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.

I've been on staff with SNR now for almost a year, but it's been really hard to share it with you since it's by subscription only. Great news, we have a brand new site that's absolutely gorgeous and we're holding an open house this weekend. Stop by between Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. EST until 8:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, you'll have complete access Double-header, double issue FREE weekend at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. Come get a gander at the site, chat on the forum, join in a challenge, play a game or two and the best part of all, see the inside of the magazine for FREE. Don't delay -- register on our site today. You must be a registered user to play.

back home

There really is no place like home to rest, heal, and recharge. I'm glad I could make the trip out to help my inlaws. My mother in law passed on Friday and we had a small gathering at the house on Sunday before I came home Monday night. I don't have any grand insight or wisdom to share yet. I'm still processing it all. I've never been that close to death before it happened. It's not a pretty or peaceful sight. It's messy and intense, sort of like birth. In fact I'd say it's very similar to birth. When it's over everyone breathes a sigh of relief. I don't mean any disrespect by that, I just mean she went through so much we were thankful that her struggle was over and she could move on to the next journey. Thank you all for the kind words and thoughts and prayers. Shared sorrow is a lighter load to bear.

I'm running off to spend some time with my mom to hang out, do girl things, and have lunch. Happier posts and art coming soon. Thanks for stopping by today.

"You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give." -Eleanor Roosevelt

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

I've taken great comfort in Eleanor's quotes over the years. No matter what life hands me, it seems she has an appropriate quote to guide me. As I reflect on the life of one of the strongest women I've ever met, I'm comforted by these quotes. We received the very sad news this week that my mother in law is losing her battle with lung cancer. She is resilient and opinionated and we hoped just tough enough to win this fight. The cancer fought dirty, didn't follow the rules, and hit areas we weren't expecting. In the midst of her valiant fight she did an amazing thing. She pulled the family back together. She showed my family love and peace. There's no greater gift.

I'll be away for a couple of weeks staying with them to help out. Thank you for stopping by.

These are some projects I made for SNR early in the summer for a kit club review of Mosh Posh. This kit reminded me of Grandma's kitchen, so I had to make a recipe book with it. Love the cherries and bright colors in this.

I know today is a somber day of remembrance, but it's also a day to celebrate our resilience. We are still flying the flag and living our lives free from fear eight years after that devastating day. Thank you to each and every person working to protect our freedom.

all things distress

This is a sample for a new class I'm teaching at Stampfully Yours in Escondido in November. I had so much fun getting inky with this tag book. I can't wait to see how the students change it up and make their own versions of this one. I'm planning to write my favorite quotes in here. Eleanor Roosevelt is sure to have top billing. It would make a fun little art journal or mini scrapbook, too. I'd love to hear how you'd use it.

Other news highlights around here this week:
*High School is still going well, even with homework.
*Hubby is flying out to visit with his family this weekend.
*I noticed on our walk today that the leaves and acorns are falling.
*We're up to our eyeballs in seafood. I'm officially a fishing widow or fish wife or something like that.
*Labor Day weekend around here means garage sale mania and a very happy fish wife.
*The stamping girls came over Monday and we stamped ourselves silly. I love stamping days.
*Tomorrow is yoga day, ahhhh

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a beautiful holiday weekend.

eye candy

Here are a few things I made for a sponsored event at the magazine earlier this summer. The stamps are from Magenta, one of my favorite companies. Thanks for stopping by. Happy September.

first week of high school

I've been afraid to say anything to jinx this magical beginning of high school, but I can't wait any longer to tell you. Kyle loves high school so far. Every single day this week he got up by himself, got ready, including brushing his teeth without me reminding him, and walked to school on time. I must admit that I was on pins and needles all day the first day until he got home. He came in smiling and talking. The first words out of his mouth were about his great math teacher and how cool he is and how he teaches math the way I understand. Music to my ears. I've been hoping for this day for a long time. Math's been a struggle and a drudgery for him for so long. He likes most of his teachers and has a nice schedule of classes. The funniest part of the week was about lunch. He has lunch with his best friend and they were sitting over away from most of the crowd to talk about a video game. He said there was a boy and girl there who were intertwined in ways it was embarrassing to talk about to me. His friend's comment was "oh good, lunch and a show". Just cracked me up. I guess they're getting a fast education in many ways. So, we have a reading list for english and are going to the bookstore this weekend to pick up The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Curtis and I are going to read them, too, since we can't really remember if we read them or not. Should make for interesting dinner conversation. Oh, and I only cried once this week when we chopped the onions for salsa.