A New Family Favorite -- Enchilada Casserole!

Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground turkey

5 flour tortillas

2 -3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 package Spanish rice (prepared according to pkg. directions)

1 (14 ounce) can refried beans

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 (14 ounce) can of your favorite canned chili sauce 

1. Spray an oven save dish with cooking spray, choose a dish just slightly larger than your tortilla.
2. Place one tortilla in the bottom, top with beans, meat rice onion and cheese, repeat layers until about 1/2 to 3/4 inch from top and pour sauce over, top with a tad bit more cheese and a few onions.
3. Bake for 30-45 minutes in a 350 oven.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/enchilada-casserole-52605#ixzz1CU6nrSsK

 

Have you stumbled across any quick and easy recipes lately???  Do you get tired of eating the same thing over and over, or do you stick to what you already know you like?

Thumpity Thump Thump

Yes, yes, I know Christmas is over.  Thank goodness for that!  But, I'm still trying to clean out my stash.  And since the last featured listing covered Santa and Christmas tree lampwork beads, it only made sense to do the easy thing and follow up with Frosty the Snowman beads:

In retrospect, perhaps I should've tried to destash these suckers back in September and October, when all the crafters are stocking up for Christmas inventory. 

But, anyway, I work two jobs and like to craft.  Cleaning?  Not so much.  I do a major sweep for New Year's because that's what my dad taught me to do.  (I guess it's an Asian thing.)  And so, here we are.  Christmas in January!

Challenger

Twenty five years ago today, I was at a student council leadership camp for my elementary school.  We were at Keakealani Outdoor Education Center,  near Volcanoes National Park.  There is no cable TV there, and catchment water.   It got cold at night.  The director was this tall white haired man named Mr. Mortemore who knew just about everything there was to know about Hawaiian plants and animals.  (He later became the director of our zoo, which is also a botanical garden.)

I was mad because I didn't want to go on this trip.  Leadership camp was full of silly ice breakers and team building games like trust falls and themed skits.  Then they had workshops on topics ranging from Robert's Rules of Order to social skills.  Earlier in the year, my school was visited by Ellison Onizuka, a real live astronaut from Kona.  We were excited because nobody of any sort of significance ever visited my school (it's not like you can drive to Hawaii), but he was from the Big Island and so he came home.  Between this and Top Gun, all the boys wanted to be pilots in the Air Force or the Navy.  (We didn't have a lot of exposure to the military either, except for the occasional convoy on its way to Pohakuloa Training Area.)  Anyway, the rest of the kids were going to get to watch the Challenger launch on TV at school (during recess) and I had to miss out on it because I was stuck at this camp.

We were working on small group projects when Mr. Mortemore walked in to tell us that the Challenger exploded.

~~~~

We were talking about this at work this morning.  One of my co-workers was in high school, one was already in the Air Force, but the other two guys in the conversation were 3 and 6, respectively.  Nothing like these "where were you" discussions to make you feel old...  :)

Something Else Different...

Part of the fun of designing with natural components is that no two items are ever exactly the same. However, sometimes that also makes it challenging when you want a more formal look. When I first started designing jewelry, I opted for Swarovski crystals specifically due to their uniformity. Then, I got a little bored with the structured patterns I was making, and went entirely the other direction- using oddly shaped, mismatched natural components. But that can also be challenging in that sometimes the variation in each element of a piece competes for attention.

This concept mixes a little of each.   I really like how this turned out.  This concept would also make a great choker length necklace.  (But alas, nap time is only so long...)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66682322/hawaiian-cuff-shell-bracelet-tahitian

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66682161/hawaiian-cuff-shell-bracelet-white

So here's a question for my crafty friends- what kinds of media do you like to work with?  Where do you find the time and inspiration to create?

Japanese Washi Glass Tile Magnets

Here are some magnets that I made using Japanese washi paper and glass tiles.  They're super easy to make.  You can use any paper or print- including hand drawn originals, photos, wrapping paper scraps, cloth, or newsprint!  Just google "Glass Tile Tutorial" and you'll see all the different ways to skin a cat on this one.

However, there are some common threads:  The paper can be cut either before or after gluing to the tile, but you should use either Judykins Diamond Glaze or Mod Podge to adhere paper to glass.  The magnet should be secured using E6000.  If using strong magnets, you will most likely need to seal the backside of the paper, either with a coat of Diamond Glaze or Mod Podge, or with another piece of sturdier paper.  (I used cardstock.)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66593509/japanese-washi-glass-tile-magnets-red

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66594022/japanese-washi-glass-tile-magnets-maple

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66592835/japanese-washi-glass-tile-magnets-plum

http://www.etsy.com/listing/66592352/japanese-washi-glass-tile-magnets-pink

If you look closely at these photos, it looks like there are some pieces of paper just peeking out, under the edge of the glass tiles.  You can get rid of those by using an emery board.   A couple flicks of the wrist, and Voila!

Since I don't normally work with paper, this was a fun change of pace!  

You can order the tiles and adhesives, plus all sorts of other supplies (bails, chains, bezels, etc) from Candytiles on Etsy!  She even makes kits for small quantities, which is great if you're just testing the waters.  :)

Homefront Artistry Team Monday Meetup #1!

Oh, I totally don't feel like going to work early today, so... 

 

The 2nd and 4th (sometimes 5th) Monday of every month, we post a few questions on the Homefront Team Blog that you can take, post and answer on your blogs and THEN LINK BACK to the original post so that we all can come around and visit.

 

This adventure is OPEN TO EVERYONE!  You DO NOT have to be a part of the Homefront Team to participate.  So please visit the Homefront Team Blog!

 

Here are my answers to the Monday Meetup questions!

1 -     Are you a night owl or early bird?

I've always loved the quiet hours in the early morning, when everyone else is asleep... that's when I'm most productive and can tackle the hardest problems.  (Once I get my coffee, anyway!)

 

2 -  Share one thing on your bucket list.

One thing I would really REALLY like to do is take a Mediterranean cruise and visit Italy, Greece, and Egypt.  If nothing else, I'd like to see the Pyramids and maybe the Suez Canal.

3 -  What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

I thought of this question because I recently imploded during a job interview.  I am terrible at saying nice things about myself.  However, I am really good at rounding up whatever team I'm on.  Haha, probably because I don't like being out front by myself... if I have a team with me, it's easier!   

 

There you have it!  Now you can go to the Homefront Team blog and post your own response!

Laser Lace Hand of Fatima... and a new Feature on the Etsy Homefront Team Blog

Before I get to today's listing, I want to shamelessly plug the newest feature on the Homefront Artistry Team Blog:  Monday Meetups.  This is one of those question and answer features where folks can post the answers to their blogs and link back to the original post on the Homefront Team blog.  Perhaps I should back up a second.  The Homefront Artistry team is a group of over 100 entrepreneurs who are spouses, children, and significant others of... or are members of the uniformed services.  (For my "iV boardie friends,"  this is where I've been hanging out lately.)  So if you're looking for handmade goodies from around the world and would like to support a military family, you can search for "homefront team" on Etsy and find some really cool things made by some really cool folks. 

Ok, so... on to the story behind how I ended up with these silver drops.

While shopping online (one of my favorite pastimes), I came across these silver "laser lace" drops.  There are a couple of different styles, basically they're all cut out of thin sheets of silver plated base metal using a laser.  (You can see some of the etch marks in the back which I presume are part of the laser's cutting process.)  They're super light weight, and therefore terrific for earrings and also relatively inexpensive.  I had to buy a package of 20 in order to purchase them.  I didn't need ten pairs of these earrings, I really only wanted a couple.  And here we are again, your featured listing for today, Sterling Silver Hand of Fatima drops (4 pairs or 8 total pieces):

Remember this super hot pair of earrings I whipped up for my SIL?  This is how you can get those earrings!

Lazy Saturday

It's a nice day, everyone is home, and there are no soccer games, activities, parties, or anything else scheduled. The yardwork is done, the house got a good deep clean last weekend, the dishes are done, and I've got a creative road block going so I don't feel like making jewelry right now.

I'm pretty sure it's been months since we've had a weekend like this.

We're bored.

What do you do when there's nothing else to do?

Ribbons for sale!

They say that variety is the spice of life.  And so, I had another great idea to make those braided ribbon barrettes that were popular back in the 80's, and bead them with the plastic tri-beads that everyone always wanted... or at least they did at my school!

My mom is not crafty at all, so I had to rely my friends' moms to make them for me.  Deprived much?  Over-compensating?  Perhaps.  But here's a listing to prove it... 25 yds of 1/8 inch, double sided satin ribbon, your choice of colors, in 1 yd increments. 

If I did my math right, that should come out to 9 cents a foot... which is better than wholesale and in manageable quantities.  This ribbon is really versatile- use it to wrap your goodies, thread beads, accent other pieces, or even as a draw string... trust me, I can think of at least a hundred different ways to use this ribbon.  I just don't have the time to do it all!!

Please, take my ribbon!!!

I heart VD again

Yes, yes, I embarrass my son and hubby by telling the same cheesy jokes over and over.  Hey, what do you want me to say?  I'm an analyst by day, not a stand up comedian!  So here's another featured listing for a set of 4 filigree hearts:

To be honest, I decided to destash these because they're pewter (I'm trying to keep to sterling silver my online store), but if these haven't sold by the end of the month, I'm keeping them for myself!