Family Card Challenge, GOOD Friends, Eating Local & Home Baking

I’m running by my shirt tails once again, life is FULL!  I do have an entire ‘nuther post coming up with pictures of a recent hike but for today I’ll stick to three topics:

1. FAMILY CARD CHALLENGE

My sister Nina challenged my sister in law Judy and I to try out a new technique.  It’s an interesting one and proved to be one I know I will attempt again in the future.  Here is the video which Nina shared with us:

Right - how cool is THAT - DRYER SHEETS!  So I created two versions of card:

This card is very ARTISTIC.  I used some Boho Chic designer paper by Kristin Cronin Barrow for the base.  I stamped a pattern of Inkadinkado flowers all over in coordinating colors - then used bold black VersaFine for the central blooms.  Next came the adhesive and sparkle layer. I chose a heavier glitter for this project.  All I had to do to bring this card to life was add the black lace and tulle border.  This card and the next are reserved for two of my dearest friends. 

I got more experimental on this second one.  I broke out my watercolour paper and paints.  I painted the bloom and dried using my heat embossing gun (so handy!) Next I trimmed dryer sheet bits to fit over the flower parts.  I spray adhesive-d (Krylon adhesive spray) 

Then I laid it on the blossom, glittered with a Glitter Ritz super fine glitter while it was still tacky.  Once set I trimmed around the flower with sharp scissors.  I went in a second time with my watercolors to add bold edges and touches.   I think this is a very effective technique I’ll employ again and again.  The designer paper used here is Happy Trails by American Crafts.  The backgrounds to the Stampin Up Sentiment are actually paint chips I picked up from WalMart. 

CONFESSION: I dry 99.9% of my laundry on a rack outdoors so I actually had to MAKE some used dryer sheets for this project.  I now have friends saving them for me.

Be sure to visit Nina and Judy to see their lovely cards too!

♥♥♥♥♥

2. DINING OUT

I dined out for lunch yesterday with two dear friends who I’ve not seen since before Christmas.  What a tremendous amount our lives can change in a short span.  THIS meeting was one which has altered our friendships together.  I thank the Lord for HIS hand of graciousness upon our friendship. 

We chose to eat at one of the classiest restaurants in Osoyoos - and a personal favorite - Dolci Deli.  The food and service are a cut above.  The food is always unique, fresh and imaginative.  I know the staff buy ingredients locally (saw it with my very own eyes!) and the presentation is always a pleasant surprise.  I’m so proud to invite friends here and I always recommend it to visitors.

We all chose yesterday’s special - Spaetzle!  Oh so soft and pillowy and nestled beneath just the right amount of caramelized onion and crisp bacon and sided with a bright colourful and tasty green salad - all I can say is its a good thing I live rural or I’d probably be there TOO much!  But just because I can’t … won’t you go FOR me? 

♥♥♥♥♥

3. HOME BAKING

Since I am rural and work from home a lot (working of the artistic sort) I like to bake and experiment.  These are two dishes I made this past week:

 

Finnish PULLA

This is a Finnish Pulla - a sweet bread and I based my own loosely on a recipe from Cake Crumbs and Beach Sand  I added in some fresh orange zest and pepper and my own dehydrated apple bits.  Num! 

 

Apple Pizza-Pastry Pie

I am using up apples - living in the Okanagan they are plentiful.  This recipe was a hit with my husband, other than he prefers not to have the peels left on. Me, I like them. 

 

Super simple, I used the last ball of my Mother in Law’s incredibly flaky pastry.  (she loves me in pastry balls) I spread it on a silpat matt. I simply cut the apples into little strips, tossed them with lemon zest, ginger, cinnamon, a touch of brown sugar and a bit of flour.  I spread this over the dough and then used my cheese grater (sprayed with cooking spray) and shredded butter over the top.  Baked in a moderate oven until it was perfectly golden. 

 

VOILA!

thanks for visiting!

Blogger Labels: Card,Challenge,Friends,Local,Home,shirt,life,FULL,pictures,hike,Nina,Judy,technique,Here,Enter,caption,DRYER,ARTISTIC,Boho,Chic,paper,Kristin,Cronin,Inkadinkado,flowers,VersaFine,adhesive,layer,dearest,watercolour,sheet,Krylon,Glitter,Ritz,Once,scissors,edges,American,Stampin,Sentiment,paint,WalMart,CONFESSION,rack,MAKE,Christmas,Lord,friendship,Osoyoos,Dolci,Deli,food,presentation,visitors,Spaetzle,dishes,Finnish,PULLA,bread,recipe,Cake,Beach,Sand,zest,Apple,Pizza,Pastry,Okanagan,husband,Super,ball,Mother,strips,sugar,dough,butter,oven,VOILA,topics,SHEETS,versions,backgrounds,restaurants,ingredients,Crumbs,balls,sister,black,apples