Stampin!

Are you a stamper? Have you tried to incorporate stamping into your paper craft projects? If not, now is the time to start experimenting! My sweet friend Lisa has a spectacular blog where she debuts Stampin Up! products as well as shows off her incredible stamping and paper craft talent!

Lisa has also given her seal of approval! Lisa likes my style! Woo hoo!

Thank you Lisa!!! So I too am spreading the blog love. The rules for this award are as follows:

1. By accepting this award you recognize the giver "Likes Your Style!"

2. You agree to display this award proudly on your site, and include a post linking back to the giver.

3. And because there are so many bloggers out there whose style you like, you will share this award with them....however many that may be.

With that said, I nominate these fabulous ladies:

Jessie

Melissa

Lisa shows off her excellent stamping talent, and this weekend I decided to try stamping myself. I've dabbled with it some, but I used it quite a bit on this layout. The title and clear flowers are stamped. I tried my hand at Stazon ink on acetate and loved the results! How fun! I cant believe I didn't try this sooner!

If you haven't tried to incorporate stamping in your layouts yet, you should try it! You'll be amazed at the wide world of possibilities it can open up!

New & Changing

Its been awhile since I've been able to post. Life has been crazy busy and I haven't been able to scrap as much as I'd like. I've decided to take on cake decorating as a side business. I've created a new blog just for my cakes! Check it out: http://fairytalefrosting.blogspot.com
Don't worry, I'll be posting here for all my crafting fun! Speaking of which, check out my latest layout! This photo is from my last trip to Scotland. The blonde is my Scottish friend Lorna. We met in 2001 when I studied abroad in her home town. We've been friends ever since. Here we are having a pint at our old hang out, Masons!

I tried a few techniques on this one. Check out my tutorial on making a Paper Rose for the center rose. I also made the blue flowers from felt. I painstakingly stitched detail and pearls into the circle, and finished off with dimensional paint and stickles! The details took quite a bit of time, but I love the end result!

Hunting Vampires at a Wedding

It's been a busy weekend, and its only Saturday morning! I had a lot of decorating to do yesterday. First up was a Hunter themed cake. A friend had me do a cake for his son's birthday. He's really into hunting. The camo fondant was extremely challenging. The cake had more flaws than I would have liked, but the guys loved it and that's all that matters!

My friend Kelly also had a birthday this week. We are both big fans of the Twilight series, so I made her a cake based on the 4 book covers. This was also my first attempt at stacking a cake. It was easier than I thought! Whew!
The top tier is chocolate cake and the bottom is carrot cake. Delicious!

Last project is Bride and Groom cupcakes. I cant take all the credit for this idea, I was inspired by another cake decorator on cakecentral.com. We are attending a wedding later today and these little cakes are part of our gift to the happy couple. I had a lot of fun making these and love how they turned out! Its hard to tell in the picture, but the bride's dress has luster dust on it making it all shimmery. I love them!

Its been a fun decorating weekend!

Stars and Stripes

I am heading to Milwaukee today to celebrate the 4th with friends at the lakefront. Before I go, I wanted to show off my Stars & Stripes Cake!! I tried adding pudding to this recipe and the cake came out amazing and held the shape great! When we cut into it this weekend it is layered with red and blue cake and white frosting filling! Its patriotic in every way!



Hope everyone has a GREAT holiday weekend!

Me...Unzipped

I am in love with the 7 Gypsies "Gypsy Market" collection! I bought the papers and was so excited, and then a creative roadblock hit. The paper was so beautiful, what would I do with it? What if it didn't turn out as amazing as I had hoped? So I mulled it over for weeks. I was wandering around Michaels, when it hit me....a jean zipper! This, is where it lead me:
I tore the paper and then stitched in the zipper, put the photo in place and backed it up with another piece of patterned paper. The embellishments are mostly Tim Holtz. I used a Tim Holst mask in the corner, as well as grunge board key and lock. The key and lock are distressed with Perfect Pearls Aged Patina. The green rose is hand made (see my Paper Rose Tutorial!). The title is Cricuit Stone Script. The florishes are also Cricut, Storybook. I used Heidi Swapp Clock Stamps in the corner, and some Prima Flowers alongside the one I made. The journal box was distressed with Walnut Stain, Tea Stain, and Firebrick Distress Inks.
A lot of time and effort went into this page, and I am so pleased with how it turned out!
Try a zipper on your next page!

Fairy Wonderland

This weekend I had a good friend visit for her birthday. I made her a special birthday card, she loves butterflies!

I also made her a Fairy Wonderland cake! Its my current favorite combo of French Vanilla Cake with Almond filling. It was quite challenging to make, but I love how it turned out!

Here is a view from the top:

A little pink fairy welcoming you to her humble home!

This was so much fun, I can't wait for the next cake challenge!!

Just Call Me Betty....

I am having a GREAT time baking and decorating cakes!! This week I made two birthday cakes for some co-workers. This one is my Pink Stripe Birthday Cake. Its marble cake, filled with vanilla buttercream, and covered in vanilla fondant.

Here is a close up!

My second cake is based on an inside joke with a co-worker regarding the nickname "Sunshine". He loved it!

The cake is marble again, with vanilla buttercream, and vanilla fondant. The sun is white chocolate. It was so much fun to make!

I even added a few chocolate clouds.

I've decided I officially love working with fondant! The possibilities are endless!