Kitchen Keepsake Blog Hop

Welcome to the first Kitchen Keepsake Blog Hop!

We are super excited to share some wonderful inspiration with you. Be sure to grab your favorite drink and enjoy the hop.

Here is the order of the hop.

Suzanne
Carmen
Janet
Kelly <--- You are here! 
Shelly
Phillis
Colleen
Kitchen Keepsake Forum - Register & post for lots of fun!

If you are following the order, you should have arrived here from Janet's blog. If not, be sure to head back over there and all the ones before so you have a chance to win all of the prizes.

I am lucky to be a member of the design team at Kitchen Keepsake. And what a fun forum to be part of! There are challenges posted on the 1st and 15th of each month. Some are recipe related and some not, but you don't have to scrap recipes to join in the fun. Any paper crafters are welcome and I know you will find something to inspire you. 

I am challenging you to use a rainbow on your page. It doesn't have to be a traditional arc rainbow, use ROY G BIV or anything. Just use a rainbow however it inspires you! Maybe a rainbow embellie, or a picture of a rainbow or someone wearing a rainbow shirt. 

As for me, I drew my circles then painted them in with good ol' Crayola watercolors (shhhh... don't tell the kids I borrowed their stuff). I added in some Rusty Pickle rubons, prima flowers from my stash, paint & marker splotches, doodles, stickers and bling. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I hope my challenge and page can inspire you somehow. :) And, since you are here I have a freebie for you! Here are two 4x6 printable recipe cards. Click on the picture below to download them. 

Now, just a few more things before you wander off (hopefully I haven't lost you already). I've got a RAK up for grabs to a lucky winner as well! Here is a sneaky peek. It is cooking/summer related, I think its perfect for this giveaway. 

Rules (gotta have 'em) ----> You have until July 31, 2014 at 12:00 midnight Eastern time to comment for a chance to win! You need to follow my blog for a chance to win my RAK. Winners will be posted on August 1st on the blogs, so make sure you follow them to get the updates!

Thank you for getting through this lengthy post! Your next stop on the hop is Shelly. She is super talented, so be sure to browse around her blog for a bit. 

Digital {freebie} and nonsense

I know I said I was going to switch up between paper, digitals and other stuff, but I guess I can't be held to my word. LOL! I actually have a paper project sitting on my table that I think I'm finished with, but I am not sure I really like it. It needs a little extra something and until I figure out what, it will just sit there. But given that the next few days are busy, I'm sure I'll just give up and post it as it is now.

And speaking of the next few days, Jeff got lucky enough to score suite tickets to the nationwide race this weekend. With it comes a garage tour. I am super psyched about that part! I have to decide whether I should take my camera (which I really want to do, but don't want to lug it around). Don't get me wrong, I've seen the cars close up before... but I can't wait to actually see one in a garage.  Vroom Vroom Baby!! 

So today I'm sharing a digital page. This one was done for the ADSR7, challenge 6. The challenge was to use at least 2 pictures in shapes. This page came together fairly easily and I had a bunch of pictures to use for it because, of course, my kids cannot cooperate with the camera at the same time. LOL!

Most of the stuff on this page is from Audrey Neal's Chemistry kit. She is an awesome designer if you haven't seen her stuff. I did incorporate a few other things like masks and an overlay that I have from who knows where (note to designers - please put your name in the file).


And since I'm not keeping to my promise, I'm giving a peace offering. A digital freebie. :) It's actually a template set for you to use with whatever pieces you might have in your collection. Easy to do yourself, but I know sometimes I love having templates cause they make the process oh so much quicker.

You can grab the zip file here. If you have any trouble with the download or whatever, please let me know! This is the first time I'm using dropbox to share with anybody.

And now I should give Grayson a moment. Poor boy. I say that wholeheartedly (and not at all with sarcasm, which is unusual). I am now glad that I went ahead and got his vaccinations this year. His legs turned beat red, swelled and knotted up. But you know what, the only time he has complained is when I poked at it and asked if it hurt (I can't be sweet all the time). This is the first time he's ever had a reaction to the shots. Braelyn does it every time, but not him. I feel bad for him, but unfortunately there isn't much I can do. I just hope they go away soon. But he has been really good since we went. :)

Safety 1st {and a winner}

Happy Thursday Morning!

I've been in a bit of a funk the past few days. We got some news on Tuesday, that while I completely expected it, it has still thrown me 'off' just a bit. So I will admit that yesterday I sort of moped around. Add into that Grayson having a really rough day, and well, I just forgot all about it being Wednesday and that I was supposed to post a winner. I hope you will forgive me.

At any rate, today I'm sharing a digital layout I did. I recently joined the forum at A Cherry On Top and found a challenge to scraplift the guest creative team. So I snagged this great digital kit called Tuesday Morning and got to work. Here is what I came up with. The pictures are of Grayson, his safety gear and his scooter. At this point, the boy has grown so much that the helmet doesn't fit him. I guess we'll have to look into getting him another one. Sometimes I wish he would stop growing.


If you would like to see the page I lifted, you can snag a glance here.

And in case you didn't notice - that digital kit is on sale for $1. 100 pennies, 10 dimes or 4 quarters. Really, you can't beat that! I love a good sale, so I thought I would share with you guys. There are a bunch of other great kits in the 'sale bin' there as well.

Yes, I know... I made you look at the layout and read my junk first. You don't care, do you?! LOL! So let's go on and pick a winner, shall we?!

There were 22 comments on the Win It post. Some were duplicates, I took those out and there were 19 all together. Random.org picked number 10!

That would be...

mindakims

Congrats! Please contact me through a forum or email me so I can get your prize out!

And thank you to all the new followers. I hope you will stick around - I'll be doing more prizes and such in the future!

Life is all about moments

I know its a cliche... but it is the honest truth. So many times when we are upset, we tend to forget about the great things that constantly happen to us. At least I know I do. I always thought I was mostly normal, so I would assume everybody else does too. Maybe not though, who knows?

I started plotting this layout over the weekend (as one of the things that is on the list happened, you'll just have to guess which) and finished it up this morning. A reminder that it is the little moments that make up our life. The big ones count, but the little moments make it all worth it - good and bad. I didn't want to only scrap about bad moments, so I included some really great ones as well.



Moments I Love =>
When Jeff Walks In The Door
Hugs From The Kids
Hearing I Love You

Moments I Dislike =>
The Bathroom Is Out Of TP
You Spill Your Drink
Your Pants Are Too Tight
You Realize You Left Your Wallet

Hope you can get out and enjoy this wonderful Monday! It looks gorgeous here, hopefully it will stay that way and we can use the grill for dinner tonight. :)

And don't forget, you've got another day or two to enter the giveaway for the mystery box - so head on over!!

Wonderful {Win It} Wednesday

Over the past few weeks I have really been working on cleaning up around the house, getting the yard ready for spring and just knocking out some major chores. As I mentioned the other day, one of the chores was to clean out the drawers under my craft table. Because I have tons of stuff sitting around, I thought I would do a giveaway. So read to the bottom to find out what it is and how you enter!

All this cleaning up really limits my scrapping time. :( But I've been doing a few digitals here and there. Here are a couple more I have to share. I love that little hands can't steal my supplies when I'm working with digi's - that in and of itself is a huge bonus! Plus, they come together so quickly (which probably also has to do with little hands not making off with supplies).

I did take today off and worked on some paper projects, so you'll see those soon. Here are a couple digitals I've done over the past few days... hope you enjoy!



I realize I am focusing on layouts of Braelyn. But, I have some catching up to do. As my husband pointed out, Grayson has a bazillion layouts and Braelyn only had around 10.

Now, onto the giveaway.
Who would like to win a mystery box of goods?
Some things in the mystery box are... paper, page kits, chipboard, rubons, stickers
Some manufacturers in the box are... Momenta, Basic Grey, Pink Paislee, KI Memories
* Please note that these may be older products in the box. Winner takes all - no returns or complaints. ;)

Here is a sample of the box (yes, I realize it isn't actually in a box).



Three simple steps to enter -
1. Comment on any post from my blog.
2. Follow my blog.
3. Come back to this post and tell me that you did it.

I'll draw a winner next Wednesday (3/28).

A Giveaway for CSN Stores!

I have been lucky to work with CSN Stores in the past and I am happy to say I am doing it again! This time around I ordered the Melissa & Doug Clay Set. This is going to be a fabulous gift for the birthday we have coming up next month. I know Grayson will absolutely love playing with it! The set is very well constructed and it comes with 4 containers of clay, as well as some neat tools to work with. I'm a big fan of Melissa & Doug toys, and this set was not a dissapointment. :) Now for the giveaway... Just follow these steps for a chance to win $35 credit to CSNStores.com 1. Become a follower of my blog 2. Go to CSNStores.com and browse around to see all the available items they have 3. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you would like to order if you win! Comments will remain open for one week and a winner will be announced Monday, April 4th.

CSN Stores

Have you heard of CSN Stores? I was lucky enough to work with CSN Stores a couple months ago and provide one reader a great prize, as well as provide a review for an item from their wide variety of stores. This was such a cool opportunity, and I'm happy to say that I am able to do it again for my readers.


This time I'd like to point your focus toward a wooden swing set from http://www.swingsetsandmore.com/. They have some super cool swing sets - like this Explorer's Station Swing Set. What kid wouldn't absolutely LOVE having this in their backyard? I know Grayson would. And I won't lie - I would have fun with that too!

Not in the market for a swingset? No worries - with over 200 stores, you have a variety of choices at the simple click of your mouse. Seriously, everything you could want - all in one place! Can't ask for better than that!

So I just wanted to give you a head's up that I'll be having another review and giveaway here on my blog for CSN Stores. So stay tuned! And if you are interested in hosting one, please let me know and I will pass your information along!

** Giveaway Enabling Alert **

There is an awesome giveaway on Life As Lou. Seriously, I saw awesome because it is just that! Definitely go check it out and read some of her other posts - her work is fabulous!

Not only is she giving away an Epic 6, but there are also dies and to top it off, she is giving away 2 prizes. Stop on by!

Don't forget...

Today is the last day to leave a comment for a chance to win the $35 credit to CSN Stores.

Check out the post, become a follower and leave a comment!!

CSN Stores Giveaway & Review

I had the great opportunity to work with CSN Stores to write a review - and even better - to host a giveaway! If you aren't familiar with CSN Stores, they have everything you could possibly imagine! Definitely take a look at their website, and read a bit about their company.

Because we love to cook around our house, I decided on the Polder Dual Probe Thermometer to write my review on. The pros - the thermometer is accurate and easy to use - and the dual probe definitely comes in handy if you have more than one item. We typically smoke 2 turkeys at a time, so this is definitely a plus for us. The screen is large, easy to read, easy to navigate and get set for your meat type.

In the con column, we were storing it on the side of the fridge, but sadly the magnet fell out of the back (totally a cosmetic and ease thing, so nothing critical). The other complaint is that the cords on the probes are not metal braided (although they look to be in the picture).

And now, on to the fun part! One lucky person will receive a $35 credit to spend at CSN Stores. In order to qualify, you must do the following:
1. Become a follower of my blog (if you already are, thanks!)
2. Go to CSN Stores and look around.
3. Leave a comment on this thread and tell me what you think you would get with a $35 credit!

The winner will be announced on Saturday, January 8th - so be sure to check back and see if you are the lucky one!

** Giveaway Enabling Alert **

My friend Rita has a great giveaway going on at her blog right now. Seriously, don't believe me... check it out. I think that would be a fun package to get in the mail, don't you? Hop on over and follow her and comment for a chance to win!

And be sure to check out her super duper talent while you are there... she can definitely rock the scrap supplies!

CSN Stores

Have you heard of CSN Stores? I've seen lots of blogs around doing reviews and giveaways from CSN Stores and I'm excited to tell you that I'll be able to join the ranks! In case you didn't know, CSN Stores have a HUGE variety of items. You can pick up everything in one location from things like extra tall bar stools to kids toys to kitchen gadgets and appliances.

CSN Stores is a Boston based company and is quickly growing in popularity as well as reputation. I've seen quite a few things on the site that I would just love to have in my house....

For example, check out this Tripp Trapp High Chair. I love that it is completely adjustable.

And of course the highly covetted Kitchen Aid mixer.

So, be sure to check back as you won't want to miss the giveaway & review. And who couldn't use a little bonus this holiday season?