the.amanda.sewell

Tonight I took DD to see Disney On Ice - Disney Princess Wishes at United Airways Center in Phoenix. I bought front row seats for her, for her 5th birthday, which is next week. We had a great time together. She is too funny! She wanted to dress up so we got a Little Mermaid costume for her and it was so cute! We got many sweet compliments on her costume. There were TONS of other little girls dressed up as their favorite princesses. DD had never had cotton candy before, or at least not for a long time, and so we got her some. She was nervous to taste it because it felt weird, but once she went for it, she loved it and did not stop eating it. I was impressed because Disney Princess Wishes Vendor had included a wet wipe to clean off your kids hands afterward! SO SMART!!! We also got a keepsake program (with some awesome pictures of the show in it) and it came with a princess rose. The show was fantastic. I was especially impressed with The Little Mermaid part of the show w

Today's challenge looked like fun! I do not have a ton of acrylic paints, but I did have a few colors from various projects I have done in the past. I decided to use one that was very similar to Wild Wasabi (one of SU current "in color" colors). I absolutely LOVE this color. I mixed it with white on a plastic plate and then pressed a quarter sheet of acetate into it. I was expecting to like the non painted side, but I ended up preferring the painted side. I colored a bella image (thanks K2) and designed the card around her. The base of the card is actually whisper white although it is hard to see that in this photo. Stamps : Beachabella, Karen Foster Design Snap Stamps - Tiny Casual Paper : Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi Ink : Timber Brown Staz On Accessories : Crayola colored pencils, gamsol, blending stumps, Singer sewing machine, brown thread, SU oval punches, Taupe ribbon (5/8ths and 3/8ths inch), pop dots, redline tape, acetate, acrylic pain

I have not made cupcakes for awhile and I thought it sounded like fun to do this morning. I bought a new cupcake book called 500 Cupcakes. The two I tried today are the Mint Chocolate ones and the Lemon Meringue ones (actually called Key Lime but I switched and used lemon juice and made them lemon meringue). They both were actually quite yummy! Enjoy drooling. Lemon Meringue Cupcakes (A variation of Key Lime Cupcakes) for the cupcakes 1 c. (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened 1 c. sugar 2 c. self rising flour 4 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla for the filling 1/3 c. lemon juice 14. oz can sweetened condensed milk for the meringue 3 egg whites 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar 1/3 c. granulated sugar DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans. Place all the cupcake ingredients in a large bowl and beat for about 2-3 minutes. Spoon batter into cups and bake 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and remove cupcakes to cool further on a rack. For the filling, combine the lemo

Spring brings changes and I have decided to work on a new blog header . . . but since my skillz are not amazing in designing, it might be a couple days until you see it on my blog . . . but in the mean time, enjoy what I plan will be the new color scheme for my blog . . . of course, don't get too used to it, I might change my mind . . . who knows . . .

I got the Pottery Barn catalog in the mail the other day and I decided to use some of the color combinations to make some cards. I was looking for a way to start making more spring color combinations . . . hope you like them. The first color combination was wild wasabi, barely banana , kraft and chocolate chip . It seemed really fresh and fun! This card also whipped up really quick - super simple . . . the daffodil heads are popped up on pop dots and are cut out of barely banana. Stamps : Sentiment by River City Rubber Works, SU Beautiful Life Paper : Barely banana, Kraft, wild wasabi, chocolate chip, whisper white (SU) and Designer paper by Lasting Impressions. Ink : Timber Brown Staz On, SU Classic Wild wasabi Accessories : Brown polka dot ribbon, singer sewing machine, brown thread, pop dots, large brown brads This combination was inkspired a little bit by the catalog (this gorgeous sheet set), and a little bit by the striped paper that I had in my collection of 12x12

Okay, have you ever had one of those days when things are just not quite working out on every card you make. Well today is that day for me. This is about version three of this card for WT149 . . . I kept smudging when I was coloring, messing up color wise, basically not being able to stamp well. EEEK! Anyway, this color combination idea came from a card I saw on AJ's (willosmama) blog. These colors do actually match - the silver is hard to see mixed in on the blue, but it makes it a lot lighter looking in real life. . . I embossed clear over black staz on in the background, and then I alcohol inked over top with denim and silver mixative. Sentiment is by My Sentiments Exactly. I punched it out using my SU word window punch. Oh and you might recognize the layout -- it is from the card sketch from yesterday. Stamps : Hanna But I Need It, Sentiment by My Sentiments Exactly Paper : Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Sierra Sand Ink : Staz On Black, Bashful Blue Accessories : Silver B

It has been a long time since I have done a double challenge. I really like the colors this week for the challenge and knew I would use them. I discovered that they go rather nicely with Cosmo Cricket Dutch Girl paper, so if you have some of that on hand, you have some quick matching designer paper. I hope you have visited Hanna Stamps design team blogs recently and met the adorable Riley Moose! If not, what are you waiting for. Did you get the Hanna Celebration Set this month? I sure hope so, and hopefully you are already creating wonderful spunky cards with it, and kissing up a storm with those adorable lip prints . . . Hanna is back with her long hair again and ready to clean house. You are so in for a treat with this set . . . I love it! It is perfect to send to a girlfriend because only they relate to how much we hate housework *grins* This set will be released sometime soon, so keep watching the Hanna Stamps site! Sentiment is by River City Rubber Works. I ordered a few

My friend Jaime (my roomie in college) and her husband Jay came into town for a quick visit. They were picking up their brand new TV and stayed the night with us. It was super fun to see them. I seriously had not seen Jay in like over a year -- but he is still alive afterall. We stayed up way too late talking, playing, and laughing! I sure wish they lived closer *pouts* We had a yummy dinner out and played some Nintendo Wii. I *heart* the wii. We did cow racing, tennis, marbles and lots of Guitar Hero. We discovered that Jaime ROCKS at Guitar Hero -- seriously, on her first try she was doing amazing and got through the song. Super impressive!!! Oh and Jay has whammy bar skillz. *giggles* Oh and the boys played boxing (see pictures below) for a whole 36 minutes . . . silly boys! I think they had fun though. Then they both passed out on the floor. *giggles* Hope their muscles weren't too sore the next day -- wii boxing can be quite the workout. I love this picture beca

I had to do one more today. Why? Because 1 ) It is the weekend and I never get time to play because DH and the kids keep me hopping and doing fun stuff, and 2 ) Kraftie Kimmie has a contest on her blog to win a Tilda, and I had to make an entry!!! I had lots of fun with this one. The color combination came from Scraptitude and I found the paper in my collection of 12x12's to match it - kind of. Since it did not match perfectly, I used some of my prismas to gently color over the flowers that were not quite right in colors that matched. (I know, that is scarily AR and yes, I am getting help for it *giggles*) The other cool thing I did on this card is I took a Heidi Swapp ghost flower mini and embossed it in clear and dipped it in some of my Art Institute glitter (green - although it looks kind of gold in the close up). Then I punched a hole in it using my cropodile (which went through it so easily) and added the small prima flower on top and a brad. I think it is a really cut

All week I have been wanting to get some stamping time in, but my body would not let me and I would crash shortly after putting the kids to bed each day. Well, last night I made myself stay up. I ate a brownie with frozen yogurt and caramel sauce (OMGosh so yummy) and watched Greys Anatomy (a NEW one which was SO good). Then I went in my office and milled around and blog hopped for about ten minutes trying to figure out what to do and then I remembered all the tabs I had left open on my computer with challenges that I wanted to do . . . I started stamping. My Magnolia stamps have been calling my name! I only managed to finish one card - but it turned out pretty! It was for CC148 which was wild wasabi, barely banana and blue bayou (or bordering blue). These colors just screamed Easter to me, so I went with it, even though it is still quite a ways away. I blame it on my local JoAnn's store who not only had Valentine stuff out when I was in there yesterday, but also all sorts

So it occurred to me that living in a new house and meeting new people, it *might* be good to have an address book so I can make note of new friends information and stay in contact with them. DUH! I came across this one as I was browsing blogs, and thought it was a perfect excuse to figure out my Bind It All -- that I just had to have a few months ago. I seriously have felt intimidated by the Bind It All -- but as I started to play with it, it got easier and easier. I made my covers 1/8th an inch larger than the 3x5 index cards, but I also cut off part of the address cards to make the tabs sit on the inside of the book, so they turned out to be 3x4.5 index cards on the inside. This size is perfect to tuck into any purse. I used 5/8th inch coils in brown. This paper came from a stack (like the DCWV ones - in fact I am pretty sure that is who it is by) . It had the cover ripped off when I bought it at Hobby Lobby and I cannot find a label on it anywhere. I used Cameo Coral (SU) c

So the other day I was browsing around Michaels (I actually went in to get some Wilton cupcake stuff for DD's birthday coming up soon as well as for Valentines day) and came across some Christmas gift card holder tins that were on clearance for only 40 cents each. I immediately thought they were a steal and knew they would be perfect for nuggets or whatever and at that price you cannot resist. I only bought a few because I recently organized my alterables into groups in big bins (paper, glass, tins, goodies) and I *may* have a bazillion tins to alter . . . DOH! Anyway, they are absolutely perfect for nuggets, just like I thought they would be! I am tempted to go back and get more (but you didn't hear me say that *wink wink*). I used Jody's altering Elvis tin tutorial to try and take off the image on it, but I figured out as I was doing this that the side edges were really hard to sand off AND I planned on covering the top, so really only that little corner part between

It is hard to believe DH and I have been married for six years already! NUTS! Who would have thought it would work out so well with DH and I who eloped to Vegas after only dating a couple of months . . . I guess we just knew it was right. I think I had the best anniversary ever this year. DH really did it right. He got me a wonderful "candy" gift from brownies.com (well from the actual store which is in Phx, AZ close to where he works: Fairytale Brownies ) -- he got me the Fairytale Deluxe which comes in the most gorgeous box and so far I have tried two of the brownies and they are absolutely to die for. OMGosh and SO rich. Glass of milk definitely required!!! I made DH a candy cake with Reese's PB cups. I covered two pieces of styrofoam with scrapbook paper. Then I used terifically tacky tape and adhered the candy bars to the edges of the foam. After I completed a layer, I tied a ribbon around it to keep it all together. I made the big bow on top using sheer

A few days ago my DH emailed me to let me know about a fun event that would be happening today: **************************** World famous Budweiser Clydesdales to appear in Maricopa Friday Maricopa, Ariz. (Jan. 2, 2008) - The world famous Budweiser Clydesdales, the symbol of quality and tradition for Anheuser-Busch since 1933, are scheduled to make an appearance in Maricopa on Friday, January 4, 2008. From 12 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., the eight-horse Hitch will travel from Bashas' to Fry's Food Store and finish at City Hall (see schedule below). Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc. is sponsoring this visit from the Budweiser Clydesdales. The Clydesdales' appearance in Maricopa is one of 300 made annually by the five traveling Hitches. Canadians of Scottish descent brought the first Clydesdales to America in the mid-1800s. Today, the giant draft horses are used primarily for breeding and show. Horses chosen for the Budweiser Clydesdale Hitch must be at least three years of age, stand

I am so excited that you will be able to buy the Sweet Celebrations set so soon. I have been getting such a positive response to the things I have made with it and I know that quite a few of you are excited to buy this one! You can now see the whole set on the Hanna Stamps site. Today I decided to make a Valentine for a friend. For the chipboard tag, I stamped Hanna and colored her using my ink pads and aquapainter. I made her a blond this time just for fun! I stamped lots of the little background chocolate stamps in a collage like fashion, on a piece of whisper white and did two step stamping with the lips. I stamped tiny hearts in pixie pink. The sentiment is by Inkadinkadoo -- I have had it for awhile and thought it would be perfect on here. The ribbon is some I picked up the other day at Recollections. I still cannot believe that they are closing all their stores. I am enjoying the sales though. Paper is Diecuts With A View - Pink Stripe. I plan to add some crystal effect

It was so super fun looking at all the Hanna Stamps Design team blogs yesterday, but I have to say that my absolute favorite card that I saw was Sherry's. It seriously made me laugh out loud. Click HERE to see it! On to todays fun card -- As per yesterdays confession, I did a wee bit of stitching on this card too! The colors for this card came from the polka dots on the background paper. I cannot remember the last time I used going grey as a base for my card, and I really like it! Hanna is colored with prismacolor pencils and gamsol. I added a little bling (swarovski crystal) at the neckline of her dress because she is that kind of a gal! He handbag was colored with pink first and then I put a layer of magenta colored stickles over it. I used my target $1 spot heart punch (I think I picked that up last year around Valentines day) and then I had some fun heart shaped brads from making memories and I put them over the punched hearts. The lips are stamped by me in pixie pi