I've Been Making Cards Again..

Well, technically; I've only actually made one card. But, I'm still in the mood. So that counts, right? :P  I was going to just go buy a Birthday card. But, the kids were still asleep. And I was feeling creative. I thought, "By the time they get up and ready to go, I could have a card done."  Ha ha ha.....   Best laid plans. Well I got it all cut out and stamped and cornered and colored.  But....   I was completely out of double-sided tape.  UGH!!! Go to make a card to save money, but you have to go get more supplies....   Sigh....    So, I just wrote inside the card, and lettered the enveleope. Then the kids got up and I was able to go to the store and get more double-sided tape.   I had about one hundred ideas for cards in my head. But....   This is what I came up with. 

I took this picture so you can see the 3-D butterfly. :D   I thought it looked like a garden gate, with a butterfly on it.  Not like the card I had copied it from. This is the card I was trying to copy.  (The Happy Birthday card in the top row, in the middle.) But the scalloped punch was too small for the butterfly I had. So....  I improvised.

My Mom gave me this punch a while ago. This is the first time I have used it. I used my corner punch to round the corners.  

You can see my "Helpers", who are always under my feet.  :P  Jetta wanted to get in the picture.

The butterfly stamps. You can see how much smaller the scalloped punch is. 

Mama, I think I need a treat...   It's about that time.

I didn't realize I had so many Washi Tape rolls! I bought the two purple ones today, when I got the double-sided tape. They are addictive. I think I have a couple more rolls, somewhere..

I also finished a baby afghan for the OB Unit...

The color is offf in this picture. Its more like the first picture..

Memorial Day Weekend

I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day Weekend.  I made some red, white and blue strawberries. :)  I found them on Pinterest. 

I had so many blueberries left over. And I knew they wouldn't get eaten. So...   I made blueberry muffins. Lemon Blueberry Muffins. With streusel topping.    These will definitely get eaten.  

Cooling on the rack.   I think I have only made blueberry muffins one other time in my whole life. I don't know why. They aren't hard to make. The streusel topping is kind of a pain. But...   They are yummy.

I used a recipe in this book. The streusel topping I found online, and just added to the muffins before baking.

We went on a road trip for Memorial Day Weekend. (Sunday.)  I wanted to go somewhere that was in remembrance of those who have served. And there are a lot of Civil War sites in Tennessee...     So. We went to the top of Lookout Mountain. I thought that the Fort (Chickamauga) was there. But the fort is in Georgia.  This was the battlefield site for "The Battle Above the Clouds."  It was still really cool. A lot to see and do. There were at least two museums, lots of gift shops, an incline, and Ruby Falls.  We only went to the top of Lookout Mountain.  I took lots more pictures. But here are a few.   This is just a castle entrance to Point Park. As far as I know, it's just for looks.

Entrance sign..

A monument. I did not read ths sign...   

Lots of cannons.  

Me and hubby..

I finally got some post cards too.  I have not been able to find many post cards here, at all.  Not sure if there are many people who are interested in battlefield post cards....   But.  It is around Memorial Day. So... :P  

Butterscotch Cookies

 I am posting this here, because it is one of those recipes I use a lot. And almost thought I lost the recipe this morning (but found it- whew).  It isn't anything special, but I make them all the time- because that's usually all the ingredients I have to make cookies with. And everyone loves them. "What kind of cookies are these?"..   "Um, just butterscotch." I haven't been able to find the recipe online, and when I asked my Mom where she got the recipe (I know she's the one who gave it to me- if she didn't give it to me then it was my Grandma), she said she had no idea..    Oh, and I usually double the recipe. Because it only makes like one pan of cookies. I also roll the dough into walnut sized balls before putting on the baking sheet. So here it is:

Butterscotch Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
`1 1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in saucepan. (I pour the butter into a mixing bowl after it is melted.) Add sugar mix well. Add egg and beat til light.  In a separate bowl mix flour and baking soda. Add to egg mix. Add vanilla. Mix.   Chill dough for at least one hour.
Preheat oven to 375*.  Bake 7-10 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets. Remove at once.

(I usually bake them eight minutes.)

Graduation Day

Graduation Day finally came; on May 16th. A week ago today, my baby graduated. :D  

Here he is with his diploma. :)  I am so proud of him!!

Family picture outside. What? Eli is actually smiling? My brother said, "Say 'Money"". That got a smile out of him.

A picture with my Mom and stepdad. It was chilly, so that's why my Mom and I look a little strange...  (Like we're cold.) :P

All the graduates. There 577 seniors graduating, if I remember correctly.

Sitting.

I only had my family who lives here over, for a small party.  I asked Eli if he had any new friends here he would like to inivite. "No."    :(

An extra table. Which we did use...

My cake. O.o    My cake decorating skills are seriously non-existant. Thank goodness I had enough leftover letters from birthday cakes...    I did buy that cake container.  It also has an insert for cupcakes, and mini-cupcakes.

Chocolate chip cookies I made, and "Diploma" Cookies I decorated. I saw those on Pinterest. 

Eli cutting his cake.  For some reason I felt like I was at a wedding for a second there... :P

Duke LOVED the cousins!! He especially loved Gavin and (poor Gavin) would not stop jumping on him and giving him kisses.  :P  I thought it was adorable. But I knew it was starting to bother Gavin. So I made Duke get down.  Here he is trying to get Gavin's ear. (He has a thing with ears/kisses.)

Here he is trying to get Summer, too. :P

:)    

Eli said "I don't need another blanket."   :(    I told him later, "Do you know why I made you this blanket?" (Shakes his head no..)  "Well, someday you will have a place of your own. With a couch. Where you want to take a nap. And you're going to want a blanket to take a nap with...."  :P  Then he smiled, and said "Thank you."  

I have had some things to post about, I was just waiting for the recipient to receive them. :D   I have been getting into knitting dishcloths lately again. I don't know why. Probably cuz I need a mindless project that is relaxing...   So I knitted my favorite dishcloth, the Idiot's Dishcloth.  In purple variegated, because the person I was sending it to commented purples were her favorite color on Ravelry.  I didn't think I would have enough to finish this, but I did with a little left over.  This is also my favorite dishcloth to wash dishes with. I don't know why.

I noticed Duke laying under the table so I had to take a picture. :P

This is a KAL dishcloth, it's the Scrap Buster dishcloth.

I printed out a favorite poem of mine, and laminated it. I wrapped it up with the dishcloths.  When I used to clean houses, one of my clients had this poem in their kitchen. I loved it.  I have one in my kitchen now, too. Since I am not artistic (and I wanted to send this out yesterday), I printed one out I found online.  

I also made her a bee-lated birthday card.  I have been (for some reason) wanting to do lettering. Like I need another hobby. But, this would go with card making (especially if you don't have a stamp with a sentiment you want to say, or one that goes with a design you have in mind..)  This lettering is from one of my card making magazines. And it shows you how to do the flowering too (that is as artistic as I get, lol).  I was really racking my brain to try and come up with a purple card that would go with a bee.   After googling, I found a couple and ended up with this...

I also lettered the envelope for a card I was sending another pen pal.

I sent her this Four Corners Dishcloth, and a few Earl Grey tea bags. I bought them for the Write-A-Friend swap; and since I do not like Earl Grey I then had a whole box of it...    I am going to send the original person I bought it for, the rest of it. I just didn't want to send a whole box instead of a bubble mailer. So...   Otherwise I would have just sent the whole box..

Yesterday I got a letter back from the person I sent the birthday goodies to (with the Dirty  Dishes Poem); she sent me this bookmark. :D  I'm going to laminate it, and use it in my new book I got from the library.  

And, I finished Eli's afghan last night. Yay...   :)   Nothing big, just a blankie.   I still have some ends to weave in.

I was wondering if anyone wanted to clean my house for me?....   (Sigh...)  I feel like all I do is clean, but it's never clean!! Arrrrgggh!!  I am getting stressed about the graduation party.  I also have to cook.  Thank goodness it's just my family, or I would probably not be able to take it.  I am not an entertainer.  (Sigh..)

Two weeks from today, my baby Eli is graduating...   :)

Graduation Preparations..

Besides cleaning to get the house ready for the party (cupboards, windows, walls, doors, baseboards, ceiling fans.. besides all the regular cleaning), I have been crocheting an afghan for Eli for a graduation gift.  It's almost done. I'm going to crochet until that skein runs out, then do an outside border of dark khaki green. I'm also almost done with a photo album of "Eli's Life".  :)  I didn't have all our pictures with us (they were in storage), so once we got all our stuff back, I could work on that some more, too.  :)  

I saw some things at Walmart for 2015 graduates and had to buy some!  I was wanting to get some 2015 streamers (that hang down from the ceiling), so I was super excited to see they had some at Walmart.  And the plates and napkins, and the banner.  

 I still cannot believe he is going to be graduating. Three weeks from tomorrow. I am freaking out here!!!...    :o

...A sneak peek at the graduate. :D   He got his cap and gown, a couple weeks ago and tried them on himself. And, he actually smiled!!  He *had* to tone it down for a picture (sigh...), but..   Doesn't he look handsome?   

Easter

I hope everyone had a nice Easter...   We just spent it by ourselves at home, as usual.  :)  I wasn't even going to do much (except maybe a chocolate bunny for the boys, and dinner).  But when I asked Eon if he wanted an Easter basket this year, he shrugged his shoulders. (I knew that meant yes, but he couldn't say so because Eli was in the room. Lol) Then I thought, "Even though he said he didn't want one, I'll make Eli one, too." I finally decided to do these. I had seen this idea a few years ago on Pinterest. So I decided to do it.  The candy is the basket.  :P  Then I filled it with mostly non-candy fillers...   Wallets for both of them, and other stuff..

I crocheted them both Egg Bunnies.  I thought they were so cute!  It was a CAL on a facebook group I'm in.  I even made one for Eli... (And he said he liked it.)  

I made a mini-one, too (the green one). To fit in the little plastic egg.  

I had been wanting to try a recipe forever...   (Kulich.)  I bought these cans specifically with this recipe in mind...  :D

The dough has to sit in the pans for 2-3 hours to rise...

With a towel on it.

The bread is done. :D

And, ready to eat..   For the topping, you use one egg white and four ounces of powdered sugar. (Huh?...)  It was a pretty vague recipe. But then I thought "Oooh....   Maybe like when you make a meringue? You have to beat the egg whites with regular sugar to make it stiff..."   I probably could have beat it longer. But, it worked.   The bread was good. But not as good as I thought it would be.   It just tasted like raisin bread.   But, I had been wanting to make this. So... Now I have.  I will probably make it again.  I will have to buy more cans though. We opened the bottom, so the bread would come out. So. My "bread pans" were ruined..   :P         My Aunt makes pumpkin bread in big old coffee cans. She re-uses hers.  I'll have to ask her how she gets the bread out without it getting ruined..

Kulich Recipe I used.  Oh, a couple things:  I didn't use cardamom. Because it costs like $13 a little jar. I used half cinnamon half nutmeg instead (I read online you could use that as a substitute). I also didn't soak my raisins in rum. (We don't have any, and I didn't want to buy all these expensive ingredients to make this. So...) I soaked my raisins in boiling water and drained the water before putting them in.   Also, the recipe doesn't state when to add the vanilla. I looked in one of my cookbooks for another Kulich recipe, and it said to add it with the milk.  I also just greased the cans, didn't use wax paper. Just thought I would share that.