Fall card with Tattered Leaves die, some ranting, and about canning peaches

Quick-ish card to share today, I used the fan folder from Stampin Up and my new leaf die (Tim Holtz tattered leaves).  I love the cover of the die which has the leaf cut from a dictionary page (you can pick up used dictionarys for next to nothing at garage sales).  So I copied that and then did some stitching  and used a Hero Arts stamp.

Pet Peeve moment:   I went to Joanns yesterday promising the boys we would buy the fabric for Daisy's Halloween costume (she is going to be a witch, she will not be happy about that as she prefers to just be a dog).  The boys and I had seen the fabric we wanted to use but it was spendy $12.99/yd, so armed with a 60% coupon I went to go get it.  Of course after she cut it she told me it was on sale 20% off, so I couldn't use my coupon, grrrrr.  I still had a 40% off coupon so I grabbed a die I had been wanting.  Normally I don't buy dies since I can buy an entire cartridge for about the same cost, but at 40% off and wanting to cut fabric with it, I went ahead...then at the check stand they tell me that is on sale, too, so again, can't use the coupon.  They lure you in with big savings, but watch out.  Neither item was marked as on sale on the shelf, or I wouldn't have gotten them, but by the time you've had it cut or are paying, its too late.  Sorry, ranting over.

ON TO PEACHES!

So the rest of the crafting for the weekend involved peaches...and lots of them.  My friend took a trip this weekend and brought me back some Yakama peaches which she said were the best for canning.  I also purchased one case at our local farm a couple days earlier.  I wish I knew what kind they were because they were AMAZING.  These ones I did  yesterday were Elberta, and compared to the ones from the farm, they were just OK (I will admit they were less than half the price, $11 for 24 lbs, whereas the others I paid $24 for about 24 lbs-but they were worth it!).  I had never done peaches because I though, ugh, peeling.  ITS SO SIMPLE, oh my, takes but a couple seconds to peal a peach after its blanched.  45 seconds in boiling, dunk in ice water, and the peach skin just slips off.   So here is something I didn't know: adding cinnamon to peaches is SO yummy.  On some I added it as an after though, I sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on top just before I processed.  The next batch I added it to the syrup.  Adding it on top was so much better tasting for the final product.  I don't know why but it was, and it looked nicer in the jar too.  So with two cases,  I ended up with two batches of jam, about 20 pints and 6 quarts of canned (a couple already eaten since I had to test the cinnamon thing), and then froze the rest for crisp (and made one batch of YUMMY peach crisp for now).

Whew.  I'm pooped.

Summer is almost over, a couple fall cricut cards

Remember me?  That is the longest I've ever gone without posting!  This month I continued to clean up my crafting area, use stuff up or get rid of it.   I sold a lot of things on ebay - I think I had so much stuff that I couldn't find what I did have-the clutter was making my work space un-enjoyable.  I managed to get my collection of "alterables" down to one drawer and my "keep" stamps down to one drawer, greatly reduce the number of ink pads I have, and I have a HUGE pile of crafting books that will be going on ebay.  Ahhh, getting better.  Still have way too much paper and vinyl.
Our summer started out not so good with my son getting hurt - he's OK now - but we had to call an ambulance and he had to stay overnight in the hospital.  I still hear the screaming in my sleep, it was awful.
In his down days after the accident he and his brother did some lovely painting for me and we made a fun (dollar store beach item) mantle display, which I'm about to take down (I'm entering FALL mode, my favorite season).

fresh veggies from our garden

When I wasn't dealing with that I was doing other  projects like building 8 raised beds for my new garden or building a hug chicken coop with my brother for my 19 chickens, 2 roosters and 2 turkeys .  6 of the chickens and one rooster are going to live with a friend soon as I have decided that maybe I don't need quite so many, and the turkeys....well, they are leaving soon too as they are table ready.

The turkeys are the ones by the table - well over 20 lbs each. Still have to paint the trim and add some flashing and faceboards to the roof.  

I'm currently getting about 16 eggs a day!

I am also working on my first rag quilt: Doh, can't find the photo on my card!  Oh well, next time.

basket and apples from doodlecharms

Fall leaves from Give a Hoot and flower shoppe.

So....back to paper crafting.  Today I made a couple of little 4x4 cards with my cricut to attach to food gifts (alot of my friends get eggs these day):

Ok, enough for one post, I'll save some for tomorrow.  

Lifes a Beach flip flops card

I have a couple of cards to share today.  The first is from Life's a Beach (cricut cartridge) flip flops cut at 3 inch.  The bottom water was just done by tearing a piece of white core coordination paper and the verse is from K. Andrews Splashtastic. The second was just done using scraps and a card sketch I found in an old magazine (all supplies Stampin' Up).   And here is just a pretty photo of some of the strawberries from my garden...yummy!  Thanks for looking!

Little Puppy....Found! (scrap page)

Every child has that one toy or keepsake that means the world to them.  Carstens special toy was "little puppy" and we were all crushed when he went missing.  Two years later...he was found!

Can you see me? (Scrappage)

Today I have a quick LO to share, this is my son right after I found camo shoes (he already had camo shorts, a shirt and a hat so he was so happy to finish with these shoes).  He put everything on and quickly went to the garden and yelled "Mom, can you see me?).  No dear, your totally hidden.
 This is part of my "use it up or toss it out kick".  I have shifted these photos around on my craft counter long enough.  I also used up the remains of a scrap kit doing this, and I managed to have a few pieces left over I made into thank you cards.   The font is honey script cut with my silhouette.

We are now working on using up a bit of brightly colored vinyl  and some canvas which I will post later in the week.  Have a great day!

Pinwheels in mini sand buckets

Today I dragged out some of the items on the high on the "use it, or get rid of it" list - these little buckets.  They have been moved around my craft room too many times.  Since I'm low on Summer decor around the house, I decided to turn them into little buckets with pinwheels.  I didn't want real sand in the house (it would only be a matter of hours before kids, cat or something knocked it over) so instead I filled the bottom with part of a Styrofoam ball (also on the get rid of or use list), then cut a two inch circle of sandpaper to hot glue over the top.  I stuck the sticks right through the sandpaper and into the Styrofoam so they will stay put.  Thanks for looking!

Cards and a watermelon slice summer banner

My goal for summer is to use up as much of my stash as possible.  I have a horrible habit of picking up things to alter at garage sales,  buying toys and embellishments I don't use, and saving bits of paper to use on small projects.   This is the summer to use them up!  Thursday was finishing a card that has been half done, the cake paper was from a DCWV glittery stack, then I hand doodled around the tag and in the corner to match the cake.  Friday was finishing another card, I embossed some pieces of paper with a woodgrain embossing folder,  but then they just sat for ages so  I made several of these and used up a little pile of flowers and rhinestone brads.  The label is cut on the cricut (home accents, tag, blackout, 1.5 inch).  Saturday was finishing a summer banner.  The triangles were all cut from one 12x12 I had been saving for this since last summer, then I stitched on some ribbon and cut the letters from Plantin Schoolbook (1.5 inch tall ball).  The seeds were done using the little pieces from a  MS border punch (paw print punches and small hearts cut in half also make good seeds).  Sunday is traditionally my scrapbooking day, so maybe I'll use up some paper that I'm sure I've been stashing far too long.   Thanks for looking!