This week at Heart2Heart we are showing off our favourite embellishment. Mine, hands down, would have to be sparkles! Whenever I can, I love adding a little sparkle to my cards :).
All supplies are Close To My Heart:
Paper - Kraft, White Daisy; Ink - Flaxen, Chocolate; Stamps - Merry, Merry;
Embossing Powder - Princess Gold; Ribbon - Burlap; Embellishments - Red Sparkles.

I just had to play along with the fun bingo challenge over at Merry Monday this week. I actually used quite a few of the spots, but ended up completing a diagonal with Red + Ribbon or Twine + Emboss.

September 28, 2014

Tea is Always a Good Idea

My order from Verve has arrived and I have finally found the time to play with this tea set I was so excited to get!! I am playing along with the Viva la Verve sketch from Week 2, as well as the Diva Dare of Terrific Trios. I can't wait to play more with this set!
Stamps - One Cup (Verve); Paper - Kraft, Colonial White, Paper Fundamentals Basic Assortment, Stella (CTMH);
Ink - Black (CTMH); Die cuts - Cuppa Tea (Verve); Embossing folder - Stripe (CTMH).

September 27, 2014

Keep Calm and do Yoga

For the past 30 days I have had an unlimited yoga pass at One Love Hot Yoga in Cranbrook. When I bought it originally I was thinking about how I only had to go twice to pay for it - perfect! My yoga buddy, Natasha, however had other ideas and pushed me to go daily! I can't believe the changes I have seen in my physical and emotional wellbeing. I wanted to thank her with this card for giving me the motivation to go.

I wanted some cozy papers to make this yoga card and I knew that the new Snowhaven papers I had received from Close To My Heart the other day would be perfect. I used the lovely sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and thought I would also link up with the anything goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp.
Paper - Black, Glacier, Cranberry cs, Snowhaven pp (CTMH); Ink - Black, Cranberry (CTMH);
Stamps - Coffee (Verve); Keyboard Uppercase (CTMH); Ribbon - Heavenly Blue Collection (CTMH).
Tag cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.

September 16, 2014 in

Butternut Squash Risotto

This week I made one of my favourite fall recipes - Butternut Squash Risotto. A few years ago while I was still going to school in Victoria, one of my friends introduced me to Jamie Oliver recipes...and I have been hooked on his cookbooks ever since! This recipe was probably one of my first "fancy"meals that I ever conquered...I remember being so intimidated to make it myself, but after lots of practice, I finally feel that it's my own.
1 butternut squash
Cinnamon
Red chili flakes
6 tbsp. butter
1-2 handfuls freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus a block for grating
Olive oil
a bunch of fresh sage leaves 

1 3/4 pints vegetable stock
2 tbsp. olive oil 
1 tbsp. butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 1/2 cups risotto rice (a.k.a. arborio rice)
1 cup white wine

To roast butternut squash, preheat oven to 400F. Peel, quarter, and discard the seeds. Chop squash into chunks, put into a casserole dish and toss with olive oil, cinnamon, and chili flakes. For a sweeter flavour - add more cinnamon, for a bit of a kick - add more chili flakes. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter in a large pan on the stove on medium-low heat. In a separate pot heat stock. Add chopped onion to the pan and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently and making sure the onion does not brown. 
Stir in risotto and let it sizzle for a moment. Slowly pour in white wine and stir to mix. 
Once wine is fully absorbed add a spoonful of stock and stir. 
The trick to risotto is to not leave it alone, stir VERY frequently to avoid sticking. Once stock is absorbed, add another spoonful, stir to absorb. Repeat. It is important to maintain a low temperature so that rice cooks slowly and evenly. By the time the squash has finished cooking you should be ready to add it. Add a spoonful of squash to the risotto, along with stock, and gently combine.
Repeat until you have incorporated all of the squash. Test risotto. It should be a little firmer than you will want it. Remove from heat and add butter and parmesan. Stir to combine. 
Put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest while you fry up the sage leaves in another small pan.

Serve and enjoy :)

Recipe adapted from Cook With Jamie by Jamie Oliver
Today over at Heart2Heart we hope you will join us to share your favourite crafting technique! I decided to choose resist embossing. I have seen a lot of cards using this technique recently and find the results absolutely stunning. We are going to my cousin's wedding this weekend so I made this card for him.

To do resist embossing, first stamp your image(s) in Versamark ink. Next, sprinkle white embossing powder over the image(s) and heat emboss. Choose the colour you would like to go over top of the image. Using a sponge gently smudge the ink over the paper you would like coloured. You can sponge directly over the embossed image. Use a cloth afterwards to remove any remaining colour on the image. Voila! 
All supplies are Close To My Heart:
Ink - Canary; Stamps - Find Your Style; Pearl Opaques, Sparkles.

Hope to see you join us at Heart2Heart this month!
September 14, 2014

Filled with Sweetness

After a weekend away I felt a pull to my craft room when I returned home. I fell in love with the colours and inspiration photo at Christmas Card Challenges and wanted to play along. I looked everywhere through all of my stamps and cartridges to find candy canes, but I couldn't find any! I decided to use this striped patterned paper instead. I came across a new challenge called Never-Before-Used-Schtuff and am playing along with their Challenge #2: make a Christmas card using stuff you have never used before. To meet this challenge I pulled out a stamp set I had meant to use last season but didn't get around to, along with some ribbon that has been sitting in my craft room forever never having been touched! I also used the Stretch Your Imagination Cricut cartridge to cut out my gingerbread man for the first time...I swear I do use most of my stuff haha, but what a great challenge to make sure that you do :)

All supplies are Close To My Heart:
Paper - Outdoor Denim, Flirty Raspberry, White Daisy, Sparkle & Shine patterned paper;
Ink - Blush, Slate; Stamp set - Very Merry Christmas; Ribbon - Vineyard Berry Wings assortment.
Shape cut from Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.
September 10, 2014

Some Form of Transportation

Today I decided to play along with the fun challenge over at Merry Monday of using some type of transportation on your card - I hope Santa counts! I created my own snowy background to play along with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and I adapted the layout from Freshly Made Sketches to a square card.
All supplies are Close To My Heart:
Paper - Desert Sand, Colonial White cs, Frosted pp;
Ink - Cranberry, Olive, Desert Sand, Whisper;
Stamps - Holiday Magic, Santa Claus;
Embellishments - Gold Medley brads.

September 08, 2014

you're so sweet

Today I played along with Viva la Verve for the first time. This week features a sketch and colour challenge. I am anxiously awaiting my parcel of new stamps from the Verve store and I cannot wait to use my new sets! For this card I have used an older set that is still one of my favourites:
I am also linking up to the Kraft Journal challenge of using Kraft cardstock on your card and anything goes.

Paper - Kraft, Colonial White cardstock, Lucy paperpack (CTMH);
Stamps - Delightful & Delicious (Verve); Ink - Cocoa (CTMH). 

September 07, 2014 in

Little Apron

It seems that summertime is the only chance I have to get in some sewing projects! I am a very new sewer and have been learning lots since my mom got me a sewing machine last year for my birthday. My niece's birthday is coming up this week and I wanted to make her something. I thought of making her an apron so that she and her mom could do some baking together this fall once her brother goes off to kindergarten. I am so stoked at how it turned out and cannot wait to make more - so fun!
I used this pattern from Pinterest that my aunt found as a guide. I got the fabric from this cute little boutique in Cranbrook called Sugar Town Quilt Company.

September 07, 2014

Believe in Magic

I'm excited to say I got another Christmas card completed today! I have been wanting to play around with this stamp set ever since I got it this summer, and finally found the time today. I loosely used the sketch and colour challenge from Fusion and also wanted to link up with the weekly Christmas Card Challenge of think skinny. I came across this (new to me) card challenge through the amazing Paper Playful site. This site documents numerous card and scrapbooking challenges - a great way to find new challenges to play along with!
stamp set - Believe in Magic (Mama Elephant); paper - Slate, White Daisy, Ruby, Sparkle & Shine paperpack (CTMH);
ink - Whisper, Black, Ruby (CTMH). Bricked embossing folder (Tim Holtz). 
Shape cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge (CTMH).
September 04, 2014

This Too Shall Pass

It is my friend's birthday this weekend and we are getting together to celebrate. We are both teachers, and unfortunately, right now in BC it is not a happy time for our career. When thinking of a sentiment to go with her card, I came across this one: This Too Shall Pass, But While We're Waiting, Let's Go Have A Cocktail. Although I wouldn't typically use this saying for a birthday card, it seems to fit perfectly with the times. To brighten up the card, I used the fun colours at Color Throwdown and the lovely simple sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I am also linking up to the challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge of using clear stamps - and I even purchased both of these eye-catching sets from the Simon Says Stamp store!
stamp sets - I Like You (Kelly Purkey), Free Spirits (Paper Smooches);
Cuttlebug folders & dies - Woodgrain (SU), Free Spirits (Paper Smooches);
ink - Pixie, Canary, Sunset (CTMH); Silver Shimmer Tape (CTMH).



September 03, 2014

Butterfly Birthday

Our niece will be turning 3 years old next week and she is having a butterfly birthday party! Here is the card I have made to celebrate her big day. I am hoping to have another crafty project to go along with it, we'll see if I can get it done in time!

When I first came across this week's Retro Sketch, I must admit I was quite intimidated; however, upon seeing my aunt's fantastic creation with this sketch, I knew I wanted to play along too! It was pretty fun going through new and old paper packs to piece together some scraps! My niece loves pink, so the colours from Paper Sweeties Inspiration went along perfectly. I also played along with the fun tic-tac-toe challenge at The Paper Players and went straight across the top with Birthday + Green + Buttons.
All supplies are Close To My Heart:
Paper - patterned: Brushed, Lollydoodle, Lucy, Dotty For You, Wings, Life Delights;
ink - Slate; stamp set - Say It In Style; Blush buttons; Flutter Paper Shapes.



Today over at Heart2Heart we have a brand new challenge for you that you can play along with all month long --> scrapbook with your favourite colour/colour combo! It was really hard for me to choose a colour combo because there are so many that I love. I found I had a similar difficulty when it came to choosing colours for my own wedding...which led me to decide what I did then - go classic, black, white and grey! I find this colour combination to be timeless and elegant, I don't think it will ever go out of style or that I will get tired of it. This is going to be the front page for our anniversary album:

All supplies are Close To My Heart:
Paper - For Always patterned paper (retired), White Daisy, Black, Slate card stock;
ink - Whisper, Black; stamps - Simple Memories, Alphabets;
embellishments - Sparkles Flourishes, Pearl Opaques, Boutique Assortment; Mini-Medley Accents.
Shapes cut from Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.
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