Shimmering Shamrock's Blog Hop

Welcome Crafty Friends to the Shimmering Shamrocks Blog Hop!

Today's blog hop is being hosted by Tanya at Scrappy Scavenger. If you've just happened upon my blog, and would like to start from the beginning, go here. Thank you Tanya inviting me to participate!

If you've come from Kathy's blog, then you are on the right path. Wasn't her project just great?!

For my project I was asked if I could make a treat for you using the Cricut Cake, so I made some cupcakes. I have the Martha Stewart edition (isn't it beautiful?!) that I won from Everyday Cricut last summer. (If you don't follow them, you should. They have beautiful projects everyday, and giveaways each week!)


I've used my cake a few times. I mostly decorate cupcakes, and I've made one cake. I've always loved to decorate cakes and cupcakes the "old fashioned way", but this machine allows you to take it to a whole new level!

Here are my supplies:


Cake mix
(Yes, I use a box. We love this flavor, and with 3 active kids it's just easier)
Frosting
(again, easier and convenient)
Duff Fondant
(I've tried making my own-too much work and mess. I've also tried Wilton brand-not pre-flavored and takes longer to soften and color. Duff brand is easy to soften and color; it only takes a couple of minutes. And, it's already flavored so there's no need to mess with flavorings.)
Food coloring
(I used the liquid drops to color the cake mix, and the paste to color the fondant.)
Green sugar sprinkles to add some shimmer and sparkle.

If you make cakes, frosting, and fondant from scratch, I applaud you! I love to bake for my kids, but I don't have a ton of time, so pre-made is the way I go.

Cricut Cake details:


Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge
(I used "Real Dial Size" at 2 inches to cut the shamrocks, pg 40)

Add a thin layer of shortening to the Cake mat. I roll out the fondant a little thicker than a dvd directly on the mat. I find it easier than trying to transfer it when it's all rolled out. Then place the mat (with fondant) in the freezer for a few minutes. The time will depend on your climate. You want it a bit stiff (but not too hard) so that it cuts nicely.

Once your images are cut, place the mat back into the freezer for a few minutes. This will make it easier to remove the pieces.

Now that you're done, it's time to enjoy!


Mmmmmm. Wasn't that yummy?!

These won't last until St. Patrick's Day. My kids have been eyeing them since I started baking. I'll try and limit ourselves to one a day, but they are so yummy that may be hard!

Are you wondering about blog candy? I have for you an assortment of crocheted mini flowers, hearts, and shamrocks. I love to crochet and have been having fun making these for cards, scrapbook layouts, and hair clips. The hearts and shamrocks are about 1 inch across, and the flowers are a little bigger, about 1 1/2 inches across.


The prize is about a dozen assorted and will vary (in number and color) from the picture slighty. All you need to do is be a follower (only if you'd like to) and leave a comment on this post and let me know if and how you celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The hop ends on 3/19 and a winner will be chosen on 3/20, using Random.org. Don't forget to check back to see if you've won!

Now that I've given you a sweet tooth, hop on over to Theresa's blog. I'm sure she's got something spectacular for you!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my cupcakes!

Whale Watching Layout

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today I'd like to share another layout with you. I've recently had lots of pictures printed so I'm trying to get layouts completed. I tend to have them sketched out in my head, but I really need to get them done for real.

I saw a sketch by The Scrapaholic and I immediately thought of the pictures from the whale watching trip that my littlest one went on with daddy. I had to work that day so I asked him to make sure that someone took some pictures of them. (Daddy isn't picture happy like me! I need lots of pictures!) One of the deckhands (and friend) on the boat was nice enough to not only take some pictures, but also email me them right after the trip.

They went out on the Producer out of H&M Landing here in San Diego. We just love that we have the opportunity to do something like this in the middle of winter. (Sorry for those of you who live where it snows.) They did see dolphins and whales, but they didn't come out of the water enough to get good pictures. I can't complain, at least I got some pictures to scrap.

Here is the sketch:


Here is my layout:



Details:
papers, chipboard embellishment, and stamped images are from Imaginisce "Splash Dance" collection
photos are double matted in black and orange cardstock by Bazzill
Martha Stewart edge punch (not sure of the name)
circle punches
journaling tag cut using Once Upon A Princess (I sized them using Design Studio so I could get a shadow effect) (I still need to add the journaling)
pink and baby blue Stickles
bling added to the dolphins using my i-Rock
the stamped images were attached using Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots (great stuff!)
colored pencils used to color the stamped images

I hope you enjoyed a little bit of winter in San Diego! If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend taking a whale watching trip. It's amazing to see!

Thanks for stopping by!

I Love Buttons!

Welcome Crafty Friends!

I LOVE buttons! I love using them on cards and layouts, I love using them on hair clips, and now I love making jewelry with them!

I just wanted to share with you some pictures of my buttons.




Thanks for stopping by!

Sophomore Layout using DCWV

Hello Crafty Friends!

I've been trying to scrap more lately. I am sooo behind! I take tons of pictures, and I even get them printed. But that just means I have lots and lots of pages to do.

I've decided that it would be easier to start with current pictures and work backwards. Or just start now and try to keep up.

This is my most recent layout.




I used one of the 5x7 prints that you get in the school picture package. I would've loved to add more "stuff", but my daughter doesn't like all the bling and flash. She isn't a "girlie girl" anymore and prefers more "sophisticated" looks. (Good thing I have a 4 year old girlie girl Princess!) So I resisted and this is what we came up with.

Details:
colored cardstock from my stash
floral and green print cardstock from the new DCWV "Green Tea" stack (Love it!)
lettering cut from Hello Kitty Font cartridge
bling on letters added with the i-Rock
flowers from Prima and Imaginisce
buttons from my stash (love buttons!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Winners and a Blog Award!

Welcome Back Crafty Friends!

Thank you to everyone who hopped along on the 'Feel The Love' blog hop, and for everyone for chosing to follow me and my blog. I love sharing my crafty creations and reading all the sweet comments. I get alot of inspiration (and great tutorials) from other bloggers and I hope that I can inspire someone else too.

Ok, enough of that and onto the real reason for this post.

I used random.org to chose my winners (but I haven't figured out how the get the picture on my post). So here they are............

Feel The Love blog hop (39 comments):
Comment #1!
BunnyFreak said...
Love the card and treat bag.

Followers Give Away(85 comments):
Comment #45!
Jacqueline said...
New follower; Great giveaway - I make handmade cards and luv linking with fellow crafters - kudos.

Congratulations! Send me an email at kmgillon at yahoo dot com with your mailing info and I'll get our goodies out to you.

And now to the Blog Award!

Micia at Yellow Bird Creation was sweet enough to pass this on to me.

The rules are to share 8 things about myself, and to pass this on to 8 people.

1. I work as a Chemist in the Biotech/Pharmaceutical industry.
2. I am a soccer/volleyball/track/football/baseball mom, and hopefully soon to be dance mom.
3. I was a Girl Scout from the 2nd grade through high school. And every year I buy cookies from the girls because I know what it's like to reach your goal and raise money for your troop.
4. I love reality TV shows. I think it's because they are on late at night after my kids go to bed (me time).
5. My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip (but it has to be the green kind).
6. I love the color pink! I think it may be because I was born in a pink hospital. My mom told me that everything was pink except for the blankets that the baby boys were wrapped in.
7. I am not a super-organized crafter (I can't help it, it's in my genes!). I hope that one day when I get my own craft room, I can start from scratch and be more organized.
8. I also like to work with power tools and do small home improvements. I'm hoping to someday soon buy a house and be able to fix it up just how we like.

And the 8 blogs that I would like to pass this on to are:
Little Birdie Secrets
Paper or Fabric Crafter
Creations with Kathryn
Disney Dreamer Designs
Me and the Little Rascals
Scrappin 5 Little Cupcakes
Tailored Pages
Yolibean

I hope you enjoyed and will stop by again!

Valentine's Cards and Mini Crocheted Hearts

Hello Crafty Friends!

I want to share with you a few Valentine's cards that I made. A while back I started crocheting tiny flowers to use on cards and layouts. I found quite a few sites with tutorials and lots of different patterns. I just recently came across a great blog Little Birdie Secretswith some instructions on how to make tiny crocheted hearts. I got out some embroidery floss and gave it a try. It's addiciting and I made quite a few in different colors.


Here is a card that I made with one of them:




I also made a couple using twine from The Twinery
Here they are on cards:





Thanks for stopping by!

Blue, Yellow, and White 'Wild Card' Birthday Card

Hi Crafty Friends!

I wasn't too into the Super Bowl this year, so after watching the half-time show, I went into my craft room and to work on some layouts and to make a card to enter in 3 different challenges.

Throwback Thursday with Emma at "My Creative Time" - Use Wild Card or Just Because and a have a stamped sentiment

Wacky Wednessday with Paula at "More Than Favors" - Color challenge, use Blue, Yellow, and White

Birthday Challenge with Kassidy at "Inking It Up Krazy" - Birthday theme

Here is what I made:

Details:
Wild Card at 5 inches
stamped a tiny star in yellow on the white card stock
Pink By Design "Take the Cake" sentiments (a little hard to see since I stamped in white)
white gel pen for stitching
ribbon
eyelet

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win my 'Thank You Followers Candy'. The link in on the top of my blog.

Thanks for stopping by!