Saturday Sketch Time

Hey kids!
It's Saturday and that means a brand spankin' new sketch from Lauren!
Here's the sketch.
Are you inspired yet?Here's what I came up with.
How about now? Are you inspired to play along yet?
For today's card I used my Garden Hanna set that I picked up from Little C's. The sentiment on the left side is from this stamp by Emerson Quillin. I just used a Chocolate Chip marker to ink up the part I wanted and then popped it out with my 1 3/8" circle punch. All of the paper is from the Kim Hughes Mocha Chica pack.

So....are you inspired yet?
Well, how's this for some inspiration? EVERY Hanna and Magnolia stamp are 15% off over at Little C's!! If we're going to get technical, I guess that's more "enabling" than inspiration really, but go check it out. If you've been wanting to get some Hanna's, this is the perfect time!
Here's what the rest of the sketch team came up with:
Alicia, Dawn, Kim, Kirsten, Kristy, Maria, Kendra & Tamara

Need a little more enabling?? Check this out!
Since Hambo has a special fondness for PIGskin, they are celebrating Superbowl Sunday by offering 30% OFF OF THEIR ENTIRE INVENTORY!!!! Plus their having a contest where someone will win FREE SHIPPING on their order! This amazing sale will only be valid on game day, so be sure to check out all of the details here on Sunday.

Thanks for visiting! You guys are the best!
I've got some prepping to do for my class this weekend - nothing like waiting until the last minute.

Fool Your Family Friday!

Welcome to Fool your family Friday!
Today's recipe is a big hit in my house.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER DIP

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup fat-free cream cheese
6 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1/4 cup carrot puree
1/2 teaspoon salt
apple slices for dipping

Stir together all ingredients and use apples to dip.
Yummy!

I'll see ya tomorrow with a new sketch from Lauren.
Hugs,

Valentine Class Project #2

This is another project we'll be doing at my Valentine workshop this weekend. I used the Riding Hood Red designer paper pack to make this little pouch.
(I think it's "technically" called a bag-in-a-box)
I found some mini boxes of Mrs. Fields chocolates at the $1 spot in Target the other day, and they fit perfectly inside.

Want to make one of your own??
Come on....you know you do!
It won't take more than 10 minutes to put this whole project together!

Here's how:
Start with a 3 1/2" square of cardstock and score each side at 1/2"

Next you'll want to score diagonally through the small squares at each corner. I've marked them with a pen so they're easier to see in the photo.

Fold in on the corner score marks.

Add adhesive to the folded corners and you now have a mini box that measures 2 1/2".

Cut a piece of double-sided patterned paper to 5 1/2" x 10 1/4".
Add adhesive to the top and one edge of the paper.

Now line up your box to the edge of the paper and "roll" it to the top.

This is what you'll have...

It kind of looks like a cup at this point.

Then cut a strip of coordinating cardstock to 1" x 10 1/4".
I also scalloped the border and doodled with a black marker.

Adhere border to the bottom edge of your pouch.

Voila!
To finish it off, I stamped and punched out cardstock with my Round Tab Punch. I adhered one to each side of the pouch, punched a hole with my crop-o-dile and tied them together with some Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon.Hope this was helpful! Thanks for stopping by.
See ya tomorrow,

Friendship Chick

Hey there!
Decided to stamp just for fun last night and whip up a quick card while the kids were in the tub! I used Jen's sketch and this cute image from Whipper Snapper that I picked up from Little C's awhile back.
I colored him in with my Copics. Do I ever use anything else?!
I've been "practicing" for over a year now and I feel like I've finally figured out "my" technique. What can I say? I'm a slow learner...

Thanks so much for stopping by today.
Tomorrow I'll share another card we'll be doing at my class this weekend.

Hugs,

A Hambo TV Challenge

Each month Monica over at Hambo gives the design team gals a challenge. This month she challenged us to make a card based on a tv show - using Hambo stamps of course! This was a REALLY hard challenge for me, but I gave it a whirl.

Here's what I came up with... The patterned paper on the top half is by BasicGrey. To make the sign, I cut out two branch-like shapes out of scraps of chocolate brown patterned paper, wrapped them with hemp twine and attached to my little "Green Acres" sign. I cut out the letters with my Cricut "Opposites Attract" cartridge.

To make the ground that the muddy little pig is sitting on I just used a post-it note, a sponge and Close To Cocoa ink.
I placed the post it note over the cardstock at an angle, sponged and then moved it over about a half inch. I continued until I reached the other corner of the cardstock.

These are the Copics that I used for my cute lil' pig.

Be sure to check out what Monica and the rest of the design team did!
Libby, Judy, Holly and Jane

Valentine Class Project #1

This week I'll be prepping for my February class that's on this coming Sunday. I come up with three projects each month for everyone to do and provide all the supplies and a yummy lunch!

Here's the first card we'll be doing. Look familiar??
This is the card that I came up with for a color challenge a couple of weeks ago. I changed a couple of things and thought it would work perfect for my Valentine workshop. All of the images used are from SU's "Just Jawing" set. The card base is Riding Hood Red, which I stamped with the same color ink using the star images from the set. Then I cut out a 4 1/2" heart out of Pink Pirouette cardstock with my Cricut "George" cartridge.
Then I stamped the skull image with Riding Hood Red ink, cut it out and added Dazzling Diamond glitter. Super simple, but super cute!

Check back tomorrow because I'll be posting my monthly Hambo challenge card. This month we had to make a card about a tv show using Hambo images - eeeek!
Thanks for stopping by.

This post has been a long time coming!

I've had lots of people contact me to ask about Copic markers. My husband got me a big ol' set of them for my birthday a little over a year ago and I've been totally hooked ever since.

I got an e-mail this morning from Emily asking me what specific Copics I would recommend that she buy to get started on her collection. Since I've been asked about this alot lately, I thought I would post my response here so everyone could check it out.

Pictured below are the markers that I seem to reach for most often. I tend to go towards earthy tones.

To get started on your own set, I would recommend getting the lightest and darkest of each color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, grey). These are my favorites and how I use them most:
R29 & R000 (reds) - I blend these two colors together for images with clothing.

B29 & B000 (blues) - I use these for clothing, water and skylines. I also like to outline my completed images with B000 to make them *pop* off the page a bit

Y26, Y28, E29, E37, YR24 (browns & golds) - these are my "go to" colors for fur and hair

E31 - this is my fave for skin

G07 & YG03 (greens) - I like blending these for floral greenery

Y11 (yellow) - this is a nice pale yellow that I like to use for clothing. It also blends nicely with the lighter browns

C1 & C3 - MUST HAVE colors in my humble opinion. These shades of gray make perfect shadows for your images. Creating a subtle shadow under your stamped image really helps it look grounded instead of an image "floating" on a piece of white cardstock. Make sense?
You can see an example of this technique on this card from my post this morning.

Thanks for your e-mail Emily! I hope this info helped a bit.
Cheers!

Yay It's Saturday!!!

Woo-hoo! Finally Saturday!
Is it just me or was this the longest week ever?!

Now we get to play!
Here's Lauren's new sketch for today... I seem to be in a birthday card mood lately, so here's what I came up with...
The "Bella" image is from a swap I did a few months back. You can see another card I did with this same image here.
I went with SU's Baha Breeze for the card base and then colored the main image with my Copics. The white background was a little harsh, so I sponged with Creamy Caramel along each edge of the white panels.

The baking themed pattern paper is from Flair Designs. I picked it up sometime last year thinking that I'd use it for my annual Christmas cookie swap invitations. I came up with this invitation instead and didn't remember that I had this paper until after I cranked out 40 of them!
Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this on a regular basis... I hope you're inspired to play along with us!
Be sure to leave a link if you do so I can check out your creation.

Pop on over to these blogs to see what the rest of the gals on the sketch team did.
Alicia, Dawn, Kim, Kirsten, Kristy, Maria, Kendra & Tamara

Hope you all have a fab weekend! I'll be back on Monday with some sneak peeks at the projects I'm working on for my Valentine's class.

Fool Your Family Friday

This is a HUGE favorite in my house.
Ready to fool your family with it? CHICKEN NUGGETS

1 cup whole wheat, white or panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup broccoli or spinach puree
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
1/2 teaspoon salt
nonstick cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, parmesan, paprika, garlic and onion powder.

2. In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt. Dip the chunks into the egg mixture and then toss in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.

4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer. Cook until crisp and golden on both sides.

See ya tomorrow with a peek at Lauren's new Saturday sketch!

Welcome home Aunt Joan!

My Aunt recently came home from a lengthy stay at the hospital and this card was waiting for her when she got there - with chocolate of course! I cut 1" octagons with my Cricut "George" cartridge and sponged the edges with More Mustard. The middle layer is brown magic mesh on top of Chocolate Chip cardstock.

The main image and bees are by Hambo. I colored them in with Copics and cut them out. Hard to tell in the photo, but the wings are all covered with stickles and super "blingy" in person.

I guess that's it for me today. I'll be back tomorrow with a new recipe to Fool Your Family!
Hugs,

Better late than never right?

Remember this sketch from a few weeks ago?
I totally forgot to post this other card I made with it!Aren't these owls THE CUTEST?!
I just love this set by Kim Hughes!
For this one, I used Whisper White for the card base - which I rarely do. The pattern papers are from Scenic Route. It's a retired series, but I stock up every time I'm lucky enough to track some down.

I used my pokey tool around the outside of the large circle to add a little somethin' somethin' and then added the owl images and balloon with dimensionals.

Any LOST fans out there? Don't forget it starts again tonight!
I love to hate that show!
Until tomorrow,

I'm so bummed....

The student teacher from my daughters Kindergarten class said goodbye to us last Friday. She's a college student who's getting ready to graduate with her teaching credentials. I'm so excited for her, but really sad to see her go. She was amazing! Ever meet anyone who was just born to teach?

This is a card I made for her from our family.
I only had about 30 minutes to get this done, so I used this sketch from SCS to get me started.The images are from MFT's "Going Places" set. The card base is SU's Pacific Point which I paired with Baha Breeze and a pattern from the "Urban Garden" collection.

This is the inside.
We picked up a gift card to Starbucks on the way to school and slipped it behind the ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until tomorrow...