Cupcake and Candy Jar Kitchen

Here are the updated pictures of my kitchen... all with Cupcakes and Candy!! How fun is that!?!

This is a close up of above my stove.  All of these are all really inexpensive jars, most of which I had collected over the years from Target and Walmart.  The first is filled with Red Twist Licorice, the second with blue Jelly Bellies (and the pink lid I spray painted), one of the Valentine cupcake jars from Target, gumballs in an old fashioned candy jar (again with a painted lid, this time in aqua), and then a jar of gumdrops and another of the Target cupcake jars.  I set some of the things up on those glass squares from the hardware store so they can be seen above the crown molding.  (BTW- I notice some major painting goofs when I did close ups like this-- and a few cobwebs that my house cleaner missed (ah-hem- yeah, I know that's ME!)

 

I've had this gumball machine for years, so when I saw the Valentine peanut M&M's, they were perfect for it!

Next are a few of my other favorite kitchen things:

Ice Blue KitchenAid Mixer and a recipe basket from Longaberger.

Hello Kitty Toaster, Cupcake Sugar Bowl, and Plates from EM Tanner Designs (Gabby's plate is in front).

I painted the bottom of the banana hanger with pink spray paint. 

And my favorite find, a Cupcake Cookie jar!! (HAD to have it!)

And what cupcake kitchen would be complete without some Sprinkles Cupcake Mixes!  This was where my cupcake obsession started.  MAN, I wish there was one close by, I would KILL for a Red Velvet or Coconut Cupcake right now!! From the words of Rachael Ray-- YUMMO!

The last addition to my kitchen is a new a pink coffee pot coming in at JC Penney's from my mom for Christmas, so that should be here soon to add to the fun!

This last picture isn't pink or cupcakes, but it's what is directly to the right of my fridge-- I update it for all of the holidays and I love the little sheep.  My house doesn't have much country, but this is just enough that I like it!

(Don't forget to look at the post below for the sneak peeks today at All That Scraps!-- I just had to share my decorating update.)

Day TWO SNEAK - Chanter Heartsong - ATS (and ROSALIE with ROSES)

Hello all!! I'm feeling very accomplished--- I have been itching to change the decor above the cabinets in my kitchen (I know, an odd thing to get excited about!) -- but I have been switching my kitchen over from a chili pepper theme to a Cupcake theme for about two or three years now (stamping took priority I guess!).  My SIL gave me a cute idea to swap out the the chili jars for candy jars in my kitchen colors (pink, red, turquoise)... so I went to Target and bought big bags of Cotton Candy and Sour Blueberry Jelly Bellies, Red Vine Licorice, Valentine Peanut M&M's, Gumballs (which I hand sorted to only include the colors I wanted), and these ADORABLE cupcake jars that they just put out for Valentines Day.  I filled my jars and then set them up on various glass blocks or other things to prop them and then I spray painted the metal lids from two of the candy jars pink and blue.  I just have to tell you-- It's the cutest darn thing EVER!! Even if I do say so myself!! I'll snap a picture tomorrow to show you, but I just want to hang out in my kitchen all night tonight!   Anyway-- On to some sneak peeks for what you really probably stopped by to see! :)

Day TWO's peeks is CHANTER HEARTSONG - As anyone who stops by here knows, I love these fairies from AMY YOUNG and so whenever I see a new one in my box of goodies, I get excited.  I love the bubble skirt and thought she'd make a super cute Valentine.  I used an "AMY R Friends Sentiment" (from last year, but still available!)  inside the heart and this is Cosmo Cricket paper (I think-- I'll have to double check!)

I also had a sample for DAY ONE peeks that I decided I'd post with Chanter, since I was busy with my candy jar filling all night! :)  Day one peeks were for Swiss Pixies Nora, Rosalie, and the one I used here, "ROSALIE WITH ROSES".  All of these will be available on Monday at ALL THAT SCRAPS. 

Don't forget to go to the ATS BLOG <----- for your chance to win these and check out more samples!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

1,2,3 days of Clear Dollar Stamps Peeks!! LOTS of new STUFF!

Wow do I have lots of stuff to show you today--- time slipped away this past week and I haven't been online at all.  I realized at about midnight last night that I hadn't posted and that it was sneak peek time at Clear Dollar Stamps for the January releases!  Sorry Laurie and Lori!! 

So to make up for it, you get one MONGO posting with tons of new stuff!! In addition--- Lori has a TON of super discounted items in her clearance section at the store, so be sure to check it out!

To start off the parade of new stamps--- the first three up are all using CRITTER TALES.  I also used a few $1 sentiment stamps, including "God is always there in a pinch" on the first card, "God is Never Crabby" on the second card, and "God Loves all creatures".  There are several sentiments that match perfectly with the full set of Critter Tales available separately in addition to the ones you can see on Lori's post with the full Critter Tales set. 

My favorite of the three cards is this first one---- first, because I think crabs are just cute-- and second because the sand technique with copics is just fun! My four year old would eat crab for every meal if we let him and he has several little crab toys like beanie babies, action figures, etc... so when he saw the cards with the crabs he loved them! 

To get the skyline airbrush effect, I just left the spellbinders die in place and airbrushed the top section with BG72 and the bottom with E33 (ironically called Sand!)  I used Creamy caramel for the sand color and then sponged it for some depth after I punched the sandcastle border with the EK success border punch. 

Next is a really easy card where I used the same crab stamp from Critter Tales to create a repeat pattern and then colored them in.  I've had the crab individual EK Success punch for a while (I bought it on super clearance) and hadn't used it yet, so that's what those little red crabs are on top of the sentiment. 

The last card with this set is using another $1 sentiment and the flamingo/alligator stamps.  I thought the flamingo standing on top was cute with the sentiment.  I had to look up what a flamingo really looked like to color the beak, so I think I got it pretty close!

NEXT in line are sets from DAY TWO of peeks-- which you can see the full line up at LORI'S BLOG HERE!<-----

The first set is Home SWEET Hive, which I had a ton of fun with.  I love double stamp effect sets like this bee, where with minimal effort, you can get a really striking effect that makes people go-- "How did you do that!?!"  The stripes and bee are two separate stamps and since they are CLEAR stamps, you can line them up perfectly when you put them together. 

I used traditional colors on this first card and the yellow is actually the IN COLOR for this year from Stampin' Up CRUSHED CURRY.  It's a really nice warm color!

With this set, I couldn't resist using my Basic Grey pack with this fun Bee/honeycomb pattern.  I made a big flower to set the hive in and again, these are all separate stamps that you can put together for fun and easy stamping with no coloring!

The second set I had to show you from Day TWO peeks is "LOVIN' RIDLEY and RILEY"-- a new set from Wendy Hall/Louby Loo Creations.  She created this adorable set for Valentines Day, so I dug all of my favorite Valentine papers out and went to work.  When I think Valentines, beside the obvious hearts, I also always love gingham for some reason.  I tied a double bow and adhered it with a glue dot for a little extra accent on this first card and one thing to remember when using Spellbinders dies is to stamp the sentiment first and then cut it out so that you can perfectly center your image.   

The second card with this set is an anniversary card with Rosie holding a pie.  I cracked up when I saw that she had a "mane of hair"!  Very cute!   I went way back with some old Stampin Up In color paper and ribbon called "Cranberry Crisp" for this card. 

And FINALLY, I'm up to current schedule with DAY THREE of peeks using the set "PET ANGELS".  Since I am a total pet lover, I knew I wanted this set because there are lots of times that I've wanted to make a pet card for a friend who lost a pet and I didn't have the appropriate set to use. 

I was going for a little matching "Halo" effect on this first card, where I used the small and large oval punch from Stampin' Up to create the halo.  First I punched the small punch and then turning the punch upside down (so that you can see what you are punching, I centered the large punch around the outside and the punched the outer part.  I airbrushed it with Y17 and YR18 (orange and yellow) to give it a glow and I thought it worked pretty cute.

The next card, I used one of the puppies in the set.  You can see the itty bitty puppy stamp in the background which i used tone on tone coloring to create a background paper vs. using any designer paper for this card.  The "bone" cloud was such an adorable little detail in the set, and I liked this sentiment a lot. 

You can see the full set at LORI'S blog <-----... as well as links to ALL of the other designers with all of these sets I've posted today!!

I have some ATS peeks that I'll post later today as well, so you know the drill-- SNEAK PEEK TIME means you see a LOT of me this next week! :)  Keep your Christmas money saved to buy some CUTE new stuff!! :) 

Have a great day!

Otis and Milo Winter Wish

This card will be very appropriate for the coming days in Iowa.  We're supposed to get hit with a bunch of snow AGAIN... (which is after the 13 inches in one day a couple of weeks ago!) Geesh!! And the big months for snow haven't even hit yet!  Luckily, we don't travel further than a block away for Christmas, so I can't complain too much this year!

The card here is with a December release at ATS-- this is HR Designs, OTIS AND MILO WINTER WISH.  Heather's drawings of these cats and dogs are just adorable and I absolutely love the sentiments in her sets as well.  I'm always excited to see what she'll have next!!

I used a pack of Stampin' Up! designer paper that includes the Bermuda Bay color (which I love!) combined with Ruby Red cardstock.  I found these flat backed snowflakes that I had picked up at Michael's clearance sale last year, so I used that to add some glitter and dimension to the snowflake. 

Happy last minute shopping to everyone-- I'm sure I forgot something and will be out there fighting the crowds along with you!! :) 

Amy R Snowflake set and Family picture

Just FOUR shopping days until Christmas... AGGHHHH!! :)  The one thing I realized this weekend that I completely spaced off is getting my food ingredients for the meal I'll need to make.  Oops!  So I guess that means at least one big grocery trip to get all of the food. 

I didn't get a full day of stamping today, we went shopping and then when I came home I had to make projects for my son's first grade Christmas party.  I made a "Pin the nose on the Snowman poster board" and cut out 16 carrots for them to tape to the poster.  I also put together materials for candy cane reindeer (with the pipecleaners, pom-pom, and googly eyes), and then printed out a Christmas Bingo game.  They should have plenty to do for the party now, so at least that is all ready to go. 

When I had a chance to get some stamping time, I finally cut up my set from Amy R Stamps at All That Scraps for this month, which is her SNOWFLAKE set.  I used three of the new colors from Stampin' Up! to make a girly, winter card that could be used all winter long... I love these colors together and this card took no time at all to put together.  This set is available HERE and it matches so well with the Create-a-flake set from Spellbinders.  I love all of the different flake choices in the set! 

And before I go, here is my favorite of the pictures we had for Family pictures on Friday.  I have some adorable ones of each of the kids as well, but my #1 goal was to get a good family picture (which finally included our daughter!! It actually wasn't as bad as what I was anticipating, so maybe we will get one next year again, vs waiting three years like last time! 

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon!

Hello!

Christmas is just around the corner and I've been busy, busy getting everything done.  I'm 95% done wrapping presents and we made Christmas Sugar Cookies today--  a quadruple batch... Sugar OVERLOAD!  We also finally accomplished getting our family pictures done-- I'll upload them later this weekend, I think they turned out pretty well for a 2, 4, and 6 year old photo session!  We even managed to get individual pictures of each them as well.  I haven't done a ton of stamping, I've been so busy, there just hasn't been time... but I hope to get some stuff done tomorrow night.  I have a ton of cards that I wanted to get made, so I better get busy if I'm going to get them done before next week! 

I have some a bunch of unposted Whipper Snapper cards, so here is another of the new images from Whipper Snapper Winter collection.  This is called "TREASURE CHEST OF LOVE".  The sentiment is one that I just typed up in word on my laptop and then punched out with a Spellbinders label die.  I used multiple shades of tan/brown to "dot" in the sand.  I loved how it turned out. 

I'm off to go watch Inglorious Bastards with my husband--- so goodnight and I hope you are having a great weekend!!

Back home...

I'm back from Vegas and had a fabulous time.  Garth was INCREDIBLE on opening night.  We were 5 seats behind Steve Wynn (the owner of Wynn/Encore hotels) -- there were only 12 people between us and the stage.  If you get a chance to go to Vegas, make sure you get tickets... it's like you're sitting in a cozy little bar hanging out and chatting with a buddy and then he breaks into songs with his unbelievable voice in between conversations.  I didn't want the night to end!  We will definitely go back and see him again if we get the chance! 

There was no school again today for my kids, which now means they have cancelled school 4 out of the last 5 days.  The Christmas program was supposed to be Friday and then again tonight, but with no school, it was postponed until tomorrow.  I hope the kids remember what to do!! Oh well, at least they will look cute!  The kids haven't driven me into an assylum on their days off so that's been good!  Don't get me wrong-- I had my six year old go to his room tonight for a little while because I was afraid I was going to pop his eyes out of his head if I saw him roll his eyes or stick out his tongue at me one more time.  UGH! Isn't that supposed to wait until the teenage years!!  Apparently he's "advanced" in his sarcasm for his age!  Lucky me! :)

I was itching for some stamping today, so while the kids were at rest time, I cleaned up my stamp room and made a couple of cards. 

Here is another new Whipper Snapper image "RAGGEDY ANN" that I thought was just adorable.  This isn't one I made today (those are for upcoming previews), but I loved this adorable little doll!  I didn't use the traditional blue/red combo and opted for green instead, but I just loved how it turned out. 

I've got a huge check list of things to do this week, christmas cookies, wrapping, shopping, family pictures, and I'm sure a few more will come to me... It will be GREAT if I get it all done, but I'll be satisfied with just the family pictures!! They continue to evade me!! We had the blizzard on the day they were scheduled last week, so I'm wondering what will come on my next appointment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Pictures of the Kids...

On a completely non-stamping related subject-- I had the kids sit down to do Christmas card pictures the other night and after taking the picture below with all of them, I realized that Parker and Kaiden both wore the exact same sweater last year, so oops--- REDO! :) 

Here is Gabby with her re-shoot--- I spared her from going outside and just sat her on the chair with a white canvas sheet behind her. 

While it was lightly snowing yesterday, I had the boys go outside in the front yard with NEW (unphotographed anyway) sweaters and so that's snow falling, not dandruff--- Jeremy was worried it would like they had stuff in their hair!! :)  I think they turned out pretty cute for snapshots at home! 

Here is what the final card looks like:

I just wanted to share how big they are getting!!

Hello Winter! (And a new Whipper Snapper card)

Well Winter is officially here, even if the calendar doesn't think so!! We're sitting around 7-8 inches so far and lots more to come today!  My poor little yard decorations are buried--- that's a train smoke stack in the top picture--- by tonight, I think the smoke will be covered too!  EEK!

We're supposed to leave tomorrow for our trip to Las Vegas for the Garth Brooks concert, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get out tomorrow!  Flights are cancelled everywhere the next couple of days, so I'm sure traveling will be a mess!

Front Yard after the snowblower:

Backyard as of 7am:

Because I'm supposed to be flying tomorrow-- Here is a Whipper Snapper card using one of the new releases available now at http://www.whippersnapperdesigns.com/.  The image is: PILOT BRADLEY and the sentiment is from an Anna Wight Cling set, BABY ON BOARD. 

I've been busy with the kids and making up samples for next month, so I apologize for the big gaps in posting!  I need to get my ETSY store updated again as well.  WHY CAN'T THERE BE MORE HOURS IN THE DAY!?!? :)  Well I hope you are all safely tucked in your houses (especially if you are in the midwest) and put a prayer in for me that I can get out of here tomorrow night to go see a little sunshine! 

Sweet November Holly Starshine TESC93

TGIF!! It was an exhausting day of chasing children all day including a full roll of toilet paper in the toilet courtesy of my 2 year old and her little 18 month old buddy that I watch.  I was changing a diaper and heard giggling-- NEVER a good sign!!  A few seconds after the giggles, I found 2 sets of guilty little hands with fists full of wet TP tossed onto the wall and all over the floor.  Oh the joy of toddlers!

I needed some inspiration today so I went by Taylor's challenge and used that to spark my card.  I used one of the new stamps from All That Scraps "Sweet November" line called "Holly Starshine" and I just love her!  Isn't she funky and cute!?! I added a poinsetta flower in her hair for some fun accents and then I cut apart a sentiment from the HR Designs Otis and Milo Winter Wish set. 

I have a little mommy break tomorrow with a hair appointment, so I'm looking forward to sneaking out of the house for a little relaxation and quiet! :)    And then I'm HOPING we finally get our family picture taken on Sunday for the first time in 3 years!  It will be great to finally have a picture that includes our daughter!

Have a great weekend!