Crafting for Moms

Hello again! I wanted to share with you a special project I did for a demo at AC Moore recently. The demo was showcasing the Gallery Glass paints by Plaid Online. This was definitely outside of my comfort zone as I have had no experience with this product. Fortunately, I was given great directions by the corporate office so I had very little trouble putting this together :).

 

I started out with a template underneath a blank Leading Page. You can snag templates off of the internet as virtually any image can be traced. I simply traced the template with the Leading Paint and ended up with this. If you have trouble keeping the bottle squeezed while you trace, try using both hands (this also helps if you're shaky):

 

Move it out of the way so that it doesn't get touched while drying. Once that dried (give it at least 24 hours), I took my other paint colors and filled in each section.

 

It's important to make sure the paint touches the edges of the leading paint. If it doesn't touch, when you peel it off of the leading blank, the piece will not come off in one section. Also, you need to eliminate any air bubbles that come out of the bottle of paint (try using a tooth pick or pin to pop the bubbles). The more often you release the pressure on the bottle, the more often you're going to have bubbles.

 

You also want a decent layer of paint so that you will not have splotches when it dries. The thicker you lay the paint on, the longer it needs to dry (I did learn a lesson on this tip as I failed to let it dry long enough and I had bits of paint stay stuck to the leading blank but I was crunched for time and wasn't able to continue to wait for it). Seriously, let this thing sit and dry for at least 48 hours. Once it is all the way dry, it peels off the leading blank relatively easily (slow and steady wins the race!). After you peel it off, stick it to whatever project you have! This is how my block turned out:

There are countless things you could fill this with as it has a wide opening at the top - lights, flowers, sand, marbles, easter grass and so much more! This would be such a cute project for kids to do and I bet Mom would really enjoy having a handmade gift this year! I know my mom likes my stuff :).

 

Hope you've enjoyed this little demo. Happy crafting everyone and a big Happy Mother's Day to all those special mom's out there (most certainly mine!)!

Animal Card Cuteness

Hello! Want to see something super cute? Well, you've stopped at the right blog today. This little card was made for a swap at Fancy Paper Crafters. The theme was "Animal Cards" and when I ran across this cute little stamp, I knew I had to use it!

Here's what ya need to complete this card (it's really quite simple):

 

 

Supplies:

- Cardstock (my patterned paper was from Basic Grey)

- Embossing Folder (I used a daisy one from Darice)

- Stamped Image (I believe this little guy was by Stampendous)

- Copic Markers (love!!)

- Embellishments (ribbon and bling on a roll)

 

Once you have all your supplies gathered, it's really just a matter of putting everything together. I used my Copic Markers to color in my image (no shading really due to the small stamp). One little trick I do for my layers is to measure everything. So, if my card base is measured 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 (it's the standard A2 card size), then I cut my first layer on my card an 1/8 of an inch smaller and then my second layer another 1/8 of an inch smaller. As long as my cuts are straight, my card layers are nice and straight! I did the same thing with the matting for stamped image (I'm a numbers person so measuring works well for me - I'm not fortunate enough to be able to "eyeball" things).

 

Well, that's it for today! Thanks for stopping by :). Have a crafty day!

Quilling Madness

Howdy folks! Back at ya today with some of my recent quilled cards. These are also inspired by things I found online (http://pinterest.com/angelasprouse/quilling/). I am thrilled that this art has come back around. I started many years ago and tucked everything away and went a different direction. About two years ago, it made a reappearance so I pulled everything back out and started working on it again. So, here's what I've come up with recently (these were made for another class at AC Moore):

 

My crafty friends will tell you that I've been on a black/white/red kick lately. I think it's going on 6 months now and I don't really see an end in site lol. The one on the bottom was a new technique for me (I think it's called husking but am not certain). Admittedly, it was much harder to get the feel of than regular quilling. I probably tried 5 or 6 different sizes and techniques before it finally clicked and I got it. Thanks for stopping by my little crafty world today. I hope you all have a fantastic day!

Taggin' It!

Hello again my friends! I don't know what has gotten in to me! For those of you that know me, know I have a thing about getting messy. This is one of the reasons I will very rarely ever use glitter or "alter" anything. I just can't do it! Well, I got this hair brained idea that I should teach a Tim Holtz inspired tag class at my local AC Moore store (5/11/13 @ 1:00). I seriously have no idea what came over me when those words came out of my mouth LOL!

 

So, as I sat in my craft room trying to come up with ideas, I am not ashamed to admit that I had a little bit of anxiety ;). Like any wise crafter would do now a days, I turned to pinterest to see if I could find any good ideas. I started my own "tag" board if you're at all interested in what I found: http://pinterest.com/angelasprouse/tag-youre-it/. Without further ado, I'm pleased to share with you my very first Tim Holtz inspired tags (please be kind lol).

 

 

Unfortunately, I can't share with you how I did all of these as that wouldn't be fair to those folks paying for this class. I am very excited to be teaching this class though and surprisingly made it calmly through getting my fingers all inked up!

 

Until next time ... happy crafting folks!

April 2013 Sketch Blog Challenge

Howdy folks! I hope you all had a very Happy Easter! Do you have a favorite Easter tradition? Growing up, the Easter Bunny always visited our house and gave us a small basket of goodies. My parents had a tradition of building small nests in the yard (out of grass) and putting a few plastic Easter eggs in the nest. The Easter Bunny would fill them up with goodies (or money!) every year. Building those nests in the yard will be a tradition that we will pass down to our kids for sure. Isn't funny how you remember the little things like that?

 

Anyway, I'm back at ya today with a little card I created for Shannon White's sketch blog challenge for this month. Show her some blogging love and visit her site here: http://scraplady324.blogspot.com/. She's had some really great sketches for us to play with and I've really enjoyed challenging myself to follow them. She allows us to vary from the sketch but I'm more of a "rule follower" and like to stick with what I'm given LOL - anyone else like that? Here's her sketch for this month:

 

 

I really wish my craft room was in better order so I could have done this as a scrapbook layout. This sketch would have made a really neat scrapbook page but I can't find half my stuff in the black hole that is my room. One day I'll actually get everything cleaned and organized and be able to get back to scrapping again. Anyway, I went with making a card this month. Here's what I came up with:

 

The details are pretty basic with this little card. The cardstock (red and pink) are both by Coredination. The patterned paper came from a paper stack by Basic Gray called True Love. I love anything Basic Gray!! The paper flowers and button are from my stash and I have no idea the brand names lol. The stamped images are by Fiskars and are part of the Floral Flair stamp set. I used Stampin Up! ink (Blushing Bride and Old Olive). Pretty simple right?!

 

This card was made for the grandmother of a very dear friend of mine. We call her "Nanny" and she always welcomed me into her home! She is a very special lady and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, the doctors are optimistic with her treatment and I hope this brightens her day just a little.

 

Thanks for stopping by my little crafty world today. Until next time ... do something crafty!

Happy Easter!

Hello folks! Easter wouldn't be complete without a little craftiness :). My mom needed a new wreath for her door to celebrate Easter/Spring. Since Deco Mesh has become so wildly popular, I suggested we make one using springy colors. So, to come up with an idea, I naturally turned to Pinterest (don't ya just LOVE Pinterest?!). I found this fabulous blog post on how to make a Curly/Spiral Deco Mesh Wreath. This is what we came up with:

Isn't it pretty?! She picked out 5 different colors to use in her wreath. Head on over to the blog link above for specific directions on how to make it. The only thing we changed was that we used a grapevine wreath instead of the wire form (we couldn't find the wire form in stock). It didn't take very long to make at all. It turns out to be about 3 feet all around so it's a pretty big wreath but looks great on your front door. And, since it's made out of mesh, it'll last several years!

 

Well, that's it for today's little project. Thanks for stopping by and have a happy easter!

Fun with Rinchies!

Hey y'all! Bringing you a little project today that I worked on at PMS Night (stands for Pizza, Munchies, Stamping/Scrapping) about a week ago. These little rinchies (which are round inchies) were made for the March swaps over at the Fancy Paper Crafters online craft group. If you've never participated in swaps before, check out the group as we do monthly swaps and have some really great gals participating. Anyway, here are my rinchies for this swap this month:

For this project, all supplies came from Stampin Up!. If you need a rep, contact Mary Anne Magliaro (http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stampinmaryanne/). She is one awesome lady and has shared many fabulous projects with us. These stamps and punches are one of my newest purchases. I was hesitant at first due to their tiny size but they really worked out fabulous for this project. I had to make 9 sets of these little boogers which took FOREVER! I wanted to make two that were more feminine and two more masculine. I think they really turned out neat :).

 

The process of putting these together was really quite simple. I punched out all my circle layers (used a 1 inch circle punch, a 7/8 inch scalloped punch and then a 3/4 inch circle punch). I stamped (using the Lovely Little Labels set). This set has a coordinating set of punches called Little Labels Punch Pack. For the ink, I believe I used Melon Mambo and Early Espresso. I took a small sponge and inked around the edges of a couple of the little punches. That's about it for this little project. I'm excited to see what everyone else came up with. I really enjoy making inchies/rinchies. These little guys are perfect to use in making a quick card or just a little something to embellish a scrapbook page.

 

Thanks for stopping by today! Until next time ... happy crafting!

Mission Organization: Tool Bag

Hello again!! Thanks for stopping by my little crafty world :). I bring you my first post in what is going to be a series of posts about organizing my craft room. It is honestly a disaster zone and I have no idea how long this is going to take me. At the same time, I will be moving to a bigger room that I will be outfitting with some nifty storage solutions. Stay tuned for more on the progress of that project ...

 

So, today's post is about my tool bag. Unfortunately, I got the notion to blog about this AFTER I had already emptied out my whole bag. So, here's my tool bag empty (it has been loved for many years so it looks a little beat up lol). It has a little drawer on the bottom that you can't see from this view.

 

 

So this bag doesn't really look all that big but boy does it hold a TON of stuff!! Believe it or not, everything showing in this picture was in this one bag!!

 

 

I found stuff that I hadn't used/seen in years so it was kind of like Christmas morning LOL (I know I'm not the only crafter this happens to!). So, the way I tackled this mess was to sort things into three piles ... 1 pile of the things I use frequently, 1 pile of things I use on occasion and finally a pile of the remaining items. The frequently used items went back in the first. I kept things grouped together (all adhesive on the same side, ink pads together, scissors together, etc. I went through the other two piles and pulled out the things that I thought I would really use on a regular basis (at this point, you really have to be honest with yourself and realize that you really don't need it all LOL). Everything that didn't "make the cut" went into a tool bin in my craft room.

 

This is what the new and improved bag looks like. It's so much easier to find things and it weighs soooo much less!

 

 

Now let's see how long I keep this neat and tidy LOL .... Until next time, happy crafting!

Wonderful Waterfall Cards

Hello again! Welcome back to my little piece of crafty goodness. Today I'm sharing with you a waterfall card that I made for the January swaps at Fancy Paper Crafters. This is one of the projects I completed at the Polar Express Retreat in January sponsored by Creative Memories. The swaps for this month had to have some type of "action" to them (like a moving part or pop up). When I started searching for ideas, I ran across one of these that I did several years ago and thought it'd be perfect for this project.

 

I started out with the following supplies (measurements are in inches):

- Red Cardbase - Cut 4 1/4 x 11 (scored at 5 1/2)

- Vanilla Cardstock - Cut 4 1/8 x 5 3/8 (this is the first layer on the card)

- Designer Paper - Cut 4 x 5 1/4 (this is the second layer on the card)

- Red Cardstock for Moving Strip - Cut 2 x 8 1/2 (scored at 1 3/4, 2 3/4, and 3 3/4)

- Vanilla Cardstock to go on the Moving Strip to write your message - Cut 4 5/8 x 1 7/8

- Small Scrap to use as your Pull Tab

- Pink Cardstock for Small Squares Base - Cut 2 x 2

- Vanilla Cardstock for Stamped Images - Cut 1 7/8 x 1 7/8

- Small Red Cardstock for Front Strip - Cut 4 1/4 x 1 (you might need to cut this one taller depending upon the border punch you're using)

- Designer Paper for Front Strip - Cut 4 1/4 x 1/2

- Stamps (Mine were from Stampin' Up!)

- Ink (Also from Stampin' Up!)

- Brads (2 small and one large)

 

 

Now that you have all the supplies assembled, you're ready to start working on piecing everything together. I started with my stamped images. I had to make sure the images I selected actually fit properly on these little squares (I never knew how many Valentine's stamps I had until I had to find the "perfect sized" ones for this project LOL). I inked around the edges of these little guys to give them a little pop of color and then matted them onto the pink cardstock. Once I had those done, I started with the card top. I layered the Designer Cardstock on top of the Vanilla Cardstock. Then, I anchored the strip to the lower portion of the cardtop using the small brads (just make sure you leave enough room in the center between your brads for your moving strip). Once I had that in place, I took the long strip of red cardstock and put adhesive on the end of it (the end that was scored at 1 3/4). This end adheres to the small strip you just anchored to the cardtop. This is what it should look like at this point:

 

 

Next, place adhesive on the top of each of the small squares and adhere them to the moving strip. Then, you'll adhere the little vanilla piece on the base of the moving strip to allow yourself a little spot to write a message. You can see it peeking out of the bottom here:

 

 





At this point, you can go ahead and add your little pull tab as well as your large brad. Just make sure that everything moves properly and doesn't get caught on the anchoring strip (the strip with the boarder punch). You're pretty much finished at this point. Here's how it looks from the side when you pull on the tab of the card (kinda neat huh?):

 

 

I ended up making 7 of these total. I probably wouldn't choose such an in depth card next time as it took quite a bit of time. I'm really happy though with how the final card turned out. Whatcha think?

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today! Until next time ... have a super crafty day!

Another Little Thank You Note

Howdy y'all! Back at ya today with one of my recent crafty projects. I made this card for the February swaps at Fancy Paper Crafters.

As much as I would like to say this was my own original idea, this time around, I found this on Pinterest. The original link it tied back to was bad but I did end up finding it on It's A Stamp Thing blog. I love "lifting" ideas from other crafters, especially when I'm in a slump and can't seem to come up with anything I'm happy with. One important thing when lifting someone's idea is to always give them credit! It may be a common knowledge idea but it's always best to link back to where you found it :).

Now, let me hop off my soapbox and get to telling you about this card! It's really quite simple. The cardstock was from AC Moore and came in a value pack of black and white. Since, black, white and red is one of my favorite color combinations, I knew I had to have the value pack. The background was done using a cuttlebug embossing folder (I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it lol). The stamps are by Stampin' Up! and is part of the Just Believe set. The patterned paper is by My Mind's Eye and is part of the Meadowlark paper line. I also used ink by Stampin Up! (I think Classic Black and Real Red). The little flowers were punched out using one of the new mini punches by Stampin' Up! The pearls are by Recollections. Lastly, the twine is by Doodlebug (I'm officially addicted to twine!).

 

Well, that wraps up today's creation. Wishing you all a very crafty day! Until next time ...

Kitchen Fundamentals Class Number 6

Hello! I'm behind {again} in posting this but better late than never right?! This was our last class in this series at  Charleston Cooks in Greenville, SC and we were sad to see it come to an end. I am certain that we will take more cooking classes in the future ... they have such a wide variety to choose from! The lesson this week was Baking Basics. We were both really excited about this class as we've never made any of these things. We made: Cinnamon Rolls with Cinnabon Frosting, Double Chocolate Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches, Pound Cake with Blueberry Balsamic Reduction, Parmesan Shrimp Quiche, and Turkey and Brie Sandwiches on Herbed Foccacia.

 

Here's how everything turned out this time:

 

 

 

 

Dan and I got to make the Cinnamon Rolls and boy did they turn out DELICIOUS!! Since we are really trying to improve on what we eat, I'm not certain when we'll actually get to use the skills we learned making these. Fortunately, the hardest part was already waiting on us as they pre-made the dough for the rolls (had to save a little time since the class is only two hours). We used a steam oven to "proof" the dough since we didn't have time to let it sit and rise. That was so cool to watch! It only took like 30 minutes for the dough to be ready to put in the oven (Dan says we need to win the lottery so he can have a kitchen like the one at Charleston Cooks) ... they have all the coolest appliances lol. Everything that was made in the class was really delicious. We ended up taking the cinnamon rolls home as there was a ton of food. It made for a yummy breakfast the next day!

 

Well, that wraps up this series of classes. If you haven't checked out cooking classes, I highly recommend Charleston Cooks. The people that work there are so super friendly and are not pushy in selling their products at all. They are also good at buying food that you can actually find at normal stores rather than having to trapse all over town looking for specialty items. Don't wait to register though if you want to take a class as they fill up super fast! I hope you've enjoyed my little blog ... it ain't much but it's been fun to share the experience.

 

I'll be back to the crafty fun very soon :) ... Until next time!

Kitchen Fundamentals Class Number 5

Hey y'all!! I realized tonight as we were leaving our last class, that I had not had time to blog about the class from last week! Boo on me! This is another one of our classes that we've been taking at  Charleston Cooks in Greenville, SC. Our "lesson" last week was Fish and Shellfish. I am a huge fan of shrimp and crab so I was really looking forward to this class. Dan was the complete opposite as he really isn't a fan at all and was worried about eating stuff he didn't think he'd like. In this class, we learned the following: Crab and Corn Fritters, Fried Oysters with Remoulade Sauce, Grilled Honey Glazed Salmon Over Broccoli Smashed Potatoes, Pecan Encrusted Fish over Grits and Greens, and Pickled Shrimp Salad.

 

This was yet another super fun class. Here's how everything turned out:

 

 

 

Dan and I had fun making the Crab and Corn Fritters. I really wanted to make something that I had never made before (but still something that I would eat lol). These also turned out to be my favorite dish of the night (and not just because we made it). Dan enjoyed the salmon and fish but wasn't too much of a fan of the sides with them as one had broccoli and the other had greens. I can really see us making the salmon at home as we try to eat fish often as it's good for you!

 

We were both open minded and told ourselves that we would at least try everything that was cooked. So, as I stared down at the oysters, hoping they didn't taste like what they looked like before they were cooked (EW?!), I took a deep breath and cut into it. At first, all I really tasted was the breading ... that didn't last long ... and then the oyster made an appearance ... and I swallowed it ... and kept it down! Woo hoo! All I'll say is, it's official that I'm not a fan of oysters at all (but at least I tried them!). I will say the sauce that was on them was really tasty and had a nice zing that accompanied the oyster (would be great for clam strips or even shrimp). The pickled shrimp was also interesting. It really had a good flavor but the shrimp were slightly undercooked so I didn't eat them (did you know I was slightly neurotic with undercooked food - just ask Dan!)

 

Mark (our super awesome instructor), had a surprise for us for dessert - Creme Brulee! A few of us were commenting one of the prior weeks that we didn't have a dessert planned tonight (and that made us sad LOL). So, he made these divine desserts for us ... and OMG, they were sooooooo yummy! Seriously, I'm still drooling thinking about eating more of this stuff ... doesn't really work into the new lifestyle very well though!

 

 

Well, that's it for this time around. Stay tuned for the next class which is Baking Basics (which I'll blog about tomorrow night). I'm already looking forward to having desserts for dinner :).

Altered Valentine's Box

Hey y'all! Back at ya today with a fun project that I did for AC Moore in Greenville, SC. This was for a demonstration today to show folks how Mod Podge can be used and to show the Lovely paper line from Authentique. I really like this paper as it is nice and thick and double sided too! It's perfect for this type of project. So, anyways, here's the completed box:

 

 

Here's a close up on the lid and the inside too:

 

 

 

I have altered a couple of items in the past so I had a general idea on how to do this. This would be a really great gift and is easy to customize! These are the supplies that you'll need to complete: unfinished wooden item, Mod Podge Matte finish (you can use other finishes too), foam Brushes (any brand will do), some type of squeegee type tool (like a ruler, putty knife, bone folder, etc.), tape measure or ruler to measure the box, paper to cover your box, acrylic paint to paint your box, fine grit sand paper and paper cutter.

 

Now that you know what supplies you need, let's get started!

1. Protect your worksurface with either kraft paper or newspaper so nothing gets glue or paint on it.

 

2. For this project, my unfinished wooden box had some wood flakes on the surface. To get rid of those flakes, I took the fine grit sandpaper and ran it all over the box to make all surfaces inside and outside nice and smooth. You might not need to do this step depending on what type of object you're covering. Once sanded, wipe down the whole thing to get it good and clean.

 

3. Using the pink acrylic paint, I took my foam brush and painted the entire outside of the box. I didn't want the inside of the box to be painted so I left it unfinished. Let it sit for about 15-20 minutes to allow the paint to dry (time may vary depending on the type of paint you're using).

 

4. Using my ruler, I measured the lid and all sides of the box to determine what sizes I need to cut my paper. For this box, I used 3 sheets of 12 x 12 paper (the short sides of the box (not pictured) are a different design than the long sides. I used the following papers from the Authentique line: Adore, Dainty and Greetings.

 

5. Shake up your Mod Podge and remove the lid. Using a foam brush, cover the backside of your paper with a good coating of Mod Podge. If there are any "clear" spots on your paper, then you do not have enough Mod Podge. It is important that you use enough Mod Podge to get the paper to stay on the box and avoid having wrinkles/bubbles.

 

6. Place the paper on the box and smooth it flat. It is really important that you smooth out the entire piece of paper. Starting in the center of the paper, use your squeegee to get all of the excess Mod Podge to the paper's edges. Wipe up the excess using your brush so that you don't have globs on your project.

 

7. Next, I cut out some Valentine's cards from the Greetings paper. I put two of them on the inside of the box, one on the lid and one on the edge of the box. I used the same techniques on step 5 and 6 to adhere these.

 

8. After I had all of my paper on the box, I put a layer of Mod Podge on the entire box. This layer doesn't need to be as thick as you used on the paper but it needs to be thick enough to cover the entire surface. This gives the whole project a really nice "finished" look. Let it sit and dry for a good hour before doing anything else to the box. After this is complete, your box is finished (or ready for more embellishments like jewels or flowers).

 

That's it for today. Until next time, get out there and do something crafty!

Kitchen Fundamentals Class Number 4

Hey y'all! Back at ya today with another one of the cooking classes Dan and I are taking at Charleston Cooks in Greenville, SC. Our "lesson" for tonight's class was Meat and Poultry in which we learned how to make the following: Fried Chicken with Pan Gravy, Smoked Pork Chops with Orange Barbeque Sauce, Oregano Steak and Mixed Pepper Fajitas, Chicken and Red Rice Stuffed Peppers, and Chile con Carne.

Tonight was another fun night! The kitchen was HOT with all of the cooking going on. The food was a bit fancier this week but was still good. Here's how everything turned out:

 

 

While we were eating dinner, Mark (the  super awesome instructor) asked everyone to sing happy birthday to Dan which was really special. He blushed ;) (I don't often get to see him blush). He was also suprised by 2 ladies in our class with 2 cupcakes!

 

My favorite dish was the Fried Chicken with Pan Gravy. I've never made fried chicken (is that a surprise seeing as how I don't cook?!) and it was so super easy! It'll be a while though before we make this as it isn't a healthier choice at all LOL. The rice dish was pretty good. They made it using dark meat which I would change if we ever made it at home. Also, I'm not that big of a fan of peppers so I'd leave those out of everything. The cheese on top of the rice was real mozzerella and man was it yummy! The Chile con Carne was super tasty as well. The only real change I would make to this dish is maybe leave out the cinnamon. There was just a touch of it in there which threw off the taste for me just a bit. The fajitas were great once I took off the peppers (I tried them at least!). Lastly, is the dish that Dan and I (and we had another person in our group but I don't remember her name) made which was the pork. We used a super spicy rub on the outside of the pork which was too spicy for me. It was pretty cool how we made this though as we used a stove top smoker which was awesome to see. It was small enough to fit on one burner and didn't smoke up the entire kitchen. The barbeque sauce on top was supposed to be a peach sauce but they couldn't find any peaches this time of year and didn't want to use canned. So, they changed it up and made an orange sauce instead. It was awesome! I have a feeling this is something we'll be making again :).

 

Well, that's it for this time around. Stay tuned for our next class which is Fish and Shellfish (Dan is not excited about this on AT ALL so we'll see how it goes!).

January 2013 Sketch Blog Challenge

Hello again! I was browsing some of my old blog posts and realized that I had stopped participating in this sketch blog challenge (gasp!). I lost my old email address a while back and just realized that Shannon's email was one of the ones that I had forgotten to update (tsk tsk). So, of course I emailed her right away to get back to this challenge. I have just a couple of cards to share with you using this month's sketch by Shannon White at http://scraplady324.blogspot.com/. Shannon has created another wonderful sketch for us this month:

 

When I first saw this sketch, I immediately thought "Oh goodie, I get to scrap some of those Christmas pictures we took." Well, then I stepped into my craft room and quickly remembered that my room looks like it was hit by a tornado. I haven't been able to unpack from the recent retreat I went on so everything is still packed up and in chaos from when I was in a hurry packing. I'll get it cleaned one day but in the meantime, I figured I could at least work on cards as I could use papers from my scrap stash. So, here's the two things I came up with (going with the Love theme in honor of Valentine's Day):

 

Now for the details :). Since the papers came from my stash, I'm not positive the exact color names. I do know that the kraft cardstock base of each card and the green cardstock in the "rain" card are from Bazzill. On the "heart" card, I used My Mind's Eye designer paper and it was part of the All is Bright paper line. All of the stamps are by Unity Stamp Co - Itty Bitty collection (My Heart Belongs and Rain or Shine). I stamped using Momento Ink (Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa). I inked the edges using Stampin Up! ink (Bravo Burgundy and Always Artichoke). I busted out my Copic Markers for the "rain" card and boy am I rusty!! I used the following markers: C0, B000, B32, B34, B47, E25, E29, R81, R83, R85, RV00, RV02, RV04, YG13, Y00, Y04 and Y08. The little tear drops on the "rain" card are by The Robin's Nest (River Bed). I cut the hearts out using Spellbinders.

 

Well that does it for today ... until next time ... have a crafty day!

Mosaic Madness

Hello again! No paper project for you today ... decided to mix things up a bit and show you my mosaic "skills". A while back, Groupon ran a special from Laura K. Aiken Studios for a Mosaic Tile class. A group of my friends decided we should try our hands at this new craft (as we don't have enough already lol). Here's my creation and then a group shot of all of ours:

I am definitely not a "pro" when it comes to working with little pieces of glass LOL. We had a really GREAT time together at least (isn't that the important part?!). These were really quite easy to make. We started with a 4x4 piece of foam board and using some type of glass glue (it looked like Elmer's glue), we simply glued these tiny pieces of broken glass down. The teacher gave us a ton of glass to choose from and we were only supposed to pick out squares and rectangles to keep it simple. She told us to glue down the pieces as we found them but my personality wouldn't allow that so I had to design the whole thing first LOL. Well, I learned why she said that once I finally started glueing it down. Glueing it down as you go keeps you from constantly changing your mind making the project take way longer than it should! I'm not sure why mine looks a lot sloppier than everyone else's but I'm proud of it none the less. I don't see myself becoming a glass master in the future ;).

 

That's it for today! Until next time .... happy crafting! :)

Kitchen Fundamentals Class Number 3

Hi ya!! It's Tuesday! Know what that means? It's time for another one of our cooking class at Charleston Cooks in Greenville, SC. Our "lesson" for tonight's class was Everyday Sauces in which we learned how to make the following: Tomato Bruschetta with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Grilled Steak with Basil Pesto, Lemon Caper Chicken Piccata, Classic Marinara Spaghetti and Meatballs and Chocolate Ganache Covered Peanut Butter Cakes.

 

Tonight was another really fun night! The food wasn't nearly as heavy this week as it was last week. Here's how everything turned out:

The plating was a bit messy tonight. I think there were too many hands involved in trying to get everything on the plates so folks felt rushed and just started tossing stuff on them. The food itself still tasted pretty good. I think I'm spoiled by Dan's handmade marinara sauce as I didn't really think what was made tonight was all that great. The sauce needed a lot more seasoning and needed to be blended more as well (but I'm not a fan of chunky sauces anyway). I did like the freshly grated parmesan cheese that was on top (I'm so used to the stuff we buy in the bag!). We got to make the meatballs tonight. If you know me at all, you'll know that I run away at the thought of handling raw meat of any kind. Well, I toughened up tonight and actually helped roll the meatballs. They were so simple to make - who knew?! And, we didn't fry them but rather baked them in the oven and they were YUMMY! As far as the pesto dish goes, I learned that I don't really care for basil pesto. I did give it a try though but ended up scraping it off lol. Also, the steak needed to be cooked longer for me (I prefer my beef NOT to moo lol). The lemon chicken was great (especially after I scraped the capers off LOL). What can I say, I guess my palette is very plain :). The bruschetta was fabulous. I never knew I liked balsamic vinager but the drizzle on top of it was really good. If we ever make this at home, I'll toast the bread just a little less and lighten up on the olive oil. Last but not least, the peanut butter cakes were AWESOME. I could have eaten more than one of these for sure LOL. Too bad we're watching what we're eating as I would really like to make these at home ;).

 

Well, that wraps up this class ... check back next week for more cooking goodness. Dan may actually expect me to start cooking after all these classes! Yikes!

For the LOVE of Quilling

Hello! Just thought I'd share some of my recent quilling projects. I haven't really talked much about quilling so now is as good a time as ever. I recently had the pleasure of teaching a class at our local AC Moore store and I had so much fun! The class was a Quilling Basics Workshop so the designs were pretty simple. These are the three cards the students learned to make:

 

 

 

Since this was a class folks had to pay for, I can't share the nitty gritty details on how these cards were created (that wouldn't be fair to the fabulous students that took my class). I can at least tell you what products I used :). All of the cardstock was from my stash but I think it was all Bazzill. The designer paper was from My Mind's Eye and is part of their Lost and Found 2 paper line. In general, I'm not a big fan of paper packs and I find that I very rarely purchase any. The main reason for this is because most of the paper is single sided and I feel like I don't get my money's worth as it's hard to coordinate with other papers. However, when I found the smaller 6x6 paper packs by My Mind's Eye, I found these to be perfect for making cards! The paper is double sided and I don't waste near as much paper as I do when I have to cut up my 12x12 paper. The border punches and paper crimper were both by Fiskars. The stamp on the first card is by Inkadinkado and I believe the set is called "Thank You". The bling in the second card is by Queen & Co. I love this bling as it's only $1.00 and you get an assortment of sizes (with it being so cheap, you can buy every color! LOL). The embossing folder in the last card is by Darice. I used my heart shaped Nestabilities by Spellbinders to cut out the heart. That's about as much as I can share about how I put together these cards. :)

 

If you've thought about learning how to quill, don't put it off! It is one of those crafts that you can do just about anywhere and doesn't require a TON of money (or space) to do! For starters, you need your tools - slotted quilling tool (the long handled one) and needle tool, needle nose tweezers, fine tip scissors and a quilling board. The best quilling board that I've used is by Darice. Don't even bother trying to quill with the tiny tool that comes with it as it will just make you crazy and want to hurt someone. There are kits that you can purchase out there that have some of the tools, some sample paper and glue. As far as the kit goes, I'm kind of indifferent to it. If you're like me, you try to get the most for your money which may not be the case with the kit as most of the individual things you can buy using a coupon. It all depends on what's available in your area :). Another thing you'll need to figure out what you like is glue. There are all sorts of clear-drying glue on the market. My preference is Glossy Accents as it dries super quick and is super strong. The other nice to have thing would be the Curling Coach. This really helped one of my students during class as she did not have any fingernails to help get her roled quilling paper off of the slotted quilling tool. Next, you'll just grab you some quilling paper (PLEASE, I beg you, do NOT cut your own paper). I've been there and tried that and cut the crap out of my fingers and HATED how my projects turned out. There's just something about true quilling paper that works sooooo much better!

 

Okay, so now that you've got your tools, I'll give ya some tips and tricks of the trade .... but you're gonna have to wait :). Stay tuned for more postings about quilling very soon. Go forth and be crafty my friends!