Etsy Inspired #68 - Gypsy Rose Handbags

When I saw this bag I immediately thought of some Jenni Bowlin Paper that I won as blog candy.....oooh sometime earlier this year.  

 

And this is the card I came up with......hopefully, I will remember to give it to the hubby this Valentine's Day!

 

 

Thanks for looking !

Adornit and Flipbooks from 2 Charm Products

This month the design team over at Cookin' Up Creations had the pleasure of working with products from Adornit/Carolees Creations and the new flipbooks from 2 Charm Products.

The BBQ collection from Adornit and the flipbook from 2 Charm Products worked perfectly together to create a small recipe book for my hubby..........this mini book will hold some of our favorite grilling recipes!

 

Here's a little party invite that I made using scraps from the same collection.

 

  

I also made a little bag and card using papers from the Graduation collection also from Adornit/Carolees Creations.

 

And a couple of layouts using papers from the Nancy Jane collection also from Adornit/Carolees Creations.

 

  

And with the scraps I had leftover from the same collection as above I decided to make some little gift tags.

 

Thanks for looking!

Bath Salts Recipe

We all know how stressful this time of year can be with all the shopping, decorating and baking that has to be done.  So here's a little bath salt recipe to help you relieve some of that holiday stress.....not to mention, it's easy on the old pocket book.
 
INGREDIENTS:
Epsom Salt or Dead Sea Salt - I found Epsom Salt and my local Walmart
Baking Soda
Essential Oil - You should be able to find this at a craft store
Food Coloring - optional
Glass jar

DIRECTIONS:
In a large plastic bag, mix.....

2 cups Epsom Salt or Dead Sea Salt - or 1 cup of each....do not use table salts, they will dry out skin!

1-2 teaspoons of baking soda, if desired.....makes skin soft.

10-12 drops of essential oil (Lavender is best for a relaxing bath, Vanilla and Eucalyptus are also fabulous!)  It's best if you add a drop or two at a time to prevent the oils from melting the salt.

Add the food coloring one drop at a time until you get the color you desire - this is optional. 

After you have mixed the salt really well, pour into pretty glass jars and attach lids.

For the Glass Jars:
I used an old candy jar that I purchased at a discount store years ago, but you can also use mason jars, spaghetti jars, mayonnaise or pickle jars - just make sure they're clean and dry when you add the salts.

 

Thanks for looking! 

 

O' Christmas Tree

It's December 16th, do you have your tree up?  We usually put our tree up on Thanksgiving Day here at our house.  The boys would drag the fake tree and all it's decorations down from the attic while I cook dinner.  They would stand it up and try to make sure all the lights are working - I say try, because after a while they would lose patience and I was the one who would spend the next couple of hours looking for a lose bulb!  After dinner and the table was cleared off I would fluff the branches and we would all add the ornaments.  Jack would take all the Hallmark ornaments out of their boxes and Kyle and I would place them on the tree.  It was a great family tradition, until this year! Our house is small and the only place to sit the big tree is right smack dab in front of the front door..........and the truth is the boys really didn't want to fool with the big tree this year so we opted for what I call, "our Charlie Brown tree".  At first I wasn't too keen on the idea, but I gotta say this little tree is starting to grow on me.....and it will be so much easier to take down this year!  LOL.  So here it is blog readers, my Charlie Brown tree.

 

It stands 3 feet high and it's decked out in a wide hot pink ribbon and pom pom garland.  I have a total of 47 hot pink and chartreuse ornaments hanging from it's little branches and a hot pink velour skirt wrapped around the bottom.   Kinda cute, eh?

BTW, I found this cool new program on the web where you can turn your digital photos into a polaroid.  It's called Polardroid and you can make a donation or download it for free.  It even makes the same noise that the old polaroid camera's would make when it spit the picture out and then you sit and wait for the picture to appear on your screen - just like the real thing I tell ya!  You gotta check it out!   

Wann win with Emmie Lou

My friend Emily is celebrating her birthday and blogiversary by giving away blog candy!  How sweet is that!  If you would like a chance to win, just head on over to her BLOG, become a follower and leave a comment.  For two chances at winning, post about the giveaway on your blog!  Here's what's up for grabs!

 

Unity coffe cup single

Unity Floral Friends set

{ippity} Merry Kissmas set

Stampin' Up Pocket Silhouettes set

MFT Annie LaPointe Chives stamp

Heidi Swapp Clear stamp

Studio G Valentines set

Creative Memories album

Creative Memories sticker and paper pack

Alphabet sticker pack

Recollections felt border pack

DCWV Chrstmas card kit

Lala Land Crafts Trick or Treat LaLa stamp

Make it personal rub on pack

set of fall clear stamps from Target

Elle's Studio journaling tabs

 

Treats For Your Best Friend.......

It's been said that a dog is man's best friend, well in my house a dog - or should I say 3, is a woman's best friend - so why not do something special for your four legged friend this holiday season.  Here's a dog biscuit recipe sure to leave your favorite canine licking his lips and begging for more......and most of the ingredients you probably have in your kitchen pantry already!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water

GLAZE:
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 275.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, wheat germ, peanut butter, vegetable oil, honey, baking powder and water.
3. Mix ingredients until thoroughly combined.
4. Roll dough out to a 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.  Cut into desired shapes and place on baking sheet.
5. In a small bowl, mix together milk and egg.   Brush glaze on biscuits.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.  Rotate pans and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, until biscuits are golden and firm.

Here's our new pup Maddy trying to eat my display!

As  you can see, my dogs LOVE 'EM

You can find this and lots more recipes by visiting THIS site.

I've put off updating......

this old blog of mine long enough.  I promised myself when I entered into the blogging world that I was going to update it everyday!  Well, everyday turned into a couple times a week and now I'm lucky to update it a couple times a month!  I guess when life gets crazy something has to suffer, and for me, it's this old blog of mine.  Too bad it can't be the cooking or laundry but I guess it wouldn't be fair to make the boys walk around hungry and wearing dirty underwear!  LOL.  Anyhoo, here's a few cards I made during the Card-A-Day challenges over at the Cookin' Up Creations and Classy Scrapper forums.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Thanks for looking and my you all have a fun and safe holiday season!

 

Join us.............

Cookin' up Creations will be counting down the days until Christmas, and even a few days beyond. Beginning December 1st, 2009 and each day thereafter, until the end of the year, our Design Team will be posting a daily challenge. These challenges can be anywhere from making homemade gifts & ornaments, to making dog treats for your favorite pooch, to sharing their favorite cookie recipes with us. And let's not forget some scrapping challenges thrown in there as well!! Each day we'll be inspired once again to make something different in this season of giving!! It'll be a month jammed full of fun and games, so please be sure to come join us as we celebrate the reason for the season and countdown the days until Christmas and beyond!