Strawberry Festival Part II

As I promised, here is the 2nd half to my 'Strawberry Festival'. I'm taking Angie's (duckwaddlequack) advice and trying to use up an entire sheet of designer paper before moving on.

For this card I used Kraft, Mellow Moss and Very Vanilla card stock. This time I cut my cardstock length wise (instead of width wise) for a little different shape. New envelopes are top on my list to be ordered with my new catalog order (to be discussed tomorrow.. please stay tuned for further announcements... LOL). Again I used the Boston Garden designer paper from DaisyD's and a little celery and cream stripped ribbon from May Arts. Once I had the background of the card completed I moved onto the strawberry insert. This time I used a 2 1/2" square of mellow moss card stock and a 2 1/4" square of very vanilla card stock. The strawberries are again stamped in the Black Noir Pallet ink and are colored in Real Red and Always Artichoke SUP © makers. This time, the bowl was colored with Mellow Moss and Blush Blossom. I added a little dimension to the bowl by giving it a little highlight with the Blush Blossom marker. The squiggles are free hand using my black SUP journaler.

Are you ready for the inside. I didn't take a picture of it but I have a piece of very vanilla card stock and an identical recipe (as below) printed on Kraft card stock with the same Strawberries in Lemon~Lavender Syrup (as below). Because the card stocks were virtually the same size, I layered them giving myself just enough room to stamp "fresh from the garden" in real red along the top and down the right side. This one's going to my Aunt in New Hampshire. I'm sure she'll adore it.

Play it forward.... Game

Hey everyone.. Want to play a fun play it forward game. Go check out this thread on SCS.. Thanks Gina K for the inspiration for such an awesome game.

So much to talk about

I can't believe it was 10 years ago today Dean and I were married. It seems like it was just yesterday. (Maybe that's because it was as hot and humid yesterday as it was on our wedding day.. and we all know big old catholic churches don't have central air.. LOL) . This was one of my favorite pictures taken by my SIL.. I'm not sure if this was before or after Dean chugged the wine (guess his nerves were getting the best of him). Thank you Dean for the most wonder 10 years. I'm looking forward to the next 50.

This has been a wonderful week of HAPPY MAIL.. This first card was a wonderful birthday card from Deb... I love her advice. I'm not 40.. I'm 28 with 22 years experience.

These 2 cards I received from my new DDSS for round 8. How awesome are these? This is one of my new favorite sets (not replacing but to be used in conjunction with "Carte Postale").. Baroque Motifs. OHH there's so much that can be done with this new set. Swirls are quickly becoming my favorite. They so easily go with my 'shabby chic' style.. Thanks Sis..

Strawberry Festival Part I

I just love this little strawberry stamp from Lockhart stamps. Lockhart is running a 'recipe' contest which inspired me to make this recipe card (no worries.. I didn't enter.. I wasn't brave enough yet.. LOL).. I've made a few cards using this same theme (I'm thinking of putting a whole collection together of recipe/ all occasion cards to give as gifts.. )

This recipe card uses mellow moss and kraft card stock along with Boston Garden designer paper (Beacon Hill collection from Daisy D's). The designer paper was punched with my all time favorite Martha Stewart floral punch (not quite sure if that is the correct name but it fits.. ((grin)).. Below the floral punch I stamped "Fresh from the garden" in Real Red. The designer paper was attached using 2 antique brass brads. The ribbon is red/ cream striped ribbon from May Arts. I stamped the strawberries in Pallette hybrid, Noir ink. The strawberries were colored with SUP markers in Real Red, Always Artichoke for the stems, Bordering Blue for the bowls and the dots are my nifty White Gel Souffle Pen. I printed the recipe for 'Strawberries in Lemon Lavender Syrup' on Kraft card stock and put it all together. Here's the recipe..

Strawberries in Lemon-Lavender Syrup

1 pound fresh strawberries
6 tablespoons water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons dried lavender flowers

Whipped cream (optional)

Rinse and drain strawberries. Remove stems & slice into a large bowl. Set aside. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine water, lemon juice, sugar and lavender. Simmer (stirring occasionally) for about 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and lavender is infused. Remove from heat & strain syrup, discarding the blossoms. Pour strained syrup over strawberries. Gently toss. Serve berries & syrup right away in pretty glass bowls or stemmed glasses. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired. Note: You can prepare the syrup in advance and let it cool. Toss with berries just before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Yummy.. Just like Grandma would make.

Keep cool (yesterday here in NY it was 99... Hazy Hot and Humid.. Today their predicting it to be much hotter.. :) ... Stay tuned for Part II... :)

It's my Party....

And I'll sing if I want to.. For all of you on the verge of 40 I am happy to report that when I woke the morning, there was no mustache, my boobs were in the same place they were yesterday (get your minds out of the gutter.. whoops that was my mind).. My butt from what I can tell, did not head south.. I reportedly snored the same last night as I've done every other night, and fabulously no grey hair (hahahah, you can't tell cause it's foiled..) So basically.. There was no change. I look the same as I did yesterday (I'm not quite sure if that's good or bad) and many many days before that.. So far today I've received emails sporting grim reapers and had my mother play the 'death march' on the phone instead of singing Happy Birthday.. The day can only get better.. It's certainly much better for (drum roll...)... comment # 15

Cindy Vernon..

Cindy said.. "Love the flip flop cards and the tutorials. Great job! "..

Cindy, you have won a $10 gift certificate from Eclectic Paperie.

Ah shucks, we didn't hit the 5K views.. so the other $10 gift certificate will be awarded to one lucky subscriber (or) someone who sends someone over to my blog when we hit the 5K mark (which we all know won't take long).. Off to celebrate some more.. :)

2 days remaining....

Hey everyone.. You still have 2 days to get your comments in for my birthday blog candy giveaway.. Go HERE... to leave your comment to be entered to win.. Hi ho Hi ho it's off to stamp I go.. (Even though as a lingering effect from yesterday's birthday party I'm now suffering from a terrible headache.. I'm not sure if it was the frozen pina colada's or old age.. LOL)

Wow those are big clothespins...

Don't' forget to scroll down to my birthday blog candy giveaway while your here... :) You still have 4 days to enter ...

Don't you just love these over sized wooden clothespins? I sure do... The best place I found them was at Oriental Trading Company (item # IN-65/90061 for the natural and IN-65/90062 for the white.. 5.95 for 3 which makes them about 2 bucks each before shipping.. now that's a good price).. I have a few birthday's coming up and a few RAK's to send out so last night I made 7 of these bad boys. They were so easy and so much fun. Here's' how..

Clothes pin size 1 1/2" x 6"

Cut your designer paper to 3"x6".. then cut in 1/2 lengthwise (I have both a large and small paper cutter.. my large cutter starts at 2" so anything smaller then that I need to cut on my little Fiskar's cutter)... so that you have 2 pieces of designer paper sized 1 1/2" x 6".. Cut each piece of paper at 2 1/4 " so that you now have 4 pieces of paper.. (2) 1 1/2" x 2 1/4" and (2) 1 1/2" x 3 3/4". I used the same piece of designer paper for the entire clothes pin but an alternative could be to apply a solid piece of card stock to either the top or the bottom and then the designer paper to the other. Apply your paper to clothes pin using modgepodge. Once the modgepodge is dry, lightly sand the edges of the clothes pin to give it a distressed look. Now it's time to embellish. I personally chose to apply prima's with a pop up dimensional glue dot & added a little bling in the center. The tags were punched out using Stampin Up's © small and large oval punches. The large was a piece of coordinating card stock and the small in whisper white. "Wonderful' from SUP's warm words was stamped using black noir Palette ink. I then used a coordinating SUP marker to highlight the word. To attach the tag I applied a matching brad and then ran either a piece of silver cord or twine through the spring of the clothes pin, added the tag and tied it off. Viola' I was done.. Quick and Easy.. :)

Retired Accessories List

Hey everyone.. The Stampin' Up © Retired Accessories List has been posted. Please see the link (eyes moving to the bottom left of the page) under Gardening Blogs. Please contact me via email ASAP if there's anything you need to order. Pay close attention to the card stocks and ribbons.. All of the grosgrain ribbons are on the list.. HMMM what could that mean come July 1st?

Sketch Challenge

Just a reminder... Don't forget to cruise on down the page to my Birthday Blog Candy giveaway.. You have until Monday at 11:59 PM to get your comments posted...

You must go on over to check out Shadowcatcher at Poetic Artistry.. She's playing blogger bingo. To speed up the game she's offered a sketch challenge using the following sketch (this image is from her blog and is not my creation). You should give it a try..

Here's my interpretation of her sketch.. I used so saffron, buckaroo blue, whisper white and daisyd cardstock.. The stamps are the agapanthus bloom and agapanthus cluster from Eclectic Paperie along with warm words from SUP. The agapanthus bloom was stamped in the buckaroo blue. But before I stamped it onto the So Saffron, I stamped off on a piece of scrap paper to make the blue much lighter. The agapanthus cluster and 'happiness' were colored with SUP markers in night of navy, bordering blue and mellow moss. I then added a prima flower with a making memories pearl dot and a little Prepschool stitched ribbon. Lastly I finished it off by distressing the edges with a little so saffron ink. Do you like?

1 week till D-Day.. I think we need more blog candy

I think I just may have accepted the fact that I have only 1 week till the big 4-0.. I love that we've been celebrating my birthday for the past 2 weeks. It's made this transition into 'older age' a little easier.. LOL

Did I hear someone say we need just a little more blog candy to celebrate??? What should it be this week.. How about a $10 gift certificate to......

So what do you need to do to win? HMMM... How about posting a comment telling me what you like about my blog (or) what you would like to see more of.

Here's an extra surprise.. if by my actual birthday on the 26th there are 5,000 views to my blog... if you who refer readers over to my blog (have them post in their comment that you referred them) or.. if you subscribe to my blog.... You all will be entered into a separate drawing for an additional $10 gift certificate to 'eclectic paperie'.. Yep you heard me right.. I think I've totally lost my mind..

You all have until Monday the 25th at 11:59 PM to post your comments. I will draw the winner Tuesday the 26th sometime between cake and presents.. LOL

Congratulations...

And the winner of the $10 Papertreyink gift certificate is ....

drum roll please..... #5

Susan Liles (susiestampalot)

(clapping) YEAHHHHHHHHHHH SUSIE !!!!!

Counting down to the big day :) More candy....

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE... Hello everyone.. I hope you had a wonderful weekend.. Just a quick reminder to get those comments in for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Papertreyink... I will be drawing the winner tomorrow morning. All you have to do is leave a comment with either a link to your favorite birthday card or a comment telling us about a birthday experience (good, bad, funny what ever you like).. GOOD LUCK !!!

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE... Happy Friday everyone. I've received a few wonderful emails in the past few days wishing me a happy 'early' birthday. You all are so wonderful :) This is why I keep blogging.. A few people have mentioned that they'd like to participate in my birthday giveaway however they don't have a card or the ability to upload one... Well, let's fix that right now.. If you'd like to participate in my birthday giveaway for a $10 gift certificate to Paperteyink.. Feel free to either post a link (or the image) of your favorite birthday card.. OR ... post a comment telling me about a birthday experience.. the Good, the Bad, the Ugly, funny, happy... It's all good.. LOL

By the way.. Have you all checked out the brand new stamp set from ....

Rush on over and check it out cause it's awesome.. By the way, if your the winner of this weeks birthday candy giveaway, you could use your $10 towards this new set... How awesome is that.. OK, gotta run.. You all still have 4 days to get your comments in to win.... Have a great weekend everyone :)

Original Post:

Tick Tock Tick Tock.... as the seconds pass by I'm getting closer and closer to the Big Day.. I decided yesterday to take a little time off from work that weekend to 'hide under the covers' and made it a 4 day weekend... LOL .. No not really, just to celebrate and relax.

So how should we celebrate this week..... How about a $10 gift certificate to yet another one of my favorite places to shop.. Papertreyink.... And just in time for their new release Friday at 12 AM... go check this out !!!!

So what do you need to do to win this week... How about posting a copy of your favorite birthday card (please feel free to go ahead and post the link if that works better for you !!) ... and, as a little extra bonus, if you refer people over here to my candy, I'll give you an extra chance to win :) You'll have until 11:59 PM Monday the 18th to comment and I'll draw the winner's name Tuesday morning.. Good luck everyone and I can't wait to see those cards !!!

Why are they trying to make me feel old?

Ok, So I've accepted that my 39th to the 2nd power birthday is in only 11 days... 11 days before everything shifts south.. 11 days before I wake up with a mustache and big bushy eyebrows.. 11 days before my butt shows up a 1/2 hour before I do and my metabolism slows down even more (I didn't realize there was anything slower than a slug)..

Here's the latest email of torture I've received.. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I have.. LOL ..

Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things.
The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1988. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
The CD was introduced the year they were born.
They have always had an answering machine
They have always had cable.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
They never heard: 'Where's the Beef?', 'I'd walk a mile for a Camel', or 'de plane Boss, de plane'.
McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.
They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter
Do you feel old yet? (Sorry) Notice the larger type, that's for those of you who have trouble reading.
Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.

More calendar pages

Hi everyone.. Don't forget to check out this link to my birthday blog candy.. This week is a gift certificate to Papertreyink...

I've been slacking lately and have neglected to post the last 2 calendar months..

May uses.. Bodacious Bouquet in green galore,

only orange and pink passion ... It's a little hard to tell, but the background card stock is green galore.

June.. (may I say a very good month.. LOL) uses Winged

Things stamped in black stazon and then colored in using a

blender pen with the gable green and tempting turquoise markers. The background card stock is Tempting Turquoise.

Can you believe this year is almost 1/2 over.. YIKES... where did the time go?

And the winner is...

Thank you Random Number Generator for selecting.... Comment # 4... And the winner is..

SHERI..

Sheri said...
What a great way to celebrate! Happy Birthday!I would have to say that the person I get most of my inspiration/motivation from is Wanda at My Creative Corner (blog). I read her blog every day, most of the time several times a day to see if there's something new posted! :)If we're talking about websites though, SCS is hands down at the top of my inspirational list!

Sheri, please contact me for details on your gift certificate to Jacksonbelle Embellishments.. !!! CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!

Did some one say Blog Candy...

Two days remaining to get in on a little sweet candy... :)


Or in this case.. Birthday present..

OK so I'm tooting my own horn. But what the heck, if I don't do it who will??? (insert giggling smirk here).. This month I will be celebrating a monumental birthday... Yep it's the big 3-9 and holding.. the 39th to the 2nd power.. the official year when all of my decorations are black and silver and say something about being 'over the hill'.. (gasp... gag... choke).. For some reason I'm having grave difficulty getting those two little syllables out..

Being this is such a monumental year I've decided to let everyone celebrate with me. For the next 3 weeks leading up to this prestigious event I will have some great give aways... This weeks present is a $10 gift certificate to one of our favorite online stores.. Jacksonbelle Embellishments (thanks Lindsey for an awesome job on the g/c)..

So what do you need to do to win??? Between now and 11:59 PM Monday the 11th comment here on this post with your answer to the following question.

When it comes to your crafting.. Who (or Whom) do you find most inspirational? And why?

Only 1 comment per person please. I will draw a winner Tuesday morning, so please ensure there's a way I can notify you if your the winner.

I'll start with mine.. I have many but I would definatley have to say... Michelle (Mish Mash) with all of her great daily tips .. many of which I've already used. Beate .. she's such an enabler. And I definitely can't forget Lindsey or Angie. Their cards are spectacular !!! So who are yours?

NOTE>>> I will be keeping these posts on top so that they don't get lost with all of my ramblings :)

I'm surrounded by flip-flops

I have to say that the HOURS and I literally mean hours I spent working on these invitations melted away last night when my niece had a huge smile on her face and said.. "I LOVE THEM"... She's having a combination end of year/ birthday party and it's officially boy/girl. So I was under strict instructions to make sure that the boy's were masculine and the girls were girly girl.. If your looking for a template.. Here's one for ya..

So here's what I came up with... The base card for the boy's invitation's were made from brocade blue, brilliant blue, only orange (see below picture) and tempting turquoise. There's a mix of Stampin Up and Non-Stampin Up Designer papers. I then embossed different circle designs on each of the designer papers in either dark brown or white embossing powders (needed to stay masculine.. wink ;) wink:)). To make the thongs I used Taupe, Blue Bird or Turquoise Stampin Up grosgrain ribbon. Give the ribbon a little twist before you adhere it to the back of the paper (using a glue dot). That'll give it that 'genuine' flip flop look. The Small and Large tag punches were used to punch out the tags and each were stamped with "Your Invited" (as if they didn't know this was an invitation... But the boss requested it so that's what I did.. LOL) using the snap stamps I purchased from Ellen's Store. (Love'm).. Around the sole I hand wrote.. Splish.... Splash.. and then the inside reads.. It's XXX'S Birthday Bash... (Date, Time, Place, RSVP)..

Now the 'girlie girl's'... These are pretty much the same, just a little more foo foo with a little extra bling thrown in for good measures.. The designer paper's are all florals or polka dots and embossed with flowers or butterflies in light pink or white embossing powder. Turquoise, apricot, celery and apple green grosgrain ribbons were all used for the thongs.. And of course a prima flower with either stickes 'diamonds' or a jewel dot was added to the center of the flower.. The tags were either a matching tag sheet I purchased with the designer paper or again punched out using the Small and Large tag punches. Hope ya'll enjoy these...

Side note... Originally the little stinker was allowed to invite 20-22 people.. I made 34 invites just in case... My sis emailed me today to stay the little devil took them "ALL" to school today to pass them out and were taking bets as to whether or not she hands out all 34.. My guess is 'yes' cause that's exactly what her mother would have done.. That darn apple falling off that tree again.. LOL.. Oh to be 12 again !!!

Wholy Organization Batman !!!

If any of you know me personally, you know I don't let anyone into my craft room. Why you ask? Well... it's always a MESS... and I don't just mean a little mess, I mean it looks like typhoon Lisa went through and everything is every where. Well.. I hope I'll be better now.. Check out these articles on "Organization" in Craft Critique.. Wholly Molly Batman. I think I need to print this and make it my bible.. Hopefully with a little help from my friends (I've made them my friends even though they don't know it yet.. or even know me.. HAHAHA) I can be much more organized. Wish me luck !!!

If your wondering where I've been for the past few days.. no I haven't been lounging in my new back yard.. Not because I didn't want to but because well.. for one it's been raining and two I'm up to my elbows in 30 flip flop party invitations for my niece. I am under strict orders to have these finished by this weekend so that she can hand them out next week.. I'm about 1/2 way there. Just as soon as their all done I'll post them for you all.

$25 Joann's Gift Card

Anybody want to win a $25 gift card to Joann's? If you do... Head on over and check out the "The Wooden Porch".. for your chance to win.. I think I'll be checking out this blog regularly.. It's awesome...

Wednesday was "D" day....

D is for..... Dirt and lot's of it (grin)... Wednesday was "Extreme Makeover" Cramer Avenue edition (Now only were we having major work done, our neighbor also had a big ole' concrete truck in the road puring all new sidewalks.. WOW). When my landscaper arrived they came with 3 count them 3 very large landscaping trucks with dumpers, 1 truck towing a large flatbed carrying a New Holland Backhoe and a pallet of sod, another truck towing a LARGE enclosed trailer and the third just himself. WOW... I live on a small residential street and WOO HOOO... I think the neighbors thought a house was comin' down with all of this equipment. But YIPEE... It's done. How could I not share a few pics..

Before... what a mess (insert embarrassed look here). river rock everywhere, weeds... Nothing wanted to grow... UGH..

After a little of this... Our yard was starting to take shape.. All of the young boys in the neighborhood were quite impressed by this bad boy. One little one stood by my deck pointing and all he could say was 'Truck"... "Truck"..

Two very large truckloads later we had.... dirt. Our lawn was so uneven that once it was leveled my flowerbed actually became a 'raised' bed. I had all of these large rocks surrounding my old flowerbeds and they worked out perfectly making a retainer wall for the new bed... I love how it turned out. Drum roll please....

Welcome to my little piece of Heaven... (Yes, that became this all in 1 day !!!)

I realize it's not very big... But it is all MINE...

Here's one of my favorite spots.. My raised bed.

As you can tell I love primitive architectural details. I have arbours, chairs, terra cotta bird baths, antique window frames and... this little white one in the new flower bed I picked up yesterday from an awesome little store in Esperance NY.. Homegrown Designs. If your ever in the neighborhood you must go check them out. Now if I can get some stamping done, life will be perfect.

Wow.. what a week

I'm back from a little... shall we say vacation. YIPPEE.. our yard is done. and I have everything almost put back together. I'll post some pictures when it's finally complete and we can relax..

I did manage to get a little stamping in.. I made a group of these "Garden Kit's for a few friends. There's a garden journal labeled "Watch My Garden Grow", a big ole' pack of wildflower seeds and of course a flower pad of paper. The cardstock is close to cocoa, very vanilla and some scraps of non-SUP designer paper. I used many different floral stamps.. some SUP some not, added some twine and some copper wire that I looped around the end of a paint brush for a little added dimension. Before I put it all together I stamped everything with the canvas background and distressed it. I hope they enjoyed it..