52 Weeks of Wonder

Jeanette Lynton has posted an awesome new 52 Weeks of Wonder segment titled, "A Softer Touch with Watercolor Pencils".  Just click on the title link to view her fabulous artwork and instructions.  There are some cute cards and an adorable showcase album project highlighted in her blog post. Enjoy!

FREE Miss Art's Papercrafting School class

I found this FREE class posted over at 2Peas and wanted to share with you.


"The kids are heading back to school and you should to!

The headmistress at Miss Art's knows that new backpacks, school supplies and first day apparel can reduce a crafters budget to milk money, so for this weekend only she is offering you a tuition free class. Beginning on Friday, August 26th, you will have 3 days to check out one of our most popular classes for free, no subscription needed.

When you visit us on Friday, head to the "Classes" page to view this free class. For more info about the "Secret Garden," please check out the video above. Enjoy the class!"

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Not sure exactly what jogged my memory and desire for this Tupperware recipe, but I decided to try it out again on our last camping trip.  I made this years ago when I was friendly with a local Tupperware distributor and thought my girls would be thrilled to know you can make a cake in the microwave.  I still use my Tupperware Microsteamer (shown below) for other purposes, so I packed it along for our trip to the Poconos.

If you happen to own a Tupperware Microsteamer, or are so intrigued by the recipe that you decide to purchase one, I've shared the recipe below.  As written, the recipe worked great on our camping trip.  Our hybrid travel trailer has a typical microwave.  I just made the cake at home and for future reference, I need to decrease the cooking time by a minute or so for my more-powerful home microwave.    

Microsteamer Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (for microwave cooking)

1 box - yellow cake mix

all ingredients required for cake mix

½ stick butter

½ cup - brown sugar

1 can pineapple rings

1 jar - maraschino cherries

1.  Melt butter in bottom section of Microsteamer in microwave (about 30 seconds).

2.  Crumble brown sugar over the melted butter.

3.  Drain pineapples, reserving juice for the cake mixture. Spread pineapple rings, in a single layer, over the brown sugar and butter. Add a maraschino cherry to the center of each pineapple ring.

4.  Prepare cake mix according to directions. Add water to the reserved pineapple juice to make the required amount of water for the cake mix.

5.  Pour cake mixture into the Microsteamer over the pineapples, cherries, brown sugar and butter mixture.

6.  Cover the Microsteamer and cook on high power in the microwave for 12 minutes.  If your microwave does not have a turntable, be sure to turn the Microsteamer a ½ turn after 6 minutes.  After cooking, let the cake stand, covered, in the microwave for an additional 5 minutes before removing.  Turn cake onto to a plate or cake tray and enjoy.

My family loves the cake slightly warm with a dollop of Cool Whip on top.  ENJOY!

52 Weeks of Wonder

Return of the Mask!

"In an earlier Weeks of Wonder post, I showed you some of the fun layering possibilities that you can achieve with the masking technique. See it here. This week I’ll revisit masking as a way to bring added pattern and dimension to your stamping.

Look at the pattern that has been stamped on the schoolhouse of this card. You’ll notice that the cross-hatch pattern doesn’t go onto the “School” sign, or the door, or even outside the schoolhouse walls. You can stamp patterns on selected portions of any image by using a mask! Here’s how:

Start by stamping your selected image on a piece of cardstock or B&T paper, as well as on a post-it note. Post-it notes make great masks because the adhesive keeps your mask in place without leaving residue on your project.  Use your micro-tip scissors to trim around the inside of your stamped image – not the outside as you would with an ordinary mask. Trim out whatever parts you’d like to fill in with a pattern, but leave the outside of the image and any interior features (like the door or the "School” sign) attached to the mask.

Line your mask up with your original image, and then stamp your texture directly over the mask. The cross-hatch pattern on this schoolhouse card comes from the Tasty Treats stamp set (D1427). Keep the mask in place and sponge in added color for a solid look.

 

You can see that once you’ve made a mask for an image, you can use it over and over again. Store the mask you’ve created in the same envelope with your stamps and use it on as many projects as you like.

There are hundreds of stamp images you can add patterns to by using this technique – the fun part is getting creative with your image and pattern pairings to bring an extra dash of “you” to your artwork!"

Jeanette Lynton



I love the effect using masks gives my projects.  Although the micro scissors work is time-consuming, the end result is worth the extra effort.

Let God Define You

Let God Define You by Rick Warren

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12 NLT)

Jesus faced constant demands, dangerous opposition and little privacy. Yet he never allowed others to define him.

What does that teach us?

Know who you are (John 8:12) — There was no doubt in Jesus’ mind as to who he was. He knew he came from God, and he knew he had a unique mission to fulfill. As believers, we can know we belong to God and that God defines who we are and what we are meant to do on this Earth. Trying to be someone God never intended you to be causes stress!

Know whom you want to please (John 5:30) — Jesus never let the fear of rejection manipulate him. No one can pressure you without your permission. You can’t please everyone; even God can’t!

Know what goals you need to reach (John 8:14) — Jesus said, “I know where I came from and where I am going.” Preparation prevents pressure, but procrastination produces it. You work by either priorities or pressures.

Know how to maintain your priorities (Luke 4:42–44) — Jesus knew how to handle interruptions without being distracted from his primary goal.

52 Weeks of Wonder

Alphas are Awesome!

"The first day of school is right around the corner. This time of year always brings lots of excitement and I’m eager to share some fun techniques using alphabets in your artwork. You learned all about using your alphabet for writing in school, but we’re going to look at some ideas that give you a new way of thinking about these 26 little letters.

For a subtle use of the alphabet, adorn your school-themed layouts with your own alphabet-patterned paper. On this layout, the alphabet pattern is made using the Classmate Alphabet (D1303).  Start by lining up your alphabet stamps in a single row from A to Z. You’ll need more than one block to fit them all. You can use both sides of the same block; just make sure you don’t overlap the images so you can still see clearly.

Stamp your alphabet rows onto cardstock using VersaMark ink.  After you’ve stamped all your rows, dust the image with clear detail embossing powder, then heat using your craft heater. It’s easier if you focus on embossing in sections, two lines at a time. The resulting gloss will give your layout a subtle, but very 'classy' look."

Jeanette Lynton



Jeanette suggests to try stamping and embossing on Dimensional Elements to create your own Irresistibles.  How cool is that!

DEAL of the CENTURY for Paper Crafters!

No one likes a deal better than me.  And this is a huge deal!  CTMH has two promotions that are overlapping for two weeks where you can double dip and take advantage of both of them from August 15-31!

The first promotion is to celebrate CTMH's new Stamp Of The Month program. When you spend $50, you can get the SOTM for only $5.  When you purchase the SOTM in August, you will also get the adorable mini alphabet stamp set called "A Typeset"  for FREE.  DEAL #1.

  

And in case you didn't catch my August SOTM post, here's another picture of the stamp set and some gorgeous artwork created using "Wicked".

Next, to celebrate National Stamping Month in September, you will get this adorable DOUBLE stamp set called "Pair-A-Phrase" for FREE, when you spend $75! You’ll love this double set—two D-size sets come in one envelope—which includes lots of clever phrases and coordinating images you’ll use in your paper crafts all year. And with a retail value of $35.90, this set drastically increases the value of your qualifying purchase. CTMH is starting this promotion today, August 15th and it will run through September 30th.  DEAL #2.

Since the promotions overlap from August 15-31, if you spend $70, and purchase the August SOTM for $5, you will automatically qualify to get both the "A Typeset" stamp and the "Pair-A-Phrase" double stamp set for FREE! Now that can be considered the Deal of the Century!

For those crafters who own a Cricut machine, this is the perfect time to order the new Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge bundle (cartridge with over 700 images, 3 exclusive, coordinating stamp sets and 3 sheets of coordinating Dimensional Elements chipboard shapes).  Order the cartridge and the August SOTM for $5.00, and you will qualify for all of these great promotions!

 

Since I don't own a Cricut machine, here's how the Deal of the Century worked for me, stacking both promotions to give me the biggest bang for my bucks:

1. Purchase $50 in product (before shipping & tax) and get the August SOTM for only $5 ($17.95 value).  This immediately qualified me for the "A Typeface" stamp set FREE ($6.95 value). Here's what I purchased:

~ Sonoma Workshop On The Go Kit $29.95
~ Kraft Die-Cut Cards & Envelopes $6.95 (to create bonus project from kit above)
~ Colonial White Mini-Medley Accents $4.95
~ Colonial White Waxy Flax $3.95
~ Irresistibles Make-It-Count Numbers $4.95

2. Purchase an additional $20 in product, bringing total order to $75 (before shipping & tax) and get CTMH's first ever DOUBLE stamp set, "Pair-a-Phrase" for FREE (2 "D" size stamp sheets, worth $17.95 each, for a total of $35.90 in value). Here's what I added to my order:

~ 10-Things pocket $3.95
~ Milepost Shapes $3.95
~ Just Blooms Paper Shapes - Flutter $5.95
~ Color-Ready Alpha Corks $5.95

When my ordered arrived, I received 4 stamp sets, a Workshop On The Go kit (which includes an additional exclusive stamp set), 10 card bases & envelopes to make the bonus project from the WOTG kit, plus tons of gorgeous new embellishments and accessories to use on future projects.  All for only $75.55 (plus shipping & tax).  What did I tell you ... Deal of the Century!

Orders can be placed on-line and shipped directly to your doorstep or local customers can contact me directly to place an order.  Any questions, please feel free to contact me.  Happy shopping!