Wild Winter Roadtrip Recap

Just had to share some fun photos from our holiday trip to Philly, right as the big 23" snow storm hit the northeast. We looked liked the Grizwald's with a trunk that looked like a Jenga game, but Dan insisted on taking his all wheel drive car even though my trunk is bigger. Dare you pull anything out, it might fall on your head. {you will see in the pictures} Try not to laugh too hard at these Floridians who tried to pack lightly while knowing that we were about to enter the frozen zone, which by our standards is anything over 50 degrees! LOL!!!

{the snow photos are from our Dunkin Donuts detour in Virginia after driving 16 straight hours and hitting unplowed roads in Fredericksburg- and yes, Dan was smart to insist on us taking his car. We passed many 2 wheel drive SUVs stuck on the side of the road. Fortunately from Washington to Philly the roads were plowed.}

Did I forget to mention that we brought the dog along? This was Bella's first long road trip and she aced it with the help of Kai's chenille pillow spanning the leg area in the back seat! Princess Bella lounged across the back seat dining on Chic-fil-A wraps, waffle fries and ice chips (of course she grubbed my dinner!) There was no avoiding it, and once you see some of the photos you will understand how I couldn't resist her begging. I have some more hilarious shots from this adventure, but I am saving some of those for scrapbook layouts!

{You know what happens when you are cooped up in a car too long...you get a little loopy! The girls gave Bella hairdos and dressed her in the hat Kylie wore most of the roadtrip. I think Bella arrived the only one well rested. Dan drove the whole way with no sleep! He is a true road warrior.}

Nineteen hours after leaving home, we arrived at our destination, my sister’s house in Ardmore, PA to a blanket of white snow and a huge family welcome from my sister, brother-in-law, niece and parents. We only slept a few hours that day, but I think it took me until Christmas Day to truly wake up!

It only took 17 hours driving straight through to make it home, and I could barely keep my eyes open, but as we were just a few exits from home, the sun rose...what a welcome sight and a perfect ending to an awesome trip!

{For about 3 days following our trip, my DH was experiencing caffeine detox from all the coffee he drank to stay awake. Just another tale from the adventures of our life. Belate Happy New Year wishes to all!}

I'm baaaack!

I am baaaack now in more ways than one. Yup, I know I have been missing in action on my own blog {how pathetic is that!}, but it started with being sick twice between Thanksgiving and Christmas and constantly playing catch up throughout the holiday mayhem. Then, you factor in a 2 week haitus to Philly to see family, including the 19 hr. trek during a record-setting snowfall in the northeast and a 17 hr. return trip requiring blink eyedrops about every two seconds of the last 4 hours and as many caffeine drinks that my bladder would allow given our limited stops. Yes, December began and ended in the blink of an eye, but I promise to do multiple project postings to show you what creative things I have been up to during my absence!

As you may know, the big Craft and Hobby Assocation Winter show in Anaheim, CA is fast approaching. This is a peek at the winter hat mini album I created and will be presenting with Glue Arts at the Inspired at Home Pajama Party Live event. So whether or not you are one of the lucky attendees making this at the CHA Craft Super Show special event, you check throw on your PJs and slippers and check out the live broadcast of this event!

Since everyone's budgets are pinched tighter by holiday spending, ya'll are probably ready for a sale. If you have been wanting to try out Glue Arts' adhesives, now is the time. Save 10% from now until the end of January using the promo code JAN10 during checkout.

Friends...noteworthy of thankfulness

As Thanksgiving Time nears, I got to thinking about things that make me grateful, and one of those things are true friends. I have made many friends over the years, and looking back at those incredible connections always makes me grateful. That is why I chose to share this card and envelope set called Noteworthy Thanks — a great set to send to a friend. It uses Stampin’ Up!’s chocolate chip and Baja Breeze color combination with Illuminated Wheel, Pocket Silhouettes Stamp Set, scallop square punch, brown grosgrain and white satin ribbons and a large turqouise button. I hope that it springboards your creativity in creating a matching notecard or thank you to send to one of your friends.

A Talented Friend

I have a wonderfully talented friend who credits me for introducing her to stamping and scrapbooking through my Stampin’ Up! demonstratorship. She has gone on to become a demonstrator also and is not only filling my shoes, but overspilling them with talent. I am finally getting caught up on posting these wonderful projects she designed for us to create at a workshop at her Stamping Oasis. One of the cards, I call Flourishing Elegance. You will know which one...it is so chic and beautiful! The second card, I called Take A Spin. It is a spinner card created using the fast and easy to use Simply Scrappin’ Stickers along with some punches and stamps. The third project, I call Twick O' Peek. It is a gorgeous Halloween box with a peek-a-boo diecut window in front. Hope these inspire you to create wonder creations based on Ree’s ideas. Click here to check out her blog.

Gingerbread Recipe Album

Well, it has been a little while since I posted some creative inspiration, but I have been busy crafting and plan to share some of my favorite projects with you! Here is a fun one I designed for Glue Arts' design team involving a Gingerbread chipboard diecut, some diecut squares using Stampin’ Ups die with my Sizzix Big Kick and some other fun embellishments. It is a recipe album ready for filling with your own recipes and/or photos...a heart-felt gift. I have pdfs of the paper pieces and tag art available upon your request. For project instructions, click here to go to the Glue Arts website. Here are a few more pictures of the project...

A Perfect Family Harvest

Looking for a clever Fall layout to include some fun photos and facts about your family members? Then check out this Harvest theme layout I did for Glue Arts using their adhesives, my computer for the title and journaling along with K & Company cardstock.

Here is a closeup on the title and paper piecing...

I have a template for the paper piecing and a file for the title available as pdfs. Email me if you are interested in those. You can check out the step by step instructions on Glue Arts’ website.

Fall is in the Air

Pearls of Kindness Card

Grateful Imprints Card

Want to create some Fall cards? Then just pull out some Fall colored patterned papers, inks and solid colored cardstock, some dies or punches, some stamp sets from Stampin’ Up!® and get ready to create. I used the Circle Circus set on the bottom card to create my only pattern with real rust ink and the Grateful stamp from the Falling Leaves set. The top card uses the verse from Heard from the Heart set. The patterned paper used on both of these is the Autumn Meadows Designer Papers from Stampin' Up!

A “Boo” Can Sometimes be a Good Thing!

O.K., so life has been super busy, hectic, full of tricks and not enough treats lately (except if you count the couple hours stolen at the beach yesterday with just the right amount of sun, a cool breeze and surfers to watch, wooo, much needed)! I know I am posting this project too late to make in time for this Halloween, but now you can feel less pressure by working on it for next year. Here is a link to the instructions on Glue Arts’ website. I am totally in love with Cosmo Cricket’s Halloween collection and had to create something fun with it. I got inspired by some paper mache letters I spotted on sale at JoAnn's before Halloween and the creativity grew from there in working with the Cosmo papers and stickers. I hope this is a boo that you will say “Yay” to!

Here are some close up shots, below, of the individual letters.

The RIP tombstone was also a purchase from JoAnns to add to the spooky setting. It has brought a smile to my face every time I have passed by it going in and out of the door.

Scaring up Smiles

I have to say that I am totally loving texture plates and working them into my crafting projects. My studio looks like a true Halloween horror house. Ree can attest to this, as she got a peek inside the doors to the mad crafter's la-bor-a-tory! Bwahahahah! Yes, I have been busy creating lots of holiday crafts to sell and more project ideas to inspire great gift and holiday ideas for craft enthusiasts. It has meant a lot of hours working into the wee hours and juggling my design projects during the day, but it will mean lots of blog posts to share ideas with you. ;D

Above is a technique I happened upon when trying to rub some black chalk over top of the textured cardstock. This created added spookiness to this halloween Smeary Smiles card. I also did some ink dragging for darker highlights. The pumpkin stamp and verse are from the new Twick or Tweet stamp set from the Holiday Mini catalog, one of my current faves! I also used markers and my color spritzer to add some spattering to the background of the pumpkin stamping. Try some of these simple techniques to add a little spookiness to your Halloween cards and creations.

Twick o' Tweet, oh so sweet!

Twick o' Tweet, smell my feet, give me somethin' good to eat! Ahhh, remember those childhood days of chanting that merrily as you raced from house to house trying to score a pillowcase full of candy bars? I have to say that I love the merriment of Stampin’ Up!’s Twick or Tweet Stamp Set. Here is a Twick o' Tweet Treat Holder made using the stamp set, sanded background stamp, black ink, sponge, orange grosgrain ribbon, black, white, only orange and going grey CS and the ever-so-cool Night and Day Designer Series Paper. I also used some Stampin' Write markers for coloring the chick along with layering a scallop circle punch and the 1-3/8" and 1-1/4" punches. You can fill a cello bag with treats and staple to the inside or use some Glue Arts Adhesive squares to attach sealed bag to the cardstock inside. The countdown to Halloween continues!

Spooky Blast From the Past

Here are some oldie but goodie card creations for Halloween using some old Stampin’ Up!® and Inque Boutique stamps. Hope it helps boost your cardmaking ideas! More ideas to come for Halloween and Fall crafts so be sure to check back soon!

Pumpkin Swirl Card

Giggle Boo Card

Pumpkin Head Trick or Treater Card

Template For Previously Posted Blog Project

I had a request this weekend for the template and instructions for my Frankie Treat Sack and cauldron projects so I thought I would post a note that if you are also interested in these, email me at cheri@cheriwengerdesign.com to have them emailed to you. Here is what the Frank n' Treat Sack and witch’s cauldron projects look like. They were last year's projects for Glue Arts Design team. The instructions are in a word document. Check back soon for more project ideas that I will be posting and tell your friends about my blog. Sign up as a follower if you haven't already.