Festive Friday

 Hello & Happy Fri-YAY, Friends!

The other day I challenged myself to buy less of the new Stampin Up! Holiday Mini catalog since I am just a hobby demo and start using what is in my 25 years of stamp collecting! Lord knows I have wall to wall stamps, ink & paper that will last me the rest of my life! So, today is my 1st holiday card using what's in my stash! I pulled out a used retired set that I picked up some time ago at L&L Stamps. It is a wood mounted set from 2005 called Renaissance Angels. 

Card Details:

Stamps: Renaissance Angels (retired 2005), Four the Holidays (retired 2009)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Festive Farmhouse DSP (retired 2018)

Accessories: Everyday Arches Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Cherry Cobbler Twine (retired), Holiday Rhinestones (retired), Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

If you have been following me for awhile now you know that I love pulling out the old stamps and breathing new life into them. Blowing the dust off of them and inking them up in fresh ink always makes me smile and this card definitely makes me smile! 

I'm going to challenge you to pull out your old stamps and make a Christmas card every Friday for Festive Friday up until Christmas! It's a great way to use what we already have in our stashes!

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by!

~Wendy

Chics Swap Card & Tag

 Hello & Happy Fri-YAY!

Today is the last day of Christmas in July! 

I am sharing with you the card I made for my swap with my Chics team mates!

I have been enjoying participating in their swaps and loved seeing all the great cards I get in return! This card was a Christmas in July Swap we did with a matching tag. I used the Pretty Poinsettia Bundle from the July Online Exclusives.

Card & Tag Details:

Stamps: Pretty Poinsettia (July Online Exclusives)

Ink: Barely Blush, Secret Sea

Cardstock: Secret Sea, Barely Blush, Basic White, Shimmering Stripes Specialty DSP (July Online Exclusives), A Stitched Season DSP (July Online Exclusives)

Accessories: Pretty Poinsettia Dies (July Online Exclusives), Stylish Shapes Dies, Round Tab Punch (retired), Silver Cord (retired), Barely Blush & Secret Sea In Color Dots, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

I made 12 sets and mailed them out to my team mates and already signed up for another "holiday swap"! I have a card in mind that I will make...just hope I have enough supplies on hand to make them! 

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by!

~Wendy

Merriest Wishes

 Hello & Happy Thursday, Friends!

Today I am sharing a fun fold card that I made last summer for Christmas. 

Sadly, I never got around to sharing it here. It uses all things retired...

Card Details:

Stamps: Christmas Magic (retired 2016)

Ink: Real Red, Memento Black,  Stampin Blends-Real Red, Smoky Slate, Copic Marker-YG62

Cardstock: Soft Sky (retired In Color), Real Red, Basic White, Nordic Noel DSP (retired 2014)

Accessories: Oval Layering Framelits, (retired), Something Fancy Dies (retired), Soft Sky In Color Ribbon (retired), Pool Party Glossy Dots (retired), Dimensionals, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

I loved this card! Someone bought it last year so I was happy about that!

That pretty Nordic Noel DSP sadly went in my last clean out a few months ago so I may try to recreate this card with some new DSP. I love snowmen cards for Christmas!

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by!!

~Wendy

Life Update & Pretty Poinsettia Card

 Hello & Happy Friday, Friends!

I know it has been over a week since I last posted. Life has really thrown us a few curve balls lately. Wednesday the 15th Miss Bailee went back to the diarrhea, wasn't eating, shaking and was in pain. We rushed her to a local Emergency Vet. We waited 6 hours for the Vet to come talk to us because they had quite a few emergencies. Thankfully, in those 6 hours Bailee was in the ER hospital getting treated with IV fluids & pain meds. They thought she was having another pancreatitis flare. Suggested letting her in the hospital and doing an ultrasound the next day. That showed that she has Inflammatory Bowel Disease which 100% explains why she had diarrhea so much in the last year. They also suspected pancreatitis so they started her on an injectable medicine called Panoquelle. She needed 3 of those injections 24 hours apart. Friday morning she was discharged but we had to take her back that evening to get her last Panoquell injection. Her ultrasound also showed spots on her liver which may or may not be cancerous. They suggested a needle aspirate to do a biopsy but I said no. She will be 15 at the end of September and we just did not want to put her through anymore. She has been sleeping alot and so far we have had 2 episodes of diarrhea since she came home. They put her on prednisolone steroid to help get rid of the inflammation in her intestines which is causing this. She is strictly on her lowfat canned food and returns to see her Vet on Aug 15th. She really does not seem like herself since coming home. There are times we see improvements in her but nothing that has stayed. We've had that talk about putting her to sleep if things do not get any better and I truly hate to say that because she has been the most perfect dog ever but we don't want her to keep suffering with this. I have been a worrying, crying mess. Then I ended up having a medical emergency last week where I passed out while we were taking a walk. All the stress of this and not eating or drinking got the best of me. I fell in the street and Shawn had one heck of a time waking me up. I almost went for an ambulance ride but he managed to get me awake and get me home where I got so sick. I felt better in a few days but that was certainly a very scary thing! So that is where things stand at the moment.

Here is a card that I made a few weeks ago with the Pretty Poinsettia Bundle.

Card Details:

Stamps: Pretty Poinsettia (Online Exclusives)

Ink: Peaceful Pines, Real Red, Golden Glow

Cardstock: Peaceful Pines, Basic White, Real Red, Stitched Season DSP (Online Exclusives)

Accessories: Pretty Poinsettia Dies (Online Exclusives), Spotlight on Nature Dies, Real Red Stitched Ribbon (Online Exclusives), Golden Glow In Color Dots, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by!

~Wendy

Frosty Greetings

 Hello & Happy Thursday, Friends!

It's a gloomy, rainy morning here in South Central Pennsylvania. 

They are calling for rain & storms here today and even though it's not been brutally hot, it's been very humid. I can almost say that I am ready for Fall.

Today I am sharing 2 cards that I made a few weeks ago using some Christmas items. I guess that day I was thinking about moving forward and getting some holiday cards made but they were the only two I made.

Card Details:

Stamps: Amuse (sentiment), Stampendous (Sweet Snowman)

Ink: Memento Black, Always Artichoke (retired), Copic Markers & Stampin Blends

Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke (retired), Basic White, Always Artichoke DSP (retired), Plaid Tidings DSP (retired 2020)

Accessories: Winter Snow EF (retired), Stylish Shapes Dies, Circle Layering Framelits (retired), Everyday Arches Dies, Always Artichoke Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Holiday Rhinestones (retired), Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

I have had this adorable snowman stamp for a long time and always enjoy coloring it!

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by!

~Wendy

Merry Monday

 Hello & Happy Monday, Friends!

Today things are back to normal since the snow is over and hubby is back to work.

We got maybe 9 inches of snow that was mixed with sleet. It's to stay very cold atleast for the next week so I do not see much melting taking place. I spent yesterday at my stamp table for a few hours. I made a variety of cards. 

I have a pretty Christmas card to share today! I know Christmas was just 4 weeks ago but it's time to start preparing for Christmas 2026. This is my 1st holiday card of the year!

Card Details:

Stamps: To You & Yours (retired 2008), Poinsettia Petals (retired 2020)

Ink: Real Red

Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Beige, Patterned Paper from Michael's

Accessories: Greetings of the Season Dies (retired Online Exclusives 2024), Red Sparkly Ribbon (stash), Red Rhinestones, Glue Dots, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

I could not resist this pretty paper at Michael's for making some holiday cards! 

I love the pops of red foil in it!

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by & please stay warm!

~Wendy

Merry Christmas!

 Happy Thursday & Merry Christmas, Friends!

The holiday hoopla is happening at the Aungst Pad so I am going to keep this a short one today! 

Sharing 2 cards made with the Shephard's Care stamp set from last year. I adore this set!

Card Details:

Stamps: Shephard's Care (retired)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Pretty Peacock

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Basic White, Pretty Peacock, Gold Foil Paper, Season of Elegance Specialty Designer Series Paper

Accessories: Everyday Arches Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Gold Metallic Ribbon, Gold Stars (retired), Dimensionals, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

These are my favorites and the reason for the season!

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

~Wendy

Branching Out

 Hello & Happy Wednesday, Friends!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Kelsey & Mr. Sushi arrived last night and today we are all hands on deck in the kitchen to make our Christmas Eve dinner! I also hope to squeeze in a walk since it's to be nice out for a change. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions you do? At some point we will get our pj's on, grab some hot chocolate and watch the Grinch. We've been doing this for quite a few years! 

Today I am sharing a set of cards made with the Branching Out Bundle that is in the 2025 Stampin Up! Holiday Mini Catalog. 

Card Details:

Stamps: Branching Out, A Wish For Everything (retired 2019)

Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive, Pecan Pie, Pool Party

Cardstock: Early Espresso, Old Olive, Basic White, Need for Tweed DSP (Online Exclusives)

Accessories: Branching Out Dies, Tags To Go Dies (Online Exclusives), Snowflake Sky 3D EF (retired), Old Olive/Early Espresso Twine, Neutral Matte Dots (Online Exclusives), Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

The Branching Out bundle is a great set that can be used way past the holiday season since it's loaded with some great sentiments. I have packed away all my holiday stamp sets last week but this one will stay out on my table for a while. I am going to try to create some masculine cards with it once Christmas is over. 

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful day!

~Wendy

A Beautiful Season

 Hello & Happy Tuesday, Friends!

Life is busy for us all so I'm going to make this short & sweet today!

I'm sharing a set of cards that I made back over the summer using a retired set called A Beautiful Season...

Card Details:

Stamps: A Beautiful Season (retired), Reindeer Fun (retired 2024)

Ink: Real Re

Cardstock: Real Red, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments DSP (retired 2007)

Accessories: Nested Essentials Dies, Seasonal Labels Dies (retired 2022), Merry Melody 3D EF (retired), Gold Trim (retired), Gold Sequins, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Kelsey & Mr. Sushi arrive tonight after she is done work at the restaurant so lots to get wrapped up before she arrives! I'll be back tomorrow!

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful day!
~Wendy

Poinsettia Petals

 Hello & Happy Monday, Friends!

Hope you had a nice weekend! 

Today I am finishing up some cleaning then I hope to get started on wrapping a few gifts. Shawn & I decided this year that we were not buying gifts for each other since there really isn't anything we want or need. We got the kids a few things and that is about it. I'm just happy to be spending the holidays with my family without all the gift giving!

I have a card to share that I made with the retired Poinsettia Petals Bundle. This is one of my favorite poinsettia sets that Stampin Up! has ever had and it will stay put in my collection!

Card Details:

Stamps: Poinsettia Petals (retired 2020)

Ink: Poppy Parade

Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Basic White, Just Jade (retired), Gold Foil Paper, Flowers For Every Season DSP (retired 2020)

Accessories: Poinsettia Dies (retired 2020), Stitched So Sweetly Dies (retired), Eyelet 3D EF, Metallic Snowflakes (retired), Loose Gold Sequins, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

I love this one!

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by & have a great start to your week!

~Wendy

Christmas Joy

 Hello & Happy Sunday, Friends!

Hope your enjoying the weekend!

Yesterday we took a walk around the neighborhood. Yes, it was quite cold but it felt good to get some movement in! I finished up my puzzle after supper and it's a beautiful one but somewhere I lost 2 pieces. I'm going to turn my house upside down today to find them! If I do find them then I will post a picture of it.

Today's card is a fun one using all things retired. 

Card Details:

Stamps: Festive Flurry (retired 2013), Stitched With Cheer (retired 2016)

Ink: Island Indigo (retired), Smoky Slate

Cardstock: Island Indigo (retired), Basic White, Winter's Frost DSP (retired 2013)

Accessories: Festive Flurry Framelits (retired), Square Layering Framelits (retired), White/Silver Sheer Ribbon, Island Indigo Candy Dots (retired), Dimensionals, Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue

I have SO much of this Winter's Frost DSP (3 packs 12 x 12) that I could make a million cards with it! At one time this paper was also available in a small 4x6 pad, too! A friend recently gave me a new unopened pack that I gave away because I have so much of it. The colors and pattens are so pretty but there is only so much a person can use. LOL

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My thoughts today...

Thanks for stopping by & make it a great day!
~Wendy