Happy World Card Making Day!

Good evening, all! It's been a busy day, and this will be brief...Hope you've been having a wonderful Saturday with your families! Ours has been filled with running our girls around to school service projects, a soccer game, and now a birthday party! It never slows down, does it? Especially when they become teenagers, I think--always something going on! But, I wouldn't have it any other way. So glad they're happy and involved with things...just wondering when all their chores are going to get done today!

I did manage to make a card today. On Splitcoast, Vicki Chrisman is hosting a Crafty Secrets' WCMD challenge to do something with dimension on it--could be anything. Lots of beautiful creations over there--you need to check it out!

World Card Making Day Gallery

So here's my card for the day. Just got a couple new Crafty Secrets' items in the mail yesterday & couldn't wait to use them. The image I used here is from the "Christmas" Images & Journal Notes--so many fabulous images! This one just jumped right out at me, though, so had to do this one today! Since it had to have dimension, I had the large snowman in the front popped up on a gathered ribbon "flower", and the jingle bells on top.



Images from this time period--the 1940's and 50's just make me smile--love them!

Well, off to make some homemade pizza--we love home pizza the best! We load it up with tomato sauce from our own tomatoes, smother it with mozzarella cheese, and top it with pepperonis & basil leaves--yum!

See you all tomorrow! Have a wonderful evening!

Yummy Scones & Mother/Daugher Birthday Cards

Good afternoon! I have to do this quick & get ready to leave the house....did you notice I didn't start this post with "good MORNING"?! Yep--been making cards all day so far--now I have to be a real mom!

Let's start off the day with something yummy, shall we? I am in love with The Farm Chicks--they have a wonderful new cookbook you'll just have to check out! I made their Maple Oat Scones, which were delicious! Not sure if it's kosher to add their recipe here (I'll find out later!), but I wanted to just tease you with a glimpse of them....



Yes--that's maple glaze dripping down the sides of the warm, slightly cruncy scones...ahhhhh!

(***I just e-mailed Serena--THE Farm Chick--(her partner, Teri, recently left the business, but she carries on!), and asked permission to share the recipe, and she graciously gave it, so thank-you, Serena, and here you go!)

THE FARM CHICKS' MAPLE OAT SCONES

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp. baking powder
10 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (about 2 oz.)

MAPLE GLAZE

Combine 1 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter, 2 Tbsp. maply syrup, 1 Tbsp. heavy cream, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar--whisk together until smooth.

SOOOO delicious! I would just add a bit more maple syrup to both the scones and to the glaze next time--love my maple syrup!

You really need to check out the Farm Chicks' blog--so filled with inspiration (and delicious recipes, things to make for your home, etc...!) She's has a great love for all things vintage, as well, and has lots of wonderful stories to share--you'll love it!

http://thefarmchicks.typepad.com/

Thanks again, Serena!

My daughter's friend Hunter is having a birthday party tomorrow, and Annie wanted me to make her a card. The colors HAD to be chocolate brown, turquoise and bright, light green. Then she went off to school. I had my orders, and this is what I came up with:



Won't give too many details right now, but ask me if you'd like more...all the stamps I used on this card were Pink Persimmon: "Vintage Cupcake", "Vintage Greetings", and "Singing Birds". Adorable stamps!

It's her mother, Loretta's, birthday on Monday, and I'll be taking her out to lunch then, so I made her a card today, as well:



Again, short on the details...This image is from Crafty Secret's "Girlfriends" Images & Journal Notes--love it! On the inside is a sentiment stamped from CS's stamp set "Glamour Girls". I also used Crafty Secret's "Radiant" paper pad for the black & white polka dot print. The little gingham flowers on the corners were just little things I made about a month ago, and they seemed to fit nicely.


Well--off to pick up girls. Have a wonderful Friday with your families!

HAPPY OCTOBER!

Happy October 1st! I just love October--feels like fall's really here now! Here's a little shot of some of my Halloween decor--love all these pumpkin people!

So being the mish-mash kind of girl that I am, today I give you pumpkins and Christmas cards--makes sense, right?

(If you click on the photo, you can see the details much more clearly--just don't look at all the defects, please!)

This one feels very Victorian to me--all the gold & tinsel. The image is from Crafty Secrets' "Seasonal" booklet. (I'm waiting for the "Christmas" Images & Journal Notes to get here in the mail--can't wait!)

The stamp set used here is also Crafty Secrets--"Vintage Christmas"...its' one of the large sets, and has SO many wonderful images!

The paper is from a new Graphic45 paper collection called "Christmas Past"--beautiful stuff! Also used PTI Vintage Cream, Not Quite Navy & More Mustard--don't think I've ever used those two for a Christmas card before....!

Vintage Photo & Bravo Burgundy for the inks, some lace, PTI Scarlet Jewel grosgrain, and lots of gold trim--if you want details, let me know!

And this one is Joanne's fault...not the fabric/craft store, but "Angelnorth" Joanne that I know through Splitcoast. She does design work for Cornish Heritage Farms, and had made a card using their "Night Before Christmas" set, and I just fell in love with it, and ordered it right then! (I'm a bit impulsive, sometimes....) Anyway, thanks, Joanne!



Again I used the Graphic45 Christmas paper, Garden Green, Real Red, Naturals Vanilla. The ink used was Peeled Paint & Vintage Photo.

I love the image of the kids "asleep" in their beds--it's hard to see here, but their eyes are all open--I did color their cheeks, but that's not showing up really well, either! (I need a better camera, Santa!)

Well, that's it for today--hope you're all having a wonderful one! Thanks for visiting me!

Fat Little Birdies & a Fabulous Mess...

Good morning!

Just a quick post today--got to go to the dentist in a bit--not very excited about this, I can tell you! I'm the kind of girl who puts things like this off for too long, and then I have to pay for it--yikes!

Today I participated in a Sketch Challenge for the first time on SCS. I don't usually like to be constrained to a formula for a card, so I figured it would be good for me! I had a good time with it--took me a few minutes to see what I wanted to do, but then it came together...

I used another new set (to me!) from Crafty Secrets--"Christmas Joy". Don't you just love these fat little birdies???!!! There are so many beautiful stamps in this set!




The paper I used here was all Papertrey this time--delicious stuff, as I keep saying! Aqua Mist (yum!), Sweet Blush and White. I used StazOn Black for the images & Vintage Photo (my favorite ink!) for the sponging. I layered my images and used SU! watercolor crayons for a touch of extra color to the birdies.

Used Aqua Mist grosgrain, some older pink lace, and my new silver metallic rickrack trim--sorry to repeat this one twice in a row, but it just worked for this card, too! Lots of silver glitter, of course, and that's about it!


Now for the Fabulous Mess:



I love this term: "fabulous mess"! It comes from my husband's sister, Karen, who said this one Christmas morning when she was a young girl, as she looked out at the unwrapped presents & wadded up wrapping paper & ribbon all over the floor. I've used the term ever since I heard it after we were married--it's just perfect.

Interesting sideline...we have four Karens in our family...My Mother, my husband's sister and two of my brothers married Karens. So, we have to be very specific when we talk about one of them!

Okay, back to my mess & why it's here--I'm getting ready for Halloween--I LOVE decorating for the holidays!!! So, in order to clear the areas I usually decorate seasonally, I have to clear out my everyday things. This is where my old pink/turquoise things go. I adore mercury glass, and you see a lot of that here...old china pieces, things belonging to my grandmothers & great-grandmothers, some of my cards...I love this cluttered jumble!

Well, that's all for today! Hope you're having a wonderful one and wish me well at the dentist! (Yuck!)

Yo-Yo's, Mice & Ooey Gooey Blondies.....

Good morning, all!

I've got a few things for you today--not very connected, as you can tell from the title, but not everything's neat & tidy, is it?!

First off, this week's SCS challenge in the Crafty Secrets' forum is being hosted by the lovely Lori. She challenged us to make handmade embellishments for our cards, like yo-yo's. I LOVE yo-yo's, so that's just what I did! I've always wanted to make a yo-yo quilt, and I may just get started on a pile of them--they're so easy to do! I don't watch much t.v., but I love to do something with my hands while I do, so this may be my new project--thanks, Lori!



I have a bunch of fabric in my cabinet--not much of a quilter or a seamstress, but I am my mother's daughter, and when I see something that really grabs me, I must have it. So I appreciate the times, like this, when I can actually use it!

The paper used here: SU! Creepy Crawly dp (ret.), Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, and PTI Vintage Cream. Again--I LOVE their cardstock!

The adorable image is from Crafty Secrets' "Halloween" Images & Journal Notes. Then I added some pompom trim & my new metallic silver rickrack trim, buttons, and of course, my favorite silver glitter.

Next, I just received a newer Crafty Secrets stamp set called "Mouse Party"--SO adorable! I was gone so much this summer that I didn't get it right away, and I've loved all the cards I've seen made with it. Here's my little card:



I'm not that accomplished in my watercoloring skills yet--I'm working on it, but.....! I love layering things and making little scenes, so that's what I did. The paper used was: music print from Crafty Secrets' "Radiant" dp pack, Not Quite Navy, Garden Green, Nat. Vanilla & watercolor paper. I used SU!'s watercolor crayons. No glitter on this one...the mice didn't want any!

Now for something yummy! Needed to make a treat today to bring to a friend tonight, and I decided on my sister Becky's delicious recipe for Blondies. It's just decadent. Not good for you in any way imaginable...except it will make you VERY happy! Here's what they look like:




Now for the recipe:


BECKY'S BLONDIES

1 cup butter, melted
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
2 cups flour
1 cup coconut
toffee bits
1 bag butterscotch chips
I also add 1 bag white chocolate chips

Cream butter & brown sugar. Mix in all other ingredients. Put in greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes.

YUM!!! Thanks, Becky! (Love you!!!)

Well, that's all for today unless something else comes to mind. Thanks for stopping by & I've really been enjoying all your kind comments--thanks!

Wonderful Childhood

I hope you have wonderful memories of your childhood like I do...


(Yep--this is my own sassy self when I was three years old...)

We've tried to provide our daughters with a good childhood, and I think we've succeeded, for the most part, which makes me happy.

I remember being in college, stressed out from finals, papers, etc., and wishing I could just be a kid again, in my parents' house, in my old bed, without a care in the world...Dad and Mom would take care of everything. Have you ever felt that way?

My reminiscing this week has produced two projects...one, a card that I really like--loved the image (from the Crafty Secrets' "Childhood" Images & Journal Notes) the moment I saw it, many months ago, and wondered what I'd do with it. I love the saying on the image:

"We could never have loved the earth so well if we had no childhood in it."--George Eliot



The other is something I had in mind to do with the "Storytime" Vintage Postcard Kit. I just LOVE these kits--so many things you can do with them!

I have a vinyl cutter, and sometimes have a bit of a "business" with that when people want things for their walls. It's nice to have, as I can decorate my house with vinyl words and change them up whenever I want to! I saw this little plaque in my mind with a vintage font for the word "Storytime". (I collect fonts by the way--I LOVE them--especially beautiful vintage-style fonts!)

Anyway, this is what I came up with for the postcards, and I like the way it turned out. Love the vintage pink pompom trim and the yummy chocolate chip satin ribbon--two of my favorite colors together.






I have always collected vintage children's books with beautiful vintage images in them--especially from the Art Deco/Craftsman period. I love that time and style. I love all things Victorian, too, of course! The images from the "Storybook" kit remind me of all that I enjoy from those books.


I hope you're all having a beautiful Sunday with your families...I'll be back tomorrow with something new...see you then!