Renew and Recharge

It's time to bring some life back into this space again. Rather than limiting the content to scrapbooking and cardmaking I've decided to include recipes and meal planning tips.

Reviving this space will give me the motivation to take the time to create more. I've set a goal to try one to two new recipes a week.  I've been busy making sourdough bread, pancakes and seasoning packets and I can't wait to share.

Here's a recipe for a simple homemade granola. The great thing about making your own granola is that you can customize it to include the things that you enjoy without adding preservatives or other harsh chemicals.

Crunchy Coconut Pecan Granola

3 c. regular oats

1 c. pecans, chopped

1/2 c. honey

1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1-2 Tbsp. unsweetened coconut

Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together and spread into an even layer in a 13 x 9 baking pan.  Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 10 minutes.  Stir and continue to bake until lightly browned. Enjoy!

One Image Two Ways

I have two cards using the same image to share with you today.  Now that my Copic supply is slowly growing I have been playing around with different color combinations and different skin tones.

I've been using a lot of the same color palette as far as cardstock and patterned paper goes but I'll be sure to start changing the colors to yellow and green in the near future.

 

 

 

As you can see I'm still keeping the cards pretty simple.  Just a couple of layers and standard card sizes since I'm trying to focus more on improving my coloring skills.  I think I prefer the first one.

Many Thanks

Here's a quick thank you card I made using a digital image.  I still prefer digital images over acrylic and rubber stamps but I have to admit that I have a good collection of all types.

The biggest benefit of using a digital image is being able to choose my image size. That has come in handy more times than I can count.  I also love the flexibility of being able to flip the image horizontally or vertically.  I'm not sure if you've ever ran across a stamp when the image was facing a different direction than you'd like it to.  A couple clicks in Photoshop is all it takes.  Don't forget that digital images are usually sent once the payment has been made.  So no more waiting for the snail mail and worry not if you don't feel like driving to the nearest craft store. 

The digital image was a freebie from Tiddly Inks and is called Kiki.  It can be found in the freebie section HERE.

This card does qualify for the following Card Challenges:

Colour Crazy Challenge : "Anything Goes"
https://colourcrazychallenge.blogspot.com/2019/02/week-7-anything-goes-colouring.html

Your Next Stamp Fun Friday Challenge: "Seeing Stars"
http://yournextstamp.com/blog/fun-friday-challenge-108-comment-to-win/

Polkadoodle: "Anything Goes"
https://polkadoodle.blogspot.com/2019/02/wk-8-polkadoodles-challenge-anything.html

Feeling crafty again

It's been a long time to say the least.  Things are finally getting back to normal after unexpected health issues.  I'm finally feeling crafty again.  I am a little anxious about getting back in the swing of things especially when it comes to coloring.  I did manage to color several images last night.  The next step will be to turn them into completed projects. 

In lieu of sharing a new project I have posted one that I made some time ago when I was a member of the Cutting Café DT.  I thought this one would be fitting since Valentine's Day is tomorrow.

 

The tag was made using an image from The Cutting Cafe. The set is called Animal and Bug Mini Colored Circle Set. The designer paper that the candies were wrapped in is from another Cafe set and is called Words of Love Colored Printable set. In order to save printer ink I re-sized the designer paper to the size of the candy roll.  I was also able to fit multiple patterns on one sheet of paper.

 

Stay tuned for new projects.

Basketball Star

Here's another quick card that I made using an image that I colored a long time ago that was just sitting my desk. I'm slowly getting back into crafting so I'm easing into it with images and materials that are within arms reach.

 

I kept this card pretty simple using a card base and paper scraps. The image is from The Greeting Farm. The have some fun stamps and stamp sets and it looks like there are more digital images than I remembered.

 

I prefer digital images because of the flexibility in sizing images as well as mirror imaging. For that time when you think the image should face the other way.  

 

 

Digital image: The Greeting Farm

Cardstock: Stamping Up

 

This card was made for the following challenges:

 

 Polkadoodles Crafting Challenge. The theme is to use 2 or more different designer papers. As you can see I have used 3 (4 if you count the patterned clear overlay). One of my favorite things to do is to mix and match various patterns and textures.

 

Crafty Girlz Challenge: The theme is anything goes or if you prefer a theme - summer holidays.

 

   Digi Designs: Hand colored image

Beach Party!!

This weeks Fantabulous Cricut Challenge is to create a project that features Outdoor Summer Activities with at least one Cricut design element.

 

The project that I created used the Summer Celebrations Cricut Cartridge. This is an image that I had put together a long time ago but never got around to using it. For quick assembly I used old packaging material and paper scraps. Since the image was already pre-cut and assembled it was a breeze to put together.. It can easily be turned into a scrapbook page element, invitation or a fun summer time book.

 

 

Back in the day...

When I was in the 8th grade I used to go roller skating on Saturday afternoons. I'd spend hours skating along to the music with my friend Judy, eating junk food and having a good time.

 

Seeing this image - Roller Mae - from Some Odd Girl really brought back some fond memories. I never had stars on my skates but would have if I had the option back then. Thanks for looking and I hope you bring in the New Year with creativity and inspiration.

 

 

 

I'm still working on getting my Mojo back so I've been checking out some of the challenge blogs and decided to make a card that incorporated several of the monthly themes going on so here's the list of challenges that this card qualifies for:

 

Some Odd Girl - Tag! You're It! - must use a tag on your project 

 

Bugaboo - Anything Goes challenge

 

Sweet Stamping Challenge - Sports and Fitness - must have something stamped
 

Simon Wednesday - Something new - like a new digi 

 



So Berry Cute Sophie

 Today I'm sharing a card that really came together in minutes. I like when that happens. This digital image is an oldie but goodie.  This was one of my Design Team images from The Town Scrapper and is a Victoria Case Design. Isn't she adorable?

Create a Background Challenge

I know its been ages since I've posted and I'm slowly working my way back. I thought the best way to get a jump start was with a challenge.

I needed some inspiration so I decided to check out what Some Odd Girl has been up to.  It turns out that they are now selling clear stamps as well as digital stamps. I'm still a digi girl at heart but love that they have both options.

This month's challenge is called "Create a Background." I wanted my image to be the showcase so I stamped a black and white background. It felt good to get a little ink on my fingers. Here's what I came up with.

-CLICK ON PHOTO FOR A NON-BLURRY VERSION-

Thanks ladies for helping me get back in the groove. I plan on joining in on more challenges in the future.

Thank you_St Patricks Day Style

Here's a Thank You card I made using one of the Shamrocks from the Lucky Me set that I used earlier this week. It just goes to show you how versatile this Cutting Cafe set really is.

I paired it up with an image from The Stamping Boutique that I think is adorable. It comes in a girl version too. It's really a quick and simple card but sometimes that is all you need.

Think Green!!

I thought I'd share a card I made for St. Patricks Day. It's a whole lot of green and I love it. I used several different prinable images from The Cutting Cafe which I've shared below.

First I printed the Lucky Background on a piece of white card stock. Then I printed the large shamrock from the 4 Leaf Clover Shaped Card printable set using the background paper I just created. I cut out the shamrock and popped it up with dimensionals.

The large sentiment and the black and white clover embellishment is from the Lucky Me printable set. All great sets to have of course.

Be sure to head on over to The Cutting Cafe to see what wonderful things Regina has to offer. There are some new must have sets.

Happiness

Hello everyone!! I hope you had a great weekend. This week's Crazy Challenge theme is NOT to use designer paper.

I used the image called Happiness Word Plaque from this week's sponsor TLC Creations. You can't really see it in the picture but I ended up making my own designer paper using stamps and ink. I also stamped a green leafy stem and flower to add more dimension.

I like working with this sponsors image so much that I will be posting two additional cards with it for my Digital Tuesday Challenge project tomorrow.

I hope you will join us for this week's Crazy Challenge. Also be sure to check out TLC Creations for a great selection of digi's and lots of freebies too.

Happy Birthday!!

I thought I'd share a fun shaped card today. I used one of my latest printable sets from The Cutting Cafe. The party hat shaped card is from the set called Party Hat Shaped card set which can be found HERE and the Fun with Party Hats set found HERE.
Both sets are a must have and would be perfect for birthday parties and projects alike. As you can see in the close-up photo I paired it up with a sentiment from The Birthday Tags set which can be found HERE.
Challenges: Paper Pretties- use punches or die cuts

Digital Tuesday Challenge

This week's Digital Tuesday Challenge is all about using your stash. You know you have stuff laying around just waiting to get used so now is the time to put it to good use....great use.

This week's sponsor is Spesch Stamps. You know the place with the great digi's and also clear stamps. Remember to have a chance to win you must use a digital element on your project.

For my project this week I used the image Bonnie digital stamp from Spesch Stamps. It' still one of my favorite images from our sponsor this week. I paired it up with a couple of printables from The Cutting Cafe. The XoXo background can be found HERE and the Hershey's Kiss Valentine Bottoms can be found HERE.

Hope you play along this week and before I forget, Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hey Tootsie!!

If you are a fan of shaped cards then you should really like this one.

For my tootsie roll cards I used two different printable sets from The Cutting Cafe. The shaped card template is called The Candy Shaped Card Set and it can be found HERE. Included in the set is an adorable peppermint shaped card. I can't wait to play with that one.

The sentiment tags were made using the Candy Sentiment Set found HERE. Included with this set are various colored backgrounds that will be a welcomed addition to any project. Now onto card 1:

I thought ribbon would be a fun addition to the first card. That way its not 2 Dimensional. I used SU tag punches to cut out the sentiment. Here's a close-up of Card 2's sentiment:

Card 2 looks a little more old-fashioned than the first. I decided to add a couple of buttons and used tacky tape so I could attach the baker's twine.

Both cards came together very quickly and are pretty sweet.

The Crazy Challenge

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of Mondays. Luckily I've joined the Crazy Challenge DT so my Monday's will be a little brighter. Being able to use and adorable image like the one below helps.

If you haven't heard about the Crazy Challenge here's the scoop: There is a new theme, new sponsor and new prize each week. You can make a card, scrapbook page, photo frame, or anything you think of. To qualify for the prize you need to follow the theme and to link it to Mr. Linky on the challenge blog.

For my challenge card this week I used the image called The key to my heart Cecila fairy with key which can be found HERE. It's an adorable image and great for Valentine's Day.


Since the image is in digital form I did a quick flip with Photoshop and made the image face the opposite direction. She was also easily sized to my specifications. What's not to love about digital images?

Adore

Here's a quick Valentine's Day card I made with one of the latest printable sets from The Cutting Cafe.

The set is called Feb. 14th and is perfect for any addition to a Valentines Day project. It is a huge set of 41 black and white images and 41 colored images. It's a very versatile set. You can see all the images on the Cutting Cafe site. You'll be amazed at just how much is in this set.

For my card, I decided to keep it sweet and simple. I wanted to let the sentiment shine. And remember that you can cut out individual sentiments like I did for the word Adore shown below. It just goes to show you just how much you can do with this one set.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new project.

Red, White and Black Challenge

This week's Digital Tuesday Challenge is a color challenge: RED, WHITE and BLACK.

This week's sponsor is none other than Digital Delights. They have an ever growing collection of digi's, 3D decoupage and more. They have a free and bargain section that is worth checking out too.

For my project I used a soon to be retired image from Pollycraft. I couldn't resist ordering a huge bundle of stamps. To justify my purchase I had to use at least one.

That fabulous long sentiment is from the set February 14th from The Cutting Cafe. Just think of how many sentiments you can use separately from this set. You can't go wrong with this one.

Be sure to head on over to the Digital Tuesday Challenge Blog to see what the DT has come up with this week. That's also where you'll find Mr. Linky. Happy Crafting!!

It's the Little Things

It's not that often that I use a sentiment as the main focus of the card but it does happen sometimes.

This fun little sentiment is from The Cutting Cafe and is part of the Feb. 14th printable set. Since its a printable set I was able to resize the sentiment as needed. The other great thing about this set is that it comes with 41 black and white images/sentiments as well as 41 colored images. Now that is one huge set.

The little girl image was part of the Pollycraft bundles that I bought recently. Isn't she adorable?

Be sure to head on over to The Cutting Cafe to see what Regina's been up to. You won't be disappointed.

So very much

I came across an image that was stamped awhile back and thought it was time I added a little color to it. This is one of those no rhyme or reason cards since I made it just because. As you can see, I'm still loving the vibrant colors.

It's actually a pocket card. Although its rather subtle on the card I cut out the file folder tab from the Graphically Speaking Cricut Cartridge.

I love being able to choose the color and size of my card elements. The hard part is deciding what to make and which cartridge *LOL*