We have another Embellish Magazine challenge to send you off into the weekend. This challenge was a match in heaven for me… those colors and the addition of birds? Love it! Here is what I came up with using stamps by our sponsor, The Angel Company.
I decided in advance that I wanted a scalloped bottom, but didn’t realize until I got started that it was a little trickier than I thought since the front and the back of the card needed to be perfectly lined up. I found out the hard way that my Martha Stewart punch did not appreciate being stuffed with two layers of thick paper. Not to self: Single layers only in the future!
To avoid this problem I punched the back first. Then I punched a long strip of the Raspberry Fizz, lined it up with the back, and adhered it to the front of the card. Then I simply trimmed the excess. A pretty border to go with a very sweet sentiment. I feel all mushy inside when I think about what my Traveling Man wrote for me on Traveling Tribe yesterday about pursuing our dreams.
On that note, I wish you all a wonderful weekend with plenty of time for hoping and dreaming!
We went to see a castle today… as in, real life, kings and queens kind of castle. It was totally and completely amazing. The gardens and the ornate hand carved ceilings were unbelievable, but my favorite part was sitting on a bench with our little Tribe and having a picnic lunch. We had the best time imagining what our life would have been like if we had been rulers of the castle… but in the end we decided that there was no life we would rather have than the one we are living. We are definitely living a life with no regrets!
So, in complete contrast to all the ornate opulence we saw today, I just have a quick card to share for one of the fun challenges being hosted over at Splitcoast Stampers.
Well, all that walking and site seeing wore me out, so I’m thinking about flipping on the tv and seeing what I can find in English…. though knowing me, I’ll probably migrate to my stamp table eventually! So far all I have found are bad British mystery shows, NCIS reruns, and some show called “For Love or Money” which was a bunch of girls trying to compete for one guy (who in my opinion wasn’t even that good looking. I’d take the money!)
What do you do to relax from a long day? Are you a sit and chill kind of person or a got to be doing something kind of person?
It wasn’t a room that she would call her own for very long and no one would have faulted her had they left the walls barren for those three months, but it just wasn’t in them…
With limited supplies they put on their thinking caps and created something so simple, so sweet… so perfect that they decided these paper lanterns were something they must share with their friends!
And now, the promised tutorial!
Please check out The Travelingmama on YouTube for more video tutorials! You can even subscribe to find out when new videos come out!
I hope you all had a nice weekend! Did you find some time to relax? We had an amazing weekend full of new discoveries. I learned that making Japanese stir fry and Chinese fried rice are super simple… like we had to go back to the store twice just so we could have it all again!
We also had a “banner day” at the flea market. We found so many awesome treasures in the first few minutes that I started to worry that maybe we were going to buy out the place, but it was hard to beat the vintage jars and the retro dollhouse we found. I’ll share some pics just as soon as a can!
So, in addition to new recipes and flea market finds, we are also celebrating my new position as Design Team member for Schlosser Designs! I had the pleasure of meeting Erin at CHA back in January and I instantly fell in love with her and her stamp line. I was so happy to receive a package full of new stamps from her on Friday because that meant I had the whole weekend to play!
I’m looking forward to another exciting week here at Traveling Mama. It feels like I am learning and growing so much right now, not just as a person but as an artist as well. It’s so funny, too, because I was so afraid that we wouldn’t be able to “get back in the saddle” of living overseas, but it just feels so right for us. I really believe that we are meant to be here and I am truly happy right now. So, now we get to see what comes next and that really excites me!
Card supplies: Cardstock and twine: PaperTrey Ink, Stamps: Furnishing Fun and Hey Cupcake by Schlosser Designs; Ink: Early Espresso by SU! Other Inks by SEI
I thought we should finish out this week with a happy and sweet ending. Several of my twitter and Facebook friends requested the recipe for this beauty after I tweeted about how yummy they were yesterday. I know, kind of mean, right? But I am not one to tempt and not enable, so here’s to a happy cupcake kind of weekend for us all!
Starting with fresh ingredients is the easiest way to get yourself started off on the right foot. (Ignore the IKEA knife. That thing is about as sharp as mild cheddar. I cannot wait to have my own knives back!) Anyhoo! I digress!
Here is a more moody shot of me chopping more strawberries for the cupcakes…
Look at these ladies all lined up. I love the floral liners by [kala:s far:m] which is a butchering of their name because I don’t have all the symbols, but their inspiration page here should just be illegal. When something looks that good it is just wrong! Not that I am complaining! Now I just want them all!
And since I have kept you all waiting for this incredibly delightful recipe, let me share it with you:
3 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 c salted butter
3c sugar
6 eggs
1 c creme fraiche
1tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp almond extract (You can substitute this for vanilla extract if you prefer.)
1 1/2 c chopped or pureed fresh strawberries (I like to chop mine, but you do it the way you like it!)
1. Creme butter and sugar until creamy. 2. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. 3. Add the eggs to butter mixture and mix well. 4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the creme fraiche. 5. Add in extracts and strawberries. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes depending on how well behaved your oven is.
(Just a tip: These tend to look crusty and finished on the top, but the inside can still be uncooked. Use a knife to test them and if they are getting too brown on top just place a piece of foil over them for the last few minutes.)
Easy peasy, right? You could stop right here and enjoy your deliciously dense cakes, but if you want to walk on the wild side you can also add the strawberry buttercream icing. Here is the quick recipe:
1/4 c butter
1/4 c shortening
3 c sifted powder sugar
1/4 c strawberry puree
1. Cream the butter and shortening together until light. 2. Add the powder sugar. 3. Add half the strawberry puree (I usually use the back of my fork and mash up some strawberries and drain the juice so it won’t make the icing too watery.) 4. If you like the consistency of your icing just stop there, but if you like loads of strawberry flavor, add in the rest of the strawberries!
Now is the best part! Take pictures and share them with your friends… either that or eat and enjoy!
Because it is extremely unlikely that there will be any left over! You can; however, make a double batch and freeze half. You just wouldn’t want to ice them before putting them in a tightly sealed container or ziploc. If you are too impatient… not that I would know anything about this… you could turn this into a really great trifle because the cake is very dense like a pound cake.
Okay, well I wish you a happy weekend filled with loads of baking pleasure! Please let me know if you try the recipe. It’s always so fun and rewarding for me to hear what you all think!
I have a quick card to show you because I’ll be back in a few minutes with a fun surprise post to get your weekend off to a sweet start!
I love it when I get to play with a 2sketches4you sketch. They always have such beautiful inspiration to go along with each sketch and I love putting my own twist on it!
I decided it was time to finally stop hoarding all my Crate Paper products and I thought they were so lovely with PaperTrey Ink’s Butterfly Dreams stamp set. I stamped the butterflies, distressed the edges a bit with ink and then scuffed them up a bit more with my file by Basic Grey. The back is spritzed with Tattered Angels and some smooch shimmer and I couldn’t be happier with the result! (If you click on the images you can really get a better look at the shimmer.)
Be sure to stop back by 2sketches4you for more beautiful projects using this week’s sketch!
Other supplies: Ink, ribbon, and paper by SU!, Twine by PaperTrey Ink; Distress stickles; border punch by Martha Stewart
I’m looking forward to spending the day playing at home with this sweet boy and the rest of the Tribe. We spent much of the day down in the city yesterday, which was hot and crowded with summer tourists. So, today is all about making up for making this little man sit in a stroller and the other two walk until their feet nearly fell off!
I bought a few beautiful boxes to organize some of my craft mess supplies and the older Tribesmen made me promise not to do it until they woke up. I’ve decided to reward them for their help by spending some time stamping together, which of course they love!
This is the face that he makes whenever he sees a camera. I kid you not, even at 20 months he totally knows how to pose. You can even see him saying, “cheeeese!”
She was the thinking kind of girl. Choose an hour from the day and most likely you would find her head either in the clouds or deep in thought. It just seemed to be the way the good Lord had made her and while she found these two qualities to be an unlikely pair, she had long ago accepted that somehow they just went together for her. So, she sat and scratched her head, trying to think of a fun, creative project that would involve paper but would be something different… something unique… something special. And then she knew just what she was going to make! Paper pendants for the littlest tribesmen! They would hang over their beds and wish them happy thoughts and sweet dreams as they fell asleep every night.
But then with a sinking feeling in her gut she realized that perhaps this idea was too lofty for a girl operating with only the supplies that she could cram into a suitcase. Thankfully, she happened to be a girl who faced her challenges head on and as she rummaged through her supplies, she discovered that she had everything she needed!
Well… that is, except for string or wire or anything by which to hang her new masterpieces. Yet again she felt defeat staring her down, but wasn’t going to blink. No, siree! This girl meant business and new country or not, she was going to find something to hang these beauties from. Eying her precious twine on the wooden spools, she turned away too disturbed by the sheer volume it would require and how little would be left for other projects.
No, no. This project required a road trip. Yes, a road trip… to the local craft store in the city center. And so, with the wind in her hair and the sun bearing down on her still-pastey skin, she and the rest of her Traveling Tribe made the trek down to the city. She ignored the sweat beading on her brow… no air conditioning in the car? Not going to stop this girl! She was on a mission!
Instead she allowed her thoughts to drift and she daydreamed about how she would stage her new pendants. They would go perfectly with the frame she had created with some of her favorite paper acting as a mat. Oh, and those flea market finds… the little Playmobil and suitcase… those would add just the right touch.
By the time she arrived at the craft store she knew exactly what she wanted. Now, do not be fooled. This crafty Traveling Mama did not exit with just some extra twine. But, you probably guessed that! No, no. She left with a bag full of goodies that had even been on sale which meant the items only cost her double what they would have in the States. These were hardly details she could handle thinking about too much because she no longer lived there, but was here.
So, she went home, ran inside armed with her new little treasures and even whistled a silly tune, “Whistle While You Work,” to match her light heart and happiness in a completed project!
I am working on a video tutorial to show you just how quick and easy these are to make! I also have more ideas to share of other ways to use them! Until then!
*Supplies: Yellow patterned pendant: Lithograph from Anthology collection by Studio Calico. All other supplies by American Crafts.
I never grow weary of a clean and graphic card. I love taking a simple image and transforming into something extraordinarily simple and beautiful.
With a color combination that is interesting, it makes the design intriguing… or at least to me!
I think I will eventually leave my crisp white background in exchange for something more moody and dreamy, but for today this is what makes me happy!
Do you know that feeling? When you step back from a project you are working on and it’s just the way you had hoped? Sometimes I feel let down when there is very little response to something I formerly loved. I start to doubt myself, my talents, and my abilities… but it shouldn’t be about that, should it?
Whether we have just begun our craft or have been doing it for many years, we will only find satisfaction in what we do if we do it from our hearts. It need not be contrived or overly thought through either. Otherwise, it becomes a jumbled mess and we no longer know where we are in the middle of all of it. I think this is the key to finding our own style. Just be yourself, have fun, and don’t over think it! Which is a lot easier to say than it is to practice. For better or for worse, we are heavily influenced by the world around us and while we try so hard to be ourselves… well, I just think most of us want a place to belong. And I have noticed over the years that most clubs and groups are usually made up of people that are all similar.
So, if we are not careful we start designing based on what someone else will like or for a certain publication, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing… it just becomes a bad thing when we lose the joy.
I have had days like this, sometimes even weeks, and the thing I always go back to is this: Am I having fun? Am I proud of what I have made? If I can answer yes to both those things, then I know I creating from the heart… and whatever comes from that comes.
I decided in advance that I wanted a scalloped bottom, but didn’t realize until I got started that it was a little trickier than I thought since the front and the back of the card needed to be perfectly lined up. I found out the hard way that my Martha Stewart punch did not appreciate being stuffed with two layers of thick paper. Not to self: Single layers only in the future!
I hope you all had a nice weekend! Did you find some time to relax? We had an amazing weekend full of new discoveries. I learned that making Japanese stir fry and Chinese fried rice are super simple… like we had to go back to the store twice just so we could have it all again!
Here is a more moody shot of me chopping more strawberries for the cupcakes…
Look at these ladies all lined up. I love the floral liners by 
And since I have kept you all waiting for this incredibly delightful recipe, let me share it with you:
Easy peasy, right? You could stop right here and enjoy your deliciously dense cakes, but if you want to walk on the wild side you can also add the strawberry buttercream icing. Here is the quick recipe:
Now is the best part! Take pictures and share them with your friends… either that or eat and enjoy!
Because it is extremely unlikely that there will be any left over! You can; however, make a double batch and freeze half. You just wouldn’t want to ice them before putting them in a tightly sealed container or ziploc. If you are too impatient… not that I would know anything about this… you could turn this into a really great trifle because the cake is very dense like a pound cake.
I decided it was time to finally stop hoarding all my Crate Paper products and I thought they were so lovely with PaperTrey Ink’s 
This is the face that he makes whenever he sees a camera. I kid you not, even at 20 months he totally knows how to pose. You can even see him saying, “cheeeese!”
