Mmmmeatballs....

...a different kind of post this time. Getting creative in the kitchen! Now I don't pretend to be any great cook - but what I do, I do well, without too many disasters - unless there's baking involved then I can get a bit forgetful or distracted. To me baking is more like science - it's a bit more exact and a lot less forgiving! Anyhoo when it comes to rustling up a quick tea for the family, meatballs are a bit of a winner. I always make plenty and keep some aside for after in case anyone wants a cheeky wee meatball sandwich later on! Just remember to put them somewhere the cats can't get to 'em them otherwise there'll be no extras for later ( ...the voice of experience...). These meatballs are made with a packet of beef mince, some crushed up crackers or breadstix - it just depends on what's in the cupboard, always lots of garlic powder, salt and ground pepper and an egg. I usually go for the garlic powder instead of fresh as I don't like coming across really chunky garlicky bits when I'm eating them. I find garlic powder flavours them a bit more uniformly. Maybe I just need a new garlic press... Sometimes I use lots of chopped fresh herbs, sometimes I use freshly ground cumin and crushed chillies - sometimes I use all these things at once, it just depends whether the kids are having them too as my girls haven't got the taste for anything too spicy yet! So once the ingredients are all in the bowl I like to get stuck into the mixture with my (clean) hands and kinda knead everything together into one giant meatball. Once this is done, I let the mix chill out in the fridge for half an hour to let the bread/cracker crumbs settle in and the flavours blend together. Once out of the fridge I shape them into little balls and brown them in a frying pan. No need for any oil they give up plenty of their own. Once they have been browned I take them out and finish cooking them in a large pot which contains a carton of passata. Keep the heat quite low and simmer for maybe 20 mins with the lid on the pot to keep the passata nice and juicy. Serve on a bed of spaghetti and get stuck in! Salad on the side and a nice glass of red is always nice addition which makes it a bit posher for the grown ups too! The girls love a bit of finely grated cheese on theirs too - that's their version of a less smelly, kid friendly, parmesan! So, there you have it! Dining Chez Strachan! It might not be the finest of dining but it's fresh and good for you!
Bon Appetit mes amis!
Jak
xxx

These babies are going in the frying pan!

Come and get it!!! (as long as you're not veggie! Soz!)

Summer dress days...

...nothing beats a bit of gingham for freshening up a sticky summer's day (yeah, I know - we only get just the one!) and blue gingham is part of Sadie's school uniform which she's only too happy to wear as soon as the sun peeps out from behind a cloud! I just love these cute little dresses but sadly, for myself, at 48 I'll have to settle for wearing my gingham shirts instead as a whole gingham ensemble is maybe a bit too much in the style stakes at my age!!! Anyhoo, the PP's used on this LO are from Papermania Happy Days and American Crafts Neapolitan. I've used a Tim Holtz die for the edge of the blue honeycomb and the chevron paper. The title has been stamped with some ancient Li'l Davis foam stamps, a Versafine Watermark inkpad and sponged over with PanPastels (oooh I love using these!). I'm sure any pastels/chalks would do much the same thing tho if you don't have any PanPastels. The blue flowers and leaves are stamps from issue one of a magazine called Get Stamping which I bought 'cos it had a really cute fox stamp as part of the gift too. I've made a few cards with the fox - it's really cute! Might even put a few up here! I'm gonna try and make the most of squeezing in a bit of crafting while I can in the next two weeks as The Girls come off school for the summer at the end of June, so I can't see myself indulging too much while they're mooching about. If we get a nice sunny summer here, it will be a miracle. Still, fingers and toes are crossed!
Thanks for stopping by and having a look!
Happy crafting everyone!
Jak
xxx

Cat journaling cards....

...Hot off the Mac and ready to put into a scrapbook soon...
We do have a lot of piccies of our pets  - they're such a big part of our lives in this family. This is a sample of some digital 3x4 journaling cards I quickly put together. Time is in short supply here more than ever and I can really see the point of those Project Life page protectors:- to quickly get some of those photos safely all together in a place where they can be admired! I'm really enjoying a bit of digital work putting these together and finding out how to make patterns in Adobe Illustrator. Every day is a school day as they say!
   Talking of school, I'm just finishing off a 12x12 LO of Sadie in her school summer dress at the moment (a traditional paper n glue one!) which I'll hopefully get uploaded tomoz. Sorry this is a short post but it's been a busy day. The sun came out so we had to make the most of it by gardening and taking the girls out so we're all a bit done in but in a lovely tingly sunkissed way.  It doesn't happen as much as we would like here in Dundee so when we do see the legendary Firey Ball In The Sky we totally make the most of it! Hopefully it might make another appearance tomorrow. Yay! Sunshine Rocks!
Hope the sun is shining on you too!
Love Jak
xxx

Journaling cards

Hello everyone!
Here's a little project I've been working on which was part of a little journaling set I made for my crafty friend Elaine's birthday. I knew she really liked the Project Life goodies so I got her some PL pocket pages and embarked on making some journaling cards to fill them with. This is a sample of some of the boy cards I made. There is also a set of girly ones and another of more general ones too. You know I've been thinking about an etsy shop to sell this kind of digital stuff. What do you think?  I'll post a pic or two of the other ones later.
    Now I have to dash off to the girls school summer fare - just hope the rain stays off as it's not looking too promising...The girls have been looking forward to it all week and sadly it looks as though the weather is going to let us down. Off to the school gym hall it is then!
Love Jak
xxx

Millie's First Day at School...

...I know this should have been done a long time ago and it's a bit back to front in as much as Sadie, my youngest's was actually made before Millie's, who started school back in 2007 but hey, there are no rules in scrapbooking that say everything has to be scrapped in order (are they?). The fact that Millie did not have her own minibook to mark the occasion of her starting school was only brought to my attention one rainy afternoon when the girls were having a look (and a giggle) through all the little minis I've made so far. Millie immediately wondered where hers was and do you know this, I was horrified to realise that that one had definitely passed me by. Although I 'd made a couple of 12x12s to mark the occasion I felt it was only fair that she had one made specially for her. So here it is! I made it kinda matching her sister's as I liked how that one had turned out. Next thing I'll probably be asked is "why did she get that on hers and I didn't" etc. etc. Honestly, if there is anything to even remotely squabble about... Bless 'em - they're getting to that age now when you can't do right for doing wrong! I remember those days from my own childhood when whoever complained the loudest got their way first just to keep the peace.Yes Kaggy, that was you actually (heehee!) Anyhoo, while the Cricut was here I managed to cut out a few bits and pieces and I've put them to good use in this mini. I really like the yellow mum and daughter embellishment I put together for the front. As I've said before - I think I really want one of these now, but I'm gonna check out the Silhouette to see what their artwork is like first.
Hope you like my mini, thankyou for stopping by!
Love Jak
xxx

A new toy on loan....

Much excitement (along with collective squeaking!!!) to be had in the Ruby Loves office last week when this arrived in the post... Yay a Cricut Mini - for an office try-out! Well we obviously couldn't wait to get the box open and give it a whirl! Only drawback is that the company I work for are mega security conscious (naturally) and our firewall wouldn't let us download the Cricut software needed to get it all up and running/cutting. Collective boohoo! Only way round it all is to have a designated Cricut Use Only PC/MAC that we can use with wifi internet access. Now as with all big companies this sort of thing does take a while to sort out so, in a spontaneous but professional random act of kindness moment, I thought it would be nice and team spirited of me to volunteer to bring the little beauty home to see how it all works! Heehee! So, here it is in all it's glory! Once the software was downloaded and installed (with really only minimal faffing involved) it was just a case of having a wee look round to see what was free to use from the Cricut Craft Room. The machine cuts like a dream and the sticky mat was great too - not too sticky but plenty of use in it I would say. So, I've cut out a few bits and pieces in the name of research and it's fair to say it is the simplest of machines to use - worth considering if you're looking to invest in a digital diecutter. The only drawback for me, apart from having to return it to the office, is that you can't cut out your own creations - they all have to be bought and downloaded from the Cricut Craft Room, unless that is you have some Cricut cartridges already 'cos you can use those with it. So yep - I'll give it 4 out of 5!

...diecutting strictly in the name of research of course...

  Unfortunately,  I feel a digital diecutter is an absolute necessity in my life now...
Happy crafting folks - will be back again soon with some creative craftiness!
Jak
xxx

2 Princesses layout ...

... and I'll be the first to admit that I was feeling inspired by the Ruby Loves door hanger when I started this one. I'd been drooling over some Pip Studios goodies and it definitely influenced the colours and busyness of this LO... You know it's so true that visuals sink in to your subconscious and seep out later, sometimes without you even realising it. Anyhoo I've used all sorts here - there's a Martha Stewart border punch happening, Papermania patterned cardstock, some embossed/glitter Mod Podged chipboard, there's even some Cath Kidston stationery that has been cut up (the big roses!), oh and a recent acquirement - Tulip Beads In A Bottle. See the little 3d gold pearly dots around the outside edges that's them! They are fun to use but they look all pointy when you first apply them -like they might not be right, however they kinda calm down a lot once they set and dry.

What have you been influenced/inspired by lately that you've found coming through in your creative projects, I'd love to hear!
Keep Crafting everyone
Love,
Jak
xxx

PS - forgot to mention that I've just tried out pastel chalks with VersaMark stamping. That's it on the green leaf border. I'd defo try some more of that - it was cool!
Have fun!
x