And all things Rachael Ray.....

So here's the picture of the two gag gifts my sister got me...that magnet is just too funny! (See below for the details on this...)

A good birthday.

This picture just cracks me up! We were over at my Mom's tonight for me and my stepdad's birthday dinner and of course Kristen wanted to go outside for a photo shoot. Right when we were taking this picture, Adam's like, "Oh my God! That chick's buttcrack is hanging out!" Just some random girl walking down the sidewalk......so of course I start laughing and he starts laughing, and yeah, you get the drift!

Anyway, it was a fun time! I got some money (thanks to Mom and Kristen who are enabling me to support my stamping habit :) ), a bottle of Baby Phat perfume which smells super-duper good! Plus I needed a new bottle to switch up with my Clinique that I have been wearing for years now...), a microplane grater (sah-weeet!), and some assorted other goodies.

The funniest gift was from my sister. She knows how much I love Rachael Ray (ps -- If you didn't know it I discovered her, duh!) and she got me this hilarious refrigerator magnet that has a picture of RR's photoshoot with FHM. AND......she got me the Rachael Ray kids songs CD. WTF? That just cracks me up! I'll post a pic of it later. That KP...she sure knows how to get the good gag gifts! :)

And yes, my mom made swiss steak, and yes it was DELICIOUS. I'm like, what do you put in this again? She's like, oh......just cream of mushroom soup and milk and Kitchen Bouquet. Ummmmmm, yeah. Too bad when I make mine like that it doesn't turn out like hers! I guess that's the home field advantage that all moms have!

But, I did bring two pies - banana cream and chocolate silk. Those I can do. And for all you banana cream pie fans out there -- here's my recipe, and bonus, it's super easy too! Good night!

Banana Cream Pie with Caramel Drizzle

1 banana sliced
1 ¾ C cold milk
1 pkg (4 serv. size) instant vanilla pudding
1 pkg (4 serv. size) instant banana cream pudding
1 frozen deep dish pie shell
1 tub French Vanilla Cool Whip
Caramel dessert topping

Bake the pie shell according to package directions. Arrange banana slices in bottom of crust. Whisk together pudding mixes and milk for 2 minutes. Gently stir in half of the cool whip. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate at least 3 hrs or until set. Top with remaining cool whip and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Just Scrap-tacular!

OK so when I very first flipped through the new catalog, I saw this card on page 148 and knew that I would have to make it someday. Well, today was the day! I just got home from a 6 hour crop at my LSS and didn't get very much accomplished....big surprise there. :) Too much talking and not enough working! Oh well, I had fun though, Oh, yeah, and the title of this post is a shout out to Adam....he's always making fun of me and my hobbies....lol!

I'm excited for tomorrow because we're going to my mom's for dinner for my (belated) birthday and my stepdad's birthday also. My mom is making swiss steak......one thing I cannot make like her for the life of me! So that was my request. And mashed potatoes....yum. Probably my all time favorite food, after cheese of course. (Now I can make mashed potatoes, mind you.)

My responsibility is dessert. Had I thought ahead, I would have made a cheesecake tonight and then it could have chilled all day tomorrow. I think it tastes better that way. But since I didn't, I will probably make banana cream pie or cake or......something, I really don't know. Guess I'll have to figure that one out in the morning. Good night!

Supply List:

Stamps: Big Blooms (retired), Polka Dots and Paisley and Absolutely Fabulous

Ink: Real Red, Blue Bayou

Paper: Real Red, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou and Whisper White

Accessories: Staples and dimensionals

A shoutout to KP!

Okay so I was just going about my business tonight (posting more crafty items on Ebay - see the previous post) and my sister logged in to MSN and her avatar was this hilarious picture. I was like, send it to me now! She sends it to me and the title of the pic is "I'm a hick.jpg".

Too funny!

Plus, I note that she is too damn skinny. Now where did she get that from? LOL! Just kidding, KP, you know I love you! :)

I LOVE red roses :)

Surprise! Yesterday was my birthday, and I think Adam was feeling bad that he didn't get me anything. He called me at work last night and said that he was going to have flowers sent up to the floor, but the florist he called in Iowa City wouldn't take his credit card number over the phone. Poor guy! So today when he came home from work for lunch, he surprised me with these. Awwwwwww! I love red roses. They were the flowers we had at our wedding too. :)

Well, I finally sent in my paperwork yesterday to become an SU demo! I'm so excited and especially anticipating that HUGE box of goodies that Mr. Brown will be bringing me. I added on the option to purchase the scrapbooking stuff, which includes an alphabet set, a simply scrappin' kit, and an album (among other things). I have a lot of friends who are into scrapbooking and not card-making, so I think my first workshop will be a scrapbooking camp. Now I just need my supplies so I can start planning!

This week is especially good too because I had a four-day weekend. Just the right amount of time off that I needed, I think.

That's all for now, I'm off to work! :)


PS -- I forgot to mention that I am selling a ton of my non-SU crafting supplies on Ebay (and some retired sets, too) since I cannot demonstrate those items. Among which are a scalloped punch, clear stamps, and some nice Colorbox inkpads. You can see everything here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZchapin2508

If you see something that hasn't been bid on that you would like, email me at chapinjennifer@yahoo.com and if it doesn't sell there, it's yours! Thanks!

Finally.....a card!

Well, the cookout was a success! Stopped raining just in time and then started again after the guys got everything off the grill :) I had a fun time chatting with the girls while the guys played XBox (and were betting money on all the games...lol!) Hopefully I can stay up a little later tonight to prepare myself for going back to second shift on Wednesday. Tomorrow my in-laws are coming over for pizza and cake and ice cream to celebrate my b-day! Yay!

The card above is for the challenge on Jen70's blog - you can find the link at right under 'Jen". I actually cased this layout from tashers on SCS, then found out the card I cased was for Jen's challenge too! Whoops! Hope I didn't break any rules there!

The card base is sage shadow CS, then a layer of basic black. The patterned paper is from Scenic Route and I love it! I stamped the heart from Simply said on vanilla CS and cut them out. Those are on dimensionals. For the sentiment, I masked off part of this stamp from Small Sayings and stamped with black on sage shadow. Then I punched it out with the word window punch and wrapped it around the panel. I love the look of the 'thanks' without the rest of the sentiment! This will go to Cari and Mike for the awesome cookout they hosted today. Thanks for stoppin' by tonight!

Supply List:
Stamps: Simply Said, Small Sayings
Paper: Sage Shadow, Vanilla, and Scenic Route DP
Ink: Sage Shadow and Basic Black
Accessories: Dimensionals, SU black organdy ribbon

Rain and Mexi Dip...

Well, like I said before, we're going to a cookout today (even though it's raining cats and dogs of course!) and this is one of the things I'll be bringing along with pork chops and pasta salad. A shout-out to my friend Angie at work for this recipe! It's yummmmy!

Mexi Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz sour cream
1 packet taco seasoning
Tortilla Chips
Assorted toppings - here I used the following:
Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomato
Chopped red onion
Sliced black olives
Shredded cheese

Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning together with an electric mixer. Spread in the bottom of a pie plate. Top with toppings and serve with chips!

Yard Sale Yay!

Well, I have to admit, the yard sale was actually a success! (For me anyway!) I think we made around $200, of which my mother in law made the most, but I still made $42.00. Not too shabby! The deal with me becoming an SU demo, Adam and I agreed, if I can save up my own money to put the $199 down for the starter kit, then I can do it. Woohoo! I'm $52 there already after today, and I hope to be getting some birthday money next week. I also put up all of my retired SU sets on Ebay. Geez, what a little business-woman I am already! :)

Last night was a going away party for our friend John who's moving back to Chicago. We'll miss him! Adam and him have been friends ever since college when they interned together at Allsteel. Tomorrow we have a cookout to go to for another friend of ours who was recently engaged. So that means I have to get up in the morning and make something to take with us.....fun fun fun!

Well that's all for now, it's getting late and I got about 4 hrs of sleep last night. See ya later!

I'm baaaack

Whew! After a week of working evenings, and working the weekend, I am really ready for a day off! It seems that when I work second shift, productivity is not one of my strong points.....hmmmm. Work til midnight, get home at one, relax on the couch til 3.....as you can see equals waking up at 1130 and kicking yourself for not getting a damn thing done! :)

Today is my day off, however, so I actually did the color challenge. Very pretty combination of Blue Bayou, Sahara Sand, and Choc Chip. The stamp sets used are Year After Year and Absolutely Fabulous, and I also used some Soft Sky ink. Not one of my favorite cards... but it'll have to to for today!

Tonight I actually am going to my monthly SU class at my demo's house. I will probably order a stamp set from the new catalog, but I'm not sure which one yet. Kind of leaning towards Fabulous Flowers..... we'll see :)

When I found out about the new incentive that SU is offering for demos now, I totally wanted to sign up -- I have for a while anyway and this just seems too good a deal to pass up. I brought it up last night at dinner and boy, did that ever go over like a lead balloon with Adam! :) He just doesn't think that I have that many friends that I can sell to to turn a profit. Which, I have to admit, he's probably right. But I'm going to talk to Lisa tonight and see how it was for her when she first started out and maybe get some pointers. Being 24 years old, I don't have all that many friends that are into stamping or scrapbooking :)

No what's for dinner tonight for me. Adam is going to work out right after he gets off at 5 and I am headed to class at 6:30, so we'll be rolling our own tonight. I also need to get stuff ready for our yard sale this Saturday....ugh....... :)

Another Cupcake!

Oh I just love this little cupcake guy! This is the second card I made today for the featured stamper challenge over on SCS. I needed a birthday card for my stepdad at the end of the month, so here it is.


Supply List:
Paper - Olive Bazzill, Shimmery White, Chatterbox patterned paper
Ink - Black Stazon
Stamps - Whipper Snapper Mouse, AMuse sentiment
Accessories - Moss Organdy ribbon - SU!


Adam says it's ungodly humid outside today, so I don't think we'll be venturing out anytime soon, although I do need to go to the store and get some pork chops for supper. Darn.

Swirly Anniversary

This was for the featured stamper challenge today on SCS. Great gallery to look at! I needed an anniversary card for some friends, so this was the perfect layout. The flower is stamped first with Stazon brown on Purely Pomegranate, then the inside is stamped with Purely Pomegranate. I cut it out and added stickles to the center. The white organdy ribbon is dyed with PP ink -- a messy job for sure! Swirls are embossed with my Cuttlebug. Thanks for stoppin by!

Supply List:

Paper - Vanilla and Purely Pomegranate

Ink - Stazon Timber Brown, PP

Stamps - Delight in Life

Accessories - Stickles, White organdy, Cuttlebug and Swirls Folder

Infuse...

Here's a quickie I did tonight with my new Basic Grey Infuse paper -- so pretty!

Supply List:
Paper - Chocolate Chip, Bazzill Olive, Misc. Vanilla, Basic Grey Infuse
Stamps - Happy Harmony, Autumn Leaves Flourishes
Ink - Real Red, Timber Brown Stazon

For a Friend

I am sending this card to my friend, Nikki who is getting married in April and I'm in her wedding! :) I talked to her online last night and I still haven't sent her pics of my wedding yet, so this will go in the package to her.

The sketch comes from the Dare to Get Dirty challenges on SCS last week. When I saw it, I knew it was just perfect for the Papertrey Text Boxed set that I so desperately need to use more!

I have this weekend off, so it has just been a relaxing day today, and I so needed that. Maybe Adam and I will go see a matinee tomorrow -- I am just dying to see Chuck and Larry, looks so hilarious! We actually have a drive-in theatre now about 20 miles from our house, but I think it is still a little too humid for me to be venturing outdoors for a 2 hour film. :)

Supply list:

Paper - Soft Sky, Whisper White, Yellow patterned paper from Creative Memories

Stamps - Papertrey Text Boxed

Ink - Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Craft White

Accessories - White organdy ribbon from JoAnn's, Clear embossing powder for sentiment, SU slit punch

Bat Update

Bat Update (1st day of August, 2007):


0530 hours
I was awakened by my wife to claims of a bat-like presence in the kitchen.

0545 hours
I actually got out of bed, as I could no longer pretend to sleep through the yelling.

0550 hours
Sure enough, there is a bat flying around the kitchen.

0555 hours
I retrieve fishing net from basement.

0557 hours
Upon returning to the kitchen, net in hand, the bat retreated to the bathroom.

0558 hours
Discover bat hanging from shower curtain in bathroom, I catch bat in net, bat flies back out of net. Bat launches aerial assault at my head, succeeds in causing me to the drop net.

0600 hours
I retrieve net and track bat back into kitchen where I make a last stand against the bat’s incursion into my kitchen.

0605 hours
I capture bat in fishing net. Bat begins chirping loudly. I smack bat against refrigerator. Bat stops chirping.

0610 hours
“Treaty of Chapin” is signed between bat and homeowner. Bat is subsequently released back into the wild. (Yes it was still alive and capable of flying away)



This just cracks me up! This is an email that Adam sent out to all the guys he works with to update him on the status of the bat (we also had a bat in our basement a couple months back). He is so freakin' hilarous don't you think? Heheehehe :)

A Bat!

So I wake up (actually on time this morning, no snooze button) this morning at the butt-crack of dawn to what else??? A bat in my house! Oh Lord, how I do hate critters in my home. Eeek. Well, I was all freaked out and it was flying around the kitchen so I ran upstairs to get my sleeping honey, and let's just say that he was a little less than enthused to drag his butt downstairs to catch the darn thing. But, he did, he saved me! Yeeeeaaaah! Now I am thinking of making him a "batty" thank you card. LOL! (I'll post it if I do - hehe)

Anyway, I made this card yesterday just playing around with some of my new paper and ink. I learned how to make this larger scalloped square by taping 4 smaller ones together from Beate's blog (you can link to it on the right side of this page). Thanks for looking - I'm off to work!

Supply list:

Paper - Blue Bayou, Whisper White, DP by Creative Memories

Ink - Purely Pomegranate

Accessories - Slot punch, American Crafts ribbon