Wishful Thinking

Hidy Ho!

This is a super-duper, zip-pop, quicky post. I wanted to post my final Bombshell DT project for the month of February...while it is still February! Novel Idea, eh? It's really cold and windy here...not as cold as the blizzard-hammered midwest, but still.

So I made a Spring card--in hopes that it soon will actually be Spring. I found this technique on Pinterest, and had to try it. It involves cutting out parts of an embossed design on white cardstock and putting colored paper behind the openings you cut out. It just looked so cool. I still need to work at finding an embossing folder that will really showcase this technique, but for now...this'll do. I stamped the butterflies on the same patterned papers I used for the cut-outs. Then, I colored them a bit with my Prismacolor pencils.

Ingredients:
butterfly stamps from "Butterfly Queen" set - Bombshell Stamps
Paisley embossing folder - Cuttlebug
patterned papers
ribbon
Prismacolor Pencils
cardstock

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:

• AUD Sentiments - Easter 
• C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - #196 Use Embossing
• Charisma Cardz - #8 Use at least 5 different patterned papers ( I used 5)
• Flutter By Wednesday's - #229 Fairies or Butterflies

Is It Hot In Here?

Hidy Ho crafty peeps!

It's the last Wednesday of the month (geez, already?) and this means it's time for Bombshell Stamps monthly Hump Day Blog Hop!!! Woo Hoo!!! This month our hop mistress, Alison, tasked us with the theme "Some Like It Hot". So that means...well, it means whatever YOU think it means!! That's the beauty of Alison's challenges. They can be interpreted many, MANY ways!!! So hop along with us and make sure you sprinkle love notes along the way to all the participants. THEN, create your own HOT project and enter for your chance to win some FaBuLoUs Bombshell stamps!!!

If you hopped your way here from Alison's sizzling blog, then you made it here in one piece!!!

So...for my project, which I actually completed over 2 weeks ago, (...proof that miracles do still happen), I chose the fun Tiki Party stamp set. And what's more fun (and challenging) than a game of Fire Limbo?? Not that I'd actually try it...but don't you think they should have this as a challenge on the next episode of Survivor? I'd watch.

For the flames, I stamped the flames on vellum and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. This gives them a more translucent look. Originally I tried it on transparency film...but they didn't show up as well, so vellum won out. I colored up the tikis and bamboo with my Prismas and turned the bamboo into a nifty frame and...the limbo stick.

Ingredients:
Tiki Party stamp set - Bombshell Stamps
Prismacolor colored pencils
pigment ink - Tsukineko
vellum
cardstock
clear embossing powder - Ranger
patterned paper - DCWV (I think)
mini brads - Creative Impressions

Thank you for hopping by! It's time to move on to our next hopster, Kim! Here's a list of ALL the hopsters in case you wanna revisit some of them!

Thanks for hopping with us at Bombshell Stamps!!


Bombshell Blog: http://bombshellstamps.blogspot.com/
Alison: http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/
Torrey: http://left-field-studio.blogspot.com/<<< You are here
Kim: http://www.craftypinkanchor.blogspot.com/
Emily: http://www.bombshellemsartisticexpressions.blogspot.com
Rachael: http://rachaelshandmadedesigns.blogspot.com/
Jodi: http://www.elamdesign33.blogspot.com/
Alaine: http://missalaineousmosaics.blogspot.com/
Glittery Katie: http://ferrishyn-frontier.blogspot.com/
Kathi: http://kathstales.blogspot.com

Gettin' Jiggy with mah new BigShot

Hidy Ho crafty peeps!

If y'all have read my post on Facebook, then you know that I spent my weekend at the Scrapbook Expo in Grapevine, TX. It was held at the Gaylord Texan resort/convention center. Can you say HUMONGO??? I'm totally not kidding when I say the parking garage was at least a half mile away from the convention center. Then, once you reach the convention center...it's like another half mile to where the Expo was...inside the convention center building.

I must say, the Gaylord Texan is quite an impressive "little" (hahaha) set up. The place is Ginormous. Truly.

There is a life-size replica of the Alamo inside the atrium of the hotel. LIFE SIZE. Plus a river with a walkway and waterfalls, and rows of high-end boutique shops with facade fronts that look like an "old" town. It's more than just a little bit impressive. It truly does epitomize the "Everything's bigger in Texas" motto. I do have a bone to pick with the Gaylord though...$13 for self parking? ($18 if you're there more than 4 hours). Seriously??? Add that to the $10 entrance fee to the Scrapbook Expo and I had spent almost $30 just to walk through the flippin' door. SERIOUSLY. Okay, I'm finished ranting. OH WAIT...NO I'M NOT FINISHED. Their concessions were exorbitant. $10 for a dry turkey sandwich? $3.50 for a bottle of water? $2 for a banana? That's just at the little concession cart. I can't imagine what their restaurant prices were. Oh yeah...I forgot they had set up a baked potato bar. Only $13 for a baked potato. And, they pretty much had you captive...because there was NOTHING within walking distance (remember, the parking garage itself was a half mile away) and once you leave the parking garage...you have to pay AGAIN if you come back. SERIOUSLY??? Okay, now I'm finished.

Climbing off soapbox.

 

As for the Expo...it was your typical Scrapbooking expo. Scores of vendor booths, all packed to the gills with stuff. So much stuff it made my head swim. After about the third booth I just couldn't look at any more STUFF. But, I had gone to the Expo with 3 goals.
1) To buy one of those Tonic paper distressor thingies.
2) To buy the Sizzix Bigz Accordion Album die (since every retailer on the internet is sold out, all of 'em).
3) To see if my old friend, Maria B., was there.

Maria owns both a brick-and-mortar scrapbook store (in Colorado) called Album Memories, and she owns an online store called "ItsCheaperThanTherapy.com". I just love that name. It makes me giggle. Well, guess what? Not only was Maria there, but she was so happy to see me that she put me in a bear hug for about 30 seconds. Then she asked me what I was doing on Saturday. I told her, "nothing, why?". She asked me if I would do demos for her all day Saturday.

Now, those of you who have known me for a long time know that I LOVE doing demos. I've demo'd all over the world at conventions and expos. But I haven't done any demoing for about the last 5 years. Basically, I haven't done any demoing since I moved to Texas. Don't ask.

Of course I told her I would demo for her. Then I asked her what she wanted me to demo. She asked me to demo the new line of interactive card dies from Sizzix called "Flip-Its". They are the brainchild of Stephanie Barnard. She's a genius, I tell ya. I actually got to meet her at the Expo. She's just so cute and sassy!

It took me seeing one card and I was HOOKED; like a catfish on a line baited with Kentucky Fried Chicken and Snickers bars. I LOVE THESE DIES. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM. Gone are the countless HOURS of masking of parts of dies, measuring, scoring, folding...just to discover you measured incorrectly by 1/4 inch and have to start all over. You can LITERALLY make a PERFECT interactive card base in 5 seconds. I'm not kidding. I had people time me. And the second best part is that I got to play with a BigShot. Before Saturday, I had never laid my hands on a BigShot. But it's like...it's like...heaven.

I am now the proud owner of a BigShot (thanks to Maria).

So...I have crossed over into the Sizzix zone. This does NOT mean I have forsaken my beloved Spellbinders dies. Nooooooooooo. But, it does mean I have retired my faithful Wizard in exchange for a super fabulously smooth-as-buttah BigShot. O M G. My hands don't hurt when I use it! I don't get hit in the boobage area by projectile-force cutting plates that come shooting out the other side! AND, it actually cuts my Memory Box and Papertrey Ink dies in one pass...without shims.

I think I hear angels singing.

Who wants to see my very first card made with my new BigShot???? I used the Flip-Its Ornate Card die (but I just realized the packaging says "Orante"..hahahaha). Here it is!!! 3 views of the same card to kind of show the movement of it. The middle section magically flips over to reveal the other side when the card is pulled open from the right edge.

Isn't it COOLIO?? I tell ya, these card bases have SO MANY possibilities! They come in many different shaped flip parts. Oh and Maria had my coveted Accordion album die in stock! YESSssssssss!!! Well...she HAD it in stock until I demo'd it and she sold out in like 30 minutes. Hahahaha. And I found a vendor with the distressing thingy! It was a very successful venture!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

• Artistic Inspirations - #30 Fancy Folds
• Cutie Pie Challenge - #38 Pretty Pastels
• Pink By Design - Sweet Treats
• Ooh La La Creations - #124 Sparkle and Shine
• House of Gilli - #50 Anything Goes + Pastels

Ingredients:
dies are also available at ItsCheaperThanTherapy.com at a discounted rate!
Flip-Its Ornate Card - Sizzix
Framelits die/stamp set (Birthday Cake) - Sizzix
Labels, Ornate nested dies - Sizzix
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
Corner punch - EK Success
rhinestone swirl - Want2scrap.com
patterned paper - Rusty Pickle
cardstock
Adirondak Stamping ink - Ranger

Quiche Me Quick

Ever get tired of the same old breakfast egg dishes? Scrambled eggs can be so...blah. I did make them into breakfast burritos the other day...that was a little better. We eat a lot of eggs around here...more than we probably should. Yesterday I wanted to make a really nice brunch for my mom and step dad before they left to go to the airport for Florida. I stood in the kitchen; poised in front of the open refrigerator; staring into its depths. The shelves were loaded up with lots of containers of leftovers.

Now, let's just say I'm NOT a big leftover gal. Don't know why. But usually, when I bring home leftovers from restaurants (which is basically every time I eat at a restaurant), the poor leftovers get tossed into the cold, dark refrigerational abyss. They sit, neglected, and unless my hubby rescues them, they usually morph into moldy science experiments. I should just save myself time and when I put the white styrofoam boxes in the fridge, I should label them with scientificky names like: "Olivus Gardenae pastasporidium" or "Fudruckerous burgergenase transformatii".

Ok...suddenly I'm aware that I've strayed off topic in some sort of tangential plane.

Oh yeah...leftovers.

So...there I was...standing in front of the fridge staring at leftovers. These weren't restaurant leftovers. These were homemade leftovers. I started pulling stuff out and made a big pile on the counter. There was leftover steamed spinach from last night's meal, crumbled cooked breakfast sausage from the breakfast burritos I made 2 days before, sliced mushrooms that were beginning to wrinkle, half an onion, homemade caramel sauce from Christmas hiding way in the back behind the pickles. DANGIT, that stuff was Soooo GOOD, but my culinary safety chick chimed in and made me throw it out. DANGIT. There were also cooked mushed-up carrots (I actually ended up eating those for lunch).

I decided with these ingredients (plus eggs, half and half, cheese, pie crust and spices) I could make one heckuva quiche.

So, here it is:

Torrey's Must-Go* Quiche

*Must-Go is a term coined by my husband. It's stuff that needs to be used up before it becomes something Torrey could enter into a science fair.

Yield: 2 9-inch quiches

Ingredients:

2 prepared pie crust doughs (I had the store-bought kind that is rolled up in a box)
12-16 eggs (depends on how big your eggs are)
1 cup cooked spinach
1 cup cooked breakfast sausage (crumbled)
8 oz fresh raw mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Mozzarella, but you can use whatever you have)
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
herbal seasoning to taste (I used Northwood Seasoning by Penzeys--about 1/2-1 tsp)

Directions:

• Line bottoms of 2  9-inch pie plates with parchment paper (I didn't do this, but my crust stuck a bit so I will next time).
• Place 1 piecrust dough in each pan. Gently stretch to fit. Flute edges if you like. 
• Dock the crust dough. That means poke a lot of holes in the bottom with a fork.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) for about 10 min until it's golden brown.
• Cool crusts until they're warm but not hot
• Place butter and olive oil in large skillet. Sautee onions and mushrooms until browned. I mean BROWN...not wimpy grey. Let cool until they're warm, not hot.
• In large bowl, beat eggs and half and half until blended. Dump remainder of ingredients in (including cooked mushrooms and onions) and fold to incorporate.
• Fill cooked pie shells with egg mixture.
• Fasten foil around edge of piecrust to prevent over browning.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40-50 minutes until eggs have puffed and center is set.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 min before serving.

A Little Harmony

Hidy Ho, crafty peeps!

It's challenge time again over at the Bombshell Stamps Blog!! Today's challenge is the brainchild of our Miss February Pin-up girl Christine!! Her challenge is Red & Gold. So, as you can see, it's a color combo challenge...which means you can choose ANY theme as long as red and gold are the predominant colors.

I chose the FaBuLoUs Koi Tattoo stamp set (it's my fave out of all the Bombshell Stamps). I opted for a golden yellow instead of a metallic gold. But now when I look at this card, I can't stop thinking about Ronald McDonald.

See what I mean??

 

                                       

And... now, I'm hungry.

Great.

Back to my card. I colored up the koi with my ever-trusty (would that be "omnitrusty"?) Prismacolor colored pencils and fussy cut him out. I stamped several of the flowers and did the same thing to them. I stamped the sentiment on a strip of cardstock and folded it into a banner. I decided it needed some more texture, so I ran the background strip of red cardstock through a wavy crimper and affixed some netting over the top of it (yeah, it's leftover from some produce I purchased at the grocery store...I'm into recycling ya know). The background is a die cut lattice that I placed over a piece of authentic Japanese Origami paper (which I set at an angle).

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

• Fab n' Funky Challenges - Challenge #159 Flower Power
• Penny's Paper Challenge - #115 Anything Goes
• Stampavie and More - #187 Lots of Layers
• Perfect Sentiments Challenge: PSC67 Floral Fantasia
• Word Art Wednesday: #68 Anything Goes
• Inky Impressions: #IIC98 Favorite Color Combo
• Crafting By Designs: Anything Goes

Ingredients:
Koi Tattoo stamp - Bombshell Stamps
Lattice die - Papertrey Ink (Quatrefoil Die)
Prismacolor Pencils
Origami paper
Ribbon - Michaels
Mini brads - Creative Impressions
produce netting
Twistel
cardstock

Thanks, as always for stopping by and leaving your love! Be sure to visit the Bombshell Blog to see what super awesome things the other girls have created!! And enter your creation for a chance to win some Bombshell stamps!! Woo HOOOO!

Okay...french fries are calling my name. Ciao for now!

Sketch Time at Bombshell

Hidy Ho crafty peeps!

It's time for another sketch challenge at Bombshell Stamps! Here is what our DT captain, Kathi, devised for this month's sketch! So make sure you play along for your chance to win a set of stamps!

 

I, um...well...AS ALWAYS, I took "liberties" with the sketch. I MOSTLY followed it. But instead of stamped images on either side panel...I opted for embossing. I chose the lovely Rose's Portrait stamp for my project. I tried to create a monotone/sepia card--to give it that "vintage" quality. I colored up Miss Rose using only 3 colors of my Prismacolor colored pencils...the shades were all done by blending, blending, blending with odorless mineral spirits. I sure am glad that stuff is odorless (yeah, I realize that doesn't mean it is devoid of fumes...but it helps when I can smell them).

Ingredients:

Rose's Portrait stamp - Bombshell Stamps

loopy oval Nestability die - Spellbinders

clocks embossing folder - Sizzix

Damask border die - Sizzix

eyelet corner punch - All Night Media

Prismacolor Colored Pencils

ribbon

cardstock

Valentine, oh Valentine

Yesterday was (as we all know) the big "V" day. The day where, if you venture out to a drugstore or card store, you enter something akin to either A) a shark feeding frenzy or 2) the panic mode you see when water is poured on an anthill (not that I've done that). I made the mistake of going to CVS yesterday to pick up a prescription for my allergies. That's a whole other can of worms.

Anywho...there we (my husband and I) were. There must have been 15-20 people lined up at the checkout counter; all with armloads of candy, flowers, various stuffed animals, heart-shaped Mylar balloons, cards, bottles of wine. I even saw someone there with a jug of laundry detergent, a can of tuna, toenail clippers and a box of mothballs. I would not like to be THAT person's Valentine...UNLESS, he was going to do all my laundry, make me a sandwich, organize my closet, and give me a pedicure. If that were the case...he'd be a TERRIFIC valentine.

As we meandered our way (like lab rats in an elaborate maze) back to the pharmacy area, we passed by the card and candy aisles. Both had been ransacked and only a few measly scraps were left for the Valentine vultures to pick through. The only cards left were ones that were either UBER gaudy, REALLY tacky,  UGLY, INSULTING, or just plain WEIRD (not that there is anything wrong with weird).

The cards that remained screamed, "OH DANG, I FORGOT IT WAS VALENTINE'S DAY I BETTER GET ANYTHING I CAN FIND OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ARRIVAL HOME EMPTY-HANDED." You know the type...the kind with a picture of 2 Hillbillies (with no teeth). The female Hillbilly held 2 large crock containers of moonshine (with XX marked on the outside). The inside said something about "I wanted to show ya somepin sexy fer Val-en-tine's day. I thought a nice pair o' jugs wud be the perfect thang."

Even the "seasonal" aisle looked totally post-apocalyptic. All the cute doggies, bears and kitties were GONE. The stuffed animals that were left would have done well to go live on the Island of Misfit Toys. Somehow, a stuffed porcupine just doesn't say "cuddle me", and a stuffed crab doesn't scream "hug me". Let's not even discuss the plastic animal-shaped, jelly bean-pooping candy dispensers. Nothing says "I love you" like edible animal excrement.

All the heart-shaped boxes of chocolate were gone. The only candy that was left were things like Nerds, or Lemonheads, or leftover candy from Christmas. As far as I'm concerned, the Christmas chocolate would have been FINE. Chocolate...is chocolate.

Jonathan and I did NOT succumb to the pressure of buying cheesy Valentine merchandise. Instead, we made each other a card and Jonathan gave me a dozen GORGEOUS roses that where salmon-colored on the outside of the petals and buttery yellow on the inside of the petals. How do they do that?

Aren't they lovely???

Jonathan made me a card. He put a great deal of thought into it. Every element on it has meaning (of which he described to me in great detail). I "Photoshopped out" the sentiment he wrote on the inside. It's between us. After all, what happens in a Valentine's card...stays in a Valentine's card (or is that Vegas?). He even found a rose sticker in my stash that matched the roses he got for me. Who knew? He was SO GOOD, he went through my scraps and used paper from there instead of grabbing new sheets.

 

The card I made for him is much more...silly. I think I was a bit "punchy" from my allergy meds (at least that's the story I'm sticking to). I punched the "sentiment" out of the front and inside of the white card itself, and backed it in red cardstock. It was MUCH easier than gluing all those little punchies on there. The hole punch is an image I snagged from the internet. I printed the hole punch on cardstock and fussy cut it out to mount it on the card face.

I also gave him a beautiful bamboo plant for his desk. We decided this year to steer clear of candy. We're trying to be good and eat more sensibly. I tell ya...Valentine's day without chocolate is a new experience for me. Not sure I like it...but my ample waistline will.

We rented a movie, brought home Chinese take-out, and cuddled on the couch for the evening. It was a very lovely, laid-back Valentine's day.

I'm a lucky lady.

A Bittersweet Farewell

Today I bid adieu, adios, a bientot to Kenny K's Krafty Krew. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as part of the Krew and look forward to continuing to use Kenny's marvelous images in my cards! Thank you Kenny, Elena and Susie for giving me the chance to be a part of your team!

Keep on kreating!!

Dedicated To The One I Love

Hidy Ho Crafty peeps! Today I feel like having the text all center aligned. 

I have no idea why...but let's roll with it.

It's challenge time again over at  

Kenny K's Krafty Krew! 

This week our theme is

For The One I Love

This week's first sponsor is Kenny K's Downloads

The prize from Kenny is the winner's choice of 5 digi's.

And our second sponsor this week is 

Marianne Design

and the prize is this gorgeous stamp set and die set too!

For more information on new releases from 
Marianne Design please follow them on
Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/mariannedesignbv

Twitter! https://twitter.com/#!/mariannedesign

For this project I hired Mr. Delivery Guy from Kenny K and put him to work delivering a great big box o' LoVe. I printed him out on kraft-colored cardstock, so he looks all tan. Yeah, that's real masking tape on there. Kinda lends an air of authenticity, doesn't it? I tore the top layer off some corrugated cardboard for the heart backdrop. Props (and maybe some Geritol) to those of you who understand the sentiment reference. 

Double props if you can actually sing it. Triple, if you have choreography.

Ingredients:

Delivery Guy image - Kenny K

Nestability die - Spellbinders (long scalloped rectangle)

Prismacolor colored pencils

Postage stamp stamp - Hero Arts
Stamp-edge scissors - Fiskars

cancellation stamp - I don't know... it's a mystery

kraft cardstock

Distress Ink - Ranger

cardstock