Monday Montage #48

REALITY CHECK!!! Holy saMOKES!!!! The last two weeks have been positively INSANE in my universe!!! I think this is one of the LONGEST dry spells I have had in posting to my blog in the entire 8+ years I have been blogging ... sigh ... life has been on the fast track for SURE!! The last time I posted it was for Monday Montage ... two whole weeks ago!!! My life lately = Wild Roller Coaster!

See what I'm talking about???? THIS is only a teeny-tiny portion of what my craft room looks like RIGHT NOW ... between making 72 little "secret sister" gifts for our church girls camp (which was July 13-15) ... and THEN trying to get myself set up for all the fun things I was going to share with friends at Convention (which, on a lot of levels, turned into an EPIC fail!!)!!! Sigh ... I need a VACATION!!

So, this week for Monday Montage I am sharing the things that I made for the girls at camp. I have been kind of "in charge" of getting things rolling with this particular event at girls camp for the last umpty-zillion years (by choice, mostly!). The premise behind this is that we give each of the girls at camp the name of one of the OTHER girls at camp ... and every day during the time we are there they are to give a little "something" to their secret sister ... a thought, a treat, something they have made. We don't make a big deal out of it (we give them a $5 spending limit). It's so fun seeing what they do for each other. As part of this, I make a little "gifty" for each girl for each day we are at camp. It's a LOT of work ... but I have to admit I LOVE it!!

I got the idea for this cute little lip balm flower from the ever-talented Kay Kaltoff. I totally GEEKED out when I saw a link for these on Pinterest. How freakin' ADORABLE are THESE??? (and what a GREAT way for me to use up a bunch of my retired DSP!)

Stamps:  NONE
Paper: Subtles and Brights Pattern DSP (retired), Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist
Ink:  NONE
Accessories:  Floral Frames Framelits, EOS Lip Balm

This is another little project I "stole" from someone else ... I mean, SERIOUSLY??? Could this little Curvy Keepsake box be ANY cuter as anything else but a WATERMELON???? I think NOT!!! And a huge shout out and "thank you" to Lydia Fiedler for her brilliant idea!! Put some watermelon-flavored Jolly Ranchers inside!



Stamps:  NONE
Paper: Pink Passion (retired), Gumball Green (retired), Basic Black
Ink:  NONE
Accessories:  Curvy Keepsakes Thinlits Die

ONE more ... I used the little "Mini Treat Bag Framelit" to make this one. And for those of you who have been hanging out with Stampin' Up for more than a bit might recognize this fun little stampin' wheel ... it's called Nature Hike ... long ago retired but I just couldn't help myself!!! I also used up some of my leftover Baked Brown Sugar cardstock and Epic Day Washi Tape (and who else remembers these cute little clips???). These were SUPER quick and easy ... filled each one with a package of gum.

Stamps:  Nature Hike Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel (retired)
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar
Ink:  Early Espresso
Accessories:  Mini Treat Bag Framelit, Small Clothespin, Epic Day Washi Tape (retired), Square Clip

I seriously need a NAP!!! Convention this week was an absolute BLAST!!! Here's a photo of the Monday Montage girls that we had someone take for us ... I wish we ALL could have been together, but at least SIX of us had a chance to visit!! Aren't we CUTE??? Left to right - Cathy Casey, Dara Gloden, Bree Renwick, ME, Amy O'Neill, Dani Dzama (I owe ALL of these girls a swap card!!).

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... brilliance ALWAYS!

Burgers and Fries????

To be honest, there are a LOT of things in this year's new Stampin' Up catalog that are on my wish list ... and I DO mean a LOT!! But these hamburger box/fry box dies were RIGHT AT THE TOP!!! EEEEeeeppp!!! Happy!Happy!Happy!!! OhMyGosh!!! SoFreakin'Cute!!

I knew as soon as I saw them that I WOULD be using them to add to the "Secret Sister" stash ... AND it gave me the opportunity to use up some of my retired (um, VINTAGE??) stuff!! These fry boxes used not ONLY last year's oh-so-fabulous Soho Subway DSP, but ALSO the cute ruffled in color ribbon! EEEEeeeppp!! (Oh wait ... I said that already!)

I used the cello bags from June's Paper Pumpkin Kit to add the saltwater taffy to these darling little things ... yeah, you really DO need to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin ... just sayin' ...

Stamps: Blue Ribbon
Paper: Soho Subway DSP (retired), Hello Honey, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Artisan Label Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Baked Brown Sugar Ruffled Stretch Ribbon (retired), Fry Box Bigz Die, Linen Thread, Saltwater Taffy

And LOOK at THESE!!! I used some lovely Studio 45 DSP that I have had since last year ... sooooo fun!! I LOVE how the little "tabs" on the base of the box just slide into the lid to keep everything all tidy and secure!

I am now a "hamburger box" QUEEN!! I TOTALLY get how to put these together now!! (The secret is to use glue ... as in Tombow! ... NOT tape!!) I filled each box with some mini Reese's peanut butter cups AND some Hershey's miniature bars. YUMMM!! And yeah ... my little doggie thought that they were amazing, too ... Luckily, so only "investigated" TWO of them, so there wasn't much for me to "redo" ... and she really didn't eat more than a bite out of one of the Reese's ... she just could NOT help herself! I guess SHE thought they were cute, too!!

Stamps: Pennant Parade (retired)
Paper: Graphic 45 Transatlantique DSP, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Hamburger Box Bigz Die, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Little Labels Punch Pack, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's Miniatures (trust me, they're IN there!)

Ahhhh ... the great outdoors ... so happy I got to spend some time there this week with some of my FAVORITE people!! Next week??? CONVENTION!! BRING IT!!

Yay for Girls Camp!!

It's the time, once again, for me to traipse off up into the mountains ... with some of my good friends and a bunch of AWESOME girls from church. Every year we take 3-4 days to enjoy nature, one another's company and feel a closer connection to our Heavenly Father. I have been SUPER blessed to have been able to participate with this, off and on, for the past 25 years or so (the first time I went as a leader, my now-26-year-old son was only ONE ... and I've been every year for at LEAST the last 11-12 years or so ... I really have NO idea how many times I've gone!)! It's a lot of work, but it's also something I look forward to every year!

One of my "things" ... activities I am in charge of all the time (because I BEG/PLEAD/VOLUNTEER!) is being in charge of setting up the "Secret Sister" line. Each girl who comes is assigned a "secret sister" for the duration of camp. Each day she is to be a thought, a handmade crafty thing or a treat in her "sister's" bag (huge ziploc bags that we hang on a clothesline). It's fun to watch how sweet and creative the girls can be ... and I usually start off each day with a little something for each girl that I've made myself (this year we have 24!)! So, needless to say, I have been BUSY!

I LOVED June's Paper Pumpkin Kit. They made this project OHSOEASY!! The pinwheels were all precut; the kit came with the straws, brads and twine (not to mention the little flags and stamps with an ink spot!). There were also some adorable little chubby paperclips, but I didn't use them ... I DEFINITELY think I'm gonna be ordering a "refill" for this kit. I used my own cello bags, as the ones that came with it were a little small for the licorice bits I put with these (but I DID use those for a treat I will be sharing on Friday!)!! And by the way ... if YOU haven't joined Paper Pumpkin yet, you really SHOULD!! (There's a tab at the top of this page that gives you all the info you will need!!) The kits are ADORABLE ... and so fun and easy to work with!!

Supplies: June 2014 Paper Pumpkin Kit, Cello Bags ... yep, that's IT!! (oh yeah ... and some Twizzler Bites!)

Camp is gonna be SOOOOOO much fun!!!

I'll be back on Friday (with a blog post AND off the mountain, as we return home Friday afternoon!)!! Be sure to check back and see what ELSE I "cooked" up!!

Happy Wednesday!

Last, But NOT Least ...

Here is the last thing I have to share with you that I made to take up to my girls at camp. I had posted earlier HERE that I learned how to make this grrrEAT little boxes uses the milk carton Bigz die at Convention. They are WAY. TOO. COOL!!! My daughter actually said she thought I should make these for camp once she saw the one I had made earlier. Knowing that they would probably take more time than I had, I KNEW I was gonna do 'em anyway!!

Our theme for camp this year is "STAR" ... Stand for Truth And Righteous. That is what inspired these boxes. (And once again I was happy to be able use up some of my retired, yet much-beloved retired SU DSP - this time it was last year's "Sweet Pea" ... LOVE the stuff!)!!

I am going to be heading back home from camp today ... I am sure tired, but happy to have had the experience. Have I mentioned before that I LOVE going to girls camp????

Stamps: Workshop Words
Paper: Sweet Pea DSP (retired), Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Gold Metallic Paper
Ink: Gold Encore
Accessories: Bigz Milk Carton Die, Scallop Trim Border Punch, So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Wide (Large) Oval Punch, Silver Thread, Starburst Candies (hidden on the inside!!), Large Star Punch

Secret Sister Nugget Purses!!

Aren't these just the ca-YOOT-est???? I fell in love with them when I saw them on Mary Fish's blog. Quick, easy, and oh-so-adorable!!! These were actually the LAST thing I made for my girls at camp for their Secret Sister clothesline ... couldn't resist "whipping up a batch" to give to them. LOVELOVELOVE these!!

I'm still up in the mountains enjoying the fresh air and the fun times with the girls (and my friends who are also up helping out ... AND my daughter, too!). No phone, no computers, no tv's ... it's sooooo nice to get back to basics once in a while!! Another one of the many reasons I love camping ...

I have one more project to share that I made for camp. Tune in Friday to check it out!!

Stamps: None
Paper: Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Berry Blossom DSP
Ink: None
Accessories: Boho Blossoms Punch, Itty Bitty Flower Punch, Ice Rhinestone Brad, Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Hershey's Nuggets

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho ...

... It's off to camp I go!! One of the highlights of my summer every year (at least most summers when I am blessed enough to go!) is when I get to go to our church girls' camp. I love the girls, I love the outdoors ... there's pretty much nothing about it that I don't enjoy.

One of the tasks that I really enjoy preparing for camp is the "Secret Sister" line. Basically, it is a clothesline hung in camp that has a ziploc baggie with each girl's name on it. All the girls draw names on the first day, and then they become "secret sisters" to one another for the remainder of camp ... they put treats, little handmade gifts and nice notes to each other in them through the week. I usually start the ball rolling by putting something fun in everyone's bag when I hang the line on the first day. I kept seeing so many cute things all year, that this year I went a little overboard and did several things ... and this is the first one.

I cut these cute little purses out with my Cricut ... saw the Forever Young cartridge last year and couldn't wait to make these. The flowers on these were made with the Daisies #2 Bigz Die ... and the best part about them is that they are attached to a clip so the girls can wear them in their hair, put them on their book bag or purse, or hang them from a necklace. Cool, eh??

And don't these just look like a garden all tucked together in this box??? I am sooo happy about how they turned out. The BEST part is that I used up a bunch of old patterned paper that I have had FOREVER ... AND I used a bunch of retired SU cardstock for the flowers. It's great to find something fun AND useful to do with supplies that seem to gather dust!! (And I should mention here that these are full of Dove chocolates!!)

I have a couple of other posts scheduled to show up this week while I am at camp. If you check back you will be able to see what else I made for the girls!! (And did I mention that I am in charge of all the food/cooking this week??? CRAZY lots of prep for that .... sooooo glad the shopping/packing are behind me!!)

Stamps: None
Paper: Unknown Patterned Paper, Retired SU cardstock
Ink: None (printed the names out with my computer/printer)
Accessories: Daisies #2 Bigz Die, Corduroy Buttons, Forever Young Cricut Cartridge, Decorative Label Punch, Dimensionals