Monday, January 31, 2011

Birthday Blog Hop Winner

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Hello Everyone!!

I just wanted to thank everyone who participated in the Birthday Blog Hop! I love doing blog hops because I get to meet new people and gain lots of creative inspiration.  Even though I don't reply to comments (since I can't reply to all, I don't reply to any), I promise I read and cherish every one.  I hope you guys find some kind of inspiration from my blog, and if you ever have any suggestions please let me know.

I used random.org to pick a winner for the set of Pink by Design stamps, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."  I combined the comments from both days of the hop, and the winner is number 54!  Congrats CHIGNON!!!


chignon said...

I love it! Great idea to use on the water bottles too :) Your cupcake looks so delicious, now I have a hunkerin' for some cake!
I found your email, so you have two weeks to respond with you mailing address.  I will get the stamps out as soon as I can.  Being in Illinois, we are experiencing some severe winer weather...so I have a feeling I may be stuck inside for the next day or two.  
Thanks again to all who participated in the blog hop.  I will be participating in another one this weekend, February 5th.  The theme is think spring, which is good...maybe I can will away all of this winter weather.  I hope you all find inspiration and time to craft!!

Warm wishes, 
Lauren

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Birthday Blog Hop Part 2

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Hello Everyone!

Welcome to day 2 of Kreimer's birthday blog hop.  Today is her 25th birthday!!! If you haven't already, go back to her blog and give her some birthday love.  If you arrived here from Time2Create, you are in the right spot!!

My aunt is turning 50 in March, and we were talking today about her birthday party in New Orleans.  She listed off a ton of ideas that she wanted to do..and, naturally, my response to each one was "that would be easy to make!" One of the things on my "to do" list is come up with something for the cake.  She wants a regular cake, but I immediately thought of this cupcake idea and had to try it (she needs a visual...right...)?

The party is in New Orleans, so I kept with a fleur de lis theme.  She wants pink animal print, but I didn't have that on hand and all of my LSS were closed, so I had to give her a rough Idea with what I had.  She also wants to put water bottles in all of the hotel rooms, so I thought the medallion could be used for that as well.  Hope you like it!!



Supplies Used: 
Stampin' Up Cardstock
Mini Monograms Cricut Cartridge
French Manor Cricut Cartridge
iRock gems

Don't forget...I'm giving away the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun stamp set.  Leave a comment on both posts to double your chances of winning!!  Hop on over to TX Scrapper's blog for some more birthday fun!!

Happy Craftin' 
Lauren

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Birthday Blog Hop

32 comments
Hello Everyone!!

Welcome to Kreimers Birthday Blog Hop!!  If you came from Time2Create, you are in the right place.  If you happened to stumble upon this blog hop, be sure to go back to Kreimer's blog and celebrate from the beginning.  This is a 2 day blog hop, so be sure to check back tomorrow for more birthday fun and a second change for some blog candy.

For today's hop post, I made a simple card.  I am also entering this in My Pink Stamper's "yummy" challenge. I loved this sentiment stamp from Stampin' Up for quite some time, and I finally got to use it.  I have LOTS of ideas for this stamp set, but this is what came out first.  It is pretty simple, but cute enough to give away and still feel proud of it.  This is also the first time I used flocking powder.  I used white flocking powder for the whipped cream part of the scoop to give it some texture.  Let's just say, I had fun...and this is not the last time I will be using flocking powder.




Now onto the blog candy.  Today, I am giving away the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" stamp set from PinkbyDesign.  These stamps are amazing, super cute, and the perfect birthday gift!!  All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite birthday memory.  I will be picking the winner Monday afternoon.  Remember, you do not have to be a follower of my blog, but followers are always appreciated.

Now, hop on over to TX Scrapper's blog to see some more birthday fun!!  Don't forget to stop back tomorrow and see what other birthday creations we come up with.

Happy Crafting,
Lauren

Monday, January 17, 2011

When Life Gives You Limes...

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Hello Everyone!!

I know I have been MIA lately, but it's been for good reasons.  First, I have been working with a designer to have my blog redesigned.  This was one of my new years resolutions, to update and build up my blog.  I have everything picked out and the designs I want.  Now I just have to wait a short while until my design can be complete.  I am working with Sweet Baby's Custom Blog Design and Leslie is amazing.  I'm super excited to see what she comes up with.  Stay tuned...

Another thing I have been working on this week is my Etsy shop.  This is also one of my new years resolutions, and I am anxious and excited to see where this leads me.  It looks bare right now...I have been busy setting up the shop and connecting it with paypal and coming up with my policies and such.  My task this week is to fill my shop with my creations!!  Here is my first listing...




Supplies Used: 
Stampin' Up Solid and Patterened cardstock
Stampin' Up Ribbon
Preserves Cricut Cartridge
Cuttlebug
Pink by Design "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" stamps
EK Success Punch
Action Wobbles

I will be creating more projects again soon.  I am so proud that I am accomplishing some of my New Years goals early.  Thank you for going on this journey with me.  If you have any advice or comments, please feel free to let me know.  I promise not to bite.  That's two new years resolutions down...now if I could just get to the gym...

Happy Craftin' 
Lauren

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Be My Valentine Blog Hop

48 comments
Hello Everyone!!



Welcome to the Be My Valentine blog hop.  If you came from, Crafty Scentiments, you are in the correct place!  If you have stumbled across this some other way, please head over to Wam Family to start from the beginning.  We have some very talented crafters hoping to give you some valentine's day inspiration so you can get a jump start on your projects!!

I am super excited about getting a jump start on my Valentine's Day projects.  Since I do not have children, I wanted to create something more adult like that I or my fiancee would enjoy.  A friend of ours, with whom we are participating in a weight loss challenge, left a huge Hershey bar under my pillow for temptation.  However, it gave me the idea for this project! I thought that chocolate was best paired with wine, and that sounded adult-like. So, I created a wine bottle cover and coordinating chocolate bar cover.  I used my gypsy to help me make sure everything fit properly. Hope you enjoy!!





Supplies Used: 
Stampin' Up and Wal Mart Solid Cardstock
DCMV Patterned Paper
George and Basic Shapes Cricut Cartridge
Mini Monograms CricutCartridge
Storybook Cricut Cartridge
Sweethearts Cricut Cartridge
Martha Stewert Punch 
Gypsy
Stickles
iRock

Your next stop is Tina Time so be sure to check out what she has created.  I hope you find some time today to craft.  

Happy Crafting, 
Lauren

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

My Pink Stamper Design Team Call

5 comments
Hello Everyone!!

Here is my project for My Pink Stamper's 2011 Design Team.  Robyn is choosing 2 new people to serve on her design team for a 6 month term.  The challenge is to create a new project using Robyn's favorite colors: pink, green, and brown and another color of my choice.  The deadline for submissions is tomorrow at midnight.  To see the further submission requirements, click here.

My submission is a jar gift.  I saw this originally from MizEster on the circut message board.  They are smores in a jar.  When you bake the contents, the final project are seasonal smore bars for everyone to enjoy.  She did a Halloween version of the jar. I loved the idea, and wanted to create some for the holidays.    I loved the fun, bright, non traditional colors at Christmas time and thought they would make a cute winter time gift.


To make the jars, crush an entire sleeve of graham crackers and place them in the bottom of the jar.  Then, place peeps around the jar and 1/3 cup brown sugar in the middle of the circle of peeps.  Next, fill the jar with M&Ms.  What's great about this project is that you can do this for any holiday.  They typically make peeps and M&Ms for every major holiday.  


The back of the tag has the cooking directions on it.  I printed them out on the computer.  Here it is in case you were wondering...Combine ingredients of the jar with 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Press mixture into 9-inch square baking pan.  Place the marshmallows on top.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool completely. Cut into bars and enjoy!







Supplies Used: 
Solid cardstock from Stampin' Up
Patterned cardstock from DCWV
Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip ink
Jolly Holidays Cricut Lite Cartridge (words)
Storybook Cricut Cartridge (tag on jar wrapper)
Sweet Treats Cricut Cartridge (tag with recipe)
Gingerbread Seasonal Cricut Cartridge (tree and candy cane)
Cuttlebug swiss dots folder
Stampin' Up Scallop border punch
Sickles
Scrappy Mom Stamps

Happy Craftin'
Lauren

2011 Crafting Resolutions

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Hello Everyone!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday.  I know between traveling and spending time with family I did not have time to update my blog like I wanted.  That seems to be how it goes...I have a lot of plans to do things, but in the end I just want to spend time with my family.  Unfortunately that means my "to do" list is longer than I wanted it to be.

School starts again soon, which I am super excited about.  It is my last semester of graduate school, and I will graduate in May.  Of course, that means I now have to find a job.  Counseling jobs near the town I live in a kind of sparse, so I have my fingers crossed.

I saw this on Crafting with Cristina's blog, and I thought I would do the same.  The list seems like it's getting kind of long.  Hopefully ya'll will keep me on track.  :-)

1. Post projects on my blog at least three times a week.
2. Participate in at least one challenge a month.
3. Post one video per month.
4. Post blog candy once per month.
5. Have a professional overhaul my blog.
6. Make four cards each time I create
7. Start my etsy shop.

I will have to post these in my craft room somewhere so I can always look at them!!  Hopefully 2011 will be a new year and I can be better about updating my blog.  I have some leftover crafts from the holidays I need to share, so look for those coming soon. I am also participating in a Valentine's Day blog hop on the 8th, so come get your hop on and start creating for your loved ones early!!

Thank ya'll again for following me on my blog.  Even though I don't always show it, I really do appreciate the time it take to look and comment.  Crafting is something I love to do, and I am so excited ya'll want to share my journey with me. 

Happy Crafting,
Lauren