2017 in Review......

As we get ready to welcome 2018 tonight I thought I'd stop by to say Happy New Year!  We are in a deep freeze here in the Northeast.....crazy cold (25-30 below wind chills - yikes!) even for winter lovers like us!  So we are staying in tonight and watching movies with the pups.  I plan to get back into my stamping routine tomorrow.

It was a great year for stamping.  Had a wonderful trip to Atlanta for World Cardmaking Day and I am so fortunate to be on three Design Teams (Freshly Made Sketches, Fusion, Stamp Review Crew) with some amazingly talented and oh-so-fun-to-be-around ladies!

The highlight of my stamping year was the email from Lydia Fiedler in January asking me to join the Dirty Dozen team at Splitcoast - wow I couldn't believe it!  Splitcoast is an amazing resource of techniques, inspiration, challenges and friendship. If you are not a member - join - now!  Dirty Dozen team members serve a six month term and create six cards on a specific theme every month.  If you are a member of Splitcoast you also get to see that gallery of over 70 incredible cards every month.  Because my term ended last summer I can share a few of those cards with you now - I picked my favorite from each of the six challenges I did.  


February's theme was "Food for Thought" so I used an apple and SU's Labeler Alphabet to create a punny sentiment with Concord & 9th's set You Are Enough.

March's Theme was Secret Garden and I created a Graffiti Garden using SU's Swirly Bird and Adventure Bound DSP and the set You from SSS.

                                               

April was all about Backgrounds so I used some diecuts from SSS and inked up a summery background with Distress Oxide Inks.

May's theme was my favorite - Hop To It!  Lots of rock and roll and jumping critters!  One of my cards was this street scene using SU's In the City and City Streets by Sunny Studio.  And what does this parade of VW bugs have to do with hopping?  It was all about trying to teach my daughter Erin how to drive a standard.......we hopped all over town for days and days and days!

                                       

June brought a Sunrise/Sunset theme.  SU's Everyday Hero provided the perfect skyline for a sunshine sentiment from My Sunshine by SSS.

July's theme was Relax - the perfect summer theme!  This card shows my favorite place to relax - lakeside in my Adirondack chair!  I used SU's Seasonal Layers Thinlits, Serene Scenery DSP and Lots of Love along with My Sunshine from SSS to create the scene.

It was an amazing six months sharing and learning from so many talented artists at Splitcoast. Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek! I am looking forward to another year of stamping fun in 2018.  Thanks to each and every one of you who read my blog - I have made some wonderful friends through blogging and stamping!  And special thanks to everyone who leaves a sweet comment - it means a lot!  Wishing you all a fabulous 2018!  Sending love from me and my wonderful supporting cast of characters.......The Big Guy, Miss Emma, Gram, Erin and the Pups......

Snow-One Like You.....FMS318

Holiday festivities have started around here!  Every year we kick off holiday happenings with my daughter's birthday, then roll right into my birthday (TODAY!!!), catch our breath and then Christmas!  

                                     Gram has no trouble getting festive!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!

I am delighted to be hosting the last challenge of 2017 at Freshly Made Sketches!    Our challenge will be open straight through the first week of 2018 so hopefully hope you will get a chance to sneak in some crafty time during this busy time of year!

Stamp Set:  Frozen Fellowship (Newton's Nook)
Paper:  Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Christmas Around the World DSP

Warmest Wishes......FMS317

The triangles on Concord & 9th's Triangle Turnabout set remind me of funky little shelves so I put some coffee cups on them to send warm holiday wishes.  It is snowing today and The Big Guy is snowblowing. In his heart I know he wishes he were running this sno-cat instead of that snowblower!  Yep that's him in all his glory when we ran a local ski center many years ago.  He loved heading up the mountain to groom trails in that old tucker.......a much more difficult task than you would think especially at the top of a trail!  

And then there was the time we took a cross country road trip and we each made a list of what to see on the west coast.  My list had things like "Redwoods"  "San Francisco"  "Hollywood".  His list had two things....."Uncle Benny" and "Tucker Sno-cat factory in Medford, Oregon"...........

I loved Jen Mitchell's fun square sketch and stayed pretty true to the design making a 4 1/4 in square card.  Hope you find some crafty time this week and join us at Freshly Made Sketches!



                                         



It is also time for the winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!  Always an incredible source of inspiration and a huge gallery to enjoy!
                             
Stamps Sets:  Triangle Turnabout (Concord & 9th), Hug In A Mug (SU), Newton Loves Coffee (Newton's Nook), Sentiment from Hero Arts Nov. 2017 Kit
Paper: Whisper White,  Merry Little Christmas DSP
Ink:  Black, Real Red, Garden Green, Lemon Lime Twist, Sweet Sugarplum, Crumb Cake

Fusion: Blue Gift

I decided to create my own "wrapping paper" to put on my card today by inking  a holiday stencil with Versamark and applying silver embossing powder.  A tag, tinsel trim and silver cord complete the look......and this card is runway ready!

Be inspired by the sketch.....or the gorgeous photo.....or both at Fusion!

CAS-ual Fridays has a Winter Blues challenge this week!

Stamp Set: Season to Sparkle (SU)
Stencil:  Holiday Foliage (Newton's Nook)
Ink: Versamark (silver embossing powder)
Paper:  Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer

Christmas Scene! FMS316

You may appreciate this Christmas scene if....... 

..........you are guilty of putting funny Christmas sweaters on your dog......

.......a pup has knocked over your Christmas tree while digging through packages looking for that wrapped box of Pupperoni.......

........you love the Grinch's pup and putting antlers on your own pup makes you happy.....

........your pup barks loudly up the stairs announcing breakfast because there is always bacon sizzling on Christmas morning.....

.........not that any of those things happen at our house.......

Silas and Corduroy getting ready for the Big Day!

My wonderfully talented friend Jen Timko has a great sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches! Plenty of room to make a scene ;0)

Stamp Set:  Ready for Christmas

Ink:  Emerald Envy, Real Red, Black, Fresh Fig

Paper:  Whisper White, Glimmer, Quilted Christmas DSP

Stamp Review Crew: Wood Words

The Stamp Review Crew is featuring Wood Words this week.  Being a country girl at heart I love the rustic look of this set.  But I am also a practical girl at heart trying to make every minute count during this busy month!  As the deadline approached for this hop I realized I needed a new baby card.....hmmmm could I possibly make a welcome baby card from Wood Words?  Sure I could!  Pink, blue and yellow ink transformed those wooden cutouts into a baby mobile!

If you missed stopping at my talented friend Stesha's blog head back there......

Otherwise go forward to see what my other talented friend Cindy has in store!

Stamp Sets:  Wood Words

Ink:  Versamark, Crushed Curry, Pink Passion, Soft Sky, Black, Basic Gray

Paper:  Whisper White, Wood Textures DSP

Classic Christmas.....FMS315, GDP116, FabFri126

I love the pop of an unexpected color!  Lemon Lime Twist adds a fun look to classic Christmas colors!  We enjoy classic Christmas traditions around here but sometimes the unexpected makes the holiday memorable.......

"Remember the year Dad gave you a waffle iron for Christmas?  And you hated it??"  (Cooking is not my favorite sport.)

"Remember the year it snowed two feet and no one could come except Gram and Pop but we had the best time anyway?"  (We are such snow babies!)

"Remember the year the new kitchen sink didn't arrive on time and we carried all the dirty dishes upstairs to the bathtub?"  (16 for dinner and I refused to use paper.....what was I thinking?)

"Remember the year Michael made us all watch Bad Santa and Gram kept shrieking at all the bad parts?"  (She loved it!)

"Remember the year you told us you had a strange dream about Uncle Ed (who lived 3000 miles away in California) and then the phone rang with news that Uncle Ed had died during the night?  (Cue the Twilight Zone music!)

You get the idea!  I wish you a classic holiday season with a few surprises along the way!  And so it begins!

Amy's delightful sketch is perfect to use when you want to spotlight a sentiment!  Hope you join us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Global Design Project is featuring a Christmas Joy Theme this week!

And Fab Friday's Color Challenge worked for me!

                                     

Stamp Sets: Smitten Mittens, Carols of Christmas, Snowflake Sentiments
Paper:  Whisper White, Silver Glimmer, Quilted Christmas DSP

Fusion: Red Christmas

The following is a Public Service Announcement:  Tomorrow is the official start to the holiday season......so brew yourself a nice mug of something warm and cozy and let your fingers do the walking through the Black Friday sales.  And if you are one of my friends who live in a warm climate.....nothing wrong with a Mimosa in a mug!

In the meantime Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends in the US!  Miss Emma and her mom made these wonderful "place cards" for our holiday dinner!

My favorite way to play at Fusion is to combine both the sketch and the picture!  You can play with either one or both!  Hope you join us!

Stamp Sets:  Coffee Cafe, Hug In A Mug, Hero Arts Oct/Nov. 2017 Kits
Paper:  Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Crumb Cake, Merry Little Christmas DSP, Quilted Christmas DSP
Ink:  Versamark, Real Red
Die Cuts:  Coffee Cafe, Christmas Pines, Large Number Framelits (The mug handle is made using the zero)

Peace.....and Snow.....FMS314

Peace on earth is in all our thoughts I'm sure - especially this time of year.  But I confess snow is in my thoughts too. I love a snowy holiday season! We had our first snowfall this past week.  It wasn't much but it's a start!  My son managed three ski days at Whiteface so far because they make snow when the temperature drops. I am sure if the Big Guy could figure out a way to hook up a snow gun in our back yard he would do it!  Meanwhile Cooper and Benny experienced their first romp in the snow.

Cooper loved it........

Benny not so much.....lolol......

Narelle's wonderful sketch was a perfect opportunity to use SU's new snowflake embossing folder!  The star is from the latest Hero Arts monthly kit (Nov 2017).  Hope you join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Holiday Sounds......FMS313

I love these jingle bells and I try to use them on a card or two every Christmas!  So when I saw Karren's sketch this week I knew just what to put in the corners!  The sound of jingle bells is one of my favorite wintry sounds!

Another one of my favorite sounds is this girl reading aloud!  All of a sudden things have started clicking and she learns new words every day.  Go Dog Go is the first book she read aloud on her own.....

A fitting title that seems to keep the attention of her favorite audience.....

My inkmaster friend Karren Johnson has a delightful sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Hope you play along!

                                                  

Stamps: Sentiment from Hero Arts October 2017 kit
Paper: Whisper White, Glimmer Paper (SU), Merry Music DSP
Ink: Versamark
Li'l Inkers Jingle Bells

Fusion: Grateful

The beautiful colors of fall have faded around here and we are left with the last deep oranges and browns.  Time to settle in, keep the kettle hot and prepare for winter.  A bit of advice if you too are preparing for ski season - always keep your princess skirt out of the way when you are being fitted for new ski boots!

I just love when I can use both the sketch and the photo for inspiration at Fusion!  You can use either one or both on your card for our gallery! The inspiration at Fusion is perfect for this time of year!  Hope you join us!

                                           


Addicted to CAS has the code word LEAVES this week!

                                                         


I went down the left side for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.


                                                  


Stamp Sets:  Tea Time (Avery Elle), Christmas Pines (SU),  Merry Cafe (SU), Pick A Pumpkin (SU)
Ink: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso
Paper: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede

Sending Warm Thoughts......FMS312

Had to break out the mittens this week as the temps are dropping around here.  Lots of snow flurries in the air today - sign of things to come!  So Smitten Mittens was the perfect stamp set to play with!  I keep all sorts of mittens in a large basket by the door along with several pairs of driving gloves, texting gloves and fingerless gloves.  I like to be prepared for all weather - and all outfits.  Meanwhile the Big Guy has one pair of  heavy work gloves that live on a shelf by the back door plus ski gloves in his ski bag and he is good to go for the whole winter.  

#imayhaveamittenproblem  

#myhandswontseesunlightuntilapril

Cecile - our friend who does amazing things with diecuts - has designed a sweet square sketch for us this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  It's hip to be square - join us!

Stamp Sets: Smitten Mittens, Hug in a Mug, Carols of Christmas
Ink:  Real Red, Garden Green, Black, Pool Party
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Quilted Christmas DSP

Let It Go.......CTS246

The challenge at Cas(e) this Sketch this week inspired me to have another go with my watercolors.  We aren't exactly friends but every once in a while I invite them out to play.  My first attempt at a background came out just a solid blue......next came a muddy pumpkin-y blob.  So I started singing a new verse of "Let it go......let it go......." and got a fall mix I could live with.  Someday we may be friends.......but we aren't there yet.....

I used this sketch at Cas(e) this Sketch to design my card.

Stamp Sets:  Wonderful (Hero Arts),  Freeform Greenery (Altenew),  Colorful Seasons (SU)

Paper: Watercolor, Whisper White, Black

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake, Black

Winter Plans.......FMS311

And just like that it is November!  Time to get serious about building up the Christmas card stash (my goal is 75!) and holiday shopping.  The Big Guy has winterized the boat, put it in storage and is now studying the latest ski magazines. Never to early to plan winter adventures!  The weather is a major topic of discussion around here as we watch the sky for those first flakes.  First snow is always exciting - that last storm in March not so much!  Kind of like making Christmas cards - the first few are such fun to make but by number 58 (give or take) you are so ready to make a Valentine!

I love my talented friend Jen Brum's versatile sketch this week!  Join us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp Sets: Ready for Christmas, Sentiment from Hero Arts October Kit
Ink: Garden Green, Versamark
Paper: Whisper White, Woodgrain DSP, Quilted Christmas DSP,Gold Foil, Christmas Around the World DSP