Congratulations, Linda!!

Today I'm hopping with some friends to celebrate the birth of our sweet friend Linda's baby girl, Olivia!

You should have arrived here from the blog of my stamping idol, Cheiron! If not, why don't you scoot back to the beginning at Mary Dawn's fabulous blog and take in the entire hop?

I made a sweet little bunny card for Linda & Olivia, using an MFT Pure Innocence set called "Warm Fuzzies", that I think is now retired. I also played along with this week's MFT sketch challenge:

Big congratulations to Linda and her sweet family! Olivia is beautiful, just like her sisters and her mama!

Now head on over to my friend Wanda's blog and see what she's sharing with Linda today!

Party Time!

Do you ever go to a stamp company's website and sit and look at the stamps... stamp by stamp... clicking "add to cart" along the way. Yah. Never a good idea, really. But I was doing it last night anyway, at the MFT site. My wallet is empty, but I'll soon be getting some goodies in my mailbox, woohoo! :-) In the meantime I decided I better get using the MASS QUANTITY of MFT stamps I already own that have barely seen ink... starting with this adorable little girl!

This set is called Party Time and it's from the Doodle Garden collection. We go to a lot of little girl birthday parties, so I thought she was rather perfect for birthday cards. I played along with the latest sketch challenge (MFTWSC129) for the card layout - which resulted in lots of layers and dimension!

The gorgeous papers are from the Cool Summer 6x6 pad from Carta Bella - I picked it up from i {heart} papers. Here's the MFT sketch:

Thanks for stopping by!


Stamps: DG Party Time from My Favorite Things
Paper: MFT (kraft cardstock), Stampin' Up (pink cardstock), Copic Xpress Paper, Carta Bella Cool Summer
Ink: Tsukineko (Memento Tuxedo Black), Copic markers
Other: BasicGrey (Candy Buttons), Sizzix (chevron embossing folder), MFT (Open Simply Scallops border die), Spellbinders (circle die), Stickles

7 Days of Easter Projects - Day 6

I'm a day late on my Day 6 post - better late than never? Today I made a card for my bunny-loving girl using the Hunny Bunny set from My Favorite Things.

Isn't she the cutest? I followed along with Michele's MFT Academy post on coloring hair - my attempt is not perfect, but probably the best hair I've ever colored! I also played along with the MFT Wednesday Stamp Club Sketch Challenge.

The flower is an MFT Rolled Daisy. I have trouble making rolled flowers, I think my fingers are just too fat and uncoordinated. But after five attempts, this one was decent enough to put on the card, LOL! I think next time I need to put something in the center under the pearl, so it's not in there so deep. Live and learn!

I wanted to add a flower to play along with this week's Catered Crop Recipe Swap! The theme is Flower Power - you just need to include some sort of flower on your card.

Now please visit my blogging friends and see what wonderful Easter projects they've created...

Angi Barrs
Barb Murphy
Ceal Pritchett
Donna Bowman
Lalo Ik
Rachel Kleinman

Thanks for stopping by today!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

Ok who out there can believe my sweet little boy Carter - are you ready for this - STARTED KINDERGARTEN YESTERDAY!?!?! Where oh where has the time gone?? It seems like just yesterday I was blogging photos like this. *sniff* My baby is growing up too fast!!

Because I have school and new teachers and school supplies and PTA and bus rides on the brain, I decided to pull out my MFT Teacher's Pet set to play. I'm confident we'll eventually think his new teacher is the Best Teacher Ever...


I used my Crate Paper School Spirit pad to paper piece this, which I also happened to get from MFT a while back. The wooden button was a Renegade Craft Fair find:


And since there was all this MFT product going on, why not play along with the MFT sketch challenge over at Splitcoast?? It was a nice & easy one, good for a rusty stamper like me!


And now... some photos of my sweet boy from yesterday! Here he is, getting on the bus:


Big smiles in the afternoon:


And big hugs for mom!


I love this boy, and I am so incredibly proud of him!

Thanks for stopping by!

• Stamps: Teacher's Pet from My Favorite Things
• Paper: Hero Arts Kraft, Crate Paper School Spirit 6x6 pad
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
• Accessories: Machine stitching, 1" circle punch, wooden apple button, American Crafts twine - scarlet, PTI scallop edge die

What's Cookin' Wednesday - Homemade Pop Tarts!

Yes my lovelies, you read that title right - I made some homemade pop tarts! And they were gooood! But before I get into that, how about a card:


Even though the colors are not traditional, I'm declaring this a Valentine's card! Afterall, isn't this the season of sweetness??? I used the latest Wednesday Stamp Club Sketch Challenge in the MFT Forum on Splitcoaststampers this week.


The stamps are some of those adorable MFT Flapper Doodles (I just like saying that!!) - Flappers in the Kitchen. SQUEAL! I wanna be a flapper in my kitchen. I'm running out and getting a short fringe dress RIGHT NOW.

I was also inspired by the Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger challenge. The bright colors, the white, the fact that involves food!


And speaking of food... wanna see the pop tarts?? Here they are fresh from the oven. Yum!


I loved them just like that - I used this fabulous recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and went with the brown sugar cinnamon filling. Mmm mmm good! To make them a little healthier, I used half wheat flour instead of 100% all-purpose. But of course my picky kids (who have had store-bought pop tarts and are used to those) didn't think they were good. No problem, I know the key to getting kids to eat just about anything - I made a glaze! Here's a tip for making anything with vanilla taste even more special. I bought a jar of vanilla bean paste. It's pricey, but a 4oz jar lasts a long time and it's sooo good. It creates little flecks of vanilla in whatever you're making, just like if you were using a real vanilla bean pod.


And would you just look at this beautiful, flaky pastry?? I am so proud. I have an aversion to making pastry. But even my Gramma would respect this effort, I think!


Now my kids want me to make homemade pop tarts every day. Hmm. Don't hold your breath, kids! :-D

Thanks for stopping by!

• Stamps: FD-Flappers in the Kitchen from My Favorite Things
• Paper: Doodlebug Designs DP, SU Baja Breeze, GP white
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
• Accessories: TPC Studio So Delish charm, green velvet scalloped ribbon, black grosgrain ribbon, machine stitching

What's Cookin' Wednesday - Onion Pie!

It's been a while since I shared a cheesy yummy delicious recipe with you! So today I thought I'd show you something that's a Christmas dinner tradition in my family - Onion Pie. So yummy!! But first, a card featuring an image of me making it. It was so nice of Kim at My Favorite Things to offer a stamp of me like this. She captured my thighs perfectly. Because eating stuff like cheesy yummy delicious Onion Pie would never, ever have any impact on my thighs... riiiiight... :-)


I whipped up this card last night to play along with the brand new and improved Wednesday Stamp Club in the MFT Forum on Splitcoaststampers. From here on out they are focusing on sketch challenges! WOOT! I highly approve of this decision. :-) (Like they care whether or not I approve, but anyway...)


I love this adorable girl in the a la modes set What's Cooking! And that message is perfection. I think this set may be out of stock at the moment, I couldn't find it in the MFT store to link it up directly. I love the Little Yellow Bicycle paper too - I couldn't resist it when I saw all those whisks!! I paper pieced her (MY!) bowl and pants with the paper to tie it all together with the background.

And now on to the recipe. Onion Pie. Doesn't it look divine? Our Christmas dinner would not be complete without one. Or three. My Dad was saying he needed one pie just for him this year...


ONION PIE
-------------
1 c finely crushed saltines
1/2 stick butter or margarine (for crust)
1/4 stick butter or margarine (for filling)
3 c thinly-sliced white onions
3/4 c milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/2 c shredded sharp cheese

Crust:
Place 1/2 stick of butter in 9" glass pie plate. Melt in 300 oven, about 5 minutes. Add crumbs and mix with a fork to coat. With a tablespoon, spread and press crumbs on bottom and sides of pie plate. Set aside. (increase oven temp to 350)

Filling:
In large skillet, melt 1/4 stick butter. Add onions, cook over medium heat, stirring often 'til tender, but do not brown. Place onions in pie shell. In saucepan, beat eggs lightly, add milk, salt & pepper. Heat, stirring constantly - do not boil. Pour over onions in pie shell. Top with shredded cheese. Bake 30-35 minutes til crust is browned at edges. Serve bubbling hot.

Happy stamping AND happy cooking!

• Stamps: What's Cooking from MFT
• Paper: SU Sahara Sand, GP white, Little Yellow Bicycle "Savor" DP
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
• Accessories: Machine stitching, Spellbinders oval die, SU scallop edge punch, grosgrain ribbon, TPC Studio "So Delish" charm