Zzzzz......

Happy almost 2014!

Sheesh...this year has flown by!

Inside sentiment: It works great!

I don't know about all of you, but this card totally describes how I feel after:

 two full weeks in Germany, followed by two full weeks of Christmas parties, 

foods/candies/cookies, etc.,  and soon to be followed by:

 a New Year's Eve Party, a New Year's Day company, and a Cotton Bowl Party on Friday night!

I am ready to get back to a normal routine, and take off the 5 lbs. I've inherited over the holidays!  I used this stamp set the other day to create a card for my health coaches (which I forgot to photograph!), and decided it was so cute, that I'd use it again!

I'm going to enter it in the challenge at Cardabilities - here is their sketch that I followed. 

Don't you just love a great sketch?

See my beautiful, straight, and even matting?  Used my Perfect Paper Crafting rulers - love, love, LOVE them!  (See my sidebar for details!)  I rarely mat anything without them.

Have a great New Year's Eve!

Hugs, and smiles galore,

Patti J.

Supplies:

Stamps: Creative Vision Stamps CVRR135 Exercise Ball
Perfect Layers Rulers

Quick Kutz Scalloped Die

Spellbinders Circle Die

EZ Runner Adhesive

Pop Dots (Walmart)

Cardstock - DCWV scraps 'Flower Power' collection

Hammermill 100# White CS

Ribbon Scrap

Copic Markers: E00, E21, E31, C1, C3, N00, C00, B93, B95, B97, RV 02, RV04, V17, V15, V12

Exciting News!

Happy Sunday to you all...

Have you heard of Die-Versions Dies?  Well, you will be seeing quite

a few of them, as I'm honored to be a new DT member for 2014!

I'm looking forward to working with Dani and the team - they have over 700 dies available, 

and a brand new release in January 2014!  Each of the team members have

welcomed me so warmly - it seems like a great fit!

Check out the Die-Versions Store...

And the Die-Versions blog...

And their Facebook Page!

Have a great week, everyone - hard to believe it's nearly a new year upon us!

Hugs and Smiles,

Patti J.

Joy

Hello out there!

I guess that our trip to Germany totally 'discombobulated' me!  Not only did I 

not get Christmas cards to my crafty peeps in the mail on time, I

didn't even manage to get on-line and wish you a Merry Christmas!

Sheesh....silly me.

Quick and easy card.  Embossing folder by Nellie's Choice, stamp by Memory Box, Sentiment by Paper Smooches.
Add a red bow, and ta-da!  Mass production heaven :)

In my defense, the trip was over 11 hours of flying, and there was a 7 hour time difference...

talk about some serious jet lagging!!!

Life is good, and we've had a December full of blessings.  

We were able to go to Germany for a couple of weeks to visit DD and DSIL.  The baby is due mid-February, so it was so awesome getting to see/feel the 'grand-bump'. We also enjoyed visiting with the sweet grand-dog, Rosie.  

Upon returning home, we had stacks of mail, weekly reports, etc., to catch up on, and our personal Christmas cards/letter to create and mail.  

Last Wednesday night was an Advent service at church.  In addition, each year, our church has a live nativity scene.  The church members dress in biblical costumes, and stand in the manger. It's pretty awesome.  Thurs. and Friday nights were spent at church for that.   Then, in church on Sunday, DH and I had the honor of doing the Advent readings, and lighting the four candles.  So, our first week home was pretty busy.  

Not making excuses, just sayin'....

Christmas Eve Service at church was, as always, my favorite of the year.

Christmas Day was SO quiet!  Just me and the hubby.  We went in the afternoon to our friends' home for a wonderful Christmas dinner, followed by a game of dominoes.  Bah...the guys beat the gals once again.

Anyhooooo......thanks to ALL of you who mailed me such gorgeous cards.

I treasure your friendships, and each card is so special!  

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, filled with family, love, and friends.

Hugs,

Patti J.

A Very Merry Christmas Gift!!!!!

A Very Merry Christmas Gift

There's nothing else quite like the feeling you get during the holiday season! Because this is a season of giving, Adela's Swirl Top Box template can be downloaded now until December 30th as a special gift from her! There's also a special discount coupon for 40% off everything else in the store (use discount code "christmas" at checkout). BUT, no purchase is necessary to receive the Swirl Top Box.  So, visit Creations by AR now to get yours!

Where have I been?

Hello there!

I'm sure that by now, you are wondering where I've been, and why there have been no new posts.  I won't keep you in suspense any longer...

This photo was taken in Bonn, Germany - the home of Ludwig Von Beethoven.  You can get a sense of the size of these buildings when you see how tiny we look!

DH and I left on December 4th, and flew to Germany, to spend 12 days with our daughter, son-in-law, and Rosie, the grand-daughter-doggie!

We had a wonderful visit with them, and saw a lot of Germany while there.  The architecture was certainly awe-inspiring.   We saw Wiesbaden. Cologne, Bonn, Nueremberg, Rudesheim, and probably others that I can't recall this moment.

It was OH SO COLD!  Thank heaven we heeded DD and DSIL's pleas to purchase warm wool socks, hiking shoes/boots, coats, scarves. hats, and gloves!

As you can see in the photo above, we resembled big fluffy snowmen!  Lots of layers each day!

Hopefully, things will be back to normal next week.  I've tried to keep up a bit with commenting, but it's tough when you pay for internet, and there is a time difference of several hours!

Thanks for your patience!

Have a great weekend, and I'll be back up and running next week!

Hugs,
Patti J.

Life's a breeze...

Good morning!  Hope this finds everyone well!  It's all good here - we survived the weekend weather, and hope you did too!

I have another publication reject to share!

This card also uses amuse studio products.  Sigh.....Shirley brings me these wonderful catalogs, and I always find something that I need - must have - want to order  :)

Have a wonderful day, and a great weekend!

Hugs and blessings,
Patti J.

Rejected...

Hello!

I found a few publication rejects that I've forgotten to post, so this week, I'm going to share them with you!

The first one uses all amuse studio products!  Don't you just love those teensy birds?  My friend Shirley, is an amuse demonstrator, so she 'enables' me often!

Thanks for dropping by - hope that your weekend was wonderful!  Ours was good!

Hugs,
Patti J.

A Smile for Jonah

I was reading a friend's blog post the other day, and it touched my heart.  Susan Raihala has asked for help for a little guy, and you can read all about it HERE.  This is my first card for Jonah.

I immediately thought of this Doodle Pantry sweet pre-colored image for this little man.  I think it turned out very simple and cute!  Hope you can jump on board and help bring a smile to Jonah's day!!!

Have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Patti J.

Winner!!!

Thanks to everyone who dropped by my blog yesterday! 

'Wrap up the Holidays with Creations by Ar' continues tomorrow with the amazing Jak Heath showcasing Adela's wonderful new templates!

The randomly chosen winner from my blog is: 

Dawn from Colorado. 

Congratulations, Dawn!  

Drop an email to Adela: creationsbyar@sbcglobal.net 

and let her know which template you would like!

Thanks again for dropping by,

Patti J.

Wrap Up the Holidays with Creations by AR - Day One

Happy December!

Welcome to Day One of  'Eight Days of  Wrap Up the Holidays with Creations by AR'!

We are showcasing the FOUR new releases for December, and they are wonderful!  Each designer has one day to showcase our favorite templates.  Some will create with all of the new templates, others with one or two. 

I chose to work with the 'Triangle Compact', and the 'Our House Gift Tag'.

I hope you enjoy!  There will be one winner per day, so be sure to read the information below!

Triangle Compact

Now, seriously, this was SO easy, and SO much fun!  Those of you with cutting machines could whip one out in 5-10 minutes.  It took me about 15 min. each after printing the templates.

Cardstock: amuse studio, Holly Leaves: Close to My Heart, Warmest Wishes: amuse studio, Merry Christmas: Close to My Heart, Poinsettia: Dee's Distinctively

 

Our House Gift Tag

This was SO much fun!  Almost like decorating my house!  Please enlarge to see all of the fun dimensions!

Here's a shot from the side.  I wanted you to see what a fun, dimensional tag this is. 

How can YOU win one of these two templates?

EASY!  

Just leave a comment below, telling me which template you would like to win.

A winner will be randomly chosen, and that winner will be posted on my blog tomorrow!

If you are the lucky winner, just email Adela at: creationsbyar@sbcglobal.net  

That's it!  

Check back with my blog tomorrow to see if you are a winner!  

Also, tomorrow, you will hop to Jak's blog, and repeat the process!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

Patti J.