Mini Amy Butler cards

Yesterday I was a busy Girl!! Not only did I get laundry done I also went through my beloved stash of Amy Butler paper.

I made little mini cards!!

Set of 10, each one is different. They are so cute!!I listed them in my shop here. The entire set of 10 is $5.

Each mini card is blank white cardstock, folded over and blank on the inside. The final size of the card is 2 3/4 x 3 and each one features a different sample of her Lotus teabox collection

Now I just need to finalize my 3x3 envelope template to make little matching envelopes to fit them in.(Once thats done, I PROMISE to share!!)

Scouting and Lip Balm

Dont forget my Lip Balm sale is still going on.

3 balms for $6, Free shipping in the USA.

Get all the details and find your perfect flavor HERE.

So Peter started Boy Scouts on Tuesday evening.

Sigh. Growing up so fast.

I went all the way uptown to the ONE AND ONLY scouts store here in Charlotte (there is another one in Gastonia, which takes FOREVER to get there. But thats another rant for another day).

We bought the shirt, the wolf-kerchief and slide, the handbook, the patches etc. $63 later and no patch magic, I realized I actually had to SEW the patches on. GRRRRRR.

Did you know there are SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS on where to place the patches in EXACT locations?? Did they actually want me to pull my measuring tape out?? Would they REALLY know if that emblem crest was not 3/8 inches above the left pocket??

So for 2 hours Tuesday afternoon I frantically sewed the patches onto his shirt, hoping they were straight and even and that no one could tell the thread didnt match.

All in all it turned out nice, and my fingers are only slightly tender, still.

He looked absolutely adorable in his outfit and he got lots of compliments. No one mentioned the patches, so I assume they were correct.

He had a great time and can't wait to go back!!

THANKS DIVA!!!

HUGE THANK YOU to Charmaine over at highdesertdiva!! She sent me a BEAUTIFUL piece of fabric for the Hospice pillows service project. (When I say Piece I mean several yards!!) And it is fabulous.
It was so very generous of you! Thanks so much, It is going to a good cause!! Check out her beautiful shop!!

LIP BALM SALE!!!

It is time once again for my semi annual LIP BALM SALE!!

3 balms for $6 and that includes shipping in the USA. You choose the flavor.

I have beeswax or I have Vegan. Once they are gone, they are gone!!

All natural ingredients, made to order. Not sitting on a shelf waiting for you to purchase.

FLAVORS AVAILABLE:

ALMOND-classic Almond. a bestseller.

APPLE-green apple, tart and juicy!

BANANA-great for kids!

BLACK CHERRY-classic dark cherry.

BLACK FOREST CAKE-Chocolate Cherry and almond

BUBBLE GUM-pink bubblegum. Smells like Bazooka!

CAPPUCCINO-Java and cinnamon.

CARAMEL-sweet caramel.

CARAMEL APPLE-tart apple covered with ooeg gooey caramel

CARAMEL CAPPUCCINO-java, cinnamon and caramel

CHAI TEA-classic black tea with cinnamon, cloves and cassia.

CHEESECAKE-want a slice??

CHERRY ALMOND- CLASSIC cherries and almond.

CHOCOLATE-choclate cream. So indulgent and YUM-O!

CHOCOLATE BANANA- Banana with chocolate cream.

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY- just like choco covered strawberries

COCONUT-tropical coconut, but not heavy or overpowering.

COCONUT LEMONGRASS-coconut with lemongrass. A great combo!

CUCUMBER MELON-traditional cucumbers with sweet melon.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE-chocolate, coconut and caramel

GINGER PEACH-peach with a hint of spicy ginger

GUMMY BEAR-just like opening a bag of the real thing.

HERBAL BLEND- blend of mint and herbal essential oils.

HONEYSUCKLE NECTARINE-juicy nectarine with sweet honeysuckle

JAVA-just like a cup of joe!

LAVENDER- Lavender essential oil is soothing and aromatic

LAVANDER VANILLA-fragrant Lavander with creamy sweet vanilla

LEMON-Wonderful Lemon Essential Oil. Perks you up

MARGARITA-like Friday night for your lips! Lemon Lime flavor

MOCHA-chocolate and coffee

PEACH-sweet juicy Georgia Peach!

PEPPERMINT_ Peppermint essential oil makes this a lip perk!

PLAIN JANE- No scent, all natural nothing added.

PLUM APRICOT-sweet and seductive. This will be a new fave!

PURPLE GRAPE-great for kids!

RASPBERRY CREAM PIE-sweet and creamy and tempting!

RASPBERRY LEMONADE-this is one of my new faves.

SKITTLES-just like the real thing.

STRAWBERRY- fresh from the field strawberry

STRAWBERRY BANANA- A classic combination. Cant beat it!

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE- YUM! cheesecake with strawberries!

SWEET- This is plain jane with a sweetener added.

TEA TREE- Tea Tree oil makes this a great healing balm

TURTLE- Chocolate and Caramel

WATERMELON-fresh off the vine Jolly Rancher type watermelon.

Be sure to tell me in the note to buyer which three flavors you want!!

Mad about Plaid

The other day I was on Cicada Daydream She used to be in the mens underwear business and had a tutorial for photoshop about how to make plaids.

So I downloaded her .psd file and went to town.

It is actually A LOT of fun.

These are just a few I came up with. I am trying to come up with a few for my new Lip Balm labels.

If you have Photoshop, definately check out the tutorial. It is awesome and you will not believe how much time you will spend sitting at your computer creating plaids!!

Thanks Michelle for sharing!!

Chunky Harvest Applesauce

As Promised an Applesauce tutorial for homemade applesauce. This is a chunkier applesauce. You can add more or less seasonings depending on your taste, and you can puree it to make it super smooth, or do a rough mash with a potato masher or ricer.

If you are making baby food, omit all sugar and seasonings. Just boil them with water and press through food mill or use immersion blender until smooth.

This is a smaller batch recipe and makes about 4 cups (8 servings). Perfect for a family dinner. Will keep in the fridge for about a week. Or you can put it in a ziplock, press out the air and freeze it for up to 6 months.

Step 1- Peel and chop 6 medium to large apples of your choice. If you do not already have one, I HIGHLY recommend an apple peeler.
I used my Honeycrisps, as they are firmer sweeter apples. You definately want to use a firmer apple, like cortland or Honeycrisp. Empire or Galas would be OK as well.
If you have a coarser, softer apple, such as a Red or golden delicious, mix it with the firmer crisper apples for a better textured applesauce, otherwise you will end up with grainy Mush.
If you use Granny Smiths, pair with a sweeter apple, or you will have to use extra sugar. Granny Smiths are really tart, especially if they are not fully ripe.

STEP 2- Add about 1 1/4 cups water

1/2 cup white sugar and 2 TBSP brown sugar.

You can add more or less sugar depending on the sweetness of your apples. Mix everything together. The sugars will pull out the juices in the apples, and will mix with the water and make a thick syrup that the apples will boil in.

STEP 3- Add your spices.

1 tsp ground cinnamon. 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice, pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of dried ginger. You can add more or less spices depending on your taste.

Start small and at the end if you want it spicer, add more spices. A little bit goes a long way and if you put too much in you will have some seriously spiced applesauce. (learned from experience)Mix well until all the apples are coated.

Put a lid on your pan and set to High Heat. Let boil for 3 minutes. Stir and set heat to medium-low and boil for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Your apples will get transparent. Take a masher and start to mash. Apples shold mash somewhat easily. If they are still a little tough to mash, boil a little longer.

Once apples reach a desired consistence, remove from heat and mash until you have the consistency to your liking. I like my applesauce a little chunkier.

TA-DA!! Easy homemade applesauce the whole family will enjoy.

You can make a bigger batch and can it.

6LB pressure for 10 minutes.

You can use this in crepes, top Ice Cream with it, add it to your oatmeal. Top it with a streusel mixture and bake it for an apple crisp or make it as a turnover filling.

Bon appetit!

An Apple A Day...

Saturday we went to Hendersonville, NC. HV is the Apple Capital of North Carolina and there are apples everywhere. The crisp mountain air makes for great growing conditions!

Out of all the apple farms and orchards only a few let you Pick your own. The one we go to is

Granddads apples. We have gone there several years now and really love it. They have pick your own, or you can buy pre picked. They have a huge orchard with lots of variety. They have a general store where you can buy cider and jams and jellies and cookbooks and country crafts. I myself had a homemade apple turnover. YUM!! The boys got little plastic apple shaped sippy bottles with apple cider in them. They have a gigantic corn maze and you can feed their llamas. It is really a neat place to visit.

So we got there and the apples they had available for picking were Golden Delicious and Honeycrisps. I am not a huge Golden Delicious fan, but I AM a Honeycrisp lover.

Honeycrisps are probably one of THE BEST apples grown. It is a cross between a honeygold and the Macoun. It is crisp, with a firm smooth flesh, sweet and juicy with the perfect apple taste. It makes a great fresh eating apple, great pies, applesauce, juice and cider. It is my all around favorite apple and has a long shelf life. Honeycrisps are not really an apple you can walk into any store and find, which is a shame.

We picked and picked and picked and ate apples. My dad said "these apples couldn't be any better if they were stolen!"(Apparently stolen apples taste better??)

Here are Peter and Finn holding some of their hard picked fruit. I have never seen them eat so many apples!!

Finn getting in the shade and finding the perfect

apple!

another "squints" picture. It was so hot and sunny outside, but that didnt stop Peter from picking a huge bag of apples!!

We ended up with 2 bushels of apples.

Mom and Dad took a bushel and I took a bushel.

They only charge 20 a bushel and we had 100 pounds of apples for $40 total. So for 40 cents a pound, you cant beat it.

I actually need to refrigerate them, or they will lose their crisp.

Tomorrow...APPLESAUCE TUTORIAL!!