Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Patio Love & Chicken Salad

Patio Love & Chicken Salad:


Today's the day I'm busting out my patio furniture. Time to reclaim the extra {still limited} garage space! The sun is shining, the temperature is rising, and it's time to invite the neighbors over for a happy hour beer on the deck.  It will be up in time for lunch today so I've whipped up one of my favorite things to enjoy with the sun in my face.  There are a zillion ways to make it - and it's really easy to put together. Which can't be said for my patio table ;) 



Here's what I use:

3 poached chicken breasts, small dice
1 cup almonds, chopped & roasted
1/2 red onion, small dice
1-2 cups sugar snap peas, sliced thin
1/2 cup mayonnaise {I use the olive oil based ones.}
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

To poach chicken: Place chicken breasts in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 15 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink. {You can add onion and garlic to the water while it simmers to further flavor it if you like.} I usually cook a family pack of chicken this way and keep it in the fridge for different dishes.

To toast the almonds: Chop whole almonds or use slivered almonds. Place in a dry medium sized skillet and toast over medium to medium high heat until they just start to brown and become fragrant.

Prep the chicken, almonds, onion, and sugar snap peas.  Place in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, thyme, salt & pepper. Use a spoon to thoroughly mix ingredients together.

Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle. Serve with crackers, sandwiched between some good grainy bread, or really veg out and eat it over a bed of spinach greens.



 
  



Monday, March 12, 2012

Pillow Fun...

Pillow Fun...:


 Recently at a thrift store,  I found three old cotton crochet pillow covers!  I decided to do a simple re-do on them...and now they have a whimsical look!


 I used embellishments that aren't permanent, so I could change them out if I wanted to.  I took a wired black and white gingham  ribbon and tied some vintage millinery daisies onto this pillow...



On this pillow, I wrapped a piece of upholstery webbing and pinned on a vintage brooch...



On the third pillow, I threaded a black grosgrain ribbon through a vintage buckle and tied the ribbon around the pillow.  For fun, I glued an old watch face onto the buckle!



Very simple embellishments, but I love how they turned out!  I am doing some re-decorating in our bedroom, and two of the pillows will be part of that.  I'll be sharing the changes soon!


I'm joining Debra of Common Ground for Monday Marketplace where I'll share a few of my etsy offerings...hope you'll join us!

Until next time...


Poetry And Other Materials On This Site Can Be Freely Used For Christian Bible Centered Non-Profit Ministries And must Remain Unchanged In Any Way. All Other Purposes Are With Permission Only. You May Make Requests At "treasurebox18@yahoo.com" All my poems with stories are both real and fictional designed to illustrate a biblical truth. All Rights Reserved. Please Include Site Name And Link To This Blog. Thank-You.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

{The Handmade Story} Plushka

{The Handmade Story} Plushka:
The first toy Katia ever made was a baby felt owl, the one that first got us smiling. Her creations are invariably fun and whimsical, always bright, colorful and happy. Every single toy she made has a different personality and we love how she brings together unexpected color combination, yarns and fabrics to create a unique yet adorable look. Here, Katia went on to talk about her passion for handmade and the things she love…
Plushka
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and Plushka.
I was born and raised in Russia and have been living in Australia for about 6 years. I am married to a handsome pilot and live in the eastern suburbs of beautiful Sydney. I love craft, traveling, collecting vintage, folk art and everything French. Plushka’s Craft is a big part of my life and every minute I get, I create.
My grandmother loves baking, and one of our favourite recipes is ‘Plushka’ – a sweet and savoury pastry which has a pretty heart shape. That’s why I chose this name for my craft business as a symbol of my love for everything made by hand. Plushka became a label for felt toys, accessories, homewares and cross-stitched items.
Plushka
2. Tell us about your passion and creations.
Creating from felt is my passion and I enormously enjoy making toys that are entirely hand-stitched with love. Although, my softies are my main and most popular product, there are other creations that I love like crochet baskets, doilies and felt pincushions.
However, long before the toys, crochet and felt creations, the love for cross-stitch got me into making things. I learned this craft as a child and would love to see it coming back in fashion. I am a strong believer in cross-stitch one day becoming more popular then other types of embroidery. I try to use it as often as possible in my creations that include key rings, notebook covers and New Year decorations.
Plushka
3. How did you get started in doing what you do?
I love cross-stitch, hand-stitching and craft in general so my husband encouraged me to do what I love for a living. Being excepted to the Shop Handmade in Canberra, helped my little business to take off and motivated me to work on the variety of my collections and come up with new seasonal items. I opened my Madeit shop and since then I enjoyed every minute of my own WAH business! It’s been an enormous leaning curve with it’s ups and downs but I am so happy and grateful that I have the opportunity to do what I love. It’s only the beginning and I cannot wait to see what another year will bring!
Plushka
4. What was your first creation and your best-selling creation?
It’s interesting that my first toy – felt owl is still the top seller in Plushka’s toy collection even almost a year since the first three were sold! The crochet baskets are the top selling item in “For your creative space from Plushka” collection and Christmas robins have been very popular recently.
Plushka
5. How do you find balance between your creative life and your family?
Honestly, I am struggling with keeping a balance myself. I keep a list of projects and deadlines. Be organized is the key! I am still helping my husband to run his business so during the day I need to concentrate on crunching numbers and helping him to run his company. After work it’s all about finishing my projects and getting creative but I am lucky that I can take an extra day of here and there when I get very busy to finish some sewing off.
Plushka
6. What is your source of motivation?
I just love what I do! Creating something that will make people smile, lovely feedback from the happy customers, meeting great people through business that become friends, excitement of new ideas… That’s all makes Plushka tick. Planning ahead also helps as having a direction for my little business is very important to me. It helps me to get through times when the shop is not busy and I know what I need to do – concentrate on building the stock, create and learn something new.
Plushka
More of Plushka’s creations:
Luulla store: http://www.luulla.com/store/plushka
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plushkas-Craft/117669501578981
Plushka


Saturday, March 10, 2012

Just a Little Sign

Just a Little Sign:
I have this black arrow sign hanger that holds cute plaques over the holidays. It's in the kitchen and seen when you walk in the door. I didn't want to take it down, but I needed something that could be there year-round.
It needed to be simple and cheap! I got this wood plaque from Michaels with a 50% off coupon. I rummaged through my scrapbook paper and found these. And then some off-white paint and some fun brads.
And here you go! A little Cafe Roberts sign. Here's what I did:

Painted the wood with the off-white paint
Traced the green polka-dot paper with the sign
Cut it out and stuck it on with spray adhesive
Made the flowers with different flower shapes and papers
Stuck a brad in the middle of each
Stuck those on the sign with a little E-600
Cut out lettering with my Cricut on vinyl
Stuck those on
Used Distressing ink and inked the sign and the flowers
Done!
Here is a close-up of the flowers. I bent up the edges on everything to make them more "3-D".
Cheap and easy, yay!

Heart Garden Quilt Tutorial

Heart Garden Quilt Tutorial:
Today's the day! My Heart Garden Quilt is the featured tutorial on Moda Bake Shop today! When I first conceptualized this quilt I was going to do a tutorial and then the quilt took on new meaning.
I decided I would still put the tutorial together to share. I hope you can make it for someone special in your life. I love the concept that love will always grow and hearts are bound forever. 
If you make it, I would love to see it! Please share it in my Flickr group!

Crochet Owl Beanie Tutorial

Crochet Owl Beanie Tutorial:

crochet owl hat tutorial
Andrea stopped by to show her latest project!
She made this adorable beanie for a baby gift and shows you how over at All Things Bright and Beautiful
diy owl crochet hat


Poetry And Other Materials On This Site Can Be Freely Used For Christian Bible Centered Non-Profit Ministries And must Remain Unchanged In Any Way. All Other Purposes Are With Permission Only. You May Make Requests At "treasurebox18@yahoo.com" All my poems with stories are both real and fictional designed to illustrate a biblical truth. All Rights Reserved. Please Include Site Name And Link Back To This Blog. Thank-You.

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