BSC60 Snow Friend & Happy New Year!!

Sheesh! It feels like forever since I've been able to create anything!! We were in Washington state for the two weeks between 12/10 and 12/25. I seriously didn't get out of the house 13 of those 15 days. It snowed two days after we arrived, and there was snow on the ground (as much as a foot) until we returned to AZ on 12/25. Can I tell you that I was never so happy to get the heck outa Washington?!! I love my family, but snow stresses me out soooo bad!! So, we are finally back in sunny AZ and I am finally able to get my fingers inky again. Woohoo!

I made this card for the Bella Sketch Challenge #60 on Splitcoast Stampers. When I saw this darling little Tiddly Ink (called Snow Fight), I quickly added it to the order I placed during the Stamping Bella Anniversary Sale. Isn't she sooo cute?!! As much as I hate snow, I love snow-themed images. The DP is from a retired SU scrapping kit. I think I cut into my last piece. Yikes!! See that fun pink floss on the buttons? That's called Scrapper's Floss (Karen Foster) and I got it at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design HERE. It comes in a ton of different colors. I really, really like it and can't wait to experiment with it on other projects. And let me tell you, Susana is amazing to buy from. I got a ton of free stuff with my order (including a Spica Glitter Pen and some free rubber), and I received my order like within three days after ordering. I was thrilled with the service that I got! Go see what she's got - it's a great little store!!

So, we're hanging out with my in-laws for New Year's Eve tomorrow. My DMIL is cooking an early dinner, and then we're heading out to the movies. I think we're going to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I'm excited to see that. Quiet, tame New Year's Eve - doesn't that sound like fun?!! Hehehe I hope that you all have a wonderful and safe New Year's and that the coming year is full of amazing blessings!



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Spellbinders Design Team Contest!!

Did you all see that Spellbinders is searching for their new design team for 2009? It looks like an amazing opportunity - I am in love with the Nestabilities! If being on a Design Team is one of your goals, you really should check out THIS LINK. Coincidentally, they are located in Phoenix, Arizona, and it says that you HAVE to go to Phoenix for some training in April . . . Phoenix, sunshine, laying by the pool, and crafting to boot - sounds like a BLAST to me!! I met Stacy, who I believe is the owner, at a stamp convention last spring. She was really nice, and knew her Wizard/Nestabilities like the back of her hand. Go check it out!!

Blogging Break

I probably won't be posting much until next week, at the earliest, due to the fact that all of my crafting schtuff is in Arizona. I miss it . . . hahaha! We're here in Washington for Christmas, and will return to AZ on 12/25. It's snowing here right now, so we're house bound. Ugh!! I still have a few things I need to do to get ready for the holidays, but I guess they'll have to wait until the roads clear. Amy got home from WSU tonight, and will go down to AZ with us until she goes back to school on 1/11. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Origami Karen Lockhart Ornament

I wanted to try another paper ornament for the Fans of Karen Lockhart ornament challenge, and saw this Origami Star on a YouTube video. It was pretty complicated, but I eventually figured it out after watching the video about 100 times (I'm a little slow, okay?). I colored one of Karen Lockhart's angels - this one's called Garden Angel. Isn't she cute? I added her to the finished star with some Stamping Dimensionals. I felt like the whole thing needed a bit of bling, so I added some Diamond Stickles and Dazzling Diamonds to the edges of the star, and really blinged up Garden Angel's wings. The picture doesn't do her justice - it's very sparkly in real life!! Thanks again, Suzanne, for a fun challenge. Can't wait to see what the other Fans of Karen Lockhart come up with.

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Ornament Challenge - Fans of Karen Lockhart

ETA: My ornament was chosen as the winner of the challenge - sadly, it was the only entry. But I still won, right?!! LOL Susana Magenheimer, the owner of Susana's Custom Art and Card Design has very generously offered a prize for the winner (ME!), which is the Karen Lockhart Itty Bitty Wreath stamp and some sparklies. How cool is that?!! Hopefully I'll have more competition for future challenges. Hehehe

Suzanne Dean has posted another challenge over at the Fans of Karen Lockhart on PapercraftPlanet.com. The challenge is to create an ornament using Karen Lockhart stamps. This one was interesting for me, but I wanted to give it a try. I had limited time, so I had to use the supplies I had on hand. No time to run to Michael's and buy an ornament to alter. I just happened to click on a link on the MSN homepage last week, which led to the MarthaStewart.com website. She had information listed to make your own ornaments. I chose this one, thinking that it would be perfect to showcase my Karen Lockhart Itty Bitty Christmas stamps. I made six scalloped squares using my Nestabilities and my Cuttlebug (LOVE my Nesties & Cuttlebug!) out of two different coordinating SU Christmas DP's. I then punched out four squares using my SU 1-1/4" square punch. Glued everything together according to the instructions, punched a hole at the top and bottom, threaded some SU cord, colored four Karen Lockhart Itty Bitty images on inchies squares, glued those on the four squares, and Voila! An Ornament!! Thanks for the fun challenge, Suzanne!

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Stamping Bella Favorite Stamper #2

This is the card that I created in response to the Stamping Bella Favorite Stamper #2 challenge posted on Splitcoast Stampers. We were to choose a card from the Favorite Stamper's gallery and CASE it, changing at least two things about our card. The Favorite Stamper #2 is Jessica (jlazarski), and THIS is the card from her gallery that I CASE'd. Congratulations, Jessica, on being the Stamping Bella Favorite Stamper #2!! I actually gave this card away to our mail lady in AZ. She takes such good care of us every week, making sure that all the fun little boxes full of stamps arrive at our door safely. Hehehe

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Stamping Bella Sketch Challenge #58

I made this card for the Stamping Bella Sketch Challenge #58 that was posted on Splitcoast Stampers. It is a great sketch that Jaymerz (Jamie) created for us, and I had a lot of fun using it. I inked up little Maisy Sunshine and used some yummy Collage Press DP that I've been hoarding for a while now. I just love the colors in this DP and felt that it coordinated with this darling little image perfectly. I've discovered that I need these challenges to get motivated to stamp and really press my creativity. I find that I struggle to think "outside the box" unless someone challenges me. So, I think I'll be seeking out these challenges more often.

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A Good Stamping Day

In addition to winning the $50 Gift Certificate for my Stamping Bella card (see post below), I also found out that another one of my cards was chosen as the featured Card of the Week over at the Fans of Karen Lockhart page, located at Papercraft Planet. I made this card for one of the challenges for the last Virtual Stamp Night. I used one of Karen Lockhart's Quilt Blocks for this one. I just love her images. My card was featured through the week of December 8th. Pretty cool, huh?

The final "good stamping day" event was that the second card posted here was named in the 'FAVORITES OF THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 7TH" thread on Splitcoast Stampers. To be mentioned in this thread is like being named Miss America, in my humble opinion. Every week, I read this thread and see so many beautiful creations by some of the most amazing stampers. Every week, I am in awe of their work. To my utter elation and joy, one of the cards that I made for the Stamping Bella 2nd Anniversary was named in the FAVORITES OF THE WEEK thread (Post #16). When I saw my name listed, I nearly fainted. For those that aren't familiar with this thread, y'all are probably thinking I've lost my mind. But I was absolutely thrilled and over-joyed to be named among all the incredible stampers that were named along with me. It really was an amazing feeling for me. Thanks, MissBoo!

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Stamping Bella Winner!

Oh my gosh! This past weekend was Stamping Bella's 2nd Anniversary and her Design Team was hosting three different challenges over in the SCS forum to celebrate this event! There was a color challenge, a theme challenge, and a sketch challenge. Well, my card won for the Sketch Challenge, hosted by Shannan Teubner. I won a $50 gift certificate to the Stamping Bella store. Woohoo!!

So this is my first official blog post. My niece, Stacey, helped me set this up. [THANKS, STACE!!] It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. I just really wanted a place to post pictures of my cards and papercrafts because it's what makes me happy. Hopefully something I do will make you happy, too. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave me some love before you leave!!