Monday Montage #176

I KNOW I have mentioned this before ... but don't ya just LOOOOVE it when one season just SLAMS into another one (NOT!)??!?? Welcome to life in Utah ... where it can be 72 degrees one day and 28 degrees with snow on the ground the next!!! I would really LOOOOVE it if we could have a little bit of fall going on here instead of skipping it and going straight from summer into winter!!! SHEESH!! Good thing I got to stay inside and keep cozy while playing with some paper and stamps!! Welcome to another round with the Monday Montage girls!!

The Plaid Builder Dies ... I want them to live FOREVER as a current product in the catalog!! I really enjoy playing with them and putting different color combos together!! And I'm weird ... I absolutely LOVE sleeping in a tent!! It is just very peaceful and relaxing for my mind and body (thanks to the wonderful super-awesome air mattresses we own!)!! The Campology Stamp Set just makes me long for another river trip and setting a tent up on the banks of some-such place like the Flathead River in Montana!! Slice of HEAVEN!!!


Stamps: Campology
Paper: Old Olive, Cinnamon Cider, Early Espresso, Bumblebee, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink: Old Olive, Early Espresso
Accessories: Celebration Label Dies, Plaid Builder Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, Cinnamon Cider Ribbon, Metallic Pearls, In Good Taste Elements

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Monday Montage Hoppers
Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts - SITTING OUT THIS WEEK 

Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma
Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange
Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner - SITTING OUT THIS WEEK

Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots
Julie Warnick - Julie Warnick Stampin' Up! Blog 
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

Any of y'all ever struggle with Achilles tendonitis??? Man oh MAN ... I've been suffering with a bad bout of it on my left foot/ankle since about last February/March!! Stupid COVID-19 ... I choose to blame it for all my woes!! HA!! I've started a new regimine of self massaging, stretching and icing. I THINK it's working (at least a little bit) ... if you have any suggestions on something that would help, I am ALL EARS!!

Click "Next" to see what Bree Renwick ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... LOVE these women and their beautifully-creative ideas!

Gratitude - Freakin' Thankful!

I'm back playing with the Control Freaks again!! I am the one that makes the schedule and gets everyone all lined up ... and last month I totally and COMPLETELY spaced it!! I was a whole day behind myself (at least in my brain I was!)!! Happy to report that I actually remembered this month ... AND had my cards done a day in advance to boot!! YAY ME!! Did you just come from the blog of the cleverly-talented Connie Babbert??? She is gonna cost me money, that woman!! I saw a different card on her FB page earlier today that made me CERTAIN I need a bundle that I didn't even hardly register in my brain until I saw her card ... always SOMEthing incredible coming out the ends of her fingers, that's for sure!

 

I used the "Arrange a Wreath" stamp set and the Wreath Builder dies to NOT make a wreath. I wanted to evoke a "leaf storm" ... I love walking through the canyon by my house and have the leaves come falling down as I walk on by.  I love the sights, smells and colors. My most FAVORITE time of the year for SURE!! I took three little pieces of the Braided Linen Trim and BRAIDED them together to make the little accent rope.

Stamps: Arrange a Wreath
Paper: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Bumblebee, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Cinnamon Cider, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow, 
Accessories: Wreath Builder Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Subtle Embossing Folder, 3/16" Braided Linen Trim

Here is my version of a "fall picnic".  I was really struggling with what to do with the pumpkin border image I had created once I had finished coloring it.  Then I remembered the Buffalo Check background ... PERFECT! It just seems to be the best compliment sometimes. I cut another piece of the Braided Lined Trim for this card ... and kind of pulled it apart to give it a whole different look. I am really drawn to all of the natural fibers when it comes to ribbon and trim!

Stamps: Celebration Tidings, Buffalo Check
Paper: Very Vanilla, Mossy Meadow, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Accessories: Celebration Labels Dies, 3/16" Braided Trim, Metallic Pearls


We spent the last four days in one of our family's most-loved and favorite places ... Rockville, Utah ... it's about 5 minutes outside the entrance to Zion National Park.  LOTS of hiking and soaking in the beautiful colors. I could have stayed for another week or two and not even have felt the time pass!

Next up??? The other half of my "Connie Sandwich" ... Connie Tumm!! She NEVER disappoints as she ALWAYS comes up with incredibly creative things!

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Monday Montage #175

And just like THAT we slammed from summer into fall! It was in the 80's on Saturday and didn't get much past the 50's today ... weather can be SOOO weird!! On the plus side, I FINALLY finished getting all of my Halloween decorations up! I'm very sad that, due to the stupid-dumb COVID-19 thing, we aren't feeling good about the whole trick-or-treat thing. Halloween is my favorite ... NEXT year is gonna be EPIC! In the mean time, we are here to play with the Monday Montage girls! YAY!!

And once again here is a creation that made me ride the struggle bus the ENTIRE time!! I KNEW I wanted to use the Camouflage background stamp ... which is the first thing I did. Then I couldn't figure out WHAT to do with it next! I'm still not sure this is quite what I had in mind, but at least I got SOMEthing put together!


Stamps: Camouflage, Celebrate Sunflowers, Celebration Tidings
Paper: Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride. Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White
Ink: Mossy Meadow, Flirty Flamingo, Pear Pizzazz, Mango Melody
Accessories: Detailed Bands Dies. Sunflowers Dies, Flowers for Every Season Gems, Wink of Stella, Shimmery Crystal Effects

Monday Montage #174

We could not have asked for a more beautiful weekend. Our skies outside were cool and clear. The colors and smells of fall were in the air. i got some crafty projects done and even some laundry and housecleaning! YAY ME!

I sat down and kept getting distracted whilst I was trying to find inspiration to create something. I finally came up with an idea using the Banners Stamp Set. I made a fun little strip of images using the cute stamps in the Banners Set. I also brushed some Whisper White ink over the top of the Old World Paper embossed piece ... kinda made it look cob-webby!!


Stamps: Banners
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie Glimmer DSP
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Black Stazon, Garden Green, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Accessories: Old World Paper Embossing Folder, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Whisper White Embossing Powder, Flowers for Every Season Ribbon

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Monday Montage Hoppers
Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts
Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma
Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
- NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange
  Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance
- NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner
 - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots
Julie Warnick - Julie Warnick Stampin' Up! Blog 
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

My poor puppy dog has some sorta doggie stomach flu ... she is just NOT interested in eating (since last Thursday). All tests came back with normal results ... sigh ... I wish she could talk and tell me what is wrong!! LOVE my fur baby!

Click "Next" to see what Amy O'Neill ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... what-the-WHAT??!!?? Fantastic!!

Fab Friday #198

So here we are again ... how is it that the weeks have gone by so quickly this year??? Or is it that they are going slowly? This year is just SOOOO weird!! At least the temperatures are starting to come down a little ... I can feel fall in the air, especially in the mornings and evening. The leaves starting turning colors a few weeks ago, but now they are really being show offs ... I LOVE the smells and colors of fall! Thanks for joining us for another fun Fab Friday Stampin' Challenge. The colors this time aruond are SUPER fun!!

I actually CASED myself on this one ... I was looking back through my blog at some cards from about 5 years ago and came across one similar in layout to this one. I love little banners, don't you?? The Banners Pick a Punch is a staple you all NEED in your stash. I am finding myself reaching for it more and more ... I hope it sticks around in the catalog for a looooong time!

Stamps: Love of Leaves
Paper: Misty Moonlight, Seaside Spray, Gray Granite, Whisper White, In Good Taste DSP, Plaid Tidings DSP, In Color DSP
Ink: Misty Moonlight
Accessories: Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon, Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder, Banners Pick a Punch, Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels

I LOOOOVE this combo!

Here's a link to the Fab Friday Challenge Blog so that you can play along:

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Mindy Backes
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Amy Koenders
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers

I ended up taking my doggie to the vet yesterday. She hasn't been eating and shows NO interest in her food or any of her doggie snacks! The vet said she had no fever and wasn't dehydrated, but she couldn't get her to eat anything, either. So now we are waiting for her to ... um ... leave us a sample so we can take it back to the vet for testing. And, of course, because we WANT her to leave us a "sample" she isn't cooperating!! UGH! I made her a little bowl of chicken broth and she actually ate that ... then she nibbled up a little doggie treat we gave her. Hoping this means she is on the mend ... and maybe there will be something waiting out in the backyard for us in the morning. HA! Isn't pet ownership SO MUCH FUN???

Monday Montage #173

Is 2020 over YET??? What an inSANEly crazy year this has been!! Last Tuesday we had the most unexpectedly SCARY windstorm. I know that doesn't sound like much of a natural disaster, but we had winds recorded up to 112 mph ... and my neighborhood ended up looking like a war zone!! Trees were toppled over everywhere!! I saw siding blowing down the street ... there was so much dirt and leaves blowing around that it looked like snow swirling around ... we will be cleaning up the downed trees and torn up sidewalks for MONTHS (or at least the city will be!)! I'm not sure we are EVER going to see "normal" again! Sheesh!!

Fall-fall-FALL!! I folded myself up a little envelope to make some fall come busting out of it!! I cheated with the Plaid Tidings DSP a little ... I took two different patterns that matched each other and adhered them back to back so I could have both of them visible. I used not only the Love of Leaves stamps with the Stitched Leaves dies, but also the In Good Taste Elements and Braided Trim/Linen Thread with some Metallic Pearls as an accent. This was one of those cards where more was MORE and I just kept adding things!!

Stamps: Love of Leaves
Paper: Cajun Craze, Cinnamon Cider, Whisper White, Plaid Tidings DSP
Ink: Pretty Peacock, Cajun Craze, Cinnamon Cider, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Old World Paper Embossing Folder, Stitched Leaves Dies, Metallic Pearls
Braided Trim, Linen Thread, Good Taste Elements, Classic Label Punch

Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Monday Montage Hoppers
Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts
Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma
Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange
 - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner
 - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots
Julie Warnick - Julie Warnick Stampin' Up! Blog - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

With temperatures swining between the 90's and then dropping down to the 30's and back up again to the 90's, I'm not sure WHAT month it is ... we even had SNOW in the mountains last week. I feel SO upsidedown!

Click "Next" to see what Amy O'Neill ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... super-duper FAB!!

Fab Friday #197

Typing is getting a bit easier ... FINALLY!! I got the stitches out from my trigger finger surgery on Tuesday. WHAT a RELIEF!! I'm gonna be stiff and sore for a bit, but at least I'm on the road to recovery! I have been riding the Creative Struggle Bus for a couple of weeks ... just stare at my stuff and rearrange things on the table ... not making much progress. This card took me WAY longer it should have ... most of the time spent staring and thinking. Once I FINALLY came up with an idea, the execution went pretty quickly. I am pretty sure I need a NAP!!

Come to think of it, I am also pretty sure I need some freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies!! I need home delivery ... STAT!! Sadly, I am quite certain that that will not happen today! This stamp set/dies are so freakin' cute and will be getting a LOT of exercise from me!

Stamps: Nothing's Better Than
Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, In Good Taste DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon, Love You More Than Dies, Trio Corner Punch, Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack (Very Vanilla Ribbon), Stapler

Simple, easy-peasy!

Here's a link to the Fab Friday Challenge Blog so that you can play along:

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Mindy Backes
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Amy Koenders
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers

This is going to be a Netflix kinda day. After all the crazy merry-go-round schedule I have been living with getting my dear mama squared away with hospice caretakers AND having family come to town to visit over Labor Day I am WIPED OUT!! It all has caught up with me ... nothing a good long nap and a day of doing very little can't fix!!! Happy Fab Friday!

Monday Montage #172

I only have one working hand right now ... at least it is my dominant right hand. Ugh. I had surgery on my left hand last Friday (my birthday, no less!). I had similar surgery on my right hand just under a year ago. I have stupid trigger fingers ... it's not that big of a deal, but when your hand is wrapped to the size of a baseball bat it makes things VERY awkward!! I'll be glad when I can get the wrap off and the stitches removed ... in about a week ... BOO!

I was pretty proud of my one-handed cardmaking skills on this! HA!! Didn't even use one single stamp! I guess that was the smart thing to do so that I didn't get ink all over my bandages or make a mess all over my card!

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Seaside Spray, Plaid Tidings DSP
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Playful Alphabet Dies, Well Written Dies, Detailed Bands Dies, Tin Tile Embossing Folder, Seaside Spray Scalloped Linen Ribbon, Metallic Pearls




Here's a blog roll just in case you get "stuck" trying to hop around ...

Monday Montage Hoppers
Amy O'Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK
Breelin Renwick - Craft-somnia Momma
Cathy Casey - Sugar Shack Designs
Charlet Mallet - Painted Orange
Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner
Elizabeth Price - Seeinginkspots
Julie Warnick - Julie Warnick Stampin' Up! Blog - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

I'm also feeling a little bit overdone with the pandemic thing ... the getting my mom set up on hospice care (which we are getting close with), the one-handed paperhanger thing ... I'm jumping on the bandwagon with the "let's get 2020 over with" crowd!! SHEESH!! We WILL get through this, my friends!! One day at a time!

Click "Next" to see what Bree Renwick ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... SUPER SWEET CREATIVITY from both of them, as usual!

Fab Friday #196

This is a quick fly-by of a post!! Today is my birthday ... I'm having surgery on my left hand in 90 minutes and we put my dear, sweet mama on hospice care this week! My plate is kinda full, to say the least!!

Here's my card for this week's color challenge. FALL ALL THE WAY!!

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, 2020-2022 In Color DSP, Plaid Tidings DSP
Ink: NONE
Accessories: Stitched Leaves Dies, Well Written Dies, Bumblebee Gingham Ribbon, Cinnamon Cider In Color Ribbon, Very Vanilla 3/8" Scalloped Lace Trim, Metallic Pearls, In Good Taste Elements

I'm starting to feel fab vibes for SURE!!

Here's a link to the Fab Friday Challenge Blog so that you can play along:

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Mindy Backes
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Amy Koenders
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers

Just getting ready to head out the door for another day of crazy!! Wish me luck!!!

In Color Highlights with the Freaks!

This month the Control Freaks are playing with any/all of the current In Colors. Did you like what you saw from my bestie,Bree Renwick??? Clever, right??? I decided to do two takes on the same basic layout ... and I used one "old" In Color and one "new" In Color on each creation. Check it out!

First off ... I Freakin' luuuuuurve Just Jade and Pretty Peacock together. Holy WOWSERS, you guys!! Don't they just look SUPER RICH and YUMMY???? I think so!!

Stamps: Ridiculously Awesome, Swirly Frames
Paper: Just Jade, Pretty Peacock, Soft Sea Foam, Whisper White
Ink: Just Jade, Pretty Peacock
Accessories: Stitched Stars Dies, Stitched Rectangles Dies, Just Jade Gingham, Old World Paper Embossing Folder, Flowers for Every Season Gems

This one is all about the blues ... Misty Moonlight and Seaside Spray. I think this combo is also pretty dang pretty!! I added a few pieces of bling and a stream of ribbon (which I think kinda looks like a shooting star). Both of these cards were quick and easy! What do you think??

Stamps: Ridiculously Awesome, Swirly Frames
Paper: Misty Moonlight, Seaside Spray, Whisper White, Vellum
Ink: Misty Moonlight, Seaside Spray
Accessories: Layering Circles Dies, Stitched Stars Dies, Flowers for Every Season Gems, Metallic Pearls, Seaside Spray Scalloped Linen Ribbon, Tasteful Textures Embossing Folder


My birthday is coming up next week ... and this will be the first birthday in about 9 years that I have NOT been in Disneyland to celebrate!! SIGH ... one day I WILL be back again. This year I am gonna eat lots of homemade Disney snacks and watch Disney movies in one of my fun Disney outfits (probably the dress I made for myself LAST year!)!!!

Next up??? The ever-talented ... Melissa Davies!! A-MAZ-ING as always!!

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