Ribbon & Paper & Toys, OH MY!!

Well, after spending nearly a week in sunny, lovely Anaheim at CHA Winter, I am now convinced that the California Girl in me has re-emerged! I soooo miss the lovely weather!! (I should probably explain that I was born and raised in the Bay Area . . .)

CHA was a mind-boggling, body exhausting experience! Working the booth with all of my lovely friends from Spellbinders (Jeff, Stacey, Kim, Beth, Cathy, Mary, Holly, Heidi, Donya, Michelle, Eli, and the two Jerry's - not to forget Sharon and Linda, who were at the show in other capacities, and our dear Jenn and Jenni, who couldn't be with us this time!) was an experience and a half!! We were busy, busy, busy from sunup to sundown!! In my two-hour daily break I wandered around the Convention with awe and amazement . . . there was sooo much to see and sooo much to absorb! I think my brain is ready to explode!!

So, now it is officially okay to share with you photos of the projects I made for display in the Spellbinders booth. We got to see the new Xcalibur in action, too! Man, oh man!! I sooo want one! No doubt, many of you are going to feel the same!!

This first card was a long time in coming! I made 48 passes through the Wizard to cut out all the components (which I was watching old episodes of "I Love Lucy" no less!) I had a lot of fun with it. I used a Spirellabilities die and the button from the Timeless Heritage die set. I sprinkled the "holes" in the buttons with a little Dazzling Diamond glitter, as they were stuck on with Glue Dots, and the "sticky" part was showing through!

Cardstock: ColorMates – Light Racy Raspberry, Medium Racy Raspberry, Deep Ray Raspberry, Medium Pretty Pink & SU Shimmery White
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Ribbon: Creative Impressions Lime & White Mini Gingham
Stamp: Words to Live By - Rita Marie
Diecuts: Spellbinders Spirellabilites Petals and Timeless Heritage

Isn't this little peapod just the cutest??? I pulled out my airbrush tool and Copic markers to color it in and spritz the background. I also love the oval shaped Nestabilities! Making shaped cards is now one of my favorite things to do. With all of the many shapes available in the Nesties, I hate to admit that I own almost all of 'em!! I used my Scor-Pal to create the scored lines that run diagonally across the card front.

Cardstock: ColorMates Dark Fairy Tale Pink, Dark Spring Green & SU Shimmery White
Stamp: Sweet Pea in a Pod - Lockhart Company
Ink: Assorted Copic Markers
Ribbon: Lt. Pink grosgrain
Diecuts: Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities (regular and scalloped) and Valentine Sentiments (the little pink hearts)

Here I go again with those darn little "Target" mailboxes! I hate to admit how many I stocked up on LAST year!! I still have a few in my arsenal!! Isn't the paper on this awesome??? It is from "Fancy Pants"! And I went a little bit crazy with the flowers as I LOVE these diecuts! They are so much fun to mix and match!!

Cardstock: Prism Cardstock – BR176-D Tawny, R049-E Brush Red Dark, B561-E Intense Teal and ColorMates Cardstock – Deep Creamy Cocoa
Ribbon/Accessories: Stitched Ribbon – Burgundy w/Cream; ½” Organdy Ribbon – Brown w/Brown Swirls; Mini and Jumbo Round Fasteners – Burgundy all by Creative Impressions
Diecuts: Spellbinders Flower Creations, Cameo & Brooch and Julius Alphabet

This card was done to introduce one of our new "Tag Trios" diecut sets, designed by the ever-amazing Debbie Olson. She rocks and so do these dies! They are perfect for adding little sentiments to your cards, 3D items or whatever! I actually redid this card about three times, as the idea was having a hard time leaping from my head to the paper!!

Cardstock: SU Soft Sky, Fancy Pants Bluebell and Head Over Heels designer paper
Ribbon: May Arts
Ink: Copic markers, sponged basic black
Accessories: Brad and felt flower - Creative Impressions
Stamp: Simply Stated - Fancy Pants
Diecuts: Spellbinders Butterflies 2 and Tag Trio

Last, but certainly not least, I did this candle the night before I left for CHA! It was to showcase yet another one of the new "Tag Trio" diecut sets (there are four new sets in all!). I love stamping on candles! It seems like magic every single time the tissue paper "disappears" into the wax, but the image remains! What fun!

Cardstock: Real Red and Shimmery White
Ink: Copic markers and Spica glitter markers by Copic
Stamps: Simply Stated - Fancy Pants
Ribbon: SU black/white gingham, Offray red/polka dot gingham and black/polka dot gingham
Diecuts: Spellbinders Tag Trio and Bumblebee Flowers

I have some more pictures to share with you of friends I met and a few of the things I saw. Stay tuned and I'll post those in the next couple of days! I think I need a nap!!!

CHA . . . Hooray!!

Hard to believe, but I am actually on an airplane headed to Anaheim and the wonders of CHA. This is going to be such an exciting week. It’s probably not good that I have exhausted myself in order to get ready to go (it is sooo hard when you are the mom!). This has been one of the craziest and busiest weeks I have had in quite a while, but I have, surprisingly, found time to do a little stamping for myself! AND, I was able to do a two-for-one challenge card on SCS this week, combining the color challenge and sketch challenge (CC152 & SC162).

This card was so much fun. I actually did something kind of similar last year with my Big Pieces and Little Pieces sets. When I saw that the color challenge was Real Red, Ballet Blue and Apricot Appeal, I thought to myself, “No way!” But when I looked at some of the samples, I was surprised at how much I liked it.

I also got to use one of my new Cuttlebug embossing folders . . .they announced this at CHA last July, and they were just barely available in my local store (Roberts, to be exact) last Monday. This one is “Swiss Dots”! I have been sitting, waiting and wishing for this baby (any Jack Johnson fans out there??) I LOVE it! Plus, I used my new “Love & Happiness” rub-ons from SU!

Stamps: Big Flowers, Little Flowers, Boho Backgrounds
Cardstock: Real Red, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal
Punches: 1 3/8”, 1 ¼”, ¾” and ½” circle punches, horizontal slot punch
Accessories: Cuttlebug “Swiss Dots” embossing folder, red/white polka dot grosgrain ribbon, SU Love & Happiness rub-ons

Once again, I was headed off into “Butterfly Land” with this next card. It is card #23 in my own personal “Follow the Butterflies” challenge (see the link on the sidebar for more details). I can’t believe I have made 24 butterfly cards and haven’t used the same stamp set more than once! Scary! I actually have a lot more butterflies I haven’t used yet as well. I never knew I had so many!! (To be fair, several of my friends have stamped images and sent them to me! I’ve even had other friends sent me stamps and stamp sets with butterflies as well . . . hugs to all of you!!)

Once again, I got to play with the heart-shaped Nestabilities. I totally ADORE them (even though they are hijacked from my good friend, Eli!). I love these colors together. I made a similar gatefold card last summer when the new “In Colors” came out in SU’s catalog. I just mixed it up, using yet ANOTHER new Cuttlebug embossing folder. This one is called “Floral Fantasy”. I think texture is so great!! I’m sneakin’ those butterflies in everywhere I can . . . even on this Valentine’s Day card!!

Stamps: Butterfly (unknown), Houndstooth (background), Small Sayings
Cardstock, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi
Diecuts: Nestabilities Hearts
Accessories: Black/White gingham ribbon, rhinestone sticker, Stickles, Word Window Punch

I’ll post this after I get to the hotel. I look forward to my adventures this week. I will take some pictures and post them here as I get a chance! As always, thanks for lookin’!!!

On Your Mark, Get Set . . .

. . . GO! In just four more days, I will be on my way to CHA in Anaheim, California!! (For those who don't know what CHA is -it's the Craft & Hobby Association trade show, and it's AWESOME!! It's where all the vendors get together and showcase what new merchandise they will be releasing over the next several months . . .)

I'm sooo excited! This is going to be such a riot! I will be with several members of the Spellbinders Design Team, along with several of my other friends from SB, including the owners, Jeff & Stacey Caron (hi guys!!). We will be working like dogs, but it will be such a fun and new experience.

Anyway, here are a few things that I have been working on this past week (and, surprisingly, they don't ALL have butterflies on them!!)

I LOVE these new large heart-shaped tins from Papertrey Ink!! There are adorable!!! I had to come up with a Valentine's Day craft to do with some of the girls from church. I made some fun cards with them last year, but decided to do something a little different this year. These were super easy to cover, and will be a GREAT way to give that special someone a treat or whatever you want to fill this tin with! I used ZipDry craft glue to adhere the paper to the tin. I love that stuff! It dries pretty quickly, but gives you just enough time to "adjust" the paper before it is permanently stuck!! I used a borrowed set of Heart-shaped Nestabilities (thanks, Eli!) to embellish the lid. I now need to go BACK to Roberts to get some more ribbon, as I wasn't planning on using the brown gingham, so I don't have enough for the girls to do theirs (AND I forgot to buy some more Glue Dots - another thing I can't live without!!)

Stamps: Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Patterned Paper: Sweetheart True Love/Swirl & Sweetheart Stripe/Circle by Pebbles Inc.
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic & Craft
Diecuts; Heart Nestabilities

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Copics!! I have discovered that I don't have nearly enough, however (I have 17, which sounds like a lot, 'til you go to mix and match!!) When I saw this hummingbird image in the new SU catty, I knew I HAD to have it!! It is hard to tell from this photo, but I did use my airbrush system with my Copic markers to create a slightly light blue "sky" behind the bird and flowers. I need to get me a little compressor, as I have been using canned air and it's almost gone :( . . .

I also used my circle Nestabilities to cut out this card. I have decided that it is my new favorite thing to make shaped cards using the largest Nestabilities (in all shapes, of course!). It's really fun and challenging to have a different shaped "canvas" to work with. And the embossing! Oh my goodness!!!! My Wizard is the BEST at embossing. Kicks booty on everything else I have ever used in that department (sorry to all you Cuttlebug lovers, but the Wizard really rocks socks in this department!! And I HAVE a Cuttlebug, so I've done both!!)

Stamps: Spring Song, Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Lovely Lilac, Shimmery White
Ink: Graphite Black Brilliance (Tsukineko), Assorted Copic Markers
Diecuts: Large Scallop and Classic Circle Nestabilities

Finally, I DID do a butterfly card this week, as I am on card #23 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge (see the link on the sidebar for more details!).

I started out with this card trying to do the sketch challenge that was posted on SCS last week. I kinda ran amok and ended up doing my own thing. This card actually served two purposes . . . I was supposed to come up with a card for a swap in my upline/sideline group using at least one of the new Sale-a-Bration sets. I was able to sneak a few butterflies in there as well (I only had to make 5 of 'em, so it wasn't so bad!)

Stamps: So Many Scallops, Twill background, Sprinkles
Cardstock: Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant
Punches: Scallop, 1", 3/4" & 1/2" circles, Ticket Corner

More than likely the next time you will hear from me I'll be in Anaheim!! I'll share some pictures of some of the fun things I see and drool over, so stay tuned . . .

Xcalibur!! Ain't It a Beauty???

I am happy to give you a little "sneak peek" to Spellbinders all-new motorized diecut/ embossing machine. Isn't it awesome looking???? This is the first machine of its kind EVER . . . ANYWHERE!! All of the details about it will be posted on the Spellbinders website starting tomorrow, January 30. For details, click on the Spellbinders logo on the sidebar (right-hand side) of the page!! They won't be available 'til late spring, but will be soooo worth the wait!! (Can you tell I'm excited????)

"Spellbinders Paper Arts, continuing in their tradition of innovation, introduces the first motorized die cutting and embossing system. A touch of the button gently feeds and slowly releases mats for cutting and embossing. The mats used in Xcalibur will be the same mats currently used in the Wizard, Universal Craft Tool. Xcalibur will
cut, emboss and texturize virtually every consumer die from leading manufacturers making it the universal system of choice. Xalibur will revolutionize the die cutting world...

Please be assured that this is not a replacement for the Wizard. The machines can share the same mats, pads and dies but Xcalibur's main features are to cut and emboss. The Wizard, Universal Craft Tool, continues to provide many additional functions such as cutting chipboard, replicating charms and transferring images, just to name a few.

Be the Ruler of your Creative Kingdom!!"

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!!

Brrrrr!!! I'm soooo ready for Spring. We've been as low as -2 degrees and I'm ready for some warm weather. I have spent several days this last week making projects for my first trip to CHA as a member of the Spellbinders Design Team. It has been so much fun. I can't give you a sneak peek, because the projects were created specifically for CHA, BUT I will be able to post them here in a few weeks after CHA is over.

Sooooo, once again I have a couple of butterfly cards for ya (which seems to be all I have had time for!). This first one was a hybrid of products between Stampin' Up and Spellbinders. I'm going to have a lot of fun creating these over the next year! I finally broke down and bought some white taffeta ribbon and it's AWESOME. I used a sponge and some Perfect Plum ink to color the ribbon to match. Having white pretty much gives you any color you want!! I also made this card a horizontal gate fold (folded 2 1/8" from the top and the bottom, so that it opens across the middle!).

I used my airbrush tool and some Copic markers to color the butterflies . . . another thing I love about the Spellbinders diecuts - you can stencil 'em!!! With the airbrushed color and a little bit of Stickles, I really had fun creating these!

Stamps: Tres Chic
Diecut: SB Butterflies 2
Cuttlebug: Spots & Dots embossing folder
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum, assorted Copic markers

I LOVE the "Like it a Latte" set that SU came out with last year . . . was soooo sad that it never made the main catalog!! I am embarrassed to admit that, as much as I LOVE this set, this is the first time I have actually used it (ducking, ashamedly!!). It is always going to be a favorite. I knew I had to include a butterfly, so I made one from the peppermint stick stamp and the little hearts from the retired "Sweet Talk" set. This was #21 in my "Follow the Butterflies" challenge, and I still have a looonnnggg way to go, so I'm starting to see butterflies in stamps that weren't really there!!

Stamps: Like It a Latte, Sweet Talk
Diecuts: Large and Small Scalloped and Classic Oval Nestabilities
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip
Ribbon: Offray 5/8" Oatbran Polka Dot Ribbon

I can't WAIT to share my CHA stuff with you!!! Until then, I'll just have to keep posting new things (and I'm sure there will be more butterflies flitting around in there as well!)!

Keep warm!!

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!!