It's begining to look

like Christmas at my house! Sort of.

I have just finished making lots of holiday things for my friend's Christmas boutique - fun holiday earrings, vintage button Christmas trees, necklaces......but, I forgot to take pictures before delivering them to her. Ah, well.

I envy so many of my blogging buddies who have been producing beautiful Christmas cards for weeks. Ain't happenin' here, folks!

I have a couple more Halloween cards, then many Thanksgiving cards (I send more of them than any other type of handmade cards) before I even think about Christmas cards.

Gary found me sitting on the floor of my craftroom yesterday, surrounded by boxes. I just had to look at my Christmas stamps and dies........trying to get into the spirit.

Lucky for me there are a couple more days for the  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog challenge - Halloween.

This card uses a Whipper Snapper scary image and the sentiment is Hero Arts CL118. Paper scraps from my desk and some vintage rick-rack from my stash.

Hope you had a happy weekend! Thanks for the peek and have a great week.

Rainy Day and Vacation Give-Away.

No, sorry - I am not giving away a vacation. But.......read below for the details.

I had such fun making this card for the Simon Says Stamp "Rainy Day" Challenge over at the amazing Lily Pad Card blog. There is always something great hoppin' over there.

Months ago my sweet blogging buddy Sheila turned me on to Whipper Snapper stamps (they are from her home state, Wisconsin). I never thought I was into cute animals, but these guys have such personalities! This is Tucan Can (CT966) and he makes me smile. I stationed him with a colorful umbrella (from the April Simon Says Stamp kit) on a hand-cut cloud card base. He has some dimension and, yes, googly eyes! The rain is MS glitter applied with a glue stamp to Hero Arts "Scattered Dots" (CG267). I don't often think to use glue on my stamps - it is serious fun.

I am heading out on a little road trip (to southern California for some fun and family visits) with the newly-retired hubby. I will sooooo miss blogging and visiting your blogs to see your amazing creations (& offering my candid comments) so I am offering a little vacation (mine!) give-away.

I had so many nice comments on the necklace that I made and shared here that I made another one. This one is crocheted copper wire with some multifaceted glass beads. There is a matching pair of pierced earrings, too. Lacey and light for summer. The length is adjustable for every neck and outfit.

Just leave a comment here so I know you'll miss me and I will pick a random winner when I return on May 24th.I will ship anywhere!

As always, thanks for visiting. I will see you upon my return!

Another Great Image From Sheila

Here is a Thanksgiving card that I made using another stamped image that was sent to me by my blogging buddy Sheila (see Monday's post to learn more about Sheila). She is one special gal and so kind to share!

Who wouldn't love this "Friendly Scarecrow" by Whipper Snapper Designs? While I am not a big fan of crows in real life, these guys are too cute. This was fun to color with my Copic pens. I embellished with some buttons and twine from my stash, some glaze pens and Stickles, and I made the bow with hand-dyed silk ribbon using the wonderful Hero Arts video by the amazing Shari Carroll.

Thanks Sheila and Shari and have a great day!