Friends

Ahhhhhh……it’s official! We’re on summer break!

Yesterday was just a short awards ceremony for the 8th graders in the morning, and then we were done. Cannot believe that my little girl is now a freshman…….and that my boy is a senior. I’m both nervous and excited for what this next year will bring. But for now, we’re going to enjoy the summer.

Nik and her friend Hailey were quite in the mood to celebrate. We went out to lunch and then cranked up some music on the back porch. The girls went crazy with DIY sidewalk paint they made together. Boy, it did my heart some good to laugh like that.

Congratulations, girls! Here’s to the class of 2016!

Besides being the last day of school, yesterday was also a crafty day. I got to do some playing in my scraproom, just for fun. I gave myself a little challenge……to use a paper pad that I’ve been neglecting, and some stamps that have been gathering dust. Today is National Best Friends Day. So what better than a sweet friends card?

Do you all recognize this paper? It’s from the Basic Grey Oliver 6×6 pad. I chose three prints, and ended up making three cards. Not bad from three little papers, huh?

The flowers and leaves are from an older Stampin’Up set called Best Blossoms. The friends sentiment is from My Sentiments Exactly. I added in my favorite kraft cardstock and some scrap burlap. Edged everything with white paint for a bit of a shabby look.

I also made a couple more owl friends. And these little guys are looking for a new home. You can find them in my Etsy if you’d like them to come roost with you.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you all have a very wonderful weekend!

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Where Did They Go?

Could someone please tell me where the last couple of days went to? Feels like I just blinked for a minute, and somehow the time has slipped away from me. Last I checked, it was still Wednesday. I’m really not sure what happened. And I don’t have much to show for myself.  No sudden miraculous frenzy of accomplishment. No cures for disease. No solving of the world’s problems. I’m really rather boring today.

I have been doing a bit of scrapping, though.  And although I can’t share yet, here’s just a little sneakie peek of the project I’m working on for the March PageMaps. I do hope you’ll pop back on Tuesday for the full reveal.

I’ve also been working on my Etsy shop. The poor thing gets awfully neglected at times. I’ve decided to try a bit of a new venture by adding some vintage finds and antiques amidst my papercrafting goodies. It’s a bit of an eclectic mess…….but that works for me. Here’s a few of the items I’ve been working on. And if the poor darlings don’t sell, well they’ll just have to live with me.

But I’d have to say the highlight of the last few days has to be the field trip I was able to take with my daughter’s class today to the IMAX theater to see this.

The film was entertaining. The 3-D effects were well done. 9x World Champ surfer, Kelly Slater, was not too hard on the eyes. But the chance to chaperone a school trip with my kids getting older? Priceless.

Felt like old times.

So I guess these last few days haven’t been a total waste. Even though I still can’t figure out where they went.

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Meowy Messenger

Good morning everyone!  Is it just me, or is this week zooming by more quickly than usual?  I had to stop and think was it truly Wednesday today,or only Tuesday?  Somehow, I feel like I’ve lost a day somewhere.

Hope you don’t mind if I take a moment to share some fun news with you all.  I’ve had a few projects picked up for the May issue of ScrapStreet Magazine, a wonderful online publication featuring lots of cool articles.  You can find me here, here, and here.  Thank you, thank you, ScrapStreet!

And today I have a fun card featuring this week’s Digital Doodles stamp release over at 2Peas called Meowy Messenger.

This adorable digital stamp is the perfect framework for greeting card sentiments or journaling blocks on scrapbook layouts.

I printed Meowy Messenger onto white patterned paper and using my craft blade, cut away the inside of the frame image.  I colored the cat and bird with my watercolor pencils and used my blending pen to add spots to kitty.  Layered the frame on yellow paper, added a double row of scallops, and machine stitched the panel in place.

Papers are from Basic Grey’s new Max & Whiskers line, which I thought were a perfect match for this fun stamp.  Finished the project with a bit of tight zig-zag stitching in the corners, gold adhesive pearls on the frame scrolls, vintage seam binding and a Prima Cameo Rose.  The sentiment is a combination of rub-ons from a Creative Cafe SwatchBook.

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone!  Hope your weeks are going well!

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Let it Snow!

Do you think if you say something enough, you can make it happen?  Well that’s kinda what I’m hoping will happen with this little card.  Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

There’s no sign of anything yet…….but we honestly are supposed to get some snow today.  Yesterday was 60 degrees.  And today it’s supposed to snow.  I’m not sure if I believe it.  There wasn’t even any frost on the ground this morning.

Oh, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I made this little card using scraps from my stash and more of my old stamps.  I really am trying to use my stamps more this year.  The sledding stamp is from Stampin’Up’s Winter Play (2001) set and the greeting is from the Let It Snow (1997) set.  Stamped the kiddos with SU’s Basic Black ink, colored them with their chalk pastels and my Sakura glitter pen, cut them out and popped them up for a touch of dimension.  Stamped the greeting in SU’s Going Gray.

Papers are October Afternoon and KI Memories.  White lace trim is from Melissa Frances, and the cream trim is a vintage find I picked up at an antique store yesterday.  How fun is that?

Card is based on the current sketch over at 2sketches4you.  They really have awesome sketches if you card-makers are looking for inspiration.

I have to show you all another vintage treasure I found yesterday.  I am so excited to play with these.  I’m envisioning using my Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists on them…….but they are truly beautiful as is, too.

Last night, my little peanut and I made a batch of these.  Oh, my word, are they ever GOOD!  Definitely recommend them if you’re in need of a little chocolate fix. And when are we not in need of a little chocolate, right?

My card still isn’t working yet.  No snow! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Thanks for stopping by everyone!  Hope you have a fabulous Friday!

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Countdown to Christmas- Day 13

Hello everyone!  Sunday evening is upon us already, and another weekend is coming to a close.  With the holidays pressing upon us, I have a bajillion things on the old to-do list this week, as I’m sure you all do, too.  Need to kick things into high gear after spending a rather quiet weekend at home.  Need to do more shopping, need to do some mailing, need to do my wrapping, need to do some baking, need to send out my Christmas cards, need to make my Christmas cards………;)  I guess you get the picture.  Can anyone freeze time for awhile?

Speaking of pictures, here’s another look into my sunroom at night.

I received this beautiful lighted pussy-willow branch for my birthday recently.  Mixed it with some holiday berries in my glass hurricane jar.  When this, my pink tree, and holiday village are all lit,  my sunroom is a enchanted place to sit.

And here is a fun altered project that I’ve done recently.  I had an old Making Memories kraft boho chic album in my stash that I decided to turn into a holiday scrapbook.

I love the playful nature of this Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly line.  Used the patterned paper, chipboard elements, and card stock stickers for this.

The window cut-out was open to the first page, so I adhered a sheet of heavy duty acetate to the back of the opening with glue dots.  This allowed me to add that fun birdie ice-skater to the center.

Have a great evening everyone!  Thanks again for stopping by!

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Countdown to Christmas- Day 11

Hi everyone!  Are you all ready to start another weekend?  Can you believe we are officially only 2 weeks away from Christmas?  Yikes, I wish I could slow down the clock.  I still have so much to do to prepare.  I haven’t finished making my Christmas cards, and have yet to mail a single one.  Nor have I finished my shopping , or begun wrapping the presents.  I think I better stop before  I overwhelm myself with the “yet-to-dos” and be thankful for the “have-dones” and the beauty and magic of the entire season.  Sometimes it’s hard to slow down and just enjoy this special time.

One of the “have-dones” on my list today are these pretty jelly cookies I made for a cookie exchange party I will attend in the morning.

This recipe was graciously shared with me by my neighbor, and if you are interested in trying these yourselves, I will now share it with you.

Jelly Cookies

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt ¾ cup butter, softened 2/3 cups sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ cup jam

Frosting 1 cup 10x Confectioner’s Sugar 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350°F.

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.  Add vanilla and egg.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until blended.
3. Place dough on floured surface.  Divide dough into 4 equal pieces.
4. Roll each dough piece into a 15” long log.  Place log on ungreased cookie sheet.  Pat log into a 15” by 1 ½” rectangular strip.  With the handle of a wooden spoon, mark a ¼” indentation down the center of the strip.  Repeat with each strip of dough.
5. Evenly fill the indentation in each strip with jam.
6. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.  With spatula, transfer strips to wire rack to cool.
7. To prepare frosting mix 1 cup confectioner’s sugar with 1 tablespoon water.  Drizzle frosting on top of cooled cookie strips.
8. Transfer strips to cutting board and cut each diagonally into slices.

And now here’s a quick scrappy share.

This fun, polka-dotted box is by Petaloo.  It makes a great trinket box of gift box, and it comes with a blank mini accordion-fold album inside, perfect for a small brag book of special photos.

I embellished the top with a band of ribbon and a Heidi Swapp chipboard bookplate.  The bookplate covers a date sticker by Melissa Frances.  I then layered on a felt snowflake from Martha Stewart and Making Memories poinsettias and epoxy sticker, a smaller American Crafts felt flower, and a metal snowflake charm.  A quick and easy gift packaging idea!

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone!

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Countdown to Christmas- Day 6

Hello everyone!  Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend.  These last few days have been a blur.  They have truly flown by.  At least I’m starting to feel like I’m making a small dent in my holiday to-do list.  Today was another day of shopping at the mall.  I think I’ve spent more hours on my feet in these last three days than I care to count.  But, I have to say, I wouldn’t change a moment.  I do love this time of year. Even the hectic shopping mall.

I have a fun altered project to share with you all tonight.  This one brings a big smile to my face every time I look at it.

I made this hanging using one page from a Maya Road chipboard album.  I loved the adorable house shape, but I don’t tend to make many mini albums, so this was a perfect solution for me.  I covered the front and back in sweet peppermint paper by Sassafras Lass.  The roof shingles I created using my 1″ circle punch.  I started at the bottom roof-line, overlapping my circles slightly, and worked my way up row by row. I then added white paint dots to the edge of each shingle, as well as the edge of the house.  You can get good and even dots by dipping the back of a small paintbrush into paint and then dabbing them onto your paper.  I also added blue Webster’s Pages pom-pom trim to the roofline.

Most of the remaining embellishments are from Cosmo Cricket’s Jolly by Golly line, including the chipboard snowflake and cardstock smoke on the chimney.  Used one of the border stickers along the roof and the base of the house.

I used elements from the tag sheet to make the windows, window sashes and snow sign.  Added painted snow detailing and a rub-on from Melissa Frances on the sign.  Finished it off with a few buttons and snowflake brads and that adorable chipboard snowman.

You can find this little cutie up in my Etsy shop, along with lots of other fun goodies.  Go take a peek and tell me what you think!

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone!  See you all tomorrow!

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Countdown to Christmas- Day 5

Hi everyone!  I am one worn out little cookie tonight.  The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind of excitement and activity.  Kathy and I had a lot of fun working our booth at the Raleigh Winterfest kickoff event last night.  We had the prime booth space, closest to the stage and the tree lighting, so we had front row seats for all the activities.  I enjoyed watching the dancers and performers and hearing all the great Christmas music, and the tree lighting was beautiful.

Here are a few photos of our booth.

Not too bad for 24 hours notice.  And we did leave with a few less things than we brought, so I count that as a success.  Hopefully we’ll be able to do it all again next year, and perhaps we’ll even have a little time to plan.

Today I braved the malls and knocked out some of my Christmas shopping.  Feels GOOD to check some items off my list, but it will feel even better to put my feet up.   Before I do, here is a little card set I made recently.

For these cards, I mixed some older paper from Basic Grey and Little Yellow Bicycle with Pink Paislee trims and Teresa Collins journaling cards.  I also added some felt embellishments from Making Memories and American Crafts.

I love those MM felt pieces from the Mistletoe line.  I almost hate to even use them….they’re just too pretty.

Thanks for stopping by!  Think I’m going to go hold the couch up for awhile.

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Christmas Countdown- Day 4

Hi everyone!  I am so excited today!  In just a few minutes, Kathy and I will be leaving to set up our booth in the Crafters and Artisans Market in City Plaza for the Raleigh Winterfest.  Tonight’s fabulous kickoff event for the Winterfest is jam packed full of fun activities for the whole family.

The opening celebration on Friday, December 4 will run from 5 pm until 11 pm and will feature performances by local choirs and bands, talented figure skaters and a multitude of other entertainers, a visit by Santa Claus, a reading by Ira David Wood III (star of Theatre in the Park’s A Christmas Carol), artist and crafter’s booths, delicious food and drink, a dazzling holiday tree lighting and Grammy-winning, country music headliner Michelle Branch. This FREE, community-wide kickoff event will be followed by two months of additional programming at the AT&T Raleigh Winterfest Ice Rink.

If any of you make it down, please stop by and say Hi!

Before I go, I have a few more photos to share.  Last year after Christmas, I picked up an adorable pink miniature tree on clearance for a song.  I figured I could use it for several holidays, such as Valentine’s Day and Easter, as well as Christmas.  I set it in my sunroom, wrapped it up with white lights and a vintage garland I recently found at the flea market, and some of my favorite vintage, children’s toys inspired ornaments.

Pink is not a color I normally decorate with, but I love it at the holidays.  Brought out my old baby crib quilt as a throw for the chair, and changed out my pillows in the room to a light cream.

Wrapped the base of the tree in one of my grandmother’s old dishcloths and set one final toy ornament on the table.  Here’s how it looks at night with the lights glowing.

And for a quick scrappy share, here is a little frame project I made.

The wooden frame is a piece I found at my local big box craft store.  Decorated it with papers and chipboard from Cosmo Cricket’s Jolly by Golly line, along with a rub-on greeting from Melissa Frances and a big layered ribbon.

Thanks again for stopping by everyone!  Hope you all have a wonderful day!

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Christmas Countdown- Day 2

Hi everyone!  Thanks for stopping back in for my Christmas Countdown!  I have all sorts of happy things to share with you today.  It’s rainy and cold outside, but inside, we’re all as merry as can be.  That’s partly because we have our favorite canine visitor here with us this week.  Sargie!

And partly because I have a big pot of this stewing on the stove for dinner.

Turkey Chili I’ve adapted from my friend, Joanne’s, recipe to use up the last bits of Thanksgiving turkey.  The house smells so good, can’t wait to eat tonight!  Here’s the recipe.

2-3 cups of cooked, diced turkey
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can Great Northern beans
1 can Cannellini beans
1 cup water
1 chicken or turkey bouillon cube
2 cans (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chili powder
dash cumin
dash cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste

in a large stock pot, saute onion in  1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Add garlic and saute until lightly browned.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.  Enjoy!

Over the last week, I’ve been decorating our home for the holidays.  I think the lights and the beautiful decorations are truly my favorite part of this season.  I have a few new additions this year (of course).  But new or old, I love how each of these treasures tells a story and holds a special memory.  I hope, over the course of my countdown to Christmas, to share with you some of these stories, as well as photos of my holiday house.

Here are pictures of my small Christmas village.  I don’t have many pieces, and they don’t particularly go together, but they are special to me, nonetheless.  These belonged in the collection of a good friend of mine who passed them on to me when she moved out of state many years ago.  Every year when I take them out, I think of my friend and smile.

I tried to create a little village scene complete with tree and Santa’s sleigh.  Used some poly-fill for faux snow.  Nik even gave the house some poly-fill smoke coming from the chimneys.

I think the village looks so pretty in the dark with the reflection of the lights in my sunroom windows.

And for a quick scrappy share, here is a sweet little snowman ornament I made for my Etsy shop.

This is a wooden piece I found at my local craft store that I painted, glittered, and covered in some of my favorite Melissa Frances papers.  Dressed him up with black mini-brad eyes, ric-rac and ribbon from KI Memories, buttons and a beaded snowflake.

Thanks again for stopping by!  See you all tomorrow.

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