Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I thought I'd celebrate today with a VERY simple green card that we made at my class a few weekends ago.

I took all my Fresh Florals DSP to Kinko's to have it cut to 4x6 panels not too long ago, and as I was putting it away, the Lemon Lime Twist pieces really caught my eye, so I pulled some out for a little idea for my class. The watercolor style images are so soft, I thought it would be fun to make them crisper with my stamp etching technique. You can see the video for that technique below. It's amazing how just a few little stroked transform this little piece of paper. So fun and simple.

Celebrate You Thinlit Dies by... [ SUP ] Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper... [ SUP ] Sharpie Ultra-Fine Point Marker [ BLIC ] Whisper White Cardstock - Thick [ SUP ] Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock by... [ SUP ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | SBC | MFT ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and... [ SSS | CST | BMS | ART ] Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth [ AMZUS ] Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 [ SSS | ART | AMZUS ] Bone Folder by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ] Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ]

Do you have plans for today? We generally shelter in place on holiday weekends here, because Austin goes nuts over any chance to drink and act foolish, and it's better just to be at home with the kitties and my stamps.

I'm not even having any traditional Irish fare, mostly because I don't like corned beef, but also because I felt like having a steak today. So the grill will be fired up soon.

So here's the video on my stamp etching technique - it's such a simple way to transform a stamp or paper. The bonus is that it's also very relaxing. So enjoy this oldie but goodie. Click here to watch this on YouTube.

Hope you have a great weekend. Here's a really nice music video, here's a great book I read recently, suggested by my dad and here's my favorite things page, where you can find more great books and podcasts for your weekend.

Loveyameanitbye.

Luck of the Irish - Blog Hop & Giveaway

HOWWW is it almost St. Patrick's Day? That seems nearly impossible, but it's true.

This is one of my favorite stamping holidays, even though I am not generally fan of the color green. Pretty weird for an Irish chick, but there it is. I have thought about this a lot, and I think it's because it's such a pleasing color in nature, but in every other format, it's horrible and unnatural looking. So the greens I like tend to be very acidic, bright, yellowy greens, because they don't look like a terrible failure to recreate the complex color of an artichoke, or a blue spruce, or a rose leaf. I'm weird, I know - but I'm being honest. I'm outside a lot, so I see a lot of true, natural green, and to come inside and see it in a cardstock is sort of disappointing, if that makes sense.

So strangely enough, one of this year's favorite colors for me is Lemon Lime Twist - because it is that perfect, bright, almost neon green that is bright, happy, and goes with everything. Kelly green makes me want to hurl :). So when I do St. Patrick's Day cards, I like them both bright and nuanced, which is what I hope I did with these stunning shamrocks from Heffy Doodle.

The stamp set I used is adorable! You know I like to transform stamps to double their value, so I challenged myself to make an elegant card with a very UBER cute stamp style. Did I do it? I used the magical fadeout ink to stamp the shamrocks, masking them so some are behind others with my masking paper. Then I painted them with Daniel Smith watercolor, shading them with a deep purple, which is my favorite way to shade foliage. The panel behind the watercolor is my favorite paper, because it has a beautiful floral pattern in Lemon Lime Twist. I added a few gold highlights (New Gamboge), for a symbolic pot of gold tribute. The sentiment is from the stamp set as well. Sadly, my Iphone ate the video for this card.

Want a fun fact about the shamrock? The shamrock has been registered as a trademark by the government of Ireland! It's true!

Fadeout No Line coloring Detail Ink [ INK ] Heffy Doodle LUCKY FRIENDS Clear... [ SSS ] Heffy Doodle LUCKY FRIENDS Dies hfd0022 [ SSS ] Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors [ BLIC ] Da Vinci Cosmotop Sable Mix F Brushes... [ BLIC | ELH ] Stewart Superior Memories India Ink... [ AMZUS ] Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. Cold Press... [ AMZUS ] Fresh Florals Designer Series Paper... [ SUP ] Whisper White Cardstock - Thick [ SUP ] Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock by... [ SUP ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | SBC ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | ELH | CST | ART | SBC ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ] Nesting Porcelain Bowls - BLICK art... [ BLIC ]

Today I'm a guest for a blog hop with Heffy Doodle and My Sweet Petunia - and you can win prizes! Two lucky commenters will win one of our prizes today - a $50 shopping spree at www.mysweetpetunia.com and a 25 pound shopping spree at www.Heffydoodle.com - you must leave your comments no later than Sunday, March 4th, at 11:59 PM Central time and winners will be announced on Tuesday March 6th, on the Heffy Doodle and My Sweet Petunia blogs.

Heffy Doodle

Ilina Crouse

Cassie Tezak

Jeanne Streiff

Jessica McAfee

Kia Gibson-Clapper

Tallie Clewley

Ceal Pritchett

Maria Rudolph

Giovana Smith

Lesley Oman

Chris Dayton
Heather Hoffman

Stephanie Severin

Crystal Thompson

Kelly Martin

Dennice Watts

Ali Farmer

Lydia Fiedler

My Sweet Petunia

Have fun hopping and may the luck of the Irish be with you!

Loveyameanitbye.

One Extra Year To Repent

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

I just finished my AWESOME Irish stew, which is seriously the best stew in the world. I NEVER order stew at a restaurant because there's no way it's this good. I weep when I see Campbell's soup commercials that reference the word "stew" because I don't think that word means what they think it means.

While I am the undisputed queen of stew, many spirited discussions have taken place in this house about the fact that I do NOT put potatoes in my stew.

They do NOT belong in stew. A potato is like a snowflake - it should be celebrated for its eternal and unrepeatable, fierce beauty alone, with only salt and butter, its closest friends. Much like bacon should not be demeaned by being wrapped around a lesser food, a potato exists on its own plane of perfection, and does not stoop to being a component of another dish. I'm also completely offended when asked in a restaurant if I'd like a potato "loaded." Loaded with butter and salt? The Holy Trinity? Yes. A tray full of cheese and sour cream and chives and bacon? Shudder.


The potato is actually the reason that many Irish people landed in America - nearly 25% of the country emigrated during the potato blight and ensuing famine years. Perhaps even my great greats.

So we are NOT going to stick what I consider to be a sacred ingredient and quite likely the reason that I was born an American INTO A STEW!

So it is said, and so it shall be written.

Here are some fun facts about potatoes:

• In 1995, the potato became the first vegetable grown in space
• The Incas measured time by correlating units of time with how long it took for potatoes to cook.
• Thomas Jefferson introduced french fries to the US. God bless him.
• Potato chips were invented in Saratoga Springs, NY by a hacked off chef trying to put a Vanderbilt in his place.
• During the gold rush, potatoes were actually worth their weight in gold.

So I had to make a card today, of course, and I decided it was going to be a thank you card. To the potato. Which was not in my delicious stew. That I'm super humble about. :)

Stamps: Peaceful Petals, Million and One

Paper: Watercolor Paper, Watercolor Wonder Notecards

Accessories: Derwent Inktense Pencils, Aquapainter

How about them potatoes? :)

"May you live to be 100 years, with one extra year to repent."

                       ~Irish toast

Why You Love Ireland (Bacon)

There are so many reasons to love my gene pool, really. Today, all of you have to admit that we Irish types are really the cat's pajamas in every conceivable way. Even if you only admit it after two green beers.

But there's one reason in particular that you should all love all the red or dark haired, feisty, funny, poetic, sarcastic party-hardy potato farmers in your life even more than you THOUGHT you did.

Bacon.

Yep.

Here's the deal. St. Patrick, God rest his soul, is our saint for today's Saint's Day. For more than 1,000 years, my people have celebrated this day like good Catholics (or in my case, Lutherans), under the vegetarian restrictions of Lent. BUT, because St. Patrick was SO important, what with the snake issue and all, the Lenten rules were lifted for this day, and Irish people ate cabbage and blessed, blessed bacon.

I'm not gonna lie, I do have a suspicion that one of the reasons that St. Patrick was so revered by my homies is because it was a day of BACON in the midst of Lenten deprivation. Try to find fault with that logic.

I apologize to Ireland for breaking this story, but since I just read this book, I now know that lying, and believing lies, kills people, so I'm obligated to tell the smoky, crispy, delicious truth about ba- er, St. Patrick.

Maybe because I unearthed this truth, I had some bad luck with my St. Patrick's Day card. Or wait - I had some GOOD luck. I made a card that I was sort of happy with and I took a picture of it. But I wasn't REALLY happy of it, and it certainly wasn't bacon-worthy.

But then - like magic - it happened. I saw this card and that led me to this blog where I saw a technique I loved! I ripped my clover off my first attempt and used it with this fun sponging and masking technique for a nice, festive monochromatic card.

Stamps: Happy St. Patrick's Day Ink: Basic Black, Lucky Limeade Paper: Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper Accessories: Star Punch, Hearts Framelits, Stampin' Sponge

And yes, it's a four leaf clover, not a shamrock. And that's not because I'm not feeling St. Patricksy - it's because I didn't feel like making a stem, honestly.

First I cut four hearts with my Framelits die, and then I embossed the next smaller heart framelit into each of those. I LOVE embossing with the Framelits!

To make the green gradient, I just masked off a stripe with my big Post-It notes, using my grid paper as a guide to keep them straight. For the first stripe, I sponged a lot of Lucky Limeade. Then I masked a second stripe - hint - overlap them a bit so you don't get white space between  - and sponged a bit less ink. Repeat with a third and less ink. So fun. So easy.

Now, tonight I will be making my traditional, delicious Irish stew. I'd love to share the recipe with you, but I've never written it down, because it just comes out of my soul and into the bread bowls :).

But I do have a recipe for you today. I tried this last night and it's AMAZING. If you have a gluten allergy, this recipe is gluten free. It's Quinoa Mac & Cheese, and yes, of course I found it on Pinterest.

The original recipe is here, but of course I made a lot of mods.

Here's my recipe:

1.5 C. Quinoa, rinsed thoroughly

3C. chicken broth

2 green onions, diced finely, without the whitest parts

1.5 tsp salt (I like Real Salt - it really tastes amazing - try it on a baked potato)

2 C. grated extra sharp cheddar cheese (this is what I used)

Black pepper to taste

Butter

Olive Oil (This is my current fave - met the owner at Central Market)

1 C. half and half

2 large eggs

Panko breadcrumbs

Put a bit of olive oil in your saucepan, add quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to low heat and cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy and tender, like rice.Whisk eggs and cream together in a large bowl. Add cheddar, salt, pepper and onions and mix well. Add quinoa and stir until blended. Butter a 13 x 9 dish and pour mixture into dish. Top with panko. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until heated through. 

It was so completely amazing it almost brought a tear to my eye. 

You know what would have made it better? Bacon. 

God bless my people. And speaking of blessing, here's an Irish one for you..

“May God grant you always...

A sunbeam to warm you, 

A moonbeam to charm you, 

A sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you. 

Laughter to cheer you. 

Faithful friends near you. 

And whenever you pray,

 Heaven to hear you.”

Loveyameanitbye.

Sláinte!

An Irish man shows up in a pub one day and orders three pints of Guinness. He takes sips from each glass until they are empty and calls the bartender for three more. The bartender says, 'Sure it's up to yourself, but wouldn't you rather I was bringing them one at a time? Then they'll be fresh and cold.'

'Nah...' your man says, ' I'm preferrin' that ye bring 'em three at a time. You see, me and me two brothers would meet at a pub and drink and have good times. Now one is in Australia, the other in Canada and I'm here. We agreed before we split up that we'd drink to each other's honour this way.'

'Well,' says the bartender, 'that's a grand thing to do, all right. I'll bring the pints as you ask.'

Well, time goes on and your man's peculiar habit is known and accepted by all the pub regulars. One day though, he comes in and orders only two pints. A hush falls over the pub. Naturally, everyone figures something happened to one of the brothers. A group of the regulars corner the bartender and finally persuade him to find out what happened. With a heavy heart, the bartender brings the two pints and says, 'Here's your pints... and let me offer my sincerest condolences. What happened?'

The Irish man looks extremely puzzled for a moment, and then starts laughing.

'Oh, no, no, no! 'Tis nothing like that. You see, I've given up drinking for Lent...'

Stamps: Something to Celebrate, Bella Toile, Four Frames (sneak peek)
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss Paper: Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss

Accessories: Decorative Label Punch, Gold Cord, Sponge Dauber, Pearls, Mini Glue Dots, Bone Folder

Since I'm Irish, I can get away with that!! :) Today's card was inspired by a Martha Stewart email where she creased her heart shapes to make shamrocks - I thought it really added something. So I stamped some Kiwi Kiss with the Bella Toile background and punched with my Heart to Heart Punch. Then I scored them and sprayed them with Smooch for that gold at the end of the rainbow look. The background I did with Julie's Delft Tile technique. So easy & pretty!

I hope everyone has a fun St. Patty's Day! Here are some of my fave Irish things.

My fave Irish food - soda bread
My fave book about Ireland - Trinity
My fave Irish object - my Waterford seahorse
My second fave Irish object - my shamrock Beleek luminaria
My fave Irish celebrity - Ronan Tynan
My fave Irish movie - the Secret of Roan Inish
My second fave Irish movie - the Commitments
My fave Irish lore - the banshee
My fave Irish golfer - Padraig Harrington
My fave Irish art - the limerick

My fave Irish trait - humor! So I leave you with this...

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.

Sláinte!