Small But MIghty

Saturday I held my February stamp class and even though it was a "small" group of ladies, they did a "mighty" fine job creating four all occasion cards.  As they created the cards and selected their own salutations to use it was really nice to hear how they changed them up a little to make them work for the people they planned to send them to.  I read several blogs daily and so many people like their cards so much that they rarely send them.  They are concerned that people don't appreciate them!  I know they take time to make, but most cards can be made for under $1.00 so send them to all your friends and family and don't worry about it...…..sure a lot cheaper than cards you buy in the store, and nicer than the ones from the Dollar Tree🌝

For this class, I selected four card sketches I found on Pinterest.  I probably have at least 200 sketches saved now and even making as many cards as I do for personal use and to sell, I will never use them all.  Here are the four cards we made:

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Ninety Cards & Counting

2020 started off well with my card making completing a total of 90 cards!  I probably have at least 35 more that are prepped to be completed at a scrapbook day crop I am going to on February 22nd.
My plastic shoes containers, where I store my completed cards were a little empty.  I am trying to make sure I have a nice assortment of all occasion cards not only to have ready for the store where we consign them, but for my personal use as well.

Here is one that I completed last Friday.  I found some doilies in my stash and it fit perfectly with the sketch I found on Pinterest and was trying to design.  It is amazing as I make these cards how little patterned paper is needed.  Making cards can not only be therapeutic to make, but also cost effective to make with the cost of postage rising.  Most simple and basic cards like this one can be made for as little as $.50!

So start pulling out your cardstock, scraps and embellishments and create a card to someone!  It is guaranteed to put a smile on your face 😄

Happy Crafting!

Peaceful Poppies

Since it didn't take all day yesterday to finish cutting the last of the die cuts my sister is using in her mini album for the Nashville Train Convention Workshop, I had just enough time to create a card for the sketch for the day.  In the end, I decided to use product from the Peaceful Poppies Bundle and coordinating Designer Series Paper so I could have it do double duty......it is now the Make N Take for the March 28, 2020 D & D Papercraft Event.

When a new Stampin' Up! Catalog is released I always looks for stamp sets and bundles that can create cards for more than one purpose.  I was telling my stamp club on Saturday that I read many years ago that when you buy a non-consumable item, like an expensive machine, the Cricut, or framelits.dies, etc that you should make sure you use the product ALOT.  Each time you use the non-consumable item, you figure it will cost you $1.00.  I use this thought process when I purchase stamps as well.  So if I purchase a stamp set for $23.00, like the Painted Poppies set I used for the flower and leaf in this card, I should use it at least 23 times.  That is fairly easy to do when you are using stamp sets that are primarily salutations, but it occasionally gets boring when you are not creating for stamp clubs or workshops.  

Even though I have way too many flower stamp sets, I couldn't resist this one!  The Designer Series Paper is what sold me on the set, as well as the ton on Pinterest ideas I found using the set.  Since I am using the Painted Poppies Stamp Set, along with the salutation set that coordinates with it, Peaceful Moments for both the workshop and make n take for the March D & D Papercraft Event, I easily kept to the idea of using it more than enough times to justify its cost.  

Not sure what kind of crafting trouble I will get myself in to today!

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Recipe Wednesday & Cricuting Palooza

Been a busy few days with my Cricut Air 2 pushing out a bunch of die cuts for my sister.  She is creating a mini album out of chipboard and Stampin' Up! products to teach a workshop at the National Garden Railroad Convention in Nashville, TN late spring.  I created about a dozen die cuts for the album for accents; include the Grand Old Opry Stage, cowboy hat, microphone, camera, skyline, and of course a train for the cover.  It has been a lot of fun locating ideas for trains as well as the city of Nashville and some of the places we will go to for tours and entertainment.  It should be a great week, since we will not only be spending the week with my sister and brother in law at a train convention, some both guys LOVE, but the Country Music Awards are being held the weekend before we leave Nashville!  All I can think about is running in to Luke Bryan or Carrie Underwood!

I have been keeping with trying new recipes and updating some of my old ones for our dietary needs so today I am sharing an adaptation on a Beef Stroganoff Recipe.  Here is my rendition.....

The first time I made this recipe, it called for the ground beef to be cooked up and I changed it to include meatballs when I had some of my meatloaf mixture that didn't fit in to my pan.  At that time I didn't have sour cream, so I left it out (and the calories!) and we still enjoyed it even with the changes.  ENJOY!

Meatball Stroganoff

1-1/2 lbs lean ground beef                   1 egg                                         

1 small onion, diced                            ¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 clove garlic, minced                         8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

3 tablespoons flour                             2 cups beef broth

Salt & Pepper to taste                        2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons fresh parsley               ¾ cup sour cream

Package of egg noodles

Combine ground beef, egg and seasoned bread crumbs.  Roll in to small meatballs and brown in pan.  Removed from pan and drain fat.  Add onions and mushrooms to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add flour and cook one more minute.

Add broth, Worcestershire Sauce, salt & pepper and bring to a boil.  Add meatballs back in to pan.   Reduce heat and simmer on low for 10 minutes.  Cook egg noodles according to package directions.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and parsley.  Serve over noodles

Yield:  4-6 servings

Now back at it cutting the last of the sky line dies out!

Happy Crafting, and Cooking!

Card Samples and a Recipe!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

It rained here for most of Saturday and even yesterday was on the dismal side, but dry.
Saturday four friends came over for Stamp Club.  They made six cards using ONE sheet of 6 x 6 Retired Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up!  Once the pieces are cut to size, the cards came together fairly easy and I think everyone was happy with the results. Here are the cards we made:

Since it seems we never have time to catch up, I invited everyone to stay for brunch!  As some of you have asked, do I make all of the recipes that I "share" on Facebook.  No, I don't, but I like to save them to my page in case I need a dessert for an occasion, but this year I am trying to make a new recipe or two a week.  Saturday I made this "Amish Breakfast Casserole".  Easy to put together a head of time with simple ingredients most people have in their pantry and refrigerator each week.

Hope you try it and enjoy it as well all did!  Enjoy!

Amish Breakfast Casserole

1-pound sliced bacon, diced                       1 medium onion, chopped

6 large eggs, lightly beaten                         4 cups frozen shredded hash brown

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese                          potatoes, thawed

1-1/2 cups 4% cottage cheese                    1-1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp; drain.  In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients; stir in bacon mixture.  Transfer to a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

Bake uncovered, until knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

**Sub any other meats you prefer such sausage or ham.   

Yield:  12 servings                    

Dancing with the Stars Review........and a card

Words cannot do justice to the experience of seeing the pros from Dancing with The Stars this past Wednesday Night.  The hubby and I saw the show at the 1600 seat American Music Theatre in Lancaster, PA.  If you have never seen a performance there, check them out.  It is a great venue with no bad seats and they have a ton of shows for all ages.

Kate Flannery was the contestant from the last season that performed at our show.  She is from the Philadelphia area, and did a great job sharing the Emcee duties with Val Chmerkovskly.  Yes, I did check and that is how you spell his name🌝  She performed in three numbers with Paska, her partner last season, dancing choreographed numbers from the show.

Sharing some pictures from the show.  Everything was fantastic and I am amazed that they perform on a stage and not a dancefloor like on the show.  They had two levels to the stage, which made me nervous as they did dance quite a bit on the upper level, and then would come down stairs on either side of the set to the main stage.  Lighting was amazing as well as the music and of course the dancing.

If you look closely on the next photo, you can see dancers on the upper set.

Finale with confetti just like when the winner is announced!  People gave them a standing ovation, hence so many heads in the picture.  

It was  GREAT show and I highly recommend it.  The professional men pulled women from the audience to sit on chairs while they danced around them and I NEVER heard an audience laugh so loud and get in tot he show.  They were all great sports and it was a nice interaction with the audience.  I still am amazed at how they can dance for almost TWO hours with only a 20 minute intermission.  

So our January adventure is over for 2020 and we are looking forward to our Spring Training trip in March!

So back to everyday life, I am sharing a new card with you today.  I made it in to a wedding or anniversary card.

Again, so simple using coordinating papers and created my own tag.  Pulled out my QuicKutz dies and found this heart that I still LOVE over 15 years later.....

Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting!

One More Sleep!

The day is almost here when we use one of our Christmas Gifts......
Seats at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster to see "Dancing with the Stars LIVE" show for tomorrow night.😀  We ordered these many months ago, around the time the winner was announced for the fall season.  I am so excited to see these dancers LIVE and am sure they will not disappoint.  Look for a recap on Friday, as we are staying overnight and spending some time in Lancaster on Thursday before we head home.

My card to share for today was so simple.....I think I use that saying every day!  Doing this challenge of using a sketch to make a card or two at least five days a week has shown me that you can make a simple card in less than 30 minutes.  So why continue to spend upwards of $5.95 for a card at the gift shop?  All of the cards I have been making are from leftovers form scrapbook pages I have completed.

This card is a little different, since it uses one of the retired Designer Series Papers from Stampin' Up!  One of the things I continue to love about Stampin' Up! is that all of the products coordinate.  Their cardstock and stamp pads match and their Designer Series Papers list which colors to use to match everything perfectly!  

When I purchase Designer Series Papers, I make sure I keep the lightweight cardboard at the back of the pack, as Stampin' Up! lists all the colors that coordinate.  Make is easy peasy to create professional looking cards that are simple to create.

Going to be a cold day today, perfect for crafting!

Happy Crafting!

Donna