Toad Houses and Eggs?

My granddaughter Mary has been sleeping over three nights now.  We started working on a project for her yard.  Mary and her family have a house on 3 acres and they have a creek and pond.  They have toads and frogs that live there too.  So we decided to make a toad house from a broken flower pot that I had in my yard. Here are some pictures.

 This is the inside of the Toad house. 

 This is the inside while standing up.

 This is the bottom of the pot which is now the back of the house.

 This is the Right side. 

and this is the Left side.

My granddaughter Hailey came to stay tonight and she made a smaller house using the piece that broke off of the one Mary used.  Here are pictures of Hailey's Toad house.

 This is the out side of the Toad house.

This is the Inside of the Toad house.  I will try to take some pictures of the final placement in their yard for the Toads to enjoy, and post them.

Last night Mary and I made Paper Eggs.  I purchased a Cut File from myscrapchick.com and so we made the following eggs.

 Mary chose the Zebra Stripe paper from Roxie level 2 paper pack, Pink polka-dot sheer ribbon and Black Grosgrain ribbon.

 I used Lucy Level 2 paper pack and Pear Grosgrain Ribbon.  

I didn't expect them to be quite as tall as they turned out.  But they are very cute.  It was a little hard for Mary to put together so I helped her on the bottom half.  I used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue all the little tabs and I should have used glue dots so we didn't have to hold the tabs so long.  I purchased a couple other files that I hope to be making here soon.  One is a Pour box 

and the other is a Dispenser box. 

These are so stinkin cute, I can hardly wait to make them.

Happy Scrapin',

Janice

National Scrapbooking Month—Dotty for You

April–May 2012 Constant Campaign

When you place an order of $35 or more in products from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book between April 17 and May 31, you may add the Dotty for You paper packet, valued at $19.95, for just $5. Dotty for You includes 24 specially designed, coordinating B&T Duos^® sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing. But that’s not all! There are two ways you can get this darling paper packet FREE!

Hostesses will receive a free Dotty for You paper packet when their Gathering sales total $400 or more (excluding tax, shipping/handling, and Operation Smile donations).

New Consultants who sign up between April 1 and May 31 (two full months!) will receive a free Dotty for You paper packet with their kit.

Spread the word and help us celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May with this exclusive Dotty for You paper packet promotion.

Happy Scrapin',

Janice

My new website is up now.

You should check out my new website.  They finally got it up and running.  Here is a link http://janicewilson.ctmh.com/Default.aspx  I can also send out monthly news letters if you want to keep up to date on what's going on.  Just drop me a note to let me know you want to receive them and I will send one to you.

Happy Scrapin',

Janice

Happy Easter to my Peeps!

This year we are having Easter at My Daughter's house.  I am bringing an Italian pasta salad, an Israeli salad, Avocado salsa, Brownies and an Apple tart.  Most of which is on my Soy, Gluten, Sugar, Dairy, Egg and Corn FREE diet. I am proud to say that I have been on this diet now for 17 months.  The only thing that isn't on my diet is the Brownies.  Dawn even bought an all natural Turkey, so I can have that too.  I will even share the recipes with you below.  I have had a hard time coming up with foods that I can have at events like these.  I usually end up eating chicken and basically making a mini meal for myself.  Not this time.  I wanted to make dishes that all of us can eat and we can make them any time of year too.

Italian pasta salad

Italian Pasta salad

1 Package Tinkyada Brown Rice noodles
12 Grape Tomatoes cut in 1/2s or 1/4s
1 16 oz can Artichoke Hearts in water quartered
1 16 oz can Black Olives sliced
1/2 Cucumber cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 cup each Red and Orange Bell pepper
1 small Myan Sweet Onion chopped
6 fresh leaves Basil finely chopped
1 Lemon, juice only.
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions;
Cook pasta according to the direction on the package.  Drain and let cool.  In a large mixing bowl combine all other ingredients and stir will.  Add pasta and stir again.  Chill for at least 2 hours and serve.

Avocado Salsa

1 Medium Myan Sweet Onoin

6 Roma Tomaotes 

3 Serrano peppers

3 Cloves Garlic

1 cup Cilantro leaves

5 Avocados

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions;

Chop Onion, Seed the Roma Tomatoes and cut into 1/2" pieces.  Seed the Serrano pepers and cut in to 1/4" pieces.  Mince the garlic or put it through the Garlic press.  Finely chop Cilantro leaves.  Cut the Avocados into 1/2" pieces.  Combine all ingredients in a Medium bowl and stir. Chill for at least 2 hours. Add more peppers for a Hotter Salsa. 

Note; Serrano peppers are hotter than Jalapeno peppers so make sure you take the seeds out unless you want it HOT. I use just the leaves of the Cilantro because the stems can be bitter.  I love this on top of Turkey Burgers.  I can eat this with Kettle Chips with sea salt.  They are made with Safflower and/or Sunflower oil.  My SIL Maria shared this recipe with me last week while I was helping her in Dufur.

Israeli Salad

Israeli Salad

5 or 6 Roma Tomatoes
1 Cucumber
1 Bell pepper (can be any color or a combo)
1 small Myan Sweet Onion
10 Green Olives
1 Lemon, just the juice
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste




Directions;
Get a medium bowl and add ingredients as follows.  Seed the Roma Tomatoes and cut into 1/2" pieces.  Cut cucumber into 1/2" pieces. Cut Bell Pepper into1/2" Pieces.  Finely chop Onion and Green Olives and add to the bowl.  Drizzle Olive oil and Lemon Juice  onto other ingredients and stir will.  Add salt and Pepper to taste and Chill for at least 2 hours.

Note; This salad is best eaten the same day.  Does not hold over well.

Chocolate Brownies

Chocolate Brownies


1 Box Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines Brownie Mix (any flavor)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup Oil (I use Olive Oil)
1/4 cup Water
1 Tub Pillsbury Dark Chocolate Frosting.

Directions;
Mix Brownie mix, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup oil in a mixer bowl and mix for 2 minutes or until all ingredients are mixed well.  Bake as directed on box.  When the brownies are done, cut into the size squares you want and then add the frosting while the brownies are still hot.  Serve when you are ready.



I do not have a picture of my Apple Tart, but I did take a recipe I saw on Martha Stewart about a month ago.  She had a guest baker on the show, and they made this tart, only I changed the crust so that I could eat it. I used the Baking Powder Biscuit recipe in my Comprehensive Elimination Diet plan.

Apple Tart

Apple Tart
5-6 Granny Smith Apples
1 1/2 cups Apple Sauce (sugar free) Any Flavor
Cinnamon
Baking Powder biscuit dough for crust

Crust;
1 1/2 cups Brown Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder (Corn Free Recipe below)
1/8 tsp salt
3 Tbsp Safflower or Sesame Oil
1 cup Apple sauce

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees.  In a medium to large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients.  Sprinkle Oil on top and mix will with a pastry blender or fork, until consistency is crumbly.  Mix in Apple sauce and stir until blended.  Roll out on floured (Brown Rice) cutting board and place in cookie sheet.  You will need to add flour to the top of the dough to roll it out.

Tart Directions;
Peel, core and slice apples.  (I use an Apple peeler, corer, slicer and just cut the spirals in half and fan out onto the tart like the picture.)
Spread on the apple sauce, sprinkle with Cinnamon and layer the apple slices.  Bake for 18 - 20 minutes.  


Corn free Baking powder
2 tsp Cream of Tarter
2 tsp Arrowroot
1 tsp Baking Soda

Stir together to mix well. Store in an airtight container.  Make small batches.


Note; I linked Martha Stewart's recipe to the picture so you can see the changes that I made.  I made this for the Family reunion in March and everyone loved it even those who don't have food allergies. My crust does not rise like Martha's because of the Baking powder.  Feel free to change it to work for you.

Well I started Posting this last night, before I got sick.  I sent all the yummy food with Steve so that they could enjoy it.  Hopefully there will be some left over so I can have it when I am feeling better.  I didn't get the tart made either, darn it. I was going to try the Apricot Apple Sauce, I thought that would be yummy.   I hope these recipes help those of you looking for recipes like these.

Happy Easter!!!

Janice

Where did March go???

Sorry I haven't been posting lately, I have been very busy and putting a lot of miles on my van this last 6 weeks.  It first started in February when I went to The Dalles to help my brother paint the inside of his house.  They were getting ready to put their house up for sale and I wanted to help as much as I could.  I spent about a week there.   I came home for a couple days when I received a call from Steve's sister in Dufur, asking if I could help her with their mother who has Dementia, while my other sister-in-law was in New Mexico helping with her Grandbabies.  I spent about a week there then came home for a day and went back up for three days.  I came home the night before we had reservations at the beach in Lincoln City for the BCA Pool tournament.  We had a great time, Steve's team tied for 9th - 12th place and split $700.00.  We played some slots and won a little there too. We spent 3 nights there.  On Monday March 19th, my Mother came on the Greyhound bus all the way from Arkansas.  She wanted to visit Maryhill Museum in Washington State while she was here.  All of my family that lives here got together for a lunch on March 24th, so that Mom could see all of us including all the grandchildren and great grandchildren.  I think that we had 26 altogether.  It was a fun day,  I was glad to see everyone.  I was so busy that I didn't get to take any pictures so my sister said she would give me copies of her pictures.  I will try to post them when I get them.  We returned home on Sunday the 25th and my mother headed back to Arkansas on Wednesday the 28th,  I returned to Dufur to help with my Mother-in-law till Sunday April 1st.  I am so glad to be home where I can relax and start creating again.  I did make a few cards, but didn't take pictures to post.  I will be working on some projects soon, but for now I am taking some much needed me time.  Then getting ready for Easter with the Grandbabies.

The Philosophy of Fun.

I would love to have you join my team. If you join my team in March you will receive a fabulous Cricut^® Art Philosophy collection FREE! If you already own an Art Philosophy collection, you can choose to receive $100 in select product credit* instead.  The collection, which retails for $99, is actually valued at over $124, adding incredible value to the New Consultant Kit. It’s time for everyone to embrace the philosophy of fun—Consultant and Cricut^® fun!

Dates: Offer valid valid March 1 at 9:00 am (MST) – March 31 at 11:59 pm (MDT).

 Your New Consultant Kit is only $99! You will receive an abundance of business and creative supplies and products in your New Consultant Kit. All the supplies in the kit have a retail value of over $288!

You can enhance your kit by purchasing one or more of our add-on collections for just $40 each—well below the retail value and available only during enrollment. It’s an investment that will reap big rewards!

Business Essentials (included with enrollment)

New Consultant Kit contents: 

• Read Me First Letter
• Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Books (qty. 10)
• Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Books (qty. 5, while supplies last)
• "You Are Welcome Here" Recruiting Brochures (W1151, qty. 25)
• "The Rewards Come Now" Hostess Brochures (W1150, qty. 25)
• Studio J® Brochures (W111, qty. 5)
• Hostess Order Forms (W122, qty. 25)
• Customer Order Forms (W101, qty. 25)
• Studio J® Customer Order Forms (W1102, qty. 25)
• Studio J® Membership Cards (W1103, qty. 5)
• Studio J® 5-Pack Cards (W1104, qty. 5)
• Close To My Heart Color Swatches (W470)
• Spring/Summer 2012 B&T Duos® Sampler (W1113, 48 – 6" Square Samples)
• Cello Bags (W1152, qty. 25)
• My Acrylix® Sweet Thanks Petite Perks™ Stamp Set (W2022, qty. 5)
• My Acrylix® Wonderful You Incentive Stamp Set (W332)
• Double Scrubber (Z1163)
• My Acrylix® Spritz Cleaner (1778)
• Bonding Memories® Glue (1512)
• Sponge (Z697)
• Liquid Glass (Z679)
• Micro-Tip Scissors (Z534)
• Outdoor Denim My Legacy® Faux Leather Album (Z1346)
• My Creations® Memory Game (Z1614)
• Workshops on the Go™ Stella Kit (G1032)
• Stella Complements Canvas Shapes (X7147C)
• Colonial White Die-Cut Cards (Z1738)
• Clear Sparkles (Z1104)
• Olive Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2137)
• Cocoa Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2114)
• Lagoon Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2195)
• My Acrylix® Urban Alphabet Stamp Set (D1507)
• My Acrylix® Just for You Stamp Set (B1398)
• 1" x 3 1/2" My Acrylix® Block (Y1002)
• 3" x 3" My Acrylix® Block (Y1006)
• Some items may not be shown. Contents are subject to change without notice.

 CONSULTANT KIT - SPRING 2012

Add-On Collections

Want more than just the New Consultant Kit? Select any or all of the remaining collections at the discounted price, plus tax and shipping.

Florentine Add-On Collection includes: 

• Workshops on the Go™ Florentine Kit (G1038)
• Pewter Badge Buttons (Z1704)
• Timeless Charms (Z1689)
• My Acrylix® Family Love Stamp Set (D1506)
• My Acrylix® Enjoy! Stamp Set (C1496)
• Goldrush Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2123)
• Bamboo Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2103)
• 2" x 2" My Acrylix® Block (Y1003)
• 2" x 6 1/2" My Acrylix® Block (Y1010).
• Some items may not be shown. Contents are subject to change without notice.

 CONSULTANT KIT - ADD ON 1

Pemberley Add-On Collection includes: 

• Workshops on the Go™ Pemberley Kit* (G1033)
• Color-Ready Garden Wooden Shapes (Z1718)
• Light Neutral Cardstock Shade Pack (X5913)
• Mini-Medley Accents Pacifica Collection (Z1698)
• My Acrylix® Love Clusters Stamp Set (C1484)
• My Acrylix® Card Word Puzzle Stamp Set (C1494)
• Indian Corn Blue Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2130)
• Desert Sand Exclusive Inks® Pad (Z2118)
• 2" x 3 1/2 My Acrylix® Block (Y1009).
• Some items may not be shown. Contents are subject to change without notice.

*Cricut® Art Philosophy cartridge required to complete workshop layouts and bonus project. (Cricut cartridge not included.)

 CONSULTANT KIT - ADD ON 2

Studio J® Add-On Collection includes: 

• 3-month Studio J® Membership
• 5 Studio J® Layouts (must redeem within first 3 months).
• Some items may not be shown. Contents are subject to change without notice.

 CONSULTANT KIT - ADD ON 3

New Consultants who sign up between March 1—31 receive a FREE Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection* in their New Consultant Kit! The collection's retail price of $99 adds incredible value to your New Consultant Kit and will give you hours of creative fun with the included exclusive Cricut® cartridge, three coordinating My Acrylix® D-size stamp sets, and three sheets of matching Dimensional Elements shapes. Already own the collection? You can choose to receive $100 in select product credit** instead. Now is the time to embrace the philosophy of fun—Consultant and Cricut® fun!  Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection  $100 Select Product Credit *Offer available March 1—31, 2012. No additional tax is charged on the Cricut® collection when ordered during enrollment. Cricut® is a registered trademark of Provo Craft & Novelty, Inc. All rights reserved. **Additional requirements and limitations regarding the redemption and shipping of Select Product Credit apply. Select Product Credit is added to new Consultant account following approval of enrollment. Happy Scrapin', Janice

What could be better than Twins for Valentines Day?

Ok, let me clarify a little.  I don't mean Twins as in a date, or as in new Grandbabies.  Well they are kind of new Grand kids.  Charlie's friend went to a live stock auction yesterday and bought 4 baby goats, yes I said goats, or Kids.  When he got home with them his wife only wanted 2 so Charlie got a call from his friend and said he would take the two that they didn't want.  So today while Dawn was at school, Grandpa and I took Miss Hailey to the Base to pick up the Kids.  Here are some pics.

 Hailey found that they like to suck on her finger.  She thought that was pretty funny.

 Here Charlie is telling Hailey about the babies.  They are 14 days old, so they will need to be bottle fed for about another month or so.

 When we got them to our house it was time to feed them so Hailey helped Mom give them a bottle.

Charlie was telling Dawn to enjoy the ride home with the goats in the car.  They were so loud on our way home from the base, that Hailey asked if we could shut them up, or turn the radio on loud.

They are very cute.  Guess I'm gonna have to scrapbook the twins.

Happy Scrapin',

Janice

Happy Valentines Day

Here are the Valentines that I made for my Grandchildren, using the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge and cut files form myscrapchick.com and svgcuts.com

Happy Scrapin',

Janice

Next Saturday's Card Class in The Dalles, OR

Here are 3 of the 4 cards I am making for class next Saturday.

I am using Lucy Level 2 papers and Smoothie, White Daisy and Colonial White Card Stock.  I borrowed the Thanks A Latte stamp from my friend Jeanie.  I stamped it in Grey Wool ink and colored it in with Dessert Sand and Creme Brulee markers. 

 I got a free SVG cut File the other day for the Shamrock and I found a tutorial on how to make the Leprechaun hat, it was from last year.  I have seen the Leprechaun punch art on Splitcoaststampers before, but came up with my own version. 

This is the New Quick Cards-Butterfly A1120 I inked it up with Sky then rocked the stamp on Lagoon before I stamped it onto White Daisy card stock.  I layered it onto Lagoon card stock and then on the sky that I had embossed with Swiss Dots.  I inked the edges of the butterfly paper, the White Daisy and the Sky papers with Sky ink.  I love how the Butterfly turned out.  


My friend Jeanie came over to play today, she got a lot done.  I did too but it took me a lot longer to do it.   I am going to start having crops at my house soon, I will let you know when.  I think I can have 6 people here with plenty of room.


Happy Scrapin',


Janice

Last Saturday's Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book Kick off was a huge success.

The day started off a little rocky, several of us showed up at the Somerset Assisted Living center in Glad Stone, OR and found that when they booked the room they mis-read the Previous bookings times as 9:00 am - 12:00am as being done at Noon, so they tried to get us another room but they were all booked.  Luckily one of our new members and her friend knew of a place we could move the event to.  They even called Round Table Pizza in West Linn and they allowed us to bring our potluck in with us.  The Staff was AWESOME, even told us to leave anything we don't want and they would take care of it.  We had a total of 13 ladies show up and we all had a great time.  8 of us played Bunko and then we all took a table and spread out our stuff and went to work. I forgot to take my camera, but Shannon took pictures and sent then to me.  Here they are.

 I put some small stamp sets in the Bunko Prize bags, along with some embellishments and everyone was so excited to get them.  Shannon asked a question every 30 minutes and gave away 15 D size stamp sets.  The questions ranged from Do you have pets, to Are you wearing colored Panties?  

 Shannon ordered Cup cakes for our party.

 Jeri and Tiffany

 Julie and Helen

 Megan, Wendy, Lynne and Me in the red.

 Dawn, Megan, Lynne and me again.

Paula

Shannon.

 I made some cute little leprechaun hats, for my next class.  Here they are;

I will show you what I end up doing with them soon.

We had so much fun, and met several new friends to scrap with.

Happy Scrapin',

Janice

Prizes for Bunko.

Here are the little bags that I have been working on for the Prizes for the Bunko game on Saturday.  These came together so easy today and were so much fun to make.

If you have ever played Bunko, you would know that there are 4 prizes, Most Bunko's, Most Wins, Most Losses and Last Bunko.  Each bag has a tag stating which winner they go to.

Here is a close up of the "Most Wins" bag.

The decorative paper is from the New Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book, it is called Lucy (X7149B) and I used the small flower from the Card Word Puzzle C1494 Stamp set.  I made a cut file of the small flower for my Cricut so I didn't have to hand cut all of them.  I used a Permanent marker on White brads to make the center of the flower.  The bag and tag is from The CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.  I used Cotton Candy, Pear, Blush, Colonial White, Vanilla Cream and Creme Brulee card stock.  

I would love to hear what you think, so please leave me a comment.

Happy Scrapin',

Janice

Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book is available on line now!!!

I am so excited, the new Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book is online now.  

Take a look and see all the new stuff.

Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book

Call me to find out how you can get one for FREE!!!

Happy Scrapin',

Janice