Pages

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Liberty - Houston Zoo's Bald Eagle

Final set of pages, I met my deadline!

These pages are made in CTMH's Online Software Studio J. Kit used is Route 66.
Journaling Detail.

Here is a video about Liberty.

Zoo Two: Expedition

"If you can jump on it, climb over it, hang from it, crawl under it, or hide in it. My boy will!"

That's the journaling on this page. These are pages 3 & 4 from the earlier Houston Zoo pages! It's still CTMH's Online Studio J and the Kit is Expedition. More later. I have one more set of pages to make by tonight if I'm going to make my deadline!

Easter Morning 2008: Caprice

CTMH Studio J Digital Layouts. Kit: Caprice 2 more layouts to make, today, if I'm going to make the deadline. More details on these later! Very happy w/ them for at first panicking because there weren't any Easter kits & Ethan's robe didn't match typically Easter colors. GO ME!!!

Title very pleased with combination of fonts, here.

Journaling

I'd like to point out that this is the same page template that I used on my Birthday Retreat Pages, I got a different look by rotating the left hand page.

The One About The Big Box

You may recall these photos, I blogged about this day. I think this is the first blog post that turned into a scrapbook page. I'm terribly pleased with the outcome.

These pages are made with CTMH's soon to be released Studio J online software. Grace Paper Pack and Stickease are also available as traditional product. I used the Jazzy Combination Pattern.

I feel like I really got the program to go outside the box this time. Oh dear, when I first typed that I didn't even realize I was punning.
I decided to go for a Sewing Notions theme with my embellishments on these pages so I used a lot of stitches and it was my intention that the brads would look like decorative pins.
I hope you can see that I added stitching to the date font... the font already had those crosspieces, I just put yellow stitches on top of them.
I stole the stitches from buttons and in some cases sized them up to 130%.

Here I discovered that you can apply Background & Texture paper to a journal box space. I layered and re-sized several of the My Stickease to take up this extra journal space and tried to continue the pin & stitch theme.

Here is the journaling. It's so handy to be able to lift journaling off your own blog!

Cathy Zielske if you're reading this (and I'm sure she's not) I've felt TERRIBLY TERRIBLY clever for at least 20 minutes, now! (Squee! She read & she commented!!!!)
Oh yes, the mentioned Uncle Brent is not pictured, as he refused to be photographed that day.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Cockrell Butterfly Center: Emporium


Detail of ribbon text & My Stickease

These pages are made in Studio J by CTMH using Dramatic Fashion design.
Emporium Paper Packet and My Stickease are also available as traditional product.
See My Blog Post & Larger Photos from this Day.

Dewberry Farm Pages 3 and 4: Sarsaparilla


Pages made digitally in CTMH Studio J. Page design is Dialogue.
Sarsaparilla Paper Pack and My Stickease assortment also available as traditional product.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Dewberry Farm Pages: Sarsaparilla


Second set of pages made in CTMH's Studio J
Page design is Sideline Surprise. Digital Papers are Sarsaparilla

Friday, March 26, 2010

First Studio J Scrapbook Pages

It's March 31 and I updated the zoo page to this. Original is below.

I made these pages in CTMH's Studio J. Its an online digi scrapping software that is set to roll out to customers in late April.

These pages were so easy to make & I feel like I was still able to make them my own. Sorry I can't get a bigger image for details. I have added great sanding & ink sponging effects and staples that just don't come across at this size. I enjoyed being able to set the color of all the embelishments, they begin un-colored and you select the color you want. The embelishments are so detailed that you can select which color you want for buttons & also customize the color of the thread stitching on the buttons too.

The titles are created by using the same title in a different color behind the title to create a drop shadow and help the title show up against variously colored backgrounds.

Here is a detail of the journal block. I actually used 2 additional journal blocks with transparent backgrounds over the top of the vellum journal block that you see... in order to be able to use 2 different fonts & sizes of text. Journaling font is CTMH Inkling. Title & Date info font is Prestige.

These pages are made with the CTMH Expedition paper pack. These elements are also available as traditional scrap materials.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Grandma Black's Hawaiian Cabbage

I think there is probably no more fitting day to share this recipe that St. Patrick's Day. This is our traditional family cabbage, we love it and we eat it all year long. I crave it most on St. Patrick's Day along with grilled lamb chops. Growing up this was my Dad's specialty. My brother, Brent, and I both learned to make it (cooking is part of our family culture.) The originator of this recipe is my Grandma Black. My grandparents were missionaries for most of my Dad's growing up years to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. She learned to fix cabbage in this way while she was living there. This ain't no boiled cabbage & potatoes, it's really GOOD! Happy St. Patrick's Day, I wish you the luck of the Irish.

Grandma Black's Hawaiian Cabbage

1 head of cabbage
1/2 to 1 lb of bacon
Lawry's garlic salt (I really recommend that you use Lawry's I can't vouch for the salt to garlic flavor ratio being right on other brands)
1 or 2 eggs, beaten

To prepare the cabbage for cooking first pull off any damaged leaves. Next rinse under water & shake dry. You want some water to stay on as it will help the cabbage to steam. Cut the head of cabbage in half, remove the solid part of the core and cut each half in 3 or 4 pieces, you want to keep the pieces relatively large. I find that a Crinkle Cutter tool gives me wonderful leverage and is easier to cut the cabbage in half than using a regular knife. Next cut the bacon into small pieces, you can use just a few strips of bacon, but a whole pound is even better. It is after all, bacon!

Cook the bacon in the bottom of a large stockpot over medium heat, it doesn't need to crisp. When the bacon is cooked, add the cut cabbage to the pot. Leave the leaf portions in big chunks. The heavier part of cabbage nearer the center you can pull apart some as you add them to the pot.

I like to use a sturdy wooden spatula to stir the cabbage, a wooden spoon would also work well. Allow the cabbage to cook for a few moments in the bacon fat at the bottom of the pan. Add a few shakes of garlic salt, then mix it around trying to pull what is at the bottom of the pot toward the top, so that new leaves will go down into the bacon fat. Add a few more shakes of the garlic salt, it needs a lot of garlic salt. Repeat a total of 3 or 4 times.

When the bacon fat and garlic salt are mixed through the leaves turn down the heat and put the lid on the pot. Let the cabbage steam in its own liquid, for about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. You don't want it to go completely soft, you just want it to get soft-ER and shrink some in size. The final cabbage should still have some parts that are still crisp and we still have 1 more cooking step.

Beat your egg in a small bowl and turn off the heat under the pot. Remove the lid from the pot & pour the egg in, don't dump it straight down in, try to spread it around the pot a bit. Place the lid back on the pot and let sit for 2 minutes. The residual heat will cook the eggs. After 2 minutes stir the cabbage to distribute through out the cabbage and fully cook the egg. Think of the eggs you see in egg-drop-soup, the egg in the cabbage is very similar.
Serve it while it's hot!

Click photos for larger view.
Other recipes pictured:
Crispy Pork Cutlets
Smashed Potatoes

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

99 Things

Laura posted this. I was curious to see how many I could bold. (Sorry I know it's real hard to see the bold, it shows up in Google Reader - I tried underlines but it was slow go editing the code & it looked AWFUL)

Instructions: The post is a list of 99 random things. Bold the ones that you yourself have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given More than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneyLand
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (Been to Venice rode Vaporetto rode gondola in AZ)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (ate Crepes under it!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (sort of?)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (I was 5 I used glue)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Sunshine Award: My First Blog Award

Cheryl gave me the Sunshine Award. What a bright and cheery name for a blog award. Well I've never had a blog award before "not even of any kind" so I was tickled pink. Thanks Cheryl!

Cheryl 's Tweets are like rays of sunshine. Cheryl and I coax each other out of caves ;) Check out Cheryl's blog Take A Second Glantz

And now for the rules:
1. Put the logo in your post or within your blog.
2. Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blogs.
5. Share the love and link to the person who gave you the award.

So Now I get to share the award. I would like to recognize and thank the following bloggy friends in no particular order (well sometimes in Google Reader order.) Also I've noticed a tendency to get wordier as I go farther down the list... attribute it to getting warmed up. I love you all!


  1. April P Capture The Memories for challenging me to get back into my scrap room & for having a cool name.
  2. Carabecca Story Worth Telling for reminding me what it was like to be a new Mom and sharing all the precious photos of Baby Henry.
  3. Julie Johnson Just Our Story Julie, I don't know what I'd do without you. You make me feel like I have a sister taming dragons along side me, and that makes me feel like I can do it!
  4. Carrie (Scrapchick) Through The Camera Lens for encouraging & inspiring & being fun to hang out with on Twitter.
  5. Carole Carole's Thoughtful Spot for blogging so many everyday things I enjoy reading and sharing her chili recipe!
  6. Hillary My Scraps... A Place of Ideas, Opinions and Memories she encourages everyone and has FABULOUS hair!
  7. Sheila Sheila's Stamping Stuff I have enjoyed an online friendship with Sheila for years. I forget that we have never met in the real world. She is a fellow paper crafter, gardener and new knitter. Sheila, I'm jealous. I want to knit warm things to wear around my neck.
  8. Donna My Cup of Tea Donna loves all things tea, even more than I do. Donna may be the only person on this list who I've met in real life. Too bad we live far apart now, Donna, I'd love to have a tea party with you!
  9. LisaTaz I know this is supposed to be a blog award, but I'm going to call Twitter a micro-blog so I can include Lisa. Lisa is a Twitter friend, I love this girl. She's the one who will keep you honest, and help you remember not to goof off ALL day long. She gives great advice & makes you laugh. She has also been a great source of info in my attempt to learn digi scrapping. Seriously Lisa, do you not have a blog?! I guess I am just thinking of Twitter.
  10. Laura Cameron Crazy Laura makes me LAUGH. She is so full of youthful enthusiasm... yet somehow rather than make me feel old by comparison, I feel young by association. "Like a laughing brook when it trips and falls over stones on its way." that's Laura.
  11. Megan It's not Megan it's Megan Megan is a relatively new friend, she always has something good to say.
  12. Lisa Stenz Lisa's Creative Corner For making beautiful things a and sharing. Lisa's blog is one of those places where almost every item she makes causes me to say ooooh or ahhhh! She is a paper crafter extraordinaire!

Footnote: Not Even Of Any Kind - The Importance of Being Earnest

Monday, March 8, 2010

Amazing People don't JUST Happen


I love this statement... but I don't know that it means to me what it means to most people.... what does it mean to you?

I see it as a Mom. Amazing people don't just happen, they're grown. Amazing people are grown, nurtured, encouraged. As a Mom of an 11 year old boy, this is my current mission in life... this is what I'm supposed to do. It's my job and privilege to grow this boy into an amazing person. How cool is that and WOW what a big responsibility, thank goodness it's a partnership; with God, with my husband, with my boy, with the people who choose to be important in his life.

Are you feeding & watering someone amazing?