Mommy's Little Helper

... thanks to a glitch in my little guy's pre-school calenda,r I totally missed having gifts ready for his teachers by his last day before the holiday break ... I had the gifts designed & ready to go but not officially put together. At first I was in a panic considering rushing to get them there on time ... then I decided to give them as a "New Year's" gift instead.  I made a paper bag album for my friend Tonya that I posted earlier this month & since I enjoyed making them so much I decided to make some more ... Christmas theme this time ... & the perfect "late" gift ... Christmas will be over ... pictures will have been taken & developed & just waiting for a paper bag scrapbook album to put them in!!

This is again a basic paper bag album seen at about.com ... I used my faithful big red Sizzix machine for the die cuts ...

What's for dinner ...

Many years ago I had something similar to this at a Pampered Chef party ... I've long since lost the recipe. There are several variations online at google search ... this is mine ...


Crescent Ring


2 very generous cups finely chopped turkey or chicken
   (I used turkey leftover from Christmas dinner)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup (you can substitute either for cream of mushroom)
1 very generous cup chopped broccoli (I use frozen chopped broccoli) uncooked
1/4 very generous cup of real bacon bits (can use real bacon chopped)
2 very generous cups shredded cheddar cheese 
1 small onion chopped
salt & pepper to taste
2 packages of refrigerated crescent rolls


Step 1 - mix all ingredients except crescent rolls in medium mixing bowl

Step 2 - arrange crescent rolls in ring on large pizza stone - put pointed corner pointing out - leave hole in center - press rolls firmly together - your ring will look like the a sun

Step 3 -spoon mixture into ring - be generous heap it up!!

Step 4 - fold points of crescent rolls over mixture & press against ring

Step 5 - bake in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes or until crescent rolls are golden brown (3 rolls in center were saved out for my picky eater! See previous posts!! )

Step 6 - eat & enjoy!! Yum! Yum!!

Merry Christmas presents!!!

Oh how I love Santa Mom!! She never lets me down when I give her a list - she checks it twice & always gives me the absolute best gifts ever!!! ... this year I called her on "black Friday" - super excited - grandly announcing that a Cricut cartridge that I - really - really - really - wanted was on SALE!! Super sale!!! The Ultimate Creative Series was on sale for $39.99 down from $99!! ... you can not begin to imagine my surprise - no actually SHOCK - when she said "no, I already have your gift." I couldn't believe it!! I had not even given her my list yet & Santa Mom has never denied me! She insisted that I was going to be surprised - that I would really want it - & that I would not believe she got it for me .... & there was no way I would return it! ... hum ... now I really am not one for surprises! They make me sweat! They make me anxious! ... honestly, they make my stomach want to toss my lunch!!  .... so I tried to put it out of my mind & not think about it ... & with two little monsters running about it was not hard to forget ... 


On Christmas Eve our tree was lost in a huge pile of gifts ... literally!! ... & I have to say Santa Mom was right!!! No list needed & while I love my "Bug" my gift was way way better than any Cricut cartridge !!!

Christmas craft 1-2-3 or rather 5 - 6 -7

Well, I can post pictures now that the gifts have been opened ... Christmas craft #5 vinyl wall art made for my sister using my Gypsy ...

My favorite of all the crafts I made this year ... # 6 Santa exploding box! These little boxes are so easy to make once you get the hang of it! & super fun to embellish! Hiding inside the box is craft #7 ...  a clear glass ornament I decorated for my niece Sophia's 1st Christmas ... the glass ornaments are even easier to embellish & decorate!

Ah! & alas ... I forgot to take pictures of craft #8!! ... so stay tuned!

On a roll!

Totally on a roll here!! ... I can't show pictures of craft #3 because the recipient sometimes "lurks" on my blog & I would not want to give the surprise away ... so those pictures will come after Christmas! (it's a totally obvious gift - just like Tonya's - with her name right on it!!)


Craft #4 is almost as addicting as the T.P. album!! It's even faster! & Easier too! I "scraplifited" this idea from followingthepapertrail ... love her ideas!! She has a great tutorial on how to make this little envelope page. Yes! just one standard #10 legal envelope - or if you prefer use the return envelopes that come in junk mail & bills - like I did! I love the whole up-cycle concept! ... this little page is headed off to sunny Florida to my kid's honorary Great-Grandma Mary Liz! I wish she was here in Ohio so I could give it to her in person! 

This little envelope page falls under the category "what do you give someone who has everything?" ... or in the case of Mary Liz ... "what do you give someone who is 101 years old?". I am only calling it a page for now - but as the new year progresses I will be adding more pages to it from birthdays to holidays & everything in between & soon it will be a little mini album! (stay tuned for more pictures over the coming months!!)

More Christmas Crafting!!

... many many months ago (11 give or take!) someone posted on Facebook about a craft exchange - the object was for 5 people to sign up & you were to make them a craft by the end of the year ... it's only December 20 & I have 1 done!! YEAH! I'm ahead of the game! 


My dear friend Tonya will celebrate her birthday just a few short weeks after Christmas & since I know I will not be headed to NYC to celebrate with her - I thought a birthday craft was a perfect idea!


This is my 1st ever paper bag mini album. You can do a google search & literally find hundreds of different tutorial videos with just as many variations! I used the basic directions I found at about.com & this is the results. Of coarse now that it's made there are at least a dozen different things I would do - well, just that - different ... so stay tuned for more paper bag albums in the future! 


This was made with standard brown lunch bags you can find at the grocery store - scrap paper found in my vast supply of scraps bag - & my Sizzix dies. Oh! I forgot how much I love my Sizzix dies!! My big red Sizzix machine & I have been friends for about 10 years now & I am ashamed to admit that he has frequently sat neglected since my Cricut Bug has come along ... but since the Bug remains dead (power cord out!) ... so 4 more Christmas crafts to complete & 4 more craft exchange projects to complete ... so off to scrapping we go!!

=) yes!! I painted the toenails!! Everything else if simple & basic giving my friend lots of room to add pictures & journaling! Can't wait to hear what she thinks about it!  

Christmas Craft Time!

Normally, I am not the type to procrastinate & wait until the last minute to get Christmas presents made ... but this year ... well, ... maybe it's the 60 degree weather & lack of snow ... but I just seem to be lacking in my usual Christmas cheer! As usual I have visions of all these grand ideas I want to create bouncing around in my head so I sat down with my Gypsy in hand & started design ... very excited & proud to see my visions start coming to life!


Then the real moment came! I plugged my G into my Cricut & hit the power button ... nothing! humf ... check all cords to ensure they are plugged in ... yep ... hit power button ... NOTHING! BAH HUMBUG! ... & to make matters worse after 45 minutes on hold with Provo Craft ... turns out they do not make replacement parts! So here I sit with my dead bug & my visions of Christmas craft genius floating away in the rainy day flood! ... did I say BAH HUMBUG!!??


Of coarse like all ideas that get stuck in my head ... they started keeping me awake desperate to make it to reality wrapped in pretty paper & sitting under someone's Christmas tree ... 


Now anyone who has seen my vast supply of scrapbook goodies knows that even Hobby Lobby can not compete with everything I have ... I feel like I am being disloyal to my faithful Bug companion ... but it's time to get creative without out the aid of my electronic wonders!


... it's been so long since I have looked through my Sizzix dies I completely forgot how extensive my Christmas selection is ... as it turns out this was so much easier than I thought it would be ... 

gift 1 complete ... amazing what you can do with up-cycled toilet paper rolls & a pile of paper scraps!! Simple. Sweet. Just like the friend it is going to!!

Dull Boring Ol' Blog Layout World!

Oh the land of blogger ... I wish my mind could wrap itself around you! ... the writing part - no problem! I got lots of ideas bouncing around in my head! ... the time to write them - well, now that's the problem there!


I am a blog lurker ... in other words I never show my face & "follow" I just sneak in & out ... read recipes - even make a few too! & I love lurking on scrapbook blogs seeing all the awesome things others are designing! But most of all I like just looking at the over all blog layout. All the custom headers & buttons ... the hyperlinks ... the history ... & that's where I get all dazed & confused!! Very C~O~N~F~U~S~S~E~D!! I have watched  youtube how to's ... I've read directional how to blogs ... & still I sit here in dull layout blogville! Now I am not computer illiterate. I can get myself around a keyboard. I can follow directions! At least I thought I could! I have a creative mind by nature - often laying at wake at night with visions of scrapbook layouts & mini albums running through my mind ... so it's frustrating for me to be stuck in dull boring ol' blog layout world when what I really want is to figure out how to make my blog layout come alive with all the ideas that keep my awake at night!


Wonder if they have a blogs for dummies book out there? ... hum ... now there's a thought ... off to Amazon.com I go!