Fab Friday #134

Two weeks ago today I was in Disneyland ... why can't I STILL be in Disneyland??? Y'all KNOW I would stinkin' LIVE there, right??? (But Walt's old apartment is now a shrine/museum, so where else would I stay??) In the midst of getting ready to have a fun family weekend full of hugs, food, visiting and dying Easter eggs (and watching LDS General Conference on tv!), I realized I needed to get on top of this week's Fab Friday card ... so here ya go!

I feel like you can't make an ugly card with this color combo. I'm not kidding. It's so great! This card just came together so quickly!! That doesn't happen very often, so I really appreciate it when it does!!

Stamps: Dragonfly Dreams, Timeless Textures
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Powder Pink, So Saffron, Night of Navy, Vellum
Ink: Soft Sky, Powder Pink, So Saffron, Night of Navy
Accessories: Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

This is fresh ... this is pretty ... this is FUN!








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

I need to go buy some more candy for Easter ... because what I had already purchased seems to have magically disappeared!! How on earth did THAT happen??!??

Beautiful Bouquets from the Freaks!

Sunshine and blue skies!! What a BEAUTIFUL day it has been today!! If you have been following this blog tour all the way around, you just came from the beautiful bouquets of Melissa Davies. That's our theme this month, so let's get right to it!!

The flower patch in front of my house is SOOO confused right now!! We had a pretty long warm patch in January, and the poor little flowers thought it was time to start peeking up!!! Then, of course, Mother Nature had different plans!! We have been snowing for the past several weeks here, but today was GORGEOUS. I felt inspired to make a little bouquet to reflect how the weather has made me feel!

Stamps: Beautiful Bouquet, Burlap
Paper: Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Whole Lot of Lovely DSP
Ink: Crumb Cake, Powder Pink, Berry Burst, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Linen Thread

One more little spot of colors/flowers!! I am totally IN LOVE with the Whole Lot of Lovely DSP ... oh man!! The COLORS are A-MAZ-ING!! The patterns are equally incredible! I just barely ordered a package of it ... it's been out since SU's catalog came out last year ... why oh WHY did it take me this long to get on board??? Sheesh!

Stamps: Beautiful Bouquet
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Tangerine Tango, Powder Pink, Whole Lot of Lovely DSP, Vellum
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Layered Leaves Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Stitched Shapes Framelits, May Flowers Thinlits, Flourish Thinlits, Butterflies Thinlits, 3/8" Burlap Ribbon

Next up??? The creative Connie Babbert! That woman ROCKS!!

Monday Montage #112

Rain, snow, sunshine, snow again ... spring is really working on getting here!! And so are the Monday Montage girls! I'm excited!!!

As the seasons are TRYING to change, I am TRYING to help them along!! I love making banners ... and I haven't had a "spring" one to hang up before! I figured now was the PERFECT time to take care of that.

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Powder Pink, Tangerine Tango, Vellum, Whole Lot of Lovely Designer Series Paper
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), 3/8" Burlap Ribbon, Gold Library Clips, Butterflies Thinlits, Mini Stapler (retired), Stitched Shapes Thinlits, May Flowers Framelits, Flower Brads (retired), Alphabet Essentials Bigz Dies (retired), Linen Banners (from Michaels!)

Here's a more close-up view ... colors, butterflies, flowers! I even dipped into some of my "vintage" (aka "retired") goodies to complete the look. I have always loved the Bigz Rosette Die (NEVER going to get rid of that one!)! The Essentials Alphabet Dies are also always going to remain in my cupboard ... of COURSE I bought them RIGHT before I found out they were going to retire! And the little flower brads??? I NEARLY "donated" those to the local elementary school a while back ... but I'm kind of glad I didn't, as they made the PERFECT accent!!

We have had THREE snowstorms since last Thursday ... which we have REALLY needed! It's all melted already, but I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with more before the week is through!

Click "Back" for Kaitlyn Zumbach and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL!

Monday Montage #111

Happy Monday Montage day!! This past weekend was AMAZING on so many levels ... and I am going to be feeling the "glow" from all of it for a long while. But I'll get back to that in a minute. I have a card I made that I'd like to share first!

Sad, sad story about this beautiful stamp set. I really do LOVE it. It has SO many incredible floral images ... and a LOT of really good sentiments as well. It was one of the first things I ordered when the catalog came out last year. The sad part?? I somehow neglected to put the correct number in when ordering it (it comes in a bundle with thinlits dies). I only ordered the stamp set and NOT the dies!! Well DANG!!! So that means I have to fussy cut all the elements when I stamp this. Which is actually FINE, because I find fussy cutting kind of therapeutic. However ... KNOWING that there are a BUNCH of thinlits that could make this set even BETTER is a saaaaad thing, right???

Stamps: Beautiful Bouquet
Paper: Whisper White, Tranquil Tide, Whole Lot of Lovely DSP
Ink:  Berry Burst, Pool Party, Crushed Curry, Tranquil Tide, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Layering Circles Framelits Dies, Linen Thread

So ... this past Saturday I was able to participate in the Outclimb Cancer Challenge. There is a bank building in downtown Salt Lake City that has 24 floors. And the challenge is to climb to the top of all those stairs as MANY times as you can in 6 hours' time. In the process of training and getting prepared, I made all my best efforts to raise money for the event. I have NEVER been surrounded by so many selfless, happy, and wonderful people. Not going to lie ... it was VERY physically challenging! I participated last year and was able to complete the climb 30 times. This year I completed 28 climbs (I arrived about 10 minutes late, which had me at a disadvantage ... but that was my fault anyway!)! I am VERY happy with how it turned out. And feeling that I made even a SMALL dent in the funding of cancer research to find a cure just makes me happy on so many levels.

We woke up Sunday to about a foot of fresh snow. It was beautiful. Spent the whole day snuggled inside my house and feeling grateful for all the blessings in my life. Sometimes it is so easy to get so caught up in day-to-day routines that I forgot how fortunate I am.

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... both of these women ... as well as all of the others in the Monday Montage crew ... are also beautiful blessings in my life! I am more than grateful for the chance I have to play with them!

Fab Friday #132

Hello from the Winter Wonderland of Salt Lake City! Yeah ... yeah ... we are STILL sitting in the snow. AND there is a really BIG snowstorm due to hit us very soon. I cannot tell you HOW happy I am that I have NOWHERE to GO today!!! I can stay home ... inside where it's WARM!!! Maybe a Netflix binge is in order??? Or maybe LOTS of stamping??? Today's card is brought to you by all my friends on the Fab Friday Design Team!

This stamp set ... seriously???? Two-step stamping of the most gorrrrrrgeous sunflower-type of flower EVEH!!! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!

Stamps: Painted Harvest
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party
Ink: Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette, Pool Party, Soft Suede
Accessories: Burlap Ribbon

This color combo ... inSANEly amazing, wouldn't you say???








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

Perhaps I should run to the store and stock up on ALL the junk food and drinks I can think of??? Or perhaps some HEALTHY snacks??? Hmmmm ... #thestruggleisreal.

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 #131

'Kay wait ... my body and mind have absolutely NO idea what time of year it is!!! We have had the most crazy and unseasonably temperate (aka dare I say WARM) winter all season. And then BAM!!! The last few days have been FA-REEEZ-ING!! Like HURT MY EYEBALLS cold!! I hope I don't end up getting sick now that my body temperature has been on such a roller coaster! At least I have been able to enjoy stamping in my nice CLEAN room!! I'm still pretty giddy about it!! So without further adieu, Welcome to Fab Friday!

During The Great CleanUp, I found my Smoky Slate Gingham Ribbon!!! YAY!!! So I HAD to, of course, use some of it!! So here it is ...

Stamps: Colorful Season
Paper: Basic Black, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Melon Mambo
Accessories: Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Smoky Slate Gingham Ribbon, Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies, Ovals Collection Framelits Dies, Pinewood Planks Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

I'm quite sure I kinda "over-embellished" myself ... but I think I still am close enough to the sketch, don't you??









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

I think I shall crank up my electric blanket, put on my favorite pair of sweats and just concentrate on the Olympics for the next few days. How does that sound??? I think it sounds PERFECT!!

Monday Montage #109

Oh man ... I can't TELL ya how much fun it is to be back in my crafty space again!!! And it's CLEAN!!! And I can FIND things!!! And I'm not crafting on the floor or on the coffee table in my basement. HALLELUJAH!!! I'm enjoying this SOOOOO much!!! I finished this card for our Monday Montage team ... and my room is STILL clean (I actually put things away as I was going along!)! What is UP with THAT???? I hope it lasts!!

As I stamped (during the Super Bowl), it was so fun to listen to my boys all enjoying the Super Bowl together (I kept running over to check the commercials ... AND to watch JT do the halftime show!)! Isn't having family around the GREATEST???

Now that I know where all my stuffs are, I am AMAZED at the stamps/diecuts/punches I have that I kinda forgot about (and how many I have that I haven't ever even used!)!!! That's what brought this card about ... think I've only used this set ONCE!

What's not to love about a teeny tiny umbrella???

Supplies: Weather Together, Timeless Textures
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Powder Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Powder Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Sky, Pool Party
Accessories: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Umbrella Weather Framelits,Rhinestone Basics Jewels, Corner Rounder Punch (retired)

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... I think I wanna be them when I grow up!!

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!!