Roasted Vegetables

One of the best things about the days I work from home is the 'lunch'. I get tired of the salads and leftovers I take for lunch when I go to the office - and look forward to doing something a little different at home.
Yesterday I tried some roasted vegetables to use up some of the produce I still have from the last delivery.



I took a Weight Watchers recipe and made some modifications to fit the quantity and type of veggies that I had on hand. I liked this recipe because you roast the potatoes first and they get nice and crispy.


Roasted Vegetables

1 1/2 lb small red potatoes (cut in 1/4 or 1/8 - bite size pieces)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium red onion
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 450.
Cut up the potatoes and place in a large bowl. Pour olive oil over and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet (I lined it with aluminum foil).



Place in oven and bake about 15 minutes.
Cut the remaining vegetables into bite size pieces. Place in large bowl and add the cooked potatoes. Mix together the seasonings and add to vegetables mixture, stirring to mix.



Spread on baking sheet and bake about 25 minutes longer.

Delicious!

Some Club Cards

I had two clubs meeting in March. These are some of the cards and the project we accomplished.


This is a Fancy Fold card. THe triangle of Daffodil Delight DSP is actually from the back of the card showing through the front because there are slits so you can overlap the back on the front. (I'll be posting a tutorial with instructions on that one).
Stamp Set - Flower Fest and Crazy for Cupcakes (sentiment)
Card Stock - Certainly Celery and Brights DSP
Punches - Fancy Flower and Butterfly
Ink - Stazon Black and Basic Black marker


I call this one Enchanted Birthday.
Card Stock - Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral and the Everyday Enchantment DSP
Stamp Set - On Your Birthday, Posy Punch
Punches - Fancy Flower, Scalloped Circle, 1 1/4 inch circle, 1 inch square
Embellishment - Everyday Enchantment Brad and Ribbon pack
(The Everyday Enchantment items are among the many you can get free during Sale-a-bration - but hurry it ends March 31)


I combined the Faux Tile and Rock & Roll techniques on this card. Very simple but looks so nice.
Card Stock - Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink - Pool Party and Island Indigo
Stamp Set - Fresh Vintage
Ribbon - Pool Party Seam Binding (love that stuff and so excited they are coming out with Daffodil Delight in the new catalog in June -- you can order it early during the month of April)


And our project - a 2-4-6-8 box. I will also be posting a tutorial for this.
Card stock - Lucky Limeade
Embellishments - Blossom Builder pack and Baja Breeze seam binding.

Almost time for the ladies to arrive - hope they enjoy these :-)

New Technique - Reflections

Some awesome cards using the 'reflections' technique that I will be teaching Thursday night 3/22. If you are interested, stop on by. We start at 6:30 p.m. and it is a come and go type party. Come any time before 8 p.m. and stay just as long as you need to. $5.00 covers all supplies - you get the instruction sheet, and a sample to display on it - with a sheet protector so you can put all your techniques in a binder. And you get to make this beautiful card.

These cards all use the Lovely as a Tree stamp set. I wanted to use some different green and blue since I use Wild Wasabi and Bashful Blue a lot. Also lately have been using Pool Party and Island Indigo. So went with Marina Mist and Always Artichoke. I stamped the images on Whisper White or Glossy White using Stazon Jet Black ink. The ribbon is Always Artichoke seam binding.


This is one of the Glossy White ones. I placed it on a So Saffron card base.


Here I added a sunny little So Saffron circle. Adds a bit of 'wow' to the card, don't you think?


Another sunny day card. I think this one is my favorite.


And one more, this one is also on Glossy White card stock.

I have some ideas for using the Oval Embossed frames like a mirror - have to play with that this afternoon maybe.

And while I am playing with this technique, supper is cooking away in the crockpot.


Corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes and jumbo carrots. (Yes those are carrots - and there really is a corned beef brisket under all those veggies!) I am going to try some Irish Soda Bread too.

2-4-6-8 boxes

One of my favorite things about the Stampin Up Regional in Milwaukee last weekend was the demonstration on the 2-4-6-8 boxes. They are so simple to make and can be so versatile! So I thought I would try a few of my own.


Here are the ones I came up with - a variety of sizes and uses. The basic instructions are to cut an 8 1/2 piece of card stock 2 inches longer than the height of the finished box. Score across the 8 1/2 inch length at 2 inches. Score along the height at 2, 4, 6 and 8 inches (hence the name!) Then you trim out the 2 x 1/2 inch section along the bottom - and fold to assemble.


This one had an insert to hold an Easter egg - or could take that out and fill it with jelly beans.
Card Stock - Lucky Limeade, DSP Daffodil Delight
Tools - Simply Scored, Eyelet Border punch, 1 1/4 inch circle punch (for the insert)
Ink - Rich Razzleberry
Embellishments - Blossom Builders, Daffodil Delight 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon


This could be for Easter or Mother's Day (filled with chocolate of course!)
Card Stock - Lucky Limeade
Tool - Simply Scored
Embellishments - Pool Party seam binding, Blossom Builders


The one on the left had windows punched in the card stock with a layer of Window Sheet. The one on the right has a lid that is stamped with an image from Up in the Air (hostess set available until April 30) and a little butterfly added). The brad is part of a set available during Sale-a-bration (until March 31) These would have to be filled with chocolate of course.
Card Stock - Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip patterned DSP
Embellishments - Scallop Dotted ribbon, Baker's Twine, Printed Designer Brads
Tools - Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, 1 1/4 inch circle punch, Paper Piercer


A decorated flap gives this one its unique character. The Fresh Vintage stamp set is available during Sale-a-bration. You can see some cards using that stamp set on my previous post. For some reason I think this one should be filled with some tea bags or loose tea.
Card Stock - Garden Green, Tangerine Tango, Bashful Blue
Stamp Sets - Fresh Vintage, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Tools - Eyelet Border punch, 1/2 inch circle punch, 3/4 inch circle punch
Ink - Versamark, Tangerine Tango


I envision this one with some bath salts or other toiletries. The paper is retired but any of the beautiful Designer Series Papers would make lovely boxes.
Card Stock - Certainly Celery, Poppy Parade - retired DSP
Embellishment - Poppy Parade 1/2 inch stiched poly ribbon
Tools - Butterfly Punch

What ideas do you have for the 2-4-6-8 box? I would love to see them.

Fresh Vintage - you can get it free!

I spent some time today playing with one of the Sale-a-bration stamp sets - Fresh Vintage. During Sale-a-bration, you can get this stamp set free! But hurry, Sale-a-bration ends March 31.

Card Stock - Pool Party, Island Indigo, Whisper White
Ink - Pool Party, Island Indigo
Stamp Set - Fresh Vintage, On Your Birthday
Tools - 1 1/4 inch square punch, 1/2 inch circle punch
Embellishments - Pearl Jewels


I used Faux Suede technique on the calypso coral scallop circle (from the triple layer punch)
Card Stock - Calypso Coral, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Ink - Calypso Coral, Basic Gray
Stamp Sets - Fresh Vintage, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Tools - Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch, Word Window punch, 1 inch square punch
Embellishment- Basic Gray taffeta ribbon


(Some of my club members will make this on Saturday. I used the Faux Tile technique and the Rock and Roll technique.)
Card Stock- Pool Party, Whisper White
Ink- Pool Party, Island Indigo
Tools - Simply Scored
Stamp Set - Fresh Vintage
Embellishment - Pool Party seam binding

This is a really fun set - and it won't be around after March 31. Just order $50 in merchandise and you can get it free!

Pancakes to feed an army! (or Jake and Tom)

Bekah wanted breakfast for supper tonight - pancakes and sausage. Katie and Jake are home for spring break, so I mixed up a double batch of a pancake recipe I found online.
The recipe said it made 24 pancakes using 1/3 cup to pour them on the griddle. Quite a lot of batter!


This is about a third of the pancakes. I got these done and we started eating. I continued cooking as everyone ate. Tom and Jake tied - each eating 10 pancakes.
I think it made about 60-70 pancakes.


We also had pork sausage - the small links - lots of them! I put them all on a cookie sheet and baked at 425 until they were browned. So much easier than frying in a skillet.


These are the leftover pancakes that I'll be sending with Katie and Jake. :-)

Another Keepsake Box full of cards for charity

Another box of cards for a charity auction. This one is for March of Dimes (dear to my heart because of DH's birth defect and all they did for him as a baby and young boy).


The box is decorated with Nursery Nest Designer Series Paper - quite appropriate for March of Dimes :-) And I accidentally ordered an extra pack of it so have been using it a lot!


I love the birds! They are too large for a card front and are probably meant for scrapbooking - but since I am not anticipating any 'baby pages' in the new future - I thought they would look cute on the box.


This shows some of the cards in the box. The one I made especially to put on top of the stack as it matches the box - but the rest are just random cards I pulled from my stash (is it strange that I have enough cards made up and stashed that I can pull out 25 cards and not even miss them).


And here is the box of swaps for this weekend. I have 50 of them (which did not all fit in the box) and I will hand them out to other demonstrators for one of theirs. I come home with 50 card fronts and lots of ideas for more cards and club projects! If the box survives the weekend I will use it as a gift box for a baby gift someday :-)

Pinterest Recipes

Feeling guilty that I pin dozens of recipes on my boards but have not tried very many of them, I made a goal this past weekend to try at least 3 recipes.
My choices:
Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Shepherd's Pie
Tilapia Tacos

I have done the first two and have been happy with both.
You can see my versions on my Recipes blog -
Creamy Chicken Taquitos These would be great to keep on hand in the freezer for an after school snack or quick dinner. I imagine they are much healthier than the frozen ones you can purchase. I plan to try different fillings - beef, cheese, beans - any other ideas?
Shepherd's Pie - This was an easy prep-ahead meal. I mashed the potatoes and cooked the meat mixture a day ahead and then assembled and baked - quick meal with little mess in the kitchen - good for company :-)

Tilapia Tacos will be on the menu in the next couple days - - - - will let you know who they are too.

New recipe and new card

First the recipe - Shepherd's Pie
I prepared the meat and potatoes yesterday so only had to assemble and bake after church today. So easy!


It was warm and yummy - and very little mess in the kitchen. This one is a keeper.

Now the card -


A friend saw a card similar to this on Pinterest and wanted to know if I could make one. She wanted to give it to a friend on her 80th birthday and use $10, $20 and $50 bills for the candles. I think it is a great idea.
The card is Sahara Sand with some Paisley Petals designer series paper. The candle flames are from So Saffron card stock punched with the Bird Punch then sponged with Tangerine Tango and Peach Parfait. The candle wicks are the white baker's twine.
I cut a few dimensionals in half and placed them in a line where the candles will be added. That way the bills can be adhered easily but can also be removed without tearing the card or the money.
Isn't this a cute idea? You could use it for almost any birthday - if you can't come up with a combination of bills to equal the recipient's age, just put on whatever amount you want to give them (three 10s, 5s, 20s, or any combination). I'm sure the person receiving it will love it!