A Layout and a Journal

This is my second post for the day, so scroll on down if you'd like to see a Christmas page with the new Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper. I popped a movie in my laptop while I was working, and I seem to get a lot more done that way. Great movie - August Rush. Have you seen it? If you like good music, you'll like this movie about a child prodigy.


Okay, I had so much fun making this layout! I came across some pictures of Shane when he was just 18 months old. What a happy little boy! And his hair was even trendy then!!


Items used: CTMH Animal Cookies paper and matching Stickease, CTMH Circle Charms and clip, American Crafts Thickers.

I was in need of a new journal so as always, I grabbed a composition book to alter. This is so easy to do! The inside covers are lined with coordinating paper. The tags and paper are Cosmo Cricket Everafter. Ribbon, photo hanger, large flower, and buttons are CTMH. Blue flower is Bazzill . Now I can write in a pretty book again!!

Christmas 2003

I like this Basic Grey Challenge sketch. Usually I will work on cards for this challenge, but I really wanted to work with some of the new Eskimo Kisses paper. Iam on a mission to get my Christmas book done!! I started from Shane's first Christmas in 1989, and I'm through 2003. Such fun pictures to look at!

Items used: Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper and Stickers, Slice FaLaLa sentiment, random adhesive pearls, clear buttons, and flowers.

Candy Tin

We emptied a tin of General Foods International Coffee the other day, and I couldn't bare to throw the tin away. What a perfect container for little things around the house, a gift card, or to stash a small-sized gift.
I took out some Bo Bunny Tis the Season because I like how this particular paper could be out all year round. Along with that, I used CTMH craft buttons and waxy flax, Petaloo paper flowers, CTMH cranberry ribbon, and CTMH flower dimensional elements.

Such a cute little container! I filled it with some Lindt dark chocolate truffles (definitely my weakness when it comes to chocolate). It can sit practically anywhere in the house because of it's convenient size. This one will most likely find a home right on my baker's rack in the kitchen.

I use tins for a lot of gifts, and I am always asked what I use to hold the paper to the tin. You know there are a few different ways to cover a tin. I love Martha Stewart's decoupage glue. It comes in a rectangular bottle and has a brush in the lid. That really contains the mess of work with adhesive. Another product I use often for tins and paper projects is CTMH Bonding Memories adhesive. For this small tin, I used Terrifically Tacky tape. That holds really well, and also works fabulously for adhering ribbon.

Next time you come across an interesting tin, stash it away and play with it. You never know what you might come up with!

Shane and Mikaela

I had so much fun this afternoon in my scrapbook room! Shane e-mailed me some pictures of him and his friend, Mikaela. Best of all, he told me that I could scrapbook them. Music to a scrappin' mother's ears!!

I used The Write Stuff paper from Stampin Up. It's got such a nice blend of colors that it's useful for many projects. (Don't you love that we paper crafters have a WORLD of papers and designs to play with?) I used my Slice Cartridge, Just Chillin', for some of the images - the arrow, words, heart, and wings. I took out my CTMH On Target circular dimensional elements and brayered them with chocolate ink. Inside the circle I used peridot colored gems. You'll also find Fancy Pants clips, buttons, and Write Stuff journaling tags.

Looks like my son found a great way to embrace life - lots of smiles, laughs, and faces. I think we should all take more silly pictures of ourselves. Life's too short to be anything but happy and fun!!

I decided to play along this week at The Play Date Cafe. The challenge was to use the three colors from their example picture.

I had some Little Yellow Bicycle die-cut paper, and I cut out the center medallion. It was easy enough to thread SU cranberry ribbon through the holes that were already on the paper. From their I created a shadow box with snowflakes to put behind the piece. A little glitter and a button, and it's all done!

I have some ideas about what I want to do this. It would be a lovely piece on the tree, and I think I would spray some pearl glimmer mist on it then to complete it. I've also got a page where it would be a nice embellishment. Of course, it would make a lovely tag as well! So I'm not certain yet where it will go - just know it is going to be used!!

Interesting Card

This is a 5x7 card with five journal pages in it. I thought it might be a nice card for a long letter or a way to send memories to someone. I made the tabs with my tagmaker so that they would match the "book." All the paper and matching stickers are Wisteria from Basic Grey. I've added rhinestones and bunches of Liquid Glass with a little ribbon to complete it. Each the pages is stamped with a sentiment. I am not sure what I'll use it for. For now it's on my "finished-project-and-I-don't-know-what-I'll-do-with-it" shelf. Yes, we ALL have those shelves!!

20 Years

20 years ago today, I met my sweet, wonderful, kind, and loving husband on a blind date. Tonight he brought these roses home to me to celebrate the 20 years we have spent together. What a fabulous husband God gave me!

Mom's Christmas Card & A Little Surprise

Well actually, I made two of these cards, and they are going to my mother and Jerry's mother. I founded some beautiful SEI Winter Song paper for this project. In the two places where you see ribbon, it is actually triple layered (all CTMH) - Colonial White organdy, Cranberry Organdy, and Colonial White crocheted ribbon. When I do this many layers of ribbon, I use Terrifically Tacky for adhering them. I scalloped the bottom of the front side of the card and dusted it with CTMH Heavenly Blue ink. The embellishments are pretty simple. Random snowflakes (I think they are Jolee's). My large embellishment is a 4" snowflake cut from my Slice layered with a Bazzill flower and glittered dot. Easy peasy, but elegant for our mothers.

Now for my surprise! I was interviewed last week at Archiver's to be an instructor. Today I learned that I was hired!! I'll be starting next week (after my orientation this week), and I couldn't be more excited!! I have shopped and cropped at this particular Archiver's for so long, and I love the team of women that are employed there. It is going to be amazing being their co-worker and learning the ropes from them! I am so looking forward to teaching again, so I feel very blessed that Archiver's offered me this opportunity!

What a great day!!

December 1st - My Musings and a Recipe

Well, I for one cannot believe we have reached December 1st! Time just goes so fast!! It's beautiful here in MN today. From what I heard on the weather this am, it may very well be our last near 50-degree day before the cold hits. I'll be outside quite a bit today with the furry kids!

I made a really good chili last night. I found the recipe through my friend, Jeanne. She made this at the retreat I went to a couple weeks ago. The recipe is from Cafe Latte in St. Paul, and I'm going to give it to you as done by Cafe Latte. Afterwards, I'll tell you what I did differently. I wouldn't be a good Slovakian-Finnish woman if I didn't add my own twist!!

Cafe Latte's Chicken Salsa Chili

• 3 T. olive oil
• 1# chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
• 1-1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp. chili pepper flakes
• 1 T. fresh minced garlic
• 2 tsp. minced fresh jalapeno peppers
• 1-1/2 c chicken stock
• 3 T. Chili powder
• 28-oz whole tomatoes, undrained and broken up
• 29-oz. tomato puree
• 2 cans (15 oz each) kidney beans, drained
• 15-oz can hominy, drained
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice

Warm olive oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Saute chicken until cooked. Add onions and reduce heat. Cook for 3 minutes or until onions are tender. Add all remaining ingredients. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

When serving, top with sour cream, additional onion, grated cheese, and tortilla chips.

Good recipe, huh? It's like a mix of taco soup and chili. Jerry could pick out the lime flavor, and said it was the perfect twist. So be sure to add it! Here's what I did a little differently:

• I increased the chili pepper flakes to 1 tablespoon (I think - I don't use measuring spoon).
• Instead of chicken stock, I used vegetable base.
• I decreased the chili powder to 1-1/2 T. Seemed more reasonable.
• I didn't have any tomato puree, so I used a 6-oz can of tomato paste + 15-oz tomato sauce
• I always use cilantro paste by Gourmet Garden. Sometimes fresh herbs go bad quickly, so the pastes are a good option.

If you make it, let me know how your family likes it!!

I'll bet your wondering what I thought of Adam Lambert's American Music Awards performance. I haven't said anything yet because I have become quite reasonable when it comes to rock and roll. (We can thank my son for that!!) Adam is an unusually gifted performer. There are few out there that can cause as much of a stir as he has so quickly. I don't know if there is a grey area with his music. You love him or you hate him - BUT, I would never discount him because of one poorly judged performance. After all, didn't we see MANY good displays on American Idol? I side with Adam on this one. He pushed the envelope, but it wasn't too well received. It made me uncomfortable at certain points, but in the end, it was what it was. That being said, I have watched his Early Show (too bad ABC cancelled him), Letterman, and Ellen performances. You know, I really think he is a genuine person. And who could resist that smile? If you let him, he'll teach you acceptance through his music. Much like Lady Gaga and Pink.

So if you love him, go buy his CD. If you don't like the cover, flip over the insert. But if you like the likes of Queen and good rock & roll, you'll like it. You might not like some of the lyrics here and there, but the end result is a fabulous CD with a bunch of great music. I heard yesterday that it's sold nearly a quarter of a million copies in a week!

I'm off for a walk now. Hope you are having a good day in your neck of the woods!!

Sharing a Little Christmas

Thought I'd share a little Christmas with you today! We've just spent the day putting up our tree and decorations, and now we are sitting down to enjoy. I love the ornaments the most. All those homemade ones from Shane as he grew. The ornament I made in Sunday School 42 years ago! All my Starbucks and Caribou ornaments. And of course, the pets all have their own personalized ornaments. Down below you'll see another one of my favorites - my sweet fluffy snowman. He's just so warm and lovely!

I also wanted to share one of the many different Christmas cards I will be sending this year. As I scrapbooked our Christmases, I save all the scraps to make my cards. So every card I send out this year will be different from the next.

I used a template to make the shape of my card. From there, I covered with Bo Bunny St. Nick paper. I had one of the matching journal cards left, so I used that with a little ribbon to embellish the card. I distressed the edges a little with desert sand ink, so it completed a vintage look.

I hope everyone's been enjoying their long holiday weekend. We sure have loved having this time together!