Braided Card - by Brandy Cox

Brandy's Blog

Check out Brandy's Videos

Punched Strawberries

♥

Over thirty years ago I made some little stuffed strawberry Christmas tree ornaments for my mom. After Christmas, she tied them in a bunch and hung them in her kitchen, thus beginning the strawberry collection in her kitchen that rivals my own collection of turtles.

When I saw this Doodlebug paper at the scrapbook store a couple of weeks ago, I just had to have it. Along side of it in the store was a cute little embellishment that I initially picked up, then put back on its hook thinking, "Hmph...I could make that." And I did.

I used a heart-shaped punch for the berry, and then I used my 1/2" corner rounder to soften the point at the bottom. A flower punch served as the leaves, and some white-puffy-paint became seeds.

I used these little berries as embellishments on cards - one for my mom and one for Grandma.

♥

 http://paperturtle.blogspot.com/2012/01/strawberry-fields-forever.html

 

Working With Metal Sheets In Crafts

Oval Punch Tutorial by Nicole Tugral

TUTORIAL: Oval Punch Bow

I had a HUGE response about my paper bows that I posted Sunday.  Thank you for all the wonderful comments and interest.  So, here is a tutorial for you!  I made a large bow and put it on a large binder clip.  Here's a look.

 I made a step by step picture tutorial.  I have not ventured into videos yet, I have three little ones in the house so it's not very quiet here!

SUPPLIES:

Extra Large Oval Punch

Large Oval Punch

Hexagon Punch OR...
Square Punch

1/2" circle punch

3/4" circle punch

Designer Series Paper, I used Afternoon Picnic

Sticky Strip

Large Binder Clip

Large Pearl

 TIP: I used sticky strip for a firmer hold.  The glue dots work, but I found that the bow components moved around.  I do not have that problem when using sticky strip.  It's not as convenient as the glue dots, but a much better hold.

DO NOT FLATTEN your ovals as you bend them in half to adhere the ends.  You want a rounded bow, not a flat one.

 For this step, I need to clarify that the sticky strip is added to the back of the DSP down each side.

 This last picture shows the smaller bow that is made with the Large Oval Punch and the Small Oval Punch.  It is hard to tell how big the clip and bow from the tutorial are without a smaller clip next to it.

You can view Nicole's Blog by clicking HERE

'Creped' Paper Flowers Tutorial

Here is a sample card made by Marti, who also produced the above video tutorial...

Kitchen soup is made with all the leftovers and this card is just that. The flower came from a video that I created a few weeks ago and the mosaic background came when I was experimenting with “brayered” embossing folders. So there you have it – my Kitchen Soup Card!

You can see the video on how to make the flowers  HERE
To make the mosaic background, I used the Brayer to spread Coastal Cabana classic ink inside the Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder on the positive side. Then I placed the Whisper White cardstock inside the folder and ran it through the  Big Shot. I expected to get a solid blue layer of ink in the depressed areas of the cardstock.
I was surprised that the ink was rather blotchy but the more I looked at this pattern, the more I liked it.  And then I saw that flowers from the video fit perfectly!

I added the greeting with a wonderful stamp set called “Really Good Greetings“. It has good bold greetings that are easy to use because they can be the focal point of the card. And the sayings are perfect!
Look at the Candy Dot in the Corner! These little dots are so fun to use – no brads required and they come in EVERY color. You definitely need to stock up on these.

Flower Top Pens

"Tape It" Flower Pens Tutorial

And then I saw a video by Jenny. They are so easy. Check out her video HERE! I did do my flowers just a little different than Jenny did, but you can get the idea by watching her video.

I made up a bunch of these Flower Pens for some convention gifts. They are so much fun to make!

You can see them up close a little better in this photo.

I used RSVP pens. You can also use pencils. I'm thinking these would be nice teacher gifts.

So what do you think? I don't think anyone would walk away with your pen........

So what I did was cut my Whisper White card stock at 2 1/2" x 11", stamp 4 different Tape It stamps with 4 different color inks, all the way across. Then I went to the Container Store and bought these scissors. They were even on sale for $6.99 and saved me a ton of time.  Five cuts at once!

 So I cut all the way down the strip leaving about an inch. Added my Sticky Strip to the bottom and carefully wrapped it around the top of the pen. Then fluffed it with my bone folder. But then, it just didn't seem like the petals were long enough, so I cut a coordinating cardstock at 3 1/2" x 11" and this time I used the Big Doily stamp, (stamped several times on that strip with the same color ink as the paper), then cut like I did with the Whisper White strip, and wrapped it around the pen. Used my bone folder again to make the petals curved, then took some Washi Tape and put around the bottom of the paper. I had a bunch of extra Soda Pop Tops from the Spring Catalog left over, so I stamped the Doily and punched out 1/2" circle added it to the small Soda Pop Top and finished off with some Crystal Effects. Let it dry and hot glued to the center of my flower. 

                                   Tape It, #130715, $18.95

Here are my color combos:

Calypso Coral
Crisp Cantaloup
Island Indigo
Basic Grey

Coastal Cabana
Strawberry Slush
Pistachio Pudding
Crisp Cantaloup

Baked Brown Sugar
Bashful Bride
Strawberry Slush
Primrose Petals

Cindee Wilkinson's Blog 

"Tape It" Paper Flower Tutorial

Happy Saturday!
I am sharing with you today the last project using the Tape It stamp set (130715) for the Stampin' Success article.  These paper flowers are so pretty and you will be shocked how easy they are to create after you watch the below video I have done for you!
Here is the finished project...

Here is a close up of one of the flowers...

I used Very Vanilla cardstock (101650) and the ink colors I used are:

Summer Starfruit Classic Ink (126991)

Marina Mist Classic Ink (126962)

Wild Wasabi Classic Ink (126959)

Crumb Cake Classic Ink (126975)

The center of the flower has a circle punched out using the 1/2" Circle Punch (119869) and Crumb Cake cardstock (120953).  The flower is one of our In Color Dahia's (127556).  I stuck it to the flower with two Stampin' Dimensionals (104430) placed on top of each other.

Click here to order the items listed to duplicate this project!

Here is what the back of the flowers look like...

I also strung a few Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons (127555) on to Linen Thread (104199) which I also wrapped around the vase.

by Jenny Peterson - Blog HERE

Triple Stamping - by Barbara Wirth

Fabulous Florets with Triple Time Stamping

My friend, Barbara Wirth, made this card for her daughter-in-law.  I thought that it was so beautiful, I asked her if I could take a picture and share it with all of you.

You can click here  to Download Triple Time Stamping directions.

• The card base is Crumb Cake and the layers are Very Vanilla.
• The flowers are stamped in Pool Party, Real Red, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, and the white flowers are embossed.
• Barbara sponged all of the vanilla card stock with Crumb Cake to give the card a very warm feel.

Triple Time Stamping -Blooming with Kindness Stampin' Up! Stamp Set

1. Fold the Elegant Eggplant card stock in half.

2. Add the white insert for inside.

3. Lightly adhere the three pieces of white card stock together with just one

little bit in the middle of the back of each piece.

4. Stamp the greeting of your choice in the center of the smallest white card

in Eggplant ink.

5. Then stamp the large flower on all four corners. Position the stamp in

different directions.

6. Layer the top four layers.

7. Cut 12" of Eggplant Dotted Scallop Ribbon and tie it around those layers.

8. Add these layers to the final white layer and then add these to the main

card.

Sizes of Layers:

White                                     Eggplant

2"x 3 1/4"                            2 1/4"x 3 1/2"

3"x 4 1/4"                            3 1/4"x 4 1/2"

4"x 5 1/4"                               main card

Sandy's Blog

Color Wash Technique

Demo video by Tami White

Decor Framelets Card - A DOUBLE challenge by Connie Babbert

                

I think I'm going to wear out my Flower Shop stamp set and Pansy Punch, I've used them SO much!  I stayed pretty close to the original sketch challenge, too.  Actually…I did another card that I'll post later using the double challenge again!

Here is what I did:

1. I cut TWO of the largest Decor Label Framelits from Pistachio Pudding cardstock.
2. The FRONT one I embossed with Perfect Polka Dots folder.  The BACK one I scored across right at the part where the top design starts to turn into the curved shape.  Use Sticky Strip above the scored mark on the BACK one, then adhere front and back together.  The scored line becomes the hinge to open and close the card.
3. Stamp the greeting from hostess set, Simply Sketched in Calypso Coral on Whisper White, then cut with the smaller Decor Label Framelit and adhere to front.
4. Stamp the Flower Shop flower image twice with Crisp Cantaloupe ink on Whisper White and punch with the Pansy Punch.  Also punch one Blossom punch from Calypso Coral cardstock.  Adhere to the front with Stampin' Dimensionals.
5. Cut a 1" x 6" strip of Crisp Cantaloupe pattern from In Colors Designer Paper Pack and fold in half, cut flag ends.  Tuck under the left side of the larger flower.
6. Punch the Itty Bitty flower image from Pistachio Pudding pattern in the In Colors Designer Paper Pack and use for the centers of the flowers.  Add a Calypso Coral Candy Dots in the center.

You can view Connie's blog

 

Dog Food - Make your own recipe

Free Homemade Dog Food Recipe: Beef and Sweet Vegetables

04/30/2013 -
http://www.k9instinct.com/1/post/2013/04/free-homemade-dog-food-recipe-beef-and-sweet-vegetables.html

A homemade dog food diet is an excellent, healthy alternative to commercial kibble. Homemade dog food can help promote health and well being in your four-legged family members by providing real food, wholesome nutrition and freshness you simply cannot get with kibble diets. Making your own dog food is easier than you think, and can also be quite inexpensive! Purchasing your meat on sale and buying bagged frozen vegetables will be cheaper than buying a high quality kibble!

This free homemade dog food recipe is balanced and complete to AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) standards. A complete whole food multivitamin is ESSENTIAL to every homemade recipe to replace any nutrients lost in the cooking process. To get my entire collection of balanced homemade dog food recipes, check out my Homemade Dog Food Recipe eBook!

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Beef and Sweet Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

• 550g boiled beef liver
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup of boiled sweet potato
• 1/2 cup of boiled green beans
• 1/2 cup of boiled peas
• 1/2 cup of boiled carrots
• 1/4 cup of 2% fat cottage cheese
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 scoops of Nupro Gold Supplement

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop the beef liver into small pieces and boil until cooked. (Do not overcook!)
2. Boil sweet potato, green beans, peas and carrots until tender.
3. In a large bowl add the sweet potato, green beans, peas, carrots, applesauce, cottage cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Mash it all together and mix well.
4. Add the boiled beef liver to the mash, mix it in.
5. When the food cools, add 1 1/2 scoops of the Nupro Gold supplement.
6. Serve!

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FEEDING GUIDE FOR THIS MEAL

• 10 lbs - 208g a day
• 20 lbs - 350g a day
• 40 lbs - 589g a day
• 60 lbs - 798g a day
• 80 lbs - 991g a day
• 100 lbs - 1172g a day

Conversion for grams to cups:
Conversion Chart / Table

gram to cups Conversion Chart / Table:		cups to grams Conversion Chart / Table:
g = c 1.0 = 0.00423 2.0 = 0.00845 3.0 = 0.01268 4.0 = 0.01691 5.0 = 0.02113	gram = cups 6.0 = 0.02536 7.0 = 0.02959 8.0 = 0.03381 9.0 = 0.03804 10  = 0.04227	c = g 1 = 236.58824 2 = 473.17647 3 = 709.76471 4 = 946.35295 5 =1182.94118	cups = grams 6 =1419.52942 7 = 1656.11766 8 = 1892.7059 9 =2129.29413 10=2365.88237

Want more balanced and complete recipes? Check out my eBook: Homemade Dog Food Recipes

Don't forget to like K9 Instinct on Facebook to get new blog article updates and other dog tips!

Angel
K9 Instinct
www.k9instinct.com

Apricot Nectar

Apricot Nectar

 Sorry Jennifer I have taken so long to post this but canning season is in full swing at my house so everything else takes a back seat.

Apricots are a weird fruit to me.  People either like them or hate them.  

I think there is so much hate involved because if you have a apricot tree that is within a 5 mile radius of your house those "neighbors" will try to pawn their fruit off on you.  I guess we should link apricots with the quote of "if you have a apricot tree you can feed a nation" (okay not really but your entire neighborhood!).

Apricots are like zucchini in that way, there is always a million of them and you never know what to do with them because after eating them all day long for 2 weeks straight, you kinda get sick of them and nobody wants to take them off your hands.

Except me.  At least a few bucket loads because even I can only handle so much of these little beauties.

We like apricot jam a little bit at our house so one or two batches gets jamified but we L.O.V.E. apricot nectar.  Isn't it beautiful in the jar?  I love how brilliant orange it gets and it is delicious.

This is my grandmother's recipe and we grew up drinking this juice.  We always mixed it with orange juice or orange koolaid but it's totally up to your preferences, I just know that it's awesome to drink and quite easy to can (as far as canning things goes anyways...) so if you have a apricot tree near you give it a try and because in my neck of the woods people will let you have as many apricots as you want for free.  Sweet!

And if you have never canned before, read this post first.  It's a great introduction to canning.

Apricot Nectar

(click here for printable version)

Apricots (a 5 gallon bucket produce about 10-12 quarts of juice)

Water

Sugar

Lemon juice

Water bath or steam canner

Canning jars, sterilized (I send them through a cycle in the dishwasher)

New lids

Rings

Chinois Strainers(we just called it a sieve growing up) (possibly like Mom's Food Foley?)

1.  Wash all your apricots and remove pits.  Put apricots in your large thick bottomed pot--very important because you don't want the bottom to burn.  For every 4 cups of apricots you put in, add 1 cup of water. Let sit at a gentle boil until apricots are very soft--I let mine sit 3-4 hours or longer.

2.  After your jars have been sterilized, fill each one with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice.

3.  When the apricots are soft, set up your sieve (or chinois) over a bowl to catch all the juice.  Gently pour several cups of the apricot/water mixture in your sieve and using the pestle push the mixture all around trying to get out as much juice as possible.  Pour juice into jar, filling up to the neck.  Dump out remains of apricots in separate bowl.  Using a wooden spoon stir juice until sugar dissolves.  Repeat until apricot/water mixture is gone.

4.  Top each jar with a lid and ring.  Process for 20 minutes according to manufacture's instructions.  Enjoy!

 

 

Here's a Chinois:

 

Fox Run 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Chinois Set

by Fox Run

3.7 out of 5 stars  

---

List Price:	$49.99
Price:	$34.25 & FREE Shipping. Details
You Save:	$15.74 (31%)

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

 

 

(Here's the Printable version)

 

Apricot Nectar

(www.thefarmgirlrecipes.blogspot.com)

Apricots (a 5 gallon bucket produce about 10-12 quarts of juice)

Water

Sugar

Lemon juice

Water bath or steam canner

Canning jars, sterilized (I send them through a cycle in the dishwasher)

New lids

Rings

Chinois Strainers(we just called it a sieve growing up)

1.  Wash all your apricots and remove pits.  Put apricots in your large thick bottomed pot--very important because you don't want the bottom to burn.  For every 4 cups of apricots you put in, add 1 cup of water. Let sit at a gentle boil until apricots are very soft--I let mine sit 3-4 hours or longer.

2.  After your jars have been sterilized, fill each one with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice.

3.  When the apricots are soft, set up your sieve (or chinois) over a bowl to catch all the juice.  Gently pour several cups of the apricot/water mixture in your sieve and using the pestle push the mixture all around trying to get out as much juice as possible.  Pour juice into jar, filling up to the neck.  Dump out remains of apricots in separate bowl.  Using a wooden spoon stir juice until sugar dissolves.  Repeat until apricot/water mixture is gone.

4.  Top each jar with a lid and ring.  Process for 20 minutes according to manufacture's instructions.