Breadsticks

Today I've got a recipe for breadsticks for you. Just a basic simple recipe. I use these for breadsticks, cinnamon sticks, or for pizza crust. Now, I've had the same oven for 6 years. And in my oven these cook perfectly at 450. Several of my friends who have used my recipe say that they get too hard or burn at 450 cooking them the time recommended. All I can say, is they work in my oven.

Celebrating 6

My goal this week, now that the kids are back in school, is to get at least 2 scrapbook pages done. And their laundry. LOL! You can see where my priorities are! I got this page done a while back, and realized I hadn't posted it. One thing about my scrapbooks, is that even if I scrap out of order (which I obviously do), I like the finished layouts to go in albums in chronological order. I spend so much time consumed with it, that I want to rearrange everything and put every page is its proper place. Which I'm trying to let go of. I have so many quirky things about scrapping that can keep me from getting done what I want to. So I'm just trying to scrap away and enjoy the process. And quit worrying about what page should go where. The stories are being told and that's what I really care about. Is there anything that is a road block for you when it comes to scrapping? I love to know what others think. Now, I'm off to do a load of laundry so I can sit down later and scrap. I've fallen behind on the Inspired Crafters challenges, and there are some great ones I am itching to get going on.

All supplies: Designer Digitals

Heavenly Oatmeal Cookies

Well, we are on spring break here. And Monday and Tuesday brought snow. Monday it was such wet snow, the power was out for a few hours. My husband and I had been watching one of our shows, the kiddos were in bed, and it was pitch black. I didn't sleep very well. I'll just admit I'm afraid of the dark! Today it's finally sunny, but not warm. It's been a strange spring break for sure! I have a recipe card today to share. I love these cookies!


The original recipe called for raisins instead of chocolate chips. Every once in a while I make these with raisins, but usually I go for the chocolate! Enjoy your Wednesday. We're off to play with cousins and then I'm hoping for some craft time later today.

Happy Easter

I am so excited for Spring and for Easter. Yesterday we woke up to several inches of snow, and it kind of put a damper on my excitement about spring. But today, it is sunny again, and I am hopeful! Today I am sharing the little treats I made for my kiddos' teachers and bus drivers. Laurie had two different Easter projects that I loved, and kind of incorporated both of them. The first she used her glassine bags, and just embossed them to give them a little something extra. I've seen her do this before, and I always mean to remember to try it, but until now never got around to doing it. The second she added cute little eggs to make some fun packaging.

So, for my project I used my new egg die from PTI, and embossed my glassine bags. Overall, a quick and easy project. Other than getting the paper out of the egg die! LOL! I've had coversations with people, and read on forums about how hard it was to get the paper out of the die. Well, my first 12 or 13, they popped right out. I was starting to think all the people must be doing something wrong! Then, I hit a brick wall, and the paper stopped coming out of the die. I still love that cute little egg shape, and it's a fantastic way to use up scraps. But, a bit frustrating at the same time. Enjoy your day!

Top Notch Template

It is storming like crazy here this morning, and I'm hoping the power doesn't go out before this post is up and running. I have a project I'm really excited to show today. When Leigh Ann first emailed the new template to me, I was in the midst of the creative blahs and hadn't a clue what I was going to do with it! But yesterday, when I got home from mailing out my swaps, I started cleaning off my desk. I don't know how it got messy when I hadn't created a thing for weeks, but it was. And as I was putting things back where they belong I found a stamp set I got ages ago, and the light went on and I knew what I'd be making with this template! I'm so excited to show you!


I love that little girl splashing in the puddle. I think it's such a fun image for spring! And the template, called Top Notch, is another one that stays shut all by itself. But I had to add a little ribbon for fun! I love satin ribbon, and I've heard people say about it not holding its shape very well. I never believed them, until I tied a bow with the saddlestitch ribbon, and now I know what they are talking about! But, satin it is for this project, since that's what I have in Spring Moss. And why did I add the ribbon, besides for fun?

Wait for it! Wait for it!

To add the cute little sentiment, "You're my rainy day friend." I am hoping my daughter will want this for one of her sweet little friends whose birthday is coming up in April. Sometimes she doesn't want one of my creations, so if she doesn't, it can stay on my desk, or I'll give it to one of my rainy day friends ;)

If you want to see some gorgeous eye candy, check out what the rest of the Perfect Presentation team came up with using this template. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Leigh Ann
Chris
Alyssa
Harriet
Kerri

Top Notch Template ( you can follow this link to the pdf, svg or gsd files!)
Stamps: Paper Pretties
Ink: Ranger Coffee, copics, prismacolors
CS: PTI White, Berry Sorbet
DP: PTI Polka Dot Parade
Accessories: Spring Moss Satin Ribbon, Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio

Swapping Time

This is the card I made for a swap on SCS. I've done PTI swaps with this group of gals, and it's so much fun. Well, this time, in addition to the regular PTI swap, I joined a "Man Cards swap" that Jen was hostessing. Both of these swaps are due in the next 2 weeks, so this was not a great time for my creativity to go MIA. I finally was able to pull together a layout and design that I love, and hope the other "Man Cards" swappers will as well. I'm off to the post office to get these in the mail, then home to spend some computer time catching up on what I've missed this last week. Hope your Monday is shaping up to be a good one!


Stamps: SU Loads of Love
Ink: Ranger Coffee, Copics, Prismacolors
CS: PTI Lemon Tart, Spring Rain, White
Accessories: PTI New Leaf Twill Ribbon, SU Scallop Trim Punch

A tutorial

Good morning! Well, my kiddos have missed the whole week of school, and even with Mucinex, humidifiers, and tons of fluid in them, they still have those awful congested coughs. But, on a happy note, I have an awesome tutorial I want to share with you.

Digital Scrapbooking Tutorial from Cathy Zielske on Vimeo.

I found this link the other day through another blog I was visiting, and I was thrilled. I've been at this a while now, and still learned some new things from the clip. To see more of her videos, just clink on her name above and it will take you to more. I hope you enjoy the tutorial, and enjoy your Saturday!

Child of God

Today, I'm sharing a card that I did make while I was in my non-creative funk over the last little while. I am pretty happy with how this turned out, but it look me all day to make. Literally all day. I started in the morning and wasn't done until 5:45 when we were taking dinner to a lady from church who just had a baby, and I needed this card done by then. When I worked on this one little card for almost 8 hours, I just decided my creativity was on vacation and I'd have to wait for it to come back.


I loved when this set was released from Papertrey Ink. I waited forever to get it, but I'm so glad I finally did. It's so wonderful. I really wanted to use some soft colors on this, and I'm happy with the overall look. I decided I need to get more saddle-stitch ribbon; I love how it holds it shape for bows!

Well, I'm off for now. I have to finish my game of Phase 10 with my son, so I can make him take a nap!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Heavenly Medley, Background Basics: Text Style
Ink: PTI Smokey Shadow, Spring Rain, Copics: Y11, BG11, V12, B21, Versamark
CS: PTI Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart, Plum Pudding, Spring Moss, Spring Rain, White
Accessories: PTI Spring Rain Saddle-stitch Ribbon

Chasing the blah away

Well, I've just felt blah the last week. I haven't felt creative at all, I haven't felt like reading, I haven't worked on a single scrapbook page; I've just felt blah! Last night I decided it was time to make a card no matter what. And still I couldn't get any creativity flowing. So I just started looking at old cards I've favorited from other people's blogs. So be prepared to see one of your cards "remixed" and appearing on my blog in the next little while. Up first is a yellow butterfly creation.


My inspiration for this came from Michelle's post here. I loved the stitching she added at the top, and the border punch on the bottom. But you all know by now, I don't sew! And I couldn't add any brown to the bottom of mine without it suddenly turning dark and dreary. So I "made it my own!"

What do you all do when the creativity isn't happening? Any tips would be appreciated!

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Signature Greetings
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
CS: PTI Kraft, Lemon Tart, Vintage Cream, Clear sheet from PTI Stamps
Accessories: Perfectly Paisley Embossing Folder, Spots and Dots Embossing Folder, SU Bigz Beautiful Butterflies, PTI Vintage Cream Satin Ribbon, PTI Dark Chocolate Button

Chicken Chow Mein

Well, I promise to be back someday with a card or a scrapbook page. I'm just on a roll getting my recipe cards done, and haven't been able to take a break from it! Today's recipe to share is Chicken Chow Mein.



My husband loves this recipe, it's one of his favorites. I started by using this Chow Mein Recipe from Recipezaar. Some of the ingredients that recipe called for, I didn't buy since I didn't know if I'd like it and ever want to make it again, so I made do with substitutions that I thought would work. The recipe card is my version of the original, with some tweaking. Also, the first time that I tried it, I did have the fresh Chinese noodles originally called for in the recipe. And they were good. But my husband liked it so much he wanted me to make it again right away. Well, we hadn't been to the store, and I'd used all the noodles on the first batch. We ended up just using thin spaghetti noodles instead, and that's what we usually use now.

Digital Supplies: Designer Digitals

Cream Soup Mix

Well, I was hoping for a super productive scrapping afternoon yesterday. But that didn't really happen. So instead I have another quick recipe card to share. I make lots of casseroles, and so many of them call for cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. I used to stock up on these cream soups when there were good sales. Then I found this recipe one day while browsing on Recipezaar (my favorite online recipe sight). It's condensed cream of _____ soup mix. And I love it! I mix up a batch and keep it in a rubbermaid bowl, and use it often. It doesn't get as thick as the canned stuff, but the flavor is phenomenal. And there isn't all the added fat or chemicals from the canned stuff. So this or the homemade mushroom soup are my preferred soups now.



Digital Supplies: Designer Digitals

Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy

That is the first "real song" (if you can call it that) my husband ever heard my son singing. We were grocery shopping, and my little boy was singing "fruit salad, yummy, yummy!" My husband, not being the stay-at-home-Wiggle-watching parent like me, was wondering what the heck he was singing. Anyway, that was a long time ago! But it really does relate to my post today!


Here is one of my all-time favorite fruit salad recipes. It's my grandma's and it is oh, so good! She used to make it a lot. I think it's funny how food can bring back so many memories! I wrote the recipe exactly as I have it copied from my mom, but I often make changes. I left it the same, so no one in my family can complain that it's not really grandma's recipe ;)
First off, I just don't like the canned fruit cocktail. The grapes in there are really gross to me, so I skip that ingredient, and add some better fruit instead. Also, I don't often have buttermilk. To remedy this, you can add one Tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk, and have a similar taste. Or, if I don't do that, I just use regular milk and French Vanilla pudding. My husband is not a huge coconut fan, so I very rarely add that. It doesn't need the coconut at all. If you leave it out, it's still delicious! And, my last tip, is my most important one. Use Dole pineapple! I will buy generic or store brands of many things, but pineapple is not one of them. Dole pineapple is 20 times better than any other I've ever had. Worth every extra penny! Enjoy your Friday, I'm off to make some Chicken Chow Mein for dinner. Yep, starting early so I'll be done and can scrap the day away.

Take out, anyone?

I am in heaven. I love it when I have a reason to get so excited about paper. Today I have a couple of boxes to show you making one of the newest Perfect Presentation templates: Gift To Go. When I saw this template, I was so excited. Months ago, before joining the Perfect Presentation team, I tried (miserably) to duplicate a take-out box after my husband brought home Chinese food. The great thing about this template, is that it gives the fun look of a take-out box, without a zillion score lines and complicated folds. And, it only takes 2 sheets of cardstock!


First off, I wanted to cut out some flowers to add some cheer to a little Gift To Go box I'm going to give a friend for her birthday. I wanted something cheerful and colorful. These flowers fit the bill for me perfectly.


And next, I had to combine 2 of my favorite sets. PTI's Background Basics: Text Style with Stampin Up's Artfully Asian.


I also included a picture to show the roominess inside the box. There is also a snack size Snickers in there (that you can't see), as well as several Werther's originals. And a little stuffing in the bottom. So, you can leave out the stuffing, too, to pack more yummy goodness inside. I was thinking of all the possibilities for little girls, too. I know my daughter has a friend with a birthday coming up, and I was thinking of fingernail polish and some lip gloss tucked inside, in addition to chocolate!


There is a second template being released today, but I got so excited about making this one, that I don't have a project to share with you using the second one. Some of the other design team ladies do, though, so be sure to check out their blogs.

Leigh Ann Baird
Alyssa Scritchfield
Harriet Hensley
Kerri Michaud
Chris Olsen

That's all for now. I'm scrambling to be on time to church, now! LOL! Have a great Sunday!

Perfect Presentation Template: Gift To Go
CS: PTI Rustic White, White, Summer Sunrise, Plum Pudding, Spring Moss
Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Text Style, Friends 'Til The End, SU Artfully Asian
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Antique Linen, PTI Dark Chocolate, Hibiscus Burst, Copics, Versamark
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Glitter Glue, Dark Chocolate Buttons

Inspired Crafters Sketch #7

Today I have a layout that I'm really excited about. It uses a sketch that was posted on the Inspired Crafters blog. I am having so much fun being back in the rhythm of scrapbooking. These pictures are back from when my daughter was just a little baby. I loved the pictures at the time, and always thought they would make for a really fun scrapbook page. As soon as I saw the layout on Inspired Crafters, I knew it would be perfect for scrapping these pictures. In addition to the sketch, Banu challenged us to use ribbon on our layout as well. I used a yarn swirl instead, but I'm counting that!


Thanks for looking, and have a sunny Saturday! We've got a full day of activities ahead of us, and I'm excited to get out of the house.

Digital Supplies: Designer Digitals

Chicken Enchiladas

Now that I'm current with my kids' mini-albums, I've decided to tackle another big project: getting my recipe cards worked on. I've been doing a 6x6 format, and that was working okay. I can place them in little albums, and it's worked out pretty well. But I like to pull my recipes out and stick them on the fridge while I'm cooking. I just like to see the recipe right there. But I don't like taking the page protector out. I just want the one recipe I'm working on right there. When my parents were here, my dad bought me a laminator
(thanks, Dad!). He said he knew I'd find a use for it! And then it hit me, that I could laminate my recipes, and pull each individual one out when I'm cooking them, stick them on the fridge, and not worry about milk splashing on them, or buttery fingers touching them. I am planning on doing them in a 5x7 format now, but still doing the 6x6 ones, too. That way I can still stash them in the 6x6 album if I feel like it. So, today I'm sharing my Chicken Enchilada recipe. Yes, I've shared this recipe before, from a recipe swap I was in. But I had a friend request it, and so I made a new recipe card I could share with her. Also, I'm posting both the sizes, because I don't know if anyone ever actually prints these out, or not. I know I've saved lot of recipes I found on other blogs, but I don't usually reprint them. But if someone wants to, then they could have their choice of sizes to use!



All Digital Supplies: Designer Digitals