Freebie Alert! Scrap Orchard Blog Train has left the station!

NEW LINK ADDED

Howdy! Athena here to tell you about the "don't miss it" blog train from Scrap Orchard.

Scrap Orchard is celebrating Halloween by giving away lots of goodies! Don't miss your opportunity to receive some freebies from the FABULOUS Scrap Orchard Girls!

Click on the picture below to download Litabell's portion of the blog train and don't miss out on all the other freebies from other Scrap Orchard designers. Just click on the links to the other blogs. Have fun. Can't wait to see your fabulous creations in the gallery at Scrap Orchard.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Chelle: http://www.chelles-creations.com/digital-scrapbook-blog/
Kat: http://digidesignsbykat.blogspot.com/
Tracie: http://www.traciestrouddesigns.com/blog/
Lyndsay - http://www.lyndsayriches.com/
Emily: http://www.scrapsbythebrush.blogspot.com/
Kami: http://www.zigglescraps.com/
Suzy: http://suzyqscraps.com/blog/
Cheryl: http://www.fiddle-dee-deedesigns.com/
Rachel: http://blog.captivatedvisions.co.uk/
Irene: http://www.irenealexeeva.blogspot.com/
Anna: http://www.annabv.com/blog/
Lita: http://litabells.blogspot.com/  <---------- You are HERE
Laura: http://www.simply-scraps.net/
Faith: http://www.faithtrueoriginals.com/blog
Yari: http://www.jadydaystudio.com/blog/%20

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Hey guys! Jennifer here, reporting in for my first post on Lita's blog. In my part of the world, Autumn has fully arrived, and along with that, cooler temperatures. After the nasty heat of summer, I always look forward to rich soups, hearty meals, and decadent desserts. One of my family's favorite treats is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, and I'm going to share that recipe with you today! It is super easy to make and is somewhat nutritious too!

Ingredients:
One box of Spice Cake Mix(If you can't find spice cake mix, you can use a yellow cake mix and add pumpkin pie spice to taste)
One small can pumpkin (not pie filling, pure pumpkin)
One bag of chocolate chips

(please note, in my pictures I am making a double batch, as a single batch won't last a day. My ingredient quantities are doubled)

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix together the pumpkin and the cake mix. Make sure to mix thoroughly until there are no lumps left in the batter.

 Then add the chocolate chips. We like a lot of chocolate chips in ours, so I add close to an entire bag.

Mix slowly and thoroughly so that the chips are evenly distributed throughout the batter. This is a very thick batter, and you will find it hard to stir, but this step is best done by hand so not to break the chips.

Scoop the batter by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. These cookies don't spread much, so you can put them close together.

Bake in the oven for 12-20 minutes. These cookies need to be watched closely because it depends on the oven for baking time, and each batch tends to take a bit less time than the one prior. Cookies are done when you can tap them on top and it bounces back completely. Do not overbake! Let cool on the sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks until completely cooled. Store in an air tight container between layers of parchment paper. Best if eaten within one week.

I hope you enjoy one of our favorite Autumn treats!

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Where I Stand Freebie!!

Hi! Jan here today to bring you a freebie I made using one of my favorite Litabells Designs Kits - Where I Stand. I've used this one over and over again and I love it more all the time.

First check out the gorgeousness of this kit:

And here's my freebie! Hope you enjoy and have an awesome weekend!!

Download Here

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We loves Lita's customers...

Good morning, Christine here to spotlight not just a person, but many of them.  Lita is an amazing designer but that is not all, she is the creator of all things Artful.  If you have not checked out her website or this gallery, you need to run there right now!

Here are some amazing examples of the Art Journaling prompts Lita has provided for all of her fabulous followers through her awesome video tutorials and such.  If you want more information or join in on the fun you can find all the information here

Check out these lovely creations

From Lilusmom

From Balinda

From Kami

From AmberK

I hope you enjoyed all this beautiful eye candy as much as I do...join us again soon to see what our great group has for you next time.  I am sure it will be fun!!!

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Pintrest Pick

Hi everyone CTM Vicky here with a pick from Pintrest for you

Seriously, these posts should come with a warning, because if you didnt already know ...... Pintrest is extremely addictive !!!

I took inspiration for todays pick from Lita's Mixed Media Workshop

Playing With Paint

Playing with Paint is an online based workshop exploring various techniques and effects using acrylic paints, giving you a great starting point to creating your art journal pages and mixed media projects.

Art Journaling is something that I'm itching to start, and will be in the next month or so (watch out for those posts LOL)

So I have been browsing pintrest for some inspiration, here are just a couple of my fabulous finds xxx

My Pin

Original image can be found on Flickr by "glenda tkalac"

My Pin

Original Image can be found on the blog

A year in the Life of an Art Journal

Amazing right !!! I cant wait to get my supplies and start this new creative venture, hope this has inspired you to maybe try Art Journaling too?!

 

Thanks for joining me today

Vicky xx

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Falling freebie!

Hey everyone! Yo here, bringing you a cluster frame freebie that I made with Lita's kit Falling.

You can grab it from 4shared here. Hope you like it! Happy scrapping!!

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Falling Digi/Hybrid Card

Hello! It’s Pene with you today and I wanted to share a digital card that in a few easy steps turns into a gorgeous hybrid card!

When I saw Litabell’s Designs new kit Falling (available now at Scrap Orchard), I was instantly drawn to the gorgeous tree and the cute little owl and decided it would look great on a birthday card.

I made an A4 page (roughly Letter size in the US) in Photoshop Elements 6.0 and used the rectangle tool to make a 20cm wide by 15cm high shape.  I clipped the creamy background paper to this shape.  You can use the guides to use halve the card so that when you print it you just have to fold it in half for it to be the right size.  The guides also let you put the elements etc to the right scale so it prints nicely. 

I dragged the tree element to this layer, resized it and added a shadow.  I used the green tape element from the kit for a grassy kind of look, again resizing and shadowing.  I then dragged the owl onto the tree and resized it and did the same with the word strips.  I used the text tool to add “ Have a hoot on your birthday” to the wordstrip. 

If you want this to be a purely digital card that you print, you would place the owl and word strip where you want it on the front of the card, add shadows and print.

However I wanted that beautiful owl to have a bit more pop, so after I sized it I dragged it off the card to the A4 background underneath. I did the same with the wordstrips.

I printed it on Vanilla coloured cardstock, cut out the rectangle that is the card, plus the owl and wordstrip.  I inked everything with Tim Holtz distress ink in Brushed Corduroy, as I think it adds some nice depth and a bit of grunge to the card.

I stuck the owl on with dimensionals so he pops out and used doubled sided tape for the wordstrips.  I then used Crystal Effects (Stampin’ Up) on the owl and the word strips.  This gives it a very glossy and 3D effect, almost like an epoxy sticker.

When it was dry (it takes about 30 mins), I simply folded the card in half and inked the folded edge.

 I have made this into a download for you so you can make your own.  You can get it here.

Cheers,

Pene xo

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Newness + Winner Announced

Happy Friday Litabells fans! Lita has been busy this week and there are a couple of things she would like to share with you that are new and exclusively at Scrap Orchard. Whether you are visiting a pumpkin patch, an apple orchard, frolicking in the leaves, or just enjoying the cool fall weather amongst the beautiful scenery that nature has provided you are certain to fall in love with Falling. If you live in an area of the world where the colors of the trees do not change, don’t be discouraged, you will still find that the beautiful papers and elements of Falling can be used for so much more.

The Belles were inspired by all of the beauty in Falling. Aren’t they a talented bunch?

Wait! There is more. Also available for purchase in case you are in need of a little head start on your scrapping this week. We have all been there right? You have a fantastic kit and even a handful of photos selected to scrap, but there you sit just staring at the computer screen. *sigh* No worries, Lita has you covered. You can grab this fantastic duo of nicely blocked templates and take some of the stress out of getting those photos scrapped. Guess what? Lita has is nice enough to offer these templates free. That’s right, for this week Duets Volume 2 is free when you purchase Falling. Woot!

Here is a little more eye candy from the beautiful Belles.

 

Oh and yes, there is a winner! My hero for picking just the right number, Mr. Random, has selected one of the lucky entrants from this week. First a thanks to all of you that spread the word about Lita's designs all around digiland. It is truly appreciated! Christine E is the winner chosen for this week. Congrats Christine! Please contact Lita through the contact section in the blog header above to claim your prize! ;)

Thank you for visiting the blog this week. Have a terrific weekend.

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Pinterest Pick

Hey, hey everyone!! Jan here, so excited to be doing my first blog post for the awesome Lita! And to make it even better, I get to blog about one of my favorite things - Pinterest! If you haven't visited this site, you really should!! It is a wonderful place to find inspiration for so many things - recipes, crafts, home ideas, photography - you name it, you can find it on Pinterest. It's also a great place to keep track of all the fabulous things you come across when searching the web. If you're anything like me, you have a list of bookmarks a mile long, but can't ever find anything you're looking for. With Pinterest, it's as simple as pinning it to one of your boards and then you have a great visual bookmark. I have found so many neat things on Pinterest and now have a list of projects to last me a good long time, as well as recipes and awesome inspiration. Be warned: Pinning is addicting!!

So, anyway...on to the reason I am here. I get to show you my Pinterest Pick of the day!! I don't think it's too early to get started on a Christmas project...especially for me as it tends to take me a long time to complete one and this project is definitely on my list. Check out this cute decoration using old CD's

Here's another view linked to the original blog with directions (A Recovering Craft Hoarder):

What a great use for old CD's and some cute cute digi papers and fonts!! I'm really looking forward to trying this one. And make sure you check out the link at the top of the page to see what our very own Litabells has pinned :)  Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!!

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BeAwesome Bean Medley - Recipe

Howdy, Howdy!
Loni here, to share one of my latest kitchen concoctions with you.
And Seriously Folks, if I don't say so myself...
I have genuinely been kickin' some mighty fine
derrieres in the soup department lately.

Meet my latest creation
and this week's top contender... thus far:

I love soup in the fall.
And this one is absolutely off the charts...
Beyond Awesome Good!


BeAwesome Bean Medley

Ingredients:

1 package Kielbasa (de-skinned and cubed)
1 small diced Onion
1 Minced Garlic Clove
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 can Pinto Beans
1 can Great Northern Beans
1 can Black Beans
1 can Black Eyed Peas
1 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes
1 can Corn
1 can Chicken Broth
1/2 cup Wild Rice
2-4 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce (to taste)
White Pepper, Black Pepper and Sea Salt to taste.

Preparation Instructions:

De-skin and cube sausage. Brown in a pan along with onion, oil and garlic - season to taste. Remove from heat.

In the crockpot add entire contents of all canned items (including all liquids, do not drain) : beans, tomatoes, corn and chicken broth. Stir in the cooked sausage and onion mixture. Followed by your wild rice, Worcestershire and spices. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 7-8 hours.

Of course I came up with this on the fly and you could just as easily prepare it on the stove top. A recipe like this is very forgiving, so don't be afraid to use what you have on hand. The real secret here is the White Pepper and the Worcestershire Sauce - don't be stingy, the flavor they add is totally BeAwesome!

Enjoy :)
Loni

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I’m Sneaking Around Again

I did a little sneaking around in Lita’s studio and found out that she has the sweetest fall kit coming your way this Friday. One of Lita’s loyal followers will be lucky enough to win the new kit.

Here is just a taste to tide you over until Friday. Don’t forget to stop back by for the full reveal. I’ll also announce a winner.

Are you ready to win it? Share this blog post with your friends. Post on Facebook,  Twitter, or even your blog to be entered to win. Each share is an entry. Please leave a separate comment with links for each share that you have completed.

Good luck!!

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Gallery Standouts 17th October 2011

Morning everyone xx


CTM VickyD here to spotlight some wonderful pages found in the galleries, created with Lita's fabulous kits

Remember to upload your Layouts or Hybrid Projects to Lita's Gallery at Scrap Orchard, you may see your name up in lights right here on Lita's Blog next time there is a Gallery Standout Post!!


First up is a gorgeous page about friendship from zoebearsmom

I adore the split paper background, and the wonderful journalling. The clustering is outstanding and so is the shadow work !! fab photos too ladies !! xx


This page from melscrap also caught my eye

The wonderful bright colours and cute photo grabbed me at first, but once I read that journalling, I fell in love, such a heartfelt and wonderful page, great memory keeping !!!



last but not least is a gorgeous page from angiepangie

I adore that photo - how cute !! The layering and great title work really made this page standout the gallery and I love the placement of the paperclip, it looks so real I could reach out and grab it !!



I hope you enjoyed seeing some inspiration form Lita's Customers, feel free to go and leave these ladies some loving in the galelry, all the artists names are linked to the image in the gallery xxx

Have a wonderful week

((HUGS))

Vicky xx

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Spotlight on: Let Me Tell You

Hey everyone, Trina here with a kit spotlight for you.  I decided to play with one of Lita's kits that I just love -   Let Me Tell You, a collab with Laura Banasiak.

If also has these fantastic stacked papers that coordinate!

This is what I came up with, for Scrap Orchard's Member Spotlight template challenge this month.

I found some gorgeous layouts in the gallery using this kit as well, here are my favorites (linked to the gallery for full credits):

Stay in Touch by Athena

Letters to You by VickyD

Still Friends by rptoose

Fun by snaggle75

16 Again by Caits

So what are you waiting for?  If you don't already have it, go snag Let Me Tell You, right now!  It'd be great for some Sunday scrapping!

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Freebie Alert!

Hi all, Athena here to give you a little freebie made with Lita's kit Where I stand. I just love this kit. The color combination is fabulous and the word strips are perfect. So go ahead and give the frame cluster a try and why you are at don't forget to pick up the full kit at Scrap Orchard for 30% off using the coupon that was posted right here yesterday, but hurry the coupon is only good through tomorrow!
Click here to download.

And here is a layout I did using the cluster.

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A Little Fun on Friday

Happy Friday Litabells fans! We are so glad you are reading today. We are happy that you have stopped by the blog today. I wanted to talk a little bit today about versatility in a kit. We all want to get more use out of our digi stash. One way to do that is to take a kit that is themed and use it outside of the theme that was intended. A great example would be to use a school themed kit to create a page that was not related to school. Another example would be this great kit from Litabells – Bad Attitude. The name of this kit puts you in mind of the not so wonderful moments in life, but if you look further at the colors (black, orange, and even the purple) of the kit you can imagine creating a Halloween themed page or even something fall-ish. So take a look at your digi stash and see if you can’t stretch it a bit further. If you don’t have Bad Attitude already in your stash, then keep reading.
Psssst: There is a freebie that coordinates here.

In lieu of a new release today Lita is offering a 30% off coupon (good for only one use) exclusively to her faithful blog readers. That’s right! Receive 30% off anything in Lita’s store this weekend only. The great part is that there is no minimum purchase! It’s simple… load up your cart, enter the coupon code save30LBELLS and the discount will appear. So what are you waiting for? Get on over there and start shopping.  

Oh! Before I head out to do the family thing for the weekend, I want to share one more thing with you. Lita is featured on the Scrap Orchard blog as part of the Mixed Media Monday. WOOT! We are so excited. Check out the blog post for more information about Art Journaling and you can even pick up a coupon to check out one of the online classes – Playing with Paint. I am quite new to Art Journaling and I am so happy to have the Artful Fancies classes. I have learned so much already. Check it our for yourself and let’s get messy together!

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It's freebie time...the ladies here at Litabells Designs have all teamed up to bring you a month of really exciting, fun stuff and I am here to bring you the first of many of those things.  I am starting the month (a little late) off with a little freebie from one of my favorite kits of Lita's Bad Attitude. It is just a little something to thank all of you for your continued support, I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to browse Lita's store over at Scrap Orchard for all of her amazing designs.

You can grab it here

Please stop back and see what we have in store for you tomorrow, I am certain it will be great.

Christine

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It Looks Like Rain

Don’t let a little rain get you down. Instead jump into the puddles with both feet and have a good time. Let the moments in the rain put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Today is the release of a brand spanking new collaboration from Litabells and Jenn Barrette – Dancing in the Rain. This music inspired rainy day collection is sure to remind you of some happy times in your life. Get those memories scrapped with Dancing in the Rain.

Dancing in the Rain is 20% off through the entire weekend. Be sure and grab this collaboration while it is discounted. You will not be sorry that you did.

Of course Lita’s Belles had a wonderful time playing with Dancing in the Rain. If you look closely you will notice that Lita carved out a little time to scrap as well!

Oh yes and before I go, we do have one lucky winner that is sure to be dancing once she reads that she is the winner of Dancing in the Rain.

The winner is………………….

ana_carol

Ana, please contact Lita and she will get a coupon to you shortly.

Thank you all for spreading the word about Lita’s fabulous designs. Have a terrific weekend.

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Dropping by to share a Peek

I’m a bit early this week, but couldn’t resist sneaking in here to show you what is new from Lita. It is actually a collaboration with one of her design idols! True statement!

Do you want to win this collaboration? Share this blog post with your friends. Post on Facebook,  Twitter, or even you blog to be entered to win. Please leave a separate comment letting us know which additional entries you have completed. I’ll be back on Friday with the full reveal and to announce a winner.

Good luck!!

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