November Ramblings

It’s been two months since I did my last ramblings post. Boy, time sure does fly. I had fully intended on doing one last month, then I had a bunch of Halloween cards to share. This month, I vowed I would not forget. :) 
For those new to my blog, I like to do these rambling posts about once a month. It’s a little peek inside my personal life, plus you can see how random I truly am. I have LOVED that so many of my blog friends have taken this on….I hope it continues…it’s been a little while since I’ve seen one.
  • Lately I have been seeing a TON of movies. My most recent favorite: Morning Glory. Oh my goodness, I laughed so hard in this movie. Definitely a fun one to see with girlfriends!
  • I recently discovered the Creme Brulee Lattes at Starbucks. Bliss in a cup!
  • Still refusing to believe that Christmas is next month. Really need to get on my game and start planning what I’m going to buy! Black Friday IS only 4 days away. Anyone else going to be out there at 2AM?
  • Started to take on running in my workouts. I want sexy slender legs! Granted, I can only run a few minutes at a time (building up stamina), but I can already see progress. By summer of next year, hopefully I can sport some cute shorts!
  • If I were to change professions, I think I’d try to do something related to radio. Music is a huge passion of mine. That may be why I go to so many concerts. :) 
  • Have a spending problem and am trying hard to curb it. Vowing not to buy anything craft related until January. 
  • Really want to have someone teach me to do cool things with make-up. I love how people can change up their make-up often and look amazing. Anyone have tips?
  • Hoping to ween myself off fast foods and sugary items. Why must they be so addicting?!
  • Got black nail polish on my nails and toes. L.O.V.E! 
  • SUPER happy that my family is back. They were on the road for NINE weeks. So thankful they are home for a while. 
Thanks for stopping by and leaving me some love! If you happen to do a ramblings post, be sure to let me know ! I’d love to stop by your blog and get to know you better! ♥

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    DeNami Sketch Challenge #5

    Hi there!
    It’s time for a new challenge over on the DeNami blog, and it’s a fun one at that! The ever-so-talented Ayana created a sketch that is super unique sketch. The hardest part of the challenge? Choosing what stamps to use! Thankfully my little brother came to the rescue and said to do a chickie card.
    It’s been a little while since I pulled out the Princess Castle and coordinating stamps. Seriously, how adorable are those chicks? I know I’ve said it before, but they have so much personality! It’s so easy to understand why they have a big fan base! :) 
    Here you can see that I added some Citrone glitter to the windows of the castle and the chicks. Just a little bit really makes the card come to life. At the bottom of the sketch there are some criss cross lines. I was originally going to use twine, but I thought pearls might bring the card together a little better. I really like how it came together! The only thing I would change would be to line up the pearls a little better! *wink*
    I hope you’ll play along with the sketch challenge. It’s the last sketch of the year, plus you aren’t required to use DeNami stamps. (However, if you have them, we’d love it if you did use them!) Hop on over to the DeNami blog to see what the design team made. Super yummy cards!
    Have a great rest of you day. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!
    Paper: White, Smoky Shadow, Sweet Blush, Spring Rain (PTI)

    Elegant Floral Arch

    Good morning, dear friends!
    It’s time for a new DeNami Product Spotlight! I have to say, this is one of my favorite posts to do each month. I love how each of us have the exact same stamp, but do such different things. That’s the beauty of stamping- you can have the same stamp but create a million unique cards. :)
    This month, we are featuring the Elegant Floral Arch. Since Christmas is right around the corner, I thought I’d do a Christmas colored card. However, you could easily switch these colors to pastels, blues or even purples! Anyhow, back to the card…. I wanted to take a different approach with the stamp and created a nice big wreath. I just love how this turned out! Makes me want to create one for my door! :)
    Here you can see that I added just a few Mossy Green rhinestones to the wreath. (Gotta have a little sparkle!)
    I hope today’s card inspired you to try something new with your stamps! Be sure to head over to the DeNami blog for links to the other DT blogs. I saw their cards, and they are BEAUTIFUL!
    Thanks for stopping by! Hope your Thursday is fabulous, just like you!
    Paper: White, Brown Kraft, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet (PTI)
    Ink: Timber Brown
    Other: Red grosgrain, Mossy Green rhinestones, Copics, Spellbinder Labels 1 die

    Singing Owls

    Hi there, blog friends!
    Tonight I have a semi elegant, semi cute card to share. Did you know that it’s possible for the two to collide? Yup, neither did I. ;) The outcome of this card surprise me….thankfully it was in a good way!
    Recently my sweet blog friend, Laurie, created this card. Now I’ve used this Owl Trio many, many times before, but never with an embossing folder. Thanks to all of Laurie’s BEAUTIFUL creations with the folder, I just had to buy one myself. I was really amazed at how easy the folder was to use. Haven’t completely mastered the embossed folder look, but I’ll keep trying!
    That’s all for today. I will see you Thursday morning for the DeNami Product Spotlight. The stamp we are using is so beautiful….can’t wait to share what I created!
    Paper: White, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist, Fine Linen (PTI)
    Ink: Timber Brown
    Other: Champagne rhinestones, Brown satin ribbon, SU! embossing folder, Prima flower, brown pen, Spellbinders Labels 4 die

    Puppy Love

    Happy Monday!
    Thank you to all who left comments on my previous post. I had SO much fun creating that card for the blog hop. It made me so happy to read that you all liked it. If you haven’t done the DeNami blog hop yet, there is still time to be eligible for a gift certificate!  Click here for all the details!
    As you can see from the photo above, I’m bringing more puppy love to the blog. I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of dogs in real life (I’m allergic), but I do love them on cards! The Playful Puppies stamp set is such a great set and can be used for all sorts of occasions. I, once again, used them for a holiday card- it IS that time of year. :)
    Here are the stamps I used for this card: 
    Don’t those puppies make you happy? Also, not sneezing or Claritin needed to touch these little guys. Yay! As you can see, I’ve been on a twine kick. Love the special touch it brings to projects…..
    I was on a roll, so I created another card. Did you notice that I used a different puppy for this one? There are FOUR adorable little pups in the set, and each one of them has so much personality! I thought I’d bring in the Barn for this card; love how it turned out with the masking of the trees!
    I hope you enjoyed these cards! I had so much fun playing with these little guys….I’ll be bringing them out again SOON! For those DeNami friends that have been asking for a kitty set, let’s just say you’ll be happy with the upcoming release. :) Yup, I’m giving you a hint WAY in advance! Be sure to stay tuned to the DeNami blog, we’ll be having more sneak peeks in the next month!
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    Christmas Blog Hop

    Good morning!!
    Boy, am I excited about today! I just love the DeNami Blog Hops….they are so much fun and I always love going through all of the blogs! If you started from the beginning, you should be coming from Ayana’s blog. (Love that girl!) Just in case you get lost, or start mid-way, be sure to visit the DeNami Design blog– there’s a list of all the participants (and the details of the hop).
    When I originally came up with the theme for this month, I had an idea of what I wanted to do. Well, with work being crazy lately, that didn’t exactly turn out. After browsing through my stash of stamps, I came across the adorable Santa hat from the Ho-Ho-Holidays stamp set. I then saw the Playful Puppies stamp set and went to town.
    I was originally only going to do a row of puppies, but I couldn’t help but try to make a pyramid. Once I did it, I knew I *had* to keep it. Seriously, doesn’t this make you smile? Honestly, the part that took the longest was choosing what puppy I want to use. :)
    As you can see from this picture, I stamped some adorable snowflakes from the Holiday stamp set. I don’t know if I’ve ever used these stamps before, but I seriously love them now. Definitely going to be using this set again SOON!
    Well, enough of my ramblings…you’re probably ready to head to the next stop, which is Vera’s blog.  She always has adorable cards, so I know you’re in for a treat. Be sure to leave a comment on each blog for the highest chance of winning a gift certificate. (Plus, you’ll be brightening all the blog posters days!) :)
    Have a fabulous rest of your Sunday!
    Ink: Timber Brown, Sea Breeze
    Other: Red grosgrain, Spellbinders scallop squares die, brown pen, twine, Copics

    Let’s try this again

    Oh goodness, even just typing that title was painful. Yup, you probably guessed it, I’m getting back to the gym….

    For those who’ve been reading my blog, you know that I had a trainer and was a “gym rat” for a good 6 months or so. I was at the place where I was seeing results and actually LIKED going to the gym. (Who thought that could happen?!) Well, with some big deadlines for work and just the busyness of life, I set aside the gym. I thought it’d be for a month, maybe two at the max. Well, it has been a good SIX months since I was completely committed to losing weight. After the deadlines, I needed “me” time and then proceeded to come up with a ton of excuses for not going to the gym. Still kicking myself for this. :(

    Today I have a session with my new trainer. Sadly, during the time I was away, my old trainer went off to school. I don’t deal with change all that well, so it’ll take me a while to warm up to this new person. She seems super sweet, but has a completely different style than my old trainer. It’s not a bad thing, just something I will have to get used to. Anyways….we had our first session today. It was SUPPOSED to be 30 minutes, but we only were able to do 15 minutes. Why? Cause I’m so out of shape that I felt SICK when my body started lifting weights. Yes, literally sick. I was so embarrassed and also mad at myself. How was I in such good shape and now I’m back to the very beginning? Thankfully she was understanding and didn’t make me feel pathetic. (I was already thinking this enough for the both of us.)

    I’m going to try to get back into a routine of going to the gym 4-6 times a week again. Really hoping that I’ll continue to stay motivated…these pants are starting to get snug and I don’t want to go back to my “fat jeans”. I had set a goal to lose weight this year, and I did. However, I gained it all back! I think these extra 20 pounds love me a little too much…..

    Hanukkah DeNami Style

    Hello there!
    Today I have a first here on my blog…..my first Hanukkah card post! Recently my sweet friend (and fellow DeNami DT member) Michele created a Hanukkah card. I was so inspired, that I wanted to create a few myself! It’s always hard to find inspiration for this occasion, so we thought we’d both dedicate posts to Hanukkah today. 
    This first card has all the elements that I LOVE in a card- rhinestones, ribbons, buttons and a great image. I think the Menorah is such a beautiful image; and it’s also perfect for a focal point! I did something I rarely do, I embossed! Makes this card just a tad bit more special. :)
    I love how this picture captures the true sparkle that the Silver rhinestones bring to the card. **Just in case any of you want to know, I use Versamark for all of my embossing, then my favorite DeNami embossing powders. **
    This next card is on the simple side, but I love it just the same. I ,once again, used the Menorah as my focal point. (What can I say, it’s an awesome image!)  I *had* to create some sort of patterned background, so I used the Mini Star and made a quick patterned paper.
    I just had to add some sparkle to the “flames”, so I used more Silver rhinestones. I love the way it turned out- I’m gonna try it next time I stamp a birthday cake!
    I had SO much fun making these cards, and can’t wait to send them! Do you have some Jewish friends or family members? I know they’d love to receive a special card- especially since this holiday tends to get overlooked by the busyness of Christmas. 
    Be sure to visit Michele’s blog for her Hanuakkah card.It is truly A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. When I first saw it, I literally was taken aback- that girl never ceases to amaze me!
    Thanks for spending some time with me today! I hope you were inspired!
    Paper: White, Brown Kraft, Navy, Blueberry Sky (PTI)
    Ink: Majestic Blue, Versamark
    Other: Silver embossing powder, Silver rhinestones, Lemon Tart twill, button,     Spellbinders Labels 9 die
    Paper: White, Brown Kraft, Navy, Blueberry Sky (PTI)

    Turtle Friends

    Hello there!
    May I announce now that I am O-V-E-R-W-H-E-L-M-E-D? Yup, enough to where I even added the dashes in between the letters! At work I’ve been swamped with a ton of projects, so naturally when I get home, crafting is the last thing on my mind. Honestly, the only thing that I think about constantly is sleep. *wink* These next few weeks (or possibly months?) I’ll do my best to post often.
    Today’s card features Harold’s ABC’s, Bannerific and Critters in the Sea by Lawn Fawn. I wanted to create a happy card since well, friends generally make you happy. :) I thought the rays from You’re Dandy (by Practicing Creativity) would be PERFECT for this card. Did you notice the sparkles on the waves? I added some glitter and boy, does it sparkle in real life!
    I hope this card brought some sunshine into your day. Here in Washington it’s been really dreary and cold- really makes me wish I could jump into this card! :)
    Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

    Stamps: You’re Dandy, Harold’s ABC’s, Bannerific, Critters in the Sea (Lawn Fawn)
    Paper: White, Sky Blue, Dark Chocolate (PTI)
    Ink: Vintage Sepia, Summer Sunrise (PTI)
    Other: Quickie Glue Pen, Blue Ice glitter, Copics

    Friends to the End

    Good morning! 
    I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was filled with good food, time with family and friends, and I even got some chores around the house finished! Didn’t get very much crafting done, going through another spell of not feeling creative…..hopefully that will change soon!
    Today I have a sweet Mimi card to share. For those new to DeNami Design, we have a huge selection of Mimi images- each of them so unique and fun! (Click here to view the line) For this card, I featured the Girls on the Go stamp. I always love coloring these designs, this one was particularly fun since I used my Copics. :)
    I hope you all have a great start to your week. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
    Stamps: Girls on the Go, Mega Mixed Messages, Background Basics: Retro (PTI)
    Paper: White, Sweet Blush, Smokey Shadow (PTI)
    Ink: Jet Black, Smoky Grey
    Other: Spellbinder Labels 1 die, Copics