Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Bombshell Blog Hop

It's February 29th! So of course our wonderful Bombshell hop leader Alison just had to challenge us to do something with the word "leap" in it! So what's the challenge? "Leap into Action!" What's it mean? It means she wants you to make your Bombshells into heroes. Now think about it...think about all of the different types of heroes there are. Firemen, policemen, super heroes, and advocates.
Here were some ideas that she thought of.
-Use the "To the Rescue Bombshell" digis which feature firefighter, police woman and nurse costumes. All of these would work!
-Use Retro Cowgirl for some bull-slingin' action! Have your cowgirl save the day!
-Dress up any of your Bombshells like superheroes! Throw a cape and mask on 'em and help them beat the bad guys!
-Use your Bombshells as advocates for a group. For example, dressing your Bombshell up in pink and make a breast cancer awareness card
-You can even go completely opposite of the challenge, and use "Rise & Shine." To make up a funny quote about not leaping or going anywhere.

When I first heard the theme and saw all of Alison’s ideas I thought for sure I would make a card of something.  Alas I sat down to start working on it and a card is not what came out of my hands!!!  I thought,  ok what does this mean to me.  I thought of my brother who is a fire fighter and to me a hero.  I thought of my husband who served in the military for 21 years and spent more time away from his family than with us!  He is my hero.  My children are hero’s also, not just because they are my children but because they grew up without a father more than with and still turned out rather awesome!!!  I thought of my mommy, a hero in her own right, beautiful, brave, and fought to the very end a hard fight against a cancer that would end her life.  She is my hero.  It all kept coming back to hero for me.  Every category that is mentioned above eventually ends in hero for some…. So this is what came out of my hands for this project…
IMG_1643
IMG_1644
I used the beautiful rose from Rose’s Portrait to represent my mommy! 
IMG_1645
I used the Sugar Daddy from the Sugar Daddy set for my son but can’t find that picture… I used the Butterfly Queen to represent my beautiful daughter!!
IMG_1646
I used Pinstripes to represent my brother the fireman…
IMG_1647
I used the Ship from the Homeward Bound set to represent my hubby that served in the military!
IMG_1649
I used a heart from Sacred Heart Art to represent the love I have for them all!
I am so excited to see what this month's Hop crew has come up with. We've got some newbies in the mix this month, so please be sure to visit everyone and give 'em some love. Here is the full hop list.


Now go get hoppin'! Have a fabulous day!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Freaky Friday Challenge #28

Hey all, welcome to another Freaky Friday Challenge!  This week we have some wonderful images to work with.  I chose a silhouette this week and then decided to use it for a white spot in one of my art journal pages.  So I printed it out, taped it down with removable tape and then went to work on the background!  I thought of coming out of the shadows so that is where the page headed. 
Here is the original image:
fld_cameo1_sbdsprev
and here is what I made with it!:
IMG_1642
I hope you enjoy and remember to head on over and see what everyone else has made and enter our challenge this week!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Letting Go….

Hey all , today I want to share with you one of my art journal pages I have been making lately.  Smeared and Smudged has weekly prompts and has for a few weeks.  They are wonderful prompts and I don’t necessarily sit down with their prompts in mind but when I sit down to a background that was made weeks ago or a blank page and don’t really know what I am going to add to it or do, having those prompts is a little helpful.  The good thing about these prompts is that there is no time limit on when to submit your pages.  I like that… So if I work on a page I can always go back and see what one of the previous prompts was and see if my page works for that.  You can read all about it on the forum.

IMG_1629
There isn’t any journaling on it right now for two reasons.  The first is because you all know that I think journaling is a private things, but secondly because I think what I did write on there says all I needed to say at the time that this was flowing.  I may add more later who knows but right now for me it says it all!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Liebster Blog Award

Hello everyone and happy day to all!  I woke up this morning and started perusing through Facebook like I always do and came across some new posts on the networks blogs that I follow and saw that Alison had gotten a blog award.  That in and of itself deserved a like on the status so I liked it and went on...saying I would read it later!  So off I go to the land of Farmville where I spend most of my FB time and I get a text from the a fore mentioned Alison saying to check out her blog when I had the chance.  So off I go to see what she wanted me to see and low and behold she has given me an award too!!!  It made me so happy and started my day off wonderfully!!  Thank you very much my bestie!


Honestly I had never heard of this award before so when I learned what it was about I was very excited! Here is some more info about the award:

These awards give small bloggers with less than 200 followers some well deserved recognition for their creations. Here are the rules:
* Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
* Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you.
* Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.
* Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed.
* Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.
Here are my five, in no particular order…

Jamie- http://jamiescrazycraftylife.blogspot.com/ Jamie is the owner/creator of Forever Night Challenges which I have the awesome honor of being a DT member for the past 2 years!  She is a wonderful artist and I think she is growing by leaps and bounds so please check her out!

Katie- http://ferrishyn-frontier.blogspot.com/ Katie is a fellow Bombshell DT member.  She is our wonderful blog captain... The master of the blog you could say!  She is a wicked sweet freakin awesome artist!  I often tell her she is one of the people I want to be when I grow up!!!  LOL  I have no Idea why she doesn't have 6 gazillion followers because she is that awesome!

Steph-http://stephscreativechaos.blogspot.com/  I first met Steph over on the Smeared and Smudged forum and now have the wonderful pleasure of working with her on the Forever Night DT.  She is a wonderful artist and like her style!

 Lisa-http://www.ldfdesign.blogspot.com/  Lisa is a wonderful artist/crafter.  She always has some wonderful things on her blog.  From the latest S&S project to right now she has a terrarium on her post that she made!  I love her versatility as that is what I am striving for now in my new outlook on life!

Mary- http://sparkly-train.blogspot.com/  Mary Mary Mary... She is wonderful all around.  She will help you in anyway possible whenever you need it!  I love that about her!  She is a wonderful artist and a fellow Bombshell.  She makes the most wicked stuff!  I love it!!!  

I would like to thank Alison again.  She always knows what will make me smile and make my day!  





Friday, February 17, 2012

Soup and Sandwich

So the other day I was watching some TV and saw someone making this soup.  I tweaked it a little to suit my families needs and it is freakin awesome!!!  You can find the original recipe on food network under 10 dollar dinners…. My soup makes 6 servings and has 64 calories, 1 gram fat, and 10 carbs per serving.

Now my picture is  not the best but it gives you an idea of what it looks like….
photo (3)

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
14 Roma Tomatoes
4 TBSP Olive oil, divided
4 cups organic chicken broth
1 cup onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 TBSP salt, divided
1 TBSP pepper, divided
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
4 triangles lite laughing cow cheese*

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300*F.  Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise.  Place them in a large bowl and drizzle with 2 TBSP olive oil, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper toss to coat well.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet covered with foil and bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and remove skins.  Turn over and put back in oven for 1 more hour.  During last hour of roasting time start rest of soup.  Place onion in pot with remaining olive oil and sauté for 8 minutes.  No color just tender.  Add garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add chicken stock and herbs and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until veggies are tender!  When tomatoes are done put in blender with stock and veggies and cheese and blend until smooth.  Serve warm. 

Now with this soup we also had open face sandwiches called Croque Monsieur I went off of this recipe and let the egg off which makes it a Croque Madam.  But you know I had to make them a little healthier as well for our dietary needs.  So here is my version:  It has 370 calories, 12 g. fat, and 15 carbs per serving.

photo (2)

Ingredients:
4 slices 100% Whole Wheat Bread*
4 servings Oscar Mayer 98% fat free smoked ham
4 oz. Gruyere Cheese shredded
4 oz. Lite Swiss Cheese shredded
1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
Garlic Powder
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
In a small bowl mix the yogurt, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper together.  Lay the bread out on a baking sheet spread 1 tablespoon of the yogurt mixture on each piece of bread.  Place one serving of ham on each sandwich.  Divide the remaining yogurt mixture into 4 and spread on top of the ham.  Put one ounce of each of the cheeses on top of that and then bake in the oven at 350 until cheese is melted, brown and bubbly. 

* I used 2 wedges of garlic and herb, 1 wedge of lite Swiss, and 1 wedge of chipotle laughing cow.  My bread was from the bakery a boule and the nutrition information was included on the bag.  Calories and carbs will vary depending on your bread.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Welcome Friends to ATC Creation Fun's first ever Valentine Blog Hop. We are excited to have you hop along with us today. We are so Happy to have our hop being Sponsored by

She has such a wonderful array of digi, rubber, and clear stamps available on her site. so when you get a chance please take an oppuntuntinty to browse her online shop. I am sure you will find something you will love.
Now on to the Fun:
We have a bunch of very talented ladies joining us on the hop today some from here at ATC Creation Fun,some from Craft Your Passions Challenges and some Ladies From Forever Night Challenges. So sit back and enjoy the ride.
Don't Forget to leave a comment on every ladies site and at the end of the blog on Come back here to our main ATC Creation Fun site for a chance to win a prize from our Sponsor SIMPLY BETTY STAMPS. By leaving us a comment on how you enjoyed the hop. and please feel free to become a follower of ATC Creation fun. We are a brand new ATC Challenge blog and would love to grow our little family.
Below is the Blog Hop order list just in case you get lost along the way feel free tom come back here and find your way to your next stop.
Have fun and enjoy all the wonderful Creations!!

Blog Hop Order List : start with Melissa and then continue on!
 
My first ATC is made using and image from Simply Betty.  It's the Miller and Lola Emo Valentine image.  You all know I love my EMOs from Betty!  The 2nd ATC is made from some Halloween stuff I have laying around... Yes I have Halloween stuff out all the time!!!
Enjoy!

 
Christina A Paper Life

Bombshell February Pin Up~~

Hello Lovelies this months Pin up was to be Freddie but sadly Freddie couldn't join us this month so  GlitteryKatie has taken over for him and we all love GlitteryKatie!!Here is what Ms. Katie has to say about this months Pin Up challenge!

It's been really fun stepping in to set our February Challenge and as it's February, the month of St. Valentine and as we all love Bombshells I figured lets have a Bombshell LURVE theme!


What goes through your mind when you think of love, maybe cherubs, chocolates music and whispering sweet nothings to your honey bun or perhaps something a little darker....broken hearts, tears and thoughts of sweet, sweet revenge


So here's my Valentine challenge to you this month, I want to see what's in your hearts the good AND the bad.
If you like sweet nothings- great but lets see a little bit of your dark side too!!!
If you like the dark side of love then sweeten it a little !
So go where your imagination takes you and lets see the YING and YANG of lurve!

As you all know I have been doing a lot of mixed media/art journaling lately and today was no different.  I incorporated 3 different Bombshell stamps into my background this time and even made a pocket to hold a Bombshell Angel tag which has my journaling on the back!!!  Coolness huh!!

I used Bombshell Angel, Retro Cowgirl, and Butterfly Queen in my background as well as on my tag!

I hope you enjoy and remember to head over to the Bombshell Blog to see what the other DT members have made for you today!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Bloody Valentine Hop

Hello everyone, welcome to the last day of the 3 day hop!  This month Smeared and Smudged decided to do a 3 day hop instead of just the regular monthly hop!  Again I will keep it short and sweet.  Today I have for you a journal page I made to go with this weeks prompt for art journaling on smeared and smudged! 

004
005
I used the Inky Dreams stamp set from Smeared Ink on this one as well.  That set is awesome for journaling/mixed media because it can create some wicked sweet backgrounds!
Remember to go and see what everyone else has for you today!  Thanks for hopping with us this weekend!

Photobucket


Blog Roll

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Yummy Goodness


Hello Lovelies, if your looking for the Smeared and Smudged blog hop it’s the next post down.  This post is all about some yummy goodness I made this morning!

I got the idea from Ms. Nicole Maki when she posted her eggnog doughnuts a while ago.  Well I didn't have any eggnog and I can't really have high carb or fat doughnuts, not that hers are I just need something different right now so I came up with these.

doughnuts 002 

Applesauce Doughnuts:
Makes 12 Doughnuts:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP white flour
1/2 cup splenda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 375*.  Sift dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl.  Add in the wet ingredients and mix until blended.  Fill each cup of a doughnut pan up 2/3 of the way.  Bake for 15 min. or until they bounce back when you press on them.  Cool in pan for a couple minutes and then cool completely on a wire wrack. 

Serving size 1 doughnut:  Nutrition facts per serving:  77 calories, less than 1 gram of fat(1/3 of a gram actually), 14.75 carbs.

I did not make a glaze for these as I didn’t really want one this morning, but I am trying to figure out a dipping sauce or two to go with them that will not add to much sugar and carbs!

Smeared and Smudged Bloody Valentine hop

It’s day two of the Bloody Valentine Hop and I hope you are enjoying your hop so far!  I know I have a busy day and I think you may also so I am just going to keep this short and sweet! 

This is another tag for the other child!  Again using Inky dreams and Urban Decay from Smeared Ink!  I hope you enjoy!
011

Remember to go and see what everyone else has made!

Photobucket


Blog Roll

Friday, February 10, 2012

Smeared and Smudged Bloody Valentine Hop


Hello Lovelies, What would Valentines day be without a Bloody Hop!!!! LOL  This month Smeared and Smudged has decided to have a 3 day hop instead of a normal monthly hop!  I hope that you all enjoy everything you have seen so far and continue to come back for more!

Today I have for you a tag I made for a Valentine’s day gift for one of my kiddos!  I have been doing a lot of mixed media/art journaling lately so decided to incorporate it into these tags.  I used Inky dreams and Urban Decay stamp sets from Smeared Ink. 

Enjoy…
008

Forever night Challenge!

Hello everyone and welcome to another Friday with Forever Night Challenges!  This week our sponsor is Strange Skin.  If you haven’t been to see what they have you are so seriously missing out!  They just released 4 new sets and they are wicked sweet!!! 

Anyway they were awesome enough to offer the FN DT members a free image and I chose one of their keys, I love this!  This key was colored with copics and added to a tag I got from tattered angels a while ago! 

215216

I’ll be back in a bit with a Bombshell tutorial!!!  Thanks for visiting today!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

I Miss You!


Hello Lovelies, I have recently started art journaling to help myself through some really wicked times.  Today is the 17th anniversary of my Mothers death and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss her something crazy!  So today I put my feelings on paper and wanted to share some of it with you!

My goal is not to make you sad but for you to know that I have not crawled under a rock and hidden from the world!  Although sometimes I feel like it!  This is my way of coping and I hope that you understand I need to share some things.  Not everything but some things. 

So on to my page…I don’t usually share the journaling part of any of my pages as I think journaling is a private thing.  I needed to share this today because I know there are others out there who feel the same.  My cousin who recently lost her baby, a friend who recently lost her father, another friend who lost her father years ago, anyone who has lost, our hurts may not be the same but we all hurt and we all need to know that we are not alone!  That there is someone who will listen and not judge and who will let you yell and cry and rant just because you need to for no reason at all other than you saw their favorite bird that day or whatever your reason!
 
Now really on to the page…
002
003

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Bombshell Sketch

Hello Lovelies, it's time for another Bombshell Sketch challenge!  This months sketch was awesome as always!!!  I always love Ms. kathi's sketches!!  This one was very versitile!   There are some awesome takes on it from the DT member over on the Bombshell Blog!  Remember when you visit there to go to each team members personal blog and leave them some love cause everyone loves getting love!! 

I made a black and white pocket card with a black and white ATC for the pocket.  The image is from the Bombshell Angel set!  Who says you need to make valentines red and pink.  This one is going to one of my nephews and let me tell you he is a little devil and he makes me laugh!  The non image sentiments are rub ons that I got from Stampin up eons ago... see what happens when you start organizing?!  You find all kinds of stuff you didn't remember you had!  LOL




I am entering this into these challenges:

Crafting when we can:  Challenge 11 Valentine/love theme
Come and Get it Challenges:  Love is in the Air Challenge
Dream Valley Challenges:  Valentine
One Stitch at a time: With love challenge 99
Ditzy-Craftiness challenge blog(new) Challenge 1




Thursday, February 2, 2012

Strange Skin Blog Hop

It’s been quite a while since the dynamic duo (Pam and Jorge) of Strange Skin released some new images. But boy, has it been worth the wait! Today they are release 4, yes FOUR new sets that are all going to help you get your freak on. They’ve got something for everyone with this release, even if having a bit of the creep factor isn’t your thing. And trust me when I tell you, no one has images like these!
heartbreakers
Heartbreakers Gang
bugs
Buggin’ Out
sweets
Sweet Treats

wonderland

Wonderland Souvenirs
We have one heck of a hop for you today. There are gals from all different circles, using all different styles. And you are sure to love everything you see. The hop will of course start at Pam’s Blog, so if you haven’t gone there, please head on back to check her her. The complete blog roll is below. And to shop the new images, visit their Etsy shop HERE. And don’t forget!!! Today is the last day that you can get ANY of their original digis for half price! Yup! 50% off of their original sets. The new release items from today are not included in the sale. Here’s what I’ve made.
IMG_1564
You all know I LOVE LOVE LOVE Alice in wonderland so I was super stoked when I got this image and I bet you all know which set I will be getting first!!!  LOL  Anyway, I printed out my image and colored it with my copic markers.  I kind of modeled it after the Alice game colors.  I LOVE that game! Anyway, the patterned paper is by G45…Halloween in Wonderland!  The saying is what the Hatter(Johnny Depp) says to Alice in the latest Alice Remake(2010)
Here is a close-up of the Hat…
IMG_1568
There will be a prize for a randomly selected commenter! One person will win 2 of the new images (Pam's choice), so they need to comment on everyone's blog to enter to win. (Pam will post the winner in a couple of days.)
back to Pam's blog for commenting: http://pamdabearshares.blogspot.com/