More Thank Yous

I tend to make lots of thank you cards. It's kinda like my card making default. Because you never know when you are going to need one, you know? And when I need one, it's usually immediately and then I don't have time to make one. So I like to have a stash of thank you cards. Here are a few i've made recently, using the Pink Plum papers from Crate Paper. I love this line!


I am really liking this 5x5 size lately. I bought some 5x5 sized envies from Papertrey Ink, so now I can actually send them. Anybody know if they need extra postage?? Since I like the first design so much, I used it again!


I just love the pink and orange and browns in this paper. I might need some more of it!! Hope you're having a good week so far. I am off to frost some cupcakes and then it's my Bunco night. Have a great night, everyone!!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich cookies

I love peanut butter. Yes, I love it. Peanut butter paired with chocolate is even better, but just plain peanut butter will do just fine. I can remember scooping it from the jar by the spoonful when I was a kid. Great stuff! So when I ran across this recipe at Annie's Eats, I knew I was destined to makes these cookies....Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich cookies.


A soft, slighty chewy oatmeal cookie on the outside and creamy, smooth peanut buttery filling on the inside. These were absolutely dreamy!!! And quite possibly the reason my skinny jeans are a little bit too snug.


The oatmeal cookie was really good on it's own, too. You could add cream cheese filling or maybe strawberry filling. But peanut butter is the best. There, I said it. Peanut butter rocks!!


I made these for a BBQ and I was sad they were all gone by the end of the night!! They are definitely on my to-bake list again. They were delicious. You should definitely give them a try!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Papertrey Princess Challenge

Hi Everyone! It's my turn to post a challenge for my Papertrey Princess group. This is a great group of girls who like to stamp and craft and blog and cook. We take turns posting challenges for each other and it's my turn. And I think i'm late...but better late than never!!

My challenge is to create a card with something IN THE AIR on it. You know...hot air balloons, owls, birds, clouds, butterflies, kites...something you will find in the air. Here is my example...and I know it's a card I made a while ago (and i've been out of town and have a million other excuses for not having a new card at the moment) but I just love these hot air balloon stamps!

I used the Man of the House papers by Bella Blvd. I actually made 2 cards using the same design.


All those In The Air embellies are the hottest thing around right now. So it's your turn to use one of them (or more than 1) on a card!! I can't wait to see all your cards, Princesses!!

Dream Big

Thursday is here...my first day back to work after vacation. And guess what? Tomorrow is Friday, yeah!! I need a weekend to recover from my 2 day work week, hee hee! I have some Pink Plum projects to share with you today. I had the joy of working with these papers this month for Croppin' Paradise. I love this collection from Crate Paper.


I used the glittered chipboard pieces and journaling pieces on this layout. Such fun embellies to go with this pretty paper!



These photos of my daughter are from a photo shoot I did last fall at an old ranch movie set. We had so much fun taking pictures, I want to get back there this summer. I used a photoshop action from Mindy Bush to make the photos black and white. I wish I had more time to play with photoshop! I love messing around with my photos.

Here are a few cards I made using the same papers. Again, using those great chipboard pieces!



Seriously, a girl can never have too many thank you cards on hand!! Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a fabulous Friday tomorrow!!!

Babies 2.0

Wow, coming home from vacation is tough. Tough getting back into the swing of things, tough finding clean underwear, tough waking up on time!! But we are back and had a great time on the East Coast. I finally got to meet my two nieces, Molly and Harbour. They are about 3 months old and just the cutest little things you will ever see. Do you want to meet them???

Here's Molly Rose...



And here's Harbour Rose:


And here they are with ginormous bows and flowers on their heads!!


It's really such a trip to see my sister with 2 babies. I mean, 2 of them!! It would be weird if she just had 1...but 2??? She and her hubbie are doing such a great job with them. They are really very happy babies, if they are fed and dry. Holding them pretty much makes the whole world right with them. And they are 'talking' and responding to toys and so bright eyed. I definitely did my share of holding them and playing. My daughter was absolutely smitten with them both!

We had a fabulous time in Maine and we also spent a few days in Boston, exploring the city and all the history. Oh, and drinking FREE beer at the Samual Adams Boston Brewery. You can't beat free pitchers of beer! I hope to catch up with all of your blogs in the next few days, I feel very out of the loop. I go back to work tomorrow, so reality will really hit me in the morning!

Thanks for stopping by, friends!!

Get messy with paint!

This month over at 3 Scrappy Boys the DT was challenged to use paint in an interesting way. I love to use paint on my layouts and I use it like ink...to paint the edges and give my layouts just a little extra something. But for the 3 Scrappy Boys newsletter, my paint technique was to create a painted frame.


I have an 11x11 piece of cardstock that I put on my background paper. For this layout, I used kraft cardstock as a base. I took some cream colored acrylic paint and painted around the 11x11 cardstock. I made sure to get some of the paint on the background kraft. I let it dry and created a new painted frame on my layout. Then, using the June Add-on kit from 3SB, I added my photos and paper and embellished!


I added a banner (I know, shocker!!) and some clouds that I cut on my Cricut and then stickled around the edges. The butterfly was in the kit, isn't it cool! I also added a big journal tag that I cut on my Cricut and I used the Thicker phrase stickers in the kit for my title.


It was so amazing to watch this sunflower grow over the summer last year. My daughter loved watering it and it grew waaaaay past our back wall. The kids would point to it while we were driving down the street! We even harvested and roasted the seeds. Very cool garden project!

So the next time you are stuck in a scrappy rut, reach for some paint and have some fun on your layout! Thanks for stopping by, friends!!

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

Are you a snacker??? I definitely am. I love to snack. In fact, I could snack all day long and not really miss eating one big meal. I like trying a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But this snack is one that I just cannot put down. It's more like a whole LOTTA this!!!


Cinnamon Bun Popcorn. Does that name just make you swoon??? It's caramel-y and cinnamony and crunchy and sweet and just plain addicting!!


It's caramel corn with a hint of cinnamon, toasted almonds and after it's all baked and crunchy...you add a drizzle of chocolate over the whole batch. I took this to a pool party last week and it disappeared quickly and I was asked for a recipe. That is a successful snack, people!!


Here is the recipe and don't blame me if you eat the whole batch. The changes I made to the recipe below is using almonds instead of pecans and drizzling chocolate over the top instead of almond bark. And I did use microwave popcorn. I got a box that was 'natural' flavor with NO extra butter. Worked out beautifully!

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn
From Our Best Bites

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C pecan halves, roughly chopped
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1t vanilla
1/2 t baking soda

3 squares almond bark (about 4 oz)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a 2 liter capacity microwave safe bowl. Mix well. Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

Remove from microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Stir to combine. Mixture will foam and rise. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and pecans and stir very well so everything is well coated.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread out on a large piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil.

Melt almond bark according to package instructions. Drizzle over popcorn mixture. When almond bark is hardened and popcorn is cool, break into chunks and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by today! Let me know if you try this popcorn...if your fingers aren't too sticky to use the computer.

More Crazy Daisy goodies

Happy Thursday everyone!! I am visiting my sister and BIL back east this week and am meeting my 2 new nieces for the first time. Yeah!! But while I am away, I still have some scrapping goodies to share with you. I have another layout from the June Crazy Daisy kit. Did I mention that I'm addicted to banners????


I loved the Kaisercraft papers and goodies in this kit. And see this ribbon? It comes in the kit and I love it. I even used it on the last layout I posted, hee hee! It's cute enough to add a great touch to your layout without being too 'girly' for a boy layout like this one.


Man, this layout makes me realize how time flies!! My son will be in 3rd grade next year and that just floors me. I think i'm still trying to wrap my head around actually being a mom. Ha!!

Hope you are all having a great week! Thanks for stopping by!

A new sketch challenge at Croppin' Paradise

This was my week to post a sketch challenge over at Croppin' Paradise. I used a sketch by Jana Eubanks, who is a great sketch artist and one of my favorite scrappers!


Oh my, I looooove banners!!! And here is my take on it using the Max and Whiskers papers by Basic Grey. They are available HERE at the Croppin' Paradise store.


The banner was so easy to put together. I cut out triangles on my Cricut, layered them and then added some ribbon and thickers. Easy peasy!!


Come on over to the Croppin' Paradise message board and join in the sketch fun. We will be having lots of CAMP fun this summer and we want YOU to join us!!!


We will have tons of prizes and challenges and games and chatting going on. Thought you were too old for camp??? Not anymore! I hope you come by and join us for Camp Paradise!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Melissa Sunday-Orange Chocolate Macaroons

Hi! Welcome to Sweet Melissa Sunday!! I was scared of the recipe this week because it involved...coconut. I know, weird. I'm not a big coconut fan. Don't get me wrong, I eat those little mini Almond Joys found in my kids halloween bag. But I usually don't bake with anything coconut. So I was a little hesitant to bake a whole batch using coconut. But I had noooooothing to worry about because these cookies were amazing!!


Ellen of the blog Blue Tree Green Heart picked this recipe and it was a great one!


The orange zest made my whole kitchen smell delightful while I was making these. These cookies were like little haystacks of sweet, coconuty, chocolately, orangey goodness. Notice the past tense...they were eaten and GONE pretty quick!! I managed to save some to take to work and 2 people asked for the recipe. I think they liked 'em!!


This recipe is the whole reason I joined Sweet Melissa Sunday. I had the chance to bake something I NEVER would have picked on my own and test it out. I'm so glad I did!! Check out what the other SMS bakers did this week. And have a super Sweet Sunday!!

A little Crazy Daisy

Happy Happy Friday!! No more pencils...no more books...no more teachers dirty looks! School is out for summer!! We had a great afternoon, spent celebrating the end of school at the pool with friends. Ahhh...no better way to start the summer than an afternoon filled with swimming, cupcakes, and a water balloon fight. Bring on summer!

The June Crazy Daisy kit was fun this month, look at these summery colors!!



The surfboard paper was perfect for pics of my hubbie boogie boarding last summer. We love the beach!


Here's another one with a photo of my daughter and her friend last year at a photo shoot. I love these 'jump' photos!


These was lots of fun Kaisercraft products in the kit this month. I liked layering these journal box stickers, it was a fun way to use them!


I hope you are enjoying your summer so far! We have some fun vacations planned and we are all looking forward to traveling and camping and lots of beach trips!! Thanks for stopping by today, friends!

A cake and some stuff...

One more day down...a liiiittle bit closer to Friday. My kids are on the countdown until Friday, it's the last day of school! That means summer is almost here. Today my daughter had her picnic, Thursday is my son's picnic. And because I haven't posted any photos of my kids in a while, here are a few!




Isn't she lovely????? She was so cooperative taking photos a few weekends ago, I loved it! I used alot of actions from Coffeeshop Photography for these photos. Rita at Coffeeshop Photography offers her actions FOR FREE! Isn't that amazing? I love her blog, go check it out immediately!!

Notice any of my son yet??? Well, that's because he doesn't let me take photos anymore. Who is he? A too-cool-for-school-almost-3rd-grader??? I have to get him in action, when he doesn't think i'm looking.


He ran track this spring and had a good time! And on another random note, a friend of mine needed a cake for a neighborhood party and I volunteered to make it. I stressed out about it for 3 days, but got it done. It was supposed to be a 2-tiered cake, but the smaller tier that was going on top had issues. Serious issues. Like serious issues at 10pm the night before I needed to deliver it so no time to rebake it. So...only 1-tier for this cake.


And because I can't leave well enough alone...I made some chocolate cupcakes for her as well.


Milk chocolate ganache filled chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and mini chocolate chips on top...to be exact.


I realized I am much better on a smaller scale (cupcakes) and making/decorating cakes really takes practice!! That's about it for my random post today. Hope you're having a great week...thanks for stopping by!!!

Cut outs and Paint

Happy Monday! I think I need another weekend day to recover from my weekend! The weather was beautiful and we spent most of the weekend outside, either at the pool or at the Dodger game. Good times!

I have another layout to show you using the June 3 Scrappy Boys Add-on kit.



I loved this shaped paper but wanted to do something different with it. I cut a square from the middle using my exacto knife and a ruler for a straight edge. I dug out a plain office transparency and then stamped on it using acrylic paint and bubble wrap. I then adhered it to the back, kinda like a window.


The flowers and flourishes were all cut on my Cricut. What do you think? I was just playing around and trying something fun and different. Sometimes you need to do that, ya know?? And don't worry, I snuck in a banner for my title!


I used my Walk in The Garden cartridge to cut all these flowers. I just cut varying shapes and layered them.


That's about it for me tonight! I am watching The Bachelorette...although i'm a bit embarrased to admit it. Ali (the Bachelorette) bugs me and i'm not even sure why i'm watching. Is that a sign of a reality TV addiction??? Don't answer that...hee hee!!

Thanks for stopping by!