Merry & Bright, the Twin Polar Bears

It's my day to post at Fresh Squeezed Stamps.  I definitely wanted to use the bear yet from Arctic Friends (I had used the penguin here and the walrus here.)

As I was pondering what to do with this cute stamp, I was remembering twin polar bears born almost 20-years ago in my local zoo. Their mother abandoned them, but zoo staff successfully raised them.  It was quite an experience for the entire city - we all stood in line for hours to see them, books were written about them - they were famous!

Their names were Klondike and Snow and they lived most of their adult years in Orlando.  Klondike died just this fall and Snow died a year ago at the ages of 17 and 18.

These stamps aren't quite as cute as the real baby cubs - but pretty darn close!!  And these twin bears are wishing you a Merry & Bright Christmas!


This definitely works for the current Merry Monday challenge to use an animal on a Christmas card.

• Stamps: Fresh Squeezed Stamps Arctic Friends, Hello December
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Blueberry Sky
• Ink: Papertrey Ink Blueberry Sky, Winter Wisteria, Versamark
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Heat & Stick Embossing Powder, Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter, Divine Twine Black Licorice, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (see here for details on this embossing folder)

God Bless Us, Everyone!

I went shopping at Verve Stamps a few weeks ago, specifically to pick up the stamps for this project. While I was shopping, this dapper little guy just jumped into my cart.  He is SO perfect with the sentiment!


I didn't want to do anything fancy with him - he is cute enough to stand alone.  I did use some paper that I liked a lot - but in general would be too busy for my style.  I thought it gave the card a little bit of the older Dickens-look - appropriate for the sentiment.
This is out of my NBUS Christmas stash.  I was paging through that pile and looking at challenges for inspiration.  I am playing along with Merry Monday to use an animal. (I am assuming my bird is OK since the challenge graphic has owls!!).  Also playing with CAS on Sunday: Christmas.

I hope all is going well with each of you as we near Christmas.  I don't have my cards out yet, which is stressing me. They are made - but my little secret is that I have illegible handwriting - while my husband's is quite clear.  So he gets to address envelopes and hasn't done it yet.  I am going to my nieces' Christmas pageant this afternoon and my son's band concert tonight.  I have a few more rehearsals for Sunday and for Christmas Eve bell choir performances.  But other than that - I'm going into the final week feeling pretty good!

• Stamps: Verve Christmas Joy (it's on sale right now!)
• Paper: Carta Bella So This is Christmas 6x6 dsp, Papertrey Ink Scarlet Jewel
• Ink: Memento Black and Copics
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Scarlet Jewel button, Lil' Inkers Stitched Rectangles, Hemptique Natural 10-lb twine, one little gold dot on his hat

Fresh Squeezed Stamps: Merry Walrus

This is my second post day.

If you are looking for the My Favorite Things Release Countdown, it's here.

It's my day to post at Fresh Squeezed Stamps and I've been wanting to play along with Merry Monday's challenge to use the chalkboard technique.  It turns out it's a perfect match.  I thought that the cheerful walrus from Arctic Friends would look just perfect on a smudge of snow and ice, and might just be thinking "merry" thoughts!  (The "merry" is from Hello December - I love its woodgrain.)


I bet you are feeling "merry" after seeing this sweet guy.  The set includes this walrus and a penguin that I used here, and there is a bear.  I'm don't quite know yet what I will be doing with the bear, but I'm sure you will be seeing him soon!

• Stamps: Fresh Squeezed Stamps Arctic Friends, Hello December
• Paper: Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana
• Ink: WPlus9 White
• Accessories: Hero Arts white embossing powder, The Twinery Caribbean

Merry Monday: Deck the Halls

I am having one of those weeks.  Thank goodness I had pre-done most of my posts for this past week, because I was in no mood (or health) to deal with them!!

First, my kids coughed throughout last weekend and, even with extreme precautions on my part, it's my turn.  Apparently Colorado is in the middle of a whooping cough epidemic.  I don't know if that's what we have but it's a cough that's deep and nothing seems to help.  On Wednesday, my son's high school had their highest absence rate in their history.  The very worst part of it was that I missed a gathering of my favorite Colorado crafters.  I was planning to go until my husband gave me that look and asked if I thought the crafting group would ever forgive me if I spent the time coughing on them.

Second, the good news is that my husband is painting my bathroom and hallways (WAY overdue!)  We are having a large gathering of friends in my home next Tuesday and the house needs to shine.  (My house isn't a shiny kind of house so it takes a lot of work!)  I am sitting downstairs, coughing, being upset that I wasn't crafting with my friends, when I hear a thump, thump, thump and then extreme swearing coming from upstairs (very rare with my husband).  I cautiously went upstairs to check it out, and I see paint everywhere. The paint tray had slipped off, bounced down all the carpeted stairs, spewing paint everywhere, and landed upside down on the freshly shampooed family room carpet.  Bummer.  (I think I should have gone to cough on my crafting friends because I ended up scrubbing carpets!)

The final straw was our attempt to make the outside walkway look a little nicer (in advance of the Tuesday party).  We live in the country and anything we plant gets eaten by deer and rabbits.  Plus we have a dog that digs.  So the front walkway, with its supposed landscaping, has begun to look just a little trashy.  We decided to do a xeriscaped rock-garden.  Clearly, the whole xeriscaping part isn't going to happen before Tuesday - but since our guests are coming after dark, we thought some rocks and mulch and a couple of miniature pines would make it look like it would be a beautiful garden in the spring.  We spent two hours at a landscaping materials place (never, ever go rock-shopping with a geologist).  We finally picked a one ton palette of boulders.  Not small rocks - but boulders!  They weighed it, we paid for it, then it occured to us to ask when they could deliver.  Guess what?  Their truck is out of commission.  So guess what is in the back of my Suburban waiting for my men/boys to wake up and deal with this morning - half a ton of boulders - we'll get the other half on Monday!

Are you bored with my drama yet?  I'm so glad my life isn't boring - it seems to change daily - but I am blessed by the fact that every little drama is something on which I can look back and laugh!

If you've made it this far in my story - say a little prayer for my Tuesday gathering.  A church in trouble, so much so that many long-term members including my family had left. After a year many are still feeling hurt and lost, now a new interim pastor with a sincere desire to meet those who left - thus the gathering at my home.  We will need prayers.

Now...for what everybody really comes here for - a card!  Here's my attempt at this week's Merry Monday challenge.  There were a lot of requirements on this one and I carefully checked them off as I went - stripes, red and chocolate, stars or hearts.  Whew!

I realized a few weeks ago that I had absolutely no ornament dies.  I looked around and found this set just called Christmas Ornaments from My Favorite Things.  It has a coordinating stamp set too but I just got the dies.  They come with toppers and other decorations like holly, poinsettia and a little tag.  They are a good size - you can see how nicely three ornaments work on this card.

Since I was using My Favorite Things dies, I pulled out some NBUS sets - the newly released Cheerful Christmas Greetings for the sentiment, then I saw the row of stars in another Christmas set LLD Holiday Subway Art (I'm not sure inking up just the row of stars qualifies as truly using Never-Before-Used-Schtuff so you'll be seeing this set again!)

I have most definitely typed enough (can you tell that I'm avoiding the cleaning in front of me the next few days!)  Thanks for making it to the bottom.

• Stamps: My Favorite Things Christmas Greetings, LLD Holiday Subway Art
• Paper: Papertrey Dark Chocolate, Stampin' Up Poppy Parade, Bo Bunny Elf Magic stripe, shiny silver and gold from my stash
• Ink: Papertrey Dark Chocolate, Stampin' Up Poppy Parade
• Accessories: My Favorite Things Ornament dies, Hemptique white twine, Studio Calico Sequin Stars

Dynamic Duos and Merry Monday: An Aqua and Red Christmas

This is my second post today!

I posted a card earlier today that I had made for Merry Monday and for Dynamic Duos, but after I finished the card, I realized it didn't qualify for either challenge - wrong color for one, no circles for the other.  I spent the afternoon at a friend's house, playing with her extensive collection of Stampin' Up stuff and, since it was still bothering me, I did another card!   I also added in the clean & simple sketch challenge.

Now I feel so much better!

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Mixed Medley (snowflake), More Merry Messages (sentiment)
• Paper: White
• Ink: Stampin' Up Real Red, Bermuda Bay
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Scallop Circle Punch, ribbon in Bermuda Bay and Real Red, rhinestones

A Deconstructed Merry Monday: Santa

I am thrilled to be this week's guest designer at Merry Monday!!  The challenge for the week is Santa.

Sadly, I discovered that while I have a number of Santa image stamps, they date back a decade or more, or they are simply not my style any more.  And I didn't have time to go shopping this week (usually I love any excuse).

But...I did find a stamp hiding in my collection.  It's not a Santa image, but it's definitely Santa. And given that I have two teenage boys...it is perfect!!

I was stressing over this Santa card on the same day that a new deconstructed sketch came out.  It had such fun panels that it seemed perfect with my silly card.

• Stamps: unknown (sorry)
• Paper: Doodlebug Home for the Holidays Here Comes Santa Claus (used both front and back), Stampin' Up Poppy Parade
• Ink: Stampin' Up Gumball Green
• Accessories: Sweet Stamp Shop Holiday Flair (the cute naughty/nice button), Lil' Inkers stitched circles, Holiday Divine Twine, Stampin' Up embossing folder, Ellen Hutson Red and Dill Iridescent sequins, Neat & Tangle Crystal Clear sequins

Sweet Sunday and Merry Monday: Deck the Halls

What a fun pair of challenges to put together - Sweet Sunday Sketch and Merry Monday!  Merry Monday challenges us to use music or a carol.  No ideas were coming to me until I looked at the Sweet Sunday sketch and thought that I could put holly for the element at the top!


Let me guess!!  You are singing the carol right now!  You are going to be fa-la-la-ing all day long!
For most of the year, I am not a glitter kind of gal (although I do have a thing for sequins) - but I pull out all the stops at Christmas.  I smeared Versamark across the entire card front, heated up some heat-and-stick powder and glittered the entire thing.  Then plopped on a button and some holly leaves!

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Merry & Type
• Paper: Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Season of Style dsp
• Ink: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip, Versamark
• Accessories: Stampin' Up button, heat-and-stick embossing powder, and Cherry Cobbler twine; Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter; Papertrey Ink Holly Jolly die

CAS(E) this Sketch and Merry Monday: Snow Much Joy

There's a great new sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch.  Just think of all of the great elements that you could use - leaves, pumpkins, hearts, suns...

...or snowflakes!!!  I just got some big and bold snowflake stamps and dies from Stampin' Up so I knew exactly what I was going to do!

I got the snowflakes stamped, embossed and die-cut and then realized that I had no idea what I was going to put on top of them.  I found a Hero Arts "snow much joy" sentiment that worked well and then I used Paper Smooches Streamers to add the banner across the snowflakes.  Then I didn't think it looked sparkly enough so I plopped on some sequins from Neat & Tangled.  There are just a few companies represented on this card!!  And I just realized one of the snowflakes is stamped in ink from Papertrey Ink!
The colors come from this week's Merry Monday challenge: snowflakes in blue, gray/silver and white.

I'm also submitting this to Simon Says Christmas/Holiday.

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Festive Flurries, Hero Arts Snow Much Joy clear set, Paper Smooches Streamers
• Paper: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate, Marina Mist
• Ink: Stampin' Up Marina Mist, Papertrey Ink Spring Rain, Versamark
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate embossing powder and Festive Flurries dies, Paper Smooches Streamers dies, Neat & Tangled winter sequins

Merry Monday and dahlhouse: Let It Snow

This week's Merry Monday challenge is Christmas birds.  I just got the Winter Sparrows from Lawn Fawn and had to use these sweeties, and I just re-discovered the cute snowflakes in Frosties, also from Lawn Fawn, that has been hiding in my stash for awhile!  As an added bonus - I love the wanna sketch #9 from Lisa at dahlhouse designs!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to my Canadian friends!

Go Broncos for my Denver friends!!

Now I am off to catch up on some accounting classwork that is due today so I can be done and totally prepared to watch some football with my boys!

• Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Sparrows, Frosties
• Paper: white
• Ink: Memento Black , Copics
• Accessories: Lawn Fawn Winter Sparrows die, Divine Twine Cotton Candy, Stardust Stickles, WPlus9 tag

Avery Elle: Winter Wreath Gift Cards

Avery Elle has a new stamp set with a beautiful big wreath called Winter Wreath.  It also has a bow and pine cones and little dots for ornaments and sentiments in the signature Avery Elle script!  But instead of going big - I just stamped a portion of the wreath and made a little 3.25" card for tucking into gifts.


The set also comes with a "to" and a "from" stamp so you can even personalize it!
I did give it a little sparkle by adding glossy accents to the berries and then dusting it with a fine glitter.

I used the cheerful colors from this week's Merry Monday color challenge.

And here's what I love about creating my own cards.  Same basic card...different colors...different embellishments...an entirely different look!!  (I love those teeny little pinecones!!)

Merry Monday: Be Very Merry

This week's challenge at Merry Monday is to use snowmen.  I had just gotten a Memory Box die of teeny tiny snowmen so thought I'd create a miniature scene.

A word of advice - do not get this little die - unless you happen to have micro-tweezers and the tiniest glue dot/bottle etc.  These snowmen and their itty bitty hats are incredibly difficult to work with!  I'm actually not sure I'll even use this card because I'm not convinced those little guys will stay together in the mail!  (But I had to use them at least once because they were the reason I got that sentiment.  It's a Stampin' Up individual and it was hiding in a corner of the holiday catalog. Once I noticed it, I think it was my favorite thing in the catalog!)

(Also submitting to Simon Says Stamps Anything Goes challenge.)

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Be Very Merry
• Paper: Stampin' Up Coastal Cabana, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder
• Ink: Stampin' Up Coast Cabana
• Accessories: Memory Box Mini Snowmen, Stampin' Up Aqua Mist twine, Spellbinders square die, Cuttlebug Embossing, Martha Stewart Fine Crystal Glitter

Seize the Sketch with Merry Monday: Peace, Joy, Love

I really wanted to play along with Merry Monday before it closes this afternoon.  It's a classic and warm challenge to use kraft, red, green and burlap, twine or ribbon.  I went looking for some Christmas papers that fit the challenge and found an older Hobby Lobby brand pad with the rustic look that I was going for.  Then the light bulb came on and I realized that if I used the sketch at Seize the Sketch, I would have a wonderful, warm Christmas quilt!

It might be a little quiet here for the next couple of days.  I have a number of design team and new release cards to make in the next few days for later in the week.  You'll have to come back on Wednesday for a new release at Newton's Nook Designs.  Have you checked them out yet?  They have only been around for a few months and I love what I am seeing - absolutely charming!  I am guesting in September starting with this new release.  I also have a post for Paper Smooches that uses Free Spirits!!  And there will be a new sketch on Thursday for CAS(E) this Sketch! and a new challenge on Sunday for Curtain Call.  Good thing the roofers finished up yesterday, although I think it will take awhile before the pounding stops in my head.  And we could finally hook up the air conditioner again - it was unhooked during our record heat!  So I am seriously looking forward to sending the kids to school tomorrow and crafting in the peace, quiet and coolness!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

• Stamps: Technique Tuesday Jingle All the Way
• Paper: Papertrey Kraft, Hobby Lobby Greetings of the Season
• Ink: Tim Holtz Antique Linen, Papertrey Ink Pinefeather
• Accessories: Lifestyle Crafts Nested Hexagons, Avery Elle Kraft and Berry Sequins, Papertrey Ink Rustic Jute Button Twine

Merry Monday: Happy(?) or Stressed Out Holidays

I ran into Michaels last night for a bottle of Zip Dry glue with my coupon and this owl stamp jumped into my hands!!  His bugged-out eyes look just like mine during the lead-up to the holidays!!


I used the current sketch from Merry Monday.

I'm also submitting to Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes.

Just a quick post today - I'm still working on the final papers that I mentioned a few days ago.  They are going well - but they are just so big (and I'm just so obsessive) I'm sure I will take until the last minute to finish them up (Sunday by midnight).

• Stamps: Stampendous Owl Tree, Simon Says Stamp Small Folded Banners Holiday
• Paper: Papertrey Ink Dark Chocolate
• Ink: Memento Black, Copics
• Accessories: Simon Says Stamp banner dies, Martha Stewart twine, Stampin' Up embossing folder

Rockwell Designs: Grayed Jade Season's Greetings

Just two days ago, I started playing along with the color challenges at Rockwell Designs.  The idea is to use a Pantone Fashion Color each week.  Currently, the color is Tender Shoots and my card is here, but there is no time limit so I wanted to go back and pick up the first color - Grayed Jade.  (All the colors are here.)  The prize is a free blog header!!


I did realize a mistake after I got the card made and photographed.  We are playing with the spring Pantone colors and I made a Christmas card.  Ooop!  (ETA: Making a spring card isn't a RULE of the challenge!!  It just seemed strange when I thought about it that I made a Christmas card!)
My excuse is that I hadn't played along in the month long challenge at Merry Monday (Anything Goes) so Christmas cards were on my mind!!
There are some more great colors coming up - be sure to check it out!

• Stamps: Hero Arts Winter Moon, Many Branches, Papertrey Ink Faux Ribbon (sentiment)
• Paper: white
• Ink: Stampin' Up Sage Shadow, Papertrey Ink Ocean Tides
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Ocean Tides button, pearlescent crochet thread, Ellen Hutson Iridiscent Water Sequins, Lil' inkers Stitched Rectanges

Merry Monday: Snow Much Joy

It's been a long time since I have done a Christmas card and I had promised myself that this year I would do better.  There are great challenges out there to help - my favorite being Merry Monday.  I have been playing along sporadically - but the year is half over and I need to buckle down!!

This card uses a Hero Arts snowman that came out a year or two ago.  I liked every card that I saw him on and I finally got the set this year.  But then, for months, no one had the snowman die - it was out-of-stock no matter where I looked.  I had just decided that perhaps it was retired and I had missed it, but finally...it was available...maybe he's just still a very popular guy!!  (I have a clear set called Snow Much Joy.  There's also a wood-mounted stamp with a sleepy little snowman that also fits the die.)

• Stamps: Hero Arts Snow Much Joy
• Paper: Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Papertrey Ink Summer Sunrise, Fancy Pants Wave Searcher Bucket
• Ink: Memento Black, Copics
• Accessories: Hero Arts Snowman die, MFT Fishtail dies, Cuttlebug embossing, Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler twine, Ranger Glossy Accents (on the berries)

TAWS Sneak Peeks: Tag-Alongs

It's sneak peek week at The Alley Way Stamps!  Three fun sets and a mini freebie (with purchase) are being released on April 1.

Today's sneak is for a set called Tag-Alongs.  It has an amazing variety of stamps including fun chevron borders and polka dots and an owl and much, much more.  I decided to play along with Merry Monday's tic-tac-toe challenge and do a one-layer, red, Santa card!


He has a little extra fun on his hat...
Here's the Merry Monday tic-tac-toe...

Be sure to come back on Saturday for a blog hop by all of the design team showing you each of the new sets!!  And head over to The Alley Way Stamps blog right now and leave a comment because all the comments posted today will go into a random drawing and one of you will win the new April set - Tag-Alongs!!!!  You can have up to 2 entries....

1. One for leaving a comment on the Tag-Along post on the TAWS blog
2. One for sharing on Facebook

Comment close at 9:30 p.m. MST.

• Stamps: The Alley Way Stamps Tag-Alongs (available on April 1st)
• Paper: white
• Ink: Memento black and Copics
• Accessories: misc red button, Divine Twine Cherry, Picket Fence Stickles

Guest Spot with Merry Monday

This is my second post today!

I had the great privilege of being the Top Pick at the Merry Monday challenge a few weeks ago so I get to be their guest today!!

This week is a sketch challenge (my fave!!!).   My card really took on a life of its own.  This card started out with bright colors and patterns and singing birds but it just wasn't coming together. Then I woke up Saturday morning to swirling snow and two other challenges that were playing with negative die cuts.  With all of that inspiration - this card came together very quickly!

Crazy 4 Challenges calls their negative die cut challenge "being negative".

And for Just Us Girls, it is technique week:

• Stamps: WPlus 9 Folk Art Flurries
• Paper: Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals
• Ink: white
• Accessories: Seasonal Sentiments dies (the word and the snowflake), Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade twine, misc white button, Martha Stewart border punch

A Merry Freshly Made!!

It has been a BUSY week at my house.  I've been working on a paper for one my classes - I haven't had to research and write professionally in over a decade - my brain hurts!!  My kids seem to have needed extra taxi service this week with a variety of activities.  My youngest has the lacrosse game of the century this morning.  And my oldest has been totally immersed in preparing for a tryout.

Let me tell you about this tryout - because thoughts, prayers and crossed-fingers are needed!!!  Andrew is trying out for the Casper Troopers Drum Corps! He is passionate about marching band and these "professional" corps would be a perfect fit for him. He wasn't planning on trying out this year because he's actually a sax player and has had to switch to baritone as corps are all brass. He thought he would need another year of practice but the Troopers are short on baritones. Fun connections too - a group of my high school friends played in the Troopers (a very long time ago) and I have recently learned that the husband of a friend played in the Troopers in the SAME year as my high school buddies!!  We believe that Andrew is good enough, so it will be crushing if he doesn't make it. If he gets in, he is gone the entire summer rehearsing and literally travelling the country!  If you have no idea what I am talking about - here's a "best of" video - you can see the amazing quality and precision.  It's long - so just take a quick peek - and you'll see what I am talking about.




So on to what you are really here for.I am feeling really rusty this morning - so I went to a couple tried and true challenges to help me out.  
The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches.

And everything else is from the bottom row of the Merry Monday challenge.

• Stamps: Technique Tuesday Jingle All the Way
• Paper: Simple Stories Snap Color Vibe
• Ink: Stampin' Up Tempting Turquoise
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Hawaiian Shores button, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Stampin' Up snowflake punch, Crystal Stickers Glitter Domes