Study The Masters #15

My 15th lift for Study the Masters was by Cindy Tobey.  Page 54, CK Jan 2011.

Thanks for stopping by!

Play-Doh Therapy

I’ve always admired those who had the talent to sculpt.  I always thought it was an incredible skill, one of which I was lacking.

Especially when I watch cake shows on Food Network. 

But today, the kids were playing with Play-Doh.  I sat down with them to play too.  And because we had some fun colors that I’ve never really played with before (like brown & black), I decided I’d give “sculpting” a shot.  And why not go big by making our dog??

I was quite happy with how my version of “Peppers Anne” (the little dog in our home – although she’s not really that small).  Well, Peppers turned out not half bad!

I also gave a whirl at some roses.  Now, when they are making flowers on Food Network, I’m especially in awe and have always wanted to learn.  The one on the left I made by myself, but Cody did most of the work on the right one. 

Oh me, oh my!  I’m a happy girl!!!  If I could make play-doh roses, I’m sure I can use gumpaste :)

Now for the next pictures, I have to set the scene.  Cody is just such a special boy.  He had to add background material for “Peppers Anne”. 

He made a tree, grass, a water & rock pond, food bowl & more.  But the best part – see that blue in the back.  He had to make a sky for the picture.  So this is the daytime picture. 
And this is the night time picture with the moon.

And of course, he “directed” all the shots.  Yup, I’ve trained him well!!

So my 30 minutes of Play-Doh therapy was well worth it today, and I think I’ve possibly found a way to expand my hobbies….good thing we don’t have a pottery store around here!  LOL

Thanks for stopping by!

Study the Masters #14

Lift #14 is by Susan Weinroth, CK Tips & Tricks Spring 2011, page 46.

I had to do quite a bit of tweeking on this one from the original.  Not something I planned, but my papers/pictures just weren’t working with the original.  But I’m happy with it (and I’m sorry it appears to be on an angle now, it’s really not, but I have a bad picture).

Finishing Off Stacks

I won’t make you fess up, but I know you have at least one stack still sticking in your stash that you’ll never use, but won’t find a new home for………I surely can’t be the only one.

As I was staring at some DCWV paper from one such stack, I was looking at the pattern thinking….ugh….I certainly didn’t buy the stack for this particular sheet. 

But I flipped it over……AND IT WAS WHITE!!!!  Hooray!!!  You see, I’m out of white cardstock…and I happen to have the rest of this stack that at one time was fresh & fun, but is now 3 years old and slightly staler than the day old bread on sale at Walmart. 

Aha!  What a way to repurpose a stack:  use the white backside of single sided stack paper as white paper.

Remember yesterday’s page?  Well, look at the back:

...breaking news....

I had to just sneak in a second quick post today......

One of my pages was chosen for the CK & Me blog highlight!  For the month of February, CK chose three pages submitted that were inspired by published pages.  Well.......my Study the Masters was a perfect fit for this! (yes, I've been submitting them to the magazine as well as posting them on my blog).

So, check this out!!

Thanks for stopping by.....Back to Regular Blogging :)

Study the Masters #13

Finished page #13!!  The original of this one was by Jennifer McGuire, CK Jan 2011, page 48. 

Journaling:  “A few months ago, you found this Lego City train. You have wanted it so badly, but we because it was so expensive, we decided it was something you need to earn.  You are saving every penny, I hope you will understand the value & take care of it.  But while we were in Toys R Us, we let you dream about it until you have enough money.”

Kids & Kids

Thursday afternoon, one of our goats had kids (babies).  We want to hand raise them, and it’s been very cold outside, so the kids have been in the house.  Well, that means the human kids have had lots of fun playing with the goat kids.

C&A have been exercising the goats several times a day.  They think it’s very fun to have the goats walk to them like dogs.  And the goat kids just love the human kids.  It’s pretty cute!!

(The pictures aren’t the best because I had to use my flash….so sorry).

   

Study the Masters #12

I was able to get another page done in my Study The Masters Challenge.  This page was originally by Wendy Sue Anderson, CK Tips & Tricks, Spring 2011, pg 54

Journaling:  You have loved watching Gold Rush Alaska this  year.  You have learned a lot about mining and mechanics.  You have spent HOURS making your own washplant with Legos, always improving it.

(And the funny thing, I should have journaled, he stages all these pictures.  He posed himself and told me exactly when to take the picture!  LOL….silly boy :) )

Just a Quick Post

Don't have much to say today, except that I was flattered & thrilled when I was asked to be the Spotlight Member on ClubCK for the month of February!!!

If you want to take a look, here you go!  (It should be open to view for anyone, but if it does say anything weird, you can create a free social account).

Have a great day :)

Something A Little Different

I made this heart a while before Valentines Day.  I’d had several different plans for it, none of which I fulfilled……but I knew I was going to use it.  I created the files to cut in SCAL  and used the Sew Easy to hand stitch them.  I just had too much time invested in it to not use it. 

But still it sat.  For some reason, I had pulled out this paper by Making Memories and had laid it by the heart.  Oh Goodness!!  How they matched!

But still, it sat.  Now I have to say, this is not like me.  I usually do a project and get it done.

But still, it sat.

Then I was turning off the generator (remember, we are solar powered, so if it’s cloudy, we must run the generator) one day and looked down in the power shed and saw a collage frame we had hanging in our old house.  In it was this picture of my Grandparents.  I knew it would be the perfect conclusion to this page.

But still, it sat.

So nearly another week later, I finally found the courage to cut the heart (as I knew I’d have to to put it on the page as I wanted).  Oh, it almost hurt!! 

But finally, it was done, and didn’t sit, taunting me.

 

I’m trying to get the heart cut files uploaded to a sharing site but am having trouble.  As soon as I get the technical part worked out, I’ll post the link.

Swoon!! New Simple Stories!!

Today, I finally was able to find the peeks of the new Simple Stories kit. 

I'm not sure what the release date is, but they will be coming to my home [:)]  The Destinations is completely new.  I don't really do much travel stuff, but I'm thinking this could *absolutely* be taken out of context and used for other themes.

Oh, and there is some new stamps coming to match!!!  I don't know any more than that....but I might have to become a stamper....





I am loving the Life Documented as well. I had to pull out the remnants of my kit from last year because some of it looked familiar.  I'm thinking parts may be a repeat, but there is a lot that is totally new (but the AWESOME thing is that it will coordinate PERFECTLY with the original Life Documented kit if you have it!!


.


So sadly, I'm only showing teasers right now....BUT, as soon as I know when and how much (I assume it's the same as the last kit $16.99, but I cannot guarantee that), I will let you know!!  I will be placing an order for myself, so I'm glad to order for anyone else interested as well!!  Just let me know & I can e-mail you as soon as they are available.

Rice Krispy Treats

I don’t often make rice krispy treats for the kids.  Okay, I’ve only made them twice.  For two reasons, first, I might as well just give them sugar from the sugar jar for the amount of nutritional value they get…..secondly, in case you missed it, they are MESSY!!!!!!

But the kids really wanted to make some.  So we did.  And surprise, I came up with a super easy way to do it!!!  I used the recipe on the back of the rice krispy box (plus the addition of pink & red sprinkles, because, I mean, really!!). oh, I added vanilla too after it was melted.

(I apologize these pictures aren’t the best….taking the pictures was an afterthought).

We melted the marshmallows & butter on the stove top.  Then took a ziploc bag, sprayed the inside lightly with PAM cooking spray.  Then put half (3 cups) of the rice cereal in the bag.  Pour in the marshmallow mix on top, add remaining 3 cups of cereal.

Seal the bag & dance as you shake it up! (oh, the dancing is optional, but that’s how we do it in my house!)

Now, for the super tricky part…….unzip the bag.  Flop (yes, that’s the technical approach) the contents in a buttered pan.  Invert the bag to get everything out and use the BAG to press the cereal down in the pan! 

No STICKY hands or marshmallow all over the kitchen!!!  Isn’t it GENIOUS!!!!   (But I’m not sure this means rice krispy treats will be a part of our repertoire).

Oh, and enjoy, if you like this kind of treat :) 

It’s All About the Presentation

I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for good presentation…….

I  found this awesome little store in Chelan.  They are really a carpet & upholstery store I think, but they have some  yummy gifts as well.  Last week, I went in to get a birthday present for my mom, and just for the fun of it, I said “hey, do you giftwrap?” 

Well, this is what I left the store with.  I’m a sucker for turquoise & brown together…..

Cutie Pies

I just love how this LO turned out.  One of my favorites I think.  It was off a sketch, funny thing though, I was playing a game called Chinese Whispers on ClubCK (the game is like telephone, the game you used to play as a kid where you whisper a secret to your friend and then it continues down the line)….well, this was a sketch I had happened to see earlier in the day and wanted to use.  So glad I did!  I am just so giddy with it!

Supplies: WeRMemoryKeepers Merry January, misc & Martha Stewart punch

It’s a Shocker!!

Okay, I hope you’re sitting down for this one….I made a card.  Yes, I know….BUT WAIT…..

I STITCHED the card too!!!  It’s a miracle!!!   And I think it was definitely worth the time :)

But don’t go out buying lottery tickets just yet….I tried to “fussy cut” out one of those butterflies.  Well, there is a reason they call it “fussy cut”.  Trust me, I was mighty fussy after about a quarter of the butterfly….then I remembered I had that Martha Stewart punch.  So, despite the butterfly being smaller in scale as opposed to the printed ones, I was much less fussy, so small it is!  LOL

Study the Masters #…something….

Well, I’m pretty sure this is number 11.  Okay, I know it is, but I’m not sure if I’ve posted all the pages here or not…….oops…..guess I might need some ginko biloba…….

original page by Kelly Purkey, CK Feb 20111

 First, don’t you just love the shoes??????  I was trying to take a picture of the shoes, but the kids insisted they needed to be in the picture.  I have to say though, this picture just makes my heart smile :).  I just LOVE this picture.  The journaling says “I love being Mom, but I still like to dress pretty.  It’s the best of both worlds, being a stay at home mom, who still enjoys being fancy. Feb 2011.”

Love you s’more (and s’m winners too!)

The kids made little treats for their friends for Valentines Day.  Super easy.  Melted some milk chocolate chocolate chips.  Broke apart graham crackers.  Used a plastic fork to put a line of chocolate on the cracker, then placed 4 marshmallows in it.  Drizzled more chocolate over the top & added some sprinkles!  Fun little treat :)

 

And now…..WINNERS!!!!!  I decided to do TWO winners this time, so here you are:

a pair of handmade crystal earrings to:  KATHY (angelbaby)

& the grandprize to TINA!!!!

If you can both e-mail me your addresses to amandasherman (at) hughes (dot) net I’ll get those sent out !!!

 

Thanks everyone for joining us & the bloggers who contributed!!  It was a total blast – lots of wonderful inspiration!!!!  I’ll be planning another hop in the Spring :)

Valentines Day Blog Hop

Welcome everyone to our Valentines Day Blog Hop! Over the next few (okay like 18 blogs) you can expect to find all sorts of Valentines love inspiration!

To get us started, I've got a project to share!!  But first, I must confess.....I procrastinated...well....I kinda forgot.....but I do have a little project.  However, my project isn't the special part, it's the technique involved.

You see, I have this infatuation with stamps that have matching dies (paper cutting dies).  However, I'm also a total cheapskate and know that I won't use them enough to justify the expense.....That just leaves me oogling & drooling usually!  :)  But this week I decided to actually make the Valentines Cards for the grandparents I've been meaning to make for, um, the last three years in a row? 

And I have this really cute stamp I picked up (the best part - it's a $1 set by Studio g).  So I used SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot - a software program that allows you to use your computer to cut fonts and other shapes with your cricut - if you want more information - there is a link on the right sidebar over there -->) to creat a shadow of the stamp image.  I then cut it on my cricut.  Viola!!  The poorman's way to make a matching die cut & stamp image!!!  After I cut the image, I then stamped it.  (It's much to difficult to register it correctly to stamp, then cut).

Here's how I used SCAL to trace the image for the die cut. 

Scan either stamped image or the carrier sheet stamp comes one. 
Use Photoshop Elements to turn the image Black & White

In SCAL, go to file menu.  Trace Image.  Browse for image and select preview, then ok.

This is what the traced image will look like.  Go to Object menu - break apart.  Remove any unneccesary parts.

Use the Appearance menu, in Style box, select Shadow Blackout Rounded.  Increase number to around 2.0
(increase or decrease as needed for image).

When you have the desired shadow size, select all (by dragging mouse over it all or with your keyboard ctrl + a).
Go to path menu.  Click union.  (It may take a moment to process). 
Make sure the scale is what you need it to be before cutting.

Now, you get to go see what everyone else has for you :).  Come back here if you get lost.  And be sure to come back after you visit everyone.  Come tell me what project you found most inspiring, because I have a prize!!!  (Oh - and you can earn a second chance to win by becoming a follower (leave a comment telling me you did) - and if you already are, leave me a comment telling me so).

Here is the order of the hop:

Candice (go here next :) )
Gina
Linda
Becky
Andi
Adele
Janice
Kathy
Christy
Briana
Veronica
Traci
Holly
Cassie
Laurie
Jackie
Margie

And if you get lost anywhere, just come back toAmanda's blog - love joy paper

Be sure to come back after visiting Margie for your chance to win the prize!!!

Study The Masters

It’s a special day today, Happy Birthday Mom!!!  I love you!

And on to regular blog business……So, I’ve lost track of what I’ve posted on my blog and what I haven’t.  I’m not giving this one a number today……but I promise, you’ll be okay anyway :).

Original by Lynn Ghahary, CK Sept 2010  And some detail of my new favorite: stitching!!!

Be sure to come back tomorrow – the BLOG HOP happens :) :)

Hand Stitching

I have a new favorite technique!  I’ve been intentional to take more time and put in extra detail into my pages.  Hand stitching has been the technique of choice as of late.

Doesn’t it just add a super yummy finishing touch??

Study the Masters #7

Just wanted to share my 7th page for my self-challenge “Study the Masters”

The original page was by Kim Hughes, CK T&T Spring 2011, pg 17