Scenic Route is closing!!!!

The owners of Scenic Route Paper Co. have
announced they are closing their company
and the official announcement was made on
their blog and through press releases. Read
about it here.



I'm so sad to see their wonderful designs go
and, if you are as sad as I am, you should know
that they have an online store on their website
with discount prices and shipping deals on all
of those luscious papers and accents! Go
check it out before it is all gone!


My favorite Scenic Route line? Sonoma!! Especially
the kraft papers - sooooooo pretty!!

xoxox
Csmoferret

Win a $250 shopping spree at Scrapping Cottage!

I love Scrapping Cottage and have recently discovered their blog
is full of cool season-ready projects, which is great since they
have some amazing die cuts for sale on their website.

I especially love the Cottage Cutz dies and the new Haunted
House die is my new favorite. Although, I think the Surf Shack from a
few months ago is my all time favorite. Go check them out
here and here.

Make sure you sign up for the drawing on their blog!

Enjoy!
xoxox
Csmoferret

Donna Downey's having a GiveAway!

Go check out her blog and take a look at the
incredible give away from Blue Moon
Scrapbooking.com!!

Check it all out here.

xoxox
Csmoferret

Scrap by Color Much?

If you do and you have a photo that you are just stumped
on a color scheme for check out the cool new tool just
released on Scrapbook.com!!

It is called Scrap By Color and it is a free program that
allows you to upload your own picture and choose your
background color and possible sketches from the palette
it creates based on the colors in your photo.

I uploaded this picture of the twins and it chose about
24 different colors that were in the photo and then
I was able to click on the sketches buttons and see
sketch ideas using different color schemes from the
palette.

This was very easy to use and I was able to play with the
colors I chose as a background paper and run through
the sketches multiple times with different colors as the
basis for my layout. Of course, this was with only one
photo and the sketches were kind of simple but they
did provide a nice 'jump-off' point for my scrapbook
work. Now, I don't really have an excuse for dropping
everything and scrapping the photo. Hmm...

Watch the information video here.

Enjoy!
xoxox
Csmoferret


Edited to add: Stacy Julian just added the same thing to her
blog! Great minds, I guess... check it out here.

#1 Benefit to growing your own Lemons?

Homemade Hollandaise Sauce for spontaneous Eggs Benedict!

Our dwarf Meyer Lemon tree has had fruit on it since we planted it earlier
in the year and the lemons have finally started to turn yellow. I can't find
the photo I took of them the other day but the photo above is from back
in June (I think). Needless to say, all of the tiny lemons that were on the
tree were blown off during our 2 weeks of 60+ mile/hour wind gusts and
all that were left were the bigger fruit.

Fortunately, those have started to ripen and when we couldn't decide what
to have for dinner tonight I was able to send Daddy out to pick a lemon to
make Hollandaise for 'quick' eggs benedict.

We used this recipe for the Hollandaise...

• 1/2 cup Butter
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• dash cayenne pepper
• 2 Tablespoons hot water
• finely chopped parsley, if desired (we skipped this)

Heat butter in a heavy saucepan until hot and foamy but not browned.
In a small bowl, whisk or beat egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne
pepper. Gradually beat in butter, then water. (I goofed and added the
water first but it wasn't a problem.) Return the mixture to saucepan
and beat over very low heat until mixture is slightly thickened. Serve
immediately or let stand over warm water for up to 30 minutes. If
desired, sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving. (Like I said, we
skipped the whole parsley thing.)
Makes about 2/3 cup of (easy, luscious) Hollandaise sauce.
(Recipe by Diana Rattray, About.com w/my comments)

Okay, while Daddy was stirring the sauce, I browned the canadian
bacon, toasted the english muffins and poached the eggs. Once the
sauce was done, there was no waiting! None of that 'keep warm over
hot water' stuff for this hungry pair! (Nope- the twins would have none
of it! Big Surprise! Ha.)

Everything smelled so good and really came together fast -muffins on the
plates, bacon on top, poached eggs on top of bacon, and pour spoonfuls
of Hollandaise over each poached egg. So rich, so delicious, so pretty I had
to take a picture! LOL!

It's a good thing I took the photo before heading to the table because
this is one impromptu fancy dinner that didn't last long! There was
enough Hollandaise in the recipe to generously cover 4 poached eggs.
That was just perfect because we only had 2 english muffins and 4
pieces of canadian bacon to start with!

This was just super yummy and I just had to share...
enjoy!
xoxox
Csmoferret

Cricut releases 100th Cartridge!

check out the 100th Cricut Cartridge here. The Cricut.com message
board is also giving away a Winter Woodland cartridge each week.
Check it out here.

What a great way to get a start on Holiday decorating!
Good Luck!
xoxox
Csmoferret

2 Cricut Gypsies being given away...

check out the brand new blog CuttingAbove.blogspot.com to see the
requirements for putting your name in for one of two brand new Cricut
Gypsies!

They are promoting the HSN 9/24 debut of the Gypsy and celebrating
their blog debut all with the giveaway. Click on this link for details...
http://cuttingabove.blogspot.com/2009/09/cutting-above-gypsy-giveaway.html

Seriously, go check it out!!
xoxo
Csmoferret

Preserving a Spider's Web...

I have received instructions for preserving a Spider's Web
a couple of times this week (most recently from the
Nordic Needle Newsletter) and they all reference the same website...

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Kids Krafts website.
(Click on the link to go and see it for yourself. I live in Texas but I'm
pretty impressed with the West Virginia DNR website.)

Since it will be Halloween before too long (where is this year going?)
I thought I would pass it on...

These are their instructions they give for preserving a real spider's web
(with a few modifications by me):


Things you need to get started:

• sheet of black card stock or construction paper
• can of hair spray or spray adhesive
• can of white, silver or gold spray paint or talcum powder
• can of spray varnish or fixatif
• cardboard box large enough for the paper to fit in

First find a few spider webs in a meadow or bushes or in between tree branches. This should be relatively easy since spiders usually build a new one every day. The following procedure can be a bit tricky and will need a bit of practice so it’s good to find several webs. First, make sure the web is not being used by its builder. You can gently tap the web and check to see if the occupant is home or look around the edges for the spider.

Gently spray the web with gold, silver or white spray paint. Hold the box behind the web to protect and collect any spray not hitting the web. Make sure the spray does not damage the web but only covers it with paint.

Another method not using paint, is to gently sprinkle the web with talcum powder by pouring some powder on your palm and blowing it onto the web.

Place the black paper in the box and spray it with hair spray or spray adhesive. You’ll have to act quickly since the spray dries quickly. The most difficult part is next and will usually require a bit of practice so don't be disappointed if your first tries wind up a bit twisted and distorted. Practice makes perfect.

Place the sprayed tacky piece of paper behind the web and gently bring it into contact with the web evenly. Try to
get all of the web touching the paper at the same time so the web isn't pulled out of shape or folded on to itself.

Carefully cut the strands of the web supporting it from its surrounding vegetation.

Finally, to preserve the web, spray the paper with the attached web with a protective coat of varnish. Make sure all spraying is done in the cardboard box to protect the adjacent area.

Now display your lovely web where ever you choose.

Make sure you check out their website for the other cool ideas they have posted!!

Enjoy!

xoxox

Csmoferret

Looking for Inspiration for over a year!!

I just can't believe I've been a member of the Blogosphere for over a year!
While I was looking for the photos for yesterday's post I discovered I had
started my blog on August 31, 2008. That means I missed my own
Blog-aversary!!

So, I will be putting together some Blog Candy to celebrate
my Belated 1 year Anniversary and 2000 visitors. Since I have only
had about 1700 visitors in a year, it may take a while but
I've got some cool stuff to give away.

Send your comments and be counted! : )
xoxox
Csmoferret

Never Forget...

It is so hard to believe my children are going to celebrate
their 9th birthday in 11 days. That means that it has been
8 years since our Country was attacked.

Where has the time gone? Where has all of the Good Will amongst
Americans gone? What have we allowed to happen to our
Country? So many questions that need answers and
yet, the most important thing is - We must NEVER FORGET
what happened that day and the fact that it could happen
again if we let our guard down. I don't mean to sound paranoid
(because I am not) but I do mean to sound prepared (because
I am) and wary. I have not looked at daily life the same since
seeing those planes hit the World Trade Center Towers that
day. I am more grateful for what I have and for what our
Country means and stands for and I think that is important
to pass on to my children.





The thing is, this change will forever be linked in my mind
to the twins' first birthday. I couldn't believe we had brought
children into a relatively safe and sane world only to have
everything change before they were even a year old. So much
changed that day- our innocence, if you will, was stolen. It
wasn't all about us anymore. The universe didn't revolve
around our house or our jobs or our feelings anymore.
That hasn't changed back in our house, but I know there
are those out there who have 'put it all behind them' and
'moved on' and no longer see what all the fuss is about.

Hopefully, that isn't the prevalent feeling. I believe it
brought my family closer to our God, it brought our
relatives closer together, it brought our
neighbors closer together, it brought our communities
closer together and, it brought our Nation, as a whole,
closer together.

Well, I know this has been long but today is our
Day of Remembrance. I hope it is as meaningful to
you as it is to me.

May God Bless America and Protect the men
and women who put their lives on the
line for us everyday!



xoxox
Csmoferret

Labor Day Fun

This Labor Day the Twins learned how to wake board and water ski
on the Aransas River thanks to a family friend allowing Daddy and
Grandpa to borrow his boat.

Here are some cool pictures of the day...
Buddy on the Wake Board

Punkin on the Wake Board

Daddy Water Skiing

Daddy looking back from the bow of the boat to get a picture of everyone
...and watching...

Punkin Water Ski!! This was her first time ever and she got up and skiied
over and over! The kids had such a great time that everyone is hoping
to go again next weekend. Since it has been raining all week here, that
probably won't happen but I know they won't soon forget their first
Labor Day Water Ski trip!

xoxox
Csmoferret

If I won the Lottery...

the first thing I would purchase would be a large version of this.
There is absolutely no way we could afford even the small size
but if I'm going to dream I'm going to dream big!

I think Amy Butler has outdone herself with her new line of
designer hand-tufted wool rugs and I enjoyed looking through
the gallery of styles but, unfortunately, I'll never get to see one
on my living room floor unless we win the lottery. At least I can
enjoy 'window shopping'!

xoxox
Csmoferret