Secret Stamper Images

Hi there everyone. Well....I should be outside in this beautiful weather spreading mulch in my gardens. But chose to do a quick post while watching the Chicago Cubs.....win.....it's only the 5th inning and the cubs are winning 7-5. Hopefully the Cubs will do better then the Chicago Blackhawks. Sorry the season is over for them....as my Step-father always said, "maybe next year."

So tomorrow, I will be going to the "Image Stamper Revealing Party." I will find out who had my name and sent 12 images a month (she missed April altogether). And who I was sending 12 images to for the last 6 months. In the pictures below, are the images I sent and how I turned them into cards and the images my secret stamper sent and how I turned her images into cards. I will let you know which is what and who as we go.

NOTE: If you go to April 5th post you will see the other cards I made, turning my images and secret stampers images into cards.

In these two pictures are the 12 images I sent to my secret stamper. I kept two images and turned them into cards as you can see below. So the images (above) were in black and white. With the two I kept, I distressed inked the House Mouse image then used pearl-ex to make them shine.

Here is the finished product. One card for the secret stamper and one for me to keep or send. I just layered the House Mouse mice on black card stock then the orange back ground is crinkled up tissue paper and layered on glued up card stock. The scalloped edges were run through the cuttlebug with a boarder die cut. A gold heart embellishes the corner.

In these two pictures are the images I sent to my secret stamper.....I love this snowman....so cute. In the picture below is what I did with the snowman. I have a die cut that cuts him out. I used speckles for his nose and buttons.

Sorry about the lighting, I was using a lamp, I thought it gave a fare amount of light but didn't. I should have taken these picture  downstairs where the lighting is better. Anyways, I turned the snowmen into jugglers of snowballs....I think he turned out cute. The snowballs are just punched out circles and then I outlined the circle, they are on pop-ups. Embellishments are a die-cut Hi, gems and string. The snow is a Stampin'up embossing folder. The white layers are just ripped up card stock to look like layers of snow.

Now whoever has my name.....sent me these Bunny heads. All I did was color in the background, his ears and nose and tie. I was at a loss for what to do with them till one day I just decided to put a picture frame around them and layer them on crinkled up tissue paper that was glued on card stock. Turned them into Thinking of you cards. So I will keep one and give the other to the secret stamper.

In this card.....for the life of me....could not think of what to do with this image. My secret stamper sent me 12 images of the "golf ball on a tee with a bird and the word "Birdie." Finally I remembered I had a vintage golfer and just turned the cards into this. I will give my secret stamper the card on the right. I did end up making 5 more cards like this and will probably send my BIL a card for his birthday. He's a golfer.

Now in this card, I sent my secret stamper 12 pink Flamingo's....I saw a sample of a Flamingo card and liked it....so here it is, cased and turned into a card with my Flamingo. Cute card, it can be most any kind of card I want and simple to make too.

Now, I was completely at a loss with this image and almost did not want to make a card with these 12 images of a dress. Finally I just colored the dress in with red, making a red polka dot dress, adding red feathers, gems and a "Happy Mother's Day" greeting. I actually made a few more cards using this image. For Mother's Day of coarse.

Well, as I said before, the secret stamper lady who had my name, did not send me April's images, so she will only be getting 5 cards from me. That's the breaks I guess. I hope my next secret stamper holds up her end of the game and follows through. Why ruin it for someone else. It does take the fun out for others.

It was a fun game and a challenge to turn these cards into something, I never would have thought to do. I do hope the next session of 6 months is more fun.

You all have a great weekend and enjoy the weather. I shall go work outside and spread some mulch in about 30 minutes or when this Cub game is over.

Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Easter Dinner - Cowboy Ribeye

Hi there everyone. I hope you had a wonderful Easter with family and friends and lots of good eats. We don't have family in Appleton, a few friends though that's about it. We did enjoy a good meal though. I bought this "Cowboy Ribeye Steak" from Festival Food in the manager's special bin." It was originally $24 and I got it for $15. I know that was expensive, but hey, it's Easter, guess I could have gotten a ham or a turkey, but sometimes it's just nice to have a change. Well, this was our change, and I do think I just might do this again.

First of all, I let the steak get room temperature. Seasoning the steak on both sides with the Black Hardcore. The Red is for Pork, I have used it for Chicken also. Here is their site.

I seared the steak on both sides for about 5 minutes each, using my new Copper Chef pan. This is the neatest pan, it really gets the food hot and that pan is easy to clean too. Here is their site. I got my pan from Shopko and actually got it with a gift card...sooooo...FREE BABY!!! I am thinking of getting the larger pan though, as I am REALLY liking cooking with this pan.

I made oven-roasted potatoes, mushrooms and onions. Then added asparigus half way through. I then put the vegetables in a black fry pan to keep warm on the stove. I made a side salad, along with chives and sour cream for the potatoes.

I placed the seared steak into a hot 500 degree oven for 10 minutes or until the temperature read 145 degrees. Then let that steak rest for about 5 minutes.

AND....this is what it looked like.....oh my, oh my was this delicious and that BONE was out of this world, I haven't chewed on a bone for years. Then I let Kylie have a chew also.....she loved it!!!!

I hear there is another way to cook a steak like this and it is called "reverse searing." Where I seared first then baked the steak. The reverse is "Bake first, then sear." Biz will be showing how to do a reverse sear on her blog this week.....check it out. I shall try her way of doing a steak also.....it's always fun to try different ways of cooking.

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

PS the Chicago Blackhawks are down 3 games now, they will HAVE to win the next 4 games to stay in the playoffs. Time will tell.

Look What I Found.....and a Blue Apron Pizza

Hi there everyone. Well, well, well, look what I found. The Original Green River!!!! Do you remember drinking Green River back in the old days? I may be dating myself, but I remember drinking this stuff with French fries at the local Walgreens. They still had the soda fountains and booths where you could sit and play the juke box via the wall selection at your booth. Yep and a big glass of Green River....those were the days.

Here's what the label reads: Green River soda was introduced to Midwestern drinkers in 1919, just as Congress was passing the 18th Amendment establishing Prohibition. When Prohibition officially went into effect on January 16, 1920, some breweries turned to making nonalcoholic drink called Near Beer, while others were churning out ice cream. The Schoenhofen Edelweiss Brewing Company of Chicago turned to Green River. The soda was poured into old beer bottles and sold in the market. It was an immediate hit. The soft drink was so popular that Al Jolson recorded a song written about Green River.

Today, we celebrate Green River's history! With an amazing visual appeal including its bright green color, the brand takes people back to a pleasant time in their life, in the 1950's and 1960's at a time of corner soda fountains and drive-in movies.

Yep....had a little glass tonight with a couple of frozen strawberries in it. Oh yummmmm.....a taste of the "good ole' days"!!!!

AND then, another glass of "Green River" with this delicious Blue Apron pizza...oh yum.

I have not talked about Blue Apron for quite awhile, that is because I have not gotten a Blue Apron box since the last week of December.....saving money and just waiting to see a few dishes that are completely different then what we have received and wanting a box that both JP AND I would enjoy together. He is getting very picky in his old age. I have to be careful that there is not too much spice.

So this pizza was very delicious, I gave it 5 stars!!! "Spinach & Fresh Mozzarella Pizza" As you can see, the sauce was on the side. The pizza is covered with cooked spinach, (I added red pepper)green pepper, olives and shallots. Topped with mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan cheese. I have found that all Blue Apron pizzas are really good.

Well, I think I shall close this post....have been working on this particular post for a couple weeks and just saving it as a draft. So actually this is OLD news from two weeks. I do have a few post ideas up my sleeves....that's better then no posts....right???

The Blackhawks are playing tonight....so I sure do hope they win this game, they are down 2 games and if they want to stay in the playoffs, they need to win the next 4 games!!! Not sure I would make a very good coach...."you win or else....hit the road Jack and don't cha' come back no moe")

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

Happy Easter......

Hi there everyone. I want to wish you a Happy Easter. I give you just a few pictures in my collection, pretty pictures reminding you of Easter.

Here is a beautiful bouquet of roses....my first thought when looking at them was that they looked like the colors of Easter.

I made this card last year...definitely an Easter card. I do have this stamp, but did not make anymore cards like this.....maybe next year.

Ah yes......Angel Eggs, that's what I call them....for Easter of course. Maybe I should make a few hard boiled eggs tonight for some Angel eggs for tomorrows Easter dinner.

I love these bunnies. They were sent to me by a lady who has my name in a secret stamper group. I had to find a way to turn them into cards. In my next post or so, I will show you how they ended up, along with a few other images this same lady sent me.

I love Easter, I love the newness of the season and all the flowers coming up after a long winter's sleep. Everything is new....the Easter story never gets old. The week that changed the World....Jesus's triumphant ride through the town and a week later, dying on the cross for our sins, then rising again on the third day that we might have life forever more. No where in the Bible are bunnies, eggs and chick's mentioned....all those characters are pagan beliefs.....I know, I know...takes all the fun out of Easter. But we all know the real reason behind what Easter is all about. Our hope is based on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.

For tomorrow's Easter dinner, I will be making a very thick "cowboy steak" salad, oven potatoes and asparagus. JP will probably have some fruit for his dessert.

Well, I think I will close this post for tonight...You all have a wonderful Easter and keep looking up....better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Spring has Sprung....Look At My Pretty Crocuses

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying these beautiful days.....I have been enjoying the little flowers that pop up, it's always good to see them. God's creations are always a joy to the soul and spirit.

Saturday, I went out to straighten the garage and brought out some of the lawn furniture and grill and move the pots out for planting. I started about 5pm and did not stop till 8pm.....it was such a nice time....but I am paying for it now. Aches and pains....my back started hurting last night....I should have known better then to over-work this 70 year old body!!! I think from now on I will do just one hours worth of work rather then 3 hours. Why the rush???

We got our refund from the Government and State.....soooooo, I think this year we shall order some red mulch. My little gardens look so pretty when the mulch is spread.  I shall have to pace myself and not over-do. First I have to rake the old leaves and spread them under the maple tree....hopefully in the fall we can get that tree trimmed by Habitat for Humanity. That is another post though, within the next month, I have to see if we will qualify.

These little flowers are spreading themselves....maybe in a couple of years this section  of my garden will be all crocuses....I really should look for some white crocuses.

I think I might have a garage sale sometime this summer....just as soon as I gather all the things that need to be sold. We were given a large manger set....I am not sure I want it....but we'll see. Last summer my motivation ebbed very low. I had lots of energy in my head with lots of things I wanted to do, but my body did not want to cooperate with my head. A battle raged within me.....neither one won the battle and not a whole lot was accomplished last summer. Hope the story is different this summer.

Well, I think I shall close this post for now, need to go take a shower, maybe I will feel better. We have to take 276 aluminum cans to the "golden goat" for recycling. The price was 42 cents per pound....but better then having the cans sit around. After recycling we got $3.65. Not bad.....We calculated that it was about $125.00 worth of sparkling water that JP drinks. Me, I might have a can here or there....I drink mostly coffee, tea and water and a pop every now and then.

So have a great day and keep looking up.....better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

French Toast and Image Card Exchanges

Hi there everyone. Well.......I am still in a French Toast mode....sorry I have not changed my previous post.....but it still looks so good to me. Today I made French Toast with French bread, slivers of strawberries, and some Philadelphia "ready to eat" Cheesecake filling and syrup. Sorry.....no pictures. All I can say is, it sure was delicious and it was very hard to share with JP, but I did.

Have you ever tried Philadelphia "ready to eat" Cheesecake Filling? All you have to do is pour it into a graham cracker crust and chill. So far, the cheesecake filling has not made it into a pie crust and is just making it into my mouth via strawberries and French toast and such. SShhhhhhhh......I've not shared this with JP as yet, he would eat it all in one sitting....yes he would!!!!

Last November I joined a Stamping Group. We send 12 stamped images or die cuts to the person whose name we have and someone sends us 12 stamped images or die cuts. We then make a card for our selves and one for the person whose name we have. So altogether we have stamped 14 images or die cuts. Then, at the revealing party, we find out who had our name and visa versa. We bring the cards we made for the person who had our name.  Following are the cards I made, using the images I sent to my secret stamper and the images she sent to me.

In the picture above, I sent my secret stamper the gold snowflake on black card stock....this is what I came up with.

My secret stamper sent me the Santa tag, I colored it in and let the tags sit for awhile, because I could not think of how to incorporate the tag into a card. Suddenly one day I got this idea to just make a present, add the ribbon and stick the tag on it...oh and I learned how to make a double bow with my two fingers. WALA...a present!

I sent my secret stamper 12 images of this vintage Santa Claus....This is what I came up with. This would not be a card that could be sent through the mail too easily.

My secret stamper lady sent me these silver hearts. The only thing I could think of is to add them to a vintage valentine.....good enough.

I sent my secret stamper lady 12 of these die cut trees....this was an easy peasy card.

I sent my secret stamper 12 of these love mice....I distressed these  two mice then brushed them with pearlex. I sent her 12 love mice stamped in black and white. I finally made these love mice into cards last night....in a later post I will show you how they ended up.

I sent my secret stamper these snow men....I still have to make a card out of them yet. I still have two weeks to think about and finish this card.

My secret stamper sent me these bunnies. All I did was color in the back ground, they have hung around for a couple of months..finally turned them into cards last night....they turned out cute. I probably will make a couple of these cards for Hospice too. She also sent me 12 images of a golf ball on a Tee. I surely did not know what to do with the golf ball, till I remembered I have a vintage golfer taking a swing. I am working on that card tonight and when finished will show it in the next post.

My secret stamper is behind in her sending, she did not send March's image and April is yet to come. I contacted the lady that runs this group to let her know the lady that has my name is late in sending images. This isn't the first time this has happened, November and December did not come till January. Sure is frustrating..why join a group if you cannot follow through...makes no sense to me and takes the fun out of even doing this.

The reveling party is on the 23rd of this month....so I shall meet whoever had my name....if she even shows up. I may or may not sign up for a second time. It's fun doing this IF the other person holds up their end. Oh well, enough of my complaining.

I will take pictures of the images sent my secret stamper lady and what they looked like after I turned them into cards. Oh and pictures of the cards of the Easter Bunny, Snow Man and love mice.

I need to close this post now and go have a piece of coconut cream pie. That was my project for tonight. Also made dinner for JP. When he comes home at 1:30am he will have chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and vegies and some pie and fruit. Good enough. Now I shall go downstairs and ride my bike for 2 miles and finish up my Hospice cards for Friday.

Have a great night and keep looking up~~better days are coming!!

Cheers ~ Louise

JP's Lunch Today

Hi there everyone....just a short post for today. I think I made the best lunch for JP today. French toast with bananas, maple syrup, topped with whipped cream. His eyes bugged out when I put the dish on the table!!! I am not sure I have made this for him, at least not like this.

He said it was almost as good as Perkins, if not better!!! I guess that is a compliment. I was watching "Long Lost Family" last night and the girl looking for her birth mother said her adopted grandmother always made French toast EVERY day.....I thought, jeez I don't even make French toast hardly ever. So, today I made French toast.

I made enough so that I could have a bite or two....sure was yummy good. I wish I had JP's metabolism....he can eat all he wants and not gain much weight....me, I just have to look at this picture and the pounds soak through my eyes on to my body!!!

So here is JP's plate after a few minutes.....I am sure glad I got to have some. Told him I will make it again. I think Kylie enjoyed some of this too.

Tonight's dinner is going to be pork loin roast with potatoes, carrots, apple and celery in the pressure cooker. It took more time to put it together then it did to cook. But, the end result was delicious. I had to taste test it before feeding it to JP....right?

I think I am enjoying cooking with the pressure canner. This summer I shall try canning some tomatoes in my pressure canner. Depends on what I get a lot of this summer.

The Chicago Blackhawks are playing right now. The score is 4-4 with only 14 minutes to play. The Hawks lost a big game Saturday, 7-0.....I was really upset....but then I think they were even more sicker. Maybe they need some French toast!!!! Still a 4-4 game with 4 minutes to play. Looks like we are going into Overtime......5 minutes of play and then the shoot-outs. I like the shoot-outs, each team picks a player to shoot against the goalie, whoever gets 3 goals wins!!! So I sure do hope the Hawks get this one. NOPE Hawks lost 5-4....(sigh)

After the game I will go downstairs and ride my bike for a couple of miles, then work on some cards. I still have till April 7th to get my collection of cards together for Hospice. At least this time I shall not be under pressure.

Wednesday, Betty and I are going to Sam's Club for a hot dog. Sam's has the BEST hot dogs!! Betty has had knee surgery on both her knees, so she is looking forward to the outing. I offered to bring her a hot dog....but she asked to be picked up to go there....okay, it's a date!!!

This post sure did turn into a long post....was supposed to be a short one. That just goes to show how wordy I can get....oh well. So, have a great evening and keep looking up ~~~ better days are coming and maybe the Hawks might win their next game on Wednesday with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Cheers ~ Louise

Some Stampin'up cards

Hi there everyone. I guess I have been MIA again. Just basically living life to the best of my ability. Let's see, my last post was March 15th....I think I made cauliflower soup....which is long gone, JP really liked it and thought it was great!!! Although he has said he likes two kinds of foods......hot and cold, I guess that covers everything. But, since the cauliflower soup, I have made Green Pea Soup made in the pressure cooker....omg....was that delicious! I will most certainly do that again. Did not take pictures....but next time I will.

So Sunday the 19th I went to the Stampin'up camp. It was a nice day and a change of pace and I learned a few new ideas. There is always refreshments, a door prize and a chance to use new Stampin'up supplies that I don't have at home. (most definitely the supplies are on my wish list). Like this stamp set below...the girl with the umbrella and a girl dancing, I forget the name of this set, but it is on my list to buy next time.

This next card is a very pretty sympathy card, the gold flower is a die cut, I think the papers used, help in making these cards very pretty. I like the softness in the colors.

Now this next card is very pretty, I was able to duplicate this one, as I have the dragonfly die cut (see the above blog header lots of dragonflies and bee's). I have made a bunch of these cards already...probably most of them will go to Hospice.

Another Sympathy card. One thing about Stampin'up....they make pretty papers. I bought a set of papers a couple of months ago and have yet to use it.....what's up with that!!!!

In this picture is the door prize I won....YAY!!!  Well, there were 3 of us ladies and 4 door prizes....so we all won something!!!

Not much went on this past week. Pretty soon it will be time to start working outside.....I hope this spring I have a little bit more motivation to work then I did last year. Lots of weeds grew in my gardens....hopefully I can keep ahead of those pests.

Well, time to close, JP will be home in about 45 minutes. So I better get my bike riding in for the day. Didn't get to take Kylie for her walk....raining tonight, we did not want to get wet.

Have a great day and keep looking up....better days are here again.
Cheers ~ Louise

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Hi there everyone....hope you had a good day.....Wednesday's are always wonderful.....because it is "Hump Day" and there is only 2 days to go till the week-end. You know how we ALL LOVE THE WEEKENDS!!!

So Monday I bought a big head of Cauliflower for $1.48. I was thinking of slicing it to make "Roasted Cauliflower Steaks," then I thought of a soup of some kind....tossed it back and forth in my mind for a few days. Finally, while walking Kylie I thought, just to roast the cauliflower along with some onions and carrots in a 375 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes. Poured olive oil, salt and pepper on the vegies and mixed together to cover thoroughly.

The recipe I am using is "Cheesy Broccoli Soup," and will just change it up a bit....I tend to do that with a lot of my recipes before even trying the original recipe. We'll see how this goes....so far, so good. It's smelling pretty good and that's just roasting vegetables in the oven. JP always acts as my taste tester.....well, he has not died yet.

Here the vegies are all roasted and they totally tasted delicious. I had a little bowl with some "Yum Yum Sauce" on it.....maybe I should have made 2 roasted cauliflowers?????? In the next picture is the vegies in the hot water and cooking up some more. I added 3/4 cup of instant potatoes to make it thicker.  

I took an immersable blender and blended the soup, as you see in this last picture. Here is where I added the chicken bouillon, cheese and chopped bacon.

Here is the recipe:

8 cups water

1-2 Tablespoon chicken bouillon

1 roasted onion

1 roasted cauliflower

Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

1/2 bag of sliced roasted baby carrots

3/4 - 1 cup instant potatoes

1/2 package shredded Colby cheese

3 - 4 strips of cooked bacon, chopped

I shall have to give this "Cheesy Cauliflower Soup" 5 stars, I really liked it. The true test will be when JP has a bowl. I will let you know.

So there you have it, dinner for tonight, soup along with some fruit and maybe pulled pork on toast. Friday I will be making corned beef and cabbage....looking forward to that dinner. No....I am not Irish, but I do enjoy the corned beef and sandwiches on rye bread.

Time to go downstairs and work on some cards. I am still making those cards that I showed you the other day. It is fun and I will show you a few samples in the next few days. Sunday I am going to a Stampin'up camp and there will be more cards to show you.

Well, time to close here......keep looking up.....better days are here and the weekend is 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

Hey.....7 Days into March Already!!!

Hi there everyone!!! Wow....7 days into March already, "time do fly by fast when we're having a good time???" I'm not so sure about that saying and if I believe it.  As I sit here typing and looking at my calendar, which is right be side my computer. The days are filled and I guess I have been busy.

Today we took our income tax stuff to the accountant. I have been going through papers, bills, receipts, etc. since February and working right up until this past Saturday (with a lot of procrastination in between) I finally finished.....YAY!!! We celebrated with a piece of chocolate cake last night. No, it didn't look like this....but was just as good.

Today we celebrated again by stopping at "The Taste of Windy City" and got fries, Gyro and Windy City Special with hamburger and gyro meat.....whew....the special was all I ate for today, filled me up good!!!

A tray of food at the Taste of Windy City in Appleton.

Windy City's Gyro and the fries below.

I think when we go to pick up our tax stuff.....and if....we are getting a refund, there will be another stop at "The Windy City"....yes there will!

Been working on cards....a new batch for the Hospice meeting this next month, April 7th. Our past meeting was on the 3rd. of March. I took a lot of cards that were already made up and used those...now I have to get some new ideas for the next batch. I will be working on Easter and Mother Day cards this time around.

The Chicago Blackhawks played Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and won all 3 games. So I was glued to the TV watching the games, although I could only get the 3rd period for the Friday and Saturday games. It's almost as good as being there, but not quite. #72 is my favorite player...Artemi Panarin.

Went shopping Thursday, on the north side of Appleton to Shopko and Festival and Friday, on the west side Walmart, Sam's Club and Hobby Lobby. I have to keep my shopping down to a minimum, only a couple of days a week.

Tomorrow, I will just do some house work....I finally took down the Valentine decorations and now have St. Patrick decorations up. Maybe tomorrow will be a "surprise day" and just do whatever comes up....seems like I have a lot of those days.

Time to close, JP will be home in 10 minutes, so I better get something going for his dinner. You have a great evening and keep looking up~~~Better days are here again. Cheers ~ Louise