Merry Christmas!

I'll be amazed if anyone stops by today.  After all, it is Christmas!  After church this morning, I know I will be busy with family all day.  But it is Saturday, time for our weekly sketch challenge at UDI.  You can see the sketch here.  I knew I wanted to play with some new stamps from the Occasions mini catalog and the Sale-a-bration catalog.  Here's a sneak peek.

I used the set Valentine Defined and added the owl from the Sale-a-bration set Punch Bunch. Again, I stayed with a classic color combination of Real Red, Basic Black, and Whisper White.

And on the inside of the card, another stamp from Valentine Defined.

That's it for today!  If you are blog hopping, head on over to Becky's blog to see what she did with this week's sketch.  Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Christmas!

Blessings,
Barbara

Bliss!

Bliss is having a little time to play with some of my sneak peek stamping supplies!  I used one of the sale-a-bration sets, "Bliss," that will be available starting on January 25.  I'm going to keep this short and sweet since a have a bazillion other things to do.  You can see this week's UDI sketch challenge here. I used it horizontally instead of vertically, and I changed the shape of the circle accents.

I just love this classic combination of Basic Black, Basic Gray and Whisper White. Next you can head over here to see what Becky has come up with this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas blessings,
Barbara

I'm so not ready for winter!

This week I had a chance to play with some of the things I preordered from the Occasions mini catalog. As much as I love Christmas, I really do not like the cold, dark days of winter! So I am already in a "think spring" kind of mood.  For this week's DIVA sketch challenge, which you can see here, I knew which set I wanted to use. Easter Blossoms! I pulled out my Color Coach and found my inspiration with Pink Pirouette. I was going for a shabby look, so I used the tea stain ink from the distressing kit.

I used the Sweet Set combination of Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand and Always Artichoke.  I am not very happy with my photos since I had to use flash and much prefer natural light.  But when it is dark out by 5:00, and you start with a gray, overcast day, there aren't many options!

Here's the recipe:
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette
Ink:  Always Artichoke, Tea Stain distressing ink
Accessories:  Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Oval Scallop Frame Bigz Die, Always Artichoke seam binding.

In real life, the seam binding looks much softer in color, not nearly as dark as it appears in the photo.

Hm, I wonder what the rest of the team has been up to this week?  You can hop over to Becky's blog next.  Yesterday, while I should have been working on the family Christmas cards, I pulled out something else I wanted to play with.  My downline Christmas party is next Tuesday, and I had to get busy and prepare for one of the games, which is Bingo!  I had way too much fun making Bingo cards using the set in the Holiday mini catalog.  The boards are all different, and the red circles with the images are the calling pieces.  I think we'll use pennies as markers.  This set is just too stinkin' cute!

Well, this morning we go for our tree, and our daughter is coming to do some holiday baking, so I am looking forward to a delightful day!

Enjoy your weekend!
Barbara

Craft Fair Share

It's time for another weekly sketch challenge from UDI, and if you click here, you can see the sketch. I had a really busy week and was struggling with this week's sketch. I tried a couple of ideas yesterday, but nothing panned out. I was having trouble with having so much blank space in the center of the layout. Anyway, all of a sudden an idea clicked, and here it is.

This is a covered note pad with a matching pen! I made a bunch of these for the craft fair, and I took one and added some embellishments using the elements of Carol's sketch. I got the idea here, and if you follow the link, she has all of the directions/dimensions on her post. Here is a view of the inside.

When I was taking my photos this morning, the sun came out and was streaming in the kitchen windows. I just love the natural light and the highlights and shadows...

Well, if you're anything like me, I bet you have a list a mile long for the weekend! We're heading out for our tree a little later, and I hope to get a lot of decorating done in the house. But before you go, be sure to head over to Becky's blog to see what she came up with this week.

Enjoy your weekend!

Blessings,
Barbara

Oops, Again!

I've been so busy preparing for a craft fair that I totally forgot about my sketch! Check back later today and see what I've come up with. For now, you can head over to Becky's blog and see her fabulous creation for this week! Actually, if you scroll down to her mid-week post, you will see some of the things I've been up to.  I've just been too busy to post!