40 % off at Paper Popsicles!

Wow!!! Melissa has put everything on sale in the Paper Popsicles store!! 40% off! Such an amazing deal! I already have two December kits but I might need to stock up on some other papers and goodies. Go check it out and get a great deal!! There's a button on my sidebar for you to click or go to paperpopsicles.com.

RAK!!

I have a goodie up for grabs on the Feeling Scrappy blog!! I hope you'll stop by over there! http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/


Have a great Sunday!!

Layout and gift idea

Here's another layout from the Sketchapalooza class through Feeling Scrappy. We have another Sketch class in March and two mini classes before then. I hope you'll join us for a class soon! Check them out here- http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/search/label/Classes


Also, if you need a last minute EASY gift idea, check out the Paper Popsicles How-To forum! I can't post the photos here since I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone who might be getting one from us (so if you are a member of our family...DO NOT LOOK!). But everyone else is welcome to go and check it out and make some of these easy little gifts. :) There's a link for PP on the left.

Have a great day!!

A few photos

What a slacker I have been with this blog! Here are a few pics. I hope they upload correctly because I don't have time to resize them.

Siggy

Thanks to the help of my wonderful computer wiz hubby, the line around my images is gone. But I can't tell you how to do it because I have no idea...he did it for me. I can try to get the secret out of him though if anyone wants the scoop. Need to feed some hungry children then start working on a header. :)

ETA: Got a new header! What do you think?

Menu planning and train layouts

Playing indoors around here means playing with cars and trains. With the recent cold and snow, we have been building lots of tracks for Joshua's trains to ride. Here are a couple of layouts I made during Feeling Scrappy's Sketchapalooza class about Joshua and his love of trains.

And I know I am a day late, but I did have my menu done yesterday. So here it is...

Monday- Teriyaki pork, rice and green beans

Tuesday- red beans, rice and tortillas

Wednesday- Spicy potato soup (or Mexican potato casserole-I haven't decided!)

Thursday-Fish and chips

Friday- Homemade Pizza

Saturday- Crock pot beef (see recipe below), garlic peas and couscous or rice

Sunday- Comforting chicken noodle soup

Crock pot beef recipe

*So easy and so tasty! This is from my Fix it and forget it book.

beef roast (or stew meat)

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1 can of diced tomatoes

Directions:

Combine in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

**The leftovers from this are great in beef enchiladas!

For more menu ideas, see orgjunkie.com

Have a great day!!!

Tagged

Two of my scrappy friends, Lynda and Tricia, both tagged me so here are my 7 random facts.

1. I usually drink my coffee with a straw.
2. I stay up to late watching tv shows on line.
3. I made a tutu for Abby and 2 new finger puppets for Joshua today.
4. I sing children's songs all. day. long. (My voice is terrible but my babies love it. :) )
5. I have a bunch of scrappy supplies that never get used. (Um...I forget that I have some of it!)
6. I often forget to change my wall calendar for a couple of months. (My sister usually ends up being the official calendar changer! LOL)
7. I love Chirstmas decorations and lights and I am always a little bummed when we have to put them away.

Ok, I have a feeling that many of you are probably tagged out so I'm not tagging anyone but if you feel like posting some random facts about yourself, let me know here and I would love to read them! :)

One more day!!

You have until tomorrow to submit a card for a chance to win a free card class!!! Go check it out here: http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/2008/12/challenge-5-more-cards.html

Menu Monday!

I haven't done this in awhile so I thought I'd actually share our menu this week. I ALWAYS menu plan. It makes my life sooo much easier and helps us not to eat out very often. I also loosely plan our breakfasts and lunches but I'm just posting dinners for now.

Here's a picture of one of our homemade pizzas. I change it up a lot depending on what we have on hand.



Monday- shepherd's pie
Tuesday- homemade pizza - dough recipe here
Wednesday- turkey enchiladas, beans (see recipe below) and rice (I'm just going to use canned sauce for the enchiladas. I might try to make my own tortillas, though.)
Thursday- potato soup and homemade rolls (new recipe!)
Friday- tuna casserole (or some sort of pasta...not really sure yet)
Saturday- crock pot Mexican chicken soup (see recipe below!)
Sunday- lentil stew

Mexican Chicken Soup
–from my friend Jayne

1 lb chicken breast
1 can black beans
1 can corn
2 cans Rotel or Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 can 14oz tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
~Cook in crock-pot 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and enjoy.
1 cup = 2 WW points

Pinto Beans
Dried pinto beans (I usually use about 2-4 cups worth to have lots of leftovers)
Water
Salt and pepper
Fajita Seasoning (or you can use a combo of your favorite seasonings such as cumin, chili powder, pinto bean seasoning, etc.)
(I’ve seen lots of recipes that add a couple of strips of bacon to the beans at the beginning which I am sure is really tasty…I just don’t do that.)

1. Rinse and sort your beans. Pull out any that look funky.
2. Dump beans into a large pot and cover with cold water. Fill it up to about 2 inches above the top of the beans.
3. Cover pot and bring it to a boil on the stove.
4. Turn to low and let simmer for about 2 hours stirring occasionally. Sometimes, you’ll need to add a bit more water if you didn’t add enough to start with.
5. Add your seasonings. I add about 1 tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp of fajita seasoning, and ½ tsp salt for every 2 cups of dried beans. Stir it up really well and let simmer for awhile longer until most of the liquid is absorbed. At this point, I am usually getting hungry and try the beans several times, sometimes adding more seasonings if I feel like it.

With the leftovers, I put about 2 cups into a freezer bag and freeze several bags for use at another time. I push the air out and stack them flat on top of something flat until frozen.

Check out http://orgjunkie.com/ for more menu ideas.

Another layout

I hope you've been checking Feeling Scrappy's blog frequently! We have had lots of posts about holidays, decorating, crafts, challenges, techniques and even recipes! Go back and check out the older posts while you are there! We'd love to hear what you think and what you'd like to see more of.

While I am posting, I thought I'd share another layout with you I completed during Sketchapalooza. We have another Sketch class coming up in March and a couple of cool classes between now and then about organizing and cards. And if you sign up for both, there's a great deal right now! http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/search/label/Classes

This is a page about the town we used to live in.

Have a great weekend!

Challenge and a FREE class!

Head on over to the Feeling Scrappy blog for this week's challenge that I posted today. The prize is a free year of cheer card class!! The challenge is super easy so give it a shot and we'll randomly pick a winner from everyone who plays along.

Have a great Friday!!

Fabulous blogs and a layout

My friend Jayne picked my blog as a Fabulous Blog...Thanks!!! So I'm going to pass this little award on to a few of my faves. Now, Jayne picked some blogs that I would have picked, too so you should go check out her choices. :)



Here are the rules for this Award.

#1 - You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.

#2 - You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

#3 - On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.


Here are my 5 fabulous addictions:

#1 - I am addicted to scrapbooking and crafts of all sorts.

#2 - I am addicted to the Internet. I can visit with friends, shop, read, keep in touch, watch my favorite shows, talk and read about scrapping, etc.

#3 - I am addicted to coffee. Must. Have. It.

#4 - I am addicted to watching tv shows and movies with my hubby.

#5 - I am addicted to cooking and baking (and eating!) I love to try new recipes and I cook a LOT. We rarely eat out these days.



Here are the 5 Fabulous Blogs I'd like to pass this award on to:

#1 - Stacy- Capturing Moments

#2 - Shaina - Just because I am Me

#3 - Tricia - Tricia's Treasures

#4 - Jackie - luv 2 Scrap

#5 - Kari Ann - The Sweeney Family


ok, it was hard to pick just a few....but there ya go!!!



Here's another layout from Feeling Scrappy's Sketchapalooza:

A couple more layouts from class

Here's a couple more layouts I completed in the FS Sketchapalooza class. I can't believe how many I completed! So fun to be motivated by so many scrappers all working on the same sketches.

New layouts!

Since Feeling Scrappy's Sketchapalooza is officially over, (which is very sad by the way!!!!) I can share some layouts. Here's just one layout from class. It's probably my favorite that I finished (I completed 17 layouts!)




And I was feeling a bit scrappy today so I completed this layout with a bit of grunge.

Christmas Countdown How-To!

I'll be posting a fun Christmas countdown project tomorrow on Paper Popsicles! Go here for the supply list. Here's a sneak peek:

You'll need a few tp rolls and some scrappy goodies for this project. I hope you'll check it out and make one for your family.

Sketchapalooza is ending so I have a ton of layouts to share very soon! I'll also be sharing a couple of sketches I created but didn't use in the class. Stay tuned! :)

Take a peek!

I'll be posting a fun little Thanksgiving project on Paper Popsicles tomorrow in the how-to forum. I hope you'll stop by and check it out. Here's a little peek for you-

I used mostly goodies and papers from the October Glow kit at PP.

Don't forget!!

Don't forget about the Paper Popsicles crop this weekend! The challenges start tonight at 6 pm (Central time). Lots of challenges, chatting and prizes! Head over there now to check out some sneak peeks and get a heads up on some items you might need for some challenges.

See you there!!!

Guest Designer!!

Paper Popsicles is searching for our next GUEST DESIGNER! This is a fabulous opportunity...PP is a great place, the kits and people are awesome and I hope you will submit for this spot! Here's the "official" info:
~The new Paper Popsicles guest designer will serve a two month term. During this time you will be expected to interact on the Paper Popsicles site as a regular design team member; message board, gallery, and challenge participation (including participating in the design team rotation duties; such as Question of the Day).
~During this time you will receive a kit to work with for each month just as our design team does. This is a totally exciting opportunity!!!
~If you are interested in being considered for this position for the months of January and February 2009….here are the requirements: You must be an active member of our message board. You must have an album within our gallery that showcases some of your work. You must be able to commit to the team for the specific two months; being able to complete your projects on time. (you would receive materials to work in December and January)
~To be considered please submit the following via email to Paperpopsicles@gmail.com Your current favorite layout and card. A short bio about yourself (including a lit of any other design teams you may be on at this time). A short paragraph about why you would like to be a part of the Paper Popsicles team as a guest designer and what you think you could bring to the team during your term.. A link to your blog if you have one.
**The deadline to apply for the January/February 2009 guest designer position will be November 22, 2008 at midnight. The selected individual will be contacted after this date and announced on the message board once the position has been accepted. What are you waiting for....this is an amazing opportunity...get busy submitting!!!! (At this time we are NOT accepting international applications; residents of the US and Canada only due to shipping cost and timing.)

Crop! (and my November how-to class)

Lots of chatting, challenges and prizes!!!

Be there or be square! :)

Also make sure to check out my How-To project this month on the PP board. It's a Thankful banner. Here's a peek-

Go HERE to see the instructions!

10 things I love(layout), a challenge and a crop!

We have a new challenge up over on the Feeling Scrappy blog. All you have to do is create a new layout sharing things you love about a person (with at least 10 reasons) and share it in the comment section of the challenge post by Nov. 12. The prize is free admission to our January class! :) Here is a page I created about my sister for this challenge:



Paper Popsicles will be hosting a crop November 14-16 with lots of great challenges, chit chat and prizes! I hope you'll put it on your calendar and join us...it'll be a blast!!

Halloween

Wow...I have a ton of pictures from family visits and vacation to share but I still need to go through them all. Here's a quick photo from Halloween for now. I will post more photos when i get a chance. Joshua wanted to be a pirate and Abby was a baby chick. Joshua found this witches hat at the store and wanted me to wear it so I went along. It definitely makes Halloween more fun when you dress up!

We're baaaaa-ck!!!!!!!

Wow. 10 days is a long time to be gone! I feel like I have been away from home for much longer than that. We had a great vacation (our first ever family vacation!!) but it's nice to be home. I have lots of catching up to do around the house and online. Here's a layout I made before vacation for my challenge that is currently posted on Feeling Scrappy. You have until Wednesday to create a page to be entered to win a very cool prize! Go check it out!

Sketchapalooza! and a layout. :)

We are having a blast working on the Sketchapalooza class that is scheduled to begin October 27th. You are going to get 20 brand new sketches along with samples, tips and ideas. I hope you'll check out the details here and sign up!! It's going to be a blast and you are sure to come away with a ton of ideas. And unlike a lot of online classes, there's also a message board for class participants and the design team to talk about ideas, share pages, give feedback and just chat!

Here's another layout I made for the Sew Scrappy class on Feeling Scrappy. Hope you like it!

Vacation totes and goodies

We are going on our first ever family vacation next week and we'll be doing quite a bit of driving. I thought I'd make something fun to surprise the kids. I made them each a tote bag and put some new books, snacks and other fun stuff inside of them. I also altered an old tray for Joshua to use in the car. I added a padded bottom, a crayon on a ribbon attached with velcro and a roll of paper he can color on. I am hoping it'll stop so many things from falling and it'll give him a play area in the car.




I also made these fun little owl finger puppets for them.







I'm not really sure what else to add to Abby's bag. Any ideas for an almost 15 month old's travel bag?

Grandma, Grandpa and the aquarium

Grandma and Grandpa D. visited last weekend. We had a lot of fun hanging out, eating good food (LOTS of food!) and going to the aquarium.

Layout and prize winner!

Here's another layout I made for the Sew Scrappy class that recently ended at Feeling Scrappy. We are busy getting samples made for Sketchapalooza coming up in a couple of weeks. Check it out here. We have a brand new sketch challenge in anticipation of the next class on the new Feeling Scrappy blog along with a great prize! All you have to do is create a new layout using the sketch and you could win the sketch class for FREE!!! ($25 value!)








And here is the winner of my little giveaway-





And if you can't read that...

Shirley, send your snail mail address to me - mrslokovic@yahoo.com


Thanks for all of your nice comments everyone and helping us to spread the word about Feeling Scrappy's new blog.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Treat bag ideas and a card

I posted some treat bag ideas on the new Feeling Scrappy Site. I hope you'll check them out! And don't forget about my giveaway in an earlier post. :)



I made this fun little card using Tricia's awesome instructions on the Paper Popsicles blog. I used supplies from a past PP kit. Melissa is having an incredible sale right now so head on over and grab your goodies!


Have a great Wednesday!

NEW Feeling Scrappy Site and PRIZES!!!

We have been working hard on some changes to Feeling Scrappy and today's the big reveal! We have changed the format of FS to a CHALLENGE BLOG! We still have our message board connected to our classes but we will no longer have an open message board apart from classes. So if you take our classes, we'll get to chat, hang out and share on the class board. We have lots of fun stuff planned for the blog for EVERYONE (you don't have to take FS classes to particiapte)...recipes, crafts, layouts, challenges, tips and PRIZES!

In fact, Jayne has an AWESOME prize up for grabs right now. You can be entered three ways to win this-


Go check out the new Feeling Scrappy Blog HERE to see how to win it!

And as I promised a couple of weeks ago, here's another prize that is up for grabs (from me!).


To be entered to win this fun boy kit I put together, leave a comment here after checking out the new FS blog. If you want to be entered TWICE to win this prize, grab the button over on the FS blog and add it to the sidebar on your own blog. Then let me know in my comments here that you added it and leave me a link to your blog. I'll give you until Friday morning to enter to win and I'll draw a name sometime on Friday. (I extended the contest a couple of days. :) )

Grandpa and dinosaurs!

Grandpa L came up for a visit last weekend and we all went to the dinosaur park! Rooooaaarrr! Um...anyway, it was a fun day and Joshua (and grandpa) really enjoyed it. Grandpa's been teaching Joshua (and us!) more about the dinosaurs that used to roam the Utah area. We got a little goofy with some of the photos and Jeremy and Grandpa both warned me they'd better not see a couple of the pictures on the blog. I am sooooo tempted. One photo in particular that I think Uncle Jim would really, really get a kick out of. But, patience...one day I just won't be able to hold them back any longer. Ok, here are some pictures from our outing:

*Coming soon-Pics of this weekend with Grandma and Grandpa D. :)

Quirky!

Yep. I'll admit I have a few quirks. I was tagged by Jayne. :)

Here are the rules:
Link the person who tagged you.
List 6 quirks of yours.
Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.

1. I'm copying this one from Jayne...I always have a "to-do" list going. Always. And I'll add things I already did just to be able to cross them off of the list.
2. I carry multiple packs of hand wipes with me. I have them in my diaper bag, in the car and extras at home. I obsessively wipe my hands and the kids' hands when we go out.
3. I am always super prepared for everything. I carry extra clothes for the kids, snacks, water, etc. Anything we might possibly need. I hate being unprepared.
4. I can't have just one or two of a favorite food item in the pantry. I need several-just. in. case.
5. Toilet paper MUST roll off of the top of the roll.
6. I hate dry lips. I have to have chapstick with me all of the time. I'll buy a new one if I forget. I keep one in several different rooms, in my purse and at the scrapbook table.

Ok, I'm tagging:
1. Adonica
2. Emily
3. Lyndsey
4. Christine
5. Lynda
6. Tricia

Get to it ladies!! Who's going to admit their quirks?? :)

Foiled again! (and a layout)

Here's what happens when I try to scrap if the kids are awake. They can be completely engrossed in an activity but as soon as I sit at this table, they are both climbing up onto my lap to see what I am doing. LOL


Here's another layout I completed for the Sew Scrappy class that recently ended. The papers I used are from one of the recent kits over at Paper Popsicles...love those kits!


We've been working hard on the next Feeling Scrappy class...Sketchapalooza 2!! Tons of NEW sketches and samples. I hope you'll consider joining us there. See here for more info:

Sew Scrappy Class Layout

We just finished up the Sew Scrappy class on Feeling Scrappy. So fun! I learned a TON of new things from the other DT members and had a great time. Here's one of my layouts from the class.