It"s Been Awhile

Howdy friends!  Goodness me, I have not been on here in quite some time.  Unfortunately I have not had the mojo flowing to do much of anything crafty, but I'm slowly getting it back.  End of the school year is just a week away, and we've been crazy busy with all kinds of stuff!

Here's a quick card I made using the Make It Monday video series from Papertrey Ink.  Sometimes when I'm in a rut, I know I can go there and get some inspiration!  This week was a great way to use some scraps that I've been collecting.

For the first time in awhile, I did not "title" the card since I wanted to be able to use it for whatever I needed to.  Turns out, I need a birthday card!  But wouldn't this be great for a "Thank You" or a "Just Because" type card?

Thanks for coming over today!

Supplies:

Cardstock - Select White, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)

Patterned Paper - my paper stash (various companies)

Stamps - Delightful Dahlia (Papertrey Ink)

Dies - Fillable Frames #10, Limitless Layers (Papertrey Ink)

Ink - Hibiscus (Papertrey Ink); Chestnut (ColorBox)

Embellishment - Pearl (The Paper Studio)

Adhesive - ATG (Scotch)

Tools - Corner Rounder (Creative Memories); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Fab Friends and "Fab"ric Shoes

Howdy friends!  Its gorgeous here today and luckily I will get to spend time outside watching my son play rugby today.  Wanted to share 2 things with you today - so I'll try to make it short and sweet :)

First up - Fab Friend cards!  PTI's Make It Monday Challenge this week is about Layering.  I first made a basic one layer card, then I stepped it up and made a multi-layer card using the same basic layout.  Very cute idea - it was fun to take it to the next level.

Next up - "Fab"ric Shoes!  I'm super excited about these - I've recently seen on Pinterest using fabric to update your shoes.  I've had these shoes for about 2 years and they've been in my to donate pile for about 6 months.  Just didn't love them anymore - that is until I learned you could Mod Podge fabric on them and give them a new life!!!!!  As you can see, I've only done one shoe so I could show you the before and after.  Its super quick and didn't cost me a dime since I had the fabric, shoes, and Mod Podge already - SCORE!  I'm also planning on making some cute shoe clip flowers to go with them - making several colors to go with whatever outfit I'm wearing that day!  Check these babies out:

EEK!  Now this next picture might scare you a bit - I know, I need a bit of sunshine on these legs of mine... :0)

Anywho - I'm off to rugby soon.  Have a blessed day!

Jenn

Supplies for card:

Cardstock - (Lavendar Moon, Select White) Papertrey Ink

Stamps - (Enjoy the Ride, Tiny Treats: Christmas, Mod Squad, Background Basics: Retro) Papertrey Ink

Hybrid Ink - (True Black, Plum Pudding) Papertrey Ink

Dies - (Enjoy the Ride, Mat Stack 1) Papertrey Ink

Embellishments - (Button) Hobby Lobby; (Twine - Lavender) The Twinery; (Jewels) Tulip

Tools: (Corner Rounder) Creative Memories; (Cuttlebug) ProvoCraft

Adhesive: (ATG) Scotch; (450 Glue) Helmar; (ZapDots) Helmar

Another Birthday Card

Howdy friends!  Its been awhile since I've done anything in my studio - and shared anything.  I've been busy doing stuff - just haven't made the time to get it up here!  So - Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday challenge this week is to use leaf die cuts to make a flower.  I pondered this one a bit since I don't have many dies - much less leaf ones.  Funny enough, when I perused the dies, I came across the Delighful Dahlias dies!  Lo and behold, it had leaf dies!  2 sizes!  So I cut them out in 2 sizes and 2 colors then got busy creating a flower. 

ttfn!

Jenn

A Birthday Card

So, I have been collecting Copic Markers over the past year and have been using them off and on, very basic like.  I don't really know how to use them very well yet, but I'm intrigued when I see someone who has used them to beautifully color images.  I want to do that too!

When I come across a tutorial using Copics, I jump on board to learn.  This week, PTI happens to have a Make It Monday challenge that incorporates Copics - Graduated Backgrounds!  Let me tell ya - super easy...

I have a friend from church to send this card to.  I am so excited that this came out exactly the way I envisioned it - I hope she likes it!

Well, that's all for now.  I'm in the middle of reinventing this baby:

AND - it has a twin!  

I'll be back later to tell you more about these beauties!

ttfn,

Jennifer

Stamp Kissing Technique

Howdy friends!  Stopping in super quick to share my Happy Birthday card using the stamp kissing technique I learned from Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday video series.  What a fun way to use stamps!

That's all for now!  Gotta go make green treats for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!  Yummy!

Supplies:

all supplies used are Papertrey Ink unless noted otherwise

Cardstock - Select White, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus

Stamps - Sweet Spring, Just the Ticket, Vintage Ornaments, Background Basics: Retro

Hybrid Ink - Hibiscus, Raspberry Fizz, Dark Chocolate, Berry Sorbet, Vintage Cream, Fresh Snow

Dies - Christmas Label

Imression Plate - Geometric Circles (QuickKutz)

Button - Hobby Lobby

Twine - Cappucino (The Twinery)

Adhesive - ATG (Scotch), 450 Quick Dry (Helmar)

Anniversary Card

Howdy friends!  Hope your day is going well - its about to get really rainy here, and that's okay - we need it - and that means I can play in my studio today!

My mom and dad's anniversary is coming up - they are celebrating 39 years of marriage!  They are a great example of true and lasting marriage!  I'm not just saying that either cuz I know my mom looks at my blog -:).

Anyway - I made a card to send them and I used a new technique I learned from Papertrey Ink's Design Team member Betsy Veldman.  Go here to check out her informative video if you want to learn how to do this too!

Here is my card:

It is pretty girly I know, but I was feeling Spring(y) with our weather this week and couldn't help myself!  Thanks for stopping by today and letting me show you my work.

Have a blessed day!
Jennifer

Supplies: all supplies are from Papertrey Ink unless noted otherwise.
Cardstock - Select White, Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, New Leaf
Stamps - Friendship Jar, Friendship Jar: Spring Fillers, Background Basics: Retro, Delightful Dahlia
Dies - Jar Label, Delightful Dahlia
Die Cutting Machine - Cuttlebug (Provocraft)
Hybrid Ink - Sweet Blush, New Leaf, Berry Sorbet
Watermark Ink - Versamark
Embossing Powder - Puff White (Creations Unlimited)
Embellishments - Button and ribbon (Hobby Lobby), Twine - Peapod (The Twinery)
Stickles - Firefly (Ranger)
Daisy Doodles - Cherry (Prima)
Adhesives - ATG (Scotch), Pop Dots (The Paper Studio), Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Take a Bite out of....

Strawberry Bread!

Howdy friends!  Just popping in for a minute to share a fabulous Strawberry Bread recipe that I made this morning.  It is super easy and quick - oh, and most importantly - TASTY!  I was looking through my refridgerator this morning and noticed my strawberries were looking a bit sad.  Now, they were not gross by any means, but I knew within a couple of days they were going to be bad.  So, I remembered a yummy recipe I made before and dug it up.

This recipe is from a book I purchased many years ago at a Moms Club event.  It is titled Great Friends Great Tastes: A Celebration of Life, Food, and Friendship by Debbie Meyer

I adapted the recipe to make it a 'bit' healthier, and it turned out great!  Here is what I did and I'll note where I made the adaptions.

Fresh Strawberry Bread

2 cups washed and hulled whole strawberries

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on strawberries (Recipe calls for 2 cups, but I didn't want to put that much in!  I used Splenda on my strawberries and would have used it in the recipe too, but didn't feel like opening all those little packets!)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups of unsweetened applesause (Recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of vegetable oil)

4 eggs, beaten

(Recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, but I omitted them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice strawberries, place in bowl and sprinkle sugar - set aside.  Grease loaf pans (I used 4 small loaf pans).  Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in large bowl.  Mix well.  Blend oil and eggs into strawberries, add to flour mixture.  Add the pecans if using them.  Stir until ingredients are moistened.  Bake 40 minutes for small loaf, 50 minutes for larger loaf.  Cool 10 minutes before turning loaves out.

Enjoy!

Oh, I also mention that I've made it just like the original recipe (minus pecans) and it is super delicious!  It is a tad oily with the original, but I guess you could cut back on the oil a bit.  I absolutely loved this bread the first time around, but with my substitutions, I feel a bit less guilty eating it!!  Mmmm - my family is going to be so happy to see this when they get home today!  Oh, lets keep the secret of the substitutions between us, m'kay!

Have a blessed day!

Jennifer

I am linking this up today: