Tag Tuesday - Library Tags

Hello there! What a week! Earthquake, hurricane and all the drama that comes with both of those.....I have to admit that normalcy is underrated. My hubby and I were more exhausted on vacation! Since I was confined to the indoors, I did catch up on some craft and scrapbooking projects...can't wait to share.

www.tortagialla.com

Library tag, pocket and card template

Print these for your kids to play library with their books or print them on patterned paper to use on scrapbook layouts. Kyle's first trip to the library needs to be scrapped and I will be printing one of these for the page!
Enjoy!

Tag Tuesday - Summer

Cannot believe that it is the end of summer! Where did it go? And I am not even tan! Sorry for the lack of posts: not only am I soaking up the last rays of summer but the beach house didn't have internet until today - how have I survived???? Probably a good thing to be unplugged for a couple of days.
In celebration (or mourning) of summer coming to a close, I thought I would post some summer tags. I already have some ideas brewing on how I can use these on scrapbook layouts for our beach vacation :)

freeprettythingsforyou

chickabug

shabbychiccrafts

living locurto

Please keep your fingers crossed that Irene doesn't ruin the end of my family's and friend's summer plans!

Easy Outside Art

I love browsing through the dollar store and finding items to alter into something fabulous. I found these ugly [in my opinion] wall plaques. I had thought they would be perfect to adhere a photo to and Mod-Podge over it for a floating photo effect. So I bought a couple to experiment and they sat in my scrapbook room.......Until, my girlfriend Cathy told me about these photos that she and her husband had taken that she wanted to use on her covered deck. Her daughter-in-law suggested to use the bird pics, I came up with the project and Cathy was the brawn. Since it is outside but is covered from most of the elements (mainly water) I thought the Mod-Podge seal would be perfect.

So one Friday, Cathy printed 4 - 8x10 photos of her birds and we got started!

All you need is:

• foam brush
• Mod Podge in matte finish
• 8x10 picture - trimmed to match the size of your board
• picture board - I got mine at the Dollar Tree in the frame section

1. Paint Mod Podge on the
board

2. Position the photo on the
board

3. Smooth out the photo so
there aren't any bubble

4. Paint Mod Podge over the
photo, edges and back to seal.

5. Let the pictures dry. 

6. Cathy's Margaritas was how
we passed the time! YUM!

 Voila! Cathy hung them with the 3M picture hangers. How Awesome does that look? Go here for the link to the coupon to save! 

So cute! All for under $4 each! I am going to take beach pics and do this for my sunroom! I can't wait! Thank you Cathy for being my guinea pig! :) SMOOCHES

YUM! - Pina Colada Pound Cake

Okay I love to bake but I don't eat it. I know weird. I will have one bite just to make sure it turned out the way it should but for the most part I don't eat sweets - I just feed them to my hubby. Until....I heard this recipe from my hairdresser, Kristen. I just had to try it. And the best part is that it is super simple and you can add alcohol!

Ingredients:
1 pound cake mix
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
2 mashed bananas
1 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix everything together and bake. I love how all the chips fall to the bottom for a chocolately base. Those that don't like shredded coconut will not even notice the texture. I really want to try making a glaze with confectioners sugar and Malibu or Parrot Bay Rum. We had some couples over for poker and we were not waiting for that! So I took 1 shot glass filled with Parrot Bay Rum and poured the shot directly on each slice. Not the whole shot on one slice - but I guess if you wanted to you could!
Viola!
Thank you Kristen - this has been a hit. I will be making lots of these in the future.....Enjoy!

btw - I received my memory box that I ordered on Monday AND I LOVE IT!!! I would show you the picture but it is a Christmas present so I don't want to ruin the surprise, so trust me......you got to get one!
Head on over to paper coterie >>>

Tag Tuesday: Back to School

In honor of back to school! My son is too young to go to school, though he does go to Daycare - we call it school. Schoooool just rolls off your tongue easier than DAYCARE.

I just love Bookplates ;)

Hello, Good Gravy!

Lots of free downloads for back to school @ Crazy Cute

Back to school Party featuring You're so Sharp Tags @ Eighteen25 and while you are there cook up a little teacher appreciation with these Smart Cookie Tags

Enjoy!

Digital Deals!! $$

I like to dabble in digit scrapbooking as I see deals. The best way to get deals is to sign up so you get the email specials. I have been starting on my Christmas planning/shopping. I hope to make a majority of my gifts this year. I find that it means so much more to everyone AND it is usually cheaper! Here are are a few of my favs - click on the red bold to visit their websites.

So when I got this email from Paper Coterie advertising their new memory boxes for 40% off, I knew someone I knew would be the lucky recipient for Christmas - ADD TO CART! Here is a sample from their website. Can't you just picture Kyle's shining face on the front?

Here are the samples of my projects: [left to right: Journal, Coilbound, Tagbook and Coilbound]

Lisa Bearnson also has a digital photobook website. I have done the October book and have a Family Reunion book in progress for my Grandmother's 96th birthday in September. She is offering 40% off all photobooks till September 30th. Plenty of time to start creating your book! She has all the major life highlights covered: Wedding, school, baby, Year in Review & Family...check them out!

Here is a page from my book. I just love the colors! 

Coupon code is: school40 

I have also used My Publisher - the My Mini. It is 20 pages contained in a purse [or wallet] size brag book for those proud parents. And the best part? It is $2.49!!!! Whhhaaatttt????? Yes AND right now they are buy one get one free [or buy 2 get 2 free]! Cute little surprise in the mail for someone special. 

I made this one for Doug and I. LOVE Them! Easy peasy ;)

So what are you waiting for? 

Family Photos

We received our official CD of our family photos. This one is by far my fav and totally depicts our family. WWF is a part of our daily routine as you can guess since Kyle is ALL BOY!  I so treasure these moments and we are so lucky to have it captured. Thank you Daytona! You are sooo talented!

Linking up here:

It's okay to go digital.....

When Kyle came into our lives I realized that it was more about absorbing the moment and documenting than worrying about making everything from scratch. I have turned to digital sites not only for the convenience but also because of the deals!!!! Shutterfly rewards me often with free books, mugs, photos and cards all the time! It is just easier to design one book and order multiple for grandparents and Aunts and Uncles. Here was Kyle's first year book. I had so much fun making it and boy has he changed!!!!! I have other books on my Shutterfly Sharesite click here for more inspiration. Over the next week I will share other digital sites and deals that they currently have going on as well! 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Birthday Celebration

Created this 12 x 12 scrapbook for my friend's mom's birthday. I didn't want to do traditional birthday for such a classy lady! Wish I could have seen her face when she opened it!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Cozy Corner

Short and sweet!
3-3x3 mini frames from Target Hot Spot for $2.50.
One pic of each family member.
Our little coat corner.
Okay, so it is monopolized by Kyle's hats!

I hang everything using the 3M picture hangers. They even work on our plaster walls! 

[get coupons here - this is for you Steph!]

 Come hang your coat - or hat here if you are in the neighborhood!

Tag Tuesday

S-U-M-M-E-R
Go on a picnic, give a gift of plants or flowers ....here are some tag downloads to make that fun and easy! I just ran across this new blog by Eat Drink Chic. I will visit here often. Not only does she use Chic in the title of her blog but the entire blog is eyecandy. So go grab a vintage flowered sheet out of your linen closet, print some tags, pack a lunch & invite a friend for a picnic!

[Click the link under the picture to go to the post to download]

Eat Drink Chic

Eat Drink Chic

I used the flowered tag on my aloe plant gifts. I have this crazy huge Aloe plant that my girlfriend gave me over a year ago. This thing will not stop reproducing! In fact all my house plants are the kind of plants that reproduce easily and those are the best to have around when you need a quick present! I have Aloe plants, Spider plants and a philodendron. All are pretty hearty so even those that don't have a green thumb can keep these alive! The aloe plant and dirt are free and the pots and rocks I buy at the Dollar Tree. The twine is from here. How much cutier do they look with the pop of color from the tag? DONE!

Garden Love Rocks

I saw this idea here and here and fell in love! I thought these were the cutiest summer gift. I am picturing them all in a basket on my sunroom [when it is finished!] You could put these in your garden, in an indoor potted plant as a paper weight to decorate your desk...what other ideas do you have? I thought they would make great teacher gifts. I am pleased with how they turned out ;)

Why is it that Mod-Podge sits around unused and then when I want to Mod-Podge everything in sight....it is no where to be found! My hubby went to Michael's and picked me up some. I did have to draw him a map of Michael's so he could locate it in the store! He even used the 40% off coupon - though it didn't matter because he slipped Gummy worms in which made up for the coupon! ha He said there was a lady in there with her husband and he heard the husband say "You spent $150!" Too funny.

Supplies:

• Rocks with a large enough surface area for your applique 
• Assorted fabric
• Foam Brush
• Mod-podge in matte finish
• Big Shot or another die cut machine
• Sizzix Dies I used:
• Bird w/leaves & Flower Sizzix Die
• Bigz Beautiful Butterflies from Stampin' Up! Sizzix Die
• Sizzlits Hearts Set Stampin' Up! Sizzix Die

I used a heart, 2 sizes of butterflies and a bird and cut them out from the fabric using the Big Shot. The fabric is from Stampin Up! Springtime Vintage $9.95 for 3 sheets of 27"x18". They have approximately 7 different assortments to choose from and they are all fantastic.

I bought the rocks for $1 each at a garden center. You could probably buy a bag of smaller landscaping rocks at Home Depot but I was too excited to try these that I didn't feel like shopping around. I adhered the fabric with Mod-Podge and covered the entire top of the rock and fabric with Mod-podge. I let dry overnight and applied another coat. Kyle even helped! "Whatchadoingmummy?" To which I replied "painting rocks". "I help?" he asked. I so wish I could bottle him up. So we painted a butterfly rock together. Daddy will take it to work as a paper weight ;) So supportive!

YUM - Italian Veggies

This is another favorite of mine. I think I am allergic to measuring cups and I know whose fault that is - my dad of course. He has always made up recipes and just measured in the palm of his hand and used his taste buds as the judge. Can't go wrong with that! That is why I love recipes where I don't have to measure and I don't need directions!

Besides the time to cut all the veggies this is a quick hit and great for grilling.

I layer all the following veggies in a foil pan. The heartier veggies to cook like the squash are at the bottom.
Tomatoes
Red, green, yellow and orange peppers
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Yellow onion
Can of peeled white potatoes
These are the veggies I use but the possibilities are endless!

Once it is all layered in the pan I sprinkle Italian dressing mix all over the veggies. For a large tray like this, I used a package and a half. Usually if I am grilling I don't add anything else because the juices from the veggies is all you really need but this time I added balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar (a 1/4 cup maybe of each). I don't know the cooking time but I just check the squash. Mix occasionally to ensure none of the veggies burn to the bottom.
Another alternative to cooking is the just put all of the mixture in a pot on the stove. We recently had to do this because the valve to our grill came unhooked. Why does this only happen when you have company?
All the veggies will be a mushy soupy yummy mix. Even people who don't eat veggies will enjoy this!
Sprinkle Parmesan and serve....YUM!

Been working on some crafts so those posts will be coming soon! :) stay tuned!

Everything is better with icing!

I don't know where this idea originated from but it makes the best brownies EVER! I seriously buy brownie mix and icing in bulk so I can make these for impromptu get togethers or scrap nights with the ladies.

I buy the regular Fudge Brownies from Betty Crocker and the Whipped Chocolate Icing. I used to buy the small container of icing but now I buy the large one.


Bake the brownies as directed on the package.
Once the timer goes off, I take the large container of icing and microwave it for 1 minute.
As it is heating, I take the brownies out and stick a fork in the top to make holes all over. This is so the icing seeps into the brownies (YUM!)
I take the icing out of the microwave and pour the entire container on the top of the brownies.

Mommy's little helper

NOTE: This recipe started out with melting half of the small container of frosting to pour on the top and then actually frosting the top of the brownies once they cool. Yeeaahhhh - I found that frosting brownies doesn't work for me. That is how I started melting the whole container. And then the container got larger in size because everything tastes better with frosting!!!!

Let the brownies cool and then serve! They are a chocolate gooey delight.......

I made these tonight for my Friday night Scrapbook gals.....This time I found crushed Heath bar toffee bits in my pantry. Ladies, we will enjoy these tomorrow - if they make it there!

  Be sure to share your enhancements to this recipe if you try it. I love to experiment! Enjoy!

Tag Tuesday

I cannot tell you how many free printables I have stored on my computer! Everytime I blog surf I find such great talent out there offering free downloads! I surf blogs and always look for "freebies" &  "free downloads" then save anything and everything. I have all the folders organized by holiday and theme so I can go in and find what I need quickly or preuse ideas for inspiration.

I love tags. Here are a couple of my faves. They are so easy to print and cut out. Tuck them away to attach to gifts or add in your scrapbook layouts. Every Tuesday I will share free tag downloads from blogs that I surf. Here are a couple of my faves. Click on the bold to download. 

Vintage Flower Tags  I will show you a project where I used these real soon!

Gift TagsI print these out and use my circle punch and have a stash ready for anytime I use them.

Vintage Number Tags Right in line with PB style but I haven't found a home for these yet....any ideas?

Let me know where you use them! Enjoy!