Primitive Paper

2012-01-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow..
This week we have a color challenge for you. We want you to make
vintage, shabby chic or primitive cards featuring CREAM, BLUE & BROWN.

One random winner will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge
to display. In addition, the Design Team will choose one project as Card
of the Week and the creator will receive a badge and will be in the
running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our Design Team has created wonderful cards with this color scheme to
inspire you. If you want the details on their cards, just click on
their name and you will be taken directly to their blog.

Girly Challenge

2012-01-21T00:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow and a new challenge. This week we want you to GO GIRLY and make very feminine vintage, shabby chic or primitive cards.

One random winner will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge to display. In addition, the Design Team will choose one project as Card of the Week and the creator will receive a badge and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Check out the girly vintage cards created by our incredible Design Team. They are joined this week by a wonderfully creative Guest Designer, Claire Chapman.

I am loving the 1950's look of this card, and pink and black is some of my favorite color combos. Hope you can join us this week!

Embossing Challenge

2012-01-14T08:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.
This week we have a great challenge - EMBOSSING. You can create your vintage, shabby
chic or primitive card with dry or heat embossing.

Join us in saying hello to Digi Doodle Shop, a lovely new sponsor who
will be providing one random winner with a $10 gift certificate to their store. The random
winner will also receive a winner's badge from Sugar Creek Hollow to
display on her blog. In addition the Design Team will select one
project as Card of the Week and the creator of that card will receive a
badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Now....I have used the Sewing Bakset as my image. My embossing is on the frames that surround the image. Remember....you can do wet or dry embossing for this challenge.

The Design Team has used a number of the fabulous images from Digi Doodle Shop and have
created some wonderful inspiration for you. Check them out over on our BLOG.

Sunday Afternoon Tea

2012-01-08T16:09:00.001-05:00

Hello and happy Sunday to you. I trust you are spending time with those you love today. After having nearly 3000 in church today and three services this morning to accommodate that many, I am tired, to say the least.

I want to share a simple project with you today. I have made these numerous times, but still keep going back to them...they are little tea boxes. Perfect for holding only a couple of bags but really sweet for gift giving.

Now....I know you will ask, so here is my "hand-drawn" pattern for these little jewels. Sorry it is so primitive but this is the best I have.

Enjoy a cup of tea, a sit by the fire, or being with those that you love!

Save Some Trees Challenge

2012-01-07T23:02:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year and welcome to our first challenge of 2012 at Sugar Creek Hollow. This week we want you to save some trees and RE-PURPOSE PAPER TOWELS, TOILET PAPER OR COFFEE FILTERS. Instead of buying some designer paper for your project, go to your kitchen or bathroom and grab one of the above items and let's see how you can transform it and incorporate it into your vintage, shabby chic or primitive card or other paper-crafted project.
This week one random winner will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge to display. In addition, the Design Team will choose one project as Card of the Week and the creator will receive a badge and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

I have used several layers of white coffee filter, stamped with dots, and folded into my medallion. This is a great way to use up your little ribbon scraps as well.

Our new Design Team is in place and everyone has worked hard to create some inspiration for you. If you want details on how they re-purposed the various items. please click HERE to view our challenge blog and the cards that our glorious team has made for you.

Happy New Year

2012-01-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

Hello and Happy New Year to each of you. I am recovering from 6 weeks with no computer....imagine that! My new XPS just arrived from Dell today and outside of damage during shipping, I am loving it. I called the company and they have me another one on the way, but this one is still usable 'till it gets here.

Each year, there are projects I do that just really stick out in my mind. I have a favorite from 2011 that I wanted to share with you. I entitled it, "Call Me Beautiful"

The image is one of my own digi stamps. If you are not familiar with digital stamps, then you are missing the best thing since sliced bread!!!

You can actually purchase this image for only $3.00. Simply email me at sugarcreekhollow@gmail.com and let me know you would like it.

My etsy store should be back up and running by the weekend. I got a little slowed down without a computer, but am doing my best to catch up.

Blessings to each of you!

Tracy

Christmas Tags

2011-12-10T07:28:00.000-05:00

We have arrived at another Saturday and that means a wonderful new challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow. Since we are fast approaching Christmas we decided to challenge you to make VINTAGE CHRISTMAS TAGS. Your vintage tag can be part of a card or a stand-alone beauty.

We want to remind you that we are a vintage, shabby chic or primitive challenge blog and when you enter one of our challenges, your creation must fit one of those styles as well as following the weekly theme.

This week one random winner will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge to display. In addition, the Design Team will choose one project as Card of the Week and the creator will receive a badge and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Don't forget, we also have Christmas Blog Candy for one lucky winner to be chosen from our challenge entries between now and Christmas Eve.

Our designers have created some gorgeous tags for your inspiration. If you would like the details just click on their name to be taken directly to their blog. Their links are on my left sidebar.

Non-Traditional Christmas

2011-12-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow

and a new challenge. Before I get to the challenge, let me tell you

about some changes to the Sugar Creek Hollow Design Team.

First, we are losing a couple of our wonderful designers because of

family commitments. Marsha has been with Sugar Creek Hollow

since the very beginning and her wonderful vintage designs will be

missed. While Heide hasn't been with us as long, she has

inspired us all each week with some gorgeous designs. Renee is

going to stay with the team but will be scaling back her participation.

Starting in the New Year she will become our Feature Artist and will

show us all how Recycling and Repurposing are done the vintage way when

those challenges come up. These ladies have made valuable contributions

to the Sugar Creek Hollow team and have become lovely online crafting

friends.

Next, we have three new designers coming on board and they are joining

us with their vintage beauties for the challenge this week so you can

get a preview of what they will be showing you starting in January.

Give a big welcome to:

Linda Payne from Payne Holler Cards

Peggy Marsh from The Wired Angel

Daniele Haddon from The Musings of a Chocoholic

Now on to our challenge. With Christmas close at hand, our challenge to

you this week is to make CHRISTMAS
CARDS IN NON-TRADITIONAL COLORS. Don't forget that we are a

vintage, shabby chic or primitive challenge and want you to create in

those styles.

We have a lovely new sponsor this week. Please welcome Delicious

Doodles who will be providing one random winner with 4 digis of her

choice. The random winner will also receive a Sugar Creek Hollow

winner's badge to display. The Design Team will also choose a Card of

the Week and the creator will also receive a badge to display and will

be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Don't forget, we also have Christmas Blog Candy for one lucky winner to be chosen from
our challenge entries between now and Christmas Eve.

To inspire you all of our current and our new designers have created

some fabulous Christmas cards in non-traditional colors using a couple

of the images from Delicious Doodles.

Fancy Folds Challenge

2011-11-26T07:45:00.000-05:00

Good morning and welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.

This week our challenge to you is FANCY
FOLDS. So think outside the box or past the single fold and

let us see vintage, shabby chic or primitive cards with fun and fancy

folds.

This week one random winner will receive a digi of our choice and a

winner's badge to display. In addition, the Design Team will choose one

project as Card of the Week and the creator will receive a badge and

will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Don't forget, we also have Christmas Blog Candy for one lucky winner to be chosen from
our challenge entries between now and Christmas Eve.

The ladies on the Design Team are joined by a Guest Designer today.

Please welcome Brenda Brown, who was chosen from the October

Cards of the Week. All the designers have created some cards with very

fun folds for your inspiration. To get details just click on their name

and you will be taken directly to their blog.

Recipe Card Challenge

2011-11-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

It is Saturday and we have a really fun challenge for you at Sugar Creek Hollow this week. We want to see a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card or other paper-crafted project that features a RECIPE CARD. The recipe card can be shown either on the front or inside your project and the recipe itself should be a family favorite that has been passed down over the years.

If your recipe isn't easily read from the photo of your project, then we would ask that you detail it in your post. It would also be great if you could show a photo of the finished recipe. Your recipe can be of any type and we would love to hear the story behind it. Soon your family's favorite could become someone else's family favorite so thanks for sharing.

Click on photo to enlarge and feel free to print as many of these recipe cards as you like.

This is a tried and true recipe and you will love how moist this cake is.

This week one random winner will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge to display. In addition, the Design Team will choose one project as Card of the Week and the creator will receive a badge and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Don't forget, we also have Christmas Blog Candy for one lucky winner to be chosen from our challenge entries between now and Christmas Eve.

Our designers have shared some wonderful recipes so click on their name to be taken directly to their blog where you will find many more details about their recipe and their project.

Stripes & Spots Challenge

2011-11-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

It is Saturday and that means a new challenge at Sugar CreekHollow. We have an easy onethis week because it's all about STRIPES AND SPOTS. We want to see both on your beautifulvintage, shabby chic or primitive card or otherpaper-crafted project.

I made for you a lovely tag set. My "spots" are actually on the tags themselves. Then....I used a brown paper bag and made a cute little pouch for them...take a peek.

My stripes are some patterned tissue that I tied around the brown, paper, bag.

We will be choosing one random winner who will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge to display. The Design Team will choose one project asCard of the Week and the creator will receive a badge and will be in therunning for a Guest Designer spot.

As if two prizes aren't enough, don't forget that we haveChristmasBlog Candy for one lucky winner to be chosen from ourchallenge entries between now and Christmas Eve. Justfollow the challenge theme and the rules on the sidebar to submit up to 3entries each week.

Our Design Team have created some fabulous projects thisweek that will be sure to inspire you. Joining them is our GuestDesigner, AUDHILD,who was chosen from the September Cards of the Week. Please visit my links on the left to view what the rest of our team has done.

Trash to Treasure Challenge

2011-11-05T08:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. We hope you weren't caught in that early snow storm that found its way to the northeast United States last weekend. If you did, we hope you were able to get some crafting even if the power was out. Crafting by candlelight sounds so relaxing, doesn't it?

This week our challenge to you is to turn something from your garbage or recycling bin into a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card or other paper-crafted project. We want you to turn TRASH TO VINTAGE TREASURE. You can include items from your paper scraps but your project must start with something you are re-purposing. Please include a photo of that item in your post so we can say "You went from that to that - wow!"

I have made for you a lovely, vintage, Christmas Ornament made from a TRASHED music book. Here are the instructions for you to re-create for yourself.

1. Start with a 3" x 3" square of music paper. You need about 2 dozen of these rolled into little cones...see below.

2. Next, I saved some more TRASH....the backs off the spools of ribbon. You only need one and this one is about 3" in diameter.

3. I use a fabulous glue galled Fabritac. It works like a hot glue, only it's cold, but sets really fast. So....put down a couple rings of glue and start positioning your music cones like so.

4. Once this is dry, turn this baby over and use your other side to the ribbon spool. Glue it down tight and then cover with a pretty doily.

5. Now you are ready to decorate the front of your ornament.

Finished Ornament

We will choose one random winner who will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge to display. The Design Team will select one project as Card of the Week and the creator of that project will receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

By entering this challenge you not only have a chance to win our regular prizes but your name will go into the draw for the Christmas Blog Candy every time you enter so let's see your wonderful creations.

Our designer have dug deep into their recycling bins and have transformed some interesting items into wonderful treasures that are sure to inspire you so do check out their blogs to get all the details.

Happy Haloween Years Gone By

2011-10-31T09:21:00.001-04:00

Well good morning to all of you on this boo-tiful day!!! I went to Walmart last night to get groceries....BIG mistake. It was the night before Halloween, there was not a parking space on the lot and I had to fight screaming kids (and adults) fighting over the last few costumes. Do you remember the day when dressing up was not buying a costume.....rather making one? Thought I would share a few pics of home-made costumes that we have worn over the years.

This is about 1976 or so....I am the tallest gypsy. My mom put these costumes together for us.

Hilary's graveyard princess from last year.

Myself and Rachael....I am Queen Amadala and she is someone from the future....last year as well.

I was Pocahontas this time....this was several years ago as well.

Anyway, all of the costumes, we made ourselves. Get creative and see what you can come up with this year.

I am working on a really cute costume for tonight....hope it turns out as good as the ones in the past. Enjoy your day.

Vellum Challenge

2011-10-29T08:00:00.002-04:00

It is another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow and this week our challenge to you is to create a card or other paper crafted project featuring VELLUM. We would love to see how you use vellum in your project but remember that we are a vintage, shabby chic or primitive challenge blog so your entry must be in one of those styles.

My flowers are made from Vellum with a lovely jeweled button in the middle. The embossing folder is called Winter House. I purchased it a couple of years ago and just now got around to using it.

This week you could be a random winner and receive a digi of our choice along with a badge to display on your blog or the Design Team might choose your entry as Card of the Week and if they do, you will receive a badge and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our designers have used vellum in a number of ways on their cards so you can see how versatile it can be and be inspired.

This week we are welcoming Peggy Marsh (a.k.a. The Wired Angel) as Guest Designer and she has created a beauty for you. Peggy was selected from the August Cards of the Week winners.

My Weight Loss Journey

2011-10-26T17:16:00.000-04:00

Well...it has been nearly a year now since I made the choice to start getting healthy. You can talk it until you're blue in the face but unless you really make up your mind to do something about it, things never change.

I simply changed the way I ate. No diets, no gimicks, no pills, and no powders. A little $.39 cent notebook changed my life. What did I do? Keep track of my daily calories...that's it. I eat anything I want to, just in moderation.

So....a picture is worth a thousand words....here ya' go.

My total weight loss to date is about 94 pounds. If I can do it, so can you!!!

Quick & Simple Halloween Day 3

2011-10-26T15:36:00.000-04:00

Ok....here I am with another really sweet & easy card to make.

Remember to use what you have on hand already. Bits of wrapping paper, twine, just about anything can be recycled into something beautiful.

Quick & Simple Halloween Day 2

2011-10-25T00:00:00.001-04:00

How about this for a cute Halloween gift tag. Or maybe a package topper....with an image like this, you can use it on just about anything. And remember, the colors Orange & Blue are opposites on the color wheel. That means they compliment each other. Any variation of these coolors used together looks fantastic.

My digi stamp is from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. The papers...well...I have had them so long I don't even know where I got them from. I love being able to pull a little of this and that and make something grand. Let me know what you try today.

Quick & Simple Halloween Day 1

2011-10-24T12:46:00.001-04:00

Good day to each of you. Today I have a Vintage Halloween card for you, but first.....take a peek at what my fall colors are looking like. I took this here on Saturday morning.

Now on to my card. This week, I'll have a different Halloween card for you each day. Something quick and easy that you can mass-produce if need be.

I created this card using some scraps of coordintating papers and stickers! The top sentiment is a new 3D sticker that I purchased at AC Moore. I embellished it with a bit of Country Crinkle Ribbon and a few buttons. I would love to see what you come up with too!

Fall Colors Challenge

2011-10-22T08:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. The colors of fall are in full splendor right now but with the cold weather knocking at our door, they won't last too much longer so our challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow this week is to preserve them by making a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card with the COLORS OF FALL.

This week we have a lovely new sponsor, Paper Cupcakes, who will provide our random winner with 3 digis of her choice from the Paper Cupcakes store. The random winner will also receive a Sugar Creek Hollow badge to display on her blog.

The Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and that creator will receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our designers have created inspiration for you this week using Paper Cupcakes images so be sure to here to get all the details.

Jumpin' Jacks Treat Bag

2011-10-19T09:31:00.000-04:00

Good "rainy" morning to you! It is cold, wet, dark, and raining here, and I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!! I would be perfectly fine living where there were lots of gloomy days. On the bright side, the leaves are simply beautiful. I am hoping to get some photo's this weekend before they let loose and fall off.

Around this time of year, I always need treat bags of some sort. I made this up to stuff with "craft-goodies" for a few ladies that I work with. The stamp is a digi stamp from Priscilla. I LOVE these little babes!

The bags themselves would make a great gift tied up with a new kitchen towel or a loaf of pumpkin bread. See what you can come up with this week. Give a little....it'll make you feel a lot better!

Non Traditional Fall Colors

2011-10-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Fall to everyone. I am back from the dead....so I feel....after my daughter's wedding this past weekend. Thankfully, the weather cooporated and everything was lovely. We are already getting some really pretty fall colors on our trees here.

Let me share a cute card with you today featuring Lindsay's Stamp Stuff. I have used the Creepy Crow Set AND used some digital papers from Cathy Stephens.

This card in entirely digital....YES....no stamping or paper was required. Now, it takes much longer to do a digital card than a paper one, but I am starting to learn a bit each time I do it.

Let me know what you think of my non-traditional fall card this week. I just love the sprinkling of gems across the bottom. This is the colors that my daughter used in her wedding...chocolate and aqua.

Also, sharing a little pic of myself and my DH taken at the wedding this weekend. I am down about 93 pounds from this time last year.

Thanks for stopping by.

More Wedding Pics

2011-10-16T22:13:00.000-04:00

Obviously, I don't have the pics from the photographer this soon, but lots of folks have emailed me their pictures. So...here ya go. Enjoy!

Happy Wedding Day

2011-10-15T22:24:00.000-04:00

Well....today was the big day. Not only was it our daughter's wedding day, it was also our 23rd wedding anniversary. It was an absolute glorious day. However, as the Mother of the Bride, I have not slept since Thursday, and only got a couple of hours then.

I am so tired I can't see straight. I'll have more pics later in the week but wanted to share a few with you.

Hilary and her Dad.

My Daughter's Wedding Invite

2011-10-03T15:09:00.000-04:00

Well....the busy day is almost upon us. My daughter is getting married at an old Civil War Plantation in about 12 days. Thought you might like to see the invitation I did. Very vintage....

And now a few more bridal shots for your enjoyment.

Now the wedding venue....

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Pizza Box Gift Set

2011-10-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Good morning to everyone...I trust you are having a blessed and peaceful day. All is well with my household except for Keith, the DH (dear husband). This is the man who is NEVER sick. He was just getting over a terrible sinus infection, when he bit down on something hard and broke a back molar. Long story short, he has suffered for nearly two weeks...dentist trying to get the infection down. Anyway, he ended up loosing his tooth yesterday and it is quite a bit of pain.

Today is another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow and it is also the first of the month so that means it is time for another TRASH TO VINTAGE TREASURE challenge. Your vintage card or other paper-crafted project must start with or include one or more items that you would normally throw away. This does not mean paper scraps in your stash but you can use them in addition to your recycled or re-purposed item. Please make sure you add a photo to your blog post of the throw-away item(s) you have used so we can see how your creativity began.

Well, enough said about that, let me get onto our fabulous gift set today. To replicate this set you are going to need a personal pan pizza box..a NEW one--please don't use one that has already had food in it. Because we eat at Subway so much, they FREELY give them to me. Now, leave it flat and on the printed side, put on a good coat of spray adhesive. Cover with two sheets of 12x12 paper and trim excess, being sure to trim out around the joints.

This is what it looks like once you have it covered.

Now, let me show you what I have packed into this little box. Normally I would line the inside of the box in a matching paper but I realized after I was done and had already photographed it, I forgot to do that...oops! However, because I have stayed with a natural color scheme, the brown kraft of the box really goes fine with what I have chosen.

I have included four beautiful, monogramed "Thank-You" cards with matching envelopes. These are not "Christmas" theme so they can be used anytime of year.

I have also included three gift tags that I have antiqued and embossed using my snowflake folder from Provocraft. I would have liked to have put in more of these but I couldn't fit them in the box!

And lastly, I have made a gorgeous hand-made paper ornament and laced it with some matching ribbons. Just really simple but I love how this turned out. The snowflakes in the center are cut with my Cricut machine and I just embossed the glitter on to them with some heat and stick powder.

I love this picture...here is everything that comes included in this gift set.

Now, let me show you the front of the pizza box. I carried the same theme over onto this and used some of the snowflakes that I had previously cut in my Cricut machine. Which, by the way, are not snowflakes at all....I did not have a snowflake die so these are flowers that I cut and just used them as snowflakes. I think they work very well.

And finally, the finished product all loaded up and ready for gift giving...no wrapping paper needed.

Let me know what you think and if you have anymore ideas for mini pizza boxes, I would LOVE to hear them. I must go for now....have a long day of work then a long night of grocery shopping. I am having 16 guests for dinner tomorrow night and still don't know what I am serving them to eat!!!

Please click HERE to see what the rest of our team has designed. Have a great day.

Children Challenge

2011-09-24T07:38:00.000-04:00

Good Morning!

Today I am sharing with you our challenge over at Sugar Creek Hollow....we want you to create something using CHILDREN!!!

This is what I have done for you...

My stamp is from Lindsey's Stamp Stuff. This just made an adorable fall card. The pumpkin papers are quite old but I believe they are from My Minds Eye.

to see what the rest of our team created and to enter our challenge, please click HERE.

Bridal Portraits

2011-09-22T13:00:00.000-04:00

My daughter, Hilary, is getting married on October 15. The wedding is outside, with lots of pumpkins, hay bales, and beautiful mums. The venue is an old civil war plantation. It's going to be spectacular with all of the fall leaves in color.

She is wearing her Durango Boots under her wedding dress, and carrying a fresh bouquet of sunflowers and blue hydrangea. The bridesmaids are all wearing chocolate brown with blue accents.

We have just had her bridal portraits done and I am having a hard time choosing which should be framed for the reception. Please help me by voting on which one is your favorite. I have narrowed it down to these...

NUMBER 1

NUMBER 2

NUMBER 3

NUMBER 4

NUMBER 5

My Baby Has Arrived

2011-09-19T14:02:00.002-04:00

Hello there to all of my readers in blogville...tee hee. It has been an interesting year so far in my life...moving and remodeling a house, my 18 year old getting ready to graduate college, my oldest getting married in a few weeks, surviving a serious eye injury, facing surgery on my hand, loosing nearly a 100 pounds, and yada, yada, yada!!!!!

I have felt more stressed this year than I EVER have in my life, but not all of it is bad stress....some of it is good, like seeing your children be able to grow, spread their wings, and fly on their own.

Anyway, this weekend brought a much needed surprise and relief to the stress of my ever growing gas budget....my baby arrived.....

Now that I am not hauling kids around everywhere, I have given up my "maternal-mini-van" for a sweet ride that I have always wanted. Isn't she lovely???

Can you tell I am passionate about my "Card-Making"? People ask me all the time what my tags mean.

And yes...those are Carlashes with crystal eyeliner. You can get them HERE. They are super easy to apply and are not very expensive either.

I trust all of you have a wonderful start to your week....we are only three weeks away from my daughters wedding so we are in full bridal mode! Stop by tomorrow....I'll have a few bridal portraits up for you to view and vote on.

Fancy Borders Challenge

2011-09-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

I trust your week is going well. This has been one of those whirl-wind weeks for me. However, things are looking up and God is still so good!

This week, our challenge over at Sugar Creek Hollow was to create a card with fancy borders. I did an all white Christmas card and embellished it with mini-seed pearls.

I love this look...so frosty and white. My stamp is a digi stamp from The Rusty Pickle.

Sunflower Challenge

2011-09-10T07:16:00.000-04:00

As you drive around at this time of year you can't help but seeing lots of sunflowers growing in fields and gardens. It is always amazing that they can grow so tall with such big heads and not topple over. This week our Sensational Saturday challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow is to create a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card or other paper-crafted project featuring SUNFLOWERS in the main image.

Now...believe it or not, I did not own a sunflower stamp!!! YES.......I KNOW!!!!! That is the perfect excuse for me to buy one, tee hee. I ended up using a lovely piece of vintage clipart on my card. I believe it is an old seed packet. I embellished really simple on this one using a bit of ribbon and an old milk bottle cap as the button.

This week we are fortunate to have a lovely sponsor with us.

You too can create cards and paper crafts like the Funkie Junkie.

Linda Coughlin, a.k.a The Funkie Junkie, loves using unusual frilly and funky items in her crafting. She has searched out or handmade the many delightful embellishments offered for sale in her Etsy boutique. Hand touched and personal attention to each and every order are hallmarks of her boutique. Linda warmly invites you to stop by for a browse.

We will be choosing a random winner who will receive a $15 gift certificate for The Funkie Junkie's Etsy boutique and a winner's badge from Sugar Creek Hollow to display on her blog. In addition, the Design Team will choose one project as Card of the Week (or shall we say Project of the Week) and the creator will receive a badge to display on her blog and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Linda is also joining us as a Guest Designer and she and the Design Team have made some fabulous Sunflower cards. To get details on their projects, just click on each Designer's name and you will be taken directly to their blog.

Cec

Trash to Vintage Treasure

2011-09-03T07:06:00.002-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow and the

first monthly TRASH TO VINTAGE
TREASURE challenge. We want you to make a project that

turns throw-away items into a vintage treasure.

For this challenge, off-cuts or scraps in your craft room do not qualify- you can use them as part of the project but they are not to be

considered the throw-away items. Instead we want you to take

everyday items that you would normally throw in the garbage or in your

recycling bin and turn them into something fabulous. This is the

time to do your part for the environment and show us how green you can

be. By the way, please include photos of your throw-away items before

they are transformed in your blog post so we can see what your treasure

looked like when it was still trash.

My project is made with The Laughing Cow Cheese container that I would have thrown away, otherwise. It houses four, sweet, mini note cards and the video tutorial will take you through each step. These would be so easy to make for Christmas and have on hand. Take a peek.....

Please remember that we are a vintage challenge blog so your final

product must be of a vintage style.

We will be choosing a random winner who will receive a digi of our

choice and a winner's badge to display on her blog. In addition,

the Design Team will choose one project as Card of the Week (or shall we

say Project of the Week) and the creator will receive a badge to display

on her blog and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our designers have created some wonderful projects for your

inspiration. To get details and see what their throw-away items

are, just click on their names and you will be taken directly to their

blogs.

Tracy (you are here)

Cec

Holiday's & Happenings

2011-08-31T11:34:00.000-04:00

OK....so I made a boo boo with the other card I posted for the challenge over at CDAC...not allowed to use an all digital card. No biggie, because I had made this one as well.

Just a lovely winter card with this beautiful teapot from Sandi Samples. I like having a few "generic" holiday cards on hand so that I can use them for gifts, thank you notes, or whatever.

I used a couple of different snowflake punches from Martha Stewart, and a tag punch from the Spellbinders Tags.

All Digital

2011-08-30T15:52:00.000-04:00

Hello friends and neighbors. Long time, no see!!! Seriously, my eye is much better and I am finally back to work. Thanks so much for your prayers.

Today I am sharing an all digital card with you. I have been experimenting and playing around with some digital elements and I am loving how this turned out.

The image is from priscillastyles. Isn't this lovely? The great thing with all digital cards is that once your card is finished, you can print as many of them as you like. I have done this one up as a thank you card so that I can have them for my daughters wedding that is coming up.

I have also entered the progressive digi challenge over at CDAC with this one. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Vintage Challenge

2011-08-20T08:00:00.011-04:00

Good morning to all of you. Today is the weekly challenge with Sugar Creek Hollow. We want you to show us what you can do with BUTTONS and BOWS.

I have been out of commission for a couple of weeks now. I am also a nail technician and I got hit in the eye about two weeks ago with a flying fingernail. Long story short, it severed my cornea 2/3 of the way through and set up a nasty infection. This looks GOOD compared to what it did look like.

Anyway, I cannot yet sit for long periods to work up close because of the strain on my eye. I am expected to make a full recovery, but as always...prayers are appreciated. So, please forgive my lack of posting a card. However, I would love it if you would take time to see what my team mates have created.

Neutral's Challenge

2011-08-06T08:00:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Saturday and another sensational one at Sugar Creek Hollow. This week our challenge is all about NEUTRALS. We want you to create a vintage, primitive or shabby chic card or other paper-crafted project in neutral colors, preferably off-white, kraft or gray. You may use a bit of color in your vintage style image but nowhere else on your creation.

This should be a very easy challenge because there are so many gorgeous neutral papers and embellishments available online and in the craft stores now and the best part is that so many of them are of a vintage style.

We will give one random winner a digi of our choice and a badge to display. In addition the Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator will receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Please check out the rest of our team...their links are on my right sidebar.

Primitive Tag Freebie

2011-08-03T16:23:00.001-04:00

I ran across these beautiful vintage tags not long ago and cannot remember where in the world I found them. They were offered as a free file of just the brown tag base. I have searched several times so that I could link the tag kit and cannot find it...so sorry.

However, I went straight to work and created some lovely, all occassion sayings for you. This is a free file. Just click on it to bring up full size, then right click to save. If you use them, please kindly link back to here.

Enjoy!

Healthy Eating--Texas Caviar

2011-07-31T00:28:00.000-04:00

If you like trying new things, you are going to LOVE the recipe I have for you today. If you don't know yet, I have lost 82 pounds since last fall and am STILL losing...not from any diet either. From just making the healthiest choices possible.

If you like Salsa, you will fall in love with this recipe. It makes a lot and you can basically eat your fill. I serve it with Baked Lays Tortilla scoops.

For the dressing:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the dip:

2 medium cobs white corn (about 1 pound), shucked

1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

2 Pickled Jalapeños, stems removed and finely chopped

1 medium Roma tomato, seeded and cut into small dice

3/4 cup red bell pepper, seeded, white pith removed, and cut into small dice

1/2 cup small dice white onion

To serve:

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Tortilla chips

Make Your Own Background Paper

2011-07-30T08:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday. Our challenge to you this week at Sugar Creek Hollow is to MAKE YOUR OWN DESIGNER PAPER. We want you to use your stamps or digital stamps and create your own background paper. Then we want you to turn that into a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card or other paper crafted project. We are a vintage challenge blog so please ensure that your images and embellishments are of a vintage style and that you follow the challenge theme.

This week a random winner will receive a digi or our choice and a winner’s badge to display. The Design Team will choose one project as Card of the Week and that creator will also receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our designers have created some lovely inspiration and if you want to check out the details, just click on their names and you will be taken directly to their blogs.

My card is completely digital this week. Every year I have these elaborate Christmas cards that I start and then don't get them finished. This year, I will simply print and assemble them. I have provided you with the image as well....without the "V" initial in the center. Feel free to add your own monogram.

~Free Image~
Simply right click to save.

Check out the rest of our team...their links are on the left.

Tag...You're It!

2011-07-23T08:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. We hope you are enjoying your summer so far and are managing in the oppressive heat happening in many parts of the United States and Canada. For those of you in other areas that are not so hot, can we come for a visit to get some relief?

This week our challenge to you is TAGS. You can create a single tag or put a tag on your card or other paper crafted creation. Don't forget we are a vintage, shabby chic or primitive challenge blog and would ask that your project be in one of those styles.

This week a random winner will receive a digi of our choice and a winner's badge to display. The Design Team will also choose one project as Card of the Week and that creator will also receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Our designers have created some lovely tags for your inspiration and if you want to check out the details, just click on their names and you will be taken directly to their blogs. All of their links are on my sidebar to the left.

Winged Things Challenge

2011-07-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.

This week we want to see cards with WING THINGS. Your vintage, shabby chic or
primitive card could feature fairies, angels, birds, butterflies or

other insects.

Now....I am playing around with a new scanner, ao I scanned my card instead of photographing it. I like the detail you can see in the embossed paper. I also added a few digital embellies...playing around with that too. My image is from the Graphics Fairy.

We will be choosing one random winner who will receive a digi of her

choice and a badge to display on her blog. The Design Team will

also choose a Card of the Week. The creator of that card will

receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest

Designer spot.

If you have a minute, take a peek at what the rest of our team has done.

Tracy (that's me)

Cec

Sharon

Heide

Renee

Marsha

Patti

This week we are pleased to introduce you to CHRIS VENERUSO who was chosen as the Guest Designer

from the June Cards of the Week.

Back in the Land of the Living!!!

2011-07-11T13:30:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. I am finally back from being on vacation for the last 10 days...the longest I have had in about four years now. We enjoyed some quality R&R on Chincoteague Island.

I thought I would share a few photo's with you of our trip. I'll have more pictures to share later of some really sweet vintage finds I picked up while there. But for now....here's the gang.

This is Gracee....I have not introduced her yet, but she is our tiny Chihuahua. She was a Christmas present to me from Keith. This was her first trip and she did beautifully.

After a 7 1/2 hour drive, Gracee had had enough!!! She is all tuckered out in her beach sundress.

My new find for Gracee....a "poochie-pouch". They are handmade and sell them on the Island. She went everywhere in this sling.

My sweet Rachael....we look just a bit alike don't we???

My beautiful Hilary.

My sweet hubby!

Sunset on Assateague Island.

Sunset on Chincoteague Island.

OK....I will be back shortly with more photo's. Hope you are having a great start to your week. Would love to hear from you what you have in store for your vacation plans.

Patriotic Challenge

2011-07-02T11:31:00.001-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.
This week we have a PATRIOTIC challenge
for you. We want you to celebrate your country and its
history and make your vintage, shabby chic or primitive card
using the colors of your country as represented by its flag.

Most of the ladies on the Sugar Creek Hollow Design Team are from the
United States so patriotic cards have a red, white and blue theme.
One of our members is Canadian and she has used a classic Canadian icon
and done her card in red and white as those are the colors of the
Canadian flag. We are really looking forward to getting a colorful
history lesson of the countries of our challenge participants.

This week we will reward a random winner with a badge to display on her
blog and a digi of our choice. The Design Team will choose a Card
of the Week and the creator of that card will receive a badge to display
and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

May you have a happy holiday weekend.

Vintage Ribbon Rose Brooch

2011-06-27T12:51:00.000-04:00

Well good morning to ya! I've been laid up on the couch for a few days with this colon flare, and even though my physical body is having to take a break, my creative mind never shuts off. I figured I might as well make good use of the time. So....with my sewing basket in hand and a bit of 100% silk ribbons, this is what I came up with.

The lace is quite old on this piece and I tea stained it just a bit. Everything is hand made on this piece of vintage jewelry except for the pearls. I think this would be lovely pinned on a velvet hand bag or on a pretty lace blouse. I intend on making MORE of these.

A Little Tea And A Bit of Cheer

2011-06-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

Well...it has been a L O N G week to say the least. I have done so well staying away from the doctor's lately. I've heard it said, you can"t get too much of a good thing. So disappointing....I had just gotten a great report from my doctor and was told not to come back for a full year :(

I am on day six of a horrific colon flare. I have not had any solid food in about four days now...only liquids and some yogurt.

In the meantime, I have come to love a new recipe I found that is something I can tolerate and I wanted to share it with you. I am calling it "Sore Tummy Tea". I have adapted the recipe to fit my liking from Tofu for Two.

Here is how I make it:

2 Cups Skim Milk

1 Cup Strongly Brewed Tea

1 Star Anise

2 Whole Cloves

2 Slices Fresh Ginger

4 Cardamom Pods

1 Cinnamon Stick

I break up my cinnamon stick and crack my cardamom pods just a bit. I then tie up all the spices including the fresh ginger in some china silk. I drop that in with my tea as it brews. I let it sit until it completely cools...I find this blends the spices better. After removing the spices I add the 2 cups of milk and return it to the heat just to get warm. Makes three cups. You can add a little honey if you want, but I like mine plain.

Now for the bit of cheer....remember this card I made a few days ago?

Well, it won me this from over at Our Daily Bread Designs.

Thank you ladies for your vote!

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

2011-06-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

It is Saturday and it is another sensational one at Sugar Creek Hollow. This week we want you to create your vintage, shabby chic or primitive inspired card or paper crafted project and play TIC TAC TOE.

Using the game board shown below, choose any row horizontally, vertically or diagonally and add the three items in that row to your project. Just remember that all three items you use must come from the same row and all must be on your project.

I have chosen to use the lace, buttons, and diecut's for my card this week.

We have another wonderful sponsor this week. A Day for Daisies will be providing our random winner with a $12 gift card to their store, which is filled with beautiful digital stamps.

The random winner will also receive a Sugar Creek Hollow badge to display on her blog. The Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator will not only receive a Sugar Creek Hollow badge but will also be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

As always, the Design Team has created some inspiration for you and this time we have all used a wonderful image from A Day for Daisies. If you would like more details on each of the cards, just click on the designer's name and you will be taken right to their blog. Their links are on my left sidebar.

Text Me Challenge CTO611

2011-06-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

When I saw this was the monthly theme over at Split Coast Stampers, I knew I had the perfect stamp for this project. This month's theme is "Text Me". It means to display something with text on it.

However, anyone that knows me, knows that I am crazy about my blackberry (my phone) as well. With that said, here is my project I created for this challenge. My stamp is from Inktegrity.

Hope you enjoyed my bit of humor card today.

Re-discovered Stamps

2011-06-21T10:38:00.000-04:00

Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be. I am doing my best to fight off a migraine this morning and it's still trying to hang on. However, I wanted to share a card with you before I leave for work.

This stamp is from OUR DAILY BREAD and is called "Sing Unto The Lord". I have had this set for maybe two years now...????...not sure. Anyway, when it came in, I put it away so I would remember where it was. Well...you know how that goes. I put it away so good that I lost it!!! It was re-discovered when we moved into our house, so this is the first project I have made with it.

The lace I've used here is from a vintage wedding gown. I just think it's one of the prettiest pieces ever. I colored this image with my COPICS and embellished my bird with a bit of super stardust glitter.

I purchased the vintage button last year on Chincoteague Island in a quaint little antique store. I've been saving it for just the right piece. Looks lovely here doesn't it?

Inside of the card, I used an embossing folder from Spellbinders or Cuttlebug...can't recall which one, but I purchased at AC Moore. I stamped the sentiment across the bottom as well. It comes in the set from OUR DAILY BREAD.

...and here is the back of my card. Embellished with a bit of Tim Holtz Vintage Tapes and a pre-made die cut.

Hope you enjoyed my "almost white" card and can re-discover some stamps of your own this week!!!

Retired Stamps Re-purposed

2011-06-20T10:36:00.002-04:00

Good morning to all of you on this day that the Lord has made!!! Most of you know that I have recently moved. While unpacking my studio, I ran across several stamp sets that I had forgotten about having. Every time I would see one of those, I could feel the excitement building...."oooo...I have not even used that stamp" my mind would say.

So...over the next few weeks I want to show you what you can do with a few supplies and flea market finds sprinkled in with those retired stamps.

A friend of mine wanted a thank you card to showcase a light house. This set from Stampin Up was PERFECT...no need to buy something when this was so lovely. I got this set from my Mom's tag sale last week and it had not even been mounted!!!

I have used neutral colors of the sea for this card and accented the clouds with some white SMOOCH paint. I also added a sunset on the left of the image and the moon rising in the sky on the right of the image....as special request by my customer.

It is accented with some of my home-made ribbons and a little bling...just for good measure you know...tee hee!!!

For the inside of my card, I used an even older stamp set. It is from 1998 and is the four-piece lighthouse set. I also used a recent sentiment from a set that I don't recall the name for.

Now for the back of my card, I used a verse from "Say it with Scriptures". Don't know how old that set is but I love how this entire project turned out. Always, always, always, take time and finish the back of your cards as well.

My label.....every card I make gets one of these.

Hope you have enjoyed my treasure box finds. I trust you will get some inspiration to pull out those older stamps and use them!!!

I have entered this Thank You card in the weekly challenge over at Our Daily Bread. My husband has ordered me the entire June collection from them for my birthday. Cannot wait until they arrive!!!

Color Challenge

2011-06-18T08:00:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's Saturday already and we have a sensational color challenge for you this week at Sugar Creek Hollow. We want you to use PURPLE, KRAFT & BLACK when you create your vintage, shabby chic or primitive inspired card or other paper-crafted project. Don't forget - all three colors must appear on your project. Black is black but purple and kraft come in a variety of shades so it will be fun to see how creative you can be.

Our random winner will receive a badge to display and a digi of our choice. The Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and that creator will receive a badge to display but will also be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

The Design Team had fun creating with these colors and have lots of inspiration for you. If you want more details about their cards, just click on their name on my left sidebar and you will be taken directly to their blog.

Embellishment Challenge

2011-06-04T08:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. This week our challenge is all about embellishments - HAND MADE PAPER FLOWERS, VINTAGE LACE & BLING.

We want you to use all of these embellishments on your card or other paper-crafted creation. If you don't have truly vintage lace, just use something that has the appearance of being old. Don't forget that our challenges are for your vintage, shabby chic or primitive inspired projects. So rummage through your craft stash and challenge yourself to try your hand at one of these styles using the theme for this week. We can't wait for you to show us what you come up with.

We will be choosing a random winner, who will receive a winner's badge to display and a digi of our choice. The Design Team will also select a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will receive a badge to display and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

Now...my flower is made from a natural colored coffee filter, my lace is all vintage...some being very old, and my bling is the small buttons with sequin embellies. I have used a stamp from the Prickly Pear.
As they always do, our Design Team has created some gorgeous cards for your inspiration. So check out the challenge blog and if you want to get the details, just click on their name ON THE LEFT and you will be taken right to their blog.

Shaped Card Challenge

2011-05-28T08:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Sugar Creek Hollow and another Sensational Saturday. This week we are challenging you to make SHAPED CARDS. Now everyone will tell you a square or a rectangle is a shape and they are correct but we want you to stretch your creativity and to try making cards in lots of other shapes. We want to remind you that we are a vintage, shabby chic or primitive inspired challenge blog so lets see your shaped cards in one of those styles. And one other reminder - our challenges go live on Saturday morning at 8:00 am EST so please do not link to a post prior to that day and time.

This week we have a wonderful sponsor, "priscillastyles" Store. The random winner will receive $10 worth of digis of their choice from "priscillastyles" Store and a Sugar Creek Hollow winner's badge to display on her blog.

The Design Team will also choose a Card of the Week and that creator will receive a badge to display on her blog and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

The Design Team has created some wonderful cards for your inspiration using images from "priscillastyles" Store. I have used the floral bicycle, which can be found in the store here.

Over Half Way There

2011-05-26T13:29:00.004-04:00

REVISED--at the request of my readers here is a sample of my seven day menu.

If you don't know yet, I have lost a bunch of weight in the last few months. Diabetes and heart disease run rampant in my family and my doctor is trying to help me beat the odds as best as she possible can. Look where I started...

I only have a little over 36 pounds to go to get to my goal and I am doing it all on my own...no diet, no weight watchers, no nothing, but good ol' fashioned hard work and a TOTAL lifestyle change. I watch my calories and eat only the healthiest food that I possibly can....that means no fast food!!!

If you have any healthy, low fat recipes to share, I would love to hear from you. I am always on the look-out for really GOOD tasting food that is not loaded with high fat & calories.

Screened Porch Makeover

2011-05-22T15:56:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday afternoon to each of you. I have worked in my yard and moved furniture around all weekend. I am dead on my feet, so after church today, my sweet husband took me out to lunch so I did not have to stand and cook.

Anyway, after I finished my unpacking, I had many pieces of mismatched furniture and some odds and ends that just did not fit in any where else. I decided to put my pieces together and see what I could do with my screened in porch...it has been naked since we moved in.

It is such a lovely place and I was missing out on relaxing there because I did not even have a chair to sit in. Here is how it turned out....hope you enjoy my tour.

BEFORE

My empty-ness before this weekend.

AFTER

I used a rattan table stand with a glass top table and four rattan chairs. Very vintage...very chic. Nothing really matches as far as color, but everything has a touch of blue in it.

The oriental rug was a gift from my Dad a few years ago...he purchased it at auction and it was the perfect size for this space without covering up all of the beautiful wood.

This little tea cart was a steal at only $5.00 it was "un-assembled" so all I had to do was put it together. Simple right???? WRONG!!! It took me nearly two hours to get this thing put together. It was worth it though.

My neighbor had a rummage sale yesterday and I got a ton of new candles and candle plates...about 12 in all for only $3.00.

Fresh peony's compliments of the front yard.

I purchased this vintage pot for only $7.00 at a local discount store. I then dug some ivy from my front yard and transplanted into my pot. I LOVE this!!!

My blue plate collection....already had but just was not sure where to use it in the new house. I think it looks perfect out here.

This old, vintage crock was free because it has a crack in it. I just put another pot inside of it with my BIG aloe vera plant. The little red table was also a gift from my dad a few years ago.

A couple of ginormous ferns I purchased at Lowes...the only new thing I bought.

A ten cent candle I purchased at the thrift store. I dressed it up with some beads, pearls & wire.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour and I spent less than $100.00 on my makeover.

Masculine Card Challenge

2011-05-21T08:00:00.004-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. This week our challenge to

you is to create a MASCULINE card or

other paper crafted project. Father's Day is only a month away so

that could be the theme of your vintage, shabby chic or primitive

inspired item. Of course, there are lots of other reasons to make

something masculine because birthday cards are always in demand and this

time of year graduation cards may also be required. So pull out your

retro images, papers and embellishments and let's see what you come up

with.

This week our random winner will receive a badge to display on her blog

and a digi of our choice. The Design Team will also choose a Card

(or project) of the Week and the creator will receive a badge to display

and will be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

All of the designers have created some wonderful masculine projects for

your inspiration. To get more details, just click on their name to

be taken directly to their blog.

Last week the Design Team reviewed all the April Cards of the Week and

chose Heide D. to join us as a Guest Designer this week so

please give her a warm welcome.

Now...take a peek at my masculine card.............

I used some free, vintage clipart for my image and embellished it with a bit of leather cord, threaded with my "Happy Father's Day" Sentiment. I am really not that good with masculine cards but this one turned out pretty oki-doki.

I have had camera troubles the past few weeks so please forgive my photo's. I had to take this one with a little fuji camera that only has 6.9 pixels. However, I should be back on track next week with my photo's so stay tuned.

Have a great weekend!

A Few More House Pictures & Wedding Update

2011-05-18T10:20:00.002-04:00

OK...so we are pretty much un-packed and settled INSIDE the house. Now, we have to tackle a mammoth yard that has weeds just coming up everywhere! That is on my to-do-list for this weekend.

I simply love it that it is an older home. All of my furnishings are antique or vintage, so that works well with the style of the house. One thing I did not like was the master bathroom though. Our budget did not allow for a completely new one, but a little paint and furnishings spruced it right up.

I was not a fan of the blue sink and blue tile...however, the shower is quite big and I think the blue and brown go nicely together. I found all of these furnishings at Bed, Bath & Beyond...even the art work!

Master bedroom with my vintage bedroom set. I kept the colors very neutral....several shades of white and just a touch of the aqua blue that I have used in the bathroom.

Another feature that we really love is our screened porch....don't have any furniture on it just yet because we don't want something new. I am searching for that perfect vintage find to dress up this space. PLUS...it it so large, it will easily hold a table & chairs as well as a sofa and a couple of chairs. I'll have to work on this a little at a time...

I used a 6 ft table and folding chairs for my company last weekend and that worked fine for now.

Looking down from the screened porch, there is a lower-level deck.

In a couple of weeks, we will have many "little" girls here for the first annual "Back-Yard" Tea Party. They are doing a photo shoot as well, so we have lots of work to do outside between now and then. Hope you enjoyed my mini-home tour today. I will be back with more pictures soon.

WEDDING UPDATE: We were humming right along with our daughters wedding plans...the wedding was not supposed to be until next May. Well...it has been moved up to October the 15th of THIS year. WHOA!!!! I now only have less than six months to get all of this into place. However, we could not be more happy for them. And...by the way, that is mine and Keith's wedding anniversary as well. Here is where the wedding is taking place....a large Cival War Plantation....

I will share more pictures of the wedding as it progresses....have a great Wednesday and remember, there is One who always cares about you!

2011-05-14T08:00:00.005-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. This week our challenge is a 3-2-1 RECIPE. Please use the following recipe to create your vintage, shabby chic or primitive inspired work of art.

3 Designer or Patterned Papers

2 Die Cuts

1 Charm

We are so excited to welcome Shelly's Images as our sponsor this week. The random winner will receive 3 digis of her choice from the Shelly's Images store.

We will provide the random winner with a badge to display on her blog.

The Design Team will also choose a Card of the Week and that person will receive a badge to display on her blog and will also be in the running for a Guest Designer spot.

The Design Team has created cards for your inspiration this week featuring one of three images from Shelly's Images. To check out the details, just click on the designers name to be taken to their blog. You can see their links at my left sidebar.

I have used the vintage purse and chosen some really retro colors. I remember my Mom having several purses that were this very same shape.

To enter this weeks challenge and see what the rest of the design team has done, simply click HERE.

A Few More Engagement Photo's

2011-05-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

Hello friends and neighbors. If you don't already know, my lovely daughter Hilary got engaged a few weeks ago.

So...here are a few more of her engagement photo's for you to view. These were taken by a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!! They are a masterpiece in my opinion!

Smashed Cauliflower

2011-05-08T20:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful Mother's out there. My girls actually cooked for me today outside of one dish...."Smashed Cauliflower". It is a favorite at our house...almost like mashed potato's but much healthier for you. Thought I would share the recipe with you. You can have almost a full cup for only about 60 calories.

Ingredients:
- 1 small head cauliflower, trimmed, core removed, cut into small florets (should yield about 2-3 cups of cauliflower
- 1 small red potato, unpeeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp fat free half & half
- 1 tbsp fat free sour cream
- 1 tbsp light butter (I used Brummel & Brown)
-1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste

Top with chives or green onions if you’d like!

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add about 1 tbsp salt; add the cauliflower, potato. Reduce heat to maintain a fast simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through. Drain well and transfer to a food processor. Process until smooth. Return pureed cauliflower to the hot pan on medium high heat. Stirring often, cook off the excess liquid, about 5 – 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Transfer to serving bowl. Serve and enjoy!

Now...here are some pictures we took after church today.

Happy Mother's Day

Sensational Saturday Sketch Challenge

2011-05-07T00:01:00.005-04:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. We have a few changes to tell you about and then on to our weekly challenge.

First, we want to say goodbye to four of our Design Team members who have inspired you for the past months. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful work and we will be lurking around to see what you are up to.

We also want to welcome Patti, who was our April Guest Designer to the team.

The changes are simple - we are going back to our roots and we want you to show us vintage, shabby chic or primitive inspired cards or other paper crafted projects following the challenge theme for each week. If these aren't your styles, then this is the challenge blog for you because you will be able to get wonderful inspiration and stretch your creative repertoire. That is what a challenge means - trying something outside your comfort zone.
This week the challenge is to use this SKETCH.

This week we will choose a random winner and that person will receive a digi of our choice and a badge to display on her blog. The Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that project will receive a badge to display and will be in the running to be a Guest Designer.

So....come on over, and play along with us this week. You can view what all of the designers have done HERE, and enter our challenge as well.

Mother of the Bride

2011-05-06T22:21:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday to each and every one of you. I have some super exciting news to share with you today....I am about to be....the Mother of the Bride!!!

Yes...our daughter, Hilary, became engaged last week. We could not be more proud of her and the Godly example she has become. She is such a hard worker and will make a wonderful wife. God has blessed her with a wonderful, christian, soul mate.

An outdoor Spring wedding is in the works for next May, 2012. Here are a couple engagement photo's I wanted to share with you.

~Hilary & Tim~

Embossing Challenge

2011-04-30T00:01:00.002-04:00

Good Morning to all of my faithful readers. Today I am sharing a card with you that is a simple challenge, even for the newest of stampers. Embossing.......

I have used a navy embossing powder on my Stitched Chicken stamp. It is quite hard to see in my photo....my photo tent has not gotten set back up from our move yet. There is also some dry embossing on my patterned, DP.

This has such a primitive and retro look about it...just LOVE it!!!

Won't you join us over at SUGAR CREEK HOLLOW for our challenge of embossing this week? Click HERE and I'll take you there where you can enter and see what the rest of the team has done for you.

Sweet & Simple

2011-04-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Good morning to everyone. We survived some heavy storms last night...everyone is OK here. I have some damage to my yard but that's about it. We are lucky compared to the rest of our friends & family in Alabama. Most of them spent the entire day yesterday in storm cellars & shelters. Please keep them in your prayers.

Now, onto my card. I have such a hard time doing something simple. However, I needed a simple card for a friend of mine who is really not into "fru-fru". She is going through a really hard time right now, so I hope my card brightens her day.

I used "Thoughts & Prayers" from Stampin Up. What a great stamp set this is and no matter what you do with it, it really looks great. Not my norm...but still very pretty.

Stay dry everyone and do remember those who are still waiting out these terrible storms.

Some of my "Yard" finds...

2011-04-27T15:48:00.000-04:00

Hello to everyone. I hope it is not stormy in your neck of the woods like it is here. It has literally dumped rain all day here.

I am about 80% unpacked from moving earlier this month. I have all of these glorious plants that are breaking out into bloom and I wanted to share them with you. When I was home on my lunch break, I took a few photo's of some things. I don't know what some of them are so if you can provide any insight, that would be great.

Now this one I know....a lovely Iris. I was showing off my 24x zoom on my camera. Isn't this lovely with its rain-kissed petals? I was not even remotely close to this when I took the photo. LOVE my camera!

I have no idea what these are but they are blooming under one of our oak trees in the front yard.

These are so pretty, and they are climbing up some lattice on the side of my front porch. I could not figure why anyone would have a lonely piece of lattice just standing there, when we moved in a few weeks ago...now I know. Does anyone know what these are called?

Ok...that's it for now. I will have a lovely card to share with you in a few days so check back to see what's in store.

Flea Market Vintage Finds

2011-04-26T15:57:00.000-04:00

I love it when I can have a day to go "junkin"...that means, dragging my husband to every little nook & cranny in the city for my flea market finds.

Unfortunately, I am still trying to unpack and get organized, but I needed my "junk" fix. So...I went "junkin" online!!! Here are some of my finds that I have come across.

Vintage Bird Eggs

Nests and Vintage Things

Coffee Filter Wreath

Hope you enjoyed some of my vintage finds online. I had a great time searching them out.

Circle Challenge

2011-04-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

Hello once again. Today, I am sharing a SIMPLE challenge with you that even the newest stamper could participate in. CIRCLES!!! Sugar Creek Hollow Challenge Blog has this challenge going on all week and we want YOU to join us. Remember...it has to be something created for this challenge...you cannot link to a previous post.

I have used some circle nesties and doilies to give this a real vintage feel. I also added a few of my "flea-market" finds....the yo-yo's on the left of the card are from an old pillow that I took apart. Aren't they adorable?

You can get the "Just POUR You" stamp HERE for only $3.00.

Please head on over to Sugar Creek Hollow and check out what my fellow DT Sisters have done for you and enter our challenge this week!

Fibromyalgia Update

2011-04-20T10:43:00.002-04:00

Good morning to all of you on this fine Spring day. I have not done a Fibro post in a while and I wanted to update you to where I am at.

At the last update I was still having terrible trouble with my feet. That has much improved by wearing the correct shoes and really "babying" that heel spur. If I am on my feet a lot, they will still swell (from breaking them last fall), but I have learned to put my money where my feet are...in other words, buy good shoes!!!

I have continued to eat as healthy as I possibly can. My total weight loss since September is now about 64 pounds and counting. Here are some pictures to prove it....

This was taken last summer...I am the one in the brown.

This was taken just three days ago at my Doctor's office--64 pounds lighter!

I have about 36 pounds to go and that will mean a 100 pound weight loss for me. I will pat myself on the back here....I am not using any diet, going to any meetings, or drinking any shakes. I am eating REAL food and just making wise choices that will stay with me the rest of my life.

For the last 10 years I have had to see my doctor every three months...that gets old after a while! Long story short, I am healthier right now than I have ever been. I was on numerous medications, and I am now down to only ONE!!! And....when I saw my doctor just this past Monday, and I don't have to go back for an entire year!

On a lighter note...I am still trying to un-pack and get to all of my crafting items. I never knew I had so much stuff. Will have a card to share with you in a couple days.

Have a blessed week!

Monochromatic Challenge

2011-04-16T08:00:00.003-04:00

Well...it is good to be back designing once again. Although, I did have a hard time this week...most of my supplies are still packed. However, I managed to pull off our challenge this week despite the odds.

We want YOU to play along with us over at Sugar Creek Hollow. Please click HERE to enter this weeks challenge. Remember....monochromatic is one main color plus white or black. Take a look...

I have sprinkled a little glitter on my teapot and embellished with some lovely ribbons and vintage button. Click HERE to see what the rest of our lovely design team has done and to enter this weeks challenge.

Thanks for stopping by....may you have a great day!

Missing in Action

2011-04-11T10:34:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. I have been out of commission in blogville for a couple of weeks...and with good reason. I just wanted to pop in and show you what I have been up to for the last couple of weeks.

We made an offer on a house March 5th....we closed March 31st. WOW...that was fast and furious. We had one terrific realtor and another terrific loan officer. Here is a pic of the front of our house. For the last 11 days, we have moved, and remodeled...I am so tired but am back at work today.

Now...for the hard part. The house was somewhat dated...not too much but the kitchen was a disaster. We could not afford to do a totally new kitchen so here is what I have done so far.

Sanded, painted, and updated the dated hardware on the cabinets.
Replaced the old, out-dated counter tops
Added a new vintage back splash
Painted the walls with Behr's Vintage Verde' Green
Updated the appliances and added my "DIVA" refrigerator

After......

Here are a few pics of my "baby" getting moved across town as well. This was a most "nerve-plucking" experience for me. It took about 7 men to actually get it taken apart and loaded.

I'll try and post a few more pictures as I get them...I have boxes EVERYWHERE right now so we are in survival mode. Trying to find our shoes is a major deal.

Hope all of you are having a great week...I will have a card later on in the week to share with you...as soon as I can find my desk..tee hee....

Love,

Tracy

Sensational Stitching & Image Naming Contest

2011-03-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

It is another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow and this week we have a wonderful challenge for you as well as the last activity in our month-long first anniversary celebration.

This week we want your help in naming this image before it goes into the Sugar Creek Hollow store. Please leave a comment here with your suggestion. Tracy, the owner of Sugar Creek Hollow will choose her favorite name. If more than one person suggests the winning name, their names will go into a random draw. The person with the winning name will receive this stamp as their prize. You have until midnight EST on April 1st to leave your suggestion in the comment section and the winner will be announced on April 2nd.

Now on to our challenge this week, which is called SENSATIONAL STITCHING. We would like to see stitching on your card or other paper crafting project. The stitching can be real and done by machine or by hand or it can be faux with hand drawn "stitches".

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw. Just follow the instructions on the sidebar to link your second entry.

Each week the Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with.

Our designers have created some wonderful inspiration for you and we hope you will check the details out on their blogs by clicking on their name.

Blog Hop & Prizes

2011-03-19T02:13:00.000-04:00

Wow, this is a really big and really sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow.

First, we have an easy challenge for you - ANYTHING GOES.

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw. Just follow the instructions on the sidebar to link your second entry.

Each week the Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with.

Second, We have a FREEBIE for you. Be sure you get yours.

Third, in addition to announcing our weekly challenge, we are having a blog hop at Sugar Creek Hollow as part of our first anniversary celebrations. All the designers have a giveaway for a winner chosen randomly from the people who leave comments on their blogs. There will be a grand prize winner chosen from the people who leave a comment on the Sugar Creek Hollow challenge blog.

The blog hop will run in conjunction with the challenge from 8:00 am EST on Saturday, March 19th to 12 midnight EST on Friday, March 25th. Comments left after the deadline will not be included in any of the draws. Winners will be announced on each blog and the challenge blog on March 26th.

To be eligible for the giveaways you must become a follower at each stop on the hop and then leave a comment at each stop, including here, telling us which stamp in the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe is your favorite. In addition, if you'd like, you can tell us what types of stamps you might want to see added to the Sugar Creek Hollow line of stamps. Don’t forget to leave a contact email in case you are the winner.

Here is the order of the blog hop and here are the wonderful cards our designers have made using the new release stamps. Make sure you check out the details of their creations when you visit them for the hop.

Tracy-you are here

Heide

Sharon
Cec
Darlene,Guest designer
Dawn
Donna
Marsha
Mary
Nancy
Renee

Don't forget to go back here since this is the last stop on the blog hop and we have a prize for one random winner from amongst the people who leave a comment here. Finally, Have Fun!

Here is what I am giving away to one lucky winner who leaves a comment on THIS blog, as well as follows the rules above. Drawing is March 26th.

A "Build-a-card" Kit...enough supplies to make two lovely, vintage cards.

Six, mini gift sacks....

Vintage Balloon accessories.

Don't forget....become a follower and leave me a comment.

Handmade Flower Challenge

2011-03-12T21:26:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another Sensational Saturday here at Sugar Creek Hollow. Today we want you to create a card or other paper crafting project and embellish it with flowers that you make yourself. The flowers can be punched, crochet, fabric or whatever else your creative mind can come up with. Remember, you can't use commercially produced flowers this week - this is a HANDMADE FLOWER challenge.

We can't wait for you to enter this challenge and show us your wonderful work. We also want you to come back next Saturday, March 19th for our blog hop. You will see wonderful new cards by our designers and each of them has candy for one lucky winner who comes to comment during the hop as well as a grand prize winner from the challenge blog comments. If you haven't left a comment for a chance to win the anniversary blog candy make sure you do that now so you don't miss out. The winner of the blog candy will be drawn on March 31st.

My flowers are made from an old dress pattern and embellished with some red buttons. Remember....you can make your flowers from any material...fabric, paper, plastic, metal. The possibilities are endless!

Click HERE to enter our challenge and see what the rest of the ladies have done this week for you.

Sensational Saturday Sketch Challenge

2011-03-05T23:06:00.000-05:00

Before we tell you about our challenge for this week, we want to remind you about our anniversary celebrations. If you want a chance to win our blog candy just follow these steps:

1. Become a follower, if aren't already one.
2. Leave a comment with a contact email in case you win.
3. Grab a copy of the blog candy photo and post it on your sidebar.
4. Link the photo back to the Sugar Creek Hollow challenge blog.

Don't forget any of the steps so you will be eligible to win all these wonderful crafting supplies.

Make sure you mark your calendar so you are sure to come back each week this month to see what challenges we have planned and to participate in the fun activities, such as the Blog Hop on March 19th and the Image Naming Contest on March 26th.

It is another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow and time for our MONTHLY SKETCH challenge.

This month our hostesses have created a very clean sketch for you but you can rotate it or flip it as long as the sketch is visible in your creation.

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw. Just follow the instructions on the sidebar to link your second entry.

Each week the Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with. The Card of the Week prize will be awarded when we reach a minimum of 10 entries.

Our designers have created some wonderful inspiration for you and we hope you will check the details out on their blogs by clicking on their name. This month Darlene is joining us as a Guest Designer so please make her feel welcome.

Click HERE to enter this weeks challenge and to check out what the rest of our Design Team has done for you.

Inside-Outside Challenge

2011-02-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome back to the blog-a-roonie land. Today I am sharing with you a wonderful challenge from Sugar Creek Hollow. This week our challenge is to complete the inside of your card as well as the outside. I am using the Filigree Heart from Sugar Creek Hollow and the Forever Sentiment.

Outside

Please click HERE to join our challenge this week and to see what the rest of our lovely ladies have created for you.

I've Been Published!!!

2011-02-20T07:50:00.000-05:00

To my surprise when I got home from my trip, in my mail was a FREE copy of the Stampers Sampler. Now....that can only mean one thing. If they send you a complimentary copy, that means you have been published.

I got so excited I could not flip the pages fast enough to find which of my cards they had chosen. It had been about 9 months ago that I sent a HUGE box of cards to them. So...here ya' go...this is what they published.

You can find this card in the Feb/March Issue of the "Stampers Sampler" on page 74....just sayin'...tee hee!!!

Buttons & Bows Challenge

2011-02-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

Good morning and thank you for joining me today. I have been away this week with my husband for a Minister's retreat and have pre-scheduled this post. By the time you are reading this, I will be making my long drive home.

Our challenge this week at SUGAR CREEK HOLLOW is to use three buttons and two bows. I am featuring one of the new stamps called "Ladies Frock Together". Take a peek...

Now...we want YOU to enter our challenge with us, so click HERE and I'll take you on over. You can also view all of the gorgeous cards that our design team has made as well.

Non-Traditional Valentine

2011-02-12T23:07:00.000-05:00

Hello, and welcome back. Today, we have a great challenge for you over at SUGAR CREEK HOLLOW. We are doing a Valentine card this week but the challenge is to use "non-traditional" colors...no pink or red.

Now...I sweated over this one a bit but I finally came up with a combination that I think works perfectly together. You can get this stamp in our STORE as well.

I'm really loving not only this stamp but the entire card. I am going to give this one to a customer of mine whom I know is a single lady and will most likely have a lonley Valentine's Day. I thought this may help brighten her day a bit.

Click HERE to see what the rest of our team has done and to enter our challenge this week.

Sweet Lady

2011-02-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

It is February and another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. Today we have another great sketch to challenge you with. You have been showing us some wonderful projects and we can't wait to see more of them.

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw. Just follow the instructions on the sidebar to link your second entry.

Each week the Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with. The Card of the Week prize will be awarded if we reach a minimum of 10 entries.

I have used the new lady bug image for my card this week. I have had a terrible time getting my photo's to load here but finally managed to get them on.

Now, by clicking HERE you can enter our challenge and see what the rest of the team has been up to with this weeks challenge. We would be THRILLED if you play along with us this week...and you never know....you may just be our next, lucky winner.

Call Me Beautiful

2011-02-02T10:46:00.000-05:00

I love to doodle and really play around with different patterns and textures. I drew up this butterfly a few weeks ago and I am really in love with this image. You can find it HERE in my store, Sugar Creek Hollow. Here is my card I did with the "Call Me Beautiful Butterfly".

I made the tea-stained flowers from kraft colored coffee filters. They are so easy to do, and a great accent for any project. I have entered this card in the Flutterby Wednesday Challenge and the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge this week. Here is a copy of the MM sketch if you would like to play along as well.

Sweet Vintage Valentine Challenge

2011-01-29T22:28:00.000-05:00

Today is another Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow and that means a new challenge. Valentine's Day is fast approaching and chances are good you need a few cards for that occasion so we want you to make a Valentine's Day card but we want you to try your hand at a VINTAGE VALENTINE.

If you have never tried to make a vintage style card, don't be intimidated because you probably already use many of the techniques required, such as distressing. So dig out some ink to make your paper look old, rummage through your button jar or your ribbon scraps and let's see what you can create.

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw. Just follow the instructions on the sidebar to link your second entry.

Each week the Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with. The Card of the Week prize will be given when we have a minimum of 10 entries.

Our designers all used the same image this week and have created some wonderful and very different inspiration for you and we hope you will check the details out on their blogs by clicking on their name.

This image is available in the STORE and is in our Valentine collection of stamps.

Please take a minute and click HERE to enter our challenge and view what the rest of our talented design team as done.

Sensational Saturday Challenge

2011-01-22T08:42:00.001-05:00

PLEASE FORGIVE MY POSTING DELAY...I started my post about midnight last night and have had trouble getting my photo's to load.

Welcome to a new Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. Today we have a color challenge for you. We want you to use mostly black and white and add a splash of one other color. Some examples of a splash of color would be one red heart or one green bow or one purple flower.

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw. Just follow the instructions in the challenge rules shown on the sidebar to link your second entry.

The Design Team will also choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with. The Card of the Week prize will begin once we reach a minimum of 10 entries.

Now for my card....

This stamp is in the store in a set of FOUR other labels. You do not want to miss out on getting these for your collection. Please click HERE to view the rest of what my wonderful design team has done for you

$5.00

Fabric Challenge with Sugar Creek Hollow

2011-01-15T00:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow. Today our challenge to you is to make a paper crafting project with fabric (but no bows). You can use the fabric as your background, create a flower with it or even print your image on it. Perhaps you will come up with a use for fabric that we did not think of so we can't wait to see your project.

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw.

Each week the Design Team will choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with. The Card of the Week prize will begin once we reach a minimum of 10 entries.

I have used a bit of fabric down the right side of my card, as you can see in the photo. My stamp is from the Valentine images over in my STORE.

To enter this weeks challenge and get inspiration from the rest of the design team, click HERE.

Fancy "Shhhhhmancy" Place Card

2011-01-12T14:40:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I trust you are having a great start to your January. I am covered up to my ears in paper work trying to close out a financial year. However, I keep reminding myself....THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!!

Let me share a place card with you that I made up last night. These are by special order that I received this week. I will also be making a matching napkin rink to go with these.

Aren't they lovely? I used a piece of vintage clip art from over at the graphics fairy and just cut around it with my new Big Shot Pro...electric die cutting machine. The lovely paper punch at the top is from Martha Stewart, and the little flower is hand-made from tissue paper. I have sprayed her with a little gold-shimmer smooch as well.

I'll be showing the matching napkin ring on Friday, so come back over and see the set. I am delivering these little babies on Saturday to the Beaux Arts Galleria. If you have time, visit their new website...TOTALLY FAB.

Sensational Saturday's with Sugar Creek Hollow

2011-01-08T00:01:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year and welcome to Sensational Saturdays at Sugar Creek Hollow. We have lots of exciting new changes to share with you and there will be more coming as we move further into 2011.

We will be working on a face lift but in the meantime we have started to re-arrange things and posted the challenge rules on our sidebar. Our challenges are open to any paper crafting project unless the challenge calls for something specific. You will notice that our designers create inspiration for you in a vintage or shabby chic style but unless the challenge calls for it you are not required to create in those styles unless you wish to. We hope that you will give it a try though.

Each week we will choose one random winner, who will receive a free digi of their choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe and a badge to display on your blog. If you use a Sugar Creek Hollow image you will get two entries in the random draw.

The Design Team will also choose a Card of the Week and the creator of that card will get a badge to display. One overall winner will be chosen each month from the Cards of the Week. That person will be invited to be a Guest Designer and participate in the next challenge. An image will be provided to them to work with. The Card of the Week prize will begin once we reach a minimum of 10 entries.

Now for our first challenge for 2011. We have a great sketch for you to work with. Feel free to rotate it or flip it but please make sure that we can recognize the sketch in your creation. To enter your card, please use the linking tool at the bottom.

I have flipped the sketch and used the digi stamp, SING AN MAKE MUSIC. It's accented with lots of vintage goodies sent to me all the way from Norway. Gunn, you are too kind and I will enjoy using all the little treasures you blessed me with.

Our designers have created some wonderful inspiration for you and we hope you will check the details out on their blogs by clicking on their name.

Seven Day Menu

2011-01-01T16:22:00.001-05:00

MONDAY

BREAKFAST
Cooked Oatmeal, 1 cup, with 2 tablespoons raisins and 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Skim Milk, 1 cup
Orange Juice, 1/2 cup
Handful of Almonds

LUNCH
Fast-Food Hamburger, 1 small
Green Salad, 3 cups, with 1 tablespoon fat-free Italian dressing
Apple, 1

DINNER
Grilled Tuna With Olive Oil & Lemon Pepper
Vegetable Saute, (Heat 1/2 teaspoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add 1/2 cup each of sliced red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, and yellow squash, 1/4 cup chopped onion, and 1 garlic clove, chopped; saute 2 minutes. Stir in 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar and a dash each of salt and pepper.)
French Bread, 1 ounce

SNACKS (I usually have three per day)
Vanilla Fat-Free Aspartame-Sweetened Yogurt, 8 ounces
Graham Cracker spread with a scant of peanut butter
Smart Pop Kettle Korn...personal size bag

TUESDAY
BREAKFAST
Bran Flakes, 1 cup
Skim Milk, 1 cup
Strawberries, 1 cup
One hard boiled egg

LUNCH
Turkey-and-Vegetable Salad, (Combine 2 cups sliced romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup each of of julienne-cut red bell pepper, sliced yellow squash, diced tomato and sliced mushrooms, and 2 tablespoons fat-free balsamic vinaigrette; toss well. Top with 6 large green olives and 1 ounce deli turkey
Three pieces WASA crisp bread
Skim Milk, 1 cup

DINNER
Red Beans and Rice, (Brown 2 ounces lean turkey kielbasa and 1/3 cup diced onion over medium heat in a skillet; stir in 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1/4 teaspoon each of Cajun seasoning, hot pepper sauce, and white wine vinegar. Bring to a boil; stir in 2/3 cup drained canned red beans. Spoon over 1 cup cooked brown rice.) (8 Points)
Steamed Brocolli-1 cup
Sugar Free Jello Rice Pudding with a dash of nutmeg

SNACK
Popcorn, 94%-fat-free microwave-popped, 1 bag
1 Peach
2 small squares dark chocolate

WEDNESDAY
BREAKFAST
Honeydew-Banana Smoothie, (Combine 1 banana and 1 cup chopped fresh honeydew melon, 8 ounces vanilla fat-free aspartame-sweetened yogurt, and 1/4 cup skim milk in a blender; process until smooth.)

LUNCH
Subway Sandwich...I try to stay around 300 calories.

DINNER
Because of church on Wednesday nights and having to be back so early to the worship center, we eat out. Our regular spot is KFC. The whole family can get something they like. I get the $5.00 fill up box with the grilled meal and the green beans as my side. And YES....I eat the biscuit too!!!

SNACK
Vanilla Fat-Free Ice Cream, 1/2 cup, with 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
One Granola Thin with dark Chocolate

THURSDAY
BREAKFAST
Cooked Oatmeal, 1 cup, with 2 tablespoons raisins and 1 tablespoon honey
Skim Milk, 1 cup
Orange Juice, 1 cup

LUNCH
Spread a fat free tortilla with 2 tblsp hummus. Add a sprinkle of mozerella cheese and top with lots of fresh spinach. YUM!!! My favorite lunch.
Apple, 1, with 1 tablespoon peanut butter
Skim Milk, 1 cup

DINNER
Pork-and-Pepper Stir-Fry, (Combine 4 ounces cubed pork tenderloin, 1 tablespoon orange juice, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce; stir-fry over medium heat in a nonstick skillet 4 minutes or until browned. Remove pork from skillet. Add 1/2 cup each of sliced onion and red and green bell peppers; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon each of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and honey, and a dash black pepper to skillet. Return pork to skillet; bring to a boil. Serve over 1 cup cooked brown rice.)
Steamed Broccoli, 1 cup

SNACK
Blueberry Fat-Free Aspartame-Sweetened Yogurt, 8 ounces
Graham Craker with peanut butter
Handful of Almonds

FRIDAY
BREAKFAST
Egg Bagel, One scrambelled egg on a toasted bagel thin. Top with a slice of fat free cheese.
Orange Juice, 1/2 cup

LUNCH
I am off on Friday's and I make this nearly every week. Take two slices whole wheat bread and spray with butter Pam. Place under the broiler until good and toasty. Put two pieces of sliced cheese with tomato on the non-toasted side. Turn off your broiler but lay the sandwich back inside the oven. It will melt the cheese and you will have the crispy-est sandwich ever!
One can of tomato soup...I eat the entire can!

DINNER
Parmesan-and-Shrimp Pasta Toss, (Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Saute 2 tablespoons chopped onion and 1 garlic clove, minced, 5 minutes; add 1/4 cup dry white wine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half. Add 4 ounces peeled, deveined shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until done. Stir in 1 cup cooked penne pasta, 2 tablespoons each of chopped fresh basil and crumbled parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon capers, and a dash each of salt and pepper.)
Green Salad, 2 cups sliced romaine lettuce, 1 quartered tomato, and 2 tablespoons fat-free balsamic vinaigrette

SNACK
One Starbucks Grande Mocah Frap Light
Small bag of Popcorn

SATURDAY
BREAKFAST
Bran Flakes, 1 cup
Skim Milk, 1 cup
Strawberries, 1 cup
One hard boiled egg

LUNCH
Chop a tomato really fine along with about two good slices of onion. Cook this in a skillet with a bit of olive oil and fresh garlic. I eat this over one cup of whole wheat pasta and top with a little grated parmesan.
Vanilla Yogurt, small container

DINNER
Chicken on the grill with a little scant of BBQ sauce brushed on it.
Fresh Corn on Cob
Green salad, 2 cups
Baked Sweet potato with brown sugar and butter buds

SNACK
Banana, 1, with 2 teaspoons peanut butter

SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
Bagel, 1 small, with 1 tablespoon each of fat-free cream cheese and chopped onion, 1 teaspoon capers, and 1 ounce smoked salmon
Skim Milk, 1 cup
Orange Juice, 1/2 cup

LUNCH--this is our big meal on Sunday's because we are at church all morning so I make enough to have leftovers for Sunday night.
Meatloaf (I used ground venison or ground buffalo...EXCELLENT taste and hardly any fat) 2 lb of meat, 1 box stovetop stuffing, 1 can hunts meatloaf fixins, 1 egg. Mix all together and bake. Makes four big servings.
Smashed Cauliflower
Green Beans
Small Whole Wheat Roll
I'll usually try to do a dessert of some sort for Sunday dinner. Some of our favorites are sugar free puddings with berries and angel food cake.

DINNER
Leftovers or "on your own night...tee hee.

SNACK
Strawberries and Cream, (Serve 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries with 1/3 cup frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping and 4 animal crackers.) (3 Points)
Skim Milk, 1 cup

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T17:41:00.002-05:00

Wishing you an yours a happy and prosperous New Year!

Free Vintage Postcard for you...

A Year of Favorites

2010-12-28T15:08:00.002-05:00

As we draw near to the close of another year, I wanted to share some of my favorites with you and highlightes of my year. Thank you....faithful readers, for sticking with me this last year. I hope to have bigger and better things planned for you than ever before.

Happy New Year

Stocking Tags

2010-12-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

Are you running short on time for Christmas? If so, let me show you an easy way to add your names to your stockings this year. I used a simple tag with a clothes pin.

Notice that the little Santa hat tags I have used all say "nice" except mine....I really have not been naughty but I thought it was cute and did not want to hurt anyone elses feelings by putting it on theirs.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Safe Travels to everyone!

Annual Apple Making

2010-12-22T08:53:00.000-05:00

Well good morning to all of you and Merry Christmas! Last night after I go home from work I dove straight into my apple making. The BEST dipped apple you will ever put in your mouth. A QUADRUPLED recipe only makes 10 apples because these are HUGE apples!!!

I have tied each apple up with some of my Country Crinkle Ribbon, and added a pretty tag from my STORE. These will all be gone by this evening...I am on a delivery mission at work today....our last day!!! Tomorrow morning, I will begin my process all over again. I'll make another HUGE batch of HUGE apples to carry to my Mom's house tomorrow night.

Hope you all have a great Christmas! We are supposed to have snow here Christmas day which may put a damper on our plans, but we will work around mother nature as best as possible.

Sensational Saturday's with Sugar Creek Hollow

2010-12-18T18:36:00.002-05:00

Good morning and thank you for joining us today. I am sharing with you a lovely, hand-made ornament from sheet music. I just love using vintage music for paper crafting and can never get enough of it!!!

My image is from Sugar Creek Hollow and our entire team has done some of the most lovely work I have ever seen this week. Click HERE to view all of the other projects.

Please excuse the format of my post today. Blogger has disabled my "updated editor" and I have tried every way to get it back. The only way I am able to post is with the old editor.

Elegant Angel

2010-12-15T20:42:00.002-05:00

Another paper ANGEL for your viewing pleasure. This one is my favorite!

An Angel A Day.....

2010-12-12T14:34:00.005-05:00

OK....first and foremost, I have earned my "angel wings"...haha....for completing my angel making class. Second, I have another angel to share with you.

I used really soft, pale colors for her. He wings are made from a paper doily, and I have added a butterfly on the front of her dress for a more 3D look. I have more angels coming....everyday this week!

Sensational Saturday with Sugar Creek Hollow

2010-12-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning...I trust your day is off to a good start. This week our challenge is to use RED and WHITE. I chose to do a paper angel instead of a card this week.

This was created by using a free pattern from CDAD angle making class. The digi stamp can be found at the Sugar Creek Hollow store.

The SCH Design Team has created some amazing projects! Hope you're inspired.

An All To Famaliar Pain

2010-12-10T08:46:00.003-05:00

Happy Holiday's to you! Have you finished your shopping yet? I am done with everything except my gift cards that I am giving.

I awoke just yesterday with an all too familiar pain....the pain of Fibro. Mind you, I have not felt this pain since this past April. However, old man winter has settled in here with bitter cold temps and it is taking a tole on my body.

My worst pain is in my arms and hands. From my shoulder to my fingertips it is just unbearable at times. Sleeping is my enemy because of the pressure that lying down puts on my arms.

On the POSITIVE side, because of my recent weight loss, I no longer have back pain or knee pain. My feet have healed nicely since my fall and hardly hurt at all now.

I am taking GOOD care of myself with eating right, and wearing lots of layers to keep my muscles and body warm. I am even wearing a coat!!! Something I would hardly ever do because I am so hot-natured.

I am still losing weight at a steady pace. I am down two - three sizes and nearly 35 pounds.

Do you also suffer from this terrible thorn in the flesh? If so, I am interested to know how YOU do in the winter months. I am finding the weather plays a huge role in how I feel.

Phone Book Page Christmas Ornaments

2010-12-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

Tutorial by Tracy Vinson

Sugar Creek Hollow

Are you on a TIGHT budget this Christmas? If so, let me show you how to create a stunning Christmas ornament either for your tree or as a gift for someone.

Here are the supplies you need to gather prior to starting your ornament:

10 phone book pages
Your favorite Digi Stamp
Coloring Tools & Glitter
About 2 feet of ribbon
Fabri-tac glue or hot glue gun

1. My phone book is a 5 x 7 size. I tore 10 pages from the back section and lined them all up for my paper cutter...see the next photo.

2. Icut these in 3/4 inch strips, like so.

3. Next, I folded over my strips and attached with a bit of glue. You want a fast drying glue so that they will stay closed.

4. Keep adding stips of your phone book until you like the fullness.

5. For a little added dimension, I creased every-other loop...feel free to leave yours rounded if you don't like this look. BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER, GO AND WASH YOUR HANDS. They will be covered in phone book ink and you don't want that on your digi stamp image.

6. As you can see, I colored my digi stamp from Priscilla, and framed with some DP that I cut with a nestie. I also did a lot of hand painting on this digi with my smooch paints. I embellished the bells with some dazzling diamonds glitter. Now, you are ready to glue this to the center of your phone book loops.

7. Glue down your image and add a pretty bow just above it. One that is dry, turn over your ornament and add a loop of ribbon on the back to hang from.

The finished product. Not only are these lovely, they are dirt cheap!!! When packing these away to re-use again for next year, sandwich your ornament in between two chinet paper plates, and put a little tape on the edges of the plate. This will keep them from getting crushed and you will have them for years to come.

Happy Holiday's

2010-12-04T09:26:00.001-05:00

Good morning and welcome to Sensational Saturday's with Sugar Creek Hollow. Today is our sketch challenge and we want YOU to participate. Look at the lovely sketch we have to work with...

And now, my card I have designed for you. All of my papers have a shimmery, metallic finish. This was super hard to capture with a photo so I hope you can see what I am speaking about.

Head on over to our DESIGNER BLOG and you can see what all of our other ladies have done for you. Don't forget while you are there, to enter our sketch challenge for this week.

Farewell Midnight Madness Design Team

2010-11-30T00:01:00.002-05:00

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. Today is my last card with the Midnight Madness Design Team. I was given the option to stay for as long as I wanted, but I had to decline such a generous offer, so that I could focus more of my time on my STORE.

Today, I am using a Digital Stamp from Sugar Creek Hollow, entitled "Baby Jesus".

We have three different sketches for you to choose from this time, so head on over and take a look. Then....put your crafting cap on and go to work.

Sunny Snowman

2010-11-29T08:58:00.001-05:00

Good morning to each of you. I trust you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Today I am sharing a card with you that I just adore. This particular snowman is a Digital Stamp designed by my niece, Emily. You can get them in my STORE for only $3.00 each. Just click on WINTER stamps and you will find them there.

I have followed the November Sketch over at Split Coast Stampers for my card. I also embellished little "Sunny-Snowman" with some rock candy stickels from Tim Holtz. Enjoy your day and get lots of cyber Monday shopping done!!!

Fibromyalgia Update Weeks 7, 8, & 9

2010-11-28T08:59:00.000-05:00

Hello to all of my loyal readers. I have gotten behind on updates for my fibro....a condition that I would like to throw out the window!!!

As you know, here in the North East, we are already experiencing some really cold nights...it was 23 degrees when I came to work this morning. This proves to be a challenge because I can already feel my body "locking" up from these cold temps. I am dressing in layers, but I work in a busy corporate office and suites are my daily attire. Are any of you familiar with any sort of insulated tights or stockings? Or...something warmer that I could wear under my slacks???

Weight wise, I am doing very well. I have lost more than 30 pounds since September 1st. By the end of December I should be nearing a 40 pound weight loss. I am feeling a great as far as the stress on my knees and back are concerned. My feet are still hurting some though...not sure what's up with that because I've never had foot pain before. Sometimes it is so bad that it hurts for the covers to touch them when I lay down at night. Does anyone else have these issues?

My blood work is back from my doctor and everything looks fine for now. Other than trying to manage my pain, I am good to go. At present I am still off all medications other than my over the counter for pain. I am still taking one Rx drug for the IBS, but I have been on that for over ten years now and it is my miracle drug.

If you are struggling with the pain management and on set of winter, I would love to hear from you. I long for warm, sunny, days from here on out because I know that with every passing cold, blustery day, that my pain is only going to intensify. Blessings to each of you.

Faux Wood Challenge

2010-11-27T23:24:00.001-05:00

Good morning to all of my blogaroonies....tee hee!!! Today, Sugar Creek Hollow has a "Faux-Wood" challenge for you. In other words....make your paper look like wood. I have used the "Behold" stamp set from the STORE, and added a little hand-cut, Christmas wreath.

I have hand-made the paper flowers down the side of my card, using the pages of an old phone book. I added a button and some bakers twine to the center.

WE WANT YOU TO ENTER OUR CHALLENGE TOO!!!!

Click HERE and you can see what the rest of the team has done for your inspiration. There will also be a link where you can enter your FAUX WOOD project.

MMSC81--Santa and Me

2010-11-23T12:08:00.004-05:00

This weeks sketch...it's "YOUR PICK" Make it fancy, clean and simple, or somewhere in-between. Remember to click on the sneak peek button on the side bar for the following weeks sketch each Friday.

"YOUR CHOICE"

Enter one style or both this week.

Just have fun and come play with us :)

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*Our MMSC81 weekly Bonus sponsor is.....

"Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More" is proud to sponsor this challenge.

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More, a division of I Did It Creations, was created and is

owned by Robyn Weinrib. Robyn offers a wonderful variety of digital stamps and digital papers, designed to meet the needs of all digital paper crafting addicts for every occasion.

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More is happy to offer the winner of this challenge 4 digital stamps of the winner's choice and the tangible prize pictured here.

That prize description is:

a. one 6 x 6 Basic Grey "Olivia" paper pad

b. one set of matching Basic Grey "Olivia" buttons

c. one matching Basic Grey Cozy Posies chenille flower

d. a Martha Stewart deep edge punch in the "Floral Vine" style

e. 4 Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps of the winners choice

Thank you so much for your awesome bonus prize!!!
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**Our Nov Monthly sponsor is....

https://www.papertemptress.com/

Click here to see the monthly prize

Thank you Patricia, we just love your products.

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