welcome

With a precious new baby in the family, I just couldn't resist making a girly page featuring our beautiful new niece.  This page is featured today over at Practical Scrappers where there are tons of baby layouts to inspire you. 

This layout was inspired by a sketch by Kristy Lee for Scrapbook Steals.  I grabbed some pink supplies that don't get much use in my house, and started layering with browns and creams.  I've never been a fan of pink, so this pushes me WAY out of my comfort zone.  I had the pink fringy trim in my stash for over a year and decided this would be the perfect way to add a little sparkle and bling to my page.  My favorite addition is the meandering twine featuring some mini clothes pins (also something I've had in my stash for 10 years!) 

This layout will be my last one created for the design team at Practical Scrappers, as my term is coming to an end at the end of the month.  I've had great fun and have met a lot of talented ladies, so I'm sure I'll continue to play along as a fan for their on-going challenges!  Thanks for stopping by!

campfire cobbler (recipe included)

I love Wednesdays, when the weekly sketch challenge is revealed at Scrapbook Steals! This week I decided to pull out some of last year's camping photos.  I have a bad case of spring fever and after spending the past several months indoors, I can't wait for warmer weather and the start of camping season.  This layout reminds me what camping is all about:

Many years ago I bought Nate a dutch oven for his birthday.  We started collecting recipes and found a super easy recipe for cobbler.  Whenever friends come to visit, this is always requested.  We even bought a second dutch oven so we can make two batches when we have lots of company.  The recipe is super simple and easy to assemble when we're in the great outdoors.  We start with three cans of fruit pie filling.  My favorites are apple or peach, but Nate loves cherry the best!  Dump the pie filling in the dutch oven, then sprinkle one dry yellow cake mix over the top.  Then cut a stick of butter into 1/4 inch slices and put the pats of butter over top the cake mix.  Sprinkle the whole thing with sugar and cinnamon and bake it for one hour.  We've made it at home in a 350 degree oven, using a regular 9x13 pan, but there's just something about cooking it outside that makes it better.  We use a dutch oven, with charcoal briquets underneath and placed on the lid, and it bakes the same as an oven.  We turn it a 1/4 turn every 15 minutes to even out the heat.  It is best served warm with ice cream!  Yummo!

Here's the Kristy Lee sketch that inspired this layout: