A Change of Pace...

Do you sometimes need a change of pace when scrapbooking and/or papercrafting? For myself I've found that sometimes I just need to change things up a bit sometimes and that may mean that I look at my crafty supplies in a bit of a different way. Today that meant that I met up with a few of my good girlfriends and whipped up some nifty headbands using floral embellishments, ribbon, some dollar store headbands and my handy dandy hot glue gun! I love the end result!

How have you used your scrappy supplies lately that wasn't "so" scrappy?

Jen

Oh, how I love fall!!

I love photography, but I am definitely a beginner.  I will take all the help I can get, and Photojojo is a great site with everything you could ever want or need relating to photography.  Whenever I need some how-to for photography, it's one of the first places I go.  You should check out the site and see everything they have to offer.

Since Fall is my favorite season, I loved this article here which had some great tips on taking awesome fall pictures.

(photo from photojojo)

 I also found an article on tips for taking great Halloween pictures here.

(photo from photojojo)

These are some of my favorite Fall shots from last year:

Now go out and capture some special Fall memories!

Cold Weather Chow

Hey there! Happy Wednesday. Here in Philadelphia, Fall is in full swing. Leaves are changing colors and dropping, and I'm in a sweater. Love it all!

With the colder weather, I start to think about cozier foods. I love a good salad, but most salad veggies are just not as great as they were a few weeks ago. But still, I like to serve some greens at dinner. My kids are less picky than some of their friends. But that's not to say they don't balk at the idea of steamed broccoli. They will eat one teeny piece, just to please me, but not much more.

Enter the quiche. I know, I know, it's not exactly health food. But I can put any kind of veggie in a quiche, and my kids will eat it. I think it's the combination of eggs, cheese, and pastry crust. I mean, really, who doesn't love that?

Yes, I made that.

 Broccoli, Peas, and Pesto Quiche

Ingredients
9" pie shell (store-bought, or homemade)
2 cups fresh broccoli, florets only
1.5 cups of baby peas (defrosted)
1.5 cups cheddar cheese, grated
5 eggs, room temperature
1.5 cups skim milk
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
2 Tbsp pesto

Preparation
1. Set oven to 425ºF. Set pie crust into a deep 9" pie plate. Poke holes in it with a fork. Line the crust with a piece of foil folded about the size of the plate. Set the foil on top of the crust, and weigh the foil down (I use black beans, and save them to use it on my next pie crust.) This is called pre-baking. It keeps the crust crispier with custard-type fillings. There is a really good post explaining the process here. Bake the crust, for about 8 minutes. Remove the foil (and beans/weight), and bake it for 4 minutes more, poking any puffy areas gently with a fork. Remove the crust and set it aside.

2. Zap the broccoli in the microwave for one minute. Make sure both the broccoli and the peas are well drained. Lightly beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.

3. Sprinkle half the cheese on the bottom of the crust. Add the broccoli (I used to make a pattern, but uh, it doesn't stay that way. As it bakes, the veggies will come up to the surface, and the pattern is lost. Just distribute it as evenly as possible.) Then add the peas. Drop little dabs of the pesto all over. Then the last of the cheese. Slowly pour in the milk/egg mixture. (Depending on how deep your dish is, you might have leftover milk/egg mixture.)

4. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean; let stand 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

-Linda

October Sketch

Hello there! Happy Wednesday! I'm here to share this month's sketch. It was inspired by this layout by my friend Barb Wong:

Typical me, I stole it right off her blog, created the sketch, and shared it with the team before I asked her permission. Thank goodness she's really nice!

Here is the resulting sketch:

And the layouts inspired by it:

Lisa Dickinson

Jenn Olson

Jen Davis

Amy Coose

Linda Barber

If you do create something with this sketch, will you please share it with us by posting in our Flickr group? Have a great day!

-Linda

Guest Designer: Lisa Dickinson, part deux

Hello there! Hope you had a good weekend. Have you visited our DT gallery? It's up and filled with lots of inspiration.

Last Friday, I promised a peek into Lisa's workspace, and here it is. It's pretty awesome.

Since I work from home and occasionally have to meet with graphic design clients here, I have commandeered the office space in our house. It's about a 12' x 12' room in which I have a big wooden desk, a glass-doored bookcase, a red leather chair, an antique filing cabinet and several smaller storage cabinets and bins to hold all my stuff.  Almost all of the pieces are hand-me-downs or were found at antique stores, flea markets & garage sales.  I have a thing for furniture with a history.  And if it has peeling paint, even better.

My desk was an anniversary gift from my husband and found at an antique mall in Jenks, Oklahoma. We refinished it and added new handles to the drawers. I love that it provides an expansive workspace and most days, it is usually covered in various scrap projects. On the left side of the desk there are faux drawers, which are actually a door that houses a typewriter lift. I love this feature because it lets me hide the more modern technology my job requires -  it's where I've stashed my photo printer and Silhouette.

I keep the supplies I use regularly (adhesives, pens, scissors, punches) in a painted wood cubby on my desk - a flea market find.

Directly behind my desk is a glass-doored bookshelf, which holds the bulk of my scrapping supplies. I have them sorted into a variety of bins, buckets and baskets and I'm always on the lookout at flea markets for vintage-y type storage. Currently this space is packed full, which means a cleaning purge is imminent. :)

To the left of my desk, I have an old cabinet found at a flea market. To lift it off the floor, my husband added turned legs to the bottom I distressed the whole thing with cream and sage-colored paint.

I searched forever for a safe, sturdy storage option for my beloved cardstock and I was never able to find anything that was just right. So my handy husband made me two wooden bins that fit my specifications perfectly.

 My patterned paper doesn't get such pretty storage - it's stacked in paper racks and housed in the coat closet adjacent to my office.   This is another area in desperate need of a purging. Luckily, it's also behind closed doors so it makes it easy to ignore. ;) We also put shelves in this closet to house all my albums (and getting all my layouts into these albums is currently a work in progress!)

And that's where I create! I should add a disclaimer that I did clean up before snapping these photos. Most days, there are scrap supplies covering the desk (and sometimes the floor too!) Also usually present is a large dog on the floor behind the desk (carefully napping amongst the scrap disaster!) If you were to stop by my house unannounced, this is likely the scene you'd see:

Thanks Lisa!

Guest Designer: Lisa Dickinson

Happy Friday everyone! And happy DT gallery reveal day. If you haven't checked out our gallery, do drop by.

Meanwhile, can I say how happy I am that we have Lisa as our guest this month? She's not only a good friend, but she's also an amazing scrapbooker (and dedicated runner who's training for a marathon.) We asked Lisa a few questions, because we are nosy. But I think you are going to like her sense of humor as much as we do. 

Mosh Posh: What is one scrapping item you MUST HAVE?
Lisa: My clear ruler + xacto knife.  I can't do a thing without either of them.

MP: What's your fave TV show?
L: Currently, Glee.  Though I am still mourning the loss of LOST.

MP: Who are your scrapping idols?
L: I am inspired by so many people but I truly admire the women that have been able to turn their scrapbopoking talent into a successful career - Ali Edwards, Jenni Bowlin, April Foster, and Cathy Zielske, to name a few.

MP: When do you usually scrap?
L: Morning or evenings, weekdays or weekends? Since my kiddos have gone back to school, my most productive scrap time is weekdays when I'm not interrupted to fetch snacks, wipe bottoms, or referee arguments.  

MP: Is there anything "signature" about your style?
L: I think most of my pages are pretty simple with a few ecclectic touches thrown in. I use white -bordered photos and stitching a lot.

MP: What's your thought process when scrapping? (how do you get started, the steps you usually take to create a page)
L: My process usually begins with either certain papers or certain photos.  These two elements have to work together before I can move onto the design, journaling, and embellishing.  Once my photos and papers are nailed down, I just start playing around.  I lay things down in different arrangements until I find something that works.  Occasionally, I'll use my computer to sketch out a page or get an idea of where elements should be placed and how big they should be.  But most of the time it's just me, pushing everything around until I like it. ;)

MP: How did you get started running?
L: I wanted to lose weight before our wedding so I started running with a marathoning friend who had just had a baby. She was just getting back into running so we started building miles together (it was a slow, painful process!)  I lost the weight (and later found it again) but the running thing stuck.  Now, it's less about losing any weight and more about gaining some time alone with my thoughts (or lack of!)  It helps me refocus and thus, keeps me sane.  And that sanity thing is what gets me lacing up the shoes and heading out the door each day.

MP: What's your favorite beer?

L: Right now it's New Belgium Brewing's 1554. It's a dark Belgian ale with a slightly chocolatey after taste. It's perfect for fall.  (And chocoholics.)

Come back Monday for a peek inside Lisa's workspace. It's pretty fab (and we learn that her husband is handy!)

Linda

Sneak Peeks. More.

Hey there! I've got three little peeks for you. I'm putting the final touches on one more layout. The full reveal will be later this week. Stay tuned!

On Friday, we'll chat with our guest designer Lisa Dickinson. Lisa is one funny and talented girl. You'll like her as much as we do!

-Linda

ps: I'm doing a giveaway on my blog right now. Come on by!

Some More October Sneaks...

I've been having a blast creating with this month's kit and can't wait to share the full layouts with you on gallery reveal day (just a little later this week!). Until then, keep on enjoying the sneaks!

Jen