Hello, everyone!  Welcome!  I'll be quick for you...a bit under the weather here (in more ways than ONE!!!)...
There's a brand new challenge up at the Festive Friday blog...
                                        
...and my take on it for this first round was pretty traditional.  I pulled out a card kit I found on clearance at the holidays that had some really cool and over-sized vintage looking die cuts in it.  I used some for packaging at the time, and am using one of the pieces for this card...

...reverted back to my middle school years and did some 'be-dazzling' with some pearls and jewels...don't shoot me...I couldn't resist...that glittered up ornament was askin' for it!!!  I cut down some of the patterned cardstock that came in the kit as a backdrop for my treasure...

...and embellished the card a little further with a couple glittered snowflakes from the kit and a doily, along with a PTI sentiment.  Pretty simple card, really...but pretty over-the-top, I know.  I'll try to be a little more hip and fresh for your second dose of this challenge's inspiration...promise!!!  I've got some new Spring papers I can't wait to create with...just waitin' for some energy.  Hopefully that will come before some APPROPRIATE Spring weather does, or I could be waiting a loooooonnnnggggg time!!!
Thanks for visiting gals!  Be sure to check out the inspiration from the rest of the team at the Festive Friday blog.  Our guest designer for this challenge is Maureen Plut of Buttons and Bling!
~Geri~

Hello, my dear friends! I'm a tired girl as I type this! Busy last weekend and following week...and MORE sick critters!  I would think my kids would have built up quite an immunity by now, and all I can say is...the bugs out this year must be tough ones!  Jonah has bronchitis, and we're supposed to head out of town tomorrow evening for an over-nighter to start our Spring Break.  If he's not better in the AM, I think we might be paying the good doctor another visit.  And Caleb, the oldest, got his third...or was it his fourth round of the stomach bug last weekend.  Thank goodness, it was all out of his system for him to head out with classmates to Washington DC this evening.  (Baby Boy's never been away from mama!!!:(  He's gonna have a great time, though!

I was able to find a little time to create something for the Precious Remembrance shop, with the new set, Mom and Dad...

You'll find the complete project at the PR Blog, if you care to venture over!
This was last week's card there, if you missed it...

I hope to catch up on your creations the next few days...there just hasn't been much time for visiting here lately!  I don't get a lot of crafting time in when my kids are home, but I should be able to snuggle up with a computer every now and then during the next week to see exactly what you all have been up to.  And, no, 'snuggling' is not our typical Spring Break style of entertainment, but the weather here is still very winter-like...I think they're calling for inches of snow for us this weekend!!!  And...I think I see some fires, popcorn and movies in our future!;)  (Sounds kinda good to me!)
Thanks for visiting today!
~Geri~

Hello, everyone! Seems like awhile since I've been here!  It has been a little longer than usual since we had to postpone our new challenge post at Festive Friday.  So sorry, but it couldn't be helped.  It was also my card making day at the nursing home last week...that always takes up lots of my crafty time!  Anyway...I'm happy to be back, and happy to share the new challenge with you...

Had to pull out my Cricut for this one, ladies!  I just didn't have a 'Merry' bold enough to do this challenge justice, so I created my own out of some fun prints.  This is a first for me...my first post with a creation I used my Cricut on!  Yay!  I really love playing with it when I do...I was just so scared to get it out of the box and get started.  I MUST learn more about it, and was SO thankful I had it for this challenge!  Here's my card, so you can get on your merry way...

Pretty simple design! I did some gold embossing with part of a 'merry & bright' sentiment I have (Hero Arts, I think...just masked off  the 'merry'). And I used a bit of silk ribbon I have left from when I played around with embroidering with it years ago.  (Sure wish I could buy it as easily and reasonably as I could then!) The papers are mostly Simple Stories and a dab of Crate.

OK...lots of fun inspiration waiting for you at the main blog, including a project from our guest designer for this challenge, Susan Opel of PaperCrafts Magazine!  If you'd like to join us and get a head start on your Christmas card making,...we'd love to see what you can do with this challenge!
Thanks for coming!
~Geri~

Good morning everyone!!!  It's a big day over at the Precious Remembrance Blog!  There's a FUN new set waiting for you there, the 'Mom and Dad' set, and EVERY designer has a SWEET project made with it just waiting for you to come see!  Here's my little sneaky peeky...

Now, you'll have to head over to the PR blog to see the rest...ONLY because I wouldn't want you to miss out on all the inspiration there!  Not to mention the details of a GIVEAWAY of the set...for a little extra fun!;)

So...

Ready...Set...GO!!!!

P.S.  Thanks for stopping in!

~Geri~

I was shopping around for some new Spring crafting supplies when I found these goodies from My Favorite Things...

I thought they held all kinds of opportunity for mixing and matching on some Spring and Easter themed creations.  I've only made one other purchase from MFT and it consisted mainly of dies...just some really versatile ones.  I only got one stamp set with that order, and it just didn't really go with any of the sketches they had available to play along with at the time.  I was so excited to receive these, (and one other, not pictured here, but you'll see it below!), and used a few of them in a current sketch of theirs...

...worked for me and what I had in mind.  I set to work coloring this little 'Hunny Bunny' and paired her up with one of the sweet sentiments that came with her...  

She's such a cutie...I had my own Jilli-bean in mind when I ordered her! I used a tab from the Mini Tabs Quartet Die-namics set to help highlight the sentiment, and then embellished it with buttons and a felt flower from the Easter Elements Die-namics set.  The little bird wing from the same set doubles nicely as a leaf!...

I used the smallest banner from the Fishtails Flags Layers Die-namics for the sentiment and one of the larger ones for the large vertical banner in the sketch...

My papers were from Simple Stories and definitely had a shabby feel, so I used a doily behind the circular focal point to go along with the shabby look of the card, and help soften the lines of the bold papers.  Oh it does a heart good to use so many pretty Spring-y colors when there's still snow on the ground, ya THINK???  I thoroughly enjoyed creating this and am anxious to put those other sets to work!  Thanks for letting me share with you today!
~Geri~

Festive Friday Challenge 3...Second Helping of Snowflake Inspiration...

My goodness...where does the time go???  Another Friday here already???  Well...it brings me back with another creation for the current Festive Friday challenge of incorporating a snowflake into your design...

I've gone very CAS with this one today.  It features another layered snowflake.  This one was cut from Spellbinders, a little SU punch (with matching stamp), and was put together with a little snowflake brad...

I actually had this one left from January's nursing home card project.  The sentiment I've used is from Papertrey Ink, embossed in silver...

I love flourishes with snowflakes and I've used an old  favorite here...from PTI's Fancy Flourishes...

And that, ladies, is IT!!!  So simple!  But I was pleased with it!  There's still a week left of this challenge, if you would like to join in.  And I hear both Meredith and Sarah have additional inspiration at the blog, also.  Can't wait to see it myself!  Shout-outs from the first week's participants will be posted there today, also! Maybe I'll see you there!  Oh, and as you'll see below, I didn't have to look far for inspiration for this week's card.  Here's the frosty view from the front of the house...

...and here's the very quiet back yard...

...and my little pond buddies in the back seem to be hanging in there...they're about a foot long, and seem to be doing fine in their chilly winter home...

Brrrrr....
Spring IS on it's way...right???

Have a great weekend!!!  Thanks for checking in on me!!
~Geri~

Happy Friday to you, my friends!  Glad you've dropped in!  I'm sharing my card for the 3rd Festive Friday challenge...

For this round, we have an element challenge...of incorporating a snowflake into your creation...

...It could be stamped, die cut, one of many, many snowflake embellishments out there, or even an ornament...it's up to you!  Mine was made from PTI's Snowflake Medley stamps and dies.  I've also used a little felt and some pearls.  And the rest of the card is fairly simple...

No big surprises here, but I do like the soft, cozy feel of it! I'm determined to put on some Christmas music while I create my next one!  It is so nice to be able to take my time in creating some pretty and heartfelt Christmas creations, without the pressure of knowing there are a thousand other things on a long holiday list to do.  But to fully enjoy it...I've gotta have a little Christmas spirit!  And for me...that's found in my favorite Christmas music!  (I never really wanted to turn it off anyway!)  It's never too late to join in on the fun, if you're interested.  If you care to head over to the blog, the rest of the designers will have additional inspiration waiting for you there...along with the announcement of the winner of the Rustic/Country theme challenge, and shout-outs of other designs that caught our eye.  This new challenge lasts for 2 weeks, and those completing at least 15 challenges by our last challenge in November will be entered in a drawing for a $40 gift certificate.
As always, I appreciate your visit!  Hope you have a great weekend!
~Geri~