Gluten-Free Frittata with Brown Rice Penne

Gluten-free pasta frittata made with brown rice penne.

Summer is officially upon us- allegedly. And by us I mean those of us calling the Northern hemisphere our home. See? I didn't forget you lovely readers from the topsy-turvy land Down Under, strapped to snowboards or skiing the snowy slopes of Victoria in need of steaming mugs of soup and plates of comfort food. I know it's winter for you. I get it. I do. I'm chilly, too. I've got Popsicle toes. And just so you know I'm not pulling your leg, Mate, I'll let you in on a little secret.

I'm not sporting a bikini these days, either.

Well, I don't actually own a bikini, so that might not be terribly shocking news (I don't think I've even touched a bikini since 1982, and for that wise choice alone, countless thousands are grateful).

I'm still layering my long sleeved tees and thick fuzzy sweatshirts, you see. Here in Redondo Beach we have the annual weather effect (grumpily or fondly) known as June Gloom. Brushed velvet fog and low slung clouds hug the coast each morning and shower us with mist that would make Ireland proud.

It's a marine layer issue, so they say.


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Paertake Weekly - Here comes the sun!!

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! I'm excited cause I get on the plane tomorow to go see my sister and brothers! It's been a couple years so it's way overdue! I'm ready for some rest, relaxation, and lots of fun catching up with everyone! It's time for a new challenge from Papertake Weekly, and this week the challenge is "here comes the sun". We're being sponsored by The Ribbon Girl! For my card, I used Strawberry Girl from Mo Manning Digital Pencil. I fell in love with her when I saw her!

She's colored with Copic markers (list is below) and then cut out using oval Nesties and petite scalloped oval Nesties. She's then popped up from the rest of the card. The DP is Best Creation and all the cardstock is from Bazzill. The flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts and the big butterfly is a Cuttlebug cut and emboss set. I used some pink  Liquid Pearls on it too. The little butterflies are from an EK Success punch.

This is the card for my June Coloring with Copics class I give at my local scrapbook store. Hope they enjoy putting it together as much as I enjoyed designing it.  So that's it for my card for today. Please be sure and pop over to Papertake Weekly and check out all the fantastic cards by my teamies! Then we'd love it if you'd grab your paper and glue and play along with us. Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! I will be out of reach for the next week. So I'll see you all when I get back next week! Hugs!

Sunny Days with Celebrate with Flourish and BBTB2

Happy Monday and happy (HOT) summer!  This is my week to host the challenge cut at Bitten by the Bug 2.  In honor of the Summer Solstice, I selected a fun, summery cut - the phrase "Sunny Days" from the Celebrate with Floursh Lite cartridge! 

I designed this layout a month ago when I first selected my challenge cut.  The timing was perfect as my husband and I had just booked out first cruise!  Our 30th anniversary is in November so we decided to take a 6 night cruise to the Bahamas and Key West to celebrate.  We thought this cruise sounded like a perfect opportunity to introduce us to cruising - to get our feet wet, so to speak!

So, with "cruising on the brain" I combined cuts from Celebrate with Flourish and Life's a Beach cartridges to create this fun layout.  I used Celebrate with Flourish (CWF) to cut the Sunny Days phrase and the sun with clouds layered cut.  I love the layered look of the word phrases on CWF.  I confess that I have been utilizing a similar layering technique long before CWF was released. But using CWF makes the layering of letters MUCH easier.   I also really like the swirl cutouts - or flourishes - that are part of every CWF cut.  Such a fun cartridge.

I uses Life's a Beach (LIB) to cut the elements on the lower half of the page.  I cut the ship in multiple layers and had cut an additional bottom piece to make the ship taller.  I trimmed the ship out with ribbon, dashes and a cute little anchor. 

The double layer waves and the dolphines were also cut from LIB.  I had never cut the dolphines so I was a bit nervous about the tiny outline pieces.  But as you can see it all went very well.   The waves were cut in two layers - after welding two of each of the wave cuts together.  I thought the dolphins looked cut jumping out of the water between the waves.

I used this great beach photo on the layout, though truthfully I will probably make a matching page and save the layout for our fall cruice.  The photo mats will hold up to a 5 x7.  Sadly I was out of 5 x7 photo paper and had to print this photo at 4 x 6. 

If you have not already done so, please go by Bitten by the Bug 2 and check out the design team projects. I had a sneak peek and was WOWed by some of the great projects.  Also, please consider playing along with us on the weekly challenge.  Complete a new project this week using the "Sunny Days" phrase cut and post your project in the link area at BBTB2.  We provide a blog blinkie to the best project of the week, selected from those who chose to join us in the challenge.

Magnolia-licious Blog Hop - Black & White with a "pop" of color

Hi friends!! Hope you had a fabulous weekend, and that you're ready for a great week! It's time for a new Magnolia-licious Design Team blog hop, so if you've arrived here from the lovely and talented Barb, then you're in the right place! If not, pop on over to the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog for all the links to the hop. For our theme today, we were challenged by the Queen herself! Diana asked us to use black and white, with a "pop" of another color. Well of course mine had to be red.  I do love the color combo of  red, black, and white. 

For my card, I used one of the brand new stamps from the Sweet Rainbow collection which is available right now over at Magnolia-licious! She is #264 Lying Tilda.  Now you might notice I only used half of her! I really like the entire stamp, but the top half of her is perfect for popping out of a frame! She's colored with Copic markers. I know her dress is the R20 family, and her skin is E11, 01, and 00. Can't remember what colors I used for her hair. Sorry!  For the frame, I used my new Cricut Cartridge, Elegant Edges.   For the sentiment, I chose to use a circle sentiment from Lili of the Valley cut out with circle Nesties and petite scalloped Nesties. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and that yummy bow was made with May Arts silk ribbon. I also added some Kaiser pearls in the corners for the finishing touch.

So that's it for me for the hop! Now if you're interested in maybe going shopping over at Magnolia-licious, leave a comment on this post and you'll be elligible to win a 20 dollar gift certificate to the shop! That should assist you with your shopping fun! I will draw a winner the weekend of the first as I will be out of town for the next week. Now it's time to hop on over to visit the oh so talented Suzanne. I know she's got something gorgeous for you to feast your eyes on! Thanks so much for joining us in the hop today!  Please be sure and visit the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog so you can see how you can participate and win a fabulous prize from Diana! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

My Favorite Gluten-Free Summer Recipes

Cook It Up Summer!

Make it fresh, fast, and light. Just in time for Summer Solstice, these hand-picked favorite gluten-free recipes celebrate the abundance of local ingredients and garden-glorious taste. Kick up your warm weather meals with local fresh herbs, tender salad greens, lime infused guacamole,  protein rich hummus, and sparkling pesto. Simple grilled fish, colorful stir-fries, and bright quinoa salads  make for light and easy meals, perfect for picnic style get-togethers. Strawberries, blueberries and peaches inspire cobblers, cakes, and dairy-free ice creams everyone will enjoy.

Eating gluten-free couldn't be simpler. Or more fabulous.

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Happy Father's Day to my hubby!

Good morning! Are you having a good weekend? The weather has been so nice! Not too hot, not too cool. Perfect for the last couple days of spring. I wanted to show you the card I made for my hubby for Father's  Day. It's a very simple card. I let the image do all the talking on this one. No embellishments at all. Just used some patterned paper from Pink Petticoat matted with Bazzill cardstock. This fabulous image is from Kenny K and I think she's gorgeous!! I've got a really cute picture of myself that I got a couple years back when I went to Vegas with my two very favorite ladies in the entire world. We were celebrating turning 50 together. We came across one of those places that insert your face into a sexy pic. We had a blast with that one. Anyway, I had my face inserted into a Cowgirl pinup, so I couldn't pass up this image.

Of course I had to come up with my own sentiment. LOL! And I've got to tell you that he truly LOVED this card when he opened it. heehee  Well....what guy wouldn't??!!

She's colored with Copic markers - The T series of grays and the R20's series for the reds. I used E11, E01, and E00 for her skin. For her hair, I used E97, 99. and 17. I didn't care for how it came out, but it was one of the last things I colored and I just didn't have the time to redo her again. She did take a while to color.  And for those of you that know me, the first part of the sentiment is on the front, and here's the inside

And now I'd like to share some pics in memory of my wonderful dad....Happy Father's Day Dad!

My dad when he was about two years old

What a handsome guy!

He sure did love to fish!

And last but not least, a picture of my mom and dad

Have a wonderful day everyone!! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

Baby Boy Card for Everyday Cricut

Happy Saturday readers!  You know that the much tauted Father's Day card I have talked about all week?  Well, it is not going to happen after all.  I had planned to post both my Baby Boy card AND the Father's Day card today, but alas, Cricut Craft Room and my Cricut Imagine were having some communication issues and this card took far longer than I had intended.  And frankly, by the time I finished with the card I still had to write not one but two blog posts.  So yes, the Father's Day card will go in the archive folder for next year!

This cute Welcome Baby card was created for Everyday Cricut using Theresa Collins' F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S Imagine Cartridge - Baby Boutique.  For more details on how this card was created AND more information on Baby Boutique, visit my post at Everyday Cricut.  There are many more photos there also. 

I will not be posting again until Monday, when it is my turn to host the weekly challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2.  In the meantime, I wish the men in your lives a Happy Father's Day!

Road Trip with a Side Stop

Everyday this week I have been telling you that "tomorrow" I will post the card that coordinates with the Cricut Father's Day grill decal.  And yet everyday I post something else.  Guess what?  Today is no different! 

I took a 7.5 hour road trip yesterday to pick up my younger son from College.  I have previously shared, but... Ian is a student at the Art Institute of Atlanta, where he is majoring in Sound Production.  Ian wants to go into film special effects.  AIA is on a quarter system in which Ian goes to school year around.  He gets four breaks per year - a week in the spring, a week in the fall, four weeks at Christmas and four weeks in the summer.  This is his four week break.

On our way home we decided to make a stop at the Dekalb Farmer's Market, just off of I-285.  I have heard of several farmer's markets in the greater Atlanta area and decided to begin checking them out.  DFM offers a large variety of foods from which to choose.  There are 10 or 12 departments, each featuring a broad range of product in their category.  We did not take time to shop the entire market, though we did visit the produce section (photo 1) and International foods (photo 2).

Photo 3 (above) shows just a small section of the seafood department - had I remembered a cooler we would have made several purchases there.

Photo 4 (above) shows only a tiny bit of large selection of pastries and baked good.  We did bring home cannoli and eclairs.

One of the areas my husband would have enjoyed had he been with us was the coffee selection.  There were coffees from several countries, in several varieties.  I brought him some Kona and a South American Organic coffee.

The cheese department looked fabulous - but again that three hour drive home made me think twice about purchasing cheese without a cooler.  Sigh.....

It surprised me, but there was also a large international beer and wine section.  I confess to purchasing two bottles of sparkling Italian wine - on special! 

The DFM offered Ian and I a pleasant way to spend an hour or so, but we decided that next time we want to find the real downtown market and spend even longer shopping!  If you have any suggestions for great markets in the greater Atlanta area, please let me know!!

Fun and Exciting news!!

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a fabulous week! I'm really excited as I've been invited to join Sandie and the amazingly talented team over at Paperplay Challenges, and this is my first card for them! Today's challenge, "At The Beach", was chosen by our wonderful Mandy and is being sponsored by...wait for it....Just Inklined!!! I love that company!! Sure wish I had a chance to win! LOL! Anyway, I'm super happy to join the talented team of designers at Paperplay!  

For my card, I used one of my brand new images from the Sweet Rainbow collection from Magnolia-licious. She's #353 Sweetie Tilda, and they named her appropriately as she is indeed a sweetie!  I paper pieced her dress and colored the rest of her with Copic markers. Sorry I don't have the list of markers I used on this one. I also used the background stamp #655 Romantic sunset. Both of these images are in stock right now over at Magnolia-licious!  The DP is from Nitwit Collections Summer Splash, and it's matted with Bazzill cardstock. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, the ticket is from a set from Whimsy, and the yummy ribbon is from Stamp and Create.

So that's it for my card. I hope you pop over to Paperplay Challenges and check out all the lovely pojects from the rest of the design team. Then we'd love it if you'd grab your paper and glue and play along with us! You might get lucky and win a voucher to Just Inklined!! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

Provo Craft Father's Day Projects

The Provo Craft Design Team has been very busy in hopes of making your Father's Day celebration easier and more crafty-licious with the use of your Cricut machines!  Below are three fun projects that Dad will love:  A father's day card, a great 4 x 6 inch gift box, and a fabulous Father's Day cake.  Included with each project materials lists and instructions!  Thank you Provo Craft for sharing these great projects.  I should be back tomorrow or Thursday to share one more Father's day card with you - it coordinates with yesterday's grill cover embellishement.

Father's Day Card

Materials:

• Cricut® Expression Personal Electronic Cutter
• Cricut® Father’s Day cartridge
• Blue cardstock
• Brown cardstock
• Printed cardstock (2 different coordinating sheets)
• Adhesive
• Dimensional tape
• Ink
• Paper cutter

Instructions:

• Using paper cutter, cut blue cardstock into a 6” x 10” rectangle then fold in half.
• Using paper cutter, cut printed cardstock into a 5 ½” x 5 ½” square
• Using paper cutter, coordinating printed cardstock into a 5 ½” x 1” rectangle
• Using Cricut® and Cricut® Father’s Day cartridge and brown cardstock, cut 3 ½” Father’s Day
• Using blue cardstock, cut 3 ½” Father’s Day layer
• Ink all edges
• Adhere layers of Happy Father’s Day
• Using dimensional tape, adhere to card.

Father's Day 6"x4" Box

Materials:

• Cricut® Personal Electronic Cutter
• Cricut® Father’s Day cartridge
• Black cardstock
• Blue cardstock
• Printed cardstock
• Adhesive
• Dimensional tape
• Paper cutter

Box 6” x 4”  Instructions:

• Using printed cardstock and paper cutter, cut four squares 5 ½” x 3 ½” and one square 5 ½” x 5 ½”
• Using coordinating printed cardstock and paper cutter, cut four squares 5” x 3” and one square 5” x 5”
• Using Cricut®, Cricut® Father’s Day cartridge and black cardstock, cut 3” Poker, Can, Money and Pool Balls. Cut 5” Background2.
• Using printed cardstock, cut 3” PokerLyr, CanLyr, PoolballLyr, MoneyLyr. Using printed cardstock, cut 5” #1Dad
• Adhere mats to top and sides
• Adhere layers of all cuts and attach to sides
• Using dimensional tape, adhere #1 Dad cut to top of box

Father's Day Cake Using the Cricut Cake Machine:

Materials:

• Cricut® Personal Electronic Cutter
• Cricut® Father’s Day cartridge
• Black cardstock
• Blue cardstock
• Printed cardstock
• Adhesive
• Dimensional tape 
• Paper cutter

Box 6” x 4”  Instructions:

• Using printed cardstock and paper cutter, cut four squares 5 ½” x 3 ½” and one square 5 ½” x 5 ½”
• Using coordinating printed cardstock and paper cutter, cut four squares 5” x 3” and one square 5” x 5”
• Using Cricut®, Cricut® Father’s Day cartridge and black cardstock, cut 3” Poker, Can, Money and Pool Balls. Cut 5” Background2.
• Using printed cardstock, cut 3” PokerLyr, CanLyr, PoolballLyr, MoneyLyr. Using printed cardstock, cut 5” #1Dad
• Adhere mats to top and sides
• Adhere layers of all cuts and attach to sides
• Using dimensional tape, adhere #1 Dad cut to top of box 

Designer Hints:

Cut all images from gum paste, using pictures for color references. Remove excess gum paste from cutting mats and images. Save brown stars from borders. Let gum paste dry so that the cuts can be removed from the mat without being distorted.

• Layer borders, banners, and stars together as shown using sugar glue.
• Layer borders and banners to cake as shown.
• Layer best dad phrases together. Stand phrase on top of the cake as shown.
• Paint toothpicks with food gel. Let dry. Attach toothpicks to backs of stars. Place on top of cake as shown.
• To decorate cupcakes, brownies, or cookies, cut similar icons at desired sizes. Layer together and place on top of the goodies as shown.

Gluten-Free Whole Grain Olive Bread

Crusty, fragrant gluten-free olive bread, warm from the oven.

Giving up bread is hard. Bread is basic. Almost a need. Like air. Like breathing. It is both routine and celebratory. Prosaic and divine. A simple, torn-off hunk of good bread embodies a deep sense of nourishment, for body and soul. The bewitching mix of a handful of flour, some yeast, some salt, some water.

Stir. Knead. Rest. Bake.

And as if by magic, this warm and fragrant alchemical creation called bread appears. And all is right with the world.

When I think of our honeymoon in Italy (sixteen years ago, now, Darling) I think of the color of the evening sky above the cypress. A shot of burnished gold that shimmered with the faintest veil of pink and lemon. I think about the shopkeepers sweeping their doorsteps each morning, nodding their Buon giorno! as we walked to fetch a New York Times and a cappuccino not served in a paper cup. There was love, yes. And wine. And olives.

And there was bread.


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Papertake Weekly - Dad and lads

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! It's time for another new challenge from Papertake Weekly and this week the challenge is Dads and lads! With Father's Day right around the corner, it's the perfect time for you to get your cards made and be able to join in the challenge too!  We're being sponsored this week by Whiff of Joy.  For my card, I used this adorable image from Mo's Digital Pencil called Harvard. Isn't he so adorable?? My grandson Chris graduated from Kindergarten last week, so I just had to use this cute little guy on his card. He's colored up with Copic markers.

Being a card for a young man, of course I had to refrain from all the ribbon and flowers. so I kept everything nice and simple, but tried to add lots of interest using bright colors and placing everything a little wonky on the card.  I cut the A+ with my Cricut Expression using my Gypsy to weld the shadow of the two together, then cutting and popping up the top layer of them.  The papers are from Nitwit Collections matted with Bazzill cardstock.  I wrapped some PTI twine around one of the layers and tied it in a simple little bow.  All the panels are machine stitched. The "let's celebrate" stamp is from an old Kim Hughes set and I stamped it on some school paper that is actually on my printer. I just printed it on cardstock.  I wish I had taken a picture of the inside top cause I put a cute Kim Hughes owl wearing a little grad cap on another piece of the school paper. It turned out really cute, but I didn't capture it with a pic.

So that's it for my card this week. Please be sure to hop over to Papertake Weekly to see the rest of the fabulous creations by the design team. Then we'd love it if you'd grab your paper and glue and play along with us for a chance to win a wonderful prize from Whiff of Joy! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today, and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

Decorated Grill Cover for Dad

With Father's Day just around the corner I thought it might be timely to share a couple of Cricut-friendly / man-friendly craft ideas for father's day.  Today we are starting with this fun grill cover decal.  A great gift for dad would be a new grill, but if not a new grill how about a new, personalized grill cover?  And best of all, this is an easy, simple project that you can do in under an hour!  Honest.

1. I used Cricut Design Studio (though your Gypsy will work equally well), two colors of Cricut Vinyl, and two cartridge - Father's Day and Opposites Attract.
2. Using Father's Day, place the Man Cave cut on the virtual mat at 6.75 inches high.  Using the "Hide Select Contours" feature and remove the letter C A V E from the lower half of the oval. 
3. Using Opposite Attracts add the letters Gear at 2.25 inches tall to replace the cave. 
4. Complete the cut.
5. Place the base oval from Father's Day onto the mat at 6.75 and cut in a second color of Vinyl.

 

   6.  Remove the protective backing from the Man Gear cut.  Being very careful, line up the edges and      adhere the top lay to the base oval.

     7.  Remove the backing from the oval and attach the decal to the front or top of your grill cover. 

Our grill cover is a grey canvas, but this green vinyl would really P-O-P on a black grill cover!

If you do not want to use the Gypsy or Design studio, just pick one or two of your favorite father's day cuts and make your own grill decal. 

Tomorrow I will share a coordinating Father's Day card!!

Gnome Birthday Fun with BBTB2

Happy Monday!  Welcome to another Bitten by the Bug 2 weekly challenge!  This week's challenge cut was selected by my design team sister, the lovely Theresa Kelly, and  is any Gnome from the Freshly Picked cartridge.  I decided to have a bit of birthday fun with the Gnomes - creating this Gnome Pyramid birthday card.  The design for this card was inspired (and by inspired I mean ripped-off) from my friend Donna Mundinger's FABULOUS Penguin Card, which can be found here at her blog and  here at Custom Crops with design studio cut file and complete instructions.  Donna is one of THE MOST AMAZING paper crafters E-V-E-R... and I am thrilled to be able to say I know her! 

This card features six Gnomes each dressed in his favorite summer party outfit!  And just as we women match our shoes and purses (in an ideal world!), the Gnomes have matching hats, belts and shoes.  The well dressed Gnome likes for his outfit to coordinate!  The Gnome faces were stamped in light brown ink with Peachy Keen stamps.  A cherry Copic marker was used to highlight their lips. Their beards were cut in white cardstock, then heat embossed with white with touches of grey embossing powder.  Their ensembles were finished with tiny pom-poms at the top of their hats.

I used three cartridges to cut this card, Freshly Picked, George and Basic Shapes, and Christmas Cheer.  The banner above was cut from Christmas Cheer, then stamped with a rubber stamp from Michaels. 
The photo below is a screen shot of the card top in Cricut Design Studio.  I welded the six Gnome shadows together in a pyramid shape, adding birthday gifts from Christmas cheer.  I cut this layer in red, affixed it to the base card, and built the card front on top of this layer.

Below is the inside of the card.  You can see the red base cut (above) is the upside down red layer in the photo below.  I attached the red layer to the open cut triangle top.

The base card was created using George and Basic Shapes.  I sized and welded to triangles together, then inserted a NON-welded triangle into the middle of the top layer.  This created the cut out so that the blue swirl print shows through the holes in the front of the card.

I used metallic cardstocks to cut the packages and the belt buckles.  I finished the card by using pop dots to attach Happy Birthday banner!
 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Be sure to head over to Bitten by the Bug 2 and check out all of the designer's awesome projects!  And, if you have time, please consider playing along with us this week!!