A thought on this Memorial Day...

I just want to take a moment before I get into my scrappy stuff and thank all service members and their families for the sacrifices they have made in the past and continue to make today. If not for your bravery and honor our country would not have the freedoms it has today. My family is very thankful for all your dedication. May you all be blessed on this Memorial Day.

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend. We headed down to Keystone Lake for some live music Saturday night for the third annual Backwoods Bash and went back with the kids today for a little fishing. It was really pretty and we had a nice breeze plus we could still hear the live music clearly! I took some great pics of everyone fishing so be watching for a layout on that! ;)

Today I'm going to share with you a birthday card I made a few months ago...

For the card front, I used a large 5x7 Bingo card from Jenni Bowlin and added a piece of Sassafras Lass patterned paper and some American Crafts cardstock that I punched with the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch. I die cut some Revolution Birthday Candles, tied it off with a ribbon, added the metal birthday charm from JoAnn's then highlighted the number 20 in the lower right corner with some Kaiser Pearls. I really loved how this card turned out.

Thanks so much for stoppin' by today! I have a really BIG announcement to make tomorrow so please stop by and check it out! See you then!

Katie

Kids

Hi everyone! I hope your weekend is going great so far. I know mine is. The other day I was working on a layout (you can see it soon!) and my two little ones were in the room with me. Since all my scrap stuff is still packed I only pull out what I need when I'm working. I had a small pile of trash on the end of my table and Shelby and Cody wanted to "scrapbook" too. So, I got them both out a pair of child safe scissors and pointed at my trash pile. It didn't take long for Cody to dig a glue stick out of my adhesive basket. I stepped out of the room for one second and when I returned, they were pretending to shoot a video. Okay, let me back up. The other day, they sat patiently and quietly on my bed and watched me shoot a Big Shot Pro video. So, I grabbed my camera and got them in the act. Check 'em out..



hahaha Wasn't that funny? They were so excited. And you could see Seth trying to get across the room without jumping into their video. Cody actually finished a project. He called it his Robot. Check it...

Isn't he cute? hehehe Do you see the scrapes on his nose and forehead? Mom of the year award goes to me! Let's just say we were having a little too much fun on the playground at the park earlier this week. K? Love you Cody!

Well, thanks for stoppin' by today! I'll be back tomorrow with a project! See you then!

Katie

Hi everyone and Happy Saturday!

I know that many of you are probably out enjoying the beautiful weather on this long, holiday weekend. We're hoping to hit the lake and enjoy an outdoor concert. That's one of the perks of our new home...we're only 1/2 mile from Keystone Lake and Walnut Creek State Park. We're hoping to take the kids camping sometime this year too!

Anyway, onto today's project. My friend and fellow DT member, Eva, sent me a beautiful card and the {ippity} Devoted stamp set. I have long desired this set and was soooo thrilled when I opened that package! Thanks again, Eva! I decided to make a card for my mom and I used Unity's FWF26 challenge for inspiration. (edited to add: this card was actually chosen and featured on Unity's blog on Friday, May 28th for the Friends With Flair post! Yeah! Thanks Unity!)

Here's my card...

I wanted to keep the card itself simple so the message would shine through. I started by using my Scor-Pal to create a border around the card front then I tied a strip of SU! Mellow Moss ribbon around the front panel. For the image, I used the Embossing Resist technique. To create the background, I used my JustRite Special Occasions font and my Rectangle stamper. It reads "This is the day the Lord hath made let us rejoice and be glad in it" over and over. Then stamped the image using Versamark and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder (UTEE is all I had). Then I sponged some SU! Mellow Moss ink all over the image then cut and embossed it using my Spellbinders Lables Eight. I stampd the sentiment, hand cut around it then glued it inside...

Mom was having kind of a rough week and I wanted to let her know that even though I'm far away, I am still thinking of her. I just know she'll love it.

Thanks for stoppin' by today! I'm taking tomorrow off but I have a something super special to share with you Monday and I hope you'll stop in!

Katie

Friday: Friends with Flair (FWF) Unity Style

Hello everyone and welcome to my little corner of the web. This is my very first FWF!!! In honor of that, I am giving away some blog candy! But, you have to read through the post to find out what and how to win! K?

Onto my card. I created this card based on this week's Card Sketch Wednesday over at Splitcoast Stampers. Click HERE to see the sketch. And, here's my card...

To start this card I used my Big Shot Pro and the A6 Scallop Card and Envelope. I layered up some Core'dinations for Jillibean Soup cardstock and some Farm Fresh papers from October Afternoon. I stamped the mailbox (and sentiment) from Unity's Hodge Podge of Happiness kit then colored it with my Copics. After coloring, I cut it out using my Oval Nestabilities then added a mat with my Scallop Ovals. I used my Airbrush system to color the "sky" around the mailbox. The sentiment was stamped on the heart which I cut with my Slice and the Studio Essentials design card. The crepe streamer was spritzed with Glimmer Mist then wrinkled after it dried. All the edges were inked with Quick Quotes Chalk Ink.

Now, are you ready for the Blog Candy??? Okay, it's really easy! All you have to do is become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment letting me know you signed up. That's it! And from the followers I will choose 1 winner at random to receive all the items pictured below:

The one who is chosen will receive Unity's Boom Goes my Heart stamp, (1) 12" Queen felt border by Queen & Co., (1) pkg clear rhinestones from Kaiser Craft, (2) vellum quotes from Quick Quotes, (1) pkg rub-ons by Basic Grey, (1) pkg ribbon trims from Making Memories and (1) T-drop rhinestone clip by Teresa Collins. All of these items are new and in their original packaging! Just become a follower and leave me a comment and I will enter your name in the drawing!

Thanks for stoppin' by! Join me tomorrow to see a cute card using {ippity} stamps.

Katie

American Crafts Spring Challenge

I ran across this challenge on the American Crafts blog. All you had to do was create a card or layout and use two or more American Crafts products. That was easy. hahaha Here's my layout:

I used new American Crafts Dear Lizzy papers, American Crafts Details-Chatter felt flowers, and some American Crafts Remarks Dimensional Stickers-Feather w/Glitter Finish. For the scallop, I used my Sizzlit Loops with Hearts border then mixed in some Prima flowers and a little bling to finish it off.

Disclaimer: I did not create this layout for this challenge! This layout was already done and has been featured on the Scrap-Mart blog. I just loaded it because it fit into the challenge rules.


Thanks for stoppin' by today! I'll be back tomorrow for my very first Unity Friends with Flair! I hope you can stop by.

Katie

A yummy oops!

The other night I was thinking how yummy chocolate cake sounded. Like I mentioned before, I love cooking/baking and when I'm not scrappin' I'm probably doing the other. hehehe Anyway, I googled chocolate cake recipe and found this...

Ingredients:
1 cup cocoa; sifted
3/4 cup coffee; boiling
1 cup milk; room temperature
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces butter; room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs
***Frosting***
12 tablespoons butter; room temperature
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 2 8 inch deep cake pans. Butter cake pans and add dust pans with 1/8 cup cocoa powder , instead of flour. Mix cocoa, boiling coffee and milk together. Cool to warm temperature. Sift together all dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar by hand. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Add flour in batch additions, mixing until smooth.

Divide batter between pans and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate pans in oven and continue baking for 15 minutes. Test as usual. Cool cakes in pans for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack. Frosting: Mix butter, confectioners sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla. Proceed as usual.

Martha Stewart


This recipe from CDKitchen for Ultimate Chocolate Cake serves/makes 8

If you are not fond of coffee, please do not be deterred by that as an ingredient! You cannot taste it in the final cake. As is happened, I still had coffee in my pot from that morning and I simply added it to a saucepan to boil it. Worked out great.

Now, you notice my title says "oops"? I made a few mistakes along the way with this cake. It started when I was shaking up my cocoa to break up the clumps. The lid came off and cocoa went everywhere. Then, when I was sifting together all the dry ingredients I included the sugar. That is a no-no. The sugar is to be creamed with the butter. Thankfully, I was able to pull most of it out and it did not ruin the cake. Then, I messed up the frosting. Didn't even know how until I re-read the recipe when typing this post. I accidentally omitted the butter. My frosting, as you will see below, was more of a drizzle. However, it also did not ruin the cake.

The reviews do not do this cake justice. Yes, it is dense but not dry at all. My family really enjoyed it. Let me know if you try it and what you think of it. Or, even better, if you have a cake recipe you'd like to share with me! My Seth loves Carrot Cake and that's one I've yet to try. *wink*

Thanks for joining me today! I'll be back tomorrow with another project! See you then!

Katie

Quickutz & Cuttlebug embossing folders and Spellbinders dies in the Big Shot Pro

Hey everyone! I finally made the time to shoot the other Big Shot Pro video I was telling you about. This one shows you how to use your Quickutz and Cuttlebug embossing folders as well as your Spellbinders (or any other wafter thin die) in the Big Shot Pro machine. The best part is that this trick will not cost you a dime! That's right, you probably already have everything you need to make it work. Check it out...



Well? Whatcha think? I don't have any idea why it took me so long to think of that idea. You can find Big Shot Pro items at Scrap-Mart.com.

If you have any questions regarding the Big Shot Pro (or anything else), feel free to email me anytime at katie@scrap-mart.com. I'll be back tomorrow with a yummy recipe I found...and tried! See you then!

Katie

Big Shot Pro video

Hi all and Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. I mentioned in my last post about having found something good with the Big Shot Pro. That video is not ready yet but I realized I hadn't posted the other videos I'd done on here. So, here's the first video I shot...



I shot this when I was visiting The Scrappin' Pad. If you are close enough to Oklahoma I strongly urge you to check this place out! Christi takes great pride in ensuring all guests have a wonderful visit. From plush beds to catered food to a huge crop room. You will LOVE it there.

Okay, back to the Pro video. I haven't found much this machine can't do yet. Like I said in the video, it is huge but that can be a good thing...especially for scrapbookers! I also have a video that shows you how easy it is to use Accucut dies in the Pro machine. You can find it HERE. My next video will show you how easy it is to use Quickutz and Spellbinders dies without buying any additional mats! Yippee!

Here are a few images of some of the new background dies Sizzix has released...

This one is the Scallop Heart
and this one is the Ribbon Circle

They are on pre-order status right now at Scrap-Mart and should be shipping in June. You can check out the rest of the June Sizzix release HERE.

I'm so glad you stopped in today. I'll be back soon with the other Pro video and a few projects. See ya!

Katie

A yummy Saturday breakfast...

Hello all! I hope you had a fabulous week last week. I wanted to share a few things with you today. First up, for those of you who didn't already know my second favorite hobby is cooking/baking. My friend and fellow dt member, Eva Dobilas, shared a website with me called tastspotting.com. This site is basically a compilation of food blogs. The pages are loaded with pictures of the most delicious looking food. I have been checking it out and bookmarking recipes for about a week now.

This morning I decided to try a recipe I'd found from gimme some oven. I made her Cinnamon Bun Pie Pockets...

Don't they look yummy?? That's her photo, not mine, by the way. haha They were very good and so easy to make! She has some other great recipes I can't wait to try too.

I am cleaning house today. I have spent lots of time in town this week so I have some much needed chores to attend to. My friend, Brian, is getting married soon and his fiance is out of town so I am going to watch their two kids tonight. Funny thing is Cody and Shelby are going to grandma's so I guess it worked out. haha I have discovered something wonderful for the Big Shot Pro and I am hoping to shoot a video about that this weekend. Those of you who have this machine will love it!

Thanks for stoppin' by today! I'll be back early next week...hopefully with something crafty! See you then!

Katie

A fun Friday challenge

Today is Jenn's day to issue the Friday Challenge on the Scrap-Mart blog. I had lots of fun playing along with this one. Here's the layout I created...

The kicker is that I'm not going to tell you what the challenge actually is! You have to visit the Scrap-Mart blog to find out! I know, it's mean! hahaha But, in doing so you'll also get to take a peek at what the rest of the DT has done with this challenge as well.

Thanks for stoppin' by today! I will be back very soon! See you then!

Katie

Oh me, oh my...

Moving is A LOT of work! Whew! We are all settled into our new home. Here are a few moments from the last week or so:

Killed a Diamondback Rattlesnake (last night on my front porch!!!)
Planted a flower bed
Have vacuumed my floors 15 times in the last 4 days
LOVE cooking and baking in my new, huge kitchen

....

are you still with me or are you stuck on killed the Rattlesnake? Yeah, I know. Very scary! I am the heart stops beating, I stop breathing terrified of snakes!

But, on to happier things. Before the big move I managed to whip out a card for Rocky's mom for Mother's Day. Check it out...

This card was really simple to create. It was featured on the Scrap-Mart blog earlier this week. Click here for details and a supply list. Sorry for the not so great photo. I have not found my battery charger for my camera yet so I took this with my iphone and emailed it to myself. lol

We are loving the new house! It is everything we have wanted and needed. We are simple people, happy to have a roof over our heads and each other. Our family is very blessed and we are so very thankful for what God has given us. I will be back tomorrow to share some pics of the house and the new flower bed we planted today. And Friday, I have a fun challenge to share from the Scrap-Mart blog.

See you soon! Thanks for hanging in there with me during my move! I'm hoping to get settled into my routine so that I can blog more frequently!

Katie

Just checkin' in...

Hi all! I made it back safely from New Hampshire and the show was great! We have spent the week packing and moving and by Saturday, we should be fully moved in. Then, I get to spend the next who knows how long getting settled. Sigh. We're thrilled to have the new house but we're exhausted. hahaha I spent the evening tonight packing up ALL my stuff!!! GASP! I know, I know. I am hoping that I can get the house settled and at least play with basics while I wait for my scrap shack to be completed. It's getting a new roof, siding, sheetrock, paing and flooring and possibly even an addition!!! Isn't my hubby grand?! Anyway, I'm off to bed. I have to work tomorrow and get as much as we can moved. I have some pics from New Hampshire to share and I promise I'll be back as soon as possible to share them with you!

Thanks for hanging in with me!

Katie