what's new ...

I finally found some time to get a little stamping in.  I don't know about you guys, but when it's been a while since I've inked anything up, it takes me a LOT longer to create things than it normally does.  Guess ya' just gotta' get back in the swing of it before it's starts flowin' out of ya' easily again.  Although ... I'm a really slow stamper anyway.  And if I have someone to talk to while I do it?  Forget about it.  I barely get a thing done. *laugh*  

But how cute is this little guy?  I love his face - looks like he's in trouble and wondering if you're found out what he did yet. *laugh*



I paper pieced the butterfly and added a bit of subtle sparkle with a clear Spica pen.  

And that border at the bottom?  Well, thanks to some of the A Muse gals I pulled out a tool I'd picked up at the A Muse shop back in April and had barely used: the Marvy Paper Trimming Buddy.  It has a few different blades, including this scallop ... an easy peasy accent added.  (And now I'm trying to figure out what I want to use the pinking blade on!)  Thanks for the prompt, gals!

Dave and I will be ringing in the New Year cozied up at home - with a brief stint on the front porch to watch the fireworks on Pike's Peak at midnight.  (Would you believe some crazy guy climbs up there every year to set 'em off?  I mean, he's prolly not REALLY crazy, but climbing up a 14,000 foot mountain in winter equals crazy in my book. *laugh*)  What are you guys doing to ring in the New Year?

Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a happy new year! 

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all stamps by hero arts
cardstock by a*muse
patterned paper (butterfly) by basic grey

fröhliche weinachten ...

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!  I hope you all had a lovely holiday!

 

gift tags ...

 
A peek at another Christmas crafty tradition of mine ... making simple gift tags!

Despite them being pretty quick and simple, I used a lot of tools on 'em.  (which makes me really happy for some reason - a purchase justified perhaps?  *laugh*)  A Marvy punch for the circle, the Slice for some of the letters, Quickutz for other letters, and a Martha Stewart snowflake punch and chunky glitter.  (The Cabana Blue cardstock scraps from A Muse I cut the snowflakes from were just the color I was looking for - made me really happy!)

I can't believe Christmas is in two days!  Are you ready?  *wink*

 

enjoy the wonders ...

When the A Muse crew were out in Seattle, Julie showed us a few fun things ... and this card is based off of one of 'em: that adorable little 3D folded flower!  This is my holiday version of a springtime card she made.

And when you open up the flower ...


... a surprise message or image!  How fun is that?

I was going for a poinsettia-looking-flower and I think the red Madeira paper did the trick!

I'm hoping to get to a bit more holiday crafting today ... wish me luck!

i know ...

... it's been over a week since my last update.  It's crazy.  I haven't gone that long without posting in quite a while.  And ... share you spark fridays will be back, but not until the new year - I'll kick off the 2009 sparks with a bang on January 2nd!   I'm taking a little hiatus from the challenges to get caught up with work and enjoy the holiday goodness.  Here's what I've been up to ...

• I love to cook and bake and after missing out on that part of the holidays last year because of the move, I wanted to make sure I made time for it this year.   Although I am a bit sad that I can't seem to locate my trusty cookie press with the cute snowman template.  It must be in one of the yet-unpacked-boxes in the basement still. 

• I've almost finished my Christmas cards (and yes, I see the date on the calendar).  *grin*  But I'm not stressing about it.  I'll get 'em done (and mailed) and even if they're a little late, it's the thought that counts.

• I've watched A Colbert Christmas more than once and it cracks me up every single time.  Elvis Costello (my all-time favoritest ever) gets eaten by a bear.  It's a new classic.

• I'm pretty pleased that gift tags are made and packages mailed.

• My eyes have been horrible and I've only made it through 4 days of edits on the photos from the trip.  I have to get these done soon though and will share when I do. 

And ... a real post soon.  I haven't made much this week, but I have made a few holiday things and will update with some crafty goodness later this weekend!

Happy Holidays! 

day number 12 ...

Day number 12 and what's in the box?  Glitter!!!

ETA: It has occured to me that some of you may not realize why I'm randomly posting an advent box today!  *laugh*  Over on the A Muse News blog, they've been counting down to Christmas with cute little advent boxes made by some of the A Muse Creative team members: and I had number 12!  They've all been adorable so far - and there's 12 more days of cuteness to come!

we're home ...

 

We're home.  A day late, but still home.  

Our flight landed in Denver in the middle of a snow storm.  And one thing that terrifies me nearly as much as flying (which I hate, despite the fact that I always seem to be doing it), is driving on icy roads.  About 40 miles from home and two accidents passed, we decided it was too dangerous to keep going, pulled off the highway, and got a hotel for the night.  Such a bummer to be *this* close and still not make it home, but so much safer.  (And D didn't have to listen to me complain about driving in the snow and how unsafe it is every few minutes either.  Good for everyone.  *laugh*)

I turned 37 while we were in Germany (thank you for the well wishes and cards)!  In Rothenburg to be exact.  We hadn't planned to be there on my birthday, but I'm happy it ended up that way. Daytripping to Rothenburg was a birthday tradition: most of the birthdays in my 30's were spent there, so it was kinda' nice to be back there for it this year (at least for part of the day - we ended the night at the Christmas market in Frankfurt).

I'm playing a bit of catch-up, working on a few projects, and trying to find time to fit some laundry in ...

Talk to you soon!

heading for home ...

Dreikonigskirche on the banks of the Main River in Frankfurt, Germany ...

After days of no internet to share pics and stories with you, Dave and I have ended our travels tonight near the airport in Frankfurt (we start our travels home in the morning).

It's sad to be leaving Germany, but we've had a great time. 

• It's been COLD, but we didn't see as much snow as we expected.   
• I've taken 3812 photos (back in the film days that would have been around 158 rolls - can you imagine?!). 
• I've eaten what seems like a billion bratwursts (only 3 actually - D had 10 and I had bites of those).  I'm done with pork for a while.
• Visted 12 (and one I'm not counting) Christmas markets in France and Germany (but mostly in Germany).  And two of those we went to multiple times (Metz, France and Rothenburg, Germany).
• Dave has been imitating the Night Watchman from Rothenburg most of the week.  (Who kinda' reminded us of Eric Idol.  Think "the French" from The Holy Grail.)

I have a bunch of photos to make my way through and edit after I get home and I'll put an album up here for anyone who wants to check out the rest of our travels.

Talk to you Tuesday!

no internet for me ...

After a pretty good run, I've apparently hit the "no internet" portion of our travels. 

This morning we're back in Rothenburg where I'm fighting my way through using a German keyboard in the darkness of our hotel lobby.  =) 

We've been all over since my last post:Nürnberg, Landshut, and Augsburg to name just a few.  At least a dozen Christmas markets, a concentration camp, and countless mugs of glüwein.  *wink*

I'll check in with more photos soon!

tuesdays travels ...

Today (Wednesday) was a busy one: 4 markets in 4 different cities ... all very cool.  But let me catch ya' up on where we went yesterday first ...

Started the morning in Heidelberg, where we'd spent the night before.  Heidelberg used to be a quick daytrip for us, so it was a treat to actually spend the night there.  And if you ever find yourself in need of a hotel suggestion for Heidelberg, boy, do I have one for you.  The castle in the photo below ... we stayed HIGH above it!   (And I'm glad the weather wasn't bad driving up the steep, winding hills we went up to get to the hotel!)

As you can tell in the photo, it was foggy and raining a bit too ...

Heidelberg Castle ... 

Gingerbread house in a bakery window.  I love the little witches on 'em!   
   

The marktplatz (and a bit of the Christmas market) ...

Markets can have some really yummy foods to try and we've eaten more than one meal at the markets so far.  (Even though I have to admit to being "done" with pork products for the next day or so - or at least until the next sausage smells too yummy to pass up.)

 
One of the market booths selling large, decorated gingerbread cookies ... 

Lots of mugs for hot wine ...  

More yummy food - cheese spaetzle ...  

The pyramid is a stand to buy hot drinks and the train is a roasted chestnut stand ...

More gingerbread cookies ...

And after a few hours in Heidelberg, we drove to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (just a couple of hours away) ...

 
Rothenburg is nothing short of beautiful.  Some may already know the story, but it's one of the only medieval towns in Germany not destroyed by air raids in World War II (oddly enough, a high ranking US official had lobbied for it to be spared and thus, it suffered very little damage).  Now it has the strickest rules on preservation in the country.

The town is "walled" - with gates like these at different points ...

  

  

I love how trees are decorated here.  So simple ... 

Part of the main market area and part of the Christmas market ...  

More of the market ...   

 

 
Such a pretty town ...

I'll share a few pics from today's travels in the next post - spent more time in Rothenburg, then on to Dinkelsbuhl and Nordlingen before calling it a night in Augsburg.  Tomorrow we're headed to Landshut.  Talk to you soon!