Tag Archives: Scrapbooking

Baby Shower!

March 4, 2015 letterpressdog 2 Comments

This past Saturday I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my good friends. You would think I would have gone way overboard on decorations and favor boxes. But I didn’t. I spent all my energy on the food! I made a delicious baked French toast with pecans, mini quiche (vegetarian and with ham), deviled eggs with a hint of habanero sauce, a cheese plate, crackers, fruit, yogurt, chips and mini cupcakes. Everything was so tasty.

I did one crafty thing for the shower. I put together a mini album where each guest wrote a bit of advice then we added a picture. Here is what a blank page looked like.

The basic recipe for the baked French toast is:

1 French baguette, cubed

8 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

1/2 cup brown sugar

Put the bread in a 9 by 13 pan, mix ingredients and pour over bread. Cover and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning, mix up the topping and sprinkle over the top. Add pecans if you want. Bake for 1 hour at 350. Yummy!

craft, Scrapbooking

It’s Craft Day!

February 21, 2015 letterpressdog 2 Comments

My friends and I decided we need to spend more time hanging out. So we are instituting a monthly craft day. Every one brings her own project, and the hostess of the month makes a light lunch. Today was our first craft day. Our crafts included knitting a scarf, digital scrapbooking, creating a stash of cards, felting and making party favors. It was a blast getting some work done and chatting.

Lunch was a fabulous home-made white bean and kielbasa soup with fresh bread and pie for desert. Health and delicious!

Ingredients
1 pound dried white beans (such as great northern or navy)
14 ounces kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2 inch thick
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
5 ounces baby spinach (6 cups)

Directions
1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beans, kielbasa, broth, tomatoes (and their juices), onion, garlic, rosemary, and 1 cup water.
2. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.
3. Just before serving, stir in the spinach. Serve with the bread.

i was working on party favors for my friend’s son’s first birthday. They are having a farm themed party, so cute. The favors will be a small box filled with treats and toys. The boxes will have a little sheep on them with the sentiment “Thank Ewe!” Hoe cute is that!

I used the Stampin’ Up set On the Farm, with black Memento ink and colored the image with Copic makers. The sentiment was printed.

craft, Scrapbooking

Tickled Pink!

February 12, 2015 letterpressdog Leave a comment

Stampin’ Up! makes the cutest stamps. I buy new sets and used sets and may have even stolen a set from my sister once. I have even bought the same set more than once! I was so excited yesterday because I had four eBay packages waiting for me when I got home.

The stamp set Very Punny is fabulous and I had fun putting together this tickled pink card. I stamped the little pig on a white background, colored him with Copic markers, mounted him on a medium pink square and put it all together on a light pink card stock. Hope you like him!

craft, Scrapbooking

My Obsession…

February 5, 2015 letterpressdog 1 Comment

I have a problem. The first step of a program is to admit the problem. I fully admit I have an obsession with Copic markers. I am not ready for treatment.

Copic markers are alcohol based markers that are blendable. This allows you to use multiple hues of the same color to add depth to your art work. I really enjoy stamping a cute image and then adding color to make it pop!

For this project I used a Stampin’ Up stamp with Memento black ink. I cut a small square out of the front of the card, matted the cute dog on a slightly bigger brown square with foam to add dimension. It is a very simple card, but perfect for a quick note to cheer up a friend.

Baby shower, Scrapbooking

Oh Baby!

January 27, 2015 letterpressdog 1 Comment

My good friend is expecting her first child. She and her husband are going to be awesome parents! To celebrate their upcoming bundle of joy, I am hosting a baby shower for them. I am having fun making various invitations, trying to get them perfect. Here is one idea. Very basic, but stylish. They decided to be surprised, and have not found out the gender of the baby, so I went with a neutral color scheme.

Shimmer gray paper, mint green onsie (die cut) and dark gray letters. Please think positive thoughts for a healthy, happy baby!

Christmas, craft, Scrapbooking

It’s a Whole New Year!

January 21, 2015 letterpressdog 2 Comments

I have been making handmade Christmas cards since 2000. We have a lot of family overseas, and they look forward to getting our holiday cards. Our cousin got married a couple of years ago, and his best man, whom we had never met, wasn’t interested in the fact that we were cousins from America, he was excited because he got to meet the Christmas card people.

So when my friend told me that she did not get a chance to send out Christmas cards this year, due to traveling over the holidays, and asked me if I could help her make New Year’s cards I jumped at the chance.

I used the Accucut, A2 step card die, with craft colored paper. A Sizzlets set from Sizzix for the 2015, a Stampin Up label punch and a Hero Arts sentiment. Of course the beautiful family is my friend and her husband, son and mother-in-law. I think the cards turned out lovely. Hope you like them!

Handmade 2015 New Year's Card — Handmade 2015 New Year’s Card

craft, Letterpress, Scrapbooking

Tasty Treats from the Heart

January 15, 2015 letterpressdog Leave a comment

Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it. Remember when we were little and gave every kid in our class a Valentine? Why stop now, just because we are adults?

This year I made little treat boxes that are just under two inches. I am still trying to decide what to put in them. More likely than not, it will be something chocolate. Yum!

First I used my letterpress to print the word love on thick cotton cardstock. Used a punch to cut out the label and used my Accucut Grande Mark die cutting machine to cut out the box.

craft, Letterpress

Penny Farthing for Your Thoughts?

January 10, 2015 letterpressdog 1 Comment

I love the weekend! This is when I get to be creative and use all my crafting toys. Last night I decided to get dirty…

That means Letterpress! Letterpress is dirty work because you have to get inked up. First you scoop out ink with you ink knife. You work your ink a bit with the knife and then dab it on the letterpress ink disk. The letterpress rollers go over the disk to collect a thin layer of ink and then rollover the blocks and letters to deposit the ink. I can not do this process without getting ink all over me, no matter how hard I try.

So what did I make? Cute mini notecards with an ordinary bicycle (AKA old fashioned bicycle or a penny farthing). The cards are 2.25 by 2.25 and are printed on Lettra cotton cardstock with brown black ink. I then made mini envelopes to match out of craft colored card stock.

Mini notecards with a cool letterpressed penny farthing bicycle

craft, Scrapbooking

Felt Birds are Darling

January 6, 2015 letterpressdog Leave a comment

This weekend was fabulous. Saturday was spent on all sorts of fun things. My friend and I spent the morning crafting, then off to lunch, followed by pedicures. It was an ideal day!

I worked on making “Happy New Year’s” cards for my work friend. She was so busy this year with a family wedding over Christmas, that she didn’t get a chance to send out holiday cards, so she asked for my help. I made thirty step cards with room for the family picture. I am just waiting on JC Penny to get those prints done. I will add a picture once they are done.

My friend was felting birds for her baby’s room. I have never done any felting, but these birds are amazing. I am going to have to try it out!

craft, Letterpress

Happy New (Letterpress) Year!

December 31, 2014 letterpressdog Leave a comment

I hope you have a wonderful 2015! I know I will, because I will be making time to do the things I love; spending time with my husband, snuggling with the dog and crafting.

Earlier in 2014 I bought a Kelsey Excelsior 5 x 8 letterpress machine. This antique machine was made sometime between 1893 and 1928, based on the patent number. How cool is that! I have vintage printing blocks and several alphabets for pressing images and words. I am still learning how to use it, but I am hooked.

I was lucky enough to have five days off over Christmas, so I played. I made a bunch of little note cards that said:

Hello
Hola
Ciao
Bonjour

International Hello Letterpress Notecards

I used Crane Lettra cotton cardstock and a midnight blue ink. Next step, send all my friends a card!

I would love to hear about projects you are working on; leave a comment and let me know!

longdogletterpress

Tag Archives: Scrapbooking

Baby Shower!

It’s Craft Day!

Tickled Pink!

My Obsession…

Oh Baby!

It’s a Whole New Year!

Tasty Treats from the Heart

Penny Farthing for Your Thoughts?

Felt Birds are Darling

Happy New (Letterpress) Year!

A year of craftiness