Too Sweet

And a bit bittersweet...as this is the last recipe challenge, Paper Mixing Bowl will be closing after this month. Sarah, you gave me my foot in the door last July with my first ever DT. I will miss designing with your recipes and with the great group of ladies you chose for your team!

Here is the layout I did for the challenge:

I used the blue, purple and rose colors of the main ingredients. For my utensils I used pearls in the flowers, washi tape, faux stitching, hearts, lots of mixed media "mess" and some stamping (my title).

I do hope you will consider "cooking" with us for our last recipe! Come join us!!

April Reveal at Paper Mixing Bowl - You Brighten up my Day

Here is our gorgeous recipe for April, just love those colors and the sketch:

I used the main ingredients, all the colors. For my utensils I covered it in whip cream (I used gesso), I used music paper for my music inspired elements, lots of May flowers, birds as my signs of spring, torn paper strips and masking with molding paste.

I was inspired by the journalling prompt of sunshine, but interpreted it as "You Brighten Up My Day"!!

The papers are from the gorgeous Prima Lyric collection, Tando Chipboard Birdcage, Prima and Petaloo flowers, and a little bit of Couture Creations in there with my Endless Dreams Tranquility flourish die!

We'd love to have you come play with us!! 
Come join us at Paper Mixing Bowl!!

I'd love to enter this in the A to Z scraplets April Challenge (title), the Creative Inspirations Paint Spring colors challenge and Scrap for Help April Challenge (book paper)

March Paper Mixing Bowl Reveal - Ceol agus Craic - Music and Fun!!

Being that I am in Ireland and that we had an Irish themed recipe this month, I thought I would do a layout featuring a traditional Irish music session that my daughter participates in that takes place in our local pub! The title Ceol agus Craic means Music and Fun.

I kept to the colors of the recipe: green, brown and black. For my utensils, I tried to incorporate most of them, I used small photos, lace, a feather, did a green layout, added a gold charm and did some stamping! For my directions, I stamped my journalling!

Here is a closeup of my flower cluster, my friend Amy made the gorgeous brown flower for me!!

The recipes are a lot of fun! Hope you will join us this month over at Paper Mixing Bowl.

I would love to enter this in the Scrap for Help burlap challenge.

Generations of Love - February Reveal for Paper Mixing Bowl!

I loved this month's recipe!! Red Velvet Cake!! Lots of layers, that yummy red, brown and cream combo...

I decided to do mine with old family photos. I layered some book pages from my favorite vintage Jane Austen novel I read so much it fell apart. Luckily it happened after I started scrapping and I bought a new copy of the book and my eyes lit up with possibilities for using the yellowed book pages for flowers, layers, etc!!

For the utensils: I made my layer cake, lots of layers of doilies book pages, some burlap and 3 photos. For my frosting I used a ledger mask and molding paste to make a background behind my layers and then I inked it up with walnut stain distress ink. For my pairs I used two hearts two branch stamps and pairs of similar flowers...the photos are also full of pairs!! I have some postage stamp fussy cut from the Pion Papers that I was using, the From the Heart collection.  I put a few coffee stain rings on the layout with my inks, and lots of flowers and hearts. I used three photos.

For my directions: I used the inspiration word of love and titled the layout Generations of Love.

Hope you come join us over at the Paper Mixing Bowl and give this great recipe a try!!

I am also going to enter this into a few of this months challenges, Zeus and Zoe's Love Challenge, Get Creative's Love challenge, and Scrap for Help plastic challenge (I stamped on recycled report covers with Staz-on ink for the title and branches in the flower cluster)

Believe - January Reveal for Paper Mixing Bowl

I seem to be trying out a more modern look from time to time, as this and my layout I am finishing up today will attest to...it is fun to try!!

Here is the recipe for January, hope you will come play with us!!

I decided to do a layout about my resolution to lose weight and the word I chose for the year, believe!!  I keep trying to lose weight but give up too easily when tired or frustrated. Having MS and a thankfully minor case at the moment, I know it isn't good to keep eating poorly...I am drinking more water, eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, and trying my best to improve! So far so good, I am down 7 lbs in the first two weeks of the year, yay!!  I journaled 10 things to believe in doing along the edge of my layout: believe I can lose the weight, believe I can swim three times a week, believe I can drink more water, believe....in myself!!

For my utensils I used mists in the background as my wet medium, the paper clip embellie as my metal element, lots of stitching, some Prima black bling swirls and lots of white space!

I hope I can keep up my good habits and my goal is to be at my goal weight by next Christmas! A long road, but I believe I will do it this time!!

December Reveal for Paper Mixing Bowl!

I am so very proud to be on the DT for the clever recipe challenge at Paper Mixing Bowl! The monthly colors, sketch and recipe ingredients really inspire you to pull out stash and get creative. Here is this month's sketch.

And here is my take on it:

I used beautiful Riddersholm papers from last year, some Simple Stories and MME die cuts...I wrapped up a present (Wrap it up) and tied a pretty red satin bow (Stick a Bow on it)... I used metallic elements (Jingle bells which also count for buttons baubles and bells) and used the lovely snowflake ornaments for my Let it Snow utensil! For the directions I journaled about our tradition of going somewhere fun in Ireland for our Santa visit...we have seen Santa at a zoo (Fota Island in Cork), a CAVE (Ailwee Caves in Galway) and a Castle (Bunratty Castle in Clare). This is a photo of the girls at the Zoo visit going down a slide!!  I used twine and clipped the photo and journaling on and hung the snowflakes and bells like ornaments. I had a lot of fun working on this!!

Thanksgiving Leftovers - November Paper Mixing Bowl DT Reveal -

It is time for the November reveal for the Paper Mixing Bowl's new challenge! Here is the wonderful sketch and recipe!!

Here is my take on the sketch!!

I kept the all neutral tone for the recipe, using lots of shades of cream and browns.

For my utensils: My found object is the metal filagree I have at the bottom of the photo under the butterfly, that was a thrift store purchase for pennies, I got a bunch of great metal pieces and broken jewelry for using on layouts and projects! My element from nature is a branch from a tree in our back garden up at the top of the page!! I added a nest up there for fun, and did some stamping of leaves, another ingredient! I made my own background by using a damask stencil and molding paste, and my final ingredient was the use of fiber which is there below the photo.

For my directions: I did a layout about my family, for which I am always thankful!! I included many elements of natures and outdoors, including a real branch and the beautiful backdrop of the Shannon River and Clare hills behind my family in the photo... I used a stamped sentiment for my journalling.

I had a lot of fun putting this together and used some flowers from Zva Creative and Manor House... I love those Prima light bulbs too and was fun to use those!! The paper clip is an embellie from Melody Ross, love it!!

Thanks for looking!!!

Haunted DT Layout for Paper Mixing Bowl!!

I had a lot of fun with this month's layout and went for a Halloween theme using a photo of the girls from last year and the fun pumpkin we carved...

For my utensils I:

1. Carved Something: My skeleton framed image in the photo cluster
2. Disgused Something: The frame that holds the title was inked with Versamark and embossed several time for a metallic look...
3. Caught something in a Web: I used several web stickers and then added cheesecloth cobwebs around the layout...
4. Steampunked it up: I added some screw head brads and a gear...
5. Went Batty: I added some bats around the photo cluster...

I journalled about our Halloween memories from last year...I added some beautiful Prima flowers and some spiders crawling up the page onto the scroll which is also a part of the recipe... I misted the page with Hag's Wart Orange by Lindys Stamp Gang...

Please come by and join us this month at Paper Mixing Bowl!!

September Reveal for Paper Mixing Bowl

We had a fun theme for this month: games! I knew exactly what I wanted to do for this, as we have a weekly game of Mexican Train dominos with some friends of ours and our eldest daughter joins in on the fun too!!

I have a had the yellow domino paper in my stash for ages...well I've only been scrapping just over a year, so I bought this paper about a year ago: Crate Paper Restoration!  When I saw the color for this month was yellow and games night...I knew that paper had to come out!

For my utensils I used game pieces, actual dominos I bought to alter for projects...these ones I colored with yellow and green alcohol inks to tie into the layout....I also stamped on the back of six of them to make the title...I'll explain how you can alter dominos with the alcohol ink and use Staz-on ink to embellish them in a post later this week....I have also made beautiful necklaces as gifts using this same technique! It isn't difficult and the results can be so stunning!

I did some black soot ink splatters...the domino and dots are definitely my repetitive shapes! I used kraft paper with some freehand doodles for my layering and the journalling is hidden on the white tag which you can use the domino glued to it to pull it out :). We've had this game night for years now and it is lovely to have our friends over for a bit of fun each week! So fun to create a layout about it!!

We'd love to have you come join us over at the Paper Mixing Bowl for this month's recipe!!

Priceless Treasure - Paper Mixing Bowl August Recipe!

Here is the recipe for August! Margaritas, my favorites!!

I had a lot of fun with this recipe! It uses a combination of My Minds Eye Lost and Found paper and Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue paper and stamps! Following the recipe, I used some clear acetate frames for the photos (My Mind's Eye Be Happy), some torn papers, some netting under the shells...Tropical Travelogue stamp diecuts.... I have hidden journalling about a great day at the beach on a trip our family took to Portugal a few years ago...Aine was collecting shells and is showing them in the photo on the right, so it was perfect to go with the seashells I put on the page! The Priceless Treasure title is from BoBunny Weekend Market sticker sheet!

Thanks so much for stopping by!