WOYWW, My Crafting Nemesis, and Bird at the Beach!

So is everyone ready for Christmas?  You know it's getting close to Christmas when you go in a store at 10am on a Tuesday and it is already a nut house! That was my experience yesterday, anyway. Ordering online is looking better all the time! I am definitely finding myself in the Holiday spirit with Thanksgiving out of the way. Now I just have to get the tree up. Little slow on that one this year, but today is the day. If not, I know an 8 year old little girl who is going to be very angry with Mama.

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means...WOYWW! If you don't know what that means, then just pay a visit to Julia over at The Stamping Ground and you will see exactly what I am talking about. WARNING: WOYWW is highly addictive, proceed at your own risk!

Here is what I am looking like this week...

Behold my crafting nemesis!  She insists on sitting on my craft table.  Usually right in the middle.  She is being kind at this particular moment and is at least sitting off to the side.  Unfortunately she is stuck wearing "the cone of shame" right now because of her allergies and the fact that she won't leave her eyes alone.  Poor thing :( 

Got a card to share today as well...

Made this one using the Nestabilities Lacy Squares Die.  Used the Nestabilities Circle Die to cut the center out of the frame and popped it up with some dimensional foam dots.  The stamps all came from TAC (retired).  Used some Red Stickles around the deer, and Black Stickles to add some sparkle to the flowers.

Are you still wondering what Bird at the Beach is all about?  We decided that this year we would pack up our Thanksgiving dinner and take it to the beach for a picnic!  We have now dubbed it Bird at the Beach.  It was beautiful!  Here is the centerpiece provided by Emma, and the view from our Thanksgiving table...

Ahhhhhh....

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

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Christmas Countdown! Card For CPS #245

Since Thanksgiving is over, I think it is safe to start the real countdown to Christmas! I don't know about you, but I have been quite happy to stay right at home this Black Friday playing some Zelda and playing in my craft room. The deals just aren't worth getting pepper sprayed over! <--you can look that up...it really happened!

This week I came across another challenge. This one is Card Positioning Systems (CPS) Sketch Challenge .  Pop over there and check it out if you haven't already. Here is their sketch for this week...

And here is the card that it inspired...

Supplies

Santa Stamp & Candy Canes - TAC (Retired)

Labels - Papertrey Ink

Sentiment - Hero Arts

Prismacolor Pencils

Memento Tuxedo Black, Lady Bug, & Cottage Ivy Inks

Dimensional Foam Dots

I just bought the Memento inks that I used, the other day at Jo-Ann's.  The red and green are perfect for Christmas.  These are my first Memento inks and I love them.  So far, they have inked every stamp I have tried them on very nicely, no blotchiness, very vibrant, and all around wonderful!  I only got the Dew Drop size to try them.  Probably going to end up with the full size pads soon.

Now that I have crafted a little it's time for me to return to the Wii and play some more Zelda.  Gotta keep things balanced, ya know!

Happy Stamping,

Michelle

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Never Too Early For Christmas Gift Boxes!

Do you have your Christmas shopping done yet? I sure don't! Should probably think about starting that soon. Oh well, at least I am getting some boxes ready to put the gifts in once I get them! Here is one that I made yesterday....

Supplies

Martha Stewart Scoring Board

Nestabilities Lacy Square  Die

Rubber Stamp - TAC (Retired)

Patterned Paper - Echo Park

Brilliance Ink - Rocket Red

Red Ribbon

Sticker Gem

I used the basic directions on my Martha Stewart Scoring Board to make the 4" x 4" box.  The only thing I changed was I shortened up the sides of the lid.  Otherwise, the lid extends almost to the bottom of the base of the box, which I don't particularly care for.  And, it allows you to use a 6x6 piece of paper for the lid.

Super simple to make, but it looks beautiful!  I am really liking the vintage Christmas look of the Echo Park paper. 

Now I need to get a few more cards done for Cards That Care so I can get them in the mail for the November 30th deadline.

Thanks for stopping by,

Michelle

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Merry, merry, merry!

Happy Sunday!  Yes, today is a very happy Sunday, since the kids are off all week and I don't have to dread getting up in the morning for the normal grind.  Woot!  As if that wasn't good enough, my day has been spent mostly in the craft room.  Yeah, I could get used to this.  I am going to have to take a picture of what my stamp desk looks like right now.  It practically sparkles!  It will be a good comparison for what it will look like by the time we hit WOYWW this week.

After all of my cleaning I did manage to sit down and make one card.  Here ya go...

Supplies

Base Card - DCWV

Patterned Paper - Echo Park Season's Greetings

Spellbinders Nestabilities - Labels 1

Stamps - Hero Arts

Large Snowflake Punch - The Paper Studio

Martha Stewart Deep Edge Snowflake Border

Icicle Stickles

I love the simplicity of this card and it has that homespun feel to it.  Something about the colors just make it feel homey.  I am really diggin' the Nestabilities label die.  With the shape and the embossing it stands out by itself.  No need to layer it, or add a lot to it.  It just looks good by itself.

I based this on on this weeks Skipping Stone Designs sketch challenge.  This is the original sketch...

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Michelle

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What's On My Workdesk? A CAS Tag!

Alright, it is Wednesday again! Haven't done a whole lot around here for the last week. I was lucky enough to catch Emma's cold and it has kept me feeling pretty yucky for a week now. Bleh. It better be about done with me, because I have plans to do a whole lotta stamping this weekend! No colds allowed. If you don't know what WOYWW is, head over to see Julia at Stamping Ground and check it out. And, here is what mine looks like as of this afternoon.

There are a lot of bits and pieces of little things that I have been playing with laying around there.  Bits of cards, tags, etc.  Pretty much all of it stuff that I am playing around with for Christmas.  Oh, look!  I even have a little packet of tissues there, LOL!

There towards the front, you can see this little guy that I made for the CAS-ual Fridays tag challenge that they have going. 

Supplies

Tree Stamp - TAC (Retired)

Sentiment - Hero Arts

Stickles - Red, Green, Icicle

Red Grosgrain Ribbon - Michael's

This is so quick and easy to make!  I guess it is hard to see in the picture, but it really is very sparkly.  With the little loop of ribbon like that, I was thinking it would be really cute to hang over the top of a wine bottle for a little gift. 

Going to get a few more things done today, and then I am hiding in the craft room for some much needed play time! 

Happy Stamping,

Michelle







Happy Birthday Alex!

Today, is Alex's birthday....he is 15!!!  Very, very hard to believe.  It has gone by so quickly.  I made him a birthday card today, and I based it around this weeks Skipping Stones sketch. 

Supplies

EK Success Border Punch - Binding Edge

Stamp by Recollections from "My Little Monsters" set

Cardstocks - DCWV

Emma (8) decided last night that she wanted to try the sketch too...

I just love her cards.  She has so much fun making them and it is fun to watch her when she really gets going on something.  You can see the little wheels turning and she just starts working away. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Michelle

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WOYWW!

It's that time of the week again. I have to admit that it is pretty addicting, snooping around at what everyone else has on their workdesk each week. So, here is mine this week, if you want a little lookie.

You can see right at the front there, the new 6x6 paper pads and stamps that I got in the mail today.  Hooray for new toys to play with!  It's a pretty good mess at the moment.  Got loads of stamps out that I have been going through to sell off some that need new homes, some of my Nestabilities are strewn about, those ink pads are still there that I have vowed to use....still workin' on that, lol!

Got another Nestabilities shaped card to share today....

Supplies

Nestabilities Lacy Squares

Stamp - House Mouse

Prismacolor Pencils

Dimensional Dots

Made this one the other day.  I am loving the card base made with the Lacy Squares die!  This is another one that will go in with our batch for Cards That Care.  

Now i'm off to see if I can clear some space and actually make something today!

Happy Wednesday,

Michelle

Monday Mojo on Tuesday?

Yes, my Monday Mojo has carried right over into Tuesday. Or maybe I am just slow and my mojo is just now getting going? Either way, I made a card for the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. Here is this weeks sketch...

And here is the card that I made...

Supplies

Nestabilities Small Classis Scalloped Circles

Nestabilities Small Standard Circles

Prismacolor Pencils

Sew Easy Floss

Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Icicle Stickles

Snowflake Brad

This weeks sketch was lots of fun!  Will have to check back next Monday for a new one, for sure.  And, I have one more card done for Cards That Care!

Have a great day,

Michelle

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CAS-ual Fridays Challenges + Nestabilities = Happy Mondays!

I know, I know, Mondays are not usually such a happy occasion, but it has been a good one so far and I am happy for it! With it being Monday and all I decided to jump right to (or rather, back to) Friday, and do the current CAS-ual Fridays Challenge. The challenge this week is to do a CAS layout with a panel or element that goes over the edge of the card front.

Supplies

Nestabilities Small Classic Scalloped Circles

Nestabilities Small Standard Circles

Martha Stewart Snowflake Deep Double Edge Punch

Prismacolor Colored Pencils

Icicle Stickles

Foam Dimensional Dots

As you can see, I am still playing with the Nestabilities as card bases.  They just make FUN cards!  This one will be going off in a package with some other Christmas cards, to Cards That Care.  Don't know what that is yet?  You can read all about it here, on Vera's Blog .  Really great cause, and who doesn't need a reason to make even more Christmas goodies, right? 

I am definitely getting into the full swing of Christmas card making.  Nothing but Christmas on the brain!  Poor Thanksgiving must be feeling a little neglected right now.

Thanks for stopping by,

Michelle

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Playdate Cafe Challenge

Hooray for Friday! It is gloomy and rainy today in SD, which is fine by me, it is quite a nice change. Might have to put some soup on for dinner tonight, if this keeps up! The card I am sharing today is one that I did for this weeks Playdate Cafe Challenge .  Here is the picture for this weeks color palette...

Gray, Yellow and Pink!  These are vey soft colors and this is definitely not my comfort zone.  I like dark, rich colors, myself, so I have a hard time knowing what to do with colors like this.  Buried deep in my paper stash, I found a pad of papers that have been in there for a couple of years.  In it there were some floral papers that fit the colors for the challenge. 

I cut strips from the floral papers to make the background which I adhered to a gray card base.  Used the same gray cardstock to make the strip across the front.  I scored lines on it just to give it some extra texture/dimension.  The woman in the tub and the sentiment stamps are all from an old TAC set called 'Rub-a-dub-dub'.  I colored the main image with my Prismacolor Pencils.  The sentiment is stamped with pink and black ink. 

If you like challenges, you should really check these out.  Can't wait to see what everyone else does with these colors.

Happy Friday,

Michelle

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Ho, Ho, House Mouse!

Well, today is flying right by and I have not accomplished anything!  I did play around a little bit in the craft room and came out with another Christmas card. 

Very simple layout on this one.  The mouse is quite large so he is taking up quite a bit of space on his own.  This is one of my favorite House Mouse stamps!  This guy has been in my collection for several years.  Not sure if you can still get him.  I colored him in with my Prismacolor Pencils.  I need to go back in with my Gray Tombow marker for shadowing and put some ground in for him.  I used the Nestabilities Labels 1, and the snowflake punch is my old one from Stampin' Up.

The hubby is grilling tonight, so I am thinking that means I can get a bit more time in the craft room tonight!  Woohoo!

Happy Stamping,

Michelle Pin It

WOYWW & Skipping Stones Sketch Challenge

I had so much fun with the WOYWW pics last week, that I had to do it again! There is something really fun about getting to see what everyone's work areas look like and all the fun chit-chat that ensues. So, here is what mine looks like this morning...

This looks much cleaner than last week!  Got my morning tea sitting there.  Front and center is the RAK that I got in the mail yesterday from one of the Stamptoberfest challenges over on 2Peas.  Got a very cool, new set of stamps, and some new sticker gems to play with.  Thank you, April!  The owl card there is the one that she sent me with my RAK.  Back left is another Christmas gift box I am working on.  That stack of ink pads there, I just pulled out yesterday.  They are some old ones I got suckered into buying from TAC a few years ago and never used.  I am keeping them out and have vowed to finally use them!

The card I am sharing today is actually lying there too.  I made this last night after I came across a sketch challenge over at Skipping Stones .  This is the sketch:

And this is the card I made...

I used my Martha Stewart Scoring Board to score the lines.  The snowflake stamps and sentiment are from some older TAC sets that I have.  The flakes are stamped with Aegean Blue Brilliance ink, the sentiment with black.  I used some little blue gems for the centers of each flake, which I love!  I am going to have to get more gems...they are so fun!  Usually I don't make multiples of cards, but I might have to make a few more of these.  Very fun sketch!

Happy Stamping!

Michelle

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