Monogram

Good morning and happy Friday to you! 

I have a card today that was published over the summer in Northridge's Cricut Magazine.  It is a bright cheery monogram card using Paper Trimmings and Fontopia. To create the card base I used Paper Trimmings in aqua and white.  For the square in the middle I cut several layers using solid card stock and fun polka dot paper from Martha Stewart.  

I added 3 strips of American Crafts glitter tape for some extra sparkle! The letter was cut out using the Fontopia Cartridge.  I adhered the top layer to the shadow cut using dimensional foam circles.  I gave the entire thing a generous coat of glossy accents.  I added a flower and several gems to finish it off. 

Cortney has her "big" cheer leading event this weekend.  She cheers for our local special needs basketball team with the local high school cheer leaders.  It is always such a heartwarming event!  I love watching high school girls interact and help our girls.  I will be taking lots of pictures (of course!) and video (of course!). 

I happened to capture this one of Cort before heading out the door to a "regular" game.  

My girl.......

*sigh*

Have a fabulous weekend!

Hugs to you my friends!

Movie Night!

Hi there friends! I have a card to share with you today that was published over the summer in Northridge's Cricut Magazine.  It is a movie night card.  It is a great way to invite friends over for an Oscar party, or a child's sleepover birthday party!  

I used the, When I Was a Kid cartridge and cut two of the popcorn boxes.  I scored the bottom layer at the top and glued it to the top piece to create my card's base. 

To create the popcorn effect I used multiple layers of liquid applique.  The first layer was a traditional "flat" layer. I let it dry for quite a few hours before heating it.  Once that was "puffed" up a bit, I went ahead with my second layer.  I did little "blobs" of liquid applique and again waited hours before heating it.  Since they were little "blobs" when you heat them, the center will puff up and then sink and fall to the center creating a popcorn effect. Cool right? ;)

A pair of 3-D glasses, title, and some twine were added for a bit more fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!!

You Sparkle!

Happy Saturday to you!  I am enjoying the quiet of my house temporarily....the kids will be up soon and the hubby will be coming home from work in a bit.  So for now, I am sipping my coffee and relaxing in my PJ's! The best kind of mornings! :)

I was inspired to create a shaker card after seeing some on Clare Buswell's blog.  I wanted a snowy frosty look to my winter card, so I picked various shades of pink, purple, and silver. 

I hand sewed the top layer of acetate and right before I finished, I snuck the sequins in. 

The sentiment is part of JustRite's, What I Like About You stamp set.  I stamped it in Versamark on vellum and heat embossed in in silver. 

For the flower I used various Spellbinder's dies.  I used the snowflake die and the Rose Creations die.  The large snowflake was a left over piece from my Cricut. I stacked them all up and added a glittery white jingle bell to the flower's center.  I tied white tulle around the top of the card and glued the flower to the center. I added some clear acrylic picks around the flower.  This was a difficult card to photograph, so I am hoping you can see it! 

The hubby and I are going to see, "American Hustle" today.  I've heard mixed reviews on it, so I guess I'll add my review into the mix later! ;)

Have a great weekend!

Vintage Snow Girl

Well I am officially back to school!  I am back in the routine and I have to say, I was totally ready to get back to my normal schedule. 

It is still pretty cold and snowy here, so I was inspired to make this card using an image from Crafty Secrets. It is from the Winter Wishes set. I colored this cute gal in with Copic Markers and added a bit of flock to her cuff and hat.  I also added glossy accents and glitter to the snowball. 

I used various Spellbinder's dies to matte my image.  I also used some music paper I printed off the Crafty Secret's Christmas Digital CD. For a fun accent piece I used a felt snowflake, ribbon, pink string, a flower, and a jinglebell, and adhered it to the side of the image.  I had two snowflakes in white and added a bit of glitter to both of them using glossy accents.  I tucked them behind the blue matte on the top and bottom. 

Lots of layers in this card.....but I love the dimension and the softness the felt and flocking bring to the image. 

I just had to share a quick picture of my little pup, Skippers, right after getting groomed.  I just think he is the smartest, cutest dog ever! ;)

Have a great day my friends! 

JustRite's January Release-Butterfly Vines Background Stamp!

Good morning! I have another "cold" day off from school...so I am going to make the most of it!  I have cookies to bake with Cort, crafting to do, and a pot of chili to make.  

It is also the last day of JustRite's January release. 

Today's set is a gorgeous Butterfly Vines background stamp. I love anything that has to do with butterflies!

I stamped it in Versamark and heat embossed it in white.  I used my Tim Holtz Distress markers to give the "open" areas shades of pink. I used some texture paste and a Heidi Swapp stencil to create a textured, yet subtle background. 

I used the sentiment from an earlier released set called, Butterfly Kisses. I used the same technique as the background, Versamark, white embossing powder, and Tim Holtz Distress Markers. I cut it out and overlapped it with a strip of white cardstock.  Ribbon was tied vertically, a double bow was made, and an acrylic flower adhered to its center.  I added a felt stick pin I had made awhile ago.  

Here are the two sets I used to make my card. :)

JustRite is starting its Tutorial Tuesdays and I hope you can hop on over to their blog to see today's video!  

Have a wonderful Tuesday! And as always, stay warm! 

 JustRite Inspiration

Darsie Bruno

Eva Dobilas

Michele Kovack

Marisa Job 

Margie Higuchi 

Design Team Challenge and Linky Party!

Brrrrrr! It is extremely cold here with temperatures reaching -19 degrees without windchill!  School is closed today, but I have to attempt to take Cort to the dentist.  She cracked another tooth. *sigh* 

Anyway, you are here for the Crafty Secret's design team challenge and linky party! (Not to hear me complain!) ;)

Sandy was offering a free January calendar printable, so I grabbed it from the CS blog and decided I would make a page for my desk calendar. I have some step by step photos on how I created it a little further down. 

I used Prisma colored pencils to color the image.  I added glossy accents to the flowers and glitter to the leaves.

I love working with Prismas because there isn't an exact science about them.  I kind of plop a bit of color in at least two shades around the edges. Then I use a blending nub and some mineral spirits to "drag" the color inward. 

The picture is kind of lousy because it was dark out when I took it.  But hopefully you get the idea of the "dragging."

Then I worked on the leaves and colored them in shades of blue and a hint of green.

I decided to create a sunset by using pink, orange, and a bit of yellow.  I love the pop of color it gives to the image.

Here are the colors I used.......

I've had a lot of requests for how I tie my bows....here it is before I put a flower or gem in the middle.  I am thinking of putting together a You Tube video on how I do it.  It is quite simple and it would be a rather short video! ;)

This is what I used to add glitter to all of the leaves.....the Sakura glue pen is great because you can place the glue precisely where you want it to go!

Here it is in all of its glittery, glossy accented glory! LOL!

Be sure to visit the rest of the design team for their beautiful projects and tutorials!

• Vicki Chrisman Team Leader
• Michele Kovack - See 295+ Gallery!
• Darlene Pavlick
• Rebekah Faries
• Sheila Rumney
• Kathy Clement
• Elizabeth (I love rubber) on Splitcoast
• Cherry Nelson

Julie Campbell is joining us this month too! YAY!

Stay warm and safe my friends!

Tomato Basil Bisque Soup

I just had to share this recipe originally found at Food.com.  It is so delicious and I actually made it in my crock pot instead of on the stove like the directions instructed.  With all this snow and cold weather, this is definitely comfort food.  I would double the recipe next time as this recipe only gives you about 4 bowls of soup.  I would love to have leftovers the next time I make it. :)

Tomato Basil Bisque.

Ingredients:
 1 cup celery chopped
3/4 cup carrot chopped
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped.
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups tomato juice ( I used Campbells)
1 cup chicken broth
1 (7.5oz) ) can diced tomatoes
3 oz tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano , crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper 
1 cup whipping cream 
4 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons basil pesto

DIRECTIONS:
 1. In a large saucepan, cook celery, carrots, onion, and garlic in butter until vegetables are tender, not brown. 

2. Transfer to a crock pot.  Add tomato juice, chicken broth, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and pepper. Let cook in crock pot on low for 4-5 hours.  

3. Place half of the soup in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Place in pot. Blend other half and place that in pot with other soup. 

4. Stir in whipping cream and sugar. Stir in fresh basil.  Top each with some pesto and garnish with basil leaves.  I also added a bit of fresh Parmesan!