Recipe Challenge Monday

Good morning! Here's a little somethin', somethin' to warm you up as the days start to get shorter and cooler. A yummy pumpkin pie latte! Mmmmmmm! This is a homemade version of the ever popular treats found in so many of our favorite coffee shops. I like it, not only because it's delicious, but because it can be made with things you have have readily available in your kitchen, and you don't need a fancy coffee machine to get all the yummy goodness you crave. Enjoy!!!

This page was made with the gorgeous Ambrosia DP from Basic Grey, and the coffee cups were paper pieced from a pad of Cupcake DP, also from Basic Grey. Both can be found at the Scrapbook Store At Your Door. The coffee cup stamps are from Sweet -n Sassy Stamps Warm Up stamp set, and the pumpkin is from Peachy Keen Stamps PK-629. I used my black marker to only ink the outline of the pumpkin, so that I could leave the facial features of the jack o' lantern off of this image. I finished everthing off with some ribbon down the side, and the diamond brads on the cups.

Thanks for joining me today! I always enjoy your visits, and I hope you will come back soon!! Have a glorious day, and happy stampin'!!!

Love Ya!

Sweet Stop Challenge & A Sneak Peek

Good morning, happy weekend, and welcome!! Have you had a chance to stop by the Sweet Stop Challenge Blog? If not, then you should, because there are some exciting things going on. The announcement of the new Sugar Babies Design Team, featuring some fabulous card designers, along with special guest designer spots every month!! As always, there are opportunities for FREE STAMPS and amazing prizes, and of course wonderful sketches for you to try!! My card today is made with the Sweet Stop Sketch for this week, and as a bonus, you are getting a little sneak peek of one of the new stamp sets that will be released on October 1st at Sweet -n Sassy Stamps. This stamp set is so beautiful, and there are many beautiful sentiments included, as well. Be sure to take in the 1 day blog hop on October 1st to get lots of inspiration from the design team using the two new stamp sets being released. I know you're gonna love them!!

I'm not sure what color forget-me-nots are supposed to be, but this K&C0. DP was my inspiraiton for this color palette. This paper has always been some of my favorite, and I've decided not to keep hoarding all my favorites, but actually use and enjoy them. I watercolored the flowers with my SU inks and an aquapainter, and the lace is one of my first attempts at crocheted trim. Oh, is that ever fun, and I love having lacey trim readily available to use on my projects. I need to get busy and make some more. That's a good winter time project, and that will be here before we know it!

Thank you for stopping by today, and I wish you a weekend full of wonderful blessings! May the Lord bless and keep you, today and always!

Love ya!

Lorie

Blog Challenge Blog Hop

Good Friday morning, and welcome! It's the end of another week, but the beginning of a fabulous blog hop! Today starts the Blog Challenge Blog Hop, and it won't end until October 1st. What you might ask is that? Well, 13 challenge blogs have gotten together to present this Blog Challenge Blog Hop. Each challenge blog along the way will have challenges for you to participate in and they're offering amazing prizes!! Peachy Keen Stamps is one of the challenge blogs participating, and I am thrilled to have a card to share with you made with one of my favorite Peachy Keen stamps. Snowmany Thanks is the name of this set, and I absolutely love the sweet expression on this adorable snowman. I also LOVE that twiggy hair! Every time I see this image it makes me smile!!

Here's a little closer look. The sparkle shows up a bit better when you get in close. Gotta have that bling!! *wink* I used my SU inks and an aquapainter to color this image, and my circle nesties for the circle and scalloped circle. The new Fancy Tags Nestabilities are my new best friend, and I used the largest of the three to cut the tag for the sentiment. After cutting the tag, I sponged some Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink over the surface before I popped it out of the die, and I distressed the edges of the snowflakes with it as well. Finally I added some dazzling diamonds glitter for bling, and some half back pearls for dimension, and VOILA!! Please be sure to head over to the Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge Blog to check out all the wonderful creations the design team has created, and welcome our two very talented guest designers, Emma and Lauri! You'll find all the details about the blog hop there, and check out that Blog Candy!! Play along with the challenge and get YOUR name in the hat to win!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for stopping by today, and I wish you a glorious day filled with everything that you love!! Happy Stampin'!!

Love Ya!

Supply List

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, SU Holiday Treasurers DSP, GP White card stock

Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Various SU inks for watercoloring, Chocolate Chip, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo

Stamps: Peachy Keen Stamps: Snomany Thanks

Accessories: Half back pearls, Nestabilities, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 2-way glue pen, Crystal Effects, Grosgrain Ribbon, Martha Stewart Snowflake punch

Monday's Recipe Challenge

Good Morning! Yes, I know it's not Monday, but this was my post scheduled for Monday morning. I scheduled the post ahead of time, because I knew I would be gone on Monday, and guess what? It didn't post! Well, I knew I had other posts scheduled for this week, so I decided to fit this one in on Thursday. See, I really do know what day of the week it is! Our challenge for the Recipe Challenge Blog this week was to "take the cake". Well cupcakes work, and this recipe has been in my husbands family for as long as I can remember. Hi Linda!! (I know my mother-in-law checks my blog sometimes.) These surprise cupcakes are so moist, and yummy. I've seen the Souther clan eat them for breakfast, snacks, and dessert. They're pretty delicious ANYTIME!! The stamp is from the House Mouse line, and is called "A Nibble of Mudcake". It can be found at the Scrapbook Store At Your Door, along with the card stock, and Cupcake Basic Grey 6x6 paper pad (which is where the polka dotted DP came from). I thought the polka dots were so cute, and I decided to carry that theme through to my recipe. Since my recipe was in two parts, it worked beautifully to seperate the different parts into individual circles. I had a lot of fun putting this one together. Please hop on over to the Recipe Challenge Blog and check out all the wonderful recipes that the rest of the DT has come up with! There's always a delicious surprise waiting for you there!!

Thanks for stoppy by, and have a blessed day! Happy Stampin'!!

Love Ya!

SSS Challenge #22

Good morning! Thanks for stopping by today. I have a card to share with you from the Sweet Stop Sketch last Saturday. If you are in need of inspiration, it's a great place to find some beautiful sketches every week. If you play along, and link back to your work, you have a chance to win some free stamps. Yes, I said, "FREE STAMPS"!! Inspiration, and free stamps are all I needed to hear. Well, actually FREE STAMPS is all I would need to hear to get me over there!! LOL!! This week, is the sketch with a spin, and the spin was to use any shade of black, red, and tan.

Isn't this a beautiful stamp? This is one of Chris Dickinson's new digital stamps, Harvest Fruits available at Sweet -n Sassy Stamps. It's such a gorgeous set, and comes with beautiful scripture sentiments as well as the Harvest Blessings title. I LOVE it!!

Thanks for spending some time here today, and I wish you a day filled with glorious blessings! Happy stampin'!

Love Ya!

Supply List

Paper: Textured Black card stock, Sahara Sand, Real Red, Canson Watercolor Paper, SU DSP

Ink: Various SU Inks for watercoloring, Black Stazon,

Stamps: Harvest Fruits from Sweet -n Sassy Stamps

Accessories: Black brads, stitched ribbon, Circle Nestabilities, Fancy Tag Nestabilities,

Peachy Keen Challenge #12

Good Morning!! WOW! What a weekend. It was a whirlwind for us, but I'm back into the swing of things bright and early this morning. Today I'm sharing the Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge #12. I have to be honest, and admit that I did fall short on this challenge, because one of the requirements was for it to have something gold. Well, I intended for that to be gold cord for the hanger, but my gold cord is packed away, and all I had access to was my silver cord. Oh well... the best laid plans! For this little creation, I used my big Sizzix die Snowflakes #2, and cut the snowflake out of heavy white cardboard. The adorable Curly's face is from the PK-481 stamp set, and includes some of the cutest little faces I've ever seen. I colored Curly up with my SU inks and an aquapainter, then once that was finished and dry, I coated the entire ornament with Crystal Effects and sprinked it with clear, chunky glitter. This was such an easy project, but I have to admit that it took me forever to decide what to do. I looked at so many handmade ornaments, and I am so picky about what goes on my Christmas tree. I was determined that whatever I came up with would be something that I would actually use, and this little cutie fits that bill perfectly. I have all kinds of ideas spinning around now with what I could do with him. Wouldn't he make a cute package topper? I love to wrap presents, and this little guy would look so cute peeking out from under a sparkly handmade bow! Oh, the possibilities are endless!! Now, that's a great challenge when you can get excited about all the possible uses for a project you've just completed. Please hop on over to the Peachy Keen Challenge Blog, and play along with this challenge. I could definitely use some more ideas for ornaments, and I'd love to see what you have up your creative sleeve!

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm blessed that you could spend some time here, and I hope you have a glorious day! Happy Stampin'!

Love Ya!

SNSS Autumn Blog Hop

Good morning! Welcome to day three of the Sweet -n Sassy Stamps Autumn Blog Hop! There have been some gorgeous creations along the way, and if you are just getting started, please do go to the SNSS Blog, and begin your hop with Day 1. I know that you won't want to miss one single stop along the way!! If you came here from Lisa's Blog, then you are right on track.

The card I made to share with you is made with the Turkey Day stamp set from Sweet -n Sassy Stamps. This is such a great set, and I love all the cute sentiments that go with it. I did some paper piecing on this little guy using Basic Grey papers from the Boxer collection. I decided to use some linen thread to do the stitching on the corner, and ties for the buttons to give this a little more of a rustic feel. The sketch for this card is from the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge. I've been wanting to play along with their challenge since they started, and this is my first chance to participate. The talented Lisa Hjulberg (whose blog you just left) is their challenge coordinator. She's such a sweetheart, and one very creative lady as well. Thanks you for sharing and inspiring us, Lisa!!

There are so many wonderful challenges out there, and I hope that you've gotten to play along with the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge posted every Saturday, and sponsored by Sweet -n Sassy Stamps. There's always a chance for a great prize for those who play along, and this week, Korin is giving away both of the new releases, You Light Up My Life , and Waddle I Do? stamp sets to the challenge winner! If that's not incentive to play along, I don't know what is!! Free stamps!!! Woohoo!

As always, I'm so happy you could stop by today. You'll need to head to the Sweet -n Sassy Stamps blog for your last stop on this 3-day creative journey. Enjoy your Friday, and I wish you and yours a very blessed weekend!!

Love Ya!

Supply List:

Paper: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Basic Grey Boxer DP

Ink: Black Stazon, Various SU inks for watercoloring

Stamps: Sweet -n Sassy Stamps Turkey Day

Accessories: SU Playground Buttons, SU Old Olive striped ribbon, Linen Thread, Nestabilities, White Gel Pen

Sack Lunch Recipe Challenge

Good morning, and happy Monday!! What a beautiful weekend we had here!! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, with highs in the upper 70's, blue skies, and lots of sunshine!! Where on earth is is like this all the time, because that's were I want to be!!

It's Monday, and with every Monday comes another Recipe Card Challenge. This week, it's sack lunches, and I decided to share this recipe for Gingerbread Caramel Corn. This is such a yummy treat for the kid's lunch box for this time of year, and or the holidays! I love this take on the traditional caramel corn, and I hope you like it too! For this card, I used card stock, Basic Grey Paper, the Let's Do Lunch Sentiment, and the polka dot grosgrain ribbon all from the Scrapbook Store At Your Door. The gingerbread man is from the PKS Winter Peekers and Phrases stamp set. I got to use my new Fancy Ribbon Tags from Spellbinder on this card, and I absolutely LOVE them!! They are large enough to fit many sentiments. I think I'll be using these alot!!

Here's a little closer look at this recipe card. I of course had to add my bling with the chunky glitter, and some teardrop shaped rinestones on each side of the sentiment. I finished this one off with the pretty buttons on the bottom just to balance things out a bit.
Well, I've got to get busy today. The dogs have appointments at the groomer, and it's almost time to make that trek. They hate it, but the'll get over it!!

Thanks for stopping by today, and I wish you a day filled with blessings for you and yours!

Love Ya!

Watercoloring 101

Good morning, and happy Friday to you! Another week has come and gone, and I'm sitting here trying to figure out where it went!! I've had several friends ask me about watercoloring, so I thought I would share this card from the July Sassy Stampers club meeting. Many of the girls in stamp club have mentioned at times that they would like to go a little deeper in to the watercoloring than where watercolor crayons, and pencils can take them. This is very basic watercoloring, and one color shading. Most of the time, I use at least 3 colors to shade my images, but you can get a good depth of color with just 1 ink by starting with a sheer layer, and building your shaded areas with a stronger ink/water ratio. My favorite way to watercolor is with my SU ink pads and an aquapainter. Sometimes I use a drop of reinker in the lid of my ink pad, if I want more intense color, but most of the time, I just squish the ink into the lid directly from the pad. If you don't have all of the ink pads you'd like, but you have the markers, you can scribble with your maker onto a plastic lid, and pick up the color with an aquapainter that way. It's a little hard for me to explain how it's done, because I'm self taught. I took what I learned as a tole painter, and have had LOTS of trial and error learning to use ink as my medium, rather than acrylic paint. I usually work on coloring several images at once, and they are all in varied stages of completion, so I always have something to work on.I cased the layout of this card from the amazing Diana Gibbs. This would be about as clean and simple as I get when creating cards, so you'd better look quick, because it probably won't happen very often!! ;-) Below is the recipe for Happy Earth Chicken Skillet that Margie shared with our group for her hostess month in July.
Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'm wishing you a glorious weekend full of everything that you love!! Happy Stamping!!

Love Ya!

Good morning!! It's been a doozy of a morning for me, because Blogger has decided that it won't upload any of my pictures. FINALLY I got my picture to load, but I'm still not able to upload through Blogger. I uploaded to Photobucket, then added that link into the photo upload process on Blogger. Whew!! I'm learning things I really don't care to know, but I guess it's good to learn all the ways around a particular problem. I hope whatever this is with Blogger isn't going to affect my uploads like this all the time, or I may pull my hair out!!!

On a happy note, this card is made with Sweet -n Sassy Stamps Happy Harvest set. Sweet-n Sassy is sponsoring the CPS challenge today, which is yet another fabulous sketch. Check out the links to all the Design Team girls participating. There's some amazing talent on this team, and you're gonna love what they have to share!! Ceal, Chris, Korin, Nancy, Courtney, Teresa, Jeanette, and Janette, always have fabulous creations for inspiration.

I added some hand stitching to the edges of the card, and I did a blanket stitch around each of the images. I find that so relaxing to sit down and do while I'm watching TV. It's very therapeutic. The DP is from Stampin' Up!, and I added some dew drops and grosgrain ribbon for embellishments on this 5x7 card. I think I was technically supposed to do a Christmas themed card with one of Sweet -n Sassy Stamps new releases, You Light Up My Life, and Waddle I Do?, but I guess I was so excited to ink up this Fall set that I'd received that it slipped my mind. Oh well, my intentions were good!!

I'd love to give a shout out to our very sweet Design Team Coordinator, Sandy Domelle, and wish her a happy birthday! May you have a glorious day, Sandy!!

I truly thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have been inspired by what you've seen, and I look forward to your next visit! May you have a blessed day!

Love Ya!

SNSS Sponsors CPS

Good Morning! Well, apparently Blogger is having issues, because it won't upload any of my pictures for this post. Today Sweet -n Sassy Stamps is hosting the CPS sketch, and below you will find the link to my card. It's a great sketch, and gave me the opportunity to make a 5x7 card, because I wanted plenty of room to use these wonderful stamps. I love making big cards!

This is the best way I could think of to do this until Blogger is working as it should again. I will continue to work with it throughout the day to make my post a bit prettier. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I guess this is as good as it's gonna get for a while.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq179/lorie64/SNSSCPS.jpg

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for your patience while I try to rectify this situation. May God bless and keep you today and always!

Love Ya!

Lorie

Peachy Keen Challenge #11

Welcome, and good morning to ya! Are you like me... Feeling like today is Monday? I'm still not a fan of those Monday holidays, because it messes with my entire week. I know many of you enjoy those three day weekends, and I understand, but I will be a day behind for the rest of this week. Sheesh!! Like I need any help in feeling "behind"!! :-)

Have you seen anything as cute as this baby monkey stamp? Isn't she just adorable?? I made this card for the Peachy Keen Challenge #11, but I also made it for my friend, Crystal who just had a gorgeous baby girl, little Maggie about a week ago. New babies are so precious, and I'm looking forward to being a great aunt very soon. Babies, babies everywhere!! What a joy!!

This card was made with the Baby Monkey stamp from Peachy Keen stamps. I colored her up with my SU inks and an aquapainter/blender pen. The DP is from the retired Tea Party collection from SU. I used my circle, and petite scalloped circle Nesties for framing the image, and added embellishments with hand stitching, ribbon, a lace edge made with a Martha Stewart punch, and SU latte buttons. Of course, not many cards are complete for me without bling, so I opted to add rinestones to her little socks, and the top of the umbrella. The sentiment is from Sweet -n Sassy Stamps Baby Blessings stamp set.

I'm so happy to have this card finished. I've had a plan for it for quite a while, and I knew I wanted to use this oh, so cute stamp. When I saw the sketch for this challenge, I was thrilled with how well it worked into my plan. Not all cards come together this easily, but when they do, it's something to celebrate!! Have a happy day, and happy stamping! Please come back soon!

Love Ya!

Recipe Challenge Monday

Hello, and Happy Labor Day! What a beautiful weekend it has been for us! I hope your weekend has been fabulous too. For today's Monday Recipe Challenge, we are to share a recipe that is suitable for a back yard B-B-Q. While I realize this page doesn't look like a typical picnic/BBQ page, this recipe is one that I have made for BBQ's and carry-in dinners so much this summer that I don't even have to check the ingredients and amounts anymore. I know it by heart!! The original recipe was shared by my friend/upline, Nancy Williams, and called for sour cream. I did add my own twist to it, and substituted vanilla yogurt for the sour cream, and I added a little vanilla to the mix. It is so very simple, and so tasty. I have been asked for this recipe countless times, and my aunt and grandpa could eat this every day. It keeps well for several days in the refrigerator, although it seldom lasts very long around here!!

This page is another 6x6 pocket page. I do love the look of the pocket pages, and they are so much fun to make. The 6x6 paper is from Basic Grey's Wisteria collection. The paper and fibers can both be found at the Scrapbook Store At Your Door. I thought the dragon flies worked very well for this summer theme, and the colors were perfect for the purple and green colors I wanted to use. I made the grape cluster with a one inch circle punch, and added some shading and highlighting with my SU ink, and a white gel pen.

Thanks for joining me today. Be sure to check out the Recipe Challenge Blog for all the great samples by the rest of the design team! Have a wonderful day, and please come back soon!!

Love Ya!

Kit Cats On The Loose!!!

Hello, and a very happy Sunday to you! I hope you are enjoying a nice, long and relaxing holiday weekend. There are so many things around here going on this weekend, and unfortunately, I haven't had time to take in too many of them. I almost forgot to upload my card for the August Kit Cat group, and if I hadn't checked my email this morning and seen that some of the girls had sent notifications of their postings, I WOULD have forgotten!! Sheesh!! I don't know about me... Sometimes I need a keeper!! A few weeks ago one of my fellow SCS friends and member of our ever so wonderful Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards (Kelly) asked if I would like to participate in a monthly card kit club, where the members would each receive a card kit with the same images, a variety of papers. The only rules are to use the image provided, and then the sky is the limit. Of course I can't pass up too many direct challenges, so I jumped at the chance to join the group!!

This is my card for the August Kit Cat Challenge. The adorable girlfriend image is a Stampavie stamp by Leere Aldrich. It paired up perfectly with the sentiment from the Warm Up stamp set from Sweet -n Sassy Stamps. I colored these beauties up with my SU inks, and an aquapainter, and Kelly was kind enough to include some beautiful sparkly brads and prima flowers for embellishments this month. Of course, I had to add some bling, because I rarely make a card without sparkles, or ribbon. Why stop at one? I used both on this baby!!! I have to tell ya, this was so much fun, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the girls come up with. Please go check out Jeanette, Kelly, Michelle, Catherine, and Susan's blogs to see what wonderful creations they've come up with using this image. Next month it's my turn to hostess this swap, and I have a 3-D project planned. Those packages will go out this week, girls, so be looking for them!!

Thanks for stopping by today, and may you be blessed with everything that you love today and always! Happy Stamping!!

Love Ya!

Sweet -n Sassy Release Party Blog Hop!!

Good morning, and welcome to Sweet -n Sassy Stamps September Release Blog Hop! If you came here from Lisa's amazing blog, then you are on the right track. Should you have stumbled upon this post, then by all means, go to the beginning where Belinda's Blog will get you started on this creative journey. I wouldn't want you to miss even one of the gorgeous creations along the way, so please be sure to check them all out. If you get lost along the way, there are links below to all the very talented DT members participating, and you can click on one of those to get you back on track.

We are celebrating September's release with two new Christmas/Winter stamp sets for you to choose from, or you can get both sets, including shipping for less than $15.00. Goodness!! That's a deal!! Hop over to Sweet -n Sassy Stamps website, and get your You Light Up My Life, and Waddle I do? sets ordered and on their way to you. They are sooooo cute, so what are you waiting for ? Order yours TODAY!!

I am thrilled to be using the You Light Up My Life set for my card today. This happy little snowman melted my heart from the first time I saw him, and I know that the creative possibilities with this fellow are endless!!

I was so happy to have a project to use my new Shimmerz Paint on, and below you will find a closer view of how pretty and shimmery it really is. What a fun way to add something extra to your holiday cards and projects!! I used Crystal Effects and chunky glitter for the snow, and I added rinestones to the lights for some added twinkle. Your next stop on along the way will be at the ever so talented Nancy's blog. I bet she's got a gorgeous creation waiting for you. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and please come back again soon! May God bless and keep you today and always! Happy Stamping!!

Here is a list of Design Team members participating in today's release hop:

Belinda

Ceal Pritchett

Chris Dickinson

Connie Babbert
Courtney Fowler
Deedee Anderson
Janette Olen
Jeanette Comerford
Korin Sutherland
Leah Cornelius
Lisa Hjulberg

Lorie Souther
Nancy Brown

Nicole Anderson
Sandy Domelle

Shannon Pankow
Teresa Kline

Love Ya!

Supply List

Paper: Baja Breeze, Canson Watercolor Paper, Chocolate Chip, Parisian Breeze Specialty Card Stock

Ink: Various SU Ink Pads for watercoloring, Chocolate Chip

Stamps: You Light Up My Life (Sweet -n Sassy Stamps)

Accessories: Shimmerz Paint, Whit eGel Pen, Rinestones, Crystal Effects, Glitter, Aquapainter/Blender Pen, Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper piercing template, and Paper Piercing tool.