Oh Those Snowmen! FMS265

The day after Thanksgiving my daughter had a few cousins over - and Gram of course who never misses a party - to work on holiday crafts.  I must have been thinking of these little snowmen tea light ornaments when I put together this card!

I used the sweet little snowman from Snow Place to spread the joy of the Christmas season.  The embossed stitched circle was done with stitched dies and an embossing mat. Adding an embossing mat to your Big Shot sandwich prevents the dies from cutting all the way through.  Instead the dies leave an impression. I first saw this technique here on Jennifer McGuire's blog.

Narelle has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you join us!

Celebrating!.......PP323

December is crazy enough but when you add in several family/friend birthdays you must organize on a whole new level!  And since I too have a birthday close to Christmas I know it is important to send cards that look nothing like the holidays and to make sure gifts are not wrapped in any sort of Christmas colors!  So I made a few of these cards in bright birthday colors using a soon to be released set from SU called Balloon Adventures and Party Animal DSP.

Thank you for so many kind words and well wishes as I continue to recover from pneumonia.  I have been watching The Crown on Netflix to keep me occupied and sneaking in some on-line holiday shopping as well! 

But I did make it to my daughter's for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.  

Miss Emma had been busy working on favors and name cards!  

Her Momma set a lovely table!

Her Daddy wrestled the turkey into the fryer.

             And I brought "crackers" because Gram likes to wear a crown!

Sandy has a great sketch for us this week at the Paper Players!  Hope you join us~

                                                 

Snow Way! FMS264

"Snow way I have allergies!" I sniffled to the doctor last month when she prescribed allergy meds for a slight cough.

"Snow way I have bronchitis!" I coughed to the doctor two weeks ago when she ordered a chest X-Ray.......which came back negative.

"Snow way I have asthma!" I wheezed to the doctor last week when she prescribed a nebulizer for my low oxygen level!

"Snow way I have pneumonia!" I gasped to the doctor a few days ago when she ordered a CT scan.

"Pneumonia it is!" said the doctor when she called with the results.  

Snow way I am leaving this chair for a while!

I have never had pneumonia and hope I never get it again.....but if you have any words of advice for me I am listening!

My talented friend Karren Johnson has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  I used my favorite holiday colors of Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake with an added bit Basic Gray to update the look.  The embossed snowflakes are from Flurry of Wishes and the sentiment from Snow Place.

Copper and Cobbler......PP322

Santa's all decked out in copper foil and trimmed in Cherry Cobbler for the holidays - kind of a funky look for Santa but I like it!  Makes him stand out in a crowd!  And if you look very carefully at the picture below you see that one tree is not like the others.....stands out in the crowd for a very good reason.....

My daughter's back yard trees are trimmed in white lights except for one which is covered in big old fashioned colored bulbs. Those lights are all we have left of the many strands my dad used on his front bushes for oh so many years.......just makes my heart happy to see them still lit up!

Claire's CAS Christmas Card challenge at the Paper Players is perfect for this time of year!

Stamp Set:  Greetings from Santa

Season of Joy....Fusion, MM222

This card reminds me of my house which has gray cedar shakes, white trim and a red roof. And I always love the added bursts of red when I hang the holiday wreaths on the front and back doors! Red just adds the perfect pop of color with gray and white!

But then again there is nothing like the pop of pink against green - certainly makes one stand out at the Christmas Tree Farm!

I used both the sketch and the photo as my inspiration at Fusion this week! The colors go with Merry Monday's red, white and gray challenge!

Stamp Sets:  Wondrous Wreath, Christmas Pines

So Cool......FMS263

Oh that 80 degree temperature in Atlanta last week inspired my card for sure!  We were given this new set called Cool Treats (available Jan 4 from Stampin' Up!) at the OnStage Event.  There are all sorts of cool treat images in this set!

But I am home and back in the real world where the temperatures are cool.......and my nightly dog walks are brisk but oh so worth it when this super cool moon appears over your house.....

And Cecile's sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches is pretty cool as well!  Join us~!


                                                          

Christmas Shopping.......PP321, CTS#198

It is not too early to start Christmas shopping for sure!  While I was in Atlanta last week my daughter took Gram and Emma out to Dunkin' Donuts and TJ Maxx for a bit of shopping.  Emma was doing some fancy talking trying to get Gram to buy her a Barbie doll that she needed right that day!  Gram finally caved when Emma promised she would let Gram have all of the chocolate munchkins.......

Joanne's seasonal colors this week at the Paper Players worked perfectly on my Christmas card.  I also used the creative sketch from Cas(e) this Sketch.

Stamps Sets: Banners for Christmas, Christmas Pines, Snow Place

Sparkle and Shine.....FMS262

I had a wonderful trip to Atlanta where I attended two Stampin' Up! events. Two of my favorite people on the planet - Brian King and Pam Morris - hosted a World Card Making Day Event.......

which included stamping, swaps, and fabulous presentations from these talented demos......

Pam Morris, Candy Ford, Lynn Kolcun, Shawn de Oliveira, Linda Heller, Kimberly Van Diepen, Susan Nygaard, Brian King

and also included some shenanigans....yes that's me trying to catch SU sponges in a trash bin on my head!

The following day I attended Stampin' Up!'s On Stage Live Event - another great day of stamping fun plus a sneak peek at the new Occasions Catalog and a chance to play with new products!  But the highlight of the day was the announcement of the #1 Demo in the US.....my amazing upline Mary Fish!  Before she had a chance to catch her breath Mary was then named the #1 Demo globally! It was amazing and oh so exciting!  Her talent, leadership skills and work ethic are extraordinary.......I am so proud of her and delighted that I have been along for the ride for the past 7 years!

Some members of the top 100:  Lisa Curcio, Amy Koenders, Frenchie Martin, Brian King and Mary Fish.

I love Jen Brum's sketch this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  I watercolored a background panel in shades of blue and attached a snowflake diecut cut from silver glimmer paper.  I let that beautiful diecut sparkle and take center stage!

Stamp Set: Banners for Christmas from SU!

Die Cut:  Northern Lights Snowflakes from SSS

Paper: Silver Glimmer, Watercolor and Whisper White - all from SU!

Headed Home.....PP320, CTS3197

Oh I love those sweet leaves from Concord and 9th - so perfectly fall!  And as you read this post my weekend in Atlanta will be over and I will be flying back to NY.  I am sure I had a great time - but I will let you know for sure soon........


Laurie's challenge for us this week at the Paper  Players is a thankful one!


                                              

I followed the terrific sketch from Cas(e) This Sketch!

Stamp Set:  One Big Meaning (SU!)
Die Cuts:  Layered Leaves by Concord and 9th

Peek A Boo! Fusion, GDP#060

As you read this I will be in the air headed to Atlanta!  I am headed to Brian and Pam's World Card Making Day event on Friday - always so much fun! Saturday will be Stampin Up's On Stage Live event.......and we will get a sneak peek at SU's new Occasions Catalog....can't wait!  

It seemed fitting that the designer to case this week at Global Design Project is Brian King himself!  He is one talented guy.....smart, creative, fun and did I mention oh so tall? One year at Convention we attended a Pals gathering that included an optional swap.  As the swappers lined up in the hall Brian and I decided that we wanted to see everyone's cards even though we weren't swapping.  So we went down the line admiring all of the cards and explaining we were just browsing.  And then we got to one gal who chatted with Brian and then turned to me and said....."Oh are you Brian's mom?"   uhhhh......nooooo.....sigh......

My inspiration came from the primary colors at Fusion and Brian's card featured at Global Design Project.  I loved the bear peeking in from the side of his card so I decided to make a baby  card with animals peeking out from behind their first initials! 

                                                             


Stamp Sets:  Always An Adventure, Birthday Fiesta and Perfect Pairings from SU!, Rain or Shine from Sunny Studio, Hero Arts Baby Set
Diecut: Alphabet from MFT

Giving Thanks.......FMS261

When I pay my mother's rent every month I always put the check inside one of my cards with a note. You can't say thank you enough to the staff at the assisted living facility where my mother lives.  I dropped off November's rent on Halloween and the staff was dressed as characters from Snow White.....with the administrator being the evil queen!  Staff members there are such good sports and weren't scared at all when a good little witch came to visit.....

My talented friend Cindy Hall has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  I paired that wonderful bold thanks from Give Thanks by Concord & 9th with Serene Scenery DSP to create  my card today.