More farewell cards... FWF #24

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm so excited, because the kids are FINALLY out of school. Woohoo! Speaking of excitement, did you check out Unity's new website? Don't forget to update your password...they'll email you a big fat promo code!

 

The first card I made was for DaddyDude's colleague, who is heading back to the Windy City (his hometown). I decided to just make it a "wish you well on everything" kind of card, so it covered all of the bases...

 Here's the sketch I used (again), from Viva La Verve sketches..

 

And here's the front of the card...love the Everything Wonderful kit!

 

As well as the inside sentiment (from Bunches of Love Sentiment Kit, February 2014)...

 

Next up is a sympathy card for my older brother's family, since their beloved dog passed away from age old. I know it was especially hard for him to take, since Buddy was his very first pet. Hopefully this card will bring them some comfort. I chose this sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge to showcase the big paw print.

 

 

I've already used this kit (Dogs Leave Pawprints) twice this year - it's perfect for dog lovers. I used the sentiment for the inside (which of course, I forgot to photograph).

I made a third card for Marika's teacher, but completely forgot to take a picture of it! ARGH!

 

Last but not least, I have another yummy recipe to share - "No-Fry Italian 'Fried' Chicken". My youngest loves drumsticks and batter. She loved this new recipe with breaded drumsticks topped off with a tangy honey/vinegar sauce - it's another winner!

And speaking of the youngest kid, here she is - we spent the weekend at the soccer park. I really thought they were going to win their last tournament, but a weekend is a long time and by the end of it all, half the team just didn't have their game on (I think they had gotten so used to winning, they had forgotten what it's like to work for it). It came down to the wire (1-1 tie) and then the team lost during PKs. What a bummer! But, at least they got some hardware to wear home. It's been two years since she started playing club soccer and now, at the ripe old age of 10, she looks seasoned (and no longer frail and dainty).

Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to check things out at Unity and have a great weekend!

And the End is Near - FWF #23

Can you believe it's June already? My, how time flies... only four days left of school for my kids! Unfortunately, though... it was time for some sympathy cards. Bo and I have befriended many people on our walks, one of which is a mother/daughter duo - the mother's husband was recently diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer (the same thing my father died from 13 years ago) and passed away a couple of days ago. The diagnosis was a huge surprise but the rate of decline was depressing and tragic. It's always sad when somebody dies, but this really hit close to home, remembering back to watching my own father suffer through it all.

As you know, Unity has some wonderful sympathy cards, so I selected sketches that would showcase those images. I really liked the sketch below from Viva La Verve, but I took some liberties with the placement of some elements...





 

And here's my take on it...I wanted to keep it simple, since the idea was to just send my condolences. With my awesome stamp-ma-jig, I used the shape stamp from Everything Christmas {November 2013 Sentiment Kit} with a sentiment from Beautiful Life, Blessed Memories {February 2015 Sentiment Kit}. This card will go to the mother.

I also really liked this sketch, although I'm not sure of the original source because it is in a foreign language...

 

...and used it to showcase two stamps from the Everything Wonderful {June 2013 Sentiment Kit}. This card will go the daughter and her family.

 

 

Inside sentiments were chosen from the Beautiful Life,  Blessed Memories kit again.



 

And for my recipe of the week, DaddyDude asked me to make lasagna, for the first time in several years (the kids aren't big fans). After some searching on Pinterest, I decided upon this recipe, the World's Best Lasagna. The recipe was very good, but heavier on the sauce than I am used to (so I guess that made it more "restaurant-like"). Next time, I would just add more layers of noodles in between all that sauce...but that probably means I need to get a deeper dish! My 9x13 casserole dish was pushed to the limit!

Thanks for visiting, hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Feeling Chippy - FWF #22

Hi, folks! Happy Friday! Be sure to check out the latest and greatest sale at Unity Stamp Co!

Marika was invited to yet ANOTHER birthday party tomorrow (is it just me, or is the new trend to give less 3-5 days notice???), so it was time to get crafty. At least it wasn't a soccer teammate, so I didn't have to try and incorporate a soccer ball!

The current sketch from The Deconstructed Sketch (#202) was perfect for the stamp I wanted to showcase...

And here is the front...using Candles and Cake {Wit & Wisdom}... love this stamp! I also used the smaller butterfly from Today is a Lovely Day... (when you adhere only the body of the butterfly, it pops up really nicely for a 3-D effect)...

I prefer my cards to have no sentiment stamped on the inside, but with little kids, you never know. So, I used All Kinds of Happy so Marika would have less room to write ("you're welcome, kiddo!"). I hope she has fun - they're going blueberry picking after school and then back to her friend's house for cake and a pinata. :)

I have two vegetable recipes that I tried this week -

Szechuan Eggplant - this was yummy! I know, I know...most of you can't stand eggplant...so...

Maybe you should try making some kale chips. I've heard about them for years, but finally bought some at the produce store. Everybody liked them but they were gone too fast!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Happy crafting/cooking! :)

Time Flies When You're Having Fun - FWF #21

 

Fun times ahead! Friday is our 16th wedding anniversary - we're pretty proud of that number, but we were together for eight years before that. SOOOO... we've been together for a mighty long time, more than half of our lives! Funny how when I look at my husband, he still looks like the same young man I fell in love with all those years ago. :)

 

 

Naturally, I wanted to make him a card to celebrate. I found a new sketch blog (Feeling Sketchy) and really liked their most recent sketch, which you can find here.

 

Here's the front... I used Happy Happy Anniversary and I Loaf You. The bread loaf with the extra slice was a little too big for this sketch, so I cut the slice off...

 

 ...and put it on the inside, with another sentiment from I Loaf You. Since my husband likes to bake bread (from scratch) in his spare time, I thought he would get an extra kick out of this card. We'll see!

 

 

For my new recipe of the week, I made some Chili Lime Chicken. I couldn't make up my mind on how to cook it (slow cooker? skillet?) but finally decided on skillet - and then the rest of the family ended up going out to the local minor league baseball game (see pic below), so nobody else tasted it. BUT - it was really tasty! I used red pepper flakes instead of the jalapenos (for the sake of the kids - before I realized they wouldn't be around to eat it anyway), so it still had a small jolt. The flavoring was VERY good. I will definitely be making this again soon... :)

 

So here the kids with the baseball mascot, Bernie. I gotta say, it's pretty amazing how good some cell phone cameras are getting - I was thrilled when DaddyDude sent this picture! Bernie is usually an elusive creature, so the girls got really lucky he posed with them.

 

Hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for visiting!



Teacher Appreciation Week - FWF #20

It was Teacher Appreciation Week at Marika's elementary school this week, so it was a good time to get crafty.

 I chose sketch #122 from CAS(E) this sketch...

 

As any of you know, Unity Stamp Co has many wonderful sentiment stamps. I used Thank You Teacher and You Make the Grade. The butterflies came from the newly released Butterfly Endearment kit (I used the small ones and cut two of the three out).

The inside sentiment is A+ Teacher but I cannot remember (again) which kit the note on the left belongs to. I don't know about anyone else, but I have a glass jar full of already- stamped "extra" Unity sentiments. However, after awhile, I can't remember which kit they belong to!

 

Today, the kids were supposed to bring in something sweet for their teacher. I used an old Quickutz die (mini takeout box) to make a cute box, stamped and embossed it (Thanks for Teaching), and then assembled it. I could stuff ten Andes mints inside, which was surprising. The tag is also from Unity Stamp Co...somewhere...





 

Last but not least, here's my new recipe for the week - One Pot Penne Pasta with Tomato & Basil. Except, of course, you notice that there's no penne pasta! I started out with tortellini, but then panicked that the water wasn't evaporating fast enough, so I threw some linguine in there, too. I did have to cook things quite a bit longer than I had expected BUT... this dish was a fabulous surprise! I was very skeptical about this whole "one pot" idea - but I had to try it before I knocked it - and the flavoring was REALLY good! The original recipe is vegetarian, but I added some shrimp (only because I forgot to buy some chicken breasts at the store) about 3 minutes before I turned the heat off. I will definitely be making this one again!

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend - thanks for visiting! Happy crafting! :)



FWF #19

Hope everyone is enjoying some springtime weather! We've already had days of 90+ degrees (the air-conditioner was going off in March!) but last night, we had a rainstorm and this is what we woke up to...

Yup, that be snow, folks! Those mountains represent the Lake Arrowhead/Big Bear region. It's May! Can you believe it?! Freaky weather!

It seems this is also the time for soccer girl birthday parties - another one of Marika's teammates is having a picnic party tomorrow, so it was time to make another soccer card.

 

 

I chose this sketch from The Deconstructed Sketch (#200) because the circle was perfect for the soccerball stamp I love to use. I also decided to try something different and make a two-sided card (like a postcard). Again, I used the royal blue color, since it's the club colors (Pateadores).

 

So here's the front...I was delighted to find some soccer washi tape while trying to organize my craft room...the takeout box on the right has a soccer charm necklace I made (since Jenna likes everything soccer)... (Wish With Your Heart {Sentiment Kit August 2014}). For the life of me, I cannot remember the kit from which "...make a wish" comes from...


And here's the "back" of the card...again, I cannot remember the Unity kit from which the "happy birthday" sentiment comes. Argh! It's been one of those days!

 

For my new "recipe of the week", I made Cream Cheese Wontons - a variation of crab ragoon. My mother rarely used to make crab ragoon and I remember that when she did, each of us only got one or two! Oh, the agony when you're a little kid! :)

 

 

DaddyDude really liked the recipe - I thought it was a pretty clever variation (not being fried!), though it probably would have been better if my wonton skins hadn't been sitting in the fridge for a few months. If I can figure out how to stop them from leaking (I'm sure this was my fault - there's a reason I don't bake, I usually forget to keep an eye on the oven), these would be great for a party appetizer. :)

Thanks for visiting my blog and happy crafting! 



Homemade is Better - FWF #18

Happy Friday, folks! Time for another Friends with Flair card - this past week, DaddyDude celebrated his birthday, so I made him a card.  I liked the cake in Damn You're Old, but didn't think he was ready to appreciate either of the accompanying sentiments, so I chose two sentiments from Wish With Your Heart (August 2014 Sentiment Kit) and Blossoming Thoughts and Wishes (March 2015 Sentiment Kit).

I liked the cake in Damn You're Old, but didn't think he was ready to appreciate either of the accompanying sentiments, so I chose two sentiments from Wish With Your Heart and

 

I found a fabulous new recipe for this week! Every other week or so, I cook a whole chicken in the crockpot and use the meat and stock for 3-4 meals. Not only is it economical, but it is super easy and delicious. I had half of a chicken left, so I searched Pinterest and found a recipe for Chicken, Broccoli, and Pasta Skillet Casserole. Perhaps even better, this recipe called for "Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup" (which you can use for many other dishes) and provided an easy version of it. The only changes I made to the skillet recipe were to omit the broiling step (to brown the cheese) and I added green onions for garnish. The kids and DaddyDude LOVED it. What a winner - easy and delicious! 

Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to check out the birthday sale at Unity Stamp Co! :)