random reflections

CPS 150 & Cards Challenge

My brother-in-law's upcoming birthday was the motivation for creating a card for both the CPS 150 challenge as well as the Cards Blog challenge. It was also an excuse to get out my new Memory Box "Bare Oak" stamp. The challenge on the Cards Blog was to use a tree in your project. Here's the sketch for CPS:

 

Here's my take on it:

 

And the inside message:

Cardstock (Bazzill & Papertrey Dark Chocolate), patterned paper (Basic Grey "Granola"), stamps (Memory Box, Crate Paper, Papertrey "Blooming Button Bits" & "Father Knows Best"), Amuse Creative Candy, Doodlebug Paper Frills, white embossing powder, Copic marker R29

Project 365 Week 2

Here are three of my favorite images from this week. (Actually I'm saving my two favorites for a scrapbook page which will show up here eventually.) The first two photos in this triptych are the reason for the third photo. I had finally had it with the cold, gray weather and treated us to some Gerber daisies since we had company both Friday night and again at noon today for lunch. The icicles were hanging from our garage door, and the pretty mittens were my Christmas gift from Sarah. I love them, and especially love that turn into gloves if you flip over the tops of them.

Weekly Gratitude

 
 

CPS 149

One of my intentions for this year is to complete two card challenges a week. This week I managed three. I knew as soon as I saw the sketch on CPS that I would want to participate.

It also gave me a chance to play with the Turning a New Leaf patterned papers and Blooming Button Bits from Papertrey Ink. I also used Papertrey's Bitty Dots Basics and Vintage Lemon Tart buttons. The ribbon is a piece from my stash.

Caardvarks Challenge

I'm squeezing this in just under the wire since the challenge ends tonight.

 

Here's my take on it. I used the border of the patterned paper instead of using a border punch this time, and I'm happy with how it came out.

 

Cardstock (American Crafts Earthtones and Speciality Pearl), patterned paper (Sassafrass Lass), ink (Papertrey Dark Chocolate), buttons (Making Memories), Stamps (Around and About Sentitments-Papertrey & Antique Engraving-Hero Arts), ribbon from stash, Copic markers Y35, Y38, and orange glitter.

Cheeseburger Pie

One hallmark of a favorite recipe in my kitchen is how messy the page in cookbook has become. It's a bit better if I remember to use my cookbook holder, but frequently I forget, and in this case, I started making cheeseburger pie long before I had a cookbook holder. There was some interest in the recipe, so here it is. I don't change anything in it, but I'm sure ground turkey would work just as well as ground beef.

Crust:     1 1/4 c. Perpperidge Farm Stuffing mix (I use their crumbled herb stuffing mix.)

                1/4 c. melted margarine

Mix together and press into a 9" pie plate.

Filling:   1 lb. ground beef

                1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning or oregano

                1 small onion, chopped

                1/2 c. bread crumbs

                4 oz. tomato sauce (1/2 can)

Brown beef with onion about 5 minutes. Pour off all the fat. Mix the meat and onion with everything else, and spoon into crust.

Topping:   8 oz. grated cheddar cheese (I use part-skim, sharp cheddar.)

                    1 egg

                    1/4 c. milk (I use skim.)

                    1/2 tsp. prepared mustard

                    1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix together and spread on top of meat. Bake pie at 425° for 20-30 minutes. (The recipe calls for 30 minutes, but last night mine was done in about 20 minutes.)

Sauce: Mix the other 1/2 can of tomato sauce with chili sauce or ketchup. Bring just to a boil over medium heat. Serve with pie. (I use chili sauce.)

This has been one of Tracy's favorite meals ever since I made it for the first time in 1973. The left-overs are good too.

   

Right Now

I just found these sentence starters on Jocelyn's blog and decided it would be fun to finish them myself.

Outside my window . . . gray skies and cold temperatures

I am thinking . . . I am ready for spring three months early

I am thankful for . . . a warm house and a loving family

I am wearing . . . a turtleneck, fleece, and jeans

I am remembering . . . I have to get up early tomorrow

I am going . . . to dinner with a good friend tomorrow

I am currently reading . . . "The Happiness Project"

I am hoping . . . to get going on the layouts for "Yesterday and Today" that I let go in 2009

On my mind . . . getting back to the gym as soon as the physical therapist gives me the OK

Noticing that . . . I am being more productive since I set my intentions for 2010

Pondering these words . . . "enthusiasm is more important to mastery than innate ability" (Gretchen Rubin: "The Happiness Project")

From the kitchen . . . cheeseburger pie (from a cookbook I bought on our honeymoon 36 years ago)

Around our house . . . lots of projects

One of my favorite things . . . snack mix from my mother's recipe (one reason I need to get back to the gym)

From The Simple Woman's Daybook

Embellish with Hearts

The Embellish Color Challenge with Hearts was the perfect opportunity to make a couple of valentines today. Both cards use Papertrey Ink's Pure Poppy, True Black, and Sweet Blush cardstock.

 

A look at the embossing done with the Quickutz embossing folder and the Hearts Nestabilities by Spellbinders.

 

Pale pink gems (Michaels0, patterned paper Black and White Basics (Papertrey), Apron Lace border punch (Fiskars), ribbon from my stash.

And my favorite of the two:

 

Hearts cut and embossed (Spellbinders Nestabilities), circle punches, Swiss Dots Embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Black and White Basics patterned paper & Pure Poppy twill (Papertrey Ink), metal charm (Making Memories).

Cold Snap

Although it was a bit warmer today, it's been cold and snowy ever since Christmas. Last week I went to Highland Park, briefly, to take some photographs, and over the weekend, I walked around the outside of our house for a few more. I thought I'd try putting a few of them in a template I downloaded last spring. Once I finished it, I was inspired to make a layout for the 365 Challenges. This one is for the Clean & White challenge. I didn't want to ruin the clean look, so I put the journaling on the back of the layout.

Cardstock (Bazzill Swiss Dot), snowflakes (Reminisce), alpha stickers (Scenic Route), and template #64 by Timounette.

Here's closer look at the snowflakes:

 

And the journaling:

Photo-a-Day 2010

I'm still deciding how I want to organize my Photo-a-Day Project this year. For now, I think I'll post a few favorites from the week here on Sundays. One of my favorites was the frozen bud I posted with my Weekly Gratitude page yesterday so I decided not to post it again.

Our windows have looked like this all week. It has rarely gotten above 20 degrees.

The crows seem to flock to our trees outside the bedroom window at dusk. There are a hundred or more of them, and they are incredibly noisy. I think I'd like the photo better without the icicle, but they are hanging from every eave.

Matt was standing at the stove, and I said "Smile," so he did.

(Coffee Shop Vintage Frames)