Spray Paint & the Frog

Do you remember this guy?

No? Then let me refresh your memory. :)

I purchased this ceramic golden toad on a thrifty adventure last fall. 

At first, my kids informed me that it was a poison dart frog, but after some more research, 

we discovered that an orange frog is actually called a golden toad. 

You needed to know that, right? ;)

I finally got around to giving this chap a few coats of black spray paint...

He now holds a place of honour in my kitchen with his pot scrubber at the ready. 

He sure adds a touch of whimsy to the kitchen. And a touch of nostalgia as well. 

I remember my mom having something similar next to the kitchen sink when I was a kid.

Good memories. :)

Another successful mini makeover!

Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

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Chickpea Salad

  Welcome to a new week! Are you ready to take it on? I am. We had a beautiful, productive weekend around our house. Everyone had a to-do list to knock off on Saturday & we just about finished everything on the lists. I think I was a bit too ambitious with mine & put on a few too many things, but that's okay. I'll just finish next weekend. 

  The weather was beautiful & the kids enjoyed lots of time outside. We got in some family time outside too. 

  My 8-year-old son even learned to vacuum this weekend! Can I hear a WHOOT, WHOOT?! I'm *hoping* that my vacuuming days are now few & far between. 

  The warm(ing) weather has me pulling out my barbecue & salad recipes... Time to enjoy the sun! 

  This is a great make-ahead recipe... it's even better after it's been marinating for a few hours!

Chickpea Salad
makes 8 servings


2 cans of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 bottle green olives, drained
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup cherry tomatoes

Mix all salad ingredients. Set aside.

dressing:


1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Whisk all dressing ingredients. Pour over salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

So easy & delicious!

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

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Catching Up

I'm kind of laughing at the title of this post... 

Is anyone EVER completely "caught up" when it comes to scrapbooking?

Oy.

I continually have to remind myself that this is a hobby & it's supposed to be fun. 

I don't have to be caught up... ever. I chose this hobby & it's a part of my life to be a creative outlet, not a burden.

With that in mind, here are a couple of layouts I accomplished at the recent scrapbook fundraiser I was at last month:

Vintage Layout:

• All supplies by My Mind's Eye

First Day of School Layout:

• Cardstock - Bazzill Basics
• Patterned Paper - Basic Grey (Oxford collection)
• Tag - Simple Stories
• Stickers - October Afternoon
• Alphabet stickers - Making Memories & American Crafts

How do you treat your creative hobbies? Do you ever feel like you're behind & try desperately to catch up? 

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

Enjoy your day!

What Is Keeping Me Busy These Days

  Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Did you relax & enjoy some warm, spring weather; do spring cleaning; create something lovely; or something entirely different? 

  I had the pleasure of spending some time with some dear friends on Saturday. It was a fun time that involved Starbucks, shopping, & lunch. 

  Here in Saskatchewan, the days are getting warmer the weather can't decide what it wants to do. Should the sun shine or should it snow? We've had snow the past 2 days. The trees are getting thick with buds anyway & I'm longing to see the first hint of green on the branches, but that will come soon enough. I must remind myself of the blossoms of May that are on their way. 

Things are still busy around here although Easter is over. My kids had this past week off of school & we kept busy with:

• Dentist appointments (no cavities for either kid - yay!)
• Grocery shopping - I've been going through the fliers & "shopping the deals". It requires some more planning & driving around, but we're seeing a difference in the grocery costs. Perhaps I'll do a post about this soon.
• Going through the kid's toys, books, & puzzles - cleaning, organizing, & making piles of what they no longer wanted to keep. 
• Posting the kid's items for sale on Kijiji. They have both already made a good amount of money & they plan to save their earnings for spending money on this summer's trip.
• Doing some spring cleaning. My list is coming along bit by bit. This weekend, we washed all the bedding & curtains.

  In the midst of all these tasks, we have had some rest & relaxation. I got to sleep in here & there & get in some reading. It's been a nice Easter break.

  Stay tuned for a little thrifty makeover & some new scrapbook layouts later this week.

Enjoy your day!

Spring Cards

Last month, I attended a scrapbook fundraiser that my sister-in-law, Carrie, organized for her children's school.

Each of the attendees paid a fee to attend & the school (organized by Carrie) provided a huge table for each person to work at, meals for the day, & workshops that you could attend to learn some new techniques. 

We brought our scrapbook gear & got our creative juices flowing!

There was a great turn out & tonnes of raffle prizes that were donated. Alas, I didn't win anything this year. 

Oh well. :)

Here are a few of the cards I created that weekend...

Raspberry Lemon Loaf

Well, hello again, friends! I hope you had a happy Easter. We had a great, but very busy, Easter season. My husband & I were both involved in our church's Easter production. After four performances over the Easter weekend, we saw a larger attendance than ever before & many people who prayed the prayer of salvation. 

It certainly was worth all the time & work!

~~~~~

The coming of Spring always introduces a desire for lighter, fruitier flavours in my baking & cooking. 

Does it for you too?

Lemon is a huge flavour favourite for me. I love to mix it with other flavours as well.

I still have some frozen raspberries from last summer... we had LOTS since our next door neighbour didn't want any of the raspberries from her huge berry patch!

I'm trying to use those frozen fruits left over from last summer to make room for this year's crops. 

This was a great recipe to do just that. 

Raspberry Lemon Loaf

makes 1 loaf

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup lemon-flavoured yogurt (low fat works too, if you want to cut down on your calories!)

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray & set aside.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, eggs, & lemon zest. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture & stir just until moistened. Gently fold in raspberries.

Pour batter into prepared pan & bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean. (If you used frozen berries, expect to have to bake it about 10 minutes longer, because the frozen berries make the batter cold.) Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan & let cool completely before slicing.

Happy Spring!

Thanks for reading,

Check out the great parties I link up to!

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Happy Easter!

Note Card Set No. 3

If you haven't already noticed, I'm constantly on a quest to use up my paper scraps. 

This note card set uses a chevron design made of strips of patterned papers.

I made some pink, yellow, & blue, & then a combination of the three with the leftovers.

I finished them off with a strip of white with a sentiment stamped on it.

Then a small die cut butterfly (from the dollar store) mounted on a foam square.

Do you have anything that you make out of your scraps? I'm always looking for new ideas... please leave me a comment & let me know what you like to make.

Enjoy your day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

Fruity Iced Tea

Spring is here & that means getting out all the spring & summer recipes. 

Barbecues & backyard parties are just around the corner! 

Ya-hoo!

Fruity Iced Tea
makes 6-8 servings


1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
6 bags black tea (I use Earl Grey)
4 cups boiling water
1 1/2 orange juice
Unstrained juice of 2 lemons
3/4 cups pineapple juice

In a small saucepan, combine sugar & first measurement of water. Bring to a boil. Continue boiling until liquid is clear, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Place tea bags in heat-resistant pitcher; add boiling water & let steep about 5 minutes. Remove & discard tea bags. Add sugar syrup to tea. Mix well. Let tea cool & refrigerate until chilled.

Add orange juice, lemon juice, pineapple juice & chilled sugar syrup. Refrigerate a few hours, preferably overnight. Serve over ice in tall glasses.

~~~~~

Enjoy this spring day!

Check out these great parties I link up to!

Spring Cleaning 2012

Have you begun your spring cleaning? I've done a few of the tasks on my list, but have lots left to do! 

In addition to my regular cleaning, here's my list:

Update: After talking to some friends of mine, it has come to my attention that you may think I do this whole list every year. While I strive to do my very best, alas, I don't complete this list every spring... ever! :) It is simply a guideline & something to work towards. Don't let it stress you out. :)

Second Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop!

Welcome blog hoppers! 

I'm so happy to be taking part in the Second Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop! 

You should have come from Nina's blog, Nina's Time Out.

If you stumbled upon this blog hop & want to participate, you'll want to start HERE.
Check out the rules for a chance to win some prizes too!

My "Smiley" layout was made with these products:

Cardstock - Bazzill Basics
Patterned Papers - Echo Park, Dots & Stripes & Style Essentials collections
Scallop Punch - Stampin' Up!
Pearls - Making Memories
Vellum Butterflies - Jenni Bowlin
Tiny Butterflies - Dollarama
Canvas covered chipboard Alphabet - American Crafts

Most of these products were purchased from Crop Chocolate. :)

I love me some layered pattered papers! I used the scallop punch to add a decorative border.

Here's another little strip of the scalloped border to echo the three main strips.

This is today's hop list if you're lost: 

1. Belle @ Stuff by Belle
2. Jasmine @ Wild Flower
3. Char @ Creations by Char
4. Nina @ Nina's Time Out
5. Steph @ Silver Boxes (Me! You are Here!)  
6. Julie @ Muddy Paws & Inky Fingers
7. Scrappy Canuck @ Scrappy Canuck Studios
8. Lucy, guest posting @ Crafting for Sanity? Or Insanity?
9. Brenda @ Central NY Scrapper

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment on each post for a chance to win the prizes!
If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, become a follower/subscriber - I'd love to get to know you better!

Now, head on over to the next stop - Scrap Happy's Muddy Paws & Inky Fingers 

Happy Hopping!

Blog Hop Announcement!

I'm so excited to announce that I'll be taking part in the Second Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop! It starts today with several bloggers posting their projects & keeps going tomorrow with a bunch more bloggers posting new projects! Be sure & follow along to get some really great papercrafting ideas as well as making some new bloggy friends.

I hope you'll join us!

https://cropchocolate.com/

The theme is borders - whether they're made with an electric tool or a manual tool. I'm sure you'll find some fresh, new inspiration for your crafting!


Here's the run down:

-The hop will start at mommyx2's blog at 8am MDT on Friday, March 23 (Today!) with the first group of postings. Saturday, March 24th will have the second group of postings.


-Everyone will have until 8am MDT on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 to comment.


***To be eligible to win on the 2nd Unofficial Crop Chocolate Blog Hop, you need to comment on each blog along the hop and be able to receive packages (no post office boxes). It is open worldwide. The winners will be selected via random.org and announced at http://centralnyscrapper.wordpress.com/ on Wednesday, March 28.***

-We have two confirmed giveaways. One is a 12×12 Hello Spring Mini Theme Kit by Echo Park and another is a 12×12 Fourth Of July Mini Theme Kit by Echo Park (generously donated by Echo Park Paper Co.).

-Some of the bloggers along the hop have mentioned that they plan to offer blog candy. Be sure to look for those announcements and follow the steps they would like you to do to be eligible for those prizes. I sadly joined the group too late in the game & thus don't have candy to offer you. So sorry! I'll plan better next time! But hopefully you enjoy the pretty eye candy you see along the way. :)


Here is today's blog hop list: 

1. Brenda @ Mommy Times Two    
2. Christina @ Thrifty Sisters      
3. Lisa @ Dream Big Cre8tions            
4. Polly @ Pazas Productions        
5. Amber @ Ambaju         
6. Heather @ Sweet Pea Designs    
7. Beth @ Engineering Memories     
8. Paula @ Crafty Cuts by Paula  
9. Kathy, guest posting @ Central NY Scrapper          

Be sure to come back tomorrow to visit me (and see my project) as well as visiting Saturday's participants! And maybe you'll be one of the lucky winners!

Start hopping!

Button Cards

   

  As I'm restocking my box of handmade cards, I'm endeavouring to make multiples of each design to save some time. It's also a great way to use up multiple scraps & other left over supplies. These are the latest design. 

They were inspired by the button cards that are actually packaging that My Mind's Eye mounts their buttons on. 

I changed some of the buttons to fit my colours & style a little better.

The papers are all My Mind's Eye. I used bits of ribbon & sentiment stickers to finish things off.

Easy & sweet... Just my style!

Stay tuned for a papercrafting blog hop I'm participating in this weekend with a chance to win a great prize... come back on Friday for more details. It's going to be good!

Thanks for reading!

Check out these great parties that I link up to!

This project was featured on:

Root Beer Cookies

Hello, friends!

Well, I took a week off blogging & had a nice little breather. My posts may continue to be touch & go in the next few weeks, so thanks for going with the flow. :)

While I had my aforementioned breather, I had a chance to do some baking; trying some new recipes as well as pulling out a few oldies that needed to be dusted off. 

This is one such recipe. 

Who doesn't like root beer? Well, I guess that could be a silly question since I didn't like it as a kid. 

I had a sip of a friend's as a teenager & wondered, "What was I thinking, not liking this?!" 

Thus began an adulthood enjoyment of my favourite flavour of pop (or soda for my American friends).

And when you can combine the flavour of your favourite beverage with a favourite type of food, life gets just a little bit better.

Root Beer Cookies with Root Beer Frosting

makes 3 dozen large cookies

Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate (I found mine at the Bulk Barn. Check natural or specialty food stores.)

4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375º.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter & brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in buttermilk & root beer extract. 

Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. 

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. 

Frosting:

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

3 Tbsp. water

1 tsp. root beer extract or concentrate

In a mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Beat until smooth. 

Frost cooled cookies.

Enjoy with a cold root beer on the side! YUM!

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

This recipe was featured on: