Wowsers!!

As promised, here area a couple of pictures from my Spellbinders retreat in Phoenix. Okay, well actually, these are pictures I took AFTER I got home of all the cool goodies I got! I hardly know where to begin to play!! I should also mention that I took this first photo with a WIDE angle lens standing over the top of my 6-foot-long table!!

I got TONS of cardstock, chipboard, rub-ons, stamps, diecuts (LOTS and LOTS of those), pens, markers, ribbon, foil paper, embellishments . . . I had a very difficult time struggling to get my baggage checked in at the airport. I'm only 5 feet tall, and I had over 100 lbs. of stuff to drag along (cardstock is very heavy!!)

To be totally honest and truthful, I DID buy some of the diecuts myself, but most of this stuff came as part of my design team "kit". The stuff you see was donated from "partner" companies. Waayyyy toooo coooolll! I'm not even sure where I'm going to start!

I haven't created one single thing since last week! Between all the training, and then getting back home into my "mom" duties (plus going back to work a bit), I'm really behind. I definitely plan to get a card done today, so I'll try to post it by tomorrow!

It's so cold here this morning that I'd love to just stay under the covers all darn day (not gonna happen)!! I think the high is not going to get very high - it is currently 12 degrees! Brrrrr!! Hope it is warmer where you are!!

Holy Spellbinders, Batman!!!

Happy Saturday, everyone! I am posting this from Sunny Arizona (which is actually still quite dark as it is only 6:00 a.m.!!). I am just about ready to begin day 4 of my retreat at Spellbinders' headquarters. For those of you who may have forgotten, I was recently chosen to be a member of the 2008 Design Team for Spellbinders, the makers of the Wizard (the most awesome, amazing and wonderful diecut/embossing machine!! I am now convinced there is almost NOTHING that baby can't do!! This next year is going to be sooo awesome, and I'm going to be stretching my creative wings more than I could ever have imagined! You are DEFINITELY going to be seeing a lot of new things here over the next several months. We didn't make anything that I can show you yet (as virtually all of what we have been doing here is learning how to run the machine and do cool techniques with it), but I can assure you, excellent things are on the horizon. AND, Spellbinders has been busy working with a TON of vendors, who have agreed to be "partner" companies with them over the next year. Which means, I have a MOUNTAIN of new product to play with, as many of these companies have graciously provided us with things to play with!! I'll take a picture once I get home so y'all can see what we got an drool a bit - I know I'm totally in drool mode myself!!

Needless to say, I have only done a couple of cards in the last week (both of which, surprise!, have butterflies on them!!) before coming to Arizona. This first one I made as art of a swap I signed up for (HELLO fellow Control Freaks!!), using a set from the SU Preview Mini (actually, I featured one of the new hostess sets - Cause for Celebration - AND a great new sentiment set called Celebrate Everything). I also used a color combo that SU has featured in the new catty and I love it!! It's Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa (these colors are all featured in the new Berry Bliss designer series paper - can't WAIT to get my hands on some of that stuff!!) Since I had to make about 30 of these babies, I have had little time to make anything else, especially since I was trying to get ready to get outta town!

Stamps: Cause for Celebration, Celebrate Everything
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate

In my rush to get packed and out the door on Wednesday, I got up at 3:30 (as in A.M.)!!! Couldn't sleep, anyway. I needed to get another card out for my son (see the "Follow the Butterflies" link on the sidebar here for more details). I have been thinking about this card for weeks, and decided I needed to take a stab at it. While I was in Phoenix LAST month, I found some really fun acetate (12 x 12!) that was covered with lots of sheet music. I used it as an overlay for the butterflies on this one. Since my son is a music FANATIC (he LOVES all choral music, plus he sings beautifully and plays the piano!), I thought he would enjoy this card.

Stamps: Butterflies (Stampendous), Elegant Notes
Cardstock: Handsome Hunter, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White, Music Acetate (not sure who makes it)
Ink: Handsome Hunter, Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron

Hope everyone has a great day! I know I'm going to! We're off to play some more. I'll post some pictures of all the fun we are having when I get back home!

Happy New Year!!

First, let me say that I have NO IDEA how anyone has time to stamp during the holidays!! (Except, of course, for all those "have-to-do" projects like Christmas cards and/or neighbor gifts and such!). I have had virtually NO TIME to do any stamping for fun until this morning (and BOY did I make a MESS in my craft room!!).

All I have to add this week are a couple of butterfly cards that I did for my own personal "Follow the Butterflies" challenge. Check the link for "Follow the Butterflies" on the sidebar of my blog for more details.

This card is not associated with any SCS challenge, but I DID use my first non-Nestabilities Spellbinders dies, and my FIRST Spellbinders stamps for the butterflies. (This is a good thing, since I am now on the 2008 Spellbinders Design Team!) They have a lot of great dies and stamps, which I hope to be sharing with you a TON over the next year. I versamarked the vellum butterflies and then used Irisdescent Ice embossing powder, as I also did on the shimmery white butterfly.

Stamps: Holidays & Wishes, So Swirly wheel, Butterflies (Spellbinders)
Paper: Night of Navy, Shimmery White, Bashful Blue, Vellum
Ink: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Versamark

I did this card as part of SCS155 (sketch challenge) and WT145 (to use some sort of wrapping paper or wrapping item on your card - in this case I used some silver wrapping paper and embossed it with my Cuttlebug "snowflakes" embossing folder). I think my brain is being taxed to the limit in making "wintery" butterfly cards! And to think I have to make a whole bunch more NEXT winter!!

Stamps: Stipple Celebrations, Canvas, Take a Bough (Papertrey)
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Going Gray, Silver foil wrapping paper
Ink: White craft, Going Gray, Basic Gray

I don't have a lot more to add this week, except to wish everyone the happiest and healthiest of new years for 2008.

Happy Holidays!

Why is it that, as stampers, we sometimes have NO time to stamp??? With the holiday season nearing its zenith, I feel like I'm running around with my tail on fire! I'm nearly done shopping (only need a few stocking stuffers), my packages have been mailed and my Christmas cards are done (yay!), so I am now switching gears to neighbor gifts and the dreaded wrapping fest (which I have to admit I probably won't get to until the 22nd or 23rd - after everyone is in bed!).

I finally got my Christmas cards done, but I have to laugh at myself. I designed and made about four of what I had chosen to do for my card around the first part of October (it is posted on here back then - Holy Triptych card). Anyway, after staring at it for over two months I was pretty bored with it. I had all the cardstock and ribbon and everything! Sooooo, when I sat down to start my cards last Saturday, I made something TOTALLY different. Instead of a 3x6 trifold, I made a 5.25" x 5.25" square. Instead of Holy Triptych, I made a wreath with stamps from Peaceful Wishes and Pines.

A few things on this one - I trace a circle lightly with a pencil (used one of the "rings" from my CM circle cutter and made a 4" circle). Then, I stamped around the circle with the stamp that kind of looks like mistletoe from "Peaceful WIshes" all around the circle using Bordering Blue (my Going Gray was getting weak, and I don't seem to have a refill!). Next, I stamped the pine image from "Pines" using Basic Gray. I stamped that same image around the circle a second time, this time using a silver Encore pad. Finally, I stamped the berries with another stamp from "Peaceful Wishes". Next, I used some Crystal Ice Stickles on the berries and some White Opal liquid pearls to accent the pine images that were stamped in the Basic Gray only. It's hard to see in the photo, but the white paper is actually kind of pearly (think brushed gold or brushed silver paper, only in white). I also used stickles on the "joy" sentiment, as I was too lasy to do dazzling diamonds with a versamark and iridescent ice glitter - the is the first card I have done in years that didn't require an embossing dryer! Hooray!

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes, Pines, Small Script
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Going Gray, Purely Pomegranate, Pearly White (I didn't have enough SU shimmery white, so I found this at a local paper store)
Ink: Going Gray, Bordering Blue, Silver Encore, Purely Pomegranate

And here is my weekly butterfly card. I have been really good about keeping up on these. I think this is number #16 (which means I only have 88 more to go!). It's a good thing my son doesn't mind getting "girlie" butterfly cards!! Here is a link to my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge if you would like the details:



http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/656043?cat=500&ppuser=79179 (for some dumb reason the "link" button isn't working - I'll keep trying to fix it, but you'll just have to copy and paste the address, or go to my previous post if you want the details!)

My dear friend, Karen (imastampin on SCS) sent me these beautiful "Ageless Adornment" butterflies in my "elf" package (for those of you unfamiliar - there was a little "game" going around on SCS a few weeks ago where someone "elfed" you - promised to send you a little package - where you "elfed" two new people in return). I used the image stamped and embossed in gold on shimmery white paper. All other cardstock is either brushed gold or vanilla. I was thinking of doing something wintery and these lovely butterflies showed up (along with some other fun goodies! Thanks, Karen!) This also happened to fit WT144 on SCS, where the challenge was to make a monochromatic card - weird how I made this the very day the challenge was posted when I hadn't even seen it yet!

Stamps: Ageless Adornment, Wishing You
Cardstock: Brushed Gold, Shimmery White, Very Vanilla

I hope all of you have the most joyous of holiday seasons, and that the love of friends and family warm your hearts and souls this season. Thanks for visiting my blog and giving me encouragement. You have lifted my spirits and given me confidence in more ways than you all know. Have a wonderful and prosperous New Year as well (but I DO plan to be back before we hit January 1). Hugs to all!

A Truly Charlie Brown Christmas!

If I hadn't been here to see this with my very own eyeballs, I never would have believed it! I was feeling pretty good about myself, as I was able to get my Christmas tree up and all my decorating done the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The reason behind all of this was that I was going out of town to visit some of my friends/family in Phoenix (not to mention Spellbinders' Headquarters - which was in the process of moving. For those of you don't remember, I was recently selected to be on Spellbinders' Designer Team for 2008 - but I digress . . .) Anyway, I came home last Sunday night (December 2) exhausted, with a touch of a cold/flu thing that I picked up while I was there. (This first picture is my tree BEFORE I removed any of the ornaments/lights . . . keep reading.)

When I walked in my back door, my first thought was, "What in the HECK have they been cooking in here???" It was kind of a sickly sweet smell. After I had been home for a while, my husband informed me that we had a problem with the tree - it was dropping needles. Well, DUH! Isn't that what Christmas trees do??? He assured me that I needed to see it for myself. Holy cow! He wasn't kidding. You know what it is like when you run your finger across a dusty surface and you push the dust as you go? That is what the needles were like on the tree. Almost as if they were abandoning ship. This is where my husband admitted to me that the problem had actually begun the previous Tuesday, one day before I was scheduled to leave, and only four days after we got the tree. What??? He didn't want to stress me out (which, I'll have to admit, was nice of him).

I decided, as exhausted as I was and as crummy as I felt, that the tree HAD to come down. The tree lot where we have been purchasing our trees for YEARS has a policy that it will replace any tree you are not satisfied with (like, I wonder how often THAT happens . . . not many people would be willing to undecorate and then redecorate their tree!). I got up at 5:00 a.m. last Monday morning to begin the nasty process of removing all the decorations and lights. UNBELIEVABLE. It was like rain . . . needles falling off by the hundreds . . . thousands!! If I hadn't seen it for myself, I would NEVER have believed it. The weird thing was, the tree wasn't even dry! It was actually still drinking water, and the needles weren't even brittle!

Then, my husband picked it up to take it to the car. I am surprised that I could even laugh at this point, but it was sooo absurd. You could hear the needles just POURING off the tree as he carried it to the car. He tapped it on the ground, which was pretty much the death knell . . . we were both laughing so hard as he was tying this poor bundle of twigs atop our car. You would not BELIEVE the looks I was getting as I drove around town with this sad tree on top of my car (it made Charlie Brown's tree look like it belonged in Rockefeller Plaza!).

As I pulled into the parking lot at the tree place, my car was almost ATTACKED by three of the guys who worked there. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. The first thing one of them said to me was, "WHAT HAPPENED????" I told him that he was supposed to tell ME! They were surprised at how springy it was, and that the few remaining needles (and I do mean FEW) were still green. One of the guys broke open a branch and showed the others that it was still sappy inside! Weird! They couldn't get that tree off of my car fast enough!! (After all, I wasn't the only one there, and it was NOT good advertising!!) I practically had to tackle the kid that was disposing of the tree so that he would stop for a photo - this one!). The only good part about all of this is that they replaced it with a very lovely $70 tree (which was more than I wanted to spend, so that was fun!). I told them about the smell, too. It was kind of like rotten bananas. They were going to break off a couple of the branches and send them to a lab to be analyzed, as they admitted that in all the years they had been farming trees, they had NEVER seen one do this.

Needless to say, between my trip to Phoenix, my cold/flu thing and my Charlie Brown Tree Adventure, I haven't stamped much, but I DO have a few things to share (and if that wasn't the longest intro you have ever seen to the projects on someone's blog, I don't know what is!).

I made this card as part of my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge I started at the end of August. I'm really glad that butterflies are so popular, as I have been finding A LOT of butterfly images - many of which I didn't realize I had - plus many of my stampin' friends have sent me some, so it's been fun. My mind may change as I get farther into this, as there will be 104 cards total! Here's a link for more details:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/656043?cat=500&ppuser=79179

I did this at about 12:30 a.m. after I had arrived at my friend Melissa's house on Wednesday the 28th (Hey, Mel!) I was tired, but was able to whip this out rather quickly. It was done as part of one of the Challenge Chasers challenges on SCS (STSC06). Mel had "Just Like You", which I DON'T have, so that made it fun. She also had some of this great ribbon (it comes in one of those very expensive packages that SU sells with a combo of ribbons - you know the ones I mean - the ones I swore I would NEVER buy or use??? - the ones I will now probably have to GET??). I just used some markers to color the "grass" and flowers, then I "rock and rolled" the butterfly. It worked up really quickly, and I actually USED one of those cute little binder clips.

Stamps: Just Like You, On the Spot
Paper: Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, So Saffron

This card I made for a shoebox exchange I was doing with a bunch of my SCS friends while I was in Phoenix (hi girls!!). It was kind of intimidating meeting so many fun people I had only "seen" online, but they were a hoot (and it was raining cats and dogs!!). I love the "Big On Christmas" set. It is really fun. I used my white gel pen to "faux stitch" the edges and to color the holly on the snowman's hat, as well as to fill in the word "SNOW". The holly itself was colored a bit with a Garden Green marker. I only embossed the largest snowflakes with white ep, while I stamped the other snowflakes after the embossing was done. I love the two-tone white effect. I also used some Stickles on the snowflakes I punched out (Emaginations), and on the "let it" part of the sentiment.

Stamps: Big On Christmas, Snowflake Spot
Paper: Blue Bayou, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White, Black Stazon, Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green

Here is card #14 for my "Butterfly" challenge. My son keeps getting all these "girlie" butterfly cards. He says he really looks forward to getting them, though, so that makes me smile! I was trying and trying to figure out how to make a wintery butterfly card. I just got some of the Wintergreen Designer Series paper from SU (which is AWESOME), so I started there. You can't see it in the photo, but the butterfly is embossed and sprinkled with Iridescent Ice. The little snowflakes (a very old Marvy punch) have a little bit of Stickles on them, so they are sparkly, too! I did this in conjunction with SC153 on SCS. I also really enjoy "hanging" tags with hodgepodge hardware. It adds a fun touch, I think.

Stamps: Butterfly (Stampendous), Small Sayings, Snow Flurries
Paper: Always Artichoke, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Wintergreen dsp
Ink: Always Artichoke

Please pray for my new tree, as I absolutely REFUSE to decorate one more tree this year!!

Whirlwind Holiday Season Has Begun!

Has it really been 11 days since I've logged in here? Sheesh! It looks like the holiday season has hit full force! (And, yes, I was one of THOSE crazy people who were out shopping at 5:00 a.m. on Black Friday aka the day after Thanksgiving!) I'm happy to report that I actually have ALL of my Christmas decorations up (including the lights on my house, thanks to my dh, Ron)! With such a busy schedule, however, I have only stamped a grand total of, yes - count 'em, THREE cards in the last two weeks! YIKES!

The first one is for my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (see the link below - scroll down to Saturday, September 1, 2007). I really had fun with this one. The butterfly was an image sent to me by my friend Christine in California (chrisations.ink on SCS). She stamped it in black craft ink on some lovely shimmery white cardstock, then embossed it with clear embossing powder. It was very pretty!

Follow the Butterflies Challenge

I decided to "cut and color" this one. I used (once again) my plain ol' non-Copic SU markers. I then put my SU Creepy Crawly dsp to the test . . . I think it looks really great with this ol' butterfly, and it doesn't look Halloween-y to me at all (at least in this example!). This was all for SCS Sketch Challenge 150 (SC150).

Stamps: Butterfly image (unknown), Dotted Autumn
Cardstock: Basic Black, More Mustard, So Saffron, Shimmery White, Creepy Crawly dsp
Ink: Black Stazon, Black Craft, Barely Banana, So Saffron, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie

Next, I made this card for FS41 (Shelly, aka papermoon04 was the Featured Stamper). Here is her card (the one I "case'd):

Shelly's Card

I loved her idea for just using a marker around the edges of the diamonds in the Print Pattern background stamp. It gives it a neat effect. I then stamped the French Script bg directly over it. I also got to play with some of my papertreyink stamps (in this case, the snowflake and "joy" sentiment for "Snowflake Serenade). And I am totally loving the rhinestone stickers from Me and My Big Ideas! They are soo fun to add that little bit of "bling" that some projects need!

Stamps: Snowflake Serenade (Papertrey), Print Pattern, French Script
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Baroque Burgundy, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue, Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, Baroque Burgundy

I just realized that all three of these cards ended up in the mail to my son, Devan (who is in Germany)!! How funny! I sent the two butterfly cards, as they are my weekly "note from home" to him, and the snowflake one went in his Christmas package! Good stamping week for HIM! I was not feeling very inspired on this card at all. I guess I was just stressing about getting it in the mail. Sigh . . . some days are like that!! I am finally feeling justified in switching to more "wintery" color schemes, though. The main butterflies were stamped with Papertrey's "Butterfly Kisses" stamp set. I used "All in a Row" for the sentiment. I also used some of the vintage violet cardstock from SU's In Color line from LAST year (I DO like that color - wish it were still available!).

Stamps: Butterfly Kisses (Papertrey), Simply Stripes bg, All in a Row
Cardstock: Bordering Blue, Vintage Violet, Whisper White
Ink: Bordering Blue, Vintage Violet, Basic Black

I hope to be able to get to play more in the next couple of weeks, but I also know that I have a PILE of Christmas cards staring at me and wanting to get done! I'll be back soon! :)

Spellbinders Shock!

I still can't believe I actually got chosen to be on the 2008 Spellbinders Design Team. This is going to be SUCH a blast! I promised I would post what I had submitted, so here goes:

First off, let me explain that we were asked to submit one 12x12 scrapbook page, one card, one 3d item and one stamped project. I only cheated a little. The only thing I used that i had already made was this tin (which I posted on my blog earlier). I totally LOVE the Apple Cider paper. I am only reposting it to make it easier or everyone to see without having to go to a link. So if this looks very familiar to you, now you know why.

Stamps: True Friend, All Holidays
Paper: Apple Cider dsp, Wild Wasabi, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip (craft), Really Rust

Okay, so this is going to be the part where I am really stretched, creatively, during 2008. I have done scrapbooks for years, but all of my scrapbooks are 8 1/2" x 11", not 12"x12". Totally new canvas for me! My kids will actually have a fun scrapbook at the end of the year, though. I have always loved these pictures of my kids. It was overcast that day, so the lighting was terrific. I stewed and stewed over this layout . . . I worried about it being too busy. I am a "balance" freak, so I hate to leave unbalanced empty space. Don't get me wrong, I USE empty space all the time, this page just didn't work out that way. I DID get to use my Cricut (which I LOVE) on this one, though. I can't wait to get all the new fun dies I will get to use in the Spellbinders Wizard (but, not 'til January . . . just gotta be patient!) I also incorporated some punches, so I was embellishing all over the place.

Paper: Night of Navy, Garden Green, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Cricut Cartridges: Walk in My Garden, Opposites Attract
Punches: Jumbo Daisy and Small Daisy - Marvy

This card was hard for me to choose. Not knowing what they were looking for, I decided to do something heavier on embossing/ punching (because punches, after all, ARE diecuts, right??) We were also allowed so submit a link to any online gallery we currently had, which was GREAT for me, since I have one with over 200 photos in it on Splitcoast! I figured if they used the link, they would get a good feel for my cards, so that was covered at least.

Stamps: Cold Play
Paper: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Stickles, SU Snow Blossom Punch, Small Snowflake Punch (Marvy), Large Snowflake Punch (Emaginations), Cuttlebug Sledding embossing folder

This is the project that I struggled with the most. You know how you visualize one thing, and something totally different emerges from the rubble? That is how I would describe this project. I totally wanted to use one of their products, and since the only thing I own at the moment is the rectangle Nestabilities, I knew I wanted to use those. I must have changed stamp sets at least 47 times!! Then, I changed the color scheme a bunch. I used a zillion stamps in the end, and I like how it turned out, but it took me much longer than I had anticipated because I couldn't get the picture in my head onto the paper on my table!!

Stamps: Watercolor Garden, Garden Whimsy, Stem Silhouettes, Snowflake Spot, Autumn Leaf Prints, Dotted Autumn, Season by Season
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Certainly Celery, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa, Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Rectangle Nestabilities, SU Keytag Punch, assorted ribbon and buttons, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Paper Piercing Tool

So there you have it!! I'm still feeling kind of amazed. I look forward to the opportunities ahead, and can't WAIT to share what I learn with all of you! Have a wonderful day (it'll take me a while to come down!!)

Pinch Me, Pinch Me, Pinch Me!!

Oh my goodness!! I just can't believe it!! I got a call on Tuesday morning from Stacey Caron, co-founder and President of Spellbinders Paper Arts Company telling me that I had been selected as a member of their 2008 Design Team!! I just can't believe it (I think I said that already!!)

Here is the list of the amazing women I get to work with over the next year:

The Spellbinders' 2008 Design Team~

Beth Pingry, Naperville, Illinois
Cathy Chlebana, Chicago, Illinois
Donya Schroeder, Ionia, Iowa
Heidi Blankenship, Albert Lea, Minnesota
Holly Craft, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Jeni Caulkins, Mesa, Arizona
Jennifer Ellefson, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania
Linda Duke, Tulare, California
Michelle Klomp, Oak Harbor, Washington
Sally Lynn MacDonald, Sandy Hook, Connecticut
Sharon Harnist, Grand Prairie, Texas
Wendy Weixler, Salt Lake City, Utah (ME!!!!)

For more information, check out the link HERE.

I'll post pictures of what I submitted sometime tomorrow (oh wait!! That would be later TODAY!!). I'm totally jazzed!! Stay tuned for some fun and exciting projects made with wonderfully-awesome Spellbinders toys!!

Slow Stampin' Week

This has been one of those weeks where I have had to wear more than my share of hats . . . mom hat, PTA hat, workin' hat . . . and the hat that has had to be on the shelf is my stampin' hat!! I was heavily involved in the musical at my daughter Amelia's middle school AND in the A'Cappella fundraiser dinner/auction for my son Garrett's high school. Glad that those are behind me! I also had to have a root canal yesterday, so you can see that there has been little time to stamp . . .

BUT, I was able to complete three cards to post. This first one was, of course, part of my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge. Here's a link if you want to see details on THAT:

Follow the Butterflies Challenge

I was sooo stumped on this card for some reason. It sat for nearly a day, uncompleted, 'til I could figure out what to do with it. The two large butterflies were sent to me all the way from my friend Anna in Australia. She heard about what I was doing and sent MANY wonderful images. I'm glad I have been able to use some of them. They were stamped in a color that looked like Close to Cocoa - I just sponged them with Bordering Blue and So Saffron to make them match. This card was done in conjunction with SCS challenges TLC141 (to make a horizontal pocket cards and WT139 (to incorporate some velvet). The only velvet thing I own right now is this fun brown ribbon, so that is what I used!

Stamps: Take Three, Large butterflies (unknown), Polka Dot bg, All in a Row, Totally Tabs
Paper: ordering Blue, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana
Ink: Chocolate Chip craft, Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, Bordering Blue

I also used both the spiral punch and round tab punch.

Card #2 was for SCS FS40 (Featured Stamper - StampOwl - aka Frances). I love the fun things that Frances comes up with. Here is her card that I used as inspiration:

Frances' Card

I LOVE that PaperTrey set (Beautiful Blossoms). I even OWN it, although I haven't used it yet. I didn't want to copy her exactly, so I opted for a more fall approach. I really like this non-traditional fall color combo, too (thanks to my friend, Cheryl!). I used it a couple of weeks ago on my little peek-a-boo box, too! Now I have a card and a treat to go together!!

Stamps: Autumn Fest, Autumn Leaf Prints, Dotted Autumn, Fundamental Phrases, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Paper: Blue Bayou, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, River Rock
Ink: lue Bayou, Old Olive, River Rock, Chocolate Chip

Since I hadn't watercolored anything of significance for what seemed like forever, I decided to play with my blender pens/reinkers. I also used my Aqua Painter a bit, too! Oh yeah, and I can't forget that I colored some of the backgrounds with my plain ol' non-Copic SU markers.

Stamps: Thoroughly Thankful
Paper: Always Artichoke, Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red, So Saffron, Watercolor paper
Ink: Black Stazon, So Saffron, Barely Banana, Apricot Appeal, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue

I want to get busy and makes some new things to post! Maybe I'll have a little time later today . . .

50 Days & Counting!

Okay, I probably could have gone another week or two an NOT heard that! My friend called me today and reminded me that Christmas is a mere 50 days away! ZOINKS!! Where in the world did this year go??

I have had a rather busy week myself, with not nearly as much time to play and stamp as I would have liked! We spent all day Saturday pressing apple juice (a tradition my husband's family has been doing since he was a little boy), and then I spent all of the rest of my spare time this weekend sewing PIRATE shirts for my daughter's school production of "The Pirates of Penzance". I had to make four of those buggers! Sooooo glad to have that done! But, I digress . . .

I am up to my 10th card in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge! I can already tell that making 104 distinctly different cards featuring butterflies is going to be tough! I really like how this one turned out, though. I made this in conjunction with SC148. I soooo love the Apple Cider designer series paper! It's awesome! There is really not very much stamping on this, either. I "rocked & rolled" the butterflies in Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. I also like doing the "hang the medallion" thing, too! I always think it adds such a fun touch to any card!

Stamps: Dotted Autumn (wheel), All Through the Year, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Cardstock/Paper: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Apple Cider dsp
Ink: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip

There are a group of us over on SCS known as the Challenge Chasers (or "stalkers"). Why, you ask? 'Cause we stalk the daily challenges! We have a thread where we chat while we wait for the challenge of the day to be posted. (We also chat throughout the day as time permits as well!) One day a couple of weeks ago the challenge was taking a little longer to be posted than we were patient enough to wait for, so we decided to make our own challenges. This card is for one of those challenges (which can be located at the bottom of the Challenge thread, here):

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=40

This was for STEE02 (Stalker's Everyday Events Challenge). We had to make an ATC sized card as a "just because" card to brighten someone's day. I made a couple of these to put in my kids' lunches. I definitely had to use the stamp-a-ma-jig to line up all those little x's and o's!!

Stamps: Typeset Alphabet Lower, Short and Sweet
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Really Red
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip

The only other card I got to make for "fun" was this one. This was for LSC142 - to make a easily-reproducable card for Christmas that wouldn't require extra postage to send!! This would probably not be too bad to duplicate, although you are bound to get sick of anything where you make more than 5 duplicates! This designer paper for this is from the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit. This paper is sooooo great! I have never been as "into" the patterned papers for cards as I have been this year. I LOVE 'em all!!

Stamps: Snowburst, Short and Sweet (twice this week!!)
Cardstock/Paper: Wild Wasabi, Real Red (textured), Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Winter Bright dsp
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Real Red

I better get busy with my Christmas cards!! I'm NEVER going to get them done if there are only 50 days left 'til Christmas unless I started whippin' 'em out TODAY!!