Kitschy Kitchen Fun & a Design Team Call!

Good afternoon, everyone!  Hope the day is wonderful for you all today!  My girls are home from school , so we're just relaxing and not doing anything TOO productive....my favorite kind of day!

Just got a couple of things to share with you today...I was making cards while the family was watching the Super Bowl....I'm sorry....not a huge football fan!  But, I did come running in whenever they were laughing hard during the commercials--some funny stuff!

Both cards I made were kitchy kitchen cards...I was just in that mood, I guess!  Here's the first one:

The image is from Crafty Secrets' "Girlfriends" Images & Journal Notes booklet--love these fun booklets!  This came together really fast...the poka dotted paper is from also from Crafty Secrets...from the "Radiant" paper pack. 

Some of my favorite gingham ribbon, some rick-rack trim, buttons, and of course too much glitter makes the card complete!  I love the saying "I only have a kitchen because it came with the house!"  Good stuff!

Here's my second card:

This fabulous image comes from Crafty Secrets' "Domestic Goddess" Creative Scraps. I love making these flowers with  a 2" scallop punch & my SU! scallop punch--then just cut into the center to make the petals...and a button and you're done!   

Mrs. Wonderful in all her glory!

And now...a Design Team call to let you all know about!  I've been on the DT for "The Play Date Cafe'" for a couple of months now--such wonderful women to work with!  We lost a couple of our designers recently, so Julie Ranae is opening up a call for some new designers to join in the fun with us...here's what she has to say:


We are so excited to extend an invitation to YOU!



The Play Date Cafe Challenge is 3 months old and it is time


to add new talent to our Design Team.

Do you enjoy playing with color?


Do you enjoy a challenge?


Do you enjoy being an inspiration to others?


We are looking for a variety of styles.


Cards, layouts, altered art, shabby chic or vintage


retro, grunge, clean and simple...you name it!


The term would be for 6 months

Along with creating a weekly project inspired by colors


from your fellow design team,


once a month or so, you would also be responsible for


choosing color inspiration



We are looking for fun, creative people with a blog


and the capability of taking crisp, clear photos


If you would like to apply,


please provide the following:


3 creations that show 'who' you are as a designer


A list of your current/past design team experience


(No DT experience necessary)


Your name, address, phone #, email & blog address


Send the photo files and above information to


julieranae@hotmail.com


place DT submission on the subject line

WORLD WIDE OPEN CALL


DEADLINE FOR DT SUBMISSIONS


February 28, 2010




The Play Date Cafe is headed in a very, exciting direction!


We have had a number of potential sponsors contact us


along with some other surprises.




We hope you will consider joining our Senior Designers


Sarah Anderson, Julie Campbell and Julie Murray


as we head into the Spring and Summer.




Looking forward to hearing from YOU!

That's it for today--see you soon with more to share.  Make something wonderful today!!!

Birdies, Fairies & Fabulous Shadowbox Cards

Good evening, everyone! 

Hope you're in the middle of a wonderful weekend--and I hope my friends back East are all staying warm and cozy inside!

I have a couple of 3D shadowbox cards to share with you tonight...these were a huge hit at CHA--the brilliant creation of Vicki Chrisman--these cards are SO much fun to play with!  There's no end of things you can do with them!  I've got lots of plans for them with old family photos, more vintage images....you name it!

For this one, I used a combination of Crafty Secrets' new "Altered Fairy" Creative Scraps and "Birds & Botanicals" Images & Journal Notes booklet. 

Sweet little children have tea in bird nests all the time, don't they?!

I love this sweet little fairy--such a great "How did I get here?" expression on her face!

I put some Clear Crackle Paint on the egg...and lots of fine diamond glitter, of course!

This one was lots of fun...I just kind of couldn't stop adding more and more stuff! 

These images are all from the "Altered Fairies" scraps, "Childhood" Images & Journal Notes and the "Wild & Wacky" booklet, which is no longer available.

 I really love this tiny soft aqua pom-pom trim & these pink velvet flowers--just beautiful!

Always wish big!

I just love this little sweetie popping out of the envelope!

I took another picture of it on my piano so you could see how well they stand on their own--such a fabulous design! 

That's it for tonight!  Hope you have a safe and wonderful weekend!

Silly Things...and Seriously Scrumptious Things!

Good evening, everyone!

Hope it's been a great day for you all...here in California tonight it is SOOOO blustery!  My espaliered apple tree is scratching against my kitchen window, the wind is howling & the rain is falling...a good night to stay inside all warm & cozy!

I have a few things to share with you tonight...first, a couple of silly cards...you'll see!

This week at Splitcoast in the Crafty Secrets' forum, Lori is hosting the challenge, and we are to make a masculine card.  Well...I'm not sure I succeeded very well...you tell me!

Yikes!  Even on a "man" card I add glitter...not to mention the man has an apron on...Sorry, honey!  I almost didn't add the glitter...I was DONE with the card...I sat there and looked at it, and before I knew it, I was glueing & glittering!  I have absolutely no self-control.

I've decided that real men not only wear aprons, but they like glitter and rick-rack trim, too...don't they?!

This fabulous image is from Crafty Secrets' "Domestic Goddess" Creative Scraps.  The checked paper is from their "Earthy" paper pack, and the striped background print is from Graphic 45's new "A Perfect Gentleman" collection.

Next, just for fun--or maybe because I'm so darn excited about the up-coming "Alice in Wonderland" movie, I whipped this up...

Isn't she fun?!  This fabulous image is from Crafty Secrets' "Storybook" Vintage Postcard Kit--I love this set! 

Can you see the sparkles coming out of her "Wishes" pot?  A little sparkly diamond glitter, thank-you very much!  And garnet crystal rhinestones are ALWAYS a good thing!

I found the perfect little watch face embellishment in my grab-bag of stuff I got from my Mom last summer--thanks, Mom!  A little yellow pompom trim and some sliver shavings glitter, and that's it!

Last, but certainly not least, some long-lost cookies from my childhood!  I've been looking for this recipe for years!

CHERRY CHIP COOKIES
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup cherry baking chips
Additional sugar


In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add egg yolk and almond extract and mix well.  Combine the flour, cornflakes and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in chips.

Shape into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.  Coat bottom of glass with butter and dip in sugar.  Flatten cookies with glass, and re-dip in sugar before next cookie.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until the edges are just barely golden brown.  Cool and devour!

Hope you love these--they make me swoon!  Here's what my youngest daughter Annie thinks of them:

See you soon with more to share...

Sweet Dreams!

Beautiful Birds...The Play Date Cafe' #15

Good evening, everyone!

It's time for another Play Date Cafe' challenge...are you ready?!  This week, our host is the lovely Sandi, who sadly won't be hosting here with us after this week.  Here are the beautiful colors she has chosen for us to play with:

Here's my take on the challenge this week:

I love this soft, beautiful image from Crafty Secrets' "Birds & Blossoms" Creative Scraps--had to pair it with two sweet birds from their "Birds & Botanicals" Images & Journal Notes booklet...

...I just cut them out & popped them up...love the way it looks.  Lots of glitter on the flowers & birds, fine gold glitter to border the main image, some lace & my favorite brown/cream gingham and we're all done!

That's it for me tonight--can't wait to see what you come up with for this week's challenge!  Make sure you head over to The Play Date Cafe' to link up your beautiful work so we can all see it! 

I'll be back tomorrow with something yummy to share, and a couple of fun cards--see you then!

Sweet Dreams!

Just a Couple of Glittery Valentines...

Good evening, all!  Hope it's been a great day for you!

Just caught up a bit with some Valentines today and thought I'd share them with you...now to catch up on all the challenges I've been missing!

Here's my first...

...I'm not happy with my photos today--very gloomy and not good light--oh, well!  The colors are much brighter in real life.  This is such a sweet image from Crafty Secrets' adorable "Couple of Cuties" stamp set. 

I used some of the Distressed Clear Crackle paint on the heart and glasses the kids are holding, and silver Stickles on the background dots and watercolor pencils for the coloring...and lots of Martha Stewart "White Gold" glitter for the border.

For my next Valentine...some beautiful cupids from Crafty Secrets' newly re-worked "Seasonal" Images & Journal Notes booklet.

Again...sorry about the photos!  Lots of glitter, as usual...and I've noticed I've been feeling very "dotty" lately with my backgrounds...Love this PTI Scarlet Jewel cardstock and ribbon--such a rich, beautiful color.

I've been having lots of fun with heart doilies lately...these gold foil hearts are just gorgeous!  Love the garnet crystal rhinestones, too...isn't glitz & glam fun?!  To finish it off, I sprayed over the whole card with the fabulous "Iridescent Gold" Glimmer Mist.

Well, that's it from me tonight...got to get off the computer so my husband can hook up our new printer--thanks, honey!  Hope you all have a wonderful evening, and I'll see you very soon!

More from CHA, the Joys of Glimmer Mist...and Birthday Memories...

Good evening, everyone!  Sorry I haven't gotten back here in a couple of days....things have been so busy, but I'm here now!  This is going to be a long post, so grab a big cup of hot chocolate & get comfy...here we go!

First of all, I wanted to show you some more photos I took at CHA.  I focused on Crafty Secrets the other day, and these are all of other booths that really appealed to me--so much gorgeous stuff all around! 

...Tim Holtz

...can't remember what this one was....but we LOVED that vintage pink typewriter!

...oh, so much fun!

...Yellow Bicycle

...Die Cuts With a View

...can't remember who this was, but it was so pretty!

...Pink Paislee

...Melissa Frances

...GCD

...and our wonderful neighbors, Tattered Angels!  What a wonderful bunch of people they are!  I so enjoyed getting to know many of them...they helped us with ladders & waters when we were exhausted, invited us to their house for a fabulous taco dinner, and sweetly gave me a bag full of delicious Glimmer Mist on the last day---now that's being neighborly!  (Thanks so much!)

Here's a card I made today using that kind gift of Glimmer Mist--I wanted to do another card with Crafty Secrets' new "Mermaids" set--I love it so much!  I used various Glimmer Mists in greens/blues/turquoises/ purples/ to make my background...

I LOVE this image--isn't she beautiful?  I don't think my background shows up very well--but it really turned out pretty and shimmery--I stamped the image again on another piece of white cardstock and sprayed it with gold/yellows/candlelight Glimmer Mists--then used watercolor pencils to shade certain areas of the stairs...

I love using watercolor pencils--gives me so much control over detail and blending--stamped the mermaid again on white and cut her out and placed her on the steps...

...added a bit of lovely Flower Soft to the flowers on her beautiful hair---then had to add some Pearl Stickles, of course!  I love this aqua lace--perfect for my mermaids!  Lastly, I lightly sprayed over the whole card with the gorgeous "Iridescent Gold" Glimmer Mist...yummy!

Next,  an adorable Little Bo Peep from the Storybook Vintage Postcard Kit by Crafty Secrets...one of my favorites!

These postcards are so fun & easy to do--not too hard to make them look good!  I added some soft pink pom-pom trim, some chunky silver glitter...

...green gingham ribbon, green crystal rhinestones...and we're just about done! I couldn't resist adding a few drops of lemony yellow Stickles to her daisy garland...

...a cute little "stamp" for an accent--that's it!  (Well, except for spraying this with Iridescent Gold, too!)

Yesterday was my birthday...48...yikes!  Time's flying!  It was a rather sober birthday, as we spent most of it at a heartbreaking funeral for the nineteen-year-old son of our very dear friends.  But, the day was filled with much faith, hope and love.  Really makes you remember what's most important in life, and not to take anything--or anyone--for granted.  Thanks to all who left me such sweet birthday wishes both here and elsewhere!

Today is another very special day that I'd like to share.  This would be my Grandpa Smith's 100th birthday--hard for me to believe!  He has been gone for about 28 years now...but he is still so alive to me...doesn't ever seem like he's very far away...

My sweet grandfather, Rudger, on the left...I love this picture!  I learned so much from him in my life, and I just wanted to honor him by remembering a few of those things...

The twinkle I always saw in his eyes when I was with him told me that I was loved for just being me...

He always called me "my Jewels"...

He taught me that none of us are perfect (although I always thought that he was!); we all make mistakes, and it's so important to do all we can to fix them, and move on...

He taught me to always try to help others in whatever way I could...

He taught me a great love and respect for those who came before me and made me who I am.  He loved to tell me stories of our family long gone, of happy childhoods, sad losses, joys and pains...and I learned and I remembered, and I try to teach these same stories to my children...

Happy Birthday, Grandpa.  I love you.

Home At Last!

Good evening, everyone!

Hope it's been a great week for you all--I've missed our visits!  Looking forward to catching up with you and seeing everything you've created while I've been away...seems like it's been ages!

I just got back from CHA late last night--what a busy week we had!  I spent the week working with Sandy Redburn and Vicki Chrisman in the Crafty Secrets booth...I so enjoyed being with them--they're both such wonderful, hard-working and creative women.  There was product to sell, make & takes to teach, booths to set up and tear down, and so many wonderful people to meet!  I'm totally exhausted--I've got sore spots I never even knew I had....but I enjoyed every minute of it!

I don't have any new projects to show you tonight, but I just wanted to give you a little glimpse of CHA from my perspective...didn't have much time to take pictures, but here's just a few--definitely not in chronological order, mind you!

Here's the Anaheim Convention Center as we were walking in one morning--a lovely clear morning--we were very grateful!

A view of the booth during the Retail days...

The lovely Vicki teaching a make & take...look at those happy ladies!  There's Sandy hard at work in the background...

The display board in front of the booth showcasing Vicki's new 3D Shadowbox Frame card--it's just amazing!  It was, as one woman put it, "the hit of the show"!  Well done, Vicki!

Here's a close-up of the Accucut catalog page featuring Vicki's new die...pretty cool, huh?!

One of the boards featuring some of the newest Crafty Secrets' stamp sets along with some samples...

...a close-up of the fairy cupcake display...so adorable!

Here's a picture of the three of us on the last night after a delicious dinner...not my favorite picture, but...oh, well! 

I'll be back tomorrow with some more scenes and beautiful displays from CHA--hope you have a wonderful night...

Sweet Dreams!