Favorite finds

Check out my latest addition to my shop at Oscraps. These are just my favorite Christmas ornaments ever!

>> store link <<

Songbird Avenue - revisited

So, I don't think the totals have been posted yet, but I just wanted to say how thankful I am to everyone who purchased the Leap of Faith kit last month at Songbird Avenue. We raised over $1250 for Mercy Corps! How awesome is that! Seriously, thank you all for your support!!!!

This month, Songbird is hosting another fab-o kit by Dani Mogstad, Jan and Meredith. Check it out!

>> Songbird Avenue store link <<

Sugar Giggles {A Sweet Summertime Collab}

I recently had the incredible experience of collaborating with some amazing digi designers!

Nikki Beaudreau, Edeline, Amy Hutchinson,
Janosch Designs, Summer Simmons,
Kim de Smet, and Sunflowers

Check out what we created:





And here are some of the incredible layouts created by our creative teams:

>> store link <<

Guess who is the guest designer at Songbird Avenue this month!

Yep, you guessed it! ME!

I am so incredibly happy and honored to have this opportunity to work with the fab-O-lous Jan Crowley and amazing Meredith Fenwick on this project. I admire both of them and what they are doing at Songbird. Really, I am just a bit verklumpt about it all.

Go! No really, go NOW and grab this kit! It's only available for the month of June and then it will be gone forever.

Songbird Avenue: http://www.songbirdavenue.com/

And, while you're there, check out the OMG amazing Inspiration gallery!
http://www.songbirdavenue.com/view.php/area/4/inspiration

Due to popular request...

I finally broke down and ordered a fan blinkie for y'all! Sport it if ya wanna!

Here it is:



I think Kitty did a fab-O job! Don't you?

No. You can't call me Martha...

But! You can call me doggedly determined. At least when it comes to attempting to make something fabulous food-wise. Now, those of you who remember my very first contest at the O, you'll be thinking to yourself, "Vicki? Making fabulous food? Um. WHAT?!?!"

Seriously, though.

For real.

This is what I made!

Mama's Angel Food Cake
w/ Bourbon Creme Anglaise

I know, I know... You're all thinking. "WOW! You did a great job Vic!"

Relax.

The pic above is NOT mine. LOL. That pic is Martha's. Ya know, Martha Stewart. The one who makes everything look SO easy. Anywho, I'll get to my pic in a bit, mostly because it involves me going and getting it off the camera and on the computer and photoshopping the heck out of it... and, heaven only knows when that will happen... but I digress... I wanted to share with you a few things I learned through this endeavor.

First things first...
1. Martha has been cooking a lot longer than me.
2. Martha had the author of the cookbook standing there with her.
3. Martha had the right pan.
4. Martha had all the ingredients.
5. Martha has a staff.
6. Martha has those magical TV 'supplies' that magically appear already done (see #5).
7. Martha probably has one of these...

{it's an egg separator - who knew!}

8. Do not be fooled when watching the 10 minute segment at around 11:30 pm that the recipe is really that quick, easy and painless. It's not. Ok, so it's not if you're *me* (see contest link above and #5).

9. Separating 12 eggs by hand is messy and rather icky. Apparently there are special tools for this. And, if you're really smart, I hear you can buy a carton of egg whites at the store. Hrrrmph.

10. 30 min spent watching for the said 12 egg whites to magically turn into soft peaks is probably 30 min in which you could have run to the store, bought a cake and started eating it.

11. Staring forlornly into the mixing bowl will not make the whites stand at attention any sooner.

12. This particular recipe is just fine without the almond extract (see #4 above).

13. A bundt pan is not an angel food cake pan (see #3 above).

14. Read the bit at the bottom of the recipe about the cake having to cool for 2 hours atleast 3 hours before you think you're going to be wanting to eat it soon.

15. Whisking 6 egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar would be easier in the stand mixer. Go ahead and wash that bowl you just dirtied for the cake. You'll thank me for this.

16. When a recipe for creme anglaise calls for 6 egg yolks and you've already gone to the trouble of separating 12 eggs for the cake, go ahead and reserve those extra 6 egg yolks in case you get impatient at the end of cooking and turn the heat up.

17. Do NOT turn the heat up at the end of making a creme anglaise to speed along the process - it will break and you will not be happy.

18. Amaretto may not be the best substitute for Bourbon in a Bourbon Creme Anglaise sauce (see #4 above).

19. Amaretto in a glass with some Sunny D - AWESOME!

20. Angel food cake is yummy (see pic below) and Amarretto Creme Anglaise is, um, not worth the effort (see #19 instead).

{me & my cake - it's a good thing}

>> link to recipe on Martha Stewart's site <<

M & M's ROCK!

Alyx's birthday is quickly approaching and I'm soooo excited I actually remembered to order the personalized M & M's in time this year! They are so cool!

Here's how I spent yesterday evening....

Halloween 2007

Here's a layout I just did of Alyx on Halloween. I've got a ton of pics I want to get posted, but this will have to do for now!:: Credits ::

Behind yet again...

Ok, so I see that I am waaaay behind on posting again.

I've got a new kit in the Oscraps shop!

Wrap Me Up :: Grunge Two

Just loaded in the Oscraps store!

:: LINK ::

the best day in a really looooong time!

We've been trying to walk most every night trying to get ready for all the walking we'll be doing at Disney next month. So, the one person I was really worried about getting too tired is myself, cuz ya know- I lead a pretty sedentary lifestyle. So, I decided to go for an extra walk today and I was trying to kick it up a notch and was jogging part of it and a guy drives by, then turns around and drives back by to get another look!!! woooohooo.... go me!

So, I was so jazzed by that, I went around the block a second time, then broke into the neighbors house to work out on the bowflex in his garage. Ok, so I didn't break in, I have a key and it's our bowflex, we just don't have room to leave it set up in the house, but I digress.... so anywho, I worked out and it felt soooo goood! We have struggled for so long feeling crappy from the battle of the mold that I had forgotten how good it feels to be active!

Then, I went to lunch with the hubby and his co-worker and then ran some errands. Well, it was such a gorgeous day that I had the windows down and the stereo cranked. Naturally, I was dancin' in the car having a grand time, all by myself and got checked out twice more.... And, not just by mullet boys in 1972 camaro's this time lol

Of course, that could be because I was dancing to this song (both the english version and this version)


and I learned my chair dancing from this guy...




Or maybe, it was just because of the other song I was jammin' to... (ok, so I guess I should say this one would be pg-13 for animated violence, blah, blah, blah.....)




So, there ya go :) a totally fun day in my world....

So, it's sorta fixed...

Yay me, I only took a month plus nap... lol. Ok, so I finally fixed the layout snaffoo... maybe one of these days I'll actually take the time to update the header and links and make it all pretty and stuff - but I doubt it. There's too much on my "to do" list right now to worry about it.

For those of you asking me to get back to blogging - well, I promise I'll try!

On that note, here's a few pages I've done recently...

credits

credits

Credits

credits

Credits

I just broke it

Just broke the appearance of my blog that is.... i'm gonna go take a nap and forget about this thing for now.... blech

George and Taylor brought me Carla's camera!!!!

Ok, so its been awhile since I've posted here.... If you want to read more about how I came by this wonderful new camera, check out the "Guess who's coming to dinner" thread here: http://www.oscraps.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3820

I'm taken this shortcut because I really just want to getting to posting of some pics!

This first one is sorta how I feel about my new camera


(Actually, that's the neighbor boy in the pool)

Same neighbor boy...


If you get water in the water noodle, then blow really hard, it shoots really far.



Whatcha think? Am I the luckiest girl in the world or what?

Thanks again, Carla, George and Taylor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cruise!

We just got home from our cruise! What a blast we had! I've already got a couple of layouts done so I'll share those for now and tell the tale tomorrow....

You all have blown me away!!!!

So many of my dear, dear friends and even some aquaintances have given me the best birthday presents ever - the truly warm feeling of knowing people care. It's amazing to me how wonderful the online community is. I feel so blessed to be a part of it!!!!

Here are a few of the special gifts that were made for me this year....

by Sally (Cellomom)

credits may be seen here

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

By Sue (livelifejoyfully)
credits may be seen here

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

By Genevieve (SweetGenevieve)
from Genevieve's new High Society kit.


Thank you all SO MUCH!!!!!!!

It's my birthday!!!

Today is my 38th birthday and I'm having a SALE!



38% off most Vicki Stegall designs (excludes collaborative projects and commercial use items).
Sale runs today (Feb 8,2007) thru Sunday (Feb 11, 2007)


PLUS!
Spend $5 or more in the Oscraps store,
and get my ‘Happy Birthday kit FREE!

Simply place the Birthday girlie kit in your shopping cart and enter the
coupon code: Birthday-Girl in the coupon redemtption field at checkout!
Don’t forget, you have to spend atleast $5 for the coupon to work.

Two new mini kits in the store today!

I've got two new kits in the store today! As always, you can click any image to enlarge.

Sweet

Happy Birthday {Girlie!}

A few new scraps...

I'll post credits on these tomorrow... I just wanted to get them uploaded tonight before I crawl into bed. Otherwise, it won't get done lol. As always, you can click the pic to view it larger.

Whine, whine, whine... can I have some wine please?

Yesterday, I took some time off from site business (backend stuff that tends to stress me out a bit - ok, a lot lol) and do some designing. I have an almost finished kit that I've been working on for over a month now, squeezing in a little here and a little there. So, I spent most of the day putting finishing touches, pulling together, packaging, etc. and realized that I wasn't quite happy with how everything went together. So, at 8pm I started reworking again. At 10:30, my munchkin - who should have been in bed an hour earlier, says, "Mom, do the people you work with know you have a son?"

WOAH! That was a "step back, take a look around" moment for me. I've worked pretty much non-stop since March of last year when I got this crazy idea to start my own site. With the new year, I made the resolution to not work so much this year. I thought I was doing pretty good. I mean, I haven't been working every waking moment like I did most of last year.

But, apparently it's still too much in Alyx's eyes. And, when I step back and look at it, it really is too much. I'm going to have to accept the fact that, as Genevieve's husband says, "There's only one way to eat an elephant. One bite at a time." I'm going to do what I can do and get done what I can get done during the day while Alyx is at school and Anthony is at work and then I'm going to shut it down at night.

Wish me luck.