Stepping Away

from the holiday cards for a few days......

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

I must admit that I am getting overwhelmed with all the Christmas cards on the blogs (I can't buy any new holiday supplies because I don't get out my crafty stuff until my Thanksgiving cards are complete and I have NO memory of what I already own). So, today I am posting a non-holiday card just for some relief.

We were in Oregon on a hiking trip early this summer and I came upon a sweet independent stamp store  called Young At Heart in the historic town of Astoria. With so many stamp stores closing, I was excited to check it out.

What a delight! I thought I knew every stamp company that existed, but the shop carried a line that was new to me and the stamps gave me such a chuckle! The company is Two-Lips Stamps and they have products available on their website if you can't get to Astoria.

I can't tell you the number of times I have said that when I die my dear husband will not only know just how many stamps and dies I have (ugh!), but he will have no idea what to do with them! Ha!

I stenciled a background using a Hero Arts stencil and Distress Oxide Inks and, even though I am not really a "butterfly person", I added some using a very old Hero Arts set.

I hope you are having a grand week and thanks so much for the visit!

Just Another Crabby Day!

Hi, Bloggin' Buddies!

I have something different to share with you today. We are part of a group that attends our local crab feed every year. Somehow (?!) I've become the person designated to create centerpieces and individual treats for the group. This is the third year (see a previous post here). I've been doing this and I'm running out of ideas! I was seriously challenged this year, but I love what I came up with.

I used some older "Jellybean Large Circle Shaped Shakers" that I had in my stash. I had stopped using them for shaker cards years ago because they made cards too bulky to mail. I'm glad I held on to them! I used a circle die and filled the shakers with "red hot" candies. The crab elements were die cut from a set by Tailored
Expressions called "Sack It - Crab" that is designed to make treat bags. So, I modified it.

After I made the little stand up tents I realized that I needed a counter-weight for the bottom so a dark chocolate bar came to the rescue.

For those of you who do not follow my Facebook page you can see how crazy we are - we even dress in crab costumes for this annual event. Yep, we came up with those, too.

We have way too much fun. Wishing you a not so crabby week and thanks for the visit,