Be Mine

Happy Monday! I hope you had a restful weekend! I did very little stamping as I haven't been feeling all that well. Somewhere around 39 1/2 my body started to fall apart! What's up with that?? I won't bore you with the details.

On Saturday I cooked a turkey. Why? Cause we had one I bought for pennies before Thanksgiving and it seemed like a good thing to do. A few years ago I discovered a recipe for brining a turkey and it resulted in the most moist and flavorful turkey I had ever eaten. Before the words "moist" and "turkey" seemed like an oxymoron. Not any more! I don't think I will ever cook one another way. Here is a picture of my bird.

It is quite dark on the outside because the sugar in the brine caramelizes the skin but be assured the meat is incredible. I do think I should've left the tin foil tent on it a bit longer though, this is the darkest it has ever been. Here is a link to the recipe I use. Who knows, some of you may have one of those cheap birds in your freezer too! Oh and the gravy...to die for!! Yesterday I used the carcass to make turkey noodle soup. A first for me, actually. I used this recipe and again, holy smokes, one of the best soups I have eaten. DH asked me what made it so flavorful, said the flavors "danced in his mouth", lol! I am not sure, instead of the bouillon cubes, I used a chicken broth seasoning I get from an Amish store but is could have been many things. It was a weekend of good, soul warming comfort food!

Yesterday my youngest son and I had a Super Bowl Party for 2. DH and our oldest son had youth group last night and our youngest is not old enough to participate yet. So, we made all our favorite snacks and sat in our jammies cheering on the Steelers. Kaleb has been a huge Steelers fan for a few years now. Boy was it a nail biter until the bitter end!

I did make this card though

These girl stamps by Our Craft Lounge are so cute and fun to use! She is colored in with Copics and layered onto some Basic Grey Bittersweet paper.

Thanks for all the positive feedback on the pendants. Someone asked about the adhesive for the bails. I use E600 glue and find it is very strong, you can get it at most craft stores. I also did some additional reading on pendants like these and some suggested good 'ol super glue. I think the E600 gives you a bit more wiggle time. I also read that it may be easier to apply the Envirotex drop by drop with a popsicle stick. I poured mine on but it is very easy to get too much on your project. I plan to do the drip method next time. One last tip- you will probably find air bubbles in the liquid after you apply it to your project. The easiest way to remove them is to lightly wave a heat gun over it, not too close though. The heat causes the air bubbles to rise to the surface and pop. You may have to go over it a few times. It will take 48 hours for the finish to completely dry, so set it out of the way in a safe spot where you won't be tempted to touch it or knock it.

I have been long winded enough, I will be back tomorrow with more!