Food For Thought

The New Year 2011 begins tomorrow and it's time to make resolutions. Merriam Webster defines resolution as the process of resolving, determining. I don't have a long list of resolutions but as I turn a new leaf and the New Year begins I would like to try new foods  super foods and add them to my diet. These are some foods I intend to add to my diet in my quest of staying healthy.

I learned today that you can't get antioxidants from supplements only from the foods you eat.

1. Chia Seeds - Who would have known you can consume these.  These are the seeds used in making Chia pets.The site GET CHIA LLC even offers free shipping, just in case you can't find these locally.The site also features recipes. I have never had a Chia Pet....maybe I will now.

2. Black Rice. This rice will turn  dark purple after cooked due to the anthocyanin antioxidant content.  It also supplies minerals including iron.  Look for black rice at your local grocery store or an Oriental supermarket. 

3. Pistachios - Wow I had no idea Pistachios were so good.  They are delicious too.  Pistachios supply fiber, vegetable protein, antioxidants, carotenoids lutein zeaxnthin which fight macular degeneration that results in blindness as we age.  This power nut is easily found at your local grocery store.

4. Teff - a nutrient fiber. This is a gluten free whole grain which will add to your diet, fiber, protein, calcium and iron.  A mere 1/4 cup supplies 6 grams of fiber.  I'm thinking of adding Teff  when I bake quick breads or muffins.

5. Cherries - Love, love cherries in any form.  You can eat them year round frozen or dried. They are good for any age group but especially for women in the 50's group like me going through the dreaded menopause.  Cherries are packed with antioxidants and even contain Melatonin which will help you sleep better at night.  I'm definitely snacking on these at night.

6. Brussels Sprouts. I already eat these at least twice a month.  I really need to eat more though since they contain more vitamin C than any vegetable.  They help your body produce Collagen which in turn will help your skin look younger.  This green power food also supplies fiber and folic acid.

 Good Morning America listed these and a few other super foods that will make a difference in a woman's life.  Read the story here and take charge of your health by adding some or all of these to your diet.

So what good foods are you planning to eat during 2011?

Happy New Year to all!

City of David Card

This is a very quick to make card I made using the Stampin' Up City of David set.   I used the very inexpensive blank cards with the circle punched I purchased at AC Moore.  I think you get about 7 cards for $1.00.

I stamped the Bethlehem stamp and the sentiment on scrap book paper cut 1/4 inch shorter (length and width).

Stamp Mary and Joseph on the lower right side of the front.  Punch two holes underneath the circle opening.  I used the markers and the watercolor brush to paint the stamped image. This is a very easy  technique.  I love the softer finish of watercolors.  Simply pick up ink produced by the marker using the watercolor brush.

The Dollar tree has hemp cord.  30 yards for a $1.00.

Cut the hemp cord about 17 inches long and thread gently through the two small holes to make a bow.

 

 Knot the two tails for a finished look. Trim ends.

Have fun selecting your paper to stamp the City of David, Bethlehem. (the birth place of Jesus Christ Lord and Savior)

 Jesus is the reason to celebrate the season.  May His wonderful gift of love touch you in a special way this Christmas.  Receive the gift of Salvation this Christmas.

Hair Adornments

I found a new Etsy shop and I just had to share my new hair adornment. It's cold and gray outside so when you are feeling blue wear a feather.  This morning at church I got a compliment as soon as I walked in. My DH said I now had a bird brain. I also wore a crochet headband I made as a neck wrap and got some nice compliments at work yesterday and today at church. 

Chase the winter blah days away and wear a feather.  It will lift up your spirit.

The feather slides through a metal head band.  I am planning to order more feathers from this shop in the future but if you are interested in getting your own feathers head over to this Etsy Shop.

Mooseltoe Creations

When I saw the cover of the book Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini I was automatically drawn to it. One of my goals at work was facilitating a children's craft program. I love to craft and immediately saw great possibilities and inspiration by reading the book. I think children books are not only for children, most will agree. The illustrations in this book are fabulous and the story itself is very funny.

I was hoping the children would respond to this story the way I did.  I'm not totally convinced they really liked the story as much as I did.  Maybe the strange super long moose's mustache was too much for them.  I told them we would be making our own mooseltoe creation and they did get excited about this.

The trick to crafting with children is to keep it simple since they have a shorter attention span. For the crafts they used, construction paper, markers, glue stick, scissors, beads, foam stickers and googly eyes. They cut out the moose and embellished it using the foam stickers and stringing beads.

I told you the moose had a super long mustache.

This one glued the mustache upside down...kind of makes the moose look mad....lol.

Mooseltoe with the right side up mustache.

Asel begged me to use stamps...I let him stamp a star on the back of his cards.

I was worn out after this program.  I'm really glad the group was small.  I have a special appreciation and respect for my coworkers who work around children 40 hours a week.  Still it was a fun change of pace and allowed me to experience and share my love of crafting and creating with children.

My Little Christmas Tree

For some reason, I did not get totally excited about doing much Christmas decorating this year. Now that I work at University Regional the time I spend at home has shrunked but it would be terrible to skip this part of Christmas all together.  So I found in the attic some of my little artificial trees and did a little decorating.  The decorations for the tree that is sitting on my living room side table are the knitted birds I made this summer.

 

 I dusted the mantle and decked it with the Charlie Brown trees and the Christmas cards I have received. The gnomes are out again this year.

So there is no reason to skip Christmas decorating....

Holiday Mug Sweaters

When the weather gets cold I crave warm drinks....among my favorites, coffee, Chai and Green Tea (Peach flavored)  I am pretty pleased with the way this Mug sweater turned out.  It was knitted with two strands of worsted weight yarn. 

The sweater wraps around the coffee mug and will also fit regular paper cups as well.

More Christmas Coffee  Mug Sweater cheer in Green

 Coffee Mug Sweaters sure to warm someone....and the price is right...

$10.00 each.

Busy Time of the Year for Me

Being crafty is rewarding but at the same time exhausting with all that goes on at this time of the year. There are cards and gifts to make, orders to fill, cooking and baking to be done for events, programs at the Library to plan, etc...etc...

I try my best to keep things simple and quick. I found some very inexpensive cards during my shopping trip to AC Moore.  I could not resist especially since I had already used all of my hand made cards.  The quality of the studio g cards was not really very good since the paper what I would call thin card stock.  With the 25% discount these 8 blank cards cost under a $1.00.   I was determined to make something pretty and I was not disappointed.  Just wish the card stock would have been a little thicker.

I found everything I need for this card at home. 

This is the easiest bow you'll ever make.  Just knot and trim to the desired size.

The water color was done with Stampin' Up markers and the water color brush. I stamped the angel on the inside of the card.

To add some color to this plain white card, I simply added a border made from scrapbook paper.  I did cut off 1/2 an inch to the front of the card and used a glue stick to glue the border.

 The next cards were made at a friend's house....They took much longer to make.

It's beginning to feel....like Christmas.

Spiral Crochet Creations

I always learn something new from my friend Connie.
Right after viewing the tutorial for making the Pinwheel Coasters, I knew I had to try it.  I was not disappointed.  I downloaded the free pattern from Redheart and have been inspired to make round cloths.

Connie's tutorial is excellent so check it out.  Just click here for Part One.  Click here for Part 2.

 My Pinwheel Coasters

The crochet coasters are super quick to make and I think someone special on your gift list would be thrilled to get these. I told you I got into working round shapes, the next cloth was made by working single crochets.

I'm a fan of dishcloths and I have to say that I tend to like the round ones the best. I have uploaded the pattern for the cream color cloth to Scribd if you'd like to give it a try.  These cloths are super fast to make and can easily be made in any size.  The pattern is here.

The smaller ones make great face scrubbies.

Happy Crocheting....