It's beginning to look a lot like....

Bellas!!! Yup, Bellas are helping me to celebrate the season. Tuesday evening was the monthly *Stampin in Your Jammies* night over on the Paper Pretties yahoo group. Sadly, I worked late and missed most of it but once I came home I flung my bags everywhere and headed for my stamp room. I was able to sneak in one challenge which was to have fibers on your card....do you have any idea how many loose strands of white 'stuff' I found on the carpet when I was done?!?! Holy cow that stuff sheds! But it's worth it cause she is pretty stinkin' cute, eh? So here is my dazzling Wreathabella, she is in the Nov Bella Box from Paper Pretties and I lovey her!!!

I have no idea where I got this patterned paper but I love it! I must go find it again!!! I really like the Gable Green, Pretty in Pink & Real Red combo for Xmas colors...they're fun and funky (just like me, Christie would say). I only had 20 minutes to make this baby so with more time I would add a bit of red glittah to the bow, or maybe the berries....yeah, I'm thinkin the berries. :)

Great Mail Day!

I love being a Babe!!! Patsy Turner sent me this fantastic card AND bag-tag, aren't they just too cute?!?! Thank you SO much Patsy, what a great mail day!!! I have been busy working on quite a few Xmas projects so I promise to let you in on the secrets soon. I have classes on Friday night, Sat morning and Sat afternoon so I'll be a busy little bee for quite some time. But just wait til you see what's in the works......you'll flip!!!

XOXO

Ornamentally Pretties Day...heh

Nice title eh? So last week I challenged the gals to create a handmade ornament.....here's my little gingerbread house for Kristine.

Sadly it doesn't look quite as cute in the picture as in real life or on the tree. The is a small hole in the bottom for you to put on a tree branch and you just make sure a little light goes up through the hole, so the lights are on in the house. :) There is vellum covering on the windows so they look frosted once lit up. I also made one with lights and I will take a photo once our tree is up to show you just how adorable these little guys are.

Be sure to check out all the other Prettie Pages (listed on the right column) and see what everyone made!!!

Happy Wednesday!!

Happy Monday!!!

What a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend I had! I stuffed myself silly, slept a TON and then pushed Scott (my sweet hubby) up onto the roof to get those lights on!! I'm the 'light tester and bulb checker' and since I got a great deal last year after the holidays on lights we had all brand-spankin new ones. My hubster got up on that roof and carefully placed each light perfectly along the trim and when the grand finale came to plug in those beautimous lights....nothing. Nat'l Lampoons Xmas Vacation was in my very home for the next 5 hours until the culprit was found. ME! I didn't check the lights!!! I thought since they were brand new that they'd be fine. WRONG! Rookie move and man did my sweet hubby turn a bit sour once he found out that the "light checker" failed to do her job. The trooper that he is he went back up, took down the faulty lights and replaced them with ones that he knew worked, because HE checked them. ;)

I did finally get my Etsy store up and running for the Xmas card rush so be sure to check my sidebar to view my store. There will be more added within the week, just trying to pace myself with all my projects. :)

I hope you all enjoyed great food, family and loved ones, and of course those extra naps we tend to need during the holidays! Did any of your brave the crowds for those after T-day sales?? What did ya get?!?

Prettie Tasty Wednesday...

Last week Kristine presented the Recipe Challenge.....make a recipe card of one of your favorite recipes. Well, since Thanksgiving is just days away I opted to break out my hands-down favorite Pumpkin Cookie recipe. Granted, my personal recipe card is covered in butter stains and years of flour, sugar & cinnamon gunk but I think that's what they are SUPPOSED to look like. So, keeping that in mind, I kept this sweet and simple. I wanted Christie to be able to 1. Use it without worrying if it gets messed up and 2.find it easily amongst the other recipe cards so I added a simple little tab directing her to these very yummy cookies. ;)

What are your favorite recipes for the holidays?? I'd love to get my hands on a few new ones *hint, hint*. Be sure to browse around to the other Prettie girls blogs to see their fabulous recipe cards, you'll flip when you see the ADORABLE recipe pack that Alli made for me. That girl, I swear she's just too clever! Oh and now of course I need that set of hers!!! xoxo

I'm alive!

Yes, I survived the big '30'!!!! From Thursday afternoon until Monday night, it was non-stop spoil-Jillian-time!!!! And look what came in the mail over the course of the weekend....
This gorgeous bella card came from Ami Cook! *thanks amy I love her!!!* The frame has red glittah all around it and I just love the polka-dot prima, too cute!

And I have no idea how this woman does it, but she JUST had a baby last week and then I got this birthday package of goodies in the mail?!?!?! Charmaine....you are Superwoman and I love you, thank you SO much for thinking of me!!!! Give that sweet baby kisses for me (trust me, he's just too cute!).

Kristine sent me these fun treats for my bday, um.....Kristine, you trying to tell me something?? *wink, wink* Thank you missy, I love my gorgeous bella card, fun polka dot ribbon and I'm sure those stamps will come in handy soon enough! ;)

Now for the best gift ever..... he picked it out just for me.

This is from Jack, he picked me a "bean" from his beanstalk....well, from Tiffany & Co's beanstalk *lol*. My nephew Jack is the light of my life and boy does he love to chew on his auntie Jill. (Jack & Jill, too cute eh?) Oh and he picked out that butterfly balloon just for me, he said it was "pwetty, jus like you aunti". Could ya just melt?!?!??!

We took a trip on a train....still quite get the "cheese" into the actual camera but we'll get there! Hugs to everyone and thank you ALL for your wonderful Bday wishes.....ok, off to do some stamping. I haven't inked anything in almost a week, can you believe it?!?!?!

xoxoxo

Holy Cow!!!

Ok so the days leading up to my birthday have been AMAZING!!!!! And today I found out that I was selected as the Guest Star Stamper over at Paper Trey Ink!!!!! OMG!!!! I hit the floor AGAIN.......seriously, I'm playing lotto for the next month straight!!! Here is a link to the card that was chosen, I posted it earlier this month on my blog. I had such a great time making this card and I'm thrilled to know that Nicole loved it as much as I did (and so did all of you from the comments that ya left!) ;)

And what a fantastic mail week I've been having too.....

These are a few of the Bella Babe RAK's I've received this week....thank you all SO much!!! I love having mail that ISN'T a bill for a change!! :)

This RAK made my day, my first bella birthday card I've ever received!!! Sure, I make them for everyone but this one was made just for me. :) Turning 30 is going to be great!!!

And then I got this fabulous bella babe package from Lynn (last month's Babe) and it was filled with my FAV color ribbons, clear baubles, some Presentabella images AND a Fishafella!!!! Thank you SO much Lynn, you went way overboard...now I finally have a fella!

I can't wait to play with all my new goodies and I'm still in shock that I am the Guest Star Stamper of a PTI, I just can't get over it. WOW

Birthday news....I will be going away for the weekend with my hubby for 2 days and then my mom and sister for one so there will be little to no posting OR stamping *gasp* but I promise once I get back I will have some fun news and fabulous cards to share with you!!!

30 here I come!!!! XOXOXOXO

Another Prettie Wednesday!

This time our challenge was to make business cards.....I thought about keeping them simple so they could be used anywhere and look quite professional. After all, she is THE glue that holds all of us together...well other than Christie, that is....cause she's our Prettie Mamma! :)

Make sure you check out the other Prettie girls blogs listed on the right, these cards are all so adorable and creative, I love them!!!!! Today is my challenge day and I say get those craft supplies out and make some handmade Xmas ornaments!!! String, wire, paper, glass, giant silver ring....whatever you think of just make sure you can hang it on a tree!!!

Oh and for those that were wanting a wedding weekend update....it was fabulous!!!! I don't have pics yet but I had the time of my life, the bride was stunning, the food was fantastic, the music kept us on the dance floor and I actually ENJOYED a few glasses of wine (I don't drink, hate the taste). I'll post some as soon as I get my hands on a few. :) xoxo

Did ya see????

My dear friend Christie over at Paper Pretties wrote a poem recently AND everyone guessed right, it was about me. :) I am this months design team member spotlight. I feel so blessed to be in a team with such a great group of gals. And did you also hear, baby Isaac was born healthy and happy and Charmaine is still stamping away and posting each and every day. I don't know how she does it but it gives me hope. ;) Congrats Charmaine!!!!

New Hair

What do ya think?? Granted, taking a photo of yourself is a bit difficult so your 'blank stare' is always a bit unattractive but focus on the HAIR people. LOL

Wedding Weekend

Short but sweet....my friend is getting married this weekend and I am one of her bridesmaids so I will be spending most of my time participating in those fun festivities. But of course I had to make a little time to stop in and say hi... "Hi!". I also thought I would share with you another one of my Scarey Shimmer Sand cards that I made. I'm not too scared of it anymore!!! I used the seagulls stamp from By the Seashore from the Oct Paper Pretties MFT box (which you can also buy in the Corner Store). I think I'll be making it again and adding a texture to the soft sky paper, a wave perhaps??

So starting Monday I will begin my birthday countdown to the big '30'. So I'm baking a cake on Sunday night and eating a HUGE piece with ice cream each and every night until it's here! HAHAHAHA, ok so good idea but not practical. Sure the calories would be most people's excuse but for me....the cake wouldn't be fresh enough for that long! LMAO ;) Hey, you only live once so you might as well enjoy the food you eat, eh? XOXO

Window Shopping

I think I could truly enjoy a life of shopping....clothes, kitchenware, crafts, linens, heck even hardware and electronics. This stamp is by Rubber Romance and was the featured stamp in the October Paper Pretties box, when I first saw it I just totally connected with it. "That's me!!! Someone took a picture of me and made it into a stamp!!!" Ok, so that's not exactly me, my rump is a bit larger than hers but still....in my eyes I'm a bella so just let me live in my world with a turquoise sky and pink birdies ok?!?! I had this idea of her looking through an actual window and couldn't get my hands around how to make it happen....until the Nestabilities arrived. I adhered the paper onto the card, positioned the large rectangle die exactly where I wanted it for a 'window' and ran it through my CB. PERFECT! I had to get a little clever by masking the window and stamping it in sections so the woman wasn't in the store picture anymore. The sentiment is from the new Paper Trey Ink set Piece of Cake, I just adore all their words and how cleverly they go together. It's definitely more impressive in person, but I'm finding that I keep saying that in each of my posts so maybe it's time for a better camera or perhaps I need to just start mailing out each of these cards to my readers. ;)

Here's another card I used with the same items from the box...

I think I'll go shopping today on my lunch hour....hmmm, wonder what made me think of doing that?? ;) Only 8 more days til I turn 30 so I'd better buy my 20-somthing outfits while I can, right?!? LOL xoxo

It's a Prettie Wednesday once again....

Chipboard....It's hip, it's popular and it's everywhere, except in my card gallery. Don't get me wrong I have 'some' pieces of chipboard in my craft room but they are hidden far, far away and are never to show their faces. *lol* So our challenge for last week....yep, you guessed it. Chipboard!!! After the last challenge of "scare yourself" I thought I had jumped my biggest hurdle....I was wrong. Apparently the idea behind this stuff is to either paint it, ink it with craft ink and stamp on it or cover it with paper and sand the edges to soften the look. So I played along....but I must state it publicly. I DO NOT LIKE CHIPBOARD!! Not only is it messy if you paint it, awkward AND messy if you stamp it, and horribly time consuming and frustrating if you cover it with paper and then attempt to keep the edges in tack while sanding away at it. Not only that, it makes your project horribly heavy and quite pricey to mail.

That being said, I actually loved how this card turned out and hated to part with it and I truly hope that Joanne loves it just as much as I do. :)

I used my new Nestabilities I got from Paper Pretties for the main image layers then embossed around the top layer only. When I first saw these stamps in the Corner Store I laughed and thought they were kinda awkward looking....now after playing with them I just think they are so adorable! Funny how that works, eh? The DP is from the DCWV Xmas stack and I used three chipboard circles and added some striped DP. I sanded and inked the edges of the chipboard and it got pretty messy...but I liked how it made it look so I left it. Prisma Pencils & Gamsol for the coloring, white flocking for the fuzzy parts of his suit and a touch of glittah on the star and the red ornament. Lastly, I added a few buttons and was done.

Now this..........is what the chipboard craze is all about. I received this in the mail from Joanne and I was just amazed. So if you're looking for ways to use chipboard, she's your gal! Thanks Joanne, I love it!!!

Be sure to visit the other Prettie Pages (Julie M, Kristine, Alli, Charmaine, Christie, Joanne, Julie C) to see what they got in their mailbox and how they tackled last weeks Chipboard Challenge!

Birthday Bella

So my fellow DT pal Julie hit the big '30' recently and even though I was sick I just HAD to get a card out to her, she's too wonderful and needs to be spoiled as much as possible. :) So I whipped up this sweet lookin' gal and sent her on her way. I must admit, I liked Presentabella....heck, I like all the bellas. But when you color them and bring them to life that's when you're hit with cupid's arrow...BAM!!! LOVE HER!!!!

Did ya see newest Paper Pretties announcement??? February's Bella is .....

SayCHEEESEabella!!!!

I'm a Babe!!!!

Did ya see, did ya see?!!??!!? My Snowbunny Bella won the November Bella Babe contest over on the Bellahollics Yahoo group and I am officially a Babe!!! I really wish all of you could have seen the look on my face when I read the email, my jaw literally hit the ground. I was SO thrilled and honored. I entered her mainly because I loved her so much, I didn't care if anyone else did (ok so I kinda cared) but still, I was in total shock! She is by far my favorite bella, not only because she's totally adorable but because my dear friend Christie had a hand in designing and naming her. Nov 16th I will be turning 30 and I have been dreading it. Now that I'm "a Babe" I think this just might be a fabulous birthday after all!!!! **MWAH** to all my sistahs!!!

Snowy Wishes

Doesn't she just make you want to throw on your snow boots and have a snow fight?!?! I love her SO much!!! I got some images from a friend this weekend, Snowbunny is coming in Decembers Paper Pretties Bella Box and I can't wait to have her!!! I only have 3 images to play with so I had to make sure I got it right. ;) I used Primsa Pencils & Gamsol to color her coat, the White SU Watercolor crayon for the snow and Copics for everything else. The DP is from the new Xmas Stack from DCWV and the colors used for the layers were Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa. The Snowflake CB folder was perfect for the white strip along the bottom and I thought the tab punch needed a little something so I used the Paper Trey Holiday Treats snowflake label stamp to make a light snowflake background behind the 'warm wishes', can you see it?? This bella screams to be flocked so every fuzzy piece has white flocking on it (Paper Pretties Corner Store carries TONS of colors of flocking) I just LOVE IT!!! And do ya see the stitching?!?!? I FINALLY threaded my Janome Sew Mini (I had to have Margaret's mother come over in a panic when I screwed up my first stitching, the top looked like the bottom and the bottom looked like the top...apparently the bobbin being threaded perfectly IS a big deal! And who created the sewing machine, seriously...it's a work of a genius!)

And thank you ALL for your kinds words and warm wishes while I have been down with vertigo...and I'm happy to report, I'm at 99% normal again!!!!! I still can't spin my nephew around in circles but other than that, I'm back to my normal crazy self!!! YIPPEEE!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend! xoxo

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