I FINALLY finished this album! I've been working on this one for 7 months at this point. My best friend Jenn graduated back in May. I took a million pictures at her graduation and even stole all of her cards, program, grad tickets etc...so I could make this album for her.

I specifically purchased the graphic 45 Steampunk debutant paper line for this album because it goes with who Jenn is really well (at least I think so). I've known her since we were sophomores in high school so i like to think I kind of know her.

Graphic 45

I'm glad I'm done with this one and can finally send it off to Jenn. There we all sorts of technical difficulties that made me EXTREMELY frustrated while trying to finish it up. But it's done and it's beautiful (if i do say so myself!).

Love you Jenn!!!










Flickr- click for more pictures

Homemade baby food

My kids are kind of spoiled, at least I tell them that often! HA. When I got pregnant with Charlie I knew I wanted to make sure he got a good and healthy start and that idea carried on to Timmy as well. I decided making their baby food would be the best way to go. Of course they've eaten jarred or pouched baby food. We do leave the house (sometimes) so those options are more convenient and portable. But for the most part Charlie ate the homemade stuff and Timmy is doing the same.

That last few days I've been increasing my stock of frozen baby food. I roasted carrots, sweet potato and butternut squash. I also soaked some dried prunes and apricots. My kid is going to turn orange any day now, I just know it!



For roasted veggies I wrap the veggies in foil, unless they have tough skin like butternut squash. And I bake them to death at 400 degrees. You want the veggies to be SUPER soft. In my oven, that can't seem to hold the right temperature to save it's life, it takes 2 hours approximately. Then the veggies get blended to baby food consistency in my blender. I add a bit of water to make blending easy and to get a good texture.



Same exact process for the dried prunes and apricots that should be nice and plump after soaking them over night. Reserve the water you soaked them in to use in the blender.



If you have fresh fruit to turn into baby food, super ripe bananas and peaches are some of my kids favorite. You can just mush them up and feed them to the baby as is. I've also roasted fruit like apples or pears to easy with blending and digestion. Oh and bananas will plug a baby up if you aren't careful and pears will make them poop like crazy!

I put the food into silicone molds or ice cube trays, freeze them and store them in ziploc bags in the freezer after i pop them out of the molds. Super duper easy.



Baby food making is really not all that hard. You need a few hours every couple of weeks to replenish your freezer stock. Your baby will thank you at some point in their life. hehe You'll also feel darn good that you are feeding your baby with fresh and awesome fruits and veggies.

Crafty catch-up!

I've been MIA for a few months because, honestly who cares? right? I actually have a really hard time keeping up a blog. I really LOVE reading blogs but keeping up with my own is kind of like work. I don't even have sponsors or any of that good stuff but it still feels like a pressure situation!

Anyways, got that off my chest.

Here's a quick round up of what I've been working on...



Online Card kid featuring Hopscotch!

I bought this kit and ended up making a few tweaks of my own to suit what I needed. You can see the instruction videos I followed at: www/basicgrey.com/pages/bg_tv">

There were 15 cards total. I made 8 last night. I had a great time and the assembly went by quickly.

Here are the rest of the cards: flickr set


Next we have my first mini album. I made it for my best friend. She LOVED it. Ok maybe she was biased since you know, we are best friends and all.







That is just a SMALL sampling of what that mini album is made of. I had so much fun making it. It took me about a month. With kids you have to sneak in whatever time you can at night, after they are asleep.

Ronin's mini album set on flickr

I follow Kathy Orta's blog paper phenomenon She comes up with the most amazing ideas for mini albums. I buy every tutorial she lists (pretty much) and watch her on ustream. This particular mini that I made was fashioned after her Random memory mini.

And my little monkeys!

Thank you cards

My best friend is graduating this weekend with her master's in child psychology. She's been in school forever at this point and worked her butt off to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. So what's my point? Well one must have their thesis approved before turning it in and being eligible to graduate. She had a few trusted advisers read her thesis and give her the go ahead. She wanted a personal way to say thanks. That's where I come in. I pretty much hoard paper, embellishments, stickers...etc. Naturally she asked me to make two thank you cards for her advisers and here they are!

I whipped these up last night. I started at midnight and couldn't get it right (in my eyes) but finally around 1 am I gave up and turned in. I honestly thought I'd have to re do one of them this morning. Not the case, they both looked awesome to me this morning. Good rule of thumb, don't be afraid to put a project down and walk away from it. When you come back to it you'll look at it with new eyes and might be surprised on how good it actually is.

No Soliciting sign

IMG_2128, a photo by pinkhippodesign on Flickr.

I walked over to a neighbors house the other day and saw a super cute handmade no soliciting sign hanging near her door. I have a no soliciting sign on my door too but it's your standard gray sign and it's not very pretty. It doesn't add anything to our house.
So I decided to make a new sign for us. This is what I came up with. It's still waiting for a coat of outdoor mod podge and a hanging wire.

What do you think?

Monday February 7th, 2011-Chocolatey goodness

So I haven't been around in a while. I promised myself I'd update regularly and that never happened. But tonight a friend of mine posted a recipe on her blog and I had to try it out. It came out SO GOOD that I wanted to post it in my own blog. It also helps that I have a fancy new camera and can't stop taking pictures of every little thing that happens in my life.

Warm Chocolate Melting Cups



You Need:

* 10 4 oz ramekins or small oven proof single serve dishes. (I used mason jars)
* 1- 1/4 cups sugar (divided)
* 1/2 cup baking cocoa
* 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cups water
* 3/4 cup plus one tablespoon semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 tablespoon brewed coffee
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 eggs
* 1 egg white

Directions:

1. in a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, cocoa, flour and salt. gradually stir in water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in chocolate chips, coffee and vanilla until smooth. transfer to a large bowl.
2. In another bowl, beat eggs and egg white until slightly thickened. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored. Fold into chocolate mixture.
3. Transfer to ten 4oz ramekins coated with cooking spray. place ramekins in a baking pan; add 1 inch of boiling water to pan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or just until centers are set. Garnish with fruit and/or whipped cream if desired.

1 serving= 131 calories, 1 gram of fat, only a trace of saturated fat, 42 mg cholesterol, 49 mg sodium, 29g carbs, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic exchange: 2 starch.

SO YUMMY and highly suggested. Thanks Keelie!



You can find my friends blog here: Marmalade Forest

Wednesday, September 8th 2010- Where I'd like to be, right now.

Wordless Wednesday