for FREE with any $50 order during Stampin' Up's Sale-a-Bration promo (which just started YESTERDAY!).

FIrst off ... a card. I was going for sort of a "quilted" look. Not quite sure I achieved that, but I DID try to evoke a little but of springtime with the colors, butterflies and flowers. January is always the coldest, grayest and most BLEH month for weather. Can't WAIT to see the sun!! (We suffer from nasty inversions in the Salt Lake Valley ... cloud cover gets trapped in between the mountain ranges on the extreme west and extreme east sides of the valley ... kinda like living in a bowl! ... and any nasty pollutions and what-not get trapped under the cloud cover until we get a storm to blow it outta here .... which is where we are right now ... again ... waiting for a storm to expose the blue skies above the cloud cover!)

Stamps: Bloomin' Marvelous (SAB)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon, Ticket Duo Building Punch, Simply Scored

Next up? A scrapbook layout. And yeah ... that IS me ... in my wedding dress! I made my friends who were going to Leadership Convention in Florida (where this sample was posted) PROMISE NOT to throw darts at this ... OR (especially) draw big ol' mustaches or Harpo-Marx-style eyebrows on it, although I KNOW they were tempted!!

Same stamp set, totally different look. I used the Natural 7/8" Cotton Ribbon to create this pearly flower (with help from the Jumbo Sticky Rounds!) ...

And, of course, I HAD to add at last ONE butterfly in there somewhere!!

Stamps: Bloomin' Marvelous (SAB), Madison Avenue (SAB)
Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Small Oval Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Natural 7/8" Cotton Ribbon, Pearl Basics, Linen Thread


Wedding dresses started to get really FUN and INTERESTING a few years AFTER I got married (but, hey ... at least "back in the day" most of 'em had SLEEVES!)! I'm pretty sure my daughter is NEVER gonna wanna even try my wedding dress ON ... but it IS properly boxed up in a closet downstairs in the event that SOMEday I find something to do with it!!

Monday-Monday ...

How is it that the weekend is already OVER?? I had soooo many plans for things I wanted to accomplish over the weekend and sooooo many of them just didn't happen!! Sigh ... one more day woulda done it! I'm gonna blame it on the fact that I smacked my head on the bathroom cupboard Saturday night ... luckily for me, I didn't need stitches, but it did make me see STARS ... and BIRDIES ... and RUBBER DUCKIES!!

So today I'm gonna share a couple more things I made for the SU Leadership display boards ... and this first one uses the cute little Petite Curly Label punch (again!)! I think layering it with the regular ol' Curly Label punch is gonna be one of my new favorite things!!

Stamps:  Pretty Petites (SAB)
Paper: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Petite Curly Label Punch (SAB), Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Rhinestone Basics, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Piercing Tool/Mat

I have ALWAYS wanted to make these little curly ribbon hair accessories, so I finally broke down and researched how to get 'er done (thank HEAVEN for PINTEREST!)! Wrap the ribbon pieces on a dowel and then soak them in some water (just long enough to make sure the ribbons are soaked through). Put the in the oven for 25 minutes at 275 degrees and VOILA!! Easy-cheesy!! (And since there was not a SOUL at home when I finished this to take a photo ... not like my husband woulda modeled it for me ANYway! ... and since my doggie was a VERY unwilling model, I had to use this teddy bear to show it off!)

I added a little button in the center of the ribbon curls ...

Stamps: NONE
Paper: NONE
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Whisper White Baker's Twine Headband, Dowel





That's pretty much all for today ... it's 10 degrees outside ... think I"m gonna hafta bundle up like mummy to survive!!

Sale-a-Brate Good Times ... The Freaks!

There's a party goin' on right here ... a Sale-a-Bration to last throughout the year!! (Excuse me while I have a high school flashback!!) Welcome to the Control Freaks Blog tour ... Sale-a-Bration style!! If you have been following us around the block, you should have just come from the ever-incomprable Dawn Olchefske!! What a woman!!

This month we are sharing some creations we have made using stampy goodness from the 2013 Sale-a-Bration catalog. LOTS of great stuff to be had in there!! First off? Don'tcha just LOVE the Petite Curly Label Punch??? I sooo love that it allows me to layer with the regular ol' Curly Label Punch. I kinda got carried away with the layers on this baby ... and I even SEWED on it, too! Too-too fun!

Stamps: Pretty Petites (SAB)
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Petite Curly Label Punch (SAB), Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (Buttons - SAB), Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Sewing machine

Next up, a birthday card! I really LOVE the images in the Patterned Occasions Stamp Set!! This little cupcake just makes me happy (because, face it, who DOESN'T love a CUPCAKE??)

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Real Red
Accessories: Scallop Square Bigz Die, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Window Frames Framelits, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Real Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Mini Brads, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Paper Piercing Tool

And finally, a little-bitty backpack!! I used a handful of Bigz dies to help me out ... Fancy Favor, Top Note and Two Tags!! The paper, buttons and ribbon ... LOVE these colors together!!

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Fancy Favor Bigz Die, Top Note Bigz Die, Two Tags Bigz Die, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (SAB), Linen Thread



Next up?? My fellow Freak and BFF JanTink!! She is a paper-crafy wizard!!

Time to SALE-A-BRATE!!!

I am soooo very happy that I FINALLY get to share the projects I made for Stampin' Up's Leadership Conference for the sample boards!! THIS Is was I was working on ALL through November ... 24 projects in THREE weeks!! EEEeeek!! I nearly lost my mind, but I was happy with everything (mostly!) when I was finished!!

Soooo ... what IS Sale-a-Bration, you ask??? Allrighty, then ... I'll TELL ya!! It's a special promotion that runs from January 22 - March 22, 2013. For every $50 you spend, you are able to choose one set from the Sale-a-Bration brochure for FREE!! That's right ... FREE!! As soon as the link becomes active, I will post the beautiful brochure with all of the available free goodness here on my blog. But, in the meantime, I will be giving you a "sneak peek" of what is in there.

The stamp set I used to create BOTH of these cards is probably my FAVORITE offering for Sale-a-Bration! LOVE the vintage-y look of these images!! This ferris wheel is the BEST!!

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental (SAB)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB), First Edition DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories:  Vine Street Textured Impression Embossing Folder (SAB), 3 1/2" Circle Original Bigz Die, Wide Oval Punch, Soft Suede Taffeta Ribbon, Neutrals Buttons, Linen Thread, Simply Scored

And here is an old-fashioned bike ... don't think I would have even been able to get UP on one of these things, let alone make it GO anywhere!! But I DO love it, anyway (and I am doing my best to convert my friend, Cheryl, to the Summer Starfruit Lovers Club ... I really happen to LIKE that color!!).

Stamps: Feeling Sentimental (SAB)
Paper: Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Summer Starfruit Stitched Ribbon, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB)

It was chilly whilst we were in Anaheim for CHA (never got outta the 50's)!! But it is freakin' FREEZING here at home ... currently 19 degrees (which is a step up from the ZERO degrees we dropped to a couple of nights ago!). Not expected to get over 21 today ... BRrrrrrrrr!! I am tempted to take my electric blanket to work with me!

Happy Wednesday!