Sweet Baby

I have a third card with the same sketch from the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge...I blame it on the flag/pennant dies that I just got and the fact that this sketch uses TWO of them.  I really hadn't intended to make a third card, but yesterday I was adding cards to our church card sales racks and realized we needed baby cards.  Plus...CAS-ual Fridays has a color challenge - to use pink on a CAS card.  What was I to do but make a baby card...

This time I flipped the sketch.  I like it the way it is, but I didn't want that giraffe staring off of the page.

I also have a huge thank you and shout out to Doris at The Stamping Tower.  The cards that I was putting in the church card racks yesterday - they arrived in the mail this week from Doris!!!  She sent me her extra cards!!  I love the world of cardmaking.  Doris is in New Jersey, I'm in Colorado.  We've never met, but we have a bond.  Thank you so much, Doris, you made my day, week, month!!

• Stamps: Papertrey Ink Sweet Baby, Stampin' Up Petite Pairs
• Ink: Stampin' Up Blushing Bride, Going Gray
• Paper: white
• Accessories: Stampin' Up heart border embossing folder, Spellbinders rectangle die, American Crafts ribbon, Papertrey Sweet Baby dies and pink button

Less Is More: Paper Piecing

This is my second post today.  It's just a short scroll

down for Dynamic Duos.  (But keep your eyes closed if you are hungry!)

I had no intentions of posting this morning.  I already had a post pre-scheduled and it's up - so my morning was going to be devoted to cleaning.  But a number of completely random circumstances came together and caused me to make a card.

Here's the card...it's for the Less is More challenge which for this week is paper piecing...



You might be wondering - why a hamburger?  Until last night, it would have been one of my bottom choices of an image for a card.  Then my family had an amazingly fun and utterly decadent dining experience. Nothing fancy - my youngest picked it as a special treat because we hadn't seen him two weeks due to lacrosse and church camps.  After a huge meal, we have decided that it's going to be our celebration place - birthdays, etc. - so I am going to tuck this card away until the next birthday.  Let me show you why.  If you are hungry, you are going to want to look away.  If you live in the Colordo area (and particularly if you have hungry teen boys), put this on your MUST-DO list! It's Crave Real Burgers in Castle Rock and Colorado Springs.

The Luther:  bacon, cheddar, egg and onion with 2 glazed donuts as the bun

My 6'4", 200 pound, 16-year old TRYING to eat The Luther.

My husband staring in awe at The Slopper:
a green chili smothered cheeseburger
OVER a grilled cheese sandwich, topped with
onion, poblanos, pico, sour cream,
avocado, lettuce and tomato.

Erik doing battle with New Mexico Relleno:
fried queso fresco, roasted poblano chiles, avocado and green chile

My children chose this one for me.  It's the Drunken Onion.
(Wonder what they meant by that?)  It's cabernet caramelized onions,
Gruyere, Swiss, and French onion soup for dipping.

I don't even have pictures of the most amazing things.  We started with green chili fries.  My husband - who despises the expense of eating out and rarely finds anything positive to say, commented that the green chili could make cardboard taste good!  And the strangest thing we had was the Strawbanero shake - a strawberry shake with Habanero Caramel.  Strange but oddly wonderful!!

Hmmm...it is lunchtime yet....because I brought home leftovers of my burger!

• Stamps: picnic digi set at the Graphics Shoppe (never shopped there before, I just needed a burger image), Stampin' Up Crazy for Cupcakes (the candle), Close To My Heart Card Chatter-Birthday.
• Paper: Stampin' Up dsp in Pacific, Mustard, Poppy, Pumpkin, Expresso and Celery
• Ink: black, copics for border

Monochromatic Week at Dynamic Duos

It's the fourth week of the month which makes it monochromatic week at Dynamic Duos.  This month, we are in the green family - with the combination of River Rock and Always Artichoke.  I thought this soft color scheme would work well for a sympathy card...



Here's the detail of the dimension that gets lost in the above photo...

Be sure to check out all the other design team creations (as I have been watching them added during the week, I already have a die and a stamp set that I am ordering to CASE these cards!!)  Then pull out your River Rock and Artichoke, create a card and link it up!

To be considered for the Diva Dynamo and the Dynamic Darlings remember that (1) only neutrals such as black, white, vanilla, skin and kraft can be added and (2) don't link to other color challenges.  

Here's the rest of the team!  Have fun!

The Dynamic Duos Challenge Blog

Allisa Chilton

Anne Marie Hile

Anika Lerche

Bronwyn Eastley

Kim Singdahlsen

Lesley Croghan

Lisa Elton

Melissa Chipperfield

Paige Grabau

Sue Joyce

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Papillon Potpourri, Petite Pairs
• Paper: Stampin' Up River Rock, Always Artichoke, Paisley Petals dsp
• Ink: Stampin' Up River Rock, Always Artichoke
• Accessories: Memory Box Meadow Leaf die, My Favorite Things Fishtail Flag dies, Papertrey Ink Woodgrain Impression Plate, Stampin' Up Elegant Butterfly punch and Sweet Buttons sizzlit, miscellaneous crocheted ribbon, twill and crochet thread
• Challenges: Dynamic Duos and the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge

Spinach Salad with Warm Chorizo Dressing

I go back and forth on whether or not I want to post my recipe failures.  Usually I decide to go ahead and post them, mainly because it's nice to have a record of what didn't work.  I also feel like things get a little redundant when you love every dish that you make.  Let's face it.  Real life just isn't that way.  We make mistakes.  We have failures.  Sometimes we cook food that we just don't like.  

Nearly every recipe on this site is something that my family and I really enjoyed, but then there are an occasional few that we did not.  It's bound to happen.  This spinach salad with warm chorizo dressing falls under the failure category.

Theoretically, this spinach salad looks like a win.  It's pretty.  It's colorful.  It looks inviting.  The problem was with the warm chorizo dressing.  It was just too vinegary.  In the end, I suppose it comes down to personal taste because this dressing might be wonderful to someone else.  I do enjoy vinegar, but there was just something off about the vinegar when it was mixed with the chorizo. You know how you smell something and you can tell that you're not gonna like it?  That's how I felt about this dressing.  I could smell an overwhelming aroma of vinegar.  In his book, Bayless says you can replace the vinegar with the juice from a jar of pickled jalapenos and I actually wish that I'd done that.  I think using that makes way more sense and would actually taste great.  If only.

In an odd way, I'm a fan of a recipe fail.  My kitchen failures have taught me way more than my successes.  I take away important lessons from each failure.  Lessons that I tend to remember.  In this instance, I'm not likely to go mixing meat with vinegar anytime soon (unless of course it's a vinegary bbq sauce).  

Spinach Salad with Warm Chorizo Dressing

Adapted from Mexican Everyday

by Rick Bayless

1 (9 ounce) bag of spinach

4 hard boiled eggs, halved and quartered

1  (10.5 ounce) container cherub or 1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 half red onion, diced or sliced thinly (however you like your onion)

One recipe Warm Chorizo Dressing, recipe follows **

Chorizo Dressing:

2 ounces (a packed 1/4 cup) fresh Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced

2/3 cup vegetable oil, olive oil or a mixture of the two

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar**

1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano, preferably Mexican

salt

*Note:  If you like spicy, replace part of the vinegar with the juice from a can of pickled jalapenos.

To make Chorizo Dressing:  Place the chorizo in a small skillet and set over medium heat.  Cook, stirring and breaking up clumps, until the sausage is browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir for a minute, then remove from heat.

Scrape the chorizo and garlic into a jar.  Add the oil, vinegar, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt if necessary.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Shake well immediately before dressing a salad.

If you want to use this as a warm dressing (as is common for spinach salad), microwave uncovered for 15 to 20 seconds, secure the lid and shake again.

To Make the Salad:  Arrange spinach leaves on a plate.  Top with halved cherub or cherry tomatoes, quartered hard boiled egg, and sliced/diced red onion.  Pour desired amount of dressing on top and enjoy!

Theme: Summer Salads

Pretty pillow {Pellon Tutorial} and hat box progress

As unproductive as I thought summer was going to be I have been more productive than I normally am. I am going to take that and hope that it will continue!!!!

There had been requests for a pillow sized Cathedral Window Pillow like the pincushion tutorial, so I figured out the math and showed my idea to Pellon and they said GO FOR IT! I love when people say yes!  So the tutorial is for a 16 in pillow for your sofa, chair, best friend or yourself!!!!!

I used Pellon Wonder Under, Craft Fuse and did you know that Pellon makes pillow forms?  I did not until now!

The  stunning fabric  Joel Dewberry Heirloom

The thread Aurifil 50wt


For the tutorial go check out Pellon Projects to see how easy it is to make this beauty!!!!!

I have also made some progress on my Hat Box Block quilt and decided that it should be my first donation for 100 Quilts For Kids!  It is very exciting for me to make a quilt with NO WHITE (so far) ;o) Sorry for the bad photo, it is raining.

I was going to finish the Soldier's Angels but figured out that when I was driving up to Joann's that I forgot my coupons at HOME! GAH!!!!  This adds to my list of why I need a smartphone...if I can just CONVINCE the in house engineer my life would be SO GREAT!

Hey Buddy!

I have three fun things today!

First...a fun card for a fun challenge on an amazingly creative blog.  Susan, at Rainy Day Creations, has started putting up sketch challenges.  She has created an amazing card for the challenge - and the prize is the stamp on her card (plus another!).  Her card is sweet and gentle but I went in a totally different direction...

The second fun thing is fun for you and me...a stamp set on sale at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps.  It's fun for you because...it's on sale!  It's fun for me because I was thrilled to see MY card on the ad.  (Details on the card are here.)

The third fun thing is actually just fun for me...I won a free stamp set from The Alley Way Stamps (TAWS) for my ladybug card from two days ago!  I didn't actually win the main prize - check out the TAWS link to see the amazing winning creation.  Of course, I had to get the stamp set that got me all excited for this company.  Check out my ladybug card link to see what inspired me.

• Stamps: Papertrey Ink Fly Away
• Paper: Stampin' Up Pacific Point, Poppy Parade, DCWV Grade School dp
• Ink: Memento black, copics, Stampin' Up Pacific Point
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink Fly Away die, Fiskars cloud punches, Cuttlebug dot embossing, Ranger Glossy Accents (the windows), Making Memories Giggle Kids Puffy Stickers

celebrate: family festival at Cedar Hills, UT

Our weekend was crazy. Crazy fun. Not only was it Father's Day, but our little city has the Family Festival every year and both happened to fall on the same weekend. The Family Festival has a carnival, movie and dinner in the park, band night, a fun run, a baking contest, parade and great fireworks. The fire department also shoots off their hoses for the kids to play in--always a favorite--but we didn't make it this year. (Don't tell the girls.) It's small town fun. Here's a little peek at our festivities. (*Heads up: lots of photos.)

Heading out for the parade.

About half way down the block, Madi decided she didn't want to walk/ride her scooter, so we went back home for the wagon. :)

This is the main street through our city. We love living here.

I look forward to this sight each year.

The parade starts with our local law enforcement, then the military and veterans from the area. I love this part. I'm so grateful for our men and women who serve in the armed forces, for the sacrifices they make. Many times I've seen one of them or a group and wanted to just walk up and say "thank you so much." But I get so emotional thinking about it, I never do. I know, I need to get over it.

I heard Ella and Madi working on a project in the office all morning. Made me smile when they came out with decorated bags for collecting candy at the parade. :)

The girl's favorite floats--princesses, of course. 

We laughed when Madi pulled her arm down fast when the Owlz mascot walked by. No waves for you. (He is pretty scary looking.)

Get ready...

 GO!

 Victory!

After the tears, Mads said, "Grandma, take a picture of my owie." :)

But sometimes you pay a pretty heavy price for getting' the goods.

And the crowd goes wild. We love Cosmo, the BYU mascot.

I was pretty pleased with how my parade photos turned out, considering the conditions (bright, bright sun). I picked up a little tip from Rebecca Cooper's new e-book, Real. Life. Photography., and decided to give it a try. (Here's the tip. Scroll down to the page that reads, "Shooting in AV mode.") Yep, I'm heading over to purchase the entire e-book. It's even on sale. 

Ella was in charge of the decorations for the bar-b-que/fireworks show. She and Madi made paper chains.

We bought the kids a bunch of water toys, so I asked Lynn to go buy a pool they could fill them up in instead of making a mess with the hose. I don't know why Kate and I thought it was so funny to see him rolling a pool down the street. I guess it's just not something you see every day.

The food was scrumptious. I made pork sandwiches with bar-b-que sauce and cole slaw, and everyone else brought the rest of the goodness. The sandwiches and bar-b-que sauce were wonderful! I think we still like my cole slaw best though. I need to post it soon. I have to admit, it's nice when the kids get older and can contribute to family meals.

O-live you, Madi. :)

At three years old, this little cutie will eat (or at least try) anything. Not sure how Kate lucked out, she was a pretty picky eater.

This little guy is adorable and was all over the place. We stuck him on the trampoline and it was the biggest and best play pen ever. Warner belongs to Tyler and Andrea. Tyler and Patrick have been best friends since high school. They both served missions at the same time which was fun. Now their wives are great friends too.

My niece, Jessica, brought all sorts of fun things for the girls to play with. Loved these popsicle shaped chalks.

The girls love their Uncle Patrick. He's fun and crazy and loves to play. He's pretty much just a big kid. :)

We finished off the night with an amazing fireworks show. The entire neighborhood was packed with cars and people. The fireworks are shot off from a hill just above the golf course. Just as exciting as the fireworks were the fires they set off. One got pretty big, fast, but the fire department got it out quick.

Good times and a great community we live in.

Hope you're having a delightful summer.

Kim