After the Big Wig Bash...

I just had the best weekend, sitting at home and playing in an online 30 hour crop (started Friday night and ended early Sunday morning my time!) My first crop ever…whew! I’m paying for it now, but it was worth it!

Did anyone else play? It was called The Big Wig Bash. It was put on by Big Picture Scrapbooking and Key Lime Crops. Fabulous fun and prizes and it was free! (Sorry can't give a link to the Big Wig gallery - you had to preregister for the crop to have access.)

I was a little worried seeing that it was based in Pacific Time, but it really didn’t matter; in fact, I think it actually was better for me. On Friday, I only stayed up until about 0030 and since some of the activity slowed down (didn’t stop!) during my early morning time (they’re 9 hours diff, I think) I was able to catch up with what I missed – which wasn’t really much, since most of the projects weren’t due until the 29th hour.

My husband and kids were so great on Saturday! He was busy with studying and taking a mid-term and the kids pretty much took care of themselves most of the day. I did stop and make dinner and visit for a bit, but then I played until almost 0400! And yes, we made it to church on time Sunday morning! (If you saw me Sunday morning and thought I looked pretty rough...that was why! *grin* )

So, here’s the ad and my first layout. The message in the middle of the ad was perfect! (The challenge was an ad inspired layout. Sorry about the photos. The first hour was intro yourself with a big wig picture (the photo on the left), so I did. And then I added them to the layout.) The title reads:

- do something BIG while there's still time to put it in your autobiography -



While in between layout challenges I created an embellished journaling pocket. Not sure what I'll use it for, but K. said something about making one with magnets for her locker...



This challenge was to create an embellished quote. I decided to make it into a layout, so I could enter it into another challenge. (click to see)




This layout was a fun one! The challenge was to list 8 statements that were said/written about you that you could neither confirm nor deny! (Click the photo to read mine.)



Okay, I think that's enough for now. Off to run errands!

So, what did you want to know?

My friend Krista posted this meme on her blog and I decided that I would do the same! It's fun to read juicy details about the author of a blog...I almost always learn something new. If you feel inclined to share a little about yourself, please copy this meme and put your link in the comments, so that I can visit your blog (or send me an email! )

(In the past I have received several of these types of surveys. I have never actually participated in one until today. So, if you have ever sent me one of these surveys/memes, here ya go!)




1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
Uh…yeah! I think 17+ years is bordering on ‘serious!’
2011 will be 20 years!

2) What was your dream growing up?
I wanted to be a marine biologist, living and researching life in the ocean.

3) What talent do you wish you had?
Intuitive Aptitude – the ability to know things without formal education or special training

4) If I were to buy you a drink, what would it be?
A REAL banana milkshake – real banana, vanilla bean ice cream, whole milk, topped with full fat, fluffy whipped cream (not the canned stuff!), sprinkled with finely chopped pecans

5) Favorite vegetable?
Sweet Corn ON the cob (with lots of butter, salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne!)

6) What was the last book you read?
Last book: Bone Song (John Meaney)
Currently listening to: Three Cups of Tea (Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin)
Finishing up the Eye of the World series. Was sad when Robert Jordan passed away.

7) Which zodiac sign are you?
Aquarius – I’m a dreamer!

8) Any tattoos and/or piercings? Explain where.
No tats. My ears 5Xs (2 sets and a single).

9) What would you say is your worst habit?
I’m a foodie! I love to experience food, not just eat it! Texture, aroma, temperature, flavors, color…so I may just have to have another piece to enjoy (not just eat!)

10) If you saw a friend walking down the street would you offer them a ride?
Is it raining?! Just kidding. Yeah, I would.

11) What is your favorite sport?
Chasing my children around the tiled house with a wooden spoon! It’s great exercise for your core, especially when you can slide around the corners really fast while wearing socks! What a way to whittle the waist! ( I crack me up! rotfl)

Seriously, swimming! It has everything – skills, individual, team, suspense, easy to watch…and none of the events last more that 15-20 minutes.

12) Do you have a mostly negative or optimistic attitude?
Definitely, positive! Who wants to be the one to suck the fun out of everything?!

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with someone?
Probably have to pee! Haha. Really. When I get nervous, I have to go! I would probably try all the buttons and the phone/alarm and then talk up a storm since that’s the other thing I do when I’m nervous! I’m a little claustrophobic.

14) What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you?
My mother died when I was barely 20.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
Weird? Uh…my family thinks I’m weird because I don’t like peanut butter on my pancakes, French toast or pickle & mayo sandwiches. (Well, that last one is just Jess!)

16) Do you have any pets?
A neurotic Australian Shepherd named Roxie (a.k.a. Velcro Dog!) and about 100 fish (many cichlids, mostly African Malawi; guppies; plecos; several species of loaches; shrimp; angelfish; others…)
Alas, the fish went to other homes when we were getting ready to move from Germany back to the states. We now have 2 dogs, the Aussie and a Border Collie rescue named Maverick.

17) What would you do if a friend showed up at your house unexpectedly?
Chat with them on the porch. If it seemed that we might talk awhile, invite them in. Unless I know you well, then you’ll get invited in right away!

“If you’re coming to see me – come on over! If you’re coming to see the house – make an appointment!” See the “About Me” over in the right-hand column…see Domestic Goddess in training?

18) What was your first impression of your best friend?
“This girl is FUN!”

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
In general, scary! Remember Stephen King’s “It”?!

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
I would love to have my mother’s hair – long, straight, thick, rich black hair!

21) Would you be a crime partner or someone's conscience?
Depends on what it was. If we’re talking a real crime – breaking the law, hurtful, could go to jail kind of crime – call me Miss Killjoy. If we're talking prank, where everyone would laugh about it tomorrow - count me in!

22) What color are your eyes?
Brown. (Plain brown, James!)

23) Have you ever been arrested?
I’m sorry. Could you repeat the question? *wink*

24) Bottle or can pop?
“Pop?” This reminds me of my coastal family…If given the choice - Give me fountain soda!

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
I think I would take the family on some sort of worldly once-in-a-lifetime, do some good, expedition trip – will have to research this one…

27) What's your favorite place to hang at?
Easy! On the beach on a comfy chaise lounger, a book, and a banana milkshake, admiring the hubby while he plays with the kids! :o)

28) Do you believe in ghosts?
No, but I do believe in spirits, too.

29) What's your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
What spare time?! If we’re talking just about ‘me’ time…it would be reading and crafting, preferable in an outdoor setting.

30) Do you swear a lot?
It is not my usual mode of speech…

31) What's your biggest pet peeve?
Whiners! Those people that complain about the same things over and over again and never DO anything about it.

32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
Evolving.

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
Is this a trick question? I don’t go for the grandiose over-the-top one day a year kind of romance. I LOVE the little, thoughtful things he does to show me that he’s thinking of me every day!

35) Do you believe in God?
Yes, with all my heart.

Blog Hopping - new widgets!

Okay. I admit it. I have a problem. I AM AN INTERNET JUNKIE. I can spend hours and hours and not even realize that the kids have been upstairs eating cereal and Nerds for dinner while watching the AFN Family channel all day! Bad mom!

Wow! Glad that's off my chest! Hehehe

That being said, today I was blog hopping and found a cool widget! Widget? That's the name for the fun little details on a website/blog like a visitor counter. (See mine?. Need more info check out this definition at the bottom of the page!) Supposedly, it's short for 'windows gadget.'

Anyway, with the Olympics going on and all, the kids and I have been scrambling to figure out what team is playing by the uniforms and the flags. Lo and behold! There's a game widget for world flags. How cool is that? IMO (in my opinion) pretty cool! The game shows you a flag and you have to click on the map where you think the capital is...try it out! It's at the bottom of my blog.

Have fun! Leave me a comment and tell me how well you did (or not!)

IKEA, Kickball and S'mores

Aaahhh! Thursday, Friday, Saturday...yep, it's been 3 days since I had intended to get some family stuff up. Well, in the past I would have felt totally guilty, but today, not so much.

Jess had taken a few days off from work and we hadn't had a date night in months, so I mentioned it. Our default date is dinner and a movie, but not much playing that we just had to see. Tossed around some ideas and then he said the magic words...

Do you need anything from IKEA? We could spend the day out there...

What kind of question is that?! As if that was really a question...YES!!! Of course, there's a sports store a few doors down, but hey, one for him, one for me!

So, late Thursday night we watched Cloverfield. Not a fan. I mean, c'mon! If I was running for my life from some chicken-headed, grasshopper legged alien, I would NOT be running with a recorder on my face!!! Although I will give kudos for the ending...I liked the irony, but it was a looonng time in coming. So Blair Witch. Don't recommend (unless, of course, you're a Blair Witch fan!)

Friday went to the doctor for this sore throat that I'd had for 2 weeks. Short version: Put off making a dr. appoint for a week. Finally called, got dr. appointment. Got in car. Cell phone rang. Dr. sick. Rescheduled for next day. Arrive 20 minutes early. Computers down. Didn't see dr. until an hour past my appointment time. 90 minutes later on my way to IKEA!

Love walking the showrooms. So many great ideas! Bought some stuff to organize my craft room (pics and update coming!) bars, baskets, magnets, metal strips...Best part? Jess hung up all my stuff on Saturday! He is so great at organizing my stuff! I got these translucent white baskets to hang on the bars, but only got 4 because I wasn't exactly sure 1. if I really liked them and 2. what I was going to actually use them for...I should have listened to Jess and bought 10! (There. I said it. You were right. It can happen to anybody!)

He bought some of the same stuff for the garage and he gave me one of his bars when I realized I should have gotten one more! Love this man! He so gets me.

Well, I said there would be pics of kickball and smores...sorry, not alot of pics. We were having such a great time eating, visiting and playing kickball that we forgot about the pics!


The Grill Master [a.k.a Fire Boy ;0)]


Jonny in action!


Mmmmm! S'mores!

Tips for Downloading the Stampin' Up! Catalog

(If you were stopping by to check on the family, stop by later! S'mores and kickball coming up!)

If you've tried to view the new Stampin' Up! catalog online, you'll notice that it is a large PDF file that needs to be downloaded for viewing. This is only temporary until online ordering is available!

SU!'s new online ordering system will soon take the place of the online catalog - You will soon be able to order Stampin' Up! online 24/7 through my Demonstrator Website !!! So, for now here are a couple of tips...

1. Open Adobe Reader, click on Edit, then Preferences, then Internet and check that your connection speed is correct. Use the drop down menu to change it, if necessary.

2. Click on the picture of the new Stampin' Up! catalog in my sidebar. (It will take you to Stampin' Up!'s catalog page.) Right-click the blue download link under the picture and then click Save Target As and save the file to your computer (mine's on my Desktop!) so that you can look at the new catalog any time you want!

3. Please be patient as you download. The file is large (but so worth it!) and there's a lot of traffic at the download site.

4. If all of this is too much trouble, contact me to order your very own 'take anywhere' catalog!

Hugs,

Angi

Stampin' Up!'s New Catalog Is Here!

I bet you’re wondering, “What’s up with all the Stampin’ Up! stuff?” Well, if you’ve ever read my ‘About Me’ I share that I am a Stampin’ Up! (SU!) Demonstrator.

Am I trying to pressure you to buy SU! stuff?! No!!!

I started this blog, long before I joined up with SU!, with the intention of sharing my family life, crafts, musings and whatever randomness I came up with. That won’t change!

I will, however, now include my SU! with this blog because I don’t have the time (or any desire, really) to keep up with more than one blog, but mostly because it all really goes together for me…SU!, crafting, family, friends, food, etc.

So, I will post the promotions in the sidebar for your information and occasionally write a post about it because I wouldn’t want you to miss out on any fun stuff or great deals! If you’re interested – great, send me an Email! If not, that’s okay, too.

With that being said…the new 2008 Fall/Winter Idea Book & Catalog went live today! I am so excited! I am still waiting for my paper catalog. *sigh* at least I can view it online. You can, too! Look over in the sidebar and click on the catalog.

It’s definitely “out with the old, in with the new” beautiful and full of fantastic ideas for cards, scrapbooks/pages, altered art…so many projects to inspire you. There are new Designer Series Papers, the 6 new In Colors, new punches and, of course, yummy new stamp sets! My wish list is growing – thank goodness there’s my Unbirthday in August AND September, anniversary in November, Christmas in December…*wink*

If you’re interested in purchasing a paper catalog, hosting a workshop (*you will receive a FREE catalog!*) or placing an order Email me!

Love is Homemade!

A few months ago, I joined a group for Stampin’ Up demonstrator’s. The group meets once a month and usually someone teaches a technique or two. My first meeting (which I missed because I was volunteering at Cub Scout Day Camp!) was a 4 x 6 recipe card swap and a 6 x 6 gift page for Polly, who had been leading the group, who was now PCSing. I hadn’t even made a card for years…I wasn’t sure what I would do for this!

Decisions, decisions. Since I was getting down to the wire on time, decided on a family fave – Chicken Tetrazzini!

After days of surfing blogs and galleries, I finally started to figure out what designs I liked and what I might be able to do with the supplies I had on hand. (Even though I haven’t done much paper crafting in years, I have been collecting supplies!)

Was looking for something kind of summery, so decided on an orange, yellow color combo. Don't think it turned out so bad... Check it out and let me know what you think…don’t forget to try the recipe (and yes, you can leave out the mushrooms!)

The recipe:

Chicken Tetrazzini

8 oz. thin spaghetti
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
¼ tsp cayenne or black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 cups chicken broth
¾ cup half & half
2 cups chicken, cooked, diced
¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta “al dente” according to package directions. Drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat the butter in a saucepan. Add flour. Cook for a few minutes while stirring. Add pepper and salt and slowly stir in broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened. Stir in cream, chicken and cheese.
3. Heat butter and lemon juice in skillet. Sauté mushrooms until juice cooks off, about 5 minutes.
4. Combine pasta with cream mixture. Place ½ in a shallow baking dish. Spread mushrooms over pasta, reserving a few for garnish. Top with the rest of the pasta and mushrooms.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered at 375°F for 20 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Serves 4-6

This is a group shot - made for 8.













Details...













The 6x6 gift.

Feed My Addiction!

Woohoo! Tuesday was my Paper Junkies Club! What is it? It’s where I get together with a few other women and craft, mostly paper crafting. Andrea Nigg is the Fabulous instructor (find her here! She has only begun her blogging journey!) and always comes up with the projects that we want to do. We meet for a block of about 3 hours and usually complete 2 different items (usually more than one of each of the projects!) In the past we have worked on altered Altoid-type tins, glass jars with rub ons, all kinds of technique cards and cards for fun, a stationery box and more! We send her the ideas (or she comes up with something) and she plans, prepares the class and then teaches us how to do it.

In case you didn’t know - I LOVE paper crafting, altering anything, painting, sewing, fiber crafts, whatever…and it really doesn’t matter if I’m good at it or not. Crafting’s my therapy and having a creative outlet is important to me. Making, creating, or altering something just for the pure joy of creating (and making a mess!) is what I have really been missing lately. It feels really good to even just make a card!

Today, we made waterfall cards and an explosion box (will share the box another time - after I finish it.) Despite the name, there are no waterfalls on my card! It’s actually the name of a type of interactive card. The lucky recipient pulls on a portion of the card and certain elements on the card flip over and reveal what lies beneath and eventually the final sentiment! Fun, fun!

I thought this would be a more time consuming card, but it’s not at all! Well, at least once you get your pictures/sentiment figured out, it’s a quick card to put together! (Sorry, the photos aren't great. Still learning how to use my photo editing software, but wanted to get these posted now!)

So, here’s the card front…


Pull the string…and flip!


Keep pulling…flip! And there it is!!!


Isn’t the owl a hoot! (sorry, couldn’t help myself…prone to bad puns!) And then there’s the little guy with the big eyes – isn’t he a cutie?!

Hmmm…couldn’t you just see this type of card with flitting butterflies? A belated birthday card using a turtle making its way across the card…you could also turn the card so the pull is on the bottom…falling drips of ice cream, tumbling cats (they always land on their feet!) and hey-why not?! Even falling water!

Did I mention that I (((heart))) all crafts paper?!

URL Change - See (short) story here

Trying to decide whether or not to even post this info here as you'll end up at the old url, using the hyphen and not get here until after you read the post there...hmmmm...

Well, now that you're here, just a reminder that the new url is:

http://makingmayhem.blogspot.com

(no more hyphen - yay!)

It's like my name Angi...I don't spell it with an 'e' (and, yes, Tara, I did spell it that way because I could... :o) and it really doesn't bother me when people spell it 'AngiE', but I do prefer it without the 'e'. I know. Seems like such a little thing and maybe it is, but it makes me happy!

Hugs,

Angi