Giggles

Some pictures just make me giggle every time I see them. This is one of them.

She can fly!

I feel like there needs to be some sort of journaling on this one, but I don't know what yet. So this is it for now. It's another picture from her 2 year photo shoot, and I'm glad to be getting these done since her birthday is coming up again in 2 months!

This girl loves to create art...

Just documenting some of Ellie's creative side here...

Another NSD Layout: Enjoy Every Moment

I love the pictures we took of Ellie and my mom when we took 2 year photos last summer. There are a lot of them that I still haven't scrapbooked, though, because how many layouts can you do about 2 year pictures? I worked through some of them on Saturday, though, and this is one of them. I love it!

Would you believe it??

Amazing, I know, but I am actually updating My Inner Martha! That in itself is shocking, I am sure, after all but a month's absence, but here's the real kicker... I have scrapbooking pages to show for my absence!

*GASP*

I know. It's been so long. I actually got down to the craft room for National Scrapbooking Day on Saturday and I got about 10 layouts done. It has seriously been a couple months since I scrapped, I think. And, sadly, it will probably be a while before I get to it again, so I will spread the layouts over a few posts. =D If you're really lucky I'll even remember to schedule them so I don't have to remember to post them regularly for you. ;D

So... the first one I will post is one of my favorites from the weekend. I have been putting off scrapping my pictures from Eliana's labor. But I just felt like these went together and I liked it, so I went for it! Do you ever have a hard time scrapping pictures from an event because it was such a special event or such a special picture that you just want to do it justice? That's pretty much how I am with Ellie's birth pictures. I've scrapped a couple, but it is hard for me! So this was big. But I like it!! Here you go...

Angel Eggs...

It's not a Martha Stewart recipe, but it's cute, and one I want to try...

The Best Deviled Eggs (from Home Made Simple)
Set this traditional party appetizer apart at your next gathering with a combination of chives, bacon, lemon and tarragon, along with our inspired take on presenting these delicious deviled eggs.

Serves 6-8
Total time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 dozen hard-boiled eggs, peeled
3 heaping tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped (plus more for garnish)
4 slices of cooked bacon, finely chopped (or bacon bits)
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Take each of your peeled hard-boiled eggs and slice off the bottom (wide) end to expose the yolk. Cut a small sliver off of the top (pointed) end to help it sit up straight.
2. Scoop out the yolks into a medium-sized bowl and place the whites carefully into an empty egg carton with the hole-end up for filling purposes.
3. In your bowl, mash the yolks with a fork and add mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives, bacon, tarragon and mustard, then stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Use a pastry bag with a piping tip or a zip top plastic bag with a corner snipped at an angle to fill your egg whites with the yolk mixture. Add more mayo if the mixture is too thick to pass through. Garnish with chopped fresh chives.

Tip: You can buy piping tips in the cake decorating section of the grocery store. Try attaching one to your zip top bag for more precise and decorative filling.

A pile o' cards

So I picked up the items I had on display at the LSS last time I was there. I knew I still had a couple layouts there and some other items, but I didn't realize just how many cards I had on display. Look at the pile!

There are 68 cards here. And two I know that are there but I couldn't find. I had at least 70 cards on display at the LSS. Crazy!!!

I'm teaching a class on Saturday...

... so that's what I've been working on lately! I finally got the project done for my Canvas Album class at Keepsakes by Design this Saturday. Here it is....

A belated valentine...

Before the month of February ends, I ought to at least show you what I did for Valentines this year!

I made some heart chocolates (some peanut butter filled, some toffee crunch filled) and some chocolate covered pretzels (pink and white, of course) sprinkled with coarse sugar and tied them up with cute pink and brown polka dotted bows. I love this ribbon! It was clearance ribbon from Martha Stewart Christmas stuff at Kmart, but I thought it was PERFECT for Valentine's Day. Isn't it?? I love it!

Here's a closer look at the Valentine goodies....

Together

Love this picture. More from the Sweet Pea Scraps February kit...

My Little Beauty

And some detail shots...

This is another layout from the February Sweet Pea Scraps kit. I've said it before, but I'll say it again... I love these kits! I've gotten quite a few layouts from this kit already and I've still got plenty of paper left to do more. I love it! On this layout I used one of the clear stickers and painted on it with alcohol ink. That's what the flower overlapping the photo is. I also used alcohol ink around the edges of the paper, then over painted with some gold acrylic paint. There's actually quite a bit of gold acrylic paint on this layout... The pictures are from Halloween, but I just love them so much I couldn't resist scrapping them again... =D

Motherhood

This is my favorite layout as of late. I love the combination of textures and colors and the subject matter! And I love that I had no idea what to do with these papers the first time I saw them, but that they worked perfectly together for this layout.

The fabric I sewed across the bottom looks blue in the first picture and green in the second because it is a beautiful blue/green taffeta. I got a scrap of it somewhere and I'm loving scrapbooking with it. It's the perfect color and texture for so many things, and I really think it's what ties this two page layout together. The key is from a set of old keys my mom cleaned up and gave me. I'm really enjoying playing with these on layouts, too! Except that I'm afraid I'm going to use them all up and then I won't have any....

I painted a little gold acrylic paint around the edges of the photo and mat, just to make them stand out a little more. I really like the effect. I'm not sure the picture does it justice, but I like it in person a lot.

The journaling on this layout just talks about how much I have always wanted to be a mother. More than anything else in the world. Motherhood is such a special thing to me and I really think it needs to be documented, even if I don't know which album this layout goes in. I want my kid(s) to know someday how much it means to me to be a mother. (T)he(i)r mother.

And when it all comes down to it, this, THIS, is why I scrapbook. I have been given a legacy by those before me, and I want to do my part in handing it down to the ones entrusted to me.

(Sweet Pea Scraps February 2009 kit)

A little scrapbookery...

A new favorite website...

I found a new favorite baking website... adorable, wonderful things for candy making! It's great! The website is Bake It Pretty... I can't wait to get some hard candy molds! It will be GREAT!

I seem to be in candy making mode right now. I don't know what that means, but Eliana sure has been enjoying it!

Scrapbooking!!!

I got to scrapbook Friday, yesterday, and today. WOOHOOO! That means I should have new things to show-and-tell soon. Yippee!

Life is a bowl of cherries...

... and this is a complete scraplift!

But I love how it turned out! Layouts like this are why I'm so glad Sweet Pea Scraps has a DT gallery! I would never have known how to use this paper if it hadn't been for the layout I lifted, but it was perfect for this picture and I found a quote I liked. So... this is my take on it.

Shrek Baby!

The first time we put pigtails in Ellie's hair, she looked like Shrek! =D

Homegrown Beauty

This is another from the Sweet Pea Scraps kit I was using, though I can't remember which one it is. *blush* I suppose if I stayed on top of my scrapbooking I might remember which kit I'm using, but I don't, so... oh well! I'm just glad to have a few new layouts done and getting them posted!

I played some more with the book pages on this one... I made the letters for "beauty" out of the pages and then layered them, popping every other letter up with pop dots for a little depth. I also did a little hand stitching up to the flower blooms, which were also made with the book pages. I'm getting a lot of use out of this book so far!

Vintage Valentines

Remember these vintage beauties??


Well, they're now for sale at a local scrapbook shop near you!

Well, okay, a local scrapbook shop near you IF you happen to live in Bozeman, MT. ;D

Yes, I now have items (finished items, not kits) available for sale at Keepsakes By Design in Bozeman. There are a few things, from a premade vintage 8x8 album to cards (including these!) to mini albums...

So if you're interested, you know where to get them. =D

You hold the key....

This is a wall hanging I made the other day, expanding on my new found decoupage technique. =D I covered a 12x13 piece of lightweight chipboard and finished the edges with wide Prima tape. Turns out I really like how that works! I used a full page from the book to mat the photo, just curling, tearing, and inking the edges as needed. Then I added the flourish around the corner of the photo, which is a combination of several things: Stamping, painting with alcohol inks (another dabble into a "new" technique), Prima crystal swirls, and Prima flowers with vintage button centers. What I like best about this corner is that it has such dimension and texture. In the picture it looks pretty one dimensional, but in reality you can see the text through the painted flowers, the Prima flowers pop up, and the painted swirls stem off the crystal swirls. I just like how they all build off one another and meld together to create a single multi-dimensional element. It's fun!

Because the bottom of the page seemed sort of blank, I sewed a strip of bunched tulle across the bottom of the page, creating a sort of ruffle. It's gold, shimmery tulle, and I like it! I also raided my chipboard stash for this project, and used chipboard letters (painted with Radiant Rain mica daubers) and a chipboard heart (painted with black crackle paint). I cut the words "to my heart" right out of the book I'd used for for the rest of the project and just pressed them into the crackle paint while it was still wet. Add a few button ellipses, and voila! the corner embellishment is finished! Very simple, really....

The other element I added to this project is an antique skeleton key. My mom gave me a whole bunch of these to use on projects (she gave me the book I used, too) and I had yet to use one, the fact of which she reminded me often. ;D So, Mom, this one is for you! (And actually, I did make the wall hanging for her. =D Whether she'll want it or not, we'll have to see, but she was the one I had in mind when I made it, and the picture is of her and Eliana this summer.)

So this is it... the first "real" project I've done in MONTHS! I'm so happy to be back crafting and scrapping! I've even made a couple layouts since doing this, so the crafty has continued! Hooray!

Tags...

The first thing I worked on when I started crafting again was tags. They're quick, easy, and fun to try new techniques on. My "new" technique? Decoupage!!! I've been having a blast with an old book and a jar of mod podge. It's great! I know it's something pretty much every crafter has done, but I had never done it (at least not like this) before. But KBD is heading the way of the shabby chic, so I am heading, too, and practicing to get my skills up to speed as I go! So here are a couple of the tags I created before I was ready to move up to something bigger. (Don't worry, that 'something bigger' will be in the next post for your viewing pleasure. =D)

(Goodness! Now that Eliana is 2 it's so hard to believe that she was ever that little!)

A moment of silence, please...

... for the passing of yet another craft drought. But the rains have come and guess what I did yesterday??

Yes, I CRAFTED!!! First time in a long time, too!

I didn't actually finish any projects, but the fact that I started working on two is HUGE!! And I'm excited to do more!

We had our DT meeting at KBD yesterday, and I went in with absolutely no ideas, no plans for teaching classes (because, well, it's hard to plan for classes when you have no ideas!), and not much of anything, really, since it has been so long since I've crafted! But there are some changes going on at the store, and I'm really excited about them, which means I've got a new direction to take my projects. And apparently that was all the motivation and inspiration I needed to try something new. So... I did!

When I finish, I'll have pictures, but for now I've just got a new technique (well, new to ME) that I'm playing with.

But for now let's just take a moment of silence. And then, let the crafting begin!

An award? For ME?

You know, for someone who hasn't crafted in who-knows-how-long (and has a DT meeting tomorrow morning, but will be showing up with no ideas whatsoever!) this little beauty from Julie was such an encouragement!


Thank you Julie!!! You really made my day and I am starting to have hope again that there is crafting in my future! And when it looks like my future is craftless and bleak, I will again take up hope and read these words from Julie...

The next lovely person I want to bestow this honor on is Elizabeth . I can't say enough about this girl! She is one super mom to a beautiful daughter, she cooks and bakes like none other, she definately puts Martha to shame and she scrapbooks!! Her pages and card creations always rock the house and I am so blown away by work :)

Isn't that just the sweetest??? Thank you!

And do you know who I'd like to nominate for this awesome award?? My dear friend Tam, who has two kids of her own and seems to have about as much craft time as I have these days! I haven't seen Tam in a few years (I was pregnant with Ellie last time I saw her!) and I miss her dearly! So Tam, this award is for you!

Do you know how long it has been since I've crafted??

Me either.

But it's been a LONG time! In fact, last night I dreamed that I got to scrapbook again. It was wonderful! But then I woke up and realized once again just how long it has really been since I've gotten to play with paper. Looks like I need to schedule a playdate to scrapbook! Anyone game?

Best Craft Table!

Really, truly, isn't this the best craft table ever? I would love something like this for our family... I could craft, Leif could geek, and Ellie could color, all in the same place! It's a pretty ingenious idea.

Queen of the Craft Room!!!

But don't take MY word for it... Martha Stewart told me so!

Okay, so really it was marthastewart.com that told me I was queen of the craft room, but I'm taking it! Here's a little quiz to test your craft IQ. Here's what they told me....

All hail to the queen -- or king -- of the craft room! Your crafts knowledge is supreme!

When 20 below is a beautiful thing....

Temperatures at 20 below zero are rarely a beautiful thing. Good for freezing all the bugs and keeping them at bay during the summer, yes, but good for getting out and playing in? No.

Unless you're making peppernuts.

Every year I make peppernut cookies for the holidays. My grandmother always did and I'm happy to carry on the tradition. Our recipe makes a ton of cookies, and if you're going to run the oven for half the day making them, it's best to do it on a cold day when you can enjoy the warmth.

But that's not why 20 below is beautiful on peppernut day. This is:

You see, you have to freeze the ropes of dough after you've formed them so they are solid enough to cut into cookies. I'm usually fighting to find enough space in my freezer for a few cookie sheets full of dough and it takes a long time for them to freeze. When it's 20 below out, though, you can just pop them outside in the snow and they freeze pretty quickly! It's sort of like flash freezing, I'd guess. It's great!

And then it occurred to me (well, actually it occurred to my brother, but he was nice enough to share this thought with me...) that the good German peppernut tradition probably predates the electric freezer. So I'm guessing putting the dough outside in the cold to chill is not something I am the first to do. Perhaps that's why they're winter cookies after all.

Holiday Ornament Making

This year Eliana got into the holiday spirit with hand crafted gifts, too! She and her little friends made some salt dough ornaments and painted them to give as gifts to the grandparents. Nothing like seeing your little girl get excited about crafting to make a mama's heart proud! =D

Ellie and J flattening out the salt dough.

Painting the ornaments at home the next day... Eliana painted them all by herself!

I think they turned out very nicely for ornaments made and hand painted by a 2 year old! I hope they were appreciated by the grandparents. I kept a couple for her to have as keepsakes, too.

Holiday Self Portrait

With Leif's new D300! =D

Fill in the Cake

I just have to put in a little plug for my friend Dana's blog, Fill in the Cake. I don't get to talk to her or see her very often, so I basically keep up with her through her blogs. (Yes, she's another crazy like me who has blogs plural...) Anywho, she's cute and crafty and has 4 kids and homeschools and I have no idea where she gets all the time or energy, but this is the kind of crazy cuteness I have come to expect when she updates her blog:


Seriously. Isn't it the cutest cake for a kid's birthday?? You should go take a peek at some of her other cakes. It's crazy impressive!

Perpetual Calendar Brilliance!!

I am not making perpetual calendars this year, but if I were (and if I ever do in the future!) THIS is sheer brilliance from the good old people at Purple Onion Designs.

Check out the website for more specific instructions on how to use the set, but it can be used year after year after year (until 2025!!). Seriously. Sheer brilliance. And.... true to Purple Onion fashion, the whole set is only $26! Pretty cool, huh?