More valentines

My sweet girl asked if I could help her make some Valentine's for some special people in her life.
I thought she wanted me to come up with the ideas, which is normally how it goes. I don't mind of course, unless she wants them all different. Then I stress out, because it can take me days to come up with ideas. Sometimes it only takes me a few hours of trial and error.
So I start asking what she had in mind, and with her permission, she said I could take these pictures and share them. She shared with me some notes she had taken and ideas she had written down about what she wanted out of a valentine. So, I sat and thought, and came up with what I thought would work for her.
Here are her cute and thoughtful notes and ideas.

Here is what I came up with that she said was just perfect.

They are little 1" squares that I just randomly stamped using the colors she wanted.
She is 12 and I really cherish the creative, thoughtful, attentive heart she has. The notes and ideas she wrote down just touch my heart and I love sharing a part of her with others. She was so proud and elated when I asked if it would be ok if I took the pictures and shared them with you all.
Things like this remind me keep these things I love so much about her close to my heart.
Enjoy your day,
-D

Fried rice

Have you ever made fried rice?
I tried, oh about 10 or so years ago. From scratch that is. It was so not good. Salty, bad texture, bad everything. Not edible at all. I tried the fried rice season packet. Still not good.
My sister's mother in law makes the best fried rice. Of course she does, she's Chinese. :-)
So, I ask for the recipe and my answer to that was, "there is no recipe I follow. I just add stuff". Well to my untrained brain for just "throwing " stuff together and having it come out delicious, that did not work for me. So I settled on the fact that I would never be able to make fried rice at home. Anything anyone would want to eat, anyway.
But then, cruising around on the web recently, I saw a recipe for fried rice that claims is the same that the restaurant Benihana makes. Oh man, how can you go wrong?
So, I set out to get all the ingredients, come home and make it, and it was devine! I saw a few comments on the web that mentioned adding sesame oil also, so I did, and I don't know if that is what made the flavor, or what, but it was so good. I had to make a second batch because one was not enough.
It really was simple to make. Maybe I just needed a few years of cooking under my belt first. ;-)
Here is what I used, and I didn't follow a recipe to a "T", but I don't think you have to with fried rice.
2 cups white rice(precooked); cooked and day old (cold works well)
3-4 Tbs butter
1-2 Tbs sesame oil
1 large garlic clove minced
2 green onions chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 cup chopped broccoli
4 eggs
1/2 cup soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a large wok, over medium-high heat melt 3Tbs butter and add oil. Add garlic, saute for just a minute, add veggies and saute till crisp tender. Season with S&P
Add rice and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Can add another Tbs of butter if you would like to here.
Add soy sauce and mix till all is coated
Make a well in the center and add eggs.
Mix till all the eggs are well cooked, can add a little more S&P if desired.
Enjoy!

I'd love to hear your version of fried rice, or what you add that makes it superb in your book.
Enjoy your day,
-D

Valentine's project

At our monthly Close To My Heart meeting, each of us, (there were 11 of us) made a 3x3 card to make a garland with. I think it turned out so super cute.

Enjoy your day,
-D

Beads galore

There is a very large bead store in my area called Shipwreck Beads. It is in Lacey, Wa and if you get the chance to go, I highly recommend it. If you are a crafter/ bead person, or just want to see beads that go on forever. lol
I went the other day with my sister and we decided to go down every row. I think it took us about an hour and a half. That was walking at a good pace and not looking closely at every little item. What a walk!
The store is set back in an industrial area. Of course, it has to be in that type of building since the building itself is 80,000 square feet! The showroom is 22,000 square feet! That's a whole lotta beads.

 This is their walk way outside the store. I just love the beads in the concrete.

 Tons and tons of beads.

 Sparkly, matte, wood, metal, fabric, yarn, plastic beads. More than you could ever think up.

 Live fish tank with beads in there too.

 That's my littlest one. Loving the fish that swim with the beads. :-)

Enjoy your day,
-D

The rest of my workshop cards

Here are the other two cards from my workshop on Saturday.
It was so much fun hanging out with everyone and making these fun cards.
Again, still using the Roxy paper pack and the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from Close to my Heart.

 This last card is using the Stella paper pack from our newly released, (release date is Feb. 1st) catalog and a cute wreath stamp set called Remarkable Wreath.

Enjoy your day,
-D

A few cards I've been working on

I'm having my monthly workshop here in a few days and this month we are making cards and a valentine goody treat.
Here are two of the cards so far. It uses Close to my Heart's Roxy paper pack and the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.

 This is the inside of the I cherish card.

Enjoy your day,
-D

Goodbye snow, hello rain

Well, my resolution to post more often was quickly cut short by our internet being down for 6 days. ARGH! I thought I was going to have withdrawls!
Sad as it may be, life revolves around electronics and my internet is one that I cannot handle being without.
Every year however, we take a weekend off and visit the ocean for 4 days where there actually is no cell phone service, no internet connections, no cable t.v. and barely any radio stations. The ones we do get play old rock and roll and it has lots of static, which strangely, I enjoy, as it adds to the ambiance of our weekend. Contradicting to what I just said in the beginning of the paragraph, I actually like the break. We have to drive several miles inland to get cell phone coverage, and I am ok with that. It is such a nice break from the everyday need to be connected to a gadget. The music we sometimes choose to listen to is relaxing, and being one of the only stations the radio actually picks up, it is a nice change from our everyday norm.
Now that the snow is gone, the rain and wind are here to make a mess of our yard with broken tree limbs and debris. So, I am inside, warm and cozy, working on my workshop coming up.
I have been finding some cute owl crafts. Cards and such. I'm not a huge owl person, but man these little guys are cute.
These are ones I found on pinterest. Haven't made any of my own yet, but am working on them.

How cute are they??
Enjoy your day,
-D