the.amanda.sewell

What can I say about my cute little boy, who is equal parts charmer and troublemaker?  It was fun to get his pictures done and I was excited about how they turned out (especially after last weeks fun with Baby E).  I just love this big boy so much, he is growing up SO fast!  Happy Birthday J!

Tonight I decided to make jam because berries were on sale at the store today.  My sweet hubby helped out a lot and it turned out to be a fun night.  The jam turned out yummy, a little more thin than I would like, but delicious! Orange Berry Jam (Earlene Ertelt) Prep: 30 min  Process:  5 min  Yield:  6 Half-Pints 3 c. fresh raspberries 2 c. fresh blueberries 6 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. finely chopped orange segments 2 tbsp. lemon juice 4 tsp. grated orange peel 1 pouch (3 oz.) liquid fruit pectin Directions : Place raspberries and blueberries in a food processor; cover and process until blended.  Transfer to a dutch oven.  Stir in the sugar, orange segments, lemon juice and orange peel.  Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.  Stir in pectin. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, skim off foam.  Ladle hot mixture into hot, sterilized half pint jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and adjust lids.  P

Poor Little man, he is 18 months old and TOTALLY did not like the idea of some crazy girl with a tickle stick taking his picture, stealing his soul if you will.  He was SO awkward and funny!  It was such a difficult photo session!  We managed to get a couple of decent pictures out of him, one smiling, and one not so much, just to remember this stage.  Enjoy!

For today's sketch card, we're gonna take a trip down memory lane and check out a vintage automobile from You Know You're Gettin' Old Birthday  set by Skipping Stones Design and some vintage Basic Grey paper - sublime!  I thought they were made for each other. I cannot believe how fast time is swooshing by.  I have been told to "enjoy those kids because it will pass so fast, you'll blink and it will be over" and I SO understand what they were saying now.  It really is going by that fast!  I can barely keep up!  That said, it will be no time before this card is really true for me -- *giggles*  I really like how it turned out because I think you could give this to an adult male -- which is (usually) a really hard demographic to design handmade cards for.  YAY! and here is the awesome sketch by Teri Anderson: Stamps :  You Know You're Gettin' Old Birthday (Skipping Stones Design)   Paper :  Not Quite Navy (SU!), Solar White Classic Crest (Neenah)

I know, slacker!  She is already 3 months and we have missed that purely innocent baby stage where she did not know how to smile yet, but hey, cut me some slack, I have four kids and LOTS going on.   Anyway, I wanted to get pictures of all my kids individually, so this starts the series of Wednesdays where I take my kids in to get pictures done.  I figure once a week will not overwhelm them so much.  Anyway, here are M's pictures (or at least the three that I purchased, my faves - apparently the others will be online eventually for me to share).

My awesome friend Melissa gave me 3 zucchinis from her garden (*thank you*) for this recipe since for some odd reason, our local walmart had NONE!  I was excited because they were SO fresh and that is always YUMMY!   Since it was Saturday and the baby needed to be fed right when I needed to make dinner (isn't that SO how it goes?) - I asked my sweet hubby if he would make dinner and he said he would and took on the challenge of zucchini frittata!  It was SO delicious and I was SO impressed!  Like a crust less quiche -- Mmmmmm!   He's a keeper *smiles* Here is the recipe for you to try out!  ENJOY! Ingredients: 2 to 3 small zucchini 6 eggs 8-10 large basil leaves, chopped or torn 2 tablespoons fresh parsley 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan salt and pepper 3 slices bacon (we used turkey bacon) 1 small, ripe tomato, seeded and diced 4 scallions, chopped (we used green onions) 1 tablespoon butter Instructions: 1. Coarsely grate enough of the zucchini to make 2 1/2 cups and pl

Good afternoon and happy Tuesday!  Things have been   I N S A N E  lately at my house, but I did manage to get a few minutes to play with this awesome sketch by our new sketch designer this month Teri Anderson !  She has some awesome sketches that I just know you are gonna LOVE to play with - just wait and see this month (every Tuesday as usual!)  I also incorporated the color challenge colors from Splitcoast (Barely Banana, Garden Green, Close to Cocoa). With my card today, I wanted to play a bit with texture.  I used some woven fabric I had because I thought it worked with the cat tails/bull rushes, whatever ya wanna call 'em!  What do you think?  I also added the extra circle (which holds the sentiment) which was not in the original sketch!  Now it is your turn - GO PLAY with the sketch, and then post it in a gallery (like splitcoaststampers) and use the keywords SSD027 and I will come find it!!  Show us your fabby work -- we want to see it!!! and the original sketch for you