Paper Pumpkin July 2018

                        

                             Just in time for our hot summer, 
                         July's Paper Pumpkin Paradise Picnic
Take a look at the video to see how much you receive in your monthly kit.  It is chalk full of pieces for you to create beyond what you get to make!  Have you signed up for Paper Pumpkin before?

There is a Blooming summer savings on now thru August 10
allowing first time subcribers to save 50% on your August Paper 
pumpkin!  We want you to try it and see if you like it!

       

These are fun papercrafting kits delivered to your mailbox every month with a different project or craft everytime! 

Be sure to use the code BLOOM0818  and select me as your demonstrator in order to receive this offer.

                      Click Here to subscribe to Paper Pumpkin

How about treating someone with a cute little strawberry basket with cards tucked inside.  Maybe even add a fresh jar of jam!

There are also apples in the kits and blueberries

Caute!!!

Seasoned with Kindness

I love receiving your creations in the mail!

This sweet card came from my creative friend

Carol

Love the simplicity of it and the colors

Thank you Carol for the lovely card!

I have had many requests as to what stamp set this is from;

Seasoned with Kindness from Stampin Up! it was a hostess set,

that is why many of you cannot find it in the catalogs!

Creative Class

Today is creative class!

Here are the projects we are making this morning

Can you see a theme here?

Everything here is Lavender!

The first is a vintage Lavender wood sign

I stained the wood in a dark walnut for a different look

than I have used before

Next up is floating candles decorated 

in either a farmhouse decor or

with fresh Lavender

I have harvested so much Lavender in the last few weeks I thought

it would be fun to make lavender sugar

And last but not least Lavender syrup

I showed you how to make this a few posts back

Lavender syrup recipe HERE

I found some adorable glass containers for the class

a little different than these pictured. 

 It's fun to make and super easy too.

Love to have you join us!

Classes are once a month on fridays

Message me if you are interested

Sweet Tea

We are having record heat here in the Pacific Northwest

Which calls for sweet tea!

My husband is from the east coast and LOVES his tea

He has been begging me to make some good ole' fashioned 

tall glass of goodness.  I always love hearing from you all, so if you have a special recipe please share with me. 

Here's my recipe;

8 tea bags

16 cups of water

one sliced fresh lemon

one cup of syrup

1c of water - 1 c of sugar

(bring to a boil til dissolved)

Put it all in a large clear container and let sit in the sun 3-4 hours

Chill in the frig and enjoy!

This is the syrup

Bring to a boil until sugar is all dissolved 

(about 10 mins)

Do you have any tea secrets to share?

love to hear them!

Wood Bead Garland

Good Monday morning friends!

Having a little pop-up sale this morning over in my Etsy shop

My wood bead garland are on sale 2 for $25.00

Click HERE for link

Sale on til midnight tonight

I always get asked how to decorate with them

Easiest way....... drape them wherever you want!

Here are a few ideas for you

The garlands are 30" long

Come treat yourself!

Cottage Lake

These gorgeous pictures were taken the other night at Cottage Lake where they have weekly Music in the Park

The colors and sky were just breathtaking....

Pictures don't do it justice

It was a night filled with a lot of goofiness and laughter,

hence the crazy selfie

The lake looked like glass, very unusual for this time of year.

Just one more...... 

beauty all around! 

Now back to our regularily scheduled blog post!!!

Thanks for letting me share!

Lavender Syrup

I shared with you all a couple of posts back that I have been harvesting Lavender from the garden 

My daugher Shae asked me if I could make some Lavender syrup, it's all the rage right now to put in your coffee drinks, added to selzer water, you can even make Lavender tea or Lavender lemonade.

Here's how I made the syrup

1 T of dried fresh Lavender

1 c of water

1 c of sugar

5 or 6 blueberries for color

Measure out 1 T of Lavender

add it to the 1 c of water on the stove

Put the cup of water on the stove and add the sugar and lavender and a few blueberries for coloring,  bring to a slight boil.  

cook on med heat for 10 minutes.  Take off burner and cool.

Add the blueberries for color

Once done, take cheesecloth and wrap over the top of a ball jar to strain out the lavender buds and the blueberries

Once cooled using a funnel, fill your jars.

These jars are just adorale! 

I was able to find these cute jars at Hobby Lobby for 30 cents each!

Aren't they so cute!  

Hope you take time to make yourself some of this "sweet" syrup!

Rooted In Nature

Does anyone else have a work station that looks this messy while creating?   And this is mild!  I get going and all of a sudden EVERYTHING is out!  and messy!

Well, I took Rooted in Nature back out and created this 

ombre card.

Using three different colors of ink

start with the medium color at the top and sponge the medium color first, then move onto the the darkest color and sponge that just below the medium color.  

Once you're two colors are in place take the stamp set and start with stamping the darkest color with the leave stamp. Then move onto adding the medium color with the leaves.  Then the lightest color now will come in at the bottom stamping the leaves. 

Rooted in Nature 

#146482 - $42.00

There you have it!!

Lavender Harvesting

I've been having such a great time harvesting all the goodies

from my yard.  The lavender is from my neighbors yard. 

 She has been letting me cut out all her lavender!

What a treat!

It has only taken a couple of days to dry it out naturally.

If you have lavender and want to dry it, you can let it sit out and dry on it's own or put it in the oven at a low temperature @200 degrees for 20 mins.  The little buds slide right off.

One of the things I am making with the lavender is 

lavender sugar.  Use one cup of granulated sugar and a tablespoon of the lavender.  

 This photo shows more in the jar just for pretty sake!

\

Something else that my daughter Shae is loving that you can make with Lavender is Lavender syrup

Super easy too:

Makes 4 cups

2c sugar

2c water

2 T of lavender

A drop or two of food coloring for color

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil

Turn down heat and let simmer for 10 minutes

Take off stove and let cool for 10 minutes

Once cool, strain to remove and lavender or particles, pour into a vinegar type bottle or something similair

Refrigerate up to 3 weeks

Taste amazing!

Drizzle it over ice cream.  Add to some sparkling water or in a cocktail or in some champagne!  Enjoy!

Wood Bead Garland idea

I get asked a lot what to do with the wood bead garland.

Well..... 

you can add it to ANY decor

I sell two sizes;

one is a 2" round that fits around a vase 

the other a 30" strand   

Below are a few ideas for you....

This is the larger strand that I wrapped around a large vase

Here is the same size draped around a candle with some greenery

Christmas in July anyone?

This one is draped across the mantle with cute stockings

This photo was sent to me by Openhousestaging who purchased 

quite a few strands for staging homes in Seattle

You can see the decor is a more modern vibe and they look great!

Here they are nestled in a galvanized tray with some other decor

for you Dunnies out there,  (Rae Dunn pottery)

for those who haven't heard of it

I just draped them over the creamer

Now I have given you a few ways you can decorate using them!

And I LOVE recieving your pictures of how you're using them in your decor so please send me yours!

If you are interested in purchasing them they can be found

at my Etsy shop 2340 West Newton HERE

Homemade goodies

Been busy making homemade raspberry/stawberry jam as well as homemade pesto with all the goodies from my garden. 

Of course I had to make some homemade little cards to attach

to the goodies to give away.

I used the Jar of Love stamp set to create these little cards.

It has this small stamp in it, not sure what it is, but I used it

to make the little raspberry seeds in the jar.

This is what I came up with for the Pesto jar

Pretty simple

Here's the homemade Pesto recipe;

1 c fresh Basil

1/3 c of canola oil 

1/2 c of walnuts

1/3 c parmesan cheese (grated)

one clove of garlic 

Mix all in your blender or processor

Makes one cup of fresh Pesto

So delish and fresh!

 Jar of Love 

Photopolymer stamp set

#141587 for $25.00