latest projects + links

I have a couple of projects to share with you today...

I posted a new sketch at Paper Bakery Kit yesterday and it's a card one...

and here's my take on the sketch...

PULLED OUT FOR PUBLICATION

I used the August Add On kit for these cards. Did you know you can participate in the sketch challenge and possibly win some cool prizes? Click here to learn more.

and last week, My Little Shoebox had a product feature week which we showcased the new Muse Alphabet stickers. Here's a peek at my contribution to that...

You can view mine and other DT Member's projects here. Plus make sure you check out the new products from My Little Shoebox, lots of great paper collections and of course the new Muse Alphabe Stickers which comes in 6 different colors/patterns.

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,

Grace

First day of School

Happy Monday everyone. It's the start of another week. How's yours shaping up? I'm looking forward to getting a lot done since my kiddos will be in school for most of this week (they're having testing days at the end of the week so they get a day and a half of break). Speaking of school, yes my kids started last Wednesday. Can't believe how time flies. Two days before school started, we went to school to meet their new teachers, drop off this year's school supplies and have some ice cream :) I love to go this event every year because the kids get to find out who their teachers are and the rooms that they're assigned to which takes a little bit off from the "first day of school" stress.

We made sure the kids were well prepared for their first day back to High Plains. The night before, we already made their lunches and got their outfits all planned out. I made them boiled eggs and toast for breakfast to give them a good start to their day, took some pictures and then headed off to school. Here's some memories from that morning...

I still can't believe I have a 4th grader now!

She was super excited to be 1st grade and I was so happy that she'll be in full day school. Woohoo!

I waited with Maddie till the bell rang and here she is with her teacher and classmates getting ready to go inside and start a day full of learning and new discoveries.

When I picked them up, the kids both reported of having a great day. Maddie said that she had a great day eventhough it was 7 hours long. I chuckled and asked her how she knew how long she'd been in school and then she said that her teacher said it. I thought her comment was hilarious eventhough she still doesn't fully grasp time yet.

So that's it. I hope you have a FANTASTIC week!

Till next time,

Grace

latest pubbed work

It's finally Friday. Woohoo!!! I received a big box from Northridge Media last week containing my projects, some goodies and two issues of this magazine...

CRICUT Magazine, June 2012 issue

In it are two of my pages...

Happy Birthday

I used the Cricut to create my title and cupcake. I can't believe these photos are about two years ago.

Splash

I used my Mother's Day Bouquet flower cartridge to make a large flower with pointy petals and used that as a sun shape since I didn't have one and this page a bug burst of sunshine in it. :)

Thank you for letting me share. I know this is not the first pub work for me but to tell you the truth..it never gets too old. I still get very excited seeing my pages and my name in the magazines I browse through. It's like Christmas every single time. What in your life/hobby/passion makes you feel like that?

Till next time,

Grace

Take Twelve- August Edition

Hi and Happy Thursday.

So Take Twelve....are you participating? What did you capture on August 12th? Here's mine....

Let me tell you first that I was feeling very exhausted when I woke up on Sunday. I have been in constant motion all through out last week so I opted to not start my picture taking till after I got back from church....

1. The kids all dressed up in their Sunday's best.
2. Both kiddos particicpated in Primary today. Maddie gave a talk and Marcus the scripture. Both did an awesome job.
3. After a late lunch, I decided to finally give my the body the rest it needed. Naptime for me :)
4. Marcus pondering on what he should write in his journal.
5. Getting some blog posts up and scheduled today.
6. We finally decided to harvest the cabbage Marcus' got as a plant earlier this year at school before the school ended. It was massive!
7. Measured the cabbage and it's about 9" wide. A-mazing!
8. Had grilled steak, mashed potatoes, beans and veggies for dinner. Yum!
9. Made strawberry smoothies for dinner as well. I added some flaxseed in it for extra fiber. The kids never knew of my sneaky tactics.
10. Planned the menu for the week. These are just some of the cookbooks I went through this time. I'm a sucker for recipe books.
11. Planned out my week. There's always so much to do that my brain can't remember them all, so I have to write it down.
12. Went through Marcus' new Bear Scout book. Still can't believe he's 9 now.

So there you have it. To learn more about Ella Publishing's Take Twelve Challenge, click here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

Back to School ideas

Today my little ones start school! aaahhh! It's crazy trying to wrap my brain that I have a 4th and 1st grader already. Where did my babies go?

Well while I spend this morning taking pictures of my wee ones on their first day of school and then enjoying a quiet home, I thought I'd share with you some fun Back To School Ideas courtesy of Pinterest. Oh how I love that place!

Printable Morning Routine

I think this is great, especially for little ones that you are trying to train for the "school" routine for the first time.

Ruler Wreath

Oh don't you just adore this wreath? Super creative and with these rulers on sale right now, I'm definitely going to put this in my "must create right now" list.

Free Back to School Printables

This is great for those special "first day of school" photos. There's one for every grade, love it!

Back to School Photo Check List

Speaking of photos, here's a list of must take pictures to capture this sweet time for your little ones. I intend to print this off and gladly check off the ideas once they're documented.

Lunch Ideas

This was a fun link I found. Although my kids are happy with PB&J sandwiches, I have to admit, sometimes they want something different so this will be a great resource to create those "special" lunches.

Back to School Cake

Isn't this cake so adorable? Found it on a link at the Potterbarn for kids blog. The link also has tons of great ideas for a back to school party.

So there you have it. Happy browsing.

Till next time,

Grace

Ice Skating Field Trip

Last Thursday, I took the kids to a local Ice Skating rink. The kids did the reading program at the Library and one of their "rewards" where a sheet of paper full of coupons from local businesses in the area. This coupon has been a great thing for us this summer. It allowed the kids (and I) to try new things with no or little money to spend.

So going back to the Ice Skating Field Trip....they had a coupon for free skating session and skate rental at the Pikes Peak Ice Skating Rink. It was a bit of a travel as it was on the other side of town. I called a couple of days before and got the time slot when they would honor the coupons. We drove out and got there just in time, got their skates and headed to the rink. Marcus was familiar with it as he had experienced ice skating with the Cub Scouts during the scout camp. He used the buckets for help in balancing but after a couple of laps, he got rid of it and was extremely good at balancing himself all the while skating. I was very impressed.

Maddie on the other hand was a different story. She got on, was very apprehensive and fell flat on her bottom. After that she refused to get back on. I would have gone with her but with my purse and camera in tow, I couldn't leave it and skated with her. Plus, it's been y-e-a-r-s since I last Ice skated (which was that one time then) and I was not about to embarass myself infront of my kiddos and strangers. I guess I could've been a better example for Maddie to "try and try until you succeed" but alas my fear got to me. So for the rest of the time they were allowed to skate, Maddie and I sat at the bleachers watching all the great skaters do their thing and be amazed at how awesome and easily Marcus took to skating.

Here are some of the photos from our trip....I had to turn in black and white as I was not happy with the colorcast I got from the pictures at the rink...

If I had the extra budget, I would definitely look into skating classes or even ice hockey for Marcus as I think he would be really good at it. Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace

Monday link shares

Hello blog friends and happy Monday. This week marks the start of the school for the kiddos. I'm excited for both of them and looking forward to getting some quiet work time while they are both at school. There's a few things I have committed myself to coming this fall and I can't wait to let you in on them soon.

I've got a couple of layout sneek peek and link shares for you today....

 I received my August Add On kit supplies from Paper Bakery Kit late last week and I love, love, love the papers in this kit. It debuts this Wednesday (Aug. 15th) but you can see a sneek peek of what you can look forward to in my layout found today at the Paper Bakery Kit blog here.

Last week I posted a layout project on the My Little Shoebox blog. Check it out here. I used the Aiko collection and I love how the colors went well together.

So that's it for me today. I hope you have a great start to your week.

till next time,

Grace

Brown Sugar Pie *Food Friday Share*

Hello again friends. So we are on our last Food Friday share. I didn't hear from anyone if this was helping or not so I'm deciding to give it a rest...for now. I love cooking, baking and sharing food with family and friends but with school starting soon, having the extra task of taking photos of food might not work out with my schedule. I hope you enjoyed my recipe shares so far.

So for our last one, how about we end it with a sweet note? :)

Brown Sugar Pie

Brown Sugar Pie

“From our Grandmother’s Kitchens” cookbook

Serves 8

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

¼ cup evaporated milk

4 ½ tsp. All-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

1 single crust pie shell fit into 9-inch pie plate and chilled

1.       Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in saucepan over medium, heat, swirling occasionally, until butter is browned and have nutty aroma, about 3 minutes; transfer to large bowl and let cool slightly.

2.       Stir sugar into cooled butter until uniform. Whisk in eggs, milk, flour, vanilla, and salt until combined. Pour filling evenly into dough-lined pie plate. Cut remaining 1 tbsp. butter into 4 pieces and scatter evenly over top of pie.

3.       Bake pie until browned on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has set, about 2 hours. Serve at room temperature.

My notes:

1. This pie is one of those simple YET supremely delicious deserts. I love the nutty flavor created by browning the butter. It's so yummy.

2. I used premade pie shell because I'm feeling lazy but I'm sure it'll taste even better with your homemade pie crusts.

3. If I scale the price for making this pie, I would say it's in the middle. Purchasing the Pie shell, butter and evaporated milk will hit your desert budget to close to $10. Not bad compared to if you would've purchased it "baked and ready to eat" somewhere but it's still a bit high for a weekday desert so I save this recipe for when there's company or a Sunday dinner desert.

4. I have served it with whipped cream and sometimes with ice cream. The cream addition adds a "milky/creamy" taste to the dish.

So there you have it. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Till next time,

Grace

Bowling fun

Ok so I know this is a long time ago (almost a month ago) but I was going through photos today to see what I can post about and this fun activity stood out to me.

I signed up my kids for free bowling at KidsBowlFree.com and we finally got to use up their freebie certificates on July 12th. We headed to our local bowling alley tha was offering this deal, rented shoes for the kiddos and started a game for them.

Here are some photos of our fun morning....

and here are the kids in action...

and because I know Lola and Grandma Tolman visits this blog periodically, here's a video of the kiddos. Note: I'm still very new to the video capability of my new camera so the focusing is not the greatest at times but it's the kiddos at play and I'm sure you'll enjoy it just the same. :) BTW, Happy Birthday to my mom. Consider this your bday gift from us. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,

Grace

Knitted scarf

I am a creature that can't sit still. Seriously I think I have ADD. It's not a bad thing but sometimes it drives me crazy that I can't be doing two things at one time. Multi tasking have become my middle name. LOL.

So as you know my kids did a two week swim class in a nearby High School pool. A couple of days before we were to start that program, I got to thinking that I would NEED something to keep myself busy while the kids were in the water. I needed something that I can do while I can keep my eye on them. Clearly reading a book won't do because I'd have to keep my eye on what I'm reading for me to get anything out of it and I can't really do any papercrafting for fear that water would get near my projects. So after some thoughts, I turned to knitting.

I'm not sure if knitting is considered a Summer project but I went with it anyways. I have had this multicolored yarn for a while now. I believe I scored it at Big Lots in their dollar per skein bucket. I had two skeins and the yarn was a thin kind so I went with my #6 needles. I didn't have a pattern to follow but I've made scarves for the kids before so I decided to do it my own way. I wanted it to be skinny and long so I casted 20 stitches and did a simple knit "stitch" until I didn't have any more yarn.

Here's the result....(photos courtesy of my loving hubby. He's been doing well getting the images I've envisioned with just a few instructions.)

I honestly didn't plan to have the colors line up the way they did. Like I said this particular yarn I got was multicolored and I didn't know that my 20 stitch pattern would make the colors line up perfectly. Lucky me!

Oh and if you're wondering if I got this done within the 2 week swim class...no I didn't. I got it done just about a week ago. :)

If you are looking for some knitting projects to do, you can always stop by my Pinterest board- Yarn love to get some inspirations. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Till next time,
Grace