Friday, December 30, 2011

he will change the world!

"New Year’s Challenge!" at Get Picky!
Our challenge this month is to think about what we might resolve to do in the coming New Year. Your multi-photo layout can share whatever aspect you might like to focus on for the coming new year. It might be your New year’s resolutions, a bucket list, things to do, place you’d like to go, ideas for your life – family.....Share your thoughts, hopes and dreams in whichever way you please.

....and here's my layout...My eldest who is starting school in 2012 has such a curious mind, he is always asking WHY, WHAT and HOW...I know some day he will change the world!
These photos were taken at kindy this year when they had a science day, he was soooooo cute in his googles and lab coat!


To all my friends near and far I hope you all have a safe New Years and I cant wait to visit all yor blogs in 2012!
Till next time....

Thursday, December 29, 2011

A new friend and some other stuff

I love vintage sewing machines! They are functional works of art and I continue to be amazed by them. I was at my local Goodwill looking for something completely unrelated and a young guy walked through and said "Where do I put this sewing machine?"...UMMMMMMM....WHAT...

It was in a case and I just about jumped the poor kid to ask if I could see. He put it down and this was what was inside :o)

It was $15.99 and I had a 20% coupon...HAPPY DANCE!!!!! She works perfectly but needs a good cleaning and a few new bits. 



The second thing I came across was some much needed storage for my sewing room, I have stuff EVERYWHERE and this china cabinet is perfect for the space and again who does not LOVE a good deal with a 20% off coupon!!! Some white paint and new pulls...it is just what I needed!


My sweet girl is now looking like a young lady with her first hairstyle! SO...NOT...READY!!!!!!

And finally, someone super sweet sent me some FABULOUS fabrics for Christmas {thank you Sara } and I am hoping to have a project finished up tomorrow to share.  Michael is leaving in the morning so I am trying to spend all the time I can with my sweet guy!!!! It has been so nice to have my sweet son home!!!


Hope you are having a GREAT week :o)

Kim

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

cards...

Recently I created a few cards using the goregous Indie Bloom pattern papers and embellishments from Basic Grey!
The first was a thankyou card for my eldest's kindy teacher !
 and this one was for his little friend Kate who spent three weeks in hospital.
Till next time...

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

wedding word art

My son, Patrick, and his fiancee, Ashlee, asked me to create a large framed custom word art to display at their reception. (Only ten more days!) Ashlee had a tear sheet in her "wedding ideas" notebook of a similar one. She's been so organized through the entire process. This is what I came up with.


They gave me a list of words to include. It has phrases, memories, places and words that have special meaning them. The print size will be 16x20. I'm going to frame it in a simple black frame because they want to hang it in their home after the reception.

All my "assignments" for the wedding have been in the works for awhile, I just need to finish them up. Wish me luck!

On the third day of Christmas :o)




On the third day of Christmas there is a WINNER of the Aurifil thread and Moda Lollipop charm pack!!!!



gill said...

I'm a happy follower!





Congratulations!!!!!!! 
I will be contacting you later today via email!!!!!







CO
NGRATULATIONS GILL

Monday, December 26, 2011

Elle's Studio...

It's with great excitement that I announce today that I am a part of the new DT over at Elle's Studio!
A couple of months ago I got an email from Elle her self inviting me to be a part of the new DT. Wow what an honour it is.. I have made the team with some fabulous other girls who you can see here with the official announcement. Elle has some exciting things planned for 2012.... I cant wait to get started !

Till next time...

Farsighted Blog Tour! Win Prizes!!


Announcing the Farsighted Social Media Whirlwind Tour!
As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Farsighted eBook edition is just 99 cents this week.
What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes, including lots of Amazon gift cards (up to $100 in amount) and 5 autographed copies of the book. Be sure to enter before the end of the day on Friday, December 30th, so you don’t miss out.

To Win the Prizes



  1. Purchase your copy of Farsighted for just 99 cents on Amazon or Barnes & Noble

  2. Fill-out the form on Novel Publicity to enter for the prizes

  3. Visit today’s featured event; you may win an autographed copy of the book or a $50 gift card!

  4. BONUS: If you leave a comment on this blog post, you have another chance at $100!

  5. DOUBLE BONUS: If I receive more comments than any other blogger, *I* win $100.



...And I can win too!


Over 100 bloggers are participating in this gigantic event, and there are plenty of prizes for us too. The blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card as well. So when you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to say that I referred you, so I can get a point in the poll.

The Featured Events include:


Monday, a guest blog on Novel Publicity! Emlyn kicks off the tour on the Novel Publicity Free Advice blog by discussing her brightly burning passion for books in a guest post entitled “My journey through the pages and toward a life-long love of reading.” One commenter
will win an autographed copy of Farsighted. Don’t forget to enter for the other contest prizes while you’re over there!
Tuesday, Twitter sharing contest! A tweet is tiny, only 140 characters. But on Tuesday, it could win you $50. Send the following tweet across the twittersphere, and you just may win a $50 Amazon gift card. An autographed copy of Farsighted is also up for grabs. The winners will be announced Wednesday morning. Here’s the tweet: Looking for a fun read to round out your holiday break? The paranormal YA hit Farsighted is just 99 cents! http://ow.ly/81Dt1 #whirlwind
Wednesday, Google+ sharing contest! Yup, there’s yet another awesome opportunity to win a $50 Amazon gift card, and this time it just takes a single click! Visit Google+ and share Emlyn Chand’s most recent post (you’ll see the Stay Farsighted book cover included with it). On Thursday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An autographed copy of Farsighted is also up for grabs. Two chances to win with just one click! How about that?
Thursday, Facebook sharing contest! Stop by Novel Publicity’s Facebook page and share their latest post (you’ll see the Farsighted book cover included with it). It’s ridiculously easy to win! On Friday morning, one lucky sharer will be $50 richer. An autographed copy of Farsighted is also up for grabs.
Friday, special contest on the author’s site! Are you ready for some more fun? Take a picture of yourself with your copy of Farsighted either in paperback or on an eReading device, then post it to Emlyn Chand’s Facebook page or email a copy to author@emlynchand.com. You just way win one of three Amazon gift cards! A $100 prize will go to the photo with the most interesting setting (so put your holiday travel time to work for you). Another $50 will go the funniest photo, and one more prize of $50 will go the scariest photo—this is a paranormal YA book after all. An autographed copy of Farsighted will go to one randomly selected entrant. For more details about this contest, please visit www.emlynchand.com.

Remember, it’s all about the books!


About Farsighted: Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t. When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Farsighted is the winner of the 2011 Dragonfly eBook Awards. Get it on
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WXFG54/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=novelpubli-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005WXFG54">Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
About the Author: Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit her on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Now please enjoy this exciting excerpt from Farsighted...



“Did Dad tell you? A new tenant moved into the old pharmacy next door.”
“Really?” I ask, not letting on I already know. If I feign ignorance, Mom’ll divulge all the details. “What is it?”
“It’s a psychic shop,” Her voice crackles with excitement like a fire that’s just beginning to burn. “The All-Seeing Miss Teak. Isn’t that cute? Miss Teak, Mystic. Ha, I wonder if that’s her real name.”
I laugh. “That is funny. Never had a psychic in town before. What’s she like?”
“Oh, she’s very friendly. Why don’t you go over and say ‘hi.’ I’m sure she’d like to meet you.”
“Okay, I think I will.” I’m incredibly intrigued, because first off, it’s a psychic shop—how weird is that?—and second, its presence made Dad super uncomfortable—also very cool. I waste no time heading next door to check out the scene.
As I step cautiously into the new shop, a recording of soft, instrumental music greets me. I can make out chimes and a string instrument I don’t recognize but for some reason reminds me of snake charmers. The smell of incense fills my nostrils, which explains the burning I detected earlier.
“Hello?” I call out into the otherwise quiet room.
Nobody answers. I walk in deeper, sweeping my cane out in front of me in a metronome fashion. This place is new to me, so I need to be especially careful while moving around.
Thump! Despite my precautions, I stub my toe on something hard, big, and made of wood. Just my luck to stub the same toe twice in one day. I reach down to press my fingers into my throbbing foot to alleviate some of the pain. Something teeters before rolling off of the chest and across the floor; the sound it makes indicates a curved path. Suddenly, the object stops. Somebody’s stopped it.
“Hello?” I call again.
“Hello,” a deep, feminine voice responds, placing more emphasis on the first syllable than the second.
“I- I’m sorry I knocked that thing over. I didn’t mean to…” I hope she’s not angry. Probably not a good idea to get on a psychic’s bad side.
“That wasn’t just a thing, it’s a crystal ball,” she says as she walks over, sending my blood pulsing through my veins. I sense her looking at me for a moment before she places the ball back on top of the chest.
“Can it see the future?” I ask, allowing my curiosity to outweigh my uneasiness.
“No.” After a pause lasting several beats, she continues. “But I can see the future sometimes when I look into it.”
“Oh, okay.” I tighten my hand around my cane and turn to leave. It may not be the most polite thing to do, but all of this hocus-pocus stuff is freaking me out more than I would’ve guessed.
The psychic lady speaks again, stopping me cold. “Don’t run away, Alex Kosmitoras.” She must’ve spoken to Mom earlier today. That must be how she knows my name.
“I’m not running away,” I say meekly. “I’m just going back over to Sweet Blossoms.”
“Don’t run away,” she repeats—this time she speaks louder and with more energy. “Don’t run away from your abilities. They are gifts.”
“What?” I ask in confusion. What abilities is she talking about?
“You already know. Watch. Listen. Be open to your gifts.”
I turn to face Miss Teak, but find she’s already gone, returning to wherever she was before I got there.
Is it safe to leave? I trail my fingers across the wooden box I ran into earlier; a thick coat of dust clings to the tips as I pull away. If this shop just opened, why is it already so dirty? I wipe my
hands over my shirt to get the gritty substance off. Shivers rock my whole body. Something about this place is wrong, and I’m not sticking around to figure out what. Tapping my cane alongthe floor, I’m able to find the exit without knocking into anything else.

Finnish Mustard

It's no secret how much I love mustard.  Over the past three years I've pretty much professed my undying love for the golden-hued sauce of joy.  So, it should come as no surprise that I chose Tessa Kiros' Finnish Mustard to top my Christmas ham.  We all know that ham just begs for mustard.  They belong together.  Kinda like peanut butter and jelly. 

Finnish Mustard
Adapted from Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros
Makes 1-1/3 cups

Tessa says, "We almost always had a jar of this in the house:  my mother loves her mustard.  This is wonderful - so quick to make and it will keep well for a few weeks in a glass jar in the fridge.  You could find it becomes essential for cold meat sandwiches or roast ham and with smoked sausages and gravlax.  I imagine it would be nice with any mustard powder you use, but this is the way my mother always makes it."

1/3 cup hot English mustard powder 
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
juice of half a lemon

Mix the mustard powder, sugar, and salt together in a bowl, squashing out the lumps with a wooden spoon.  Put in a small saucepan over low heat with the cream, oil, vinegar, and lemon juice, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring often, then remove from the heat when it darkens and thickens.  Stir now and then while it cools and then pour into glass jars.  Store it in two shorter jars rather tha a tall jar where it will be difficult to reach the last bit of mustard with a spoon,  Keep in the fridge.
Theme: Winter Wonderland

Thank You with Wildflowers


I hope that everyone had a festive, magical and worshipful Christmas!!

It's a season full of generous acts, wonderful gatherings of family and presents, and special gifts - so for my post today, I wanted to say "Thank You" to all of my friends and family and even the strangers with a ready smile and a kind word.


I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

  • Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Wildflowers, Beauty in the Sea (sentiment)
  • Paper: Stampin' Up Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, K&Co Julianne dsp
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Poppy Parade, Tim Holtz Old Paper Distress Ink
  • Accessories: Nestabilities label, Stampin' Up Artichoke seam binding, Mr. Huey's Calico Shine mist, misc pearls

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas! I hope you have a safe, healthy, and happy holiday.

A happy little Christmas Eve bundle

I was very happy and surprised when this made it to my house this afternoon! It is the giveaway I won from Heather at Olive and Ollie. Man, that was FAST!!!! Thank you so much Heather!!!! Katy is already claiming some of the fabric as hers :o)



I do not have any of these fabrics which makes it super fun!!!!

And I took a break from ironing my son's shirt to flip through the book and I can see some projects I really want to try. Hopefully Santa will bring me an abundance of time or at least some more coffee ( cream and sugar please)!!!!

Thank you so much Heather for a great giveaway and for taking the time to send it so quickly during the busiest time of the year!

Kim :o)

It's Pink Saturday! and It's Christmas Eve!

So Merry Christmas to Everyone, or Merry whatever holiday you do celibrate...
In honor of the Holiday I am going to share with you a few pictures of my very own decorations...
I hope you enjoy!

See the Pink?


The sideboard that holds a lot of my Precious Moments Christmas Collection...


Here's a closer look at the center of the collection...


 The left...


The right...


This is our Snowman...Mrs. Smith used to do a Christmas project every year...and she would send us one...I so miss that, and her...She died in a car accident several years ago...

Merry Pink Christmas everyone...


As usual linking with
and
      

Less Is More: One Word and One Word Only!!

This week's challenge at the Less Is More blog is to use Just One Word.  You can decorate around it - but only one word.  I HAD to play because I just received a Papertrey Ink order that included their Wonderful Words dies. 

If you look closely - the word is cut into the white cardstock and then the piece is backed with the pomegranate.  The problem with this is that I had to use tiny tweezers and a glue pen to stick all the center pieces of the letters.  It made this card slightly less than truly simple.  We will be doing this at our church card group in January and my plan is to cut the word out of the pomegranate CS and glue it to the white - completely avoiding the hassle.  I don't think it would make a significant difference, do you?


  • Stamps: Papertrey Ink Heart Prints
  • Paper: Stampin' Up Purely Pomegranate, Rose Romance (both retired)
  • Ink: Stampin' Up Rose Romance
  • Accessories: Papertrey Wonderful Words die, Martha Stewart heart punch, Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink Gingham

Friday, December 23, 2011

Baking in sensible shoes

I finally completed my cookie baking yesterday. I tried some new recipes from America's Test Kitchen 2010 Holiday Cookies book that I had purchased last year and just did not get around to using.

I pre-made all the dough on Wednesday and had them rest overnight while I rested watching Midnight In Paris. Beautiful costuming in the movie made me reflect on how DULL my clothing choices tend to be on a daily basis.

So back to baking...

I had to pull out the MUST wear apron that my G-ma gave me years ago and I wear it every year when doing the Christmas baking/cooking! Notice the sensible shoes...UGH! At least they are RED! And I did remember to wear my glasses when reading the recipe. Did not want to mess these up like the gnocchi.


I was lucky enough to have some help in the kitchen with the rolling of the cookies which was very nice

Powdered sugar HEAVEN. Adam asked if he could just have a spoon and this bowl.

This was the first round... Hazelnut Chewies


The second round was Cherry Cheesecake, can I just say...OMG!!!!! These NEED to leave my house!!!!

When I was gearing up for the next round our babysitter came by to say hello and I asked if she could take a pic of me and the kids. Since there is the huge age gap I do not have the opportunity to have more than two together at one time. This is what happened and it was the oldest one that was the goofball!


This was the best one.

The third round was Chocolate turtles, the carmel ended up being too hard but the cookie part was delicious!

Finally, whew! I made my favorite cookie, simple and the perfect coffee cookie... The Mexican wedding cookie ( the book calls it a Russian wedding cookie). Little puffs of heaven!

Then I boxed some up and off they went!!!!

This morning my feet are sore and I decided that next year when I get my Martha on I will not be wearing my boring sensible shoes but these!!!!! I think I can rock the apron and stilettos too :o)


Have a great day!!!!

Kim :o)