VALENTINES WISHES .....

Still sticking to my New Years "changes" (remember, we don't use that R word, because it dooms them!!!) ... here are my latest card and tag creations - Valentines themed of course :-)
These are destined for some very special people ...... my lips are sealed, that's all I'm saying for now.

 The tag is cut using the George and Basics Cricut Cartridge. The little bird, I pieced together using different paper punches. The idea for this sweet tag, is not mine,but one that I came across on Pinterest.

Another Pinterest idea (have I told you lately that I LOVE Pinterest !!!). I do love how cute and quirky this card is.
The little monster is from the Bump In The Night Cricut Cartridge (if I remember correctly, his name is Morph). I replaced her (I made a blue him too) paper eye with a big googly eye. I positioned Morph on the inside of my card, before marking the eye position on the front of the card, and then carefully cutting it out. The heart and "U" on the front of the card, are on the George and Basic Cartridge. The hearts are made using a mini paper punch I have.

Cute and quick ..... just the way I like it:-)
Hope you're having a lovely day.

THE PINK SCARF PROJECT ...

Hi there everyone

Hope that the first month of 2013 has been everything you wished it to be. Wow, who can believe that we're almost a month into the New Year already ...... time certainly does fly !!!!

You may have noticed The Pink Scarf Project button on my sidebar. To tell you a little more about it (although, if you click on the button it will take you straight to the website .... please go and visit it). This is a year long project, that started back in October last year, and it will benefit women who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer. You sign up and commit to knit, crochet or buy pink scarves. You can make/buy 1 or 100, it's all up to you. In October this year, the scarves that have been collected, will be given to these brave women. This cause is particularly close to our family at the moment - the wonderful lady who taught both Girl Child and Boy Child in First Grade, and who I consider a friend, lost her battle with breast cancer this past Tuesday. Every scarf that I knit or crochet for this project, will be donated in her memory.

I committed to making a scarf every 2 months - I'm a little behind at the moment, but there WILL be 6 scarves donated by October !!! Here is a peek at scarf number 1.

 It's made using that frilly yarn (the name of it escapes me right now). It knits up really quickly, and gives such a feminine, ruffly effect.

Scarf number 2, is still on the needles, but I just had to share it with you. This scarf is making me so giddy with excitement, because it is my first ever attempt at knitting a lace pattern, and it's working !!!!

I'm using a free pattern that I found on the Lionbrand website. I really am sooooo excited about this scarf. I still stop and admire it after every set of 8 rows (the pattern repeats after 8 rows) .... need to stop doing that, otherwise it's going to take me forever to knit it. The pattern is really easy too......... oh, the possibilities that are open to me now !!!!

I plan on using this scarf knitting adventure, to learn new techniques - I cant think of a better way to learn them. So if you want to sign up (I'm sure that you still can), pop on over to the blog.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING .....

I married a man who was born, and partly raised in England ..... in Yorkshire to be precise !!! Although he has lived away from there for 40+ years, his food preferences are best described as very English.

Today Boy Child and his Dad, together with a few of his friends from our Scout Troop, spent the day earning their Archaeology Merit Badge ...... the boys that is, not the adults.  

It has been pretty chilly here of late, so I decided to whip up one of hubby's (and the kids) favorite dinners ...... Yorkshire Pudding. When we were recently in the UK, most of the places we ate at, served a big, round Yorkshire Pudding, with all of the "goodies" dumped in the middle. It has become my families absolute favorite way to eat it. Hmmmm ...... how to replicate it? Then the idea came to me - why not bake them individually in 9" cake pans ...... Brilliant - they turned out perfectly !!!!

If you've never tried them (none of my American friends know what I'm talking about when I mention them), they're very easy to make ...... give them a try - you won't be disappointed.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING
Makes 3 - 9" round cake pan puddings

- 12 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 6 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- Enough milk to make a smooth flour/egg mixture full of bubbles
- 11/2 Cups Cold Water

- Heat your oven to 475 Deg F (Yes, VERY hot !!!!)
- Mix the flour, eggs and salt together (I use a whisk to do this, and I mix it hard!!!)
- Add enough milk to give you a smooth mixture full of air bubbles (the air bubbles make it light and fluffy)
- Add the water and whisk it very well again.

-  Pour just enough vegetable oil into the bottom of your cake pan, to barely cover the bottom of the pan.
- Place pans in the oven for 10 mins (this heats the oil)
- After the 10 mins, remove the pans, and quickly pour 1/3 of the mixture into the pan. Be very careful !!!
- Place the pans back in the oven for 20 mins.
- After 20 mins, rotate the pans 180 deg and cook for a further 5 - 10 mins.
- Remove from oven. They will be well risen and fluffy, and lightly browned.

We fill ours with rump roast, sliced carrots and potato wedges, that I cooked in the crockpot all day. topped  off with beef gravy ....... LOTS of beef gravy !!!!

I am currently sewing up some fun journal covers ....... just a few more to go, and then I'll share them with you.
Take care, and stay warm (or keep cool) wherever you may be.

HAPPY 2013 ....

Yay.... 2012 is a thing of the past, and I couldn't be happier. It was definately (to quote The Queen) Annus Horribilis !!!
We face 2013, with renewed optimism, and hope that it is truly Our Year :-)

So how many of you made New Years Resolutions ....... come on be honest !!!! I thought about it, and decided that I didn't want to call them resolutions - somehow that word just jinxes any good intentions you have. I have decided that there are some changes I'd like to make, and some things I'd like to do better, and I'll work on those.
- I want to grow in Faith, and try to see the positive and good in each situation that presents itself.
- I want to worry and be anxious about less. This is a particularly hard one for me.
- I want to create more ...... and document it. I plan on being a better blogger this year.
- I want to finally finish the WIP I've had on my knitting needles for 2 years now !!!
- I've resolved to not buy a single card this year .... they will all be handmade.

In keeping with my last "change", I've been busy.
My little niece turns 4 this month ........ time flies. It just doesn't seem possible that she can be growing up so quickly. The little dress that I entered into the State Fair of Texas, was made for her. It had little owls all over it .

So what could be more fitting than an owly card ...

Please excuse the pictures - it has been overcast and rainy here now for 2 days. I couldn't wait any longer to take the pictures, as I needed to get the package in the mail. I got the idea for this card, from a similar card I'd seen on Pinterest. It took me a little while to figure out how to do the pop out tree trunk in the middle, but I got it eventually. I used the owls from the Cricut Cartridge called Cashmere.

I then had to pop a little something in the mail, for an upcoming swap. This was a quick and easy card.

I used my Dots (Paper Studio) embossing folder to emboss a rectangle of cardstock. This I matted onto a red piece of cardstock, that was then adhered to a white card blank. This little Matroyshka Doll, can also be found on the Cricut Cashmere Cartridge.
I have recently developed a great affinity for embossing ....... love, love, love the effect it gives.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my blog today - I do appreciate it !!!
Happy 2013 - May it be all you wish it to be.

CHRISTMAS CANDY ....

So I think it is only fair, that I confess, that I am totally addicted to Pinterest ........... and I'm proud of it !!!!
The wealth of talent, that is to be found there, is just unbelievable. It has served as the most reliable recipe book I've ever laid eyes on, over the past few months. Everything I've made off of it, has turned out perfectly, and has been simply delicious - not many recipe books can claim that accolade.
Today however, is all about Christmas candy. Store bought candy, that you can turn into great Christmas creations, in mere minutes. Both of these ideas came off of Pinterest, they are not my original idea.

Little Santa's ... or should I say, tubes of Rolo's disguised as Santa!!! Wrap the tube in paper, add a tube of fabric as a hat (I like the effect the twine gives it). Haul out your paper punches, and create a Santa face. Wrap a strip of black cardstock around his portly middle, and add a rhinestone for a little Christmas sparkle. Done .... and ever so cute :-)

Next up, Heath Bars. Make a paper casing. Haul out those punches once again (I did use my Cricut to make  the beard for this Santa), and make his face. On a side note - I found the mustache punch at Hobby Lobby - I love it!!! I can't begin to tell you, how much I've used over the past month .... well worth the money spent. Tie a length of ribbon around him, add a tag, and you're done :-)

These would make great Stocking Stuffers, Class Gifts, Teacher Gifts,  A Sweet Token For Your Mailman ....Pretty versatile I'd say, and economical too !!!

LITTLE MISS MATROYSHKA ....

Here is the Thanksgiving gift I made for a friend of mine. They always have our family over for a Thanksgiving meal - their family is very special to our family.
A couple of Thanksgivings back, I made her the big one of this set (Yes, I know I'm slow!!!). This is the medium sized one. The baby one will follow:-)
The pattern came from a UK publication I bought a couple of years back. It was a special Christmas edition. It is full of cute, easy and practical ideas - none of which take a huge chunk of time (or supplies) to make.

Have you seen those mini balls of yarn you can buy now? They're made by Lionbrand, and are called Bon Bon's .............. they are so much fun !!! I used a pack of those to make her (I still have enough yarn left over to probably make her over again). There are 8 balls in each packet, and they're available in different colorways and yarn weights ............ I'll let you into a secret -Shhh - I have them all :-) They're ideal for those small projects, where you only need a few yards of yarn ..... love them (it's all to do with the fact that they're the perfect, tiny, little ball :-)

Wishing y'all a very Happy Thanksgiving !!!

CREAMY DREAMY CARAMELS .....

What can I say ......... this picture does a far better job of explaining that title, than any words I have to say.  However ...... this is a blog, so I'm going to tell you more about them :-)

Our plans for Christmas this year, mean that I have to be organized well ahead of time - no last minute, Christmas Eve gifts in this house, this year !!!! In the past our neighbor gifts have been cookie platters ..... assorted cookies packaged in a creative way. This year, I'm thinking of doing homemade candy trays .... Yum, Yum, Yum !!!
I already have a few tried and true candy recipes that I'll use. However, this magazine hit the grocery store shelves this week ...

Let me just say at this point, that I find it REALLY difficult to turn down anything Martha Stewart. I think she (or as my hubby likes to point out to me, her team) are creative geniuses. However, her recipes intimidate me .... why, I'm not entirely sure. The recipe for these caramels was in the latest issue though, and it seemed pretty simple - so I put on my apron, pulled out my candy thermometer, took a deep breath and got busy !!! They turned out perfectly, and were absolutely, melt in your mouth delicious !!! They will definately be on the candy gift trays this year.

So if caramels are your thing, I'd highly recommend a trip to the magazine aisle of the grocery store or book store ........... you wont be disappointed :-)