I’m pretty sure everyone has received their Christmas cards so I’ll share the three designs I made this year. Two are very similar in design, but different in content.

I certainly did not need a new Christmas/winter stamp set this year, but when I saw “Fair Isles” I knew exactly what I’d do with it. I rarely use embossing on cards that I need to mass produce, but this year I used that technique on all three cards.

This card is very similar in design, but has a more religious feel to it. These churches reminded me of the ones we saw in Santorini last year. The churches and the sentiments on this card and the one above are both from Papertrey Ink’s “Holiday Home” set.

Last, but actually the first card set I made, is one with an embossed vellum tag. I’ve seen a lot of that on cardmaking blogs this fall, and wanted to give it a try. I could only make 12 of these since I had just six sheets of Simon Says’ woodgrain cardstock. I tried one without it, and it just wasn’t anywhere near as good.

The sentiment is from Papertrey’s “Stylish Sentiments: Holidays” and the tag is the Tag Sale #6.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. The countdown has definitely begun! 

Sian has once again come up with a great idea for some holiday blogging–a revival of her 2010 Christmas Club stories. Just begin with:  At Christmas we . . .

At Christmas we have a family band.

It started in 2007 when my brother-in-law gave Tracy’s sister an accordian for their anniversary. Tracy, Greg, and Jill all played in an award-winning accordian band when they were in high school. They traveled around the country and won quite a few prizes. When his brother, Greg, saw the gift he suggested Jill learn a few Christmas carols and they’d play at Christmas. Greg is a professional musician and my brother-in-law, Tom, plays the drums in a local band so right away they had a trio.

Over the years, the band has grown. Two of our nieces brought very talented boyfriends to Christmas dinner for several years, Greg’s significant other is a musician from Austin, both Tracy’s cousin and her daughter are talented musicians as well, so the band sounds pretty good. Jill, however, gave up her place in the band after the first year or two. 

 

Hollis, my niece’s boyfriend, seen here playing the flute, also plays the piano, bagpipes, and mandolin. He’s got a great voice too. 

We’re never quite sure who will bring what instrument, but for the last seven years the family band has entertained us in style. You can find other Christmas Club stories here.

 

 

Birthday Honours: Seize the Birthday	8/28/2025
Challenge Winner: 52 Christmas Card Throwdown	8/6/2025
Challenge Winner (No Topping) Seize the Birthday	7/24/2025
Shout-out: Just Us Girls	7/24/2024
PBSC Favourite: Penny Black Saturday Challenge	7/19/2025
Caught Our Eye: Jingle Belles	7/17/2025
Festive Friday Faves	7/17/2025
Winner: AAA Birthday Challenge	7/15/2025
Headliner: The Paper Players	7/12/2025
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	7/5/2025
Festive Friday Fave	7/3/2025
Caught My Eye: Just Us Girls	7/3/2025
Top Three: Word Power	7/2/2025
Shout-out: Just Us Girls	4/10/2025
Birthday Honours: Seize the Birthday	3/13/2025
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	3/8/2025
Birthday Honours: Seize the Birthday	3/3/2025
Honourable Mention: The Flower Challenge	3/3/2025
Festive Friday Faves	2/13/2025
Winner of the Week: Just Us Girls	2/13/2025
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	1/25/2025
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	1/18/2025
Caught My Eye: Just Us Girls	1/16/2025
Birthday Honours: Seize the Birthday	12/12/2024
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	12/7/2014
Team Pick: TicTacToe Challenge	12/5/2024
Team Pick: TicTacToe	11/23/2024
Top Three: Addicted to CAS	10/3/2024
Caught by Altenew: September Edition	9/30/2024
Honourable Addict: Addicted to Stamps & More	9/8/2024
Honorable Mention: Time Out	8/22/2024
Top Winner: Double D Challenge	8/20/2024
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	8/10/24
Honorable Mention: The Flower Challenge	8/4/2024
Birthday Honors: Seize the Birthday	7/11/2024
Team Pick: TicTacToe	7/6/2024
Caught My Eye: Just Us Girls	7/4/2024
Honourable Addict: Addicted to Stamps & More	7/1/2024
Runner-Up: AAA Cards	6/30/2024
Winner of the Week: Just Us Girls	6/27/2024
Winner: Inspired By	6/23/2024
A Cut Above: Paper Players	6/22/2024
Winner of the Week: Just Us Girls	6/20/2024
Featured Artist: As You See It	5/23/2024
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	5/11/2024
Honourable Mention: The Flower Challenge	5/4/2024
Winner: The Flower Challenge	4/4/2024
Top Three: Colorful Options	4/1/2024
Honourable Mention: Addicted to Stamps & Beyond	3/27/2024
Top Pick: Inkspirational	3/2/2024
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	1/13/2024
Challenge Winner: The Card Concept	1/10/2024
Honourable Mention: 52 Christmas Card Throwdown	1/10/2024
Top Pick: Inkspirational	1/6/2024
CAS on Friday Favorite	12/22/2023
Winner: AAA Birthday Card Challenge	12/15/2023
Honorable Mention: The Card Concept	12/13/2023
Challenge Winner: Seize the Birthday	12/7/2023
Birthday Honours: Seize the Birthday	11/23/2023
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	11/18/2023
Winner: Inspired By	11/5/2023
Top Three: Double D	10/31/2023
Festive Friday Fave	10/26/2023
Shout Out: JUGS	10/20/2023
Honorable Mention: The Card Concept	10/11/2023
Winner: The Flower Challenge	10/4/2023
Winner & Guest Designer: Seize the Birthday	9/28/2023
Chic of the Week: JUGS	9/22/2023
Shout-out: ColorThrowDown	9/12/2023
Team Pick: TicTacToe	9/2/2023
Honorable Mention: JUGS	8/4/2023
Fabulous Favorite: CAS Colors and Sketches	8/4/2023
Top Pick: The Flower Challenge	8/3/2023
Top Cups: Sunday Stamps	7/23/2023
Honorable Mention: Just Add Ink	7/13/2023
Top 3: Double D Challenge	7/4/2023
Top Winner: Double D Challenge	6/20/2023
Top Three: AAABirthday	6/15/2023
Top Three: The Four Seasons	5/28/2023
Winner: Just Add Ink	5/11/2023
Honorable Mention: The Card Concept	4/26/2023
Guest Designer: Tic Tac Toe	3/2/2023
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	2/11/2023
Top Three: Colorful Options	2/1/2023
Guest Designer: JUGS Month of February	2/1/2023
Birthday Honors: Seize the Birthday	1/26/2023
Winner: Just Add Ink:	12/22/2022
Winner: Time Out & Guest Designer	12/22/2022
Featured Stamper: Color Throwdown	12/13/2022
Team Pick: TicTacToe Challenge	12/10/2022
Honorable Mention: Just Add Ink	12/8/2022
Chic of the Week: JUGS	11/18/2022
Honors:Time Out:	11/10/2022
Designer’s Pick Tic Tac Toe Challenge	11/5/2022
Winner: Card Concept	10/19/2022
Princess: Freshly Made Sketches	9/29/2022
52 Christmas Card Throwdown & Guest Designer	9/7/2022
Seize the Birthday Challenge Winner	7/21/2022
AAABirthday Top Four	7/18/2022
Inkspirational Challenge Top Pick	7/16/2022
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	5/21/2022
Winner: The Card Concept	5/11/2022
Designer’s Pick: Tic Tac Toe Challenge & Guest Designer	4/23/2022
Perfectly CAS: Top Three	4/14/2022
Just Us Girls “Chic of the Week”	3/18/2022
Perfectly CAS Top 3	3/14/2022
Team Pick @ Tic Tac Toe	2/19/2022
Paper Players A Cut Above	2/12/2022
Top Addict: Addicted to Stamps and More	12/26/2021
Honours at Time Out	12/9/2021
Shout-out: Freshly Made Sketches:	12/7/2021
Chic of the Week: JUGS	11/19/2021
Top Pick/Guest Designer: CAS Mix-Up	10/31/2021
Addicted to CAS: Top Three	10/17/2021
CAS Mix Up Top Three	9/30/2021
A Cut Above: The Paper Players	9/25/2021
CAS on Friday Favorite	8/20/2021
HLS CAS Favourite	7/20/2021
Top 3: AAA Birthday	7/19/2021
Honourable Mentioon: The Flower Challenge	7/3/2021
Fusion: Honorable Mention	6/10/2021
Seize the Birthday: Birthday Honors	5/13/2021
Challenge Winner: The Card Concept	5/12/2021
Honourable Mention: The Flower Challenge	4/3/2021

8/20/2024Published:

Vamp Stamp News July 2000

Papercrafts  May/June 2010

Cards August 2010

Papercrafts January/February 2011

Papercrafts May/June 2011

Thanks to keeping a daily log and maintaining my Lightroom files, catching up on my Project Life pages isn’t too difficult. I found some time to get back to it recently, and although it’s not a particularly fast process, I’m beginning to find one that works pretty well for me. I neglected to add anything about my One Little Word on my February pages, so decided to start with a page devoted to both February and March.

I think I’ll stick with Tracy Larsen’s Simply White templates. I like the clean look and it’s easy to pop the photos in the templates instead of having to resize them for the different pockets. The two quote cards came from pins here and here. The three 3X4 cards in the middle are all from a Cocoa Daisy Project Life kit, and the perfect little stickers (“books”) is a Basic Grey alpha that I’m pretty sure came with the same kit. I stamped the names of the months with Papertrey Ink’s “Calendar Basics” stamps.

This is a Cathy Zielske Basic Journalers card along with a couple of her “Months and Days” brushes. I know quite a few people who keep track of their progress with their OLW through Ali Edward’s course on Big Picture Classes, but this seems like enough for me.

One of the things I like to do is keep track of the cards I make each month. I used to keep track of layouts as well, but now that I’m doing pocket pages, I’ve stopped worrying about that. I also wanted to remember my lucky win at Papertrey Ink.

March ended up being a two page spread. The title card was created with Monthly Moments stamps and die from Papertrey Ink, and the calendar is from a digital file by Katie Pertiet that I recolored. I lowered the opacity of the year. My digital skills are pretty basic, so I’m always quite pleased with myself when I remember to do something like that! The journaling card is also a digital file by Splendid Finn that I printed out. I love the little Oscars card where I typed up a list of all the films we saw prior to the awards. It was a freebie at Laura Kate is Crafty. I also used two of Cathy Zielske’s “Tiny Templates” to create the photo collage and journaling about our trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, and my love of Face Time.

Here’s a closer look at the journaling for March:

And my favorite hand-made card for the month created with Papertrey Ink’s “A Few Pointers” die, and Simon Says “You” stamp set and die.

Everytime I finish a Project Life page, I’m so glad I started this process. I’ve started with the pages for April, but need to find some concentrated time to finish them up. Here we are at the end of June (just how did that happen?), so I’m still three months behind!

 

It’s not often that I publish two posts on the same day, but today is the last day of Less Is More’s Watercolour challenge, and I have two cards I’d like to share. They were both made with the stamps from the Simon Says June Card Kit, “Favorite Flowers.” One is a birthday card for a blogging friend across the Big Pond, and the other for a friend who is facing some very hard times right now. 

I stamped and white embossed the whimsical flowers on Tim Holtz’s watercolor paper, then watercolored them with my Peerless watercolors. They are quickly becoming my favorite watercolors. After cutting out the flowers and leaves, I partially inked the grid stamp (A Stamp in the Hand) on Neenah white cardstock, and stamped the sentiments.

I chose Plum Pudding paper and inks for this one (Papertrey Ink), and stamped a sentiment from Papertrey’s “Birthday Style.”  Then I arranged the flowers and the Pretty Pink Posh sequins.

The cardstock for this card came from my stash, but is most likely Bazzill. The sentiment is from a relatively new Simon Says set called “Friendship Messages.” I love the font. One requirement for the Less is More challenge is to leave plenty of white space. I think the subtle grid pattern qualifies for white space. 

I’m also linking these up to the Simon Says Work It Wednesday blog.

 

 

 

When I traveled to Detroit last weekend, I had my traveling companions on the lookout for the scavenger hunt items I needed. We found a few, and they had a great idea for one of the items I thought would be the hardest. One of the things I love about this project is how easily my friends and traveling companions jump into the project helping me find just the right photo.

#16 on the list is “a sign in a language other than English. The first one we encountered was in Canada at a rest stop.

But then when traveling on the People Mover in Detroit one evening on our way to the Fort St. Presbyterian Church,we found even better signs side by side.

I thought #10, a photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of a photo) would be another difficult find. But Betsy’s niece popped her head into a photo I was taking of Matt and Tracy on Father’s Day. I think Nadia was surprised to find out I was HAPPY to see her in the photo!

I knew I’d have another entry for #2:  a garden gnome, since my mother-in-law discovered her neighbor’s garden gnomes. Now I have some in a garden setting. (And they’re a lot cuter than the ones I found at Wegmans.)

I took some photos with my iPhone (the signs were also taken with my phone) of a public garden (#19) a few blocks from our house. I have them in my SmugMug album, but I’m sharing the beautiful public gardens at The George Eastman House here.

 

And one of my favorites from the evening, taken as I walked back into the galleries. 

You can find more information about Rinda’s Summer Scavenger Hunt right here. It’s never too late to join in. The hunt continues until the last day of summer. I’ve finally added Rinda’s graphic to my sidebar with a link to all my Summer Scavenger Hunt photos in my Smug Mug album.

 

I love Abi’s meme “One Photo & Twenty Words” and have a fun photo for it. I’ll try to get this linked up when I’m away, but I may not be able to manage it until I get home on Sunday.

Just three months apart, but separated by 620 miles,
these two-year olds enjoy every minute of their time together.

 

 

 

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve colored Easter eggs, but Caleb, Sarah, Tracy, and I had a fine time coloring eggs before we left Chicago. It was the perfect opportunity for this week’s Zoom In, Zoom Out, Helena’s fine meme. We’ll start with the Zoom Out, and get closer and closer. Caleb was clearly pleased with the project.

Tomorrow we’ll get a chance to watch Skylar hunt for her Easter eggs. It’s supposed to be a glorious warm and sunny Easter here. I hope the weather man is not wrong!

 

March is typically a very fickle month, weather-wise, in western New York, and this year is no exception. On Tuesday it was near 60°, and we were finally able to get a nice long walk outside. Yesterday this is what happened.

Here’s my Zoom In, Zoom Out for Week 11:

We had 18-20″ of snow. You can see that it comes up over my knees.

 

Really, I’ve had enough! It was only 15° today, and although it’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow it will be another week or more before the sidewalks are clear enough to walk outside again. The roads today were still terrible. Matt has a new job with a wonderful landscape company. They plow during the winter, and Matt was out from 11 o’clock Wednesday morning until 8 o’clock Thursday morning with just a couple of breaks. Spring officially begins on March 20th, just a week away. Let’s hope it looks a lot more like spring by then!