Vintage Vanity Case for Your Inner Diva!

Does anyone else remember when all luggage was hard-sided, and you (or your mom) packed all of your make-up and personal items in one of these:

Well, armed with Vintage Ephemera Sets from Gecko Gals and my arsenal of Helmar Adhesives, my vanity case now looks like this:

And what will be stored in my new Diva Case you ask? Well of course.........

Actually, I will store all of my make-up and brushes in this case and keep it on my vanity table!

On this project, I used Helmar Decopauge Medium, Acrylic Sealer, 450 Quick Dry (all trims) Fray Stoppa (on ends of satin ribbon wrapped around handle) and Liquid Scrap Dots (for rhinestones on latch).

Thanks for stopping by today!

Shelly

Cookbook Winner!!

Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting on your fave recipes! And for those that have not tried any of Ree's delicious recipes, you need to get on over to her blog (thepioneerwoman.com)!
I toyed with the idea of giving the book to someone who had the same fave recipe as me, but in order to do that, I would have had to given a sealed envelope to a trusted person containing this information.But I didn't think of this until tonight. But, just so you know, so far my 2 fave PW recipes are the Marlboro Man Sandwich and Hot Crash Potatos (the latter not technically a PW recipe, but is from her blog and everytime I make them people RAVE!!!)

But before I announce the winner of the cookbook, I am going to RAK 2 other posters with fun kitchen gear:Sugar and Spice from Hawaii - cause she loves Hot Crashed Potatos and A Girl and 3 boys 'cause I kinda diss'd her hometown of Torrance (although I didn't mean to!). If you 2 chicks would get your mailing info to me - - I will send out a really fun kitchen gadget this week!

So.....on to the winner.........and the magic number is 29! Standby while I go count comments. Ok. I am back - our winner is: DALAYNEY'S DOODLES!Mailing info should be sent to: skhsimmons@gmail.com . Thanks again, I hope you stop back by for future ramblings and giveaways!

The Big Pioneer Woman Cookbook Giveaway!!

In late 2009, the cookbook I had been waiting for was finally available:

And Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman - went on a book signing tour!

I relentlessly stalked her blog, waiting for updates on her book signing stops. Really, who WOULDN'T want to make a stop in San Diego?

But alas, my city did not make the cut.

HOWEVER, she did have a stop scheduled for Torrance California. Really? Torrance?? Over San Diego?? I don't care where you are from - - San Diego trumps any spot in Los Angeles for any kind of stop-over!

But then.......the planets came into alignment and the angels sang ("aaaaahhhhhh.....")....my niece had a cheer competition that coincided with the book signing within a 15 minute drive of Torrance California on November, 22 2009!

We left San Diego at the crack of dawn to attend the cheer competition, after the awards ceremony we all piled into my mom's car (including my niece's unsuspecting friends who thought they were only coming along to watch the competition...MUUUHAAAAAHAHA!) and drove to the Border's Book Store in Torrance, California for a book signing that was to begin at 5pm.

We were among the lucky to be allowed to wait in line for 3 hours, and I am not being sarcastic - - so many people were turned away, I was so excited knowing that I would get a signed copy of the cookbook from the woman who made me a Goddess in the eyes of my husband by using her recipes!

I didn't mind, heck we were in my favorite place, a book store, I could pull books off the shelves and read them to my hearts content.

However, the half hour I spent in front of the book section containing the books about planes sucked.

I am so sorry for anyone out there who shares their life with someone obsessed and interested in all of the technical aspects of planes. No offense intended, but BLECH! Really, I can usually find something interesting in any printed form - - but this section - - NOTHING!

A side note about the other people in line: really, REALLY?? you couldn't walk 2 feet or even attempt to toss your trash into the available recepticles, but instead chose to leave your half eaten croissants and half full coffee cups among the shelves of new books?? That was just nasty! Who raised you? I threw away trash all along the line leading up to Ree.I hate litterbugs!

We got bored in lineSo we just kept taking pictures and it was then I noticed how greasy my bangs were at the end of the day. Fabulous! "Hi Ree! Love your recipes! I just squeeze the grease out of my bangs to cook!"

Well, my sister swears they were not that bad....

She's a LIAR!

We finally got our chance to meet Ree. She really is a cutie-patootie in real life.

And she really is funny - as evidenced by this photo:

She is also quite profound - apparantly - as evidenced by this photo:

What you really need to know is that she is just how you imagine her to be from reading her blog!

Thank you, Ree!!

I bought 2 copies of PW's cookbook this night - one for myself, and one for......WHO?? She was so gracious when signing her cookbooks, here is how she inscribed my books:

Notice the 2nd one??
So there you go. I pondered gifting this to a relative or friend, but really, if you don't know who PW is? Can you really appreciate this??

So I have decided to instead gift it to a stranger. A fan of PW. Someone who will be thrilled to have a signed copy and appreciate it! Someone who loves butter!!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post naming your fave PW recipe.

I will choose a winner on next Wednesday, April 14th -International posters are okay, too! I am not going to ask that you follow my blog, but I hope this post will make you aware of my blog and decide to check back now and again!

Checking in from the Happiest Place on Earth

I know you are probably thinking I am talking about my scrap room, but I am actually at Disneyland this weekend for our grandson's birthday. Today California Adventure, tomorrow The Magic Kingdom!



I have so much blogging to catch up on - - the first 3 months of 2010 have been crazy busy, so be prepared for a flurry of posts!



Today I have a post up on the Helmar USA Design Team Blog - I created some garden stakes in anticipation of planting some veggies. I use the Helmar Acrylic Sealer - which gives a nice antiqued/vintage look and also offers some protection from the elements. You can check out my project here: Garden Stakes



Challenge #67 (School Days) is up at "A True Friend" - - if your pet went to school, what would his/her fave subject be - the DT has come up with some great, creative and funny layouts! Check it out here: A True Friend Challenge #67 And be sure to come back to ATF as we have some sponsors set up to provide some amazing prizes for our challenge participants!



I was asked to be on the Design Team at Treasured Scrapbooking to finish out the term for a DT Member who had to resign - I am over the moon about this - - Erin and I have very similar tastes and I adore her kits! Come check me out!


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Shelly (aka Reel Girl)

A BIG THANK YOU and a WINNER!

Thanks so much to all of you who came and left such nice comments here during this weekend's Helmar Blog Hop! I had a lot of fun coming up with my topiary project and I look forward to our next Blog Hop!

The winner of the Helmar Gemstone Glue is:

Gail C said...
Can you see these in every spring color out there lining the walkway when the Easter bunny comes??Gotta get crackin" to make that many!! Thanks for sharing.
March 21, 2010 1:39 PM

And doesn't that sound like a cute idea for Easter?! Congrats, Gail! If you do end up doing this project, would love to see a picture!

Be sure to check back over at the Helmar Blog for the Grand Prize Winner!

I hope you will stop by later this week for a slide show of recent projects!

Shelly

WELCOME HELMAR BLOG HOPPERS!

Good Morning and thanks for playing along in the Helmar Blog Hop. You should have found your way here by way of Becky's Blog - to get all the details on our blog hop start at the Helmar Blog.

We each got to choose what Helmar product we wanted to highlight - - I am a girl who loves all things glitzy and blingy - so Helmar Gemstone Glue was the natural choice for me!

It goes on white, but dries COMPLETELY CLEAR. It is also washable, I enjoy adding rhinestone detailing to dishtowels for a little extra WOW - nice to not have to worry about the gems falling off!

I have created this topiary centerpiece for my Easter table to show off the Gemstone Glue.
The head of my topiary is made of muffin pan liners (from the Dollar Store) folded to look like carnations. I then brushed gemstone glue on the edges and dipped into White Clearsnap Glitter
I attached the glittered carnations to the styrofoam ball using Helmar Acid Free Glue.

I painted my terra cot pot yellow and added clear and yellow flat backed glass stones with gemstone glue. My dowel stick is wrapped in a white embossed ribbon, and I poured plaster of paris into the pot to hold my topiary.

Be sure to leave a comment here for a chance to win my favorite Helmar product - Gemstone Glue - for yourself! And don't forget at the end of the hop to hop back over to the Helmar Blog for a chance at the Grand Prize!

Now get on over to Pinky's Blog for a project that is sure to blow you away!

P.S. Did you know that Helmar is now on Facebook? Fan us!

The County Fair, A Blue Ribbon and Some Scrap Projects!

I created a slide show featuring the recent layouts I have completed for the Challenges at A True Friend My fave out of this bunch is the Dr. Seuss inspired layout! The current challenge is to use a quote on your layout - we were sponsered by Papermania - received gorgeous kits that were just full of fabulous pet scrapping goodies! They have even generously provided 2 kits for us to give to a couple of participants, so I hope you will pop over and check out the beautiful work by the design team and check out the layouts already linked up by readers!


The San Diego County Fair is currently running here at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I entered a scrapbook layout in the Fair Theme catagory in the home and hobby show and received a Blue Ribbon - Yay! This year's theme is "Music Mania" and I created a layout with photos from the Toby Keith concert and included my My TK International Fan Club card on the layout!

It only took $20 and the help of my niece, her friends and my mom to win this (homage to Sheldon the Wonder Turtle - it sits next to his tank!)

And here we are, intent on winning!

Thanks for stopping by!

Life is good.....

So much to update! I am going to use this post to highlight a few of the things going on in my life right now that are keeping me busy!

I was thrilled to be asked to be the the Guest Designer for June at Citrus Tree Studio (http://www.citrustreestudio.com/) I was given the "Easy Rider" kit to work with - a palette of teal, red, white and black and including a lot of Glitz products! This kit totally called out to the collage maker in me!

I hope you will drop by Citrus Tree, a really cool group of chicks hang out there!

Here are my first creations with this fab kit:



I am happy to brag about my nephew, Trevor. At 18, he has recently graduated from the Northwest Lineman College in Meridian, Idaho and has accepted an apprenticeship position with a company just outside of Dallas, Texas. So tomorrow he is off to his new life with his girlfriend who will be attending dental school. We had a going away party yesterday for them both, gifting them with things they would need to set up their first home away from their parents. Here is a link to a video Trevor created highlighting his time at NLC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChH_E-C3akI

THE GOOD LIFE......
Lastly, thanks to some really good friends, we were able to spend the first 3 days of this week at a condo in Palm Desert - the good life! I sunned by the pool each day, Danny golfed everyday. We had some FABULOUS meals, and I even sneaked out while Danny was napping one day to peruse thrift stores and came home with the incredible treasures pictured. The scary bunny pitcher was a mere $4.00 and the cake stand with dome only $15.00 (I can't wait to fill that dome with little white pumpkin gourds at Halloween!)




Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for a major slide show of pet themed layouts that I have recently completed for A True Friend!

As God as my witness, I will never use a glue stick again!

So, I grabbed a large stack of layouts the other day so I could put them into albums. As I walked towards my scrap table, the stack tilted a bit and then........a storm of alphas and embellishments dropped onto the floor. UGH. I have used every glue stick on the market, but I have never found one that actually worked as a permanent adhesive! So I just set the stack of layouts and miscellaneous embellies to the side - I just can't face the repair work right now!

But I ain't messing around next time - - everything is going to be attached with my Helmar glues!!

P.S. I threw every glue stick in my scrap room into the trash!

Some Scrapbook Updates......

So, with too much work going on, I had been in kind of a scrappy slump. But recently I think my mojo has come back.

A new challenge is up at A True Friend (Challenge Blog for Pet Lovers!) I had a lot of fun with Challenge #41 - Grooming - My layout is about the "Peticure" tool from the informercial on TV. Yeah, I love informercials! My layout is here, I hope you will pop over and check out the others - - they are so fun!

Another recent pet layout I completed "Mad Cat" was named as "Design Team Layout of the Day" over at Treasured Scrapbooking (my online home!) today. This is always such a great boost! Especially when you are chosen by a scrapper you really admire like Pinky - check out her blog for some awesome inspiration!

And lastly, back in January, I was invited to an online crop over at Citrus Tree Studio by an online friend and really enjoyed it! So started visiting there a lot more often. I even threw my hat into the ring for their design team call. Although I didn't make the Spring/Summer Design Team - I will be one of the guest designers for this term, and I am super excited about that! They do have delicious kits, but equally important, the DT and message board are very friendly and open - - this always bodes well for good customer service - hope you get a chance to check them out.

Getting my free time back....

With the ending of the regular NFL season (which means no more football pool!) and a change in jobs, I am getting my free time back!

I have been focusing on really learning my camara (Canon Rebel Xti) and taking better pictures. Colleen's family gave me an online photo class for Christmas through Perfect Picture School of Photography (ppsop.com) on Pet Photography, and I am absolutely LOVING IT!

Colleen, mom and I met with a group of photogs from the San Diego Photo Forum website last week for a group shoot in Old Town and Presidio Park. I took along Copper to use as a model for my first class assignment - natural light.

I have also started scrapbooking again! Completed my first layout since November! That's the longest I have EVER gone. Glad to be back at it and I will be adding a slide show here with my favorite layouts.

CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Winter is coming up in Anaheim at the end of this month - I look forward to getting all the inside scoop from my friend Tracy who will be manning the Helmar Adhesive Booth (check out their blog-the designers are fab!)

http://helmarusa.typepad.com/blog

Well, there's my quick update for now! If you are a turtle-lover, check back in the next day or so - - I just went on a shopping spree at PetSmart today (shhh! don't tell my husband!)& will be posting some pics of Sheldon the Wonder Turtle and his tank.

Love that little guy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Creations Part I

I am furiously working on Christmas gifts! All the kids in my family will be getting a softie pet from me this year. Martha Stewart featured the book "Sock and Glove" by Miyako Kanamori over the summer and I absolutely fell in love with the little dog they made on the show. The book is available on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Sock-Glove-Creating-Charming-Cast-Off/dp/1557885168) and I highly recommend it!

You don't need a lot of sewing expertise and there are 13 different projects in the book.

Here are my first set of softie dogs.


Tomorrow I will be working on a Panda Bear and cat!

Other projects I am working on (and will post instructions for) are photo transfer tiles with a crackle finish, place mats made from hand dyed fabric (much easier than it sounds!) and a holiday throw pillow with a cute felt applique!

So check back each week to see which project I am working on - - all of my projects can be created in a weekend!

The cast of characters....

So that you can all keep up (because I do refer to them all a lot), here is the run down on the animal members of my household.



Please note that at any given time, we may also be harboring furry guests for vacationing friends & family.

Elephant the Cat

Named by my niece, Kayleigh while she was going through a very “concrete” period in her young life when it came to naming things...Elephant was born grey – hence Elephant. His littermate was striped – was named Tiger. And then there was her turtle – Green Apple. I believe this concrete period coincided with the period in which she asked my sister to have her name changed to “Rainbow Fish”.

Elephant was MY cat until I started dating my now husband. Now, if Danny is around – I am invisible.

Peetie

Emotionally, very needy. He is a momma’s boy. He also has a severe “cookie” addiction.

It’s a problem.

HATES it when we dog sit!






Copper




Peetie’s littermate. She is a very sweet, lovey little girl. She only has 3 legs and she always has a look on her face like someone just yelled at her or beat her - - but that is the look she has always had – even when she had 4 legs.
She is a Daddy’s girl.
Her nickname is "CRAZY!"

Henry
My husband’s prized German Shorthair Pointer. This is definitely a man’s man dog! He hunts with my husband and basically worships the ground he walks on - - following him everywhere around the house and even waiting for him outside the bathroom door.

LOVES it when we dog sit!

Sheldon the Wonder Turtle

My 9 month old Red Ear Slider - - my newest obsession! Turtles ROCK!