Another new layout...

Another layout of me and the boy. I really, really love how this turned out (not to toot my own horn or anything). The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye (actually the flowers and the swirls are cut from MME paper too). The swirls have a chipboard base that is by Making Memories. I got the rhinestones in a generic package at JoAnn's and the letter stickers are American Crafts.

A new layout

Just a simple one. Had a little serendipitous moment when I realize the Heidi Grace "forever" charm I bought 2+ years ago matches this Carolee's paper I got in April. :)

Creamy Lemon Squares

Here's a recipe a co-worker shared with me recently and it is divine! Great cool summery treat for an office gathering, baby or bridal shower, or picnic.

Creamy Lemon Squares

20 Reduced Fat NILLA Wafers, finely crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold margarine
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened (she used the 1/3 less fat and it was just as good)
1 cup granulated sugar (can use Splenda)
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. grated lemon peel, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. powdered sugar

PREHEAT oven to 350ºF. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan; set aside. Combine wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and the brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in margarine with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and 2 Tbsp. flour; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. lemon peel, lemon juice and baking powder; pour over crust.

BAKE 25 to 28 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. grated lemon peel just before cutting into squares to serve. Store leftover squares in refrigerator.

Graudation Layout

Here's a layout I finished up tonight. I used Cloud 9 patterned papers (they're actually from their Dog Line) but I love the colors and the geometric/graphic nature of them that I adapted them for this. The letter stickers are American Crafts. Actually I had to get creative with the "r", "u", and "n" because I didn't have those letters left. The "r" is cut out of a lowercase "h" and the "u" and "n" are cut out of two letter "m's". The flowers are by Prima and the pearl brads are part of the Bazzill Bling line. The photos are from my BIL's graduation ceremony in May. He graduated with a lot of honors. In fact, he's the top-ranked non-native speaking Spanish student in his home state based on a test that he took. Pretty cool, huh? The other pictures include our family and his girlfriend. Thanks for looking.

Little things go a long way...

In spite of a few lows this week, I have to say that I have found happiness and inspiration in two of the smallest things, and I wanted to share those with you.



First, I had the honor of hearing Bill Cosby speak in person this week. He is every bit as fabulous as you think he's going to be. Funny, humble, smart, just AMAZING. One of the bits that I took with me was this: "Make yourself into a cocoon. Develop yourself. And when you emerge you have two choices. You can be the ugly moth that flies around with no direction and ultimately smears itself on a windshield. Or you can be a butterfly. Be the butterfly that flies around God's Garden doing beautiful things." Loved that. Be the butterfly.

Second, along the gardening theme, I went to Home Depot on Thursday night to get mulch and a few more bedding plants to fill in the blank spots. I found some gorgeous gerberas and also some petunias and some white flowers that are tall. I pushed the cart out to my car and was loading the plants all into the trunk. While I was doing this, a guy that worked there was collecting all the carts. He saw that I was about done with mine, and instead of just standing there waiting, he loaded up the mulch for me. How sweet was that? I mean, it's something I'm perfectly capable of, and its not something that his boss or another co-worker saw or that he was probably even told to do, so he did it just out of the goodness out of his heart. Very cool. He was being that butterfly.

Toodaloo!

Photography...

A few weekends ago, Greg was out of town for a bachelor party for a friend, so I took our new toy (a digital Canon Rebel) out to play. I drove up to Como Park for the day and shot around 500 photographs of plants and animals. It was a great day...learned some new tricks on the camera! You can see some more in my gallery at:

Zoo pics gallery

Let me know what you think....constructive criticism always welcome.

Sunday Brunch

A layout I did with pictures from brunch a few weekends ago. The papers are by Bo-Bunny Press, the flower are Prima, the letter stickers are American Crafts, and the swirls were cut with the QK Flourish Revolution die. I got the rhinestones in the bead/sequin aisle at Michael's or JoAnn's. The scanning job is bad, but the border does go all the way around the layout evenly in real like (like the border in the lower left corner) and the flower/flourish combo in the upper right also isn't chopped off in real life.

And another new layout...

I had the pleasure of meeting some of ladies from Stemma (the company that designed this paper) at the beginning of May. They were really great ladies. I was so excited by their new line (you can find it here: http://www.artsytartsy.com/). A simple layout of one of my new favorite photos of my mom and I two weekends ago. Patterned paper by Stemma, rub-ons by Doodlebug.

A new layout...

A layout I did tonight from St. Patrick's Day this year. Based on a sketch at Page Maps: http://www.pagemaps.com/apr07maps.htm. Papers are by Reminisce, and while it doesn't show up well in this scan, they are faintly glittery. I cut a few of the circles out and then popped them up with pop dots. Flower by Prima, brad by Queen and Co.

Looking for a good read?

I just finished this book and LOVED it. Would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read. It was a page turner for me...over six-hundred pages and I finished it in about a week-and-a-half. That's how good it is!

I have to admit that I can't think of a time that I read a piece of historical fiction that wasn't part of an assignment in school. So this book would've flown under my radar if my mom hadn't had it laying out the last time I was home.

The author, Phillippa Gregory, does a fantastic job of weaving real historical facts with rumours, speculation and just plain fiction. She brings her characters to life so well, and chose a fantastic point of view when she chose Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn (King Henry the VIII's second wife). It starts out with Mary as a young courtier in Queen Katherine's court and as a pawn in her family's game to become the most favored family in England. From there we see Mary struggle with right and wrong, loyalty to her family, her King, and her own desires. As the book continues we watch her mature and start to catch on the ploys of those around her. She transforms from gullible and frusteratingly obedient to strong and admirable.

This book exposes the life in the King's court, and shows that while we outwardly see richness and propriety and beauty, we aren't seeing the whole story. It goes back to that old adage of "if it's too good to be true, it probably is."

I can't tell you how many times I put down the book to run to the computer and Google information about the Boleyns, King Henry and the Tudor court. It was amazing to me to see how well Phillippa tied together bits of fact with intriguing fiction. I will be picking up the follow up (The Boleyn Inheritance) soon. Happy reading, friends!

More Inspiration...this time it's stuff I made...

Thought I'd share some of the projects I've been working on lately. I've been trying to stay on top of the 2007 photos and catch up on the 2006 photos. The top layout is of my nephew, who will be one later this month, taken after he was born. I still just marvel at that sweet tiny face in all its' perfectness. The second layout is about my grandma and I celebrating our birthdays together this year. My great grandma's birthdate was one week before my grandma's and mine is one week after. Pretty cool, huh? As usual, my family made it special with favorite foods and great gifts, but the best gift of all was having grandma there to celebrate after a tough year of chemo and hip problems. The bottom layout is just a collection of family pictures, all taken in January. Clockwise from the upper left: my uncle Ric, my aunt Trudy, my grandma, my mom, Greg, me, my cousin Emily and my cousin Melissa. Enjoy!

Michelle

Some Inspiration for Today...

I was surfing over at Two Peas and saw this amazing album by a very talented Pea...you can find the whole album here http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1156832

Apparently the clear "pages" for the album will be offered beginning this summer, but many Peas aren't waiting and are going to their local hardware stores to get plexiglass and making there own. Such a cool idea.

Back to work...

Some cards I've made recently

Thought I'd post a short post tonight as it's getting late...here's some cards I've made for various events recently.

The two floral cards were made from Chatterbox papers and Prima flowers. The graduation card was stamped with a Stampendous! stamp and all of them have a touch of Stickles to give them a little sparkle.

Enjoy!