Spring Time

This LO I did for a Guest Designer for a month competition over at Create My Keepsake. For the LO you had to use buttons, felt flowers, two journal boxes, and more than one photo. You had your choice to scrap about Spring Break, Easter, or Day Light Savings. I chose a mix between Spring & Easter. Wish me luck!

Laura

Mother, Friend

Here are two cards I made yesterday. The friend card I am entering in a card challenge over at Caardvarks. The challenge was to make a card celebrating the love of your friends.
The two flower cards as a set, I am going to sell over at my other blog The Paper Poppy .

Laura

Happy Birthday Claudia

Today is the day! My little baby is a teenager!
I thought I would embarrass her just a little bit a post a baby picture along with recent pic.
Of course I think she was the cutest baby ever.
We are on our way to Starbucks for some yummy coffee & a muffin. Then off to school, where her friends are decorating her locker as we speak:)
Happy Birthday Claudia:)
XOXO
Mom

Toot, Toot

Yay, just a little Toot,Toot from me! I won the Melissa Phillips Blog Challenge over at The Scrappy Gourmet. I will receive a one of Scrappy Gourmet's beautiful kits. The challenge was to make three cards that you would give to your children. One of the cards had to be heart shaped and you had to use the color red. Melissa's favorite color. I came up with this Valentine Trio, that you can see over at my other blog: The Paper Poppy . Melissa is a very talented designer over at The Scrappy Gourmet. She designs for a number of companies such as Melissa Frances, Paper Salon, & Provo Craft. I feel very honored to have been chosen. Thanks Melissa.

Laura

The Winner Is...

Thank you to everyone who participated in my Blog Candy! Claudia and I had so much fun reading all the entries. All of your ideas were excellent, but we had to choose just one. And the WINNER is.....KATHY!
Go check out her work she is super talented too!

Kathy said...Happy Birthday to your daughter!

Here's a fun one from a bridal shower I attended...

You take wedding dress pictures (or in this case, you could just do pics of models from fashion magazines or something) and you cut out their faces and paste just the face of a celebrity behind each one (so it looks like the model has the head of a celebrity but still the model's hair, body, etc.). Then you number the pages, pass the pictures around, and each girl has to guess who is who by writing their guesses on a piece of paper. At the end, you read off who each person is and whoever has the most right answer wins. It is surprisingly hard! And most fun when you post male celebrity faces on women bodies :)
Congrats Kathy!
E-mail me your info and I will send you your blog candy right away!
I had so much fun with this, defiantly look for more Blog Candy in the near future.
Thank for playing Ladies:)
Laura & Claudia

Blog Candy

Who is hungry for some yummy Blog Candy?

The candy consists of a scalloped box filled with spring colored primas, a "hi" flower rubber stamp, pink metal embellishing dots and some beautiful green & pink grosgrain ribbon. But first I need something from you... I need your creative ideas for games for my daughters 13th b-day party.

I already have one game in mind that I got from a baby shower. The game is called "How well do you know your husband" the expected mother is asked a series of questions about her husband, for every wrong answer she has to chew a piece of Hubba Bubba gum. We are going to play "How well do you know your friend Claudia" with the same gum concept but, if they get the answer right I'll give them a little gift. The game should be fun with 12 girls playing, and in the end Claudia should have a mouth full of gum! Pretty funny. I need another game to keep them occupied.

Things to consider with your choice of game:
The party consists of thirteen, 13 year old girls, they think they are so cool but, they still are little girls.
We are going to be at a restaurant having dessert, so I want them to be some what occupied so they are not literally dancing on the tables.:)
Thanks everyone I can not wait to see what you all come up with! Just leave your ideas in the comments below. I will have The birthday girl, Claudia pick her favorite game Saturday morning and announce the winner shortly thereafter.
Thanks again,

Laura

Birthday Party Invites

My daughter Claudia, is turning 13 on the 26th of February! Ack, I'm going to have a teenager. for Claudia's party this year she is inviting 12 of her closest friends to a local restaurant for desserts. Claudia wanted her invites in pinks, browns, and creams for a creamy rich dessert kind of feel. This is what I came up with. I'll post the party favors when they are finished. Wish me luck with the "teen" years!:)

Laura

Toot, Toot

Just a little toot, toot from me:)
Lime Tart announced their new line of amazing kits! As well as two new designers added to their awesome team Jo & Bernie two seriously talented women. Congrats ladies! The new line of kits is called Lemon Myrtle Tart: "So exactly what ingredients will be in our Lemon Myrtle Tart? Why all things Australian of course! This Tart is going to be a generous assortment of embellishments, stamps, chipboard, flowers and many more things created or designed by Australian companies and artists." says Philippa from Lime Tart. Also added to the amazing team at Lime Tart are some special hand picked Guest Designers:
Erlia Abdullah
Wendy Sue Anderson
Laura Davis
Anna Eyjolfsdottir
Trace Geworsky
Danielle Holsapple
Lisa Houpt
Sarah Humphries
Gretchen Schmidt
Emeline Seet-Ng
Kandis Smith
Virginie Wurtz

Yes, I'm on the list!!! I'm so excited:) I can hardly wait to get my hands on this fabulous kit, Lemon Myrtle Tart, from Lime Tart.
Thanks Philippa your the best.

Laura

Crop

"Flower Card" with tissue paper technique



"Happy Birthday" card with watermark ink




Beautiful "Hi" card with lots of glitter

Today I was invited to a crop by my new friend Pam over at Paper Askew she is super talented, go check out her work.
I was ready to sit, chat with new friends and work on my daughters birthday invites. I unpacked all my supplies, lugged out my beloved Cricut, went to go plug him in and realized I had forgotten his power cable! I guess I wasn't going to be scrappin! Oh well. Fortunately Pam is a fabulous Stampin Up demonstrator, and had three cards planned for everyone at the crop to make. I learned a cool new technique with stamping on tissue paper. Shown on the flower card, and had a lot of fun. Pam also gave me the new Stampin Up catalog so I went to town and started shopping:) This new friendship could be dangerous;) Thanks for a great day Pam:)

Spring

Here is my LO for this week. The title of the LO reads "Spring Friends". The pictures are of my daughter and a friend of the families little girl in the Spring of last year. Spring time in Colorado is one of my favorite seasons. The season could not come soon enough for me, just two days ago the temperature was a balmy 60 degrees. The very next day we had four inches of snow on the ground with highs in the 20's. Only in Colorado will you have weather like that.

Laura

Day #14

Valentine I made for my husband

Here is a LO I made of my husband

Day #14 of What I Love: My Husband

Happy Valentines Day!
My husband and I have been married for 14 years. We got married so young that I feel like I have grown up with him. He truly is my best friend, and my love for him grows each day. My husband is strong, handsome, funny, and a great father. I am so lucky to have him in my life. He is always there for me and puts a smile on my face daily.:)

Laura

Day #13

Day #13 of What I Love: My Daughter, Claudia
Claudia is my only child and is so special to me. She came into this world almost 13 years ago, I cant believe she is going to be a teenager. Claudia also known as Peanut, Peeps, & Pee Pee. She is smart, so smart, kind, loving and has a wicked sense of humor. Claudia's personality is exactly like her fathers, sometimes I think they are the same person. Claudia is nothing like me, I like to bake, be crafty & garden. I'm a true homebody. Claudia thinks scrapbooking is a waste of time, and gardening is work. Claudia loves to be on the move. She is a true busy body. Claudia some day will probably be on the LPGA or be a CEO of a large corporation.
Her passion in life is golf and plays competitively year round. She is currently #1 in Colorado for he age. I am so proud to be her mother. I love her so much.

Laura

Day #12

Pink Paislee's: Spring Fling Collection has to be one of my favorites!

Day #12 of What I Love: Paper

I'm pretty sure my paper stash is against fire code. I just cant help myself. There is so much stunning paper out there. All of the major manufactures are coming out with their new lines for the Spring and the excitement is overwhelming. Oh what I could create with all of these yummy papers! Here are just a few of my favorites. Pink Paislee, Tinkering Ink, Melissa Frances, & Maya Road. Wow, my head is spinning. Such beautiful new product lines.

Laura

Day #11

Here is the cute little Cuttlebug, and link for more information.

Day #11 of What I Love: My Cuttlebug

Yes, my daughter thinks I'm crazy, she says "only you mom, could love machines called a Cricut and a Cuttlebug".
I do love this little machine, the Cuttlebug is also made by Provocraft the same company that makes the Cricut. The Cuttlebug is very inexpensive and is a small die-cut and embossing machine. For being a small machine the possibilities are endless with the Cuttlebug. Here are a few examples that were done with my lil' Cuttlebug.


This card I made using one of Cuttlebugs embossing folder. The White card stock is embossed with the "Happy Birthday" folder.

These are Claudia's Valentines she made for her friends using my Cuttlebug. The die-cut of the cute elephant is from the Cuttlekids series. His name is Walter. Isn't he adorable.

Laura

Day #10

Day #10 of What I Love: Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni & Cheese could quite possibly be my favorite foods. Even though macaroni is not the best food for you, every once in awhile it's nice to indulge. Here is a very yummy recipe, I think the best, and of course the recipe is from no other than Martha Stewart.

Macaroni & Cheese
Martha Stewart

Serves 12
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese, (about 18 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese, (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.
In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.
While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.
Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce
Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

Laura

Day #9

Lemon Card
The lemon was made with the Cricut, using the George, and Doodlecharms cartridge.

The Cricut Machine


Day #9 of What I Love: My Cricut

I love this little machine, it's the best invention ever! For those of you that are not familiar with the Cricut, it's a personal die-cut machine. The Cricut is easy to use and so much fun. I would love to buy the new and improved Expression Cricut, but I would have to sell a lot more cards;) Cartridges are sold separately and I am on my way to collecting every single one of them. The cartridges I own are, George and Basic Shapes, ZooBalloo, Stamped, Christmas Cheer, Doodlecharms, Alphalicious, New Arrivals, and Opposites Attract. A lot of my projects are done with the Cricut. For questions, check out Cricut's website. Cricut also has a friendly forum.

Laura

Layout of the Day

Hogs & Kisses
You can see the rest of my cards at my other blog: The Paper Poppy


Yesterday I was awarded with "Layout of the Day" over at Create My Keepsakes. Wow, what a great place to be inspired. The whole group of women are so talented. I was in complete disbelief when I saw that my little "Hogs & Kisses" card was picked. I am so loving this forum:) Thanks Ladies!

Laura

Day #8

Day #8 of What I Love: My Family

"No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?" Lee Iacocca

My family is the most important thing to me, they always come first. I love my family!
Here are a few candid pictures of me and my family taken with Photo Booth.

Laura

Day #7

Day #7 of What I Love: Scrapbooking

I have been scrapbooking since my daughter was very little, about 12 years. I have never grown tired of the hobby, my passion for scrapbooking has just grown over the years. I am continuously amazed by the growth of the industry. When I first started scrapbooking, there were no stores that offered the abundance of supplies their are now. Supplies are very accessible now through stores and the web. My dream and goal is to one day be a designer for a scrapbooking company. Here is my layout for this week. "Love" the photos are of me, my daughter, and my sweet nephew Tommy.

Laura

Day #6

Day #6 of What I Love: Chocolate

Yum, chocolate. I could never live without it. It's almost a daily necessity. Today I thought I would share one of my favorite chocolate recipes, Chocolate Molten Cakes. I plan on making this desert for my family on Valentine's Day in heart shaped ramekins. Enjoy

Chocolate Molten Cakes

Preheat oven to 425
4 squares of semisweet baking chocolate
1 stick of salted butter
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 Tablespoons flour (all purpose)
Vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries for the topping.

Combine 1 stick of butter and the 4 chocolate squares. Microwave for 1 minute stir until chocolate is all melted. Add 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks, and 2 1/2 Tablespoons of flour, mix well.
Butter ramekins, pour batter into cups and bake for 13 to 14 minutes. The center of the cakes should be gooey.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries.
Enjoy

Laura

Dinner: 4 oz. of grilled steak, baked potato with cottage cheese, and steamed broccoli.

Snack: A red d'anjou pear & sparkling lime water.

Lunch:
Romaine salad with tuna, & a hard boiled egg, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
With ciabatta roll, from Whole Foods.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal with honey and a banana, black coffee, 1 cup , and a small glass of o.j.

Day #5

Day #5 of What I Love: Blogging

I'm completely addicted to blogging, I love being able to share my life with friends and family. The concept is almost like keeping a modern day journal. At night I often go blog browsing on my iPhone. I love coming across unique and different blogs and some I could of lived my whole life without seeing. One night I came across the coolest blog: Everything I Ate 2008 by Pedi in Los Angeles, California.
Pedi decided to keep a photo journal of everything she ate this year. I thought this concept was so neat, why didn't I think of this? I find myself completely intrigued to see what Pedi has eaten from day to day. Everything is beautifully photographed and the foods are rare and exotic. I hope you all enjoy Pedi's blog as much as I do. So in honor of Everything I Ate 2008 I thought I would keep a food journal for one day, just to actually see what I consume. I do not think my choices will be as exciting as Pedi's. But it will be a fun little experiment. Thanks Pedi for the daily inspiration.

Laura

Day #4

Day #4 of What I Love: Ribbon

If you are a scrapbooker or card maker than you too share my weakness for ribbon. I cant seem to get enough of it. Grosgrain, velvet, stripped, polka-dots, the possibilities are endless. I have so much ribbon for years I have fought with trying to keep all of it organized. Well I think I finally have found the solution. The Rail System Metal Ribbon Spool Holder, retail: $9.99. The holder is from designers Lisa Bearnson and Becky Higgins from Creating Keepsakes. They have a great line, and this little ribbon holder works great for me. I have two and need a third desperately. A great site for all your ribbon cravings is The Ribbon Retreat They have a great variety to choose from. I wish I had a shopping spree at this site.

Laura