Welcome To Thanksgiving

Turkey Day has arrived!!  There are yummy smells coming from kitchens all over the country today!  Today I'm sharing what my table setting will look like.  We'll have a total of 10 people here at our home for Thanksgiving, so I enlisted Logan and Megan's help with the decorations.  It's a pretty laid back setting, we're not doing super fancy this year.  There is only one fork, one spoon and one knife.  There are paper napkins-Thanksgiving themed at least.  But our table settings are very simple, it's easier on the kids and me that way.  Maybe as the kids get older and the manners mature a bit we'll be able to get fancier as the years go on, but now we're perfectly happy going simple!  But hey, I pulled out my good china and silver-that's something :)

For the name cards, Logan and I made turkey legs.  These were super duper easy!!!  We covered a popsicle stick on one side with white cardstock, then punched a little heart to use as the edge of the bone.  Then we crumpled up a piece of newspaper and I ripped apart a brown paper lunch sack and that makes the 'meat' on the bone.  We used a rubber band to hold it all in place and wrapped ribbon around the rubber band and tied a tag onto the ribbon.  They're really cute!!! 

Finally for the silverware.  I used the envelope punch board and made envelopes with the Sweater Weather DSP from the Holiday Catalog.  I used a 6x6 piece of DSP then use the measurements for the 3x4 envelope (I think).  Then we attached turkeys the kids made to the front of the envelope.  The turkey's are not Stampin' Up!  They're just a foam kit that was easy for the kids-especially Megan, we got at a hobby store.  The utensils fit perfectly in it, the napkin gets tucked in there too.  Thanks for stopping by today, I'm so thankful today and everyday that I get to do what I love, Stampin' Up! has been a huge gift in my life, it's my creative retreat, it's brought so many great people into my life-friends I would have never met otherwise!  I'm thankful I get to share my creations here with you no matter how small, elaborate or detailed they are.  Finally I'm thankful for you, for stopping by today and everyday!  I hope that through the year I provide at least a little inspiration for you!  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!! 

Back To Disney

I did promise it wouldn't all be cardstock this week :)  Anyone else out there in the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving??  Yesterday I made 8, yes 8 pie crusts and two pies.  I'll finish the pie baking today and finally get to all that cleaning I keep talking about.  Really it's not much, just a quick vacuum and dusting.  Here's two pages that didn't get posted somehow in the Epcot and Studios pages.  The first is about the monorails.  Dan loves the monorails, he's kind of a train fanatic.  This page is simple but has lots of meaning, each color of the banners represent one of the monorails, they're named by their color----did you know that???  Did you also know there are 11 monorails all running??  This is the trivia I live with :)

Next is the Beauty and the Beast page.  This page, though it looks simple took me for-ever!  I couldn't get colors right, DSP right and nothing seemed to work.  It was a looooong work in progress.  But I think it ended up being one of my favorite pages.  If it weren't for that picture of the kids (and Dan) with their eyes glued to the stage I might not have done it at all.  But that picture is to precious and it had to go in.  They were just entranced by the whole show!  Tomorrow I do have a fun Thanksgiving post.  I'm giving you a sneak peek to my Thanksgiving table!  Logan helped alot with the decorations so I'm excited to share it!!! 

 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Thanksgiving Pumpkins

Thanksgiving is just hours away.  Hard to believe right?!  Logan is home from school this week, which I thought would mean zero crafty time for me, however he's been a nice distraction to Megan and they've been playing games together---that 'Mommy's not allowed to play' as I've been told.  They've even had some 'slumber parties' in each others rooms.  Which Megan just LOVES!  Megan adores Logan and he loves to be the center of attention.  Knock on wood, they're getting along great, so far......hopefully I didn't just curse the good behavior :/  Anyway, their 'private' games left me some time to stamp.  Now realistically I should be cleaning, cooking, and really preparing for Thanksgiving which is here.  But I have time for quick card :)

This card was inspired by the pumpkins and leaves on this card.  I love them!  I used Sahara Sand instead of Vanilla for my pumpkins though.  The pumpkins are made from oval punches.  That's it you just layer the ovals to make the pumpkins.  So easy!!!  Make sure you sponge your ovals before layering them, in punch art like this it's the extra texture and detail from the sponging that makes the pumpkins really stand out.  The leaves are made from a circle punch.  Punch a circle, then feed the punched circle back into the punch and just cut a sliver off, you're left with the lovely perfect leaf!  Thanksgiving prep here I come!!!

 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

Attractions

Guess what time it is?  It's MDS time!!  You guessed it!!!  I decided that with the attraction pages there was no reason to go into elaborate journaling.  The pictures really speak for themselves.  Magic Kingdom is really the only place that I got pictures of us on the rides.  I think I do have some from the Studios, I'll have to back and check before printing.  The pages are all simple, the pictures speak for themselves, there just isn't a lot to say. 

One of my plans for the album is to do a favorites list in the back from each person.  That way when we look back, we'll all see what we loved the most.  Test Track might be one of Logan's he was old enough to drive.  Somehow I got in the car with him!  YIKES that was a scary ride!!  Especially when he let go of the wheel and just started laughing!

This was a fun ride in a clam shell!  Who would have ever thought I'd say that!  Just a quick note.  I know in a lot of the pictures it doesn't look like Dan's having a good time, he's just a horrible picture taker :)  This ride was a new one for Dan and I, it wasn't built when we were there.  One of my favorite parts of this page is how I color matched the stamped fish with the dancing fish in the picture.  I love that MDS gives you that option!!! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!!

Beautiful Butterfly Bag

I wanted to venture back to my scrapbook weekend for a minute.  There were tons of make and takes.  This one was my favorite and I thought it was so beautiful it deserved it's own post.  The original idea came from this post when Kim guest blogged.  I was convinced that those bags were beautiful, but I'd never find the time to do them.  I was WRONG!  These bags are soooo sooo quick to put together!!!  There is some drying time, but really I was shocked!!!

I'm not sure if this is the exact way Kim did her bags, this is how Michelle guided us through these bags, so this is the way I know.  I'll give you a quick run down on what we did.  First we stamped, in staz on, our image on white tissue paper.  Cut it out.  Now with tissue paper this is easier said than done, not impossible or hard, you just have to be a little more patient because the tissue paper can tear so easily.  Once your image is cut out grab a paint brush and modge podge.  We laid it face down and painted a THIN layer of modge podge then lay your bag over it, gently press, the image will stick to your bag.  Trim the edges, if they hang over and then paint another thin layer of modge podge over the image now on your bag.  Let it dry.

Once it's dry just pull out your makers, of course we used SU markers and color it.  The color is so bright and vibrant.  When your coloring, it's going to look like the ink isn't drying, it's gonna be wet, but I promise it will dry.  I don't know how it works, I don't know if the marker soaks into it somehow, or just dries but it does and it works!  The colors I used on this bag were Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise.  I love how bright they are on the bag!!  I have more MDS pages to share next week.  I'm hoping to squeeze in some projects but Thanksgiving's at my house, the kids will be home all week, so I'm not making promises :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Up Late....

Which is why the picture isn't as good as it should be.  Up late crafting away!  Last night I under estimated-----A LOT how long it was going to take to up load all my MDS projects to be printed.  The album alone took an hour!  But all the little details, layers and embellishments will all be worth it when it's printed and in my hands :)  Can't wait!!!!  So while I was waiting I got a few cards done, some that needed to be made and mailed.  This was one.  Super duper simple, but also super duper cute.  I used the Season of Style DSP proving that it's not just for Christmas.  You could easily do a birthday greeting on this card too!  We'll it's late (for me).  My order is in and I'm calling it a night! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Strawberry Thanks

I'm back at it, CASEing cards again from Pintrest.  I'm glad to be stamping after my 10+ day break while I MDSed like a crazy person, but that long of a break sure zaps your creativity.  So I reached out to Pintrest to recapture it :)  I used this card as my inspiration for today's card.  Mary Fish is always a great place to head when you need a little inspiration :)  I changed the colors and I broke out my printed window sheets from the Quatrefancy DSP. I've had this DSP since June and this is the first time I've used the window sheets.  They just never seemed to call my name to be used....until today :)  The layout of the card is the same.  I had to 'fix' the tag, I messed up the top of my white tag, so I cut it off, ran another piece of cardstock through the Big Shot and modified my tag.  Remember there are no mistakes in stamping, just creative opportunities!

I do love this tag.  Now I will admit my black ribbon is retired (GASP!) but again I thought I had black ribbon but couldn't find it.  Very similar to the linen thread incident from yesterday.  Is someone stealing my ribbon, or hiding it???  Either way I'm on the look out!!  If there is culprit out there, I'm sure it's has 4 feet, is gray and meows.  It's the same guilty party whom I've caught stealing my glue dots.  They now are locked up....I'll have to keep watch for my ribbon. 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Huge Holiday Sale!!!!!!

The Holiday Sale is here!!!! Before we get to the AMAZING deals, here's a few things to remember:

• The three doorbusters are only on sale tomorrow, November 20th ONLY!! Online orders must be in by 11:50pm to get the sale price!
• The rest of the sale is good through December 2nd, that's 12 days of savings!!!!
• There's lots of bundles on sale, for product bundles, you need to use the bundle item numbers provided.
• You can email me your order, or order online
• I will be putting in an order tomorrow night (November 20th), email, text or call me with your doorbuster order by 5pm tomorrow and get FREE SHIPPING!!!!

Are you ready to see what's on sale?!

Here's the 3 amazing door busters-they are incredible!!

CATALOG & PAGE	ITEM	DESCRIPTION	CATALOG PRICE	SALE PRICE
30% Off 24-Hour Sale: Wednesday, November 20 Only
AC p. 176	126889	Stampin’ Trimmer	$29.95	$20.97
AC p. 178	125586	Simply Scored Diagonal Plate	$11.95	$8.37
AC p. 163	131264	Many Marvelous Markers	$109.95	$76.97

If you've ever considered buying the markers-this is the day to do it!! I've never, in 10 years of being a demonstrator, seen the marker price this low!!!! Get this deal now! Remember you'll get free shipping if you get your order to me by 5pm on November 20th!!!

To see the rest of the sale check out this PDF--there are items discounted up to 50% off!!!! Remember this sale is only good through December 2, door busters prices only good tomorrow only!!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Razzleberry Butterflies

 I bet you thought by now I'd forgotten how to stamp :)  Not to worry, I still know how to get my fingers inky :)  But I am happy to report that the Disney album is done!!!  Whooohoo!!!!!  I just need to go over each page, check bleed areas, spell check, etc and it's ready to print.....just as soon as I finish all the other Christmas gifts!!  I'm so excited to share some of my pages though, I love them!!!  In other news-tomorrow is the first day of Stampin' Up!'s HUGE online holiday sale!!!  I'll have another post later today with all the details of the sale.  There will be a 24 hour doorbuster sale tomorrow only!!!  Don't miss out!!!!  To stay up to date on all the sales 'like' me on facebook.  Ok, onto the card.  Isn't is beautiful!!!  I love the rich colors, the black and Rich Razzleberry make for a stunning combo! 

This card was inspired by this card by Jennifer Timko.  I added a few more layers.  The element that I love most on this card is the button with the bow behind it.  It's a brilliant idea, it looks great, I'll be doing more of that for sure!!!!!  I had originally planned on using Crumb Cake and linen thread on this card, but couldn't find ANY linen thread....could I be out, surly not!!!!  I'll be on mad search for that today, in the meantime I'll have to order more....just in case!  I'm glad that I went with white instead though, I think it makes the butterflies pop more, it's defiantly more dramatic :)  Check later today for all the detail on the online sale!!!

 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!!

A Rainy Morning

This was one of the wettest days of our vacation.  But it also kept the crowds down which was a fun perk!  We got to go to the park before it opened since we had breakfast reservations.  Even though I would have rather have a nice sunny day for our morning, these rainy pictures are pretty cool too :) 

One of the best things about Disney is the character dining options.  It's so much fun to see the character, you don't have to wait in line and they come right to you!  This breakfast was with our friends from the Hundred Acre Wood.  Logan loved this visit, I think he spent more time looking around and jumping with excitement when the characters were coming around then actually eating.  I know I've been a little MDS crazy so I'll have some stamped projects for the next couple of days.  Thanks for bearing with me.  I still have LOTS of pages to share, we'll get to them :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Still Scrappin'

We're moving through Disney World at record pace here!  We're finally to the Magic Kingdom.  I did this park last.  This is where we spent most of our time and this is the park that I have the most pictures for.  This page is super simple.  I added some DSP, ribbon and stitching to add texture but other than that it's a pretty straight forward page.  Of all the times I've visited the Magic Kingdom I've never had such 'cloudy' pictures.  I think during our whole trip there we only saw the sun for about 1 day.  That was a bummer but we still had fun.   

Megan was only about 2 1/2 when we went to Disney World.  It's exhausting for an adult.  So we had many days of naps in the stroller :)  This page is super cute!!!  Here's a tip though when you're going to lower the opacity of a photo make sure that you put a white filled punch of the same size behind it.  That way when you lower the opacity the background doesn't come through the photo.  Unless that's the look you're going for :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

The Studios

Here we are at the Studios at Disney World.  The Stage 1 store in the Muppet courtyard was where I worked for about 6 months.  Twelve years later I can still sing all the songs they play :)  The picture of Megan and Logan in front of the stuffed animals was an important picture to take.  While I worked there, my fellow interns and I took lots of pictures in that same spot, we even climbed in once....shhhhh don't tell Disney :)  I did think about throwing Logan and Megan in there for a quick picture but we were already working with a grumpy Megan so that probably wouldn't have been a good idea :)

 

This next page is one of my favorite pages.  I love the colors, the pictures it just all works!!!  Buzz was the only character Megan wanted to meet.  She was a little worried about all the characters so she didn't get too close but she did blow buzz kisses which was toooooo cute!!!!!  Disney has lots of photo ops while waiting to meet the Toy Story gang so the kids got their pictures taken in Buzz's box, under the milk crate and strapped to the rocket just like in the movie! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

The First of Many

I warned you there would be many days of MDS coming.  Don't worry I'll get back to stamping projects but we'll be finishing the week with MDS :)  Maybe even some next week too :)  One of my goals was to finish (or get close to finishing) our album of our summer trip to Disney World.  I had one more page from EPCOT to do, then I have 2 parks done!  This is just a quick highlight of some of the characters we met at EPCOT.  Most of the time when I MDS I use the global search tool and find what I'm looking for there. So I'm sorry I don't have a list of downloads or elements that I'm using, truth be told I don't know half the time :)

 

Next up we're moving on to the Studios.  If you don't know, this is where Dan and I met.  We were both working at Disney World as interns.  We both worked at the studios, so this was an important stop :)  Most of my pages are pretty simple and fun.  There's not a whole lot of fun elements going on, I just wanted to keep the pages fun. 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Scrapbooking Weekend Wrap Up!

If you checked my post on Friday you'll know that all weekend I was away at a scrapbooking retreat.  It was at a Hotel here in Albuquerque, so I was really only a few miles from home.  But I did get a hotel room so it felt like I was worlds away :)  It was relaxing, refreshing, and so much fun.  I met new people, there were people I knew, it was so much fun!  I only brought my laptop to MDS, next time (there WILL be a next time) I'll bring other projects I'm working on.  I had to take breaks every couple house.  Staring at a computer screen that long was killing my eyes.  Next time I'll bring other projects to work on as well.  The theme for the weekend was "Lights! Camera! Action!"  It was a fun movie theme and this is what was on my space when I arrived.  The popcorn bucket is for trash, the 'move ticket' was my door prize entry, there was a schedule and more! 

 

All the decorations were done on MDS.  Before we go any further, first let me say that I'm sorry about the quality of my pictures.  I need to find my book for my camera.  Somehow (some small child I assume) my setting got all messed up and I can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it.  Hopefully I can locate the book........probably will have to look it up online...... and get my camera figured out.  Until then, sorry about the strange pictures. 

I have tons of MDS pages to share.  All in all it was a very productive weekend.  I went in knowing that I had to get most of my Christmas gift taken care of over the weekend.  I think I did that.  There's still a few pages that need to be done, and some editing but over all I'm very pleased with everything I did.  At the weekend, which was organized to perfection, there were scheduled make and takes.  I'm not sure how many all together but it seems like it was a few hours.  Perfect for taking a break.  I returned with so much stuff!!!  It was incredible!!!  PS pay not attention to the messy desk, just everything on top :)

Let's break it up into 3 sections. First I won one of the door prizes!   Yay!!!  She called the names like an awards show, so I got a little trophy then I got to choose a prize.   I choose a bag with some Bakers Twine and the Season of Style Washi Tape!  I've wanted that washi tape for months, but keep forgetting to put it on an order.  So I was soooo happy to see that!  Then there's the Seasonal Stripes Album, The divided page protectors and the Season of Style Journaling Tags.  That was one of our make and takes!  I'm excited to open it all up and work on it!!! 

Next up we have the Pretty Presents designer bows, which weren't a make and take but every morning when we arrived in the room there was a small present for us!  Wrapped in the silver paper is the Season of Style paper stack, the butterfly on the muslin bag was another make and take.  I LOVED this make and take.  I'll be doing another post with the butterfly bag, it's so pretty we'll explore that later.  Michelle got the idea for the m&t from this post when Kim guest blogged.  Then for another make and take, there's the Pumpkin Pie Envelope, we used the Envelope Punch Board, there's a yummy candy bar inside!!! Finally under that is the Real Red Goodie Gear kit.  Yet another project I needed!   

Can you believe how much stuff I returned home with!!!?  Well there's still a couple more things.  For another Make and Take, there's the Stamp a Tag Kit, that was given to us in the beautiful bags she made!  There's the chalk marker with some black tags, that was our table gift on Saturday morning.  And finally she gave us all a bag, thank goodness I needed something to carry this all home in!!!!  I'm already looking forward to the next one!!!  So brace yourself, there's going to be a LOT of MDS (pages from my Disney album) in the next few posts, I love the pages that I did so I'll be sharing them here!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!! 

Keys and Stuff

We're constantly on the search for my keys.  I hang them by the door on our coat rack, but they end up getting buried under backpacks, purses, jackets and whatever else we've got up there.  So I wanted to dedicate something entirely for keys at least mine!  I've had this round board for so very long.  At one point I painted it white, I guess I had plans for it.  Whatever it was it never happened so there it sat in the bottom of my closet, until last week when I finally decided I needed a place for my keys! 

I used some DSP for Soho Subway and glued it to the board.  The white paint was a little too much with the DSP so I sponged around it in Early Espresso and made it look nice and grungy.  I cut out the work 'keys' with my letter dies but I had this '&' that I had to work with....So I pulled out my Expressions framelits and spelled the word 'stuff''.  All but the 's' are somewhere in the 3 words, however I needed an s..... so I looked at them, looked at them some more and then I saw it!  The 's' is part of the 'm' in merry just turned sideways.  WHAT!??!   I was pretty happy with that little light bulb moment!!! 

So here is is.  My keys and the dog leash that also gets buried.  Perfect!!!!  I know you're probably wondering about my scrapbook weekend....or maybe not...but I'll share anyway.  I'll have tons of updates tomorrow, you won't be disappointed!!! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

Christmas Boxes

I know I've shared my love of the Envelope Punch Board with you.  But perhaps, just perhaps if you're not totally convinced this project might just send you over the edge.  I saw this project done on you tube.  The video was almost 25 minutes long.  I didn't have time to watch the entire one so I watch bits and pieces and fast forwarded through most of it to get the idea of the project.   I did however find this video which gives the same directions, just a slightly smaller box.  It's much shorter :)  However if you'd like to catch the longer version here it is :)  (By the way, the dimensions that I used for this box is in the larger version). 

I'd also like to take a moment to admire the beautiful color combo of Pool Party and Cherry Cobbler......ok let's move on.  Once you get one of these boxes done you'll be making a bazillion of them.  They're so easy!!!! 

After I got this box down, I thought I'd make a variation on it and made this box.  It has one opening at the top and I just assembled the bottom just as you would any other box.  Doesn't it look like a mini wine bottle gift!!!  Then we joked about going to a drug store and picking up the mini bottles.  Tell me that's not the most adorable gift either!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE that idea.  Don't be surprised if you find mini bottles of booze in your stocking :) 

So stinkin' cute!!!!!!  In other news.  I'm on my way to a scrapbooking retreat for the weekend!!!  I can't tell you how excited I am.  It's run by my friend and downline, Michelle.  My goal is to finally catch up on the many albums and Christmas gifts I'm in the middle of!  Plus Michelle does make and takes it's a hotel here so I'll have a night away!!!  I'm really excited and hopefully I'll have TONS of MDS to share soon!!!!  Have a great weekend! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

Small Swap

Our meeting was Tuesday night and though it was a small meeting we still had a great time.  Here's the swaps from the meeting, they're all fantastic!!!  The theme was embossing. 

 

Amber's swap #1, she did 2 since she has a new downline!!! 

Amber's swap #2. 

Carmelita's swap. 

Kay's swap.

 

Hate to keep it short but got to go!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Embossed Snowflake

 Our meeting was last night.  It was a small meeting, only a few of us could make it.  It was still so much fun.  Whether there's just a few of us or a huge group it's always fun to get together, catch up, stamp and have fun!!!  Our swap theme this month was embossing.  You could choose heat embossing or dry embossing.  I went with heat embossing and used the new photopolymer stamp set Endless Wishes.  Unfortunately you can't get it right now.  It's been so popular SU ran out of them!  I think I got one of the last sets!  I love love love the font in this set.  This card was hard to photograph but in person it's so pretty. 

I used gold embossing powder for the snowflake and black embossing powder for the greeting.  I pulled out my Gorgeous Grunge set and stamped the littlest splatter in Soft Sky.  It's pretty light and subtle just what I wanted!  I finished the card with a button and bakers twine.  The texture from the embossing and simplicity of this card make the card so pretty!!  I love it!!!  It's one of my favorites!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Gift Cards X3

Here's the rest of the gift card holders from my class on Saturday.  This one is one of my favorites.  It was so easy to assemble, this one you could mass produce.  We used the box die to make the cute bows!!!  A quick tag and you're done.  Such a sweet simple card!!!!

You open it up and it holds the gift card.  So cute!!!!  You can use Velcro to hold it together or if you wanted to use a belly band to keep it closed that would also be really cute! 

The next two are cards that hold gift cards.  Sometime we have to mail our gift cards.  Why not just make a fun card that also functions as a gift card holder.  I love the silver, sparkly stars that dangle on this card!  So fun!!!

When you open it up there's a little envelope the perfect size to hold a gift card.  We used the Envelope Punch Board to make it.  The card stock started at 5x5 and we followed the instructions for the enveloped labeled 'gift card' (shocker I know!) 

Finally the last card.  These little flip cards are too stinkin' cute!!!  They're so easy and fun to make.  We used the Best of Christmas set, don't you just love that Santa. He's so detailed!  When you flip the card open....

There's a secret hidden panel that holds the gift card.  Again we broke out the Envelope Punch Board to get the 'file folder' look.   I love that punch board!! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!