Winter Morning Goodness!

I love Pinterest! I know that lots of people enjoy browsing around on it and picking up great decorating, crafting, baking, fashion and a tonne of other ideas! One of the things I love most is the recipes that people share on it. I found a recipe recently for Blueberry Breakfast Cake and decided I would give it a try.

I have to say that the recipe turned out to be as delicious as it looked in the photo and I guarantee I will be adding it to our list of family favorites. The batter is quite thick and when it bakes you end up with these beautifully golden brown hills and valleys that are coated with a sprinkle of sugar and are truly yummy!

Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try :) You won't be disappointed!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more (optional)
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter with lemon zest and 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of the flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Insert a toothpick to see if it is done. Let cool at least 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Little Red Wagon #117

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! It is my turn to post the challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and I chose the theme of Winter Wonderland! I want to see creations using a Winter theme :)

I made a fun little card using Frappe the Snowman stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs. Isn't he adorable? I used my Copic markers to color him in and then I had fun with some additional details.

I added some glitter to the top of his hat and the snowflake. Then I added some Liquid Applique to the top of the heart and the ground under his feet. (I just love that stuff!) The polka dot paper is from We R Memory Keepers Love Struck line - adore!

So there you have it - my challenge and some inspiration. Why not join in the fun this week and link up your Winter themed card at Little Red Wagon? We would love to see what you create ♥

Fab ♥

I had the day off yesterday and between running errands and cleaning the house, I actually found some time to do a bit of scrapbooking! Yay!

As much as I like scrapbooking winter pages, I have to say I adore the bright, fun colors that a summer layout allows. For this page, I used photos of my niece Danielle and I paired them with papers from the new Echo Park line, A Boy's Life. The small patterns and the reds, blues, and yellows in this line are just too hard to resist (and yes - they totally works for girls pages)!

I splattered some paint on my background and punched out some butterflies and clouds. I also used some Smash Tape from K & Company that went perfectly with the colors!

I finished with some machine stitching and I even added some journaling!

Thanks for looking and I hope you find time to get creative on these cold, winter days :)

Little Red Wagon #116

Happy Wednesday to everyone! Today we have a fun challenge at Little Red Wagon. Dee has challenged us to use two different ribbons on a project.

I started with an adorable stamped image from Whipper Snapper Designs, which I colored with my Copics and paper pieced the blanket!

Then I used some ribbon that has been in my wagon forever to meet the challenge!

I hope you will join us at Little Red Wagon for some ribbon fun this week! Plus you will want to see what the other Girlfriends created using ribbon - some awesome inspiration! See you there :)

One Thousand Gifts

"What if finding love is as simple as recording 1000 gifts?" Ann Voskamp

Counting the gifts from His heart is a counting of all the ways that He loves me! My love list continues...

#275. sunshine on a cold, January day

#276. friends that understand and care when you have a bad day

#277. cozy new socks

#278. a special Rosary that was brought back from the Holy Land by a good friend

#279. my favorite tea pot - a gift from my boys ♥

#280. songs on the radio that make you want to sing

#281. an evening out with good friends

#282. having a job that I totally love

#283. turning on the fireplace at night and watching the room transform with its light and warmth

#284. the peace that is at the very root of my being - God's beautiful gift!

#285. my iPad that I use everyday

#286. hot chocolate on a cold day

#287. reading a good book late at night while Mr B sleeps soundly at my side

I ♥ Snow

This is such a great time of year for scrapbooking! When the weather outside is freezing cold, all I want to do is stay inside where it is warm and cozy and work away at my favorite craft!

I decided to do up a snowy layout using photos of Spencer from a few years ago. I really miss the days when he was younger and loved playing in the snow for hours at a time... {sigh}

I based my layout on a sketch I found on the Canadian Scrapbooker website. I also borrowed the idea of hanging my snowflakes from my BFF and a recent layout she did!

I layered some Maya Road snowflakes with wooden snowflakes that I painted white and glittered using GlitterRitz! Then I added a gemstone that I colored with a Copic marker to match the red on my layout.

My title was created using my fav Jillibean corrugated alphas!

And I even added some journaling - which is something I am trying to include on all (most!) of the layouts I do this year!

Thanks for looking~

Fine Feathered Friend

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of a whole day of cropping with Carolyn and Audrey! It was wonderful to spend an entire day being creative and I actually got a few things completed! One of the projects I worked on was a layout using photos of a gorgeous cardinal that visits our backyard frequently.

On the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum, Shelby had issued a challenge to use small photos on a layout. I normally use larger pictures, so I thought it would be fun to give this challenge a try.

I started by printing my pictures in a smaller Polaroid format. Then I used leftover bits and pieces of paper and embellishments and with a little help from Carolyn (brads) and Christa (title) I love how the page turned out!

I even used my all time favorite coffee stain stamp!

The only thing better than a day of cropping is a day of cropping where you actually get something done! Thanks for looking ~

Little Red Wagon #115

Happy Wednesday to everyone! Our challenge at Little Red Wagon this week is brought to us by Rosanne and she chose the theme of Itty Bitty Yellow Polka Dot Bikini! How fun is that?

I decided to make a card using a stamp from Stamping Bella, Swingin' Mavis. This little kitty is adorable and I paper pieced her dress to make it yellow polka dotted!

Of course I used my Copic markers to color in the rest of the image and then I had fun with some paper from my wagon to create a bright and cheery card!

Be sure to pop over to Little Red Wagon to see what the rest of the Girlfriends created for this challenge! I will see you there :)

Counting Grace

These past couple of weeks have been filled with grace as we celebrated Christmas with family and friends and then welcomed the New Year - 2012!

A new year is a perfect time to look back on the previous year and see all the blessings and it is also a good time to look ahead in anticipation of all the hope that a new year holds. I have been spending time doing both. There is so much to be grateful for and so much to look forward to! My heart overflows! Will you join me with Ann in counting the gifts this year?

I continue my list with joy in my heart...

#262. quiet moments of prayer when the world around me disappears and my heart is touched by God

#263. unhurried days between Christmas and New Years

#264. my Mom and her faithfulness in praying for others

#265. the blessing of Nolan's first Christmas

#266. special gifts in small packages

#267. family gift-giving traditions that make us laugh

#268. the Christmas bell on our dinner table (a special keepsake from my husband's parents)

#269. safe travels over the holidays

#270. time to be creative

#271. when the joy of giving is greater than the joy of receiving

#272. a new year filled with endless possibilities

#273. feeling close to my family even though we are hundreds of miles apart

#274. knowing that 'hope' is my word for 2012

(photo from Ann Voskamp)

Please join me in counting the gifts and recognizing the grace! A pen, a notebook and a few moments each day will bring undiscovered joy to your life! May you be blessed.

Little Red Wagon #114

We are starting a brand new year of challenges at Little Red Wagon and this week Regan wanted us to make something using felt or flocking!

I had some yummy felt in my wagon that I have never used, so this was the perfect opportunity to play with it.

I used a Nestabilities die to cut out small scalloped circles from the felt and I put them together to create a flower. Then I topped it with a resin rose.

I used papers from My Little Yellow Bicycle, that were still on my table from a layout I created recently, then I added a paper doily, some stitching, ribbon and mini alpha stickers from Echo Park.

I hope you decide to join in the fun at Little Red Wagon this year! We have weekly challenges every Wednesday and they are a good way to use up your stash to create cards, layouts or any other paper crafts :)

In My Garden

My first layout of 2012! I was on the Page Maps Blog this morning and they had an awesome sketch that I decided to play with. It was really different and I had fun making it my own.


I loved the clothesline idea in the sketch and I immediately thought of using some of my garden photos. Then I dug through my stash and found the perfect papers and stickers from My Little Yellow Bicycle.

I even had some mini clothes pins that I used to hang my photos with!

A bit of inking and some machine stitching added the finishing details.

What a great way to spend an afternoon before I go back to work tomorrow! Thanks for looking :)