Happy New Year!

Wishing you and yours a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011. Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Creativity Bugs ~ Sandy & Sue

Who took my mojo?

Please tell me that I am not the only one this happens to. I am busy all day long for one reason or another. As I work, all kinds of good ideas just floating through my brain. When will I get a break to actually work on a project? How many more minutes, hours days? Then out of the blue a magical few hours open up in my day. No hubby (big honey) and no child (little honey) to bother me.

Where do I begin? What do I do first? Then it happens. I stand there looking at my hundreds, okay probably close to a thousand dollars worth of craft supplies and I’m dumbfounded. I stare and I stare and I have NO flipping clue what to work on. Could it be that I have too many projects? Do I have too many crafts? Do I have just too much of everything? So, what is a multi tasking, overworked, under appreciated crafting mom to do?

Well, here is what I did. I surfed the web and bookmarked a few hundred more projects to work on and called it a day. Or more like, my family put in end to it. Little honey came back from her play date and big honey came home from work. So, it was back to making dinner, clearing the table and probably more cleaning. I’ll work on those projects one day. I promise! Until then I guess I will just dream about the next time I have a few hours to myself and see if I actually get something done.


Creativity Bug ~ Sandy

Pounce on over.... Collar Craze

It is Tuesday Pounce Day with the Estian Newbie team and today the Creativity Bugs have chosen Collar Craze as our personal pounce shop. As pet lover to our brood of 2 cats (Poofy and Annie) and 1 dog (KeeKee) collectively, this store caught our eyes.

Collar Craze is owned by Lynsie, the mom to 3 dogs - 2 Labradors, Thumper and Ditto, and 1 Great Dane, Ximmy. She also has 4 cats, Kit-ten, Banshee, OnzaPous and ReignaPous. She started making collars for Ximmy because it is very hard to find large enough collars to fit a Dane and  had so much fun making them that she decided to sell some.

The collars are made with expert craftmanship in a number of different designs and fabris. They fit neck sizes 16 - 22", but special orders in different sizes are always welcome.

For the masculine dog, why not check out the Brown Collection - Paw Print Martingale Collar

For the female dog, our favorite is the Pink Zebra Striped Martingale

So adorably modeled!

So take a moment to sit back and online shop at Lynsie's Collar Craze.

The Creativity Bugs ~ Sandy & Sue

Chicken What? Chicken Bog!

Last year at Christmas my sister-in-law and I helped out her mom for Christmas dinner. I made this delicious Emeril’s Stuffing and she was going to make something called Chicken Bog. She lives in South Carolina and apparently this is as common as, I don’t know; hotdogs and pizza to us Midwest folks. Her husband loves this stuf!. It looks like something you would find in that Annie movie that they fed the orphans. It looks bland and so unappealing, but this stuff is heaven on a plate, or bowl in our case. The spicy melded with the cooling rice. De-lic-ious!

Here is the recipe tweaked from Paula Deen’s original Chicken Bog recipe.

Ingredients

• 4-5 chicken breasts

• 1 pound smoked link sausage

• 2 links andouille sausage (I used Trader Joes chicken andouille)

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 3 tsp butter

• 1-2 gloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt (recommended: Lawry's)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 cups water
• 3 cups raw white rice

Directions

Slice the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. In a stockpot, sauté butter, onion and crushed garlic until just translucent. Next combine the chicken, sausage, seasonings and bay leaves. Add the water, bring to a boil, cover, and cook at a low boil for 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool slightly. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Add the rice to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring well. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the rice is done. Remove the bay leaves, and return the chicken to the pot.

This can be transferred to a crock pot to keep warm. My in-laws love to throw some hot sauce of their choosing into their bowls.

We have slowly been introducing what we have now pegged as “Bog” to our neighbors and friends. The Bog craze is sweeping the Midwest, or at least our little corner of Illinois/Wisconsin border.

Creativity Bug ~ Sandy

New Years Eve with Laura Denison

Calling all you paper crafters! Need something to do on New Years Eve? Then join Scrapadabadoo and Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail as they host 5 hours of Ustream fun December 31st starting at 7 pm PST.

Here are the details from the Scrapdabadoo blog:

We are excited to say we are teaming up with Laura to make New Year's Eve Fabulous and Fun. We will be doing live give aways with those of you who are chatting, but for those of you who are faithful followers, have no fear we will still be doing random drawings that will include you too.
 
If you are interested in participating and entering the drawing send an email to scrapadabadoo@comcast.net with the following information: name, e-mail address, country, and a message saying "add me to the fun".

Hope you can join in on the fun!

The Creativity Bugs ~ Sandy and Sue

Etsy Shop is coming!

For all of those followers that noticed very little blog posts in November and December, it was due to a new venture being started by the Creativity Bugs. Currently under construction and ready for business Jan 2011 is our Etsy shop called CreativityBugs.

We will still  be showing products, demos, challenges, how-to's and more on our blog, but will also post links to items that you can purchase from our Etsy shop. The shop will include paper crafting gifts, crafting supplies, project kits, handmade doll accessories (that fit American Girls), hair/fashion accessories, handmade cards, holiday items, and a kids corner.

Look for an announcement coming soon for the grand opening!

Creativity Bugs ~ Sandy & Sue

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Holiday season!

The Creativity Bugs ~ Sandy & Sue

Stamped Ornament Class at Craft Fancy

Craft Fancy located at 1818B North Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60004 is offering a Stamped Ornament class on Thursday Dec 16th from 11 - 1 or 5:30 - 7:30. If you are interested in signing up for the class call 847.670.6065.

Here are the details:
Still looking to create a special heirloom decoration for your home? Maybe you need a lovely hostess gift? Be sure to join Marnie on Thursday, December 16th from 11:00am – 1:00pm & 5:30pm – 7:30pm and make these gorgeous ornament toppers using Oulines Stamps. These would really brighten your holiday season and you can use and cherish them for years to come.

Saturday Challenges

Feel like doing some crafting this weekend? Here are a few blogs with challenges going on that started today!

• 365 Cards
• All Sorts
• Basic Grey
• Card Patterns
• Crazy 4 Challenges
• Etsy-Inspired
• SCS Inspiration Challenge
• Scrap and Stamp Saturday
• Sensational Saturday Sketch
• Simply Scrapping Sketchy Saturdays
• Sketch Saturday
• The Sweet Stop
• Unscripted Sketches

If you do join in on any of these challenges, please post a comment with link to this post so that we can check out your finished projects!

Creativity Bugs ~ Sue and Sandy

Pencil Lines Birthday Celebration - Sunday

Pencil Lines turns 4 tomorrow and they are celebrating in a big way.

Here are the details:

Tomorrow we are celebrating with sketches past and present. Our design team have chosen a sketch from the archives, and will be sharing with you why they love sketches so much.


On the hour, every hour from 8am GMT, a sketch will be posted along with a RAK from one of our sponsors. That is alot of prizes and alot of inspiration! At 8pm GMT we will post a brand new sketch as normal.

To start the celebrations off, go spread the word and pop our blinkie on your blog, leave your name below, with a link to your blinkie! I will draw a winner on Sunday at 8pm GMT!

Friday Recipe ~ Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/slow-cooker-beef-stroganoff/1b3f2c90-0924-4744-a7c2-1b82a4d4e133

2 pounds beef stew meat
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of golden mushroom soup
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of onion soup
1 jar (6 ounces) Green Giant® sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
6 cups hot cooked noodles or rice

1. In 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart slow cooker, mix beef, onion, soups, mushrooms, and pepper.
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef is very tender.
3. Stir cream cheese into beef mixture until melted. Stir sour cream into beef mixture. Serve over noodles.
4. Makes 8 servings

Nutrition Information:
1 Serving (1 Serving)
• Calories 400
(Calories from Fat 280),
• Total Fat 31g
(Saturated Fat 15g, Trans Fat ncg),
• Cholesterol 115mg;
• Sodium 810mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 12g
(Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars ncg),
• Protein 24g

Witches Hats

Servings: 32 cookies
Prep: 15 mins
Total: 15 mins

Ingredients

32 Hershey's® Kisses® milk chocolates, unwrapped
1 package fudge-striped shortbread cookies ( 11 1/2 ounces; 32)
1 tube orange or red decorating icing (4.25 ounces)

Directions

1. Attach 1 chocolate candy to chocolate bottom of each cookie, using decorating icing.2. Pipe decorating icing around base of milk chocolate candy.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 95 (Calories from Fat 45 ); Total Fat 5 g (Saturated Fat 4 g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 35 mg; Total Carbohydrate 13 g (Dietary Fiber 1 g); Protein 1 g. Daily Values: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 0%. Exchanges: 1 Fruit; 1 Fat.

Candy Apples

Ingredients

8 wooden craft sticks
8 medium Gala apples
2 (6.5-ounce) packages caramel apple wraps
1 (16-ounce) chocolate bar
16 ounces vanilla bark coating
Orange paste food coloring
Toppings: colored sprinkles, chopped peanuts, black writing gel

Preparation

•  Insert craft sticks into apples. Cover each apple with 1 caramel wrap 
• Microwave at HIGH 15 to 20 seconds. Cool. 
• Melt chocolate bar in a small saucepan over low heat. 
• Dip each apple into chocolate; let dry. 
• Melt vanilla bark coating in a small saucepan over low heat; stir in orange food coloring. 
• Dip or drizzle each apple with vanilla coating mixture. Decorate with desired toppings, and let dry. 

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used a Ghirardelli chocolate bar.

Southern Living, OCTOBER 2001

Wicked Fun Mini Album class with Marion on Live with Prima!

Thursday, October 14th-Wicked Fun Mini Album with Marion Smith on Live with Prima!

6:30pm PST (7:30pm MDT/ 8:30pm CST/ 9:30pm EST)

Are you ready for this super wicked mini album? This kit is loaded with tons of amazing Prima Halloween embellishments that will send a quiver up you spine! There are plenty of pages for all your precious Halloween memories. We dare you to try and use it all in just one project!



Prima products:

860165 – Little Boo Paper “Spooky”

860172 – Little Boo Paper “Fiery Mansion”

860196 – Little Boo Paper “Creatures of the Night”

860189 – Little Boo Paper “Haunted Mansion”

860219 – Little Boo Paper “Eerie Apparition”

518363 – 6x6 Embossed Chipboard Album

840662 – Alpha Stickers

539207 - Eclatte

529604 – Fiesta Flowers Glaze

525132 – SIIC Halloween 1

528836 – Daisy Dreams Key Lime

529895 – Galaxy Stars Copper

See the class here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/primaflower

Hope to see you there!
 
Creativity Bugs ~ Sue and Sandy

PanPastel and Contest at Scrap Time

Christine at Scrap Time has posted a great video to introduce you to PanPastels.

PanPastel™


Virtually Pure Pigment

Available in 80 rich, ultra soft, artists’ quality colors:

- 20 pure colors (mass tones)
- 20 tints
- 20 shades
- 20 extra dark shades

PanPastel™ Colors can be mixed & blended for an infinite palette of colors.

Colors are sold individually and in sets of 5 / 10 / 20 & 80 colors.

Each PanPastel Color is loaded with the highest quality artists’ pigments; and is made using a unique manufacturing process requiring minimal binder, resulting in rich, ultra soft and low dust colors.

PanPastel Colors are the first pastel colors to be tested using the new ASTM pastel lightfastness standards – currently in draft form.

Each pan contains 9ml (0.30 fl oz) of color - 40%* more than the average pastel stick, and yielding approx. 4 times more coverage.

Check out the Scrap Time blog and chance to win 10 Pan Pastels with a Palette and some Sofft Tools

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Luck!                                          

 

Creativity Bugs ~ Sue and Sandy                                    

Digital Freebies

While checking out some of our favorite blogs, we found a few digital freebies that were too cute to pass up.

Meljen Designs has posted a special ribbon of hope for October breast cancer awareness.

Beccy’s Place has posted a wreath of tulips, harvest set,  and an adorable little witch.

GTC’s Crafty Corner has posted on her blog a nativity set. Every day she has been adding a new item to the nativity. The week started (10/7) with Mary and the current post is of King 2.

And just in time for the holidays, 2 Cute Rubber Stamps has posted an adorable pumpkin and several different cupcakes all located here

If you make anything with the freebies, please make a post in the comments with a link to your finished project.

Creativity Bugs ~ Sue and Sandy

Halloween Banner with Cari Fennell on Live with Prima!

Halloween Banner with Cari Fennell

Tuesday October 12th at 6:30pm PST (7:30pm MDT/8:30pm CST/ 9:30pm EST)

Let’s get ready for those trick or treaters and welcome them with this fun banner! We will be creating this banner using Prima Halloween papers from our Little Boo collection, Prima packaging, sparkly centers, colored lace and more! Cari also has a lot of great techniques to share throughout this class using Glimmer mist, paper folds and layering too.

See the class here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/primaflower

Join the live chat as the class takes place-create a free account on ustream.com, log in and start chatting! Moderators are present during the chat to answer any of your questions regarding the class.

If you can't make it to the class-no worries! All shows are recorded so you can go to our channel and watch anytime. Just select the class you want to see and enjoy!

Hope to see you there!

Creativity Bugs ~ Sue and Sandy

Preview Monday – Challenges for the week of Oct 11th

Check out the challenges happening this week at some of our favorite blog sites!

Priscillastyles Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge – a new sketch challenge is posted every Monday

Little Paper Shop – a new color challenge is posted every Monday

There She Goes Clear Stamps – a new challenge is posted every Monday. This week’s challenge is TSG76 - Recipe Challenge .

House Mouse & Friends – a new challenge is posted every Monday. This week’s challenge is #80 Monochromatic.

Mojo Monday – a new sketch challenge is posted every Monday

Dancing in Pajamas – a new sketch challenge is posted every Tuesday

Flouishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge – a new challenge is posted every Tuesday

Friday Sketchers - a new challenge is posted every Friday

The Sweetest Thing – a new sweet Sunday sketch is posted every week

We hope you take the time to join in on a few of the challenges. If you do, post a comment with a link to your blog or the challenge blog so that we can see your finished projects.

Creativity Bugs ~ Sue and Sandy

Donut Pillow Giveaway

Mag at Masterting Everday Crafts is having a giveaway of the most adorable donut pillow.

Here are the details:

This is open to U.S. or Canada residents only. So just leave a comment here and if you want another entry, be a follower of this blog and tell your friends about it.  And please remember leave Mag a way to contact you either through your blog or email. This giveaway will be closed on Oct 17, so you have two weeks.



Good Luck!

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Preview Monday ~ Card & Scrapbook Challenges

Happy Monday! For all you avid challengers, here is a sneak peak at some of the challenges taking place at our favorite blogs this month.

Card Challenges

Card Positioning Systems - New sketches are posted on Sunday mornings along with 3-4 design ideas. More design ideas are posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

There is no time limit. You can complete any sketch at any time. If you do complete a sketch from a previous week, please leave the sketch # in your comment as well so everyone knows which sketch it was from.


Cute Card Thursday - A new card challenge is posted every Thursday

Crafty Cardmakers - Designed for new and inexperienced cardmakers, scrappers and crafters, more experienced also welcome! Challenges every other monday with Q&A and tutorials on alternate weeks. Prizes offered! Any papercrafted project and technique welcome.


Mojo Monday - A new challenge is posted every Monday. 1st Monday of the month is prizes, other weeks is just for fun. Any style is fine, combining OK.


The Pixie Cottage - Challenges are posted every Wednesday and you may combine this challenge with others. You can use any products or stamps (you aren't restricted to just using Pixie Cottage) and entries are due by midnight (EST) on the Tuesday night before the next challenge

Scrapbook Challenges

The Studio Challenge - A new challenge is posted every Sunday

Scrapbook Challenges - Though the challenges are issued weekly, they are not due til the end of the month. : So all October challenges and sketches will be due by October 31st. Of course, that is only to qualify for prizes. You can always go back and do older challenges just for fun!

Better Living Through Scrapbooking - “Favorite Color Challenge”


Create a layout dedicated to your favorite color.
Chose at least 2 of the following:

1. Journal on the layout as if you are speaking directly to your favorite color, and tell it why you love it, and what it means to you.

2. Take a photo of something you love that is in your favorite color, and use it on your layout.

3. Use rounded corners somewhere on your layout.

4. Create hand-doodling somewhere on your page.

5. Make the name of your favorite color a prominent part of your title.”

Deadline to enter October Challenge #1 (and all other October challenges) is midnight EST October 31st, 2010.
 
If you take part in any of the challenges, post a link in the comments section so that we can view your finished challenges and leave you some "sweet" critiques.
 
Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Look what's coming to Creativity Bug!

Changes are coming to the Creativity Bug blog that are sure to be pleasing to our followers. The new schedule for activities are as follows:

Mondays - the blog post will be a preview of what is to come for the week including a list of challenges from other blogs and blog hop information.

Tuesdays - the blog post will feature a how-to, tutorial, or a trash to treasure idea

Wednesdays - the blog post will feature challenges that the Creativity Bugs completed and show & tell items of craft projects. Once the blog has more followers, we will begin to host a Creativity Bug bi-monthly challenge.

Thursdays - the blog post will feature product reviews pertaing to crafting, books, and anything else the Creativity Bugs feel like sharing

Fridays - the blog post will feature an easy recipe or crockpot recipe to try over the weekend. This means freeing up some of your time so you can spend it with your family or crafting.

Saturday/Sunday - the blog will feature an item that the Creativity Bugs sell on Etsy and Artfire with links

If you have any suggestions on how to make this blog more enjoyable, please feel free to post a comment. Also, if you sponsor challenges or blog hops that you would like featured on this blog please leave a comment with link or email us at creativebugs2-blog@yahoo.com

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

World Cardmaking Day ~ Saturday Oct 2nd

Celebrate World Cardmaking Day with Splitcoaststampers!

Splitcoaststampers invites you to join them for a very special celebration on World Cardmaking Day. Spend your Saturday October 2nd in Splitcoaststampers challenge forum, where you can celebrate the power of a handmade card with the community, and just maybe get a surprise or two! Let the countdown begin!

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

A new day has begun...

It has been months since I have posted on the blog and feel the need to explain to my faithful followers. I was layed off from my full-time job and basically lost my zest for crafting or doing anything else.  After working for the same company for 20 years, it was a major blow to my ego and I am still mourning the loss of my job and the wonderful people that I worked with. My days now consist of job hunting, submitting resumes, and praying the phone will ring with offers for interviews and a good paying job. I have had a few nibbles but am still without work.

Since the job search is not going so well, I have decided to team up with my sister who is extremely crafty and talented to start an online crafting business. The use of all my downtime will allow me to do all the fun crafting things that I have put to the side all these years.This means that starting on Monday Oct 4th, the blog will be changing a bit. First off, we are putting a fun and exciting schedule together to include challenges, completed challenges, demonstrations, blog hops, trash to treasures, links to our business and products we are selling, new products on the market, and anything else that we can think of that is craft related.

I hope that everyone will be following us on our new journey and will be excited for all the changes to come.

Creativity Bug Sue

Beaded Ornament

Yet another great ornament idea from bhg.com . What a great way to use up all of your odds and ends of beads and silver or gold ribbons.

Can't wait to make a few of these and post them for all to see.

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

Ice Cream Cone Ornament

I know it is too early to think about Christmas, but I have to plan ahead. This adorable ice cream cone ornament was featured on the Better Homes and Garden site. As soon as I saw it, I knew my version was not going to use a paper mache cone. Instead, I am going to find a heavy tan colored piece of cardstock and stamp it with a waffle cone/diamond patterned rubber stamp inked in another shade of brown/tan. When I am done stamping it, I will shape it into a cone. Don't worry, as soon as I make the ornament I will post the how tos, costs, and a list of my supplies.

I will probably also add some tiny beads for sprinkles and maybe a red pompom or bead for a cherry on top.

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

 

Quick and Easy Embellished Christmas Tree Ornaments

I am participating in a kids holiday bazaar this December and have been searching for some quick, easy, and inexpensive ideas. All products we sell at the bazaar have to be homemade and sold for under $5 so the kids can purchase gifts for their parents, teachers, grandparents, siblings, and friends. This ornament is made with colored glass ornaments, glue, glitter, and gems.

Quick and Easy Embellished Christmas Tree Ornaments

Once I have my finished ornaments together, I will share them on the blog for everyone to see along with the breakdown of the costs.

Creativity Bug ~ Sue

The Making of a Ink Ornament How To

My friend Heather and her kids Em and Joey came by on Wednesday to help me put a "how to" demo together on decorating glass ornaments with inks and acrylics. I am writing an article for an online crafting magazine and they need both the "how to" along with pictures.

The supplies:
glass ornaments
PearlEx
Ranger Ink alcohol inks
Ranger Ink applicator and felt pads
ribbon
acrylic paint
dixie cups
cupcake pans (optional)

The first step was to remove the top of the glass ornament and fill it with PearlEx.

Then with a few mists of water, you should be able to swirl the PearlEx mixture to coat the entire inside of the ornament. This was not as easy as first thought and a lot of the PearlEx was wasted.

Put the ornament top side down over a dixie cup and let dry overnight. I placed the dixie cups in a cupcake pan so the ornaments wouldn't easily fall over while they were drying.

The next day, take any combination of alcohol inks and add it to the applicator with a clean refill pad. Gently stamp the ink onto the ornament.

Let dry and restamp ink again for more coverage. When ornaments are completely dry (about 24 hours) add ornament top and ribbon to hang.

After doing all this, we found the effects to be nice but working with PearlEx was not easy (especially for the kids) as the sparkly dust was everwhere. So, we decided to try another method.

Fill a glass ornament with acrylic paint (we filled ours with cream/white to show up better for the camera).

Swirl the acrylic paint to coat the entire inside of the ornament and shake the excess into the paint bottle. Place ornament top side down over a dixie cup and let dry (overnight). We checked a few hours into the project and found a dixie cup full of excess paint, which easily poured back into the bottle.

The next day, take any combination of alcohol inks and add it to the applicator with a clean refill pad. Gently stamp the ink onto the ornament.

Let dry and restamp ink again for more coverage. When ornaments are completely dry (about 24 hours) add ornament top and ribbon to hang.

We took a poll and everyone liked the acrylic paint with alcohol ink combo the best. The plan is to make a bunch and sell at the school bazaar coming up in December.
 
Hope you try out this technique and even link back in the comments with your completed ornaments.
 
Creativity Bug ~ Sue

   

Giveaway: Glossy Bands by Klutz

Marie at the Make and Takes blog is offering a great giveway for Glossy Bands by Klutz.

Here are all the details for your chance to win:

Giveaway Entries: For your chance to win one of 5 Glossy Band Books, leave a comment on Marie's post by Thursday July 15th @ midnight. She will announce the winner chosen from random on Friday morning July 16th.

Extra Entries – enter a new comment on Marie's post for each extra entry telling what you did:

- Like (aka become a fan) of Klutz Books on Facebook

- Sign up for their newsletter and become a Klutz Insider

Good luck everyone! If you win, please leave a comment here on our blog with a link to your completed projects.

All Scrapbook Steals Giveaway

Here are the rules:

1. This giveaway is only open to residents of the United States and Canada.

2. Enter by going to the All Scrapbook Steals website, to check out all their great deals. Then, leave a comment at the end of the post telling them what your favorite summer past time is. Please be aware that you won't see your comments posted right away, as they are moderated and need their content approved.

3. Receive a second entry if you post about the giveaway on your blog or website. Please leave the link to your post in the comments section so they can verify your second entry. You can also post on Facebook or Twitter about the giveaway to earn a second entry.

4. Entries will be accepted until Midnight PST on July 10th.

5. Winner will be randomly chosen from all eligible entries received by midnight July 10th by random.org.

6. Winner will be announced on July 11th here on the All Scrapbook Steals blog.

Good luck!!

Scrapbook.com ~ Layout Contest

Scrapbooking.com just posted a new layout contest called school days. Here are the details and a link to the contest:

New clothes and shoes, fresh backpacks and lunchboxes, tummies full of butterflies – it can only mean one thing. It’s back to school time! Share your grade “A” work in this month’s layout contest. The guidelines are simple. Send a layout showcasing your favorite students (of any age) and teachers. It’s the most enjoyable assignment you’ll ever get so enter today!


Once you've created or chosen your favorite layout(s) scan it in at 72 dpi, or upload a photo. The image should be no larger than 500 pixels wide by 500 pixels tall – use your editing software to either crop your photo or resize your scanned layout. Please also limit the file size to no larger than 500KB. If you've used special journaling, please include it in your supply list or instructions.
 
Once you’ve got the layout ready, complete the following form at Scrapbooking.com to enter.
 
Good luck and have fun entering your favorite school day layouts!


       

Product Recommendation ~ Avon

When you find a product you love and is wonderfully priced, don't you feel the urge to shout it from the rooftops. The Creativity Bugs just love Avon. Have you checked out Avon lately?

Creativity Bug Sue thinks one of the best products they have to offer is their Wash-Off Waterpoof Mascara.

Streak-free mascara that will weather the weepiest of movies. Washes away with soap and water. It is a great value for $6.50 but you can find it on special for $1.99. The colors include black and brown. Sue is sensitive to most products and this one is hypoallergenic and opthalmologist-tested, so it passes the test.

She also loves the IDEAL SHADE Cream-to-Powder Foundation SPF 15

Foundation, concealer and powder in one! Mattifies oily, breakout-prone skin. Flawless medium-to-full coverage with a natural matte powder finish. A steal at $10.00.

Creativity Bug Sandy recommends the Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover Lotion.

Moisturizes around delicate eye area as it whisks away makeup. It is gentle and does not cause your eyes to tear with a wallet friendly price of $4.00.

Why don't you check out Avon and see if some of our favorites will become one of your favorites. If you don't have a local Rep, contact my friend Yvonne by following this link. Online purchases receive free shipping on orders of $30.00.

Your Creativity Bug Team!
Sue & Sandy

Product Recommendation ~ Butler Bag

Want a purse that won't have you digging for your keys? Butler Bags, created by Jen Groover, are for women who need to be organized. They feature compartmentalized interiors so everything you need is at your finger tips. Through August 1st, you can enter to win a stylish collection.
Visit www.ButlerBag.com/ww to win!

Recipe ~ Rick's Steak Marinade

It is summer time and that means grilling on the barbeque. Nothing tastes better than grilled steak served with a  baked potato and corn on the cob. Why don't you take the time and try out Rick's Steak Marinade which is a real crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

1 cup worcestershire sauce
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup red wine
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
0.5 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
0.25 cup olive oil

Preparation:

In a medium sized bowl, combine the worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and red wine. Crush the garlic and add to the mixture. Add the freshly ground pepper to the mixture. If you want to add a little kick to it, add a little bit of Tabasco sauce.

Place the steaks into this mixture, and marinade for at least 15 minutes. The longer you marinade the steaks, the more flavor they will inherit from the sauce.

Just before removing the steak for the BBQ, add the olive oil and mix. The olive oil will act as a sealant on the steaks, keeping the flavor in while it is being cooked.

As you are cooking your steaks on the BBQ, spoon the rest of the sauce onto the steaks, keeping the steaks moist while cooking.

Continue to use the sauce as you cook the steaks to the desired doneness, ideally using all the sauce.

Crop Chocolate Chocolatier

I recently became a Crop Chocolate Chocolatier, which basically is a design team member for this online store. As part of the design team one of the requirements is to post pictures & a description of our creation to the Sweet Talk section once per quarter. The pictures are of projects we completed with products available from Crop Chocolate during the quarter.

It all started with this:

And here are the cards & layout I completed using the products from Memory Makers.