Tuesday, December 31, 2013

easy and quick appetizers

Asalamu alaikum

'peace be on you'
as spoken in Qatar and Saudi Arabia

www.glogster.com


Just a quick blog today,
with some easy recipes for last-minute entertaining!

Fruit Kabobs with Pineapple Dip
about 30 kabobs

30 seedless green or red grapes
30 pineapple chunks, each about 3/4"
or
1 can 8oz. sliced pineapple in juice, drained and each slice cut into 1/8
30 mandarin orange segments
or
1 can 11oz. mandarin orange segments, drained
15 strawberries, cut in half

**Prepare Pineapple Dip (below).
Place any combination of 4 pieces of fruit on plastic/wooden picks.
Serve with dip.

Pineapple Dip
about 3 Cups dip

1 package 8oz. Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 Cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. crushed gingerroot
1 can 8oz. crushed pineapple in juice, drained

**Beat cheese, yogurt, honey and gingerroot until creamy.
Fold in crushed pineapple.
Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.



Sweet Popcorn Mix
8 Cups snack

6 Cups popped popcorn
2 Cups Cocoa Puffs cereal
2 Tbls margarine, melted
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

**Mix popcorn and cereal in large bowl.
Drizzle with melted margarine, toss to coat.
Mix sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on popcorn mixture;
toss to coat.



Lemony Apple Cider
4 servings

1 1/2 Cups chilled unsweetened apple cider
1 Can 12 oz lemon-lime carbonated beverage (aka: soda pop)

Mix ingredients. Pour into ice-filled glasses.
Garnish with lemon slices or wedges as desired.


'Peace and Harmony' by Nancy Glazier
www.amazon.com


Bean and Sesame Seed Spread
(Middle Eastern)
2 Cups spread

1 Can 15 ox. garbanzo beans, drained and liquid reserved
1/2 Cup sesame seed
1 clove garlic, cut in half
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
chopped fresh parsley

**Place reserved bean liquid, sesame seed and garlic in blender.
Cover and blend on high speed until mixed.
Add beans, lemon juice and salt.
Cover and blend on high speed,
stopping blender occasionally to scrape sides if needed,
until uniform consistency.
Garnish with parsley.
Serve with pita bread triangles, crackers or raw veggies as desired.





Ginger Almonds
1 cup almond snack

1 cup blanched, unsalted almonds
2 Tbls. margarine or butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

**Heat oven to 350'
Place almonds and margarine in shallow pan.
Bake about 20 minutes, stir occasionally,
until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.
Add salt and ginger, toss.
Serve warm.



Carruth Garden
www.finkegardens.com


and may you have a safe,
happy and healthy
New Year's Eve!!

'til next year....
inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com
www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com
and on pinterest:   kkloberdans

Monday, December 30, 2013

I give you peace


Santi

'peace' in the Assamese language
spoken in India

Mahatma Gandhi statue
Bhubaneshwar, India

As we look forward to the new year of 2014
let's turn our thoughts toward peace.

www.professionsforpeace.org




www.alifetimeofwisdom.com



angels in Cuba
deborahsandidge.blog.com


Msughshima

'peace' in the Tiv language, spoken in Nigeria




www.shebasgraphics.com


thank you, origamibears.com


"When the power of love
overcomes the love of power
the world will know
peace."

- Jimi Hendrix


www.vintageholidaycrafts.com



artist C. Marshall
courtesy origamibears



www.shenvalleylang.com


Apirive'

'peace' in the Guarani language, spoken in Bolivia


www.heresmygarden.blogspot.com



c.1870 vintage song sheet cover
courtesy Indiana Music Libraries


Doll Castle News, 1980
created by Helen McCook



"The most valuable possession you can own
is an open heart.
The most powerful weapon you can be
is an instrument
of peace."

- Carlos Santana






It is good to remember
that the only way to perfect peace
is peace through God.







Soksang

'peace' in the Kmer language spoken in Thailand and Vietnam


'The Golden Rule' by Norman Rockwell

(one of my favorite paintings!!)



www.zazzle.com



"Peace is the first thing
the angels sang."

- John Keble



Woodlawn cemetery, New York City, New York USA
www.flickriver.com



www.admiralcharitycards.org




paper doll angels by Tom Tierney







www.parker365photography.wordpress.com


Today,
I give you peace.




til next time -
inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com
www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com
and on pinterest:  kkloberdans


thanks to brainyquote for some great quotes:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_peace.html

Thursday, December 19, 2013

a crafty Christmas for kids

Ayubowan

How to say 'peace' in Sri Lankan

celebrating Christmas in Chennai, Sri Lanka
www.asiantribune.com


an iris folded angel design card by inkspired
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com


Let's get ready for the Christmas holidays
with some fun things for you and the kids to make!

Here are some tags for the kids to color and cut out:


www.haciendolindio.bigcartel.com


Or here they are, already colored and ready to print and cut:


These gift cards are in Spanish:


Get out the scissors, and let's cut some paper dolls!



'Holly' by Bette Wells, 1988


Here are three pages of paper dolls from
Pat Stall




Pat always does such a nice job with her paper dolls!

Here is a nice nativity that the kids can cut out,
and then fold to make a 3-dimensional creche scene.

vintage Jack and Jill magazine, December, 1965


Now that you know how to put one together,
why not make one with old Christmas cards that you cut up?

Here are some vintage Christmas card images 
to get you started:

vintage 1910 Christmas card
www.rubylane.com



www.theten0clockscholar.blogspot.com



vintage card
www.imagessaintes.canalblog.com

www.ebay.com


Let's have a card-making party!
Things to set out:

scissors
glue sticks
double side tape
blank card stock, cut into both 1/2, and 1/4 sheets
lots of old Christmas cards
plain white paper
paper to cover your table surface
coloring things:
markers, pens, pencils, crayons, etc.

add some fun embellishments like:

glitter glue
glitter gel pens
cotton balls
confetti
stick-on stars
stickers
puffy paint with drawing tips

Here is a simple mitten pattern to get you started:

courtesy Jan Brett

Turn the mitten upside down.
Color, embellish.
Glue JUST THE SIDES AND BOTTOM of the mitten 
to a card front. Leave the top (wrist) part open.

After the glue is dry, fill the mitten with cut-out shapes 
as a surprise for the card receiver!

You could tuck in 

* a school picture,
* parts to make a paper snow man
*a simple picture cut into 1/8 to make a puzzle
*paper snowflakes
*a puzzle or maze for the card receiver
or....?!?


Give a mouse a Merry Christmas Muffin Gift
courtesy Dover

build-your-own snowman card
sorry, I'm not sure where I found this

visual illusions coloring page courtesy Dover

This is a card I made using circle stickers, 
and a stick-on rhinestone!


I ran the background red card stock through a corrugator.

Don't forget to drag out those old magazines.
They have wonderful images and colors to cut out and embellish your cards with!



www.MontseRubioArt.etsy.com

You can do some gift wrapping while the kids are busy too!

That's it for today!
Don't forget to stop and have a cup of tea
and do some deep breathing!

:0)

inkspired
www.inkspired.etsy.com
www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com
www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com
and on pinterest:  kkloberdans


one of the tea cups that I collect