My Birthday Layout

Happy Birthday to Me! Okay...for those that know me, it's not my birthday...yet. But I did a birthday layout in Close to My Heart's Dream Pop paper. One thing I absolutely love about the CTMH paper packs is that they come with both card stock and patterned paper...so everything matches! I have been known to have trouble matching my blues.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the card stock is embossed and really "pops" when you see it in person. The diagonal embossing on it adds nice texture to the page.

Every year the Franklin Woman's Club, which I belong to, runs a Tricky Tray to help raise scholarship money for local girls. (The Woman's Club is worldwide and if you're interested there might be one in your area.) But each year it's either on my birthday or within a few days of my birthday so I count it as part of my birthday celebration now. We work hard but have a lot of fun. 

The blue "embellishment" on the upper left corner of the first page is actually a handmade card. I attached it using clear photo mounting corners so the card can be taken out. I did the same with the "Yes I'm late again" card on the second page. Both cards are from close friends and I wanted to make sure I kept them. I used the leftover (and purple) cupcake embellishments from my niece's birthday layout (purple has always been my favorite color). 

The layout is simple, but it tells the story of a part of my life - which is what preserving memories is all about! Decide what you want to highlight in each story. I wanted to highlight my friends at the table, the basket I won and cards from two very special people in my life - plus an adorable fur baby. I do have other birthday cards I saved and added to the adjoining page...but that's for another layout :) 

Happy crafting!

Joyce

Birthdays, Scrapbooking, and Chocolate....Perfect!

My friend's birthday weekend was a blast! This is one page from a multi-page layout...it was just too much fun to put on one layout. We not only were able to get to a scrapbook day, we made a weekend out of it by going to Hershey's Chocolate Town for a chocolate tasting (deliciously overwhelming!), a winery, had fun walking around a small, historic town in PA, and ate at a mouth-watering Amish buffet called Dienners.

I scrapped from my Stash - using paper from CTMH for the background and circle paper. The candle paper was purchased at Joys of Life Scrapbooking...but I forget the company...sorry...I need to get better at writing it down when I scrap.  The stamps I used in the layout are from 3 Twenty Crafts. The streamers and tag are from the Tags and Trimmings set - go figure, I was able to use a Christmas and Winter set for a May birthday! The border set on the side streamers is hard to see in the picture since I put Stickles on them but they are really cute up close and you can really see the detail in the stamp.

But I used the Background Builders set from 3 Twenty Crafts which is so versatile! I'm looking forward to using it for more than just cards...backgrounds, borders, create a frame...the list goes on...I am really exited to have this stamp set to work with.

Happy Crafting!
Joyce

Deliciously Easy Dinner!

I love to cook and bake. Which is entirely different than having the time to cook and bake! If I didn't have to work and could stay home (and not have all those pesky day-to-day responsibilities...lol!) I would have a great meal prepared every night. But back to reality...  I love Tastefully Simple and how easy they make it to get dinner ready. I love it so much that I signed up as a consultant about 2 years ago. I don't do a lot of parties, but I use the products all the time so I figured I might as well get the discount. Here's a ridiculously easy dinner I made that is incredibly tasty! Even my mom enjoyed it...no complaints! Don't get me wrong, mom is not one of those overly critical people. But she has had one massive stroke and a few small ones and strokes can change your personality. So if being critical is the worst of it...I can handle that; she's mom and she's still with me :)  She usually gives me "it was good but..." or "can I make a suggestion..." type of remark. And when I made this I got "you can make this again"... so it's a hit!!

Chicken Bake (from the Tastefully Simple Nov. 2013 Simply Dinners menu)
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup Tastefully Simple Vidalia Onion Dressing
2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese

Place chicken in baking dish, top with TS Vidalia Onion Dressing and shredded cheese. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes or until browned and bubbly....and dinner is ready.

I only had cheddar cheese in the house and used that instead and a little less cheese and it was still delicious.

I have to admit, I am not a big Vidalia onion dressing person. I have never used it on a salad. But I love the Tastefully Simple Vidalia Onion Dressing on tuna and canned salmon. I like to mix it in and put it over a nice salad, maybe add some pine nuts and dried cranberries...that's another "you can make this again" dish!

If you're wondering what Simply Dinners is...here's the scoop...

  

So what is your favorite quick and easy dinner to make?

Enjoy!
Joyce

Scrap Your Stash!

If you are anything like me, you are a "collector" (I prefer that over hoarder!). I have beautiful collections of paper, ribbon, washi tape, card stock, embellishments, stamps, embossing powder, stickles, glitter - you name it, I have probably started a collection. I could probably go about ten years without buying anything other than adhesive and white card stock. I love mounting photos on white card stock to help them "pop". So this year I am challenging myself to Scrap My Stash! Some of the papers you see may not be available, but I'm sure you have something similar in your stash :)

Here is a birthday layout I did with Close to My Heart's Dream Pop paper.

 

I fell in love with the paper when I saw it - so much so that I have three packs! So you'll probably be seeing more of it this year. The "Uniquely You" stamp is from Close to My Heart's A Flowering Bunch Stamp of the Month. If you're not familiar with the Stamp of the Month - you just spend $50 in product and you get the stamp set for only $5 - a great bargain. I've actually planned my larger purchases around the Stamp of the Month to get the ones I want. 

The cupcake embellishment were actually Valentine cupcakes but I thought the bright colors went nicely. 

Happy Crafting! 

Joyce

Exciting News!

I have some very exciting news to share with you...I have been asked to join an absolutely AMAZING group of designers  (ok...my picture isn't that great...it's a "selfie"...) and bloggers for 3 Twenty Crafts!

You'll want to check out their stamps...the Background Borders is my current favorite...and we all know our favorites change as new exciting products are released...lol. One of the fun things about this is the Funday Friday Challenge that I'll post a link to each Friday afternoon. The Challenge is a lot of fun and the best part is there is a different sponsor each week so the winner gets a great prize from the sponsor.

I've listed the Design Team on the left side of my page. Please take a few minutes to check out the work these amazing ladies do - the bar has been set high! But I'm sure we're all up for the challenge! I can't wait to see what YOU create for Funday Friday Challenge and I'm excited to be sharing a lot more of my work with you.

Happy Crafting!
Joyce