Fab Friday #148

The inside of my house is decked out ... the outside of my house is decked out ... so I guess I have officially given in to Halloween/Spooky season!!! Honestly, this is my favorite month of the year. I absolutely LOVE Halloween ... and fall ... and costumes ... and decorating!!! The Fab Friday folks are playing around this week with a color challenge ... and it just SCREAMED Halloween at me, so I just went with that!

Isn't this little witchy hat just the CUTEST??? The brim is made with two circle punches (or framelits), and the pointy part is made with the old (retired) Tree Punch. You can just as easily make the pointy part from a rectangle and trim down the sides ... I just went with the easier approach!

Stamps: Trick or Tweet, Gallery Grunge
Paper: Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape, Pumpkin Pie Glimmer Paper (retired), Basic Black Glimmer Paper (retired)
Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Pumpin Pie, Basic Black
Accessories: 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Black/Pumpkin Bakers Twine (retired), Basic Black Bakers Twine, Faceted Dots, Classic Label Punch

See what I mean???? PERFECT Halloween combo!










Here's a link to the Fab Friday Challenge Blog so you can play along:

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Check out the Fab blogs of my fellow Fab Friends:

Mindy Backes
Cindy Beach
Heather Heroldt
Brian King
Amy Koenders
Justin Krieger
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Jan Tinklenberg

I have had a VERY busy week ... and will have a VERY busy weekend! Sometimes I need to be cloned ... at least some of the things I'm doing this weekend are going to be FUN (we're meeting some friends for breakfast tomorrow morning, which will start the weekend off GREAT!)!!

Monday Montage #40

NUMBER 40!!! How AMAZING is THAT??? SO proud to be part of this groups of incredibly-talented friends ... and so happy to share some "space" with them on this blog hop!!! I get SO many great ideas from EACH and EVERY one of them!!! And their friendships are beyond words ... so grateful!!

My stamp room is, quite honestly, a tornado zone. There is not ONE flat surface this is NOT covered with stuffs ... and it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE for me to create ANYthing!!! So I am vowing, as soon as I publish this blog post, to confine myself there until I have picked up EVERYthing!!! I may be there for a while ... wish me LUCK!! (I'm going in with a shovel and a fork lift!)

Stamps: NONE!
Paper:  Smoky Slate, Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, Brights Designer Series Paper Stack (Melon Mambo) Subltes Designer Series Paper Stack (Pretty in Pink)
Ink:   NONE!
Accessories: Bow Builder Punch, Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Petite Petals Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Hello You Thinlits Dies, Pear Pizzazz Chevron Ribbon, Pearl Basics

Thanks SO much for stopping by!!! We all appreciate YOU all so very much!!

Click "Back" to see Melissa Stout's stunning creativity, and/or the "Next" button to see Amy O'Neill out-of-this-world marvelousness!

Freakin' Springtastic!

Oh how I LOVE the Spring!! And it seems this year that winter has been going on FOR-EV-ER!! It's trying-trying-trying to warm up around here ... I hope it sticks sometime SOON! If you've been hopping around the tour, you would have just seen Patty Bennett's wonderful spring-y projects. She NEVER disappoints!


First of all ... NOTHING says spring to me more than tulips!! I absolutely ADORE them!! This card just kinda fell out of my fingertips ... as soon as I thought of tulips, this kinda just came to mind (this only happens to me ONCE in a while ... so I guess I'm gonna hafta wait for a while for it to happen again!!)!

Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners
Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Real Read, Gumball Green, Polka Dot Parade DSP
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Window Frames Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Stripes Textured Impressions Embossing folder, Real Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Large Oval Punch, Small Heart Punch, Dimensionals

AMENDED FOR TULIP INSTRUCTIONS: OKAY, OKAY ... since I have been emailed, messaged and sent requests on the tulips, here's how ya do it!! I used the heart-shaped punch from the Bitty Punch Pack … then cut each heart down the middle (you will need three heart "halves" to make one tulip). The heart half on the top got trimmed just a tiny bit to round the edge that was originally the top center of the heart. That's pretty much it! The stems were just strips I cut, and the leaves were from the large oval punch. Cut the punch out; then re-insert the piece you just cut back into the punch and slide the edge just a little so that all you ended up punching is just a little bit from the side of the oval … does that make sense? Not hard at ALL!! It really took me very little time! Go make some tulips!!

And every once in a while I "CASE" myself ... this is a re-vamp of a card I did quite some time ago (I can't remember it exactly, but it kinda popped into my head when I was thinking about Spring). It's kinda fun to use Crystal Effects to "pop" images up. I just have a hard time being patient enough to wait for it to "harden" ...

Stamps: Field Flowers, Wonderful Words
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: Postage Stamp Punch, Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Pearl Basics, Linen Thread

Now, it's time to hop on over to the super-fantastic Connie Babbert!! Check it out!!

Quack!!

Sometimes punch art is just SOOO dang fun!!! My cute little niece, Sammy, just had her first birthday ... and she LOVES ducks!!! So, I knew I was just gonna HAFTA make one for her!

After searching all over the 'net (mainly Pinterest), I was able to put together some punches that I needed to make this little guy ... isn't he cute??? He makes me happy!!

I think the sun has FINALLY decided to come out of hibernation ... I think ... I hope!! It has been SOOOO gloriously beautiful the past few days (okay, well ... we have had SOME gray skies, but the blue and the sun have been getting at least EQUAL time!)! I really hope that ol' man winter has gone on a VERY long vacation! We've seen WAY too much of him this year!!

Have an awesome week!

Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners, Fabulous Florets
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White, Basic BlackPolka Dot Parade
Ink:  Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, White Signo Pen
Accessories:  Bitty Banners Framelits, Scallop Square Bigz Die, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Small Heart Punch, Ornament Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die, Old Olive Taffeta Ribbon, Old Olive Brads, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Blue Jeans, Freezing Rain & FitBits

Not gonna lie ... gonna start off straight away and admit that this card was my personal FAVE of all of the cards I created for the Leadership Sample Boards. Why? The little blue jeans are stinkin' ca-YOOT!! AND ... I had so-so-so much fun creating the "denim" for the background ... I used my Simply Scored diagonal score board on some Pool Party cardstock, then rubbed over the entire piece with a sponge laden with Island Indigo ink!! Couldn't resist adding the little "stitches" with my white signo pen, either ... so there ...

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Whisper White Baker's Twine, Adorning Accents Edgelits Die, Simply Scored, Sponge

Yesterday we had freezing rain. I was called on, last minute, to drive a friend and her daughter (who is ALSO my friend ... HI JENNI & MARIS!!) to the airport. The roads were DISASTROUS!! HOWEVER ... because I was only traveling on "main roads" that had already been salted, the going wasn't so bad. Where I DID run in to trouble was trying to park in my garage. Our garage is behind our house in an alley. And, since we live on a HILL, the alley, in turn, is a HILL!! ICESKATINGRINK!! After three failed attempts where I had (a) put my car in low gear, (b) attempted to crawl LIKE A SNAIL down the alley (NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL), (c) drove on TOP of the snow instead of down in the already-created tire ruts, and (d) watched my garage go WHIZZING by my left side as I went slip-sliding past it, I decided to try ONE MORE TIME (I know ... what WAS I THINKING??). Last trip down was nothing short of a miracle!! It started VERY badly ... car started sliding FULL TILT ... the brakes were only making me slide a little LESS fast (don't get me wrong, I was zipping along!), but I was sliding all over the UNIVERSE. Very.Little.Control.BRAINLESS! After what I was sure was going to be a collision with the retaining wall and/or my fence and/or garage door, this is where I ended up ... no kidding. And yes, this is the view from inside MY OWN garage - lined up perfectly to pull in!! #awesomedrivingskillz!!  I needed to haul TWO buckets of salt out there to give me some traction because I could NOT move an INCH! (And yeah, I DID slip and fall on ... the ice ... once ...) Don't think I'm gonna venture out at ALL until some THAW happens!! But, I digress ...

So, I got a FitBit in the mail yesterday!! LOVELOVELOVE it!! From about 1:00 p.m. when I put it on (after it was charged) to the time I went to bed at about 10:30 p.m. I had logged over 11,100 steps and 56 flights of stairs (yeah-yeah ... I was crazy enough to run up and down my stairs until I could earn my "50 flights" badge on my FitBit homepage). Over 5 miles!! Probably won't accomplish THAT every day, but I am doing all that fitness craziness in order to not have to USE this second creation ... hardly ... (PS - if ya wanna join me on My Fitness Pal so we can cheer each other on, email me your username!)

I got the pattern for this tissue box cover on Splitcoaststampers HERE. I had seen the owl SOMEwhere on Pinterest (I think), but sadly, forgot to save a link so I could give credit ... pretty cute though, eh?

Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB)
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Read Red, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Basic Black, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Owl Builder Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Vine Street Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (SAB), Oval Framelits, Box of Tissue

Fab Friday #9 ... One Day Late!

Sometimes it's sooo hard when I have to have TWO blog posts up on the same day!! Sheesh!! When a post has to say "Friday" in the title ... and you have MORE than ONE ... it causes problems!!

A day late, but nonetheless just as much fun to play with ... here is my card for the Fab Friday Stampin' Challenge!

My sweet little nephew, Barrett, has just had his first birthday!! We all call him "Baby Bear" ... he is the ca-YOOT-est little guy EVER!! So I KNEW I had to make him a little baby bear card ... got the punch art idea from Kim Score ... she is a punchin' GENIUS!!

Here is the sketch we were working from:

Here's a link to the Fab Friday Challenge Blog so you can play along:

Fab Friday Challenge Blog

Check out the Fab blogs of my fellow Fab Friends:

Mindy Backes
Cindy Beach
Jason Casper
Amanda Mertz
Brenda Myers
Amy O'Neill
Marla Reed
Pam Steckman
Jan Tinklenberg

Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners, Nicely Knit (wheel)
Paper: Real Red, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Red Glimmer DSP
Ink: Read Red, Early Espresso, Bashful Blue, Signo Gel Pen
Accessories: Adorning Accents Edgelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Small Oval Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Modern Label Punch, Two-Step Owl Punch, Ornament Punch, Designer Naturals Buttons, Needlepoint Border Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Real Red and Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread

Gobble, Gobble, GOBBLE!!

This is gonna be a really super-quick post ... but I COULDN'T let today go by (Thanksgiving in the US of A) without giving thanks for all of YOU!! You have made me laugh, lifted me up, and been supportive through the good and the bad.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!! Gonna take this card to my aunt when we go feast at her house ... she always makes every Thanksgiving so wonderful ... grateful for her and my uncle and for them letting our family invade their house!

Hugs to all!

Stamps: Hello Doily, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Candlelit Christmas DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Blossom Petals Punch, Owl Builder Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch, Double Circle Punch (for eyes - retired), Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Chevron Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Early Espresso Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Big Ol' Butterfly with Summer Smooches!

Being THE self-professed Butterfly Queen, I knew I HAD to copy this little guy when I saw him. Holy cow!! Isn't this aDORable??

I got the idea via LeeAnn Greff, via Bev Watt, via Kim Score!!! Honestly, I wouldn't know how to do ANYthing crafty if it weren't from the inspiration I receive/ideas I collect from the Genius of others!! Thanks to all who share what they love every day for making me stretch my limits and my "wings" every time I sit down to create!!

I used this card as my sample for today's F4A (Free for All) Challenge over on SCS (for which I am the hostess). The challenge was to incorporate an accordion or "fan" fold somewhere. The background on this is actually made using a Bigz rosette die ... was too lazy to cut out three more pieces to complete the rosette, so I just used one pieces and laid it straight across the card instead of putting four pieces together in a circular fashion. I love how this looks with the new Summer Smoohes DSP!

FINALLY got my mom OUT of the hospital late yesterday afternoon and into the rehab facility (she is actually only a couple of doors away from my mother in law!). I will be able to visit BOTH of these wonderful women in one stop!! What a blessing! So grateful to all of the doctors and nurses who have given/continue to give such loving care to both of them. Hope to have them BOTH out of there and back to their regular selves soon!

Stamps: Create a Cupcake
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red, Basic Black, Summer Smooches DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Punches, Rosette Bigz Die, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Summer Smooches Brads, Paper Crimper

Punch Art Giraffe for Jacob

A while back I saw the ca-YOOT-est punch art giraffe on Pinterest (my new favorite addiction/guilty pleasure). Sadly, I never followed the link to who made it, so I can't give credit where credit is due (if it was YOU, let me know and I'll give you proper kudos!) ...

But I hafta say that I LOVE THIS LITTLE GUY!! (I added knobbly knees to mine!). Love it when you can make something kinda stinkin' adorable out of PUNCHES!! This is for my little cousin, Jacob ... he turned 3 this week ... I miss my babies being little!! I honestly have NO IDEA where the time went!! Sigh ...

Stamps: Up, Up & Away
Paper: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Domestic Goddess DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Tasteful Trim Bigz Die, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch (retired), 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch (Retired), Itty Bitty Circle Punch, Double Circle Punch (Retired), Word Window Punch, Sponge, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Soft Suede 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Don't forget to take a peek at Tink & Bell's Digital Scrapbooking Club!!!! We launch next Monday ... soooo excited!!