Sunday, September 11, 2011

a pretty little number


Just another card I recently put together for a dear colleague of mine. The paper is from Pink Paislee's "Butterfly Garden" and Graphic 45's "Once Upon a Springtime". The flower is Prima with stick pins from Maya Road. Just a simple piece of twine ties it all together in the opposite corner. I apologize for the blurry pictures. The card was finished after the sun went down and I still refused to use my flash - silly girl! I tried to create enough natural lighting - but didn't quite succeed! Oh well - the lessons of photography!


Hope you are enjoying the end of your weekend!

Thanks for looking!

xoxo



Tuesday, September 6, 2011

a warm country howdy!



This cute little card was made with a few scraps from the childhood mini album I shared yesterday. I used a cream card base with paper from Crate Paper's "Emma's Shoppe". The farm gal is from Crafty Secrets farm scraps - so cute!


47 degrees this morning.....ummm - what?! Good Lord I'm not ready for fall just yet! It turned out to be a super, sunny, 70 degree day. But even so, we needed something warm in our tummies tonight. I stumbled upon this recipe a little while ago and since I am a corn maniac I couldn't wait to try it! This is not a real thick creamy soup - but it was still surprisingly tasty. The chipotle powder adds a nice smokiness while the jalapeno and pepper flakes add a lip tingling kick. The bacon on top was surely my favorite part! We omitted the chicken and it was still yummy.


Corn Chowder
8 servings

Ingredients
5 strips thick cut bacon; sliced into ½ inch pieces
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon chipotle seasoning
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like some heat)
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced
6-8 ears corn
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken; I use rotisserie chicken from the local market
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
green onions; sliced for garnish

Directions
1. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp; remove bacon with a slotted spoon and allow to drain and reserve for garnish.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeno and thyme to the bacon drippings and cook until the vegetables are soft; about 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour, chipotle seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and stir to coat well.
3. Cook vegetables, flour and seasonings for 2 minutes; stir frequently.
4. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a rapid boil. Allow soup to boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down. This process will help thicken the soup.
4. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add in the cooked chicken. Simmer until the corn is soft and chicken is heated through; about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Stir in the parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved bacon and green onions.

recipe courtesy of My Baking Addiction


Monday, September 5, 2011

childhood memories mini


Hello my dear friends!

Well life turned me into a busy bee for the last month and a half. I've been back in school for the last three weeks - can you believe it?! It was so nice to see all the smiling kiddos - but I really wasn't ready to give up my summer! I've tried to suck every minute of sunshine that I can before it gets too cool to read outside.

I did manage to get this little number finished a few weeks ago - perfect for capturing a little princess's memories. I just fell in love with this line by Crate Paper. So vintage - but bright and fun too! Just 10 pages of yummy goodness with a little mini paper bag album tucked inside. This album was designed with the intent to share a little girl's childhood pastimes....whether comparing a mother and daughters memories or preserving your grandmother's events from long ago. The album measures 6"x6" and was cut from sturdy cardstock. Many vintage bits and baubles were added throughout to stick with the vintage theme.
















Phew! Lots of pictures!
Hope you were inspired!
xoxo

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

tootsie pops for an ol' man


Just a quick little project I couldn't wait to make for my brother-in-law who has turned 30. You can make this little gift for any age - although you may need a bigger container once you get up there in years - lol!

Materials needed:
  • container/pail (always check the $ section in Target! They always have some cute pails! This one is from Ikea)
  • floral foam square (Dollar Store)
  • paper towel
  • suckers
  • kebob skewers
  • "30 sucks" sign - cardstock, designer paper, cricut letters - whatever your lil' heart desires
  • filler (I shredded some vintage sheet music)
1. put a wadded up paper towel in the bottom for a little support


2. place foam square on top of paper towel


3. start poking the suckers in the foam alternating colors and placement for stability

here are all 30 suckers

4. (optional) shred vintage music paper in your shredder

5. stuff paper filler in all the crevices

6. attach message to kebob skewers with a little tape

7. push skewers down to desired height

birthday boy :o)

Hope you enjoy!


Sunday, July 10, 2011

summer lovin'


Well my friends I'm FINALLY back in the groove! Summer has been flying by. I had so many plans to get a head start on Christmas cards, layouts, and gifts. Not to mention creating something to blog about everyday. Then....well reality set in.....life happened....and I strayed away - forgetting how fun it was to lose track of time creating pretties from bits and baubles in my studio. So I'm back - for now - and I'm lovin' the bright hues of summer days.



This album sprang up from my love of strawberries and blueberries - with a little cream of course! I used paper from the Girls Paperie called "Kitch". It is so bright and cheery - and so hard to cut apart - lol! But I managed. Luckily I saved enough remnants to possibly squeeze another album - but due to my recent track record I'm not promising anything - lol!


So many vintage yummies went into this lil' cutie. All from my humungous stash of goodies from auctions, flea markets, my mom and grandma. I think I really need to start destashing so be on the lookout for some lovelies being added to my Etsy shop. Notice the blue Planters pick on page two? That was from my Grandma's junk drawer :o) I also used a lot of fabric remnants throughout which is my new love.



This album is up for auction on eBay this week. You can see the complete listing (and more pictures) here.






Thanks for looking! Have a happy week!

xoxo