The Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

Christmas is almost here...I can't even believe it! Thanksgiving came and went so quickly and I'm still not ready to have more turkey, lol, I was having leftovers for DAYS!

Well, this was a very busy weekend for hubs and I. We took several (and I mean several) trips to Home Depot, Walmart and Walgreens trying to supplement our Christmas lights inventory...it seems wherever we went, we forgot something, or they were out of what we needed, etc. It's never just "easy", lol.

We had so much fun putting up th

e lights -- as you can tell, Jim looks thrilled, right? haha.

Sorry for the fuzzy pic...I don't even know what setting my camera was on -- and it poured the

day before and was still overcast outside.

(Thank goodness we have shingle roofing, because if we had tile, you can't step on that...let alone sit on it or it will break.) And so Jim was able to easily put the lights up without having to constantly move the ladder!! (And it helps we have a very short house, lol)

I just absolutely adore these little candy canes...aren't they sweet (hehe, no pun intended)!

They are just the perfect little accent to the yard.

And for the grand finale -- our little house decorated with lights :)

Hopefully I'll get the house cleaned soon and post pictures of the inside all decorated cute! (and post pictures of our tree...which I haven't gotten yet...lol)

Love to see what your house will be decorated like this year!!

Talk to you all soon! Enjoy!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Boy!!

My cousin, Ashley, just gave birth Tuesday morning to a beauuutiful baby boy!! Giovanni weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz and is such a cutie pie!! (He's got some stiff competition, cause his older brother and sister are adorable too!!)

(I hope she doesn't read this, I don't want her to see the card just yet!!) :)

So...I made her this card, using the stamp I just love! It's from Unity Stamp's November Kit of the Month (KOTM) Club!!

If you haven't signed up for this yet, you have got to!! It is such an amazing deal...and you get a ton of stamps for only $24 a month! Seriously...check it out, the stamps each month are SUPER SUPER cute...and they keep getting better and better!!!

The paper is Spring Rain from PTI, patterned paper is Stampin Up - Loopdie Doo (or something like that...it was part of a Hostess set) and Kraft paper from SU!. Ribbons are from Michaels. Inks are Tim Holtz Distress Inks (in Fire Brick and Peeled Paint) and PTI's ink duo (but I only used Chamomile). I used a little Stickle for the star at the back of the plane and for the head of the plane, I used a red brad!! (I like that little touch).

and a 5, 6, 7, 8!!

....caution: extremely long blog post.... :)

Ok wow....so I had posted enough for almost a full week; however, when I checked back earlier today, none of my posts had uploaded and there was nothing pending in my future posts!!! AAAAHHH!! I knew I wouldn't have time to post during Thanksgiving as family was in town, etc, and I knew that I'd be too exhausted to post...so I thought I was totally prepared.

NOT. I don't even know what happened -- but it did, so you're getting the rest of my Thanksgiving cards in this post :)

I thought this card was adorable (above) -- I love the layered flowers from Sizzix and the new Signature Sentiments (care of the lovely and fabulous Dawn McVey for Papertrey Ink (PTI)). The scallop border is Martha Stewart (she has some amazing new border punches as Michaels!! LOOVE!!). Then I used my new Terracotta tile ink and paper from PTI also...and accented with Soft Suede paper from Stampin Up (SU!) and this awesome ribbon from SU. On top of the flowers was just a hint of bling from Basic Grey!

With this one (above), I was able to use a couple goodies that I've had for a while just never used...my lattice die cut from Sizzix, for one, is just so darling. I mounted it behind Soft Suede (SU) and Terracotta Tile (PTI) papers and 3-dimensionaled (thats not a word, I know) it to stick out even more. The ribbon is TT twill and the bling is red...its a little off, but no one noticed!! The sentiments are Ali Edwards (awesome!!!) from her Loving Words set by Technique Tuesday -- also in TT ink.

...this one (above) was inspired by the super incredible Ashley Newell and one of Embellish Magazine's first ever challenges -- Polka Dot Paradise!! Ugh...its was so beautiful, I just had to scraplift it. The patterned paper is Making Memories Autumn Splendor, then Terracotta Tile over it. The flower die cut is again Layered Flowers from Sizzix and I stitched around the edge and accented with a variety of rust/red, orange and yellow brads, bling and pearls. Cute huh?! Thanks Ashley for always inspiring!! The Signature Sentiment (PTI) is stamped with Vintage cream ink also from PTI.

And last but not least....my card for my husband. Can you see the heart? I actually came up with this by myself!!! I have tooons of craftoggers on my Reader and am super inspired every since day with every since post. But once in a great while, I get ideas on my own. Which is such a relief. Don't get me wrong -- you all are incredible, and I love your designs -- but I like feeling a sense of design-accomplishment. :) What do you think? I started off with a ton of scraps (this was the last card I made of the bunch) and was about to throw them away when I bunched them together and thought it would be super cute to make a heart of of it!! My husband is my ultimate inspiration and I wanted to make sure he knew I was thankful for him :)

The sentiments are Ali Edwards (same set as before...Loving Words) and Signature Sentiments (PTI). Then I used my CTMH (Close to My Heart) marker in Tulip to do the faux stitching. The ink is TT from PTI.

...I was making these cards while watching the season finale of Project Runway...can you tell? haha -- this is my "collection" and I hope you have enjoyed it!

Please come back for future card posts...like my little baby boy card that I'll be posting tomorrow...and for my Holiday collection (which I haven't started yet, lol, but I assure you it will be fabulous!!)

By the way -- all white/cream paper was my absolutely favorite staple in my little craft world... Papertrey Ink's Rustic Cream and Rustic White cardstock. It's Ba-Na-Nas! (A little Rachel Zoe plug there!!) lol.

Take care and hope you all had a delicious turkey day!!