Retro Thank You

Happy New Year's Eve!  I want to take a minute to thank each and everyone of my stamping friends and blog visitors!  All of your kind comments and words of encouragement are what help keep me going.  I never would have thought when I took the step to become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator that I would have such a great first year and successful hobby job...and it's because of all of YOU!  So....THANK YOU!!!  You are all so awesome!

I've been working away on my Christmas thank you cards and the latest sketch over at Retro Sketches caught my eye this morning.  It's a simple sketch, which can make a card come together really quick when you have multiples to do!  I think this card took me less than 5 minutes to put together.

I still had my Feeling Sentimental set out from some other cards I was working on, so I pulled out this fun vintage phone booth stamp and put it to work. You can earn this set for FREE during Sale-A-Bration, which starts on January 22nd!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry DSP*

Ink ~ Midnight Muse

Stamp Sets ~ Feeling Sentimental**, Curly Cute

Other Supplies ~ Basics Designer Buttons*, Linen Thread

*Spring Catalog*

**Sale-A-Bration**

Wishing you all a very safe and Happy New Year!  Again, THANK YOU ALL for being such awesome friends :)

Happy Stamping!

Feeling Sentimental meets World Spectacular Suite ~ SAB Sneak Peek

Finally got the chance to sit down and stamp!  I really wanted to hit my craft room early this morning, but my Christmas decorations were crying to be taken down.  As much as I love all of my Christmas decorations, it was time for them to come down.  We wrapped up our Christmas with one last celebration last night, so I had no excuses for leaving things up a day longer.  Tearing down all of the decorations turned into a major cleaning spree, which took up a better part of my day.  I now have a nice clean house and have all day tomorrow to play, which will hopefully include some stamping time too!

When I placed my {huge} Spring Catalog pre-order, I earned just about everything from the Sale-a-Bration catalog!  Shhhh...don't tell my hubby!  Just kidding!  As long as my crafting supplies don't take over any of his hunting room space, everyone is happy :)  One of the sets you can get for FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration is called Feeling Sentimental.  I'll admit, this was not my favorite and I almost didn't select it, but now that I've inked it up, I'm happy I got it!

Isn't that Ferris Wheel fun?  Pair it up with some of the goodies in the World Spectacular Suite and you've got yourself a fun birthday card!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Crumb Cake, World Spectacular DSP

Ink~ Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler

Stamp Sets ~ Feeling Sentimental*, That's the Ticket**, You're Amazing

Other Supplies ~ Ticket Duo Builder Punch

It's hard to see in the picture, but the tickets are adhered with a staple...an embellishment I always forget about!

Better get my crafting space cleaned up and get myself to bed.  Weather pending, I'm planning on a long run in the morning.  I'm training for another half marathon and I've got a ways to go to get back up to speed!

Happy Stamping! 

Freshly Made Friday Mashup!

Say that 3 times fast!  :)  TGIF stampin' friends! It's been super cold and foggy here, but no snow :(  We had a tiny little bit on Christmas night, but it melted as soon as it it hit the ground.  My boys have been pretty bummed that we haven't had any snow during their Christmas break.  Thankfully we are close to the snow covered Blue Mountains and can make a quick trip up there to hit the snow and go sledding. 

When I saw the fun challenge over at The Friday MashUp! I was excited to pull some of my snowflake stamps back out.  My hopes were that maybe if I made a few more "snow" cards then maybe we'll actually get some snow :)  This weeks MashUp challenge is to make a project using Snowflakes and a color combo of Whisper White, Pool Party, Midnight Muse and Black.  I'll be honest...the black threw me off and created quite the challenge for me!  But I stuck with it and with some sketch help from Freshly Made Sketches I came up with this:

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Pool Party, Basic Black, Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Print Poetry DSP**

Ink ~ Illuminate Glimmer Watermark, Black StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ Snowflake Soriee, En Francais

Other Supplies ~ Window Frames Framelits, Basic Rhinestones (colored with a black Sharpie), White Gel Pen, Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon

**Spring Catalog**

This color combo gives me the feeling snow falling on a cold winter night.  Maybe we'll get a late Christmas wish and wake up to some snow tomorrow morning :)  In the meantime, we'll keep on making some trips up the mountain to have our fun in the snow!

Happy New Year's Weekend and Happy Stamping!

Suffering from Craft-somnia...

The craziness of birthday's and Christmas has come to an end for another year...always bitter sweet for me!  I love all of the party planning and time spent with friends and family, but I do always breath a sigh of relief when it is all over.  This also brings an end to my Christmas crafting and lets me get back to all of my new stamps from my Spring Catalog pre-order.  Just a few more days and you will all be able to order all of the FUN new goodies...mark your calendar for January 3rd!

My hubby got called out on Portland transfer just before dinner tonight and won't be home until the wee hours of the morning, so after I got the kiddos into bed and wrapped up my nightly chores, I headed down to my craft room and got to work.  I managed to get 3 cards made tonight...yay!  Craft-somnia has hit again!  I am in love with the new Tea for Two DSP and just had to break it out again tonight, along with a few other new goodies.

This card was designed using the sketch from Try Stampin' On Tuesday.  This is one of my favorite sites for sketch ideas!  Here is what they had for us this week:

And here is my take (and a Spring Catalog sneak peek for you)...I opted not to do a square card, but the sketch idea is still there.  And you might notice that part of this card is CASE'd from the Spring Catalog :)

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Tea for Two DSP

Ink ~ Island Indigo, So Saffron(inside card)

Stamp Sets ~ Oh, Hello, Papillion Potpourri(inside card), Make a Wish(inside card)

Other Supplies ~ Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Perfect Pennants Bigz Die, Island Indigo Bakers Twine, Pearl Basic Jewels

Don't you just love that little Bitty Butterfly?!?!?  So cute!  And perfect with this DSP!

Here's the inside of the card:

I'm pretty sure I could keep on stampin' for a few more hours, but I am certain that I would regret it tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off!  I'll have to put the rest of my crafty ideas on hold for a few hours...

Happy Stamping!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I just want to take a moment and wish all of my family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I hope this finds you spending time with those you love most and reflecting on all of the good that came your way this year.  Hoping 2013 brings you many blessings, love and friendship!

Supplies used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Basic Black, Red Glimmer

Ink ~ Real Red, Black StazOn, VersaMark

Stamp Sets ~ Sassy Salutations, Notable Alphabet, New Years

Other Supplies ~ Silver Embossing Powder

Off to wrap a few more gifts and get ready for a big dinner at the station with my husband and the Christmas Eve duty crew. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Stamping!

Happy 7th Birthday A & H!!!

Happy 7th Birthday to my two amazing boys!  Seven years ago we were blessed with an awesome early Christmas gift...

It's hard to believe they were ever this tiny!  This is a picture of their first Christmas, spent in the hospital, inside their Christmas stockings :)  Where have the last 7 years gone???  It seems like just a couple years ago they came into this world...wow!  I cherish each and every day!

Today is their last day of school before Christmas break and their school day will be nothing but fun holiday celebrating!  How fun is that on your birthday?!?!  They asked me to make some Chex mix this year for school birthday treats instead of cupcakes.  I loved that idea!  But I can't just put that Chex mix in a baggie...it's got to go in a fun little treat bag with a cute topper!

This fun little reindeer was made using the Owl Punch...super easy and oh-so-cute!  His antlers were made using one of the snow flakes from the Snow Flurry Bigz die.  Add a little red Glimmer paper for the nose and voila!  The topper is made using the Top Note Bigz die, embossed with the new Honeycomb embossing folder.  I printed out the "Reindeer Snacks" in MDS 2 and punched them out with the Decorative Label punch.  Hope all of their school friends will love them!

And what's birthday without a handmade birthday card from Mom, right???

More fun with the Owl Punch!  Batman and Superman :)

I will post my supply list a bit later.  I'm redecorating A & H's bedroom for their birthday and have to get it done before they get home from school!! 

Happy Birthday A & H...I love you!

Happy Stamping!

Praying for Sandy Hook

No card or project to post today...just an address for all of you to pass along.

Friday's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has left me heartbroken, numb and in utter shock.  While I do not know any of these people involved in this horrifying event, my heart breaks for all of those sweet babies who's lives were taken too early...and for the families of those babies.  I can't even imagine the heartache they are suffering.  And for all of the teachers who lost their lives protecting the children...they are true heroes!  And I can't help but think of what all of the first responders are going through...police and EMS who were first on scene and witnessed the horrific scene.  Those images will remain with them forever. 

I spent most of my weekend praying for all involved as well as praying for the safety of not only my own children and family members, but for all children and families everywhere.  I found it hard to focus on much of anything except my babies...I held them close, told them I loved them and prayed.  As I sent one of my boys off to school this morning, I hugged him a little while longer and a little bit tighter and told him I loved him so much.  I'm sure I'm not the only parent who did this today.

In times like this, people want to reach out and do anything they can to help those who are hurting.  If you have a few minutes, take the time to write down a few encouraging words, kind words, words of love and send them in a card to the teachers, children and families of Sandy Hook Elementary.  It's not a lot, but sometimes all it takes is just something as simple as a card to brighten someones darkest day. 

I hope you will join me in sending a card out this week...your kindness will mean so much to the people who receive it.

Feels Good PCCCS020

Happy Thursday friends!  Quick post and another sneak peek this evening before I spend the rest of my night wrapping birthday and Christmas gifts...I've put it off long enough!  If I don't get things wrapped, some snooping, almost 7 year old, boys are going to discover my secret hiding spots!

The Paper Craft Crew has another great sketch this week and I knew just which {new, sneak peek} set I wanted to use!  Here's the sketch:

And here's my take...

I LOVE these new Builder Brads!  The epoxy bubble is so much fun! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, Print Poetry DSP Stack

Ink ~ Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit

Stamp Set ~ Feels Good

Other Supplies ~ Bitty Butterfly Punch, Designer Builder Brads, Basics Silver Brads, Mini Silver Brads

It's a good thing I am finished with all of my Christmas cards!  I would have a hard time finishing them if they were not done...having so much fun with all of my new stuff!  Merry Christmas to me early :) 

Ok, off to get started on my wrapping...wish me luck!

Happy Stamping!

Oh, Hello for HSSTC148

Oh, Hello....I've got another sneak peek for you from the soon-to-be released Spring Stampin' Up! Catalog.  One of my (many) favorite sets in the new catalog is Oh, Hello.  And of course I had to get the awesome Oval Collection Framelits....there are 7 oval dies, the largest one being a scallop oval. LOVE!

I think I'm finally done with my Christmas cards...now I just need to get them sent out.  Next...on to thank you cards!  Hand Stamped Sentiments is helping me to get a start on thank you cards with their Theme Challenge this week...THANK YOU!

I love this new set and DSP!!!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla, Tea for Two DSP*

Ink ~ So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Pretty in Pink

Stamp Set ~ Oh, Hello*

Other Supplies ~ Ovals Collection Framelits*, Lucky Limeade Bakers Twine, Borders Scoring Plate*

*Spring Catalog Items*

See the little flower peeking out on the inside of the card too?  It's the same flower I fussy cut and used on the front.  I always try to stamp something on the inside of all of my cards and, of course, on the envelope too!  

Thanks for checking out another sneak peek this week!  Be watching for more!  Until then...

Happy Stamping! 

Fab Polar Party

It's finally starting to feel like Christmas!  Our mountains are covered in snow and it's cold outside!  I'm not a huge fan of the winter months, but I always love some cold weather and snow around Christmas.  Hoping the snow stays around for a few weeks so I can take my kiddos sledding over their Christmas break from school.

Got some Christmas stamping done today..yay!  This was not an easy task because I REALLY want to be playing with all of my new stamps.  But, I've got to focus on the last bit of Christmas crafting and get goodie bags done for my twins' birthday party next weekend.  In my effort to ink up all of my Christmas sets before the season is over, I pulled out the fun Polar party set this morning and got to work. I created a few cards, but this one was one of my favorites.  The colors I used were inspired by the latest challenge over at Fab Friday.   I've been all over the non-traditional Christmas colors this year.  This great color combo has both traditional and non-traditional colors...perfect!

It doesn't show very well in this picture (darn dark basement), but the edges of the Crumb Cake layer are sponged with some white craft ink to give the card a little "dusting" of snow. 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Gumball Green, Pool Party, Crumb Cake

Ink ~ Gumball Green, Real Red, Primrose Petals, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, White Gel Pen, Whisper White Craft

Stamp Set ~ Polar Party

Other Supplies ~ Primrose Petals Stitched Satin Ribbon , Dazzling Details (Clear & Cherry Cobbler)

It has been so nice to not have a million different things going on this weekend.  Not only did I get lots of stamping time, we've had some great family time too.  This is what weekends are for! 

Happy Stamping!

SAB Sneak Peek

I really should be working on some Christmas stuff, but my big box full of pre-order items from the upcoming Spring Catalog and Sale-a-Bration goodies was calling, make that yelling, my name this morning as I was putting it all away.  I just had to ink up some of these new fabulous stamps!  Sale-a-Bration is coming next month, running from January 22-March 22.  Be watching your mail box for the Spring Catalog and SAB brochure soon! 

One of my favorite stets from SAB is Patterned Occasions.  They are smaller stamps, perfect when paired up with the Note Cards & Envelopes from Stampin' Up!  Take a look at this cute and simple little elephant...

Isn't this just so cute??!?!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Sycamore Street DSP*

Ink ~ Pool Party, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple

Stamp Set ~ Patterned Occasions*

Other Supplies ~ Sycamore Street Ribbon & Button Pack (Island Indigo Ribbon)*

*SAB Items*

Here's a peek at all of the other fun stamps in this set as well as a few other NEW items from SAB and the Spring Catalog.  How many new goodies do you spy???

 I'm thinking these cute cards will make a perfect set of note cards for my boys' teacher's this Christmas! 

Keep checking back for more sneak peeks over the next few weeks...I've got lots to share!  I just need to get back to my Christmas stuff and get that all finished first :)

Happy Stamping! 

Monochromatic Mojo Monday...

....er, Mojo Friday.  And TGIF is all I have to say about that!  This week has been nutso and has gone by so fast.  Can't complain about the week going by fast though...that just means the weekend is here!  My crafty friend Katie and I have fun picking different challenge combos to get our creative crafting juices flowing.  It was my turn to pick and I chose the fun sketch over at Mojo Monday and paired it up with the fun color challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I am usually pretty intimated by the sketches at Mojo Monday, but this one really caught my eye.  And I don't make many monochromatic cards, so this was a fun way to get me out of my comfort zone.  I started this card Tuesday night and just got around to finishing it this morning...that's how crazy my week has been.  BUT, it's a good thing I had to set it aside because I got my Sale-a-Bration and Spring Catalog pre-order, which included the super cute Hearts a Flutter Bundle.  You get a little sneak peek of it in this card! 

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler

Ink ~ Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler

Stamp Sets ~ Heart of Christmas, Hearts a Flutter

Other Supplies ~ Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Adorning Accents Edgelits, Small Heart Punch, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Dazzling Details

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  I'm hoping to get a little bit of stamping time in so I can play with all of my new stuff!!! Be watching for a few more sneak peeks :)

Happy Stamping!

Early Birthday Surprise

My twins will be 7 in two weeks...how is that possible!  It seems like just a couple years ago they made their grand entrance into our lives...not 7 years ago!  They are wild, crazy and ALL BOY and I love them so much, even on the days they drive me crazy :)  They are both big fans of music and always want to tag along when I go on my annual girls weekend away to see Dave Matthews.  Sorry, no boys allowed for that concert!  But I did find a great Christmas concert for them to go to this year...the Acoustic Christmas Tour.  They have heard the advertisements for the past few weeks and keep telling me they really wish they could go, so I'm pretty sure they will be super excited when they open their cards this morning.

Things have been crazy busy for me the past few days and I was scrambling to get a couple of cards made for them.  Thanks to a great sketch over at  Try Stampin' On Tuesday, I was able to put some cards together for them last night before I called it a day.  Here's the sketch they had for this week:

And here is my take on the sketch:

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Lucky Limeade, Basic Black, Whisper White, World Spectacular DSP

Ink ~ Basic Black, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade

Stamp Sets ~ Clockworks, Grunge Rock(retired)

Other Supplies ~ Island Indigo Bakers Twine, Basics Glimmer Brads

Of course each of them need their own card...and they have to be the same, but just a little bit different.  As much as I try to do different things for them, it always seems to cause more of a fight.  Hopefully that will pass some day :)

Supplies Used:
Paper ~ Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango, Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP
Ink ~ Basic Black, Basic Gray, Tangerine Tango
Stamp Sets ~ Clockworks, Grunge Rock(retired)
Other Supplies ~ 3/4" Circle Punch, Basics Glimmer Brads

I sure hope they will be excited to open up these cards this morning and find their very first concert tickets.  I can't wait to spend a fun night with my babies!

Happy Stamping!

"Diggin'" December

Happy December!  December is by far one of my most favorite months of the year!  Not just because of all of the Christmas fun, but also because I have so many family and friends who celebrate their birthdays this month.  My family spends the entire month of December in celebration mode.  And speaking of celebration, I was up early to place my demo pre-order from the new Spring Catalog and got a few fun new freebies from the Sale-a-Bration too!!!  Now I have to patiently wait for the man in brown to show up with my box full of Stampin' goodness!  Can't wait to share all of the great new products with all of my Stampin' Friends...you just have to wait a little bit longer :)

To kick off this great month, I have 3 super special people in my life celebrating their birthday's today.  Of course they all will be getting a fun card made by yours truly!  Here is one I made for a very special little boy who is celebrating his 2nd birthday today...

The sketch for this card came from The Paper Craft Crew.    Be sure to check out all of the great creations from their design team and everyone else that has entered!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Brights DSP

Ink ~ Stampin' Write Markers:  Real Red, Pacific Point, Basic Black, Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise

Stamp Set ~ I Dig You

Other Supplies ~ 2 1/2 Circle Punch, Brights Buttons, Basics Glimmer Brads, Whisper White Bakers Twine

I forgot to take a picture of the inside of this card, but it has the "Happy Dirtday" and one of the tractors stamped...perfect for a rough and tough 2 year old who loves his trucks!

I've got a busy and fun-filled day ahead of me!  Taking my twins shopping (individually) so they can buy each other a birthday gift and a Christmas gift for each other and their baby brother.  This is something we all look forward to every year.  One on one time with my twins is always a special time, especially this time of year when life gets crazy :)  We've also got a birthday party to attend, some afternoon hunting (just my hubby and twins...I'll stay home with he baby and stamp!) and the Christmas Parade tonight.  Better get another cup of coffee...I'm gonna need it :)

Wishing you all a great weekend and an even better December! 

Happy Stamping!

Happy Birthday Cousin!

Time got away from me this week and I almost forgot to get a card made for my cousin's 19th birthday.  Oops!  But, no worries...Fab Friday to the rescue!!!  The fun and simple sketch was perfect for a quick and easy birthday card....Thank You Fab Friday!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Whisper White, World Spectacular DSP

Ink ~ Island Indigo, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral

Stamp Set ~ You're Amazing

Other Supplies ~ Island Indigo Bakers Twine, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon, Brights Collection Buttons, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Brights Glimmer Brads, Color Spritzer Tool

I forgot how much I love all of the colors in the World Spectacular DSP...so bright and colorful! 

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Happy Friday and Happy Stamping!

Thinking of you on the Open Sea

I've needed a few masculine "Thinking of You" cards this week and the Sketch Challenge over at Try Stampin' On Tuesday was great for this card!

It's been a while since I've played with my Open Sea set and I forgot how much I like it. I wasn't sure about stamping the partial images on the squares, but in the end I was pretty happy with how it turned out.  Simple card, but perfect for the friend who will receive it :)

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy

Stamp Sets ~ The Open Sea, Sweet Essentials

Other Supplies ~ Metallic Brads, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine, Square Punch

Head on over to TSOT and check out all of the great Design Team projects as well as all of the other entries! 

Happy Stamping!

Bootiful Christmas

Do you ever start working on a card and come up with an idea for a totally different card?  This happens to me all the time, which is why I often have such a mess of a craft desk.  I always seem to have 2 or 3 projects in the works...but at least I finish them and clean my desk off before the day is done.  (Only to mess it up again the next day!)

I was working on a birthday card for my dear friend DeeDee, when the idea struck me to make a Christmas card using the cowboy boot from Bootiful Occasions. Yee Haw!!  Maybe I was still in non-traditional holiday stamp mode from the latest challenge over at The Friday Mashup. :)

I kept this very simple, adding just a bit of sparkle along the stitching on the boot and the brads to give a little extra western touch.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Festival of Prints DSP

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler

Stamp Sets ~ Bootiful Occasions, Merry Minis, Sweet Essentials

Other Supplies ~ Simply Scored, Metallic Brads, Merry Minis {star} Punch, Dazzling Details

I think I may have to make a few more of these to send out to all of my horse loving friends this Christmas!

Happy Stamping!

Dynamic Duo First Christmas

The birthday and holiday crunch has hit at our house.  With my twins birthday just 6 days before Christmas, it makes for a BUSY December!  I've got my To-Do list all made out and am checking things off as I go (and adding more each day..gulp!).  This week I am preparing for my December Club Classes with big hopes of getting all of my projects designed and cut out.  Wish me luck!
This card started out as a Club Card based on a sketch my BFF Erica drew up for me.  I just couldn't get all of the pieces to work together so I set it aside and came up with this card instead:

My color inspiration comes from the beautiful color combo over at Dynamic Duos. Their latest color challenge is to use Midnight Muse & Silver...so pretty together!  My apologizes for the poor quality of the photo...my camera has been acting up lately.  Maybe Santa will bring me a new one :)

Supplies Used:
Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Midnight Muse, Silver Glimmer
Ink ~ Midnight Muse, VersaMark
Stamp Set ~ First Christmas
Other Supplies ~ Silver Embossing Powder, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder

Now, I will get back to my original Club project and hope that the mojo hits so I can complete the card.

Happy Stamping!

Cyber Monday Extravaganza!

Good morning and Happy Cyber Monday!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and survived any Black Friday shopping you may have participated in.  Today, you can shop from the comfort of your own home and get some GREAT deals from Stampin' Up!  Head on over to my On-Line Store and take check out all of the great items on sale...some up to 50% off!  MDS2 is 50% off during this awesome sale...get yours TODAY and create your own Holiday card in just minutes!  Here's an example of just how fun and easy a Holiday card is to make:

This card took me all of about 3 minutes to make!  Send it off to SU and they will print them off for you...easy peasy!  But HURRY!  Wednesday is the last day of this great sale, so don't miss out! 

Anyone who places an order of $40 or more today will receive FREE SHIPPING, NO TAX and a FREE GIFT from me!  Merry Christmas!

Happy Shopping and Happy Stamping!

Everything Eleanor Christmas

Hi friends and happy Saturday!  Hope you have all recovered from any Black Friday shopping you may have done yesterday!  I had to work yesterday, so I did my shopping today.  And I'm happy to say that I am almost all done with all of my birthday (for my twins) and Christmas shopping...hooray!!!  Just a few more things that I have to order and I will be DONE!  And a huge bonus...I got home right before nap time for the baby and my hubby and twins were out hunting, so I had a couple of hours to stamp...yay!!!  

My crafting partner in crime over at Sweet n Spiffy threw two fun challenges at me late last night, which I quickly accepted without even knowing what I was up against.  We both are making a card using a sketch from Retro Sketches and we are "Mashing up our Creativity with some inspiration over at the Friday Mashup.  Their challenge this week is to create a project using a non-holiday stamp set or image to create a holiday card.  And should you chose, you can mash it up with a messy technique like spritzing, smooching, shimmer painting or splattering with an aquapainter.

It took me a bit to come up with a non-holiday set to create a holiday card, but I finally found just the right one!

Here's my take on the two challenges:

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints DSP

Ink ~ Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler

Stamp Sets ~ Everything Eleanor, Greetings of the Season

Other supplies ~ Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Crochet Trim, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz

I lightly sponged the embossed piece of Very Vanilla paper with Crumb Cake ink to give it a little bit of an antique look.  I also spritzed the Very Vanilla paper and flowers with the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz.  It's hard to see in this picture, but the little bit of shimmer is really pretty.

Well, the baby is up and my hubby and twins are home...guess that means my free time is up!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Happy Stamping!

Happy Turkey Day

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving!  I am beyond thankful and blessed for my family, my friends, my job, my health and so much more!  And I am also so very thankful for my stamping hobby!  Without it, I would have never met such a great group of people and made such awesome friends!  All of the encouraging and kind words shared are amazing and help keep all of us going in the creative world of crafting.  So, thank YOU! 

As I was waiting for my pie to finish baking last night, I got a little stamping time in.  Here's another card that I made, just for Thanksgiving Day.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Comfort Cafe DSP

Ink ~ Early Espresso

Stamp Set ~ Day of Gratitude

Other Supplies ~ Autumn Accents Bigz, Crochet Trim, Linen Thread Bronze Designer Button

Happy Thanksgiving friends!  May your day be filled with those that you love, memories to be made and so much more!

Happy Stamping!

HSSTC145 ~ Fancy Folds

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!  I'm up late getting in some stamping time while I wait for my pecan pie to finish baking.  My house smells DELISH!  It's going to be hard to stay out of the pie in the morning.  Pecan pie and a hot cup of coffee....yum-o!  Wishful thinking ;)  Instead I'll be getting up and heading out to run with the turkey's (Turkey Trot 5k) so I can enjoy some of that pie with a little less guilt. 

Christmas will be here before we know it...eek!  I've been working on my gift tags and a few other Christmas crafts.  I've got a few gift cards that I will be giving this year and have been coming up with some fun gift card holders.  The Fancy Folds technique challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments gave me a great idea for a gift card holder.   With a little help from a tutorial from Splitcoast Stampers, I made this fun Criss Cross Card.

The piece with the Merry Christmas sentiment pulls out.  I made a quick little gift card using MDS2...super easy!  This card would also make for a cute birthday or baby shower invitation.  Here's a look at the inside:

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Primrose Petals Whisper White, Snow Festival DSP

Ink ~ Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Primrose Petals

Stamp Sets ~ Owl Occasions, No Peeking

Other Supplies ~ Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punch, Argyle Embossing Folder, Dazzling Details

Fun little gift card holder and really easy to put together.  I'll be using this design again soon!

Now, I must get myself off to bed...I need a few good hours of sleep if I want to have any decent chance of running a good race.  Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Safe travels, time with your loved ones and full tummy's :)

Happy Stamping!

Thanks is for Giving

Just when I thought my fall crafting mojo was gone, something hit me and I managed to cranked out a few more Thanksgiving cards tonight.  Love it when that happens!  The layout of this card is brought to you by the great sketch over at Try Stampin' on Tuesday.  Love this clean and simple design!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Orchard Harvest DSP

Ink ~ Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, More Mustard, Early Espresso

Stamp Sets ~ French Foliage, Seasonal Sayings

Other Supplies ~ Finishing Touches Edgelits, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon, Early Espresso Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Designer Ribbon Slides

This card is also being entered over at The Friday Mashup where their latest challenge is A Thankful Fall...create a project with leaves or a project saying Thank You.  Or "Mash It Up" and create a "Thank you project with Leaves".  Guess I mashed this one up :)

 Thanks is most definitely for giving!  Be sure to give thanks this Thanksgiving for all you have in your life.

Happy Stamping!

HSS #144 Snowflakes & Stampin' Up! On-Line Sale TODAY!

Good morning friends and Happy Monday!  What's so great about Monday you ask?  Well, this Monday is AWESOME because it kicks off the Stampin' Up! On-Line Extravaganza sale.  Today through November 28th, you can get some of your favorite Stampin' Up! items for up to 50% off!!!  And for TODAY ONLY, you can get the Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Big Shot Doctor's Bag and Simply Scored Diagonal Plate for 20% off!  Check out all of the other great items on sale here.  You can order items directly from my On-Line Store, or by calling me (509)200-0325 or email brrenwick@charter.net.  Don't miss out on any of these great deals!

Now, on to a fun card inspired by the latest challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments...SNOWFLAKES!!  I tried really hard to work on fall cards over the weekend, but Christmas cards kept calling my name.  Using the white StazOn on the Window Sheets was a technique that was taught at Tacoma Regionals earlier this fall and I love it!  Take a look-see...

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Window Sheets

Ink ~ Baja Breeze, White StazOn

Stamp Sets ~ Snowflake Soiree, Sassy Salutations, Distressed Dots

Isn't this fun?!?!  Perfect technique for your favorite snowflake card.

Have a great Monday and have fun shopping the On-Line Extravaganza!

Happy Stamping!

Freshly Made Sketches #61

Another weekend has come to an end...why must they go so fast?  I will say that I do feel refreshed and ready to take on a new week...and a {kind of} short week at that!  I still have to work on Friday, but it's guaranteed to be a s-l-o-w day!  The kiddos and I continued our family fun today with a visit to my hubby at the station.  Always a fun time for all 3 of my boys to play on the engines and ambulances, no matter how many times we've been there.  We took advantage of the little bit of sunshine and warmer temps and raked some leaves while the baby slept.  The said leaves are now all back in the yard thanks to the lovely wind that blew in tonight...LOL!  And this afternoon, my momma and my aunt came over for a little crafting therapy.  I am so blessed to have my parents living right next door and my aunt and uncle right across the street.  So awesome to have family so close!

One of the cards I made today was based on the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches.  Thank you Jennifer T. for providing us with a great sketch this week!

This sketch was perfect for this cute little owl!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Crumb Cake, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Gumball Green

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Raspberry Ripple, Island Indigo, Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie, White Craft

Stamp Sets ~ Owl Occasions, Snowflake Soiree

Other Supplies ~ Corner Punch, Raspberry Ripple Satin Stitched Satin Ribbon

Time to wrap up my day and get to bed soon!  Early morning ahead of me with high hopes of getting some of my work computer problems from last week sorted out and be back in full working mode.

Happy Stamping!

Framed Family

I was reminded today just how important it is to put everything that is going on in life on hold and just take time to spend with your family.  I spent my morning with my stampin' family making some fun Christmas cards...fun time had by all.  The rest of the day was spent with my own family and we did nothing but have fun!  My hubby and kiddos thought it would be fun for all of us, including Grandma and Grandpa, to go bowling.  So, after lunch, we all loaded up and had an awesome afternoon of bowling!  Sad to say, both of my almost 7 year old boys beat me not once, but TWICE.  They spent the rest of the day reminding me of this :)  To end the day, we had a family dinner and movie night.  We decided it was time to break out the Christmas movies...The Grinch Who Stole Christmas was the first pick of the season.  One of my favorites!  As I sat on the couch curled up with one of my boys, none of the stress that I have felt all week was there.  I was totally relaxed and it was so nice!  So, as we approach the crazy, busy holiday season, my goal is to remind myself of today and make the time to spend some quality time with my family.

Ok, now on to my card!  This week was super busy (and stressful) on the work side of life and I just didn't have it in me to get much stamping done.  I started on this card earlier in the week, but just got around to getting it finished this morning.  This card was inspired by a challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary. 

 While I didn't stick with the sketch, I did create my card using the Floral Framelits.  The idea for this card came from Mary Fish over at Stampin' Pretty.  Her creations are always amazing and so inspiring!

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Basic Black, So Saffron, Whisper White

Ink ~ VersaMark

Stamp Set ~ Daydream Medallions

Other Supplies ~ Floral Frames Framelits, Basic Pearls (colored with a black Sharpie), Clear and Silver Embossing Powder

I had planned on using MDS2 to create my Christmas cards, but after making this, I may change my mind and make these :)  Either way, I better get started on them soon!

Looking forward to one more day of the weekend.  Not much on the agenda for tomorrow...hopefully that means a little bit of stampin' time for me :)

Happy Stamping!