Great minds think alike!

Okay so I was checking out Tim Holtz's blog here and he is previewing some new stickers (add to wishlist...check!) and what do I see??? THESE bottlecaps!!!

So do they look familiar??? If not....let me refresh your memory!

This is the picture frame I made for my mom's birthday!
How cool is that? Maybe I'm more creative than I thought if I'm on the same wavelength as Tim Holtz?! Like I said great minds think alike!! LOL!

Thanks for popping by and enjoy the rest of your day! Hope to be back next week with something crafty to share. I have been busy cleaning up my craft room a bit...it was OUT OF CONTROL!!!

-Stacie

Apron and Recipe!

This is an apron my mom made for me and I just LOVE the pattern on the fabric! Isn't is wonderful? It fits perfect too so THANKS MOM!!! Hmmm, wonder what else I can get her to make for me?

And a few of you have asked for the Pineapple Zucchini Bread recipe so I thought I would just post here for everyone.
The recipe is from Taste of Home but I modified it to make it a bit healthier and my changes will be in (parenthesis).

PINEAPPLE ZUCCHINI BREAD
Makes 2 loaves (I actually made one full size loaf and used a 4 section mini loaf pan from Pampered Chef for the other)

Ingredients:
3 eggs (egg-beaters or sometimes I do half real egg and half egg-beaters)
2 C. finely shredded zucchini (I use more because I love zucchini!)
1 C. vegetable oil (substitute 1/2 cup of the oil for 1/2 cup applesauce)
1 can that is 8 ounces of crushed pineapple - drained
2 t. vanilla extract
3 C. all-purpose flour
2 C. sugar (substitute 1 cup of regular sugar with 1 cup Splenda)
2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
You can also add 1 cup of nuts and raisins but I leave them out.

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine eggs, zucchini, oil, pineapple and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and stir into egg mixture just until moistened. If using nuts and raisins add those at this time.
Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

ENJOY!!!
Let me know if you make this recipe and how you like it!
-Stacie

Embossing Bag Review!

Hey everyone! Wanted to share with you a review on my embossing bag compared with the Embossing Buddy from Stampin' Up! I don't own the one from Stampin' Up so I asked my blogging friend Dawn if I sent her one of my bags if she would test it out for me in exchange for honest feedback. I like to make sure my product is just as good as others on the market or in some cases even better!! :) You won't get any nasty grainy powder from my bag and the ingredients are ALL NATURAL!! So if your pet or kid happens to get into it no worries! You will understand this once you read her review!! I think Dawn did a wonderful job comparing both the products and if your interested in purchasing please e-mail me (my contact info is in my profile)! My bags sell for 3 dollars each plus shipping which is a bargain compared to Stampin' Up because they charge between 6-7 dollars per bag!!

Click HERE to read Dawn's review!

Thanks!!
-Stacie

New Winner!!

*Edited to say the winner has contacted me! Thanks!*

So the last winner of my handmade flower sadly did not get in contact with me so I have asked my hubby to pick a new number and he said 9 so that makes the new winner..............MICHELLE from I Luv Scrapping!!!

Congrats Michelle! Please e-mail me with your address asap and I will ship it right out to you! There might be a few small extra goodies in there for you too! :)

-Stacie

Bottle Cap Picture Frame

This is the picture frame I made for my mom's birthday. I think she is going to LOVE it!!! I also made her some pineapple zucchini bread...YUM! :) She gets both tomorrow and the family is taking her out to eat, to a winery and to an old candy/soda fountain shop that was featured on the Food Network! Here is the link if you want to check it out. Should be a fun day!

I am entering this into one challenge: I know only ONE!! GASP!!!
The Creative Cottage - No cards!

One more friggin' candle!

*Click on picture to enlarge

* Digis are from Bugaboo
* Happy is from Hot Off The Press
* 60 is from JustRite Stamps

My mom's birthday is this Sunday and she will be 60......sshhhhhhhh, don't tell anyone or she might whack me with a stick! LOL!
I am soooooooooooo happy with this card! I put alot of time and thought into this and also her present which I will show you soon! Yep, it is something crafty! :)
What do you think....pretty neat card??

I am also entering it into the following challenges:
Color Throwdown #100 - colors (regal rose, certainly celery, real red and baja breeze) I did not have the exact colors but tried to match as close as possible!
Stamp Something - Recipe Challenge (1 DP, 1 ribbon...I used white ric-rac, and 1 image)
C.R.A.F.T Challenge - Cake
Practicing Creativity - Dana's Sketch

Thanks for stopping by!
-Stacie

Etched Glass

This is something I made for my mom awhile back but have never posted on my blog. I cut out the boat and wave design with my cricut onto vinyl then etched into the glass vase. Added some twine and rocks with the lucky bamboo plant! My mom doesn't have a green thumb so I had to give her something that is hard to kill! LOL!

The picture isn't the greatest but I don't have a very good setup to take pictures of glass so this was the best I could do for now.

Hope you like this unique project!
Challenges:
Creative Craft - Summer lovin' (gotta love water during the summer!!)
Creative Inspirations - On the move (thought of the sailboat moving on the water) Hope this counts?!
Crafty Calendar - Summer
Delightful Sketches and Challenges - Summer
Fab N' Funky - Get into shape (no square or rectangle)
Polka Doodle - Decorative item
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Water (Etched waves and have water in the vase!)
Simon Says - Photo inspiration (used the water element!)
Sir Stampalot - Lazy summer days
Creative Cottage - No cards!

Winner of one of my handmade flowers!

Remember those handmade flowers I showed you last week?? Well I said I would pick a winner for one of them sometime this week so today is the day!!

I just sent a text to my hubby and asked him for a number between 1 and 18 .... he has picked 15! So that is..........JAN from Papercraft Pleasures!!

Congrats Jan!! Just send me an e-mail with your mailing information by this Sunday July 11th (or I will pick another winner) and include which color is your favorite and I will ship it right off to you!

Hope everyone is having a good week!
-Stacie

Happy Independence Day America!!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! For those of you that don't live in the USA I still hope you are having a safe and happy weekend! :)

Hugs to all!!
-Stacie

WOYWW...something new!

I decided not to show you my entire craft room because it is so bad I can barely walk in it right now...I have been busy slaving away getting ready to open up a shop on Etsy (hopefully soon!). These flowers are one of the items I will have in my shop...they are available in 4 colors and I can either use stickles, diamond dust, shimmer mist or leave them plain! Which is your favorite??
They are ready to go for sale even though my shop is not open yet so if your interested in buying them I am going to sell for $1 each plus shipping just contact me via e-mail. The price will go up once I put them in my shop. They measure approx. 3 inches each! Please specify which color and if you want stickles, diamond dust, shimmer or plain! Or if it doesn't matter I will just send you a mixture if you order more than one! :)




Thanks for stopping by and I hope to hear what you think about these flowers!! :)

BLOG CANDY ALERT!!!
If you are a follower (if your not already a follower you can join...I won't bite I promise...unless you happen to be holding a Snickers ice cream bar right now then you might want to watch out! LOL! Just kidding of course!) and leave a comment letting me know what you think about the flowers and which one is your favorite you might just win one of these for your very own!! I will choose a winner sometime next week! Good luck!

A rather different blog hop...

Paper Craftorium is having a hop. What you need to do is grab the banner above. If you click on the banner it will take you to the Paper Craftorium blog. Then visit the three people that have put their name in InLinkz before you...leave a comment and if you want you can follow them. What a great way to check out some new blogs!!

Have fun!
-Stacie

Vintage Portrait Tag

Stamp is from CowTown

Please click on the picture to make it bigger and see more detail (although I must say this looks better in person). I added some tinsel embossing powder to the top of her dress for some sparkle and even colored her eyelids a bluish green! Her lips also have a pretty shade of pink on them....I just LOVE how this tag turned out! I hope the person I sent it to likes it also! :) Oh and how do you like that flower in her hair?? So feminine right?!

Okay, on to the challenges:
Allsorts - Embossing (heat embossed)
Crafty Creations - We want to see you shine (tinsel embossing powder is glittery)
Creative Craft - Use a stamp
Oh Alice! - Twinkle, twinkle (tinsel embossing again = glittery!) Wish you could see this in person because the picture just doesn't do it justice!!
Sew Many - Anything goes
Stamp Something - Vintage with flowers
Stamping Vacation - No ribbon
Stamping Vacation - Shabby chic
Stamping Vacation - Colors blue and old gold (the frame is colored gold)

Thanks everyone for stopping by!! Always love to read your comments!
-Stacie

Late Birthday Card...

Digi is from Bugaboo Stamps

Here is a closeup to show you the glossy accents on the glasses and the crackle accents on the pocket watch.


Challenges:
Crafty Catz - Use a digi
Crafty Creations - We want to see you shine! (Lots of glitter on the yellow paper in the middle of this card!)
Crafty Sentiments - Birthday Card (This is a late birthday card)
Creative Craft - Use any stamp (swirl stamp on both sides of yellow paper in middle)
Oh Alice! - Twinkle, twinkle
Paper Sundaes - Birthday
Practical Scrappers - Border punch
Stamping Vacation - Pick 3 (light green, bright yellow, stamp a swirl and enhance it)
Stamping Vacation #6 - Build-A-Sketch
Stamping Vacation - No ribbon

FYI....

One of the gals I love to follow, Sammye Jo from 62 cards, has started a new blog called My Insanely Sweet Life. This is where she can share some random thoughts and stuff...and she is giving away some candy to lure us on over so go ahead and check it out!

-Stacie

Butterfly Tag!

Cut the tag out with my Cricut and embossed with Forest Branches folder and sanded. Then added that wonderful gold butterfly sticker I got from my blogging pal "Merry" (Not sure if you want me to mention your real name!!). Then added a few iridescent plastic butterflies to the corners and some twine to the top as a hanger. Next I cut out 10 balloons using a punch set from my other blogging pal Annmaree...this is such a cool set!!! Yes those balloon shapes made those two flowers!!! How neat is that?? I can't take the credit for the idea because it was all Annmaree!! I stamped some script on them after cutting out and adhered a gold dew drop to the tops! Voila! A pretty tag! :)

Wanted to mention that I noticed a few new followers...welcome and thanks for joining my blog! You are all so wonderful and I appreciate the nice comments everyone always leaves me! Sure puts a big smile on my face everday! :)
Thanks!!
-Stacie

Challenges:
Crafty Calendar - Bugs and Beasties
Crazy 4 Challenges - Paper flowers
Creative Inspirations - Colors of turquoise, gold and cream
Delightful Sketches and Challenges - All about summer
Stamptacular Sunday - Cute as a bug
Practical Scrappers - Flowers
Stamp Something - Summer
ABC Challenge Blog - X for xtra dimension
Stamping Vacation Embellish It - Twine
Stamping Vacation No-No Challenge - No ribbon
Stamping Vacation Home Sweet Home - Shabby Chic (I always struggle with this style...hopefully I am close!)
Stamping Vacation Fountain of Youth - Bug

Fishing You....

This is a card I made for my FIL and the sentiment on the front Fishing You...continues on the inside and says... A Happy Father's Day. And I stamped some coral and seaweed but didn't take a picture of the inside as I still don't think the inside of my cards are very good. But I am happy with the front of this card! Used my new tiny bubbles embossing folder which is so cool to make blue paper look like water!!!

Challenges:
Creative Craft - Use a stamp (fish, shells and sentiment)
Etsyinspired - Inspired by this piece here because of the sea-shell shape (went with the beachy type theme).
Stamp Something - Summer
Stamping Vacation No-No Challenge - No ribbon

Monkeying Around!

The last of my zoo pictures to share...I promise!! Thanks for hanging in there...I atleast know a few of you are enjoying these! :)
They came out a little small this time so if you want to see them bigger just click on the picture to enlarge!


Momma with baby wrapped around her waist...could you imagine trying to hang on while she is swinging around?!


This reminds me of some "elder" watching the fort!


Love the colors around the face/neck!


Reminds me of King Kong!! LOL!

Love Tag and Embossing Bag!

Thought I would have a go at playing with my new Tattered Florals die, fired brick distress ink and cracked embossing folder. I think I like the red ink BEFORE I spritzed it with water to make it bleed. I didn't take a picture of that but I will probably try again later. What do you think...do you like this bleeding/washed out look of the red ink?? Also wish I had a bolder "Love" stamp because this one is really fine and the other items on the card are really big and stand out. But what I love most of all is my new handmade embossing bag!!! I used it before applying my versamark and gold powder and it works like a charm!!!

Here is what it looks like!


Edited to add: I have tested with many different colors of paper and powder and the only thing I found is that if you use ultra fine powder...especially black....you will still get a few specks but I have gotten a few tips from others on how to handle this. Either use a USED dryer sheet prior to the embossing bag or you can use a fine tip paint brush to take away the extra stubborn flecks of embossing powder. I have heard this is a common issue no matter what type of bag you use.

This is just like the embossing buddy from Stampin' Up and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in purchasing?? (Fabric may vary) Stampin' Up sells them for around $6-$7. I am going to sell mine for $3 each plus shipping (which should not cost much because these are very small and lightweight!!). I would also discount if you bought more than one! Would anyone be interested?? Send me an e-mail if your interested. My information is in my profile!
Thanks!
-Stacie

Now for a few challenges!
Crazy 4 Challenges - Paper Flowers
Cupcake Craft - Strawberries and Cream (colors)
EBTKS - Sketch
KLSNS #35 - Let's Get Shabby
Oh Alice! - Crazy for Daisy Chains (cracks are supposed to signify the wave)
ABC Challenge - X is for xtra dimension
Corrosive - Black and white with another color (I picked red) Hope the brown is okay...saw a few DT cards with brown and another color so thought it was a safe bet?
Creative Craft - Use a stamp (love sentiment)
Stamping Vacation No-No Challenge - No Ribbon
Aud Sentiments - Love

The Mighty Powerful!

Thought I would show you some more of my zoo pictures. Yes, I am a photography nut...and what I have been showing you are only a few of my top picks...I literally take hundreds or thousands of pictures on a single trip! It is a tad ridiculous I know BUT I have fun!! And my thought is out of 100 pictures I might be happy with a handful of them so the more I take the better chancees I have of finding a few I absolutely love!

The size and power that these animals have just amazes me...look at the body on this elephant!!


This lion is still a baby and look at those paws!! HUGE!!


I thought this photo captured the power of the rhinos horn...never would I want to come head on with one of these in the wild!


Look at the massive head on this snake!! Mom...this is for you because I know how much you just LOOOOOOOOOOOVE snakes!! ... did anyone else pick up on the sarcasm?? LOL! I just couldn't help myself...I had to post this awesome picture!


I only have one more post of animal pictures and I hope to do that in the next few days. For those of you not interested in animals thanks for hanging in there with me on all these posts...I have been trying to balance it out with some crafty stuff in between so you don't get bored!

-Stacie

Happy Father's Day!!

I love how the front of this card turned out!! I used perfect pearls for the first time and even though I love the effect I sure did make one heck of a mess using it!! LOL! I'm not the best at decorating the inside of cards so I figured I better practice and on this one I just used this pocket watch to play off the clockworks embossing on the front and also the sentiment..."Worlds Greatest Dad Of All Time!". And that is so true....I love my daddy...he is the best!! :) I am cooking dinner at my house tomorrow night to celebrate and hopefully I can challenge him to a game of bowling on the Wii! Your going down pops! LMAO!

Challenges:
A Crafty Little Place - One for the boys
Creative Craft - For a man
Creative Inspirations - One for the boys
Cupcake Craft - One for the boys
Etsyinspired - Inspired by this piece here because of the vintage look and colors
EBTKS - Sketch (I flipped it)
Fab N' Funky - Just for dad
Polka Doodle - Father's Day/ Male Theme
Corrosive - Black and white with another color
Stamping Vacation - Color Word Search (Red and White)