Making Chex Mix Snacks & a Card

Hi there everyone. How is your day going. It's a lovely, sunny, balmy day of 32 degrees. A good day to Sun-Bathe or sit on the front porch????

As you can see in the following pictures, I made some chex mix. This is my second batch of the season...my goodness, thought for sure that first batch would last at least till after Christmas. Guess JP and I were munching on it more then I realized. Then I ran out of pretzels.....oh, oh time to make some more. I did give a bag away to a trucker, guess I will give him another bag. Oh and I probably will send a bag to my Step-father in Las Vegas. I am sure that is something he can eat. He doesn't want money or candy...the last couple of years I have sent him a stuffed animal....you can just send so many animals. He likes doing cross word puzzels, but cannot see very well to do them. I think that is what has kept his mind sharp. SO I think Chex Mix would be the sealed deal....cause he can munch while watching TV.

So in this picture is the chex mix on the counter....lighting was a bit better. There are pretzels, oyster crackers, M&M's, peanuts, Wheat chex and rice chex.

The lighting was not very good in this picture as I took it in the far corner of the kitchen standing in front of the light. Oh well....you get the idea.

For the mixture, I used 1 package of Ranch dressing, 1 stick of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of Worcester sauce, and maybe 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mixed together and poured over the pretzel/chex mix. Trying to mix real well so that every morsel is covered. Then I covered my pizza pans and cookie sheet with parchment paper and poured the mix on the sheets, spreading them out evenly and sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top. Baked at 250-300 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the mixture is hot to touch. Then let cool and munch!!!.

This is my snowman card. I got the idea off of Pinterest. It is made with the "Work of Art" stamps from Stampin'up. I really thought this was a great idea, so I made some Christmas and Happy New Year cards. Need to make some more for Hospice.....maybe a "Winter thinking of you" card. I will be putting a Happy New Year card in my Etsy store for $3.00 along with a set of Winter/Christmas Note cards in a case ($12) I made these last year at Christmas. Was a bit too late to list them in my store.

A side note: some other ideas that can be made with this set of stamps is the American flag, a sail boat and a butterfly....I have tried the sail boat...but must try the butterfly and flag soon and very soon.

Well, time to close this blog. Need to get going on sending Christmas cards out and getting downstairs and bring some Christmas ornaments up for decorating. You all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

An Afternoon of Making Cards

Hi there everyone, hope you had a wonderful Saturday...it was a very gorgeous day....wish everyday could be like this one. Pretty soon the leaves will be falling off the trees...so try and enjoy everyday until then.

Made some cards at a friends house...the black flower is a die cut, I think. We had to poke the little sections out and then dab some glue on it to stick...basically and easy card to make.

This was our first card that we made. Copic markers were used. the clouds were dabbed on with a sponge and cloud form....I do know a fisherman, so when his birthday comes around next year....he'll get this card.

This is one of the Halloween cards we made....I really had a good laugh with this one..."It just isn't Halloween...without a full moon" Sending this card to a friend in South Carolina....she loves Halloween...I am sure she'll get a laugh out of it too!!! I am not much into Halloween card making, so if I can figure out how to send the bag below....she is getting this one too....maybe I will fill it with some candy...hahahahaha! So she can have her own "trick or treat" bag.

This is the inside of the "full moon" card which I thought was rather fun too!!!

So there you have it.....a little bit of card making for the week. I have been busy making other cards...a few fall cards and birthday cards....that will be in my next blog.

Today I went to a paper sale and made a few cards there also. This warehouse has their annual sale once a year, so I really look forward to it every year...usually find some good deals. and what's really great everything is 25 % off at the register...so that helps.

Well, time to close, you all have a great weekend and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

PS Visit my other blog at: cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com

Another Birthday 4 JP!!!!

Hi everyone, how is your day going? Today is JP's birthday. As we don't have family here, so it's a celebration with just him and I. We never were much into celebrating our birthdays like some do. We are happy when it just passes us by with no "hoopla".

 So this is the pie I made for JP. I was going to buy a "cake boss" cake for $20. But because JP suffered from "gout" this past week, I decided to stay away from all that sugar. JP likes pie and it does not last too long in this house. Simple recipe, I baked the pie shell first, till browned. Let it cool then I placed the strawberries whole on the pie crust. While the crust was baking, I mashed 4-6 strawberries, 1/4 -1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoons corn starch, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice. Mix together and heat till it thickens, let cool and pour over strawberries. Let it set in the refrigerator. Then cover with the whip cream. This pie was VERY delicious. Next time I think I will cut the strawberries up, makes it easier to eat.

 I bought JP this little Begonia plant from Festival Foods. He likes flowers, so I thought this would make him happy. When all chances of frost passes, we shall transplant it into a larger pot and keep it on the front porch.

 Here we are at BJ Clancy's Bar and Grill. Because it was JP's Birthday, he got a FREE MEAL!!! So his choice was a turkey burger, crispy hash browns and iced tea. I asked him to smile, he did, but by the time I clicked the camera he had this face on him.....geez!!!!

 JP also got some FREE ice cream with a candle on it and the waitress sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Finally got a picture of JP smiling.......yay!

This is the card I made for JP.....He likes the song "Amazing Grace" so I ripped the song out of an old song book and stamped the man with his bike on it....I rather like this card.....I think using songs from the song book will be my "go to" card....it makes a neat card for birthday's, thank you's, Thinking of you, Father's Day and Mother's Day and most everyday cards.

Here's what I had to eat....by the time I thought about taking a picture of my meal......I had munched down half it. I got a lovely salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. My burger was called a "Black Russian" (not the drink....although in my early years....that was my one of my favorite drinks) Sirloin Burger, covered with onions and cheese on marbled rye bread with a baked potato. It was a very good meal and I think I shall order it again. I took half of it home.....which was new to me, I usually can finish what I ordered, not today for some reason. That's good though, now I have a meal for tomorrow. Won't have to cook much after church....left-overs are good.

Well, you all have a great evening and keep looking up.....Cheers ~ Louise

A Card for Etsy and Turkey Soup

This might turn out to be a short blog, depends on how wordy I get. Goodness, it's been five days since my previous blog and a lot has transpired since then! Whilst typing at the computer on my last blog;

• Two explosions erupted at the finish line of the Boston Marathon......many people hurt and mangled. Then the hunt began for the terrorist.
• A few days later two poison letters were sent to Obama and the Senator......the terrorist captured.
• Then the explosion at Waco Texas and again many people hurt and killed and much damage for many blocks. Haven't heard who or what started that explosion yet.
• Then the killing and capture of the terrorists from Russia who bombed the Marathon finish line.

During all this the weather has not been good to us, with spring STILL not making it's entry. People are talking that we may see Summer come first. The weather will go from cold and rainy and snowy to warm and no in between. My goodness so much to make your head swirl. Life sure can be over-whelming at times.

On a lighter side...........I had U-Verse was installed on the 12th and it is working wonderfully well, there were a few kinks, but they got worked out. If ever you are deciding to change your TV-Internet-phone bundle, do go with U-Verse, I have the basic and that has enough channels to keep me as a happy camper. I don't have to fool around with rabbit-ears anymore and that just about drove me crazy!!!! So it is true everything has a happy ending eventually.

I was able to go to the Scrap Booking Expo in Milwaukee yesterday. Really enjoyed the outing, weather was good for traveling. We left at 7:00am, stopped for breakfast at 9:00am and got to the Fair Grounds about 10:15am. We followed "Mr Garmin" all the way down there and did not get lost!!!! "Mr Garmin" is something I shall have to get if ever I take a trip to someplace far away.

Anyways, we got to the Expo and received a free gift of a glue stick and hot pink color pen. The first vendor I went to she was making butterflies with a die cut that cost $15 and running the butterfly through her cuttlebug. Well naturally I had to get that butterfly..........wish I had had the $$$$ to get a few more die cuts. But, maybe next time. Found a few other things that I will eventually use....probably tonight.

Well I think I shall close this blog for today. I have some turkey soup cooking. Put the carcase in hot water and added some chicken stock. Time to take the turkey out of the hot water and add some onions and noodles and then debone the carcase.....nothing more added, just a simple basic soup for today. You probably noticed the card way above.....That is a birthday card using the "Polaroid picture" effect. Taping off the edges then sponging the card and stamping the image. I will be putting this card in my Etsy store today for $3.00. Just a simple basic Birthday card.

You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh! Cheers ~ Louise

New Pieces of Art

Hi there fellow bloggers, how are you all doing today? I am doing fine, been kind of busy of late as I have been working on these pieces of art which I want to also add to my Etsy store, they are as follows: Eiffel Tower Christmas Cards "Joyeux Noel". This stamp caught my eye last week, only because someone from France bought a Christmas card from me......I was so thrilled I had a sale and also that she was my 1st international sale.....so this card is dedicated to "Marinette" Thank you Marinette for your order.

The card was stamped in black ink then I used my copic markers to color in along with my green and red "smooches" gel pen and gold spray mist. Distressed the edges and added "candi" dots on the corners.

This card is a new stamp and folder I bought at a Stamping Rummage Sale. Paid $13.00 for it, at Archivers it is going for $20. There were alot of techniques that went into this card. First it was stamped in black, then colored in with copic markers, then run through the cuttle bug to emboss it. Then I distressed the edges then sponged with white linen distress ink, then sprayed with gold mist, oh and used a gel pen to pop the words, and butterflies. Guess this card should go for about $4.00 cause I used so many different mediums. It is a lovely card though.

I got this idea from an ornament I saw at Shopko and thought, I could make that. Ended up buying the ornament for $6, hopefully I can sell a few to make up the difference. All there is to this is 2.5 circles or scalloped circles folded over, glued and then glued together to form a circle, used speckels to decorate and a strip of cardstock layed across. Calligraphed "Peace" across the strip. Sprayed the ornament with gold spray mist. The following ornament was done the same way only using the word "Love".

"Love"

This card was made back in 2009. Thought I would add it to my Etsy Store and see how it does. The tree can be taken off the card and used as a Christmas tree ornament.

This card was made in 2009 also. Ran the green cardstock through the cuttlebug then colored the trees with sharpie pens, then layered on gold and white cardstock.....very simple.

Well, there you have it, some cards and ornaments I will be adding to my Etsy store, hope you like them, they were all fun to make. Now I have to start working on my cards to send out to friends......a Christmas tree using iris fold strips of ribbon and paper. I think if you go to my Archives you will find a sampling of my Christmas card for 2011 in my first blog for October.

Have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise