Blog Award

We've been awarded this special blog award and we've got to pass it on!

We received this award from A Scrappy Design... so a big THANKS to her and please visit her blog if you have a chance! =)

The rules for this award are:

1. Add the logo to your blog (will do after posting)

2. Link to the person from whom you've received the award (yes)

3. Nominate 8 blogs of your choice (see below)

4. Leave a message on the nominees' blogs (will do after posting)

So... (drumroll) my choices for the Kreativ Blogger award go to...

1. Anthonette

2. Theresa

3. Sassy Glass Designs

4. Kim

5. Kala Pohl

6. Paula
7. BrigaBauble

8. ArtLife

Thanks everyone! Have a great day! =)

Another Mother's Day Card

From Adriel:

My mom showed you the Mother's Day cards she made last week and I wanted to share one of the cards I made as well.

I used THIS CARD LAYOUT that I showed you last week sometime. I simply made the card horizontal instead of vertical and it gives the card a totally different look! I did this primarily to fit my sentiment on the card stock, which was quite a bit wider than the sentiment I used on the original card layout. This way, the sentiment fit and I just moved the flowers as well. =)

I love the pink and the Bella Rose designer paper on this card and our free stamp set, Polka Dot Punches, that we got during Sale-a-Brations looks great. I also heat embossed the sentiment, so it's slightly raised and shiny.

On a slightly different note, the new Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog is out and they have this adorable new die for the Big Shot! You can see what I'm talking about by clicking HERE (and go to page 16). Beyond cute, right?! There's even a couple stamp sets that coordinate with this die... doubly cute! Well, we don't have a Big Shot, so it would be kind of hard to use, ya know what I mean? (BTW, my birthday is May 5th, and I'm going to put aside my birthday mula towards a Big Shot.) My mom and I did get the Oval All set along with the new Scallop Oval Punch and the Walk in the Park designer paper and we are enjoying those! In fact, for our SAS and Stamp Club this month, we'll be using some of that new paper and the new stamps and punch, so you don't want to miss it! You can check our newsletter for the dates and times for these events.

Anyway, more to share with you later! Thanks for checking in and have a great day! =D

Happy Mother's Day

From Heidi...

Adriel and I worked on some Mother's Day cards last week. I love the 3-D flower effect, so I made 4 cards using it. The pink and brown card with a touch of blue had a Victorian and vintage look to it, so I sponged the blue with Creamy Caramel to make it look more vintage.

We lived in No. CA for almost 15 years among all the beautiful Victorian Homes. These cards reminded me of those homes...and since the flowers are 3-D, I told Adriel they reminded me of the 3-story Victorians. It's kind of a joke...because she was the one who posted my other dimensionalled flower on Etsy. One of the tags she gave it was triple decker, or 3-decker...something like that, so it had struck me kind of funny. So these cards are known as the 3-D, 3-Story, Triple Decker Victorian cards. Thanks again for looking!

April Newsletter & French Dip Recipe

From Adriel:

Hey there! I'm writing this post during the day (instead of at 11pm), so it shouldn't be too strange. LOL! =)

Just letting you all know that April's newsletter is now available by clicking HERE or you can use the link on the side bar (it's the bright pink box that you can't miss). Anyway, in this month's edition of "From the Craft Table", my mom shared the instructions for the cute little apple that she put on the front of this tea bag book.

Last month we offered a special sale on the crimper which will come in handy for this month's project! =)

In addition, I wanted to share my mom's French Dip Sandwich recipe. Everyone really enjoyed eating them last night and this recipe is too good to keep all to ourselves! Try it and let us know what you think!

Heidi's Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

(8-10 servings)

2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 2"x2" chunks

2 envelopes Lipton Beefy-Onion dry soup mix

1 tsp. salt

1/8 cup soy sauce

1 tsp. beef bouillon

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

2 bay leaves

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1-1/2 cups water

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, chopped

Hoagie rolls or other kind of bread roll, split or cut in half

Sliced provolone cheese

Mayonnaise

1/4 C. butter, melted

1. Combine meat and the next 11 ingredients (seasonings, spices and water) in a crockpot and cook on High for 2 hours. Turn down to Low and cook for another 4-5 hours.

2. When it is getting close to eating, sautee mushrooms and onions in a skillet with 1 TBS. olive oil or butter for about 5 minutes, or until mushrooms and onions are tender. While cooking, sprinkle in some salt, pepper and garlic powder to your liking. Remove from heat after done and set aside.

3. Remove meat from juice. Shred meat and keep warm. Reserve the juice for serving and dipping sandwiches in.

4. Preheat broiler. Butter inside of rolls and broil until lightly browned.

5. Spread mayonnaise on the inside of one side of the rolls.

6. Arrange meat, sauteed mushrooms and onions in hoagie rolls and top each sandwich with provolone cheese.

7. Broil until cheese is slightly melted, 1-2 minutes. Serve each sandwich with a side of juice for dipping.

Obviously, this is NOT a low calorie, low fat or low sodium meal. It's one of those indulgences that you make every so often and enjoy thoroughly!! =) Hope someone out there enjoys this recipe! We love it! =)

Spring 3x3 Cards

From Adriel:

Another day... wait a minute! It's Wednesday and that means it's the middle of the week! (I'm just being random and weird, so just act like this is normal!) LOL! =D

I'm making yummy French Dip Sandwiches for dinner tonight using my mom's famous recipe (at least it is in our family). "Why do I want to know this?" you ask... well, you probably don't care, but I'm looking forward to it and wanted to share! Hey, that rhymed!! Did you notice that?

Okay, okay, I'll stop! I really should stop. Let's get back to what we usually do here...

I used the retired set "Drawing on Nature" for these cute 3x3 note cards. I stamped them in chocolate chip ink and then used pastels to color in some of the image. The pastels really worked well on these cards, as they added a very soft touch of color that went well with the style of the cards.

I also distressed all the edges by using the sponging technique along with Sahara Sand ink... it's a great color for distressing. I think I mentioned that previously!! LOL! =) Well, it is... so that's why I'm saying it again!
The bunny cards are sold out in our Etsy shop, but the butterfly cards are still available. Do you like how I bolded and enlarged the key words there? I thought I would make it easy for you to find out the status of these cards!! =) heehee You can find the butterfly note cards HERE.


Well, I suppose it's time to end this rather unusual post. If I continue, it may result in more random weirdness... so, I will end by saying...

Thank you so much for coming by and checking out what we're up to. Also, thanks for your comments! It makes blogging so rewarding! Have a great day, everyone! =)

Sale-a-Bration Ends Today!

Hi there! Just a reminder that Stampin' Up!'s awesome Sale-a-Bration promotion ends today! If you haven't gotten to take advantage of this promotion, today is the last day you can until next year!


Sale-a-Bration in a nutshell: Spend $50 on Stampin' Up! merchandise and receive a free stamp set, ribbon bundle or paper pack out of the Sale-a-Bration brochure! Super exciting! My mom and I were able to get all of the rewards and they're all great! You can read more about this promotion by clicking HERE or on the picture. From there you can order on Heidi's website by clicking on the "Shop Now" button.

Here's a card I made using the Polka Dot Punches Sale-a-Bration set. Fun and spring-y!

Thanks so much for stopping by our blog today! I hope you have a good one! =)

Chalkboarding

From Heidi ...

Another Monday and new week...where does the weekend go? I hope you all had a great weekend.
Here's a card I made awhile back for one of our classes at the Tumbleweed Rec Center. I used an older stamp set, All the Best, because it had a nice solid image. I stamped the image with a Versamark and then chalked pastels over the image. I have a couple of other stamp sets I'd like to try this on along with some fun color combinations. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Tea Book

From Heidi...We had a potential request for an order a few weeks ago for one of our tea books with an apple on the front. We didn't hear back from the person who made the request, but I thought the idea of the apple tea book was so cute, I went ahead and created one. I thought I'd share this with you, it's cute...thanks for looking.

Beautiful Blooms

From Adriel:

Look what I was surprised with!!!

I planted iris bulbs a few years ago and one of them popped up again this year with a bloom! What a nice surprise!! I just love flowers... here's a couple more.

This is a blossom on my lemon tree. My brother got this tree for me on my last birthday (last May) and I have been waiting and waiting and now there's tiny little baby lemons all over it! =) (And yes, I realize the blossom itself is not the baby lemon... this is just one of the blossoms left over that didn't actually get pollinated and did not become a baby lemon. *grin*)

Another flower from my potted aptenia (I guess I'm spelling that right).

I just love that bright pink!

I would have had another photo to show you, but as I went over the shoot a picture of another flower, I heard some buzzing (somewhat loud), which sounded like several bees and then I saw something flying close by and I got scared and ran inside. Now stop chuckling... I thought I was being attacked by a swarm of bees!!! So alas, didn't get the fourth pic. But that's okay, because I don't even know the name of the plant and then I would have had to look like a dummy... LOL!

Well, enjoy the pictures and savor them, because flowers don't last long! =(

Gift Tags Galore!!

From Adriel:

Hope you all had a great weekend! What can I say? It went by way too fast... =(

We're looking forward to stamping with some of you this week at our SAS! The sponging technique is a great way to add more interest to your projects. I think you'll like the cards we'll be making and you're going to fall in love with the Sixth Avenue Floral set!

In the meantime, here's some gift tags to inspire you that we've made for spring and for our Etsy shop.


This set of tags is very simple and made with soft earth tones. We used the Sale-a-Bration set "Botanical Blooms" and the scallop edge punch as well as the eyelet border punch. The rounded corners add to the softness. Hemp cord finishes off these tags for an added earthiness!

This set of tags is made with bright pastels and the hostess set, "A Little Somethin'", which works great with various punches. By using the Stampin' Write markers, you can get a multi-colored image! Layered with other punched shapes and some marigold yellow ribbon, they make super cute tags!

This set of tags is sweet and girly, using primarily the curly label punch and the Boho Blossoms punch. The Boho Blossoms are the main focal point of the tag and rhinestones added to the centers make them extra special! White satin ribbon finishes them off for added girly-ness! =)

I hope we gave you some fresh ideas for making your own gift tags! Dress up those gifts you plan on giving or even your baked goods with a beautiful tag! =)

Triple-Decker Fifth Avenue

From Heidi...
Just in case you haven't had enough of the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set yet, here's one more for you. I didn't come up with the paper-pieced and dimensionaled floral idea, I cased the idea form another card I saw on SCS, I love how this effect gives depth and dimension to this floral design. Adriel placed this card in our Etsy shop and gave it the triple-decker name...kind of a fun description of it. Thanks for taking time to look!

Wedding Guest Album

From Adriel:

I know last month I mentioned a custom wedding guest list album I was working on. I never posted any pictures of it, so I wanted to share them with you!

This wedding guest book doubles as a memory album of sorts, as there are pocket pages inside for keeping the invitation and cards received, as well as some completed pages for putting photos on. The album stands on its own and makes a wonderful way to remember that special day! This was our first real custom order with a deadline and being such an important item, I felt the pressure while making it! I kept hoping the bride would like it! =)

Anyway, I wanted to share it with you! The couple was married on March 14th, so at this point, the lists are all filled up with the names of their guests along with all the wishes. Anyway, it was a challenge, but enjoyable! =)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! =)

Our First Blog Award!

We have been awarded a blog award by Kim! Thank you so much, Kim!

In return, we are passing the award onto five other bloggers who have supported us in our blogging efforts with their kind comments of encouragement and in following us! So, this award goes to...

Karen Oliver

Anthonette

Heather

Audrey

Sally

Thank you, ladies! And thank you to all our followers! =)

March Stamp-A-Stack Cards

From Heidi...

As you can tell by this month's cards, Adriel and I really love the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. We're looking forward to using it in this month's SAS cards along with sponging. Sponging can be used to make paper edges look distressed, or can be used to create a soft look on a floral design, or you can create a desired shape by masking off an area and sponging. We'll be using sponging to create all three of these effects in our cards this month on Tuesday, March 24, 7-8:30 PM. If you'd like to join us, we have 3-4 spots still open. Email us or give us a call to reserve your spot. 5 cards/$10 class fee.

Stitching and Bleaching

From Heidi...

I started this card several weeks ago, but got interrupted with life and other projects, so I thought that today I'd better finish the card before I lost the pieces to it. I used the bleaching technique with the new Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. I used tearing, sponging and stitching to get a vintage effect.

I agree with Adriel, I love this set. I made another cool card with it using paper piecing, so I'll have to share that one with you on another day. Thanks for looking!

Card #2 for KWerner's Color Inspiration Challenge #45

From Adriel:

Okay, here's the other card for this challenge!

I used the same supplies as the last card... same stamp sets (with the addition of Fresh Cuts), same ink (except for the curly sentiment where I used plain black ink), same card stock. I made this card based on the layout and design of THIS CARD I shared awhile ago. I love it in black and white, too! =)

Thanks for looking and let me know which of the cards is your favorite! =)

Card #1 for Kwerner's Color Insipiration Challenge #45

From Adriel:

I did something yesterday that I haven't done in awhile. I made a couple of cards for a color challenge on a blog that I frequent. Krisitina Werner has weekly videos on her blog and I just enjoy watching her create and seeing what's up with her. Anyway, she has a weekly color challenge and I've done a couple, but I haven't participated in a really LONG time! Yesterday I spent an hour or so of my afternoon making a couple of cards inspired by the color inspiration #45. I enjoyed myself so much and wanted to share them with you. I will post the other card separately, so I can enter both into the challenge! =)

I used LOTS of embossing powder on this card... I didn't use any plain ink. I don't use embossing powder all that much, so it was fun to do.

Recipe:

Basic Black CS

Whisper White CS

Basic Gray CS

Textured White CS from Bazzill

White Craft ink

Black Craft ink

White embossing powder

Clear embossing powder

Curly Label punch bundle

Delight in Life set

Whisper White tafetta ribbon

Thanks for looking! Be sure to check out my other card for this challenge! =)

Stuck on this Set

From Adriel:

I showed you all an Easter card made with one of flowers from the Fifth Avenue Floral set... I made a few different cards last week with this set, so I'm showing you another card with this set! I love the lined images and how sleek they are. They are great for using as the focal point of a card, or as a background, as shown on this card.

This set makes it easy to make your own beautiful decorative paper! I used a combination of four different punches to make the tag: Designer Label punch for the top, 1-3/8" circle punch for the middle, Round Tab punch for the bottom and Boho Blossoms for the little embellishment. It was super easy to make and it looks great!

I finished the inside with white cardstock, because this chocolate chip card stock is way too dark to write on.

I worked today on pictures of new projects (my mom made a couple of cards that I can't wait to share with you!), finishing up a couple of projects and working on cards for a class we have coming up next Tuesday at Tumbleweed Rec. for kids! My own kids, Kayla and Jacob, helped me out with putting together the samples for the class, so I think we are good to go. =) My kids want me to put the cards that they make up for sale in our Etsy shop! LOL! They're so cute! =)

Have a wonderful day!

Stamp Club Cards

From Heidi...I hope you're all having a great start to the new week! My Monday is actually going better than I thought it would. I was scheduled for jury duty today, but when I called in this morning to get instructions, I found out that my group had been dismissed. So, my hectic week has turned into a much calmer one...Yay!

I'm sharing the cards we'll be making at this month's Stamp Club, Thursday, March 19. We're making 5 birthday cards to go with the birthday calendar we made last month. If you're not a club member, you're still welcome to drop in and make these cards with us for $10, or spend $25 in merchandise and make and take the cards for FREE, or join our monthly club and qualify for hostess benefits. If you're interested in joining the club but you're not sure, we'd love for you to come and try out the club free your first time. Either way, we hope you can come and join us.

Thursday, March 19

Session 1 - 12:30-2:00 p.m.

Session 2 - 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Little Easter Cards

From Heidi...
Here's some little 3x3 Easter notecards I made last week. I used the "Live Like You Mean It" and "All Holidays" stamp sets; CS - Kiwi Kiss, Perfect Plum, Barely Banana; Ink - Pale Plum, Certainly Celery, and Perfect Plum; Punches - Scallop Edge, Boho Blossom, 1-3/8" square punch; Ribbon, brad and paper piercing. Enjoy!