Halloween

This is the best I can do.  I'm laid up with a muscle strain in my back.  Which sounds way too wimpy for the pain that feels like a scalpel is lodged in my lower back.  This too shall pass.  Candy Corn, please. 

Tag +

 Now that I'm getting back in a groove with my weekly tag journal, I get to make a tag a week.  So far my tags for the journal have been very simple.  After watching many YouTube Clare Charvill videos, and buying a couple of her workshops I was finally ready to take scissors to paper to try some of Clare's techniques.  You must give yourself the gift of Clare.  Her work is flawless, her delivery soothing, and her paper art is intricate without being busy.  Go on, check it out.  http://mycreativespirit1.blogspot.com/  Click on her free crafting hints, tips and tutorials to see what she's all about.  Anyhoo, this is the tag to document my recent week in Oahu for our 25th anniversary.  I decided on a booklet tag; I made 2 slit pockets on front cover.  Everything inked with Vintage Photo, and ticket cut with a Tonic Studio's punch, Graphic 45 paper. These are all staples with Clare.   

On the inside of the booklet, I used cream card stock, inked and stamped, and made a crude flap page for the left side.  I didn't quite have that one figured out; no matter I've watched Clare do it several times.  Back to the videos. 

The Perils of Boo

 I've already done a Tim's Tag for October, which didn't have much in common with Tim's tag.  As much as I loved the Gothic Boo die cut, I didn't own it, and didn't want to invest in the purchase of one.  So I made my tag with other stuff.  Yet that Boo was calling to me.  I found a seller "ohana_cat" on eBay who sells pre-made chipboard die cuts of Tim's designs.  I decided I wanted to follow Karla Nathan's preference for white Halloween.  So what did I do?  I used German Silver glass glitter to cover my Boo.  That wasn't the color I wanted at all and I knew it when I was sprinkling it on.  Ugh.  Plus the glitter coverage wasn't good.  So I gooped on a thick coat of Mod Podge and sprinkled over it with Martha's sterling silver glitter.  I mean, I was already committed to silver.  I spritzed my background dictionary paper with Perfect Pearl mist, fussy cut some Graphic 45 ghosts and added some more Tim elements.  Oh, this is also on a Ginormous Tag 'cause I thought it fit the large Boo better. 

With that silver tag done, I settled down to create a more toned down version.  Here I used Martha's gold glitter, Tim's tickets, eye stamp, Vintage Market die strip for the 31, a Spellbinders flourish die and a lace leaf I sprayed with a mix of Lindy Stamp Gang Starburst Sprays.  This Gothic Boo is so fun.  I want to use one of my 2 remaining die cuts as a mask.  Then I may need to order more...or the die itself?? 

Weekly Tag Journal

At the beginning of this year I launched my "Weekly Tag Journal".  I'm not motivated to jot down my thoughts daily, nor have I been moved to get serious about art journaling, though I've taken a couple of online workshops on the subject.  Just a long winded way of explaining that I felt I COULD keep up with a brief weekly observation, tag sized.  I'm using a Composition Notebook.  Front cover...

 Back Cover...

 This shows how the book can get a bit bulky.  Adding in the odd button or heavy paper rosette makes an impact. 

Mostly I don't get too crafty with the tags.  It's a bit of fun to put a tag together, but the purpose is to jot down a couple lines about happenings during the week, on the backside of the pretty paper.  Here is an example from June.  I use bits of magazine clippings and such to decorate the notebook pages.  I also write down the books I've read that week.  I read a couple hours everyday so there are many books to keep track of. 

 Yet, I lapsed and didn't make any entries in my tag journal during the month of Sept. and into mid-Oct.  Just lost interest.  Well, today I played catch-up.  I decided to have a 2 page layout for all of Sept., using a wonderful magazine picture from my friend Josef as background.  For the tag papers I went with Graphic 45's Communique; papers that WERE GIVEN to me by an eBay seller as a RAK.  The seller is scrapjack1950.   

Inspired by Clare Charvill (a superb paper artist who is on the Graphic 45 Design Team), I made a little booklet that slides into a small pocket on the tag.  Now, I just need to take pencil to paper and recollect what did happen in September? 

Beans

 Do you like beans?  I do.  Maybe 'cause my Mom & Dad are from thrifty stock where a pot of beans would provide several meals.  I frequently make soup for my lunch, usually with beans or lentils and almost always with a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.  When I read about heirloom beans on David Lebovitz' blog http://www.davidlebovitz.com/ I just had to buy some to compare to the usual generic grocery store beans.  Here is my order fulfilled, along with some chile powder and Mexican oregano; additional ingredients to many of my soups, where I do believe quality counts. 

While searching out bean recipes, I found one that combined black beans and mole' sauce; that spicy Mexican staple.  Mmmmm, I just had to try that. As I'm Googling for mole' recipes (that had to be relatively simple), I came upon one from David.  Ultimately I substituted a couple items in David's recipe and made a sauce that I think is good.  I served it on top of pan-fried thin chicken breasts.  I wasn't gonna waste any of that sauce, so for last night's dinner, I made up a pot of black beans, roasted some butternut squash, added a slice of warm tandoori bread.  There is no way to make mole' sauce look good, but trust me, it is good.  If you'd like the recipe, just email me. 

Tim's Oct. Tag

 I speculated that Tim Holtz would use his new Sizzix Bell Jar die for his Oct. tag.  But he didn't; instead he used the fab BOO and spider dies, which I don't have.  And I really wanted to use my brand new hot off the assembly line Bell Jar die.  So I did.  And wouldn't you know it but Shelly Hickox from Stamptramp also used the bell jar for her tag.  I bet there will be many others who use it, too, it is just so cool.  Well, the see through nature of the bell section doesn't show up very well here, yet it is die cut from left over clear acrylic packaging.  I edged it with black acrylic paint; I used some key pattern tissue paper for the background, spraying it with Lindy Stamp Gang purple Starburst Spray, then inked with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink.  Inside the bell jar are papers from Martha Stewart (rat) and Graphic 45 (pumpkins); a Jolee's Scaredy Cat dimensional sticker, a flower and leaf cut from my new Sizzix Flower Garland die, and lastly boo inked on a scrap of paper. 

What a fun couple hours it was crafting at my dining table with my out-of-town BFF, eating leftover short rib tacos and drinking Mike's Hard Berry something.  We were under observation from one of the local raccoons who was checking in for the day.  Sadly my friend is leaving tomorrow so the craft laboratory gets moved back to my studio. 

Helicopter Host

My friend is coming to stay for the first time in 7 years.  I visit her frequently; in fact since she moved to Salem, OR last fall I've visited 4 times!  I want her to feel very welcome, at home, just as I do at her house.  I hope I'm not a "helicopter host", hovering, fussing, 'cause that is not her style at all.  The kittens are excited to welcome Auntie as she is the lady who fostered them starting at 3 weeks old.  They wanted to help me make the bed. 

For the past several years, when I go to her house, I bring a craft project for us to work on.  Since she moved closer and I now drive to her, the craft kit has enlarged to a craft box.  While I haven't prepared a kit for this visit, I do have some fun supplies in mind for a Halloween theme goodie or two.

She is not a paper craft enthusiast, but she humors me.  She does love her coffee and sweets...so I'll humor her.  These are chocolate & peanut butter brownies I made, following the unbeatable Double Chocolate Brownies from Nestle Toll House recipe, with the addition of 1/3 C of Jiff Chunky peanut butter.  OMG.  Let the fun begin. 

After Dinner

 Dinner is but a memory, with leftovers.  The recipe I used for the stuffed shells said it made 8-10 servings.  At least!   There was even some peanut butter chocolate pie saved for tonight.  Plenty of leftovers to take to Mom for her dinner.  The roasted pear, peppered goat cheese salad with lemon vinaigrette was really good.  I will definitely make the salad and the pie again...and again. 

Here is the pie freshly made.  I followed a recipe in the new issue of Coastal Living Magazine, but I bet there are a lot of recipes out there.  It is easy; cream cheese, creamy p/nut butter, whipped cream, vanilla and a bit of powdered sugar, plus chopped p/nut butter cups and whipped cream garnish.  (Mwa-hhaa-hhaa!).  I made a chocolate wafer crust; graham cracker would be good, too.  I began to worry that one of my guests would have peanut allergy since there were so many other dietary preferences.  I had a Plan B dessert that I sampled earlier in the day.  Layer a chocolate wafer cookie with Mrs Richardson's Butterscotch Sauce, then a slice of banana.  Scrumptious.