Hello Friend...

My son has college night at his school this week.  It is almost surreal to me that he could possibly be old enough to be thinking college in a little over a year.  How in the heck did that happen?
I know us moms all go through that.  The time thing. 
We all look at our children and ask, "Weren't they toddlers just a minute ago?" 
I blinked, looked up, and now have a soon to be 19 year old, and a 17 year old. 
I am trying to enjoy each stage as they come...because soon enough my house will be empty.  I will become an "empty nester." Yeeeeesh. scary stuff I tell ya!

I am glad I have this little hobby...it keeps me sane. It is my one constant in life. I love playing and experimenting.  I am loving these stencils and embossed this one in white. I created a satin flower and a sentiment using my Dymo Label Maker.  I made it for no particular reason. It was just for fun. :)

And just because I think she is so dang adorable......

 Enjoy your Tuesday! Thank you for stopping here....I know you are all busy, so I really do appreciate your visits!

Crafty Secret's Design Team Challenge and Linky Party!

Good morning and welcome to a brand new month!

This means today is Crafty Secret's Design Team Challenge and Linky Party!

Even though we got another 6 inches of snow this weekend, the challenge was to make something spring like. 

I had to go to my warmer, snow free, happy place!

I loved this stained glass window from the Easter Blessings     digital collection.

I used a combination of acetate and card stock.  It was very hard to photograph, but in person it is very dimensional and looks just like a stained glass window!

This is what I did to create this 3D effect. :)

I printed the image directly on acetate.  I didn't want the ink to smear so I sprinkled it with clear embossing powder. 

Yep, just dump it directly on top.

Heat set it with a heat gun.

Pull out the Copic colors you want and color on the back side that is not embossed. I used my little magnet thingys to hold it down, so I could see where I was coloring. 

I printed the image a second time on card stock and cut out the windows using an Xacto knife. 

I trimmed the acetate windows leaving a bit on the side so I would have somewhere to glue it. 

I glued it behind the card stock.  I took my Sakura glue pen and outlined the perimeter and sprinkled silver glitter. 

I colored the pieces I had cut out.  Not all that neatly, because it only serves to pop the color a bit, you won't really see if you went out of the lines a bit. 

I lined up the card stock pieces on my card and adhered them. 

I took my acetate/card stock piece and placed dimensional circles behind it. I lined it up directly above my cardstock windows.  It gives it a vibrant, cool dimensional look!

I tried numerous times to capture the look....I did my best. ;)

I added a few fun details to finish off the card. 

I hope this made sense.....because I have a tendency to ramble at times.  If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

And be sure to pop on over to the other gal's blogs for more inspiration!

Kathy Clement

Vicki Chrisman

Michele Kovack

Darlene Pavlick

Sheila Rumney

Elizabeth Lincoln

Cherry Nelson

Pear and Arugula Pizza

A year ago my family and I ate terribly.
I was the queen of  Fettucinni Alfredo frozen dinners, convenience foods, processed foods, and going out to eat. A lot. We got sick every winter. Me with bronchitis, Cortney with Pneumonia. I had a cough that would last for months. Cort had a ton of bowel issues. 

Then one day I talked to a lady who works in a cancer center. We talked for hours about nutrition, gluten, and general health. A light bulb clicked. Even though I wasn't heavy, I wasn't healthy. So last June I made a decision to eat better, read labels, and cut out gluten from Cortney's diet. Almost a year later I can tell you that neither one of us has gotten sick this winter. (knock on wood!) And believe me, with the amount of sick kids we are both around, we have had every opportunity to get sick! ;) 

She has had no bowel issues. I cook more, we eat out less, we eat more whole foods, and have cut out processed foods completely. I wish I could say my husband and son are as dedicated as us girls, but I am still working on it! I have to say that I have been experimenting more with my cooking, trying new things, and I think my cooking has improved tremendously. (If I do say so myself!) 

Last summer I had a pear/gargonzola pizza at The Cheesecake Factory and wanted to recreate it at home.

 I gathered these ingredients to create my pizza:

INGREDIENTS:

Gluten Free Pizza dough  (I used Scaar brand)

Gorgonzola Cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Arugula

Pear 

Olive Oil

Toasted Pecans or walnuts

I brushed a bit of olive oil on the crust,piled some Arugula on top.  I layered Mozzarella and Gorgonzola on top of that.  Sliced up my pear and placed it on top.  Sprinkled my toasted walnuts, broken up in pieces.  I finished it off with a bit more Mozzarella and Gorgonzola and a spritz of olive oil. I baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

It was absolutely delicious!

Better Late Than Never....

I am looking forward to this weekend because I have Monday off.  And the best part? I am the only one who has Monday off! That means Mama's gonna craft the day away without interruption! ;)

So hopefully, I can take the time to get caught up on some design team stuff and maybe make a card just for the heck of it!  Like this little guy.....It was an old stamp I had in my stash from Inkadinkado.   He was never inked....until now. I think he is just too cute!  I love the expression he has on his face.

He was colored with Copic markers.  I colored his body twice and hand cut it out.  I popped him up with dimensional foam circles.  I gave his whole body a coating of  glossy accents. He was double matted to bring out the orange and pink a bit. I tied coordinating string and a couple of pink clear Dew Drops to the center of the bow. 

I used a Spellbinders die for the background and added a couple more pink Dew Drops and puffy paint.Since the image was so bright, I wanted the card base to be a bit neutral, so I chose kraft. 

We are hunkering down in Chicago once again for another round of snow.  The weatherman keep changing their minds, but the last I heard we are supposed to get around 6-7 inches. 

Super.

Spring is around the corner, right?

Have a great weekend!

Follow Your Heart....

Chicago is back in a deep freeze, and I have to say, I am totally over this winter!  I normally like the coziness of the season.  But honestly, I am ready for more sunshine, warmer temps, flinging the windows open, and getting outside without having to bundle up where the only thing you see are eyeballs!

So I am trying to stay positive and think spring!  I used a Heidi Swapp stencil to create my background.  I used embossing paste and let it dry.  Once it was dry I puffed it up with my heat gun.  I put the stencil back in place and gave it some color with my Copics and airbrush system.  

The leaves are from Silhouette and were cut using vellum.I added pearls to each leaf.

I added a sentiment from SRM stickers, a bit of twine, also from SRM.  I added a few gems, an acrylic flower, and a couple of  circles to "ground" my sentiment. 

Cortney has her last cheer leading game tonight.   In a few weeks she will have her awards ceremony and the season will officially be over.  

I am heading to the kitchen to finish our dinner.....a Spanish Tortilla. Hopefully it doesn't end up in the garbage! ;)

Wanna Smile?

I wasn't going to post this weekend, but I am sitting with my cup of coffee with a quiet house. One thing led to another...and voila! A post!;) 

I've got an exciting day of grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning planned. My younger self would have been mortified to know this is how I spend my weekends! ;)

So let's get to my card. 

I used a stamp set from Crafty Secrets, which I just found out is currently sold out.  Sandy is working on a digital version of it and should come out soon!  

I colored the image with Copic markers. I hand cut the pup out and added crystal effects to make him a bit more dimensional.  

I made a little pillow for my chair using felt and light blue string.  I added a bit of velvet ribbon, string, and a pretty clear/green glass pearl. 

I always look at this gal and think she has the most contagious laugh.  I can't help but smile from ear to ear......

Have a wonderful Sunday my friends! Time for Cinderella to complete her chores! ;)

Winner!

Good evening!! Before I head to bed tonight, I wanted to make sure I posted the winner of my giveaway. First, let me say thank you for all of your kind words and advice concerning Cortney. I truly appreciate it! I respect the opinions that you have all shared and I think I am going to forgo the Facebook page. I have tried to contact several modeling agencies in the past and unfortunately, several of them have not gotten back to me, and one of them kindly rejected her and said, "We can not represent Cortney at this time." I will keep trying, but if it is meant to be, it will be. So without further ado....here is the number Random.org picked..... 


It's kind of small, but it was number 55!  That means this gal is the winner!  (I am not sure how to pronounce her name though!) ;)  Thank you everyone for participating! Have a wonderful weekend!

ezwiefelhofer said...

I love anything pink so I love your card! I think If Courtney is able to ask her if she wants to model.

FEBRUARY 19, 2014 AT 11:11 PM