Little Red Wagon #260

It is my turn to issue the challenge at Little Red Wagon this week and I would like to see a baby-themed card.

I decided to create a cascade card for a baby girl.

I have not created a cascade card before and it was interesting working with all the different folds and areas to decorate.  I went easy on myself by using a sticker sheet I had, but I did use pop dots for dimension and some gems to give it some sparkle! (After all, it is for a girl.)

I even added a banner to the back panel of the card!  

Well, that was fun! Now I would love if you join in the challenge this week.  First, stop by Little Red Wagon and check out the designs that the DT Girlfriends created.  Then create something fabulous of your own and link it up!  I will be sure to visit your blog and leave a comment :)

Little Red Wagon #259

It is that really spooky time of year with Halloween creeping up on us!  YIKES!!  So Heather, our new DT Girlfriend, wants to see a spooky, spooky Halloween card for our Little Red Wagon challenge this week.

I decided to use this little guy from Tiddly Inks (even though he is more 'cute' than 'spooky') and I colored him up with my Copic markers.

I cut a spider web using my Silhouette and added a creepy spider button I had in my wagon.

A couple of sequins added just the right amount of sparkle and a sheer bow finished it off.

Will you join us this week?  Stop by all of the DT Girlfriends blogs for inspiration and then link up your spooky design at Little Red Wagon.  We will be sure to visit your blog :)

Shopping, Scrabble and Pumpkin Cake

This past weekend, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada.  It is one of my absolute favorite times of the whole year.  I love the change of seasons that seem to usher in this special holiday.  The cooler air, the beautiful colors on the trees, the pretty potted mums, sweaters, the first fire in the fireplace.  And when you add all of that to a delicious meal shared with family and friends - pure love!

One of the things that made this weekend extra special is that my two lovely sisters and my niece and her friend joined us for the weekend.  They drove in from Michigan and we had a little over 24 hours to fit in some girl time in addition to enjoying our Thanksgiving dinner.

So on Saturday afternoon after they arrived, we went to St. Jacobs for a bit of shopping.  The weather was perfect with the exception of a little wind.  The sun was shining and really only a sweater was needed to keep us warm.  The fall decorations and the delightful little shops made for a perfect afternoon.

We started out with the best of intentions to act mature, but that quickly went by the wayside.  Especially when we saw these great blingy, cat-eye sunglasses!  And I don't even want to talk about the variety of hats we had to try on!

Then it was home for dinner, some food prep for our Thanksgiving meal the next day and a quiet evening.  Sunday morning came early and began with Mass, a most appropriate way to pause and reflect on the many blessings in our lives.  When we returned home, the delicious smell of turkey greeted us but we still had a few hours before dinner.  So out came the Scrabble board. We are huge Scrabble fans (with some taking the game more seriously than others!) and we were happy to squeeze in a game.   

We couldn't convince the guys to join in, so it was just the five girls.

Can you believe these tiles I had?  I refused to throw them back in for new ones and I actually ended up winning the game :)

Then came the dinner.  The highlight of our day.  There is something about breaking bread together that brings such a sense of intimacy.  A gathering of loved ones, sharing a meal, giving thanks... it makes my heart overflow.

Little candles and shortbread pumpkin-shaped cookies greeted each family member.

 And everything was delicious!

For dessert, my son's girlfriend made Pavlova - an incredible dessert consisting of melt-in-your-mouth meringue, fresh whipped cream and berries.  Oh.my.goodness! 

And I made Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing!  Can you say, "Died and gone to heaven?"

My sweet friend, Janice, shared her recipe with me and it was incredibly good.  She made hers with Maple Frosting, which I would like to try sometime, but I will say the Cinnamon Cream Cheese icing was amazing!

Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try~

Pumpkin Cake

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt

In a large bowl mix both sugars, oil, eggs, and pumpkin well.  Add remaining ingredients and stir well.  Pour into 2 round cake pans and bake at 350º for 25 - 30 minutes.  (I did not have cloves, so I substituted 1/2 teaspoon allspice and it was perfect.)  Let cool and then remove cake from pans and frost.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
4-1/2 to 5 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth.  Add vanilla and cinnamon and beat until combined.  Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Place one cake layer, upside down onto cake plate.  Add a generous layer of frosting.  Place second cake layer on top, right side up.  Spread remaining frosting on top and sides of cake.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts if desired.  Chill until ready to serve.  Take out of refrigerator about 1 hour before serving to let frosting soften slightly.

This cake can also be baked in a 9 x 13-inch pan.  Half of the frosting recipe would be plenty for a 9 x 13 cake.  Enjoy!

Little Red Wagon #258

Those of us who live in Canada are busy preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving this coming weekend - one of my favorite holidays! With that in mind, Tracy would like us to create a Thank You or Thanksgiving themed card for our challenge this week at Little Red Wagon.

I decided to create a fall-themed Thank You card.

I began by inking up some leaf die-cuts using my Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  I love how life-like the leaves look by adding the different colors.
 

Then I embossed a swirly background to give the feel of leaves falling to the ground.

Finally, I added a simple sentiment and some embellishments.  Clean and simple and I am happy with the results.

Please check out the creations from the other DT members at Little Red Wagon.  I am sure their designs will be gorgeous!  Then you can play along.  Just create a Thank You or Thanksgiving themed card and link it up.  We will be sure to visit your blog and you might even be picked as our Feature next Tuesday :) 

The Scrapbookers Blog Tour

My fellow scrapbooker and friend, Jayne Morgan, has nominated me to participate in the Scrapbookers Blog Tour.  What an honor!  Especially coming from Jayne, who is an incredibly talented scrapbooker and card maker and whose work I have always admired!

The Scrapbookers Blog Tour is meant to provide a little insight into the creative process of a wide and varied assortment of blogging scrapbookers, by answering a few simple questions.

So here we go.

What am I working on right now?

Right now, I am working mainly on cards. As a member of the Little Red Wagon Design Team, I am required to create a new card each week. This keeps me busy, but I love doing it!


How long does it take me to create a project?

Of course, that depends on what I am working on. I can usually create a card in about an hour.  If it is a layout, usually 4-6 hours, spread out over a couple of days. I normally will have an idea of what I want to do, get the main elements done fairly quickly and then I spend lots of time adding the details. I have a hard time knowing when my layout is finished – I am always asking myself if there is enough on the layout to make it interesting without overwhelming the photos.


What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

At the moment, I am having a real love affair with my Copic markers! I just love starting with a plain stamped image and then bringing that image to life with color!

I am also using my Silhouette Cameo more than ever!  And the more I use it, the more I love it!!


How does my creative process work?

A lot goes on in my head before I even start to work on a project. I normally will have the photos, paper and a sketch all set before I begin a layout. Then I just go for it!  I get the main elements in place and then I just let my creativity take over.  Sometimes, my finished design is nothing at all like I had originally envisioned it, but I like giving myself permission to let my projects go in the direction that feels right at the time.


How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

I am very inspired by the work and designs of other scrapbookers.  Some ladies are just so talented!  It might just be one small elements or idea that catches my eye and then I am totally inspired to take out my own papers and photos and create something new.  I also find that I am very inspired by layout sketches.  They seem to give me the starting point that I often need.


What is my signature style?

I would say that my scrapbooking style is very clean and organized.  Even if I am working with multimedia products, I still try to keep things from getting too messy!

That is not to say that I don't like layers, paint, ink, texture and all the other wonderful things that can be added to a page.  I just don't like when it gets out of control!  I especially love stitching and buttons - my two favorite embellies that you will often find on my designs!

Now I get to nominate another scrapbooker.  I am tagging my friend, Carolyn Wolff.  Carolyn has such a wonderful style that is very different from my own.  I always admire the layouts, cards and 3-D projects that she creates!  I am sure you will be very inspired when you visit her blog :)

Thanks for stopping by ~

Little Red Wagon #257

Jayne wants us in stitches this week at Little Red Wagon!  Real or faux, it doesn't matter, as long as there is stitching on our project.

I have to say that I absolutely LOVE Saturated Canary images, so I picked up this one called Roses are Red, Violets are Blue to use on my card this week. Then I went to work with my Copic Markers.

It took a while to color up this image, especially the hair, but I loved every minute of it! (Well, except when one of the markers decided to leave a large blob on the first image I tried coloring!)

I decided to go all out on my card this week!  I cut a bracket shaped card using my Silhouette and I even did hand-stitching along the edge of the patterned paper!

Then I pulled out my sewing machine and added more stitching around the image piece.

Some flowers, bling and ribbon gave the finishing touches.

Now we would love to see you in stitches too!  Head on over to Little Red Wagon and check out the great designs that the DT created and then link up your own.  See you there...

Little Red Wagon #256

The temperatures have cooled, some of the leaves are turning color and pretty mums are being displayed on many porches. Signs of Fall are all around us, including Carolyn's challenge at Little Red Wagon this week!  She wants to see a Fall Themed project.

I saw this sweet image from Sassy Cheryl's Stamps called Bountiful Blessing and I thought it would be perfect on a card for this week's challenge.  It brings back memories of visiting the pumpkin patch with our boys when they were younger.

I pulled together a few papers and buttons from my stash and did lots of layering. 

I even pulled out a border punch that I haven't used in forever and I found a clear sticker sentiment that worked perfectly with the image!

So, are you in the swing of Fall yet?  We hope you will join in the challenge at Little Red Wagon this week. Just create something with a Fall theme and then link it up. We will be sure to visit your blog :)

Chicken-Kale Pasta

Today was a good day!  Not only did I get my hair done, but I found a great recipe in a magazine that I read at the hair salon. When I looked at the recipe it had all the ingredients that I love - pasta, chicken, cheese, tomatoes!  Plus, when I realized that the recipe was one of Ree Drummond's (The Pioneer Woman) I knew it had to be good.

So, no, I did not rip the recipe out of the magazine - although I will admit to doing that once or twice in my lifetime - but my hair dresser photocopied it for me.  Then I gave it a try for dinner.

It was absolutely delicious!  The tomatoes and kale are barely cooked, so they stay nice and fresh.  Plus the 'sauce' is just chicken broth, white wine and Parmesan.  Not heavy at all and soooooo good!!

Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try.

Chicken-Kale Pasta

Ingredients:
1 - 16-oz. package whole-wheat or regular penne pasta
4 (6-oz.) skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut in 1-in. pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp. each extra virgin olive oil and unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
5 oz. kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup (4 oz.) shaved Parmesan cheese
Garnish: shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to Dutch oven; cover and keep warm.

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook chicken in a single layer in hot oil and melted butter in a large skillet over high heat, without stirring for 1 to 2 minutes.  Turn chicken; cook 2 minutes or until done.  Transfer chicken to a plate.

Add garlic to skillet.  Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds.  Add broth and wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet.  Simmer 6 to 8 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.  Add kale, stirring until kale wilts.

Add kale mixture to reserved pasta.  Stir in tomatoes, 1 cup Parmesan and reserved chicken; toss gently.  Top and serve with additional shaved Parmesan, if desired.

Little Red Wagon #255

Jan is posting the challenge this week at Little Red Wagon and she wants to see a shaped card.  No boring old squares or rectangles!  She want to see something different.

I found an adorable shaped card on the Silhouette store and decided to give it a try.

Since my Kitchen Aid mixer is one of my favorite things, I just loved the thought of making a card shaped like one!

Of course I had to use pink and some bling and a few candy dots!  Now I can't wait to give this card to someone special.

How would you like to venture out and make a card in a shape other than square or rectangle?  I know you can do it!  Be sure to link it up at Little Red Wagon.  See you there :)

I'd Rather Be Reading

There is nothing better than a good book! A book that you can really get lost in, that keeps you up way past your bedtime. Books where you feel the characters’ emotions, see their surroundings, become part of their story. I discovered this at a very young age as I fell in love with Pippi Longstocking and her many adventures and I still love being pulled into a good story to this day.

In the past few weeks, I have read three wonderful books:  The Orphan Train, Good Grief and Me Before You.

The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline - This book is based on a chapter from American history that I was not familiar with. Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by luck or chance. The story moves between a young, Irish immigrant, Vivian, living in the Depression Era, and a contemporary teen, Molly, who is in and out of foster homes. The weaving of a modern day story with a historical one is nothing short of brilliant. I loved, loved, loved this book!

Next up was Good Grief by Lolly Winston – I accidentally came upon this book while on my summer travels. For $4.00 at a resale shop, I picked up this book and was totally taken with the author’s writing style. To be able to write in a clever and humorous way about the grieving process takes incredible talent. The main character, Sophie, becomes a widow at the age of 36. She desperately wants to be a good widow - a graceful, composed Jackie Kennedy kind of widow. But, unfortunately, Sophie is more of a Jack Daniels kind. Downing cartons of ice-cream for breakfast, breaking down in the produce section of supermarkets, showing up to work in her bathrobe and bunny slippers, I laughed out loud a number of times while reading this book. I totally loved this book and am considering picking it for my Book Club selection in the fall.

Most recently I read Me Before You by JoJo Moyes – Thanks to my friend, Carolyn, for the recommendation of this book! It was wonderfully written, I couldn’t put it down. At the heart of this book is a romance between Louisa and Will, but it also involves Will’s struggle to live as a quadriplegic and Louisa’s determination to make him believe that life is worth living. This is one of the few books that actually moved me to tears at one point. I felt the pain of their relationship and their situation so deeply! It was an excellent read that made you think about the story long after the last page was read.

I am currently rereading Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.  I read it a couple of years ago and then it was chosen as our book club pick for September.  I will admit that I am enjoying it the second time around as much as I did when I initially read it! 

Everybody should believe in something.  I believe I'll read another chapter :)

Little Red Wagon #254

Cork is such an interesting item to work with when crafting, so this week at Little Red Wagon I would like to see some cork creations!

I actually had lots of fun with this challenge.  I picked up a couple of dozen used corks from a little shop while I was on vacation this summer so I decided to use one to create a card holder.  Then I created this card using a cork sheet and a Tim Holtz die.

After I cut the swirl and the flower, I dug deep into my wagon and found this gorgeous pearl flower.  A fabulous addition to my card!  Then I decided to use some corrugated paper as my background to keep with the textured feel of the cork.

Then a little twine bow and it's perfect!  At least I think so :)

Please join in the fun at Little Red Wagon this week.  Grab some cork and create something spectacular and then link it up.  We will be sure to stop by your blog and leave some love.

Fun & Games

Shelby has issued the challenge at Two Scrapbook Friends this month for the September Sketch and Crafty Challenge!  Her sketch is awesome and I enjoyed giving it a try!

I decided to pair her sketch with the new Wild Card line from BoBunny. I just love the colors and patterns in this line and I knew I had the perfect photos to go with it!

My family loves card and board games, with some of our favorites being Scrabble, Cribbage, and Euchre.
 

These photos were taken when my sister, Mary, and her family were visiting a couple of years ago.  Mary and I totally LOVE Scrabble, so it was fun for me to scrapbook some of the photos I took :)

I enjoyed combining some papers from other lines with the Wild Card papers and elements.  I used the dot side from one of BoBunny's new Chevron Papers and I also created my GAMES banner using a paper from BoBunny's Souvenir line.

The dominoes, poker chips and cards were from the die-cut pack.  Such awesome elements!

Of course I added a little camera element to complete the Crafty part of Shelby's challenge.

Now, I know I can't win the $25.00 prize up for grabs this month, but you can!  You can find all the details to join in the challenge at Two Scrapbook Friends by clicking HERE.  Have fun!