Happy 21st Birthday Courtney

I made this for my friend Kim's daughter. She is turning 21 on Feb 3. I hope she likes the card. I purchased the pink and black zebra print so wanted to use that. It's kind of fun and whimsical. I used a Pinterest layout (but changed the entire color scheme of course). Will post that later.

Update: Courtney loved this card. She posted it on Facebook and tagged me in the post. She said, "This lady makes the most amazing cards". That really made my day.

Supplies: DCWV, Bazzill, The Paper Studio, Cricut, Martha Stewart Sesonal cartridge, Elegant Edges cardridge, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders, circle punches, bling, SU scallop circle and circle punches, Inkadinkadoo stamp, ribbon, and Stickles for the sparkle.

My big fat cat

Independence was laying on the couch last night...well, almost laying on the couch. He is so big, he can't really fit on one cushion when he sprawls out completely. I'm sure...the vet would have a hay day with the lectures to me about his weight.

Happy Birthday Laurel

I made this card for my neighbor and friend Laurel for her birthday on Feb 2nd. She loves purple and really liked the scrapbook layout I made for Jeannie (see Sisters layout below). I made this card using that same layout. I had a different Happy Birthday sentiment but changed my mind after. It was too squished in my opinion. I hope she likes it.

Supplies: DVWV, Bazzill, bling, SU stamps, punch, SU scallop border punch, corner rounder.

Happy Birthday Jen

I made this card for a friend and coworker who loves animal print and bling. I used two cards as my inspiration I found on Pinterest (I will add the links later). I looked through Laurel's animal prints and while tempting, I wanted more traditional animal print. I bought this pack at Hobby Lobby and really like it. The crafting girls thought I was crazy for mixing so many prints. But I knew the red would help set it off just perfectly. Jen LOVED it and is keeping it as a keepsake. I originally had two tags hanging down from the middle but did not like that look (and couldn't get it to photograph well) so I changed to the birthday banner.

Supplies: SU vanilla cardstock, Bazzill (black), Recollections (red), The Paper Studio animal print, Bazzill bling button, Memories ink.

Is it me?

This picture cracks me up. So many people think it's me holding a picture of me. Look close. It's not. It's a picture of me holding a picture of my Facebook friend Lisa.

This funny story started about two years ago. A mutual friend Brad (whom I went to college with) also knows Lisa. Brad made a funny post on his Facebook wall. Of course, I had to make a funny comment back. One of Lisa's friends commented on Brad's post "when did Lisa move to AZ". We realized it was me and not Lisa. Lisa and I have both shown several people our pictures on Facebook to others because we think it's so funny. I'm sure her husband was terrified (lol). We are not related, haven't ever met (which will change as soon as I get back to Iowa next) and her sister looks nothing like her. The funniest part of this "I have a twin" story is a year ago, Lisa was a chaperone for her son's band competition. A guy Darren (Brad's college roommate whom I know from college as well) went up to Lisa thinking she was me and introduced himself. All the while, I'm still in AZ and had no idea of the fun people were having with this.

Here are some differences: Lisa has bright blue eyes, she is shorter than me and has smaller feet than me. Lisa parts her hair on the opposite side as me and wears her hair up more than I do, but this particular picture she had her hair down so I took advantage of it.

Take a look and see for yourself.

Thank you

I thought I was following a sketch from a card I saw on Pinterest but went back and realized it wasn't really the same and I kind of made up what I was doing. I needed a quick thank you card for those who sent me Christmas gift cards or presents and also two for people I work with. After our black and white craft day, I did not want to use black and white. I wanted color. I went a little overboard on those, but you know what...those recipients are all in the Midwest and I'm sure they could stand a little bright and cheery right now. After I finished the four bright color cards, I decided I better make the other two black and white since they are for something (which I can't explain right now) I needed to be simple but still look pretty. If you know me, I will push the envelope on patterns  if I can (for my paper projects that is).

Supplies: White cardstock, Bazzill, the Paper Studio, Recollections, Cricut, Martha Stewart Seasonal cake cartridge, SU clear embossing powder, Inkadinkadoo stamp, black embossing ink, circle punch, pop dots.

On this note, I mustashe!

I was cutting some labels and this little piece fell on the floor. I had to be funny and hold it up to my face like it was a photobooth prop. We were all getting zaney and loopy by this time. I had Lynn laughing because I kept saying I mustashe and for being so serious when I was trying to take the picture. It would have been even more funny and appropriate had it been a black scrap. Sorry for the bad pic of me, but it's just too funny of a moment not to post. I don't normally look quite this disasterous when I'm crafting...or hope I don't. : )

Black and White card-making day

We got together to make black and white cards on New Year's Day. It was a day our craft group had planned on for awhile. We were only to use black, white, and some grey. Do you know how hard that was for me? I wanted to add bright green or hot pink to some cards but I didn't. The next black and white day...I will add some color. I have already informed everyone they won't be just black and white next time. I made several cards so the girls could use as samples before hand. I looked at cards on Pinterest and if I liked the layout, I saved the card, took a screenshot so I didn't have to search my Pinterest boards, and made them. Even if they weren't black and white I used the layout. Here are all the cards I made either before hand or yesterday. For me, this many cards is basically unbelieveable since I normally get one or two cards made during our craft days. Just yesterday, I made the last 5 cards posted. WOW. And don't be fooled, a lot of these cards were created with me signing lines from my favorite songs or if the line from the song was appropriate to what I was doing. ;) (They are all in one post so I don't have to post something for each picture). I wrote down the recipe for most of the cards for the girls so they could easily duplicate.

 

Pinterest - layout used

Pinterest - layout used

 

Pinterest - layout used

Pinterest - layout used

Pinterest - layout used

Pinterest - layout used

Pinterest - layout used

Pinterest - layout used

Pinterest card - layout used

Pinterest - layout used

I really like this one

Pinterest - layout used

And this one

Pinterest - layout used

This card will have some black brads added

This card...I am not so happy with

Pinterest - technique used

  

Fun at the Suns game with Pamela

Pamela is my friend from Iowa. She and I have been friends since college, but lost touch in 1991 when she moved back to Iowa from Arizona. Thanks to Facebook, we reconnected a few years ago and her son moved here in Jan 2012. We have seen each other 3 different times since she has come out here. It's so great being reconnected with good friends and people. We got tickets from Preston to go to the Suns game. That was really fun. We couldn't really see a whole lot, but still a fun night out. It was a Suns game so always fun...and the game came down to the last second...literally. We lost in that crazy last second.

My AZ Christmas Cards for 2012

This is what my Christmas cards looked like this year. I paper pieced everything except Santa's sunglasses, his skin, and his flip flops. The bulbs on the tree are Stickles. I was going to add a rhinestone for each bulb but liked the Stickles idea more. I probably have an hour (or possibly more in each card). For my family in Iowa, I thought this AZ Santa would brighten the drab winter days. This would have been just a little bit more complete had I been able to find mini Pepsi cans or mini fruity drinks. I ended up not really liking these cards but was too far into it not to finish them. And to think, I made the snowman card (below) and didn't like it so made the comment that I wish someone had a Santa in swim trunks because I wanted to use the Santa suit hanging on the line stamp. Laurel happened to have this old Stampin' Up! set (well, she had two of them in fact). On the snowman card, I would have added an orange nose and bling on the snowflakes had I finished it. I did cut enough to make 6 cards...and scrapped the idea when I realized I didn't like it.

Sisters wall hanging

I made this wall hanging for my friend and coworker Jeannie. She is expecting a second daughter any time now. I asked her what color the baby's room was going to be. She said lavendar and white. I will admit, I was extremely gun shy about making a lavendar page. I do like how it turned out however. Jeannie was very tickled when she saw it. She was rushing back from a doctor appointment and I had it sitting on her desk when she got back. She signed in late to a meeting and I could tell she was pleased. She thanked me so many times after the call and gave me lots of hugs. I saw the layout design on Pinterest. I will find it and link to the appropriate person to give them credit later. I apologize for the poor picture. This was taken at work before I gave it to her as I couldn't get a good picture/lighting from home the night before.

Pinterest - layout used

 

Supplies: Bazzill, DCWV, purple glitter paper, rhinestones, Cricut, Don Juan cartridge, Elegant Edges cardridge, SU large scallop punch, SU scallop border punch, Sixxix border, Cuttlebug, circle punches, $1 stamps, SU perfect plum craft ink.

Monkey caramel bread - Shannon's way

I have been craving this for a while now. I finally made what have somehow been named Monkey balls in my house. They are so easy and yummy. I made them in a single layer and it worked perfectly. If you make them in a different kind of pan, you can't add too many layers of dough balls or they will fly out of the pan when they start to bake. I made them in an angel food pan 12/31/1999 for New Year's Day breakfast at my friend Wendy and Vance's house. That was a funny site. Once the dough was warm and baking in the oven, the dough balls were literally flying out of the pan. This time, everything cooked as it should.

Recipe:
Frozen dinner rolls or bread
1 cup heavy whipping cream (availabe in dairy section, do not use cool whip)
1 cup brown sugar
Sugar
Cinnamon

Mix the heavy whipping cream and the brown sugar together in the bottom of your pan. I made a double batch so I used a pint of whipping cream and probably two cups of brown sugar. My pan is 10x15. A normal batch will fit a 9x13 pan well. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the caramel mixture. Cut the dinner rolls into quarters. Mine were still a little frozen but the Pampered Chef kitchen shears go through just about anything. Roll each quarter in sugar and cinnamon. Add each quarter to the caramel mixture. Let sit covered overnight so the dough rises. Bake about 20 minutes on 350. The dough will absorb the caramel on the bottom. You can use the caramel from the bottom of the pan on the rest of the ball when you pull the bread out.

You can also make your own caramel sauce by using brown sugar, butter, and karo syrup instead of the whipping cream and brown sugar. Both taste almost the same and whipping cream mixture is easier. If I do make my own sauce, I roll the dough balls in butter

Pickles with dried beef

I love this appetizer. It is easy to make but time consuming. I have taken these pickles to several family functions and they are always a hit. My mom made them when I was in High School and we had the appetizer portion of a progressive dinner with FHA or something like that. Since then, I have made them several times.

Recipe:
Dried beef (two jars)
Cream Cheese (two softened)
Petite dill pickles (I get them at Costco in a big jar)

Spread the cream on the dried beef round. Cut off the stems if there are any. Wrap the pickle in the beef and cheese. You will make a little log-type thing. Place plate of rolled pickles in refridgerator overnight. The next morning, slice the pickles with a serrated knife and add to a plate for the function you are taking it to. Keep the ends in a container for home eating.

Noodles, Noodles, Noodles

I'm the only grandchild on my mom's side that knows how to make Grandma Leona's homemade noodles. They have hit my site before but it's a very rare occassion that I make them. I wanted them for Thanksgiving so offered to make a batch. Well, because I know how they go over with my family, I made a HUGE batch. Gram always said a batch uses 3 eggs. I made 6 batches (one batch for home for later). I thought I would never get them rolled out and cut. First you mix the dough, then separate each batch into two. There was so much food there, I still brought some home and people got doggie bags. That's not normally something that happens. I was a little suprised honestly. The pictures below show the steps. I did learn a valuable lesson this time. When you make this big of a batch, you need to roll two bundles, cut two bundles. I mixed and rolled and let the dough dry too much before cutting. They still worked and tasted just as good, just they noodles weren't "fluffed" like they would have been cutting them after two. The picture of the finished pan of noodles is the batch I made for later. Trust me, the pan on Thanksgiving was the large roasting pan and it was full to the bottom ridge at the top.

Happy Birthday Maddie

I went to a crop for breast cancer in October. As part of the crop cost, I received two layout kits. I knew I had to get this and use it for Maddie. It wasn't likely I would use a Snowhite layout for myself, although I could I guess. I changed it a little so Jodi could add Maddie's 5 year-old picture in a 5x7 rather than using two 4x6 pictures. I also added all the clear bling. I put this together the night before. It went together quickly, but I must have been tired as I added the bottom design crooked. Boy, I cringe when that happens. I have to learn that it's how it goes and not everything can be perfect.