9 Years Old

My daughter's birthday was in May and I am very happy to now have a couple of photos from her party on a layout.
The party was so much fun. One of my favorite things about the party was that each girl got to decorate her own pair of flip flops. Lots of ribbon, flowers and jewels were flying around our kitchen table! The cool thing about the project was that I already had all of the decorating goodies in my scrapbook room.Everything on this layout is from the SC January Kit. I am seriously loving the color palette of this kit. The blue background paper on this layout is one of my new favorite paper designs!

Scrapbook Circle's January Kit!

Here's a look at Scrapbook Circle's brand new January kit.I've mixed up bits of Valentine goodness that will be neutral enough to work for many other themes. I'm really enjoying playing with the fresh and clean colors!

Merry Christmas!

I have just enjoyed a wonderful Christmas weekend full of family and traditions.
My family is such a blessing in my life.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful and blessed holiday season!

I didn't think I liked beets...

until I tried them in a salad that my cousin made. Where have I been? Beets are sweet and delicious. Better late than never that I figured this out.

Here is one of my recent favorite salads. My cousin Amy made it (with slight variations) and now I can't get enough.One of my favorite things about this salad (aside from the perfect flavor combo) is that it is so easy to put together.

Ingredients:
1 bag of spinach
1 can sliced beets
1 can green beans
1 can corn
Feta
1/3 Red Onion, finely diced (optional)

Open and drain liquid from all of the cans. Place 1/2 of the spinach in a bowl and top with 1/2 of the contents of each can. Sprinkle with some feta. Repeat layering of spinach, canned veggies and feta.It think this is great without dressing, but sometimes I use a little Fresh & Easy Caesar Vinaigrette dressing.

The colors are so bright and inviting. It's a perfect salad to make in the winter when fresh veggies may not be as plentiful.

Let me know if you make it and what you think of it!

Wedding Gift Idea

As part of a wedding gift to my sister-in-law and her husband, I put this frame together with a photo taken at their wedding.
I used one of the Fancy Pants frames with acrylic used where glass would usually go. The acrylic is really easy to work with. It makes creating the inside of a frame much like creating a layout. I layered things both behind and in front of the acrylic. I wrapped the ribbon around the acrylic a couple of times. It gives a nice dimension to the project. Another great thing about the acrylic is that the paper doesn't have to cover all of the glass area. These frames have a cool effect because you can see through the acrylic area since there isn't a back to the frame.

Hope they like their gift!

Everything used to embellish the frame is from the upcoming January Scrapbook Circle kit.

One Sweet Tree

Today I baked something that a friend used to make for our family every year at Christmas. She would give it to us on Christmas Eve so that we could have something sweet from Christmas morning.

I decided to try making one for our family this year.

Here's a look at how I put it together:

1. Start with frozen Rhodes rolls. Arrange the rolls so that they form the shape of a Christmas tree. My tree had 17 rolls. Place on a well greased cookie sheet and allow the rolls to thaw. (About 2 hours.)
2. Melt 1/4 cup butter. Make a cinnamon sugar mixture with 1 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Dip each thawed roll in the melted butter and then the cinnamon sugar mixture. Return the roll to the pan. Let the rolls rise about another hour or until they look nicely puffed.3. Place cherries in random places on the rolls. I used canned cherries, but you could also use maraschino cherries. These make the "ornaments."4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 -25 minutes.

5. Allow the bread to cool and then frost with your favorite frosting recipe. I used some powdered sugar, a little milk, a little melted butter and some vanilla for my frosting. Place the frosting in a baggie and trim a tiny piece off of one corner. Use this as your fancy frosting dispenser.This is a fun, festive treat that would make a perfect dessert or brunch item.

Need a Quick Gift Idea? Give a CD

If you are looking for a last minute gift idea for a friend, neighbor or teacher, a CD with some of your favorite music placed in a homemade holder could be the answer.

Today I put together a simply designed cover to hold CDs with Christmas music for two of our friends.

Here's a look at the first case.
This was very quick and easy to put together.

1. Trim a double sided piece of patterned paper to 10" X 10".
2. Fold the paper in half and then open.
3. Fold in half the other direction so that you have 4 squares formed by the creases.
4. Cut on a crease from one side to the center of the paper.
5. Fold the 2 cut sides in to form triangles.
6. Glue/sew the edges shut.
7. Punch a hole and tie a ribbon at the top of each side for extra support.
8. Embellish!

I am thinking that the left side of this case is the perfect place for a note to the gift receiver or a great place for the playlist.Hope you are enjoying this gift-giving season.

Supplies: Paper: October Afternoon; Leaves w/berries: Prima; Alphas: Making Memories and October Afternoon; Ribbon from my stash