Don't Peek!

Happy TGIF to you!!! This week sure flew by! I loved having Wednesday off....and only having 4 days of work.....or in my case 3, since I had a sick day too!

I have been loving all the notepads that the Papertrey DT has been showing and decided to give this a try. I used my JustRite stamp set called Tiny Words and Borders (1 3/16), for the sentiment. I used Basic Grey paper to cover the note pad. I had a bunch of plastic snowflakes from last year's Christmas, (Yep....I don't throw anything away!), and incorporated it on the cover under the sentiment. I also added a felt snowflake that I glittered up, and placed it on top of the plastic snowflake.

I just noticed that my sentiment is slightly crooked in this pic! : )

I glued a satin ribbon all the way around so the notepad can be tied and closed.

At least in this picture you can't tell that it's a bit crooked!

If you live in the Chicagoland area, I would love for you to visit me at Craft Fancy this Saturday. They are having a Holiday Hoopla party with free Make n Takes (one done by me) and the other by, Beth Pingery, from Spellbinders. There are tons of new products and lots of sales in the store! I would love it if you could stop by! : )

Have a wonderful weekend!!!!

JustRite....and a new hair cut!

I have been enjoying the cozy nights in my scrapbook room these last few weeks. There is something warm and inviting about going in my lil' room with my jammies on, a few snacks, and my favorite TV show on in the background. It is my time....my release.....a chance to escape from life's demands for a couple of hours. So I've been creating....... : )

Here is a lil' card I made using my new Sizzix snowflake die, JustRite stamps, and lots of glitter! I cut the snowflake out and loved the "negative" space it left, so I decided to use it for my card. I filled it in with lots of Diamond Dust. The other snowflake was covered with Diamond Dust also, but then sprayed with a soft blue Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels). When it was dry I inked the edges a bit to "age" it. I stamped the snowflake from the Merry Little Christmas set, on cream cardstock and cut it out using my Spellbinder's circles. The sentiment was stamped on Kraft cardstock and cut out also. I layered the circles and added a double bow behind it. The panel was pierced using my sewing machine with no thread, rather than hand piercing. (Much faster that way!)

I told you a few days ago that I was trying to decide what to do with Cort's hair......well the decision was made to go short! I really love it! It is so cute on her......or at least I think so! (I really need to learn to take her bib off before taking her picture!)

Tonight is my last Spanish class....... : )

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Addicted....

......to cookbooks! My husband and I are constantly buying cookbooks. We have an entire bookcase dedicated to 'em. (OK, who am I kidding.......he actually buys most of the cookbooks!) He found these magazines by Cuisine at Home, and we are now utterly addicted to them! I.....sometimes we.......have been cooking up a storm the last 6 months or so. We have tried so many new and different types of recipes. It has definitely stretched our taste buds, and we have gotten Kyle very interested in cooking. He can chop, mince, peel, measure, and stir like a head chef! In its own way it has given us a bit of family time together, and we have a delicious meal to share in the end!

This LO was created for our latest challenge hosted by Jana at Noel Mignon. The challenge was to use food as your inspiration. Also, on your page, you must include:- Plaid or Checks (in honor of tablecloths, dishtowels, and aprons)- Metal (think pots and pans, silverware . . . represent it using eyelets, bookplates, paperclips, etc.)- Circle Element (dishes, cups)- the color brown or red (the colors of warm, yummy food)This challenge runs from today through November 20th. So be sure to add you link up in the comments section at Noel Mignon!

Isn't this little whisk the cutest?

I used Noel Mignon's Fabulous Mill Street kit! (sold out) You have to go HERE to check out the sneaks on her newest kit coming out soon!

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Kyle was fine all day yesterday. He had no fever or throwing up. I probably could have sent him to school, , but I know how they want the kids home for 24 hours after a fever. So it ended up being a nice day with him. We made some Christmas ornaments, read, watched a few recorded shows, and just relaxed all day.

Today Kyle and I are heading to the movies to see A Christmas Carol and have lunch together. It warms my heart to know that he still likes being with his mom. : )

Have a wonderful day! (And a big thank you to all of our veterans out there!!!!! )

This week's Bitten by the Bug Challenge!

This week at BBTB, Carole is our lovely host! She challenged us to use the bird cut from the Storybook cartridge. I decided to break out this new paper I had purchased a bit ago from Making Memories. I love the rich fall colors of it! I dressed the bird's body up with glitter (On his underbody and the flowers), and feathers. I used the copper "leaves" as a branch for him to perch.

I sprayed the felt flowers with adhesive, sprinkled with glitter, then sprayed with a bit of walnut ink to "dirty" it up a bit. (This glitter obsession is gettin' a bit out of hand! LOL!)

Well, I am home today with my boy. On my way into the city, with Cort,to get her H1N1 vaccine, I got a call from Kyle's school saying he didn't feel good,and that he had a headache. It was already 2:30 (He gets out of school at 3), and I was pretty far away. So being the good mother I am, told the nurse he will have to stick out the 1/2 an hour and walk home. She didn't sound to thrilled with me. In the meantime, my hubby, who also wasn't feeling well came home a bit early and picked up our messages at home. He went to the school and got Kyle. Now you have to know Kyle.....he is a bit of a drama king. He is constantly complaining of headaches, toothaches, foot aches, spleen aches, stomach aches, ANY ache! So sometimes we aren't really sure if this was a ploy to get out of school or what. (You know the story of the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf right? My husband openly expressed this to our son. Brian continued his lecture into the car about how he had to go to CCD since he had missed last week due to a headache, when suddenly.......Kyle threw up. Yep.....inside the car. Then again outside of the car on our front steps. Ick. So needless to say.......we now believed he really was sick! On top of that, he headed to bed around 7 PM and is still currently sleeping while I am typing this. 12 hours of sleep.....this is unheard of for my lil' night owl!

So maybe today will be a curl up on the couch, stay in our jammies, watch a movie, kind of day.

Hope your day is wonderful (and vomit free! : )

Our Favorite Recipes Blog Hop!

Welcome to the first day of the Creative Cuts & More Mega Recipe Blog Hop, which is featuring the 8”x8” Treasured Family Recipes Kit. We have 24 designers who will be creating wonderful pages to inspire you. Plus we all will be sharing some of our own delicious treasured family recipes.Make sure you check back at http://www.diecutdiva.com/ tomorrow for the Holiday Treats Apron Recipe Kit Blog Hop. We will also have 24 designers who will be showcasing their great creations and sharing holiday treat recipes.

Hopefully, you are hopping over from Lori Renn's blog. If not, you can start at the beginning of the hop, at DiecutDiva. I was thrilled to get a chance to work with this adorable kit ( Treasured Family Recipes. ) It is jam packed with yummy Cosmo Cricket papers, chipboard embellies, and die cuts!
I wasn't able to complete the entire album, but I figure it will be a work in progress! I will just continually add to it and as I do that I will share my pages here with you. I am officially addicted to glitter, so I had to add black glitter to the diecut letters. I used my Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle to create the "frame" around the opening. I used some of the Cosmo Cricket chipboard utensils tied with ribbon, as an accent piece. I tied additional ribbon around the metal enclosures along with a few kitchen inspired charms. (Those were from my own personal stash)

For the first page, which if you noticed was peeking through the front cover, is my recipe for Apple Tart. I tucked it behind the photo so the picture took center stage. I don't know about you, but I love pictures of food!

See? Just pull that baby right outta there! : )

Apple Tart

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter at room temp, plus 1 tspn for the cake pan.

1 med. apple

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 tspn ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease cake pan. (9 inch round) Slice and peel apple. Place in mixing bowl. Add sugar and cinnamon. Mix with apple. Spread apple in cake pan. Break eggs into mixer bowl. Use electric mixer on med. speed. Pour in milk until blended. Turn mixer on low and mix in the flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Pour batter over apples. Cut remaining butter for topping. Bake for 25 minutes.

Here is another sweet recipe my family enjoys: Pumpkin Spiced Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix

1 package instant vanilla pudding.

1 can pumpkin

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

3 eggs

2 tspns pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup pecans

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup Bundt Pan. If using a 10 cup pan, fill 3/4 full and make 3 to 4 cupcakes with remaining batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except nuts. Mix on med. speed for 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, mix 3 min. Stir in the nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45-55 min. or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 min. Remove from pan.

And just an FYI:

"As part of the celebration CC&M will be having a great sale. For the next six days, they will offer 20% off the entire store. But act quickly, it is only for six days – this sale will end on Nov 14th. Make sure you enter this code recipebloghop2009 during checkout.
As a continuing part of the celebration CC&M will of course give away great gifts. Each day they will give away one kit. Here is the twist – go through the blog hop, leave wonderful comments for the great designers. After you have finished the blog hop, return to http://www.diecutdiva.com/ and instead of leaving a comment, you need to share a recipe to have a chance at winning the kit. Share the recipe on your blog and link it back and get another chance to win the kit. Help us also make this a great recipe swap."

I am so glad you hopped on over here today! Thanks!

So where to next?

Ellen Sosnoski 's blog!!! : )

Have a FABULOUS Monday!!!