Hi there!

I’ve been working on organizing a wedding shower and bachelorette for my best bud, Sara – with help from the other bridesmaids, of course.

Seeing as how I love all things made out of paper, I had a lot of fun making the shower invitations.  We mostly did invitations by email, but I got to make some real, tangible ones for her family peeps.  I’d fallen in love with the idea of a petal card, so I just had to do that.

Of course, I didn’t like any templates I came across, so I built my own.  Mostly so I could get it the right size.  I just used Microsoft Word, some ovals and a square.  Next, I pasted in the adorable birdies from Digital House Design.  Seriously, they’re so so cute!

One petal card accomplished!

For the pdf (outline and birdies only), click here.

Cheers,

Hiya!

Ummmm.. apologies for no cards in the last forever?  Yes, I do think I’ve fallen off that wagon a bit.  I’m trying to scramble back on; have no fear!

Today’s card is a mostly digital one that I made for the latest sketch challenge over at Everything But the Kitchen Sink.  Like usual, I had just acquired these papers and needed to put them to use!

I just adore the colours, and those birdies – oh my! 

Materials:

Stamps – ‘Hugs’ – Hero Arts
Inks – Memories (Momento) – Artprint Brown, Tim Holtz Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink
Paper – All from Digital House Design Studio – April Papers by Jen Allyson
Accessories- Buttons – Basic Gray, hemp string, Border punch – Martha Stewart

And the sketch (I rotated and flipped it a bit.. artistic license?)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Hi there!  Well, today I have a recipe that I’m itching to share.  This was my very first try at making potato salad, and I’m head over heels in love with it.  I sort of made up the recipe, with some help from Fine Cooking.

Some highlights in it: Apple and fennel, eggs (a must), and some goodies from my herb garden: mint, chives and thyme.  I can’t believe I used to loathe mint in anything other than dessert and gum!  This is so tasty and pretty darn healthy, considering it has a vinaigrette dressing.

Potato Salad

Serves/Yields: Serves 8 as a side dish

For the Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 cloves garlic, pressed or mashed to a paste
1 tsp. honey
2 tsp. finely grated lime zest
1-1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

For the Salad

1 tsp. plain rice vinegar
kosher salt
3-1/2 lb. medium waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or red (or 3-1/4 lb. baby potatoes), scrubbed clean
1 cup thinly sliced celery and chopped celery leaves
1 cup thinly sliced fennel (quarter and core the bulb, then slice crosswise)
1 cup small-diced Granny Smith apple
4 large hard-boiled eggs, diced
3/4 cup chopped fresh chives
3/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Make the Dressing

• Whisk the balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
• Slowly whisk in the oil until combined.
• Whisk in the garlic, honey, lime zest, cumin, and thyme.

Make the Salad

• Combine the rice vinegar and 2 tsp. salt in a large bowl.
• Let sit to dissolve the salt.
• Put the potatoes and 2 Tbs. salt in a 6-quart pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch.
• Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.
• Cook the potatoes until barely tender when poked with a fork or skewer, 20 to 25 minutes.
• If the potatoes aren’t all the same size, remove them as they are cooked. (Baby potatoes will take 5 to 10 minutes.)
• Gently drain the potatoes in a colander and set aside until just cool enough to handle.
• Using a paring knife, peel the potatoes by scraping off the skin. (Skip this step if using baby potatoes.)
• Cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch chunks. and add to the bowl with the vinegar and gently stir with a spatula to coat. With your fingers, pull apart any pieces that are stuck together.
• Gently fold the celery, sliced fennel, apples, hard-boiled eggs, chives, and mint into the potatoes.
• Whisk the vinaigrette back together and fold enough of it into the potatoes to generously coat them (you may not need all of the dressing).
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve while still slightly warm, or at room temperature.

So so worth taking the time to try.  If you do, let me know what you think!

Hiya,

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity!  Some call it camping.. I like to refer to it fondly as “the place where you get all dirty and smell like smoke within the first 5 minutes!” Doesn’t that sound like fun to you?

Nathan and I headed out on Friday morning to camp the weekend away with a group of friends.  We ate great food (s’mores, anyone?), chatted a whole lot, and swam in the coldest water I’ve ever been in.

That’s right, it was freeeeeezing. The kind of cold that you don’t “get used to.”  Instead, it just hurts your bones more and more.  But hey, I did jump in 3 times!  Can I please have a river that is NOT glacier-fed next time? Thanks.

All in all, good fun.  And Nathan – the non camper – actually wants to go camping again!

Now head on over to Simply Modern Mom to see her and others’ dates this week to get some ideas.

Hiya,

Nathan and I DID do a date last week, and it was the kind of which I’m oh-so-very fond.  Something athletic/physical.  This date was quite a feat for me.

Now there’s something you should know about me.  I have not ridden a bike in at least 12 years.  That’s a long time in the land of biking!  You know the saying “it’s just like riding a bike” ?  Well, getting back on and having it go smoothly is not so easily done after TWELVE YEARS!  We had to take baby steps.

We started on the quiet streets near our condo.  I practiced balancing, changing gears, and signalling.  At first, I couldn’t even take a hand off the handle bars. 

Next, I graduated to the amazing bike path that goes across the city.  We really only went about 5km, but this was a big step for me.  I conquered a hill, passing other cyclists and pedestrians, all the while keeping my balance!

It was definitely a fun date.  Nathan was very encouraging and gave me some tips.  I felt pretty accomplished!  I still don’t think I’m ready for riding on the streets and dealing with traffic.. how do you build up to that?

Oooh, and that wonky, old, and overly big helmet is no more.  I got myself a very brightly coloured new one!

To check out others’ dates, head on over to Project:52 at Simply Modern Mom.

I’ve been dabbling in crafty things.. in a very random style.  My Stampin’ Up! goodies have arrived, so I can start hosting parties.  Check out my site and store for more info!

I’ve also been playing with those braided headbands.  Check out what I came up with!

These are so much fun to make!  For the “untidy ends,” I wrapped a piece of ribbon around them, thanks to my friend Jana and a great tutorial for the suggestion.

These are now available in my Etsy Store!

Back to card making soon, I hope.  Sometimes you just have to go where the inspiration takes you :-)

I’m having a headband obsession type thingo.. I got inspired by my friend Jana who made a scrappy headband based on a tutorial over at Smile and Wave.  I decided I’d give this a try with some upcycled t-shirts!

At first, I really liked the white idea…

And then I decided to try some colour!

So far, I’ve made these 3.  They’re such a good use of scraps, and pretty easy to make, although my sewing machine didn’t much like sewing the ends.

I think I’ll give these a try with some different fabrics, like quilter’s weight cotton, to get a different look.. and how cute would they be with a little rosette? OK, doing that now!

look, look, look!

Tada!

These will be for sale in my Etsy Store soon!

Hello again!

Today I had some time to participate in challenge 98 over at Clean and Simple Stamping.  The sketch was a lovely little window frame type of thing.

I had just printed off some digital papers from Design House Digital and had to use them.  So here we are, bright pink all over again.

I hope everyone’s enjoying summer.  I’m looking forward to splashing around in some refreshingly cool water on Sunday, as we tube down the river.  Divine.

Materials:
Cardstock – Melon Mambo (Stampin’ Up!) and digital papers (Design House Digital)
Stamps – Hero Arts and Amuse
Inks – Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories – corner rounder punch

And here’s the lovely sketch:

Enjoy the sun!

Another week, another date!

This week, a bunch of Nathan’s family is in town, so we trekked over to his parents’ place (oh so far.. like a 20min drive :p ) for a delicious family meal out on the patio. 

 
Here I am enjoying my wine, with Nathan “being cute.”  Check out the headband I made that morning from some scraps!

Nathan’s aunts and uncles got together to make a giant plate of gooey cheesy scallopped potatoes – easily the best I’ve ever had, an amazing ham, and some pan-fried cabbage.  We washed this down with wine and finished off the meal with my MIL’s famous peanut butter ice cream cake.  I’m getting hungry thinking about it!

All in all, a great meal.  It was nice to reconnect with family who we hadn’t seen since our wedding last summer.

Head on over to Simply Modern Mom to see what others did on their dates for Project 52: Date Night.

Hi there,

It’s been a while since I posted a card.  I’ve been preoccupied with thoughts of school, friends, sewing, and joining Stampin’ Up! as a demonstrator.  That’s right, I’m now officially a demonstrator!  I haven’t received my starter kit yet, but I’m so excited to start!

I got my SU website all set up, so you can contact me there, shop online, get ideas, and set up workshops.  There’s so much fun coming my way!

To celebrate, I made this fun pink card using Stampin’ Up! materials.

The card fits into one of my favourite challenges – Sketch 97 over at Clean and Simple Stamping.  Head on over there to see what others have done.

I just love the simplicity, and of course, the vintage book paper.  Don’t read too closely, it’s something about a dog taunting a cat whose head was stuck between window bars. But the cat got away!  Happy ending ;-)

I’m anxiously awaiting my Stampin’ Up! starter kit.  In the meantime, I will play with these discontinued items I just *had* to have before they were gone.  Please let me know if you’d like to set up a workshop with me, and we’ll figure that out :-)

Here’s today’s challenge sketch

Materials:

Stamps: Embrace Life set (paper pieced) – Stampin’ Up!
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Razzleberry Lemonade paper (Stampin’ Up!), and vintage book paper
Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, Antique Linen distress ink
Accessories: Hemp thread, button (Basic Gray), dimensionals.

I made an exciting purchase yesterday.  But first, try this recipe.  Seriously.

I am so crazy for this recipe that I just had to share!  It’s for strawberry-watermelon slushie, or pops.  I originally got it from Our Best Bites, and have made a few modifications.

Photo from OurBestBites.com

Strawberry Watermelon Slushie

• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (or lime’s good too)
• 1/3 cup splenda (do not use 1/3 cup from the packets – they’re a lot more concentrated!)
• about 2 cups watermelon cubes
• about 3/4 pint fresh or frozen strawberries
• some ice cubes
• vodka (optional) – about 4 oz

Blend everything but the ice and vodka, until smooth, then add cubes with blender running, add ice cubes, one at a time.  Stir in vodka, if using.

OR

Photo – OurBestBites.com

Omit the vodka, and freeze them into these yummy pops.  I’m in heaven.

My exciting (to me) news?  I got myself a sewing machine yesterday!  After much searching and reading reviews and talking to people, and reading more reviews, and looking at sales, I got this one!  The Babylock Grace.  I’m in love.  Now I need to learn to sew.  My first project was to hem some tights, and I must say, they turned out lovely.

I just received an email request to do a quick blog post on a web-based tool called Photovisi, that allows you to make photo collages on the site, then download them to your computer. 

My first instinct was “blah, spam!” But then I read the email and thought about how I have no collage-making software right now, and since I host my own blog (ie: I don’t use Blogspot.com or Wordpress.com), I don’t have built-in collage software.  I decided to take the leap and click on the link.  I don’t know about you, but I was surprised that I actually liked what I found!

What I like about Photovisi

• It’s Web-based (no program to download)
• It’s super quick and easy
• They have different collage templates to choose from
• You can edit (rotate, resize, omit) pictures in your collages

Here’s a collage I made of my last set of cards:

Check out a quick photo-tutorial after the jump (It’s pretty self-explanatory, but hey, who doesn’t like a tutorial?!)

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there,

So I missed last week.. We’ll just have to do some extra dates ;)  It’s not that Nathan and I don’t see each other.  He works from home. He’s 20 feet away from me for most of the day!  We even do a whole lot of activities together – something at least every second day.. I just can’t always call them “dates.”

This weekend we had a double date, and it was so much fun, and so relaxing!

I spent Saturday with my bestie, Sara, shopping our little bottoms off.  Our last stop was groceries to make us and our boys a fabulous dinner.  We rushed back to her place, and the cooking began.  The boys even helped!  They chopped, they stirred, they grilled.

On the Menu:

• Garlic Bread (multigrain and delicious)
• Sara’s potato salad
• Shauna’s garden salad with pear, grapes, walnuts, craisins and a honey citrus vinaigrette
• char grilled chicken with an herb glaze and another with a honey bbq sauce
• caramelized onions and mushrooms
• strawberry rhubarb pie (we had to buy this one pre-made)
• sangria
• rosé

Yum!

Our fabulous dinner was followed by a fun wordy game called Buzzword.

This was definitely a date I’d do again and again.

To check out others’ fun dates, head on over to Simply Modern Mom and click on the Project 52 category.

Hey there! 

I’m not dead, I promise!  I’ve just been out of the house a whole heck of a lot (and am finally feeling better)!  I started this set of cards, knowing exactly what I wanted to do, on Thursday.  Yes, it took me that long to finally sit down and get them done. 

I absolutely adore little cards, so what could be better than a set of wee cards?  These guys are 2.75” x 4.25” (half the size of your standard handmade greeting card).  And I heart them.  I’ve put them up on my Etsy shop, if you’re interested.

From some random fluke, I think these guys work for two challenges this week.  They were initially my idea for this week’s challenge over at Just Add Ink – it was to use patterned paper.. I think I succeeded ;-)  And it sort of works for the sketch challenge #96 over at Clean and Simple Stamping (see image at end of post)

Everything’s edged using Tim Holtz’s Distress inks.  The butterflies are punched using a Martha Stewart punch on vintage book paper.  The wee button’s by Basic Grey and thank you is from a fabulous set by The Stamps Of Life.

Thank you ;-)

Hey there,

Well, I’m still scrapbooking the wedding album.  We’ll have been married a year August 1st, and I still haven’t finished this!  Luckily I’ve gotten to honeymoons (we went on a mini one after the wedding, then a real trip in January).  This has sat on the back burner for many months now, so I figured today was a good day to pull it out.

As you can see, I’m doing pretty much the bare minimum, as far as scrapbooking goes.  Hey, I used pretty paper, and rounded my photo edges!  But yeah, no layouts, no layering, no embellishments.  If you’re lucky I might add a few stickers or something ;-)  And hey, I promise to label the pictures and even do a bit of journaling! 

I love having albums, but I’m more of a card maker, so the whole fancy-amazing scrapbook thing doesn’t happen much with me.

Cheers,

Help! I’ve been sucked into the land of all things digital.  And it’s actually not so bad over here.. OK, it’s amazing.  I could waste happily spend my entire day (and many others) playing with digital papers and designs.  It’s making me so happy!  Bonus?  This card is totally my style.  So often my own style can get lost, but here it is. Clean and simple with colours I love… and glitter.

This is my very favourite digi kit.. watercolour amazingness!Well, it’s actually called Watercolor DigiKit, but I like to think my name’s much more creative.

This card’s for the latest challenge over at Everything But the Kitchen Sink (see sketch below).  I’m just so happy with how it turned out.  Those papers are all kinds of pretty.

I started with a cute little 4”x4” card.  The circle window is just from a Paper Shaper punch.  I added some glitter to the flower and some pearls to the sentiment.  That sentiment’s just a cute font that I got at the most amazing website ever.  They make fonts out of people’s handwriting and let everyone download them for free.  Some people have very cute handwriting, and let’s just say, this one isn’t my own! I could go on. I’m so addicted!

The Sketch:

• Cardstock: Blue grid, green and beige dots printed onto white cardstock
• Accessories: Pearls by AMuse, Prisma Glitter, Paper Shapers circle punch 1 1/2”

Check out others’ projects for this challenge.

Cheers,

Hi again,

Well, I managed to convince myself to get up out of my computer chair and make my way to my crafting chair.  Yep, I made a card!  Father’s Day is quickly approaching and I needed a card for my good ol’ dad.  He’s a nature kind of guy, so frogs work, right?

I checked out this week’s Wednesday Challenge over at the CAStastic Wednesdays Challenge blog, and just had to participate, as their theme is Father’s Day!  Check out all the other great submissions!

For this card, I was inspired by this week’s Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World.  Note the stripes?  And some of the colours?  That’s what I did with my inspiration ;-)  Check out the stripey inspirational map pillow:

I can remember when our family grew corn in between the rows of our apple orchard.  Wee little tree frogs would hide out in the corn stalks, so my dad would catch them and bring them over to show me.  Precious.  Granted, he’d also do things like catch snakes or black widow spiders to show me.. but I’m sure he meant well!

The lovely frog is by Stampendous.  I stamped him onto some patterned paper and painstakingly cut him out.

Happy Tuesday,

Hey there,

Well, I’ve been home sick since last Thursday.  I was feeling better over the weekend, and maybe pushed that a bit too far, since I’m much worse now.  You’d think that being at home all day would give me lots of time to do all sorts of crafty things and post them all, but I’ve mostly been sleeping and watching TV.

This week’s date definitely wasn’t glamorous.  We needed some quiet time at home together, so we did our old standby of watching an episode of House, curled up on the couch together.  It was nice :-)

In other news, I’m thinking pretty hard about becoming a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator.  I think it’d suit me.  I’m sort of excited, although it wouldn’t be until sometime in July. Eeeeeee :D

Alrighty then.  To check out others’ fun dates, head on over to Simply Modern Mom and click on the Project 52 category.

Cheers,

Heyya,

It’s finally warm and sunny here.  We’ve been waiting in anticipation for this weather for months now!  Of course, with the sun comes my craving for a mojito.  My favourite so far this year?  the Strawberry Basil Mojito.

Deeeelicious!  The sweetness of the strawberries combines so well with the spiciness of the basil.   A good friend of mine found herself without ice cubes one day, so she decided to use frozen strawberries instead.  Brilliant!  Think about the potential? Raspberries? Mango chunks, oh my!  You can play around with the sweetness and omit the rum if you like.

Mmmm.. as the strawberries start to melt and release their delicious sweetness… I could drink myself under the table with these..  (which brings up a good excuse to make these nojitos! – also yum with frozen strawberries)

Strawberry Basil Mojitos

• 12 large basil leaves
• 1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• .5oz simple syrup (more to taste)
• 2 oz white rum
• 4 oz club soda
• 5 or so frozen strawberries (5 slices if large)
• crushed or cubed ice

Add basil, lime juice and simple syrup to a martini shaker and muddle.  Add rum and club soda, and stir or shake.  Whatever makes you happy.  Fill a glass with strawberries and ice.  Strain mixture over the ice.  Add more club soda to taste.  Enjoy.  Stay above the table.

Hey there!

I’ve been slacking on the cards, you say?  What could I possibly be doing that has caused me to let you down in that department?  Ummm.. working? yes.. but also, I’ve been putting in good hours at getting my clear stamps into a new system.

A binder.  On sheets. Large, binder-sized sheets.  Do I like this system?  Well, seeing as how I haven’t done any stamping, I can’t really tell you one way or the other.. but I don’t love it yet.  Maybe it’ll grow on me.

What I had was all my clear stamps in little CD jewel cases, stamped onto the covers so I could see in crisp black in what goodies were inside each one.  The problems I faced there were numerous.  Some stamps were just too long to fit inside the cases, and the cases are so small that the sheer number of them was just too many to constantly flip through.  My shoe box storage bin was full. More than full.

Meet my new stamp binder.  Well hello, there!  Isn’t she pretty? I have to admit, her insides just aren’t so pretty, but she’s useful!  Check out her guts.

I ordered some heavy duty clear sheets from the Old Island Stamp Company.  Gosh their website’s awful, but their products are great.  And they’re super local, on a little island near here.

On a sheet of cardstock I stamped out the image of each clear stamp I’d have on the adjacent page, then stuck them all on their pages.  There’s nothing worse than not getting a visual display of what you have.

Downside to this system?  Well, the fabulous clear sheets are catchier and harder than paper, so they’re not so forgiving when you try to flip them back and forth around binder rings.  Pretty frustrating, actually.  So I may photocopy all of my stamped out pages to have a sort of index at the front that I can flip through so much easier.

I started this project with a 3/4” binder.  I’m sure glad I traded up to a 2”!  wow.  Now to get my card-making mojo back.  Can one pray to the mojo gods?

Heyya!

So once again, this week’s date was definitely a group date.  A large group date!  I can’t help it, it’s been a busy week.  See a pattern here?  Well, this week I got old celebrated my birthday!

To be honest, we sort of had 2 dates this week.  The first one was on my actual birthday-day (Wednesday).  I had a blissful day where I only had to work half a shift teaching a super lovely class.  I allowed myself many little yummy treats (like Starbucks), and I did what I could to make the day stress-free.  We played our usual Wednesday night Ultimate Frisbee game, then rushed home to shower.  From there, it was out to dinner with the boy and my dear friend, Sara.  Delicious. Such a good birthday! 

And the gifts.. wow!  Nathan got me the matching wedding band to my engagement ring (I’d bought a much cheaper one, thinking that it didn’t matter to me that they matched).  Darling Sara gave me a precious Version 2.0 of a date book that I’d made for her.  Hers was even more fun and creative than mine.  I’m so very much looking forward to our future girly dates together!

Date 2 – the group date – was loads of fun too.  I’d planned a Super Fun BBQ Birthday Party for myself.  We had so much amazing food and I made sure to have a bazillion hamburger toppings.  Some star toppings: caramelized onions, bacon, pineapple rings, jalapeno havarti.. wow.. I want another right now!

I also made a giant jug of sangria, and 2 types of cupcakes.  Oreo cupcakes (try them, you’ll swoon) from Annie’s Eats

Picture taken by miss Annie

The others were mini strawberry shortcake cakes.  I can’t take credit for the oh-so-clever name.. that’s all care of The Pioneer Woman.  Her recipe is to make it into a layer cake, but hey, who doesn’t like things better when they’re individually sized?

 
Step one: assembly

These.. wow.. I’d gain several pounds per week if I ate these things as much as I ever wanted.  A lovely helping of Heaven.

Step two: devour ice and place on a pretty platter for guests to enjoy.

I can definitely say that this was a great birthday week.  Nathan grilled our food to perfection and was a fabulous co-host.  We’re a good team :-)

Head on over to Simply Modern Mom for Tiffany’s and others’ dates this week!

Heyya!

Well, it’s nearly my birthday (in 3 hours), so I’m celebrating a bit early.   I was perusing the Moxie Fab website and came across the latest trigger.  It is trigger Tuesday, after all!  Well, I fell in love.. let’s just say that all things wedding make me want to get all crafty and creative.

I feel like this card could easily be birthday appropriate too.. how clever ;-)  But anyways, about the wedding bits..  You should see the trigger:

I loved the green, the pink, the orange… and the crisp, crisp white!  I also adore the stencilled mr & mrs.  That’s where I got my inspiration for the subtle swirly background in psychedelic embossing powder.

This bouquet and patterned paper are both from a digi kit that I got from 2 peas in a bucket.  I added a wee bit of Twinkling H2Os to the flowers for some shimmer.

Oh weddings.. so much fun to get all creative for…

Happy crafting,

Hey there,

This week’s date was fun! (OK, they’re all fun, but I love when they involve food).  We had 2 friends whom I hadn’t seen in years over for dinner.  It involved food prep. Lots.  I made some delicious guacamole, fabulous salsa, a yummy salad with grapes, goat cheese, pecans, and the best shish kabobs with a warm crusty bread!

(not my picture)

Nathan grilled the shish kabobs to a juicy, tender perfection.  Trust me, I was happy to see that we had enough for leftovers the next day!  The secret?  All I did was chop up my veggies (peppers, zucchini, and onions), chop cubes of chicken breast, and peel prawns.  In 3 separate bowls I marinated them in some low fat Greek salad dressing for an hour or so.  Stick ‘em on skewers and grill.  If you’re using wooden skewers, soak in water for several hours first.

We chatted with these friends a whole lot over the yummy food.  These people are great athletes who now do bike racing for fun.  (Crazy? I think so!)  It’s pretty intimidating, but I’m trying to be motivated by them.  I have yet to ride my bike in the last millennia 8 years.

Check out Simply Modern Mom for Tiffany’s date, and check out others’ date nights by clicking on the links under Project 52: Date Night.

Follow the links at the top for the recipes for the guacamole and salsa.  And get the salad recipe after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi there,

Let me tell you about my week(end).  My girlfriends decided to make an event of the new Sex and the City movie (yes, the one that got like zero stars, no thumbs up, etc).. but hey, I like any excuse to dress up and drink martinis.  Problem?  I hadn’t seen a single episode!  So I borrowed all 6 seasons and started watching.  Well, I can’t say I’m caught up.. I’ve been sort of randomly watching them.. but to get me through parts of Season 6, I made this fun little card.

This one’s for the latest challenge (Sketch 57) over at Unscripted Sketches.  I had so much fun with this watercolour element flower that I got with my digi kit from Two Peas in a Bucket

I used some Twinkling H20s for the blue on the flower – plus some Diamond Glaze.  I’m also pretty fond of that little “enjoy today” stamp.  It was free with a Verve order!  (Gotta love free things!)  Speaking of free, the other day at the grocery store they had some bouquets that had expired, so I got a beautiful one.  With a little pairing down ít’s beautiful in our dining room.

Here’s the original sketch

Now go check out what creative things others have done with it!  And wish me courage to live through this movie tonight!

Heyya,

Butterflies and flowers.. two things that I’m addicted to I use all the time in my cards.  What can I say? It’s love!

Today’s card is for this week’s sketch challenge (#92) over at Clean and Simple Stamping.  I got to use my new solid butterflies stamp from AMuse.. Yep, still in love.

I used my vintage fairy tale book again for the background.  The flower is a template from lovely Martha.  Oooh, the bluey-turquoise and green paper (not the background 2) are both from a digi kit by Two Peas in a Bucket.  I’m pretty fond of this kit, so I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of the elements here soon.

Both the butterfly, middle strip, and tag (in blue) are Martha Stewart punches, and I added a wee gemstone to the butterfly.

*sigh*  Butterflies remind me of life’s simple pleasures.  They make me smile.  Maybe it’s a good addiction to have ;-)

Here’s the sketch I used

Cheers,

Heyya! Well, I had the day off, so I decided I could spend some time playing in the craft room.  Later today I’m hoping to attempt a new recipe – Mango Nut Bread.  Sounds super yummy!

Today’s card is for the challenge over at Everything but the Kitchen Sink.  I was inspired by the sketch, and it was the perfect opportunity to try out a technique I’d seen on Moxie Fab World using my new Japanese masking tape.

I cut out a shipping tag shape from some kraft paper and layered on my Japanese masking tape in strips.  Next, I stamped a Japanese cherry branch image using Satzon ink.  I added a sentiment and some twine to finish off the tag.

I stamped the little dragonflies on vintage book paper, cut them out, scrunched them up, and added some little pearl embellishments.  I also re-stamped the cherry blossom on white cardstock, painted in some of the blossoms, cut them out and tacked them on, finishing them off with some Diamond Glaze.

The image from EBTKS is here, along with my tape inspiration

I love these colours.. purples and pinks and browns, oh my!

Now wish me luck with this bread!

Heyya!  It’s been a while.  I have a good excuse this time around – I’ve been out of town for 5 days!  I watched my wee little sister play copious amounts of hockey on a Bantam AAA team.  Needless to say, they didn’t win, but she played better than most of her team ;-)

So without further ado, I’ll let you get acquainted with the card I popped out today.  ‘Tis birds!

I just picked up this little bird punch and had to use it on some vintage book paper.  And of course a vintage book tag too.

This is for Sketch 56 over at Unscripted Sketches.  Another fun one to work with, as usual :-)

And here’s the sketch in real life

Cheers for now!

A month or so ago I purchased some herbs in an attempt to always have the fresh stuff on hand for added deliciousness in my cooking.  I started with last year’s chives, rosemary and lemon thyme.

My additions were some much-needed sweet basil, Italian parsley, peppermint, and cilantro.  When I bought the cilantro, it looked all big and green, but it had needed to be transplanted about 3 weeks prior!  I nearly lost the whole bunch, but after some coaxing (water and sunshine and a dose of flower extract to kill off aphids), it’s just started to flourish.

Check out how they’ve grown.  The peppermint has gone crazy (as expected) and I’ve already made some gosh darned good mojitos.  I also got to use a pit of the parsley in a pesto that I’ll post about sometime soon.

I also recently bought some more cilantro and some beautiful purple basil (just for the colour).. but unfortunately the basil isn’t too happy with me.  I put it outside where it’s just not basil temperature yet.  Most of it died 2 days ago :(

My goal is to have a great big lovely amount of basil, as it’s my favourite herb.  I’d really like to try to make some real basil pesto.  I’ve never done that before – nope, just parsley pesto.  Can you make it grow? Send little growing fairies my way.

Cheers,

Hey there, and happy Monday! Today’s card is for the Challenge #55 over at Unscripted Sketches.  I decided to go with bold and bright.  It’s been pretty cloudy weather here.. maybe this’ll brighten things up a bit :-)

This is take two of the rosette.. and what do you think about the stamping on vintage book paper?  Does it make an ok background piece? 

The leaves I just cut free-hand, then stamped some leaf stamps over them using VersaMark ink, just for some texture.

Whew.. crafting is all kinds of work!

Hi there, and welcome to this week’s date.  This one was all Nathan.  His plan was for us to use our condo building’s hot tub while watching a movie on my laptop.

Here we are, all ready to go

Well, we ran into a bit of an obstacle.  The hot tub, which we have never used, is currently closed pending health inspection.  Oh the joys of a new condo building. Anyways, we improvised!  I filled up a bubble bath where we had our own personal hot tub and watched our movie as planned. 

On the movie menu?  It’s Complicated.  A mediocre and fairly LONG romantic comedy.  Still, no complaints here.  I got to spend some fun time with the mister.

Check out others’ dates this week over at Simply Modern Mom, and hey, participate too.  I highly recommend it!

Hi there,  I guess I’ve been away from the blog world a bit, and next week will be even more of the same.  I’m heading out of town to take my wee little sister (she’s 14) to a hockey tournament next weekend.

No excuses for this week except that I’ve been working overtime and haven’t felt very inspired by the time I get home.  I finally managed to whip out a card for this week’s Clean and Simple sketch #90 over at Clean and Simple Stamping.

A baby card!  I liked the idea of all things round for this card.. circles cut out, rounded corners, a button…

Maybe a bit TOOO simple?  Maybe I need to try a few very intricate card and then come back to the whole CAS thing that I love so much.

And hey, what’s up with all the turquoise lately?  It seems to be a running theme here.  Got any colour suggestions to challenge me with?

Voila the CAS sketch that I used:

Cheers,

Hi there,

This week’s date was a full afternoon/evening affair full of so much love coming from all directions.  Two of our close friends got married after having been engaged for a good long while.  We are so happy we could share this day with them, and a fabulous day it was!

The lovely bride, Jana, put so much work into all the details.  A really cool fingerprint tree guestbook, favours that she made, a garland backdrop.. she even made the groom and groomsmens’ ties!  woah!

Check out the decorations for the ceremony (which was at the prettiest little farm)

We have this amazing group of friends, many of whom have been friends since high school, so you can imagine the night together – especially considering the reception was “friends only.” SO MUCH FUN!  We danced (as seen above), we ate, drank, and we even surprise serenaded them with a song we’d practiced together!

See the singing?

All in all, a great date.  I definitely recommend weddings! 

To read others’ date nights or to participate yourself, check out Tiffany’s blog over at Simply Modern Mom.

Hi there,

I got busy tonight and made a second card.  I just couldn’t stop playing with this fabulous Japanese masking tape.  This time around it’s the pink polka dot version.  I’m in love.

Tonight’s card is for a CAS Birthday challenge over at CAS-tastic Wednesday Challenges Blog. (thanks for pointing this site out to me, Karen!)  Maybe not my very very cleanest and simplest work (I like the bare minimum), but I think this still fits the bill.. agreed?

Pretty easy to make, overall.  Some stamping on patterned papers that I already had lying around, cutting out, and sticking it together.  Oh, and don’t forget the healthy does of cute masking tape!  Hmm.. I think I prefer jewels to pears as the centres of flowers.

Heyya and happy Friday!

This has been quite the week.  I taught grade 2 yesterday, which was quite the experience since I’m generally a high school teacher!  Let’s just say that they all went home in a fairly normal ‘happy and healthy’ state, so I did OK, right?

Some fun fun goodies came in the mail today.. drum roll…  Japanese masking tape! I got this fancy and beautiful stuff from cu-te-ta-pe.  I’m so in love with it.. I couldn’t not use it in a card today!

Today’s card is for Sketch 89 over at Clean and Simple Stamping.  OK, so my card sort of went beyond the whole CAS idea.. oops.  But I was experimenting and trying to work quickly.. sometimes things go awry.  And hey, I worked in some of the insanely cute green polka dot masking tape.

Stamps are by AMuse and Basic Grey.  Here’s the original sketch:

Have a good one,

Hi there, and happy Tuesday!

Today I’ve made a card for this week’s Clean and Simple Sketch 88.  Why oh why did I have to start making cards with 3D bits on them?  They don’t fit in envelopes properly.. they don’t mail well.. am I going to have to start buying bubble wrap packages and paying 5 times the cost to send a birthday card?  Sheesh!  But come on, flowers and butterflies and bows that jump off the page are just TOO CUTE!

This card took a total of about 15 minutes, and this is the first time I ever made this little rose flower.  Nina has a fabulous tutorial for these on her blog – Crafting in Croatia.  It’s definitely worth a wander over there!  I tore mine instead of using scalloped scissors, and I’m quite happy with the results. They’re SO EASY to make!

I stamped the leaves (Basic Grey) and ‘best wishes’ (Hero Arts) in some chalk inks, added the bow, rounded the corners with a punch, and edges the paper flower with a bit of purple ink.

Here’s the original sketch:

Hiya, and happy Tuesday!

This past week was another tough one, as far as dates go for us.  Nathan had this lovely cold (and by lovely, I mean terrible.. he was nice enough to sleep in the other room so his coughing out a lung wouldn’t keep me up all night).  Any kind of date together was definitely a struggle.  We did have some friends over for one Canucks game.. then I headed to a Birthday party sans mon date.

So my solution?  A delicious dinner for us to enjoy while watching another Canucks playoff game.  Seeing a pattern here?

So the good stuff first!  I made these little gems for our dessert.  They’re delicious (and surprisingly light!) chocolate banana soufflés, courtesy of Gina’s WW Recipes.  Only 112 calories, ladies!

The main course was my very favourite.. Pan seared salmon with a grape salsa (best salsa EVER! Get the recipe after the jump), rice, and green beans.  Nathan, who apparently doesn’t like fish much, thinks this may be his favourite meal that I make!  Nice.  There’s so much that I love that he hates.. but hey, I’m the cook here, so he can live with it ;-)

Check out others’ dates for Project 52: Date Night over at Simply Modern mom!

Read the rest of this entry »

Hiya!

I recently had a birthday to go to.  A friend turned 30 (no one’s counting!), so I wanted to give her a nice little gift.  I made a pair of green dangly earrings (sorry, no pictures), and then needed a nice gift bag to put them in.

This is my first attempt at this bag, and I think it went pretty well.  There’s always room for improvement, right?  I definitely love the little butterflies!

I got the fabulous purse template over at Creations by AR.  It’s a bit finicky to glue together, but is super cute if you can get it all to stick and stay put!

Hey there.  I hope the weekend was a good one!

I’ve been busy running around everywhere.. birthday parties, hockey games, shopping, crafting. 

Today I made this spiffy flower ring.  It’s my first attempt, so I’m hoping the future ones will be better.. but I’m still happy with this little guy!

I found a fabulous tutorial over at V and Co.  I found that since my fabric was super thin cotton, I should have cut a wider strip of it.. ooooh well, that’s for next time!  Maybe I’d fray the edges up a bit too.

Seriously. So. Easy.  You just need a strip of fabric, a ring blank, and a glue gun!  Maybe when I get good at them I’ll start making them in every colour!

Hi there! Today I tackled sketch # 87 over at Clean and Simple Stamping.  Every week I say that I love their layouts because of – surprise, surprise – the clean and simple looks. I can have white space and it’s OK! It’s like a refreshing interlude each week because I also like to do the opposite kinds of cards too.

Well, I’m not feeling like I’m ready for any kind of bikini weather, but maybe someone is, right?  I’ve been in snuggle up (eat lots and exercise little) mode since November, so it’s time to kick my own butt so I can fit into last year’s spring and summer clothes soon.. So here’s some inspirational fodder!

This week has been the start of getting active and eating more healthy for me.  I’m trying out the DVD 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. They’re 20-minute workouts and man oh man am I ever sore after! I definitely recommend it, as that’s very little time commitment for what are (hopefully) good results.  I’ll let you know ;-)

For this card I just cut a strip of a scrap piece of patterned paper that caught my eye and added borders with another.. mmm, bright!  I cut out a circle of green (by hand!), stamped my sentiment in turquoise and stamped the bikini in black on that same border paper.  I cut it out, glued it on, added some brads.. and a card is born.  Now back to my workouts – ultimate frisbee tonight.

And here’s the sketch:

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello there!  Today I was inspired by colour, can ya tell?  This bright and cheerful card is for challenge 52 over at Unscripted Sketches.  I’m thrilled that the ladies chose me as the top 3 winner for last week’s challenge.  You can see my card here.  Back to this week’s card!

Part of the challenge was to use some form of recycled material in celebration of Earth Day.  I’m usually pretty careful at saving all of my little bits of paper, so maybe that counts.. but I also dug through my recycling bin in my craft room and found some white cardstock I had discarded, thinking it was too small for future use.  WRONG!  It was perfect  for my ribbon-ey banner and the ribbon flower pieces!

I got to use my fun paper by WPlus9 again, and check out these bright dragonflies!  They’re from an Inkadinkado clear set.  The flowers are by Stampendous, and I just stamped them in black on top of this ribbon stamp (by Magenta?)

I cut out the magenta coloured dragonfly to have it pop out a bit.  Ditto for the “Enjoy Your Birthday” banner, which I then added some hemp twine to.

And hey look, it’s momentarily sunny outside.  That perfectly emulates the mood that this card gives me!

Here’s the sketch I had to work with:

Have a lovely day!