Invites for Liz

I'm so excited to show you what I found! I have Hobby Lobby adventures at least every other week to see what treasures I can find in the paper department, and today did not disappoint!

I was looking for oranges and burgundy's, either together or separate. See below for a few ideas for your invites... And, keep in mind any of these papers can be used for your favor tags or as a background for your out of town boxes/bags. I've shown all these papers with craft paper envelopes (I LOVE using these! They make it look so unique).

I apologize for the picture quality....I am no photographer.... :)

Butterflies...I love "nature" related paper. It has some orange, but not any burgundy, which is why I show it with the orange paper.

Burgundy! The lighter color is cream...If we used this as the liner, I would use solid burgundy with cream on top for the invite (like your wedding invites).

Orange! If this were the liner, I would use orange as a background with cream on top for the invite.

I found these three...the polka dot one is super cute, but I don't know if you want the "cute" feel to the invites. The other two are shown in pictures below with envelopes.

I really like this! There is a little burgundy and some orange (it does not match exactly to the orange your using, but you can't really tell) But, I would use burgundy paper with white on top for the invite. Or just white.

This is probably my favorite...I LOVE the pop of orange! This paper really incorporates the orange and burgundy in a classic way! I would do this with an orange invite. The orange in the picture matches your orange :)

I actually think this paper would be perfect for tags with a layer of orange on top! Or the paisley pattern...both would look SO good!

Let me know what you think!

Awesome Mondays-Garnish

Marvelous Finds Monday's have begun! I've found so many cool things lately that I've decided to share all my finds with you! I'm the type to find something I LOVE then figure out a way that I can use it to fit my lifestyle....ha...much to my husbands dismay, they usually cost money :) But, what's a little cash in the big scheme of things when it gives me such gratification to express the artist in me? Everyone needs a creative outlet, and paper related stuff happens to be mine! I LOVE it! I guess it's the idea that anything is possible and you're only limited by your imagination....wait, is this an exerpt from a high school graduation speech...oh how I would like to return to those days...I digress... ok, ok! Back to topic...I'm so excited to share my finds, so here's the first one.

The website is www.thinkgarnish.com When you go there, it says "Garnish" at the top. They sell to go containers, boxes, straws (straws, you say? These are most unusual straws and I promise you'll love them) and so many more items that sound completely boring! But, when you apply a little imagination, you can create the most fun party, family gathering, wedding, or whatever you are hosting. I'm convinced that the lovely things in life are so because of the details. Making the mundane spectacular is just 20 minutes, some simple supplies, and some trial and error away. Example, instead of serving lemonade in a typical glass/cup...

BORING.....

Why not serve it in a mason jar with a red and white striped straw? And to top it off, tie cute little tags on them with twine (sold on thinkgarnish in several colors)!

The straws...you have to imagine them in the glass with the lemonade...oh so cute! You can find these straws on www.thinkgarnish.com in several colors!

What's great is that you can find vintage mason jars at flea markets and antique stores for pretty cheap!

Some other ideas...

Just imagine.....It's two weeks before your wedding and suddenly you remember that out of the 200 people coming to your wedding, 25 little noise makers (aka your lovely little cousins/friends kids/etc) will be at the wedding and reception. You know they will be all wound up after sitting through a 20 minute wedding ceremony just looking for an opportunity to make your wedding memorable if you know what I mean...ha! Well, there is a solution!

Set up a kids table! All of the items above can be ordered off of thinkgarnish. Craft paper sold in rolls like wrapping paper to cover the table. Provide crayons, markers, whatever you have for them to color with. Also, you can find wedding related printouts in black and white that are designed to be printed and colored in....or better yet, you can make your own! Place whatever you like in the middle of the table for decoration....candy in cones like they have above, flowers, maybe even a few "dress up" items like a cowboy hat, a princess crown, ya know...just cute little things that will make the wedding experience a fun one for them! I mean, that's really what it's all about. You want ALL your guests to have fun! And we all know that caterers charge you out the @#^$% per person...so why not plan ahead (and have your bestest friend help you out with this) and put together "kids meals". Surely a PB&J, a bag of Lays, and a cookie (with your wedding label of course) made just for them will make any kids day, right? Not to mention, it will save you a pretty penny in food costs! Putting their name on them is a little difficult if you have a ton of kids, but you can put something else fun on the outside...use your imagination!

I love making food for folks, and I've gotten to do a lot of it lately b/c of all the precious babies that have come along! What a great way to present your labor of love to your friend/coworker/whatever. I can attest that the LAST thing you want to do is cook during those first few weeks with your baby.

Who's up for a picnic?? The larger containers can be used for so many other things...out of town packages for wedding guests. How awesome to check in to your hotel and have this given to you...it's like giving your guests a virtual hug!

Wow...endless possibilities....please go to their website for more great ideas! I think you'll find that these items are very inexpensive and worth displaying once you've put your special touch on them! Of course, if you need any assistance in creating, please let me help...I LIVE for this stuff!

Happy creating!

Paper junk!

Hello hello! I have been asked to do some bridal luncheon invites by my friend Dianne's mother-in-law, Eunice (so exciting b/c I LOVE weddings!). The client sent me an invite for the wedding and asked me to do something similar but a more casual version. I'm not going to post the invite b/c I doubt they want the world (or the 13 people who read this blog...ha!) knowing where they are getting married and the day. The invites were really nice, and the colors went very well together...a dark purple/burgundy and orange! I'm working on this and will send PDF's or JPEG's when I get a proof done.

The bride, Liz, also asked me about tags and out-of-town tags, so I'm posting some examples for her to see. So, here ya go! Hope you like them!

Eunice - I've posted some orange patterned paper below that I can use as envelope liners for the bridal luncheon. If this is too casual or too "cute" looking, we can always use solid orange for the liners, or we could use a combination of papers. If we made the liners fun like these, I was thinking of doing the invites on white paper with orange writing and maybe an accent somewhere in the burgundy OR writing in burgundy and an accent in orange...either way, I think it would look great!

I included the insert from the invitation to show that the oranges match.

Liz - the tags start here!

I can do any shape really...these are ovals. The paper is pattered on both sides so I had to put a piece of cream on top to write on.

This is probably the most popular tag shape that I do. Again, this paper is pattered on both sides as shown above. These would be the most expensive type tags b/c I have to tie in the ribbon and paste the cream paper on top.

These are super cute, easy, and inexpensive! The "miss you" is a stamp. I also have stamps that say "Ooo-la-la", "Thank You" (this on is cursive like the "miss you"), "happiness", "friendship", "happy everything".

Couple other examples...I can cut these in any length up to 12 inces tall...but I doubt you'd want them that big :) This one is 3.5 inches, plenty big for a favor tag.

This is the same tag shape but cut out of paper that is pattered on both sides. You could probably stamp on these, but you'd have to use black ink. The good thing is, there is A TON of paper out there, and there's bound to be some with your wedding colors ;)

Yet another tag shape...I think this is 3.5 inches as well.

Onto out-of-town tags/labels. I did these for Dianne and Jeb. This is cream paper on top of pattered paper. These are easy for me to do....have to design, cut, and assemble. They simply wanted their names and the date, but you can have a message to your guests if you want. The options are limitless!

This "Thank you" tag is what I used for labels for gift bags (I used brown craft paper bags...cheap and artsy looking) for Dianne's bachelorette party. Again, simply cream paper on top of pattered paper.

Sorry for the weird display on this one. I made this today, just playing around in Photoshop. I saved it as a JPEG and this is how it was saved :)

I found this digital pattern that I haven't used in a while and put an "N" on it (hopefully I'm right about this being your new last initial?) and a short note to your guests....this can be any size, and would look good as a favor tag OR as a gift bag label. I could see us making 2 versions, one for the out-of-town bags and one for favors!

Whew....that's all for now! Let me know what you think!

Extreme Couponing!!!

Has anyone seen this show on TLC?!?!? WOW....they are obsessed! I use coupons, but I'm doing good to save $20 on a $150 bill. But now I know why...they have hundreds of rolls of toilet paper, paper towels, bottle of mustard (really, how can you use 100 bottles of mustard in your lifetime?) And, who has the storage space? One woman had a room dedicated to her coupons!

So, how would you like to come home with over $1,000 of grocery items and pay less than $5...amazing, right? Here's how she did it (just one example). She bought 114 night time pain relievers. Original price $5.29. The store had it on sale for $1.99. She used a $2.50 off coupon on every single one, which means she MADE $.51 on every one that she bought. On this one item, she made $51.00, which she used to buy items that she could not get for free. Again, I say WOW!

So inspiring, yet seems so unattainable....hmmm...what if I seriously gave it a go for the next month? If I found one item that I could get for free (combining store sale with coupons), and got 10 of them? That would be a good start! I'll let you know what I find!!!!!

5 months old!!

We went to Chicago last month and had a great time!!!! Chicago is SO big! And oh my, the shopping is incredible. I heart Nordstrom Rack!!! For those who don't know what that is, it's basically where Nordstrom sends all their sale items (good deals!!). The pizza was amazing! Who knew that deep dish pizza was so good?!?? Here are some pics from our trip...

With Natalie at Gibson's

Us in the hotel room getting ready to go to Gibson's....it was SO good!!!

I would definitely recommend it to anyone!

Pizzaria Uno...fabulous!

Pizza vs. Cory...Pizza won!

Look at that pizza! It's literally a pizza pie!

View of the city from Navy Pier

Kiss on Navy Pier...I love my hubby!

View from the top of the John Hancock Building

What a shopping experience...just looking at all the pretty things was so fun! I ended up buying a pair of jeans, a shirt, and some shoes, all from Nordstrom Rack!

I think this was in front on the Wrigley Building

Moving on to Will....My Darling Will is 5 months old! I can't believe how fast the past 5 months have gone by...he'll be 16 before I know it! He's enjoying tummy time so much more and rolling over from his tummy to his back, he still hasn't figured out he can go the other way. No teeth yet....every night I go to bed thinking "Is this going to be the first of my sleepless teething nights??" I know we'll get through it when it happens, but I'm not liking the waiting game!

Well, we have been having so much fun trying new foods! He can now eat oatmeal, rice cereal, bananas, prunes, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, and apples. It's so gross b/c he rubs it all over his face and it gets on his clothes and on his hands and on my hands...ha! Here's some pics from the past few weeks! ok....here are some pics!

Til next time ya'll! (Was that Paula Deen or what?!?!?)

More recipes!!

A few days before I started cooking, I had to get my grocery list together which was LONG.

A few suggestions:

1) Buy in bulk. We have a Costco membership and they have 10lb bags of chicken (Purdue chicken that's frozen individually...it goes from freezer to oven and is VERY good). This goes for beef, too. You might have to buy 4 or 5 lbs depending on what you're making.

2) Cook and chop the chicken and veggies the day before. It saved so much time to cook the chicken the day before. I just did a couple rounds in the oven. I seriously cooked about 10 chicken breasts and chopped them!

3) Make sure you have enough freezer containers, freezer Zip Lock bags and the disposable casserole dishes work the best...

4) Make labels for your dinners ahead of time. I wrote what the dinner was, the date, how many servings, and how to get it ready for serving. I think next time I cook, I'll type them. So I can just print and stick it on the dinner.

ok...enough about preparation...here are a couple more recipes!

Wild Rice Chicken Serves: 6

1 6 1/4-ounce package of quick cooking long grain and wild rice (I used brown rice)

1 cup cooked chopped chicken (I used 2 cups b/c I wanted more chicken)

1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 1/4 cups finely chopped onion

1 cup light mayo

1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup (standard can size)

Cook rice according to package directions. Combine rice with chopped chicken, water chestnuts, celery and onion; put mixture in a 1-gallon freezer bag.

To prepare for serving, thaw rice mixture, remove from bag, and place in a 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Stir mayo and cream of mushroom soup together, and spread over top of chicken mixture. Bake covered in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour. Enjoy!

This is an example of a meal that does take a little work the day of eating, but not near what it would be if you made the whole thing the day of!

Chili Hamburgers Serves: 4

1 lb lean ground beef

2 tbsp finely chopped green bells pappers

1 tbsp minced onion

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp chili sauce (I couldn't find chili sauce, so I just left it out. But they were really good!)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

4 hamburger buns

Thoroughly mix all ingredients except buns. Shape into 4 patties. Freeze in a large freezer bag with wax paper between each one. If freezing for more than a couple weeks, you can freeze the buns too. Bread freezes well.

To prepare, thaw patties and buns. Grill or fry to desired pinkness in center. Serve on warm hamburger buns.

This is a recipe that you can modify to your hearts desire! Next time I cook in bulk, I plan on making several varieties of burgers to have on hand for hosting company!

ok...enough for today!

Cooking for 2 weeks!

Hello everyone! I have proved to myself that cooking for 2 weeks can be done, and can be done without breaking the bank!

I will be the first to admit that I am not the best house keeper, but I am a pretty good cook (when I have a recipe to follow), so I decided to put my skills to work! It was so gratifying that I did this for me and my husband and to ensure that 1) I am not stressed about what's for dinner 2) we have good quality meals and 3) they don't take too long to prepare or clean up! Also, this can greatly cut down on your grocery bill b/c your using the fresh veggies/meats right away therefore not wasting money and food.

Let me clarify, when I say cooking for 2 weeks, I do not meal breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I just mean dinners. However, many of the dinners have more than 2 servings so the leftovers make great lunches!

You can either do it all in one day or you can break it up into a day and a half or 2 days. I found it easier to break up b/c of the baby. Below, you'll find the recipes that I made, how many they serve, how to store/freeze them, and what to do to prepare them when the time comes to eat them.

Here are the recipes:

Corn Chowder (my mom's recipe is SOOOOO good)

Spaghetti sauce with meatballs (Cory's family recipe, again SOOOOO good)

Cheesy Mexican Casserole

Chili Hamburgers

Sloppy Joes (my version)

Wild Rice Chicken

Chicken Packets

There are a couple more that I want to try, and I'll post those recipes when I do.

Corn Chowder: Serves: 8

1 roll of regular sausage (I suggest Bob Evans Original)

1 roll of frozen creamed corn (I suggest McKensie's)

4 medium russet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

4 cups chicken stock

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 cup of milk

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

Brown and crumble sausage, drain well. Add corn, soup, stock and diced potatoes. Mixture will be fairly thick until corn thaws.

Let simmer on low, stirring often; corn will stick to bottom of pot; until potatoes are done, about 1 hour. Add milk, stir and heat through.

To freeze, remove from heat and let cool a bit and place corn chowder in gallon zip lock freezer bags. One batch will fit in one bag, but I suggest freezing half in one bag and half in another to make two meals. Place 1 cup of cheddar in a small freezer bag and attach to the chowder. Don't worry, cheese freezes well.

To serve, thaw chowder and heat in microwave or stove. Sprinkle with cheddar and enjoy! This is really good with cornbread or oyster crackers.

ok...the other recipes will have to be posted tomorrow! Gotta get to a crying baby!

Britt