Silly Saturday

Have a great weekend, friends!

Winner Announcement and a Couple of Cards...

Happy Friday, Peeps! Well, I used my uber-scientific method of random selection for the giveaway detailed at the end of my Craft Room Reveal post, (placing the number of comments in a bowl and drawing one out - LOL!!), and the winner is Deb Neerman who left comment # 1:

Congrats Deb, and thanks for the sweet comment!! Please email your mailing address to me and I will get the 3 issues of Simply Handmade in the mail to you ASAP!! Also, thanks to everyone who left a comment...I love reading what you have to say and appreciate you so much!! (Be sure to check my blog on Sunday for information on another giveaway!! I am the Design Team host for Scrap-It-Girl's July Challenge, "Good Things Come in Small Packages", so I will have a fun mini altered scrapbook tin tutorial to share with you as well as information on how you can enter to win the prize that will be given away!)

Earlier this week I attended a Stampin' Up! party at the home of my friend Pam W. The demonstrator, Kathy D., (who I go to church with!), had us make two really pretty cards, so I thought I'd share them with you today. I LOVE the clean/simple look of both cards, don't you??

The first one is a birthday card that I will give to my friend Robbi, who has a birthday on July 4th. (So, Robbi, if you are reading this post you now know what your card looks like - ha! ha!)

The second card is a thank you card...I really love the color combo on this one and the use of paper that looks like old book print:

Have a fun and safe weekend!

At Last!! My Craft Room Reveal! (Oh, and a Giveaway too!!)

NOTE: This is a "sticky post" and will remain at the top of my blog through June 28th. Please scroll down to read newer posts - thanks!

Hi, All! This is a pretty lengthy post, but I finally finished redoing my craft room so thought I'd share the pictures with you today. Also, by simply leaving me a comment at the end of this post through June 28th, your name will be entered in a drawing to win the 3 issues of Simply Handmade shown in the photo at the end of this post. (It's one of my faaaaavorite crafty publications, and these issues are packed with lots and lots of great projects and inspiration!!) The winner's name will be drawn and posted on June 29th!

Anyhoo...let's get started with the craft room reveal! First off, here is a photo of the room as you enter through the door:

I just love vintage fabrics, and have several pieces, so that was the color inspiration that I used throughout the room...shades of red, aqua blues, greens and yellows. The table is topped with a vintage tablecloth that my mom gave me. (She has photos of me on my first birthday sitting in front of my birthday cake on her table topped with this very tablecloth!) Mike had a piece of glass cut for the tabletop to protect the cloth and give me a firm work area to work on my scrapbooks and paper craft projects, or to set up my sewing machine. (Trust me, my work area is rarely this clean...so I thought I'd better take a photo before it looks like a craft supply bomb went off in there - ha! ha! ha!)

I found the red chair cushions at Wal-Mart for only five bucks each, and I made the "CREATE" sign above my work table. The frame was on clearance at Hobby Lobby for only a buck - SCORE! - so I purchased some burlap and MDF wooden letters, (which were on sale!), and went to work. I started by painting the edges of the letters with black paint. I traced the letters onto some of my favorite retired CTMH designer paper, cut them out, and Mod-Podged the paper to the letters. Using spray adhesive on cardboard cut to fit the frame, I attached a piece of burlap. I then overlapped and staggered the letters and attached them to the burlap. TADAH - a cute and inexpensive sign...costing me only about ten dollars to make!

In previous posts I revealed that the old crates on the wall hold my stamp pads, acrylic stamps, button jars, acrylic blocks, etc. The cubby storage unit, which was a birthday present from my folks, houses all kinds of goodies such as jars of ribbon, some wood mounted stamps, cutting tools, Xyron machines and adhesive, spools of ribbon, etc. (Click HERE and HERE to see close-up photos from those posts.) On top of the cubby unit is my Cricut machine as well as a couple of cute and functional metal planters, which hold scissors, adhesive, rulers and other tools.

Here's a close-up photo of the corner shelf seen in the photo above:

My terrific father-in-law made this awesome corner shelf for me many years ago, and I just love it! The jars on the shelves, (which I purchased at Tuesday Morning for only three dollars each!), hold some more of my wood mounted stamps, lace, brads, and other miscellaneous embellishments. The old crock sitting on the floor was given to me by my mom as well, and I store rolls of kraft paper there. Throughout the room you'll see lots of vintage ladies handkerchiefs...all of them belonged to my grandmothers and Mike's Grandma Minnie. I just love the prints and colors of them, even though some of them are faded and worn from lots of use!

On top of the corner shelf, on either side of the geranium arrangement, you'll see more jars...yes, yes, I know...I have a "jar hoarding problem"! LOL!! Here's what they look like up close:

My mom found these jars with the unusual lids at a yard sale, and bought them for me. I think they are perfect for holding jute twine...and the lids make it easy to pull and cut off what I need when I'm crafting!

On the opposite side of the room, across from my work table, is a comfy chair and ottoman next to the window. (My dear friend, Linda H. gave these to me when she moved last fall and was down sizing - thanks Linda!!) I love sitting here working on needlecraft projects and reading! The pillow on the chair was crocheted by my Grandma Franklin, and she gave it to me several years ago. The long shelf on the wall was built by my father-in-law as well, and it holds some of my favorite little things. (My collection of Willow Tree figurines, my Grandma Franklin's old glasses, my Grandma Buckallew's old quilting thimbles and fabric tape measures, my silver baby spoons, an antique lock and key from my Grandpa Buckallew's workshop, etc.) The framed photos on the wall are some of my favorites of Justin when he was a little boy.

The old pottery bowl, sitting on the small stool next to the book shelf, holds my yarn, crochet and knitting needles. (For when I finally have time to teach myself how to crochet and knit - ha! ha!) The bowl belonged to Mike's grandmother and the little 3-legged milking stool was made by my father-in-law as a gift to Justin when he was just a toddler.

As you can see, my sweet little dog Tony likes to hang out with me in my craft room! Here are a couple more pics of Tony hanging out with me:

Such a silly dog...he likes to crawl under the ottoman and nap...here he's only half-way under it and doesn't think I can see him!

And here's my good boy posing for me...gosh I love this adorable little guy!! Anyhoo...moving on...

This book shelf was also given to me by my friend Linda H. when she down-sized, and it houses some of my scrapbooks and craft books, along with bins and baskets of more crafting supplies. The pretty apple plate displayed on the top shelf was given to me by my brother-in-law Don's mom, Opal, who was a painter. (She was such a lovely and talented lady!!) On the wall to the left of the book shelf are ribbon boards that I am always tucking pictures of friends and family and memorabilia into. It is one of those things that just makes me smile every time I look at it!

Behind my work table is the closet which houses more craft supplies. To the left of the closet is a basket tree that my father-in-law built for me too. (I am SO FORTUNATE to have a terrific father-in-law who likes to do woodworking projects and makes me things!!)

The little stool also used to belong to my friend Linda H., and I inherited it as well. It is the perfect place for my radio/cd player to sit, and I added a couple of cute vintage handkerchiefs to the top. I made the cross-stitched piece on the wall and gave it to Mike back in 1990...I just love those cute little bunnies and the 'Happiness Is' saying:

I haven't had time to finish cleaning out and organizing the closet where I keep more supplies, but I'm going to show you photos of it anyway! In the first photo you can see that I have several tilt bins hanging on one of the closet walls to hold small embellishments. I also keep my Cropper Hopper and some drawers full of supplies in there as well.

Here is a photo of additional drawers and shelves of supplies in the closet. Like I said, I am still working on/organizing the closet space, so it's not "perfect" yet!

Now for the giveaway information! If you leave a comment for me on this post, sharing your favorite craft or organizing tip, your name will go into a drawing to win these three issues of Simply Handmade. You have until June 28th to post your comment...please leave your contact information in the post as well, so that if your name is drawn I will know how to reach you! The winner's name will be posted on June 29th.

Thanks for taking the time to "tour" my craft room...I hope that some of the storage ideas that I shared will help you create a fun and functional space of your own!

Wishing you a blessed day!

Melissa's Great Summer Giveaway Info...

Good morning, Friends! You'll want to hop over to Creating from the Heart to check out the AWESOME summer giveaway from Melissa! You have until July 16th to register for these super goodies:

♥ We R Memory Keepers Lucky 8 Punch, Eternal Heart  

 ♥ Simple Stories Summer Fresh Collection

♥ Fancy Pants Time for Spring Kit
 

♥ Kaiser Craft The Lakehouse Clear Stamp
 

♥ Kaiser Craft The Lakehouse 6.5 x 6.5 Paper Pad
 

Click HERE for all of the giveaway details, and while you're visiting Melissa's blog, be sure to check out her BEAUTIFUL artwork...she makes the most stunning cards!!

Have a super day!

Recipe of the Week: Strawberry Cookies-n-Cream Dessert

This is the EASIEST dessert ever!! So light and fresh...perfect for summer!

I started out by crumbling 2 Almondetta cookies in the bottom of a glass. (I stumbled upon these MEGA yummy cookies at CVS pharmacy while I was picking up a prescription. Best of all...they were only a dollar a package - score!) I then put a spoon of Cool-Whip Lite on the crumbled cookies; then some fresh sliced strawberries; and then added another dollop of Cool-Whip for good measure. I topped it all off with another strawberry and a few more cookie crumbs. SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!

Have a blessed day!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Recipe of the Week: Creamy Parmesan Chicken Stuffed Shells

My best bud Jamie had sinus surgery last week, so to help her out I made a pan of my Creamy Parmesan Chicken Stuffed Shells for her sweet family for supper. It's a yummy dish that can be made ahead, if needed, and kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days until you're ready to bake it. Here's how it's made:

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chicken breast, undrained
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 soup can of milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 20 jumbo pasta shells

Method:
Cook pasta shells in salted boiling water and drain. (NOTE: Do not over cook pasta!) Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, parsley flakes, chopped onion, paprika, salt and pepper into a large mixing bowl. Empty canned chicken breasts and liquid into a small bowl. Using a fork shred the chicken, and then empty chicken and liquid into bread crumb mixture, stirring until combines. Beat egg and add to chicken and bread crumb mixture. Using a spoon, begin filling the shells with the chicken/bread crumb mixture. Place filled shells into a buttered baking dish. Once all shells are filled and in baking dish, whisk together soup and milk. Pour soup mixture over shells and top with shredded chedder cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with salad and hot rolls....delicious!

Wishing you a blessed day!

Quote Sunday

Happy Father's Day!

Silly Saturday

Technology goes too far...

Wishing you a wonderful Father's Day Weekend!!

Blog Slacker...Yup That's Me!!

I've been a big 'ole blogging slacker this week!! I have several projects in the works, honest I do, but I haven't completely finished any of them, so I haven't been able to post much - oh, well! I promise to get photos and tutorials of my projects posted soon!!

Anyhoo...I spent the morning working in my flower beds and made this BEEEEAUTIFUL bouquet from some of the flowers I grew. The old enamel pitcher was given to me by my Grandma Franklin many, many years ago, and I love it....chips, scratches, rust spots and all!! I placed a glass vase inside the old pitcher for the water, so that I wouldn't have any leaks on my dining room table.

It's so stinkin' humid outside...I'm a drippy, sweaty mess...so I'm headed for the shower and then I'm gonna drink a big 'ole glass of sweet tea. Man, I looooove bein' on summer break!! :) Have a good day, friends!!

Blessings,

Quote Sunday

"Those who dream by day are

cognizant of many things which escape

those who only dream by night."

~ Edgar Allan Poe ~

Silly Saturday

Have a great weekend!!

Cowboy Cookie Jar

Here's my most recent trash-to-treasure project...it's a large pickle jar that I transformed into a fun "Cowboy Cookie Jar" for my son! After washing the jar and removing the labels and old adhesive, my hubby spray painted the lid black for me. I then simply tied a bandana around the upper portion of the jar and made a distressed tag with kraft cardstock, ink and alpha stamps. I tied the tag to the bandana using jute twine and added a little cow charm just for fun...here's a close-up view of the tag:

Lastly, like any good momma would, I filled the jar with yummy chocolate chip cookies before sending it home with my son! ;)

Wishing you a wonderful Friday!!

Recipe of the Week: Chunky-Monkey Sweet Bread

It's been a busy week and it's only Wednesday - ha! ha! I've had several errands to run the past couple of days, along with a dentist appointment yesterday, so I haven't been home to do much of anything. My best bud Jamie and I met for lunch at the Olive Garden today, and then went to see Snow White and the Huntsman at the theater. It was a fairly good movie...on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give it a 7; but getting to spend time visiting and laughing with my friend was the best part of the day!

Now to share the Recipe of the Week with you, which is a sweet bread loaded with white chocolate chips, pecans, and dried cranberries. The top has a sugar crust, which adds a nice texture to compliment the moistness of the bread. It is delicious served warm with just a little butter spread on top; but it's equally as tasty when it's served cool with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. It can be made into one regular-sized loaf, but as you can see in the photo above, I chose to spread the batter between 3 mini loaf pans so that I could send one loaf home with my son, put one up in the freezer, and have one for Mike and I to snack on!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 large, ripe bananas, cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup pecans
• additional granulated sugar to sprinkle on top

Method:
In large mixing bowl combine first 7 ingredients, making a well in the middle of the dry mixture. Add milk, eggs, butter and bananas to well and beat on medium speed until combined. Fold in dried cranberries, chips and nuts. Pour batter into one regular loaf pan, or divide batter between 3 small loaf pans, that have been coated with butter. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top of the batter in each loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes for the small loaves, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaves comes out clean. Cool in loaf pan(s) for 5 minutes, then turn loaves out onto a cooling rack. Once loaves are cooled, wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve. Wrapped loaves may also be placed in Zip-Loc bags and frozen until ready to use. Enjoy!

Have a blessed day!

Scrap-It-Girl's June Challenge: Punches!

Happy Monday! I hope that you enjoyed a relaxing weekend! We received some much needed rain and are so thankful that we had cooler temperatures for a couple of days! After one of the rain showers we had on Friday afternoon our temps were in the 70's, so I enjoyed spending time working in my flower beds that evening. Here's a photo of one of the GORGEOUS hydrangea bushes growing along the back of our home:

Now on to the information about Scrap-It-Girl's fun challenge for June...use punches in your project! If you're like me, you probably use punches quite a bit in your crafting projects. They are incredibly versatile and can easily turn an ordinary project into an extraordinary project!! Here's what I created for this month's challenge:

First off is an altered composition notebook. I covered the outside and inside covers with a pretty paper from CTMH. I then added a quote, ribbons, lace, a decorative key, a button, pearls, a punched butterfly and layered punched flowers.

Click HERE to see the technique I used to create the layered flowers:

The next project that I created for the challenge is a card using a butterfly punch and a corner rounder punch:

I added ribbon, flowers and pearls to this project as well. I also punched a piece from an old book page and adhered it to the right wing of the butterfly, and stamped the cardstock on the left wing and body section of the butterfly for a little added detail.

The punch challenge runs until June 30th, so I encourage you to click HERE to link up a couple of projects of your own! The fabulous prize package this month is being sponsored by my fellow Design Team Member Maya...here's what the challenge winner will receive:

• DCWV All Chalked Up cardstock matstack
• Fiskars Limited Edition Under The Tree squeeze punch
• MME Stella Rose stamp set
• Small pillowbox full of random treasures

Don't forget to also check out Maya's WONDERFUL blog!! She is uber-talented!!! Click HERE to go to her blog to be inspired!!

Wishing you a TERRIFIC week, friends!