Last But Not Least

Kristy posted this awesome sketch challenge on If the Shoe Fits...Scrap It and here is my take. We visited the Johnny Appleseed memorial in Ashland the other week....seriously, I grew up playing in this park and had no idea it was there!

We have been studying tall tales with the girls along with Ohio history, so it was a perfect quicky field trip...then it was nice enough the girls played on the playground and chased the black squirrles.

Anyway, my take on the sketch



Products are from Simply Scrapping....thickers, glitz champagne stickles, BG Perhaps paper (and kraft paper from thescrapqueen and my own red cardstock scrap to make the apple)

More Motivation!

My friend Tracey (remember that awesome soot stamped card?!) and some other ladies from ScrapNMoms (well, that's how I know them anyways) started a new blog this last week and kicked it off with awesome challenges!

I did some playing....actually that was what the file folder album was about and the altered notebook truth be told. So, since I was in a double dipping sort of mood (I think the PC word is multitasking, yeah?) I did Lesley's 3 from one challenge to get myself moving on a mini scrapbook that I am showing for a class I may be teaching at the parks in the fall

Here's my 10 from 1 stamped mini album


Close up of a couple of the pages:


Then, I am sooo ready for fall, so used the nest stamp to do a card that was nice and bright!


And last, but not least, I do a lot of nature stuff and we are outdoors at the parks often also, so I can always use a journaling box and how awesome is the key lime glimmer mist?! LOVE it! Just got it and it is SUCH a phenomenal colour!

Been Scrapping!

I know, I haven't updated in awhile! February was CRAZILY INSANE! The girls got sick, gave it to me, then just when I was getting better, they got it again! Then, we have birthdays....my sister, Trin and my brother are all within 3 weeks of each other.

So, sick and busy! What a combination!

So, slowly I am catching up!

TO get me motivated, I got a great package of stuff to play with from the fabulous owner of Simply Scrapping....it's fun being on a design team!

I used papers and stickers from 3BugsinaRug to make this cute altered file folder album




Then, I used the scraps to make this cute altered mini composition book!

Party Challenge Creations

The ScrapNMoms birthday party last weekend was a blast! And I owe a HUUUUGE thanks to my admin who did such an awesome job helping me pull it off! Heather, Tracey and Emily you guys rock!

So, because of all the challenges, I was a busy girl over the weekend, here is a sampling:

For Emily's DARE Challenge which needed to be a layout about womanhood:



Part of Tracey's PARTY challenge


For Tracey's Race Game:





I have two sickie girls and a busy week this week, so hoping to find time to play, but not going to hold my breath!

Trash to Treasure Scrapping

This is one of the classes I am 'teaching' this weekend at our ScrapNmoms birthday party (if you aren't a member, get over there! We are having a BLAST!) We are doing challenges, games, classes, chatting and giving away prizes. Just go to www.cafemom.com and look for ScrapNMoms.

Anyway, so the point of this class was to just take stuff laying around the house and turn it into something cool!

I got a cuttlebug for Christmas and borrowing an idea from a lady from All Things Tim, I used it with a pop can that I punched flowers from. Then, I alcohol inked them and ran them through my cuttlebug using an embossing folder! They are SO fun!


I added rhinestones to the center of a couple and they made it onto my party hat for the ScrapNMoms make a party hat challenge. That is also dyed drywall tape on the hat. LOVE drywall tape, it's like $3 for 50 yards!


Then, another thing I was going to show was soot stamping. This will be the class challenge to do a soot stamped card. It is actually pretty darn easy and I didn't do step by step instruction photographically (did that make sense? Is it a word? Oh well, works for me)

To soot stamp, you need:
a candle
glossy card stock
versamark
a stamp
a heat gun
sealer (I use hairspray)

1. Light your candle
2. Now hold your glossy cardstock over it (you might have to get close to the flame)until it gets nice and sooty.
3. Ink up your stamp with versamark (this will protect it and keep it clean) and stamp in the soot
4. Heat set and then seal.

Done. How cool is that?!

This is one I did, using a Tim ATC stamp (and I copied one of his new stamps from online, I'm sure it's copyright infringement or something, but I couldn't wait, I have it preordered, I LOVE it and it is just for me so I'm not making anything off using this puppy). Also, the little squares were again punched from the pop can and inked and embossed. Alcohol ink background, some glimmer mist and a bit of inked doily and good to go!


I was chatting with my friend Tracey Wilson and 'taught' her how to do this. This is her creation, this lady is soooo talented!

February Special

How cute is this stamp set?

Would you like to get it free?!

This month marks CTMH's 25th birthday and to celebrate they are including it with any $25 stamp purchase for free! How awesome is that?

Click on the catalogue link to the right to shop, then contact me to place your order and take advantage of this awesome promotion!

Let's Make a Cake!

Friday is ScrapNMoms 2nd Birthday! Wow! Where has the time gone!? It's almost like the birthday of one of my children! Actually, with all the activities and the fact that we are spreading it out over a weekend, I think the girls birthdays are less work! lol

So, I saw these cute little guys on the CTMH bulletin board and Tresa Black posted a video tutorial (thanks to her for that!). I'm more of a step by step person and because doing so makes it easier to convert to a class for the group, that is what I did. Mine is tweaked a bit using ideas I gathered all over the web plus my own experimenting.

After all, what's a birthday without cake!

Supplies:
Sheet of raw chipboard (big enough for a 6 inch circle)

Styrofoam Ball (4 inch)

2 2x12 strips of patterned paper (mine is CTMH Just Adore paper)

3 yards (cut into 1 yard strands) coordinating ribbon (CATMH cocoa grosgrain)

8 paper flowers (not the tiny prima sized, I used the larger sized in CTMH just blooms in white daisy) that coordinate

Yarn, chennille or something fluffy (CATMH sassy strands from the White Daisy and Winter Cozy collection)

Small paper flower (small white daisy just blooms)

Red round bead (mines a glass one from Blue Moon)

glitter

Hot glue gun

Needle and thread that matches ribbon


1. Start with your raw chipboard, make a circle out of it. Trace a 6 inch and 2 inch circle on it. I used a plate roughly 6 inches and a small glass about 2 inches to make my circles. Cut out the 6 inch one.


2. Now, using strong scissors (I love the kitchen shears for this, I got mine at the dolar store, they are handy for cutting thick stuff) make 16 cuts equally spaced from the outside of the circle to the 2 inch circle.



3. Insert your foam ball in the center and fold up the sides of the chipboard circle. Just play with it so that it gets a nice cup shape and then hot glue the edges so that they overlap and make a cup. I don't attach the ball until I have the cup the shape I want, then I hot glue it in place.




4. Now, set that aside and grab your 2 2x12 inch strips. You are going to accordion fold them.


5. Glue the edges of the two strips together and then hot glue them to the chipboard cup. I ran a bead of glue around the top and bottom and attached, this did take a bit of playing. You are going to want to to look gathered so maybe play a bit before gluing to get an idea of how you want it to look.


6. Now you have a pretty bottom, but the top is pretty darn dull, yeah? So, let's ice this baby! Grab your ribbon and needle and thread. You are going to gather the thread (just make a knot in the end of your thread and stitch through the ribbon in and out.....once you get to the end pull it all together so that the ribbon is gathered and knot that end. You will start out with a much shorter piece than you started with.



7. Repeat with other two pieces of ribbon.

8. Tucking it down in or getting as close to the top of the cup as possible hot glue your ribbon around the ball.



9. Continue to do this with your other two pieces of gathered ribbon.


10. Now take your paper flowers and cut them in half. You will have enough for two rows around your cupcake. Hot glue them in place.


11. Starting to look like a cupcake? Awesome! How, finishing touches! Take your chenille yard and sorta circle it around the top to make your top icing. Hot glue in place.

Add a small flower on top of that, hot glue. Hot glue your red bead in place and if you want....add glitter. I used a glue pen and 'drew' on the spots I wanted the glitter to be in mine then dripped prisma glitter over it.



12. Add more touches if you want....I added decorative icing with more coordinating sassy strands.

A special gift! lol

Okay, so we know I rather love Tim Holtz products! He is such a wonderful soul and his creativity and enthusiasm are seemingly boundless.

Anyway, a few weeks back, one of my admin on ScrapNMoms posted a bunch of links ot blinkies. There were NO TIM ones! Quelle horreur! How could that be. So, Emily hunted and searched and lo and behold, she found me one!

My life is now complete, lol!

Thought I'd share it with y'all:

January Kit of the Month

So, this is something new we are doing on ScrapNMoms, thought I'd share with y'all as well.

This is this month's kit....contents include (not everything is pictured) 4 sheets of double sided 12x12 CTMH holiday B&T, 2 sheets of bamboo cardstock, 18 inches cranberry and olive grosgrain, 18 inches ivory organdy, asst embellies including a Dimensional element buckle. NON CTMH: 8.5x11 glossy cardstock, 8.5x11 pine and cranberry (x2) textured cardstock, a tag, a snowflake doily, a sheet of raw chipboard.


Here are some of the pages I created with the kit (I did 2 single page layouts, 2 double page los and a card, needed very little else other than what was in the kit)



(yes, I know the second layout is missing some letters, I ran out of the thickers I was trying to use up, so need to go back and stamp that chipboard and cut it out and attach it)

If you are interested in a kit, I have THREE left. They are $7.50 if you are local or $10 shipped to the US.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

I can't believe how cold it is here in Ohio! It is currently 8 degrees with a windchill of 11 below! Winter is indeed in full force! It also started snowing on the 9th and had consistantly came down through yesterday, I think (I stopped looking out the windows, it was starting to depress me! lol).

Anyway, it is TOO COLD to scrap in this house! I'm hoping to be able to get over to Sarah's tonight for our crop, but looking at all the snow heaped on my car is daunting!

Yesterday, I didn't even try to do much. We had went to the library with Stan on Thursday and got a huge pile of movies, so the girls curled up on the couch yesterday with Magic Schoolbuses and I some for me nad we all had lots of blankets and cocoa!

I did emerge out of hibernation to try a new soup recipe....it is in this month's Family Fun, I adapted it, but it was sooo good!

I also worked on my crocheting a bit....I WILL get the hang out this! I was trying to make a scarf and that is SO NOT what I ended up with. BUT! Serendipity being what it is, instead I got the start of a cool new project, hoping to finish it up tonight and be able to show you tomorrow!

Inky hugs bloggers and stay warm!


Mulligatawny Stew

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 stalk celery
1 apple, cored, peeled and chopped
1 can garbanzo beans (I do not drain the can)
1 can corn, drained
1.5 pounds cooked chicken boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cubed
1/2 cup flour
2-3 t curry powder
5 cups chicken broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups rice

1. Heat oil, add onion, garlic, celery and apple. Cook til softened. Add beans and corn and chicken and saute about 15 minutes. Turn heat to low.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and curry powder. Add the misture to the pot, then stir to coat. It will be thick. Add broth and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover pot and simmer 45 minutes.
3. Bring soup up to a boil and add rice. Cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occassionally until rice is done cooking.