Broccoli Salad

This evening for dinner I decided to try to make a Broccoli salad. I had

tasted one from our salad bar at work and wanted to try to make it

at home. I searched for a recipe and came up with one I saw on Everyday Mom's Meals blog.

So since I had an abundance of broccoli from the garden, I gave it a go.

So with a little bit of this and a little bit of that

added some onions

and a little bit of dressing, we come up with

this!

It was delicious!

Recipe can be found here.

Cricut magazine

I broke down and got a year's subscription

to Cricut Magazine. I figured I'd get it and see if it

was any use to me. I think this is the third one I've gotten and

so far I'm still not sure if I'll renew. There have been several cards in 

the issues I've received that I'd try,

 but is there enough to justify the cost?

That decision is yet to be made.

I got this issue the other day and immediately 

had to make the flip flop card.

I think the sandcastle on the front of the magazine is cute too! :)

Anyway, I got started to see what ribbon I had that would work.

I liked the polka dot ribbon the best and chose my colors from that.

I wanted to add a flower to the front and chose several colors that would go with the 

purple paper. I substituted some of the label shapes for what I have. 

I stitched around the flip flop like they did but next time I'll do faux

stitching. Going around the curve of the flip flop my stitches got

so small that I was afraid the paper would tear. 

I was going to add a button to the center of the

flower but I went into my brad stash and found

a silver clear gem brad that would work

also. I really need to use my brad stash more often!

I'm pretty happy with my card and might make a 

few more, though I'll probably do it a little differently than

how they want it done in the directions.

My kitty is 13

Skittles was born last century (June 1999) and is showing his age.

According to some charts his human age is about 68-72 years old.

His paws have white hairs now and so does his face by his muzzle. They are hard to 

see unless you are up close, but they are there.

Poor guy also hasn't been feeling too well.

I'm afraid I will have to take him in to the vet again.

Fourth of July

I was in Michaels the other day and saw this 

4th of July floral table arrangement for a mere $29.99

 or this one for $39.99.

I thought I could do better. 

So I gathered some stems from both

Michaels and Walmart. I already had

the flags but needed a  container. I really

loved the pitcher but was unable to find one at 

the couple of places I searched. No luck! 

So I put the bag down in the sewing room thinking

that this was another project that wasn't

going to get done.

I was putting away some groceries in my little "pantry" in the 

basement and noticed a small Corelle cup that I hadn't used for awhile.

I won't be showing you a picture of my little "pantry" cause it is a total

mess and I don't feel like cleaning it up today! :)

Anyway, this is what I did this morning. I'm thinking that it's not

too bad considering I spent half of what Michael's wanted for theirs.

Card for my favorite youngest niece

My most favorite youngest niece graduated this year! She will be off to college

before I know it! Time flies so fast!

This is the card I made for her.

Father's Day card for my hubby

Today I did a mish-mosh of different things.

 I worked on my 

Christmas tumbler quilt for awhile.

 Then worked on a Father's 

day card for my hubby. 

Then cleaned the kitchen, then part of the quilt room,

then part of the laundry room, and part of my bedroom. I was wandering 

all over starting stuff and not finishing much of anything. So much to

do and no ambition to finish anything.

But it was a good day.

:)

A Designer I'm Not...

One thing I want in my next life (other than being pretty, skinny and smart) is to able to 

design. To think of a pattern or design and follow it out. I can't do it. I can 

be shown an item and without a pattern make that item. But coming up with an idea that

is cute just eludes me.

It's not only in quilting but in cards as well, so I search the internet for ideas.

Somewhere I saw an idea for Thank You cards. Don't remember where or I would 

give credit to the designer.

I really liked the design so I made lots of them, lol.

I cut a piece of cardstock 8 1/2 "x 11" in half. Then put it in the printer tray, went to Word and

put the font I wanted and printed out the words thank you onto the cardstock. It worked beautifully!

I do this a lot as I don't always have a stamp with the sentiment I want.

Then I used my Cuttlebug to emboss colored cardstock, adhered to the card, wrapped 

with twine then added a button with a bow tie. I also slipped a glue dot behind

the button to help keep it in place. 

The inside I kept plain so a personal note could be written.

For every color of the cardstock I used a different embossing folder. It was a fun

way to finally use some of my folders. These were very quick to make and 

a set of these would make great gifts.

As a side note, I wish all embossing folders were larger. I like to make 5x7 inch cards

and the embossing folders don't work to cover a large enough area sometimes.

The cuttlebug can handle a larger size, so why don't they make the folders larger?

Storing my Dies

I really have been enjoying making cards with my Cricut machine since I 

purchased it last year. Organizing all the stuff that accumulates with this hobby

is a job in itself. I have purchased some dies for cuts I can't get with the Cricut.

Papertreyink has some really cute ones. I was storing them with

my stamps but then I would worry about losing them or damaging them. They aren't 

too cheap either!!! 

I finally saw someone put them on a magnet in a pocket page and I decided to 

use that idea. Off to Office Max I went and low and behold this is what I came up with.

I decided to go with the 5x7 inch size binder and of course I chose

lime green (to match the Cricut!).

I printed out the page from the website where I ordered the die, added some sticky back magnets

and put them in top loading page protectors. 

I also have some of the Nestabilities and found they fit in these pages as well.

I just inserted their folders with some cardstock and the dies are nice and secure.

                         

A list

Saw this list on a blog the other day, thought I would do one of my own.


I'm feeling.....unwell, have a head/chest cold

I'm seeing.....lots of dust in the house with the sunshine coming in the windows

I'm hearing.....the air conditioner come on 

I'm thinking....I should be doing something constructive

I'm planning.....to paint my bedroom this summer, a pretty yellow I think

I'm going.....to work tomorrow, no matter how I feel

I'm reading..... a murder mystery by Joanne Fluke

I'm wearing.....pink shorts and a yellow tee

I'm cooking.....chicken and scalloped potatoes

I'm creating.....a tumbler Christmas quilt for me

I'm enjoying.....Star Trek movies

I'm hoping.....to have a garage sale this summer

I'm sharing.....some of the things I've made through the years

A blast from the past

Living in a home for 34 years and being a child of two pack rats

is hard. I am a pack rat, ok, I admit it! I have a hard time letting go

of "stuff". I'm not a hoarder, I do occasionally "let" things go, but 

it is hard to do. I always think I'm saving it for someone.

Well, my someones have told me they don't want the stuff!!!!

LOL!!!! :)

My husband found several tubs of stuff that had been out in the

garage for years, about 10-20 years. Oh, my! How time flies!

My mom and I had a short career selling crafts at local craft shows in the late '80's and early '90's.

We did pretty good, but I'm sure we just barely made it even with all the time involved.

We enjoyed making the stuff and going to the shows and interacting with the people.

We should have had a store!

Anyway, in the tubs I found a few items I had made for the shows. It was

fun seeing what I had made and remembering the fun we had.

Cat dolls with halos, apron says "Cats are Angels with Tails!"

A chicken doll,

 her basket of eggs is missing. I had a love affair with anything chicken back then.

I felt like a Mother Hen with all the kids in tow.

:)