Jingle Belles - We Three Kings (JB22)

Yay!! Time for another card for the Jingle Belles challenge!! :) I am so NOT gonna be sitting around come December stressing out over making cards. Woooo-hooo!

This week's challenge comes from another guest designer, Julie Tucker-Wolek. Please visit her on her blog at Life with the Tucker & Wolek Clan.

The challenge is Three Kings: " ... we want to see three (or more) different pieces of patterned paper in your card design this week."

THAT, I can most certainly do! :)

 

Lots of layery goodness! All the patterned paper is from My Minds' Eye and their "I Believe" collection. Love that line. So many of the papers have gorgeous, shimmery bits!  So pretty. Click on the pic above to see it larger...it's worth it.

Hope you all have been playing along with the Jingle Belles. This is such a fun challenge!! And speaking of challenges...don't forget the SOS Challenge #2! It's the post right below this one. :)

Have a great week!

{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock (Stampin' Up - brown), (Gina K Designs - white), Patterned Paper - I Believe Collection (My Minds' Eye)
Ink: None
Stamps: None
Die-Cutting/Embossing: Seeing Spots Cuttlebug Folder (ProvoCraft), Simply Scallops, Double Scallop Border & Faux Crochet Border Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: Thickers Letter Stickers (American Crafts), Ribbon (Stampin' Up), Capuccino Baker's Twine (The Twinery), Button (Basic Grey).}


All my best,

Shopping Our Stash - Oldies But Goodies!

Hi there! Welcome to another fun challenge with Shopping Our Stash. Hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day weekend (my U.S. followers) and that some of you participated in the OWH Blog Hop (always a good time and a great cause!).

This week's awesome challenge with SOS is "Oldies but Goodies"! So dig out the absolute oldest stamp (or digi-stamp) you have and ink that baby up! Show it some love and let's see what you can do. :)

Here's the card I made from one of the very first stamp sets I ever bought.

I can't even remember WHERE I bought it, but the copyright date on the back says 2003. Now, I didn't start stamping until 2007-08, so this one's an oldie but a goodie. And, I remember the rubber being unmounted/uncut and having no clue what to do with it. How funny!

Here's a look at the set in the box:

I wonder if Plaid is still making that set? ;) And, no...my sentiment isn't old. It's new. It's Lawn Fawn. But I don't have any old sentiments that aren't Christmas. HAHHA!!

Can't wait to see what everyone digs up to make an "Oldie but Goodie" card. Make sure to link up at the SOS Challenge blog and to check out all the rest of the Design Team, too. Their blogs are on my sidebar, over ---> there.

Have a great week!

{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Bouquet (Plaid Enterprises, Inc), Sophie's Sentiments (Lawn Fawn)
Die-Cutting/Embossing: Petite Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Colored Pencils (Prismacolor), White Gel Pen (Ranger), Ribbon, Pearls (Stampin' Up!), Staples (Tim Holtz for Ideaology)}


All my best,

Blog Hop Supplies & Info

I've been gone for most of the weekend so I still need to hit up almost everyone's beautiful blogs for the Operation Write Home Blog Hop, but trust me... I WILL! :) I just wanted to type this up real quick for those of you who may have been interested in knowing what I used to make my card:

{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock - White (Gina K Designs), Red (Stampin' Up), Patterned Paper - Picket Fence (Lily Bee Design)
Ink: Distress Embossing Ink, Rich Red EP (Ranger)
Stamps: Missing You (Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday)
Die-Cutting/Embossing: Petite Circles, Ribbon Tag Trio 2 Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Star Punch (Stampin' Up), Baker's Twine (The Twinery), Ribbon (My Favorite Things)}

ALL of the Lily Bee Designs paper packs are awesome!! Get your hands on them! :)

And for those of you who enjoyed my design? Thank you. I wish I could say it was mine. However, I CASE'd it myself. It wouldn't be honest for me to claim it as my own. So to give credit where credit is due...

Please thank the team at the CardPatterns Sketch Blog. :)

Here's the sketch *I* CASE'd :

All I did was flip it on its side. Same sketch, though. I still hope you all will try it out. It's a beautiful sketch!

All my best,

Operation Write Home Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog and my stop for the the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop!!!!



You should have arrived here from Louise's blog, Trinity Paper Arts, but if not, or if you're lost, OR if you'd rather start at the beginning of the hop just click up ↑ there. I think we've got ya ALL covered. :)

Operation Write Home is a wonderful organization that sends blank handmade cards for our servicemen AND women who are deployed far from home to write and send back home on...what a gift! Please check out their website for a way that you can give by donating your own gift of talent or a monetary donation (if feasible).

Here's my contribution to this year's hop:

On Memorial Day (or the weekend prior, as the case may be) it's important to know that this day is not just about BBQ's and the day off, but the sacrifices that our military make on our behalf each and every day. We live in a home of the free, because of the brave.



Now, please,  hop on over to your next stop... The wonderfully talented DIANE at Stampin Ldyglfr62  (click to be taken to her blog!) you'll loooove what she made!


HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!

PS - I'll post again on Monday with the supplies I used .  Just in case anyone is interested in knowing what paper I used, stamp set, etc. :) - Future date added so blog stays on top for a few days...not to confuse you. ;)

All my best,

Purple Haze - JB21

This weeks Jingle Belles challenge really did challenge me. WOW!!... did it ever challenge me. Seriously!

The awesomely talented Amanda Profumo of crafty paper girl is this weeks guest star and she provided us with this photo inspiration:

So pretty!! AND PURPLE!!! I guess I should say that the challenge IS  VISIONS OF SUGAR PLUMS. :)

There is sooooo much purple on this card, I swear I'm channeling Jimi Hendrix! (click to hear Purple Haze HAHHA!!)

Can ya dig it?


I tried to pull out some fun elements: the snowflakes, the shimmer, the sheer lace, the fine detail (and, of course, the shades of purple) and put it together. Of course, due to my severe lack of photography skillz you can see absolutely none of the really cool stuff. You'll just have to trust me. You do, right? ;)

Hope that you're having a FABULOUS week!

xo

{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock (Stampin' Up), Glitter paper (American Crafts), Shimmer cardstock (Paper Temptress), Shimmer vellum (Paper Source), PP - Picket Fence (Lily Bee Design)
Ink: Concord Grape Distress Ink, Ranger Clear EP (Ranger)
Stamps: Holiday Sayings (Hero Arts)
Die-Cutting/Embossing: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots (ProvoCraft), Large Snowflake Die-Cut (ProvoCraft), Double Scallop Border, Simple Scallop (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: Printed Acetated (Don't remember! Ack! It's a remnant), Ribbon (Offray), Rhinestones, Silver cord, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (Stampin' Up), Small Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart)}

All my best,

Shopping Our Stash - Ribbon Rewind

Welcome to our first "official" challenge on Shopping Our Stash. This is a fun one. RIBBON REWIND! Because seriously, being a crafter....who doesn't love ribbon?

"Ribbon Rewind- create a project using either your oldest ribbon or the color of ribbon you have the most of OR use your ribbon in a way you normally don't- like make a flower with it, scrunch it up on a card, weave, make a wreath etc."


What do you think you'll create for this awesome challenge? I know I've hoarded so much ribbon it's ridiculous. And, it's tough because you know you "need" that perfectly matching ribbon for your project, too. Am I right? CAN I GET AN AMEN?! HAHHA!

So, here's what I created for this week's SOS Challenge:

The pretty ribbon is some I kind of stashed away and forgot about (oops!) and was a gift from a Stampin' Up Demo friend of mine, the ric-rac & piece of daisy chain were hand-me-downs from my mom. Yay for Mom! (I actually have a lot of stashed ribbon from my mom.) I tried two new techniques for making ribbon flowers. One is the "poofy" flower which I think is normally reserved for felt...not sure. But I decided to try it with ribbon. I like it! And the second is with the ric-rac. (Would have turned out better with thicker/wider ric-rac.)

Anyway...I hope you like it! Click to see all the fabulousness the DT created this week. You won't want to miss out!!

Alica

Carla

Crystal

Deena

Kristina

Leslie

You are HERE! :)

Marie

Paige

Hope you all are enjoying your week and I can't wait to see what you create with your stash! :)

{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock, Presto Patterned Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Versamagic Chalk Ink - Spring Pansy (Tsukineko), Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery Dye Ink (Stampin' Up!), Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger)
Stamps: Framed Greetings (My Favorite Things)
Die-Cutting/Embossing: Framed Greetings Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: White Embossing Powder (Hero Arts), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Pearls (Stampin' Up!)
Hoarded Ribbon: Ribbon Originals Sweet Shop (Stampin' Up!), Daisy cut from a length of daisy chain ribbon, white ric-rac (Mom).}


All my best,

Maker Faire Bay Area

Maker Faire. I've wanted to go ever since I first heard about it. Part crafty, part DIY, part geek-central. What's not to love? It just so happened that Maker Faire was happening this past weekend in San Mateo and I so desperately NEEDED to go. :) Ya hear me? NEEDED. Yeah, need.

I wanted to be among people who understood what it was like to use their hands and minds in the creative process...whatever the end result was. I didn't care if it was computers, crafts, whatever. I just wanted to immerse myself in the DIY culture. Even if just for one day.

Eddy didn't really want to go, but he finally kind of decided to go. Plus, how else would I get to San Mateo? It's FAR! Well, over an hour away. It's not like I could walk there or anything.

I thought the whole day was AH-MAY-ZING!! So many cool things to take in and see. It was almost overwhelming. Even things that were over my head in geekiness? I didn't care. Just so cool. I wanted to see it all. I got to meet one of the sweetest and loveliest people on the planet, Sarah Hodson (@sarahndipitous on Twitter. If you don't follow her...go, hurry, follow her NOW!). I watched a class she taught and spent some time just listening to her, being inspired by her, and feeling her warmth wash over me. Talk about a super special lady. I ♥ Sarah.

I have also sooo been wanting to learn about needle felting and was fortunate to see a demo AND take a class by the FABULOUS, Moxie! Wow! So awesome. She is funny, down-to-Earth, and so darned gifted! I think she can make ANYTHING out of felt. I swear! I am in awe of this lady. She rocks. Okay, I've babbled on for a VERY long time. You want pics, yes? :)

(Cool bike made out wood!)

("Fire-breathing"-bicycle-thingy)

(Awesome LED lights for bicycle spokes!)

(Lighted "forest")

(Neon "moving" hammerhead shark)

(Lighted Rainbow curtain thing...I don't know what it is, but it's pretty!)

(This was a LASER! When you wave it fast an image appeared! In this case, Charlie Sheen! It was so wild to see! Also hard to take a pic of. HAHHA!)

(No explanation needed. Saw this fella & knew I had to take a pic for my friend, Dana aka Darthsunshine. :) )

(Yep, Star Wars Crafts!! Awesome, right?! ;) )

There were *lots* of steam punk attired people at Maker Faire, such as this amazingly attired woman:

(MOXIE!!!!)

I had a really great time at Maker Faire. If you ever get a chance to go....GO!!! You won't regret it. :)

xo


All my best,

Jolly Old Saint Nick, Redux ;)

Little did I know the prompt this week for the Jingle Belles was going to be SANTA related!! *shakes fist at Lauren & Steph*

"This week we're celebrating Jolly Old Saint Nicholas by creating cards that feature Santa Claus."

Especially since LAST week I had just done a Santa card. What the...? I own ZERO Santa stamps and had just cut out what I thought was my only Santa image. WAHHHHH!! Yes, please sob for me. Go ahead. I'll wait. I'll even dry your tears for you. I'm nice like that. :)

So I had to go foraging through everything I own to see what I had!! And YAY!! Tim Holtz to the rescue again!! Can I get a "WOOHOO"?! :D

Here's what I came up with this week:

Not my best work in all honesty, but I still like that instead of drawing the focus on Santa (soooo obvious!) I tried (oh, how I tried) to use Stickles & other messy stuff to get y'all to notice other nifty parts of the image, too. Lemme just say that I now I have Stickles in my hair, on my clothes & I think the kitties are now Stickles-sized, too. Ugh.

Oh, and...CORK IS FUN!! That is all. :)

Hope you're having a great week! xo

{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock (Stampin' Up), Patterned Paper - Seasonal Paper Stash (Tim Holtz - Ideaology), Cork (QuicKutz)
Embossing/Diecutting: Top Note Die (Stampin Up for Sizzix)
Coloring/Messy Stuff/Accessories: Stickles (Ranger), Liquid Applique (Marvy Luchida), Gelly Roll Clear Star Pen (Sakura), Linen String (PTI), Frosty Flake Brad (Doodlebug Designs), Rhinestones (Kaisercraft), Copics (.Too)}

All my best,

Slow Cooker Lasagna

No crafty related post today. Today I present a FOOD related post!! YAYAYAYYA!! I made slow cooker lasagna and it was soooo yummy I am sharing it with you my bloggy friends. Aren't you happy? I knew you would be. :)

I have no pics, unfortunately, because it's already in a state of demolishment and I'm not about to make another one JUST so I can take pictures. I mean, I love you guys, but that's just wasteful. ;)

So here's the dealio. I am not a cook. In fact, I really don't like to cook. It's time consuming and I dislike cleaning up. Blech. So messy. Raw meat?! Ewwww. So I look for shortcuts to almost anything!! I also DO want us to eat as healthy as we can. So I like to search out recipes on SparkRecipes. This one for the slow cooker lasagna REALLY caught my eye!

Ingredients
16 oz (1 lb) ground beef, 96 % lean
2 c eggplant, diced (no need to peel it) ** (I used zucchini) **
1 jar low-sodium marinara sauce  **or the sauce you like best**
1/4 t red pepper flakes
2 t dried thyme
1 1/4 c water
15 oz. ricotta cheese, part skim
1 T parsley chopped  **(fresh!!!)**
1/4 c egg substitute (or 1 egg white)
1 c shredded Italian blend cheese **(I used a low fat variety, very yummy...I taste-tested first) **
6 lasagna noodles, dried, no boil variety **(If you can find wheat, I'd try to use that for extra fiber) **

Directions
Brown the ground beef in a skillet over moderate heat; drain any excess fat. Stir in red pepper flakes, thyme, marinara sauce, eggplant (or zucchini), and water. In a bowl combine the egg substitute, ricotta, Italian cheese blend, and parsley. Place enough meat sauce to cover the bottom of slow cooker. Top with 2-3 noodles, broken to cover the meat sauce. Repeat layer. Top second layer with cheese mixture and finish with a top layer of the meat mixture. Cover and set slow cooker on low. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

**(Some people said that using eggplant made it too watery, I like zucchini better and I cut it into very small pieces)**

As far as the layering? Ignore what they say above. Seriously. Do the meat/sauce layer, then noodles, then cheese, then meat, noodles, meat/sauce, then dot with remainder of cheese. Trust me. :D


Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHEF_MEG.


If you make it let me know!! We loved it. And I'm a picky eater!! :) G'night.


All my best,

Christmas Blast from the Past

Hi! I'm posting my Jingle Belles card a little late, but better late than never, right? :D

The challenge from the Jingle Belles was the Spirit of Christmas Past. Here's what they said: "We're asking you to create a card celebrating all things vintage. It could mean incorporating true vintage elements ... or just a vintage style ... whatever says "vintage" to you."

Can I just say "YAY"? I love vintage. I have a lot of vintage-y type things, but I'd like to spend a long time really working on this and I was out of town for a few days...and well...I guess my whining does no good, eh? A few days should be enough time for any normal person. I'm just not normal. :D

Oh well.

Here's what I managed to pull together yesterday. Had to let him dry overnight, though:

I wish the image was true vintage, but it sure looks that way, doesn't it? Love that Santa. And that crochet is soooo soft and floppy, you'd swear it was vintage! However, there IS a true vintage item on my card. The button. I almost hated to use it, but it was a perfect match and added such balance.

Thanks for looking! Have a great week. xo

{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock (Stampin' Up), Seasonal Paper Stash (Tim Holtz - Ideaology)
Paint: Acrylic Paint Dabbers (Adirondack - Ranger)
Sticker: Seasonal Salvage Stickers (Tim Holtz - Ideaology)
Die-Cutting/Embossing: Seeing Spots Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft)
Accessories: Ribbon (Stampin' Up), Crochet Lace (Wright's Creative Classics), Stickles (Ranger), FlowerSoft Polar White, Button (Vintage), Thread (PTI).}



All my best,

Shopping Our Stash Kick-Off Party

SQUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

I'm soooo super excited today. Why? Well, because today I get the awesome privilege to welcome you to the kick-off of the Shopping Our Stash Challenge Blog !!!

First, allow me to introduce the SOS Design Team Crew:

Alica

Carla

Crystal

Deena

Kristina

Leslie

Lisa --> MEEEEEE!!! (can you believe it?!)

Marie

Paige

Starting today and lasting through May 23rd the SOS Team is hosting a virtual "Open House". We're asking YOU to join us in the open house by posting pics of your craft table/space, or maybe just a peek at your yummy stamps (whatever you want to share!), and link the post back to the SOS Blog using the blue inlinkz frog! :)

Here is MY awesome mess of a craft space. :D

Pretty, huh? ;)

And if that isn't enough, just hang on to your hats! :

Oh yeah. You're jealous, aren't ya? Try to contain yourself. :D  I'll show even MORE pics of my mess next Tuesday when the official Kick-Off Challenge Begins.

Now it's YOUR turn.  You saw MY mess of a space! So get busy. ;) Take those pics, do a quick little blog post and link up to the SOS Challenge Blog. You have TWO FULL WEEKS! It's always fun to see behind the scenes where we spend so much of our time and hard-earned money.

Be sure to visit the rest of the DT's blogs and show them some love. Say hi! :) You'll see some spaces like mine and some beautiful spaces, too. And, of course there will be some goodies given away, too. Be sure to follow or bookmark this fabby new challenge blog and join us in what is sure to be a LOT of fun. First challenge is May 24th!

All my best,

Racing for Women Everywhere!!!

Trying to get a little rest tonight before tomorrow's big day. RACE DAY!!

Tomorrow is my 5K Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Southern Nevada. I'm pretty excited. Though, honestly? I wish I didn't HAVE to race.

I wish that breast cancer wasn't such a prevalent cancer in the lives of women. I wish that it wasn't affecting soooo many women that I personally know. I wish that *I* hadn't had a scare, too. And I wish that technology were so that it wasn't such a scary thing to get a mammogram. And that the government hadn't made it sound like they weren't necessary as often as they are. (What the heck?!)

I'll be proudly donning my pretty pink sash for being one of the Top 100 Fundraisers in the morning (yay me!!) and eagerly searching out coffee since we all know how much I loathe mornings. And, I may even be on the news!! How cool is THAT?! But, it still doesn't change the reason WHY I'm running...

I'm running for YOU. And me.  And for women everywhere. So that we can have more. More technology, more options, and LESS breast cancer. Yes, actually, that's it. I'm running for less. Who knew?

If you feel like helping out my fundraising with a dollar or two (trust me, I may be in the top 100, but I haven't raised THAT much) I have until May 31st and every single dollar helps this cause. I have a direct link you can click : papergrace Susan Komen page Just make sure to click "Donate to Lisa" around the thermometer thingy. ;)

I'll be live tweeting from the event! YAY!! And will post back here with pics after I get back to California.

Thanks for all your love & support.


All my best,

Cardstock Christmas - JB18

I AM SOOOO LATE FOR THIS JINGLE BELLES CHALLENGE!!! :(

My deepest apologies to Guest Star Jess Moyer who deserved to have me post on time. She had a great idea, but this week has been a bit of a challenge of its own for me. Please visit her blog, Basic Jess, and show her some love. She is super creative!

So this week Jess' challenge for us? No designer paper !! Ooookay. I love designer paper and I can't use it?! You evil woman. But even though I am late, I accepted the challenge and here's what I came up with:

Now, I *DID* use a teeny bit of Baker's Twine, an itty-bitty bit of glitter, and three puny pearls. ;) BUT, the important part? NO DESIGNER PAPER!!! YIPPEE!!!

So, I gotta get this linked up in the comments since I'm a slacker, but I hope y'all like it too.

I'm off to Vegas for 3 days tomorrow VERY early in the morning. I'm doing the Susan Komen Race for the Cure. I raised a little bit of money (thanks to my beautiful friends and family) and I am one of the Top 100 FundRacers!! Super Excited. I get a nifty sash & everything. :) I'll take pics.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend & a Happy Mother's day to all you moms. I'm a fur-mom. My kitties loooove me. ;)


{Supplies:
Paper: Cardstock (Stampin' Up), Core Impressions Jenni Bowlin Collection (Core'dinations)
Die-Cutting/Embossing: Rolled flower, Faux crochet border Die-Namics (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: Baker's Twine, Maraschino (The Twinery), Glitter - Dazzling Diamonds, Pearls (Stampin' Up), Paper Crimper (Fiskars), Corner Chomper (We-R-Memory Keepers), Stickers (Girls' Paperie), Glossy Accents (Ranger)}

All my best,

A Card Named Fred

This is all about a little 'ol card that started out in Texas, made it's way all across the U.S. and Canada to show a VERY special friend how much she means to us.

Hopefully you arrived here from Leslie's Blog. You did, right?! Good.

Fred was made out of love. Love for Sue. To show her how in her time of need, during the loss of her mom, that she is, and will never be, alone. Fred was made piece by piece. With love and tenderness. We each left a tiny piece of ourselves on that card. To show that we care.

Dear Sue, may you ALWAYS know how very much you are loved. And may you never, ever feel alone. We can't bring your mom back. But we can lift you up in friendship and joy.

Here is the little piece of love *I* left on the card named Fred. :)

See those pearls? Yep. My handiwork. And thanks to Michelle I actually HAVE a photo to share since I can't follow instructions. AND thanks to Lydia for making it look awesome! xoxo

If there are any lost links along our little blog hop for the card named Fred you can always start at the beginning at Lydia's Blog. Please hop along on to your NEXT stop which is MICHELLE'S BLOG and see what she added to Fred! :D


All my best,