Jingle Belles!

I'm sure you're thinking... "Jingle Belles? Huh?!" Well, there is a new challenge blog out there hosted by two crafty chicks named Lauren and Steph named Jingle Belles. Each week they have a challenged posted and you make a Christmas card. And their mission:
"to make a new christmas card each & every week of 2011, thus avoiding holiday mayhem."
I. Love. It.
If I can do anything to make the holidays less stressful and more enjoyable, I will. This challenge blog is perfect for me, and by golly, I am going to have a load of holiday cards to send out by December.
This week, the challenge was to make a card using this sketch:

I saw the sketch and loved it because I am a clean and simple kind of girl. I got out my holiday stuff and started to work. Well, I got a little excited and started adding all kinds of stuff... even greenery for heavens sake.
I used rub-ons, an SRM sticker, a felt embellishment, chipboard, ink, mist, buttons, twine, ribbon, a tag, punches, a rhinestone... Lord... it's busy, it's so not "me" or my style, but I do like it! All I have to say is that this bad boy will need a bubble mailer.

Check out Jingle Belles and play along! It's never too early to prepare for the holidays!

Winners!

Ok, so if you comment twice, it only got counted once. The #2 commenter was Sammye Jo, but she forfeited her prize to the next one (because, like me, she has way too much stuff and needs to purge as well.) So, that being said... the two winners of my "grab bags" are:

Diana Fisher

&

Angi @ CokiePop

Ladies, please email me your address and I will get your packages out tomorrow! Enjoy!

My email: profumo@bellsouth.net

Giveaway Time!

Hey there, chickadee! Here's a card I made with one of my little felt birds. Sentiment and cloud die cut is from Papertrey Ink. I have been a busy bee cleaning and organizing the studio space. This needed to be done so I can be more productive! Some stuff went into the trash, some into a donation pile and then there's the good stuff... the stamps, embellishments, journaling cards, alpha stickers and such that haven't been used and it's time to say good-bye.

So... my crafty, bloggy friends, this is your chance to get a fun package in the mail from yours truly. The stuff is good- not junk. Lots of Studio Calico and American Crafts. I have two packages to giveaway, and since 2 and 6 are my favorite numbers, that's who's gettin' the goods! If you are commenter number 2 or number 6, the goodies are yours! Good luck!

Pixie Challenge

I have a blog friend named Lauren. She is super talented... every creation she makes gets an "Ooh and Ahh" out of me! She is very inspiring and I visit her blog frequently because she always has something darling to gawk at!

She is on the design team for Pixie Dust Paperie and I thought I would scoot over there to see for myself what this blog is all about. There is a fantastic sketch up right now for the challenge going on. You know how I just love a good sketch! So, off I went to dig up a couple of my favorite photos.

The Sketch:

And my take on the sketch:

I love how this turned out... the layout is happy, just like my Anna!
You have until February 5 to link up your creation if you want to play along! Check it out!

Cute Cupcake

Hello happiness... it's Friday. Although, it's not so happy in these parts... Anna is sick. Fever, headache, stomach ache, and pure misery has overcome her little body. We will be heading to the doc this afternoon.
On a sweeter note, how about this cute cupcake card? It's from the new Papertrey set "Tiny Treats Birthday" that I just got this week. This set was part of the January release and I love it... LOVE it! The tiny pink polka dot paper is actually from the stamp packaging- aren't I thrifty!? The die cute was also purchased from Papertrey and coordinates with this set. I can already tell it's going to be a favorite! I colored with my Copics and you can't tell from the picture, but the star is colored in with my Spica glitter pen to give it a little *twinkle.*

I used the Get Sketchy card sketch this week as my guide. I flipped the sketch to make my card. Get your entry in... the prize this week is awesome! A handcrafted belt buckle from an Etsy shop!

Have a great day... while Anna slumbers and Elan plays Lego's I am going to craft and organize and purge.

A Couple Things...

It's Thursday and the week is almost over. The kids were out of school yesterday for another snow day and I am so tired today that I am pretty sure I just haven't recovered from the non-stop talking madness that three kids will give you. Shew...

And, speaking of kids talking your ear off, sometimes they say some really funny things. Typically they say something hilarious and you tell yourself not to forget to "write that one down" but you do forget. And that funny little blurb that your 3 year old said about how you look "just like a cowgirl" with curlers in your hair slips your mind. No more!

Behold the journaling book. It's small, it's easy, functional, and you won't forget anymore cute things those funny kiddos say! I made this one for a friend of mine whom I just recently had this conversation with. She also has 3 kids, a full time job and volunteers an obscene amount of time at school. All the while she keeps up a home and she's still super nice to her husband and always has time for her friends. She deserved this book...


Inside, the pages are marked with the months along the top. You circle the month and then put the date or year or both in the circle printed. Add your quotes to the lines provided and presto! Your kids funny quotes and stories are safe in one spot that is easily accessible.

The pages are 3.5x5 inches and I downloaded the journaling pages from Creating Keepsakes blog. It's been a long time, so you will have to search... sorry. OR... you could get really crafty and make some of your own. ;)
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In the running world, I am doing fantastic. Today, I got to run 4 miles in a balmy 33 degrees. It was a refreshing change from the 10-25 degree weather I'm use to running in. I jammed my tunes and felt like I ran faster than normal and I may or may not have thrown in a few dance moves... however I don't keep my time... I just run.

I registered this morning:

"Dear Amanda,

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2011 Derby Festival Marathon & miniMarathon."

When the above message came through my email, I got butterflies. I can't believe I'm doing this! It's seems pretty darn real now.

I have my brother Nate to thank. He's the one that told me to start small... "Just run to your mailbox and back for a week and then run a little farther the next week." Coming for a strong, athletic triathlete, I gave him a crooked look like "are you freaking kidding me? I can not run. I have never run... ever." He believed that I could do it and I am. Believe in yourself... anything is possible.

Papertrey Blog Hop!

Today, Papertrey Ink is having their blog hop. The challenge was to dust off an old stamp set that you either haven't used in a while, or one that has never been inked! I chose a set that I just had to have months ago and none of the stamps have been inked... until today.

The stamp set is called "Up, Up & Away" and has so many adorable images. Not sure why I haven't used them before... some of them are intimidating, I think. The sentiment is from the add on set to "Up, Up & Away."

I practiced coloring the rainbow a few times before liking a color combo. These are the markers I used:
I stitched yellow around the edge of the card before attaching to the card base. I did this by hand without a template, that's why it isn't perfectly even... and I'm okay with that! A cute, yellow heart button (also Papertrey) is the final finishing touch!

Enjoy! To find some amazing inspiration, visit the Papertrey blog and hop along!