I'm a Guest Designer!

So excited to share this card and introduce you to the Creative Belli challenge blog. Early last week, my friend, Robin Kirkpatrick, asked if I was interested on being the Guest Designer for this week. Well, of course I said yes. So, I set to work on my card for the following sketch.

I flattened it a bit and stretched it a bit, but all and alI stuck with the original elements.  I made the pinwheels by modgepodging(This is a word, I am sure of it.)two layers of the printed digital papers I used for this card. Then I cut the squares using Nestibilities. I found a pinwheel pattern on-line and used it as a guide for where to make the cuts so the squares became pinwheels. I used a glue dot in the center to hold the corners, poked a hole in the center and used the brads to secure everything together. I think I should have distressed the pinwheel edges more before I assembled them, but oh well. 

The theme this week for the CARDS blog challenge is Fourth of July, so I hope to use all my scraps to pull together another card by Friday.  

I want to thank everyone at Creative Belli for having me this week and for hosting such great challenges. Stop by and try your hand at the sketch. Also, go visit Robin at her blog, Robin's Rubber Room, and see what great things she does with her cards.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Links:

Creative Belli

Robin Kirkpatrick

Details: 
Stamps: Expressions (KI Memories), Series 12 (Studio G), Fresh (American Crafts)
Ink: Fresh Snow, Pure Poppy 9PTI), Antique Linen 9Ranger)
Paper: Kraft (PTI), digi papers
Other: Crimson Lake ( Marvy Marker) Que Sera Fera Brads (K and Co.)

CARDS and Paper Crafts all in one...

Happy Friday! I am not sure if it is obvious, but I am suffering a slight creative block. When I sit down to make a card, I feel less than inventive or successful. Apparently being Moxie Fab zapped my mojo. Alas, I seem to have found some creative juices this morning because I got up and made this card for the CARDS Blog challenge to use hat pins. Also, I used the current Paper Crafts Magazine sketch. I hope it is not an industry no-no to combine challenges from the two different publications.

This is probably the sparkliest (Is that a word?) card I have ever made. STICKLES galore! I was covered in glitter by the time I finished. I lost track of time and I may not be as showered as I usually am when I go to work. Oh, don't judge me. I am sure you have had to douse yourself in body spray and get in the car at some point.  

A few things about this card. The fireworks patterned paper I made using the glittery fire works images from Sugarplum Paperie and the striped paper is from Kellie's Kreations. Aren't you impressed? I mixed some digital elements into this card. I cut the frame out of clear card stock with my spellbinder's nestibilities and covered it with Stickles. I do not own any hat pins, so I just made my own using straight pins and the small stars. That should cover all the neat-o-keen parts.

Notice the new CHA count down at the top of the page. I am SOOOOOOO excited. Booked my flight yesterday and now I have to do some searching for a cheap hotel.  Where are you staying?

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Links:

CARDS Blog

Paper Crafts 

Sugar Plum Paperie

Kellie's Kreations

CHA

Details: 

Stamps: Expressions (KI Memories)

Ink: Antiqued Linen, Tea Dyed (Ranger), Pure Poppy (PTI)

Paper: White card blank (Michael's), Clear card stock, Stamper's Select (PTI)

Copics: Clear (Spica)

Other: Xmas Red, Turquoise (Stickles), Yellow Gold (Martha Stewart Glitter), Lipstick Twine (Gartner), Threading Water (Fiskars), Stardust Pen (Sakura), stick pens,

Bunk Beds, Tape storage and CSN Stores

A while ago, I was contacted by Jason at CSN Stores and he asked me to browse around their 200+ stores and do a product review. I was amazed at the selection and variety of items they offer. In my attempt to be good, I started by browsing the twin beds and bunk beds. My mom is looking for a set for the grandchildren's room.  I am pretty sure the kids would like this set-up...

 Of course, I am willing to bet Grandmother is more interested in something like this...

Being good lasted for about thirty minutes and then I started looking at stuff for my studio space. Oh, and I checked out the kitchen supplies, too. As I meandered through the site, I discovered this...

TAPE is all the rage right now and I love this dispenser.  These colors are great, too. With this, I know one part of my supplies will be neat and organized. So what will happen is my tape will be a shining organized beacon in the sea of supplies which is my studio space.

This product is solid and well constructed. Plus, the company is environmentally conscious. By shredding and using cardboard boxes as packing material, they support the reduce and reuse movement. Additionally, they employ and maximize the capabilities of those in community with developmental disabilities. What a great company!

I am looking forward to receiving my new tape dispenser. I'll let you know what I think about it when it arrives.

Meanwhile, head over and check out all their stores.

Happy Day!

LWID and Strutting my Stuff

Yesterday, I mentioned all the berries I used for Triple Berry Jammin'. Well, berries leave juice and juice stains, so I decided to throw some white ribbon in the bags and see what resulted. Pretty and pink shades of ribbon. From left to right, blackberry juice produced the darkest ribbon and my favorite color. Next is strawberry. A soft shade of pink that smells delicious. Last and with a purple hue, is fermented grapes, aka my wine. The bottle was sitting on the counter, so I figured why not try pouring some in a bag, too. The third ribbon from the left is actually cream ribbon dyed with wine. I think at this point, I was grabbing anything and throwing it in the bags. No, the wine did not have anything to do with this behavior. 

I had given up on LOOK WHAT I DID, but one of my friends left a comment about her flowers on yesterday's post. See her flowers here. How exciting to put a seed in the ground and experience the growth of such beautiful flowers. Good job! I am so glad she wanted us to see what she accomplished. So, I will renew my call for LWID posts. Create your LOOK WHAT I DID and use inlinkz or leave a comment that includes a link to your post.

To start the process, I will share this for the Strut Your Stuff posting over at Somewhat Simple. Thanks for stopping by I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 


Happy Day!
 

Links:

Somewhat Simple

Triple Berry Jammin'

Over the past few weeks, I have picked strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. My freezer is full to over flowing, so I had to make something with all these berries. Even though it is 110 heat index down here, I was willing to stand over a hot stove and make jam. So, I headed to my local store to grab some supplies. While browsing the canning shelves, I discovered "NO COOK" pectin. Are you serious? I do not have to sweat to death and dehydrate while getting a steam facial to make jams?!  A little leery for fear it might mean the jam is not legitimate jam, just some knock-off version, I bought a pack of the pectin and some freezer jars, only after confirming they were BPA free. I checked out the Ball website. Cruised through the recipes and then adapted the Berry Blitz recipe for my purposes. 

Triple Berry jammin

1 pkg Freezer Pectin

3/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend

1 1/2 cup crushed balckbeerries (12oz)

1 1/2 cup crushed blueberries (12oz)

1 1/3 cup crushed strawberries (16oz)

zest of 1 small lemon

1. Stir sugar blend and pectin in a bowl, mix well.

2. Add berries and zest, stir for 3 minutes.

3. Ladle into clean jars, let stand 30 mins and freeze for one year or keep in frig for 3 weeks.

According to SparkRecipes these are the nutrituion details per 8 oz jar: (more information below the nutrition facts)

Nutrition Facts
5 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		204.5
Total Fat		0.4 g
	Saturated Fat	0.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.1 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		4.5 mg
Potassium		225.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate		43.6 g
	Dietary Fiber	4.8 g
	Sugars	35.4 g
Protein		0.9 g

Vitamin A	2.4 %
Vitamin B-12	0.0 %
Vitamin B-6	3.9 %
Vitamin C	88.2 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	3.5 %
Calcium	2.7 %
Copper	5.6 %
Folate	7.2 %
Iron	3.1 %
Magnesium	4.3 %
Manganese	41.8 %
Niacin	2.2 %
Pantothenic Acid	3.7 %
Phosphorus	2.5 %
Riboflavin	4.6 %
Selenium	1.3 %
Thiamin	2.7 %
Zinc	1.6 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

I know this label is LARGE, but I could not figure out how to change the size without making a huge effort. I'll do better on this part next time I post a recipe. The bread in the picture is homemade by one of my past student leaders. He dropped if off last week and it is DELICIOUS!  All the other jam is in freezer jars. I knew I would need one to test the final product so I just used a glass jar.  So I could share this with more people, I posted over at Blue Cricket Design. Each week she host Show and Tell, much like my LOOK WHAT I DID. The difference is, people actually link up to her weekly post. So, if you want to show and tell, provide a link.

Reviews thus far, " Yum! - I liked the consistency a lot. A little bit sweet from the Splenda I might have preferred just sugar. But that is being picky." "It was great! Did you see how fast I ate it?"

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day! 

Links:

Ball Fresh Preserves

SparkRecipes
Blue Cricket Design 

Link Party:

CARDS Challenge and a few others

Happy FRIDAY!

I am ready for the weekend. What about you? This is my submission for this week's CARDS magazine challenge to use floral paper. I have a tough time with floral stuff. I really want to create vintage shabby chic cards that scream girlie but alas, I am not successful. I ooh and awww when I see the likes of Sarah Martina, and Melissa Phillips post wonderful cards that scream feminine and frilly. I'll keep working on developing that part of my style. My mom has always said I didn't like it or wouldn't wear it if it wasn't cotton. I guess, just like my clothing choices, I struggle with frilly cards. Doesn't mean I do not love them when I see them.

I used the Clean & Simple FTL 93 sketch as the foundation of this card. OK, what you need to know is the center strip is moved up because it hides a multitude of unhappy accidents. I experimented with some folding and distressing of the paper and let's just say, NOT successful. Love being able to hide a mess with another layer of craftiness. This pic shows the layers little more clearly and highlights the hidden section.  

I am excited to go blackberry picking tomorrow with a group of girlfriends and then have lunch. Sounds like a good start to a Saturday. What do you have planned?

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Day!

Links

CARDS

Sarah Martina

Melissa Phillips

Clean and Simple 

Your Next Stamp - Buttons

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Floral Delights

Details: 
Stamps:Floral Fusion (PTI)
Ink: Antique Linen (Ranger), Tuxedo Black (Momento)
Paper: al la Carte, Amplified (American Crafts), White Card Blank, black cardstock (Michael's)
Other: Pearls (Paper Studio, Recollections), miscellaneous buttons

Waltzingmouse, Trigger and a few others

So, I am trying to check other things off my 2010 list, and one of those is to get published. OK, I actually just wanted to start submitting in 2010 and I have checked that off my list. What is a list if you don't add as you check off? So, I added getting published.  Here is the quandary, I never know if I should post cards on my blog and still submit them for consideration. Thankfully, many of the publications clearly state, "please do not post submission online." 

SO, today I am taking a risk. I submitted this card for consideration but I am still posting it because I wanted to share with those who follow me. I mean, I might not ever post here if I only consider the concept of publication. I want to be published, but it is more important to me that the people who actually follow my blog get what they come for when they visit. 

This card is for the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge and Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger. I also listed a few other challenges it works for under the link section at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation. I'd love to hear from you so leave a comment or ask a question. 

Happy Day!

Links
Waltzingmouse
Moxie Fab World
Cute Card Thursday - Anything but Square
American Craft - 2 or more AC products


Details
Stamps: Studio G
Ink: Anitque Linen (Ranger), Berry Sorbet (PTI)
Paper: Tropicals (American Crafts), Kraft (PTI), Blue Sparkle (The Paper Cut)white random cardstock
Copics: BG(0000,45), B(24)
Dies: Spellbinders, QuickKutz
Punches: Martha Stewart, Marvy Uchida, Karl
Other: Rhinestone (Recollections), Diamond Glaze, Bubbles Texture Plate (Fiskars)