Little Red Wagon #23

Happy Wednesday! It is my turn to post the challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and I decided to make up a sketch for everyone to follow!

I have been in such a Springy mood lately, that I chose a sweet image from Stamping Bella for my card.

The stamp is called Jump for Joy and is actually a stamp with 3 cute girls on it. I decided to just stamp one of them and have her skipping rope. I used my Prismacolor pencils to color her and I added a bit of twine for the jump rope. It was actually one of my scrapbook friends from my store that gave me the idea for the jump rope! Thanks Sue - I love it!

Since I love working with sketches, I tried making up a couple of them recently and found that I really enjoyed it! Since then, I have decided to start my own sketch blog! It is called i.love.sketches and it is going to be a blog where I can post my sketches to keep them all in one place. It is not a challenge blog and anyone can use my sketches as they please. I hope you visit my new blog and I hope you find some inspiration for your card making and scrapbooking!

Try to stop by the Little Red Wagon to see what the other girlfriends have created! Have a fabulous day:)

Jelly Beans, Easter Eggs and Lemon Cheesecake Squares

This past weekend was a wonderful time as we prepared for and celebrated Easter. I love traditions, but this year I decided to try a few new things and they turned out so well that I thought I would share them with you!

As my boys are both getting older, I thought I would change things up and do something other than a traditional Easter basket for them. I decided to make some candy jars and I had a lot of fun putting them together.

I picked up a couple of canning jars and some bulk candy and I simply layered the candy in the jars. Then I added some ribbon and a tag and I think my guys were quite happy to be greeted by these colorful, candy-filled jars on Easter morning!

The next thing we did was try some new egg dyeing techniques, compliments of Martha Stewart. In a recent issue of her magazine, I read how you can use electrical tape to mask off areas and add designs to your eggs. The color is achieved using regular food coloring!

This is a sampling of our finished eggs. We had so much fun trying different designs and I think they turned out so pretty!

After doing some basic designs, we got really creative and added food coloring directly to the egg with a Q-tip. Then we added some detailing with a black fine-point marker. I just love the little chick and butterfly! I think egg decorating has been taken to a whole new level in our house!

Last, but not least, I tried a great new recipe for Lemon Cheesecake Squares. Oh my - they are were fabulous!!!

Here is the recipe if you would like to give them a try. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

Base:
30 Lemon Social Tea Cookies
1/2 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake Layer:
1 pkg. (8 oz/250 g) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg

Top Layer:
4 eggs
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. finely grated lemon rind
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. icing sugar

In food processor, crush cookies to make 2 cups; pulse in butter until moistened. Press into parchment lined 9 x 13-inch metal pan. Bake in 325 degree oven until firm, about 12 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack.

In bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth; beat in egg. Spread over base. Set aside.

In bowl, beat eggs with granulated sugar until thickened. Beat in lemon rind and juice, flour and baking powder until smooth; pour over cheese layer.

Bake in 325 degree oven until edges are set and brown, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. Cut into squares. Dust with icing sugar. Yummm!

I hope you weekend was equally delightful and was filled with lots of special moments.

Resurrection Joy

Happy Easter! What a glorious morning to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and we have a lovely day planned! At church this morning, we sang one of my favorite songs by Twila Paris and I thought I would share it with you.



May your Easter be filled with the joy of the Resurrection.

Blessings~

Good Friday

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8

Little Red Wagon Challenge #22

This week it was Dee's turn to post the challenge at Little Red Wagon. She chose Spring for her challenge and right away I knew I wanted to do something with a bird on it.

I started with some dot paper I had stashed in my wagon and then I added a journal card and a die-cut bird from the same line, My Minds Eye Quite Contrary. A little ribbon and a button and I have a sweet Spring themed card! Thanks for a fun challenge Dee!

If you really want to get into the Spring of things, be sure to check what the other Girlfriends have created. They are truly gorgeous!

Just a Note

I don't know about you, but I would be totally lost without my day timer, my wall calendar and the notes and lists I make for myself. I often wonder how my life has become so busy that I need to have things written down or I won't know where or when I need to be at any given moment! I used to be able to remember things and know from day to day what was going on, but that was many years ago when my children were younger, I was an at-home mom and life was simpler.

Now I rely on notes to keep myself on track and to communicate to my family. Our kitchen table is the hub of our busy lives. That is where we meet for meals, which thank goodness we still eat together most nights, and you can always tell what is going on by simply looking at our table. Bills that need to be paid are put there, homework is often done there and my scrapbooking often ends up there. Keys, ipods, and groceries get dumped there. Discussions over coffee take place there. Company is often served there.

It is also the place where we leave notes for each other. I had to laugh this past week as we were a family of note makers. First I left this note for my guys because my dh was driving our son to school the next morning and they were debating who should pay for coffee on the way.

I thought I would settle the dispute with a little note and $5.00.

The next day I found this note from my son who needed me to call his drivers training school to schedule his G2 exam. Apparently, he thought a little illustration would help to get my attention.

Then my dh mentioned about three times one night that we needed to return a movie and the next morning I found this note on the table.

His art skills may leave a little to be desired, but I did get the movie back in time.

In this fast-paced age of emailing and texting, it is actually nice to see a handwritten note once in a while. Why don't you leave a note for someone special today? It might just bring a smile to their face :)

Little Red Wagon Challenge #21

Happy Wednesday! It is Rosanne's week to issue the challenge at Little Red Wagon and she posted this gorgeous inspiration photo for us to work with.

This is my card based on the photo.

I wanted to keep it really simple, so I worked with the soft teal and pink colors. I added some pretty white ribbon that Regan shared with me (thanks Regan!), a gorgeous flower and a bit of pink bling.

Great challenge Rosanne! Try to visit Little Red Wagon and see what the other girlfriends have created. You might be inspired to create something of your own!

Happy Spring!

The last couple of days have been a bit cooler again, but the past couple of weeks have given us our first taste of Spring! It has also given me a renewed hope that Winter will soon be behind us and that the warmer weather will be here to stay.

On a recent trip home to Michigan, we crossed over the St. Clair River on Saturday and the river was completely clear of any ice. When we were returning only 3 days later, we were shocked at the ice flow that was taking place.

With the warm weather, the ice on Lake Huron was breaking up and the chunks were all flowing down the St. Clair River. It is supposedly the worst ice flow since 1984! Despite the destruction it can cause and the severe slow down of Great Lakes shipping, it was actually quite amazing to see. I just kept thinking - Spring is here!

There have also been more gentler signs of Spring around us. Like seeing our first robin in a tree outside our home. My dh and myself were like kids looking out the window at it and grabbing our camera to capture this joyful moment.

And then there is this issue of Martha Stewart Living that I picked up at the store the other day.

Who could possibly resist this gorgeous cover and the promise of all the yummy photos and articles inside?

This delightful new mug also makes me feel like Spring! I received in a gift basket I won at my soon-to-be niece-in-law's bridal shower last weekend.

Don't you just love the polka dots? It is perfect for a cup of raspberry tea while I read my magazine. And last, but not least, is this precious little bird I picked up in my travels recently.

Just too sweet! (sigh)

Yes, there are signs of Spring all around us and I for one am very happy:)

Little Red Wagon Challenge #20

This week's challenge at Little Red Wagon was super easy! Regan challenged us to use Copics - which for me is not really a challenge :) I love playing with my Copics!

I used this fun image that my friend Dianne shared with me at a crop recently. I also used new papers from My Minds Eye Lush line - so very pretty! With a little bit of Glamour Dust and a button, my card is ready to give away.

I also tried a new card style for this card.

It is a double-fold card that I think is very cool.

Be sure to head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the other Girlfriends created for this challenge and try to play along. I would love to see what you create ♥

Made With Love

For my final layout as a DT member at Sketchabilities, I decided to use photos of my Orange Cranberry Nut Loaf. I don't think I have ever scrapbooked food photos all on their own before, but I had the perfect paper and embellies from Cosmo Cricket so I gave it a try.

I had so much fun with the food-themed elements. I also added a little ribbon ruffle with heart brads near the title and I used a couple of border punches, the notebook punch and the scalloped punch.

Thanks for looking :)

A New Love ♥

Two weekends ago, Carolyn and I attended an amazing class where we learned how to color images with Prismacolor Colored Pencils. Wow, wow, wow! This is another amazing medium to use when working with stamped images and it produces such a beautiful end result.

This is an image that we worked on in the class.

Isn't he adorable? Paula Williamson taught the class and she has tonnes of talent. We were given 4 images to work on, but most of us only managed to complete one. With this one image though, we learned all sorts of techniques - like adding spots, how to do grass, shading, shadowing, and blending.

Of course, since then, all I want to do is play with my pencils! So I have managed to do a couple of other cards. I grabbed both of these stamps from our store when our new Stamping Bella shipment arrived last week.

This one is called Ketto's Dolly (adorable!) and I had so much fun coloring her.

Then this past weekend I colored Daisybella - my very first actual 'bella' image - if you can believe it! When I finished working on the image, I saw the perfect floral paper to go with it. It is from the Little Chick line by Three Bugs in a Rug.

I love her little t-shirt and faded jeans. I hope these card brings a smile to someone's face when (if!) I give them away.

Have a blessed day!

Little Red Wagon Challenge #19

It's time for another challenge at Little Red Wagon - my favorite challenge blog! This week Avril challenged us to use fabric on our project.

This is what I like about Little Red Wagon. The challenges really make me think outside the box, scrap outside the lines, try something I have never done before! I have never used fabric on a card or layout before, and I didn't want to use something pre-made. So I dug deep into my wagon and found some fabric I had bought a while ago when I thought I might make up some place mats and/or napkins in a bright Springy color. I cut the fabric into little squares and incorporated them into my card.

I started with a plain white card base and then I used my ScorPal to create a grid pattern on the front. I added my fabric squares and then stitched over them with my sewing machine. To finish, I added a button and a sentiment. It's different and it was fun!

Thanks Avril for a great challenge! Be sure to check out what the other Girlfriends have done - I am sure you will be inspired to try something new :)

Banana Yumminess

Yumminess is actually a word! At least according to the on-line dictionary I checked (lol). And I think it truly describes banana bread.

For some unknown reason, I have been on a banana bread kick lately. I think it might have started when Deanna posted her Nanny's Banana Bread recipe on the Two Scrapbook Friends Forum and I gave it a try. It was probably the best banana bread I have ever had. But, with 2/3 cup of butter in it, I have decided to save her recipe for company only!

For everyday banana bread I use a recipe that I have had for a long time. It only has 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil in it, so I can convince myself it is much healthier for me! Plus if you add semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, it is far healthier than if you add milk chocolate chips. (See how I justify my sweets!)

Here is my recipe for banana bread if you want to give it a try :)

BANANA BREAD

2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1-1/4 cups mashed bananas (2 - 3 medium)
Chocolate Chips to taste
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of loaf pan, 9 x 5 x 3-inches, or 2 loaf pans, 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches.

Mix all ingredients; beat 30 seconds. Pour into pan(s). Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 9-inch loaf about 65-70 minutes, 8-inch loaf about 60 minutes; cool slightly.

Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing or storing. To store, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate no longer than 1 week.

Enjoy!

Bellarific Friday!

Each week Stamping Bella posts a challenge on their blog and this past week it was 'POLKADOTS BIG OR SMALL WE LOVE THEM ALL!' Needless to say, with my love of polka dots I had to enter a card!

I chose their Showerbugg stamp and made this sweet little card.

I used my Copic markers to color the image and then I added some Glossy Accents to her rubbah boots and the hearts. I also added some Glamour Dust to her wings for a bit of sparkle.

Thanks for looking and have a Bellarific Friday:)

Little Red Wagon Challenge #18

It was Carolyn's turn to post the challenge this week at Little Red Wagon and she chose felt. Now for some reason, felt is not my favorite thing to work with and I didn't have a clue what I was going to do. But I know this great scrapbook store ;) that has some wonderful felt flowers and butterflies in gorgeous colors, so I decided to use them on a card.

With the temperatures on the rise and the sun shining, I thought it was the perfect time to make a Think Spring card. I used a card base that was already embossed, then I added a circle cut from pattern paper, a flower sticker, three felt flowers and a button. With a bright green ribbon and a little butterfly, my Spring themed card was complete!

Thanks for a great challenge Carolyn. It took me outside my comfort zone and I am happy with the result.

Now head over to Little Red Wagon to see what the other Girlfriends did with the felt challenge. Maybe it will inspire you to create something fun and fuzzy!