Tour de Freaks - Christmas Style!

Here we are again on yet ANOTHER amazing FREAKY Blog Tour. Thanks for joining us! This month we are focusing on things that you can give to your friends and neighbors ... you KNOW the ones I mean ... the ones who would never even THINK about throwing out or parting with a SINGLE thing that was handmade just for them!! Soooooo....without further adieu, here is what I have come up with ...

First off, I decided to FINALLY make this "Believe" framed art gift. I swear, I have been thinking about doing this FOREVER (like, maybe SIX years!). This month's Blog Tour finally pushed me over the edge (and I'm glad, 'cause I am giving this baby as a gift to ME!! Is that bad???). It really was not all that difficult to make, and it was pretty darn fun t'boot!!

Here is a close up of a few of the letters. I wanted you to be able to see the BEAUTIMOUS Bridesmaid DSP up close and personal.

Stamps: Lovely Letters, Baroque Motifs
Ink: Gold Encore, Old Olive, Real Red
Paper: Bridesmaid DSP, Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold, Old Olive, Real Red
Accessories: Movers & Shapers Holiday Windows Bigz Die, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, 5/8" Real Red grosgrain ribbon, gold cord, gold brads, gold embossing powder, pop-up glue dots, frame



For my next project, I make this SPARKALICIOUS snowflake earrings utilizing some shrink plastic, our FABOO Snowflake #2 die, AND some Versamark and Iridescent Ice embossing powder.




And I ALSO enlisted the help of my darling daughter, Vanna (also known in the real world as Amelia - thanks, cutie!) to help me in showing off how fun and fancy these earrings can be. What girl doesn't love a little BLING in her life, especially at this time of year??

Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Snowflake #2 Bigz Die, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, clear ice rhinestone brads, shrink plastic, earring findings, glue dots


At last, but certainly not LEAST, I quickly threw together this little gift bag that would be the PERFECT gift for your neighbors. Not that the bag is all that spectacular, mind you, but what I am about to reveal IS super fantastically SPECTACULAR. I have become somewhat of a legend in my neighborhood for the cookies that I give out to my friends every year ... they are called Lucky Pennies and they are absolutely DELISH!! I have been threatened many-a-year by my girlfriends that if I DON'T bring some of these cookies by they will be EXTREMELY put out. Many of them have actually admitted to HOARDING them all to themselves and NOT sharing them with ANYONE! My dad actually told me last year that they were his MOST favorite Christmas goodie (and coming from him, that was high praise, considering he LOVED goodies ... which is very bittersweet for me this year, as we lost Dad on May 30. These cookies will FOREVER put a smile on my face because of this sweet memory).

Stamps: Sweet Season
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Top Note Bigz Die, Petals a Plenty embossing folder, scallop border die, slot punch, 1/4" Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon, cello bag

Sooo....if I share this recipe with you, you have to SWEAR not to tell ANYONE I gave away my mostest secret recipe, OK?? AND you have to promise to make at least ONE batch of them this year (I should mention here that the cookies in the picture are NOT my famous Lucky Pennies, but a poor grocery-store substitute). Ran out of time to make the REAL McCoy, but if you wanna see the real deal, check out this blog post I did about them LAST December. We make over 1,000 of these cookies every year for neighbor gifts. I have lived in this neighborhood for nearly 25 years, so my list is kinda BIG!! Here is the recipe (which, I have to admit, I shared LAST year!). ENJOY!!

Lucky Pennies

2 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. salt
3/4 C. (1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened)
1 C. firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 C. molasses
1 large egg
granulated sugar (for coating cookies)

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. In a separate large bowl, use a wooden spoon to cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the molasses and egg and mix until well blended. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to roll into balls.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a teaspoon to scoop the dough out of the bowl, then roll it with your fingertips into balls that are about one-inch in diameter. Roll the balls in a shallow bowl of granulated sugar. Place the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between the cookies. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes or until the cookies are crinkled and set.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat until all the dough is used. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month and at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Special note: This is a recipe that does NOT double/triple very well. If you want to make LOTS of them, you should make a separate batch of dough each time.

NOW, head on over to the super INCREDIBLE Cindy Majors' blog to see what she has cooked up for the ones you love for Christmas!!

It's Freaky Time Again!

Another month has rolled around and it's time to peruse what the "Freaks" have been up to!! Our theme this month was to do some fabulicious Christmas cards . . . I kinda went overboard and did a couple of non-card Christmas-y things as well . . . hope ya don't mind!!


First things first - to make one of "those" kind of Christmas cards . . . you know the ones I mean? The ones that you are only EVER gonna make ONE of??? Well, this is what I came up with. I knew when I first saw this lattice die that I could layer two of them, turning the top one a little, and make a snowflake! Just KNEW it would work!! But, since I am NOT the only amazingly-cool person on the planet, many others figured that out as well. So this is what I came up to try and be a little different . . . kind of a "kaleidoscope" snowflake, if you will. I just kept layerin' and layerin' and layerin' . . . kinda ran a little crazy! And see that little snowflake under the sentiment? I don't even OWN that stamp!! Seriously!! That snowflake was given to me by the ever-incomparable JanTink when she was here during SU Convention. She had a few leftover snowflakes from some swaps she was makin' and gave me this one (which promptly urged me to order the dang snowflake punch ... still don't have that snowflake stamp ... YET!). That little snowflake has been livin' on my corkboard since August ... glad it now has a happy home!

Stamps: Short & Sweet, Simple Snowflake
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Bordering Blue
Accessories: Lattice Bigz Die, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Petals a Plenty embossing folder, silver cord, dimensionals (the little white circles are actually from one of the Snowflakes Sizzlet dies ... I started out with it before I chose to use Jan's snowflake)

I knew after my over-the-top card that I was gonna have to make something much more reasonable, so that is how this came about. STILL lovin' my Movers & Shapers die!! And it's hard to see from the photo, but there is a little 1/2" circle of vanilla cardstock in the middle of the large snowflake (with the snowflake image stamped on it, of course). Sometimes little extra layers like that get lost in photography ...

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes, Woodgrain background, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Baroque Burgundy, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Baroque Burgundy, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Movers & Shapers Bigz die, Movers & Shapers Holiday Windows, white embossing powder, white taffeta ribbon, word window punch, clear ice rhinestone brad, paper distressing tool

Okay, here is where I started to deviate from the "card" thing ... "LOOK MA!! NO STAMPS!!" I made this little ornament with the Pop-Up Ball die. I realize that it looks kinda goofy havin' a Christmas ornament hanging out amongst the fall leaves, but it DOES kinda get you in the mood, doesn't it?? (I frayed the grosgrain ribbon and added a couple of strands of silver cord to make the "tassel" hanging out of the bottom of the ornament ...)

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Bride Designer Series Paper, Brushed Silver
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Pop-Up Ball die, Petals a Plenty embossing folder, white grosgrain ribbon, silver cord, clear ice rhinestone brads

And last, but certainly not LEAST ... I just HAD to throw in a Christmas-y MDS layout. I can almost hear the Christmas carols now ... "Chestnuts roasting on an open fiiiiirrree ..."

Now hop on over to Robin Spinner's blog and see what fabulicious things SHE has created for you!!

September Tour de Freaks!

Here Come Da Freaks!! It's once again time to hop around the blogs of some of the Control Freaks, and I have to admit that I have as much fun seeing what they come up with as you do. I'm still so honored to be part of the fun!! (The tour officially starts tomorrow - September 20 - but I posted a little early to make sure all my links were working!)

The theme for this month's hop is anything Fall . . . Halloween . . . or Thanksgiving. I absolutely LOVE this time of year! The colors, the holidays - all of it. This first little pocket card (it is a 4.25" square) was really fun to create. Isn't this turkey just adorable? I used the scallop border punch to create the elements framing him as well. The scalloped square started out as a piece of 3 1/8" square piece of cardstock; the Really Rust frame was a 2 1/2" square, and the center was punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch.

A little hint for the ribbon . . . I used the horizontal slot punch on the right-hand-side fold and slid a small piece of the ribbon through it and around the right side of the circle, then used a glue dot to secure it. I also wrapped the ribbon around the left-hand side of the card and through the left-hand side of the circle. (Pretty much brilliant, don't you think??)

Stamps: Gobble, Gobble; Autumn Days
Paper: Sahara Sand, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Vintage Brad, Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

And this is the COOLEST stamp set!! Creepy has never looked so gorgeous! I created the spider web using the 1/4" black grosgrain ribbon. I just "frayed" the ribbon and tied it to look like a web and secured it on the back of the Rich Razzleberry layer with adhesive. Cool, eh? (I think I already said that!)

Stamps: From the Crypt, Sanded, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Black (Classic and Craft)
Accessories: Circle Scissor, Clear Embossing Powder, Large and Small Tag Punches, 1/4" Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercing Tool, Sponge


And last, but not least . . . remember a couple of years ago when we all HAD to have these little "dollar spot" mailboxes?? And we all bought, like, INFINITY of 'em? They are still gathering dust in bags and on shelves . . . admit it . . . you KNOW they are still there!! I decided to dust one off and give it a new life!!




Since I couldn't leave this little mailbox empty, I ran over to the store and bought some suckers (I LOVE that fall also means caramel apple suckers! YUM!!). The sucker was kinda big, so this cover is about 3" square . . .

Stamps: Pumpkin Patch, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Pumpkin Pie Print Pattern Designer Series Paper, To the Nines Designer Series Paper, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Designer Label Punch, Curvy Label Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Slit Punch, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip Corduroy Buttons, 5/8" and 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/2" Dusty Durango Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Texture Plates Kit #4, Little Leaves Sizzlit Die, Pop-Up Glue Dots

Thanks for stopping by . . . here is a link to the ever-amazing Brandi Wiggins-Côté. She is gonna knock your socks off!

Another "Tour de Freaks!"

Can I just say before we begin that I LOVE being in the Control Freaks??? What a talented, amazing and wonderful group of artists they are!! I feel privileged to be in their midst, that's for sure!

Now, on to to my "Freaky" projects for today's Blog Tour (decided to sneak these projects in a little early for y'all!) . . .

Our theme for today's Blog Tour is "In Colors" . . . I am totally LOOOOOVING SU's In Colors this year (and I have to admit that I have already gone through nearly two packages of Soft Suede, and at least that many of Rich Razzleberry!!). This card was a little out of my comfort zone - at first! These are some DANG bright colors together, but I really like how they compliment one another. (And you KNEW I was going to have to sneak at least ONE butterfly in here, didn't ya??? Hang on . . . there are MORE!)

Stamps: For All You Do
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: 1 1/4" circle punch, horizontal slot punch, eyelet border punch, finial press embossing folder, clear ice rhinestone brad

Card #2 . . . can I just mention that fall is my absolutely FAVE time of the year (I do believe I have mentioned that before!)?? Love, love, LOVE these fall colors together!! And that polka-dot ribbon!! I SWORE I would NOT buy this ribbon in all of the new In Colors . . . and only started out with four of 'em . . . I was not successful in holding out for more than a week (WEAK!!).

Stamps: Autumn Days, Matchbox Messages
Paper: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango
Accessories: 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches, Soft Suede polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Ain't this purse just the CUTEST??? I swear I have been wanting to make one forEVUH, and finally decided that making one for the Freak Tour was the perfect opportunity to break down and do it!! I seem to be gushing, but I also LOVE this embossing folder It is super-duper versatile (and I think it is BRILLIANT that the SU folders actually cover an ENTIRE card front!!).

Stamps: Great Friend
Paper: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Top Note die, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, large scallop circle die, circle scissor, jumbo eyelets, Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon, Pretties kit (pearl), velcro stickers

And last, but not least, I couldn't resist throwing in this little refrigerator magnet! Yup!! You heard me right . . . I cut out some magnetic sheeting with the Beautiful Butterflies die and just added the stamped butterfies cut from cardstock and a little pearl and binder clip . . . and VOILA!! What a fun, quick and easy little gift topper this makes!! (It's a BUTTERFLY FEAST here today!! I hadn't specifically planned on using SO many butterflies . . . it just kinda happened!!)!

Stamps: Great Friend
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die, binder clip, pearl from Pretties kit, white gel pen, magnetic sheeting, ZipDry glue

Now, click below so you can "hop" on over to Melanie Schulenberg's blog and drool over what SHE has created!!

Tour De Freaks!!!

I can't tell you how excited I am to be participating in the very FIRST "Tour De Freaks" Blog Hop. For those of you unfamiliar, the "Control Freaks" is a group of VERY talented women who have been swapping cards with one another for the past several years. I am still not quite sure how I got invited to be in this group (the stars were shining on me, I suppose!), but when we do a swap we get AWESOME samples to share!! (You notice our name? It kinda says it all!)

Anyway, we thought it would be fun to showcase some of our favorite retiring sets/accessories before the catalog goes away for good at the end of June. This first card I am highlighting features one of the most GORGEOUS sets I think Stampin' Up has EVER produced. I also think it has been highly underrated and underused . . . Beautiful Borders. I have created some of my most FAVORITE cards with this set. I also am LOVING this Bella Bleu designer series paper (and I am more than THRILLED that it made the crossover into THIS year's catalog - huzzah!)!! This was a quick and simple card, which makes me like it even more!!

Stamps: Beautiful Borders
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Kraft, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu dsp
Accessories: Small, Large and Scalloped Oval Punches, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Kraft Corduroy Button Brad, glue dots, pop-up glue dots

Moving on . . . this is also one of my faves . . . (and of course it has a BUTTERFLY!). This is honestly one of the most lovely butterfly images that I own (and for those of you who have been following my blog for the past two years, you know that is saying a LOT!!). I have seen this stamped on a variety of different colors of cardstock and colored. I think it looks terrific every single time!!

Stamps: God's Beauty
Ink: Old Olive, Perfect Plum, Basic Black
Paper: Old Olive, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Accessories: Paper Piercing tool/mat, pop-up glue dots

Here's a fun little gift idea using the "Sweet Sampler" set and some clear plastic vials I got from (dare I mention another company in an all-SU post? Forgot to mention that the Freaks are SU purists when it comes to swapping!) Papertrey. Ain't they just the cutest?? And I filled 'em with one of my favorite treats . . . Jelly Belly's . . . hard to resist those little dudes.

Stamps: Sweet Sampler
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Horizontal Slot Punch, Scallop Border Bunch, Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Black Gingham ribbon, clear plastic vials (Papertrey), glue dots, pop-up glue dots


And last, but not least, I am making a confession here . . . this is one of the cards I submitted for the (GULP) Stampin' Up Artisan Award, or as I like to call it, "The Kicked-to-the-Curb Club." (I actually thought it would be cool to make a blog called kickedtothecurb.blogspot.com where those of us, um, "losers" could post our UN-winning projects, but I digress . . . ) I almost wasn't going to share any of the projects I made for it with you 'cause I was too sad that I didn't get picked (as I thought my projects were MUI fabulous-o!!). Anyway, this card kind of cheats when it comes to the Freaks Blog Hop because not every stamp set I used for it is retiring. "Big Bold Birthday" is definitely on it's way out. It really is a fun set. Makes great projects . . . however . . .

The Jumbo Outline Alphabet I used on the inside for the pop-up message is NOT going anywhere soon (which makes me happy 'cause I use this baby ALL the time). I thought that this card was pretty ingenious, actually . . . don't you think it would make a TERRIFIC Bigz Die? Couldn't you just see the inside saying stuff like "Smile" and "Thank You" . . . they could make a LOT of sets to coordinate with it. And with a diecut this thing would be MUCH easier to produce that it was for me with a ruler, bone folder and utility knife. Sheesh!! (Not to mention that it is going to take extra postage to mail . . . this puppy is THICK when it is closed!!)

Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, Jumbo Outline Alphabet
Paper: Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, So Saffron, Barely Banana, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy. So Saffron, Brocade Blue
Accessories: Black Hemp Twine, Read Red ½” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1 ¼” Circle Punch, Pop-Up Glue Dots, Mini Glue Dots

Hope you have enjoyed perusing my "Ode to Retiring Stuff" . . . click below for the next stop on the hop . . . http://melanieschulenberg.blogspot.com/2009/06/introducing-tour-de-freaks.html! You're gonna LOVE what she has to share!!