Archive for September, 2009

Oh there is just something about a lazy day, drizzling rain and a cat.  This is a basket I have sitting in the “Woman Cave” and Henry has found it a nice place to take a nap.

If you enlarge the picture (by clicking on it) you’ll also see a leopard pillow.  Henry and pillow coordinate….I’m just saying, a girl needs to keep everything in balance and if he is going to sleep in the “Woman Cave” he needs to compliment it.

I confess I am a Starbuck’s fan and this time a year I get really happy as they bring back that special drink “Pumpkin Spice Latte”.  Unfortunately, they just recently went up (again) on their prices and I just find it difficult to pay $5.03 for a grande Pumpkin Spice Latte.  They charge $.40 extra for Soy and now they are charging more if you have a special order.  Let’s see, I’ll have a grande, soy, pumpkin spice latte, with no whip please….because I ask to have it my way I get to pay more?

I decided to take matters into my own hands and started my quest to make my own.  Several years ago I got my espresso machine for an anniversary (along with all the stuff you need to make the drinks).  I splurged and bought the ceramic SB travel mug (hey, I want it to look authentic).  Here is the recipe:

3 Heaping Tablespoons of Pumpkin   (I opened a can to use for a pumpkin cake and now I get to use the left overs).

1/2 oz (2 tsp) Vanilla Syrup (I like to use the shot glass to measure that way one less thing to clean up).

1/4 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup Milk (I use Soy Milk, because I digest it better)

2 shots of strong coffee

I mixed everything right in my ceramic cup (pumpkin, vanilla syrup, spices).  Steamed the milk and poured it on top of the pumpkin mix.  Pressed the coffee and threw that on top of the pumpkin mix, gave it a little stir.  The pumpkin puree dissolves when the hot milk is poured on to it.

If you don’t have an espresso machine you can do this right on top of your stove.  Put the pumpkin, vanilla syrup, spices and milk in a sauce pan and bring it to just below the boiling point (be careful not to scald the milk).  When you make your coffee make it strong or you could get instant espresso and through that in the pan with the rest of the mix.

You can replace the pumpkin with pumpkin pie syrup.  I haven’t found any place that carries it locally but you can order it off the internet.  It usually runs $6 -$8 a bottle, depending on the manufacturer and it is also pricey to ship because it is heavy.

I like mine a little sweeter than what this recipe turns out so I added a little sweetener.  You could also use a vanilla creamer to add some sweetness.  I grated some nutmeg on top to finish it off.

Yummo!!!!

I will tweak the recipe a little, because I want a little more pumpkin flavor but this is very close to what SB has.  The good thing is I can do it a lot cheaper (it will just take me a little more time in the morning) and I can have it all year round if I want it.

So there take that Star Bucks, I’ll save quite a bit by making my own, which that means more for my other habit……………”stash”!

This album is a K&C Company Amy Butler Album and the colors along with the pattern material and paper are so beautiful.

My #2 Daughter started this album for a friend of hers for her shower; unfortunately, they decided to go a different direction.

This was part of the stash that #2 Daughter gave me for helping her build that Ikea Trundle bed.   Pretty awesome I think!

If you have been following my blog, this has been the album I’ve been showing you how to move the holes when the sleeves are not exactly the right size for your project.  The trick to this is keeping the size of the pages the same even though the sleeves are bigger.  Since the sleeves are see through they do not command the attention of the eye.

I decided I would make this album into an ABC album.  You can put the picture of the child or the family doing an activity that goes with the alpha letter on each page.  The album ends up being a teaching tool for the child and it becomes very personal as they know the people in the pictures.

Lucky for me this Album will make a beautiful baby gift and there is an explosion of new babies happening at our church. 

As you can see the pages are very simple; however, with the beautiful pattern papers and striking colors you don’t need a lot of extra items to distract your eye.   Besides, we all know it’s all about the pictures anyway.

Thanks Amber, for supplying me with such a beautiful gift to honor a newborn.

This weeks challenge was an ABC Fall, where we had to use elements from the following:

A = Apple, Acorn or Autumn Leaves; B = Button, Brad or Bow; C = Circle, Charm or Crochet Embellishment.

My A = autumn leaves found on the pumpkin vine, my B = bow on the medallion and my C = the circle of the pumpkin or the circle of the medallions.

The pumpkin with the vine is a scut file for Scal2 that was free from Carla  over  at www.scrappedlives.nl.  Her designs are absolutely beautiful.  Be sure and visit her sight and be prepared to be amazed…. thank you Carla.

I used Prisma color pencils and the MCPT technique to color the vine and the pumpkin.  The pumpkin and vine is a paper piecing and I also used some orange Stickles on the pumpkin  and then an overlay of Glossy Accents to give it that finish shine. 

I used Scor-Pal to add the embossed frame and the Sakura Star gel pen to give it a little bling.  If you enlarge the picture you can also see that I used it around the vine on the card.

I cut out a couple of medallions (Mini Monograms cart) from some yellow glitter paper and stamped them with a $1 stamp I got at M’s.  Some chestnut brown inking around the medallion helps it to stand out.

I punched holes in the top of both medallions and ran some copper colored wire through the holes after I put foam circles between the medallions to give it dimension.  I then used the copper wiring to hold the corkscrew bow in place  and make the tendrils for the beads.

To see how to get the ribbon to curl like a corkscrew, click on my link here . 

This is a side few so you can see the foam circles to give the medallions lift.  These were made out of the sticky fun foam that has been run through the Xyron machine.  The full instructions on how to use sticky fun foam for dimensional tape can be found by clicking on my link here.  This makes a nice dimension and it is in the same color (yellow) as the medallions, giving it a finish look.

The inside of the card is a couple of mats with another $1 stamp I found at M’s.  You can’t see it in this picture but I used a Sakura Star gel pen to add a little sparkle to the webbing on the stamping.

So, thanks to Mary for Challenge #8 and keeping our creative juices flowing and thanks to Carla at www.scrappedlives.nlfor the beautiful pumpkin to use on the card.

By the way today is Phyllis’ Birthday – “HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLFRIEND”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know you have experienced the same thing I have on this subject.  You buy an album and some additional filler pages.  When you get home and start adding the pages to the album you discover that the pages you bought are not the same size as the pages in the album (although you check the size).

As you can see the back pages are larger and to complicate the issue the holes in the smaller pages were not in the right place.

Although the holes are a little off it can cause a buckle or ripple in the pages and they will not lay flat.  The smaller pages in this case were causing a buckle in the spine of the album.

I decided I was going to try a technique and see if I could move the holes in the sleeves.

I measured out both sleeves and figured out where I wanted the new holes made.  I drew a little template on my self-healing cutting mat so I didn’t have to measure each time.

The large dot is where the hole needs to be punched and the long line is where the edge of the sleeve is align against it.  I made these markings at both ends so I could lay down the sleeve and see where both new holes needed to be.

Using regular tape I pulled a long strip off and aligned it up with the edge that would be covered up in the album.  I placed tape on both the front side and the back side of the edge of the sleeve.  The tape will act as reinforcement for the new holes when they are punched.

Once both sides have been taped you will need to cut the excess tape off of the edge so it will have a nice clean look.

The tape is in place and cleaned-up and I laid the sleeve on the template and marked where the new holes needed to be punched.

The new holes are cut just a little off from the original holes.  However, the tape should hold everything in it’s place and not allow the hole to tear.

Once all the sleeves were loaded back into the album, they laid down in the spine very nicely and when the book is opened you do not see where the tape has been added or the holes have been changed.

The only thing that was really different was the front pages to the album were a little smaller; however, every page of the card stock was cut the same size so the consistancy was still in place.

To see what the finish product looks like be sure and visit back on Saturday, 9/12/09.  This is an ABC Baby or Family Album.

My #2 Daughter, bought a trundle bed from Ikea.  You know that no matter what you buy from Ikea it has to be put together.

Saturday evening, Amber and I put the trundle bed together managing all the parts and the million pieces of screws, pegs and locking nuts.  It did turn out great even if we had to back track a couple of times.  I think the instructions could be made just a little clearer.

As Amber was cleaning out (and thanking her Mom for the help), she sent me home with two large boxes of Scrapbooking and Art supplies.

Oh my goodness, there is so much in these two boxes I might just have to buy some more jetmax cubes to hold everything.

I’m certainly going to have to install my other shelf for stamps.  I think I can actually say I have enough stash to last me a long time.  But just as sure as I say that the next time I do a project and need ribbon I will not have the right color.

I discovered my self going ooh, aha as I pulled the items out and try to figure out where I was going to put them.  Amber’s taste is very different from mine so the new items where a nice addition to what I had and in an entirely different genre.

Thank you Amber and you know that any time you want to come and papercraft  you are welcome to come and play with both the stuff you provided and my stash as well.

So here I am needing just 4 photo corners to finish a project and I don’t have the right color.  I know that black goes with everything, but the rest of the pages were done with pastels of green, pink and lavender.

I decided I would paint these black photo corners a light green (Willow) and see if I couldn’t get them to look very close to the other photo corners.

It was going to take several coats to cover the black.  Be sure and stir the paint before you start to paint with it.  You want it to be slightly thick and creamy to be able to cover the item you are painting.  Also, since I was painting over paper I didn’t want the paint to be really wet.

After several coats the coverage was excellent. I used a small foam applicator to apply the coats.  To seal the paint I use Glossy Accents and let it dry.  I did the painting and the Glossy Accent on a craft mat, that way if anything spelled it would clean up easy.

Tip:  When using Acrylic paints you need to let the paint dry in between coats.  If you try to add another coat while the first coat is wet, the second coat will lift the first coat off of the item you are trying to pain.

With the mat inside the corners, you would never know they were black to begin with and the Glossy Accent gives them a very professional looking finish.

Just click on the picture to get a closer look and don’t worry if you don’t have the right color, you can change it with paint, paper or alcohol inks.

No pictures today, but I have to tell you about a great find that we found at JA’s on Saturday.  Phyllis and I were walking through the clearance stuff, when I saw a CB A2 folder (Allegro) for $.50.  I had to take a second look to be sure what I saw, but sure enough it was marked $.50.

Phyllis didn’t have this particular embossing folder, we were so excited to get something that usually cost $4.99 for $.50.  Oh but wait it gets better, she had a 10% off coupon that could be used on regular price and sale items.  She got that CB A2 Embossing folder for a whopping $.45.  Sweeeeeet!!

Happy Labor Day Everyone!!!

I know, I know!!!! I can’t stop!!!!

Aren’t these just the cutest!  I thought at first they were paper weights, oh to my surprise they are rubber stamps.   You know I found these in the same 10 for $10 bins at M’s as I did those holiday stamps yesterday.  They are wrapped in cellophane and I could only find 4 patterns, but oh what great patterns they are.

Now I need you to help me keep a secret.  I got one of my BFFs a set of these too, because I was afraid by the time she got to go check them out they would be gone.  I’m giving them to her today but she doesn’t know it and I can’t wait to see her face when she sees how cute they are.

I can see using them to make sweet little borders around a note or a card or maybe making a frame on a scrapbook page.  You know I’m going to see if the zebra looking one will work for a frame on my DGD’s scrapbook page.  Hmm, I wonder how these would look with alcohol inks on embossed metal. 

Ok, I need to go so I can start toying with some of these ideas.  You know how it is you’ve got to do them while the creative juices are flowing.

I found these cute wooden stamps in the 10 for $10.00 bins at M’s.  They were actually packaged, with a red cardboard backing and some acetate around the stamp.  Once you open them the words are positioned on the stamps that would make it easy to mask them off so you could only get the flourish.

You could also buy 2 sets and take your craft knife and cut the words out (they are only $1).  I’m loving this look and they have some real cute notepads, things to do list, and small journals in the black/white and yellow hounds tooth.

The 10 things for $10 has the Christmas stuff beginning to appear and that always makes me start thinking about Christmas and what I can make.  I can’t decide if I want to be real adventurous and make all my Christmas cards this year.   We’ll have to see, probably not …but maybe…oh I’m so indecisive right now.

This weeks challenge was to design a layout, card or project around this sketch.  Simple enough right?

For some reason this was a very difficult challenge for me.  As the days ticked by, I begin to panic a little bit.

Part of the problem for me I think is when I see items (i.e., the embellishments looking like flowers) I can not get past trying to make the design match exactly.

Unfortunately, the camera does not do the colors of the card justice. The actual colors make me think of fall and apple cider.  The original design actually had three little icons for fall, like a tree without leaves, a leaf and a pumpkin.

I used the Cricut Expression along with the Graphically Speaking and Stretch your Imagination carts on the cup and the word ”Autumn”.

I couldn’t get the Cricut to cut out the leafless tree, leaf, and pumkin I wanted to use so I found a M’s $1 stamp that I had for a year or more.  I stamped the apples onto the burgundy colored card stock with Staz-on ink.  I then took color pencils and use MCPT to give them some shading and highlighting.  Once I got the colors I was looking for I applied Glossy Accents.

Glossy Accents gives your embellishments a dimensional look.  Here you notice that the apples look a little cloudy.  Once everything dries the card stock, that has been colored underneath, will show through the Glossy Accents.  The Glossy Accents will dry clear.

I took the word Autumn and ran it through the Xyron face down to get the sticky on the front side of the word.  I then glittered it using a glitter called “Butter rum”.  This is the same color glitter that I used to edge each of the mats.

Tip:  I like to glitter the edge of the mats for a couple of reasons: 1) It helps to tie the glitter on the embellishments together, and 2) I just run a  glue pen along the edge of the CS then start using the CS to move the glitter down the tray to the opening.  This helps get the edge glitter and gets the glitter back down the tray so I can put it back in it’s proper container.

This word was very fragile so I used a glue pen that was very thin to get the glue where I needed it to be to attach to the card.

I love putting beads on pins and using them as embellishments.  With the arrangement of the items on this challenge, this was a perfect fit to include them.  Also, if you enlarge the picture there are some PW Dazzles underneath those pins.

I took gold alcohol ink to change the color of the ends of the pins so they would match the color pallete of the card.  The ribbon is from HL that I got on sale.

This is not the best picture, but if you look close you will see little leaves on the apples.  They have been blinged up with Stickles and the Apples were mounted on the card using black pop dots that I made out of the foam board.

The inside of the card has some of the same rich papers that are used on the outside.  There is a little embossing on the left hand side of the burgandy that has been enriched with perferct pearls and some 3-D gold paint.  The CB embossing border is one of the new ones just released called Organic Flourish.

I’ll probably use this as a friend card, sending it to ask them to meet me for a latte or apple cider.

Whew! This truly was a challenge for me, but I enjoyed it.  Joining the Paper Cutz Challenge has certainly made me have to think alot, but that is a good thing.   One it exercises the brain and two it develops my designing skills. 

Thanks Mary for taking the time to pull these challenges together and coming up with things for us to work on.  Be sure and join in the fun.

Click on the picture to get a closer look at the elements and thank you for stopping by and visiting.