Thursday, December 22, 2016

Cream Cheese Heath Bar Dip

Cream Cheese Heath Bar Dip is great for an fruit or vegetable.  It is so easy to make.  You know me, lots of photos.  So...let's get started.  I made a double batch, so you will see some different measuring utensils out than what the recipe calls for.  And, the lady that gave me this recipe called it ....

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip - single batch...
1 8oz. bar of cream cheese
1/4 c of crushed Heath bars
1-2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 cup of powdered sugar based on your taste

So, with it so iffy in spots... you really do need to do some taste test quality control along the way...lol

I did get real Heath bars... no knock off.  Not sure how it would take with different kinds of candy.  The crunch of the Heath really adds to the texture.

I wanna say that I used 14 bars... but, I did double my batch and there was a bit extra... so maybe just 6 or seven bars for a single and 12 or 13 for the double.


Best way I know to get something into that "crumbled" state.... my meat tenderizing hammer!


I had the candy in a baggy, then folded the towel over and went to town.


Taking a peak from time to time to see how it was going.


Ok... enough of this... taking way to long!  Left it uncovered and really just went for it.  Finished in a few seconds.


Must admit, I did eat a few of those larger pieces! 


As you can see... it was a bit over the 1/2 cup for a doubled recipe.  I tossed it all in anyway.


I get off brands of stuff... much cheaper and generally taste just as good.  Memo to self, next time, remember set the cream cheese out to soften ... like 30 minutes early!


Also doubled up on this part... and then after a taste later, added just a bit more of the vanilla.  Still couldn't taste it, but was good.


Yeppers... my cream cheese are like bricks.  Took off jewelry, headed to sink, and scrubbed down like I was headed into do surgery.


I just didn't wanna chance tearing up my mixer with any of the larger chunks of the Heath bars.  It was all mixed in just a few minutes.


The sad part ... this is all it made.  Oh well... enough for everyone to do some apple dipping.  It really is quite good.  The most expensive part is that bag of Heath.  Thinking that I may freeze the rest of the bars and do this again sometime soon.

Thanx for stopping in and have a Merry CHRISTmas!



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Greyscale Coloring Books and a Free Download with full Tutorial

I am fortunate enough to have a book from Nicole Stocker called Beautiful Nature.  It is a greyscale coloring book.  IF you have not heard of these books, they are a dream!  They are done in such a way that you can color in specific places and have a wonderful picture when you are finished.  Nicole has a couple books out and I hope that there will be a third one out this coming year.  Her work is wonderful and very easy to color.  I am going to put a couple photos here for you to get the idea....


 This is a photo of the book that all these images are taken from... can't tell you how much fun this is!




Below... is the page that you can follow along and do with me on my youtube video.  The video can be found at (gotta go make it first and then come back and put in the link...)

This is what my first try at this looked like... I did them as tulips.  I have found out that they are what is referred to as "Lotus Buds"... oh well, I like them either way. 



The above photo does not do it justice.  I will show the page when I do the video, maybe it will show up better then.  Other photos from the book are below....


These are really easy to do and you will see that as we begin to do a "color along" over on youtube.

This is a finished one that I did...


Then here (below) is one that a first time student is doing.  She had never done any greyscale coloring before at all!!!!

 So now then... I guess that I need to go and get the video made so that you can color along!  The link for the video is ....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EJmqVd9HCE

There are two parts to the video, and by the end of the second one you will have something like the photo below.  AND, you should be able to finish it up on your own and be ready to order your book and work on by yourself.  Please let me know which book you order... it should be hours of fun!



Hope you had fun!
I always do!


Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Best Shopping for Small stuff online

This won't be a real long post... short, and to the point.  Oh... and maybe a first... NO photos!

AND... at the bottom, the down low on some of our American Craft Stores!

No photos are needed.  I just wanna give you the down low on one of the best online shopping places.  Let me give the DOWN side first.... very slow shipping - we are talking one to three months, very cheap - sometimes so cheap that it breaks!, and it is an import... opps, just lost some readers right there.  But, I am not a strictly American made person.  IF I can get three paintbrushes for less than $2, I am gonna do it.  Have you looked, most of our brushes are made in China anyway.  Enough of that though... I digress.   The UP side...  Free shipping on most everything - I have only purchased free shipping so far, because it takes so long to get here - you get a gift and forgot it was coming.  Ok... where is this place?    aliexpress.com     I have gotten ... nail brushes for my detailed painting on canvas or cermics, rolls of double sided tape for just pennies compared to the scrapbooking world prices, washi tape for .25 a roll, micron pens for just .50 each,...  I go on and look for the most inexpensive items in an area... usually art/craft.  I got a brush pen that leaked... emailed them a photo of the item leaking and they credited my account.  I never got my lace tape... emailed them at the end of the wait period... they re-shipped, free, and it was here and good.  You leave feedback just like on ebay, you pay with credit card, and there is a place to dispute things.  I keep a list of what was ordered, from what company, how many, what paid, when it should be in and keep track of everything.  One Summer, I go 15 little packages of scrapbooking sequins, stickers, tapes, ... and spent less than $6.   So... maybe it is something you might wanna look into.  Again, watch the shipping, look at the details.  Make sure it doesn't show ten and say that you get two... watch the details!   So... thoughts?

Another great place to shop.... we were on vacation last week and driving home through Austin I saw a statue of some comical painter dude and wanted a photo.  Hubby, being the greatness that he is, turned around and went back!  It was Jerry's Artarama!  I had shopped with them online, but never eve knew there was a storefront!  We went in and an hour later, we came out.  I got 20 panel canvas for $21.  They happened to be having a 30% off one item to VIP members.... I am now a VIP member, it is like a club card and totally free.  They do not run the 30% sale often, this was such a God thing!  You also get 10% off anything in the store that is not on sale, and that is anytime!  Get this... they also will give you the online discounted item price if you will just pull it up on your phone.  I got the Faber-Castell Polychromo Pencils with the 30% off coupon!  ok.... I lied, a couple of pictures!!!   http://www.jerrysartarama.com/?gclid=CKPdtNaA7s0CFVE0aQodi_QEiA   and No, they do not sponsor me, I just really like them.  Would be fun if they did sponsor, I would be loving that!



I also wanna plug my ladies group on facebook.  It is all ladies, and we use our pencils, pens, and such to color in our coloring books, Bibles and journals.  Tons of fun, and yes... ALL ladies!  You can find us at     https://www.facebook.com/groups/1655458821385078/

Last plug is for my new video channel on youtube..... having a lot of fun teaching about color blending with pencils and gel pens!  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAmOEaOqYyrarqJi8YgfY1Q

Craft stores in the US... this is true for the stores in my area at the time of this publishing....
You can use a coupon from Hobby Lobby and JoAnns at Micheals (there are limits to the percent off ones).  You can use a coupon from Hobby Lobby and Michaels at JoAnns. You can NOT use a coupon from Michaels and JoAnns at Hobby Lobby.  Michaels and JoAnns give teacher discounts, just have some sort of ID ready to get it.... Michaels is each and every time, JoAnns will issue you a card.  Tuesday Morning got the old contract that Big Lots used to have.  Remember when Big Lots had a scrapbooking area?  Yep, that contract.  So, Tuesday Morning gets all the old clearance from some of our major craft stores now!!!

Ok... that's all I have for now!

Monday, April 4, 2016

Robert and Mary - October 2015

So... it has been six months and just seemed fitting to give an update on the happy couple... but, you need the back story first.  Let's go back to October 2015.

I got to play wedding planner as we cleared out our living room, decorated the fireplace and brought in chairs.  As I worked with this 79 year old who had been a widow for over 25 years, I tried to find out what she wanted in this memorable occasion.  Q... Did she want flowers?  *no, keep it simple.  Q... what about just a couple flowers, something to hold so that your not just standing with fidgety hands?  *yes, that would be fine, but keep it small.   Q... what was the one thing not in your first wedding that you would like in this one?  *well, the church wasn't even finished, so ... well, can we have a cake?  I don't want no big fancy thing though.  Just something small.  I just want a simple wedding, everything simple.  Just our kids and their families.

My husband was to do the wedding, we knew the bride really well and the groom had become a friend really quick.  Several phone calls and messages made it clear that they both wanted to honor their prior spouse by using their same wedding rings as before.  Throughout all the planning, they wanted to be very respectful to their children and their feelings.

So... without further ado... let me share the ceremony and photos with you.


Robert Wakler (groom), Nelda Turner (bride's daughter)



 Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God, friends and 
family to unite this couple Robert Ervin Walker and Mary Francis Proctor in 
the bonds of holy matrimony.

Robert and Mary, I do not believe that it was an accident that you met and 
fell in love. I sincerely believe that this is God’s plan and that you are 
honoring him in your commitment to each other. I believe you will be 
blessing to others and to each other. I pray that we who are here will love 
and support you the way you have unconditionally loved us.

Anyone who has been around Robert and Mary can recognize how deeply in love 
they are with each other. They are both secure enough in that love to talk 
and fondly remember their former spouses Janice and Bill to each other.

Robert and Mary have asked me to take a moment and recognize how God had 
blessed both of them with loving, godly spouses who have gone on to be with 
the Lord.
Robert was married to Janice for 56 years.
Mary was married to Bill for almost 34 years.

Both of these marriages were based on a love for each other and the Lord.

A marriage based on the Lord has a strong foundation.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (NIV)

Robert and Mary understand that the Lord is the strand, the common bond 
that will hold them together.


Their love for each other, and their life circumstances, reminds me of a 
love story found in the Bible in the Book of Ruth. It is a love story that 
Robert and Mary are both familiar with.

It is a story that starts with the loss of a spouse and ends with a wedding.

It begins with a focus on a mother in law named Naomi who has lost her 
husband, and her sons and longs to go home to the land of her birth. She 
advises her daughter in laws, who are also widowed, to stay behind.

It is the story of Ruth, her widowed daughter in law, who would not stay 
behind but who followed and remained devoted to her mother in law, Naomi, 
even after the death of her spouse.

It is also the story of a man named Boaz, an unmarried relative of 
Naomi's. Naomi, will in time play matchmaker and set a series of events in 
motion that with God’s help lead to the marriage of Ruth and Boaz.


Today, I am reminded of another mother in law and in this case a widowed 
man that is still devoted to her. That same mother in law was used by God 
to start a chain of events that have led us here today.


Robert, your commitment and love for your mother in law speaks volumes 
about you. Mary recognizes the kind of man you are and will be to her. And 
so do we.


Now Ruth could have stayed in her own land and remarried but she chose to 
go with Naomi. In doing this, Ruth choose to remain single.

When Ruth got settled in this new land she did not hurriedly seek out a 
mate but waited focusing on the needs of Naomi. Until Naomi intervened.


Mary, you have been a widow for 26 years. You could have chosen to seek out 
someone years ago but you waited. I believe you waited for the right man 
and the right season. Robert knows what kind of woman you are because you 
have waited and have lived your life in service to family and others.

Today both of you take a bold step into your new life together.

Robert and Mary, if you will turn and face each other and repeat your vows 
to each other at this time.

 Robert and Mary vows here.
I , (name), take you, (name), to be my wedded (wife/husband), to have and 
to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer for poor, 
in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. 
And here I pledge you my faithfulness.
Robert and Mary have chosen to use their same rings from their previous 
marriages. They are using them to as a reminder of what has come before, 
how God had blessed and how they again recognize that Lord is the constant 
unchanging center of this covenant to each other.
Rings

May we have the rings? Would you two join hands now?

Nelda Turner (bride's daughter), Mary Proctor (bride), Darrell Proctor (my hubby, oh, did I mention that the Bride is his Mother, yes... my Mother-in-Love!!!), Robert Walker (groom), Johnny Walker (groom's son)
Robert, please repeat after me – Mary, With this ring, I thee wed, and with 
it, I pledge my heart and my devotion. You may place the ring upon her finger.

Mary, please repeat after me – Robert, With this ring, I thee wed, and with 
it, I pledge my heart and my devotion. You may place the ring upon his finger.



The Kiss

In recognition of your commitment to each other, by the power vested in me 
by the state of Texas, and the Almighty God we love and serve, I now 
pronounce you man and wife. Robert, you may kiss your bride. Mary you may 
kiss your husband.



The Pronouncement

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you for the very first time 
Robert and Mary Proctor Walker. And all God’s people said – Amen.




                                   




And... so now... these six months later?


They lived happily ever after.
The End.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Make Your Own Bible Tabs with Scrapbooking Supplies

So... lots of folks have taken up coloring these days... I am not sure that I ever stopped.  But, I have moved on over to colored pencils...  and then doing some lettering over the top when I am finished.  Here are a couple that I have done recently.



And, even the above page is pretty... you can add so much by doing the backgrounds too.  See below.


But, I am not here to talk about the coloring process today... if you are interested in coloring and sharing with others... we can be found on facebook under  "Coloring Books keep it clean".

This is the cardboard box cover that my new Bible came in.  I won't really be keeping it in there cause it is very snug and rubs... plus, now with the tabs, it won't fit!  I got the hard cover one.  They also make a soft cover one... I loved the cover on it, but the end pages are what sold me on the hard cover.

I know... right!!!  Are those not the most beautiful pages you have ever seen on any Bible?!  It is the NLT, and more relaxed translation ... just really easy to understand.  I didn't think that I would like it at first, but then I have read the Bible enough that a totally different yet supported translation will do me some good.



Might as well show you some of the inside pages.  These are put throughout the book, and then there are also lined pages throughout for you to do your own journalling on.


Then, below... there are a few pages like this... just full and ready to be colored!  I like using my PrismaColor Soft Core Premier Colored Pencils the most.



Above is the paper that I got at Hobby Lobby...  NEWS FLASH... I paid full price.  I know... I don't think that I have ever paid full price for paper!  I did splurge and get three pieces, just in case I messed up on one.


That is just my view as I impatiently wait for my printer to start printing out on the new paper.

           I like to give credit where it is due.  The free tab print off is on this lovely lady's page... 
http://www.littlebitfunky.com/2015/01/20-minute-crafter-journaling-bible-tabs.html
The tutorial there is good, I have just done some tweaking for it to better suit my needs.  The free download is down towards the bottom and very simple to use.


Just took the two sheets of paper.  Nothing messed up.  Well... almost nothing... Because I am going to be putting these across the top of the pages of the Bible... my music notes will all be going sideways!  Oh well... I still like them... moving on.


Cutting each one out by hand.  Started to use my cutter, but I was not getting the smooth edges that I wanted.  Oh, also, on Crystal's blog, she used a hole punch to do inverted curves... I just wanted a basic curve and they were easy to do with the scissors.



This Xyron is a handy little tool to have about now.  I have not used it often, but I do see me going through two rolls of sticky on this project!  Don't mind the dirty black mess, I am on my painting table.


Lay it in there face up and just pull from the other end.  When you are sure that one is totally cleared, pop in the next one.


Here is the first one... excitement builds!


I would normally do several things at once and then tear or cut the length, but I just wanted to make sure this was gonna work before I put too much time in.


The directions are on the paper backing... rub it down good, and then just peel!


That peel off part is very sticky, so don't let it get back onto any of your good work area.  It is trash and needs to be put there pretty quickly!


Then, there is my sticker!



You can kinda see here that I left it partway on the backing, didn't wanna touch the sticky too much.  Still wasn't sure how this was going to turn out.


Peeled off the backing, flipped the page over and folded over the tab.


Give it a firm pressing with your fingers on both sides.  IF there is any sticky residue, this is a great time to go ahead and roll it off with your fingers so that your pages don't stick together.


There ya go... one down and 65 more to go!  Should be done in about a month!  At this point, you can tell that if these were going down the page, the music notes would have been going the right direction.  I am not musical, just liked the color of the paper and really don't mind.


There is it with the page in front folded over... I really need to get those first intro pages colored! 


See that white line at the end of the "Numbers" tab?  That is where the lines don't meet up.  Not a huge deal until you go to fold it over on the page and that sticky is there on the white part!  I went ahead and started cutting them after I folded them.  That really cut down on the sticky area later.  IF over time, I find that there is sticky, I will just lightly dust those sticky areas with a bit of baby powder, I would think that would take care of the problem.


This... yes, what about this.... Here is what it looks like when you get the first tab in and pull out the next three to find out that the sticker maker is empty and needs to be refilled.  Fortunately for me, I got a couple refills at the last scrapbooking convention I went to.  Below, I got it all refilled and thought... hmmm, wonder if I can turn these the other direction and use less of this stuff.  Got really close to the side, but I got better at it as I went.



Above, shows you how I just lay in the next tab, make sure it is lined up to where I can flip and then fold it over.  Do the rubbing for any extra sticky and go on to the next one.


There are three finished now.  Here is how it looks at the different angles.  Again, I am not measuring, I am guessing.  I knew that I didn't wanna start too far into the book cause you can't flip from in there, and I want to stop before I get to the outer edge... will figure that out as I get there.



You can see here where I am getting better at centering those tabs in the sticker maker.  I did find it best to cut out two or three, put them through the maker, and then put them in the Bible in order.  Move on to a few more and so forth.  I am going to sit on the couch and watch a movie while I cut the rest out and send them through the maker.  I will cut a few at a time as to keep them in order, but then just leave them in one long sticky tape until I am finished putting them all through.


I also started laying a piece of paper across the tab and even with the page to be sure that it was sticking out enough.  I had to peel a couple off... not a problem as long as I did it right away.


This photo, above, show better how I am making a long tail of them while I am on the couch watching tv.


This gives you a shot of how the sticky gets rolled off with my finger, and then I just brush it away.  You can see a couple bits here.  Not a bunch of it, but it still needed to come off.


Now, I am not finished.  But, I do like what I have done so far.  I can see the beautiful side that helped to sell me on this particular Bible.


Oh, and a happy accident... above... I can still put the elastic band on there and not bend my new tabs.  That just happened... an uh oh ah moment!


Above and below, you can see a couple different views with the first few tabs finished.  I know that that sections of the "pretty" is gonna be gone, but the inside area and all along the side will be saved.


I went ahead and put the clear ruler up there to give you and idea of the measurements.  You can see that I didn't measure, these are not perfect.  God's perfect, I am not.


I did lay a piece of paper down and mark it as to where the Genesis started at.  I need that to help me line up the next row of tabs.


Put that paper down on I Kings and got my tab ready.


Turning it sideways, you can see where it still doesn't like up perfectly.  But seriously... that doesn't bother me.  I didn't purchase one of those Bibles that were pre-tabbed or little indentations cut out.  I wanted to do my own, call it mine!


Well... that is all I have for now.  Like I said earlier, off to the couch with my tools and tabs to get to work.  I will come back next year and post a picture (below) of it finished.  I hope it doesn't take that long, but still, gonna be a while.


Hey, it is getting late and I am tired, but had to get back on here and post!!!  Yeppers... this is Genesis through Luke.  It is the entire first page of print offs.  I am happy.  Some of these look like they are really close together... I think it is cause some of the books are so small.  Also, I always put the tab on a right hand page, where it fell it fell.  When I get to John I, II, and III... I may find a way to put those all on one tab.  I will have to just see how it goes when I get there.  So, here is what is finished so far, and it did literally take hours!  But, I still really like it!!  Below is one more view of it.  The top is a bit fatter, but that is ok...  I am going to add a few tabs on the right hand side when I finish with the top tabs...  I am going to add "Old Testament", "New Testament" and I will see from there....may or may not do the "Contents" and "Index".  I figure just those few won't mess with my picture and will still allow nice tabs.


Well.... this time... that's it.  You can just imagine what it looks like finished.

Guess I am like a bad tick that you just can't get rid of.... yeppers, I am back!
There were a few things that came up that I want to address.  First, in any new book, sometimes the pages will stick together just a bit, so be sure when you put your tabs on that you just do it on that one page.  No, I didn't mess up and do two, but there were times I did have to separate the pages really well.  So, heads up on that.  Then, as I was putting the tabs through my sticker maker, I realized that I might want to somehow combine 1-3 John.  This is a repeat of one of the comments that I made before... so it is fixin' to get resolved.


Next issue is the much smaller books.  As you can below, Philemon ended up being on the back of Titus... stay with me on this... Look at the next two photos.  I had to have a place to put Hebrews, so this was the best way for me to solve the short book problem.



The problem with John... I also will have to start another row if I give all three tabs a spot in John... What to do?   Here is what I did... I got a pen that trusted not to smear, and just put a one in front of the three and put the dash in there.  I was pleased with it.  Makes it not quite centered on the tab now, but I like it.


Ready?  It is finished!  Here is what it looks like on all the "pretty" sides.   What do you think?




You can tell that the tabs did add some bulk and it is fuller on the outside now.  Doesn't bother me a bit!  I have also heard some folks say that they want to do different colors for the different sections of the Bible.  Example... beginings, history, poetry, prophets,...
Then, I read where one lady did do then in different colors and wished that she had not.  SO, my suggestion is to do a few, lay them in the spots (do NOT glue them in yet) and take a good look at it.  Is it the look that you want?  Do the colors all go well together?  You are the one that will live with it, so there is no right or wrong answer!  BUT, once you glue those tabs in, you are gonna have to live with it.  Another thing that was addressed... I used scrapbooking paper, NOT cardstock.  One lady said that she had printed them on the cardstock and was afraid they were too thick.  I am thinking she is right... as bulky as my Bible ended up, I can't imagine how bulky it is going to be with cardstock folded over on each tab.  So... when you are in doubt with things, don't glue it in yet... prep it and get it ready, lay it out there and try it first.  Scrapbooking paper / cardstock isn't that expensive, you can change your mind as long as you have not glued yet.  I feel like I am in repeat mode.  Time to end this posting.  Please feel free to add your photo of your finished tabs down below in the comments.  Let's see each others and get inspired! 


Hope you have enjoyed this... I have!
Be sure to "follow"... no tellin' what I will come up with next time!
-Pam