Happy Freakin' Birthday!

Oh how I am LOVING the snow today!! It's been coming down lightly, but steadily all day!! And if it keeps this up for about another MONTH, perhaps we will catch up with all the snow we HAVEN'T been getting all winter!! So today was PERFECT to stay in and stamp! This month the Control Freaks are celebrating birthdays!! Melissa Davies NAILED it, didn't she??

This peacock ... it has been BEGGING me to do something with it from the moment I laid eyes on it!! I'm kinda liking using my acrylic blocks to make background patterns lately ... a little Pool Party ink on this one and I went to town! I also used some of my Stampin' Blends on the peacock wing ... I think I like how it turned out!

Stamps: Beautiful Peacock, Small Acrylic Block
Paper: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Dapper Denim, Melon Mambo, Stampin' Blends
Accessories: Rhinestone Basics, Simply Scored

This is how I used to roll ALL THE TIME!!! Using a TON of stamp sets to create a $100 card!! Hahaha! (For those of you wondering, a $100 card is one that requires about $100 worth of supplies to make ... so this one has three stamp sets, an embossing folder, some thread, THREE punches, and of course ink and paper!)! Flower Shop has been a "staple" for me. I LOVE this set!

Stamps: Badges & Banners, Flower Shop, Timeless Textures
Paper: Berry Burst, Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Berry Burst, Dapper Denim
Accessories: Polka Dot Basics Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Pansy Punch, Badge Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Linen Thread

Next up???  ... lovely Deb Henderson!! She knows how to celebrate and has made some BEAUTIFUL creations! Click on the "next" button to check them out!

Monday Montage #110

It's SNOWING!!! We are watching the Olympic Games IN the house ... and it's FINALLY snowing OUTSIDE the house!! We have had maybe THREE snowstorms (most of which have been really nothing) this entire winter!! We are supposed to get at least 6 inches in my neighborhood by tomorrow! WOOOHOOOO!!! Thanks to the Monday Montage blog hoppers, I also got to STAMP in my (still) clean stamp room! I have missed having this space SOOOO much!! It's GREAT!!

I have been DYING to use this Party Pandas SAB set. And I have really struggled with WHAT to do with it that doesn't look like things I've already seen. So, in my own true use-too-many-tools style, I kept adding and adding and adding to this ... it's HARD for me to NOT to!!! I tried to make this look kind of like a bamboo tree ... not quite, but not too bad!

Supplies: Party Pandas
Paper: Basic Black, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke, Old Olive
Ink:  Basic Black, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: May Flowers Thinlits Dies, Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies, Bitty Banner Punch (retired), Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing gFolder, Burlap Ribbon

I didn't realize until Saturday evening that I actually have tomorrow OFF!! (It's President's Day!)! Since we are self employed, we don't get a lot of holiday time ... but there is some sorta schedule, and I ALWAYS forget that President's Day is one weird day that we DO take off!!! So YAY for THAT!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... they are always better-better-BEST!!

Fab Friday #130

I believe I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!! Yes, I do!!! They don't always come as quickly as we would like them to, but they DO come!!! I made this little card in my FINALLY clean craft room. It has been SUPER disheveled (aka DISASTER) for over a year since we had a flood in our basement ... aka there was water coming out of HUGE holes in my ceiling and raining down on my craft room floor!! The mess was soooo big an so deep and so tall, I could not pick it up, there was no way at all!!

And then I got to make the most STRESS-FREE creation that I have had the chance to create in many a moon (like, over a year1)! It was FUN!!! It was liberating ... it was DIVINE!!!

Found a stamp set I didn't even realize I had purchased ... so I went to town with it!

Stamps: Tranquil Tulips, Beautiful Peacock
Paper: Powder Pink, Berry Blast (Yeah, yeah, yeah ... I used the WRONG "pink"), Sweet Sugarplum
Ink: Powder Pink, Berry Blast, Sweet Sugarplum, Garden Green
Accessories: 1/8" White Grosgrain (retired from last year's Valentine's suite), Flourishes Thinlits Dies, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Classic Label Punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Corner Rounder Punch (retired), Softly Falling Textured Impression Embossing Punch

OOooooo-laaaa-laaaa!!! I feel hearts and flowers and all sorts of sweetness coming from this combo!!






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
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Amy Koenders
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Jan Tinklenberg

And just so y'all can SEE for YOURSELVES ...THIS is the "before and after" shots of my crafty space ... and the before is actually not as bad as it WAS when it had the holes ripped into the ceiling!!! SOOOOO very happy to have that behind me!!

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!

Monday Montage #108

And here I am AGAIN!!! THREE TIMES in FOUR DAYS!!! I think that's a record for me (at least lately!!)!! This time I am hopping around and having fun with the other girls on the Monday Montage team!! Always great things coming from every single one of them!

The weather this past weekend has been BEA-U-TI-FUL!!! We had a bunch of snow from Friday to Saturday ... and the skies were such a brilliant, lovely blue all day Sunday with big puffy clouds. Contrasted with the snow it was GORGEOUS!!! Went for a long walk and enjoyed every minute!

After my walk, I came home and finished up dinner. Had two out of three of my kids over for dinner, which was GREAT! And my oldest son fixed my computer!! The fan in it has been DEAD for MONTHS ... which means I have only been able to use my computer for very short periods of time so as not to overheat it and burn every dang piece to BITS!! It is now running with a new fan ... and my son cleaned out every nook and cranny on it. It's SO nice have a Mac Genius in the family!!

And then I STAMPED!!! And my craft room is FINALLY starting to show progress in the GREAT CLEANING PROJECT of 2017. I will be SOOOOO happy when it's back to a more "normal" state and I can actually use it! I have finally decided to give myself permission to use #alltheretiredthings that I have in my "stash". WHY oh WHY do we limit ourselves sometimes just to "new" things??? I really have NO idea ...

Supplies: Tabs for Everything
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist, Whisper White, Bubbles & Fizz DSP
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist
Accessories: Simply Scored, Circle Tab Punch, Bermuda Bay Bakers Twine (retired), 3/4" Scalloped Circle Punch (retired) Rhinestone Basics Jewels

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... so happy to be "sandwiched" between two such talented and wonderful people!

All the Sneaky Freaky Things!

The Control Freaks are taking this opportunity to take control of your holidays and show you a little bit of what is coming your way from Stampin' Up in the upcoming Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs!! Aren't you EXCITED??!?? Can you even STAND it??? I know when I got a view of some of the lovely things coming that I could barely contain my excitement!!! Did you SEE the AMAZING things that my good friend, Dawn Olchefske made for you to see??? That woman!!! ALWAYS creative and fresh!

Soda pop ... soda pop ... soda pop!! I KNEW that these adorable little soda pop bottles would HAVE to be MINE!!! I was SOOOOOO excited when we were able to PREORDER them!!! Aaaaack!!! How can one possibly RESIST these???? Obviously, I have NO idea!!

Stamps: Bubble Over
Paper: Whisper White, Bubbles & Fizz DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Basic Black, Lemon Lime Twist
Accessories: Layering Ovals Framelits Dies, Bottles & Bubbles Framelits Dies, Silver Ribbon, Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes

I won this adorable little stamp set as part of the "Prize Patrol" at our most recent OnStage event in November. Oh. My. Goodness!!! Can you just say caaaaaYOOOOT??!?? I didn't even have to stamp a sentiment!! There are so many cute images in this set that I had to limit myself to FOUR of them!!

Stamps: Heart Happiness
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Bubbles & Fizz DSP
Ink: Crumb Cake, Calypso Coral
Accessories: 3/8" Burlap Ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Next up???  ... lovely LeeAnn Greff!! Can't even COUNT how many of her creations have inspired me over the years!!