Naughty!

Mornin' y'all!  Ryan has early release from school today and then he'll be off for the next two weeks, so I'd better wrap up a couple of presents this morning while he is safely elsewhere.  And I think we're going to paint the guest room this weekend so I cleared out the closet of all the stuff (because we are de-greige-ifying the closets too!).  I also admitted to the hubs that I don't like the light blue that we did in the living room, entryway, up through the upstairs hall...which is the largest area in the house...sorry, honey.  It looked fine in small swatches, but it just is TOO MUCH when it's all done.  It needs to be a slightly blueish gray, not baby blue.  He gave me side-eye but said we'll repaint it.  I do feel guilty though.

And also a bit naughty.  As soon as I saw Jaydee's card for a recent Paper Players challenge, I knew I had to get those dies!  I got not just the Grinch hand, but a word die as well:

I still had the Reindeer Fun DSP sitting out from making cards for the hubs, so that's where I got the lights in the background.  The snowy backdrop for the Grinch and his purloined ornament are from the Nests of Winter DSP.  I used this week's Atlantic Hearts sketch:

And I can enter this at Just Add Ink too:

I have stripes (on the ornament), snow (behind the Grinch's arm), and shimmer (red glimmer naughty!).  I had fun making this and I'm sure that I will be using these dies more in the future : )  We need to hurry up and watch some Christmas movies this year.

Daphne is chastising someone outside (how DARE anyone use the green space behind our house without her express written permission, which is hard to get since she's illiterate) but I'm going to take her for a quick walk and then get to wrapping some presents.  Cheers!

Supplies:
Stamps:  None
Ink:  None
Paper:  Real Red, Garden Green, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White, Basic Black, Reindeer Fun DSP, Nests of Winter DSP, Silver Foil, Real Red Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Grinch Hand & Naughty Word Die from Kat Scrappiness

Snowflake Wishes

Mornin' y'all, how's it going?  I am just sitting down to my morning cuppa, which is especially nice today because the temperature dropped 20 degrees between yesterday and today and it's extra windy to boot.  However, from the weather forecast it looks like the only snowflakes we'll be seeing for the foreseeable future are the paper kind.

I made this card yesterday and then worried this morning that I hadn't gotten a picture of it before the hubs took it in to work, but happily I did take a pic yesterday.  The CAS on Fridays Challenge wants to see snowflakes, which works out nicely with the AAA Colourful challenge:

I used Pool Party, Lost Lagoon (stamped off once), Just Jade, and Garden Green stamped twice for the sentiment.  Next up is the TGIF Challenges sketch:

Obviously that sketch demands a flurry of flakes, so I pulled out Snowflake Wishes which is at least a couple of years old but still just gorgeous and has some nice greetings in it too, not to mention the dies which I didn't use today.  Since one of the challenges is CAS, I decided to just do some pierced accents in the corners to keep it more CAS.  Took me a while to figure out where I had put the piercing template and mat, though the piercing tool lives near my Big Shot to help poke out fiddly bits when I die cut.

That's it for now, peeps.  I'm going to enjoy my cuppa, take Daphne out for what promises to be a very chilly walk, and then most likely I'll make myself more tea afterwards : )  Sounds like a good plan to me.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Snowflake Wishes
Ink:  Pool Party, Lost Lagoon, Just Jade, Garden Green
Paper:  Pool Party, Just Jade, Basic White
Accessories:  Piercing tool & template

Candy Canes

Mornin' y'all...I started today off with a bang when I whacked my head on my dresser.  It can only get better from here, right?  I was picking up some socks off the floor when it happened and next time I'll just leave the socks on the floor, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, I spent quite a chunk of time yesterday making Christmas cards for the hubs to take to work and I got eight done out of ten, so not bad at all.  I plan to finish up the last two today after I wrap some presents.  Here's the first card I made yesterday:

Hubs said do different designs and be creative, but I kept the designs pretty simple.  I pulled out a bunch of Christmas stamp sets and fanned them out on the floor on one side of my crafting table, then pulled out a bunch of patterned paper and fanned them out on the floor on the other side of my crafting table, then Daphne galloped in and I had to move the papers to safety.  Currently the guilty doggo is staring at me and trying to puppy dog eyes me into going for a walk before I finish this blog post, but she will have to be patient a little bit longer.  I was lazy and just picked the Christmas DSP that I had closest to hand, so like six packs of 6x6 or 4x6 papers and then a few 12x12s that I could grab without searching through my giant stack o' papers.

Anyway, then I just started mixing and matching stamp sets and papers and the candy cane card is the first one I came up with.  I used the current CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch to get started:

I ended up leaving off the banner part of the sketch since I did two large candy canes.

That's it for now, peeps.  Seems like most challenges are going on a hiatus for the holidays, so I think next week I'll just be sharing the other cards I made for the hubs and otherwise just spend time with the fam since both my guys will be off of work and school next week.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sweet Candy Canes
Ink:  Real Red, Pool Party, Lemon Lime Twist, Garden Green
Paper:  Lemon Lime Twist, Thick Basic White, Quilted Christmas DSP Stack
Accessories:  Candy Cane dies, Dimensionals

Piney Christmas

Mornin' y'all!  Someone explain to me how I could go to the store yesterday *with a list* and still have to go back today and spend another $100 on groceries.  Hopefully I won't have to go back until, like, Friday or Saturday this time.

Anyway, what with one thing and another I got one lonesome little card made yesterday, and here it is.

I started with the As You See It color challenge:

That immediately brought to mind the pineflakes in the Delicate Pines bundle, and I even stamped and die cut one before I decided that today's card needed the pine sprigs and a couple of pine cones.  I chose a Christmas greeting from Jolly Delivery so I can enter this at Addicted to CAS:

I thought about adding some kind of embellishments to my card, but decided that I like it how it is so it's staying more CAS.  I did add some Wink of Stella to the pine cones like they were a bit frosty, but it's very subtle.  Hey y'all, is pinecones one word or two?  Because Blogger thinks it's two and I keep trying to type it as one word.

The hubs told me last night that he needs ten Christmas cards and this morning he needs a sympathy card, so I have my work cut out for me this afternoon.  But first, I'm sure Daphne has figured out that I just finished my tea and she is side-eyeing me to take her out for a walk.  As always : )  Love my pupster.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Delicate Pines, Jolly Delivery
Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Pecan Pie, Night of Navy
Paper:  Night of Navy, Thick Basic White, Floral Charm DSP
Accessories:  Delicate Pines dies, Textured Notes dies, Mini Dimensionals, Wink of Stella

Christmas Card Color Block 2017

Mornin' y'all!  How was your weekend?  I spent a good chunk of yesterday listing things on eBay, mostly duplicate Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books from my collection.  I've been meaning to do that for weeks, so it's nice to finally have it done.  

I dropped Ryan off at school today, did the grocery shopping, and checked the mail on my way back to the house.  I hadn't checked it since last Thursday or Friday and we got three more Christmas cards over the weekend, so I thought today would be a good day to share again how I like to preserve photos and photo cards we get during the holiday season.

Today's layouts are from 2017, Ryan's first Christmas when he was 10 months old.  Look how ADORABLE he is in the top left corner!  I might be biased but it's also just facts, my kid is very cute.

I love having these layouts...there's my dear friend Beth in the middle, with the headset on.  She's been gone nearly two years now and her husband doesn't do Christmas cards or photos, so I cherish the ones I have.  And it's fun to see how my friends' kiddos grow and change every year.  The fam in the upper left corner now has two more members.  Maybe three?

Today's color palette is straight from the Quilted Christmas DSP Stack:  Blushing Bride, Real Red, Garden Green, Lemon Lime Twist, Pool Party, and Whisper White.  Quilt patterns are perfect with my patchwork layouts, am I right?

The Daphinator is Staring Me Down saying it's time I take her for a walk, so I'd better hurry up and finish my cuppa.  Have a great day, peeps.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Christmas Quilt, Alphaheart Numbers
Ink:  Real Red, Garden Green
Paper:  Blushing Bride, Lemon Lime Twist, Thick Whisper White, Quilted Christmas DSP Stack
Accessories:  Stitched Nested Labels Dies, Quilt Dies

Christmas Whimsy

Mornin' y'all!  I made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast this morning and Ryan agreed that they could join the Sunday breakfast rotation...he's chosen pumpkin cake every time for his turn for like the last six months.  Now don't get me wrong, I love pumpkin coffee cake, but even I was getting a little tired of it!  The pancakes were good but I burned my hand while I was making them (we have a little pancake cooker thing that's kinda like a waffle maker so they cook on both sides at once, but the sides of that thing get VERY hot as I unintentionally discovered this morning).  This is why I don't do dangerous things, I am dangerous enough (to myself, mostly) without taking unnecessary risks.

Anyway, I have a quick card to share today.

The Inspired By... challenge reminded me of the Whimsy & Wonder Specialty DSP that came out a few years ago, I think I bought it when it went on the clearance rack and this is the first time I've cut into it.

And I used the latest Freshly Made Sketch:

The DSP is doing all the work on my card, and the two patterns I used are both sides of a single sheet of paper.  I layered the Misty Moonlight pattern with the circle cutout on top of the other pattern, but I suppose I *could* have just cut out the circle and flipped it over and it would have been an inset instead of another layer.  Didn't think of it at the time but it's not like I don't have a zillion sheets of paper in my hoard.

Daphne tells me that she wants to go for a walk this morning and I need to work off some pancakes, so we're going to go enjoy an unusually warm and sunny December day before I tackle Ryan's laundry.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Greatest Part of Christmas
Ink:  Misty Moonlight
Paper:  Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride, Whimsy & Wonder Specialty DSP
Accessories:  Circles Collection Framelits, Solid Faceted Gems

The Clue of the Black Keys

It is time for a new Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today we're investigating #28, The Clue of the Black Keys, take a look:

Bill Gillies did the artwork for the OT on the left, and I think I heard in a podcast that he based his Nancy on his wife.  She seems to be wearing the same sweater she had on for The Secret of Red Gate Farm.  The scene is a bit crowded with the other three guys on the cover while they unearth literal buried treasure.

Rudy Nappi did the artwork for the RT on the right, it's the same scene but I like that this one only has Nancy and one other person in it so the focus is more on the treasure chest.  The silver is supposed to be tarnished so the black chest on the OT might be more accurate, but artistically, I like the brighter colors and focus of the RT art.  Plus you really get the jungley feeling with all the plants around Nancy.

Let's take a look at the mystery.

Case file:  Nancy is contacted by Terry Scott, a professor who was working on an archaeological dig in Mexico in search of treasure.  He and his partners found three black keys and a cipher stone, but now those items are missing and so is one of the professors working with Scott.  All Terry has is half of a black key.  Nancy's investigation leads her to Florida and then to Mexico and of course she finds the treasure and the missing professor.

Here's my card:

Of course I had to play with the idea of a black key for my card, and I remembered there was a key pattern in an old pack of DSP called Fan Fair, so that's where I started my card.  It was my great good luck that the colors match the colors Nancy and one of the men on the cover are wearing:

I used the map pattern for the background as well as the panel with the key and sentiment on it, I liked the map aspect because it makes me think of a treasure map, and Nancy travels in this one.  She's kinda Indiana Jones-ing it in this book.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Artifacts, You're a Gem
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Island Indigo
Paper:  Primrose Petals, Basic Black, Fan Fair DSP
Accessories:  Tasteful Labels Framelits, Rustic Metallic Dots, Dimensionals

On to the revised text:

The story plays out the same way as in the OT, just condensed to 20 chapters vs. 25.  Here's my card:

I really wanted to lean into the jungle theme on this card, so I chose the Tropical Oasis DSP.  The treasure in the book is inside of a silver frog and they call it "the frog treasure", so of course I had to use the little guy from Animal Outing, and that sentiment just makes me laugh.

I used two different extra-leafy tropical patterns to make it feel like the jungle is closing in on Mr. Frog there.  Shaded Spruce and Pretty Peacock aren't listed in the colors for the DSP, but they sure look like they're in it to me!  I popped up the Pool Party circle on Dimensionals, and then popped up the frog and his branch on another layer of Dimensionals.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Animal Outing & coordinating Paper Pumpkin stamp set that I don't know the name of
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede
Paper:  Shaded Spruce, Pretty Peacock, Thick Basic White, Tropical Oasis DSP
Accessories:  Animal Friends dies, Layering Circles Framelits, circle punch, Pretty Peacock metallic ribbon, Pretty Peacock Foiled Gems, Dimensionals

I enjoyed this installment, I give it four stars.  It's got some fun elements in it and who doesn't like looking for buried treasure?  If you are inspired by this book, leave me a comment as I would be delighted to see what you make too.  Stay tuned next Saturday when we unravel The Mystery at the Ski Jump.  Cheers!