Owl Together Now . . .

Sketch Challenge
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New Stamp Set
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Happy Stampin'!


Today's card was created using Beate's "Fresh and Fun" Weekend Sketch Challenge #67. This layout is a keeper and one I will use often.








My Stampin' Up! order came yesterday and this is one of my favorite new sets "Owl Together Now". There are 4 different owlies, 5 sentiments ... whoo-la-la!, hoot hoot hooray!, guess whoo loves you!, something for you from owl of us, and the one I've used here... you're a hoot! In addition to all those, there is a balloon, flower, hearts, party hat and the branch for them to sit on! I can already think of many uses for this set and you'll probably get tired of seeing it.

Did you notice the embossed edge on the left side of the image? I am lovin' these new Cuttlebug embossing borders!

I hope you're all enjoying a nice, relaxing weekend. Thanks so much for blogging by and if you ever have any questions about my cards, please don't hesitate to ask!

Smiles,




Quote for Today ~
Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

Another FUN Sketch for You to Try!

Many of you have been making Christmas cards for weeks now, but I'm just beginning to get into the holiday spirit.

The inspiration for this design came from Jen's recent sketch at I {heart} 2 Stamp. Be sure to check out all the cards others have made...they are FANTASTIC!

The other day when I was at Walmart, I had my hands on the Martha Stewart snowflake punch and put it back. What was I thinking?! I sure would have liked to have had snowflake punchies on this card, but since I didn't, I used the snowflake stamp from the Stampin Up "Perfect Presentation" set. I stamped it with Versamark and embossed with the Winter Wonderland powder.

The colors I've used may look a little "springy", but there really are snowflakes in this designer paper. It's from a pack of holiday prints I picked up on sale at Hobby Lobby. The base cardstock is chocolate chip and I've layered on certainly celery stamped with the linen background stamp in Versafine vintage sepia. The sentiment stamp is an oldie from the $1 Michaels bin. I'm not sure that I've ever used it before, but it just seems to fit on this card.

Today was a terrific mail day and I received stamped images from 3 of my generous Stamp Shack friends. {Thank U Nancy, Charity & Pascale!} I'm going to have a tough time deciding which ones to color first! :)

Smiles . . .

Quote for Today ~

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Wrap it Up!

In my post earlier today, I mentioned that I was making up a gift bag of cards and would share my idea for recycled packaging with you.


















First of all, I took 4 cards of each design, stamped matching envelopes and put them all into a plastic sleeve, attaching a "hand stamped" scalloped tag on the back to secure. These were wrapped loosely with tissue paper and fit nicely in the little brown kraft paper bag. I "embellished" it with a stamped & embossed tag tied on with some jute twine, distressed the edges a bit and it's ready to go! If you look closely at the bag you can see that I embossed a band of dots around the middle. This was done with one of the new Cuttlebug embossing borders ~ "Just My Type".


In addition to the cards, I also wrapped up a book and a couple other little items. For one of them, I used some brown textured paper that had come in the box with my hubby's new work boots. I wish I had an entire roll of that stuff as it is so soft and easy to use. All the tags were created by stamping with Versamark and embossing with Stampin Up copper embossing powder.

You should have seen my craft table when I was done with all these cards and wrapping. It was a major MESS! But, I did force myself to clean it up and decided to make a Christmas card with Jen's recent sketch at I {heart} 2 Stamp. I'm happy with how it turned out and I'm anxious it to show you. But, not until tomorrow! :)

Thanks so much for blogging by today...wishing you all a week filled with happy moments!
Smiles,

If You're Feeling Blue ~

... try painting yourself a different color.


Those profound words are taken right from the mouth of Hannah, age 8, and made into this adorable wood mounted stamp by Inkadinkadoo.














More mass production today and I'm thoroughly enjoying the feeling of accomplishment!

I'm putting together two sets of get well cards, a book, calendar and some other goodies for someone very special. (sorry, I can't say who in case she might be reading this!) When I get everything wrapped up, I'll take a few photos so you can see how I've recycled some brown paper packaging, added stamped tags and made a really nice gift.

More later....





Quote for Today ~

Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination. ~Robert Fulghum

Elzybell "Feel Better" Weekend Sketch Challenge ~

Nothing can make us FEEL BETTER than a little stamping and cardmaking. It's one of my favorite stress reducing pasttimes! With all the negative press lately about the economy it is essential that we continue to THINK POSITIVE!

Usually stress breeds negative thinking and negative thinking breeds stress. It's a vicious circle, but it doesn't have to be that way. If you look at the bright side of things...if you can laugh and enjoy life...your positive thinking can help chase away stress and restore peace of mind.


Today I'm mass-producing again and making a few get well cards with my adorable little Elzybell Art Stamp. This Elzy is titled "Feeling Poorly" and I'm using it with the little "feel better" sentiment stamp. Please give me your opinion on this...do you like the sentiment on the front or should I put it on the inside? I'm being indecisive and think I prefer the Elzy image alone on the front. Maybe because it's rather "busy" as it is. What do you think? ? ? :)



The inspiration for the layout of this card came from Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. Her layouts are fantastic and make cardmaking even more FUN! :)

In case you're interested, I've used Stampin up chocolate chip and close to cocoa cardstock. The designer paper is by the Paper Studio. I've colored my Elzy's with prismacolor pencils. For added dimension, I've cuttlebugged the choc chip piece with swiss dots and stitched it on the base layer. You'll notice my zig zag stitch really zagged around the brads. Next time, I will add the brads after the stitching! :)

MW has gone duck hunting again this weekend so I'm enjoying doing my own thing. This morning I had a nail appointment and then a massage. Oh my, I forgot how absolutely heavenly it is to get a massage! Its not something I do often...usually only when I have a gift certificate. This may be my new favorite gift! :) The spa was all decorated for Christmas already and it made me want to decorate too. Maybe I'll just make a few Christmas cards instead. :)

Have a wonderful weekend and happy stamping! Smiles...





Quote for Today ~
A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. ~Irish Proverb

Simple Heartfelt Sympathy Cards ~

Sad to say, but I probably send out more sympathy
cards than any other and it seems that I never have enough on hand when I need them. So, this past weekend I selected one of my favorite layouts and did some mass-production.











Most of the products used are from Stampin' Up! The cardstock is barely banana and basic black. In the past, I've made this same card with river rock and black and really like it too. Obviously, you could use any color.

I've stamped two different backgrounds...filigree and simple stripes. The flowers are from the "Happy Harmony" set. "In Sympathy & Friendship" is from an Innie & Outie double stamp by My Sentiments Exactly. The other half of the stamp says "Our hearts, our prayers and our love are with you." (S146-IO) The inside sentiment that I've used on these is from Morning Star Stamps. It reads, "May you have comfort in each happy memory and in the assurance of Heaven."

Often, it is difficult to know exactly what to write in a sympathy card. The purpose is to offer comfort and inspire hope so I try to write a personal heartfelt message of remembrance, if appropriate. Or, you could enclose a poem or scripture that has personal meaning to you. Years ago, when my wonderful Dad passed away, one of our dear friends gave me a beautiful book by Helen Steiner Rice. She had written a personal message inside the cover with reference to this particular poem:

When I Must Leave You

When I must leave you
For a little while,
Please do not grieve
And shed wild tears
And hug your sorrow to you
Through the years,
But start out bravely
With a smile.
And for my sake
And in my name,
Live on and do
All the things the same.
Feed not your loneliness
On empty days,
But fill each waking hour
In useful ways.
Reach out your hand in comfort
And in cheer,
And I, in turn, will comfort you
And hold you near.
And never, never
Be afraid to die,
For I am waiting for you
In the sky.
~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

Thanks so much for blogging by...and to all of you who've left comments. I read each and every one and appreciate you all SO much!

May your week be filled with happy moments!
Smiles,

Mr. Turkey & Mr. Twigster ~

Today I want to show you the other two projects
from our Stampin Up workshop yesterday.

The first card is with our fine feathered friend...Mr. Turkey. Our SU demonstrator (Hi Jason!) said the instructions for this cute "Thankful Card" were published in her Stampin' Success magazine.

This cute and festive turkey was created by using a variety of different SU punches and a special fold with the scallop circle punch. I was supposed to leave room on the bottom for the sentiment, but stamped "Happy Thanksgiving" on the inside of the card instead.





Now, check out this super "Mr. Twigster" gift bag we made...

We started with a 4-1/2" square for the bottom, scored each edge at 1" and folded it in to make the box bottom. Then we wrapped the striped paper around, added the scalloped edging, the tabs...and finally, Mr Twigster himself framed in a scalloped circle! They really are quite easy to make and perfect packaging for a small gift!

I hope you're all enjoying a nice relaxing weekend with time to do as you please. Happy Stamping!

Smiles,






I've got another YUMMY recipe to share with you today. It's a quick and easy one to make for your next stampin' up get together with friends. I got it from a coworker years ago and have made it often. With or without the apples, it's delicious!

Streusel Coffee Cake
1 yellow cake mix
¼ cup firm margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
3 eggs
1-1/2 cup sour crème

Measure 2/3 cup of the cake mix and blend together with the margarine, brown sugar & nuts. Set this aside.

Beat eggs and blend in sour crème and the rest of the cake mix. Mixture will be quite thick. Spread ½ of this batter in a 9 x 13” greased & floured cake pan. Sprinkle on ½ of the other mixture, the rest of the batter, then the other ½ of the topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Optional: add 2 diced apples to the batter for a yummy Apple Streusel Cake!

Sharing a "Vintage" Wedding Photo ~

Dear friends, please don't laugh too hard and choke on your coffee... and remember, this was the 70's ... back when styles were a bit unusual, to say the least! LOL :)

There is a thread at The Stamp Shack asking all of us to share one of our wedding photos. Obviously, ours were taken WAY before digital was invented so I found our old wedding album in a storage box layered with dust on the top shelf of our closet. I vacuumed it off and took a digital photo...after I stopped laughing. :)

Do we look YOUNG? Well, we were! I was only 19 and Jim was just 21. We had jobs, but no savings, one car and a whole lot of growing up to do. I'm happy to say he's still my best friend and "Mr Wonderful". We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary this past June.

You'll get a kick out of this...I saved all our wedding receipts and found them in my album. My dress cost more than my ring. It was $110, which was pricey for back then...and the ring was $67.25!!! How funny is that? {You'll be glad to know that I got a REAL diamond for our 30th anniversary.}

This post was totally spontaneous and hopefully you've enjoyed it. Would anyone else like to share your wedding photos with all of us? If you do decide to post them, please leave a comment with a link to your blog so we can see.

Have a great Sunday! I'll be back later to post the other projects from our fun Stampin Up workshop yesterday. Smiles...

Quote for Today ~

"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." ~Rita Rudner

ETA: Oh my, this makes my post even funnier yet......someone just unsubscribed from my blog because of it!!! Yikes! I better stick to cardmaking... LOL :)
??? has unsubscribed from "Stamping with { Serendipity! }"
The reason is: 01: Content no longer relevant

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Actually it's a very cold and windy day in our neighborhood today, but with hot apple cider and the coffee pot on, it was the perfect day to be indoors stamping it up with friends!

I hosted a Stampin' Up! workshop this morning and we had such a FUN time! This is one of our projects using the "Neighborhood" jumbo wheel. As you can see, we all colored our image just a little differently using the Stampin' Up markers. For added dimension and sparkle we added glittery snow to the rooftops using Liquid Applique and diamond glitter. I had forgotten how much fun it is to use the liquid applique...the snow just puffs up when you heat emboss it. :)


{Happy Hi to Jason, Vicki, Karmen, Jami, Mandey & Yvonne and thank U all for letting me share a photo of all our cards together!}

The sentiment is from the "Heard from the Heart" set. It's amazing that I hadn't noticed this set in the catalog and now I have to have it! I wish $$ was no object, because there are SO many sets that I would love to have...plus, all the designer cardstock and new IN colors...and all the ribbon!

We made two other terrific projects, but I'll wait and share those with you tomorrow. Mainly because I want to share a recipe with you that I made for the first time and everyone thought it was yummy! I copied this from one of my favorite blogs "Mish Mash" where Michelle tells the story of how she named it "Mr. Hatfield's Pickle Dip." It is just so easy to make and delicious served with crackers for a tasty snack.

Mr. Hatfield’s Pickle Dip
1 cup sour cream
1-8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 pkgs dried beef, minced
2-3 dill pickle spears, diced
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
Black pepper, garlic powder & season salt to taste
Mix all ingredients. Serve with firm crackers. Can use 'light' ingredients.


Until tomorrow... Happy Stamping!

What Lies Before Us . . .

. . . and what lies behind us

are tiny matters

compared to what

lies within us.

Tonight when I sat down to stamp while watching the election results, I was determined to create a card without relying on a sketch or layout for inspiration. . . to simply "go with the flow".

I began by selecting this gorgeous Della Fantasia paper by the Paper Studio. This is from a paper pack with a lovely assortment of coordinating colors and patterns.

You know I love quotes and this is one of my favorites. It's "within us" by Penny Black. I've stamped it in Versafine Vintage Sepia and embossed it with clear powder. The felt flowers are from Stampin Up. You'll notice I did some random stitching and sponged around the edges for a little extra oomph! :)

Until tomorrow...thanks so much for stopping by!

It's Happy Hour Somewhere!

How about a little COLOR tonight? This bright and happy card is for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #64. If you have a minute or two, you really should try this sketch...or at least blog on over to Beate's blog "Fresh & Fun" and look at all the terrific cards she and others have posted. It's FUN to see how each one is quite different, even using the same layout.

My pina colada "refreshment" is a $1 Michaels stamp and the sentiment is by Inkadinkado. I've used Stampin Up cardstock ~ marigold morning and wild wasabi. The patterned yellow plaid paper is by Bo-Bunny Press and the "happy hour" green paper by Flair Designs. I've colored my image with prismacolor pencils. The new Stampin Up scalloped edge punch is what I used on the top and bottom edge.

This was really a super simple card...especially since I had the sketch to start out!



Our weather the past few days has been unbelievably beautiful with temps in the 70's! I know it's not going to last much longer, in fact I think I heard the four letter word S.N.O.W. in the forecast later this week. Let's hope they're wrong again. :)

Have a GREAT week!




Quote for Today ~
"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." - unknown

Operation Baking Gals ~ Cards & Cookies for our Troops!

Last week I signed up to participate on Erika Martin's Team Cookies & Cards. It is a wonderful program called Operation Baking Gals organized by Cat of The Cat's Pajamas fame.

In case you haven't heard of it already, I'll try to explain what Team Cookies & Cards is all about...

It's a team of 20 bakers/cardmakers that commit to making a batch of cookies, packaging them up and mailing them to our soldier, along with a bag of 10 handmade holiday cards with envelopes. These holiday cards should are blank inside so that our soldiers will have something to send home to their families and friends. Holiday cards are not an easy thing to find overseas when you're in the military. Our soldier, Wayne, will receive all 20 packages and then disperse all the cookies and cards to the other soldiers in his battalion.

Just think how many smiles will be on the faces of the soldiers when they get all those packages and EVERYONE gets a "taste of home." We are to mail our packages out by November 10th so I wanted to get mine done this weekend. Isn't this wonderful project? I read about it on Tammy's blog, Stamp Happy, and I'm so happy I did! :)

Now, to tell you more about the cards that I'm sending. This card is a "case" from LeAnne at Wee Inklings, but I have purposely simplified it a bit from her beautiful design. I didn't want too many layers or extra weight since these will primarily be mailed overseas.

If you're wondering what strange color I've used, it is retired Sahara Sand by Stampin Up! I really wanted to use the kraft cardstock but only had a couple sheets. The large snowflake in the center is one I've had forever by PSX. I've stamped with Versamark and embossed with Ranger Seafoam White Embossing Powder. The polka dot paper was created using the Stampin Up background stamp and white craft pad. The small snowflake and JOY are from the Stampin Up Perfect Presentation set. They are stamped with Versamark and embossed as well. The white dotted ribbon is from Michaels. As you can see, I've made one for a pattern and set up my "cardmaking assembly line" for the rest. Now, I better get busy and finish them so I can do my baking!

Thanks so much for blogging by today. I hope you're making good use out of that extra hour we gained this weekend. (those of us that who were on daylight savings time, that is) Mr Wonderful likes to set the clocks before we go to bed, but I prefer to wake up and turn them back in the morning. That way, I feel like I've truly gained an hour! :)

Smiles 2 U All!




Quote for Today ~
And I'm proud to be an American,where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,who gave that right to me. ~Lee Greenwood


ETA: I got a dozen cards done today! They took a little longer than I thought they would with all the embossing. You'll notice I stamped the little mini snowflakes on the top because it seemed too plain to me.