PREVIEW: Fun In the Sun II

Wednesday ALREADY??? Yikes, time is just flying by -- good because the new release of Hanna Stamps and the Release Party are tomorrow!!!! YAY!

On to today's card -- Poor Hanna, sand on the towel is the worst, so she must shake it out so she can relax on the beach! Her arm just kind of looked like that is what she could be doing, so I went with it. Maybe I have been sniffing too much solvent. *giggles*

I had fun with paper piecing on this one - on both her bikini and the towel. I wish you could see the stripes more on the background, but when I put it all together, that is not how things worked out.

I made her goggles using a couple of clear dew drops. Hanna is colored using prismacolor pencils and sansodor. I have had a couple of you ask what this is . . . it is "low odour solvent for oil color" - Product Made by Windsor & Newton. It is a blending medium similar to gamsol, which blends the colored pencil together to create a smooth finish. It also allows you to shade nicely. Are you getting excited for the release party yet? Have you completed your color challenge early so you have a chance to win a free Hanna set??? There are two regular size sets and two mini sets this release, so it is a great time to win-- Lots to choose from!

Stamps: Hanna Fun in the Sun Paper: Prism Vibrant Pink, Iced Azalea, SU Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, DCWV Pink Stripe (OS-003-00076) Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink Accessories: Clear Dew Drops by The Robin's Nest, Prismacolor Pencils, Sansodor, Blending Stumps, White brads, Singer Sewing Machine, brown thread.

What's For Dinner Wednesday - Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

This recipe is so easy and so GOOD! I found it browsing allrecipes.com one day and decided to try it out.

It has been so long since I have done a recipe. I am sorry for slacking, but I hope because I posted a picture, that will make up for it *crosses fingers* This is a picture of the rolls assembled before I poured the additional sauce over the top and put the mozzarella cheese on top. I hope you will take a chance on it. I also tried making this with ground turkey crumbles and normal marinara sauce and it turned out well that way too . . .

INGREDIENTS:

8 lasagna noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
21 ounces Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Rinse in cold water and drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan over medium heat add oil and cook broccoli or spinach and green onions until tender, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat and stir in ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt and egg.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Place noodles in a single layer on a sheet of waxed paper. Evenly spread some of the cheese mixture on each noodle. Roll up each noodle from the short end, jelly-roll style.
5. In a 8x12 inch baking dish, spoon about 3/4 of the Alfredo sauce on the bottom and spread evenly. Arrange the rolled noodles, seam side down, in the dish. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce. Cover loosely with foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted. Serve.

PREVIEW: Garden (Hanna Stamps)

From the blog of Hanna Stamps: (http://kreationsbykrissy.com/)

WANNA WIN A FREE STAMP SET?????

Hey everyone, want to do a fun Challenge and have a chance to win a FREE Hanna Stamp Set? I challenged the Hanna Design Team to do a Color Challenge, they are going to make a card using Prism Paper, and one of the new stamps sets that will be released Thursday Evening.

Crab Apple Light (Pretty In Pink)

Vibrant Teal (Tempting Turquoise)

Rose Dark (Rose Red)

So, my Challenge to you is to make a card using these colors or colors that are similar, and your favorite Hanna or Riley Stamps. Everyone who takes part in this challenge will have a chance to win one of the New Hanna Stamp Sets released Thursday Evening. --Please have your card uploaded by Thursday Evening 7 p.m. EST. We will draw a name and announce the winner Thursday Evening May 1 st. during the release party. Party is 9pm EST.

Key Word "PrismHSCC"

PrismHSCC Gallery

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Since the design team was issued this challenge earlier -- here is my card for the challenge. It uses one of the new Hanna sets available this Thursday night at midnight -- Garden. I am just loving all the new Hanna's and pairing them with PRISM papers has been fun! Prism papers are just wonderful! I love how they are textured on one side and flat on the other. I saw a sample of their paper in a recent magazine I purchased and it is seriously amazing (coming from a former SU! only girl on card stock).

I sponged the edges of my white primas to create a different look using pretty in pink ink and a little blush blossom ink. In the center of the flowers are some of the gorgeous sparkly brads that I picked up at Hobby Lobby the other day -- they are so shimmery and pretty and I just had to have them. You can see better detail of them in the close up shot. I laid the oval on an angle (saw this in a sketch challenge once and thought I would use the idea here). I pierced the edges and used my white gelly roll pen around the piercings. I machined sewed the edges of the card. Sentiment comes from a Papertrey Ink set -- I really love how you can bend acrylic -- I did that with this sentiment to make it fit the slope of the oval better and I think it looks just right. Layout was inspired by SC173 on Splitcoaststampers.

Hope you will take some time and participate in this challenge. It is a random drawing from the entries, so you don't have to feel overwhelmed by other people who are participating whom you may deem more talented than you! I think it is super fair this way and fun for all.

Stamps: Garden (Hanna Stamps), Little Lady (Papertrey Ink) Paper: SU Whisper White, Prism Crab Apple Light, Vibrant Teal and Rose Dark Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom Accessories: Prima Flowers (Assorted Styles, Sizes and Colors), black brad, shimmery white brads (Hobby Lobby), Nestabilities Oval Set, CuttleBug, Silver Prismacolor Pencil, White gelly roll pen, Singer Sewing Machine and white thread, White sheer dotted organdy ribbon.

PREVIEW: Fun in the Sun Hanna

This is such a fun set. I giggle every time my daughter refers to it cause she calls it "kini Hanna" -- I have had so much fun stamping with it. And the best news of the day is that on Thursday night we are going to have a RELEASE PARTY in the Hanna Stamps Forum on Splitcoaststampers and YOU ARE INVITED!!! I hope you can be there because at the end of all the chatter, giggles and stamping, you can purchase this and some other awesome sets that I will show you samples from all this week! YAY!!! Even if you don't own any Hanna's or Riley's or Sophie's yet, come play with us and find out what it's all about!!! I bet you'll have a blast if you do.

This Hanna was colored for my daughter, she said she wanted her to have a purple kini, so I did it. I tried lots of new things on this card -- I did some paper tole, I popped up her face, and parts of the boom box. I used silver leafing pen on the boom box to make it metallic (although this week at the store I found a silver prismacolor pencil, so I will be using that method from now on since it is WAY easier and less goopy -- much simpler to do details).

Hanna was colored using prismacolor pencils and sansodor. The pink paper, you may have noticed, is not an SU color -- it is from Prism Papers and the color is called "Frosted Azalea." Super pretty color! The "Let's Party" sentiment came from a small stamp set I bought in Michael's dollar acrylic stamps bin. I layered it on a circle of lovely lilac and added a stripe to mimic the stripe in her bikini. I added glitter on her sunglasses and a bow in her hair to hold her pony tail because she is a girlie girl! I thought her pose looked like she was dancing on the beach, so I went with that -- groovy! Hope you like her!!!

Hanna Stamps Passport

I don't know if you have seen this adorable set yet, but Hanna is traveling! I meant to post these sooner, but you know how life goes. This set was recently released by Hanna Stamps (April 4th, 2008), so it is still relatively fresh and new. I had so much fun creating with this set and thought I would share . . .

This first one I just love. I found the paper at JoAnn's and thought it would be perfect for a travel theme. The flowers were in my Prima collection and just happened to match perfectly. I put a dew drop in the center of each flower -- some from the sunflower set I have and the other is just clear. Hanna was colored to match the map paper. I sponged the edges of the paper the image was on to give it a worn feel. I stitched along the edges of the card as well as the sentiment, to make it all coherent . . . I think it turned out pretty well! Card measures 5 1/4 by 5 1/4.






This second card did not turn out quite like I envisioned it. But I still think it works. I wanted to use all the little stamps that came with the travel set to create the background. I colored them all in with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. Hanna was also colored with prismas. I masked the rest of the "Don't Forget" sentiment and hand wrote in wear sunscreen -- I thought that would work for a beach vacation. The polka dot ribbon on the bottom was an afterthought, but I think it works with the bright prima flower. I like the layout on this one . . .

Hanna Stamps - Getting Physical

Better late than never, I made this one early last week for Cami's HSC13 - which I totally meant to post last Friday, but then I forgot because we were rushed to leave for Disneyland.

Anyway, here she is wearing her oh so cute polka dotted shorts, in pink. I thought the flowers in the corners matched perfectly! I love the pink and brown together. The ribbon is some chocolate sheer polka dotted organdy that I had in my stash. The sentiment was created on my computer using a Stampin' Up font. I thought this card would be perfect to give to a girlfriend who had lost some weight, cause we all know we are always trying to lose a few pounds and how cool would it be to get this kind of motivational support *grins*

Playing Catch Up

Sorry I have been MIA for well over a week. Seriously, where did the month of April go???? With preparations for Stamp Mania 5 and the mayhem that I normally just call life, things have been hectic, but now, I am back. I managed to take a few pictures at Stamp Mania - so that is fun. Oh and my DH managed to deal with our kids at Disneyland for a whole day on his own *seriously impressed* I have been working on some Hanna stuff to share with you too. Can you believe the next release is getting so close already? Time seriously flies! WOW! You will just love these ones -- I know it. Anyway, stick around this week, I promise to post a little more than the past couple weeks. Hehehe! On to the marathon post:

SOCAL STAMP MANIA 5

What can I say about this -- I had SO much fun! Jami, Joy, and Emily always do such an amazing job running things smoothly and efficiently. Seriously, they are an impressive team. It was awesome to see everyone I met last year again. It was so cool that two of my Hanna stamps girls were there -- LeAnn and Beth :) The projects were all amazing and I actually got them all done in the time allowed. I also WON the most amazing sponsor prize from Daisy at Eclectic Paperie -- they are these gorgeous mini rubber romance Divas -- seriously so cute!!! Thanks Daisy! The door prize I got was super fun and useful -- I got a set of clipboards from Amy (amyroo). Thanks sweetie pie! YAY! Okay, on to the pictures . . .

Denier, Emily and Me


Denier, Me, Aubrey


Taylor and Me


Me, Beth, LeAnn


Leslie B and Me

Rochelle and Me

MY SWAP FOR SCSM:

Has bliss chocolates in the bag at the bottom -- they even matched. *grins* This idea was taken from the SU catalog -- I updated it a little to add the One of a Kind set and to do it in prettier colors. I think it turned out fun and was challenging :) I hope all the swappers liked it -- they seemed to.

Close Up of Mini Card

MY DOOR PRIZE I MADE:

I totally copied this idea from Jody (texasjodylynn). She had it on her blog the other day and I fell in love with it. This picture was taken by Valerie (thumbunny) -- thanks so much because I neglected to take a picture of my own before I dropped it off at the door prize table and then handed it out. The cards are a set of four, two are different than this one, and they are blank inside. There is also another little seed pot, and a little 2,4,6,8 Box of chocolates in the back of the little garden box that you cannot see. I had tons of fun creating this. This door prize also qualifies for this past weeks Bloggers Challenge -- which was to use chipboard. I used chipboard flowers on the top of each of the little pots -- covered with designer paper. YAY!

DISNEYLAND/DISNEY's CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

We met my BIL and some of his kids there Friday night to play. It was a lot of fun for E to get to play with her cousins. It was also cool to do some things we had never done before in California Adventure. We discovered E was now 40 inches tall and could ride some of the bigger kid rides. We had lots of fun.

I met my family at about 6 pm on Saturday after Stamp Mania and we played until park close basically. We got to see Fantasmic with a pretty awesome place to stand. E got to go on Splash Mountain for the first time -- she got a little wet, but liked it. E also got to try out Thunder Mountain Railroad for the first time and liked it a lot. On the way to the parking garage, one of the tram workers gave E a Tinkerbell collector pin -- it is just so cute!

On King Tritons Carousel - J and his cousin Alyssa


DH and his redheaded brother Brian -- and J squirming


Waiting for the Pixar Play Parade to begin


E's first time on Jumping Jellyfish -- she finally reached 40 inches tall

Hope you had fun coming on my Southern California vacation. I am so glad that we bought Disney passes a few months ago -- they are so much fun! I just love it there and after all, why wouldn't I? It is the happiest place on earth!

Our weekend

I wanted to post some pictures from this past weekend -- On Saturday M and the kids worked on the play ground that they are building in the back yard. Things are coming right along. I am hopeful that they get it finished this weekend. Then we can work on landscaping my backyard around the sand box and play area. Hooray!

Then on Sunday, J and I made chocolate chip coconut cookies. He really wanted cookies and I wasn't feeling amazing and was skipping church and the two combined into making cookies for him. You know what? They did actually make me feel a bit better -- soon this cold will go away. *sniff sniff* Anyway, I let J hold the mixer all by himself (against my better judgment) and took a couple pictures, I had to share my favorite. We had so much fun together!

Artful Inkables Darling Dragons

Do you have this set yet? If not, I thought I would post a card or two and hopefully make you want it. It really is a fun one. If my cards just don't do it, go check out the gallery at Artful Inkables.

Stamps: Artful Inkables - Darling Dragons Paper: Ballet Blue, Lovely Lilac, Basic Grey, Paper Pizazz Designer Paper - Purple Sponged Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink Accessories: Lilac grosgrain ribbon, waterfall stickles (over the ballet blue paper), prismacolor pencils and sansodor (like gamsol), corner punch, paper piercing tool, sewing machine, Marvy scallop punch, foam mounting tape (oval is popped up using this).






I used SC154 on Splitcoast for the layout for this card! Mine is a little different, but pretty close. This is another case where my SU paper colors did not have a color to match the designer paper I wanted to use -- so I turned to my PRISM stash and found this color called Classic Yellowgreen (NEW!) and it was perfect! I love how my PRISM colors supplement my SU colors perfectly!!! Sorry about the softness of the image on this one.

Stamps: Artful Inkables Darling Dragons Paper: Fancy Pants Designs - Fancy Free Collection - Puddles, Prism Classic Yellowgreen, Real Red, Whisper White Ink: Memories Black Dye Ink Accessories: SU oval punches, red gingham ribbon (SU!), Sewing machine, SU fire and ice brads in red, prismacolor pencils and sansodor.