Club Scrap Blog Hop!!!

First, I want to say how excited I was to be asked to "Guest artist" for this months blog hop! This one came as a complete surprise...






This project is one I have wanted to do for a very long time but just never had a "reason" to really dig in... Altered "Altoids" album... Super easy, super quick, and a great gift in a pinch. I originally seen the idea over at Sarah's Ink Spot and she has a wonderful step-by-step. I like many others took her idea and went straight to Pinterest...

The "Pizza Box" of goodies!

 

The great group over at Club Scrap sent me the above "pizza box" of goodies. It is pack with goodies, stamps, stencils, buttons, and soda tops! When I opened the box the Altoids album was the first thing that pop'd into my head! Below I have added addition photos of the project along with 2 other projects I made with the "Pizza Box".

 I simply followed the directions provided by Sarah and there you go... In the "Pizza Box" there was a cut apart sheet with some really neat sayings. Very geared to cooking and/or eating! I love to cook so this set really struck my interest!

 I added a bit of washi from my stash along with some wood veneer arrows... a project wouldn't be complete if you didn't have atleast one cluster of ENAMEL DOTS! So there you go! "Live life with a little SPICE" and boy do I ;) !

 Here again I pulled a "fav" from my stash, used the ribbon from the "Pizza Box" and called this page GOOD! My plan is to download a few of a friends food pictures on a trip she took back east and put them inside this album. I will give it to her maybe for her birthday! I think she will really like this quick trip down food lane from her recent travels!


Take yourself a moment and hop on over to Club Scrap and join in the hop! There are several great inspirational project along the way... and who knows you might run into a friend or two!!! Please find below a few extra projects I made with the scraps from the Altoids can! And again thanks for "hop'n" by!

 On the cut-apart sheet there is a "project life" style card that I fussy cut (boy do I dislike this task) and used just a simple blue background and tied a knot in the ribbon! BAM instant pick-me up for someone who may be in need! I am all about simple when in a pinch!

Lastly... I used the stencil that came in the kit to make this ADORABLE tag! I used the modeling paste (base) along with the modeling gel bead paste (frosting) quick snip of the ribbon and I have an adorable tag to place on the next birthday package I create!

If you are interested in this months kit... or any other supplies I used please head on over to Club Scrap Shop... They have a great selection and tons of tid-bits!!

Next up on the hop is Corinne Marie she has created a "small shabby chic mini Junque Journal" that is just breath taking... Please hop on over to her blog and see how she used the exact same kit in a totally different way...

Thanks for hop'n by!


Cacie

Butterfly Card inspired by Jeanie!!

I met a sweet lady about 4months ago. Initially, she offered some assistance in finding a few products on a Facebook page and our friendship has blossomed from there... 

I wanted to take a moment to say how grateful I am that God placed her in my life. We have since spent many hours "TinyChat'n" and crafting together.  She has inspired me to push further, craft more, and share internationally. She has also opened my eyes to an entire new world of crafting. These are the kind of people God places in your life to uplift and motivate you.

Recently, this friend Jeanie posted a Butterfly tutorial and I was beyond inspired. She makes these neat Butterfly embellishments with ease... (Please note they are not as easy as she makes them look)

I went ahead and decided I would make "A" meaning 1 butterfly... I have now made a zillion and am loving what they bring to the page or card! I will be adding these little guys to many of my upcoming projects!!

Thanks Jeanie our friendship is a God sent and I am very thankful for you and your family! Keep up your tutorials and inspirational projects.  May God bless you daily and open many new doors in your future!

Photo Organization Challenge!!

So this weeks challenge at Victoria Maria FB page was to organize your photos... I am of the age  where we honestly don't print a lot of photos... But I have a external hard drive full of them! I wanted to take a moment and share with you how I organize my digital photos so that I am able to retrieve them very quickly.

First, Let me me start by saying... I am a "Project Life" style scrap'r. I am currently doing my PL once a week and therefore my photo storage is set up that way. Seems like a lot of work? Actually, its a lot easier once you get set up.

I have set up a file on my desktop that is named "2015" (On my hard drive are the previous years and every year on January 1st I back the year off onto my hard drive and clear the space on my computer for the following year) Within the "2015" folder you will find the months of the year (YES! All 12) I usually set this file up January 1st. Within the month folder you will find a folder for EVERY MONDAY.

I generally sit down on Sunday nights and off load my pictures into the "Monday folder" of that week. I am not going to lie there are some weeks that I am a failure... But with technology and my handy dandy cell phone that keeps me organized and tells me what day I took the photo I am able to quickly get back on track.

The next question that seems to come up a lot when doing the week style Project Life is "What do you do when there is a Holiday/Special Event that week?" My answer is "They get there own page" So with this thought... They also get a folder in my week folder.  Just last week my daughter had a field trip to the Zoo. In the "April 27th" file there is not only the weeks pictures there is a file called "April 29th-Zoo" with all of the Zoo photos inside. This way when I sit down to do my packets (Packet Video) I am able to create the "week" spread as well as the "special event" and I am guaranteed not to mix the 2 (i.e. duplicating pictures).

Lastly, I have 2 additional files in the "2015" folder. I have a "2015 Done" and a "Extra" folder. In the "2015 Done" folder you will find all the weeks that are done. This means I have printed and created the packets that way when I sit down to create additional packets then I am able to go right to the folder I am working on... and the last little folder is "Extra" in this folder I put my timeless pictures. Things I want to get into my scrapbook that just didn't fit in that week. (Timeless in my PL). These photos are not organized they are just in the file waiting to be used. Once I use them I move them over to the "2015 Done" that prevents me from using it more then once!!!

Once I have offloaded the photos from my electronic devices (Cause you know each scrappy lady has her cell phone, her quick camera, her nice camera, her mans cellphone, camera etc.) I am then able to move to step 2 of the process "Selecting & Printing".

Thanks for stop'n in,

Cacie

Challenge Challenge Challenge!

This week over at the "Let's get sketchy" is Week 5 the mood board provided was a "Spring" inspired and there was one photo that caught my eye of a red bicycle! It looks a lot like a bike my husband bought me when we first got married! Anyway, that photo inspired me to reach into my photo box from our "dating years"... Boy-o-Boy what a trip down memory lane that was! So below you will find my version on the above sketch! As you will see I did not have a 2nd photo to go with it so I used the "photo" spot to create a journal space to answer the Victoria Marie FB Challenge "What I wish I knew then..." challenge!

The papers I used are from the Hip Kit Club along with a few pieces from Becky Higgins, MME, and Studio Calico... The bundle of in the bottom of goodies is from my stash and I have no clue where most of it came from!

Below are some additional close-ups!

Thanks again for stop'n in!!!

Let's get Sketchy!!! DT Call!

This week 2 girlfriends sent me the same link within about 10 mins of one another... So I went on over to Lets get Sketchy to check it out! Sure enough a Design Team Call! I love making layouts with Sketches... They keep me on track and often time are much simpler then starting with a completely blank 12x12 with no clue where to go! 

So "Lets Get Sketchy"....

This is a photo of my husband and son on the beach last year! It is one of my most favorite pictures of my two favorite guys! I distressed and tore just about everything! All of the papers come from the Feb. Hip Kit Club with the exception of the background and I believe that is a single sheet from Micheal's. I also seen on a Youtube where a lady took some string and knott'd it up and suck it down. She made it seem so effortless and I spent about 30 mins attempting perfection and decided I was done with that technique JUST STICK IT DOWN! You will find that under the "pretty much perfect" and up top! I also used some distress sprays and gold splatter paint! Finished it off with some clear sequins and calling it a night!

Thanks for stopping in!!!

Cacie

CaliRice and Sausage

Serving size: 4-6 people

Ingredients

1 Jennie-O Turkey kielbasa (14oz)

12 Brussels sprouts (Washed and cut in quarters)

1 medium purple onion (Chopped)

1 head of cauliflower

Olive Oil

CaliRice:

• Wash and cut up the cauliflower then place in the blender. Pulse the blender until you have “rice” (DO NOT TURN ON THE BLENDER… OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE MUSH)

• Place cauliflower in a microwave safe boil with a ½ a cup of water. Place in the microwave for approximately 5 mins.

• Fluff… NOW YOU HAVE “RICE”

Brussels sprouts:

• Place your chopped onion in the pan with a little bit of olive oil. Now is the time to season some salt, pepper, and garlic is what I generally use. Cook down the onions until they are soft.

• Place your washed and quartered Brussels sprouts into the pan and gave them a turn. Continue to stir the Brussels sprouts until they are cooked to your desired texture (I usually continue to turn and cook them for about 20 mins which leaves them a bit crunchy)

• Now cut up the kielbasa and throw it in the pan (I like to cut mine in half and then little pieces from there)

• Let the kielbasa get heated up!

Place approximately 1 cup of the CaliRice on a plate and top with your Brussels sprouts! ENJOY!