Lovely as a Tree (again)

What a gorgeous day here.     I am getting ready to run my Saturday errands but wanted to show you yet another Lovely As a Tree card.    This is a total CASE of msbmom2’s card (HERE).    The picture of her tree turned out more sparkly – I couldn’t get my picture to show the sparkles.     I love how it turned out.

My bathroom will be “kind of” finished this week.    The countertop is ready and will be installed on Thursday.    I have been working on this since last winter.    I had to get a cabinet made (because of plumbing), then had to wait for “Handyman Dan” (he is booked 4 months  in advance).   Now the countertop is ready.    My house (especially the bathroom) is tiny.    So I had the countertop elongated to go over the toilet.   Here is the kicker though – the guys installing the countertop “won’t” hook up the plumbing.    A friend is going to do it for me, but is out of town next week.   So while the bathroom will look functional – I still won’t be able to use the sink :(.       I guess I can wait a few more days for him to do the hook up.     Today I hope to find a shower curtain, accessories, etc.     Wish me luck.

Christmas in July - Lovely as a Tree

I am holding a Christmas in July class next month and just finished off the samples of the 4 cards we will be doing. I am worse than a kid at Christmas. I have been taking the cards to work each day to show everyone and I got the thumbs up on all of them - and this is from the men as well. I want to share one of the cards with you. There are many versions of this on Splitcoast - I can't credit just one person. It is using Lovely as a Tree and the masking technique.



The class I am doing is called "Classic Christmas Cards" and all the cards are done using Lovely as a Tree (except for the sentiments) with Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke. There are loads of techniques in this class - I am hoping the ladies will come away inspired and see how one stamp set can be so versatile.

Thanks for looking and have a good one.

Strawberry Salad - an amazing recipe

I just finished dinner and thought I really should share this recipe. Dinner consisted of Chicken (pretty basic) but I also had a Strawberry Salad with it. I promise (hand on heart) that if you like Strawberries you will love this recipe.

One head Romaine lettuce
One head Red lettuce
1 purple onion (chopped)
1 quart strawberries (chopped)

Mix this all together.

Dressing:

1/3 cup milk (I use 1% but it could be 2%)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 cup Helman's Mayo

Mix this up together real well. The "original" recipe also calls for Poppy Seeds. But, when I had my braces they were a pain - so I dropped the poppy seeds.

If you want you can put the dressing on the salad - but I usually keep it in a separate bowl and add it when I have the salad. I can (and do) eat this every day.

Note - sometimes (often) when I don't want to buy two head of lettuce I just use one type or get a pre-cut package. It is DELICIOUS! PROMISE!

OK... now on to why some of you visit my blog - Card du Jour. Unfortunately this set (Wagon Full of Fun) is another stamp set that is in LaLaLand. It was in the Mini but didn't make it to the Catty. The sentiment is from the new Teeny Tiny Wishes.



Have a good one.

Stampin Up - Big Bold Cupcakes and more Sneak Peaks

One of the cards I made on the weekend was using the Big Bold Cupcakes Die. It is one of Stampin Up's exclusive dies and can be found in the new catalogue on page 197. This is a carry-over from last year's catalogue. I have had this a while but (like so many other things) had not yet used it. (Note to self - stop buying and start using - yeh right!).

The new "stuff" on this card includes:

The new Stampin Up Punch - Modern Label (page 187)
The new Movers and Shaper's Die for Modern Label (page 201). This fits under the punch perfectly.
The "Happy Birthday" is from the brand spanking new set Teeny Tiny Wishes (page 145). I love this set - there are 24 sentiments from Retirement, Sympathy, Mother's Day, etc. It covers it all.



I am watching the Bachelorette - Up til now I was thinking it was either going to be Kiptin or Jesse. Now I am not sure - Jake is opening up (OK and he is a cutie). I can say for sure - Wes is a weasel and has to go. And well the Foot Fetish guy is just plain odd!

Update: She let Jake go over the breakdancer and Wes! OK.. she is nuts!

Have a good one.

More Soft Summer

Summer finally has arrived - not just by the calendar but also by the temperature. It was beautiful out. For those of us who experience the four seasons - summer can never come soon enough and is always too short.

Here is the "warped" side of me. What did I do on the first day of Summer - I made Christmas cards. I am hopping to have a Christmas in July class and wanted to get some samples done. I am waiting for July 1 when I can order some of the Christmas DSP to incorporate into the cards. Right now - I have two cards and a gift card holder done. They are pretty cute (more whimsical than classic). I will hold off posting them until they are totally done.

In the meantime - here is the complete Soft Summer set. If this set is on the Dormant List (therfore not retired) - I will schedule this class as well. Keep your fingers crossed.



Speaking of the Dormant List - I finally went through all my SU stamps and cleaned out was is not in the new catalogue. Whoa - I have a lot. When the Dormant List is released on July 1st I will pull those stamp sets out of the box.

In the past I have sold my retired stamps, put them on e-bay etc. This time I am going to do something different. It will take a bit of organizing, but will let you know - unfortunately it will only be good for those in Canada. More to come.

Have a good one.