Sunshine Award!

I received this award from my fab blogging pal Becky...you can find her fantastic creations and recipes by clicking HERE! Thanks again for passing this award onto me! :)

Now the Sunshine Award details...
Thank the one who gave you the award
Answer the 10 questions below
Pass the award on to 10 blogs

 Here are the 10 questions and my answers:

1. Favorite color: Blue...any shade!
2. Favorite animal: I can't show favorites so I will have to say a dog and chinchilla since I have both!
3. Favorite number: Ummm....5?
4. Favorite Drink: Water...but that is so plain so for a treat I make hot mint tea with agave!
5. Facebook or Twitter: Neither (I'm a technology dinosaur these days!) LOL!
6. Good book or good movie: Good movie
7. My passion: Cooking/baking...I LOVE food!!
8. Giving or getting gifts: Both
9. Favorite day: Saturday
10. Favorite flower: Mimosa ... check it out! Edited to add the correct link!  http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?ProductID=5602
They smell good too! :)

So many people inspire me so if you would like this award please feel free to take it and post on your blog. Share the sunshine!

Steak and Blueberry Salad

This is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover grilled steak! Click HERE for the recipe! Note: This is a versatile salad because you could change up the greens, nuts and cheese...I used a baby spring mix instead of spinach, pecans instead of walnuts and blue cheese instead of feta! If your in a hurry don't worry about making the dressing just splash some balsamic vinegar on it and your good to go! Enjoy! :)

Shrimp and Kale Over Roasted Garlic Polenta

Click HERE for the recipe! Enjoy! :)

Provencal Summer Vegetable Bake

Click HERE for the recipe!

Happy Birthday Bunnies

Main image is from Doodle Palace
Butterfly, snails and sentiment are from Lawn Fawn

Challenges:
Allsorts - Layers
Charisma Cardz - Seeing Double
Craft Your Passion - Blast From The Past (I chose challenge 98 which was red, white and blue)
Cupcake Craft - In Stitches
Delicious Doodle - Celebrations
Kaboodle Doodle - Flowers
Penny's Challenge - Sew Charming

Flat Bottom Fruit Pie

A great way to use up some fruit you might have on hand...I had peaches and blueberries so that is what I used. A few other changes I made to the recipe: I used almond milk instead of half and half (you could use whatever milk you have), I also used fat free cool whip. The texture does come out a bit different with these substitutions but it saves on calories and allows me to eat more dessert... plus it still tastes amazing so you won't hear me complaining!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy! :)

Unstampabelles Challenge #15

Time for our 15th challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see EMBOSSING! You have until September 28th to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on October 1st!
*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, etc.!

Please go to the Unstampabelles blog for sponsor and prize information!

Now for my DT project to get you started!


I made a tag using shadow embossing. This is where you run your die cuts through an embossing folder and then shift the paper a little and run them through again. A random pattern like dots works best. Also, I would suggest using a darker paper than I did and maybe something that you can sand like core'dinations...I think it would make the shadowing part stand out better.

Hope to see you joining in our challenge!! :)

Magical

Another pre-colored Christmas image by Nicecrane Designs which you can find in the store by clicking HERE! The sentiment is created from an alphabet stamp set by Lawn Fawn....so fun making my own words!

I just love the images from the Little Girl Magic collection! Christmas will be here before you know it so this is a good time to stock up on those holiday images and get started on those cards!

Once again the colors are a little different because of my printer but I'm pretty happy about it since I found that paper to match! :)

Challenges:

White Chocolate S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

I took these to a family reunion over the summer and they were a hit! Everyone raved about these bars and they were gobbled up so fast not everyone got to try them so next year I will be making more than one batch!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy! :)

Birthday Dinner!

I officially turned one year older yesterday but thanks to exercising and eating better (I have now lost 30 pounds) I am in better shape now than I was 10 years ago (such a good feeling)! The day went pretty good and I wanted to give a shout out and say thank you so much to those that sent me birthday wishes...means more than you will ever know!! I also had to show off what hubby made for dinner...he rarely...and I do mean RARELY cooks so I was pleasantly surprised with this gourmet meal after returning home last night from work and yoga! DELISH!!! That man sure can grill to perfection! :)

Taco Salad

I received this recipe off a co-worker 5 years ago for my bridal shower. It is so easy to throw together for a quick dinner or a party!

Ingredients:
1 bottle french dressing (I used fat free catalina)
1 can of kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1 packet of taco seasoning (I use the cheapest brand I can find in mild)
Lettuce, onion, tomato, bell pepper, shredded cheese and fritos (or some other crunchy type tortilla chip)

Mix the beans with the dressing and taco seasoning packet and marinate overnight. Then when your ready to serve cut up the lettuce, onion, tomato and bell pepper and mix together. Add the bean mixture and toss. Then top with cheese and chips.

*I recently made this and instead of assembling it all at once I mixed smaller portions at a time so the ingredients didn't get soggy. And if your taking it for lunch all the ingredients should be okay together especially if you assemble them that morning which is what I did except the chips...put those in a separate container.

Enjoy!

Blueberry, Peach, Strawberry (Seasonal Fruit Pie)

I saw this recipe on my blogging pal Becky's blog and knew right away I had to try it! I didn't have a cast iron skillet handy so I just used my stoneware pie plate. I left out the nutmeg because that is not a spice that I particularly like. I also used frozen blueberries, peaches and strawberries because I had some to use up from last season....we froze a ton!! I shared this pie with my folks and in-laws and they loved it! I must say it is one of the best pies I have ever made! I used turbinado sugar on top for a little dazzle and crunch!

Click HERE for this fantastic recipe!

*Thanks Becky....this is now my "go-to" pie recipe! I plan on making it again this week!

Enjoy! :)

Lavender Honey Cake

Click HERE and HERE for the two recipes I combined!

I had never used lavender in baking before so it was a new taste experience for me. It was completely different than expected but good. I recommend eating it with some vanilla ice cream instead of plain!!

Notes - Changed the cupcake recipe to 1/2 cup sugar instead of a whole cup.
Icing was too lemony so mixed with more powdered sugar, a little honey and vanilla. Added lavender to the top for decoration!

Enjoy! :)

Unstampabelles Challenge #14

Time for our 14th challenge over at Unstampabelles and for this month we want to see any HANDMADE FLOWER! You have until August 31st to get your entries in and the new challenge will start on September 3rd!
*Just remember......NO STAMPS at all! No rubber, digi, sentiments, etc.!

Our sponsor for this month is Blue Edge Crafts!!

Here is the fabulous prize on offer for this month!



Now for my DT project to get you started!


To make my flower I used the Tim Holz Tattered Floral die to get my flower pieces out of white cardstock. Then I used distres inks by swiping the ink pad on a craft mat and spritzing with some water. Next I "wiped up" the ink using my flower pieces and crinkled them into a ball. Then I dried them with my heat gun. I used hot glue to put each layer together and added a pearl to the center. The background is made from scrap paper and using a scalloped border punch. The top layer is embossed with dots but being black it is hard to see. Added a white rub-on sentiment to finish things off. Hope you like my creation and I would love to see you over there on the challenge blog with your own handmade flower creation! :)

Lemony Orzo Veggie Salad With Chicken

Very refreshing to eat on a hot day!

Click HERE for the recipe!

Enjoy! :)

Happy Holidays

This is a pre-colored digi from Nicecrane Designs which you can find in the store by clicking HERE!

The colors are actually a bit different because my computer I think is running out of ink but it just so happened to match perfectly with some holiday paper I hadn't used before! Don't you just love when things like that work out? :)

Challenges:
Cardmadfairy - Christmas in July
Creatalicious - Christmas in July

Bacon, Tomato and Arugula Pizza

One of my favorite things to eat...PIZZA!! As you can tell by the picture my Pampered Chef pizza stone is well loved!

Click HERE for this recipe!

Enjoy! :)

Little Girl

Digi is from Nicecrane Designs...click HERE to find it in the store. It is also offered pre-colored!

Isn't this the cutest girl ever?!! I just love the new Little Girl Magic Collection at Nicecrane Designs! I wanted to do some really soft colors and my background paper is a technique I learned from my pal Annmaree where you swirl smooch inks in water and then dip your paper in it. Very cool marbling! I added some stickles to the dragonfly, flowers and water but it is hard to see so just use your imaginations! LOL!

Challenges:
Crafty Ribbons - Summer holidays
Crazy 4 Challenges - Stitching
Shopping Our Stash - Precious (I have had that ribbon and marbled paper that I created for a very long time just waiting for the right image!)
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Hey girl
The Pink Elephant - Summer

Spider Mouse

Digi is from Whiff of Joy

Challenges:
Allsorts - Distressing (the web)
Send A Smile 4 Kids - Animal

Happy Birthday Butterfly

I am not sure where this image is from so if anyone knows please tell me so I can give credit!

The background "paper" is actually a cardboard tissue box! You just never know where or when inspiration will strike! LOL! I also decorated the inside with the cardboard and did some white gel pen stitching. Colored the girl image with my Copics, put a little glitter on the flowers and added a rub on sentiment to finish it off.

Challenges:
Cardmadfairy - Summer
Charisma Cardz - Recycle (tissue box)
Delicious Doodles - Summer
Sir Stampalot - What is your crafty passion? (I enjoy turning trash into treasure and coloring!)
ABC Challenge - T for two (I used two sides of a tissue box)
Top Tip Tuesday - Circles