Passing Love Notes

I wanted to design a Valentine card that was a little grunged, and, of course, quick and easy.

Stampin’ Up! Supplies: Festive and Fun stamp set (from the Holiday Mini)
White Notecard; Rich Razzleberry DSP; Real Red CS; a non-SU! piece of notebook paper
Full Heart and Small Heart punches; Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine; Rhinestone
Basic Gray Classic Ink; Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz; Signo White Gel Pen

I started this process on Friday and had absolutely no stampin’ mojo going. So I finally threw in the towel until Sunday, when things went much more smoothly. I blame my husband (who else?) because he was 1) home on Friday for a DONSA (day of no scheduled activity…the Army has such catchy names for a day off, huh?), which always throws my whole plan for the day off a bit and B) it was our anniversary weekend, so I really needed to be finishing his gift. Obviously his fault.

But back to the card. I love Rich Razzleberry…I wear lots of purple and use different shades often in designing, but this is my favorite. It has more red in it so it’s a little edgier and not so sweet, I think. I really like combining Real Red with it, too. This card does both, plus it used actual loose leaf paper inside, which is a cool grungy touch. I just cut the notebook paper the same size as the inside, crunched it up really well and then smoothed it out…and repeated a couple of times. I spritzed it with Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz. It’s a little darker than I wanted, but so goes life. It’s not as dark as it appears in this photo. Really.

I also used a Stampin’ Up! notecard for the card base. These are really economical…20 cards and envelopes for $5.95. You can make up a bunch of simple thank-you notes or all occasion cards and it makes a snazzy teacher or hostess gift.

The whole card reminds me of high school and passing notes with doodled hearts on them. Not that I would ever do that because I was a model student. Probably because I knew the faculty would narc on me in a second to my mom. Whatever works, right?

Enjoy the day, if that’s what you choose to do!

Wristwarmer…the New Legwarmer?

Yeah, probably not. But it does make a super cute bracelet, in addition to being warm!

In my burgeoning knitting abilities, I had not mastered the I Cord (also known as Idiot Cord), which is useful for drawstrings and such. While idly browsing on Esty one day, I ran across this very cool bracelet. Well, not this one, obviously, but a similar one.

While I thought it was a great gift idea and obviously very well made, with hand-dyed wool yarn, I couldn’t bring myself to pay the price asked for it. I decided I could…say it with me now…just make that myself.

It really was easy. I used directions from my favorite knitting book, Stitch and Bitch, and bada-bing-bada-boom-shazaam, there you have it. The I Cord was a bit tricky to figure out, but after a couple of tries, I was able to knit this in only one episode of Downton Abbey. Speaking of obsessions…

No, I’m staying on track today. I used sock yarn that was 70 percent wool and variegated, on number 2 double-ended needles. Or, for those of you who could care less about knitting, blah, blah, blah. I stopped when it was about 24 inches long, comfortably loose when wrapped thrice around my wrist. I left the end of the yarn about 12” long when I was done binding off, then used a yarn needle and that tail to attach the end of the cord back on itself, forming a button hole a little smaller than my button

Of course, I have about 473 buttons that I’ve picked up here and there for who knows what I was planning, but this little heart one had the right vintage feel, and it was a shank button, which I what I wanted.

I tucked this in with my niece’s birthday gift this week…the rest of the family probably thinks it’s too crunchy for them, but I think a high school kid will wear it. I wear mine all the time…my wrists are cold up here in the Wisconsin frozen tundra!

And, if you’re interested, here’s the link to the Etsy shop where I found it…The Sitting Tree. She has fabulous, fabulous stuff there!

A “Cod” to End the Week

We’ve finally had our first “big” snow of the year here in Wisconsin, about 5” at our house. Our school district doesn’t do late starts, and it was school as usual today for the boys. My GI Joe has the day off, so we’ve got the day to go sledding with Princess Thundercloud. She has pretty mad sledding skills for a three-year-old, and doesn’t whine when she has to pull her sled up the hill.

But I digress…I made this cute card for my niece’s 17th birthday…I’m sure she thought it was juvenile, but I liked it! Everyone needs a penguin eraser, after all.

Supplies: Polar Pals stamp set (retired); Woodgrain, and Distressed Dots background stamps
Marina Mist, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, and Not Quite Navy cardstock
Good Neighbor DSP (retired); 1 3/4” Circle, 2 3/8” Scallop, 1 3/4” Scallop, 1”, 1 1/4” punches
Treat Cups, Dazzling Details; Not Quite Navy, Melon Mambo, Basic Black markers

Using these treat cups from Stampin’ Up! always makes me smile...I like to include a little treat with my cards. The larger scallop circle inside covers the opening of the treat cup, so the recipient can just peel that off and access their treat. You can mail these in padded envelopes, or just put them in a package with the gift. They're great on tags, and make nifty snowglobes.

The cups also come in a heart shape. which fits the Full Heart punch perfectly. Stampin’ Up! offers several stamp sets designed to coordinate with the round and heart treat cups, which makes it easy to design cute and clever cards.

Enjoy your weekend, and I hope you find some time to be creative!

We’re a Thankful Family

I know, back before Christmas I made some thank you cards, just to be prepared. And they were cute and I was happy with them. Until Christmas came, and I decided we really should put a photo on our cards, the ones going to relatives, anyway.

We went for a walk along the Lake Michigan shore the day after Christmas. It was blustery, cold, and virtually deserted. We had a most excellent time. Even Princess Thundercloud who wouldn’t smile for love or money in any of the photos we took. This was good of everyone else, so too bad for her.

I did a little color editing in Photoshop Elements, giving it a retro cast. After adding some text, I printed them (at home ‘cause I was too lazy to drive to town), matted them on Riding Hood Red cardstock, then put some fancy little kraft photo corners on 2 corners. They covered up the text on the other corners, so I made a design decision. I stuck the whole shebang on a Crumb Cake card base (that’s kraft for non-Stampin’ Up people), and stuck a fork in it.

The ones I actually mailed were much more centered than this…I forgot to take a photo until I only had one left, and it was kind of a reject, that’s why I had it left!

I really like the 1960’s feel this photo has now, and don’t you love Princess Thundercloud’s conehead hat? She had her hair in a high ponytail that day…her skull is really not that large!

My afternoon holds the challenge of drilling a hole in a penny to make my GI Joe an anniversary gift…18 years on Sunday…my how time flies! And we dated for 8 years before that! You can bet we never thought we’d still have 3 young kids almost 20 years into our marriage, but they should still be earning money in time to support us in our old age. And now that I’ve shared that retirement plan tip with you, I’m off to drill!

It’s Greek to Us

We love Greek food at our house, and it’s really easy to make at home. Moussaka is one of our favorites, but I feel guilty about the heavy bechamel sauce that normally tops it. This is a lighter version, and it’s equally good with soy crumbles in place of the ground beef for nights you want to eat vegetarian.

Quick and Light(er) Moussaka

2 eggplants, peeled and cubed (about 2 1/2 lbs)
Olive oil

1 lb extra lean ground beef (or 12 oz soy crumbles)
2 onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp Greek seasoning
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cups part-skim ricotta, at room temp
1 cup feta, crumbled (reduced fat if possible), at room temp
1 egg, at room temp
dash of nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and lightly drizzle with olive oil or spray with cooking spray. Make a single layer of the eggplant and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until edges are browned and eggplant is tender.

2. Meanwhile, brown the meat (or soy crumbles), onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes, unil onions are translucent. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Greek seasoning, cinnamon, and black pepper. Have you tried this tomato paste in a tube? I absolutely love it…it’s a little more expensive, but it’s concentrated and you can just keep it in the refrigerator. It’s great for recipes like this that only use a little bit, so you don’t have to open a whole can.

3. Simmer that while your eggplant finishes roasting.

4. When the eggplant is done, spread it in the bottom of a large casserole dish (or a 9x13 pan), then pour the meat mixture over it. This was very steamy, for some reason!

5. Combine the ricotta, feta, egg, and nutmeg in a bowl, then dollop onto the meat mixture. Spread it around with a spoon to cover as much as you can. I had little helpers, so mine was pretty messy this time.

6. Preheat your broiler on high, then broil for 5-10 minutes, until brown spots start appearing on the topping. See how messy the hooligans made my topping look? Kids!

This is great comfort food. We eat it with a Greek salad with kalamata olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red onion, and a bit more feta cheese. I make a basic vinaigrette, adding about a teaspoon of Greek seasoning.

My brother uses Greek seasoning on tons of stuff, especially any sort of meat on the grill. He’s to blame for my addiction to it! If you don’t have a bottle in your pantry, it’s a great blend to add a little flavor.

Apparently I’m home-schooling today, since my second grader is home sick and has lots of homework to do, so I’ll see you tomorrow (virtually, that is!).

Hearts on My Mind

I’m having a Stampin’ Up! get together next Friday (if you’re in my neck of the woods…I mean that literally…stop by!) and I need to design some super cute, super easy projects for new stampers.

Here’s one I may (or may not) include:

All Stampin’ Up!: Short and Sweet Stamp Set
Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette, and Brights Patterns Stack paper
Basic Gray ink, Paper Crimper, Rhinestones ...
and some staples which are not from Stampin’ Up!

Patterned Paper can really add some “oomph” to a card and you don’t have to use a whole lot of it. Here I cut 1” x 4 1/4” strips for the top and bottom, yet it appears to be one large piece. Clever, eh? Same with the pink paper…it’s a 1 1/2” x 4 1/4” strip, torn in half so that I can use both edges. I’m obviously going to mourn the day Stampin’ Up! decides to retire the Short and Sweet stamp set…I use it constantly!

Also, as far as accessories, I have pulled out the paper crimper for 10 years now, and am always thrilled at the texture it adds in a minute; same with punches. It’s all about saving time, right? I like the look of staples, as well, especially with the bling of the rhinestones.

And I bet you thought I just threw some stuff on a card…who knew I actually think about the balance, colors, textures, etc.? I even wake up with card ideas pretty often…but usually I wake up with thoughts of all the household stuff I’ve got to do! Speaking of, my “free” time’s almost up…gotta go make the doughnuts! (And I hope at least some of you are old enough to get that reference.)

Hearts on My Door

Somehow in our last move, all of my Valentine decorations have been misplaced. I’m sure they’re somewhere in the basement, but I was not in charge of unpacking and organizing the basement. Ahem. Guess who was? Obviously 4382 pounds of Army gear that will never see the light of day until he’s back in a tactical unit should be stored in front of all the seasonal decor that I use every year.

However, there’s a silver lining…I need new Valentine decorations! So I made this wreath:

Pretty cute, huh? Not to mention quick and inexpensive, two of my favorite adjectives when crafting! I saw the original idea on Pinterest, but it was just the paper hearts. I tried that, but the paper is not sturdy enough to hold a circle shape, and who wants an elongated oval wreath? Not me.

To start, I chose 4 sheets of double-sided Designer Series Paper (from Stampin’ Up!) and cut 3 strips from each that were 2” x12”. I folded each in half, then put a small piece of Sticky Strip where the inside of the heart joins. Easy-peasy so far.

I placed the hearts as I wanted them in the circle, then used a couple of glue dots to join each. So far so good.

Then I hung it on the wall…and it stretched out. So I tried using little pieces of scotch tape behind to secure it in the circle shape. It worked…for about 30 minutes. Then the tape let go and I had an oval again.

After a quick trip to the Dollar Tree to get a wreath for (yep!) $1, I glued the paper hearts wherever they touched the wreath. After threading a ribbon through, it made a pretty (and new) decoration for the front door.

Well, there’s my creativity for the day…now it’s off to make dinosaur sandwiches for Princess Thundercloud. She’s had a vigorous morning of Wii-ing, since her brothers are at school and she’s alone to play. She works so hard at it, she usually is stripped down to just underwear and socks by the time she’s done. Hopefully she outgrows that tendency before college!