Friday, July 30

Love is in the Air

                         Literally!! 

         Wow!  Who said White Italian Men can’t jump??

                                     Isn’t this the cutest??




 Joy is not in things… it is in us


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Wednesday, July 28

Doodley Do…..

I left my comfort zone for a few minutes the other day.    I decided to sketch a few little images to water color.  I used my water brush and my twinkling H20’s to color this sweet little Birthday Queen.   After I sketched her… I noticed that one hand is not quite right…  I probably should have never pointed that out to you…    but you know….  true artists just doodle on a whim..




Products used:   Watercolor paper. Pigma pen. Twinkling H20. Water pen. Basic Grey Kioshi Paper. Ribbon. Button. Twine. Distress ink- Tea Dye.


I may have to try this again… soon….


An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail

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Tuesday, July 27

A Quick Reminder….

My Dad taught me how to fish as soon as I was old enough to stand up and hold a pole.   I have many fond memories of him getting off work and gathering all of us kids and taking us to the nearest fishing hole for the evening.
When my kids were young,  their dad and I took them camping and fishing….  ALOT!    They  had so much fun….  everything from creeks, to lakes, to beaver ponds.   Scissorbella was quite the fly fisherman….  
How soon I forgot….
Three year olds have NO TIME or patience to sit and hold a fishing pole..    
…except of course if there is already a fish on the hook; then they are ready and more than willing to reel it in.
I took Carter to a new little stocked trout pond about a mile from the house Saturday evening.  Quite honestly….  I’m quite surprised I got these two photo’s of him…


Carters Dad, Punk Snowboarder, still loves to fish… and he’s taken Carter a few times.   My middle Daughter,  Rockstar Chick,  loves to fish.  She carries her pole and tackle box in her trunk at all times.  You never know when you might want to stop by the river on your way home from work.. Now that Scissorbella is married.. I think she’ll be going a little more often..
Give a Man a fish and you
feed him for a day.   Teach
a Man to fish and you’ll
feed him for a lifetime.

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Sunday, July 25

A Slice of Goodness


A slice of red ripe watermelon. A juicy treat enjoyed. A sweet and awesome goodness. To fill a Summer void.  Michelle


 
Between the two of us…  we ate almost an entire watermelon over the weekend.   We had some for every meal and snacks in between.    It was delish….   And to our surprise…….


It turns out that Tanner loves watermelon, too!!

We had an awesome Summer weekend!


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Friday, July 23

Fish and Chips

Fun Facts Friday…

LEEDS, England — Britain has plenty of venerable institutions, but none so tasty as fish and chips.
It's a simple dish, usually a hunk of golden brown cod or haddock served with thickly cut strips of potatoes sprinkled with salt and vinegar. Despite that simplicity, the dish has become an icon of British culture.
This year, fish and chips is celebrating its 150th birthday. Or is it? That date is according to the National Federation of Fish Friers, which represents about 8,500 fish and chip shop owners in Britain.
Yet there are competing stories about when the dish was first created, and the exact origins are lost to time.
One story is that an entrepreneur named John Lees started selling fish and chips in 1863 out of a wooden hut in Mossley, near Manchester, before moving to a permanent location nearby. In his new digs, so the story goes, he hung a sign in the window proclaiming, "This is the First Fish and Chip Shop in the world."
But Douglas Roxburgh, president of the national federation, said his group can date the dish to 1860.
That's when, according to lore, the Malin family in London, who worked as rug weavers, started frying chips in their home. Thirteen-year-old Joseph Malin came up with the idea of combining them with battered fried fish to sell on the streets of London's impoverished East End.
Does the exact history matter?
If you look at the components of the dish — fish minus chips, for example — the origins go back further.
Charles Dickens wrote in Oliver Twist, published serially from 1837 to 1839, about "fried fish warehouses," where the fish generally were sold with big hunks of bread or baked potatoes.
Fried fish itself was brought to Britain and northern Europe by Sephardic Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal in the 17th century. Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter that he ate "fish fried in the Jewish fashion" while
visiting London in the late 1700s.
As for chips, legend has it that a housewife who was either in Belgium or France, depending on whom you believe, cut up some potatoes in the shape of fish to fry when she couldn't get her hands on any real fish.
So long as the fish and chips are tasty and fried, perhaps it doesn't matter.
Roxburgh cites a recent survey that asked people to name things they thought were typically British. At the top of the list, edging out the queen, was fish and chips. In fact, the dish is such a vital part of the culture that to keep up morale during World War II, it was one of the few foods the government didn't ration, Roxburgh says.
It's still one of the most popular takeout foods in the UK, with about 10,500 "chippies" employing 60,000 people and selling nearly 276 million fish and chip meals a year.
'There's an art to it'
That's the history. But what about the reality? How hard could it be to fry up some fish and potatoes?

Harder than you might think. Just ask staff and students at the federation's headquarters in Leeds in northern England, where aspiring owners of fish and chips shops can learn the tricks of the trade during a three-day course at a cost of $1,000.
Students are taught how to debone cod fillets before slicing them into 5-ounce pieces. They learn how to peel 15 pounds of potatoes in 2 minutes using a "rumbler" — think of a small top-loading washing machine lined with sandpaper-like abrasive. And they learn to use another machine that slices them up in 30 seconds.
"There's so much more than just chucking a piece of fish into a bit of fat and hoping for the best. There's an art to it," said student Barrie Richards, who's in the process of buying a "chippy."
Instructor Mark Drummond demonstrates how to batter and fry a piece of cod on a traditional frying range. He submerges it into the mixture and lifts it out, pausing to touch the bottom tip to the side of the metal container to let the excess dribble off, before lowering it into the vat of boiling, sizzling oil. He lets it go with a gentle, outward motion so it floats away from the middle, freeing up space for more fish.
"It should be like laying a baby down to sleep," said Arthur Parrington, treasurer and former president of the federation.

When we go to the Oregon Coast, there is a little restaurant in Newport that sells the BEST Fish and Chips….  It’s down in the bay area.  My mouth is drooling thinking about it.  They catch the Cod,  fresh daily.  YUM!  (They also have the best fresh clam chowder).  I haven’t had any since last summer.   We have some local shops that are fair…. but there is nothing like fresh catch.. 

I painted this fun little fish with my Copic markers.   I punched out a few sizes of circles and painted them with twinkling H20 paints.  They’re supposed to look like bubbles.  The fish is hanging by a tiny Safety pin and dangles around.
Products used:  Kim Hughes – Ocean Friends.  CTMH – D1407- Piece of Cake.  Kraft cs. Circle punches. Corner punch. PTI – Emboss plate. Hemp twine. Ribbon. Pin. Copics. Distress ink – Tea Dye. Twinkling H20.


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Thursday, July 22

Boogers

Birthdays are kind of like boogers.  The more you have the harder it is to breathe. 

This card was pretty easy to make.  Sorry I don’t have any instructions other than I seen it on someone else’s blog and used my genius to figure it out.  :)      The folded square started out as a 4 x 4 piece of paper.     I stamped the cupcake,  colored it with my Copic’s and then cut it out and  attached with some 3D foam tape (CTMH – Z1151).  I used a pigma pen and doodled a little candle, colored it, cut it out and attached to the cupcake.  ( I try not to make “BOY” cards too frilly.. )

Why did I mention boogers above?  If you ever visit Southwest Idaho.. We live in the desert.  Yes!  Dry and Hot!  The dry air really dries out the nose.   You’ll probably notice alot of people picking their nose.   You’ve gotta get those dry boogers out somehow!

Products used: CTMH – X7125B- Zippidee.  Unity – Mix-up of Cuteness.  Hand sketched candle.  Copic. Pigma pen. Verve – Circular sayings. CTMH – Cranberry. Distress ink – Tea Dye.  Ribbon. 


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“You can pick your friends, and you can pick
your nose, but you can’t pick your friends
nose. “
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Tuesday, July 20

Ed did it

Well not exactly.  I’ve been busy editing wedding photo’s.  I have over 4000.   GASP!      Scissorbella doesn’t want me to post any until she see’s them…  well..  I figure a couple won’t hurt.   I’ll just share two with you…  and show you what a little bit of photo editing can do…   Of course having a beautiful bride doesn’t hurt, either..  There are about 30 photo's ...  watch for subtle changes.



Oops!  I may have snuck one extra in there!!   I’m her Mother!  She’ll forgive me!

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Monday, July 19

bee U tiful

My friend had a birthday a couple of days ago.   I love this CHF Sweet Bee stamp set..   Great time of the year to use it. 
Have you heard the song American Honey by Lady Antebellum.  Great Summertime song; look for it below.



Products used:  Cosmo Cricket. October Afternoon. Ribbon. PTI – die cuts. CTMH – Sunflower.  CHF – Sweet Bee. Button. Twine.

Turn off the music player above and enjoy!



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Saturday, July 17

A Bowl Full of Cherries

My Boss’s neighbors own a cherry orchard. The neighbors give them to him… and he hates them!!  So he brought me a box  last week;  probably about 10 pounds.   They’re seconds, meaning not perfect… (I’m not perfect either, but I’m still OK) . I had to pick out the bad ones and look what remained?   My huge Tupperware bowl full of them.  They’re delish!   I think I might try drying some of them..  What would you do with a bowl full of cherries?



“What is life for?  It is for you!”

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Friday, July 16

Baskets of Fun

I wandered into a little local shop last week..  Knit One, Quilt two..   Good thing I don’t sew!  Wow!  What an adventure of goodness.  The most beautiful fabrics and quilts hanging everywhere. 
I was on a hunt for some cotton yarn.   This is what I found.  They have a little manual machine that winds it into a ball.

I want some little bowls, or bins for my craft room to put some of the little random things in.   I couldn’t really find anything I liked so I decided to crochet some little bowls.  This is my first one.
Isn’t it cute?


I plan on making a few more,  probably a little larger than this one.  (Notice my little vintage jello molds?  They’re great for little buttons, brads, etc..)
 


“There is no such thing as wasted affection.”

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Wednesday, July 14

aren’t you just the bee’s knee’s

Ever wonder where that phrase came from?   It became popular in the 1920’s;  probably because of the popularity of radio shows.    Bee’s carry pollen back to their hives in little sacks on their legs.  The allusion is to the concentrated goodness to be found around the bee's knee.    Hence the Phrase  “the bee’s knee’s”  meaning “the height of excellence.”
I started this project a couple of weeks ago, then have been busy doing other things.    Over the weekend I decided to finish it up.


If you don’t already know me very well,  I like the country, grunge, whimsical look.  Who knows what that means!    I cut out a piece of 1/4” birch plywood for the project.   Its about 24” long.  It’s sitting on top of the mirror in my entry.

I recently went to our local  Restore shop.   It’s a place for local contractors and homeowners to donate used and new building materials.   The shop sells to the public and all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity.   I found a stack of various sizes of  old kitchen cabinet doors.   They make great framed projects.   I painted the one below several years ago.   More projects to come…..

"My friends have made the
story of my life”   Helen Keller

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