I got Pinspired!

I am totally in love with Pinspiration! I spend hours repinning images from other crafters,  and when I lose my crafting mojo I can just prop up my iPad on my craft table and look through the images I've pinned and all of a sudden I'm bursting with Pinspiration!

So I was delighted to discover the {Pin}spirational Challenge blog, where this week's challenge is to be inspired by this pretty image

If  you have read my "Too much stuff" post, you will know I am trying to make sense out of my mountains of stash, and I knew that when I'd been sorting through it I'd seen a sheet of fairy decoupage, and lo and behlod, the colours were very reminiscent of those in the image. So here is my entry for the challenge, Pinspired by the above picture

Addicted to cook books?

I gave you a little glimpse of my recipe book addiction when I posted my life story, as told in cook books but now I'm going to give you some idea of the extent of my addiction. And please don't suggest therapy, I don't want to be cured!

I've been meaning to join in the Random Recipe challenge at Belleau Kitchen ever since I started this blog, and when I read that this month's challenge is to photograph your cook books I just couldn't resist!

I've been buying recipe book and magazines since my student days, in the 1970s, and have seldom parted with one. Well, that's a lie, I did take a huge pile to a secondhand shop once when we were clearing up to move house, but I missed them all so much that I've gradually bought them all again, either new or from charity shops. Our study is crammed with books, while the "temporarily out of favour" ones languish in the loft, waiting their turn to come back into use. So here, with no further explanation or apology, are some photos of my library.

and finally, the little  basket of ancient paperback books and leaflets that are used so often they never get chance to use the kitchen

I see a packet of  Colour Catcher sheets has found its way in among them, which probably gives you a clue about how tidy I am.....

I am submitting this post to Random Recipes #18 - something a little different

PS..... maybe if I tuck my confession out of the way down here you won't notice it..... as well as all the books in the photos, there are several piles on the floor, as I've run out of shelf space. And several box files full of recipe mags. And a couple of dozen cardboard wallets full of recipes torn out of mags. And 10 photo albums full of recipes rather more neatly cut out of mags.



Scones for tea

I seldom bake since finding out that I am diabetic, so I was delighted to see a recipe for Vanilla Bean Scones over on the scrumptious blog Lavender and Lovage which uses the new plant-based sweetener Truvia in place of sugar.

The scones turned out to be delicious - they looked pretty yummy too!

Pop over to the Lavender and Lovage blog if you would like the recipe. There is even a nifty "Print this recipe" tool which means you can have a nice no-frills version to take into the kitchen with you. (Yes, I know you can use an iPad as a recipe book  - if anyone has any tips about removing turmeric stains from a beige auede iPad cover I would be delighted to hear them....... for the time being I'm going back to good old paper. )

Less is more - Gold

This week the challenge over at Less is More is GOLD so I decided to use my current favourite stamps, the "Just Believe" set from Stampin' Up, which lend themselves so well to simple cards.

I stamped in gold and embossed with a gold ep that has a slightly holographic sparkle to it, then used Nesties to cut and mount the image. The background is a classic Cuttlebug one (is this the most useful embossing folder ever created?) and the ribbon part of my "Too Much Stuff" collection

I've noticed several people commenting on how hard their cards were to photograph this week and mine was no exception.  It's such a gloomy weekend, it's impossible to do anything without flash, but the gold reflects the flash. My little automatic camera was no good at all - I took about 20 photos and had to delete them all. With the flash on the glare hid the card, but with it off the exposure was so long that the camera shake ruined the image. So I got my husband to use his snazzy camera and superior photography skills, but even he took several attempts to produce a decent image. One of his shots made a glorious hologram effect on the mirri card mat - not what I was aiming for at all, and it doesn't exist on the card in real life, but it's such a pretty optical illusion I thought I would share it.

I am entering this for the Less is More week 75 challenge

Too much stuff!

This week I looked at my craft stash and decided I have Too Much Stuff. It has reached a stage where I spend longer looking for the right embellishment, stamp or paper than I do actually creating the project. I have boxes full of part-used paper and card,  and even a box full of half-finished projects, embossed card,  die cuts and stamped images from times I have come up with a better idea partway through making something, but the bits I'd already made were too good to throw away.

I have boxes of half-finished kits,  packs of free papers from magazines,  RAKs from other crafters and even a couple of DVDs still sealed in their cellophane. I have enough stash to make THOUSANDS of cards.

So am I going to have a   clear out? What to you think? Part with my precious stash? NO WAY. What I am going to do is knuckle down and USE it. I've set myself a personal challenge - to see just how much I can create without buying anything new. Obviously I will still need to replace essentials as they run out. I think these are

• adhesives
• white, black, silver and gold card
• black inks of several types
• Versamark ink
• clear embossing powder

Also I have a Christmas kit on back order from QVC, that doesn't count as it's already ordered. And I'm happy to still win craft goodies (I won some lovely papers and card from Making Cards magazine just yesterday) and *hint hint* to receive them as gifts from friends and family  for my birthday next month, but for the time being, other craft shopping is off limits to me.

So this week I sifted through my part-finished projects box and made a start on tidying up some of the loose ends. This is what I made.

Venison for a summer day

We tend to think of venison as a rich, hearty meat suitable for winter  casseroles, but the venison  steaks which many supermarkets sell all year round can make a light, summery dish too.

For this dish, I beat the steaks flat with a meat mallet (great stress  relief!) and marinated them for a couple of hours with some chopped thyme, crushed juniper berries and a splash each of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

I  fried some chopped onion and diced pancetta in a little more olive oil until almost cooked, then  pushed them to the edge of the pan while searing the venison in the remaining fat. I poured in about a teacupful of stock and let it bubble gently until the venison was tender and the sauce reduced. This can take as little as 5 minutes, depending on how thinly you have beaten the meat.

You could replace some or all of the stock with red wine, or ring the changes by adding some redcurrant jelly or fresh redcurrants.

I served this with the last of our home grown asparagus, new potatoes and steamed leeks to make a very summery meal of a traditionally wintery meat.

A Ruby anniversary card

Yesterday, July 1st, was the Ruby wedding anniversary of Beth and Mark, and Beth asked me to make a card for her to send to Mark.

Now when you see Ruby wedding cards in shops, they are full of red roses and romantic sentiments - but really, most men don't like that sort  of thing do they? And when you've been married to each other for 40 years, the romantic sentiments really don't need expressing - the fact you are still together after all that time says more than any words can! So Beth was looking for a card that would mean something special to Mark without being at all soppy.

After discussing the design with her, based on Mark's interests,  and the words (which she supplied) here is the card I came up with. I hope Mark liked it and that they have many more happy years together.