New Templates!

I had a busy weekend with going to a crop on Sunday, and also cheering on the Caps Saturday night. Playoff time is approaching and the Caps need to win all 3 of their remaining games (and a few other teams need to lose a couple of their games!) in order for the Caps to make the playoffs. We went to a pot luck party on Saturday night and watched the Caps game on TV. It was a lot of fun!

I got some new brass templates last week. I had a chance to play with them at the crop on Sunday. I was so excited, I just love these two templates. I think the elephant and dog are so cute. I made the elephant card for the hostess of the pot luck party we went to on Saturday. I stamped Thank You on the inside of the card.

It's going to be a busy week for me. The Caps have three home games this week. Wish them luck!

Quick Post

Life has been so hectic this month. Hockey season is coming to an end and the Caps are in the race for a playoff spot. It's my busy time at work and I feel like I haven't had any time for crafting. So I'm posting a card I made last Spring. I love this bunny holding an umbrella template. It seems fitting today because it was dreary and rainy most of the day. I'm going to a crop with some friends this weekend so I hope to be posting some more cards on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

More Recipe Cards!

I joined a couple more recipe swaps on the PaperCrafts Magazine site. I really enjoy swapping and seeing what others create. The first recipe was for the Iron Chef recipe swap series I am in. My category was pies and my secret ingredient was almonds. I don't really care for almonds so I had to do a little research to find a pie recipe with almonds in it. Pink & brown is still one of my favorite color combos. The pie is dry embossed using a Lasting Impressions template.

The recipe card below was made for a swap called "Get to know your state." We had to find out what the agricultural business was in our state and make a recipe card using those ingredients produced in your state. I had no idea what is produced in Virginia... I live a few miles from DC so there aren't any farms around here! I had to do a little research on this one too. I found out that Virginia has a large dairy cow population. Who knew!? So I decided to use a recipe with milk.... caramel hot chocolate! The cow is a stamp by A Muse.

Easter Bunnies!

It feels like forever since I've had time to craft! I've been working long hours and I had to work both days last weekend too. Luckily, today is Friday for me. I'm taking Thursday & Friday off from work. I plan to do lots of crafting!!

I just finished making almost 30 of these bunny nuggets (made using Hershey Nuggets candy). I stamped and colored the bunny images last night while I was watching (listening) to the Caps hockey game. I got up early today at 4am to cut out the bunny images and put them together. I am going to take them to work as little gifts for my co-workers. They are going to look so cute sitting on everyone's desk! The stamp is by Rubber Stampede. I used white cardstock to cover the nuggets and then used a little pom-pom for the tail.

I hope to have more to share this weekend. I am also hoping to do some spring cleaning during my long weekend off!

My very first blog award!

Rae just awarded me the "You make my day" award! Thanks Rae! If you haven't seen her blog, you should check it out. Her cards are amazing!!

So, now I'd like to pass this award on to... Laura, Patty, and Nettie.

Now, it's your turn to:
*Write a post with links to 5 blogs you find of interest and that inspire you.
*Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
*Display the logo "You Make My Day".
*Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news.
(P.S. If you already have this, no need to do it again.)

Nettie's "Sock it to Me" Challenge

I saw Nettie's post about sock-inspired cards and decided to accept her challenge! I found these socks at Wal-Mart for $1! Gotta love Wal-Mart... don't have any around me, I got these last weekend when I was out of town. I chose them because I knew it would be a challenge for me to make a card with ladybugs (I don't have any ladybug stamps or brass templates). I made the ladybug using my Marvy oval punch and some small circle punches for the dots. The antennae are hand cut. Go check out Nettie's challenge!

Quick Post

Short on time this week, I'm working some long hours. Just wanted to share a card I made recently. I've been on a kick lately to use stuff that I either a) haven't used in a long time or b) have never used! Luckily, I haven't had a need to use this stencil in a long time to make a Get Well card. The papers and stencil are by Lasting Impressions.

Remember that stamp from my last post that was defective? The stamp company (Prickly Pear) is sending a replacement to my LSS for me. How happy am I?!! What great customer service.

Sketch Challenge

I belong to an Embossing Yahoo Group, and each month there is a sketch challenge. We are given the sketch and then we swap our cards with another member of the group. I love seeing what everyone does with the sketches. I had trouble with this card. I recently bought a stamp with the sentiment "A Cherry Hello!" I loved the font on the stamp and thought it would go perfectly with this stencil. So I go to stamp it last night and it looks horrible. I should have turned it over and looked at the rubber before I spent $7 on it. The font is lined up perfectly but the explanation point is crooked and actually goes into the "o" at the end of Hello! The "o" isn't even closed at the bottom. Ugh! I was so disappointed! So I printed the same sentiment from my computer. It's actually the first time I ever used my computer to print a sentiment for a card. The font isn't the same as the stamp, but I still like how it turned out. I'm going to contact the company that made the stamp to see if they'll replace it.

Weekend Project

Here's my weekend project. I've "collected" 19 Stampin' Up sets over the past couple years that I have never taken the time to mount. Yes, I've had some of these sitting for a couple years! Poor stamps...

I've been tagged!

Kathy tagged me the other day, so here goes:

What were you doing ten years ago?
1998.... I was still in college. I'll just leave it at that.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I had just taken a new position in a different department (within the same company) so I was busy learning how to do my new job. I was also busy trying to obedience train Zubie. Funny how I'm still trying to do that now!

Name your five favorite snacks.
1. Bugles
2. Peeps (I am loving life right now because they are everywhere in the stores. You know how hard it is to find peeps during the off-season?)
3. Black Licorice
4. Ruffles
5. Popcorn

Name five things you would do if you were a millionaire.
1. Buy more stamps & crafting supplies
2. Buy a new house in the country
3. Buy a new car
4. Open a scrapbooking/crafting store
5. Donate some to my favorite charities

Name five things you like doing.
1. Driving
2. Watching the Caps play
3. Crafting
4. Watching Movies
5. Spending time with my pups

Name five things you would never wear again.
1. Jams (remember those shorts things from the 80's)
2. Spandex
3. Open toe or open heel shoes (I just think feet are gross)
4. Banana Clip (although it would be pointless now with my short hair)
5. Any kind of animal prints (never wore them before, and I won't ever)

Name your five favorite toys.
1. Computer
2. DVR
3. Sirius Receiver (gotta listen to my 80's music)
4. HomePro eyelet setter
5. Japanese Screw Punch

I have to tag 3 other people, so I'm going to tag Katie, Chrisi and Laura.

Bunny Recipe Card

I recently joined a recipe swap on a Yahoo Group I belong to. The only requirement for the swap was your recipe card had to have a bunny on it. I have lots of bunny embossing templates so I thought I would give it a try. I found this yummy carrot dish recipe online and printed it on Lasting Impressions paper. I made the card itself have a pocket and stuck the recipe inside the pocket. I thought it looked plain so I dry embossed the dots all around the outside of the card. Then I dry embossed the bunny and eggs and put them inside another pocket. I just thought it would be easier if the recipe wasn't catching on the bunny every time you slide it in or out of the pocket. Now, I'm really wishing I had a carrot template since I chose a carrot recipe. Oh well. I hope my fellow swappers like them anyway.

Thanks "sew" much

Awhile ago, I posted some gifts that my Aunts sent me for Valentine's Day. I am going to send this Thank You card to my Aunt JoAnn. She's the one that designed the candy bar wrapper. She loves to sew so I thought she would really like this Thank You card. I dry embossed the pieces, cut them out and wrapped thread around the bobbins. The silver piece at the top says "Thanks Sew Much". It's a senti-metal embellishment by Lasting Impressions.

I love recipe card swaps!

I love to cook (bake, mostly) and just love making these 6x6 recipe cards. Here are a few that I created for some swaps I joined. The first one for Caramel Apple Cupcakes is a card I created for a cupcake recipe swap. The next one is for a Fruit themed recipe card swap. Each participant picked a fruit and had to make a recipe card using their fruit choice. Mine was apples, and I knew this recipe for my Aunt Judy's apple pie would be perfect. This really is an easy recipe and it's the best apple pie I've ever had! Both the caramel apple and apple are dry embossed using Lasting Impressions templates.

The recipe card below was for a one dish meal swap. I am pretty proud of myself for using scraps left over from my LSS' design team tryout kit. I never keep scraps but I loved this paper and couldn't bring myself to throw it away. I chose my recipe for Chicken 'n Rice Pilaf. It's not the most healthy recipe but it is one of my favorites! I love it because not only is it delicious, it's fast and easy to make on a weeknight... just throw all the ingredients in a baking dish and throw it in the oven.