blog hop with candy

Wonderful Friend Supplies-Cardstock: Stampin Up; Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye; Flower: Making Memories; Gems: Mrs. Grossman's, K & Co; Stamps: Our Craft Lounge; Ink: Ranger; Mask: Advantus; Edge Distresser: Tonic; Other: Linen Thread.
I really enjoyed using OCL cling mount rubber stamps to make this card. First I put a mask down over patterned paper and applied broken china distress ink with a blending tool. I removed the mask and stamped the flowers with the same broken china ink. I love layering inks this way for a subtle look. I stamped the sentiment, the same flowers on the paper flower, and added color to the distressed edges with tea dye distress ink. The flower is folded in half over a loop of linen thread. I like to add a hint of bling to brighten up a distressed card. These gems do the trick.

Welcome to the Scrapbook News and Review/Our Craft Lounge Spotlight Blog Hop. It's a hop to the blogs of SNR staff members who produced art for the Our Craft Lounge article that first appeared in the giant Aug/Sept double issue. Today's your chance to take a peek inside this great digital magazine. Each blog on the hop will give you a look at projects from inside the magazine.

Our Craft Lounge Stamps and Scrapbook News and Review is offering prizes for two very lucky winners. One winner will receive 2 sets of OCL stamps and a 3 month subscription to SNR magazine. The grand prize winner will receive 3 OCL stamp sets and a 6 month subscription to the magazine. Visit the blog of every staff member on the hop, take note of the titles of their featured projects, then drop a note to games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com with the list. Be sure to include your full name, the names of all featured projects, and your email address. Winner will be chosen at random. All entries must be received by 10 pm EST Oct 25, 2009.

Next stop on the hop is Erika's blog . If you're joining us in the middle of the hop, you can find the first blog post at the Scrapbook News and Review Blog. The blog hop will conclude on the Scrapbook News and Review main page where you'll have the chance to read the entire Our Crafts lounge article, and enjoy all of the art and ideas included. Thanks for stopping by today.

Chicken and Dumplings

This is not your grandma's chicken and dumplings, but it's pretty darned good. I can't tell you how many pots of this I made for my mom when she was sick. It seemed to make her happy, so it made me happy. When I found out that my neighbors have H1N1 that has turned to pneumonia, I decided it was time to cook some of this elixir. If you have friends, family, or neighbors with the flu, drop some by. We need to help each other through this flu season. We're going to get our flu shots tomorrow night when I pick hubby up from the airport. He's been visiting his dad this week.

Chicken and Dumplings

Get out a great big soup pot and put a whole chicken in it, without the giblets. If you have chicken parts, that works too. Fill up the pot with water. Add in 1 garlic clove, 1/2 tsp. Emeril's Essence Seasoning, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. or 1 cube chicken bullion, 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion, and bring to a boil. Simmer on the stove for 2 hours. Your house will smell yummy. Take the chicken out of the pot and let it cool enough to handle it. Take all the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the pot. Throw away the skin and bones and garlic if you can find it. Bring back to a boil and here's the tricky part. Cut up a package of flour tortillas into squares about 2" x 2". Put them in the boiling pot, and they will puff up and make yummy dumplings. Whisk together 1/4 c. flour with water and whisk it into the pot. Taste it and add more salt if needed.

My great grandma made amazing chicken and dumplings which involved first catching a chicken from the yard and wringing it's neck. I was pretty horrified by the whole process, but she knew how to make good chicken and dumplings. This version is much easier.

I lost my mojo a few weeks ago. I missed it so much. I need to get ink on my hands. It's good for my soul. I found it, and my spirit is singing. Guess where it was? It was hiding amongst a group of incredibly talented and creative women. To my great surprise I had a nearly full class last night and I agonized about whether or not I could inspire them. They paid good money to learn and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to deliver. Their light and creativity surrounded me and I taught and laughed and learned. Ahh, it's so good to have ink stained fingers. Thank you ladies for all of your creative energy.

I made this tag using my old neglected Tombow Markers. I forgot about those fun little guys. The stamp I used is an oldie, too. It was one of the first used stamps I ever bought and it's made by Rubber Stampede. Here's how I made the tag. First I stamped the apples using a dark red and dark green marker directly on the stamp. Then I colored in the image using lighter colors and a bit of the blending marker. I put the whole thing in embossing folders and embossed it right over the image and words. A bit of distress ink over the embossing makes it pop. That's a piece of vintage measuring tape up there at the top. Stop by 2peas for their free stamp camp classes. Every monday they're posting a new class, and this week is Stamping with Markers by Nichol Magouirk. Thank you for the inspiration, Nichol.

I really want to thank all of you for your support through these last few weeks. It was a rough road, but we all have to travel the difficult roads so we can enjoy the happier times. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by.