Monday Montage #52

Three days in a row??? SERIOUSLY??? I'm trying to make up for the past couple of weeks! And since it was time to play with the Monday Montage girls again, it worked out pretty well for me!

Ya know how sometimes you completely BYPASS things you see in the catalog ... don't EVEN remember LOOKING at them??? Well, yeah ... that was me with BOTH of the stamp sets I used on this card ... unTIL I saw what OTHER people were making! Then I KNEW they had to be mine!!! SO cute!

Stamps:  Words of Truth, Writing Notes Background
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Red Glimmer DSP, Silver Glimmer DSP, Typeset DSP
Ink:  Basic Black, Real Red,
Accessories:  Confetti Star Border Punch, Stars Framelits Dies, Chevron Natural Ribbon, Mini Stapler

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... No matter WHICH way you go, you will be happy you did!!

We're Freakin' FABULOUS!

It's official!!! Fall IS in the air!!! And the Control Freaks are playing right along!! (Actually, we're doing a Fall/Holiday theme this month based on some cards we recently swapped with one another!) My friend, Margaret Raburn, made some GREAT projects, didn't she??? I'm sharing one card that I used for our fall swap and one card that I didn't!!!

I actually went on a girls' night out/sleepover with some of my BFF's last night (I've been in the same book group for nearly 25 years ... which is amazing since I am only 27!! And we often take Book Group Excursions!). We had such a FABULOUS time!!! We were up at my friend's cabin ... the fall colors were GORGEOUS ... the air was crisp and clean ... oh how I love the Fall! Which is what inspired this card for me today ...

Stamps: NONE!
Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla, Tangelo Twist, Blackberry Bliss
Ink: NONE!
Accessories: Postage Stamp Punch, Squares Thinlits, Paper Piercing Tool and Mat, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Burlap Ribbon, Expressions Thinlits, Gold Sequin Trim, Project Life Corner Rounder Punch, White Accents (colored with a bronze Sharpie), Leaflets Framelits Dies

Peek-a-BOO!!! I guess I am going to be caving in next weekend and putting up my Halloween decor (I have a LOT of Halloween stuffs ... almost more than I can actually USE!)!!! This card is what started my brain to start to make the shift out of summer and into fall. And WASHI TAPE!!! I swear I have SO many rolls of the stuff!!! And I {{{HEART}}} them ALL! I used this card for my swap card with my Freaky Friends ...

Stamps: Howl-o-ween Treat, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Very Vanilla, Black Glimmer Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Basic Black, Tangelo Twist, Blackberry Bliss
Accessories: Mini Treat Bag Framelits (Washi Tape), Happy Haunting Designer Washi Tape, Boo to You Framelits, Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Star Border Punch

Speaking of BFF's, my bestie Jan Tinklenberg is up next (she will tell you the only reason we became friends is because I STALKED her once she became a Control Freak ... used our association there to call her on the phone and MAKE her be my friend)!!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Fab Friday #73

And then, just like Houdini, I reappeared!!! Holy COW!!! This past two weeks I have been on a train to CRAZY TOWN!!! But more on that in a minute ...

Welcome to Fab Friday!  Ohmygoodness! Fall is DEFINITELY in the air this week (my footsies have been FREEZING!).  I seriously LOVE the fall ... although I will be missing summer ... this summer has been SO dang great ... LOTS of busy, to be sure, but I made some wonderful memories with people I love!

Stamps: Acorny Thank You
Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Old Olive
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Striped Scallop Thinlits Die, Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Rich Razzleberry 1/4" Cotton Ribbon, Burlap Ribbon, Gold Sequin Trim, Note Tag Punch

Soooo ... do you remember the HUGE pile of bags I posted on the LAST Fab Friday??? And that is was FULL of laundry that needed doing because of my daughter's .... a-hem ... bedbug problem??? Well, the battle continues!!  We have cleaned, wiped down, steamed out, cleaned out, EVERYthing she owns.  We ended up moving her into a totally different place (which, by its own right is ADORABLE ... and CLEAN ... and SPACIOUS ... and LOVELY!)!  And since they we have been in our own version of World War III with the landlords ... sigh ... the saga continues ... we are hoping for a happy outcome and that my daughter and her friend can be released from their rental contract.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

I have ALWAYS loved this color combo!!! Proud to say that this is NOT the first time I have ever used it ... it's pretty classic ... LOVELOVELOVE!






Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

Headed up into the mountains this evening for a girl's night sleepover with some of my besties ... refueling the tank, so to speak!!! Such a blessing in my life!!!

Monday Montage #51

Happy Labor Day!!! Monday Montage is upon us again ... and the girls have been cookin' up some GREAT stuff!! I'm so happy that I actually have Monday AND Tuesday off of work ... NICE long weekend for me!!! Except for the fact that I have done about 20,000 loads of laundry this weekend (thanks to the bedbugs in my daughter's "new" apartment!)!! Good news is that I FINALLY got it all done!!!

I made this kinda for MYSELF for my "birthday card" ... hehehe! I was trying to decide what I LIKE for myself ... and this is what I came up with! I am REALLY stuck on Crumb Cake and Whisper White ...

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Mint Macaroon
Ink: Smoky Slate, Mint Macaroon, Crumb Cake, Soft Sky, Vellum
Accessories: Ovals Framelits, Washi Tape Punch, Mini Stapler, Neutrals Candy Dots, Burlap Ribbon, Venetian Crochet Trim


Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... enjoy their creations and enjoy your day!!

Fab Friday #72

Yaaaaawwwwnnnnnnn!!! Yep ... I'm ZAPPED!!! But welcome to Fab Friday (and sorry I am so late with my post ...more on that in a minute!)!

I had an AWESOME week last week!!! I spent three days with my sister-in-law, Diann, and my bestie, Cheryl, in Disneyland (yeah-yeah-yeah ... I went AGAIN!)! We played and ate and ran around and ate some more. All in all, it was a GREAT way to spend my big 5-0 birthday week!!

On Friday, my actual birthday, I had to go to work (like most of us do!! BOO!)!! Then I ended up taking a drive up to Logan with my husband to pick up my daughter and bring her back down to Salt Lake for the weekend (wanted to have the whole fam together for my unofficial "birthday dinner"). So grateful my kids are far enough "away" from home that they feel some sort of independence, but close enough I can jump in a car and ride to their rescue, when needed ...

Stamps: Acorny Thank You
Paper: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Tangelo Twist, Early Espresso, Happy Haunting DSP Typeset Specialty DSP
Ink: Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Tangelo Twist
Accessories: Bitty Greetings Thinlits, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits (for the strip with the holes cut out ... that's a NEW FAVE for me!), Acorn Building Punch, Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Very Vanilla Thick Bakers Twine, White Accents (Colored with gold Sharpie)

Which brings me to the reason I am SO wiped out (and probably will be for a couple of days) ... see this pile of bags??? They are FULL of clothing ... ALL of my daughter's clothing ... every last STITCH of it. We spent most of yesterday running it all through commercial-laundromat-type dryers. WHY??? Because my daughter's "new" apartment (into which she just moved last week) has too many unWANTED roommates (aka BEDBUGS!!!)!!! I now have to WASH every article of clothing in these bags (figure I am safe from infestation since they have all be zapped in the dryer!)!! And we steam-cleaned shoes and dresser drawers and such ... now if someone would just come and help ME clean up MY house (luckily, I don't have a bug infestation!!)!!

Cute layout ... and I had to work HARD to come up with something that was NOT a doily (because my out-of-the-box brain would NOT let me use one ... too easy!)!!! I made this little accordion-fold flower (kinda miss my Bigz die that did this for me ... need to dig it OUT next time!)!








Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

I need a NAP today ... I may actually TAKE one for a few minutes at some point!! Sleep tight ... and don't let the bedbugs bite (ok, THAT was too easy ... and kinda YUCKY!!)

Monday Montage #50

It is possible??? Can it BE??? Or is it JUST a COINCIDENCE??? Monday Montage is turning 50, amazingly enough, on the SAME week in which I will turn 50, er, um ... 27 (again!)! I have had so much fun participating in this blog hop with these amazing ladies ... and consider each and every one of them a true-blue friend!!

This week I'm playing with a set called "Pretty Thankful". I think it is kind of an easy one to overlook in the catalog because it's not really "over the top" ... but I think it's freakin' ADORABLE!!

I made this one for a recent swap I did with my Control Freak friends (yeah ... we do organized swaps SEVERAL times a year ... and their work is ALWAYS awesome!)!!

Stamps:  Pretty Thankful
Paper: Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Vellum
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories:  Washi Tape Punch, Note Tag Punch, Bitty Butterly Punch, Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim, Large Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Bermuda Bay Baker's Twine, Ovals Framelits Dies, Mini Stapler

And here's another one I did with my stamp club a couple of weeks ago ... I LOVE the idea of making a "pocket" card with the Mini Treat Bag thinlits. SOOOO cute!!

Stamps: Pretty Thankful
Paper: Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Ovals Framelits Dies, Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Die, Blushing Bride Sequin Trim

I had the privilege of being invited to a "Princess Tea Party" for one of the sweetest little girls EVER (Happy Birthday again, Caroline!)!! Since the girls were ALL dressed up as princesses, I decided that I HAD to join in the fun!! As I walked to the door of the party a GAGGLE or darling little girl princesses came flooding out to greet me!!!

Little Princess #1: "Are you the for REAL Tinkerbell???:
Tinkerbell ME: "Why, yes I am!"
Little Princess #2: "I saw you on tv!"
Little Princess #3: "Can you fly?"
Tinkerbell ME: "Yes, yes I can!"
Little Princess #3: "Will you SHOW us how you fly??"
Tinkerbell ME: "I would, except I left my Pixie Dust at home!"

It was GREAT!!! I'm STILL smiling!!! Thanks, Elisabeth, for allowing me to share such a special day with those princesses!!

And guess what else???? I'm headed "home" ... since I AM Tinkerbell ... and it IS my birthday this week!!! Happiest Place on EARTH, baby!!

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... genius stamping from BOTH of them!!

Fab Friday #71

Rain, rain, rain ... oh how we NEED a LOT of RAIN!!! Even though we are two states away from the devastating wildfires in California and Washington, the skies in Salt Lake City are heavy and dark. The mountains are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to see ... and my eyes are red and weepy (like so many people right now!)!!! It's Fab Friday and I decided I needed some FLOWERS to brighten up the dreary skies!!

I haven't used more than two stamp sets on a card in quite a while ... three different sets this time!!! I tried to do a little bit of a different layout this time around ... I seem to have been stuck doing the same thing for a while now, so I'm at least TRYING to shake it up a little bit!

Stamps: Petite Petals, Flower Shop, Kinda Eclectic
Paper: Tip Top Taupe, Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist, Whisper White, Typeset Specialty DSP
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist
Accessories: Greetings Thinlits, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, 5/8" Organza Ribbon, Pansy Punch, Petite Petas Punch, Mini Stapler

This color combo looks unmistakenably Fall/Halloween-ish. I decided I wasn't quite ready to REALLY go there yet (even though I've already made a couple of cards for Fall/Halloween). I'm going to hold on to some flowers for a little longer ....




Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

Tomorrow I am dressing up as Tinkerbell ... yeah, I REALLY am!!! It's time for a little girl's birthday princess tea party ... so now I have an excuse to dress up!!!

Playin' with the Freaks!

Ohhhh ... ALL the goodness!!! Holy COW!!! I have FINALLY had a chance to play with my new Holiday Catalog "preview" goodies!!! To be honest, I am having a HARD time wrapping my brain around doing any sort of "fall" creations. But, since it it is my absoLUTE favorite time of the year, it really didn't take me too long to get into the groove. And I am happy to report that my BFF Jan Tinklenberg has joined the ranks of the Control Freaks once again!!! (Did you SEE what she MADE???) Choirs of angels sing (or at least I DO!) to have her back amongst us once again!

I hate to even ADMIT that I have felt a TEENY-TINY bit of fall in the air ... not very much, mind you, but the evenings HAVE been cooler (as well as the mornings) by at least a few degrees!!! I cannot WAIT for the seasons to change, though ... running through the canyon in the cool temperatures with the colors and SMELLS of fall??? Just about as close to a slice of HEAVEN as you can GET!

Stamps: Acorny Thank You, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Mini Treat Bag Thinlits (for Mossy Meadow border), Bitty Banners Thinlits, Acorn Builder Punch, Natural Chevron Ribbon, Venetian Crochet Trim, Very Vanilla Thick Bakers Twine, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Mini Stapler

OHMYHALLOWEEN!!! Y'all KNOW it just so happens to be my very most FAVORITIST time of year. (I have a handful of homemade costumes that I've made over the years for MYSELF to prove it! And enough Halloween decor to decorate my house - inside and out - a couple of times over!!)

So this is actually a CARD and not a TREAT bag! Just pull on the little ribbon at the top and the card inside is blank except for the skelly face (that's what my daughter calls skeletons ... and it has kind of grown on me!)! The little bones are attached to the outside front of the "treat bag" .. stinkin' cute, right???

Stamps: Howl-o-ween Treat
Paper: Happy Haunting DSP, Whisper White, Black Glimmer Paper
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Mini Treat Bag Framelits, Happy Haunting Designer Washi Tape, Into the Woods 3/8" Cotton Ribbon, Boo to You Framelits

Next up?? The delightful Debbie Henderson! It is even super fun for ME to see what my fellow freaky friends come up with ... they NEVER cease to AMAZE me!!

Stamp Review Crew - Awesomely Artistic Edition

The Stamp Review Crew is at it again!!! This week we are "reviewing" Stampin' Up's Awesomely Artistic set.  I have already used this thing SO much!!! The images are ALL just GORGEOUS!

I did the background bricks with a technique I learned long ago and far away ... I inked up the embossing folder with some Whisper White ink (actually on the "negative" side so that the bricks would turn white and not the "grout" between the bricks ... hope that makes sense!).  I ran a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock through my Big Shot with the inked up embossing folder. Then, I sprinkled some Whisper White embossing powder on the ink and heat set it.  Ta-DAAAA!!

(This is similar to what I did with the Woodland embossing folder a couple of posts ago ... everyone keeps asking how I did it ... I just tapped the ink pad on the embossing folder and added a little bit of accent color with a sponge dauber.)

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Accessories: Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies, Project Life Card & Labels Framelits Dies, Project Life Moments Like These Accessories (small paper clip), Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Whisper White Embossing Powder, White Perfect Accents (colored with gold sharpie), Small Oval Punch (retired)

Yeah ... this is the SAME card ... I decided after I took the photo of my first version that the flowers might benefit from a little bit more color ... so I added a little splash of Soft Sky to the flower petals.  I still can't decide which version I like better ... what do you think??

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Soft Sky
Accessories: Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies, Project Life Card & Labels Framelits Dies, Project Life Moments Like These Accessories (small paper clip), Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Whisper White Embossing Powder, White Perfect Accents (colored with gold sharpie), Small Oval Punch (retired)

You KNOW you want one of these sets, don't you???!!??









The "previous" button with take you to Stampin' Seasons with Linda Callahan ... and the "next" button with show you what Jen Timko created on her Stampin' on the Fly blog!!!

Friends and Gratitude ...

I had heard it said once that if you have two or three people during your life that you can TRULY call a close friend, that you are blessed ... and for some reason I have been in a waterfall of blessing most of my life!!! I seriously can't actually count the number of people who have come into my life who have changed me for the better, and who I feel like will be a part of my life forever. (How's that for a mushy lead in???)

You know who your TRUE friends are when they can see you through the Good, the Bad and the Ugly ... and will talk to you and NOT judge when you LOOK like the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!!! I am reminded, once again, how large my "safety net" of friends is as my mom has been back in the hospital (all is well ... she is currently in a rehab facility for a few weeks, but makes more improvements every day!)!

My friend, Cheryl, and I went for a nice, long walk during her lunch hour(s) the other day (it was HOT and HUMID and the walk was more of a HIKE)!! She is the one that used to urge ME to come walking with her ... and I struggled ... and huffed and puffed ... and she was my cheerleader the whole way. Having been a bit out of the habit of walking because of her commitment to school (SO proud of her for going "back" ... AND getting a Bachelors degree!). So now it was my turn to push HER a bit ... she kept apologizing for her "slow" pace ... which didn't matter to me ONE BIT!! I was grateful to have a friend to walk with, to laugh with, to encourage as she has so often encouraged me (and NOT just in the area of staying fit, either! We met through a mutual friend at a Stampin' Up Club about 13 years ago ... the beginning of my Stampin' Odyssey)!! There are MANY people in my life that I am blessed to call "friend" ...

And yeah ... this is a DUDE "friend" card ... and I have DO have some DUDE friends as well. But I have to admit that there is nothing like a GIRL friend to share your secrets with! It is the BEST!!

Stamps: The Open Sea, Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Gold Glimmer DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Night of Navy
Accessories: Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Circle Framelits, Artisan Label Punch, Washi Label Punch, Chevron Natural Ribbon, Project Life Paper Clips Thinlits, Antique Brads, Mini Stapler

So today I am going to go visit with my mama, go to the gym (the elliptical is calling my name!), spend time with my awesome son, Devan (who has declared today Mama Tech Support Day ... how AWESOME is THAT???), and spend the evening with my besties at book group (I have been in this group of ***GULP*** 24 years ... and it's MY turn to review the book ... and before you ask, it's "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon ... GREAT read!). My heart is full of gratitude ...

Have a great day, FRIENDS!!