Tune in tomorrow

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the first ever Little Scraps of Heaven Designs Blog hop!

Hope to see you tomorrow

~ Dawn  

Mark your Calendars

Mark your calendars for the first ever Little Scraps of Heaven Designs blog hop. There will be a lot of fun that you will not want to miss out on! Keep your eyes out for tons of great projects,  inspiration, and lots of fun blog candy. The best part ever is that there is going to be an AMAZING overall prize that you WON'T want to miss! 

Blog Hop

I will be participating in Little Scraps of Heaven Designs first ever blog hop and I am very excited about it!

If you are wondering what a "BLOG HOP" is .... here is a definition for you:
BLOG HOP, also known as blog hopping, is to move from one blog after another to read entries and leave comments.  Often you will find a chance for giveaways and prizes during the hop.


LSHD is a fantastic paper piecing website and I hope that you will join me, and many other talented ladies as we showcase our favorite LSHD patterns, our interesting takes on them, and chances to win great stuff!


Please keep a watch on my blog daily during the bloghop (Feb 23-March 2) for your chance to win a few of my "Can't live without" scrapbooking/crafting items.

Impacted by the winter storm

Well, even though I live in the Pacific Northwest now, I have been impacted by the storm that is hitting the midwest today.

Today was the day that I planned on leaving for a vacation in Michigan.  I know what you're thinking ... vacation in Michigan ... in FEBRUARY?  Are you crazy?  Well, somewhat I guess.  Perhaps I'm just dedicated to family.   My little sister is due to have her second baby boy any day now, and I really want to be there for her.  This trip was/is a big deal for me.  Not only is it my first 'real' trip home since moving away a year ago, it has been 8 months since I've seen my father, 8 months since my kids have seen their Grandfather and a year since I have seen most family and friends.  This is a big trip for me.   A big, 3 week adventure with just me and my two boys.

WHAT?

Yep, that's right.  I'm braving the friendly skies with my two little guys.  A four year old, a one year old and a thirty-something year old traveling together and trying to stay calm, cool, and collective.  My nerves set in this past week.   I'm not so much worried about the four year old as the antsy one year old.  Finally I calmed myself, came to terms with what will be will be, and set in for a good nights sleep last night.

***RING*** ****RING***

4am .. the husband calls.  "We need to talk about your flight".  

I'm guessing a 4am call is not a good one.  I was right.  Flight cancelled!  uggh.   So much for preparing myself.  All packed, ready to go.  Just had to wait for the kids to wake up, eat breakfast and go.  Pretty simple.  Nope.  Not for me.  Not today anyway.

So, we'll try again on Thursday.  Pray that Mother Nature gets the nastiness out of her system by then.

Meanwhile, we will enjoy the sunshine and mild temperatures here in the Pacific Northwest.   

To my dear little nephew who's still in the womb baking .... please don't wait for your favorite Auntie ... give your Mom a break and come soon (Just after all the streets have been cleared of snow).

~Dawn

My second attempt

Sometimes I can really drive myself crazy.  I can look something over and find every little thing wrong with it .. especially if it is something that I create.  In my last post you saw my entry for the Precious Piecings/Paper Cuts Club digi stamp challenge.  If you recall, I stated that it was not my favorite piece... and that bothered me.  Well, it bothered me so much that I decided to re-do my card.  I really don't know if I can even enter a second card, but that is not the point.  I really wanted to work on my shading.  The best way I could think of comparing my work was to simply color another bride stamp .. and why not take it to the next level and just make the card?  Well, that is exactly what I did ... and this is what you get...

This is my first card

                                

                                        This is my second card.  I really like
                                      this one much better!

This is the first card
(I hated that I grabbed that tea dye at the last minute!)

This is the second card.
Again, I like everything about this one better!

The inside of the first card

The inside of the second card

So, now I can put this challenge to bed ... and maybe myself too ... whew, I'm tired.

I'd love to know your thoughts on my cards!  Comments are great!  Thanks.

  

Precious Piecing's Digi Stamp Challenge

So, this week I decided to enter the Precious Piecings's Digital Stamp Challenge.  The challenge was to simply take the FREE bride digital stamp and use it in something useful.  My choice - another easel card.

For me, this challenge is helping me with a goal of my own.  If you remember earlier I posted about some personal challenges for me, and this ties directly to all three of mine -  Card, usage of stamps and new technique.

I think I'm getting the hang of making cards, and I really do like it!  You may just be seeing more cards in my future.  For this challenge I used the FREE stamp that Lisa provided on her site, so here is another one for my growing collection.   I've found all kinds of free digi stamps out there and need to put them to good use.  Lastly, the new technique I used with with my Prismacolor colored pencils.  I love these pencils and use them all the time, but I needed a way to blend them better.... kinda the look of copics without the huge expense.  For me, investing in copics is simply unimaginable right now, at least until I perfect this pencil blending skill *wink*  *wink*. Again, I found a tutorial that we really helpful to me here.


I did have fun making this card, although I have to admit that it's not my favorite.  But, that is usually the case when I am trying something new for the first time.   I may have another go at coloring this beautiful bride if I can find the time.   Entry's for this challenge are due by Jan 31, 2011 so if you are interested ... go grab that free stamp!


If you are interested in some of the products that I used, here they are:
1. Precious Piecings Digi Stamp
2. Patterned paper by Reminisce
3. Diamond dust for sparkle
4. Stickles - Color, Crystal
5. Prismacolor colored pencils
6. Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Tea dye


I hope that you all are enjoying your day!
~Dawn

Homemade Lemon Sugar scrub

Happy Tuesday to all!

Lately I've found myself losing so much time reading blogs.  Every time I read one it seems as if I find another interesting one out there.  I chose to say "losing time" vs. "wasting time" because I really have found some valuable items.  This sugar scrub is one example.  My son has been really sick lately, and I've found myself chained to my rocking chair with him.  What's there to do?  Watch tv or surf around on the internet on my handy dandy phone.  For me, the phone wins hands down!  

One day I stumbled across this blog where the author talks about sugar scrub and describes step by step how she made a batch.  It looked so easy, and who doesn't like smooth silky skin?  I decided that I just had to try it.

I did not measure anything, just started mixing until it felt right.   I used sugar in the raw and light brown sugar as the basis.  Probably 3-1 brown sugar to the raw sugar.  I liked the softer feel of the brown sugar.  I then started mixing in the olive oil (although I was wishing I has something more fancy ... almond oil.  Not sure if that has the scent that I imagine it does).  Lastly I started sifting through my spices, extracts and oils that I had in my pantry.... wow, there's a lot of stuff there ... and I stumbled upon Lemon Oil.  Who knew I had that???  I have no idea what I had in mind for the lemon oil, but it was there and this was the moment my lemon sugar scrub was born.   I probably added about 4 total teaspoons to the mixture... just kept mixing until it smelt delicious.  I love the smell of lemon, so clean and fresh.

And there you have it, I ended up with two Large Baby food bottle sized packages of lemon sugar scrub.  One for me, and one for a friend.   Oh, and you noticed that I obviously spent some time sprucing up that plain glass jar too, didn't you.

I hope that this will inspire you to make your own sugar scrub at home.   Spruce up the package too, it will look so much cuter.  Mine is now going to rest right by the kitchen sink.