Monday, December 17, 2012

Pin-spired Week 3

 
 
Week 3 for Kendra's Pin-spired challenges. Today I have another project and recipe to share with you for this week's Pin-spired challenge. My friend Kendra invited me and others to join her in her "Pin-Spired" Christmas Celebration this month. Kendra is posting something every day from the 1st-21st of December on her blog. Be sure to stop by her blog every day to be inspired.
I was inspired by this post on Pinterest for Christmas Planners. I made some last year and decided to make more again this year.
 
I decided to make one using a pocket folder. Part of the work (the pockets) is already done for you! Here is one I created using an Inky Antics stamp image and lots of Tombow adhesive.
 
 The inside printables are from Cutting Cafe. The receipts item in the last pocket is an envelope I adhered flap closed, covered with designer papers, and then made a flap on one end.
 
I am also linking this up to Country Girl at Home for her Pinned It Made It Monday challenge.
 

Friday, December 14, 2012

BFB Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn

Another wonderful book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing!

This one is the first in a series in her Glenbrooke Series and I've seriously got to read the others!
Secrets, Glenbrooke Series #1   -     
        By: Robin Jones Gunn

The thing I loved about this book is that it flows so nice and you just want to keep turning the pages. In Secrets Jessica is beginning a new life in a new town to start a new job. She meets a handsome firefighter and a jealous new boss who both want to know her secret. I loved this book. You don't learIn Secrets Jessica is beginning a new life in a new town to start a new job. She meets a handsome firefighter and a jealous new boss who both want to know her secret. I loved this book. You don't learn of the secret til near the end and has enough twists and turns to keep you reading til the end! This is the first in a series of 8 and I would definitely be interested in reading the others.n of the secret til near the end and has enough twists and turns to keep you reading til the end!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Tombow design team received some lovely goodies from Maya Road to share with you this week. It's been quite awhile since I've posted some cards and I loved the butterfly rubber stamps I received from them.
This card uses Mono Adhesive Permanent, scallop punch, black & aqua ink and designer paper.

For my second card I stamped the outline butterly in charcoal gray and then used Dual Brush Pens to color the "soar" butterfly image. This is less expensive than having several ink pads in different colors.
They are both clean and simple cards and perfect for mailing...no bumps and lumps. Ü I know it is early to be thinking of graduation, but I think the soar theme is perfect for this occasion and I will use these for such.
 
Be sure to stop by the Maya Road Blog to be inspired by their design team.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Pin-spired Week 2


I have another project and recipe to share with you for this week's Pin-spired challenge. My friend Kendra invited me and others to join her in her "Pin-Spired" Christmas Celebration this month. Kendra is posting something every day from the 1st-21st of December on her blog. Be sure to stop by her blog every day to be inspired.

I created these fun snowman tags from this Pinterest post.
Pinned Image
 
I made my tags by cutting 2" circles of kraft cardstock (I think paper grocery sacks would work too) and adhering 2 of them together to make them stronger. Then I just drybrushed some white paint on one side. After that dried I drew in the eyes and nose with markers. I didn't have any jute, so just used red crochet thread. I left the ends long enough to tie onto a gift bag. The back is plain so I can write "to and from".
 
Here is my version of the snowman tags.
 
Now for a super yummy treat! This  Mile High Peanut Butter Pie is the yummiest pie every! It is super easy to make and very light.
 
Here is mine....so good that I need to make it again soon. Just a coupld of differences in mine...I already had a graham cracker crust, so used that instead of the vanilla wafer one the recipe called for and the recipe said to use BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate to melt for the top, I didn't have any, so just used melted dark chocolate chips.
Pinned Image
 
Here are pictures of mine:
 
here is what it looks like sliced:
 tip: for drizzling on top I added my chips and peanut butter into plastic bags, melted as needed and then snipped a tiny bit off of one corner. Then just squeeze and drizzle over the top. Ü
 


I am also linking this up to Country Girl at Home for her Pinned It Made It Monday challenge.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Pin-Spired!



I am excited to share a couple of things with you today. First I was invited by my friend Kendra to join her in her "Pin-Spired" Christmas Celebration this month. Kendra is posting something every day from the 1st-21st of December on her blog and some of her friends are joining her along the way. Be sure to stop by her blog every day to be inspired.

I have been pinning on Pinterest for over a year and I have a BUNCH of boards and pins and not enough time to put them all to use. Ü It IS addictive, but have tried several of my pins esp the recipes. About 3 weeks ago, I started pinning on Monday some Pinned It, Made It projects and will continue to do that as time allows.

Now on to the project I am sharing. Over Thanksgiving break, Benjamin and his girlfriend were able to spend the break with us and Saturday, Kassy and I made some Joy blocks.

Here is the Pinterest post that I got my inspiration from.
Joy Christmas Sign Word Blocks


Here is mine. I know mine looks nothing like the one above, but that's kinda how my mind works sometimes. 


I had a bunch of scrap wood from way back when I used to teach wood project classes and was inspired  to make some Joy blocks as Christmas gifts. Kassy made 2 sets, one for her and her mom and I made 3, but am thinking I now need to make more.

Benjamin was a sweety and cut them to size for us and sanded them. We then painted them with FREE tinted (any color we wanted) paint from Ace Hardware. (I don't know if this is just a local thing or not, but check your Ace Hardware. The promotion is a free quart of paint colored any color you want. I just took in a sheet of designer paper and chose a color one shade darker. I got my paint in Broken Bow in case anyone local is reading this)

Then we chose some fun NEW designer papers by Fancy Pants from their Blissful Blizzard line (except for the carrot nose and it is from Hopscotch. The letters and snowman were cut with my Cricut. Next, we adhered the letters and snowman on the background papers with Tombow's Mono Adhesive Dots. After the paint was dry, we adhered the panels to the blocks with Tombow's Mono Aqua Liquid Glue. We let that dry and then painted over the top with the glue as well to seal it.

After everything was good and dry we added the button with a Power Tab.

I am also linking this up to Country Girl at Home for her Pinned It Made It Monday challenge.


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Christmas Planner

With Thanksgiving right around the corner and shopping for the holidays, I created this Christmas Planner to keep everything organized as I create/buy gifts and as well as keep track of card sending, food and etc.

I started out with a manilla file folder and accordian folded it. Then I folded the bottom up 4″ and started decorating with designer papers by Fancy Pants, adhering with a Mono Glue Stick.

I made a tab that adheres to the back of the folder with Power Tabs and to the front with a Fastener Tab.

The image is colored with Irojiten Pencils and then shaded with Dual Brush Pens. I love using the pens over the pencils.

Here is a peek at the inside: You can get printables from Organized Christmas to put inside your pockets.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Cheeseburger Soup

I have another yummy recipe to share with your for Pinned It, Made It! Monday.
We had freezing temps this weekend and it was perfect weather for soups. I love make a large pot, so there are leftovers for my lunches for work. I also like finding recipes that we like that uses the crockpot.
 
This is cheeseburger soup. I changed it up a bit as I just used what I had on hand. I live out in the country, so am not able to run to the store for something I may not have on hand. It called for carrot and celery. I didn't have carrots, but will try it again with them and for the celery, I had celery flakes, so added about a tablespoon of that. I also didn't have chicken broth, so made up a broth with boullion. Otherwise the rest is pretty much as the recipe called for.
 
I tried to take a picture of mine, but am having problems with my camera. This is another winner and is nice to add to my soup recipes.

I am linking up to countrygirlathome

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

J*O*Y

I know Thanksgiving is our next holiday, but I don’t have any glittery ideas for Thanksgiving and this month on Tombow we are showcasing ideas using glitter from Art Institute.

This JOY project is created with chipboard coasters. I cut designer paper to fit the front and back of the coasters and adhered them with a Mono Glue Stick.


I then cut shapes & letters with my Cricut to spell out J*O*Y and added fun embellishments. The glitter (crystal) was added to the snowflakes with Mono Aqua Liquid Glue. The letters were cut 3 times with white cardstock and once with designer paper, then along with the other shapes was adhered together with Mono Adhesive Dots.


I used a Power Tab (that had been cut into fourths) to adhere the buttons.

These make nice gifts and I hope I inspired you to give them a try.

Be sure to stop by Tombow and the Art Institute blog for more inspiration. Thank you Art Institute for the lovely pkg of glitters!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Pinned it Made it! Monday

Welcome back to another Pinned it, Made it! Monday.
 
Last week for our monthly "ladies nite out", I made Italian Bread, traditional lasagne, Chicken Ranch Lasagne and Rosemary Olive Oil Bread. The rosemary bread is the only one I got a picture of. The first two were not from Pinterest and the second two were.
 
Here is a picture of the Chicken Ranch Lasagne from Pinterest (a huge hit with the ladies and my family). Mine looked pretty much like this.
chicken lasagna 6 450
 
The rosemary bread was okay. Most liked it, my family not so much, so won't be making it again. The blog says it is like Olive Garden's.
Pinned Image
source: ahintofhoney
 
here is a picture of mine...I doubled the recipe and made two loaves and didn't add the rosemary to the top
 
I am linking up to countrygirlathome

Friday, November 2, 2012

BFB Christmas in Apple Ridge

If you have been following my BFB reviews at all, you know how much I love reading about the Amish. I am excited to have been able to review a book from one of my favorite Amish story writers Cindy Woodsmall.
Christmas in Apple Ridge: Three-in-One Collection: The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing, NEW! The Dawn of Christmas  -     
        By: Cindy Woodsmall

Christmas in Apple Ridge is a 3-in1 collection. You can read the first chapter here. I had read one of the stories "The Christmas Singing" (you can read my review of that story here), but the other 2 were new to me and I loved them.

The other two stories are The Sound of Sleigh Bells and The Dawn of Christmas.

In The Sound of Sleigh Bells Beth Hertzler is struggling with a tragedy that happened over a year ago. It isn't until she finds a carved winter scene that she finds healing. When she meets the artist she finds that they both have lots of things in common and both have healing to go through.

In The Dawn of Christmas Sadie has been gone from home with her family's blessing because of a broken relationship. Her family decides it is time for her to come home, but she is not ready to settle down. She has a lot of trust issues. She meets Levi, who too has major trust issues and they become friends.

Both of these stories were wonderful and I love reading anything by Cindy Woodsmall!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Faith

For ABC week on Tombow, I have a great gift idea for you.


I used scraps of designer paper and inked the edges and lined them up on some white cardstock that fit my frame and adhered with Mono Adhesive Permanent.

I stained wood letters from Walnut Hollow and adhered to the designer paper with Mono Multi Liquid Glue.

This was quick and easy to make and you could spell out any word for any occasion and a great way to use up your scraps.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Pinned It Made It Monday


I have yummy and not so yummy pins to share with you today. First the not so yummy. I made these Glazed Donut Muffins this weekend and they didn't taste anything like a donut nor were they moist. They were very dry and I made them exactly like it said, but just used some frosting I had left over instead of the icing it said to use.

Pinned Image

They look good, but just didn't taste good. Took this off my Pinterest board.

This recipe however is delicious!! I have made it twice and it was super yummy both times.
Pinned Image


The pork just falls apart. Here it is after cooking in the crockpot and here is a view after adding BBQ sauce.

I am linking up to countrygirlathome

Monday, October 22, 2012

Pinned It Made It Monday

I found country girl at home's blog while browsing one day and saw she hosts a Pinned It/Made It Monday and thought what a great idea! I ♥ Pinterest! I have MANY boards and pins and really do make several things (though not NEARLY what I actually pin! LOL).
 
 
I just made Buttermilk Chocolate Scones and took a picture as I took them out of the oven. I forgot to make the cut marks before baking, but it cut fine and was still very yummy. Perfect treat for a very chilly day.
 
source: skinnytaste.com
 
Here is a view of mine:
 
best served warm and with a glass of milk Ü
 
If you would like to follow me on pinterest, here is my link: http://pinterest.com/debbiedeefisher/
 
I am linking up to countrygirlathome


Inky Christmas Boxes

Here are a couple of boxes I made for CHA this summer.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Corner Bookmark

Today I have a fun and easy and “green” project to share with you. This corner bookmark is made from recycling all those envelopes you get in the mail and fun scraps from Fancy Pants.


I cut the corners (mine measured 2″ from each corner) and then covered with designer papers (a great way to use up those scraps) and a stamped image.

Here I covered the front of the envelope corner (back is covered also for added strength) with Mono Adhesive Permanent.


Added a 1/2″ strip for contrast.


I colored a stamped image with Irojiten Pencils, punched with a circle paper punch, layered onto coordinating paper and adhered with Mono Adhesive Permanent.

To use, open envelope corner and insert on the page you are on in your book to keep your place for you. These are so fun and easy to make and a great project to do with your children.

I hope you like this project and will give it a try. If you do, be sure to post a link to your creation in the comment box.

Monday, October 8, 2012

BFB A Season for Tending


A Season for Tending, Amish Vines and Orchards Series #1   -     
        By: Cindy Woodsmall
    
Another wonderful book by Cindy Woodsmall. I believe I have read all of her books to date. This is the first in a series and is an Amish story about Rhoda. Rhoda has her own little business selling items from her herb and fruit garden.

Unfortunately, she also has a gift of “intuition” that is not readily accepted by the Amish and causes lots of hardships in her life. Mix that in with her guilty feelings that she has over her sister’s death, her people not accepting her as “normal” and hardships the family is going through because of her "intuitions" and you have a story that keeps  you wanting to turn the page.

The worst thing about this book is having to wait until spring for the next book in the series! I did not want to put this down.

Here is a peek at the first chapter.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.