I will be busy with New Year's celebrations the next couple of days, so I wanted to be sure to send my wishes your way! Have you made a resolution for the new year? I think it's such a wonderful time to sit back and think about the year that has passed and tweak life to make it just a little bit grander. No matter what the circumstances, life really is just so grand. We learn from so many things along our days, don't we? That's where the tweaking comes in.

I am blessed beyond measure, and so thankful to the One who graciously pours wonderful riches into my life everyday. I don't mean money. I mean the richness of family, friends, and the experiences we live. You know, with this thought I am reminded of the box we used to keep. We would read our prayers and wishes from the previous year, put new ones in, and then put it away for the year. It's kind of a tacky looking box covered in stickers and crude embellishments, but it was ours - to pull out every New Year's eve. When Shane turned 16, for some reason we stopped this tradition. Maybe it's time to pull it out again...

I don't know that I have any specific resolutions. I guess I see New Year's as a time to clean the slate and start fresh. That means it is a time to let go of hurts from the previous year, forgive those that need your forgiveness, and to choose to love more. We have this marvelous chance to let things go and to love freely as Christ would have us do. What awesome mercy!

Whatever you do to celebrate and start the year anew, may your life be filled with that overwhelming mercy and grace of God's infinite love.

Love and hugs,
Brenda

Our Creative Corner

This is my fourth and last post of the day! Be sure to scroll down to see what I've been up to today!

The challenge over at Our Creative Corner is to celebrate food and drink in your artwork. I was so excited about this! I purchased Cosmo Cricket Early Bird collection awhile back, and I loved being able to use the elements for this card. I put square window charms over the stickers on the bottom, and I hung a "fresh milk" charm on the ribbon. Cute! Of all the cards I've finished today, this was Jerry's favorite!

Inspirational Card Sketch #47

My third post today - be sure to scroll down!!
I had some scraps left from my Bella Collection form CTMH. The rich and warm colors are so beautiful! The buttons are stamped from CTMH's Buttoned Together set. For some I threaded olive waxy flax, and for a couple, I used olive brads. For the sentiment, I embossed with vanilla embossing powder. The flower is from Bazzill.

Basic Grey Color Challenge

This is my second post today!

Basic Grey Challenges had some really fun colors to play with today. What perfect Valentine's colors!! I've used cream white, blush, and crystal blue cardstock. The pretty polka dot paper is from the Basic Grey June Bug line. I've also used clear window charms, rub-ons on top of them, bazzill and prima flowers, and some velvet scalloped ribbon.

Moxie Fab's Tuesday Trigger

The Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab contains some beautiful colors that instantly inspired me. Although the scene is very summery, I wanted to make a Valentine's Day card that would do justice to the sweet, yet classy colors.

For this card, I embossed the phrase on the front using white embossing powder. It just helped it pop a little. I also scored the crystal blue cardstock and sanded it to bring out the dry embossing. All but the ribbon is from CTMH.

Cards from My Craft Room

This is going to be a very loooong post! I have been ITCHING to spend some creative time, so I thought I'd share my card creations with you that I made this evening.


The first card "big huge hugs" was made with a new sentiment stamp from Hero Arts - Huge Hugs. Other than the cute little stick pin from Making Memories, everything else is from CTMH. This paper is called Top Stitch - nice, old-fashioned paper. I like the boldness of Timber Brown Staz-On, so that's what I've used for stamping this one.


My "good friends" card is a 3x3, and I've used another Hero Arts clear stamp on this one - Coffee. I colored and blended the coffee cup and cream with Martha Stewart markers and blending pen. The striped paper is Bo Bunny, and all other supplies are CTMH. Again, I used the Staz-On ink.

This is my favorite! These little pooches from the new Hero Arts set, Life is Not Perfect, are so cute! I stamped them with Black Archival ink on Bo Bunny pet paper and then I cut them out. I colored the collar in with black ink, their little noses with orange, and put little drops of glossy accents on their eyes. I used a drop of glossy accents to adhere clear buttons on paw prints paper. Fun, fun, fun!! We could all use a little more wag in our life!!

One of our 2nd cousins just finished received her GED. It's such an accomplishment for her, so I wanted to make sure she received a proper graduation card. The large backgound stamp is from my stash, so I'm sorry I can't tell you where it comes from. I stamped with versamark dazzle and then embossed with outdoor denim powder from CTMH.

This is such pretty paper - Veranda from CTMH. The stamp is a sentiment from the new Hero Arts set, Anytime Messages. The green flower is from Bazzill and the creme brulee flower is from CTMH. Making Memories supplied the pewter buckle, and the remaining products are from CTMH.

I love the new clear stamps from Hero Arts. They are made of polymer, so the image is crisp and so pretty! Check out their blog for some great ideas. I'm also quite fond of their cling stamps. They are rubber stamps that mount with clings on your clear blocks. Don't forget to check the consultant locator for a CTMH consultant if you've found you like the some of the papers and embellishments I've used.

It has been so busy as of late. I am quite sure it has been the same for all of you! It was nice to sit down and craft for some time. I'm putting a pot of Split Pea Soup on the stove tomorrow, so while it simmers for the day, I think I'll go back to my craft room.

Do you all have lots of Christmas pictures to scrap? We sure had a fun Christmas Eve and Day with Shane. We spent Christmas Eve at Jerry's cousin's house, and oh, we spent so much time laughing! It's always good to spend time with extended family that you only see a couple times of the year. The best part is that we all pick up like it was yesterday. Shane bought me a beautiful scarf and purse for Christmas - what lovely gifts!! I'll share pictures as they go on layouts.

I hope you're all enjoying your end-of-the year days. Not much time till 2010!!

Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." Dr. Seuss

To all my friends and followers, I pray that your Christmas will be filled with "more." May you rejoice in family and find yourself surrounded by those that you love!

Christmas love and hugs,
Brenda

Sometimes You Just Have to Wait on the Ducks

It was time to post a little artwork!!

I hope you are able to see the cute duck families in these pictures. They actually stopped traffic for about 10 minutes! We were travelling around the chain of lakes in Minneapolis, and this is what we came upon. What a beautiful sight!! We didn't smell the roses that day, but rather we let the ducks slow us down as they crossed from lake to land.

Those leaves are cut from my Slice. I simply crumpled the edges to give them some dimension.

Items used: CTMH Cocoa CS, Rustic Trails and Emporium paper, Slice cartridges - Travel USA and Think Pink, random buttons, wood mount stamp.

Catching Up

I haven't gone anywhere! I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas! I have also been working almost every day (LOVE that!), so when I am home I have been taking time to get ready for this week's celebrations. I had to share a picture of these gifties that were at work for me when I left last night. What a nice thing to find!! Don't you love it? That treat bag is adorable with the polar bear. TOO MUCH FUN!

I came home on Saturday evening, and I had to take a picture of the German food my husband made for dinner. What a sweetheart!! These are called Oktoberfest Bierocks, and yes, Jerry did make these on his own! The inside mixture consists of Leinie's beer, cabbage, apples, onions, hamburger, vinegar, and some spices. They are surrounded with a bread dough, brushed with egg yol, and there you have it. He did a great job with these, and they are really yummy!! Now, he covered his heritage with this batch. Next time I'd like him to go a little more Finnish and fill the pockets with pasty fillings. That would be good, too!! It is so nice to have a husband that is not afraid of the kitchen!

I work through Wednesday evening, and then Shane is coming here on Christmas Eve and staying through Christmas night. YIPPEE!! I talk to Shane several times a week, but I don't really get to see him too often. I've already gotten his "wants" for Christmas day meals, so I'll be making our traditional quiche for breakfast (I will share my recipe with you later this week - so easy!) and ham and scalloped potatoes for dinner. Creme Brulee will be Christmas dessert. On Christmas Eve, Jerry's cousin always has a gathering, so we'll head over there for a visit.

Well, I have a little time to craft, so off to my desk I go. Especially when busy, I find it very important to do something creative every day. It's what keeps us paper crafters sane!!

I'll be catching up on reading blogs this week, and I can't wait to see what you've all been doing!!

Chicken Wings

Has it been a busy holiday season for you, too? It has been very busy in our house! I am going to take some time to catch up with blogs today, but I am on my old desktop. I am waiting on a new adapter for my laptop. And boy do I miss my laptop!! How spoiled I got from a little convenience like that!! I have also been working - and REALLY enjoying my job. I absolutely love helping people when they come in the store. It's so much fun to share little tricks and ideas! Well, on to my recipe for chicken wings.

Jerry's shop is having a Christmas lunch today, so we contributed the wings. This is one of Jerry's favorite recipes for wings. And it's super easy!

Jack Daniel's Chicken Wings

3# chicken wings

Sauce:

1 stick of butter

3/4 c. Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey

1/4 c. ketchup

1/3 c. hot pepper sauce

Put the wings in your roaster. Combine the sauce ingredients on the stove and bring to boiling. Pour over wings in roaster. Bake at 350 degrees, basting along the way.

LOVE the great taste this recipe brings. The Jack Daniels cooks off so you don't have to worry about an strong alcohol taste. Let me know if you try this recipe!!

Thanksgiving Layout

You've seen these pictures already that I posted from Thanksgiving Day. Today I put them to paper (click on the layout to make it larger). I fell in love with this paper when I saw it - Little Yellow Bicycle diecut and lace paper. Gorgeous!

Along with it, I used: CTMH Colonial White, Vineyard Berry, Olive, and New England Ivy CS, Bazzill flowers, CTMH Chocolate and Colonial White Ribbon, and random buttons. The die-cut leaves, frame, and sentiments were cut using Slice cards.

A Layout and a Pair of Cuties

Okay, so I'll start with this CUTE picture of my furry kids. I happened to come out of my craft room yesterday, and there they were soaking up the afternoon sun. I will tell you that they don't ever sit like this. Miss Chanel #5is just so playful that usually Miss Sassy is batting her. Just goes to show that sibling rivalry happens between house pets, too! If you open up the picture, you'll see that both of them are drifting off to sleep. So funny!



Next I have a layout for you that is going in my "Me" scrapbook. You all know that I'm huge fan of Adam Lambert fan, but it's for more reasons than one might think. Those reasons are what I put in hidden journaling behind the picture. This "You Rock" paper is new from CTMH, and it will be available January 1st from your consultant. That is primarily what I used for this layout - paper. I cut my letters, splats, and large stars from my Slice Just Chillin' card. The flourishes and small stars are "You Rock" stickease. Sunflower brads and sun-colored gems completed this layout.

Now my husband laughed when I showed him this layout. (That coming from the man who has a book with millions of fish scrapped!) But I keep a book that is just layouts about my thoughts and ponderings - things that are important to me. It is dear and a little more private than my other books - lots of hidden journaling. What is important to me is that Shane will have this book and his kids and grandkids will know these things about me that I might not otherwise share. So with all this, I am encouraging you to start your own "me" book. You will be surprised with the layouts oyu come up with!!

Enjoy the Simple Things

I needed to make a couple thinking of you cards this morning, and this 6x6 card is what I came up with. I am always so happy when the sun (albeit a FREEZING below zero sun) streams through the windows so that I can get a really good picture for you!

There are a couple of new items on this card from CTMH. They will be available on January 1st. If you need to know a good consultant, please don't hesitate to ask me. Even though I am no longer a consultant, I know bunches of them that are GREAT, and I would be happy to give you their name!

Items used: CTMH Garden Green and Juniper CS, Veranda Creative Basics paper & ribbon (January 1st), Bazzill flower, CTMH flower (January 1st), CTMH craft button, waxy flax, and corner, Hero Arts stamp, CTMH colonial white pigment ink and prisma glitter.

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.

Bo Bunny Button Challenge 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 for the button challenge 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!!