Pumpkin Scones

With Fall almost here, I am already thinking about pumpkin (I love pumpkin!) These pumpkin scones are delicious!! Don't be fooled by my awful photo...they are so yummy right out of the oven with some butter. They are tender, flakey and just so good. I hope you'll give them a try.


Pumpkin Scones
2 ½ cups flour (I used half whole wheat)
¼ cup brown sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cloves
½ cup shortening
¾ cup pumpkin
½ cup milk

Directions:
1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix well.
2. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender or two knives.
3. Combine the milk and pumpkin in a separate bowl and mix well.
4. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Use your hands to gently knead the dough. Be careful not to overmix it. It’s ok if it is a little loose.
6. Divide the dough into two parts and shape each one into about a 6 inch round on a baking sheet. Use a knife to cut them into wedges.
7. Bake at 450 for about 12-15 minutes until cooked through but still soft.
Serve warm with butter and enjoy!

Check out your state fair!

I honestly love going to fairs! The animals, the lights, the games, the rides and oh the glorious food. (I feel a bit like Templeton the rat from Charlotte's Web when I leave!) Nothing like it - maybe it is so great because it only happens once a year. I found this web-site I would like to share with you that list the State Fairs. Just click on your state and it will take you to the web site for your fair. Have fun!

State Fairs

Share a Page

For many the end of August brings county fairs and community carnivals and festivals. Here are a couple of layouts to get you inspired to scrap those photos you are sure to have.

Jayne's Layout:


Stacey L's Layout:

Lee's Layout:

Distress Crackle Paint

Have you used these cool paints? I bought several colors about a year and half ago and although I have used them many times, they still tend to end up in the back of a drawer and become forgotten treasures. I recently pulled them all out to give them new life and start using them.

If they sit around for awhile, they can get very thick or even almost solid.

You can renew them by adding a little water and stirring them very well. (Start with a couple of drops and keep adding more as needed.)

Here’s one of mine that was almost solid and the end result after lots of stirring and shaking. Since mine had been sitting around for months (um, ok, maybe even over a year) most of mine needed some attention. (Unfortunately, I did have one of my nine bottles completely harden and I wasn’t able to save it!)

These paints are so much fun to work with and add a lot of character to a project. You can paint chipboard elements or even paint directly onto a page. Here are a couple of places I have used them:

If you’ve never tried Distress Crackle Paints, I hope you’ll consider picking up a jar next time you are shopping for scrappy supplies. And if you have some collecting dust , I challenge you to pull them out, revitalize them and use them on a crafty project!

Chocolate Crinkles

My daughter, Abbie, has been baking up a storm lately so I thought I would share another one of her recent favorites. These brownie type cooks are perfect for chocolate lovers!

Chocolate Crinkles

4 squares (4 ounces) of unsweetened chocolate
3 eggs (beaten)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a small sauce pan, melt chocolate squares over low heat. Remove from heat and let cool. In a large mixing bowl beat together eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and cooled chocolate with a wooden spoon.

In a smaller bowl mix together the flour and baking powder. Slowly add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture until all is well blended. (This will be thick.) Cover and refrigerate for an hour or so until firm.

Form dough into 1 inch round balls and roll in powdered sugar then place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Farmers Market

We love Farmer's Market's! I love visiting Farmer's Markets while traveling. Nice to pick up a loaf of artisan bread or some fresh berries.
If you are new to an area or traveling and want to catch a Farmer's market check out this list:
Farmers Market

A new card sketch!

Happy Friday! Here is a *brand new* card sketch I created for you!! I hope it inspires you to make a special card for someone you care about.


My sample using this sketch-


Card by Jayne Jones:


Stacey Curry's card-

I would absolutely LOVE to see a card you make using this sketch so please take a picture and share the link with us in the comment section. :)

A Scrapbooker You Should Know!

This month's featured Scrapper is Becky Rico. Many of you might know already know Becky through her time as a Guest DT member for Sketchapalooza 3 and the many classes she has taken with Feeling Scrappy. I know I find her work so inspiring! She does such a beautiful job capturing her memories with lots of beautiful photos put together beautifully on the page. She is also just a downright nice person! We asked Becky to answer a few questions so we could all get to know her better :)

How and when did you first start scrapbooking?
A friend invited me to a Creative Memories class in October 1993 right after the birth of my third child. I was hooked from the start. I always loved taking photos and had always put them in albums (the magnetic type- Yuck!). Scrapbooking gave me a wonderful and creative way to put them in the albums and to tell the story.

What is the most important aspect to scrapbooking to you?
I love documenting my family's lives through photos and stories - everything from events to everyday type things.

What are your favorite pages to work on?
Layouts about my kids. They are at a point in their lives where they aren't too cooperative around the camera though.

What if anything do you find hard to scrap?
Although I love taking scenery photos I find those the hardest to scrap.

What kind of camera do you use? Do you love it or hate it?
I have a Nikon D80 DSLR with several lenses and I absolutely love it! I take a lot of sport photos and this camera allows me to zoom into the action and take photos without any of the delays my previous digital cameras had.

What do you enjoy most about scrapbooking?
I love everything about it but I think reliving the memories and the actual creating are my favorite parts. I also love all the wonderful friendships, both in real life and through the internet, I have made because of scrapbooking.

Tell us a little about your family.
My husband Glen and I have been married for 22 years. We live in gorgeous Washington state overlooking the Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains. We have three kids. Our oldest son will be a senior in college in Massachusetts, our 2nd son will be a freshman in college in California and our daughter will be a sophomore in high school. Our lives have centered around the kids and their activities for so long it will be very strange to have only one at home this year. We also have an aging chocolate lab named Jewel. As a family we enjoy sports and traveling.

Tell us about the things outside of scrapbooking that you enjoy.
I enjoy so many things. I love photography, but I also love quilting and knitting. My daughter just talked me into taking an art class with her. I really enjoy getting reintroduced to drawing and love that we can do it together.

Tell us something about yourself that your Feeling Scrappy friends do not know.
Oh, goodness. I really can't think of anything very interesting. Hmmmm. I was a gymnast as a tween/teenager and have the bad knees and shoulder to prove it.

Here are a couple of Becky's favorite layouts:

Organizing your photos - part 2

Yesterday, I shared some links to sites with tips on organizing photos. Today, I wanted to share with you how I sort mine. I'm not claiming that it's the best way or that it will work for everyone, but maybe it will give you an idea for organizing your own.

First of all, I try to transfer my photos from my camera memory card at least once a month. I sort these into monthly folders on my computer and then divide them up into various categories or events within each month. I try to go through them immediately to delete the really bad ones or shots I have several of or that are similar.

Now, I try to order photos at least every couple of months so I don't fall too behind and feel overwhelmed. Once I get them from the printers, I sort them immediately. I keep a separate section for each album that I have in progress. I use a system from Creative Memories, but any sort of photo box would work.


Within each section, I divide my photos into events or other categories that I want scrapped together. I keep these in chronological order because that is how I organize the layouts in my albums. (I hope you can see the writing on my tabs here.)

When I am ready to scrap, all I have to do is flip through to find a set that I feel like working on. I can fit a lot of photos in these boxes so even if I am months (or more) behind in scrapping, at least my photos are sorted and ready to use. This definitely makes scrapping less stressful and I can focus on teh fun and creative part of it.

I’d love to hear your tips on organizing photos! If you have any ideas, please share them in the comment section. Have a wonderful weekend and happy organizing!

Organizing your photos - part 1

Do you organize your photos? Or are they all still in the envelopes from the printers? Or maybe they are still on the memory card in your camera? You might already have a system that works for you. But if not, I am going to share several links with you today about sorting and organizing. Tomorrow, I will share how I keep mine organized so I hope you'll stop back by then.

Here are some different sites that you can browse through for ideas on sorting and organizing (for both digital images on your computer and printed photos):
http://organizingyourphotos.com/
http://www.home-organizing-ideas.com/organize-photos.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Organize-Your-Photos
http://www.hgtv.com/organizing/organizing-photos/index.html

Tickled Pink Layouts

In honor of Stacey Lokovic's new arrival next week we thought we would share a few layouts that feature the color pink. Stacey - we all wish you the best and can't wait to see your new little one! {{hug}}

Jayne's layout:
Stacey C's layout:

Stacey L's layout:

Getting to Know Lee Currie

I wanted to take a moment to introduce you all to Lee Currie, our Guest Designer for the upcoming Simplify the Season Class. Lee is quite simply an amazing woman - I encourage you all to visit her blogs to see what I am talking about. You will love her work but more importantly you will love her spirit :) Lemons2Lemonade & Linar Studio

Below is a photo and little bio that Lee wrote up for us to share.
I am a very involved mother of our active children: Claire (13), Cole (12); Chloe (10) and Caden (9) and the wife of one entrepreneurial husband, Louis. Never a dull moment in or out of my house: many hours are spent in hockey rinks, at ball diamonds, on school grounds, on riverbanks and in auditoriums as parent, spectator and volunteer.

Going at a break-neck pace is not always a good thing, so to slow things down and add perspective, I document these events and the more everyday happenings. I want for my kids to look back at their childhoods and there be something to see. My spare time is spent making a mess in my studio, on the computer writing and blogging, and everywhere else playing with my new Canon 40D.

After 20+ years in the grocery industry, primarily in category management (merchandising) and developing private label product I knew I'd never go back after I was home with the kids. I went to my first scrapbook home party, and that was it, I found a way to combine my passions: photography, writing and paper. That was six years ago and I haven't considered stopping since!

Welcome Lee! You can learn more about the entire Feeling Scrappy Design Team here.

Altered Wine Bottle

This is a fun - quick and easy project. Takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

You will need:

clean empty wine or sparkling cider bottle - with labels removed. I save all our wine bottles now because I think these make the sweetest gifts.

Adhesive - I used a Tombow runner to attach the paper, Glue Dots to attach the ribbon, and Pop Dots to attach my metal embellishment

3 3/4" x 12" piece of patterned paper - I used scraps

1 1/2" x 4 1/2" piece of patterned paper - I used scraps

ribbon or trim of choice

embellishments of choice


Start by applying adhesive liberally to the back of your largest piece of paper.


Wrap this around the lower portion of your bottle. Take care to keep the edge lined up with the bottom of the bottle - it needs to be straight so the paper ends line up.



Do the same for the smaller piece of paper - attaching it to the neck of your bottle.

The next part is to HAVE FUN embellishing your bottle as you see fit. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Here is todays finished product:


This is one I did for Easter:

New Fall Classes!

Simplify the Season!
September 14 to October 12, 2009

This class is designed to help you take some of the hustle out of your holidays. We will decrease your stress and leave you more time to enjoy the little things by completing items from your holiday to-do list now. During this four-week course you will be provided with sketches and samples to help you complete all of your holiday cards, tools to keep you organized and help you pre-plan plus you will make at least 4 handmade gifts. As always, you can expect loads of samples and tips from our design team to inspire and motivate you! (The talented Lee Currie will be our guest designer for this class!)

During this course you can expect:

• A full four weeks of class running from Sept 14th until Oct 12th
• Detailed card sketches made exclusively for you by our design team
• At least 7 different card sketches with tips on “mass” production
• 4 gift projects with detailed step by step instructions
• Challenges with prizes each week of class
• Tips and tid-bits to keep your creative juices flowing
• Tools to help you organize your holidays
• Fabulous creative examples for each project and card sketch by our talented design team
• A private class forum with lots of support and friendly conversation
• Self paced class - do as much or as little as you would like
• A PDF file including all the sketches from class for you to keep for future reference
• Graduation crop with projects, challenges, games and prizes
• Plus a few surprises :)

Cost for this four-week course is $25.00.

Sketchapalooza 5
October 26th to November 23rd

Back by popular demand! Do you like using sketches when creating layouts for your scrapbooks? Are you motivated by challenges and prizes? Are you looking to do some "catching up" in your scrapbooks? Then this is the class for you!You will be provided with tons of brand new original sketches (5 per week!) with examples from our talented designers during this four week course. This fast paced exciting class is suitable for any level of scrapper (paper or digital) who wants to get a lot of pages done and have a ball doing it! Join us and get a good month of scrapping in before the holidays hit! :) (Tracy Kosofsky will be designing for us again this class!)

Here is what you can expect during the Sketchapalooza 5 Class:

• A full FOUR WEEKS of class running from October 26th until November 23rd
• Detailed sketches made exclusively for you by our design team
• A full 20 sketches (5 per week!)
• Digital templates provided for PS or PSE for each sketch
• Plus tips and tid-bits to keep your creative juices flowing
• Fabulous creative examples for each sketch by our talented design team
• A private class forum with lots of support and friendly conversation
• Self paced class - do as much or as little as you would like
• A PDF file including all the sketches from class for you to keep for future reference
• Graduation crop with challenges, games and prizes
• Plus a few surprises :)

The cost for this month long class is only $25.00.
Ready to sign up? Just click the "Buy Now" button.

Baking in the crock pot!

It's been much too hot around here to bake much in the oven and we've missed munching on tasty quick breads. Sooo, I thought I'd try to bake some bread in my crock pot and it worked! The first loaf I cooked was overdone (but we just cut off the hard parts and ate it anyway!). I think the second one turned out just about right. I love this idea because the crock pot doesn't heat up my house like my oven does.


How to bake quick breads in your Crock Pot
~Use a recipe that you love and already know turns out well for you.
~Cook the loaf on HIGH for 4 hours then check it. Mine needed another 15-20 minutes.
~Vent the lid just a bit with a chopstick to let the extra moisture escape.
**Now, I still think the bread turns out better in the oven, but this definitely is a good substitute when it's just too HOT to turn on the oven!!!

Happy baking!

Artist Feature

Today, I wanted to share something with you all that you may not be aware of Stacey Curry, a member of our current design team makes beautiful jewelry as well. She has been recognized for her work many times in Bead Trends magazine and I think you will find it beautiful! Here is a little about Stacey and how she got started in her business.

...and she hitched her wagon to a star

This is Stacey's journey - her "Some Kind Of Wonderful!" Back in high school (before Star Hitched Wagon™ was even a consideration), while on a family trip, Stacey discovered that friendly plastic and cameo faces when put together with feathers and rhinestones and a pin back - could in fact make some trendy jewelry. Jewelry that would be picked up by a local hospital gift shop and almost sell out at a local craft show. This was the first spark in the Star Hitched Wagon™ fire.

Fast forward a few years - to Stacey's first year away at college, she stumbled into the most fantastic little bead store in Butte, Montana. It was love at first site. Every extra penny (plus a few that weren't so extra) was spent on beads and jewelry making supplies. So the fun of custom jewelry for herself and friends starts again - over the years the little spark continues to grow. Finally in 2003 Stacey hitched her wagon to a star - just as Emerson said - and the dream was turned into a business!

Star Hitched Wagon™ continues to grow with new goals, new designs, new skills, and wonderful new and loyal customers, but Stacey's mission remains the same:To create and market beautiful, one of a kind, wearable pieces of art, for the Girl with Roots and Wings.

Below are just a few of Stacey's beautiful pieces. To see more, you can visit her website Star Hitched Wagon

Night of Dreams bracelet~
Gypsy necklace ~

Go Ahead and Fly earrings~