Happy Birthday Amy Butler Style

I dug into my stash of Amy Butler paper and dies cuts for these two cards.



The first follows Kazan's sketch at 2S4U and the second follows this week's sketch at CPS.



I like the technique of layering the diecuts on foam dots to create extra dimension.
I stamped Happy Birthday on both using an Inkadinkado stamp. Then I used pearl accents to kick both cards up a notch!

Spring Treat Take Two

I really wasn't happy with the frosting on my cupcake for this week's Cuttlebug Challenge so I redid it.

I used the same swirl embossing folder and the same glitter except this time I glittered the swirls only. I'm much happier with this version.

Spring Treat

This week's challenge at Cuttlebug Challenges is to create a cupcake using a technique of some sort for the frosting.

I decided to swirl emboss then glitter(using my new Martha glitter) my cupcake and have added it to a card. It didn't turn out completely as I envisioned and I may have another go with the frosting tomorrow(maybe glitter the swirls only).

I also embossed the bottom of the cupcake and am very pleased with how that turned out.

Have a great evening!

One of My Favourite Things

to do is cross into the US for a day of shopping! There is such selection and always some deals to be found. So yesterday Kathryn and I left at 7 am and headed to Buffalo via the Peace Bridge. Not much of a wait(except for the car two ahead of us whose passenger was personally escorted by Border Guards for further questionning)at the border at 9 am in the morning.

First stop was Target where I found these vintage look easter dishes.



I love their design, colours and the wire basket they come in. And at only $15, they were coming home with me!



Another favourite stop is Kohls where I found this black velvet jacket for $8, yes only $8 from an original ticket price of $80!



We also had a great lunch at Panera Bread and dinner at Jack Astors before arriving home at 11 pm. A long but fun day!

Handcrafted Jewellery

I've told you of my love of Etsy before. Several Etsy artisans offer draws to win their beautiful items and I most recently won this necklace from Candace Kane. Its handcrafted from sterling silver and features the names of my daughters. It came beautifully packaged in craft coloured box with a turquoise bow with the necklace in an organza pouch. I love it!

Many thanks again to Candace!

Use It!

Another Use It challenge this week by Heidi. Yes, this is the same Heidi whose sketch I followed at Caardvarks this past weekend!

Heidi challenged us to use eyelets, something over a year old and polka dots.

As I'm working on using up last year's Easter papers, that is my item over 1 year old and some of this same paper has polka dots on it. I used eyelets along a scalloped edge then realized when I checked back into the Use It blog, Heidi had done that too!

More Card Kit cards

Thought I'd show you a few more cards I made from scraps from this card kit.



Then I finished up the following cards using scraps and inspiration from another Ninabrook Designs card kit.







My favourite card is this butterfly card!




Have a great day!

A Easter Greeting Card

Another Easter card using last year's Reminisce Easter line. This card was created using CPS Sketch 108.



It uses a few Prima flowers, Making Memories sticker letters and a bit of bling too!

More Altered Trays

When I posted about my altered tray, I mentioned that the girls were quite taken with it.

Well this past March Break, Brianne bought herself some dollar store trays, raided my supplied and altered some trays!



She created the blue trays while I made the green.



I think she made some terrific altered trays!

Basil Green Goddess Salad Dressing

I tried another of the Barefoot Contessa's recipes this weekend from her 'At Home' cookbook and as usual was not disappointed.



This is not necessarily a light dressing but I cut the sour cream with half fat free and half full fat as that is what I had on hand. You could use light sour cream but I wouldn't use completely fat free. I also used olive oil mayo which seemed to work well. Oh, and I didn't have anchovy paste so added a bit more salt. I thought this dressing tasted even better the next day after the flavours melded more!

1 cup good mayo
1 cup chopped scallions(green onion),green and white parts(about 7)
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemons(2 lemons)
2 tsp chopped garlic(2 cloves)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream

Place mayo,scallions,basil,lemon juice,garlic, anchovy paste, salt, pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.Add sour cream and process until just blended. Refridgerate until ready to serve.



These tulips of course have nothing to do with the salad dressing. I picked them up at the market on the weekend and they are just so spring-like I had to share!

Have a great day!

Easter Card

Here's my first Easter card for 2009 and my first submission to Caardvarks.

I was inspired by this sketch at Caardvarks by Heidi of VanLaar Designs.

This card came together quickly using the sketch and last year's Easter paper by Reminisce.



A butterfly, a few flowers and bling and it was done!

Hearts and Butterflies

This week the Be Inspired Challenge at CC is to use your punches and Cuttlebug in ways other than intended.



So I broke out my Martha punches;royal butterfly, heart, lace edge and leaves. I used the heart differently than intended,after punching, embossing them with swiss dots and curling the edges, I arranged them to create a flower.



I also embossed the butterflies with the swirl embossing pattern.

As Easter is approaching I pulled out my stash of spring and Easter papers and remembered how much I liked this line, Pristine by Paper Salon. Its definitely cheerful and springy!

A Quick Post Today

My next few days are fairly busy so thought I'd quickly pop in and show some cards I made using a kit from NinaBrook Designs. All the instructions and materials are included in the kit and they work up very quickly.



I especially like the technique in the middle card above. The flower is placed on the lower corner then the corner is cut out around the flower(you can click on the picture to get a better look). I'll definitely be borrowing this idea on my own cards.

Have a great day!

Cuttlebug Challenge Winner

How thrilled am I? My glittered chandelier card was picked as one of 10 winners for last week's Be Inspired Challenge at Cuttlebug Challenges! My congratulations to everyone who participated, all the cards were lovely!

Using Up Scraps

I think I have enough scraps to last me at least 10 years and that's making a card every day! Don't laugh, I'm serious!


So I made another two cards tonight using scraps.

The first is for CPS following sketch 107.


I like this card's country feel.

The second is for a new challenge blog, Use It started up by Rae Barthel. Use It challenges you to 'dehoard'! I think it will take me 10 years to 'dehoard' but I'm willing to try!

This blog is on its second challenge, issued by Danni and I'm a fan of Danni's cards. They are so clean, crisp and fresh. She also uses border punches and embossing folders a lot, you've gotta love that! Danni's challenge at Use It is to create a card in spring colours, using at least 4 flowers and a tag.



I tried to emulate Danni's style in the creation of this card, love the freshness of the light blue, white and brown. I think its kind of springy!