Fab Friday #206

I am feeling some spring vibes coming on! Which happens to be VERY crazy since we are still living in January (my friend has flower bulbs starting to peek through the dirt ... WHAT??)!! This week for Fab Friday we are playing with the pretty and soft color combo of Blushing Bride, Bumblebee and Just Jade. I snuck in a little bit of Basic Black to help make the colors POP!!

Stamps: Pretty Perennials
Paper: Whisper White, Bumblebee, Just Jade, Blushing Bride, Basic Black
Ink:Bumblebee, Just Jade, Blushing Bride, Black Memento
Accessories: Perennial Petals Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Old World Paper Embossing Folder, Pastel Pearls

Fresh and pretty ... I feel some spring in this color 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

FINALLY went to the podiatrist and had my Achilles tendon looked at.  Doc says it's definitely Achilles tendonitis and some inflammation in the bursa surrouding my tendons ... which means I can't walk, run, massage, or stretch this thing for two weeks (while taking some Aleve two times a day). Also, icing after any sort of walk or anything that might aggravate the situation.  Happy to have a plan ... and crossing my fingers that in two weeks I will be SOOOO much better!!

Monday Montage #182

Can y'all say SNOW??? Here we are ... 3/4 of the way through JANUARY ... and we FINALLY got some SNOW!! It's not very much, and it will all be melted before ya know it, but at least we have SOME!! Apparently we have a couple additional storms coming this week that should add to our snow total. I am crossing my FINGERS!! It's time! Spring will be here before ya know it!! What's better than a good dusting of snow in the winter??? Playing with the Monday Montage girls, that's what!! Lookie what I made!

Pretty lacy things ... I LOVE me some dies and stamps that make pretty lacy things! The new Vine Design Bundle is LOVE-LY!! I knew I wanted to do some sort of pastel color combo for this one. I started with Petal Pink and the rest of the colors just kind of worked their way in. Once again I am using the most perfectly fabulous dies EVER (aka Stitched So Sweetly Dies - may they live FOREVER!)!! The flowers were all die cut. The leaves, however, were fussy cut because there wasn't a die to cut the little leaf image out (sad ... but I still like fussy cutting, so that is ok!)!

Stamps: Vine Design

Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Petal Pink, Balmy Blue

Ink: Petal Pink, Balmy Blue, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White Craft
Accessories: Flowering Vines Dies, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, Pastel Pearls, Embroidered Ribbon (retired)

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
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 
Melissa Stout - The Stamp Doc
Wendy Weixler - Wickedly Wonderful Creations - YOU'RE ALREADY HERE!!

On the Achilles Tendon Saga ... it is still here. And my Achilles Tendon still hurts ... every dang day! Anyone have any suggestions??? I stretch, massage, strengthen and do light exercising, but nothing excessive. I heat it with a nice corn bag that I warm in the microwave. I ice it ... what else am I supposed to do???? Sigh ...

Click "Next" to see what Amy O'Neill ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... FANTASTICAL!!!

Freakin' NEW STUFFS!

It is only January 19-20 and I am just NOW getting my Christmas decor taken down and put away.  To be fair, my tree is getting a facelift (all new LED lights) before next Christmas, and I was just waiting for the tree guy to come and pick it up!  So that is my excuse and I'm sticking with it!! Still have a little more to do, but I took a time out and played with some new goodies from the January-June catalog for the Control Freaks Blog Tour! Hopping around you should just have come from the marvelous blog of Melissa Stout! She always ends up costing ME money by convincing me that I NEED something that I didn't even know that I did! (I'm sure you guys can relate!)

I have purchased LOTS of heart stamps and dies over the years ... but I am going to be quite honest here.  The Lots of Heart Bundle is FANFREAKINTASTIC!! The images are beautiful and the dies are DIVINE!! I had so much fun playing with them (and the Curvy Dies and Many Messages Dies!)! New toys are FUN, aren't they??? 

Stamps: Lots of Heart
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red
Ink: Real Red, Whisper White Craft
Accessories: Curvy Dies, Lots of Heart Dies, Many Messages Dies, Pastel Pearls, Whisper White Embossing Powder

One more card using basically the same goodies (with the exception of the sentiment, which is from Oval Occasions stamp set ... also new!)! I almost feel like you can NEVER go wrong with black/white/red! Such a classic color combo.  I think I could probably make about 20 different cards using the buffalo plaid heart from the Lots of Heart set ... it's just too-too good!

Stamps: Lots of Heart, Oval Occasions
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black
Ink: Real Red, Whisper White Craft
Accessories: Lots of Heart Dies, Many Messages Dies, Whisper White Baker's Twine (from Snail Mail Twine Combo Pack, Whisper White Embossing Powder

Next up??? Tami Hewlett! There is a reason she is on the current Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team ... she is terrific!!

Fab Friday #205

Well THIS card was EASY!! I took one look at the sketch and knew exactly what I was going to do with it, and I just did it!!

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Berry Delightful DSP
Ink: Stampin' Chalk Marker
Accessories: Play Alphabet Dies, Trio of Tags Dies, Old World Paper Embossing Folder, Clear Rhinestones, Whisper  White Baker's Twine from Snail Mail Twine, 

 

Clean, Simple and FUN to create with!

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

Weekend can't come quickly enough!! I'd really, really, REALLY love to go out on a nice winter run ... but due to my ding-dang-ridiculous Achilles' tendon on my left foot, I am STILL out of commission!! ONE DAY ... MAYBE SOON ... maybe the dumb thing will actually HEEL!! More stretching, heat, massaging, CBD cream, lotion, booted at night ... all of these things MUST bring it back to normal at some point, right?? Wish me luck!!

Monday Montage #181

YAY and HOORAY!! It's a NEW YEAR! And I am actually STAMPING something!! It took me a while to decompress from Christmas (and, to be fair, I'm still working on cleaning up various messes here and there in my house!). But i STAMPED ... for FUN ... and I LIKED IT!!

If y'all haven't already checked out the new January - June Stampin' Up Catalog, DO IT!!! It's SOOOOO good!! I know I saw that all the time with new catalogs, but this one seriously IS chock full of beautiful and amazing things!! I have a wishlist longer than my arm with my leg attached! Good thing I have a SU BFF that lives 5 minutes from me and will coordinate sets that we buy so we can get the biggest BANG for our BUCK (thanks, Cheryl!)!

I've always been a sucker for a GOOD ice cream set ... and this really IS a GOOD ice cream set!! I also fell IN-LOVE with the pastel pearls ... I think I want to use them on freakin' EVERYTHING! So I put the two together and VOILA!! I cut the color strips, taped them down to the Crumb Cake layer and then ran the entire thing through my embossing machine using the Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder! LOVE-LOVE-LOVE! It reminded me of the texture of an actual sugared ice cream cone. YUMMY!! Now I want ice cream ... and the freezer is empty of ice cream ... and it's 10:00pm on Sunday night ... sigh! I think I just saved myself about 1,000 calories!! HA!

Stamps: Sweet Ice Cream

Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Rococo Rose, Seaside Spray, Highland Heather, Purple Posy

Ink: Highland Heather, Gorgeous Grape, Seaside Spray, Blushing Bride, Rococo Rose, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Wink of Stella
Accessories: Ice Cream Cone Builder Punch, Tasteful Textile Embossing Folder, Pastel Pearls, Tag Trios Dies (for the little heart), Layering Circles Dies, 3/16" Braided Linen Trim

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
Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner

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

Do I *dare* say that I *think* my Achilles Tendon may *perhaps* be starting to heal??!?? I mean, it's only been bugging me since LAST STINKIN' FEBRUARY!! I have been SOOOO diligent for the past several months, especially since the end of October. I am hoping that all my efforts may actually be STARTING to pay off!! Sheesh!! I hate it when things you didn't even realize that you HAD start hurting and refuse to cooperate! Crossing my fingers ....

Click "Next" to see what Amy O'Neill ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... they both used the SAME set with fantastically different results!! SO CUTE!

Monday Montage #180

And just like THAT, Christmas has come and gone once again. And it was weird. And it was wonderful. And I can't wait until we have a more traditional and (dare I say) NORMAL-ish holiday season NEXT year!! I looooveed being able to be with those I love the most ... even if we did a lot of things virtually. It was different, but it was still great! As much as we SWORE we were taking time "off" for the holiday season, the Monday Montage girls were all ITCHING to play with some of their new toys, so we decided to give you guys a peek!

The ocean is my happy place (or at least one of them!). I was born and raised in California. Though I didn't live right next to the beach, we were close enough that it wasn't a huge deal to drive and spend a day. The sights, the smells, the sounds ... it is all just a peaceful slice of heaven for me. This "Friends are Like Seashells" suite of goodies is the BESTBESTBEST!!! I love the detail you can get from the lovely 3D Embossing Folder. I kept this rather simple, but I love how it turned out!

Stamps: Friends are Like Seashells

Paper: Very Vanilla, Balmy Blue, Petal Pink

Ink: Balmy Blue, Petal Pink
Accessories: Seaside Seashells Dies, Seashells 3D Embossing Folder, Stitched So Sweetly Dies, 3/8" Fine Arts Ribbon, Linen Thread, Clear Epoxy Droplets

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 - NOT PARTICIPATING THIS WEEK
Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner

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

Although I know that when the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Eve that we won't be magically transported into the Land of No Covid or Politics, I have hope and faith in humanity. I beleive in science. I believe that most people are good and kind and hardworking. I beleive that things WILL be better this next year. But I also know that it will still take some time. We've made it this far, my friends ... I see the light at the end of the tunnel (even if it seems a little far off at the moment!! HANG IN THERE, BABY!

Click "Next" to see what Bree Renwick ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... could they BE any MORE fabulous??? I think NOT!

Freakin' So Sparkly!

Sigh ... yeah ... that's how my whole week has been going!! First off, I am going to apologize right off that I only have ONE project to share with you for this month's Control Freaks Blog Tour (didn't you just LOVE what my bestie Melissa Stout did??)! I seriously need a VACATION!! Don't we ALL???? Second ... I have a few retired things on my card ... because I actually kinda forgot to make something specifically for this blog tour ... and decided to just share this year's family Christmas card ... which I have been working on for over a dang MONTH!!! So there ya go! I'm sure many of you can relate!!

Here's the outside of my card.  It is actually is made from Mellow Moss green cardstock.  And, of course, my photo looks VERY Old Olive green ... despite all the work I tried to do to adjust it!  Yeah ... what else is new???  I knew as soon as I saw this particular sentiment  in the "Christmas Means More" stamp set that it WAS going to be on my Christmas card.  "It's a Wonderful Life" has long been my favorite Christmas movie ... and this just HAD to happen!! Cutting out nearly 500 silver embossed jingle bells??? Yeah ... I went there, too!! But the Red Velvet paper also had to happen! The little bitty silver sequins, the ribbon accents, the twine and the red sparkly glitter I used for the holly berries are ALL retired (but still 100% Stampin' Up)! Sometimes it's ok to use retired things, right??? Tying knots in the baker's twine and gluing each and every dang jingle bell to the knots with individual glue dots was a PAIN in the NECK!! But I liked how it look so well I just went ahead and did it!!

Stamps: Christmas Means More
Paper: Mellow Moss Whisper White, Red Velvet
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Silver Embossing Powder, Old World Paper Embossing Folder, Sweetest Borders Dies, Very Vanilla/Silver Baker's Twine, Fun Christmas Ribbon (can't remember the name of it!), Real Red Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Here is our socially-distanced family photo for this year's Christmas card.  And for those of you who are wondering ... YES I DID use My Digital Studio to create it (except for now it is called My Memories Suite).  I am STILL a fan!!

Two more weeks and 2020 will be in the rearview mirror, my friends!! And I KNOW 2021 has a bunch of wonderfulness in store for ALL of us!!

Next up??? Super beautiful and brilliant Bree Renwick! Miss her face in person, but so happy to see what she is creating online!

Monday Montage #179

A little snow this weekend and we are officially feeling more Christmasy! I hope it snows every dang day from now until the end of the year. I'd love to stay home, take cozy naps in front of the fireplace, watch old movies, read ridiculously good books, and take long walks in the snow with my doggie and my hubby! Sounds like a little slice of Heaven, doesn't it?? Throw in some Zoom game sessions with my kids and it would be just about perfect!

And there are now officially 12 days until Christmas ... and I am NOT ready ... and I am NOT motivated ... and I am going to keep hammering through and I will somehow get done with everything and then be glad in the end I did it all. Sound familiar? This year is just SUPER weird, so I'm going to give myself a bye for the rest of the season and call it cool! At least I already had a card in the hopper to share with y'all on this Marvelous Monday Montage Hop!!
I made this card for a core color card challenge ... which means we were challenged with picking one color from each of the core color families and then create something with it. I used a card in the catalog as inspiration and then went with it in my own way. I do like this color combo ... it's rich and bright and lovely all at the same time!

Stamps: Butterfly Gala, Jar of Flowers

Paper: Pool Party, Bermuda Baby, Soft Suede, Blackberry Bliss, Vellum, Copper Foil Sheets

Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Jar Punch, Butterfly Duo Punch, 3D Lace Embossing Folder, Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack, Whisper White Embossing Powder, Metallic Pearls, Frosted Epoxy Droplets

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
Cheryl Curtis - Pomp and Sustenance
Dani Dziama - Dani's Thoughtful Corner

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

I'm feeling grateful more than anything right now. Grateful for a healthy family (so far), grateful for a stable source of income, grateful for a house to live in and a car to drive, and grateful for family and friends who continue to make attempts to connect in ways that are new to most of them. My people are my universe ... and I consider all of you in the category of "my people". It's the lovely art of papercrafting that has brought us together and put us in each others' paths ... isn't that NEAT??!? I am counting my blessings every day!

Click "Next" to see what Amy O'Neill ... and "Back" to check out Melissa Stout ... Amazing and Magical!!