Steamy Birthday

My photo looks a little crooked. I guess with my prego belly it's harder to get down there to snap a shot - haha.

This set, Like it a Latte, is from Stampin' Up as are most of the papers. Because I no longer demo, I'm not nearly as careful about combining different company's paper. It just makes me unable to tell you exactly where it's from :)

I used vellum cardstock, stamped with StazOn black ink to make the steam. I also had fun pulling out my liquid applique for the creamy whipped cream topping. YUM.

☺

With only a few weeks to go, we've been busy getting baby clothes washed up and organized, some meals made up for the freezer, and a head start on school. I'm finding myself exhausted by the end of the day so I'm going to have to start slowing down now, and resting up for the big event :) My mom arrives in two weeks - she has planned to teach the kids sewing and has all sorts of projects organized. How fun will that be! I'll be sure to snap photos to share with you along our Sewing 101 journey :)

Enjoy your weekend.....

.j.

Blueberry Scones

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe! We've been busy "nesting" and getting our freezer filled with easy snacks & meals. Everything from muffins to loaves, to cooked hamburger (easy to through together sauces or tacos!), to meatballs... today was SCONES! YUM. I love them, and with all the fresh blueberries in the stores, this is the perfect time to pull out my favorite recipe from Martha Stewards website. Click here to view her link. Oh -- and ENJOY! ☺

BLUEBERRY SCONES

Ingredients

Makes 8

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling tops
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in center. Place a baking mat on a baking sheet, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas. Stir in blueberries and zest.
3. Using a fork, whisk together cream and egg in a liquid measuring cup. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients, and pour in cream mixture. Stir lightly with fork just until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few times to mix well.
4. Pat dough into a 6-inch square about 1 1/4 inches thick. Using a floured knife, cut into four 3-inch squares. Cut squares in half on the diagonal to form eight triangles. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer scones to wire racks to cool.

I took a few pics for you. It's so easy to mix up, then form it into a rectangle...

Cut into squares and then into triangles. Brush with milk or cream & sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until slightly golden. I like them light & flakey! We enjoyed them for lunch today!

Pink Trees.

Pink trees? Yes, pink trees. Maybe it's all the blue I've been working with these days, I thought I needed to play a little with some pink!

This is a stamp set from SU (I think the last one I bought from them) called Trendy Trees. I love the quirkiness of the trees which I think lends themselves perfectly to a little playfulness (like pink!)

I'm still working through my scrap bins and when I found this polka dot paper, I thought it would work great as a second color. (Better get green in there somewhere!)

The center tree is popped up using stampin' dimensionals, some sewn on buttons, a few gems on either side of the sentiment, and a scallop edge made with the slit punch.

Complete.

I'm putting my birth announcements together now in hopes to have most of the work done BEFORE baby's arrival. My son is praying baby arrives on the 29th (that'll be a couple weeks early - which I've never been!!), but my kids' birthdays are {in order} the 20th, 23rd & 26th... so he's really hoping this baby follows the pattern :) I thought if he's praying that hard that only gives me FOUR days - I'd better get busy here.

☺

I hope you have enjoyed your weekend, and you have a blessed week ahead of you.

.j.

First batch done!

I got my first batch of thank-you cards done and in the mail. That feels good! Now I just have to have a few more on hand to thank those that are coming to visit and give of their time! What a blessing it is to know my Mom is coming soon to help.

This was a quick card that I added a couple touches too. I used the border punch on each side of the design paper, stamped the little undershirt on barely banana cardstock (SU) and cut it out, then used the window punch and the heart punch. Lots of punches here! :) I have more punches than I care to admit! :)

I put a couple stitches on the side of the heart too... oh, and a couple brads down at the bottom. It was one of the cards that I seemed to add elements as I went along.

All products are Stampin' Up except for the onesie stamp (PTI) and the side punch.

Hope you're all having a marvelous week!

We're all going on a hospital tour tomorrow afternoon so that will be exciting. I haven't been to this hospital before, so just knowing where to go when that special time arrives will be reassuring for me, as well as the kids!

.j.

Elephant ♥

OK, the elephant is so cute, right? I made this card for a sweet friend of mine that has been on the pregnancy journey from me from DAY ONE! Although I do believe she will have her baby much sooner than I will (she's typically early, I'm typically late *sigh*). I am so excited for her and her new bundle! What a gift babies are!

I used assorted Basic Grey design papers for this card (even used a snippet for the elephants ear). A little rub-on above the verse and a few dew drops along the side.

Simple.

Into the envelope and off in the mailbox.... a big paper hug from me to her :)

x0x0,

.j.

Giving Thanks

I got down in my stamping nook yesterday afternoon and managed to get some

time down there again today - even though it was a school day! :) I'm trying to get all my family/relative birthday cards and occasion cards done for the year so once baby arrives I'm not scrambling (or simply too tired to get inky!). So you will have some non-baby cards to see again... although admittedly, there are more baby ones to come!

I'm still USING up scraps in my bins. I'm trying to *only* cut into a fresh piece of cardstock to form a card base, otherwise, it has to come from the scrap stash. It amazes me (A) how many scraps I have and (B) how far a scrap can go!

The base of this card is Confetti Tan, scallop edge is ?? Apricot (maybe??) and the design paper is also SU.

The stamp is from Whipper Snapper... the full stamp has a chicken sitting on top (you'll see a card with the full stamp soon), but I'm really trying to use stamps in versatile ways.

My brother & SIL sent the kids their birthday gifts and she did such a special job to wrap each one in each child's favorite color - Orange for Miss Sarah, Blue for Joshua & Purples for Megan. So when I had a lightbulb moment with these gift boxes, I thought I'd color each one in those specific colors for a personal thanks from each child. I even added their initial to the little tag on the gift!

The gifts are popped out using Stampin' Dimensionals. I've been going through loads of these -- not sure why everything has to have depth these days... funny how I go through phases! I fished around my stamp collection to find 3 different 'thank-you' sentiments as well.

Now that I've finally made some cards, I need to sit tonight, write in them, address them and get them in the mailbox!! For some reason that last step can take the longest!

I wish for you a fantastic week...

.j.

It's a party

Wow, 36 weeks today.... "only" four to go.... well, I've always been late with my babies, so perhaps 5 or so! :) Although what a GIFT to be on time!! I have the excitement of meeting this new precious gift, the fear of labor (even though it's my fourth), and so being done with being pregnant. I remember how I LOVED being pregnant before... perhaps it's this extra 10 years on me, but I'm so exhausted these days (I suspect, a huge travel home, moving, unpacking, starting our homeschool year this month could have something to do with it as well *wink*). Although feeling this little boy move around inside me.... the best! (even when he's in my ribs!)

☺

Well my baby (who is now 9!!) is off to a birthday party tomorrow and is SO excited. She has had so much fun playing with this little boy at church and a few homeschooling functions so when she got the invite she was giddy! I've been so drawn to the brown papers, so I pulled out my Kraft (SU) cardstock and one of my all-time favorite SU stamp sets (In the Stars) to make up his birthday card. I don't think I will ever tire of this stamp set - ♥

I used the set Birthday Banter to stamp the candles along the back and then stamped and cut out the stars (one is the retired SU folk star punch) and then scattered a few stamps right on top. Very simple, very quick.... but perfect for a 9 year old boy!

I'm hoping to get into my stamping nook this weekend again. I need to focus on my baby announcements! I find during the week there's no time to stamp (*gasp*) and by night my eyelids are closing all by themselves...zzzzzzzzzz........

...which they are doing as I type.

So I shall sign off - hope you've had a week with some great memories --

.j.

☀

Especially For You

OK, I found this post in my draft bin... have I shown it already?

If it's a repost, my apologies.... it's non-baby so I thought some of you might appreciate that.

One of my newer sets is this one called SUMMER TREES by Kim Hughes. I thought I'd try some paper piecing on this card. I had some Basic Grey bits & pieces around the table to use up.

I added some paper piercing along the top edge and some rhinestone bling on the "tag".

Stamps - Kim Hughes, Summer Trees & Baked with Love (for sentiment)

Ink - Brilliance, Graphite Black

Paper - SU: River Rock, Whisper White, Pink and assorted Basic Grey design papers

Other - SU ribbon, rhinestones, SU punches (circle & scallop), Fiskar Border Punch

Hope you're having a great week!

.j.

Yellow Polka Dot {no, not a bikini!}

I have a bin that holds all my snippets of design paper. There's no organization to it other than it's all contained in one place. Random sizes, assorted colors & many different companies are all put in this one tote. So as I was looking through it, that piece of yellow polka-dot paper caught my eye -- it went well with the little yellow spots in the onesie, and a card was born :).

How do you store all your bits & pieces? Having been a Stampin' Up Demonstrator for about 5 years I have all my cardstock organized in color families. Those families have since changed, and the colors have changed as well. I've been somewhat tempted to reorganize into color groups (greens, browns, blues...) but then I think I'd need a lot more bins!

OK - going to try to get the kids to bed in our stuffy house (I miss a/c!) Just thought I'd pop on and share a card with you today :)

.j.

☀

A Baby Pause.

I'm sure you're going to feel a little overloaded on baby cards over the next while, so I'm trying to pop in a NON-Baby card now & then :)

I got my inspiration for this card HERE at Paper Hugs. As soon as I saw the card I went downstairs and began punching out circles. How's that for inspiration! *smiles*

I just thought it was so cute & simple! Mine seemed to be missing something (I think it might be the natural white cardstock.... too plain??) so I did some paper piercing along the outer edge to give it a bit of a frame. I think that helped.

We had our first week back at school and it went well. I was a bit scatter brained as I try to wrap my baby-brain around new curriculum and teach grade 4, 6, and 9 all together -- it got challenging when everyone needed me at the same time (hmmm? Thought I scheduled that better). I'm sure after a couple of weeks we'll be in the swing of things. Kids had fun doing experiments and *finally* having art this year :)

I'm starting to work on my baby announcement cards -- a few ideas floating around in my head....

Hope you had a blessed Monday!

.j.

Baby Simplicity

Well, hubby is back to work, so I'm back to crafting :)

Today was a day off school - I ♥ Saturdays. After a nice walk with hubby, breakfast to all the kidlets, some clean up, and a little catch-up school work with Joshua - it was lunchtime! LOL. So... after lunch I got down to the stamp nook and pumped out some cards (I'll share those with you soon). It was a cloudy day today so the kids enjoyed a movie which gave me some peaceful stamp time.

☺

Normally when I have a specific card I need to make in multiples (like my baby thank-you cards) I would pick a design and stamp a stack. For some reason (probably the drought of stamping) I just want to play & create! So I didn't stamp any two exactly alike. I still have more baby thanks to make (we've been so blessed!!) so I may end up copying a few designs at this point, but for now - I'm playin'!

This card was literal made with bits & pieces I had lying on my table. A piece of cardstock that apparently had a hole in it and I figured I'd just try to make it work :) It was fun to try to take some simple elements and make a card work. :)

I'm feeling great with using up so many bits & pieces, scraps and snippets!!

OK - kids are in bed and I'm hoping to sneak down and stamp a wee bit more.. yahoooo!!

♡

I Spy with my Little Eye

OK - Back to baby :)

These baby cards were so fun to make. I adore that little onesie (you'll be seeing it a bit more!). It's so easy to stamp and cut out. This time I used confetti tan (my fAVORITE neutral {discontinued *sigh*} and added a little detail (sailboat) to the front of it. Sweet, right?

I pulled out some ribbon (use it up! use it up!) and stamped my thank-you sentiment on it (Family Phrases, SU). The bottom scallop was created using the slit punch. That design paper is Stampin' Up from.... I'm going to guess.... 2002! HELLO, my name is Jennifer and I'm a HOARDER! SHEEEEESH! Seriously.

Can you SPY the one little difference between these cards?

Another good school day here. ♥ Looks like all our baby gear has arrived (had it shipped up from my brother's borrowing....didn't think I'd need it anymore, lol) so I'm hoping in the next few days to get the nursery set up - which basically means put crib, dresser & rocking chair together. It's a small space, but hopefully we can cozy it up a bit.

Well, hubby is off for a couple of days, so I probably won't post until Friday -- need to focus on family when we only have a precious couple of days together.

Enjoy the week ahead!

☀

A day of Stamping

First off, Happy 4th to my American friends :) I hope you enjoyed a fantastic day of celebration with family/friends. We enjoyed our Canada Day on Thursday, took in the parade & the kids had a bunch of friends over to play (Daddy had to work ☹). Of course we're thankful he has steady work, so I try hard not to complain. Work is a good thing!

Secondly.... I declared today STAMP DAY! Not a national holiday, but in our little abode, it may as well been :) After church, the kids were fed and I spent the afternoon in my stamping nook, pumping out some cards - woohoo (I'll have some steady posts for you to share with you what I created!) Although I'm exhausted and my back is aching, it felt so good to press my big 'ol belly against the table & get inky!

As promised yesterday, this is the card my daughter helped with yesterday. She was bored, so I told her to stamp a duck for me and make him fuzzy with some fun flock. We tried doing this with a glue pen, but I think next time I'll try the heat & stick powder as the fun flock didn't seem to stick super well. I'm thinking if I try to add glue to it now I might just make a big mess... what do you think?

After we cut it out, she moved on to something else... lol. So I ran some cardstock through the Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder, used some SU punches and added a little strip of bling on the bottom. Nice & simple.... cute though. A little tweaking with that fuzz.....

Well, we start school tomorrow - DAY ONE.

I'm looking forward to getting into it to see how well I did with my scheduling - too much time, too little... hopefully my energy levels will keep up with all my monkeys!!

Enjoy the last bit of your weekend!

.j.

Baby Thanks

We've been working hard downstairs as we set up our school area and my stamping space. It's finally set up {enough} where I can have a space to stamp. Ahhh. Life is good :) Now if only I had the energy to stamp. Seems like lunch time rolls around and my body thinks it's midnight - ah yes, the joys of third trimester. I have 6 weeks to go before we meet this baby boy, and I already have so many people to thank for their blessings!! So I was determined today to get down there and stamp a couple cards, my oldest daughter even worked on one (I'll show you hers tomorrow). This was our "summer holiday" week with the kids so we had tons of kids over, playmates over every day and so unpacking & stamping didn't happen. We start up our new school year on Monday and everyone seems excited to crack open those new books, and dig into a new year. It will be lots of fun.

So here are a couple cards I made quickly this afternoon using one of my new PTI stamp sets. Remember what I said about using up ribbon & buttons! HA, both cards have a bit of both! :)

I stamped this darling little onesie on some {very} old SU design paper, cut it out and used stampin' dimentionals to pop it up from the Mellow Moss (do they still call it that??) cardstock that I ran through the cuttlebug. The heart is another retired SU punch that I added a little button to. :)

I had a left over piece of the design paper and I thought I'd just use it again on this card. I thought it probably could have been a little larger, so added some paper piercing along the right edge to add a little "lengthening" ?? Everything is SU except for the stamp set used and the polka dot ribbons. Well to be honest, I dumped all my buttons together in color families (*gasp*) so I don't know which ones are from which company anymore.

So... a couple down and many more to go - what a blessing that is!

Now I must get myself to bed so I can get us all out to church in the morning :)

.j.