A PENGUIN CHRISTMAS CARD

Happy Friday to all of you! I am fully recovered from my two-day shopping spree (although my wallet is not -LOL!). And yep, I made yet another Christmas card - sorry! I love Christmas and I got such cute sets from SU! fall/winter collection that I just cannot help myself. So, if you are tired of my Christmas cards, I promise to post something different tomorrow *wink* BUT for now, here it is! This one is made in the traditional card size - I know, not square! I wanted something bright again as I love those colors for Christmas so the base of my card is Garden Green cardstock. I layered this with Dashing DP, isn't this paper yummy??!! I of course used my corner ticket punch and then faux stitched using my mat stack. All the stitching on my card is highlighted using my stampin write markers. I often wonder what I would be doing if I had not discovered this fun tool??? But, gettin' back on track....For the main image I used three pieces of paper - Real Red cardstock, Dashing DP, and then Garden Green cardstock on which I background stamped little snowflakes from the Punch Pals stamp set in the same color. I used my corner ticket punch again and faux stitched the bottom two layers. I added Real Red brads to each corner and then stamped the little penguin (isn't he dang cute??) from the Punch Pals set onto Whisper White cardstock and colored him with my Stampin Write Markers. I popped him up on dimensionals and then adhered all three layers to the main card. The scallop circles are done using my two larger circle scallop punches from Marvy and my new small scallop circle punch from SU! . These are done in Real Red, Dashing DP, and Garden Green paper as well. I pierced the two larger scallops along the edges and then used the Tis the Season Stamp from Punch Pals on my smaller scallop as it fits perfectly - I love that! I popped the two top scallops up on dimensionals which gives this card a really neat 3d look that is hard to see in the picture. I added a small piece of red and green Xmas polka dot ribbon that I got in the $1 bin at Joanns because it matches my DP perfectly. I had a lot of fun making this card and I hope you all like it! Have a fabulous weekend - I am off to work on Beate's latest sketch challenge!

MY FLIP FLOP SHOP HOP SUCCESS STORY

Hi everybody! I have spent the last two days dashing all over central Florida going to all the different Independent Scrapbook and Stamp stores participating in the Shop Hop. What a blast! Vicki and I had such a great time but man, are we tired! We found some great things though to add to our respective stashes and I have found out a sad truth - when it comes to scrapbooking and stampin, I have very little willpower BUT they say, the first step is to recognize you have a problem - LOL! So, I would like to share with you some pictures of all the wonderful loot I personally will be hiding within the stuff I already have! First of all, the paper - oh, the wonderful, glorious, stinkin' cute paper! All the new Halloween papers from CHA arrived in most of the stores and of course I had to have some. And, I found all kinds of very cute beachy papers, little boy and girl papers, animal papers, pet papers, Christmas papers....it was a beautiful thing! I even found some paper that talked about drinking coffee with a friend and some awesome grandparent paper which I adore. What was nice was that all the stores had such a different array of papers, stamps, and embellishments that it was like Christmas in every one! Check this paper out - is that stinkin' cute or what?? I even found some paper that is about the construction of a new home which will be perfect for the book I am making about our new one in CA! Now, on to the embellishments! Oh, they were sooooo wonderful and I wanted them all BUT I was trying to be good so here are the ones I ended up bringing home with me (along with some more paper). I found the cutest M&M punch/embosser which I plan on using for a lot of projects including our

trip to the New York M&M factory - yummy! I also found these way cute die cuts, some great stickers, and these medals that will be great for my son's book. And, at this

great store out at Amelia Island, they make these custom die cute overlays - too cute! I wanted them all, but settled for these three because I have projects these will be awesome with! Look at that monkey - OMG!!!!! But, I digress....let me show what else I got. I couldn't help myself - I broke my cardinal rule about buying stamps other than SU! but they had this large Michaels down in Daytona and well, they had all these really really cool dollar stamps and I had to have them -*sigh*. I know, I need help, but dang this was soooo much fun and I am sooo happy that Vicki and I had the chance to do this before I leave here in a few weeks and start across country to CA! Now, one last picture - this is what I picked up to make my book for shop hop - pretty cool, huh?! You can't make a book for the Flip Flop Shop Hop Event and not have any Flip Flops - LOL! I hope you all have a fabulous evening and I will post a project tomorrow! Until then....

ANOTHER SQUARE CHRISTMAS CARD

I am so excited - today is Flip Flop Shop Hop...what's that, you say?? Well, it is where 15 of Florida's scrapbooking and stampin stores get together, offer specials, 15% off everything, and a chance to win a $50, $25, or $15 gift certificate to EACH store. All you do is pay $5 for your passport (you have to get it stamped at every story to qualify for the gift certificates) and they give your map and you are off and running! My close friend Vicki and I have been waiting anxiously because it gives us a chance to spend some girl time together and get out of Jacksonville if even for the day. So, that is what I am up to today...and tomorrow since we are splitting the stores in half. We have it all planned out! I will share my goodies if I find some (yeah, IF) in the form of some pics when I get back!

So, on to the card. Yep, I made another square card. I love them! I wanted to make some Christmas cards because SU! has come out with some very cute sets and of course I had to have them! I wanted this card to be bright and cheery so I used my bold brights paper. The base of the card is real red cardstock, and then the layers are DP Cerise which I love because to me it screams Christmas. I used my corner ticket punch on all my layers. The main image is stamped on whisper white and mounted on real red cardstock I then faux stitched using my mat stack and my stampin write real red marker. I used my blender pen to color the image with garden green, chocolate chip, and yoyo yellow stamp pads. The stamp is from the set Big on Christmas and is perfect for making your holiday cards. The mitten stamp is from the Flaky Friends set. I stamped it on whisper white in black stazon ink, used my blender pen with real red, garden green and yoyo yellow stamp pads, cut them out, and popped them up on dimensionals. I added some garden green buttons for accents. A very simple card, but I really like they way it turned out. Now, off to the shop hop - tell ya about it later!! All items highlighted are SU! products!

WE MUST NEVER FORGET

Today marks the 6th anniversary of the terrible things that happened on that September 11th. We must never forget the people lost, the families forever altered, the children who no longer have their parents, and the service men and women who to this day are serving in the War on Terror to prevent this from happening again. I think this day touched everyone's lives on one way or another - I too lost good friends on that day. But, we must always remember them, honoring their memory by staying strong and resolute as Americans, and never backing down from the threat. We cannot forget that there are still people out there who want to harm what we stand for, the beliefs our country is built on, the freedom we still have. Keep those who have made the ultimate sacrifice close in your minds and in your hearts, and remember that those surviving without loved ones relive that day of horror over and over. For those people, I will always remember.

OH CHRISTMAS TREE...A CARD FOR BEATES CHALLENGE

Wow! Here it is, Monday again...although now that I am retired and my whole family is in CA, one day pretty much seems like the next for me! I am REALLY looking forward to getting back to a family routine - I really miss the chaos, the MOOOOOMMMMMMMs, you know what I mean - LOL! So, today I made a card for Beate's weekend sketch. I love her sketches because I feel like I have a goal when I sit down to make the card. For this week, I decided on a Christmas card using some of my new stamp sets that I have not inked up yet - sad, I know! I did do another square card today although after I went to the post office to mail some of these puppies, I may have to rethink those - YIKES! Okay, now for the card details!

I made the base of my card using Handsome Hunter because I love the dark, rich green of this paper. I stamped the snowflake from the stamp set Season of Joy in versamark and using iridescent ice embossing powder, heat set it. For my layered papers, I used Wintergreen DP, and Mellow Moss. For my main image I used Glossy white which I have never used before but like it a lot! I used my corner rounder for all my paper and paper pierced and faux stitched using my mat stack on the mellow moss layer. I also stamped in the same color little presents from the stamp set Punch Pals. The tree is also from the Season of Joy set (loveit!) which I stamped in Handsome Hunter. I stamped the Tis the Season image on Mellow Moss and punched it using my small scallop circle punch and popped it up on dimensionals. I added the mellow moss ribbon, and button to get it some more detail. I used the last of my vintage brads (boohoo) as well - I love these and wish SU! wouldn't have gotten rid of them! Using my Word Window punch, I punched out the phrase Happy Holidays which is actually part of a large stamp in the Punch Pals set. It is stamped on glossy white in Handsome Hunter as well. Anyways, here it is - I hope you likey!!

FEATURED STAMPER CARD - MADDY MASON

Hello all! I hope you are enjoying your weekend! This morning I was blog browsing and saw that Beth at Freckled Fun had posted a new Featured Stamper. I usually always read them and check out their beautiful creations, but rarely do I do them. Today, however, I did. The featured stamper today is Maddy Mason, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. There is a thread on SCS as well for people who want to send her a card and wish her well. Now, I don't know Maddy and had never seen her creations (they are beautiful by the way) BUT I do know that when somebody is hurting, we should all reach out to do what we can to help. So, in my own little way, I am doing that today. I made this card and will send it out to Maddy tomorrow along with my prayers and hopes for her battle with this terrible disease. I hope all of you will join me in sending Maddy a card - Beth has volunteered to give you the address to mail your cards to. Please take the time to do this today. I am sure it will mean a lot to Maddy to know people have her in their prayers. Now, here is the card I did for her. I used this card of hers as my inspiration and went from there. The stamp set I used was Baroque Motifs because I thought it was perfect for what I wanted to do. The base of the card is Purely Pomegranate which I then layered with Rose Red Prints DP. I used my scalloped rectangle punch to create the window and my corner ticket punch for the edges of all my paper. The smaller layers are both Purely Pomegranate and River Rock. I then stamped the large swirl in versamark, added clear embossing powder and used my heating tool to set it. I then stamped the flower onto Purely Pomegranate in the same color ink, cut them out, added the pink circle rhinestone brads, and popped them up on dimensionals. Using my spring flower bouquet punch, I punched out the flowers in Purely Pomegranate and River Rock, added a rose red brad to each center, and popped these up on dimensionals as well. The word sentiment is stamped in Purely Pomegranate Ink on River Rock, and I added a small piece of Bravo Burgundy ribbon. The saying you see through the window is a stamp I bought some time ago (sorry, don't know where) and I thought it was perfect for this card. It is stamped on river rock in Purely Pomegranate ink and adhered to the inside of the card. All items highlighted are SU! I hope I did Maddy's inspiration card justice. I will mail this to her first thing tomorrow! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!