Home Made Ice cream

This year, instead of sewing for the teachers and assistants, I decided to make home made ice cream. I use an electric ice cream maker we got at William Sonoma as a wedding present. I love it!

I use the basic recipe of 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup of sugar dissolved into it, then 2 cups of cream and 1-2 tbsp vanilla. Flick the switch for 20-25 minutes. The trick is the cream. I made some last week with whipping cream. Lovely. The stuff I made in the last 2 days was with table cream 18%. It was more watery when it froze, not as creamy, but still good.
These tags are Stampin' Up! stamps from years ago.

These stamps are from PaperTrey ink. I made different flavours by adding the ingredients in the last 5 minutes.
For cookies and cream, just let the kids have fun crushing oreos in a baggie. The strawberry was sliced and mashed with sugar to help it juice. The strawberry rhubarb was cooked down, cooled and added.

There are so many other flavours to make, but the trick is that if you have to cook anything down, it has to cool completely before being added. So it's a think it out thing, not a spur of the moment thing. When you feel like making it NOW, then it's cookies and cream, or vanilla bean. Oh, we have homemade vanilla that DH made a while back. Vanilla beans soaked in vodka for about a month. nice. the longer, the better. Then I scraped a pod into the cream as it was swirling around in the machine.

k, next up.... This basket was a steal at a yard sale for $2! I grabbed it and ran. It's a great size. I fit all the ice cream containers into it and then some.

And another tea pot cozy. I've made a few more colour ways. Fun Fun Fun. The designer that I got the sweater scraps from has offered more scraps twice now. I still have 3 bags, but I want to get more! Help me. Fun to figure out colour combos. I think this one is my favorite. This time, I used boiled wool suiting for the front and back. Hope it keeps the pot hot.


Whew, you still here?
School is out and I feel relaxed! We played at the sailing club until way past bed time. It's great to see them playing imaginative games. Tonight it was traveling to Portugal on the Hobie cat trampoline. But they came to the picnic tables to stay at a hotel. Hope the kids sleep in tomorrow. I know I will.

Thanks for stopping by,
Amanda

microscope slide ornaments all in a row

I had a big blitz of making these ornaments the other day. The ideas and combinations are endless, I could happily spend another week making different designs.
here they are all in a row:


Here are some from the music collection


And one for ballet


And another from the see through collection. These are a little tricky, as you need to consider the hook on the back. I make the swirl of the hook part of the ornament. I use crystal effect from Stampin' Up! to adhere the hooks.


The shapes are die cuts from Quickutz and Cuttlebug. and the music notes from a mini punch set from the Philippines. I need to add some ribbon to the hooks to finish them off.

The colours are a shade off in the 1st few photos. Playing around with my settings too much. And notice the background blurry in the HO Ho Ho one? New camera! Heee heeeeeeee!

thanks for looking,
Amanda

Teacher's Pet???

My son starts junior Kindergarten tomorrow. He's a little indifferent about it. His piano lesson went well today. As I predicted, he was very shy at 1st, but he answered a question and then there was no stopping him:} I hope he has a good day tomorrow.
Here is a gift I made for his teacher. DH thinks I'm making him a teacher's pet on the 1st day!

I saw on someone's blog (sorry, I don't remember who) a little jar they decorated and put funky shaped paper clips in it for the teacher. So my mind went working and this is what I came up with.

The labels on the bottles are done with black shrink art and white ink. Then a little bling on the ends.


The bottles are from Ikea and the treats inside are from staples and the Dollar Store. The book and apple image is also from a Dollar Store in Nova Scotia. I bought it last year.

I'm so excited about my watercolouring. My Uncle and I are going to take a course over the fall. The last time we did that, I was mucho pregger's with my 1st born. So I should enjoy it a little more this time. Or at least be more comfortable.
here is a close up of it....


Must get to bed. Big day tomorrow.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda

hoot hoot

I finally broke down and got on the owl train ride. I don't really get it. yes, they are cute, but a little over done now. Still, I did like the bold image by Maya Road. no colouring, I have puffy embossing powder to try on it. And I had a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket. (thanks Sarah and Raylene) maybe a grad hat on top? Just have to get organized.



Another eraser for a teacher's gift. Found some brown EP. It's the scented kind. Chocolate. Yummmm. Distressed it a little with chaulk ink and a bit-o-ribbon. Voila.

How bout another card. I left you so long since the last posting...

Another case from Lindsay at
http://lcsstamp.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/more-cards.html

I made these for a swap of fellow demonstrators in my Canadian's Ink group. Headed by the ever lovely Caroline, http://www.craftincaro.ca/

It's using square and circle punches. tag punch for the pocket, bit of wide grosgrain for the hankies. I didn't have any buttons or a punch for the buttons, so I traced a sponge finger dauber, cut it by hand, then put the bottom of it in ink to make the outline of the button. a little larger than I was looking for, but 'tis done. Inside is a rub on from eons ago. My desk is such a mess, I misplaced my Father's day stamp!!

Great for Father's Day or a male birthday.

Thanks for looking...
Amanda

teacher gift

I'm pumped about this project. it worked like I thought it would.
A few years ago, when I first started teaching, ok, so it was many years ago in my early teaching years.....
I was given an eraser with a tole painted flower on it. Remember tole painting? And it was forest green and dusty rose.. does that put it in a time perspective?! lol

I saw these naked erasers at the dollar store and knew I wanted to do something with it. I thought for days on how to decorate it without having to use paper and modgepodge and stamping and layering paper and it's all gonna fall off or get ripped....
Then I had a lightbulb moment! Embossing powder. And voila, here it is. I went back to the store and bought up the rest to play with. I'm going to try a few male looking ones.

The image is Essence of Love from Stampin' Up Occasions Mini. I think I'll redo the card and put it on a brown background with the image in pink like the eraser, or just make it brown on white. I know the current card doesn't really do what I want it to.

Thanks for looking,
Amanda