A Trip Down Memory Lane ~ My 2009 Favorites!

Special thanks to two of my favorite bloggers (Hi Mercy & Stephanie!) for giving me this idea to take "A Trip Down Memory Lane" and showcase a few of my favorite cards from this past year.

It was such a joy to go back through each month and see what all I had created. Some months were definitely more productive than others! And it *really* makes me want to get out some of these stamps and play with them again! Life is not all "Stampin' Up! LOL ;)

If you click on the photos, it will take you to the actual blog post for that particular day!
Thanks so much for letting me reminisce!

January

In the Crazy Quilt of Life

February

I Do Love You!

March
Books Give You Many Reasons to Smile!


April
April Showers Bring May Flowers!

May
It's Been a Great Ride!


June
Gettin' Old Ain't for Sissies!

July
God Bless America!

August
One of a Kind!

September
Grateful

October

You Make Me Smile!

November
So Grateful for All of YOU!

December 2009

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I have made *so* many wonderful stamping friends over the years and I sincerely appreciate each and every one of you! YOU are my motivation and it is your comments and encouragement that keep me stamping! Again, special thanks to Mercy Kerin at Lord Have Mercy and to Stephanie Severin at Ingenious Inkling for giving me the idea for this post! Please check out their 2009 favorites too!

Wishing you and your family all the BEST in 2010!

Happy New Year!

Quote for Today ~
Stir the eggnog, lift the toddy, Happy New Year, everybody! - Phyllis McGinley

Stamptacular *New* Stampin' Up! Products!

Stampin' Up! will be releasing several new products for sale next week and I thought I would tell you a little about them today. First of all, take a look at this photo of the new clear-mount stamps!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!

For several years, there has been great demand for repositionable clear-mount stamps. Well, we asked for it, and now we have it! Starting with the 2010 Occasions Mini Catalog and the 2010 Sale-A-Bration Brochure, Stampin′ Up! will be offering both traditional wood-mount, and the new clear-mount option. Do I hear a YIPPEEE?! :)

The new clear-mount stamps are the result of extensive research with the intent to maintain the very best image quality in the stamping industry, while at the same time offering the ease-of-use and storability inherent in repositionable clear-mount stamps. Please take a look at the photo above and you'll notice the stamps themselves are the same high quality rubber and foam as the wood mount, but they are made to mount on clear blocks! Ingenious!

The clear blocks have ergonomic grooves on all four sides for easy grip and traditional wood-mount feel. Optional image labels on stamp backs let you decide if you want to see the image through the block or not. Another plus is that the stamps store easily in standard, DVD-type cases with artwork on front and spine, making organization easy.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up! has also adopted a new body style for all their punches! I preordered the pinking hearts punch and it is *awesome*! The new punches have a low-profile, rectangular punch body that allows for easier stacking and storing and they lock shut for easier storage and transport.

Are you getting EXCITED?? Just wait until you see the full Occasions Mini Catalog and Sale-a-Bration Catalog on January 5, 2010! And speaking of this, please let me know if you would like me to mail these catalogs to you. I would be happy to! :) These catalogs will be available online on the 5th, but if you're like me, you still like to have the real deal to look at in person!

Dates to Remember:

Sale-A-Bration! January 5th - March 31st. For every $50 you spend on Stampin' Up! products, you will receive a *FREE* Sale-A-Bration stamp set (including clear mount), the new Scallop Trim Punch or the Welcome Neighbor designer series paper.

Occasions Mini Catalog! January 5th - April 30th. There are 43 pages over-flowing with new stamp sets (including clear mount), new designer paper, ribbon, epoxy brads and much, much more!

The last day to order from the Holiday Mini Catalog is January 4th! Just click on my "Shop Online" button above if there is anything you need!

Happy Stamping & Happy New Year!

Quote for Today ~

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. ~Author Unknown

(MTSC54} Follow your Heart ~

Y Follow your heart ~ it knows the way. Y

It's time to pack away my Christmas sets and move on to something new! Speaking of new, check out this spectacular NEW clear mount set from Stampin' Up!!! Did I say Clear Mount? Indeed, I did! Beginning January 5th, with Sale-a-Bration and the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog, you will now have a choice between wood mount or clear-mount sets! Whichever one you choose, you will enjoy the same high-quality rubber and foam you've grown to *love*.

Today's card was created especially for Mercy Tuesday Sketch Challenge. I started with a 4-1/4 x 11" piece of real red cardstock, folded it in half and trimmed an inch off one end. The scalloped edge is a piece of very vanilla cardstock punched with the NEW Stampin' Up Pinking Hearts Border Punch. Do you like the paper and can you tell it's *sparkly*? It's the NEW Sending Love Specialty Designer Paper making its debut in the next SU mini catalog Jan 5th! The fancy heart brad is also something NEW to dress up your projects!!

Enough about my card, now, its time to hop on over and see what special treats Mercy's Muses have for you this week:

Mercy Kerin (Queen Muse)

Jessie Knight (December Guest Muse)
Cindy Haffner
Pam Varnell
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Jessica Diedrich


It's a BUSY time of year, but we would *love* to have you participate in the challenge. All you have to do is create a card or scrapbook layout using the sketch above, and link your creation to Mister Linky on Mercy's blog. Just be sure to use the keyword MTSC54 when uploading to a public gallery. I can't wait to see how YOU interpret the sketch! :D

All Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

I {Heart} Hearts (118571) $18.95 clear mount

Specialty Designer Series Paper (117153) $11.95

Sending Love Epoxy Brads (117270) real red $4.95

Pinking Hearts Border Punch (117649) $15.95

Whimsical Words (119119) FREE with qualifying purchase during Sale-a-Bration! :)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me! And remember, if you don't have a Stampin' Up demonstrator in your area, I would *love* to help you!

Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. ~Author Unknown

Congrats to Featured Stamper ~ SmilynStef!

It has been months since I've had time to participate in Splitcoaststamper's Featured Stamper Challenge! Today, when I found out the featured stamper this week is one of my fav bloggers ~ Stephanie Severin ~ I knew that I was going to have to make time to view her gallery and play along! Here is the link to SmilynStef's card that I chose to case today. Isn't it *gorgeous*?! Be sure to hop on over to her blog Ingenious Inkling and see what she's been creating lately. You'll be impressed!

My card was created using Stampin' Up's Rich Razzleberry cardstock and the Serene Snowflake stamp set. The snowflakes are stamped in Versamark and embossed in white. The "Merry & bright" sentiment is a single stamp found in the back of the Stampin' Up catalog (page 208). The polka dot ribbon is also rich razzleberry.

We finally got our driveway opened up late yesterday after being snowed in since Christmas Eve. Thank goodness for our wonderful neighbor with a loader tractor and to his son that helped him. They had great determination and finally plowed through after working at it for a couple hours!

Below are a few more photos of our home in the aftermath of the storm . . .

The one above was taken from our driveway after it was cleared and the one below is of our backyard. Can you see the top of the picnic table between the two trees? I don't think we'll be using that for awhile! :) Maybe by the 4th of July???

The next picture is one of my favorites... the unique drift on our deck. I could barely push open the back door to take the photo. :)

Don't these photos just make you want to snuggle up by the fire with a good book? Second thought, they make me wish I lived in Hawaii!!! LOL

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you've all had a blessed Christmas. I'm enjoying a few days off work and plan to catch up on a some things around here! That is, if I don't waste too much time blogging! ;)

I'll be back again tomorrow with a card for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge! See you then!!

Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

If you can't find me, I'm in that snowbank over there ------>

Nebraska Christmas Blizzard '09 ~

From our home to yours ~ Happy Holidays!!!

Below is the huge snowblower that is clearing the highway in front of our home. Jim was wishing he could swing up our driveway. Yeah right!



Photo above is our son Andy standing on the drift as high as his pickup in our driveway. Below is the front of our home with me and our DIL Jami waving at Andy from the warmth of the living room. :)

This is hubby Jim standing in the backyard next to drift as tall as he is! Ber is our grandpuppy ~ a German Wirehair with *lots* of personality! BER loves the snow! Check out Andy's pickup buried in our driveway... oh my!

Below is the view out our kitchen window... the screen makes it look strange, but you get the idea...that's the deck railing in the front and the black around the photo is the snow swirled around the window. And yes, that is the snow shovel buried in the drift. Good place for it, huh? LOL

What's the weather like where you are? Love hearing from you all! Debbie & Gail...sounds like you got it good too!! Stay warm & cozy! I think I'm going to clean up some of the Christmas clutter and play with my new DROID. Omg, I think I need a tutorial!

Snowy Smiles 2 U All and Warm Hugs 2!

Quote for Today ~

The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches.

~e.e. cummings

Christmas Blizzard '09! What a Gift!

"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

SNOW HO HO! and MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all from snowy Nebraska! This is a photo of our driveway earlier today. Our son took their dog outside and snapped a photo with his blackberry. It has continued to snow and blow all day and I'm guessing his pickup is probably totally covered in snow by now! Maybe tomorrow we can take a photo of the front of the house because I can tell by looking out our living room window that the drift is several feet tall! It has been a looong time since we've seen *SNOW* like this!



We've enjoyed the day immensely in spite of the weather and have found it quite nice to be snowed in with family! We opened gifts early this morning and for saying I didn't need or want anything I sure did score some great gifts! :) Hubby surprised me with a DROID so that will be fun to learn how to use! We've been watching movies, playing games and doing plenty of eating! Hubby made prime rib for dinner and my sweet DIL Jami made a delicious cheesecake for dessert! Yummy!

One of my dear friends at The Stamp Shack ~ Nancy (directmailstamper) sent me an adorable Christmas card this year and enclosed an extra image for me to use. Wasn't that SWEET!?! I *love* this snowman with the heart and cardinal and couldn't wait to color it with my Copic markers. I did add some Stampin Up ribbon and dazzling diamonds glitter and please take note of that awesome "Pinking Hearts Border" punched edge at the bottom. It's one of the fabulous new punches offered in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog! You gotta love Stampin' Up's new punch designs ~ they are spectacular!

Sending smiles and warm hugs your way – and a prayer that your Christmas and New Year will be fun-filled and blessed abundantly!

Have a Merry Christmas, my friends!

Quote for Today ~

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~Dr. Seuss

{MTSC53} Graduation Congratulations!

YaY! It's time again for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge!

I thought I would surprise you by making a graduation card instead of a Christmas card this week. My nephew Jon graduated this past weekend from the California Art Institute in San Diego so I wanted to make him a "special" card. I sure wish I could have been there to celebrate the occasion, but they did send me a few photos and here is one of my favorites. This is my brother-in-law Ken, nephew Jon and my sister Judy. My sister said it was the BEST Christmas present ever! :)

Ok, back to the card details . . . I've used a retired Stampin' Up! set ~ GREAT GRADS, stamped and embossed in black. The basic grey cardstock 5-1/4" x 10-1/2" folded in half. The assortment of black and white designer papers are all from the Holiday Mini Catalog, page 11 - Night and Day.

Isn't this a terrific layout? I know, I say that about each one of Mercy's sketches! :) But, it's true! Now, be sure to blog on over and see what special treats Mercy's Muses have for you this week:

Mercy Kerin (Queen Muse)
Jessi Rone (December Guest Muse)
Cindy Haffner
Pam Varnell
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Jessica Diedrich
Shannan Teubner


We know it's a BUSY week, but if you have the time, we would *love* to have you participate in the challenge. All you have to do is create a card or scrapbook layout using the sketch above, and link your creation to Mister Linky on Mercy's blog. Just be sure to use the keyword MTSC53 when uploading to a public gallery. I can't wait to see how YOU interpret the sketch! :D

My dear blog friends, I want to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas! May your holidays be filled with happiness and peace and may the true meaning of Christmas bless your heart and home.

God's Blessings,

Quote for Today ~

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

{MTSC52} It's Dasher Again!

Yes, I've made yet *another* card with my Stampin' Up! DASHER stamp!

I've certainly got my $$'s worth out of this one! :)

Today's card was created especially for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge using the spectacular layout below. And Mercy's Muses have each created a card using this sketch to inspire you to play along with the challenge.

Mercy Kerin (Queen Muse)
Jessi Rone (December Guest Muse)
Cindy Haffner
Pam Varnell
Julie Lacey
Crystal Birr
Jessica Diedrich
Shannan Teubner

All you have to do is create a card or scrapbook layout using the sketch above, and link your creation to Mister Linky on Mercy's blog. Just be sure to use the keyword MTSC50 when uploading to a public gallery. I can't wait to see how YOU interpret the sketch! :D

Happy Stamping & Smiles 2 U!

Quote for Today ~

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!

HO HO HO! 12 Days of Holiday Sales at Stampin' Up!!

Find great deals on Big Shot dies and select Big Shot supplies—December 11-22 only!

Visit my Online Store to find great deals today!
:)