Stylish Blog Award!

What a nice surprise! On the last day of 2010, I received an e-mail that Robin Merriman has given me the Stylish Blogger Award! Wow, Robin, that is so kind - thank you VERY MUCH - but I can't take credit for any of the artwork on my blog! I copy practically everything I stamp! I am the world's BEST copier of great artwork OTHERS have created! I don't consider myself to necessarily be a "creative" person, but I'm a "crafty" person. That's why I love Stampin' Up! With all the tools, supplies, and inspiration they provide, I can make awesome things that make me look like a creative person! Nonetheless, I'm happy that you've found my blog to be inspiring and stylish! As a receiver of this award, I'm supposed to tell you eight things about myself and then list eight people whose blogs inspire me! Okie-dokie!

1) I am VERY MUCH a home-body! I love being home with my family and my dog, or even by myself! I feel like the older I get, the less I want to venture out and about! Uh-oh, can't let that happen - that's what older people do, right?

2) I am very sentimental - even to the point where I hate moving from an old house (even if it's to a better house) because of all the memories in the old house! Since my kids have grown up in this house, it would be extremely difficult for me to leave it behind - too many wonderful memories here that wouldn't exist in a new house and I would probably cry every day to walk up and down the stairs that my kids did when they were only 4, then 6, then 8 - and now 17!

3) I am extremely blessed in my life! I get to wake up every day and figure out what items we're going to stamp at my next event! What could be more fun than that? I have the most amazing customers and downline members who support me and are happy for me when I achieve things with Stampin' Up!, so I feel like God is smiling down on me on a daily basis. I get to stay home and do exactly what I love doing all day long! Don't think for a minute that my being blessed goes unnoticed by me. I recognize it every day.

4) I am a BIG people-watcher! When my husband and I go out to eat, he always makes sure I'm sitting where I can see the door so I can see who comes in and out of the restaurant. If not, I will be turning myself around all during our meal to see what's going on and that's very distracting for my poor husband! He puts up with so much! Ha!

5) I love to bake! Now, cooking a meal? No! But baking, YES! Anything that results in cookies, cakes, brownies or candy, I'm all over it!

6) I hate going to doctors! I'll avoid them at all expense! In fact, a New Year's resolution for me is to get myself in tip-top shape. I intend to visit all the doctors I've been putting off for over a year so that I'm on top of my health. Ugh! Just writing this resolution makes me cringe!

7) I truly try to be happy every day! It's certainly a MAJOR struggle on some days, but I always want to be a happy person and I think I succeed at that most of the time.

8) I love lemons! I love them so much that I will cut one in half, sprinkle salt on it, and then proceed to eat the whole thing - even the peel! There is nothing more satisfying to me than a sour, sour lemon. Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! IT'S SO GOOD!

Now, here are the eight ladies who have blogs that I love to check on a regular basis: My sister, Pam D'Urso (of course - she's my hero); Kimberly Van Diepen - she is so incredibly talented that I stand in awe of her; Mary Fish - the sweetest demonstrator you will ever meet and I love looking at her daily creations; Dawn Olchefske - who has been one of the kindest people in the whole wide world to me - I just luv her!; Jill Hilliard - a really sweet gal who I met at Founder's Circle and fell in love with her artwork; the "Simple & Sincere" gal - don't know her name, but she does some really clean and simple artwork, which is the style I love!; Carrie Gaskin - the Artistic Avenger gal, who has incredible artwork that I'm always eager to see; and Heather Klump - I would definitely live inside the artistic side of her brain, if I could! The easiest way to find these blogs is to go to Google and type in their names, along with "blog," and it will take you directly to them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU! Thank you for being so faithful in checking my blog for creative ideas this past year! I hope you've found things that inspired your creativity and made you want to stamp! I appreciate your support and your friendship over the past year! I hope your MERRY is VERY and that your New Year is filled with all good things - and lots of stamping! By the time you read this post, I'm sure my kids have torn down the stairs as fast as they could and that those presents under the tree were opened in record time! Have a festive celebration! I'm wishing you the merriest Christmas ever! PEACE ON EARTH - GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN!

Small Open End Envelope Money Holder!

This morning I needed a couple of money holders real quick! I looked around my office and in front of me were some small open end envelopes. They are the PERFECT size to hold money! This was quick and easy because I didn't need to cut any paper! I just stamped on the envelope, added some glitter, rhinestone jewels, ribbon, and then sponged around it to make it look vintage-y. I love the way it turned out! Thought you might like to see it - and maybe you'll be able to come up with some creative ways to decorate these envelopes for money holders! You can't see all the pretty glitter in the picture, but this money holder has BLING! I need to learn how to take better pictures. Happy holiday crafting to you! I hope you're finished with all of your holiday "stuff" and now you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the season! I used the following products to make this money holder: Small Open End Envelopes (107286 - you get 20 envelopes!); Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Whisper White Card Stock (100730); Christmas Collage (121279); Tags Til Christmas (120847); Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669); Early Espresso Ink (119670); Chocolate Chip Marker (100071); Always Artichoke Marker (105113); Stampin' Sponge (101610); Basic Rhinestone Jewels (119246); 2-Way Glue Pen (100425); Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (102023); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430) ; 1-3/4" Circle Punch (119850); 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch (118874); Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding (120992); Scissors

Christmas Card No. 36!

TA-DA! This is the last Christmas card I'll be posting this year. I hope you've enjoyed all the different cards I've posted over the last couple of months and that you found one to use as your Christmas card! How about this one? This is called a criss-cross card - and don't fall over when I tell you this, but IT'S MY OWN DESIGN! Are you proud of me? I am! Actually, I would love to have more time to create my own cards and 3D items, but for some reason, it's an extremely slow process for me and it takes FOREVER to come up with something that I'm totally happy with, so until I can speed up my creative process, I'll just be a good finder of creative things for you! The supplies I used to make this card are as follows: Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650); Crumb Cake Card Stock (120953); Always Artichoke Textured Card Stock (119971); Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper (120810); Scenic Season - my NEW favorite stamp set (115354); Always Artichoke Ink (105219); Early Espresso Ink (119670); Cherry Cobbler Marker (119681); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); 2-Way Glue Pen (100425); Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (102023); Sticky Strip - for the belly band (104294); Five-Petal Flower Punch (119880); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Antique Brads (117273). To order these beautiful products, you can visit my 24/7 online store at www.pennythomas.stampinup.net and click on "Shop Now." Mr. Brown will be happy to make a stop at your house!

Pretzel Rod and Gingerbread Factory!

It's a tradition every Christmas to make pretzel rods and gingerbread men. It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without making these! You melt chocolate bark in a double boiler and dip pretzel rods in it. Lay them out on wax paper and, while they're still wet, sprinkle whatever you like on them! This year, in addition to the colorful sprinkles, we sprinkled some of the rods with crushed candy canes, and they were really good!

When there's just a little bit of chocolate left at the bottom of the pan, it's a good time to dip Oreo cookies, too! They turn out so cute and they are delicious! I guess you could dip whatever kind of cookie you have in your cupboard and they would probably be delicious!

Take a string of cherry licorice and tie two pretzel rods together in a knot and then place them in our large cellophane bags.

We tied ribbon around the bag to hold them tightly in place and to keep any part of the pretzel rod from being exposed. If you have time, a cute little Christmas tag would be adorable attached to the ribbon.

We did the same thing with the Oreos. Two fit perfectly into our medium cellophane bags!

Then it was on to gingerbread! As I've told you before, my son absolutely LOVES gingerbread. As fast as I can make the cookies, he can eat them! In fact, he even eats the dough raw, so while I'm TRYING to make them, he's eating the dough, resulting in fewer cookies! Arghhhhh! We found that if we use a gingerbread man cookie cutter, we get way less cookies than if we use a round biscuit cutter - and we want MORE gingerbread cookies, so that's why these are round. My daughter, her best friend, and my daughter's boyfriend decorated the cookies using toothpicks!

This is how many I was able to get baked before my son could attack them! I imagine by this time tomorrow, they'll all be gone! Oh, well, that's what I made them for, right? That's why I stood for hours in the kitchen making them, right? I made them from scratch this year - and they are deeeee-lish! I'll have to hide a stash just for me before they're all gone!

They made cute smiley faces - and there's even some cookies with our dog's name on it! We had a fun time yesterday in the kitchen. Today, it's time to make more fudge! I think I've already made 24 pounds of it at this point! I'm finally starting to get kind of sick of that stuff!! Ha! Love the holidays, love the baking, love Christmas - IT'S ALL GOOD!

Christmas Decor Elements!

Every holiday that comes along, I put our Decor Elements on my cookbook hutch! I fall in love with each one and then I don't want to take it down, but there's always another one to put up that I end up falling in love with! Last year, I had small ornaments on my hutch. This year, I made a mistake when ordering and got these BIG ornaments, but I ended up loving them and now I don't want to take them down. Oh, well, I guess it would be kind of weird to have Christmas ornaments on my hutch when Valentine's Day rolls around! These are the Real Red Vintage Ornaments in medium (117971)! To order these beautiful ornaments, you can visit my 24/7 online store at www.pennythomas.stampinup.net and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 35!

White on white is such a DELIGHT! I saw this on Stampin' Connection and made about 20 of these to send to my family. I hope they like it! I used the following supplies to make this card: Whisper White Textured Card Stock (119952); Contempo Christmas (118734); Basic Black Ink (101179); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Corner Rounder (119871); Big Shot Machine (113439); Northern Frost Decorative Strip (120901); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Basic Rhinestone Jewels (119246). Pretty simple, but pretty elegant! To order these products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

December Hostess Gifts!

I am enjoying our prepackaged notecards with envelopes and I have been using them a whole lot lately! For my hostesses who held a December workshop, I made a packet of these to give them as a thank-you! Now I'm totally turned on and want to make them for every month! They are super-cute, cut, scored, and ready to go! The packet contains 20 notecards and 20 envelopes. I used the following items to make these notecards: Notecards with envelopes (107311); Seasonal Sentiments (120821); Peaceful Season (Level 2 Hostess Set); Old Olive Marker (100079); Cherry Cobbler Marker (119681); Basic Black Ink (101179); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Paper Piercer with Mat (116631 and 105826). THAT'S IT! Short and sweet! To order these products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 34!

I think this is one of my favorites! I saw it on Stampin' Connection and completely melted. The supplies I used are as follows: Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper (120810); Whisper White Card Stock (100730); Tags Til Christmas (120847); Many Merry Messages (116586); Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669); Soft Suede Ink (115657); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding (120992); Scissors; Ornament Punch (119847); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Basic Rhinestone Jewel (119246); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882). To order these wonderful things, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 33!

My good friend Elizabeth Hurst made this gorgeous Christmas card for me! Isn't it beautiful? Elizabeth makes incredible things, so I wasn't surprised to receive this FABULOUS card from her! I am guessing at the supplies she used, as follows: Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Always Artichoke Card Stock (105119); Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650); Chocolate Chip Card Stock (102128); Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper (120810); Crumb Cake Card Stock (120953); Dasher (116816); En Francais (109521); Chocolate Chip Ink (100908); Versamark Ink (102283); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Paper Piercer and Mat (116631 and 105826); Gold Brads (104337); Big Shot Machine (113439); Two Tags Die (115954); Victoria Crochet Trim (118481); Gold Embossing Powder (109129); Heat Tool (100005); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Stampin' Sponge (101610); Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder (117335); Eyelet Border Punch (119853). To order these great products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

The Official Gingerbread House Decorating Contest!

Every Christmas break, there's a gingerbread house decorating contest at my house - and it was held yesterday! My daughter Haley and her best friend Heather were on one team; my son Hunter and Haley's boyfriend Kurtis were on another team. The official contest began at 1:30 p.m. and off they went tearing through the packets of candy and gingerbread to come up with their plan of attack! Here are the results. The first house above is Haley and Heather's entry; the second house is Hunter and Kurtis's entry. Since my husband was at work and completely removed from the process yesterday afternoon, I decided that he would be the best one to vote for his favorite. It was a tie! He gave the honor of being the most creative and eye-pleasing to Haley and Heather's house, but gave the honor of being the most comical and avante-garde to Hunter and Kurtis's house! If you're looking for a fun way to spend a couple of hours with your kids, try decorating a gingerbread house. You'll have lots of laughs and your kids will have a blast. Most importantly, it gives them something to do! My favorite thing about Haley and Heather's house is how they made snow peaks coming off of the roof; my favorite thing about Hunter and Kurtis's house is how the alien above the front door ending up sliding down and blocking the front door AND the cute little Dachshund (Otto) in the front yard! That's the three orange gumdrops with a red licorice tail element in the front yard! Hunter and Kurtis, I also hate to advise you that you have a huge structural flaw with your house! There's a major crack in the seam of your roofline that's going to cause big problems for you when it rains!

Christmas Card No. 32!

Pretty! I think I got this card idea from Kimberly Van Diepen, one of my FAVORITE stampers, but I'm not totally sure. I'm falling more and more in love with buttons, and Kimberly puts buttons on everything, so maybe that's why I like her things so much! I used the following supplies to make this card: Crumb Cake Card Stock (120953); Early Espresso Card Stock (119686); Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper (120810); Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650); Welcome Christmas (118736); Short & Sweet (115060); Early Espresso Ink (119670); Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Deck the Halls Big Designer Button (121002); 1" Circle Punch (119868); Linen Thread (104199); Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (119275); Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882); Word Window Punch (119857); Modern Label Punch (119849). To order any of these products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

The BEST Fudge Ever!

I've been making Fantasy Fudge since 1980 - yikes, that's been 30 years!!!!! Trust me, you will NEVER find a better fudge recipe than this! It's the "old" Kraft recipe. They changed the recipe along the way, but I like the "old" recipe better! I'll be making about 21 pounds of this fudge over the next several days! It's going to smell very good at my house! Try it, you'll love it - the recipe is below! Fantasy Fudge: 3 cups sugar 3/4 cup butter 5-fluid-ounce can evaporated milk 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate morsels 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme 1 cup chopped nuts (if desired - I like pure unadulterated chocolate) 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine sugar, butter, and milk in a heavy 2-1/2-quart saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate morsels until melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts, and vanilla; stir until well blended. Pour into greased 8 X 8 pan. Cool at room temperature. Cut into squares and experience chocolate heaven! It's best not to refrigerate this fudge. It then becomes hard - so just leave it out on your counter until it's gone, which won't be long! YIELD: Approximately 3 pounds

Christmas Card No. 31!

I really like this card. I saw this idea on Stampin' Connection and wanted to try it. The supplies I used are as follows: Sahara Sand Card Stock (121043); Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650); Peaceful Season (Level 2 Hostess Set); Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669); Crumb Cake Ink (121030); Cherry Cobbler Marker (119681); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882); Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (119251); 3/4" Circle Punch (119873); 1-1/4" Circle Punch (119861); Mini Glue Dot (103683); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430). To order these great products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 30!

I'm lovin' it - I just NEVER get tired of Christmas cards! I can't remember if this card was my idea or if I got it from Stampin' Connection, but the supplies I used are as follows: Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650); Soft Suede Card Stock (115318); Early Espresso Card Stock (119686); Welcome Christmas (118736); Seasonal Sentiments (120821); Early Espresso Ink (119670); Crumb Cake Ink (121030); Real Red Marker (100052); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Big Shot Machine (113439); Finial Press Embossing Folder (115963); Stampin' Sponge (101610); Chantilly Crochet Trim (118480); Scissors; Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049). To order these products while you're sitting in your jammies, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 29!

Anything with a paisley print, and I'm all over it! When I saw this card on Stampin' Connection, I had to make it! The supplies I used are as follows: Crumb Cake Card Stock (120953); Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650); Seasonal Sentiments (120821); Paisley Prints (120817); Paisley Party Wheel (120875); Old Olive Marker (100079); Cherry Cobbler Marker (119681); Old Olive Ink (102277); Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Old Olive Satin Ribbon (117292); Paper Piercer with Mat (116631 and 105826); Neutrals Jumbo Brad (112534); Paper Snips (103579). To order these products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 28!

I love these colors together and I love this Christmas card. I saw this cute card idea on Stampin' Connection and had to make one. The supplies I used are as follows: Crumb Cake Card Stock (120953); Whisper White Card Stock (100730); Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper (120809); Real Red Card Stock (102482); Baja Breeze Card Stock (111352); Teeny Tiny Messages (115370); Basic Black Ink (101179); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Paper Piercer with Mat (116631 and 105826); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Big Shot Machine (113439); Northern Frost Decorative Strip (120901); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Glimmer Brights Brad (121006); Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402). To order these products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 27!

I sure hope I'm not duplicating some of these Christmas cards! It's been challenging to keep track of all of them and which ones I've posted and which ones I haven't! Sorry if I've repeated some of them! Don't you LOVE this card? I think it is adorable. I got this beautiful idea from Stampin' Connection and I used the following products: Real Red Card Stock (102482); Whisper White Card Stock (100730); Snow Swirled (111690); Real Red Ink (103133); Big Shot Machine (113439); Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder (120175); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Real Red Satin Ribbon (117286); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Clear Rhinestone Brad (113144); 1-3/4" Circle Punch (119850); Circle #2 Die (114526). To order these products, visit my 24/7 online store at www.pennythomas.stampinup.net and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 26!

Here's a great Christmas card for you! I copied this card from Stampin' Connection! The supplies I used are as follows: Always Artichoke Card Stock (105119); Crumb Cake Card Stock (120953); Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper (120810); Cherry Cobbler Card Stock (119685); Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650); Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370); Delightful Decorations (116517); Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669); Always Artichoke Ink (105219); Always Artichoke Marker (105113 - for faux stitching); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Stampin' Sponges (101610); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Ornament Punch (119847); Always Artichoke 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired); Paper Piercer with Mat (116631 and 105826); Scallop Edge Border Punch (119882); Modern Label Punch (119849). To order these great products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 25!

Isn't this a pretty one? I soooooo copied it from Stampin' Connection! If I could come up with cards like this on my own, I'd be one happy girl, but since I can't, I'll just have to be happy copying all of the lucky gals out there who CAN come up with cards like this! I used the following products to make this card: Whisper White Card Stock (100730); Brushed Gold Card Stock (102935); Contempo Christmas (118734); Basic Black Ink (101179); Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Big Shot Machine (113439); Petals-A-Plenty Embossing Folder (116824); 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch (118874); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); Basic Pearls (119247); Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon (109070). To order these gorgeous products, visit my 24/7 online store at http://www.pennythomas.stampinup.net/ and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 24!

Oh, boy, this card just reeks of merry and bright, doesn't it? So stinkin' cute! I made this card after seeing it on Stampin' Connection. I wish I had more time to make Christmas cards - time has gotten away from me this year! I used the following supplies to make this card: Wild Wasabi Card Stock (108641); Real Red Card Stock (102482); Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper (120809); Whisper White Card Stock (100730); A Cute Christmas (120825); Basic Black Ink (101179); Blushing Bride Ink (119786); Real Red Marker (100052); Wild Wasabi Marker (120975); Blushing Bride Marker (119801); SNAIL Adhesive (104332); Stampin' Dimensionals (104430); Real Red Satin Ribbon (117286); Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049); 2-1/2" Circle Punch (120906); Stampin' Sponges (101610). To order these products to make your own stinkin' cute card, visit my 24/7 online store at www.pennythomas.stampinup.net and click on "Shop Now."

Christmas Card No. 23!

This cute Christmas card is for your viewing pleasure! It uses the Jolly Jingles Jumbo Wheel (120864) in Cherry Cobbler Ink (119669). The greeting is from Word Play (120308) and I used the Always Artichoke Marker (105113) and the Cherry Cobbler Marker (119681) for it. I found this great card on Stampin' Connection, a site dedicated to Stampin' Up! demonstrators! Just become a demonstrator and you'll have access to all these wonderful cards, too! The card stock is Crumb Cake (120953), Cherry Cobbler (119684), Always Artichoke (105119), and Very Vanilla (101650). I used the Cutter Kit (106958) to distress the edges and then sponged (101610) Early Espresso Ink ( 119670) all around it. Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding (120992) wraps it all up into a cute little card! I used the Decorative Label Punch ( 120907) for the greeting and popped it up with Stampin' Dimensionals (104430). To order these fun products, visit my 24/7 online store at www.pennythomas.stampinup.net and click on "Shop Now."

The TOPICS! Gutter Ball Christmas Party!

This picture of Jan Spencer sums up the afternoon today for me - A TOTAL BLAST! You have a gorgeous smile, Jan, and I totally enjoyed the afternoon bowling with you and all the members of The TOPICS! In the next lane is Katherine Langner, also known as Kitty Kat! The TOPICS! met this afternoon at Times Square Entertainment Center for our Gutter Ball Christmas Party! I TOTALLY HAD A BLAST and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon with my stampin' sisters and we may just have to make this an annual event! Below is Elizabeth Hurst, Carolyn Gray, and Marilyn Devereaux-Ruffin. Elizabeth took all of these pictures for me and Carolyn and Marilyn kept score for us all afternoon so we would know who our prize winners are! THANKS, GUYS! That is Pam Davenport in the background.

The team below is Team No. 1 - the Stampin' Strikers - composed of B. J. Alvarez, Kate Osborne, Katherine Langner, and Vicki Myford. Katherine Langner won a prize for our highest score for the afternoon and Vicki Myford won a prize for the lowest score for the afternoon! Actually, I think I had the lowest score for the afternoon, but I was giving out prizes, so she gets the honor of the lowest score! No one cared about the score - we just enjoyed being together and having a fun time!

The team below is Team No. 2 - The Tombow-lers - composed of Pam Davenport, Gail Mikeska, Diane Burns, and Anita Konvicka!

The team below is Team No. 3 - the Gutter Glitter Gals - composed of Vicky Skillman, me, Patsy Ingram, Jan Spencer, and Amy Hansen. Patsy Ingram received a prize for having the most gutter balls of the day! Each member of this team also won some Dazzling Diamonds for having the concession stand girl's favorite team name!

Here's a nice rear-end shot of me in action! I'm sure that resulted in a gutter ball!

The picture below is Jan Spencer, watching with eager anticipation to see if her bowling ball is going to knock down those two remaining pins!

I believe the picture below is Diane Burns in action! Wow! She's about to let that ball rip! I discovered that we have some really good bowlers in our group!

The picture below is Vicki Myford, concentrating VERY hard on getting a strike!

The picture below is Kate Osborne! Kate is a great bowler!

The picture below is Gail Mikeska, who is a good bowler herself!

The picture below is B. J. Alvarez! Good form, B. J.!

The picture below is Amy Hansen, who gave me many tips throughout the afternoon to improve my bowling, but to no avail!

This is me - TOTALLY enjoying the afternoon with my stampin' sisters!

The picture below is Jan Spencer in action!

I believe the picture below is Anita Konvicka in action!

The picture below is Vicki Myford - still concentrating really hard on getting that strike!

The picture below is Anita Konvicka, who gave Katherine Langner some competition this afternoon!

The picture below is Vicky Skillman, who clapped for me even when I got a gutter ball!

The picture below is a group shot of our three teams.

Thanks for such a fun afternoon, everyone! You are the best bunch of gals and I am so happy to have you in my life! I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with hope, promise, and lots of stamping!