Munchie Saturday

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!
 I am going to share a recipe for a cracker spread today.  It is a spread I grew up having on holidays, and the combination of ingredients works very well.  Everyone loves this.

Bacon Almond Spread

• 1 lb. bacon
• 1 package slivered almonds
• 6 green onion stalks
• 16 oz. block cheddar cheese
• mayonnaise

Cook bacon until crispy, then roughly chop into pieces.
Toast almonds in a pan on the stove or in the oven, let cool.
Shred cheese (don't use pre-shredded cheese!)
Slice green onions.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, adding the mayonnaise a tablespoon at a time and mixing well until the ingredients just start to stick together.  You don't want a lot of mayo, and the spread will be chunky.  Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving with crackers.

Random Tuesday

Looking for a some really cool rubber stamps?  Check out Bombshell Stamps.  They have a great selection and they have a contest to win 2 sets of their stamps.  See the contest here on their blog.

Crafty Sunday

I finished another page in my journal.  It is only a partial page, a flap from folding over the paper when I made the journal out of a large piece of watercolor paper.  I used acrylic paint for the background, and various papers and magazine images along with a paint pen.

I may make oatmeal raisin cinnamon chip cookies today.

And another journal page:

It needs more stuff on the page, but I am not sure what.

Two More Pages

I finished two more pages in my journal.  I have some other pages prepped with background colors.

Journal Cover

I am almost finished with the cover of my journal and here it is:

Some of the left side was cut off by the scanner, but this is a good image of the front.

Crafty Sunday

I recently discovered Zetti style art and the artwork of Teesha Moore.  Her art is a mixture of collage, drawing and painting.  She has a lot of You Tube videos that show the making of a journal.  That is my next project, and I have 2 journals made the way she shows how to here and I have a couple pages painted.

Dinner tonight is pad thai with tofu.  Yummy!!!

Cooking Sunday

Today I am making a quick and simple soup for dinner.  It is a recipe that was published in my local newspaper about 10 years ago.  I usually have the ingredients on hand so it is great for a last-minute dinner.

Southwestern Cheese Ravioli Soup

• 2 large cartons chicken broth
• 1 can whole kernel sweet corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 bag frozen cheese ravioli
• chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper

In a large stockpot, combine the broth, corn, beans and salsa.  Bring to a boil.  Add the frozen cheese ravioli and simmer until the ravioli is done.  Adjust taste by adding salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin.  I usually serve this with garlic bread.  You can use vegetable broth in place of the chicken also.  Enjoy!!

Crafty Sunday

So I played around with Golden's Molding Paste and made three ATCs.  The base for the cards is a heavy cardboard ATC which I purchased from Your ATC Store.  Using a butter knife, I spread the paste onto the card like buttering a slice of bread.  Then I used different objects to create texture: a fork for lines, an empty cardboard tube for circles, pouncing a paper towel for peaks and the butter knife for waves.  Letting the cards dry overnight (which is a feat in itself since I am impatient!) I painted the cards with acrylic paints.  The silver and bronze one is just painted, with some black paint rubbed onto some areas.  The other two were embellished using embossing powders.

Crafty Sunday

Actually, it was Crafty Saturday since I made this on Saturday, but I finished it this morning.  It is titled "Filing" and is part of my Secretary Series I plan on making.  It is on an 8x10 canvas, mixed media using acrylic paints, pearl mist, paper images and the main image is printed on a transparency.  You know I just had to add leopard print to it.  Maybe I will hang it up at work!  Next in the series: Typing.

Secretary Series: Filing

Crafty Sunday

This Sunday is not very crafty for me.  I woke with a painful sinus migraine and have been laying on the couch all day.  I am going to stamp and draw on some envelopes for sending out my artwork.
Good news:  I participated in Ten Two Studios Big Five-Oh Swap and the ATCs I submitted appear in the 'zine! Be sure to check it out.
Special thanks to Lisa Vollrath of Ten Two Studios for hosting the swap.
White chicken chili will have to wait until tomorrow since I am under the weather : (

Gothic Arches

I joined a Gothic Arches Challenge at the last minute, and the theme is "Night and Day".  Below is my take on night.  I always like to think the moon is smiling at me.

Another Shrine

This is a Halloween themed 3-panel stand up shrine like the one in the previous post.  The other side is plain black.

Crafty Sunday

This weekend I made two altered art items.  The first is a shrine which is double-sided.  I cut out house shapes from cardstock.  Each house is 3" wide and 4.5" tall at the peak.  Below is side one and side two, then a picture of the shrine standing up.  I used ribbon to tie the sides together, leaving just enough slack so it would stand up.

Main side of shrine

Backside of shrine

 The other item I made was an altered pumpkin.  I purchased a Styrofoam pumpkin that was a hideous orange color.  Using some gloss gel and newspaper, I covered the pumpkin.  At first, the paper would not lay flat on the curved surface of the pumpkin, but coating the paper with the gloss gel softened the paper so I could smooth it out.  The paper came from Bob's mom, it is from 1959 so that may be why it was a little stiff before coating it with the gel.  After the pumpkin was covered, I used some of the gel and brown acrylic paint to make a transparent glaze and painted the pumpkin, then repeated with some orange paint.

Dinner today is Jamie Oliver's steak and Guinness pie...yummy!  I have made it before, and this time I will only put the puff pastry on the top.  Putting it on the bottom is just too much.  Since it is rainy and cold today, this will be the perfect meal.

Creepy Stuff

Lately I have been working on some creepy items.  One is a Halloween shrine and the other is a mini journal.  The shrine is a small cardboard box that I painted black and I added a Grungeboard skull to the top, put a spooky hallway paper print in the back and an image of a crow and a zombie girl standing up for a dimensional effect.  Then I added some batting to act as fog, put an adhesive border around the front to act as a gate and put some fabric flowers in the corner.  The picture is not that good since the camera does not have a macro setting for close-ups.

The next thing is a Creepy Mini Journal I made with some random images.  This will be a project to slowly fill up with different creepy things.

Last, I started making a Junque Journal.  Inspired by this video on Youtube, I thought this was a neat idea.  I started one for my sister as well with some blank pages and a variety of images and elements for her to use.  My journal will take a while to fill, the one in the video has been worked on for the past 2 years!!

Sunday Creativity

So I found a great website/internet store for hand embroidery patterns.  It is called Sublime Stitching and the patterns rock!  No fuzzy bunnies or ducks!  I made a dishtowel for my mom using the "Tattoo Your Towles" pattern along with the tattoo alphabet.  I am giving the towel to her today and I hope she likes it!

On another note, I think I will try making an art journal.  More of a Junque Jorunal, and a tutorial can be found here.  Maybe I will make a Halloween one with creepy images and random poetry that looks like a spell. 
The Lions play the Vikings today and I am torn between rooting for my home team (Lions) and rooting for the Vikings, who are Bob's home team.
Happy relaxing Sunday everyone!!

Blog Party!!!

I joined a Practical Magic Blog Party and this is my contribution to the party.

I have always been into using herbs, from cooking to home remedies. I made some Sinus Shower Blaster Tablets to help with sinus paid and pressure.  The blasters are actually a version of a bath bomb and you put the tablet in the corner of your shower and when the water hits it, it will fizz like an bath bomb and release the scent of essential oils of eucalyptus, rosemary and mint to help clear your nasal passages.  It's like a Vick's Vapo-Rub steam and has helped me a lot.  Here is how I make them:

You will need:

• Citric Acid (available at health food stores, some home brewing supply stores)
• Baking Soda
• Witch Hazel
• Essential Oils of rosemary, eucalyptus and mint (or I have used the Sinus Blend from Wholesale Supplies Plus)
• Spray Bottle
• Mold for the tablets (I used a small condiment dish)

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup citric acid with 2 cups baking soda.  Mix well, then add a few drops of the essential oils.  Just 1-2 drops at a time to start, you can always ass more.  Spritz the mixture with the witch hazel and keep mixing with your hands, squeezing the mixture between your fingers slightly to make sure everything is well mixed.  Keep spritzing and mixing until the mixture stays together when squeezed, it will be like wet sand.
Pack the mixture into your mold, making sure to pack it down well.  The harder you pack it, the longer it will last in the shower.  Gently unmold your tablets and let them dry overnight.
Use one in the corner of a hot steamy shower to help relieve sinus problems.
Below is a picture of what mine look like.

The Eyes Have It

Lately I have been drawing eyes.  I think I have it down to where my eyes have a "soul".  Here are some drawings, from first to most recent.  Some are drawn with markers, some with charcoal, watercolor pencils and graphite drawing pencils.

Zombies!!!

I am participating in a Zombie ATC swap at ATCs For All and these are my latest cards.  My theme is "sophisticated zombies".

Today I am making chicken tikka masala for dinner.  Yummy!!!

Dinner...Maybe

I was going to make this for dinner but we voted for pizza instead.  Dexter Season 3, Disc 1 came in the mail from Netflix and I am dying to find out what happens next.  (intentional pun included!)

New Creation

Here is an art doll I finished.  The doll is from Art Chix Studio and I used scrap book paper, a Tim Holtz Grungeboard crown, chipboard elements and sequin stars.  I plan on putting ribbon in the top holes to hang it.

O.K., I Will Make it Today!!

No white chicken chili yesterday.  There was a last-minute cookout at my mom's house.  My Uncle Mike came up to visit, bringing his new girlfriend and her daughter.  We had a good time visiting and made plans for next weekend to go see my cousin's band, Harlet, plan in Bay City.  I will make the chili today!!!

Today I am working on making some ATC's for Ten Two Studios Big Five-Oh swap.  I have one done already and great ideas for at least two more.

More random artwork from me:

Soldered Pendant

First Fancy Dress

Good Hair Day

The pendant is double-sided with a different image on the other side.  The two other pieces measure 5" x 7".

On another note, I am sharing my recipe for homemade laundry detergent.  It works great and is cheap to make.
You will need:

• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Washing Soda (next to the Borax)
• 1 bar grated soap: Ivory or Kirk's Castile, you can use 2/3 bar of Fels Naptha too.  DO NOT USE DOVE, Dove is a "beauty bar" and is not a true soap. 

Grate the soap by hand or in a food processor.  Add the Borax and Washing Soda and mix well.  Using a food processor to mix gives the best results.  You can add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance (find the oil at a health food store and make sure it is an essential oil, not a synthetic fragrance oil).
Use 1 Tablespoon per load.  No need for bleach or fabric softener.  For a front loading washer, you only need to use 1 teaspoon.  You can make a paste using water and some detergent to put on stains.  Use 2 Tablespoons for heavily soiled loads.
This detergent works great and is very economical.

Fall Cooking

Today feels like a fall day in Michigan, so I am making white chicken chili for dinner.  Usually this meal is reserved for football Sundays, but the weather is making me long for warm comfort food.


I am also working on making another Caroline hat, this time in a teal/green color but I am not sure about the ribbon color.


I recently started making Artist Trading Cards and below is some of my work.  The cards are mini works of art that measure 2.5" x 3.5".  They were originally created by M. Vänçi Stirnemann and you can find out more here.