Orange Spice by Tink

Tink sent me her Orange Spice kit last night, at my request. I couldn't wait to use the kit. The different shades of orange are just brilliant. I love this kit.
I have done two layouts with it so far. The one to the left is of Andrew's trip to the Worms' Zoo last year. The preschool students at Mannheim Elementary go every May. I created this layout as part of the Me, My, Mine Challenge this month at Digitals. This challenge called for a May themed layout, using the date in either the title or the journaling. I used the date in the deco square, sub title, and the month/year in the journaling. This particular study trip was a joy for me. We will not get to do this trip again this year though, because of the threat and concerns reguarding the avian flu present here in Germany.

This second layout with Tink's Orange Spice kit is a 4x6 recipe card. This recipe is a great one and fitting of this kit. I created this layout as a contribution to the Recipe Card Challenge we are having in one of my yahoo groups. We are making these to share them as a gift on holidays and such. Here is the recipe that is on this card:

Pineapple Butterscotch Squares.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour.
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can ( 20 oz) crushed pineapple well drained
1 cup ( 6 oz) butterscotch chips
1/2 cup toasted chopped nuts
vegetable cooking spray
powdered sugar , garnish ( optional)

* combine flour, baking powder,& salt in small bowl; set aside.

*beat together butter, brown sugar,granulated sugar, in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs & vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in pineapple. stir in flour mixture, butterscotch chips & nuts until blended.

* pour into 13 x 9 -inch baking pan sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

* Bake at 350 degrees, 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. cool completely in pan on wire rack. dust cooled cake with powdered sugar, if desired. cut into squares.

Grandpa's Lap

I was in a sentimental mood the other day. It has been 2 years since my Father-In-Law passed away and I wanted to do something to remember him. I only have 2 pictures of him with my children. They were all incredibly young when he died.

I completed this layout as a way for my children to remember the time they spent with my husband's father. I did it at 8x10 so that I could order a good copy of it and have it framed as a gift for my Mother-In-Law. She is moving into a new Condo this week and I want her to be able to hang it in her new "home". I hope she likes it.

I don't remember where the boy themed kit came from. It was one of the first I ever got and there are no TOU in the folder. The heart shaped word art is from Glenda Ketcham and the February 2006 Scripture Challenge at Digitals. The main WordArt is by Stacey Thurman at 1 Hour Scraps.

Rockin' Recipe Roundup Wk7

This is my contribution to the Rockin Recipe Roundup 2006 Crop at SOTB for Week 7. This week's theme is vegetables.


Layered Spinach Salad
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon each: sugar, salt and pepper
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves (can use big ones with OK results)
2 large grapefruit, peeled and sectioned
1 small cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small red onioin, chopped
1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced (optional)
1/4 cup sliced green pimento-stuffed olives

Directions
For dressing, put oil, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well to blend.
Wash spinach, remove and discard stems, pat dry on a paper towel. If using mature spinach leaves, tear into bite-sized pieces.
Arrange 1 cup of the spinach in the bottom of a 1-quart glass, straight-sided dish. Arrange half of the grapefruit, cucumber, onion, avocado and olives in layers over the spinach. Add 1 cup spinach. Continue layering remaining vegetables. Pour dressing over all.
Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours to marinate and chill.

Rockin' Recipe Roundup Wk6

Here is my layout for the Rockin Recipe Roundup 2006, week 6 at SOTB. This week's theme is Italian food. I haven't tried this recipe yet, mainly because I haven't had the items on hand to do it. But, it looks SOO good. I really want to try it.
Here is the recipe

1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound ground beef
1 loaf (1 pound) Italian bread, cut into 1-inch slices
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
2 garlic cloves, minced

In a bowl, combine onions, crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 400*F for 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, arrange bread in a single layer in an ungreased 13x9x2 inch baking dish (all of the bread might not be used).Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Italian seasoning and pepper; spread over the bread. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Combine sauce, water and garlic; add meatballs. Pour over cheese mixture; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, at 350*F for 30 minutes or until heated through.YIELD: 6-8 servings.NOTE: Do not use reduced-fat or fat-free mayonnaise.

I also did up this recipe in a 4x6 for another group that I am on. We are trying to compile a 4x6 recipe book, either for ourselves or as gifts. This is going to be fun. For the 4x6 layout I used the Rockin Recipe Roundup 2005, Wk 3 Kit ... created by Elizabeth Lane at SOTB.

2 More Layouts Today

Well .. I got 2 more layouts done today. I'm really enjoying the challenges at Digitals. Maybe I should check out the challenges at some of the other sites as well .. never know what I might find.

This layout is for the May Calendar Challenge. I did it a little different this month. I took the calendar image and the background image and combined them. Then I brought back the cork board from last month's challenge. I really like the cork board. It makes it look like the calendar is hanging on the wall in my house. I also included a picture of each of the boys outside during our unit picnic.

This second layout was created for the Font Free 4 All Challenge at Digitals. This month's font is Quigley Wiggley. Its an interesting font. I used this layout to help me teach Mariah how to put a layout together. Shc came over this morning to help me declutter my desk area and such in preparation for our upcoming move. After my meeting we sat down at the computer so that she could learn how to do her own layouts. I am so enjoying doing these.

Luisen Park 2006

I finally got to spend some quality one on one time with Andrew this past week. These pictures were taken during his class' study trip to Luisen Park, located in downtown Mannheim. This was the second year that we have gone on this trip, but this year was different. Andrew is not a little boy anymore. He is 5 now and will startk Kindergarten in the fall. We both had a really good time. This is just the first in a series of layouts that will be done from this trip.
I completed this layout as part of the Sketchy Details challenge at Digitals. I used Cristina Blomberg's Soccer Season Kit, available at digitals, and the font is Quiggly Wiggly.

May Card Challenge

We're Moving
Well .. not for 6 more weeks. But this was the perfect time to make this layout up. This is my contribution for the May Card Challenge at Digitals. I used the April Challenge Prize Kit from Digitals to create this layout. The font that I used is Bernard MT Condensed.

I had fun doing this layout. I was looking for a neat way to tell our friends and family members that we are moving. I might just get copies of this printed as post cards and send them out with the nw information on the back side. I don't know yet. I can order them as actual cards with this as the front side and the new information on the inside. But I will have to decide. I hope you are enjoying my layouts.

Outside My Front Door

This is my contribution to the May 2006, My Neighborhood Challenge, at Digitals. I love this challenge. It gives me the opportunity to scrap about things that I probably never would have done otherwise.

The theme this month was "Outside My Front Door". We were to describe through words or pictures what we see when we look out our front door. The hostess for this month stated that she saw a Momma Kangaroo and her baby when she looked outside that morning. Another participant stated that they saw a Momma Duck and 11 chicks in their pool that morning. I wish I could see those things.

Being a military family we tend to live in some of the most boring places. Not to say that Germany is boring .. Not by any means. But, living on post feels like living in the ghetto .. or some other form of sub-standard, low income housing. Everything is the same. The buildings all look alike. The hallways are BORING. But we make due. We only have 6 more weeks living here in Mannheim and then it is off to Baumholder. Hopefully the on post scenery will be a bit nicer.

For this kit I used the backgrounds and frames from Cristina Blomberg's Soccer Season Kit which is available at Digitals. If you want to see a larger view of this layout please check out my gallery at digitals or my fotki site. Thanks for visiting, hope you enjoyed the layout.
Gina