Mothers day card:

 I teach primary kids...and I am a photographer. So every time there is a special occasion where I have to be creative for a gift, I automatically turn to pictures.  This year I decided to do a series of photos of each one of my primary kids.  (There are 16 of them all together, so sometimes crafts like this can be a little over whelming. )  This crafty little card was actually quite easy and the moms loved it because of how personalized it was.  

First I made the letters.  This took me about a half hour to make using 12x12 card stock.  I kept them simple, because I wanted the kids to be the main focus of each picture.  

Next I photographed each kid holding each letter.  So.... 5 photos of each child.  This was the fun part because of all the funny goofy faces a five year old makes. I let the kids do what ever they wanted.  I used a portable backdrop that I use for studio work, but you could easily use a wall or anything that is not a distraction. 

I then Photoshopped them into three 5x7s like so:

This was easy, because I work with Photoshop everyday and only took a few minutes.

I printed the photos and using one sheet of 12x12 card stock, cut in half, I made a long strip of paper gluing the photos inside to create the sentence.  

Add a few ribbons or embellishments.  

Fold the card in thirds like so leaving one end shorter.  Add ribbon to tie the card shut

This is the front and back:

Another option of a cute way to tie the card shut:

....And my final result.  

So easy and it all took me around three hours to do all 16 cards. Not bad at all!

Rainbow Cake:

This St. Patrick's day, I made a rainbow cake for my kids. I used boxed cake mixes, food coloring, icing and m&ms to make this cake. It was super easy and the kids loved it. I'm not going to lie, next year, I will be making it a little different. Not so many layers and colored frosting in between the layers...maybe some yummy jelly layers...I don't know. 

I scooped one cup into separate bowls and colored with food coloring.  I just bought some natural food coloring and wish I had it for this recipe.  I can't wait to give it a try and see how it works.

I baked according to the directions, but watched close because they cook quickly.

After cooking all the layers, I froze them and stacked them  Once frozen they were quite easy to put the frosting on.

Using M&Ms we made a rainbow.  This was my kid's favorite part.

Salsa:

Salsa:

I have had so many people ask me for my canned salsa recipe.  I posted this on my personal blog last year to help a few friends learn how to can their own salsa.  I am a huge fan of home canned salsa.  However, with so many variations of home canned salsa, some can be quite scary.  My sister-in-laws and I have nailed down what we like and what we don't.  This is a basic recipe and can be easily changed to suit your tastes.

The first thing you want to do is gather all your ingredients.

You will need the following:
This makes around 8-10 jars of salsa.


Tomatoes. 6-7 quarts.  I prefer a good paste tomato for salsa.  It makes it thicker and gives a good flavor.   

You have two options with how you process your tomatoes for salsa.  You can either blanch them and peel the skin off and then dice them or you can do it the lazy way (like mine.) and put the tomatoes in your vita-mix and chop them on a low setting to get little pieces.  If you want a chunkier salsa, do it the first way so you don't deal with the skins.

 

Jalapenos and Cilantro:  I chop the tops off the jalapenos and chop them in my vita-mix.  You can also try putting your jalapenos in the oven the night before and broil them until the skins are black.  Put them in a brown paper bag and remove the skins when cool.  This brings out the flavor of the jalapenos.  You may also use any other kind of hot pepper if you like...or bell peppers as well. (I don't because I don't like bell peppers)

I do this to taste.  The more you put in the hotter your salsa.  I use a handful of cilantro and chop very well. 

Garlic:  I like the peeled garlic from Costco or Sams club.   I use a handful of these as well and chuck them in the vita-mix with the jalapenos and cilantro.

 

Onion:

I use three or four onions per batch.  Again, I use the vita-mix for these.  If you like your salsa hot, use more.

 Vinegar, lime juice and salt.

Add 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup lime juice and salt to taste.  You can also add a couple tablespoons of sugar to bring out the flavor of your peppers.

 Put all your ingredients in your pot and stir.  Don't be afraid to taste to see if it needs anything else.  I have yet to make it perfect the first time and usually add more of something to make it taste right.

 Boil for one hour, stirring occasionally.

While your salsa is boiling, clean your jars and put them in your oven at 210* to sterilize them.

When the salsa has boiled for an hour, fill your jars.

 

Put your lids on and process in bath for one more hour.

 Don't forget about your kids while your canning.  They still need a Mom.  :)

When your jars are processed place them on a well protected surface for 24 hours.   Any jars that didn't seal, place in your fridge and use right away.

Happy canning!

Village Green Carrot Cake

There is nothing like carrot cake made from scratch. 

I made a delicious carrot cake for my husbands birthday.

If you want to layer the cake like I did I would suggest freezing the layers 

before stacking to frost. It is a very soft moist cake and just about fell 

apart when we stacked it up to frost it. The frosting recipe did not make 

as much as I was wanting it to so I added some powdered sugar 

and milk to make it go farther.

RECIPE:

Cream together:

  1 1/2  cup cooking oil

  2 cups sugar

  3 whole eggs

 Add:

  2  cups grated carrots

  1 cup crushed drained pineapple

Mix well:

  2 1/2 cups flour

  1 tsp soda

  1/2 tsp salt

  1 tsp vanilla

  1 tsp cinnamon

Pour into greased and floured 9x13" baking dish or two cake rounds.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 min

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1/2 cup butter softened

8 oz cream cheese softened 

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Mix together until smooth

 

Hello and welcome:

welcome to our new blog.