Valentine Paper Bag Album

Boy, it's been a frustrating few weeks with Blogger. Can't upload pictures directly from Picasa to Blogger. Stalls out when inserting pictures into a post. Inserts pictures in rotated form with no way of correcting. It's getting old! I guess that's what you get for using a free application! LOL

Anyway, I realized recently that it's been awhile since I've shared any projects -- the "cardstock" in "Of Cats and Cardstock". It's not that I haven't been making stuff!

Here are a few pictures of a paper bag album I made as a project sample for Memory Bound. It's been a long time since I've made a paper bag album, so it was fun to make one again using some different techniques! Instructions and supplies for this album are available at Memory Bound. :)

I started with three paper bags and I trimmed the bottoms off  so there would be a "slot" at each end. Then I scored them so that the edges would be staggered when folded. Once I had the look I was going for, I stitched through the center of the bags with bakers' twine. (That's about the extent of my sewing abilities, folks!)

 Once I had the base assembled, I decorated the pages of the album. I kept the color scheme very simple, adding teal and white to the kraft/red bags. The design is simple as well, with die cut hearts, photo mats, and small captions. 

 

  Ugh! I'm sorry I can't rotate these pictures. They were correct when I uploaded them! Just turn your head. :) As you can see, I slipped die cut pieces into the slots or pockets in the bags. This provides additional space for photos or sentiments.

 

 

Here's the album cover. I found these cool metal keyholes at Memory Bound so decided the album would have a "Keys to My Heart" theme, with each page representing one "key", such as kindness, patience, etc. 

 

This was a fun project for Valentine's Day!

Janet

Fantastic Recipe: Quick Chana Masala

Okay, if you're a fan of Indian food -- or even if you're not -- you absolutely MUST make this recipe. I found it in the November/December 2013 issue of Clean Eating, a great magazine which ceased publication for a few months and has now been relaunched. I'm in such a hurry to post this recipe that I didn't even re-type it for this blog post, so just click on the image below! 

It's very easy, takes ONE SKILLET (even for me, and I have a tendency to use way more pots and pans than necessary), and is ready in less than 30 minutes. On top of that, it's incredibly healthful and tastes GREAT! You'll think you're dining in an Indian restaurant!

As you start the cooking process, the blend of spices will fill your kitchen. 

Oh. 

My. 

Goodness. 

The aroma of Indian food cooking is surely one of my favorites! The spinach quickly cooks down, adding beautiful color and nutrients.

I'll be making this again...very soon! Hope you'll give it a try!

jp

Feline Friday: Give Us Ice Cream!

 We rarely have ice cream in the house, and for good reason. You can't enjoy a bowl without being mobbed by Lily and Tinsel!

It doesn't matter how quiet you are or where you try to hide, these co-conspirators can detect ice cream even in the deepest of cat naps! They will track you down in tandem and demand a bite!

 Lily leads the charge to the ice cream bowl, but Tinsel is never far behind. She knows that if Lily gets a taste (and she always does), hers will follow.

 

It's a strategy that seems to work every time! :)

Organization: Enough is Enough!

 I can put up with clutter for only so long and I am now well beyond my tolerance level! Our basement is in complete disarray. I'm lucky we didn't need to use it over winter break because, as you can see, it is pretty much unusable.

Although I have been sorting through all of this stuff, I had no place to put it without getting rid of some of my own items, notably the BOXES and BOXES of Christmas decorations on the shelves in our basement storage area. Way too much real estate was devoted to decorations I do not use. So Bailey and I spent time over break sorting through and donating holiday decorations, freeing up space on the shelves for some of the stuff in the top photo.

I'm very fortunate to have a wall of sturdy shelving in our storage area, built by Spouse shortly after we moved into this house. But as you can see, the shelves aren't being used efficiently, and they are filled with a variety of things we truly do not need. So I have been going through the shelves one by one -- sorting and purging, then reorganizing to incorporate some of the "new" old items I brought home from my parents' house.

What the heck IS all of this stuff?

 

As I go through the shelves, I'm moving things around so they're more convenient and labeling each container and box. It was a bit of a puzzle to fit all of the stuff onto the shelves according to my plan, so I decided I'd better label the shelves, too. This may not seem like a big deal, but in the past I have had to dig for items I could not find because they were never put back in the same place twice. For me, labels are a huge improvement.

 

 
  
In my experience, it's much easier to put stuff back when labels are in place. I started by looking at all the stuff that needed to be organized and grouping it into broad categories: bakeware, party supplies, holiday decorations, silver, etc. I made labels for each shelf which will enable me to find things AND put them back when I'm done.

 

Looking for the goblets? They're on this shelf.

 

Need a silver bowl? It's on this shelf.

 

 It may not look great yet, but this is a big step in the right direction! I WILL conquer this clutter sooner than later!
jp

Album: Summer Camp (Part 1)

 Winter break is officially over now and Bailey is back at school. What a great time we had with her home! I feel especially lucky because she spent a considerable amount of time in my craft room while she was home working on a scrapbook of her summer as a counselor at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

Even the weather cooperated, giving us several very cold snow days -- too cold to do anything except work on the scrapbook! There is nothing better than a snowy day in the craft room -- except a rainy day, of course.

 In spite of the fact that I have a table, Bailey spent quite a bit of time on the floor. Can't fault her for that, as I like to work on the floor, too. At least now I have a hard surface floor rather than carpet!

 

 We started planning this album project over Thanksgiving break, purchasing a 3-ring binder and page protectors at Memory Bound.

 We waited until winter break to edit and print photos, which proved somewhat frustrating due to print quality issues. Then Bailey spent a lot of time determining how to sort and group the photos within her album, finally dividing them into several broad categories. Although the two of us are very different, I definitely saw some of my own traits in the way she organized this project! :)

 
Bailey used several configurations of the We R Memory Keepers divided page protectors, enabling her to scrapbook her favorite photos and slip the others into the sleeves. She picked out a few SN@P inserts to add color and interest on those pages.

 

I had hoped to help her a little bit with the scrapbook, but my role was mainly consultative. This girl knows how to scrapbook! I've raised her well! :)

 

 Bailey wanted to include a lot of memorabilia in her album so we looked for creative ways to incorporate it onto her pages.

We copied artwork at Memory Bound onto acid-free paper so it could be used as page backgrounds.

 

 

 
Before my eyes, her album started to take shape!
 

What a treat it was to get to spend so much quality time with Bailey while she worked on this big project! Watch for more pictures of her completed album in an upcoming post!
jp

Pare Down, Donate, & Document

What is it about putting away Christmas decorations? It's a sad task no matter when you do it. Beyond that, it's just a huge, huge chore. It always seems that when I finally decide to pack away Christmas, I want everything gone -- immediately! Unfortunately, it's never an easy or quick task.

When it comes to tasks like this, I try to seize the opportunity store things more efficiently. Last year, Bailey bought me several stacking ornament boxes which I love. I labeled each box, so putting the ornaments away is now very simple. Even SPOUSE could do it! ("Could" is the operative word here...)

As I packed away Christmas 2013, I had three additional goals:

1) Pare down my decorations to make room for some "new" old decorations I brought home from my parents' and grandma's collections

2) Donate decorations to the local hospice thrift store

3) Write descriptions or notes to go with significant pieces

Although I'm still not done, I made some good progress on each of these goals this year. First, Bailey and I looked through all of the tubs of Christmas decorations and identified items we no longer needed, keeping in mind pieces she might want for her own home down the road. We consolidated boxes to free up space for the "new" pieces from my parents' house. As we sorted, I loaded up my SUV with boxes for the hospice thrift store and never looked back!

Next, I attached typed or handwritten notes to the most significant pieces I chose to keep. Inside my large plastic tubs which hold assorted items, I included a list with a brief note about each item, where it came from, and why it is significant to me.

My desire to do this is based on the experience I had clearing out my parents' house this summer. Very, very few items were identified, and I became frustrated and saddened that I couldn't distinguish the family heirlooms from items my parents might have purchased on a whim. In other cases, I could identify a family heirloom but couldn't remember its story. It would have been much, much easier for me to decide what to keep if I'd known more about the objects in the house. I am determined not to put my daughter in the same predicament!

 

If you are packing away your holiday decorations, I'd encourage you to add these three tasks to your list: Pare down, donate, and document. Trust me, these are simple and worthwhile tasks, and you'll feel great when you're done.

Janet

Feline Friday

 
HUH?

Recipe: Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

I've had a few gaps in my blog posting of late, mainly because our daughter is home on break. It's been GREAT having her here! She has spent more time than usual with me because she's been working on a scrapbook of her summer as a counselor at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. While I'm merely consulting here and there on this project, she has spent several days hanging out in my craft room with me. Really, what could be better?

 Having her home means that I have to find food that she'll eat which matches up with what WE'LL eat -- and with what we all SHOULD eat. Spouse and I have tried to go for more "clean" recipes without processed foods and I'm pleased to see that Bailey has developed that same mindset while at college. But she is still picky -- and Spouse is still picky -- so it remains difficult to find recipes that everyone likes. Luckily Melt in Your Mouth Chicken fits the bill. This recipe is a cleaner version of the original (it uses Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise) and tastes great. It's a keeper!

 Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
Place chicken breasts in baking dish.
Mix all ingredients together and spread over chicken breasts.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Knittin' for Kittens

  Unlike her mother, Bailey loves to knit. (We won't go into it here, but my brief experience with knitting made me want to stab someone with the needles.) Her specialty seems to be scarves because she can knit them somewhat mindlessly while watching a movie. 

One only needs so many scarves, so she was happy to learn about the Knittin' for Kittens program at our local Animal Rescue League.

Bailey's extensive yarn inventory is back at school in Indiana so she had to use whatever yarn she could find around the house to make this kitty bed. While the colors may be a bit crazy, it has been cat-tested and approved and is now ready to be donated to a kitty in need!
jp

Feline Friday: Invasion!

 All was peaceful in Merry Olde England -- until late one night when something very scary appeared on the horizon!

The Victorian couple was frozen in fear as a giant furry beast made its way through the village!

 

It's the Abominable Snow Monster! Run! Run for your lives!

 

Whew! Turns out this was a FRIENDLY GIANT who could be soothed with Temptations Cat Treats and belly rubs! :)

Old Product: Welcome Home Card

I have a bunch of card-making stuff which I've kept for a very long time. Mind you, I do rid out the really ugly stuff. But I keep odds and ends which are still usable, even if I've had them for a long while. An example is the little house on the card below. It's VERY old! I found it recently in my card-making supplies and thought it would be perfect on card for a friend who just moved into a new home.

 

I also keep card bases on hand, so I grabbed a scalloped note card which I had already cut (Taylored Expressions die) and a couple of scraps from my stash. I printed the "Welcome Home" text from the computer and added a twine bow, and the card was done in no time.

I love making cards from odds and ends! It feels great to use up the old stash...one tiny piece at a time!
Janet

Desperation Dinner: Chicken Tikka Masala

Although this is not a New Year's post, I'm sharing it on New Year's Day
 in the hope that it will simplify your life in 2014!

Do you ever go to the grocery store and just wander the aisles in desperation, wondering what to make for dinner? This is a somewhat regular occurrence for me, and it almost never ends well. Inevitably, I go home with an odd assortment of items and still nothing for dinner.

 But one afternoon while in the salad dressing aisle hoping for an idea, I discovered a whole rack of McCormick Recipe Inspirations and MY LIFE CHANGED. SERIOUSLY. This product was designed for Desperate People like me who run to the store at 5:00 with no ideas whatsoever. 

Look! Each Desperation Dinner (that's what I'm calling it) features all the spices you need to make something tasty and almost gourmet!

Turn it over and there's the recipe, along with a very short list of the other items you need to buy while you're right there in the grocery store! The good people at McCormick figured out dinner and even made a list! Hallelujah! 

I tell you, if you see these little treasures in your store, SNATCH THEM UP...all of them! I'm pretty sure they're all tasty but even if they're not, who cares when you are desperate? And make a mental note of their location in the store for the next time you show up with no dinner ideas whatsoever.
  

When you get home feeling all smug, just remove the recipe card from the back of the packet. You've got everything you need, and you're not missing the main ingredient like usual!

Look! Each little spice packet is pre-measured, so all you have to do is peel and dump! No fiddling around with the stupid measuring spoons!
  

 Then just follow the recipe using the few extra items you've purchased. Look at me! I'm making Chicken Tikka Masala when just 15 minutes ago I wandered into the grocery store, angry and depressed that once again dinner would be a failure, or that we might have to eat chocolate chips straight out of the bag. (Which actually isn't that bad...)

Instead, dinner starts to take shape before your very eyes! It's almost like you actually know what you're doing and planned this meal for days! 

Oh, YUM! As dinner bubbles away, toss the little spice containers, destroying the evidence that your Chicken Tikka Masala sort of came out of a KIT...

...then dump the whole shebang into the crock pot, letting it simmer and fill the whole house with the glorious scent of garam masala until someone comes home to eat it and lavish you with compliments. In the meantime, put your feet up and give thanks to the geniuses at McCormick Spices for saving dinner and restoring your self-esteem!
 

Janet :)