Good Grief Girdie's blog

Christmas Paper Doll Journal...........

I always love to see a full and busy classroom............these girls worked hard to get at least their covers and a few pages finished last night.  To complete the Journal they all needed to do a little homework plus add all those upcoming Christmas memories with their own photos, but other than not completing their journals they are well on the way!  As always they did an amazing job with all the cutting and pasting needed to complete this Countdown to Christmas Paper Doll Journal.........For years we have always done a traditional countdown to Christmas but I decided we needed to change it up a bit this year with all colors of pinks, reds, greens and a little turquoise!

We missed Lisa and Suzy and hope you get to feeling better Lisa and Suzy I hope you mom is doing better..........!

Many of you know by reading this blog our friend and teacher Nan is moving.... so last night she stopped in before headed to Utah to say her last goodbyes........

We all said our goodbyes and wish Nan and her family happy days in the future ahead.........WE SURE ARE GOING TO MISS HER! Love you Nan from all of us..............

 

Check out his new line of Paper Goodies Cindy just got in........ you all who love fashion are going to LOVE it......

THE METROPOLITAN GIRL

 

I see a class in 2017 coming up using these wonderful papers..............

If you are in need of some inspiration for your Christmas projects Cindy has everything you need to get going.  The store is full.......stop by and check it out!

I know this is a long post but just wanted to share a few things.......

Last night was my last class of 2016.  If it wasn't for Cindy the Paper Crown and all of you students who come to class I would not be doing what I love to do.  So the biggest Thank You to each and everyone who supports The Paper Crown and each teacher.  I hope in the New Year 2017 to have some new and interesting surprises to keep you all coming back. THANK YOU!

 

HAPPY WEDNESDAY...............

 

noodle and lou...........

For years I have followed Noodle and Lou blog.......never did I ever dream I would have one of her pieces much less meet her and take a class from her........the week after she was here and right before Thanksgiving she had posted a photo of some Thanksgiving dolls she was making and said if  you wanted one to please let her know.......well guess what........I was lucky enough to get my name on the list and this sweet little doll arrived in my mailbox yesterday!  Isn't she a dandy........Jenn's detail and painting is so incredible that you really have to see it in person to appreciate how sweet she really is!  I would love to have a collection of these little guys and hopefully in the future I will. Thanks Jenn and I love her!

And look how she was wrapped ..........in this old pattern tissue and the mini tree attached with a sweet card!!!!!!! Oh Happy Day!!!!

 

See you girls tonight for our first ever Paper Doll Christmas Countdown Journal...............!!!!!

monday after thanksgiving and recipe monday.............

Good morning and hopefully this finds you all well......we had a short and sweet time with these kids.  Caryn is in PA school so we were lucky to get a few days with them.....We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Peters family and that evening we went to my nieces and had leftovers and played bingo and karaoke.......holidays go by super fast but we are grateful to be with family and friends.......now off to the Christmas Holidays!

Here is one of the recipes I made for Thanksgiving Dinner:

Brussel Sprout Salad

 

1-2 lbs brussel sprouts washed and shred with a mandolin

1/2-1 cup craisins

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 avocados

4-6 strips of bacon fried and cut into pieces

 

dressing:

juice of 1 lemon

4-6 tbls. olive oil

1 tbls. dijon mustard

2 tbls. minced red onion

2 tbls. any kind of vinegar ( I used a white balsamic)

salt and pepper

mix well and drizzle on top of the salad ingredients and toss.............enjoy!

 

Well it's monday and I have a long list for class tomorrow evening so I better get going......................

tuesday night class.......

For you all who are signed up for the Christmas Journal class this coming tuesday evening Nov. 29 here is a list of supplies you will need to bring:

 

basic class kit

gold leaf pen

uhu

small and large scissors

any christmas ephemera you want to add

washi tape in christmas colors

glue pens

stapler

paper trimmer

This class will take the entire time so please be on time ready to get started at 5:30.........if you have any questions please feel free to call the store 405-848-2389......see you all then!!!!

shop small today.........

 

 You all know how I feel about shopping small businesses.........today is the day and really all year round is important to Shop Small because without these stores we would not be able to have classes and  the latest and greatest products in the paper world..........so get out and avoid the mall and BIG crafting stores and buy from these small business..........it so crucial to keep them going because they are far and few between.........THANK YOU PAPER CROWN!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving...................

Happy Thanksgiving Blessings to all of you wherever you may be on Thanksgiving Day............!

day before thanksgiving......what are you doing?

The two glitter stamped photos are one of the stamps I bought from Monica Johnson at Glitter Market......she designed these and gave me some great advice on stamps!

Also working on some more of the fabric cuffs........hopefully I will have them finished this weekend and ready to sell next week!  I will let you know when I am finished and how you might purchase one!!!!

 

Hope all is going well today with your Thanksgiving preparations.  

recipe monday/tuesday.........

I have 2 recipes and hopefully you will try them........the first one is the Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan Soup

 

I love to use my crockpot any time I can, especially when I have a big group of people.....

 

3-4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

1 large chopped onion

3-4 small red and yellow peppers

2 stalks celery

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

3 tbls. fresh oregano

1/2 cup shredded Parmesesan cheese

2 cans fire roasted tomatoes

2-3 cups chicken broth

4-6 oz. any kind of pasta, penne/ragatoni is what I used

fresh basil pesto and more grated Parmesan cheese

Line crock pot with liner(these are the reason I love to use my crockpot) add the chopped onions, celery, peppers and chicken.  Then add the fresh basil, oregano, cheese,canned tomatoes and chicken broth.  Cook on low for 7 hours or high 3-4 hours until chicken is tender.  Take chicken out and shred. Add the pasta and cook on high until pasta is tender and then add the chicken back in the crock pot. To serve , serve with a spoonful of basil pesto and more parmesan cheese on top of each bowl.

This is really super easy and really tasty on a cold winters night. This is the soup I served last week for the Girls Party Journal exchange......

The second recipe is one I got out of the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook 

Pecan Caramel Cake

 

1 1/2 cups self rising flour

1 1/4 cup flour

1 cup butter softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine flours and set aside. In large bowl cream butter until smooth.  Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy about 3 min.  Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.   Ad the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.  with each addition beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix. Divide batter into and pour in 3 greased and floured cake pans.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 min.  Let the cake cool in pan for 1 hour.  Cool completely. To frost , frost with the caramel icing.

Caramel Icing

2 cups butter ( 4 sticks) yes its a lot of butter but soooooooo good

5 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 tbls. karon syrup

2 tsp. vanilla

 

Beat the butter until smooth.  Add the sugars and beat on low for 2 min.  Add  the milk, syrup, and bvanilla and beat until smooth and cream, 3-5 min.  Use immediately or store covered, at room temperature for us to 2 days.

 

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

To assemble ice the cake by filling between the layers with Caramel frosting then sprinkle with one third of the pecans on each layer. Then frost the top and sides and add more chopped pecans on top with remaining pecans.

 

I hope you enjoy these ..........!

 

Happy Tuesday all........ 

 

friendship.................

The Miracle of Friendship....

There's a miracle called friendship

that dwells within the heart,

and you don't know how it happens

or where it gets it's start,

but the happiness it brings you

always gives a special lift,

and you realize that friendship

is God's most precious gift.........

Last summer I read a post and it clicked for me to ask these friends to help me out.............Hope Wallace of Paper Relics had a post on her blog and a light bulb went off.  She asked one of her friends to help her out and that is when I  decided to do the same thing but with a few more friends. ( I contacted Hope to see if she minded if I did this same thing and she was so sweet and said of course)  These FRIENDS all helped me out..........I will keep it short.......you exchange filofax/Journals between you  and fill it with all kinds of Journaling stuff........I had each girl fill out a question sheet ........then we put our names in a hat and pulled out a name not knowing who had who ( except me because I needed to get the right book to the right person)  They then had 2 1/2 month to get their journals completed. You were responsible to get the journal you wanted that was to be passed over to the one who was filling it.........Then we would get together and have dinner and exchange them, so that brings me to last week when we exchange them............oh what fun we had and they were all amazing what was inside each journal!

 

 

( these two just had to take selfies with my big camera and I didn't realize until I downloaded these)

I sure wish my photos were better but they aren't......anyway I wish I could show you each and every book because they were incredible and each one was so different.  At first these girls didn't quite know what they were expected to do but I think once they got started it was hard to quit and wanted to add more..........some were busting out but that is what made them so great!

So if you are wanting to ask a few friends to do the same you will have so much fun.........make sure you ask friends that love to do the same thing you like to do and a true friend will definitely come through......... and that is exactly what these friends did.........they made a project for me a fun experience!

Of course you can't get together without having food so I decided to make it a Pink Girls Night to help celebrate Friendship.........

Pink Poodle ( non alcoholic) drinks......

 

Each place card I made paper dolls with their name and the poem " The Miracle of Friendship" was attached on each doll...

On the girls invitation I asked them each to bring their favorite salad and I made Parmesan Chicken Soup and rolls.......for dessert I made a Caramel Pecan Cake ..........

We all have friends we love to share and create with and these gals love to do the same and I can't thank them enough for going on this little creative adventure with me. Thank You Thank You Thank You........

At the end of the evening one of these sweet girls is moving to another state to be close to family...... so we all decided to make her a little Paper Doll Paper Crown memory book with notes and photos from days gone bye.........

Nan has been a looooooooooong time Paper Crown friend since the beginning. She is now moving on to start a new adventure with her family and we wish her the best in the future ahead. Hopefully this book will remind her of all the good times we have all spent together creating art! We all Love you Nan and will miss you but remember you promised to come back and visit   and teach and we will hold you to it.....

I guess I have gone on long enough on this Monday Morning but just wanted to share in something fun and with friends..........what would we do without friends.........have a great day!
 

 

 

 

 

  

happy friday..........

Check back monday to see what happens when you ask 7 of your friends to help you in a fun project..........

Have a great weekend...........