Orangettes

A new recipe page posted at last!  You absolutely must take the trouble of making these- and they are a bit of trouble.  Not difficult, but lots of steps, but worth it.  Orangettes are a little French sweet made from candied orange peels, sometimes (always in my case) dipped in chocolate.  Oh so good!

I was really having fun with my Stampington collage cubes and tried out the new 7 Gypsies Victorian Corners rubbings.  I tried the black flocking and think it is tres ooh la la :-)  The sweet couple and Eiffel Tower are Amuse stamps that I can't seem to stop using on everything.

Darlingness

Oh, look at the darlingness of these aprons!  Click here for aprons! I've been very excited by the resurgence of aprons.  For the longest time, aprons were either so very, very tacky or so very, very boring.  I have a collection of frilly vintage hostess aprons, but I love them too much too expose them to paint and ink.  My own attempts at spicing up boring canvas aprons have been lamentable to say the least, and anyone who knows me and my crafty cohorts will vouch that we need aprons, preferably incredible, cute, swank aprons!

Tea Time

Time to kick back with a cuppa of Earl Grey and my Recipe Club page for the month.  Aaaaahhhhh, life is sweet.


The darling paisley is a Spellbinders Nestability set, the vintage looking stickers are from Crafty Secrets (they always do such pretty things), and the papers are from an old collection by Bo Bunny, I've been hording them forever.

Cue the Theme Music

Every year I wind up listening to a set of songs over and over and over while I work on pages until it becomes a theme for the year.  Last year it was Liam Lynch's "United States of Whatever", "Smile" by Lily Allen, and pretty much anything Imogen Heap recorded.  I live in a really rural area, but my NPR station has a really good music selection that they play in the late evening.  Really good as in no hip hop (which I do own one or two songs of, I admit) but you may actually hear Beck mixed in with the Bob Dylan.  I expand my tastes there and this is what I've come up with for this year's theme album (so far)

1. Love the World You Find- The Flaming Lips (yes I admit, I'm an optimist, so sue me)
2. Soul Meets Body- Death Cab for Cutie (absolutely LOVE the video, you can see it at the bottom of this list)
3. Ballet for a Rainy Day- XTC
4. Eyes- Rogue Wave
4. Across the Sky- Emilie Autumn
5. Danke Schoen- Wayne Newton (yes, I'm also weird and have a strong sense of kitsch)
6. Even Angels Fall- Jessica Riddle (my concession to pop)
7. That's How You Know- Amy Adams from the Enchanted Soundtrack (I am a disney zombie, love that)
8. Oh It is Love- Hellogoodbye (aaaaand I'm sappy)
9. Lulu dans la village- Ann Savoy
10. I Fought the Law- Green Day (because sometimes you just need to bounce up and down in your seat)

That's the list of music I'm addicted to for the past, um, 28 days. Two Thumbs Up!  Jog the old creativity bean!

Sing it, sister!

The worst thing about winter is.........no garage sales! I'm going through some serious junking withdrawals.  Of course, there are always thrift stores, but somehow the same thrill isn't there.  I don't know if it's the warm ice tea left in the car, the sunburn, the giggling, or the whole day spent traveling pilgrimage like from shrine to shrine of junk, but it's missing from life right now like vitamin D.

Oh How Brave!

The Fed-Ex man braved the cold and snow yesterday to deliver a most wonderful package.  The rest of my Spellbinder Design Team Goodies! I've been a busy little snow bunny since then :-)  Inside my magic box is:

• Prism Cardstock and more Prism Cardstock, lots and lots! I love Prism Cardstock! It has a wonderful weight and texture, not to mention the lovely colors.
• World Win Cardstock in oodles of variety.  My other favorite cardstock for being double dipped.  How spoiled am I? Very!  I'm considering putting either Prism or World Win into my shop, but at this rate, I think people might want both....
• Kokuyo Tape 'n' Roller and Dot Roller.  Really, really extra sticky.  It's a good thing.
• Fancy Pants Stamps, Fiber, Chipboard, Felt, and Paper.  Do a little happy stamp dance!
• Sparkraft Paper and Stickers.  Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiny :-)
• USArtquest Gold Leaf, Duo Glue, and Mica.  Already one of my favorite companies gave me more shiny stuff, yay! and mica, so I don't have to guard my current mica stash like a dragon.
• Glue Dots.  What can I say.  I need more.  Love 'em, constantly use them.
• Lockhart Stamps.  Initial Happy Stamp Dance becomes a little Touchdown Goal Victory Happy ever so slightly dizzy Dance.
• Avery Printable Stickers and Tags.  (Frankenstein monster voice) Tags good...
• Purple Amaco Foil.  You must try this stuff with the Spellbinder dies, it will rock your world.  And Purple...need a Plum Crazy shop girl say more?
• Krylon Leafing Pens.  I've had a crush on these ever since I visited the Red Lead girls in St. Louis.  Instant posh with a replaceable nib.  We already had all the metallic flavors in the shop, but now I have the new Brights to try out.
• Scrappin' Sports Paper and Rub-ons.  Surprisingly very attractive papers for a sports geared company.  Even lowly Donya, whose most vivid sports memories are injuries and embarrassments, will find a use for these.
• Copic Markers, Multiliners, and AIRBRUSH SYSTEM!!!!! Just a bit excited about that one.  Grandpa saw our sales rep use one last month and is pretty sure all of the customers at the shop would want one :-) he just likes firing up the air compressor I think.
• Identipens.  They work similar to slick writers, only nicer. I've used them 3 times to label things just today.
• Chartpak Refillable Pens.  Oh how they know us, and our compulsion that will lead to the need for refilling things.
• Paper Glide and Tool Cleaner.  Paper Glide, oh paper glide, Marvelous Paper Glide.  But who told them I'd be messy and need tool cleaner? I wonder if it will get the Copic ink I airbrushed onto my Spellbinder dies off?
• and more Spellbinders dies than you can shake a stick at!  I'd list them all but I bet your eyes are already crossed from this list :-)  You'll just have to wait for projects to appear using them!

God Told Me To

I love Cainer's horoscopes, he has such a sense of humor.  Here's mine (cancer) for this weekend:


Your Weekend: We interrupt this forecast to
bring you a message from the creator of the universe. Apparently, the
supreme being urgently needs to tell you something and has thus taken
the unconventional step of using this prediction to get the point
across. I must say, I was a little surprised when my computer went up
in flames as a deep voice spoke from above - but when I asked for
identification, God produced a passport. So, er... here is the message:
'Stop taking life so personally. And worry less.'


So I'm not going to worry about the amount of work I've got to get done this week, or why everyone around me is depressed/stressed/cranky, and I'm definitely not going to worry about the money I just spent on new undergarments (hey, they were on sale).... ;-) Though perhaps I should worry that my favorite astrologer thinks he's talking to God.


Everybody sing "don't worry, about a thing, 'cause every little thing's gonna be alright"   teehee