A Wheeee! and more cards

Happy Thursday everyone!! I am super excited to say that I was chosen for the design team at Scrapbook Express!!! SE is a full service scrapbooking store with great papers and products from all sorts of companies. They also have a great forum and gallery with lots of challenges and contests. Come on over and say hi if you have a chance!!

I went a little card crazy on my scrapbook retreat two weekends ago. Sometimes cards are easier for me to complete and I took advantage of the retreat to make quite a few. Here is another one using my stash of Cosmo Cricket.


More Cosmo Cricket, more bling swirls, more baker's twine...


More ruffled ribbon, more Papertrey Ink sentiments...


I just love the bright colors!! They make me happy. And wishful for summer and a time when I can take this darn walking boot off and starting working out again. I don't need to run a marathon, just maybe some laps in the pool? Some walks around the block? I'm trying to be patient, but it's hard. Wish me luck for the next 3 1/2 weeks!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you're having a good week!

Using My Stash

I have been using lots and lots of my scrapbooking stash lately. You know, the paper you bought months ago that you just HAD to have...but haven't used yet. I rediscovered these papers from Cosmo Cricket and haven't been able to put them down. The colors are just so bright and fun. Makes me wish it was summer! And I ordered these stamps from Papertrey Ink a few months ago and finally took them out of the package. Yeah for my stash!!


Yes, i'm still addicted to banners. I have no idea why. And my love of baker's twine and stick pins is in full display on this card. And some cute little clothespins I found in the depths of my scrapping supplies.


One more card using the Cosmo paper...


I found those bling strawberries in my stash and just had to use them. I love the bright colors and that ruffled ribbon is also some of my favorite. I think that is the last few inches of it!


I stamped the sentiment last on this card. After the card was aaaaaall put together...and I don't really like it. I think the paper is too busy to read the sentiment but it was already done and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Hopefully nobody thinks it say So Sweaty of you. Ha ha!!!

This week is supposed to be nice around here...will hit the 80's by the end of the week. Yeah! Maybe summer IS just around the corner. Thanks for stopping by today, friends!

Hostess Cupcakes

What was your favorite treat as a child? Rice krispy treat? Chocolate chip cookie? Twinkie? Whatever it was, this recipe is sure to bring back a little glimpse of your childhood. Wait...am I dating myself? I guess if your childhood was in the 90's, maybe this recipe won't do that. But I was a child of the 70's where Twinkies, Ho-Ho's, Ding Dongs and Hostess Cupcakes were all the rage. While I rarely ate any of those (except for snack after a soccer game!), I loved recreating these: Hostess Cupcakes.


They are complete with that little white squiggly line that let you know they were a Hostess Cupcake. I found this recipe of the Bake at 350 blog and it did have quite a few steps and was a bit more complicated than some other recipes. But it was well worth it in the end.


My favorite part??? The white creamy filling!!!


These cupcakes were amazingly good. It does take some extra time to fill them and frost with the ganache, but they were well worth it. And make sure you put on a nice thick layer of that ganache, it's so good. If you want to bake up some childhood in your kitchen, this is it! The recipe is long, so I will link you to where I found it. Bake at 350: Hostess Cupcake Recipe

I hope you're having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!!

Hi and Hello!

We have had a crazy busy week over here. Between lots of rain and softball and baseball (and not knowing if the game is on or not until right before because of rain) and a crazy work week and general craziness in our house, it's been busy. I'm so behind commenting on my favorite blogs right now, I hope to have some time this weekend to sit and be inspired by all you crafty girls! In the meantime, i'm going to share a little card I made for the Scrapbook Express DT call.


Some Jillibean Soup goodies and a big tied bow. I seem to be using this green ribbon on everything lately. Baker's Twine and stick pins seem to be making an appearance on all my projects lately, too!

That's it for me today...short and sweet! I hope you all have a great Friday, thanks for stopping by!

PSA Essentials License Spotlight

This week at PSA Stamp Camp, it's License Spotlight week. PSA offers so many great licensed stamps...for example:

Hello Kitty!


U.B.U...


Smirk...


Rudolph and Friends...these are holiday napkin rings.

PSA also has Peanuts, Skelanimals, and more! If you have a chance this week, go check out the PSA Stamp Camp. There are some great projects being highlighted this week and some seriously awesome blog candy coming on Saturday!!

Thanks for stopping by today, friends!!

Bath Time Love

Hi Everyone!! I had a great time away at my scrap weekend. I pretty much got nothing done but it was a great time! Not even my walking cast put a damper on things. I made 2 layouts and 9 cards. Now before you are super impressed, let me tell you there were girls that did over 40 layouts over the weekend! Now you can be impressed with them.

Here is one of the 2 layouts I actually completed. I had alot of fun going through my stash and using papers I've been hoarding. Probably for years. This one was done using the Mia collection by Crate Paper.


I had this cutie pie photo of my sister and my niece after bath time. I made this banner by punching out circles and then folding them over. I strung some baker's twine through the half circles and added some bows.

Yes, that's a 3. I ran out of e's in that alphabet and I had to compromise! I also used a big bling heart I had been hoarding. Yeah for using my stash!!


That's all I have today!! I am done with week 1 of wearing this walking cast. And let me tell you...IT STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I have to wear it, so i'm trying to be positive. So I used the word stinks instead of sooo many other words I could have used. Ha ha! I have to just give it time. Like i've said before, patience is not my strong suit.

Hope your week is off to a good start. Thanks for stopping by!

Girlfriend Treat Bags

While I am scrapping and chatting away at my scrapbooking weekend, I want to share these treat bags I made for my girlfriends this weekend. I received the SCAL software for Christmas and FINALLY had time to play. I got it all set up (had to update the firmware on my Cricut) and bought a bunch of treat bag templates from My Scrap Chick. I had so much fun putting these together.


I used the Springtime line from Echo Park and I loved the purple so I tried to accent the tags and front with purple. This tag was totally inspired by Dawn McVey. I've loved her blog and style forever, she was one of the first blogs I've ever followed. I love her stuff!!


I used some Smirk Peel and Stick stamps from PSA Essentials to make the front circle. I used all different girl stamps. It will be fun to decide which girlfriend gets which one!


The paper is double sided and I like how the inside of the bag shows the other fun patterns as well.


These were so much fun to put together. I absolutely love the SCAL software. It cuts templates perfectly, no more cutting templates by hand and having them NOT fit together because I can't cut a straight line to save my life. I will be using it more and more!!


I hope you are having a fabulous weekend!!!!

Exploring Maine

Yeaaaaah for Friday!!!! I am leaving this morning for a weekend scrapbook retreat with some of my best girlfriends. I can't wait to get away and do nothing but put up my casted foot and scrap and talk and drink and chat and laugh. Love it!

I have been hanging out over at Scrapbook Express lately and they are having a DT call. Here's the layout I did using their provided sketch. I used For The Record by Echo Park, I love all the black accents in this paper line!

Here's the sketch:


And my layout:


I have so many great photos from our trip to Maine last summer to visit my sister, her hubbie and my two nieces. This was our first lighthouse stop for the day. Unfortunately, it was too foggy to see the big real lighthouse, so I have this photo of a cute little painted one!

I had fun splattering some paint on the kraft paper before adding everything else. I will definitely have to do that again. And pulled out some fun bling and layered up a flower with a cute little Jillibean Soup sugar pick!


If you have a chance, come check out Scrapbook Express. It's a great store and a really active and fun forum! I hope you have a great weekend planned. Thanks for stopping by!

Luck of The Irish Blog Hop!!

Today PSA Essentials is hosting a blog hop that will celebrate all things Irish! Hopefully you have come from Lisa's blog. If not, please go check out the PSA Stamp Camp Blog for all the details of the blog hop. I hope you are finding some great Irish inspiration today!

For my project, I wanted something to represent rainbows. Leprechauns, Pots-o-Gold, and the End of the Rainbow...that's what I think of with I think St. Patty's Day. Oh, and green beer. So I dug through my scrap bag until I found all the colors I needed!


I also paired up some random buttons with the rainbow colors, added a nice sentiment and some bling! Easy peasy!!


And now I just noticed that my little yellow square is just a tad bit smaller than the others. Well, nobody's perfect! Don't forget to leave me a comment if you want to be counted for the grand blog hop prize...which is $150 worth of awesome PSA Essentials goodies!!

Now please hop on over to Marie's blog for some more scrappy goodness. If you get lost, or find a broken link, please go back to the PSA Stamp Camp. You will find all the info you need there.

Happy St. Patrick's Day today and Happy Hopping!!

My Boy...and a card

Looking back at the layouts i've done over the last couple of months, i've noticed one thing. I scrap my daughter ALOT!! I don't know if it's because she's still willing to smile pretty for the camera or if there is just better girl scrap stuff out there. But I feel like my son has been sorely neglected. Well, not anymore.


I love this paper from Jillibean Soup, Monster Stew. Great colors for a boy layout! I also added a piece from their Old World Cabbage papers. It's great how so many of their collections can be mixed and matched. Throw in some stars, some corrugated letters, letter stickers and a journaling sprout...you have a BOY page!!


I like this photo of him. We were at the tidepools and he was exploring and doing his thing and I kinda caught him right when he was getting up. A cute little smile that I don't seem to capture as well with him anymore. I don't know if it's his age or what, but I really need to get more layouts done with him!!

And because I had some Jillibean scraps on my table, I made this quick card.


Mostly Jillibean with some bling/pearls thrown in. I have no idea where I got that bling or who makes it, found it in my bling embellie bag. It was like Christmas morning, LOL!!

Hope you're having a good week so far! Thanks for stopping by...

Marathon Monday...might need a new name

Want to see my new fashion accessory????


Yes, it's my new stylin' walking boot. It's made complete by a really cool purple sock. This is the result of a severe ligament tear, a moderate tendon tear and multiple small bone contusions. Really???? All from a little rolled ankle on a training run? Well, I guess it is what it is. I'm in this fancy contraption for 6 weeks. I won't lie, I did shed a tear. Or about 4,000 tears. But what can I do? I have to let it heal. I berated my doctor enough so he reluctantly agreed to say it's okay to swim, but I don't think he really meant it. So for the next 6 weeks, I will be wearing this beauty, limping up and down the stairs at home, getting stares from people at work, and maybe milking it so I don't have to fold any laundry or wash any dishes. Think that will work??

And now I need a new title for Mondays...because i'm not sure a June marathon is in the works for me. I'll just have to wait and see.

Hope you all had a better Monday than I did!! Thanks for stopping by...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes

Happy Saturday!! I love making breakfast on Saturdays. Sometimes we have to rush off to sports games, but this morning I had some time to make something special. Something that I don't have time to make during the week. I had a banana pancake recipe that I wanted to try (since I had 2 overripe bananas staring at me from the fruit bowl) and I just kept adding on and adding on. And came up with these...Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes.


These were rich and decadent and only needed a drizzle of syrup. I ate 2 and was full full full!!


Each bite had a great combo of banana, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. I think I might add less chocolate chips next time since it was such a rich recipe to begin with.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes
recipe adapted from Muncher Cruncher

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons agave (You could use honey or splenda)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup skim milk
2 ripe bananas
2 egg whites
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions: Mash bananas first. Mix together wet ingredients with bananas, and then add dry ingredients. Spoon batter onto hot griddle.

It was just as easy as mixing up any other pancake batter in the morning. And it's kid tested!!


Hope you're having a great Saturday. Now that we are all fueled up, it's softball and baseball all day today. Have a great one, friends!!

Monster Stew

I finally had a chance to dig into some Jillibean Soup papers that i've been hoarding for a while. Monster Stew!! While these papers are perfect for Halloween, I've been wanting to scrap these crazy hair day photos of my kids for some time. I thought the papers would be a good match!


I just love that pic of my son and his eyes looking up at his mohawk!! He was sooo excited to have a mohawk for school. I had fun cutting out all these little monsters and spreading them all over the page.


I've really been into using baker's twine on everything, lately. I love the sampler pack I bought from The Twinery. So many fun colors. And I hear they are now offering new colors, I must go check it out!!

Happy Thursday everyone!! I am off for my MRI on my ankle in a bit and I'm very anxious to find out exactly what is wrong. Then maybe I can start doing something to make things better. Thanks for stopping by today!

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

What is it about peanut butter that I love so much? I've recently branched out and started eating almond butter, which I think I love just as much. I even tried sunflower seed butter and to be honest, i'm not such a big fan of that. But peanut butter and almond butter are definite staples around here. I have a really easy peanut butter cookie recipe today that is almost too easy..Peanut Butter Cookie Cups.


This is what you need:
adapted from cookies and cups

1 package peanut butter cookie mix
13 Reese's peanut butter cups

Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners. Mix the peanut butter cookies according to directions on the bag. Unwrap 13 peanut butter cups and drop one at the bottom of each cupcake liner. Eat the 13th. Drop cookie dough on top of the peanut butter cups. Bake at 325 for about 20-25 minutes. Make sure the cookie dough is 'set'. Take out of pan and cool on cooling rack.

I topped mine with some leftover chocolate gananche (really? who ever has leftover chocolate ganache??) that I piped on with a small round tip and piping bag. And the best part?? The peanut butter cup bottom!!!


And the fact they are so easy? You might want to keep that a secret. I brought these to Bunco and was asked by a few people for the recipe. When I told them how easy it was, I honestly think they were kinda disappointed. They wanted it to be difficult!! It's not difficult to please the masses when it comes to peanut butter. Trust me.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

Crop Suey March Challenge

The March Challenge is live at the Crop Suey Challenge Blog! For this month the challenge is TAPE...use tape on your project. It can be any kind of tape and you can use it however you wish. Easy peasy!!

I used this same digital image from our March Sponsor...DigiStampCharacters. I chose to make a card and used the same format as my card from last week. I used my pencils again and had fun coloring up this little cutie!


These are Pink Paislee papers that I found in my stash. It's from a 6x6 pad that fell behind a whole bunch of other stuff. I also found some Pink Paislee tape that matched and the card grew from there.

So if you're in the mood for a challenge, check out the Crop Suey Blog this month. You will have a chance to win some sweet digital images!!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Frosting For The Cause

Hi Everyone! Happy Monday! I have nothing new to report for Marathon Monday (in fact, things aren't going that well but i'll save that for another day). Today I want to tell you about a really great thing I got involved in...Frosting For The Cause.

As you may or may not know, my family (like so many other families) has been touched by cancer. I've been an active fundraiser for both the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation and the Avon Breast Cancer Foundation. When my sister forwarded me the link to Frosting For The Cause, I immediately needed to sign up. It's a year long blog that features a different blogger each day who shares delicious recipes and heartfelt stories of how cancer has touched their lives.

Why am I telling you all this? Because today I am the featured guest blogger. I would love if you popped over and checked out my blog post. And while you are there, take a minute to appreciate all the other bloggers that have already posted or will post later in the year. There are many great recipes and even more inspirational stories. Here's a sneak peek at my goodies...cookie dough truffles.


If you love to bake, you can also sign up to be a guest blogger at Frosting For The Cause!! Please see the Join Us page to see how you can contribute. Every single person in the fight against cancer helps so don't be shy. This has been a really great thing to be a part of.

So grab some coffee and head over to Frosting For The Cause. You will definitely want to sit and read and drool a while!! Thanks for stopping by today, friends!

You Make Me Smile

Happy Saturday!! We are off to softball games (double header today!!) and softball picture day and softball banner contests today. And we also have a baseball game this morning. Lots of running around, thankfully the weather is nice today. But before I am off and running, I have a card to share real quick with you. I used lots of Jillibean Soup goodies on this one. I have tons of scraps from the old world cabbage stew collection and thought I would put them to good use.


I used some papers and journaling sprouts and some cute sugar picks! I love the orange and turquoise together and just had to try to incorporate them into this card.


That's all I have today! I hope your weekend if off to a great start and thanks for stopping by!