{MTSC51} It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Happy Holidays from Nebraska

where there is a winter storm warning for tomorrow!

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la!!! :)

In case you were wondering . . . I don't like winter and I especially despise the bitter COLD temps! If I could stay indoors and look out the window, I think I could appreciate the beauty in the SNOW. But since I have to go to work, that means driving on icy roads. Ugh!

You would think since I was born and raised here in Nebraska, I would have adapted to our winters, but as I get older I can see why so many have flocked to the southern states! I'm ready! :)

And speaking of being ready . . . are you ready for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge? It's another humdinger! Mercy puts so much thought into her layouts and they are always such a wonderful source of cardmaking inspiration!

Once again I've used the Stampin' Up! *Snow Buddies* hostess set and paper pieced the hats & scarves to match the designer paper. Last week Mercy razzed me about not doing any stitching on my card, so I let her have it today! LOL :)

Mercy's Muses
Mercy Kerin (Queen Muse)
Jessi Rone (December Guest Muse! :D
Cindy Haffner
Pam Varnell
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Jessica Diedrich
Shannan Teubner

Now it's your turn! Just create a card or scrapbook layout using the sketch above, and link your creation to Mister Linky on Mercy's blog. Be sure to use the keyword MTSC50 when uploading to a public gallery. Thanks so much for playing along!

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours."

~Robert Byrne

{MTSC50} Merry Wishes!

Another Tuesday has rolled around and it's time for

Mercy's Sketch Challenge!

Today, I decided to create another card with my new Snow Buddies set from Stampin' Up! It is such a fun little set with 12 different images that you can earn with a Stampin' Up! workshop or order of $300 or more. I've used designer papers from the Holiday Mini Catalog ~ both the Night & Day and the Christmas Cocoa Specialty Papers. The snowman's scarf and hat are both paper pieced. Now that I'm posting the photo, I realize that I forgot to color his nose and I had planned to add glitter too. Oh well, you get the picture. ;)

It was back to work for me today and it took most of the day just to catch up on all the emails! Ugh! Oh well, enough whining! I'm sure you're all on the edge of your seats with anticipation, so let's get on with the wonderful works of art Mercy's Muses have for you today!

Mercy's Muses
Mercy Kerin (Queen Muse)
Jessi Rone A very warm WELCOME to our December Guest Muse! :D
Cindy Haffner
Pam Varnell
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Jackie Pedro
Jessica Diedrich

Shannan Tuebner (Welcome back!! :D)

I want to encourage you all to participate in Mercy's Challenge this week as she's got a super cute holiday set to giveaway! Also, each month she selects someone to be the "Guest Muse" and have their cards featured on her blog ~ Lord Have Mercy!

Thanks so much for blogging by today!

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

No one needs a vacation so much as the person

who has just had one.

~Elbert Hubbard

{SSSC46} Sweet Sunday Snow Buddie

We're back from our FABULOUS Thanksgiving vacation to Nevada! The weather was PERFECT and it was SO FUN to spend time with FAMILY! I only wish I could have hit the *pause* button to make it last longer.

Today, I'm doing laundry and catching up on things around here, but I couldn't wait to stamp something! What better way to get back in the groove than the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge hosted by Karen Giron! Once I view all the cards created by her Sweet Sunday Stampers, I'm *so* inspired! If you haven't already done so, please check them out...you'll be so glad you did!

Believe it or not, it's time to start thinking about our next Holiday! Yes, only 26 days 'til Christmas! :D

For this card, I've used my new Stampin' Up! hostess set ~ "Snow Buddies". I just *love* this set and was so happy to get it! :D What do you think of this color combination? I know, it's different for a holiday card. The cardstock is basic gray and sage shadow and I've used a piece of designer paper from "Nouveau Chic". I've used this same paper to paper-piece the snow buddie's hat and scarf and the sage shadow marker to color his buttons. It's hard to see in the photo, but I used the small snowflake stamp and frost white Shimmer Paint on the grey background. Also, I couldn't refrain from adding a bit of dazzling diamond glitter to make him sparkle! :)

All products used on this card are from Stampin' Up! If you ever need any Stampin' Up! products and don't have a demo in your area, I would *love* to help you! Please feel free to order via my blog 24/7. Another idea is to put together a Wish List for Christmas and let your family or friends know how to contact me. :D It would be my pleasure to help them do their shopping!

I'm happy you stopped by today and hope you'll come back again soon!

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been, and the memories we've made along the way. - unknown

{MTSC49} So Grateful for All of You!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

It's time for another splendid sketch challenge by the one and only Mercy Kerin of Lord Have Mercy fame! :) She is such a sweetie and unbelievably encouraging to all of us who participate in her weekly challenges! I'm so grateful for Mercy and for each and everyone of YOU bloggers and readers. It has been such a blessing to get to know you. You've inspired me with your creations, motivated me with your words of encouragement, and more than anything ~ you've warmed my heart and made me *smile*. :)

Mercy's Muses
Mercy Kerin (Queen Muse!)
Viv Holden (November Guest Muse)
Cindy Haffner
Pam Varnell
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Jackie Pedro
Jessica Diedrich

If you want to join the sketch challenge FUN, simply create a card or scrapbook layout using Mercy's sketch and then link your creation to the post on her blog.

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~
Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving. ~W.T. Purkiser

{SSSC45} Sweet Sunday Serene Snowflakes

Today's title is a bit of a tongue twister! :) If you haven't already figured it out, this card was created especially for Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge using her wonderful layout below...


This is the first time I've used the new Stampin' Up! set ~ Serene Snowflakes ~ from the Holiday Mini Catalog. Other than this terrific sketch, my inspiration for this card came from an unusual source. Yesterday when I was at the salon getting my hair colored & highlighted, they had it beautifully decorated for Christmas in shades of purple with white trees, garland and glittery snowflakes. I sat there and thought about creating a purple and white snowflake card. :) The colors I've used are two of the new in-colors ~ Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo. Aren't they pretty together?

The snowflakes and the sentiment were stamped in Versamark and embossed with white powder. I've used one of the pink rhinestone brads to give my large snowflake some extra glitz. The polka dot ribbon is rich razzleberry.

Serene Snowflakes by Stampin' Up! (115438) $20.95

It's always such a pleasure to participate in these challenges! If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend you do! If you need a little inspiration, just blog on over to Karen's blog The Sweetest Thing and see what she and the Sweet Sunday Stampers have created for your viewing pleasure!

Tomorrow, MW and I leave for Nevada and are *so* looking forward to spending the week at our daughter's home. My sister and her family are flying in from California, so we're going to have a mini family reunion with lots of laughter, food and FUN! :) I think this is the first time in my life that I've ever been out of town for Thanksgiving. I wasn't so sure about traveling during one of the busiest times of year, but we're doing it! :)

I'm planning to create one more card today for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge and will set that up to post automatically while I'm gone.

Wishing you all a very blessed Thanksgiving! Be sure to eat whatever your heart desires and don't even utter the "d" word. :)

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~
Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

{MTSC48} It's all Black & White!

YaY, it's time for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge!

Whatzup with all my monochromatic cards lately? I've been *trying* to use only Stampin' Up! designer paper and that is difficult for me because I love ALL the different dp's and enjoy using them! Little my little, I'm getting some new ones from SU and this one is my new favorite! Check it out in the Holiday Mini Catalog, page 11! It's the Night & Day Specialty Designer Series Paper ~ all black and white prints with elegant, symmetrical designs.

For this card, I cut a 6-1/2" square of whisper white for the base, lfolded it in half and layered on basic black and the designer paper according to Mercy's sketch. (well, similar anyway! ;) I stamped the Upsy Daisy flowers and sentiment in black and clear embossed. What do you think? It's just seems a little blah to me.

For some real stampin' inspiration, click on the links below and hop on over and see what Mercy and her Muses have created for you this week:

Mercy Kerin (Queen Muse!)

Viv Holden (November Guest Muse)

Cindy Haffner
Pam Varnell
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Jackie Pedro
Jessica Diedrich

If you want to join the FUN, simply create a card or scrapbook layout using Mercy's sketch and then link your creation to the post on her blog.

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

I've decided that the stuff falling through the cracks is confetti and I'm having a party!

~Betsy Cañas Garmon

{SSSC44} MERRY & bright!

Aaaah . . . today it is Soft Suede and Sweet Sketch Sunday! :)

How can you go wrong with a sketch like this?! Thanks *so* much to Karen Giron at The Sweetest Thing for dreaming up this wonderful circular layout. She and her Sweet Sunday Stampers always come up with ideas I would never imagine! My inspiration for this card came from Vicki B at It's a Stamp Thing. Last week, she created a card using this gorgeous flocked snowflake paper from Stampin' Up!'s Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper pack (116770). How ingenious to use this giant snowflake on a card! Once I saw her beautiful creation, I knew I had to try it too! :)

The base of my card is a 5 x 10" piece of whisper white folded in half. I've used my circle cutter to cut out the flocked snowflake, layered it on the soft suede textured cardstock and zigzag stitched around it. The shimmery horizontal snowflake strip is another print from this same designer paper pack. I've embellished with clear buttons, linen thread and soft suede polka dot ribbon. The Simple Snowflake is a new single stamp from Stampin' Up! Don't miss it on the very last page of the Idea Book & Catalog! (115554 $7.95) It's stamped in soft suede on whisper white and punched out with the fabulous Jumbo Snowflake Punch (116628 $15.95). Oh, I almost forgot to mention the sentiment ~ MERRY & bright (115556 $6.95). Contact your local Stampin' Up! demo if you *need* any of these supplies. If you don't have a demo in your area, I would *love* to help you! :)

Thanks so much for blogging by today! I hope you're all having a SWEET Sunday and finding time to do what you most enjoy! Your comments are the highlight of my day and I appreciate you all so much! A couple of you have mentioned that the photo of my dachshund Lilly makes you *smile*. That's so sweet! She really is a blessing and keeps me company when I'm stamping. :)

Smiles 2 U!

Another Quote for Today ~

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

-Roger Caras