Saturday, December 31, 2016

Goodbye to 2016 .... & good riddance!

Well, 2016 is coming to a close & I must say, I won't miss it. So much sadness this year ... personally & across the world. Thank goodness we went on vacation this year, that was definitely a bright spot in an otherwise depressing  year. If you go out tonight, please be safe. I am still nursing whatever I've had for the last 2 weeks, although when I woke up this morning it was a million times worse. I think I now have a sinus infection. So my NYE might include a trip to Urgent Care! Woohooo!!! 

Happy New Year, my friends! 

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Merry Christmas to all!



Well, I managed to go an entire holiday season without posting at all! This is definitely NOT the blog you go to for daily updates, that's for sure! 

So what have I been doing? Working a lot, spending time with my boys, holiday stuff, shopping, working a lot, binge watching Gilmore Girls, going through our Disney pictures (yes I know, I still haven't posted them all), did I mention I'm working a lot?? I am back to full time & it's been crazy. But you know what? I can't complain. Life is good. My boys are happy & healthy (as happy as teenagers can be), my job is good, I have amazing friends (virtual & real life) & while I've had no time to craft I am very content. 

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas & a happy & SAFE New Year. 

Cheers! 

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Rudolph

Hello all, happy Thanksgiving eve! This is my very favorite week of the year, when I take extra days off of work & hubby is up north! ahhhhh peace & quiet for 6 whole days :)

Since I did have a couple of days off, I got to play a bit with some stamps that I bought about 6 months ago but haven't had time to do anything with. 

I am loving Sylvia Zet's images for Whimsy. They are so cute! Here I used Rudolph, the cutest reindeer ever :)



I kept my card super simple, which is so unlike me LOL .... but I was a little overwhelmed. I have so much "stuff" that I bought long ago & never used, & a lot of it is Christmasy. It was holiday overload! 



I colored the image with my Prisma pencils & added lots of glitter & snow. The polka dot paper is from Papertrey Ink from at least 5 years ago, I think this is the first I've used it. I'm definitely a polka dot hoarder!



The snowflake is a Spellbinders die with a rhinestone mushed in the middle, then covered with Dazzling Diamond chunks. 

And there you have it, a pretty simple card from the person who likes to add as much as possible. Bonus, I can actually mail this one for less than $5 :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Turkey Day tomorrow. We're going to my mom's, it will just be the 4 of us which is fine with me. I don't have to dress up, I can forgo the makeup & there's more food for me :)

Monday, October 17, 2016

A gift for a friend

Hey!! Hope you had a nice weekend! It was actually really warm & muggy here in Wisconsin ... not October weather at all! Although, the year my son was born (the one who just turned 18) I do remember a fair amount of visitors wearing shorts & complaining about the humidity. So maybe it IS October weather around these parts. No worries, it will be back down to the 60's in a day or two.

Things have been a bit rough at work lately. One gal on my "team" quit & is leaving at the end of the month, & another gal just found out some major medical news & will be out 2-3 months. That leaves my sales director, & me. It's a good thing neither of us takes life too seriously & we know we can only do so much in a day. Still, I wanted to get her a little something so she knows we are in this together! 





(I just noticed I forgot to add the twine before I took the picture)

She loves & very often steals my K-cups at work. She really super muchly loved these: {stock photo because I forgot to take a picture before I wrapped it}

They are very hard to find here, in fact I found them at one store & one store only. So I bought her a box. 3 weeks ago. Because I knew I had to make a tag to go with her gift bag, & it took me that long to find a stamp that would work. What??? I know!!! I have barely any coffee/ hot chocolate/ mug stamps!! 




No worries though, I finally found a cute acrylic set at Hobby Lobby. So I was all ready to make her tag ... browsing Pinterest for inspiration and .... OMG I saw this embossing folder & HAD to have it! 

So ..... search & search & search & it's not to be found in any store here. So I ordered it on Ebay. 

{{{ are you thinking "she must be a REALLY good friend" by now?? }}}

It arrived luckily in just a few days so I was able to finally finish off that gift bag with a tag. Never mind that after I received the folder I saw a whole set ... the folder, Starbucks coffee cup & die ... for about the same price *sob* 





I was actually slightly stumped when it came to actually making the tag. Between the new stamp set & the very cool embossing folder (and I may have also bought some distress markers)  I was having a hard time figuring it out. I wanted something simple, but cute. I went with the distress + glittery Stickles look because, why not? Those 2 things don't really go together but I think I made it work? {yes, that's a question}




The good news is she loved it! The hot chocolate AND the whole gift package ensemble. I gave her a little candy gift not too long ago & she was super impressed. That's why I like giving things like this to her. She's not really crafty at all, so she wouldn't know if something totally sucks!!! 

Have a great week! 

Monday, October 10, 2016

My first Sylvia Zet!

Hello friends & happy Monday {insert groan here}. It was a beautiful day today ... fall is definitely here in Wisconsin. It was sunny, 60 & the leaves are finally starting to change color. My camera will be working overtime these next few weeks because once the change color, it's not long before the leaves are brown, crunchy & covered in snow!

I was on the Whimsy Stamps site a few weeks ago ... just browsing ... when * oops * ... a few stamps fell into my cart. I don't know how it happened. One minute I was oohing & aahing over Sylvia Zet's images, & the next I was whipping out my credit card. Oh, the shame. 

But ... it was totally worth it! Here is my first card using one of her stamps, Heidi


Isn't she adorable?? I used Copics to color the image, some old Basic Grey papers, dyed twill ribbon & my favorite border punch. Oh, & snow. Lots & lots of snow. 



And, oh right .... I may also have bought some sentiments to go with the new stamps. Because I couldn't possibly use any of my old sentiments with my new stamps, now could I? That's like wearing old shoes with a new outfit!



So with this, I guess I'm done with fall cards! That's ok because I love making winter cards just as much  :)

I hope you all have a good week! My son's birthday is Wednesday so we shall be celebrating at least a few nights this week. Dinner ... football ... bonfire ... gotta make the most of it. He turns the big 18!!! My baby is going to be a grown up **sniffle**  How did this happen!?!? *sob*

Monday, October 3, 2016

Simple Halloween

Happy Monday all, hope you had a great weekend! I think I was a bit under the weather, I did way more sleeping than I usually do. Thankfully I'm feeling much better today, JUST in time to go back to work {ugh}. 

A quick post today, for a quick card I made last week. I got this stamp from Hobby Lobby over the summer. My intention was to use it on the inside of a card, but decided it needed to go on the front. 



I even decided to go whole hog & emboss it. It took me a while to remember how to do that. 



Oh yes, & more of that Glimmery stuff. In Pumpkin :)




Some Basic Grey paper & some meshy ribbon stuff .... & this card is ready to go to a new home :)

Hope you have a terrific week! 

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Trick or Treat!

Wow, two posts in one week!! Only because I had off last Friday & actually made three cards ... so yes there will be yet another posted in a day or two. 



Of course, in order to make 3 cards in one day I had to keep them on the simple side. This Penny Black image was colored with Copics & sprayed with Glimmer Mist (do people still use Glimmer Mist?? I have many many bottles lol). The papers are an old Basic Grey & Pumpkin Pie embossed with a spider web folder. Added & sentiment & a few other little extras & we have a Halloween card!!!! Do people really send cards for Halloween? Well, who cares. I enjoy making them :)



This poor mouse really got Glimmer Mistified! But it's ok, I think the color is Pumpkin something so at least it all ties together lol



Ok, looking at this closeup it looks like the mouse isn't the only thing that got in the way of the Mist. Guess I got a bit carried away :)




~ entering this one into just one challenge ~

Simon Says Stamp ~ Anything Goes {my favorite}


One more quick little tidbit .... and I'm probably the last to know {as usual} .... but I learned that Ms Gina K has an actual store about 10 minutes away from where I work!! I knew she moved from the Madison area to the Milwaukee area a year {or two?} ago .... but I assumed her only shop was online. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across her Facebook page, which led me to THIS Facebook page .... & I knew I had to go. I chatted with her a bit through Messenger to make sure I had my facts straight ... & I went yesterday after work. It's beautiful. The paper ...... ohhhh the paper ... in fact, I think that's how I wound up on her online store page. I needed more white base cardstock & I've only ever bought Papertrey. I decided I was going to give Gina's a shot, & that was before I knew I could just run to her store. Anyway, a few packs of paper later ....... needless to say I will be back. Again .... & again .... & again ....

So, if you happen to be in the Greendale area, she's located right in the Village. It's a beautiful area with many shops & restaurants so you could make a day of it!

Monday, September 26, 2016

Happy Fall!!!

Woohoooooo my favorite season!! And I don't even *like* pumpkin spice latte!! 

I had off on Friday, mostly to catch up on the small things like laundry, cleaning & putting out falllllll things. Did I mention I love fall?? 

Since my boss gave me so many breaks throughout the day I had a bit of time to not only start but complete a card! Ok, it's a simple card. I wanted to try my hand at a CAS-ish card. It was so hard to walk away & not add more *stuff* but I do like how it turned out.




Oh & look! It's a fall *ish* card. What are the odds? 

This stamp is so old, probably one of the first ones I bought & probably never used before now. I just stamped it onto shimmery paper & sponged a crap load of inks onto it. A border punch & matching corner punch, some pearls & there ya go .... a CAS-ish card! 



Can you see the shimmer?? 



I even decorated the inside at the same time I made the card! That pretty much never happens, then when I go to get it ready to sell I'm scrambling to remember what papers I used so I can finish the inside. I have crafter ADD .... once I'm done with the fun part of a project it's on to something else. 

~ linking up with ~

Cards In Envy ~ Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Crafty Catz  ~ Anything Goes


Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge blog ~ Anything Goes


Love To Craft Challenge blog ~ Anything Goes


Crafty Cardsmakers ~ Autumn


Crafty Boots ~ Autumn is in the Air


Happy Fall!! Oh wait, did I say that already??

Happy Fall!!!

Woohoooooo my favorite season!! And I don't even *like* pumpkin spice latte!! 

I had off on Friday, mostly to catch up on the small things like laundry, cleaning & putting out falllllll things. Did I mention I love fall?? 

Since my boss gave me so many breaks throughout the day I had a bit of time to not only start but complete a card! Ok, it's a simple card. I wanted to try my hand at a CAS-ish card. It was so hard to walk away & not add more *stuff* but I do like how it turned out.




Oh & look! It's a fall *ish* card. What are the odds? 

This stamp is so old, probably one of the first ones I bought & probably never used before now. I just stamped it onto shimmery paper & sponged a crap load of inks onto it. A border punch & matching corner punch, some pearls & there ya go .... a CAS-ish card! 



Can you see the shimmer?? 



I even decorated the inside at the same time I made the card! That pretty much never happens, then when I go to get it ready to sell I'm scrambling to remember what papers I used so I can finish the inside. I have crafter ADD .... once I'm done with the fun part of a project it's on to something else. 

~ linking up with ~

Cards In Envy ~ Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Crafty Catz  ~ Anything Goes


Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge blog ~ Anything Goes


Love To Craft Challenge blog ~ Anything Goes


Crafty Cardsmakers ~ Autumn



Happy Fall!! Oh wait, did I say that already??

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Green & gold

Just a quick post, to share what I made my mom for her birthday. I actually gave it to her a week late, because I ordered the charm online after finding one similar for $10 at a local bead store!!! For one charm?? Maybe this hobby isn't for me. 




Good thing I have LOTS of practice at shopping online. Found a good deal on these charms so I bought a few. I plan on making more of these to either sell or give to friends. But, being my first one, I didn't really think it through. There are definitely things wrong with this bracelet ... nothing I'm going to point out LOL .... but really it's a mishmash of every green & yellow bead I could find at Michael's & Hobby Lobby :)



I also have to figure out how I'm supposed to photograph these things. I'm used to square pieces of card stock that stand up by themselves.



My mom loves her bracelet & that's all that matters. Of course, the Packers lost Sunday ... the day I gave it to her ... so maybe I should stick to cards .....


Thursday, September 1, 2016

Another time sucker

After buying beads & supplies over the last few months, I finally took the plunge & made my first bracelets. Now remember, I am new at this. You would laugh if you saw the very first cards I made & I'm pretty sure I'll (at least I hope I will) get better at this too. 

Here you go! Some of the most simple, basic bracelets you can make.




These are just stretch bracelets, probably the easiest kind out there. I've been watching YouTube videos & reading blogs ... & figured I may as well start from the beginning. But I think they turned out not horrible. I will probably give the purple one to my niece, & I have a couple of friends who have battled (& won) the fight with breast cancer, so I plan on giving these to them October 1st. 



My kids start school tomorrow. School actually started today, but only for the 7th & 9th graders so they can get acclimated to their new schools. My boys are groaning about having to go tomorrow but I reminded them they had an extra day off. 

Happy Labor Day weekend!!! Who's cooking out??? *meeeeee*

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