November 2013 Blog Hop

I wasn't going to participate today because I had quite a few things to do but after looking at a few  houses,

 I was inspired.  I wanted to use what I had instead of  the pattern Nichole gave us.

So, this is what I ended up with:   Not a great picture but you get the idea. It's not as dark and gloomy as it looks.  I used the Mat Stack 1 die and the favor it box. I also used the Homemade Stamp set. The snow is flower soft.  A blingy wreath above the door with tiny pearl knobs. Stickles in the windows.

I also used a Tim Holtz texture fades folder for some extra texture for the roof.  Any other questions, please ask!

 I couldn't help but post this picture of Scarlett and Jade sun bathing this morning. It's so nice when we do get the sun in Buffalo, I wanted to snuggle up and bask in the sun with them!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup and Bale of hay Blessings!

I don't know about you but as soon as the cold weather hits, I want soup!!  This is one of my all time favorites. I found the recipe here so I cannot take the credit for it. It is absolutely delicious!  I make it at least a dozen times over the winter months. It definitely fits in the comfort food category. I just finished my 3rd bowl today and I threw some tortellini in this time- scrumptous!

The original recipe calls for cream which I never use. Sometimes I substitute milk and sometimes nothing at all, depending on the size of the squash and thickness. It really doesn't need the extra richness.

So, on to other "crafty fun stuff", in the kitchen.  I wanted to make little bales of hay around Halloween but just never got to them. Since it's not quite Thanksgiving yet, I decided why not give it a shot and we can use them as little teacher gifts.

 I started with Unsweetened Organic Coconut and toasted it slowly in my toaster oven as I did not want it to burn. It gets brown quickly when the temp is high. I started at 275 and just kept watching it and moving it around the pan with my spatula. It finally got toasted to where I thought it looked like straw.

 I then took some mini kit kats and put those in the oven about 10 seconds. They even started to lose shape so the next time I would put them in and WATCH them, then pull them out as soon as they are glossy.

  I doused each with the toasted coconut and put them in the fridge to firm back up. Easy Peasy!

 I had some jelly pumpkins and my daughter let me borrow her turkey button because I was complaining telling her that I didn't have a turkey for my picture. I'm going to bag these up and make up some tags and we'll have a little treat for teachers, coaches, friends....and whoever else we can think of for some Bales of Blessings!  



Hope you all enjoyed. Still working on organization in the kitchen but I hope to be back with some pictures soon.

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Jen

Kitchen Reveal

Okay, I know you've all been waiting forever! Believe me, I know it seems like it's been
 F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!  The kitchen isn't even officially done as we are still waiting on the pocket door because the glass broke as it was being shipped to us. At least they didn't send it broken I guess!

Anyway, here are some photos and if anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

I also want to say thank you to Direct Buy and the wonderful,  patient associates they have. They really helped with so many decisions. A special thank you to MC Designs and Mangino Home Improvements!

 These pictures are in order if you were to rotate to the right. The first couple I took were a little dark. Sorry!  But the darkness shows off my pendant lights that I love!

 We decided to do away with the dining room and added a desk area for more organization and a tv with be mounted on the wall where the blue tape is now. The cabinets are maple buttercream with a bronze glaze and the dark wood is cherry.  The countertops are HIMACS solid surface. Brown tile floor from Daltile.  High Tea (dark) and Toasted Pine Nut paint by Sherwin Williams.

We also made the choice to do away with our microwave. We put a large toaster oven in ( above the oven) that we love. It's The Smart Oven by Breville.

The doorway there leads into the bedrooms. My chalkboard that I got at Marshalls. Fun, fun, fun!!

That doorway is where the pocket door will be if we ever get it. That leads to the garage and basement.

So, that's about all for now. I may come back with some close ups and detail shots next week. If anyone would like to see anything in particular, let me know!!   So happy it's done!!!!!

MIM #139: Stamped Square Frames

So, here's a quick card I made for a much loved friend of mine for a wonderful birthday gift she made for me. I decided to use the technique that Dawn shows us in this weeks' MIM over at The Papertrey
Ink Blog.  This is what I came up with:

 Since this was a clean and simple card, I decided to add a little to the inside from a negative scrap just waiting to be used for something.

I also stamped the front of the envelope.

Stop back and see me soon.