Gift Card Holder

Hey there. I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I just wanted to show you guys a gift card holder that I made for my brother. He's one of those people that only wants outrageously expensive gifts, that he's very specifically picked out. Mmm, yeah. So, he got this instead. I got this idea from Patty Bennett's blog and I just love this version. It's an open-ended envelope folded in half to give you a 3x3 card. And I had to use one of my favorite color combinations, Baja Breeze & Chocolate Chip. (ok, you got me. pretty much any color I love paired with chocolate chip is a favorite color combination.) Same papers on the inside and out, just reversed the layers.

Just one note should you decide to copy this idea. Please don't be a dork and put it together backwards. Yeah, I really wanted the pullout to be on the right side. Before I put the papers on the outside of the envelope I actually checked myself and was all, "Phew! That was close! I almost did it backwards!" And somehow, it still came out backwards. I really have no idea how that happened or what I was thinking. And I couldn't just fake it and flip it around, cuz the brads were attached to the paper before I covered the envelope, and they would have been on the back. Um, yeah. Loser. Anyways, do people really care about this when you're giving them money? I say no.

Stamps: Best Yet (SU!), Holiday Treats (PTI), Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip craft (SU!), Paper: Ski Slope DSP, Choc. Chip, open-ended envelopes (SU!), Accessories: clear emb. powder, tab & designer label punches (SU!), Martha Stewart snowflake punch, making memories & doodlebug brads

Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Dream a Little

Hey there! I'm so excited to put this post up. This card uses new Stampin' Up! stuff that comes out in the new catalog in January. First, SU! told us that we couldn't put any of the new products on our blogs until customers could get them. That was gonna kill me, cuz I really like this card. I really LOVE the new paper. But I guess enough people complained, so they changed their policy and here we are. Yay! And let me tell you, I am not one of those bird stamp people. But this one just didn't seem to bother me, so I said, what the heck. I'm gonna go for it. K, Christmas is just a few days away and I am finally ready. Got everything done that needs to be done, so all I need to do is wait for it to get here. And listen to my kids tell me they're bored. They have nothing to do. Gosh, I love that one days before Christmas. Even worse, hearing the same complaint just days after Christmas. Kids, ya gotta love 'em.

Stamps: Dream a Little (SU!), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Pink Pirouette & Regal Rose (SU!), Paper: PTI white, Basic Black & Raspberry Tart DSP (SU!), Accessories: Copics: RV000, RV10, RV13, G24

Merry Almost Christmas!

Ok, first off, I just wanna let you guys know that we did indeed put up our tree on Saturday and it went great. No worms. I had that tree boxed up so tight that there weren't any critters at all in it, and it's been sitting in the garage all year. Phew! That was a big load off, for sure.

Also, I feel like I should come clean. You know how I love being prepared and how I started my Christmas cards & projects in, like, September? Well, it is officially one week before Christmas (ugh! it always takes me at least 3 times to spell Christmas right! -Crh, no, Chrit, no...argh!) anyways, and I have not finished my C-day (ha!) shopping. Whaaaat? I know, right? Clearly I cannot be put in charge of the bigger things like getting presents for our children. I've done a lot, but it's the teenager in the house. I was stumped until this week, and now I've got the ideas, I just have to venture out into the wild with all the rabid (no, not you!) shoppers, looking for those last minute deals. Look, I wasn't holding out for the deals, I was trying to get some ideas. Of course, if I see a crazy awesome deal on something and there's only one left and it's between me & one of those previously mentioned rabid shoppers, I'm not afraid of a little smackdown to get my gift. Ha. Kidding. mostly. Tis the season, joy to the world and all that jazz.

Stamps: Smells Like Cake & You Say It's Your Birthday (Cat's Pajamas), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Pure Poppy (PTI), Paper: Ski Slope DSP & Basic Black (SU!), White & Pure Poppy (PTI), Accessories: Pure Poppy satin ribbon (PTI), word window punch (SU!), Stickles, Crystal Effects (SU!), Copics: RV000, RV10, RV29, E11, N1

Here I Am!

Yeah, I'm still here. Just been busy, busy, busy. I've about reached that point where I find myself asking, "How long til Christmas is over?" And we don't even have our tree up yet. We're planning on doing that this weekend and I'm dreading it, because as excited as the girls get, somewhere along the way (probably between "ooh, the tree!" and "hey, don't touch that. that's my ornament. i made it in 2nd grade!") they get bored and I end up doing all the work. Actually, to be fair, I should note that Tia will stay from beginning to end and help. She's awesome. Plus, it's really nice now that she's old enough to not lump all the ornaments in one spot, and leave a whole side naked. And after the "worm incident", as I like to call it, we {ok, me} decided a fake tree might be best. So I have to put it together and spread the branches apart, and by branch 20, I'm all scratched up and beginning to get grumpy. And, I'm not sure when it happened, but some years ago, Shawn decided that he would suddenly have something important to do once he's brought in the tree box and all the tree decorations. He used to help & be all over it. He loved it. Then, he would just untangle the lights and sit & watch. Then he was just the videographer. Now, he's a ghost. You can hear him, you just can't see him. Aaah, the things we {ok, me} do for our kids. But it's ok. It's tradition. And anything is waaaay better than having a living, breathing, wriggling worm fall out of your tree when you're under it straightening out the skirt. Bleccchhhh! Apparently you haven't lived until you've heard mom scream out of sheer panic and disgust and hop around like she's on fire yelling, "Is it on me?! Is it on me?!" And that's a true story.

Check out that card! Stamps: Lovely as a Tree (SU!), Fairy Tales (Verve), Inkadinkado, Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Bashful Blue & Baja Breeze (SU!), Paper: PTI white, Basic Black & Ski Slope DSP (SU!), Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds & word window punch (SU!), Making Memories brads

Ugh. More Christmas Cards?

First, lemme tell you, I made this card just to make it. It's not about to hit the assembly line or anything. I'm really done. This Santa was just so cute & he was begging to be inked! Even Darien thinks this fat little guy is cute. Can I just say that simple is soooo where it's at for me these days? Yeah, I know, I've always leaned toward the simple, but I'm really pressed for time lately. Who isn't? This card went so fast I just wanna stand up & cheer. I knew I wanted simple and I knew I was gonna use this stamp. It started out on white paper, but then his beard & all the trim just didn't stand out. So I went over to my new favorite, kraft. Why am I just now figuring out how awesome this paper is? I dunno, but I'm glad I'm just late to the party, rather than never showing up. The Santa & snowflake are part of those clear Inkadinkado stamp sets that you get at Costco, for like, 5 sheets at $15. Yeah, they started out as $20, but in these tough economic times when people can't buy food to feed their kids, but will still buy stamps to feed their fix *gasp! who would do that? nobody I know*, that's what happens. I kid. My kids eat. Most of the time.

Stamps: Many Merry Messages (SU!), Inkadinkado, Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Brilliance Moonlight White, Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: Basic Black (SU!), Kraft & Pure Poppy (PTI), Accessories: Cuttlebug folder, Inkssentials white pigment pen (awesome!), Copics: C3, G05, R29

Fairy Happy Birthday

Fairies. I love fairies. I don't know what it is about them, but I just love them. So when I found this fairy stamp set at Michael's, I was so excited. You know, not all fairies are created equal, and some of them just aren't my style. But these are just right. I'll have to make cards using the rest of them. Will all the other stuff I had going on, I only got the chance to make this card with the set. Aaand, would you believe that I never sat at my desk & stamped the whole Thanksgiving week, even though we had no school & I had the time? Didn't go anywhere, but just never felt like doing it. I made this card a couple of weeks ago and just never got a chance to post it with all the birthdays I had going on. So here it is. The last (presentable) card I had in my stash. Guess I'm gonna have to sit my butt down & make some more cards. Either that or start combing through my stinkers. *shudder* Oh, yeah. Happy Monday!

Stamps: Beautiful Fairies (Inkadinkado), Birthday Surprise (Verve), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Lemon Tart & Summer Sunrise (PTI), Pink Pirouette (SU!), Paper: PTI white & Lemon Tart, Berry Bliss DSP (SU!), Accessories: Stickles, Nestabilities, Sweet Blush satin ribbon, Copics: BV000, BV11, B000, E21, RV10, RV13, Y000, Y02, Y06, Y17, YR04 & spica clear glitter pen

Kreativ Blogger Award

Hey, kids, look what I got! I have to tell you that this is such a super special honor. Not that it's an Oscar or anything, but to have someone single you out just for being you is kinda cool. Especially when you consider that there are about a bamillion blogs out there, and Mindy picked mine. Pretty darn cool and puts a smile on a girl's face. Thanks Mindy! Here's her blog in case you wanna checky-checky her out: With Flying Colors

Ok, now for the rules:

1. The recipient may put the logo on their blog

2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award

3. Nominate 5 blogs

4. Leave links to their blogs

5. Leave messages for your nominees

Okie dokie. Now, the 5 blogs I'm passing this onto are (and this is tricky, trust me. i like A LOT of blogs):

Julee - I'm one of her biggest stalkers fans and she can do no wrong in my book!

Jenn - She's my favorite colorer (?!) on the planet. Her videos make it look waaaay too simple.

Laura - Elegant, elegant, elegant. She has impeccable taste.

Joan B - Smart, funny and talented. I'm in awe. I LOVE Dear Paperlicious.

Amy - If you like bright colors, this is your girl (i'm actually afraid of them!). And aside from my mom, she was my first reader. She can always find the positive side of things and I admire that.

K, here's hoping that the ladies on this list that don't know who I am, don't think I'm some kinda stalker fruit loop chick (uh, i'm pretty sure Julee already knows this). I just love their work and think they are all very kreativ!

Have a
Happy Thanksgiving

everybody!

Mint

1948

This is what we did for my mom for her 60th birthday. My aunt had this whole "1948" thing going on in her mind, asked for my help since I'm waaaay closer, and this is what we got. I kinda had this idea, but never went anywhere with it. Plus, I couldn't get something else out of my mind. Remember, on the Cosby Show, when it was Cliff's birthday & they did "Things That Are Older Than Dad"? And, I think, the last one was, "Dirt...is older than dad". Well, it was hilarious on t.v., but probably not so much in real life. So, I took my aunt's idea & did a bunch of research (learned a lot, by the way) and decided to make a poster. I looked up some people who were born in that year (Baryshnikov is definitely one of her faves) and stuck some events up there. Scrabble was invented, as well as the first computer. Hell's Angels was formed and the first astronaut monkey went to space. So, see, something for everyone. The background paper is this awesome SEI paper that I got in Florida at the Disney outlet store (? i know, right?!). The whole Granny's Kitchen collection for, like $9. Tiara helped by placing everything where she thought it should go & by cutting out the '1948' with my Cricut and there ya go. It was fairly easy (just a day to put it all together) and she really liked it. I hope you really enjoyed your day, mom. Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom

Hmmm. I thought about not posting this until the day after her birthday, but that thought only just came to me and I already promised to do it today. But I did announce that I was doing it, so if someone peeks on here & sees their card before it's in their hot little hands this afternoon, well, they can't say they weren't warned. Plus, that's what I do. I post ON people's birthdays, cuz it's my blog and those are my rules! I am, however, keeping what goes with it to myself until later, so there! *sigh* All this for someone who tries to keep her birthday under wraps like it's no big deal. Well, I'm here to say that turning 60 is not only a big deal, but quite an accomplishment. And, on top of that, you've got a kick ass daughter (ha!), a brilliant, if not slightly socially stunted, son and the most amazing granddaughters on the planet. You've lived all over the place, married a Platter {<---if you clicky, he's the 2nd from the left. isn't he cute?!} (k, so he wasn't a Platter until later, but still!), were once a tv reporter and a dj (!), fell off of a pregnant horse while you were pregnant, and got landed on by said horse (ow!), went through natural childbirth twice with NO drugs (wow! and why?), saw your daughter in the emergency room as a child more times than anyone should and never needed to be committed to the loony bin (sorry 'bout that, but the dog was NOT my fault!) and can parallel park in a teeny spot, on a hill, in the rain, on the left side of the street in San Francisco like nobody's business! Sure, there's lots more, but I don't wanna embarrass you. So there ya have it. Be proud & say it loud. It's your birthday! Happy Birthday, mom.

Just a quick note about the card. It's Riding Hood Red and it's more brown than the picture shows. And the red I colored the cake stands matches it exactly IRL. For those who need to know these things (like me!), I found that you can make Riding Hood Red with Copics by using the colors R59 + E25. Now, back to your regularly scheduled supply list.

Stamps: You Say It's Your Birthday & Smells Like Cake (The Cat's Pajamas), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Versafine Onyx Black, Creamy Caramel & Riding Hood Red, Paper: Papertrey white, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel & Riding Hood Red (SU!), Accessories: Cuttlebug folder, 1" punch, Nestabilities, Stickles, Doodlebug brads, Copics: E13, E15, E25, R29, R59, YR09

Happy Birthday Ashley

How much do I love this card? It took everything I had to squish it into an envelope, which I knew would totally smother the life out of it, and send it off to my sister for her birthday. First of all, I've been wanting these stamps forever. They are just so fabulously adorable! Second, the whole thing came together just right and I was just so tickled with myself. I really wanted it to be fun and young, but not childish, since my sister turns 18 today. She's so incredibly awesomely fantastically *Ashley* and I hope she loves this card as much as I do. I also hope she can tell how much I love her when she sees it. If not, I'll just have to redirect her to my blog. I think I made myself pretty clear, here. Aaand I'll be back tomorrow with my mom's birthday card. Phew!

Stamps: Smells Like Cake (The Cat's Pajamas), Ink: Pink Pirouette & Close to Cocoa (SU!), Memento Tuxedo Black, Paper: Papertrey white, Berry Bliss DSP, Pink Pirouette & Close to Cocoa (SU!), Accessories: Dark Chocolate ribbon (PTI), scallop punch, dazzling diamonds (SU!), Stickles, Copics: B12, E11, E15, RV000, RV10, RV23, R29, Y02, YR04

Happy Birthday Chance

Ok, this card might look slightly familiar. That would be because I CASEd myself. But I used this card as inspiration for Shawn's card. I liked how this one came out so much, I thought that I could use the same general idea for Shawn's card. You know me, I like the matchy-matchy and all the colors came together nicely for this card. Nice boy colors. Thanks to SU!, all the hard work of coordination was done for me. I love the little, um, creature guy. What the heck is that? Well, I don't know, but I think it's cute, whatever it is. I also love that this is a simple card, and the total opposite of Chance. He's quite the intellectual and hopefully looking at this card will give his poor brain a rest and remind him that he's only 12. Happy Birthday, sir.

K, well that's all you get for today. I've got my sister's birthday on Saturday & another birthday (ooh, it's a big one!) on Sunday, so I'll be posting both of those cards. And if I'm gonna post them, I guess I should get them made! Ha. Wish me luck.

Stamps: Humorous Birthday (Inkadinkado), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Paper: Papertrey white & kraft, Baja Breeze & Manchester DSP (SU!), Accessories: Copics - E13, E24, B000, BG01, R29

Double Trouble

Alright, it's Shawn & Krista's birthday again. That's right. Time to celebrate those superior birthing skills I was bragging about just a few weeks ago. Ha! Just kidding. It was dumb luck. She wasn't due for a whole 'nother week, which is also my sister's birthday. It's never really been that big of a deal. Poor Shawn loses out tho, cuz for years she would have birthday parties & people would kinda forget that it's his birthday, too. And he always lets her decide on dinner & the cake. Well, not this year. This year they each get their own cake. She's the only one who likes chocolate cake (weird, I know! we're freaks =P). But as the years have gone by (all 11 of them) I can say, "Happy Birthday, dear. She's the gift that keeps on giving!" Really, what could be better than a baby on your birthday? Well, besides some really good cake?

Happy Birthday, Shawn!

Did I mention he's just as hard to

make cards for as he is to shop for?

Happy Birthday, Krista!

Betcha can't tell what her

favorite color is...

This part is just to impress my mom.

Look at all the layers, ma! Pretty

cool, huh? Yeah, I thought

you'd like that.

Stamps: Humorous Birthday (Inkadinkado), cupcake (katie & co), Birthday Surprise (Verve), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Baja Breeze & Wild Wasabi (SU!), Paper: Papertrey white & kraft, Manchester DSP, Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi (SU!), Accessories: Wild Wasabi ribbon (SU!), Nestabilities, Copics- Top: E00, E31, E55, B000, B02, B12, G24, G99, Y38, Bottom: G24, YR02, Y17, Y02

Ornament Tins

Now I'm really done. This was my last Christmas project I had to finish. This is what our family is getting. While it's not spectacular or sexy, I had a LOT to make. And people love stuff with their name on it. Trust me. I've never in my life walked into a place and found something that said "Mentoria" on it. It can be quite the bummer. Anyway, this project actually didn't take me all that long. No, really. Someone, probably on Splitcoast, had mentioned this and I thought, 'wow, sounds much more impressive than those acetate ornaments I was gonna do!' Plus, I couldn't find acetate/transparencies that weren't ridiculously priced. And, my sample was kinda lame looking. So, since I have *some* experience with tins, I thought this would be perfect.

These are regular little tins I found in the wedding aisle at Walmart. I printed everyone's names using my computer then punched them out with the blue (super jumbo?) scalloped punch. I stamped various snowflakes on them, then sponged the outside with a coordinating color. Added a little rhinestone in the center of the biggest snowflake and Stickles on the smaller ones. The labels on the outside of the tin were cut first, stamped, slapped on the tins and glitterfied with more Stickles. Can you have too much Stickles? I say no. Punched a hole with my handy dandy crop-a-dile and looped the ribbon through. I had to use my Terrifically Tacky Tape to get the scallops to stick to the lids. I just stuck half of a strip on the back of the paper & the other half stuck to the lid. Can't even see it! It's like magic. Ooooh aaaah. The names were initially further back in the tin, but that was such a hassle (I'm sure there's a really easy way, but it never came to me!) and it just wasn't working. And that's it. Easy peasy. Sounds harder & much more complicated than it really was. And the most important part? I'm done. Here's a picture of almost all of them. I didn't want some to be seen (even underneath, people might see something they're not supposed to). And I didn't photograph the ones that will be staying in our house, cuz they're supposed to be a surprise, so they're hidden away. So this is 35 of just over 40. Phew!

Stamps: Holiday Treats & Snowflake Serenade (PTI), Ink: Pure Plum, Pale Plum, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose (SU!), Pure Poppy (PTI), Prussian Blue (Palette), Paper: PTI white, Avery lables, Accessories: Walmart tins, Michael's blue, white, red, pink & silver ribbon, Lavender Moon ribbon (PTI), rhinestones, Star Dust Stickles & my lovely desk!

The Whole Shebang

Alrighty. I am officially done with all this stuff. Yay me! This is it, this is everything. Well, the cards and the tins for friends and staff at school. I'm still working on the family gifts, but I'm more than halfway done with those. And those are neat. Yeah, you have to wait til I'm done to see what they are (unless you've been to my house & gotten a sneaky-peeky!), cuz I wanna take a picture of all of them together. I'm probably more excited than the recipients will be, since they are not crafters. Oh, well. We've got a big family and this is what they get. Times are tough, people! And on that note, bring on the season of giving!

Stamps: So Many Scallops, So Swirled, Best Yet (SU!), Lily & Tweet (Pink Cat Studio), Holiday Treats (PTI), Ink: Baja Breeze & Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Pure Poppy (PTI), Versafine Onyx Black, Brilliance Moonlight White, Paper: BB & EE (SU!), PP & white (PTI), Accessories: Soft Sky & Baja Breeze ribbon, scallop punch (SU!), paper crimper, brads, tins (Specialty Bottle), Avery labels, Michael's silver ribbon, Lavender Moon & Pure Poppy ribbon (PTI), Cuttlebug embossing folder, Nestabilities & Copics (yay!)

Christmas Tins (Again!)

Phew! I finally got these bad boys done! These are what half of my Christmas tins for friends & staff at school look like. The other tins are just like the ones I did last year {clicky}, but of course they have this year's colors, like these. I'll get those up later. I just got the holiday Kisses and haven't gotten them all done yet. These, of course, are the Nugget tins. I am so grateful that Nichole came up with this idea, because it's fairly easy (when you're doing about 30) and cheap (no offense to you recipients who read my blog, but come on, 30!) These were so popular last year that I had to do them again. They are so much fun! When I get the other tins done, I'll take pictures of the cards that go with the tins so you can see how much time I have on my hands, er, I mean how much I love to coordinate my gifts! Woohoo! I'm ready for my close-ups:

The lovely Baja Breeze Nugget tin

Lovin' that Elegant Eggplant, oh yeah

What's Christmas without a little Pure Poppy?

Stamps: So Many Scallops (SU!), Holiday Treats (PTI), Ink: Baja Breeze & Elegant Eggplant (SU!), Pure Poppy (PTI), Paper: BB & EE (SU!), PP & white (PTI), Accessories: paper crimper, scallop punch (SU!), brads, tins (Specialty Bottle)

Oh, yeah - don't forget to vote!

Stinker #1

Ok, to be fair, this one isn't really a *stinker* stinker. Well, not to me, anyway. I'm just not that thrilled with it. But I wanted to ease you guys into this "bad card" thing. Didn't wanna put up a visual horror and send your senses into shock! I know some of you read this first thing in the morning. It's just not balanced to me. The sentiment should be mounted or bigger or better, something. I dunno. And I just really wanted to use that big Verve image that goes across the card, but wasn't sure what to do with it. I thought it deserved silver and then I used silver cardstock to mat it on. Ugh. See, I just don't even know what to say about a card I'm not crazy about. I've gotta keep this short anyway. I'm just about done with my Christmas tins (waiting on Christmas kisses to come out!) and I'm in the middle of a new project. Yeah, I'm just a little insane. I'm working on the Christmas gifts for the extended family and it all just sorta came together today. Yippee! Now, gotta get my sticker paper, stickles(!) and lots of ribbon...

Stamps: Artful Elegance & Fairy Tales (Verve), Ink: Silver pigment & Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: PTI white, Warm Steel (Paper Company), Accessories: silver embossing powder

Fade to Pink

Ok, so this isn't a reject card. I chickened out. But when I'm desperate and have absolutely nothing else to post, I'll probably cave. Yes, I was desperate this weekend and should have done that. But I didn't even have time to post. I was ready to sit down & make something on Thursday, but realized that something was wrong with one of my drawers in my faboo Ikea cabinet that I keep my stamping stuff in. So, I started to fix what I thought was a 5 minute problem. Dork. 2 hours later, it was time to get the girls from school. Then, Friday Shawn was home. That's when we get all the boring stuff done that's easier to do while the girls are in school. Ok, so eating breakfast at a restaurant without a kid's menu on our table is not boring, but getting new outlet covers at Lowe's is. (Kids!) So running errands and sneaking in a nap (ssshhh!) knocked out Friday. Saturday was definitely out. Darien had a volleyball tournament in a city about 90 minutes away. That meant leaving the house for the day by 6. Do you know how hard it was to convince Krista that she really did want to get up at 5:30 on a Saturday? Without a little bribery, impossible. And of course, because we can't have a weekend without excitement, Darien's phone (her life, her oxygen, her love) got stolen while we were there. *sigh* It really is always something. But, the girls played well, she's already replaced her phone, we all got to sleep in yesterday and then I made a card. Gee, and it's already Monday. Oh, yay.

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes (SU!), Birthday Surprise (Verve), Ink: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose (SU!), Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: PTI white, Pink Pirouette & Basic Black (SU!), Accessories: Sweet Blush satin ribbon (PTI), paper piercer, white embossing powder, slot & circle punches (SU!)

All Polka Dotty

I just love Papertrey's Dark Chocolate swiss dot satin ribbon. Besides being really pretty, it will forever remind me of the dress Julia Roberts wore to the polo fields in Pretty Woman. I'm not sure why that image makes me smile, but it does. It's probably the thought of her in that dress doing that "whoo, whoo, whoo" thing that cracks me up. Aah, so refined. Anyway, this is one of my favorite ribbons and I just thought I'd share. The tidbit, not my ribbon. Also, I'm trying to keep with my reeeaaallly simple cards. They're actually more work than the regular cards I do, which are pretty simple, too. Ok, ok, they're all simple and yet some are just plain ol' hard to finish. Some make it to the finish line and some, sadly, don't. Hey, maybe I should take pictures of my rejects and post them. Ha. Maybe not. I think I threatened this before. But seriously, I have so many of them, it could be a series. "The Reject Files". Ooh, clever. Yes, I may do this. But am I brave enough? And do people really wanna see the crap I don't like enough to post? Eh, nevermind.

Stamps: Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey), Birthday Surprise (Verve), Priceless (SU!), Ink: Dark Chocolate (Papertrey), Paper: Papertrey white, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Accessories: Dark Chocolate swiss dots satin ribbon

Have a Magical Day

I tried to keep this one really simple. And I believe I succeeded. But try as I might, I just could not get a good shot of this card. There's either this crazy glare on the ribbon or it was too dark. Eh, whatever. Good enough. I mean, you get the general idea, right? Oh! I've been working on my tins. I'm doing the 2 sizes like I did last year {clicky to see}, and I've got the smaller ones done already. So, I just have to get the kisses for them (thought I'd wait til we were a little closer to Christmas for that) and do the ribbon & tag & I'm done. woohoo! And just today I figured out how I'm going to do the hinged tins. I'm still putting nuggets in the ones for friends & my absolute favorite people at school, but I'm trying to figure out what to put in the ones for family. I was gonna do these neat acetate ornaments, but I don't think that's gonna work. So, I'm still working on that cuz I don't think our family would be thrilled with a tin of chocolates. I would be, but that's because I believe all you need to be truly happy are stamps and chocolate. Maybe I should have higher standards. Anyway, when I get all these done & put together, you lucky ducks will be the first to know. And I've gotta get to it, cuz November is chock full of birthdays for me. Have a great weekend!

Stamps: Birthday Surprise & Fairy Tales (Verve), Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Paper: white & Lavender Moon (Papertrey), Accessories: Lavender Moon ribbon

Hello Teddy

Ok, sorry. It would appear that I've misplaced my mojo again! I'm wondering if getting all those Christmas cards done has sucked all the creativity out of me. I look at my stuff & then my mind starts to drift far, far away. I really felt like coloring the other day, so I pulled out my bear stamp from forever ago and got this. Well, I tested him out 3 or 4 times before I settled on the color combination that I thought was just right. He's so adorable. I like the bear, but the rest of the card I'm not too happy with. But I haven't been able to figure out what I don't like yet. Hmmm, I may have to revisit this guy later & bring you a brand spankin' new & improved card. We'll see. I'm torn. On the one hand, I don't have the attention span to go back & do stuff I've done. On the other hand, having this card "not quite right" is just gonna bug the poo out of me. You may see him again soon. Or not. I've really gotta work on not being so indecisive. Or not. I dunno. Ack! Ok, I'm gonna give the card making thing another try. I have to make something. I miss making stuff! Wish me luck.

Stamps: Boof the Bear (Rubber Stampede), Simple Little Things (Papertrey), Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Paper: Papertrey white, Creamy Caramel (SU!), Accessories: Dark Chocolate ribbon (Papertrey), Cuttlebug folder, Copics: E00, E11, E33, R29