Hello and Thankful for You

I recently purchased some of the new Simon Says Stamp stamps and dies called Scribble Flowers. I knew I wanted to do some sort of inlaid die cutting. This is the very first time ever trying it. I definitely had to think about what I was doing. It didn't turn out as nice as I had hoped and I was really being impatient and didn't take some of the tack off my washi tape so when I would remove it, it was taking some of the paper with it. Frustrating!! Lesson learned.

 

So once I was done die cutting all my circle shapes I was left with these strips of paper with all these random circles. They were laying on my desk piled on top of each other and when I looked at them I thought, "something can be made from this, it's kinda cool!" You can't tell from my picture, but there is glossy accents on the green paper and wink of stella on the dark pink.

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Sending Lots of Love - Simon Says Stamp July Card Kit

Just love the SSS card kit for July. At the same time I saw the sneak peak for the kit I had placed an order from sequins and acetate sheets. Everything came about the same time, so I decided it was a perfect opportunity to make my first shaker card and pair it with the kit.

 

Not all the sequins move  around very much, I guess I need to double up the foam tape next time. But, I was pretty pleased by my first try.

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Cheers! - Simon Says Stamp Inks

I just recently purchased "almost" all the Simon Says Stamp inks. 

So that is what I focused on when creating this card.

Here's another anniversary card. I used the stamp set Scribble Flowers by Simon Says Stamp as well as Elegant Sentiments by Sweet Stamp Shop.

Supplies Used:

Neenah 80# Solar White Cardstock

Scribble Flowers stamp

Elegant Sentiments stamp

SSS - Black, Green Apple, Sea Glass & Surf Blue Ink

MME - Charmed Enamel Dots

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Happy Birthday to You

This is a card a made a while ago, but then life happened. It's that time of year when there are many birthdays and anniversaries but then at the same time school is coming to an end. This year in particular was busy because my oldest daughter finished 5th grade. There more school functions to attend and end of the school get togethers to be part of. Not to mention her final drama performance and soccer games. The list goes on! Now that school is out and the girls are away on holiday I have some time to work on my card making and blog.

 

This was a pretty simple card with lots of die cutting. I recently purchased a few items so I'm taking them for a test drive. 

Supplies:

SSS - Big You die

SSS - Hourglass die

Glossy Accents

Hero Arts - Wet Cement

MME - Breeze (from Michaels)

SSS - 100# Black Card Stock

Thanks Teacher!

Every year I make thank you cards for the girl's teachers. This year my oldest daughter wanted to be involved and make her own card for her teacher. YES! She's got the crafty bug too! She went looking on line and found something that inspired her and below is what she came up with. She loves to read and her teacher was always offering her new books to read, so this was perfect. I just love the little bookworm!

For my younger daughter I created this card. This little teacher guy with big glasses looked just like her teacher, so it was perfect.

 

We had a good time making these cards. I had picked up new 6x6 paper pad by Simple Stories called Smarty Pants and the Paper Smooches, Smarty Pants stamp set. Funny they had the same name! It was meant to be.

Supplies Used:

Neenah 80# Solar White Cardstock

Simple Stores - 6x6 Smarty Pants

Paper Smooches - Smarty Pants stamp set

Lawn Fawn - A Good App stamp set

Colored Pencils

Copic Markers

Hero Arts - Unicorn Pigment Ink

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Simon Says Stamp Haul - May

I feel like I've been buying more than I've been creating. I see all these wonderful cards so I'm getting the latest and greatest supplies, however, I've not been able to get out there and use them yet. Never enough hours in the day it seems. So this is what I've gotten so far.

I'M REALLY EXCITED!! For Mother's day my mom gave me some Cold-Hard Cash to spend, so I finally did it, I bought the first 14 colors of the Simon Says Stamp Inks!!! YES!! They have added 12 new colors recently, but I'll have to slowly add those in. When you buy the set of colors SSS also includes a swatch book kit. Really cool, is a small stamp set, the swatch paper and the ring.

THEN...I bought myself a bunch of SSS dies, I think I went a little crazy! For Christmas I got a Cuttlebug and I really haven't purchases any dies, so I treated myself on Mother's Day. I also got a couple of paper packs and a ZIG 2 Way Glue Pen, which will come in handy with all the dies I bought. All of my white Signo Pens went dry so I got a couple more and then I thought I'd try some Mister Huey's  Opaque White color mist.

Supplies Used:

InLinkz.com

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Happy Mother's Day

Water coloring is the big rage right now. I have my supplies, I've actually had the same water coloring palette since I was in college. Let's not try and figure out how long it please!! I have to admit I don't break it out very often. I much more interested in my Distress markers or Inktense pencils. I just love the colors I get with them. Not to mention the techniques you can do with them. So on this card I used my Distress Markers.

I decided what colors of my markers I wanted to use and then from there I found some matching pattern papers. I used pattern papers from an old Simon Says Stamp Card Kit, from May 2013. They have recently  redone their site, I couldn't find it on there when I went search on my own, however thru inLinkz.com I was able to find the kit. Just click on the image below in the Supplies used section and you'll go right there.

Supplies Used:

InLinkz.com

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Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Asparagus

Anything with Prosciutto is GOOD!!

Always looking for new dishes for the family to enjoy together and last night was a success! I found this recipe over at a new blog I found The Food Charlatan. Really looking forward to trying some other things I found there.

I really liked that I got a meat and vegetable dish all in one. The kids weren't excited about asparagus, and neither was my husband for that matter, but he eats it to please me. And because I fed him something with prosciutto he was willing to suffer thru the asparagus.

Such a simple dish and comes together quickly, this will definitely be served at our dinner table again.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken breast, sliced thin (2-3 breasts)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour, or more
4 slices prosciutto
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cup basil pesto
1/3 cup cream

Instructions

1. If the chicken breasts are thick, slit them in half lengthwise to make them thinner. Pat them dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle with salt and pepper; go easy on the salt, the prosciutto is salty.
2. Rub the chicken with the flour. Wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of prosciutto.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium. When it is hot, add the wrapped chicken. Cook for 5-6 minutes, then flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes or so, until browned and it reaches 165 degrees.
4. Meanwhile, add about 3 inches of water to a small pot, cover, and put it on to boil. Wash the asparagus and snap off the woody ends. Cut the asparagus into 2 inch pieces. Add to a steamer basket, and when the water in the pot is at a rolling boil, put the basket on top and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and set it aside. (If you don't have a steamer, you can roast the asparagus, or saute it with some oil).
5. In a small bowl whisk together the pesto and cream. When the chicken is fully cooked, pour the mixture over the chicken, and add the asparagus. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn off the heat. Serve with potatoes or crusty bread.

Thanks for stopping by!
M

Easter - A Month Ago!

I'M POSTING THIS A MONTH LATE!!

I haven't been very good about posting cards as I go. Seems like I'm having a hard time catching up with things lately.

THE MONTH OF APRIL - So, we have NO grass in our yard! My husband thought we would put in new grass awhile back. Well, he got busy with his work, the weather got nasty and then it wasn't worth it anymore, so we had to settle and wait until spring. Which means no Easter egg hunts in our yard. So off to Grandma's house we went.

I made these two cards for my daughters.  My oldest tries not to be sooo girlie anymore, while the younger daughter appreciates the cute girlie stuff. It was hard though NOT to be so cutsie!  I just love the way these turned out.

I made a very simple card for my husband as well and I complete forgot to take a picture of it. I still have to see if I can find the card and snap a shot. He's not a big Easter guy, so his was more of an appreciation card; admiring him for being such a great father and husband.

Thanks for stopping by.
M

Supplies Used:

InLinkz.com

Caprese Pasta Salad

Tomato. Basil. Mozzarella. Balsamic.

I can not take credit for this salad, I found this wonderful gem over at Simply Scratch . I can eat Caprese Salad anytime of the year. My kids never have liked the traditional salad with big slabs of tomato and mozzarella, but they go for this. I think it's because there is pasta in there too. So quick and easy and makes plenty of left overs so I can have it for my lunch, which makes me happy!

Ingredients:

2 cups dried Orecchiette Pasta, cooked as directed on the package
1 pint Grape Tomatoes, quartered
1 container Fresh Mozzarella Pearls {or 1 ball fresh mozzarella, cubed small}
1 cup Fresh Basil, sliced into ribbons
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
FOR THE BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE:
2 Cloves of Fresh Garlic, squeezed through a garlic press
1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
3 tablespoons Olive Oil

 

Directions:

In a small bowl squeeze two cloves of garlic through a garlic press. Pour in balsamic vinegar and whisk. Continue to whisk while slowly, pouring in the three tablespoons of olive oil in steady stream.
Cook orecchiette pasta according to package directions. Drain and then rinse with cold water. Add the cold pasta to a bowl along with the quartered tomatoes, fresh mozzarella pearls and basil ribbons.
Season with kosher salt and black pepper and drizzle with desired amount of the balsamic vinaigrette. Taste and adjust seasonings to your taste preference before serving!

 

Thanks for stopping by.
M