Martha Stewart in the house!

Well, not exactly, just me, getting all Martha Stewarty!  I was busy making decorations for our annual Halloween Party.  I did a search on my computer for "free vintage potion labels."  After they were printed and adhered to my wine bottles I decided that wasn't enough.  Soooo, I got out my Tim Holtz Distress Inks and got all inky!  Used some Distress Stickles as well, unfortunately, the Stickles probably won't show up until it gets dark and the light reflects off the bottles.

So much fun, no rules, just mix it up and distress away.  When I say "distress away" I mean "de-stress away" since I should be working on my make and takes for The Scrapbook Store Grand Opening tomorrow. Can't wait!

Simply Art

Cheryl, Sherry and I had signed up for a class over a month ago and Saturday was the big day!  Oh my...I LOVED it!  The class was taught by Wendy Vecchi, and talk about thinking outside the box!  It was a little 4" x 4" art book made out of grunge board, grunge paper, lots of inks, stamps, stickles and more.  The class was 4 hours and took me every bit of that time to finish this little work of art.  Our fingers and Cheryl's clothes (that's what happens when you drop an ink pad, ink side down, in your lap)  were a mess but by Sunday I had got them clean, my fingers, don't know about Cheryl's outfit!

Yes, that is a "snap" you see in the picture above.  Evidently This was part of a line by Tim Holtz that is no longer on the market.  Who would have thought!  I think I'm going to buy some snaps now and Sherry came up with a great idea...color them with markers!

Have you ever worked with gunge board or paper?  Can I just say it stinks!  Stinks, as in, smells really bad.  I guess it is supposed to smell like leather, I disagree.  But, oh how I love this little book!

Enjoy!

Yummy!

I have my favorite blogs I read everyday...some of them don't have anything to do with scrapbooking, believe it or not!  So one morning I came across this recipe, http://picky-palate.com/2008/10/06/famous-gourmet-mac-and-cheese-artisanal/, and thought I would give it a try.  Paul is pretty picky about his mac & cheese, doesn't really like too many of the "homemade" kind, if you know what I mean.   Sooo, I tried it and it is a "keeper."  A "keeper" in our house refers to new recipes that we love, so I thought I would share.  I substituted twists for the elbow macaroni and I also added some chicken that I browned in olive and a little white truffle oil.  Maybe it will be your next "keeper!"

Pictures didn't turn out that great, but I actually had my fork in my hand when I remembered I wanted to take a picture, you know, just in case!  Now stop reading, run, don't walk, to the market to get all the fixins'.

It's been so long, maybe I should introduce myself!

When I first started this blog I was so darn excited, I knew I had enough stuff to update everyday.  Well, I probably do have enough stuff to post, I just have been running out of time to post.  When I do have a moment, usually in the evening, I seem to think Big Brother or anything on Bravo takes priority.  Anyhow, over this past weekend, Paul and Brad participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk.  I am so proud of them...60 miles in three days...I'm not sure I could walk 6 miles in three days!  The training, raising $2,300 EACH, the blisters, it takes dedication.   This picture was taken at 5:30 AM before the opening ceremony on Friday, the first day of the walk.

The grandkids had a great time at one of the cheering sections on Saturday.  Here is a cutie patootie picture of Sophie, right before she bit another child.  Yep, that's right, can you believe anything this cute would actually bite?

Yep, this might have been the biting face!

And Jacob did an outstanding job of handing out candy as the walkers passed by.  I didn't think he would actually do it, but he stood there with another little girl handing out stickers, for quite a long time! I was just so proud of everyone!

Cards!

I am busy getting ready for Summer CHA with Bella Blvd, but I did manage to sneak in a few projects for Creative Charms this week.  These two cards are posted on their blog today.  Enjoy!

Creative Charms July Deal of Month

July's Summer Deal is 70% Off

• Green & White Fancy Polka Dot Ribbon (18")
• Green Pure Blossom (9 pcs)
• Green Gradient Gem Stickers (76 pcs)
• Orange Spring Medley (20 pcs)
• Orange Sunburst Daisy (5 pcs)
• Orange Groovy Petals (4 pcs)
• Amber & Green Gem Brads (12 pcs)
• Summer Medley (21 pcs)
• Assorted Summer & Beach Brads (19 pcs)

Check it out here and get yours today for only $6.99. Supplies are limited. 

June Deal of the Month

There is is still a couple of days to get this great deal over at

Creative Charms!

All this scrappy goodness for only $6.99.  Included in the June deal:

Sweet Tooth Felt Stickers & Epoxy Brads (12)

Sweet Tooth Epoxy Stickers (18)

Assorted Strawberries (4)

Spring Bouquet Felt Garden Medley (6)

Red Gradient Gem Sticker (76)

Red Gem Brads assorted sizes (12)

Red Gem Garden (12)

Birthday & Balloons Brads assorted (6)

Red Jumbo Polka Dot Brads (4)

Red Fancy Polka Dot Ribbon (1 yard)

Happy Father's Day

...a little late.  Didn't get a chance to post these yesterday.  We spent the day over at the kid's house and we were gone much longer than I expected.  What a fun day it was!  Happy belated Father's Day to all the dads out there!

This is a card I did for the Bella Blvd blog.  It was a lot of fun to make.  I got the washer's at Farm & Fleet...funny story...Paul loves to go to F & F, me, not so much.  Therefore, I have made a game out of it, while he is shopping I walk around to find something I can use for scrapbooking.  This has made our trips much more enjoyable.  Soooo, you will see I found my first purchase, washers, being used on this card.  I hope you find some inspiration and enjoy!

Creative Charms CHA Sneak Peek

Check out the Creative Charms blog today for a CHA summer sneak peek.  The kit is for October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I have a couple of sneak-sneak peeks, but if you want to see the full projects, hop on over to Creative Charms and take a look!  

I'm still here!

Just wanted to post the two cards I had on the Creative Charms blog.  There is still time to get this great deal, check it out here.

Here is the first card...

and the other...

Thanks for looking!  Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Creative Charms Deal of the Month for May

Creative Charms has recently introduce a "Deal of the Month."  I was able to kick off the very first one for the month of May, you can see it all on the Designers Blog.  I have included a few sneak peeks.

and

Be sure to stop by and I would love a comment!  Thanks!

Bella Blvd and Helmar Project

The Bella Blvd and Helmar Design Teams partnered for National Scrapbooking Week! Products were exchanged and the Artistas went to work.  I made a card with lots of dimension, love cards that are lumpy and bumpy.  Here is a sneak peek...if you want to check out the complete project, and you know you do, hop over to the Bella Blvd Blog.  You will also find a little tutorial to see how these adhesives were used.

Birthday Card and other Goodies

Today I have a card I made for Paul's birthday.  I used patterned paper from the Bella Blvd Man of House collection.  The stamps I had on hand...except...that new border cling stamp from Hero Arts.  Just love the distressed edges.

Now, how about these?  Had a party on Friday for Paul's birthday and these little gems were my centerpiece.

Little bite-size desserts.  Half the spoons are filled with Tiramisu, whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  The other half are blueberry topping, cheesecake and a little whipped cream.  The chocolate cups in the middle are filled with Bailey's Mint Cream.  They were yummy!  I want to try this with savory appetizers next.

Then we went to Shipshewana, IN for a couple of days.  I love hearing the clip clop of the horses hooves on the pavement pulling the black buggy.  I've got to stop complaining about getting into a cold car in the winter! 

Driving through the country roads we saw this!  You really can't tell in the photo, but this little guy wasn't even two feet tall!  Too cute!

A card and more "stuff"

I know, it has been a while since I last posted, but really folks, I have a pretty boring life and there is not a whole lot to write about.  BUT, I was in my crafty space yesterday and made some "Thank You" cards.  Here is a picture of one of them.

I used the Studio Style set from Papertreyink.  A little tedious coloring in all the buttons, but worth it in the end.  The patterned paper is from Bella Blvd and the cardstock from WeR.  I think it is so "Springy" and fresh looking!  Here is a closer picture of the button jar.

And...then...I thought I would check the front door...just in case there was a package and they didn't ring the doorbell...and, guess what?

There it was!  My order from PTI with the new Hawaiian Shores color had arrived!!!  Buttons, ribbon, felt, ink, oh my!  I love PTI, in case you hadn't noticed.  The colors work perfect with the Bella Blvd papers that I usually scrap with.  So much fun.  Gotta go play now!

P.S. Don't you love the card holder? Stephanie gave me these to use on my blog...so cute...thank you Stephanie!

A couple of fun things today

Crafty Challenge #4
This is a challenge from one of the blogs I read.  You can read about it here.  You will have to scroll down a bit, I'm still new at this "blogging thing" and I could not get it right to the original post.

Let's see...C (chick from die), R (ruled paper), A (antiqued edges), F (foam dimensionals, I know this one was a stretch!) and finally T (Tombow adhesive, this is where I reaalllyy stretch it! Maybe I should change that to paper with Text.)  Thank you Ted for hosting this and letting me have a little fun today!

Class Sneek Peek
Here is a peek into a class I'm teaching in a couple of months at The Scrapbook Store, "Mini Brag Books."  I am having fun with this one.  I can actually get "a whole album" done when it only has 8 pages!

Life Happens!

I am so sorry if you have checked and I haven't updated my blog.  I had so much fun with the "Blog Crawl" last weekend. Judging from the zillions of comments, I think everyone enjoyed it.  What a great way to forget that it is not quite Spring yet.

As the title says...life happens.  A good friend of mine, George Bland, passed away this week...on his birthday.  My sister said he is a "special angel" because he has "only one date."  I think she may be right.

O.K. on the brighter side of life happens, I am going to scrap with my girlies today.  I can't wait.  I will be working on class projects that will be coming up at The Scrapbook Store for the next quarter.  And, so that I will have a little pressure to get something done, instead of goofing around, I will post some sneakie peekies of these projects.  See you tomorrow!!

and the winner is...

Congratulations to

Cynthia B.

"oh yeah! Love this giveaway because I have a chance at being creative myself. Thanks so much!"

 

 

 

E-mail me and I will send out your set of "handmade embellishments." 

I had so much fun doing this and want to thank everyone for participating.

 

I had fun "crawling" myself and picked up lots of ideas.

Get your crawl on!

How would you like to win Bella beautiful-ness worth $50?!  It's Bella's brand new CHA winter products! For a chance to win Bella Blvd's giveaway, leave a comment over at Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker blog. Nikki will choose the winner on Sunday night and you will find the winner announced on Bella's blog Monday morning.

Then are you ready to Blog Crawl?! Here are the details:

The Crawl is a "free-style" crawl, meaning there is no correct order to hop from blog to blog. I have all the Bella Blvd Artistas participating in the Handmade Craft Giveaways listed below. Each one of us has a unique, one-of-a-kind handmade craft to give away. From frames and cards to party favors and gifts, they were all made with Bella products!

It's easy...here is my giveaway:



These three sheets of goodness are ready-made embellishments you can use to make cards or embellish your scrapbook pages.  There is one from each of the new collections: Man of the House, Estate Sale and All Inclusive. You know you want it!!!  All you have to do is leave me a comment and I will be drawing a name on Sunday night and will announce the winner here Monday morning.  After that, hop onto the next blog, soak up some inspiration, enter to win their hand-made goodness and have fun!

Akiko Kuroki   www.akilia-island.typepad.jp/

Beth Gerlach  www.myworld-beth.blogspot.com/

Brittny Lejeune  www.paisleylane-britt.blogspot.com/

Celeste Smith  http://www.celestefs.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth Carney  www.itsmythingy.blogspot.com/

Emily Jones  http://www.emilyjones.typepad.com/
Erin Wells  http://www.erinwells.typepad.com/

Estee Stone  www.because-estee-says-so.blogspot.com/
Gail Hoecker www.gailhoecker.blogspot.com/ (done!)
Heidi Sonboul www.queenofpaper.blogspot.com/
Jana Eubank  www.frommyfeatherednest.blogspot.com/

Janis Medina  www.thereluctantscrapper.blogspot.com/

Jenneke Knol www.jenneke-justwhoiam.blogspot.com/
Jessica Jo Salber  www.jessicajo78.blogspot.com/

Lorendana Bucaria  http://www.lovescraplife.typepad.com/

Michelle Alynn Clement  www.michelleclement.typepad.com/blog

Michelle Lanning  www.michelle-lanning.blogspot.com/

Mimi Leinbach www.mycharmingblog-scrappermimi.blogspot.com/
Sheri Feypel  www.thedesperatescrapper.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Hunt  www.iamstephanie.typepad.com/myweblog/

Tanisha Long  www.tanisharenee.blogspot.com/

Tricia Wilson  www.triciawilson.blogspot.com/

Wendy Cieklinski  www.wendylee-positivelypink.blogspot.com/

When you're finished crawling around the Bella Blvd Artistas' blogs, hop on over to Jillibean Soup and Nikki Sivils to get more links to their designers' Handmade Giveaways! You have the entire weekend to crawl! On Monday, March 8, more than 50 giveaway winners will be announced throughout all the blog sites!  

Scrapbook Store Sketch Layout

Today is going to be quick.  I have lots to do, finish up project for the Blog Crawl that starts tomorrow!

So I was in charge of the sketch contest at The Scrapbook Store this month.  To make things easy (of course!) I asked my friend Beth if I could use her sketch from her guest blogger appearance on the CK Blog. 

Here is the sketch:

and this is the sample layout I did.

The photos are of my very adorable grand daughter, Sophie.  Just want to kiss those cheeks all day long!  The paper is, of course, Bella Blvd Estate Sale.  I think everything I have done on the blog so far is with this collection.  Well I did warn you earlier that I love, love, love this collection!

Blog Crawl Sneak Peek #2

Here is sneak peek #2 for my giveaway during the Blog Crawl.  The "crawl" is sponsored by Bella Blvd, Jillibean Soup and Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker.  You won't want to miss this! So many giveaways...so much fun...who dosen't like that?  With nearly 50 handmade giveaways from design team members, and 3 large yummy product packs from each company!

Well, here it is...

I used Bella Blvd paper line Estate Sale for this one.  Love, love, love this paper.

and,

humor me for a second, I am, afterall, "the crazy cat woman!"

Nellie loves to watch television. Here she is watching my fav couple on Amazing Race.  It cracks me up.  She will stay there for an hour!

Last, but not least, THANK YOU to everyone for stopping by.  I love reading the comments!

PTI Blog Hop...here I come!

I'm so excited to take part in the PapertreyInk Blog Hop.  I have admired all the designers of this company for awhile now.  February's theme is Design Team Appreciation Day. I took this as a sign I should participate since I don't leave comments on their blogs very often.  Every single one of the DT blogs has the best inspiration and I probably check them at least every other day.  The challenge was to go through the DT gallery or their blogs and find a project that you found inspirational and recreate it giving it your own spin to make it unique.

The card above was taken from Besty Veldman's Blog, one of those very talented ladies.


And, here is mine...not anything the way Betsy originally posted...well, maybe a little, but, it was supposed to be unique right?

A close-up view.  Thanks for looking!  Oh, and leave a comment, I know I will from now on!

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Kraft, Vintage Cream - PTI

Ink: Ripe Avocado, Enchanted Evening, Dark Chocolate - PTI; Chestnut Roan - Colorbox Chalk

Buttons: Spring Moss, Razzberry Fizz, Ocean Mist - PTI

Twine: Rustic Cream Button Twine - PTI

Stamps: Blooming Buttons Bits - PTI

Patterned Paper: Estate Sale/Nana's Apron - Bella Blvd

Ribbon: Unkown