Help for Hobbies of all Sorts by Rene' Hobbie

Saturday, January 28, 2012

When one of my wonderful library volunteers suggested that I read Hannah's List, written by Debbie Macomber, I didn't hesitate.  Macomber weaves a good story that tugs at the heartstrings.  Hannah's List didn't disappoint.  


On the anniversary of his beloved wife’s death, Dr. Michael Everett receives a letter Hannah had written him.
In it she reminds him of her love and makes one final request. An impossible request — I want you to marry again. She tells him he shouldn’t spend the years he has left grieving her. And to that end she’s chosen three women she asks him to consider.

First on Hannah’s list is her cousin, Winter Adams, a trained chef who owns a cafĂ© on Seattle’s Blossom Street. The second is Leanne Lancaster, Hannah’s oncology nurse. Michael knows them both. But the third name is one he’s not familiar with — Macy Roth.

Each of these three women has her own heartache, her own private grief. More than a year earlier, Winter broke off her relationship with another chef. Leanne is divorced from a man who defrauded the hospital for which she works. And Macy lacks family of her own, the family she craves, but she’s a rescuer of strays, human and animal. Macy is energetic, artistic, eccentric — and couldn’t be more different from Michael.
During the months that follow, he spends time with Winter, Leanne and Macy, learning more about each of them…and about himself. Learning what Hannah already knew. He’s a man who needs the completeness only love can offer. And Hannah’s list leads him to the woman who can help him find it.
(review taken from www.goodreads.com)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Mimi's Excellent Easy Pie

Did you know that this is National Pie Day?  Our teachers had some fun with this special occasion as they brought their favorite pies to school to share with the rest.  I thought I'd share the recipe for my sweet Mimi's favorite pie.  It is quick and easy to make.  Sorry I don't have any step by step pictures for you today, but you won't need them.  It's that simple!


Mimi's Excellent Easy Pie
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
1 c. chopped nuts
1 (8oz) container Cool Whip
1/2 c. lemon juice
10 in. graham cracker crust

Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl.  Gradually add lemon juice.  Pour into crust.  Refrigerate.  Serve when chilled.

What is your very favorite pie?

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Craft Room Organization

My craft room is one of my favorite places.  Because it also doubles as a guest room, I have to be able to clean it up quickly.  I wanted to share some of the ways that I keep it organized.

Darlin Arlin helped me design an Elfa System from The Container Store for one wall of my craft room.  This is the main place that I work and keep many of my scrapbooking materials.

These drawers fit nicely under my desk.  They are actually cubes that come in an assortment of styles:  two drawer, four drawer, an open shelf for holding scrapbooks, etc. This picture shows two cubes stacked on top of one another.  You could furnish a whole wall with these little darlins.   JoAnn's used to sell these several years ago but has since stopped.  I purchased the last ones that I got at www.orientaltrading.com  They are called store in style.  Michael's has a similar product, but they are not as large or sturdy,

I like the way that my things fit nicely inside the wide and deep drawers of these cubes.  

I couldn't stay organized without boxes, baskets, jars, and other containers.

I keep my finished cards in these plastic card boxes.  Although I purchased these from Stampin Up, there are others available at most craft stores.  

Oh how I love polka dots.  I found these cute bins at Hobby Lobby.  They hold my die cuts and embossing folders.  I could find many other uses for them.  

All my punches are kept in an over the door shoe holder.  It works very well!

Do you ever forget to use certain products that you have when scrapbooking?  For me, those are usually embellishments.  When this happens, I use a basket to keep those neglected things on my desk so that they are front and center.  Seeing them usually helps me remember to use them.


Want to know how I store my stamp sets?  I color code them with dots that I bought at a school supply store.  Each type of stamp:  Christmas, Fall, Valentine's Day, Sentiments, etc. has its own color dot.  This system helps me find a particular theme quickly when I need them.  




I use vertically standing plastic storage bins to hold all my paper.  This works better for me than keeping it flat, and my paper doesn't wrinkle this way.  I organize my paper by Stampin Up's color families.

I use these crop in style holders to organize papers, stickers, and embellishments that all belong to a certain theme.  I have a packet for school items, Christmas, boy stuff for my son, travel, etc.  So, when I am going to a friend's house to scrapbook for the day and know that I'm going to work on my son's school album, for instance, I simply grab that packet before I head out the door.  I keep all of my crop in style holders in a large rubbermaid container in the closet.  

I hope you got some good organizational tips by visiting my blog today.  I'd love to hear about some of the things that work for you!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Green Bean Bundles

I meant to share this recipe with you before Christmas, because Green Bean Bundles is a great dish to make for a special occassion.  However, you won't mind eating them any time.  They're even good to serve as an appetizer.  These are the ingredients you'll need:

3-4 cans whole green beans, drained
1 lb of bacon
1 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T garlic powder


After you open the package of bacon, go ahead and cut the whole pound in half to make small strips of bacon.  Take a half piece of bacon and place about 10 green beans on top of it.  Roll the bacon around the green beans, secure with a toothpick, and place seam side down in a 9x13inch baking dish.  You'll repeat this step until you've used up all the bacon and green beans.  

In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients.  Pour the mixture over the green beans.  Refrigerate overnight.  Bake an hour at 350 degrees.  


How simple was that?  Let me know if you try this dish and like it!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

2012 Desk Calendar

Need a calendar for your desk?  This is an easy one and will only take you a few minutes to make.  Let me show you how. 

Start by running a piece of 5x5 inch cardstock (I used Calypso Coral) through the Big Shot using the large scallop square diecut.  You'll end up with a shape that looks like this.

Next, cut a square piece of  Lucky Limeade cardstock to measure 3 3/4x3 3/4.  Adhere it to the scallop square. 

Use sticky red tape to stick the calendar to the cardstock.  I purchased these small calendars at http://www.stamponthis.com/ .

Cut a piece of ribbon (Wisteria Wonder) about 4 1/2 inches and secure it to the back of the patterned paper (Berry Blossom from SU).  The second piece of ribbon used to make the faux knot measures about 3 1/2 inches.  Simply apply it as shown in the picture.  We're almost finished.  You'll need to punch out a scallop circle,1 3/8 inch circle, and a 1 1/4 inch circle.  Use an alphabet stamp set that you have to apply the monogram.  Pop it up with dimensionals. 

On the back of your calendar,  apply a piece of adhesive magnet.  I buy these in a roll at the craft store. 

All products used were from Stampin Up.  Thank you for stopping by my blog today!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Project Life-Christmas Photo Cards

Reconnecting with family and friends during Christmas is always a highlight of the season.  I keep the photos that are sent to us and put them in our scrapbook.  It's especially fun to see how the kids grow and change from year to year.  It was a snap to scrapbook these pictures this year.  I used the Project Life page protectors and a Simply Scrappin kit from Stampin Up. 


Here is a closer view of each page.


I placed a 6x12 inch page protector in the middle of these two pages for a little more room.  On the reverse side, I typed up the names of everyone in the pictures. 

Thank you for stopping by my blog today.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Project Life-A Different Way to Scrapbook

Happy New Year, Everyone!  I don't get too strung out on making resolutions, but one of my goals this year is to try to get caught up on scrapbooking our pictures.  Santa brought me a scrapbooking system that I've been wanting that will go a long way toward helping me reach that goal.  The name of it is Project Life.  It was designed by Becky Higgins...a big name in the scrapbooking world.  Here's what I like about it...

*This system makes it easy to scrapbook pictures for a particular week, month, or theme.  In other words, it's very versatile.
*It allows you to be as creative as you want or feel like being.  (or not!)
*It requires very little adhesive.  You simply insert your pictures in pockets.
*It's fast!
*You can purchase a core kit for the system or use what you already have.
*It's still possible to add a traditional scrapbook layout if desired.

Here is a two page layout that I made with our Thanksgiving pictures.
I used two different page layout designs, and there are many to choose from.  That's probably the hardest part of the whole system...deciding which layout to use.

Here is a closer look at those two pages:


Because I didn't quite have enough room, I added a 6x12 insert to the middle of my pages. 

Here it is added into the layout. 

This is what it looks like when flipped over.


There are albums that you can buy to match the Project Life core kit, but I chose to use a black 12x12 album from We Are Memory Keepers-also available from http://www.amazon.com/

If you want to learn more about this scrapbooking system, here is a video from youtube.  It features Becky Higgins introducing it.  However, there are many more on youtube and also ideas on Pinterest. 


I hope you enjoyed learning about this great product.  I'll look forward to sharing more with you in  2012!