It's Reveal Day!!!

Today is the 28th, and you know what that means....Reveal day at Sassy Lil' Sketches.  This month's sketch was  another beautiful one from Cherie!  

And here is my take...

Fancy Pants Happy Together papers, Prima Flowers, American Crafts Ribbon

I loved the design for these fun photos I had taken of Ainsley on vacation.  The three photo sketch was great for a progression layout.  (Sorry about the funky scan...I have the hardest time with white paper.)  


Make sure and hop over to Sassy Lil' Sketches with your take on the sketch and a chance to win a prize from our sponsors.

Our October Paper Sponsor* 

 October Digital Sponsor 

To be eligible for the October prizes your layout needs to be uploaded via Mr. Linky below by November 5th at 11:59 PM EST.

*The paper prize is open to US residents only. The digital prize is open to all US & International residents.

Oh, and Sassy Lil' Sketches is now on Facebook, so be sure to "like" them for even more great sketches and fun!

Hugs.

Nancy

Happy Wednesday

Just wanted to share a few projects I finished.  Lots going on here, but then...that is nothing new.

This is me, a few years ago, at DisneyLand, having lunch with...well, you can see with.  lol

 Maya Road and Websters Pages trims, Pagemaps sketch.  Color Combos Galore Palette

This is Mackenzie, all dressed up for her Nutcracker performance.  The ballet provides the hat and jacket.  So cute.

Prima Marketing papers, flowers.  Pink Paislee alpha and frame

These are some of the lions at the San Diego Safari park.  We had a great time.  These lions were just cracking me up.  I guess they were waiting for someone to come back and get the jeep.  lol

Hambly Studios Stickers, Pagemaps Sketch.

I also have this mini up at Ideas for Scrapbookers today.  

Well, off to drive.  Don't forget that tomorrow is release day at Sassy Lil' Sketches.

Hugs.

Nancy

Menu Monday

Happy Monday!


This week's menus were a bit different as we didn't have to eat every meal out of the crock pot.  Hooray!  Why didn't we?  Because there were a number of days that the children didn't have swim due to a travel meet.


Monday - Mac & Cheese, you have seen this before.  Mac & Cheese is a family fave, so when we can't think of a meatless meal, it is a "go to".


Tuesday - I wasn't home, but Phil made the children sausages and fries.  


Wednesday - Waldorf Salad

Thursday - Tamale Pie...again, not home...so no photos, but you can check out the cute photos of Ainsley from the party we were at here.


Friday - Smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli, green beans, and buttermilk biscuits.  Sorry, no photos...we were in a huge hurry to get to the ballet.  Did I ever tell you we have season tickets?  This last weekend the Ballet San Jose performed Giselle.  


Not a lot of photos for you because I wasn't home most evenings....I do have these though...


Simple Sticky buns.  Yummy!!!!!  Phil and I made these one morning for the children because I had left over puff pastry in the freezer from the chicken pot pies.  

And here is the recipe.....It is an adaptation of a recipe I found on Food Network by Ina Garten


Sticky Buns

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed (I like dark brown, more molasses goodness)
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces
• 1 package frozen puff pastry, defrosted (I started with a 14 oz package, but removed some for the pot pie.  A standard package has 16)

For the filling:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.  Make sure and use the sheet pan, and line it...these get super bubbly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 8 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2-inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.  (since we didn't have enough dough, we only made 10.)

Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful - they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Well, got lots to do.  I will try to be back tomorrow with some scrappy goodness.  

Hugs.

Nancy

Happy Saturday

Just another quick post today.  


I have a couple of cards up at Sassy Lil' Sketches today for the Cupcards{to go} Card CRAZY event!  Be sure and hop over to Sassy lil' Sketches and post your take on the sketches using Mr. Linky.  One lucky person will win a mini kit from Cupcards{to go}!!!

Both of these cards use the adorable images I received from Digital Delights by LoubyLoo.

The last release is Monday, October 25th....

Hugs.

Nancy

Fast Friday and a Winner

So glad that the weekend is almost here.  And it is going to be fun and relaxing...if it flippin' kills me!  lol


First off, thanks to all of you I now have 105 followers!!! w00t w00t!  Who would have guessed that so many of you wanted to hear more about my life and look at my projects!  I am grateful to each and every one of you.  I feel so blessed.


And, speaking of followers.....We had 14 individuals comment on the blog hop post...I loved all of your answers.  And although the answer in my little book of riddles was footsteps, since I thought all of them were valid answers...to random.org I went.

True Random Number Generator

Min:

 

Max:

 

Result:2

Powered by RANDOM.ORG

I don't know why I can't get the code to paste right....but that means our winner is......Laurie!  So, Laurie...please send your mailing information to nkeslin@yahoo.com and I will get your goodies out to you.

And, speaking of goodies.  Last night I took the girls to Hambly Studios for a little Halloween party.  Ainsley had so much fun.  She made a couple of cards and got her face painted.  I think Mackenzie was a little bored tho.  sigh.....We also got a little tour and did a little shopping.  I think I am obsessed with owls.  lol  

Thanks Sarah, for giving me the heads up on this super fun event.

Well, gotta run.  Hope you all have a great weekend.

Hugs.


Nancy

In the Home Stretch

Woo Hoo!!!  This week is almost over and the weekend looks as if it is going to be a relaxing one.  Maybe go out to brunch, maybe some wine tasting.  Oh yeah, Can't wait for it to get here....


In the meantime....Here is a layout I did for Ideas for Scrapbookers.  This week's designer showcase featured nature.  I had these photos from the rainforest exhibit at the California Academy of Science I had been wanting to use...so....

Basic Grey Origins and Basics, Scenic Route chipboard

I used an October Pagemaps for this one.  I needed to get it done quickly, and nothing helps get my layouts done quickly as well as a sketch.


Oh yeah....and there is a new kit club in town you may want to check out.  Right now Devon has everything in her etsy shop, so be sure and check it out.  Kits are only $18 with add ons $7.  Be sure and Catch the Moments.  She is currently looking for a dt as well.  


Well, off to spend some time with the fam.


Hugs.

Nancy

Happy 1/2 way till the Weekend!

If you are looking for the Ideas for Scrapbookers' blog hop, scroll down a bit.....And if you didn't know there was a blog hop going on, you should check it out.  Lots of the designers have prizes to be won! 


I wanted to make a quick post today just to update you on a few more projects I have completed.


Phil was camping this last weekend with the scouts so I decided to spend Friday night cleaning my scrap room.  I came across these old photos from when Brighton was a Webelos scout.  Hard to believe those little boys are all now 6 foot tall.  lol.  In keeping with the old photos, I found these old papers and embellishments.  

K&Company papers and stickers.  American Crafts Thickers.

And some more photos from our Camporee weekend.  The boys all had a great time playing the games.  And although they weren't always successful in completing the assigned task, they worked well together and managed to win 1st in the competition.  We were all so proud.

I had printed this photo years ago to scrap, but somehow it didn't happen (I think I changed my design and used fewer photos).  Well, this one was just too cute not to scrap.  I found this adorable sketch at Pagemaps, and it had an owl on it...of course, there was an owl in one of my Cricut cartridges that I had been dying to use.  That and a color palette from Color Combos Galore and.....done.

 Cricut Cartridges, Cindy Loo and Straight From the Nest

Well, it is getting late, and I think there are still dinner dishes to be done.

Hope you have a great day.

Hugs.

Nancy

Happy Birthday - Ideas for Scrapbookers

I can hardly believe it has been a year since Pam Callaghan started Ideas for Scrapbookers.  What started out as a place to have templates, tutorials, and ideas has grown and blossomed over the last year.  Many fabulous contributing artists have participated, and I am proud to be included as one of them.  (not that I am fabulous...but man...have you seen what some of these girls do? they are fabulous)

In order to celebrate we are having a little blog hop today.   You should have just arrived from Sara Zenger's blog, but if not...welcome!  Be sure and pop over to the Ideas for Scrapbookers blog to get the list of all the participants and a chance at winning some great prizes.

Today, I am sharing some of my favorite "reader's pages" from the past year.  Pam is always so generous in featuring scrapbookers on the blog that use her techniques, tutorials, and templates.  If you have had a chance to use any of these, be sure and submit them to her...we would all love to see your work!

Let's start at the beginning.....

This gorgeous page was done by Pam's good friend Heidi and was featured on November 6.  I love the gorgeous colors, the beautiful star.  I was instantly drawn to it.  You can learn more about Heidi here.

Next up....

This page by Kayla DuPont was featured on December 5, 2009.  It was based on a flower tutorial done a few weeks earlier.  The photos, the colors, the...well...everything really caught my eye.  You can learn more about Kayla here.  

January 16 of this year brought Anna and this beautiful page....

As you probably know, I don't really do digi...but this makes me want to start.  I love the use of the template and the fun colors and photos.  Check out more of Anna's work here.

Shelby had this beautiful layout featured on April 30.  

I love the fun, festive feel with the pieced sun and the fun torn/gathered papers.  The photo is just adorable.   If you would like to know more about Shelby, check out her blog here.

And finally, 2 pages from the September 11 post, because...well... I loved them!!!

The first is from Amanda.  You can find her blog here. 

And this one from Laurie.  Who you can find more of here.

I hope you enjoyed this look back on the past year's reader submissions.  From here you can hop over to my friend Heather's blog.  

But first...a little RAK?  Be or become a follower and leave me a comment answering this riddle....

"What is it the more you take, the more you leave behind?"

I will pick from the comments on Friday and send one person some surprise goodies from my stash.

If you are looking for menus...check yesterday's post.

Hugs.

Nancy

Menu Monday

Well, Menu Sunday this week because tomorrow Ideas For Scrapbooker's is celebrating it's 1 year anniversary with a blog hop.


But before I get to the menu, I wanted to share this tag I made.  This tag is for the Cricut Circle weekly challenge.  We were to use the colors orange, tan, burgundy, and grey.  Of course we needed to make at least 2 cuts as well.  I cut the flowers and flourishes from my Serenade cartridge and the title from Lyrical Letters.  Lots of inking and a fun distress technique that I will put up soon.

This week, much better than last.   I would say that no meals were a flop!  Horray me!!!!


Monday - Cheese Enchiladas.

Tuesday - Tacos.  I wasn't home, so Phil cooked...and that means no photos.  sigh


Wednesday - Tortilla Soup - Delicious!  Love the contrast of flavors

Thursday - Chicken Pot Pie - I cheated a bit and bought frozen puff pastry...no one cared.  lol  Ainsley didn't just love it.  I guess the pearl onions just weren't for her.  Next time I will probably leave them out.  I made them individual so that they would stay fresh.

Friday - BBQ Beef Sandwiches...yum!!!  These were a fave this week.  So this is the recipe I will share.

Pulled Braised Beef Sandwiches

3 ounces tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 lb. chuck roast
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tbs olive oil
2 onions diced.

In a small bowl, stir together tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar Worcestershire, mustard, and garlic.

Season meat with salt and pepper.

In large skillet heat oil over high heat.  When hot, brown the beef, 3-5 minutes per side.  Transfer to plate.  Add onions to pan and cook, stirring a few times, till nicely browned.  Add  a bit of red wine if you like to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.

Put half the onions in the cooker.  Place the beef over the onions.  Smear the tomato mixture on top.  Pour any meat juices from the plate over the roast.  Cover and cook on LOW 5-7 hours.

Serve on hamburger buns or french rolls.  Top with coleslaw and bar-b-que sauce if desired.

Yum!!!!

Well, thanks for dropping by.  Be sure and come back tomorrow for the blog hop!


Hugs.


Nancy

What's Up?

I can't believe how quickly this week is flying by.  It is already Wednesday!  Eeeek!  And here I am, just now, posting the photos from some projects I did over the weekend.  Can someone please help me slow the days down?  lol


OK, well, the first project is for The Color Room challenge.  I used both the sketch and the palette.  

October Afternoon and Bazzil papers, Prima Marketing flowers and bling

And here is a layout I did using Pencil Lines sketch 208 for the Cricut Circle Blog challenge.  The challenge was to use three of the following; pink, flourishes, glitter or jewels, ruffles and scallops....I think you can tell which way I went.  lol  And you know what a challenge it was for me!  lol

Midnight Rooster kit, Cricut Cartridges, Stickles, Glimmer Mist

I am hoping to have some time today to scrapbook a bit more.  But since Ainsley is fighting me on doing her school work.....


Hope you are having a great day.


Hugs.


Nancy

Menu Monday

Welcome to another installment of Menu Monday!!!  Woo Hoo!

Let's just jump right in.....


Monday we had baked manicotti.  This recipe was one I just made up, it worked pretty well holding in a warm oven, but definitely was best for those who got to eat first.  

Tuesday was a big salad.  I had a ton of things going on Tuesday, so Phil did the chopping.  Believe it or not, there is Romaine lettuce underneath all that meat.  This is a Southwestern Steak Salad.  Phil included avocado, corn, tri-tip, black beans and tomatoes.  I like a chipotle ranch dressing, the kids go with plain ranch.  

Wednesday....ummmmm...Phil decided to help out and thru everything in the crock pot for Chicken Cacciatore when he got up early. Have to say, not a fave.  We got the recipe from one of my crock-pot cookbooks.  How you can put so many yummy tastys into one dish and have it taste bland?  I love Chicken Cacciatore, but this recipe just didn't work.  I think this is one of those cases where you really do need to go thru the steps of browning and sauteeing before adding to the crock pot. I will definitely try this again, but I need a different recipe.

Thursday was Sausage Soup.  This is always a favorite in my house.  Everyone loves it!  And like most soups, simple and easy.  And can hold well in either the crock pot or on the stove top.  I made a double batch because we were having a couple of extra people over for dinner.....didn't hardly have any leftovers.

And finally, Macaroni and cheese.  What can I say about home made macaroni and cheese.  It was yummy, it was creamy, it was delicious.  It sat in a warm oven waiting for each round of people, but it did get a little dried out.  I guess that is part of the problem with the whole, multiple dinner times, sometimes things get a little dried out.

Well, the big hit this week was the sausage soup.  So that is the recipe I will share.  

Sausage Soup

1 tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 lb. Italian sausage, sliced if in casing
1/3 c. dry red wine
1 14 oz. can diced tomato
1 can cannellini or great northern beans (rinsed)
14 oz can beef broth
1/2 tsp oregano
5 oz chopped spinach
1 lg summer squash, sliced

On medium high heat sauté onion and garlic in olive oil till lightly brown.  Add in Italian sausage.  Cook till the rawness is gone, about 5 minutes. Drain any fat.  Add in the red wine being sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Cook until most of the liquid had cooked off.  (If you are going to cook in the crock pot now is the time to move everything.) Add in tomato, beans, beef broth, and oregano.

About 10 minutes before serving add spinach and squash.

Hope you enjoy

Hugs.


Nancy