Girls just wanna have fun!

With the arrival of sunshine and warmer temperatures, I have really taken to dressing and scrapbooking in brighter colours. I am normally a dark/fall colour junkie, so this can sometimes be a stretch for me. Bright colours are simply perfect, however, for this super fun double layout. 

Photo booths are all the rage these days, so at a recent sleepover between my daughter and her two best friends, we decided to have a little photography session of our own. Nine o'clock at night in the basement may not be the best time for great photographic lighting, but it was the perfect time for a little fun and a lot of laughs. Here's a little close-up. I love the paper-crimping effect here!

I've barely skimmed the surface with scrapping these pictures; but it is always easier to get a few more on the page when I do a double layout. I'm sharing a few more double layout ideas over on the Core'dinations blog today. Be sure to stop by. And if you love stamping....be sure to mark your calendars for next week when we have a blog swap with Peachy Keen Stamps as well!

Layout supplies: Core'dinations cardstock and tags, Fiskars paper crimper, Echo Park Little Girl patterned papers and alpha stickers, Queen&Co. felt flowers, felt flower trim and gems; Making Memories glitter chipboard flowers and sentiment stickers, Twine from The Twinery

Zucchini. Pinterest. More Recipes. Yum! Yum!

Even though I use this blog mostly for sharing scrapbook layouts, cards and other crafty stuff, I do occasionally share some recipes as well. Since my gluten-free journey began in December, I am always in search of delicious and satisfying gluten-free foods. So many things are naturally gluten-free (like steak & baked potatoes! Mmmmm), but I miss things like being able to have my burger on a bun, or indulge in a piece of birthday cake. Now, the internet has a wealth of information, and I am so very thankful for that. My new love for Pinterest has also been a life saver in this area. I can pin crafty love, recipes and everything else from one site. Love. love. love it. So here are my latest culinary adventures.....

Paleo Zucchini Loaf

For 1 loaf you will need:

8 eggs
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp agave nectar
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup grated zucchini
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
5 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease a loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until they are light and frothy. Mix in oil, agave nectar and honey. Stir in zucchini and vanilla.
3. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
4. Pour into loaf pan and bake 60 minutes or until dry in the middle with a toothpick.

Now I share this because....I didn't tell my family that it was gluten-free zucchini bread. They all had some. And then some more. In fact I had to snatch a couple pieces to wrap up for my lunch the next day because it was going...going...gone. If this gets a thumbs up from the hubby and kiddos you know its good! And no, that is not a typo... this recipe takes eight eggs!

Gluten-Free Zucchini Fries with Garlic-Lemon Aioli

For Zucchini Fries:

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large eggs, beaten
4-5 zucchini, cut into matchsticks

Preheat oven to 425 F. Place wire racks onto two baking sheets (this ensures even browning on all sides, and a slightly more crispy zucchini fry). On a plate, mix dry ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the two large eggs. Cut the zucchini into matchsticks. One by one, dip the zucchini in the beaten eggs and transfer to the plate with the crumb mixture, being sure to coat the zucchini thoroughly. Place the crumb covered zucchini on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and serve with marinara or aioli.

For Garlic-Lemon Aioli:

1 tbsp. garlic, minced
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Zest from one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 sprig of chives, diced

As you can see, I am not a food photographer. I take a quick picture of the item, a la stovetop, before it gets gobbled down while still good and hot. These were truly amazing. A bit of work...but so well worth the effort. 

Have a great weekend & thanks for stopping by!

May Arts - Core'dinations Blog Hop!

Do you love ribbon? 

May Arts and Core'dinations are having a blog swap all this week. 

Be sure to visit both blogs not only for some creative inspiration, 

but for your chance to win some awesome prizes too!

And now...I have a layout to share!

 We have a rope swing at our lake and although it is super fun, 

it can be rather nasty to get clear pictures of our activities there. 

Our family always has a competition going on to see 

who can jump off in the craziest position, 

which makes for a not only a great time but some pretty fun pictures too. 

No matter where I position my self on the boat or the shore, however, 

I always end up with dark shots. Will have to keep practicing, I guess. 

I thought I would print these all in black & white for a silhouette effect. 

I chose a teal and lime green theme for my double layout. 

I wanted bright...but not too bright. 

I love the antiquing effect of the CORE here because its water-like effect. 

And of course the MAY ARTS ribbon....love, love, love their products!

I used mesh ribbon & striped ribbon across the layout horizontally. 

I used the chevron {sigh.love chevron.} along the side and for the embellishment. 

To create a faux gathering effect, I simply run the entire length of ribbon through my 

Xyron Sticker Maker. I then slowly peel and stick down the ribbon, 

folding loops together as I go for extra dimension. 

This is lovely with when done with a sewing machine, 

but sometimes I am lazy so use my sticker maker instead. 

I still love the results and it's super quick too!

To make the embellie, simply gather up some scraps of ribbon and glue dot

loops underneath a cut-out shape of your choice. 

I even used some mesh ribbon ends in my layering. 

So cute!

I have a card to share with you today as well!

This a great way to use up ribbon scraps!

After completing your card base, simply apply a length of adhesive along the card

and start pressing down the ends of your ribbon scraps. 

Apply another length of adhesive, then loop up all the ends onto it. 

I apply a third strip of adhesive over this yet (optional), 

and then finish my card off with a wide ribbon tied into a bow.  

I thought I would add a little charm to this one, just for fun. 

Have a great week!

Last day of Core'dinations - Authentique Blog Swap

It's the last day for our Core'dinations - Authentique blog swap!

If you haven't yet, be sure to pop by both blogs for some awesome inspiration 

and a chance to win some yummy goodies!

I promised I'd be back today with a little layout inspiration. 

I used Authentique's carefree collection, 

in addition to some Core'dinations Vintage, Black Magic and Essentials lines.  

Have a great weekend!

Core'dinations-Authentique Blog Swap

Happy Tuesday to you!

Welcome to day two of the 

Core'dinations - Authentique Blog Swap!

We were privileged to get the chance to work with the brand spankin' new

CAREFREE line from Authentique.

Such fun colours and patterns. 

A definite must-have for summer layouts and cards.  

I made my card using Basic Grey Core Impressions for my card base. 

I punch circles out of the Carefree 6x6" stack. 

I "cheated" and fussy-cut the logo out of the back of the stack 

for my embellishment, which I adhered with a few pop-dots.

I finished off my card with some lovely May Arts ribbon. 

Fabulous!!!

Be sure to stop by again on Friday

for some layout inspiration as well!

It's all about family

I created this super fun layout using Core'dinations Basic Grey Whimsy. 

How awesome are these colours and patterns?

I love how bright and cheery this line is. 

Felt embellishments are from Pebbles, 

and the chipboard alphas are also Basic Grey. 

We are a cute, fun, beautiful, grumpy, silly, happy family!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a great weekend!!!

I remember

Here I am back again with another NSD challenge entry. I am entering this layout into not one, but two, challenges...and let me tell you; I chose tough ones for this particular project.

First off, I picked this challenge from Basic Grey : SPECIAL GUEST NSD CHALLENGE with Jana Eubank: Create a page where your design is split down the middle either vertically or horizontally. Talk about throwing the rule of thirds out the window! I have to say...this one was a tough one for me. But that's why they call it a challenge, right? 

Secondly, I chose this challenge from Scrapbook and Cards Today: NSD - Memorabilia with Davinie: create a project using something vintage, or a piece of memorabilia on your layout. In their post Davinie talks about using vintage doilies from her husband's grandmother who passed away. She inspired me to make this layout about my Oma (grandmother in german) who passed away just over a year ago.

Oma really liked to crochet, and the flowers on this layout were the last of her handiwork given to me. Her arthritis became very bad the last few years, so the flowers may not look perfectly symmetrical. They were, however, made with love, which makes them perfect in every way. I have been saving them until I had the courage to make a layout about her, and now I have! It is easy to scrapbook the happy times, but harder to scrapbook the sad ones. Although I think it is still just as special and important to record those memories as well as they are just as much a part of our lives.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I will be back later in the week with some Core'dinations love!!!

Layout supplies: Basic Grey Curio patterned papers, cardstock stickers and alphas; Core'dinations cardstock, May Arts velvet-lace ribbon, My Mind's Eye buttons & brads, Sakura journaling pen, Hand-made crochet flowers