Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Sewing Teacher Thank You Card

I made this card for my sewing teacher.  The paper ribbon from the Rugged Power Palette (Creative Memories) was perfectly suited for it...I can't believe I've had 2 occasions in a month to use a tape-measure ribbon!

I layered a piece of the Rugged Tone-on-Tone paper onto a white card base and of course I had to stitch a zig-zag around the border.  I added the paper ribbon and then some sewing-themed stickers from Creative Memories (they are from my old stash), since I don't own any Cricut cartridges with sewing machines or thread spool icons.  I stamped the THANK YOU (from the Curly Cute SU set) in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I think the card looks pretty cute and I'm sure the sewing lady will appreciate all the fine handy-work! lol!

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Scrapbook Page

 
I'm really happy that I only have two more 'memorials' pages left to do after this one (Jefferson's & Iwo Jima) and even though I'm not very enthusiastic about doing these layouts I'm actually really pleased with how this Vietnam Veterans Memorial page turned out.

I love the photos, first off, because I captured both my daughter and son in spontaneous moments of observing this special place.  It is really incredible to see the scope of the memorial and the endless lists of names of soldiers lost or missing.  There are so many and it is so sad and overwhelming.  The wall is over 10 feet at its highest point and tapers to only 8 inches and now has 58,267 names etched in the reflective stone.  Being there at night was especially sombre and dramatic.

The Three Soldiers bronze statue is nearby and compliments the memorial wall.  The soldiers are White American, African American, and Hispanic American and appear to be looking at the names of the lost soldiers.

For the layout, I matted my photos with army green paper, silver paper, and added an extra mat of red under the Three Soldiers photo.  I cut the title using the Basecamp Cricut cartridge for the dog tags and Designer's Calendar for 'Memorial' (I just trimmed off the 'Day' part.)  I added some floral wire through the dog tag holes and twisted it closed.  I cut the barbed wire using the Old West cartridge and I wound some of the wire around the popped up layers.  I distressed the edges of them all with some Tim Holtz ink and that, paired with the wire, gave me just the effect I was looking for.  I'm feeling pretty clever about my design. 

Oatmeal Raisin Bites

Today's video shows you how to make this Oatmeal Raisin Bites recipe from Weight Watchers.  It's great that they use real ingredients, like butter, sugar, and an egg (versus some 'diet' recipes that call for diet margerine, Splenda, and egg substitutes).  Each cookie counts as 2 Weight Watcher Points...the only problem is they are actually 'real', delicious oatmeal raisin cookies...they're just built really small!  So it's very easy to end up eating about 6 of them at one go...and that's a whopping 12 points (pretty much 1/2 days worth of points for the average Watcher!).

Oatmeal Raisin Bites

1-1/2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup raisins

350 degrees F, ungreased cookie sheet, 9-10 or 11-12 minutes, 40 cookies, 2 points per cookie

Rugged Power Palette & Sentimentals Cartridge

I treated myself to the new Rugged Power Palette (Creative Memories) because I couldn't resist the great colours and patterns.  Also, the paper ribbon which looks like a tape measure caught my eye - I knew I had a couple of cards already in mind when I saw it.  (I showed you one of them last Wednesday and you'll see the next this week).  I know I will use up the supplies in this kit in no time - the papers will be great for so many different themes of scrapbook layouts. 

I also picked up the Sentimentals Cricut cartridge.  It has some super-cute icons on it (like the chair on last week's card), great phrases, a card cut AND an envelope!  I had a credit at our Canadian shopping channel and picked out the co-ordinating Cuttlebug folders too - the first time I've ever had matching embossing folders with a cartridge.  I'm excited to try the two together and am sure some cute cards will result!

Things are pretty chaotic in my scrap-room at the moment (I'll explain soon) so it's been difficult to get any work done.  Once May is here and I'm more organized my first projects will be using my new Power Palette and Cricut/Cuttlebug tools!

I'm That Friend Chocolate Topper

 
My scrapbooking pals really liked some Godiva chocolates I'd included in their January Crop goody bags so the next time we got together I gave them a whole bag of them!  (Godiva does make delicious, creamy chocolate!)

Of course, I couldn't just give them the plain, ole' bag from the store, so I emptied the contents into a large cello bag from Stampin' Up and made a cute topper with dsp, a large Chocolate Chip Scalloped circle, some grosgrain ribbon, and an image.  It was a no-brainer which stamp to use: the "All you need in life is a friend who has chocolate. ...I'm that friend." from the Eat Chocolate stamp set.   I stamped it with Timber Brown Staz-On and then added Glossy Accents to the chocolate.  They turned out so cute - and I think the ladies enjoyed the real chocolates!

Fiskars Pemium Crafter's Trimmer

 
I wanted a second trimmer and when I saw this Fiskars model at the discount store I snapped it up.  I had recently re-read the review of it in the January 2009 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. where it was deemed an 'excellent choice'.  The only con they could mention was the price: "$30, but worth every penny".  The trimmer was redesigned with a larger base for easier and more accurate cutting, a rail lock for transport, a swing-out paper guide for larger projects up to 15", a cut-line guide, and rubberized feet to keep it all in place.  Hey, I was sold even before I found it for $12.99!!!  I think that was the deal of the year!  (And don't you just love finds like that?  I just had to share my luck!  It pays to always keep your eyes open and have a mental list of stuff to look out for.)

Easy Chicken & Pasta

I was shocked to realize I hadn't shared this recipe with you yet - since it's one of my daughter's favourites, and so easy to make.

There are a few Campbell's Soup recipes I turn to in a pinch.  They usually don't require too many ingredients, and the ones they do use are pretty basic pantry and fridge items.  I always keep a supply of various Half-Fat cream soups in the cupboard so I can pull together a quick dinner when I need to.

For this Easy Chicken & Pasta, you simply saute some boneless chicken, remove it to a plate and, in the same pan, cook a variety of vegetables with a can of cream soup and water.  Next, add in some pasta (we like using bow tie pasta the best), cook for 10 minutes, add the chicken back in and heat through.  A super fast and easy dinner that is fairly nutritious to boot - and it's one of those meals that the whole family will eat.  You can find the recipe here. 

Chair Thank You Card

 
I made this thank-you card for the lady who upholstered my dining room chairs...isn't it cute?  I knew I had to use the paper ribbon from the new Creative Memories Rugged Power Palette because it looks like a tape measure.  (I just love the colours and patterns in the Rugged set - very earthy and distressed looking).  I kept things very simple by covering a Whisper White card base with a piece of the designer paper taken from one of the photo mats.  I added the strip of paper ribbon and a faux pearl in each corner.  I stamped the THANK YOU from the Curly Cute set in Basic Black ink.  I cut the chair from my brand new Sentimentals Cricut cartridge and I ran the cushion layers through the Cuttlebug using the hounds-tooth embossing folder.  I popped up the chair using some dimensionals.  I think this is the perfect card for upholstery lady!

Space Race 2-Page Scrapbook Layout

 
Sometimes I struggle with the more 'educational' photo layouts - like these from the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC.  I didn't use a template for this 2-page spread but it is almost grid-like, and I'm actually really pleased with how it turned out.

After I arranged where I wanted the photos to go, and layered some tone-on-tone papers behind them, I remembered a punch technique idea from Scrapbooks, etc. magazine about using punches to create a border with the 'negative' space.  In this case, I used the star border punch along my orange paper and added yellow paper behind it.  I also used the little stars that were punched out as embellishments around my pages.  I cut out the Apollo capsule from my photo and popped it up on dimensionals.  I cut the 'space' part of my title from the Calligraphy Collection Cricut cartridge and the 'RACE' from the Base Camp cartridge.  Another 2 pages done in this never-ending project!

Peanut Butter Muffins

Here's another muffin recipe for you.  This time I'm adding peanut butter to the batter for a hint of peanut-y taste and a boost of protein.  The flavour is subtle and the muffins are not too sweet - they would be extra good with some butter and jam.  The texture is quite light for a bran muffin and I thought the peanut butter was a unique addition to a standard muffin mix.

Peanut Butter Muffins

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup bran (or All Bran cereal)

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

400 degrees, greased muffin pan, 20-25 minutes.