Win with Spellbinders & Core'dinations Blog Swap Day 3

Welcome to the Spellbinders and Core’dinations Blog Swap!

This week Spellbinders™ has teamed up with Core’dinations Color Core Cardstock® to showcase the wonderful ways our products work together!

Today I have 2 simple coordinating projects to share with you! Thanksgiving is right around the corner for us Canadians, so I could not resist creating Thankful themed projects for this occasion!


I used 2 Core'dinations Color Core Cardstock packs for these projects...
My Minds Eye Lost and Found Collection
Jenni Bowlin Everyday Collection

In creating my card, I began with Spellbinders LF-161 Grand Labels One. I cut the card base from this and folded it in half. From there, I used the following die templates...
S5-073 Orchard Harvest Tags and Accents
S4-348 Postage Stamps
S5-028 Nested Pennants
S4-328 Foliage


In creating the gift box, (which I see Christine Emberson and I both were thinking alike...) I used the following Spellbinders die templates:
LF-010 Square Bracket Edge Box
S5-073 Orchard Harvest Tags and Accents
S4-348 Postage Stamps
S5-028 Nested Pennants
S4-328 Foliage

In working with Core'dinations cardstock, there are so many options!! I love the sanded look, as seen on the cream or brown colored papers. While on the red and gold I used ink to bring out the embossing! SO many options!!
I also loved the Core'dinations Dust Buddy for this project! This piece of cloth that cleans up the dust from your sanding! It is the first time I used it, but it will NOT be the last! It cleaned up every drop of dust without effort! You have to give it a try if you like sanding your papers!!
Bringing these two companies together, one can't help but create something beautiful... Try it and you'll see what all the fuss is about! :)

****************************************************************Sophistication, value and maximum versatility make Spellbinders™ die
templates #1. Beautiful Details Inspiring Creativity…Spellbinders unique
triple function die templates allow you to cut, emboss, and then stencil
through the die template for unlimited possibilities. The Spellbinders Grand Calibur® machine and Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities™ die templates cut and emboss up to 11¾”, taking die cutting to grand proportions. Follow Spellbinders on Facebook , Twitter and the Spellbinders Blog!

Core’dinations ColorCore Cardstock is the only sandable cardstock with a color core. Sand it, tear it, emboss it and so much more! The Core Essentials line comes in over 160 colors with matching color families. Or maybe you are looking for something a bit more contrasting like the Black Magic or Chocolate Box collections. The sandable core will shine through the unique black and brown colors once it is sanded. Core’dinations has also teamed up with industry leading companies such as Pink Paislee, BasicGrey, Graphic 45 and more to create new and unique pre-embossed cardstock that perfectly accents their patterned papers.

But there is more! Check out Core’dinations website for the new Cardmaker Series, Kraft-Core and various other wonderful cardstock lines.

Be sure to follow Core'dinations thru these links...
Core’dinations Blog
Core’dinations Website
Core’dinations Facebook

{Leave a comment to win fabulous prizes}

Spellbinders is offering TWO winners, drawn from the comments left on the participating Designer's blogs, each a $24.99 value die template of their choice. Winners will be chosen randomly at the end of the week. Core'dinations will be giving away prizes too so be sure to visit their Scrapbook Blog for details.

Here is the blog list for the week! Be sure to visit each blog and leave a comment...

Mon Sept 26

Heidi Blackenship

Sherry Cheever

Tues Sept 27

Kazan Clark

Christine Emberson

Gloria Stengel

Wed Sept 28

Julie Overby

Tina McDonald (YOU ARE HERE)

Kimberly Crawford

Thurs Sept 29

Holly Simoni

Latisha Yoast

Windy Robinson

Fri Sept 30

Tonya Dirk

Beth Pingry

Don't forget to stop by each Designer's Blog all week (including the participants from the Blog Swap Day One and Blog Swap Day Two). Remember to leave a comment to enter to win! Spellbinders will randomly draw winners at the end of the week from all the comments posted on the designers blogs.

Other products used:
Gina K Stamps, Creative Impressions ribbon, Want2Scrap bling, Buttons Gallore buttons, ClearSnap ink, Cosmic Shimmers mica shimmer powder, Ranger distress ink, twine, Helmar adhesives

Thanks for stopping by!!
Until Next Time...
Happy Scrapping!
~TINA~

Yummy recipes to share

I've been cooking up a storm lately! I have a few good ones that I thought I'd share with ya's!!

In the oven right now is...

Out of This World Brownies

from Taste Of Home Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2005

1 Cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/4 cup + 3TBSP baking cocoa

1/8 tsp salt

Brown Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter

4 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup + 2 tsp half and half cream (I used coffee cream)

2 tsp vanilla

Glaze

1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate

1 Tbsp butter

1. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in Vanilla. Combine Flour, Cocoa and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture.

2. Spread into ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30m minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool on wire rack.

3. For frosting, in a heavy saucepan, cook and stir butter over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Pour into mixing bowl; beat in icing sugar, cream and vanilla. Frost cooled brownies.

4. For Glaze, melt chocolate and butter; drizzle over frosting. Cut into bars.

Makes 3 dozen

Supper last night was this next recipe... only I replace Bullseye bbq sauce... and used steak instead of pork! Delish!!

Sweet and sour Pork Chops and Peppers

from Kraft's WHAT'S COOKING fall issue

4 boneless pork chops

1 red pepper cut into strips

1 LG onion, halved, sliced

1/2 cup Kraft Chicken and Rib bbq sauce

1/4 Kraft Catalina salad dressing

1. Heat Oven to 375 (I used 325)

2. Place meat in 9x13 pan.

3. Combine bbq sauce and salad dressing. Spoon over chops.

4. Top with onions and peppers.

5. Bake 30 minutes or until chops are done. stir veggies after 15 min.

(I baked at 325 for 2 hrs, covered in foil)

This next one was sooo yummy!!! Served with rice.

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

from Kraft WHAT'S COOKING Fall issue

10 bone in chicken thighs skin removed (I used breasts, bone in)

1 jar (650 ml) Thick and chunky salsa

1 onion chopped

2TBSP curry powder

1/2 cup Philadelphia cream cheese spread

1. Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine next 3 ingredients. Pour over chicken. Cover with lid.

2. Cook on low for 8-10 hrs or High for 5 hrs. (I did 4)

3. Transfer chicken to platter and keep warm. Add cream cheese spread to slow cooker. Sisk until melted and well blended. Spoon over chicken, serve.

Hope these recipes help beat some of those what to have supper nights! :) I'd love to hear what you think of them, or I'd also love to hear some of your favorite recipes!

Until next time... Happy COOKING! :)

~TINA~

Want To Make It Fabulous blog hop!!!

WANT TO MAKE IT FABULOUS!!

Want2Scrap™ , Spellbinders™ Paper Arts and JustRite® Stampers Designers have teamed up to bring you an amazing four day Blog Hop Event Sept 6 -9, filled with fabulous designs that are sure to inspire all!! Each day we will be sharing a link list with you for the featured designers!

Maybe Being 35 Won't Be So Bad

Today I want to share a layout with you. In creating this page, I used the JustRite "You Inspire Me" cling stamp set. I ADORE this set! Doilies are all the rage right now and I just love creating with them! This set of doily looking stamps appealed to my girlie side right away!!
I used these stamps in two ways in creatin this page.
First, I stamped directly onto my backround patterned paper. Sometimes I would use the freshly inked stamp, to give a definate dark image. Other times I used the stamp again (not freshly inked) to give more of a faint image. I love the effect these 2 make together. I used Want2Scrap Nestabling Heart Circles in black to help define the doilies! PERFECT!
Secondly, I stamped the smaller doily image onto cardstock. I then diecut/embossed them using my Grand Calubur (R) machine and Spellbinders S4-114 Standard Circles LG die template #3 (with #1 being the smallest). I inked the edges and cut them each in half. I used these to create a scalloped border.
To help complete the page, I used Spellbinders S5-041 Floral Doily Motifs. This is one of my FAVORITE Spellbinders die template sets!! I cut the largest doily twice. Before removing from the template, I inked the inside edge using the stenciling technique. I added the Want2Scrap Nestabling on these as well. I cut each of the doilies in half. Then I tucked them in where I wanted them!

DESIGNER TIP: When creating this page, I ran out of black rhinestone circles, but yet wanted to add more. What I did was used another shape in the same color. I trimmed it and reshaped it into a circle!! Worked like a charm! No need to do without when you can create what you want!!

Supplies:
Spellbinders Grand Calibur machine, S5-041 Floral Doily Motifs, Spellbinders S4-114 Standard Circles LG
Want2Scrap Nestabling Heart Circles in black rhinestones
JustRite Stampers YOU INSPIRE ME cling stamps
Crate Paper Portrait collection (patterned papers, alpha's and labels)
Cosmo Cricket (mini alpha)
ClearSnap Colorbox Cat Eyes Pigment Ink (black)
Ranger Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap)
Buttons Gallore and more (buttons)
Twine
Helmar Premium Craft Glue, 45o quick dry
Bazill Basics Cardstock
****************************************************************************
What would a blog hop be without prizes? Yes, we
will also be giving away prizes!!

*Want2Scrap will be giving away 2 $25.00 Gift Certificates.

*Spellbinders Paper Arts will be giving away 2 Die Template sets
with a value of $24.99 each.

* JustRite Stampers will be giving away 2 Stamp Sets of the
winner’s choice.

The winners will be drawn from the blog commenter so be sure to visit
them all and leave a comment one each to increase your chances of
winning.The contest for the prizes will be open until midnight Saturday,
September 10th. Winners will be announced on Monday September
12th on the company blogs.


Are you new to Want2Scrap , SpellbindersPaper Arts or JustRite
Stampers? Here is a little information about all three of these amazing
companies. Each company offers a unique line of products that work
wonderfully together to make some fabulous designs. Sophistication,
value and maximum versatility make Spellbinders die
templates#1. Beautiful Details Inspiring Creativity…Spellbinders
unique triplefunction die templates allow you to cut, emboss, and
then stencilthrough the die template for unlimited possibilities. The
SpellbindersGrand Calibur® machine and Spellbinders Grand
Nestabilities™ cutand emboss up to 11¾”, taking die cutting to
grand proportions.Follow Spellbinders on Facebook , Twitter and
the Spellbinders Blog!

Want2Scrap™ manufacturers rhinestone lines including the
specialty Nestabling™ line along with the newly released Nestaboard™
chipboard line that coordinates perfectly with the Spellbinders
Nestabilities® die templates. Want2Scrap also manufacturers their
own linechipboard albums and accents, acrylic albums, and
multi-layeredlaser designs and other fine scrapbooking products.
Want2Scrapbrings ease of use and flexibility in their product lines
by offering products uniquely tailored to its customers’ needs. Follow
Want2Scrap on Facebook and the Want2Scrap Blog !

JustRite Stampers entire collection of stamps are
designed to be compatible with Spellbinders die templates.
JustRite Originals interlocking stamp system allows you to
mix and match borders and centers to create dozens of design
possibilities. Since the spring of 2008, JustRite Original
stamps have been designed to coordinate with the Spellbinders
Nestabilities,Decorative Elements and Basic Shapes. In January
of 2011, JustRite began introducing Cling Stamps Sets designed
to coordinate with Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels. JustRite
Cling stamps are deeply etched pre-cut red rubber mounted
on Static Cling Foam made in the USA . Cling sets come on a
colored 8 1/2 x 6 1/2" Storage Panel for easy storage in our
Cling Mini Binder Box. For thousands of ideas on projects using
JustRite and Spellbinders die templates visit the JustRite Design
Gallery and the JustRite Blog. You can also follow our blog by
following us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to each company’s blog!

Want2Scrap Blog

Spellbinders Paper Arts Blog

JustRite Stampers Blog

Today’s featured bloggers are:

September 9
Mona Pendleton
Heidi Blankenship
Windy Robinson
Michele Kovack
Tina McDonald -----YOU ARE HERE!!
Gloria Stengel
Kathy Jones

Thank you, I hope you enjoy the Blog Hop.
Your comment will count as a prize entry!

Until Next Time...
Happy Scrapping!!
~TINA~

"Fall"ing in love with Fall

Hey all!!Sigh... I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief...Now don't get me wrong... I love having my kids at home all summer! However... this year I completely lost control... lost control over the laundry, over the grocery shopping, the cleaning, my creating, my blog, everything! It was a crazy busy summer and I just couldn't keep up. I felt like such a failure...But here we are, the second day with the kids back to school and already I feel like I'm starting to gain a bit of control again. Laundry baskets are empty, meals are planned, the fridge is full of food, kids are happy... and I'm creating today. So just maybe I'm not such a failure... I just do the best I can with what time I have...and this summer I had very little. Kids staying up until my bedtime practically, gave me no sanity time... and I've come to discover that I NEED that time more than I realized. Lesson learned... now hopefully I will be able to come up with a game-plan for next summer that works better... for everyone's sake! :)So now that I'm back into the swing of things, I have some projects to share! :)Today's project is one I did for a blog post for Simply Renee... Clip-It-Up. See the blog post here with some organizational ideas and tips.

I Can't Help FALLing in Love With You

This layout was a big pain to photograph... so take my word for it when Isay it IS straight!! ;) I had so much fun playing with a ton ofSpellbinders™ die templates on here!! GrandOvals, GrandBig Scalloped Ovals, different Edgabilitiesand the Samantha Walker's Orchard Harvest Tags and Accents.

The ability to stencil thru the die templates makes these die templates soamazing!! See the detail on the leaves and the smaller frame? All stenciledthru the template!! Amazing!
IDEA TO TRY:
I cut a square of cardstock just a bit larger than the oval. I trimmedstrips of various patterned papers and lightly distressed the edges. I adheredeach of them to the rectangle. Then I ran it thru my Spellbinders ™ GrandCalibur ® die cutting machine using the Grand Nestabilities® Grand Ovals die template. This cut out the large oval mat! To make this photomat even more fun, I also cut out a larger Grand Big Scalloped Oval to “mat mymat” so to speak! How fun!! Add a bit of Stickles glitter and this unique photomat is ready for my oval photo!
Try playing with Ovals!! Circles have been a favorite design element of minefor a LONG time! So playing with ovals isn't too much of a"stretch"... LOL! And it gives a unique and fun look to your design!Give it a try!!
Thanks for stopping by! I will be back again soon!! Friday actually!! Spellbinders isparticipating in a blog hop with Just-Rite stamps and Want2Scrap!! It's going on now if you want to check out the AMAZING talent!! I'll be sharing myproject on Friday... right here! :)
Until then...
Happy Scrapping!!
PS: Please excuse how things are looking. Blogger is messing with me today... I'll fix it as soon as I can!
Thanks for your patience! :)