Ready, Set, Craft!

Why Craft?

2011-12-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

Thinking of all of my wonderful crafty blogging friends this holiday season as I reminisce about the days when I was a good and avid blogger... : )

http://www.babble.com/crafts-activities/kids-crafts-ideas/why-craft/

Have a beautiful and joyous Holiday!

Holiday Babbling...

2010-12-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

(...I'm making my blogging comeback slowly but surely... in the meantime, let me share with you a couple of recent craft articles over at Babble.com - some great ideas for kids' holiday projects!)

Holiday Crafts for Kids

More Holiday Crafts for Kids

Winter Crafts for Kids

December Cupkins Link Party - Christmas!

2010-12-06T09:00:00.008-05:00

It's the first Monday of the month (Happy December!) and it's time for December's edition of Cupkins.

Happy Holidays to you!

I know that I've been absent for the past month or so - and I promise you two things...

1) that I explain my absence, and get you updated on everything that's been going on in my life,

and,

2) that I'll be back on a more consistent basis soon enough!

This month's theme is Christmas of course! Now - since I've been away from blogging I've also been away (mostly) from baking and crafting.

SO - I'm going to share with you a couple of different Christmas-y, cupcake-y type of things. Is that okay? And after you've checked these out, please please please head over to visit Meg, my better Cupkins-half,

over at MegaCrafty to see her delicious creation!

1) Quick & Easy Candy Cane Cupcakes

hese were last year's Cupkins creation for December. I love the tinted frosting and putting those cute little mini candy canes to good use!

2) Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

These were a creation I whipped up for a Holiday Crafts piece I wrote for Babble.com! Simply sweet!

What kinds of cupcakes and sweet treats have you been dreaming up? Be sure to link up your ideas over at Meg's place.

And thanks for stopping by you guys, and for hanging in there with me while I've been gone. If you are still out there - feel free to leave me a comment and let me know so. I'd love to "hear" from you!

Happy Baking!

Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

2010-11-11T10:40:00.000-05:00

I hope you're all having a wonderful week! If you have a sec - pop on over to Babble.com to take a look at my Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids piece. Direct link HERE.

November Cupkins Link Party!

2010-11-08T07:45:00.001-05:00

As Cupkins drew nearer and nearer this month I became more and more anxious and overwhelmed. While I LOVE Cupkins, and cupcakes and muffins in general - you all know how busy and crazy my life is right now, I was panicked about WHAT to bake, and WHEN to bake it! I had no time to plan or test bake, and I was stressing out about the whole thing!

That's when I realized that has the holidays get closer - we all feel these same frantic feelings at one point or another - so for my sake, and yours, I took a deep breath - and decided to keep it simple. And you know what? Sometimes simple IS better - because these mini cupcakes are divine... and so easy! They're small, so you can squeeze one or two in even if you're full from Turkey Day dinner, and they are simple and quick to make - so you can spend the rest of Thanksgiving worrying about the turkey and the sweet potatoes!

Oh, and forgive the dark photos... we had to make a run to take some food to friends in the hospital and I lost my light. C'est la vie.

Spiced Pumpkin Mini Cupcakes

I was inspired by these darling little mini cupcake wrappers by Wilton. So much pumpkin-y cuteness!

Combine a box of yellow cake mix, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 1 cup of canned pumpkin, 4 eggs, and 1/2 tsp each of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon in a standing mixer. Fill baking cups 2/3 full with cupcake mixture and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes (keep a close eye on them - mini cupcakes especially burn on the bottoms very easily if they are left in too long!)

Remove from oven and allow to cool...

While the cupcakes are cooling, whip up some cream cheese frosting. Mix 1 stick of butter and 1 block of cream cheese until combined, then add 4 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time. Add in 2 tbsp of vanilla extract and mix well. Then pipe or spread onto cupcakes...

After piping, I added just a sprinkle of orange sugar to decorate...

Yum! Delicious! Enjoy!

Now head over to Meg's place to check out her yummy looking Apple Pie Muffins... mmmm................

Now it's time for you to share YOUR Thanksgiving cupcake and muffin ideas! Leave a link to your recipes, decorating tips, and more! We'd love to salivate over your creations, too! The link party will stay open until 11:59PM on Tuesday - so link up and tell your friends!

Cupkins Link Party TOMORROW!

2010-11-07T14:40:00.000-05:00

Good news, friends! I may be busy - but Cupkins lives on! Tomorrow (Monday) is our November Cupkins link party right here at Ready, Set, Craft! So get your bake on today and stop back by tomorrow to link up your cupcakes or muffins with a Thanksgiving theme! Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Change

2010-11-04T12:37:00.002-04:00

Forgive me... dear friends and readers. Forgive me first for being such an awfully inconsistent and mostly absent blogger over the past couple of weeks... and forgive me second for this post not being craft-related at all. If you'd like to stop reading now - please do - I won't be offended I promise!

The past couple of weeks have been chock full of highs and lows.

On a (very) high note, I have accepted a full-time job offer with Gilda's Club - a wonderful organization that works to provide support, resources, and programs to patients and family members dealing with cancer and/or grief. I'll be working primarily in special event fundraising - which is my favorite area of development - and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of such a wonderful organization with a great mission and community presence. It is humbling to be a part of such important work in the fight against Cancer.

On a much lower note, a dear friend of ours has been in the hospital all this week with complications from Myasthenia gravis and has been very sick. We've been doing everything we can do help the family - and were thrilled to hear that he gets to come home late tonight. Thoughts and prayers and good juju are most certainly appreciated as we hope for a speed recovery.

Another high is that we're celebrating the birth of my friend Cindy's son Beckett Paul Bylsma! Beckett was born to proud parents Cindy and Dustin and big brother Caleb yesterday morning. I look forward to visiting them in the hospital this afternoon and meeting the little guy.

With all of these events and more, I've been working my butt off trying to get as much work done on my thesis as possible (I didn't anticipate going back to work until AFTER my thesis was completed!) and finish up a number of freelance and home projects before I start at Gilda's Club. Tomorrow is my first day - and I still have about a million and one things to do between now and then!

As a result of all of these changes in my life - I'm not sure how much blogging I'm going to be able to do in the next couple of months. I really can't say! I DO plan on continuing Ready, Set, Craft! - you just may have to live with continued inconsistency until we get through the holidays! I do hope you understand!

For the time being, I am going to try to post a couple of times a week, and go from there. Sometimes it may be more often, and some weeks I may not get to posting at all. I'll have a much better idea once I get into a new routine and get ahold of my schedule.

I value you all so much - and am always thrilled to read your comments, get your e-mails, and see photos of your own projects you've completed that have been inspired by this blog. What an honor to have all of you in my life. Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Joanne : )

Halloween Recap Part 2

2010-11-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

Some shots from Halloween dinner (Texas style chili and pasta, pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting), goody bags for the little ones (see yesterday's post) and Trick or Treating...

Have a great Tuesday!

Halloween Recap Part 1

2010-11-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

I guess this is actually part two - since I already shared our pumpkin carving with you! I hope that you had a wonderful Halloween weekend! We had a fabulous weekend - carving pumpkins, a birthday party, Trick or Treating and more. Lots and lots of beautiful memories made!

For the little ones in my life - I put together some Halloween gift bags with tags. I had the best intentions for the longest time to SEW the bags themselves out of felt - I have all the supplies and everything - but time got away with me and lots of exciting changes have been happening in my life this past week (more on that to come later this week...) and I just ran out of time.

I used the Fang-Tastic stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog. I love this set and have used it more than anything else in the mini catalog thus far. This set will only be available until December 31. Visit my online store today if you'd like to pick up this set for yourself - it's so cute!

The vampires were the boys' bags and the witches indicated the girls' bags...

I inked the edges of the white cardstock using a Pumpkin Pie ink pad for an extra spooky effect...

I have a thing for curling ribbon. Putting these together got me excited about Christmas wrapping. I LOVE to wrap Christmas gifts!

I thought they turned out really cute - and the kids certainly enjoyed them! I filled them with sweet treats (of course!), plus a Halloween book, some play doh, and more.

More Halloween recaps and Trick or Treating photos tomorrow! Happy Monday!

Pumpkin Carving 2010

2010-10-30T11:36:00.000-04:00

Every year we get together with our friends Cindy and Dustin to carve pumpkins. In fact - this year marked the 5th Anniversary of our annual pumpkin carving activities! As always, it was a lot of fun, and I think this year's pumpkins were our best ever!

Before...

I have a thing about making chocolate covered pretzels lately...

Travis' famous artichoke dip... a Halloween tradition...

Action shots...

Cindy and I...

The finished products!

Happy Halloween!

Skeleton Bone Pretzels

2010-10-27T11:35:00.000-04:00

Hello, Baby!

2010-10-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

I put together yet another baby gift this weekend - and while I can't share what's inside this bag (which is a simple drawstring bag I sewed myself with some wide ribbon as a closure) since its recipient may very well be reading, I can tell you about the tag I made for it.

In fact, I liked the tag so much that I used the entire Animal Stories stamp set to create a set of tags to stash away for the next baby gift. Because you know there's lots more to come!

Gift tags are such a useful thing to have a stash of, don't you think?

The ink colors I used for the images were More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Pacific Point. I inked the sentiment and edges of the circles in Early Espresso, and used the 1 3/4 inch circle punch and the XL scallop circle punch with some hemp twine to create the tags. The "hello baby" sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set. Purchase all of these products and more on my Stampin' Up! website.

Quick Birthday Card & Wrapping

2010-10-25T10:57:00.001-04:00

One of my customer's and friends, Kim, had a birthday party for her daughter Zoe this weekend. Zoe comes to stamp a stacks with Kim and loves to stamp - so I thought it was only fitting that I sent a little hand stamped card and gift over for her. It was a great excuse to play with a pink and girly design!

I used the Birthday Bakery stamp set, which is a level one hostess set, on pretty in pink cardstock with melon mambo ink. I colored in the cupcake with blender pens and of course, some glitter applied with a 2-way glue pen. To finish, I used some raven lace trim from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I stamped an image inside the card, in the bottom right corner. I almost never stamp images or sentiments on the inside of a card, I just leave it blank. I think I was having too much fun and wanted the opportunity to add more glitter!

I had a lunch sack style pink paper bag that I put some little treats in and used the same lace ribbon and stamps (and yes, more glitter!) to coordinate it with the card.

It's not often I get to design a card for a child - so this was extra fun. Come to think of it, it's not often I get to design a card that's not for a workshop, stamp a stack, or other stamping event. This was a lot of glittery fun! Happy Monday!

To order any of the Stampin' Up! products shown here, head to my online store and click on "Shop Now" To find out how you can earn the Birthday Bakery hostess set for FREE, contact me about hosting a workshop at joanneroehm@yahoo.com

Christmas Stamp A Stacks / Open Studios

2010-10-22T15:30:00.000-04:00

It's never too soon to be thinking about Christmas Cards! I'm hosting four Christmas card making events in November and December to help you get your cards done before the holiday madness sets in.

Each event will last four hours (come for some or all of the time), I'll have snacks and beverages on hand - and you have two card assembly options:

1) Stamp A Stack: Create 16 cards for $20 or double up and make 32 cards for $35 - envelopes included. I'll have four sets of four designs of cards for you to choose from ahead of time, and everything will be cut and prepped ready for you to stamp and assemble. Bring your own adhesive, everything else is included.

2) Design your own cards: Order your Christmas card materials ahead of time and come use my space, Big Shot Machine, inks etc. to make your own. I'll be on hand to help with design ideas and choices. Bring your own cardstock, accessories, and adhesive.

Let me know if you have any questions. Early RSVP's are very much appreciated to joanneroehm@yahoo.com. Group orders with FREE SHIPPING will be going in every two weeks or so between now and the holidays if you need me to order anything for you.

I'd love to help you create beautiful handmade cards that will be the envy of your friends and family! See you soon!

Stamp A Stack 1 - Grand Rapids - November 6th from 10:00am to 2:00pm
Stamp A Stack 2 - Tecumseh - November 19th from 6:00pm to 10:00pm
Stamp A Stack 3 - Grand Rapids - November 21st from 12:00-4:00pm
Stamp A Stack 4 - Grand Rapids - December 3rd from 6:00-10:00pm

Stamp Set Option 1: Northern Flurry

Stamp Set Option 2: Cute Christmas

Stamp Set Option 3: Sparkly & Bright

Stamp Set Option 4: Season of Joy

Pumpkin Patch & Halloween Decorations!

2010-10-21T11:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Thursday, folks! Just one more day until the weekend! There hasn't been much time for crafting this week (boo!) but we did carve out time (no pun intended!) to do a couple of fun fall things. On Tuesday night we headed out to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, and then last night we did a little Halloween decorating. I thought I'd share some photos with you.

For the past three years we've headed to a local farm to pick our pumpkins with our good friends the Hill Family. Usually we go on a weekend, but our schedules were extra packed this year so we ended up doing a weeknight. It was actually a lot more relaxed, and very beautiful.

Anthony is always in charge of the wagon. Thank goodness! That sucker gets heavy with seven peoples' pumpkins in it!

We played on the playground and checked out the farm animals while we were there...

And of course we couldn't leave without two things: 1) Sitting down and gorging on delicious homemade donuts and apple cider...

And flagging someone down to take our annual group photo. Maybe I'm jinxing it by saying so, but somehow we ALWAYS end up getting a good picture of EVERYONE! : ) Such a wonderful memory to keep each year!

I've never really decorated the exterior of our home for Halloween before. Still being relatively new homeowners we don't have a lot of either Halloween or Christmas outdoor decorations, or the money to spend a lot of cash to buy them. My Mum always says that you accumulate holiday decor over the years, so I'm kind of going with her philosophy and building our collection as we go along.

We have an enclosed porch and I change the tablecloth of our table out there for each season, so I've got the Halloween table cloth on now...

I picked up a box of orange lights for $3 and we hung them on some preexisting hooks in our front porch. It took all of five minutes! I figure I'll try to grab some more lights on clearance after Halloween for next year. We then hung some ghosts from the lights - I was worried they wouldn't show up from the outside but you can see them really clearly, and at night the orange lights case a spooky glow over them!

A couple of $1 bags of cobwebs cover our bushes below the porch windows. I need some big plastic spiders or something to put in them...

Our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. Pleas disregard the extreme need for our front steps to be painted! Next year... : )

To finish it off I'd really love some of those fake gravestones in front of the bushes. Again, maybe I can get some on clearance after Halloween for next year. All in all, we decorated (minus the pumpkins and mums, which will stay until closer to Thanksgiving) for about $7. Deal!

I hope you're enjoying the fall season as much as I am!

Get Ready for November Cupkins!

2010-10-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

Can you believe how fast the month of October is flying by? It's incredible! It's time already to start thinking about and planning for November Cupkins... and Meg and I want YOU to join our Cupkins linkup party!

Our November edition of Cupkins and the link party will take place on Monday November 8th and our theme is, of course, Thanksgiving! We want to see your cupcake and/or muffin recipes, decorating ideas, and tips!

November's link party will be hosted right here on Ready, Set, Craft! So get your ideas together, get baking, and link up here on Monday November 8th!

To see previous Cupkins post click HERE, and to view last month's link party head HERE.

Happy Baking!

Handmade Holiday Promotion

2010-10-19T09:52:00.000-04:00

Attention Stampers! Today is the launch of Stampin' Up!'s Handmade Holiday Promotion. Lots of 20% off deals on Holiday stamps, paper, and more. This is a perfect opportunity for those of you who want to make your own Christmas cards, but don't know where to start!

ABC Holiday 1010 US

You can view all of the bundle items individually in my online store HERE. Drop me a note at readysetcraft@yahoo.com if you have any questions or would like to take advantage of this great promotion!

Happy Tuesday!

Flowers & Glitter

2010-10-18T13:50:00.001-04:00

Quick post today - it's been a busy start to a busy week. But I am feeling lots better - thanks for all the get better wishes! I took a break from Halloween and Christmas projects to make a couple of sets of cards with the Flower Fancy stamp set. Please excuse the kind of dark cell phone pictures!

I'm obsessed with glitter on my projects lately, and used Dazzling Diamonds on both these card sets. I used a two way glue pen to adhere the glitter, it's fabulous because it's permanent, goes on blue and dries clear and has a narrow marker-like tip, so you can see exactly what you're doing and place the glitter exactly where you want it.

I made one set to give as a gift...

and one set to send out to some customers...

Happy Monday! Have a creative week!

Week in Review

2010-10-16T09:00:00.001-04:00

Each weekend in my Week in Review post I share with you some of my favorite crafty links I've come across during the week, from all over the blogosphere. Enjoy!

I just adore this Ribbon Rose Ring at Craftster via Craft Gossip.

So pretty - wouldn't these make lovely gifts for the Holidays?

This is an adorable pillow case dress for Halloween from Sugar Bee. It would look darling layered over a long-sleeve tee and with a black cardigan and tights to go out trick or treating in!

I fell in love with these booties when I first saw them over at Rachel's blog. HipKnitIzed provides the full tutorial - and it really does look like a quick and easy project! I'm thinking these would be lovely Christmas gifts for all the little babies in my life!

And finally, not so much a project but I just LOVED Censational Girl's post on Holiday Housekeeping this week. Some great times and ideas for getting organized for the holiday season. Be sure to check it out!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Weekend Football Dip: Another Ready, Set, Craft! Rerun

2010-10-15T08:30:00.003-04:00

I'm still feeling a little under the weather, so here's a great game-day snack going into the weekend that I posted last fall. Enjoy!

Football season is in full swing and as the weather gets cooler, my husband spends many a weekend afternoon watching "the big game" with friends or with our puppy... : ) This is a fast, super-easy dip to throw together for a half-time snack that's a surefire crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

Tortilla chips (for dipping)
1 block cream cheese
1 can hormel chili - no beans
shredded cheese

Melt cream cheese in the microwave until soft and gooey.

Add chili and mix together.

Sprinkle liberally with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot with tortilla chips for dipping. ENJOY!

Happy Weekend!

Sick Day - Halloween Reruns

2010-10-14T09:00:00.002-04:00

Happy Thursday, folks! How are you? I've succombed to my first bug of the fall season and have been under the weather the past couple of days. I've got a busy weekend coming up and an easier busier few weeks ahead so I'm taking some time to just REST.

In light of that, here are a few Halloween reruns from last year to tide you over until I'm back on my feet again. Until then, take care of yourselves and stay healthy!

Teeny tiny pumpkin shrinky dink charms (full post here)

Cupcake Halloween costumes via Food Network Magazine (full post here)

Quick and easy Halloween Goody Bags (full post here)

What Halloween goodies have you been crafting up?

Christmas Cards - Phase 1

2010-10-13T08:30:00.001-04:00

Happy Wednesday, friends! How's the weather where you are? It can't make its mind up here in Michigan. One day it's 80 degrees and sunshiney and the next day there's a crisp Fall chill in the air! I'm not wishing for snow or anything, but all the ups and downs are wreaking havoc on my joints and sinuses - that's for sure! Consistency would be nice!

Anyhow, with the holidays (ever so quickly) approaching, I'm giving Christmas cards more and more thought. In addition to my own, and helping my customers and friends pick out theirs, I've got several custom orders I'm working on for people - which is great fun!

I wanted to make sure I got my customer Christmas cards done first, so I can get them out with my events calender and Stampin' Up! promotion info by November 1. I loved using the new 1/4 inch taffeta ribbons and some basic rhinestones to add a little bling on top of the Christmas tree on these cards.

And I am incredibly excited about custom thank you cards for my dear friend Meg (remember her baby shower?) I've designed Christmas thank you cards for her lovely little gal, Ellie, and Meg and I will assemble them. I'm loving the girly pink and glitter!

I'm sure Ellie would help too, if she could, but for now she'll just provide the cuteness inspiration!

(Yup, she's wearing one of my bibs!)

Have you started thinking about your Christmas cards yet? Or other handmade gifts? I'd love to know what you're working on!

Guest Post: Skeleton Wreath

2010-10-12T08:30:00.002-04:00

I'm so lucky to have my dear, dear blog friend Meg here today to share a very creepy tutorial with you. She's crazy for Halloween and always has creative ideas for all kinds of Halloween decor, treats and more! Enjoy her skeleton wreath tutorial, then head over to her blog for more spooky stuff!

Hi there, I'm Meg from Mega•Spooky (and Mega•Crafty). I am really excited that Joanne asked me to guest post here are Ready, Set, Craft! Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. I love decorating for it and I also love crafting, so anytime I get to combine the two I'm wildly happy.

Today the project I'm going to share is a skeleton wreath. It's made from a styrofoam skeleton that came in a bag with all the bones separate (This exact product or something like it seems to be readily available in the Halloween decoration section of most chain home stores.)

I started by laying out the bones and evaluating all the pieces, dry stacking them a few times to get a feel for the shape and size of the wreath.

For me the shape worked best if I used the flatter pieces- hips, hands, feet- to make my base. Each piece overlapped the other so that I could glue them to each other.

I found this glue in the craft store and it worked perfectly.

I wanted the skull to greet all my guests face to face so I gave it a prominent spot at the top, then worked my way around the wreath building the second layers of bones using mostly the leg and arm pieces (boy doesn't that sound strange in a wreath tutorial).

Once I had two solid layers I was left with some of the skinnier flat bones and some smaller little ones (I'm not a doctor and I'm really not sure which bones these are so I'll stick with my highly technical term of "the rest".)

I took "the rest" and stuck them in wherever I thought it felt a little bare.

The last piece of the skeleton I added to the wreath was the jaw (and in my opinion it was the best piece- I think it really makes the whole thing).

This was the only piece that needed to be propped up until the glue dried, everything else stayed in place on it's own.

I let the wreath dry flat overnight and the next day it was ready to hang. Since the skeleton is foam it's very light and only needed to sit on a small nail to hang it (but you could attach some floral wire and use a small hook it needed).

It's a little creepy (my husband shakes his head every time he looks at it and says how wrong it is) but I love the unexpected for Halloween! (Besides I think he secretly likes it.)

Thanks for checking out my project I hope you have a Happy Halloween.

Tutorial: Halloween Treat Bags

2010-10-11T08:30:00.000-04:00

Week in Review

2010-10-09T09:30:00.001-04:00

Each weekend in my Week in Review post I share with you some of my favorite crafty links I've come across during the week, from all over the blogosphere. This week there were three that stood out to me - enjoy!

Easy Paper Cupcake Stands at Bird Crafts. You know I'll be trying these!

Delicious looking Homemade Chicken Soup at The Creative Place. Yum!

Push Pins with a whole lotta bling at A Pretty Cool Life. Love all these colors!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Artprize

2010-10-08T08:30:00.004-04:00

Have you heard about Artprize?

If you live here in Grand Rapids then you can't help but hear about it - but for those of you all over the country (and world!) I'm curious if you've heard about this interesting event that's in it's second year.

According to the Artprize website...

About ArtPrize®
Designed as a very different art competition, the goal is for the general public and artists to collide, exchange ideas and come away changed.

2010 in brief

Grand Rapids, MI USA
September 22 - October 10

Part arts festival, part social experiment--this international contest is decided solely by public vote.

$449,000 prize ($250,000 to 1st place)

Top 10 entries receive a prize

Artists can submit one entry

Property in downtown Grand Rapids can be a venue

Venues choose the artists they exhibit

Anyone attending the event can vote

Winner is determined by public vote

Artprize is fascintating to me on so many levels. Fascinating because it's having such a huge economic impact on downtown Grand Rapids, fasicnating because it's exposing an entire community to art, and fascinating because social media is a core component to its very being. It's pretty exciting.

Throughout the city there are orange venue signs everywhere you look - and hundreds of businesses and other locations are hosting artists and their pieces.

(I asked Travis to strike an "Artpize-type pose" and this (above) is what he came up with!

We're in the second week of Artprize right now, and we were downtown last night looking at some of the Top Ten pieces. They really run the gamut of visual and performance art pieces.

(You can read about the Top Ten in detail, with all the artist info, here)

This piece may look like a painting from afar, but it is made entirely of mosaic stained glass...

This huge penny is made entirely of pennies... (check out the little boy's smile as he's posing for a photo!)

This is painted on transparent sheets of plastic and hung in a clear display box. The photos don't do it justice. Really, really interesting...

And this huge drawing was done entirely in pencil. Absolutely amazing...

If you're in or close to Michigan, I encourage you to come check out Artprize now, or in the future. Voting closed for this year's Top Ten on Wednesday night (in fact, by the time this posts, they will have already announced the winner) but the art will remain all over town until October 10.

It will be interesting to see how the contest evolves as time goes by, and the project is certainly not without some flaws, but the most important thing in my eyes is the 100's of 1,000's of people that are getting out there and looking at art, having an opinion about it, and talking about it with their kids. For that reason alone, maybe every city should have an Artprize...

http://www.artprize.org/

Halloween Crafts for Kids

2010-10-07T07:31:00.000-04:00

My latest article "Halloween Crafts for Kids" is up today over at Babble.com - head HERE to check it out, and be sure to spend some time getting crafty with YOUR kids this Halloween!

Halloween Cards

2010-10-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

Thinking about making Halloween cards this year? I've had a great time designing and making Halloween cards for my stamping events and to send to family and friends, and have found lots of inspiration from customers and fellow demonstrators (some of their ideas, and/or variations of them, are featured below.) Making Halloween cards is so easy with all of Stampin' Up!'s cute supplies! Here are some ideas, and the products I've used to make them.

Stamp Sets:

Fang-tastic, Batty for You, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Seasonal Sentiments, Web Stampin' Around Wheel

Inks:

Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Jet Black Stazon

Cardstock:

Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Punches:

1 3/8 Circle Punch, 1 3/4 Circle Punch, 1 3/4 Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge

Accessories:

Raven ribbon, White 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon, Wicken Fun designer series paper, White satin ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Snail monoadhesive

Tools:

Big Shot Machine, Spiderweb Embossing Folder, Aqua Painters, Scallop Envelope Die

Purchase any of these products and more 24/7 at my online store!

And for all you Michiganders - we'll be making some of these cards at my Halloween Stamp A Stack this Saturday, October 9 at 9am at my home in Grand Rapids. I still have spots open in class so drop me a note if you'd like to join us! Happy Halloween!

October Cupkins: Candy Corn Cupcakes!

2010-10-04T09:00:00.005-04:00

It's the first Monday of the month (how did it get to be October already?!) and it's time for October's edition of Cupkins, and our first-ever Cupkins link party! Woohoo! I can't wait to see all of your creations! This month's theme is Halloween, and Meg and I have each created some spooky cupcakes to share with you! Check out my Candy Corn Cupcakes below, then head over to MegaCrafty to see Meg's Cauldron Cupcakes, and link up YOUR Halloween themed cupcake and muffin recipes, decorating ideas, etc. Enjoy!

To make Candy Corn Cupcakes, bake a batch of your favorite flavor of cupcake. I chose chocolate for mine, and used an abridged box mix (combine dry contents of box mix + 1 cup water + 3 eggs + 1 stick of melted butter) for consistency. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes. (You can't see very clearly, but even my cupcake liners have candy corn on them!)

Whip up some vanilla frosting (recipe here) and use a 2D tip on a large piping bag to frost. Starting on the outside edge, pipe two swirls of frosting, one directly on top of the other, leaving a hole in the center. Fill hole with as much candy corn as you can!

Add orange and yellow sprinkles for the perfect finish, and enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Week in Review

2010-10-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

Each weekend in my Week in Review post I share with you some of my favorite crafty links I've come across during the week, from all over the blogosphere. Enjoy!

Coffee Bag Rugs at Maiden Jane and icraft at Bee Wise Bags

Polymer Clay Leaves at MegaCrafty

Newspaper Chains at Maya Made

Paper Towel Flower tutorial at Design by Night

Fall Table Runner at Make It and Love It

Have a lovely, crafty weekend!

Halloween Sneaks!

2010-10-01T12:20:00.001-04:00

I've been working on a Halloween Crafts for Kids article for Babble.com and I am very excited about these particular projects! Unfortunately, I can't show them to you just yet, but I CAN give you a little teaser with some sneak peaks... don't you just love Halloween?

Oh, and don't forget to get your baking hat on and whip up some Halloween inspired muffins or cupcakes this weekend for Monday's Halloween edition of Cupkins! Meg will be hosting the link party - so be sure to post your creations and link up on her site!

Have a great weekend - and be sure to pop in tomorrow for my week in review post featuring inspired ideas from all over the web!

(kind of weak) Month in Review: September

2010-09-30T00:01:00.002-04:00

Usually when I put together month-in-review posts, I'm amazed at how much crafting has taken place during the month - even when it seemed like not much at the time. September was busy - I came off a bit of a summer blogging hiatus - so when it came to putting together this month's review I was excited to see what I'd accomplished. Well, folks - it's not a lot! Not compared to other months at least! Ah well, sometimes there's lots of time to craft and sometimes there isn't - guess this just wasn't my month!

Here's a recap, nonetheless, of a few projects from Ready, Set, Craft! during the month of September:

There was a lot of baby stuff going on, from cards to baby bibs to packaging. Oh, and a great guest post for a diaper wet bag by Arwen!

There was some card marking this month. I've loved all of my stamping workshops and togethers over the past month. Thanks to hostesses Sue and Lindsey, and to everyone who came out to stamp a stacks and workshops. So much fun!

There was a special box for a special little guy...

And of course a month can't go by on Ready, Set, Craft! without some cupcakes! We celebrated the 1st Anniversary of the Cupkins project and I made some Michigan State football themed cupcakes!

For more info on any of these projects (and more!) head to the September archives... --------------------->

What about you, reader? How has your crafty mojo been lately? Was September a productive month for you? Or are you ready to start fresh in October?

Halloween Project Ideas

2010-09-29T00:01:00.004-04:00

I've got Halloween on the brain! I'm working on my next kids craft article for Babble.com and all kinds of projects and gifts for my home and friends. Here are a few clever Halloween projects from around the web that I've found inspiring...

Coffee filter cobwebs at MegaSpooky

Halloween drinks at Celebrations

Halloween Trick or Treat Wreath at Craft-O-Maniac

Pumpkin Balloons by Martha

Halloween Spooky Swirl Vase at The Swell Life

Have a neat Halloween project to share? Leave us a link in the comments! And don't forget that our Halloween edition of Cupkins is coming up on Monday - get planning and baking and get ready to join our link party!

TGI-Tuesday?

2010-09-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

Phew!

The weekend was such a busy one that it took all of Monday for me to regroup, reorganize, and get back on the wagon! I spent two days over on the east side of Michigan hosting a stamp a stack for my stampers over there and doing a workshop for wonderful hostess, Sue. There was lots of stamping and lots of socializing - but also lots of driving for me - which was the only downside to the weekend!

Here are a few picks of Sue's workshop guests working away on their make and take projects...

And of my East Side Stampers working away on their Halloween cards at the stamp a stack...

All of this stamping has got me thinking about the holidays for sure! I'll have a few Halloween projects to share with you this week, and then I'm already thinking about Christmas!!!

(I've been stamping away making up Christmas card samples for my customers!)

How about you? Are the holidays on your mind, or is it too early to start planning?

Halloween-themed First Birthday Party Invites

2010-09-24T00:01:00.002-04:00

This week I had the pleasure of working with fellow blogger, friend and crafty gal Arwen (catch her guest post on RSC here and check out her mommy blog here,) on some first birthday invitations for her little boy. She's doing a Halloween themed birthday party and it's going to be so very cute!

We used the Spider Web embossing folder for the Big Shot machine (seriously my favorite holiday product thus far!) and cardstock in Tangerine Tango, Basic Black and Whisper White.

The little vampire stamp is from the Fang-tastic stamp set. So very cute! Arwen did a great job watercoloring all of the images using an Aqua Painter and inks in Tangerine Tango, Old Olive, Basic Black and Rich Razzleberry.
On the inside we used the spider from the Batty for You stamp set to create a spooky effect.

Thanks so much for allowing me to help you create these invitations, Arwen! Can't wait to come up with some equally cute thank you cards for you! Have a great birthday party!

Stamp Set Spotlight: Because I Care

2010-09-23T00:01:00.001-04:00

As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I love sharing stamping with crafters seasoned and new. One wonderful way that I get to do this is by going out to peoples' homes and doing workshops. I get to meet some great people and introduce them to Stampin' Up! and I always have a blast.

After each workshop, once people have received their orders, I like to send a card to each of my new customers - thanking them once again for their order and making sure they have my contact information in case they have any questions about their products, or would like more information about Stampin' Up!

For my September workshop attendees I used the "Because I Care" level 1 hostess stamp set to make some simple cards. I just love the big beautiful hydrangea stamp - so pretty!

I used Crumb Cake cardstock for the card itself, then Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Whisper White cardstock pieces for the highlights. I used the Scallop Trim Border Punch on the piece of Pear Pizzazz cardstock, and colored the main image with Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz Stampin' Write markers.

You can find all of these materials (and more!) in my online Stampin' Up! store, and you can earn your own "Because I Care" stamp set by hosting a workshop of $150 or more. If you're a Michigander, I can squeeze in just a couple of additional workshops before the holidays - if you're interested just let me know!

Happy Thursday!

Giveaway Winner, September Cupkins + October Link Party Info!

2010-09-22T00:01:00.067-04:00

For September's edition of Cupkins, Meg and I chose Football as our theme! I don't know about you - but September 1 hit and my husband has been firmly planted on the couch with a football game on ever since! Okay, I exaggerate, but we all know that football is a big deal at this time of year - and even though I'm not a huge fan of the sport myself, I do love having people over for the games and enjoying some tasty football grub!

Here's what we came up with... my "Game Day Cupcakes" and Meg's "Chili Cheese Cornbread Mini Muffins"

Game Day Cupcakes How-To:

I love these cupcakes because they're so festive - and you can customize the colors for whatever team(s) are playing! My husband is a big Michigan State University fan, so I went with green and white for this batch!

Combine one box of vanilla cake mix with three eggs, one stick of butter (melted) and 1 cup of water in a stand mixer. Divide the batter in half and color as desired.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full, including some of each batter. Using a knife or toothpick, swirl the two colors of batter around in the liner to gently combine.

Bake cupcakes for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees - one tray at a time. Keep a close eye on them - you want them to bake all the way through but not brown - it ruins the color. And be sure to use white cupcake liners so you can see the swirls of color going through the cupcakes!

For the frosting, combine one large jar of marshmallow fluff (in the ice cream topping aisle) and three sticks of softened butter in a stand mixer. Once combined, add 2 tsp of vanilla extract. With stand mixer on low, gradually add poweder sugar until desired texture is reached (generally about 1 - 2 cups, but I always eyeball it) Seperate into two bowls and color with food coloring.

One your cupcakes are cooled completely (look how pretty!) you're ready to frost...

Pipe one and a half circles of one color frosting using a 2D or 1M large tip. Switch colors (goes without saying, but you'll need two piping bags and two matching tips for this - since you'll be alternating between) and complete the swirl. I'm a big frosting girl - so I piled it high, but you can use less frosting and keep your swirls closer to the cupcake if you like!

Top with sprinkles in corresponding colors. Even if that means donning gloves and picking through the Christmas red, white and green sprinkles to get out the green and white ones... : )

If you wanted to get fancier still, you could create little flags on the end of toothpicks with your teams logos or name on them. The possibilites are endless!

Let me know if you try these - I'd love to see photos of different team cupcakes!

Next month is the first month in our Cupkins link party, it will be held on Monday October 4 - and the theme is Halloween! We'd LOVE to have you play along! All you have to do is share a photo, tutorial, recipe, or decorating tip for a Halloween inspired cupcake or muffin on your blog, then head over to Meg's blog to link it up to our Cupkins party. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

And finally, it's time to reveal the winner of Monday's Cupkins Anniversary Giveaway! The Random Number Generator chose...

ERIN RUSSELL!

Drop me a note at readysetcraft@yahoo.com Erin, so you can claim your cupcake stamp set and ink pad!

And don't forget to head over to Meg's place to check out her savory mini muffins perfect for a game day snack, and to find out the winner of HER contest!

Cupkins Year-In-Review, and Anniversary Giveaway!

2010-09-20T00:01:00.106-04:00

It's crazy to me to think that this month, Meg at MegaCrafty and I are celebrating the first anniversary of our Cupkins collaboration. In case you've been under a rock for the past year (or at the very least, are new to this blog!), Meg and I join forces on the first Monday of the month for Cupkins. We pick a theme or ingredient and share a both a cupcake and a muffin recipe with you.

We've had a great time over the past year, sharing our recipes and ideas with you. Thank you all for your lovely comments, and for the Cupkins features on other blogs. Let's take a look back on the past year in Cupkins - in case you missed anything!

(top to bottom, left to right)

1. Apple Cider Muffins

2. Caramel Apple Cupcakes

3. Jack O'Lantern Muffins

4. Spooky Eyeball Cupcakes

5. Corn Muffin Stuffin

6. Chocolate Turkey Cupcakes

7. Cranberry Orange Muffins

8. Sweet Potato Cupcakes

9. Egg Nog Muffins

10. Candy Cane Cupcakes

11. Pineapple Orange Sunrise Muffins

12. Light Lemon Cupcakes

13. Strawberry & Chocolate Champagne Muffins

14. Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

13. Guinness Spiced Muffins

14. Double Chocolate Irish Creme Cupcakes

15. Daffodil Lemon Muffins

16. Spring Swirl Cupcakes

17. Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

18. Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

19. Chocolate Stout Muffins

20. Chocolate Banana "Dad" Cupcakes

21. 4th of July Red, White & Blueberry Muffins

22. Red, White & Blue Cupcakes

23. Toasted Coconut & Dark Chocolate Chunk Muffins

24. Pina Colada Cupcakes

25. Trail Mix Muffins

26. S'Mores Cupcakes

When thinking about the year ahead, we knew we wanted to continue with our collaboration - but make it even bigger and better! Here's where you come in!

We're going to turn Cupkins into a link party! Meg and I will now announce the Cupkins theme a month ahead of time and decide on a post date(usually the first Monday of each month, unless there is a holiday). We'll take turns hosting the link party each month.

We'd really love for anyone who's been following Cupkins, or is new to Cupkins to join in the fun! Share your creativity, link up with a picture, a recipe, a how-to for a cupcake or a muffin that fits the theme. Stay tuned for more details - we'll announce the October link party details on Wednesday!

And finally, in celebration of Cupkins' Anniversary, both Meg and I are hosting giveaways! To enter mine, all you have to do is leave me a comment with an idea for a theme/ingredient for us to feature during the next year of Cupkins! I'm giving away this sweet stamp set from Stampin' Up! and a super cute pink ink pad. Once you've left a comment here, jump on over to Meg's place to enter HER giveaway! Two chances to win!

For extra entries, let me know that you are (or become a) follower, and/or link to this contest via Twitter. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, via random number generator! Entries will be accepted through midnight EST on Tuesday the 21st.T

hanks for reading - and following along on our Cupkins journey! Good luck!

Welcome to Grand Rapids!

2010-09-16T00:01:00.003-04:00

My husband's cousin and her husband recently moved from the east side of the state here to Grand Rapids. We are super excited to have them so close! We're looking forward to getting together with them to check out their new digs, and I put together a little something as a welcome gift.

They're both into breweries and local beer, and Grand Rapids has an assortment of both. I picked up a selection of beers from local brewery Founders, and attached a little notecard. The notecard took me all of five minutes to make...

I stamped the image I wanted ink black ink on a scrap of white cardstock, then heat-embossed it with clear embossing powder and my heat took to give it some texture.

I colored in the image using a couple of Stampin' Write Markers (in Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait)

I cut a piece of Peach Parfait cardstock 3 inches wide by 6 inches long and folded it in half. I used some Whisper White satin ribbon and tied it around the card. I then trimmed my stamped image to 2x2 inches square and attached it to the front of the card. Done!

I hole punched the corner of the card and attached it to the beer with lots of that fun curling ribbon. Love that stuff - very festive!

Have a great day! And in case you missed it yesterday - be sure to check out yesterday's guest post by Arwen!

I should've named this week "Baby Week"!! - Weg Bag Tutorial by Arwen

2010-09-15T09:47:00.002-04:00

New Momma, and real life/blog friend Arwen (check out her blog HERE) has been making these adorable wet bags lately for baby gifts - and since baby gifts have been on my mind I thought I'd have her do a guest tutorial for us. So without further ado, here's Arwen!

If you're like me, you know about a gazillion people who are pregnant, or who just had a baby. Having had a baby 11 months ago, I was getting a little bored with the traditional baby gifts. Inspired by using cloth diapers and some cute wetbags I saw for sale, I decided to try and make some to give as gifts.

Here is what you will need for this project: -1/2 yard of printed fabric -1/2 yard of PUL fabric -1, 14" zipper in the color of you choice -1 spool of matching thread -a walking foot for your sewing machine.

Let's get started!

First, you will need to cut your printed fabric so it is 34" long by 16 1/2" wide. Then, cut the PUL fabric so it is 36" long by 17"wide. Once you have done that, put the 2 pieces of fabric together. You want the wrong side of the printed fabric to be touching the non-shiny side of the PUL fabric. It should look something like this:

Pick one side at the top, fold down the 2 layers of fabric to form a nice crease, and line your zipper up so that there is approximately 1/2" of printed fabric showing on either side. Pin one side of your zipper to this and sew straight across. I find it easier to first pin my seam, and then go through and add the zipper to the pinned seam.

Once you have sewed the first side, unzip the zipper, and repeat the same steps with the other side. After the zipper is sewed on, set the bag aside, it is time to work on the handle! For the handle, you can make it however big or small you would like. I chose these dimensions because of the print that I wanted to show, but I normally prefer to have a much smaller handle on the bag. I cut, from the printed fabric, a strip that was 19" long by 4.5" wide. Fold in half so the right sides are facing in. Pin along the outer edge and sew. Just sew the seam, do not sew the ends shut.

Once it is sewn, turn the handle right-side out. Now, take your bag and turn it inside out, so the printed fabric sides are touching, and the shiny PUL fabric is on the outside. Pull back one side of the bag, and lay the handle down so the handle is facing towards the other side of the bag and pin in place:

This may get confusing, so bear with me, I'm not an expert sewer, so I apologize. You want to sew the handle into the bag, but only sew down to the end of the handle and then stop. PUL fabric is stretchy, and when you sew the PUL fabric with the shiny sides out, it tends to bunch. This is not a problem, except if you try to sew the PUL fabric, with the printed fabric together to finish the seams and the bag, your material will also bunch. Since the PUL fabric is going to be on the inside, we need to close the printed fabric and PUL seams individually. This way, the printed fabric will not bunch, and when the PUL does, no one will be able to see it. If you're still with me, here's how I did it. Pull back your PUL fabric, to expose only the printed fabric. Do you see the red thread on the PUL where I sewed the handle? Match up that seam with where you will start and sew the printed fabric only.

Then go ahead and sew the PUL fabric on that side. Go to the other side and repeat. It should look something like this:

and here is an example of the bunching that will always happen, but no one looks inside because that's where the dirty diapers go :)

Turn the bag inside out, or right side out, et voila! You have just made a wetbag!!

Brown Paper Packages

2010-09-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

"Brown paper packages, tied up with string... these are a few of my favorite things!"

I like to keep a roll of brown craft paper on hand to create my own gift wrap. I'm sending out some of the baby bibs to a friend who just had a little boy, and I used my Stampin' Around Jumbo Handle with the Baby Tees Wheel to stamp the images onto the paper. I finished it off with some white satin ribbon.

Stampin' Around Wheels are fun to play with - here's a little video I came across on You Tube that shows how to use them (no idea who this gal is but she's very cute and I love her "wheel" puns!)

Note that if you're using a wheel for wrapping paper you'll need to use a cartridge and not an ink pad (she demonstrates both). Also note that the ink cartridges come un-inked, and you need to use an ink-refill (I used chocolate chip) to color them. If you're interested in picking up some wheels for the first time, drop me a line so I can make sure you have all the stuff you need! You can order everything you need right on my demonstrator website.

Oh, and I'm thinking I'd like to start trying to flim some short video tutorials - what do you think? A video tutorial would work great for projects like this wrapping paper - it wouldn't be very clear in step-by-step pictures...

Happy Tuesday!

Baby, baby, BABY!

2010-09-13T11:12:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if it's something in the water, the time of year, or just the time of life most folks my age are entering into but boy are there a lot of babies on their way into the world right now! Several of my close friends are expecting baby number 2, and many other folks I know are getting ready to welcome their first. I think between November and April I know of almost ten impending arrivals. So exciting and so crazy!

I realized this weekend that I needed to step up the baby gift making in order to keep up with all of these folks! I'm working on a stock of (mostly) gender-neutral congratulations cards (some for now - congrats on being pregnant, and some for later - congrats on the birth) since most friends are not finding out the gender of their babies, and sewing up baby bibs like it's my job!

(I used Stampin' Up!'s "Baby Bundle" stamp set with Chocolate Chip cardstock and accent colored cardstock in Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait, Pretty in Pink, and Bashful Blue. I inked around the edge of my white circles in Chocolate Chip ink to add a little texture)

(Baby bibs galore! A couple of my current faves below - I love the soft green flannel backing with the little animal images!)

I also saw this post over at UCreate, by the amazingly talented Anneliese of Aesthetic Nest. If you haven't been over to her recently made public blog yet, you MUST! She makes beautiful things. Anyhoo, her guest post is a tutorial for the "Luxe Lovey" and it is so lovely. It just so happens that JoAnn's has a big sale this weekend - and you can bet that I'll be over there stocking up on fabric to try my hand and making some of these. What a great idea!

What are your favorite gifts to make for baby? Or if you're a mom yourself, what do you love to receive?

Stamp A Stack - Tomorrow!

2010-09-11T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's not too late for my West Michigan friends to get in on the fall stamping action this weekend! I'm hosting my September stamp a stack on Sunday (tomorrow!) afternoon at 2pm at my home in Grand Rapids.

Make 8 cards for $10, 12 cards for $15 or 16 cards for $20. If you bring a friend who's never stamped with me before - you both get half off the class fee!
We're using the Trendy Trees stamp set with the polka do embossing folder, new taffeta ribbon, and funky forest Stampin' Around wheel. It's going to be a lot of fun!

Simply drop me a note at joanneroehm@yahoo.com to RSVP for Sunday's class! Happy Stamping!

Summer in Review: What my blog friends have been up to!

2010-09-10T10:11:00.004-04:00

If you didn't catch my "Summer in Review: Ready, Set, Craft!" post be sure to check it out here, I took a little look back at the crafty things I accomplished this summer - which turned out to be a lot more than I realized! Now that summer is over I'm getting back into the swing of all things blog-related, and catching up with all my blog friends and seeing what they've been up to.

I've said it once, and I will say it again, I am constantly inspired by all of the crafty women I've met through blogging - it's hands down been the best part of thie experience. Check out what some of my favorite crafty bloggers (and friends!) have been up to this summer - you'll be inspired too!

angelina la dawn tomato is special to me because she was a real life friend before she was a blog friend. Now that she lives states away from me - her blog is a great way for me to keep up with her - plus she has such wonderful taste and is always sharing innovative and creative projects. Check out her Fabric covered button earrings...

and this is how she decorated her living room wall - she created Contact paper wallpaper! Amazing!

And I know I've featured this Recovered chair before - but I just love the colors and patterns she chose!

Sarah over at Auburn Street andI met through blogging and our mutual friend (above!) and even managedto get a puppy playdate in for our pups while she lived here in GrandRapids. This summer she packed up and moved to Chicago - what anexciting place to be! Before she left though, I was excited to stop inand support her at her first craft show here in town, Bizzarre Bazaar. She makes the most wonderfully repurposed envelopes and stationary...

She's in the midst of getting her apartment set up, and improvsed this Chalkboard calendar. So clever!

Gabrielle at i craft at Bee Wise Bags is such an inspiration to me as a crafter and businesswoman. I'm amazed at how much she juggles! I just love these fabric Hair clips...

and she spent a lot of summer getting her garden ready for a Garden tour - and boy did it look spectacular!

Lollychops has been a favoritecrafty blogger of mine since I first discovered the world of blogging. Her projects are always so detailed and thought out, and so well done. I'm absolutely in love with these Necklaces she's been making lately...

and check out this Messenger bag using stencils. Sooooo pretty!

Abby over at Steinway Street wasalso a real friend before we started blogging - she and I spent asummer together at Interlochen Arts Camp back in high school - where wewere the coolest campers, ever! It's true! I know I posted her Coffee filter wreath from the beginning of summer before, but I just love it!

I about died when I saw these Rock monsters! They are so ridiculously cute! Take a peak at Abby's post about them to see what she ended up doing with them - so cool!

My favorite knitter Marie has had a busy (and stressful!) summer, but I always love checking in with her over at Permission to Unwind. She always shares such beautiful photos of the projects she's workingon. I wish I had half the knitting talent and mojo that she has!

Jane at Maiden Jane is mygo to blogger for all things sewing related. I just love all of hertotes - she and her daughter are so creative and talented. Check outthis Placemat bag for example...

and you know I love her Oversized beach totes. This polka dotted one is so fun!

My Cupkins cohort Meg at MegaCrafty has been busy as well. I was absolutely amazed by her glass etching projects this summer. Check out this Etched glass vase/candle holder. So beautiful!

And she had a wonderful to make a "Scrapbox"for her husband - a runner - to commerarate all of his races. It wassuch a neat idea - I love the way it turned out. What a great gift!

Oh, and if you haven't been over to her Halloween blog, MegaSpooky, yet - you must. Meg is crazy for Halloween and has amazing ideas, decorations and projects. Head over there to get inspired!

So tell me - what have YOU been up to this summer? Leave a link to your favorite project! Happy Friday!

Summer in Review: Ready, Set, Craft!

2010-09-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

I haven't been quite as crafty as I would have liked to have been this summer - but I am letting it slide since I spent plenty of time outside, enjoying friends and family in the beautiful weather, and wrapping up another semester of graduate school work, too.

In case you missed anything, here's a little recap of my crafty pursuits and projects from the summer months...

Cupcakes... Chocolate banana Father's Day cupcakes, Red, White and Blue July 4th cupcakes, Pina Colada cupcakes, and S'Mores cupcakes.

Articles at Babble.com... Father's Day, July 4th, and Back to School crafts...

Baby Bunnies, a la Martha Stewart Living...

Super soft baby bibs...

Favors for baby showers and weddings...

Stamped card sets galore...

Growing tomatoes for the first time...

Patriotic Pillowcase dress and Bandana Picnic Blanket a la Aesthetic Nest...

and Get Better Boxes for dearly loved little ones...

You know - now that I look back - maybe I had a craftier summer than I thought! To find out more about these projects (and many others!) head to the June, July, and August archives over here ------------------>

to check them out!

I'll be back tomorrow with a summer recap from my friends! That's right, I'm finally catching up on visiting all of my dear blog friends' blogs and will be posting with highlights from THEIR crafty summers for you to check out! You don't want to miss this!

The Windy City

2010-09-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

Hubs and I got out of town last week for a (very) belated wedding anniversary trip, and to spend a couple of days together before the madness of fall sets in. I say madness affectionately, because I love fall and all of the holidays that follow it - but this one is sure to be busy. I'm writing my thesis, hubs has lots going on at work, I have six (count them, six!) friends who are pregnant and expecting their babies starting in November and going through April, and I'm already looking forward to football parties (emphasis on the party, not so much on the football), apple-picking and pumpkin carving that fall brings with it.

Our trip was much needed, and a lot of fun. We stayed just off the Magnificent Mile and did plenty of shopping, sightseeing, eating, and walking (hopefully the latter two items canceled each other out!) We even took a trip over to Shedd Aquarium. Other than a brief afternoon trip to see the show Wicked back in 2007 I hadn't spent any time in Chicago since my friend Meg's (hi, Meg!) bachelorette party back in 2005. This alone seems a little silly, since we're just a couple hours drive away from the city.

We took the commuter train into Chicago - a little longer of a trip but you can't beat $8 train tickets, not having to park or pay to park, and being able to relax and enjoy the ride. We ate burgers at Chef Marcus Samuelssons "Marc Burger" at Macy's (he won Top Chef Masters) and had a lovely dinner at Chef Art Smith's "Table Fifty-Two" (former chef to Oprah - yes, I obviously have a thing for celebrity chefs!) and just enjoyed spending so QT together.

I hope that you all had the opportunity to enjoy your loved ones this summer, whether home or away. I'll be here all week doing some summer recaps, Ready, Set, Craft! style while I get into fall-mode. Happy end of summer, everyone!

Get Well Soon, Caleb!

2010-09-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

My dear friend Cindy's two-year old little boy, Caleb, is having surgery today, and although I'm out of town all this week (which is why I have been a complete blog slacker, by the way!) I was sure to put together a little get better box for him before I left.

I used a Sterilite tub (just a couple of bucks at Meijer, and sturdy to last a long time!) and created the lid design using some simple stickers.

In the box was the art apron I created for a Babble article last month - you may remember it... it's a super cute little thing perfect for arts and crafts, or helping Mom in the kitchen!

Also in the box... some playdoh, a coloring book and crayons, stickers, and a cool little toy truck.

I'm thinking about Caleb and his parents today! Please send good juju their way for an easy surgery and quick recovery!

Get Well Soon, Caleb!

Quick Card Set

2010-08-27T09:15:00.000-04:00

Lucky for me - I have a lot of wonderful friends, family, and customers, that I needed to thank this week! Soooo... I put together a quick card set using (a retired pattern of) Stampin' Up!'s designer series paper...

You've seen me make these types of cards before - in fact, you can find a tutorial for the cards here (scroll down to bottom of post), and one for coordinating envelopes here.

I love these cards because they are so quick and easy to make, and really cute! Sets of these also make a lovely gift!

Happy Friday!

Success!

2010-08-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

Finally! We got one! It only took three years for us to have tomato-growing success but we finally made it!

Excuse the photo quality, I took them on my phone. Now let's hope we get some more! A few are looking like they are getting ready to turn, so we may be in luck!

Happy gardening!

Wedding Favors

2010-08-25T12:31:00.000-04:00

I'm still alive!

I'm finally finished with my summer semester of classes - phew! It was my last semester of classes in my graduate program, just six weeks long, two classes, and two huge research papers. It was absolutely the toughest semester of grad school - and I'm PROUD to say that worked really hard, and just found our yesterday that I received a 4.0 for the semester!

Now I have three and a half weeks to recuperate and reenergize before I start my thesis - and as long as all goes well I'll be a MASTER in December! Woot woot!

As you can imagine - crafting time has not been in the schedule lately - but I did want to share with you the wedding favors that we worked on last week (see posts here and here) in action...

I love the triangular theme that carries through the table -- the favors, photo centerpieces, and napkin folds.

Now that I have some time off I'll not only be designating plenty of time for crafting and blogging, but taking some time to enjoy what's left of summer as well.

There are so many of you whose blogs I love to read and just haven't had the chance to visit lately - I'm so sorry! You can be sure that I'll be doing so, and catching up with e-mails, over the next few weeks.

Happy end of summer!

Anatomy of 150 Wedding Favors: Part 2

2010-08-19T00:30:00.002-04:00

Much progress has been made on the 150 wedding favors Heather and I were commissioned to make. We scored and folded all of the boxes, attached the sentiments, and threaded ribbon through...

I just adore this paper and the range of blues. So pretty!

Now all that's left to do is to put chocolates inside, close the boxes and thread and tie the ribbons, and they're done!

I can't wait to see these favors on the wedding tables, set at each place. I hope that the bride and groom, and guests, enjoy them!

A Ready, Set, Craft Re-Run: Gnocchi with Summer Veggies

2010-08-18T13:08:00.000-04:00

Originally posted here on RSC last summer, this recipe (courtesy of Everyday Food Magazine) is a summer staple in our home. Travis (he's the cook in our house!) made it last night with fresh, locally grown squash, zucchini and grape tomatoes from the farmers market and it was amazing. Simple and quick to prepare, it's an easy no-meat meal that's full of flavor. Enjoy!

Gnocchi with summer vegetables

serves 4
prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min

1 tbsp olive oil
2 zucchini or summer squash, or one of each quartered and sliced (we used one of each!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 package (15 to 16oz) frozen or fresh gnocchi
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2tbsp grated romano cheese
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash in crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi, adding enough cooking liquid to create a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in basil, cheese, butter, and lemon juice.

Happiness is... magic wands and sandcastles

2010-08-17T00:30:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we headed out to the lake as we so often do, and our friends Heather, Anthony, and daughter Lily joined us. South Haven hosts a Blueberry Festival every year complete with live music, an art show, and yes - lots and lots of blueberries. We took advantage of the events and headed down to a concert on the water on Friday night, then spent Saturday on the beach.

It's funny how you can see places and events in a whole new way just by adding a child into the equation. It was so fun to watch Lily at the show, and on the beach. She had a great time. She loved her light up wand at the concert and clapped heartily at the end of each song - she had a whale of the time on the beach building sandcastles and sitting in the water as well.

Sitting at the waters' edge laughing with Lily as the ends of waves touched her toes was one of the best moments of the weekend - life doesn't get any better than experiencing true joy in those that you love. I need to do a better job or realizing that it's those little moments that mean the most. So glad the Hill Family was able to spend the weekend with us at the lake!

Stamp Set Spotlight: Itty Bitty Bits

2010-08-16T00:01:00.002-04:00

Welcome to this week's Stamp Set Spotlight! Each week I highlight a different Stampin' Up! stamp set and show you some project ideas using it. This week I'm spotlighting the Itty Bitty Bits stamp set - this set first made its appearance in the Summer Mini Catalog but carried over to the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog - and I'm so glad!

Itty Bitty Bits is a great set because it comes in both clear and wood mount, and has a coordinating punch pack and set of clear buttons that go with it. So much cuteness!

Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: None

Inks: Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Basic Black

Adhesives: Snail Monoadhesive, Mini Glue Dots

Accessories: Poppy Parade Stitched Ribbon, Bitty Buttons, Scallop Border Punch

Cardstock: Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: None

Inks: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade, Blushing Bride, Concord Crush, Peach Parfait, Basic Black

Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals

Accessories: Punch Pack

Cardstock: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Inks: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

Adhesives: Snail Monoadhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals

Accessories: Punch Pack

Cardstock: Whisper White

Inks: Pacific Point

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point

Inks: Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Soft Suede

Adhesives: Snail Monoadhesive, Mini Glue Dots

Accessories: Punch Pack, Bitty Buttons

To order YOUR Itty Bitty Bits stamp set and all of the bitty accessories - head over to my Stampin' Up! website today!

August Stamp A Stack Cards

2010-08-13T00:01:00.004-04:00

I'm really excited about this month's Stamp A Stack cards... so excited in fact that some of these cards may crop up at workshops throughout the next couple of months as well. If you're local - you should join us to make some great cards and learn some new stamping techniques. We have a ball!

This card features the "Birthday Bakery" level 1 hostess set. It's a simple card, but the embossing with the heat tool on the image and greeting really make it look sharp.

Here's the second card - also using Birthday Bakery. I love the little cakes on cake stands - so cute! We'll be using Stampin' Write markers to color in the line-art images.

The third and fourth cards we're doing at the Stamp A Stack are using the "For You Flower" a la carte stamp. This is a great single stamp for just $7.95 that can be used throughout the year for a variety of occasions. I'm loving it! These cards use Poppy Parade, Concord Crush and Pear Pizzazz - three of the five 2010-2011 In Colors. I love the red, especially.

Live in West Michigan? I have plenty of spots available in my August 20 Stamp A Stack as several of my regular stampers are out of town this month. First time class attendees get half off their class fee. Join us to make 8, 12, or 15 cards - you'll have a great time! Friday August 20, 2010 at 7:00pm at my home. Drop me a note at joanneroehm@yahoo.com if you'd like to join us.

Not local? Head over to my Stampin' Up! website to purchase all of the supplies needed to make these cards and more! Happy Stamping!!!

Stamp Set Spotlight: Sweet Scoops

2010-08-11T00:01:00.004-04:00

It's stamp set spotlight time again! Each week I choose one Stampin' Up! stamp set, and show you a variety of cards made with it. This week I'm spotlighting the "Sweet Scoops" stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog. Sweet Scoops is a two-step stamping set, featuring mix and match ice cream cones and ice cream scoops. It's so much fun to play with - check out my delicious creations!

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: None

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip

Adhesives: Snail monoadhesive

Accessories: Pink gingham ribbon (retired), Scallop Edge Punch, Big Shot Machine and Texturz plates

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, YoYo Yellow (retired), Green Galore (retired)

Designer Series Paper: None

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink,YoYo Yellow (retired), Green Galore (retired)

Adhesives: Snail monoadhesive

Accessories: Pretty in Pink 1/4 inch Grosgrain Ribbon

Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: None

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo

Adhesives: Snail monoadhesive

Accessories: None

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: None

Inks: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Concord Crush, Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Basic Black

Adhesives: Mini Glue Dots, Snail Monoadhesive

Accessories: Poppy Parade and Blushing Bride 1/2 inch poly-stitched ribbon, Big Shot Machine and texturz plates, top note die.

The Sweet Scoops stamp set is available in both wood and clear mount, and will retire at the end of this month along with the rest of the Summer Mini Catalog. Head over to my Stampin' Up! website to purchase your set today before it's too late!

Back to School Crafts

2010-08-10T00:01:00.003-04:00

I have an article over at Babble.com this week as part of their "Back to School" package. I hope you'll head over and check out my projects for preschoolers, kindergarteners, and grade schoolers (including art aprons, pictured below) Click HERE to jump to the article!

28

2010-08-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

I celebrated my 28th birthday over the weekend. Despite feeling unwell the couple of days leading up to my special day, I was in good health the day of and enjoyed a weekend being spoiled by friends and family, all of whom I love very dearly.

After beginning my birthday weekend with a yummy meal at a restaurant in Kalamazoo with my mother and father in law and husband on Thursday, followed by a lovely breakfast at a local vegetarian restaurant with good friend Cindy on my birthday morning, we hosted friends Heather, Anthony, Justin and Kristen at our house for appetizers and drinks before heading out to a delicious Italian dinner Friday night. Heather made Tiramisu cupcakes and they were divine!

I was spoiled with all kinds of gifts... including a variety of cupcake-y things, a beautiful leather journal, and a gift certificate to my favorite local yoga studio.

Travis and I purchased a laptop this weekend - I will be writing my thesis this fall and was in desperate need of something portable on which to write and research. My parents very generously purchased the software we needed for it and gifted me some money to purchase a laptop/work tote. Franklin Covey here I come!

As a final surprise, my parents drove 2 1/2 hours from the other side of the state to take us out to breakfast on Sunday. I had no idea they were coming! It was lovely to spend some time with them.

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special! I'm feeling good about 28 - this is going to be my year!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-08-06T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm off spending the day with wonderful people having wonderful celebrations. Catch you after the weekend, friends!

Anatomy of 150 Wedding Favors: Part 1

2010-08-04T07:30:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned before, I'm working on 150 wedding favors for an August wedding. Supplies came in yesterday from Stampin' Up! and Heather and I got started. We knocked out all of the prep-work in one afternoon which was a great start!

150 circles of Very Vanilla cardstock stamped with sentiments and tiny blue hearts (wedding colors are sky blue, white and black)...

150 Scallop circles punched from Pacific Point cardstock... (LOVE this color!)

150 pieces of Very Vanilla ribbon cut...

150 pieces of Blueberry Crisp Designer Series Paper (can we say GORGEOUS?!) cut and folded...

Now we're ready to move on to scoring and hole-punching. Stay tuned for "Anatomy of 150 Wedding Favors: Part 2" coming soon!

Stamp Set Spotlight: Tropical Party

2010-08-03T07:30:00.001-04:00

It's stamp set spotlight time again! Each week I choose one Stampin' Up! stamp set, and show you a variety of cards made with it. This week I'm spotlighting the "Tropical Party" stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog. I love this set because it's so inexpensive ($17.95 wood mount, $13.95 clear mount), has coordinating paper to use with it, and reminds me of a beach vacation someplace tropical. Sure wish I was laying on a beach drinking something fruity right now! You too?!

Cardstock: Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Island Oasis

Ink: Old Olive, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight

Adhesives: Snail, Stampin' Dimensionals

Accessories: Big Shot Machine and Top Note die

Cardstock: Rose Red, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Island Oasis

Ink: Rose Red

Adhesives: Snail

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, 1 3/4 inch Circle Punch

Cardstock: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Rose Red

Designer Series Paper: Island Oasis

Ink: Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red

Adhesives: Snail, Stampin' Dimensionals

Accessories: Old Olive 5/8inch Grosgrain Ribbon

The Tropical Party stamp set (and coordinating designer series paper) will retire at the end of this month along with the rest of the Summer Mini Catalog. Head over to my Stampin' Up! website to purchase your set today before it's too late!

August Cupkins - Camping!

2010-08-02T09:43:00.000-04:00

Wait - August already?! Where does the time go?!

Cupkins is a monthly collaboration between a collaboration between Meg over at Mega•Crafty and I. Each month I share a cupcake recipe and Meg shares a muffin recipe - with the same theme or ingredient. This month our theme is "Camping"

Joanne's S'Mores Cupcakes and Meg's Trail Mix Muffins!

S'Mores Cupcakes

Ingredients: 1 box of chocolate cake mix, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of butter, 3 eggs, mini marshmallows

Frosting: 1 stick of butter, 2oz semi sweet chocolate, 16oz powdered sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 cup of milk

Decoration: Mini Hershey bars, mini marshmallows, graham crackers

How To: Combine all of the cupcake ingredients in a mixer on low speed and mix until combined. Line each cupcake wrapper with a small amount of batter, a layer of mini marshmallows, and more batter. Don't fill more than about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 for about 14 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely BEFORE taking out of the pan. These aren't your average cupcakes - they are smooshy and gooey and melty - you may need a knife to help you get them out of the pan once cooled.

While cupcakes are cooling, combine cut-up butter and semisweet chocolate in a pan over low heat until smooth (stir constantly) - then add the cocoa powder. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the powdered sugar and milk alternately, beating with a mixer until fluffy.

Using a palette knife, frost cupcakes. Again - doesn't need to be pretty - we're going for the messy "smooshed" s'more look here!

Garnish with graham cracker crumbles, a piece of chocolate, and some s'more (ha ha!) marshmallows. Enjoy! Have your napkins handy!

Now what are you waiting for? Head over to Meg's place to check out her delicious muffins!

When bad things happen to good crafters... and their houses!

2010-07-28T07:30:00.001-04:00

If you've been reading for awhile now you'll know that I'm lucky to have my own craft room here in our home. A dedicated space where I can craft to my hearts content, leave projects half finished on the table, and generally make a mess.

Unfortunately, sometimes crafting seems to explode onto all surfaces in my home. Take a peak at yesterday's scenes of horror...


The living room coffee table - complete with paper cutter and stamping "stuff"


The dining room table (yes, I brought the computer AND printer downstairs from the office!) - note the box of crayons, cut up magazines, and stacks of cards)


The kitchen counter! Sharpies, sequins, and kids projects strewn all over the place!

How do I let this happen? I'm not even that messy of a person! Argh! How about you, reader, do you have trouble keeping your craftiness contained? Please say yes!!!

Works in Progress

2010-07-27T10:52:00.000-04:00

It's one of those weeks where I have a whole host of projects in the pipeline and not a ton to share. One of the things I'm diligently working on (had hoped to get them finished yesterday - oops!) is a set of thank you cards for my friend Meg who just had a baby. Although I knew the colors I wanted to work with, it took me ages to come up with a design I liked (perfectionist, much?) but I'm finally there.

I've used the new "Baby Bundle" set in clear mount from Stampin' Up! I knew I had to buy this set as soon as it comes out because I'm inundated with babies in my life right now - lots of blessings for family and friends!

I had a lot of fun stamping the background of these cards. I combinedseveral of the small images on one clear block and stamped them inChocolate Chip ink onto the Pretty in Pink cardstock. The backgroundit my favorite part of the card!

I'm also getting everything in order for a wedding project. 165 wedding favors! The bride has asked for the triangle boxes (remember I made these for a workshop recently?) in SU's "Blueberry Crisp" designer series paper (below right)

I'm going to use Very Vanilla ribbon, a shade of blue cardstock for the scallop circle, and find a cute "love" sentiment to stamp on for the greeting. I'm very excited to put these together - can't wait to show you!

I'm also working on a "Back to School Crafts" piece for Babble.com, and a guest post project for the darling Caroline over at Salsa Pie, so those are keeping me busy as well!

I've been absolutely terrible about stopping over to people's blogs lately - who knew summertime could be so busy? I promise I'll make time to head over and see what you've all be up to in the next couple of days.

Thanks for reading Ready, Set, Craft!

xoxo
Joanne

Stamp Set Spotlight: Awash With Flowers

2010-07-26T07:30:00.001-04:00

I'm starting a new feature on Ready, Set, Craft! for all you stamping fanatics out there. Once a week (or thereabouts!) I'm going to do a "Stamp Set Spotlight" post.

Basically I will choose a current Stampin' Up! stamp set, and show you a variety of different cards using that set. A lot of times I don't even realize how much I like a stamp set until I've seen it "in action" - and I absolutely love stamps that are versatile and can be used for all times of year and all occasions!

I'm starting with the "Awash with Flowers" stamp set that is new this year. It's a two step stamping set (line art images and solid images that piece together) and I wanted to share this set with you first because a lot of my customers have ordered it recently! I hope that these ideas give you some inspiration!

Cardstock Colors: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink and Daffodil Delight. Ink Colors: Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink and Daffodil Delight. Accessories: Certainly Celery, Snail Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals

Cardstock Colors: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery. Inks: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery. Accessories: Certainly Celery Ribbon, Snail Adhesive, Basic Pearls (I am in LOVE with the basic pearls - 150 self-adhesive pieces for $4.95 - adorable and a steal!)

Cardstock Colors: Whisper White, Rose Red. Ink Colors: Basic Black, Rose Red, Certainly Celery. Accessories: Designer Series Paper in Rose Red, Scallop Circle punch 1 3/4 inch, Circle punch 1 3/8 inch, Basic Rhinestones (again, I LOVE these! A little jewel really makes a simple card pop!)

Cardstock Colors: Sahara Sand, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red. Ink Colors: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Basic Black. Accessories: Snail adhesive.

One stamp set - so many versatile cards! To order the Awash with Flowers stamp set and to take a peak at all the great products Stampin' Up! has to offer, head over to my online store today! Happy Monday!

20 Creative Summer Crafts and Activities for Kids

2010-07-23T07:30:00.006-04:00

I'm over at Babble today with some creative ideas for you and your kids! Head over there to check it out! Click HERE to go to the article.

Happy Friday!

Gardening Update

2010-07-22T07:30:00.001-04:00

I was inspired by Meg's gardening update yesterday - I'm so envious of her raised vegetable beds and hope to work with hubs to make some for us next year! After trying to grow everything we possibly could last year and having zero success (too much stuff and not enough knowledge!) we're trying to focus on just a select group of plants this year.

Here's what the tomato plants looked like right about a month ago...

And here's what we're working with now!

I'm just worried that there's hardly any fruit on them yet - and none of it close to ripe. Plenty of flowers, though. Tomato growers - are we on track? Are we going to see some ripe fruit this year?

And that's not all. Since I blogged about gardening last, I picked up a green pepper plant. It is getting SO BIG! It's a monster!

The best part of the entire plant, though, is the lone pepper we have - it's kind of funny hanging there all by iteself. I have no idea how big it's supposed to get or when to pick it (will it get as big as a grocery store sized green bell pepper?) and I'm kind of wondering why it's the only fruit on the entire plant thus far. Something is better than nothing I guess? : )

As you can see - the pots and plants are taking over the back steps. If we have success this year we are going to have to for sure make plans for next year to have some raised beds in our side yard for veggies. I really am longing for homegrown veggies all summer long!

Bundles of Joy!

2010-07-21T07:30:00.002-04:00

This past weekend I got to meet a very special little lady - Miss Ellison (Ellie) Ann Herr. Ellie was born to my dear friends from college Meg and Matt just two and a half weeks ago, and I was just thrilled to be able to pop in and meet Ellie while I was on the east side of the state. Isn't she sweet?

And of course a special new baby means special gifts, too. I created this card for the family - and am working on a whole set of baby "thank you" cards for Meg to send to friends and family as well.

I made a little brown and pink bunny to go in baby's room... (can you guess the colors of the nursery based on all these gifts?)

And even though I'd already gifted a set of baby bibs to Meg - I couldn't pass up this darling fabric...

All wrapped up in a gift bag with custom stamped tag. "Bundle of love" is an understatement I think!

Congratulations to Meg and Matt - and welcome to the world, little Ellie, it was lovely to meet you!

July Cupkins (Pina Colada Cupcakes): Better late than never!

2010-07-19T21:48:00.000-04:00

Has this summer been a busy one for you? I can't believe that we're already inching towards the end of July and that it will be fall before we know where we are.

With all of the traveling, family "stuff," showers and babies, busy work and school schedules and more - it's been a challenge to keep up with blogging to say the least! Meg has been equally busy - and although we're a little late on Cupkins this month (VERY late - on my part!) we've made it! These pictures of my Pina Colada cupcakes may not be the most creative you've ever seen, but trust me - they are delicious! The photos just don't do them justice!

So take a few minutes, relax, and enjoy today's edition of Cupcakes - a collaboration between Meg over at Mega•Crafty and I. This month our theme is "Tropical" and I don't know about you, but I sure wish I was on a beach someplace tropical right now! : )

Joanne's Pina Colada Cupcakes

For the cupcakes... combine one box of white cake mix with three egg whites and 1 loaded cup of crushed pineapple in juice (don't drain!) Mix on low in a stand mixer and scrape edges of bowl as needed until combined. Don't over-mix! Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 16 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out clean) at 350 degrees.

For the frosting... In a stand mixer, combine 1 stick of butter with 8oz of cream cheese until creamed and combined. Add a glug (yup, that's a technical term!) of clear vanilla extract, and 2 glugs (yup, pretty scientific!) of milk - then gradually add 1lb of powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Spread onto tops of cooled cupcakes with a spatula or palette knife... be generous!

Sprinkle coconut on top of the cupcakes, and devour! : )

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start! Now head over to Meg's place to check out her delicious looking Toasted Coconut and Dark Chocolate Chunk Muffins! YUM!

It's all in the details...

2010-07-16T07:30:00.001-04:00

Earlier in the week I shared a few photos from my latest SU get together - my new catalog release party. I really wanted to share with you some of the simple details that made a huge impact!

Goody Bags:

I bought plain brown gift bags in bulk from JoAnn Fabrics and stamped the fronts of them using Soft Suede ink and the I (Heart) Hearts stamp set. I used scraps of Pretty in Pink and Whisper White ribbon in various textures and widths around the handle - four pieces on each bag simply tied in knots. These were quick to make en masse, and you could switch up the colors and stamp sets to custom make gift bags for any occasion!

Water Bottles: These were so simple to do - but looked so festive! I purchased mini sized water bottles and removed the labels. I measured and cut some of our designer series paper in the size of the water bottle labels and attached them using snail adhesive. So fun!

Cupcake Picks: It's not a Joanne party without cupcakes, right? Heather and I made a batch of vanilla cupcakes with fresh strawberry frosting. To make the picks, I stamped our new a la carte stamp, Homemade, in Pretty in Pink ink onto Whisper White cardstock. I cut out the center of the stamp with an XL circle punch, and cut out an XL scallop from Pretty in Pink cardstock. I adhered the two together and attached to a toothpick. To finish them off I added a bow of Pretty in Pink ribbon. Beautiful!

All three of these simple ideas can be custom designed for any event you may be having! So what are you waiting for? Throw a party already! : )

Cupcakes with Kids

2010-07-15T07:30:00.001-04:00

Heather and I were invited to the YMCA (where both our husbands work - and where both of us have worked in the past) to work with a group of children, teaching them how to make cupcakes. The seven school-age kids helped us put ingredients into the mixer, make and color the frosting, and then the real fun started when we showed them how to pipe.

We made more than 100 mini cupcakes - and the kids frosted every single! Look how great they turned out!

I always enjoy baking - and working with children - but what was especially cool about this experience was that it drove home to me how important it is to cook and bake with your kids. It's an easy and fun task to do together, it teaches math and science skills paired with creativity, and it can be a wonderful platform for lessons in nutrition (although let's be honest - cupcake baking isn't ideal for that message!)

Cooking is an activity the entire family can do together - and I'm pleased to report that all seven of the kids we worked with had personal stories about baking or cooking with mom, dad, grandma, aunts, uncles, etc. So neat to hear about great family memories made in the kitchen!

Brights

2010-07-14T08:52:00.000-04:00

Color is such a key part of any craft project - and when Stampin' Up! released its new 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog this month, one of the most exciting components was the fresh and new color collections. There are four core color groups: Brights, Subtles, Regals and Neutrals - and each set of colors is current and fun.

As a demonstrator, it's fun for me to learn more about color, and to play with new color combinations in our color families. Yesterday I finally had some time to stamp, so I grabbed my Awash With Flowers stamp set and four of my favorite colors from the Brights collection (Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive and Melon Mambo) and created a set of eight cards:

I think I'm going to challenge myself to work with lots of different color combinations in our new color collections. Most oftentimes when I'm stamping I have a specific color in mind, or I just gra a few colors as I'm going along. I'm thinking I'm going to challenge myself by "assigning" myself color combinations ahead of time and seeing what happens!

How do you use color in your projects? Do you start out with specifics in mind? Or let the colorific ideas flow?

Here's a little video from Stampin' Up! introducing our color collections. Which set of colors is YOUR favorite?

Happy Wednesday!

I didn't mean to leave you hanging!

2010-07-12T10:45:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that I've been away from blogging for over a week! I have no idea the last time that happened - and especially not unannounced! For those of you that were worried, or those of you that just plain missed me (aw...!) I apologize! Rest assured that all is well with me, and the family, and that there is nothing to worry about at all.

As you know, I hadn't planned on taking a blogging break, but life "happened" as it so often does, and time got away from me. We celebrated a quiet fourth of July weekend at home - Travis had towork on and off all weekend - so we grilled and played board games andenjoyed some downtime together. The crafting continued though when Heather and I made some Steelers cupcakes for a friend's 40th birthday, and I sewed a patriotic pillowcase dress for Lily, inspired by Anneliese's tutorial over at Aesthetic Nest (see hers HERE)

Lily's dress was pretty big on her (I'm still no good at determining sizes and sewing them!) but it was cute - and I was pleased with it. She should be able to wear it next year, too!

This past week we headed over to South Haven for a little belated 4th of July celebration and some much-needed beach time. We watched fireworks over the lake and spent time with family, and some dear friends from out of town.

And then the crafty fun continued when we got back into town and I hosted my 2010-2011 New Catalog Release Party for Stampin' Up! We had a wonderful time, and everyone is just loving the new catalog! I'll post the link to it in the sidebar this morning - please check it out! I'll post about some of the party details later in the week, but here are some snapshots from the event...

And as if all that wasn't enough -- we're heading to the East side of the state this weekend, I have two stamping events this week, I finished one summer class and have already started another TWO (my last ones before my thesis!) and so much more. Summer got busy - and fast! But don't worry - I have lots and lots to share with you this week - so come back soon!

xoxo
Joanne

Week in Review: July 4th Edition

2010-07-03T07:30:00.001-04:00

Each weekend in my Week in Review post I share with you some of myfavorite crafty links I've come across during the week, from all overthe blogosphere. This week I'm featuring July 4th projects - most ofwhich are simple enough for you to throw together if you need some lastminute goodies for this weekend! ENJOY!

4th of July shirts at Make It and Love It

Easy 4th of July Soaps at Soap Queen (via Craft Gossip)

Patriotic Pillowcase Dresses at Aesthetic Nest

Fireworks Pom Pops at Centsational Girl

4th of July Hairclip at Sugar Bee

And don't forget to check out my own July 4th projects over at Babble.com!