Frosty with some yummy treats!

  Hello and happy Monday! :)  I have the busiest week ahead of me this week!  Seems like I have a stuff going on every day through next Monday!  My poor planner may actually be a bit heavier from all the ink!  LOL  We have four Halloween functions coming up (one of which I have to plan and throw!).  I have a Stamp Club  (woohoo!!  LOVE these!) meeting this week!  Gymnastics 4 x...soccer 3 x...a physical therapy appt (which I am not loving by the way!), a family dinner, a soccer end of  the season party and an anniversary!  Hubby and I have been married 20 years this week!  So if anyone would like to volunteer to come help make my life easier this week I will be happy to re-pay you in chocolate!  Big grin! :)

  Ok, on to the fun project I promised!!  We had the best time at my demo meeting this weekend!!  I just love this bunch of girls!!  Everyone is so fun and wonderful!  We always make the neatest things and this time was no exception!  Jo did our make and take and this is what she brought:

Is this not the cutest little snow guy you have ever seen????!!!!!  *thud...falls over!!!*  He is made from treat cups and a whole bunch of other fun SU! products!  But wait!!!  It gets better!!  Notice the gold cord?!  Take a look at this:

His hat brim comes off to reveal this:

And!!!! Then his whole hat comes off to reveal this:

And as if that were not enough!!  He lifts up to offer even more:

I just LOVED this project!  He was so fun to make!  Jo said that she found it on a blog, so if he is your original idea please let me know so I can give you credit!  He is just adorable!!

The particulars:
Paper: Basic Black, Old Olive and thick paper sheet from 12 x 12 packs fro base and hat brim
Ribbon: Real Red
Ink: Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie (nose and mouth)
Extras: Pearls, Black Rhinestones, buttons, 2 Step Bird punch (leaves), gold cording and treat cups (not SU!)
Adhesive: Sticky Strip, Mono, Glue Dots and Tombow

   Ok, I am off!  Have a wonderful day!  I will be back soonest with more to share! :)

Hello friend and some real beauties!

Hello! I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend! We have had a very full, but very nice weekend so far! We were on the soccer field at 8am yesterday...brrrrrrr!!!!! It was an awesome game though! We won 2-1 and all of the kids played really great! Gotta love that!

Then I had my monthly SU! demo meeting! It is always so nice to get together with this group of ladies! They are a lot of fun and there is so much talent in the group! I have the cutest project from the meeting to share with you tomorrow! For now though I have some other fun things to share!

This is a card that I made for a very sweet friend! I used the Top Note die and the Polka Dot embossing folder. These are two of my favorites toys tools! :) I also used the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder. I topped a few of the flowers with the pretty new Pearls from SU! Lots of textures on the card to give it interest!

The deets:

Stamps: Water Color Trio
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White
Ink: Wild Wasabi
Extras: Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder and  Pearls

   This is a bag topper minus its bag!  I did not have a project in mind when I put this together!  I was just playing with some of the scraps on my table and this came together!  It will grow up to top a bag one day soon though! :) It  uses the same colors as above plus the Scallop Circle, 2 Step Bird and Three Flower punches.  Funny how something so simple can require so many toys  tools!

  This next photo is of my oldest daughter!  She was out snapping pictures of our driveway (which is just screaming Fall right now!!) and took a self portrait!  Isn't she beautiful?!

   Finally, here are a couple of the photos she snapped of our driveway:

I happen to think she has a great eye for photography!  It is amazing to me how some people see the world through different eyes!  She gets her talent from my amazing mom who happens to be the WORLD'S BEST photographer!

   Ok, well I have about a ba-zillion things to do today so I am off!  I hope you thoroughly enjoy the rest of the weekend! :)  I will be back tomorrow with an adorable project to share!

Paper Princess October Challenge!!!

Hey there! Happy Wednesday! It is time for another Paper Princess Challenge! One group of paper Princesses faces off against the other group in a card challenge! It was my turn to host for our group and so I sent everyone a card kit to assemble! The hostesses from each group coordinate the theme together and Melina (waves like mad!!) and I decided on punch art! I assembled these cute puppies for everyone in my group. She is not my original design so if you happen to be the creator please let me know so I can give you credit! She is adorable!! Here is my card:



Check out the cards of the other lovely ladies on my team:

Moira
April
Colleen
Lesley

And the lovely ladies we are competing against:

Nancy
Melanie
Terria
Melina

Lots of talent in these groups! Be sure to check them all out! Ok, I am off to get my day started! Going to be a full one! Have a wonderful day! I will be back soonest!

New Toy!

Hello! Hello! Hello! So sorry to be MIA, but I dropped my laptop and it began to die a slow sad death! I am so excited to share though that I have a shiny new one and the super exciting part is that it is PINK!! I love, love, love it! Hubby thought I was a fruit loop for wanting pink, but it is oh so pretty and it makes me so happy! He has been sweet enough to migrate all my goodies over from my old laptop to my new one and get everything all caught up and updated! (Thank you, Cory!)
I added some bling (because well...that is what I doooooo!) and am in love! Here is my new toy:



Also, thought I would share a little card I made for a friend who is having a tough time. It is a simple card so I am going to skip the details, but if you have any questions just holler! Here is my card:



Hope it helps to brighten her day! I will be back soonest with more to share! Have a wonderful night!

All About Me...

Hello! Quick post tonight! I worked on a challenge today that is way over due in one of my challenge groups! The challenge was to make a 6 X 6 scrapbook page "All About Me!". I went with one of my favorite color combos and added a puppy and kitty on the bottom corner. I ran the background through the polka dot embossing folder and added lots of sparkle and fluttering butterflies. Then added my initial with a pink gingham bow and a couple of bright pink brads to pull it all together! Here is my all about me page:



A close up of the butterfly:


Hope that you have a wonderful night! I will be back soonest!

A simple thanks!

Hello and Happy Monday! I have a simple card to share today! I made it because I am feeling especially thankful. I am very fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life and today I am feeling the need to stop and smell those roses! There are lots of little mini disasters that happen in our every day lives and we learn to deal with them and move on, but sometimes big, bad, scary things happen and they are harder to deal with and move on. I have been following the blog of a woman who I have never met, but who I 'feel' like I know. ((Isn't it funny how attached to people we get that we have never even met?!)) She is having a rough time right now due to some personal issues and my heart is breaking for her. It has made me appreciate things in my own life even more than I try to a regular old day. So, today I am feeling simply thankful for so very many reasons and this is my card:



Also, happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!! Enjoy the day!! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Tag...you're it!

Hello! Another successful weekend under our belts! Lots going on and lots accomplished! I love productivity almost as much as I love creativity! :)

I wanted to share the birthday tag I made to go with yesterdays birthday card. I used the carnation flower technique but with the X-Large flower punch instead of the spiral circle. Worked like a charm! Not sure whose idea it was originally, but I love it!! 8 layers and a brad later I had a beautiful flower! I mixed the colors to give it some pop and I used Cuttlebug dies to cut the letters out. Here is the finished tag:



A close up of the flower:


I have made an effort to spend a little bit of time every day this month doing some sort of craft project! I think it has been good for me! Being creative is good therapy! If you haven't done anything crafty today I encourage you to take some time out of your day and go for it! Set a 20 minute timer and make someone special a card or work on a scrapbook page! You will be glad you did! :) Have a crafty day! I will be back soonest!

Hey there! How is your Saturday going? Very well, I hope! We have had a really good day here! My kids had a soccer game this morning and then we spent most of the day hanging out with friends that were having a yard sale. My youngest daughter set up shop to sell some of her crafts! She is quite the little entrepreneur and has started her own earring making business! I am super proud of her! She had a very lucrative day!!

I had just enough time to come home and make a birthday card for a party my kids will be attending tomorrow. The bday girl is a very happy, sweet, bouncy, bubbly girl so I wanted her card to be happy and sunshine-y too! Her favorite color is green so I used green as the base and used the Daisy #2 die to add some bright, happy flowers! I added one to the inside too! Here is her card:



The inside:


Paper: Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White
Extras: Daisy #2 die, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Daffodil delight ribbon and Pop Dots

Enjoy your Saturday! :) I will be back tomorrow with another project!

A happy Fall day at 65 mph!!

Hello! Friday...yay!! I was determined to squeeze making a card into my very full day today and I am giddy to say that I was able to do it!! So what that I had to make it going down the road at 65mph! LOL I wasn't driving though so it was ok! We have gymnastics tonight which meant a 50 minute drive to get there and then we are headed to a college soccer game after wards so you see my only choice was to stamp on the run!! I discovered that it can be done! I literally grabbed a handful of stuff heading out the door and just went for it when I got in the car! This is what I came up with:



I sponged the oval cut outs with Tangerine Tango and used the word window punch for the pumpkin stems and the cross pieces of fence. The vertical fence pieces are from the Modern Label punch. I sponged the ground from a green marker rather than stamp pad because that is what I had. Worked out ok! The sentiment is from the Apple Blossom stamp set. This card feels like Fall to me and that makes me happy! :)

Ok, I am blogging from a coffee shop and my cup is about empty so that is my cue to pack it up! I hope that you have a wonderful start to your weekend! Enjoy the day to it's fullest and do something you love (even if you have to do it at 65mph!). I will be back soonest! :)

Proud of you!

Hello there! Happy Thursday! What a week! Wowzers! We have been on the go all week long! Between gymnastics and soccer and home schooling and it's activities and doctors visits and general running and errands and stamping (a girl has to have some fun!) we have been in a tizzy! LOL Not quite sure which way is up anymore!

I did manage to eek out just a few minutes today to make a little something! My oldest daughter is taking college classes along with finishing up her senior year in high school. She has been working really hard lately and doing really well with her studies! I am especially proud of her and wanted to make her a teeny little something to let her know! I thought a little book marker would be perfect! She really likes penguins so I chose a stamp from Tag Along and covered the "to and from" with tape when I dipped it onto the ink pad and peeled off the tape before I stamped it! Worked like a charm! :) I stamped the little pink penguin twice and added the second one on top with a pop dot to really make her stand out! Here is the book mark I made for her:



Stamps: Tag Along
Paper: Basic Black, Rose Red and Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black and Pretty in Pink
Extras: Pop dots

Tyler, I love you oodles and am very proud of you!

Have a wonderful night! I will be back soonest! :)

Another thank you or two!

Hello! Happy Wednesday! I needed to make some happy, fun little thank you cards to put in my stamp club orders and this is what I came up with:





I used the polka dot folder for the background and the center of the flower. I used the Top Note die for the folding part of the card and the Daisy #2 die for the flower. I like the way they came out and plan to use the design again.

Stamps: Happy Occasions
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White and Daffodil Delight
Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Have a great night! I will be back soonest! :)

Cleaning the ole' craft room!

Hi there! Quick post tonight! I spent a good part of today trying to make heads or tails out of my craft room! I know there are all sorts of crafters out there...I am the dive completely into the craft kind of crafter! I am super M-E-S-S-Y when I create! I make giant piles everywhere! LOL Well my poor craft room has become the victim of several projects with no clean up time in between! Yikes! I considered hire-ing someone with a bulldozer to come in and lend a hand...it was that out of control! I still have lots to do in there, but I am starting to feel like I have made some progress. I am trying to do some de-junking while cleaning and organizing! I am such a hoarder it is not even funny!

My card today literally came together while I worked! As I would find scraps I would add a little here and a little there. It came together over the course of about 4 hours. I used the bird from the two step bird punch and the stamps are from the set For All You Do. All supplies are Stampin Up! Here is my card:




Stamps: For All You Do
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White
Ink: Crumb Cake, Garden Green and Close to Cocoa (retired)
Extras: 2 Step Bird Punch, Striped ribbon, gold pen and Twine

I have a really early morning so I am headed to bed! Have a great night! I will be back soonest!

Thank you with a side of chocolate and a pretty picture or two!

Hello! Whoosh! Monday blew in and whooshed right out! LOL I ran wide open all day long today. Lots of errands and things to do, but I am ok with that! Most days busy is fine with me. :) I started physical therapy today for my neck and back. Can you whine OOOOOOUUUUUCCCCCHHHHH??! It has been about 7 weeks since the accident and I am still having a lot of pain. I am very hopeful that the physical therapy will help. We will see! :)

One of my errands today included dropping a thank you gift off with someone and I wanted to share that with you! I filled it with some chocolate-y goodness, because nothing says thank you quite as deliciously! Here is my little project:

From the front:



A side view:



...and the goods:



It is a 2.5 X 2.5 box. I stamped and scored it randomly and added some ribbon and a thankful sentiment. I dangled some bright colored leaves from some ribbon on the front to give it a little pop! I needed it to look masculine as it was a gift
for a man. Came together quickly...my favorite kind of project!

Stamps: SU! Day of Gratitude
Paper: SU! Creamy Caramel (retired)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Daffodil Delight and Tangerine Tango
Extras: Pumpkin Pie ribbon, X Large punch, Scallop border punch, pop dots and glue dots

These next two photos were taken by my daughter from our deck. We live in a really pretty place! We are surrounded by woods and mountains and are lucky enough to see this view every day! :)





I hope that you have a wonderful day! I am off to get some stuff done! I will be back soonest with more to share!

Thank you, friend!

Hey there! :) This weekend has just flown by! Hope you had a good one! We did, but we were busy the whole time! We went for a drive on the Parkway today and stopped at one of the local tourist attractions to listen to the music and see the sights! I just love it there and I really, really loved it today! Fall is definitely in the air! It was chilly, but not cold. We hung out and enjoyed the atmosphere! Then we went to gymnastics for a couple of hours! We do that 4 X a week now! Then it was back home to squeeze in some crafting.

I belong to a wonderful group of girls that exchange a challenge a month! We take turns hosting and September was my month. The challenge I threw out there was to make a Fall card! Big surprise, huh?! Here is what I came up with:



Stamps: Day of Gratitude
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Cranberry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight and Really Rust (retired)
Extras: Square Lattice Folder, X Large Punch, Scallop Trim punch and Adhesive Pearls

Here is a picture I snapped with my phone today on our outing! This is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Isn't it beautiful?



Ok, I am going to call it a night! Have a good one and I will be back soonest! :)

Beach Puzzle Swap!

Hello! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! We managed to pack about 4 days worth of activities into today! LOL We had a soccer game early this morning which we won!! My son scored 3 of their 8 goals and my daughter scored 1 (and she is a defense player!)! I was so proud! I just beamed! :) Then we came home for a light snack and to change clothes and were back out the door to a local craft fair/festival! That was fun! Then we grocery shopped and headed home and I did some crafting then made dinner and then we played some family games! Love days like this!

I have a fun little project to share today! I signed up recently for a different kind of swap. It is a beach puzzle swap! The hostess sends everyone 16 identical puzzle pieces and you have to decorate each one and send them back to her. Once she receives them back she will reassemble the puzzles and send each of us a finished puzzle! The theme is the beach!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beach so I jumped on this! I am so excited to get the whole puzzle back!

Here is the design I came up with and a few of the pieces I worked on tonight:





I had the best time making these! They started out as plain white pieces and I sponged water and sand on with Marina Mist and Crumb Cake. Then I drew waves on with a Night of Navy marker. I made flip flops by punching out Word Windows and then putting them back in the punch and rounding and shortening them! I drew the little foot straps on and then stamped them with the polka dots from For All You Do. I pop dotted them on! I punched out two crabs per puzzle piece and layered them on with pop dots. I glued down a little sea shell and then covered the whole thing with crystal effects to give it a shine. I tried to scuff up the crab ot make him look more crab like! I sprinkled dazzling diamonds on the 'water' and real sand over the 'sand' part of the puzzle piece! I was pretty pleased with the way they turned out! I promise to show you the finished puzzle once I get it back! :)

Ok, I still have some things to finish up tonight so I will say good night here! Have a wonderful night! :) Be back soonest!