new car...

well, i finally bit the bullet and got a new car today. with all the snow we get in the area we live in, a vehicle with 4 wheel drive was needed for my sanity. it's probably not the best time to be spending a large amount of cash with only a single income at the moment, but at least i'll be able to get to work in the snow easier!!! i traded in my jeep compass (for a decent amount!) and get a killer deal on a new auto. it's a 2008 used (with only 2600 miles!) jeep commander. i love it!!! now i just need to figure out how to fit it in the garage!!

christmas tags...

my friend chelsea made some of the cutest christmas tags a while ago. i was inspired by them, so i totally cased her idea!! here are how mine turned out!!

merry little christmas
stamps: purple onion designs, hero arts, stampin up
ink: mellow moss, riding hood red, baja breeze (all su); old paper-tim holtz
other: twine (su)

merry christmas...

thank you...

to the nice man that helped get my car unstuck from the snow at the park and ride last night after work!!!!

ahhh...

big sigh of relief. it's only december 20 and my christmas cards are finally mailed!! of course i didn't make enough, so some may not get one. so if you are one of those, consider a virtual christmas card sent your way!!

i can't believe it's time already!! i finished the last of my gift shopping tonight after work. we have our family party tomorrow, then work monday and tuesday and then i'm off for a week!! i can't wait. hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can go up to idaho to visit kerry's family.

merry christmas!!

more christmas cards...

i made more christmas cards this weekend. my parents came over yesterday and me and my mom made cards while the boys watched football. we cranked out quite a few. the first three are 4x4 cards. i was experimenting with my new nestabilities label set (which i LOVE!). i got the stamp set as a hostess gift from one of my swaps. it's so cute! inside these three cards says "warm wishes".







this sentiment stamp i love!!! i got it at river city rubber works and have been waiting to find the right card to use it on!! i used fun flock on santa's beard and hat.



now if i can just get all the cards i've made out in the mail so they will actually get to people by christmas!!!

swim meet...

my cute niece, breanna, has taken up swimming. she's had a ton of meets, but today is the first one i've been able to go to. i took a ton of pictures, unfortunately, i'm not a great photographer so they didn't turn out great!! there were a few good ones, though (she's in the pink swim cap). and i did do a video of two of her heats. this one is the girls 11-12 year old 50m backstroke, which she came in first place in her heat by .03 seconds!! way to go, bre!!!

christmas cards...

i actually took time to craft this weekend and was quite successful. it seems like i haven't made cards in a while, but i made about 20 cards total from the following three styles. the center of the first card is raised with demensionals to give it some depth. i used a different technique on the howly jowly christmas card. i put some white cardstock through the cuttlebug, then inked the embossed parts lightly so it has just a little color. i think it turned out cool. the last card is a remake from an atc i made a while ago.

bright
stamps: stampin up, amuse
cardstock: purely pomegranit-su, dcwv christmas stack
ink: versafine onyx black
other: su wild wasabi ribbon, bic markers

howly jowly christmas
stamps: kim hughes-cornish heritage farms
cardstock: not quite navy-su
ink: versafine onyx black, not quite navy, chocolate chip (su)
other: snowflake cuttlebug embossing folder, bic markers
**inside card says howly jowly christmas

seasons greetings
stamps: kim hughes-cornish heritage farms
cardstock: riding hood red-su
ink: black & white craft ink
other: clear embossing powder, bic markers

christmas tunes...

i added some christmas tunes. i made it so you have to press play, because i know a lot of people find it annoying to have music start automatically (it kinda bugs me too!).

so enjoy!

rough week...

it's been kind of a crappy week...so i haven't crafted a thing. i hope to do more this weekend. stay tuned...

another 10 wishes...

well the 10 wishes circle journal swap coming to a close. this is the entry i did for chris's cj. i've tried to stick with the same general theme, just changed the layout and colors a bit. i currently have the last cj i will add my entry to, then it will go back to it's creator. i'm sad that it's almost done!! when you start a project that lasts this long, you get kind of used to doing it!! oh well, i guess i'll just start another one!!!

10 wishes...
stamps: stampin up
cardstock: dcwv glitter stack, purely pomegranate (su), morning marigold (su)
ink: purely pomegranate
embellishments: ribbon (su), staples

merry christ-moose...

i hosted an atc swap with a merry christ-moose theme!! everyone made such great atcs!!! i love them all so i had to post all of them!!!

artists:
angie, sherri, cindi
mary, chelsea, terry
paula, marie, barb

happy thanksgiving!

5 years...

this year is marks the 5th year i've been together with my sweetheart, kerry. he sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers today as it's the day he choose to celebrate our anniversary. when you aren't married, you have a few options to chose from to call your 'anniversary'! he did good, don't you think?

the big game...

go utes!!!

coaster calendar swap...

i was the hostess for a 2009 coaster calendar swap . each person chose one month and altered 12 coasters. then i swapped them all and used my bind it all to bind them. they turned out so great!! everyone did a great job!!

tag happy...

i've been tagged 3 times!! twice by traci, but i can't think of 5 random things, so i'm just doing this one!!!! thanks, traci, for thinking my blog is creative (yes, i'm having an issue with the spelling of kreativ!)

here's #1:














Here are the rules:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

i'm trying to not tag the same people traci did, since i love their blogs too!! so here are my 5 blogs are (in no order):

stamping with {serendipity}
erin k creations
all inkd up
dapple designs
stacey's memory triggers


the third tag was from jami.

this is a batch of cupcakes i made sometime this summer. i guess i thought i needed to photograph them!!!

so for this i tag: mandy (since she's gotten the photo bug), sherri, jamie, brandie.

Here are the rules:
1. Go to your pictures
2. Upload the fourth picture from the fourth file
3. Post the picture
4. Tag four friends

tag, you're it!!!

christmas and atcs...

i'm finally finishing up the bazillion swaps i had that were due in the past few weeks. whew!! here are a few that i've done in the past few days. i had more fun with fun flock (it's hard to tell, but the moose's hat has it) and i even broke out the glitter. i'm starting to be more patient with glitter. i bought some of martha stewarts chunky glitter, so it's not as fine and annoying. plus i put it in a ziploc storage container and just spoon it on over the container so it's much less messy. this is what i do with embossing powder, too, and it's so much easier on clean up!





merry kissmoose
stamps: kim hughes (cornish heritage farms)
cardstock: riding hood red
ink: versamark
embellishments: fun flock, clear embossing powder

snow owls
stamps: hero arts, su
cardstock: night of navy, 3 bugs in a rug patterned paper
ink: onyx black versafine
embellishments: glitter

merry christmas
stamps: su, green grass stamps
cardstock: riding hood red, american crafts patterned paper
ink: riding hood red, wild wasabi
embellishments: stickles, star brads

mini cards...

i was feeling extra crafty today (even after finishing my other projects!) so i decided to make some cards to sell in my etsy shop. they come in a set of 4 cards with envelopes. i love the set "mr. twigster" from su. it's such a cute snowman stamp!

mr. twigster
stamps: su
cardstock: vintage violet, night of navy, 3 bugs in a rug paper
ink: blue bayou, onyx black versafine

happy holidays
stamps: su
cardstock: true thyme, old olive, basic grey figgy pudding paper
ink : riding hood red
embellishments: glitter

monkey business...

i had another adventure with fun flock. i took some advice from some friends and used a different kind of glue (i used a 2 way glue pen this time) and it worked much better. this is an atc i made for patty's monkey atc swap. i made the banana background in publisher, then printed it on cardstock. i love the little monkey with the banana on his head!!

bananas
stamps: stampendous
cardstock: close to cocoa, chocolate chip
ink: close to cocoa , black craft ink
embellishments: fun flock, clear embossing powder
other: bic markers

mini blizzard...

so wednesday we had a mini blizzard. and not the dairy queen kind!!! i was 20 minutes late for work because it was so awful by my house. it was very pretty the next day, but not during the storm!! i took this picture the next day. i love it because it has summer (blue sky), fall (the variety colors of leaves) and winter (the dreaded snow) in it. as much as i am in denial about it, i think winter is here...

dear santa...

a few more atcs for swaps. the first one is for chris's santa atc swap. i love the little santa and forgot i had him until i was digging around for a different stamp!!! the other one is a swap suzi is hosting that is a christmas atc using basic grey papers. i need to stop using this little owl. he ends up on everything because he is so stinking cute!!









dear santa
stamps: river city rubber works and unknown
cardstock: riding hood red (su), sweetwater patterned paper
ink: riding hood red (su), versafine onyx black
other: bic markers, ribbon (su)

merry christmas
stamps: hero arts
cardstock: baja breeze & blue bayou (su), basic grey figgy pudding
ink: blue bayou(su), versafine onyx black
other: bic markers

owl christmas...

over at the stamp shack, we play a little game of shack survivor. to play, you make a card. any kind of card. then each day, sherry posts an elimination statement like "if your card has only one layer of card stock, you are eliminated". if that statement matches anything on your card, you are banned to exile island. it's a fun game and it's great to see what everyone comes up with. i made a card today for my entry. it ended up being a christmas card and i think i'm going to make more to send out this christmas!! i've sort of got this thing with owls lately, if you didn't notice!!!

owl christmas
stamps: hero arts
cardstock: riding hood red (su), kiwi kiss (su), basic grey figgy pudding
ink: chocolate chip (su), riding hood red (su), onyx black (versafine), versamark
embellishments: bic markers, su ribbon, embossing powder

happy halloween!!!

just wanted to say...

to my cute mom, mary!!!

she's spending a few days in vegas to celebrate her 60th birthday!!!

card candy...

i am doing a swap that is totally outside of the box of my crafting. it is to make card candy, or little items that you can add to cards that are premade. kind of like things you buy at the craft store to embellish cards with. it was hard for me to come up with this and i've been putting it off, hoping something would pop into my head! well, i finally had to do it, so this is what i came up with!! there are 10 of us in the swap and we each picked a theme. mine was birthday, obviously!!!



birthday wishes card candy
stamps: stampin up, close to my heart, studio g
cardstock: purely pomegranate, pink pirouette, cool caribbean, so saffron, designer paper (all su)
ink: purely pomegranate (su), onyx black (versafine)
embellishments: purely pomegranate ribbon, crystal effects

sunday...

ah, what a nice weekend. yesterday i was feeling a little under the weather, so i stayed in my jams all day and did nothing but lounge. it was fantastic. today, although i haven't done much more than that, we did get our deck painted (the last coat) so it's all finished!! it looks so nice! the weather today was beautiful! then we went out to dinner. i have a swap to finish up tonight, so i'll post that later.

hope everyone else had a nice weekend!!

more atcs...

i've been a crafting fool lately (or maybe just a fool!) i've got a bunch of swaps that are due in the next week. here are a few i've been working on lately. the first one is for a snowman swap that chris is hosting. i used my cuttlebug and inked the embossing folder before running the cardstock through. i love the technique! the second atc is for a swap sherri is hosting. the theme is our favorite christmas movie. it was hard to narrow it down, but i love the movie "elf"! so i created this atc around one of my favorite quotes from buddy the elf!!! and the last atc is for a special project that i can't reveal right now!! needless to say, it's for a friend going through a rough spot!!

thanks for visiting!!

brrr
stamps: close to my heart
cardstock: soft sky, blue bayou(su)
ink: blue bayou, soft sky (su), white opaque (stazon)
other: cuttlebug sledding with snowman embossing folder, doodlebug sugar coating (glitter)

buddy the elf
stamps: paper salon, studio g, imaginesce
cardstock: old olive(su), figgy pudding (basic grey)
ink: riding hood red, pumpkin pie, barely banana, certainly celery (su); onyx black (versafine)



hang in there
stamps: purple onion designs, cornish heratige farms-kim hughes
cardstock: soft sky, blue bayou, designer prints (su)
ink: blue bayou(su); onyx black (versafine)
other: bic markit markers, ribbon (su)

more halloween cards...

my cute mom came over last to bring me some stampin up stuff. she ended up staying for dinner and then we had a card fest. when she first got here, she was a little upset and showed me some cards she had made the night before that she wasn't happy with. she had a box of stamps and supplies that she was about ready to toss in the garbage. after a lengthy discussion, i talked her into not throwing everything away. we sat down and came up with a few cards and before you know it, it was 3 hours later and we had cranked out 46 cards! we made about 7 different styles. below are 2 cards that i came up with, one we both made and one my cute mom created. by the end of the night, she was feeling better and decided it was a good idea that she didn't throw away!

trick or treat
stamps: penny black
cardstock: pumpkin pie (su), ghostly greetings designer paper (su)
ink: pumpkin pie, black craft ink (su)
other: bic markit markers, clear embossing powder

yum yum
stamps: penny black, studio g (inside)
cardstock: morning marigold, basic black, ghostly greetings designer paper (su)
ink: pumpkin pie (su), onyx black (versafine) , black craft ink (su)
other: bic markit markers, clear embossing powder

spooky nights
stamps: stampin up
cardstock: apricot appeal, pumpkin pie, basic black, ghostly greetings designer paper(all su)
ink: more mustard (su), pumpkin pie (su), onyx black (versafine)

trick or treat
stamps: stampin up
ink: onyx black (versafine)
cardstock: basic black, ghostly greetings designer paper (su)
other: ribbon

trick or treat...

isn't this the cutest stamp ever? it's actually my cute mom's, but i borrowed it for a swap that had to feature candy corn. PERFECT!! i love love love the little devil candy corn!!! it was my first experience with fun flock. although i love the idea of it, it's kind of a pain in the hiney to do. i need to figure out a better glue to use with it.

trick or treat
stamps: penny black, studio g
cardstock: black (bazzill), pumpkin pie (su), ghostly greetings designer paper (su)
ink: tangerine tango (su), basic black craft ink (su), versafine onyx black
embellishments: fun flock, clear embossing powder

fall in utah...

notice this post would be different if i would have titled it "fall in, utah..."

oh yeah, where was i...so the weather in utah can be somewhat of a mystery. take right now, for instance. last weekend it was 27 degrees and i posted pictures of the snow that had materialized overnight. this weekend it was 77 degrees and sunny. weird. i did manage to take some pictures of the fall foliage. they aren't the greatest since i obviously haven't figured out how to take a decent photo with my blackberry. maybe that's the problem!!! these were just around my neighborhood, which is less than 3 years old, so the trees are little. see that snow hiding in the background??? yep, that was from last week.

this one was not by my house, but it shows a bunch of color. i took this with my regular camera, so it's a little better (i hope!).

happy day...

to my brothers mike and mark!!!!

cards...

can you believe it?? i actually made some cards. it's been a while. i've been working more on atcs than cards. i had to make a little page for a special project (yet to be delivered, so hush hush...) and this is what i made. turns out, i had an idea that it would make a great card. i have a few people in my life who are going through some rough patches at the moment so i think this is a great quote for times like that.







here is the 4x4 page i made for a certain someone. i tried my patience at making my own background. an hour later and a ginormous headache later, i had a new polka dot background. i know, there are many out there, but i just wanted the dots so i could print on any color of paper. it turned out ok. i then wanted a little shine to it, so i covered it in versamark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. what do you think?

and here are the cards i made after i saw how much i liked the way the page turned out. i didn't "stamp" anything, except the ink for the embossing powder! i printed the sentiment on cardstock. all supplies are stampin up.