One Thing Leads to Another...

When I first made this Mother's Journal in lavender (below), I had a special request for a Grandma's Journal from Crystal, my DH's cousin. So this sweet little tyke (above) was brought to life. She's going to use it to remember all the cute and silly things her grandchildren say and do. What an excellent idea!

A Mother's Journal ~ Lavender

A Mother's Journal ~ Vibrant Pink

A Mother's Journal ~ Soft Pink & Green

Isn't it fun to see how one stamped image can look so different each time you use a different color palette? Have a great day everyone. :)

My Paper House :)

This past weekend I finally settled down and tried making one of these paper houses. I've run across them on different blogs throughout the past year or so and would always tell myself that I'd like to give one a try. Well, I finally did. I should have been doing housework, but opted to play instead. It was so funny, because my kids and my hubby kept asking me why I was making a paper house? "Just cuz...." That's what I told them. :)
I wanted to use some of my fun new supplies from McMahon Five Designs.

I used LOTS and LOTS of die-cuts, including my newest Tim Holtz Elegant Flourishes and Hanging Sign. I turned the sign into the door and used the other part as a finial along the top of the roof. The shingles on the roof are made up of a border punch like what you see along the bottom edge of the house, which I then cut into little shingle pieces and used my Glossy Accents to glue them on individually. Painstaking, but fun and what a nice effect it made. Then there are Spellbinder die-cuts accented with Stardust Stickles.

This is the back and side view of the house.
Look and my cute little doorknob. It's an eyelet (simply glued on with Glossy Accents and a little aqua bauble added to it.) TOO CUTE!!! I can always count on Glossy Accents to adhere anything in addition to adding that shiny effect when I want it. It's very sturdy and always dries crystal clear.
I'm just loving all the texture and of course added a couple of my favorite seashells.
I took this picture with some different lighting because if you look very closely, you can see the textured walls of the house have a thin layer of Distress Stickles Rock Candy spread all over. Its a great effect and looks really neat, but doesn't show up very well in these photos. Thanks for stopping by. :)

I'm linking to these challenges:
The Pink Elephant - the color aqua
GingerSnap 70 - punches
Aly's Sunday Challenge 25 - sparkle and glitter
Southern Girls Challenge #1 - anything goes

I LOVE Green Chili!!!

I don't believe there is any better indicator that Fall has arrived, than the delicious aroma of roasting Green Chili that fills the air in all of New Mexico each year. :)

I usually buy a big bag of green chili at the Farmer's Market and have it roasted right there on site in their big outdoor roasters, and then bring it home to peel, dice and freeze. But, my sweet neighbor that shared his tomatoes with me last weekend also brought a bunch of his green chili to me as well. So this time I roasted it myself. (Never done that before).

It's very easy though. You simply wash the chilies and then put them onto a cookie sheet and broil them on all sides until the skins are blackened as you see in the above picture. (This loosens the skins).

Then you wrapped them up in some damp towels for about 15 minutes to let them steam.

Once the chilies have cooled enough to touch, you simply peel the skins from the pods, remove most of the seeds and dice them up. Then you can put them into freezer bags in portions that work for your family and freeze them. I made smaller portions this time, because this batch is a HOT one.

Now, that this yummy project is completed, I can get back to the CRAFT PROJECT I've been working on. I hope to have it finished in the next day or so to share with you.

"Life is too short, grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances, give everything. Have no regrets. Life is too short to be unhappy." unknown

Homemade Tomatoe Soups... Sauces... etc.

Step 1. Get out your Handy Dandy Tomato Press and Stock Pot.

Step 2. Prepare your work area.

Step 3. Wash tomatoes and then put them into boiling water.

Step 4. When the skins of the tomatoes split open, remove from boiling water.

Step 5. Put tomatoes into the tomato press and turn the handle. The tomato pulp and juices go into the large container, while the skins and seeds fall into the cup under the side area.

Step 6. Let all eager kids help with this part. :) Once all of your tomatoes are pressed you can follow your favorite recipes and make soups, sauces, and even ketchup.

I've never made ketchup yet, but I love to make soups and sauces. When you have an abundance of home grown tomatoes and are the only one in the house that likes them fresh, (I know, what a bummer) then a tomato press comes in very handy. I usually grow Roma Tomatoes, but didn't get to it this year. However, my elderly neighbor had tons from his garden this year and shared with me this past weekend. So, I was able to get out my tomato press this year after all. :)

We Remember

May God bring peace and comfort to you all, today and everyday.

It's Adventure Time!

I've been a little bit crazy with the kids this past week, but wanted to take some time to share another pirate themed card. I was rummaging through my many storage bins of stamps and ran across this image that I'd picked up in Florida last summer by Cornish Heritage Farms. I understand they have (sadly) closed their store. I hadn't ever had a chance to use it yet.... until now. I just love pirate images, (kind of falls into that ocean/beach theme I SO love) and this one is no exception. This card will be perfect to give one of my boys sometime in the future. And LOOK at the super-cool TEAK WOOD PAPER from McMahon Five Designs that I used with my Cuttlebug Embossing Folder ~ Lace Door. I just pulled out the center of it to leave the opening for the image. This wood paper cuts wonderfully in these die-cuts. As always, I love when you stop by and visit me. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and stay safe! :)