Let It Snow...

This is my "story" for Texture Tuesday. I moved to California twelve years ago from Michigan. I love it out here, but I have to admit, I miss the winter snow dearly. So When January comes around, my students and I create a winter wonderland in our classroom. I teach a class of third graders, and they get so excited with the project. We were going to write a poem that describes snowflakes, but many of my students have never seen snow. So I cut up some white computer paper into 1/4 inch squares, climbed up a ladder and let the kids watch as I tossed the "snowflakes" up in the air. They were so excited as the snowflakes danced and swirled and glided to the ground. Then I had them all gather around the ladder and I tossed the snowflakes up in the air above them. They were so cute! Their arms and hands went up in the air to catch them as they fell. It really looked as though it was the first time they had ever seen snow. When we were done, there was a huge mess on the floor. I let them get the shovel (broom) and scraper (dustpan) and clean up the snow. Some of the students gathered a handful and asked if they could take them home. I told them that I have a snowflake paper punch and I would punch them some snowflakes, and then on Friday we would recreate our snowfall with real snowflakes, and they could take them home. Dang, I'd better get busy! Oh, and their poems turned out lovely!

I borrowed a couple of snowmen from my students, to create a winter scene for a flickr group I belong to. I used Kim Klassen's Wonderful Magic Stars, Wonderful Magic, Annabelle (inverted), and Providence textures. The textures really helped to create the snowy look.


I'm off to post in Texture Tuesday

Texture Tuesday ~ Open

Wasn't sure what I would come up with for this weeks Texture Tuesday theme, Open. But when I was looking for flowers to buy last Saturday and saw some wax flowers that were open, I knew that's what it would be. A couple of weeks ago, I bought some wax flowers that were just buds, and I waited for them to open. I wasn't even sure what wax flowers looked like, so I googled them and they were so delicate and pretty. Well, I used the wax flower buds to take photos with my miniature vases, and was hoping they would open up eventually, but they didn't. They still looked beautiful though.

I divided the new bouquet, which was quite large, between some of my small vases and took some photos.

They looked so pretty, that I no longer keep all the small vases stored in a box in the closet, I put some of them on display to enjoy along with the wax flowers. So that is how the Texture Tuesday theme came to be : ) All the photos, except for the first one, were edited using various Kim Klassen textures.

I'm posting to the Texture Tuesday, Open eDition, see you there!

Texture Tuesday and A Cup O' Muffin

Starting today, I'm on a gluten and dairy free diet. I plan to try it for 2 weeks to see how it goes, and if I reap any benefits from it, then I'll continue it for another 2 weeks before I decide if I'll be sticking to it indefinitely. The thing I worry about missing most is bread of any kind, so when I found the following recipe for a gluten and dairy free muffin made in a cup, I couldn't resist trying such an easy recipe. Well, the recipe did not disappoint. Here is what a muffin in a cup looks like...

Here is the recipe I changed to suit my needs:
1/4 cup ground flax
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sweetner* (I used Stevia)
*make sure you use a whole teaspoon, and not the equivalent.
1 egg
1 teaspoon of safflower oil (instead of butter if you like)
1/8 cup chopped fresh banana
1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts
Directions: This is how I mixed the ingredients
I mixed all the dry ingredients first, really well, stirred the fruit and nuts in, and then put the oil and egg in, and beat the egg a bit on the top with a fork before stirring it in. If you don't add fruit, just cook it a minute as the original directions stated.
I ate mine with a spoon,

although the original directions said you could take it out of the cup and slice it.
Here is the original recipe:
Muffin in a Minute
I hope you give this recipe a try, as I really enjoyed it, and plan to make it my weekend morning treat to have with coffee. I'll experiment with different berries and nuts also : ) Bon appetit!

Both photos were textured with Kim Klassen textures:Embrace, Warm Sun, Phoebe, Pumpkin Grunge.

Happy Texture Tuesday!


P.S. In my haste to post on New Year's day, I forgot to include some information about the paper hearts I made for Christmas decorations. I made the strips for the hearts smaller. The original directions created 6 inch hearts. My smaller versions were 4 inches. Here are the dimensions for the strips to make the 4 inch hearts:
3/4 inches wide
2- 7 inch strips
2- 5.5 inch strips
2- 4 inch strips
1- 4 inch strip for the hanger
continue with the directions on the original post on Jill Ruth & Co.'s blog and while you are there, you should look around, she has many fun and inspiring projects throughout her blog. I always leave there feeling inspired!
Here are the original and shortened hearts so you can see the difference in size:

I used regular sized staples to hold them together, you couldn't see them in the other post because I edited them out for appearance sake. I also used double-sided scrapbook cardstock (Martha Stewart Christmas) for the smaller hearts. Have fun!

Vintage Fun & Vintage Finds

I am finally joining up at Vintage Thingie Thursdays. I love seeing all the vintage finds there. I'm starting off with some fun vintage finds I came across this past summer while scouring thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales. I was collecting small vases and bottles to photograph with flowers so i could use them on notes cards to give to friends and family. I found a lot of interesting and fun items.

My favorite is this small pitcher.

After getting it home I looked up the mark on the bottom and found out it is Balleek bone china. It is a creamer, and is missing the sugar bowl. That's allright though, I like it as a small vase. It was produced between 1946 through 1955. This photo was edited with Kim Klassen's 12 Days of Christmas Textures, Providence and Wonderful Magic.

Another fun find is this Welch's "Junior" bottle. I'm not sure of the date, but they started making them in the 1920's. It made a nice candycane reindeer holder for the holidays.

I couldn't resist putting it in a vintage frame from The CoffeeShop Blog

Here are a couple more of the vases I found. I'm not sure how old they are, but they sure looked vintage. The only marking on this vase was "Japan" so i figured it was a trinket type souvenir. It only measures 4 inches across.

This vase had no markings and looked to be handpainted. It's so pretty and delicate looking.

These two photos were edited with the French Kiss Garden Whimsey textures, Dirt and Dandelion Fuzz.

Well I could go on about the other vases and bottles I found, but I am anxious to get over and link to see what everyone else has found. Happy Thingie Thursday!

Happy New Year...It's A Wonderful Life!

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I have been so busy with work and family, but I want to start the New Year off right. So I am taking the time to post because I have always heard that what you do at the beginning of the new year, sets the tone for the rest of the year. Yay! Hopefully that means I will post regularly. Well, I've had the past week off and I've been catching up on all the fun things I've discovered on some wonderful blogs.
On Jill Ruth & Co.'s blog I discovered some wonderful paper hearts that were so easy to make. I made some to put on Christmas presents instead of bows, so the recipient could also use it as a tree ornament. I loved making the hearts, and I couldn't resist photographing them with Kim Klassen's textures from her generous 12 Days of Christmas set. I do believe I fell in love with the Providence and Wonderful Magic Scripted textures.

The directions for the hearts can be found here on Jill Ruth & Co.'s blog:
http://www.jillruth.com/2011/01/tutorial-and-winner.html
Kim Klassen's The 12 Days of Christmas Textures starts here:
http://www.kimklassencafe.com/thecafe/day-1-of-the-12-days-of-textures.html

Another blog that has kept me busy is The Coffeeshop Blog. There I discovered a wonderful frame that includes a vintage effect when the photo is added. I had a lot of fun with that.

Here is the before photo:

After playing around with different items generously offered for free on the blog, I was able to finally figure out how to make a proper banner for my blog. Making a banner in the past has always baffled me. Below are the links to The CoffeeShop Blog for the frame and tape pieces I used above and on my banner. Have fun!
Vintage Frame 20:
http://www.thecoffeeshopblog.com/2011/12/coffeeshop-vintage-frames-20.html
Digital Sticky Tape:
http://www.thecoffeeshopblog.com/p/scrapbooking-digital-design-elements.html

On a final note, can you belive this is what I photographed yesterday while walking in the cemetery? I guess Autumn has finally arrived!

Yes, these were taken on December 31, 2011!

Happy New Year all you wonderful bloggers! This year, may you receive as much as you give to others...xox, Cathy.