I was busy last week getting a pack of cards ready for a silent auction. I hope the winner enjoys these and actually uses them. (Click on the picture for a better look.) Now I need to get crackin’ on a few mother’s day cards and one birthday card for a friend’s daughter who turns one this weekend!
picture featuring InkyAntics
It was sort of a fluke that I happened across an ad for the StampScrapArtTour in a crafting magazine a month or so ago, and even more a fluke that it wasn’t too far away from my home. So, a few weekends ago with eight-year old daughter in tow, a friend and her daughter, I was off to my very first craft show. Our entrance fee was $6.00… well worth the 2 hours I was able to spend there.
The tour featured 21 vendors at the Clock Tower Conference Center in Rockford, IL, and it was the perfect size to break in my novice-ness. I was FLOORED at the card samples and artwork posted – in amount and creativity! Paper, crafting supplies, embellishments – you name it, it was probably on the floor. And, the amount of rubber stamps in the place was astounding: unmounted, mounted, rubber, acrylic, and designs for every occasion to cover a huge spectrum of individual personal style.
One of our stops was Bugawumps, where Laura Jacobs was holding a demonstration on liquid masking and another demonstration using glass paint. She had these cute glass pebbles you could use for embellishments or maybe a cute magnet. We brought one home.
Actually, I was really impressed with the number of technique and product demonstrations at the show. This one from Darcie showed their Shrink Plastic Project Kits. Passers-by were mesmerized, but who wouldn’t be? It reminded me of the days of “Shrinky Dinks” and my mom burning my permanent marker and plastic creations in the oven because we didn’t have easy-to-use heat guns at back then, but these shrinkies are much prettier than the ones I ever made.
Ruthie from Darcie’s is showing the technique here.
There were plenty of opportunities to purchase wares, too, from markers and inkpads to industrial adhesive rollers. Polkadots and More! from Mukwonago, WI brought displays to inspire easy and thoughtful gift-giving, and brought stamp kits from Unity Stamp Company.
We found this non-stamping demonstration really interesting. Tessler Stamps and Stencils showed how to stencil using daubers with ink pads. Then our demonstrator spackled embossing paste to make the image come to life.
One of our last stops included InkyAntics, a company started in 1997 by Jackie Lewis. InkyAntics features over a dozen artists… trying to make “the world a cuter place”.
And just to mention the other vendors, because it was just such a fun time to meet them all:
Just for Fun and their blog, Rubber Cottage, Peddler’s Den, Repeat Impressions, Seaside Stampin’ Ink, Lost Coast Designs, Pretzel City Paper, Stamp La Jolla, Art Gone Wild, Stamp Camp, Stampers Anonymous, Designs Unlimited, Close to My Heart, Stampit Crazy, Altered Arts and ScrapHD.
Thanks for showing me a little peek into your worlds.
PS: Don’t forget to check Craft Critique for your chance at a Donna Downey giveaway! Tomorrow is the last day to enter!
UPDATE 5/15: Donna Downey giveaway is closed, and this article is also posted at Craft Critique.
Funky Monday soup, right? We’ll get to that in a moment. I’ve been toying around with this site layout. I’m no web programmer by any means, just playing around. Some of the additions are:
So, around 8:00 PM last night, I realized, “OH, it’s Sunday!” It was one of those, “Gee, I thought it was Saturday” moments, and I have to get my head back into the weekday routines. But no, I was wandering around cyberspace and found this site: Sign Generator from RedKid.net. So much fun to be had. There are lots of images to choose from – pick one and enter your phrase. That’s how the Monday Soup came about.
How about your own Oscar award? Street sign? Magic 8 ball? I would have to shake the ball again if I got this fortune. We all have those days, don’t we? I feel like making a bunch of goofy ones and sending them off to my friends.
Lastly, go by Craft Critique today to see my review on Donna Downey products (there are 3 articles, mine is number 2 or 3), and sign up for the wonderful giveaways! I’m so excited to be able to bring these fun opportunities to readers! Entries are open until Wed., May 5… Happy Cinco de Mayo!
(My Craft Critique legal disclosure that I have to include so I or others don’t get in trouble!)
Honestly, I don’t know that Filipinos (well, old school ones) like sandwiches all that much. Rice trumps bread…always. Bread is mainly reserved for breakfast or snacktime, and it’s dunked in coffee nonetheless.
Growing up, sandwiches were not a staple in my home and were made really thin: too little meat, thin bread, thin layer of chicken salad or (and I even hate admitting this) it was just sandwich spread. We had road trips with thin sandwich spread sandwiches, like eating mayonnaise on white bread. Imagine the look on my face when I actually saw a well-made deli sandwich for the first time? I remember my mom taking my brother and me to Wag’s (Late 1970’s Walgreen’s had a little restaurant) for lunch and we ordered a BLT. It was delicious, but I remember I had a torn-up upper palate from the toasted bread. Thirty years later, BLT’s are still a favorite, and my mouth still gets raw.
It wasn’t long after that I started making my own sandwiches for school lunches. No more Miracle Whip sandwiches for me. Had a big love affair with Philly steak sandwiches in college, and my brother introduced me to Bahn Mi, Vietnamese sandwiches, a few years ago. But, I really like paninis; it’s like a grown-up grilled cheese sandwich but bigger and with more fixin’s. The crispy, toasted bread with fluted ridges did me in – Pretty and tasty at the same time.
So, why not a Filipino version? Is there one? A good one? Mine are a bit like bahn mi in the respect I used cilantro and matchstick carrots. I couldn’t think of vegetables that represented Filipino cuisine, would taste good with sweet, seasoned sausages and wouldn’t necessarily have to be cooked. And I definitely wanted to keep an Asian flavor. Maybe next time, I could try a Napa cabbage slaw? I don’t own a panini maker, either. I did this all on the range with our cast-iron grill.
Butterfly cut the sausages so they will lay flat for the sandwich. Place on grill at medium-high heat. Cover with foil, heavy cookie sheet and then a weight (filled tea kettle) so the sausages won’t curl while cooking. Cook for 4 min. Remove weight, flip over the sausages and cover up again. Cook for another 3-4 min. When done, remove from grill and set aside.
While sausages are cooking, prepare the bread by cutting open and brushing olive oil on both sides. Place cooked sausage on prepped bread, then layer cilantro, carrots and onions. Top with bread. Return to grill,cooking the sandwiches on medium heat. Again, cover with foil, cookie sheet and weigh down. This will press the sandwiches. Cook for 2 min. or until toasted to your liking. Remove weight, flip sandwiches and weigh down again. Cook until toasted. Enjoy with a San Miguel (or your beer of choice).
Will be back next week with lots of art project updates!
Since we’ve been talking about food, what is it about fresh-baked bread that makes the house smell so good? There’s a grocery store two blocks away, and it’s just as easy for me to pick up their fresh-baked goods (they’re still warm, too). I think I’m pretty good at baking (quick breads, especially) but I’ve had no luck in the past with making anything that starts with yeast. Let me recap my epic failures.
About 8 years ago, I attempted to make a coffee cake. The “Rosy Red Coffee Cake” was a recipe from my “Great American Home Baking” binder cookbook. You know, the sort of cookbook that grows because you’re paying a few bucks a month and in return you receive myriads of recipe cards to fill your binder. I had such high expectations before I got married that I would try all the recipes. No such luck. But this recipe seemed so easy… yeast bread, cranberries, sugar, orange juice in a beautiful wreath. My wreath was all deflated, looked melted, and the bread itself… hard. Clearly, I must have killed the yeast.
About 4 years later, I tried to make cinnamon rolls from my aunt’s recipe. This recipe didn’t seem hard. I had a few years of quick bread recipes under my belt, so I thought, maybe my technique would be better this time. Pucks, hockey pucks, 12 of them.
Fast forward, April 2010. This time, this time I think I may have found a recipe I can count on. A recipe that has restored my faith in cooking with yeast… a No-Knead bread. (Aaaaah… the angels are singing for me.) You knead, I mean, NEED time – time for the dough to rise on its own. Don’t do this if you want your bread the same day. And where did I get this recipe? Actually, I saw Jim Lahey on Martha Stewart and heard him say “no knead bread”. I watched, and then thought, “Hmph, cool,” end of story. (Not like when I watched Good Eats with Alton Brown and he cut up a whole chicken, and did a southern fried chicken recipe. I ran to the store the next day, cut up my own chicken and made… fried chicken. Another story for another time.)
Actually, it was in the April 2010 Living magazine that they showed the no-knead bread (Pane Integrale) recipe and some step-by-step pictures. My one mistake: I used all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. In the magazine, they call for bread flour. In the television recipe, they call for either; I didn’t remember this. Everything else in the recipe was the same. I only realized I used AP flour after I had mixed everything and the dough was sitting to rise. Seriously, I thought, NOT AGAIN. I messed it up AGAIN! Well, let’s see how it turns out. Not to worry, though, because as you see from my pictures, I think everything turned out okay. Not a lot of fuss. I couldn’t have been happier about baking bread. It was really rustic, crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. Lovely. I’ll try it again with bread flour next time.
Click here for some more of Jim Lahey’s recipes from the Martha show.
What time do most people eat dinner? Do most people call it “dinner” or “supper”? I suppose there’s a difference, and maybe a subtle one. I never bothered to look up a definition until now. So, what would you do for a reception if a religious service was at 1:30 pm and lasted for 1-1/2 hours? It’s not really a late lunch, but it’s not totally time for dinner either. Essentially, it was supper and it was good.
Here’s what we figured for 25 adults and 11 children (some of whom are light eaters – count 2 kids as 1 adult)
Notes:
Here’s a favorite recipe for black bean salsa that I’ve made over the years adapted from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook by Paula Deen. I visited her restaurant before she was a Food Network celebrity and bought my cookbook there. This salsa is similar to the one we had last Saturday; the difference being roasted corn. It does add a lovely smokiness. Just by frozen roasted corn for ease! Enjoy!
Julie’s Black Bean Salsa
In large bowl, mix all ingredients well. Cover and chill overnight. Before serving, add salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Great with tortilla chips or just as a side to your meal.
