Sketch Challenge

Here's my take for the weekly sketch on Jen Del Muro's i {heart} 2stamp blog. The large flowers were stamped on a separate piece of cardstock and cut out. I used foam tape behind the center flower to add some dimension. I also used black Bitty Brads for the flower centers on the tiny flowers.

Materials & Tools: Colonial White, Black, and Bamboo cardstock; Silhouette paper packet; Black, Bamboo, and Desert Sand ink pads; Joy Forever and Whipper Snapper Designs Blooming Expressions stamp sets; Bitty Brads; 3M foam mounting tape.

After this weekend, I think I should lay off the stamping and spend a little more time in the kitchen again. I have not yet mentioned our cupcake adventure. Although I've never been one to make fancy cakes from scratch or anything, there was a day when I could handle a boxed cake mix. Not anymore, apparently. Bjorn, Mathias, and I started with a yellow cake mix that called for a half-cup of butter and three eggs. Somehow, I totally missed the first ingredient, which was a cup of water. How I missed it is beyond me, because they not only list the ingredients on the box, but there are little pictures to go along with them. Nevertheless, the kids added the butter and eggs, and we let the mixer do its job. I thought the batter looked strange, but then again, I'd never used a cake mix that called for butter instead of cooking oil. I looked at the box again. Yup, a half-cup of butter and three eggs. We filled our cupcake papers and placed them in the tins, the batter thicker than muffin batter. Just as we were finishing, I took one more look at the cake mix box and finally "saw" that first ingredient. Thus, we proceeded to squeeze our ultra thick cake batter out of the papers and back into the bowl - a process the boys thought was more fun than filling them. It was messier, too. To allow for loss, I added 3/4-cup of water instead of the full cup and took it back to the mixer. The end result was cupcakes, which the boys frosted and decorated with "creepy" Gummy Bugs. They had a blast and were most pleased and proud of their accomplishment. It's only poor Grandma who is wondering if she's lost it. Good grief . . .

That little story told, I'll sign off for tonight and go do what I need to do to prepare myself for another week of work. Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogosphere. With nothing on my after hours agenda this week, I'll most likely be stopping back. I hope you do, too! Take care.