KRAFTY TESS

I found a fun challenge while searching through my (near) daily blog list. The challenge is to use KRAFT anywhere and  anyhow on a card or project. Yeah- I'm digging this, Kraft has become my new favorite color . I'm so glad SU! has decided to keep it (renaming it Crumb Cake).

I decided to try out my new binding system that I purchased this past weekend at Adventure's In Stamping. Wahoo- I had a blast! It took me less than five minutes to figure things out. I made one error and I was soon off and running. I used thin chipboard (back of a used tablet of paper) in Kraft color to make the front and back cover. I filled it with 20+ pages.

I thought TOTE-ALLY TESS would fit on this size notebook perfectly.  She was colored with Gamsol and pencils. I paper pieced her tote and her jeans from retired SU! papers."I love thosejeans".  I sewed the buttons together with wire I learned this (from T!M HOLTZ) this past weekend. I decided to curl the ends around a pencil tip.I love the way that turned out. 

TIM HOLTZ

OMG... I finally met one of my favorite stampers- T!M HOLTZ. He is amazing, I took his Distress Class on Friday and then watched demos for nearly 3 hours on Saturday during the Akron's Adventures In Stamping Convention.  He really is fun to watch and does some amazing things. He's got clever thoughts and is so knowledgeable. It was such a treat. I had a wonderful time both days.

COLOR TALK

I got my hands on actual CS in the new (upcoming) colors. WOW! They've done it again. I love them! I know a lot of my customers have had many questions so I thought I'd do some color comparisons for you.

DAFFODIL:  Yum! This color is lighter than CURRY but darker/ brighter than SAFFRON. Forget the vivid YO-YO, this is truly a perfect shade of yellow.  Perfect for cheery Birthday, Spring, and Summer cards or projects.

MARINA MIST: This color is lighter than the previous In- Color BLUE BAYOU but definately a similar hue. It is a blue with a green undertone. It is a very inviting color. It has a nautical/ beach feel to it.  Definately can be used for Birthday, Masculine, Sympathy and Thinking of you cards and projects.

CAJUN CRAZE: Wow! This color is rich, rich, rich!  It is darker than REALLY RUST. Very nice compliment to Baja Breeze, and Early Expresso. Will work fabulously for all Fall Projects.

CHERRY COBBLER: Sumptuous! Truly the color of cherries. This just may be the perfect shade of red. Less bright than REAL RED and darker/ richer than RUBY RED. Totally different shade than  RIDINGHOOD RED.  Will work great for all Christmas, birthday, Thank - you, and misc cards and projects.

EARLY EXPRESSO:  Delicious! Truly looks like a cup of expresso. Very dark. rich chocolate color. This brown is darker than CHOCOLATE CHIP. When held next to CHOCOLATE CHIP  it shows the red undertones in the CHOCOLATE CHIP that are not noticeable at first. If you thought CHOCOLATE CHIP  was a perfect brown you will love EARLY EXPRESSO,   I promise.

All of the new colors, plus newly relaesed In- Colors (will be announced soon) will be available in markers, CS, inks, refills, and ribbon. As always, SU! has covered all areas of design and makes it easy to coordinate all items needed to make a completely matched project.

Due to upcoming circumstances/ changes, I will be selling some retiring ink colors and stamp sets from the existing SU! catalog. The changes will take place by the end of June 2010. Please email me or let me know if you are interested in me reserving any of these for you. I will sell once they have retired. I will be adding retiring stamp sets when I get notification in a couple weeks.

I have 3+ sheets of cardstock, classic ink pad, classic ink refill,  and stampin' marker for all the following:  $8.00 each bundle
Lovely Lilac
Almost Amethyst
Pale Plum
Ballet Blue
Sage Shadow
Mint Melody
Gable Green
Blush Blossom
Only Orange
Barely banana

I have Bordering Blue cardstock, classic ink pad, classic ink refill, stamin' marker, and classic wheel cartridge for $10.00 for bundle.

I am selling these retired stamp sets now:
It's A Loop Thing $5.00   (2009)
Doodle That $5.00    (2007)
Pocket Full of Posies $5.00   (2005)
Made From Scratch $5.00   (2005)
Spring Solitude $5.00   (2008)
All The Best $5.00   (2004)
Shapes and Shadows $5.00   (2004)

COLOR RENOVATION

Stampin' Up! announced last week their plans to renovate their colors. They have decided to scale down and "weed out" a lot of colors. The changes have received various reviews. I am still feeling uncertain about the change. I need to see how things will work out in the next 6+ months to feel more comfortable.  There are going to be many changes. Some gradual and some abrupt. Getting used to the changes will take some time. I hope this announcement does not upset my customers and people too much. 

 As a demonstrator I have decided to not to keep stock in some of the retiring colors. I will be selling inks, cardstock, papers, refills, and markers.  I am expected to buy new colors and new inventory so i will need to purchase these things.  I received a piece of cardstock in all the new colors today in th email- beautiful! I was upset to hear CURRY was going but DAFFODIL is a very good "fill in" choice- "I love it". 

The renovated palettes in the new color collections (formerly known as color families) are "hip" and ""highly functional". They are exciting colors and will be very easy to coordinate. 

BRIGHTS: This new collection is a mix of happy colors. Easier to work with than the previous brights.  This collection covers all basic colors without being overly dramatic. You will be reaching for these colors more than you did before.

SUBTLES: This collection hold luscious, "yummy" colors in all pastel glory. This color collection brings back many of the previous IN- COLORS and adds a soothing shade of blue (Marina Mist). This collection is still baby soft but, yet sophisticated.

REGALS: This collection is rich and delightful. They have depth, and warmth. These lavish colors are a "must" for  all vintage projects.  Sumptious!

NEUTRALS: Who can live without this collection? One or more from this family are used on nearly every card made. They work flawlessly with all the other color collections and smashingly when used together. Crumb Cake (formerly known as Kraft) will be a "must have" and will now be available in ink, marker, along with cardstock. Each color in this collection should be available for individual cardstock color packs. 

***It sounds like SU! will still have IN COLORS and they will last 2 years opposed to just the 1 year. SU! will slowly fade colors out of each color collection (3-5 years). They will release more specific info regarding  IN COLORS in May. Expect more changes with stamps, embellishments, and papers too*** 

Saint Patrick's Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Had time to bake some cupcakes yesterday (cheated and made from box mix). Found these toppers, candies,  and adorable shamrock paper wrappers at the local craft store a couple weeks ago. Added green coloring into the batter prior to baking. Colored vanilla frosting and Viola! You definately get a green tongue afte reating them.  Gave away cupcakes to a couple neighbors as a "good luck" surprise.  Everyone enjoyed them. My girls will have the rest gone by the end of the week. YUM!

"Luck of the Irish to ya"

BALSAMIC GLAZED CHICKEN WITH GRILLED VEGETABLE SALAD

Here is my new recipe this week.  Balsamic glazed chicken. I made this for dinner last night. I cooked the chicken in a grill pan on the stove. My outdoor grill has not been uncovered yet. Spring will be here very soon and that "puppy" will be put to use nearly every night for months. I love the taste of grilled/ charcoal grilled foods. Ok, enough about the grill and on to the recipe. I am a semi- homemade kind of cook, and when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it. 

RECIPE:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 C olive oil, use some for vegatables too

1/4 C balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. Dijon- style mustard

1 red pepper, sliced thick

1 red onion, sliced thick

Mix ingredients in 1 gallon resealable bag and place chicken breasts in bag and turn to coat. Marinate for 2 hours -overnight in refrigerator. Remove chicken from marinade and discard bag.  Grill chicken on medium about 14 minutes or until cooked through. Turn chicken over half way through. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil. salt and pepper to taste. Add vegetables to grill and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add warm vegetables to bed of baby spinach. Dress with favorite dressing.  I also added a little crumbled blue cheese. Viola! This salad looked so "gourmet" it really could not have been easier or more delicious.

Here is my try at MOJO128. I pulled out the trusty SU! color wheel and picked these colors- saffron, Amethyst, and Celery. I used 6x6 DS paper samplers- mixed and matched. I found these great light green bling stickers at a local store and used them on my shamrock cards last week-wanted to use them again on this cutie. I am so in to owls... I think I have 10 single owl stamps and 5+ sets with owls in them. I even found some funky carved owls for my living room. They remind me of the 70s and the decor of my house as a child.

Material: So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, and Certainly Celery CS; XL 2-Step Bird Punch (branch and leaves);Scallop Trim Corner Punch; 1 3/4 Circle Punch; Fox & Friends Stamp Set (owl); Scallop Mega Punch; Green Sticky Rhinestones.

YOU'RE LATE FOR A VERY IMPORTANT DATE

If you have not got your tickets or have not seen the new Alice In Wonderland you are LATE... it's fantastic! Bizarre, Burton-like, Thrilling, Humourous, Colorful, and Action packed... I loved it. We saw it in 2D and it still was great. Gotta love Johnny Depp! Yum!

I was totally inspired by this month's STAMPIN' SUCCESS examples on page 13 for these cards. This was a pefect opportunity for me to hit the scrap bin again. I used multiple green scraps punched with triple heart punch to make the shamrock cuties. Used up some old 1yd spools of ribbon bought at local store. I did not purchase the GOING GREEN individual stamp as used for my inspiration pieces (highly suggest you get this one,it is perfect to use for St. Patricks cards. I used an old (probably 10+ yrs. old) St. Patricks verse from multiple holiday set. I stamped on a 1 3/4 inch circle and mounted on a coordinating green square. Embellished square piece with mini silver brads in 3 corners. Stuck a bling/bead in center of the shamrock to give a finished look. I had some extra hearts punched and some more sahara cs scraps so I chose to make some tags. I love tags...they are so easy and fun to make. Now, I have to decide what I will do with the tags. Any ideas? give me ideas in your comments.

GOING GREEN individual stamp #117074
1 3/4 circle punch # 112004

silver brads #104336

sahara sand CS #105328

Heart to Heart punch #113694

Here is another project we made at my last workshop. Rather simple really- looks harder than it is. It is 1/2 sheet of 12x12 paper cut on the bias and then rolled (similar to a party hat I made for new years). Once rolled and glued I attached a butterfly punchie and ribbon to hang it. You could always add longer ribbon so it could be hung on a door knob or hook. It can be filled with candies and other goodies. I glued 2 cherry candy canes togeher to form a heart and placed it inside.

hello

I'm back. Just returned from a fabulous relaxing scrapbooking weekend retreat. I have not scrapbooked since last February. It was nice to switch gears for a while and get some things accomplished. I don't know why I have not done scrapbooking is such a while. I got near 40 pages done- got very little sleep but still enjoyed every minute.

I have made a goal for myself to try to get a few pages (at least) done per month. I hope that I can stick to it.

My husband made it home while I was gone. I'm glad to have him home. He had the house cleaned, laundry (1/2 ) done, kids tended to (sports and food), and my dog back at home by the time I got home. It was a good weekend.

Here are samples of cards made with SU! sweet treat cups (heart and circle). I used SWEET CENTERS #116521 from the Holiday Mini along with the SCALLOP SQUARE PUNCH #112081, 3/4 POLKA DOT REAL RED RIBBON #115608, Misc. DS PAPERS, SCALLOP TRIM CORNER PUNCH #118870, and filled the cup with heart shaped chocolates.


Used SWEETHEART #120780 (clear mount) from the Valentine Promotion flyer, Misc. DS PAPERS, HEART SHAPED CUPS #120435, 3/4 REAL RED POLKA DOT RIBBON #115608, PINK PASSION and REAL RED cs, and filled with cinnamon hearts.

Hello

Hello bloggers, I'm still here... just not been stamping/ crafting lately. We've had some very unfortunate events happen this week and I have not had time, energy, nor a desire to craft. I know the MOJO will return sometime.
My aunt (mother's sister) passed away on Monday after a illness caused by a bacteria (difficult to treat) passed to her while in a hospital. I've heard about these type of cases/ situations on TV or through community events but never thought this type thing would happen to smoeone in my family. She was a very kind, loving, adventurous woman whose life was cut short and it is true when they say "only the good die young". I will truly miss her. The whole family will miss her.

We have received our 2nd "bizzard-like" storm of the winter season last night after the funeral. I would guess that we have more than 12 inches and they are expecting more storms on Monday and Tuesday. I am truly thankful that my neighbor was able to help "dig us out" today. My poor 14 year old lab, the snow is up to her nose, and she is having a hard time walking in it. Thank goodness I have a JEEP and I was able to get to the store for milk, bread, soda, eggs, etc before the next batch comes in. We may be snowed in for a couple days.

My husband (electrician) was called out to Virginia to assist the people with power line difficulties. He was stranded by himself on I76 for 8+ hours last night. There were accidents and the highway was closed for many hours. They refused to let people continue to drive until late this morning. He finally was allowed to move around 11:00am. I hope and pray he gets to his destination in one piece and gets some desperately needed sleep before going on to his final destination (somewhere near Baltimore). Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Ok, Im off to check on my girls and see if the laundry is ready to switch. Have a great weekend and try to stay warm.

I made an adorable Vintage "shabby" banner using the Pennant Die from SU! and some vintage (free) images from the internet. LOVE IT! Distressed with cocoa and choc. chip inks. Added glittered letters from a banner I've had for years, the rest of the old banner was trashed. I recycled, didn't I? Although the font does not match up perfectly with the style and look I'm pleased with how it turned out. Great way to go "green". Thanks for stopping by.

MINI MILK CARTON

The pink milk carton is one of the projects that the ladies made at my Valentine Workshop yesterday. They filled them with pink M&Ms and finished them off with red or pink ribbon and clips. They all turned out so cute. Most the ladies loved their cartons. I did get a few grumbles about folding and putting the cartons together (the hardest part) but most got the hang of it and completed them with their own adorable little touches.
The second picture is made from the mini milk carton but the top is removed. It was folded the same way. I added a scallop trim border (to resemble lace). Placed two lip glosses in the small SU! flat cello bag. Added a epoxy sticker. Tied a cute ribbon on top and stuffed some bag filler in to finish it off.

PAN ROASTED CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES

Here is another easy and yummy recipe I came across in my cookbooks. I made it this week and everyone enjoyed it. That is a good thing, it s hard to please everyone. I enjoyed it because it reminded me of summer flavors. I miss the grilled taste of meats and vegetables. We grill almost every meal when the weather here in Ohio is warmer. From Spring through Fall we use our grill. My husband has really become a good charcoal cook. He makes a mean BBQ chicken.

Sorry the pictures are not the greatest. I tried to get a decent picture to show all the yummy goodness. Make sure you cut your squash thick so that it does not get "mushy" while the potatoes are cooking.

RECIPE:

2 large potatoes, unpeeled

1 medium zucchini

1 medium squash

1 large red onion

1 large red bell pepper

4 T olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 tsp. rosemary, divided

1/2 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg beaten slightly

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut potatoes, zucchini and squash in half lengthwise then cut crosswise. Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and squashes in 1 inch slices. Cut bell pepper and onion into 1 inch chunks, Place vegetables into a Bar pan and toss with 2T olive oil. Press garlic over vegetables. Sprinkle with half the salt, pepper, and rosemary. Toss well and place around edges of pan. Combine bread crumbs, rosmary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, set aside. Lightly beat an egg in a shallow dish. Dip chicken breast in egg and then into bread crumbs and arrange in the middle of the bar pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Makes 4 servings.

Valentine Matchboxes

Here are a couple pictures of some Valentine matchboxes I made for an upcoming workshop. The ladies will be surprised when they see what is hiding inside- I hid some candies in all of them and put a gift certificate in a couple of them. Yeah!
There are so many things that you can put in these little boxes. They would be perfect for: weddings, showers, classroom parties, church get-togethers, hanging on the Christmas Tree, Secret Santa office gifts, presenting wallet sized pictures, giving a pair of earrings, mini photo albums or gratitude books. The possibilities are endless.


I think they all turned out so adorable. I love all the mix-matched color patterns and textures. I can't get enough of the pink and red these days. I used up some old SU! papers in shades of pink and red. They shades of colors worked out perfectly.
I have really got good use out of my SIZZIX, Dies, and punches these past few weeks. The dies are sturdy, and nearly indestructible. I love everyone I own.

Material:
SU! Exclusive MATCHBOX Bigz XL Die (#114890), SCALLOP SQUARE PUNCH (#112081), HEART TO HEART PUNCH (#113694), misc. buttons in red and pink tied on with white string.

If you don't already have any of these items listed above (in pink) I highly suggest you purchase them for your Valentine goodies. I consider these "Must Haves". The purchase of all these would qualify you for a FREE SAB set from the pink catalog at the right of this blog. Email me if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week.

MOJO123

I played around with the MOJO Monday sketch again today. I thought this sketch looked clean and crisp and wanted to keep my image the same. I used string to hold the two buttons together and put a small piece of the ribbon between the two and pulled the string tight. I like the way it turned out. I had never done this before.

Material:
Razzleberry Lemonade DS paper. Melon Mambo card base. Melon Mambo ribbon. Triple Heart Punch. Non SU! buttons.

I am in the Valentine mode. I have been making cards, pennants, tags, bookmarks, treat bags, boxes,clothes pins, and lollipop covers. I still have a few more things to make. I got another SU! order delivered today- yippee!
Here is a photo of one of the bookmark styles I made. I was inspired from the bookmark found on page 64 of the main SU! catalog. I punched the hearts with the FULL HEART punch (#113693). I stayed with the traditional Valentine colors and used mostly scraps- wow, this is a great way to use up some scraps. I'm already thinking of ways to use spring color scraps for Easter. I have a tone of scraps that really need to be used.
I have a workshop this weekend and I marked one of these bookmarks for an attendee to win a small goody bag filled with Valentine themed die cuts, punchies, buttons, eyelets, paper strips, and mini incentive stamps. I also have some other clever ways to win small prizes. I will post them later.
Please stop by this week and next to see some more Valentine projects I have been working on. I will be uploading them in the near future. Have a great Monday.