POTD - Over the weekend...

On Friday, I made bread:

This is the recipe I've been using since I got my Cuisinart Stand Mixer from Santa in 2008. I don't know how I ever lived without it! I almost NEVER buy bread anymore, because it's SO much more fun to make it myself...and at least I know what's in it! Six ingredients... that's it...have you EVER read the ingredients list on store bought bread? And you wonder why it keeps so long? UGH!!!

Anyway, the recipe:

• 1 pkg. dry active yeast (if you buy in bulk like I do, that's 2 1/4 tsp.)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 2/3 cup very warm water
• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
  
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 c. flour

Directions:

• Dissolve yeast with sugar and water
• Add vegetable oil
• Add all the flour
• Set mixer to "2" for 4 minutes and then "3" for another 4 minutes
• Remove to oiled bowl, cover and let rise till doubled (about an hour)
• Punch down and form into two loaves
• Transfer to greased loaf pans, cover and let rise till doubled (about an hour)
• Bake at 375F for about 25 minutes
• Remove from pans and tap bottom of loaf - if it sounds hollow, it's done.

The best part is, the Cuisinart does all the work - no kneading!!!

This time around, I snuck in 1 cup of whole wheat flour. If you're going to do this, DON'T buy bread flour. You should look for whole wheat pastry flour as the texture is much smoother.

One loaf was gone the day it was made...yep! It's THAT good!

On Saturday, I made this card:
Just before Christmas, a friend of mine gave birth (7 weeks early) to an ADORABLE little boy! He's still in NICU due to a few setbacks, so I sent her this card to let her know I was thinking about her family.

On Sunday, this was dinner:
This is SUPER simple to make and EVERYONE loves it...well, except for middle DS, who doesn't like stuff with sauce on it, so he gets the sausage and the pasta separately.

I removed the sausage from the casings and browned it up. While that was happening, I cooked the pasta and made a garlic cream sauce (basically a white sauce with some garlic and Frank's Red Hot for a little kick).

Dinner was ready in less than 1/2 an hour...gotta love when that happens!!!

Thanks for visiting! Have a GREAT day!

Who's that girl???

Some of my best friends are friends that I have never met. We look out for each other, we worry when we haven't heard from each other in a while and we think about each other often.

One of my friends, Stephanie, went through a difficult time a little while ago with her little boy. Her little boy has a cardiac condition like Jonathan.

I asked her for her address and I'm going to send her this card to let her know I'm thinking about her:


I hope she likes it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday - Dreams du Jour

I loved today's Mojo Monday sketch, so I got right to work...well, as soon as I got my butt outta bed - this cold is kicking me in the butt!

At least creating made me feel a bit better!

Here's my card for today's Mojo Monday:

I used a Very Vanilla card base of 4 1/4 X 5 1/2. The next layer was Riding Hood Red cut to 4 X 5 1/4 and the next is Candy Lane DSP cut to 3 3/4 X 5.

The main image was stamped in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla and coloured using blender pens and SU! markers.

The butterfly was stamped in Riding Hood Red on Very Vanilla and mounted on Chocolate Chip.

What do you think?

Recipe:
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Candy Lane
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Markers, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'! And Thanks for stopping by!

Thank You Gift Set

I so enjoyed making the gift set for Colin's teacher, that I decided to make another!


I used some Imaginisce DP again and paired it with Purely Pomegranate (can you tell that I get REALLY attached to my favourite in Colours?) I love using a full sheet of DP to make an entire set of cards...seems so easy and there are rarely any scraps to deal with - PERFECT!

For this one I used a recipe that I found in the "Joy of Card Making" magazine and added the sentiment at the bottom.

The DP was cut and flipped to make the design on the front of the card. Each of the pieces was sponged with Purely Pomegranate ink before being adhered to the card face.

The Oh So Lovely image was stamped in Purely Pomegranate on Whisper White and was punched out using the 1 3/8" circle punch. It was matted on a scalloped circle that was cut from Purely Pomegranate using Quickutz nested shapes and my Quickutz Revolution.

I tied white sheer ribbon around the top of the card before adhering the image using dimensionals. The sentiment was cut and sponged before adhering it to the bottom of the card. (Note to self: Get word window punch!)

I constructed the box and added a piece of Imaginisce DP to the top. I tied it up with the same sheer ribbon used on the cards.

STAMPS: Oh So Lovely, Stem Silhouettes
PAPER: Imaginisce DP
INK: Purely Pomegranate
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Gift Tags/Enclosures

I was having fun making little 3 X 3 note cards earlier this month and had some DP from Imaginisce that I was looking to use, so I came up with these:

They're 3 X 3 gift enclosures/gift tags (if you use them without the envy).


I stamped the image in Purely Pomegranate (Thanks Caroline for discovering that extra pack - I LOVE that colour!) on Whisper White and punched it out with the small tag punch. The image was matted on a tag punched from Purely Pomegranate with the larger tag punch. I stapled a piece of Regal Rose ribbon to the top of the tag and adhered it to the card face using dimensionals.

The DP was cut to 2 3/4" X 2 3/4" and sponged in Purely Pomegranate before being adhered to the card face.

STAMPS: Tags So Much
DP: Imaginisce
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
INK: Purely Pomegranate
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Staples, Dimensionals

I made custom envies too, go along with the set of 4. I'll be selling them at the Sick Kids fundraiser on Dec. 1st, along with all the other fun goodies I've been making.

I need to make some more gift tags, because they were a HUGE hit last week at the hospital when we were there for check ups and tests. I'm going to use some brighter colours this time though (from last years Stampin' Up Simply Scrappin' Christmas Kit) as I had such fun playing with those yesterday (that post will be up in a couple days!)

That's it for now! Check back later on for some more good stuff! Thanks for stopping by!

I am, most assuredly, "THAT" Mom

You know..."THAT" mom. The one that can't let a holiday go by (major or minor) without doing SOMETHING.

Case in point? Halloween. The kids at school always exchange treats. I decided that just regular treats weren't enough...and also decided that not only would the kids at school get treats, but that I would make treats for the friends at cooking school and the friends at the bus stop...

So...Ninety (yes, 90) individually wrapped Hershey nuggets, 45 die cut ghosts, 45 die cut skulls, 30 bag toppers and 15 hand stamped boxes later, he has Halloween treats...in SPADES!


STAMPS:

• Haunting Halloween (stars on sides of boxes)
• Hero Arts (Witchy Bird on top of boxes)
• Tags So Much (Bag Toppers)

Ink:

• Staz-On, Basic Grey (Stampin' Up)

Paper:

• Ghostly Greetings DP (to wrap chocolates)
• Whisper White and Tangerine Tango (Bag toppers)

Accessories:

• Ribbon

Tomorrow I'll do some more going backwards, but I REALLY wanted to post these today...I'm almost caught up with the rest of the month though...so not too much more going back.

Thanks for stopping by!

You have to go back to move forward...

...and that's what I'm going to do to catch you up on my crazy month!

On October the 9th, Colin and Jonathan's school had open house. That's where we get to meet the teachers. I had already met Jonathan's teacher (they usually keep the same teacher for Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten), so I only had to go in for Colin's teacher.

Miss Hall is just delightful! She's young and full of energy and I can see why Colin likes her. Plus, she likes to chat, so she and I are going to get along GREAT! LOL!

The day after the open house, I sat down to make her a little gift set to thank her for the meeting and to let her know that I looked forward to working with her this year.

My intentions were also a little selfish as I figured if word got around the school then people would know I made these wonderful creations and I could then sell some at the school. My intentions were not ENTIRELY selfish as I donate the profits from selling the cards to the Hospital for Sick Children...so I figured it would be a win-win all the way around.

It's now the 22nd and I STILL haven't delivered the cards, but I'll be doing that today. It's never too late to send a thank you note...right???

Here's the set I made:


The small note is the thank you note that I tucked under the ribbon on the front of the box. I put it into a lined envelope that I learned how to make from Jami who posts on SCS. They are SO cute and SO easy to make!

There are 6 cards inside the box, all the same as the one in the picture. I made the box to fit the cards, by adding 1 1/2" to each side of the card, scoring and folding...if I had more time right now, I'd show you exactly how, but that's out...so will have to wait till there are more hours in the day - LOL!

The stamp on the mini card and the box are Stampin' Up and the stamp I used for the actual cards inside the box is from Penny Black.

I sponged Marigold Morning (and all the other pieces) in Pumpkin Pie (think I had Thanksgiving on the brain? LOL!) and assembled the cards. Ribbon was tied around the card, the sentiment was ticket punched and mounted on Marigold Morning. Brads were added before it was attached to the card using dimensionals.

I'll be back later with some more updates...for now, I'm off to the school to pick up Jonathan and head downtown to shoot some video of him for upcoming Sick Kids TV specials.

Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend Sketch Challenge Pizza Box

The weekend is my favourite part of the week. Not only because I get to sleep in (as much as you can when you have children clamouring for breakfast) but because Beate posts her weekend sketch challenge! I don't always get a chance to play (there are NEVER enough hours in the day) but when I can, it's always fun and this weekend is no exception.

I was going to try to do two challenges at once and combine Beate's WSC61 with LSC189 over at SplitCoast Stampers, but my Quickutz Scalloped Circle was calling my name and it doesn't qualify for LSC189 which is "Rock, Paper, Scissors".

On Monday, the Technique Lovers Challenge was mini boxes (like the ones I made here) and I had so much fun making them for Colin's party invitations, that I had to make another one.

I stamped the cut and scored pizza box using my snowflake stamps (one is from Holiday Tag Time and I'm not sure where the other one is from as I bought it on eBay quite a while ago) and my Versamark stamp pad and then put the box together.

The snowman image was stamped on Whisper White in Buckaroo Blue, coloured with Prismacolour Pencils and mounted on Buckaroo Blue and again on Whisper White. The smaller circle was stamped with snowflakes and mounted on a piece of scalloped Whisper White. I cut the small circle off the corners of the box and then mounted the main image on dimensionals. The ribbon was tied around the box and slid it just under the main image.

STAMPS: Holiday Tag Time, other unknown set
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Buckaroo Blue
INK: Buckaroo Blue, Versamark
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Prismacolour Pencils

Hope all my Canadian friends have an AMAZING Thanksgiving Weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Queen for a Day

Today, the challenge over at SCS is to use a monogram on a card. I only have one...and yeah...it's a "Q". I know, I know...

This is how it happened. About 2 years ago, when Hero Arts came out with their alphabet line, some of the girls that I scrapbook with decided to buy parts of the alphabet and share them. Somehow, I ended up with "Q". It's an O.K. set...kinda cute...

This is the card I came up with:


I'm going to use it for DD's birthday for next month.

I stamped all the elements in black Versafine and then coloured in the "Q" using my Buckaroo Blue re-inker and my water pen. I added glitter to the crown, but you can't really see it in the pic.

I punched the right hand edge of the card with my threading water punch and mounted a small piece of white cardstock to the inside of the card.

STAMPS: Hero Arts
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Buckaroo Blue
INK: Buckaroo Blue, Versafine Black
ACCESSORIES: Glitter

Thanks for stopping by!

Sahara Sand Trees for all Seasons

Yesterday was too busy for me to be able to play. Jonathan had cooking school, we made our monthly trek to Costco and we had to stop at the drugstore to pick up test strips for Jonathan's finger pokes.

By the time we got home, it was all I could do to get dinner on the table before 6 p.m.!

Dinner is running a little late today because I just HAD to do the sketch challenge over at SCS. I knew I wanted to do a fall card when I saw this one in the gallery, but wasn't sure what I wanted to do with mine. I was inspired by Beate Johns who must have gone through a "three" phase in her early stamping career, because as I cruised HER gallery from way back when I saw LOTS of multiples of three. As a side note, if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing Beate's work, you should REALLY check out her blog and her gallery over at SCS. She is one TALENTED lady!

I knew I had some of the striped paper like the one in the card above, but it turned out that it wasn't fall themed, it was spring themed. Clearly THAT wasn't going to work, because I had my heart set on a fall themed card. So, I looked through my stash of paper and came across a "Simply Scrappin" kit that turned out to be PERFECT!

First I cut Sahara Sand to 8" X 9", scored and folded it in half to make a 4" X 9" card base. I then cut a piece of the DP to 3 3/4" X 8 3/4" and a second piece of DP to 3" X 8". The piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock was cut to 2 1/4" X 7 1/4". All pieces were sponged with Chocolate Chip Classic Ink.

Each of the three images were stamped on 2" square pieces of Whisper White. At first I just sponged the outside edge of each of the three main images, but then I saw a "spot light" in my head and punched out a 1 3/8" circle using my circle punch. The circle was placed over the three image and I sponged Chocolate Chip around the circle mask leaving the middle of the image white. Not one to leave well enough alone (LOL!) I decided to ticket punch the corners of the cardstock and further darken the outside edges with more Chocolate Chip Ink. To further my "fall" theme, I coloured the leaves on the tree (and a few on the ground) as well as the tree trunk with my Prismacolour pencils.

The images were mounted on the piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and brads were added to accent the corners. I pierced the end of the of the cardstock, added a ribbon and mounted the entire piece on dimensionals for a finishing touch. I was inspired by THIS card to add the photo corners on the two pieces of DP.

CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand
DSP: From a Simply Scrappin' Kit
INK: Chocolate Chip
STAMPS: A Tree for all Seasons
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Brads

Hope you were inspired to create something beautiful today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Pizza Box Birthday Invites

So, I popped over to SCS this morning after the previous incredibly L-O-N-G post in order to find out what the Technique Lovers Challenge (TLC) was for today.

Pizza Boxes? What? That's not a technique...order a pizza...get a box. No problem, right?

WRONG!

Turns out we were supposed to make our OWN pizza boxes out of cardstock. OH! Now, I get it.

So, I look in the gallery and start seeing all these TOTALLY adorable boxes. Then I call Scott to discuss details for Colin's birthday party on Oct. 18th.

After I hang up, I look at more boxes and get a lightbulb moment...pizza...boxes...YES! A pizza box party invitation! So I call Scott back and get WAY over excited about this idea that I have to go out and buy those disgusting gummy pizza things and include those IN the pizza box!

I picked up Jonathan from the bus and we hit the dollar store (no luck) and then the mall (SCORE!) in search of the aforementioned disgusting gummy pizzas.

We came back home and then I made these:


I constructed the pizza boxes and adhered the orange DSP to the lid. I printed the "It's a party and you're invited" on the computer on Whisper White and then trimmed that to 3 1/2" square. DS helped me by sponging on Old Olive around the white square. I stamped on the Haunted House (clear acrylic stamp by Imaginisce) and coloured it in with markers and coloured pencils.

I stamped the "EEK!" spider and punched it out with the small tag punch and DS sponged on some Old Olive again. Then, it was mounted on a piece of black cardstock that I punched with the large tag punch.

I punched a hole through the tag and attached the ribbon. The tag was mounted on dimensionals.

STAMPS: Imaginisce and another SU set that I can't remember the name of
CARDSTOCK: Bazzill/Chatterbox Dark Olive, Whisper White
INK: Old Olive, Black Versafine
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Markers, Colouring pencils

And so now DS has his party invitations and I had a blast making them with him - WOOT!

Thanks for stopping by!

Of Generosity and Tee Grabs

This:

is Adriano Belli. He plays Defensive Tackle for the Toronto Argonauts...and he can sing! He sang the national anthem at the Argos game we attended on Friday night. We played the BC Lions...and we lost...but that doesn't matter.

Adriano gives back to the community by hosting kids from the Hospital for Sick Children in his suite. After the game, he has been known to take the boys on tours of the Argos locker room (no girls allowed). We weren't in the suite this time, but we did get to hit the field...at least Jonathan did!

At the end of August, Jonathan was invited to do the "tee grab" after the opening kick off the game. Unfortunately, things did not go in our favour, there was an "incident" and his five minutes of fame were not to be. So, when Caroline from the Sick Kids Foundation called last week and invited us to go again, we were thrilled.

We made sure we were at the SkyDome in PLENTY of time and got to enjoy some "on field" time before the game started. Jonathan practiced his football stance (with his brother Colin standing by):

These:

are the Argos Cheerleaders...or more precisely their butts. I was a cheerleader once...I am SO not anymore. Guess who took THAT shot???

This:

is Mike Vanderjagt. He's the one who initiated the "tee grab" idea. Thanks to him, Jonathan (and other kids on various home game days) was able to participate in the game.

We listened to Adriano sing the national anthem:


and after the kick off, Jonathan got to run out onto the field with the equipment manager and grab the tee. He did a GREAT job! Even Penny from the Foundation said she had never seen anyone run SO fast!

On his way back to the sideline, Jonathan even had time to give the equipment manager a "high five".


Check out this smile:

After Jonathan was done his job, we were escorted to our seats where we got to enjoy the rest of the game.

The last time we attended a game, it wasn't much to watch as the Alouettes pretty much wiped up the field with our Argos and beat us 32-14. This game against the Lions was quite a bit more interesting to watch. Besides...I'm really a closet BC Lions fan...but don't tell anyone!

After the game, we again went down to field level, where Adriano came out and signed autographs for the kids. Colin had one of his Sick Kids shirts signed and Adriano also drew and arrow up towards his face and wrote "STUD" on his shirt - which pleased Colin to no end.

Which brings me to this:


It's definitely one of my more simple cards, but because it's going to Adriano, I didn't want it to be all frilly and girly like.

I stamped the sentiment and the main image on Very Vanilla sponged with Cranberry Crisp. They main image and sentiment were then mounted on pieces of Buckaroo Blue before being adhered to the card front. The main image was mounted on dimensionals.

STAMPS: Sketch an Event, Many Thanks
CARDSTOCK: Very Vanilla, Buckaroo Blue, Cranberry Crisp
INK: Cranberry Crisp

Thanks for stopping by!

YUM YUM Chocolate Chip Cookie Treats

There's a little guy at the bus stop who's name is Michael. He is the most ADORABLE thing on two legs (after my own children, of course) and ALWAYS brings sunshine to my day. I think he's about 2 1/2 or 3, but he talks like he's 5. Such a big vocabulary for such a little boy.

While I am waiting for Jonathan, he waits with his mom to pick up his sister Olivia...and we chat.

The other day, he was telling me about his weekend and I was telling him about mine and about the new cookbook I bought at Word on the Street. I told him that I would be making chocolate chip cookies this week and asked him (while trying to look at his mom at the same time) if he would like some. He was VERY enthusiastic (and mom nodded yes).

On Wednesday, I made chocolate chip cookies. You can find the recipe here at the Pioneer Woman. They are REALLY yummy...though a bit crispy for my taste. Side note: If anyone has a yummy CHEWY chocolate chip cookie recipe, PLEASE send it my way...I've been searching for YEARS!

Yesterday, I made some bag toppers to go on the bags that hold the cookies. The finished packaging looks like this:


I'm going to deliver the cookies to Jonathan's friends today when I pick him up at the bus stop. Of course, I couldn't just make a package for Michael, because I didn't want the other kids to feel left out. So, there's a package for Michael, Olivia, Marco, Jonathan (of course), Michael and Olivia's mom (don't know her name) and Zarita (the boys' godmother).

I stamped the "YUM YUM" in Chocolate Chip (how appropriate - LOL!) on Very Vanilla and punched it out with the small tag punch. I then punched out a piece of Chocolate Chip with the large tag punch and mounted the Very Vanilla tag to it.

The bag topper is a 4 1/4" piece of Buckaroo Blue folded in half to which I added a 4 " X 1 7/8" piece of Winter DSP from the Four Seasons Paper Pack.

I punched a whole through the matted tag set and threaded a piece of "faux" Chocolate Chip ribbon (I say "faux" because the ribbon is from a different source than Stampin' Up, but it matches almost perfectly) through it and then tied it around the folded bag topper.

The chocolate chip cookies were added to the bag and the topper was stapled with two blue staples...and voilà! Treats!

STAMPS: I'll have to check...I don't remember - LOL!
CARDSTOCK: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Buckaroo Blue
DSP: Winter from the Four Seasons Pack
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Staples, Bags

Thanks for stopping by!

*SIGH* That's better!

So this morning, Scott asks me, "Are you going out today honey?" He added "honey" on there, so I KNOW he wants me to do something for him. I tell him, "Yes, I have to go out...I'm going out to the big WalMart (we just got a Super WalMart nearby) to get some cheese. Do you need me to do something for you?"

"Yes, so and so is going on maternity leave and we collected money for a gift card. Can you go to Babies R Us and pick one up?"

"There's $55 here. Should I get a $50 gift card and charge you $5 for making a card?" (only half joking)

"No, we already have a card." (me: insulted!)

So...off I go to run my errands with little man in tow. We hit the library, Babies R Us and the Big WalMart.

Then I had to come home and do SOMETHING. I just couldn't deal with this whole "store bought card" thing. So I came up with this:


I made a gift card holder as well as 6 thank you cards and matching envies that mom can use once the baby is born.

I used the "Sketch an Event" stamp set for the rattle image. It was stamped on Very Vanilla in Buckaroo Blue (I know it looks darker than that in the pic). I then sponged around the Very Vanilla Circles in Buckaroo Blue and mounted them on a circle of Buckaroo Blue.

The gift card holder is a piece of 4 1/4" X 7" of Buckaroo Blue folded to hold the gift card. I used pieces of the Four Seasons DSP to accent the gift card holder.

The envies were custom made to fit the 3" X 3" cards.

STAMPS: Sketch an Event
CARDSTOCK: Very Vanilla and Buckaroo Blue
DSP: Four Seasons
INK: Buckaroo Blue
ACCESSORIES: Cream Coloured Twill

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh So Lovely Thank You

YIKES! Can't believe I haven't posted a thing since Wednesday...how bad is THAT???

On Thursday over at SCS, the challenge is "Ways to Use It". I love this challenge, because more often than not, it sends me into my stash of goodies and I use up stuff I forgot I had (too much stuff maybe???).

This week the challenge was to use charms. I decided that a belt buckle counted and went to work with that...at which point DD reminded me that I used to put buckles on EVERYTHING at one point in my scrapbooking journey. She's right! People would ask me, "This needs something...but I don't quite know what." My answer was almost ALWAYS, "It needs a buckle!"

So, armed with my buckles, my "Oh So Lovely" and "Stem Silhouettes" sets, I set to work.


The base card is a Creative Cafe card from a set. The next layer is a 5" X 3 3/4" pieces of sponged and ticket punched Soft Sky cardstock. On top of that is a piece of Soft Sky DSP and Whisper White cardstock on which I stamped my main image. Both pieces were, of course, sponged and ticket punched.

I threaded the white ribbon with the buckle and used glue dots to adhere it and wrap it around the white cardstock.

The sentiment at the bottom (as well as one stamped inside) was stamped using the sentiment stamps from the "Stem Silhouettes" set coloured with a teal marker.

STAMPS: Oh So Lovely, Stem Silhouettes
CARDSTOCK: Soft Sky, Whisper White
DSP: Soft Sky
INK: Soft Sky
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Buckle

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry and Bright

First, a funny story (out of the mouths of babes)

Yesterday was Tuesday...Jonathan had cooking school...he takes cooking lessons at Loblaws, which means that we inevitably do some grocery shopping after class. I don't mind that...it works out, since the Loblaws that was near our house is now a "SUPERSTORE" and they don't carry the specials as Loblaws does - kind of annoying. But I digress...

Jonathan uses the flushable wipes when he goes to the bathroom. Over the weekend, he ran out, so we needed more of those. Over the weekend, I also ran out of baby wipes. No...we don't have any babies in the house, but I use baby wipes to clean my stamps when I'm done using them.

Before Jonathan was potty train (not long before) we had been to Costco to buy a MEGA box of wipes...I JUST used the last of them and he's been trained since just after he turned 3 years old. Yep! The box was THAT big!

All that to say that I needed more baby wipes...we're in the wipe aisle picking his flushable wipes and I say, "Oh wait! Mommy needs some wipes so I can stamp. I ran out and I need them because I WANT to stamp." Jonathan says (without missing a beat), "NO Mommy! You NEED to stamp!" I stopped the cart to give him a hug and a kiss right there! How much do I love that kid? SO CUTE!

So...today I stamped - WOOHOO!!! I missed it yesterday...

On Monday, our challenge was to create a book mark...but not just a regular rectangular bookmark...we were to create that would fit over the corner of a page. I started it, but didn't finish it.

Today, our challenge was a sketch. I LOVE the sketch challenges, because they always give you a great jumping off point...especially if your MOJO has left you hanging the day before - UGH!

I decided to incorporate my bookmark in with the card, so that you could give the card and a small "gift" at the same time.

This is what I came up with:


I think it would make a great Christmas card for someone who is an avid reader.

STAMPS: Merry and Bright
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Buckaroo Blue
PAPER: Four Seasons DSP
INK: Buckaroo Blue
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon

The base of the 5 X 7 card is Buckaroo Blue (in Colour '07) which I sponged in the same ink colour. The next layer is a 4 3/4" X 6 3/4" piece of Whisper White also sponged in Buckaroo Blue. The next three layers are 4" X 4" pieces of cardstock and DSP all sponged in Buckaroo Blue.

The images were stamped in Buckaroo Blue on Whisper White and then mounted on Buckaroo Blue mats.

The bookmark is tucked behind the piece of Whisper White so the whole card will fit in a 5 1/4" X 7 1/4" envelope.

My next goal is to work on yesterday's colour combination challenge...sort of...'cause I don't have the EXACT colours...

Thanks for stopping by!

Ready to Fly!

No...we're not going anywhere (POUT!)...I just made this card yesterday and decided that "Ready to Fly" was a good title for it.

Every Sunday at SCS, the challenge is "Featured Stamper". The challenge hostess picks a stamper and we get to go into her gallery, check out all her cool stuff and then pick a card to CASE (that's Copy and Steal Everything). The rules state that you have to change at least two things about the card. Our Featured Stamper this week is Shannon. I had SO much fun looking at her gallery!

Here's what I came up with:


I changed the main image and used a second image instead of an embellishment. I also used different DSP and different coloured cardstock. I REALLY liked the layout of the card, so I kept that...and can even see me making more with this same layout - SUPER easy!

The images were stamped on Whisper White and then cut out using my coluzzle. The mats for the images were also cut using my coluzzle. The small camera image was popped up on dimensionals. The card base is 4 3/4" square. The next layer is 4 1/2" square and the top layer of DSP is 4 1/4" square cut and then one piece was flipped - gotta love double sided DSP! Inside, I stamped "Are we There Yet?" I think this card would be just perfect for someone going away (especially in winter since I used the winter DSP from the four seasons pack).

I sponged all the elements with Buckaroo Blue...just 'cause I could...I've been on a sponging kick lately - LOL!

I have some 5" square envies, so the card which is 4 3/4" square will fit nicely in those.

STAMPS: Travel Time
DSP: Four Seasons
Cardstock: Whisper White, Buckaroo Blue
Ink: Buckaroo Blue

Today's Challenge is try a new technique and we're making a different kind of bookmark. Can't wait to play with that...but first, there are chores to do!

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Crisp Happy Holidays

I was looking for a project today (one I knew I had somewhere on my computer) and ended up over at Andrea Walford's blog and came across a neat little project for some Christmas tags.

I spent the afternoon creating and made 5 sets - WOOHOO! They'll make great gifts!


First I stamped the images on Whisper White cardstock then punched them out with my 1 3/8" punch. I then stamped off the "to and from" so it wouldn't be so strong and stamped it on top of the image. Then I used my Quickutz Revolution to cut out the mat for the image from Cranberry Crisp.

The package is a small cello bag stuck to True Thyme and topped with a scalloped piece of Cranberry Crisp and the "Happy Holidays" sentiment.

All the items were lined with a gold leaf pen.

Later on I hope to participate in the Featured Stamper challenge over at SCS. I have my sketch ready to go...so it'll probably be an "after the kids go to bed" project.

Hope everyone had a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Chocolate Sky Thank You

This one was done for the Inspiration Challenge and also for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. I took my inspiration from the colours in the "Mondo Dishes" photos.


Stamps: Oh So Lovely
Cardstock: Whisper White, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Ribbon


Thanks for stopping by!

More stamping goodies!

I was having so much fun stamping yesterday, that I just kept going! Till after 11 p.m. - YIKES!

Then DH and I played Sing Star for a bit and since it was after midnight, I checked out the inspiration piece for today's Inspiration Challenge over at SCS.

So yesterday's challenge was the Limited Supply Challenge. You have to make a card using only the supplies the challenger decides upon. Yesterday's challenge was called "White Out" and we were meant to make a SIMPLE card using white as the main colour. Very Vanilla was an option too.

Well, I made Frankie, but when I re-read the instructions, I realized that I shouldn't have used orange to colour his shirt (we were only allowed ONE extra colour other than white and black or another neutral) and that I shouldn't have used green to sponge the white cardstock.

So...I went back to the drawing board after making the card that I did for Scott and came up with these:


The card base is 4 X 4 Very Vanilla, the next layer is 3 1/2 X 3 1/2 Chocolate Chip and the top layer is 3 X 3 ticket punched piece of Purely Pomegranate. The image is stamped in Purely Pomegranate on a 2 X 2 ticket punched piece of Very Vanilla. There is a sentiment inside that says, "from the bottom of my heart".

Stamps: A Light Heart
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Brads



I made this using the Free Standing Pop Up tutorial that I used yesterday to make the pop up card for Scott.

The panel on the front of the pop up is a 1/2" piece of Very Vanilla stamped in Purely Pomegranate and matted on the same, then attached to the Chocolate Chip base.

The pop up part is the same Very Vanilla stamped with Purely Pomegranate and matted on the same and then matted again on Chocolate Chip.

I added an eyelet and ribbon at the top.

Stamps: A Light Heart
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Eyelet, Ribbon

Then, since I was on a roll and still enjoying using white, I made some of these:



They didn't qualify for the challenge (because of the yellow and red), but I had fun making them! The size of this card is 3 X 6 - a fun little size!

I stamped the main image on a piece of 2 1/4 X 5 1/4 piece of ticket punched Whisper White cardstock and then coloured in the star and balls on the tree using my Ident-a-Pen from American Crafts. The white was mounted on a piece of 2 1/2 X 5 1/2 piece of ticket punched Wild Wasabi before being mounted on the card face.

Stamps: Sidekick Sayings
Cardstock: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Ribbon, Markers

I'm off to play a game of Dora the Explorer Candy Land with Jonathan, then I'm going to attempt the Inspiration Challenge which I'll like use with Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge and kill two birds with one stone.

Hope you have a great day/weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!