Monogram set - The Cutting Cafe'

This is a set of five cards I put together for my wonderful Mom-In-Law for Mother's Day. And I honestly could not believe how quickly and easily they went together! I simply used the AWESOME and AMAZING monogram set of dowloadable stamps from The Cutting Cafe'!!

I simply grabbed the the K I wanted from the many possibilities of monograms in the set, and pasted it into word. Resized to exactly what I wanted, and the printed them out on my cardstock. EASY PEASY!! I cut them out with my Nesties in my Cuttlebug, and mounted them on foam tape for dimension.

The DP is by Cloud 9 Design, Kensington Gardens collection. The cardstock is Bazzill. The brown border on the Blooming Daisies paper is actually just the reverse side of the Blooming Daisies paper, so I knew it would be a perfect match to the brown in the paer! I just ran it through my Martha Stewart border punch.

I added a little color to the stamp by using a couple Copic markers. I used Redwood on the K, and Cream around the dotted circle. That's it! This entire set was done in a little over an hour. What do you think? I sure hope she likes it!! Of course she will. She's one of those Mom-In-Laws that would love it if you scribbled some crayon marks on a piece of paper. She is indeed amazing!!

That's it for today! Be sure and pop over to Regina's site, The Cutting Cafe', to check out all the amazing sets of downloadable stamps she has, and you too can put together a set like this in no time at all! She's got all kinds of wonderful sets to help you whip up something for the mother figure in your life. Hope you're having a woderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by to see me today and I hope to see you back again soon! HUGS!

Roasted Yellow Tomato Salsa Recipe with Cilantro

Roasted yellow tomato salsa is vegan and gluten-free.

How am I occupying my fevered little brain as we wait (not so patiently) for more house showings? How do I keep my spirits up as we start this selling process all over again? I dream up recipes. I lay in bed at 3 AM with visions of salsa in my head. I conjure excuses for roasting yellow tomatoes. I imagine frittatas with leftover pasta. Vanilla cupcakes with mocha icing. Pecan crackers.

This is my life. And it's ending one recipe at a time.

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My Family Grew By One Today

Yes, it's true - my family grew by one today, but gained four legs!! My husband and I made a little road trip (nearly 6 hours of driving) and adopted a one year old male Pomeranian!!! He is so lovable, but he seems to be trying to become a daddy's boy!!! Anyway, isn't he cute?



Since I spent a big part of the day in the car and trying to get the dog settled into a new home I did absolutely NO crafting today. But guess what??? I think I can safely post a preview of the cards I made for the stamp club swap!

I made sympathy cards; morose but true. I was trying for uplifting sympathy cards... if you can imagine. I found a nice stamp (half price sale) last week at Hobby Lobby and thought I would give it a try.


I used white cards, DCWV SWEET paper, teal card stock, and Stampin' Up ink. Oh yes - and butterflies cut last night with my new Home Decor cartridge
and embossed with the Swiss Dot folder.


I hope the club likes them... I think they came out nicely.

The Call to the Post

Every first weekend in May when I was growing up, my family would tune into watch the Kentucky Derby. Perhaps because of my mom's love for horses or because in the earlier part of the twentieth century a distant relative was twice a winning jockey of the race, watching the Derby run was an important, never-missed tradition for us.

Eric Piasecki Photography

The morning of the race would be spent reading the sports section of the newspaper for information on the running horses; we read so that we could choose the horses we would be cheering on for the win.

Aimee Herring Photography

Our decisions were mostly made by the highly scientific means of deciding which horse's name and silks we liked most. Sometimes, though I can't say often, the odds came into play for me too, and when I say they came into play, it was in falling for the long shots.

Eric Piasecki Photography

Odds of 25-1? 35-1? 50-1? As a person who loves to champion the underdog, who has a soft spot for movies like Rudy, The Mighty Ducks, and Little Giants and who delighted in the unexpected romance of Samantha Baker and Jake Ryan, higher odds didn't scare me off. In fact, sometimes, they were all the better.

kimbee935

Watching the Derby continued to be part of my life each spring, even after I graduated from high school. In college, my best friend, L, hailed from the Bluegrass State, and I discovered her knowledge of horse racing was much greater than mine.

Simon Upton Photography

In addition to horses' names, L's picks were made based on a knowledge of trainers, jockey's, and stables, information she shared with me. I watched the Derby my freshman year in college with what felt like more insight; suddenly, the names of the humans involved with the day meant a little more to me.

Marisa Crawford Indri

I attended my first live horse races at Churchill Downs with L and her dad, and, although it wasn't the Derby, I learned firsthand the excitement of a winning ticket. During grad school, I watched the Derby broadcast at Keeneland, another horse track in Kentucky, with L and her friends from home. While I didn't win big, I did leave with a new found love for the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby, as I enjoyed my first mint julep, served in an official souvenir glass, that day.

Isabel Lawrence Photography via The Bride's Cafe

I still watch the Derby ever year, but instead of reading the sports section for information on the contenders, I read my information online. My rather limited knowledge of trainers and jockeys sometimes factors into my picks, but I must admit my decisions are still mostly based on horses' names, silks, and odds.

Hat Parade on NBC Sports

I have yet to make it to Churchill Downs for the running of the Derby, but I still hope for that day to be in my future. My friends from college made a pack to one day attend together, and our sights are set high on Grandstand seats, as expensive and difficult to come by as they may be.

kimbee935

I can't wait to don a lovely hat and cheer with the crowd, but, until then, I will continue watching and cheering along with my t.v. Speaking of, there is Derby coverage to which I now must attend and some horses I need to cheer on for the win. Happy Derby Day!

♥ ♛ what i'm wearing today

YES! just like my previous post, i've told yall that i'm sooo into grunge fashion right now.
today i went to grab some early dinner at subway with hney, & he helped me taking pictures (since he is the one who owns the camera anyway) hahaa.
enjoy.

The Libertines shirt : MBK, Bangkok, Thailand
Jeans Shorts : MBK, Bangkok, Thailand
Leggings : *i forgot where did i get it =o
Point Flats : MBK, Bangkok, Thailand
Trilby Hat : Hney's Property
Fringe Bag : Vintage Bag Shop, Thailand

A Late Contender

This just in. We have a late contender joining the field for the horse home goods race. I can't believe he was overlooked in the first place because I believe odds are he's going to be a favorite!


This fantastic guy can be found at Brown Button Trading, which as of this week is shipping across the globe! If you haven't already, you should take a look at Brown Button Trading, which, as many of you know, is the latest venture of the always sweet and funny blogger Kimberlee of Brown Button. The website is beautiful and stocked with wonderful wares, and I am hoping Kimberlee finds the greatest success in this endeavor.

Christmas in May?

I must say, today was like Christmas in May for me. I arrived home from work and found two packages waiting for me. The first, a box, I suspected was my Provo Craft special two cartridge purchase, but I had NO idea what that big padded bag contained. The label said "Cricut Replacement Parts." I took both the box and the padded package back to my scrap room... and THAT'S when it hit me: LYRICAL LETTERS from the Chirp!! So... today I received Lyrical Letters, Home Decor, Jubilee, a Juke Box, and the basic set of cricut pens!! If not Christmas, then at least a second birthday... without that whole aging thing!!!!

So yes, I did have to play with the cartridges. I cut some elements for a layout I am scrapping, but it is not ready for public viewing yet. I can share a birthday card I cut and assembled. It is for one of my chocolate loving co-workers.



Next, I finished some cards for stamp club. We have a card swap at our stamp club meetings. I guess I will have to wait to post the stamp club cards until Sunday. Sorry.

Finally, while using my nesties I spied my cute little bird shapebilities. I just had to make a card using the birds. I really like the simplicity of the bird shapes; they seem to "pop" off of the printed background.



I am not sure what is up with my color choices. I seem to be very attracted to aqua this week. I especially liked the softness of the aqua with the intensity of the deep browns.


I should have more to share tomorrow...