So at my WW meeting yesterday, I wrote down an awesome soup recipe. I made it yesterday and it's pretty great. :)

1 Point Cheese Soup

2 16oz. pkg. of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot mixture
10oz. Rotel tomatoes with green chills
10oz. Light Velvetta cheese, cubed
3 14.5oz. cans of fat-free chicken broth

1. Combine veggies and tomatoes
2. Cook in pot on medium heat until veggies are tender.
3. Place veggies in blender and mince.
4. Return mixture to pot with broth and add Velvetta cheese.
5. Heat until cheese melts. DO NOT BOIL.

Ten 1-cup servings. 1 point each.

You're eyes are not deceiving you--Kwernerdesign Blog has gone Pink! Pink for October, that is. :) As it says at the Pink For October website, "Web sites will Go Pink during the month of October to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, get people talking about breast cancer, and raise money for research."

I encourage all of you with blogs to go pink, too! 

Just a quick note about the card below... The scallop circle comes from Stampin' Up!'s Borders and Blossoms Accents and Elements. For those unfamiliar with Accent and Elements, they are collections of die-cut adhesives in a small tin. Anyway, the Borders and Blossoms Accents and Elements has neutral adhesive pieces, so I just sponge daubered on some Pretty in Pink Craft ink. Then I put it on the card with some Stampin' Dimensionals.

Enjoy!

A Friend Is Forever - Friendship Messages stamp set (Hero Arts); Certainly Celery, Naturals White, Old Olive, and Pretty in Pink card stock (Stampin' Up!); Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose ink (Stampin' Up!); Borders and Blossoms Accents & Elemtns (Stampin' Up!); patterned paper (Sassafras Lass); Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

Yes, I've been a slacker lately. But I hope to get a chance to make some cards this afternoon.

In other news, it snowed here in Salt Lake yesterday. For all the randomness! It's still September!

All right, better go. I'll see ya'll this afternoon, hopefully. :)

Hi all! I tried my hand at a little video editing tonight? Whadda think? Do you like video tutorials? Leave a comment!

BTW, the song in the video is Orba Squara's Perfect Timing (This Morning).

P.S. As Marie lovingly pointed out, I am a bit "blue" in this video. :) The benefits of using Apple's blue background for my iMac's screen.

Happy Birthday 2 U - Card stock and tag (Scenic Route); rubon and flower (American Crafts); brad (SEI); Defining Alphabet set, Chocolate Chip ink, On Board Lots of Letters, and ribbon (Stampin' Up!).

Have ya'll heard of lifecasting? It's the most bizarre, and yet intriguing, thing. I was curious about it and came across two really awesome blogging additions that I've set up here.

Heads up all you Google Reader peeps (I'm one of ya, let me tell you!)... You'll need to make a little visit over the the main page to see these additions:

Twitter: It's like mini-blogging. Pretty neat. Of course I want to update ya'll with all the meaningless things I do everyday. You can even update from your mobile phone! :) Check out my twitter feed here.

Last.fm: AWESOME! Just run this little app in the background while you're listening to music, and it will update your Last.fm profile with what you're listening to. So great! See what I've been listening to here. You can check out what I listen to while I'm designing and creating.

If any of you already use these sites, let me know! I want to add you as a friend. :)

P.S. So the first night of the Fall TV shows started last night. LOVED Journeyman... It's like Quantum Leap, but better. Heroes was wonderful as usual, How I Met Your Mother (go visit SlapCountdown.com), and Chuck was entertaining. But TV for Wednesday? Be sure to check out Bionic Woman. I caught a preview (from Amazon.com and TiVo) and it's awesome!

Too many good shows... DANGIT! How will I ever narrow it down? Maybe I'll have to TiVo everything and save some for the summer months. :)

> Knit Night Cupcakes from VeganYumYum

Now if only I can figure out how to make papercrafting cupcakes... Hmm...

:)

Some of you have asked what I'll be watching this season on TV. Here's the plan. Of course, I won't keep watching all of these, but I'll at least give each one a chance. Thank heaven for TiVo!:

Monday
How I Met Your Mother
The Big Bang Theory
Chuck
Heroes
Journeyman

Tuesday
The Biggest Loser

Wednesday
Kid Nation
Private Practice
Bionic Woman
Life

Thursday
THE OFFICE!!!
Big Shots
Grey's Anatomy

Sunday
Desperate Housewives
Brothers & Sisters

No, I don't watch too much TV. No. What do you mean? I'm just pop-culturely connected. ;)

My roommates in college can attest to the fact that I like to listen to internet radio. Especially radio from the UK. Well, tonight I was listening to Virgin UK Radio when suddenly I see this in my iTunes window:



Sarah Champion? As in American Crafts Sarah Champion? What?

For a minute I thought my lovely iMac was freaking out and mixing my email messages with iTunes! So I went to the Virgin Radio website and saw this:

Oh, I get it! This Sarah is a DJ!

LOL! I totally thought I was going insane.

So I've been remiss in updating you all with cards that were in publications... Get ready for a quite a few. :)

The first two were on the cover of Cards Magazine, July 2007. For some reason, they showed the second card on it's side. I guess it works either way, though.

Dwight: Jim, Jim, Jim. Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim.

Jim: Oh, hey, Dwight.

Dwight: I'm going to be your new boss. It's my greatest dream come true. Welcome to the Hotel Hell. Check-in time is now. Check-out time is never.

Jim: Does my room have cable?

Dwight: No. And the sheets are made of fire!

Jim: Can I change rooms?

Dwight: Sorry, we're all booked up. Hell convention in town.

Jim: Can I have a late check-out?

Dwight: I'll have to talk to the manager.

Jim: You're not the manager? Even in your own fantasy?

Dwight: I'm the owner. The co-owner. With Satan.

Jim: Okay, just so I understand it. In your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

Dwight: Yeah, but I haven't told you my salary yet.

Jim: Go.

Dwight: $80,000 a year.

(from The Office)

Hi all! Just a quick card this morning. :)

P.S. I used the Martha Stewart Ball-point tip glue pen. It's actually not that bad, even if it doesn't go on in even lines. Oh, well! After all, it's glue!

You Make My Heart Happy - Friendship Messages stamp set (Hero Arts); Kraft, Old Olive, and Purely Pomegranate card stock (SU!); Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon (SU!); Dazzling Diamonds glitter (SU!).

Forever Absolutely Fabulous - Kraft and Basic Black card stock, Basic Black marker, Little Pieces and Absolutely Fabulous stamp sets (Stampin' Up!); Forever stamp (Heidi Swapp); ColorBox inks.

Hi all!

Sometimes we forget how simple card making and stamping can be, right? Sometimes it's just about the paper, ink, and stamps. :)

I haven't gone back to basics in a really long time--probably not since my beginning days of stamping aka "pre-dimensionals." Once I knew about Stampin' Dimensionals, I was a gonner for the muti-layered card. :)

Merry - Kraft card stock, Big Pieces, Sparkling Sayings and Hung Up on the Holidays stamp sets (Stampin' Up!); VersaMark; ColorBox inks.

So this morning's visit to the land of card stock and ink was super fun! I broke out one of the stamps I received at ScrapFest in the Heidi Swapp techniques class, and mostly stuck with chalk inks. Man, I love chalk ink! It's awesome! I don't have very many colors, though. I have an old ColorBox petal thingy (used to be in the SU! catalog, but it's since retired), and a charcoal cat-eye pad that I also received at ScrapFest, but other than that, my colors are very limited.

Anyone else like working with limited supplies? I LOVE it! It makes me think a little harder and it's a challenge!

Anyhow, how are you going "Back to Basics"? Take the challenge, create something with just the basics, and leave a link here so we can all see what you've been up to.

:)

So I returned from St. George late Saturday night. It was a whirlwind trip, but so very worth it! I rode down with my upline, her upline, and a couple side-lines (yes, Melanie, I'm sure we're SU! related somehow, right?). Anyway, it was a fun trip! Plus, we got to watch episodes of The Office and You've Got Mail on the way down! Of course, it was on my little iPod screen so the screen was pretty small, but still... give me some John Krasinski (my television boyfriend--see a great photo of him in this entry) or some Tom Hanks and I'm a happy girl. :)

Here are some pictures from the event of Saturday. This is an annual event organized by Jill Olsen, who is so nice and personable! She designed most of the projects we made, too! I don't have pictures of the projects yet because I was too busy making them, but below are some card swaps and other displays that were there. Just some of my favorites. Forgive me if your card is here--I didn't catch any names! I didn't make any swaps, so I just took pictures. If your card is here, please leave a comment tell us which one is yours!

Also, big shout outs to the readers I met (I think there were six of you)! I kept running into Robyn everywhere! And I believe you can see her and Sasha in one of the photos! Hi girls!

BTW, the first photo is of me and my upline, Erica. Our "slumber party" at the hotel ended with me braiding her hair, so I had to take a picture of how it turned out! Hi Erica!

(Yes, a scrapbook page! Can't you believe it! I haven't scrapped in SO long!)

Every September, my SU! upline holds a large training in St. George. Last year was my first opportunity to go and I'd only been a demonstrator for one month! This year I'll be going but with a bit more experience. :)

This weekend is the training and I should have started planning sooner! Not only is the get-together like a mini Convention, but there are contests as well! Last year I didn't know about the contests until I was there and almost entered a scrapbook one until I found out that I couldn't keep my entry. Hm. Well, okay.

So this time I wanted to plan ahead and possibly re-create a layout to enter into the contest. No such luck! I don't have time! I spent a long time last night and a then tonight when I got home, fretting over this little page. I just couldn't figure out how I wanted it!

Over all, I'm happy with how it turned out, though. :) What do you think? I don't think I can part with this one, even if I were to win a contest.

2nd Grader - All supplies from Stampin' Up! Polka Dots and Petals, Simple Serif Mini Alphabet, and Typeset Numbers sets; Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Kraft, Taken with Teal, Rose Red, and Whisper White card stock; Chocolate Chip and Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pads; VersaMark; Chocolate Chip and Taken with Teal markers; On Board Lots of Letters; Winter White detail embossing powder; Sherbet Ribbon Originals; paper piercer and mat; uni-ball Signo gel pen; Metal Edge tag.

When I first started my stamp club over a year ago, I always felt bad for the girls who couldn't make it to our stamp nights. So, a few months ago I started preparing a "make-up bag" each month that is passed around to each person who did not have the chance to make the projects. Generally the bag is passed around pretty quick, too. I guess it helps that all but one of my stamp club members are my co-workers and I see them almost every day. BTW, the one who's not my co-worker is the wife of a co-worker--hi, Laura! :)

This is what I do...

When I prep for stamp club, I always cut enough card stock for each person (I have 14 in my club right now), plus one set for me to demonstrate with. Whoever can't make it that night, I set aside their materials for the make-up bag.

The make-up bag consists of:

- Stamps used in the projects (not the whole set, just the specific stamps)
- Inks (I will use Stampin' Spots whenever possible, but sometimes I will include a regular stamp pad)
- Pre-cut card stock and ribbon
- Instructions with photos and a list of all supplies included in the bag (so each person can make sure all materials are returned)

I just finished prepping the bag for my August club. It's worked pretty well for the past few months and even though it's a bit more work, it's completely worth it to me. Catch a glimpse of the instruction sheet for August here. You can see the contents for August below, plus the bag it all goes in. I love gift bags, so I always have a cute new gift bag each month. This month's make-up bag was found at Hallmark:

If you're anything like me you mostly put small 3x3 cards on wedding gifts. A little notecard seems like just the right size to write "Congratulations!" and then sign my name. :)

I made these little cards this weekend while I was in Minnesota. I found the patterned card stock (gorgeous iridescent card stock from Reminisce) and the Creative Imaginations flowers at the Archiver's at the Mall of America. As for the green card stock, it's from Bazzill.

Hi all! I'm sitting here waiting for my flight, so I thought I'd show a few photos from my trip to Minnesota to visit my sister. Enjoy!

Hi all! It's been a whirlwind few days here in Minnesota! We spent two days at ScrapFest and let me tell you--I'm exhausted!

This is how ScrapFest works:

There are about 35 different vendors who have make and take booths set up in the corridors of the Mall of America. Literally in the middle of the hallways! So you can imagine how crowded it can get on a Friday and Saturday afternoon with a bunch of crazy scrappin' ladies, each with a large tote wheeling behind them. Not to mention the regular shoppers! ;)

I had a chance to stop by the Stampendous booth and meet Taylor very briefly. I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy. I was all, "Hi, Taylor! Heather invited me to dinner with you guys tonight!" The look on her face was something to the affect of, "Umm... Do I know you?" Seriously, though, she was really nice, and the project they had planned for us at the booth was super cute!

Unfortunately I didn't make it to dinner that night with the SCS ladies. My sister and I got held up at the mall a bit later than we anticipated and by the time we got to Southdale Mall (where we were supposed to meet them), it was pretty late. I figured they'd be gone by then so we went to dinner elsewhere, but I just got an email from Heather and apparently they were at the restaurant until 10:00! Oh, well--I'll have to meet them some other time I guess. :)

As for the classes at ScrapFest, the "classrooms" are set up in larger areas of the mall (i.e. the open areas outside department stores), and also a couple classrooms on the top floor of the mall where they have meeting rooms

Various scrapbook manufacturers provide course material and instructors for each class.

We went to an awesome class sponsored by Hero Arts and taught by Jennifer McGuire (watch for some cards inspired by the class--I can't wait to get home and make some).

We also went to a class sponsored by Heidi Swapp that was all about different techniques. I got to try using a mask with Acrylic Paint--so cool! I will have to try it at home when I have lots of time to let the paint dry. Let just say I was glad the Archiver's people had baby wipes on hand. :)

Each class cost about $20, and not only do you get all the materials for the items you makes in class, but you get to take home lots of extra product, too! American Crafts was the most generous of the all the classes we took.

While I was at the AC class, Kelly Purkey ran over to my table and said hello. Hi Kelly!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun at ScrapFest (except for all the waiting in lines to make the make and takes). The lines were excessively long today, but weren't as bad yesterday. We won't be there tomorrow (I fly back to Salt Lake tomorrow), but I bet they'll be equally as busy.

So, tomorrow I'll update ya'll with some of the photos I took while I was in Minnesota. I have quite a few of my nieces and nephews that are just too cute not to share. :)

This one isn't *really* a tutorial. I'm pretty sure ya'll can figure out how to make it as long as you have the dimensions. So, here's a PDF with all the dimensions and stuff.

But before I get to that, I have to make a note that you're going to cut a standard-size file folder in half (where it folds). You will have one side that is 11-3/4" x 8-3/4". The other half will be slightly larger which can be set aside or trimmed to 11-3/4" x 8-3/4" if you're making more than one tag book.

On to the dimensions!

Some of you might remember the file folder book Taylor made a while back (see it here). I loved it so much I tried to make one of my own... except I adapted it to be smaller and use less patterned paper. Easier and quicker to make. :)

I'm planning for my stamp club girls to make this file folder tag book this month, and then possibly recycling it for a class in October. One of my hostesses requested a class, so she'll be hosting and doing all the inviting, including showing photos of the tag book around to generate some interest. Hopefully this is along the lines of what she was thinking of for the class. Her only requirement was that it cost less than $5 to make.

I'll post scoring and cutting instructions tomorrow. :)



BTW, I'm off to Minnesota tomorrow to visit my sister and go to ScrapFest! Super excited! I'll be posting updates while I'm there, though.