2015 Spring Hero Hostesses Blog Hop!

Hello everyone and welcome to the final day of the Hero Hostess Blog Hop, featuring stamps and die cuts from the latest catalog release.  I am honored to again be participating with all my sister Hosti!  If you've been following along, you just arrived here from the blog of the AMAZINGLY talented Sue McRae, Sue's Inky Fingers.  I know, huh?!

Now, I must share that I made these little projects with one working hand, and NOT my dominant one!  I broke my left wrist almost four weeks ago, so please bear with me.  Last year's blog, I had lost vision in one eye, so I'm keeping all digits crossed for next year, LOL!!!

Supplies for this card:
Stamps - CG659 Tropical Background
Die - DC149 Congrats Stamp & Cut, MFT Fishtail Flags, Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Rectangles
Paper - DCWV Glitter Cardstack, Hero Arts Snow Layering, PTI Vellum
Inks - Hero Arts Mid-tone shadows Tide Pool, Butter, and Green Hills, Stazon Jet Black
Misc. - The Twinery bakers twine, Basic Gray button, Ranger clear embossing powder, Wink of Stella, Crafty foam tape

Supplies for this card:
Stamps - CL833 Stamp Your Own Salad
Die - Lil' Inker Designs Stitched Rectangles
Paper - Bazzill Chips Tag, Hero Arts Snow Layering
Inks - Hero Arts Mid-tone shadows Red Royal and Field Greens, Stazon Timber Brown
Misc. - May Arts Chevron ribbon, MME Enamel Dots

Supplies for this card:
Stamps - CL833 Stamp Your Own Salad
Die - DI054 Phrase Bubble
Paper - PPI Vellum, Paper Accents craft tags
Inks - Versamark, Hero Arts Mid-tone shadows Field Greens, Soft Olive Shadow
Misc. - PPI Natural Twine, MME Enamel Dots, Zing mustard embossing powder, vintage mini clothespin

Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day’s starting post at the Hero Club Blog. The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!

If you find a broken link, you'll find a master list of the hop links at the Hero Arts Club Blog. Also, please report broken links to: blog@heroarts.com.

Your next stop on the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop is my sweet friend, Anita Recksiedler of Crafty Girl Designs.  You're in for a treat!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I'd love to hear your comments - how did I do with one hand? 

Watercoloring with Scraplings and A New Challenge Blog!

Good morning friends! I am SO excited to share some wonderful news about my dear friend, Virginia Lu.  She has created a new challenge blog called Virginia's View.  You can check out her blog HERE.  She also has a Pinterest page HERE and a Facebook page HERE.  I can promise you that with her humor, talent, and creativity, FUN FUN FUN is headed our way!

 

Last week I was introduced to a technique called Scraplings.  I totally embraced these adorable little gems and wanted to work my magic on a couple more.  They are only 1 1/2 inches by 4 1/4 inches.

For the supplies I used, see below.  I hope you will help support Virginia and create a project for her very first challenge!  Thanks for stopping by and as always, I would love to read your comments.

SUPPLIES

Stamps - Hero Arts Tiny Flags S5881, Dictionary Greetings CL479, Year Round Sentiments CL582

Inks - Hero Arts Black Dye Ink, Distress Inks Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, VersaMark Watermark

Dies - Hero Arts Phrase Bubble

Other - Lawn Fawn Sequins, Hemptique Twine, MFT Dots, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder

Hero Arts Scramble #78 Scraplings

What a fun Scramble we had today! [Creations by] Martha hosted and gave us quite a fun and challenging task to create two scraplings.

"Today’s THEME: SCRAPLINGS - With More Than One Layer
This is what I’m asking of you.
1) Create 2 newly created Scraplings, with more than one layer, & with different designs.
(Scraplings are tall & narrow cards. More about Scraplings included towards the bottom.)
2) Maximum Size for your Scraplings in Inches and Centimeters:
(In my humble opinion, they start looking like a regular-sized card, if any wider.)
Inches: 1.5 in. x 4.25 in.
Centimeters (approximate): 4 cm x 11 cm
3) Your new creations must include at least one Hero Arts stamp as your main image,
4) Photograph your two Scraplings in one photo."

WHAT? One and a half inches by four and a quarter inches - really?  OK, I can do this!  I never knew how much fun this would be!  Had I had more time, I would have kept going.  Actually it was easier than I thought, because there was less space to fill up.

I looked through my stamps to see what would look best in this space and went from there.  I pulled out scraps from my scrap pile, matched up some inks and gathered my embellishments. 

I don't know if you can see the layers, but in the card to the left, the writing is actually patterned paper.  The card base is Hero Arts foliage layering paper.  I also used Wink of Stella on the leaves to give it some glitter and dimension, but it never photographs well for me.

The card on the right is layered with a grass die that I inked up to match the stamped image. I glued that over the image and then popped a bunny die cut over that.

I want to thank Martha for my favorite Scramble EVAH!!!!  It made me wish Spring was right around the corner, but alas, more snow coming Monday!!!!  At least these gave me the warm fuzzies today!

Please feel free to leave me a comment!  Thanks for stopping by!

SUPPLIES
Stamps - Hero Arts Overexposed Leaves, Newsprint Tulips, Sunshine, Four Seasons
Paper - Hero Arts Foliage layering papers, Prima Meadow Lark pp, Neenah Solar White cardstock
Inks/Markers - Distress Markers Broken China and Peeled Paint, Hero Arts lime green mid-tone shadow ink, MFT ColorBox Razzleberry dye ink, Wink of Stella Versamark Watermark
Dies  - Poppystamps Fuzzy Bunnies and Grassland Border
Other - MME Dots, Zing cricket embossing powder
 

Runway Inspired Challenge #53

Oh, how I love the Runway Inspired Challenges!  Fashion inspiration is such a personal interpretation and the design team NEVER fails to display that! This one was quite a challenge for me and perhaps I took it too literally, but I think it worked. 

As soon as I saw the lace element in the dress, I reached for an oldie but goodie Hero Arts stamp, Lace Frame.  I stamped and black embossed it on the purple cardstock.  For the center portion of the stamped image, I used a Spellbinder die to cut it out, so I could stamp the sentiment.  Another Hero Arts stamp, Special Time, was embossed in gold. I love this font - it looks lovely with the lace. I mounted that whole piece onto black cardstock.

I knew the background had to be lattice, so I took the Hero Arts Lattice Background and stamped it in black on the same cardstock, cut it into four equals portions, and mounted it on a black card base.

For the final touch, as in the dress, I used gold and teal sequins to bring out those color elements.  

I will definitely use the die cut technique with the lace stamp again.  It really matches the frame perfectly. 

Thanks RIC for another fun challenge!

As always, I love reading your comments!

SUPPLIES

Stamps - Hero Arts Lace Frame K5329, Lattice Background 331065, Special Time CL579

Paper - Bazzill, Papertrey Ink

Ink - Versafine Onyx, Versamark Watermark

Die - Spellbinders

Other - Darice sequins

Hero Arts New Birthday Challenge!

YAY, it's time for a new challenge from Hero Arts!  The theme is all about BIRTHDAYS!  Head on over to their BLOG to check out the five categories to enter in.  I wanted to make something fun and colorful, so I went with "anything goes." It could go to just about anyone!

With all the graphic elements,  I felt the card needed a touch of something feminine, so I added the butterfly, embossed in white, filled in with Wink of Stella, and embellished with lime green pearls.  Some ribbon, twine, and sequins also speak to the girly girl in me!

I love the Zing Cricket Green embossing powder on the BIRTHDAY sentiment.  I don't think I ever used it!  The finished card reminds me of my preppy days in high school, especially this color palette.  It makes me very HAPPY!!

Hope you play along and thanks for visiting my blog!  I love to read your comments!

SUPPLIES

Stamps - Hero Arts Five Lines Background, Hip Hip Hurray, Antique Flowers and Butterflies

Paper - Hero Arts Foliage layering papers, Neenah Solar White, Core'dinations

Inks - Hero Arts Green Hills Mid-Tone Shadow Ink, Memento Danube Blue Dye Ink, Versamark Watermark

Dies - Antique Flowers and Butterflies, MFT Fishtail Flags, Papertrey Ink One Liners Happy Die

Other - Hero Arts White Embossing Powder, Zing Cricket Embossing Powder, Hero Arts Pearls, Hemptique Twine, Studio Calico sequins, Wink of Stella Marker, May Arts Chevron ribbon

Give-Away Winner Announced!

Since I haven't heard from the first person whose name I drew, I drew another name.  The winner is JOY123 (MEADOWS)!!!  Please Flickrmail me with your e-mail and I'll send the Simon Says Stamp E-card right out to you! 

Thanks for your wonderful comment and congratulations!!!



 

Hero Hostess 2014 Blog Hop Give-Away!

Sorry this post is late, but I have been trying to retrieve my lost comments as quickly as possible and I was able to get back about half.  Thanks to ALL who left me comments and to those who reposted. I am so, so grateful.

So, with that said, by random draw, the winner of my personal give-away is NANCY CARROLL!  Nancy, if you could e-mail me at primethyme@charter.net, I'll get your Simon Says Stamp e-card right off to you!  If I don't hear back by 2/1, I'll draw another name.

Thanks again for joining us at the hop!

Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop 2014 is Here and a Give-Away!

EDITING NOTE: DUE TO A BIT OF A GLITCH, MY COMMENTS ON ALL MY POSTS HAVE BEEN LOST.  IF YOU ARE CHECKING BACK HERE TO SEE IF YOU HAVE WON MY GIVE-AWAY AND DON'T SEE YOUR NAME, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST AGAIN. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. 

Welcome to day three of the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop, featuring fabulous stamps from the new 2014 release!

If you’ve been following along, you’ve just arrived from Arlene McClung's blog!

Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day’s starting post at the Hero Club Blog. The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!

I will also be having a random drawing for a $25 E-card to Simon Says Stamp, so check back here on Saturday, January 25th to see if you won!

If you find a broken link, you'll find a master list of the hop links at the Hero Arts Club Blog. Also, please report broken links to: blog@heroarts.com.

For my card, I used the new wood stamp, Petals of Beauty K5897, and Say It All CL574.

I first stamped the Petals of Beauty on white cardstock, using the Colorbox inks. I then masked off the stems of the flower and over-stamped it two more times.  Using a distress marker, I added additional stems and did some shading on the buds.

Next, I die cut the pool cardstock and placed the negative as a frame over the stamped flowers.  Using a light pencil, I drew a line along the side of the flower that was underneath the rectangle.  I removed it and fancy cut out that area of the flower.  Don't forget to erase the pencil!  Note, you can see that in the photo it looks like one whole layer. 

I die cut the bow, stamped it with the Tiny Ink Spots and used glue dots to adhere to frame.  I backed the whole piece with a white card blank.

To finish it off, I black embossed the sentiment and colored all of the flowers and stems with Wink of Stella.  You can't see it very well in the photo, but it gives a beautiful glimmer finish to the card!

Don't forget to check back at the Hero Arts blog tomorrow for another day of hopping with some very talented designers!


Supplies
Stamps - Hero Arts Petals of Beauty K5897, Say It All CL574, Tiny Ink Spots S5637
Paper - Hero Arts snow and pool layering papers
Ink & Markers - Versafine black onyx ink, Versamark watermark, Wink of Stella, Distress Markers Peeled Paint, MFT Colorbox Dye Inks Razzleberry and Gumdrop Green
Die - Lil Inker Bow die, Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles die
Other - Ranger Ultrafine black embossing powder

Hero Arts Scramble #73

We had a fun Scramble over at the Hero Arts Flickr Group, hosted by Kanan.  It was her first time and she gave us quite the challenge!  She was awesome and the cards in the group were amazing!

Here's my finished card.  How lucky was I that one of the choices Kanan gave us was Vintage!

 

I've been hoarding these flowers from the Funkie Junkie Boutique for several years.  I didn't have time to make my own, but I have, using crinoline, dies, inks, and a center embellishment.  HERE is one I've made in the past.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I would love to hear your comments!

Supplies

Paper - Wassau Fiesta White cardstock, Crate Paper, Basic Grey

Stamps - Hero Arts Merry Background S5631, Holiday Sayings CL343

Inks - Hero Arts Mid-Tone Shadow Field Greens, Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Dies - MFT Fishtail Flags

Other - Crinoline Flower from Funkie Junkie Boutique

A Vintage Christmas

This week, I am playing in two challenges I haven't entered before, but I am such a huge fan of all the design team members!  I really challenged myself to incorporate the elements of both. EDITED - I JUST MISSED THE DEADLINE FOR THE JUGS CHALLENGE!  Awwwwww

First up is Always Playing with Paper's Merry Monday Challenge # 83 (Stripes, Red, Chocolate with Stars or Hearts)

The elements of this challenge spoke to the vintage side of me!  Just look at the beautiful inspiration photo.  Head over to Lesley's blog and check out the awesome cards from their design team!

The next is Just Us Girls Challenge #214 - Technique (Words  Background)
I love this challenge so much, I didn't even feel I needed a sentiment on my card.  I simply adore any and all backgrounds as a platform to build my elements upon and I used a vintagey embossing folder from Tim Holtz.  Using Core'dinations paper, and sanding it down, brought out the distressed look I was going for.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog - I would love to hear your comments.

Supplies
Paper - Basic Grey, Core'dinations, Reflections, Crate Paper, corrugated paper
Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Walnut Stain
Dies - Die-namics Double Scallop Border
Other -Darice Chocolate Hemp Twine, star and snowflakes from Funky Junky Boutique, Webster's Pages glass pebbles, MM brad maker

Inspiration Comes in All Shapes and Sizes and Friends

Over this past weekend I was showing my husband some cards made by a dear friend of mine, Virgina Lu of Yes Virginia, and how she incorporated paint color chips into her gorgeous designs.  He was amazed, to say the least!

While I was up in my studio, cardmaking, he went to the hardware store to run and errand and came back with a COLORFUL surprise for me.  He picked up a handful of the paint chips! (I know, he's a keeper in SO many ways!)

Virginia has always been my favorite muse and when my mojo has left the building, she has told me she doesn't mind if I use her creations as inspiration.  She's generous, compassionate, and a huge source of support to me when I have needed her.  Everyone should have a friend like her! You can see a few of Virginia's paint chip cards HERE and HERE.

My mind blanked.  I broke out into a cold sweat - was I going to disappoint?????  YEP, I guess I need more practice with the creative aspect of these sweet little colorful gems, but I couldn't resist the play on colorblocking and decided to go ahead and post my creation.  I still have plenty more chips to play with the next time!

Here's my card and I'm going to enter this into the Hero Arts Holiday Challenge.  I chose the theme, A Few of My Favorite Things in that I used my favorite technique of wet embossing, especially in gold!

Thanks so much for looking and, as always, I love to hear your comments!

Supplies

Paper -Hero Arts white layering, MME pp

Stamps - Hero Arts Hanging Ornaments CG221, Impression Obsession Background Distressed Diagonal

Inks - Versamark Watermark

Dies - Papertrey Ink One Liners Die Collection, Lil Inkers Stitched Mats Squares

Other - Paint chips, Darice sequins, Glimmer Mist, Ranger Ultrafine gold embossing powder, Wink of Stella Pen, Hero Arts white embossing powder

Day Four in the Studio and Muse Challenge #42

Yes, I am back and I didn't wake up in a purple mood!  Instead, I wanted to challenge myself with one thing I've NEVER tried and another I agonize over.  The first is washi tape - that's right friends, this gal has never used a single piece on ANYTHING!  The next is my nemesis, my dreaded fear - a CAS card!  I get chills thinking about it!  But as a wise person once said, "Put your big girl panties on and kick some butt!" 

So, I set out to get some inspiration from a challenge I have yet to enter, (another first) over at the Muse Blog, Challenge #42.  The muse this week is Laurie Willison and her CAS style won me over!

Just a note about my holly leaves..... I made them myself.  I took pine green textured cardstock and with a foam brush, painted it with a thick layer of Glossy Accents.  I let the paper dry overnight.  Then I hand cut each leaf out free-handed and scored a "vein" down the middle.  I love the effect!

Here is the Muse inspiration photo from uber talented Laurie.  

As always, thanks for looking and I'd love to hear your comments.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies

Paper - Hero Arts snow layering paper, Bazzill textured cardstock
Stamps - Hero Arts Holiday Sayings CL343
Inks - Versamark Watermark Inkpad
Other - Queen & Co washi tape, Darice sequins, Michael's silver wired twine, MM button, Ranger Ultrafine silver embossing powder

RIC #47 Day Two in My Studio and a Farewell to Cath

Feeling awesome and loving getting inky again!  I don't care if my mojo is on vacation, it will come back soon!

It's been months since I've entered a challenge and I miss it so much!  My very favorite challenge blog, Runway Inspired Challenge, has a to-die-for inspiration photo. I know, right?????

I wanted to whip up something that wasn't a literal CASE, so I pulled out my favorite Hero Arts stamp, Leafy Vines, and masked off the colors using Distress Markers and a spritz of water.  I used another favorite of mine, Wausau Fiesta White paper.  It's a light, creamy paper with specks of different colors.  Very subtle but so much fun!

The MOST important element of this card is my sentiment.  I have just come through some serious health issues, which I never really discuss, but it is near and dear to my heart and speaks of how I am feeling due to the support of some wonderful and amazing friends.  Their positive support and the ability to laugh with me is the best medicine a girl could ask for!  THIS IS FOR YOU, MY SWEET PEAS!!!!!  I love you all!

I also want to add that I was so sad to hear about Cath Edvalson will be leaving Moxie Fab World.  I know I didn't often participate in the challenges, but I was a HUGE admirer of hers and was always inspired over there!  I will continue to follow you Cath, on Pinterest, where your vision of beauty is always awe-inspiring!  You will be missed by so many.  As important as this card is to me, I hope you think of the sentiment each day and let it remind you that EVERY day is a MOXIE FAB day!!!!

Thanks for looking and please leave me your comments, I love to read them!

Supplies

Paper - Wasusau Fiesta White cardstock

Stamps - Hero Arts Leafy Vines, Technique Tuesday Ordinary by Ali Edwards (SSS)

Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Markers Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, Dried Marigold

Other - Darice mixed sequins, MFT Fishtail Flags die

Christmas Joy Tag for Ribbon Carousel Challenge RCC87

I know it's been months since I've blogged, but it's been a rough go for a while.  But don't think for a minute I haven't been ordering new Christmas goodies in the meantime!


So, today I went into my studio after seeing a new-to-me challenge blog to finish up a tag I started about a month ago and had SO much fun!  I can't believe how much holiday stuff I have - OH EM GEE!!  Seriously, there should be a reality show called, "Stamping Hoarders!"  (I can hear you all agreeing with me ladies!)

The Ribbon Carousel Blog is having a cool Holidays and Celebrations challenge that I thought my tag would be perfect for!  I hope to enter many more of  their challenges because, as many of you know, I'm a ribbonaholic!

Anyway, I'm a little rusty at taking photos, and tags ALWAYS are a challenge for me, but I took some close-ups so you can see the detail.

I used a standard Tim Holtz tag and covered it in this pretty pp.  I wanted a vintagey, retro look, so I distressed the edges with Black Soot distress ink.  I punched a hole in the top where the reinforcement is and added some chevron ribbon.  On the bottom, I found some cute pom poms and then tied twine around it.

The tree was stamped with Picket Fence distress paint on black cardstock with the Hero Arts Chalk Background and then cut out with this awesome die. To give it a sparkle, I used Stickles on the branches.  I popped it off the paper with 3-D foam strips.

I took a new sentiment die from Papertrey Ink (SWOON!) and cut out some coordinating pp.  I painted it with Rock Candy Stickles and then sprinkled with Rock Candy glitter.  I attached it to the tree.  When everything was dry, I sprayed the whole piece with Glimmer Mist for a retro shine!

Now I have a wonderful mess to clean up and I couldn't be happier!  My fingers are inky sticky and I'm already thinking of my next project!

Thanks so much for looking and as always, I'd love to hear your comments!

Supplies

Paper - Crate Paper Sleigh Ride (pp), Papertrey Ink black cardstock, Tim Holtz manilla tag

Stamps - Hero Arts Chalk Background CG623

Dies - La La Land Christmas Tree, Papertrey Ink One Liners Die Collection

Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Black Soot, Distress Stain Picket Fence

Other - Crate Paper pom poms, The Twinery charcoal, May Arts chevron ribbon, Frosted Lace and Rock Candy Stickles, Rock Candy glitter, Glossy Accents, Glimmer Mist Dazzling Diamonds, 3-D foam strips

Hero Hostess Summer Picnic Blog Hop!

What's more fun than a Summer picnic?  How about a Blog Hop with a Summer picnic theme!  Welcome to day four of this super fun hop!  I hope you've been following along this week because lots of fun things are going on.....check it out!

You should have arrived here from the fabulously talented Sally Sherfield's Created by Sally blog.  If you want to return to the beginning of the hop, HERE is where it's all happening!  Please report any broken links to blog@heroarts.com.

When I think of a Summer picnic, it evokes memories of my childhood spending Summers on the Connecticut shoreline at the beaches of Long Island Sound.  We would have clams, chowders, corn on the cob, lobster, and always fresh-caught fish by my uncle.  Living in New England my whole life has always afforded me the luxury of fresh seafood/shellfish whenever I had a craving!

And so, for my card, I chose to invite you all to my clambake, to celebrate these gems of the sea!

I knew I had the sea shells from the Hero Arts set Antique Engravings, so I stamped three of them on white cardstock in clear embossing ink and then used golden sand embossing powder.  I fussy cut them out and added a touch of Wink of Stella.  I can almost hear the ocean!

For the tag, I used the Hero Arts Tag Collage Set, stamped in Navy mid-tone shadow ink and bordered it with a teeny, tiny red gingham washi tape and then mounted it on kraft cardstock.

For the sentiment, I used an oldie but goody favorite set, Hip Hip Hurray, stamped in the same Navy ink and filled it in with a marker.  To give it some depth, I went over it in the Wink of Stella.

Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day's starting post at the Hero Club Blog.  The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!

Next up on the hop is the sweet and creative Arlene McClung and her blog A Bit of This and That. Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're enjoying all the eye candy my sister Hosti have created for you!

Finally, I have a recipe I adapted from Cooking Light back in the Summer of 2009, that I think you will find quite delicious.  It's a Summer chowder I serve  quite often as a meal with some fresh bread and a cool drink.  Hope you enjoy!

Roasted Corn, Pepper, and Tomato Chowder

Serves 6

3               red bell peppers -- halved and seeded
3               ears  corn -- shucked
1 1/2         pounds  tomatoes -- halved, seeded, and peeled (about 4)
2               tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
4               cups  onion -- chopped (2 medium)
3               cans  fat-free chicken broth -- (14-ounce) less-sodium
1/4            teaspoon  salt
1/4            teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
1/4            cup  crumbled blue cheese -- (1 ounce)
2               tablespoons  chopped fresh chives

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

Arrange bell peppers, skin side down, and corn in a single layer on a grill rack; grill 5 minutes, turning corn occasionally. Add tomatoes; grill an additional 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly charred. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Coarsely chop tomatoes and bell peppers; place in a medium bowl. Cut kernels from ears of corn; add to tomato mixture.

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion; cook 7 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato mixture; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to high, and stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Cool 20 minutes.

In batches, place tomato mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Place pureed mixture in a large bowl. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Strain tomato mixture into pan; discard solids. Place pan over medium heat; cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in salt and black pepper. Ladle into bowls; garnish with cheese and chives.

Source:
  "adapted from Cooking Light JUNE 2009"
                 
NOTES : Grilling the vegetables heightens their sweetness, and blue cheese provides a pungent counterpoint in this soup. Substitute crumbled goat cheese or feta, if you prefer.  You may also use canned, peeled tomatoes if you don't have fresh.

Friends Always

This weekend is Mother's Day and I want to wish all of you a wonderful day!  My mom passed away in 1989 and this card is a tribute to some special friends who have been like a mother to me, (even though I'm older, LOL!)

 I decided I wanted to enter my card into two of my favorite challenges - Runway Inspired and CAS-usal Fridays.

For the Runway Inspired Challenge #35, their inspiration photo is of a gorgeous outfit from Miu Miu.  My eyes immediately went to the horizontal stripes of the dress with a pink polka dot collar and black zipper detail offset to the side.  I also felt that the model wearing a yellow dress in the background was a detail I wanted to incorporate.  To give some movement to my card, I wanted to draw your eye down to the bottom of my card with a few black pearls, emulating the dots on the handbag.  I was also struck by the simplicity of the wooden runway, so I used a wood grained embossing folder as the card base.

For the CAS-usal Fridays Challenge CFC100, their theme is one of their Top 10 challenges, Tic Tac Toe, (celebrating their 100th challenge and 2nd birthday.) I chose the top left, polka dots going diagonally down to black&white.  With Black Diamond Stickles, I think I brought the bling, baby!

I had fun fusing these two challenges together!  And to make it even more fun, I am including this card in a batch I am sending to my dear friend, Barb Engler, for a United Way campaign she will be participating in at work.  All the profits from the sale of the cards will be going to United Way!  

 

Thanks for stopping by and as always, I love to read your comments!

Supplies:

Paper - HA snow layering, PPI black cardstock, Bazzill

Stamps - HA Pinstripe BG and Untitled Postmark

Ink - Versafine Black Onyx

Other - Lil Inker Bow die, Spellbinders classic circle, Hero Arts black pearls, Black Diamond Stickles, Sizzix wood grained embossing folder, black velvet ribbon from my stash

Here Comes The Sun!

Good afternoon!  Today, I am hosting the Hero Arts Flickr Group 90 Minute Scramble challenge.  The theme is "Here Comes the Sun."  This for all of you who could use a good dose of sunshine!

In our crazy world, we are experiencing a weather phenomenon that is bringing record-breaking snow to the South and 80 plus degrees to the North.  It’s like the Earth has flipped, LOL!

So I’m asking you to create a project that uses one or more of these elements:
The word SUNSHINE

An image (die, cut file, or stamp) of the SUN

An ALL YELLOW monochromatic project that conveys the feeling of a SUNNY day

Here are my cards I made for the challenge.

 My first project is a tag from one of the new Hero Arts stamp sets, Tag Collage.  I stamped it in Pale Tomato mid-tone shadow ink and then dry embossed it with a bird and vine folder.  The flower is one of my very favorites, Hero Arts Stencil Flower.  I used the emboss resist technique with clear powder and Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Dried Marigold, and Worn Lipstick distress inks. The bird is a wood cutout that was originally intended to be a score/bone folder - yeah right?  REALLY!  I covered it in a scrap of MME Miss Caroline paper and added a pretty pool pearl for the eye.  I think she's sweet!  My SUNNY element, as if the flower and bird aren't enough, is the Hero Arts sentiment stamp from Homey Patterns.  I've used this stamp often.  I thought Soft Pool shadow ink would match that paper and pearl perfectly.

To finish off my tag, I added a bow made out of seam tape I dyed with Squeezed Lemon distress ink and a pretty new-to-me die from My Favorite Things, Leaf-Filled Flourish I also distressed with the lemon ink. 

My next project is a CAS card.  I KNOW - I don't make these EVAH!  But hey, it's a challenge and this is the only sketch that came to mind.  It's from the Clean and Simple On-Line Card class. 

I simply dry embossed a white card with a SU lattice folder.  Next, I stamped the Hero Arts Radiant Banner in Butter mid-tone shadow ink on white cardstock, then die cut a circle from Spellbinders on the bottom part of the stamped image.  I turned the image on its side and attached it with foam squares to the card base.  I added some puffy, white clouds using my new Lil Inker die cut set and then used a Copic to shadow it in blue.

I finished off this quick card with a scrap from the same MME Miss Caroline paper pad, but this time I used another Hero Arts stamp from Heydey Sentiments set with Memento ink in Tangelo.  I used My Favorite Things Fishtail Flags die for the sentiment.  That's it!  Easy Peasy!

I hope you can join in on the fun!  Thanks SO much for visiting my blog and as always, I love to read your comments.

Smile

This week, I'm playing along for the first time at Muse Challenge Blog.  Their challenge #9 is created by the extremely talented designer, Marion Vagg, in a gorgeous play on color, stripes, and design.  I would LOVE it if you could stop by their BLOG and vote for my card!  Voting starts at 12 noon EST on Saturday 3/23 and ends 12 noon EST on Sunday 3/24.  I'd really appreciate it!

 These aren't colors that I use often, so I had to dig through my inks and then remembered my Hero Arts shadow inks.  LOVE them!  For the stripe element, I used the new Papertrey Ink set Watercolor Wonder, a very abstract set of "smears" that look handmade.  SO cool.

I experimented with a variety of stamps for the design and remembered my cherished  Hero Arts stamp Fabulous Flourish.  I embossed it in white, keeping the card in landscape, so I could fit the entire stamp on top of the stripes. 

For the sentiment, I chose Hero Arts Made With Love stamp and masked off SMILE, from You Make Me Smile - one of my faves!  I embossed it too, in white.  To finish it off, I added some pearls for a little bling!

I'm also entering this in the Hero Arts Blog monthly challenge.

As always, I enjoy reading your comments.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Paper - Hero Arts Layering Papers - Snow, Pool Mixed

Stamps - Hero Arts Fabulous Flourish, Papertrey Ink Watercolor Wonder

Ink - Hero Arts Soft Pool, Pool Mid-Tone, Cornflower Mid-Tone, Memento Blue Danube, VersaMark

Other - Hero Arts White Embossing Powder, Pool Mixed Accents

Lawn Fawn Birthday Mini Hop

Stamp Fever is a charming little store in Orange, California. We carry all things related to the crafting hobbies of stamping, card-making and paper crafting.  We stock a variety of stamps, papers, inks and supplies. We can also provide special orders for items you find online. We offer weekly stamping classes along with demos and make ‘n takes throughout the month.

Stamp Fever participates in the Southern California Shop Hop! Our design team goes all out to deck our store in theme related finery and we always have a charming Photo Op to add to the memories of your Shop Hop experience.

Stamp Fever is hosting a Lawn Fawn 3rd Birthday celebration! The party is on Saturday March 16 from 1-4. If you are in the area, please stop in for a visit and to share some birthday cake with Kelly and Mike, owners of Lawn Fawn. Kelly will share a special Make ‘n Take featuring one of Lawn Fawn’s newest sets “Summertime Charm”. 

There will be prize drawings at the party but we don’t want to exclude our blog readers. We will randomly choose one winner from those who comment at The Stamp Fever blog and one more random winner from comments on the Hop Participant blogs. To increase your chances of winning: Follow the Stamp Fever blog in a reader or by email subscription; sign up for our Newsletter; follow Stamp Fever on Facebook and leave us a comment there. Each winner will receive a Lawn Fawn Stamp set and coordinating Lawn Cuts Die set.

Comment to enter prize drawing until 10:00 pm PDT on Friday March 15. The random drawing will take place at the party. The two winners will be announced Sunday, March 17 on the Stamp Fever Blog.

Please feel free to HOP on over to the blogs of all the participating ladies listed below!  They have made some gorgeous cards!   I also want to add a special THANK YOU to Nancy Kreuger for the invitation to be part of this exciting celebration and setting up this hop!

  
Nicole- Unify Handmade 
Chari- MossyMade 
Britta- Britta Swiderski Creative 
Vera- Ling's Design Studio 
Lynnette- Netter's Notables 
Barb- ...Enjoying Life 
Lin- Sending Hugs 
Marcy- En Papillote Arts 
Kathy- Wading in Creativity 
Katie- Katie's Quarks 
Virginia- Yes, Virginia 
Melissa- Love My Scraps 
Deborah- Society of Stampaholics 
Nancy- Happy Heart Studio
Lawn Fawn Blog 
Stamp Fever Blog 
Annette- My Clever Creations
  
Here is my card for the blog hop.  It's Critters on the Savanna and in my opinion, the cutest set ever!  Thanks for stopping by!