(RED)

As I am sure I have mentioned before, I am sort of big on the whole (RED) campaign. Between the two of us there are several shirts, jackets, and other (RED) products in our house...including my iPod Shuffle. Thus, the inspiration for the Cardboard Challenge over at The Art is Found was a given for me! The challenge was to use cardboard in your project. Okay...easy enough. But the thing is, I have already used cardboard for a layout before, I've used it for a mini album, too, so I wanted to do something different to make it a genuine challenge for me. Thus, I decided to create a wall hanging. I pulled out my MM Cranberry paint and got started! Here is what I came up with. I love it!





Supplies used are:
Cardboard Base
Chocolate Ink: Close To My Heart
Cranberry Paint: Making Memories
Tags, safety pins, fibers: Gap, product(RED)
Metal (RED) tag: Hallmark, product(RED)
Glitter: Martha Stewart
Rox: Magic Scraps (Advantus)

Thanks for looking!!!

Ahhhh! Time to Play With Paper!

I do so love it when I get a good dose of time to play with my paper! And it is even better when it is a totally unexpected dose of time! Last night Sean had to go to a meeting and it turned out to be a late night, so I was at home by myself for the evening. What does that mean? Laundry? Nope. Dishes? Nope. Vacuuming? Nope. SCRAPBOOKING!!! That's right, folks! I took some much needed time to focus on crafting. In that time, I managed to complete two cards and one layout that I am really pleased with. I used challenges this time around to get me moving and BOY did they! I think I work will with a little push from the outside! LOL! Okay...enough jibber jabber....here is what I made!

First off, this is a Precious Moments card that I created for the Alzheimer's Care Takers Card Challenge that is posted on Carolyn King's blog. I think it is so cool that she is doing this and even cooler that so many people have stepped in to make it an amazing event! Thanks, Carolyn!

I have to admit, this isn't my favorite card that I've ever made, but I think that is partly due to the fact that these are not colors that I normally work with and the Precious Moments idea isn't one that I normally go with either! LOL! So...it was a challenge, but I think it looks nice and I would love to know what you think of it.

The patterned paper is Sunborn, the shimmer paper is Prizm. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and blended them adding just a touch of reflection with my Uniball Signo pen. I added the Bazzill flower with the CTMH sparkle to finish it off along with the American Crafts gingham ribbon.



My second card of the evening was for the House Mouse Monday Challenge Blog. I love these stamps and I had three brand new ones sitting on my shelf that I hadn 't used yet because I was afraid to get them dirty! LOL! So...I took this challenge as a push to get one of those stamps dirty! And I LOVE the card! The challenge was to include stitching on your card. Other than that...no rules! Just be sure to use a House Mouse stamp, of course!

Patterned Paper is BoBunny, Embroidery Floss is DMC, Stamp is House Mouse, Markers are Prismacolor markers, Grey pen is a Zig Chalk Writer by EK Success, White pen is my Uniball Signo, Stickles are by Ranger, and the trim, I believe, is Basic Grey. It is stamped in Close to My Heart Archival Black ink.





And....finally...the layout that I created was for yet another challenge! LOL! The challenge over at Got Mojo? was to create a layout inspired by the Cirque du Soliel. To be honest, I don't know if anyone will see the inspiration in my piece or not, but this is where it led me. I had an impression of Cirque from things I had seen on television and in print ads, as I've not seen them live. And yes, the obvious bright, bold colors and contrasts certainly did come to mind. However, after visiting the website I noticed that some of the more recent stuff appears to be more on a surreal level. Well, I guess they have always been a bit surreal, but the images on the website invoked a softer tone than I normally associate with them. This led me to create a rather surreal looking layout. Another thing that stands out to me when thinking of Cirque is the fluidity of motion. I was sure to incorporate that into my layout, as well. I kept my edges soft, but I played with line and motion. The shapes are strong, but subtle all at the same time. What do you think?



The patterned papers are Dreamstreet (background and text) and American Crafts (brown leaf). Ink, stamps, and twill are all Close To My Heart. Chipboard letters are American Crafts Thickers coated with Martha Stewart Glitter, Sparkles are Close To My Heart, and the glitter glaze is Making Memories, the flower is Bazzill, and finally, the trims are from my jar.

I apologize for the poorly lit photos. I usually take my photos either really early in the morning before the sun is up or at night due to my work schedule. I am working on a solution to this problem, though, so hopefully you will see improvement!

So, what do you think? Do you utilize all those great challenge blogs out there? Let meknow your favorites! I have a long list, but I'm always looking for new ones!

Evil Monkeys and Such

Hi! Thanks for stopping by!

Last night I went to visit one of the boys in our youth group as he managed to land himself in the hospital after a dirt bike accident. He broke his leg something fierce and had to have surgery, so Sean and I went to see him and spend some time with him and his mom last night after the surgery. He is doing pretty well now, but he has to quite a bit of recovering to do and may beep in airports due to the two screws they placed in his bone to put it back together! I made him a quick card before we left to help cheer him up a bit. Yes...17 year old boys do actually appreciate handmade cards! LOL!

Here is the card I made:




I love that little Monkey! He is just too adorable! He is a Close to My Heart stamp (which, by the way...I have an order open until tomorrow if you need anything!) colored with Prismacolor markers on Basic Grey patterned papers. Too much fun! The sentiment stamp, ink, and brads are all CTMH, as well.

And this....my friends....is why one should not leave scrapbook supplies out where a husband could possibly find them. You know....like ANYWHERE in your HOUSE! LOL!

I'd like to introduce you to the "ANGRY Monkey" by my wonderful husband:



What is it about adorable little critter stamps that automatically sends a grown mans mind into a wild frenzy of either images of "pooping" animals or, as showcased here, EVIL animals! LOL! It made me laugh. I have to admit that! LOL!

So, what do you think? Does the monkey look angry to you? I don't think so...I think he is adorable...well, unless you add a bloody sword and crooked eyebrows!

Hey! I am working on my Guest Designer Layout for the next challenge over at Use Your Stash! Be sure to keep your eye on the blog for the next announcement and join in the fun! I can't wait to see your layouts!!!

On another note: Check out this cool blog giveaway! It's for a gift certificate to Modbe! Find the giveaway HERE.

Do you love to use adorable critter stamps? I'd love to see what you have done with them! Post a link in the comments and I will go check out your work!

TOOT!!!

I am excited to announce that I have been selected to be the October Guest Design Team Member for Use Your Stash!!! If you haven't ventured on over to UYS yet you should totally go check it out! Kimmie and Corey work together to come up with awesome challenges that force you to really use all that stuff that we have been collecting! For September they have us breaking out the chipboard and using it on cards and layouts! Imagine that?! ACTUALLY USING that beautiful collection that I have?! LOL! Break out of your "I am a supply collector" mentality and put that stuff on pages!!! It's way fun!

I am very excited about being a part of this team for October! It is an honor to have a chance to work with Kimmie and Corey and I hope you join in the challenge! Watch for more info as we get closer!

Now...for a little fun...

HAPPY TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY TO ONE AND ALL!!!

Reverse

reverse.

This is a layout I didn't expect to happen. Does that ever happen to you? Out of the blue comes true, heartfelt journaling that you never planned to write? Well, that is what happened here. I started this layout working on the challenge over at The Design Experiment. I loved the concept of opening a dictionary and dropping my hand on a word to start a layout. Well, my finger landed on "reverse". I started to flip through my photos to see what inspiration hit me and...here you have it. I wish I could reverse time. If for nothing else, than to develop a true, strong relationship with my little sister. Funny how scrapbooking can do this to us. Bring out our deepest feelings in our art. I love that, but it's a bit hard to swallow sometimes when I have to face the reality of my thoughts.

Breakfast for Dinner - and it's even Weight Watchers Freindly!

Yesterday I found this recipe over on Monkey Giggles and I thought it sounded SO good! I love doing the breakfast for dinner thing, so I really wanted to make it! However...there was one tiny little problem...while I have met my Weight Watchers goal, I am in maintenance right now and working toward my lifetime membership and I happen to really like where I am right now and things like egg-laden breads tend to be a wee bit calorie heavy. BUT...I really wanted it. So...I decided to alter the recipe to make it WW Points friendly and serve a healthy serving of fruit on the side with just a quick shot of zero point Ready Whip!

This was dinner last night...and it will soon be breakfast this morning because MAN was it good! No...like seriously, I know the photos don't do it justice, but this was REALLY REALLY good! Moist and Yummy! Sean liked it a lot, too...although...he did add a side of bacon to his! LOL!



Tell me this doesn't just look fabulous! It totally was! LOL!



And...on the plate....(I'm sorry I didn't grab my camera until we had taken it out of the dish I baked it in...otherwise I would have taken a shot of that.)



And here is my version of the recipe:

French Toast Bake

* 9 Slices Fiber One Cinnamon Raisin Bread (or other high fiber bread) Cubed.
* 1 cup Egg Beaters
* 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
* 1/4 Equal Sweetener, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon Land O' Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* Pam Butter Flavored Spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray 8x8 (or similar volume) baking dish with butter spray.
3. Line bottom of pan with bread cubes.
4. In a large bowl, beat together egg beaters, milk, 2 tablespoons Equal, salt and vanilla.
5. Pour mixture over bread. Mix to coat all bread with liquid.
6. Dot with margarine; let stand for 10 minutes.
7. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
8. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden.

Total Servings: 4 Weight Watchers POINTS: 4 per serving

Enjoy!

WOW - Blog Candy to the MAX!

Check this out! Vanilla Joy is offering some amazing blog candy!!! She is actually going to GIVE AWAY a MiniBox from the Original Scrapbox!!! Can you believe it?! I can't! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to WIN this amazing prize!!!



So go over to Vanilla Joy right now and enter the contest! Oh...wait...but don't do all that stuff to get the extra entries because I SO want to win THIS! LOL!