side order

There's a mini-dare over at DCM that I found intriguing! Besides a card, we're to make a little extra to go with it, be it a bag, notebook, bookmark or whatever.

I've taken the opportunity to finally make the paper globes that I first saw on the HELLO my name is Heather blog (though the link to the PDF doesn't seem to be working right now... at least for me...). This was a rather forgiving project and came together pretty quickly! I only have one circle punch right now, so that determined the size of the globe right off the bat.

I enjoyed coordinating the two and could see this as a fun gift for someone. You could even make several globes and have them sitting in a decorative bowl somewhere.

I've left the card blank for now, as it could be used for just about anything that 'requires' flowers. The card still needs a little something, though I'm not sure what. Perhaps the sentiment would help. And I think I'll try edging each circle for the globe with ink before assembling to give it a little extra oomph.

movables

Here's one of Chip's latest projects:

He used that 'fake' wood that's popping up on decks all over, as it doesn't get ruined as quickly as real wood does. But he didn't enjoy working with it--it was hard to drill, line up and is quite heavy.This one is longer than the original that has resided on the porch and doesn't rock, which will be nice when we eat. Now we don't have to coordinate who is sitting when, and notice what they may be holding so there isn't any spillage...

And speaking of eating, we also have been enjoying new ways to prepare vegetables (anyone need yellow summer squash?), including corn on the cob. One recipe was to go with some other Asian dishes (see recommended recipe below for details) for dinner, and was the first time I've tried grilling corn. It was really tasty!

I wasn't thrilled with the smoked zucchini we tried...

Book recommendation: the dead & the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Recipe recommendation: Grilled Corn with Hoisin Butter
New product recommendation: OXO Corn Stripper

victuals

Well, the garden is starting to go great guns now and we're enjoying all kinds of fresh veggies as a result! Everything is a little later than usual this year, so we've only had cherry tomatoes in abundance thus far, but check out this new tomato variety we got (sorry, can't remember the name of it...):


It's pretty meaty, so I'm not sure if I'll can them straight or make sauces and can sauce. They aren't very big, either...

We're also harvesting our asparagus beans, which are pretty neat:

I tried to take a picture of them being prepared (using the recipe below), but our kitchen is too dark, so it didn't turn out. They were quite tasty, though! We did have to mix these with some of our regular green beans, as only half a pound was ready of the long beans, but it still turned out nicely.

We've got more yellow squash than we know what to do with!

Book recommendation: The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers
Recipe recommendation: Chinese Yard Long Beans with Garlic
Wine recommendation: Cedar Creek's Settlement Gold

scrumdiddlyumptious

Well, the DCM folks have set up the opposite of the last dare I participated in: creating a summer card. Since I did the winter, I felt I needed to scrape something up for this one.


Specifically, we were to focus on summer foods, so I had to do a little thinking outside the box, as I don't have much in the way of food stamps or paper. I've not used my bottle stamp too much, so I whipped that out, and filled it with lemonade!



The bottle and lemonade are stamped on vellum (yellow vellum in the case of the drink) and I used a few scraps to finish the background (and the inside). I also enjoyed making the little lemon slice down at the bottom, and decided it needed a little pop. Because I used scraps, I had to break up the word lemonade on the inside, but I don't think I mind it. I don't like where I placed it, though. Usually I try to center sentiments on the inside, but felt I need to leave plenty of room for writing when this card gets used...



We'll be doing a store update pretty soon with our first guest artist! And, just to let you know, we have a sister store on Etsy, mainly for advertising purposes. But if it's your preferred method of purchasing, by all means, use that store to get all your Stamp n' Stitch needs! We'd also appreciate any hearts you can give, too. [/blatant begging] :wink:

harbor

Last year, the Kordatzky family rented a cabin at Three Bears.

This year, we went a little bigger, and rented a Villa:

The week went waaaaay too quickly, though part of that may have been Chip and I joined the Faith Chapel canoe trip Saturday and Sunday morning on the Wisconsin River (our first overnight on a river with our kayaks), so we were exhausted on Sunday afternoon/evening (when my family all met at the campground/resort).

Some things were different (like cabin size (obviously) and free access to the indoor water park), but many things were the same. We again had more food than we could handle, though we did build in a meal made of leftovers, which helped use up several items. The pickle loaf (which is a horrible name for such a delicious sandwich) was devoured immediately, however, so there wasn't leftover of that.
We also still really enjoyed the outdoor water park called the Ranger Station, which has a nice lazy river (though no one did the basket dump this year).

The weather generally cooperated, with only one major thunderstorm rolling through Sunday night/Monday morning, disturbing much sleep. And we enjoyed completing a photo scavenger hunt throughout the three days we were there (Dad found the most flamingos). Oh--and the Marshes and the Bahrs met D for the first time, too!

We had a lot of desserts...

Book recommendation: Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
Recipe recommendation: Pickle Loaf
New product recommendation: Banana Split Oreos