Mini Chipboard Album and summer dreaming!

Winter of 2013/2014 stayed with us for a very long time. I am craving summer, I want to swim, jump off the dock, paddle board, go on a canoe ride. I want to sit in the sun, spend my nights by twinkling light and bon fires.

Summer still seems so far away, but my pictures from last year help me to remember. I put together a chip board album for a workshop this week, and decided to fill it with summer pictures for my daughter, so she can dream and remember summer days too!

The envelope pocket has a slide out piece of card stock for more pictures!



Pocket hold a fold out that houses 3 pictures on each side

 

I don't use my Cinch very often to bind too many chip board albums, but when I do, I sure to love it!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy summer dreaming to you!

Tannis

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I was creeping on Pinterest the other day for some yummy new
dinner ideas. It seems Spring is taking forever to get here, and it's really getting me down. When you have four very distinct seasons, you tend to have four very distinct eating habits as well. I am craving for salad, in season fruit and veggies and simple dinners. Simple, bright color, fresh dinners.

So I decided to just come up with my own version of a stuffed pepper meal! Quinoa is one of my favorite things to eat in the summer, mostly I like it cold, but this is a great way to eat it hot.

For this recipe, you can use quinoa, or a mix of quinoa and brown rice, or whatever rice you like really! I had this mix of organic quinoa rice mix in my cupboard so I decided to use it.

Here is what you will need:

3 cups cooked quinoa (or quinoa/rice mix)
1 can black beans or a can of mixed beans (washed and drained)
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (1/4 cup for mix and 1/4 cup for topping) use more if you like things cheesy!
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cilantro
sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)
salt and pepper
6 bell peppers

Here is what you will do:

Slice the top off each pepper and remove seeds. Wash peppers and use a paper towel to dry the inside. A little water left on the outside will help the peppers cook nicely.

Mix all of your ingredients together, with 1/4 cup (or more if you like) of the cheese. Once it is all mixed, stuff each of the peppers tightly. Place peppers upright in a casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This will vary depending on how you like your peppers cooked. Do you like them a little crunchy or nice and oven roasted? Really you just need the filling to be hot and peppers cooked to your liking.

For the last 5 minutes of cooking time, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top until melted. And enjoy! This is a complete meal!

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner is served! Let me know if you tried it, or made any changes!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Tannis

 

Card Class and Homemade Donuts

There are two things I love, creating cards, and baking for other people!

Tonight, my ladies got both. They made 10 cards that I designed, and they were treated to donuts! Homemade, baked donuts, so no guilt was involved!

Take a look at the cards I made for them to duplicate....

 

 

 

I love when these ladies come over because we always laugh and have a good time. Over the years, I have gotten to know them, and I am thankful for their friendship!

Now lets talk about the donuts shall we? I don't normally make donuts, well because donuts are just evil, greasy goodness bad for you little things. Well we know all baking is, but really now, donuts just have that yummy factor, where you can't really have just one! Enter the invention of the baked donut! Wow.

I grew up on donuts. My mom always made donuts, I think every week or two! So when I bought my Baby Cakes donut maker, I thought I would venture a bit and test a few recipes. I haven't gotten very far. This summer, my girl and I made pumpkin donuts for the farmers market and then I let the donut maker sit in the cupboard. Until today when I dusted it off and made two batches. One chocolate, one vanilla.

Lets just say, we enjoyed them and they were gobbled up in no time! While they may not be as great as the deep fried donuts you can buy, these babies here, well you can have 3 or 4 and I'm sure it equals the fat and caloric content of one of those deep fried ones! Don't hold me to it, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Tannis

 

Balsamic Salad Dressing

It's said that even small changes make a difference. One of the changes I am committed to making is in my salad dressings, sauces, and rubs. I don't know why I buy them at the grocery store when it is so easy to make your own. I suppose it's also easy to have them on hand in the fridge and cupboard for lazy days.

It bothers me that most salad dressings are full of ingredients I can't pronounce, high in sugar and most condiments have preservatives.

As I journey through making my own, I want to share as many of the recipes with you that I can. I am starting today with my favorite salad dressing. It's actually not my recipe, my friend Dana gave it to me. I especially love this salad dressing with spinach salad, of any kind! Today I was dreaming of spring, so our salad had fruit and nuts in it.



Balsamic Salad Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. Agave nectar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 small clove garlic
3 1/2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix together in a small mason jar and shake vigorously. Dressing can be kept in the fridge for a week to 10 days. Actually you can keep it longer, but the garlic gets stronger, and frankly, it will be gone before a week is up because it is so yummy!

 I hope that you will try it and let me know if you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!

Tannis

                                                                                                                                                                     

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Vintage Chic Designs - Part 2

Another completed album! My new style of workshops really has me and my ladies on a roll! I think this may be the quickest album that I
have ever completed, but I don't think that it lacks in anything. In fact some of the pages I designed are my favorite. Take a look and let me know which ones are your favorite! To see the first half of the album, please check that out here

 

All pages are designed by me, using Creative Memories Vintage Chic paper. Right about now, I am wishing that I had more of this paper, but in reality, I have so many other great choices of paper to move onto.

Not only have I designed a completed album, but I have added my pictures, all that is left to do is the journaling!

This picture here of my girl just makes me happy! When I look at it, my eyes lock on her eyes, and I love the smile I see all the way through her, reflecting out of her eyes.

This was taken a few years ago in Kelowna at a lavender farm, and I can still smell the beautiful aroma. There was a beautiful little spot on the upper level where you could get lavender tea, lavender scones, lavender lemonade. It was so beautiful, and this is a day I hope to not forget. There was nothing outstanding about it, except for the way I felt when I was there. Purple is one of my favorite colors and I loved seeing the color at every glance, no matter where I was. From the baskets of dried lavender to the dried bouquet to the specs of lavender in my scone, I felt like I was in a place where time could stand still.

 

 

You are a touch away

Yet I cannot reach you.

I want to whisper, so only you will hear;

By the guidance of the moon

Meet me, under the willow tree.

When you reach me,

Hold my hand in yours

With the other, touch my face and

Kiss me once, kiss me twice

Take my breath away with your love

When you come to meet me,

Under the willow tree.

         

                                                                                                           Tannis Ross

We were on a boat ride when I looked to my right and saw this big beautiful willow tree. There has always been a spot in my heart that goes a little pitter patter when I see a willow tree; since I was a child and saw my first willow tree like this in Vancouver, BC while visiting my aunt. I swear on this day, the sight of this tree took my breath away!

I hope you like my Vintage Chic designs, and that they inspire you! Please consider following my blog by entering your e mail address, and I hope that you will follow me on Pinterest for some more inspiration.

Thank you for stopping by!

Tannis

 

 

Vintage Chic Designs

Here we are, half way through January already! Happily, as of today, I am also half way through designing pages with my Creative Memories Vintage Chic paper.

Oh I have had it stashed away for a while, but with my new workshops, our goal is to work with existing paper that we have, to get our back stash of paper used. Of course so we can all go and buy some new and exciting paper!

Take a look at what I have designed so far!

 

 

Half way there! This album has been so much fun for me to design, and I have another 5 layouts done, but I will need to save that for my next blog post. Stay tuned! If you like what you see here, please follow me on Pinterest and pin the images to your own boards for inspiration! You can find me here at A Pinch of Creativity, just click the name!

Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!

Tannis

New at Michaels

I'm in the January doldrums. It's been cold for most of the month -35 or -40 with the wind chill. Yuck!

At times this has me uninspired and stuck in a rut, unable to focus on creating something new.

And today...I made a quick stop at Michael's on my way to pick up my daughter!

Nothing lifts my spirit more than new, bright, never seen before product. Suddenly, I got really light on my feet, I started to sing to myself and then shit! I realized I only had 5 minutes!

I only bought 2 things, but I will be back!

Check out some of it here and when you have time, go check it out!

Oh the things I can create with this great new product from Recollections, DCWV, and Heidi Swapp!

What do you think of the new product?

 

Happy Crafting everyone, thanks for visiting!

 

Tannis