Lovely Ladybug Tag & Giveaway!

Hello! Happy Friday! :) Do you have any weekend plans to speak of? I'm going to work most of the weekend, but I'm pretty jazzed that tonight I'm going out to dinner with my hubby while our son has a sleep over at his gram's house. Oh what a treat that will be! There's nothing like having a little one-on-one time with your soul mate!

Okay, how about a crafty share? First, do you have a favorite paper crafter or two that inspires you? I have a few and one of my all time favorites is Betsy Veldman! She's a go-to gal for Paper Crafts magazine and one of the talented design team members at Papertrey Ink. She's just awesome and her projects are always jaw dropping! I can always rely on Betsy to get my mojo going! Well, this week Besty has been posting crafty projects on her blog made with vintage finds! It's been a real treat to see what she can do with an old tea towel, buttons, and transfers! Along with her crafty shares she posted a challenge to make something with vintage items. Well I can't resist Betsy or a good challenge so I made this Lovely Ladybug tag.

I found the lace trim at our local flea market over the summer and the cute little ladybug pins are from one of my favorite vintage stores, Two Old Birds.

I fell in love with these little ladies when I saw them! I bought almost all they had because I thought that maybe you would like some for a project of your own! I've listed them in my Etsy shop for those of you who are interested! :) Plus, I'm giving a set of five away to one of you who leaves a comment on this post! Is that fun, or what?!?! Just leave a comment anytime this weekend and on Monday morning I'll draw a winner.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by to see what's happening in my neck of the woods. I hope you enjoyed my share. If you see this post before the end of Friday, maybe you can head over to Betsy's blog and get the details to play along in her challenge? :) Kathy

Meatloaf Anyone?

Wait! Before you run...this isn't the dried up shoe leather type of meatloaf you were forced to eat when you were a kid! This is a deliciously moist recipe from The Pioneer Woman. This meatloaf calls for Parmesan cheese, is wrapped in bacon and a slathering of tangy barbecue sauce that you make in just a couple minutes! From now on, I will be making my own barbecue sauce...it's that good!

Look...no onions and bell peppers in the mix. Instead, there's fresh chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese!

Here it is fresh out of the oven! Looks so good, doesn't it?

I served our meatloaf with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli and my boys gave it two thumbs up! They wouldn't dare fib about something like this for fear I would make it again! Ha! I hope you decide to give meatloaf another try. For the recipe click here!

This is the second new recipe I've tried in the past couple weeks in an attempt to discover new recipes my family will eat and enjoy. We were stuck in a terrible food rut! If you and your family are too, give this or another recipe a try and let me know how it goes! I would love to hear about new sites for great recipes! Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with a crafty share. :) Kathy

Happy Holly Days

The countdown is on! There are only two months until Christmas! It's usually this time of year that I think I have plenty of time to get ready for the big day and then a few weeks disappear while I'm making Thanksgiving plans and before I know it, I'm shocked to realize how close Christmas is!

I really love Christmas, it's my favorite holiday! It's not about one day, the 25th of December, it's an entire season of activities! Christmas is about the cards, decorating, baking, carols, the tree, sipping hot cocoa, spending time with friends. There's so much to do and enjoy!

And speaking of cards, here's one I made this week with a digital kit from Two Peas in a Bucket that you might want to consider for your holiday crafting. It's called 'Happy Holly Days' made by Polka Dot Pixels and it's loaded with papers and embellishments. You can do it all with this kit...scrapbook pages, ornaments, gift sets, tags, cards, etc.

I used my beloved Wizard die cut machine and Nestabilities templates to create the scalloped card base and all the circles you see on this card. I really like this Santa and the way the card turned out!

Today I have just this one share because I have a lot of crafting to do! I have a couple new digital kits to work on and a bunch more up my sleeves! Thanks for dropping by! It's been fun! And tomorrow, we shall have some more! :) Kathy

Ditial Doodles Tuesday and a Giveaway

Hi, happy to have you here! Thanks for stopping in! It's a Digital Doodles Tuesday and we have a new little friend to introduce to you! Please welcome our 'Frosty Friend' snowman stamp! The design team has been having a ball making projects for you!

A Cup of Snowman Soup and Card

by Kathy Martin

Jar of You Bake Cookies, Gift Tag and Bag Set

by Arielle Gordon

Winter Scrapbook Page

by Patricia Kumfer

Snowflake Ornament

by Carina Lindholm

Card and Ornaments Gift Set

by Virginia Lu

Journal and Card Gift Set

by Cheryl Nelson

Gift Tags

by Audrey Pettit

Note Card Set

by Vera Wirianta Yates

I love all this snowy goodness! How about you? Do you feel a little chill looking at these snowy projects? Well, our 'Frosty Friend' goes on sale next Tuesday exclusively at Two Peas in a Bucket for just .99 cents and the design team will have another round of snowy projects to show you then! This guy is so versatile, don't you think?

Now for last week's Digital Doodles winner...Renee at Stamping for Sanity! Congratulations Renee! You get to pick a stamp of your choice! This week's Digital Doodles giveaway is our new 'Frosty Friend' stamp. If you would like a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post by this Friday, October 29, 2010 and you will be entered into the drawing! Winner will be announced next week on Digital Doodles Tuesday! Kathy :)

Thank You!

I want to post a great big THANK YOU to everyone hopping by and participating in the Caring Hearts Blog Hop this weekend! It was thrilling to see all the great cards made and what a few people can accomplish working together!

I managed to make another card yesterday, this one, for the card drive. There's still time to make cards, join the cause and win some prizes. Click on the link above to learn more.

You know what else? I was tickled to see how many people commented about my recycled cards and said they were going to make new cards with their old Christmas cards! That's so awesome! You all made my day! Think of all those cards making another round of good cheer! :)

Tomorrow is another Digital Doodles Tuesday. I look forward to sharing some fun projects from our talented design team with a brand new stamp! Hope to see you then! :) Kathy

Caring Hearts Card Drive

Welcome to my stop along the Caring Hearts Card Drive blog hop! I'm thrilled you are here for this special hop to benefit seniors in nursing facilities. With your help, we can send a lot of love to seniors this holiday.

I have two card creations to donate to the drive and show you today that are made from recycled Christmas cards. Recycling is also near and dear to me.

For this card I cut the manger scene out with the Creative Memories circle cutter and added a jute bow. The inside message was cut out too and added to a piece of brown card stock that I folded and cut to look like ribbon.

For this card, I used my circle cutter again and attached the wreath to this beautiful shimmery gold card stock. For a little more sparkle, I and added a few red rhinestones to some of the holly berry clusters on the wreath.

On the back of each card I added the original card information so the recipients can see who the illustrations were made by.

If you arrived at my blog from Jenni Newlan's Soaring blog you are on the right track and should proceed from here to Kathy Racoosin of the The Daily Marker. If you have come directly from another site and would like to follow the hop, please visit the host of the Caring Hearts Card Drive for a list of participants and to find out how you can participate. Lots of fun prizes have been sponsored to make this card drive extra fun.

Thanks again for stopping by! :) Kathy

All Tied Up!

T.G.I.F. to you! Do you have any plans for the weekend? I'm still on the fence about working or playing! There is so much I could get done, but the weather is going to be perfect and....what a dilemma! ;) How about you? What are you doing? Maybe you can help me decide? :)

For now I have a couple of crafty shares for you. About a month ago I posted some ideas for sprucing up your home for just a few dollars. Did you happen to see that post? It was about adding a little ribbon to this and that to give your treasures a little more warmth and character. This first idea I got from one of those inspiration photo collages.

Doesn't this little pumpkin look adorable with a bit of black and cream gingham ribbon wrapped around its middle? Image a whole grouping with different styles of ribbon? I bet you could make some beautiful displays with your pumpkins!

I got this little wooden duck for a song. He was on clearance. Being all white, he didn't get anyone's attention. Well, I love birds and bargains so I took him home and look how handsome with just a bit of green and cream gingham ribbon! I can change the ribbon to red and white gingham Christmastime!

Both of these ribbon styles and over 100 more are for sale in my Etsy shop. If you would like to see the first post of ribbon ideas, click here.

Now I have a Halloween card to show you.

I created this eerie haunted house and ghost card with the Spooks line from SEI. I cut the haunted house and ghost from one of the patterned papers. I love the silver! I haven't seen silver in too many Halloween collections.

Speaking of scrapbook papers and supplies...did you know that Two Peas in a Bucket is offering FREE SHIPPING on orders of $25 or more! Yep! Gotta love that! Maybe today is the day to treat yourself to some new goodies? Click here to go shopping.

This concludes my crafty post for the day. I hope you enjoyed your time here. Tomorrow I'm participating in my very first blog hop for the Caring Hearts Card Drive. This card drive benefits seniors in nursing facilities, bringing them cards and a little love to brighten their day. I hope you can join me and all the other hop participants! Maybe you can donate a card to a deserving senior? :) Kathy

Guest Blogger and a Free Digital Image

Hey everyone! I can't believe we are already closing in on another weekend! I'm debating whether I should go do something fun this weekend or hunker down and get some work done? My scrap room could really use some love and the list goes on! And on! :)

Well, I'm happy you are here because I have a few things to share with you today. First I'd like to tell you that I was honored to be asked to guest blog for Two Peas in a Bucket's October Stamping Month. Isn't that cool?!?! I made a Halloween card just for the post (sneak peek below) and there are a bunch of other crafty shares to see so I hope you can go take a look.

I have another project to share that features another of Wilna Furstenberg's amazing watercolor digital kits called 'Welcome Baby'.

These are the most adorable animals ever on parade, don't you think? Wilna makes my projects so easy since I really don't need to do very much. Her work shines on it's own!

I added a little card stock, made some die cut shapes and added a little button and bow. It's that simple! Her kit included the sentiment as well!

Those of you who follow my blog, know how fond I am of elephants! This guy is going to be used for a home decor project! He's just too cute to leave on my hard drive! :)

Now a little Thanksgiving treat for you, my blogging friends. I found this vintage 1909 postcard in Selma recently on a hunt for fun treasures.

He's a perky big Tom turkey that had better run...the farmer is after him, but not with a gun! Download and add to a greeting card or scrapbook page for a fun accent. If you make something, I'd love to see it!

So I must run now and create some more fun things. Thanks for your visit and comment...I LOVE comments! ;) Kathy

Are You in a Food Rut?

I've been in a food rut! I cook the same old thing for dinner over and over and over! The only reason my family hasn't gone on strike is because the few recipes I make are their favorites, like breakfast for dinner every single Monday night. My guys love breakfast for dinner! So much so that this tradition has been going on for over two years! I doubt very much that Monday night's dinner will change anytime soon, but it's time to mix in some new favorites! My friend Audrey, feeling the same about her dinner menu, agreed to broaden her horizons with me. Indeed it's more fun to cook with a friend!

Last Friday we got together and tried our hand at Ranch Style Chicken, a recipe from 'The Pioneer Woman' cooks. We knew that none of our picky eaters could pass up a boneless chicken breast topped with thick cut bacon and melted sharp cheddar cheese!

All of The Pioneer Woman Cooks recipes are rated from easy to difficult and since we wanted to ensure a successful outcome, we picked an easy dish. Although nothing about this recipe was hard, it was quite messy because of frying the bacon and chicken. I would advise you to cook this dish when the stove needs cleaning anyway!

I served my chicken with steamed zucchini and mashed potatoes. The chicken was not as flavorful as I expected it would be after marinating it for over an hour and topping it with bacon and cheese, but not too shabby.

For desert Audrey and I made 'Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting' from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa. These cupcakes were easy to make and were so delicious that I'm at a loss for words to describe them! The cake was very moist and the cream cheese frosting absolutely sinful! I would highly recommend making these if your aim is to impress! Just look at these great big lovely cupcakes! I was so tickled with myself that they actually looked like something I bought at a fancy bakery! I owe it to the Pampered Chef  'Easy Accent Decorator' for the outcome of the frosting!

I'm happy to report it was a successful and fun venture and that we plan on doing this again soon! Click on the highlighted food titles above to get the recipes. If you try either of these recipes I'd love to hear how you and your family liked it. If you want to share a great recipe you have tried recently, I'd love to hear about it! Thanks for dropping by today! I hope you enjoyed my food share!  Kathy :)

Ditial Doodles Tuesday and a Giveaway

Good day! Great to have you stop in today for another Digital Doodles Tuesday! We have a special set of projects to show off in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month! Digital Doodles Design Team member Arielle Gorden, who has a great big heart of gold, came up with the idea and inspired the following pink projects.

Pink Card

Inside Message:  Fight like a girl!

by Kathy Martin

Bath Essentials Gift Set

by Arielle Gordon

Support Card

by Carina Lindholm

Little Pink Houses Card and Gift Bag Set

by Virginia Lu

Pink Clipboard

by Cheryl Nelson

Love U Card

by Vera Wirianta Yates

I think these projects are fantastic! I love all this pink and what it represents! Thanks ladies! If you are interested in purchasing any of the Digital Doodles images used for these projects or would like to see more Digital Doodles images, click here.

Now for the winner of the Digital Doodles 'Happy Howl-loween' set, Linda of Scrapcat Cards by Linda! Congratulations Linda! I will be sending your digital stamps by e-mail. This week's Digital Doodles stamp giveaway is a stamp or stamp set of your choice. If you would like to be entered in the drawing, just leave a comment on this post by this Friday, October 22, 2010. Good luck everyone!

If you were visiting yesterday you know I went on a date with my hubby to the fair. We had a wonderful time and took lots of great photos which I will share with you sometime soon...maybe with a scrapbook page? I also mentioned last Friday that I got together with my girlfriend to do a cooking and baking day. We had a successful day and didn't burn anything! I will be sharing some pics and recipes of our day tomorrow, so I hope to see you then! :) Kathy

Autumn

Happy to have you drop in! How was your weekend? Did you partake in any fall activities? This weekend my boys and I went to our favorite pumpkin patch, Hill Ridge Farms. It's a wonderful, family friendly, activity packed day at the farm. There is a train, long tunnel slide, pony rides, yummy eats and a hay ride through the woods. And that's just the start of it! Each year, they add something new! Now there's a giant corn crib, an old fashioned fort with tee pee, a big hay jump house, face painting and water duck races! It's quite a place to spend an afternoon!

Today I would normally be getting back to work after a full and fun weekend, but my husband and I are taking a day off, just the two of us, to go to the NC State Fair. This is our third year of doing this! We get to be like a couple of kids walking the fair hand-in-hand doing and seeing whatever we please. Ah...I still love to go on dates with my guy after 18 years of marriage!

Okay, enough with the family update. How about a couple crafty shares? I have two hybrid pages that I created from kits just released last week at Two Peas in a Bucket.

This first page entitled 'Autumn' is created with 'October Past' from a new designer Hazel Olive Designs. I love the rich colors of the papers included in the kit so I used several and gave them all punched boarders.

My photo is of a pumpkin display at my favorite Garden Supply center and gift shop in Cary.  If you happened to visit my blog when I was sharing some of my Halloween decorations, this was the store I got many of our little spiders and spooky things from.

I went a little crazy with the stitching! But it's so worth it! I really love the look of the stitched title!

I did a bit of stitching on this page too. I used another awesome kit 'Sincerely' by Polka Dot Pixels for this page.

All the papers and accents in this grouping (except for the green postage stamp) are from the kit!

The photo, a suitcase full of vintage post cards, is perfect for this kit! It's a picture my friend took while we were visiting the Liberty Antiques Festival a few weeks back.

Okay, I believe I've taken up enough of your time...so precious it is! I think you for spending a little of it with me! I hope you have enjoyed my pages! Tomorrow is a Digital Doodles Tuesday and the design team wanted to do something different so you will have to come see what they asked to do! :) Hope to see you then! Have a super day! Kathy