Birthday Banner!

A good friend asked me to cut some letters and scalloped rectangles to make a banner. She purchased this banner from MyEmmyCakes. A friend of hers really liked it, so she wanted to make one that said Welcome for her birthday. Here's what I made for her. She going to decorate with ribbons, etc.



I used Mini Monograms & Storybook Cricut Cartridges to cut these.

SPOOKY!

I met with a group of girlfriends last night and we made this banner & cute Frankenstein bag! The banner looks fabulous. The picture doesn't even do it justice!


Isn't this bag cute! I absolutely love it!

Here are the 3 cards I made for our swap. Our challenge this month was difficult for me. We had to follow these card template challenges:


This is my favorite. Here's the sketch challenge for it.



This card was the first I made of the three. It's not my usual style, but I still like it. Here's the sketch challenge.

Here's the last one and the sketch challenge for it.

I finished my pinwheel blocks!

Here are the last four blocks I made for the pinwheel trade. My favorite is the one with the light blue background and pink flowers. I'm so excited to get the rest from the others so I can start my quilt!

Blackberry Pie

My absolute favorite pie is blackberry. My grandmother & father made the best blackberry pies, but of course I don't have the recipe. And even if I did, mine wouldn't be as good! I remember asking my dad for recipes. He would always say, oh just a little of this and a bit of that, until it tastes/looks right. Grandma & dad didn't use recipes... they cooked from skill. Something I just didn't inherit. But I try!

I was coerced into going blackberry picking the other day... even though the season is all but over. About an hour later I had several scratches, dark purple hands and about 1/2 flat of blackberries... it was hard picking.



I'm used to the blackberry picking of my youth where if you couldn't get a flat in 10 minutes it wasn't worth your time. But I was happy we ended up with enough for a pie.



And since I was making a pie anyway I decided to make more and use up some of the 48 pounds of peaches I have... I made a full size and three mini size blueberry peach pies.



I feel very domestic!

4 Ingredient Easy Cobbler

I made this cobbler yesterday trying to use up the 48 pounds of local fresh peaches I bought. It's so easy & yummy. I did have to increase the cook time from 30 to 50 minutes.



I've really been enjoying this new recipe site: Tasty Kitchen. Everything I've tried has been delicious!

Faux Pad Thai

Last night I made Faux Pad Thai for dinner. It was delicious. Here's a picture.

Note: the link is broken and Faux Pad Thai is no longer listed on the Tasty Kitchen site... I'm not sure why since everyone who's tried this recipe (besides children) have loved it! So here's the recipe:
Faux Pad Thai
By Sophie McNeil
2 packages raman (I do 3)
3 cups cut-up vegetables: broccoli, red bell pepper, pead pods, carrots and/or onions, etc.
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/2 t powdered red pepper
2 cups cooked chicken in small pieces
1 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 8 oz. can bamboo shoots, drained
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup slice green onions

Seat aside 1 seasoning packet from noodles to use in recipe. Store remaining packet for another use. In a large saucepan bring 2 quarts of water to boil. Break up noodles slightly and add to water along with cut-up vegetables. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Drain and return to saucepan.

Meanwhile for sauce, in a medium saucepan whisk together the 1 1/4 cups water, peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, red pepper, and seasoning packet. Whisk until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Add chicken, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots to sauce; heat through. Add to noodle mixture in saucepan. Toss to combine. Top with peanuts and green onions. Serve immediately. Makes four 1 1/4 cup servings.





I added an extra package of raman, added extra vegetables: red onions, snap peas, red bell pepper, carrots & broccoli. Yumm!

I won a Red Letter Words Canvas Art Print!

Oh wow! SkipToMyLou.org had a giveaway and I won! RedLetterWords.com was giving away a 12x12 Wrapped Canvas Print. I won! I chose Love Spoken Here. It's so beautiful! I'm so surprised and happy and thankful for such a beautiful work of art!