Saturday Sewing inspiration

I love Craftster, I especially love the reconstructed clothes section of their community. I love second hand or thrifted clothes, and especially seeing people take oversize or old items and make something absolutely glorious out of them! Today I thought I'd do a little inspiration post because honestly after checking out a few of the latest projects on there I feel totally inspired to set aside my current working project and switch to one of these fun refashions!

1 - Bikini from mens plaid shirt by Appleshannon. How awesome is this? I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I can totally see myself in this for the upcoming swim season!

2 - Bikini from T-shirt by Appleshannon. Ok it's another bikini but I think I am in the Summer swing, ironic considering we are in the midst of a thunderstorm here right now, I could use a little Sunshine today! What I love about this one is the skull print Tee she used! So AWESOME!

3 -Tnbc, muse & the used t-shirt reconstructions by Maraleopard. What's not to love? I don't think I could pull this off anymore at my age, but I LOVE it so! Not totally 100% about the ruffley ra-ra skirt part but I think it goes with the overall look of the dress. I imagine it paired with a honking huge pair of totally rad boots!

 4 - its kinda too cold for tshirts, yah? by jilltheimpossible. I love tees and hoodies, there I said it! And I love all the hoodies I see on Craftster refashioned from graphic tees and leftover  jersey, or overside hoodies refashioned. Of the recent ones lately I love this...

5 - XL mens shirt to punup halter dress by justaduck. Yep this is from a regular mens button up shirt! I wouldn't really call it a dress at my age, maybe some leggings or just shorten it a little for a cute Summer top. Great idea though right? Also on Craftster the posters sometimes do tutorials for the items they reconstruct and this one has a little tutorial up for it.

Bonus - Skeletal undies by Stellacheri. I was gonna leave this post at 5 but had to include these. OMG I so love these! I'm not sure if its the skeleton graphic I like or the colors? The green would look horrid on me but I don't care :) Great project! I also seem to have shifted from my usual thongs to boy shorts, I blame the sale at Victoria's Secret back in December. I bought about 12 pairs but it never seems to be enough :)

Aside from these I love looking at Craftster to see what people have made from their old tee shirts (a popular project) and also to gain inspiration for other projects. I've said before that I'm not the best at sewing, I try though, but some of the Craftster crowd are sewing these BY HAND people!!!

What fashion sites inspire you? Care to share some of your sewing inspiration? I am looking for projects for Summer including shorts, tops and swimwear :) I'm definitely more of a comfort over fashion kinda gal but I made exceptions for special occasions! I'd also love to make some one of kind sports clothing for my classes! Let's share!

Di

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Fitness Friday - recap

Here is a quick recap of my past two weeks for diet and exercise.

Saturday 13th Feb

Kickboxing course - I went on a one day course today for kickboxing. Pretty much spent 8 hours alternating between sitting and writing  and being up and active. I pretty much crashed at the end of the evening totally burned out mentally and physically. Not used to these long days and really made me realize that come August when I go to IDEA I need to be fitter!!!

Tues 16th Feb

Kickboxing - After no workout Monday due to the holiday here in America I was raring to go, and so I finally got to Kims kickboxing class. Different teacher to the Wednesday one and different format. More drill and circuit based with some plyometrics. I was worried I'd be in knee pain after but I was ok. Burned 340 cals.

Weds 17th Feb

Kickboxing with Nikki, who it was her last kickboxing class today and took maternity leave. That means I'll be taking over for her for the next couple of months :) looking forward to that for sure! I tried on some boxing gloves today and decided to order a pair of Everlast Pro gloves in 12oz. I like these cos they were black and not the usual pink ones you see women wearing. I've mentioned it before but I really don't like pink that much, and only own 3 items of pink clothing that I wear rarely!

Thurs 18th Feb

Yoga -  Didn't go to the gym, instead I worked out at home and did my Crunch - fat burning yoga dvd. I'd love to do the P90X yoga dvd but it's 50 mins vs 90 and I just didn't have the time for Tony's yoga today. I like the Crunch DVD with Sara Ivanho as there are lots of modifications for beginners, it isn't really fat burning though so the title is very misleading but it's a nice yoga flow to do at home. I did this today as a midweek break without actually taking a break completely from yoga. I did discover though that my flexibility is waning so I need to get back in the habit of do the yoga workouts!

Fri 19th Feb

Bosu Combo class at the gym. Subbing for Alyse today was Mary who I like very much so we had a great class. I'm pretty new to Bosu but it's basically step with a half ball instead of a stable platform. If you haven't seen a Bosu here is a photo of the Bosu balance trainer

.

They are great for stability and impact cushioning, and provide a great workout. I do find sometimes that I don't work as hard  on my cardiovascular  system because I am more concentrating on form due to the unstable surface but I feel it more in my legs/abs muscle than regular step for sure due to the isometric contractions to keep you stable. So I guess it's a trade off. Doing stationary exercises standing on the Bosu are tough because your leg muscles are constantly contracting to keep you upright. Love it!

Saturday 20th Feb

Strength class - I taught it, and at short notice so I didn't wear my HRM. We used the step in conjunction with handweights for a total body conditioning workout. Lots of squats, lunges, and upper body work finishing off with abs! Great class and I worked up a sweat for sure. Got lots of feedback after the class too which is always good.

Mon 22th Feb

Bosu Body Blast - back at the gym again today :) Nikki is still teaching this class, and still very pregnant. I think she's 35 weeks now, maybe 36? She is an inspiration to anyone wanting to stay in shape throughout their pregnancy. Again today we were working on the Bosu with hand weights and barbell. I'm pretty 'balance challenged' so the ab work we did on the Bosu was tough for me. I do know that I need to up the weight on the barbell next time though. I am so wanting a Bosu for home use!!!

Tues 23th Feb

Kickboxing tonight with Kim, who ended up team teaching it with Rochelle. Good class and I wore my boxing gloves (above) which really help when whaling on the bags. Definitely work hard in this class especially when Kim teaches!

Weds 24th Feb

I taught kickboxing this morning. Trying to incorporate cardio and strenth with some plyometric options. Everyone seemed to enjoy it though. I am really enjoying the kickboxing though so that really helps with teaching. I really hope to get a permanent kickboxing in the future not just covering for sickness/maternity leave. Fingers crossed for me! At least I get to practice with this class and get some experience again :)

Thurs 25th Feb

Today I did Tony Horton's 1 on 1 "Fountain of Youth" yoga. One thing I hear time and time again about the yoga DVD on P90X is that it's too long, and for a 90 min yoga workout I have to agree. I wish he'd separated it into two 45 min workouts instead and I guess that's where the X-stretch dvd comes in. However today I got a chance to try his 1-on-1 yoga workout. It's 45 minutes long which is optimum for me for a yoga/stretch workout. However if you don't like Tony and his humor or constant yapping then this series is not for you! I think if I do it again I'd do it with the sound off :)

Just when I thought I was going to get away with a nice relaxing day I got a phone call in the late afternoon asking me to sub a strength class. I only had an hours notice so I gathered my stuff, and headed out the door. It was a small class but so much fun! I love the small group training as much as the larger groups and give it my all anyways :) After class I headed for a quick session in the steam room, and then a shower.

Fri 26th Feb

Decided to take the day off today. I've kept busy so far with some much needed cleaning so I guess I'm not exercising but I am keeping active. I still have more cleaning to do but so far I am feeling like maybe exercising for an hour would be easier ;)

Diet

This was ok, we ate out a few times which is never good for your diet but we managed to keep it good. Not as clean eating as I'd like but managing to keep it pretty clean Mon- Fri which is my goal anyway. Alcohol consumption has been reduced somewhat with Bob not drinking due to his diet (he's doing really well btw).

Plans for weeks ahead:

I have some new DVDs to look at  so will be reviewing those in a few weeks. Hopefully going to be teaching more in the next few weeks too.

How has your diet and exercise plan been? Make some goals for the week ahead and stick to them! Remember you don't get results without effort!

Di

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Card Sketch Feb #4

Revisiting one more sketch of old for the last week in February. This one is pretty versatile I find whether the card is for kids, birthdays or for guys. As always check out my digital store for template freebies.

I decided to go digital for this one as my craft table is full of product and items I am using for an article for Scrapbooking.com and I didn't want to make anymore mess mid project. So easy to just print off with your computer and you're done! Bonus of digital/hyrid is that you can change out the sentiment to anything you choose.

Supplies: Digital Papers by Glitz; Template by Di Hickman

New sketch coming next week!

Di

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Crafty Post

Today I am sharing some projects I made recently with Autumn Leaves products. I switched to papers from the MOD line which is a little more modern, updated and funky, just like me! lol! First up is a journal I made to write down all my daily to-do lists. I make a list each day, and though I'd like to say I do it digitally I prefer the handwritten version. I just use a composition book, and as my life is busy right now this space is definitely needed!!!

Supplies: Composition book; Papers: Autumn Leaves; Tape: 7 gypsies; Stickers: American Crafts;

As I had cardmaking supplies on my scraptable I decided to just go with the flow and carry on making a ton of cards. I picked out a few more coordinating embellishments and got busy with some rub-on greetings...

 

Supplies: Cardstock: WorldWin & DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: Prima; Brad: Bazzill; Rub-on: one heart... one mind;

  

Supplies: Cardstock: WorldWin & DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: Prima; Brad: Bazzill; Rub-on: one heart... one mind;

  

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: Prima; Rhinestone: Sulyn; Rub-on: one heart... one mind;

 

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: Prima; Rhinestone: Sulyn; Rub-on: one heart... one mind;

I have more cards to share soon with these papers!

More coming soon!

Di

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Monday Musings

Happy Monday folks! Well what a weekend! Saturday I woke to a text from the gym that I work at asking me to sub a conditioning class at 8.30am. Sheesh I was barely awake but I went in, and made it there with just 1 minute to spare! Not how I like to teach a class but hey it was short notice and I DID make it on time :) Great class, and I'm eager to get more experience again so I am glad I rushed my morning routine and went in.

The rest of Saturday was pretty uneventful with the usual stuff, and some TV watching. We've recently discovered the TV series Dexter. We don't have a cable service, haven't for over 2 years now so I guess we've been living under a rock, but no-one told us about this great series! We've been watching the DVD's and just finished series 3. Loving it! I love serial killer stuff so this is right up my alley! If you haven't watched it yet you should!!!

If anyone has any other good TV or movie recommendations let me know! As I said I loved Dexter, so I like that kind of show. But I like Sci-Fi and anything to do with the occult, vampires, zombies etc. We watched Zombie land movie recently and we both really enjoyed that! Comedy is always top on our list!

Saturday night we went out with friends Greg & Julie to Veggie Grill in West Hollywood (Sunset Blvd). They also have locations in El Segundo and Irvine, and I understand they are trying to branch out further! Hope so cos their food was DELICIOUS! We had the All-American Stack and the V-Cheese Burger. Each came with the side of slaw which we subbed out for veggie chili and sweetheart fries (sweet potato fries) and made our own chili fries. Great wholesome food, and we got our first taste of a new vegan 'cheese' called "Daiya" which rocks!!! We're not vegan, just vegetarian but any little switches we can make towards a more vegan lifestyle helps and this stuff rocked on burgers!!!

After the main meal we shared a piece of carrot cake which was surprisingly awesome too! Now I say surprisingly because here in America they tend to over-cinnamon everything which means just about every desert is sprinkled with the stuff drowning out the other flavors, so annoying. But the Veggie Grill carrot cake was soft, moist and very low on the cinnamon allow the others flavors to mingle into a mouth party! Worth the extra calories! I did manage to snap a photo (above) but forgot to snap a pic of the food which is a shame cos it was awesome! 

Forgetting to take pics seemed the theme of the weekend 'cos Sunday we headed out to do something we keep saying week after week we'll do - SUNDAY BRUNCH. In the nearly 10 years we've been here we've done brunch a handful of times, with friends and usually at someones house, but never just the two of us locally. So Sunday we headed out with coupon in hand to Souplantation for brunch. Wow totally different experience without baked potatoes! They do so many different brunchy options we just sampled a little of everything (that was veggie). The breakfast potatoes are good, though Bob wasn't overly keen as he's not big on peppers. Scrambled egg was weird, not sure if it's just a Souplantation thing, but it was almost a slab of 'scrambled' egg. I guess I'm used to light and fluffy scrambled egg or something? Cos that stuff did NOT taste like scrambled egg. I did enjoy the Courgette/Zuchinni frittata, which was basically quiche without the pastry, nice though - far better than the 'scrambled egg'. Bob had some of the potatoes and scrambled egg in a burrito which he seemed to enjoy and then I went up for another look around and spied someone with waffles. Not a huge waffle fan but I crave them occassionally and this was one such ocassion, cos once I saw them I was on a mission. Eventually found them and had those with some maple syrup. Weird seeing the concoctions people make in that place though! lol! There was some cereal, oatmeal, soups and the standard salad bar plus all the usual muffins etc. We did comment that it was odd there was no toast or bagels but we enjoyed it thoroughly. Bob kept saying that it was weird to be out eating at that time, and it felt like we were on vacation, lol!

Later we headed off to Whole Foods in search of Daiya cheese from last nights meal. Which basically means a good browse around, filling our basket with veggie foods and then spending a ton of money. We did ok though only hitting the $100 mark, usually we are way over that stocking up for the months ahead! We did track down the cheese though and were eager to try it out so we made french bread pizza for dinner with the new cheese and some new italian style sausage we'd bought. Have to say the cheese is VERY convincing and tasty, the sausage not so much. I'll stick with Tofurkey italian sausage thanks, but I am eager to try the apple/sage sausage and chipotle sausage :) I think though I came to a decision at dinner - I am just not a pizza person. I ate it, but really didn't enjoy it that much. I'd much prefered a plate of pasta loaded with veggies and the sausage then a sprinkle of cheese. I've been having issues with bread lately and this was no exception as I was fairly bloated and uncomfortable again all evening. Crazy thing is I rarely eat it, but I need to start taking a step back when we eat out and think of better options for food and what I'll enjoy more now AND later! lol. 

After dinner we watched the Supercross races then the final episodes of Dexter season 3. All in all a great weekend!

hope you all had a fun weekend!

Di

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Fitness Friday - tips n tricks #3

Here is another installment of tips and tricks to losing weight and keeping it off, the healthy and long term way Remember the previous weeks tips:

• #1 water
• #2 know your numbers

and this weeks tip is

Tip #3 Accountability

Some of us do great working out alone, I personally am one of those people. I do great battling against myself to beat my personal best, other people however need a challenge and that's where an accountability buddy comes in. How many times have you started out on a fitness plan only to stop week 3? Or just cut down drastically? and then you don't get the results so you stop altogether and put even more weight on? Sound familiar. Well then perhaps get an accountability buddy!

When I was younger my friend Jen and I worked out together. I was her accountability buddy. We went to aerobics class every Monday evening, then the gym on Friday morning (with steam/sauna after to reward ourselves) and we usually worked out one other time in the week by ourselves. I see this all the time in my classes and in the local gyms. Soccer Moms pair up and hit the gym, sisters pair up and go to kickboxing class. It's easy to blow off a gym session or outdoor run if it's just you, but if your buddy is at the gym waiting for you then you are accountable. This doesn't have to be an in person thing though you can do the same thing online. It's easier to blow off the session and lie about it without being found out, but the numbers at the end of the week won't lie! So don't do it!

Another aspect to the buddy system is that some people work better with competition. Bob is one of those people. His buddy is working out and wants to lose weight so Bob is even more motivated now so that his buddy doesn't overtake him! A little competition can be a healthy thing!

One thing I notice more and more is people (including me) updating twitter or facebook with your exercise goals/successes. Livestrong,com even allows you to update facebook and twitter automatically if you have everything linked in your settings. Just enter your exercise, and duration and click, done! Not only does this hold you accountable for your exercise but it inspires others to do the same and up off the couch!

So there, we have it, tip #3 accountability

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Card Sketch Feb #3

Another revisit to an older sketch this week! This one is probably one of my favorites for layers. Really works well for using up scraps after finishing a scrapbook layout. The addition of the embellishments really adds the POP though! Remember to check my digital store for limited time freebies!

As I already said I love this sketch for simple layering. The panel is great for a sentiment stamp or a decorative stamp, which is why I left it blank. So many options with this design it's hard to know which direction to go in. I really love the addition of the photo corner and flower though. I kept this card close to the sketch and I love it.

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Papers: Autumn Leaves; Rub-ons: one heart... one mind; Flower: Heidi Swapp; Photo Corner:  3L scrapbook adhesives; Sanding block: PM designs;

More sketches soon

Di

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Sewing - quick project bean bags

I finally got around to making a sewing project! More out of necessity than choice but hey whatever works right? Basically we took the dogs to the vet and discovered what we already knew, the dogs are overweight. Too much good food and treats since Thanksgiving took there toll, and they need to lose around 10lbs. I already had them on a diet, and increased their walks and was looking for more ways for them to get active and remembered we have doggy backpacks! All I needed for them to work harder was some weights and that's where BEANBAGS come into play.

We wanted something soft and pliable cos Sky doesn't quite get that she's wider with the backpack on and every wall on the walk gets a scraping as she passes by! Not suitable for tins of veggies for sure! So I used some material from my stash, some dried beans from the Dollartree and got to work on my sewing machine & Serger. 

I made 2x1lb bags, and 8 1/2lb bags, right now they are up to carrying 1lb in each side (so 2lbs each) and I hope to increase that every week until they get to around 5-6lbs and then reevaluate.Dogs can carry up to 25% of their body weight (some more when in peak condition) so maximum they should carry is around 12 lbs (ideal weight is around 45-50lbs).

As you can see below, the dogs don't really care either way about walkies with or without their backpacks, as long as they get to go! Sky for some reason associates the backpack with going camping in the RV, not sure why as we never took the backpacks before? Maybe she's just sense that's what they are for? I dunno *shrug*

For anyone wanting a quick tutorial on beanbags I put together a tutorial below, they are super easy to make. The 9"x7" fits 1/2lb nicely with room for seam allowances and the turn down hem once filled.

Hoping to get to more sewing projects soon!!!

Di

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Manufacturer Monday - Autumn Leaves

Last week of the Autumn Leaves challenge using this line of paper :) I used every last scrap and as always when I get to the bottom of the barrel so to speak I turn to this card design every time. It is just classic for using those scraps of papers, strips and because the papers all coordinate in the same line the the card design doesn't suffer. If I have more of one paper I just add inking to the edges to differentiate between the strips of paper.

Tip

Sometimes with rub-ons we end up with multiple words that have a common theme but aren't really striking enough to use on their own as a card sentiment. What I do is apply multiple rub-on words to a strip of cardstock and make the strip the sentiment. In essence it's like creating your own text paper.

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper & Die Cut: Autumn Leaves: Rub-ons: one heart... one mind; Ink: Close to my Heart;

In this line were some die cuts, and I really didn't know what to do with the butterflies. I added one to this card, and although I think it looked better before I think the addition of the butterfly die cut makes it much better! I bent the wings back along the edge of the body and adhered the body center to the cards with adhesive, making the die cut 3D. Hard to tell on the photo, looks much better IRL.

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper & Die Cut: Autumn Leaves: Rub-ons: one heart... one mind;

You can see one final card with this Autumn Leaves line on Wednesday, with the card sketch. Next week is more Autumn Leaves but moving onto their MOD line. More projects to come!

Di

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Cards with new Boxer products

Sharing a couple of cards I made recently using the new Boxer products. First up is a card using the new black & white stripe paper, new stamps, black grosgrain and the new cardstock flowers! Love this design for quick and easy cards.

 

 

I also made this card using the new black & white stripe paper, new daisy paper, black grosgrain and the new sentiment stamps. Loving these new card stamps!!!

More projects soon!

Di

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Fit Friday - recap

Bob has been working late recently trying to get the game up and running for going live, so I decided to switch things up and try some workouts at night instead of my usual mornings. As always mixing up P90X and group classes, with some strength, cardio and resistance training.

Mon 1st Feb

Total Body Conditioning - 1 hour class incorporating Step aerobics with conditioning and core work. I love this style of class, it's just my perfect format. The music used in this class was retro which had the whole class in the zone! Step, weights, cardio, resistance, lots of squats/lunges then some abs on the mat at the end. Great workout. I forgot my HRM so no idea on the cal burn. I'd guess a lot :)

Zumba - having previously tried Zumba and not liking it at all I decided that I'd try a different instructor and the class was right after the TBC above so it wasn't a wasted journey as I was already at the gym. However this was a 1 hour class but I only stayed for 30 minutes. Yep I have come to the conclusion that I do not like Zumba. The music is just blah, not motivating enough to want to workout at all. Sticking by my original impression that I do not like Zumba. I'm more a hip hop hustle, kickboxing, step kinda person and my music tastes for working out are more dance music style, something with a good rockin' beat to it!

Tues 2nd Feb

Kickboxing - I taught Kickboxing again this week. Definitely seeing that this is class more suited to drill style moves. I wore my HRM and burned 446 cals! Sure is a high calorie burner!!!

Weds 3rd Feb

Kickboxing again this morning. As I'll be covering this class during Nikki's maternity leave I am trying to get as much KB practice as possible and trying to get to know the members of the class too. Good class, burned 332 calories!!

Fri 5th Feb

I was going to go to Bosu this morning but in the end it didn't work out so I instead worked out from home. I did some running intervals on the treadmill. Haven't run for a while but I put my knee support on and hit the treadmill alternating  laps at 4mph walk and a 5/5.5/6 mph run. I increased the speed each lap and even at 6mph felt no pain in my knee! Hopefully this means it has finally healed!!!

Mon 8th Feb

Spinning - two weeks since the last spin class. I was prepared this time though with a cushioned seat cover and it made ALL the difference! I was still a little sore the day after in the "girly bits" area, but nothing like last time! I am really starting to enjoy spinning, got my HR up, and burned 407 cals in 55 mins :)

Tues 9th Feb

Kickboxing  - trying to get in as much KB experience as possible before I take over for Nikki's maternity leave and possibly taking over Kims evening class. I also take my KB certificate this weekend so hopefully the extra work put in over the last few weeks will help some!

Weds 10th Feb

Kickboxing - I love this class. It's my favorite time to workout and Nikki just kicks it up a notch every week. This is a class I'll be covering for Nikki's maternity leave. I mentioned that before but I found out HOW pregnant Nikki is this week. She's 33 weeks! Yes you read correctly 33!!! Imagine doing kickboxing at 33 weeks, freakin' awesome and totally inspiring!

Fri 12th Feb

Home workout - ran intervals on the treadmill for 45 minutes, then did some resistance work with weights, then added in some ab work at the end. All told a workout of approx 1hr 20 mins and burned 440 calories.

Diet

Diet hasn't been too bad. Had a few meals out but still maintaining my current weight and fat %. I did have a particularly intensive carb day yesterday and have been feeling a little sluggish for it today, thankfully coming out of the carb coma now :) Oh and I am trying to cut out bread for a while. I haven't eaten much bread for a long while really, but on the odd occasion I've had it recently I've had a lot of bloating and abdominal pain with it. I am beginning to wonder if I have either an allergy or IBS or something? Time will tell I guess. Anyway the house is full of lots of good fruits and veggies for the week ahead so I should be making good choices in the future!

Plan for upcoming weeks

I have a kickboxing course to attend tomorrow so I'll be working out I guess at some point tomorrow :) Not gonna count the HRM burn 'cos I figure I'll be up and down throughout the day. Other than that I want to add in a double session or two next week and change things up with some new class formats and times. Eventually I want to teach 2 classes somedays so my fitness level needs to improve on what it is now. As an instructor I won't have to *DO* the whole class, but I should be able to do back to back classes should I need to kwim?

How about you? Mid February is when people start to falter with their fitness and diet resolutions so hang in there! Remember to change for LIFE not just 2010!!! 

If you have any diet and fitness questions just ask away (either in comments or email), and I'll answer them in a future post!

Di

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Card Sketch Feb #2

Another old sketch this week, nice and simple but having a little twist on an old design. Remember to check my digital store for limited time freebies!

I kept the overall design of the card the same but I flipped it to a landscape card format rather than portrait. I think it works just as well in either format. Instead of a sentiment in a circle I used an acetate flower with a rub-on overlay. A small piece of patterned paper and ribbon finish off the card beautifully. I really like this design, and it's a great use for small paper strips!

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Ribbon: Adorn It; Flower: Heidi Swapp; Rub-on: one heart.... one mind;

More card sketches every Wednesday

Di

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Manufacturer Monday - Autumn Leaves

Last week for me using Autumn Leaves! I think I have exhausted all my AL supplies, unless I uncover something in the depths of the scraproom whilst tidying up, lol! More cards from me this week. All the cards from this and previous posts will hopefully be up in my Etsy store soon.

 

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: Prima; Rub-on & button: one heart... one mind;

  

Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: Heidi Swapp; Rub-on & button: one heart... one mind; 

  

 Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: HOTP; Rub-on & button: one heart... one mind;  

  

 Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Flower: HOTP; Rub-on & button: one heart... one mind;  

  

 Supplies: Cardstock: DCWV; Paper: Autumn Leaves; Rub-on & button: one heart... one mind;  

I think that wraps up my Autumn Leaves products, so I am moving onto a new manufacturer next week! Still undecided right now as to finishing up the A-Z product that is sitting on my scraptable or using something else?

More crafty things coming soon!

Di

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Recipe: Saag Tofu

Last year I had a pretty good food garden going and harvested foods like beets, carrots, tomatoes, onions, eggplant and greens. All kinds of greens from baby salad, to beet greens, spinach, kale and mustard greens. All winter greens are readily available and cheap this time of year so a good buy for your grocery budget, and great nutritionally too!

Whilst researching Mustard Greens last week I noticed that they are used in the Indian dish Saag, which can be made with Spinach, mustard or Kale (or pretty much any greens from the sound of it!). We love Indian food, all indian food (vegetarian naturally) and I like Saag Paneer, or in this case Saag tofu, so I decided to try it out :)

Saag Tofu Ingredients

• 1lb Finely chopped greens
• 1/2 lb Firm Tofu (about half a block)
  
• 2 med tomatoes - pureed
• 1 tspn Ginger
• 1 tspn Coriander Powder
• 1/2 tspn Turmeric
• 1/2 tspn Chili Powder
• 1 Tbspn oil
• 1/2 tspn cumin seeds
• pinch of asafetida
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 2 tbsp Whole wheat flower
• 1/3 cup cream *(I used soymilk, and just doubled the qty)
  

Method:

• Blend Tomato puree and ginger. Mix coriander, turmeric, chili powder and salt in with ginger/tomato puree mix and set aside. Mix flour with cream and set aside.
• Cub tofu into 1/2" chunks, fry lightly and medium heat.
• Heat oil in pan, and asafetida and cumin seeds. When cumin seeds 'pop' add tomato mix and cook till reduced by half.
  
• Add chopped greens and cook for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Empty pan contents into blender and blend well, add some cream mixture if necessary.
  
• Empty contents back into pan and return to heat, mix in cream mixture and cook for 5 minutes.
  
• Add tofu, cook through for a few minutes. Serve
  

After following the recipe and mixing the Mustard and some spinach I had to use up in the fridge I was left with a creamy dish that was more than edible (yummy!), and one I'd definitely cook again. Though I'd use less chili powder next time, maybe 1/4 tspn, perhaps using milk rather than cream made the dish spicier because there was less fat? I served the Saag with rice and some leftover Chole.

When I make it again I'll process it a bit more so it's more creamy and finely blended, but not bad for a first attempt and homegrown!

This post was entered into the "Grow Your Own" roundup, created by Andrea's Recipes and hosted this month by House of Annie. 

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