Mailable Monday - For the birds

Hey all!  Here's my last post in 2012:-)  I know I said I might take a break but I had a few minutes tonight (really all of today since I didn't manage to accomplish much but that's neither here nor there, right) to blog and I had this card sitting on my desk.  So, I'm going to try maybe doing shorter posts and may or may not include the products used.  If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me!

This was going to be my second entry in the last Colour Q challenge.

I need to use this set more, it's so cute!

Happy stamping!  Wishing everyone a safe and fun NYE!

A blogging break

Hi stampers!  Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!  We had a great holiday but with family and work it was very busy so I haven't done ANY stamping and no blogging.   And to be honest, blogging and stamping have kind of been stressing me out lately sooooo I'm going to try to not put pressure on myself to do either one and if I stamp and or blog then great and if I don't then I'm not going to fret.  Who knows, maybe it will end up pushing me along to stamp and blog more frequently.  I'll blog when I have time or feel like it....sorry if that bums you out if you're a faithful reader:-)  But there are some things I need to work on personally like dropping a couple of extra pounds I seem to have found and getting my house more in order (starting with my messy stamp room, ha).  Anyway, I'm going to be working on some stampy projects today that I HAVE to get done and maybe then I'll have some time to play just for fun!

I'll leave you with a Christmas card that I made rather late in the season and didn't get to share.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Happy stamping!

Christmas colors

Hi stampers!  I have been wanting to play along at Colour Q this week!  I am in LOVE with the colors this week!

Aren't they pretty?????  I think I'm going to have to play along AGAIN this weekend when I have time!  I don't use bashful blue much since the dawn of pool party but I have to say this made me fall in love with it all over again!  They are prefect Christmas colors and would probably make a fabby Valentine too!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Snowflake soiree, more merry messages
Paper:  Whisper white, crumb cake, bashful blue, cherry cobbler, riding hood red, cherry cobbler core'dinations
Ink:  Whisper white (craft), crumb cake, bashful blue, riding hood red
Accessories:  Naturals buttons, linen thread, woodgrain embossing folder, 2.5" circle punch, window frame framelits, bashful blue taffeta ribbon (I think it's retired)

It turned out kind of woodsy with the sponging and the use of the woodgrain folder.  I like it!  It's nice to be back to creating things that turn out well:-)  I did have to swap out the ruby red for riding hood red.  I might have some squirreled away somewhere but didn't feel like making a mess looking for it!  My studio is messy enough already!

This card might be appropriate if we have the blizzard they say we may get...let's hope not:-)  Although...if we get snowed in maybe I could stamp and wrap gifts all day?  :-)

Happy stamping!

Slight hiatus

Hi stampers!  I've taken a slight hiatus from my blog it seems.  Sorry!  I haven't stamped a whole lot lately and haven't really felt like blogging either.  By the time I work all day and then workout sometimes all I want to do is lay on the couch.  Doesn't help that my stamp room is uber messy right now either....but I don't feel like cleaning it either, ha!  And it just seems I don't have many ideas for cards, blah!

Anyway I did manage to make a card the other night that I really like!  In fact it may be one of my favorite Christmas cards I've made all year!  Yay for that!  And I like that I was able to combine some of the new spring catalog stuff into a Christmas card!  Just lookie:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  For the birds
Paper:  Real red, always artichoke, lucky limeade, polka dot parade, watercolor
Ink:  Stazon, various for watercoloring
Accessories:  Labels collection framelits, lucky limeade ruffled ribbon, doilies (spring catalog)

I got the color combo from a color challenge somewhere that I can't for the life of me remember now!  A recent Colour Q maybe?  Anyway, can you find the spring catalog sneak peek?  It's the doily peeking out there!   Fun, no?  And while you may think V-day for a doily it totally works for Christmas too!  I also used the polka dot parade paper that I haven't used much of and the for the birds stamp set!  This little guy is SO cute, why haven't I used it before???????

I'm still slowly cranking out the Christmas cards so I'll try to come back soon and share what I've been up to!  And hopefully I get some in the mail soon, hehe!

Happy stamping!

Sitting down to stamp

Hi stampers!  I'm just NOW sitting down to stamp!  Wow it's been a long day!  I lazed around a bit this morning and then ran for all of 3 minutes outside...I didn't realize how drizzly it was and ICK!  No way was I dressed to get all wet!  So the Y I went:-)  Hoping it's dry tomorrow morning!

Then by the time I got cleaned up and had lunch it was time for work....which was delayed, oh joy!  Sure, I can sit here for hours....I have nothing else I need to be doing:-)  THEN, hubby got a new Durango while I was working (yay for another car payment, NOT, lol) so of course I wanted to go for a ride immediately!  Then dinner and grocery shopping...and then cookie baking and laundry.  Phew!  Maybe I should go to bed instead of stamp!  Nahhhhh!  And speaking of the cookies, I'll have to share them on here soon!  They are so cute and yummy!

But, before I get inky I wanted to share something I made the other night with some new goodies!  I just LOVE this little elephant stamp!  And the patterns on the SAB DSP are fun and funky!  They are neat color combos too!  This is totally reminding me to use sahara sand!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Patterned occasions (SAB)
Paper:  Whisper white, sahara sand, island indigo, Sycamore street (SAB)
Ink:  Sahara sand, tangerine tango, lucky limeade, island indigo (markers)
Accessories:  Circle punch, honeycomb embossing folder

It's a totally simple card but totally fresh and fun and bright!

And now it's time to stamp!  Maybe I should have saved my peppermint mocha and my diet cokes from dinner at BWW for right now!!!!!  Caffeine!!!!!!  LOL!

Happy stamping!

A Change of Pace

Hi stampers!  I'm still in Christmas card mode although I haven't gotten many done this week.  But today I have a change of pace and a card I made last week after I got my mini and SAB preview order. You can get another DSP for SAB this year and while it's not AS pretty as last year's (and no paper EV-ER will be) it's still really pretty!  And it has sahara sand in it which I tend to forget about and it's already inspired me to use more of, yay!

Anyway I can't say that I'm in love with this card but it's springy for sure!  Which seems totally bizarre to me at this time of year, ha!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Madison avenue, fabulous phrases
Paper:  Whisper white, rich razzleberry, pool party, sycamore street DSP
Ink:  Rich razzleberry, pool party summer starfruit
Accessories:  Honeycomb embossing folder, circle punch, mini brads, large basic rhinestones, 7/8" scallop punch, bitty butterfly punch

I used a few different new items here.  The small scallop punch makes a cute flower!  I just punched a bunch, scrunched them and used a mini brad to hold it all together.  I also added a butterfly using the new punch on one card and one of the new big rhinestones in the center!

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peeks and the change of pace....now back to your regularly scheduled holidays:-)

Happy stamping!

I'll have a tall skinny peppermint mocha please

Hi stampers!  It's my current obsession....Starbucks skinny peppermint mochas!  Since I learned that there are only 100 calories in a tall and it's cold I can't stop getting them!  I really like the pumpkin spice too but it's pretty heavy and I'd rather eat the majority of my calories instead of drink them, ha!  And the place used to totally intimidate me because I had no idea how/what to order!  Some of the drinks the people in front of you rattle off are crazy, lol!  Guess this is currently taking the place of my diet coke addiction since it's cold out!  At least the diet coke is cheaper though, lol!  Anyone else have a Starbuck's obsession?  What's your favorite drink?

So, I had a rough day yesterday so on my way to the school (the second part of my job) I stopped to get one and it was BAD!  I'm pretty sure they didn't put ANY syrup in it at all!  Ummmm and I don't really like coffee, lol!  So, I need the sweetness, flavoring and the milk to make it tasty!  So of course when I was out running errands today I figured I should make up for yesterday and get another...and it was fantastic:-)  They have redeemed themselves!  Don't you just hate when you look forward to something (not to mention waste 100 calories on something...oh and four dollars....that's not even good, gah!) and then it's awful!  Sometimes that's kind of like that with stamping though I guess.  I hate when I make a card that I don't like....I feel like I wasted my supplies.  So, the other day I was running low on mojo and I decided to case a card from the Holiday catalog.   It was not a waste of time or money!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Scentsational, pennant parade
Paper:  Whisper white, cherry cobbler, festival of prints DSP stack
Ink:  Early espresso, gumball green
Accessories:  Holiday collection framelits, labels collection framelits, jewelry tag punch, gumball green stitched satin ribbon, paper peircing pack, vintage trinkets

I have not used this set near enough and I got a second pack of the DSP stack because I freak out about running out of things and guess what....haven't even opened the plastic let alone cut into it, ha!  Hi my name is Mindy and I'm a SU hoarder.....

But I loved this card in the catalog.  I did change it slightly but the idea is the same.  And I'm totally pretending it's a skinny peppermint mocha;-)

OHHH AND LOOK WHAT STAMP I USED!!!!  Ok, sorry for being all shouty but look what I found the other day!  The little merry stamp from Pennant Parade that I said I lost!  I got up the other night to cut some paper or something and noticed something under my desk!  Horray!  Guess I should post on my blog when I lose something else!  Seems to be the key for finding stuff, no?

And I'm a little OCD and it does kind of bother me that I used whisper white when the DSP is very vanilla but I didn't think I liked the way the vanilla looked with the main image....I'm going to have to put the card away because on my desk I keep staring at it because it doesn't "match" lol!

And want a quick tip today?  Normally for a two colored image we use our markers right?  Well, I wanted to use my gumball green ink pad because this is a solid stamp and the pads work much better on solid images than the markers.  Soooo if you have a stamp that you need to selectively color parts of you can do this:

1.  Ink the stamp up with the main color.
2.  Take one of our blender pens and carefully use it to REMOVE the ink off of the part you want to re-color.
3.  Use your marker to color the part you just "cleaned off".
4.  Breathe on the stamp to make sure the ink is moist and stamp!

GEENYUS!!!!  I learned this little gem from my upline and it works great!  Try it sometime!

And go get some Starbucks....you know you want to;-)

Happy stamping...and sipping!

HSS148

Hi stampers!  Another Tuesday is here and another day closer to Christmas!  Ack!  I'm usually pretty ready but not this year!  I still have a ton of cards that I need (or at least want) to make, I didn't get all my decorations out/up this year and I'm still not done shopping!  I think we need a new month right in the middle of November and December!   We were talking about that at work yesterday....what would we call it?  :-)

Anyway it's time for a new challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments today.  This week's theme is thank you....how perfect for this time of year right?  We'll need lots of thank you's for all the gifts we get:-)  I actually like using my holiday stamps to make thank you's after the holidays....makes me feel a little better about extending their "shelf life", know what I mean?

Now, with it being a busy time of year I went ahead and cheated a little bit and used MDS for my card....actually it's not cheating at all...it's just being smart! :-)  Time management!  What's GREAT about MDS is that you can take one of the pre made templates which are amazing on their own of course, but you can take it and add your own twist like I did on this card (which I just realized kind of coordinated with the inspiration photo, ha)!

Stampin' Supplies:

My Digital Studio

So, I should have saved a version of the basic template...but I didn't think that far ahead I guess:-)  Basically I made these changes:

1.  Swapped out the Christmas greeting to a thank you sentiment (which was TOTALLY easy to find with the search feature (I just typed in "thank you" and BAM...tons of options).

2.  Added the fun chevron background which was just plain before.  I really think it adds a lot of depth and texture to what was otherwise a bit boring!  And in case you are wondering it's very vanilla in color but I dialed the opacity way down for a subtle look.

3.  I added the gold brad to the center of the big snowflake.  I wanted to add a glimmer brad but it looks like I haven't downloaded all of my old downloads from when I got my new computer.  Oops, I keep forgetting to finish that.  Someone remind me in a few weeks, ok? :-)

So, with those three QUICK and simple changes I took a cute card to a fabulous card!  It's that easy! And even if you think you aren't creative with MDS you can be!  You just experiment AAAAANNNDDD if you don't like something then you just hit undo!  I wish real paper and stamps had an undo button sometimes, hehe!

Ok, now head on over to HSS and get inspired to make a thank you!

Happy stamping!

Mailable Monday - Merry Edition

Hi stampers!  I'm a bit late today but a late post is better than no post, right?  Mailable Monday has returned this week!    I'm really afraid I don't have many mailable Christmas cards to send out so I made one last night using the color challenge from the Paper Players this week.

I also combined some new sneak peek items with my "old" stuff.  It's fun to take things from the Spring seasonal catalog and use them for Christmas cards!  This way I have less guilt about not making Christmas cards in favor of playing with my new toys AND less guilt about not using my new stuff because I'm making Christmas cards, ha!  Anyone else suffer from neglected stamping supplies guilt???

I liked the combo in the picture of the colors plus crumb cake so that's what I went with...with a little early espresso thrown in for my deer.  He's (she?) just so cute!!!!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  No peeking, border banter
Paper:  Very vanilla, crumb cake, cherry cobbler, pool party, cherry cobbler and pool party core'dinations
Ink:  Crumb cake, early espresso, cherry cobbler
Accessories:  Finishing touches edgelits, circle punch, woodgrain and honeycomb embossing folders, dazzling details, cotton ribbon, sanding block

I wanted to use the word merry from Pennant Parade but lo and behold I've LOST it!  Ack!  First time ever I think!  I THINK it's probably stuck in with another set but I just don't have time to look through ALL of them.  Maybe I'll buy another one during SAB *sigh*.  For that ONE TEENY TINY stamp!  Of course about the time I do that I"ll find it, right?

But, having to improvise worked out I guess because I used the diamond pattern and merry words from border banter right on the cotton ribbon.  I also paper pieced a little scarf for him and added some dazzling details.  And do you see the little sneak peek I threw in?  It's actually the pool party banner!  It's pool party core'dinations!  I supposed the honeycomb folder is also a peek but you've already seen that on my blog.

Happy stamping!

Another non-Christmas card

Hi stampers!  So I really should be making Christmas cards, right?  But who can resist a box of new stuff just sitting there????  Not me!  So after work and dinner last night I sat down and played with my new goodies some more.

I swear I'm going to work on Christmas stuff....today....:-)

But I thought that the sketch at Create With Connie & Mary would work perfect with the hearts a flutter bundle and more amore DSP.  This may be my favorite Valentine's DSP of all time!

I just love all the prints and the soft yet vibrant colors!  The big red heart is part of the DSP. There are laser cut hearts that all you have to do is trim apart.  And there is a little sneak peek of some new ribbon too!  It's called two tone but it's just pretty and kind of shimmery!  I cut it in half on this card so it is quite wide.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Hearts a flutter, petite pairs
Paper:  Very vanilla, pool party, more amore DSP
Ink:  Pool party, primrose petals
Accessories:  Pink pirouette two tone ribbon, primrose petals stitched satin ribbon, hearts a flutter frameits, bitty buttons, pool party baker's twine

The little sentiment is from petite pairs and is actually part of a get well sentiment but it works so well for a Valentine!

Ok, time to crank out the Christmas cards!!!!  :-)

Happy stamping!

Fab Friday 08

Hi stampers!  How can it be Friday already???  Oh yeah, I was sick half the week and working long hours the other half, ha!  And I've got more work on Saturday.  It's just no fair in the life of a stamper:-)

It's time for a new challenge over at Fab Friday!  We'd love for you to join us and get one more card in before Christmas!  We will be taking a short break after this challenge due to the holidays so it's your last chance to play along for a few weeks!  Check out these fun colors!

And of course I had to make a Christmas card!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  No peeking
Paper:  Whisper white, real red, pool party, gumball green, primrose petals, 2012-2014 in colors DSP stack
Ink:  Real red & gumball green markers
Accessories:  Holiday collection framelits, adorning edges edgelits, argyle embossing folder, primrose petals stitched satin ribbon, basic pearls & rhinestones

Isn't it just fun????  Now head on over to the challenge page and see all other other great design team submissions!  And then play along!

Happy stamping!

Merry Christmas to me!

Hi stampers!  If you saw yesterday's post you know that I got a special delivery yesterday!  I big (well not really as I tried to have some restraint this time, lol) box of goodies from Utah!   So it was like Christmas!  Once I was able to peel my sick self off the couch I at least sat on the floor and looked at my goodies even if it did take a while to get up the strength to stamp:-)

I think the thing I was most excited about getting my hands on was the hearts a flutter bundle and also the more amore DSP.  So, I knew those were the things I wanted to play with first!  I thought that the Sweet Sunday sketch would make for a cute Valentine's card.

And it did....it's a bit busy but I still like it!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Hearts a flutter (sneak peek), fabulous phrases
Paper:  Very vanilla, real red, pool party, primrose petals, more amore DSP (sneak peek)
Ink:  Real red, pool party, primrose petals, versa mark
Accessories:  Perfect pennants die, hearts a flutter framelits (sneak peek), pool party embossing powder

I just LOVE these colors together!  The real red, pool party, and primrose petals makes for some pretty Valentines paper!

What you probably can't see is that heart is embossed in pool party!  I don't usually do colored embossing powders but I had to have me some pool party!  Which really, it's silly since the color will retire this summer.  I'm going to cry!  I'll miss it so much!!!  Wahhhhhhh!

I'll try to have more sneak peeks but I have to work late the rest of the week and on Saturday too so I don't know how I'll fare:-)

Happy stamping!

The most wonderful time of the year....

Hi stampers!  For once I'm not talking about Christmas...which we all know I love...but I'm talking about Sale-A-Bration!!!  It's coming next month from January 22-March 22!  And I just happened to get a big box of goodies yesterday from SAB and the upcoming spring seasonal catalog.

BUT I've been SICK!  I came down with some kind of cold or flu virus on Friday and didn't even go to work.  Felt better Saturday for our trip to Chicago (which was awesome) but then crummy again on Sunday and maybe even worse Monday!  I don't think I've been down this long with anything for quite a while!  My hubby was worried, he's not used to seeing me sick!!!  You know I'm sick if I was home for two whole days and didn't even walk into my stamp room!  I was finally able to do some stamping last night so I can't wait to share everything with you and hopefully keep the samples coming (although I'll have to revert back to full on Christmas mode after a day or two)! Of course I have to work late the next three nights and work on Saturday too...perfect timing for new stamping supplies, right? :-)  I'm just hoping I can make it 12+ hours for the next three days!  This has really wiped me out!  I had every intention of going to work on Monday but after I got up and showered and got ready and made breakfast I was spent!  I had to go back to bed!  Anyone else suffering from this awful virus out there???  I hope not!

I got some Valentine's stuff and some SAB stuff but there is a lot I held off on because I won't have much time to use it since I'm still in Christmas mode and I'm trying to save most of what I want for SAB so I can earn FREE stuff:-)  But I did get a few things......So, here is a simple card I made using one of the new SAB sets. It's SO cute!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Patterned occasions (SAB)
Paper:  Whisper white, rich razzleberry, summer starfruit
Ink:  Rich razzleberry, pool party, summer starfruit
Accessories:  Window frames framelits, paper peircing pack, basic pearls

Isn't that little elephant just so cute?  I used my markers to color him/her and the flower and I finally used the peircing pack around an image.  I hadn't done that yet and I need to do it more!  I really like the look!

Oh, and I wanted to say I'm glad to see so many of you also like the show Nashville!  I forgot about having to work late tonight so now I'm sad I'll have to watch it on the DVR!  Hope I'm not too tired when I get home from wrestling (yuck, my least fave sport to cover....).  I'm so excited for the winter finale!  Scarlett and Gunnar are my favorites!  They are so cute and I love their songs, I've downloaded them all!  I just love how all the actors sing their own songs!  I have to admit I like Sean the football player too....he's rather attractive, lol!  I haven't liked a TV show this much in a long time (probably since Buffy The Vampire Slayer, lol) so it's nice to have something to look forward to one night a week!  You just learn all sorts of stuff about me here don't you? :-)

Hope everyone stays healthy out there!  I wouldn't wish what I had/have on my worst enemy!!!!

Happy stamping!

HSS 147

Hi stampers!  I hope everyone is doing well.  I've come down with some kind of nasty cold or flu virus since Friday.  Yuck!  I just feel icky and I have a horrible sore throat and cough so this might be short and sweet.

Anyway.....It's Tuesday and time for another challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  This week is a fun theme....monochromatic!

And I actually came up with something other than a Christmas card!  I love pink so this challenge was perfect for that!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  You are, affection collection
Paper:  Whisper white, pink pirouette, melon mambo, primrose petals
Ink:  Various pinks...I used so many and I've had lots of cold medicine:-)
Accessories:  Circle punch, windows collection framelits, basic rhinestones

Now head on over to the HSS site and see what other lovelies the ladies came up with!  And don't forget to play along!

Happy stamping!

Stamping slump

Hi stampers!  So I have a confession....I've been in a HUGE stamping slump the past few weeks.  In addition to being busy with work and the holidays I just haven't been able to stamp.  I've wanted to but don't feel like I have any good ideas or it's just easier to sit on my butt and watch the tv:-)  Which by the way I totally have a fave new show....Nashville!  I am totally obsessed with it and think it's cool the actors sing their own songs and I'm double obsessed with Claire Bowen and Sam Palladio!  Their songs are great and they are just the cutest!!!  Anyone else a fan of the show?

But, I was determined to stamp last night so I sat down with this challenge from my friend Rita at Freshly Made Sketches.

And this simple sketch was just what I needed I think because I came up with a card that I really liked!  And that hasn't happened in a while!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Scentsational, More merry messages
Paper:  Very vanilla, cherry cobbler, bashful blue, festival of prints DSP
Ink:  Crumb cake, cherry cobbler
Accessories:  Holiday collection framelits, scallop circle punch, circle punch

Sorry the photo isn't great.  I took it at night which I normally don't do.  I hadn't used this set much (or at all maybe) so I felt like it needed some love.  I always feel really guilty if I haven't stamped in a while since I have so many stamps and things that haven't got much (if any) use.  And that of course doesn't help the slump:-)  It's a vicious cycle I tell ya!

Hopefully I'll be able to create more this week and in the coming weeks.  Too bad I have a lot to do today plus work late tonight and then we'll be busy over the weekend!  Of course my mojo returns when I'm busy, ha!

And one more note....these cute treat kits were just released and available until Jan 2.  How cute are they?

Click on the flyer to see it enlarged.

Happy stamping!

HSS 146

Hi stampers!  It's time for a new challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments and this one is FUN!

Isn't it a pretty picture???  I love the colors and all the sparkle!  I took my cues for the colors of my card from the photo and also I kind of focused in on the green ornament with the snowflake and came up with this card:

It's hard to see in the photo but I outlined the ornament in dazzling details and it's sparkly.  It's late when I'm posting this and I'm sleepy so please excuse the lack of supplies!  I'm a bit hazy on the details:-)  That will teach me to wait until the last minute!

Now, head on over to the HSS site and check out the rest of the projects and make sure to enter one of your own!

Happy stamping!

Wanted.....

......my mojo!  Hi stampers and happy Monday!  I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving weekend!  Although mine was busy and I had to work on Friday and Saturday it was filled with food and family!  Too much of the food....but oh well:-)

I *thought* I'd have a ton of time to stamp but it didn't turn out that way.  We went to my mom's on Wednesday which we don't usually do but it was nice to not have to rush around on Thursday morning so that night was out.  Then, on Thursday we had lunch with all my cousins and had to come back home and eat again four hours later with Jon's family:-)  So, that day was out too.  Friday was early Black Friday shopping with my mother in law and work and Jon's birthday dinner...so no stamping again.  Which brings us to the weekend and I just couldn't seem to sit down and stamp on Saturday or much of Sunday.  Then when I DID finally make one card the power went out!  Figures, right????  Now, what we should have done is just gone to my in laws right after it went out because finally after a few hours that's what we did and then halfway there we heard it was back on near home.  So....back we went and our street was still dark....but it came on literally when we pulled in the driveway, ha!

Anyway, I'm hoping this card which I used the Mojo Monday sketch for has kick started my stamping mojo and I can create away this week (after I clean this mess of a house I have, lol)!  I missed the deadline to enter but no bother...I was just happy to stamp something:-)

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Snowflake soiree, border banter
Paper:  Very vanilla, crumb cake, cherry cobbler, midnight muse, cherry cobbler core'dinations, orchard harvest, DSP
Ink:  Crumb cake, cherry cobbler, island indigo, midnight muse
Accessories:  3.5" circle die, circle punches, snow burst embossing folder, snow flurry die, in color polka dot brads, basic pearls & rhinestones, large basic pearls

I haven't used a Mojo sketch in a while as sometimes they overwhelm me and I seem to really be on a CAS kick the past six months or so but this one was fun!!!!  I used the DSP as the starter for this card as I wanted to incorporate it on a holiday card.  My idea was to make it look kind of "country" but I'm not sure that actually panned out...but I still like it.  Hope you do too!

Happy stamping!

Fab Fri 07

Hi stampers!  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  I'm a stuffed turkey!  And now it's onto the next thing....hubby's birthday is today and it's the big three O!  Plus it's the big turkey tournament we host at work so busy busy!  But it's time for a new challenge over at Fab Friday so head over and check it out!

Here's my card:

I kept is super simple as I was short on time this week obviously with the holiday, birthday, and work, hehe!

I do hope you'll go play along!

Happy stamping!

Gobble gobble

Hi stampers!  It's almost turkey day!  And I'm busy with work and holiday preparations!  I have to work Friday and Saturday...boo!!!  And I'm going to try to get my Christmas decorations out Friday and Saturday too!  I doubt I'll have a post for you tomorrow so I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving now!  I'm going to TRY not to eat too much tomorrow....but we'll see how THAT goes:-)

So, here's a happy Thanksgiving card from me to you!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Wonderfall, teeny tiny wishes
Paper:  Very vanilla, soft suede, summer starfruit, comfort cafe
Ink:  Soft suede, midnight muse
Accessories:  Autumn accents bigz die, linen thread, square punch, corner rounder punch

I used the sketch from Sweet Sunday this week.

It is super cute and I'll probably use it again!

Hope everyone has a great holiday!  And thanks for visiting!  I'm so thankful for my readers, customers, and friends!  I have made SO MANY GREAT friends through this crazy hobby and I love you all!

Happy stamping!

HSS 145

Hi stampers!  Wow, it's Tuesday already and almost turkey day!  Where does the time go?  I'm super busy this week with the turkey tournament that we host at work plus the holiday and my hubby's birthday so there won't be much time to stamp.  But there will be time to bake...today is baking day:-)  I need to make a pumpkin pie cheesecake for Thursday and I told Jon I'd make him red velvet cake balls for his birthday.  Maybe I can fit some stamping in there too, we'll see!

But, at least it's time for a fun challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments!  This week the theme is FUN FOLDS!

Fun right?  So I went in a little bit of a different direction with this.  Instead of using a fun fold FOR my card I used one ON my card, see:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Greetings of the season
Paper:  Very vanilla, early espresso, cherry cobbler, festival of prints DSP stack, early espresso core'dinations, champaign glimmer paper
Ink:  Cherry cobbler
Accessories:  Merry mini punch pack, circle and scallop circle dies, sanding block, dazzling details

I had seen these folded trees (made from a half circle of paper) quite a few places so I googled a tutorial for them.  They look terrific with the festival of prints DSP!  And they are EASY!  It's hard to see in the photo but I lined all of the curved edges of the tree with dazzling details.  So sparkly!

Now go check out the rest of the design teams fancy folds and play along with us!

Happy stamping!

Snow Way! BIG SALE!

Hi stampers!  It's Monday (darn) BUT it's a short week AND there's a BIG sale on my website this week!  Through next Wednesday you can get up to 50% off select items with super awesome door busters today and next Wednesday!  Can you say BIG SHOT and MDS on SALE????  The big shot is 20% off today and MDS is FIFTY percent off the whole sale!!!  Make sure you click the shop 24/7 link to the right or click HERE to check out the deals!

Seriously, there are some CHEAP stamp sets on sale now!  Like Snow Much Fun which is super cute and has snowmen!!   And speaking of snowmen, I just HAD to have this stamp set and hadn't inked it up yet.  It's cute too!  AND it works perfect with the sentiments from snow much fun!  Just check out this cute little card that combines the two!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Frosty friends, snow much fun
Paper:  Whisper white, baja breeze, cherry cobbler, snow festival DSP
Ink:  Staz on, various for coloring, stripes embossing folder

Accessories:  Cherry cobbler baker's twine, regals buttonsm blender pen,
Ack!  I just love that little sentiment!  This was a card I cased from the textured boutique video SU put out. They sold out of those cute little embossing machines quick so stay tuned if you wanted one, maybe they will bring them back.  Anyway, isn't this cute!

Ok, time to go to work...make sure to check out the sale, ok!? You can avoid some of the Black Friday crowds and getting up early!  Shop with me in your PJ's, hehe:-)

I'll try to stamp and post this week!  It's a CRAZY week with the holiday, a big basketball tourney and my hubs birthday....the fun never ends:-)

Happy stamping!

More news

Hi stampers!  There is more exciting news from SU...it just doesn't stop!  Starting Monday and through November 28th we are having an ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!

There will be amazing deals with some items up to 50% off!  There will also be extra special deals on the first and last days!  Make sure to check out my online store HERE to see what's on sale.  Get some gifts for the crafters in your life and some for YOU!  :-)

And now a quick card!  I missed the deadline for the sketch I used at Retrosketches since I had to work late last night and then got sucked into a new book...before I knew it, it was after 1 am and I HAD to get to bed as I was running 5K this morning, lol!  It ended up ok, I wanted to run in under 28 minutes and I made it in just over 27!  Yay!

So this card is now only for the Colour Q challenge which I loved this week and immediately made me think of big cosy sweaters (which is what I'm wearing almost exclusively now, ha) and mittens of course!  What do you think?

And I came up with this cute card!

Now, don't mind the mittens because they are both left but I couldn't get that stamp to do a right mitten:-).  I also thought the argyle folder lent itself and texture well.

Hope you like it, I'm off to spend some time with my momma!  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the sale or any of the fun things going on with SU!  I'd be happy to help you!

Happy stamping!

A lot going on...

Hi stampers!  Man, there is a lot going on....and I'm NOT just talking about my life (which there is a lot going on as per usual, ha) but about Stampin' Up!  They have bombarded us with crazy fun announcements today!  Yikes!  Now, if you stick with me though all this I promise a pretty picture at the end, ok? :-)

First up, for all of you iPhone users there is a FREE.....did you hear that?  FREE app that's like a mini My Digital Studio and lets you make cute little cards with pictures from your phone to send to your friends!  How fun?!?!?!  And it's free, did I mention that?  You can find it HERE.

Now, it isn't available for android phones yet because I guess those take a lot more time to make but stay tuned, ok!

Next up is a special limited time offer.  We are doing a test run of the Sizzix texture boutique machine.  This machine is super cute and just for embossing.  So, if you've ever wanted to use our folders but don't have a big shot or other die cut and don't need one you can get this machine to emboss!  Did I mention it's cute? :-)  

But, it's a limited offer!  When they are gone they are gone!  If they sell well we may offer them in the future.  Here some details from SU:

Give the gift of texture. The Texture Boutique works with Textured Impressions Embossing Folders to transform ordinary cardstock, paper, metallic foil, or vellum into an embossed, textured masterpiece. This machine embosses only; it does not die cut. We have 4,000 available to be sold only while supplies last. If this product test goes well, we may offer the Texture Boutique again in the future.

To help you with your gift-giving needs, we're offering a special Texture Boutique Bundle (item 132700) that includes the Texture Boutique Embossing Machine and the Flower Garden and Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing Folders for $39.95 (a $45.85 value). Or purchase just the Texture Boutique Embossing Machine (item 132657) for $29.95.

And finally, we are also offering these neat little things called Talking Tags.  

Essentially they are stickers that you can put in a card (or on most anything really) and record a message on your smartphone (works with any smartphone) and then the recipient can use their smart phone to listen to it!  Such a neat idea!  And here's the info you need:  you get 10 tags for $7.95 (item 129723).  And here's a video!

Ok, I know it's a lot of info!  Sorry...they kind of bombarded us today:-)  But that's fun, right???   So here's a pretty card for you!  

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamps:  Watercolor winter, greetings of the season

Paper:  Very vanilla, early espresso, cherry cobbler, lucky limeade, festival of prints DSP

Ink:  Early espresso, cherry cobbler, lucky limeade

Accessories:  Wide oval punch, lots of tags sizzlits, scallop square duo bigz die, basic rhinestones, petals a plenty embossing folder

I've had this made for a while and I used a sketch at Try Stampin' On Tuesday that I didn't get time to play long with. I love the festival of prints paper!  It can make a fun bright card or a very elegant card!  

So there you have it!  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!  I know there's going to be some:-)  All of these items are available in my online store or directly through me!  I'm going to TRY to post more in the next few weeks but it's crazy here so bear with me!

Happy stamping!

HSS 144

Hi stampers!  It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments!  This week is snowflakes!  Which is quite fitting since it went from about 70 degrees on Saturday to 30 some today!  And it looks like it's going to stay that way for a while.  I'm hoping we don't get any snow for a while though:-)  I like it around Christmas and then that's it!

I had this midnight muse panel stamped with the illuminate ink for a while just sitting out on my desk and decided it was perfect to use for this challenge!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Snowflake soiree, sweet essentials
Paper:  Whisper white, early espresso, cherry cobbler, island indigo, midnight muse, silver glimmer
Ink:  Early espresso, cherry cobbler, island indigo, illuminate
Accessories:  Basic rhinestones

Now head on over and see the winter wonderland the DT has created and play along!

Happy stamping!

It's about time!

Hi stampers!  Sorry for not posting yesterday!  I went to Ikea with my mom and stepdad and FINALLY got some bookshelves for my "new" studio.  Maybe I can finally get it finished and share  photos or a video!  I wasn't able to get them every other time we went because they were literally an inch or two too long to fit in my SUV.  So, we took a big truck today:-)  Now, if I can get hubby to put them together for me!!!


So, here's a card I made by mistake.  Somehow I got a couple of color challenges mixed for a Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge and ended up with this...which I didn't realize was wrong until the night I had to send it in, ha!

I didn't think the colors went very well at first but I'll be darned if it didn't turn out all right in the end!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Wonderfall, teeny tiny wishes
Paper:  Very vanilla, early espresso, more mustard, island indigo, howlstooth & scaringbone DSP
Ink:  Early espresso, more mustard, island indigo
Accessories:  Linen thread, natural buttons

I do wish I'd thought to use the core'dinations paper as the espresso background embossed with the woodgrain folder but oh well.....

Hoping I can get some stamping done tonight and tomorrow since I took the day off tomorrow!  But my parents are here.....and I have a lot of design team stuff to work on...so we'll see.  And now I need to run before it rains!  If I don't blow away!!!!  It's sure windy!!!!

Happy stamping!

Fab Fri 06

Hi stampers!  It's Friday!  Hooray!  And it's time for another challenge at Fab Friday!  Can it get any better?  Well maybe if we were off work, right!  Anyway this week is a color challenge and I LOVE these colors.  They are very fall and perfect for November/Thanksgiving!

I had a hard time narrowing down what set to use because I have to say there were many that came to mind.  I finally settled on blooming with kindness and I'm glad I did!  Just lookie:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Blooming with kindness, French foliage
Paper:  Very vanilla, crumb cake, midnight muse, comfort cafe DSP
Ink:  Crumb cake, more mustard, midnight muse
Accessories:  Clear oval accents bigz die, midnight muse stitched satin ribbon, linen thread, vintage faceted buttons, naturals buttons

Sorry the photo is a bit blurry but for whatever reason I just couldn't get my phone (yes I use my iPhone) to take a good photo yesterday.  Maybe I'll try again today.

I went a little overboard with the buttons but once I added the faceted button dropping it in the regular mail was out of the question anyway:-)

Now head on over and see what the design team came up with!  They really hit it out of the park this time (although they always do)!  And then don't forget to play along with us!

Happy stamping!

Going retro again

Hi stampers!  I've been kind of MIA lately.  Sorry...I have no good reason other than I've just been lazy:-)  And I'm ok with that!  Sometimes it's nice to just veg out in front of the TV after work!    And I've been going to bed earlier than normal.  Tuesday I got up at 6 to go vote (which is saying something because I don't get up before 7 unless I absolutely have to, ha) and then I got up early yesterday morning to go run before work since it's dark when I leave work now.  Not sure how often that will actually happen but I kind of liked getting it out of the way....kind of:-)  And it wasn't super cold out....that will end up making a difference soon I'm sure;-)  Oh and I've been a bit addicted to Pinterest this week as well....and paying for it....in the form of online shopping, lol!  Someone stop me!!!! LOL!

But, I did get some stamping done this week.  I just haven't felt like blogging....so I didn't.  Please don't be mad at me:-)

I liked the sketch at Retro Sketches this week (I'm so happy I found their site!) but I was kind of stumped as what to do with it.  It's a great sketch and really unique!!!!

I'm still not sure I love the card I came up with but it is what it is....kind of like the way I've felt the past few days about the election, hehe:-)  I'm so glad all the hub-bub has seemed to die down today and all the ads are done-zo!!!!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Many merry messages
Paper:  Whisper white, baja breeze, primrose petals, snow festival DSP
Ink:  Cherry cobbler
Accessories:  Flourish designer series frames, mini brads, regals buttons, primrose petals stitched satin ribbon, clear oval accent die, apothecary accents framelits

I didn't know exactly what to do with the blue panel so I just left it now I'm not so sure about it BUT I think anything else might have been too much going on......

I really do like the colors in the snow festival DSP....it's not traditional but it's fresh and wintery and fun!  Now I'm off to work on my card for the new Fab Friday challenge!  I kind of waited until the last minute this week, eek!  Make sure to check it out tomorrow!

Happy stamping!