I'm still here!!!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful and magical Christmas!! My family did and we are still enjoying time home together. Hubs had to return to work Monday but all the kids are home from school 'til next Monday. We have enjoyed many hours playing games. Seth got Farkle, Shelby received Candyland and Cody has Cootie. Candyland seems to be the fav among the younger kids. :)

If you're anything like me you may still have some turkey lingering in your fridge. Before you consider throwing it out because you just cannot eat it for the 86th time, check out this recipe. I made this potato soup yesterday in my crock pot and added the turkey at the end. It was sooooooo good! Everyone loved it and to tell you the truth, there's only about one serving left.

Creamy Turkey Potato Soup

10+ Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 celery stalks, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup of carrots, chunked
2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
4 cups water
1 tbsp corn starch mixed with water (for thickening)
1 8 oz package softened cream cheese

First, I cut all the veggies and added them to my crock pot. I added the two cans of chicken broth and about 4 cups of water...enough that the veggies were completely covered and there was extra fluid for the broth of the soup. They simmered on high for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Next I took my potato masher and gently mashed the potatoes up. I crushed them all but didn't really blend them...if that makes sense. After that, I mixed 1 tbsp corn starch with cold water 'til smooth then slowly added to my soup. I mixed it well, returned the cover and allowed it to simmer 10 or so minutes to thicken. Then, I added in the softened cream cheese in chunks and whisked gently 'til it was smooth and creamy. Once I had a smooth, creamy texture I added in my turkey which I had cut into chunks and salt, pepper, garlic salt and seasoning salt to taste. I left the crock pot on high, returned the lid and let it heat through. YUMMY!!! This recipe is actually an adaptation of the one found HERE. I obviously used more potatoes...as I had to feed 6 hungry people! hahaha This would be a GREAT recipe to make in large batches and freeze for times when you need a quick and hearty meal!

I've decided for 2011 to expand the scope of my blog. In addition to papercrafting, I also LOVE to cook, coupon to save my family money AND I'm trying hard to pick up sewing. hahaha So, I will be incorporating all of these items into my personal blog next year. I will continue to provide papercraft projects regularly and you can still find my work on the Scrap-Mart and Boss Kut blogs. If there is something you'd like to see specifically or have questions about any of my projects, feel free to email me at any time!

I am thankful to all of my readers and followers and sincerely hope that you'll join me in 2011 for my crafty, cooking adventures.

Photo Christmas cards thanks to Shutterfly!

Merry Montage Christmas

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I'm sorry....

for my absence the last few days. I just wasn't feelin' it. Burnt out perhaps. But, I am feeling better and even have a few crafty ideas floating in my head. Today is the kids' last day of school (except for Seth) so I thought it would be nie to do some baking for the teachers. They are having Christmas parties starting at 230 this afternoon so I am cramming in as much goodness as I can this morning. ;) So far, I have the fudge done and cooling and oatmeal raisin cookies about to go into the oven. Next is either peanut butter cookies or hard rock cinnamon candy.

We're having homemade beef stroganoff for dinner tonight. My beef is defrosting and I will be cooking dinner around 1 pm before I head to the parties. After Cody and Shelby's parties, we have to head over to pick up Seth then I have a hair appointment at 515 pm. Then we have to hurry home and take some pics of the kids for the free photo cards I won so I can get them ordered. Yeah, I know, they will not get the my recipients before Christmas but I'm okay with that. No stress for me this holiday. Then, if time permits, the kids have movie night at school. I fear we will not make it in time though because the movie is supposed to start at 6. Sigh. Perhaps I can offer them movie night at home with popcorn and homemade cookies? We shall see.

I hope you're all having a great week. I will be back soon so share how I gathered and wrapped up all the goodies I'm baking today for the teachers.

Monday...sigh

The weekend came and went WAY too fast, if you ask me. I did some much needed grocery shopping with my best friend on Saturday and spent most of Sunday at home. It was nice and quiet.

I had planned on sharing a fun project with you today but I wasn't able to get all the inside components I needed to complete the project. Wal-Mart was completely out of mini marshmallows. Yeah, so that may give you a slight hint as to what the project is. I haven't crafted since mid last week and have taken some time off from the computer.

Tomorrow I have a long past due dentist appointment. X-rays, a check-up (which I KNOW will lead to a filling, at the very least, if not a root canal!) and a cleaning. Then off to the chiropractor with high hopes that he can adjust my right elbow and wrist and the wrenching pain I've been dealing with for about a week will finally disappear. Wednesday, my littlest two have a Christmas program at the Senior Citizen Center here in our tiny town...I will, of course, be attending. Then on Thursday, they both have Christmas parties at school, then I'm off to pick up Seth after school then a haircut. Bye bye to what's left of my curls...and my LENGTH!!! Sigh. I am hoping for a nice, choppy shoulder length bob with a face frame and some longer, swoop bangs, We'll see.

I don't have a project to share today. Sorry. Tomorrow I'll be back with pics from Seth's choir programs from last week. They kids did a FABULOUS job! Thanks for hanging in there with me while I go through my non-crafy-kid-crazy week! hahaha

T'was two weeks 'til Christmas...

and to my dismay not a single Christmas card had been sent on it's way! With kids programs, and visitors and deadlines again it seemed no cards would be mailed in 2010. But wait, what's that I read on Lindsay's blog? 50 free Shutterfly Photo cards for one and all!!! Hooray I exclaimed as I read with glee! Merry Christmas to all from the Piotrowski's!!!

Yes, friends, you read that right. Shutterfly is giving away 50 free photo cards to bloggers. How awesome is that?! And, there's much truth in my little story above. We, and I know I'm not alone in this, spend so much time around the holidays shuffling kids here and there for holiday parties and school related events, hosting visitors and if you're like me and you work in the industry you may end up with a handful of cards that were completed by assignment but it's never enough to satisfy the your entire list. Then, you have to sign them and maybe add family letters. Try to remember to print enough photos AND get them sealed and mailed on time. Sigh. How stressful is that? That's why I was thrilled when I saw Shutterfly's promotion. Even if they weren't free they'd be well worth the money! For a little more than a dollar a card you could send your family and friends a beautiful photo card and get your Christmas message across with NO stress!!! While you're waiting on your cards you can print our your labels, then when they arrive in less than an hour YOU'RE DONE!!! And, everyone's happy. Here's a peek at my favorite 5x7 Photo card...

I love this one because there's room for our family photo AND individual pics of the kids. But, don't stop there!!! Shutterfly has much more than just photo cards. You can have personalized photo calendars for the Granparents to keep on their desks at work like this...

Or, you could even gift someone with beautiful, personalized home decor pieces like this...

My oldest son, Brian, is a big time ball player. We have some fantastic pics of him at bat or on base that would make an awesome wall hanging. And these from Shutterfly are frameless so it gives it that modern, stylish feel. Best of all, they're available in 4 different sizes and work with portrait and/or landscape orientation. To find out more about their Home Decor click HERE.

If you've never ordered from Shutterfly I urge you to check them out. There's a free shipping promo going on right now for orders over $50! Thanks for stoppin' by today! I'll be back Monday with the project I had planned to share today!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Today is my mom's birthday! I wish so much that we lived closer as I'd love to spend the day with her. Take her out, treat her to lunch. Sigh. But, she KNOWS I'm thinking of her and how much I miss her. And, I know she misses me too. The one think I CAN do is send her a handmade birthday card. My mom LOVES to see my projects. She oohs and ahhs over them. Shows them off to her friends and neighbors. I created this one, just for her...

It's simple, just the way she likes it. Mom's not one for big, fancy, frou frou stuff. I created a standard A2 card base from Kraft cardstock and added a layer of patterned paper from October Afternoon's Seaside 8x8 pad. Then I grabbed a few white Prima flowers and airbrushed them with my Copic markers and added Kaiser pearls to the centers. The sentiment is a metal embellishment from JoAnn's. Of course, I hadn wrote a special sentiment on the inside for her.

Thanks for stoppin' by today! I have been busy creating projects all week so stop by tomorrow to see the fun little Christmas packaging I made.

Sweet Christmas Wishes...

I pulled out my Slice and new Noel design card the other day and played with the new layering feature. I LOVE this feature! In the past, you had to cut the same shape multiple times then disect out the pieces you wanted to layer. You don't have to do that anymore with the new layering feature. Here's a card I created with cuts from the Noel card...

I started with a 5x5 card base made out of SU! Chocolate Chip cardstock then added a 4 1/2x4 1/2 layer of Real Red. Then I embossed the pink layer with my Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls embossing folder before embellishing. I cut the Gingerbread house out, then the pieces...using the layering feature...and colored the white "frosting" with my pearlescent Smooch Ink after adhering them. After adding the ribbon, I cut out the tag and the 'Christmas' then created the rest of the sentiment with Making Memories Tiny Alpha stickers. A few gems were added along the bottom of the house to resemble gum drops.

The layering feature is really great and I sincerely hope that it becomes a standard on all cards, like the MS+ features. Thanks for stoppin' by today! Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. Stop in and see the card I made for her.

Christmas cards...

Good monday morning!! Did you catch the blog hop last week?? What a hop!!! I cannot believe the amazing project, fabulous prizes and the turnout! Thanks to all of you who hopped along with us. I hope you found some great inspiration. I know I did.

It is that wonderful time of year again where you will send/receive some beautiful Christmas cards in the mail. Some with photos or family letters, some just cards. I LOVE to receive Christmas cards. They just put a big smile on my face. Here's one I made for a Christmas card class last year and I don't think I ever shared it with you...

I used SU! Chocolate Chip cardstock and layered it up with some Real Red. The poinsettia is a Unity stamp from the Hodge Podge of Happiness Kit. I stamped it in red and green then cut paper pieced it. I added some shimmer with my Copic Spica glitter pens. The poinsettia was layered on some cardstock cut using Spellbinders Labels Three then adhered to the patterned paper background. The sentiment is an old SU! stamp that was punched with my SU! tag punch. A touch of ribbon finished the card off. I really liked how this card turned out.

My best friend, Stacey, and I got together yesterday and I made a few cards for this year. Stop by tomorrow to see my favorite one...so far!! ;) See you then! Have a wonderful Monday!

Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop

It's FINALLY here!!! Can you believe it?!

Welcome to the First Annual Scrap-Mart.com Blog Hop! If you are just joining in please go to the Scrap-Mart blog to start from the beginning. There are 31 blogs participating in the hop and you will find some great prizes along the way. You must comment on THAT blog post to be eligible to win that prize. There are also some Grand Prizes posted on the Scrap-Mart blog. You must comment on EVERY blog throughout the hop to be eligible for the Grand Prizes. Comments will remain open until midnight CST on Sunday, December 5th. Winners will be chosen at random for each individual prize and will be announced on the Scrap-Mart blog on Friday, December 10th. You may only win once. We'd like to thank our sponsors for generously donating all the prizes for this hop: Making Memories, Spellbinders, JustRite Stampers, Sizzix, Heartfelt Creations, Lifestyle Crafts, The Stamps of Life, Boss Kut, Unity Stamps, October Afternoon, Copic, Silhouette America.

I am typically NOT a mini album kind of girl. I usually scrap 12x12 layouts...sometimes single page, single photo sometimes double page, multi photo. Just depends. But, I decided to make a mini album for our Christmas pictures this year. I also wanted to incorporate the wish lists from all of my kids. So, I decided to make an envelope mini album. To make things easy on me, I let my Big Shot Pro do the work for me. I used the A6 Scallop Envelope Die to cut out two felt envelopes and 4 cardstock envelopes.

I used the felt envelopes for the outside covers. For the front, I added the Scrap-Mart Exclusive Spellbinders OvalSquare Label and topped it off with the tree and Santa and Reindeer peeker which are all Boss Kut files. I added some chipboard Thickers for the year at the bottom.

I added some paper and ribbon to the inside cover and used a smaller Scrap-Mart Exclusive OvalSquare Label as a tab to open the flap of the envelope. The sentiment on the label is from an October Afternoon stamp set. The next page is Shelby's envelope. I added some paper on the inner part then used a mixture of Sassafras Lass Glitter Alphas, a Jillibean Soup Number Sprout and some October Afternoon Mini Market Ledger alpha stickers to create her title. I hand wrote her ONE wish on the inside flap of her envelope.

On the back of Shelby's page, I added some paper and hand-gathered ribbon topped off with more stamps from October Afternoon. For Brian's envelope, I followed the same basic steps by adding paper to the inside and decorating the flap. This time, I added some ornaments that were stamped with Heartfelt Creations Ornament Medallions stamps then cut out with their Exclusive Spellbinders Holly Ornament die. They were topped off with some gold cording and "hung" from the top of the flap. For his title, I used more Sassafras Lass Glitter Alphas and October Afternoon Mini Market Ledger stickers and cut the 'merry' using my Slice and the Noel design card.

For Brian's wish list, I wrote it on a Jillibean Soup Sprout and adhered it to a cardstock tag that I could tuck inside his envelope.

For Seth's envelope, I cut various shapes and sizes of snowflakes (found in my Gazelle software) using my Gazelle and glitter cardstock and "sprinkled" them on the flap. Then I added a larger one to the inside with some mittens hanging from it. I used more October Afternoon Mini Market Ledger alphas for his name (LOVE those things ;).

I added one more large snowflake to the inside top of the flap and stamped and cut out the snowman from my October Afternoon stamps and adhered him the the bottom corner. Seth's wish list was written on a Jillibean Soup Sprout and tucked inside the envelope.

The back of Seth's page was finished off with a pocket for photos and some crinkled ribbon and a snowflake. For the front and back of Cody's envelope I used papers from October Afternoon's Report Card collection. Yup, sure did. Cody LOVES deer so I thought it would be fun to make a slider on the flap of his envelope. I followed the tutorial found HERE and just altered it to fit my project. The deer image was in my Gazelle software and I topped the page off with a large fabric coverd button and ribbon. For his page title, I used more Sassafras Lass Glitter Alphas, half a Jillibean Soup Sprout and you guessed it, October Afternoon Mini Market Ledger alphas. ;)

I added a Jillibean Soup Kraft tag and some American Crafts Remarks stickers to the back of Cody's envelope. This will make a great spot for some added journaling and pics from Christmas day. For the last page I added the same paper and ribbon as on the front and topped it off with a Melissa Frances frame and Making Memories mini alpha stickers for my 'family time'. All of the pockets have or will have photo mats where I can stick the pictures of the kids with their gifts. And the covers will hold general family photos. The book was bound with my Cinch Bindery Tool and 1 1/2" wired.

I am THRILLED with how my book turned out! And, it just may be the start of a new addiciton...mini books! hehehe ;)

Okay, well, if you've hung in there with me for this long, thank you! Now, I have some PRIZES to give away!!! Yeah! Boss Kut has graciously donated some wonderful prizes for you guys! Here's the list:

2 winners will receive 1 cd with 25 BossKut digital shapes
2 winners will receive 1 cd with all of the new digital Framette and Florette shapes
1 winner will receive a package of BossKuts line of Christmas dies (actual dies for manual die cutters)
2 winners will receive the 5 new Framette and Florette dies (actual dies for manual die cutters)

Now how's that for some great prizes??!! All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on THIS post! That's it! I will pick the 7 random winners and announce them on the Scrap-Mart blog on Friday, December 10th. Now remember, to be eligible to win any of the GRAND PRIZES you MUST leave a comment on ALL 31 blogs throughout the hop.

Feel free to email me at katie@scrap-mart.com if you have any questions!! Thanks for joining us for our first annual Holiday Blog Hop!

Your next stop for Christmas inspiration is Angela Barkhouse.

Free Funtime III update...

Good morning friends! We are *almost* to the end of the week! Hooray! I wanted to share some information today about a new, free update that is available for Funtime III users. Now, the Funtime III program is currently available for the BossKut Gazelle but, there are other machines out there that use Funtime as well.

The current update is a PDF importer. Now, you are probably wondering why we would want a PDF importer for a die cutting machine. Well, there's a very good reason. All digital cutters use different file formats. The Gazelle uses .WPC while the Silhouette uses .GSD. Basically, what this means is that if you have a Gazelle, you can't cut Silhouette files...without utilizing multiple other programs to convert your files and even then you could potentially have issues with the file not converting over with all the cut lines in tact. Howeven, with the new, FREE PDF file importer, you can now cut ANY vector file after you send it through the CutePDF printer. The CutePDF printer is simply a virtual printer that converts your other vector files into PDF's which can then be imported into Funtime III. It may sound like a lot of work but you don't have to do anything other than open the image, click "print cut lines" and sent it to the CutePDF printer. Within two minutes, start to finish, you can be importing your other files into Funtime III.

Why is this a big deal? Well, there are a lot of people out there who started die cutting years ago with other machines, like the Silhouette, including me. My library is not as extesive as some, but I DO still have Silhouette files I would love to cut. Now, I can! And, companies like Silhouette offer free weekly shapes so now you can grab those freebies, convert them to a PDF and cut them!

If you have a Gazelle, you MUST have Funtime III for this to work. IF you don't have a Gazelle yet, the new ones come with Funtime III and it's a quick, simple and FREE process to get the importer. I am working on some projects with some of the files I imported so keep an eye out for them early next week.

Tomorrow is the big day...the Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop! It starts at 9 am CST on the Scrap-Mart blog and you won't want to miss it!! We have tons of prizes from 12 different sponsors and the Grand Prizes include a Slice Elite and Letterpress Combo Kits. Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday Ayrial!!

Today is my niece, Ayrial's birthday. I was only 15 when she was born. I watched her grow from that little tiny baby into the young woman she is today. Even though we've been miles apart for years, she's always held a special place in my heart. We were inseparable when she was little. I LOVED every minute of it and treasure those memories dearly.

I wanted to send her a handmade by me birthday card this year and here's what I came up with for her...

I created this card by using a Jenni Bowlin bingo card as the card base. Those bingo cards are 5x7 so this is a BIG card. :) I added a touch of October Afternoon striped paper from their Farm Fresh collection along the bottom of the card. I also used some scraps to cut the candles from the Slice Parties design card. I really miss Scenic Route's arrows and was THRILLED to find some similar ones on the Eclips All Occasions cartridge! I used an old Heidi Swapp bling circle to highlight the 1 since her birthday is December 1st. A touch of crinkled ribbon, some Fancy Pants felt shapes and a metal embellishment finish off the card. I love the layers and mix of patterns and I'm sure she will too.

Thanks for stoppin' by today! See you tomorrow!

Quick Gift Card Holder...

My neighbor is a SU! demo and she invited me to her stamp club the other night. This gift card holder is one of the projects we created...

First, we cut a piece of 4"x8" cardstock and scored it at 2 3/8" and again at 5 3/16". You could adjust those to easier measurements. Next we adhered a piece of patterned paper that measured 2 3/4"x4" that we used an edge punch on to the front middle of the 4"x8" strip. Then we took the 2 3/4"x8" piece of cream cardstock and folded it around the base we made and adhered the ends together. This made our belly band. All that was left then was to stamp the front of the band and we were done. You can't really see if in the picture but we added some of that wonderful irridescent ice glitter to the snowflake. So shimmery!

This is probably what Seth will find in his stocking with his iTunes gift card in it. ;) Thanks for stoppin' by today! I'll be back again tomorrow with a fun birthday card. Wednesday is my niece's birthday and my mom's is next week!

Katie

Weekend recap...

Hello everyone! I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and a great weekend as well. We went to my father and mother-in-law's house for lunch on Thanksgiving day. The kids really enjoyed it. My mother-in-law LOVES Christmas trees. Actually, she decorates at least one for other holidays as well...like Halloween and Thanksgiving. Here's a pic of her beautiful Thanksgiving tree that was in the formal dining room...

Isn't it beautiful?! Their home was a featured home in a fundraising parade so she decorated for the holidays a bit early this year. I counted a total of 5 actual decorated trees and 2 pine trees with lights next to one of the fireplaces. Just gorgeous. Here's a pic of Shelby's sassy little self next to the candycane tree in the kitchen...

This is one of the kids' favorite trees because grandma usually has is stuffed with edible candy canes. :) Look at her. Can you just see the sass?! hahaha

Well, against my original intentions, I DID go out and do some shopping on Black Friday. I started my shopping, however on Thanksgiving day. I hit Amazon.com pretty hard and got some GREAT deals for the kids. While Seth didn't end up getting the iPod Touch he wanted, we did find him an iPod Shuffle (I know, but he IS only 10!) and a new tv for his room. Oh, and a Razor scooter. Okay, so he has to share the tv with Cody but still...it's a good gift. We got Brian one of the same tv's too. A few toys for Shelby, some new Wii remotes and mom got an Otter Box for her iPhone. Everyone is happy...or will be.

The ONLY toy Shelby actually asked for is this...

It is the FurReal Friends GoGo My Walkin' Puppy. It is battery powered and the leash attaches and you push the buttons and the dog walks and barks. Yeah. Last year she wanted (and received) the FurReal Friends LuLu Cat. Loves it, still. This dod must be HOT this year because I lost if from my Amazon cart twice before I could get checked out. And every time I added it again from another seller the price jumped. When it hit $56 I gave up. I found it online at Wal-Mart for $44.88 but by the time we finished lunch and got back home, it was SOLD OUT. Sigh. So, I took a chance and called my local backwoods Wal-Mart to see if they had any. They did, and guess what? They held it for me!!! AND, while I was on hold for them to look for it, I found a link on the Wal-Mart website for a $5 off coupon for it. So, that paid for the special trip I had to make to pick it up. Yeah! Got the dog.

Then I ventured out with my best friend, Stacey, at about 10 pm. We hit Wal-Mart (again) for the midnight sale where I finished, yes I said finished, my Christmas shopping for the kids. Yeah!! Now, we stayed out and hit Old Navy, Kohl's and JC Penney's too...not to mention breakfast at Ihop....before we made it home at 630 Friday morning. Exhausted. The only other things I grabbed were a few pairs of pj pants at Penney's for Rocky and Brian. D.O.N.E. shopping! :) And, can you believe that one of the items I ordered on Amazon on Thursday showed up on my doorstep yesterday?! Seriously!

Okay, enough rambling from me. This Friday is the BIG Holiday Blog Hop. You won't want to miss it!!! Just click on the blinkie at the top of my blog on Friday and it will take you to the beginning of the blog hop.

I'll be back tomorrow with a fun little Christmas gift card holder I made at a SU! workshop. See you later!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to you! I thought today, instead of sharing a project I'd share with you what I'm most thankful for and follow up with some shopping fun. So, here goes...

Obviously, I'm thankful for my family. My husband is a very supportive man. He makes me laugh, feel warm and cozy and best of all, he respects and trusts in me. Rocky is very loving and works hard everyday to ensure we have all we need. He's thankful for me and for what we have and he focuses on the good and not what he wishes we had. My kids...they are all so very loving. Smart, healthy!, amazing personalities. They make me laugh 'til I cry. Brian is smart and VERY athletic. He loves to play sports...and video games. ;) Seth, is the family brainiac. He sets academic goals just to have something to overcome and he almost always exceeds the goals set for him. He loves music and is a true Momma's Boy. Cody. He is smart as a whip. But, Cody is a button pusher. He knows how to get to people and boy does he excercise that knowledge. hahah He's also very athletic. His favorite things right now are to ride his Razor or his bike. And that leaves us with Shelby. Oh Shelby. She is fiesty. Girly. Smart as they come. Adorable. And, Momma's Girl. She's the girl you'll see walking in a dress with tights and boots then watch her climb into a muddy, lifted 4x4 truck. ROFL! I'm also thankful for our health. With the exception of some allergies and Shelby's well-controlled asthma, we are all healthy. We are all home with each other at night, in a warm safe home with plenty of food to eat and heat to keep us warm. There are many, many more things I am thankful for but I won't bore you with anymore details. ;)

How 'bout some shopping talk?! My friend Karen mentioned on a previous post about wanting to see the boots I bought last week. Here's a pic of them...

I bought them in black and brown and boy and I glad I did. These are the most comfortable boots I've ever worn! I actually have fairly skinny legs and I have plenty of room for my jeans/leggings inside and room to walk. They are not tight at all. I wore these around all day Monday. We went to test drive a truck, went to pick up Rocky's jeans I'd ordered at the mall AND went grocery shopping. No discomfort, no blisters. Pure comfort!! Now, if you are looking for some boots I'd highly suggest these. AND, they're still on sale and if you buy them online you get FREE SHIPPING!! Click HERE to go to them if you are intersted. Karen, this may be just for you 'cause you could have them shipped home and not have to worry about flying with them!

On another note, since Black Friday is tomorrow, what is on your Christmas list this year?? Is there something you're really hoping your Santa will bring you?! Rocky and I don't usually exchange gifts. We just buy for the kids but every once in a while he'll surprise me. And, I usually tuck something like pj's under the tree for him from the kids. So, Rocky, if you're reading my blog today I'd LOVE to have the new Kindle 4. It would be nice to have that when I'm travelling next year so I can easily read without the bulk of books. Or, if you were thinking something a bit smaller I would thoroughly enjoy an iTunes gift card and some new earphones for my iphone. :) Just sayin'.

If you're still with me, for those of you who are hoping for some BIG crafty presents this year, be sure you check out the Scrap-Mart blog hop taking place next Friday. There are 30 blogs and TONS of prizes including a Slice Elite, Letterpress Combo Kits, and Silhouette is doing a giveaway on their blog during the hop...a $500 Mega Bundle that includes a Silhouette SD machine!!! And that's not all! We have tons of fabulous prizes from other sponsors like Copic, October Afternoon, Spellbinders, Unity Stamps and MORE!!! Remember, December 3rd and it starts on the Scrap-Mart blog. Just click on the blinkie at the top of my blog and it will take you there.

Birthday card...

My best friend, Stacey, needed a birthday card made for a friend of hers who is going to nursing school. She had found some digital stamps from Bugaboo so I chose one and made her this card...

The card base was made with my Spellbinders Grand Labels One Nestabilities and the die cutting on the fold technique. Next, I cut a small black/white polka dot piece in the bottom portion of the die and adhered it to my card base. I wanted to add more detail so I pulled out my new We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy handle and Zig Zag head. This was super easy to do! I used a ruler and lined it up on the piercing mat to help guide me. After stitching I added my image which was colored using Copic markers then cut using Spellbinders Oval and Scallop Oval Nesties. The sentiment was computer generated then cut out with the new Scrap-Mart Exclusive OvalSquare Label. I finished it off by adding some crinkled ribbon, bling and a Prima flower that was airbrushed to match.

I usually don't finish the inside of my cards. Typically, I'll handwrite my sentiment for a personal touch but since this card was being given by someone else, I added more detail.

Since I had stitched directly to the card base on the front, I cut a Spellbinders Grand Labels One in the next size down and adhered it to the inside left. Then I added my inside sentiment which was cut out using Spellbinders Labels Ten and layered on a Scrap-Mart Spellbinders Exclusive Labels One. A bit more bling and I was done.

Stacey was very happy with how the card turned out, as was I. The Grand Labels One are the PERFECT size for making shaped card bases! I know this is just one of many I will make with this shape. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I will be here with a short post...probably about shopping or sales :) if you care to drop in.

On another note, Scrap-Mart is having their annual Spellbinders Sale and it's good 'til midnight tonight! The sale DOES include the GRANDS!!!! Just click the picture below to begin shopping!



There's some great stuff left in stock so hurry over and check it out! Email me at katie@scrap-mart.com if you have any questions!

Thanksgiving placecards...

I have to tell you, I have NEVER made placecards for any holiday meal. Really, never. To some of you, this may sound CRAZY!! But, it's true. This year, I decided to make some for Cody and Shelby. Here's how they turned out...

You may be wondering why I only made the youngest ones placecards and not anyone else. Well, they always sit in the same place at every meal. They insist on it and will fight to the death for their seats. So, I thought it would be fun to "label" their seats and since they both recognize and know how to spell their names now, they'll really enjoy having their own, special seat. Here's a closer view of them...

Thanks to my Gazelle, these were super easy to make!! For Shelby's, I cut the card base out of Sunset Peach glitter paper. Then, I created a rectangle in the software and applied the embroidery tool. After cutting my holes, I applied the blackout feature to create the mat (around the holes) and expanded it to the size I desired and cut the rectangle out. After stitching through my embroidered holes, I added her name, also cut with the Gazelle, and finished it off with a coffee filter flower.

To create Cody's, I created the card base then cut the Rectangle 4x6 Framette (also available in die form HERE) from Gold glitter paper. Next, I cut his name out and added it to a label from the Funtime III software, which I adhered with American Crafts This to That Foam Tabs. I finished his off with some twine, a button and a few oak leaf die cuts.

They have already seen them and were so excited about them. Now, I only have to hope they make it 'til Thanksgiving. :) I have quite a few birthdays coming up so I am going to be working on birthday cards today. Hopefully I'll have one finished to share tomorrow. ;) Have a great Tuesday!

Katie

Kinder Crush

Good Monday morning!! I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. I know I did. I'm sorry I didn't make it in with a post on Friday. I had the opportunity to go do some ME shopping on Thursday afternoon then I was in Tulsa ALL DAY Friday while Seth was in school. On a happy note, I did buy TWO pairs of boots. You know, the fun ones you tuck your jeans into that go half way up your leg. :) AND, I bought, are you ready for this?!...a pair of skinny jeans. I did, no joke. I cannot believe I made that jump. I never thought I would. But, I figured, I just bought two pair of boots and my boot leg jeans won't fit INSIDE them, right?! LOL! And, I had purchased a new outfit in Seattle...which was the reason for the boot hunt to begin with. ;) But, don't fret. I was armed with coupons. I saved $72 off EACH pair of boots. Yep, they were regularly priced at $100/pr and I paid $28 and some change each. Which paid for my jeans. HAHAHA

Okay, enough about my fun spree. :) Cody and Shelby's classes took a joint field trip to the pumpkin patch back in October. I snuck these pics of Shelby snuggling up to one of her brohter's classmates...Dakota, and I couldn't WAIT to scrap them. LOOK at her!! She's 4!!! Think I have anything to worry about?! ROFL!

The title came to me as soon as I saw the pics. I used my Gazelle for this entire project. First, I put the die cut paper in and instead of cutting the heart, I used the embroidery tool in the software to cut the holes then I stitched around them all. I LOVE the way this turned out and I know I'll be using that tool a lot more. The Gazelle handled my journaling for me too. I typed it up, dropped in my pen and let my Gazzy work. Then I replaced the blade, created boxes around my journaling and cut. It was that easy. I decided to create a mixed font title so I chose my fonts, created the words and the mat and cut. Again, super easy! I finished the layout off with some ruffled paper, crinkled ribbon and glitter hearts. The glitter paper I used on this layout is FABULOUS and it works WONDERFULLY in my Gazelle. I have also cut it using my Spellbinders dies and it cuts like a dream. You can find it in the BossKut online store.

I have a project about half completed and HOPE to have it up for you tomorrow. Have a great Monday!

Katie

Deal of the day...

Who doesn't love a good deal??? I know I do! Scrap-Mart started a sister company called Scrapace.com. Scrapace is ALL about deals. And GREAT deals at that. Today's deal is AWESOME!!!! I have it...paid $90 for it last year and guess what? Today YOU can get it for $15.99. Yeah, no joke. So, what is today's deal??? Check it out...

Um, yeah, $16.99!!! At that price, buy 2 and give one to your scrappy BFF. She'll LOVE you for it! But, you better hurry because we are already sold more than half. Yep, we'll be sold out very soon!

And, be sure to stop by and sign up for the Scrapace newsletter so you remember to check it daily! You never know what might show up next. ;)

Okay, as you may know the Scrap-Mart Holiday Blog Hop is coming up fast. I am working diligently to get all the details ironed out so please excuse my project absence. I WILL have projects to share next week. Maybe by the end of this week...which is tomorrow. Yikes. Gotta go...I WILL be back tomorrow. I will. See you then.

Katie

Has anyone seen my mojo???

I can't seem to find it anywhere. I have had lots of "work" to do which usually consists of sitting at my computer answering emails, tracking stuff and following up. I think I have done so much of that lately I just haven't felt like creating. Which is no good 'cause I have LOTS that I need to finish up. Sooo, I'm sad to report no project today. I need to go to work.

On a lighter note, I walked again today. This time I walked a total of 1.5 miles and ran .3. Yeah, only .3 but you don't understand. I HATE to run. H.A.T.E. to run. Like, would rather have a root canal kind of H.A.T.E. And, yes, my mother told me that hate is not a nice word. But, I'm going to overcome that hatred. I'm going to fight back. I enjoy my morning walks. And after I ran, even just that short little bit, I felt good. Really good. I could feel that cool, brisk winter wind waaay down deep. I will keep going. I will .3 the rest of this week and shoot for .6 next week. Oh, and in case you're wondering were I'm getting my figures at, I drove my route and one time around was .3. ;)

Okay, enough. I'm going to work...well, going to create. That's work, right?! Have a great Wednesday!

Katie

Sweet Treats...

Since I was going to the very last show of 2010, I wanted to take my friends something nice. But, it had to be something small that I could fly with so I decided to make some homemade cinnamon rock candy and decorate litle treat boxes for them. Here's how they turned out...

I had picked up these little 3x3 clear boxes at the stamp show in Novi earlier this year and thought they'd be perfect. I decorated them each specifically for the person they were for. Here's a close up look at them...

This one was for Amy. She has two beautiful daughters and has a fun, girly side. I added the ribbon then cut down a Melissa Frances journaling block to fit the front of the box. The title was created by cutting 'sweets' from my Bon Appetit Slice design card, adding some Making Memories mini ledger alphas then finishing it up with some Sassafras Lass glitter alphas. The white crepe paper is also from Melissa Frances. I cut it into a thin strip, adhered the ends together then flattened it out and added the Prima flower to the top. For a final touch, I added some white Smooch Ink to make it shimmer.

This one was for my friend, Angela, with The Button Farm. I thought it'd be fun to use the same colors she uses and of course, I HAD to add some buttons. ;) I cut the banner using the Parties Slice Design Card and the monogram A using the Sock Hop Fonts Slice design card. Some twine, buttons and crinkled ribbon finished it off.

This box was for Mary. Mary is classy and likes vintage things so I thought I'd go for a distressed and simple but elegant look for her. I chose a color scheme that is not my norm, but I like how it turned out. Mary is the mother of Stacey Caron, owner of Spellbinders! So, I thought I probably should use my Spellbinders dies for her box. hahaha I made some more of Karen's coffee filter flowers, inked and layered them up and that was it.

I just finished my morning walk. I did 1.5 miles today. It's a start. As much as I hate to run, I'd like to slowly move into running. I know it would be better for me. I HAVE to make some changes. For me. Only for me. Okay, enough about me. I'm going to shower, you all have a great day! ;)

Katie

Busy, busy...

Hi everone!! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I sure did. I flew out last Thursday for the Seattle CK convention, the last show of the year!! I was so excited that I got to do this show. Now, we were working so I didn't get to do any sight seeing, sadly. But, I did get to do a bit of shopping at the Bellvue mall where I purchased a new outfit and I had dinner at Red Robbin and California Pizza Kitchen, neither of which had I eaten before. They were both delicious.

I finally arrived home at about 7 pm last night after waking up at 3 am, flying to LA where I spent more than three hours in the airport, then flying to Tulsa and driving home. I was exhausted, to say the least. My wondeful hubby had dinner ready so after a quick shower, I ate, snuggled the kiddos and went to bed.

So, here I am today, Monday, playing catch up for all the things I didn't accomplish since last Thursday. I DO have a project I'd planned on sharing today BUT, I decided to share some other information instead. hehehe Bloggers perogative, right?! hehehe

You may have noticed I added some info under my blog header last week. Scrap Mart is hosting our very first Hoiday Blog Hop on Friday, December 3. Well, let me tell you that this hop is going to be BIG!!!! I mean B. I. G. Not only are the SM designers showing you some great holiday inspiration, BUT we have more than 20 other designers joining in too. Like, Sharon Harnist, Debbie Olson, Heidi Blankenship, Angela Barkhouse, Stephanie Kraft, Stephanie Barnard, Maren Benedict and MORE!! Do I have your attention yet??? Well, if not then I will after I tell you that ONE of the prizes we are giving away is a SLICE ELITE machine!!!! Yep, and design cards. And stamps and dies from Heartfelt Creations. And dies from BossKut, Sizzix and Spellbinders. And stamps from Unity and the Stamps of Life. AND MORE!!! Yes, I said more!!! This is one hope you DON'T want to miss. Be sure you tell your friends because the more people we have particpate and hop, the MORE prizes we'll give away!!! And, just for fun, I'm going to give away a prize to the person who drives the most people to the blog. So, hit Facebook, your blogs, Twitter or however you share your info and tell your friends to stop by the SM blog on Friday, December 3 and join in on the hop. And be sure they leave a comment and tell us who sent them. The person who sent them AND one of their friends will win a prize!!! How does that sound??

Now, I'll be back tomorrow with the project I had planned to share today. I just couldn't hold that in any longer. hehehe Have a great Monday!

Katie

Fabric flower hairbow

Hi all and Happy Friday! I am in Seattle for day one of the last CK convention of the year! I thought I'd share with you a hairbow I made with the fabric flowers I showed you a few weeks ago.

I took the fabric flower and layered some crinkled ribbon I'd tied into three consecutive bows on it. Then, I took a crystal-looking charm from Melissa Frances and hot glued it to the center. All that was left after that was to hot glue it to a clippie. You could easily whip one of these up in about 30 minutes...from start to finish. I made the two shown in the picture for my friend Laura's daughters. I am really happy with how they turned out!

Well, I hope you guys enjoy your weekend! I'll be back on Monday with some fun treat boxes I made for some special friends of mine. See you then!

Katie