Happy Halloween

I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and Happy Halloween! Hope you all have a great night and that all you're little ones have lots of fun out trick or treating. Just try not to eat too much of their candy! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ok, this is the last post for today and I have to go get ready to go since I got called in to work again tonight. Alas, no crafty time again tonight... Boo Hoo! lol :)

I just wanted to share the recipe for the Pumpkin Cupcakes that I made for a little treat when the girls came over the other night. They were yummy, but I think I would have added more cinnamon than they called for and perhaps even a wee bit of nutmeg. Darn, I guess I'll have to make some more....twist my arm! lol :) I got this recipe from a crafty blog a while ago, but unfortunately I can't remember who I got it from...sorry! :( Thanks for the recipe, though! :)

Pumpkin Bars / Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/2 cups Splenda instead)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup oil (I used Canola)

1 can canned pumpkin (15 oz size)

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda together. Gently mix in sugar. In large mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs until foamy. Add oil and canned pumpkin. Mix until combined. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Do not over beat. Pour into greased sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. (I baked mine for 18 minutes). If you are doing the mini cupcakes like I did, bake for about 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

While pumpkin bars are baking and cooling, have butter and cream cheese come to room temperature. My MIL always doubles the frosting recipe ... and I did as well. You definitely need a doubled batch of this frosting to cover all the pumpkin bars!

Frosting

3 ounces light cream cheese

3/4 stick butter or margarine

1 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth (no lumps). Add milk and vanilla. Slowly incorporate powdered sugar. Spread on cooled bars. Cut into bars. I like to put a candy corn in the center of each bar. Store in refrigerator as there are items in this recipe that require refrigeration. (And you might want to put aluminum foil over the top of the pan to keep the frosting soft. Lightly spray your aluminum foil with cooking spray to keep the frosting from sticking to the foil.)

Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Welcome Baby Girl

OK, I'm slowly getting caught up in my blog posts that I have pictures ready for...now, I just need the time to add my ramblings to the pictures! lol :) I CASE'd this card nearly in part from a card that I saw in Take Ten Magazine. I borrowed the magazine from a friend and I can't remember who made the card, but I'll find out and add her name to give her credit for this cute design. :)

This is the card that I made the night the girls came over. A friend of mine is due in 6 days with Baby #1, she knows it's a girl and she has a jungle theme for the baby's room, so I thought I use this just cute little giraffe for her card. I think she'll like it. Now, I have to alter a baby frame to go with her gift. It will get done in the next couple of days. Nothing like leaving it til the last minute, eh? lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)


Supplies:
Stamps: Giraffe- Baby Powder Collection - Snag 'em Stamps (Imaginisce), Welcome Little One (Studio G)
Cardstock: Goldenrod Linen (CRS), Soft Mauve (Bazzill), White Linen (CRS) White Flat (CRS)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine), Creamy Caramel (SU), Soft Yellow (Anna Griffen)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Scalloped Square and Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Aqua Painter (SU), Paper Piercer and Piercing Mat

Butterfly Earrings and a Halloween RAK

I got called into work last night, so I didn't get a chance to post this last night. These are the cards from Tuesday night when I had a few of the girls in for a crafty night. First, I wanted to share the beautiful card that Deborah March made me as a thank you for hosting. Not that I needed a card for hosting, but hey, who doesn't love to get cards. You can see a description of the supplies that she used for the card here. I was thrilled though by what Deborah had put inside the card...she makes gorgeous beaded jewelry and she made me this beautiful set of butterfly earrings. Wasn't that sweet of her! :) I got such a kick out of the inside of her card, I've been to her place several times, but it seems that every time I've organized a get together with the group, she's either been out of town or not able to make it. In case you can't ready the picture below, the inside of the card reads ' I finally made it to Julie's house! Thanks for hosting. Too funny! :)

Yvonne Balmer also showed up with these sweet little Halloween treats for me and my girls. I'll give them to them in the morning, I know they'll be thrilled. They always love 'Yvonne treats!' There's a little chocolate patty sandwiched inside each of the scalloped circles. Too cute! Thanks again, so much, Yvonne! You're too sweet...no pun intended! lol :)

This is a beautiful card made by Catherine Levy, whose name I drew for our Xmas Card Challenge this time around. I thought at first that she had stamped the large snowflakes on either corner, but later found out that they're part of the patterned paper. Very pretty! I might just have to go out and get some of that paper! lol :)

Here are links to the other Xmas challenge cards from the Tuesday night:

Deborah
Kim
Yvonne
Louise
Me

I'll share the card that I made while the girls were over in my post. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Birthday cards from Catherine

Well, I've been rather MIA for the past bit, so I have a ton of things to share now. First, I want to share two cards that my friend, Catherine Levy made for my daughter's for their joint birthday this past weekend. The one above is a sweet one that she made for my youngest monkey, Natalia. This is truly fitting for Natalia, she's always monkeying around. Very Cute!

This beautiful one below was for my oldest girlie girl, Alexandria. She loves flowers, bling and doodles, so this one is right up her alley. Very girlie!

The girls both loved their cards and I really appreciate Catherine taking the time to make them each a card for their special day. Thanks so much, Catherine, you're a sweetheart! You see, I have to keep in the good books with Catherine as my oldest daughter (7) and her oldest son (6) have been engaged since they met two years ago in pre-school. They're soooo cute together! :) They write each other little notes and talk on the phone about all kinds of stuff. I think kids grow up way too fast nowadays! Believe me, though, I'm in no hurry to marry her off! lol :)

I'll post some pics of the cards from last night in my next post. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Let it Snow

A bunch of my stampin' girlfriends are coming over tonight and the challenge for us this time is simply to make a Xmas themed card to give each of us some more ideas for our cards for the upcoming season. My hubby is Duty on the ship tonight, so we can giggle to our hearts content and he won't be there to tease us! For some reason, he doesn't get as excited as we do about stamps and pretty embellishments! lol :)

Anyway, this is the card that I came up with. A plain card, but I kinda like it. I really like the snowflakes, but I'm not sold on the 'let it snow' saying with the lines around it. To me, it kinda looks like I messed up and rocked my stamp, but this is how the stamp actually looks. I think I would have left the design of the stamp to just have the little snowflakes around the text. The snowflakes also had these lines all around them, I guess to portray snow falling, but I cut them all off. I like them better that way.

Well, gotta go finish getting ready for the get together tonight...I've got some pumpkin cupcakes to make for us to snack on and it'll soon be time to go get my girls from school. Time is really flying by today. I'll post this tonight after the girls arrive so I won't spoil my secret challenge card. I'll share more creations soon...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Let it Snow (CTMH)
Cardstock: Blue Bayou (SU), Soft Sky (SU), White Linen (CRS)
Ink: Blue Bayou (SU)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Scissors, Cuttlebug, Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Clear Bling

Crafty Birthday Party

This was the Art Cake that I made for Natalia. I used SU Vellum Cardstock and used a pencil to freehand a paint palette. Cut it out and then drew on the paint blobs and coloured them in with Markers. I think it it turned out kinda cute and she loved it. :)

This was Alexandria's cake. I wasn't as happy with the way this one turned out. I thought the little candy pumpkins were cute, but they kept falling off! A bit of a headache. Anyway, it tasted yummy, so that's the important part! :)

I racked my brain as to what to do this year for my daughter's birthday party and I finally decided on a joint Crafty themed party for the two girls. I think all the kids had a fun time. First, they each decorated a plain gingerbread man with icing an a hard candy jack-o-lantern head and lots of sprinkles.

Here they are all hard at work.

This is Alexandria's finished Gingerbread Man. I don't think she could have got any more sprinkles on it if she tried! lol :)
Then, I had them each decorate a foam Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Girl and Gingerbread House with lots of glitter glue. Yup, it was a wee bit messy. But, pretty easy cleanup and they had fun, I think. Afterwards, they could tie a gold string though the little hole in the foam shapes and use them as Xmas Tree ornaments.

Here are all my crafty followers again, deep in thought as to how to decorate their Xmas Tree ornaments. I think the blond haired girl by the window is really havin' a moment! Too cute! lol :)

Here's a close up of the foam shapes. I bought them at Wal-Mart in a kit and then bought a ton of extra glitter glue so they'd have lots to work with.

Although we ran out of time, I think the party went well overall. My girls had a blast and they were so happy to have some of their friends over to play and to celebrate their special days.

Ok, that's all from me for now. I'll post a couple of the crafty cards that they received tomorrow.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

New addition to our family...

Wow, apparently I lost a week there, seeing as how last Monday was my last post! It's been a busy week getting ready for my daughter's joint birthday and we also bought a new car! Yeah, no more costly trips to garage for repairs! :) Here's a pic of the new addition to our family. I like to tease Jim and give our cars crazy names. Our last one, a VW Passat, I called 'Sweet Pea'. I think for this one, I'll call her Bella! I know he just loves it so much when I call them girly names! lol :)

She's a new 2009 Nissan Altima SL. Niagara Grey colour (like a metallic charcoal) with Black leather interior. Isn't she purdy? lol :)

Well, I just had to share our new addition to the family. I'll post some pics of the party next.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

A Gingerbread Man Party

I spent today making birthday invitations for my daughter's joint birthday party this coming Saturday. My oldest daughter turned 7 years old three weeks ago, and my youngest daughter will be turning 5 years old in another three weeks so we decided to just have their birthdays together this year. We're just getting around to having the official birthday party as Thanksgiving was in there and with Natalia being sick and then we had to go away, things haven't worked out to have Alex's party earlier. But, they're pretty happy to have them together so it'll all work out in the end.

This is the reverse side of the invitation.

The girls both really like Gingerbread Man cookies, so I opted to have that as the theme for the party and they can all have fun decorating their Gingerbread Men. I'm sure I'll be cleaning up my dining room from sprinkles and decorations for months, but I think they're have a lot of fun. I hope, anyway! lol :)

By the way, on the invitation, I smeared my address on the front of the invitation and my phone Number on the back. I did this was on purpose for privacy issues for the picture, I didn't actually smear it on the real invitation.

I got this idea from Lauren Meader of My Time, My Creations, My Stampendence. Lauren did a sweet invitation for an ice cream party and I used her idea to do something similar. She has such wonderful ideas. I have to apologize to her for using her wording almost word for word, but I thought it was so darn cute, I couldn't help it. I hope she doesn't mind. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration, Lauren! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)


Supplies:
Stamps: From the Kitchen of (SU), Gingerbread Man - Snowy Jo Collection -Snag'em Stamps (Imaginisce), 'Let's Party & You're Invited' (Studio G)
Cardstock: China Red Linen (CRS), Chocolate Chip (Bazzill) Ivory (Staples)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine), Real Red (SU)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Classic Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

A start on my Xmas cards

I had a wonderful time in the Valley this weekend with my parents. It's so nice to go down and relax and enjoy some time with them. Mum and I did some running around and the girls had a great visit with their grandparents, as usual. We picked Jim up mid afternoon from his weekend away and we took the long way home through the countryside to see some more of the beautiful Fall leaves. Some of them are really stunning now, they're so nice to look at. :)

Thought I'd share a pic of the beautiful Canadian Sugar Maple trees that my Dad planted about 20 years ago around the skating rink that he built us in our back yard when we were little kids. My Dad's retired now, but he did land forming and road building as a business, so we were thrilled when he used his D6 Caterpillar tractor to build us this skating rink. Our house was always pretty busy during the winter months with all our friends coming over for a skate or game of hockey. Now that we're bigger, Dad usually lets the cat tails grow up in the pond and he lets the Mallard ducks enjoy a little sanctuary. :)
Mum and I were able to get in some crafty time over the weekend. I was showing her a bit about the Cuttlebug and how the Nestabilities work and I made the pink card above on Friday night. Not really traditional holiday colours, but I think it's kinda pretty. A girly Xmas card, for sure! lol :)

The cards above are the ones that I made on Saturday night. I had some fun playing with a little gingerbread man stamp and some gingerbread man patterned paper. Natalia will love these cards as she loves gingerbread men. I'll have to show them to her tomorrow. Well, I'm gonna call it a night and go get some rest.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)


Reindeer Bliss Card Supplies:
Stamps: Reindeer Bliss (Michaels), Flourishes (Michaels)
Cardstock: White Linen (CRS), Purely Pomegranate (SU), Rose Pink (Bazzill)
Ink: Purely Pomegranate (SU)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Snowflake Embossing Folder, Classic Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Ticket Punch (SU)
Embellishments: Pink Bling

Gingerbread Man Card Supplies:
Stamps: Gingerbreadman - Snowy Jo Collection -Snag'em Stamps (Imaginisce), 'Season's Greetings' - Sentiments 1 (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Orange-Red and Chocolate Brown (Creative Memories), White Linen (CRS)
Patterned Paper: Christmas Cooking Stripes (Karen Foster Design), Holiday Phrase - Teri Martin (Creative Imaginations)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Classic Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Corner Rounder Punch (SU), 1/2" Circle Punch (Marvy Uchida), White Gel Pen (Signo - SU)
Embellishments: Clear Bling

'Create' rock from Mum

Today's been a busy day of running around and I have to work tonight, so unfortunately I won't have any cards to show you today. But, I wanted to show you the nice little gift that my Mum gave me when she came up for Thanksgiving Dinner the other day. I love my new 'Create' rock that now sits on my crafty desk. It's a fake rock, but it looks quite realistic.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend as I'm heading down to my Mum and Dad's in the Annapolis Valley for the weekend to relax and to take the girls to a corn maze and haunted house. It should be fun for them. We went last year and they had a blast. Jim's gonna be away out-of-province this weekend for an Air Search and Rescue Exercise, so Mum and I will be able to have have a crafty weekend or at least in the evenings after the kiddies go to sleep. I can't wait! :) Mum's a big scrapbooker, but I love to get together with her to share ideas and chat. We have so much fun together.

Well, I still have a bunch of things to do before I pick up the girls in 45 minutes and I then I have to rush to go get Jim at work, then go to work myself. Oh, I'm gonna sleep well tonight! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Aloha RAK from Nancy

Today was a definite 'happy mail' day! I received this gorgeous card and an awesome assortment of crafty goodies from my friend, Nancy Elrick. I joined the Monthly Aloha RAK Group through Tracy Houghton on her blog, and Nancy and I got each other's names. You sign up through Tracy and you're paired up with another member of the group and you each send a handmade card to one another. Also, if you choose to, you can include some fun some goodies, but this part is optional. Sounds like fun, eh? Who doesn't love to get a handmade card and crafty goodies in the mail! :)

These are the goodies that Nancy sent to me. I can't wait to play with my new 'Wild Vines' stamps by Technique Tuesday and my pretty new American Crafts ribbon and look at all those gorgeous prima flowers! Wow, I'm in crafty heaven! Thanks so much, Nancy for making my day! :)

Well, Natalia is pulling at my arm...I guess she wants me to read some stories to her before I go cook some supper.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Happy Birthday Little Lady

This card is for my youngest daughter, Natalia, for her upcoming 5th birthday. Her favourite colour is red and she absolutely loves ladybugs, so I think she'll really like it. I love the sentiment, Happy Birthday Little Lady.' Too cute...ya gotta love A Muse stamps!

I saw Tammy's sketch on the Canadian Cuttlebug Crew, one of the crafty forums that I belong to and I thought I'd give it a go. This is the original sketch and the card above is my take on it. Thanks for the inspiration, Tammy! :)
Well, I have to go get the kiddies in a few minutes from school, but I just checked the mail and I'm so psyched! Wait 'til I show ya what showed up in my mailbox today from my friend, Nancy! Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)


Supplies:
Stamps: Little Lady (A Muse Artstamps)
Cardstock: China Red Linen (CRS), Jet Black Linen (CRS)
Patterned Paper: Red with Black hues (Not sure of the name of this, but I think it was from Michaels)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Spots and Dots Embossing Folder, Ladybug - Flying Bugs (Cuttlekids Diecuts)
Embellishments: Clear Bling

Fall Foliage Family Pics

It was a pretty nice afternoon so we decided to get out of the house for a little bit this afternoon to try to get a few shots of the girls around the beautiful Fall foliage, thought I'd share them with ya. It just started to rain as we were making our way back through the walking trail. These red leaves were some of the prettiest that we saw on our walk.

These pics were taken on the heritage trail on Bissett Road in Cole Harbour, it's about 10 minutes from our house, so very close by. Lots of people go there to walk or walk their dogs. We saw one man there that had a Giant Schnauzer, OMG, he was only 8 months old and already huge - I can't imagine how big he's gonna be at full grown, but he was a beautiful dog.

This is my handsome hubby, Jim. Jim really hates to have his picture taken, but he has such a nice smile when you catch him off guard. I had to say something stupid here to make him laugh, otherwise he was giving me the 'yeah, I'm not gonna smile' look! lol :)

Here's 'Dad and his girls' and Cookie Bear. Yes, Cookie Bear still goes most places with our youngest, Natalia. She got her bear when she was 6 months old and she's stuck with her ever since. It's always been her favourite bear. Jim and I joke and say that we think Cookie Bear will somehow be incorporated into Natalia's wedding day someday cause she's a part of the family! lol :)

This one is a bit out of focus, our oldest daughter, Alexandria (7 years old) took this picture. She didn't do too bad of a job, though! Ahh, aren't we a nice couple? :) Hee hee, I just noticed that we're sort of dressed alike. We both have Khaki pants on and black tops. Oops, believe me, that wasn't intentional! lol :)

Ok, that's all the pics that I have to share for now.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Ooh-la-la

Ok, I have a sexy card to share with you tonight. I thought these stamps were so pretty, I had to have them and at $1 a stamp, who could resist! lol :)

For the cami and bikini pantie, I stamped them using black onyx ink onto pink polka dot patterned paper to give a nice soft background. OMG, they're so pretty. I think I'm obsessed! lol :) These aren't exactly stamps for general use, but something nice for a 'special' occasion.

Well, I think that I'm gonna challenge myself to make Christmas cards for at least the next dozen cards that I make, some of those might even be mass-produced if I can find an easy sketch to play with. I can't believe I still don't have an cards ready to send out for the holidays...I had a big plan to start in January and do so many each month leading up so that I'd be all done by the first of November. Well, it's mid October and yup, no Xmas cards done yet! I could seriously kick myself! lol :) Maybe next year...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)


Supplies:
Stamps: Lacy Cami & Lacy Bikini - Alesa Baker Designs (Impression Obsession), 'Ooh-la-la' (Pink Cat Studio)
Cardstock: Groovy Guava (SU), White Linen (CRS), Key Lime Flat (CRS)
Patterned Paper: Classic K McKenna (K & Company)
Ink: Black Onyx (VersaFine)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Scissors
Embellishments: Light Pink Sheer Polka Dot Ribbon (Michaels), Clear Bling (Staples)