A Little Fancy in Our Lives

Recently Kohlton and Brandon purchased new suits, ties, shoes - the whole ensamble - so that each boy will look sharp at his thesis defense. They like getting a bit dressed up and fancy, so they donned their new clothes and went out for dinner at their favorite Thai place.

Don't they look lovely?

Ellie submitted her final draft of her thesis this week and so we went shopping for a new dress for her to wear to her defense. This was pretty different from shopping for dresses to wear to a dance or to ballroom. It was really something to see her looking so grown up in these dresses.

These are photos we took as she was trying on dresses. These were the winners. We got an amazing deal on the Banana Republic dress, the one with solid colors. It was originally $140 and we paid $27 for it. The more unusual dress is a Ralph Lauren dress. She loves the dress. Now we just need to figure out what shoes to go along with it.

We also had a nice meal at Johnny Rockets. It made it so that we could keep on going.

I also admired the new Vans. I love the line work.

Back at home, I am preparing to do a bit of paper art with pages from a book. I am inspired by many artists, but especially by Su Blackwell and Helen Musselwhite.

Here's a bit of Helen's work and an interesting article about why she created this display.

Here's why I love Su Blackwell's artwork:

And other artists:


I find this all very inspiring. I will dream of old books, glue, patterns, scissors and Ex-Acto knives tonight, surely.I hope it inspires you, too.

Etsy Craft Party, 2014 at Two Hands Paperie in Boulder - an Inspiring Time + Olive Tapenade Recipe

Mia, Casey and all of the folks at Two Hands Paperie throw awesome parties. Friday they hosted an Etsy Craft Party at the shop. The theme this year was altered photographs.

It started out with lemonade, creative name tags and signing up for door prizes.

And of course there were great treats, including a great tapenade that one of the instructors made.

They had several stations set up including stenciling and collage.

Some people made some really fun things at the embriodery table. I did not manage to get a picture of that one. I was busy making packing tape photo transfers.

You begin with an image on a photocopy or an image done on a lazer printer. Regular photos do not work. You place the tape over the image and then use a bone folder (or the back of a spoon) to rub the tape, making sure that it is making contact everywhere on the image.

Once this is done, you soak it in water and then pull it out and rub the back of the photo to remove the paper. The image should be transferred to the tape.

My favorite station was encaustics. This is where the image is adhered to a wooden block and then covered with a special wax.

You can always find inspiration at Two Hands Paperie.

Connie's Tapenade

1 jar Black Olives
1 jar Green Olives with Pimentos
1/2 jar Capers, whole
Garlic, minced, to taste
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/2 Lemon, juice from (or to taste)
1 tea. Basil
1 tea. Rosemary

Finely chop the olive, capers and garlic in a food processor. Add olive oil, lemon juice, basil and rosemary to taste. Serve cold with cracker. (This was served with hummus crackers - my new favorite cracker!)

A Little Distractions - Video Fun, Inspiration and The Like

Work is filling my days and causing stress this week. So, I have neglected my blog. I must go back to what needs to get done. So, I leave a few fun videos for inspiration:
Ikon Film, "Sound of Silence."


Night Bikes


This one might elicit an emotional response if you are a Harry Potter fan:


A bit of fun out and about:


For the book lovers:


The Sweetness of a Personal Gift:


How about this?


This is out of my realm of creation, but so cool. It makes me thinks about something differently. He certainly makes me think about second hand stores differently:


Absolute Inspiration:

Okay - is that enough? Perhaps, perhaps not... but I really should get back to work. I can be so distracted (and it all makes me want to do art. There an irony about finding artistic inspiration online and then not having the time to create anything yourself.)

What inspiration can you share?

Getting Ready for a Party - Recipes Galore & Decoration Inspiration

It has been so warm here that it does not feel like Christmas, yet. But, I've found some decorating inspiration online. Here, I'd like to share a few of them with you:
From: Blessing From Our Nest blog


From: Ideal Home


from: Nell's Hill


Advent Display by Stephanie Lynn Blog

We had so much fun Wendy, David, Caroline and Laura last weekend that we have decided to have them over this weekend. I'm trying to put together a really fun party. I love planning and executing this kind of thing. (Some day, after I retire from teaching, I'd love to run a Bed and Breakfast. I'd have a wonderful excuse to do things like this more often.)

We'll start with some appetizers, have my zucchinni and cheese soup for the first course, then cheese fondue and a Moroccan inspired salad for the next two courses and some sort of decedent dessert. Here are the new recipes that have caught my eye:

Moroccan Quinoa Salad
from Green Kitchen Stories
Serves 4

If you don’t feel like marinating the zucchini and eggplant yourself you can find ready-made at most supermarkets (but nothing beats homemade).

1 zucchini, cut in thin slices
1 eggplant , cut in thin slices
olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt
1 1/2 cup quinoa
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 lemon
1/2 cup almonds
2 bunches mint leaves
1 bunch cilantro/coriander
3 tbsp raisins
2 avocados, cut into 1 inch squares
4 small spring onions, chopped
1 cup almonds, divided in half, roasted and salted

Start by making the marinated vegetables. Spread out the zucchini and eggplant slices on a bbq, in a grill pan or in the oven, a couple of minutes on each side. Put them in a bowl, drizzle olive oil, garlic and salt over them and set aside.

Cook the quinoa according to the package but add two tbsp cinnamon in the water. When it’s done cooking, rinse and set aside to cool off. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon and add five tbsp of olive oil into the quinoa. Chop half of the mint leaves, half of the cilantro and all the raisins, throw them in the quinoa and toss it around until everything is mixed. Serve in bowls together with the marinated vegetables, avocado, spring onions, the rest of the mint and cilantro and the roasted almonds.

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Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad
via OOh, Look blog
serves 3-4

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups reduced salt chicken stock
50g baby spinach leaves, shredded
1/4 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
1/2 pomegranate, seeds extracted
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Dressing
4 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tblsp red wine vinegar
1 tblsp pomegranate molasses
salt and pepper

Method
1. To cook the quinoa: rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve, drain, then place in a medium saucepan with the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until the quinoa is soft and the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
2. For the dressing: Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a jug or bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. To assemble the salad: Fluff up the quinoa with a fork, then combine with the spinach, craisins and pomegranate seeds. Pour over the dressing and toss through. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.

Read more: http://ooh-look.blogspot.com/2010/11/quinoa-pomegranate-salad-and-whack-pom.html#ixzz17lwjRPag


Salted Caramel Bars
via What's Gaby Cooking? blog

Ingredients

Shortbread:
10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk, whisked
1 2/3 cups AP flour

Caramel Topping:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
12 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Sea salt flakes

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9-by-9-inch pan with parchment paper with the edges of the parchment hanging over the sides. This will make removing the bars easier.

In a large bowl combine the melted butter, sugar and salt with a fork. Add the yolk and combine with the fork. Add the flour and using your hands, combine the dough until its flaky. Transfer the dough into the parchment lined pan and press down with your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. Refrigerate this for 30 minutes. Once chilled, bake for 27 minutes until lightly browned.

Once baked, remove and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a pot combine the topping ingredients; butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, sugar and cream. Bring to a boil and make sure all the sugar is dissolved. Stir for about 5-10 minutes until its thick and bubbly. If you have a candy thermometer – the caramel should be about 230 degrees. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and pour on top of the shortbread.

Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Then sprinkle with the sea salt flakes and serve!

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Snowman Shooters
via Babble blog

* 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 squares unsweetened chocolate
* 1 pint of vanilla ice cream
* 1 Small & 1medium ice cream scoops
* 8-12 Mini chocolate chips (or peppercorns)
* 4-6 Small pieces of carrots, cut into tiny spears

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, place the chocolate squares and microwave them for 35-40 seconds, just enough to soften. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the chocolate, then return to the microwave for 50-60 seconds. Remove and stir until the chocolate is fully melted and a thick hot fudge sauce forms.

Spoon hot fudge sauce into the bottom of 4-5 small shooter glasses. Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop, scoop some of the vanilla ice cream into a rounded ball and plop it carefully on top of the hot fudge sauce. Use the small sized scoop to do the same, placing the second scoop on top of the first one to create the snowman’s head.

Gently press the carrot nose & chocolate chip eyes into the snowman’s head. Return to the freezer and allow to freeze until ready to serve (to ensure your shot glasses don’t freeze & crack, I recommend making these just about 1 hour ahead of time).

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Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread Cookies
via Becky Bakes blog

Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups flour
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (I omitted)
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Semi-sweet or dark chocolate disks (I used Trader Joe’s chocolate callets)*

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.
Using a mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses, egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Immediately press a callet into the center of each cookie. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

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Lia's Toffee Bar
via Pioneer Woman
Ingredients

* 16 ounces, weight Butter, Melted
* 16 ounces, weight Granulated Sugar
* 3 ounces, fluid Water
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
* 16 ounces, weight Chopped Topping: Toasted Nuts, Candy Canes, Sea Salt, Etc.
* 24 ounces, weight Tempered Dark Chocolate For Coating, Melted

Preparation Instructions

*Necessary Equipment: Candy Thermometer*

Combine butter, sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Cook over moderate heat, stirring gently, until candy thermometer registers 298 degrees.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla until well combined.

Pour the mixture onto a silicone baking mat or good parchment paper. Use a heatproof rubber spatula or offset spatula to spread quickly before the toffee sets. Spread thin.

Allow toffee to cool completely. Blot to remove excess oil from the surface. Coat surface with half of the melted chocolate and immediately sprinkle with topping.

When chocolate has totally set, carefully flip over (it’s okay if it falls apart a bit) and coat other side with the rest of the chocolate. Sprinkle on topping.

Allow to set, then break into bite-size pieces.

Store in an airtight container.
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I also really enjoyed the "Glee" Christmas story. This was one of my favorite scenes -


And then, I love it when I find wonderful stop-motion

MINI PLANNERS from Moleskine ® on Vimeo.

Holiday Crafting Inspiration

I am finding Holiday inspiration in many places:



There are the handmade vintage style cardboard villages I found over at Twig and Thistle, by way of A Field Journal blog.


She as a link to make (or rather bleach and then redye) bottle brush trees at the Makin' Projiks blog.


That tutorial led me to check out the Flickr group where I found the magical images from the Oh Merci! blog.


Over at A Field Journal blog there is a link to resources for making such glittered villages. Imagine my surprise when I found that it was from the Posie Gets Cozy blog that I read every day.

Then, somewhere among my blog reading, one person posted about being inspired by the Christmas notebooks that some people are keeping. I must confess that I keep whole magazines and then put them out each year at the right time. I love to look over my many years of Martha Stewart magazine. These photos come from Molly Irwin's older post. I may have to make one, too.



On a completely different note there is an oh-so-cool-and-artsy "garland" project over at Chookooloonk's blog.


At SimplyRobin.com I discovered lovely, natural branch candles as well as branch chandeliers with tiny LED lights.

And there are more, but it is a work night and my son call's me to bed. He reminds me that I should not stay up so late - how's that for turn around.

Sit Down - Will Ya!?

While the weekend was super fun, somehow I managed to come away with a bit on an injury. The thing that drives me crazy is that I don't know when or how I did it. It just started hurting on the way home on Sunday. I think it is a huge bruise on the front of my ankle. I tried to ignore it and go on with my day yesterday. That was not so good and my injured ankle won that round. Today I am forced to can my plans and mainly sit. I am using the time to do a bunch of digital scrapbooking.

Here's some inspirating works:

Click here to view this photo book.

(Creator notes =By HeatherG249

a scrapbook of the beaches we have visited and loved as a couple over the last few years

Made using Anna Aspnes' Fotoblendz Album templates and digital scrapbooking supplies by Katie Pertiet, Anna Aspnes, Pattie Knox, Jesse Edwards, Lynn Grieveson, Art Warehouse and techniques learned from tutorials by Cassie Jones - all available at designerdigitals.com )

Another one by the same artist:

Click here to view this photo book.

Or how about this one:

Click here to view this photo book.

Here's one of Anna Aspne's books. She ALWAYS inspires me!

Click here to view this photo book.

the supply list is here.

More Cherry Creek Inspiration and a Little Egg Drop Soup

Here are a few more fun and inspiring artists from the Cherry Creek Arts Festival:


Gail Pendergrass has some very lovely and really reasonably priced ceramics. I almost took some home with me!I love her use of color and shape.


The ceramic of Emily Dyer are a bit more whimsical and a lot of fun. I loved all of her bird imagery.

For total fun, check out Scot Cameron-Bell! Don't you love his work?!


It's been cold and rainy here for the last two days. We are really enjoying it. I hit the jackpot at the thrift store today when I found a skirt that I had wanted when it was $169 at Coldwater Creek (my favorite clothing store). I could not bring myself to buy it even when it was marked down to $89. Imagine my glee when I found a brand new one for $5.99 at ARC. That is one way to make my day!

After bike practice, the kids were cold and hungry. I fixed some lovely noodles that we got at the Pacific Market when we were at Sakura Square recently. Ellie whipped up a few bowls of Egg Drop Soup, her favorite. After trying lots of recipes she has settled one her go-to when she is in the mood:

Egg Drop Soup (Better than Restaurant Quality) from Allrecipes.com
Serves 1


Ingredients

* 2 cups chicken broth
* 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch (optional)
* 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon water (optional)
* 2 egg, beaten
* 2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
* 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
* 1 teaspoon ground white pepper (optional)

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the chicken broth, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a boil. Stir together the cornstarch and water to dissolve cornstarch; pour into the boiling broth. Stir gently while you pour in the egg and yellow food coloring if using. Season with chives, salt and pepper before serving.

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival

I also had a chance to visit with Cori Dantini. I was drawn in by her art, especially her use of printed paper as the base for her paintings, but I also loved that she has a silly photo on her artist's statement. She was a hoot to visit with. She told a story of how her seven year old son caught her in the bathroom one day and quizzed her saying, "Mommmy, why don't you ever paint boys?" My favorite piece is not on her website. It was a fair with wings that were filled with words painted in white. Her work is very reasonably priced.

I loved all of the work at the booth for Emili Van Nest Markovich. Her work inspires me to quilt.

I loved the use of space in the amazing paintings of Ron Zito.



When I came upon the Insectworks booth I was taken in by all of the beautifully preserved assortment of butterflies, moths and beetles. Then I noticed a sign that states that no bugs were harmed in the making of the art. I had the luck to visit with Jennifer and she told me how she makes the bugs. She had been a student of architecture and needed to make some Christmas presents. She paints the bugs from photos, trying to make them the correct size. She then uses spray adhesive to attach them to cardstock and then she painstakingly cuts them out using tons of exacto blades and small scissors. She says the scissors are only good for about ten insects and then she needs a new pair. I have a love of the beauty of bugs, especially beetles, so I think I will have to give this a try.



I also got to visit with Nick Wrobleski, a young print maker who had a few of this wood carved plates with him. His work makes me feel like doing a little print making myself.


From The Pressed Leaf. The website does not even begin to show the beauty of the art in this booth. I am very inspired by this. The guys go to certain sites several times a year to collect the leaves and needles. They are then carefully pressed and adhered. I would have loved to have one of their pieces.

Quilty, Color Inspiration and a Bit of Unexpected Free Time

I ended up with some unexpected free time today because the race this afternoon was canceled. As we were driving over to the park we noticed the beautiful but dangerous lightening and hail. I am faced with the choice of cleaning that pesty bathroom upstairs or maybe sneaking in a bit of sewing. I have not had a chance to do fun sewing for a while. I checked my blogs and found a wee bit of inspiration over at Simply Robin Blog. Here's some of her stuff from Flickr.


1. Untitled, 2. Quiltlet #3, 3. Quiltlet #2, 4. Quiltlet #7, 5. Quiltlet #9, 6. Quiltlet #10, 7. Quiltlet #11, 8. Quiltlet #13, 9. Quiltlet #14, 10. Quiltlet #15, 11. Quiltlet #6, 12. Quiltlet #5, 13. Quiltlet #4, 14. Quiltlet #17, 15. Quiltlet #16, 16. Quiltlet #19

You can also visit her new blog over at Robin Ferrier.

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Monday evening I had the pleasure of taking Ethan to his PreProm Dinner Etiquette Party that took place at the Boulder Country Club.

We arrived at 6:00 and I went in with Ethan in the hopes that I might be able to watch the class. However, we found that there was a greeting party and table assignments. I bid Ethan a good night and headed off to find somewhere to hang out for about three hours. I arrived just before the party was over and able to watch my boy in action. I was struck by how different the high school group was from Ellie's middle school group. They were clearly less sky and had a different, fun kind of energy.

The evening began with an elegant, simple salad. This was followed by a palette cleansing bit of sorbet that had been decorated with a bit of orange rind and a sprig mint and another of parsley. The kids at the table really enjoyed each other's company. Before the next course came they had a chance to get up and dance a little. The main course was a breaded chicken with a sauce on top of mashed potatoes, with a side of yellow and green peas. Ethan thought this was a wonderful dish, much more tasty than he had expected. There was more dancing, which was rounded out with a dessert of decorated fruit and custard tarts. Some of the students won prizes and everyone enjoyed more dancing. It was fun to see how energetically he dances. Many of the girls were wearing long gowns and had fancy hair dos. The other looked equally lovely. Ethan thought that his was the best table there. The organizers seemed to have done a wonderful job of planning the seating arrangements. With just one class to go, Ethan hopes that next week he will remember to ask some of the people for their phone numbers so they can continue the friendships they have begun.

Visual Stimulation

1. あじさい / Hydrangea, 2. Reflection, Refraction, and Transmission, 3. Hydrangea, 4. hydrangea blue, 5. Hydrangea macrophylla, 6. HBM with Hydrangea 'Izunohana', 7. Blue hydrangea after the rain, 8. Hydrangea in San Francisco, 9. Blue Hydrangea, 10. アジサイ/Hydrangea, 11. Hydrangea macrophylla, 12. Not available, 13. Hydrangea, 14. Hydrangea, 15. Hydrangea, 16. Pastel Purple, 17. Inside, 18. Hydrangea 10　/ 紫陽花, 19. Hydrangea　/ 紫陽花, 20. Hydrangea


Life is not exactly smooth today, so I thought I would enjoy a bit of electronic window shopping. Here's some fun stuff that I stumbled upon while reading through some of the blogs I like to follow. These are not exactly my style in my home, but I love them. You gotta check them out.

Saltflower I by Graham T. found over at Harmony and Home


Graham and Brown: (found via Twig and Thistle)
Alium Purple, from the Essence Collection
Alphabet Paper by Basso and Brooke
Navonna by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

This is Vitality Floral - Spirit Collection over and Graham and Brown.


Then I was thrilled with some of the flower photos I came across while looking for images of the wallpaper to share with you. You gotta check out EncinoMan's images. While you are at it, you can check out these,too: