Saturdays With LeAnn

Welcome back on this beautiful Saturday, my friends!  I hope you all had a fabulous week and are ready to get crafty.  I have collected another batch of lovely projects for your inspiration, and hope you will find plenty of time this weekend to settle into your craft room and enjoy being creative!

Weekend Vibes and Goodtimes By Anita Bownds

Scrapbook pages are always such a great reminder of all that is special to us; they are a record of our journey through life.  Take the time to gather those precious photos and get them into your scrapbooks.  Don’t tuck them away in a drawer, bring them out and add some enjoyment to your life.  As you scrapbook your photos, take the time to reminisce about them.  This layout is an example of a layout about a day of special memories.  Don’t you just love how Anita incorporated some mixed media techniques to create the background?

When creating a layout, the photo itself is the major guide to your process.  Have you ever noticed that black and white photos really emphasize the faces in the photo?  I just love the outstanding job that Anita did on this layout.  Click here and I will take you on over to the Neat N Crafty blog where you will find a step-by-step tutorial along with a video on how Anita put this layout together.  While there, be sure to check out more of her projects; you will be so inspired by Anita’s wonderful projects.

Forever Friend By Shari Carroll

I love having a bunch of different cards on hand.  It is so nice to go to my stash and pull out what I need and not worry about having to run to the store to buy one.  There are so many incredible opportunities to let your imagination run wild by creating handmade cards.  Sometimes it is just nice to create a card and have everything in front of you, ready to go.  This card was created using a fun card kit.

I love the fact that this card has such a versatile design.  Take away the bunny and add different embellishments and you will have a card to use for any occasion. Give it a personal touch by adding a sentiment for the occasion you need it for.  Creating cards like this make card making so much fun.  This darling card was created by Shari Carroll using the Simon Says Stamp kit titled “Choose Joy.”  Be sure to check out all the products that you will receive in this kit; I guarantee you will have so much fun creating it.

Coasters By Helen Chilton

Today I want to share a fun project making coasters from ceramic tiles.  This is a project that you can easily customize to fit your personal taste.  We all get busy during the spring and summer months with lots of different activities.  I wanted to share a project with you that might help you with having some gifts on hand.  These fun coasters would make for a great handmade gift for just about any occasion.

There are a lot of different materials that you could use to decorate your coasters and a variety of themes to use.  I just love how Helen used Archival Inks and Ancestors stamps for her vintage-looking coasters. They turned out so beautiful!   Let’s pop on over to PaperArtsy where Helen will give you a full step-by-step tutorial and you can see how easily these come together.  This would be a great project to get your kids involved with. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both just down the road and these would make a fabulous gift for the grandparents who would love a handmade treasure from their grandkids.  Have fun creating!

Million Dollar Cookie Pie By Jen Sattley

This pie is rich and delicious!  The creamy dulce de leche and buttery chocolate chip cookie, drizzled with more caramel and chocolate, is a gooey perfection.  It’s an easy recipe and one you will want to make and share with your family and friends.  My mouth is watering just talking about it!  🙂

This easy recipe is served wonderfully warm and with vanilla ice cream.  This is about ten times easier than making chocolate chip cookies.  You can make this the day before serving and it stays fresh, soft, and tastes amazing!  It is the ideal dessert to make ahead for company or special occasions!  So if you haven’t gathered, it’s like a hot yummy cookie dough in a pie crust.  So delicious!  Come over with me to Carlsbad Cravings where you can get the recipe to make some for tonight’s dinner or a delicious weekend treat!  A big thank you to Jen for sharing her wonderful recipe with us.  Enjoy!

I appreciate those who have shared the inspiration for today’s post. I hope all of you have an amazing week ahead and I will see you back here next Saturday.  If you happen to be in the neighborhood of the Alameda County Fairgrounds at 4501 Pleasanton Ave in Pleasanton, CA on March 2nd & 3rd, please stop at the Registration desk and say hello.  I would love to meet you in person!