Love, Peace and Joy for the Holidays....GPD#012

There's a CASE the Designer Challenge at Global Design Project this week.  Brian King's adorable card is featured so I had to play along.  I love square cards so I kept his layout but headed to the North Pole for my animals instead of the South Pole.  This retired set of Polar Bears by Stampin' Up! is one of my very favorite sets that I will keep forever!

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope your holiday season is filled with love, peace and joy..........................

Peace but Not So Quiet......FMS214

These old fashion snowshoes from Winter Wishes remind me of a simpler time and the word peace seemed like a good fit for the sentiment. But perhaps I reached for the word peace because yesterday's outing with the Katzenjammer Kids went very well. The doctor pronounced Gram totally recovered and a celebratory trip to McDonald's was in order.

But that did lead to a rather spirited "discussion" about who got the longest French fry.......

My oh so talented friend Jen Timko has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  Hope you play along - it's a great time to work on your Christmas card stash!

                    

Rule of Threes......PPA276, #GDP011

                 

Red and white candy canes are so festive for Christmas. And thanks to the sketch I got to add three of them to my card! It is Christmas card crunch time around here.......I vow to have all my cards done by Thanksgiving......then I swear they will be done by the time the tree goes up the second week of December.........then I promise myself for sure I will finish by my birthday (the 20th)........yes the third time's the charm......

Triple the fun and play along with us at Pals Paper Arts this week!

The Global Design Project has a Christmas theme this week- lots of great ideas there for holiday cards!

                                         

Believe......FMS213

If you believe in the magic of Christmas then you will have no trouble believing that a Lighthearted Leaf can become a Christmas tree!  I do believe but I am not sure if the magic of Christmas is strong enough to make these two behave on our next outing!  I'll keep you posted!

Design Team member Amy O'Neill had some magical news of her own to share this week.  She has been selected to be on the new Artisan Design Team at Stampin' Up!  Stampin' Up! has recognized what we all know here at FMS - she is one talented gal!  She also created our sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches - hope you join us!

                                          

Stamp Review Crew: Wonderland.......CTS#149, PP271

The Stamp Review Crew is featuring the beautiful set Wonderland this week. I have used the gorgeous trees from this set many times. So I decided it was time to use the image I have been neglecting. This sweet little branch doesn't seem to mind the swirl of snowflakes made from embossing paste. Nothing prettier than a Christmas snowstorm!

We headed to Lake Placid again yesterday to visit Mike, Ria and those three pups. 

It is already winter in the Adirondacks and Emma was delighted to find a bit of snow to play in!

If you missed Shana's wonderful work hop back to her blog....otherwise head onward to see what my oh so creative friend Heidi has in store!  

The wonderful sketch at Cas(e) This Sketch inspired my layout today.

The Paper Players are having a CAS Christmas Card Challenge this week!

Silent Night......FMS212

I usually work in my craft room with the TV on or with music playing but last night I created this card enjoying the silence. Here's why.........

12:30 pm:  Assisted living calls -  Gram (my mother) is still coughing and they want her rechecked. I call the doctor.

1:00 pm:  Doctor returns call and can see Gram right away. Bundle up Emma, bribe her with my iPad and head out to get Gram.

1:30 pm:  Gram says she feels fine and is not going anywhere.  Bribe her with candy and get her in the car.

2:00 pm:  Doctor tells Gram she has a touch of pneumonia. Gram tells doctor she has lived to 90 without taking any medicine and isn't going to start now.  He has been her doctor for 25 years and hands me the scripts and says good luck......and starts showing Gram pictures of his new condo on his cell phone.  She finally hugs him good by and says that I will probably make her take the pills because I am so bossy.....doctor laughs.....happy that he is the good guy and now I'm the bad guy!  Bribe her with the promise of an iced coffee to get her out of the office and into the car.

3:00 pm:  Drop scripts at pharmacy and drive to Dunkin' for drinks and munchkins. Emma loads diaper while we are waiting in the drive through lane resulting in all windows down and freezing temps in the car.  Drive home to change her with Gram squawking in the front seat and Emma saying it's only a little poop Gram!

3:30 pm:  Leave Gram in car with coffee and munchkins while I take Emma inside to change her.....Emma tells her not to eat all the chocolate munchkins.

4:00 pm:  Back to pharmacy to pick up meds then to assisted living to return Gram. Gram is still holding on to those munchkins......and Emma is still saying don't eat all the chocolate ones!  Once inside Gram takes a large paper cup and fills it with munchkins. Emma says those are mine, grabs the cup and runs out into the hall. Gram refuses to take the box and tells me she wants the ones in the cup.  I chase down Emma and convince her to take the box and return the cup to Gram.  

4:30 pm:  Emma and I finally make it home. Emma sets the table for a "tea party"...... with munchkins.  And then she opens the box............not a chocolate one in sight...........


Erin took this selfie on their trip to the Pumpkin Patch recently.  She was smart just to buy them pumpkins and no munchkins!

My talented friend Narelle has a wonderful sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  The possibilities are endless! I thoroughly enjoyed working on my card....in silence.....using the set Flurry of Wishes!  The color blocks are sponged with distress inks - Cracked Pistachio and Peacock Feathers.


                                   

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends......PPA274

OK I'll admit it......maybe I was whining just a little while I was messaging with Brian King  the other day.  He and I coordinate Pals Paper Arts together and I just happened to mention that sometimes color challenges give me fits.......and I really need a sketch to get me going!  Well he turned out to be the right guy to whine to because two minutes later this sketch appeared in my messages - complete with me and Corduroy!

I definitely used his sketch as my inspiration this week! Corduroy looks like a sweet little bear so I paired the bear from Thankful Forest Friends with a Paper Pumpkin sentiment and I was good to go!  

And that Corduroy gets bigger every day.......

I am sure the beautiful fall color challenge is enough to get you going at

Pals Paper Arts this week!  Hope you play along!

Oh Happy Day - FMS211

Yesterday was one of those "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" kind of days.  It started with a furnace that wouldn't turn on and ended in a doctor's office with my mother.  (And yes the PA in the doctor's office really did ask if we were sisters......my mom is 90!!) By the time everything was squared away I was ready to call it a day.  But my daughter was going on a business trip so I headed to her house to watch Emma overnight.  After she left I asked Emma "What shall we have for dinner?"  Her answer?  "Let's have Cheerios and ice cream Amma!"  So we put on our pj's and did just that.  Best. Dinner. Ever.  And just like that the day turned completely around........

I love how the squiggle from Snuggles and Smooches looks like skating circles!  Perfect with the sweet skater from Talented Trio......hmmmm wonder if she was talented enough to carve out that sentiment as well!

My oh so talented friend (who could probably carve a sentiment on ice if she wanted to) Karren Johnson has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  

Stamp Review Crew: Lighthearted Leaves

A friend recently wrote to me that she liked that my cards and blog reflected what was going on in my life.  She's right! I often choose colors and images that reflect the season and happenings around me.  The beautiful fall colors of October have faded here so I reached for Sahara Sand to stamp my leaves.  We have turned the clocks back and are settling in for the dark chilly month of November.  But it's not all bad! The hint of red and green in my card is a sign of the festive holiday season to come.  In the meantime I am going to enjoy the month of quiet before the chaos begins.  I have the Outlander series on DVD to finish, the new John Grisham book on my nightstand and a peck of apples waiting to be baked into pies.......and there is always a card or two to make!

So brew a cup of something warm and settle in to enjoy the Stamp Review Crew's hop featuring Lighthearted Leaves.


Hop back to Nikki Spencer's blog if you missed her wonderful work or keep on going to see what treats Holly Krautkremer has in store!

The layout for my card came from the wonderful sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch this week!