Stamp Review Crew - Awesomely Artistic Edition

The Stamp Review Crew is at it again!!! This week we are "reviewing" Stampin' Up's Awesomely Artistic set.  I have already used this thing SO much!!! The images are ALL just GORGEOUS!

I did the background bricks with a technique I learned long ago and far away ... I inked up the embossing folder with some Whisper White ink (actually on the "negative" side so that the bricks would turn white and not the "grout" between the bricks ... hope that makes sense!).  I ran a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock through my Big Shot with the inked up embossing folder. Then, I sprinkled some Whisper White embossing powder on the ink and heat set it.  Ta-DAAAA!!

(This is similar to what I did with the Woodland embossing folder a couple of posts ago ... everyone keeps asking how I did it ... I just tapped the ink pad on the embossing folder and added a little bit of accent color with a sponge dauber.)

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Accessories: Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies, Project Life Card & Labels Framelits Dies, Project Life Moments Like These Accessories (small paper clip), Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Whisper White Embossing Powder, White Perfect Accents (colored with gold sharpie), Small Oval Punch (retired)

Yeah ... this is the SAME card ... I decided after I took the photo of my first version that the flowers might benefit from a little bit more color ... so I added a little splash of Soft Sky to the flower petals.  I still can't decide which version I like better ... what do you think??

Stamps: Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Soft Sky
Accessories: Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies, Project Life Card & Labels Framelits Dies, Project Life Moments Like These Accessories (small paper clip), Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Whisper White Embossing Powder, White Perfect Accents (colored with gold sharpie), Small Oval Punch (retired)

You KNOW you want one of these sets, don't you???!!??









The "previous" button with take you to Stampin' Seasons with Linda Callahan ... and the "next" button with show you what Jen Timko created on her Stampin' on the Fly blog!!!

Friends and Gratitude ...

I had heard it said once that if you have two or three people during your life that you can TRULY call a close friend, that you are blessed ... and for some reason I have been in a waterfall of blessing most of my life!!! I seriously can't actually count the number of people who have come into my life who have changed me for the better, and who I feel like will be a part of my life forever. (How's that for a mushy lead in???)

You know who your TRUE friends are when they can see you through the Good, the Bad and the Ugly ... and will talk to you and NOT judge when you LOOK like the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!!! I am reminded, once again, how large my "safety net" of friends is as my mom has been back in the hospital (all is well ... she is currently in a rehab facility for a few weeks, but makes more improvements every day!)!

My friend, Cheryl, and I went for a nice, long walk during her lunch hour(s) the other day (it was HOT and HUMID and the walk was more of a HIKE)!! She is the one that used to urge ME to come walking with her ... and I struggled ... and huffed and puffed ... and she was my cheerleader the whole way. Having been a bit out of the habit of walking because of her commitment to school (SO proud of her for going "back" ... AND getting a Bachelors degree!). So now it was my turn to push HER a bit ... she kept apologizing for her "slow" pace ... which didn't matter to me ONE BIT!! I was grateful to have a friend to walk with, to laugh with, to encourage as she has so often encouraged me (and NOT just in the area of staying fit, either! We met through a mutual friend at a Stampin' Up Club about 13 years ago ... the beginning of my Stampin' Odyssey)!! There are MANY people in my life that I am blessed to call "friend" ...

And yeah ... this is a DUDE "friend" card ... and I have DO have some DUDE friends as well. But I have to admit that there is nothing like a GIRL friend to share your secrets with! It is the BEST!!

Stamps: The Open Sea, Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Gold Glimmer DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Night of Navy
Accessories: Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Circle Framelits, Artisan Label Punch, Washi Label Punch, Chevron Natural Ribbon, Project Life Paper Clips Thinlits, Antique Brads, Mini Stapler

So today I am going to go visit with my mama, go to the gym (the elliptical is calling my name!), spend time with my awesome son, Devan (who has declared today Mama Tech Support Day ... how AWESOME is THAT???), and spend the evening with my besties at book group (I have been in this group of ***GULP*** 24 years ... and it's MY turn to review the book ... and before you ask, it's "Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon ... GREAT read!). My heart is full of gratitude ...

Have a great day, FRIENDS!!

Monday Montage #49

Welcome to another Monday Montage! I have had so much FUN playing the last few days with my stamps and paper! Yesterday I had my stamp club girls over and we had a great time!!

Today I'm sharing one of the cards we made when we were all together. I actually saw something similar to this somewhere on Pinterest (I wish I could remember where!).

Stamps:  Crazy About You
Paper: Whisper White, Vellum
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Blushing Bride, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories:  Washi Punch, Burlap Ribbon, Bitty Butterly Punch, Mini Stapler

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... ALWAYS inspired by what they come up with!

Fab Friday #70

Hey, peeps!!! I love summer ... and we are already working our way through the LAST month of summer! I just received my preorder goodies from the Stampin' Up Holiday Catalog. I canNOT wrap my brain around "fall" and "Christmas" creations ... but this embossing folder was just CALLING and CALLING to me ... so I was happy to have the Fab Friday Challenge to get me going!

I love aspens. We call them "quakies" in my neck of the woods. I realize the trees in this embossing folder are supposed to be BIRCH trees, but I look at them and see quakies ... hence, this card!

Stamps: NONE
Paper: Garden Green, Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Soft Suede
Ink: Crushed Curry, Garden Green
Accessories: Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Expressions Natural Elements, Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread

We used the sketch from one of the card samples on the front of the Holiday Catalog ... you guys are gonna LOVE the stuff in there!!! I just need to endorse my paychecks over to Stampin' Up for the next little while!









Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Check out the Fab blogs of my fellow Fab Friends:

Mindy Backes
Cindy Beach
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

I am excited to have my stamp club girls over on Saturday ... and I have a family baby shower on Saturday as well. The weekend will be over before I know it!

Stamp Review Crew - Crazy About You Edition

FINALLY!!! I get to participate in with the Stamp Review Crew again!! I have had such a crazy summer ... and every dang time I COULD participate, they were using a stamp set I did NOT own (which is hard to believe, since I feel like I have just about EVERYthing!)!!

This week we are playing with "Crazy About You". Not ONLY does this set have a plethora (good word, right??) of sentiment options, it also has a couple of AWESOME flowers - that have matching punches - and a really nice leafy branchy image, too!!

Had a very busy but great weekend!! I still need to get my stamp room/crafty space cleaned up from Convention ... it's about time I do it, too, because I can't seem to find ANYthing!!!

Stamps: Crazy About You
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pool Party, Blushing Bride
Ink: Pool Party, Blushing Bride, Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Mini Stapler, Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim, Blushing Bride Sequin Trim

Seriously ... you NEED this set if you don't already have it, right????






There's a whole month left of summer, and I have done ALL the crazy things that I HAD to do!!! I think I need to find something ELSE to do ... oh wait ... I'm making a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth at the end of the month for my birthday!!! THAT will be awesome!!

Up next?? Nancy Smith has a GORGEOUS rustic-looking creation ... and on the previous link you will see Jessica Williams and all the colors of the rainbow!!! SUCH fun!!

What Day Is It Again??

Truth be told, I have been having WAY more than my share of "blonde" moments this past week ... I've already mentioned that I have been over-the-top busy for about three weeks ... and because my work schedule has been off and my LIFE schedule has been off, I seem to keep forgetting what day it is and what I'm supposed to be doing! On Wednesday I showed up at work when it was my day off ... on Thursday I forGOT that I had a doc's appointment with my mom that I had scheduled way back before I knew that I was swapping days at work with my sister in law this week ... had to cancel THAT!! And I've just realized as I am typing this that it's FRIDAY already and I have a LOT to do!! Guess I can't really complain because pretty much everything I've done for the past few weeks has been FUN!!! Just exhausting ... and, apparently, taxing on my brain!!!

I am the Free for All Challenge on SCS (Splitcoaststampers) today. My challenge is "Everything Old is New Again!" You know how a bunch of the "trends" that were so "hot" 6-8 years ago??? Well, they seem to be coming back around again!!! So the challenge was to take something that you have bought NEW that you actually have something that you STILL own or have PREVIOUSLY owned that is almost the same thing (in the case with this card it is the brick embossing folder ... which I bought a similar one like it about 5 years ago) ... and the little clothes pin. I bought SO many little clothes pins for stuff about 8 years ago ... and now, I'm buying them AGAIN because they're just a "little" bit different than the ones I had before ... WHAT??? I'm just waiting for Mulberry Paper to make a comeback ... not gonna admit to how much of THAT I still have hidden in my stash!!

Stamps: Endless Thanks, Artistically Awesome
Paper: Whisper White, Tangerine Tango
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist
Accessories: Brick Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Clothespin,Gold Bakers Twine, Burlap Ribbon, White Jute Ribbon, Gold Sequin Trim

I spent a bunch of time cleaning in my kitchen when I got home from work last night ... I seem to have had a "Body Snatchers" kinda moment ... I was cleaning EVERYthing!!! (If you don't get the reference there, GOOGLE it ... "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" ... you will see that I am funny and clever in making such a reference ... and if you are at least more than HALF my age you SHOULD get what that means!!! If not, I have SOCKS older than you and you will just have to take my word for how great of a reference that was ... the END!)

Have a wonderful Friday, my friends! May your weekend be full of happy people, good food and lovely weather!!

Freakin' Huggin' Swappin' FUN!!

So ... with all the fun I've been having the last few weeks, I have TOTALLY been losing track of time ... and what day it is!!! You know that feeling when you walk in to work and realize that you swapped days with your sister in law and FORGOT you didn't even have to show up???? Yeah ... that's how my week is going!!! But at least I was already dressed and showered, so I had a jump start on my day! Did you just come from the blog of my good friend Judy DiScipio?? She has some BEAUTIFUL butterflies to try and catch!

Oh puppies ... I love my doggie ... and other peoples' doggies ... and pictures of doggies ... so I just had to pull out the stamp with this doggie on it. I couldn't help it ... he's so stinkin' caYOOT!!! My doggie is getting to be quite quirky in her old(er) age ... she LOVES hiding (camping??) under the bed ... all the time! She cracks me up! So we have a "doggie den" under our bed ... as does my son's bedroom downstairs ... those are her two FAVORITE spots in the house!

Stamps: Hot Diggity Dog, Hello Life
Paper: Real Red, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Black StazOn, Real Red
Accessories: Large Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Chevron Border Punch, Chalk Talk Framelits, Burlap Ribbon, Gold Sequin Trim, Project Life Corner Rounder Punch

I'm not sure WHAT I had in mind, exactly, when I started this card. I DO know that I love these super cute Handpicked Framelits dies. Gardens are just SO stinkin' happy!! Although, this card looks NOTHING like a garden ... but my friend (HI CHERYL!) said it was "growing on her" (Hahahaha! That's PUNNY!) after she had seen it a few times!!! (And for those of my Freaky Friends who I COULD'T track down on the last day, your copy of this will be in the mail TOMORROW!)

Stamps: Stake Your Claim, Awesomely Artistic
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Crumb Cake, Vellum
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Handpicked Framelits Dies, Arrows Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Bermuda Bay Baker's Twine, Bohemian Designer Washi Tape, Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim, White Jute Ribbon, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Mini Stapler

And HERE WE ARE!! (Well ... as many of us who could get together this past week during Convention ... minus our good friend Steph Leider who was **GASP!!** swapping with another group at the time we took this photo!) Control Freaks left to right - Julie Davison, LeeAnn Greff, Heidi Baks (dang! she's partially hidden!), Mindy Backes, Dannie Graves, Dawn Olchefske (slightly less hidden!), Patty Bennett, ME (in my not-so-fancy-but-still-proud-to-be-wearing-it Deseret News Half Marathon t-shirt ... which I had earned by running THAT MORNING!), Heidi Boos (DOUBLE dang!!! Can't see her all the way, either!), Melissa Davies, Becky Roberts, Helen Allen and Lorri Heilling!! The women have changed my LIFE!!! Wonderful, wonderful, each and every one!!! And I count them ALL as a blessing!!

Next up?? The fabulous Heidi Boos! I am SO excited I got to see her last week!!! She is AMAZING!

Monday Montage #48

REALITY CHECK!!! Holy saMOKES!!!! The last two weeks have been positively INSANE in my universe!!! I think this is one of the LONGEST dry spells I have had in posting to my blog in the entire 8+ years I have been blogging ... sigh ... life has been on the fast track for SURE!! The last time I posted it was for Monday Montage ... two whole weeks ago!!! My life lately = Wild Roller Coaster!

See what I'm talking about???? THIS is only a teeny-tiny portion of what my craft room looks like RIGHT NOW ... between making 72 little "secret sister" gifts for our church girls camp (which was July 13-15) ... and THEN trying to get myself set up for all the fun things I was going to share with friends at Convention (which, on a lot of levels, turned into an EPIC fail!!)!!! Sigh ... I need a VACATION!!

So, this week for Monday Montage I am sharing the things that I made for the girls at camp. I have been kind of "in charge" of getting things rolling with this particular event at girls camp for the last umpty-zillion years (by choice, mostly!). The premise behind this is that we give each of the girls at camp the name of one of the OTHER girls at camp ... and every day during the time we are there they are to give a little "something" to their secret sister ... a thought, a treat, something they have made. We don't make a big deal out of it (we give them a $5 spending limit). It's so fun seeing what they do for each other. As part of this, I make a little "gifty" for each girl for each day we are at camp. It's a LOT of work ... but I have to admit I LOVE it!!

I got the idea for this cute little lip balm flower from the ever-talented Kay Kaltoff. I totally GEEKED out when I saw a link for these on Pinterest. How freakin' ADORABLE are THESE??? (and what a GREAT way for me to use up a bunch of my retired DSP!)

Stamps:  NONE
Paper: Subtles and Brights Pattern DSP (retired), Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist
Ink:  NONE
Accessories:  Floral Frames Framelits, EOS Lip Balm

This is another little project I "stole" from someone else ... I mean, SERIOUSLY??? Could this little Curvy Keepsake box be ANY cuter as anything else but a WATERMELON???? I think NOT!!! And a huge shout out and "thank you" to Lydia Fiedler for her brilliant idea!! Put some watermelon-flavored Jolly Ranchers inside!



Stamps:  NONE
Paper: Pink Passion (retired), Gumball Green (retired), Basic Black
Ink:  NONE
Accessories:  Curvy Keepsakes Thinlits Die

ONE more ... I used the little "Mini Treat Bag Framelit" to make this one. And for those of you who have been hanging out with Stampin' Up for more than a bit might recognize this fun little stampin' wheel ... it's called Nature Hike ... long ago retired but I just couldn't help myself!!! I also used up some of my leftover Baked Brown Sugar cardstock and Epic Day Washi Tape (and who else remembers these cute little clips???). These were SUPER quick and easy ... filled each one with a package of gum.

Stamps:  Nature Hike Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel (retired)
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar
Ink:  Early Espresso
Accessories:  Mini Treat Bag Framelit, Small Clothespin, Epic Day Washi Tape (retired), Square Clip

I seriously need a NAP!!! Convention this week was an absolute BLAST!!! Here's a photo of the Monday Montage girls that we had someone take for us ... I wish we ALL could have been together, but at least SIX of us had a chance to visit!! Aren't we CUTE??? Left to right - Cathy Casey, Dara Gloden, Bree Renwick, ME, Amy O'Neill, Dani Dzama (I owe ALL of these girls a swap card!!).

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... brilliance ALWAYS!

Monday Montage #47

A little old ... a little new ... that's where I'm going with my version of this week's edition of Monday Montage. I have SO many "old" colors of cardstock and ink that have been, sadly, neglected. While I DO use Blushing Bride regularly, poor Pear Pizzazz has been relegated to the darkness of one of my cardstock drawers. Until today, that is!!

Sometimes I get so caught up in everything that is "new" that I forget the things that I already have that I absolutely LOVE!! "By the Tide" is one of those stamp sets that I have used and used and used ... SO much more versatile that I thought it would be!

Stamps:  Gift from the Garden
Paper: Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Wisteria Wonder, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Accessories:  Burlap Ribbon, Gold Sequin Trim, Linen Thread, Ovals Framelits, Brick Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Whisper White Embossing Powder

I am heading up to the mountains for a few days for our annual church girls camp ... I have been FRANTICALLY created little "secret sister" gifties for each day ... STILL have some to finish as I type this up!!! I will be sharing those with you in the next week once I return. I have traditionally made a little gift for each girl for each day we are at camp ... so 24 x 3 days equals SEVENTY-TWO little fun projects ... YIKES!!! (I really DO love it, though!)

Click "Back" for Melissa Stout and "Next" for Amy O'Neill ... never EVER disappointed in what the have to share (and am ALWAYS inspired by them!!)!!

Fab Friday #68

Whoa!!! Where in the HECK did the last week GO???? I had a WONDERFUL 4th of July weekend with my family up at Bear Lake last weekend ... and then it was ALREADY FRIDAY!!! Good thing I have "Fab Friday" to get me going this week!!

I haven't made a "dude" card for quite a while ... I had a LOT of fun with this one! It's kind of fun to see how the idea in your HEAD comes in of the tips of your FINGERS!! I kinda had this idea floating around for a while, but it came out a BUNCH different than I thought it would ... still like it, though!!!

Stamps: Project Life Remember This, Hardwood
Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Lost Lagoon
Ink: Early Espresso, Lost Lagoon
Accessories: Circles Framelites Dies, Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Gold Baker's Twine, Burlap Ribbon, Natural Chevron Ribbon, Project Life Corner Rounder Punch, Linen Thread, Ticket Builder Punch

I love the simplicity of this sketch ... SO much room to "interpret" ...









Excited to see what all of our challenge players come up with!!

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

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Check out the Fab blogs of my fellow Fab Friends:

Mindy Backes
Cindy Beach
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

I am doing a super FUN "Bubble 5K Run" tomorrow ... should be interesting ... hope I don't fall down!!!