Birthday Card Workshop

Need Birthday Cards? Join us for a fun Birthday Card Workshop! Create 40 cards for just $30.

Includes everything you need to create 40 fun cards: paper, Glitz, Liquid Applique, card bases, envelopes, blending pen, and an ink pad.

You will create 20 cards (2 each of 10 designs) with the new Sophia Paper and 20 cards (2 each of 10 designs) with the new Fanfare Paper. All the paper will be cut for you, you just need to stamp and glue!

 

Workshop will be held February 19th at 11:00 am. RSVPS with payment must be received by February 1st.

Can't make it that day? If there is enough interest, I will open up another day. Just let me know your preference. 

 

Or, I'd be happy to put cards together for you. It would be $40 for the 40 cards. Amazing deal for handcrafted cards!

Mom's Big Helper

Maddox got this way cute tool box from GiGi and Papa for Christmas. It's Handy Manny's tools! Maddox thought he would help me fix the wall. Too bad they aren't the real tools, or the project would be done already....with little work on my part. :)

By the way, the latest project is.....removing the paneling downstairs and painting! There is already drywall up, but I do have to do the mud and tape. One wall done, lots more to go!

Build-A-Bear (or a Deer)

Bailee was super lucky and found a Build-A-Bear gift card in her stocking. Santa thought maybe she would like to buy some clothes for her puppy, but she decided to build a new friend instead.

After carefully considering each and every friend in the store, (and by carefully I mean it took a really long time!) Bailee chose Clarice.

Bai thought it was so cool to put the stuffing in.

And she really liked putting the heart in.

Then it was time for a bath and a new wardrobe. If I thought choosing the friend was a long process I was wrong. It was fast  compared to how long it took to find the perfect outfit for Clarice. A cute party dress with fancy high heels. Of course I don't have a picture of the end product! We'll have to pose for that one soon.

Recipe: Mongolian Beef

 I served this at Luke's birthday party last month and had so many requests for the recipe. Here is the link to the blog I got it from. Enjoy!

 

Serves 2 (If doubling, see * at bottom)

30 min 10 min prep

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (if you don't have dark brown sugar, use regular and add 1-2 Tbs of molasses)
vegetable oil for frying (about 1 cup)
1 lb flank steak (your steak slices thiner and easier if it is slightly frozen)1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions, cut on the bias in one inch pieces (I like a little bit more)

Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat.
Don't get the oil too hot.
Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.
Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Remove it from the heat.
Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices.
Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.
Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.
Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.
As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil).
Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking.
Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.
You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later.
Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.
After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet.
Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute.
Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions.
Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate.
Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

* Because you leave the excess sauce in the pan, it is not necessary to double the sauce recipe.

Finally!

I just set up and installed our new computer! So excited! It's super fast and a million times better than our HP that crashed. Nothing against HP, we had that computer for 6 years and it served us well. But it had been on its last leg for awhile so its nice to have a new one up and running. No more excuses for lack of posts and pictures though! So I'll post some pics from Christmas soon. Yipeee!


I have started another blog. It's tracibulkley.blogspot.com Original, I know. That ones for a project I'm working on for the year. So check it out, or not.