Freezer Meals

(Google images)

Hello friends!  Well, I know this is a stamping blog, and I try very hard not to stray from that because I believe that's what you come here to see!  But today, I'm doing a different post just hoping there might be a few of you out there who will appreciate it!

My oldest daughter and I recently did a day of freezer cooking.  In addition to having a great time together that day, we have the satisfaction now of having 28 MEALS in the freezer!  In addition to the meals, which I'll list below, we also have 10 half-batches of cheesy potatoes and put up 5 dozen ears of corn.  Here is what we did, with links to the recipes...

Individual Meat Loaves (18 loaves) - My Mom never made meat loaf... my Dad wouldn't have touched it with a 10 foot pole.  So my first experiences with making it were after I was married, and I was always pretty disappointed with how it turned out.  It just seemed like no matter how long I baked it, we'd still cut into it to find it greasy and raw in the middle.  So I was elated when I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine years ago, and I've never made meat loaf any other way.  We used 4 1/2 pounds of ground beef and made 18 individual loaves, and laid them out on cookie sheets covered with wax paper.  We stuck the cookie sheets in the freezer just long enough to solidify the meat, then wrapped them separately in wax paper, and have them in large Ziploc freezer bags.  This way we can just remove what we need, thaw and bake.  I should note that we did NOT put the ketchup mixture on top before freezing.  I'll do that when I'm ready to bake.

Gram's Potatoes (10 half-batches) - I got this recipe from one of my very best friends and have made it for years.  For this recipe, we mixed up 5 batches, then scooped half of each batch into large Ziploc freezer bags, and laid them in the freezer flat.  With the half batches, it'll be nicer for nights when it's just two of us eating dinner.  Just thaw in the fridge overnight, or put in the microwave on defrost just until it's thawed enough to dump into a glass baking dish.  Sometimes I brown cracker crumbs or cornflake crumbs and sprinkle on top before baking.  Yum!

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Roast (three batches) - SO super easy!  We just put the roast into a large Ziploc freezer bag, and added the other ingredients and tossed into the freezer.  And we took one out last week to have for supper, and IT. WAS. OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD!  Incredibly delicious!  We served it with garlic roasted red potatoes, and this recipe for Sautéed Green Beans with Bacon.  (Yes, we had bacon in the side dish with pork roast... don't judge!  LOL)

Sweet & Sour Meatballs (four batches) - I love this recipe... it's so easy and yummy!  For this one, we chopped the veggies and made the sauce, then just combined it all in these quart containers, and put in the freezer.  When we want this meal for dinner, I'll plan ahead and buy a 2 pound bag of frozen meatballs and a 20 ounce can of pineapple.  Just thaw the sauce in the fridge overnight, and dump it all in the crock pot!  Serve over rice or noodles.  (Sometimes I make this with homemade macaroni and cheese!)

Chicken Spaghetti (four batches) - This was a dish that Ree Drummond had on her website under meals that freeze well, so even though we've never tried it before we decided to make it this day.  My daughter got a little of the sauce on her finger and licked it off.  If the taste of that is any indication, we're in for a treat!  We just froze this in 9x13 foil pans.

Baked Ziti (six batches) - This was another recipe I found on Ree's website.  Have never tried it, but we're VERY anxious to put this on the menu some night soon!  The smell of the sauce just about sent us over the edge!  One word of caution... the 9x13 foil "cake" pans I bought were not deep enough for this recipe.  We ended up making six pans of this, but only one layer of ziti in each pan.  Next time, I'll buy "lasagna" pans.

In addition to all of this, I also have two large Ziploc freezer bags with some shredded chuck roast.  I had found a recipe for beef enchiladas that called for chuck roast in the filling.  However, after roasting the meat, it was much more "fatty" than I liked and I couldn't imagine putting this fatty beef into enchiladas.  So we just divided that meat into two bags and into the freezer, and when we need a quick meal we can just add the meat to a pot with some barbeque sauce, and have BBQ Beef sandwiches.  As a result of not making beef enchiladas that day, I instead took some time this past weekend to do...

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (three batches) - Another recipe we haven't tried, but decided I to make.  This is another one we're anxious to put on the menu some week soon!

We had also planned to make 3 batches of Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole, but we didn't end up with enough chicken after we made the Chicken Spaghetti.  So next weekend, I will probably get some more chicken and whip this dish up, too!

We labeled everything well before it went into the freezer, and have a list on the fridge upstairs of everything that is there so when I'm meal planning I can consult the list and plan accordingly!  I included baking instructions on that list, so my hubby will know what to do if I ask him to throw something in the oven before I get home from work.

If you've ever thought about doing a freezer cooking day, I hope you might find these recipes and a few of my tips helpful!



Giveaway!

Hello friends!  I just wanted to let you all know that I’m having a giveaway over on Instagram to celebrate one of my cards being published in the new issues of Creative Cards Volume One from Scrapbook & Cards Today!  Not only is my card in the issue, but also on the cover!  Squeeee!

I’m giving away a copy of the magazine along with the new Pure Innocence Thankful Friend stamp set and matching Die-Namics.  Plus two other Die-Namics, the Pop-Up Birthday and Stitched Interactive Window Trio.  So please come and check me out on Instagram and enter to win!  You can find me HERE or click on the Instagram icon at the top of the left hand column here on my blog!

Fall Floral Birthday

Hi friends!  I have one more card I wanted to share with you, that I’m getting in just under the wire for one more chance of getting recognized as a Card Design Superstar at My Favorite Things. 

Ideas for this card were floating in my head all week, and this turned out nothing like I had originally planned, but I hope it might be good enough to catch some attention!  I used the new Fall Florals stamp set and matching Die-Namics for this (thanks again to my friend Kirsty for loaning me stamps I should have just bought in the first place… and I have remedied that by ordering my own set, but in the meantime I borrowed!)  I stamped the flowers on Smooth White card stock with Lemon Chiffon, Cherry Crisp, Jellybean Green and Chocolate Brown hybrid inks.  I used Cherry Crisp card stock to die-cut a Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX flag, then stamped a sentiment on it from the LJD Pretty Poppies stamp set.  For the background, I tried a new idea.  I took a piece of watercolor card stock and taped the Jumbo Polka Dot stencil over it.  Then I inked up the BG Cheesecloth background stamp with Versamark ink and stamped over the stencil.  I then removed the stencil, applied white detail embossing powder and heat embossed.  Then I used Summer Splash and Blu Raspberry dye inks to watercolor the background over the now-textured polka dots!  I die-cut that panel with the Blueprints 22 Die-Namics and mounted it to a Sweet Tooth card stock base using foam tape.

I applied a few lessons from the MFT Summer School sessions to my card, including using Primary Colors and Asymmetry.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Thank you for visiting me today!

You Make My Day

Hello friends!  Just wanted to share this card I made using the sketch #246 for this week from My Favorite Things.  I’ve had this beautiful BG Roses All Over background stamp for a few months now, and have yet to use it… until today!  I just knew it’d be perfect for this sketch.  I stamped with Versamark on watercolor card stock, then heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  I applied a watercolor wash using Coral Crush, Persimmon and Blu Raspberry dye inks, then die-cut the circle with the Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics.  The sentiment (from a retired set) was stamped on Steel Grey card stock with Versamark, and heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  I die-cut the sentiment panel with
Blueprints 13, and mounted it with foam adhesive over a little bundle of silver thread.  I embellished with a few Sparkling Clear Mix sequins.  The Sweet Tooth card stock background panel was stamped with the new BG Distressed Stripes background in Versamark and heat embossed with white detail embossing powder, then mounted to a Steel Grey card stock piece, and then to a Sweet Tooth card stock base.

Whadya’ think… should I enter this one in the Card Design Superstar contest?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #360

Monika has a great trio of colors for us for today’s Color Throwdown #360!  I hope you’ll join us!

For my card, I CASE’d this cute design from my Throwdown sister Jodi Collins, and created my own version to send to my daughter at school.  I’m trying to send her a card every week, and this one is especially appropriate because she’s only 2 weeks into her schooling and is already rockin’ out some fantastic grades!  And she’s a purple lover, so I’m hoping she’ll like this card!

The background panel was a piece that I already had laying around and I had stamped the BG Grid background on it with Versarmark and embossed with white detail embossing powder, and then had cut it out with Blueprints 24.  I think I did it one day intending to do a watercolor wash on it, then smacked myself in the forehead when I realized I hadn’t used watercolor card stock!  But I decided to see what I could do with it for this card, and just LOVE how it turned out!  I took some Pure Plum dye ink from My Favorite Things and applied ink direct from the pad to a piece of acetate.  Then I spritzed the acetate pretty heavily with water… some of it even splattered from the acetate onto the card stock… and applied the wet ink directly over the grid background.  I did the same thing with some Blueberry dye ink, and the final result turned out pretty cool, don’t you think?  The sentiment comes from the LLD Count the Stars stamp set, and is stamped on a Zig Zag Stitched Circle STAX that was cut from vellum.  I used Blueberry and Pure Plum card stock to die-cut the “Star” from the LLD Stars & Wishes Die-Namics, and the LLD Count the Stars Die-Namics.  Behind the vellum circle is a piece of black and white polka dot paper from the Dots & Stripes Neutral paper pack, and that was cut with a Fishtail Flags STAX Die-Namics.  Finally I added some silver glitter card stock stars that were cut with the LLD Lucky Stars Die-Namics and Blueprints 25. 

Please stop by the CTD blog today for all the challenge details, and visit my Throwdown sisters for plenty of inspiration…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Monika Davis
Wanda Cullen
Vickie Zimmer
Kelly Latevola, September Guest Designer

Happy Hump Day!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Beary Special Day

Hello friends!  I have one more card to share with you today from my great Saturday of stamping with some friends!  This one is for the current sketch #245 from My Favorite Things, and I also used the colors from the previous color challenge #28 at MFT just because I LOVED the combination of Spearmint, Wild Wisteria, Tropical Teal and Blu Raspberry.  (Although, I goofed and used Lush Lagoon instead of Tropical Teal!)

This sweet bear, from the Birdie Brown Birthday Bears stamp set is stamped on Copic X-press It card stock with Steel Grey hybrid ink, and colored with Copic markers.  For the background inside the frame, I stamped the BG Tiny Stars background with Versamark on watercolor card stock, and heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  Then I applied a watercolor wash using Blu Raspberry dye ink, and spritzed with some MIX-ables Sheer Shimmer Mist for some sparkle.  The frame was made by stamping some stripes from DC Plaid Background Builder in Wild Wisteria, Blu Raspberry, Spearmint and Lush Lagoon dye inks on a piece of Smooth White card stock, then I cut my frame using the Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Square STAX Die-Namics.  (Thanks Kirsty, for letting me borrow it!)  I stamped a sentiment from the Birthday Bears set on a Lush Lagoon card stock Fishtail Flags STAX.  And on a square of Spearmint card stock, I stamped the BG Simply Circles background with Sweet Tooth pigment ink.  I assembled the card onto a Sweet Tooth card stock base, and added a few Sparkling Clear Mix sequins for embellishment.

And just for good measure, I think I’ll enter this card into the Card Design Superstar challenge at My Favorite Things, although I am far from being any kind of superstar.  Thanks for stopping by today!

A Harvest of Blessings

I told myself I wasn’t going to spend the money… I was going to resist the new release from My Favorite Things this month!  I told myself over and over “you have tons of stuff you’ve never used!”  I told myself “you don’t need more!”  And then this sweet little Birdie Brown Harvest Mouse started showing up everywhere!  And all of my will power went out the window!

I had some great stamping time with friends this past weekend, and colored this little guy along with the bushel of apples while we were together.  Both images were also die cut with the matching Die-Namics for this Harvest Mouse stamp set.  The colors I used were inspired by the Colour Q Challenge #307 for this week, and I used the current Sweet Sunday Sketch #286 for the layout.  I also made this card work for the current MarkerPOP Autumn-themed challenge #77.  The gingham paper is from the new Homespun Gingham Paper Pack from MFT, and was die-cut with the Pierced Rectangle STAX Die-Namics.  I also used the Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX for the burgundy flag, the Zig Zag Stitched Circle STAX for the sun, the Cloud Trio, and the Rolling Hills Die-Namics for the fence in the background.  My images were colored with Copic markers on Copic X-press It blending card stock.

Many, many thanks for visiting my blog today… I appreciate it so much!

Happy Fall

I got some new goodies in the mail last week from Reverse Confetti, so I just had to make some time this weekend to make a card using the current Sketch for You to Try #28…

I used the sweet new Pumpkin Patch stamp set, along with the matching Pumpkin Patch Confetti Cuts dies for my card, along with the Tag Me Confetti Cuts die.  I don’t usually make a lot of “Happy Fall” cards, but this ended up being perfect to go with a mini loaf of zucchini bread that I left for my Secret Sister at church this morning!  And since we woke up to 48 degrees this morning, I’d say Fall is here!

I hope you had a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #359

It’s time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Lori is our hostess!  I just LOVE the colors she chose… I think you’ll find endless possibilities with these colors!



I decided to lean towards a Fall-themed card and used my brand new Pure Innocence Thankful Friend stamp set from My Favorite Things (along with the matching Die-Namics die!)



I started out by creating a watercolor background using some Berrylicious, After Midnight and Tangy Orange dye inks.  I flicked on some additional dye inks in Kraft and Chocolate Brown, then set this aside to dry.  I colored the PI image with Copic markers, and used some of those same colors to color some strips of card stock, then die-cut the leaves.  I added the sentiment, and a few flags cut from Kraft card stock, and a piece of paper from the Dots & Stripes Neutral paper pack.  The watercolor card stock panel was mounted to a piece of After Midnight card stock, then mounted to a Kraft card stock base.

My Fall-themed card also qualifies to enter the current MarkerPOP challenge!

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration…

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Kelly Latevola, September Guest Designer
Rosemary Dennis, Guest Star Stamper

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Party Like an Animal

The current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge is this photo of some great sunglasses, and I really wanted to play along! 

I started looking through my stamps, thinking “what can I use… what can I use….”  I noticed that there’s a pair of sunglasses in this I Love Donuts stamp set from Simon Says Stamp.  Now, I’m not sure why those sunglasses are in that set… am I missing a pun there or something?  LOL  Instead, I started thinking about who or what I could put those sunglasses on!  And here’s what I came up with!

Squeee!  Tell me the truth… is he not CUTE?  This sweet little giraffe is from the Party Animal stamp set (and matching die) from Wplus9 Design Studio.  I had actually colored him weeks ago, which made this card come together pretty quickly.  I stamped the sunglasses in Versafine Onyx Black ink, then embossed them with clear embossing powder and cut them out.  The background was watercolored with Cracked Pistachio and Tumbled Glass distress inks, and I flicked on some additional ink with Peacock Feathers and Gathered Twigs.  I added a starry background using some white embossing paste and the Stargaze stencil from My Favorite Things.  The black and white strip at the bottom is from the Dots & Stripes Neutral paper pack from MFT, and I embellished with some Sparkling Clear Mix sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

I hope you’re having a great week!  Thank you for visiting me today!

Exciting News!

Hello friends!  I have just a tiny bit of exciting news to share with you today!  Very soon, a new publication from Scrapbook & Cards Today, entitled Creative Cards-Volume One will hit your newsstand!  With more than 100 one-of-a-kind cards, this special issue is sure to be your new must-have resource for cardmaking.  Organized by season, its pages are full of cards made specifically for holidays, thank-yous, birthdays, special events and much more.

And what’s even more fun is that I have a card in this issue!  I’m so excited!

If you want to pre-order your own copy, you can do so by visiting HERE!

I’m also going to give away a copy along with a few other goodies to celebrate over on my Instagram!  So if you’re not following me there, please do so!  You can click on the little IG camera icon up at the very top of the left-hand column of my blog, or by clicking HERE.  Stay tuned… as soon as I have my copy, I’ll be having the giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Throwdown #358

Hey friends, it’s time for another Color Throwdown, and this week the uber-sweet Jodi Collins is our hostess!  She found this lovely bouquet for our color inspiration today…



Even though I’m never a big fan of blue, I DO love it paired with yellow!  So this was right up my alley!

Here’s my card…



I have LONG been wanting the Wide Stripes background stamp from Simon Says Stamp, but it’s been out of stock.  So I started thinking “what can I do… what can I do?”  And I ended up taking a piece of white card stock and some masking tape, along with Daffodil dye ink from My Favorite Things, and created my own wide stripes background!  After I sponged on my stripes, I die cut the panel with Blueprints 24.  On a strip of vellum, I stamped the leaves from the Simon Says One with Nature stamp set in Blueberry dye ink from MFT, then I wrapped it around the striped panel.  Using the Thanks 3x4 stamp set from Simon Says, I stamped with Versamark ink on a Blueberry card stock strip, then heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  I adhered that to the striped panel with some foam  boosters over a silver thread bundle.  The striped panel was then mounted to a Blueberry card stock panel, then to a Sweet Tooth card stock base, and a few enamel dots completed the design.

Please be sure to visit the CTD blog today for more inspiration, and to help us welcome our September Guest Designer, my incredibly talented friend, Kelly Latevola!

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Kelly Latevola, September Guest Designer
Angela Muir, Guest Star Stamper

I hope you’re having a great week!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Some Days You’re the Dog…

My sweet baby girl started college this week.  And yes, Mama is having a hard time holding it together!  LOL  We left home at 6:15 a.m. Sunday for the two hour drive to Columbus with two car loads of stuff to move her into her dorm/apartment with two other girls.  And then we left her behind by early afternoon to head back home.  And right away this morning she started her classes for Vet Tech training.  :)  But not before texting Mom at 10:00 p.m. Sunday night because she was sick!  Yes, laying on the bathroom floor, trying not to lose her supper, that kind of sick.  The poor girl… I think the day was just so exciting and overwhelming and long, and it all caught up with her.  Thankfully, she felt somewhat better by this morning and made it to class. 

So, of course, I had to make a card to send her and being the animal lover she is, I knew I’d HAVE to use the Birdie Brown You Make My Tail Wag stamp set (and the matching Die-Namics) from My Favorite Things.  I followed the layout for the MFT sketch challenge #243 for this week, making a square frame for the front using Lemon Drop card stock.  The card base is a piece of Tropical Teal card stock, and to that I adhered a panel of polka dot paper from the Dots & Stripes Fresh Paper Pack.  I embellished the scene with some Flat-Bottom Clouds Die-Namics cut from Sweet Tooth card stock, and some Gumdrop Green card stock that was cut with the Grassy Fields Die-Namics.  I added an Electric Red card stock flag that was cut from Blueprints 16 and stamped half of the sentiment on the flag.  The dog and hydrant were stamped with Steel Grey hybrid ink on Copic X-press It card stock, and colored with Copics.

The other half of the sentiment went on the inside…

…along with the hydrant image stamped in Tropical Teal hybrid ink.  Then I added another sentiment from the stamp set, but changed it slightly because of the bad day/night my daughter had with being sick right before the first day of school!

She’ll be coming back home this weekend since it’s a 3-day weekend, but I hope that if I get this in the mail right away she’ll get it before Friday!

Thanks SO much for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #357

Hi friends... it's time for another Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Joan is taking us for a walk on the wild side with this inspiration photo...

I struggle when using anything close to blue and pink... I just automatically want to make a baby card.  But at this point in my life, I don't find myself with a need for baby cards very often!  So I was really glad when the idea for this card jumped into my head!

I finally used the Crazy Birds stamp set that I just HAD to have a few months back!  LOVE these silly birds!  I colored very simply with Copics, then masked the image and splattered some gray ink on the card stock.  The Seriously Word Die is from Lil' Inker Designs.  Before I cut the light pink card stock, I sponged some darker pink ink onto the card stock, then die-cut to create the ombre look.  The sentiment was stamped on black card stock, and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I mounted the background panel to a piece of black and white striped paper, and then to a white card base.  I finished the design with some enamel dots.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details.  And visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration!

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Lindsay Amrhein, August Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by today!

Herd You Had a Birthday

My brother-in-law had a birthday this past weekend, and I’m late getting his card sent but here is what is going in the mail today…



My sister Kendra and her husband (known by everyone as Townsie) have a great little farm, and they have an abundance of dogs, and pot-bellied pig, and five massive Percheron draft horses!  So I just had to pull out The Whole Herd stamp set by Birdie Brown from My Favorite Things for his card.  I also used the matching The Whole Herd Die-Namics, the Rolling Hills Die-Namics, the Cloudy Day stencil, Blueprints 13 (for the sun) and Blueprints 15 to cut the back panel from Gumdrop Green and Blue Breeze card stock. 

I colored each horse to match the horses at my sister’s farm.  Three are all black, as most Percherons are when they’re young.  Here is one of her beautiful horses at the county fair just last week, along with the Best of Show trophy!



This is Super Grover and my sister (holding the trophy) at the Henry County (Ohio) Fair last week.

And most Percerons, as they age, turn a dapple gray like Gonzo, shown here in this photo from the fair with my sister’s friend Chris…



Two of their horses who stayed home last week are black like Grover, and one, (the oldest affectionately known as Grandma Hilly because she’s named after our Grandma Hilda) is all white.  Here’s my daughter Kelsey riding Hilly back in the winter.  Isn’t she beautiful?



So you can see why I had to have five horses on the card, all colored to match!  :)

Since I colored with Copics, I'm entering my card in the current MarkerPOP Blog Anything Goes challenge #76 this week.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Apples for the Teachers

Where I work, we like to have name tags on the office doors, and it’s fun to use something seasonal.  So last weekend, I got a little carried away with apples!  I used bunches of scraps of red, yellow and green designer paper scraps to cut out a bunch of Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples using the sweet Red Delicious Die-Namics die from My Favorite Things.

So, like I said…. I got carried away!  I was watching a Walking Dead marathon, and just kept cutting and before I knew it I had well over 100 apples!  LOL  We only needed about 20 of them at work, so with the remaining 80 I made some 4x4 note cards, and plan to bless four different teachers in my life with them!  Three sets are going to church today, and one set is being mailed to my beautiful cousin’s daughter!  These were so fun to make!  I loved mixing the patterns of the apples and the leaves.

As luck would have it, the great folks at Simon Says Stamp are having a Back-to-School challenge this week on their Wednesday Challenge blog, so this fits perfectly with that theme!

Have a blessed Sunday, and thank you for stopping by!

Birthday Bear Hugs

I colored this sweet bear a few days ago, and now found a great use for him on this card using the current sketch #242 from My Favorite Things this week!  The bear and sentiment are from the darling Birdie Brown Birthday Bears stamp set, and was cut with the matching Die-Namics.

For the background panel, which was die-cut with the Blueprints 15 Die-Namics, I stamped a piece of watercolor card stock with the BG Grid background in Versamark ink, then heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  I used a piece of acetate and some Summer Splash dye ink to do some ink smooshing on the background.  The sketch this week calls for an oval in the center, and since I didn’t want to cover up my inky background, I die-cut a vellum oval.  I added a sentiment from the Birthday Bears stamp set on an Orange Fizz card stock flag that was cut with Blueprints 2 Die-Namics.  I accented with a few Sparkling Clear sequins, and adhered everything to a Lemon Chiffon card stock base.

I’m also entering my card in the current Tag You’re It challenge #28.

Happy Friday!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Color Throwdown #356

Hello friends!  It's time again for the Color Throwdown challenge, and this week Broni is our hostess.  She's got this great inspiration photo for you!  With Summer still in full swing, but Fall on the way there are a LOT of possibilities with these colors...

For my card, I just had to finally use my fantastic new Blissful Blooms stamp set and matching Die-Namics from My Favorite Things… 

I die-cut a BUNCH of flowers and leaves from watercolor card stock, then used my MISTI to stamp them all.  Then I pulled out my Zig Clean Color watercolor markers and started coloring.  After I had a good garden full of flowers, I started on my card.  My layout was inspired by my BFF Barbara Anders and her great CTD card from two weeks ago.  On the Sweet Tooth card stock background I started by applying a thin layer of white embossing paste using the Harlequin stencil from MFT.  After the paste was dry, I laid the stencil back over the embossing and sponged the diamonds with some Orange Zest dye ink.  I layered this panel on a piece of Black Licorice card stock, and mounted to a Sweet Tooth card stock base.  I die-cut the Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX from Green Room card stock, and layered it behind a piece of Black Licorice card stock that was cut with the Blueprints 12 and my Stitched Circle STAX.  Then I arranged my floral bouquet and added the sentiment on a Sweet Tooth card stock Fishtail Flags STAX.  The sentiment is from the LJD Spring Tulips stamp set, but I only used half the sentiment.  A few black enamel dots completed my design.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details.  And visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration!
Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Lindsay Amrhein, August Guest Designer
Yapha Mason, Guest Star Stamper

Happy Wednesday, and thanks for stopping by today!

Make Lemonade

I was on my way home from work last night, thinking about what a crazy, hectic day it had been… phones that never stopped ringing, piles of paperwork that seemed to grow before my eyes, and it was “Energy Conservation Day” which means the central air was shut down at 2:30 in the afternoon, and didn’t get turned back on until 6:30.  It makes people cranky (including me!) and adds burden to an already semi-unbearable day.  So I just knew that what I needed when I got home was some stamping therapy!

I thought all this past weekend about participating in the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge, but was just bummed because the theme is mason jars, and I have NO stamps that fit that theme.  But then I started thinking about stamps I do have that might fit that bill.  A mason jar is basically a vessel for holding foods, right?  (Most of the time anyway, but mine also hold buttons, tools, pencils, etc!)  And then I thought of my Bowl of Sunshine stamps and matching dies from Papertrey Ink, and thought maybe a Pyrex bowl would fit the challenge!  So here’s my card…

I turned the current Sweet Sunday Sketch #282 on it’s side for the layout (wow, it was a trial stamping that sentiment straight on the angled panel!) and am also participating in the Create Along With Us challenge for August at Papertrey Ink.  (Although I didn’t realize until now that I’m too late with my entry!)  I found the colors in Danielle’s “Brushed Off” card here for my inspiration with these colors.

Just what I needed… a little stamping therapy!  And if Tuesday hands me lemons, I’ll make lemonade for everyone!  Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Balloons

Hi friends!  During my stamping time this weekend, I worked in a little time to make a card using the current sketch from My Favorite Things.  I really wanted to come up with something other than the stars shown in the sketch for my card, and I am pretty happy with these balloons!

I just LOVED the color combo in Stephanie’s cute card here, so I used it for my card today… Orange Zest, Ripe Raspberry, Limelight and Summer Splash.  The balloons and strings were die-cut with the Die-Namics Birthday Balloons.  The balloon strings and sentiment strip were cut from Steel Grey card stock and the sentiment, stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white, is from the Totally Happy stamp set.  I used my Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics, and the Blueprints 12 to cut the circle from silver mirrored card stock.  On the Sweet Tooth card stock background panel, I used white embossing paste to add some tiny stars using the Starry Night stencil.  I die-cut the background panel with Blueprints 24 and mounted to a piece of Steel Grey card stock, and a Sweet Tooth card stock base.  A few enamel dots for embellishment completed my design.

Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate the visits and comments!

Color Throwdown #355

 

Hello friends!  We have another Color Throwdown challenge for you, and today Barbara is our hostess.  She’s going to cool down our summer temps with these shades of blue and gray…

Like Vickie’s purple a few weeks ago, I accused Bar of trying to torture me because I just don’t feel like blue and I get along very well.  But once I remembered that I had this sweet little elephant already colored, my card came together quite well!

This sweet guy is from the Wplus9 Design “Unforgettable” stamp set, and I used the matching die to cut out little Dumbo.  He’s colored with Copics and mounted to a Sno Cone card stock circle.  On the Lush Lagoon card stock strip that was cut with the Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX Die-Namics, I stamped a sentiment from the set and heat embossed.  The background was stamped with the BG Simply Circles background in Versamark ink then heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  And on the Steel Blue card stock at the bottom I stamped the BG Diagonal Stripes background in Steel Grey hybrid ink.  (Card stock, dies and background stamps are all from My Favorite Things.)  I used the sketch again from CAS(E) this Sketch #135 for the layout.

Be sure to stop by the CTD blog for all the challenge details.  And visit my Throwdown sisters for more inspiration!

Barbara Anders
Broni Holcombe
Joan Ervin
Jodi Collins
Lori Tecler
Vickie Zimmer
Wanda Cullen
Lindsay Amrhein, August Guest Designer
Jenny Lane, Guest Star Stamper

Thanks for visiting!

Such a Peach

Well, my nice 4-day weekend has come to an end.  It went fast.  :(  I don’t want to go back to work!  Oh well, that’s life!  I did manage to get a lot done and had some good stamping time, too!

Here’s one card I made that combines the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge, the current Colour Q challenge, and the current CAS(E) This Sketch….

I had used my Zig Clean Color markers last weekend when I was stamping with friends to color these peaches from Wplus9 Design's Punny Produce: Peaches stamp set.  I used some white embossing paste on the background with the Harlequin stencil from My Favorite Things, and added a few background stamps from MFT including the BG Fine Chevron, BG Diagonal Stripes, and the Darling Dots stamp set. My Favorite Things Die-Namics used include the Zig Zag Stitched Circle STAX, the Stitched Scallop Edges, and Blueprints 13.

Happy Monday, and thanks for stopping by!

Build-Able Blooms

I just don’t know why, but on a recent order that I placed at My Favorite Things I just felt like I HAD to have the Build-Able Blooms stamp set.  And the stamps arrived, and I drooled over them a little bit, then…. smacked myself in the forehead!  Duh… I didn’t order the matching Die-Namics!  What the heck?  Darn if I didn’t have to place another order!  LOL

On Saturday evening I set to work trying to create a card for the MFT sketch challenge #240 this week, and thought it’d be fun to use these flowers for my design.  I also used the colors of the current color challenge #26…

The colors are Ripe Raspberry, Limelight, Jellybean Green and Steel Blue… LOVE this combination!  I also also added some Tickled Pink for contrast.  On the Steel Blue card stock strip, that was cut with Blueprints 12 I stamped a sentiment from the DC You’ve Got Mail stamp set.  I used Versamark ink, and heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.  The Sweet Tooth card stock panel was cut from Blueprints 13 and then layered on a piece of Steel Grey card stock before adhering to a Sweet Tooth card stock base.

My layout is a slightly different take on the sketch, but I hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by!