B-Movie Star

Here is my new kit for the Designs in Digital Contest. This week we were asked to create a "masculine" kit. My inspiration was Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. This was the palette I chose to work from

Here is a preview of the kit. It contains 6 12x12" papers, (three patterned and three solids), one complete alpha set, and 12 scrapbook elements. You can download the mini-kit, as well as other designers kits from the Designs In Digital website. Click on the preview to go to the download page.

Here is a layout I did with the kit. I used a photo of David on our wedding day because he really looks the part in his zoot suit! I hope you can find something fun to do with the kit!

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Oh wow, I forgot to tell you about a really cool event that's going on this weekend! There is going to be a Monster Movie Marathon all weekend long - ONLINE - it's the first time, I think that something like this has been attempted, and I'm so excited to watch some really cool, cheesy or just plain scary monster movies!

The marathon webcast starts at 5:00 p.m. EST - so it's about time to get your supplies ready and head over to the 100 Years of Monster Movies website to watch!

George Romero, Elvira and a whole bunch of others are going to be participating and introducing movies! I'm so excited about this - can you tell!

So anyway, I'm going to be busy this weekend getting my monster movie fix! Hopefully you will be too! Have fun!

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I love Kiwis, but everytime I peel them, they end up looking a little mangled.  Today I ran across this most ingenious technique to remove the fuzzy skin and I thought I would share it with you!

How do you go from this:

to this:

well, I can't give away the secret! You'll just have to click and zip over to Our Best Bites for the, so- simple -why -didn't- I- think- of- this, answer. Or maybe you already knew it and I'm the last to know. That's happened before. Well, it's still pretty cool! Go check it out!

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We had a really busy weekend - Saturday was spent spring cleaning and getting ready for a brunch I was hosting on Saturday. I signed up at a site called House Party, where you can apply to host parties featuring different products. The site will send you free products for your party and then you post information and reviews about the products and party. If you're interested in checking it out, or applying just click on this link and it will take you right over.

The party that we had was a Maxwell House Coffee & Velveeta Cheese Spring Into Brunch House Party. They sent us a free box of velveeta, cups, napkins, spatulas for all the guests, a velveeta oven mit, recipe cards for the guests, and coupons for free coffee and $1.00 off boxes of velveeta.  I set up a coffee bar, and I wanted to try something different so I made a Paula Deen recipe for fudge that includes Velveeta cheese - it sounds weird I know, but I all the reviews just raved about this, so I wanted to try it. Well, I don't know what the heck I did wrong, but the fudge did not set up. It was more like fudge pudding. The taste was great, it was just very gooey! Oh sure, the kids ate it anyway - they just used a spoon - but I don't think I'll make it again. If you try it, I hope you have better luck.

The Maxwell House coffee thankfully, was great. I did not mess up brewing the coffee! I also made French Toast, and we had fruit salad as well as sliced strawberries and blueberries for the french toast, and grapes to snack on.  I think everyone had a good time. I know that Easter is such a busy weekend for most people so I thought it would be nice for our family to get together the weekend before so there wouldn't be so much to DO. There's church to get to,  like three egg hunts for the kids, and relatives to visit, and dinners to cook and eat and clean up afterwards . . . you know the deal! It's wonderful but so BUSY!

Here's the coffee bar - and even though outside there was melting snow on the ground, inside, we tried to make it cheerful and spring like, because spring just can't come fast enough for me!

Here's some details - and product placement! (Do you like how I snuck in those Maxwell House Coffee Cans? So subtle huh? I should work for the film industry!)

Here is the centerpiece that Gabby and I made the night before at 11:00 p.m. - we just had all this weird stuff laying around . . . that's how we roll! The chicken was from last easter and after you wind it up, little bubble gum eggs pop out of it's butt while it walks. That's hours of fun for me!

We also made a paper butterfly art installation - that sounds a lot more impressive than we taped up a bunch of butterfly cutouts to a glass door. If you want to be impressed, I cut all the butterflies by hand and it took about 2 hours!  That's dedication to your art!

I waited until dark to take the photo so you couldn't see the snow outside the door - it ruins the spring effect, but I have to say I'm not that skilled of a photographer to get a really nice photo of this without either my reflection, or a big flash spot . . . I'll work on it.

We taped two butterflies together then folded one side of the wings out to give it a little dimension.  This way, the butterflies also look pretty from the outside. If you printed them onto colored paper, you would get that effect also, but I printed them onto white so one side was a bit boring! Obviously I didn't think that project all the way through, but sometimes you can make it work out anyway!

Happy Spring Everyone! Let's all wish for nice weather! And gumballs to shoot from chickens butts!

p.s. the model is not to scale - notice the size of the bugs in comparison to the chicken - maybe that's she looks so shocked! "What a MEAL!"

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Here are some really nice ideas to add some flowers to your home for spring.  I've been planning a spring brunch and looking around for flower ideas and came across these - aren't they nice? I would love to have one of each.  These are so great because you can buy the flowers and do the arrangements yourself - it's more fun that way and less expensive too!

Here is a quick idea, that wouldn't be much work, a nice lemonade boquet. I love the purples and pinks contrasting with the yellow - but you know I think a monochrome arrangement in this pitcher would look lovely too.

Here's another cute idea - use your colander and make a great arrangement for your kitchen table.  Wouldn't it be fun to make and admire over coffee with your friends? Everytime you walk by it, it's going to perk you up! Aren't the artichokes a clever idea? You could use green apples instead of the artichokes and that would look adorable too!

Just look around your house, you've probably got several containers setting around that would look fabulous with a flower arrangement in it. Here are a couple of nice ideas - hey an orange peel is even a great recycling idea! You don't have to clean anything - just toss it all into the compost when it wilts!

Last, here's a really cute Easter arrangement. I just love the colored eggs in the vase - this makes me so happy!

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Here's a really sunny recipe that Gabby and I made the other day.  It turned out really good - better than we expected, and it didn't last very long around here. I found the recipe on the Taste of Home website, so you know it's good, right? Okay, so it's not the most health conscious recipe, but for a spring brunch, let's say, it's good!

Lemon Bar Trifle

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 1 cup butter, melted

LEMON LAYER:
* 1-1/2 cups sugar
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1-3/4 cups cold water
* 3 egg yolks, beaten
* 2/3 cup lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
* 3 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions
* In a small bowl, combine flour and pecans; stir in butter. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
* In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and flour. Stir in water until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
* Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the lemon juice, butter and lemon peel.
* Transfer to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature without stirring. Cover surface with waxed paper; refrigerate until chilled.
* In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Crumble the baked pecan mixture; set aside 1/2 cup for topping.
* Just before serving, in a 3-qt. trifle bowl, layer 1 cup each pecan mixture, lemon mixture and cream cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with reserved pecan mixture. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 9 servings.

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We live in the midwest and it's a really long way to any decent Thai restaurants.  I found this recipe that combines two of my favorite things - slowcooking and Thai and I was like, sure I'm going to try it and see what happens. You know what? I didn't think it was half bad, in fact it was so good my extremely picky husband ate it and he LIKED it. He wants me to make it again.

I have forgotten where I got the recipe, so I apologize to the source.  I also apologize to any Thai chefs who read this and wonder what the heck I'm trying to pass off as Thai food. Cut me some slack ok, I said it was a long way to any authentic Thai food.

SlowCooker Thai Chicken and Noodles

1 1/2 lb chicken cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into short thin strips

1 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp cornstarch

3 green onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/3 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

12 oz hot cooked vermicelli pasta

3/4 cup peanuts or cashews chopped

3/4 cup cilantro chopped

Place chicken, bell pepper, 1 cup of broth, soy sauce, garlic, and red pepper flakes in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. Mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup broth in small bown until smooth. Turn slow cooker on High. Stir in green onions, peanut butter, and cornstarch mixture. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until sauce is thickened and chicken is no longer pink. Stir well. Serve over vermicelli. Sprinkle with peanuts or cashews and cilantro.

I hope you enjoy this!

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Do the waiting for spring blues got you down? Well, here's a great idea that will cheer you up, it doesn't cost much, it's fun for the whole family and animals love to participate. What is it? BLOWING BUBBLES!

I guess blowing bubbles is like one of the first things humans did to entertain themselves, well right after they invented soap and bathing. Good for humans - they know how to have a good time!

Sorry - that's just too cute not to add to this post.

If you don't have any store bought bubbles at home ( I always keep a few bottles on hand - I have my priorites straight) you can easily make some of your own with stuff you've probably got already.

Easy Bubble Recipe:  6 parts water, 2 parts Joy dishwashing liquid (they say this brand works the best), and 3/4 part corn syrup. After you make it, store in a covered container. Use pipe cleaners or bent wire hangers for bubble wands.  Experiment with what you find at home to see what kind of bubbles you can blow.

The secret ingredient for sturdy, colorful bubbles is Glycerine (available at most pharmacies). Soft water is good for bubbles. Any water containing high levels of iron is bad for bubbles. To get the best mixture, try using distilled water. But first try it with the tap water at your house (and you may be one of those lucky people who have a built in bubble water faucet…)

Cats and dogs and little kids love to chase bubbles - it's such a blast to just run around and have a good time! You must try this. On a nice day, maybe pack some sanwiches and lemonade and make a quick picnic to the park and take your bubble solution with you - a fun family outing that costs so little! Don't forget to take your camera and capture some of those great moments!  Even if you don't have kids, take some friends or your honey - get out of the house, you've been cooped up too long. Blow some bubbles and feel young and free! Please don't wear this hairstyle though. Only this guy can pull it off, and he's struggling with it.

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Wow. I am so ready for spring, how about you? Here in the midwest it's hard not to get spring fever around this time, but the weather is so unpredictable. As soon as you're counting on winter being over, here comes a last blast to ruin all your plans!

This sunday I'm having a spring brunch for my family. I wanted to do it before Easter because everyone has plans and it doesn't always work out that we can get together, but this weekend I think everyone can make it and I hope it turns out to be fun and cheerful!  For part of my decorations I made bird silhouettes on decorative paper and just clothes pinned them to a piece of twine strung across the dining room. What could be simpler? I wanted to give the impression of spring birds perched on the clothes line - I can't wait for all the little birds to come back for the season! I have just begun seeing robins in the neighborhood so I know spring will soon be here in full force!

I made a copy of the birds for you, just in case you need to add some spring cheer to your house.  Just click on the link and download the pdf. I would recommend printing them on cardstock. You can clip them, or glue them, or punch a hole in them and string them up - or hey, even make them into a mobile! Whatever makes you happy!

Get your little birds here

Decorative papers designed by Shabby Princess

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I wanted to share with you some digital scrapbooking work that I've done recently. I entered the Next Designs In Digital Designs Star contest. It's been very challenging so far. I love scrapbooking, and I've done it since Gabby was little, but I've only been working with digital scrapbooking for about a year, so compared to the others in the contest I think I'm pretty much the newbie.

Each week is a new challenge and the kits that are designed are offered as a free download. If you like working with photos, or design you should really go check this out. It's so much fun, and you'll be addicted right away.

This week I created a small kit called "Italian Villa"  My digital scrapbooking work is done under the cristoba at "Sugar Moon" name, just to confuse you a bit! This is a preview of the kit, it contains 8 12x12" papers and 16 scrapbook elements. All files are high res jpgs or pngs.  Check out the other designer's work too - they have created some really lovely stuff that you'll love as well.  Designs in Digital also has a scrapbook shop where you can buy some really awesome papers and elements for your projects.  Okay, seriously go now and check it all out. Click on the image to take you to the kit!

Here is the preview of the kit I designed last week for the first week of competition.  Obviously it's a Sci-Fi theme . . . and we all know I'm a little geeky nerd so of course I designed it! I'm not sure if this kit is still available for download, but you can still check it out in the gallery. I hope you can do something good with them!

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