Gardens, Kids & Llamas

Last evening I went over next door to see our son's garden, because of one vegetable in particular I'd never seen grown before. From there it led to the kids playing in the pasture while the llamas were out grazing... which of course led to some sweet pics!

But first this veggie...can you guess by the flower what this fruit, yes it's actually a fruit, will be?

Do you see the spikes on this baby?!! OUCH! 

Did you guess eggplant? Yup, you're right! I was amazed that such a small bushy plant could hold these huge fruit! They're ginormous!

This one is probably the size of cantaloupe! I'm going to cut slits in it, stuff garlic cloves in the slits and roast it along with some tomatoes and more garlic. Then when it's cool enough to scrape out, I'll sauté some onions and more garlic in some olive oil and pour over the eggplant-tomato mixture...mmmmmmm, yummy!

Oh, and Gabriel's watermelons.

Our garden is going great guns with buckets of yellow wax bean, pink-eyed purple hulls (similar to black-eyed peas), cherry tomatoes, of course still zucchini by the boatload and the tomatoes are starting to turn..........mmmm salsa is just around the corner!

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And then the kids played in the pasture amongst the Queen Anne's Lace and the llamas.

Ahhhh, country life!

Thanks for stopping!!

Dawn

I Just Love Sunflowers!

I love a whole row of them along the garden fence, but this year only 2 volunteers came up...from what my granddaughter planted the year before! I should let her plant them from now on!!

This is a sneak peek at 2 new sets from Our Daily Bread designs that will be released on Sunday, Happy Fall and Harvest Blessings, and done for the sketch challenge on Splitcoast.

I stamped and masked the sunflowers then stamped them twice more to give me a full row! When I used my Top Note there was actually too much space at the top to fit the sketch, so I came up with this plan. Cut it in half, trim the sunflowers and add a garden fence! (*snicker* hardly ever a mistake in stamping!) I cut another Top Note, cut it in half, edged it with a Copic to match the paper (faux'd cardstock!), then cut it almost in half again so I could scootch it out a bit to make a layer... the top panel covers the cut!

Here's one of Jorden's sunflowers from last year...see the bee? Hope your day is wonderful

and...

thanks for stopping!

Dawn

Stumping the Sassy Boss!

The Sassy gals have been working behind the scenes to stump the boss. Sassy Cheryl claims that she can tell which design team member made a particular card by just looking at it. So, we are putting Sassy Cheryl to the test.

Want to play along? It's easy... just enter our challenge for this week. Use a Sassy Cheryl image and the challenge criteria "Thinking of You". Link up your post at our challenge page using Mr. Linky. Then take a look at Sassy Cheryl's guess... is she right? Or is she wrong? Just tell us what you think by leaving a comment on the challenge page..then you'll get an extra entry in our random draw this week if you've guessed right. To recap: participate in the challenge and get one entry... participate and guess correctly, get another entry.

The winner will receive a $10 Gift Certificate to Sassy Cheryl's shop! How cool is that? Fun huh!!

Now, here's the card I'm sharing with you today
...BUT not one that I made!
Hmmm, I wonder who did?!

And here are snippets of all the other cards

For more sassy fun

be sure to check the other Sassy Girls.

Thanks for stopping!

Dawn

A T-Slide Peek!

I was going to put one BIG blog post with our State Fair slide show and these cards...but it was just too much to mess with! So, just click on the link or scroll down to see why I'm so proud of my kids!

I have 2 cards to share today...both T-slide cards for the TLC on Splitcoast..and both from Our Daily Bread designs. One, a set from this month and one being released Sunday!

  Bless This Home colored with Copics and sponged with Distress inks. The DP is Basic Grey Green at Heart.

This is Don't Worry. The flowers are Chicory and supposed to be bluish, but when I was deciding on paper and saw these butterflies it changed my whole color scheme! I used the circle from Cuttlebug's Chic Circle Frame (behind the flowers/butterfly) for the pull tab.

The paper is DCWV Garden Party.

Thanks for stopping!!

Dawn

2010 Ohio State Fair Llama Show

Los Llameros de St Paris
showed how much they've learned
when they placed more than 30 times
at the Ohio State Fair Llama Show!
They all did a great job!! Sit back and enjoy!

Customize your own slideshow design

And I got 2nd place on my yarn! It's dyed with kool-aid, the llama that donated it is Shadow=)

Thanks for stopping!

Dawn

Another Dare...

This time I was asked by Anna, SweetMissDaisy, to make a sample for her "Keepin' it Rural" Dare To Get Dirty, challenge on Splitcoast. You can find all the details about DTGD and the Fan Club here.

I used Country Living (that's about as rural as you can get! lol) by Innovative Stamp Creations. I even did an envie to match!

Lots of masking, but it paid off! I stamped the pitcher first, masked, then flowers, masked, then wagon wheel, masked then grassy flowers! For the "barn" background, I used my Scor-buddy then drug Distress inks Antique Linen, Old Paper, Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap and Barn Door over the scored area. I love to do weathered wood like this.

I also distressed the edges heavily and sponged Walnut Stain.

Of course it's all colored with Copics, a little Sakura metallic silver gel pen on the wheel and I used fine tip Sharpies for the grassy flowers and a white Sakura gel pen.

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Well, it's busy busy here as we have the Ohio State Fair Llama Show! Pics to come! *wink*

Thanks for stopping!!

Dawn

And How's YOUR Summer? Sassy Challenge #21

Our Sassy challenge today is to "Cut it Out"!

I used this fun image...I'm sure some moms feel this way right about now! Will September come fast enough??!! LOL!

This is Moms Summer Fun, from Sassy Cheryl's. It's colored with Copics and sponged with Distress inks. I also incorporated the TLC for this week, a Tilt Card! AND Betty asked me to do a sample for the  Color Challenge too!

And when she's TILTING!

For more sassy fun
be sure to check the other Sassy Girls.

Ann English Cathy Edgar
Heather Huggins
Chrissy Le
Jackie Mooney Jodi Ann Lee
Kim Rhead Peggy Marsh
Tracy Jackson Alina Meijer
Judy Kreucher

Thanks for stopping!

Dawn

Poppers, Judges Cards and MORE Zucchini!

You saw my TY's for those that contributed towards awards for our State Fair Llama Show, but I still wanted to make the two judges a special card. Last week on Splitcoast was a really cool tutorial called T-Slide Card, I knew right away that this was perfect for my judge's cards! I even colored one of the llamas like Eagle, a black & white tuxedo beautiful boy that one of the judges owns!

Once again I used Lina from Mo's Digital Pencil.

Once you do one of these and get the hang of it, it's super easy! I made mine 4.5 x 4.5. The sentiment is from Verses rubber stamps.

That's DCWV's Green Stack, Cuttelbug Embossing Folder Kassie's Brocade, Spellbinders Labels 9,12 and Martha Stewart border punch Gothic Arches.

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Did you see the picture of the jalapenos the other day?

Well, over the weekend I made POPPERS! Mmmmm! I used this recipe.

Mmmmmmm, soooo good!

Then I made Crabbiless Crab Cakes!
A good way to use up Zucchini!
I didn't take any pics...but here's the recipe!

2 C shredded zucchini
1 C seasoned bread crumbs
3/4 C grated cheddar cheese
1/2 C finely diced red onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 T mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
olive oil for frying

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Heat oil in large skillet and carefully drop large spoonfuls of the mixture, gently flattening into a "patty". Fry 7-10 minute on each side until golden and cooked through. (they'll feel firm)

Well, lots to do this week...it's crunch time for State Fair!

Thanks for stopping!

Dawn