Lace & Leaf Sympathy card

Time to build up my stash of basic cards.  Being on staff at church, I'm constantly in need of cards for the various needs in our church.   I had in mind these great stamps from the Unity Stamp Co.   This is the Everything More Kit which comes with 3 different sentiments, including the frame. 

I edged a white card with gold ink and layered with some gorgeous designer paper that I covered with some pretty white lace.  I cut some paper frames with my Cricut and edged those also with gold ink.  Next,  I stamped the frame and added some Smooch glitz to the outline, then stamped my sentiment.   I finished it off with some enamel dots and paper leaves.  

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Supplies:  Colorbok "Bejeweled" designer paper, Martha Stewart gold ink, Unity Stamp Co Everything More Sentiment stamp kit, Recollections enamel dots,  lace, Smooch Glitz Goldrush, paper leaves

Close up of glitz around frame

I'm loving this app! If you sorta kinda wanna lose weight.....

So a few months ago I had the talk with my doctor about losing weight.  He mentioned this app that helps you track calories.  Now, I'm not a dieter.  I don't do fad diets (except this one time...way back) and I like to eat.  Ya get me?  But I definitely need to lose weight.  Because I like to EAT!  HA!   

Doc said just wait until after the holidays and try it out.  He emphatically says I will lose weight just by counting calories, not including exercise.   So I downloaded My Fitness Pal to my android smartphone.  I love it!!  In 4 days, I've already lost 2 lbs. 

I sound like a bad commercial,  I know.   But all you do is key in your height, weight, and how many pounds you want to lose.  Each day you type in everything that goes in your mouth.   It keeps up with your calories and how much you  consume for the day.  It makes me WANT to stay on track and not exceed the daily count.  So there's my sermon for the day.   Let me know how it works for you. SAMPLE PICTURE OF APP..      My Pinterest-click here

Removing gummy residue....Easy!!!!

STOP!  DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THAT LABEL!  Now, do I have your attention?   Because I just stumbled on an easy peasy way to get that sticky mess off my glass jars for re-purposing.

First, you can thank my sister-in-law who gave all the ladies in my family a nail polish pen corrector at Christmas.  A lightbulb went off in my head today when I tried all the "very time consuming" remedies that can be found online for removing that sticky residue off jars.  TOOK ME LESS THAN 10 MINUTES!

Run your jar under very hot water for a minute or two then peel off your label.  It may vary but surprisingly, most of the actual sticker peeled right off.
 

Next, I filled that little corrector pen with nail polish remover.   Rub in a circular motion removing the excess glue and use the side of the tip to gently scrape.   Comes right off!  To finish, wash jar in warm soapy water.   I called my sis-in-law to find out where she bought the pen and it came from a website called miniinthebox.com for $1.29.  Newegg.com also sells a 5-pack for around $6.00 or look around in the beauty sections of your local store for a cheap one.   Good  luck and you can thank me later!  I plan to fill my jar with crafting supplies.  

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Unity Stamp color challenge Jan/Feb 2014

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Well, I've got the day off from work and I'm in a crafty mood so I decided to make another card for the Unity monthly Be Inspired color challenge.  I already have one entry but my new Unity sentiment kit arrived so I couldn't help myself.   Yes, my arm was being twisted by Unity and Lisa Arana, the designer of this kit.  Well, not really.  Ha!   So here are the colors for the challenge:

And here is the card I made with the new sentiment kit, "Bunches of Love":

I used the blot technique with crinkled paper to color my background and stamped the floral image from the  upper right corner.  The paper flowers were fussy cut from some designer paper and I added some adhesive glitter ribbon and enamel dots.  And lots of Stickles glitter glue.  Love that stuff.  The leaves were colored with a metallic green gel pen and more glitter glue on top.  Here is the kit that I used.  It's so versatile and I absolutely love it:

Supplies: gel pens, Unity Stamp kit Bunches of Love, Stickles glitter glue (tropical tangerine, yellow, green),

Recollections enamel dots from the 2014 Valentine line at Michaels craft store, Colorbok "Poolside" designer paper

My crafty birthday card

My crafty best friend made me a birthday card and I just had to show it off and give her a shout out.   She's a girl after my own heart,  using her Cuttlebug to do some embossing and I love what she did with the raffia ribbon;   knotting it to make leaves?  Cute!  Nancy is the one who introduced me to scrapbooking a few years ago.  So do me a favor and show my girl some love.....Tell Nancy you like her card in the comment section.   Thanks!

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Target clearance Duck Dynasty...think Easter basket!

I found this 2-pack set of playing cards in an endcap bin of the toy department last week at our Target.  Of course, my first thought was "Easter basket!"  My Duck Dynasty loving son will be thrilled.  What do you put in your kids Easter basket?

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Re-use your K-cup in your Keurig

So I've been seeing ideas about re-using your k-cups with your own coffee.  I'm probably one of the few who have not bought a store bought re-usable cup but I know I'm not alone.  One idea I haven't seen is using parchment paper.  I'm fresh out of foil and not too crazy about using plastic wrap, so I gave the parchment paper a try since I have a bunch leftover from holiday baking.  It worked great! 

All you have to do is remove the foil lid of your used cup, empty out the grounds, being careful not to tear the inner paper filter (yes, each cup has a filter), and if you have a spray faucet at your kitchen sink,  that helps to get your cup cleaner on the inside.   Let it air dry when done rinsing.

When ready to brew, add 1 heaping tablespoon of your favorite coffee to the kcup.  Tear off a piece of parchment paper and secure over cup with a very thin elastic like a ponytail holder but not a rubberband.  I doubled up my elastic.  Trim the paper a little below the elastic.  Make sure its nice and tight.  Insert cup and brew.  Let me know if it works for you.  Keep re-using until the filter gives out.   Cool, huh?

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Birthday card and Unity Challenge

Well today is my mothers birthday.   She's 72 years old.  I think.  She'll have my hide if I go any higher!  It's also time for the Unity Stamp Co Be Inspired challenge.   I haven't participated in awhile 'cause life just seems to get in the way, so I thought I'd jump in this month and utilize the challenge colors and sketch for my moms card. 

I've had these Unity stamps for awhile but this is my first time to use them.   Funny describes my mom to a tee so I know she will appreciate the humor.   Hope you like my card and get inspired!

Supplies:  Martha Stewart red glitter paper, Colorbok designer paper, American Craft adhesive glitter ribbon, yellow polka dot washi tape, Teresa Collins Vintage finds twine, Bic Mark-it fine point pens, Stickles yellow and Tropical tangerine glitter glue,  white gel pen,  lace fabric, craft ribbon, Cuttlebug embossed cardstock,  yellow Studio G ink, Smooch Glitz glitter polish

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Embossed Thank you cards Pink

I just spent 3 hours on a custom order of thank you cards.  This is the largest order I've done to date.   I needed to keep it simple to try and save time and keep the cost down.

I tried to do each step in an assembly line order to keep the flow going and to maintain my sanity.   Ha!  So the first step was embossing each card with my Cuttlebug.  Love that handy dandy tool.

Next I cut out some pretty flowers with the Home Decor Cricut cartridge set at 2".   I then embellished the flowers with a faux pearl in the center.   I added some pink ribbon and stamped my image.   Notice where I colored that teeny tiny heart?

Finally, I stamped the back and signed my cards.   Whew!   But I'm happy with the results.   What do you think?

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Oatmeal Bread French Toast Sticks

What do you do when the kids want french toast but you don't have french bread?  You improvise.   I toasted the bread for just a minute or so to dry it out enough so it wouldn't fall apart and would absorb the liquid appropriately.   The finished product was delicious!  And the oatmeal bread is better for you.   Added bonus!

Here's what you need to make 2 servings:

2 eggs
2 slices oatmeal bread
1/3 cup whole milk or half and half
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter
*optional confectioners sugar to garnish

Cut bread into 3 sticks each and place in toaster until lightly dry but not browned, 1  minute or so.  Next, in a large bowl, whisk eggs well.  Add milk, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla and mix well.   Add bread sticks to mixture and gently turn (use your hands to prevent any breakage) allowing bread to absorb liquid. 

Melt butter in large pan and add bread sticks.   Cook on med/high heat each side for approximately 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and pour your favorite syrup.  Enjoy! 

(Original recipe courtesy of yours truly,  Terri Burson)

Make a phone stand with a paperclip

When I saw this in my January 2014 issue of the All You magazine,  I had to try it out.  The last phone stand I bought, a rubber suction thingy, was a piece of junk.  Needless to say, this did the trick and works perfectly!   Here's the link to the All You article All You Magazine and a few pics of my own.   (Original photo credit: Manfred Koh)
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