February 28, 2014

Let's Get Sip Faced

When I saw this sentiment I just knew I had to have it! One of my girlfriend's birthdays is coming up this March and I have been wanting to play around with these circle spin cards from Close To My Heart for awhile. I love the current layout at Fusion, but I thought the vibrant colours at Colour Me...! this week seemed to fit this card better.
Circle Spin card (CTMH); card stock - Cranberry, Lagoon; 
patterned paper - Dotty For You, Dream Pop (CTMH);
Silver shimmer tape (CTMH); stamp set - Let's Get "Sip" Faced (Unity Stamps);
dies from Paper Smooches.
February 28, 2014

As Sweet As You

I have a couple of birthdays coming up for two very sweet people...one of them will be turning 2 and the other about 72, but I think they fit the sentiment perfectly. I chose this week's Freshly Made Sketch and had intended on linking up to the Dynamic Duos colour challenge but just missed the deadline. I decided to use the colours anyway, as they make me think of the Spring to come...soon I hope! The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is Anything Goes with Pearls, so I added a few random ones to my card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart:
cardstock - Sunset, White Daisy; ink - Black;
patterned paper - Dotty For You; stamp set - Cricut Artiste Collection Birthday;
Color-Ready Garden wooden shapes; Craft Buttons - Sweet Leaf; Pearl Opaques.
February 23, 2014

Chicken with Stuffing Mix

I believe my Grandma found this recipe years ago and has since passed it down as an awesome, low maintenance meal. Growing up, this was one of my Mom's go-to meals on a busy night, and now it is one of mine too!



Chicken With Stuffing Mix
Serves 2-4

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 pkg. Stove Top Stuffing
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1/4 cup dry white wine or apple juice
3 tbsp. melted butter

Place chicken in casserole dish with cheese on top. Blend soup and wine and pour over chicken. Mix stuffing up according to package directions and place on top. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Great served with mashed potatoes or rice.
February 17, 2014

Lasagna Soup

My sister-in-law came across this fantastic recipe a couple of years ago and it happens to be the first recipe I ever pinned! My husband and I can't get over the flavours in this soup. For the meat, I like to get my sausages from Rick's Fine Meats and Sausage in Cranbrook. If you haven't tried this yummy concoction yet, I highly recommend it!


Lasagna Soup
serves 4

1 tsp. olive oil
2 good-quality sausages (I like to do one hot and one mild)
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
crushed red pepper flakes to taste *be mindful of how hot your sausages are!
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 398mL can fire roasted diced tomatoes ***make SURE they're fire roasted!
1 bay leaf
3 cups vegetable stock
350g pasta *I used farfalle
handful of chopped fresh basil leaves

Cheesy Yum
3/4 cup ricotta
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
pinch of salt 
pinch of freshly ground pepper
1 cup shredded Italian cheese mix *or mozzarella

Spread sausages out on cutting board. Create a slit with a knife in each casing and empty the contents out onto the board (You can skip this step if you don't mind the casing, but I don't like it!). Discard casing. Pull apart or chop the sausage into small bite size pieces. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat and add sausage to brown. Meanwhile, chop onion and garlic. Once sausage is browned, add chopped onion and garlic to the pot and cook until softened, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and stir well. Cook for a few minutes.

Next, I like to whiz the diced tomatoes in a food processor, but this is not necessary if you like tomato chunks! Add diced tomatoes, bay leaf, and vegetable stock and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes with lid on or slightly ajar. Chop basil and set aside. About halfway through, put another pot of water on to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions for al dente pasta. Prepare the cheesy yum by combining ricotta, parmesan, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside. Drain pasta pot and add pasta to soup pot right before serving. Stir in the chopped basil.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle with some shredded cheese on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese. Enjoy :)

Adapted from 300 Sensational Soups...I may have to get myself a copy of this cookbook!
February 16, 2014

Get Krafty!

I couldn't resist getting "Krafty" again for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. This time I was inspired by this card by Jen Shults and also used this Deconstructed Sketch for my layout.

I found the blue washi tape at this cute little boutique in Kimberley called Velvet & Ginger.
Shapes cut from Stretch Your Imagination and Art Philosophy Cricut cartridges.
All other supplies are Close To My Heart: cardstock - Kraft, White Daisy; ink - Moonstruck; 
wash tape: Ruby Chevron, Silver Geometric; stamp set - Thank You.

February 15, 2014

Merci Beaucoup

This week we had a Carnaval de Jeux Olympiques at our school (think Carnaval de Québec + Winter Olympics) and I need some thank you cards. On hindsight, I should have picked a simpler layout to do multiple cards (the snowflakes were taking me forever to punch out the inside pieces and pop dot!), so hopefully I will find some more time this weekend to play around! This week's Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is using Kraft and I coordinated that with the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.
cardstock - Kraft, Colonial White (CTMH); ink - Bamboo (CTMH); stamp set - Give A Lift (CMTH).
Snowflakes cut from Winter Lace Cricut cartridge.
February 11, 2014

House Album

I have posted a few photos of layouts from my album of building our house that I am currently working on. Here is one page I made this past weekend that I'm pretty happy with...no layout or colour challenge, no fuss, it just came together.

February 09, 2014

every day's a SUNDAE!

Here's another card I made at my crop this weekend. I was very excited about this CTMH Stamp of the Month (A Chocolate Affair) last summer when it came out, but I honestly haven't used it very much. When I saw the Heart 2 Heart Love challenge this month, I knew this set would fit in perfectly! I would love to have a DQ Strawberry Sundae right now ;). I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch for the layout.
All supplies are Close To My Heart: 
cardstock - Kraft, Black, Colonial White; patterned paper - Dream Pop, Twitterpated; 
ink - Desert Sand, Cocoa, Juniper, Cranberry; stamp sets - Universal Backgrounds, A Chocolate Affair.
February 08, 2014

Cuppa Cocoa

It's another weekend crop for me this weekend! Here is one card I made today using two new challenges I haven't participated in before: Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge and My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club. It's so cold here right now, I found comfort in this warm and cozzy photo!
Stamp set - Better With You (Verve); paper pack - Wonderland (CTMH); card stock - Chocolate, Twilight, Crystal Blue, Colonial White (CTMH); ink - Chocolate, Twilight, Crystal Blue; ribbon - Dark Chocolate, Colonial White (CTMH); stapes cut from CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.
February 04, 2014

One Pot Pasta

I have seen many variations of this on Pinterest, and since my husband and I are such pasta fanatics I knew I had to try it out. I couldn't believe the results! Here is my version:

The ingredients (+ linguine, can't believe I forgot to put it in the picture!)

450g linguine
2 cups vegetable stock
2 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup red wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch spinach
4 tomatoes, chopped
Handful of fresh basil (save a few for garnish)
1 sprig fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 tsp. - 1tsp. red chili flakes 
1 tbsp. chives, chopped
Splash olive oil
Block of parmesan to grate


Chop garlic, tomatoes, oregano, and chives. Add liquids to pot, linguine, and other ingredients, except parmesan. Set to high heat to boil. You can break the noodles in half, but we like long noodles, so be sure to stir frequently if you leave them. When the noodles have softened, put a lid on to boil. Once boiling, turn down to a low boil with the lid half on for 9 minutes, stirring frequently. The noodles should absorb all of the liquid! After, remove from heat and allow to sit for a few minutes, tossing occasionally. Once dished, sprinkle with chopped basil and freshly grated parmesan *** it is worth it to use freshly grated parmesan from a block rather than packaged. Once you try it, you'll never go back ;). 


Make sure to enjoy a glass of red wine with the dish, too!
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