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We are thrilled to introduce next week's guest blogger, Marcy Penner. She is a lady of many talents, including home decorating/renovating, photography, scrapbooking/paper-crafting, and blogging! She has a great week lined up with tons of creative ideas so be sure to check back soon. Until then, swing by her blog, an inspired life.
Hi there! My name is Marcy Penner and I'm super excited to be guest hosting the SEI blog next week. We'll start it all off on Monday... but for now, here's a little bit about me.
I'm married to my high school sweetheart and we live on the family farm on 22 acres in Canada. We're still busy renovating our farmhouse. Right now we're almost done our kitchen. I can't wait for it to be done! When I'm not busy working on the house I'm scrapbooking or taking pictures of my kids (when they let me). ;) You can also find me over blogging over at www.marcypenner.com.
So, that's that. Have a great weekend everyone, and I'll see you back here next week!
Hello everyone!! It's Angela Ploegman a little sad, that it's my last post over here at SEI...but hopeful that my new friends will come visit me at my regular blogging home at Angela Ploegman Designs...
I any case, I definitely saved the best for last...here's the altered Inspirational frame I created with more SEI Couture papers!
This foiled, embossed chiffon paper was my absolute FAVORITE in the entire collection...it's so elegant and detailed and the gentle gradient of color from one side to the other was INSPIRING!...so I created an altered frame to hold inspirational quotes that I could easily change out when the need arose. The quote is printed on some of the patterned paper in the collection and embellished top and bottom with a bit of the shawl die cut lace paper. The Black Licorice Puffy Stickers are actually placed ON TOP of the glass, so they will always be there, even when I switch out the quote.
I have a new found love for crepe paper...the silver flower detail was formed from crepe paper that was punched on the outside edge with a scalloped border punch. I was then bunched and folded while adhering down to a punched circle base. Then it was embellished with some black bunched tulle, a silver flower and pearl gem. The purple embossed butterfly embellishment was double stacked on foam tape and finished with another couple of pearl gems...love the dimension this created on the butterfly.
Toodles all! It's been a blast this week, blogging for SEI!!
T
hank you, Angela! It has been an inspiring week. We love the variety of projects and recipes you shared. Thank you for choosing to spend your week with us!
GIVEAWAY TIME! Would you like to win some of the brand new paper-crafting products from the Couture collection that Angela used this week? Then leave a comment on this post by Sunday, March 13th at midnight MST. Tell us which of Angela's posts was your favorite this week. The winner will be announced Monday so check back then.
Well hello again!! Sick of me yet??? I'm certainly enjoying my time here at the SEI Lifestyle blog...and I'm back to share another recipe...this time from my Dutch side of the family...here's a family favorite, a Dutch Indonesian Fried Noodle Dish called Bahmi Goreng.
Ingredients
4 cups medium egg noodles (mie noodles)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup lean ground chicken (or pork)
1 pound of crispy cooked bacon (crumbled)
4 eggs, fried and thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
2 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
1 leek, washed and thinly sliced
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp tumeric powder
1 Tbsp ketjap manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce, if you can't locate it, there are online recipes based on soy sauce)
2 tsp sambal oelek (optional, may be substituted with your favorite hot sauce)
salt to taste (about 1 tsp)
Instructions:
1. Fry the bacon, drain the fat and crumble, put aside. Fry the eggs, slice thinly, put aside.
2. Cook the noodles according to the package directions, drain, rinse and put aside.
3. Boil the cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts for 3 minutes. Drain and put aside.
4. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet. Fry the ground chicken (or pork). Add the onion and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the bacon crumbles back to the meat and onion mixture.
6. Add the leek to the meat mixture. After 1 minute, add the boiled vegetables, stir well.
7. Add the spices, then the noodles and lastly the eggs, stir very well and serve warm.
Another recipe 'for the books'...I hope you enjoy!
Angela Ploegman
My Blog
Hello everyone!! It's Angela Ploegman here to share a project at SEI Lifestyle... so excited to be back for another day of fun!
On of my FAVORITE things to do is to re-purpose and alter containers, especially if it means NOT throwing them out! I have 2 drawers FULL of alterables that I dig through on a regular basis. This gem was a chipboard pencil keeper box originally and now is a fancy gift box...thanks to the fabulous SEI Couture pique and chintz papers the 'redo' was a success!
The outside of the box was covered with the pique paper...I added a foiled die cut and a doily and then created a tissue paper flower using the tissue and toile pack from the Couture collection. The tissue paper flower is attached to a button, which is attached to the box with foam squares-this allows space for the ribbon to loop underneath the flower and tie onto the added knob to keep the box closed.
The inside of the box is decorated similarly, using the chintz paper on the box bottom and underside of the lid. I added a doily and some layered punched circles and finished it with a monogram letter from the Black Licorice Puff Stickers.
Thanks for stopping by today...join me any day at my blog: Angela Ploegman Designs
Angela Ploegman
My Blog
Hi again, it's Angela Ploegman and I'm super excited to be back for Day 2 of my week on the SEI Lifestyle Blog.
This year I'm making a special effort to document my family recipes. I do this by first posting the recipe to my blog (already doing this part!) and then I'm planning to transfer them to a handmade recipe book/recipe stand. If things go well, I hope to make digital photo books for my immediate family as a Christmas present. As my husband is originally from India and all four of my Grandparents are from the Netherlands, there should be an interesting mix of recipes by year end!
So today, I'm sharing a recipe for Curried Fried Rice. All of my Indian recipes come from my sister in law...each time I visit, I try and pick up a new one...usually I modify them a bit for my husband's taste, but this dish is perfect the way it came!
Curried Fried Rice
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp Oil
6-7 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
4-5 green cardamon pods, crushed open
1 cinnamon stick, crushed
1 Tbsp green fennel seeds
1/3 cup whole raw almonds
1 finely chopped onion
1-2 green chilies (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp ginger garlic paste (if you can't find prepared, use equal parts of each mixed together)
mixed vegetables, 1 small package, frozen
3 cups basmati rice
1 can coconut milk + enough water to equal 5 cups
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp garum masala
salt to taste (usually about 2 tsps)
Instructions:
1. Melt the butter in oil over low heat in a heavy bottomed stock pot. You will end up with 6-8 cups cooked rice, so use an appropriate sized pot.
2. Add the cloves, bay leaves, cardamon pods, cinnamon stick and green fennel seeds.
3. When the aroma of the spices is noticeable, add the raw almonds. Stir occasionally until the almonds are lightly roasted.
4. Increase the heat to medium-low and add the onion and green chilies (if desired). Cook until the onions are translucent.
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
6. Increase the heat to medium and add the frozen mixed vegetables. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are warmed through.
7. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut milk with enough water to make a total of 5 cups of liquid. Add the salt until the liquid is obviously salty (this is OK as the rice will adsorb most of the saltiness), then add the sugar and the garum masala. Set aside.
8. Add the rice to the onion/vegetable/spice mixture. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the rice kernels appear opaque.
9. Add the coconut/water mixture to the rice and bring to a full boil (stirring constantly and increasing the heat if necessary). The mixture will become thicker before it boils. Turn on a second element to 'simmer or low' to have ready for the next step.
10. When the rice mixture reaches a full boil, put the lid on the pot and transfer the pot to the alternate element (set on simmer or low).
11. Cook for 25 minutes, take off the stove and let rest for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! It's one of my favorites!
Angela Ploegman
My Blog
Hello everyone!! It's Angela Ploegman here to kick off my week blogging at SEI Lifestyle...let's start with a layout I created using papers from the Bissette Collection...
I LOVE how the pearlized paper took the water based mists...I first sprayed a turquoise mist in a few spots and then overlapped those spots with a yellow mist...I jiggled the paper a bit to mix the colors and then wiped off the excess with a paper towel...love the effect...I think this technique would work equally well for the White Elegance papers as the pearl finish is the same as in the Bissette line.
Not one to waste much, I used the paper strips that I cut off the background paper to expose the black cardstock base to form a boy-friendly flower...the strips were formed into loops and then stapled in the center and layered on top of each other in a staggered pattern. The black paper squigglies were thin black strips of cardstock that I made wet, wrapped around a journalling pen and let dry...the flower center is a black gem on a chipboard letter 'o'...super fun and easy to make embellishment!
The black matting around many of the page elements really gives the page a masculine touch...if you saw the paper pad, you wouldn't immediately think 'boy page', but it certainly works here!
Thanks for stopping by today...join me any day at my blog: Angela Ploegman Designs
Angela Ploegman
Please give a warm welcome to next week's guest blogger, Angela Ploegman. She is an accomplished paper-crafter and the author of the creative blog, Angela Ploegman Designs. Stop by to say "hi" and find plenty of project ideas. Introducing Angela...
I live in Bettendorf, IA with my husband of 11 years and my 7 year old son and 3 year old monster, oops, I mean daughter! I started scrapping in 1999 when I moved to the area from (beautiful, spacious and a tad bit cold) Canada. I have a degree in Chemistry (yes, I'm a certified NERD) and an MBA that I use by day as a lab manager for a paint company. In addition to my passion for paper crafting, I enjoy cooking, baking and a good cup of coffee (Starbucks anyone?)
My crafting style is best described as simple, layered and linear. I enjoy mixing patterned paper and though I do use a variety of techniques on my projects, the focus is always on making them fast and easy (as I don't have a lot of spare time!) I have been published in a variety of idea books and magazines including Scrapbooks Etc., Scrapbook Trends, Cards, Simply Handmade, Stamping, Scrapbooking and Stationary, Memory Makers and Scrapbooking Memories. Please stop by my blog Angela Ploegman Designs or visit me on Facebook! Can't wait to share some crafty goodness (and a recipe) with everyone next week!!
Cheers! Angela Ploegman
Sniff! Sniff! It's my last day here! I am so appreciative for the chance to blog here at SEI. As promised, I have some more cards I created with the Corinne collection. I have to say, this collection is pretty versatile. Bright cheery pastels, but also some dark black bold lines, along with a surprise - silver! And glitter - oh, is there anything more fun than glittery clouds?!
So without further ado, here are my cards. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you'll continue to visit with me at my blog. It's been a treat to be here!!! Big thanks to SEI, for inviting me to hang out here with you all! It's been a BLAST! XOXO Laura
T
hank you, thank you, Laura! It has been our treat to have you this week. We enjoyed every day and adore your clean and classy style. We will definitely keep up on your cute Laura Loo Loo blog.
Ok guys. Ready for the GIVEAWAY?! You could win some of the beautiful new paper-crafting products Laura used this week. Just leave a comment on this post by Sunday, February 13th at midnight MST. Tell us which of Laura's posts was your favorite. We will announce the winner on Monday so be sure to check back!
Playing with BRAND NEW product is so much fun! Corinne is one of the new Winter 2011 collections from SEI. Today I'd like to share a project, and a card with you. While wandering at Ikea, I came across these fabulous wood framed mirrors. I scooped up a bunch of them because as soon as I saw them, I knew the possibilities were endless. Paint, decoupage, paper - just about anything would be perfect to embellish this mirror. I decided to create a cheery rainbow mirror, using the Corinne collection. I covered it in paper first, and then played around until I had it just right!!!
And for this first card, well, I just couldn't get enough of the sparkly rainbows. I added a stamped sentiment and made a quick clean and simple card. (I told you I love clean and simple!)
And because I just couldn't stop myself, here's one more bright and cheery card!
I am sorry to say that tomorrow is my last day here on the SEI blog. I have some more projects featuring Corinne, and this collection's versatility. It's been such a fun week, and I am so glad you've been here hanging out with me! See you tomorrow! XOXO Laura
Hello, hello! I’m so happy to be here at the SEI blog again today! I thought I’d share another random fact about myself with you. I LOVE cake. I love to bake cakes, and I love to decorate cakes (and of course, I most certainly love to EAT cake too!) When I was a little girl, my mom baked and decorated cakes. I was mesmerized by the amazing cakes in the Wilton Yearbooks she collected. Now that I have kids of my own, I have tried to create fun and memorable cakes for their birthdays. Getting creative with frosting is FUN!
I created this cake a few months ago for a bridal shower. It was a 12 inch, 2 layer cake. I covered it in a very pale blue buttercream frosting, and then went a little crazy, covering the whole thing in swirly white lines. I didn’t intend to cover the WHOLE cake in swirls. . . .but the more I swirled, the more I liked it, so I kept on goin’!
The next cake I created for my son Bryce’s sixth birthday. He had a superhero party, so I made him a Super B cake. I found a Superman logo online, printed it out, traced it onto tracing paper, and changed the “S” into a “B”. The cake was frosted in buttercream, and then I created the logo in red and yellow fondant. (You can buy premade fondant at the craft store. I don’t think I will ever be brave enough to make it from scratch!) The big surprise was inside the Super B cake . . . the cake was red, yellow, and blue! This is SO fun and simple to do. After making your cake batter (yellow or white cake mix works just fine), divide it into separate bowls, one for each color you want to have. Just add drops of food coloring until you have the color you want, and then drop it by spoonfuls into the cake pan! Last year we made rainbow cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day, but what about using your favorite sports team’s colors? (I know I’m late, but how fun would that be for a Superbowl Party!?) The possibilities are endless!
And now, for my favorite frosting recipe, from the October 2007 issue of Southern Living Magazine:
Ingredients
• 2 cups shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 (16-oz.) packages powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup evaporated milk
Preparation
1. Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric mixer until blended. Add powdered sugar alternately with evaporated milk, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Beat at medium speed 8 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Note: Frosting may be stored in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. If using a handheld mixer, prepare frosting in 2 batches.
The only thing that I do differently is to add a few tablespoons of meringue powder to the recipe. You can find meringue powder on the cake decorating aisle at the craft store. It helps the frosting set and “dry” as it sits. I love frosting with a little sugary crunch to it!
I hope I’ve tempted you to bake, and decorate, (or at least run to the bakery and buy) a delicious and colorful cake for dessert! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Meet me here tomorrow to see a project I created with the brand new Corinne paper! XOXO Laura
Happy Tuesday! I'm back today to share a few more Valentine projects with you! To create all three of these projects, I started with the same little embellishment. I used circle punches, (scalloped and smooth,) to create some quick little cuties using With All My Heart paper. I stuck the layers together using foam tape, and then I got to work on my projects.
First I created cupcake toppers. I was going to glue the toothpicks to the circles, but I realized I could stick the toothpick right into the foam tape. It held together well enough, and it was quick and simple. (I LOVE quick and simple!)
Using another of the same little embellishments, I created a clean and simple card. I added some die-cuts, a sentiment stamp, and other little goodies to bring this card together. If you haven't noticed, clean and simple is definitely a style I gravitate towards! Finding a balance between white space with color and pattern is definitely a challenge I love!
Next I created a tiny gift box. I LOVE to print out templates online, and use them for paper-crafts. If you Google "printable box template" (or some more particular description) you'll find tons of free or low cost patterns that you can use over and over again. I trimmed a piece of 12x12 paper, down to 8.5x11 and I stuck it in the printer. I printed the template on the underneath side of the paper, so my lines would be neatly tucked inside. I added a piece of ribbon, one of my handmade embellishments, and TA-DA!
Making your own embellishments is a great way to use up scraps, and it can be a great timesaver. If you only have a few minutes to create, make a few little goodies, and then the next time you sit down to play, you'll have embellishments all ready to go!
Will you join me again tomorrow? It's going to be a paper-free day on the SEI blog, but I promise it will be worth it. Instead of paper, we're going to talk about another of my favorite things. . . .CAKE! (I'm even going to share one of my all-time favorite recipes!) See you then!!! XOXO Laura
Is it really Monday?! And is it really 2011? It seems that just when we've barely caught up from Christmas and New Years, suddenly Valentine's Day is upon us! I thought I'd share some pretty simple and cute Valentines with you today. I used With All My Heart, plus a few little bits of the new Corinne collection on these cards. Many of the colors in these two collections work quite nicely together! To jumpstart my creations, I used a card sketch - the same sketch, for all three of these cards. Notice the similarities? This sketch was created by Tami Mayberry, at the Card Positioning Systems blog. (Stop by the CPS blog to see the sketch I used, being featured this week!) There are lots of weekly sketch blogs out there, and if you've never tried using a sketch, I recommend it! The possibilities are endless really. Sometimes the cards I create start out looking like the sketch - but end up looking nothing like it! And sometimes I stick pretty closely to the sketch. There's no right or wrong way to do it. I think that's what I love about it!
Tomorrow I'll be right back here, so I hope you'll stop in to visit with me. I have a few more Valentine projects to share (and one of them involves chocolate!) Then, later in the week I cannot WAIT to share some projects featuring the brand new Corinne collection! See you tomorrow! XOXO Laura
We would like to introduce next week's guest blogger, Laura Williams. She is a talented paper-crafter with a special knack for card-making. Please stop by her blog, Laura Loo Loo to learn more about her fun personality and see some of those awesome cards we told you about. Then come back Monday for more!
Hi! My name is Laura Williams, and I am so excited to spend next week on the SEI blog with you! Instead of sharing a paragraph about myself (which I hate writing, because I never know what to say) I’m going to share some random facts about myself, and you can decide for yourself just how loony toons I am!
1. I am TERRIFIED of lizards. The kicker is that I live in FLORIDA. Have you ever been to Florida? Hello, it’s filled with lizards. And I’ve lived here almost my whole life. One would think I’d be used to them by now. But no. (I’ll spare you the story about me standing on my bed crying, while my husband tried to find a lizard that ran behind our dresser.)
2. I live in a house full of boys. One grownup boy (the hubs) and two little ones (a six –year-old, and a one-year-old) I love living in a house full of boys, but my goal in life is to one day have a girls-only bathroom. (Yes, that means I get it all to MYSELF.)
3. I went to college to become an art teacher. Then right before graduation, I did my internship in an elementary art classroom, and said, “Hmmm, funny how this is NOT what I want to do after all.” I love teaching, and I love kids. I spent a few years teaching second and third grade, before my kiddos were born. And I loved it.
4. I have complete conversations with my husband, in my sleep, and don’t remember them in the morning. He has learned to discredit anything I say after 11pm. One of his favorite stories involves me diving under the covers to escape a giant purple spider coming down from the ceiling.
5. A few of my most favorite things: sunflowers, bright cheery colors, polka dots, black and white patterns, the color RED, fall weather, fun socks, and icy cold water with lemon.
There are a million more random facts I could share, but I better save some! Come back and hang out with me every day next week as I share some crafty goodness, (including brand new SEI products!) photos . . . and cake. (Yes, cake!) In the meantime, (or anytime) I'd love for you to come by my blog, at www.lauralooloo.blogspot.com. You can also find me on papercrafting websites as Lauralooloo. See you next week!
Happy Friday! Jill Cornell here for my final post...I can't believe how quickly this week has flown by. I've saved my favorite project I created for last! For my final project to share with you this week, I created this layout using the "Kris Kringle" collection. Every year at Christmas, my sisters and I take a new photo together. It's a tradition my mom started when we were very little and we still uphold it today.
Here's a look at my layout...
When I first saw the reverse side of the "Snow Angels" patterned paper, I fell in LOVE! Those circles are my FAVORITE and I used a tone-on-tone effect for a lot of added texture.
To create extra texture, I punched snowflakes of a variety of sizes out of the same circles I wanted to adhere the snowflakes to. I adhered rhinestones in the centers of the snowflakes.
Here's a little hint for title work, use a black journaling pen to outline the letters and it will help them pop off your page:
Finally, I used the white opaque mist from Studio Calico to add a snowy look to my kraft cardstock.
Thank you so much for checking in with me this week and taking a peek at my projects. Thank you to SEI for the opportunity to bring you some inspiration this month!
Please stop by my blog and visit me anytime: www.jillcornell.blogspot.com.
T
hank you Jill! What a clever use of the snow angel's paper today! It has been such a fun week with a diversity of great projects throughout. We love to see the creative way you mix papers and products to create a new look everyday.
Since Jill was so great at mixing it up this week, we thought we would mix up the giveaway too. To enter to win a mixture of the goodies Jill used this week, leave a comment on this post by Sunday, January 16th at midnight MST. Tell us which of Jill's posts was your favorite this week. We will announce the winner on Monday. Be sure to check back to see if you are the winner so we don't have to pick a new one.
Happy Thursday! Jill Cornell here with you again today to share a fun project in honor of Valentine's Day. I have the world's worst sweet tooth, and I know I would love to receive some sweets this year! A fun way to give something sweet to your sweetheart is by placing the treat in a bag and making a topper for the bag. I used the "With All My Heart" collection on this set of three treat bags.
I used the 6 x 6 paper pad from the collection as well as the die-cut accents with glitter plus a few ribbons, buttons and baker's twine from my stash.
To make the treat bags, follow these simple directions:
1) Measure patterned paper to approximately 4" x 6" and fold it in half. Ink the edges.
2) Sandwich the bag in between the open end and zig zag stitch to close.
3) Punch holes at the top of the bag and thread with ribbon and tie in bow.
4) Decorate with assorted die-cuts, buttons, and twine.
Here are a few close-ups of each bag...
Thanks for looking today! I'll see you tomorrow for my grand finale! :)
Happy Wednesday! I can't believe my week with you is more than half over! I'm really excited to show you my layout today that combines (count 'em) 1, 2, 3 SEI collections. WOW! You'll see bits and pieces of Kris Kringle, Monsterville and With All My Heart.
First, here's a look at my layout of my sweet daughter, Nora. I captured and recorded important information about her personality and development on this layout.
Can you spot the different collections? Let me help you...
The multi-colored striped patterned paper (Intersections) and pink striped patterned paper (Posie Way) are both from Monsterville. I also used patterned papers from this collection for the punched hearts at the top of the layout.
And there's the reverse side of the "Evergreen" patterned paper from Kris Kringle again at the top of my layout:
Finally, I used several of the die-cuts (heart, circle, flower) from With All My Heart:
Let's look at some of the details of my layout:
Thanks for looking! See you tomorrow! :)
Happy Tuesday! Jill Cornell here again with a simple little card to share with you using the beautiful "Moonrise" collection. I kept the design fairly simple by using just a couple of the pattern papers, a leaf die-cut and a label die-cut. I even pulled out some ribbon I still had in my stash from SEI's "Dill Blossom" collection from a few years ago that matched everything perfectly. I used glue dots to pleat the ribbon and then ran it through my sewing machine to secure the pleats.
I worked with SEI's 6 x 6 paper pad and die-cut pearls accents to create this card. The 6 x 6 paper pads are the perfect size for card makers as they give a scaled down version of the collection's patterns.
Thanks for looking! See you tomorrow! :)
