Hospice Cards for February 3rd.

Hi there everyone, been awhile since I last blogged. No sorry's, just not much to talk about, I guess. Since Jay's death 16 months ago (now where has that time gone?) life has been quiet but there has been a lot of hoop jumping for me. And I do so hate the hoop jumping at times. Going around and around and getting no place.

Making cards has been at a minimal because the inspiration has been probably at about 45-50%. I look at a lot of ideas, but none click. I had a lot of Christmas cards made for Hospice, but then, I came down with the flu, or was it Covid, or was it a virus....I just don't know, but I was out of commission for 6 weeks, after which I finally started feeling better. It took a lot out of me, wonder where I would have been if I had not gotten that one shot, no, no boosters, just one shot and I got it when Jay was about to enter the assisted living. I thought, better get the Covid shot or assisted living people won't let me in to see Jay. I did run into a couple of times that the nurses almost did not let me in to see Jay, but only after they realized who I was and who I was visiting.

So, I missed the December meeting and now the next meeting is on the 3rd so for the last couple of weeks I was into making Valetine cards and using different techniques as you can see by some of these cards.

The 1st card is embossed, and I just added a cardinal at the bottom....pretty simple. The 2nd card is an old valentine card that I ran off on my copy machine, then fussy cut and glued onto some fancy background cardstock.

Now the above cards were kind of interesting to make as it was an idea from Simon Hurley. I found my stencils and placed the stencil on cardstock and taped it down so the cardstock would not move. Then smudged with ink where I wanted color, lifted the stencil and "wah lah" this was the result. Check out Simon Hurley on YouTube, he has lots of great ideas.

"Sending BIG hugs" card is from a card kit from the UK. I have had this in my stash of stuff to make for a couple of years and finally put them together. Sent 2 cards off to someone in VT and one to WI. They were so cute; I could not resist.

Valentine cards are so much fun to make. These are a few I put together with odds and ends I had sitting around. Of course, the bottom two are copies from the original Valentine cards which I copied, fussy cut and glued to the background.

Now these were fun, the backgrounds are from a pad of cardstock, probably in my stash for a couple of years and finally used the cardstock. The flower is from Stampin Up. Embossed with gold, pretty flowers with many ideas for using it.

Now this was a fun technique and another Simon Hurley idea. Using a 3-D embossing folder, the inside of the folder was inked (ink the indented side) then spray with water, place cardstock in folder and run through the cuttlebug or whatever machine you have. Take out of the folder and let dry and run the process over again. I am going to try this technique today with another 3-D folder I have using multi colors. Want to see how it works.

Last but not least, I had these 4 prints from wherever I received them, cut them out and placed them in a frame, simple but pretty. Well, now I suspect, if you are still with me, you probably got bored and clicked on to the next blog....that is okay, this is getting pretty long and anyways I am ready for it to come to an end. I need to get started on doing some work around the house.

So, I had 61 cards made for the January meeting and now that I have an extra 4 days to make cards, I shall try for 75 cards total. That would make a record for me as I usually make 50 or so cards.

Well, I shall close this blog before it turns into a BOOK!!! Here's hoping the weather by you is not so cold and with little snow. It's supposed to be sunny and cold here for the next 5 days, that will be nice. You all have a great February and keep warm and looking up, Jesus is coming soon!!!! Cheers ~ Louise
 

Black Ice Technique - My First Attempts

Hi there everyone. First of all....let me introduce you to a new follower. Her name is Mary and her blog is here. Thanks, Mary for stopping by.

So my following cards are a new technique I learned. First heard of it on Brenda's blog. I watched quite a few YouTube tutorials, each one different from the other. This is what I came up with.

In this card, I used an embossing folder. Lightly rubbed the black ink on the silver card stock. When I got the effect I wanted then dried it with the heat gun. The second layer was the embossing ink, covering the whole card, then heated with heat gun. 

Here I just used a flower stamp....I think I pressed too hard and got those streaks , but it looks okay. Forgot to add some gems to these two cards like I did with the 4th card below.

Same thing with the card above and below. Big streaks down the middle. Hey, but it still looks good. Each card has it's own personality.

The card above, I added a little color to the peddles and center of the flower.

These two cards were some of first samples of Black Ice. (I seemed to have a heavy hand which left streaks down the middle). The card on the right came out okay.

I think I will try red and green card stock (just thinking ahead for Christmas.)

So this week looks kind of quiet, not much planned. I need to work on some Aflac reimbursements. Maybe this will be a good time to do that. Still waiting for Spring to come....but I have a feeling it is not far away.

My dryer is working great. JP knows how to run it. The new car radio/CD player works great, I showed JP how to work that too. Hospice got their cards, now I am working on the next batch for May 4th. I think some of the cards above will make it to the Hospice box.

Time to close here, JP will be home soon, have to figure out what to make for him for dinner and do a few dishes. So it looks like I did some work....lol!! Have a great evening and keep looking up ~ better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Cards I Would Like To Make

Hi there everyone....Hope April is treating you well. Well, as I said in my previous post, the first week would be busy. It was.
1) Monday, JP had an appointment with Doctor. His prostrate cancer is stable, no growth, Praise the Lord for that.
2) Tuesday was a free day. Snow was predicted, 3-12 inches. Glad I didn't have to venture out. We might have gotten about 5 inches.
3) Wednesday, we had our dryer delivered.....they even came with all the snow predicted....I was surprised. We are loving the new dryer. Now I have to show JP how to run it.
4) Thursday, I took the car to Muntz to have a new CD/Radio installed....finally music to drive with.
5) Friday, Hospice meeting and all my cards are made, not unless I add a few more tonight.....we'll see. (60 cards made)

Whew...that was a busy week for me, glad it is coming to an end. Next week should be more quieter, hope, hope, hope.

The following pictures of cards are what I am planning to make. I have made a few cards using this Rose Wonder image....I like this technique, looks like water color pencil and the rose stamped on it.

Here we have the Rose Wonder die cut on 5 different colors....pretty neat. I get most of my ideas from Pinterest, love going there for card and recipe ideas, etc.

Isn't this a pretty card, it caught my attention only because it is in purple and gold....like, like, like. Pretty classy!

Below is the peony stamp that I ordered from Altnew, I still have to use it yet....just a little slow. But I think this would be a nice technique. Looks like water color paints, maybe the peony has been embossed to resist the paint. Something to try.

Tonight I want to try a new technique, it is called "Black Ice" If you look it up on YouTube, you will find some tutorials. I had never heard of this technique till I read about it on Brenda's Blog hope this leads you to her address. You should see her sample of a black ice card at this post.

I am going to make one tonight....maybe I will get it on my blog in the next couple of days. (if it turns out) Well, I think I will close here for now. Need to go make dinner. We are having a Blue Apron meal "Chicken Paillard & Olive-Raisin Sauce with Warm Fennel & Potato Salad" Should be fun, I have never worked with Fennel before, then mixed with potatoes should be delicious.

Note: the meal from Blue Apron above...was VERY GOOD!!

Have a great evening and keep looking up....better days ARE coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

A Perfect Pearls and Distress Ink Technique

Hi there everyone. Tonight I was watching different techniques of card making on YouTube and ran across this idea and thought it was really neat. To save it and remember it, I thought the best way would be on my blog. It's 17 minutes long but very thorough. Think I will make lots of these cards. The author of these cards is www.jennifermcguireink.com check her out.....I do think I will be adding her to my favorite blogs to visit.

Well, this is one of those short posts. You have a great day and keep looking up....better days are here again. Cheers ~ Louise

3 Blue Apron Meals and a Review from Youtube

Hi there everyone, how you all doing? Well, it's the last day of October....Halloween and no scary people dropped by our house. Glad for that. There were lots of parents and kiddo's walking by. I didn't have the light on....maybe they just knew there was no candy being passed out at this house.

Well, today I am going to show you the 3 Blue Apron meals I made this past week. I have cut down on my orders from Blue Apron to one box every 6-8 weeks. I still enjoy doing the meals but not so many a month. Blue Apron could come every week at $60 a week...that would be $240 a month. If JP does not like a meal, too spicy, too this or too that, it's kind of a waste. I still like making things on my own and keeping things simple. But, I have learned lots of new things, new spices, vegies and techniques in cooking with Blue Apron.

Following, is a YouTube tutorial making Lemon Thyme Turkey Cutlets. I have not made this meal, but it sure looked good. I liked the way this guy cooked....sort of reminded me of me in some ways. The end result though, is always delicious.

The meal below was really good, "Baked Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Cone Cabbage and Sage" (4 stars). Did you ever use a Cone Cabbage? I didn't, and it was sure quite different from a regular cabbage, easier to cut and slice. So all the vegies had to be cleaned and chopped.

A potato chopped, onion, cabbage and sage, seasoned with salt and cooked till the cabbage wilts, water was added and stirred occasionally. Pasta was cooked. 

Then a Béchamel sauce was made with butter, garlic and flour, milk added slowly then 3/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water. Half the Fontina cheese was added and well combined with salt and pepper to taste. The cooked vegies, pasta and sauce are added together then baked. Fontina cheese and parmesan cheese topped the casserole with more salt and pepper to taste.

In the picture below is JP's meal for the night. His fruit with some yogurt, tomatoes and home-made pickles and the Baked Rigatoni and cabbage.

In this next meal, I really enjoyed this one. "Roasted Pork Steam Buns with Black Garlic Mayonnaise & Spicy Cabbage Slaw." (was a bit too much cabbage for these two nights....so I had to make this meal 2-3 days later) This was really good though (I gave it 4 stars). The pork is fried in a pan, then roasted in the oven for 20 minutes till the temperature reaches 145 degrees. The cabbage is combined with the white bottom of the scallion, sesame oil, ginger, vinegar and as much of the spicy gochugaru as liked....This would make the cabbage salad spicy and JP does not like spicy.

The buns are steamed, the roast has been resting. Cucumbers have been marinating in ginger and vinegar, salt and pepper. Black garlic is mixed with the mayonnaise and salt and pepper added to taste. This will be spread on the steamed buns, topped with the sliced pork roast and the marinated cucumbers. Yeah, I really liked this pork and steamed bun combo. The cabbage was a bit too spicy. I ended up throwing a lot out, cause JP did not touch it.

This was a good meal, "Spicy Chicken & Carrots with Harissa, Dates and Chickpeas." (another 4 star) although JP does not care for carrots that much. Rice was cooked and chickpeas roasted, then mixed together as a side dish. The chicken thighs and carrots are cooked together for 8 minutes then dates, water and harissa paste is added, depending on how spicy you want it. After cooking, almonds, parsley, salt and pepper is added. Below is a picture of the meal....I forgot one ingredient.

The sauce, labneh and vinegar seasoned with salt and pepper. I decided to add a taco shell to JP's meal....he did not eat it nor a lot of the carrots. I have to say, the meal looks better with the labneh sauce on it in the picture below.

So there you have it....3 delicious meals. I enjoyed them, which is why I am going to have to be very choosy in my next selections from now on....seems to be a waste when I include JP.

Well, time to close. I need to get some cards in my Etsy store and ride my bike yet tonight. Dinner is cooked for JP, so I don't have to worry about that. What is he having? Chicken, pasta, with cheese casserole....a simple comfort food with no spice.

You have a great day and keep looking up, better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

Finally.....Did Some Stampin'

Hi there everyone. Well, FINALLY.....I did some stampin' and marbling. After many moons, finally got downstairs and did something creative. It took me awhile to even get started, don't know why, maybe something in my brain is not firing, who knows what happens to the brain when you are put to sleep for a colonoscopy and hernia surgery, back to back. My motivation has been slow to fire up.....but tonight.....the juices were flowing!!!!

Here is the card I made tonight, kind of a fast one using the "Shaving Cream and ink" technique.  It was really lots of fun, once I got the hang of it. I think next time I may use alcohol inks....might be less messy.

Here's what my left hand looked like after playing with the shaving cream and inks.

Here is a sampling of the different papers. Made quite a few as you can see. I was able to use the shaving cream on quite a few pieces of card stock and got quite a few different colors.

Here's what my right hand looked like after playing the shaving cream and inks.....pretty messy?!?!?!? Oh but lots of fun!!!

What you do is, cover a paper plate with shaving cream then dab the shaving cream with dots of colored inks. Then swirl the cream with a stick to marble it. Lay the card stock on top the shaving cream and press down. Then pull the card stock off the cream. Lay it down on paper towel for a few minutes, then take paper towel and wipe off the cream from the card stock and you will get these lovely marbled pieces of card stock. I added different colors and more shaving cream to get the different affects......but as you can see.....my hands took a beating. Perhaps next time I will use rubber gloves.

Some of the tutorials I watched on YouTube said, alcohol inks would work, acrylic paints and food coloring.....I shall try those also, just to see which is less mess on the hands. This is an old technique, as I found it in a 2002 "Stamp It!" magazine.

I was going to make an apple pie tonight, but decided not to, as I was afraid the pie doe and apples would take on the colors that were on my hands. So I shall wait a day or so, just so the colors will fade from my hands. LOL.

I did manage to make that potato cheese soup this morning....oh yum, was it ever good. Guess I better write down the recipe....it was a keeper.

Well, it is getting late and I need to get some sleep.....I think I wore myself out tonight....did way too much. PLUS I straightened my stamping area and found some mouse droppings.....uge better get out the mouse traps!!!!

Have a good day and keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Versitile Waffle Iron and a Card Order

Hi there everyone....sorry for the lapse in time on my blog....things have been slow around here. Guess there are no excuses. Been doing some different cooking lately. Not sure where I heard about this, but went straight to "You tube" to see the demo's. Yes, your waffle iron can make lots of things besides just waffles. Eggs, French fries (my idea), biscuits, cinnamon rolls, I saw a hamburger grilled on the waffle iron, quesadilla's, oh my gosh, the ideas are endless I suspect.

The other night, I baked some potatoes. The next day, sliced them and put them in the waffle iron till they were nice and crisp...oh yum. A little bit of butter and sour cream....yes so good. In the pictures below, eggs and bacon, cherry juice and ketchup.

I guess I am repeating a bit, but, in the above picture I broke up some bacon and placed the pieces on the iron. Broke two eggs, scrambled them with cheese and poured onto the waffle iron.

A picture of the finished product. Yep, looks just like a waffle....but it's two eggs, bacon and cheese. I almost did not get a picture, JP had already cut into the eggs....whew almost gone!!!!

In these two pictures are the French fries....I spray both sides of the waffle iron then lay the frozen fries on the grid, cook a little bit to defrost, then press down the lid to smoosh the fries and then leave them in there till they start to crisp.

I do the same with the sliced baked potato. Bought some tator tots from the Schwan's Man yesterday, so they will be my next experiment on my waffle iron.

Today I made cheesy chicken enchiladas....making my own enchilada sauce. MMM they were good...just google "easy enchiladas" and you will get many ideas.

Monday I marinaded a 3lb beef roast. Using Biz's recipe www.mybizzykitchen.com/2013/03/10/best-beef-marinade-ever On Wednesday I took the roast out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for an hour to get to room temperature. Biz said, by letting the roast sit on the counter to room temp, the roast will be less tough.

So my next step was to bake the roast. I preheated the oven to 500 degrees (yes, you heard me right) I also stuck the baking potatoes in the oven also. When the oven was hot enough, I stuck the roast in the oven, no lid. Baked the meat and potatoes for 15 minutes. (5 minutes per lb.) then turn the oven off and leave the meat and potatoes in the oven for 1 hour. OH....and not peeking, you will let the heat escape. Again, you can google "Shirley's Perfect Rare Roast" I do believe I will make my roasts this way, for now on.

The roast was done to perfection, 125 degrees in the middle and 140 degrees on the ends and red in the middle. Oh and the potatoes were done also. So yeah, I will do that again.

As you noticed, I mentioned in my title, I have a card order. And it's not through Etsy. Wednesday I got an order for 10 cards from a friend....I was very happy about that...so I am working on those cards plus finishing up the cards I have made for Hospice. The meeting is for this next Friday...it is always fun to meet with the other ladies. We pass around our boxes of cards to the other ladies, so we can see what the other's made. We always meet at the Atlanta Bread Company....so we all usually get a good cup of coffee too.

Well, I hope you are having a good Saturday. For me, it is time to go walk Kylie. Her "stop-pulling harness" is really working. She no longer takes me for a walk and she seems more calmer on her walks. Not really sure why the harness would make that much difference....but it has become a pleasure to walk her.

I hope you leave a comment on my blogs from now on till February 8th. Every name will be put in a pot and I will pick 4 people to receive a Valentine Card from your's truly. Comment as many times as you like that will give you that many chances to win.

Have a great weekend and keep looking up!! Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas Eve Waffles

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve. Got all your shopping done, cooking and baking done? I just got the pork roast with sauerkraut in the oven and will add the potatoes and carrots in about an hour. The bean casserole will be made later, possibly on the menu will be a no-bake cheese pie with cherries on top....sounds yummy. Tomorrow will be leftover pork roast.

One of JP's Christmas gifts is Lox and bagels. So I will pack that box first thing tomorrow morning. He will probably eat it right away. So that will cover his breakfast and lunch. It will be a quiet day for us as we have no children or family here in Appleton.

This morning I made some waffles, plenty of waffles for JP to munch on. Gosh they were good, my choice of toppings, peanut butter and cranberry sauce. Munched them down while making more waffles.

My little waffle maker makes the best waffles....this was just the start of the waffle making, should have taken a picture after all the waffles were made....but you get the idea. There was enough batter to make about 12 of these cakes. Oh so good!!!!

 

I watched a great movie last night from Netflex...."Jersey Boys" about the Four Seasons and their bumpy offstage lives stretches across four decades....it's ironic how Jersey Boys has showcased the group and they are even bigger then ever. I went on Youtube to see Frankie Valli and he is still singing and going on...amazing story!!! So I probably will watch it again downstairs while making a few cards....I have to get some more cards ready for the Hospice meeting in January. Valentines and winter cards are on the agenda.

 

Well, you all have a wonderful day and enjoy the blessings that God has given and don't forget to keep looking up.....the merry go round will slow down and you can get off for a breath of fresh air. Then we will have the NEW YEAR to think about and what it will hold for us all. Take care.

Cheers ~ Louise