I know I’m not alone when I say that in my past life (before kids…LOL) I had much more time to focus on myself and my appearance.  Now that 3 little sweeties take up so much of my time, there isn’t a whole lot left over to spend on myself.  However, I L-O-V-E make up and beauty products as well as fashion, and feel so much better when I can actually spend those 10 minutes getting ready for the day.

Right after high school, I went to school to become a hair dresser and worked briefly doing hair and make up for photography and weddings.  Shortly after, I went back to university for a degree in Communications, but have spent the years since pursuing the perfect beauty products…and I am excited to share with you a handful of my faves.

Let’s start with a clean slate…or face… and talk about skin care.  I was a looong time Lancome fan, and still love their products, but about 4 years ago, I got hooked on a skin care line called Arbonne.  Their NurtriMin C RE9 anti aging skin care line is amazing, and I was an instant devotee from the first time I tried it.  I love how it leaves my skin feeling, and the clean citrus scent is heavenly.  Their Swiss formulated products are all natural, made from botanicals and have some wonderful and unique anti-aging properties.  You can see the full line of Arbonne products here.

Next up on my top pics list is a line called Make Up Forever, a French company that has been around since 1984, but has only emerged in the main stream in the last several years.  Make Up Forever has been widely used in theatre, film and broadcast and is best known for its use the Cirque de Soliel productions.  I have been cursed with dark circles under my eyes and have tried every concealer known to man.  Their HD Invisible Cover Concealer is hands down the best concealer on the market, in my humble opinion.  It is a full coverage product that is not cakey and does not streak.  The silicone applicator allows a smooth application with a small amount of product. 

Make Up Forever HD Liquid Foundation is another favorite in my arsenal. It is a full coverage light weight foundation designed for use with High Definition cameras, but you don’t have to be behind a camera to reap the benefits of this fabulous product.  I love the flawless appearance this product offers…Lord knows I need it!!!  Lastly, I love the staying power of Make Up Forever’s Aqua Lip Waterproof Lip Liner.  My favorite shade is Nude Beige 1C.  All of the Make Up Forever products are available at Sephora.

It is really important to “set“ a liquid foundation with a translucent powder.  Some powders on the market can be heavy and cause your face to look cakey and too heavy.  I LOVE to pair my foundation with one of 2 light and FUN powders from the Benefit line.  Most often I use the Georgia pressed powder which has a subtle peachy tint AND scent.  I am always impressed with how it alone makes my skin glow, and it doesn’t hurt that it is named for my home state…and that my husband’s nickname for me is “Peach”…LOL!  Alternately, I also really like Benefit’s Dandelion powder which has a pink-ish hue and sweet smell to match.  They are sure to perk up your face and set your foundation like a dream.

I am SO fussy about mascara, because I have the puniest scraggly eyelashes in the world.  Thank heavens that my kids got their Daddy’s gorgeous long lashes.  I have used Lancome’s Definicils mascara for years but recently discovered Benefit’s Badgal mascara which is a drier application and separates my lashes more effectively.  If you have puny lashes like me, give this product a try…I think you’ll like it.  You can also find Benefit products at Sephora or most any department store cosmetics counter.

Last but CERTAINLY not least is my most favorite lip gloss on the planet…Bath and Body Works Liplicious Pink Grapefruit.  I have used it for years and have about 4 tubes on the go at any given time.  I keep one in my make up bag, one in my purse, one in the car, and one on my desk.  I am A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D…seriously.  I’m sure that not every husband knows what lipstick or lip gloss their wife uses,  but ask my husband or my kids, and they can all tell you…I LOVE IT!

I hope you’ve enjoyed a sneak peak into my make up bag…and I hope you’ll go out and try one or all of these awesome products, I think you’ll be just as impressed as I have been.  I have been depending on my “full coverage” products to work over time for me this week (and next) while I’m back home in Georgia for a visit with my family.  Traveling alone with all three monkeys has been interesting to say the least, but thanks to my make-up partners, I’m still fresh faced despite being dog tired…LOL!  Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

KathyBeauty & Fashion, Uncategorized 8 Comments

Hey, it’s Kathy…and I’m all about BIRTHDAYS today!  It is my baby’s FIRST birthday today, and we are off to deliver the first round of the 189 quilts that have been made and donated for my Quilting for Babes project.  But first I’m back to show you the hybrid projects that I put together for my daughter’s 3rd birthday party a couple of weeks ago!

When Nalley became obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake earlier this year, I knew that I had to step back into my childhood and live vicariously through her.  I too, loved Strawberry Shortcake and still have my figurines…and they still smell!!!  These PRECIOUS strawberry boxes from SP’s XOXO Confection Collection were absolutely perfect for the party.  I had thought originally that I would use them as the party favors, but there were 20+ kids at her party, and that’s a lot of work.  So, I turned them into the party invitations and filled them with strawberry and creme jellybeans in a cello bag. 

I printed the party details on some cardstock, punched a scalloped circle from leftover red and white damask paper (from the Sweetie Pie Collection), punched a smaller green cardstock circle and topped it with a cute strawberry image.  I attached it with some green wraphia  and tied the box closed with some white grosgrain ribbon.  I did enlarge the box slightly from the original and I also cut it all out on my Cricut…LOVE the Cricut!  I hand delivered all of the invitations, as they wouldn’t fair well in the mail!

I wanted Nalley to have a special birthday outfit to go along with the Strawberry Shortcake theme and that would tie in to the invitations.  I bought a plain white shirt at Walmart for $4 and used the same papers from the invitation to clip into the strawberry shape.  I printed the image onto some iron on transfer paper and cut out the shape, leaving a small white border all around.  I have used a couple of different transfer papers, and my favorite by far is the “blue back” Super Soft Iron On Transfer Paper from Dharma Trading.  It prints beautifully and it goes on like a dream.  When it is washed, it is so soft and not “plastic-y” feeling.

I made a very simple ruffled twirl skirt and headband to match in a red and white polka dot fabric that I had bought to make her birthday dress last year…but that never happened, LOL!  The morning of the party, I put her outfit on and the shirt was too long and covered up a good portion of her skirt.  The wheels started turning and I thought about when I was younger and we woud tie up our t-shirts with a knot in the front (anybody else grow up in the 80′s and do that?).  Instead of just knotting her shirt, I made a QUICK button covered pony tail holder out of the red and white polka dot fabric and a white pony tail elastic.  It worked like a dream and took me all of about 3 minutes, tops!  If you look closely in the photo below, you can see it in the back.

We did really simple party favors, a coloring book and crayons, some strawberry candies and a party blower…

Nalley’s favorite part of her whole party was the cake (and the chocolate covered strawberries).  But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…the cake is my favorite part of ANY party!

The morning of the party, I realized that the table needed a little something else…it was kinda boring.  I punched out some 3″ scalloped circles from the leftover green polka dot paper from the invitations and adhered some “3′s” in red and pink cardstock.  I attached a skewer and plopped them into a champagne glass filled with extra jelly beans.  I tied some grograin and chiffon ribbons on them and there you go.  You can only see one of the in the pic above, but there was one on either side of the veggie tray.

The little details always make a party so special.  So go take a look around the Shabby Shoppe and see how you can mix in a little Digi detail into your next party!  Until next time…Cheers!

KathyHybrid Projects, Inspiration, Uncategorized 19 Comments

It’s Kathy…back again for our Layout of the Week!  I had so much fun perusing the gallery this week in search of my pick.  With all of my birthday and quilting stuff, I haven’t had much chance to do that in the last few weeks, so it was real treat to get back at it!

I’m sure you can all guess how difficult it must be for us to choose just one layout.  It is excrutiating, really…there are just so many great ones… and I’m not just saying that, take a look for yourself and see what amazing talent is in our SP community!  I was really looking for something that spoke to me in some way, and my pick, mcmoran’s Fashion Victims of the 1970′s, made me laugh so hard. 

 I grew up in the 70′s, and have some of the same hilarious “fashion challenged” pics of my family.  The captions with arrows pointing to each person, were not only humorous, but a great use of the elements in the new Hopscotch kit, on sale now for $5.95.  I also love the blurry/aged look of the scanned in photo… it is PERFECT for this layout, in that it really gives a vintage/nostalgic feel to the page. Great job mcmoran, a $10 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe has been e-mailed to you! Enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who posted your layouts in the Shabby Princess gallery this week, it is always fun to see everyone’s unique style and personal stories.  Have a fantabulous weekend!

KathyLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Hey y’all, it’s Kathy here…it has been a while, hope you haven’t forgotten me!  I have 3 kids with birthdays all within 6 weeks of each other, so I have been in full swing party planning mode!  We’ve gotten 2 down, and the third, my little munchkin’s FIRST birthday bash, is on Sunday…praying for sunshine, so that we don’t have to cram 60 people into our house!

So, needless to say, simple is my BFF lately.  Simple means stress free…but simple can still taste good…and be healthy, yay for that!  Today I’m bringing you two original recipes, the first for roasted carrots, and the second for a COATING that we use for BBQ’d (yes, you read that right) chicken thighs.  I had never heard of BBQ-ing a breaded chicken before, but let me tell you, it is TO DIE FOR (thanks to our buddy Tim for the amazing recipe)!  There really isn’t much of the actual breading that stays on the chicken, but it’s just enough to make them heavenly, while still healthy…did I say that already?  But let’s just start with those carrots, shall we?

I was looking for a different way to serve carrots than the same old steamed carrots with maple syrup, or butter and parsley that I always used to make, I was sick of them, really.  I had seen Ina Garten roast root vegetables years ago (when I could actually sit and watch Food TV without interruptions) and the way she rough cut her carrots had stuck in my mind.  So, I went to chopping…cutting the carrots on a 45 degree angle, then turning them a quarter turn, and chopping again.  Cutting them this way allows for more surface area for roasting.

Next, I tossed them into my Pampered Chef bar pan stoneware (LOVE PC stoneware, BTW) and drizzled a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil on them.  I added some coarse sea salt, freshly ground pepper and thought…hhhmmmm…I wonder how the Pampered Chef Rosemary Herb Seasoning Mix would be on them?!?  So, I sprinkled a little on, and popped them in the oven to roast away.

Oh my goodness, they were roasted to perfection and the flavor was out of this world…bye bye boring carrots…hello yum!  And they are so pretty…aren’t they?  They have become a staple at our house, and everyone that has eaten them asks for the recipe…but there isn’t a “recipe”…really, it’s so easy!

I do have a recipe for the Chicken Coating, but it’s really easy too, my kind of meal.  First, you want to start out with some boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I don’t typically like ANY dark meat, but these are soooo moist and flavorful).  We buy the club pack at Costco, half a pack will feed our family for one meal, and usually my hubby’s lunch the next day.  If we have company, we use the whole pack.  The great thing is, it is just as tasty reheated…and that is saying a lot coming from me who doesn’t like reheated meat…I know, I’m weird. 

Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl and drizzle enough olive oil to coat the chicken, but not so much that they’re swimming in it!!  Pour some of the chicken coating into the bowl and toss around with some tongs.  It is trial and error the first time you make it, as I can’t give you an exact ratio of chicken thighs to olive oil to coating mixture.  The great thing about it is that if you start small, you can add enough of each back and forth until it looks right.  You don’t want the coating to look caked on, just sparsely coated, as you can see in the picture below. 

Lastly, cook on medium heat until the chicken thighs are done.  The great thing about using the thighs is that they don’t dry out and they are so flavorful…yum yum!  We eat the chicken and carrots with some jasmine rice, and a salad…a really easy summer meal.

And, if you like these recipes, please feel free to download these premade 4×6 recipe cards.  Just print and add to your recipe box!

I hope you’ll make these recipes and let me know what you think.  Bon Appetite!

KathyFood Stuff, Free (not desktops), Uncategorized 18 Comments

Hey Y’all…it’s Kathy!  I’m back to show you another really fun, but super simple Hybrid Project.  But first, I have to give a shout out to my oldest, Maybel who turns 10 today!  Happy Birthday sweetheart, I am so proud of the wonderful little girl you are becoming.  She is so compassionate and caring…she’s having a “World Vision Party” tonight where her friends are donating money to World Vision in lieu of gifts…she makes me proud!

Anyway, back to today’s hybrid project.  I must confess, it isn’t today’s project, or even this week’s.  I did this project way back in the fall last year and have kept a lid on it so that I could share it on the new blog.  Life is kicking my butt very busy lately, and I am so glad that I had this little gem to show you.  There is NOTHING hard about this adorable Mini Accordian Album.  It is a little treasure of facts about my pregnancy with Lawson.  Every child seems to be fascinated with the stories and pictures surrounding their pregnancy and birth, and with this album, it’s easy for them to flip through and see.  My almost 3 year old daughter, Nalley, has LOVED looking through hers, and even though she can’t read yet, she loves to ask questions and gets me to read it for her.  However, you could EASILY make this mini to fit any theme you want, that’s the beauty of digi and hybrid.

I sell traditional paper crafting supplies through my business, Magnolia Designs, and was looking for ways to use some of the rectangular coasters I had ordered, when I stumbled on an idea to use them as covers for a mini accordian album.  It makes the perfect size album for little hands to hold.  These are medium weight coasters that measure 3 7/8 x 5 3/8. 

I printed my papers from the Barefoot Collection, perhaps my favorite kit that SP has ever done.  I chose this collection because Lawson’s birth announcements and a “Welcome Home”  banner were both made using this kit as well.  I think of my little dude every time I see this kit…so it was a natural choice.

When printing digital papers for use in a hybrid project, I ALWAYS use double-sided matte photo paper (mine is Staples brand) and print them on the “Best Quality” photo setting.  I have tweaked my printer’s settings for color, quality, etc…and saved them as a custom setting.  So whenever I want to print them, I don’t have to fumble and try to remember what the settings were…that would never work, my brain is like swiss cheese most days after wrangling these kids!

To assemble this mini, I adhered the printed papers to both the front and back covers using my ATG tape gun.  As digi scrappers, you may or may not be enlightened about the ATG tape gun, but it is one of my PRIZED possesions…really.  I am not a paper scrapper, but do LOTS of hybrid and other paper crafting projects…and I would be LOST without my tape gun.  It is easy to use, although a bit BIG…but the tape quality is awesome and CHEAP…way cheaper than most tape runners on the market.  Anyway, I digress… I covered the insides of the rectangular coasters with Core’dinations cardstock that I distressed with sandpaper.  Next, I tied a ribbon around the coaster before adhering the cardstock to the back side. I then sanded the edges of all the papers to get a smooth/worn look to the cover.

I used Photoshop to create the text boxes and tabs for each page, printed them on my matte photo paper and cut/punched them out.  I distressed each text box and photo with Tim Holtz Distressing Ink and adhered them to cardstock before layering them on top of some Barefoot papers.  The corners of both the “bones” of the album as well as the digi papers were rounded using a corner rounder to match the shape of the chipboard coaster covers.

I intentionally left this mini free of excessive embellishments, as I knew they would be handled frequently by little hands, and might end up in little mouths.  But I have made several of these minis for other themes, and think that embellishing hybrid projects is such a fun process.  In this case, the simplicity of the design allows the Barefoot papers to take center stage. 

I hope you will make one of these adorable mini accordian albums, as a pregnancy keepsake for your kiddos, or any other occasion that you can think of.  I can think of Father’s Day coming up…I’m just sayin’… a Dad would probably love something like this hybrid album to prop up on his desk….don’t ya think?!?  If you do, post your pics in the gallery so we can all take a look!

I’m signing out, Happy Friday…have a great weekend!

KathyHybrid Projects, Uncategorized 8 Comments