The wondrous glow of childhood

Phewww, that was a blog break wasn't it? *smile*

With so much happening here about school, kids, work, our basement flooding because the sump pump died in the thunderstorm we had and, and, and, ...my crafting time went on the back burner!

I thought I'd post this card I made a few weeks ago to hold your interest though..is it working? *chuckle*

I found this scrap of PP in my stash and have no idea who makes it, but it made me want to pair terracotta tile and spring moss together, along with this adorable clear stamp of a boy holding flowers by FCD. His expression is so sweet, isn't it? I misted him with two different shades of Glimmer Mist to give him a touch of color, Golden Terra Cotta, and Twilight.

I stamped a perfect fall quote behind him that reads: 

Could there be anything we know

that could evoke the wondrous glow

of childhood more than trampling leaves?

How clearly, then, the soul perceives

amid the miracle of fall,

that we are children, one and all.

That stamp comes from FCD too, in their fall quotes set. The poem is by Jean S. Platt. I just love it because it's so true! I enjoy playing in the leaves with my boys when Autumn rolls around.

Thanks for stopping by today, hugs all around!

*mwah*

Summer's wave goodbye

Don't you just love this sentiment? I fear we are definitely waving goodbye to to summer here...brrrr, it's getitng chilly and our leaves are changing color.

Image stamps from this set at FirecrackerDesigns by Pamela, sentiment from this set.

We went to a once yearly gathering at our organic CSA farm yesterday. It was potluck, which I just adore. Especially with like-minded individuals! *grin*  Not everything was vegetarian, but there was plenty of yummy things to eat. I made Moong Dal with Spinach (and Zucchini and Tomatoes), one of our favorite weeknight Indian meals. It was a huge hit and I came home with just a spoonful left in this giant soup tureen. (if you want my recipe, email me see below.)

And for ease of labeling, I use a dry erase marker to write on everything! I use it on all my glass canisters, mason jars, the fridge, etc. It just wipes off, so it's very handy! 

The boys had a blast with the other children running around, all of them wearing their galoshes I might add! Love these action shots from the Hay bale run/jump.

Doesn't it look like he's going to fall right on his face? *chuckle*

Thanks for stopping by today folks, and listening to my rambling,

Moong Dal with Spinach (serves ~6 as a meal, ~10 as a side dish)

Prep: rinse 2 c. split yellow mung beans (moong dal) and soak for 30 minutes in boiling water.

1. Heat a large pot and add some oil. (2-3 T.) 

2. When it's hot, toss in 1 1/2 t. cumin seeds, and 1/2 t. mustard seeds. Move them around until they pop and sizzle (about 20 seconds)

3. Add in about 1+ c. diced onions and cook a minute, stirring constantly.

4. Add in 1 1/2 T. ginger paste (or minced fresh ginger), and 1 T. garlic paste (or 4 cloves minced), and 1/2 t.chili paste (or one green chili seeded and diced-OPTIONAL). Cook until onions are soft.

5. Stir in 1 t. turmeric, 1 1/2 t. coriander, 1/2 t. paprika, 1 t. garam masala, and 1 T. salt ( if you use real chicken broth later on, don't add this much salt)

6. Cook until spices release aroma, about 45 seconds.

7. Toss in 4 diced tomatoes, and cook until oil begins to separate. (3 minutes)

8. Add in your soaked DRAINED mung beans, and about 6 cups of water or broth.

9. Bring to a boil, toss in many handfuls of diced zucchini, lower heat and simmer with lid on for about 20 minutes.

10. Check and stir occasionally, making sure there is enough water/broth. The dal will expand and absorb a lot of the liquid which is what we want, but you want there to be enough liquid too, We want a thick, soupy consistency, not a runny watery one.

11. When moong dal are soft and beginning to break down, 

12. Toss in a LOT of coarsly chopped spinach or a LOT of baby spinach (no chopping needed). Keep adding it beyond what you think you need. Stir and cook a few minutes until it wilts.

13. Here's where you can turn it off and let it sit for many hours if you want. The flavors will only get better.

14. When ready to serve, stir in 2-4 T. butter, 2 T. fresh lemon juice, 1 cup chopped cilantro, and serve over rice. Garnish with extra diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro.

Butterfly birthday

Through the years I've talked about how I'm just NOT a butterfly fan when it comes to stamps. Yes, I've used them, and even liked a few but generally they "aren't my thing." But because this card is for my BFF I decided to use my newest butterfly stamp from FireCrackerDesigns! And I LOVE how this card turned out!

I left the sentiment off because the inside says it all, and I like how simple that leaves the front.

What do you guys think? Should I add something? Leave it alone?

Gimme some feedback here people!

PS. In a serendipitous turn of events, this card matches the sketch at 2S4Y, Kazan's sketch 61!

Pears aplenty

 Karen issued a challenge to create a background grid by measuring your stamp and then drawing lines to stamp it perfectly on your CS. I tried this and it's so simple and fab!

I used the clear Pear Postage stamp by FCD, and then paper pieced all the pears and used Copics to add some color to the leaves and stem and striped lines. SO FUN!

This is brighter than my normal style and uses Hibiscus Burst CS for what I believe is only the second time. (It's not my favorite...)


I colored some button twine with a black Copic, and stamped the sentiment inside one of the postage shapes to finish. Simple and different. No buttons!


Thanks for stopping by today! 

Firecracker Blog Hop

Hello all!

Welcome to my first FirecrackerDesigns by Pamela Blog Hop! (whewww. that's a mouthful!) This month's theme is to be inspired by book covers.

The inspiration could be color combos, sketch design, title treatments, etc. Whatever we liked about the cover.

Here's the book I was inspired by:

I chose this book for several reasons. One, I have a really difficult time putting red and green together without it looking holiday-ish, and two, I LOVE the author and wanted to highlight her! I mostly used the colors to create my card. Red, pink, green and brown.

 I used Daisy Tops on my card, aren't they cute with brown felt flowers and Basic Grey papers?

BLOG HOP DETAILS:

This is a “circular blog hop” where the only beginning is wherever you start!!  You will know you are at the end of your blog hop when you’ve come back to the blog you’ve started from (here).

The winner will be chosen from a mystery blog hostess …so you’ll want to leave a comment on EVERY blog, so you don’t miss out!

**To find out if you’ve won… you will be contacted by Pamela via e-mail (so be sure to leave it with your comment.) and you can also find out on Pamela’s blog after the blog hop ends on Mon, at 8:00 PM EST.**

Now, to continue the circle, you will need to hop on over to Boni's blog

and keep going until you’ve come back to where you’ve started!  Thanks so much for playing along with us and we hope you have a great time!

Fun in the sand

Hey everyone, hope you guys are well! Just wanted to pop in and post this fun card I made last weekend.

I actually tied that bow last MONTH and ended up not using it, so it was sitting on my desk, calling my name! All I had to do was find some fun papers and stamps to go with it!

Definitely not my normal mode of card making. Starting with the bow that is. *wink*

Don't you love that row of bubbles along the bottom? They are a FCD stamp that I just fell for! Adding the highlight with a white gel pen really made them pop. *groan* Bad pun, sorry.

The image is actually comprised of 2 different stamps, Pail and Shovel, also by FCD. I stamped them together and colored them with Copics. They make me long to go back to the beach!

Sentiment (and ribbon) by PCD from the My Beach House set. All other supplies are PTI.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope it's a good one for you!

Happy news!

Did you get your new stamps from PCD at midnight? I heard they were selling out quickly!

In other news, I am now on the Design Team for Firecracker Designs by Pamela!
I'm so excited because they have some really unique stamps. Not only do they have unmounted red rubber, they also have clear stamps and digital stamps too! A little something for everyone!

This is my first post using FCD stamps, and I really loved the sea shells. They were deeply etched red rubber and gave a very crisp image. I like how simple yet intricate they are. Some Copic markers helped give dimension.

I was going for a masculine card that had a nautical theme, but in the end it could be used for anyone, really.  Instead of using PP for the top half of the BG I decided to stitch lines down it with my sewing machine. I LOVE this look! With a few antique brads and some twine I called it done.

Stay tuned for some more fun stamps from FCD in the coming weeks.

This card also qualifies for the Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World! This will be the first time I've ever entered anything there, so I'm super excited to be participating!

Thanks for letting me share in my exciting news with you all, you're the best blog readers ever!