Happy Birthday Blue Bear

Hello all. I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date. The Character Cafe challenge this week is:
MONOCHROME

I love monochrome cards and realized, with this challenge, that I don't create many of these types of cards. I think this has inspired me For this week's challenge, I'm using one of my favorite TCC digi's. I've used this one before, and still love it.

I wanted to get this up in time, one for The Character Cafe challenge, but also for the Mojo Monday challenge - but the link expired 43 minutes ago! Oh well. I still liked the layout.

Now who can resist this little guy? Details: image is from TCC, colored with copics, round and square nesties in my cuttlebug, old paperpack that I love yet no longer has the cover with the credits, sewing, hemp. No 3D dots on this one!!

I hope you will join this weeks challenge and don't forget to take a peek at the rest of the DT's incredible and inspiring work. Their links are located to your right --->

NOTE: This Friday we're having a BLOG HOP with The Character Cafe that you will NOT want to miss!! You are going to LOVE the latest digistamps.

Recipe Cards with AiFactory

I love recipe cards, recipe books, recipe holders....I could go on and on. One of my passions is to be just like Martha Stewart. I also hope some day to be part of her studio audience :)

This week at AiFactory Challenge Blog, the DT is showing off the very pretty and colorful recipe cards. We didn't have to do anything fancy, just share a recipe. First, let me show off the super cute cards that are super easy: just print and cut!

Here is my recipe along with a little tutorial for you all should you decide to give these a try. Oh, and my recipe has been changed through many years of baking these and are made for high altitude. So if you are not high altitude, I suggest you lessen the flour amount by 1/4 cup.

Recipe:

1 1/4 cup lard
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/4 cup wine, water OR juice
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp anise
1 1/2 tsp baking powder


Mix everything together. It doesn't matter what order you add ingredients, but if you warm the lard (highly suggested), make sure you don't pour it directly over the eggs. You don't want to cook them and have little pieces of cooked yolk in your masa(dough).
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I usually roll the masa to approximately 1/4", cut shapes, place on baking sheet, and shake a mixture of sugar and cinnamon on top. Don't be shy with the sugar mixture!

Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned (approximately 30 minutes) - don't overcook. The bottoms of the cookies should be light in color.

Also, don't forget what great and economical gifts cookie cutters make! Simply attach a recipe card with your favorite recipe along with a "sample" and voila!

I hope you enjoyed todays baking lesson! Don't forget to show some love to the rest of the AiFactory DT and join us in this weeks challenge.

Easter Tag

I guess I'm just in the mood for tags. There is a super adorable FREEBIE over at AiFactory that I thought would be perfect.

I glued two strips of green ribbon and cut just a little off the top so it would fray to make my grass. I also sponged clouds, but I think it's a little difficult to see with the letters and duckie in the way...but I think they came out pretty good (my first time trying that technique).

I used my letter dies in my cuttlebug to spell "Bean" using chipboard (cereal box) and teal CS. Mr. Duck is colored using my Bics. Now I was thinking this would be for Easter, but I'm not completely positive just yet. But either way, I have it in the waiting for when I'll need it. Thanks for stopping by!

TCC CAS OLC

Happy Friday! This has been a long week. I know technically, there were just as many hours this week as there were last week...but I'm sure it was still somehow longer.

Friday is The Character Cafe day and I used a digistamp I would not normally use. I'm more into the "cutsie" type stamps and die cuts...but I went with something a little more "mature." Plus, I'm hoping that if I make cards for spring, then spring will show its face soon.

LOL! Don't you feel like we speak our own language? So here's my TCC CAS OLC: The Character Cafe, Clean and Simple, One Layer Card.

PTI kraft is my favorite! So smooth and sturdy. I made two text boxes in word: one for the image and one for the sentiment. I printed it so the stems would touch bottom, and colored these lovelies with my prisma pencils and OMS.

So if you get a chance, join this weeks Character Cafe challenge for your chance to win a free Digistamp, and give the rest of the DT blogs some love! They are a super talented group I get the privilege to "work" with.

This card meets the following Challenges:

• Pile It On - #6 Flowers
• Cupcake Craft Challenge - #78 Keep it Simple
• Practical Scrappers - Flowers
• A Spoon Full of Sugar - #91 Spring is in the Air

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a great weekend!!

It's a Date with AiFactory

Hello everyone! First, I want to thank all of you who visit my blog and let you know that I really do appreciate it. With work, school, and spending time with Bean, my craft is my escape, and I love to share it. So thanks again for allowing me to share with you.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program!

It is Thursday, which means AiFactory Challenge day. First, I want to let you know there is a super cute digi FREEBIE over at the store right now. I plan to show it off this weekend, but if you can't wait to see what it is, head on over and get it for yourself! Now, the DT is using a calendar but were asked to think outside the box. Of course, we can all print, cut and make a calendar...that would actually be really nice. BUT, what else can we come up with? Well, I can tell you now that you MUST visit the rest of the DT to see their super lovely creations.

When I saw the calendars, my first thought was this:

I used a "toe tag", inked with Ranger denim, distressed the edges, added my calendar and lace, and embellished. The butterfly is QuikCutz, and I thought sewing all around added a nice touch.

So I chose May for my daughter's birthday. Bean will be 3 this year and we got her one of those Fisher Price cameras that you can drop and abuse. Yup, we already got it because it's actually a little hard to find and didn't want to chance waiting till the last minute.

The antenna are handcut since I was having trouble getting a clean cut from the die. Pop dots of course, and inking of the wings using Ranger firebrick red (wow, that's an incomplete sentence!).

Anyway, if you're looking for a challenge, head on over to the AiFactory Challenge Blog to enter this week for a chance to win. Also, you are not required to use an AiF image, but there are plenty of FREEBIES at the store if you just want to get a feel of digistamps.

A Couple Little Goodies

I think it was last Monday that I posted a couple cards from the last Stamp Camp I attended. Well, here are two non-cards we made as well:

So this little milk carton is just adorable! It's a little smaller than I thought from the catalog, but I wanted it anyway.

I can see using this for the kids especially. I planned to make them for Valentine's Day for the kids in Bean's class, but we were asked to not take candy...cards only. And guess what? I forgot to make cards! I'm such a bad Mommy.

Here's a nifty little card holder similar to the candy-pull holder. So you pull the ribbon:

and out pops the card. I haven't tested it yet, but you're supposed to be able to fit a regular sized gift card in here. Aren't these just cute? Thank you all for stopping by! I will have another AiFactory post for you tomorrow.

Be Mine Color Challenge

OK, so when I first heard what our color challenge was going to be over at The Character Cafe, I froze. I saw the word "yellow" and thought "huh?" But then I got everything together and loved it! So, the challenge is to use:
PINK
BLUE
YELLOW

Isn't he adorable?! I've been waiting to use him and this was the perfect challenge. I forgot what mat stack I used for the pink and blue DP, yellow ribbon is $1 Michaels, digistamp is Character Cafe, colored with copics and bics.

I especially love the sentiment placement. Do you think his nose should be a different color? I debated that for a while and finally just went with the N7 gray copic.

So head to The Character Cafe to play along this week for your chance to win a super cute digistamp! Also, don't forget to show some love to the rest of the DT: Am I a Scrap Addict??, Angie Cortes Designs, Billie's Scrappetique, Fink's Happenings, handmade by lilacanglia,

Heather's Heavinly Stampations, luminous in my chaotic dreams(life), My Cardstock Creations, My Useless Crafts, Touch of Creation.

This card meets the following challenges:

• The Character Cafe - color challenge
• Double Dutch - Be My Valentine
• Papertake Weekly - Sketch #34

Thursday with AiFactory and Softpencil

Hello everyone. Today is Thursday and that means another great challenge from AiFactory Challenge Blog. This weeks challenge is to use: HEARTS and lots of them. With Valentines Day just around the corner, this is an easy one!

For this weeks challenge, we were given a super adorable digistamp by the talented Softpencil. Her digis are great, print nicely, and are easy to color. Not only that, but they really are just too cute.

Details: PTI, George Cricut Cart (for the hearts), rik-rak (hmmm, how do you spell that?), copics, round nesties in the Cuttlebug, Softpencil digi and computer generated sentiment, unknown patterned paper, and Ranger firebrick red ink.

This card meets the following challenges:

• Softpencil - Hearts
• AiFactory - Hearts
• Card Patterns - Sketch 50
• Crazy 4 Challenges - Be My Valentine
• Cupcake Craft Challenges - Red and White
• Double Dutch - Be My Valentine
• Incy Wincy Designs - Red and Black
• Pink Elephant - Mushy Gushy Valentine
• Creative Card Crew - Valentines

Wow, that's the most ever for me! So come play along at the challenge blog. You do not have to use an AiF image, but there are plenty of FREEBIES HERE if you would like to use one. Also, take a look at the rest of the DT for more inspiration: Carole, Cheri, Kerry, Angie, Penny, Erin, Monica, Fliss, Fink, Carlie, Laurie, Michelle

My 15 Minutes

I just wanted to share that I have been published in Paper Crafts Stamp It! Cards January 2010 issue.

I'm in the Birthday section. I always wondered if I could get published but never did anything about it.  One day I finally told myself to just do it. I submitted 3 of my cards, and within a couple weeks I got an email saying they want one of my cards! I was so excited but didn't tell anyone until the issue actually came out. I hope you will check it out. Anyway, just wanted to share.

Stamp Camp

Last Saturday I thought I was going to one of Ruth's regular Stampin' Up classes, but was pleasantly surprised with a Stamp Camp. Here are a couple of creations:

I LOVE this little house set! Hopefully I'll get my set this week. You get one free with purchase...which means I spent way too much money! But that was the only way to get these stamps. I can rationalize anything ;)

Here's another card we made. OK, I'm not wild about the colors, but I like the layout and the scallop punch. We were supposed to color the image with chalks (or what the Stampin' Up people call "pastels"), but I took mine home to color with copics instead. I went with a birthday card since my Auntie Lena's birthday is Friday, so I'll be sending this out to her today.