A Season

 Taken 09/01/10

As the sun was setting the sky turned a beautiful shade of gold. It had been raining earlier so I am not sure if that was the cause of the beauty that shone before me, but whatever it was, I wanted to capture it before it was gone.

Most people love this time of year – the sun still shines its warmth yet a cool breeze floats through the air. It reminds us that fall is just around the corner and that summer is nearing an end. The trees begin to change from luscious green to vibrant shades of red, orange, and gold and the geese begin to fly south.

While I love watching the turning leaves, fall is always a gentle reminder that winter is on the way. Just as spring tells us that new life is budding and summer is near; fall ushers in winter. The once singing birds; the blooming flowers; and budding trees must come to an end and lie dormant or sometimes die.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and their color is “gold”. I couldn’t help but wonder if God, somehow in his awesome power, provided the picture above just for me.

The scene was there for only a moment and then it was gone. Was this God’s way of reminding that He is taking care of my little Michael and that everything is alright? That one day all of the pain and suffering of this life would be over and that a brighter, more beautiful place waits ahead for me?

Michael lived for 10 years on this earth. He was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma on the very first day of summer and died on the first day of fall. Cancer touched his life for a season.

Has something or someone touched your life for A Season?

Krafty Lime is Back!

Did you guess what my son’s favorite project was? I will show you in a minute and then you can tell me what you think.

First, I want to show you a couple of cards I made using the Krafty Lime Kit from Dixie Pieces.

Using my Silhouette I cut some fish charms from a patterned paper that is included in the Krafty Lime kit. I mounted them onto Sticky Paper and then added glitter for the outline. I used the enclosed hooks to attach the fish to a piece of string that was taken from the jute mesh included in the kit.

 
Title: What A Catch
Glitter: Sahara (P K Glitz) 
Sticky Paper (P K Glitz) 
Krafty Lime kit (Dixie Pieces) 
Adhesive: Zap Dots (Helmar) 
Fish Charms Die (Silhouette)

P K Glitz has some really pretty Art Acetates that make beautiful embellishments.I used the Pumpkin Art Acetate with glitter and used it as my main focal image on this card. I love how the Krafty Lime kit and P K Glitz glitters and Art Acetates compliment each other.

Title: Happy Harvest
Glitter: Mandarin, Pumpkin, Red Hot Chili Pepper, Sea Mist, Hunter Green (P K Glitz)
Art Acetate: Pumpkin Patch (P K Glitz) 
Crystal Lacquer (Sakura) 
Krafty Lime kit (Dixie Pieces)

Here is my son’s favorite project. He had asked me if I had a frame that he could put his girlfriend’s picture in. .He liked this wooden frame that I had in my stash so while he was at work, I dressed it up a bit. I wasn’t sure how he would like all of the glitter and bling but he really loved it and has it proudly displayed on his desk.

 
The flower was created using my Silhouette to cut the base flower from Sticky Paper and adding Lemonade glitter to the paper. With a hammer, I smashed one of the bottle caps that was included in the kit and then embossed it with E P Max. I added some of the die cuts and embellishments from the kit and my flower was finished.

 

After covering the frame with papers from the Krafty Lime kit, I layered some of the jute mesh along the bottom, adhering it with Craft Glue. I then altered the letters by using the Ritzy Ditzy Glitz and outlining each one with a pen.

Title: Krafty Lime Frame
Glitter: Lemonade (P K Glitz)
E P Max: Squash Blossom (P K Glitz) 
Ritzy Ditzy Glitz: Gold (P K Glitz) 
Frame (Michaels)
Brown Pen (Tombow)
Adhesive: Premium Craft Glue, ZapDots (Helmar) 
Adhesive: Matte Gel Medium (Liquitex)

There you have it, the Krafty Lime kit from Dixie Pieces.

What do you think of my son’s favorite project?

The Grand Prize Moving Party Winner!

Wanna know who the winner of all of all of the fabulous prizes is? I am sure you do!

First I want to thank all of the sponsors who donated prizes for this month long giveaway. Please make sure you stop by and say “Hi”, especially if you were the recipient of one of the great prizes that have been given away here this month. You can find all of the sponsor buttons in the sidebar.

I also want to say a great big “Thank You” to all of you who have become followers of this blog. It thrills my heart to know that so many of you enjoy your time here and I hope that I can help share some of my projects with you that will inspire you to create your own. I hope that you always feel free to share you ideas here by leaving comments and links to your own creations in the comments section of this blog.

I have ideas and plans for the future of this blog and it includes lots of crafty ideas. I have come to realize that many of you view this blog as a place to find projects that sparkle and shine – I like that - but I want to bring you more!

Speaking of bringing you more, how about I announce the winner of the Grand Prize giveaway! Without further ado, the winner is

Stephanie from Steph and Isaac

Congratulations Stephanie!

You will need to contact me with your mailing information by midnight September 6, 2010 to claim your prize. You can click on the “Contact Me” button in the sidebar. If you do not contact me by that date, then a new winner will be chosen.

Again, thank you to everyone who participated this past month! I hope to see you again real soon!

So, what would you like to see next on this blog?
Any suggestions?

Krafty Lime Scrapbook Pages

The September kit from Dixie Pieces is all natural with a spunky kick of lime green....Krafty Lime. In this kit you'll receive a calming and fun color combination of lime green, teal, brown, and kraft papers. Embellishments make this kit so much fun to work with including a 12"x12" piece of woven jute, raw muslin fabric, bottle caps, beaded leaves, rub-ons, journal stickers, and more. This kit is perfect for those end of summer layouts!

From September 5 – October 16, 2010, P K Glitz is teaming up with Dixie Pieces to show you how you can take these already fabulous kits, and make them dazzle and shine.

 

A piece of muslin is included in the September 2010 kit “Krafty Lime” so I decided to make some rosettes from the material. I colored the material by spritzing it with Bronze and Patina Ritzy Ditzy Glitz.

 

The corrugated white letters from Jillibean Soup were altered by embossing a touch of  Chocolate Powder Keg embossing powder to the edges and then spritzing then with the Bronze Ritzy Ditzy Glitz.

Title: by the Tree
Ritzy Ditzy Glitz: Bronze and Patina (P K Glitz) 
Embossing Powder: Chocolate (P K Glitz) 
Krafty Lime kit (Dixie Pieces)

My son just recently won the Gold Star award in 4-H so I was excited to use this kit to showcase this recent accomplishment.
 
Once again I changed the corrugated alphabet by spritzing it with Ritzy Ditzy Glitz, only this time I used Gold. Once it was dry (only a minute or two) I outlined the edge with a brown pen.


I used the Quickie Glue Pen to outline the No. 1 and added Chocolate Glitter Glitz to make the embellishment “pop” on the page.

I also added a strip of 1/4 inch Sticky Tape to add a glitter edging to the trim that I was using behind the photograph.

Title: Gold Star
Glitter: Chocolate (P K Glitz) 
Ritzy Ditzy Glitz: Gold (P K Glitz)
Sticky Tape: 1/4” (P K Glitz) 
Quickie Glue Pen (Sakura) 
Krafty Lime kit (Dixie Pieces)

The last item I am going to show you today is this picture of my son and his girlfriend. I love how they are both smiling and I wanted to really let the photograph speak for itself.

I tore a piece of the muslin cloth and spritz it with Bronze Ritzy Ditzy Glitz and added it as a border along the edge of the photo. I then used my Silhouette to cut out these letters from one of the patterns in the kit. I wanted to add just a bit of shine to this layout but I didn’t want to fabulous sparkle of the glitter so I chose to use one of the new Pearls from P K Glitz, Soft Green. I love how this created such a soft effect on the title. 

Title: My Girl

Glitter: (P K Glitz) 
Ritzy Ditzy Glitz: (P K Glitz)
Quickie Glue Pen (Sakura)
Krafty Lime kit (Dixie Pieces)

If you love what you see, then hop on over to Dixie Pieces and order your Krafty Lime kit before they run out. 

Stop back by on Saturday and I will show what else I created using this kit along with my son’s favorite project. 

Can you guess what it is?

She’s Got the Look!

Do you notice anything different around here? Yep, my blog has had a complete makeover and a brand new look! I am so excited!!! 

I love it! Don’t you?

I cannot take credit for this one either – a very sweet, and “patient” lady, Kim from seven thirty-three, created this awesome design for me!

If you would like to give your own blog an update, why don’t you stop in at Kim’s place and tell her Tammy from Not Just Paper and Glue sent ya! She is very reasonable and she takes a lot of time and care to make sure your are happy with your finished results.

Moving Party Giveaway Winner #5

This is the final prize that I will be giving away before I announce the Grand Prize winner on September 3, 2010.

I used Random.org to choose the winner and the winner is………

Michele {The Scrap Shoppe} said... The little fabric butterflies are TOO cute!

Congratulations! You are the winner of The Happy Little Art package from Colleen. You will have 48 hours to contact me to claim your prize!  Please use the button on the right that says “Contact Me”.

If you didn’t win this round, make sure you check back tomorrow for the final weekly giveaway!!!

Also, if you were not the winner of the prize and you would like to purchase your own tote, coasters, buttons, etc, please visit Colleen at The Happy Little Art Etsy Store.

Welcome Sweet Jeanette!

Jeanette is another really terrific blog friend and she is also the one who made the awesome Tote Bag that has been added to the Grand Prize giveaway! Please welcome Jeanette to Not Just Paper and Glue!

Hey y'all!  I'm just tickled to death that Tammy has asked me to be a guest today on her blog!!!  Tammy and I met through Blogfrog, and I do believe it was an instant friendship!  And I know if you've been following her blog, then you already know what a sweetie pie she is!   A little about myself... I live in Florida, which "technically" is the south but the farther south you go, the more north you are!  LOL.  I was, however fortunate enough to have a wonderful "southern" mother and father who made sure all the good things of the south were instilled in me.  (I'm grateful).   I was a medical transcriptionist for 27 years, and then became a closed captionist (you know those words on the bottom of the tv screen?  yeah, that was me).  But now, I'm a homekeeper and I love it!  I love all things domestic and that involves feeding my man, and constantly re-arranging my nest!  LOL As any good southern girl knows,  you don't go callin' on friends empty handed, and it's practically always with food!  So that's why I'd love to share a few recipes with you...are ya up for it?    I've got in mind a broccoli cheese soup, and muffins.  There is a restaurant in a little town in the next county called Lunch on Limoge.  Get this!  It's smack dab in the middle of a department store!  No kidding!   Ok, maybe not right in the middle, but it's to the side.  And not walled off, either,  You can reach behind you and feel the fabric of a dress if the mood strikes you!  And I'm not kidding about THAT!    Well, (oh, did I mention that I'm so easily side-tracked?!?  LOL) this restaurant is famous for their muffins.  They are awesome!   You get a basket of mini muffins with your meal, and whatever fruit the put in the muffins that day, is the flavor butter you get!  YUM! Well, about 20 years ago, I scored that recipe and it's been one of my prized recipes all this time.  I'm going to share it with you! First, the Broccoli Cheese Soup It's supposed to be like Panera Bread's Broccoli Cheddar Soup. The first night we ate it, I didn't think it tasted like it...I finished off the left-overs today for lunch. Yep. I think it taste like Panera's. I guess ya have to let it rest a day before eating!

You're going to need...

3 cups broccoli florets 4 cups chicken broth 1 cup half-and-half 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 8 slices Kraft Singles Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I know, right?) 1/2 cup shredded carrot 1/3 cup diced white onion pinch ground black pepper Steam broccoli in a steamer basket over boiling water in a covered saucepan for 6 minutes. Remove broccoli to a copping board until cool, then use a large sharp knife to dice broccoli into pieces that are about the size of peas. Pour chicken broth into a large saucepan with half and half. Whisk in flour, and then add remaining ingredients, including the broccoli. Turn heat to medium, stirring often until mixture begins to bubble. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until carrots are tender and soup is thick. (Makes 4 servings) And now, for those muffins.   (Oooooh you're gonna thank me!  LOL) Oh! and they're called Six-Week Muffins,  because you can keep the batter in the frige for up to 6 weeks without worry!They're not hard at all, and , well... they keep a good while. But, I've never had to worry about 'em lasting past six weeks! LOL

Six Week Muffins

Here's what you'll need:  

4 beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup salad oil

1 quart buttermilk

5 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

5 cups flour

1 (15 oz) box Raisin Bran, or Raisin Nut Bran cereal (I used reg. rasin bran)

Mix all ingredients well. You can add any fruits , nuts, coconut, if desired

I added a can of drained crushed pineapple to half of the batter (the measuring/mixing bowl up top)

Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 10 minutes for miniature muffins; 18-20 minutes for large.

I freeze mine after baking. (Got a zippered freezer bag of 'em in the freezer now!)

I decided to make some pineapple butter too

So there you have it,  Was I right?  It is easy enough, see?    I've enjoyed sharing and being a guest here today.  Thank you so much for having me!  Now all y'all be sweet and enjoy each other's company.  Spread some friendly smiles all over!

Thank you so much for stopping by Jeanette! Please make sure you visit Sweet Jeanette for more of her great recipes and southern hospitality.