Started my Christmas baking... Let the "pounds" begin....

I know, I know... This is a crafting blog so why am I posting cookie making?  Right?  Well, it's a CREATIVE blog and today I decided to be creative in the kitchen.  Two days from now, my family will be coming over for our annual Christmas Eve tradition which goes something like this:  it's a celebration of Jesus' birth along with the day we get to eat NOTHING but junk food!  All those delicious treats that we are too full to eat on Christmas Day.  (My mom has tried to sneak a ham in there a couple of times, but I will not let her.  teehee.)  It's sausage balls, little weiners, whoopie pies, popcorn snack, date nuts balls, just to name a few... am I making you hungry yet?  Yes folks, it's pure "bad for you" food.  That's the fun of it. 

So the first order of the day was Whoopie Pies.  Two days from today, they will be the most delicious "pie" you've ever placed in your mouth.

 Amazingly delicious cream filling...

While I would love to share the recipe, I cannot share the one I have.  I made a promise to someone who later didn't turn out to be a very good friend, but nonetheless, I stand by my word.  However, I will give you a tip.  If you go to Food Network or AllRecipes you should be able to find a similar recipe. 

 

Merry Christmas!

Busy, busy, busy...

I'm sure you are like me... feeling as if you do not have enough time to "get it all done"... I have not made my Christmas cards this year... I have a dirty house.. I have to write my paper for my last class before I finish my Associate's Degree (due this Sunday!)... I need to blog... There's always so much to do, isn't there? How do you manage your "task list"? Do you create an actual list? Do you "wing it"? I would love to hear how you manage your time and what makes you successful. Hit the comment box below and give me your thoughts.


On a different note, I had dinner with one of my card groups Thursday, December 9th and we had such a terrific time. They are a wonderful group of women who accept me for all of my craziness! I created some ribbon pinecones (directions here) for each of the ladies and I'd like to showcase them here. I hope you use your creativeness to just do a little something for the people you love.

I made some of them very uniform and some of them random. Once I got the hang of it, it was quite easy. However, I need to state a warning: if you do 7 eggs within two days, you have VERY sore fingers!   I'm just sayin...

21 Day Challenge

I am taking the 21 Day Challenge.  Thanks to my sweet friend Heidi for sending me this link.   I think we all could be a little kinder to ourselves and I love this idea!  I'll be posting my progress which starts today.  Wish me luck!

I know Halloween has passed, but I wanted to show you a card I made that I thought was so darn cute!  This little Tilda was dressed up like a bat.  I colored her with Copic markers and used Glossy Accents on her bat wings to give them a shiny effect.  You can find the stamp at Magnolicious Store.  The bat is just a ribbon with a simple knot, then you cut the "wings" on each side.  The "Boo to You" stamp I got at a local stamp store that I love, love, love.   If you give Gary a call to order the stamp, tell him Tracy in Fayetteville is sending him love from my blog.  The "moon" and the purple background was created by using my Memento ink pads.  I masked off the moon prior to creating the purple background.  It was so fun.  The background paper I got in various place, but I really want to point out the "sparkly" paper.  I'm not sure if you can see it well, but it was purchased from Wal-Mart and I LOVE it!  It's perfect for this type of background.  It came in a package of black and white sparkly papers.  It's so fun!

 

I hope you love this card.  Give me your thoughts...

Check out the 21 day challenge.  It only takes 21 days to start a new habit.  I hope you start a new habit that takes care of YOU!

Witchy Woman!

As I stated in my last post, the weather was expected to cool down this week in Georgia and it has not let me down.  We had a high of 72 today and it was delightful.  My windows were opened last night and when I awoke, it was a crisp 58 degrees!  Now, I won't always talk about weather on my blog, but as you know, if you've been reading my blog, I DO love the Fall so much.  Crisp air, sweats, candy corn and football are all things that contribute to my feelings of euphoria!

While I was at retreat, I made several cards.  This one is ready for Halloween!  This little Tilda stamp is all dressed up in her Witch's costume.  She looks far from frightful, so I thought the scary "BEWARE" was so cute to add to it.  

I colored her with Copic markers.  The stamp is from Magnolialicious.  I also used my Gellyroll Pen, which I love, love, love.  It give sparkles to anything!  I used Glossy Accents for her shoes in order to give them a "patent leather" look.  They are so shiny and cute! 

The "Beware" came from the October 31 Cricut cartridge.   I hope she gets you in the mood for a "Not so scary" Halloween!

Retreat!

Happy Saturday everyone!    Well, it is still warm here in Georgia on this September 25th! My airconditioning is working hard.  However, I heard changes are coming and we should have highs around 78 degrees on Monday!  Let's hope that weather lasts for awhile so we can enjoy Fall.  I love opening my windows up in the evenings and enjoy the crisp air.

On to the most important topic:  I am at retreat!  Our group comes to the Grand Oak Retreat in Scottsboro, Alabama once a year.  (Truth be told, we'd love to come more than once a year, but you know how hard that is...)  It is a FABULOUS home on the side of a cliff overlooking a lake in Alabama. 

The house has 6 guest bedrooms and it was built as a retreat for crafters, so there are plenty of beds and bathrooms in each room!  The most wonderful part of all is, Cindy, the proprietor, cooks all of our meals for the whole weekend!  We wake up to a delicious breakfast, salivate for the 1:00 lunch bell, and almost stampede when it's time for dinner. 

Best story of the weekend... My girlfriend Heidi and I were overlooking the balcony at dinner on the first night. We had chicken on the menu and as usual, it was delicious. Heidi's bedroom was right near the chicken coop and all of a sudden it dawned on her that she might be awakened with a "cock-a-doodle doo" before she was ready to pry her pretty eyes open! So she turns to me and said in her most serious "mom" tone of voice, "If those 'flocking'chickens 'doodle' before 7:00 am tomorrow morning, chicken will be back on the menu tomorrow evening!" (Flocking is a product used for papercrafting.) I almost wet myself from laughing so hard! What this weekend does for me is not give me the time to focus on my favorite craft project, but: allows me to reconnect with the most wonderful women; to laugh so hard your sides hurt; and to spend some quality time with my mom (she's on my "crew"...). Good times were had by all.

This picture above was the sunrise this morning.  Overcast skies made the day cooler than expected.

One of the cards that I made this weekend was a Thanksgiving card.  It was using the Heartfelt Creations stamp and die cut set.  You can find it here.

I stamped it with Memento black ink on Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury white paper and then embossed it with clear embossing powder.  If you have not tried that, you need to give it a whirl.  It really made my image deepen.  I really like it.   I used my Copic Markers to color it, standard cardstock to frame it, my Martha Stewart punch on the right side.  I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge to cut out the label.  I distressed all the sides with my edger and then used Tim Holtz' Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

I hope you enjoyed my blog today!  Have a terrific week!

Crisp Air

I'm sure it is getting cooler up north but it is still warm here, ranging about 88 for the highs. In Georgia, we have what we call Indian Summers. It is after the first cold snap when the days get warm again. So warm that you consider turning your air conditioning back on! We have not had Indian Summer yet this Fall. It should happen sometime around the first or second week of October . However, you can tell it is turning to Autumn. The humidity is very low, the skies are blue and every once in awhile, I see a leaf fall off of a tree. I love taking my dog out in the morning from my front door. I look out into an island of (mostly) pine trees. The sun rays are shining through and it's quite a lovely sight. I have a Japanese Maple out there as well and it's leaves will turn a bright red this Fall. It is my favorite time of year.

I created this card with that in mind. The background paper is encaustic waxing. If you follow my blog, you know it is one of my favorite techniques. It is a napkin that I waxed onto a glossy piece of cardstock. I then shaded it with gold wax. I love it. The pumpkins stamp is from Gina K Designs and it is the "Signs of Autumn" set. I colored it with my Copics (Y12, Y16, Y18 and Colorless Blender). I then added my Gelly Roll pen to add some shine. I cut the image using my oval Nestibilities and my scallop oval Nestibilities. I shaded using Tangelo and Cantelope Memento Inks while the shapes were still in the die cut. The ribbon I purchased at Hobby Lobby and the back ground papers were nothing special, except I always use Gina K Designs heavy weight Pure Luxury paper when coloring with Copics. I hope you enjoy it and enjoy the season!

Guess What Time It Is?

It's my FAVORITE time of year!!!    Fall!  I know, I know... some folks say "Wait a minute!  It is still Summer and it is still hot outside!" But, it is August 30th!  And to add to my argument, the Fall decorations are out at Hobby Lobby!  Doesn't that mean I can start celebrating?   Candy Corn, here I come!!!

I went to DC this weekend. It was a VERY quick trip. I flew in on Saturday at 12:15, went to my favorite cousin's house for the day in Frederick, Maryland. (Sidebar: I SO want to live there. It's so quaint and just a beautiful place. It is feasible that we could live there because my hubby could transfer, but the cost of living is so high that I'm really worried about that.... anyone live in the area that could give me advice?)   Back to my story...

I flew up because I was buying my cousin's daughter's (my second cousin's) car for my daughter who just left for college. (Whew, were you able to follow that?) So, because we were buying a car, we had to drive it home to Georgia!  It took me 12 1/2 hours to get back yesterday!  That was with very little stopping and even eating in the car!  Yikes.  My tailbone is sore! But the car is adorable and Allison was so surprised and shocked.  She had gone up to D.C. for Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" Rally with her college roommate.  She knew I was flying up, but she didn't realize the "surprise" I was bringing her was a "new" car.  She kept saying "You bought me a car????"

This card I created was mostly about showcasing the ribbon.  I just loved it.   So I added just a few

embellishments, and then I was not crazy about the card.  So I worked and worked and I think it turned out "okay".    It's not one of my best..  You know, we are our own worst enemies!!!  I love the Tilda.  She was supposed to be colored with the "Scandanavian" technique, but I think I might have gotten a little heavy handed on the tones.   I colored her with my Copic markers.   I will continue to practice.  I just used a regular doily, the ribbon was from Hobby Loggy.  A nestibility for the die cut, and paper flowers that I colored with my inks and then used some stickles to give it a little shine.  The leaves are the Martha Stewart "fern" punch.  Let me know what you think and thank you for reading my blog!

I'm Certified!

Today, I got certified!  In what, you ask?  I'm a Copic Certified Designer!!!  How cool is that?  Pretty soon you will see my "blinkie" over on the right of my page... I had a really good time, talked to craft enthusiasts like myself, networked, and learned lots of techniques.  It was a fun day and I'm hoping on getting better and better with my coloring...

  This is one of my favorite cards.  I think she's so cute!  I loved, loved, loved the background paper and I had already colored the image and noticed that they went perfectly together.  The paper is Citrus from... heck, I seem to have lost the front of the paper packet.  Sorry!! 

I had to add a little bit of sky, so I took my Memento Ink and sponged a white piece of paper with the three shades of blue.  The "SplishSplash" came from Hobby Lobby on one of their sticker sheets.  And it matched the blues perfectly as well.   I trimmed it out roughly because I didn't want the card to be too formal.  I'm not sure if I like that look, but I "stuck it down" pretty good on the card and didn't want to ruin it.  It's one of those  "live and learn" moments....I had hoped that I could add the sticker without having to use a white background, but it got lost in the background.  Tilda is popped up on pop dots. 

The water is glossy accents and I totally love the effect it created. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, today is my birthday!   I will miss my son and oldest daughter not being here today.  Michael is in England and Jessica went to the beach with her boyfriend's family.  On the agenda today is: I have a final project for class to finish and my hubby and youngest daughter are planning on taking me out to dinner.  My hubby even took the night off from work just for me!!!  See, you can be treated like a Princess, even at my age!  It will be a good day, once I get it started!

This card is a napkin that I purchased at Ruby Tuesday's.  If you've never heard of the encaustic wax process, take a look on YouTube to see if there is a video on how to do it.  I really love the technique and love the results.  This napkin is actually waxed onto my card base.  I think it turned out so pretty!  In my last post, I stated that I was making cards for my 2nd cousin.  This is one of the Thank You cards that I'm sending her.  I hope you like it!

It's a Zoo Around Here!

Hi friends!  Well, I'm winding down this week with my 5th and 6th classes at the Univ of Phoenix.  Whew!  I only have three more to go and I will be finished with my Associates!  Then I will start my Bachelor's.  It is a good feeling to be making progress.  Right now, I should be finalizing my finals, but I've been creating cards instead.  I know, I know!  But I needed some creative time for me.  And I'm having so much fun.  My 2nd Cousin is getting married and she's very special to me, so I've been creating some "Thank You" cards for her to give to her special friends that are on this journey with her.  I'll be showcasing those cards over the next few posts.  I hope you enjoy them!  But first...

This particular card was created for my sweet niece Emily.  She turned 17 this month and we all went to see the Phantom of the Opera on her birthday.  It was so much fun!  Emily is planning on being a Zoologist when she grows up and she volunteers at the Atlanta Zoo.  She's a fabulous child and I'm so thankful God gave her to us.  I used my Magnolia "Animal Keeper" and "Jungle Sign" stamps and created her a card that represented her.  I used My Minds Eye - Laundry Line paper.  I used Copics to color her with a little help from Glossy Accents to give her belt and bucket some shine.  The Happy Birthday is from Stamping Up, I believe.  I used my Deckle Nestibilities to cut it out and while it was still in the die, I used my ink to give it some color.  I used my Gelly Roll Gold Sparkle pen to add some shine to it.  I hope she liked it and I hope you do as well.  Leave me a comment with any suggestions!  I'd love to hear from you.