I have a couple of cards to share today. The first I made for my sister Chris' birthday. I just love red and black with Kraft. The colors did not photograph that well this time but I was too lazy to take the photo again.
The colors are more vibrant and the scallop is actually SU red Glimmer paper which is very sparkly.

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! Blue Ribbon and Chic Boutique (ret)

Paper: SU cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, and Crumb Cake. Scallop- Red Glimmer paper. SU Designer Paper: the musical staff from the retired Newsprint paper pack, and the floral print from the Bella Bleu pack, also retired.

Ink: Basic Black

Accessories: Real Real Satin ribbon, Fiskars border punch. Nestibilities.

This second card I made for a workshop make and take. We haven't had any snow yet this year but working with the snowman makes me want some.  I love this cute stamp set and and was inspired by this great easel card by jeny_79 at SplitcoastStampers.

Supplies:

Stamps: SU Snow Much Fun stamp set

Paper: SU cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi and Crumb Cake

Ink: SU White Craft ink and Black India ink

Accessories: SU Markers: Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Old Olive, and Pumpkin Pie. Nestibilities. Snow is bit of cotton ball. Snow Burst embossing folder.

Techniques: coloring

I am really embarrassed that I have been gone so long. I just seem to lose my motivation for the blog and crafty things for a while. I have been very immersed in gardening, canning, freezing meals and organizing

around the place. Now of course that also means time searching YouTube, blogs, and websites for information, and recipes for inspiration to do those things. Oh, and don't forget Pinterest! (totally addicting) Anyway, I am back and will probably have to find some new followers since I abandoned my blog almost a year ago. This time I am going to vary my posts more often, so you will see some gardening, cardmaking, scrapbooking, cooking, organizing, and maybe even a little sewing. I will share a few photos today and hopefully you will come back to visit again. If you would like me to visit your blog, make sure you leave me a comment with your blog address in it. Yay, I'm back in "blogdom

First up, a scrapbook page for my family album. Yep, that is me in Grade 4. I was such a little Tomboy then.

Credits:

Kim Jensen's "School Zone", "The Notebooks", and "Three R's Alpha". Amy Martin's "Betwined" all at The Lilypad. Font is Mistral

So sorry for my absence....

I guess I just needed a break or ran out of things to say. (I guess that one is hard to believe).  Then, a few days ago, I got locked out of my google account and couldn't get into my blog. Well, I am set now and expect to be much more regular about posting. I take my hat off to those of you that manage to post daily and keep it interesting. Speaking of interest, I have been spending a lot of time on Pinterest. I am a very visual person and I enjoy having a place that I can keep the cool stuff I find on the web and share it with friends and family. If you haven't checked Pinterest yet, you really need to try it. It doesn't take long to become addicted! Okay now for some cards:

Supplies all from Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy and Whisper White. Ink: Basic Black and Night of Navy Classic. Designer paper is retired "Green Tea". Stamps: "Fifth Avenue Floral."

 

Supplies:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up!'s Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, and Whisper White. Stamps: Retired  incentive stamp (mouse in cup), and Delightful Dozen stamps. Ink: Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie.  Retired DSP, "Autumn Vine". Stampin' Write Markers.  Generic brass star brads.

Supplies All from Stampin' Up!

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy and Whisper White,  Designer paper is Paisley Petals . Stamp is from "Four Frames" which fits the Decorative Label punch. Ink is Not Quite Navy. Accessories: Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon. SU embossing folder Finial Press.

Thanks for visiting!

My first fried green tomatoes...

My daughter Carol gave me some beautiful Brandywine tomatoes that were still green so I decided to try making some fried green tomatoes. Now I had never tasted these so I was taking the word of the southerners I know that they were a real treat. The green tomatoes were so pretty I had to take a photo. I found a highly rated recipe on the web and started cooking. (or should I say frying?) Fried foods are not seen too often at our house so you can believe me when I tell you, I went through a roll of paper towels, draining and blotting these babies off. Truth be told, they were delish and we totally enjoyed them. The other photos show the tomatoes after frying and some of my tomatoes I have canned. Note to self: plant fewer cherry tomatoes next year. Thanks for checking in at my blog. I will have some cards next post.

If you would like to try this and have some green tomatoes, here is the recipe I used .

Ingredients

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices
• Vegetable oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation

• Combine egg and buttermilk; set aside.
• Combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.
• Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 cup flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture.
• Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large cast-iron skillet; heat to 375°. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt.

3 Cards from my last workshop...

Last weekend I had a workshop focusing on sponging and reverse masking. We made three clean and simple cards using those techniques. We all had such a good time making these, I will definitely do another workshop using sponging.
First is a simple birthday card. Sorry about the glare on the black cardstock. Black does not photograph well. I always seem to get a glare. I used painter's tape to mask off the edges of the sponged area. Make sure you get some of the "sticky" off the tape first by putting it on your clothing or an old tee.

All from Stampin' Up! Cardstock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla. Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Petite Pairs. Ink: So Saffron, Cajun Craze and Basic Black. Ribbon Black and White checked Gingham (Ret).

 Next a super-simple thinking of you card. You could use different colors of ink to suit your taste instead of the pinks. I think this would work really well in the sunset colors. Painter's tape used again.

Supplies all from Stampin' Up! Cardstock: Whisper White and Certainly Celery. Stamps:  Autumn Days and  Three Little Words. Ink: Perfect Pink Pirouette, Pretty In Pink and Rich Razzleberry. Basic Rhinestones accents.

 This last one is a sympathy card. I think it is very serene and calming. I used torn paper to do the masking for the hills. Another clean and simple card.

Supplies all from Stampin' Up! Cardstock: Whisper White and Wisteria Wonder. Stamps:  Just Believe and Thoughts and Prayers. Ink: Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant. Basic Pearls accents.

Monster 'maters....

The garden has turned into a jungle! I can hardly turn around in there.

The cherry tomatoes especially have gone wild. Note to self: next year, only plant one cherry tomato. It is not the size of the tomatoes that makes them monsters but the vines have taken over three trellises. The good part of dealing with the jungle. Maters, beans and carrots. Yum!

Butterflies in the grass.....

I have to name all my cards that I photograph for my gallery so there will be some way to organize them if I need to find them again. I've noticed that some stampers seem to come up with such clever names for their cards. Me, not so much. So here is another card with a lame name "Butterflies in the Grass"

Supplies all from Stampin' Up! Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White. Ink Old Olive, Basic Black, Pretty In Pink, and Cherry Cobbler. Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Butterflies in Flight, and sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes. Ribbon- Old Olive Satin 5/8 inch. Punches: Word Window and Modern Label, and Scallop Edge Border.