Black on Kraft Masculine Card

It is Christmas Eve the weeks leading up to this day have been filled with things to do: holiday concerts at my child's school, Christmas programs and parties at church and spending time with family and friends celebrating.   Sadly, in all the hustle and bustle I haven't been able to hide away in the craft room.  But for our family Christmas Eve and Christmas day are fairly quiet and easy which gave me time to create this morning.

This card is made using my Unity Stamp Co. December Kit of the Month - Best Friend to the End.  If you don't know Unity Stamps, check them out today because they are having an amazing year end sale.  

This card is for the quick card black on kraft challenge on the Unity Blog.  This card took less than an hour to create this morning.  It is made with Stampin' Up black and craft cardstock, Momento Tuxedo Black ink and of course the Unity stamps from the KOTM. 

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Traci

Prayer Box - Altered Mint Tin

I love re-purposing items that would normally end up in the trash.  In it's previous life this little box was a candy box that I found at Tuesday Morning.  

CoolMomCreations 2018

Of course, I ate the candy pieces then I cleaned it out then sat it on the shelf  while I looked for inspiration.   I decided to use it as a prayer box for a swap I participated in.  

CoolMomCreations 2018

The paper is from Webster's Pages, it is beautiful shabby chic.  The little flowers are from I Am Roses.

Joy in a Cup

I am so hopelessly behind on creating my Christmas cards this year that I think I am only going to send them to half the people on my list.  I hope that I can make welcome to 2019 cards for the rest of the list.  I was working like a mad woman on cards a couple of days ago when my heat embossing tool died on me.  No warning.  Just working one moment and dead the next.  It was tragic as I was in the middle of a card.  Sentiments were stamped and ready to be heated.  But no the heat tool gave it's last bit of heat to the previous card and died.  This meant I had to battle the traffic and lines at Michael's to get a new one because there is NO WAY the Christmas cards would be complete without embossing. A new heat tool sits on my craft table waiting to do it's magic.  But first one of the final cards created with my original heat tool.

Today's creation is a shameless rip-off of a card made by Robyn at What's Brewin' From Robyn's Nest.  If you haven't checked out her blog, I highly recommend that you do.  Her cards are amazing.  I needed inspiration for a coffee themed card for the Coffee Loving Paper Crafters blog hop, as soon as I saw Robyn's version of the card on Facebook I knew I had to make one for my coffee loving friends.  The stamp used is from Unity Stamps called Comfort to Go.  

Have a lovely weekend,

Traci

Chicken with Mushroom Port Wine Sauce

My husband and I are celebrating out 26th Anniversary next week.  In 26 years of marriage, I can count on one hand how many times we've actually been able to celebrate ON our anniversary.  We got married at Christmas time because I figured it was a frugal way to have nice decor at the wedding since the venue had informed us that their Christmas decor was put up on December first. At first I was going to change our wedding date thinking I did not want red and green decor at my pink and cream color themed wedding.  As we discussed new dates after the holiday season, the lady interrupted the conversation to tell us their decor was mauve (now called rose) pink and white.  Happily, we were able to keep our original date.  

Back to why we can't celebrate on our actual anniversary.  My husband is a musician, he plays the trumpet in our church orchestra weekly but during the holidays he also volunteers in a couple of community bands.  So, we celebrate on whatever weekend he has free.  This year it was last week.  We found a new restaurant in the area that had advertised one of my hubby's favorite dishes: flank steak with chimichuri.  We decided to try the restaurant.  It was good not anything to brag about but we enjoyed the evening and that's what matters.

A few nights later we had a rare night free and our teenager was gone for the evening.  So I decided to try to make my own version of the flank steak. Off to Pinterest I went for a recipe.  I found a recipe and realized in order to make said recipe I'd have to go out to GET FLANK Steak.  I didn't feel like going out to get steak so I decided to change up the Flank steak recipe for use with chicken. 

Obviously, our dinner does not resemble the flank steak with chimichurri at all. I love when you start out with one plan, detour into another and it all turns out perfect.  

Ingredients: 

16 oz Tyson boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup, pieces or slices Mushrooms, fresh
4 tbsp Butter, unsalted
3 clove Garlic
2 tbsp Rosemary
8 fl oz Port Wine (or any red)
.75 cup Chicken Broth 

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 7 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter with remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and cracked pepper. Add chicken, garlic, and rosemary to skillet. Cook about 4 minutes per side depending on thickness. Transfer to a cutting board. Let rest while preparing sauce.
Discard garlic and rosemary from skillet. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add wine; cook, stirring up bits, until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 3 minutes. Strain; return liquid to skillet. Stir in stock; bring to a boil. Simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; Whisk in 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon mushroom mixture onto plates. Thinly slice chicken; serve over mushrooms.

Serving Size: 4 servings (Approx 392 calories per serving using the Sparkpeople calculator)
Cook time: about 30 minutes.  Lots of steps but worth every one!

PS: I don't like mushrooms so I spooned the sauce over my chicken before I added them back to the pan.

Enjoy!  

Happiness in a Cup Plus GIU Week Winners

Coffee Loving Papercrafters is having a Fall and Winter themed blog hop right now.  If you haven't ever heard of them and you love coffee stamps, I high recommend checking out their Facebook page and blog.   Today's card is a coffee themed card that I am entering into the blog hop.  The coffee stamp is Java Friend by Unity stamps, the background is Heartfelt Creations and coffee rings are altenew.  I believe all of these companies are sponsors of the hop.

Coolmomcreations 2018

On to the winners from my Growing in Unity Week.  The winners of the Unity Stamp assortment for commenting are: Scrapin GA Peach and Kathy H.  I need both of you to contact me ASAP with your address to claim your prize.

The winner of my stamp set for new followers is Sylvia Haynes.  Please contact me with your address to claim your stamp set.  

Have a great week.
Traci

Growing in Unity - Day 5

Happy Friday!  

Are you in the holiday shopping and partying frenzy yet?  We hit the ground running every single year as soon as Thanksgiving is over.  My husband and kids are all instrumentalist which means Christmas concerts and holiday performances almost every weekend in December.  My daughter was chosen to represent her school in an honor band at the local university which has added to our already busy schedules this week.  But I will make good use of the empty house catching up on creating my Christmas cards.  I am so far behind, I think some people will be receiving Happy New Year Cards.

Thank you for visiting my blog during my GIU week, I have loved inking up my stamps and sharing them with you.  The final card of the week is one that I received just last week.  I was in the process of placing an order when my husband walked over to my desk, he asked what I was ordering and I replied "stamps that I don't really need but they are so pretty".  He started browsing with me and decided he (yes, HE) needed the Adornment border background stamp.   

Truth be told he is an amazing artist and certainly colors with Copics better than I can on my best day.  But he got busy with a report at work and wasn't able to color the image for me.  I broke out the Copics (B16, B18, E50, Y28, G05 & RV29) and created this fun card with the set.  Oh My Goodness, this is hands down my favorite Christmas stamp this season.  The sentiment is an older Stampin' Up set that I believe is retired now but it pairs perfect witht he Adornment background. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Traci

 

Growing in Unity - Day 4

It's hard to believe it's already Thursday of  my GIU week.  When my name was picked last year this week seemed so far away and honestly it was!  All year long, I'd get a stamp set and think: Oh! I'll use this one for my GIU week.  Then another sale would pop up or I'd find another stamp and think the same thing.  It happened more often than I'd like to admit.

If you knew me you'd know that I am seriously addicted to coffee.  I am from New Orleans so I come by it naturally since we were given coffee from the time we could hold a cup!  I did the same with my kids. As a matter of fact one of my niece's likes to share the story of when my youngest was about two and a half years old and spent the night at her grandma's house with her, in the morning she toddled into the kitchen and asked "is the coffee ready".  That toddler is now a senior in high school and still loves her coffee.  

Being such a coffee lover means that I hoard no HOARD coffee stamps.  I fell in love with this set by gracellie Design Stay Strong and had to have it.   I created the back ground on water color paper by layering two shades of blue and two shades of brown out of my watercolor palette then I colored the coffee cup with Copic markers # E11, E13, and E41.  

Thank you for dropping by today don't forget that new followers to my blog will be entered into a drawing to receive a Unity Stamp set.

Traci

Growing in Unity - Day 3

Today we are celebrating my lovely daughter's 24th birthday.  She's the girl who made me a momma and has kept me on my toe's from day one.  Her arrival was by far the most difficult because she wanted to make her way into the world on her own terms and in her own way.  I realize this is how she's been her whole life. 

Most little girls dream of being a princess, they tend to say they want to be Cinderella with the fancy dress and cute animals.  But  not my little girl, she wanted to be Mulan or Pocahontas.  Strong, independent  from the start.   There was rarely a time when I could get her into a cute frilly dress and when I did she hated every minute of it. 

Today her strong independence has taken her a half a world away with her military husband.   While it is never easy to be away from family, I am sure that her natural independence has helped with this transition.

  

I made my first shaker card for her.  After all was said and done, I am fairly pleased with the outcome. I wish I had added a bit more to the front but I was trying to get the shaker part just right.  

For those of you who make shaker cards, is it normal to have the sequins stick to the sides?  If you look to the left you'll see a bunch of them are stuck. 

Thank you for dropping by and happy Wednesday!

Traci

    

Growing In Unity - Day 2

Thank you for joining me on Day 2 of my Growing  in Unity week.  

Today's post comes with a tissue warning.  

The angel in the set Too Beautiful for Earth by Phyllis Harris reminded me of my toddler, Malena, who went to heaven in 2000.  I purchased the set and hoped it would just sit on my shelf  unused. 

Sadly, a couple of weeks ago I received a call that the 2 yr old daughter of a friend died in her sleep.   Baby A had in her short life battled seizures and illness but that did not define who she was to those around her.  She was always smiling and a constant ball of energy.  She was adorable even when she was being stubborn.  So many things about Baby A reminded me of my Malena.  I like to think that they are playing in heaven today.

There is no pain, no grief and no trial in life that compares to having to plan a funeral for your toddler.  But I am thankful that Unity has created a stamp that deals with such a difficult issue. 

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win an assortment of Unity stamps.

Traci

Growing In Unity - Day 1

It's my first day as the Growing In Unity Girl of the week!  I cannot tell you how excited I was when my name was drawn almost a year ago.   This week each day I will be showcasing a card made with stamps from Unity Stamp Company. At the end of the week two names will be randomly drawn from the comments to win an assortment of stamps from Unity Stamps. 

 

Today's card features stamps from the Heart Times stamp set.  This is an amazing set that is all about get well wishes.  But as you can see it also has cute umbrellas that can be used for wedding and baby shower cards.  I love stamp sets that can be used for occasions other than the obvious one.

The inside is stamped with the cute tissue box from the stamp set.  

I used Stampin' Up! Bashful Blue cardstock with Balmy Blue and Gray Granite inks for this card.  The technique is what I call random pattern stamping to create my own background. I am sure there is a real name for it but I don't know what it is. 

In addition to the give away sponsored by Unity Stamp Co.  I will be giving away a surprise stamp set drawn from NEW followers of my blog.  Click on the "BLUE Follow" link at the top right side of the page.

Thank you for joining me this week! 

Traci

Memories on Butterfly Wings

CoolMomCreations 2018

Do you ever swap or sell a stamp then have seller's remorse?  That's what happened with this lovely image.  I'd received it in a grab bag from Unity Stamp Co.  a couple of years ago and used it only once, to create this card.  This card was sent to someone that I was partnered with in a swap.  She loved the image so much that I swapped it with her for something else.  Within a month, I regretted that decision.  

I am told by fellow crafters that selling/swapping remorse is why we all turn into hoarders of craft supplies.  The lesson here is keep everything, you never know when you will need it.  

Have a great Wednesday.

Traci

Up Up and Away

Have you been fighting this awful winter sickness in your house?  I was hit hard with it last week but am feeling much better now.  I am so behind in doing things that need to get done but still found time to sit at my craft table and create a few things.

©2018 CoolMomCreations

I made this lovely guy using a House Mouse stamp, Copics and Stampin' Up DSP  and an oldie but goodie stamp.  I love this Wish Big stamp and find I go back to it over and over for birthday cards. 

Have a lovely Monday and stay well!
Traci

Monochromatic White

CoolMomCreations 2018

 I love monochromatic white cards.  They are so elegant and pretty.

CoolMomCreatons 2018

I made this one for a white with glitter swap.  The card stock is Stampin' Up Whisper White.

CoolMomCreations 2018

The die is an eBay die before I decided not to buy knock-offs but it is really pretty, the flowers are from IAmRoses.com and the gold is Wink of Stella.

Thanks for dropping by,

Traci

Music to My Ears

This week we started visiting colleges for the baby of the family.  It is so strange to think in just a short time we will be empty nesters.  There are parts of me that cannot wait but there are others that cannot believe how fast time has flown.  My children are all musicians, I imagine a very quiet home with no piano practices. 

CoolMomCreations 2018

I bought this grand piano stamp years ago to make a thank you card for our piano teacher who has become like a grandparent to my children.  I am not sure what company made it but it is certainly one of my favorite stamps.  This card is embossed in gold on Stampin Up Basic Black and black on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla.  

Have a grand day!

Traci

Heart Attack, Anxiety Attack

A little over a week ago, I had a pretty big health scare.  I was having chest pains and difficulty breathing.  I did what normal (or not) people do and went to Dr. Google with my symptoms.  Of course, the first thing was go to the ER.  I decided that Dr. Google had to be wrong and asked for a second opinion.  OK, I just reentered the list of symptoms hoping for a different result which didn't happen.  Even then I waited because my daughter had a doctor's appointment that I didn't want her to miss.  Yes, I took my child to the doctor then went to the ER.  The doctor at the ER was not at all surprised by this information, he said he hears this kind of thing from moms ALL. THE. TIME.  But he also admitted me because by father died before he was 50 years old of a massive heart attack.  Long story short, my heart is fine and my lungs are fine.  I am either dealing with anxiety (which makes since because I have a chronically ill child), something viral or well he wasn't sure and said I should schedule a follow up with my regular doctor.

 That being said, I took three things away from my stay at the Hospital Inn:

1. I need to eat better.  Eating better makes you feel better.

2. I need to rest when I can.  This is parenting 101 when you have a baby but as our kids get older we run ourselves ragged running them around and forget to rest.

3. Exercise is your friend.  There are too many good things to list about exercising but it helps release endorphins that are good for you.  That alone is a good reason to get back into a routine of exercising.

All these things in mind, I decided to make a dinner that included vegetables.  I hate vegetables but I am getting to the age, actually I am passed the age, where veggies should be in my meals regularly.  I went to Pinterest and found this recipe for Balsamic Chicken and Veggies.  I am not one to follow the recipe so I tweaked it for my own taste.  I cooked the chicken following the directions with the sauce.  Instead of asparagus, I had spinach in the fridge.  I took the chicken out of the pan and added the spinach just to wilt it a bit and I added roasted tomatoes to that.  The result was amazing.  

Have a healthy and happy week,

Traci

Support Our Troops

I love the U.S. Military.  As the child of a veteran, I was raised to understand the importance of what each branch of the service does for our country.  The love of the service skipped a generation with us but I currently have a son in-law finishing A School in the U.S. Coast Guard, two nephews in Naval boot camp and a son getting his ducks in a row to become a Coastie sometime this spring.  We are very proud of each of these young men.  The road they are traveling is not easy with two of them leaving behind newly minted wives to go to training. 

I was very excited to find Unity in America by Unity Stamps.  I love it so much because it has all the branches of service plus several others that round out an awesome kit.  If you haven't visited Unity Stamps, I highly recommend them.  The stamps are amazing, some of the best I've used but  they also have the most amazing sales and customer service. 

Thanks for dropping by,

Traci

Challenge entry for Hiding in My Craft Room color challenge.

Seaside Thinking of You

©2018 CoolMomCreations

I love being challenged  to move outside of my box when I am creating.  When I signed up to do a nautical card swap, I decided I wanted to do something that was a challenge.  So, as I searched Pinterest for an idea, I found a version of this card that used the Stampin' Up! High Tide and Beautiful You sets.  I had both of these sets sitting on my shelf unused because I had no idea where to begin with them.  

High Tide is a layering set, I was not completely successful with the layers but that will be remedied next time because I remembered I have a We R Memory Keepers Precision Press in my arsenal of crafting goodies.  Yes, I have so much stuff that I forgot I had one which I am just a bit embarrassed to admit.  All is well, I have pulled it out not to be forgotten again. 

The Beautiful You set is just amazing and well...beautiful.  I decided a bit of paper piecing was in order for the lady.  She's pieced using discontinued DSP.

IHOP Happy Birthday

Today I am not sharing a card that I created.  Instead I am sharing a card that my youngest daughter created for a friend's birthday, it is a CAS card. She told me that she was going to go to IHOP with some friends to celebrate R's birthday, I thought she meant that some band kids were just going to have breakfast and give the birthday girl her gifts.  But I was wrong.  R's mom is brilliant, she realized the high schoolers like to go to IHOP to have brunch since none are awake during breakfast hours. So, she planned her daughter's birthday at IHOP.  No noisy teenagers at the house, no worrying about what they can eat or like to eat and best of all NO CLEANING.  She gave them each a $10 gift card then covered the rest if they went over $10 and called ahead to have enough tables ready.   The teens loved it. IHOP Birthday Party = Mom Win!

©CoolMomCreations 2018

CoolChick is the reason I started crafting years ago.  She loved creating cards when we went to visit my sister in-law.  As she got older her aunt decided that she needed to have her supplies to create at home not just once a year when we visited.  So, she sent home enough goodies to set up a small craft area.  That craft area has now taken over our office and is mine not my daughter's.  The days my daughter creates along side me are some of my favorite. 

The card is made using all Stampin' Up products because I am a recovering SU addict.

Have a lovely Tuesday.

Traci

Wishing You A Happy New Year

©CoolMomCreations 2017

I have been seeing these really cool eclipse cards on Pinterest so I decided to give it a try.  I love this card but for whatever reason it doesn't have the definition that I see on other cards that are posted.  I used Stampin' Up pop dots to raise the numbers and even tried to offset them a little.  But you still cannot see the silver as well as I've seen them done.  That being said, I love this card and will try the technique again soon.

I am in my happy place for the next few days to celebrate the New Year on the mountain, with cold weather and in a nice small town atmosphere.  I hope 2018 brings you joy and many crafty days.

Traci