Friday, March 28, 2008

Clean House = Lazy Stamper

It seems little miss Hanna has been cleaning her house and making us all look bad. Seriously, what a slacker *wink* I adore this set by Hanna Stamps called Domestic Goddess. This card was created using SC157 and was made for HSC10 (Hanna Stamps Challenges that you can find in the Hanna Stamps forum on Splitcoaststampers). The challenge was to add bling your images. I had so much fun playing with these bright funky colors and I USED MY NEW PRISM PAPERS CARD STOCK. I know, don't die of shock! LOL! I needed a color that matched perfectly with the designer paper I was using and PRISM happened to offer one called Frosted Kiwi! I was coloring my image and realized the color was not exactly an SU color, so I blended two colors while watercoloring (gable green and yo yo yellow) -- have you ever done that before to get an exact color match? I was really excited when it worked. Hanna's hair was colored with twinkling H2O's blended with barely banana ink (apparently today was blending day). I was really pleased with the results. I added diamond stickles to the bubbles on the card background piece also for even more bling! Hope you like her!

Something a Little Different

I have had this design idea in my head for a couple days, but last night I got it out and down on paper. I wanted to do something different with the flower in my Fairy Whimsey set from Artful Inkables. I wanted to not include the fairies in a card. The bloggers challenge for this Friday was to do something with "Spring Flowers" and I thought this was the perfect opportunity, so basically, I "springified" the flowers in the Fairy Whimsey set.

They are colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I just love working with prismacolors. They seriously do all the work to make it look so blended and realistic. I used my divine swirls embossing folder and my cuttlebug machine on the lavender lace paper in the background. I did two layers of ribbon to pull out some of the more subtle colors in the coloring. Both ribbons are from my collection (jars). Layout is pretty basic. Sentiment is stamped using Karen Foster Design Snap Stamps. I stitched (or attempted to) the edges of the card using my sewing machine and white thread. I accidentally went off the edge a bit on one side, but you can hardly tell, so I just went with it. By the way, good thread is on sale at JoAnn's this week if you have a minute to go pick some up. That is on my to do list for today. That and fire extinguishers for the house. Hope you have a great day!

Stamps: Artful Inkables Fairy Whimsey, Karen Foster Design Snap Stamps Paper: Pixie Pink, Lavender Lace, Whisper White Accessories: Sewing Machine, white thread, scalloped Marvy Uchida circle punch, circle punch, ribbon, paper piercing tool, white signo gel pen, prismacolor pencils, gamsol, blending stumps, cuttlebug, Divine Swirls embossing folder Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink

Thursday, March 27, 2008

A Quick Simple Card

Here is a simple card that involves very little coloring. I wanted to show you that all of the Artful Inkables images do not have to be colored intensely to look great -- aka, if you suck at coloring, you can still use these awesome images.

Here, I stamped the butterflies from Fairy Whimsey in timber brown staz on. I watercolored the ones on the white paper using certainly celery, but you could for sure use SU markers to color them in just as quickly. I added diamond stickles over the top of the colored parts for just a little bling. The layout for this card was totally CASE'd from this gorgeous card on SCS by Julie. I added the dots along the edge of the brown paper because it needed something and they just kind of seemed to fit. The base of the card is white, it is hard to see the white paper, but it really pulls the whole card together.

Stamps: Artful Inkables Fairy Whimsey Paper: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Whisper White. Ink: Timber Brown Staz On Accessories: Signo White Gel Pen, SU Slit Punch (to create scalloped edge), white sheer dotted organdy ribbon, mounting tape, diamond stickles

A FUN SURPRISE!

I have to tell you about the coolest thing that happened yesterday.

UPS dinged my door bell and since I had not ordered anything recently, I was like, hmmmm . . . I went and got it and there was a box . The box was addressed to me and was from Prism Papers. Inside was this huge block of paper (3 sheets of every color in the prismatics line) and another pack of some prismatics and a swatch pad. I was drooling when I opened it. It is seriously the most gorgeous paper. WOW!

It turns out that Prism Papers will soon be sold on the Hanna Stamps site and a wonderful girl named Jamie at Prism Papers sent out a designer block and swatch book to each of the members of the Hanna Stamps Design Team. (Thanks also to Kristi and Tami) We are all so excited about it! How wonderful!!! I hope you are super excited about this news too! I sorted my pack yesterday by colors and it looks so pretty in my drawer -- now I just have to work up the courage to cut into it . . . but that shouldn't be too hard since I have three sheets of each color in their line now, so I don't need to hoard it so much. New Hanna stamps are on their way to me too, so keep an eye on my blog in the next week or so for some previews for the next release! The new stuff will be available on April 4th. In the meantime, check out the blogs of some of my fellow design team members . . . they have lots of fun stuff for you to see and drool over! Oh and Tami Mayberry did a really cool color matching of Prism and SU papers on her blog -- go see that here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

CC159 & SC169


I needed to get into my stamp room. It is a total disaster but I was feeling the gotta stamp bug. I made another card using Artful Inkables stamps -- this time it was from the Fairy Whimsey set (one of the four newest ones).

I colored the image using my aquapainter and the lids of my ink pads. I also did the hair with Luminarte Twinkling H2O's. I used some H2O's on the dress as well to add some shimmer -- it is so subtle but pretty! The flesh areas were colored using a crayola colored pencil and gamsol. The background paper is Basic Grey - Scarlets Letter - Fare thee well. I placed a sheet of vellum over the top in an attempt to make it more grey to match the color challenge which was soft sky, basic grey and whisper white. It worked! I was super excited at how well it matched. Second background piece is embossed using the Cuttlebug machine and the Tiny Bubbles folder. I then dragged the sponge over the top of the piece with some basic grey ink on it. Subtle and perfect for what I was looking for.

Off to bed now . . . I hate when I get stamping and lose track of time. Goodnight and happy stamping dreams!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Happy Easter!

We made it back safe from our trip to UT! And miraculously we still have some sanity left -- that was a super long car ride for a couple of kids. They had a lot of fun playing with their cousins though. I am really glad we went and got together with family. It was a short visit, but I feel like we talked more in this visit than we had on any other one that we had previously taken. I have been sleeping most of the day so far . . . catching up after getting home at 4 am this morning. I should be back stamping tomorrow sometime . . . I have stuff I need to get done :) Hope you had a wonderful Easter!

Friday, March 21, 2008

Hanna Challenge and a BONUS

Here is my card for Bev's Hanna Stamps Sketch Challenge. I used "But I Need It" -- I seriously LOVE this set. Maybe it is because I relate. But, our girl Hanna is generous and this card says "for you" because all those bags she has this time are for a dear friend of hers. Awww, what a sweetie! Don't worry, she had LOTS of fun shopping for it all! *giggles* Especially those shoes!!!

The size of the card is 4.25 x 4.25. I wanted to make a bright card, because if you have been following my blog recently, you'll know, I am totally stuck on the bold brights. This color combination reminded me of watermelon. Mmmm. I love summer. It better get here in a hurry too because I am sick of being sick! And I am in AZ, so I know people in other places across the country are even colder and, as hard as it is for me to imagine, probably even more sick . . . of winter!

Stamps: But I Need It - Hanna Stamps Paper: Whisper White, Green Galore, Pink Passion Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink, Green Galore, Pink Passion, Creamy Caramel Accessories: Black dotted organdy, prismacolor pencils (for outlining), black gelly roll, aquapainter, singer sewing machine and pink thread.

So as I was cleaning off my desktop on my laptop (trust me, it totally needed to be done), I found this Hanna card which I don't think I had posted yet. We'll say it came from the Hanna Archives *giggles* - I am sad I forgot to post it! I think it turned out well. Anyway, hope you like it!

Image was colored using prismacolors and gamsol. Ribbons are both from my stash -- pink shimmery organdy and pale purple polka dotted organdy. She has a little swarovski crystal at her waistline, like a belt or something. Her slippers are glittered up with stickles. I absolutely love that sentiment! How seriously true! Take yesterday for an example, I vacuumed my staircases and spent much of the day cleaning and then I had to stay up till like 2 am to get any stamping done and now today I am just pooped. I need to pack for our vacation now though, and clean up the mess my kids already made this morning -- stickers on the coffee table, papers all over the living room and breakfast mess -- *sigh* It never ends! Hope you have a Happy Easter weekend and hopefully I will see you back on my site after the holidays!!!

LSC160 - A Set of Ballerina Notecards - WHICH ONE?

I made these note cards to send to my cousin in Canada. Just out of the blue I felt like doing this in the past week and then imagine my surprise when today's limited supply challenge basically asked to do exactly what I had done. Here is what the challenge was:

*****

Remember how long it took to collect enough stamps and colors to actually feel like you could make something unique over and over? Let's help our new stamping friends and show them that just a few stamps and colors can create very different looks. Here's what you'll need... along with the directions. STAMPS 3-4 stamps CARDSTOCK & INK white or vanilla one piece of designer paper (If it's double sided, you can use both prints!) 1-2 additional solid colors of cardstock TOOLS & EMBELLISHMENTS *any* DIRECTIONS: Make 2-4 cards using the SAME stamps, designer paper, and color scheme. Things that can change to make each card unique are layouts, tools and accessories. The main idea is to get many different looks using the same stamps, designer paper, and colors. It can also show the importance of tools, embellishments, and layouts on cards... how it can really make a card great and how it can really change the look of an image for a totally new card.

*****





My set of cards only used one sheet of 12x12 paper. It was by The Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby). I actually made a set of 8 cards and put them in a card box that I got from Papertrey Ink, which makes them look so professional. I am going to add a ribbon to the box and then pop it in the mail. Thanks for stopping by in the middle of my postapalooza Friday!!!

CC158 Artful Inkables - Enchanted Fairies

I played with the fairies again. They are just so darn cute! Seriously, how can I resist them.

This time I used the color challenge, CC158 -- only slightly modified because I added bashful blue. Layout is an old school sketch challenge from way back when -- SC68 I think. DP is by Stampin' Up! It was the back side of some old seasonal series paper. I thought it worked perfectly. Image was colored using watercolors and prismacolors. Stitching was done with a singer sewing machine. Background is cuttlebugged. Orchid ribbon was in my ribbon jars, not sure who makes it, but it was a perfect match. Prima flowers are Asters from the monthly collection primas. The blue ones are from a box or Primas I got from Jody :) Thanks Jody!

If you haven't had a chance to drop in and visit Kristin at Artful Inkables . . . go do it. Seriously, her prices are great, stamps are cute and you will not regret it!!! Plus, those GRAND OPENING specials are still going on, so quick, CLICK HERE!!!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Happy Easter Treats

OMGosh, if you could see my desk at this moment. I had to push stuff out of the way to be able to fit my laptop on it in order to make this post *giggles* I think I *may* need to clean up after this.

However, with a mess comes . . . drum roll . . . Postapalooza 2008. I have tons of stuff to show you in the next 24 hours, just as fast as I can upload and type.

I had a lot of fun stamping and playing today. It was mindless stamping up until I decided to give paper basket-making a try using this tutorial by Laura Canale. For the most part, the tutorial was really easy, (aka, not Laura's fault, I am just basket making special). I struggled a bit with making the skinny layers sit right, but other than that . . . it was easy peasy *wink* The only things that I changed were instead of putting a layer of paper on the inside, I used the ribbon that I used on the handles to line the inside (I think it looks sweet) and I used DP -- by Lasting Impressions- Lilac Plaid. It was thicker DP, so it will still be able to hold some stuff, but it makes the look a little different. I made this basket for my SIL -- she is hostessing the whole family at her home this weekend for an Easter BBQ. It should be lots of fun! I really hope she likes this basket. It is filled with pastel lifesavers and lemon creme Hersheys kisses (which are surprisingly yummy). I think when I get time I will put some picks in it that say "Happy Easter" and maybe one of a bunny image or a couple flowers.

I also made little jelly bean treat bags for all of E & J's cousins. I think I bought 5 bags of jelly beans at the $1 store because that is the first place I have seen that has had pastel beans. I made 20 treat bags in all. I decided to go really simple since we all know what is most important to the kids and it is certainly not the cute tag. LOL! I hope they like them.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Strawberry Jam & SC164

I have noticed that strawberries have been more cheaply available lately -- I got a really good deal just last week. My kids just love strawberries. This week, instead of telling you what we are making for dinner (which I am pretty sure will be KFC bowls again - home made of course), I decided to share a recipe for strawberry jam with you! Hope you enjoy!!

Home Made Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

Makes 48 ounces.

  • 4 pounds strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 5 cups granulated sugar (2 1/4 pounds)

Directions

  1. Put a small plate in the freezer. Place berries in a nonreactive 10-quart stockpot set over medium-high heat. Using a wooden spoon, mix in 1/4 cup sugar with berries. Cook, stirring, until berries are juicy, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in a third of remaining sugar until dissolved. Repeat until all the sugar has been added and dissolved, about 7 minutes total.
  2. Bring mixture to a full boil; cook, stirring, 10 minutes. Continue boiling; use a stainless-steel spoon to remove foam from surface. Boil until most of the liquid is absorbed, mixture thickens, and temperature registers 220 degrees.on a candy thermometer, about 30 minutes.
  3. Perform a gel test: Place a spoonful of jam on chilled plate, and return to freezer. Wait 1 to 2 minutes; remove plate from freezer, and gently press jam with fingertip; it should wrinkle slightly.
  4. After jam passes the gel test, remove from heat. Pour warm jam into jars; seal, label, and refrigerate up to 4 months
*************************

I made this card using Kristin's Artful Inkables again. This set is called Enchanted Fairies and is one of the two fairy sets that Kristin recently released. They are super fun to color, so if you like to color, you *need* these. I used simple masking on this card to create the fairy sitting ON the toad stools. The main image is popped up using foam mounting tape -- it works as well as pop dots and it was only $1 for the whole roll at my dollar store in town . . .

Stamps: Artful Inkables - Enchanted Fairies NEW Paper: Me & My Big Ideas - Chester - Dandelion, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink Accessories: Aquapainter, watercolor wonder crayons (SU!), diamond stickles (on the wings), white sheer dotted organdy, blue brads, mounting tape, Avery Dennison Scrapbook Border Stickers (53213), prismacolor pencils, gamsol Techniques: Masking, Watercoloring

Tagged by Becky

I thought this was pretty hilarious!!! Thanks for the tag Becky . . . even if it was sneaky *giggles*

3 things that....

Fascinate me:
My children's eating habits
Stars and the moon
The Human Brain

Inspire me:
Awesome stampers on SCS
Pottery Barn
My family

Anger me:
Illegal Immigration
Senseless violence
Rude people

Delight Me:
Bright colored flowers in a clean house
Dark chocolate and almonds
When my kids tell me they love me

Frighten me:
Whether or not I am capable of raising kids that will contribute positively to society
Going to the dentist
Risk

Relax me:
Reading a good book or watching a movie
Stamping and creating
Having a clean house

If you read this ...you've been tagged!!!
If you post your own leave me a comment and i'll stop by and take a look!!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tuesday NEWS - Introducing Artful Inkables

You may have noticed a new link on my sidebar recently to ARTFUL INKABLES. My friend Kristin now has her own line of stamps and has invited me to be her design team (the only one for now). CLICK HERE for a little background on her stamp line.

Right now she is running a GRAND OPENING special . . . which means FREE stamps for you and maybe even FREE shipping . . . be sure to check that out. She sent out a bunch of stamps for me to play with, priority even so I got them super fast, so over the next few days you may see a few samples using her stamps . . . hope you like them and will take some time to check out her stamps. Do you like fairies and dragons? She has both in newly released sets . . . keep your eyes peeled for samples of those coming really soon!!!

From Pretty Parrot


I used a typical parrot image for the coloring to create this one. The black tulle reminded of a bird cage and I thought it would work well with the bright colors. I used SC140 for the layout of this one.


Stamps: Pretty Parrot - Artful Inkables, Happy Birthday sentiment (SU!) Paper: Only Orange, Whisper White, Basic Black, Unknown DP (JoAnn's) Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink, SU Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Yo Yo Yellow, Only Orange, Close to Cocoa Accessories: Aquapainter, Black Tulle by Heidi Swapp, prismacolor pencils for edging and shading










I saw the coolest looking parrot online - called a Turquoise parrot which inspired this card! It is shockingly bright, but I think the bright works with this parrot stamp!!! SC164 for the layout.

Stamps: Pretty Parrot - Artful Inkables Paper: SU! Taken With Teal, Yo Yo Yellow, Whisper White, Paper Salon - Ornamental Holiday- Green Stars, A2Z Dulce - Island Blossoms by Amber McDonald - Island Citrus Pop
Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink, Taken With Teal, Tempting Turquoise, Yo Yo Yellow, Apricot Appeal, Wild Wasabi Accessories: Aquapainter, Striped Grosgrain ribbon (texasjodylynn share), Prima Deux flowers in yellow, tempting turquoise brads (SU!)






From Froggy Friend

I have seen lots of cards made with this stamp using typical olive frog/toad color, but I decided to brighten him up and make him fun for this hello friend card.

Stamps: Froggy Friend - Artful Inkables, Karen Foster Design Snap Stamps - Small Casual. Paper: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Treehouse Memories - Main Street - Kate's Floral Shop. Ink: Gable Green, Regal Rose, Memories Black Dye Ink Accessories: Aquapainter, Watercolor Wonder Crayons (SU!), Prima Flower, Pearl center gem (Hobby Lobby), Singer Sewing Machine, Rose grosgrain ribbon.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

SC167 - Easter Wishes

This morning I spent my morning addressing and sending out some thank you notes for some gorgeous cards that I have gotten in the mail recently! I finally feel a little bit caught up on that.

Then I decided to tackle the sketch challenge. I know, I know, a day late and a dollar short as usual! I am excited about how it turned out though . . . the colors are so vibrant and summery! I am eager for summer to arrive. The weather here in Maricopa has been sunny and bright and lovely (read: 80F) the past couple days and we are loving it. We just have to get that play structure done soon before the real heat arrives!!!

Stamps: Magnolia Easter Egg Tilda, Bunny Hugs (SU!) Paper: Colorbok Aqua and Yellow Stripe, Taken with Teal, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Kraft, Pale aqua color DP (no name on it) Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink, Apricot Appeal Accessories: nch (Marvy Uchida), oval punch (SU!), white organdy with white dots, apricot grosgrain, mounting tape, ice crystal brads by SU! Cuttlebug machine and tiny bubbles embossing folder.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Tagged again . . . x 2

I was tagged by Teresa at Inkfully Yours and Katie at Katie's Niche

The rules of the game:
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 Randomly Weird Facts About Me:

1. I wear size 8.5-9.5 shoes -- I used to wear size 8's pre-pregnancy
2. I have lost 5 lbs in the past two weeks
3. I have two houses right now because we still have not sold the old one in Phx. due to the market being so bad. We are considering renting it.
4. We are building a really cool playground in our back yard for our kids -- it is slow going, but consuming lots of our Saturdays and when it is done it will be amazing. The boxes are currently laid out in my living room -- fun fun . . . wood and tools and parts everywhere.
5. I hate unpacking/packing - hence I am still unpacking . . . *sigh*
6. I am a Disneyland Premium Annual Pass Holder
7. I speak French. Not fluently, but pretty well. I grew up in Canada and that is where I started to learn. I plan to one day teach my kids to speak French.

My random 7:

Michelle
Laura
Katherine
Maureen
Heidi
Dianne
Lizette

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

CC157 - Basic Pomegranate

This card was made with a set that I got at Target. The set is an Autumn Leaves set called Mini Make a Flower by Katie Pertiet. I scored it on clearance for $1.38! YAY! It is acrylic. In case you missed it, this weeks color challenge was Basic Black, Basic Grey, and Purely Pomegranate. EASY PEASY for a girl who loves her pinks especially when paired with black or browns! I am loving this card!!! The background is actually white, even though the color is off -- it was sort of dark in the room and it came out kind of dark. Anyway, what do you think?

Stamps: Mini Make a Flower, All Holidays (SU!), Linen (SU!) Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Memories Black Dye Ink Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black Accessories: Black brads, assorted prima flowers (black dotted and grey), aquapainter, small SU circle punch (for flower centers)

Monday, March 10, 2008

Hanna Challenge #7 and SOME NEWS!

So I have some news . . . I have been asked to be a permanent member of the Hanna Stamps design team! I am so excited because the girls on the team are so talented and I feel like I can learn a lot from seeing their work. Plus, Hanna Stamps is a company that is FABULOUS! The stamps are gorgeous, Kristi is sweet and awesome and even leaves comments on all the cards I make with the Hanna's (isn't that awesome for an owner to do?? I know she has a busy schedule and it is sweet for her to take the time). For now, I anxiously await the mailman daily, new stuff should be coming to my mail box soon. Be sure to check back here on my blog to see previews of the new Hanna stuff.

Also, this FRIDAY -- 5 new sets will be released. You have got to head on over and check those out. Oh and another cool thing -- Kristi is now selling copic ciao markers on her site, and I just love how they are arranged. I think I am going to get some as soon as my budget allows me. I have wanted them for a long time but always felt a little intimidated not knowing which colors to buy, but the guesswork is all gone, you can just buy them by the season -- YAY! Those are available now, so if you have been fence sitting, at least go check out what is there . . .

And now to my Hanna Challenge card *Challenge #7* -- in the forum on SCS, this challenge was posted and can I just say these were the hardest colors ever for me!!! I placed my emphasis on the ballet blue, my favorite color of the three, and then worked on working the other two in. Please pardon my faux pas on the card of using two different plaids together. I noticed this after I finished and was tempted to change the ribbon to a solid, but just left it. Hope you like it anyway. Image was colored using prismacolors and gamsol. The hardest part of the challenge was to add bling, but I managed to add some waterfall colored stickles on the dress and slippers, as well as the little blue crystal brad circles around the sentiment. Stitching was done on my sewing machine, I was lucky enough to have this thread that matched perfectly!!! Hope you like the final result!

Stamps: Hanna Stamps Domestic Goddess Paper: Ballet Blue, More Mustard Garden Green, Whisper White, scrap green plaid (Paper Pizazz HOTP-20236) Ink: Timber Brown Staz On, Garden Green Accessories: Sponges, SU Rhinestone Brads (Ice Circles), green gingham, waterfall stickles, sewing machine, primsacolor pencils and gamsol

Friday, March 07, 2008

Bloggers Challenge Week 37

I have seriously felt awful lately for slacking so bad on this group. I was sick and then life was just getting in the way of my stamping -- but I did do the challenge for this week and since today is still Friday, I did it on time *smiles*

I did not really branch out too far -- well, I did, but trust me, after the first card I tried in a circle made it into the trash bin, I decided to try a square. We were supposed to make a card any shape besides a rectangle. I made a square -- but for me that is WAY different because I usually stick to normal card size . . . I like how it turned out even too! My card is 4.25 x 4.25 so it will still fit in a normal card size envelope.

Hope you will take the time to check out some of the other cards that the girls in the bloggers challenge group have done. They are super awesome this week. Their links are on the right hand side and there are lots of them . . . so get busy . . .

Stamps: Sentiment by River City Rubber Works, Chicks from Eggstra Special Easter by My Favorite Things. Paper: Pale plum, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White, DCWV designer paper. Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Timber Brown Staz On, Pink Passion (from the lid of the ink pad to color the chicks) Accessories: Singer sewing machine, silver brads, Marvy Uchida Scallop Punches in Mega and Giga, Purple gingham ribbon.



Thursday, March 06, 2008

MFGD04 - Wanna Be My Neighbor?

WARNING: No animals were harmed in the making of this project, however, some Hershey Caramel Sticks may have been. *smiles* They were just too yummy to resist. And besides, they are only 60 calories each . . . hello, that rocks!!!

Ever since I saw the tutorial on SCS to make these cute little door/bottle hangers -- I wanted to make one of my own and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make one. I figured I could put it on my neighbors door . . . but wait - only one neighbor has moved in and the other house still remains empty. *sigh* I am starting to wonder if the deal did not work out or something and maybe I am never going to get a neighbor on that side . . . wanna be my neighbor???? I promise to hang cute treats on your door from time to time . . .

I took this paper on Rose Red cardstock (not sure what happened at the bottom of the photo). I wanted you to be able to see the box, since I made it white. I am really happy with how it turned out, but seriously sometimes I just feel like why even bother uploading to these contests because there is SO much amazing talent and creativity out there that I don't even stand a chance. Bunny is from Eggstra Special Easter set by My Favorite Things. Don't you think his little bunny tail is just too cute though . . .

Stamps: Eggstra Special Easter Paper: Whisper White, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Cupcake Sweet Stripes by Doodlebug. Ink: Timber Brown Staz On, Regal Rose, Close to Cocoa Accessories: Prima Flowers, Mounting tape (to pop up bunny image and add depth to layers), white flocked brad (for the tail) by The Paper Studio, Chocolate brown brads, Marvy Uchida scallop punch in Mega size, blue circle punch, white gelly roll pen, sponges, cropodile, chocolate grosgrain, aquapainter.

First Official MFT Swap on SCS

I was lucky enough to be in the forum for the last release -- although I missed the party this time. Darn getting sleepy at 8 pm -- apparently I am not quite better yet -- I had big plans to watch a movie last night too and after I got the kids into bed I just crashed!!! Anyway, I signed up for the first official swap and these are the two cards I came up with (cannot wait to see what everyone else came up with - I used the same set for both my cards with quite different results):

Happy Easter Bunny by Amanda Sewell

Stamps: Eggstra Special Easter Ink: Staz On Timber Brown, Close to Cocoa, Pixie Pink Paper: Close to Cocoa, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink, Whisper White, Pebbles Inc – My Girl Stripe Accessories: Prima Flower of the Month – August Gladiolus, Singer Sewing machine, Pop dots, pretty in pink brads, glue dots, cocoa grosgrain ribbon, aquapainter

Sketch 11 – Hey Chick by Amanda Sewell

Stamps: Eggstra Special Easter Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink, cameo coral, soft sky, lavender lace, barely banana Paper: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Barely Banana, Lavendar Lace Accessories: Luminarte Twinkling H2O’s, SU scallop Punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, white gelly roll pen, aquapainter, crimper, singer sewing machine, purple dotted organdy ribbon

Special thank to Karen (gamblemom) for sending me these scallop punched pieces in lavender lace -- I have not purchased that punch yet, and thought it would be perfect for this card and it was! I appreciate your friendship Karen!



Wednesday, March 05, 2008

What's For Dinner Wednesday - BAKED Ravioli

I made baked ravioli and it was super easy! The tomato sauce was very tomato -- WAY better than a jar and tasted authentic italian more -- kind of like what you would get at Bucca di Beppo! YUM!!! This recipe came from a book I have called Everyday Food - Fresh Food Fast by the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living. I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we did! The pan was empty at the end of the meal and everyone ate till they were stuffed -- always a good sign!!!

Oh and sorry there is no picture but I did not think about it until the end when the pan was empty, I will be sure to add one next time we make it because there will be a next time with this recipe! It is great!!!

Baked Ravioli
Serves 4-6

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped (tip, buy frozen chopped onion -- fast and easy)
3 cloves garlic, minced
coarse salt and fresh pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme or oregano (we use oregano)
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 cans (14. oz) diced tomatoes (they used whole tomatoes and then smashed them with a spoon and I thought this would be easier and just as good and it was.)
2 lbs ravioli (we used cheese ones- frozen)
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme (or oregano) and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon (or not in our case), until the sauce is thickened and reduced (20-25 minutes).

Meanwhile, cook the ravioli in a large pot of boiling water just until they float to the top. Drain the pasta and return it to pot.

Toss the sauce with the pasta. Pour the pasta into a large gratin dish, or 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving! ENJOY!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Very Cherry Cupcakes

I have been sick, (awful cold and cough and I am still coughing but it seems to be getting better) and trying to catch up and last week it seemed like we had play dates out the wazoo, which I totally needed to do because my kids needed out of the house, but I am feeling so behind on my stamping.

I did manage to complete some swaps that have to be postmarked this week (for the 1st Official MFT Swap), last night, so that is something at least. I fully intend to photograph those tonight and post them soon. Anyway, today after church J wanted me to make cupcakes, and since I haven't done any in a long time, I made some. I iced them with just an icing knife (sweet and simple) and added a cherry on top! The recipe made nice light and fluffy cupcakes but I would have liked a little more cherry flavor and I think I would add some cherries into the batter next time too! M took a picture of me while I was baking . . . *giggles*