Something to warm you up a little...

Here is this cute, little polar bear offering you a nice, warm beverage. Isn't he cute? This is the Cold and cuddly set from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini. I stamped him on Bordering Blue cardstock with Whisper White ink and then embossed him. I ended up sponging the edges after I took this first picture. He is also popped up on some dimensionals.







This second card is also made with a set from the Holiday mini. I love this set. The snowflakes are just exquisite and so elegant. I made my own shimmer mist with the Shimmer Paint and sprayed it on this one. Presto - my own sparkly navy cardstock. I'm really happy with the result and let me tell you, it isn't even difficult or time consuming. You may want to give it a try.




So now I must get back to making Christmas cards and finishing gifts. And I will not let the joy and anticipation of advent be overshadowed with stress. I have been blessed in a thousand ways, and that is where I'll put my focus. Things will not be perfect at our house, but our home will be filled with joy. I may not get the cookies made, but that's okay. The kids won't be scarred because we ran out of green sprinkles and used the ones left from Easter. We work ourselves into a tizzy this time of year. So I try to take a deep breath and refocus when I see the frantic shoppers and folks fighting over parking spots. No one was prepared when Christ arrived. The guest room wasn't even available. The food wasn't fancy. The Wise Men were late with the gifts, the shepherds were stinky, and the Holy Family was probably up to their ankles in manure. So as I feel like I can't take anymore crap this holiday, I think back to that teenage mother who delivered the son of God in a stable. I hope your season is filled with joy and wonder. God keep you and Merry Christmas!

You Were Always on My Mind...

Maybe I didn't love you quite as often as I could have. And maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should have. If I made you feel second best, well you are. But you were always on my mind! Okay maybe not always. My dear sweet blog, I'm sorry you've been cheated, been mistreated. Now, I'll show you some love.


Anybody still with me? It's been a crazy few months. I've been stamping, just not much. The PC issues continued. DH got a brand new laptop though thanks to Dell's super warranty! The kids were sick and then sick some more. Thing 1 made himself an indoor pool in our basement. My inlaws had some health issues. My dog has been trying to single handedly wipeout Detroit's squirrel population. God is great. Beer is good, and people are crazy. No more tears in my beer. I apologize for being away for so long. My life really is not a country song. I will try not to take you for granted, my blog. I will not neglect you and I will remember to hit publish when I write a post.





I made this card for my friend Emma to thank her for being such a kind and generous soul. You can be sure she'll make you laugh right out loud whenever you're together. I just love her. I used Season of Friendship and embossed the trunk and flowers. I then cut out the flowers. These colors make me happy! So before the new year, I resolve to be a better blogger. Heck, I can't get much worse! And with that, I hope you have an awesome day!


All products are Stampin' Up!
stamps - Season of Friendship
ink - Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
paper - Shimmer White, Pretty in Pink
Accessories - flat back pearls, embossing powder, Choc chip taffeta ribbon, scallop edge punch

Dress forms

I have been using Chic Boutique like crazy. This is one I made as a little thank you for a friend. The Night and Day paper from the Stampin Up! holiday mini is amazingly versatile. I just love it. If you are on the fence about it, get off the darn fence and buy it! This card uses the houndstooth print. I also embossed the dress forms on this one. I used black craft ink and clear EP.

This is a really simple card. It went together in a snap. Like the other two cards the middle dress form is paper pieced and popped up with dimensionals.


This one is almost the same as the first card. I just tweaked it a bit. I love the houndstooth and pink. It's such a fun combination. I hope you enjoy!

Hello...hello...hello

Did you hear the echo? Helllloooo. We've been having PC issues. Dh's cousin is helping us out and we should be back to full running speed soon. You thought I was never going to post again didn't you. I wasn't kidnapped by pirates or affflicted with some horrible disease, and I didn't die of fatigue watching politicians go back and forth fighting like 2 year olds. I'm still here. And I've made a few cards even.

This one was one I made for a tiny, little get together with a few girlfriends. They are the best group of girls ever. I just love them. I love that little bird in the cage. This wasn't a set I thought I wanted at first, but the more I flipped through my catalog, the more I knew I wanted it. Badly! It came to live at our house a few weeks ago. My other stamp sets resent it because they are now being neglected. This is a color combo I saw on some fabric I think. I though it was fun and different. It may be a new favorite. I hope you like it. I'll post more cards I've made with this set later in the week, if the pirates don't come and get me.

Stamps - Chic Boutique
Ink- Choc CHip(craft and classic), Bermuda Bay, markers
Paper- Old Olive, Certainly celery, choc chip, Whisper White, Bermuda bay
Accessories - ribbon, felt flower, edge punch, sponges, embossing powder

A challenge, Elmo, and a big cup of suck it up

So these were the color's for Dawn's color challenge this week. Purple - eek! As I have previously admitted, purple and I often butt heads. I usually win and end up trashing anything I make with it. I occassionally make something I like with purple though, and I do like it with pink. This has scarlet red too though. Yikes! I love red, but never use it with purple. Okay so now, I've used once. I think I may have used the two together in another challenge four or five years ago. This will probably be the last time. LOL.



I was almost defeated by this color challenge. I thought about it several times this week. I stared at my stamps and paper and did nothing. Now today is a very busy day at our house. Lots of fun stuff planned since the kids don't have summer session. That means no stamping until they're in bed - usually. I try not to let them watch much more than an hour of TV a day. And that time is usually spent with me sitting next to them or cooking or cleaning. So this morning they wanted to watch Sesame Street. We're sitting in the living room, talking about 6, and singing the alphabet. Then my mind wonders to this challenge. I think there is no way I'll get it done at this late date. Then I decide to drink a big cup of "suck it up" and see what I can come up with. So I literally ran to the girl cave and slapped this together - all during Elmo's World. I don't hate it and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment in not totally getting my butt kicked by these colors. Thanks, Dawn! This was really a challenge. So here's the card. I hope you like it.





My smarty pants son just came over and saw I was blogging, and promptly ran to the television and put in a VeggieTales video. The little stinker. He thinks he can sneak in a few more minutes of TV time. So with that, I'll end my loquacious diatribe and wish you a happy day. Have a good one!

A little inspiration

I decided to give Lauren's Inspiration challenge a whirl. What fun colors these were! And I had this Bo Bunny paper that was just perfect. I decided to use Pink Cat Studio's Lily for this one. I colored her with my copic markers. I want everyone to know that the no turtles were harmed in the making of this card. This stamp reminds me of the turtle (or is it a tortoise) statue at the Detroit zoo. Kids are always climbing on that thing. Any way, here she is.

I'll have to try these more often. Challenges are such a great way to get the creativity flowing.

Stamps - Pink Cat Studios Lily at the Beach

Ink- Pallette Noir, PTI vintage cream, copics

paper - Bo Bunny printed paper, basic black, SU! - Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo

accessories - crystal brad, ribbon, primas, scallop edge punch
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Working with limited supplies

This past weekend I got to spend some time with my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators at a mini-convention in Portage. It was such fun. I love hanging out with these girls. I eventually remembered to use my best behavior after getting slugged once and the threat of soap to the mouth. Thank you, Debra, for having us and putting so much work into this. Thank you, Emma and Lorien for helping her. And thank you to all the ladies who attended. It was so nice getting to know you better.

Usually when I travel somewhere to stamp or scrapbook, I bring WAY to much stuff. You know... I might need that color I've only used once in the last five years or the 3 year old package of eyelets that is still unopened. Not this time. I had nothing other than my make and take and my swap planned. So I decided to just pick a color scheme and a couple of sets to go with it. I stepped way out of my box and went with pinks and black instead of pink and brown. I'm getting bolder by the second. These are what came of it. All I brought was three stamp sets (one of which was only sentiments), paper and ink from my color scheme, a few punches, and a few matching embellishments. I'm pretty happy with the results.

All products are Stampin' Up!
3 squares friend to friend

Stamps - Teeny Tiny Wishes, For All You Do

Paper - Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo

Accessories - Scallop edge punch, Word window punch, modern label punch, crystal brads, black ribbon

3 butterflies

Stamps - Flight of the Butterfly, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink - Black Stazon

Paper - Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White

Accessories - Curly Label Punch, Butterfly Punch, Scallop edge punch, black grosgrain ribbon, crystal brad