Spookin' the Halls ...

Was home from work a couple of days ago and had a VERY long list of "to-do's" I had hoped to accomplish. But then, alas, I got sucked in to the BLACK HOLE (aka Pinterest)! So very MUCH fall/Halloween cuteness and creativity I thought I would weep ... but instead I got crafty!! And it was FUN!!

True confession ... my fireplace is one of my favorite things in my whole house. It's GORGEOUS!! And it looks AWESOME decorated for the holidays ... I mean, really??? How could it NOT??? Initially, I had the idea I was going to create just a burlap garland ... and perhaps "sprinkle" it with a few fall-colored leaves (happy for me I had some "leftovers" from my Spooky Witch Halloween Hat class!).  But, as you can see, I did a bit more than that!  I strung the leaves (which can be easily cut out using the Leaflets Framelits Dies and then embossed with the Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing folder) on some Linen Thread ... and used some wooden beads I had bought a couple years back to make a fall garland that NEVER HAPPENED!! GO ME!!

First, I made this burlap garland (thanks to my friend Ali who happened to have a HUGE spool (we're talkin' Costco-sized here, people!) of burlap ribbon left over from things she had bought to decorate for her daughter's wedding reception last June.  FIFTY WHOLE YARDS of it!!! And I used every last INCH!!  This was SO easy!!  I used some twine and an upholstery needle ... ran the twine right down the middle of the ribbon in a long running stitch and then just pulled the ribbon up tight!!! It just gathered beautifully!!!  Nice part is that I will be able to use this for MANY different holidays!!

I found this cute little chalkboard disc "garland" at one of my favorite fun places to shop ("All That Stuff in the Barn" in Midway, Utah). A couple of weekends ago I had a "sleepover" with some of my girlfriend's up above Heber in the beautiful hills! GREAT time! GREAT food! GREAT shopping! LOTS of laughing ... I cut some rather large letters out with my Silhouette, then I laid the negative cut of the letters down on the chalkboard disks and just filled them in with chalk!!! (Not gonna lie, took me a while to come up with a 7-letter word that was appropriate for Halloween!)! Bonus???? When we switch to November, I can just erase the letters and do something little more "Thanksgiving" appropriate ... 7 letters ... I need to start thinking about THAT one NOW!

I pulled out an "oldie but a goodie" for this little banner (translate ... it is RETIRED!). I also pulled out anything from my patterned paper stash that looked like "fall" to me ... I also used some FABULOUS Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon from a few years back (this project REALLY helped me use up some of my hoarded stash!)! I sewed the ribbon to the banner pieces I had cut out to make the garland ... SUPER easy!

Paper:Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze, Tangelo Twist, Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Blackberry Bliss, Cherry Cobbler, Happy Haunting DSP, Color Me Autumn DSP (retired), Motley Monsters DSP (retired)
Accessories:Perfect Pennants Bigz Die (retired), Early Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon (retired), Leaflets Framelits Dies, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Linen Thread, Wood Beads, Chalk and Chalkboard Garland, Burlap Ribbon, Sewing Machine

I went to ComicCon with my daughter and her friend last week ... SERIOUSLY???? Oh.My.WORD!!! We had SO MUCH FUN!!! I love to dress up anyway, so this gave me an excuse (don't judge). Han Solo in carbonite? Yeah ... HAD to have our picture taken with THAT!!! I was proud of the fact that I made all THREE of the costumes we are wearing (for those who are out of the loop, I am "Sally" from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" ... my daughter is "Little Sister" from a video game called "BioShock" ... and her friend, Quinn, is Mal Reynolds from Firefly (to be totally fair, I only made his coat ... and I got the suede for $1.99/yd which makes this even MORE cool!!)!

And ... well ... Iron Man ... and War Machine ... and me in a Captain America shirt ... can't think of how it gets much better than THIS?? GOOD TIMES!

Stamp Review Crew - Zoo Babies

Stamp Review Crew is "reviewing" again ... and THIS week we are playing with the ever-adorable ZOO BABIES!!! And ya know what??? I realized just a few days ago that I didn't actually OWN this set!! WHAT??!!?? How is that even POSSIBLE???? So, happy for me it is available in MDS (which, VERY sadly, will be retiring soon!)! So ... I just downloaded it and used my trusty ol' software and Silhouette ... WHEW!!! Was glad I had that option!!

A TOUCAN??? Seriously???? Yeah-yeah-yeah ... I probably cut this cutie out in WAY too many colors, but I just couldn't HELP myself!! He's freakin' ADORABLE!!!

Stamps:Zoo Babies, Project Life Remember This (Hooray)
Paper: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Paper Fringe Scissors, Modern Label Punch, Burlap Ribbon, Silhouette eCutter, My Digital Studio (MDS)
MDS Download: Zoo Babies

I'm not even kidding ... ALL OF THESE ZOO BABIES are CUTENESS!!!









The "next" button will take you to the amazing Ann Schach, and the "previous" button to marvelous Martha Inchley!!!

Monday Montage #41

Welcome to Monday Montage!!! Because of Easter and everyone's caRAZY lives, we took a little stampin' vacation ... but we are BACK!!!!

Well ... my old protective cover on my Mac finally gave up the ghost ... it was falling apart in more than one way, so I finally DITCHED it!!! Got this new one (and it's TIFFANY BLUE!!) ... and of COURSE it needed a NEW and FUN design on it!! So I went to work with some images from MDS (which, sadly, is "retiring" soon ... WAAAHHHH!), some vinyl and my trusty Silhouette (which FINALLY is fixed and seems to be working well again!)! This is what I came up with ...

Stamps: NONE!
Paper:  White Vinyl
Ink:   NONE!
Accessories:Silhouette eCutter, My Digital Studio (MDS)
MDS Downloads:Life is All Around (Adventure), Next in Line (Bracket Flourish)

Hope your week is full of sunshine and SMILES!!!

Click "Back" to see Melissa Stout's lovely brilliance, and/or the "Next" button to see Amy O'Neill super clever creations!

Monday Montage #39

My husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary (which is kind of amazing since I am only 27!) ... so I was happy to have something fun to create for our Monday Montage Blog Hop for my husband ...

I had to have my Silhouette fixed right around Christmas ... I didn't get it back until sometime in late January ... FINALLY pulled it out to create this card. Sadly, it still seems to be having a cranky fit about some things, so I really had to work with it to get it to cut ANYthing close to what I wanted. I will be happy when I get it working properly again ... I have MISSED it!

Stamps:  NONE!
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana Whisper White, Red Glimmer
Ink:  NONE!
Accessories:  Hexagon Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, White Jute Ribbon, Linen Thread, Burlap Ribbon, Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim, Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Mini Clothespin, Silhouette eCutter
MDS Download: Love is All Around (Love You)


Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... more creative GENIUS from BOTH of them!

CTR Lucky Stars!

I recently created a birthday card for my cousin's little girl for her 8th birthday. On it, I used the same svg file I used on today's card because I have aNOTHER cousin whose little boy is having HIS 8th birthday!! I thought that the Maritime DSP was the PERFECT thing to use as a base for this more "masculine" card (even thought it DOES have ribbon ... and sparkly paper!)!

I was asked where I got the cut file for this particular SVG (I have used it many-a-time). Here is a LINK to where you can find it ...

CTR SVG FILE

I kinda love how all my latest photos have a little hint of the spiderweb I made on my front porch for Halloween peeking into the photo ... I could have photoshopped the yarn pieces out (it's the white strings you see in the upper left), but I couldn't make myself do it. They just make me HAPPY!

Stamps: Something to Say
Paper: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Maritime DSP, Silver Glimmer DSP
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories:Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Word Window Punch, Banners Framelits, Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Chevron Border Punch, Project Life Corner Rounder Punch, eCutter (Silhouette), CTR svg File

Monday Montage #29

Sometimes I just BLINK and it's Monday again!! And Monday Montage, no less!! (We only do Monday Montage every two weeks ... and it comes in a SNAP!)!!! It's always the BEST to see what everyone has to share with their WIZARDLY creative minds!! Let's get rolling!

Yeah ... I did it again ... I kinda didn't know when to say "Stop!"  I just kept adding and adding and adding (and yeah ... I did it again ... Burlap Ribbon and Gold Sequin Trim ... can't get ENOUGH of those!)  I think I kinda went overboard on this one ... it's for my cousin's 8-year-old birthday.  The CTR stands for "Choose the Right" ... she got baptized and the "CTR" is kind of a "thing" to help remind them of who they are and the commitments they make when they are baptized ... a little corny, but I know she will like it!!

Stamps:  Work of Art, Something to Say
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Flowerpot DSP, Gold Foil Sheet
Ink:  Night of Navy, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry
Accessories:  1 1/4" Square Punch, Star Framelits, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Large Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Burlap Ribbon, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (Star), Gold Metal Buttons, Linen Thread, Gold Sequin Trim, eCutter (Silhouette), Sewing Machine
SVG Download: CTR Shield (non-SU)

And one more little thing to share ... I had my Frightful Wreath Class last night (SOOOO much fun to get together with my stampin' friends and play ... and visit ... and laugh!!). In addition to making the funtastical wreaths, we made these little treat bags ... they just took a couple of minutes ... aren't they cute?? (And can ya SEE that little bit of white yarn shooting across the left side of the photo??? It's from my Halloween spiderweb on my porch ... yeah ... I'm THAT girl ... house is already decked out for the little spooks!)

Stamps: Merry Everything
Paper: Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Note Tag Punch, Basic Black Chevron Ribbon, Tangerine Tango/White Two-Tone Trim, Chevron Tag a Bag Gift Bags, Candy

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... Love them and all their talent!!

High Five!!

Well, DANG!! Where on EARTH did THIS week go???? After the super-amazing-whirlwind-fun long weekend I had last week with my bestie, Bree Renwick, at Disneyland for my birthday AND to run the Disneyland Half Marathon, I have STRUGGLING to get back to SOME sort of NORMAL!!! (WHAT IS that, really???) I'll get back to our adventures in a minute ...

First off, however, I have been DYING to share this uber-large card with y'all. I made this card as a "thank you" for Bonnie Oscarson. She is the General Young Womens President for the LDS Church. We had the blessing of having her come and speak with our girls up at camp in July. She was AMAZING!!! (and I HAD to drag out my "old-but-not-forgotten" retired "I'm Here" stamp set!! Soooo glad I haven't gotten rid of this!) She taught the girls all about the importance of "high fives" ... the card is 8"x8" ...

See the inside? I was really happy that we got the girls' signatures to fit just PERFECTLY on the strip of cardstock I was carrying around camp as I chased each of them down to sign it!

Here are the "high fives" ... goals that Sister Oscarson wanted the girls to think about each time they saw/participated in a "high five" with someone ...

I made this "high five" using MDS and my beloved Silhouette eCutter. I had to manipulate the arrow a bit. Since this particular image is an embellishment, the arrow that was "behind" in when I imported it into the Silhouette software wasn't showing up. So, I improvised and used a DIFFERENT arrow (which I kinda had to crop and stretch out of shape to make it work). Not NEARLY as complicated as it sounds!! VERY happy with how this turned out!!

Stamps: I'm Here (retired), Alphabet Rotary, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette, Coastal Cabana, Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Fresh Prints DSP (retired)
Ink:  Crumb Cake
Accessories: Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (Star), 1/4" Circle Punch, Banner Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Spiral Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Linen Thread, Gold Sequin Trim, Sewing Machine, eCutter (Silhouette)
MDS Downloads: This and That Retro Fresh (High Five), Hooray for Today (Arrow 2)
Font: Thirsty Script (cut out with Silhouette)

Now ... on to our Disneyland adventure!!! Yeah ... we dressed up!! How can you NOT dress up when it's a Disney event????

Here we are JUST after we crossed the finish line!! (I hafta admit, Bree looks MUCH better than I do!)! 13.1 miles of FUN stuff to see and do!! We even got to run through Angels Stadium with a HUGE crowd of cheering fans!! It.Was.Amazing!

And here we are all cleaned up ... had the BEST time with this woman on my birthday!! We came home TOTALLY wiped out from all the walking, running, eating and playing we did ... but it was WELL worth it!

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!

Fab Friday #47

Yesterday was just ONE of THOSE days ... by the time I got home from everything (and yeah ... I put 22,247 steps on my Fitbit!) I STILL had to make my card for this week's Fab Friday Challenge ... and because it had been one of THOSE days, my brain was oatmeal and my HAIR was tired ... so I didn't know HOW I was gonna stamp somethin' ... In the end I really LIKED my card, though, because I got to use pretty NEW stuffs that just came in the mail yesterday (which was one of the HIGHLIGHTS of my day ... and going to lunch with Julie Davidse and Cheryl Curtis ALSO made an otherwise exhausting day a happy one as well!).

Heading out today for a family reunion. LOVE seeing all my cousins, aunts and uncles ... and we are going to "homebase" for the Anderson Family ... aka Emery, Utah. And yeah ... downtown Emery is a two-way stop (they don't even need a FOUR-way one!)! And the last time we went there we saw two boys on four-wheelers with SHOTGUNS slung over their shoulders heading for the hills!! I turned to my husband and said, "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!" Hahaha! There's a lot of family history there, though, so it IS kinda awesome!

Stamps: What's Up?
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Lullaby DSP
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Large Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, What's Up? Punch, Chevron Border Punch, Coastal Cabana Thick Bakers Twine, Gold Sequin Trim, Silhouette eCutter
MDS Download: This and That Epic Day (High Five Arrow)

Here's this week's sketch in case you'd like to play along (I took a LOT of creative license on this one!) ...











And ... 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
Brian King
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Marla Reed
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

Since I wrote this blogpost with oatmeal brain and tired hair, I think I should go to BED!!!

Monday Montage #24

Gonna wax all MUSHY again!!! Had the AMAZING chance to be able to meet up with MANY of the girls on our Monday Montage team while at Convention!! We exchanged swaps and hugs and did some stamping together! Feeling VERY blessed to call them my friends ...

Ohhhh how I STRUGGLED with this card!!! I have a VERY hard time knowing when to STOP adding and embellishing ... and I REALLY agonized over leaving so MUCH "plain ol' white" space!!! In the end, I think I have decided that I like it ...

Stamps:  Kinda Electic (my NEW favorite stamp set!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Night of Navy, Crushed Curry
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Night of Navy, Crushed Curry
Accessories:  Chalk Talk Framelits, Crushed Curry Chevron Ribbon, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Gold Sequin Trim, Staple, Sewing Machine, Silhouette eCutter
MDS Download: Woodcut Embellishments

Aren't these ladies just BEAUTIFUL???? And to tell you the truth, they are every bit as beautiful INSIDE which makes them even that much more gorgeous on the OUTSIDE!! (Okay ... you were warned ... I am feeling all MUSHY and GLOWY inside ... and missing them already!!) We were very sad that we didn't have Dani Dziama, Dara Gloden and Julie Warnick with us!! NEXT year, ladies!! Convention 2015!! Woot!! WOOT!!  Left to right: Cathy Casey, Melissa Stout, Elizabeth Price, Bree Renwick, Kaitlyn Zumbach (who was chosen to be on THIS year's Artisan Design Team ... way to GO, girlie!), ME and Amy O'Neill!

Click "Back" to see Melissa Stout's lovely card, and/or the "Next" button to see Amy O'Neill's talent just JUMPING out of the computer at ya!