Handmade cards

I had some free scrappin time this early am and made up a few get well cards.  Love the colors together too!!  So I used some patterened papers, some chipboard cutouts that I bought from Hobby Lobby, a great little verse stamp from STAMPING UP collection, and also a couple of flowers oh and of cource my newest favo thing Bakers Twine!!  The swirls and bracket were cut from green cardstock and the chipboard pieces were painted sanded just a bit and misted with Cherry Blossom spray by TATTERED ANGELS, great glimmer mist. 

A litte sheer pink ribbon and light green bakers twine add just the right touch to the flowers.  I did a bit of zig zag stitches with my sewing machine and also distressed the edge of papers. 

Well it is really REALLY snowing here now!!! we did get quite a few inches already and more coming tonight.   I did just get home from the kitchen had to make more of my peanut peanut butter whoppie pies, cranberry pecan lemon sandwich cookies and also made up some more of my espresso sandwich cookies for orders and also for at the shop this week.  And more sugar cookie pops to decorate to add to arrangements or they are cute just as a cookie arrangement.   Lots of stuff to do yet to get ready for valentines.  Hubby loves those peanut butter pies so  I made extra to wrap some up and put in his truck as a nice little suprise.  Now just have to make a cute card and have all the boys sign it with their little piggy prints!! just for daddy!! LOL 

Have a great tues yall!!

~~HUGS~~

Darlene

PS I will be drawing and posting the names of the giveaways soon too!!

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

A bag and a card day

This am I finished painting a market bag for ME!  With of cource chickens! I added a denim pocket from am old pair of jeans that were trashed but I just didnt want to throw them away and some black seam binding bows.  I think it will be perfect for my change purse, my notebook and pens and of cource whatever odds-n-ends that end up finding it a home.

And I made this cute many thanks matchbook style card for a friend.  I love polka dot anything so found this great light blue paper with red dots.  The inside has plenty of space to write a message.  This is the front of the card.  The red/white bakers twine is so cute on projects I love to add it.  and if there wasnt already enough dots I used some great polka dotted ribbon too!! LOL  WEll I am off to start hauling in some wood as we are under a winter storm with anywhere from 12-16 inches coming in tonight!!  YEAH more snow!!  So better git ready for it! 

Have a great monday and keep those comments a comin in as you still have time to get in the OWOH giveaway!!!

HUGS

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

EsPrEsSO SaNdWIcH CoOkIeS

Here was another of my newest creations!!   An espresso cream filled sandwich cookie!!  There is espresso powder in the cookies and in the filling! so you have your coffee and more coffee in this cookie BUTTTTT  it really isnt coffee overpowering either, which is strange but I handed a few out as samples at the market to get opinions and even people who dont care for a good ol cup of joe! liked them.   GOOD!! cause as for me!! I LOVE THEM!! and I love my coffee!

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

As you can see I didnt leave them exempt from my "famrgirl bling" just had to they were way too plain!! LOL so drizzeled some melted choc bark over them for their bling~!

Well we have to haul some wood home today, need to bring a load of hay home, finish somewhat cleaning in the house and try to work on a few more things for the shop for  valentines day.  I am probably gonna toss a roast or some ribs in the crock pot this am and then we have supper figured out easily enough.   It is cold too 10 degrees and it feels every bit of that outside too.  Almost chore time for me so I gotta get all bundeled up and head outside soon, have yall noticed it is stayin a bit lighter outside in the evening?? YEAH!! YIPPEE~~last night I came in from chores and closing down my farmstand and it was just dark maybe around 7pm or so.  Seasons just move steadily along.  Usually round the end of feb early march I am so so sooooooo SOOOOOOOOOO ready to get the greenhouse goin and get in the dirt but will try to refrain since MI is known to have snow in march and april and even in may.  I do hope for an early spring though even though winter hasnt been all that terrible!!!

Oh and the OWOH drawing will be soon!! GOOD luck to everyone it has sure been fun and inspiring to visit everyone along the carpet ride!!  I just cant believe how many blogs are out there sharing the passion for creativity~~THANK YOU EVERYONE for leaving such warm and friendly comments too!!

Have a Blessed Sunday yall!!

~~HUGS~~

Darlene

marketmadness!!

Some of the decorated sugar cookie pops I made for markets. Today was Bronson Hospital market and yesterday was Allegan market and I also have to make some orders this weekend for pick up tues at the shop!! WHEW!! it has been a market madness week!! WHICH is a GOOD thing I might add!! Market today was my best one since attending that winter market!!  BUSY all day long and everyone  was so incredibly nice and friendly!! and they bought.  Usually I have about 3 trips with my cart back and forth  but today I made 4 trips in and one trip out!! Yepper 1 numero uno, ONE, 1 trip!! YEAH!! that was so nice and fun!! The homemade spinach pasta was a hit!~! next time I am gonna do tomato basil I think that just sounds way too good and I have some of our basil in the freezer just waitin to be used up!   

The pies were a great hit I did up peach, and apple crisp pie, also I made up some peach blueberry kucken!! and that was a great seller!!  my peanut peanut butter cream filled whoppie pies and cranberry pecan lemon cream filled cookies were the first to go.  Chicken scratch eggcellent egg bread was a hit, the farmhouse white loaves went good, I also took some of the espresso sandwich cookies and my new orange cream filled vanilla cookies and they were all gone by the time I was packing up.  Zucchini walnut bread, muffins and my lemon pecan bread was almost all gone I came home with just a couple of things so at least we will enjoy that stuff over the weekend!!

  WHICH BY THE WAY IS SUPERBOWL!! GO SAINTS!! 

I gazed thru an old old cookbook of my dear grandma Rose's the other night and really have to try out some of the old recipes.  but it brought back so many many memories.  As a kid  I remember spending alot of my summers at their home and she would bake everything and anything!! she used to make homemade donuts from scratch of cource, and have the whole dining room table covered with thin streudel dough.    I would go with grandpa Frank to the dairy farm down the road a bit to get fresh milk and cream and of cource pet the heifers while they were in the barn.  Then from there we would go to the ol butcher shop, I used to and still love the smell of a butcher shop!! We would  pick up meats and the ol man there would always give me a piece of candy or grandpa made sure he bought me something from the old candy jars!!   it really wasnt that long ago either.  In the late 70's.  But that sure is a whole lifetime ago!!

All in all I am tired now and would love a couple of days to do nothing but with valentines day coming quickly we have to get the shop ready this weekend.   Maybe the 15th I will just stay at home and spend the day relaxing with my boys!!  Well I am off to see bout makin some supper for hubby as he is on his way home from work and I am definetly in my pjs now!!  That is one thing I enjoy doin after chores are done at night!! showerin and pjs on!! what a cozy feeling!!

HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!

NIGHT TIME HUGS~~

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Baked today

So I played and had lots of fun at the kitchen today!! First was a new recipe I came up with Orange vanilla sandwich cookies.  These have fresh grated orange peel and also in the filling I added some homemade orange marmalade jelly.  They are really good too!!! I love the round fluted edge cutters.

This is the filling almost ready to chill.

A vanilla buttercream with the added marmalade.  Here are bottoms with some piped filling on them waitin for their tops!!AHHH not quite done yet!~ AS yall know me!!  They needed some of my "farmgirl bling" LOL just powderd sugar no glaze this time.  I think they look perfect this way!

Also on the list was an espresso filled espresso cookie which are still at the kitchen waiting for me to make the filling.   I did some sugar cookies hearts mostly and some on sticks to put in floral arrangements for next week.

This is a big big batch of sugar cookie dough, made a large batch of pie dough for peach and apple pies for market.   

Then I also made some red velvet little round cakes they are also waiting for decorations, and tried some red velvet whoopie pies.  I made homemade marshmellow fluff to fill them with.  I also made up some of my peanut peanut butter filled whoopie pies and some more of my cranberry lemon cream filled sandwich cookies.  Gosh I think that was it!~! The rest will get done tomorrow.  I am thinkin of maybe taking some of our zucchini out of freezer and making some zucchini walnut bread too.    Never enough time though!!! LOL well better get to gettin outside and do chores my horse and goats know what time it is!! oh and remember me telling ya bout the "angry girls"???  WELLLLLL  they were out today and no one misbehaved at all!! no one even looked angrily at me or anything!! Maybe they somehow knew that I had only their best intentions in not letting them run a muk wild on those extreme cold days!! TODAY is was a whoopin 25 and snowing snowin and more snowin!!

HAVE A BLESSED EVENING Will chat more soon!!

BRONSON HOSPITAL WINTER MARKET THIS FRIDAY!!!

KALAMAZOO MI!!

stop on by for your goodies!!

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Baby layouts done

I had some time this am to work on some way over due projects.  These are scrapbook pages I made up for my little niece Carissa.  Isnt she a doll~ I love the black and white crisp photo so decided to only accent with some pink and black and white.  The one above is a simple layer matted pages wtih only a paper rosette and baby silver charm with pink offray ribbon. This is one I did up using the same pic just changing the size and adding some girlie pink fiber and pink papers.  This is in a black frame for on the wall.  I did do some edging with white ink for an even softer girlie look. another version of the same photos only I used a 12x12 light pink backround page and added some of my handmade crepe paper roses.  Love rick rack and it is just right on here. close up of the paper roses I made.  There are just enough. 

Well I am gonna go back to in my studio and work on some more pages.  Just havin wayyyyy too much fun being inside since it was only 3 degrees outside and now is 22.  WAY too cold round here these days!! But generally jan and feb are rough months for MI and this year sure has been cold. 

Hope yall are enjoying the weekend!! 

Will be back later with more.

~HUGS~

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Buster's baby scrap page

I did up a page for my little then Buster.  I used mostly Paper Studio products here.  I love their dog stamps!! The dog face and paws have been stamped on cardstock then I added pop dots to the backs for dimension.  Buster's baby pic is backed with black cardstock to stand out a bit more.  I also cut out a dog bone and added his name in letters cut from my accucut die machine. 

Everything has been edged with my primitive touches!! TIM HOLTZ distressing inks.  

The journaling says :  You had my heart the moment I saw you.  Your daddy brought you home bundled inside his jacket.  It was love at first sight!  He was such an adorable puppy, but all puppies are adorable!!  Now my little boy is 95 pounds of pure love and happiness!!  Buster,  along with my other boys are the light of our lives!!    I just gazed at the outdoor thermometer and it is up to 10~~A whooping 10 degrees now!! it is actually suppossed to get down to 0 tonight!! {PLEASE be sure to keep all the furry kids warm in this extreme weather their little piggies will get frostbite!!}  I put in extra heat lamps the other day out in the chickie coop for the girls so they will be just fine just downright MAD for not being able to run free right now but oh well they are safe inside!  I just know they are busily planning and scheming against me!!  CHICKEN REVENGE!! look out!! LOL  

I am off to the feed mill and then maybe to bake some new cookies and well just try to keep the wood furnace goin in this weather!!  one good thing it is not windy today yet anyway.

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!! and a GREAT WEEKEND!!

~~HUGS~~

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~