Papercrafting - ETSYInspired 97 & PDCC 38

After deciding I was a clean and graphic girl during last week's Moxie Fab challenges, my inspiration took my in a different direction for this card.  It is still pretty simple but I added some distressing and some glitter.

My color inspiration came from the Play Date Cafe challenge.

And, my style inspiration came from Mermaid's Tear Jewelry and the ETSYInspired #97 challenge.  I chose images with swirls to mimic the silver part of this necklace and added some glitter for some sparkle.  I liked the clear, bright colors of this piece but swapped the blue for purple so I could play with the ladies at Play Date Cafe.

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Sophia Update - School Sleepover

Struggling to teach her how to sleep,

Letting her cry when I left her,

Wondering if she would ever potty train,

Watching her lose the training wheels at barely four,

Crying because she would only talk to three people in the world,

Rejoicing when she talked to everyone in the new neighborhood,

Bribing her to dress herself,

Observing her speak more and more German,

Persevering through play dates with German-speaking families.

It all comes together tonight when I leave her at German kindergarten tonight for a sleepover.

I know she can take care of herself, interact with friends, and ride her bike to get pizza in town.

She's going to have a great time, and so am I!

***Photography Note - My friend challenged me to put my camera on a low shutter speed and actually move the camera as I shot a moving subject.  I still need to ask her what the result should look like.  Most of my tries were completely blurry.  As a fluke I got the picture at the top of the post.

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Papercrafting - Moxie Fab World Classy & Elegant Challenge

This is my last entry for the Moxie Fab World Card Week challenges.  Today the assignment was to make something classy and elegant.  Elements of classy and elegant are:

• Polished
• Shiny Finish
• Sparkling Embellishments
• Rich Color Scheme
• Sophisticated Sentiment

I kept my design pretty simple, but added shine through the embossed black image.

Playing along this week was a lot of fun!

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What's Cooking? - Egyptian Edamame Stew

I'm really excited about how pretty this picture is.  Now that I have more control over my camera thanks to my friend Sarah's help, I'm going to work on styling the things I'm photographing.  I wasn't sure where to start, so I looked in the soup section of my recipe collection for some inspiration.  All I needed was a textile to go under the bowl and a spoon.  It was fast, easy, and adds so much to the photo.

It was very hot for Germany yesterday.  We don't have air conditioning in our homes because it is not needed most of the time.  So, even though it was getting to be dinnertime by the time Sophia got home from school, I turned on the sprinkler for her in the back yard and let her call some friends to come play. The play date turned into dinner with the family that came over.  This stew was on the menu even though I would have been happy with a cold dinner salad on such a warm day.  I had most of the ingredients on hand to double the recipe.  I didn't have enough tomatoes so I added one can of tomato sauce and some water.  I also left out the cayenne since I was feeding children.  I served the stew with some cantaloupe and whole grain crackers.  We had some ice cream on hand for dessert.  It was a great impromptu dinner party that was held in my craft room in the basement since it was a reasonable temperature down there.

Egyptian Edamame Stew
Makes 4 servings

adapted from:
15 ounces frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.  Add edamame and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes or according to package directions.  Drain.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add zucchini and cook, covered, until the onions are starting to brown, about 3 minutes more.  Add garlic, cumin, coriander, and cayenne (if using) and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the edamame and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro and lemon juice.

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Papercrafting - Moxie Fab Vintage Challenge (Plus Clean & Graphic!)

Today's challenge over at Moxie Fab World was to create something shabby chic or vintage.  I went with shabby chic.  The elements should include:

• Layering
• Ribbon
• Lace
• Inking
• Distressing
• Comfortable
• Weathered
• Worn

I really liked how pretty a larger fan and background paper were all by themselves though.  So, I made this card as another entry for the clean and graphic category.

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What's Cooking? - Sichuan Style Tofu with Sugar Snap Peas

Adapted from:
I adapted this recipe quite a bit to suit our taste.  It originally called for mushrooms which we don't particularly care for.  I also eliminated the red pepper flakes from the sauce because Sophie, who used to eat everything, doesn't like spicy food.  She's starting to not like sauces either.  She would have been happier with plain tofu, peas, and rice.  She's turning into a real kid.

This is a great dish to try if you're not sure about cooking with tofu.  Tofu takes on the flavor of what it is cooked with, so the sauce makes it really delicious.

I'm also playing with my camera still.  I was able to choose an area to focus on.  Fun!

Sichuan Sauce
makes 1/3 cup

3 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (or Chinkiang vinegar if you can find it)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Sichuan-Style Tofu with Sugar Snap Peas
4 servings

14 ounces water-packed firm tofu
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
Sichuan Sauce

Blot tofu with paper towels.  Chop into roughly 1-inch cubes.

Heat a large skillet over high heat until a beat of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact.  Swirl in 1 tablespoon oil.  Add garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, 10 seconds.  Add peas and stir-fry until just beginning to soften.  Transfer to a plate.

Swirl remaining 1 tablespoon oil into the pan, reduce the heat to medium, add the tofu and pan-fry, turning midway through cooking, until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes.  Swirl in Sichuan Sauce and the pea mixture; increase the heat to high and stir-fry until the tofu is just heated through and the sauce clings to it, 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Serve immediately.

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Papercrafting - Moxie Fab World Fun & Cute Challenge

Moxie Fab World is challenging cardmakers to try different styles of cards.  This is my entry for the fun and cute category.

I'm more of a clean and simple kind of girl, so I wanted to stay true to myself while meeting the fun and cute requirements.  The requirements are:

• Happy color scheme - Amy Butler colors and designs always make me happy!
• Sweet sentiment
• Uncomplicated design
• Whimsy
• Simple shapes
• Friendly patterns

I've been getting some photography tips from a friend, so it is fun to photograph my creations as part of my assignments.  This week one of my goals is to play with focus.  In this photograph I focused on the sentiment so lines around the girl are just slightly softened.  I'm also pleased that I'm able to get pretty true colors, which was part of last week's assignment.

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Papercrafting - ETSYInspired Challenge #96 & Moxie Fab Clean and Graphic Challenge

I have not made a card in a regrettably long time. It's a shame because I really enjoy it. It's fast. It uses scraps. It is something I can give away later. Today though, Sophia asked me if we could make cards. I thought it was a great idea. My craft room in the basement is the coolest room in our non-airconditioned house right now.  An ETSYInspired challenge was a great place to come up with an idea.  I used the street sign from Octavia & Brown as my inspiration.


This card is also perfect for Moxie Fab World's clean and graphic challenge.  Their definition of clean and graphic is "the clean and graphic style is characterized by the utilization of white space, clean lines, and simple treatment of test.  It is no-frills, bare-boned, and modern."

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