Yum!

We tried a lentil taco filling for Taco Night on Wednesday. It was quite yummy and passed the husband and 2-year-old taste test. The recipe is from food.com.

If you cannot tend to it the entire time, add LOTS of water. I added 2 cups of water before bed, but some of it stuck to the side of our crock pot. It still turned out fine, but next time I will add more water.

It is a good thing that dinner was healthy because I keep snacking Landes cookies sent from Ohio. We have awesome friends!

one weekend 2 shots (June 25 & 26)

We had a family outing to the San Antonio Zoo and lunch at The Cove for my birthday. (The zoo gets its own blog post soon.) Lunch at The Cove was awesome. (If it is good enough for Guy Fieri, then it is good enough for us!) We all liked our food: hamburgers, lamb burger, shrimp taco, fish taco, grilled cheese and sweet potato fries. They even have a playground for the kids, which Alex enjoyed. An older girl showed Alex how to correctly drive the steering wheel.

On Sunday, I got together with a couple of friends. John had to work, so Alex came along and had a blast playing at Toby's house. He mentioned Toby's house last night, so I think that he wants to go back. I explained that it is our turn to invite them over and share our toys, but he quickly jumped to wanting to watch some Dinosaur Train before bed.

Painting

For my birthday, John built me awesome shelves to hold my craft stuff on my desk, and Alex wanted to help with the painting. Paint dries fast in the San Antonio summer heat! I have some more organizing to do before I take a picture of my improved craft desk. Thanks Honey!
Photo taken 6/17/11

Favorite Podcasts

There are 3 Podcasts that I listening to regularly:
1. The Paperclipping Roundtable
http://www.paperclipping.com/category/roundtable/
(You can listen on their website or through iTunes.)
I have listened to every episode of this weekly podcast about scrapbooking. I love the contributions of the regulars and guests. They have even answered some of my questions and taken a couple of my topic suggestions.
2. The Paperclipping Digi Show
http://www.paperclipping.com/category/digishow/
(You can listen on their website or through iTunes.)
Even podcasts can have successful spin-offs! The show focuses on digital scrapbooking, but the content can apply to general scrapbooking. If I listen enough, I may get the motivation to conquer Photoshop!
3. Papertrey Radio
http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/papertrey-radio-podcasts/
After listening to scrapbooking podcasts, I thought about how it would be great to find a cardmaking podcast, and then I heard about Papertrey Radio from Papertrey Ink. At this time, you can listen or download from their website.

Updated 6/28/11: The Paperclipping Digi Show will now be at http://thedigishow.com/

A Week in the Life

Ali Edward's "A Week in the Life" Project is a month away. I have not participated in any of these large scale projects before, but it seems interesting. I think that I will keep it simple since my job and Alex are keeping me busy this summer. I plan to carry my camera and take lots of everyday photos. I hope to blog daily and scan in some ephemera and pieces of our lives. In the end, maybe I will make a Shutterfly photobook with some of my Pampers points. This seems doable.

In Print

In the age of digital photography, it is easy to share an enjoy your photos without printing them. While I do not print all of the photos I take, I still enjoy having a tangible product. There are countless ways and places to print photos and projects, so I will highlight 3 of my favorite sites that I have used recently.

Shutterfly.com
I love Shutterfly's 8x8 photo books! I have printed multiple books and just printed 2 for Father's Day gifts. If you subscrible to their email list, you will find that they regularly run sales. I am currently using my Pampers Gifts to Grow points for these books, so I only pay for extra pages, tax, and shipping. The custom path option is getting better and better on this site. Make sure to save often, since I did have the site crash on me once. I love their books for printing a large number of my photos in an organized manner and for making gifts.

Tiny Prints
I just used this site for cards recently and was happy with the result. They have cute, quality photo cards. I plan to order more cards from them in the future.

Scrapbook Pictures
This is my go-to site for printing unique photo sizes and digital scrapbook pages. I have been using My Digital Studio for over a year and finally printed out my 12x12 digital scrapbook layouts. I orginally wanted to print them through Stampin' Up!, but I did not find their printing service as intuative as their software. I went back to this site, and am happy with the results. I may give the Stampin' Up! printing services another try, but it is hard to beat the price and quality of prints from this company.

Next, I want to try out a service that will print your blog into a photo book.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there, especially to my dad and to my husband!

John - You are such a wonderful dad to Alex! John and Alex are pictured on June 3rd.

John is pictured with his (early) Father's Day gift, a Kindle.

Color Combo Blog Hop #2

Welcome to the second Color Combo Blog Hop organized by Amy at Abstracts Mixed with Extracts. If you are "hopping" along, then you should have arrived from Everything Digital Scrapbooking. Amy found a great "summery" color combination. We seem to be getting an extra dose of summer this year in San Antonio with 100 degree days in June. It makes me want to stay in the air conditioning and craft.

For the blog hop, I decided to make a card. I searched my stash for the colors and found patterned paper, ribbon, card stock and some paper flowers. I die cut some butterflies, and they pretty much took over the card. I even added crystal effects to some butterflies to make them shiny. I did not add a sentiment just yet to give the card more flexibility. It could be a birthday card, thank you card, or congratulations card. I will probably stamp a sentiment on the inside.

Supplies Used
Card stock: Rose Red, Bashful Blue, and Concord Crush from Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Amplified Pop Chart from American Crafts
Die: Embosslits Beautiful Wings from Sizzix/Stampin' Up!
Punch: Ticket Corner from Stampin' Up!
Misc: Saddle stitch ribbon, Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up!), paper flowers, brad

Your next stop on the blog hop is Take a Picture and Remember This.

Here is the complete blog hop list:
http://amysoto.blogspot.com/
http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/
http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.com/
http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com/
http:/handmadebykirsty.blogspot.com
http://www.vsws.typepad.com/
http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/
http://www.scrapworthylives.com/
http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com/
http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/
http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com/
http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/
http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com/ (You are here.)
http://www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com/
http://craftygoodies.blogspot.com/
http://scrapyourlife.net/
http://www.snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com/
http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

Thank you for stopping by!
(The official start time is 10:00 AM Central Time, but I posted a little early. I wanted to check my post before going to Stamp Camp.)

Project of the Week #6

I have been avoiding the "Copic craze" due to the cost, but I recently gave in to it. Copics are awesome markers that illustrators and artist use that have crossed over into crafting. I recently purchased my first Copic Sketch marker (B24 Sky) at Stamp Antonio Arts (along with some other items). I have 6 more Copics coming from eBay.

It takes a little while to get the feel of the marker. The ink colors smoothly and richly. I made two birthday cards the other evening with my new marker and Basic Grey paper. Yes, I am hooked and I have not even starting blending with the markers yet.

Supplies Used
Stamp Set: Happy Moments from Stampin' Up!
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Riding Hood Red from Stampin' Up!
Marker: Copic Sketch (B24) Sky
Card Stock: Kraft and Riding Hod Red from Stampin' Up! and Neenah Solar White
Paper: Life of the Party from Basic Grey (6x6 pad)

Texas Folklife Festival

Last Saturday we had a great time at the Texas Folklife Festival at the Institute of Texan Cultures. We walked around the museum and grounds, enjoyed Japanese and Greek food, and Alex got his first UTSA jersey. We went early enough to beat the heat and the crowds.

Last year at the festival, Alex was barely walking.

This year at the festival, Alex was running around and big enough to ride the car ride. What a difference a year makes!

Alex's Favorite Outfit

Alex wore his favorite outfit on Monday, which includes his "car shirt" and Elmo socks. Many days he asks to wear his "car shirt."

Favorite Stamp Set

I have been stamping for over two and a half years, and Sincere Salutations from Stampin' Up! continues to be one of my favorite sets. It is versatile and easy to use. I go to it over and over for cards because the flowing font does not have to be lined up perfectly to look good. It only comes in wood mount, but I do not mind that it takes up more space than clear stamps. Anyone else have a favorite stamp set?

10 Things

Shimelle created a "long-term" blogging project for the Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers class. Welcome to my first 10 Things post on the 10th of the month. We will start with my Top Ten Scrapbooking/Stamping Supplies:

10. American Crafts D Ring Album These are great quality albums at the good price.
Overstock.com
9. American Crafts Thickers I love these alphabet stickers, especially in white foam.
Scrapbook.com
8. EK Success/Stampin' Up!/Martha Stewart Punches I have acquired quite a collection of punches over the past 6 years, and I like the quality and design of these punches.
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
7. Sizzix Big Shot I resisted the Cricut Craze and did not plan to buy a die cut machine. After using the Big Shot and finding a great deal on Overstock.com, I could no longer resist.
Overstok.com
6. Crop-a-dile Corner Chomper It's the best corner rounder!
Scrapbook.com
5. Bazill Textured Card Stock Great for Scrapbook Layouts!
Scrapbook.com
4. Stampin' Up! Smooth Card Stock Great for cards!
Kraft
3. Versa Mark Ink It is great for watermarks and embossing.
Stampin' Up!
2. Staz On Black Ink It is easy to use and gives crisp images.
Scrapbook.com
1. Fiskars Paper Trimmer I am on my second one now and found one that I love. It is portable and cuts straight.
Scrapbook.com

I thought of this topic because I have been cleaning out some extra supplies. I donated some to a local YWCA, and next I want to send a box to scrapbookers in Joplin, MO who were affected by the tornado. Here is a link explaining where to send supplies by 6/22/11: Scrapbook Supply Drive. I like the idea of passing along supplies to women who will use them. Cleaning out extra supplies helps me focus on the ones that I use and love.

Project of the Week #5

Here is a card that I made for one of my co-workers:

Supplies used:
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Plus One
Ink: Staz On Black and Stampin'Up! Markers in Condord Crush andSo Saffron
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug
Cardstock: Stampin' Up Whisper White, Concord Crush, Taken with Teal, and Daffodil Delight
Misc: White Buttons

I decided that it also fits the Lawnscaping Challenge #11 for a Clean and Simple card. I kept the embellishments to a minimum on this card.

Pasta Salad

Last night I made a pasta salad with a tomato and basil from our garden. I modified a recipe from SOS! The Six O'Clock Scramble to the Rescue. This book is awesome! A friend gave me a copy, and I have liked every recipe that I've tried from the book.

Here is what I had on hand:
8oz farfalle pasta
1 large tomato (chopped)
20 small chopped basil leaves
Juice from 1 lemon
4 slices of bacon (chopped)
4 oz reduced fat feta cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook pasta and bacon, and then let them cool. Mix in other ingredients and chill before serving. Makes about 4 servings.