Today's challenge over at OWH was to create a fall-themed card. As I do not have too many fall-themed stamps other than pumpkins, this is what I came up with:











Supplies: Adirondack Alcohol inks ( Terracotta, Butterscotch); stamp - Inkadinkado; embossing folder - Sizzix Plaid

I finished reading "Knit The Season" by Kate Jacobs, which was just okay, not nearly as good as her first two in the same series.

Now I am reading a new James Patterson novel. I have read the first 9 books in this series and really enjoy them. Of all of his books, I enjoy The Women's Murder Club collection the best.

Today there was a tutorial using alcohol inks to create cards. Since I have previously used alcohol inks for cardmaking, I dug out my supplies and created a simple card.










Supplies used: Adirondack Alcohol Inks (stream, pearl, blending solution); Versamark Ink; stamp - Stampabilities; border die - PTI Eyelet Lace Border

Here is the Spicy Grilled Shrimp Skewer recipe that I showed yesterday:

Spicy Grilled Shrimp Skewers

1 ½ lbs. extra-large shrimp,
peeled and deveined
4 T butter, melted
¼ t cayenne pepper
salt
½ c pepper jelly
1 t grated zest of lime
2 T lime juice

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Thread shrimp on skewers and brush with 1 T butter. Season with cayenne and salt.

Heat jelly in saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Off heat, whisk in remaining butter, lime zest and lime juice. Cover and keep warm.

Grill shrimp over hot fire 2 – 3 minutes per side. Brush with glaze. Serve.

**Since it is just the two of us now, I only used a dozen shrimp, but used the full amounts for the glaze. This left enough glaze for another dozen, so the balance was placed in a seal-tight container and stored in the refrigerator for the following weekend.

This week's sketch challenge at OWH was to use scraps along with their sketch:











Here is my attempt at the sketch. I purposely placed the strips a bit askew. Although I am not 100% happy with this card, I do enjoy participating in the challenges.











This is what we had for a little appetizer yesterday -- Spicy Grilled Shrimp Skewers!











The key ingredient to the sauce is pepper jelly, which just happens to be one of the recipes that I can every year.

A tutorial posted today on OWH Stars & Stamps blog featuring a Starburst card caught my interest, so I thought I'd give it a try. I used the same papers as on the card I posted yesterday.










It may look complicated, but after following the tutorial, it came together quickly.

It's time for another sketch challenge over at OWH; here is the sketch:













I created two cards using the same color scheme, but different embossing folders.

Nothing crafty today, but yesterday as I was changing my flag outside the house, I saw that wonderful man in the big, brown truck and I knew he was stopping at my house! And, this is what he brought me:































I bet you're sayin' "yeah, so". Well we have not been able to get decent hotdogs or rolls since we moved to Georgia 8 years ago. New England Style hotdog rolls are flat on the sides so that you can grill them. And, the hotdogs have a nice snap to them. The only hotdogs we can get here are either store brand, Ball Park (which is ok) or Nathans (which we hate).

This morning, I looked out the kitchen window and thought I saw a twig stuck to the screen. An hour or so later, the "twig" had moved and then I realized it was an insect -- googled it and it is a Phasmatodea. Their defense mechanism is to replicate sticks or leaves. In the U.S. they are found in the southeast. Hopefully, this will be my last post about bugs and insects, but they are not as gross as the cicadas, in my opinion!

I know it's a tad early, but this week's Mid-Week Throwdown Challenge on OWH was to create a Thanksgiving card. Totally cased this design from Skipping Stones Design!










And, since I'm on a roll with my layouts, here is one I did yesterday:










Having just finished Jason Wright's "The Seventeen Second Miracle", I needed a new book. The only 2 books remaining in my unread book stack unfortunately are Christmas-themed books. So I am reading Kate Jacobs "Knit the Season"; I've enjoyed the previous two in this series.

Since I am trying to get back in the swing of things with blogging and doing scrapbook layouts, I have another layout with my favorite subject -- my granddaughter, CJ.













As you can probably tell, she is the center of our universe!

Today, I have a couple of layouts of Caroline Jayne. As I only started scrapbooking after my boys were all grown up and am still working on their scrapbooks, I am bound and determined to keep up with CJ's photos. These photos were taken in March on her birthday.






















Sorry about the crappy pics of the layouts!

My supplies: (first layout) pp - Basic Grey; die - PTI Fillable Frames #11; border punch - Fiskars

(second layout) pp - Basic Grey; stamps - PTI Bitty Background Blocks; die - PTI Buttoned Up; border punch - Fiskars

Wednesday's color challenge on OWH was to create a card using a green & purple color scheme.










Supplies: pp - Chatterbox; dies, stamp, jute twine - PTI

After making and uploading the card, I noticed how similar it is to my previous card -- oh, well -- it is what it is!

Today would have been my Mom, Genevieve's 86th birthday -- Happy Birthday, Mimi!

The book I am reading now is The Seventeen Second Miracle by Jason Wright.













I enjoy his books and have read all but one, which is out of print.