eat at your own risk

My mini baker is such a big helper. Except I can barely turn my head to grab the next ingredient because who knows what she will stir in, making it her own tasty concoction. That's why it's always eat at your own risk. So far so good... I haven't been poisoned (yet) & the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are delicious!

Ready for the world's easiest pumpkin cookie recipe?

Spice Cake Mix (no eggs, oil, water etc) + Can of pumpkin 16 oz + Chocolate chips. That's it.

I bake them small about 3Ts and then cook them at 350 for about 15 minutes. Don't overcook them. I check them like I do cake with a toothpick or small knife in the center.

Thanks to my sister Em for that recipe, although my toosh does not thank her.

They are soooooo yummmmmmy!!

inside the heart jars

Inside the heart jars:

❥ Instax + Love notes

❥ Plastic Hearts

❥ Heart Banner

❥ Candy + Ribbon Flags

❥ Vintage Lace up Valentines

❥ Glitter Hearts

❥ Hearts on a stick

I found these vintage lace up valentines at a local fabric store and I adore them. Avery's going to give some to her cousins & keep a couple in the Valentine decor box. They are darling and spotted them here.

I already shared the love notes jar in my last post. I also added some photos from my beloved Instax Camera of my family when they came over yesterday. The plan is to have this chalk full of sentiments and snapshots by Valentine's Day.

The plastic hearts open and you can fill with candies.

Ribbon Flags topped with Glitter Buttons and a little bling.

in the wee hours

As I continue to put together Lola's nursery I know I'll be spending lots of time in it so I want to make sure it was filled with things I love.

I'm almost finished with the frames on one of the walls. I need to add some photos. But one of the frames already hanging that makes me happy during those wee hours of the morning is pictured above.

I cut a page from one of my favorite books by Compendium called "She... " It's an inspiring gift book that would make a great present to any mother, sister or friend. But make sure to get one for yourself--or two if you cut it apart like me. :)

"She went out on a limb had it break off behind her and discovered she could fly. Celebrate her faith."

Book: "She..." by Kobi Yamada

Owl pillow: DEJAVU

Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart

tick tock tick tock

I can literally hear the clock ticking in my head counting down to our baby, or maybe that's the cuckoo clock I just hung in her nursery. Either way I've got one week to go... hopefully.

Just a couple quick shots of details coming together in the baby's room including a pink typewriter, bedding, paper cranes folded & frames are mapped out on the floor just need Collin to hang them later tonight. Me + nails + his precious dry wall are not the best combination.

Found this beauty at a garage sale for 5 bucks and Collin painted it white for me. I have another one in our living room but I want to collect more. Not sure what I love about them.

The crib bumper is being made but here's the quilt we'll be cuddled up in in the wee hours of the morning. This is such a random post but just wanted to share...

PS If you haven't already, you should check out the =>>> packed-full-of-goodies GIVEaway!

I'll announce the winner tomorrow! It's neat reading all the things you are grateful for.

wall paint: Ralph Lauren Sunwashed Blue

this calls for some celery!

If you watch Wonder Pets you'll understand exactly what I mean about celery. You know, after something totally awesome happens, like when a baby hound dog gets rescued or a Bengal tiger gets a thorn pulled from its paw, celery is just what you need! And since I've spent hours upon hours cleaning my office I'm definitely celebrating. This room is 4 big boxes and 2 loads to the trash lighter. Yeah, I'm pretty proud of myself. ;)

How about I send a US priority mail stuffed-full-of-cute-product box to one of you...!! Including one of my favorite new Shimmerz Vibez spray inks.

Leave a comment about something you're celebrating or just say hello and I'll pick a random winner.

PS Did you see all the new Dear Lizzy fabric paper and pretty, ruffle rose ribbon at Two Peas? delish.

bubblegum break

At first I wrote the title of this post bugglebum... that didn't look right.

Taking a break during nap time to get some work done. But hey, mom needs a break too.

Cause when I have a break from being a mom that's when I work... if you call what I do work. More like creative play--with deadlines and emails that are stacked pretty high. Finishing up Dear Lizzy stuff for summer cha this week, off to Reflections on Thursday, working on some assignments for CK, designing classes to teach, working on my Inspiration Unlimited & Puerto Rico class, & fabric ideas buzzing around my head... but here I am blowing bubbles.

Thanks for the love for my ruffle tee!

Well, someone just woke up... break's over.

PS I want to do another online class. I have one concepted.

PPS Wouldn't one of those fabric tees make a fun class?

cookies by day crafts by night

Some of my favorite shots from yesterday while making sugar cookies. I don't think that it's ironic that my favorite photos from yesterday involve making sweets.

Week in the life has been a fun project to work on. I don't kill myself trying to capture every moment but I'm so happy with what I've captured that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Like when Avery was upset and escaping the house saying that she was going to Disneyland. haha

We are in the middle of painting so half of our kitchen is grey and the other half that goes into the living room is the tan... very nice. ;)

Yesterday I met with my design team at American Crafts. Paper Crafts was also there getting a tour of the building.

Don't be too jealous... but later Paper Crafts editorial and Go-to Gals got a sneak peek of my new lines of Dear Lizzy products. I actually felt like I was going to get in trouble or something ;) since everything is so hush hush right now until the reveal at cha in July--but it was cool to show them and to see their reaction and what they liked about it. They are such a fun & talented group of ladies!

my new hobby

I laughed when I downloaded this photo from my camera that Collin snapped while Avery and I were taking an afternoon nap.

I've been doing lots & lots of this lately so I am considering it to be my new hobby. But it seems we are waking up from hibernation thanks to the much needed sunshine.

One of my blog readers commented a while ago...

Hey by the way did you ever finish the quilt with the Ginger Blossom fabric? I think that's what it was called. Thanks! jane CA

Yeah, I did and you can see it in this photo. I actually made both of those blankets with the Ginger Blossom fabric line by Sandi Henderson. love it. I've been itching to make another quilt.

Have a restful and fun weekend!

Storytelling Frames

You might have already read this at Ali's blog but I wanted to re-post it here...

In a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living there was an article about a little girl's birthday party where they displayed a wall of "scrapboxes." Right then, I tore out the pages and was ecstatic to start celebrating my daughter's memories in a frame. Yeah, I know it is reminiscent of shadow boxes and can be considered quite cheesey, but hey, who doesn't like cheese? ;) Honestly though it is a fun and creative way to document and showcase pieces of my daughter's lives.

Think of it as your own storytelling wall. What story do you want to tell? What stories do you want your children to remember each day?

First, choose a wall to decorate. Because of the content of the frames I settled on a wall in my daughter's play room. I'm so glad I did because my oldest daughter was completely elated when she walked in and saw all these wonderful memories. Her eyes got so big as she recalled horse back riding for the first time & one of her drawings so I know she will enjoy seeing the pictures everyday.

Next, gather decor pieces including frames, photos and some mementos. The white frames are from Ikea with about 1 3/4 depth which gives a great space to fill with keepsakes. Here are a few ideas I used in my frames.

FAVORITE TOY
Pair a favorite toy with a favorite memory. Think of a photo/story/toy that illustrates something your child loves at the moment. Or if your child has grown think of something they loved and possibly shaped who they've become. For my daughter it is animals. She loves animals and one of her happiest moments was riding a pony for the first time. Her smile says it all. I included several horse figurines that she loved to play with but has grown tired of. Of course once she saw them in the frame they looked so fun again. Thankfully, I was prepared with others she could play with.

CHILD'S ARTWORK
This is often my favorite keepsake to showcase in our home. I don't think we realize how much it means to our kids when they see that your hung their school work on the fridge or display it in your studio. I included crayons for added color and playful touch.
FAVORITE MEMORY
One of my favorite memories is having tea parties with my daughter. I included actual teacups glued inside the frame. I took out the glass because they wouldn't fit with it but was still happy with the result. I printed the photo in black and white so it wouldn't compete too much with the other colors. Lastly, I added a couple of rub ons from my line craft line, Dear Lizzy.

EVERYDAY ITEMS
Since my daughter's famous rain boots couldn't quite fit in the frame, I thought of the next best thing... her sunglasses. She adores wearing her shades so much that when I was making this frame she wandered off with them, despite the fact that they don't fit her anymore. I will replace it with the originals once I find the treasure hunt she's put me on. You could also include clothing, swimsuits, newborn outfits, hats or even shoes.

BOOK
I love that children create an attachment to their favorite books and want to read them over and over. Not only do they remember the story but all the fun times you spend together reading. I included a strip of photos of my daughter reading with the date and title of book, "Pinkalicious." You can tell this book was loved and it was okay to frame this one since it has been replaced with a new one.
MEMORABILIA
In my studio I have a cloth box from KOLO where I store nostalgia and pieces of our adventures. In this frame I included a photo from a carousel ride, tickets I saved, & embellished with a flower by Prima. The options are endless for items in this category including: clothing tags, movie tickets, menus, postcards and love notes.

FINISHING TOUCHES
Along with the frames I added decor pieces and vintage keepsakes from my childhood including Disneyland records my Mom saved all these years and a vintage camera from my Grandpa.

Other decor items include a clipboard with favorite quote that I can switch out easily, photobooth pictures of my little brother, a retro record album, vintage cuckoo clock, Instax photos, a silhouette, "&" from Anthropologie, and finally some music note fabric.

brightens my day

About 7 years ago I think I told Collin not to buy me flowers because they are a waste of money. What was I thinking? Thank goodness he never listened to me.
Because I take it all back. :)
If I'm going to stand at my kitchen sink for many hours of the day it might as well be beautiful too. breakfast... second breakfast... lunch... rinse repeat... dinner.
The tiny vases are from Target and other random ones I've collected.

If you don't have any small vases, here's an excuse to buy some Orange Crush or your favorite soda pop. Cheers!

PS Thanks for the fantastic questions. I am excited to start tackling them this weekend! Feel free to add to them. elizabeth.kartchne(at)gmail(dot)com

polaroid heart

For awhile it seemed I was spotting the polaroid shaped heart everywhere and it was calling my name. The trouble was I didn't know where to put it. I have big plans for our favorite song lyrics above the piano but it needed something right away... for a couple reasons. First, that wall was feeling very neglected and second because Collin has been playing the piano lots lately and it's not fun to stare at a wall... since we moved the piano away from the window.

A couple tips if you want to make your own wall I used these 3M command strips. Same adhesive strips I used for the random K collage.
I also used a mix of real polaroid, Polaroid Notes these are so awesome and made my own. I scanned in a polaroid. Next, I sized it to make sure it was actual size. Then I edited and cropped photos & dropped them onto the scan & saved them individually. Last, printed them out. Also, Polaroid has a website that will change any photo you have into a polaroid here. I laid out the polaroids on the ground how I want them. Measured the photos on the ground then measured the wall and marked where the bottom was. I started from the bottom up... is anyone still reading this? ;)

My favorite songs right now that Collin plays and sings (Quincey loves singing along) The Hardest Part and Death & All His Friends both by Coldplay. Apologize by One Republic is pretty rad too.

Oh, I can't forget Christmas Monkey. What? You've never heard of that one. It's a new track by Avery. Two words--Christmas Monkey over and over and over to the tune of Jingle Bells.

La La Love You

♪ The best part of waking up ♫... isn't Folgers in your cup but coffee filter garlands.

Since Spark, my cha Dear Lizzy Booth and now Valentine's decor I've gone through 1800 coffee filters. 3 jumbo packs. Sheesh that doesn't include Rhonna and Margie's. After we took down all the garlands for Spark, which was A LOT, even Collin missed them. So I was happy to decorate for Valentine's Day & if you've been to Dear Lizzie boutique the entrance to their store is so fabulous! Right then and there I knew I needed some filter fun strung for February.

The La La Love You print I got a couple years ago and used it for inspiration in my book. One of the jars is filled with cute plastic conversation hearts and the other one is filled with love notes. (Margie had love notes in her booth at cha and I loved reading one everyday.)

The heart boxes are my favorite-with the big chunky hanging crystals from House of 3. My Spark sister Rhonna posted a tutorial for making the coffee filter flowers on her blog. She's very serious in the video but don't let that fool you. If she could she would have been squealing and dancing around while she filmed! x0 There was a hot glue gun involved so that was probably why. ;)

The X & O are wood letters I got from Roberts then glittered the heck out of them. I forgot to spray paint them before. Painting them about the same color of the glitter helps with coverage. Since I must of been too excited to start modpodging I forgot that step, which wasn't that bad just meant lots more sparkle. Okay possibly some frustration which led to trash talking the glitter too.

Looking at this reminds me... it's time for new family photos. Any recommendations? Wish Maggie was closer!!

Loving this song: Corner by Allie Moss

Instax Carousel

Have a splendid day!!

The carousel of instax photos is making me happyyyyy this weekend. Also, I used some of my new products: the crochet flowers and "Have a splendid day" is from a Dear Lizzy stamp set. I haven't seen those on sale yet... but I saw some Dear Lizzy at 2 peas here.

Also, the fabulous Lucy, Brittany, Gretchen and the rest of my southern girlfriends from Scrap Etc Scripts are putting together a kit full of Dear Lizzy goodies!! (it's sold out now)

Photo carousel: 7 Gypsies

K & randomness

It's one of those cozy, rainy days... I love these kind of days. Avery's got the right idea, it's perfect for reading. This Thursday I'll have time on a flight to Arizona where I'll teach at the Creating Keepsakes convention to start a good book from your suggestions. :) It will keep my mind off missing my girlies. (We won't talk about that right now.)

A couple weeks ago I decided that I was tired of walking into our family/tv room and seeing the back of this sectional. So I moved everything by myself... yeah not the smartest idea. Then after I moved the tv I was sick of the blank wall-- I got some ideas from a fabulous blog SanFran Girl by Bay & started hanging up random things. The good thing is that I used this awesome hanging sticky stuff from my sister (I think it's by 3M) that doesn't take the paint off for all the K's that way I don't feel bad when I have to move them. It's great for people who frequently change their mind, like me.
-I would love to cut out their silhouettes every year to see how they change. Quincey has the cutest baby profile that I've ever seen. Need a bigger frame for Avery's silhouette but like I said I just grabbed stuff that was in storage etc.
-Collected Ks from random places covered a couple with Vintage Yummy paper.
-Pictures of Collin with Avery and Quincey & me dancing with my daddy.
-Painted chalkboard paint on the glass of one of the frames to write messages, hang polaroids & a cute calendar.
I dug deep for this post after getting a few comments and emails asking me about the console in the background of some photos. I found it at D.I., painted it with 'Lagoon' by Sherwin Williams then distressed it and added some hardware. Love restoring old things.

Look at little Avery. :)

the one with the fabric banner

**Update by Collin** Liz won't tell people but she'll be on Studio 5 Friday morning on KSL-5! Check her out!

After I hung up the banner (the one I showed a peek of) Collin said it looked like a used car lot... Ha! Well, these kiddos aren't for sale. :)

First, I made my own template from cardstock, pinned it to fabric then cut each triangle using pinking shears & cut some random sized circles. Next, I sewed it all together with ric rac making loops at each end for easy hanging.
I also printed a few photos on 'adhesive-backed linen' from Close To My Heart on my inkjet printer which worked perfect to stick photos right onto the fabric. (This printable canvas sounds like it would work great!)

She's dieing to make her room a mess-I can see it in her eyes! ;)