a year in review - 2012

I love the "end-of-the-year" wrap ups and last year participated in a blog hop that consisted of folkes listing their fav cards they'd posted thruout the year. This year I've tried to keep it to one card per month for the most part, and here they are:

Jan -  My Wordle Valentine

Feb - I love you PB

March - You Are One Of A Kind


April - Easter Wishes



May - Happy Mother's Day

 

 








June - Happy B'day Joyce

July - It's Clear To See You're The One For Me

Aug - Happiness is a Way of  Travel

Sept - Life is Better with Friends

Oct - Congrats on Your New Bundle of Joy!

Nov - All Is Calm, All Is Bright

Dec - Christmas Peace

Do you have a favorite? I'd be interested in hearing what it is in your comment!

a CASE of season's greetings

Inspired by the lovely and talented Erin of Erin Taylor Designs blog fame, I made this card initially thinking of it for a thank-you but it's been called into service as a New Year's card. When I went to upload it on the Wplus9 challenge site I saw there was one almost exactly like it from one of their design team already?! Such is life. Methinks I'll still upload it ...

stamps: AmyR Stamps Snowflakes, PTI's Signature Christmas, TPC Studio Winter Collage; paper: Neenah Solar White card stock; ink: SU's Cherry Cobbler

I like red and white for a Christmas theme, as evidenced on my Pinterest Christmas board! I'd fully intended to hang red and white on my Christmas tree this year, but went w mainly red at the last minute. There are a small flock of cardinals nesting in the tree as well. Then there are half the glass icicles, and less than half the home-made (mainly needlepoint) ornaments that I normally put up too. We were definitely in a pared-down design mood when we put the tree up this year! But I like it! Sometimes I don't know when to stop myself, y'know what I mean?! And I haven't made it to Hallmark to pick up any ornaments this year (yet) either!

Speaking of which ... tonite I went to Home Depot w my DH looking at potential replacement kitchen faucet and main bathroom's toilet when I spotted some Martha Stewart pine cone ornaments now half off that I may have to head back for. At the time we didn't have anything in our cart and I thought we'd be walking out empty handed, but while I was calling in an order to Applebee's for supper my DH was still browsing and picked up some channel locks ... and by the time we hooked up together again, the pine cones were a distant memory. I DID get one new ornament this year, tho' - it's pictured here, and from a good friend of mine. We generally have a "gals nite out" and exchange presents and this was my uber cool cardinal present. She knows that my Mom and I collect them. Sweet, eh?! I love it!

JOY wall hanging

I don't make many home decorating pieces but mainly papercraft cards lately, so this was a nice change of pace. I participated in a wall hanging workshop held Dec 12th at my local papercraft store, Capture-A-Memory (link at right), where we used chipboard, DP, and letter dies to create our wall hangings. Many made multiples, and that was a good idea. Some made wall hangings using the words "HOPE," "SNOW," or "WISH," but for my first attempt, I made a single "JOY" wall hanging using the letters and some holly and berries from another die the store had on hand. It's currently gracing the inside of my front door. This was FUN and I'd like to make more though - maybe for gifts for next year!

stamps: n/a; paper: mainly Kaisercraft Twigs & Berry Collection DP; ink: Ranger asst'd distress inks; tools: asst'd store dies

sharing silliness

A silly video to share where whoever created it did a pretty nice job!

The Day After

The Day After

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house,
Every creature was hurting, even the mouse.
The toys were all broken, their batteries dead;
Santa passed out, with some ice on his head.

And I in my t-shirt, new Reeboks and jeans,
Went into the kitchen and started to clean.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the sink to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains, and threw up the sash.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a little white truck, with an over-sized mirror.

The driver was smiling, so lively and grand;
The patch on his jacket said "US Postman."
With a handful of bills, he grinned like a fox
Then quickly he stuffed the into our mailbox.

Bill after bill, after bill, they still came.
Whistling and shouting he called them by name:
"Now Dillard's, now Broadway's, now Penny's and Sears
Here's Levitz's and Target's an Mervyn's - all here!

To the tip of your limit, every store, every mall,
Now chargeaway-chargeaway-chargeaway all!"
He whooped and he whistled as he finished his work.
He filled up the box, and then turned with a jerk.

He sprang to his truck and he drove down the road,
Driving much faster with just half a load.
Then I heard him exclaim with great holiday cheer,
"Enjoy what you got, you'll be paying all year!"

~author unknown

on a red theme

Here's this year's Christmas tree. I realized recently that I'd not used these red ornaments from my initial trip to the local IKEA (maybe not SO local, at that! it's about an hour south of me) since 2008 so went in search of them this year. They were elusive but I remembered that the last time I'd used them I'd repackaged them into their original IKEA clear plastic 6x6"- 8x8" clear acrylic square box  and set them on top of the hutch to my computer table. Apparently they got nudged behind a row of books and were lost to me since 2008. So, here they are, unearthed at last! In keeping with the red theme, I added a few ornaments but kept it to those that are mainly red and white/ivory. I love these "word" pieces that I found a few years ago (tho' I can't remember where) - and have them in joy, Noel, peace, believe, it's all GOOD, and Merry Christmas. It was hard knowing when to stop ... (insert grin here) ...

It's strange, but I'm reading a novel on my nook lately where the main character's nickname is "Red" ... it was the past Free Fridays offering - From Notting Hill with Love...Actually by Ali McNamara. A nice read; I'm about halfway thru it now. I liked both those movies and the book's a romantic comedy about a gal named Scarlett (hence the nickname) with something of a movie obsession.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Here's wishing you and yours a merry Christmas and t'riffic New Year!

I made this card from a recycled store-bought one I'd received in years' past. I cut out the Santa from the card, then cut a couple of trees in similar shapes from some DP I had on hand, and just cut a couple of wavy snow mounds to layer the trees between and voilà! Easy peasy!

stamps: PTI's Signature Christmas; paper: Carta Bella's Christmas Day, and SU's Old Olive card stocks; ink: Ranger's black soot distress ink

a cuppa Christmas joy

Happy Monday!

Here's an other-than-a-card that I made at a recent SU Stamp Camp outing. I opted to give it to a coworker this past week, but it would be a cute teacher present as well! I took a couple of pics so I could share w my stamping buddy Pat as she was busy with wrapping up the last of her Christmas presents. Me?! There's always time until the recipient is pulling into the driveway!

There's a couple of glassine bags inside the cup - one filled w hot chocolate mix, and the other filled w mini marshmallows - and a couple of candy canes tied up in soft Cherry Cobbler yarn. It really is soft delish stuff.

I love that SU's begun to package dies to coordinate with their stamp sets, a very welcome trend in the industry, don't you agree?!

fleas navidad

I'm just making a quick stop to share a card that I mailed to my brother this past week ... hoping that he doesn't think that I think that his pup's got fleas! I'd seen the sentiment stamp and couldn't pass up the opp to make a card casing it! My sentiment's PC-generated using one of the fonts from a set of 7 Kim Hughes fonts I'd purchased back in August from the kind folkes at scrapNfonts. I'm a professed fontaholic and probably have WAAAY too many on my PC, LOL!

Anywho, this card's winging its way to my brother, who just happens to have a pet mini dachshund named Pippin.  The DP's from a recent sketch workshop held at CAM (link at stores on right), and I'm not sure what the pup stamp is from ... and too lazy to go dig it up right now too!

Thanx for stopping by!

It's a CAS199 Christmas

I don't think I've ever made a card in stages as this one ... first used the Cuttlebug, embossing folder and word die on Thursday before heading to work, then located my string on Friday and cut out the holly ... and finally assembled it today! Lovin' the mainly white on white! This is my latest embossing folder and I got the coolest storage notebook for them at a Deer Hunter Widow scrapbook show at the Birch Run Expo Ctr recently!

I wonder how many crafters have their Christmas cards prepared and/or already out the door. I'm woefully behind this year, and don't even know for sure how many cards I've made this year! How about you?

stamps: n/a (haven't selected the inside sentiment yet tho); ink: n/a; paper: Bazzill Palo Verde and Neenah Solar White card stocks; accessories: white string; tools: Cuttlebug w Sizzix Holly Swirls embossing folder

S&CT Winter Issue's out!

The kind folkes at Scrapbook & Cards Today have published their winter edition, and and I'm just giving it a little shout-out that it's available (YAY!) before I go to review the issue! I especially love to check out what's new in the paper crafting industry thru their eyes! While you're at it, check out their blog as well, as they're celebrating every 100 comments on their announcement post by giving away not one but two copies!

Click on the cover picture to head to the download/viewing site!

the die-namic duo

my latest die purchase was the words collections from PTI - both last year's holiday stamp set, and this year's count my blessings set. as luck would have it, every time I logged in to the site to purchase the holiday set this year and last, they were sold out of either the stamp set or the dies of one or the other ... except for last week! let's have a shout out for perseverance! YAY!

today's duo CAS post is that of a positive/negative space one. I used the word piece popped out from the die for the first card, then used its negative space for the second one. voilà! easy peasy, and here's my first two cards of December!

stamps: PTI's Holiday Stamp Set; ink: SU's Not Quite Navy; paper: Neenah's Solar White, SU's Not Quite Navy card stocks; tools: Cuttlebug w PTI's Holiday Die Collection

happy belated b'day Pat!

my stampin' buddy Pat enjoyed a birthday recently but we didn't get together to celebrate it right away, what with her daughter in visiting and her sharing a b'day week with another friend. so we'll catch up soon but didn't make it to our usual and customary Saturday crafty outing ...

inspired by a recent card made by the lovely and talented Liz Armstrong of Pink Petticoat blog fame (check this beauty out! sigh ...), this card uses a profuse amount of pink designer paper (can you tell what Pat's fav color is?) on a backing of Cherry Cobbler (can you tell what my fav red is?). the sentiments are PC-generated - I made a couple of "ribbons" by typing the words to the Beatles' Birthday song, another via a birthday stamp I had on hand. the rest of the ribbons are with papers pulled from a few 6x6" DP pads with the exception of the sentiment ribbon, which was PC-generated using one of the Kim Hughes family of fonts (this one's SNF Goody) I recently acquired via the kind folkes at scrapnfonts.com.

stamps: Hero Arts' Birthday Definition, others PC-generated; ink: memento tuxedo black; paper: Authentique's Delightful DP, BasicGrey's Indian Summer DP, My Mind'e Eye Love Me DP collections, Neenah Solar White and SU's Cherry Cobbler card stocks; accessories: The Twinery's maraschino bakers twine

SCS' CAS weekly challenge card

This week's challenge card is inspired from the written word ... the following quote from Galileo: I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. - Galileo

... and it inspired me to use a couple of Memory Box stamps I'd acquired a little over a year ago to make this CAS one-layer card! 'Nuff said! A quick post tonite as I'm off to enjoy a cuppa coffee w my sweetie. Possibly the CAS-est card I've made in quite a while ... maybe this one was CAS-er, tho'?!

stamps: Memory Box's All is calm/bright, Tree Silhouette; ink: CTMH's Outdoor Denim; paper: The Paper Company's cards & envelopes pkg

happy Thanksgiving

Today I'm thankful ...

... for my friends and family ... including family that visited today as we hosted Thanks giving dinner here.

... for our health and wealth (so often I repeat how glad I am to have been born in the USA ... there but for the grace of God, you know?!). I've a warm dry home and live in a relatively mild location extreme-weather-wise.

... for my job - which changed drastically in mid-September ... so I'm on a learning curve again!

Hope you and yours have a t'riffic Thanksgiving!

Dona Nobis Pacem

I took the lyrics from Give Peace A Chance and created a Wordle from it, in celebration of today's BlogBlast for Peace!

Try Wordle - you'll like it!

p.s. Dona Nobis Pacem? it's Latin for "Grant Us Peace"

hashtags #blog4peace #blogblast4peace

xmas card class fav

a first for me - I attended a mass Christmas card-making class this month led by the lovely and talented Angie (link at right). I generally just make single versions of cards and accumulate them 'til Christmas, and MOST of the time have enough to send out by the time the holiday approaches. not so this year. I've been on a reading kick lately (blame Barnes & Noble, as I picked up a nook last year) and not making many cards. NOT that I'm leaving the fold ... I could start a small store from my supplies in here ... but I digress.

here's a card I'd meant to post early in November as the class was held on the first! due to the existence of scheduled posts some of you may think I've posted this Nov 1st, lol!

no deets today as all supplies were provided in class. I'm lovin' this 2-step tree stamp, aren't you?!

belated bday greetings

I spotted the cutest belated b'day greeting today ... and it's appropriate as my DH asked me whether I sent a card to my lovely and talented sis-in-law, Joni. Well, I HAD intended to at a minimum log onto the Hallmark site and send her an eCard, but unfortunately that never came to pass! So, here's today's card - one of my favs from a recent Stamp Camp w Angie (see SU links). And the inside PC-generated sentiment? Isn't it cute?!

No deets today except that me likey this latest in color, Summer Starfruit. It's real close to the dark gold generated from my PC that makes up the "BIRTHDAY" text.

yet another great Bourne flick

I caught the movie on the big screen the last day it was showing locally!

I like the way the events in this movie intertwine with the events in The Bourne Ultimatum. There are flashes to the British reporter writing an expose about Black Ops operations, to Jason Bourne turning over the files to Pamela Landy ... The film goes in a new direction when the men behind Treadstone and Black Briar decide it's best to shut down all ops and make sure make everyone involved disappears. They miss when they try to take out Aaron Cross, who then seeks out Dr. Marta Shearing ... which could lead to another relationship on the run.

Great ensemble cast too - Joan Allen, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn, Ed Norton (I hadn't realized he was in this flick!), Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz. We'll definitely grab this when it comes out on DVD. Five stars!

happy fall, ya'll!

did you know? ... Fall for 2012 begins in the Northern Hemisphere on September 22, 10:49 A.M. EDT.

Yes, I had to look that up ... while texting with my younger brother last night and I signed off saying, "Happy last day of Summer" and he corrected me ... last full day ... okay, so I agreed ... but HAD to look it up this a.m. to see what time Fall actually starts!  

Thanx for stopping by! I'm feeling inspired to pull out my fall DP and get crafty! I've been reading lately, and haven't been making many cards, but I have a few fall birthdays coming up!

S&CT's fall edition

One thing I love about living in Michigan is the change of seasons (tho' personally, winter could be a shorter season) ... and with the first day of fall fast approaching this weekend, that means I'm on the lookout for another fav to me - and, ta da! - the Scrapbook & Cards' Fall edition's available! Did you know that you can view the entire Fall issue online for free? Scroll the pages, download the issue, watch it is as a slideshow ... there are so many amazing ways to view the issue. You can find the online viewer here ... www.scrapbookandcards.com/current-issue. Enjoy!

I have to fight the temptation to pick up all the new DPs I see on the shelves lately, and remember to go thru my stash at home. I'm especially lovin' the latest Bazzill Basic paper lines - IMHO, they'd knocked it outta the park with their Beach House collection, and now they've done it again ... check out their latest All Hallows Eve collection on p9 of the mag! Swoon!

I can't believe it's been 10 years ...

... but aye, that's what they be telling me ... today be the 10th anniversary of the international talk like a pirate day! Arrrr! So, thar ye be, sittin' all a-lonesome on deck. Comely lasses or lads don't notice ye, mates smite ye with thar belayin' pins ... not even a parrot to call ye "Bob." What's a pirate to do? Are ye the talk o' th'dock? Cock o' th'walk? Do the mates want to be like ye and the beauties want to be with ye - or vicey-versey? Well, thar, me Bucko, this simple little quiz will tell ye - and everyone else - just what kind o' Pirate ye be. Find yer inner pirate by taking this quick personality test! Or walk the plank! Take yer choice!

The Pure Michigan Statewide Singalong

46 years ago today

hopefully you checked out google.com today? if not, go there ... and hover over the pic so you can follow the hotspot links! it's so stinkin' cute! hard to believe it's been 46 years since the first tv episode viewed!

hope springs eternal

Tonite I broke from tradition (Wednesdays are pizza night at the Blondin household, and I generally stick close to home) and took in a midweek movie w my buddy SueS. We caught the 7:05 showing of Hope Springs. It was nice to see Steve Carell in a less slapstick-ishy role, and I prefer those movies he's in that are a gentler brand of humor, like this was. I'll usually try to catch anything that Meryl Streep or Tommy Lee Jones appear in, and they didn't disappoint, as usual, tho' it took a while to warm up to the movie. Its ending was predictable, but who cares?! It was a nice ride!

part deux

I'm cheating ... I'll admit that right away! Because my sister's favorite season is fall, and it just so happens that one of my movie buddies' birthdays falls on the first day of fall later this month! So ... one Wordle ... two cards! I made another color version - it's posted on Pinterest (in my hangups directory) now - that came out t'riffic too, if I do say so myself!

No stamps were used (yet!) in the making of this card ... tho' I'll probably stamp "for you" below the Wordle collection. I'm just too lazy to go looking for that stamp now! And golf's on TV too!

So, which color combo do YOU prefer? I liked 'em both ... and made another w the greens/reds/oranges/yellows on a white background as well. I used a Wordle about my likes/hobbies for the background picture on my Facebook page too. It's a fun program - wordle.net, if you haven't checked it out! Thanx for stopping by and I'll see you soon!

once in a blue moon

did you happen to glance up on Friday, August 31st?

it was the 2nd full moon of the month, qualifying it, according to folklore, as a "blue moon." according to the kind folkes at earthsky.org, there are two more definitions for blue moon; it can be the 3rd of 4 full moons in a single season, or, you can see an actual blue-colored moon, depending on sky conditions.

so, I hope you all got around to that list of things you wanted to take care of "once in a blue moon," because your next chance won't come around again 'til July 2015! mark your calendars now!

where were YOU today at 8:30 a.m.?

We (me and two of my guys - DH and eldest son) took in the 36th Crim Festival of Races ... as spectators, that is! My crew and I descended on our usual 5-1/2 mile spot. We can cruise in by way of Ballenger Hwy and avoid the crowds - easy in/easy out that way, and we have a couple of McDonalds on our route so we usually have a picnic breakfast while enjoying the race.

I love this years' shirt design, below. When I returned home, I went in search of previous shirts I still have in my closet, to check what the last year was that I participated. I found shirts from 1996-2004 ... I really must get back at it. Look for me to be in the 5K Family Walk again next year!

2012 shirt design (sweet, eh?!)

a stamp camp fav

I say "a stamp camp fav" because, as usual, there were multiple favs this month! thanx again, Angie, for all the t'riffic cards! This one's winging its way to Marti as she'd been sweet enough to offer some of the tickets she'd received to see the Fenton Village Players in their recent Into the Woods performance! It was a fun gals night out w my buddies KimR, Pat, and Marti!

Thanx for stopping by, and I'll post again soon ... honest!

No deets today as all materials were provided at the Stamp Camp.

happy b'day Kathleen!

This past week was a coworker's b'day, and we got together to treat her to lunch and dessert today (hard to get the our lunch crew all together recently!) at the restaurant of her choice! She'd been camping the last few weekends so I thought of the camper stamp. I love the Loads of Love truck stamp set and all its accessories. My surprise in making today's card was that my first choice for a font color matched my new DP so well ... little things like that make my day! The sentiments (both inside and out) are both PC-generated, using the TechnoHeavy font. And the sketch? It's from Jen Del Muro's August SFYTT. Thanx for stopping by.

stamps: SU's Loads of Fun; paper: Carta Bella Paper's Beautiful Moments DP, SU's Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla card stocks

heirloom productions stamp show, Novi MI

Dies were the operative word for me yesterday, while I enjoyed the 2012 Heirloom Productions Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Show in Novi MI w stampin' buds pat 'n kim.

I picked up a new-to-me Cherry Lynn Designs leaf, a poppy stamps attic key, a few memory box dies (perched reed bird, woven circle, leaping deer), sizzix embosslit sweetest stem, and two more spellbinders (labels 2, lacey circles). I only got a few stamps (JustRite's autumn leaves (I know ... shocker ... more leaves?!), SU's tailgating roller, Stampland's holly and berries border), but I DID get another tee.

I can't seem to attend these w/out coming away with another cute tee. This one reads, "I got a pile of stamping supplies for my husband ... " printed in white on a very nice medium-dark green tee w black flourishes on the left, and that's all I saw when I first purchased it. After getting home, when I tried it on, I noticed that the back reads, "... it was the best trade I ever made!"

Check out Heirloom Productions' Facebook page for more photos.

do you want fries with that?

this cute hamburg card and fries carton set was this weekend's make -'n- take at my favorite local stamping store, Capture-a-Memory. the hamburger's made from assorted punches and dies, and popped up on what appears to be a napkin on top of a red checkered tablecloth. cute, eh?! the CAM folkes told me that Jill found it on Pinterest.

stamps: only one that I know of, 'cuz I purchased the last one the shop had in stock, is the Judith AA-40 ant!

die: it's one the CAM folkes have in their store. if you purchase your paper/card stock there, many of their dies are free to use, but some are for members' use only. I'm not sure what this one was.

I believe ... it's Christmas in July!

"I believe ... "

I'm a huge fan of the movie Miracle on 34th Street, and love the scene where Natalie Wood's mom tells her that faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to, so I took that part from a longer sentiment (originally from a mini KaiserCraft set that read "I believe in you") to use on my SFYTT July sketch. I've made a few Christmas cards this month, having been prompted to do so by my favorite local stamp store, Capture-a-Memory. It's a good idea to make a few each month so that the need for Christmas cards doesn't sneak up on you in November, don't you agree?! I've never liked to pick one design and assembly line make multiples of that one design. "Christmas in July" was CAM's ongoing theme this month, for the most part!

stamps: KaiserCraft's Proud mini stamp set; paper: Authentique's Wonder DP, SU's Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, and Vanilla card stocks; inks: Ranger's antique linen and black soot distress inks; tools: Creative Memories' circle cutter, SU's stocking builder punch (BTW, have you seen SU's mitten bulder punch in the holiday catalog?!)