Cooking Classes?

In an attempt to get myself "out there", I've discovered a newly opened chef's store named Charleston Cooks. It is owned by Maverick Kitchens and offers cooking classes! Since becoming addicted to the reality shows, Master Chef and Hell's Kitchen, I've always thought of taking a couple of cooking classes for fun and to learn different techniques to make cooking more fun. Browsing around the internet this morning, I came across the Charleston Cooks website and class offering list. I found quite a few classes I would be interested in, though the price to take a class is a little pricey in my my opinion. But, I think I will go for it and sign up for a few classes anyway. I'm thinking it would be a great way to meet people and get some "adult time" in my busy, kid-filled life.

Maverick Kitchens : Charleston Cooks

My One Little Word...

I have decided to take Ali Edwards' class, One Little Word, from Big Picture Classes. I've been eyeing it for a few years now and attempted at it on my own last year, but I had no luck. I figured if I was prompted every month to work on it then I may have a better chance of accomplishment. My word for this year is "SIMPLE". There is so much confusion, chaos and craziness in everyday life that sometimes we need things to be more simple. That is why I chose this word. I want things in my life to be more simple.

Halloween's Printer Tray

I received this printer's tray and exclusive Halloween kit from Stampin' Up. It was only offered to new recruits and their uplines in the month of August. I decided to signup again as I still love to use SU products. Most likely, I'll be strictly a hobby demo although I do make cards for sale if anyone is interested. I'm getting ready to start my Christmas cards.

All of the products used in the tray were contained in a kit, which included the Stampin Up set Toxic Treats. The only supply I had to use was Old Olive and Basic Black inks. I put the kids school pictures in the frame. I plan on changing out the seasons so the tray can be re-used year 'round.

Flower Power Simply Sent

While I was going through my craft supplies, I found this old SU Simply Sent Elements kit I received as a demo a few years ago. It was stashed away in a hidden spot and I decided to make some cards with it. The stamp set that was supposed to be used was Wow Flowers, but I don't know what happened to that set or if I even had it at all. The good thing about having a lot of stamps is that you can always find a substitute stamp set that will work.

So for these three cards I used two SU sets - Made for You and the retired set Time Well Spent. The kit contained all the card stock and embellishments needed to make 3 cards of each design. I ran out of the white grosgrain from the kit, so I just used some that I had in my ribbon stash. (Gotta love the ribbon stash.) "Thank You" was stamped in Perfect Plum, "Especially for You" in Gumball Green and the "Good Thing" sentiment in Old Olive. All products SU unless otherwise noted.

Birthday Thank You's

My son's birthday was July 16 and I was in need of some Thank You cards. This is the first card I have made in a while - at least 3 months. The sketch is from Splitcoast Stampers SC39. I thought the layout was simple enough since the card is really from a child and that I like Clean and Simple cards.

I dug into my stash of retired stamp sets and found this one - Wild About You - which happens to be a set my son liked to use a lot. He doesn't stamp much anymore; he'd rather play with his Gameboy or surf the Internet.

The grid card stock is from amuse studio and the rest is all by Stampin Up. The sentiment is Studio G and the Tag Die is from Papertrey Ink. Twine came from my stash.

Dessert

We have been watching Master Chef every week and are getting into it a lot. Many times we see something being prepared and say "I want that now". This week, Josh came back for a second chance in the competition and earned a spot. He made the most stunning Fruit Tart. Yep, we all wanted a fruit tart so I made one yesterday. It came out perfect!

Paper Organizing

I've got two file crates with card stock arranged by color families from 2 different stamp companies. So, I've decided some purging and re-organizing is needed. If I can actually see the card stock then I may be able to choose the colors I want to use. Much better idea for my creative mojo.