Checking In...

Just wanted to remind everyone that they have until Saturday at 11pm to comment for the blog candy. See the previous post for details...

The garage sale at my parents' house is going well. Man did we all have tons of stuff! I had to work today, but will be at the garage sale Saturday. I am very very pleasantly surprised at my earnings so far. :) I have only a few stamp sets left and a lot of paper and embellishments have sold. My goal was to purge my supplies, yet give the "shoppers" a great deal. All I can say is Praise the Lord for the outcome. Who knew great prices would add up so fast for cash in my pocket! :)

Kevin is at a tractor pull tonight. I need to rest as I am literally exhausted from staying up late too many nights in a row. However, I am the type to find 10 things to do before bed. I need to let myself say no. We'll see...
Updated to say: Uh, I cleaned house for THREE hours tonight. It's only a dent in a very large to-do list around here. On that list was reading all the week's newspapers. Done! :)

Just wanted to check in...gotta go as Riley just stole both socks from the laundry basket. No joke! *off to catch the pooch*

Inseparable

There are just some things in life that just go together....salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies....oh, and Riley and Jack. They love each other so much! Just makes me smile.
I used my CM circle cutting templates. They have a new larger one, which is awesome. I just had to buy the template since I already have the blades. I also used my new template (will post picture of it soon) that helps align eyelets and brads perfectly. Speaking of brads, how many did I use on this page? Post a comment with your guess by 11pm Saturday 8/1/09 and I'll pick a winner from those who post the correct answer. I'll send some fun blog candy to the winner (USA only). Winner will be posted Sunday.

I stamped my title onto the pre-printed strip using a recently retired SU! alphabet set. I added Kiwi Kiss ribbon above and below the photo and inked the edges of the cut-out circle with Riding Hood Red ink. It is mounted with dimensionals. I cut that circle from behind the large Riding Hood Red circle. Unless you turned over the page, you'd never know. LOL! It's a way to get more mileage out of your patterned paper without having to cut a second piece.

Thanks for stopping by! I have all of my garage sale items priced and delivered to my parents' house. The sale is Friday 9-6 and Saturday 9-1. If you live locally and want directions to the location, post a comment here with your e-mail address and I'll respond. Thanks!

One

I had bought these patterned papers and matching ABC stickers a LONG time ago to do a page about Macy. I was digging in my "dog" scrapbooking stash and found these again. I decided to do a page about Jack's 1st birthday. I used the ONE to make the title, arranged the remaining letters around the photo, then added some small stickers in the place where ONE would have been. It was totally a moment that would make any math teacher proud that a 30-something-year-old was using her basic math skills to align the stickers evenly. Bwwwwwaaaaaaaahhhhh! Make sure you click on the pic for a closer look. The ABC stickers all have a word to do with dogs that match that letter. Too funny when you read them all!

I wasn't sure what or if to journal, so I just added this in the corner. I matched the Bazill cardstock to the patterned paper. It is a color called Boogieboard. Fun name, huh?

Thanks for stopping by! It is after midnight as I type this and I'm officially cross-eyed from pricing garage sale goodies and lacking sleep. Riley is just laying here chewing his bone. I think he got a second wind. Jack, however, is sacked out by my feet. LOL!

Unconditional Love

I did this page Saturday about my Grandma and Uncle Richard. They share such an unconditional love as mother and son that it is just precious. You see, my uncle has Down Syndrome and has always needed her for most everything. She still lovingly tends to his needs daily. They are such buddies. Once my Grandpa died, Richard changed a lot and deals with anxiety and a child-like regression as he ages. He will be 50 on August 1st and Grandma will be 88 in September! Wow! I just loved this picture of them and wanted to really create a pretty page to remember this moment at Julie's rehearsal this past June. *click on the pic for a closer look*

Without a doubt, I knew this was the perfect title. I used the Making Memories tiny letter stickers. They were already a tan color, but I rubbed some creamy brown chalk ink over them to age them a bit. My mom literally gave me the eyelet ribbon as I was creating this page and it adds a perfect detail I think. Thanks, Mom! You can barely see it, but there is a transparency frame overlay on the photo. That was my third "red" thing on the page....Grandma's jacket, the red flower and finally the transparency. I try to do the "in threes" rule sometimes.

I used a "naked" chipboard flourish for the stem and just rubbed some chalk ink on it to define the swirls. The smallest flower has a unique print on it. I grabbed it at my local scrapbook store and am happy it added another "old-feeling" touch to this page. I think I am going to go back and rub some brown ink on the red flower petals to tone it down a bit. In these pics it seems overpowering, but the page really is prettier in person.

Ok, now I have to tell you about one of my fav things to make/bring to family get-togethers....my chopped salad. I don't know how I got started on this, but everyone likes it and it makes me happy to prepare it for them. I make a general garden salad loaded with whatever veggies, but the secret is to chop everything into bite-sized pieces. Yum!

My mouth just watered after I chopped the tomato, celery and cucumber Sunday afternoon. Doesn't that just scream summer to you? OH, my! Love chopped salad! I vary the mix, but the one I made Sunday contained iceberg lettuce, tomato, celery, cucumber, shredded cheddar, parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds, salty and sante fe tortilla strips, croutons, and onion. Whew! Add a dab of dressing and let the party in your mouth begin!!!!!

I have other projects to show this week, but I am also in the process of purging my entire scrapbooking area to prepare for this weekend's garage sale at my mom's. I am cleaning this place out! I am just overwhelmed with goodies and can't wait for some cash in hand. I will then be taking what doesn't sell to the local scrapbook store's garage sale where I will earn store credit from my goodies sold. I price it however I want, they display and sell it for me, then I'll be a happy shopper soon! Win win, I say! So....what I meant to get out was that I'll try to be good about posting regularly this week. If not, you'll know I've suffocated on paper dust and glitter. Ugh. LOL! I already about fainted when I found a dead spider in my one drawer! I do NOT like critters!

4 from 1

I found this neat patterned paper at Archivers a while ago and made these cards last weekend. The images were arranged in the four corners of the 12x12 paper. I thought it would be neat to make four cards with a cool pattern on each. Easy! I simply cut the paper, inked the edges and adhered it to cardstock. The sentiment and ribbons were added to finish them off. Enjoy!

Zucchini Bake

3 cups diced zucchini
2 cups Club cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup reduced fat milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch deep dish pie pan or 9-inch-square baking dish.
• Bring 4 cups water to a boil in large saucepan. Add zucchini; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well in colander.
• Press cracker crumbs on bottom of prepared pan to form a crust. Dot with butter. Spoon zucchini on top.
• Whisk eggs in a medium bowl until fluffy. Stir in onion, milk, 2/3 cup Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Pour over zucchini and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup Cheddar cheese and Parmesan.
• Bake, uncovered, 35 minutes, or until golden on edges.

Serves 6 to 8

Nutritional facts per serving: 230 calories, 14g fat, 9g protein, 17g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 540mg sodium.

{21!}

My niece Brooke was born 21 years ago today! I was unsure what I wanted to put on her card, so I ended up using some foam numbers and symbols. I used my sponge dauber and classic ink to dab on the pink to match the color on the patterned paper. I wanted it to be fun, fresh, funky, yet feminine. Did it work? LOL!

The eyelet border punch is from SU! and the patterned paper is from a Basic Grey 6x6 pad of fun, grungy patterns (only $1.99 in Archivers Hot Spot!!!). The only other supplies were kraft cardstock for the base and three white eyelets. We're all getting together Sunday to celebrate.

Tomorrow I'll share a new recipe I tried tonight....Zucchini Bake. Yum! It was in the little magazine insert of the newspaper. I rarely try what I tear out (*rolls eyes*), but today was an exception. Kevin grilled steaks and this was the side dish. We were both full. Then, don't faint....but I also baked banana bread. I think I have a fever. LOL!