The Non-Stamping Part of Life

Is continuing.  Along with still being pregnant.  I'm at about 36.5 weeks.  I now "get" to go the doctor every week.  And, as if food poisoning wasn't enough, I appear to have aggravated my sciatic nerve, so even little things like bending, walking, lifting are ridiculously hard now.  Awesome.  I'm doing my best to help it back to normal (i.e. adjust posture, hot showers/baths, Tylenol, hot packs, ice packs, special exercises, changing positions often, sleeping with more pillows than I knew possible...)  It's a good thing I got most of my Valentine's cards done before this.  Now I'm just working on planning and preparing birth announcements.  I'm hoping to have them mostly ready and just need to "fill in the blanks" for name, weight, and so on.  I have an idea for it floating around in my head, we'll see how it turns out.

And something else to share, the recipe for these delicious treats I made recently.  Almond Bars!  YUM!

Recipe
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. almond extract
1 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar (for topping)
1 cup sliced almonds (for topping)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F
2.  Beat eggs well with sugar, salt, and almond extract until think
3. Add melted butter and stir lightly
4. Add flour, mix well
5. Spread mixture into greased 9x13 pan
6. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter in pan
7. Bake 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean in the middle
8. Cool in pan, cut into bars.


Makes 3 dozen.

A Word (or two) about Pie

As I mentioned in my last post, pie is a very important thing in my family.  Since the time I was little, my grandmother started teaching me to make pie, from scratch of course.  At first, it was just helping her do it. But as I got older, it was definitely focused on making sure I could execute such an important task on my own.  I learned how best to cut shortening into flour, how to roll out the crust without handling it so much that it would get tough, how to successfully transfer it to the pan, what to glaze it with, and all those other little tips and tricks that aren't in the cookbook.  Eventually, as my grandmother got to old to really be able to host holiday meals or even just bring pies to them when my mom hosted them, I took over the pie baking.

Since doing this, I've made a few changes and additions to what I learned with my grandmother, much of which I have Martha Stewart to thank for.  So here are my personal pie making preferences:

1) Always use butter, not shortening or even lard (ew!).  You wouldn't eat a cinnamon coated baked apple with Crisco on it!  But butter, that's another story.  So, why would you make your pie crust with shortening?

2) A food processor is your best friend and helper.  Making one pie crust with a pastry dough blender is one thing.  However, I usually make a minimum of three pies, if not four or more.  If I use a food processor, I can make up all the crust for these in a FRACTION of the time it would take to one pie crust by hand.  And, use a good and powerful one, with a strong motor.

3) I like spices.  A lot.  So, if it calls for 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg, I put in a slightly rounded 1/2 tsp. instead and so on.

4) I also like as natural of ingredients as possible.  Organic pumpkin puree for the pumpkin pie, a recipe with heavy cream instead of evaporated milk, etc.

5) For special holiday pies like Thanksgiving; make 'em pretty.  I have a set of tiny leaf, acorn, and pumpkin cookie cutters to decorate the crust with instead of the basic fluted shape.

6) Do an egg wash brushed on the crust.  This gives it a really nice color and sheen.  I make mine with an egg yolk and a 1T of heavy cream.

I am sure I could go on and on.  I do love pie.   That's, I'm sure though, enough for now.  So, I'll leave you with a picture of my pies for this year.  I made Maple Pumpkin, Huckleberry (a Northwest favorite!), and Apple.

Running Out of Room...

to display all these cards!  I quickly filled up the white enameled metal bulletin board I just got at A Muse!  I think that means I need another one!  My next card is a bit eastery.  But, it is spring right now.  Though the weather here in Seattle, hasn't been told about that.  The inside of the card reads "from one chick to another", for the ground I stamped it in green, and then covered it in Flower Soft.

Supplies
Stamps: A Muse chick card and from one chick to another, and clouds, Memory Box bird family, Savvy Stamps {happy birthday}, Impress ground stamp
Paper: A Muse pink tin plate card and pale blue card, Memory Box eggshell
Other: A Muse sheer ribbon in fern, Ultra Fine Flower Soft, copics, Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate, Versamagic Tea Leaves and Aegean Blue, Martha Stewart Scallop Edge Punch

More To Do

I just looked at my calendar and realized that I have a LOT of cards to make for May and June!  I counted 11 birthdays, 2 anniversaries, 1 wedding, 6 Mother's Days, and 4 Father's Day cards!  INSANE!  So far I've got 2 Mother's Day cards and 8 birthday cards.  I better get busy.  This cut on my index finger is so not helping either.
Here's my most recent.  I am really happy with it.  Though I wish I had a happy bird day type stamp.  I had to improvise with a combination of 2 different ones.

Supplies
Stamps: A Muse Trees 2 clear set, tall grass, santa bird, tiny hat, Hippo Birdie to You, and Memory Box's Happy St. Patrick's day (only used the happy)
Paper: A Muse orange gingham, blue card
Other: A Muse pearl sticker, copics, VersaMagic Key Lime, and A Muse black dye ink, Slice w/Noteworthy Design card for scalloped square and scalloped square frame

In other news, the City of Seattle, where I live, is facing huge budget shortfalls this year and next. The Parks department on it's own is looking at trying to make up something like 10-11 million!  It's not too surprising these days.  I work at a Parks' community center teaching preschool and running the K-1st grade afterschool class.  There's a lot of worry that our center, and many many others, might close.  Tonight I'll be at a public meeting where hopefully we'll be able to show and see support from the community for what we do. (Though it does mean less stamping, but I think it's worth it)

Cheers!

I love spring and flowers!  But I also LOVE cocktails!!!  (and if you can't tell, I am getting really addicted to the A Muse gingham paper)  I have to say that the way I colored the stamp reminds me a bit of that science experiment you can do as a kid, the one where you put a white carnation in a glass of water with food coloring and then over time the flower turns the color of the liquid.  So I imagine that these flowers are now the color of strawberry daiquiris, blue lagoons, and purple mist martinis!  YUM!

Supplies
Stamp: A Muse Flower Drinks, Savvy Stamps "Cheers to your birthday" 
Paper: A Muse chocolate gingham, blue, and a rose card.  Purple card stock from Impress
Other: Copic markers, A Muse grosgrain stitch ribbon in ocean, VersaMagic Ink in Gingerbread, Making Memories Slice and Spring Design Card for flower pot

Injured!

For this card I managed to slice open my right index finger with my rotary cutter!  It's really hard to color with copics and type with a huge bandaged on your finger!  Luckily my husband helped me and her got lots of gauze and medical type to sustain the pressure.  Later on I was able to down grade to a standard band aid with more medical tape.  Stamping is a dangerous hobby!!  Why didn't anyone warn me?!  But, I didn't let that stop me!  Here's my next card:

Supplies:
Stamps: A Muse's Tiny Hat, Party Hat, and Happy Everything Clear set (the inside of the card says "to you")
Paper: A Muse's watermelon and yellow square card (the gray is an A Muse one too, I'm just not sure which color exactly)
Other: Copics, A Muse Pearls in pink and white, VersaMagic Ink in Pink Grapefruit and Pixie Dust

Under Utilized Color

I think gray is an under used color sometimes.  I find myself going to black or brown as my chosen neutral, but gray can be really interesting.  So, I tried to include it in my next couple cards.  Here's the first:

Supplies
Stamps: A Muse cake (I think a prototype that I got at a sale they had last fall), "Do I smell cake?" from The Cat's Pajamas, and on the inside "Happy Birthday" from Impress
Paper: A Muse's pink gingham and white card with pink dots
Ribbon: A Muse's grosgrain stitch in Slate
Other: Copic Markers, Yellow Stickles, and Spica Glitter Pens

Tiny Birthday

For this card I used Inchies as a base.  Then I used my Slice with the Noteworthy design card for the shapes in the yellow gingham paper from A Muse.  The card is from Memory Box in the "Water" color and I did the scallop with a Martha Stewart edge punch on a card stock from Impress.  For the inchies, I stamped them with the tiny party hat, tiny cupcake, and the smallest present from the car load stamp all from A Muse.  I colored them with copics and added a red pearl from A Muse.  The red accents from the pearl, ribbon, and copic marker really made the colors scheme pop!

The inside is stamped with a "have the happiest birthday stamp".

Next Birthday Card

Here's my next card!  I have a TON of family and friends with May/June birthdays, so I've got lots to make.  The A Muse challenge for their birthday has been a perfect motivator so that I don't wait until the last minute.

For this card I used the A Muse Car Load and Danish Proverb stamp, the Martha Stewart Ribbon Threader Edge Punch, Waste Not Paper Ribbon in Pool, a paper from one of Memory Box's collections, and a square A Muse card.

The inside of the card says "Happy Birthday"

First Post

So I'm new at this blogging thing. I decided to start one to chronicle my obsessive stamping hobby! And A Muse is having a challenge/contest involving birthday cards, so it was a perfect prompt to get me started!

Here it is:


I used the A Muse hippo, tall grass, and tiny hat, and "Hippo birdie to you!" stamps. The bird is from a bird family stamp by Memory Box. The ink was A Muse's black dye ink and Brilliance Pearlescent Lime. Then, I have copic markers to color the image.