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!

Warm Winter Wishes...

If you've been checking my blog this week, you know I've been posting pictures of cards we're making at this week's Craftmaking Stack-a-Thon. Here's another one...

This is one of my favorite snowman images. It's made by Darcie's and is quite difficult to find. I'm so glad I happened upon a set and snatched it up before they were sold out!

I wanted the ladies attending my Cardmaking Stack-a-Thon to have an opportunity to color with Copics (I love my Copics!) but I didn't want it to be too much coloring. I know some people find coloring to be a bit scary or overwhelming. So a snowman image seemed perfect..... they can leave the bulk of it uncolored. ;)

Thanks for checking out my blog this week. You've now seen 4 of the 6 cards we'll be making (plus one on my A Muse blog, if you checked it out). The other card will be a shaped card.

I'm looking forward to a fun time with the ladies who come!

Image & Sentiment: Darcie's Toastie Snowman

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Cardstock: White, Black and Red (vendor unknown)

Designer Paper: Cloud 9 Design Harvest Holiday 2 mat stack

Embellishments: Oriental Trading Grosgrain Ribbon and Recollections Rhinestones

Uh-Oh... Santa is Stuck in the Chimney!

I wanted to make a punch-art card with those attending my Cardmaking Stack-a-Thon this Saturday, so dug out some punches and started playing.

Here's what I came up with:

oh! oh! Santa is stuck!!!

Here's the inside of the card:

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Merry Christmas!!!

Sentiments: Clear Letter stamps
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Red, White, Black, and Craft (vendors unknown)
Designer Paper: ProvoCraft Rock Pathway
Embellishments: Recollections tiny brads

Holiday Hello

Yesterday I showed you an Autumn card that we're making at my Cardmaking Stack-a-Thon this coming Saturday, so today I thought I would show you one of the Christmas cards we'll be making.




Those of you who check my blog often know that I love Love LOVE designer paper. However, I also wanted to make sure that the women attending my Cardmaking Stack-a-Thon can see how fun it is to make a card even without designer paper. *gasp! (That was a stretch for me!!!)

I used an embossing plate to give depth to the background cardstock and went with simple images and embellishments.

I acutally like this card, which is surprising, since I'm such a fan of designer paper!



Image: Stampin' UP! Circle of Friendship
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Hunter Green, Ivory, Real Red, and Soft Suede
Embossing: Cuttlebug Season's Greeting
Embellishments: Recollections Pearls

Autumn Blessings

Our yard has two very large trees. The leaves are falling. (I'm not sure my husband considers that a blessing. LOL!) I love the beauty of Autumn!

So I created a card reminiscent of the beautiful fall colors:

It reminds me of a story from the past; way back when our oldest son was just three years old. My mother was traveling with my son and I on our way home from a visit at their house. As we drove along, I admired the beautiful fall leaves and said to my son, "Jeremy, look at the beautiful leaves." He responded, in a voice of confidence, "No, mama, FLOWERS!"

I'm hosting my first ever Cardmaking Stack-a-thon this Saturday and this is one of the cards we'll be making! I'm so excited about this new adventure! Wish me luck!!!

Enjoy the Autumn colors!

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

Albert Camus

Image & Sentiment: A│Muse Autumn Beauty

Ink: Stampin' UP! Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, and Crushed Curry

Cardstock: Michael's Brown and Stampin' UP! Cherry Cobbler and Crushed Curry

Designer Paper: Cloud 9 Designs Harvest Holiday 2 mat stack

Embellishments: ribbonFX ribbon and Studio 18 Acrylic Gem Autumn Days leaf