Happy Easter!

No foodie this Friday.  I've spent hours trying to get my digital cutter to talk to my computer...finally had to have the wonderful tech, Terri from Bosskut, take over my computer.  She got it done...thankfully!!  A big shout out, Terri!

My internet service has been down as well this afternoon as well.

I did manage to whip up a quick table setting/favor for Easter.  You still have time to make these.  Cute and quick...my kinda project.

If you want to see what's in my box along with a supply list and quick tutorial, head on over to the May Arts Blog. 
Have a blessed Easter!!

Party Time with May Arts and WOYWW87

Once in every little girl's life (even if she's all grown up!) she deserves a party fit for a princess.   Thanks to May Arts ribbon, you can transform items from clearance and discount stores into a fairy land.  Everything on this beautiful table came from stores like Big Lots, Walmart/Sam's Club or Bed/Bath and Beyond.  Some items even came from my stash closet (read: "I never throw anything away!")

May Arts Ribbon helped us pull it all together to surprise some very worthy young ladies at Place of Hope in Florida.

Here's a little sneak peek...for a closer look and a tutorial on how to do make this elegant yet super easy napkin fold, head over to the May Arts blog for all the details.  Valentine's Day is coming...isn't there someone in your life that would love a little surprise party?  :-D

After you're finished taking in all the details on the May Arts blog, head on over to Julia's Stamping Ground to see what's going on all over the stamping world on this What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday 87!!

Here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on now....can't share any details yet!

Foodie Friday and Craft Show Goodie

First my apologies to my email readers...you will be getting this late!  I didn't feel well yesterday so even though I baked in advance, the post didn't get written until this morning.

I love fall!  The air is crisp and clean, it's still warm enough to make me happy, and it's apple season!!  Is there anything better than fresh cold apple cider,  crisp crunchy apples and warm lucious apple pie.  There are so many apple pie recipes and everyone has a favorite.  Our number 1 favorite is this Praline Taffy Apple Pie I posted a while back but a close second is this yummy crumb topped apple pie I got from our newspaper in Louisville, KY many years ago.  It's super easy if you have Perfect Pie Crust in your freezer (wink) and sooooo good served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Yum!!

Bradley Ogden's Apple Crumb Pie

1 single 9" pie crust

Filling

7 large cooking apples (Gala, Granny Smith, etc.)

1 T. fresh lemon juice

2 T. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 t. cinnamon

Crumb Topping (may be made a day in advance and refrigerated until ready to assemble pie)

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/4 t. ground ginger

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

6 T. butter

Roll out pie crust.  Place in 9" pie pan.  Place in refrigerator.

To prepare topping:  Combine sugars, flour, spices and salt.  Use a pastry blender or your fingers to cut butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces of butter are the size of oatmeal.  Refrigerate until assembly.

To make the filling :  Peel, core and quarter apples.  (A Yankee Apple Peeler makes this easy and little ones love it!)  Place apples quarters in a large bowl.  Add lemon juice, toss well.  Combine flour, sugar and cinnamon.  Toss with apples. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pile the apples into the prepared pie shell, leaving slightly higher in the center.  Sprinkle crumb topping over the apples.  Bake for about 1 hour or until the apples are tender when tested with a knife.

Enjoy!!

Here's  peek at some "Organize It" sets I made for the art show last weekend.  I have another show in December.  I'll  have just a couple of these in my Etsy shop as well.

                                 

House Mouse Challenge 81 - Little Punkin, Big Boo!

I've been creating, just can't share yet.  There's a blog hop coming with May Arts and Glue Arts so be sure to stay tuned for the fun. 

I've already sent off the Halloween goodies to our grandchildren so when I saw the House Mouse and Friends Challenge 81 this week, I thought I'd make a treat for my DH.  I haven't surprised him in a while so thought this little basket was perfect for tucking a few Halloween treats in.  I like to sneak surprises in his car so he finds them on his way to work.

 Other Challenges:
Stamp Something - Halloween
Cowgirl Up Designs - Anything Goes
Crazy4Challenges - Halloween

Supplies:

Paper - Papertrey black, SU Pumpkin pie, Neenah Classic white

Ink - Memento, Copic markers

Stamps - House Mouse Little Punkin, PTI Sweet Treats

Accessories - PTI basket template, SU word window punch, bling, Spellbinders circle dies

May Arts Satin Cutouts - EX01,  Satin Bubble Dots- MD28

The Cutting Cafe - Best Wishes

Gosh...it's June already!  Anybody know where May went?  We've been having the normal afternoon thunderstorms almost daily.  The big ones cause the barometric pressure to drop fast and when that happens, my blood pressure goes up.  Weird, right?  Means I have to take extra meds and I get a horrible headache.  It's subsided a bit so I'll try to make this brief.  

 

At any rate, when I think of June, I think of weddings...we don't have any icoming up soon but when I found this elegant Color Splash Challenge #18 over on Hand Stamped Sentiments blog, I just couldn't resist playing along.  

                                            

                                             

                                                  

Regina, over at The Cutting Cafe has just designed a set of card frames called fittingly, Celebration Frames.  You get 3 frames..."Party Time", "Happy Birthday" and"Best Wishes".  I thought the Best Wishes would be perfect for a wedding card.  

 

                                    

I tried to keep the card CAS (Clean and Simple) so I added a strip of DP and simple sentiment panel.  See that cute bag?  It's one of my most favorite bags.   It's by The Digi Chick and it's called Funky Bag 2.  I'm not sure why as I think it's just perfect.  I kept it simple to go with the card and because I wanted it to look more taylored like the card.  The bag is closed with a velcro dot and the accent is just a gem glued into the depression on my button.    I printed the DP from a free download pack I got a long time ago.  It's on my other computer so I'll look it up and add it later.  I think it's called Lola.   Isn't it elegant?  I used the leftover strip on my card so no waste!

 

Thanks for stopping by to play with me today.  I love your comments!!

 

Supplies:

Paper - Neenah Classic, digital DP

Stamps - The Cutting Cafe Celebration Frames, unnamed rubber

Ink - Versafine

Accessories - Funky Bag Template - The Digi Chick, May Arts silk ribbon, silver twine, silver gems, button, velcro dot

 

If it's the First of the Month, It Must be Paper Cubed!!

The first of every month the team over at the Paper Cubed (P3) blog have a super challenge for you!  This month, Kim, our team coordinator, challenged us to make a container. 

Well, it's summer and in summer, my mind turns to picnics....I adore picnics.  My poor DH gets so tired of hearing me say it because he's not a trudge, sweat, swat while you eat kinda guy, but sometimes he gives in and lets me plan one. 

I had this paper from Gooseberry Patch on my desk, so when Kim sent her challenge over, I saw the bounties of summer packed into this little basket template from Papertrey Ink.  Inside, I've packed a jar of my Spiced Peach Jam and a package of my homemade Multigrain Pancake Mix.  I made a recipe card to go with it.

Be sure to pop over to the Paper Cubed blog to check out the rest of the eye candy from the P3 team then get creating and link up your project at P3 to win a $15 gift certificate to Lauren Meader's MyTime Made Easy site.  Lauren used to design for Papertrey and designed the template for this basket.  You've got a month so no need to feel rushed.  Have fun and good luck!!  Be sure to check out the rest of the awesome projects from the team at the links below.

P3 Team

Michelle

Melanie

Tammy

Sandy

Lorrinda

Supplies:

Template - Papertrey Ink Pack a Picnic

Paper - Gooseberry Patch, SU Barely Banana, White

Stamps - Papertrey Fruitful

Accessories - Martha Stewart punch, Spellbinders circle dies, SU flowers, plaid brads (Target $1 spot), Scor-Tape

Cutting Cafe Giveaway!...Got Worms? CLOSED

 Edited to add:  This set is featured here on SNR Card Universe.  Thanks so much!!

First a quick update...we're not finished with the cabinet yet...it would have been done, but the directions from Ikea have no words...only pictures...Should be easy, huh? Well, some of the pieces were not marked correctly so to make a long story short, we had a couple of "do-overs". One more session should do it on the first piece though.  Hopefully, we've learned so the second piece should be easier.

Now onto the real reason you're here!  Regina, the generous owner of The Cutting Cafe, says it's time for another giveaway!!

                                                

What kiddo, boy or girl, doesn't love cute little critters?  If you combine that with some fun colors, a few books and Gummy Worms, what's not to love?  My card and bookmark use the Cute Critters set.  I just adore this cute, cute set!!!  58 images...the cutest, creepy,  crawly, flying, sprouting, little creatures you've ever seen!  Look for more from me on this one. 

                                                                
 I combined my card with a bookmark so my little reader can keep his/her page marked in a fun way.  The top worm has a tiny bit of magnetic under it so that the magnetic bookmark stays on the card but still looks cute when the bookmark is removed. 

                                         

Every little reader needs a snack right? I used The Cutting Cafe's Candy Box and filled it with....what else!? Gummy Worms! I used the window version of this easy, peasy box, then placed my gummies in a clear cellophane bag so my little reader can see the worms inside.  This box will also hold 12 Hershey Nuggets.

                                          

Now for the details on how to win BOTH of these super sets....

Just pop on over to The Cutting Cafe then come back here and tell me which cute image you like the best in the Cute Critter set.

If you don't have a blog...that's ok!  Just leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. 

If you like what you've seen on my blog, I would be honored to have you as a follower but it's not required.

I will draw a winner on Friday, May 14th after 6:00 p.m. (Eastern).

This little set also qualifies for the Pull out your Punches challenge on Delightful Sketches and Challenges blog.

Good Luck and have fun!!

Cutting Cafe Wednesday- All about the Boys

Our little grandson has a birthday coming up soon.  He's all boy...he loves sports, tools, exploring, airplanes, fishing, Spider Man and everything his Daddy does.

I just fell in love with this All About Boys Colored Background Set from The Cutting Cafe. 

Regina has designed  this background to match all the SU colors perfectly.  I paired it with one of my favorite templates...The Pencil Box.  I just printed out two copies of the lid template and popped one on the bottom of the box for extra color and dimension.   I added zig-zag and straight stitching to reinforce the box and add more color.  The "happy birthday"  sentiment is from the Happy Birthday 40 Ways set. 

Fun and colorful...just like a boy!  Any ideas what I should put in the box?

Supplies:

Stamps - The Cutting Cafe

Paper - SU Night of Navy, The Cutting Cafe

Accessories - SU retired ribbon, brads, Spellbinders Ribbon Tag die

Technique - Stitching

  

Paper Cubed!! Shadow Box Challenge

Happy May Day and Happy Kentucky Derby Day to all my friends in Louisville!  We sure do miss the fun and excitement of the Derby.

I'm so excited to be a part of the very first PAPER CUBED aka P3 Challenge!!  This is a just for fun no cards allowed challenge blog.  We want to enourage you to think in 3D, wild, wonderful, out of the box...or maybe in the box...or on the box, or frame, or spool or package....now you get the idea!

Kim's first challenge for us is to create a shadow box.  I went rummaging through my stuff...no time to go shopping and we're going to actually USE our stuff, right?  Here's what I came up with:

  1.  A Martha Stewart linen shadow box that I got on clearance at Michael's LAST year (sigh)

  2.  A spool of pearls and some crocheted lace that I picked up on clearance at JoAnn's

  3.  A beloved lace handkerchief from my drawer of things I don't use anymore but still love

  4.  Some of my handmade paper roses (these will be in my etsy store soon)

  5.  A paper rose from my stash

  6.  May Arts champagne silk ribbon...love that ribbon!

  7.  A butterfly from Michael's

  8.  Some yummy Webster's pages paper

  9.  A heart charm from my stash

10.  Chipboard circles (SU)

11.  Cabbage Roses Vanilla Creme ribbon

12.  Art Institute glitter

13.  Ivory acrylic paint

I thought this vintage look shadow box would also make a wonderful memory box for Mother's Day in addition to a wedding or anniversary.

Now here's the fun part...head on over to Paper Cubed to see what the rest of the Design Team has created to get your mojo going, then dive in and play with us.  You've got the whole month until 12 p.m., May 31st, so there's no pressure to hurry.  Winner will be announced on the 5th day following the close of the challenge.  

Get your Mojo going then link it up over at Paper Cubed! 

This also qualifies for :

Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply April Showers bring May Flowers challenge to use paper flowers.

A Spoonful of Sugar - 3D Something challenge

Hand Stamped Sentiments - Anything but a Card challenge

One Stop Craft Challenge - Anything but a Card challenge

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge - Vintage Styled

SplitcoastStampers WT268 - Chipboard

SplitcoastStampers F4A10 - Flowers

Beary Sweet Challenge - Flowers  (They also have some awesome blog candy!)

Special alert  The Cutting Cafe is having a 2 for 1 sale today only (May 1), in honor of National Scrapbooking Day, so head there after you check out the Paper Cubed Design Team creations.

                                                                 

It's Giveaway Time at the Cutting Cafe!

This post will stay on top until Wednesday, March 24th, 12:00 p.m. Eastern time.  Winner will drawn on Thursday morning.  Scroll down for newer posts.

That's right!  Regina, of The Cutting Cafe, has said we could create a project and give YOU the sets we used.  How's that for fun?

My project is a little peep holder.  Isn't it cute?  I used the Bunny Shaped Card and The Easter Set 2 printable stamp set.    The Easter Set 2 has 11 images and sentiments as well.  There are so many ways to use this awesome set of printable stamps.

All you have to do to win, is leave a comment here on this post by Thursday, March 25th.  I will choose one winner by random number selector for BOTH sets of stamps!! 

Don't forget to check out the rest of the CC Design Team to see what they're giving away.

Thanks for "peeping" in!!

Supplies:

Paper - PTI Melon Berry, SU Baja Breeze

Ink - PTI Vintage Cream, markers

Stamps/Templates - The Cutting Cafe

Accessories:  printer, Spellbinders oval dies, peep, clear bag, ribbon, embroidery floss, pom,pom, stick-on gems, stick on bird, Cuttlebug flower die

It's Fun Friday on the Posh Designs Blog!

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all the well wishes.   I think we may have found the culprit  that was causing my stomach to do flip flops.  The only other time I've felt like this other than having a serious virus was when I was pregnant and I'm pretty sure that isn't the case!!! 

This is today's Fun Friday....Boxes, Bags, Books and Chocolate project over at Posh Designs Blog.

I've used the awesome Butterfly Shaped Card Template, the All Occasion Tag Set and the All Occasion Scalloped Circle Word Set 1 from The Cutting Cafe to create an elegant spring birthday card and gift box set.   You can find a tutorial on the Posh blog for creating the center of the box.   This little box does a big job...it can hold candy or gift sizes of lotion, lipstick, hand cream, cookies...what can you think of?

This is also for Challenge 59 Spots and Dots on Crafty Creations Challenges & The Dutch Dare Challenge 73 (color challenge).  It looks like all kinds of colors were used but I think this looks like one of them and I used the butterfly inspiration on the the shirt.

Be sure and stay tuned...I've got blog candy coming and some items on my For Sale link AND a giveaway from TCC.   How's that for excitement!?

Supplies

Cardstock - solid PTI Plum Pudding, Lavender Moon, K&Co. Brenda Walton Chelsea Glitter Pink

Stamps - The Cutting Cafe

Template - The Cutting Cafe

Accessories -  PTI ribbon, Martha Stewart border punch, butterfly punch, Art Institute Glitter (eggplant), silver twine, dimensionals, glue dots, stick-on pearls, Sakura Glitter pen

A Life Filled with Cupcakes is a Good Life, So... Pig Out!

I am sad to report that due to circumstances beyond her control, Judy of Digital-Ink Co., is closing the doors to the store.  She will be opening her own stand alone store soon so stay tuned for more information.


I was assigned to Judy for the next challenge, "Anything Goes".  I paired her image, "Pig Out" with some templates from The Cutting Cafe.  You know how much I love cupcakes! (See my posts here for recipes and photos).  I chose the Cupcake Box and one of her awesome new releases All Occasion Tag Set.  These tags fit the SU tag punch.  How cool is that?!  I wanted this to be suitable for boys but I think a girl might like the polka dotted pig too.

I used the Easel Card design from SplitcoastStampers and The Cutting Cafe's All About Cupcakes for my card sentiment.

Have you ever seen such pure bliss?  Um, that is unless, it's my face diving into that cupcake!

Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate your comments and if you're new, come follow along with me!  You never know what will happen on the playground.

Supplies:
Paper - SU Certainly Celery, Bordering Blue, Crate Paper Brunch
Stamps - The Cutting Cafe,  M&M designz
Accessories - Templates - The Cutting Cafe, Crystal Effects, sewing machine, beads, ribbon, twine, Spellbinder circle dies,wooden skewer, Scor-Tape 
Ink - Prismacolor marker

Thank You for Being My Friend

I just ADORE pink and black.  I think you can tell by how often I use it!  This little gift set was made specifically to meet a bunch of challenges.

First of all is SCS Featured Stamper challenge (FS158).  Laurie's cards ROCK!  Make sure you visit her SCS gallery.  An older Ways to Use it challenge WT222 is to use the crinkled flowers on your card.  Scroll down to see how I made mine.

Next up is the Our Daily Bread Designs challenge ODBDSLC2 to use pink or red and bling and using their fabulous Friendship set.  This is the first time I've used their stamps and I'm super impressed with the quality of the rubber and cushioning.  I got a good clean image every time with little pressure.  In order to pump up the shine, I sprayed the tiny roses, the butterfly and the big rose with spray adhesive and sprinkled them with Art Institute glitter.  Lightly on the card and heavier on the big rose.

The sketch, in addition to Laurie's card is for Posh Designs Scrapbook Store's sketch Challenge 8(PDSS8).  Be sure to check out their challenges.  They're bi-weekly so you don't have to rush and their designers give some fantastic inspiration to get you going.  Be sure to check out their store while you're there!

The Cupcake Inspirations challenge (CIC46) .  Lots to spark the imaginations...deeeeeep chocolate, almost black, inspired the black on my set.  Lots of pink, butterflies and flowers too.  What's not to love?  I've been wanting to do one of these challenges forever...mmmmm, cupcakes!  I think my yummy box could almost pass for one.

                                                                                     

Here's a close up of the big rose on the Tiny Box I made using this super cool set from The Cutting Cafe.  This little 3 x 3 inch box is perfect for giving any kind of tiny gift from a few delectable chocolates to jewelry and it goes together in just minutes.  I don't think you can tell but I scored the top of the box every 1/2" all the way across to give it some depth since I didn't use designer paper.  I wanted my big rose to take center stage.

I made the rose using The Heart Flower Printable set and Cutting file.  Talk about versatility!  This set has every size flower you can think of!!  I cut mine in three colors, using Papertrey's Pure Poppy, Sweet blush and Hibiscus Burst.  I used 2 of the small flowers, 5 medium and 3 large.  I crumpled up each flower individually, unfolded each then layered them on a scrap piece of foam.  Next I speared them in the center with a piercing tool and inserted a jeweled brad.  After I secured the brad, I sprayed the flower with adhesive and gave it a liberal coating of glitter.

Whew...off to dinner with some friends.  We have a Mystery dinner every other month.  So much fun.

Love to know what you think.  Hope you found some inspiration here.

Big News, A Big Giveaway, A Big Contest and A Little Valentine Love

First, a Little Valentine Love....Isn't that little Monkey just the cutest?  I will give you all the details in a minute but first.....

..

The BIG News...I've been asked by the talented ladies at Digital-Ink Co. to join their team of super talented designers.  I have a link on the sidebar so you can go and visit all their blogs.  Be prepared to be inspired.


 For those of you who may not know Digital-Ink Co., they are a team of very talented stamp creators who have joined together to bring you some awesome digital stamp creations...their blog links are on the side bar as well.   Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to receive a free stamp with every issue and get all the latest sales and news about new stamps.

Ok, now for my Little Valentine Love...Monkey Around Love set...That adorable little monkey can be found at the Digital-Ink Co.   He's the creation of Sue from Beary Dust Stamps.   The challenge at Digital-Ink Co. was to make something that inspired Love.  I re-sized my little Monkey Around and printed out several images.  He's colored with Prismacolor pencils and baby oil.   I colored 4 heads and 4 arms so that I could cut them out and give him some dimension using foam tape.  And yah...since he's new, he qualifies me for the challenge at ABC Challenge blog to use something new and the Crazy 4 Challenges to create a Valentine themed card AND the Digital Tuesday challenge to use an animal!   Here's a closer look...

The sweet Scalloped Card and bag/box template came from The Cutting Cafe.  I think this bag template is my all time favorite.  It holds more than the other templates out there and comes with a variety of shapes for the window...how cool is that?  If you love him as much as I do he will be in my Etsy shop.  Now keep reading for The Big Contest!

Supplies:  Stamps - Beary Dust Monkey Around

Templates - The Cutting Cafe

Paper - Papertrey Ink

Accessories:  printer, clear acrylic sheet, foam tape, Prismacolor pencils, baby oil, white marker, ribbon, Spellbinders circle dies, bling

Now for the Big Giveaway and The Big Contest..scroll down for the details.

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Just make a Valentine/Love inspired creation and link it here.  If you use the word "Wish" you get 2 entries.  Be sure to follow all the directions including posting this giveaway image on your blog.  Make sure to sign up as a follower while you're there so you can get in on future contests/giveaways.  To make the celebration even better and celebrate my new DT spot with the Digital-Ink Co....just leave me a comment and follow my blog,  and I will draw a winner using Random number selector on Wednesday,  Feb. 8th. for a grab bag of ribbons...lots of ribbons! 

Valentine Heart Boxes

Sorry, I've been awol for a few days...just feeling a bit run down...probably the changing weather so I toddled off to bed early a few nights.  Nighttime is my time for stamping.  I enjoy it so much that to do it during the day feels like playing when there's other work to be done.

At any rate, I created these little heart boxes to bless the teachers at the school where our church is meeting temporarily.  We try to do something monthly.  Oh, how I wanted to add ribbon and flowers and bling but some of the teachers are male so had to keep them simple.   A tutorial for the center piece follows.

They are simple to make so they would be a quick and easy treat for anyone you want to gift on Valentine's Day...how about your mailperson, paper delivery person or neighbors?

I filled these with Ferraro chocolates but they will have red Lindt chocolates in them.  I didn't have any in my candy stash...will have to remedy that!  ;-)  Each box will hold 6-7 of those yummy truffles. 

Here's a side view of one so you can see how to put them together.  They follow basically the same procedure as the Apple Box.  The box dimensions are 4" at the widest point on the top by 3" tall at the center of the heart.

The hearts are cut  and embossed with the largest Spellbinders scalloped heart die.  Cut the bottom point off so the box will stand on its own.  Cut the DP heart with the 2nd largest plain Spellbinders heart.

To form the box, cut a strip of cardstock 7-1/2" x 2".  

Place the 7-1/2" side along the top of  your Scor-Pal.  Score at  3" and again at 4-1/2". 

Turn the strip so the 2" side is at the 3rd mark from the left side.  Make a 1/4" score at the 2" line.  Flip the strip and repeat.

Line the sides and bottom with Scor-Tape or redline.  Make cuts just to the score line at what will be the bottom of the box. Peel off the bottom tape cover first and place it as close to the bottom of the heart as you can then peel off one side at a time and adhere to heart.  Repeat with the other side and then the back.  It's easier if you stick the bottom section down first.  Decorate as desired and fill.

Enjoy!

Supplies: 

Paper - Papertrey Ink

Stamps - There She Goes Cupcake Mix & Match

Accessories - Scor-Tape, Spellbinders Scalloped and Plain Heart dies, brads (Target $1 spot), SU small square punch (for end of sentiment strip