SMASHing it!

I've just started working on a SMASH book.  For those of you who don't know what SMASHing is- you just paste things into a book- whatever you'd like- randomly- no order...now, the "random" part is giving me trouble.  I seem to want to make it more of a mini scrapbook, but I'm working on it.

Since the first of the year, I've made a couple pages and thought I'd share them with you.  Now, keep in mind, I AM a newbie at this...

In October, my son ran and completed his first marathon- all 26.2 miles of it- so I made this page using pictures of him as he's running...

This second page(s), I made in honor of my Baltimore Ravens who are in the playoffs.  Getting better, but still not great...

 

I made these pages using the Christmas cards that I received this year (of course, I didn't cut up the hand-stamped ones I received, those will be kept in my stamp room!).  I saw someone else do this and thought it looked like it would be fun...and it was!  What a great way to keep cards from each year without having piles of cards just laying around

 

These last 2 pages I made of My Favorite Things.  I'll probably add to this page as I find more things to use.

 

So, I'm on this SMASH journey and enjoying it...just hope I get better at the randomness of it all!!!

It's Fabulous Freebie Friday!

It's time for another Fabulous Freebie giveaway on the Sassy Studio Designs Papercraft Planet page!
This week's image is Diva Diana, and boy, she IS fabulous!!!!  Make sure you go grab this wonderful freebie before she's gone!  The "challenge" for the next two weeks is to use something from your "stash" on your project.  Well, believe me, I have a HUGE stash!  I have tons of "stuff" that I've bought and either didn't use up or never used at all!   For this week's card, I used some leftover black jet stick-on beads/flourish, as well as patterned paper from the Lime Rickety pack from Basic Grey.  I was never quite sure how to use this one pattern but I think it works well with Diva Diana.  What do you think?



 

 ...and a close-up of this gorgeous image:

 



It's Fabulous Freebie Friday!

It's Fabulous Freebie Friday!  Today's image is Hanging the Wreath.  Maybe sure that you stop by SSD's Paper Craft Planet page today and grab this fabulous image while she's available!!  BUT HURRY!!  She'll only be available for 24 hours!  After you get the image, make sure to play along with us by posting your card or project using Hanging the Wreath to our PCP page!  Just remember- the challenge this week is to use 3 different embellishments on your creation!

Here's my card using this image.  I used red Stickles, stick-on rhinestones, and rhinestone snowflakes on my card.

Stamp: Hanging the Wreath (Sassy Studio Designs). Deck the Halls (not sure...)
Paper:  Old Olive, Cool Carribean, scrap of Christmas patterned paper (Stampin' Up), Neeneh 80# white
Accessories:  Copic Markers, red Stickles, stick-on rhinestones, stick-on rhinestone snowflakes, scalloped oval punch, Modern Label punch, pop dots

Beautiful Christmas Present!!

I have the most thoughtful, giving, and talented friend named Gloria!!! Make sure to check out her blog Girl Gone Stamping.  Look at this amazingly beautiful album that she made and gave me for Christmas!!!!

The front flap is kept closed with a hidden magnet under the tab.  Such gorgeous papers!! (If you click on the individual picture you will get a larger image).

 

There are so many overlapping pages!  Some open from the left and some open from the right.  Here there are 3 tags in the center pocket.

 

Another pocket with a large tag:

Here there are 3 overlapping pages:

More gorgeous pages:

Another large tag:

So many tags!!  3 more!

The last page in the album- a gorgeous tag of Santa and his sleigh:

The back of the album is just as gorgeous as the front!

Gloria, thank you SO much for such a wonderful gift!!!  I will treasure this album as much as I do our friendship!!!!  Hugs and Merry Christmas!!!

Meade Girls' Christmas Party 2012

Every December my stamping group, The Meade Girls, get together for their annual Christmas party, and every year we have SO much fun!!!  This year was no different!!!!   15 of our group attended the party, several were missing, though, and they were greatly missed!  There was food galore- as usual- and it was ALL delicious!!

 

We drew names for Secret Santa.  Here is Angie with the Babycakes cupcake maker that Tracie gave her.

Here's Jane getting ready to open her package from Rose...how cute!

Jane was my Secret Santa!  Check out what she gave me:

 

She gave me Fleur de Lis Nestabilities and Dylusions' Bird on a Wire stamp set.  I love it!!!!

Here is the card that Jane made for me- I love the vintage feel of it!

Amanda and Angie also had a surprise for all of us!!!  The gave us embroidered Meade Girls crafting aprons that Amanda had embroidered on her much loved sewing machine with the "regal" name that Jane has given us !!  Each one was a different color- here's mine- royal blue with yellow...I LOVE it!!!!!!

Here Michelle G., Kathi, and Rose are sporting their aprons:

 ...as are Paula, Gloria and Jane...

Here's a group shot of the Meade Girls in their aprons...minus Sara who doesn't like to have her picture taken...

It was a fun day of hiding Jane's candy, meeting Mr. "OMG, he's hot!"and just plain hanging out.   I am SO blessed to be a part of this group...the most wonderful ladies in the world!!!  Thank you for letting me be a part of it!  Now I can't wait till our next get-together- our January shoebox swap!!  Hmm, guess I'd better start working on my card!!  See you girls then!

Meade Girls' Secret Sisters!

For the past 3 months or so, the Meade Girls have had another round of Secret Sisters.  We sent our "sister" a card each month and then "revealed" ourselves at our annual Christmas get-together.  This round, though, Amanda decided to shake things up a bit.  Each month, we had a challenge of sorts.

My secret sister was Jane and here are the cards I sent her:

For our September card, we had to use something recycled.  Here is my card to Jane using recycled green ribbon and rhinestones that I pulled off of 2 old cards:

The image is from Mo Manning and the sentiment is computer-generated.  Here is a close-up:

Our October "challenge" was to use something GOLD on our card.  Here's what I came up with:

I'm not sure who makes this digi-image but he sure is cute!

I used brushed gold cardstock for one of my layers, gold Stickles, gold lame ribbon, and the leaves have gold glitter along the edges.

There was no challenge for November so we were able to do and use whatever we wanted.  Jane's birthday just happened to be in November, so I created a birthday card for her.

I'm not sure who makes this cute little image (Mo Manning, maybe?) but I thought it was perfect to deliver Jane some loving birthday wishes!

This  sketch was our challenge for December:

...and here's my take on that sketch:

This was my reveal card for Jane.  I hope she liked it!  For this card, I used the Fabulous Friday Freebie image from Sassy Studio Designs called Trimming the Tree.  The card is 5 x 7".

Who was MY secret sister you ask?  Well, it was Paula and here are the fabulous cards she sent me:

September

October

The "theme" for October was to use gold on your card. When I came home from work on Halloween Day, this was hanging on my door knob!!

Here is the "package"- made of gold metallic cardstock. LOVE the little ghost and the googlie eyes!

 

Here is the cute little pumpkin card she had tucked inside:



...and inside she had all of these fabulous gold things- embossed paper, ribbons, gold cord and stars...  I just LOVE that embossed paper!!!

 

November

November was a "free" month meaning we didn't have a theme for our card.  My secret sister sent me this beautiful Thanksgiving card:

Finally, here is the card she gave me to "reveal" her identity:

She also included these little items- a pair of warm, fuzzy socks, a cute paper Ravens "ornament"tag, and a Snowman "tea lite".  How cute!!!

 

Here is the adorable little snowman all lit up.  I'm going to have to make some of these!!!!  Yeah, I probably should have taken him out of the cello bag before taking the pictures- oh, well...  :)

I loved every one of my cards!!  What a wonderful secret sister I had!!!  Thank you, Paula!

It's Fabulous Freebie Friday!!!

It's time for the SSD teams to mix it up again!  This week, I'm back on the Fabulous Freebie Friday team.  We have a wonderful Christmas image for you- Trimming the Tree.  You can grab this image for free today only, so make sure to visit the SSD page over at Paper Craft Planet.  The challenge for the next 2 weeks will be to use the weekly freebie plus use 3 or more different embellishments on your creation.

Here is my card using Trimming the Tree.  For my 3 embellishments I used a star button, pleated ribbon, and stick-on rhinestones.  I hope you like it!

Stamp:  Trimming the Tree (Sassy Studio Designs)
Papers:  Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Christmas designer paper (Stampin' Up), Neenah 80# white
Accessories:  Old Olive pleated ribbon (Stampin' Up), star button (unknown), stick-on rhinestones (Stampin' Up), pop dots, Copic Markers

DTBST #153- Christmas But NOT a Card!

This week's Dare To Be Sassy Thursday challenge is to create a Christmas project but it can't be a card!  I wasn't quite sure what to make but then I remembered the adorable note pad holders we learned how to make at my friend Amanda's house during our Black Friday Crafting Day.  To make this note pad holder, I used Stampin' Up's clear stamp (DVD) container lined with designer paper.  The pad is attached to one side with a matching RSVP pen and on the other side is a pocket for receipts.  (The plan was to put the word "receipts" on the pocket but I kinda sorta misspelled it...thankfully I checked my spelling before I attached it!  I didn't have time to re-stamp it, but I'll do that at a later date.)  So, here is my Christmas-but-not-a-card project- the "Naughty List"- for this week:

 

I used SSD's Ellie the Elf image. Isn't she gorgeous?  This is one of the images that is being retired on Friday, November 30th, so if you love her like I do, you'd better hurry and grab her before she's gone!!

 

Inside:

I apologize for the poor photo of the outside of the note holder- I kept getting a lot of glare with the flash, so I had to turn it off.

Make sure to check the SSD Blog to see what the rest of the DTBST team has created!  You will be SO impressed!!

This is my last week on the DTBST team.  Starting next week, I will be on the Fabulous Friday Freebie team!

Stamps:  Ellie the Elf (Sassy Studio Designs), alphabet letters
Paper:  Neenah 80# white, patterned paper (Stampin' Up)
Ink:  Stazon Black
Accessories:  Clear Stamp Case (Stampin' Up), note pad, RSVP pen, redline tape, scrap of ribbon to hold pen

DTBST #152- Felt or Fabric

It's Thursday and that means another DTBST challenge!  Challenge #152 is to use felt or fabric on your project.  One day while I was at Michael's, I found some fabulous felt roses, so I decided I would use one on my card.  The image I used is Reindeer Sassy, one of SSD's brand new Christmas releases. (She's available HERE).  Isn't she wonderful??

Close-up:

I apologize for the poor photos and the shadow on the first card.  I am still learning how to use my new camera!!

Make sure to stop by the SSD Blog to see what the rest of the DTBST team has for your inspiration!

Stamps:  Reindeer Sassy (Sassy Studio Designs), Happy Holidays (Stampin' Up)
Papers:  Crumb Cake, Old Olive (Stampin' Up), Neenah 80# white, patterned paper (Recollections)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Copic Markes, felt flower (Recollections), gold stick-on beads (Recollections), small oval punch, Key Tag punch (both Stampin' Up), pop dots, glitter-edged leaves (Recollections)

First-Ever Journal Page

I decided today I would attempt to do a Christmas art journal page all by myself...and what a disaster it is!  The whole time I was working on it I could "hear" Dyan Revealey in my head saying to do it quickly- don't think...but I keep "thinking"- it's crooked, it's not stamped properly, etc., etc., etc...All in all, I guess it isn't HORRIBLE, but I'm not totally happy with it...what do you think?  I really was fun to do, though!  Can't wait to do another one!

Stamps:  Dylusions Ruby Rainbow, Inbetweenies, Christmas Words, and Basic Backgrounds stamp sets
Ink:  Archival Jet Black, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Neenah 80# white
Accessories:  Dyan Revealey's Creative Journal, Copic Markers, stickles, stick-on snowflakes/rhinestones, white gesso, brickwall stencil, Glossy Accents, white pen

Get "Whale" Soon!

A friend's 11-year old grandson recently had major surgery.  My stamp group sent him a get well "card shower" so that his mailbox would be full of well wishes when he got home from the hospital.

Here is the card that I made- an 11-year old is hard to make for- not a child but not yet an adult...hope he liked it:

Stamps:  Whale and sentiment (Hambo Stamps)
Papers:  Night of Navy, Bashful Blue (Stampin' Up), Neenah 80# white, patterned paper (Mystic Blue package from Close to My Heart)
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories:  Copic Markers, clear dew drops, Alene's Jewel It glue, pop dots, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities

Sassy Studio Designs NEW RELEASE!

This weekend, Sassy Studio Designs is releasing several brand new Christmas images....and they are fabulous!!!  Make sure to visit the SSD Blog to see the other releases- Santa Sassy, The Greatest Gift, and Reindeer Sassy.  We are also having a challenge- Shabby Chic.  There will be prizes- we will have prizes given for 2 random selected comments on the SSD Blog and all 5 images given to the selected project of the challenge.  So make sure to play along by uploading your Shabby Chic creation to the SSD Blog using Inlinkz!

What is Shabby Chic?  Well, I looked the definition up and this is what I found: Shabby Chic is something that's rather worn out/tattered and appears shabby, but has a touch of understated class.  I have never done shabby chic before and was a little intimidated by this challenge!  So, here is my Shabby Chic card, whether it really IS shabby chic or not!  :)

The image that I am featuring today is called "All Wrapped Up" and she is one hot little package!  :)

 

Close-up:

I found some designer paper at Michael's this is made of kraft with gold embossing.  I layered that onto kraft paper with a layer of gold metallic paper.  I added bit of cream-colored lace and doily plus a little bit of gold metallic ribbon.  The December 25 piece is cut from the pack of patterned paper  and popped up on pop dots.  I "sat" the image on top of it.  A gold earring to match the gold embossing and ribbon, and a few cream-colored paper flowers finish off my shabby chic creation.

So, how'd I do??  I know I need practice!  I also need practice with my new camera.  I'm having trouble getting the flash just right.  I apologize for the poor pictures!  I think my next class should be in photography!

Now, if you haven't been there, yet, head on over to the SSD Blog for more inspiration from the design team!!!