Summer's Almost Over...No Bones About It

Hi stampers!  I totally skipped over Halloween and went right to showing you Christmas stuff from the Holiday Catalog.  But, I love fall and Halloween too!  I need to sit down and make myself focus on some fall projects since it's quickly approaching!  It's almost September which to me, is the unofficial start of fall (even if it doesn't feel like it outside)!

I still can't believe that August is almost over though!  Summer seemed to take forever to get here and now it's over in a flash!  I was kind of sad about it but since our vacation I think I'm ready for fall to bring it!  I've been collecting some new fall clothes and I need to dig out the fall decorations!

Here's a cute little halloween card for you.  Isn't this little guy so cute?

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Labeler alphabet, cookie cutter halloween
Paper:  Whisper white, basic black, halloween night DSP
Ink:  Basic black
Accessories:  Halloween night washi tape, halloween night enamel dots

That cookie cutter punch is just too cute.  I saw somewhere that someone thought this little guy looked like he'd got shocked with a light socket and I totally see it, lol!  And you know I LOVE enamel dots!

Don't forget to check out my Holiday Catalog Virtual Launch Party on my FaceBook page!  You don't want to miss all the fun (in your PJ's if you so choose)!

Happy stamping!

Let's Party....

....a virtual party, that is!  Hi stampers!  The holiday catalog is quickly approaching, it goes live on September 1st.  Let's not talk about how it's almost September already!  I really am going to miss summer but I'm getting really excited for fall and winter and all the holidays that come along!  

Do you follow me on FaceBook?  You really should as it's easier to post there so I tend to post there more than I blog!  You can find me HERE.  I had an online "party" when the annual catalog came out and it was really fun!  I showed projects and tips and new products and everyone had a great time!  Starting on September 1st, I'll be hosting another one for the holiday catalog!  There may even be a few giveaways!  I hope to see you there!  You can find the party HERE.  And make sure to let me know if you need a copy of the catalog as well!

I have a very simple and quick project for you today using my absolute number one go to sketch and I know you've seen it before but you can NOT go wrong with this one.  It helps me to keep my projects super simple when I get new stuff because I get overwhelmed with too many new choices!  If I get washi tape you can pretty much bet I'm going to make a version of this card!  

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamps:  Stitched with cheer

Paper:  Crumb cake

Ink:  Crumb cake

Accessories:  Baker's twine trio, warmth and cheer washi tape

I really, really love the stitched with cheer stamp set and it's sentiments!  It's actually made to coordinate with the stitched project kit but it's perfect on it's own as well!  That gold twine in the trio set is so pretty too!  It's not too metallic but has a nice shine.  One thing I wished maybe I had done here was to use some white ink around the main panel but it's still good like this.

Don't forget to join my party and kick off the new catalog and the holidays!

Happy stamping!

Christmas And The Beach

Hi stampers!  So, life has gotten in the way of me stamping a blogging once again.  I'm not complaining though because we were out of town for Ian's second birthday (more on that another day) and then we went on a vacation to San Diego with my best friend and her hubby while Ian went to granny's house!  And then when I went to get him, I stayed an extra day and we went to the state fair as is our tradition!  So, stamping has been by the wayside but hopefully now that we're back and back to our normal routine, I can get down to business!  If you're looking for my project scroll on past this stuff but I thought I'd share a little bit about the last few weeks.

I don't know why we haven't taken a trip with my bestie and her hubs before because it was so fun!  She is like the sister I never had, we both have little boys, and our husbands get along great!  And San Diego is now one of my top vacation spots, I can't wait to go back.  If you're looking for somewhere to go put it at the top of your list!  I can't wait to use Project Life to document all our adventures!  And I can't wait to go back and do all the things we just didn't have time for.  Here are some highlights though!

At La Holla Cove with all the sea lions!  I could have spent the whole day here I think!

 We took a sunrise cruise of the bay (or is it a harbor?) and it was awesome to see everything and learn interesting facts along the way.

The highlight of the trip for Jon was taking a tour of Ballast Point Brewery.  I'm not a fan of IPA's but it was fun to see him geek out.  He was an industrial engineer by schooling and still finds stuff related to that fascinating.  Like my fashionable glasses? LOL!  And that's a lot of beer cans...FYI they are empty.

We did a lot of running in the mornings so we stopped by this statue on one of them and it's a good thing, we never made it back on our normal sightseeing outings!

And then my mom, step dad, Ian and I went to the Illinois State Fair.  We have gone for about as long as I can remember so it's fun to do with Ian now.  He loved it and we totally wore him out.  He very rarely falls asleep in the stroller and was starting to when we left so I picked him up and he almost fell asleep with me carrying him which NEVER happens :-)

Feeding and petting a baby llama (or alpaca?).  He loves animals.

 The butter cow.

He loved the big slide and could have ridden it all day!  At five bucks a pop, he got to ride it twice, lol!  It was a good workout hauling him up to the top though!

And now onto my card.  It's funny that I showed you all that summer fun and I have a Christmas card, ha!  I played around briefly with my new holiday catalog goodies before we left and did mainly some really simple cards.  You really can't go wrong with simple!

I really like the little holly stamp set and the holly builder punch.  Holly is just SO Christmasy and I really love that sentiment with the different fonts and the swirly doodle things!  I'll add the supplies later, I've misplaced my catalog at the moment and it's time to go get Ian from his nap ;-)

I hope you enjoyed the peek into our last few weeks.  Hopefully stamping will be more regular now...and blogging too ;-)

Happy stamping!

Fab Friday 94

Hi stampers!  Sooooo....I'm actually posting this a day late but backdating it to post Friday at midnight.  As you may have seen on the Fab Friday site, I hit a small snafu this week in that I left my mac at home when I went to pick Ian up and spend a few days with my parents.  Jon and I went with my BFF and her hubby to San Diego (which was amazing) and then I was taking Ian to the fair with my parents and bam, realized I forgot my tote bag once I got there.  I just couldn't not get blogging to work with their terrible internet and an iPad.  I'm so sorry for the delay!

Anyway, the challenge this time around is the new in colors.  It's a bit later this year so we hope you're learning to like all of them by now :-)  Of course, for this challenge you can always pick one or a few or use all of them it's up to you.

I used all of them since I love them!  I kept it simple with some watercoloring, which I'm trying to get better at, and embossing.

I didn't realize until doing my post that I did them in order just like the challenge graphic, ha!  Make sure to check out all the inspiration from the DT and play along!

I gotta go catch up on some sleep and take a vacation from my vacation!!!!!

Happy stamping!

Christmas in August

Hi stampers!  It's Christmas in August around here because my holiday catalog preorder got here earlier this week!  This catalog is seriously amazing!  And you all know I have a thing for the holidays so I'm totally in trouble! What's more is that so many of the products not only work in their respective bundles or suites, but work so well outside of them as well.  The holly bundle I used in this card also works with the tin of tags set and that's just one example!  So many products work with not only other holiday items but with items found in the annual catalog as well.  I did a live video of all my stuff on FB and talked about this some.  Make sure you follow me on FB to see those kinds of things!  And let me know if you need a catalog, ok?

I always have trouble creating when I get new stuff because I can't decide what you use so I kept my cards simple at first!  Here's the first one I made.

Stamps:  Christmas pines, holly berry happiness
Paper:  Whisper white, cherry cobbler, garden green
Ink:  Cherry cobbler, garden green
Accessories:  Gold metallic thread, holly berry builder punch

I LOVE that sentiment.  There are a number of sets I got mostly for the sentiments and this is one of them!  I also love that holly!  You can't get more Christmasy than holly!  I actually kind of forgot I got the holly bundle until I opened my order, lol!  I got quite a bit of free stuff with my hostess benefits and also some other demo perks!!!!  So, I got this bundle for FREE!  Don't forget about all of those awesome perks and free stuff if you're interested in becoming a demo!

Anyway, while summer is winding down for most people, we are getting super busy at the tail end!  I'll try my hardest to create and share a little bit when I can!

Happy stamping!

Fab Friday 93

Hi stampers!  Happy Friday.  I know I haven't shared much lately but you know how that goes.  My mom is doing a bit better...I think...and I hope and then my best friend and her little guy came to visit for part of this week and kept me busy!  BUT, since it's Friday I at least have Fab Friday to share with you!  Please pay no mind to the "ugly" sketch but I still don't have any downloads that I like so I'm using some default ones and I no likey.  But whatever, a sketch is a sketch, right? :-)

Can I tell you a secret?  I kind of LOVE the card I made for this one :-)  I love it when that happens!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Foxy friends, here for you
Paper:  Whisper white, DSP
Ink:  Early express, wild wasabi, calypso coral
Accessories:  Hello lovely PL accessory kit, black and white baker's twine, doilies, subtle enamel shapes

Isn't it cute?  I mean, you cannot go wrong with that little fox.  I have to admit, I can't remember if I used wild wasabi or old olive but I think it wasabi so that's what we're going with :-)  And I love that new sentiment set!  No one likes to make sympathy cards but the sentiments are just so perfect!

Make sure you check out what the rest of our amazing design team did and more importantly, play along!  We'd love to have you and see what you make!

And one more thing, send some happy birthday wishes to my big TWO year old :-)  Ian is two today and I can't believe it and he's pretty much just the most awesome thing ever.  He's funny and serious, sweet and ornery, and wicked smart yet sometimes clueless all at once!  I'll try to share some pics and more updates after the big weekend.

Freaky Friends Jar

Hi stampers.  Things have been quiet around here after a week of posting.  Long story short is my mom was supposed to come visit then got really sick (which is rare for her), so sick that she couldn't come until almost a week later.  So, instead of stamping or blogging last week, I sat around being sad.  But, she's here now (although still not at 100%) so there's still not a lot of that stuff happening since we have been hanging out.  Please keep her in your thoughts though.  I don't ever remember her being sick for this long and I know she's really tired of feeling puney as she would say!  She's always on the go so it's tough for her to rest!

Anyway, I at least have this to share!  It's my new catalog swap for the Control Freaks.  I made about 1000 die cuts I think, haha!  But seriously, this set and framelits are just too cute!  The lid is embossed with copper and the new doilies are super cute!

I hope all the swappers liked it!  Hopefully we are off to Six Flags today if "Mamaw" feels up to it so there won't be much stamping around here again.  AND I need to figure out what I'm going to order out of the new Holiday Catalog (and maybe get up at 1am to do so since I'm crazy ha).  I can't wait to share all the fabulous new stuff with you guys.

Oh, and a certain someone around here turns TWO on Friday so I suppose I should stamp a birthday card!  I'm totally the mom who would forget to do that, lol!

Happy stamping!