Mmmm…ice cream…

I’ve always wanted an ice cream maker.  I put one on my bridal registry.  My husband said, "No one’s going to buy that for us.  You should take it off."  Why did I listen?

I put it out of my mind until I discovered a Web site called Smitten Kitchen.  I don’t know how I came upon it, but I immediately added this site to my Bloglines subscriptions.  I’m not the cook in my house but I do like to bake and make sweets (a vice).  I really read Smitten because I Iike looking at the pictures of the food.  But one day I was compelled to create one of their concoctions–Coconut Pinkcherry Frozen Yogurt.  Guess what I needed to make it?

So on Friday after my doctor’s appointment (for my Hashimoto’s Hypothyroid condition, a post for another day), I trotted off to Bed Bath and Beyond with my 20% off coupon and a Visa gift card wedding gift that still had money on it.  I bought a 1.5 qt Cuisinart ice cream and sorbet maker.  After all the discounts, that puppy cost me $18 and some change.  Original price: $49.99.  A good deal indeed.

I feel like it’s a good investment.  Ice cream costs about $4.50 around
here and sometimes they’ll have a two for $5 sale.  As you may have
read, manufacturers have decreased the amount of ice cream you’re getting in a carton from 2 quarts to 1.5 quarts.  Of course the price has gone up too.  I figure I’m better off making it myself.

All weekend dear husband (I think DH is the correct abbreviation in scrapbook circles) asked me, "When are you going to make some ice cream?"  Since when are you so interested?

Sunday I christened the ice cream maker with the Coconut Pinkcherry.  It was so good.  So creamy.  So fresh!  I guess I’m so used to processed ice cream I have no idea what genuine goodness tastes like. 

Now I’ve got all kinds of plans for my new little machine.  Next up…Pina Colada sorbet.

Artist Trading Cards

I recently got re-acquainted with artist trading cards also known as ATCs.  I remember when they first piqued the interest of scrapbookers.  I didn’t get the big deal because I wasn’t sure what you could do with them.  But I guess we all wondered what we could do with tags when they first came out, didn’t we?

Anyway, I got intrigued by ATCs last weekend when I got an e-mail that Carol Heppner, a paper crafts artist and author of many how-to books was following me on Twitter.  I was excited because I haven’t been on Twitter long and I’m trying to figure it out so it was pretty interesting to get an e-mail saying that Carol was now a "follower."  I clicked on the link that took me to her Web site and I noticed all the ATC work she’s done.  Very nice.  So I got to thinking, I’ve got tons of scraps left around, why not put together some cards?

I did some more internet research about how to actually design one, the correct size they should be, etc.  I tripped upon The Stamp Workshop by Michelle Fischer and she has an excellent post on how to make ATCs.  Michelle, sorry, I loved your ATC design so much that I used it as a basis for my own card.

Needless to say, I think ATCs are pretty neat and tomorrow when I head off to the Great American Scrapbooking Convention on my birthday, I will be on the hunt for some ATC gear.

Got Sketch? I Do!

I’m back from a long break.  Actually I was busy building up Crop Chic.  I had it set up in Blogger, then I moved it into a content management system called Joomla then I said forget it, I’m going back to Typepad.  I was even able to keep my original Typepad name from 2005!  Some of you may recall Crop Chic from back in the day.  Then again, most of you probably won’t.  Anyway…

While trolling the ‘Net, I came across a sketch site called Got Sketch.  It’s by Valerie Salmon who used to design for Paper Kuts magazine (before it shut down).  You’ve probably seen her work in other scrapbooking mags.  If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I absolutely adore scrapbooking sketches and at this point, it’s all I use to get a layout started.  I like to crop quickly and I don’t have a lot of time trying to arrange photos on a page.  I just don’t.  But give me a sketch and you’ve jumpstarted my imagination.

Got Sketch has a workshop going on through June called Got Sketch 101 (notice the blinkie at the top of the page?).  It’s an online class that gives you a bunch of sketches in 12×12, 8.5×11, two-page and one-page layouts, cards and get this…altered items.  Now you know I had to sign up when I saw altered items because I’ve never seen sketches for that!

I’m pretty psyched about this class because I’ve been busy doing Crop Chic stuff.  I don’t mind that, but you know, when you teach, you hardly have time to do your own stuff.  This workshop will be just the ticket for me.  Of course I need to start taking more pictures too.  So many things to do…so little time.

I’ll be posting my assignments in this blog.  Here’s the first one.  It’s not really an assignment, but more of something to get us warmed up.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; patterned paper and journaling stamp: Autumn Leaves; stickers: 7gypsies; flourish stamp: Close to My Heart; brads: Making Memories; die-cut letters: Quickutz; chipboard flourish: Fancy Pants

What I find amusing is that the people teaching the class are Stampin’ Up! demonstrators and as I’ve mentioned, I’m a Close to My Heart consultant.  Most of the supplies are Stampin’ Up! even though they say you can use your own.  It’s not like I don’t use Stampin’ Up.  I have some of their stuff in my stash right now.  But I’m going to sneak in some CTMH stuff on my layouts just ‘cuz I can. 

While trolling the Scrapbook.com challenges…

While trolling the Scrapbook.com challenges forum, I found this very cool blog that I think will help spur my creative energies.  It’s called 52 Sketches…52 Weeks by Lisa Bonner.

Every Sunday, Lisa posts a new sketch for a layout. You have one week to complete an entry and submit it to her. It must be received or posted by midnight the following Sunday (eastern time). All layouts go into her gallery and she will randomly draw one name from all who have submitted. The winner will receive a prize and their work will be shown on Monday night’s post.

I’m submitting this layout of my cat Kramer based on Week #9’s sketch:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Patterned paper: (Hang 10) Basic Grey; Stickers: 7gypsies; Brads: Making Memories; Dies: (Vixen) Quickutz; Stamp: (paw prints) Kathy Davis Collection ; Ink: (Close to Cocoa) Stampin’ Up!

I’m really excited about this challenge.  Not sure if I will submit something weekly, but I’ll be checking it out frequently for a dose of inspiration.  Kudos to Lisa for setting this up!