Back in the day…October 14, 2012 to be exact…I created one of my all-time favorite Fall/Halloween cards using a delightful set, Jack of All Trades. (See original post HERE.)  I still have the card, although the stamp set has since retired, along with Bravo Burgundy and the designer papers.  So…you can imagine my surprise when I opened the Holiday Catalog and found what I think is a possible replacement…Fall Fest! There are three pumpkins which could work, and although there is no witch’s hat, there is an adorable ghost!  So I am going to take the advice of Tim Gunn, and “Make it work!”  Since Tuesday is my Weekly Deals and Updates edition, won’t you join me on Wednesday…to see the 2014 model? 

And what’s that you say?  You don’t have a Holiday Catalog? You don’t have a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator?  Just email me at ann@thestampinschach.com or kimschach@msn.com, and I will drop one in the mail for you. I would LOVE to be your Stampin’ Up! demonstrator!  Until next time…

Coming this week:
Tuesday:  Weekly Deals and Updates…Your Information Round-Up
Wednesday:  Fall Fest Card
Thurday:  Pals Paper Arts
Friday:  Ann’s Top Ten List from the Holiday Catalog
Saturday:  Brady Shares His List
Sunday: The Paper Players Card

Just a note to my current customers:  Your Holiday Catalogs are being sent directly from Stampin’ Up! through their mailing selector.

Have you ever created a card you really didn’t like much, only to find it started to grow on you little by little? Well, that’s what happened to me with this week’s The Paper Players card.  It’s a color challenge this week, and challenged I was! I love Calypso Coral with Basic Gray.  I love Blushing Bride with Basic Gray.  I love Hello Honey with Calypso Coral. But combining all four of them really threw me for a loop. Plus, I wanted to use something other than flowers. For my first try,  I started out very clean, with a white background and four feathers in each of the colors.  How quick and easy! But it just wasn’t calling my name.  So I thought, “What the heck! Go ahead and mix those patterns and colors!  Live dangerously!”  So I did just that! Enjoy!

The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips
This finished card measures 4-1/4″ wide by 5-1/2″ long.

• Bling is the thing!  The sentiment from Million and One was inked in Calypso Coral. I couldn’t help but add a few rhinestones to this gorgeous script.

• Patterns! The Blushing Bride pattern from All Abloom looks great when paired with Basic Gray Dots from the Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack.  The Wavy Hello Honey pattern from the Moonlight collection adds a fun touch!

• Custom colored! Three rhinestones were colored with Calypso Coral Blendabilities to add a bit of interest to the lower right-hand corner. From left to right, I used the Light, Medium, and Dark markers. It’s so much fun to be able to color coordinate bling!

I hope you like today’s card. I LOVE the new Four Feathers stamp set with the coordinating framelits from the Holiday Catalog!  It made my son Brady’s Top Ten List.  He always takes a few minutes to look at the new catalogs when I get them.  This time I had him pick out his favorites and write them down.  In the next few days, I will share his list and my own.  As for this card…I made it for YOU! I have the best readers in the world.  I thank all of you for your sweet comments about the Twins and Lexi…and for all of the wonderful congratulations when I made Founder’s Circle! Thank you all!  Until next time…

 

2010 is a year I am not likely to forget. Brady had left for college in the fall of 2009, and I was faced with the quietness of an empty house.

Already in a somewhat fragile state, I was not prepared for the loss of my best friend, Missy the Boxer, in February of 2010. 

(For those of you who are new to my blog, you can read the original story here.)  Then came retirement that spring. 

Here I was, free from children, free from the daily grind, and free from pets.  Many people would have loved to be in that situation, but not me.  There was an emptiness…a loneliness…a longing. It wasn’t long before I was searching for another Boxer to fill the void in my heart.  For months I searched in vain, until I finally found a breeder who was going to have a litter available.  The price was higher than what I could really afford, but I went ahead and put down a deposit on a female pup…and waited.  Of course, rarely do things run smoothly, and I almost did not get a puppy at all…but that’s a tale for another day.

In the end, Muffy was delivered to my home…a bouncing, delightful bundle of fur! 

It was love at first sight…for the both of us! And then something happened…a little voice inside encouraged me to ask about the last puppy in the litter…a show quality male.  Was he still available?  “He was”, replied the breeder…and she wondered if I would be interested in buying him, too.  And so it was destined to be.  The last few dollars in my savings account went to buy the last puppy in the litter.

One Boxer puppy is not for the faint hearted.  Can you imagine two! 

There were twice the messes.  There were double the number of chewed up shoes…and the list goes on.  A boy with an interest in electronics,  Brody decimated a cell phone, a remote, and a camera. 

Muffy, on the other hand, indulged in her more creative side…devouring stamping sponges, sponge daubers, and markers.  But through it all, there was always twice the fun, twice the laughter, and unlimited love.

The Twins will always be an important part of my life, and the lives of my husband and son.  They brought me back from the abyss of despair caused by a multitude of life-altering changes.

Muffy has continued to shine in the show ring, winning back-to-back Best of Breed wins just this past weekend.

She won a Working Group 3 Saturday and a Working Group 1 Sunday, defeating the #5 Great Dane, #5 Kuvasz and the #9 Great Pyrenees in the nation.

A dream was realized as I watched her proudly in the ring as she competed for the coveted Best in Show.  

As for Brody, although fate cut short his promising show career,
he continues to shine brightly in his role of clown and companion.

And as his door closed, it opened again for his sister… 

And so I celebrate the birth of my two best friends…born in the eighth month, on the ninth day, in the year 2010…8-9-10.  Happy fourth birthday, Twins!

Thank you for allowing me this journey down memory lane.  Tomorrow, it’s time for The Paper Players.  Until next time…