Vote for Paper Tales

Ok, bear with me while I get on my scrapbook soapbox for a minute....

There is a new scrapbook store here in San Diego that just rocks! It's called Paper Tales. I know I've mentioned them before but they are a new favorite of mine. They opened about 5 months ago and the owner, Michelle, has a real intuition about what is hot in the scrap-world and what people really want. She carries all the latest Cosmo Cricket, Jenni Bolin, Pink Paislee, October Afternoon, Making Memories, Heidi Swapp, Melissa Frances, Amuse Stamps, and odds and ends vintage stuff. Their classes are unique, the people are so nice, and its a great place to visit if you need some inspiration.

So... I tell you all this so that you can not only stop in and support them but also vote for them. A local news station, 10News, makes an A-list of the best stores and restaurants in San Diego. I think this place needs to make the list. Please vote for them here. There are a lot of great crafting stores here but this one is unique. For example: The Melissa Frances (the lady herself) is coming on Sunday to teach a class. (I wish I could go!) And because I shop around, I can say that they have been getting the new stuff from CHA much quicker than the other stores.

So... please vote for them. Please visit them. I'll step down now... ;)

Christy

My "secret" Cranberry Meatball recipe

We're having a wine & cheese party this weekend and I'm getting ready. I've bought wines, cheeses, fruit, and ingredients for desserts and appetizers. One of my favorite appetizers for any party is my Cranberry Meatballs. Everyone has a go-to recipe and this one is mine. Its easy, its quick, and everyone loves them. And everyone always asks me for the recipe! Often, I forget to give it to them. Sometimes, I'm not so willing to give away my favorite recipes but I think this one is too fabulous not to share it. So, the secret is out...here's the recipe.

Get your crock-pot out!

50 frozen Italian meatballs (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 cup pre-made beef gravy
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
2Tbsp heavy cream or whipping cream (do NOT substitute)
2 tsp dijon mustard
chopped parsley or dried cranberries for garnish, optional

Mix gravy, cranberry sauce, cream & mustard in a bowl. Pour frozen meatballs in crockpot. Pour gravy mix over meatballs and stir to coat. cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. Serve using a toothpick. Save the left over sauce--its great over egg noodles the next day!

I hope you add this to your go-to recipe collection. Especially with the holidays coming!

Another canvas

Hey there-
Happy Friday! Before the weekend craziness begins, I wanted to show you one more canvas I made. This is also a 8" by 10" canvas using the Making Memories paper line. The addition of the pearls and the felt flourish ribbon really makes this canvas. This will be a gift for my cousin who just had a baby boy named Dylan. (I guess this gift won't be a surprise if she's reading this!)


I'm going to lunch with a couple girlfriends today (no kids!) and then off to the beach for a bonfire tonight. Sadly, this will be our first trip to the beach this summer. Living in San Diego, I simply choose not to fight the tourists at the beach during summer. But now that school is in, it means less tourists. Tomorrow we're going to go check out the new Children's Museum downtown and then to a friend's house to watch football. Football already? Fall is coming... I hope your weekend is fun for you too.

Canvas art

Eversince I took a class at Papertales here in San Diego, I've been inspired to do canvases featuring vintage photos. This one that I just finished features a picture of my mom when she was just one year old. Its easier than you'd think to make. The canvas is 8" by 10" and I used Making Memories Noteworthy paper. First I painted the canvas with a glossy black acrylic paint. I then layered and adhered the papers on with a glue medium. I then applied the rub-ons (from Amy Butler) and the letters and gave it a finish with the gel medium (matte). The photo is an enlarged photo copy. I cut the photo out and then I adhered it to chipboard covered in pink paper. After cutting it out, I used pop dots to give it some dimension. The finishing touches were adding the flowers (from Amy Butler), the chenille ric-rac and the fabulous white paper fringe (adhered to the outside of the canvas) which I bought at Papertales.

The best thing I love about doing canvases is that you can add as much dimension as you want, and you don't have to worry about smooshing it inside a scrapbook. Here's a photo showing some dimension of this canvas.

I hope my Mama loves this art-piece as much as I do.

Pictures from Estes Park, CO

What do you get when 29 people get together for a family vacation/reunion in Estes Park, Colorado?

• a herd of elk
• "siblings gone wild"
• one little fish and some other fish tales about the one who got away
• a trip to the ER (John's knee)
• a trip to the chiropractor (Darin)
• people from 8 different states!

• A bicycle made for 4

• 
• 2 drunks in a covered wagon
• Ok...ok...there were 3 drunks there...
• a wilderness adventure trip that made some of us wonder if we'd ever return
  (no, it wasn't because Sam was driving!)
• 6 sore butts after horseback riding
• the continental divide
• a rainbow
• the feeling that you're a little closer to heaven when you're above the clouds at 12,000 ft

• An amazing thanksgiving meal (yep--in August!)

• cozy, precious moments between aunts & nieces, cousins, grandparents & grandchildren, great-aunts and great-uncles & great-nieces and great-nephews, etc...

• watching new friendships blossom between cousins
• And over 300 pictures of one great week together. They're great pictures--I'll post more soon!

Thanks to everyone who made the trip so great! We really missed Val, Eric, Jake, and Bob who couldn't make it.