Hobby Hop Challenge

My friend, Georgia and I went Hobby Hopping today. Our first challenge was at Staples to see how many clips we could fit into this $1.99 envelope. Guess how many I got? FIFTY-NINE! My Hubby always tell me what a good job I do packing things into boxes. I look at it like a puzzle and just fit the pieces together. I even do it at the grocery when loading up the cart. I can't help it! Any way, I have more than Georgia, but in all fairness, she had some large clips that I didn't. Such cute shapes! Now to decide what to do with them!

Seven in One! Oh My!

This fun little project is for seven challenges! Oh My! I wasn't sure I could do this. Here are the challenges: 1. Mojo Monday-sketch 2. Pile It On-watercolors 3. Project Tuesday-Pull Treats 4. Lisa's Challenge for a Sunday Afternoon-old tools 5. C.R.A.F.T. Challenge-pink and green 6. Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge-3 buttons, 2 Design Papers, 1 ribbon 7. Creative Card Crew-"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" I have been fighting an ear infection for about a week and a half now. I was trying to avoid going to the doctor, but finally I could stand it no longer. I had just seen the challenge at Project Tuesday to make a Pull Treat. Inside the wrapper was a chocolate bar! I knew I had to make this project. So while picking up my prescription, I also picked up a chocolate bar. OK, I picked up two. One was the largest Hershey big block that they make. It was dark chocolate which does have medicinal value, and I AM sick. The other was a smaller version. I needed the big block to fit my design on, and the other one I just needed-because I'm sick! I ate half of it on the way home, and then gave the rest to Hubby even if he's not sick. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday. "Lily at the Beach" was colored with watercolor pencils. Old tools that I used were Creative Memories circle punch and circle cutting system, Fiskar's shell punch, and wavy scissors. The flip flops and starfish are buttons from "Dress It Up" that I cut the shank off of. Flowered DP is from "The Paper Studio", and green dot DP is from DCWV "The Spring Stack." Pink CS is Staples and Creating Keepsakes. Ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. I popped up the sentiment and cute little Lily's face as an added touch. Now, let's just see how long that chocolate bar will stay wrapped!

Color and Template Challenge

It's a color and template challenge using one of Lauren Meader's Timeless Templates. Two of them are actually free! Click on the link above to download one. She also has more and they are only $5 each. This was a difficult challenge for me. I really had trouble using gray and green. Anyway, this is what I came up with. I really like the template! It is called "Get a Handle on It." It was easy to put together and is really sturdy. It's the colors that were difficult! I think it needs more blue and less green and gray. Gray CS is ColorBok, blue is Staples, and printed green is DCWV "Old World Stack." Sentiment is Fiskars, "Wishes All Around." Flowers are daisyd's, buttons are "The Paper Studio", and pearls are Hero Arts. Ribbon is Hobby Lobby.

Another Butterfly!

I LOVE this butterfly stamp by Stampendous! I have used it for two challenges in a row now. This card uses a sketch that Mandy chose over at Limelight Papercrafts. The challenge was to use the sketch and add a sentiment. I had some vellum sentiments that I picked up on a sheet at Michael's left over from my daughters' weddings, and I like this one. I embossed the flowers and split the panels. The butterfly is also embossed. I made the body and antennae out of florist wire and then colored it with StazOn ink. It was then attached with pop dots. Solid color CS is DCWV and printed CS is DCWV "Old World Stack". Flower Stamp is by Penny Black. Threading Water punch is by Fiskars.

Sour Cream and a Butterfly

No, this is not a recipe! LOL! I have always wanted to make a sour cream container, and when I saw the challenge for Stamps and Smiles Project Tuesday, I knew the time had come. Stamp Something's challenge this week was to make something with wings, so I combined the two. I stamped the butterfly and colored it with watercolor pencils. Then I accented it with a sparkly purple gel pen. I used pliers to twist a purple vinyl coated paperclip into the butterfly's antennae and body. Then it was attached with a pop dot. DP is from a Spring stack in my stash, butterfly stamp is from Stampendous. I used my Fiskars Threading Water punch on textured CS from ColorBok. Ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

Howdy!

Howdy, Pardners! This is Pink Cat's "Billy!" I just love him! He reminds me of my sweet grandson, A, who practically lives in his cowboy boots. This card uses the sketch from "Stamps and Smiles" and the color orange from "Pile It On." Orange DP is from Paperbilities, "Vacation", Orange CS is Staples, Brown CS is DCWV "Safari Chic", star punch is Creative Memories, raffia, pop dot, and star brads are from my HUGE stash!

Good bye, Hello!

All good things must come to an end! Good bye friends! Good bye ocean views! Good bye sightseeing! Good bye souvenire shopping! Good bye clam cakes! Oh, how I shall miss you! Hello treadmill! Vacation is fun, but now it is back to the real world! Now it's time to pay for all the clam cakes I ate. I am going to have to renew my relationship with my treadmill-especially since all the rain we have had!

Yarmouth Clam Festival

This was our first time to go to the Yarmouth Clam Festival. It is a three day event. The main attraction is the Clam of course. The first thing we did was hit the food court. It was centrally located, and as you can see, all of the vendor stands were labeled. It was really easy to read the signs and make your choices, plus it cut down on the amount of time that you had to wait in line. Did I mention there were clam cakes? And clam chowder! And fried dough! I was in Heaven! We missed the parade on Friday night, and I thought our chances of seeing "Clammy," the official mascot, were zero to none. But as luck would have it, he was spotted on the sidewalk as we walked around. Here is Clammy doing a meet and greet. Faces have been blurred to protect unknown visitors. There were also many craft booths, and a tent was set up where there was music and dancing. This band played a medley of Beatles songs! What a trip down memory lane! It is amazing that we still knew all the words to the songs after so many years! Soon it was time to make another clam run! Did I mention there were clam cakes? In the South we have crab cakes, but no clam cakes. They were so yummy! D's wife, E, said, "Let's go see my sister. She's working the cotton candy booth, and I want to see if her hair is covered in cotton candy like it was last year." I remembered meeting one of E's sister about ten years ago. She had a role as an extra in the gypsy scenes in the Stephen King movie, "Thinner." I know that E has several sisters so I asked, "Are you the sister who was in "Thinner?" Well, the woman's mouth dropped open, and she said, "I don't know. Maybe I am thinner!" As everyone turned to look at me I realized that E's sister thought I said, "Are you the sister who was THINNER?" I was mortified! Everyone else thought it was hysterical! Hubby's friend, D, will never let me live it down. I know, because now he tells everyone that I called his sister-in-law FAT! And BTW...wrong sister! She was not in the movie. I told my son, to add this story to the list of "Mom's Most Embarrassing Moments!" The night ended with a fireworks display! What a fun time!

Away

Hubby and I are away for a few days. We are visiting friends of Hubby that he grew up with. I love seeing him with them. They relive the "good ole days" and I get a peek of what my husband was like when he was very young. Hubby and I grew up in different states and it is fun to travel around and see where he hung out when he was young. I have my own tour guide! One of my favorite places is Portland Head Light pictured above. I have many pictures of it from previous visits, but I never get tired of seeing it again. It brings back fond memories of when we visited when our own kids were small. The fog was rolling in, and my picture is not as bright as I would like. Another view of Portland Head Light is here, at "The Christmas Tree Shop." I was almost as excited to come here as I was to see the actual lighthouse! We don't have any Christmas Tree shops in my state. They seem to be a Northern chain. I found some items but I didn't see too many crafty things that I wanted to purchase. It was nice to have a girls only shopping spree while the guys watched a Red Sox game. I'll try to post some more news soon. We are awfully busy trying to see all the sights while we are away.

Give a Hoot!

I made this card for the challenge at Stamp and Smiles. I used another of my new Pink Cat Studio stamps, "Q.T. Hooty Owl." Pop Dots make the cute little critters stand out from the crowd! CS is DCWV "Animal Crackers" and Limelight Papercrafts Smoothies "Pineapple Bliss and Watermelon Sensation."

Got MoJo?

Georgia alerted me to this contest over at MoJo Monday that ends tonight at 8:00 P.M. MT. I grabbed a new pad of paper that I picked up at Archiver's In the Hot Spot bin ($1.99) and got to work. I almost feel like I cheated! All the papers coordinate. The flower and sentiment were preprinted-just punch them out. There was no stamping or dragging out machines and punches-Just easy peasy! I did add a glittery flower (also from Archiver's) and glued it to my punched out flower. Deja Views DP: Fresh Print Plum

One for Two

I am in LOVE with this sketch. It is Mandy's over at Limelight Papercrafts. I just ordered a ton of Pink Cat Studio stamps from Mandy last week and I was dying to use them. I also love the new Lemonade paper from Basic Gray and had recently purchased some of that too. Then I saw that Stamp Something's challenge this week was to use pink, green, and yellow. I am in Heaven! I get to use one of my new stamps and new paper! Whoo! Hoo! Mandy's challenge also was to use buttons, and I just happened to have some pink glittery ones that were perfect! I used my Cricut machine to make the pink flowers. I flipped the sketch so Lily would be flying into the card and not off the card! Pink and green CS is from Staples, Enchanted Lily stamp from Pink Cat Studio, Marvy Markers and glitter gel pens, MS Threading Water punch, Nestabilities scalloped circle, Basic Gray Lemonade DP: Cherry Cobbler and Pretty Petals, Stemma buttons, and Hobby Lobby ribbon.

Angel Eggs

I call these "Angel Eggs" because they are soooo heavenly! The Cast of Characters: 9 large eggs 2 Tblsp. mustard 4 heaping Tblsp. mayonnaise 3 Tblsp. sweet pickle relish 1/4 tsp. salt Place the eggs in a large pan and cover with cold water. Cook over medium heat and boil about 20 minutes. Lift one egg out on a slotted spoon and remove from heat. If the water on the egg dries immediately, the eggs are done and will peel easily. If not, return the egg to the pan to cook a little longer. When eggs are done, remove from heat. Drain hot water from pan. Fill pan with cold water and let the eggs sit awhile until cool enough to handle. Peel shells from eggs. Rinse eggs and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a medium size bowl. Set whites aside. Mash yolks with a fork. You could use a mixer, but I am lazy. Plus it is HOT in the South! Using a mixer will raise the air temperature. Add the mayo, mustard, salt, and sweet pickle relish. Stir until well blended. Now for the fun part! Cut a corner off of a Ziploc bag and insert a large metal decorative icing tip. Fill the bag with the yolk mixture and pipe into the egg white "shells." Sprinkle with paprika and arrange on an egg platter. There were 18 egg halves, but there were only 15 slots on my platter. I tried placing them in the middle of the tray, but they looked so lonely. So I was forced to eat them. Oh, Yum! They really are heavenly! The middle of the tray still looked empty and my artistic background would not let it remain in that state. I searched the fridge and found oranges. So I peeled and arranged sections to fill the space. Not my first choice, but it will just have to do! Now I am off with my angel eggs and lemon ice box pie to Georgia's house for a barbecue and pool party!

Lemon Ice Box Pie

This is one of my favorite summer time treats. I haven't made it in a while and I decided that it was time! The Cast of Characters:
1 graham cracker crust
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)
lemon zest (grated rind of one lemon)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (must be a Diva. She didn't show for photo call.)
 4 oz. Cool Whip
Vanilla Wafers

Combine condensed milk, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix well until blended. Fold in Cool Whip, stirring well. Mound mixture into crust. Stand vanilla wafers along inner edge of of crust. Freeze until firm, 2-3 hours, or if it's really hot outside, overnight.

Paperweight Tutorial

While I was pondering what to post today, I popped over to my friend, Georgia's blog. She had posted a picture of a paperweight that I had made for her. I would love to take credit for the idea, but alas, it was not mine. I found these little cuties over at Grace's blog last fall. When I saw it, I immediately drove to Michael's and purchased some of the candles that were in the dollar bin. I was hoping to just post a link to the actual project, but I was unable to find it today on Grace's blog. So I will show you how I made it. The candles are in the dollar bin and come two in a package. They come in a variety of colors and scents. The color is not important as the candle does not show in the finished project. I chose Spring Air. Pop the candle and metal holder out of the glass. Turn the candle upside down and place it back inside the holder. Turn the metal holder over. Cut a circle out of DP by tracing around the metal holder. Adhere to top with Fabri-Tac. Cut a strip of paper as high as the holder and long enough To wrap around it. Adhere. Now you are ready to decorate the top. I used a Martha Stewart punch to make a butterfly. I mounted it on top with a pop dot. On other paperweights that I made, I layered Prima flowers and glued a rhinestone in the center. Place the finished decorated metal holder inside the glass holder. Pictured above is a side view. The original glass holder is now right side up and the decorated side is facing the bottom. Flip the holder over. Cut a piece of felt, and glue it to the bottom of the glass holder. I covered the entire bottom of the candle with Fabri-Tac before placing the felt on top. I cut the felt circle slightly larger so it would anchor the candle inside of the glass. This is such an easy and inexpensive gift to make. Your friends will be amazed that you made it yourself!

Double Duty!

Today I am sharing my secret weapon! We have a problem at our house. Every summer, once or twice a week, wasps will sneak into our sunroom. We don't know how or why they choose to do so but they do. Now I am highly allergic to all bee stings so I naturally freak out when I see these invaders. My husband chooses to grab a big (and expensive) can of hornet spray and spray away. The problem is that he not only kills the wasp, he sprays everything around it: the wallpaper, the window sill, everything within a three foot radius. He can't kill the invader in one shot. The creature falls, staggers around, crawls away, and Hubby continues to spray. After the creature has finally passed on to that great hornet's nest in the sky, it is my job to clean up the mess. A large greasy stain is always left on the window; plus the carpet must be scrubbed wherever the spray has landed. And the SMELL! I am allergic to the fumes, as is my son. Well, my son, B, came up with the perfect solution. The next time a wasp invaded our territory, B grabbed a can of rug cleaner, took careful aim at the wasp while standing several feet back, and fired one shot of spray. The wasp immediately fell to the floor. Then my brave son, swooped in and covered the wasp in a pile of carpet cleaner foam! My Hero! The foam dissipates and the dead wasp is then removed; no fumes, no mess. My son found the perfect way to rid our home of wasps and clean our carpet at the same time! Do you have any home products that serve double duty? If so, share your story! I'd love to hear it!

Christmas in July!

There is a Christmas in July challenge over at Stamp Something this week. This is my simple card. Simple meaning I used no extra embellishments; no ribbon, pearls rhinestones, etc., just paper ink, and gel pens. I did ink around the Santa after I colored him. I like it! Sometimes "less is more." CS is Bazzill and a Hobby Lobby Christmas stack. The Believe stamp is an Archiver's and Santa is a Hobby Lobby brand.

Hello, Summer!

I like to decorate for each season, so since the 4th of July just passed, I figured it was time to take down the Spring deco and put up the Summer. Here is my summer basket. When my favorite uncle died, my siblings and I sent a basket to the funeral. Afterwards I was given the basket and decided to use it as my fireside basket. I have boxes of flowers labeled for each season, so I just switch them out. This is my summer design. I love sunflowers! I have even scattered some in the main living areas on shelves and mantles. I won't bore you with all of the pix, but here are a few. This is the wreath that I made. I bought a simple grapevine wreath at Garden Ridge, wired ivy to the wreath, stuck the flowers in place and then hot glued everything when it was where I wanted it. Then I made a raffia bow, wired it together, and wired it to the wreath. Easy! I hung it on the inside door of our family room that opens into the garage. Now I can look at it whenever I want! Moving on to the kitchen! We have a large island in the center (one of our many remodeling projects) that I also like to decorate. The placemats and coasters are from Garden Ridge as is most of the pottery and the fake lemons on the hat (which is a chip and dip bowl.) I needed something to raise the hat up, and I found this cake plate at Hobby Lobby that was just perfect! The bottle on the island is my husband's creation. He found a bottle that he liked at Garden Ridge and filled it with colored water (food coloring). He made labels for the neck and front of the bottle on his computer and labeled the bottle "Margarita Sunset." Double click on pic for a closer view. More sunflowers were sprinkled around as accent pieces. So that is my Summer Deco!

EXPIRED: Click blinkie ON SIDEBAR for current sale

Click on the Limelight blinkie in my sidebar to order Pink Cat Studio Stamps.
All Pink Cat stamps are 30% off. I have been drooling over the Lily and Billy
stamps for quite some time, and I was just waiting for them to be on sale.
I ordered several sets, and I am anxiously awaiting their arrival.
Shipping is only $5.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th to everyone in Blogland! I hope you are enjoying the holiday! I made this card for the card challenge at Stamps and Smiles. I just love the little bee riding his tricycle. Don't you just love the little sparklers on his antennae? I used Watercolor paper and pencils, Bazzill and The Paper Co. CS, and rhinestones from Archiver's. The bee stamp is Stampendous.