Ending the Month with Baking

The month has one day left in it when I started this post.  Oh my how the time has flown.  Lots has happened in the past 30 days.  Birthdays, surgeries, work, creative time, bringing in the wood so we don't freeze our butts off and a whole lot of other things.  I have to ready a box to ship overseas to a friend stationed in Afghanistan.  This means I have baking to do.  It is Valentine's Day coming up so lots of chocolate baked items are in order. This whole month has been a juggling act to get accomplished what needs or I want to get done.

In my effort to keep myself "focused" I have decided to focus on fast meals to make.  This means I look a lot at Rachael Ray's website. I subscribe to several  food blogs in an RSS feed so they come right to my google reader. However I think these are possibly some of my favorites:

1.  The Smitten Kitchen,  is full of wonderful tips, techniques and a no nonsense approach to culinary nirvana.  
2. Baking Bites works to have one properly getting all nutritional needs met from sugar, butter, occassional chocolate and all things delish!  This link does go to the blog but to a particular recipe for Nutella Bread Pudding.  Oh god I think I just passed out from the joyful thought of the combination.
3. Cookie Madness is a recent find that I think will come in handy all year around and not just for the holidays. I see a trend here already of the food blogs I follow.  Yes I am a baked goodoholic.
4. King Arthur Flour Blog one cannot go wrong.  There is always something there to make me salivate and eyes glaze over.  

It is amazing to me that my honey and I don't weight 600 pounds a piece since we are both really, really in love with our goodies.  Seriously. What I did end up making this morning was an Irish soda bread.

I am on the search for a creamy mac and cheese recipe. Somehow it all ends up being not so saucy. I get good but I want more sauce.  Perhaps doubling the sauce and cheese...now there is a thought.

A Magic Carpet Ride

I am thrilled with taking the Magic Carpet Ride along with other bloggers for the ONE WORLD ONE HEART party.  This event was thought of by Whimsical Bohemian.  I can't wait to meet some new people and see some new ideas.  All very exciting.

My giveaway will be a selection of the "fabric paper" I make to do my mobiles and mixed media work with.  There will be 4 sheets no smaller then 8"x10" that are along the lines of this one shown below.  I will be making each sheet so no two will be alike and no to packs will be alike.  They are so much fun to work with.  I have gotten tons of compliments on them.  I may throw in a couple of other surprises as well.


In Order for you to be eligible to win you must leave a comment on this post and you must be a blogger. A winner is randomly drawn from the list of those who leave a comment. Leaving a comment also means I get to come visit you and your blog. The Magic Carpet Ride ends on February 15th so get on now and let the good times roll!

Creating Space

Over the past couple of years I have come to realize that sometimes having less is really a good thing.  I tend to hoard certain things because I love them, or I think I will never see them again or they are just to precious for me to use at the time.  Eventually they become less precious but I still associate them with being precious. I will pick them up and fondle them before boxing them away.  I decided that has to stop.  There is something freeing about getting rid of items or throwing out stuff.  Being from Maine the it is really hard for me to throw out something unless it is really beyond the point of being useful.  To get rid of something I need to be able to sell it or trade it.  Right now the sell it is the more favored option.

Hence Second Life has come back into being.  Second Life is my destash and vintage shop on etsy.  I have started to add items back into the shop.  Right now I have lots of vintage buttons to get in the shop.  Like these will be in there some point today.

They are all mother of pearl shank buttons  One is degraded quite a bit.  But I love the texture and color. 

I will also be putting things in like this old pork and beans glass jar.  The label is still good even if the top is no longer legible.

It would look so cute on some shelf holding ....holding something.  But there you have it.  The start of the great purge.   Keep checking back to see what else is being added.

More with my Heart

I have been working more in my studio.  I have managed to successfully do the minimum of ten hours a week as planned.  The past 4 days have really helped out in getting some more streamline focus.  I have gotten several pieces going.  Here are the current ACEO valentine Cards that are in my etsy shop.

This first one is done on fabric that I altered for a challenge in the Fiber Arts/Mixed Media Group that I am a part of.  It is run by the artchick a.k.a. Susan Sorrell.  Great group! I had photos of the fabric accidently deleted from the new camera.  I will have to take them over again. Not sure if it will happen.

This one was made with a hand cut stamp.  I finally found the linoleum cutters and went to work on a couple of erasers. The fabric is a vintage linen handkerchief that was my great grandfathers.  I have alot of them that have been hanging around doing nothing.  I would like them to do something.  I have some ideas from this as well. 

Still looking for some main theme to work with.  Right now it is the hearts because of valentines day.  I would like to have something else that is weighty in concept.