fancy folds-the paper plunge #14

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday~ whether a very merry christmas or a very happy hanukkah!

i was pouring over my christmas gifts from my wonderful husband...MANY new stamp sets and accessories from the new stampin' up! spring occasions catalog...when it dawned on me that i needed to create a fancy fold card for this week's challenge at the paper plunge.  i have to say, i haven't created a fancy fold card in years so i decided to keep it simple!

here is what i created...

this upright z card is so easy to create, has endless possibilities and will now be a go-to favorite of mine.  the template may be found here with a wonderful set of directions and pictures included.  i'm still in the christmas spirit so the theme was easy...and easier yet because, well...did the front look familiar?  i just plopped on a little nugget from the card candy i made a few weeks ago, and viola!  a really cute card! the fun part is, the tree is in the spirit of a fancy fold, too!

stamp set:  good greetings
ink:  stazon black, crumb cake
cardstock:  cherry cobbler, crumb cake, always artichoke, under the tree specialty dsp
extras:  polka dot ef, some other embossing folder (but i have no idea since i just grabbed that already embossed piece of paper out of my scrap drawer!), pearls, gold glitter, glue stick, gold buttons, gold cord (retired), banner punch, petite petals punch, sponge

i love this holiday season...i live for this holiday season!  christmas eve is just my favorite.  there are so many childhood memories of going to my great grandparent's home for pierogies...the cream soda from the porch, the ribbon candy in the candy dish, the ride home peering out the window for a glimpse of santa on his sleigh and the voice over the radio giving us his exact whereabout...it's all so wonderful.  i try desperately to continue the tradition of our very polish meal...and of course with a new time comes new traditions...but every year is truly rooted in a time i hope i never forget.

the author, jose clemente once wrote, "tradition is a joyful memory of a people".  that is for sure.  cooking that meal, sharing it with family and friends and laughing about stories of long ago brings me great joy.  i am blessed to have such traditions and wonderful, fond memories.

i hope you find peace,  joy and the warmth of family and friends surrounding you this holiday!

peace be with you-
leslie

a pop of color-the paper plunge#13

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

thanks for taking time out of your very busy life to stop by and check out my blog!  it means the world to me!  This week at the paper plunge we are looking to use white with a pop of color.  just like on a wonderful snowy day...it is all white outside, when all of a sudden, a cardinal flies by and gives you a little glimpse of color!

here is what i decided to create:

although i am totally in the christmas spirit, right away i thought of beautiful blue butterflies!  i love the way they just pop off the white page!

stamps:  papillon potpourri 

ink:  pacific point, stazon black

cardstock:  white, pacific point

extras:  white satin ribbon, beautiful baroque ef, sponge dauber

again, thank you for taking the time to visit!  i once read, "time is precious...waste it wisely"!  do something this weekend that brings you joy!

peace be with you-

leslie

merry christmas to you!...the paper plunge #12

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

today, the paper plunge is celebrating the holidays.  so for me and mine, that means CHRISTMAS!

(and in case you are wondering, there are 12 more days left for shopping!)

here is my card for the week:

stamp sets:  ornament keepsakes (retired-gah!), bright & beautiful

ink:  cherry cobbler, crumb cake, old olive, momento tuxedo black

cardstock:  cherry cobbler, naturals vanilla, old olive, under the tree specialty designer paper

extras:  cherry cobbler seam binding ribbon, gold cord (retired-double gah!), stripes ef, chalktalk framelits, sponge

the best best part about this card is, i designed it with my friend, laura, last weekend.  not only did i enjoy making some christmas cards while listening to christmas music, drinking diet pepsi and eating mega m&ms with her...as the card came together, we both squealed with delight and, i think, we may have even high-fived each other!  i just love those kinds of moments!  it felt like christmas...you know what i mean?  

as the grinch once said, "maybe christmas doesn't come from a store.  maybe christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more."  that's what i believe, too.  christmas is a feeling. yup, that's it precisely... 

thank you for stopping by!

i appreciate you

until next time-

peace be with you

christmas card candy...the paper plunge #11

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!

with thanksgiving, cooking with carlo, cookie swaps and everything else i do, my post is waaaay late! at the paper plunge, we were looking for a bit of card candy...those little bits of stickable love that you can use on a card, gift or scrapbook page.  this is what i came up with...

i never made card candy before, and was hesitant to even participate.  however, i found this was a lot of fun!  once i decided on a style/theme for them, i enjoyed how quickly they went together.   i will love sticking these little pieces of artwork on gifts this year.  

lucille ball once said, "if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.  the more things you do, the more you can do."  i'm that busy person...can i do something for you while i'm at it? haha

thanks for stopping by...i appreciate you-

peace be with you-

leslie

the paper plunge #9 and the card concept #23-visions of santa

hi there tracey, momma, friends old and new!

this week at the paper plunge, we are keeping it simple!  our theme is clean and simple...and as you know, i think this is a hard style for me!  here is what i came up with:

stamp set:  visions of santa

ink:  momento tuxedo black, real red, crumb cake

cardstock:  crumb cake, real red and santa & co. dsp

extras:  (retired)red satin ribbon, sponge

i also entered this card at the card concept for their #23 challenge using this theme.  i consider this a layered clean and simple card.

i know these dancing santas from the stamp set visions of santa are a little creepy to some, but i love them! these weird little dancing men bring a smile to my face every time!

i guess maybe my fussy cutting happened anyway while i wasn't looking...i used the technique of paper piecing to give this guy fancy pajamas and a 3-d beard.  so, although this is a simple card, i had to go and complicate it a bit anyway!  

i once read, "the most simple things can bring the most happiness".  i am going to remember that as we approach the holidays head on.  i am going to use those words as an anchor for enjoying the hustle and bustle of the season ahead.  baking cookies, making cards, cooking pierogies, buying/wrapping gifts...all of these things are simple joys for me, however, will sometimes cause stress...not this year!  they are all things that bring me happiness...i'm going to remember that!

thank you for stopping by today!

i appreciate you-

until next time,

peace be with you

leslie

the paper plunge #8...we are grateful for you!

hi tracey, momma and friends old and new!

at the paper plunge we are expressing our gratitude to those of you who have joined us for our first seven challenges...and are looking forward to what you will create this week-#8!

the theme for this week's challenge is 'giving thanks'...creating a card that shows gratitude.  whether it is a thanksgiving card or a thank you card is up to you.  here is what i created:

ink:  chocolate chip

stamp set:  lots of thanks, hardwood

cardstock:  chocolate chip, crushed curry, pear pizzazz, very vanilla, crumb cake

extras:  perfect polka dots ef, flower frenzy bigz, autumn designer washi tape, burlap, banners framelits, motley monster designer paper, crimper

pretty self explanatory, i guess.  

i also added this to the challenge at the paper players #222 for their challenge of gratitude as well!

when i began this blog, i promised i would be positive always...i lied-but bear with me. 

it was a really hard, emotional day...just some parenting junk that comes with having a learning disabled young man in the house.  boy, was i having a huge pity party for myself! as i was writing this post, i thought it would be appropriate for my quote to be one of gratitude, since that is the theme.  as i was searching for just the perfect one, i came across this quote from buddah...

"let us rise up and be grateful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we did get sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."  

that just made me chuckle.

although i am glad today is over, i am reminded quite simply, other people have it much worse than me.  i'll be fine.  dan will be fine.  i need to remember my life is good...everyday.

thank you for stopping by today-

i appreciate you.

peace be with you

p.s.  as a special education teacher, i have often shared a particular essay, written by emily pearl kingsley, a parent of a special needs child, with the parents in my class.  i thought it was time i read it again...

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland."

the paper plunge #6

hi tracey, momma, friends old and new!...and happy halloween to all!

this week at the paper plunge, we are challenging you to create anything but a card!  the design team out did themselves so please pop on over there to take a look and be inspired!

i decided i was not going to break my cardinal rule of 'christmas after halloween' (although the hallmark channel is airing the first christmas movie of the season tonight!  woo hoo!) so decided on this adorable triangle box.  i thought it would be fun to have this little cutie at each place setting for thanksgiving dinner...serving as a name plate and a take home treat!  directions for this little holder of goodies can be found at splitcoast stampers.  directions for the wonderful treats inside the box are found in this post...you're welcome!

stamp set:  for all things

ink:  versamark

cardstock:  under the tree specialty designer series paper, gold foil sheets, rich razzleberry

extras:  retired organdy ribbon and gold cord, gold basic metal buttons, autumn accents bigs, gold embossing powder

turtle treats:  lay small pretzels (twist or waffle shape) on a cookie sheet.  top each with a rolo candy.  place treat in preheated oven for about 2 minutes.  take out of the oven and press a pecan on top of the rolo.  these are super easy and oh so yummy!  it's a holiday staple in my house!  shirley, my sisters mother in law, loves these little babies and it's the tradition of giving her a separate little baggie of take home turtles that prompted this treat holder!

today is halloween...i have a love/hate relationship with the day.  i have always loved it as a mother, but as a teacher, not so much.  i am excited for the kids and the parade...however, the rest of the day is like herding cats!  they have trick or treating on their minds!  this year our staff is sticking to our year long theme of super heroes.  yes, i will dress up...but it got me thinking...we all possess some sort of super powers...maybe not those that move mountains, allow you to leap tall buildings or even save the world.  just simple powers that make us super in ordinary ways.  i promise to tap into those powers and make today super, because like spiderman's uncle said, "with great power comes great responsibility."

thank you for stopping by-

i appreciate you

until next time,

peace be with you-

leslie