Saturday, October 29, 2011

Embossing Birthdays!

Another card for my stamp camp - this one utilizing and showcasing the "Big Shot" embossing machine! I was never totally happy with my cuttlebug - it never did what i wanted it to do, i had to fight with it too often, i even went as far as to believe that i got a bum one, and returned and replaced it once, but no... it was the machine itself that i didn't love.

I had the big shot on my wish list for a while, and then my SIL got me a thank you present and lo and behold! My BIG SHOT! And EMBOSSING FOLDERS! (which i used on the background of this card). I have fallen in LOVE! Use this machine on almost every card and project now, and sold my Cuttlebug on eBay to get me more cash for more embossing folders!

This card uses Not Quite Navy, and the coordinating paper, ink and buttons. My favorite selling point about Stampin' up! - EVERYTHING MATCHES!!! :)

Thanks for looking!

Pink and Brown Scallops!

Another quick card for my stamp camp - I have fallen in LOVE with my scallop punches and coordinating stamp sets from Stampin' Up! I use them ALL the time, and I love the effect they give to a card. For this i went to my old faithful Pink and Brown combo. Pulled out my old Au Chocolat Patterned paper, and used some Pink Brads that i got on Stampin' Up!'s clearance rack! (Gotta love a great deal!).

Thanks for looking!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

As we approach this fun holiday in Central Jersey - we were met with 3-4 inches of SNOW! I vaguely remember on Halloween as a kid there being snow on the ground, but it's still crazy! There have been years where we haven't gotten snow until January! Anyway - still in the spirit of the holiday, pulled together this super quick and adorable card for my stamp camp last week - Basic Black, Gray, and using the Stampin' Up! Owl Punch upside down to make the Ghost and the goggly eyes! Camp LOVED this card and was super fun to put together!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Hope You Can Cling To Challenge!

JUST DISCOVERED THE "Hope you can cling to" stamping/card making challenge!

Info can be found on www.splitcoaststampers.com and I cannot WAIT to hit the craft room and start designing cards for this amazing cause (and if i happen to win some prizes in the meantime - that can't be all bad!)

Check out more details here!
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/hope-you-can-cling-challenge-forum-f299/hope-you-can-cling-master-challenge-thread-t539062.html

Hurry - Contest ends Nov 1!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Scrapbooking Camp!

I have recently resurrecting my Card and Scrapbooking Camps! I love these times to get together with new and experienced scrapbookers, share layouts, patterned papers, embellishments, and desserts!  I had my dear SIL (Sis-in-law) and a neighborhood friend over to have a scrapping night. We made a 1 page layout, and a 2 page spread. For the 1 page layout - I pulled from my trusty source - www.splitcoaststampers.com! I created these two pages for my DS (Dear Son) 1 year scrapbook. SBSC291 and SBSC290. I adore SCS and having them as a creative resource. I scrapped 5 pages on Saturday morning, and going to these challenges help "jump" my creativity!



 These pages are "simple" as they were designed for my scrapbook camp and for quick and easy replication. I did try to add some accents on each and dug out my signo white gel pen which i do NOT use enough :) Did Faux stitching on the top layout, and accented the snowflakes on the bottom layout.

Colors are all Stampin' Up!  - Ruby Red and Old Olive
Thanks for looking!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Angry Birds!

Who is NOT obsessed with angry birds - raise your hand!  (Mine is not raised as you can imagine). :) Love this game, kids LOVE this game, and when i cam across www.stampwithtami.com and her post on Angry Birds - I had a kitten! (not literally)

I had a BLAST making this card - and foresee many others like it in the future! Punch art at it's finest! Check out Tami's site for the instructions - I cannot take ANY credit for this at all - just had fun duplicating the design! ANd my kids are obsessing over the card and want me to make many more! Maybe i'll try to pig next time! :)

Go Angry Birds!

Flower Fest

Had so much fun making my first card for "Freshly Made Sketches". I've been following this blog for a while now, and happy to finally play along. Loved the simplicity of the sketch, yet how you could take it in any direction!

I coupled this card with Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge this week: CC343: More Soft Tango. Great fall colors, and not ones I would put together myself, which is why I love these challenges!

I used Stampin' Up!'s Flower Fest stamp set, my favorite toy, my Big Shot, and the large scallop punch.

Thanks for looking!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Adobo... almost like Lola's



So this Irish/German girl married into a Filipino family and her new mother-in-law is an amazing cook. She whips up these authentic dishes with ease, like I make mac-and-cheese (from the box). I asked my husband what dish he would like me to copy/learn, and he said Adobo - which is a Filipino staple. So I went to work! Over Thanksgiving one year, we were vacationing in Williamsburg, VA with my husbands whole family, and I sat by his mom "Lola" and took feverish notes. Now something to know about me. I follow recipes. I believe they are there for a reason, and especially if I try something for the first time, I typically will make 203 times before i even THINK about deviating! Well, all my notes were able to capture were which ingredients were used, but the amounts... I couldn't get every pour, dash, dab, pinch, and pour, dash, dab and pinch some more. I started to panic - how in the world was I going to make this authentic dish, if i had NO IDEA what quantities of the ingredients to add!

So I did what any girl in my shoes would do..... I hit the Internet!

I scoured Adobo recipes, until I found one that had MOST of the ingredients that Lola used, and printed it. And where do I decide to test out my recipe? Oh, at Christmas Eve at my house with over 40 Filipino's coming. (I really still don't know what I was thinking!).

Well, it was a huge success. Hubby said it was "very close" and he was proud and touched that I would take a head first dive into his culture and impressing his family. He proudly touted to everyone that I, the white Irish girl, made the Adobo! Accolades were sent from all around. I was speechless.
Here's the recipe I used, with my one addition to it. Found at FilipinoFoodRecipies.com:

Estimated cooking time: 50 minutes. Adobo is the most popular Filipino dish enjoyed by all classes. Adobo is typically served with steamed white rice.

Adobo Ingredients:

  • 1/2 kilo pork cut in cubes + 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces or
  • choice of either 1 kilo of pork or 1 kilo of chicken
  • 1 head garlic, minced
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 2 cups of water
    1/2 cup of Lemon Juice (Lola's Addition!)
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 5 laurel leaves (bay leaves)
  • 4 tablespoons of cooking oil or olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons water

Adobo Cooking Instructions:

  • In a big sauce pan or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil then sauté the minced garlic and onions.
  • Add the pork and chicken to the pan. Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, vinegar, paprika and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or when meat is tender.
  • Remove the pork and chicken from the sauce pan and on another pan, heat cooking oil and brown the pork and chicken for a few minutes.
  • Mix the browned pork and chicken back to the sauce and add cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken.
  • Add salt and/or pepper if desired
  • Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
  • Serve hot with the adobo gravy and rice.

Adobo Cooking Tips:

  • You have the option to add crushed ginger to the onions and garlic when sautéing. Ginger adds a unique flavor to your pork/chicken adobo.