Check This Out!

Melissa at Create From the Heart is having a great 3rd blogaversary giveaway! You have until July 24 to enter.

Fruity!

I have a table full of fruit, thanks to Bountiful Baskets. I had not tried sugar (or donut) peaches before. I now regret that I haven't tried them sooner. I was hoping to freeze some, but I'm not sure they will last that long. All this fruit makes me smile!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.2

My First Friends With Flair!

Pebbles patterned paper, American Crafts cardstock, Unity stamp from Adventures in Happiness, everything else is unlabeled stuff from my stash.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

I finally decided to join Unity's Friends With Flair. So, I threw together a graduation card. I can't believe that I have 4 graduation cards to make this year! I guess that number is only going to increase each year now that we have a child in high school. After I made the card, I realized that I have no clue where my camera is. I've been cleaning in our office, and I think I put it in a safe place. It's so safe, that I don't remember, LOL! So, the photo was made with my phone. (I know...it's embarassing!) Since I've cleaned off my desk, I've been enjoying my sewing machine again. So much so, that it seems nothing looks "finished" without sewing. I really like how the card turned out, and I think my friend's daughter will enjoy it since her favorite color is pink. Now, I need to go make 3 more! Check out Unity's blog for more Friends With Flair and a chance to win some Unity stamps!



Homemade Embellishments

So, the Counterfeit Kit Challenge has inspired me to make some of my own embellishments. The CKC blog has posted several tutorials. First up, I tried making the watermelons. They were really easy since I used my Cricut to cut out all the circles. The seeds on the watermelon "flower" were made using the bird punch from Stampin' Up (they are the leaves from the branch). I used the Cricut once again to cut letters from printed cardstock. The Cricut is a great tool for making embellishments! I didn't even come close to utilizing it to its potential!

Next, I tried making my own Baker's Twine from crochet thread and markers. I had a really difficult time getting the color even. While this would work, my perfectionism will have me ordering the real stuff once I use up what I've made.

I also had mixed results making my own washi tape. I think it was more of a trial and error to find out what works on different types of tape. The paper tape was my favorite. It took color better and dried faster. The masking tape was more difficult to color and took longer to dry. It was a good project to work on while I was watching TV. Since neither of these are acid free, I'll only be using this on cards and altered items.

So, I think that fabric buttons may be my new addiction. I used a gift card to buy a few supplies. I decided to buy some white patterned fabric. I tested dying the fabric and was happy to discover that the pattern became more pronounced! I used spray mists (from Maya Road and Tattered Angels). I also used ink pads to color the fabric after I had dampened it. I'm excited that the few scraps of fabric that I purchased will be able to work on a variety of projects since I can use supplies I already have to dye it the desired color!

It definitely saves money to make my own embellishments, which leave me money for more paper! So, that definitely makes me happy!

May Counterfeit Kit

So, I spent most of National Scrapbook Day getting my May Counterfeit Kit together. Well, really I didn't spend most of the day, I just spent most of my crafty time. I didn't put in very many embellishments. I figure that I can grab what I need as I'm doing projects. I did try to pull out of couple of things that have been in my stash for quite a while: Li'l David Journaling Pockets and Bazzill coin envelopes and fabric brads. Other embellishments include Echo Park Alphabet Stickers and Journaling Cards, Autumn Leave and Oriental Trading Company stamps, Crafter's Square flowers and trims (from the Dollar Tree), and some shipping tags.

I was happy that this month's inspiration kit was smaller. I think it's just the right size for me since it seems that my monthly page totals can be counted with my fingers. I chose quite a mix of patterned papers from GCD, My Mind's Eye, Basic Grey, Echo Park, Doodlebug, and Club Scrap. I made one sheet of patterned paper (the wavy one inspired by the Basic Grey paper in the inspiration kit). The cardstock is American Crafts and Prism (still working on using up what I have left of that).

I'm hoping to have time this weekend to start using the kit. I'd like to try some of the challenges that I saw posted last weekend. I saw a few that will stretch my creativity. In the meantime, I have been trying out making some of my own embellishments, so I will be posting about that sometime soon!

Game Night

I have another layout that I did as part of the Counterfeit Kit Mini Challenge. My inspiration came from Jessica. It was a quick and easy layout to put together. These days, I need quick and easy! I made the photo corners from a square frame that I cut in half.

Supplies used: American Crafts cardstock, Paper Studio patterned paper, Doodlebug and Bo Bunny alphabet stickers, misc. buttons, ribbon, and bling.

Armpit Acres

Armpit Acres is the name of my Dad's "little patch of heaven"--about 25 acres that he calls home. It's a very different from the city life that my children are accustomed to. When we visited last summer, I decided to take some photos of the area.

This layout is for a challenge on the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog. The challenge was to get inspiration from one of the design team members. So much inspiration available, but I chose Melissa. I really liked how she included 5 photos without the layout seeming crowded. I also liked that I could make a whole layout and not use a whole lot of patterned paper (even though I'm nowhere close to using all the paper in my kit). I used minimal embellishments because I really wanted to photos to stand out. The butterfly was made by stamping on a transparency and then using Stickles for the glitter (thanks to the tutorial posted on CKC earlier this month).

Most products were from my own Counterfeit Kit: American Crafts cardstock, Basic Grey patterned paper, We R Memory Keepers and Bo Bunny stickers, Prima flower, Close To My Heart, Bo Bunny, and Unity stamps, Stickles, Colorbox ink, and  misc. button and ricrac.

Ewe Are Loved

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3



I guess I left my camera in the car that my husband took to work. At least I hope it's there because the alternative would be that I left it in Phoenix. Anyway, I had to use my phone to take this photo so I could get this posted today. I used some SVG files from Lettering Delights. I got the directions for this treat tube from Split Coast Stampers. I used my Counterfeit Kit again too!

Supplies used: My Mind's Eye, Basic Grey, Piggy Tales patterned papers; American Crafts cardstock; Colorbox Ink; Tim Holtz embossing folder; Lettering Delights Pucker Up (sun), Love Pets (sheep), and Accordion Fold Flowers (grass); and misc. ribbon.

Challenging!

So I thought making my own Counterfeit Kit was a challenge until I tried using the kit. Then, I found using my own kit to be a challenge! It really wasn't too bad, I just had to control myself when I wanted to stray from the kit too much. I am pleased with how it turned out, so all's well that ends well!

Products used: My Mind's Eye patterned paper, Cosmo Cricket journaling card, American Crafts cardstock, Fancy Pants (I think) chipboard, Heidi Swapp stamp, Colorbox ink, Tattered Angels glimmer mist, Pebbles acrylic paint, misc. buttons and ribbon.

April Counterfeit Kit

So, it's taken me 3 days, but I finally got a kit together for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge. This month's inspiration can be seen at Front Porch Kits. I actually have some of that Echo Park paper sitting in an online shopping cart, and while it was tempting to pay for it and wait on it, the idea of a counterfeit kit is to use what I already have. So, it's still sitting in the shopping cart (yay me!).

My kit:

Papers are from My Mind's Eye, DCWV, Cosmo Cricket, The Paper Studio, Basic Grey, and Club Scrap (that has probably been in my stash 5 years); American Crafts and Basic Grey cardstock; misc. ribbons, flowers, buttons, and chipboard; stamps from Unity, American Crafts, Fancy Pants, and Close to My Heart; Stampin' Up bird punch. I added in some chipboard that I can cut into any other shapes that I might need. I forgot to pull out my stickles before I took the photo, but I'm sure I'll be using them. I haven't found anything to replace Hank the Plank, but later I might add something to alter.

Once I clean up my mess, I'll be ready to create!

A Quick Challenge

I made a quick card for a challenge at Crazy About Cricut . The paper is Doodlebug, the cardstock is American Crafts. I don't remember where the flower came from, but I have a whole stack of them and have only used this one! Feels good to be using what I have!

Two in one week....no fooling!

I can't remember the last time I actually completed two layouts in one week! Thanks to sketches and challenges I'm getting back on track! I had everything all glued down and decided I couldn't handle all the white, so I pulled out the glimmer mist! I just used some scrap paper to mask out the photos while I was spraying. By the way, this another challenge completed at the last minute. Thanks to
Paper Patch Crafts for the inspiration!

Products used: Dream Street and Doodlebug patterned papers (both from my scrap pile), BoBunny and CTMH stamps, Tim Holtz tickets, Prima  paper flowers, Tattered Angels glimmer mist, everything else is misc. stuff from my stash.

Last minute and beyond...

Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?

I decided to use the sketch posted at UmWowStudio to jump start my layouts again. It's been so long since I've done any layouts! It was nice to finally get one in the book. However, the challenge ends tonight, and here it is just after 9 pm PST before I'm getting anything posted! The pattern down the side was made with white ink and bubble wrap. What a fun technique!

All products used were from my stash: Pebbles patterned paper, American Crafts cardstock, Making Memories glitter alpha stickers, Studio G white ink, Heidi Swapp arrow, Fiskars border punch, Creative Memories journaling block, misc. ribbon.

Anniversary card

My husband appreciates a humorous card more than a serious one. And, since I did a more serious one for Valentine's day, I decided to search the internet for a funny quote. I found one that I thought he would truly appreciate. It's a simple card, but he doesn't care how intricate it is, so it's perfect for him. He enjoyed it, and I think that laughing together helped us stay together 15 years!

Cheesy Garlic Rolls

The girls and I are making spaghetti for dinner. My family thinks that you can't have spaghetti without garlic. So, we are baking these:

 The recipe is from Our Best Bites which happens to be a favorite of mine! I even used white whole wheat and they still turned out great!

Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls

Recipe by Our Best Bites

French Bread Dough:
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4-5 1/2 c. flour
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg yolk

Garlic Butter:
1/2 c. (1 stick) of real butter, no substitutions
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning (Recipe follows)

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine yeast, water, and sugar in large mixing bowl and allow to stand 10 minutes or until bubbly. Add salt, vegetable oil, and egg yolk (set white aside for later) and combine. Add 3 c. flour and mix well until combined. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that barely sticks to your finger. Knead, either by hand or in mixer (my personal and very lazy choice) for another 2-3 minutes. Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.

While dough is rising, combine butter and garlic bread seasoning. Set aside.

Now…here’s a little trick I’ve been using a lot lately. If you spray a little non-stick cooking spray on your work surface and your rolling pin, your dough won’t stick and clean-up is super easy!

Anyway, roll your rough into a rectangle that’s about 18-20 inches by 6 inches. Smear garlic butter over the entire surface of the dough and then sprinkle with cheese.

Roll up jelly-roll style and then use dental floss to cut into 12 equal slices. Place each slice in a muffin tin. Cover with a clean cloth. Preheat oven to 350 and allow rolls to rise while the oven is heating.

When the oven is ready, bake for 18-22 minutes.

You’re going to need to keep a CLOSE eye on these puppies during the last 10 minutes or so–once you notice the cheese getting brown, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the rolls (you don’t need to press it down or anything, just lay it on top). This will keep the cheese from burning, although it will get pretty brown on top. It’s okay, though, because the insides are still all ooey-gooey.

Garlic Bread Seasoning

Recipe from Our Best Bites

1/2 c. powdered Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. marjoram
2 tsp. parsley

Combine ingredients in a jar (preferably one with a sprinkle top) and shake. Sprinkle on top of breadsticks or combine 1 1/2 Tbsp. seasoning with 1/2 c. of softened real butter and spread on a loaf of French bread (cut in 1/2 lengthwise). Wrap in foil and bake at 375 until butter's melted. If you want, you could also pop it open-faced under the broiler for a few minutes so it gets brownish and crispy.