MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE STAMP SET

It's a dormant set, so it's not out in the catalog but it is still available.  I am excited to see what Stampin' UP! comes out with in their new catalog, hopefully more stamp sets like SUMMER BY THE SEA where I can play with the WATERCOLOR PENCILS, CRAYONS AND AQUA PAINTER more often.

My sister asked me to make a special card for her and this is what I created!

Supplies needed will be listed below.

PAPER PIERCED CREASE FOR THE LINEN THREAD

**I used the paper piercer to put three small holes in the crease of the card to help keep the LINEN THREAD looking clean.  I used the SNAIL to hold the thread in place on the inside of the card and then put a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"  CONFETTI WHITE CARD STOCK panel on the inside of the card to hide the thread. **

I USED A WHOLE SHEET OF WATERCOLOR PAPER

**I stamped the image three times using BLACK STAZ ON and then played around with the colors until I found what I liked.  The images on the page are the ones I decided against.**  

~SUPPLIES NEEDED~

STAMP SETS:

SUMMER BY THE SEA

A BEAUTIFUL THING

BOHO BACKGROUNDS

CARD STOCK:

CONFETTI WHITE

WHISPER WHITE

NIGHT OF NAVY

BORDERING BLUE

INKS / STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS:

BASIC BLACK STAMPIN' WRITE MARKER

NIGHT OF NAVY

BASHFUL BLUE

BORDERING BLUE

OLD OLIVE

BLUSH BLOSSOM

CREAMY CARAMEL

TAKEN WITH TEAL

BASIC BLACK

STAZ ON BLACK

*WATERCOLOR PENCILS FOR THE HAIR*

ACCESSORIES:

LINEN THREAD

PAPER PIERCER

AQUA PAINTER

STAMPIN' DIMENSIONALS

SNAIL ~ ADHESIVE

MY CRAFT ROOM

**IT ROCKS**

MY DESK / WORK TABLE

It's made from two filing cabinets from the local supply store and a solid wood door from the local home improvement store.  It's nice and big!

CARD HANGER

**I found this in Argentina, I think it is meant to be used for hanging small laundry items when traveling but it works so much better as a way to display projects**

CARD STOCK FILED AWAY ALPHABETICALLY

**I got this idea from my friend Whitney R., what a great way to organize the CARD STOCK.  It's very easy to see what is running low before the next order goes out!**

STORAGE BINS UNDER DESK

**An old bookshelf fits perfectly under the desk and it houses all my scrap DESIGNER SERIES PAPER, templates, sample cards, glue, INK PADS, and tissue paper**

PRE-CUT CARD STOCK FOR CARDS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

**My friend Lisa C. uses this system in her card classes and it just rocks!  The first time I attended one of her classes and saw the CARD STOCK pre-cut like this, I ran home and created my own stockpile.**

LONG BOOK SHELF WITH CURRENT STAMP SETS, RIBBONS, PUNCHES & STAMPIN' WRITE MARKERS

**This was one of my first attempts at making a book shelf!  I made it almost five years ago and it is still holding up.  The back is made of peg board and that has been just awesome for organizing supplies.  I'm not sure if you can see the rack that the ribbon is on, it is made for pegboard organizers!**

STORAGE CORNER, WITH ORGANIZER FOR BUTTONS, BRADS & CLIPS

ADDITIONAL STORAGE!

**The armoire was too big to fit in the bedroom so "sadly" it had to go into the crafting room.**

AWESOME MADE IN THE U.S.A. STORAGE CUBE

** I have really been trying to purchase items made in the U.S.A. lately and can I say they are super hard to find!  While walking through Target, I was surprised to find that this storage cube was made in America.  The system is pretty cool, you can arrange the shelves four different ways.  You can purchase drawers that are as deep as two shelves.  I will definitely be getting more of these cubes.  The drawers I selected hold the 12 x 12 CARD STOCK and DESIGNER SERIES PAPER perfectly.

ALL OF MY RETIRED STAMP SETS

ANOTHER SHOT OF THE AWESOME DESK!

THE SWEETEST LETTER EVER!

My six year old wrote me this letter two days ago after I enrolled at the local Community College.  I will translate below.  :)

From Caitlin

To Mom

Happy first month

of the year

for Mommy getting

a chance to get

in college today

was the first 

meeting and tomorrow

is the second

But she is still

the best at this

stuff --> baking

being a great mom

with the rules figured

out and pet

owner having two

children  Thank you

mom for all the 

stuff you do to

make us happy

(a drawing of lips ~ for a kiss) I LOVE YOU

and of course she added lots of hugs and kisses with the X's and O's.

She, of course, melted my heart with this letter!

STATIONARY SET WITH PROTECTIVE COVER

**I saw this on a new blog I have been watching and decided that I would figure out how to make it.  It is toooooo cute.  I forgot to take photos of the cards that fit inside.  It holds six cards on one side and six envelopes on the other.  I used two pieces of 8 1/2" x 11" CHOCOLATE CHIP CARDSTOCK for the base pieces and then used the SUMMER HOME SIMPLY SCRAPPIN' KIT for coordinating pieces.  I recommend using STICKY STRIP for this project because its hold is super strong.**

COVER OF STATIONARY SET (DIMENSIONS)

INSIDE POCKET DIMENSIONS (TWO POCKETS ARE NEEDED)

**if you click on the photo it will enlarge and you can see the dimensions better**

INSIDE POCKET, SCORED AND CUT WITH STICKY STRIP APPLIED

BACKSIDE VIEW OF THE INSIDE POCKET

COVER (DECORATED)

INSIDE VIEW WITH POCKETS ATTACHED

PROTECTIVE COVER (DIMENSIONS)

INSIDE VIEW OF PROTECTIVE COVER

STATIONARY SET INSIDE COVER

STATIONARY SET COMPLETELY INSIDE COVER

This project wasn't too hard to make, it was time consuming the first time around because I was figuring out dimensions.  Now that I have them, it will be super easy to make.

ABUELA'S TORTILLA DE PAPAS

Have you ever wondered what to do with leftover french fries?  Abuela showed us how to make this amazing dish using leftover fries.  It absolutely rocks!  It tastes as good cold as it does warm.  Mmm mm mm mm mmmmmmmm.

ABUELA GATHERING INGREDIENTS

1 Onion ~ chopped

4 Cups French Fries cut into 1/2" sized cubes.

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 - 4 Jumbo eggs, whisked with just a splash of milk

MIXING THE INGREDIENTS

Saute the chopped onions with 1 Tablespoon olive oil.  Let cool.  Combine onions with french fries and whisked eggs.  Mix well enough to coat the potatoes evenly.

COOKING THE FIRST SIDE

Pour into pre-heated skillet with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Let cook over med / high heat until top starts to set.  (About 8 - 10 minutes)

Abuela was using a gas range so she used a metal heat diffuser to help distribute the heat.

ABUELA GETTING READY TO FLIP THE TORTILLA

THE FIRST FLIP IS COMPLETE

ON THE PLATE READY TO GO BACK INTO THE PAN

BACK IN THE PAN

Cook for another 8 - 10 minutes.  When set in the middle, flip onto rack for cooling.

**be careful when flipping, the tortilla is very hot!**

I GOT THE FIRST PIECE!

DOESN'T THIS LOOK GREAT!

SILHOUETTES OF MY GIRLS

Silhouettes for the girls doors.

I've been thinking of doing this for about a year now and just have not gotten around to actually pulling out the paints and brushes.  After dropping my DH off at the airport, the girls and I made a quick stop by Jo-Ann's and then Hobby Lobby to find a few extra supplies.  Today was my first time ever walking into a Hobby Lobby and can I say OH.MY.GOODNESS.I'M.IN.TROUBLE!  Hobby Lobby rocks!  The store has every possible craft option covered.  My DH thought I was bad at Jo-ANN's & Michaels!  

MWAHAHAHA.

Okay, So I started out trying to trace the girls outlines while they were standing in our biggest closet.  The flashlight was being held by the suitcase strap and I was blocking the light each time I leaned in to put the pen to paper.  So after about 10 minutes of trying to figure out how to make it work we moved into the craft room and closed the shades.  The first few attempts were made with the girls standing in place and that had to be changed to sitting because every time they took a breath their position would change.  We had some very interesting silhouettes in the beginning.  I finally managed to get the lines on the paper before too much movement took place.  I traced the outline onto paper and then cut the outlines out.  I painted the lightest color first, let it dry and then traced the paper outline with a Sharpie.  I then painted the outline with a very fine paintbrush and filled in using 1/4" to 1/2" paint brushes.  The girls love their door art.  

OUTLINES OF THE SILHOUETTES

SHELBY'S FAVORITE COLORS ARE GREEN AND YELLOW

CAITLIN'S FAVORITE COLORS ARE BLUE, PURPLE AND PINK

**I was trying to think of a way to make it all work with three colors and decided that for now two colors would have to do**

TWO SILHOUETTES SIDE BY SIDE

THE CUTEST TREAT BOX

This Treat Box design template was created by Michelle Giraud.

FRONT VIEW

While looking through my favorite blogs I found a photo of this treat box on WISH YOU WERE HERE which had a link to PAPER ADDICTION where you can download a free template after creating an account.  This is the second template I have downloaded for free from the PAPER ADDICTION site.  I think this will make cute Valentine's Day treat boxes for my daughter's class.  

The dimensions of the box are 3" x  2" x 1.5".

The template provided at Paper Addiction gives all needed information for creating this masterpiece.

TREAT BOX ~ OPENED

TOP OF TREAT BOX

**I did cut a piece of CHOCOLATE CHIP CARD STOCK to fit the dimensions of the front flap to sandwich the ribbon tab to clean up the way it looked. **

~SUPPLIES~

Stamp Sets:  Fresh Cuts

Card Stock: Chocolate Chip

Ink:  Chocolate Chip

Accessories:

Designer Series Paper:  Sweet Always

Build a Brad

Stampin' Dimensionals

1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon - Pumpkin Pie

Sticky Strip

Word Window Punch