I hope so, because I was feeling pretty creative!  With summer well on its way, I’m getting into the fresh food groove and inspired to try some quick, simple recipes.

The bright hues of the vegies reminded me of a garden party, which in turn made me remember I need to sew a few summer table cloths.

I yielded some mad skills with my cutting tools.

Garlic can definitely be considered an embellishment.

Ok.  I’ve convinced myself its crafty, so lets get down to the how-to.

***In an effort to keep this as creative as possible, I’m not going to share exact amounts and ingredients.   I want you to live on the wild side and create without abandon!  If I say 1-2 carrots, you say 3!

1.  Thinly slice 4 leeks.  Its best to use the lower, whitish section of this root veggie. The photo below was taken after I finished slicing and had already added the leaks to the pot.

2. Slice 4 carrots

3.  Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic

In a medium stock pot, saute the garlic, carrots and leeks in a little olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add 3 cans chicken broth and a few dashes of both thyme and celery seed. You could use a few celery stalks instead of the seed, but since I was out, I got creative and improvised.  Such an artist I am.

Simmer while you cut up potatoes.  The carrots will need those extra couple minutes cooking.

Cut 3 large potatoes into small pieces.  I like to scrub them good and leave the peel for a bit more flavor.

Add the potatoes to the pot and simmer at a low roll for about 30-40 minutes or until you can easily poke the potatoes with a fork.

Finally, turn the heat down to low and pour in the best part…CREAM!  Add one cup of half & half and heat just a bit more.  You don’t want to boil the cream or it could curdle.

Although this isn’t the best picture of presentation, trust me it is darn good!  And pretty creative if I do say so myself.

I’d love to hear how you’d add to, take away or any crafty things you would do!

Love love love Shelly’s tutorial on how-to crochet flowers. And let me tell you what, they are HOT STUFF right now. While you perfect your technique, there are a few places you can find them already made for you!

Close to My Heart has a collection of embellishments called White Daisy Mini Medley Accents. With it comes 4 super cute crocheted flowers, in 2 sizes!

Check out Fancy Pants Posies! They have several different colors and styles of these fun add-ons!

Or what about My Minds Eye? Their crocheted flowers are so delicate.

Want to cut out the middle man? Head over to Etsy – “Your place to buy and sell all things handmade”, and search for crocheted flowers! Buy what you see or have them made to order. I loved the flowers created by SweetPea Toad.

Creating digi-art? Cindy Doerksen on Your Digital Designers has a beautiful crocheted flower layer that might be perfect for your project.

Whether custom-made or homemade, find a way to get crocheted flowers on your project today. Check out a scrapbook page and card I’ve created using this HOT trend.

Close to My Heart Daydream Level 2 Paper Pack, Good Times & Noteworthy Stamp Sets, White Daisy Mini Medley Accents, Classic Numbers Dimensional Elements

Close to My Heart That’s Amore Level Two Paper Pack & My Stickease, White Daisy Mini Medley Accents, Just Blooms Big Pinks Flowers

For daily updates, go to fancymelissa.blogspot.com.

I just put down the March ’09 issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine. Wow – bracket frames, stamps, die cuts, journaling spots are HOT STUFF! And I love love love them. They make a bold statement on your projects and they do a great job highlighting anything you put on them, journaling, title, quote, etc. Check out a few ways to use brackets on your next project:

Stamps:
Close to My Heart-My Acrylic Stamp Set Noteworthy- With this set of 25 clear stamps you get the frame (the words inside are seperate stamps), as well as the super huge brackets.

Die Cut Machines
Provo Craft Cricut: In addition to letters and numbers, the Storybook Cartridge has fun frames, brackets and flourishes.

Spellbinders Nestabilities: Labels These new dies are so stinkin’ cool! What an easy and inexpensive way to add this hot trend to your next project!

Collections & Kits
Making Memories: I honestly think that MM started this trend. I attended a class last year at a scrapbook expo, and we were using these frames. Super cool. You’ll find brackets in most of their collections!

Close to My Heart Emporium: This paper kit is gorgeous and so rich looking. It’s both masculine and feminine. And the bracket stickers are great for journaling!

Embellishments:
Close to My Heart Foundry Bookplates: These pewter accents will dress up any project. And you can paint them with acrylic paint to match.

Mini Albums:
Basic Grey Chipboard Bracket Album: This super cool album includes 2 cover sheets, 6 interior pages, and 1 key ring.

Here are a couple of projects I’ve created using brackets:

Margie Romney-Aslett from Making Memories taught a class on how to create a mini album using office folders. Everything used here is from MM’s 5th Avenue line. This is one of my most favorite projects!

A desk calendar using Close to My Hearts Display Album and Emporium paper and stickease.

Perfect project for testing out your primitive painting techniques.

the following project materials list and instructions courtesy of Michaels Craft Stores.

Well, the calendar says spring is almost here.  And here in the Northwest, it even LOOKS kinda like spring if you look out of the window, but step out of the door and you had better have a good coat on, because it is FREEZING out there!

My husband started to prune the fruit trees, and I noticed the tips of daffodil leaves peeking out of the cold dirt on the sunny side of the trees.  Since we had a good snow at Christmas (yeah!) it seems like winter should be over, but we have always gotten our worse winter weather in February or March, soooooo……. although there is more winter to come, you had better blow the spider nests out of your hoses, because sooner or later, you will need them to water those seedlings and starts.

There is nothing prettier than a spring-colored quilt on your bed or wall after the red and green days of the Christmas season.  Nature sure knows her stuff, switching from red berries and evergreens to the sunny yellow of daffodils and the lavender of crocus and  hyacinths to brighten up the gloomy, rainy days of spring. Even the art & craft impaired people of the world (those who do not have the “eye” for color and shape) appreciate the beautiful flowers and spring green landscape that suddenly appear through the rain.

We “crafty” types always try to re-create those colors and shapes in quilts, paintings, photos, jewelry and embellished clothing. We cut and paste and glue it into our scrapbooks and incorporate it into our home furnishings.  I cannot even imagine life without art.  I do not remember a boring day in my almost 66 years.  There is always something to sew, paint, plant, create, cook, craft from wood, clay, scrap material, crochet thread, yarn, fabric, or junk.  I always said that I was 99% imagination, and I am not sure if I was born that way or if I should give the credit to a mother who always encouraged me to create.  She was creative and could fashion something-from-nothing in every instance, whether it was food for a party, a last minute dress for the school concert, an instant shelf for the bathroom, or a chuck-wagon box for the station wagon.  She wasn’t a quilter, but an accomplished seamstress.  Her spring garden was lovely.  Come to think of it, I WILL give her the credit, and I am so thankful to her for opening up my world of creativity.  I am sorry for the people who are not creative.  They are missing so much.

Here is a pattern for a cute little woven heart to fill with candy or flowers or whatever.  I hope I made the directions clear enough for you to figure out. Happy Valentines Day!

Heart Pocket Instructions

Watch as our favorite Spellbinders peep Kim shows us how easy it is to create 3D embellishments using the Wizard die cutting system, and their newest product- Impressabilities and white-core cardstock from Core’dinations.

and here’s a bit more eye-candy for ya!

When Cr8tive Living stumbled upon artist Meredith from Southern Handmade Gifts we knew we’d found a hidden treasure! The combination of unique crafts showcased within a tech-savvy site had us begging her to share tips with our readers.

Here are some of her favorites!

Crochet Tip ~ When purchasing yarn, make sure you have a reasonable, and by reasonable I mean one or two more skeins then you think you’ll need) to complete your project. Remember you can always eture unused yarn….but you can not always find more of the same dye lot! MAKE SURE you check the yarn “DYE LOT #”. This number is found on the skein wrapper. Some like certain RED HEART brands have “NO DYE LOT” meaning that all skeins are exactly the same shade. Others have dye lot 3…meaning all the skein with the same dye lot with match exactly. You may look and say “they look close enough” but TAKE it from me…..what looks right to you in a store will look totally different with crochet into a project…this is so important….solid colors could be just enough off that it looks like two pieces and in variegated yarn the way the colors change may be different…this may not seem like a big deal but take it from someone who has had to scrap more than one project because I did not buy enough of the same or did not check. this Blanket called Tequila Sunrise is a good example I had to buy many many skeins of the same dye lots to ensure that the colors where RIGHT ON.

Beading Tip~ Use good quality materials. I found when I first started beading that the saying “you get what you pay for” could not be more true. Now you can find deals..but you have to know you quality. For example a lower quality, all be it cheaper, beading wire will kink very easily. It would not probably make it through a nap with out getting kinks in it. You wan to get the best possible materials that you can find and afford…..and it will pay off with better quality, longer lasting and more durable handmade pieces. This Moonstone & Sodalite Necklace w/ Sterling ~Metaphysical Properties Healing & Stress Relief necklace here

is made with the most flexible wire I could fine, real gemstones, sterling silver and even sterling silver findings. Also because these gemstones have a little bit of weight to them I made sure I used wire strong enough…all wire should have a test pound weight and even recommended types of materials to use with them.

Last Tip ~ This I learned while building my site and it has been a total time saver…..Scan Your Jewelry instead of photographing. Granted this works way better on some pieces than other pieces but the ones it does work for are GREAT. Two tricks I learned (besides the fact that there are some great informative articles out there about it) is *Cover Scanner with dark blanket to block out light since it will the lid will not shut and * use a small ring box or I used a stack of post-it notes to prop lid to scanner open so it is not resting on jewelry and/or knock it out of place after you get it like you want it. Here is a great example of that a scanner can do Pink Leaves “Of Change” Necklace

I hope you enjoyed just these few quick tips and I look forward to hearing from you on my blog to Southern Handmade Gits

Meredith Crosby

craftyGAgal

Southern Handmade Gifts

grab your pickup or minivan and hit a thrift store or two…snag up any chair that has a simple seat and work your magic! playing the Michael Jackson Thriller soundtrack is a must for churning the cr8tive juices!