Etched...

The other day when Hubs was processing his deer, I was itching to do a project of some sort. Just a simple one. I've etched glasses before for gifts, but I never took pictures of them :(  I wish I would have, to show you all how awesome they looked!

I love etching glass. It's such a neat process and the results are beautiful! I had an extra wine glass leftover from a previous blowout with a bridesmaid {long story, not worth wasting my time over}. So I thought it would be perfect for this project to get rid of the initial.

I decided to etch the entire top of the wine glass...see!

frosted wine glass

And then I moved on to an extra wine bottle I had laying around. I loved that it was green with a red wax strip on the top. Perfect for Christmas decor! I wanted to pattern the bottle somehow. So I brought out the Scotch tape and made a design. I just ran the tape diagonally around the bottle. And repeated to fill the space left. 4 pieces of tape later, I had my pattern! Simple.

In the picture below, it looks like a cross-hatch pattern, but its not. The last picture shows the pattern much better. I had to take the picture in a dark room with the flash so that it would show the front side.

frosted wine glass & etched wine bottle

*with flash* {ignore the cork sitting in the bottom of it, I can't get it out}

See! Perfect Christmas decor right?! Now, what do I do with it? I'm thinking some Christmas lights will go in there and look even better!

I have tons more projects to do with etching and plan on showing you all later!

Tonight we're off the see my cousin, Clay, play one of his last games of high school football. Tomorrow we're headed to go see the Sam Houston Bearkats football game too. My dad is a Sam Grad, so it's almost tradition that we go see one game a year!

Have a blessed weekend!

new.etsy.items

i'm loving my creative kick i just wish someone else did too here are a few things that i've put my hands on lately and that are now up for sale in my etsy shop spread.the.word. someone, someday will buy an itemi hope    

go check 'em out

Sweet P Boutique {My Business}

Did you even know I had a business?!?! Probably not.

So, if some of you have ever clicked on my About page and then proceeded to click on 'Sweet P Boutique', you may have found that I have a business, with my mom. We are a professional business, well, I have my DBA license.

Sweet P Boutique is the name of our business that is partially inactive right now. As you know, I'm currently planning my wedding, and my mom is a big help. She's the one I go to about everything because, well, her and my dad are paying for the wedding in it's entirety. She has gone to alot of bridal shows, consultations, and she's starting to get the hang of it. I think she is really enjoying it, and now she is kind of holding the reins, which is wonderful.

So, we don't have all the time in the world to craft and create and sell. We had an Etsy shop that I basically abandoned because nothing was happening. One day we will start it back up, someday after the wedding if not sooner.

We've made TONS of jewelry and accessories, and I was in charge of little girls tutu's and home decor items. We specialize in tutus, crosses, and jewelry. Of course there is so much more that we've crafted.

Here are some pictures of what we have in stock and have sold before...

These are Thank You Cards that I've made. I made these for people who gave us gifts during our Engagement Party back in July last year. Please excuse the horrible photography...these were taken with my iPhone3 back in July and my photography skills have deeply progressed since then {If you must, click each photo to see them larger, but please don't judge me lol.} These are all examples of designs I've made. I would love to sell any cards, Thank you, Invitations, etc. I would sell them in packs of 12 for $11.00 with matching envelopes. Of course shipping would be added to the price. If you're interested in a custom order, contact me.

Here are the crosses that my mom handmade. These are the last four we have left in stock. She can make more once the wedding is over. If you're interested please contact me. $35 for the 2ft crosses and $25 for the 1ft cross. 

 Here is a picture of a Tutu that I handmade and sold. Infant size. It's purely adorable and looks precious on any little girl...I'm currently making a custom order identical to this one for a friend of bridesmaid.   

Isn't it just precious?!?! I think so!

We've also made jewelry. My mom does this in her spare time as a stress reliever to distract her from the issues with my brother.

These are some of creations. They are all different prices because of the materials used.

Flintstones Collection: big & chunky

Camo Bandana w/Camo bandana cross

Rings that match the bandana necklaces

hematite and turquoise

blue and white turquoise

the heart of the sunset

swarovski flower ring

my all time favorite necklace with a swarovski flower pendant

  If you are interested in ANY of these items, please contact me! We are still selling, but we aren't advertising for the most part. I wanted to show you a little piece of what I'm made of.  Have an awesome week! 

Need some new recipes?...

Here are some new recipes I'm adding to my index page! They are all simple and easy recipes. Take these recipes and make them for your family, add your own twist if you'd like, and let me know how they turn out! Leave a comment at the end of this post if you've tried and have problems, or want to rave to me about how good they are!

King Ranch Chicken Soup
Just like the casserole, but as a soup...and boy is it yummy, and its SIMPLE! Great for the winter. It has a little kick that can be adjusted too! It's a true Texas soup. This is my version of the recipe, and I had actually never heard of this before. I tried it this past weekend at a gas station in La Grange, TX. It had chunky vegetables {it was a manly soup} which I detested, but I made my own version this morning. I used Rotel, but I put it in my food processor and made the chunks smaller. I also added the juice for the kick, but you can drain it if you want yours to be more mild.

You can use a whole chicken shredded or just chicken breasts. I used just chicken breasts because that was all I had. But it would be good if you started it as a whole chicken in the broth, or even a store-bought rotisserie chicken shredded and added. There are many options with this soup. You could also add some cilantro to this and that would be fantastic...dang it, I don't have any. :(   It serves 4, so I always freeze whatever is leftover for another day!

King Ranch Chicken Soup

Serves: 4     Prep Time: 10 minutes      Cook Time: 1-2 hours

Ingredients:
3 medium sized chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 white or yellow onion minced
1 quart (32oz) of chicken broth or stock
4 cups of water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can (10oz) Rotel with juice
1 cup shredded monterrey jack cheese

Directions:

Add cubed chicken, onion, chicken stock and 2 cups of water to a good sized pot. Boil chicken until cooked, for about 30 minutes. (If using already cooked chicken you can add all the ingredients at once and cook for 30 minutes-1 hour. Leave out 2 cups of water.)

Add cream of mushroom & chicken soup & Rotel with juice. Simmer for 30 minutes-1 hour.

Dish soup into bowls, top with shredded monterrey jack cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.


Bacon & Onion Roasted Red Potatoes

I made these last night along with our Chicken Fried Backstrap meal. Brian took a picture of them when they were in the oven, but the pictures don't do them justice. I'll have to teach him my mad photography skills...haha..

Bacon & Onion Roasted Red Potatoes

5 large red potatoes, or 10-12 small reds, cut in 1 inch cubes
5 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 stick butter, cut into slices
1/2 red onion, cut into slices
1 tbsp (2 cloves) garlic minced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to Spray a 9x9 non-stick pan, glass or metal.

Add all ingredients to the pan, mix and stick in the oven for about 30-45 minutes.


Homemade Caramel Sauce
I found this recipe from Tip Junkie in a blog post, but found the directions and labels for them at Michelle Underwood Designs. I boiled for 2 hours and it gave me this. I didn't add the vanilla because I just wanted caramel. I'm actually using these as CHRISTmas gifts this year, and I plan on using her labels as well. I've eaten about 1/4 of this can already with a spoon.

Homemade Caramel Sauce
from Michelle Underwood

Get a can of sweetened condensed milk. Take the label off, put into a pot and cover with water. Boil for 3 hours. Yes, 3 hours. I have done just one can as well as up to 5 cans and it works just fine. You can boil for 2 hours if you want the caramel to pour out. 3 hours will get you caramel good for dipping, and 4 hours will get you caramel that's darker and more like a spread. Make sure to keep the cans covered with water the WHOLE time. Otherwise the cans can explode. That would be messy! I set a timer for every 15 minutes..that way I don't forget to check the water level. lol.


After you've boiled the cans, you can just set them on a cooling rack and let them cool down for at least 30 minutes. Careful, they are hot. DO NOT try to open them now. The caramel will run out and you will probably get burned.

If left unopened the cans can be stored in the pantry for months. Once you open the cans you must store in an airtight container in the fridge. The caramel will last up to 4 weeks in the fridge. When you open your can of caramel you can add a tsp of vanilla for taste.
Can't wait to see how your recipes turned out! Let me know!

*I linked up at*

God Bless,
 

Scrapbooks Etc. Contest

I was entered into a Scrapbooks Etc. Contest online. I entered pictures for the contest. I have 2 entries.

The first one is of a handmade Thank You card I made in July of this year after our engagement party! Click on the link below. Make sure you submit the vote and answer the question after you've voted. Otherwise the vote will not count!

http://photos.scrapbooksetc.com/category/vote/photo/588676/31

This next link is of my scraproom organization. Click below and VOTE FOR ME!!!

http://photos.scrapbooksetc.com/category/vote/photo/588586/30





For Now & God Bless, *Amber*