Peach Punch

Summer is here finally!
Here is a great recipe for Peach Punch.

PUNCH
1 pkg. of M&M Peach Drink Crystals with 10 cups of water.
2 litres of Sprite or GingerAle
1 pkg. of M&M Berry Mix (optional garnish)

Makes approximately 6 litres.

My family omits the water and adds 2 bottles of 2 litre GingerAle instead.
It can be made in a large drink dispenser and stored in the fridge.

Seafood Chowder

I am currently on vacation so I decided to try making one of my mother-in-law's recipes for Seafood Chowder. Here it is:

SEAFOOD CHOWDER
1) Fry 1 onion, 1 carrot & 1 celery stalk in 1/4 block of margarine.
2) Boil 1 potato until soft.
3) Add a little flour to the vegetables until creamy.
4) Add 1/2 pint cream. Simmer with the vegetables.
5) Add 1/2 pint whipping cream.
6) Put in scallops for 5 minutes. Then add any combination of
lobster, shrimp and crab meat.

I doubled the recipe because of the amount of seafood I had and mashed the potatoes before I added them to the soup pot. It was delicious. I found lobster in a tin at Costco in the frozen food section ($15.99)

Sex and the City

Yesterday, I dropped my son and a friend off at Wonderland then I headed off to Vaughan Mills Mall for some summer sale shopping. Then I went to the movie theatre to see: Sex and the City. Just me and a bag of popcorn.

I have been waiting for the lines to die down to go see it. I became addicted with the first DVD I rented from Block Buster. I actually would begin shaking if the next episodes were unavailable to rent :)

Anyway, it was great to visit with the ladies again and catch up on their adventures looking for labels and love. Jennifer Hudson was a great addition to the movie.

I won't spoil the story but there was one quote that I thought would be fitting for a wedding card or scrapbook page: Ever thine, Ever mine, Ever ours.

Tie a Bow 1

One of the biggest challenges stampers face is tying bows.
Stampin' Up has created some how to information which I have attached below.
Click on an image to make it larger.

Happy Stampin'

Tie a Bow 2

Tie a Bow 3

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

Introducing Decor Elements

Something new & exciting from Stampin' Up!

It is a new line called Decor Elements

See the attached link below:

http://www.stampinup.com/ca/documents/decorelements_web.pdf

Now we have a great way to decorate our homes with self-adhesive vinyl images that apply like rub ons and can be removed. They come in white, kraft and chocolate. I am sure we will see more images and colours available in the future.

I have been waiting to find something to decorate the walls in my hall. Now I found it: Manhattan Flower

And I wanted to put the word "family" on the wall that I have all my family photos displayed. Now I found that too.

I am so excited to start decorating :)

Happy Birthday

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

This birthday card uses the same layout as the wedding card below. I used a different stamp set and designer series paper and changed the colour combination.

Wedding Card

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

I made this card for my niece's wedding. I like the elegance of this colour combination. Hope she likes it too.

Stamp Set: To have and to Hold

Father's Day

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

This was cased from a Stampin' Up sample card. It was one of my favourites.

I know I am a little late posting these Father's Day cards but the layout ideas may be useful for other projects.

Father's Day

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

I debated watercolouring the image on this card but like the simplicity of the brown ink by itself.

Father's Day

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

A Father's Day card made by layering the boat image and the greeting.

Masculine Card

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

This card was made with gold emboss powder and lots of sponging with ink on the edges.

Must Try Food in Toronto

I found this website (the link is below) that lists the Top 100 Must-Try foods available in the Toronto area.
I think it would be fun to randomly select one and go give it a try.
There are a few selections that I find tempting like:
#11 Barbecued Corn
#34 Street dog
#38 Korean Walnut Cakes
#42 Jump-Up Soup
#46 Wiener Schnitzel
#56 Poutine
#63 Butter Tart
#87 Ontario Birch Syrup & Chesnut Ice Cream
#100 Veal Cutlet Sandwich

http://www.torontolife.com/features/eat-drink-and-be-daring/

Origami Tulip Instructions

http://edojin.com/tulipfest/instructions.pdf

This is the web address for instructions on how to create an origami tulip.

Happy Victoria Day

For the Victoria Day long weekend, my family took a trip to Ottawa. We had never been there before so we decided to attend the 2008 Tulip Festival. Seeing as both my parents immigrated to Canada from Holland, it was about time I went. It rained on the way down and part of the way home but the weather cooperated while we were there. What more can you ask for? It was a great time. We were walking distance from all of the attractions and took in as much as we could. I have included a few photos below.
The Tulip Festival includes exhibits from countries all over the world. We had a passport that allowed us to sample foods from the countries featured and we enjoyed specialties from Holland, China, Mexico, Peru, Germany & Indonesia. It was alot of fun.

Tulips

These were my favourite tulips!

Parliament Buildings

Here are Brent & myself in front of the Parliament Building in Ottawa.

Origami Tulips

Dillon and I tried making Origami Tulips.
I have to try this with patterned paper!

Tip Toe Thru the Tulips

Here I am in the tulips.

Decorated Tulip Sculptures

Here are some of the decorated tulips we saw at the Tulip Festival.

There were tons of them.

Mother's Day 1

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

To all the Mothers in the world ... Have a wonderful day. I will spend the day counting my blessings and enjoying time with the people I love. I hope the same for each of you.

Mother's Day 2

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

The clear button has rub-ons applied to the back surface.

Thanks

Images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!

May Specials from Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up has some great specials for May 2008.
What a great time to Spring into your stampin' projects :)


1) CUTTING MAT/HOBBY BLADE COMBO PACK

Stampin' Up! has a Special Offer from May 1 to 31, 2008

Promotion Details:
During the month of May, buy a Cutting Mat and get a Hobby Blade for FREE!

PLUS ...

2) GET ON BOARD WITH CHIPBOARD SPECIAL

For the month of May, when you spend $40 on any Stampin' Up! products you'll get 25% off all On Board chipboard products from pages 178-179 of the Spring and Summer Collection 2008!

These exclusive, versatile, die-cut chipboard collections are designed to coordinate with many Stampin' Up! stamp sets and accessories.