Prima's Build A Page sketch Feb 2014

Prima's Build-A-Page sketch for February was one I could really sink my teeth into - it was full of layers and very flirty.  I love putting feathers on my layouts anyway, but this sketch called for feathers and hearts.

I used one of the Bloom Girl stamps that I coloured with my Copics for the photo, since I love these stamps and images so much.  I also used parts of the Bloom Girls album as my patterned papers and chipboard pieces as well as the brads and clips from this collection.  Its so fun and girly.  I used a technique that I saw Limor use on one of the Live With Prima episodes whereby she framed out the photo with black paint and her pallet knife in little hash tags - it worked perfectly on this layout to draw attention to the corners.

Here is the sketch and my take on it.

 

 

Tell me what you think!  You can play along too - check out the Pima blog each month for the BAP and PPP challenges.

 

 

Culinary Arts ... only the best fettuccini I've ever made

My kids love my cooking.  My husband loves my cooking.  I love my cooking, and I love to cook.  Sometimes I think I missed my calling being a banker.  I think what the difference between my cooking and my husband's cooking or others who don't enjoy to cook is that I love to use spices.  Different spices for different meals, and knowing what to use in what dishes, that's what sets apart  a fantastic meal from cooking for sustainability. 

 

Tonight's menu was fettuccini Alfredo with chicken and Broccoli.  I started with chicken breasts, I cooked them in a skillet with water and some El Dorado seasoning from Epicure - it is a tomato and bell pepper based seasoning with a fair bit of heat to it. 
The fettuccini I cooked al dente and drizzled with a bit of rosemary olive oil.
Steamed broccoli.
My sauce I made a simple white sauce with butter and flower, heavy cream and milk, bring to a boil over low heat stirring constantly.  Add in some Herb & Garlic seasoning from Epicure, parsley, a touch of nutmeg.  I finely chopped some sun-dried tomatoes and tossed them in.  After it thickens add fresh grated parmesan cheese. 
Toss in a generous portion of fresh baby spinach into the chicken just until wilted and serve up!

The kids loved it.... so did I.

 

 

Sweet on my Valentine

My Valentine, my husband will be away on a work trip this Valentines Day - but that didn't stop the kids and I in putting together some sweet treats and making a beautiful craft for him.

A friend saw these awesome little books made out of a deck of cards online - 52 Reasons I Love You... on each card is a sentiment of what I love about my husband - some of them are quite funny - some of them are very personal, each of them is made with love.  The box I decorated up and distressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

I also made a little canvas with some burlap and canvas scraps.  I used my Dymo machine and some stamps.

 
 

And finally, the cupcakes.  Because what would Valentines Day be without something sweet?  Butter Pecan with cream cheese icing.  For the larger cupcakes I used a knife to drag the red icing into a heart.