Weight Watchers Update and a Lunch Recipe!

Hi, everyone! How are you all doing today? I'm doing well- it's been rainy and gloomy the past couple of days and, unfortunately, my mojo went away with the sun! So, I thought today I might share a recipe for the lunch that I'm enjoying this week!

I have been watching what I'm eating and making better choices for a little over 3 weeks now with the help of Weight Watchers and some very supportive friends over at the Papertrey Ink forum who are playing along with me! So far, I have lost 12 lbs and I couldn't be more excited about losing some more! I truly LOVE the program and I LOVE discovering new recipes and foods.

A couple of weeks ago, several people mentioned roasted veggies in a balsamic glaze and how wonderful it was as a quick lunch in a pita! Loved the idea! I was getting tired of my go-to apple walnut salad so I thought I would give this a try this week! And the best part is that I cooked all the veggies at the same time, making my lunches for the rest of the week effortless! Love it!

Here are the veggies- all chopped up and browned beautifully after roasting in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. I simply cut up 2 bell peppers, an onion, a zucchini, baby bella mushrooms, and a package of grape tomatoes. Then, I tossed the chopped veggies in 3 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Spread them out on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and popped them in the oven! The veggies with the glaze are 3 pts. Easy peasy!

I found these Salad Pockets at the grocery store in the deli section- couldn't find any other pitas, but these are really good and only 2 pts per pocket! YUM!

I used 1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese on top- 3 pts- so worth it!

And here is my lunch waiting for me.... 

Topped it off with a Coke Zero and this may be my dream lunch... LOL! Loved it and will absolutely look forward to it everyday this week!  

What are your favorite low fat recipes? Feel free to point me in the direction of some great recipes- I'm always looking for something new! Thanks!

{DON'T FORGET!! I'm keeping my eyes open for some great Market Street Stamps projects! Link your projects using Market Street Stamps to any of the places linked below for your chance to be the Cream of the Crop and win a $20 GC to Market Street Stamps!!

• Market Street Stamps on Facebook
• Market Streets Stamps on Twitter
• Market Street Stamps Flickr group
• Market Street Stamps SCS gallery (keyword: marketstreetstamps)}

AND... this is post #98- one more post left before my BIG giveaway for my 100th post! I'm super excited! If you're not already a follower of my blog, you might want to start now!  

MIM: Ink Blending Techniques

Hi! How's everyone doing today!? I got a little inky this morning playing along with the new Make It Monday challenge over at Papertrey Ink! The challenge this week is presented by Betsy Veldman who took some time to show us some ink blending techniques. Now, Ink blending isn't always something I turn to because, frankly, I'm not very good at it... lol! I need some practice. So, instead of blending ink over my entire card front, I made this challenge a little more *me* and made it very clean and simple.

Here's my card:

Alright, folks. Here we go. Here's what I did- I took some plain strips of white cardstock from the stash, free hand cut a few wiggles in them, and then inked them up in several different colors using my ink blending tool. The red is a combo of Pure Poppy and Scarlet Jewel, the yellow-orange is Summer Sunrise, the green  is New Leaf, the blue is a combo of Spring Rain and Enchanted Evening, and the purple is Plum Pudding.

I adhered the strips on top of another scrap piece of white cardstock that I impressed with my Polka Dot Basics impression plate.

The sentiment is from Birthday Basics Sentiments and I had drew the frame around my focal image with my American Crafts 08 Precision Pen!

Love the bright, clean feel of this card while also bringing in the ink blending look! Thanks for looking!

BTW... this is post #97 for me.... I'm doing a very BIG giveaway for my 100th post! Check back soon for more details!!!

My Cute Stamps Monday!

Hi, there! How's everyone doing this fine Monday morning!? I'm here today to share a card I made with my favorite set from My Cute Stamps. This is my final blog post as part of the My Cute Stamps Design Team- I'm very thankful for all the great people I've "met" through this Design Team position! Thanks, ladies! This card also coincides with Heather P.'s new color challenge Totally Hues #4!

Here's the challenge:

And here's my card:

So, I pulled out my favorite My Cute Stamps set Spunky Nature! I stamped the vine/stem image repeatedly with Pumice Stone Distress Ink to make this awesome background. Love it. I'll definitely be using this technique again. Then, I used my blending tool to add some distressing around the edge of the card.

Next, I stamped the vine/stem image again with New Leaf ink, cut it out, and adhered it to the card front with foam tape. The flower image is stamped with Raspberry Fizz ink and layered over the New Leaf stem. I pulled out a Lemon Tart button and some Plum Pudding-ish embroidery floss for the flower center!

Couldn't cover up the gorgeous background with a sentiment so I just stamped it on the inside of the card!

Hope you all love it! Thanks for taking a look today!

Card Patterns Sketch 107!

 Hi, there! Are you guys still with me after all that excitement with the Market Street Stamps! So excited about the beautiful new stamps and, of course, all the great new supplies Market Street Stamps is carrying! I am definitely picking up some of those Distress Stains- they look super cool!

Anyway, I'm here today to share a card I made for the Card Patterns Sketch 107! Had a lot of fun with this one and definitely was channelling SPRING! I decided to pull out some Unity Stamps for this one, too, since they are the sponsor this week!

Here's the sketch:

 And here's my card:

For this one, I pulled out my Unity Itty Bitty Stamp from Webster's called Dream Big. Love this butterfly image- it's just soooo pretty! I added some color to all of the butterflies with Copic's.

The sentiment is from PTI's Daily Designs Sentiments. The beautiful background on the scallop layer is one of my faves from Market Street Stamps, Vintage Wallpaper! It's hard to see, but the Sweet Blush card base also has a BB: Tin Types background stamped in Vintage Cream ink. Soft and subtle.

LOVE this Harvest Gold satin ribbon tied over the Aqua Mist layer- just love that color combination.

Thanks for having a look!

DON'T FORGET!! I'm keeping my eyes open for some great Market Street Stamps projects! Link your projects using Market Street Stamps to the places below for your chance to be the Cream of the Crop and win a $20 GC to Market Street Stamps!!

• Market Street Stamps on Facebook
• Market Streets Stamps on Twitter
• Market Street Stamps Flickr group
• Market Street Stamps SCS gallery (keyword: marketstreetstamps)

CREAM OF THE CROP!

Did you see the announcement over at the Market Street Stamps blog tonight? In addition to the sneak peeks of two more incredible stamp sets, Fashionista and Zebra Print, Angelica announced the start of two new ways you can show us what you're creating with Market Street Stamps! Dobea is heading up a super fun and inspiring challenge (first challenge will be April 6th!) and I will be scouring facebook, twitter, and the MSS flickr group for my favorite projects each month, the CREAM OF THE CROP!!

Here are the details on this super easy to enter contest:

The Cream of the Crop Spotlight is a merit based contest- we're looking for projects that catch our eye, but we also encourage stampers of all skill levels to upload their cards for consideration! We will be looking for projects that are well executed, use Market Street Stamps in a new and fun way, have great use of color, and have amazing overall design. Most importantly, we want to see what you're making!

• Deadline to get your project in will be the last Friday of the month 
• Cream of the Crop Spotlight projects and winners will be announced that weekend!
• Spotlight winners will EACH win a $20 gift certificate to the Market Street Stamps store!
• If you are chosen, in addition to the $20 gift certificate to the Marketplace, your project photos will appear on the MSS blog  (as well as a link to your blog (or gallery if you do not have a blog) !

This month's Cream of the Crop challenge begins on March 25th! You will have until April 29th to share your projects and be in the running for April's Cream of the Crop!

Here are links to places I'll be looking for your projects:

• Market Street Stamps on Facebook
• Market Streets Stamps on Twitter
• Market Street Stamps Flickr group
• Market Street Stamps SCS gallery (keyword: marketstreetstamps)

I can't wait to see what you guys are making with your Market Street Stamps!!

MSS Sneak Peek: Hippie Chic

Okay, guys! I'm back tonight with another sneak peek of the new Market Street Stamps!

Here are the details of the release!

• The March release stamps (4 total- 2 background stamps and 2 stamp sets) will be "sneaked" Monday-Wednesday at 7PM CST!
• The full sets will be revealed on Thursday night!
• Stamps will be available for sale at 10 PM CST that night!
• The March release stamps will be 10% off in the store from March 24th-March 31st!!!
• Purchase all 4 sets and receive 15% off from March 24th- March 31st!!!

And here's my card using the simply gorgeous stamp set: HIPPIE CHIC!

This is truly an amazing set! It has so many fun images and sentiments- it's really going to knock your socks off! I can't wait until you see the whole set!

For this card, I pulled out my Blueberry Sky cardstock and stamped the peace sign included in this set with versamark ink all over the card. Then, I inked up my Bit of Burlap stamp with Smokey Shadow ink and stamped it over top. I really love mixing and matching the images to get exactly the look I am going for! So fun! Then, I inked around the edge of the card with Fresh Snow ink.

I stamped this incredible sentiment with Smokey Shadow ink on a Mat Stack 4 die cut- it fits PERFECTLY! If you have this die, you need this sentiment! I finished the card off with a pretty Plum Pudding satin bow!

I hope you all are enjoying the new release festivities as much as I am!

Don't forget to stop by the Market Street Stamps blog to leave a comment for your chance to win this set!

 

MSS Sneak Peek: Vintage Music

Hi, there! Are you all ready for some new Market Street Stamps! I am! Lots of new stuff happening at Market Street Stamps- you're going to be amazed! 

New Release Details:

• The March release stamps (4 total- 2 background stamps and 2 stamp sets) will be "sneaked" Monday-Wednesday at 7PM CST!
• The full sets will be revealed on Thursday night!
• Stamps will be available for sale at 10 PM CST that night!
• The March release stamps will be 10% off in the store from March 24th-March 31st!!!
• Purchase all 4 sets and receive 15% off from March 24th- March 31st!!!

And here's my card using the amazing background stamp: VINTAGE MUSIC!

Here we go, people... a full A2 size music sheet stamp! I know you want it! I wanted it!

For this card, I stamped the gorgeous music background with Momento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock. Then, I pulled out my Market Street Stamps Follow Your Heart set and stamped three little birdies perched on that music staff. I stamped three more on some scrap white cardstock, colored them with my Copics, cut them out, and adhered the birdies with foam tape over top of the birdies I stamped on the music staff. That way, their cute little legs peek out under the birdie bodies! SO cute!

 I love the bright colors on this one, too. The sentiment is a little sneaky peek of things to come- check back tomorrow for more information on that one!

Don't forget to stop by the Market Street Stamps blog to leave a comment for your chance to win this set!

See you tomorrow!!

Totally Hues Challenge #3

Hi! I'm here today to share the card I made for Heather P.'s latest Totally Hues Challenge! I am LOVING these color challenges- they really make me step out of my comfort zone and have some fun!

Here is the challenge:

And here is my card:

I LOVE the way this turned out! I pulled out my Paper Smooches Pretty Sentiments stamp set for this one and used one of my favorite background stamps, Market Street Stamps Bit of Burlap. I stamped the background with Summer Sunrise, the card base is Orange Zest, the scallop border and notebook pattern (from PTI's Library Ledger set) are Aqua Mist, and the gorgeous satin ribbon is Hawaiian Shores!

Also, how do ya like the new blog design!? I LOVE it- a much needed improvement around here... lol... Erin over at Designer Blogs hooked it up for me- if you stop by, let her know I sent ya!

One more thing before I go- I'm going to be absent the rest of the week! I'm super busy with school, family, and some creative deadlines coming up, but I will see you on Monday with a Market Street Stamps sneak peek (MARCH RELEASE AVAILABLE MARCH 26th!) and some super fun stuff to announce late next week!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great one!

How To Help?

If you are anything like me, you're worried and praying for the people in Japan and wishing you could do more. Holly from My Cute Stamps has a way that you can help while doing something that you love- shopping and stamping!

From Holly's blog, Creating Cupcakes:

My Cute stamps will be donating $7.99 (which is the retail price of this stamp) to the Japanese Relief effort for each Konnichiwa stamp set that is purchased this week. Help us raise some money by letting your friends on Facebook & Twitter know! And thank you for any donations.

Run over and get yours now!

Steph

Card Patterns Sketch 106!

Hi, there! I decided to play along with the latest Card Patterns Sketch this week- I love the sketch and was introduced to this AWESOME challenge blog through my fellow Market Street Stamps design team member Tracy who is also on the Card Patterns Design Team!

Here is the sketch this week:

And here is my card:

I love this one- I made it for my sweet niece and will be sending it her way around Easter time! Some of my favorite patterned paper on this one- PTI's Library Ledger (the aqua pattern) and PTI's Distressed Dots. And I scored around all the edges for a little more detail. The super cute bunny and sentiment are from the Jellybeans set from My Cute Stamps! And I gave up some of my wooden buttons on this one, too- that makes it extra special! Hehe!

A little personal stuff, too, today! Last Wednesday I took a leap and joined Weight Watchers. I'm doing it online, tracking all my food and activity and making some great, healthy changes to my diet. I had started to eat a little bit like a slob... nothing good, pretty much all junk. I already feel better, people. I have so much more energy and have kicked that slugish feeling to the curb. So... here's a peek at what I had for breakfast... yum.... yogurt, berries, and Kashi Go Lean Crunch Honey Almond Flax.... yum... and only 5 points my fellow Weight Watchers.... haha!

Have a fantastic day, everyone!

Steph

Cityscapes Are On the Rise in the Moxie Fab World!

Hi, there! Did you all catch this post over in the Moxie Fab World? If not, run on over and look at the awesome inspirational cityscapes Cath showcased! I knew I had to play along with this challenge as I have an awesome cityscape stamp from the My Cute Stamps set Eek! A Monster.

Here's the card:

I stamped the cityscape on Soft Stone cardstock with True Black ink, then I masked that cityscape and stamped over it again with Smokey Shadow ink and again in Brilliance Silver ink. I love the way the cityscape looks like buildings are peaking through from a distance. Really cool.

Then, I pulled out my Fly Away set from PTI! This cute little plane is perfect to fly over my cityscape with a special Happy Birthday message. I paper pieced it with some PTI Bitty Dot paper and then colored the other details of the plane with my Copic markers.

I stamped a quick row of Polka Dot Basics on the Summer Sunrise card base and then adhered the cityscape panel with foam tape.

Hope ya like it! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving such sweet sweet comments!

Steph

Paper Smooches.... love.....

Hey guys! I know it's been a while.... sorry about that! It turns out that when your son turns 3, you go on a weekend trip, your hubby is off all week, and you're swamped with school work you don't have much time for making stuff and blogging. Again, very sorry I've been absent...

I wanted to stop in real quick before picking Aden up from school to show you this card I made today with some Paper Smooches goodness:

Love these large sentiments from the Pretty Phrases set... love em to death. I've paired this lovely sentiment with some PTI Sweet Symhony patterned paper... another LOVE... and a sweet chocolate brown satin bow. Love the way this one turned out- hope all of you do to!

Thanks so so much for stopping by today! I'm off to pick up Aden at school and get ready for his very first soccer practice! YAY!

Steph



Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger!

Hey! I gotta tell you guys, my mojo needs a kick in the pants... so today while blog browsing and searching for some inspiration, I can across the Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World! It's a gorgeous trigger this week and I decided to play along!

 You see... my beautiful best friend is having a birthday soon and I saw a card the second I saw the inspiration picture so I took a shot.

Here's the card:

Some of my favorite things on this one, people! First things first, the damask... Vintage Wallpaper from Market Street Stamps... brand spankin' new... 10% off until Friday- hurry up, people! I used this lovely background only on the sides of the card front, bordered with a score line on each side. The sentiment panel echoes the same score detail and damask pattern.

Next up, In Bloom from PTI. Love. It's one of my favs and definitely a go-to when I'm in a rut, which I am. I stamped the floral images with Smokey Shadow on Lemon Tart cardstock and then went in with my T1 Copic marker to add some depth. The same with the leaves, but of course on Spring Moss cardstock.

The sentiment is from PTI's Damask Designs set. Very elegant and clean. I added some Raspberry Fizz rhinestones for a pop of color and to acknowledge the pink flower in the inspiration photo.

Here's a close-up of the flower:

Lovely. I think I like it. Hope you do, too!

Thanks for stopping by- I'll be absent for a couple of days- it's my little guys 3rd birthday and we're going to Great Wolf Lodge for a little celebration! I'll let ya know how it was when we get back!

 Have a great week everyone!

Steph