Saturday, November 28, 2009

Snowman-itis!

I don't know what else to call this? I don't even know how to spell it..... But it's a condition that I have been stricken with ~ well, shoot! I guess I come down with it EVERY year, 'bout this time...

SNOWMAN-ITIS!



I got my "snowman" ON and made some tags for Dawn's Inspire Me #4 challenge right here!



There's still TIME! C'mon, play with me! Make some tags, any kind you want! {You don't have to suffer from snowman-itis to play! tee hee} Anyway, check out what some of the other gals have made ~ Ca-ute!

In the meantime, here come some individual shots. I have to warn you, that I may have broken some serious laws here, as this is some scary-paper-piecing, and other than a lil' bit of inky edges, NO STAMPING! I got SUPER busy with the tiny shapes, playing with my teeniest of punches and enjoying my close-up vision {while I still have it! Doh!}... You may think I'm STEALING these images from Cosmo Cricket... Well, let's just say I was INSPIRED by the one sheet I have of Jolly by Golly Elements.... ONE sheet. Did I mention that? *sob* So, of course, I can't CUT it!!! The sad truth is that I helped myself to a FAT order of nearly all the pieces in this collection back in AUGUST..... from a company that I shall not name.... But I have YET to receive it! {I KNOW!} So I treated myself to this one sheet from a LSS and I have a small pad that I bought, recently, to pacify myself... But if I don't get the rest of my order soon... I'm going to be very, VERY sad. ANYWHOOOO! I have the elements sheet winking at me from a clip right in the heart of Scrapland... Ah, inspiration! I just got into the fun of snowman (and woman) construction from staring and staring at these DARLING images!

Hi!

Got Mittens?

Snowfolks under the mistletow!

{Close up of the smooching snow folks!}

Snowflake catcher!


{Close up of the "snowflake" catcher!}



Wooooooooo wooo, WOOOOOO! I feel I really played with snow (people) today! But NO frostbite! I'm so glad that sweet Dawn from Stamp Away With Me is doing such fun challenges! I sure hope you'll play along, too! Thanks for stopping by my lil' creative spot, here in Blogland! Have a great one!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Cosmo Cricket
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Ribbon -American Crafts
Buttons - Stampin' Up!
Metallic Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Punches - Family Treasures, Stampin' Up!, Punch Bunch, Marvy
Snowmen designs - inspired by Cosmo Cricket, but made by ME!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Soooooo thankful... I'm DONE!

WITH ALL THAT COOKING!

Wasn't exactly planning on doing the WHOLE shebang here at Rancho Durenberger. Sadly, my sweet mama was feeling poorly and pulled the plug on her {"I'm a veteran of Thanksgiving cooking... can do this with my eyes closed...."} Thanksgiving meal... SOOOOOOO, I did it. I just did it. Nothing too special.. Well, actually, the pies were screamin'! But I was already planning to make THOSE.... *sigh... DID you know, that when your turkey doesn't cook evenly and you keep putting it back in the oven... THAT'S a terrific way to make turkey jerky... Mmm!

Yeah, it's fine. My kids LOVE stuffing! And I replicated some fabulous "harvest potatoes" I had at a retreat once upon a time ~ just a medley of super diverse potato choices, including yams {!} all diced into fabulous lil' cubes, with some sweet onion, tossed in a mixture of maple syrup, soy sauce and garlic olive oil.... THEN broiled! Ooooowwweee! {Oh, no! Don't tell me I'm getting hungry AGAIN! Sheesh!} Okay, so I guess it was a successful meal, overall. Hey! What about you? Gosh, I sure hope ALL-O-YOU had a glorious day! There was MUCH to be thankful for, no doubt.. And some special prayers, to be sure! On a love-filled, terribly concerned, but quietly optimistic and determined note, we said prayers for dear Kelley Eubanks, who just recently learned that she is facing some daunting medical news. She's become a very dear friend of mine, and if you haven't been to her blog in a while, I just want to encourage you to stop buy and give her a little love and encouragement.... She's already feeling the collective love of blogland, but when it comes to positive energy and prayer ~ there's never enough...

SO. {How do I transition back to perkey CARD making talk, NOW!?! } Well, I'll just do this ~



After my 3rd kitchen clean-up session... (*sob) I decided to treat myself with some play time in Scrapland.... Guess what I did? I cleaned. Oh, yeah. It was pretty sad in here. BUT THEN, I sat down and stirred up some CARD CASSEROLE! Lot's of leftovers in Scrapland... and THIS, gorgeous Turkey stamp I've had for many years now.... Well, it gobbled at me!



My husband comes through Scrapland every now and then... I guess it's safe to say that my shelves are beginning to overflow with cards... He noticed that I had nothing on display that represented Thanksgiving... Hmmmm. Alrighty then!



I thought a nice TURKEY celebration was in order... Especially after the disrespect I showed one, earlier... THIS is one seriously well rendered Turkey image, but I wanted him to shine a bit brighter... AND I remembered that CAARDVARKS is looking for colored images... So here's a shot of "naked" turkey...


And then another shot to show how lively Mr. Gobbles became with some watercolor work! Just adding some shadow and highlight really turned him up a notch... And now, maybe I won't feel so guilty about my mangled Turkey Jerky... tee hee No, seriously though... leftovers of any kind can always make a girl feel a lil' more high achieving... THAT Crushed Curry Card Stock has been sitting out for weeks! Not to mention that pumpkin button that I've tried to use about 40 times before and never made the right fit... {doh!}



So, sweet friends of blogland... It's quite late {or EARLY} once again, and I've rambled... I TRULY hope you have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! Having the chance to play with you all is, still, one of my favorite and MOST thankful parts of my world right now... Blessings to you all!



Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up! & PSX
Die Cut Circle - Sizzix & Stampin' Up!
Embossing folder - Sizzix
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Pumpkin Button - Dress It Up
Ribbon - Michael's
Tiny Leaf Punch - Family Treasures

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thank YOU, Color THROWDOWN!


It's been a pretty special month for me, card-making wise! I had such a lovely time as the Guest Designer for the Color Throwdown Challenge, which was a total hoot! AND, I got some special love and confirmation from CARDS magazine ~ my first ever published card actually hit the news stands! {OMG!} Anyway, overall, a very happy time for the "E-stir" as a paper crafter, so I thought a little "thank you" card, in honor of my feelings of gratitude to the CTD gals, was a nice way to play with the colors of the week!




Here are the GORGEOUS colors!



Ribbit ~ Ribbit! Check out THIS adorable frog image! I busted out this fun set that includes two frogs, two mushrooms and little crown and a flower... Adorable fun from those cool "Pink Persimmon" gals, whom I met at a local craft fair last weekend... {Please google them or email me, if you'd like more info!} This was a super fun set is called, appropriately, "Ribbit!"




I so love a little watercolor work, so these images are FABULOUS fun, for me! Violet stickles really brought out the magic of my lil' evening toadstool scene! {Life is much more fun when you color with a little STICKLE!}



So, here we are ~ the moment of gratitude! THANKS to all of the darling, talented and super sweet designers of the Color THROWDOWN! What a super place to play, to learn and to be inspired by! If you have never partaken in the Color Throwdown challenge ~ I sure hope you'll give it a try!

So, there you go! I'm thankful for many things in my blogging and card making pursuits... But most of all, I'm thankful for all of the darling friends I have met! Thank you for sharing a little of your time with me, and have a wonderful day!

Supplies ~

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Pink Persimmon, Hero Arts
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts
Glitter - Stickles
Die Cut Circle and Sentiment - Sizzix/Stampin' Up!

Monday, November 23, 2009

More BUTTONS and a lil' bit-o-NASH!

Hiiiiiii, dear friends!

It's extra late, or EARLY, depending on how you look at time... So, I'll make this brief and hopefully not too sloppy. Today {uurrrr, YESTERDAY...} was Nona's birthday. She's "Great Granny" to my kids and husband's maternal grandma. We've been through a lot together ~ much of it, not too pleasant. But without trotting all of that out, I just want to say, that in spite of everything, it's hard not to feel a lil' warm and fuzzy about, Nona, on her 95th birthday. She's recovering from hip surgery and will soon be back "hiking Mt. Everest...." or some such adventure... And today, I was moved to make something in honor and TO HONOR her many years. This is what I made:



It's another BUTTON celebration craft! Wahooooooooo! More buttons that I got from this guy:



If you read my last post, then this will make sense, if not... Giddy up! We'll wait for ya! Here's another shot of this layout from LONG ago!!!! (c. 2001! I USED to scrap "current time!" OMG!}



So, yeaaaaaahhhhhh. Photographing layouts is a whole different sport and I'm neither GOOD nor INTERESTED at this time, but I just had to show you this funny little scene. It cracked me up how many of you WATCHED that show! My dear friend, Subie, pictured here with the CAR and in the car.... Well, let's just say ~ you'd have a lot to talk about! hee hee Wasn't Don a love to agree to be photographed... Too bad he's a smoker, huh!

Oh, yeah. That was from a magazine. {Sorry to disappoint!} No photoshop. Old school, baby. Just glued that sucker right to the photo and I was off to the races! {Sometimes I miss the "olden" days of scrapping on the RANGE... sigh} ANYWHOO... speaking of photoshop! Lookee:

Here's Nona {Coila} with a lil' tear in the background....


And after!



Okay, I know you can still see a little discoloration, but HEY, I'm such a PS newbie... and doing this made me feel like SUCH a big girl! {I did something! ~ WITH Photoshop! It's a FESTIVUS miracle!}



Oh, and I'm finally jumping in with the JUGS challenge BEFORE it ends! Hey! That's different!

And, for composition fun, I used THIS sketch from the Sketch Artists.... at Card Patterns!




And HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE's NONA!




To tell you the truth, making this card for dear GRANNY was a nice way to honor her. I really felt happy to be quietly toiling away, threading buttons and thinking of all that she's seen since this photo was taken.

Happy Birthday, Nona!

Thanks for visiting, friends-o-blogland!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up! & Anna Griffin
Buttons - NASH Bridges! hee hee
Gold Cord - S/U!
Die Cut circles - Sizzix & Coluzzle


Sunday, November 22, 2009

Oh, DEAR! Oh, dear! Oh, DEER!


I cheated on y'all today.

I went to the Petaluma Vintage Holiday Craft Boutique... without you. HELLO! I wished I could have scooped you all up and taken you with me, REALLY {!} because if I did, YOU, too, would be all swoony and lit up to GET 'YR CRAFT ON! There was some of the most breath taking and superbly made craft ~ well, that I've seen IRL, probably EVER! Sadly, I didn't have the MOXIE to take photos of, or even dare to ask permission... for LOTS of reasons. Mostly, because, I'm a wimp. But also, because there feels like this code... that we have to protect each other's discoveries... I mean, I want us all to be wealthy, or get wealthy by doing what we love - but then, SOMEONE needs to buy the stuff! So, it was kind of a mixed bag of totally admiring the beautiful pieces and yet, secretly {well, not NOW!} wanting to go home and MAKE stuff! And of course NOT copy, but be lifted by the inspiration...

So, I guess, I needed to confess THAT!

Additionally, I need to boast about this site, by my new friend, Cathe Holden! She has the most AMAZING eye for collecting vintage artifacts and turning them into treasure.. But, also, Cathe is a MOST talented graphic designer. You've seen her work ALL over the blog-o-sphere, and right here, my most PRIZED "Would Rather Be Blogging," the forlorn, vintage vacuum babe, came from Cathe, as a freebie, from her site. She does SUCH breath taking work. SHE designed the logo for today's show and since it's late and I didn't ask her permission to include it in my post, I'll just encourage you to check out her blog for HOURS and HOURS of insanely creative inspiration!

At the Holiday Boutique, I stumbled {literally} into the ladies who have created Pink Persimmon Stamps.. I can't link you to them {it's a long story and has NOTHING to do with them} but I can say that they can be googled or you can e-mail me, PRIVATELY, for more information..... Anywhooo, I've been seeing their name and products around and TODAY I ran smack dab into Judi and Darcy and the most GORGEOUS display of samples, kits, holiday dec AND their complete line of stamps... So, um, I bought "a few"sets {HA HA! ~ try 5!} ...And from the fumes of creative inspiration from these gals, and all of the fabulous magic at today's Holiday Boutique... I made this:




Just a little festival of these joyful images and these COLORS, brought to you by Dawn McVey!



Aren't these deer, DEAR!



Had a lil' bit of fun with the button thing. These babies didn't come from the store... no, indeedy they did NOT! They came from a little stash {if you scrap with me IRL you're yawning from this OLD story...hee hee} that came from the NASH BRIDGES TV SHOW! Yep, perhaps one or two of you recall it... Anywhoo, I got SOME buttons (okay, MILLIONS, possibly BILLIONS! from the Wardrobe department of the Nash Bridges production company... ) after the show ended. My hubby bid on the "sewing lot" and while, sadly, there were no actual sewing machines, I have enjoyed the most incredible booty-o-supplies, that have been such a blessing in my crafting pursuits.... SO, (golly, gosh, I'm WORDY tonight!) I have SOME buttons. About 10 million white/pearl buttons, to be sure. This evening, it suddenly occurred to me that a little alcohol ink could create A LOT of fun with some plain buttons ~



I mixed three different colors of alcohol ink from my BUD {*sigh* and all of YOUR'S, too!}, Tim Holtz... ANYWHOO, trying to make the raspberry color of Dawn's challenge... { I'm hoping I got close..., but this picture ~above~ was taken before I hit the perfect recipe...}



These shots show the "after" effect of the alcohol ink recipe...



I'm digging the font of the sentiment... GORGEOUS! (I "stacked" the stamping to fit my oval)



And finally, one last shot... If nothing else to break up the wordiness... Doh! Thanks for indulging me... It was a SINCERELY inspirational day, I hope yours was, TOO!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Pink Persimmon; All Night Media (woodgrain stamp)
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Punches - Stampin' Up! & Martha Stewart Crafts
Embossing folder - (Swiss Dots) Sizzix
Buttons - Nash Bridges Booty!
Alcohol Ink - Tim Holtz

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Feel B E T T E R, friend!

Hi, friends!

This one is for a {*heart!*} friend who's been feeling "under the weather" and for any of you who've been struggling with seasonal nuisances, OR worse! It's SUCH a beautiful time of year and NOT okay to be sick... so I say.. Get Well! { ~ sending my crafty best prayers to you all for wellness! 'Nuff said!}



A little paper crafting, is, for card-crazed crafters, like US, MEDICINAL ~ right? So craft ON, friends! A few challenges made me feel a little more crafty this evening, so I got busy with THIS SKETCH from the fun folks at Card Patterns!



Sprinkle in some TEXTURE with the JUGS gals!





AND, a bunch of COLOR, courtesy of SPCC!




Whoopee! Do you mind if I ring the bell for "dumped old TACKLE"!?!?! Rinnnnnnnnggg! Rinnng! {Whoop - whoop! HELLO, I used W - I - R - E! } AND parted... P-A-R-T-E-D with Tim Holtz SPROCKETS! WHOOOOOOOOOO! {Well, AFTER I sanded, painted and CRYSTAL effected... but STILL... it counts!} Wahoooo!




So, there! GET BETTER, feel better AND have a great day! Remember, your FRIENDS are thinking of YOU!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Sentiment - Quick Kutz
Embossing Folders - Cuttlebug
Scallop Square Punch - Stampin' Up!
Wire - Artistic Wire
Sprokets - Tim Holtz
Brads - Recollections

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Santa's coming! {I KNOW him!}

I KNOW him! I really do!




Ain't he THE REAL DEAL! Holy A-U-T-H-E-N-T-I-C-I-T-Y! This is the best Santa ever! And with his divine assistance, I created my sample as GUEST designer for the fabulous gals of The Color Throwdown. I was, seriously, THIS excited to have this gorgeous, most beautifully illustrated stamp set to use for this week's color challenge... Indulge yourself and play this:





Oh, yeah! THAT'S what I'm talking about! {OMG! I sure hope that WORKED! tee hee} I am THAT excited, we're talking "Buddy the Elf" excited about this, here, Santa from the Flourishes stamp company! I would love for you to learn more about this and other fabulous stamps from Flourishes, so please visit the Color Throwdown Site for links and to learn more about this week's fantastic sponsor. Here are the fun colors of inspiration!



In addition to having an extra excuse to get around to all of you and see YOUR fabulous creations{!} I'm enjoying my super month of Guest Designer-ship at the old THROWDOWN site! I've had such a blast contemplating the colors and even getting a bit of "sponsorship" booty to play with! So when these babies showed up in MY MAILBOX ~ I knew the REAL SANTA had come to MY town!




{Thank goodness, I remembered to take a picture of him in MINT condition!~Never mind the glare! DOH!}




{In a whisper: "He's like the REAL Santa, from the Coca Cola ads!"}





Now, with just a hint of color!



Popped with MORE color, a little watercolor to make the hat, fun punching and ribbon....


THIS Santa is so FABULOUS, I simply had to feature him in a BIG way! That's why I acclimated this card to open from the top and be more of keepsake than card! (Below is "closed")


I harvested some VINTAGE Stampin' Up! self stick magnetic sheet and added strips to the back of this card, so it can be displayed on a refrigerator.... (Here it is "OPEN!")



A little {last year's, SORRY!} family photo and a custom "hybrid" greeting (OMG!) with sentiments from this set and some custom greeting, adorns the inside of this lil' baby!



Fun, fun, fun! Color, color, color! Don't WE just love COLOR! And paper... AND beautiful stamps.. and crafty challenges with fabulous FRIENDS and talented hosts and .....


EGGNOG!

Merry Christmas ~ overload about 37 days EARLY! Wahooooooo! Thanks for visiting, thanks for letting me share the JOY of the Color Throwdown site and the impending HOLIDAY season!

"I love ya, man!"


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Flourishes
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Snowflake Border Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts
Corner Punch - Stampin' Up!
Large Oval Punch - Stampin' Up!
Large Scallop Oval Punch - Sizzix and Stampin' Up! scallop scissors
Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Computer font - Stage Coach

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Fish ON!

You must have thought I'd left ya'll and gone fishin'!

I can't believe I disappeared ~ again! I so wish I was a better multi-tasker! Ahhhhhhhhh! No, I wasn't fishin', but I needed a smooth transition for this:




Yes, friends, I found the PERFECT place to have some fun with this here, BROWN trout! Please check out this fab new sketch from those CRAZY Kitchen Sink Gals!



They are ORGANIZING and GROWING their lovely challenge, and now will feature TWO challenges per month! Check out the new blog! I know it will be a smashing success and I just couldn't WAIT to play with the "glamor girls" of Everything But the Kitchen Sink! I kinda just ... tried to make a splash! tee hee



I was ALL inspired for "fishin' art!" This week held quite the unexpected pleasure for lil' old me! My most DARLING and dear friend from college came into town! We spent three glorious days together ~ ALMOST as if... {ha ha!} it was back in the day! THIS is Michele! And Mr. PEE WEE... and ME!




We were able to steal a little time away some of the rigors of my daily existence... A little riding, dining, visiting with friends, LOTS of laughter, nostalgia and FUN! Just a lil' slice of heaven with a friend, who means so much to me ~ and now to my family, as well! Amazing to unite two such important pieces of my life: my pre-family world + REALITY! {tee hee} Michele is a WORLD traveler, writer, and Navy gal and SHE IS A PART of my soul! We met, while in college at UC Davis { .... a .... *cough-cough!* ... while ago!} and while I ran off into a future with marriage and family, Michele ran towards ADVENTURE! Yet, even after all of that, we are still united by our common love of life and sensibility... Oh, crackers! I just had to share her with you all!




Here's a close-up of the sentiment and ... ROYAL WOLF{?} I can't believe I don't remember the name of this fly! Just another illustration that it HAS been a while since college! I was known to "wet a line" or TWO back in the day. That is why a fishing card seemed like the right way to celebrate nostalgia AND the kitchen sink! Actually, the WHOLE enchilada! (But that's ANOTHER story! ~ Doh!)




All right, lovelies! I'm literally, BACK in the saddle THIS WEEK! THANK you sooooooooo much for visiting! Now, I get to catch up with YOU! YEEE HAW!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Stampin' Up!
Fish and Background stamp - PSX
Fly stamp - Stampin' Up!
Sentiment - Creative Imaginations
Chipboard Circle and C/S cut with Sizzix
Ribbon - Michael's
Fishing line - Stren