Belle Papier {pretty paper}

This was the view from my house this morning when I got up at 6:30 with my two littlest boys. They are early risers and never can wait to get their breakfast. The pic does not do it justice. The sky was black adn the sunrise was glowing pure pink passion. Immediately the verse came into my mind… The heavens declare the glory of God. I’m so glad that I got up early.  What a wonderful way to start a Sunday morning.

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d share my recipe for Wheaten Bread with you. My mom is from Belfast Northern Ireland and I grew up eating Wheaten Bread made by my mom and my Nany (her mother). Wheaten bread is a quick bread made with whole wheat flour, white flour, buttermilk and a few other ingredients. It is so good with strawberry jam or cheese and so easy to make. My husband came home with a cool brand new mixer/blender combo yesterday and I just had to try it out last night. LOVE it! I can tell I’ll be doing LOTS of baking now!

Wheaten Bread Recipe

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 rounded teaspoons baking powder

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup 2% milk

Mix all ingredients together and spoon into greased and floured 9×5 loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. I love to double this recipe. It freezes well, although I hardly need to with this large of a family. Enjoy!

Keep it Simple…you know the rest. Not feeling at all well today (bad sinus cold that just keeps getting worse) but wanted to make a card, so….I’m keeping it really simple. And why not? Sometimes…simple is all it takes. Especially with this cool double-sided paper by SEI…it is so pretty, I’m just letting it do all the work. I’m rethinking card design too. Why do we always spiff up the outside and leave the inside so plain. What if the outside is simple but pretty with just a hint of the beautiful inside to come. That is just the concept I wanted to try out here. The card is 5″ square made out of the designer paper. I trimmed off about half an inch from the right side-opening to catch a peek at the cool patterned inside. I took the guide off my tiny corner rounder punch by EKSuccess and repeatedly punched scallops along the edge to spiff it up. A little sponging with SU’s Close to Cocoa Ink around all the edges provided just a hint of definition. My favorite super cool, super BIG rickrack from Starlitstudio’s ebay store was a perfect match. I adhered it to the front of the card. I love these super tropical flowers from Prima and it was a perfect match as well. The brad is a retired K & Company brad that I picked up in the Michael’s dollar bin months ago…wish they stilll made them as they are gorgeous. The flat center seemed to be the perfect spot to add another rub-on. I think I’m turning into a rub-on freak….they are SO fun to work with.

I made this quick card for the Limited Supply Challenge today which was to use up scrap ribbon. Very quick card with hardly any stamping but it was fun to do!

Sparkle Ribbon Card

Supply List:

Fabriolis Notecard, sewing machine, ribbon scraps, gem - Making Memories, Prima Flower

I found this little frame in the garbage pail in my daughter’s room. It seems that my littlest guy (20 months) has a very creative streak. That boy is a Sharpie magnet! I do NOT know where he finds them all! For those of you who may not know…Sharpies are permanent markers. To date he has colored on my stairwell, some carpet, a door, the hardwood floor, a duvet and this little frame. Red seems to be the color of choice but he will also go for green and blue. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers have become my best friend and a real life-saver. My friend Trudee suggested them when I was freaking out one morning and I couldn’t believe they worked….even on the carpet! And so, when I found this frame,  I pulled out my trusty magic eraser and cleaned it up…wouldn’t know it had been there. DD still didn’t want the frame back so I quickly made off with my find. A little paper, a darling flower/brad embellishment from Making Memories, a monogram and some rub-ons, et voila!… a super makeover transformation.

It’s All White Now
…Baby, it’s all right now….sorry I just couldn’t resist, breaking out in song!

Supply List

Designer Paper: One Heart One Mind

Other: frame, flower and brad - Making Memories, ribbon  & white acrylic paint- Michael’s, Ghost Shape Clear monogram - Heidi Swapp, rub-ons - \

Apply rub-ons to frame. Add flower/brad combo with a glue dot. Tie frame with ribbon. Cut patterned paper to size. Apply friends rub-on to F. Paint back of F ghost shape with white acrylic paint. I like the fun look that an uneven coat gives. Attach monogram (wait for paint to dry) with a glue dot. enjoy!