Bright Birthday Wishes

Hello!  Today's card was inspired by Debra Burgin's Sunny Birthday card over at her blog, Heartfelt Inkspiration.  Her use of vellum and the striking color combination caught my eye immediately.  To make this card more of my own I omitted the polka dotted label and scallop oval punch, opting for the modern label and large oval punches instead. 

    I stamped the main image with StazOn black and then used blender pens and ink to color in the flowers.  The white card stock was layered onto Basic Gray and vellum was adhered to the white.
     When using vellum it's important to remember that traditional adhesives, such as SNAIL, will show through on your project.  To avoid this faux pas I use vellum adhesive, a specially designed adhesive that is invisible under vellum.  You can find it in the adhesive section of your local craft store.

Stamps: Elements of Style, Bring on the Cake
Ink: StazOn Black, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Vellum

Tools & Accessories: Blender pen, pearls, oval extra-large & modern label punches, vellum adhesive (non-SU), dimensionals

Happy Anniversary!

      Hello!  Today's card was inspired by Sarah Wills' simple notecard over at her blog, Sarah's Ink Spot.  If you haven't had the chance to check out her blog you really should - she's amazing!  To make Sarah's card more of my own I changed the colors, main image and sentiment. 
     In my effort to keep my New Year's resolution of sending special occasion cards to all family members this year I realized that anniversaries should be included.  Of course, an anniversary stamp is THE ONE type of stamp set I don't own, so I had to imrovise.  I wasn't sure if I should use a "congratulations" sentiment (I strongly believe that 27 years of marriage deserves a hearty congrats!) or "best wishes".  In the end I went with the latter, but mostly because the font went better with the First Edition DSP (everything has to be just so...).

Stamps: Great Friend, Vintage Labels (retired)

Ink: StazOn black, Pretty In Pink

Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, First Edition DSP

Tools & Accessories: Grograin ribbon, pearls, Stampin'dimensionals 

The Best Pasta Salad You'll Ever Taste!

  Spring time means grill time for us and although the weather hasn't been cooperating with us up here in NH (brrrrr!) my husband and I just couldn't wait any longer!  I broke out the recipe book and Foreman Grill and cooked up a helping of my favorite summertime meal: Grilled Steak & Pasta Salad!  Words cannot describe just how tasty this pasta salad is!  And there's a BONUS: it's even better the second day once all the flavors have had a change to mingle and get to know each other a bit better!
     I originally found this recipe a few years ago in the weightloss section of Family Circle but you'd never know it's on the healthy side.  Yes, the ingredient list is long but you probably have most of these items in your cabinets already.  This will easily feed a family of 4, with leftovers.

Grilled Steak & Pasta Salad

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons light mayo (fat free not recommended)

2 tablespoons EVOO

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne peper (I don't usually add this)

1/2 pound bowtie pasta (just over 1/2 box for a family of 4 will do)

2 large tomatoes, cut into 1" pieces

1 medium sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced

2 cups corn (fresh is best but frozen will do)

1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/3 cup fresh basil (chopped)

1lb - 1 1/2lb flank steak, seasoned with McCormick steak seasoning and grilled

1. In large bowl, whisk vinegar, mayo, oil, salt, oregano, cumin, and cayenne until well blended.  Set aside.  Bring large pot of water to boil.
2. Sprinkle steak with seasoning.  Grill on gas grill or Foreman Grill until desired doneness.  Let rest 10 minutes and then cut into thing slices.
3. Cook pasata in boiling water, drain and rinse under cold water.
4. Toss pasta with dressing in serving bowl. 
5. Add steak, tomatoes, onion, corn, parsley, and basil to bowl; toss to combine.  Chill 1 hour (we perfer overnight!) and serve with a side of greens.

Blissful Birthday Wishes

     Hello!  Today's card was inspired by tessa.'s Bliss card over at SplitCoastStampers.  I loved everything about her card and decided to change very little for mine.  While this is a birthday card you could easily change the sentiment and turn this into an anniversary, sympathy, or congratulations card.

     For the flourish image I used Cherry Cobbler but stamped the image once on scrap paper before stamping on the Very Vanilla.  This gives the image a lighter look.
    
Stamps: Bliss (SAB set), Bring on the Cake
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, StazOn Black
Paper: First Edition DSP, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery DSP
Tools & Accessories: Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Border punch, pearls, Stampin' dimensionals

Please Help NH Animal Shelters

     Hello!  I never have posts asking for help but I just can't resist asking for your support for an organization near and dear to my heart - the Cocheco Valley Humane Society.  My husband and I have adopted 3 wonderful cats from shelters over the last few years (including this little guy above) and we support the efforts of organizations who are dedicated to caring for abandoned and homeless pets.
     The Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, NH is in desperate need of a makeover (no exaggeration!). Please join the Animal Rescue Site $300,000 Shelter Challenge of 2011 and cast your for CVHS. Participation is as easy as clicking on this link (http://bit.ly/xCy7S) and typing in "Cocheco Valley Humane Society". Once you've selected the shelter click "vote" and your work is done! It takes just seconds and your vote will make a difference!
     In this case the quote "vote early and often" is true: you can vote once a day until the end of the challenge in June! Although getting enough votes to be ranked #1 in the country would be wonderful, even being ranked #1 in NH will get the CVHS a $1000 grant. Please spread the word and remember to vote everyday!

Thank you!

Welcome Guest Blogger Jane!

     I was tickled pink when my niece, Joanna, asked me to be a guest blogger on her Stampin’ Up! blog.  (Of course, she had to explain what that was as I didn’t have a clue ….)  She has taught me everything that I know in the Stampin’ Up! world and I look forward to the regular workshops that our group has with her.     

Little Quilting Bee

      I was sooo excited when I saw the “Sew Suite” stamp set in the Occasions Mini Catalog this winter and could not wait to receive it. I made this card for my quilting buddy, Linda. She was feeling down and I thought this would be the perfect thing to cheer her up. It was the first time I used the beveled windowpanes as well and they really added a great dimension to the card.

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive

Stamps: Sew Suite, Picture This

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Pawsitively Prints DSP

Tools & Accessories: Beveled windowpanes, grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' dimensionals, corner rounder punch

Pin Wheel of Fortune

     I am a huge fan of Dawn Griffith (Dawns Stampin Thoughts) and I get a lot of my ideas from her site.  I can’t remember what occasion she made this pinwheel card for but I loved it and it was so simple.  I used it for my Valentine’s Day cards but plan to use it again for a multitude of occasions.  The DSP and brads were from the Occasions Mini Catalog last year so you can’t get either of them anymore…. but, who cares – your choices are endless!

Paper: Sending Love DSP (retired), Real Red, Pretty In Pink

Tools & Accessories: Square punch, Sending Love brads (retired), Stampin' dimensionals 

Dream Big!

     Ever since I saw Mary Fish in Stampin' Success (a SU demonstrator magazine) I have admired her work and become a follower of her blog, Stampin' Pretty.  A few weeks ago she invited Nicole W. to be a guest blogger.  Nicole created a beautiful card (here) that I knew I just HAD to case.  So here's mine...

   Talk about a multipurpose card - it can be a birthday, graduation or 4th of July card and it can be either feminine or masculine!  The exploding box was made using the small tag punch and I used strips of black paper (curled with a paper piercing tool) to create the 3-D look.  The sentiment was stamped on a piece of Whisper White, trimmed and then adhered to the Cherry Cobbler tag.

Stamps: It's All Good (retired)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Basic Black
Tools & Accessories: Small tag punch, Big Shot, Stars #5 die

Spring is Blossoming!

Spring is Blossoming: April 1 - 30, 2011    
     The Stampin' Up! Spring is Blossoming Promotion offers customers the opportunity to purchase two sneak peek products from the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog. You can get these brand-new products in one of two ways:

1. Order Online:

• Spend $20* on any Stampin' Up! products and become eligible to purchase both the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper.

2. Host a Workshop:

• Host a $350* workshop and get the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper for FREE! 

     *Net sales before tax and shipping.

     E-mail me if you would like to place a combined order with friends or place a single order with me and earn these items for free!

Butterfly Thank You

     Hello!  I made a card today - and it's NOT a birthday card!  It was tough not to pick out a birthday sentiment but I realized that it's time I start thinking about thank you cards for all the wonderful volunteers that help in my classroom. 

     This card was inspired by n5stamper's Garden Whimsy card over at SplitCoast Stampers.  I absolutely love the simplicity of this card and knew this would be a quick and simple card to make in batches.  That is until I realized I do not have a "simple" butterfly and had to use the image from Great Friends.  It took quite a while to carefully trim out all 3 images...  Good thing I DVR'd my soaps and had something to watch!

Stamps: Great Friend, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Marina Mist, Certainly Celery, Bravo Burgundy, StazOn black
Paper: Very Vanilla (smooth & textured)
Tools & Accessories: Pearls, Stampin' dimensionals