Hey everyone… Happy Monday!!! Hope your week is off to a great start! :o) It’s Kylie here and it’s time to bring you this week’s fabulous Layout of the Week! I know I’ve said it before (and I’ve no doubt I’ll say it again)… but seriously guys, it is so tough to narrow down my favorite picks for the LOTW. There are so many talented scrappers, and so many beautiful pages, it really does make it so hard to choose just the one. While looking for THE ONE, it was wonderful to see a flood of Template Challenge 14 pages in the gallery – you girls are on fire with those! And a big WELCOME to all the new ‘faces’ posting for the very first time! YAY! :o)

So now… here is my choice for LOTW! ~ at the Rankin House 2 by Hannah!

Hannah‘s lovely quilt-look page is so eye-catching and I just adore the fun photos - the positioning and sharp angles are awesome… just look at all that sky! The combination of papers from different Shabby Shoppe kits are in complete harmony with one another and I love the bold stitching. This page has such warmth and character! Hannah has only been posting in the Shabby Shoppe inspiration gallery for a short time but she’s building up an amazing collection… click here to have a peek at all Hannah’s beautiful layouts and stunning photographs. I’d like to share with you Hannah’s other two layouts created with gorgeous pics from this same photo shoot. This post would not be complete without them!! ;o)

Congratulations Hannah, and thanks for sharing your sweet page and glorious photographs! Enjoy the $10 Shabby Shoppe gift card that has just been emailed to you (and be sure to check your spam folders)… have fun shoppe-ing!

Well, it’s goodbye from me today! But, be sure to stop by tomorrow… the beautiful Beckie has a couple of our seasonal favorites to spotlight for you! :o)

KylieLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 3 Comments

Hi everyone! I’m back again <as promised> with a yummy Food Friday post! ;o)

To me, the words ‘summer’ and ‘picnic’ pretty much go hand-in-hand! And while I’m bundled up indoors waiting out a cold winter, I do dream of being on the other side of the world with my northern hemisphere friends enjoying a lovely summer picnic. Now winter has its charms (and I really do love it, I do…) but when it comes to summer picnics… glorious! The sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day …time to get outdoors with a picnic blanket and a hamper full of goodies – fresh fruit, tasty salads, flavorsome pies/tarts/ terrines, simple sandwiches, yummy desserts and homemade lemonade! YUM! Oh… and a good book and a floppy sun hat! Nothing better!

One of my favorite finger food recipes – Smoked Salmon Tartlets – are perfect to pack for a picnic adventure. Today I’m sharing it with you, including a free 4×6 recipe card that you can download and use anytime…picnic or not. These little savory tartlets are quick and easy to make and can be eaten hot or cold – very versatile!

And if you’re not a big fan of salmon, capers, dill and seeded mustard you can mix and match with other ingredients. Why not try fresh-cut asparagus, lemon zest & dill, or sautéed mushrooms and red onion, or cherry tomato, olive and crumbled feta cheese, or whatever you want! The plain yogurt gives the tart a lovely tanginess and lightness – and at the moment I’m loving it as a substitute for cream or milk when whipping up a quick quiche.

For the base I like to use layers of filo pastry. For the tarts I made for today’s post I used 5 layers and brushed each with a little melted butter – I then cut them into rounds to fit my standard muffin pans. But feel free to make your favorite shortcrust pastry (savory not sweet!) or line your preferred pans/moulds/tart tins with store-bought frozen puff or shortcrust pastry. Or even quicker still, you can simply buy pre-made tart shells or cases that you can just fill with the tart mixture.

So here is the recipe…

Ingredients

• 100g (4oz) smoked salmon
• 200g (7oz) thick plain yogurt (Greek style preferably)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp seeded mustard
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped roughly
• 1 tbsp baby capers (optional)
• preferred pastry cases
• salt & pepper (remember the salmon is pretty salty so salt to taste!)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 180C (360F) – moderately hot.
• Tear smoked salmon slices and share between pastry cases. Sprinkle capers over salmon.
• Whisk eggs, yogurt, flour and seeded mustard in a bowl until combined. Stir in chopped dill and seasoning. 
• Pour egg and yogurt mixture over salmon and capers.
• Bake in oven until set and golden brown, about 20mins.

This recipe makes 8 muffin size tartlets. If you choose to make one large tart then increase the cooking time to approximately 25 to 30mins. And if you go smaller, then 15mins should do the trick.

Now here is the recipe card I created as a FREE download. I used a Shabby Shoppe Muffin Man recipe card template and a collection of Shabby Princess digital kits (see the TOU in your download for more details). Please feel free to add this latest card to your home recipe collection, and ENJOY!! :o) You can CLICK HERE to download it, or simply click the preview below!

But wait there’s more! LOL!… here are two more of my picnic faves! I love to layer up when it comes to sandwiches. The one in the pics is my antipasto special – a baguette sliced and hollowed slightly and then spread with basil pesto on one side and olive tapenade on the other. Then I like to fill it with layers of deli items – roasted red capsicum (red pepper), grilled eggplant (aubergine), cheese (this time I used an Italian provolone but you can use fresh mozzarella or bocconcini etc), salami, and baby spinach. And for my salads I love to use plastic (food safe) noodle boxes – they’re a bit different, have cute little handles and stack well. Picnics are loads of fun and when it comes to food you can dress it up or dress it down – anything goes!

Hope you’ve enjoyed today’s picnic post! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here… same time, same place… on Monday morning with the Layout of the Week! :o)

KylieFood Stuff, Free (not desktops), Uncategorized 7 Comments

Hi Shabby Shoppe friends… Kylie here! :o) Hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far! Today on the blog, I’m sharing this month’s brand new Template Challenge. Time to say hello to challenge number FOURTEEN!! We’re sure you’ll be inspired to create gorgeous page after gorgeous page with this charming little template …definitely a new fave of mine!

To download…CLICK HERE (or simply click the preview image below)!

It’s been quite a while since we presented a template with a pretty scalloped circular photo frame (and such a large one at that!)…and, as the saying goes: ‘a change’ really is ‘as good as a holiday’, right?! Well… it is VACATION TIME after all… so this fresh-cut template fits in ever-so nicely with that very sentiment, don’t you think?! ;o) We really hope you enjoy this latest challenge and have lots of fun scrapping with it… it’s all yours, so – GO FOR IT!!

Now, before we get to all the gorgeous inspiration… let’s go over the GUIDELINES for our template challenges here at the Shoppe?!

The ‘deadline’ for this challenge is JULY 31st :o) We will announce the template challenge winner on August 4th, when we share Template Challenge FIFTEEN! As you probably know, we now announce the winner on the same day we debut a new template challenge. The ‘winner’ of the challenge will receive a $25 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe! Please note that for our template challenges… we select the ‘winner’ randomly – so everyone has a chance to win… beginners and experienced scrappers! It’s a great way to jump in and give digi scrapping (and templates) a try :o)

In order to be entered into the template challenge – you must post your layout in the Shabby Shoppe’s gallery (in the SHOPPE BLOG CHALLENGES gallery) and then post a comment HERE at our blog (on this post only) with a link to your layout in our gallery. This will enter you into the challenge :o) Please keep in mind that all layouts must contain at least 75% SP product (purchased or free). To be eligible for the challenge – you must scrap with the easy-as-pie layered template!

We also have several fun ways for you to obtain ‘EXTRA’ entries to the challenge (please note that in order to qualify for any EXTRA entries – you must first complete a layout with our easy-as-pie template and submit that to our gallery and blog) :o)

• For an extra entry, leave a SEPARATE comment letting us know that you have one of our blinkies (available by clicking on the blinkies link in the sidebar) either on your blog or in all of your forum signatures (be sure to include a link to your blog or signature in your post).
• For an extra entry, leave a SEPARATE comment letting us know that you have facebooked or twittered about our template challenge (don’t forget to include the link in your post).
• For an extra entry, leave a SEPARATE comment letting us know that you have blogged about our template challenge (again, be sure to add your blog link to your post).

So, that means that you have the possibility of entering the challenge up to 4 times! Just be sure each entry is a separate comment, as we will be using a random number generator to choose the winner. Be sure to get your entries in by MIDNIGHT (eastern time) on JULY 31st, and again…the winner will be announced in early August (the 4th to be exact)!

So again…here is your newest Easy-As-Pie Layered Template! <–click this to download OR click the preview image at the top of this post :o)

Your download includes:

• 12×12 Layered psd template with drop shadows (you can opt to turn them off or use your own)
• 12×12 Layered TIFF template with drop shadows

In the event this is your first time scrapping with a layered template – SP has created a quick and simple tutorial on how to use our Easy-As-Pie templates in PSE and PS. You can find it HERE. We’ve tried to cover the basics, but if you have any questions, please let us know and one of the Shabby Team Members will do their best to answer it.

With the business part out of the way…HERE is the FUN part of the post – some inspiration! And, I was so excited when I first laid eyes on SP’s version of the new template… I just HAD to share it with you first! A summer vacation page bursting with inspiration! It’s fabulous, fun and just screams SUMMER in all its deliciousness!

I love playing with a layered template – and, more often than not, I play over and over again! ;o) It’s my little blank-‘ish’ canvas and I can’t help but dream up different looks and feels for each new photograph I scrap. I did two layouts using the template, but this is my favorite!! 

Next we have the lovely Anna and her heavenly page! The photo is full of sweetness and light and all that gorgeousness if reflected in Anna’s beautiful scrapping!

Here is a very special page from our super-talented Beckie. Isn’t it absolutely enchanting!! Loving the rectangular photo and that amazing title!

And last but not least, beautiful Mariquita has turned the template into a summer masterpiece as well! Her page is a JOY to look at… pure happiness!

{ Remember to link up to this post only to enter template challenge FOURTEEN }

And, now, what you’ve no doubt being waiting… with much anticipation… for!!! – it is my privilege to announce the winner of  TEMPLATE CHALLENGE THIRTEEN!  This time, the ‘lucky’ number was 21… and that means that be2be’s TOGETHER layout was selected! :o) How CUTE is her little Winston?!! CONGRATULATIONS, be2be!! You should have received a $25 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe in your email box (be sure to check spam folders) this morning…have fun shoppe-ing and thanks for joining in the challenge fun!  And, as always…a huge THANKS to everyone who participated in the last template challenge. We’re thrilled that you did!

That’s it for today :o)  I’ll be back with something YUMMY for you tomorrow – see you then!

KylieFree (not desktops), Template Challenges, Uncategorized 73 Comments

Happy Independence Day to all our U.S. blog readers, and to everyone else – Happy Monday! It’s Anna here with another Layout of the Week winner!

Five17Creations (Kim) with her Family Love two-page layout!

Here is what Five17Creations (Kim) had to say about her page “(This is) a spread from my daughter’s baby book. I thought I’d post because I love this layout. I really wanted to include a piece of the past in my daughter’s book, so these are all kinds of family pictures from different times. I’ve been doing so many pages for her book that I haven’t posted all of it here. But I am excited to say I have finished and ordered it today! It has tons of Shabby Shoppe stuff in it!”

Not only is this an impressive layout, you should take a look at her daughter’s incredible book. Why not go to her layout and leave her some love. She has created some of the most gorgeous scrapping eye candy I have ever seen! I’m sure lucky Callie will cherish this book and all of its wonderful memories!

CONGRATS Kim! Watch your e-mail throughout the day to receive your $10 in Shabby Shoppe goodness from SP…and happy shoppe-ing!

Be sure to join us again on Thursday (July 7th) for the ALL NEW easy-as-pie template challenge and the announcement of our Challenge THIRTEEN winner!

AnnaLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 13 Comments