Cuttlebug Challenge & Annivesary Card

My hubby & I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary tomorrow and are actually getting away for a night! I am so looking forward to adult time and some time for just us to be together. We are not really focusing on gifts this year but more on where we are staying and what we are doing. However, I couldn't just not do anything so I made him a card.

Now, for those of you who know me well, you know I am obsessed with Twilight - particularly Edward. That was actually the inspiration for my card too. To me, my husband is my Edward. That is one way I think I can communicate to him how absolutely crazy in love with him I am. He is my very best friend. How much I would do anything for him and give up anything for him. He isn't perfect, but he is the one I was always looking for and am so blessed to have found. By the way, we met on a blind date through mutual friends and our first phone conversation was 5 1/2 hours long! I just knew that I was going to marry him then!

This card also corresponds with the challenge over at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot. It was to make a gatefold card, which is something I had not done before, but am absolutely in love with now! They are so easy and I just love how they look!

For this card I used cardstock from The Paper Studio and the patterned script paper is by Autumn Leaves I think. I burned the edges of it to make it really distressed. The ribbon is from Michaels and I used both the Swiss Dots and Swirls Cuttlebug folders. I also used my Cricut carts Indie Art for the key, George for the heart, and Mini Monograms for the scalloped circle. The inside of the card coordinates with the outside with the same papers, except the red vellum, which is also by The Paper Studio. On it I printed, You are my Edward...., in an Edwardian Script font. I used my Crop A Dile to punch some eyelets in which I finished off with some ribbon from stash which I think is from Michael's too.

To present the card to my hubby, I wrapped it up in a big bow just like he was getting a gift. I loved how it looked that way and I hope he loves it! Happy Scrapping!


"A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing."

Band Camp

Thanks to the awesome sketches that Stephanie does, it seems I am on a roll this week! She put some new ones up at Scrapsketch and you really need to check them out. I used this one for the inspiration for this layout.

The photos were taken the day of concert when our son went to his first band camp last month. He had so much fun staying in the dorms at the university and just playing music. He is already looking forward to next year!

I used K&Co. and American Crafts papers on this layout, except for the journaling block, which is Autumn Leaves and the title, which is actually recycled packaging from a Basic Grey product. I used my Mini Mongorams for the scalloped circle, Home Accents for the journaling tag, & All Mixed up and Opposites Attract for the title. The butterflies I hand cut from from some K&Co. paper and the butterfly brads I actually picked up at my local Dollar Tree. The orange raffia I had in my stash and I used a brown gel pen from Michael's for the journaling. Oh, and I also used some coffee colored StampCraft ink to distress my edges some.

I hope to post some more stuff that I have been working on this evening for The Lime Light. I just have two more cards to finish up! Happy Scrapping!


"A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing."

Silly

I got this layout done over the weekend and it came together so fast thanks to a layout sketch by guest designer Terri Berrios over at Scrapsketch. Scrapsketch is owned by Stephanie Vaughn, who does iScrap and is also a WSB DT member. I just love, love, love the sketches Stephanie does - they are modern, fun and make scrapping super easy! She also has fabulous inspiration for all the sketches too as she is so very talented, along with her DT!

The photos for these layout are my hubby and I at a Redhawks game last year. We were just being silly and goofing off and I thought they fit this sketch perfect. The cardstock is Bazzill and I just spatter painted it with some Apple Barrel black acrylic paint. The crumpled up piece of paper is recycled from a letter and I just inked it with some StampCraft ink in black. The yellow paper is DCWV and I believe the polka dot paper is by American Craft, but I could be wrong. The title and the brackets are Thickers. I used my Cricut Mini Mongrams cart for the scallop circle and the journal paper is Bazzill, which I inked. The ribbon is American Crafts & I also used SU's scallop punch.

I hope you take the time to hop on over to Stephanie's awesome sites. They rock and I just know you will love them as much as I do!

Well, off to finish baking cookies, doing laundry and finishing my Lime Light projects. Hopefully I can get those posted tonight as well! Happy Scrapping!

"A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing."

Ay Caramba!

Those who know me well, know I love to cook! Every weekend I like to try a new recipe out on my family and this week my family just loved it - so I just had to share! I decided to make Ay Caramba! Chicken Spaghetti, a recipe I came across completely randomly! I was actually googling bird house images and found this at The Apron Queen's Reviews. Go figure! Anyway, it completely caught my eye and I ended up making it and am so glad I did! Oh, and the photo came off the Apron Queen's site because I didn't take a picture of mine - we ate it too fast!


Here is the recipe:

3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless, bite-sized pieces)
1/4 - 1 cup colorful bell peppers (diced)
Small onion (diced)
1/4 cup butter or margarine

12 oz of Mexican Mild Velveeta cheese
10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
10 oz diced tomatoes (optional- with green chiles)
1 package of taco seasoning mix

16 oz of spaghetti (cooked)

1) Put on your apron! And heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Prepare the spaghetti per package directions. Drain and set aside.

3) Saute the chicken, bell peppers and onions in butter or margarine in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until cooked through, for approximately 5-10 minutes.

4) In the same skillet, add the Mexican Mild Velveeta cheese, cream of chicken soup and milk. Heat until melted, stirring frequently. Add the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning mix and cook until heated through.

5) Spoon the spaghetti into a 13x9 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and cover with chicken and cheesy tomato sauce.

6) Bake 15-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Serve with a simple salad, garlic bread and tall glasses of sweet iced tea. Save room for fun Reese's cupcakes.

7) Do not forget the secret ingredient. You MUST perform the Chicken Dance at least once while cooking.

My son helped me in the kitchen with this one since it does take a little bit of prep time. And yes, we did do the chicken dance which my husband found very entertaining! I did alter it some to meet my familiy's likes, which meant using onion powder instead of onions and omitting the bell peppers. Also, I used the cilantro & lime Rotel because it is our fav and just adds a little something extra to the flavors in a dish. I also just used regular Velveeta because I could not find Mexican Velveeta for the life of me at the store. Any other time they have it, but when I need it, no. That's my luck. However, my family thought it was perfect just the way it is and I probably won't change a thing when I make it again. It was just so yummy! This recipe makes a large portion. We had enough leftover for all of us to have leftovers for lunch and we all had seconds last night too!

I also wanted to bake some chocolate chip pecan cookies, but didn't get to it so I am gonna bake those tonight while trying to finish my scrapping I need to get done. I got one layout done that I need to post and have several projects I have to finish up for The Lime Light DT. So, you should be hearing more from tonight or in the morning! In the meantime, cook this dish! You will love it!


"A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing."

Before & After - WSB Challenge 21

The latest challenge over at Whimsical Scraps & Bugs was to use the ampersand (&) from any of the Cricut cartridges on some type of project - could be layout, card, altered item, it did not matter. So for my project, I used the ampersand from the All Mixed Up cart on a layout about my most recent haircut that I am not crazy about. Thank God it is growing back fairly quickly and I don't plan on doing anything to it for a long time! Well, I don't think so anyway!!

I need to make sure to give credit to Stephanie over at iScrap. She is a DT member for WSB and she is one amazing scrapper! Her sketches are just fabulous and I have to admit I pretty much scraplifted this one completely from hers that was titled, A Good Read and used the Don Juan cartridge. Click here to check out some of Stephanie's amazing work! I also want to make sure I give some love to my son, TJ, too. He took the top photo of me one morning a week or so ago and I think he did a really great job. He loves cameras & taking photos and I am hoping he gets more into it as he gets older.

For my layout, I used All Mixed Up, Opposites Attract, and Mini Monograms. The cardstock is The Paper Studio and the other papers are Making Memories. Also, all this pink is quite a stretch for me and a challenge unto itself. I do like pink, but I am just not use to scrapping it a lot as I have mostly guys pages and stuff. So it was definitely fun to step out my little safety zone! I did some faux stitching around the edge of the die cut paper with a pen for some more detail and inked the edges of some of the papers with Studio G ink in a really deep fuschia. The silk flower is actually from the Dollar Tree. I just buy them in bunches there, get exactly what I need, then take them apart when I get home. Super easy and super affordable. The funky ribbon I picked up at Wal-Mart but I don't remember the brand.

This was a super easy project thanks to Stephanie's awesome sketch! I hope you take the time to jump on over to the WSB blog and see what all the DT members did. There are some super, super cute projects on the site! Make sure to leave us a comment too - we would love to hear what you have to say!

Happy Scrapping!


"A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing."

Could've Been

The title says it all....this could've been a fantastic photo. But, like my journaling says, our son wasn't having any of it!

I took this photo last weekend while we were at Lake Eufala for the holiday. I wanted this photo so bad and wanted it to turn out just perfect. Needless to say it didn't in the way I expected to, but at the same time it is perfect in that it conveys that sometimes life isn't perfect at all. TJ was hot, tired, and wanted to swim. So I decided to scrap it anyway. It is life and it shows that not everytime I bring out the camera everyone is all smiles. It also gave me an opportunity to explore a different scrapping style than I usually do and I really enjoyed that!

I used All Mixed Up for the title and added dimensional paint. The chipboard is Basic Grey, and I used my watercolor pencils to color/blend everything. I used K&Co. paper, as well as American Craft, My Mind's Eye and I am not sure who the paisley swirled paper is by. The orange flower is Petaloo and the turqoise center is Prima. I also used stickles, Studio G ink/stamp, and the buttons, metal swirls and ribbon are just from my stash.

The only thing is, I am not crazy about the title. I mean, I like the words I chose, but I am not sure that it goes with everything else. Seems like it is missing something, but I am not sure. What do you think?

Oh, and I also forgot that I also did this layout for a challenge over at Magistical Memories that I seen on Scrapbook Calls. It was to use a song title or lyrics on your page, so I used Tiffany's "Could've Been." I know, I know, now I am showing my age! LoL! I just love using song lyrics or titles as inspiration though and they are incorporated somehow in the majority of my layouts.


"A Proud member of The Lime Light. Click on over to see what we are doing."

Basking in the Lime Light

I am so super excited to say that I have been chosen to be part of the design team for The Lime Light! Woo Hoo!!

For those not familiar with the site, The Limelight Scrappers are a DT who have a unique purpose...they use their crafting skills to bring light and life to others in need. The charitable design team uses their crafting skills to make cards and bookmarks for our men and women in uniform, make journals for families whose children are in the hospital, make cards for baskets that help raise money for playground equipment, and more! Their latest project was creating cards and layouts to raise funds for animal rescue shelters! How cool is that?! Especially since that is a project very near and very dear to my heart, due to our beloved fur baby Sid, who himself is a rescue.

Everyone is encouraged to check out the site and visit often to see what the DT is up to and how you could even help a good cause too! I hope you not only take the time to visit the site, but to also help out if you get a chance with any of the projects that interest you. We would love to see you there!!

And, here are the rest of the Crafting Ambassadors for the The Limelight Scrappers DT!

1. Lori-livelaughscrap-leedle.blogspot.com (Consulting Ambassador)
2. Melanie-courtney-lane.blogspot.com
3. Diana-dianasausomecreationsetc.blogspot.com
4. Randi-randijc.blogspot.com
5. Leah-paperblossoms.blogspot.com
6. Terry-inspire-a-tion.blogspot.com (Publicity Director)
7. Gracie-everythingcricut.blogspot.com (Team Leader)
8. Ruth-ruelysicreativecards.blogspot.com (Quarterly Project Co-Director)
9. Lorraine-coldwaters2.blogspot.com (Consulting Ambassador)
10. Chris-mudmaven.blogspot.com
11. Lisa R.-blog coming soon!
12. Bonnie-alifeunrehearsed2.blogspot.com
13. Peg-pegscraftingcorner.blogspot.com
14. Sammye Jo-www.62cards.blogspot.com
15. Tammy-ladybugandcompany.blogspot.com (Quarterly Task Co-Director)
16. Joy-www.obsessedwithscrapbooking.com (Design Director)
17. Susan-suescricutandcrafts.blogspot.com (Training Director)
18. Sandra-t42originals.blogspot.com

Happy Scrapping!

Band Camp Baby & the Summertime Blues!

Last week our son went to his first band camp at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He had an absolute blast staying in the dorms and learned so much during his time there. He made new friends and learned some jazz techniques that we have been hearing since he got home! LOL! I was blessed enough to get a half day off work last Wednesday to drive down and see him perform; it was great! There are so many super talented kids out there and I am so happy that my son has such a love for music - just like we do. It can really take him places if he wants it to! I just keep waiting to hear the line.... "and this one time, at band camp," come out of his mouth!!! LOL! Here is to hoping it never does!!! LOL!

After he gets back Wednesday night, we start packing and getting ready for our weekend adventure. To celebrate the 4th of July, we left Friday and spent the weekend at Lake Eufala with some friends who invited us down. They were kind enough to let us stay in one of their RVs and we were happy to have one of TJs friends, Jake, join us so that TJ wouldn't be the only child there.

The best part of the trip was our time at the beach Saturday and the boys had so much fun! Needless to say, the rest was an adventure with the least of problems being the fact that it POURED rain all Saturday evening and early into Sunday...so no fireworks! And, cold smores in the RV since campfires won't burn in the rain! LOL!

The boys rolled with the punches (as did we all) and by gosh, on Sunday morning we had our own daylight fireworks display! Despite all the minor bumps along the way, it was a great trip and I wouldn't have changed a thing (except for the rain probably!) no matter what. The kids had a great time, our boxer baby, Sid, enjoyed his first camping trip and my husband made one heck of a brisket! What more can a girl ask for!!

Happy Scrapping!

Smile - WSB Animal Crackers Challenge

The latest challenge over at the Whimsical Scraps and Bugs site was to use your Cricut to create a project featuring an animal. You could use any cartridge you liked, just as long as an animal was involved. I decided to use Paper Pups as my love for our fur baby knows no limits!!!

For this card I cut both the dog and the sentiment from Paper Pups. The black cardstock is Bazzill and the patterned paper is DCWV from the Green Stack. I distressed the edges of the paper and added a flower by Petaloo, as well as a button from my stash which I threaded with embroidery thread.

This is a pretty simple card, but I do like how it turned out. It is kind of playful and I like that it suited the mood I wanted too. Oh, and before I forget, I used a card sketch from PageMaps too! Almost forgot to give the shout out! LOL!

If you have a chance, hop on over to the WSB site and check out all the other awesome creations that are there! The DT members really went above and beyond this time with some amazing projects! Also, make sure to check out the site tomorrow for our next challenge - we would love to have you play along!

Happy Scrapping!

Pinky Rules!

I just love Pinky's blog - Much Ado About Nothing! And, right now she is giving aways some fun and amazing blog candy!

But even better than the blog candy is a chance to browse her site and she all her awesome creations! She is so amazingly talented and I just adore her style! Make sure to check her out by clicking here!

Happy Scrapping!