What's Up With the Bonnets?

 

Perhaps this is where my screw became loose.  Maybe one day I got put in this contraption, and I saw a butterfly and I tried to take a step closer to catch it, only to get the wheel caught on a rock and I went ass over teakettle and fell on my noggin'.

I mean heck, look at my face, I even look like I am saying "Are you kiddin' me? Does this look safe? Hello! Is anyone listening to me?"

 

 

 

 

Now this picture, I am not too sure about, I just know that I got another bonnet on, and I look a little like I should be on a prairie, and live in a little house, and grow up to marry Almanzo and be a teacher....oh wait that's been done before.

I guess I will grow up and marry Jeffrey and teach stamping instead.

But these pictures make me laugh and I really should get them scrap-booked, I mean heck, that's my "job" right?

I hope you have enjoyed looking at some old pictures, I know I have.

Thanks for stopping in.

 

Hugs, Di

Label Maker Dry Embossing Tutorial

I first saw this over at Tim Holtz's blog www.timholtz.typepad.com a long time ago, in fact I don't even know where to find it over there anymore, I just know that is where I saw it. I thought it was a pretty neat technique.  I had bought the cheap label maker about a year ago, and was not overly impressed with it. Heck ya get what you pay for right? I remember my Poppa had one a long time ago, and his was a much better one than this one. So I was excited to see another use for it.  In fact I freaked out that I had thrown the dang thing away and I would have to buy another one, but I found it.

Items you will need: Craft White pad, Sponge Dauber, Label Maker (this is not an electric kind,it is the old squeeze kind), and two sided background paper (it has a white core that shows through when you dry emboss), I used Bella Rose (it's the only background paper I have left - ha!), and I used the backside of the red checked paper. It has a chocolate color and the darker the better.

 

Cut a strip of background paper approx. 3/8", basically the size that your label maker accepts.

 

 

This is the front of the label maker

 

 

This is the back of the label maker. You are going to want to open up the back.

 

 

Now feed the strip of background paper in the slot. Do not close the back cover.

 

 

Carefully turn the label maker over so you can see the front.

Now using your thumb lightly squeeze several times on the little thing that you push on to make the impression, it has the 2 little divots on it (I don't know what it is called) you are just advancing the paper so you don't need to press hard.

 

Once you see the paper coming out, you can now use the label maker like it was intended.  Spin the dial around and make a word, squeezing the bottom where those 2 divots are after each letter.

 

 

I did the word HAPPY because I leave for Convention in less then 7 days!!!! Ha!!!!!!!

After you spell your word squeeze the label maker a few more times just to advance it a little.

Then turn the label maker to the scissors picture, and squeeze, this will cut your paper.

 

I added a bit of white craft ink with a sponge dauber to make the word stand out a little bit more.

 

 

Lightly tap or rub the letters with the sponge dauber.

 

 

Ta! Da!  Cute huh? These would make great little tags on a card, or even scrapbook pages where you are describing someone.

I apologize I did not make anything with my little HAPPY, but I was gone most of the day, and wanted to make sure to get this done.

Holler if you have any questions, and thanks for stopping in!

Hugs, Di

Bella Rose Addiction

So I got 25 cards cut for my Sock Monkey cards, and now I have this one designed too, and need to get paper cut, the designing takes the longest cause once they are figured out, I just have to crank them out. I can't get enough of this Bella Rose paper, I am so anxious to get my hands on the new catalog. I am hoping for cuttlebugs, more gingham, lots of new embellishments, some fun new tools.

I was thinking I may change the Basic Black to Chocolate Chip though, but it does go better with the gingham.  May do a few different ones.  I also need to design something that does not entail coloring.  I have my new Pretty Peony set that is begging to be mounted and used, so I have to figure something out for that.

I have a whole bunch of errands and appointments this week to get done in order to be ready for Convention in a week.  It will be here before I know it.

Eric starts school tomorrow and he is all excited. He is probably the only kid pumping his hands saying "school tomorrow...yeah!", but I am sure I am not the only Mum pumping her hands saying "school tomorrow...yeah!"

We also had our last meal at the Y-not Restaurant.  We will miss going over there, but am sure we will still see the Y-not family now and then.

The retiring accessory list comes out today, so make sure you check all that out.  This stuff usually runs out quick, while everyone panics to get the last pack of designer paper before it is gone.

Thanks for stopping in!

Hugs, Di

No Cooking Required!

Vent: Please tell me that I am not the only person in the world that finds Kathie Lee Gifford annoying.  She may be the sweetest person on earth, but she totally drives me nuts. I did not like her on Regis and Kathie Lee, I am so glad that Kelly Ripa is on there, she adds some young spunk to the show.

So I was flipping the channels on the TV around the other morning, and I was like what the heck? Did I time travel back 15 years?  I looked down at my belly roll, and thought nope! I see Kathie Lee's face on my TV, and she is still acting as weird as she used to, doing that one eye closed facial expression, which has she ever looked at herself in the mirror when she does that? Cause she should and she should immediately NEVER DO IT AGAIN! She always is wanting to be the center of attention just like the old days.  I was thinking she was just standing in for someone on vacation, but nope this is a new show, and then the lady that is with her Hoda Kotb, I feel so sorry for her that she was stuck with Kathie Lee for a co-host, and why does Kathie Lee have to have her name first? What is up with that? I think Hoda should have been named first, cause I think she is the more reputable of the two and someone that has been on TV more recently.  - ok that's the end of my commentary of nonsense for the day....

Rave: So you bought a bag of chips or if you are health conscious a bag of vegetables, and you go to the cupboard to make some ranch dip and OMG! none, nada, zip... well never fear, this tastes better than ranch anyway.

It is so delicious, I bet you could just package up the dry ingredients, and give them as a gift and the person just has to add 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup Best Foods or Hellman's (they are the same thing..did you know that?) Mayonnaise.  It depends where you live. Like Edy's and I think it is Dryers are the same ice cream just named different on the east and west coasts or maybe the north and the south coasts, do they have coasts?

The best thing...you don't need to heat up the stove or use even one pot holder!!!

So here is the recipe:

My Mum's Vegetable Dip

1 cup sour cream

1 cup Hellman's or Best Food's Mayonnaise

1 tsp parsley flakes

1 tsp dry minced onion

1 tsp accent

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dill weed or dill seed

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 drops Tabasco - optional

3/4 tsp celery salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  This also tastes good as a dressing on a lettuce salad.

Prepare about 2 hours before use, or better yet, the day before.

Let me know how you like it.  We use it for dipping wings, chips, crackers, veggies anything.

My girlfriend Sharon (how's the new purse sister?-ha!) she told me the easiest thing.  Buy frozen fully cooked buffalo wings, you know the ones in the bag, we like the Tequila Lime ones from Costco, and put the bag on the kitchen counter, and let them thaw. OK, I got an email from Phyllis Strickland saying it is not a good idea to defrost them on the counter, I guess since they stay cold I never thought it was bad. So I guess maybe defrost them in the fridge, and check out her comments as she has some great links to food thawing and stuff like that.  Then heat up your outside grill, and grill them up.  They will have a charbroiled taste to them and it cooks off some of the fat, cause basically you are heating them up and charring them.  They are delicious and so easy, plus Jeff is doing the cooking....OUTSIDE!!!! We use this dip for them too.

Have a great Sunday, and thanks for stopping in!

Hugs, Di

I Never Said I Was Betty Crocker

So years ago, heck I was in highschool so it was eons ago.  I was cooking supper one night and caught some grease on fire in a pan on the stove, I tried throwing corn starch or baking soda or whatever on it, but that did not work, and I was afraid to put the lid on and burn myself. Well I panicked and carried the burning pan over to the outside door, and then I freaked and dropped the pan and went outside and screamed and screamed. 

My Dad came to see what was going on and I was like in shock or scared but I just remember holding the door handle for dear life, I don't know if I was crying or what, but anyway, the floor was burned and I think a cupboard, I don't remember what all.  The kitchen needed a little updating anyway.

So turn the clock ahead quite a few years and Jeff, Eric and I just moved into our new home in Queen Creek, and we got a new microwave with buttons that actually say things on it...like defrost, popcorn, potato, snake - oh wait not snake that was in that Snakes on a Plane movie, but anyway it does lots of neat things with just one push of a button. So we did not live here that long and I wanted to defrost some hotdog buns or something, so I put them in with some papertowels on them and hit defrost, now I guess I was thinking it would just magically know when the buns were defrosted...so I went outside.  Jeff came running out the door who knows how long later, and I guess the papertowels had started to burn just a little bit, and the microwave had a bit of an orange tint on the inside, from hmmm...maybe some flames. 

OK, so turn the clock ahead some more to when we went home a few months ago, and we were sitting around the kitchen table, and my Dad looks at Jeff and says "so did Diana ever tell you how she almost burned the kitchen down?" and of course, I had hoped to take that little story to my grave and uttered as much.  Jeff looked at me and said "no, she didn't" he thought that was so funny, and then he told them the whole microwave story...ha! ha! I am laughing on the inside.

So turn the clock ahead to TODAY!  Now I can stamp in front of a crowd, but obviously I can't cook in front of a crowd. So I was making my famous egg salad, and Angelese, Eric's HAB lady were here and watching and helping.  So after boiling the eggs, I put a pot holder on the counter so I could put the hot pan on it, so they could cook for the 17 minutes required.  Well then you do some more steps but eventually you have to put the pot back on to boil, so I did that, and then all of a sudden smoke is pouring out around the pot and I was like what the heck? I picked it up and the stupid pot holder had stuck to the bottom of the pot and I did not know, and that sucker was smokin' - now let me tell you there were no flames, the smoke alarms did not even go off, and no one was hurt.  I just put it in the sink and let the rest of the little pieces burn off the burner. I was like "well Eric, Dad really doesn't need to know about this"

So Jeff wasn't home 15 minutes and Eric was like "Dad guess what Mum do?" this is how Eric talks...he has a speech delay, but he just sounds so cute when he is trying to tell a story, and this one had him so excited and laughing. So usually I will help him tell a story, he uses a lot of jesters when he talks, but not today, he had to do it all himself...he eventually showed Jeff an unburned pot holder and Jeff figured it out. I said it was not bad, and then Eric fished it out of the trash....

So we went to the Y-Not for supper, and as we are waiting for our dinner, Jeff was messing with his phone, and I never minded with him, but then he said to me - cause he wanted me paying attention to him "what is your Mum's name?" and I am like "Linda" thinking he knows her name....then all of a sudden, he is like "Hi Linda, it's Jeff" well he tells her the whole story and even with my deaf ears I can hear her laughing.  Mum asks if there was any damage, and Jeff is like oh no a lot of smoke and a pot holder ruined.  Well then my Dad comes in and Mum makes sure Jeff tells him too, he is laughing too, and even asks Jeff "did she run and hide in the shed?" and I was like I did not hide in the shed.  So there, the whole story, now everyone knows..that is why I sell stamps, and not cooking stuff!

So then after Jeff got off the phone Eric and I were saying that we were smokin' pot holders earlier. I guess you had to be there.

So anyhow I worked on a swap card for Convention today, and it is very much like a card I did on here before, with just some different colors. 

I am loving this little guy, and I have 25 monkeys and 100 banana's to cut out....yikes!  I mean the card would not be near as cute with just one banana would it?

After I color the banana's I take my Itty Bitty Backgrounds and stamp some dots on the peelings, they look much more real this way.

I took this picture of Sammi today, (I tried to take her shiny eyes from the camera flash out of the picture) the last couple days she has not been feeling that good, she is getting pretty thin and is not seeing or hearing as good as she used to.  She is 13 and starting to show her age.  She has a vet appt when I get back from convention.  She goes through these periods once in a while, and then she is fine for a while.  It breaks my heart, but she is not crying or acting in pain so that is good, because Jeff and I both agreed that we won't ever let her suffer.  I just don't want anything to be wrong with her, we have had her a long time, she is my little girl and I love her so much.  She is the best dog in the whole wide world and has brought such joy to our family, I don't want it to end. So as you look at her picture, think happy thoughts for her ok?

Thanks for stopping in!

Hugs, Di