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Check out my interview at here on DZfantasy's blog. And don't forget to pay her Etsy shop a visit where you'll find fun and unique fiber sculptures of fairies, mermaids, and more!

Feelin' Like Fall

We have been having a little taste of fall with some stormy weather here. I just love fall and everything that comes with it. Fall and spring are the two seasons that I just crave following a harsh season before. I love decorating for fall too. Getting out all my warm colors and spice candles give me a sense of hominess and security.

This morning I woke up to clouds and wanted to watch the Food Network channel (funny how those two things come hand-in-hand for me!) I love watching their chefs prepare comfort food dishes while it’s cold outside (it was only 45 degrees when I woke up!) and sometimes wish that I could be the chef on the show in the beautiful kitchen and cooking whatever I want – no matter the cost – so I can show off my talents to amateur’s. Let me clarify…I AM an amateur and only WISH to be the professional chef (oops, it’s back on. Gotta take it off mute).

Here’s what I’m watching right now:

Ellie Krieger making Mushroom-and-Onion Pizza with Basil

Mmm, I LOVE basil; definitely my favorite herb. I have never watched Ellie on the food network before (my favorites are Giada de Laurentis and Tyler Florence). Ellie seems to be a health nut…hmmm, not really my style. But hey, if it’s healthy AND tastes good then I’m definitely first to give it a try. And I just love her kitchen. Second from watching what the chef is cooking is seeing how their kitchen looks and flows together. Ellie has white cabinets with dark grey countertops – could be soapstone? It’s hard to tell. But I love the contrast of light cabinets and dark countertops. She has a beautiful glass subway tile backsplash and mullion cabinet doors to show off her pottery. Can you tell I love kitchen design?

Here’s the recipe for the pizza:

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (10-ounce) baked thin pizza crust
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup sliced, reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes
• 4 ounces shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a skillet over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until tender and most of the liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and remove from the heat.

Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet. Spread the sauce over the crust leaving a 1-inch border. Top with the mushroom mixture and sun-dried tomatoes. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake until the crust is crisp and the cheese is nicely melted, about 13 minutes. Sprinkle with basil, cut into 8 slices and serve.

Looks easy enough, right? (oh no, the sun is coming out!) Now I just need it to truly be fall so I can get out my warm jackets, spice candles, and change up my décor.

Enjoy the recipe!

10% off this weekend at Shop Reminiscence

Come to my Etsy shop and receive 10% off your entire order through Sunday at midnight PST. Just mention this post and I will reimburse you through PayPal. Here you will find high quality greeting cards and scrapbook pages. And keep checking back because invitations, tags, and Halloween cards are soon to come!

My relationship with my Slice isn’t all peachy but…

There are some new design cards with new product features that can be pre-ordered! I am so tempted to get one even though I haven’t been completely happy with how it works. But the designs are just so cute! Here are some of my favorites:





Click here to pre-order these new cards (and more!) and a discounted price or here for the MM Slice homepage. The new features include mirroring, shadowing, and an increased speed option!

I am so excited to try some of these new cards. If you have any favorite Slice cards let me know which ones they are! I would love to hear about them.

Just Rite Stamp Set Giveaway

Click here to go to the Die Cuts R Us Design Team blog to win this Just Rite stamp set. All you have to do is leave a comment on their blog! Easy enough, right? This is also a great blog to follow because they have a fabulous design team who share their scrapbooking ideas, tips, notices on sales from their shoppe, and much more. They also have great challenges. Have fun browsing!

MM Slice Machine – It’s a Love/Hate Relationship

Last Christmas I received the Making Memories Slice Machine from my fiancé and was super excited that I couldn’t wait to get started making new cards with it. My first time using it went over pretty well. But now I am having the most difficult time getting consistent cuts! No matter the pressure I put on it, how thick the paper is, or how tight the blade is. I guess it’s just a matter of practice because on regular computer paper it didn’t cut all the way through, and then I tried it on cardstock and it did cut all the way through. Go figure!

Taking the time to make the initial cut with the Slice and then to have to manually finish it just isn’t cost effective when I’m trying to shell out several cards in one sitting. I hope I can figure this out soon because the memory cards for the Slice have such cute images and are perfect for cards! *sigh*

Here are a couple things I’ve created with my Slice:



Most of my stuff has been practice and not worth showing! Once I get more I will post pics. Stay tuned!

Choose Any 4 Cards From My Inventory

I just posted a new listing in my Etsy shop. You get to choose your favorite cards from my inventory to create a set of 4 for one low price!

I am trying different methods to get my inventory moving and this is just one of several ways. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter to get instant updates when I post these specials. ‘Free Shipping’ and ‘Buy 2 Get 1 Free’ are next! So check back often.

Organizing my Scrapbook Nook Step 1

My scrapbook “nook” has become so unorganized that I get a little frustrated when I start making cards and pages.

The most unorganized part? My paper! I kind of had them organized by color, but I had forgotten most everything I had that I needed to go through it again. My best paper organization system I have right now is from JoAnn’s Fabric and consists of 1 large plastic standing holder with dividers, and 4 small plastic standing holders (no, not very chic I’m afraid).

So I took out all my paper and organized it by solids; pattern paper by color, season & holiday; family & baby; and scraps. My “after” picture isn’t all that interesting so I will be posting those pictures once I have EVERYTHING organized…and who knows when that will be!

My next step is to put coordinating papers together and start stocking up my inventory so I can go buy MORE paper! And one of these days I will have a fabulous, creative paper organizing system. I can't wait!