126 Days until Christmas ...

Although Christmas seems a long time away (especially when the temperature is in the 80s), however my Christmas Card list grows each year, and I wanted to get some new stamps inked up.  The first is one of my latest Sugar Nellie stamps and the second card is an older Magnolia stamp.  I hope you like them.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I've finally quit my habit of Diet Coke and have had an enormous amount of energy, so I've been busy cleaning closets, cabinets, painting trim and lots more. The only things I haven't done is 1) exercise (yuk) and 2) spend time in my craft room.  I hope that changes soon (at least #2)!  This Friday, I'll be going to the Scrapbook Expo. Since my friends don't scrapbook or make cards, I'll be going solo.  

Next month, my husband and I will be attending a wedding and I made a card.  It's a bit "simple" with few papers, but I think it turned out cute.  I used my cricut (paper dolls cartridge) to cut out the bride and groom and used punches to make the car...  I think it turned out cute - I'd love to know what you thought.  Thanks for stopping by.

My first Sugar Nellie stamp

I received my first Sugar Nellie stamps this week and couldn't wait to color 'em up! I used paper from my stash, flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts, and copic markers.

I hope you like it.

For the past two years, I've been doing a bit of research on my father's side of the family. My grandfather came to the United States in 1913 from Austria along with his brother, 2 sisters and his parents.  He was about 4 years old at the time.  From that photo, I had an aunt that was still living - she was 99 years old when she passed last year.  I've gotten in touch with just about every living relative on my dad's father's side of the family.  Next will be my dad's mother's side - but genealogy is a good winter project.  Today I visited with my dad's two cousins and his aunt.  Although she is in her mid 80s, she still has a sharp mind, so I take advantage of that as I search my family tree.  Below is a card that I'm sending to my dad's cousin and his wife to thank them for joining us for lunch today.  Really it's just an excuse to color up my Tilda stamps!  Have a great day and take the time to search your family.  Ancestry.com is a great way to start.  Thanks for stopping by.

I've been trying to make cards more often for my site, but with work and keeping a house it's been difficult.  Here is my latest card.  It's my first digi card that actually didn't bleed when coloring with my copics.  I guess I'll have to break down and get a laser printer as my ink-jet doesn't seem to work.  If you have any hints when using digi stamps, please leave a comment.  There are so many cute digis out there and I've been hesitating getting one because of my printer issue.

I'm not sure what this card will be used for, but I thought it was super-cute.  Thanks for your comments and have a great day!

It's been a while since I've made time to blog.  My husband and I spent a week hiking Glacier National Park, Badlands, Mount Rushmore, & Black Hills in the Dakotas and Montana.  Growing up in the plain states of Illinois, we sure do love visiting the Rocky Mountains.  Below is one of our first views at Glacier NP.  You can see more of the pictures at http://kkoontz.com/f961559834.  My bucket list is to visit all of the 58 National Parks in the U.S.  I'm really looking forward to the Alaska and Hawaii trips!

Since the return of our trip, I decided to pick up the craft of quilling.  There are websites and blogs that have amazing projects.  Below is my first shot at it and I'd have to say I'm pleased with how it turned out.