Key Lime Digi Design Celebration

Welcome to my Blog-A-Rooni!

Presented to you today, is more digital scrapping, a celebration for one of my favourite designers and ideas for alternative uses for digital scrap kits.  They certainly are not just for scrapbooking.  Of course, there's always a goodie for you, just for stopping by.

Extra!  Extra Read all about it!

So that's my girlie's spiel.  A huge prize,winning all over the place and a nice discount for your personal use purchases, too.

As you hop around to the other ladies blogs and grab your pieces for the mini and prizes, you'll be feasting your eyes on some gorgeous inspiration using Key Lime Digital Design's gorgeous kits.  I did not find it easy picking the kit I loved most to present to you because I love them all, but stuck to the rules and chose Steampunk World.

The colour palette is so rich and luxurious.  You could use it for nearly any project you might have in mind and it is very guy friendly.  Full of texture, depth and vibrance, you can see why I chose this kit.

As I was scrapping, I saw Sandy's hat and asked her to turn it into a template so that I could design my own hats and for the first time ever, she listened to me!  Hehehe...  Here is what the template looks like.

Check out what you can do with it!!!

And here are the hats I designed.  I couldn't stop!  I combined some stuff from my Vintage Board on Pinterest for this one.

Take a look at some other creations of mine using Steampunk World.

Here's a sweet picture of my pop when he was just a wittle babes and his big brother.  Awe...

Above is my dad, again and below is his brother Gary.  How fab is this kit for scrapping your old pictures?!

I've got even more inspiration on a previous blog I did with this kit and it's where you can find a FREE hybrid project, too.  What is hybrid?  Hybrid is taking your creation off of the computer and holding it in your hands.  I designed this card for you using Steampunk World.  This is the front. You simply download, print, fold and your set!  I've even got a design on the inside.  Click on the image to visit my other blog entry and grab your FREE card, good for just about any occasion.

If creativity is your thing, then The Cherry On Top is perfect for you.  I continuously share my crafty endeavours, recipes, travel experiences, tips and tricks for around the house, as well as decor and seasonal inspiration, too.  I invite you to scroll through my previous blogs, grab the mega freebies, then hop to my Pinterest and Facebook to join me there and keep up with all of the goodies on a daily basis.

Hopefully, you just came from  here: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.hurley.2013.

And your next stop is here:  http://hamommyscrappythings.blogspot.com/

If you ever get lost, click here.

Here are the links you'll need for your goodies from the celebration, this is where you will find your clue.  Enjoy!

Thank you so much for letting The Cherry be a part of your day!

20 Minutes or Less Menu Planner From The Cherry On Top

Welcome to this week's menu planner.  I'm on #31.

I'm eating one of these meals as I'm typing this up.  Ha!  The Cherry On Top's Menu Planners are all about efficiency and healthy cooking.  In most menu's you'll find them to be very easy to cook.  You'll also note that most ingredients are easily accessible at a typical grocer and inexpensive as well.  For most people, we want it fast.  I choose healthy first, but with fast a very, very close second.

This week I've got seven, healthy, easy to prepare meals that will be ready in 20 minutes or less.  The average for these meals are between 13-18 minutes.  Isn't that awesome?!

Yes!  Let's dive right into it, shall we?

Monday:  shrimp scampi with pasta

I could not believe how easy this was to make when I made it for the first time. As a teenager, it was my all time favourite dish and my family today really loves it. If shrimp ain't yo' thang, then add some cubed chicken or fish or go vegetarian and add some cherry tomatoes.

A key ingredient, that you should always have on hand is fresh pasta.  Do you know that fresh pasta takes 2-4 minutes to cook?  It tastes incredible, too.  I wouldn't blame you at all for not going back to the dried assortment.

I've got a recipe for ya, but you could go mega basic and just sauté olive oil, garlic, your shrimp or meat and herbs.  Really, that's it!

Tuesday:  potatoes and blue cheese soup

Even folks who do not like blue cheese go crazy over this recipe.  This soup is one of my most famous recipes and I'm asked to make it over and over again.  It's really easy to make and there's nothing better to comfort and nourish you on a cold autumn or winter's day.  I serve this with fresh baked bread and butter. For you bacon fans, you can always fry some up and sprinkle it over the top when it's ready to eat.

In a medium sauce pan combine 3 medium potatoes (peeled if you like and chopped, keeping in mind, the smaller they are chopped, the less time they will need to cook), 1 cup of water, 1 small chopped onion,2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules and some black pepper.  

Cover this up and let it simmer until you have the table set and while you're making this:

Combine 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of flour into a shaker and start shake'n.  Check your potatoes for doneness.  When they are how ya like'm take your hand held potato masher and gently mash it all up a bit, add your milk mix to the sauce pan.  Check out your consistency.  If it's way too thick, slowly add some more milk until you get it just how you like it.  I like this soup a little on the thick side, like chowder.  Let your liquid cook in and warm through then add the crumbled blue cheese.  How much you add depends on just how cheesey you want your soup.  My hubby is crazy about blue cheese, so I add quite a bit.  start off with 1/4 cup and keep tasting and adding until you get it right.  I also like this soup with a lot of black pepper.

To make it easier for you, I've created a nice recipe card.  Click on the image, download it and print or take your tablet to the kitchen and start cook'n.  Hey!  Why not print out a couple of these cards and give them to people who you think will love this recipe, too?!

If you're want'n a fabulous fresh bread recipe. Click here and get THE most awesome bread recipe you will ever find.  Seriously!  Hehehe...

Wednesday:  sausage, potatoes, veg

I'm asked to make this meal every single week.  My kids go ga ga over mashed potatoes.  I realise that not everyone can whip up a meal like this, from scratch in 20 minutes.  My best time is 18 minutes for this one.  I have a gas stove and I'll tell ya, there ain't nothing better.  My water is boiling in a jiffy and the control of your fire just dosen't get better.  If you really want to save time in the kitchen, having the right appliances can have a huge impact.

I have a few suggestions to save you some time on this one.  Keep on hand, frozen potatoes.  I'm a client of one of those freezer food delivery services.  I only buy frozen potatoes, vegetables and croissants (they are better than the bakers).  This is a huge time saver and the food is frozen fresh.  You can get a lot of these products at the grocery store as well.

Save time by not making a sauce.  This used to be my time suck, but not any more.  I've made it so many times, I could do it blind folded.  In Belgium, folks eat their potatoes with mayonnaise.  I use this as my sauce at times or ketchup.

Frozen vegetables are also something you should keep on tap at all times.  Though not THE healthiest way to eat veggies, they come darn close and they are ready in a snap.  Canned corn is without a doubt, the fastest veg to whip up.

Click here to go back to another week and get a gravy tutorial and check out the day's menu for chipolata, stump en in sausje.

Thursday:  tortellini and creamed herb cheese

Get ready to be blown away with how fast this meal is ready!  Choose any kind of FRESH tortellini.  Boil it the typical 3-4 minutes.  While it's boiling, grab a sauce pan and put in a nice pad of butter in.  No more than 2 tablespoons.  Take a package of your favourite herbed cream cheese or two and slowly stir as it melts.  If it's too thick, add a tea spoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you like.  Your pasta is probably already finished, strain it and add it to your sauce.  Voila!  This meal literally takes 5 minutes!!!

Fun Food Friday:  super nachos

Grab your biggest oven pan (lightly cover in olive oil), put your bag or two of tortilla chips on it, choose from cooked bacon, cooked hamburger or to save even more time, use chopped chicken or turkey that's already cooked,sprinkle a variety of cheeses over it and voila!  You could add some jalapeños too.You only need to bake them about 8 minutes which is just the right amount of time to grab your sour cream, salsa and guacamole to put on the table with the rest of your table setting.

Click on this image to go to another week's menu and grab the recipe if ya need it.

Saturday:  grilled ham and cheese

Don't forget how easy this is to do!  Don't bother trying to spread butter on your bread.  Put your pad of butter right in the pan, grab your slice of bread and sop it all up that way.  So much easier and faster.  If you want it even faster, use a toaster to toast your bread, slap in your sliced cheese and ham and bake it or nuke it for a couple.

Think of other kinds of meats you can put in there, too.  Sliced chicken or turkey or maybe some Serrano ham and Manchego cheese.

This image is linked up to some incredible sandwich recipes.

Sunday: fish, couscous and veggies

Another fabulous benefit of seafood is how fast you can cook it.  I learned to buy moderate size fish in relation to thickness.  If you want easy, get fish that isn't too, thick.  Of course, it cooks a lot quicker as well.

This is what I'm eating.  I wanted to make my couscous and time it for exactness.  Wow!  So easy and fast. 

First, boil some water.  I always use my tea kettle.  It does it the fastest. Grab a nice size bowl that you can cover.  Pour in the recommended serving amount of couscous.  When the water is boiling (which took 2 minutes and of course you can consider the microwave as well) pour the same amount of water as your couscous over the couscous, stir, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.  In the mean time, get your fish started and stir fry some of your favourite fresh veggies along with garlic (I milled dry garlic to save time.) and some interesting spices like Sherwood's. I used zucchini, yellow pepper and scallions.  Your fish is cooking/sautéing or grilling at the same time.  I used a bit of the Sherwood's on my fish, too. When your veggies are done to your liking, add a generous amount of butter, let it all melt in and then mix this all in with your couscous.  (I used 2 tablespoons just for me.  Naughty, I know.)  

I've read a few recipes and some prepare it like risotto.  It just takes longer that way.  Here's my picture from today.  I was eating just the couscous recipe from today, with some chopped chicken.  Dee-lish!

That's one week's worth of meals under 20 minutes!  You know a lot of people who would love to have this arsenal of 20 minute meals, so by all means, share the link!

Thanks for coming by and make sure ya do it again!

More Free Halloween Treat Bags From The Cherry On Top

Welcome back to The Cherry On Top.

I designed a couple more Halloween treat bags for you.  They are put together in a snap.  Click on the image, download, print, fold, adhere and POW!  It's finished.  It only took me a couple of minutes and you could even have your kids assemble them.  It's THAT easy.  Fill them up with nearly anything, lay them nicely on a large tray or in a huge bowl and your ready for the tricker treaters!

A printer friendly version that will save on ink.  Simply right click and download.

If you are looking for more treat bags, I've designed these here, too.  Click on the image to jump to the blog where you can find them.  My gal Paty Grief Digital Designer allowed me to make these awesome freebies from her fabulous, Say BOO kit!  Find it here and make some of your own fantastic Halloween favours.

Click on this image below, to get these fantastic, FREE stickers from the Say Boo kit from Paty Greif Digital Designer.  THESE ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Thank you for stopping by The Cherry On Top. Share my blog links with your friends, please and know that these are absolutely not for resale.  

Thanks!

Free Halloween Stickers From Paty Greif Digital Designer

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

I've got Paty Greif Digital Designer in the spotlight today and her Boo-Bacious new kit, Say BOO!  Imagine all of the fantastic things you can make with this digital kit.  Of course, your typical scrapbooking layouts, but also an entire line of party favours for a Halloween Party or Freaky Festival!

I certainly had fun playing with this kit to make my layouts of scary Liam and his wicked tooth as well as my tough is enough, American football disguise.  The Buccaneers may as well put me out on the field!  Maybe we would actually win a game!  Rrrr....

Check out the other awesome layouts the Creative Team put together by clicking here.  Then make sure you grab these stickers to decorate your Halloween goodies for the coming holiday.  Click on the image to download.

Here's an example of what you can do with the kit in regards to hybrid crafting.  Create some lovely treat bags for your tricksters.  I used a template I found on Pinterest.  Find it here.  Click on the image to download these FREE printables from Paty Greif Digital Designer.  She also has a freebie on her Facebook Page that you can download.

THESE ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Here's what the treat bags look like.  It only took me a few minutes to do all of these!  Click on the image if you like these treat bags, too.

Thank you for tuning in!  Make sure you do it, again and Happy Haunting!

Lunch For the Lil' Ones

Welcome to The Cherry On Top!

Today, The Cherry is bringing you an arsenal of ideas for in your kid's lunch box.   They are not all fancy, time intensive meals and I went for healthy, fresh lunches that most kids like.  My boys have Autism and are not the easiest mouths to feed.  Especially, when it comes to healthy stuff.  I would like to remind you of the importance of feeding your little, loved ones a sugarless, healthy meal.  You set them a fine example and make their lives healthier.

There are so many places to look for inspiration.  I'm going to share a couple of my own ideas and some links where you can find even more creative mum's meal ideas.

I was going to start off with a list of things to put in lunches that you can hang on your refrigerator, but then I found another blog, who already did that!  You can find an awesome lunch list right here.

Here are some examples of my meals:

Some very important tips to remember when packing a lunch is limit the sugar.  I very rarely use drinks with sugar, but do like to surprise the boys once in a while with a chocolate or strawberry milk.  I typically use water or fruit juice with absolutely no sugar.

I've got a fruit cup that's very low in sugar, as an occasional treat and some diced chicken and cheese along with some baked tortilla chips as an alternative to sandwiches.

Another rare indulgence is replacing the sandwich with a couple of monster, home made cookies packed with nuts and dried berries.  Don't forget granola bars, too!

Use the things you have in your garden.  My boys love helping pick the berries and sharing them with their friends. Of course, I can't do that all year, but I always include fruit, veg or both in every lunch.  When I'm desperate, I use a trail mix.

Here I have some white milk, a sandwich, carrots, grapes and yogurt. 

I left the sandwich out again and served up some fresh baked muffins packed with zucchini, carrots and raisins.  No one knew!  That's a major score.  Click here for a really easy recipe and make them yourself.

Another idea that one of my children really likes in his lunch, are sliced cucumbers and cream cheese with herbs to dip.  I like it, too.  I couple up this duo with some rice crisps,cakes that can also be dipped.

How about fresh baked waffles?!  Oh, yeah!  Make them for the family on Sunday morning and make extra for in their lunch on Monday.  They will love ya for it!  Hit up my Weekly Menu Planner to get the recipe for really easy waffles.

OK, there are some of my lunches.  Now, I'll set you up with some other fantastic places for even more ideas.  I invite you to my Pinterest Board, "Lunch For The Lil' Ones".  Where you'll find over a hundred ideas. I checked each one personally and only chose legitimate sites with little to no advertisement hassles and sign up stuff.  This is a really great board and is growing popular fast.  If you have a special lunch board on Pinterest or blog, share it here in the comments so we can check it out.

Also another Mum blog, My Mommy Style.  She's got some great ideas for thermos lunches which are wicked when it comes to the winter cold.  Check out what she has on her blog, here.

As usual, I've got a free gifty for you. You can make your very own fun projects like this with digital elements.  Click on the image, head to Photobucket and choose download.

I love these and plan on using them as lunch box notes for my boys.  You can use them for either gender.  Enjoy your free printables and get your kid's eat'n healthy!

Keep coming back for more super ideas, recipes, a laugh and a smile. 

Thank you for hanging with The Cherry!

Free Printable Wine Label

Welcome, to The Cherry On Top.

I've got a fantastically easy, FREE, wine label printable for you.  Just cut and stick and you can personalise your favourite bottle of wine or maybe cover up the label of another bottle of wine.

You may just get a giggle or a snort with the little play on words.

These are all of the instruments required for this project:

bottle of wine

tape or double sided tape

scissors or a paper cutter

printable (watch your print size!)

That's it!

Gather your materials.  Cut out your labels, but be careful not to cut too much.  I had to leave on a little bit of the white frame to cover the entire label and cut off a lot of extra for the top label.  I also left the entire width of the paper for my large label.  Measure it up before cutting!

Simply wrap your small and large labels in their corresponding places and tape or adhere. (I did fix the print out with the correct form of whine.  Duh!  Hehehe...)

That's it!  What a fun and easy way to personalise and present a gift!

Click on the image below, zoom to Photobucket and choose download.

Enjoy!

Week #30 Menu Planner

Here we are, again!

Back at ya with another delicious, healthy and fast week's worth of menus.  Make sure you plan your meals.  You save time, money and hassle.

Meatless Monday:  vegetarian pizza

I've got Paula Deen here, today!  Making your own crust is always the healthiest, but if ya just can't see yourself doing it, although uber easy, use a fresh baguette, a tortilla or one of those pre made crusts from the grocers.

Tuesday: Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

You won't believe how easy this one is.  With the air growing a bit chilly, this is just what the family needs.  Serve it with some fresh bread if you think the soup won't be enough.

Wednesday:  Unstuffed Cabbage Skillet

I asked my fans how they felt about cabbage and I was pleased that a majority said they liked it.  So, here is a fantastic fall recipe with cabbage.  Watch that salt intake with this one and take it easy on the bouillon.

Thursday: Cumin Lime Pork Tenderloin

Check out this awesome recipe from Boulder Locavore.  I love making pork tenderloin because it's nearly fail proof.  I grill mine for about 3-4 minutes on each side on the grill pan.  Then I cut it into thick slices and throw it back on the grill pan just just a couple of seconds on each side.  It always comes out perfect!

Fun Food Friday:  Meatball Sub Casserole

Click on the image to find this recipe that just might turn out to be a family favourite!  The meatballs can be very fairly time consuming, but not too, bad.  My kids love making meatballs.  I get all of the rest ready while they make the balls. You may rather save the time and used some frozen ones.

Saturday:  Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Skillet

This recipe is totally awesome!  You can really use any kind of chicken you want, but the thighs will add a lot more flavour to your recipe.  Serve it with some rice or pasta or even quinoa.  Beef or pork would work, too.  Mmmm...

Sunday:  fish, potatoes and veg

I cannot believe I forgot to put fish on the menu!  Yikes!  I'm often hungry as I type up this blog and this recipe has really got my mouth watering.  This recipe will work with a lot of different kinds of white fish.  Tilapia is really affordable and very mild in taste.  Make some mashed potatoes and yummy white sauce and serve with your family's favourite, fresh vegetables.  Check out the author's freezer tip, too!  If you don't know how to make a white sauce, you can always refer to other recipes here or you can hit up this one.  It can be as easy as melting some cream cheese in a pan and adding one of those garlic, herb bouillon pots. The end!

Get your shopping list together.  Leave the junk food right on the shelves, buy fresh because it's best and make your family healthy meals this week.

See you next week!

Key Lime Digi Design Freebie

Welcome, all you Digital Divas!

I've got Key Lime Digi Design in the spotlight today and Man is this a hot edition!  I'm talking smoking!  My girl Sandy, has teamed up with Tami Miller and they have put together an absolutely gorgeous kit, "She's All That".  Le'me tell ya.  She IS all that, a bag of chips and a box of chocolates.  Hehehe...

Ok!  Ok!

Without further ado,  I give you, "She's All That", links for the fabulous collaboration, my design inspiration AND....dun, dun, daaaaahhhh.....A FREEBIE, of course!

Are these colours not just knocking your socks off?!  What a joy it was working with it.  Click on the image to see even more fabulous designs with this collaboration and get a cooer look at all of the gorgeous goodies.

Here's a hit of inspiration for you.  Go BIG on that title with this awesome alpha and let the picture of your beauty take over.

Or...you can go absolutely nuts and use nearly every single element in one corner of your layout. Hehehe...They were all so pretty, I couldn't leave one out!!!  LOL!

I cannot take credit for these beautiful, little girls.  They are children from friends of mine.

The creative team for KLDD loved my layout so much, that they figured I had to share at least a piece of all of this loveliness.  This freebie is no longer available.

Thank you for hanging out with The Cherry. I'll be back again with some laundry tips, recipes and of course, free stuff.  Don't forget all of my social hubs for mega free goodies and more inspiration than you can shake a stick  at.  Go to the top of the blog to find my Pinterest and Facebook Page.

TAAAH!!!