Christmas is around the corner and...

Thanks to SCS, I actually have some of my Christmas cards made.  Not as many as I should, since I am way behind... but some :-)  I'm supposed to be making 8 cards a month, but I have missed a few.  Here are the 3 newest designs I made.  I was inspired by, wait for it.... pinterest!  One of the cards on pinterest was a valentine's day card that I made into a Christmas Card.  Then I used the positive of the cut out to make another card.. rather ingenious I think... ;-)

This card is the one inspired by pinterest.  Obviously, I took the idea of the negative and positive cut out.  I used the 2010 Holiday Tree Nestabilitie and the Ornament Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I used Gina K Cardstock in White and Fresh Asparagus.  I used a Gina K sentiment on the small tree as well.

I took the piece of the nestability tree that I cut out for the card above and used it as the focal point for another set of cards.  There are 4 of each of these designs.  I used the corner stamp from Gina K Very Merry Christmas set (illustrated by Teresa Momber) and stamped the two top corners of the white panel using Memento Bamboo Leaves.  I used the snowflakes cuttelbug embossing folder on the tree.  The designer paper is Eskimo Kisses by Basic Grey.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set.  The cardstock is Gina K  (Tan Leather, Fresh Asparagus, White, and Dark Chocolate.

The last one for today is one I made a couple of months ago.  This also uses Gina K Cardstock (White, Fresh Asparagus, Cranberry, Gold and Kraft).  The image is a Christmas collage stamped with Memento Rhubarb Stalk on Kraft for an old timey look. 

I have the makings of a couple more on my table.. hopefully I'll get to those and back to here before Christmas.  :-)

Thanks for stopping by!



Baby days

Well, it seems I hit another creative dry spell... HA! But the summer has been fun. We even managed to get a quick weekend get away in.

One of my co-workers is about to be a dad for the first time. We finally got him to agree to a baby shower. So, off to Pinterest I go. I found some A-DORABLE diaper cakes, wreaths, etc. I also found a great Dad's survival kit.

So if you go to Pinterest and type in Diaper Wreath.. you will get a wealth of ideas. I kind of took a little from a lot of pictures and made mine.

I bought a styrofoam wreath "frame" from Hobby Lobby.  I used two different size diapers 2 and 3's.  The 2's covered the base and the 3's filled in the gaps :-)  Since we don't know the sex, I had to go neutral.  I added just a couple of little things to the wreath for some added interest (Baby Magic Bath, Baby Magic Lotion,  Baby Shampoo, Johnson and Johnson Bubble Bath, a teether and some pacifiers.)  The baby's last name will begin with a G so I bought a Chipboard letter G (also at Hobby Lobby).  I used sticky strip to cover the letter with wood grain designer paper on both sides.  I used felt ribbon to cover the edges.  This was so super easy and fun to make. 

I also thought that a first time Dad should have a little survival kit, as if all the women haven't been giving him advice for the last 6 months... Again.. a ton of ideas on Pinterest, but this is the one that I really used as inspiration and a little copying...  Go tip junkie!!  Now she made super cute little tags for each of her gifts.. I just wrote the reasons for the choices in a card..I ran out of time :-(

For this kit, I picked up the little basket at the Target dollar spot.  I figure it can be used in the future for something.  What I included was:

1. Coffee mug and Via instant coffee, for when Dad needs a pick me up and fast
2. Granola Bars for the breakfasts he will miss
3. Burp cloths for the messy stuff that comes out of baby after eating
4. PB crackers for a midnight snack
5. Hershey's hugs and kisses to remember that both Mom AND Baby will need lots!!
6. Rubber Duck for Daddy/Baby bath time
7. Lifesavers to remind Dad that he can and should be Mom's lifesaver (at least sometimes)
8. Book for when Daddy puts baby to bed (Hello Bugs!; cute board book in black, white and gold) and...
9. Adult beverages in shot size - no explanation needed :-) (4 different kinds as I wasn't really sure what his preference was)


The card I included is a little ducky.  The image is from Gina K Designs and colored with copics.  I used some Spellbinders to cut out some ducks out of felt and colored it.  I used faux stiching on the designer paper to simulate a quilt.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Hopefully I'll get some creative mojo going now :-)

More Anniversary....

I'm back with 3 more cards for the Paper and Such Anniversary Challenges. This first card is for the Black and White +1 challenge. I went with the Song in My Heart set from Paper and Such. I just love these birds. I really kept this very CAS. I thought about adding embellishments but felt it would detract from the beauty of the image and sentiment itself. A true friend knows who you are under all your embellishments! ;-) The paper in Gina K and I added some shading with Copics.

This card is for the sentiment only challenge. These tend to be difficult for me for some reason. This one came together pretty easily with the help of the Paper and Such Just Sayin' set. I created this card as a mommy card. Sometimes being a mom can be challenging..but upon reflection, it's way beyond worth every challenge/problem that could present itself. I went with pink..because it was my daughter with the challenge at that particular moment.. LOL!

Last but not least is the monochromatic card. I was pleasantly surprised with how this one came out. Masculine cards can be difficult to find especially for friendship cards. Admittedly, there are some flowers on the DP, but I don't think it makes the card overwhelmingly feminine. I pulled the Song in My Heart set again. I "colored" the heads of the birds with bleach. I wanted there to be a slight color differentiation.

Thanks for stopping by, and there is still time to get in on the Anniversary challenges at Paper and Such...

Paper and Such Anniversary

A very Happy 1st Anniversary to all the peeps at Paper and Such! It's been a great year and I'm so happy that I've gotten the chance to participate in some of the challenges from the Design team this weekend. Go on over and check out the blog a get yourself a chance to win some new stamps. This is the first time I've stamped in about 5 months... so be gentle ;-) The first challenge was to make a birthday card.

For the birthday card I chose to use my Paper and Such poppies set. I colored the poppies with copics and broke out Spellbinders dies. This card is actually 5*7 so I could highlight as much of the image as possible. I "antiqued" the focal image with Tim Holtz distress ink.

The second challenge was a sketch challenge. Frankly, I hope I'm close on this one. I looked at the sketch Friday night, but didn't stamp until last night.. so I was working from memory.

I know, I know it's too early for Christmas. But I'm trying to be organized this year and am waaaaaaaayyy behind on the Christmas Card Challenge, so I decided to make this my Christmas card for one month. On this card I tried to combine traditional and modern by using the swirly trees image.

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully I'll have more later to help celebrate the Paper and Such Anniversary.

Mini Chicken Pot Pie Muffins

I saw this great looking recipe on Pinterest, Betty Crockers mini Chicken and Broccoli Pie. After reading the reviews, I noticed the main theme was that the pies were tastless, so I read up on some Chicken Pot Pie recipes and decided that would add flavor to the chicken... then.. why not just add the pot pie type veggies too (except the potatoes) and so was born Mini Chicken Pot Pie Muffins. There are still a couple of tweaks to be made... but overall these turned out pretty good. Served with a side salad, it would make a good take and go lunch or supper. Oh, and I ate a "pie"/"muffin" a little later after dinner and it was really good. My biggest issue was getting the muffins out of the tin whole. I probably should have let them cool a little longer and shouldn't have used a sharp knife to loosen the edges. I will probably try these in muffin liners next time and see if that works better. It's not as much work as it looks like ;-)

Mini Chicken Pot Pie Muffins
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken (I used thighs) cut into bite size pieces
3 Tbsp margarine
Bay Leaf
½ large onion chopped finely
Celery rib chopped finely
2 tsp Poultry seasoning
1 tsp minced garlic
Salt
Pepper
Cr of Mushroom soup
Chicken Broth
1 Tbsp Flour
1 c. frozen mixed veggies
Shredded cheese
¾ c Bisquick mix
¾ c Milk
2 eggs

1.) Preheat oven to 375
2.) Melt margarine in sautee pan over med heat
3.) Add chicken and bay leaf and sautee/poach until chicken is no longer pink
4.) Add onion, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning
5.) Sautee until veggies are soft
6.) Add flour to pan and stir
7.) Add ¼ can of Cr of Mushroom soup and ¼ c of Chicken broth to add some moisture. Don’t want it to be too wet.
8.) Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly
9.) Add 1c shredded cheese (optional)
10.) In a med bowl mix bisquick, milk and eggs until combined
11.) In a greased muffin tin, add scant tbsp of batter at the bottom
12.) Top with approx ¼ cup of chicken pot pie mix
13.) Add another Tbsp of batter on top
14.) Bake approx 30 minutes

Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing, Intense, Mind-Blowing...

Loved this book - I finished this book in one day..if I had had the third one already, I probably would have been up the rest of the night reading.

I can't stand the suspense in not knowing how this is all going to play out. I am invested in these characters. WOW!

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The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed a lot of the tent descriptions. I enjoyed parts of the story itself...

I didn't care for the timing in the chapters.. jumping from one year to another, I see where it adds to the "confusion" that is the book itself, but it was bothersome for me.

I finished the book and said, "what was that really about?" However, I do think a movie would be great.

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