Clean and Simple Christmas

Hello there!
Can you believe that we are just a day away from December?! I don’t know about you, but I really don’t feel ready for it this year. Thankfully, most of my Christmas cards are finished- thanks to Courtney’s stamp sets!  This time around, I thought CAS (clean and simple) was the way to go for a lot of people. You can’t beat a one layer card that is CUTE but also fun. :) 
I got out the Retro Christmas Backgrounds set and created three rows of lights. Chose some nice, bold colors and started coloring to my hearts delight. Yes, I’m one of the people that LOVE to color. After I finished coloring, I used the “Merry Christmas” sentiment from Retro Christmas.
 
Here is a picture of two of the cards. However, there are lots more. ;) Can’t wait to start seeing more Christmas cards in blog land! If you need some more inspiration, be sure to head to the other PCD DT blogs- those girls have some fun things to share! 
Amy’s blog (Guest designer)
 Valerie’s blog (Guest designer)
Is anyone getting excited for the new Narnia movie coming out soon? My brothers are dying to see it. However, I like more “real” action- The Dark Knight (Batman 2) is my favorite movie. Speaking of which, I should pull that out again….  
 I will see you tomorrow for the first sneak peek of the December Practicing Creativity release! You are in for a SUPER fun surprise- I can’t wait to let you in on this one!
Paper: White
Ink: Jet Black
Other: Copics, corner rounder

Prancing Reindeer

Happy Monday to you! 
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Mine was very relaxing- in fact, maybe a little too much! I’m excited to head back to work today….lots of things to do!
Today I have a fun Christmas card to share with you. I recently won a giveaway on Lynnette’s blog, and had the opportunity to chose a Lawn Fawn set of my choice. I just had to get the Critters in the Snow set. I thought this little deer was darling, and I love all the other designs too!
I recently purchased this SU! embossing folder (thanks to Laurie!). Love the added texture it brings to a card. Lately I’ve been enjoying these nice, rich colors together- you’ll be seeing more of it on the blog!
Lastly, I want to let you know that Courtney has a great Cyber Monday sale going on. If there is a Practicing Creativity set you’ve been wishing you, this would be a great time to get it! 
Thanks for stopping by the blog. I truly value those who leave comments- it seems like the number has been dwindling lately. Guess I have to get more excitement on here!:)

Thanksgiving Banner

I had been meaning to post this earlier, but I just got around to taking pictures of my Thanksgiving banner. I made this about a month ago, when I was going through a creative slump. This was the perfect way to get my creativity going, plus I was able to use a lot of my scraps! Add the fact that this can be used as a decoration, and we have a win-win-win! 
 
Here is what the banner looks like on our mantel. Aren’t these colors scrumptious?  Since I didn’t have a specific banner die, I decided to use one of my Spellbinders- I LOVE the way this turned out! I have so many of these dies- I could literally create a banner for each holiday and still be using a different die.
 (Click picture to enlarge)
For the letters, I used my Cricut Expression. To add glitter, I used a Quickie Glue Pen and several DeNami Design glitters. I know there are some adhesive machines and such, but I just go the “old fashioned” way. :)
I’m going to wrap up this post. I hope you had a very blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. We had a nice, quiet evening with our family. Tomorrow will be the day where the extended family comes over and we will have lots of little ones running about. Oh how I love times with family! 

Snow Days

Boy, is it chilly here in Washington! We are down to 23* and the temperature it supposed to get colder tonight. Thank goodness for heaters and lots of blankets! 
Here are a few snapshots that I took, since I couldn’t get to work today……
This was taken from our deck. Some of the snow had already melted when I took this picture, but you can see on the railing there is still lots!
I have to admit, LOOKING at snow isn’t bad. It’s the driving in the snow and ice that scares me. I was watching the news and there were accidents galore. Decided that even though I have a TON of work to do for the new release, it just wasn’t worth risking my life over it. 
 
Snow in trees is just so beautiful… I took many more of these types of pictures, but thought I’d spare you from having to scroll through them all. :) 
Our sad hydrangea bushes don’t know what hit them! Usually our walkway is filled with beautiful greenery and hydrangea blossoms- sadly, that’s a thing of the past now.
Our raspberries are a little bit more persistent. What a surprise to see a few berries still on the bushes! Those berries are like our family- stubborn and determined! LOL
I couldn’t help but have my sister take a few pictures of me in the snow. I don’t particularly like to go out in the snow, but I’m all for good photo ops! Just got this new jacket a few days ago- couldn’t have been a more perfect time!
Judging from my Twitter friends, it looks like there aren’t too many that have gotten snow in the other parts of the US. I have to say, I’m jealous of those who have sun right now! They say the snow will go away soon, which I’m counting on. I would love to still be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with the extended family AND hit some Black Friday sales. 
That’s all for today. Hope YOU are doing well! 

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