Stampin’ Fancy Friday - Letter Challenge

Isn’t it crazy that it took me until I was 27 years old (again!) to learn that I actually liked cats?? We adopted our sweet Willow last October and have been smitten with her since day ONE!

Soooo … I used a combination of letters from the Mini Alphabet and Party Alphabet Dies, Cutest Crew stamps and Vanilla Baker’s Twine to create a scrapbook layout to capture her sweet and mischievous nature!

Willow is a bundle of fun! She loves crawling in, around and under things and is very enamored of Amazon boxes (empty or full!). She is very friendly and loves to be where the people are!

I made this little ball of yarn using some Very Vanilla Baker’s twine. I stuck a little adhesive down and just wrapped my own little circle … then added some little pieces to cross over the ball and cascade down from there.

I used an assortment of circle punches to add interest and dimension behind the letters and kittens.

The pawprint strip from the Cutest Crew Dies added the most darling detail to the “MEOW”. If you look closely you can see that the left-hand side of each letter is actually a strip … I did a little cutting and pasting to be able to add them to these letters.

Of course, the Cutest Crew kittens make appearances all over this page … it wouldn’t have been nearly as cute without them!

Stamps: Cutest Crew

Paper: Basic White, Pecan Pie Two-Tone, Lost Lagoon Two-Tone, Basic Gray, Gray Granite, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Black Memento; Stampin’ Blends - Pecan PIe, Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate, Gray Granite, Lost Lagoon

Accessories: Party Alphabet Dies, Mini Alphabet Dies, Cutest Critter Dies, 1 3/8” Circle Punch, 2 3/4” Circle Punch, Very Vanilla Baker’s Twine

Check out all the fun things created by the Stampin’ Fancy Friday Challenge Team on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stampinfancyfriday/!!!

Bear Lake - Part 3!

As promised … here are pages 5 and 6 of our Bear Lake trip a few weeks ago! All three of the two-page layouts have similar elements, but I added something a little different to each set to make them a little unique in their own way.

Keeping with the overall theme, the Rolling Waves Dies and the Water & Dotted Lines Decorative Mask were also used on these layouts. Those elements were used on all three spreads.

I board a few different dies from Extraordinary Life (the little flags for the banners) and the seashells from Rolling Waves - dies from each set I hadn’t yet used on the other layouts I had done.

Perennial Postage Dies are probably my most-used dies that are current … they can be adapted to ANYTHING!

The Scalloped Blooms Dies once again came to the rescue for the sentiment panels … they are definitely going to be one of my most-frequently-reached-for dies for the unforeseeable future. They are awesome.

Since I haven’t yet purchased the Simple Alphabet Stamp Set (something I plan to remedy on my next order!), I grabbed a favorited retired alphabet set to stamp words for these pages - it’s called Alphabest. It came through in a pinch for me!

A little more use of the So Swirly Embossing Folder and it all tied together. These pages were so fun to created - a LOT of photos - and I got at least one pic of everyone who was at the lake that weekend. I call that a WIN!

Stamps: Splash and Relax, Alphabest (retired)

Paper: Basic White, Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Everyday Essentials DSP, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Coastal Cabana, Azure Afternoon, Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral

Accessories: Rolling Waves Dies, Scalloped Blooms Dies, Splash and Relax Dies Water & Dotted Lines Decorative Mask, Linen Thread, Antique Pearls

Hope your 4th of July weekend is full of fun, family, food and new memories are made! (Maybe you will need to do some scrapbooking once it is done!)

Bear Lake - Part 2!

Time at Bear Lake with my family is one of my summer staples … we’ve been doing it for as many years as I can remember.

I don’t remember the last time I did more than two scrapbook pages of a single event … and there are still two more to share after these. SIX total!! It was a great weekend!!

Trying to keep with the vibes from the other pages I have completed, I again used the Rolling Waves Dies and the Water & Dotted Lines Decorative Mask.

I added a recently retired element to this page … the cute little sailboats from the Come Sail Away Bundle. I mean, we WERE at the lake and we WERE there with a couple of sail boats!!

The So Swirly Embossing Folder was also employed to add dimension to the Pecan Pie strip of cardstock in the background.

The Mini Alphabet Dies are just the PERFECT size! This weekend in Bear Lake was spent at Rendezvous Beach … our campsite was the BEST! Super close to the beach and a nice pavillion and restrooms at our disposal. Beautiful!

I used one of the Scalloped Blooms Dies to do journaling for each of the pictures. There were 29 of us up there together, so getting pix of everyone was really important to me!

Stamps: Come Sail Away

Paper: Basic White, Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon, Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake Coastal Cabana, Everyday Essentials DSP, Silly Old Bear DSP, Country Woods DSP

Ink: Black Memento, Coastal Cabana, Azure Afternoon, Blueberry Bushel, Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Balmy Blue, White Gel Pen

Accessories: Come Sail Away Dies, Mini Alphabet Dies, Rolling Waves Dies, Scalloped Blooms Dies, Water & Dotted Lines Decorative Mask

I have two more pages to share … they will be up by this weekend! Where are your summer “go to” staples??? 

Monday Montage - Bear Lake!

Time for another round of fun creations with the Monday Montage Crew!

I took soooo many fun pix about a week and a half ago at a family weekend up at Bear Lake that I couldn’t WAIT to get them onto paper … I actually started as soon as I got home (having made a stop at Walgreen’s to pick up the photos I had already sent to be printed!)

My favorite element on this two-page spread is the letters I created to say “BEAR LAKE”. I used the Party Alphabet Dies because of how big and wonderful they are.

To be fair, I had to end up doing a little scissor assistance with the letters because they were four layers thick in the middle! No problem, though, as the imprint left on the bottom layer from the dies was very easy to follow (and was only in a few spots in the middle of some of the letters that I had to cut with scissors).

I used the Rolling Waves dies to make the water hit the sand on the letters … LOVE hoi they turned out!

I also used the Splash and Relax Dies to add the fun little beach-y elements … the visor, flip flops and sun umbrellas. I love these people so much, and having some fun photos that I can touch and look at that are NOT on my phone just makes my heart happy!

Stamps: Splash and Relax

Paper: Basic White, Flirty Flamingo, Azure Afternoon, Blueberry Bushel, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Beautiful Ordinary Life DSP

Ink: Coastal Cabana, Blueberry Bushel

Accessories: Water & Dotted Lines 12”x12” Decorative Masks, Splash and Relax Dies, Party Alphabet Dies, Mini Alphabet Dies, Rolling Waves Dies, Antique Pearls

I actually have another two-page layout completed and a third two-page layout nearly complete from this same trip … keep your eyes peeled in the next few days for me to share those as well!

Our Monday Montage Hop has gone exclusively to Instagram! You can check it out by finding me @tinkermom85. From there you will be able to find all of my Monday Montage Friends, too!

All Because of Stampin’ Up!

Hey friends! I have been having soooo many technical difficulties with my lil’ ol’ blog here, but I think I have finally fixed what was broken so I can finally share again! YAY!

I made this scrapbook page to express my gratitude for what my life is like because of Stampin’ Up.

A good friend of mine, Shellee Reading, kept working on me to get me to join her “card club”. This was about 23 years ago (which is weird, since I am only 27!). I didn’t really want to, but she finally wore me down! Up to this point I had done some scrapbooking, but hadn’t really done any stamping or card making.

After having been in the “club” for about 3 years she convinced me that I should just sign up to be a demo. She said I could make my own minimums based on what I was ordering just from her. The discount sounded nice, and there was a promo for new demos at the time that included an entire color family of ink pads. How could I resist?? (Apparently, I couldn’t!). I was about a year behind signing up from my BFF, Cheryl Curtis. I met her at Shellee’s card club.

I was only going to be a demo for a year or two “just to get the discount.” I am now just about to reach my 20-year anniversary with Stampin’ Up - hard to believe!!

I met Kathy via Splitcoaststampers. There were a bunch of us who used to have a thread on there, mostly active in the early mornings, where we would “chat” as we waited for the daily challenge to be posted. (It was soooo inefficient as you had to continually refresh the page to see any new messages!) Kathy and I soon realized we had a lot in common! We talk almost every day (she lives in Minnesota), and she and I have made many trips to one another’s homes over the years. She even took me to Mt. Rushmore once on a drive to Utah from Minnesota (I flew out to drive back with her so she wouldn’t have to come alone!). Coolest experience EVER!

I met Bree Renwick’swhen she and I were both Artisan Design Team Finalists WAY back in 2012. We have also done a lot of traveling back and forth to our respective homes (she lives in Walla Walla), in addition to a great beach girl’s trip to the Oregon Coast during the Pandemic and at least TWO trips to Disneyland for RunDisney events. Not to mention Stampin’ Up events in Los Angeles, Houston, Raleigh and Las Vegas!

These ladies are my “ride-or-die” besties. We talk ALL the time - laughing, crying, or just shooting the breeze. I love them with my whole heart - hence the use of the “Friends for Life” dies (which, sadly, recently retired). I also used some old DSP I had … it wasn’t in its original packaging, but I know it is from Stampin’ Up. USE THOSE OLD SUPPLIES, FRIENDS!

Stamps: None!

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Calypso Coral, Basic Gray, Misc Retired DSP

Ink: None! (Except for a white gel pen)

Accessories: Friends for Life Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Spotlight On Nature Dies, Adhesive Backed Sparkle Gems

I cannot even BEGIN to imagine what my life would be like had I not gone to Shellee’s card club all those years ago. I have made friendships and had experiences that you canNOT put a price tag on. What a blessing it has been - blessed, grateful and happy!

Stampin’ Fancy Friday - Friends Forever

This month for the Stampin’ Fancy Friday Challenge we are going back to scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is where my papercrafting journey began oh-so-many moons ago! This page was so much fun as it features so many of my fellow Fancy Friday Friends when we were at a recent Stampin’ Up OnStage event in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This page was alllll about dies!

I used flowers from Impressions Abloom to accent each of the photos. I used the Perennial Postage Dies to create a stacked “border” of sorts to the right of the photos using the Turtle-y Cute DSP and a combo of Flirty Flamingo and Basic Black.

For the lettering I used the Alphabet AlaMode Dies. They work so well with everything!

I also used a couple of dies from the Sentimental Frames Dies to highlight the letters and the little journaling panel.

Stamps: None!

Paper: Basic White, Basic Black, Flirty Flamingo, Strawberry Slush, Darling Duckling, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lolly, Turtle-y Cute DSP

Ink: None!

Accessories: Impressions Abloom Dies, Alphabet Ala Mode Dies, Sentimental Frames Dies, Strawberry Slush and Pretty in Pink Gems

Check out all the fun things created by the Stampin’ Fancy Friday Challenge Team on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/stampinfancyfriday/!!!

TGIF #522 - Product Challenge

TGIF!! This week we are playing with Alphabet Dies … specifically, I am using the Mini Alphabet Die. I have actually been playing with that a LOT lately! It. has the entire alphabet from A-Z all in one die, which makes it VERY easy! Check out the blog challenge here - TGIF Challenge Blog if you’d like to play along!

Last year my hubby and I were able to check an item off our bucket list … quite literally I have been wanting to go to Machu Picchu for as many years as I can remember! My dad always wanted to do this, but was never able to because of his poor health. As you can see from the photo on the right, I took my dad with me! I cried all the way up the mountain … crocodile tears! It was truly a magical and amazing experience!

I did one of my favorite scrapbook things on this page … I stack a photo on top of itself, but used two different sizes … a 5x7 and a 4x6. In between the layers is a thin layer of Night of Navy. Looks cool, right?

How supremely PERFECT is this DSP for this particular layout??? I mean, we were on a mountain in the clouds … AND we were in Peru! The DSP had one design with a map, and I used the part with South America in it and highlighted the spot where Machu Picchu actually is with a little heart and embellishment! The paper is called “Take to the Sky”. I think this is one of my most favorite scrapbook layouts I have ever done!

I used a little Balmy Blue ink and a sponge to brush a little color onto the bottom of the clouds (from the Adventurous Sky Dies).

Lastly, I used a white gel pen to highlight the Mini Alphabet Letters. I was VERY happy with the outcome!

I made this little tag with the “Tags to Go” Stamps and Dies. I feel like it was the perfect size to add just the right accent to the page!

Stamps: Tags to Go

Paper: Basic White, Night of Navy, Take to the Sky DSP, Country Woods DSP, Gold Foil

Ink: Balmy Blue, Versamark

Accessories: Tags to Go Dies, Mini Alphabet Dies, Adventurous Sky Dies, Linen Thread, Opal Rounds Assortment

We’d love to have you play along!! You can check us out our blog HERE and Instagram … lots of great inspiration from the rest of the TGIF Crew!

What's Up, Freaky Dude?!??

Honestly?? My life is just NOT that interesting!! I think I have posted to my blog FOUR times this week ... and I have nothing "new and cool" to tell you! But the GOOD NEWS is that I am going to share what I made with you for this month's Control Freaks Blog Tour. I am on a ROLL lately!!! Probably because I have so many NEW and LOVELY things to play with!!! We are celebrating the "dudes" in our life this month by creating masculine projects. Did you just come from the blog of my friend, Melissa Stout??? She is SOOOOOO SOOOOOO good!!!

So I posted a photo here the first part of last week of the collage I made for my hubby's hangar wall. I had a BUNCH of pictures blown up (enlarged??!??) to frame and add to the collection. This scrapbook page was from an 8x10 that I ended up NOT using ... and it looks like it was MADE to go with the Best Route Suite, don't ya think??? The colors in the sky and the sign (and even from my t-shirt!) match the colors in the DSP sooooooooo perfectly!!! I couldn't resist!! And I think the new Corrugated Dynamic Impressions Embossing Folder is going to be VERY well used at my house ... it's DA BOMB!

Stamps: Best Route
Paper: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Gray Granite, Whisper White
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, 1/2" Circle Punch, Classic Label Punch, Corrugated Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Night of Navy Bakers Twine, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Stars Framelits (ok ... sorry that these are RETIRED ... but I couldn't help it on this layout ... it just NEEDED some STARS!)

This is what you call a "$100 card"!! I used so many different things on it, that I am SURE it is "cheaper to make your own card than to buy one in the store!" Hahaha ... we have all been there, haven't we??? I just kept going as thoughts were popping into my head while I was making this ... what can I say??? I LOVE my toys (TOOLS!!)!!

Stamps: Itty Bitty Greetings, Tree Rings
Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede,
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Seasonal Layers Thinlits, Pinewood Planks Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Nature's Twine, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon


Next up???  ... incredible Kelly Acheson!! You are just gonna LOVE what she has made!!

Isn't She Lovely???

Isn't she loooooovely? Isn't she won-der-ful??!?? Ok ... Now that I have all of you singing along with Stevie Wonder in your heads (or out loud, whatever the case may be!) ... I have been wanting to scrapbook some of my daughter's bridal photos from last spring. Can I say that there were SOOOO many to choose from that were FABULOUS that I had a VERY hard time choosing??? We had an A-MAZ-ING photographer that took so many PERFECT photos!!! I really need to make an entire album just of my daughter's bridal photos ... and engagements photos ... and wedding photos. Maybe this layout will get me started!

When I saw Stampin' Up's Springtime Impressions Thinlits Dies in Las Vegas this past March I KNEW that they would be coming to live with me!! Just as surely as I KNEW that I would be creating some scrapbook pages from my daughter's wedding ... if you look closely at the beading on Amelia's dress you will see that it is a PERFECT match with this beautiful corner border die ... I mean, SERIOUSLY??? I had fun using the die as a stencil as well. I made kind of a "boho" pattern in the upper-left corner to tie the page together. It's my new favorite die, I think!! (And we all know how quickly that can change, depending on what we are using and how much we like the finished product, right???)

Here's a close-up of some of the detail. The little cross-stitching from the thinlits die??? The fraying on the edges of twine ... and, of course, the "messy" stenciling from the beautiful flower corner die ...

Supplies: Stitched All Around
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink:  Crumb Cake
Accessories: Springtime Impressions Thinlits Dies, Stitched Labels Framelits Dies, Crumb Cake Nature's Twine, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Pearl Basics Accents

I struggle with trying to keep my creations "simple" ... I know I have mentioned that before! I want to use #allthethings #allthetime!!! I'm glad I was able to restrain myself on this particular layout ... the pictures are so "lovely" that I didn't want to detract too much from them. This was FUN!!! Now to make the other 547 pages I need to make Amelia's wedding memories COMPLETE!! Hahaha!! Perhaps she can just look at the photos in our GoogleDrive!

Monday Montage #72

I love weekends. I think most of us love weekends ... and they seem to be over before they have even started most of the time!! We went up with the fam to our one of our favorite spots for the weekend ... Bear Lake!!! It's so relaxing and so much fun! And the best way to cap off the weekend is with a blog hop with the Monday Montage girls!! YAY!!!

How freakin' ADORABLE is this picture??? Are you KIDDING me???? This is my grand-niece, Sammy. This girl has SO much energy and SO much personality ... seems the birds think she is pretty great as well ... I made this as one of my OnStage samples ... hadn't done a traditional scrapbook page in quite a while. This was FUN!!

Stamps: Crazy About You
Paper: Flirty Flamingo, Emerald Envy, Daffodil Delight, Peekaboo Peach, Basic Black, Whisper White, 2016-2018 In Color Designer DSP Stack
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Project Life Moments Like These Cards & Accessories, Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits, Botanical Builders Framelits, Banners Framelits, Little Letters Thinlits (Retired), White Jute Ribbon (Retired), Linen Thread, Mini Stapler

Time for a little Project Life!! (This was ALSO something I made for OnStage - as is the following layout!). I took three of my favorite pictures I had taken with each of my kids in the last few years ... they are fun. I'm glad they have grown up into such great humans ... and that we are friends as well!

Stamps: None!
Paper: 2016-2018 In Color Designer DSP Stack, Whisper White
Ink: Project Life Pen
Accessories: Project Life Moments Like These Cards and Accessories, Gold Sequin Trim, Burlap Ribbon (Retired), Linen Thread, Gold Baker's Twine

This is my boy!!! He double majored in college and this was the day he received TWO Bachelor's Degrees!!! I couldn't be more proud!!! (And we trudged clear across campus so we could take this photo with the "Y" in the background ... go Cougars!!) He's gearing up to start his Master's degree in the fall ... where DOES the time go???

Stamps: Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: 2016-2018 In Color Designer DSP Stack, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Dapper Denim, Typeset DSP (Retired), Gold Foil DSP, Vellum
Ink: Dapper Denim, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Project Life Moments Like These Cards and Accessories, Large Numbers Thinlits, Hexagon Hive Thinlit (Retired), Word Window Punch (Retired), Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits, Linen Thread, Burlap Ribbon (Retired), Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... ALWAYS something awesome from EACH of them!!

Monday Montage #26

Who's up for another go-round with the Monday Montage girls???? MEMEMEME!!! So let's get started!!

I am SO excited to be able to share this scrapbook layout with y'all ... I did this as one of my items for the Convention Display Boards ... and I did something with it that I have NEVER done before ... I actually made TWO of them so that I could keep one!! (I swear, Stampin' Up has owned ALL of my best scrapbook layouts for the past several years ... I decided I was just gonna do the work and make a duplicate this time around!)!!

This is a picture of my daughter on her 17th birthday (she just turned 20). I have loved it from the moment I took it ... and knew I needed to do a whole page just for this (something I don't usually do, either ... I'm kinda of the mindset that scrapbook layouts NEED more than one photo ... but I couldn't help myself this time around!)!

Here's a closeup of some of the details ... I cut the "celebrate" out using MDS and my trusty ol' Silhouette ...


Stamps: #hello, Chevron Background
Paper: Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Hello Honey, Basic Gray, Moonlight DSP, Brights Color Collection DSP, Vellum
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Crump Cake
Accessories: Circles Collection Framelits, Hearts Collection Framelits, Pansy Punch, Petite Petals Punch, Banner Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Word Window Punch, Chevron Border Punch, Brights Candy Dots, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Sewing Machine, Silhouette eCutter
MDS Downloads: Moments Ago ("celebrate"), Christmas Countdown ("17")

It's been quite the week, I tell ya!! We just got back from a quick trip to Zion National Park ... hiked 13 miles through The Narrows ... I'm wiped out but oh-so-grateful to have been with people I love in such a beautiful place!! Counting my blessings ...

Click "Back" to see Marvelous Melissa Stout, and/or the "Next" button to see Awesome Amy O'Neill!

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!!!