Monday's Fun Day! Tag! You're it!

If you are reading this, you have been tagged!



Seriously. I would love to know more about you!
BTW, this tag has been forwarded by a very creative gal, Donna. You can visit her over on her crafty blog, Serenity in Stamping. She was tagged by her very crafty pals, Marilyn and Valita. Can you see why my blogroll list is constantly growing down below? lol!

So here's Monday's Fun Day give-away...

ONE OF A KIND - unmounted
(no wood... what you see is what you get)





A winner will be chosen Friday night

What you need to do to qualify for a chance to win...

You need to list 7 random / weird facts about YOU.
Then tag a few more people. Since I am twisting this a bit, I will let you send some of your friends this way to join in on the fun. Just link this give-away on your blog (or email your friends if you don't have a blog) and "tag" a few friends. Have them do the same. Just be sure to post your link to your blog here with your post of your 7 random / weird facts.

SO...

1. Link your blog post here with your answers and tag a few more people.
OR
2. Post your answers here (with brief answers) and then go invite a few friends to do the same.



7 random / weird facts about me...

1. I can not stand it when my husband takes his foot away from the gas/brake pedals. I think he likes to drive on cruise control and just sets his foot back to relax. It's something I noticed yesterday on our drive up to SF and it totally freaked me out. Wierd, eh?


2. Not a weird fact, but a bit unusual for me because I really do love Mia...

Today, I just might kill my cat (or at least give her away) for ruining my packs of new In-Color card stock. Yes. THE brand new In-Color packs of card stock for the new catalog coming out next month. Ruined. All of them. I had a small vase of hydrangeas that my mother had cut from her garden for me to take home from SF. Mia had jumped up on my craft table in the middle of the night and knocked the vase over and the water had sat there. My packs of card stock soaked up the water. Nope... sealed card stock is not water proof.

So if there is no cat when you come home, Kevin...


3. I don't like my food to touch.


4. I don't like going faster than I can run, unless I am driving. For example, I HATE roller coasters. The one (and only) time I have ever ridden a roller coaster, I was SO scared that I braced myself against the side of the ride really hard and bruised my arm and ribcage. They were black and blue for weeks. This was on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on the Giant Dipper. Here... take the virtual ride for yourself! It's enough to make me wanna throw up. Stop laughing at me! I know. I'm a wimp.



5. I have three pairs of shoes. A pair of white tennis shoes (which I just replaced recently), a pair of black sandals (bought in Hawaii three years ago), and a pair of black heels (I forget when I bought them). OH! I forgot about my bowling shoes!


6. I live in San Jose, CA but have never been to the Winchester Mystery House, which is just about 8 minutes away from my home! I can't say I have really been to Paramount's Great America either... maybe once way back when I was much younger?


7. I have been rubber stamping and crafting for a little over 2 years now. I started because of post partum depression. It has been great therapy!


Now it's your turn!


Have a terrific week!

Strawberry Gingerale Cupcakes!

I had such a fantastic response from my Baby Shower post and many requests for the Strawberry Gingerale Cupcakes recipe. Well.. here you go!

In case you are just joining, these are the cupcakes that I made for my sister-in-law's baby shower a month ago.

Piper was born a week ago on Sunday! She's so beautiful! I am holding off on sharing the personal information until she is out of NICU out of respect for the parents. Thank you ALL for the wonderful emails and sweet messages that you have been posting. It has been a busy week and I will start to email back everyone tonight when I get back into San Jose. I really appreciate the good thoughts and prayers that have been sent their way. Thank you very much!

Check out these lovely organic strawberries from the local Farmer's Market!





Strawberry Gingerale Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
2-3/4 cups of flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
6 large strawberries or 10 medium strawberries, diced
1 cup gingerale

Frosting:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
2 Tbsp gingerale

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl - sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside



3. In mixer - cream butter and sugar until well mixed and airy.





4. Add eggs one at a time. Make sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next egg.
5. Slowly add in four mixture, 1/3 at a time. Make sure each batch is fully incorporated before adding the next.
6. Stir in vanilla and gingerale.



7. Stir in strawberries.







8. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
9. Scoop even amount of dough into each cup - fill 1/4" to the top. You will have enough for 24 cupcakes.



10. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until golden brown.




Frosting:
1. In mixer, mix butter and cream cheese together.
2. Add powdered sugar and whip until smooth. Continue to add powdered sugar until you get the consistency you desire.

Remove cupcakes from the oven and leave in tins for a few minutes to set.
Transfer to cooling racks.
When cupcakes are completely ready, decorate with frosting.




At the baby shower:



Happy Baking!

Top to Bottom... or is it Bottoms up?

Scor-Pal Pals Challenge this week is a "Top to Bottom" Gate-Fold.

Fun challenge, Sandy! I'm sorry you had to be rushed to the hospital so suddenly last week and glad you are back home... hoping you are feeling much better now.

I have my Scratch -n- Sniff class to prep for this morning, but wanted to get the pics up before I went offline for the day. I will get more info up on this card for those interested later tonight! I've been tagged by Donna and I will get that posted too! :)







Speaking of Scor-Pal Pals, I have a few of you linked at the bottom of my blog... just recently joined and am trying to play catch-up. If you have a blog, I would love to add you to my list. Post here or email me through the group!

I have yet to try a "Diorama Card" and this Happy Birthday, Princess! Diorama Card by Denise Cote is super cute! It is also being featured on the Starving Artistamps Gallery blog. Congratulations, Denise!

New In-Colors Sneak Peek!

My box of stampin' goodies arrived Friday and I had a chance to play with a few things last night. Anyone interested in a sneak peek of the NEW In-Colors?

Here's a quick birthday card I put together, showcasing all of the new In-Colors:






Introducing:
Riding Hood Red
Pink Pirouette
Tangerine Tango
Kiwi Kiss
Pacific Point
Baja Breeze

Cheers!

A few cards and tags to share...

Simple Orchid:





Stamp: Potted Plant by Hero Arts
Markers: Almost Amethyst, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Apricot Appeal
Cardstock: Whisper White
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals


Happy Birthday card:



Stamp: Party Hearty
Copic Markers: Chrome Orange, Cadmium Orange, Cool Shadow
Ink: Whisper White Craft
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi textured, Regal Rose
Accessories: Happy Birthday Cuttlebug, Chunky White Glitter, Dew Drops

Tags I made for my Japanese workshop ladies:


Happy Stampin'!

Introducing Piper...

Sunday morning, my little niece was born.
Her name is Piper.
She is 4 lbs and 13 ozs...
I had bought several preemie outfits and they will have to be returned because Piper is 17.5" long! The sleeper I bought was for up to 17". lol!

This is a picture I took of a picture from a camera... can't remember if it's from Shawn's camera or my mother-in-law's camera.



I will keep the rest to myself for now since it is all quite personal and I am sure, very difficult for Kari and Shawn... they will have to go home without Piper tomorrow since she will be in NICU for the next couple of weeks.

Thank you all so much for your sweet thoughts and words!

hugs,

Hugs and good wishes...

Just a quick post for hugs and good wishes for my sister-in-law, Kari and her husband, Shawn... and my soon-to-be-born neice. Kari's water broke 5 weeks early. I'm heading up to SF to visit with my own family for a few hours and will be back later in San Jose tonight to check in on Kari... hoping to post great news!

xoxo

A Muse-a-Palooza with Julie Ebersole!

OMG! It's Wednesday and I am still walking on air! My girlfriends and I drove up to Sacramento for A Muse-a-Palooza! It was held at Paper Garden Boutique where I got to meet Stephanie Nishikawa (who is just as beautiful in person and OH SO CREATIVE with that gorgeous store of hers!!!), her husband, Ken, who is just as creative and SO sweet, and her adorable son, Miles, who had just celebrated his 3rd birthday.

I tried as hard as I could to get a good picture of Stephanie but she was always moving around the store (I didn't want to use the flash as much as possible). But I did get some of her fabulous store...







Here's Ken hard at work:


Did you see my title for this post?
A Muse-a-Palooza with Julie Ebersole!

J U L I E
E B E R S O L E !















Seriously... I wasn't sure if I was going to or .




Dat Julie is DA BOMB!
You can catch up with her on her blog, Paper Trufflez.

Julie, if you are reading this,
I love you!
You are a treasure! Mwah!








Here's Carolina working away:


Hi, Stephanie!



Last, but not least,
a "Red, White, & Blue Thank You" card for Julie



I made this real quick for Julie before I left for Sacramento.
I thought it was so amazing that someone would take the time to spend their weekend away from their family and friends on a holiday weekend to teach a class in a different state. So from the bottom of my heart, Julie... thank you! I loved the classes and will always carry your energy with me when I teach my classes!