Surprise!

It's December 28.... time for the Calendar Girls blog group to post their montly card creations. Wow! Where has this month gone? Where has this YEAR gone???!?!?!??

There are only 10 Calendar Girls, so instead of having a hostess for November and December, we've done things a bit differently. This month each Calendar Girl gave another one of the group a secret word/theme and we were to create cards with that "secret". How fun!

Tami gave me a word weeks ago.... but I procrastinated until last night in making my card. Hmmmmmmmm.... not a good thing, I guess. But I've been having way too much fun both getting ready for Christmas and THOROUGHLY enjoying every moment of the holiday - with all of my children here at home for nearly a week!!! YAY!

So, when I went in search of my word, I couldn't find it. EEK! I had to go on my memory! uh-oh!!!

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!

(seriously, I think that's the word Tami gave me. Tami, if it isn't, I am so sorry!!! Please let me know and I'll make another theme-appropriate card soon!)

Nothing says SURPRISE! to me like balloons and confetti and streamers!!!



This cute little BIgsby image is a Karen Doodles digi image. Isn't he cute?


Another SURPRISE! about this card is the fact that I didn't use any ribbon on it. You've probably realized that I love ribbon and use it on almost every card I make. I also used shaped bling (kind of like rhinestones, but in a shape instead.) I don't usually use that sort of thing... another SURPRISE! One last SURPRISE! is the fact that I put an embellishment on top of the image. I don't ever remember doing that before. I've seen others do it and have liked the look so decided to try it. Truthfully, I am less than happy with the way that looks on my card. hmmmmm... guess I might need some practice.

Here's a sneak peek of the inside of my card:

I thought about putting the sentiment SURPRISE! inside the card, but decided against it.

This picture shows some of the depth on the card:

Be sure to check out the other Calendar Girl blogs today (the links are in my left sidebar) and see what they came up with using their own Secret theme/word.... and leave them a comment along the way. It will make them so happy!

Image: Karen Doodles Bigsby

Ink: Copic Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black and Marigold Morning

Designer Paper: My Mind's Eye (Plaid) and Paper Studio (Balloons)

Embellishments: Recollections Bling

Craft Us Crazy Is Back!!!

I was sooooooooooo excited to receive an email from Jeri (of Craft Us Crazy Challenges) last week, telling me she was going to host some Craft Us Crazy Challenges again. You might remember she is preparing for a move and had temporarily postponed postings to the Craft Us Crazy Challenges.

Of course I quickly told her YES I would love to create a card... couldn't wait to get started again.

Craft Us Crazy

Theme: Christmas and/or Humor

December 15 - 28

The design team was gifted with images from our wonderful sponsor (KennyK)... THANK YOU!

Here's the card I made with KennyK's Madison Attitude:

Please be sure to check out the Craft Us Crazy Challenge blog to see the creations of all the design team members........ and of course to find out all the details on joining this wonderfully fun challenge!!!

You'll also want to check out the KennyK site, with all of their incredibly fun images!!!

Here are a few more pictures of my card... Madison was so photogenic, I just couldn't help myself. Tee Hee!!!

Image: KennyK Madison Attitude

Ink: Copic Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black and Real Red

Designer Paper: from my scrap file

Embellishments: AMuse twisted cord, Michael's rhinestones, and a Paper Studio button

Sweet Asian Girl

I don't usually do Asian cards; I am challenged in that area. Nothing seems to go well for me.

Sooooooooooo... when my sweet friend Paola (Sama on SCS) opened an Asian card swap, I joined with great trepidation. What to do? What to do???

I decided the first thing to do was to go hunting for a new stamp. After all, isn't that what all addicted rubber stampers do? LOL! Because I live far away from LSS, or even big box craft stores, I utilize the internet for many of my stamping purchases. I found a darling Asian girl stamp set on ebay at a good price, so I bought it. I think the little Geisha girl is adorable!


I colored her with my Copics, in mostly very soft colors, thinking that lended a more Asian-feel to the card. I used Asian papers from DCWV (I purchased the Asian paper stack from JoAnn's - online, of course).

I hope Paola wasn't too disappointed with my attempt. I still have much to learn before I feel comfortable with the Asian-styled cards.

Image: FLOMZ

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' UP!

Designer Paper: DCWV

Embellishment: Stampin' UP! Black Grosgrain Ribbon

I'm Having SNOW much Fun!

Oh my goodness! I haven't posted to my blog in about 10 days - that's CrAzy! Have you missed me? I've missed all of you!!!

My life has just been WILD! We had all of our children home for Thanksgiving - which I thoroughly enjoyed! Then soon after they went back to their respective homes, I started transforming our home into the Christmas forest that it now is. If you follow my blog, you'll remember seeing the pictures of all my Christmas trees last year - if I recall, I took 3 days to post them. LOL! Yep, I have way too many trees for most people. In fact, my daugher's 9th Grade English students think her mom is totally bonkers. (hmmmmmmmm... they might be right.)

You also probably remember that we moved this summer - to a house less than half the size of the one we left. I was so worried about how I would cope when it was time to decorate for Christmas, and I will confess it hasn't been totally without tears. I've had a melt-down or two. But now - with my 25 Christmas trees in place - I'm a happy woman!

I digress, though. You didn't come here to hear about my crazy addictions. Well, maybe you did..... but most likely you came to hear about my OTHER addiction - cardmaking - and to see one of my creations! Soooooooooooo...

Here she is:

The sad thing is, I actually made this card back in November (for Barb's Whipper Snapper / Penny Black swap) but didn't have time to even attempt to post to my blog, so she's just now making an appearance here.

I hope you like her, nestled in the brances of one of our trees.

The snowflake on the card is actually a Christmas ornament. I bought them at Wal-Mart and thought they made adorable, glittery embellishments for cards! YAY! My two addictions meet!!!

Now, just in case you're curious, here are a couple of pictures of some of our decorations for this year. Tee Hee! (I couldn't resist.)

Image: Penny Black

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' UP!

Designer Paper: from my scrap file

Embellishment: Wal-Mart Snowflake ornament and Recollections brad

Calendar Girl Christmas

Today is November 28th... a day that will go down in history............ well, perhaps only for a small group of online friends who are known as the Calendar Girls. Tee Hee!

Seriously, I love the 28th because that is the day that we Calendar Girls post our monthly blog group creations, based on the theme that the Calendar Girl of the month has selected. FUN!!! However, if you notice in my sidebar, there are only 10 Calendar Girls (Miss January through Miss October) so for this month and next, we have no hostess. Instead, we have some simple themes and fun posts to go with them.

For this month, we are simply supposed to post a Christmas card we've made. Easy Peasy! Oh, and also, for those who are willing to expose their workspaces (oh, the embarrasment), we will also be posting pictures of our work desk/counter in all of its glory (or, as in my case, all of its humiliation).

First things first, though. Here is my card...

Santa Claus!!! Woo Hoo! Gotta love the man in red!

After all, when you stop believing in Santa, you get underwear (or so the saying goes).

Because this Whipper Snapper stamp is rather large, I went with a rather weird fold to allow Santa to be used on a regular-sized card and still have a view of designer papers, which you know I love so much. I actually made this card for Barb's (barbaralynn on SCS) Big Guy in the Red Suit card swap, so I couldn't really make it a larger card.

This picture shows the card with both flaps open:

Now for the humiliation - and a DISCLAIMER!

Disclaimer: I moved in June. I left behind a wonderful Hideout - with lots of space and lots of organization for my stamping toys! I moved to a house that is less than half the size and has NO place for a playroom. Sooooooo we created a Cubbyhole in the garage to house my stamping toys. To refresh your memory, you can find pictures of the boxes and stuff in the garage here.

My Cubbyhole is still a work in progress. It is a very VERY slow process, but I do hope to finally be able to find/use any and all of my toys eventually. LOL!

Here is a picture of my stamping desk:

UGH! What a mess!!! No wonder I find myself stamping at the kitchen table quite often these days... oh, it has something to do with the temperature in my Cubbyhole, too... since it is not heated. Brrrrrrr!!!

Just for fun, here are some pictures of the rest of my Cubbyhole:

It will get better! I promise!!!

Now, let's go see what the other calendar girls have to show us............

Miss January (that's me)

Miss February - Kelly

Miss March - April

Miss April - Terry

Miss May - Barb

Miss June - Carol

Miss July - Michelle

Miss August - Debbie

Miss September - Paola

Miss October - Tami

Stamp: Whipper Snapper

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black and Cherry Cobbler

Designer Paper: Vendor Unknown

Embellishment: Hobby Lobby Ribbon

Let's Go to the Movies!

And what do we all want when we go to the movies? POPCORN!!!

Apparently, so does Riley!

And a BIG glass of Coca Cola to go with it!

Image: Riley & Co.

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Black and Cherry Cobbler

Designer Papers: Glittery Popcorn from DCWV Snack Pack and Coca Cola Papers from my scrap file (if my memory is correct, they are made by EK Success)

Embellishments: Stampin' UP! Brads

The Mysteries of Life!

You may have noticed, in my sidebar where the links of other bloggers is located, that one particular image is getting a lot of visibility today. There's a good reason for that. It's because today is November 18.......... so it's the day when we can finally post our pictures of the cards we've made for the Mystery Image swap.

We are a group of swappers who every other month swap cards, all with the same image. How fun! This round, Barb (barbaralynn on SCS) is our hostess and she sent us the cutest Whipper Snapper snowman image.

Here he is... Prescott!

Isn't he cute?!?!?!?

Thank you, Barb, for a wonderful Mystery Image swap!!!

Image: Whipper Snapper Prescott

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Copic markers

Cardstock: Neenah Classic Solar White and Stampin' UP! Black and Garden Green

Designer Paper: Cloud 9 Designs Seasonal Mat Stack

Embellishments: Oriental Trading Post Organdy Ribbon and Stickles Glitter Glue

Get Your Duel On with a Fashion Sense

It's the 15th of November! That means it's time for another DUEL!!! Yes, the Dueling Darlings are at it again. This month, Kelly and I are the hostesses, and we put our heads together for some "out of the box" type of creating. Our theme?

What NOT to Wear (to this year's holiday party)!

We wanted the Divas and the Dazzlers to have a challenge - where they had to think creatively how to use items that at first glance didn't look like they went together at all.

Now in case you're new to the Duel, you may not have a clue what I'm talking about. Each month, the two members of the two teams are mailed kits in advance, along with details about the theme, etc. and they have to create cards with the items they receive. The two hostesses agree on a theme, but other than that, they keep their kits a secret from each other. Soooo I don't have a clue what Kelly mailed to the Divas, nor does she know what I mailed to the Dazzlers. Fun!!!

I hunted for wild papers, mismatched embellishments, and a humorous image. I think I succeeded in sending the Dazzlers a "classy" (NOT!), elegant (NOT!), outlandish (DEFINITELY!) kit with which to create. Tee Hee!

The Dueling Darlings were told that they could alter the items any way they chose (paint them, distress them, etc.) but I decided to use my items as is. The result? A much more busy (bizarre) creation than my normal style.

Pictures, they say, are worth a thousand words, so here are some pictures...

Kelly and I also thought it would be fun to add a twist to the Duel this month... so we issued this challenge: we asked the Dueling Darlings to find a picture of themselves (if possible) or someone else depicting something NOT to wear and to include that in their blog post.

Since I have very few pictures of my childhood and my parents live in a different state, I couldn't find a picture of myself to show. Therefore I searched the internet and found several. LOL!

This first one made me laugh, because it reminded me of my own teenage years. Yes, we DID wear our skirts and/or shorts that short even back when I was a teenager.

These two definitely show what NOT to wear (in my opinion):

But this picture is my favorite! When watching the wedding of the century (Prince William and Kate), it was nearly impossible not to notice the attire of the guests, especially those who wore QUIRKY hats. LOL!




This collage surfaced shortly after the wedding. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought Fergie's girls' hats were noteworthy.


As fun as this fashion show has been, I'm sure you will want to check out the blogs of the other Dueling Darlings to see their cards and their fashion photos.

Dazzlers:

April

Darlene

Debbie

Janet (a Guest Designer this month - WELCOME, Janet! We're glad you're dueling with us this month!)

Melina

Michelle

Paola (who's kit has not yet arrived, so stay tuned for her post at a later date)

Terry

Divas:

Barb

Carol

Jamie

Joan

Judy

Kelly

LJ

Tami

Kit Contents

Image: American Art Stamp Body By

Designer Papers: Colorbok Beautiful Music; Paper Company Double Sided Mulberry; Paper Pizazz Yummy Chocolate Chips; and Paper Studio Girly Graffiti, Hibiscus Flowers, Multi Colored Bursts, Watercolor Floral and Watercolored Balloons

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Brads, Heidi Swap Anywhere Stickers, Karen Foster Designs Scrapper's Floss, Making Memories Ribbon Words, Simplicity Buttons, and a vintage key

DRATS! I forgot to use the key on my card! That's the pits, because I was so excited about putting it in the kit. I got so excited trying to figure out how to use stickers on my card (who uses stickers anymore anyway!??!?!) that I totally forgot about the key. Oh well... too late now. I just hope some of the Dazzlers used their keys.

Gobble! Gobble!

This past Saturday, I hosted a women's meeting at our church. It was mostly a time of fellowship and getting acquainted with one another. I loved being able to do this!

I told the women we'd do a simple craft, and since it is autumn (and almost Thanksgiving), I decided it should be this cute little turkey.

Mr. Tom Turkey's body is a little Hershey chunky candy bar, covered with a strip of paper.

Googly eyes - of course! And the use of several punches! Easy!!!

Gobble! Gobble!