Neopolitan Hi

So, tonight was my first night of work at A.C. Moore, and oh my gosh! My feet are killing me! Since it's Friday, it was pretty busy in there, and it was just going, going, going nonstop the whole time. I also got to assist something like 30 customers, with everything from where the glue guns are located to coming up with a whole concept for wedding favors using little flower pots and wildflower seeds. It was really fun and interesting though, and I think I'm really going to enjoy it there.

Before I left for work, I did get a card made. Check it out.


Somewhere on someone's blog this week, I wish I could remember where, I saw a card challenge using a "neopolitan ice cream theme," in other words, chocolate, vanilla, and light pink for strawberry. A quick look through my supplies told me that I already had everything I needed to make it, so I thought that would be perfect for today's project.

I used some chocolate cardstock from Bazzill and pink polkadotted paper from American crafts. I cut a slopey line through the middle of the patterned paper, and then trimmed a little off either side so the chocolate could peep through. I added some faux stitching with a white gel pen to bring in more of the white. I spelled the word "hi" with some stickers from K&Company, and added a sweet little flower to finish it off.


I've been wanting to make one of these book page flowers ever since I saw a video tutorial over on Dawn McVey's (love her!) blog, Raspberry Suite. Being a book lover, I was very hesitant to cut up a perfectly good one, but in my purging of "stuff" that we don't really need, I came across one that I didn't mind using so much.

It's Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt, and I picked it up at the Library Book Sale this past summer on the last day when everything was a buck a box. It's a pretty beat up copy, but the pages are still smooth and intact. They're yellowed with age, of course, but that actually works for the look I wanted. I just tore out one page and then put the book with my craft supplies so I can use it again next time.

Added a button from Foof-a-la for the center, which I adhered with a glue dot, and that was it.


I think it turned out sweet. A nice, everyday card, which you can never have to many of.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Take care, everybody!

Friends Are Flowers Gracie

Hey there, all! How are you tonight? Are you safe and warm inside your houses? Let's hope so. The wind is howling outside something fierce. I was out in it earlier this evening to attend my Thursday writer's group, but I'm glad to be back indoors. In fact, I think I might even go to bed early! It's eleven here now (ignore the time stamp below, it's wrong), so if I hurry, I might make it by midnight, which would be a great improvement over the last two weeks or so. I'm a night owl, I can't help it. Unfortunately, I live a morning person's life, and the two don't mix so well. The lack of sleep in these last few weeks is really getting to me. I just feel really tired and run down. So lets see if I can get todays craft posted in a reasonable amount of time. I am long-winded, after all. ;o)

Today I decided to use this adorable image that a new friend generously stamped and sent me. It's Gracie, by Lori's Lollipops, and she's available from Stamping Bella if you're interested. Isn't she sweet?


I colored her with Copics, and in the interest of the aforementioned time, I'll stick to just the numbers: E000, E00, R20, E33, E57, B00, B02, G20 for the background, and I think that's it. I saw this gorgeous patterned paper at JoAnn's this morning. It's by a company called Remember When. I cut along the flowers with my exacto knife on either side of her and wiggled her down between them for some added interest.

I thought she looked like she should be holding something, so I stamped a little flower from Hampton Arts and cut that out and glued it behind her back. And I just drew in the stem and leaf. The sentiment was from the same set as the tiny flower, and I thought that it just worked really well with the image and paper. I originally stamped it directly on the card, but it didn't come out completely perfect, so I stamped it again on a scrap of cardstock, colored it the same color as the background of the image, and punched it out with my oval scallop punch. Added some American Crafts blue polkadot ribbon and viola!


So, I'm thinking of doing another mini blog candy giveaway soon... Anyone interested? I'll keep you posted on that. Speaking of posts, I just did this one in less than fifteen minutes! Woohoo! Go me! ;o)

Sleep tight, everybody.

Thinking Of You Flower Vase

Just a simple card for today. I began with some white Georgia Pacific cardstock, and paired that with some polkadotted paper from Debbie Mumm. Then I stamped this flower vase image and colored it with Copics to match.


Colors used were: R20 (Blush), R22 (Light Prawn), Y11 (Pale Yellow), Y15 (Cadmium Yellow), B00 (Frost Blue), B02 (Robin's Egg Blue), G20 (Wax White), G21 (Lime Green), BG10 (Cool Shadow) for the glass, and E000 (Pale Fruit Pink) for the background. These just happen to be some of my most favorite Copic colors. They blend so well together and are extremely versatile. If you're just getting started with Copic markers, I highly recommend that you add these ten colors to the top of your wish list. I'd also add BG13 (Mint Green) to compliment the BG10. Another really gorgeous color. E000 (Pale Fruit Pink) is also a wonderful shade for skin tones.

I hadn't planned on cutting the image out, but a slip on my paper cutter made it necessary, unless I wanted to restamp and color the image, which I didn't. I popped it off the card with dimentional adhesive and added some ribbon from American Crafts.


In other news, as of tonight I am now the newest employee at our local A.C. Moore! I needed a part-time job in the evenings to suppliment our income now that my husband's in school (he's studying to become a nurse) and what better place to work than a store where I can get a discount on craft supplies? I'm actually really excited about it. It's been a while since I've been in the work force, but I always loved it and I'm eager to get back into it, even if it's only a couple evenings a week. I went up tonight and signed all the paperwork, so it's official! I start Friday night.

Hope all you ladies are doing wonderfully! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I really appreciate each and every one of you. :o)

A Scarf for Teddy

How are all you lovely ladies out there tonight? Let me just tell you, I am exhausted! I mean, seriously. I am so tired, I can hardly even function. It's been like that all day. I went to my happy place (aka Tim Horton's) this morning, and even my usual cafe mocha didn't help. School breaks may be a vacation for the teachers and students, but they certainly aren't for the parents! Lol.

Anyway, I tried to get crafty today, honestly I did, but it just wasn't happening. I did a little coloring, which did improve my mood, but doing something relaxing when you're so tired you can hardly sit up straight is a dangerous thing to do unless a nap is in your very near future. And since I had two little ones at home with me, that wasn't happening. So I saved the card for another day.


It's a sweet image though, isn't it? It's a children's coloring page, actually, I just printed it out on cardstock and turned my Copics loose on it. I used BV00, BV02, BV04, BV13, E000, E00, E33, E57, R20, R22, G20, G21, and I think that's it.

And now, before I have to break out the toothpicks to prop my eyelids open, I think I'll head off to bed. Gotta get all the rest I can before Summer Vacation begins! ;o) Have a great night, everybody.

Orchids

Happy Monday, everybody! How was your Easter? Today was the last day of the boys Spring Break, so we decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine by heading to the zoo. We had a great time looking at all the animals -- everything from zebras, to rinos, giraffes, tigers, and my personal favorite -- the polar bears! The boys were more interested in the jaguars and river otters, and the sweetest little baby orangutan.

In the greenhouse, I came across these lovely orchids and had to snap a pic to share with you all.


Aren't they gorgeous? I love photographing flowers. They have so much personality. A living work of art. I like this quote by Terri Guillemets, "If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom." There's something so hopeful about flowers. Despite the fact that they're born to be picked and die, they keep right on blooming, lifting their beautiful faces to the sun and drawing strength from the earth, all for the chance to fill our hearts with gladness for a moment.

Well, I'm going to keep this short and sweet for tonight. Gotta be ready to get back in the swing of things tomorrow! Hope you all have a great evening.

Hoppy Easter

Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail, hippity hoppity, Easter's on it's way! Lol. I used to love that song when I was little. Well, luckily I was able to get my Grandparents to babysit the boys at their house for a couple hours today and got much of my Easter shopping done. I decided to go a different route this year and do an outdoor play theme. We really don't need any more toys in the house, in fact, I'm really trying to pare down a lot of what we own and don't use. But outside stuff usually has to be replaced every year, so I'm using sand pails for baskets, and filling them with sand toys, water guns, bubbles, and things like that. I feel good knowing that I'm giving them things they actually need and will use, rather than cutsey trinkets that clutter up the house. Hopefully this gorgeous weather lasts a little longer so they'll be able to get some use out of them right away. We were actually dressed in shorts and t-shirts today! On April 2nd! That's unheard of around here.

And I made a new card this afternoon. I wanted to try making one of those cute 3X3 cards. The nice thing about them is that they don't have a lot of space, so a few simple embellishments is all you really need.


This adorable bunny stamp is from one of those Studio G $1 stamp sets. I love those! It's one craft supply that I never feel guilty about splurging on, because it's such a good deal. You usually get two images and a sentiment, sometimes even more, for a buck. Can't beat that! And if I don't have anything else I need to use my store coupon on that week, sometimes I'll use it on those and get a pack for $.60! I probably pick up a pack a week, so I'm gathering quite the collection. :o)

Paper is from The Sweet Stack from DCWV. Ribbon from Dashes, Dots, & Checks. I colored the image with Copics: C0 (Cool Gray 0), C3 (Cool Gray 3), R20 (Blush), G20 (Wax White), G21 (Lime Green), and BG10 (Cool Shadow) and punched it out with my square scallop punch. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! ;o)


I hope you all have a great weekend and a wonderful Easter holiday! Stuff yourselves with candy and don't feel guilty about it!

What's Cookin'? White Chili!

Greetings, all! How are you this April Fools Day? Did you play any tricks on anybody? I thought about making some faux eggs with yogurt and canned peach halves on pound cake "toast" for breakfast this morning, but I ended up not going to the store last night so I had to forgo it. Oh well! I'll save the idea for next year.

Speaking of cooking though, I did make some yummy white chili in the crock pot for dinner last night! It was a brand-new recipe for me, and as usual, I modified it to suit my family's tastes. Everyone loved it! I served it with hot corn bread muffins. Have a look at this steaming bowl of deliciousness!


White Chili

Ingredients:
3 15 1/2oz cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed or shredded
1 15oz jar alfredo sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1 4oz can chopped green chilis
1 can corn
1 8oz bag shredded colby jack (or any jack) cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 small yellow pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 8oz block cream cheese
fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Directions:
Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients EXCEPT cream cheese and cilantro.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours.
Cube cream cheese and stir in until melted.
Ladel into bowls. Top with fresh cilantro.

And in keeping with the kitchen, I also made a new card this afternoon.


I wanted to use this adorable mixing bowl stamp from Hero Arts (What's the Scoop?) so I stamped that in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored it in with Copics. I had this picnic-y red plaid paper that I thought would go perfect with it. I wish I could remember the brand -- I know I got it at JoAnn's if that helps.

I used some black Bazzill cardstock for my card base, but it looked really bland and flat, so I decided to clear emboss some of the other tasty treats in that stamp set, as if the bowl is daydreaming of all the yummy possibilities. I did a little faux stitching in a white gel pen around the patterned paper to make it pop.

Even after all that, it was still missing something. None of the sentiments I had seemed to work, and I didn't feel like going all the way back downstairs to plug the laptop into the printer to print something out, so I just wrote "what's cookin'?" as neatly as I could. Lol. It only took me three tries! I punched that out with an oval scallop punch and had a tiny scrap of yellow polkadot ribbon laying on my desk, so I used that behind. I popped both the image and the sentiment off the card with 3D dimentional dots.


It turned out pretty cute, no? And I know just who to send this one to. A sweet new friend recently sent some adorable stamped images for me to color and use and it just so happens that she loves to bake, so Alison, this one's for you. :o)

Hope you all have a lovely evening! Get outside and enjoy this gorgeous spring weather!