New Scrapsketch and Scrap-Diner Contest Reminder!

Scrapsketch has started posting card sketches! A new sketch will be posted every Wednesday, layout sketches will continue to be posted on Mondays. I'm so excited, since I am uber card challenged. Why is that 4x5 is so hard to fill, but 12x12 is a breeze? Maybe it's just me!

Card Sketch #1



I used My Mind's Eye & Jenni Bowlin patterned paper, Cricut George for the stars, stash ribbon, Making Memories Tiny Alphas, and Bazzil With An Edge borderstrip.

Sketch 158



I used Cosmo Cricket Ever After patterned paper and chipboard accents, Bo Bunny lace ribbon, and Making Memories Alphas.

Thanks for looking! And don't forget to visit scrapsketch and check out the CT work!

Another reminder, Scrap-Diner is still having that amazing contest where you'll have 3 chances to win an ipod! How cool is that? Be sure to sign up at the forums, check in at the Welcome Wagon and let everyone know I sent ya so we both get credit!

Who wants to win a pink ipod?

Yes, you heard me right! It is the 2 year birthday for my favorite scrappin' site, Scrap Diner!

Scrap-Diner is having another awesome month of challenges, and the prizes are even cooler than usual. Sher, at Scrap-Diner, is giving away 3 pink ipod nanos this month!

You can find all the challenge details here on the Scrap-Diner Blog: http://scrap-diner.typepad.com/scrap-diners-daily-dish/

There are so many opportunities to get into the drawings, it's easy to play along!

And ze winner iz...

Drumroll...

Jess!

Jess wrote:

"woo! love kitty layouts! *blog hopping*"

Jess please e-mail me at: laurakbelle@gmail.com and I will

send you your $20.00 e-certificate for Scrap-Diner.com!

Thanks so much to all the blog hop participants!

Be sure to check all the CT blogs today for the RAK winner announcements!

Yay, it's finally scrapsketch blog hop kickoff!

Finally it is here, blog hop day!

The theme to the scrapsketch blog hop is bringing back the oldies. Oldies but goodies! Did you know Steph has created over 150 sketches already? Time sure flies!

What would a blog hop be without RAK's along the way? Boring! If you participate you get an entry into the RAK. And yes, you can enter more than once. So if you'd like to use this sketch for a layout and a card - I'll happily give you 2 RAK entries! You can also get one more entry by becoming a follower of my blog and another entry if you post about the scrapsketch blog hop on your own blog, just be sure to post the link in my comments section! Lots of opportunities to win! And what do you win? A $20 gift certificate to my favorite on-line store, Scrap Diner!

For the blog hop I chose sketch #2. It's such an easy simple sketch to play with! The great thing about working with sketches is that they can always be adapted. This sketch called for either one 8x10 or two 4x6 photos. I went with the two 4x6, but this sketch would be great for a quick 5x7 photo layout!

sketch #2





Supplies:
Making Memories Chloe's Closet PP, Alphas, Pin
Stash Ribbon
Co'oredinations Cardstock

The RAK drawing will stay open until Monday Aug. 24th at noon (est). Please post a link to your completed layout in the comments section.

Now, off to your next destination! Be sure to post your "I was here!" comment in my section before you head over to Brenda's Scrappy Blog to check out what she's got going on. Heads up for the super cute new granddaughter, Brenda's fave new scrappin subject!

Thanks for stopping by!

Scrapsketch bloghop!

Check out scrapsketch on Friday to begin hopping along to the Creative Team's blogs. The theme is bringing back the oldies and there may even be a few RAK's out there for you also! The Creative Team is getting busy on some new layouts for your inspiration as well. Love these gals, they inspire me daily!

Here is a little musical inspiration for you! Bringing back the oldies with the Grateful Dead singing (my fave) Scarlet Begonias back in '77. I'm pretty sure I was born about 20 years too late!




See you on Friday for the scrapsketch bloghop!

Blog Candy Contest...Happy Birthday Tanisha!

Happy Happy Birthday to Tanisha!

Tanisha is a super talented scrapper that I have been lucky enough to "meet" via the Scrap Diner forums. She is just bursting with creativity and talent! Did I mention she is a rockin' photographer too? Yep...I am impressed with all that she does!

So, moral of this post is...Tanisha is having a Birthday Blog Giveaway! There are multiple prizes too...from CHA! I'm crossing all my fingers and toes for the My Little Shoebox goodies though! Go check out her blog, tell her how much she rules (cause it's true!), become a follower, and obsess over her talent like I do! (Um, I kind of sound like a scrapbooker stalker...)

Scrapsketch layouts and news...

You know, I really enjoy being on the scrapsketch CT. Steph puts together awesome sketches that really help me to stay inspired. It's easy to get stuck in a rut with scrappin' (suddenly, every layout looks the same!) and having awesome sketches like Steph's to work with can be so helpful! Once again, I'm telling you to check out scrapsketch.

Rumor has it in August there will be an awesome contest!

Also, the July contest is still going...2 more days to submit your layouts! Remember, for the July contest you can use any of the posted sketches on scrapsketch.

Here is my latest submission, I'll post the second one tomorrow after the scrapsketch blog is updated.

Sketch 125



I used Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday PP and CB Shapes, K & Co Glitter Alphas, Making Memories Tiny Alphas, and Bazzil Edge Strips. I'm so obsessed with Cosmo lately, I love it all!

Mmmmm....meatballs!

I made these on Monday, after having the flu I was famished! Like all recipes I use, it was a starting point - but I made a few adjustments based on what I had available in the house.

Mini Turkey Meatballs

Mini Turkey Meatballs
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time:
25 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
42 mini meatballs

Ingredients
1 small onion, grated **grating an onion, never done it before...but so many less tears**
3 garlic cloves, minced **3 heavy tablespoons of jarred minced garlic**
1 large egg
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves **I used dried here, a little less than a 1/4 cup**
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper **to taste, we like a kick in everything so I used extra and some red pepper flakes**
1 pound ground dark turkey meat
3 tablespoons olive oil
26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce **I used a jar of Berillo**
Directions
Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.
Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks.

I didn't want mini-meatballs, I wanted bigger ones. I made them too big for sure, but they did stay nice and moist! I don't think I'd personally be able to get 42 balls out of this...my big ones made up 12! I think next time I'll simmer them in the crock-pot after browning them in the pan...any excuse to use the crock pot!

Hey Ya!

A musical interlude from the greatest rock n' roll band on earth...the Supersuckers! Rock, punk, country, alternative all mixed together for a whole lot of awesomeness! (Did I just make that word up?)

If you haven't heard of them, you should learn all you can. These guys have been rocking the world for many years now and don't show any signs of stopping! You can check out their site at:
http://supersuckers.com/ - they'll have current tour dates listed there!

Supersuckers do quite a few different covers also. But the one that always gets the crowd dancing is their version of Hey Ya by Outkast. If you can watch this and sit still, I'm shocked!

Win $1,000 at TheCuttlebugSpot.com!

The Cuttlebug Spot is having a contest - "The Journey to 1,000"!

They are trying to reach 1,000 followers by the end of July and need your help. To enter all you have to do is go to their site, sign up as follower and complete a few easy steps and you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Custom Crops (http://www.customcrops.com/)! GO NOW and check it out at http://www.thecuttlebugspot.com/

Oh the damage I could do with $1000 at Custom Crops...***insert evil laugh here***

(Thanks to Steph for posting the contest on her blog)

Oops, did I start a blog?

I feel like I've been ignoring my lil' blog. Well, it's true - I have been! I guess after spending 5 days, 40 hours a week staring at my computer at work...well blogging, I'm just not that into you (lately).

But I'm back, and I promise to try and be better. Girl Scouts honor.

What have I been up to you ask? Just scrappin', went to see the Allman Brothers Band, reading some books, and watching some movies. June just flew right by me and I can't believe it's July already! Kevin's little brother's band, The Mapes wrapped up the month with a show at Carey Hart's Wasted Space inside the Hard Rock Hotel. It was awesome. And holy crap...Al Franken is now Senator Franken...and it only took 7 months to get there. So much has happened!

Some pics from the Allman Brothers Show - the quality kind of sucks, I took them with my Blackberry and used a drunk dancing photographer. But you get the feeling...we all had an amazing night!






Fireworks! This was a fun surprise!





And of course, I have done some fun scrapsketch creative team layouts for June! Steph has really done a ton of cool new stuff with the scrapsketch blog including adding challenges with monthly RAK's. Steph and the CT girls work really hard over there so be sure to check them out and leave some love!

(Please leave a comment if you are interested in specific products you see! Thanks!)

sketch 93



sketch 95
(I flipped this sketch counterclockwise)




sketch 103




sketch 105



I want to give a quick shout-out to Kara Henry's blog, Craft-tastical. Not only does the girl do amazing sewing projects (killer tutorial included), make fantastic baby quilts (step by step with weekly updates!), post super inspiring layouts once a week, but she ALSO posts free digital scrapping kit downloads! Seriously, they rock! I'll get the hang of it one day...and when I do I'll post some for ya'll to check out. But until then, go to Craft-tastical, check out Kara's rockin' blog, and leave her some love!

I've been a busy lil' scrapper lately, so be sure to check out my gallery over at
the fabulous Scrap-Diner site. You should also check out the forums, you'll find a fun group of super creative women to hang with! There are also 2 guest designers each month this summer for the Summer Concert Series - awesome challenges and really the prizes are amazing!

And finally - let me enable you...the store at Scrap-Diner is always stocked with the hippest paper crafting supplies one could ever desire! Shop shop shop, the shipping is quick - and be sure to check out the home page for the monthly special! Not to mention...you get candy with your order. Yup, I was immediately hooked.

New scrapsketch!

They have been posted over at scrapsketch. These new sketches are fantastic as always! I was given sketches 78 and 74 to work with. Here is what I came up with...

Sketch 78



Materials List (I will try to be as detailed as I can):
DCWV Cardstock
Fancy Pants PP
MM Tiny Alphas in Noteworthy
Prima flowers and bugs
Autumn Leaves stitch rub-ons
EK Success photo corner punch


Sketch 74



Materials List (I will try to be as detailed as I can):
American Crafts Snowflake Christmas PP
Rusty Pickle Mittens & Snowflakes PP
American Crafts Cardstock
American Crafts Thickers Roller Rink
American Crafts Thickers Subway
Wood White Glitter Snowflakes from CostPlus
EK Success Scalloped Scallop Border Punch
Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch

The New scrapsketch Challenge Blog

This is a new addition to scrapsketch, Steph has added weekly sketch challenges. Check it out:

http://scrapsketch-challenges.blogspot.com/

Here is the sketch for challenge #2. Email a photo of your layout to Steph before Sunday, May 31 at: scrapsketchteam@gmail.com.

I can't wait to see what ya'll create with this sketch!

Happy Blog Hop!

http://cardsforheroes.org/bloghop

Here is the card I made for the hop, just a simple way to say thanks to a hero. I used Basic Grey Boxer for the PP's, stamp is Studio G, and the ribbon is from Michael's.



I've helped out with Cards for Heroes in the past, it is a wonderful and easy way for a papercrafter to show the troops some support. A few tips I've learned that might be helpful are don't use glitter or the card can't be used and the card can be for any occassion. The card doesn't have to be red, white, and blue themed either. Easy peasy! You can find all the guidelines for participating in Cards For Heroes here http://cardsforheroes.org/send-handmade-cards/.


Alright, here is the next blog for all you Hoppers: http://stampyourheartoutwithcarollee.blogspot.com/2009/05/memorial-day-weekend-blog-hop.html

Carollee has a great blog, you are in for a treat. She is super talented, you'll find tons of inspiration on her blog. Make sure you leave her an extra comment or two while you're there!

Thanks to everyone who is participating. Cards For Heroes is a fantastic organization and I feel honored to be a part of their event. Be sure to check out their website http://cardsforheroes.org/ for more details.

Don't forget to stop by on Saturday!

Saturday is the Cards For Heroes

Memorial Day Blog Hop!

Below are the Hopper instructions, and then you can check out all the other details here: http://cardsforheroes.org/bloghop/.

1. You're a "hopper" if you're planning on viewing all or part of the blogs—and we highly recommend setting aside some time for it!
2. On Saturday, noon Pacific time, a giant button will appear on this page/—linking to the first blog, and that blog will link to the next...and so on!
   
3. Hop from one blog to the next, and leave a comment when you feel inspired by the card, the patriotism, or anything at all! Prizes will be awarded to someone randomly from comments left, so you'll want to get yourself entered lots!
   
4. Some blogs will have their own prizes (sometimes called RAKs) for those who comment on that post—keep your eyes peeled for those!
   
5. If you get lost—if one blogger misposts a link or something happens—come back to this post. We'll have all the blogs listed right here with links so you can pick right up where you left off!
   
6. We'll have a special treat for those who last through all the blogs!

I already know the blog that you will "hop" to from here...and it is an awesome one. See you back here on Saturday!

New scrapsketch!!!

The first May sketches have been posted over at scrapsketch and they are fantastic! Be sure to head over and check them out. I was given sketches 65 & 70 to play with and I've posted my layouts here. All of the sketches can be viewed over at scrapsketch and all of the CT layouts are posted. Lots of good inspiration! Thanks for stopping by! :)

scrapsketch 70



Materials List (I will try to be as detailed as I can):
Sassafrass Lass - Indian Summer PP
DCWV Cardstock
Dollar Tree Wood Alphas
Cricut George Cartridge (Flowers)
UNI-Ball Signo White Pen
Martha Stewart Border Punch
Misc buttons from my stash

scrapsketch 65



Materials List (I will try to be as detailed as I can):
DCWV Rockstar PP & Ribbon
Basic Grey Chipboard Alphas
Bazzil Bling Cardstock
Jenni Bowlin Die Cut
Cricut George Cartridge (hearts & circles)
American Crafts Slick Writers - Brown

Putting a joyful spin on May 7th

Over the past 8 years, this date has not turned out to be the best day for us. First we lost my Grandma, then Aunt Mary, and then 5 years ago we lost my father in law. It's hard to not spend the day in a funk. Why is that so much easier than just remembering the positive time? So, in honor of the loved ones lost, here are a few of my favorite memories...

Aunt Mary

The younger years of my life were spent living in Eugene, Oregon. I have fond memories of playing in the backyard at Aunt Mary and Uncle Jerry's house, the Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls, and those fun pastel colored plastic cups with the white inside. Once we moved to Anchorage, my Aunt Mary also spent time living in China and teaching English to Chinese teachers. I can remember how fun it was to get letters from her describing her students and how much she was learning about the culture everyday. It was when I had moved to Las Vegas after graduation was when Aunt Mary was back in Eugene for good and settled into a teaching position at U of O while the ESL department. Aunt Mary reminded us to find a little bit of JOY in each day. Her strength and spirit will always be with me, a constant joy.

Grandma

American Beauty Roses were your favorite. The backyard at the house my father grew up in was filled with a gorgeous rose garden. Grandpa took such pride in those roses, as did I. As a child I loved to play in that yard, hiding in the roses and playing under the apple tree. I remember smushing the big black ants on the green patio while Grandma sunbathed and refilled our cold drinks. Grandma had a "flair for fashion". She never wanted to stand out but was not going to be a wallflower either. She was a beautiful woman. Forever in my heart, and I'll always have roses.

Gary, my father in law

Mostly I remember laughing. Gary would love to push the buttons and watch the reaction. The love for his family was obvious, and just as obviously returned. Watching his granddaughters wrap him around their little fingers was very entertaining as well. Total putty in their little hands. I'll always remember Gary fondly, his big heart rubbed off on my husband. For that I am forever thankful.


Now, I'm going to take one last look at the full moon and crawl into bed.

Today your love, tomorrow the world

This is one of my favorite Ramones songs. I know the lyrics are pretty unrelatable, but the actual chorus of "Today your love, tomorrow the world!" hits home for me.

All of the NSD Scrap Diner Challenges were posted over the weekend. I was able to get started on them last night and this is what I came up with for the first challenge Girl Put Your Records On.



The challenge was to do a layout the describes you and uses a song title as the layout title. Once it the layout is posted, you are to explain why this layout represents you.

"Today your love, tomorrow the world" by the Ramones is probably an odd choice to some. But ignore the lyrics, I just find this title to be empowering. And so descriptive of who I am today. This picture was taken on my wedding day, post ceremony. The journaling reads: "This was the day it all fell into place. The new found courage comes from our forever love." When I got married it was like I shed this unknown fear...who could have guessed just how afraid I was to never have someone in my corner. It was like a revelation, I now had someone who will always be there for me. It boosted my confidence and made me more comfortable in my skin. Finding my soul mate was truly a discovery of the half of me I didn't even know was missing.


I picked the orange, teal, gold, browns, and whites because they are powerful, yet soft and graceful. The flowers, flying bird, and butterflies are all representative of me constantly spreading my wings, blooming into a new and hopefully better person each day.

Products:
Jenni Bowlin die cut, butterfly PP, and musical score PP
Prima flowers and felt border
Petaloo Flowers
My Mind's Eye PP and tag
Bazil Bling CS
Misc ribbon and bling from my stash

To Make You Smile Today

So my darling husband posted the link to this video on his Facebook page. It is just a beautiful rendition of Stand By Me. If you haven't already seen it, spend the next 6 minutes of your life being amazed. And find yourself truly touched at the power of music.

Enjoy!

NSD at Scrap Diner

NSD at Scrap Diner

Awesome News!

I've been chosen to be a part of the Creative Team at ScrapSketch!

Here are the layouts I had submitted:

Scrappin' in 2009...

I keep a gallery at Scrap Diner where all of my work is viewable http://www.scrap-diner.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=315. Because I just started this blog, thought I'd post some of my favorite layouts of the year.

End of Spring and Beginning of Summer...

If you've ever experienced summer in Vegas, than you know what the inside of a bonfire feels like. But before we hit that disgusting and uncomfortable heat that happens in July and August, we get April, May, and most of June. The temperature stays anywhere from 70 degrees to 95 degrees, there is a light breeze most days (some days that "breeze" will knock you off your feet), and the sun is bright and warm. With each passing year, my appreciation for these months grows stronger. It's the rare time of year when you can actually have the windows open or walk outside at noon without passing out from heat stroke. Get out there and enjoy it while you can!