Crochet goodness

2 weeks ago I received a gift from a friend - a package with beautiful handmade flowers. I loved them so much that I decided it will be a shame to stuck them in the drawer. I needed to use them right away. I found some photos that will work with the colors and made 2 layouts.

I used only one brand of patterned paper with this one - Amy Butler. I wanted to add some sea themed beads but found only 2. The little shells and the sea star metal bead are from the Making Memories Vintage Findings collection.

Supplies: patterned paper (Amy Butler for K&Co), chipboard (Heidi Grace), border punch (Fiskars), embellishments (Making Memories), handmade crochet flowers

Hooray! I finally figured out how to use the 12" platform with my Revolution. I die cut the green vine border and the title. My Revolutions never worked so hard :)

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau Paper), patterned paper (Making Memories, SEI), dies (Quickutz), border and corner punches (Martha Stewart), white pearls (Making Memories), handmade flowers

The last crochet flower was snitched by my daughter for her layout.
Thank you so much Louise! Your flowers are gorgeous!

Where have I been

I want to say I am back, but I am not - too many things to do, too little time for my poor neglected blog.

We had a lovely Hanukkah, I managed to finish all my Christmas cards and to mail them before Christmas. The girls are on vacation. We didn't do anything special except going to Ikea. We had a long list and had a very successful shopping trip. My no 1 item was to buy bookcases. We decided on Billy but we were not sure what color to buy. The black/brown looks gorgeous in catalog but all books and magazines they used are mostly white. That's not how the regular bookcase looks like. Our books are mostly dark. Should we go with the white? Or birch? We decided to see how they look at the store. We found something that we both really liked. I am not going to say what it is before I can share the final pictures. Today Ofir put the bookcases together. We love it. Now we need to organize all our books and magazines. It is really coming together.

The bookcase in the picture is our old one. We also bought an entertainment unit and 2 chairs for the family room. We need to move one of the sofas to the basement and I will share the pictures of the family room.

With all that I managed to make a layout today. I used Twisted Sketch #28. The twist was to use frames. I found those overlay frames by Hambly Prints that I had for a while. I didn't want to cover the pictures, so I cut out the inside of the frames and stitched them to the pictures. I think it turned out cute.

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau Paper), patterned paper (Scenic Route), transparency (Humbly Screen Prints), sticker letters and vintage flowers (Making Memories), stamp (CTMH), ribbon (unknown)

12*12*12 Holiday Blog Hop - Chocolate Coin cookies

Welcome back friends to my second and last post for this Holiday blog hop!

I am not a big baker but in the spirit of Hanukkah I decided to make chocolate coins. I found a recipe on Martha Stewart website, dig out of the closet my old Tupperware pastry sheet and rolling pin and got to work.

Here is Martha's recipe with my comments

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen (I used small cookie cutter and got about 4 dozen cookies)

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I am going to try semi-sweet next time or add more sugar)
  
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional) (I put the zest from the whole orange)
  
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until well combined.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, salt, and orange zest, if using. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; continue mixing until the ingredients are just combined, scraping down sides of the bowl.
3. Scrape dough onto a piece of plastic wrap; flatten into a disk. Wrap, and chill at least 1 hour or overnight. (1 hour was enough)
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place granulated sugar in a small bowl.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch-round cutter, cut out cookies (My cookie cutter was a little bit smaller)
6. Carefully press each cookie into granulated sugar. Transfer cookies to sheets, spaced 1/2 inch apart.
7. Bake until cookies are firm, about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Here they are, ready to be wrapped. I punched 2" circles from the gold paper and stamped them with Menorah and Star of David stamps. I don't remember where I bought the stamps, probably at Jo-Ann from the $1.99 bin.

Ella helped me to wrap each cookie in foil and we attached the stamped circle with adhesive.

I think it will be cute to put few in the baggie for the quick Hanukkah treat. I can also envision them wrapped in silver foil with cute Valentine sayings as Valentine party favors.

Ella loved the cookies, they are perfect for the pure chocolate lovers. I thought they came out not sweet enough. Next time I will try to use semi-sweet cocoa powder or add more sugar.

That's all for today! You have just one stop left - Julie from Just Our Story will share another fabulous project with you at 8pm exactly.

Thanks for stopping by!

12*12*12 Holiday Blog Hop - Hanukkah Tray

Welcome to my first 12*12*12 Holiday Blog Hop post!

I will share how I made the Hanukkah candles tray. I borrowed the idea from the great book by Rivky Koenig called Crafting Jewish. When I saw it in the book I knew it will be the first project I will make.

I started with the plain 11x14 picture frame. I decided to use Martha Stewart paper pack that had some pretty silver papers.

I opened the frame and used the piece of paper inside as my base. The paper I used for the middle is embossed and has a nice texture. I punched the border with the Fiskars Upper Crest border punch and added a border of the Menorahs made with this Quickutz die from the light silver paper.

I added another layer of the punched border from the same silver paper.

To finish my tray I printed Hanukkah blessings in Hebrew and in English on a piece of vellum and adhered it to the middle using 4 tiny glue dots. 4 rhinestones at the corners and stamped dreidel give the last touch.

Here it is - ready for tonight. If you are asking were the gorgeous Menorah is from, it is hand painted by Ella :)

Supplies: picture frame (Michaels), patterned paper and rhinestones (Martha Stewart), punch (Fiskars), die (Quickutz), stamps (Papertrey Ink and unknown)

Hope you are enjoying our blog hop! Next stop - Julie at Just Our Story Stop by her blog at 2pm and then come back later for more!

12*12*12 Holiday Blog Hop

It is finally here. 12 hours of creative posts with recipes and crafts projects!
Here is the schedule: at 9am visit Laura, at 10am stop by Mel's blog, check Sharyn's blog at 11am, say hi to Carrie at 12pm (I know you will love that one!), come back here to my blog at 1pm and than visit Julie at 2pm. Take a deep breath and do it again:
3pm - Laura, 4pm - Mel, 6pm - Sharyn, 6pm - Carrie, 7pm - me and 8pm - Julie.
I promise it will be fun!

While you are waiting I wanted to share few links that I found yesterday. First is the Write.Click.Scrapbook. post about Hanukkah projects! They feathered a blog by Sara Rivka Dahan called Creative Jewish Mom Check her beautiful felt projects. They can be adapted for any celebration, not just Hanukkah.

My second find is Carol Zeitz. She has a great blog and she designs digital elements for scrapbooking. During the 8 days od Hanukkah she is running a giveaway where each day you have a free download. Check her blog and her shop for details. Don't miss this post - free downloadable Hanukkah brag book. Even if you are not a scrapper, you can print the pages and just adhere your pictures. Too cute!


We had a lovely evening last night - friends, yummy food, candles. I'll leave you with this:

See you soon for my Blog Hop posts!

Things on my mind

Too many...

1. Hanukkah starts tomorrow night. I am almost ready. The list of the gifts is finalized and almost everything is on the way. The list includes DS games, books and more books, board games and some seriously awesome stuff from the grandparents. Everything is for the girls. Since Eli doesn't make a wishlist yet he is not getting anything :) Last week we bought a train table for him so my conscious is clean :) So what is left on my Hanukkah list? A trip to the store to get the last of the gifts and more candles and some craft projects I wanted to finish. Tomorrow we have friends for dinner and Menorah lightning. My plan is to take a picture of Eli eating sufganija and use it as my Hanukkah greeting card. I like holiday that lasts 8 days - perfect for the last minute person like me.

2. Speaking about Hanukkah cards, I saw some gorgeous cards at ModernTribe website. Love them!

3. Few days ago Scrapbook and Cards magazine announced about Project 12th. You can read here about it. (Scroll down) I plan to play along!

4. Few current scrappy projects on my list:

• Scrappytimes card sketch contest and layout sketch challenge.
• Moxy Fab Tuesday Trigger
• Christmas cards

That will keep me busy!

5. Hero Arts are having a 2010 Catalog Preview Party at the scrapbooking stores all over the world. My LSS is on the list. I hope to find time and stop by. Click on the blinkie on the right to see if your store is having a party.

6. I am thinking about 2 online classes - Blogging Your Way by Holly Becker from the design blog Decor8 and Wellness Journey by Lisa Cohen . Truth to be said I already took Lisa's class in 2008 and didn't do anything with it. I probably read only first 2 downloads. But I am thinking about it again. Go figure...

7. Last but not least. This Saturday, December 12th I will take part in the fun blog hop. My friend Carrie will start with the first post at 8am and from there 12 different posts will appear on 6 blogs. One post every hour for 12 hours! The beautiful logo is created by Julie.
Going back to my lists now...

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger

Last Tuesday Cath from Moxie Fab World blog posted this picture as her Tuesday Trigger. Pretty patchwork stocking from Pottery Barn.


I have a soft soft for monochromatic color schemes so I decided to give it a try. I made a little quilt using Jenni Bowlin patterned papers and Coredination cardstock from Jenni Bowlin collection. Happy Holidays stamp is by Hero Arts.
I tied two ribbons and finished with two buttons. Done!

I love it. It will be my Christmas card this year. Now I need to make few in orange for some orange loving people on my Christmas list.

Scrapbook steals

Every day I am checking the sites like Peachy Cheap, Crafty Steals and Scrapbook Stealsfor bargains but so far I wasn't tempted to buy anything. Till earlier this month when the Scrapbopk Steals had an awesome Pink Paislee kit. I decided to give it a try. 2 days after my order I found a huge package in my mail box. Lots and lots of patterned paper, clear stamps, alphas, rub-ons and pixie sticks. Looks good! I made 3 layouts and probably have enough paper for 30 more :)
I liked the woodgrain paper and thought it will be a nice background for the Central Park photos. I added a border with Fiskars border punch and used several rub-ons that came with the kit.
The little tree is a rub-on. The tiny flowers are left from punching the pink paper with Fiskars corner border punch. I added chocolate pearls to the rub-on border.

Supplies: cardstock (Wausau Paper), patterned paper and sticker borders (Pink Paisley), rub-ons (Pink Paisley), Chipboard letters (Pink Pasiley), pearls (Recollections), punches (Fiskars)


Here is another layout - I made a bow from the patterned paper to match the bow on the headband. The butterflies are cut from another patterned paper. Pink raindots cover some of the pink polka dots to give some dimension.

Supplies: patterned paper (Pink Paislee), chipboard letters (Scenic Route), stamp (Pink Paislee), raindots (Cloud 9), button (unknown), punch (Fiskars)


Another simple layout - few strips of patterned paper, journaling card and stamped label.

Supplies: patterned paper (Pink Paislee), journaling card (Pink Paislee), stamp (Pink Paislee), ink (Bazzill), chipboard letters (Heidi Swapp)

One of my Black Friday purchases (actually it was Saturday) is Martha's around the corner punch set (50% off with the coupon!). Unlike the Fiskars border corner punch that is one tool, Martha's version is two separate punches, one for the corner and one for the border. Here is what I made:
Supplies: patterned paper (7 Gypsies, Amanda Johnson), Journaling card (Jenni Bowlin), letters (G.C.D. studios)

Let's see what else I bought this weekend - 3 (yes, three) paper pads at Michaels and several Quickuts dies including 2 alphabets! My dies arrived today, can't wait to try them.

Blog Around the World

Shimelle's Blogging for Scrapbookers class is over. Three weeks went so fast. It was really a great class and I am so glad I took it. One of my favorite things during the class was reading the blogs of my fellow classmates - get inspired by their wonderful projects, read their thoughts and plans, laugh with them and make connections.

One of the several collaborative projects that grew out of this class is Blog Around the World event. About 40 scrapbookers and bloggers around the world will post a picture from their window and if they want, a picture of their creative space.

If you are coming from Amber's blog, welcome. You already know what it is about and how to move forward. If you are reading about the Blog Around the World here for the first time, at the end of this post I will give a link to the next blog in this virtual adventure. You can continue blog hopping till you will make the full circle or you can start from the beginning of the blog chain here.

So, without future delay, this is what I saw yesterday morning from my kitchen window. I love sitting by my kitchen table with a cup of cofee and look outside. It always look so peaceful and serene.

And now to my creative space. After our move I decided to scrap in the family room. I organized most of my supplies in this closet. About 60% of my supplies is still in the basement. To be honest I am doing just fine with what I have upstairs...

The left side of the closet from top to bottom:

• Cropper Hopper file holders with cardstock and patterned paper. The first three on left are Jenni Bowlin kits. The rest is cardstock and some papers that I used lately like Halloween and fall themed paper. The rest is in the basement.
• Fiskars squeeze punches
• Two shelves with clear shoe boxes. All my embellishments are sorted by color in those boxes. In addition to the color boxes I have a box for my bling, chipboard, journaling spots/cards/whatever, halloween/fall, winter, baby, travel and the newest embellishments
• Cropper Hopper box with my stickers and rub-ons sorted by color and by theme.
  
• The last shelf has binders with pictures in chronological order. Those are just printed 2009 and 2008 pictures. The rest is in the basement
• On the wall, clear pockets with my Fiskars border and circle punches

The right side of the closet from top to bottom:

• Binders with my clear stamps and 2 CTMH boxes with more clear stamps. Mikey Mouse ears from Fiskars 360 birthday party. I didn't attend the party but was lucky to receive the ears from Rebecca
• 12x12 drawers with my scraps sorted by colors, chipboard, and the drawer with newest stuff. Everything that is not a full sheet (and was not part of the kit) goes into my scrap drawers.
• 4 drawers with card making supplies, alpha chipboard and rub-ons, punches and miscellaneous stuff
• On the wall I have a tiny slatwall with my ribbons (sorted by color of course) and a basket.

That's all. It is definitely work in progress but so far it is working for me.

Thanks for stopping by in my corner of the world. Now I am going to send you to visit Sharyn. You are not going too far - she also lives in Wisconsin. I promise you will enjoy her creative projects, inspirational posts and delightful photography.

Things on my mind

1. Tomorrow Lila is going to her first synchronized ice skating competition of the season. She is travelling with her dad this time but I still need to do all the packing. She will be an alternate this time, so less stress for her (and us) but still lots of fun.

2. No time for scrapbooking - I am knitting scarves for Lila's team. Almost every year the girls are getting new scarves to match their costumes. 5 are ready, I have yarn for 2 or 3 more. I NEED to finish them today.

3. Today will be busy. Me and Eli will pick up the girls from the school, drive to the ice rink - Lila has a private lesson. Than I need to feed them somewhere. After that hopefully my DH will come and take Ella and Eli home. Me and Lila will stay for the synchro practice till 9pm. After that back home, do the laundry, finish packing. Oh, I need to make lunches for the bus. Not sure when this will happen....

4. Sunday I volunteered to do a Hanukkah card making class at our Hebrew school. Still need to decide what we are going to do and gather the supplies.

5. I am falling behind on my Adventures in Scrapbooking class (obviously)

6. I really like the Blogging for Scrapbookers class. It is clearly above my expectations. I think I will be going back to the prompts and the ideas on the message board several times.

7. Kids Crafts Committee on fiskateers message board is hosting kids ATC swap. I am so excited. I think it will be really fun swap. Tell your kids about it and join. If you are not a fiskateer yet, you are welcome to join the message board. Email to one of the leads and say I sent you (I am getting a pair of scissors for each member I send...... just kidding!... I am not getting anything of course, just new fisk-a-friends!)

8. I am hosting a fun project for kids and adults on fiskateers message board. I am not saying what it is yet.

9. I hope to get ready for Lila's sleepover party while she is gone. At least clean the house....

10. This Saturday I will be part of the special Blog Around the World blog train. So excited about that.

Adventures in Scrapbooking: Using kits - week 1 (part 2)

I am a little bit behind on posting the rest of the layouts I made from my week I kit. The days are so short now, it is really tough to find a good time to take a decent picture of the layouts. So here they are:

In this layout I firs covered chipboard letters with red ink but didn't like the look so I painted a thin layer of Ranger Crackled paint.

This is probably my favorite layout from the kit. I used Fiskars corner border punch and few circle and scallop punches. The felt circles are handcut.

I really wanted to cut the title from felt but got lazy and did it using paper. Fiskars scallop square punch and chick punch

I almost decided to put this stars paper in my "not going to use pile" but than I found this picture of Ella and decided to give it a try. I asked Ella what title should I use and she said - Rock Star Ella! :) That gave me an idea to put "No papparazi!" as a title. (I just realized that I didn't spell it correctly. Well, that's too bad, but I am not changing the layout)
I like to check the Jenni Bowlin Design Team Gallery. Those girls are so creative. The next two layout are scraplifts from the design team layout with minor modifications.

This layout is a scraplift from Lisa Dickinson's layout. I made a border using my Fiskars border embossing punch. The butterflies are punches with Fiskars squeeze punch. I added tiny antennas to 3 butterflies using the punched out swirls from the border.
I added Cloud 9 red flower and some thread.

This layout is Becky Novacek scraplift. I almost didn't change a thing except the size.

So, here it is. Not bad for one kit. Moving on to week 2.

Lila is 11

Today my oldest daughter turned 11. We celebrated last night at the restaurant. She asked for fondue restaurant and we found one that we never tried before.
It was great. We had all 3 types - cheese, meat and fish and of course chocolate for desert. The girls loved the food and the process, the atmosphere was delightful and had really enjoyed.


The only tiny problem was that the restaurant had just 4 bar height tables. It is a charming place but definitely not baby friendly. We would expect them to tell us that on the phone when we made reservations for 4 people and the baby. We took turns taking Eli outside and playing with him in the small lounge area. The rest of the time he was standing on the bar stool holding tight on Ofir and playing with fondue forks. We survived. It could be much worse.
With Lila's ice skating practices and competitions it is really hard to find time for her party. She will have a small sleepover party with her friends during the Thanksgiving break. I am looking for ideas.

Adventures in Scrapbooking: Using kits - week 1

Last Thursday I started a new Big Picture Scrapbooking class that is called Adventures in Scrapbooking: Using Kits. It is taught by super creative May Flaum. I know May from her years as one of the Lead Fiskateers and she is always up to something fun. During the first week May used the August kit by Jenni Bowlin that of course I have. So far I made only one layout from the kit so I was glad to dig it out and create few layouts.

Summerfest 2009. The letter stickers are also by Jenni Bowlin but they came in a different kit.

Those little flower sequins are so cute!

In this layout I was inspired by May to stitch a photo mat from the journaling cards.

I had those cute pictures that I took during one of my stroller walks few weeks ago. I used 2 pieces of deep burgundy cardstock that was not part of the kit but fit nicely with the colors. The leave and the squirrel are cut with USX using this and this templates.

The punched border is sprayed with some gold glimmer mist. The layout is based on a sketch by May.
I have another layout in works and probably enough papers for 2 more layouts.