tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79514865709503105342024-03-19T00:15:25.994-07:00Caught my FancyAn adventure in crafting, vegetarian cooking and all things that we have to balance in life... what has caught your fancy today?Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-16671908005320259422012-06-06T10:40:00.001-07:002012-07-25T15:15:07.537-07:00Stencil Painting on Sheers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The following statement may sound slightly petty... given all that us military spouses do, flex, bend, adjust to... but one of the more smaller scale frustrating aspects of being a military spouse is the continual change of curtains. Curtains that matched one room, are too short, too long for the next house, etc... 1500 miles away. I found some cheap sheer curtains ($3 for two panels) off of a "classifieds" trading group where we are currently based. I wanted something for our downstairs bathroom and didn't want to spend $60 on curtains just so that I can enjoy them for the next 14 months. I decided to use a doily to stencil Grecian looking circles on it. A similar pattern caught my eye during a recent trip to World Market. I got the idea of using a doily as a stencil from a child craft blog post where you use heart shaped doilies to stencil on shirts for Valentine's Day.</div>
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--- so here it is .... on with the instructions...</div>
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Supplies: Doilies, assorted paints, stubby-stencil brushes and some super cheap sheer curtains
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Protect your work area. Lay out a large (dollar store) table cloth, canvas, etc and lay out your curtain on top of it. The paint will go through! I used rocks to anchor down the materials while painting because in Colorado --- every day is a windy day.</div>
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I made two designs. I painted on the "stencil" or doily and then pressed it down onto the fabric to create one shape.<br />
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Then I laid my doily down onto the sheer and stipple brushed over the small cut out shapes to create blue cirlces and then laid over again and repeated with a nice granny smith apple green.<br />
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The end result -- was hung to dry for about 5 minutes in the warm, sunny, Colorado breeze.<br />
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The end result is a sheer with a little bit of an update, has a little bit of a Grecian feel to it... slightly inspired by the new Banana Republic Trunk Line. I think they look great with the shabby sheek end table I scored for $5 and last year's watering can, doubling as a trash can.<br />
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This post will attend these <a href="http://mefancy.blogspot.com/p/link-parties.html">blog parties</a>Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-19640512606170655712012-04-30T07:05:00.000-07:002012-04-30T08:06:22.583-07:00Woodland Baby Shower<br />
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Here are some pics from the Woodland Baby Shower. It was a "girl color scheme" woodland theme baby shower with a served brunch.<br />
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I used the sewing crepe paper rolls together method to make ruffled crepe paper. It was a lot of fun and turned out well. The "baby" banner got lost behind the gifts...</div>
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Thank you Favors: They say "then there were three..." They are white chocolate bird's nest with "chocolate eggs"</div>
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Guest signed the fingerprint branch. After the baby is born, I'll add the DOB for her in the bottom corner.</div>
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I made a woodland themed diaper cake. I didn't attach stuff to it.. essentially just 3 packs of diapers with woodland themed ribbon, Cricut cuts outs. My first diaper cake ever. It was a fun little project. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2;">here is a pile of the ruffled streamers</span></div>
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<img height="375" src="http://d12xzpun4kqsb2.cloudfront.net/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/04/29/10/bd/vz/po7noxfe8sgup5.jpg?imageId=23519412" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 618px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.2;">I strung onesies and blank bibs for a garland across the dining room entrance way. Later we decorated them. The mommy-to-be made the mobile for the baby's nursery and I borrowed it to hang as a centerpiece. You can see where the topiaries found their home. </span></div>
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<img height="500" src="http://d12xzpun4kqsb2.cloudfront.net/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/04/29/09/at/bt/pozykyvx4cgup5.jpg?imageId=23519340" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 618px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="375" /></div>
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<img height="375" src="http://d12xzpun4kqsb2.cloudfront.net/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/04/29/09/8k/oj/po96wltpk4gup5.jpg?imageId=23519364" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 618px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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I wrapped wire around rocks to announce items of food/punches. We served Citrus Sunshine and Morning Moonshine.<img height="500" src="http://d12xzpun4kqsb2.cloudfront.net/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/04/29/09/df/3f/pokuwcbzksgup5.jpg?imageId=23519334" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 618px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="375" /></div>
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<img height="375" src="http://d12xzpun4kqsb2.cloudfront.net/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/04/29/09/7p/0v/po83x9mykggup5.jpg?imageId=23519346" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 618px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /><br />
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This blog post will attend these <a href="http://mefancy.blogspot.com/p/link-parties.html">parties</a>.</div>Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-10435291534591935242012-04-22T06:11:00.001-07:002012-04-22T06:11:20.962-07:00Portabella Fajitasportabella - portobello - tomato - to-ma-ta .... it all equals YUM!<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CotfqO0-a4U/T5QADkqyvwI/AAAAAAAABoA/rCeQhD1F7Ww/s1600/faj+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CotfqO0-a4U/T5QADkqyvwI/AAAAAAAABoA/rCeQhD1F7Ww/s320/faj+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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In honor of my travel to San Antonio for work, I give you my recipe for Port Fajitas - we'll just call them port fajitas so that we can all agree on the spelling. This recipe is tried and true by me, a multitude of friends and meat-eaters alike... yep you heard that vegetarian fajitas that lovers of steak have enjoyed. The only individuals that this recipe has not enchanted is the mushroom hater variety type... you just can't win them over!<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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4-6 Port Caps<br />
1 onion<br />
2 Red peppers<br />
2 green peppers<br />
<b>For the marinade:</b><br />
2 tbsp of olive oil<br />
1/2 cup of red wine, white wine, cooking sherry, cooking wine<br />
If you used red wine, add a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinaigrette<br />
3 cups of vegetable broth<br />
2 cloves of garlic minced<br />
the juice of 1 lime<br />
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Marinade the mushrooms in the following mixture: olive oil, wine (can be ommitted), vegetable broth, minced garlic and lime. My preference is to keep the mushrooms whole and have them flipped up so that they look like a bowl. After marinating, I would cook them whole and slice prior to serving. The grocer only had the pre-slice style available that looked edible. You want to marinate the<br />
mushrooms for at least 20 minutes but ideally 2 hours.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7lXMBwSb0cI/T5QAGZ8TEdI/AAAAAAAABog/vsRltY59Wb8/s1600/faj+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7lXMBwSb0cI/T5QAGZ8TEdI/AAAAAAAABog/vsRltY59Wb8/s320/faj+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Slice up the vegetables in long strips.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lg0QSr-3iXE/T5QAFi7hUbI/AAAAAAAABoY/Ua7qRgY9JZ4/s1600/faj+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lg0QSr-3iXE/T5QAFi7hUbI/AAAAAAAABoY/Ua7qRgY9JZ4/s320/faj+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cook the onions and peppers together or seperate. My preference would be to cook all of it together in a cast iron pan but my daughter doesn't like the onions touching the mushrooms. You can grill the items until soft (aproximately 10 minutes) or cook them stove top on the cast iron (preferred) or a deep frying pan.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rMnSrj-wNqY/T5QAFEzkOpI/AAAAAAAABoQ/8e37zg_r7Aw/s1600/faj+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rMnSrj-wNqY/T5QAFEzkOpI/AAAAAAAABoQ/8e37zg_r7Aw/s200/faj+4.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R0C6UgmzIKI/T5QAEPVRxAI/AAAAAAAABoI/yRdEeFC7Hnw/s1600/faj+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R0C6UgmzIKI/T5QAEPVRxAI/AAAAAAAABoI/yRdEeFC7Hnw/s200/faj+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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and Enjoy! <br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Serve with flour tortillas (here is a trick wrap the stack of tortilla in a dampened paper towell and micro for 1 minute). Serve with a side of black beans, guac, sour cream, pico de gallo, lettuce and cheese</span>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CotfqO0-a4U/T5QADkqyvwI/AAAAAAAABoA/rCeQhD1F7Ww/s1600/faj+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CotfqO0-a4U/T5QADkqyvwI/AAAAAAAABoA/rCeQhD1F7Ww/s400/faj+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-48228895501214003372012-04-21T07:16:00.004-07:002012-04-21T07:19:22.839-07:00Baseball Wreath Another Version<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of my good friends recreated my <a href="http://www.mefancy.blogspot.com/2012/03/opening-day-wreath.html">baseball wreath</a> <--- you can find the tutorial here.<br />
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Funny thing is that she saw it on Pinterest. Funny how Pinterest works that way... I was glad to have inspired her along with so many others!<br />
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Her version of the wreath has 14 brand new baseball-practice balls. She said the drilling was super easy. She purchased a pack from Play It Again Sports ($20) and just rotated the various logos to the back. She also threaded the baseballs in a pattern. I thought it turned out great! She has plans for some blue/orange ribbon to support our Tigers!<br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-9338441838394507442012-04-19T09:40:00.002-07:002012-04-24T05:47:32.076-07:00Baby Banners<span id="goog_716596959"></span><span id="goog_716596960"></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pPeYxLGzW5g/T5A6aucwXlI/AAAAAAAABm4/8L06Y86hL4I/s1600/DSCN2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pPeYxLGzW5g/T5A6aucwXlI/AAAAAAAABm4/8L06Y86hL4I/s640/DSCN2756.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the greatest joys in life is when you are expecting -- probably the second greatest shared joy is witnessing and being a part of the anticipation in others as they wait out their own days for pending motherhood. I am so fortunate to have a cousin and a good friend that are "in waiting" and have both decided to decorate their nurseries in "Woodland" themes. One is expecting a boy and one a girl. I created the banners for their respective baby showers.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Primarily, I used "Simply Sweet" and "Give a Hoot" Cricut Cartridges for the various cut out images that were used for this banner. Here is a rough estimate of what you will need:<br />
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<li>2 sheets of solid card stock (12x12) for the back ground "squares"</li>
<li>2 sheets of solid cream card stock (12x12) for the circle cut outs that create the (b-a-b-y)</li>
<li>1 yard of coordinating ribbon </li>
<li>For the fox and squirrel 1(12x12) sheet of each color : cream dark brown, light brown, black - the various layers were cut in 4" dial size</li>
<li>sewing machine - optional - I created a sewn look without thread on the paper to add dimension</li>
<li>stamp pad and sponge to add dimension to the letters</li>
<li>Simply Sweet and "Give a hoot" cartridge (alternate option - Jolees for the woodland creatures or cut from woodland themed scrapbook paper/ use a good artist - cut out the circles and lopsided squares by hand)</li>
<li>tape adhesive, pop up dots</li>
<li>hole punch</li>
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Using the Simply Sweet cartridge Cut out the coordinating cicles (6" dial size) to spell out baby and two additional blank circles to use as a back layer for the fox and the squirrel.</div>
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Cut out the small woodland creatures on a dark brown paper (shadow only) in 1 1/2 inch size</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bayBV5_YgzM/T5A6RuVnI2I/AAAAAAAABmg/hwRIM6ZtjWU/s1600/DSCN2736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bayBV5_YgzM/T5A6RuVnI2I/AAAAAAAABmg/hwRIM6ZtjWU/s400/DSCN2736.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Using a coordinating stamp ink ( I prefer stampin' up) - the specific color used on the girl banner was Cameo Coral and on the boy banner was "not so Navy" - sponge ink lightly onto the outside edge of the circle and on the cut out letter shape area. When sponging lightly dab and brush outward.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o5FnXQrDz9Q/T5A7-GuF6MI/AAAAAAAABnQ/GO0GREkYJhA/s1600/DSCN2813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o5FnXQrDz9Q/T5A7-GuF6MI/AAAAAAAABnQ/GO0GREkYJhA/s400/DSCN2813.JPG" width="296" /></a></div>
In this picture, you can see the difference and the added dimension that sponging some ink quickly will add to this cute little banner.<br />
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As you can see in this step, added pop up dots to add the decorated circles to the "sewn" large squares that were cut in 6 1/4 dial size. Using a squre hole punch - holes were added to the back panel to allow for threading of the ribbon on the backside.</div>
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I added some additional layering to give the center letters some pop. You could choose to do some additional layering on the "shadow" woodland creatures as well.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Tz7teeQ0a0/T5A6goEIxMI/AAAAAAAABnI/7J637A3DBoc/s1600/DSCN2759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Tz7teeQ0a0/T5A6goEIxMI/AAAAAAAABnI/7J637A3DBoc/s400/DSCN2759.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Green/Blue hues<br />
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Pink/Coral hues </div>
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This crafting moment is attending these <a href="http://www.mefancy.blogspot.com/p/link-parties.html">link parties</a>. It will also take a visit at <a href="http://www.scrapscene.com/tag/wipmonday.html">Scrap Scene </a> and <a href="http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/">Uncommon Slice of Suburbia</a>.<br />
<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-51439275133462513912012-04-15T13:05:00.001-07:002012-04-18T05:46:38.273-07:00Paper Topiaries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I really like the look of topiaries. They add a nice touch of elegance and whimsy to any table/party decor. They can be a simple centerpiece for a wedding and make a nice statement depending on how crazy you get with the glitter, the base that is used would make it appear more formal. I created the topiaries in this tutorial for a Woodland themed baby shower. </div>
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<b><b>Supplies for 1 topiary: </b></b></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">4 sheets of coordinating paper (2 sets of 2 12x12 sheets)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Paper Punches that will create a layered shadow effect or Cricut (used Give a hoot cartridge)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Florist pins (aprox 60)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">1 - 1/4" wooden dowel (or as my husband says wooden rod) cut to 12"</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">1 pot, basket</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">1 5" foam (found them cheap at Wal-mart $3)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">1 foam block that will fit into your pot. I used 1 block for 2 pots (dollar store find)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">glue</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">ribbon</li>
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<b>Plain Pearl Florist Pins are used in this topiary: </b></div>
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<b>Make the florist pins shine like glitter.</b>.. well they are covered in glitter. Essentialy, you dip the pearl end of the pin into glue and then into the glitter color of choice. These particular topiaries are for a boy themed party. I am hoping that the mommy-to-be will consider keeping them for their Woodland themed nursery. I decided to get rid of the pearl look by covering it in glitter. For another set I am creating, I will leave the pearl alone.</div>
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Dip in the glue<br />
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Dip in the glitter<br />
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Stick it in your foam block to keep it upright while it dries<br />
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Takes about 20 minutes for the glue to set. You could probably speed this up with a craft dryer.<br />
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Punch out your paper. As mentioned, I used the Cricut "Give A Hoot" Cartridge. You could also use coordinating paper punches as well.<br />
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Place the push pin through both layers into the foam ball<br />
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> Continue adding more flowers until the entire ball is covered.</span> </div>
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Here is the topiary just hanging out in the basket with out the dowel. This would be a neat idea to make a "mum" looking plant for in the fall.</div>
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Cut the wooden dowel to 12". <br />
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Take your choice of ribbon and add a bow or charm to the dowell.<br />
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Shape and size your foam block for the filler for the pot - this is what holds everything upright.<br />
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Place the 2nd foam block (cut to size ) into the pot, container, basket.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Insert topiary on the dowel into the foam. If you are transporting these already made to the party/wedding reception, I would recommend placing glue into the newly created hole in the foam foam and reinsert the dowel for extra keeping power.</span></div>
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Insert the wooden dowel that has been cut into the decorated foam ball, just slighty scoot the pretty layers away to create a space for it.
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Add moss to cover the foam block inside the pot.
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Here is the same topiary hanging out in a wooden basket. I didn't add a bow at the top because I thought the bow in the bottom was enough
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I added the little felt birds to the pot for decoration. <br />
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This crafting moment will link up to the following<a href="http://mefancy.blogspot.com/p/link-parties.html"> blogs and link parties</a>.</div>
<a href="http://www.scrapscene.com/tag/wipmonday.html">http://www.scrapscene.com/tag/wipmonday.html</a>Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-91574409767912063692012-04-12T05:08:00.000-07:002012-04-12T05:11:58.941-07:00Matching Dresses<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">We have company in for the week. My friend and I took a stab at making dresses for our girls with matching dresses for their American Girl Dolls. They turned out cute... not nearly as homegrown as I thought they would based on my lack of sewing skills. The hardest part was increasing one of the dress size and getting things to lay right. I had to do an emergency SOS call to my mom . </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">We used Simplicity Patterns: </span><a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-6760-doll-clothes.aspx" style="line-height: 20px;">1928</a><span style="line-height: 20px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.simplicity.com/p-5099-childs-girls-dress-sportswear.aspx" style="line-height: 20px;">2378</a>. I followed them for the most part, instead of buckles we used buttons. T</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">he dresses took about 3 hours to cut and sew. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I plan to go back and add rossettes to the front of the dresses along the collar line.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.2;">While I finished up the doll dresses my partner in crime made the hair bows. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">For the </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">rosettes</span><span style="line-height: 21px;"> , we made two sizes - 1 strip of fabric for the American Girl Dolls and 2 strips of fabric for the girls' bows. Using the tutorial that I posted for the </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://mefancy.blogspot.com/2012/02/st-patty-day-inspired-wreath.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">St. Patty Inspired Wreath</span></a></span></div>
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<img height="375" src="http://d12xzpun4kqsb2.cloudfront.net/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/04/11/08/an/su/po235wrnk0gup5.jpg?imageId=23416498" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 618px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Here they are so far!</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img height="375" src="http://d12xzpun4kqsb2.cloudfront.net/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/04/11/08/3x/ld/posqsrajswgup5.jpg?imageId=23416503" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 618px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="500" /></span></div>Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-63312808579007278572012-04-11T05:49:00.001-07:002012-04-11T05:49:26.943-07:00Birds, Ducks... Chickens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1B3U5L10ROs/T4V89ZJkNPI/AAAAAAAABh0/YzVlFfDrO2Q/s1600/birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1B3U5L10ROs/T4V89ZJkNPI/AAAAAAAABh0/YzVlFfDrO2Q/s400/birds.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I made these little guys based on the blog over at <a href="http://www.myrtleandeunice.com/2011/04/how-to-make-easter-chick.html"> Myrtle and Eunice</a><br />
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As soon as I saw these, I knew I needed to make them but as birds for a Woodlands baby shower. They are going to look "sew" cute sitting and hanging out underneath my tree topiaries.<br />
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Myrtle and Eunice created an awesome easy to follow tutorial!Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-1253269165704339022012-04-10T06:05:00.000-07:002012-04-21T07:39:52.849-07:00Spinach Mushroom Quiche<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0d7CjzvVO4/T4MiAq-XbbI/AAAAAAAABhQ/819GJFMf-Sw/s1600/086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0d7CjzvVO4/T4MiAq-XbbI/AAAAAAAABhQ/819GJFMf-Sw/s400/086.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Note: this quiche is cooked in a deep pie dish</i>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0d7CjzvVO4/T4MiAq-XbbI/AAAAAAAABhQ/819GJFMf-Sw/s1600/086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"></span></b></a></div>
<a name='more'></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0d7CjzvVO4/T4MiAq-XbbI/AAAAAAAABhQ/819GJFMf-Sw/s1600/086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Ingredients:</span></b></a><br />
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1 pastry crust</div>
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3 tbsp of butter</div>
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2 cloves of minced garlic </div>
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16 oz fresh spinach chopped (bag of spinach is the perfect size</div>
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5 green onions</div>
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2 cups of sliced *fresh* button mushrooms (12oz carton works is the perfect size)</div>
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4 eggs</div>
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1 pt half and half (fat free works)</div>
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1 1/4 cup of shredded Swiss (Sargento's shredded Swiss in the bag is the perfect size)</div>
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1/2 tsp salt</div>
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1 tsp pepper</div>
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1/4 tsp cayenne pepper</div>
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1/4 tsp nutmeg (sounds strange but adds a nice flavor)</div>
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Paprika </div>
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Preheat oven to 375</div>
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Melt the butter in a large frying pan on medium heat, once melted toss in minced garlic and saute for 1 minute then add sliced mushrooms, diced green onions and fresh spinach. Saute until the mushrooms become soft and the liquid from the spinach has evaporated. Set to the side</div>
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In a glass bowl, beat the 4 eggs, add half and half and salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne - whisk together. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Add Swiss cheese and spinach/mushroom mixture - mix well with a larger spoon.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IHb7FvPaKxg/T4Mhzr6gZ1I/AAAAAAAABgY/Ed0PaO6sMN4/s1600/079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IHb7FvPaKxg/T4Mhzr6gZ1I/AAAAAAAABgY/Ed0PaO6sMN4/s320/079.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Preparing the crust - make your crust or in a pinch use a Pillsbury pre-made pie crust. </div>
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Poke holes to allow it to vent, keeps it from getting bubbly in one spot<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S1xYYPYLHEE/T4Mh5NPQyVI/AAAAAAAABgw/hQPH3gZ5vY0/s1600/082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S1xYYPYLHEE/T4Mh5NPQyVI/AAAAAAAABgw/hQPH3gZ5vY0/s320/082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pour the milk, spinach, mushroom mixture into the pie crust and give the top a dusting of paprika.<br />
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Cook at 375 for 50-60 minutes </div>
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When finished, it should be fully raised (it will collapse) have a slight golden brown crust and any liquid that appears to be boiling should be clear.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9hCrjibfuJc/T4Mh-7DSRkI/AAAAAAAABhI/Ki9IexaHKls/s1600/085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9hCrjibfuJc/T4Mh-7DSRkI/AAAAAAAABhI/Ki9IexaHKls/s400/085.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0d7CjzvVO4/T4MiAq-XbbI/AAAAAAAABhQ/819GJFMf-Sw/s400/086.JPG" width="400" /><br />
and ENJOY! <br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-75723154302745884642012-04-09T10:22:00.006-07:002012-04-10T06:06:15.976-07:00Woodlands Baby Shower Invite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mm7P6LG2ngs/T4MWwRjkXpI/AAAAAAAABfY/f_UMlB8rhdk/s1600/baby+shower001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mm7P6LG2ngs/T4MWwRjkXpI/AAAAAAAABfY/f_UMlB8rhdk/s400/baby+shower001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have been busy making plans / crafts for two baby showers - one that I am hosting and one that I am attending. I came up with this simple baby shower invite. <br />
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I used the Cricut "Give a hoot" cartridge for the little critters on this. I have plans to use that same cartridge for some of the other crafts that I have planned. The group of animals was created by using the various layers that are available on the cartridge - 5 layers in fact! <br />
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I used my sewing machine to roughly the sew the edges and just used a coordinating thread.<br />
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For the "Welcoming Alice" and the paint splash I ran the edge of the paper in crafting ink to give it a smudged appearance.<br />
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The card size used was the DCVW a2 - multi pack cards. To print on the inside, I opened up my Word Document and changed my paper size to : 5.5" x 8.5" with a margin of .5" on all sides. <br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-85619204699205752602012-04-05T07:58:00.001-07:002012-04-10T06:07:13.997-07:00Opening Day!Happy Opening Day! It is a holiday at our home!<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Keith and I whipped up two batches of cupcakes for the girls to take to school. Living in the mile high area... has led to some baking disasters! I found adding a 1/4 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of water to all of my baked goods makes them a little less frisbie-like!</span><br />
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I made the girls some cute baseball inspired bows to match their Tiger jerseys. This year, both of the girls got to wear one of Keith's Tiger coats from his days of young!</div>
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-7536879077292990592012-04-03T16:52:00.003-07:002012-04-10T06:07:23.601-07:00Stuffed Red Peppers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-941OmlVvEdY/T3uBmxWUuoI/AAAAAAAABd0/P7ugC8BzTJY/s1600/DSCN2639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-941OmlVvEdY/T3uBmxWUuoI/AAAAAAAABd0/P7ugC8BzTJY/s400/DSCN2639.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Ingredients: </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zeTqP5varwE/T3uASduDfNI/AAAAAAAABbM/YMahWCObF9w/s1600/DSCN2612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zeTqP5varwE/T3uASduDfNI/AAAAAAAABbM/YMahWCObF9w/s320/DSCN2612.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>1 tbsp of Canola Oil</li>
<li>1 tsp of minced garlic</li>
<li>5 Red Peppers</li>
<li>1/2 White/Yellow Onion - diced up</li>
<li>1 bag of Southwestern Corn</li>
<li>1 can of Black Beans (rinsed and drained)</li>
<li>1 cup of white instant rice</li>
<li>1 cup of water</li>
<li>1 cup of Mexican style cheese</li>
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Preparing the red peppers. Rinse/wash the peppers. Take 4 of the peppers and remove their tops and deseed. Dice up the remaining 5th red pepper.</div>
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Dice the onion</div>
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In a dutch oven, heat the canola oil, add diced onion, red pepper and the minced garlic. Saute on medium heat<br />
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Rinse the can of black beans add add to pepper/onion mixture. Add the frozen corn and mix to heat through<br />
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Add 1 cup of water to corn, bean, pepper mixture bring to a boil<br />
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After water comes to a boil, add 1 cup of rice, cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes<br />
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After mixture has cooked for 10 minutes, remove from the heat and add 1/4 cup of shredded cheese<br />
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This mixture is good on its own with a plop of sourcream. Feel free to skip the stuffed pepper step and just start eating. ;)</div>
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Stuff the 4 remaining peppers with the corn, bean, rice mixture.</div>
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Place the stuffed peppers in a 9x13 dish or round casserole dish works well too and top with a sprinkling of cheese.<br />
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Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until the peppers look like yummy goodness!<br />
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Enjoy! <br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-86544532604870434902012-04-01T06:51:00.000-07:002012-04-10T06:08:06.202-07:00Upcycled Jean Rag Quilt<br />
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You know you have items like this laying around. jeans that can't go to Goodwill, to torn up to be fashionable (ie - they are actually torn in the knee versus randomly on the hip or thigh ). This gives some good use for those overly worn jeans.<br />
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I showed some of the steps in my post about the Jean Quilt Circa 2002 - so I apologize for the repeat. I thought I should have it all in one place. For those of you that missed that post this is the history on this quilt:<br />
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<i>In 2002, I started creating this quilt without directions just ideas - Internet was around then for all of you 20 year olds but you really didn't hop on it (or at least I didn't) to find crafting ingenious-ness like today. It was used for maybe "my space" - what is that??? and yahoo-groups. LOL So I started off with a bunch of jeans that were worn and didn't fit as well ( I think maybe too much wedding cake and up late at night vanilla shakes with my newlywed husband). I got fairly far on it. I attached the squares together and purchased the flannel but ran out of motivation.</i><br />
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What you need for this project:<br />
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<li><b><b>7 pairs of wasted adult jeans cut into squares of 5"x6.5" when cut, leaving an allowance for .5" fringe. The entire quilt will measure 42"x75" and will contain 140 jean squares. </b></b></li>
<li><b><b>Embroidery thread and darning needle (if you want to embellish with flowers), the poms were for marking the spots to embroider, hoop</b></b></li>
<li><b><b>3 yards of soft flannel of your choice</b></b></li>
<li><b><b>Navy blue Thread for the jean side and your of matching thread for when you sew it altogether</b></b></li>
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This is where I left this project in 2002. It was sewn together and some manly hunter flannel was its' friend. Embarrasingly, I have moved these two items from Nebraska to Texas, Texas to Maryland, Maryland to Michigan and then to Colorado. After it is finished, it will make its way to Florida. This quilt has seen more of the US than my Grandma Sugar.<br />
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Tokie assisted with laying it out on the floor. He was very inquisitive about the whole pom pom thing... and I bet you are wondering what the hell??? right now too! I decided that I want to embroider flowers randomly on the quilt as well. So I laid out red pom poms to get a sense of placement. I wanted to visually see the splash of color.<br />
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It is at this point that I will say - I wish I would have planned the quilt 10 years ago to do a titrated color look - how awesome would that be. I am way too lazy to rip this sucker apart and do that but going from light to dark would have been awesome! If I did that, we would have to fast foward to 2022 with me still working on this and I need to bust this quilt out this year!<br />
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After I placed the pom-poms, I added a piece of masking tape to mark my squares that deserve further attention.<br />
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Because of the mere size, weight of the quilt, I used an embroidery hoop to help keep things nice and tight while I embroidered.<br />
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I did not follow a specific pattern just allowing the thread to do the drawing as my friend, Theresa, showed me over at <a href="http://trulytree.blogspot.com/2012/02/bigger-stuffed-woodland-creatures.html?spref=fb">Truly Tree</a> - literally she showed me in person... how awesome is that!! Go visit her blog and see the cute things she is making for her "nature" nursery... so cute! <br />
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After I chose a different flannel material that was a little more 2012, turquoise, I added a matching floss to each of the flowers.<br />
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The fleece I bought was 45" wide. I cut the fleece into two segments of 45"x40" and sewn together using my serger but using a regular sewing machine would have worked fine.<br />
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For a decorative touch and to create 3 seams on the back flannel side, I created two additional seams by folding at 1/4 and 3/4 points and serging. Now, I have 3 seams on the back.</div>
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I squared up the back flannel and jean squared on one corner and started sewing. NOTE: You do no want the flannel to measure perfectly against the jean squares prior to sewing. You should plan to have overhang on two sides. The jean squares will lengthen or stretch as you attach the flannel and if they measure perfectly prior to sewing, you will end up short. There is probably some quilter technical term for this. ;)<br />
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Sew the two panels together. With the ridges facing outward and the "good side" of the flannel facing outward. There will be unfinished seams on all sides. When you sew over the thick seam of the jean, fold the seam flat. It will save you on needles.<br />
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After the two sides are sewn together, trim off excess flannel. At this point I will mention, the scissors I am using are awesome!</div>
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Cut along the outside edge, near the seam, 1/4 inch slits. I also cut the jean seams as well. This will help the fabric fray after washed in an orderly fashion.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QPhC9cXVXw0/T3e9mD2MDBI/AAAAAAAABZs/UjJjs4RvBkM/s1600/DSCN2682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QPhC9cXVXw0/T3e9mD2MDBI/AAAAAAAABZs/UjJjs4RvBkM/s320/DSCN2682.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uesVInTrdHs/T3e9qXKeVYI/AAAAAAAABZ0/QkjcwzI8Ygo/s1600/DSCN2683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uesVInTrdHs/T3e9qXKeVYI/AAAAAAAABZ0/QkjcwzI8Ygo/s320/DSCN2683.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IgMSKty7CoY/T3e90LYsjTI/AAAAAAAABaE/UxUHjMAaEQk/s1600/DSCN2685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IgMSKty7CoY/T3e90LYsjTI/AAAAAAAABaE/UxUHjMAaEQk/s320/DSCN2685.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Wash and dry the blanket in your washing machine and the material will naturally fray on your own. You will be so pleased with it that you won't want to give it away.<br />
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<b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Upcycling-repurposing is awesome and super green. That said, if you have larger size jeans that are in decent shape please consider donating them directly to a shelter or non--profit agency that works with men and women that are homeless. There is such a need for larger sized (size 12+), practical clothing in the shelter environment. </span></b></div>
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If you try this, link back and thanks for keeping something out of the landfill and thinking green.</div>
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This post is linking up to these <a href="http://www.mefancy.blogspot.com/p/link-parties.html">parties.</a></div>Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-16960137090169145512012-03-31T07:52:00.005-07:002012-03-31T13:16:36.308-07:00Potato and Pea Enchiladas<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">
<img height="300" mce_src="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/9y/2w/poctebg0g8gup5.jpg?imageId=23268695" src="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/9y/2w/poctebg0g8gup5.jpg?imageId=23268695" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="400" /><br />
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Recently, I participated in a Betty Crocker taste test. The challenge was to substitute a Betty Crocker potato in a recipe. </div>
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I made my potato and pea enchilada casserole using the garlic and herb potatoes. Normally, I boil red potatoes with garlic and bouillon, then mash. I used the Betty Crocker garlic and herb instant potatoes. It was so easy to make this way. The jury is still out on which way tastes better. My husband says he hasn't decided but thought the instant "taters" tasted great. I think he was just excited to be eating one of his favorite meals! LOL </div>
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He always wants me to make this dish but because of the mashing potato step (it adds easily another 40 minutes) I always put it off. It was really easy to throw this dish together and bake using the instant box. </div>
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<a href="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/ki/89/pootulv34ggup5.jpg?imageId=23268750" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mce_src="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/ki/89/pootulv34ggup5.jpg?imageId=23268750" src="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/ki/89/pootulv34ggup5.jpg?imageId=23268750" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ingredients:</div>
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<li>1 cup of frozen peas</li>
<li>2 cups of Mexican Shredded Cheese</li>
<li>1 packet (1/2 box of instant potatoes) garlic and Herb - cooking according to directions OR 6 Red potatoes boiled in your favorite broth, butter and garlic, drained and mashed</li>
<li>Cumin seasoning to taste</li>
<li>2 small cans of Enchilada sauce mild</li>
<li>16 corn tortillas</li>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Preheat oven to 375 degree. Cook 1 packet of mash potatoes according to directions. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Heat 1 cup of frozen peas in microwave for 3 minutes. Poor 1/2 of 1 can of enchilada sauce on bottom of 9x13 pan. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> Fill 16 corn toritllas with a splat of mash potatoes and a tbsp of peas, sprinkle with cumin and cheese. </span></div>
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<a href="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/7v/ss/pounbjhzwggup5.jpg?imageId=23268746" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ftBbzbhr2Bw/T3daccjoXdI/AAAAAAAABWc/_W6kR4EJySQ/s1600/IMG_0429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ftBbzbhr2Bw/T3daccjoXdI/AAAAAAAABWc/_W6kR4EJySQ/s320/IMG_0429.JPG" width="240" /></a><img border="0" height="150" mce_src="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/7v/ss/pounbjhzwggup5.jpg?imageId=23268746" src="http://ugc-01.cafemomstatic.com/gen/constrain/500/500/80/2012/03/15/18/7v/ss/pounbjhzwggup5.jpg?imageId=23268746" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="200" /></div>
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Make two rows of 4 the above mentioned tortillas rolled for the bottom layer.<br />
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Cover with enchilada sauce and cheese. Use the back of the spoon to help spread.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Db0EKk29Kyw/T3daz8JFcyI/AAAAAAAABXU/olw2NRvH3iA/s1600/IMG_0438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Db0EKk29Kyw/T3daz8JFcyI/AAAAAAAABXU/olw2NRvH3iA/s320/IMG_0438.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhCdQD3QVVE/T3da3DxPsII/AAAAAAAABXc/um2ib9Dmrwk/s1600/IMG_0439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AhCdQD3QVVE/T3da3DxPsII/AAAAAAAABXc/um2ib9Dmrwk/s320/IMG_0439.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Add the next layer of rolled toritllas.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kqsUcIw8D_8/T3da6bljOzI/AAAAAAAABXk/WIhGXmPtjzs/s1600/IMG_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kqsUcIw8D_8/T3da6bljOzI/AAAAAAAABXk/WIhGXmPtjzs/s320/IMG_0440.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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cover with sauce and cheese.<br />
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Cook for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 375 degrees.
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-54973468283682639022012-03-28T20:51:00.005-07:002012-04-15T11:50:53.920-07:00Opening Day Wreath<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>"We're all behind our baseball team... Go Get em' Detroit Tigers... Go get em' Tigers!" </i><br />
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I bet the women of 1968 wished they had this baseball wreath to hang up on their door! </div>
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I wish I could say that this idea is all mine but it isn't. The idea stemmed from a baseball wreath that I saw on this Tutorial : <a href="http://www.oopsicraftmypants.net/2012/03/checkin-in-and-baseball-wreath.html?showComment=1333220611730#c2724684621218174844">Baseball Wreath at <i>Oops I craft My Pants</i></a> She used kiddie party favor baseballs that were hot glued to a wreath. <br />
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Not only was the wreath a phenomenal idea but she made some great "game day ticket" invites and the list of baseball-ness goes on. <br />
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I thought it would be super awesome to have something like it on our door for opening day and well depending how awesome the Tigers do this year maybe the whole darn season!! Opening Day is a national holiday at our home it is the only day that my husband can manage to get off work early. ;) <br />
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Keith asked me what I was doing tonight and started to peek into the garage. I told him that he will either think that what I am doing is totally awesome or completely sacrilegious! Sacrilegious because I had plans to mix soft and hard balls together and well the part where I drill holes through baseballs that still have some life left.</div>
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Supplies:</div>
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<li>For this specific wreath you will need 4 baseballs and 8 softballs. (baseballs only -14)</li>
<li>1/4 inch drill bit that makes holes</li>
<li>Electric drill</li>
<li>pliers</li>
<li>elbow grease</li>
<li>2+ feet of heavy gauged wire or a coat hanger</li>
<li>Ribbon or other decorative items</li>
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Project time: (45 minutes)</div>
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I picked these beauties up at Play It Again Sports for $1.50/each. You can buy a bag of new hardballs (12 for $19) there but I didn't like the logos and I kind of like the old look/feel to this. Drill a hole in each baseball until 1/4 drill bit comes all the way through. The leather gets a little stinky just to warn you. Make sure you remove all lose clothing because you are leaning on the drill and pressing down to get the bit to go all the way through the baseball. I also placed a small 1x2 under the ball while drilling to protect the work bench area.</div>
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Measure your metal wire and or bend your coat hanger into a circle. If you are using a coat hanger, you will want to make sure the end that is being used to "thread" the baseballs is smooth and you have removed the wrinkled or ridged section of wiring. The baseballs are pretty stubborn during the initial threading period.</div>
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Thread the baseballs on the wire. You will need a little bit of elbow grease and I found it easier to use pliers to hold the wire once threaded to further pull it through the baseball. For this wreath, I made a pattern of 1 hardball, 2 softballs, repeat.<br />
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After all of the baseballs are threaded, use the pliers to bend the heavy gauged wire downward to create a P. <br />
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Remove any excess wire on the other end and thread the other end of the wire through and begin bending to form a knot. You want to make sure that this keeps together tightly because the weight of your newly created wreath will hang from this pressure point.<br />
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Add embellishments, hang on your front door and go cheer on your favorite team!<br />
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This blog will visit the following <a href="http://mefancy.blogspot.com/p/link-parties.html">parties</a></div>Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-4871157561981244612012-03-15T18:50:00.002-07:002012-03-16T07:43:19.995-07:00Pizza Bagels<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J4Zp7-uLKwM/T2KVQq2vsUI/AAAAAAAABTI/x59qhipNnFY/s1600/IMG_0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J4Zp7-uLKwM/T2KVQq2vsUI/AAAAAAAABTI/x59qhipNnFY/s320/IMG_0421.JPG" width="240" /></a>So yum and not the frozen kind in the box<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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<li><b>1 jar of spaghetti sauce or your favorite pizza sauce</b></li>
<li><b>2 cups of shredded mozzarella</b></li>
<li><b>5 bagels</b></li>
<li><b>toppings of choice</b></li>
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Spread out your bagels on your cookie sheet. For easier clean up, line with tinfoil</div>
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On each bagel, use aproximately 3 tsp of spaghetti or pizza sauce. use the back of the spoon to evenly spread it.<br />
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Add a quarter cup of cheese to each one.<br />
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Chop up your favorite toppings and give the bagels a splash of topping. Red Onion and button mushrooms are the family's personal favorite.<br />
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Once you are done topping, cook them in a preheated oven (375 degrees) for 12 minutes</div>
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and ENJOY!<br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-45244855830513750392012-03-01T08:44:00.004-08:002012-04-01T07:04:35.044-07:00Re-purposed Jean Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So this isn't finished yet but I feel like I need to post something with an update. This week has been pretty hectic. Keith and I are celebrating our 10th Anniversary tomorrow and we are going to London to celebrate. I have been trying to get things squared away at work, the house clean for Grammy so that she won't suffocate in dog hair when she gets here. I finished the girls laundry to hopefully eliminate any wardrobe related tantrums during our week away. The list of "to-dos" gets longer by the moment, locate passport, rain boots, buy an umbrella and so on...<br />
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I took pics of our baked ravioli dinner... well the beginning process and then my husband took it out, served it up for me (thank you) but failed to realize I was in the middle of a blogging a moment.... <br />
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With all of that nonsense, I bring you the other project I have been working on this week. It is the "Jean Quilt circa 2002" from my <i>2012 Pump It or Dump It</i> list... <br />
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In 2002, I started creating this quilt without directions just ideas - Internet was around then for all of you 20 year olds but you really didn't hop on it (or at least I didn't) to find crafting ingenious-ness like today. It was used for maybe "my space" - what is that??? and yahoo-groups. LOL So I started off with a bunch of jeans that were worn and didn't fit as well ( I think maybe too much wedding cake and up late at night vanilla shakes with my newlywed husband). I got fairly far on it. I attached the squares together and purchased the flannel but I ran out of jeans to make it just a little bit longer. I really needed two more rows to make it wide enough, twin blanket size.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">When it is all done, I will have used approximately 6 adult jeans and two pairs of children's (size 7) jeans. The squares are 5"x6.5" when cut, leaving an allowance for .5" fringe. The entire quilt will measure 55"x80" and will contain 140 jean squares. </span></b><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MgeyGrG_BdU/T0rt-bSnzgI/AAAAAAAABP0/KJoYXVBwW3c/s1600/DSCN2352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MgeyGrG_BdU/T0rt-bSnzgI/AAAAAAAABP0/KJoYXVBwW3c/s320/DSCN2352.JPG" width="320" /></a>With my 8 year old, she falls down and rips a whole in her jeans, knit pants at least every other week. I have found myself with once again too many jeans that really can't be sent to the goodwill but have enough life in them to be upcycled into something else. <br />
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So last week, I pulled her out (the quilt, not my daugher) and took a look at where I was at and whether or not, I finally had enough jeans. Tokie assisted with laying it out on the floor. He was very inquisitive about the whole pom pom thing... and I bet you are wondering what the hell??? right now too! I decided that I want to embroider flowers randomly on the quilt as well. So I laid out red pom poms to get a sense of placement. I wanted to visually see the splash of color. <br />
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It is at this point that I will say - I wish I would have planned the quilt 10 years ago to do a titrated color look - how awesome would that be. I am way too lazy to rip this sucker apart and do that but going from light to dark would have been awesome! If I did that, we would have to fast foward to 2022 with me still working on this and I need to bust this quilt out this year!<br />
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After I placed the pom-poms, I added a piece of masking tape to mark my squares that deserve further attention.<br />
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Because of the mere size, weight of the quilt, I used an embroidery hoop to help keep things nice and tight while I embroidered.<br />
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Here are some of the flowers I have been working on this week. Each square takes about an hour. I have done it in the van while waiting for dance to let out, Sunday night movie time with the family and so on. I am not following a specific pattern just allowing the thread to do the drawing as my friend, Theresa, showed me over at <a href="http://trulytree.blogspot.com/2012/02/bigger-stuffed-woodland-creatures.html?spref=fb">Truly Tree</a> - literally she showed me in person... how awesome is that!! Go visit her blog and see the cute things she is making for her "nature" nursery... so cute!<br />
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Hopefully, next week after the jet lag wears off, I'll post a finished quilt and my friend, Molly, of whom this has been destined for will enjoy it for years to come! (Sorry it has taken 10 years).</div>
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I would like to note that upcycling-repurposing is awesome and super green. That said, if you have larger size jeans that are in decent shape please consider donating them directly to a shelter or non--profit agency that works with men and women that are homeless. There is such a need for larger sized, practical clothing in the shelter environment. </div>
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If you try this, link back and thanks for keeping something out of the landfill and thinking green.</div>
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-60436035201947430242012-02-26T19:36:00.002-08:002012-02-27T08:27:58.542-08:00Veggie Calzone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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What is better than veggie pizza??? a veggie Calzone... or maybe not better but equally yummy on the taste buds. <br />
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<b>Ingredients (enough for 2 calzones, feeds 4 people): </b></div>
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<i>Dough</i></div>
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3 1/4 cups of all purpose or bread flour (3 1/2 cups if you are living the "high life" 3,000+ feet)</div>
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1 1/4 cups of water</div>
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1/4 cup of Olive Oil</div>
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1 tsp of minced garlic</div>
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1 tsp of instant rapid rise yeast (room temp)<br />
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<i>Filling</i></div>
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1 small container of ricotta cheese</div>
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2 cups of shredded mozzarella</div>
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1/2 cup of shredded parmesan</div>
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1 cup of sauted vegetables (spinach, onion, mushroom, broccoli - your choice)</div>
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<b>Making the Calzone!</b></div>
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For two good size calzones (ie enough to feed 4 people), make 1 batch of basic pizza dough. If you like a sweeter dough, you could add 1 tbsp of white sugar. Let the dough sit, untouched, with a wet/ warm towell covering it - free from draft. Your home should be 68 and above or it will take awhile for the dough to rise. The the dough sit for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When it is done rising, it should be doubled in size.</div>
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When you are ready to actually make the calzone. Chop up your vegetables and saute in a little olive oil or I just use a a little bit of cooking spray to keep things from initially sticking. You can choose whatever combo you like. For this particular calzone, I used 6 button mushrooms, 1/2 red onion, 1 red pepper and 2 cups of spinach.<br />
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Mix together your blend of favorite cheeses - My preferred blend is 1 container of ricotta, 2 cups of shredded mozzarella and 1/3 cup of Parmesan.<br />
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Prepare your work surface, by lightly dusting with flour. Scoop out the dough and pull it into two balls. If it is sticky, knead in a little bit of flour. Be careful to not overwork it or it will become tough during the baking process.</div>
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Roll out your dough.<br />
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Place your rolled out circle of dough on a baking sheet. </div>
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Add half of the cheese mixture<br />
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Add the sauted vegetables<br />
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fold over the dough and press down the edge to close the seam.<br />
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Baste the dough with a little bit melted butter.<br />
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Sprinkle with a little bit of garlic salt.<br />
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Bake at 400-425 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Lower temp for high elevation folks.<br />
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Pull it out when it is nicely browned on top... or in this case when the cheese explodes... LOL</div>
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Serve with a side of your favorite marinara sauce, share with your favorite person and enjoy!</div>
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-69718083225819896362012-02-25T09:47:00.001-08:002012-02-25T09:47:30.004-08:00Zip tie your chandelier<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2S_xG-1Www/T0kdDf9zAvI/AAAAAAAABMo/PnzaJr3kkS8/s1600/089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2S_xG-1Www/T0kdDf9zAvI/AAAAAAAABMo/PnzaJr3kkS8/s320/089.JPG" width="240" /></a>Hosting a party is always fun and sometimes you need to move the table to allow room for more guests but that pesky chandelier .... gah.... that hurts when you bang your head and sometimes creates an awkward space. You know you want it higher but goodness are you really going to break out the pliers and crank open the chain links? Give it a zip with a zip tie. Don't have a zip tie? You could also use a garbage bag twist-tie.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8NA-RcZkwvg/T0kc9yEOZbI/AAAAAAAABMY/3_CKYOqheLI/s1600/085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8NA-RcZkwvg/T0kc9yEOZbI/AAAAAAAABMY/3_CKYOqheLI/s200/085.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-50113580240864525752012-02-24T22:52:00.001-08:002012-03-06T19:05:18.570-08:00St. Patty Day Inspired Wreath<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iVUHK5ksGh0/T0goIzAtxYI/AAAAAAAABKM/UxEY6eiA1Hw/s1600/DSCN2350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iVUHK5ksGh0/T0goIzAtxYI/AAAAAAAABKM/UxEY6eiA1Hw/s400/DSCN2350.JPG" width="300" /></a>I wanted to make a St. Patty's day wreath but wanted something that could possibly go into spring. I love the natural look of the "haystack" wreath and I thought it would look great with the shredded fabric flowers that I saw on this tutorial at <a href="http://bcheniful.blogspot.com/2011/03/fabric-flower-how-to.html">BCheniful 's Blog</a>.<br />
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Click on the READ MORE>>> to see how I made the fabric flowers and put this together</div>
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<li>1 wreath of decent size. I prefer the look of the haystack but you could also use a normal wreath wrapped in sweater material or the bleached vine looking wreaths</li>
<li>A couple of fat quarters in your preferred pattern ( I used 3 fat quarters and cream scraps)</li>
<li>Buttons(optional)</li>
<li>Hot glue gun or craft glue</li>
<li>Decorative element (in this case, the shamrock)</li>
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<b>Making the Flowers---</b><br />
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Now - I liked the tutorial that I mentioned above as a guide, I found a way to make them a little bit easier for the more novice fabric wrapping person -- like yours truly!<br />
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I took some pics of the progress along the way and a very poor, unedited, literally smokin' hot (high temp glue gun) video<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Warning: I used a high temp glue gun and burned the heck out of my one finger... </span></i><br />
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Take a square of fabric that coordinates and cut it to about the size that you would like to have the flower's diameter. In this case 2x2 inches. This square will become the back of the flower. Cut two strips of fabric 1.5 inches wide by the length of the fat quarter (so about 40 inches long) and heat up that hot glue gun.<br />
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Tie a not near the end of 1 strip of fabric<br />
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Place a glop of glue on the square of fabric </div>
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adhere the tag end of the strip to the square fabric. Place another glop of hot glue and fold the knot over.</div>
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Fold the fabric in half .<br />
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Begin twisting the folded strip of fabric around the knot. Hot gluing as you continue around the growing circle of fabric.<br />
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Once you are nearly finished wrapping the strip of fabric you can add on another strip and continue the same process to make a larger fabric or stop at this point by trimming off the excess square fabric<br />
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Glue the remaining tail of fabric to the underside of the flower.
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You are left with a delicate hand-wound fabric flower that is ready to stick on a wreath or make its mark on a hair-pin.<br />
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You can continue making coordinating flowers in the colors of your choice. In this particular wreath I used 3 different fat quarters for the patter variation and one piece of scrap material that was left over from the Menu sign that I made last week.<br />
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After the flowers were made, I tied my decorative shamrock onto three sctrips of matching fabric. Then, tied that onto the wreath. I decided to go this route because I hope to utlize this wreath through spring and want to have the option to remove the shamrock come March 18th.<br />
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Using my glue gun, I added the flowers to the wreath.<br />
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I then decided to add a few buttons to give it a little bit of charm and have the buttons act as "centers" of the flowers.<br />
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The end result was a happy little wreath hanging on our already green door. It was freezing when I took this picture. I am eager to have spring in Colorado!<br />
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Think spring... Think spring... Think spring...<br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-41856630929604516332012-02-22T09:37:00.000-08:002012-04-01T07:03:14.243-07:00Reuse Wine Corks for Food Markers<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9R5LSdcX3RY/T0kGXKzi6FI/AAAAAAAABLw/XcosjCKjseI/s1600/177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9R5LSdcX3RY/T0kGXKzi6FI/AAAAAAAABLw/XcosjCKjseI/s400/177.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Don't have enough corks to make a beautiful wreath? </i></span></div>
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Slice the tip and use them for food markers at a party or table assignments at a dinner party. </div>
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I decided to use wine corks to display the "food labels" for the cheese plate and appetizers at a wine tasting. </div>
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What do you need for this project??? Corks, stock paper, fancy writing skills and a knife!</div>
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Here is some info on making your own labels and utilizing those corks that are laying around. Just click here...</div>
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You likely have a pile of corks that looks something like this --- either prominently displayed or hidden in your "one day" crafting area. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rq1ZrPNU11E/T0kGCd5IzEI/AAAAAAAABK4/VzLOFmTMZGo/s1600/167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rq1ZrPNU11E/T0kGCd5IzEI/AAAAAAAABK4/VzLOFmTMZGo/s320/167.JPG" width="320" /></a>.</div>
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Determine how many markers you need for your party, seat settings, etc. Count out that many corks and using either an exact-o knife or me because I was lazy grab your favorite chef knife and cut a slice 1/4 inch down on the tip of the corks.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o6-ygGa0uxw/T0kGFZKVluI/AAAAAAAABLA/oI7pWiEhZAA/s1600/170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o6-ygGa0uxw/T0kGFZKVluI/AAAAAAAABLA/oI7pWiEhZAA/s200/170.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHT26j0jKBM/T0kGHyReSpI/AAAAAAAABLI/JaKMQAcvn2s/s1600/171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IHT26j0jKBM/T0kGHyReSpI/AAAAAAAABLI/JaKMQAcvn2s/s320/171.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Marking the markers ---</span><br />
Using two coordinating cards stocks, I cut the back paper to 2"x3" rectangles and the lighter paper that will become the "label" 1.5"x2.5" rectangles<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ioLvNTgLt7o/T0kGKlyKWtI/AAAAAAAABLQ/C9LN-A8XBBI/s1600/172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ioLvNTgLt7o/T0kGKlyKWtI/AAAAAAAABLQ/C9LN-A8XBBI/s320/172.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are the cut out rectangles<br />
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Using glue tape, glue stick... super glue (watch the fingers) adhere the small rectangle to the top of the large rectangle.<br />
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Break out your best penmanship... you know the stuff your fourth grade teacher graded you on and write down the name of the foods, cheeses or guests. If your handwriting stinks or writing nicely under pressure creates issues, then create the labels in a word document and print out on card stock on your home printer and then slice them into nice rectangles.<br />
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Insert the new label into the sliced area of the wine cork and you are on your way to hosting a beautiful party. <br />
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I shared this post with Scrap Scene's Whip It Monday - <strong style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Calibri, Arial; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.22em;">http://www.scrapscene.com/tag/wipmonday.htm</strong></div>
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-69527406681656444602012-02-21T07:09:00.005-08:002012-02-21T07:15:07.880-08:00Fiesta Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Ingredients: </b><br />
2 diced chilis<br />
1 diced red pepper<br />
1 diced onion<br />
1 cans of black beans (rinsed)<br />
1 buillon cube<br />
4 cups of water<br />
1 can of marinara sauce<br />
1 bag of frozen southwestern corn<br />
4 Quorn cutlets<br />
2 tbsp of olive oil or you could use cooking spray to reduce fat content<br />
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Dice up your veggies. I dice them because the kiddos are more likely to eat them without the "ewwww" factor. If the kiddos were older, I would probably chop to have better texture... that said, dicing them allows the flavors to blend quicker in the soup and speeds up saute time.<br />
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Apparently - on this particular night, I felt like cutting the tip of my thumb off was party of the recipe process. So -- I called in my little Mallory and I guess --Tokie, the fur baby, too for back up and assistance.<br />
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After the band-aid and plastic doctor glove were in place, I carried on with the Fiesta Soup making!!<br />
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Heat up the 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat.</div>
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Once the oil is heated, throw in the diced (or chopped) onions, chilis and red pepper. Saute for 3-5 minutes on medium-medium-high heat until everything is lucid, soft but not browning.<br />
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Add the entire bag of Southwestern corn and give the pot a stir.<br />
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Add the 2 cans of rinsed black beans to the pot and give it a stir.<br />
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Nuke the Quorn cutlets for 2 minutes to get the frost off and dice up into little pieces and add that to the mix.<br />
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Throw in your favorite marinara. <br />
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(This is my quick and easy way to do it. If you want long and hard, look at making "gravy" - blanch tomatoes, peal back skins, roast with onion and garlic, puree and simmer in broth. An awesome taste - worth the effort but on a Thursday after a long day in my office, homework and everything else... a jar of marinara it is!)<br />
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Add 4 cups of water ( or just fill the marinara jar up once) and add a cube of bullion or add your favorite or homemade vegetable broth.<br />
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Bring to a boil and then to turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until all of your muchkins start complaining that they are hungry.<br />
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Serve up by itself or with a cheese quesadilla. I like to garnish with Mexican blend cheese, sour cream and salsa. Enjoy this 200 calories of pure yumminess!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Garnish: mexi cheese, sourcream, fresh cilantro and so on.</span> </td></tr>
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-60103742076786345752012-02-20T19:55:00.002-08:002012-02-21T04:18:13.265-08:00Spice Rack StorageTrash to Treasure! - Who doesn't love it.<br />
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I found this little guy at the "thrift" for $1.99. Ugly metal, a little bent and no spice jars to match... who says it is ugly. I found him in a heap with his friend orange star and old tape holder. <br />
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After a coat of brushed black rustoleum spray paint and a few stares by my fur babies, he looked like this!<br />
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More importantly, my Stampin' Up collection of large paper punches went from this ...<br />
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to this!!!!!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e6xbsrE4q-c/T0MSRyd4jhI/AAAAAAAABA0/VJG0T6l05pA/s1600/191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e6xbsrE4q-c/T0MSRyd4jhI/AAAAAAAABA0/VJG0T6l05pA/s400/191.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-71980703408140060022012-02-19T10:30:00.004-08:002012-02-20T15:57:54.915-08:00Mini Lemon Cake Deserts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Ingredients:</div>
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<li>Betty Crocker white cake mix prepared</li>
<li>3 Tbsp of Lemon Curd</li>
<li>1Tbsp of water</li>
<li>1 cup heavy whipping cream</li>
<li>1 8oz package of cream cheese</li>
<li>2 cups of powdered sugar</li>
<li>2 tsps of Lemon extract or Lemon Infusion</li>
<li>2 tsps of lemon juice</li>
<li>Blueberries to garnish</li>
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Prepare the white cake mix according to instructions on the box (add eggs, water, oil and mix blend until there is no lumps... you know the drill). If you are in high elevation, I would recommend adding 2 tbsp of milk or water and a 1/4 cup of cake flour or all-purpose flour to battle that nasty high elevation cooking syndrome. </div>
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**tip --To have a firmer cake or to avoid a crumbly cake, bring your eggs to room temperature... short on time???? hold the eggs in your hand under hot water for a minute or so to get rid of the fridge temp!</div>
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Prepare your jelly roll pan or as I knew it growing up, cookie pan with sides with a pieces of parchment paper. This step isn't necessary but it makes for clean cuts of cake later on when you lift them out. If you don't have parcment paper, grease and flour the pan.<br />
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Bake that bad boy at 350 (325 if you are in high elevation) for aproximately 14 - 18 minutes. As my Dad says ,when you smell it, pull it.<br />
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After the cake is finished baking (aka- a toothpick or knife inserted comes out clean)... take out the cake and cool it in the pan on a cooling rack. </div>
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After it is cooled, slice it in 2x2" pieces.<br />
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Get out your fancy tasting party dinner dishes.... At Pier One, you can buy these small tasting bowls with the cute miniature spoons (your guests will think are so clever) for $20ish for a set of 12. I use a serving tray for presentation when I bring them out later at the party. You could also buy small little wine glasses at your local thrift store.</div>
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Place one 2x2 square piece of cake into each dish. <br />
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Have your tasters nearby to taste the goods! Mallory and Tokie both liked the white cake and gave it "dinner party" approval!<br />
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An easy way to make the lemon glaze.. is to thin out lemon curd. Take 3 Tbsp of lemon curd mixed with 1 Tbsp of water, nuke it for 1 minute and whisk the heck out of it to get rid of any lumps. You can find the Dickenson's Lemon Curd in the international food isle near the English and German food selection.. I have also seen it at World Market, Whole Foods (different brand) but it is definitey out there. Homemade lemon curd is awesome!!! and if you are adventurous and have the time, I would visit this <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/259220/lemon-curd">lemon curd recipe</a>. It is tried and trued by me and high on the Yum factor...!</div>
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After the lemon curd is heated up and thinned, drizzle a 1/2 teaspoon on each tasting cake.<br />
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With the addition of our lemon curd, the tasting cakes are ready for the whipped cream cheese frosting. Take 1 cup of heavy cream and poor into your mixing bowl and beat with the whisk attachment for aproximately 5 minutes until stiff peaks form. If you don't have a stand mixer, use your electric mixer on high - probably would take about 7-10 minutes to get the cream whipped up. Set the whipped cream to the side.<br />
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(If you have always wondered how to make home made whip cream - this is how it is done... just add a tsp of powdered sugar to 1 cup of heavy cream and give it a good ol' whip)<br />
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In a large mixing bowl, blend together the softened cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon flavoring and powdered sugar (word to the wise.... add the powdered sugar slowly to avoid the "swedish chef" muppets affect).<br />
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After the cream cheese and powdered sugar are creamed together, remove the bowl from the standmixer and fold in the whipped cream. Here is a link on <a href="http://www.monkeysee.com/play/13073-how-to-fold-ingredients-for-baking">FOLDING</a></div>
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After you have gently folded in the whip cream, your fluffy frosting is ready to top the tasting cake</div>
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***Quick tip on filling a pastry bag... place the pastry bag in tall cup or in this case cylinder vase. It makes adding the frosting a sinch and avoids the huge mess, over spills and so on. If you don't have a pastry bag, use a large freezer bag with the corner cut. </div>
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Pipe the frosting on to each tasting cake and garnish with a blueberry or two...<br />
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and enjoy!<br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7951486570950310534.post-13783141451496267092012-02-18T08:26:00.000-08:002012-02-21T04:19:52.296-08:00Leaky Pitchers - Quick Tip Saturday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I think the pictures say it all! If you have one of the rustic looking pitchers that leak everywhere, grab a plastic tumbler, fill with water and your beautiful fresh cut arrangements... these "antiqued" pitchers aren't for dry flowers anymore!<br />
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<br />Balancinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04713926748125912841noreply@blogger.com0