Did someone say "Chocolate"?

Ok.....now I know that I said I was trying to drop some weight...but when I get a craving for chocolate, you better just stand back and hand it over! Don't judge...tomorrow is another day for eating right. So...what does a girl who is craving chocolate and is addicted to Pinterest do? Well, she finds a recipe for brownies from scratch...that's what she does!! This recipe comes from www.recipegirl.com and it was super easy to put together! Best part, I already had everything I needed...I love it when that happens!

Yes, I licked the spatula after I took this photo! (again...don't judge, you know you would do the same thing!)

Ready for the oven!

All done and delish!!

These were so easy and taste amazing! The only thing I would do different next time is forget the foil and spray my pan with a cooking spray. These kinda stuck to the foil. Also, I had to cook mine a bit longer than she said, but I also live at a high altitude which really can change your cooking times. Give these a shot ya'll,  here's the link to follow http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/09/24/cocoa-brownies/

(her photos are much prettier than mine!)

A Tornado Has Hit My Craft Room!

Now do you see why I haven't been crafting!?! This is what happens when a remodel project takes over your crafting space!! Today Operation Clean Up will begin!! Soooooo, who wants to come help me? Anyone.....anyone...??????

Well Hello There.....

It has been a LONG time since I have posted anything on my blog! So much has been going on around here and I think things are finally getting back on track for me to start blogging again. My focus has changed while I have been away and I want to show that on my blog. Keep a look out for the look of my blog to change as well as the content. I have been cooking a lot lately and I am back on track to start dropping the weight I have gained. I want to share some of the yummy stuff I have been fixing with you. I am slowly starting to get back into crafting so that will still be on here as well. Sadly, we have lost two of our pooches since I last posted here and we have a new puppy. She is a handful, so be prepared for me to vent my puppy frustrations!! I hope ya'll stick with me, it's gonna be fun being back in blogland with ya!!

Red, White and Blue with Practical Scrappers

This week is all about the Red, White and Blue at Practical Scrappers. I just had to share a layout with you that I did last year again. You might remember it, but I just love it so much I wanted to show it to you again.

This is a layout that I did at the end of last year to celebrate my husband's amazing military life. After 33 years of service, he retired last October. I could not be more proud of him!!

Please join us over at Practical Scrappers and see what other great Red, White and Blue creations are being featured!

Something Old, Something New with The Kraft Journal

This week The Kraft Journal has a fun challenge! "Something Old, Something New"

So many things came to mind with that prompt. I decided to start a, much begged for, recipe album for my daughter. I decided on 8x8 for the size, I thought that would be perfect for the kitchen. Here's a look at the page I created,

I used a combination of Old and New items along with an Old recipe to create the 8x8 album page. The base of the page is created from Brown Kraft Cover Weight Cardstock. The recipe is hand written on a White Library Card and sits inside of a Library Pocket. This one is for my homemade Spaghetti Sauce that we refer to as simply...Sauce.  The bow is tied from Twill Tape and the little heart embellishment is attached with a Tiny Wooden Clothespin. The paper I used is from Cosmo Cricket and I thought is was just perfect for the Sauce page. I'm not sure if I will stick with the same collection for every page or not, we'll just have to see how it goes along. 

Today is a big day for me. As you read this I am having a much anticipated surgery (if you are reading this Monday morning that is). After several years of suffering with sinus issues, we finally know what is wrong and it's being fixed! I'm not exactly excited about having surgery, but I am excited about being able to breath correctly again. 

I hope you will come and visit us over at The Kraft Journal and join in on this fun challenge. Just remember to follow the rules to qualify for the prizes, either use items from Kraft Outlet or use kraft on your project. 

Stamping on Layouts with Practical Scrappers

Today Practical Scrappers is featuring Layouts with stamping on them. I've done this a few times in the past, but stamps are not the first thing I grab when I'm making a layout. I'm not sure why, I always really like the way they turn out!

Here is a look at a layout I made using some stamping as the background,

I wanted the stamping to be have a more faded look, I didn't want it to be bold or crisp. I used the "stamping off" or "second generation" stamping technique to create an owl and tree background for this adorable picture of little William. The owl is from Hero Arts, the tree is from For the Luv of Art and the stitched line is from Sassafrass Be sure to head on over to Practical Scrappers and see what else has been published in the Stamped Layout catagory posted today, lots of different and inspiring ideas!!

Welcome Summer with The Kraft Journal

It's time to Welcome Summer at The Kraft Journal!

Along with summer seems to come a lot of parties. I decided to create this adorable gift card holder for a birthday party that we recently attended.

I started out using one of the  Small Kraft Pillow Boxes from Kraft Outlet. I decorated it with the Pretty Bird Paper Tape collection. The stripes, leaves and butterfly were all made with the paper tape. The center of the flower is one of my Kraft Outlet fav's, a  Silver Bottle Cap topped off with a button from my collection. A faux stitch line created with my white gel pen finishes it off.

I hope that you will visit us at The Kraft Journal this week and play along with us. Create your "Welcome Summer" inspired project with either items from Kraft Outlet or kraft products to qualify to enter and win prizes.

Father's Day with The Kraft Jouranl

It's all about Father's Day this week at The Kraft Journal. Use items from Kraft Outlet or Kraft Cardstock on your project to join in on the fun! This week I made a layout of my husband and son. I used a TON of items from Kraft Outlet, check it out.

I started out by using an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of  Lunch Bag Kraft Cardstock  as an anchor for the layout. It's decorated with Silver Bottle Caps, Tim Holtz Journaling Tickets and Gaffer Tape (Venice). I also used a few buttons from my stash.  A White Library Card and Pocket were inked up with Old Paper Distress Ink and used for journaling. The pocket was stamped with the 7gypsies ATC Write It stamp for added interest. I also used the little tab punch from Stampin Up  for a few spots that needed that little "something". I surrounded the picture with some lime green stitching on my sewing machine to create a frame since I did not mat the photo. I just adore this photo of my two guys and I really like how the layout turned out. I'm slowly (very slowly) feeling more confident about doing more masculine layouts. Practice, practice and more practice.

I hope that you will join us for the challenge this week at The Kraft Journal. Be sure to visit the blog and see what the other designers created for this theme.

Thanks for visiting and have a fantastic day!

Bargello Tutorial for The Kraft Journal

Today at The Kraft Journal I am sharing a tutorial on the Bargello technique I used on this project,

Please visit The Kraft Journal and check out the tutorial!
Also, there is still time to enter this week's challenge, here are the details...

Use this week's "It's a Guy Thing" theme to inspire you to create a project and then link it up at The Kraft Journal before 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Sunday June 12, 2011. All participants in our challenges for the month of June have a chance to be featured on our "Feature Me Fridays" posts as well as be entered to win a $15.00 Kraft Outlet Store Voucher! The more challenges you enter this month, the more chances you have to win!



Have a fantastic day!!

Summer Kickoff Blog Hop

Welcome to the Summer Kick-Off Blog Hop!


Practical Scrappers has assembled a great line-up of Blogs for you this week, each with a variety of different ideas to share with you!   Some of the blogs change content daily, so you'll want to check in throughout the week for your chance to win prizes!  The Twinery has provided a giveaway for one person who visits each blog!  Here's all you have to do to qualify:  Visit each blog and then send Practical Scrappers one email telling them a topic that is currently or has recently been featured on each site.  Not hard and it gives you a chance to really check out these great blogs!  To enter send the email to practicalscrappers@gmail.com

Here's the order for the Blog Hop:

Practical Scrappers (Start There)

Papercraft Star (Giving away a Stamp Bundle from TradeFish Designs!!)

Pile It On

Stuck on U Sketches

Getting Cricky

Frosted Designs

Amy Chomas

PCS Challenge and a visit from Beth!

What a fantastic day here in Colorado! Beth is here with me and we visited the oh so beautiful Garden of the Gods today. Here is one of the pictures that we took this morning,

Isn't that just gorgeous!?!

I am so loving having Beth here at my home. We took a few moments to look over some scrapbooks that I completed back in the 90's. It's so funny to look back and see how much scrapbooking has changed over the years. I have some layouts with at least 10 pictures on them and you would never catch me doing that these days!!

For this week's dual challenge we had a beautiful white photo for inspiration and fabulous stamps from our sponsor Trade Fish Designs to use. I created a mostly white and black Father's Day card for this challenge. I created a banner of out neck ties and used a basic Happy Father's Day sentiment. On the inside of the card I used a stamp from the Father Quotes stamp set from Trade Fish Designs. I could not agree more with who ever the "unknown" author is! 

You still have time to join us at Papercraft Star for this dual challenge! Just link up your project by 9pm (eastern) on Sunday, after that the voting will begin.

Memorial Day with The Kraft Journal

It's all about Memorial Day at The Kraft Journal this week!!

You still have time to join in on the fun, just visit the blog and link up your Memorial Day project by Sunday, June 5th by 6pm (eastern). Just be sure to use items from The Kraft Outlet or kraft cardstock to be eligible for prizes.

I chose to make a red, white and blue Thank You card for this challenge. I used Brown Kraft Coverweight Cardstock for the card base and used Decorative Paper Tape as a guide for the stripes. Barn Door distress ink was used to color in the stripes and highlight the red flower. It's all finished of with a shiny silver bow.

I hope you will visit us at The Kraft Journal! 

Giveaway at Practical Scrappers featuring Nikki Sivils!

Nikki Sivils is one of the hottest manufacturers around, and for good reason,  she creates some seriously fun products.  Her designs are bright and cheery, filled with animals and whimsical design.  It definitely stands out with its unique color combinations and coordinated lines.  Today Practical Scrappers is sharing projects from both the designers and reader submissions.  Check 'em out and then get yourself entered to win some Nikki Sivils goodies of your own!  And if you are up for it, she's looking for a guest designer...you can find all the details here!

Nikki has genersously shared some goodies from the "Summer" and "It's Your Day" lines to give away today.  

To enter here's what you need to do:

1) Make sure you are a follower at Practical Scrappers and leave  a comment telling us which of Nikki's lines is your favorite.

2) For a second entry become of fan of theirs on Facebook and tell them Practical Scrappers sent you and make sure you let Practical Scrappers know you did so! Or become a follower on their blog and let Practical Scrappers know!

Deadline for entry is June 1st!

Clean & Simple with The Kraft Journal

This week it's all about Clean & Simple at The Kraft Journal. Sometimes Clean & Simple can be harder than it sounds. Normally I would say that is my style, but when I sat down for this one....clean & simple seemed to stump me..LOL

Here is the layout I created while keeping Clean & Simple in mind,

Sometimes I have a hard time leaving blank space on a layout, I feel like I need to add something. I didn't this time, I kept my focus and knew when to stop adding. Nothing could be more simple than dry embossing strips of Brown Kraft Cover Weight Card Stock and inking it up with Vintage Photo Distress Ink to create a background for a layout. I used several different embossing folders on different widths of paper to add interest. Just because something is clean and simple doesn't mean it has to be boring!
Vintage Dictionary Pages punched with a scallop circle punch created a cute border for the photo and a Buff Post Card Shipping Tag makes a perfect journaling spot.

Be sure to head on over to The Kraft Journal to join in on the fun this week. Plus, you don't want to miss what the other designers created!!

Stand and Salute with The Kraft Journal

This week I  made this adorable Thank You gift bag for a friend that just returned from the Middle East. Non-traditional stars and stripes paper give this Kraft Coffee Bag a fun whimsical feel. Actually, this paper is a non-traditional Christmas paper that I just adore by Scenic Route. I love the colors, stars, stripes and dots and I thought it would be perfect for an out-of-the-box patriotic feel. I tied off the top of the bag with a bow out of Natural Twill Tying Tape. I cut a few stars on my Cricut from the Potpourri cartridge and layered them with pop-dots. I used a white gel pen to make faux stitching lines on the red stars and squares of paper. You can see a tutorial on how I did the pattern with the paper on Splitcoast Stampers right HERE, it's called the Bargello Technique.

Be sure to head on over to The Kraft Journal and check out this new challenge. Our fabulous design team always has the greatest projects to share and inspire!

Papercraft Star Challenge 45

Challenge 45 at Papercraft Star

 With this photograph as your inspiration create a project that includes: At least one die cut or stamped image, A metal element or button and two different patterned papers.

Here is what I came up with for this challenge,

I was really inspired by the bright colors in the photograph. And, this idea was sparked by my Stampin Up catalog/idea book. I used all Stampin Up products here except for the little silver bling and the frame. I really like how this turned out and it is going to be part of a graduation gift for a friend of the family who is already done with her bachelor degree...my how fast the time went by!

I hope that you will join me over at PCS for this challenge. You have until 9pm (eastern) Sunday, May 15th to get your project linked up before the voting begins.

Bracelet Tutorial for The Kraft Journal

Welcome to another tutorial for The Kraft Journal!

Use this week's Buttons and Bows theme to inspire you to create a project and then link it up at The Kraft Journal before 6:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Sunday May 15, 2011.  All participants in our challenges for the month of May have a chance to be featured on our "Feature Me Fridays" posts as well as be entered to win a $15.00 Kraft Outlet Store Voucher!  The more challenges you enter this month, the more chances you have to win!

My New Blog

Hello my crafty friends!!

I have decided to start a new blog to help with my weight loss journey. I would love for you to join me!! I named it "where do I fit in with THIN".  If you have a weight loss blog, please share the link with me. I am looking for some to follow that will help me stay motivated. My hope is that by having an avenue to vent my frustrations and celebrate some victories I will be able to stay more focused on my goal.

Have a great day!!

Birthday Cards at Practical Scrappers

It's all about Birthdays this week at Practical Scrappers! Today is cards and Wednesday will be layouts.

I made a cute and simple birthday card with this adorable stamp set from Stampin Up!. I just love that display of yummy sweets. I even broke out my, much neglected, Copic markers for this one. Be sure to head on over to Practical Scrappers and take a look at the other birthday cards on display.

The Kraft Journal - Mother's Day

It's all about Mother's Day this week at The Kraft Journal!

I  chose to make a non-traditional Mother's Day card for this week's challenge. Somehow the gushy cards just don't seem to fit the relationship I have with my Mother. I typically stick to more of a Thinking of You theme when I am creating or purchasing a card for her on Mother's Day. I started with a Kraft Blank Note Card and matching envelope for the base. It is decorated with stripes made from Decorative Paper Tape and a layered flower made from the same paper tape. (You can see my tutorial on how that flower was made). Butterflies were stamped and then punched out of Lunch Bag Kraft Text Paper and the body was wrapped in Brown Kraft Baker's Twine. I love the extra added touch of stampin on the envelope to match the card!

Head on over to The Kraft Journal and take a look at what the other amazing designers on this team have created with Mother's Day in mind.