Election Day Book Review - "You Heard It Here First"

If you are here for our Scrapbook USA Blog Hop,Welcome!  Click Here

Finally! After what seems like years of waiting and piles of mail and commercials we finally get the opportunity to vote!

For the first time ever I took advantage of early voting. I will miss doing it on the actual election day just a little bit but I am sure I will keep busy enough.

But, for those of you who will be braving the crowds and long lines today, I have a fun "read" for you to take along with you.

I just finished reading

 "You Heard It Here First" by Erin McBride.




Meet Haley McAdams, a financial blogger living in Washington D.C.. Life as she knows it turns upside down literally overnight as she is swept up in a large scale political scandal while at the same time being swept off her feet by Camden Morrison, TV's hottest news anchor.

This was most definitely an entertaining read that swept me up into a romantic, intriguing and realistic political world that was so much fun. I am no financial blogger and the stock market puts me to sleep but Haley McAdams was still such a fun character to relate to! She was realistic, down to earth and possesses all the normal yet silly insecurities that each one of us faces.

If you have a Kindle you can pick up "You Heard It Here First" for only $2.99 on Amazon! Nook Readers can pick it up from Barnes & Noble for $4.99. This book would be a great read while standing in the voting lines today. If you happen to miss the crowds, no problem, curl up on the couch with some munchies and your Kindle. You will enjoy every minute!

November Blog Hop–Meet our *NEW* Design Team!

I am SO excited to introduce our brand NEW Design Team here at The Original Scrapbook USA Expo!
The best way to get to know these talented ladies is to hop on over to each of their blog’s and check out their fall crafting! I am so excited about each of these ladies! They are so talented and fun and their blog’s have some great scrapbooking and crafting ideas!

So, here is the plan - between now and Wednesday November 7th at midnight, visit each of their blogs. While on their stomping ground, leave a comment. Each time you comment on one of their blogs you will be entered to win 2 of DCWV’s brand spankin’ new Christmas 4X5 pads!!

With Christmas just around the corner these would certainly come in handy!!

Great news is that if you comment on each of their blogs (as well as here at our homebase) you will be entered 8 times!! woo hoo!

So, start “hoppin” and thanks SO much for stopping by at The Original Scrapbook USA Expo blog!

Scrapbook USA (you are here)
Heather (go here next)

Andrea

Ange

Tomi Anne

Wendi

Kassi

Jennifer

This weekend I made the transformation from Halloween to Thanksgiving. In about 20 minutes I made a nice long list of the things I am grateful for and put together this fun little frame on my Family Room shelf. I got the frame from the Dollar store. It was gold so I  spray painted it white. I really loved how this project came together! The paper in the frame is from the DCWV Halloween/Fall Stack. I love this shade of green!





Visit us often and mark your calendars, our spring show hits Sandy Utah on March 22-23, 2013!

November Eats

I love fall cooking!! Nothing like soup and a yummy pumpkin dessert on a fall afternoon! I thought I would move slightly away from crafting and share a yummy dessert that is perfect for this time of year. I found the recipe for Pumpkin Bars on Real Mom Kitchen last year and it has become one of my absolute fav's! This recipe is super easy to make and an added bonus is that it make more than enough to feed a decent size gathering. I don’t know how many times I have made this recipe but it has quickly become a family favorite! Happy November!! 6 eggs
1 1/2 cup oil
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large can (29 oz) pumpkin
3 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. salt
chocolate chips and/or cream cheese frosting Mix together eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin.  Fold in dry ingredients and pour into jelly roll pan (13 x 18 pan) .  (At this point I sprinkle half the pan with 1 cup of chocolate chips) Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Do not over bake.  Frost with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting (I use this recipe to frost half the cake.  You could use it to frost the whole thing, but I like a good layer.  So if you frost the whole pan, I would recommend doubling this recipe) 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese (I use light)
8 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla Blend together cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Beat in podered sugar and vanilla.

It's the morning after.. Wendi here. Now that the candy has been collected, the photos have been taken and all the spooky fun is over, it's time to complete Halloween 2012. So,  I am sharing a Halloween layout with you today.

Two weekends ago, our family went to CornBellys, one of our favorite Halloween spots to go, and a place that the kids love. Since it was the first year with our little one, I made sure to take advantage of the pumpkins all around and get some close ups of her at the pumpkin patch.

I used the DCWV Halloween & Fall stack, DCWV Halloween embellishment flip pack for my layout here:

I worked with a grid setup for my page. I wanted to make sure I could use lots of the papers from the pack and display them in a way that wasn't overwhelming.

I cut out 2.5x2.5 squares and then added embellishments:

I added some white mist in the background to create a  spooky page. I also punched circles to add more patterns to the square patterned papers:

Then topped off the page with a cute lil witches hat.

There you go...

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today.

Wendi

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Ange Here! My first project as a new member of the Scrapbook Expo dt! I am super excited!!! I received the super fun DCWV Bewitched matstack and some matching embellies and this is what I put together for you.

    This is my youngest 2yrs ago. He was Tigger and did the cutest little roar face, but it took me all night to get a photo and it ended up a little blurry, so I used it anyway and then added a smaller one of him in full costume. :)

    I cut up some of the papers to make the banners up top and the strips laying across the middle. I also used some papers to mat the photos, fussy cut the little pumpkin swirls to go over my main photo and fussy cut the border along the bottom from 2 papers with the same pattern. I inked all my edges in black, stapled the banners up top and layered all the rest. Then I used a scrap to journal on and added a pull tab, with button and twine, to it so I could hide it behind the smaller photo. Stick your embellies on and you're done!

Supplies:
DCWV Paper Pack & sticker embellies
kraft paper - paper studio
ink - colorbox
staples - CTMH
pen - zig
glue - Tombow
pop dots - eksuccess

Have a SPOOKY and SAFE HALLOWEEN!!

Halloween Decor

Hi Everyone, Jennifer here! Only 1 more day until Halloween but if you are still looking to put up some last minute Halloween decor for your Trick - or - Treaters, no worries! This project itself is really simple. Basically, I popped the mirror out of the frame I got at the dollar store and tossed it. I have little ones and didn't want extra glass lying around. Then, I took my papers and decided which space I wanted each to go in. I used the frame itself to trace the different shapes on each piece of paper. Next, I traced the shapes on the cardboard backing to the frame. That way, I would know exactly where I needed to glue each piece down. It saved on the headaches of having to rearrange things. Once I had the pieces all laid down, I modge podged them to the cardboard and put a coat over the top as well as extra protection (I use the Hard Modge Podge).

The frame looked pretty cool with the different papers, especially because of the glitter and foil. I used four pieces of glitter or foil papers and two patterned papers in the middle. It still needed more dressing up. So, I added a pinwheel and used one of the little word art pieces that came in the paper stack for the middle. It says "Eat, Drink, and Be Scary".

Again, it still needed more. I had some great ribbon that I bought at Michaels from their Halloween line (they have a ton of cute ones!) and hot glued it to the top and bottom of the frame. I loved it but still wanted a little more.

So, I added a little Halloween banner, again with more paper from the stack. I used some of my gray baker's twine and hot glued the sides on the back of the frame. I also inked the edges. Finally, I added one more piece of word art from the paper stack with hot glue.

Voila!!!  Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!!

Spooky Candy Box

Andrea here!  We're so close to doorbell ringing and candy flinging!  So here's a treat box I made using the Sizzix Bigz shaker box die and DCWV paper.  Here's a link to DCWV's blog so you can keep up with all their papery happenings!  http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/

I wrapped a strip of black fabric around the box and stuck a Halloween sprig under the fabric for good measure.  I always scope out the floral picks, garlands and floral sections of the craft stores to incorporate twiggy elements into my paper crafts.

I've always liked this particular box shape because the top is a flap that lifts up and there's a "framed" layer that folds out the other way.  I put a pair of my handmade clay eyeball earrings in with some tulle, but the box is also very cute when filled with candy.  If it's small candy, you'd just have to put a piece of clear plastic over the frame opening so it doesn't spill out.

All in all, a good die shape and some good paper.  I like DCWV cardstock for boxes especially because it's sturdy enough to hold up and it has a cool texture to it (and it's textured differently on both sides so you can go heavier texture or smoother texture, depending on your mood).  And if you're into dry embossing, the paper's white core will always allow your embossed shapes to really come to life when you sand over the embossed image.  You can't beat a healthy stash of cardstock for any occasion and season!