Wednesday, November 30, 2011

So Sorry!

So sorry I've been MIA for almost a week!  Just been busy and didn't get pictures downloaded earlier!  Ashley left yesterday and I stopped off at IKEA on the way from the airport.  I was real proud of myself - I bought about 6-7 items but my total was only about $35!!  That place really has some interesting things and I love to wander around in the store and look at all their neat organizing ideas.  After that, I stopped at Kohl's and picked up a sweater and a top (for me of course!).  Ashley made it safely home.  As it turned out, our friends, Don and Sharon were in San Antonio for a few days and picked her up at the airport. 

Today is Wednesday which is the Sketch Challenge over at Stamping Queen's.  I did my card in My Digital Studio again using some of the new downloads that were made available on Tuesday. (see two of them at end of post)  I have been wanting this stamp set for a couple of years now.  It is available only in the Spanish SU catalog.  I just love the butterfly in the set.  There is also a very pretty flower and a bee along with a text stamp (which I used on the white circle.)



Here are two of Tuesday's MDS downloads that I used in creating my card:



Today is the last day for the Online Extravaganza.  If you have been "on the fence" about some of the items, this is it!  If you want me to order any of the sale items for you, let me know ASAP!!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am thankful today to be spending the day with my family .... including my daughter.  This year we are not having to "Skype" her on the computer to wish her a happy day.  We can hug her and love her in person! 

As I type this, Marianne is downstairs making the dressing and sweet potatoes; Ashley is making her deviled eggs; and "Girlfriend, aka Sharon R" is peeling the apples for me to make the apple pies.  The turkey is in the oven; the mashed potato casserole is made; the cranberry salad is made (thanks to Darcie for the recipe!); the pumpkin cheesecake is made; green casserole is made and we are waiting for the rest of the family to arrive.  We will have appetizers first - warm brie, buffalo chicken dip, pineapple cheese ball, pepper jelly over cream cheese and onion dip and chips (for Sonny who is too picky to try the other stuff!!)  

Hope you enjoy your family and give thanks for all the freedoms we have in this country!

These are the little turkey favors I made for everyone's place.


These have little chocolate nuggets inside.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Stamping Queens Sketch Wednesday

I made another sketch card this week for the Stamping Queens using My Digital Studio.  I really love the texture in this card.  I used a recent download, Frosty Days II.  Again, this could be easily duplicated without using MDS. 



The card base is Pool Party with Melon Mambo as the next layer.  Then the polka dot DSP layer.  The Pool Party rectangle DSP is matted with Soft Suede,  The white stamped rectangle is matted with Melon Mambo.  The snowflake is stamped with Pool Party and a brad inserted in the center.  After adding all the elements to the card, I used a background stamp in white over the whole card and reduced the opacity to give a snowy effect.  I love how this turned out!  Below is the sketch we had to use.  Hopefully, you will give this sketch a try - it's an easy one!  Show us what you create by posting your card HERE.



The Online Extravaganza is still going on (until Nov. 30) and it is a great time to get My Digital Studio Express.  Included in the promotion is the opportunity to receive a free bundle of preselected digital downloads (at least a $39.95 value) with the purchase of My Digital Studio Express.  The bundle options are:
Bundle #1: My Digital Studio Booster Pack (item #124484)
Bundle #2: Holiday Themed Downloads (item #129385)
    -Merry & Type Stamp Brush Set
    -Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper
    -Letters to Santa Embellishments
    -Baker's Twine
    -Dasher Stamp Brush
    -Holiday Harmony II Kit
    -Merry Delightful Digital Tape
    -25 & Counting Stamp Brush Set
    -Deck the Halls Designer Buttons
    -And a Happy New Year Photocard Template 
Bundle #3: Scrapbooking Themed Downloads (item #129386)
    -Day in the Lift Kit
    -Thoughtful Overlays Stamp Brush Set
    -Fun Flowers Shapes
    -Delightful Digital Tape
    -Sweet Details Alphabet & Numbers
    -Word Play Stamp Brush Set

To view a PDF of the images in each bundle, visit the online store under My Digital Studio Express.

While I had MDS opened on Monday, I created a couple of other things.

This would be great to give to someone as a gift (just change the name & date!).  Print it out, mat it and put it in a frame.  Voila!  A quick and easy gift of a family crest!

This picture is of Westminster Abbey in London.  It is from our trip last spring.  I just changed the photo effect to black and white and matted it in black on grey paper.  Added a few snippets of DSP on the side and the flourish from Baroque Motifs!  Easy peasy!

I am enjoying my time with Ashley.  We took a walk around the neighborhood yesterday morning, did a little creating in my stamp room, went to town for lunch and a quick (??) trip to WalMart and the Dollar Store.  Last night, she cooked dinner for us.  Food always tastes better when someone else does the cooking, doesn't it??  She loves to cook too.  Today Marianne is going to come over and we will play in my stamp room a while and then get some of our dishes ready for tomorrow's feast.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Let the Extravaganza Begin!


Today starts the Online Extravaganza!!
 
Check everything out HERE - then click on SHOP NOW. Then click on ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA on the left hand side.  Once you've added your item/items to your cart you'll see the reduced pricing !!!!!   SAVINGS GALORE or should I say SAVINGS EXTRAVAGANZA !!!!!!!  


Items are limited and are while supplies last and there is a 24 hour sale on the Cookie Press so don't miss out !!!!! 

Click HERE to see a list of all items on sale.

HAPPY SHOPPING!!! :)



Sunday, November 20, 2011

She's here!

Ashley arrived safe and sound Friday night.  She even got here early - 30 minutes early!  Although it didn't do any good since we got stuck in traffic trying to get to the airport.  Her plane arrived at 6 pm and we didn't get there until 7 pm to pick her up.  There was a wreck on Hwy 150 so it took us almost an hour just to get from our house to Mooresville onto the interstate.  And the I-77 was like a parking lot and we had to sit in traffic on the interstate.  So frustrating!  We met the family at Galway Hooker.  It was a nice reunion.  Saturday we drove up to the mountains and spent the night in Blowing Rock.  We wandered around Main Street in Blowing Rock on Saturday going in and out of the shops.  We both got a little Christmas shopping done.  Today we visited the Tanger Outlets in Blowing Rock and bought a few more things.  Sonny was a good sport - while we were going in and out of the shops for 2 hours, he sat outside at a table and read his book!

My posts may be pretty sporadic this week.  I am working on making a project for our Thanksgiving table.  Marianne will be coming over also to work on our 2012 calendars! 

I will post in the morning information about the ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA that Stampin' Up is having.  So don't miss the big announcement!!

Friday, November 18, 2011

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!!

 
Stampin' Up has announced that their Online Extravaganza is coming next week! It's the annual sale to kick off the holiday shopping season and will begin Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011. While this promotion is perfect for online orders during an especially busy time of year, you can also contact me to order for you.

I will be sharing the direct link on MONDAY so you can see exactly what is on sale then.  They are hinting that these items will be part of the sale:
  • FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express
  • 30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle
  • 60 percent off select designer fabrics.
  • In addition, there will be two items on sale for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM [MT])
 So make sure you check my blog for the link right away on Monday morning so you don't miss these one-day only specials.

If you are a long distance customer, you can order online or on my WEBSITE.  (click Shop at top right)  If you want me to order for you, call or e-mail me to add your order to the one I will place as a group order.

November Club Projects

I had my Stampin' Club meeting this week and I think everyone enjoyed the projects we made.  I did it a little different this month mainly for my Thursday group which is larger than Tuesday's group.  They all made the 3D project and a shaker card but were able to pick the 3rd card they wanted to make.  I had made 4-5 cards with instructions and they chose their favorite.  At the next club meeting, I will have the same kits available (except for the Christmas cards) for their choice as well as doing a couple of projects that all will make together.  I am trying to eliminate the problem of everyone sitting around and waiting for the punch, stamp, ink, etc.  If I can just train them to read the instructions that are sent to them and printed out, it would be a snap!  

I haven't taken a picture yet of the 3D project that we did so I will share it later.

The shaker card is taken from the mini catalog because it is just so cute!!  They did have an option of including another stamp image inside the card but most used the little girl from Gift Givers.  Using the Shaker Rounds from the mini sure makes this an easy card to make.

Here are a few of the cards my gals chose:

Lovely As A Tree - done in purple and in Not Quite Navy and glittered.

This one looks so much better in real life.  The medallion in the middle is cut out and popped up and the whole thing is glittered with Dazzling Details

A great fall card but we will make this also in the winter and just substitute the saying for something else.  The Crumb Cake rectangle is stamped using my E clear block.  The stamp set is French Foliage.
I'm excited!  We will be going to the airport tonight to pick Ashley up.  She will be here for 10 days which I am sure will fly by.  We are having a family dinner at an Irish pub/restaurant with my mom, my sister, Angela, Marianne and her family.  I was hoping my brother could come but he will be working tomorrow in the mountains somewhere.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Sketch Challenge #13

Oops - almost forgot the Sketch Challenge today!!  But I got "er done!!

I used My Digital Studio to make this card BUT you don't have to do that.  Here are the supplies so you can make it yourself without MDS:

Stamp:  French Foilage, Simple Friendship
Cardstock:  Pool Party, Soft Suede, River Rock, Spice Cake DSP
Ink:  More Mustard, Soft Suede, River Rock
Access:  Brads

The sentiment and the "squiggly" swirls on the Pool Party cardstock came from a retired set, Simple Friendship.  But these could easily be replaced by any other sentiment and a set that has some swirls in it (maybe Baroque Motifs) or you could easily leave them off.   So even though I used MDS to make this card, it is easily reproducible (is that a word?) using your own supplies.

We had friends here for too short a time this week.  Margaret and Graham flew to NC Friday and were at their daughter's house in Charlotte until Monday when they came to visit us.  Unfortunately, as they were driving here, their daughter called and had been in a minor fender-bender so they only stayed long enough to have a cup of tea and turned around and went back to Charlotte.  But they returned on Tuesday morning and Margaret and I spent the day visiting and stamping while the guys went to the gun range.  This was the first visit we have had with them since last March!!  Hard to believe!  But it was nice for Margaret to be here for Stamp Club.  They left this morning.  We were hoping for a longer visit but they are planning to fly home to England to visit Margaret's parents Sunday so they had to head back to Texas to get ready.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Fall Colors

I think FALL is my favorite season.  I just love the colors of the trees here in North Carolina.  I think this year has been one of the best for colors.  I just wish we had driven up to the mountains a few weeks ago and seen the trees at their peak there.  Every year, I have plans to do that but never seem to get it done.  Maybe next year!  Here are a few pictures I took this weekend.
These trees (above and below) are in the parking lot of the grocery store!

Another grocery store - this time BJ's Wholesale Store!!  But look at all the different colors.
These trees are at Queen's Landing in Mooresville. 
Sonny finished painting the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room this weekend.  Only one more room to go downstairs and then it's the bedrooms upstairs.  Don't know how much he'll get done this week.  Ashley is coming Friday (for 10 days!!) so I'm hoping he'll at least get her bedroom (or the room she always sleeps in when she's visiting) painted.  We'll see!


He (jokingly) asked me if we should paint the cabinets black so we'd have black and gold in the kitchen ... for the STEELERS!!  If there weren't so many cabinet knobs, I'd consider taking them all off and replacing them with black - that would look pretty cool!

It's amazing what a little paint can do for a house.  It's like a totally new place.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Shake It Up

I had a fun day of stamping today.  I haven't stamped anything in a couple of weeks!  It took me a while to get going but once I did, I was on a roll.  I am getting things ready for my Stamp Clubs next week.  We are going to do shaker cards using Stampin' Up's new shaker frames. They are double-sided adhesive foam circles that let you make any card a shaker card!  Five of the foam circles are sized to coordinate with a variety of SU's Circle Punches.  You get 36 total circles: 6 of ea. size.  I haven't done a shaker card in several years and when I used to make them, I used bits of foam tape on the image.  The shaker frames make it so much easier!

I was trying not to use the larger frames since I want to save them for my clubs.  So I took a couple of the smaller frames and cut them and made them into a larger circle. Just make sure you make the ends meet so your filler doesn't fall out. 

Here's the finished card.  I used Gift Givers stamp set along with Serene Snowflakes.  I used Mica Flakes for the filler.



Close up of the shaker.

Here is another shaker card that I made also.  This time I used Holiday Lineup, one of my all time favorite sets. 



close up of shaker part.
Another stamp set that will work good for a Christmas shaker is Snow Much Fun.   I want to make a shaker of just the snowman's belly!  Maybe tomorrow!!

Meanwhile, my kitchen should be finished tomorrow!!  Sonny did a lot of the painting yesterday and he hopes to finish tomorrow.  Here are a few before and after pictures.

This side of the room has not seen the paint yet - tomorrow though
FINISHED side

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Watercoloring with My Digital Studio

I made this card today using My Digital Studio.  I saw something similar that someone else had done and thought I'd give it a whirl. 

What do you think?

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A little of this and that

Sorry about not posting the past few days.  I've been super busy with my Christmas Stamp a Stack.  I had a group of ladies Friday night and another group of ladies Tuesday afternoon.  I think everyone was quite happy with their cards.  I had a lady in each event that made 45 cards!  That's some assembly line stamping!  My Friday night gal had her mom and daughter here to help her but my Tuesday lady did hers alone.  She stamped everything she needed to while at my house and did a sample of each card.  Then she took them home to assemble them later.   I really enjoyed the stamp a stack but I am glad it is over so I can go on to do other things!! 

Several people have asked me about my mom.  It seems she takes one step forward and two steps back.  Last Friday, Angela called me to tell me mom was having really bad pain again.  When I've talked to mom in the past week, she has been pretty depressed.  I guess so - she hasn't been out of the house to speak of in over a month.  She has really been missing going to church and socializing with her friends.  She went to the dr. today for the second spinal shot.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that this one will do the trick.  If not, I guess we will be doing the surgery.

I have not been doing much stamping the past week or more except for the Christmas cards for the stamp-a-stacks except for my Monday Mailers each week and I don't think I took pictures of the cards I made to send before mailing them!  That's the way October was for me.  But I do have my most recent received Monday Mailer to share with you.  It is a great fall card using the sentiment stamp from the mini catalog that is just so elegant.


I also have a birthday card to share with you that Margaret sent to Sonny.  It is a great card!!  I don't what company makes the stamp but I love it!!  She did a great job with this card.  Oh .... speaking of Sonny and birthdays, someone told me that I made an error in my birthday post about him.  I said that he was now on Medicaid instead of Medicare!  Most of you know us and know that I meant Medicare!   Like I said, October was a crazy busy month!
We (Sonny) has made a lot of progress with our paint project.  He has finished the hallways both upstairs and downstairs as well as the dining room.  We had a painter com on Saturday to do the foyer with the 18 foot ceilings!   I'll take pictures of the dining room to show you.  It looks really good in burgundy!  Tomorrow he is starting in the kitchen .... oops, guess I won't be cooking tomorrow night!   So after the kitchen, he will only have the bathroom downstairs, the laundry room and his office.  Then to the upstairs and the bedrooms and bathrooms.  Hopefully, all will be done by Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

I love FREE .... don't you???




From November 4 - 7 join us on http://www.mydigitalstudio.net/ to celebrate Digital Scrapooking Day and check out the free digital downloads seen below.
my

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Digital Scrapbooking Day


Celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day with Stampin' Up! for a four-day online event. Digital Scrapbooking Day is November 5, but SU will keep the celebration going from November 4-7!  The event will include free downloads, blog posts with exciting project ideas all weekend long, and the announcement of the 2011 My Digital Studio Contest winners. Even if you don't have My Digital Studio, you can download these items and enjoy them.  So go to MyDigitalStudio.net to check out all the details.  You can also follow them on FACEBOOK.

  
Brand-new, never seen before FREE downloads include:
  • So Typefelt Stamp Brush Set
  • Neutral Delightful Digital Tape
  • Home for the Holidays Ensemble
  • Delight in the Day Photobook Template  
Here are samples of a couple of the downloads that I did real quick:



I didn't do anything to this - this is exactly what the download looks like but you could move the items around if you wanted or make them larger or smaller.

These are 2 scrapbook pages that are included.  All I did was insert the pictures and write a caption.

I did add the ruffled ribbon on the left side and the frog images to this page.

Sketch Challenge #11

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another Stamping Queens Sketch challenge.  I did another My Digital Studio card.  Every Tuesday Stampin' Up releases new digital content.  This week it was Frosty Days Kit II.  It is a real retro funky Christmas kit using colors you don't usually associate with for Christmas - melon mambo, pool party and my favorite retired color, kiwi kiss.  It includes 12 paper patterns, a 25 piece stamp set and a calendar template .... all that for $9.95!  So this is the kit that I used to make this card.  I love it!!



Check out the other Queen's take on our sketch here.  AND I think there is going to be some blog candy offered on some of the blogs this week.  Check them out!!

I've been a little under the weather the past few days.  I started out with a sore throat on Sunday.  I was plainning on going to the doctor Monday but my throat wasn't hurting me too bad.  I didn't feel great - just a little achey with sinus congestion and post nasal drip.  I started taking a generic Sudafed D and it seems to have helped a lot.  The downside is I couldn't sleep last night.  I guess there is something in the drug that wired me.  I know I looked at the clock every couple of hours and didn't sleep more than 2-3 hours total.  I didn't take any of the meds from about noon on Tuesday so hopefully, I'll be able to sleep.


Sunday, October 30, 2011

And the Blog Hop winner is .....

True Random Number Generator Min:0 Max:7 Result: 4

I used Random.org for the drawing of the cards from the Blog Hop and Tiff is the winner:

 Tiff said...

Love love love the little snow gal. She's super cute. And I love those colors on that card. Beautiful job will all of the stamps!
October 24, 2011 10:42 AM

Tiff - please contact me with your address so I can get these cards in the mail to you.

I have been working on a big project for the past few days.  When Sharon was visiting me on Thursday, she made Christmas cards from the samples from the upcoming Christmas SAS while I worked on making "lollies" / rosettes!!  I have been wanting to make a fall rosette wreath but it was intimidating me and I kept putting it off.  Finally I cut a few strips last Wednesday night and scored and pleated them while watching tv.  That got me started so pretty much all day Thursday, I made rosettes - a total of 22 in all!  They are all different sizes and colors.  I used mostly Spice Cake DSP but I also used a few strips of Paisley Petals and some non-SU DSP that coordinated. Let me tell you, if I didn't have the SU Simply Scored Scoring Tool, I don't know that I could have done that many!!  I scored each strip (2" x 12") every 1/2" on one side.  Then I flipped it over and scored in between each of those score marks.  So, the finished piece was scored every 1/4".  Then I accordian folded the strips and hot glued 2 together forming a circle.   I used a round lid that I found that measured about 4"  to form the rosette in.  It made it much easier.  I punched a 2" circle and hot glued it to the back side of the rosette and used one of my punches to sit on top of the rosette while it dried.  I bought a styrofoam wreath at M's and covered it with strips of Spice Cake fabric.  I hot glued the medallions onto the wreath and used various buttons on the centers.  Mostly I used the big Designer Buttons from the mini catalog (love, love these!!) but I also used a few (retired) Corduroy Buttons and a metallic button that I found in my stash and 2 heart shaped silver earrings that I don't wear anymore.  The hardest part for me was trying to figure out whether to put a ribbon on it!  I tried a strip of Spice Cake fabric but didn't like it so I used some spray starch on the (retired) Chocolate Chip striped grosgrain ribbon and tied it at the top.  







I had a pretty busy weekend.  Sharon and Bob (from Florida) were camping nearby - in Denver and Marianne and Greg decided to take their camper over their and join them.  I went over Friday night while Sonny was painting (!).  I borrowed a friend's mahjong set and taught the Marianne and Sharon to play mahjong.  They caught on quick and kept the set on Saturday and played a little more.  Saturday night, we joined them for dinner at a restaurant right across the street from the campground along with Mom and Angela..  After dinner we went back to the campground where another couple joined us.  We had a camp fire and made smores and visited.

Today is Sonny's birthday - he's now officially on medicaid!!  Wow!  I fixed breakfast for us this morning and now have 2 big pots of my grandmother's delicious vegetable soup cooking on the stove - not that he will eat it - he doesn't like veggies!!  But I am going to take a pot of it over to my Mom, freeze some of it and enjoy the rest this week!  We finally turned our heat on yesterday.  We didn't get any of the snow that the east coast was getting but it has been pretty cool here the past few days.

Well, time for me to get ready for my Steeler game!  Not too sure about today's game against "Pretty Boy Brady" and the Patriots .....

Thursday, October 27, 2011

More Birthday Cards

I have a few more birthday cards to share.

This first one is from Margaret, my Texas friend.  It is just beautiful.  The ribbon is dyed to match the flowers and cardstock.  She is smart - whenever she orders an ink pad, she always makes sure she gets the matching refill so she has it to do things like this as well as ink up her pad when it runs dry.  She asked me to suggest other color combos for fall for this card.   I suggested More Mustard, Tangerine Tango and Soft Suede.  This is where the Color Coach comes in handy.  I hardly ever do a card without consulting the Color Coach.  According to the Color Coach, More Mustard, Night of Navy and Cajun Craze would be lovely on this card.  What combo would you suggest????

 This second card is from my sister, Marianne.  I love it!!  Her "lollie" is great!  I have to say this is the student teaching the teacher.  I just wish she didn't have to work and we could play a lot more.  Marianne used the Flirtatious DSP on this card.  I need to use that paper more - I have it in my stash!

 Last, but certainly not least, is this beautiful card from Judy.  She told me she has been getting her money's worth out of the Fabulous Florets stamp set and this card is a fine example of that.  Judy is smart - when she makes a card, she doesn't make just one but makes several to have on hand.

I'm still waiting for my birthday card from Ashley to arrive!  I played the "pitiful me" part on Tuesday that she didn't send me a card and she told me yes, she did.  She took it to Boston with her and put it in the hotel mail on Tuesday so I would get it in time.  Well, I don't know what they did with it but I should have received it by now.  Come on USPS - send me my card!!!

Well, I have a "girlfriend" from Florida coming over today to play.  So, I need to tidy up and make room for her to work create.

Last night was Senior Night for the Mooresville soccer team.  I was proud of Marianne - she didn't get emotional.  Don't think it has not hit her yet that Harrison will graduate in May.  Hard for me to believe it too.  It seems like just yesterday that he was a toddler and I was helping her potty train him!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Stamping Queens Sketch Challenge Week 10

It's Week #10 for the Stamping Queens sketch challenge.  It seems like every week, I have been rushed and so I have done a digital card. That's the beauty of digital!!  Not this week though!  I took the time on Tuesday to make a card and make another rosette - or rather, a half of a rosette!  Hope you like it.



Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Four Frames, Baroque Motif, Autum Days, French Script
Paper:  Spice Cake DSP, More Mustard, Pool Party, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Designer Label Punch, Choc Chip Ribbon (ret'd), Scallop Border Punch

The SU Scoring Board makes the rosette a breeze! 

I hope you will decide to play along with us this week.  Make sure you check out what the other Queens have created HERE

I will be drawing for a winner from the NC Holiday Blog Hop on Sunday so you still have time to leave a comment or become a follower on THIS post.

Of course, I love comments and would like you to leave me a comment on this post too!!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Bet you Didn't Know .....

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.. I didn't know that!
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking. To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up. For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting. Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic, and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic. Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummy! Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.  Easy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up. Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving. Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster. Newspaper weeds away: Plant your plants in the ground, work the nutrients in your soil. Then wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go, cover with mulch, and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers. Broken Glass: Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily. No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away. To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it. (Wonder if this works with rabbits? Sure gonna give it a try) Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings. Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip to eliminate static cling. It works; you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... Ta DA! ... Static is gone. Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. De-fog your windshield: Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth! Re-opening envelopes: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily. Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair. Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup an d gone forever! Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed! Wash your dryer filter: The heating unit went out on my dryer. The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material and the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free, and smell good. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box? Apparently that stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

First Ever NC Blog Hop!!




Welcome to the NC Demos Holiday Hop!!

The NC Demos are doing their FIRST EVER blog hop starting today at noon.  We are featuring stamp sets from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  My pick for the hop is Gift Givers.  From Halloween to Easter to Christmas, the Gift Givers Set has everything you need for all of your holiday stamping.  Better yet, every single stamp in this seven-piece set coordinates with a different punch to help you create a variety of fun and festive projects.

You probably just came from Regina's blog.  She does outstanding work and I have been know to CASE her designs!  

So .... on to my creations.  I hope they give you inspiration as to all the things you can do with this great stamp set!


I used a toothpick on this card!  Love those pumpkins all lined up in a row.
I paper-pieced the reindeer onto the stocking.

My FIRST Rosette / Medallion / Lolly - whatever you call it!!

Close up of the lolly - the SU Scoring Tool makes it easy!
This little snow gal is so cute.  I made this one a shaker card using mica flakes inside.

Close up of the shaker.

Pulled one of my old tricks on this one - when I had finished I had done the card backwards (opening to the left and not right!)  Easy to fix - just turned it upside down and repositioned the heart!

Close up - used tiny pearls for owl's eyes.  The border on the side is made using the Curly Label Punch!
This opens up (see below) and holds a pack of gum!



So, I hope you have enjoyed my cards showcasing Gift Givers.  If you would like to win ALL of these cards, leave me a comment telling me which one is your favorite.


Now you want to hop on over to Sue Root's blog and see what she has designed for the NC DEMO'S HOLIDAY HOP.


This is a box I did a few weeks ago for a Newcomer's dinner using the Thanksgiving set from Gift Givers.

close up of the stamp - this box is not included in the blog candy!