Fun and Mental Changes

LAST CALL TO ENTER MY FAVORITE THINGS BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY!!!! YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO ENTER!!! CLICK HERE FOR DEETS!!! Whew... is she a cutie or what!?!  Seen here is the fairy princess Humphrey from the Crafter's Companion Make A Wish stamp set and I ADORE HER!!!!  I thought this cutie pie would be perfect to showcase what the AWESOME Crafter's Companion Spectrum Noir markers can do.  And to go along with this super fun project, I've also included a little video to show you EXACTLY what I mean.  But first, let me give you a little tour of the Spectrum Noir color system and WHY I say its a SUPER EASY alcohol ink coloring system! And here's the quick tutorial on palette blending for fairy princess Humphrey's tutu.  These markers are rockin my socks off!!!  I hope you all enjoy! Ok, that does it for today. Don't forget to click on the link above for your last chance to enter my favorite things birthday give away... I promise, its really g...

Ok, so after my hair tutorial the other day I thought everyone might appreciate seeing one of those SWALK images completed.  Here is Daydream Believer (AWE.... that makes me think of Davy Jones..... *SNIFF*) using Spectrum Noir markers.  Unlike the lion, this one has a final light coat of color to blend out the "flick" lines.  Click HERE for the full hair tutorial featuring the lion. The colors I used for this cute SWALK girl:  pants  TB1, BT7, BT9  skin  TN1, TN2  hair  TN2, EB4, GB1  shirt/bows  CR6, CR7, CR11  flowers/grass  CT1, CT3, DG1 and DG3. Yep, the coloring on these Crafters Companion SWALK images is fun and easy and they are just so cute.  I'm going to be coloring up more than just a few in the coming weeks!!!

Well, yesterday I shared some of my inspiration with you, today I want to share satisfaction.  I've been given the pleasure of sharing my journey of gaining health and losing weight with the incredible ladies that I work out with at Curves and today I got a clear view at how much more I really get and why it is all worth it. A lady talked to me today about feeling alone in her own weight loss journey with no where to turn for motivation to reach her goals... she was even thinking of quitting altogether.  Boy, did I relate!!!  All I could tell her is about the satisfaction that I receive from my own journey with the wonderful Curves ladies. Reality check:  you HAVE to find your own motivation.  This is nothing someone can give to you.  But the miracle that I have found on the Curves Complete program is that once I tapped into that motivation (just to get myself there), Curves has the support and programs in place that is getti...

Whew.... have I been inspired this week!!!  These new Spectrum Noir markers are a BLAST to color with.  But this particular image inspired me quite some time ago when my blog buddy Melanie of Paper Blessings by Melanie colored this gorgeous Chrissy Armstrong image.  The minute I saw this beauty the quote from Twilight popped in my head:  "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."  I just KNEW I had to color this one.  But I didn't;  I've been sitting on this one for awhile and finally pulled it out for none other than my fellow Spectrum Noir teamies!  We've been in a discussion this week about how the Spectrum Noir markers work for hair.... because Spectrum Noir markers don't have brush nibs.  Well.... hair is sort of my thing and these markers make hair a snap!!!  Really, could there BE a more perfect image to show how these wonderful markers perform?  Check it out!!! I began this gem by coloring in the entire lion using ...

Alright, this one's been a long time comin!!!  I've been sitting on Saturated Canary's Rags and Witch FOREVA!!!  Why I waited until now to color her is beyond me.  Maybe its because something inside me knew that one day I'd get fine nibbed alcohol ink markers.  Welp, that something inside me was RIGHT!!!  And if you've been peeking at my blog over the course of the past few days (cuz that's how long I've had them), you'll see that I'm going CRAZY for the new Spectrum Noir alcohol ink pens.  There are many reasons why I love them and that fine nib is only one.  I honestly did not think I was going to like coloring with a small bullet nib.  Turns out its a bit easier to get into the small tight coloring areas, doesn't color badly in the larger areas like I thought it would and allows me a bit more control.  I'm more than a little surprised at just how much I DO like that smaller nib!!!  And this little witch is proof that the smaller ni...

Ok, as promised!  Here's the Spectrum Noir project I promised you in yesterday's post.  I've got a few more in the works... those will be posted throughout the rest of this week and into next week.  This project features Tiddly Inks' Precious digi along with Create With TLC sentiment.  The paper is from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante line and OF COURSE the markers I used to color this cutie is Spectrum Noir.  List of colors is: Skin TN1, TN2 Dress BT5, BT4, BT6, GB4, GB8, GB10  Hair EB3, EB2 and TN1.  Alright, that does it for today.  I JUST finished the project for tomorrow's post, so stay tuned for that one.  It's quite bewitching.....

Ok you guys... its time for the truth.  I'm gonna bare my soul here!  I was TERRIFIED that I would not be able to color once I got the new Spectrum Noir markers.  For years I've been told how well I color using the Copic brush nib alcohol ink markers and for years I've believed it was because of the tool.  NOW I plunge into the REAL world of coloring.... new markers and different nibs.  Can I do it?  Will the new tool measure up? Okie dokie, see for yourself!!!  Above is a hair and face chart that I practiced on yesterday (thank you for the heads Lori Barnett ).  I started the first head in the top left corner using my Copic brush nib markers.  Then I completed the rest of the heads using Spectrum Noir markers in various color combinations to see if there was a noticeable difference.  Oh, these are pretty darn close, wouldn't you say????  This practice sheet is literally the third time I've colored with these markers (I'll post ...

I FINALLY got them!!!!!  My new Spectrum Noir markers arrived yesterday!!!  I'm super excited to be using these new alcohol ink markers and I'm even more excited for the privilege to play along with Spectrum Noir's design team!!! When I got the news that I had been accepted to the design team, I did a touch-down dance (seriously, I was like full-on in an end zone)... you can imagine how badly I wanted my hot little hands on these new toys.  And at around half the price of other alcohol ink markers, I knew that this new habit was not going to break my bank.  AND LOOK WHAT I DID WITH THEM. The images are from The Greeting Farm Sweet & Toxic set and the angel sentiment is from Tickled Pink Stamps.  The colors that I used for the adorable little girl were: Hair - EB8, TN8, TN5 and CR2 Skin- FS1, FS4, FS9 and PP4 Dress - DR7, DR5, DR1, CR6 and IG1 The colors I used for the boy: Hair - EB6, TN5, TN2 Skin - IG's Jeans - TB4, TB2, BGR4 Shirt - ??? (so...

Are you ready for some chocolate goodness???  What if it was like guilt free?  Well, this one sort of is!!!  I made ANOTHER cake from my new beloved cookbook Make It Paleo and it turned out FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!!  The beauty of this cake is that it is gluten free AND low glycemic!  YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! You all saw my birthday post featuring the gluten free coconut birthday cake I made, well this one is sheer chocolate decadence!!!  Here is how I made it.  At the end I will include a link to the original recipe (I made a few little changes that made this one so very rich and ultra chocolatey). 3/4 Cup coconut flour sifted 1/4 Cup raw cacao powder 1 Tbsp decaf instant coffee granules (optional) 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp baking soda 10 eggs 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 1 Cup pure maple syrup * 1 Cup melted coconut oil Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and set aside.  Blend remaining wet ingredients...

***CLICK HERE TO ENTER MY FAVORITE THINGS BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY!!!***  If I would have known that my birthday would get extended, I would have gone gluten free YEARS ago!  hahahahahahaha!  Here's THIS year's birthday lasagna made for me the day AFTER my birthday.  My husband has made me lasagna for my birthday every year for the past 18 years.  Its one of those traditions that I thought I was going to have to say good-bye to when I first started down this gluten free path.  What I know now, but didn't know then, is that not all pasta contains gluten.  In fact, I think the lasagna this year is better than any of the lasagnas from the past.  Why was THIS one so much better???  Well, for starters, this lasagna is WAY more colorful because along with diced tomatoes, it also has zucchini and spinach.  The pasta ended up being super easy to use because it was a no boil rice noodle.  This lasagna is sheer perfection... and organic too!!!...

***CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN MY FAVORITE THINGS BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY!!!*** Wow!  What an incredible birthday already!!!  So let me give you a little back story for those who may not know.  I am trying to get down to wedding-dress-shopping-weight and started the Curves Complete program at my Curves gym to get me there.  When they called this program "Complete", they were NOT joking!!! This morning I went in to my Curves to take a Zumba class and decided to take a piece of the gluten free birthday cake I made yesterday with a copy of the recipe to my Curves Coach.  She looked at the recipe wide eyed and said, "I bet that you didn't gain a pound from this cake yesterday.  Let's see!  Jump on the scale!"  Now, YESTERDAY was my weekly weigh in, so you know that my current weight was fresh on everyone's mind and I'm not gonna lie here, I just about peed my pants when I stepped up on the scale to find that I lost an additional 2 p...

O....K.....!!! So tomorrow is my birthday and after the MESS that I was last weekend after consuming gluten at a bridal shower, I requested a gluten free birthday cake from my new favorite cookbook, Make It Paleo. Well of course my husband was more than happy to oblige except, since it was going to be my birthday tomorrow, I sort of couldn't wait.  I (as in ME, ME, ME) wanted to be the one to make the first gluten free cake in our house.  I just KNEW it was going to be incredible after all the WONDERFUL deliciousness I've made from this out-of-this-world cookbook.  Yep, I was right!  Check out that little slice of heaven (click on pic to enlarge).  Happy Birthday To Me!!!  This cake is moist, decadent, creamy and most importantly 100% gluten free.  Click HERE for the recipe, or better yet, click HERE to buy the book.  Or even better YET ....  leave a comment on this post for a chance to win one for FREE!!!!   That's right g...

WOWOWOWOW!!!  So I HOPE you all are missin me!  I haven't been posting much lately because I've got my FULL focus on taking this weight off so that I can go wedding dress shopping.  The good news is that its working.  That bad news is, I'm discovering that gluten was the culprit for the problem in the first place!!!! Years ago, after being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, I had a nutritionist tell me that I shouldn't be eating anything containing wheat and should probably stay away from oats as well.  She never explained exactly why or what it was doing to my body, she only said that there was strong evidence that people with chronic fatigue syndrom were sensative to wheat.  Not putting much stock into what I was told... I mean, come on, it wasn't like I broke out in hives or my breathing became restricted (and quite frankly, I didn't believe that I could live without my beloved bread and pasta), I continued eating what I ...