Skiing Santa

No, this isn't your typical skiing Santa - he's on waterskiis! I just bought this stamp from 7 Kids College Fund. They just started carrying High Hopes stamps, so now there's a convenient vendor for those of us in the U.S.


This is my entry for High Hopes Challenge 49 - Non-Traditional Christmas. I think a waterskiing Santa is pretty non-traditional, don't you? :)

Fab Friday

Well, my own Friday did not start out so fabulous... I got rearended on my way to work this morning. Fortunately, there wasn't any damage to my car (can't say the same for the person who ran into me), but it still was not a good way to start the day.

Anyway... since my stamping time these days is pretty limited, I thought I'd try a new weekly feature, Fab Friday, where I share something fabulous (of course!) with you.

This week, I've got a bunch of FREE digital downloads to share. Free is always fab, right?

While blog hopping, I found these great Halloween digis. They would be cute as embellishments on a card or tags on Halloween treats.

Next up is an awesome download of black and white paper from The Angel Company. Check out their downloads page to find other great freebies, including their first set of free black and white digi paper.

My last find, Hope Fights, is fabulous... and not. It's a free digi image for Breast Cancer Awareness. It's fab that Whimsy Doodles is giving this cute image away. It's not fab that there are men and women facing this disease. :-( Today is the last day to download this freebie, so hopefully you're reading this in time.

Go check out these links and create something wonderful with your new FREE goodies! :)

Stamping Fun

Last night I had some local stamping friends over for a little Christmas card making session. As hostess, I had to come up with 3 cards ideas. I used 3 favorites from The Angel Company, including two new sets from the Fall supplement, Inspiration Avenue.

My first card was a simplified version of Jan Tin's beautiful snowflake card. I had intended to try her resist technique, but could not find my white gel pen. (Of course, you'd be lucky to find anything in my craft room, but that's another story...) So, necessity being the mother of invention, I simply stamped some white snowflakes with my Opaque White Staz-On (which unfortunately, didn't turn out very opaque -- it was really not my night!)

The little snowflake in the corner is a clear, iridescent Jesse James "button". (Can you really call them buttons if they don't have holes are were never meant to be anything but decorative?) Stamps: Ornamental Snowflakes, greeting from a previous hostess set (TAC)
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink in Faded Denim, Opaque White Staz-On

I knew I wanted to use Joyful Ornaments on my second card since I think it's so pretty and yet so quick to stamp with. (As much as I absolutely LOVE to color, it is time-consuming so a bold stamp is a nice alternative.) I was going through my supplies looking for a neglected item and found these premade cards from K&Co. I wasn't happy with the way these cards worked when I first tried them, but after scoring the layer at 5.5" and gluing the punched end together, the card opened up much nicer. I used some of my favorite papers on this card - Scarlet cardstock (the BEST red), Brown cardstock, and Reece dp, all from The Angel Company. The Joyful Ornaments are stamped in Moulin Rouge Palette ink and I used some Burnt Umber Palette ink to sponge on edges of the layers.

Since this card is large (the rectangular part of the card is 5 X 6 inches), I think this card would be perfect for putting a photo inside.

This was the last card that we made, which is based on Sketch 17 from the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog. I love snowmen, and this set, Merriest Wishes, has the most adorable snowmen & snowladies ever!

I used more TAC Scarlet cardstock, as well as some green Bazzill Monochromatics cs. The dp is from Hobby Lobby and the pink paper is just something from my scrap pile. (This card layout is good for using up those little strips of paper we stampers often find ourselves with.) The hearts are more Jesse James buttons and I used my COPIC markers to color in this snowlady. (I have to assume anyone wearing a hat with flowers and a shirt with ruffles is NOT a snowman, lol!)

Sweet Sketch Wednesday Sponsored by DigiStamp Boutique!

Yay! Sally-Ann Hancock of DigiStamp Boutique agreed to be one of our regular sponsors at the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog. I know you will all love her designs as much as I do!

Sally-Ann is sponsoring this week's sketch, #20:


Here's my take on the sketch using the adorable new Izzy the witch with her little feline friend:


The "Happy Halloween" stamp is from Inkdainkadoo. The Simple Spooky Stripes paper is from K I Memories and the orange dp is from The Paper Studio.

Be sure to visit the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog and check out the other DT members' cards!

Pumpkins!

Here's a sneak peak of a card I made for a Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge later this month:


Don't forget to visit Sweet Sketch Wednesday this week to see the latest sketch! (It's not this one!)

As promised, here's the recipe for the pumpkin squares I posted about yesterday. Note: If you don't have a jelly roll pan, a large cookie sheet with rolled sides works. Also, when I made these yesterday, I cut the oil to 3/4 cup. They still came out nice and moist. Enjoy!

COURTNEY’S PUMPKIN BARS

Blend:
4 eggs
1 cup salad oil
2 cups sugar
15oz can pumpkin

Combine:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Stir into blended mixture.
Bake in jelly roll pan 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
(I use a rectangle cake pan 9x13 or whatever)

frosting:
6oz cream cheese
1/2 cup margarine
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Halloween Happenings

We were busy this weekend getting ready for Halloween. The decorations are up inside, DH is working on the outside decorations, and we bought our pumpkins today.


One of our neighbors has a farm outside of the city and sells her pumpkins from her driveway each fall. It's not quite as festive as going to a real farm with hayrides, etc., but it is cheaper and a lot more convenient.


Here are our pumpkins outside our front door, just waiting to be carved:



This was my papercrafting project of the day:


I've had this idea rattling around my head for a few weeks and was glad to finally get a chance to try it out. It didn't come out as nicely as I'd hoped, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

I used my Creative Memories oval cutting system for the pumpkin, handcut a scrap of brown for the stem, and used a QuicKutz die in my Cuttlebug for the "vine". I sponged Palette ink in Orangerie and Burnt Umber around the edges of my ovals to add dimension.

I also made these yummy pumpkin bars:


The recipe came from my friend and fellow Mid-MO-Mom, Courtney. They are similar to carrot cake, without the raisins. YUMMY! Alison had fun eating the leftover icing and taste testing the first pumpkin square. They are easy to make, make a large batch and are super delish. Perfect for bringing to work or to a party! I'll share the recipe with you Monday night.

A Scary Card for a Sweet Sketch

It's time for another fun sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday! Here's Sketch #19:


I've started to get a little tired of Christmas after working on so many craft show projects and I've been seeing so many cute Halloween things on the web, so I decided to make a Halloween card. I bought a bunch of cool Halloween Inkadinkadoo stamps last Fall and never used them, so I had fun pulling them out and putting the bat stamp to good use.


The "happy haunting" stamp is from The Angel Company. The striped paper is "Simple Spooky Stripes" from K I Memories. I just *love* striped paper, especially with thin stripes of bright colors like this. Be sure to check out the Sweet Sketch Wednesday blog and visit the other DT members' blogs. (Check my sidebar for links to my fellow DT members' sites.)