Reader Gallery

A big shout out to Laura Achilles and her May WIP creations!! I saw these over at 2 Peas and I wanted to share them with you all today...

Please feel free to share your layouts with us--I love featuring them here and on our Facebook Fan page!!

Have a great Friday!

Cookie Bar Fun

A homemade Snickers? Angels are singing...

Three ingredients to a homemade 3 Musketeer bar. Heaven.

Oh, the Twix bar is calling my name...

By now, you're thinking I'm the source of your candy cravings, huh? Nope--you can thank Be Different, Act Normal. Now, go join her facebook page so you can stay on top of cool things like this, will you? I think I'm her #1 fan and want to show her some love...

Happy Thursday!

Playing with the May WIP Kits...

In honor of Earth Day... (I do love this tree hugger!)
This is what I did with that punched cardstock...

Enjoyed using the pennant JBS stickers and my new Silhouette on this one...

I made that ribbon flower using the vintage lace in the add-on kit. Love those Lily Bee frames too--I used the negative to create the frame for the photo...

Noticeably absent was a lot of journaling on my layouts this month. I wasn't feeling it. Sometimes, you gotta just go with the flow, kwim?

Wait til you see what the DT has created with this one...
Enjoy your hump day!

First Communion & Confirmation Gift Ideas

It's that time of year again...

For those of you looking for a thoughtful gift, you might want to try the "I Hope" Carousel that I posted about here. It remains in our daughter's bedroom as a source of inspiration to her...

This hammered sterling silver cross is perfect for either occasion...

Three Cups is a wonderful book for children. It talks about the importance and value of money, giving, and saving appropriately without turning kids off.

I'd love to hear any creative ideas you'd like to share. Feel free to provide a link if you'd like!!

Have a great Tuesday!!

Ten Things.

Good Monday Morning to you!

I haven't done a "Ten Things" post in a while. Long overdue...

1. Glad I took the time to plant tulips last fall (worth freezing my tail off, too!). Lots of these all over the front and back of the house, and I'm in heaven. Also love the milk glass containers all over here lately. So fond of that stuff...
2. My mom double-dog dared me to grab some of these lilacs off a bush at the VFW yesterday, and to my daughter's horror, I was giggling in delight. In the rain, screeching the whole time--my mom was in stitches. I know, great example, eh? Happy to grab her some, too! Shameful!!

3. Notice a theme here? I'm itching to garden! I started some herbs indoors early, and I love the way they look and smell...
4. Leftovers from a sleepover with 3 boys this weekend. I don't know if it is because of the Ali E. Week in the Life thing or what, but I'm appreciating a lot of the little things this lately. Someday I'll miss these toys...

5. The Straight from the Nest Cricut Cartridge that Ms. Laina Lamb designed for Three Birds is quite simply, a must-have. Check it out here. This is a 12x12 cut piece of paper that I can't wait to use. Also anxiously awaiting to see what the next one looks like!!

6. This commercial. Everyone is singing it in our house, and when it comes on, we all stand and march to it. Crazy.

7. Anxiously awaiting upcoming info from Karen and Erin about more fun stuff coming down the pike. I'm an out-of-the-closet stalker to both of them and I look forward to see what they have up their sleeves...

8. Trying this new eggplant parm recipe for dinner tonight.

9. Working on a cool Teacher Appreciation Bulletin Board for my daughter's school next week. I went and did a photo shoot on Friday, and intentionally over-edited 20 of my favorite pictures. I added favorite teacher-related quotes, and picked them up at Costco today. I love how they turned out, and hope they do, too. If this works out, I may do 2 more schools...

10. Sponsoring the Willow Traders Challenge this week. Special thanks to Julie (I love you, girl) for all the hard work she put in doing this all month long. Be sure to check it out for a chance to win!!

Enjoy your Monday!

Teacher Appreciation Week

National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3-7, 2010 this year. In an effort to get a jump-start on things, we thought we'd share a few of our favorite links and ideas with you so you can finish up a special appreciation gift for your teacher...

This website is devoted entirely to teacher appreciation. SO many ideas and links--be sure to check it out!! I found a list of poems and quotes there--perfect for cards or bulletin boards!!

Skip to My Lou has a whole lot of ideas. They've been inspiring me for years with all their creative stuff--I love that site!! This post on candy gram ideas is at the top of my list...

Bunny Cakes did a cute Bundt Cake Brownie Roll...

Make and Takes offers a great list of practical and affordable gifts for your favorite teacher...

And Family Fun has a great list of little ways to say "Thank You" as well...

Have a great weekend!!

Who doesn't love chocolate?

Found this recipe in my Women's Health magazine and had to share!

Blueberry Almond turtles

7 Tbsp (2.5 oz) 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli)
1/4 cup dried wild blueberries (sold in produce section)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Microwave chocolate in a glass bowl for 60 to 75 seconds or until melted. Stir in blueberries and nuts, then drop 5 rounded tablespoons onto parchment paper. Cool in refrigerator for 2 to 4 minutes or until firm.

Makes 5 turtles.

Per turtle: 104 cal, 8 g fat (3.5 g sat), 0 mg sodium, 9 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein

Do your part!

Well since Earth day is today I thought the perfect craft to share would be one in which you could use items already used or at home.  I made this adorable paper bag wreath.  I used the tutorial from MaryJanes and Galoshes.

Instead of using a punch I used my Cuttlebug and my Spellbinders scallopped Nestabilities.

I used a lot more lunch bags than were called for in the tutorial but I think it is entirely up to you.

And then I just used a hot glue gun to adhere them on the wreath.  Here is the finished result.

I used 3 different Martha butterfly punches.  I used vintage book paper for them.

I hope you give it a try!

Michelle

I'm a Gleek. Big.Time.

Last year, two friends tipped me off to Glee early on. I was sold on the first episode. I love the music and satire--I love everything about it. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I do tune in on Tuesdays!! Last night's Madonna episode was nothing short of over-the-top wonderful. If you missed it, check it out here.
It got me thinking. This incredible layout from Laura Vegas last week spoke to me.

So I googled "Glee Cast Photos" and came up with these.

So you know what's on my to-do list today, right??

Yep. Scrapping AND rockin' out to Madonna like it was 1985 again, thank you very much.

Like, Totally...

Mini-folder-album Tutorial

I was recently requested on my blog for some larger pictures of the mini-folder-album I did for the April gallery. This then prompted a blog post, tutorial included. If you still have that lovely lavender file folder left from that kit, (or if not, just get another one), it would make a great Mother’s Day gift for that upcoming celebration.

you will need:
file folder
scoring tool
ruler
bone folder
sewing machine
a WIP kit in which to embellish


1. Start with a typical office supply folder.


2. Open folder flat and score 4-inches from the bottom of the folder.



3. Fold this portion into the rest of the folder.



4. Invert the existing fold so that it folds inward.



5. Fold left side into middle fold.



6. Fold right side into middle fold. (This is not a science, if the folds do not meet perfectly in the center, it will still look great).



7. The mini-folder should look something like this now.



8. Sew pockets on the scored creases up to the 4-inch mark.



9. Remember to sew up the right and left side end as well. You should now have four pockets.



10. Now have fun adding patterned papers, photos, and embellishments. As the folder I made with the April kit is a Mother’s Day gift for my mother-in-law, I plan on having each of the kiddos to write her a note and slip it inside the pocket behind their photo.

Fun Weekend...

Spent Saturday crafting with some fun gals at a crop. We've decided that Martha's punches are simply irresistible (Thanks for the enabling, Amy!!)...
And that Shannon Tidwell was an inspiration to us all...

And that the May kit is really easy to use...

And that we should get together again real soon. So wonderful to spend time with other women who enjoy this amazing hobby and sharing it. Special thanks to Carol who personally taught each one of us how to use the Design Studio on the Cricut--and all the fun explosion boxes!! Fifteen minutes tops--and the cutest projects ever!!

Ready to start this week and be creative!! Stay tuned...

Aunt Blanche's Cookies

An oldie, but a goodie, from back in the day...

Aunt Blanche's Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

2 C. Sugar

2 C. Oatmeal

1 stick butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine sugar, butter and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat but continue to boil for 5 minutes. Add chocolate chips, vanilla and oatmeal. Drop by spoonfuls onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Chill to set cookies. Keep cool and in an air-tight container. Makes 3 dozen.

**Be sure to stop over to the WIP Facebook Fan page and leave a comment for a chance to win a May WIP Kit!! Simply state your latest favorite product, and you could win!! A winner will be announced on Sunday evening.**

Enjoy your weekend!

Anatomy of a First Birthday Party...

Hi Everyone! :)

Remember this post about birthday party inspiration that I wrote awhile back? Well, I realized that I never actually came back to share the details of Mirielle's First Birthday Party! I decided when Miri was about six months old that I wanted to have a Hungry Caterpillar themed party. I researched decorations and cakes and invitations. But as the date grew closer, I realized that to choosing a really specific theme would really mean a lot more work for me. Instead I decided to pick an easy theme. My 30th birthday party was a carnival theme, which I really liked, but we couldn't do exactly the same thing for Miri. So I started thinking about other possible themes. And if you can believe it, the entire party ended up being based on an outfit!

I have known since just about forever that Miri would wear a birthday tee by Resa Design. We have a number of other shirts from her and are big fans! For the bottom, we would use the ever popular tutu!! Miri has three different tutus (all were gifts!) in blue, pink, and red. After looking at fabric choices on the Resa Design webpage, I knew that my best bet was the red tutu with an blue and red "1". And that is how the theme of the part was born!! Here she is in her birthday outfit. :)

The invitations were from Photo Affections, which is the same site that we had previously used for our birth announcements and Christmas Cards. I think this was technically the "boy" invitation, but it worked for us!

Decorations included party hats, gift bags, and cupcakes toppers made by The Polkadot Pinwheel etsy shop. To be honest, I probably could have made this all myself, but I figured it would save me a lot of time and energy and stress to just pay somebody else to do it! I ordered the matching paper (which was really difficult to find!!) and made some homemade banners. We also had some gorgeous red tulips. :)

I even made a banner for her chair! :)

To eat we served basic appetizers, but included some fun treats like shaped sandwiches for the kiddos and jelly beans in the party colors.

Our tasty cupcakes were made by a local bakery, but I purchased special cupcake liners from another etsy shop, Cupcake Confessional. They were really inexpensive and helped tie everything together!

The gift bags included bubbles, crayons, cookies, and candy. Everything in the bag fit the red and blue theme. :)

So there you have it! A not-too tough to throw together first birthday party. I think Mirielle enjoyed it! :)