Peerless Watercolor Organization

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Ok so the “hot” thing right now is watercolor.  I took a class a month or so back and have just begun to get ready to play. I found a great video on Youtube by AmyR and she showed how she organized her Peerless Watercolors. So I got to work on doing this so that I will use them. The one I have is Nicholson’s Peerless Transparent Watercolors Joanne Palette Colors which contains 15 sheets.

So I put on some rubber gloves. A good thing to use because it gets messy from the moisture in your fingers. If you haven’t use these before, they are paper that when you wet them they create watercolors. They tend to last much longer than you think so I cut small squares from each sheet.

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Then I attached them to my Strathmore 140lb watercolor paper which was cut down to about 41/2 x 5 1/2 so that I could slip them into my clear bags that are 5 7/8 x 7 3/4.  I left space at the top incase I want to attach a ring to hold them. I am not sure yet. I adhered them down with my ATG and then realized in all of the excitement, that I glued them upside down.  AAhhhh!!!

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So I had to redo it and then I wrote the names of the colors below each swatch and got to work with brush and water and placed a swatch below so that I could see the true colors.

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After they dried I slipped them into the clear bags. Now I can pick it up and see exactly what the colors are and match them to my pattern papers. I think I will actually use them now.

Have  a blessed day!

Belinda

Copic Card: Keepin’ Cool

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Hello Everyone! I am here today with a card I colored up with my Copics.  I haven’t made a card in about two months. So I am shaking off the cobwebs and slowly starting to get back to craftin’.  My Project Life is now officially way behind but I am coming up with a comeback plan for that too.  I just took the summer to enjoy some reading and relaxing and now I am trying to find a way to bring back my craft projects. During the summer months I tend to garden and read a lot so between that and my family, it leaves little time to really work on my craft projects.

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Enough about that, I have been wanting to use this digi I got for free months ago at Just Inked. I finally got around to it and have been loving using the pretty sequins from Lawn Fawn. Surprisingly, the sequins stay put pretty well once dried. I think I used Scotch Quick-dry Adhesive and it dries clear. I think you will be seeing a lot more sequins on my cards.

One thing I would like to work on this year is creating my own backgrounds. I created the one for this card but really want to learn how to improve my techniques.

Well I am off to do a little craftin’.

Have a blessed day.

Belinda

Anniversary trip

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Well hello my friends. I have been away too long. First I went away with Leao for our anniversary and then I went on a girl’s weekend with my sister. Then this past weekend, I spent with my niece and nephew that are visiting from Florida.  So I am grateful for all the fun but happy to be home again.  So now, I am trying to find a routine. The boys have one week of camp left and then they spend the month of August with me. So I have compiled a list of things I want to do with them and also coming up with a good routine so I can sqeeze in a few hours of work each day. I will let you know how that works.jeep

Anyway, I thought I would share a few pictures from our anniversary trip to Martha’s Vineyard. We stayed for 4 days and the weather was perfect with warm temperatures with an amazing sea breeze.  We rented a Jeep and explored the island. fishing-villageGrowing up I used to spend time staying with family friends in Oak Bluffs but never really explored the whole island. But this time, we were able to take our time and find new places.  We went to visit the oldest fishing village on the island, we checked out several beaches.

gayheadWe went to see Gay Head lighthouse and the beautiful cliffs.

sunsetThe view from our balcony was amazing. We could see the ocean and watch the ferries come and go. We even had a great view of all the shops. I liked watching the town wake up each morning. First the delivery trucks would slowly arrive, then you would see people walking their dogs and slowly you would see the shop owners flipping over their signs from closed to open.

beachesWhen we first got the rental we drove around to scope out the beaches to figure out which we would visit first. It was fun and I was surprised to find easy parking right off the road and next to the beach.

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We had fun trying different places each night for dinner.  It was fun being able to sit and have a meal that we could have conversation without having to fuss with the boys.

sconeWe went to a great dinner for breakfast and if you ignore the big hunk of butter on the side, this homemade blueberry scone rocked my world. It was so amazing, I wanted to order one to go.

I am going to make a mini album of our adventure and will share when I complete it.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Smoothies Express

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Last summer my friend Tamiko inspired me to start drinking smoothies. She recommended a book and there began a love affair between me, my blender and all the veggies I could find.  I drank smoothies in the past but they were only fruit based.  So I started making green smoothies for Leao and I everyday.  Many days we had one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  We did this pretty consistently this year but my recent anniversary trip with Leao  (pictures to come soon), reigniited my desire to incorporate even more smoothies. I went to a place on Martha’s Vineyard who incorporated all organic ingredients in their smoothies and I knew I had been missing out on many fruits. So I went on Pinterest and found a great link to a site that this lady that filled a bunch of freezer bags with a bunch of smoothies for quick access later. I loved the idea so I ran out to Trader Joes and picked up all my ingredients and freezer bags.  The good thing is that many of the ingredients is used in each smoothie so I didn’t have to buy a whole bunch of different things.

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The next thing I did was write the name and recipe of the smoothie on each bag. Now I do admit this takes a bit of time. I ended up making a batch of 18 smoothies.  But the reason you write the recipe on each is so that you know what final thing to add when you throw it in the blender.  Because almond milk, flaxseed, almond butter and ice are the only ingredients I held off until time to make the smoothies.  So next time I might just write the name of the smoothie on each bag and then type up a master list of the recipes to look up what I need to add.

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Now I have 18 smoothies sitting in the freezer that Leao and I can drop into the blender and in minutes have a yummy smoothie and they are all under  200 calories.  One thing I have enjoyed in this year of my smoothie journey is I enjoy looking at all the fruits and vegetables before they go into the blender and think how hard it would be to eat all those vegetables and fruits in a day. But the magic happens in the blender and they go down so nice.  It’s the guaranteed thing I do for myself daily.  I think having quick access to variety will help me continue to maintain daily smoothies for Leao and I.

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I keep going to look at them in the freezer. I am going to find a good day of the week to regularly make my batches.  The best part is they are so inexpensive when you make them like this.

So please check out this site, All thing Katie Marie and see if you might want to give it a try. You will be happy you did.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

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