Some Stampin'Up Cards, Bag and Tags

Hi there everyone. How did your Monday go? Mine was busy. Went to the store to pick up some more lights for my little tree...for some reason the bottom string died. Guess after 10 years that is a probability...huh??? I found some other old lights and put them on....so no telling how long they will last. But ended up getting some lights that are battery operated....70% off....so hey why not try them.

I had to un-decorate the little tree, pulling everything off. So now to re-decorate it....guess that is life. I may change up a few things. Found some old beaded garland downstairs so I added that to the tree too. Yeah, I think it will look a little bit different this year. Guess that is what makes life interesting.

Yesterday I went to a Stampin'Up Camp with my friend Shirley. She had never been to one of these camps and really enjoyed it. So here is a walk through the things we made. Oh yeah....she won the door prize...some snowflake stamps...yayyyyy!!!

This is a bag that was stamped with snowflakes. Then a card was added to it with some of the same snowflakes.....washi tape was added to the card then stamped on....cute idea, never thought to do that. The card fits in a punched slot so it does not fall off the card. See that little bow at the top??? I won a roll of that ribbon as a door prize.

This was a neat tag to make....the blue part was pre-cut. The dots are stamped. The bottom part of tag, washi tape was layered on it and stamped, To: and From:

Another tag, folded card stock and covered with a patterned paper then a special punch for the top part.

This was fun....it's a gift card holder. Using Stampin'Ups envelope maker. You can make dozens of different sized envelopes. Then the buckle was two different punches. The small center was punched then a larger punch used to make the outer buckle. A long strip of black was wrapped around the card holder. Sweet huh?

This tag is a star, with the scalloped punch used and a circle punch for the center. Stamped with one of the stamp sets from Stampin'Up.

This was a neat tag. I do have the upper part of the tag punch and have made lots of tags using this punch. The stamp comes in a set of three...one was Love, one Merry and (forgot the third). Was thinking of ordering this stamp set, but I was just not sure how often I would use this stamp set.

Here is my door prize...another roll of ribbon.....one of these days I will get the big door prize....a stamp set!!! Maybe the next Stampin'Up Camp in February will be my lucky day.

This last card we made was this lovely card of a Christmas Cardinal...I really liked the technique and may try this with a few of my next cards that I make. The bird was stamped on punched out cardstock, then stamped again on white cardstock and colored in with markers. Nice effect....I tell you the ideas are endless.

There was one more tag we made, but it did not take a good picture....so if I think about it...I will take another and post it in my next blog.

Well, I need to go work on decorating my tree. Have a good evening and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Monday Musings......

Hi everyone, how is your day going??? According to my computer, the temperature is 55 degrees outside....WOW!!! Kylie was barking at a kid walking down the street with NO jacket on....a couple of days ago, he might have been wearing a jacket....this is Wisconsin weather. We think it is summer now...hahahahaha!!!!

I put out the bird feeders a couple of months ago. FINALLY had a couple of visitors the past week or so. Mr Cardinal and his lovely lady came by for some seeds. Always fun to watch the birds visit.

I made some Vegie Burgers last night, this is not exactly what they looked like, but this is the recipe I used with a bit of critiquing....of course, who follows a recipe to the "T"......not I, that is for sure!!!! No fun in that!!! Anyways....these burgers were actually very good!!!

Greek-Style Lentil Burgers

½ cup dried lentils
2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for brushing patties
1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)(I used frozen onions/peppers)
½ red bell pepper, diced (½ cup)(I used frozen onions/peppers)
4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used 1 can refried beans)
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves(used dried parsley 1 tablesp.)
½ cup pitted kalamata olives (didn't have)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander (didn't have, used terimac instead)
1 tsp. salt (used 1/2 tsp.)
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup plain breadcrumbs (2 c. seasoned breadcrumbs, there is a lot of moisture)
¾ cup grated carrots
½ tsp. baking powder

Tzatziki Sauce (ummm....did not make this, maybe next time)
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, shredded, and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. chopped fresh mint
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
1. To make Burgers: Cook lentils according to package directions. Drain.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper, and sauté 7 minutes. Stir in garlic.
3. Blend chickpeas, parsley, olives, eggs, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper in food processor 2 minutes, or until smooth. Stir chickpea mixture, breadcrumbs, carrots, and baking powder into lentils. Shape into 8 patties. Layer patties between plastic wrap, and freeze.
4. To make Tzatziki Sauce: Combine all ingredients in small bowl.
5. Preheat grill to high. Brush frozen patties with oil, and cook 6 minutes on each side. Serve Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce.
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So now I have lots of this vegie burger stuff in the frig. My next experiment will be to make tacos and patties to freeze (as mentioned above in the recipe). See how that works for a quick meal for JP when he comes home from work at 1am in the morning!!!

Well, time to close here for a bit....
I was going to go to the store today....did not make it. That is okay though, tomorrow perhaps. Have to get my list together first. Pay some bills and get JP ready to go to work. Then I have the rest of the day to bum around. Perhaps I will take Kylie for a long walk, she will like that.

You all have a good day and keep looking up.
Cheers ~ Louise