Having a “Crafty” Halloween!

This Halloween, I seriously went a little crazy.  Because it was a Monday and Mondays always make me feel like I can conquer the world and do it all, I decided to paint the front door.  You have to understand, I live in Arizona in a neighborhood full of “cookie-cutter” stucco houses that are supposed to “blend in with the environment”  that environment basically is a variation on taupe… which in my book is a little boring.  Someday, I hope to live somewhere that has cape-cod style houses with wrap-around porches and big lush green growing things everywhere.  But as it is, I am subjected to the HOA who has bi-laws about what your front exterior looks like.  So I did the most daring thing I figured I could do and that was to paint the front door in Benjamin Moore’s Toasted Chestnut which in the store and indoors looked a little too crazy and dark, but in the totally saturated light of Arizona it looks fabulous!

Before                                                                    After

The first photo is what my front door looked like that morning and the second photo is after I fished replacing the hardware before I picked up my son from school that same afternoon.

 

When I got my son home from school that Afternoon the kids and I got to work making Halloween-Themed food so that they would at least have something that wasn’t candy before I took them out trick-or-treating.  We made goblin flatbreads an idea from Martha Stewart’s website, as well as Mummy Dogs that I painted faces on with edible markers.  Here is the pan that I took a photo of and sent from my camera to show my husband the fun he was missing (I was trying to encourage him to get home soon so we could go trick-or-treating and he could man the door).  One of the flat-breads didn’t fit on the other try so we stuck it on the edge of this pan.

We served the flat-bread with marinara sauce and the hotdogs with ketchup; both of which made these snacks seem extra gory!  The kids enjoyed them though.  Here are photos of my 5-year-old boy and 18-month girl enjoying their snacks.

After our snack, I had them dress in their costumes and try to take photos in the ever-darkening night…part of the reason these didn’t turn out like I hoped (the other reason was that the kids were so excited they pretty much wouldn’t hold still.

Yes, I made my girl’s costume and no, I didn’t even think about the fact that every other girl in the whole neighborhood was going to be dressed up like Tangled.  This is just my little girl as a damsel in distress and my gallant little boy who wanted to be a knight in shining armor (again).  I didn’t make him a new costume though I probably should have looked at it on him to make sure he hadn’t outgrown it before Halloween…. he wears it all the time to play pretend in, but I didn’t notice how little it was getting on him until I actually took the pictures.

Here is his favorite “tough guy” stance….too funny!

I have had the most difficult time getting this girl to look at me when I pull out the camera, let alone stand still.  When I asked her to hold still for this photo, she knelt down on the ground and folded her arms.  I couldn’t help but laugh and take a photo since she probably learned this skill in nursery recently.

Here’s my newly painted door complete with a wreath that night.Here are the cute pumpkins my husband was so sweet and carved for us (I get way too nervous with knives to attempt this).  The jack-o-lantern face was designed by my son who even wrote out cute step-by-step instructions for my husband to follow in order to get the desired results.  The spider was from one of those kits you get from the grocery store (it did lose one of legs but my ingenious husband figured out he could re-attach it using a straight-pin).

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Kindergarten Graduation Cake

I was thrilled at the end of May when my friend and next door neighbor asked me to make a cake for her son’s kindergarten graduation that served at least 76 people. 

I was a little concerned about the size I would need to make it in order to feed that many, so after looking at design ideas and figuring out servings for a few days I decided to make a cake that is similar to this one I found on the Wilton Cake website called “Tomorrow’s Stars”.   I did mine in the school colors and of course, it’s not exactly the same.  Their’s is pretty cute but I must say, I think mine is cuter. ;)

I realized as I was making the little fondant people that for some reason I could not for the life of me find a gingerbread girl cookie cutter in my 101 cookie cutter set that I got for my wedding from someone who must have had great foresight.  Now I’m wondering if the older version’s of the set don’t include a girl.  If not that’s sexist isn’t it?! ;)

So, I had to compromise and kind of “create” the bottom of the people by using a knife and other cutters I had to make them work without having to go out and buy more supplies.  I totally did not break even with this cake so I’m starting to re-think ever using ideas that aren’t my own as a basis again!  Whenever I make a cake idea from a company I always seem to spend WAY more than I wanted to.

I think it did turn out pretty cute though despite having to improvise.  Because I had to make 15 children I made them all different.  Here are some  close-ups:

The front:

 

The left side:

The back:

 

The right side:

 

A little more to the right and around to the front a bit:

I really had a fun time making this cake.  I had my own little emergency during it (like a trip to the doctor for an x-ray) but despite all that, I think it turned out pretty cute.  I really wish my people hadn’t basically melted because I tried to keep them but they turned to mush… Oh well, it was joyous to watch the kindergartener’s and their delight at this cake for them and there was pretty much a character on the cake that looked similar to each classroom child…The one little blonde girl in the class actually begged (and got permission) to take the little blonde girl home which I thought was sweet.

Green and Red Pepper Jelly

After canning salsa, I still had a lot of peppers left so I decided to make red pepper jelly and green pepper jelly.

If you’ve never had either, you’re really missing out on a delicious condiment!  The way I like to eat this stuff is you take a block of cream cheese and smother it with the jelly and have it as a dip with crackers.  Sooo yummy!  Sometimes we have it with tortilla chips too.  It’s a Southern tradition and I got my green pepper jelly recipe from my aunt who lived in Nashville for a while and would make it for Christmas every year.  I added jalapenos to give it a little more kick so that’s an option you can try if you like a little more spice. { Just remember if you add jalapenos, you may want to wear gloves.  I forgot and touched my eye to take out my contacts that night and even though I had washed my hands I felt that lovely burn for a few hours because some of the oils from the jalapenos must have still been in my nails or something.}  The recipe is so sweet I think the jalapenos are a perfect compliment. 

This would make a lovely part of a neighbor gift for Christmas and would be really cute if you put it in a small basket with a serving plate, crackers and cream cheese and maybe a wooden serving spoon.  So if you find yourself with an over abundance of peppers.  Try this recipe.

 

Susan’s Green Pepper Jelly

6 large green peppers, cut in pieces

1-2 jalapeños (cored, seeded and chopped)

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar (4%-6% acidity)

Green food coloring

6 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 bottle liquid pectin

Put half the peppers and half the vinegar into blender container and process at LIQUEFY until pepper is liquefied (or you could use an immersion blender like I did).  Pour into a saucepan.  Repeat with remaining peppers and vinegar.  Add red pepper, sugar and salt.  Bring to a boil and add pectin.  Boil until mixture thickens when dropped from a spoon (about 20 minutes).  Add a few drops of green food coloring.  Pour into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, and seal.  Makes about 4-6 half-pints.

Bottled Tomatoes: How to make it a little less time consuming…

So after all my adventures making pickles, I got really adventurous and decided to buy 50 lbs. of organic tomatoes that I got from the co-op for less than $0.70 a pound.  I had no idea how many jars of tomatoes it would.  I figured, with the facts that tin cans can’t be that great for us, that I use tomatoes in recipes ALL the time, and that I LOVE tomatoes; it would be fun to can them.  Honestly, it was fun but it took time and felt pretty lonely some of that time.  My friend Julie and I have decided that we will can together because it’s much more fun to can if it’s a “social” thing.

I think I must have a slow learning curve.   Because the first couple of batches went pretty slow.  I did, however, finally figure out a system to get things going a lot faster.  The most important thing about my speeding things up was to get things in a organized manner.  So here are my personal ideas on how to set yourself up to can (or preserve) tomatoes as efficiently and quickly as possible.

*STEP 1: Have a cutting board, two large bowls (preferably metal so as not to melt them), two medium sized bowls and one small bowl ready and handy on the counter by the stove (as you can see, it doesn’t have to be a lot) as well as a pairing knife and a metal sieve.  Keep a large stock pot on the stove with boiling water ready.

*If you’re planning to can these you’ll want to have your jars, lids and rings washed and sanitized and ready to use.  Lids that are boiled prior to sealing seem to seal the best.  I’m a cheater and just put my jars in the dishwasher on “Sanitize” while I am busy doing the other steps it takes to prepare for canning. 

STEP 2: Fill the front large bowl with ice water, the medium sized bowl with washed (and de-stickered) tomatoes and leave the other two empty for now.

Step:3  Core tomatoes and cut a little “X” shape on the bottom.  Set tomatoes aside in large back bowl.  Use the small bowl to collect the cores.  The more you do in this step the faster time will go. When the water is ready and boiling, fill sieve with cored tomatoes and drop them in the boiling water until the skins start breaking away.  Remove from boiling water and plunge into ice water “bath”.  

Step 4: Take tomatoes out of ice water and skin them by pulling off the skin (adding to the small bowl…you may have to empty by now).  Once Tomatoes are skinned, you’re ready to bottle them or make salsa, chutney or sauce!

CANNING TOMATOES STEP 1:  So now that your tomatoes are all ready to go into bottles, get salt, lemon juice, a flat spatula,  bottle tongs, a lid lifter, a teaspoon and a tablespoon (I like to keep the spoons in a little bowl just to keep them clean) along with jars, lids (I just keep mine in a little sauce pan on the stove with water waiting), and rings. 

Here’s an overhead shot…. (My jars are steamy in the dishwasher).

STEP 2: So then all you have to do is stuff the tomatoes in the bottles (along with a teaspoon of salt and a Tablespoon of Lemon juice for Pints) until they’re a half inch below the top then you take the spatula and squish the tomatoes to the side to get rid of any air bubbles.  Add more tomatoes if needed and top with a lid and ring.

SIDENOTE: I like to put my Tablespoon of Lemon juice and teaspoon of salt BEFORE I add the tomatoes but some people tell me they do it afterwards.

Then you are ready to either give them a water bath or steam them in a steam canner.  Check your basket or steamer for times/directions for your altitude.

Aren’t they beautiful?  I did tomatoes, Tomato and Apple Chutney (which is AMAZING with roast beef),and  Zesty Salsa all from the official Ball Canning site: www.freshpreserving.com as well as some freezer tomato sauce (which isn’t in the picture because it’s in the freezer).  I really think I’m hooked on this whole canning thing!  Yummy!

Organizing all those clips…

As my daughter is growing out of being a baby and more into a little girl *sigh*, she is also accumulating more hair.  Her hair is pretty curly so if I don’t have a clip in it, it’s basically a guaranteed disaster of knots, tangles and frizzes.  Being totally straight-haired myself, I’ve never experienced the joy of having to tame my tresses.  In fact I’ve always pretty much had to do a lot to get more body and volume.  Anyway, I digress….

Yesterday as I was looking into the messy abyss of my daughter’s hair item drawer the thought occurred to me that she needed “containers”.  The whole “office drawer divider” thing was NOT working because for some reason rubber bands crawl, clips creep, and bows bounce around in drawers.  I needed containers with lids.  So of course, I hopped online and pulled up lists and list of various storage containers….and then I was hit over the head with a thought: “I have little containers with lids.  Lots of them!  In fact, my husband was trying to get me to throw them out just two days ago when we were renovated our pantry (more on that later).”

What were these little containers you ask?  Baby-food containers of course!

Gosh, I love it when I come up with free solutions!

My Macaroni Salad

If you’re looking for something to bring to your next summer picnic/potluck.  You really might want to try my recipe for a totally addictive macaroni salad if you do make it and you don’t share it, you may end up eating a lot of it yourself…at least that’s my problem.  After years of making it and getting requests to share my amazing combination of ingredients in the dressing (which is the secret sauce so to speak) I’ve finally written it down for all to enjoy.  If you make it and love it, let me know!  I’d love to have your feedback!

Heather’s Perfect Macaroni Salad

1 16 oz. package Ditalini

Dressing:

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 cup Miracle Whip

1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated

Salt (to taste)

White pepper

1/2 Tablespoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon sweet relish

Optional Mix-ins:

Cubed Cheese

Chopped Celery

Chopped Carrots

Halved grapes

chives

canned chicken (or tuna if you like this taste)

Chopped red bell pepper

Frozen peas (thawed at room temperature)

Method:

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a medium bowl combine the dressing ingredients together.  Next add desired mix-ins.  Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.  Best if made ahead so flavors can “marry”.  Enjoy!

Saturday Sundaes

Did you know that more “Sundaes” are eaten on Saturdays?

The past week, I’ve been reading up on articles on how to save money and some of them have mentioned enjoying more “simple” activities as a family rather than worry about big events.  It’s a evil scheme of marketers to make you think that the only way to be happy and have a good time is by spending a lot of green.  So when my son was begging to go to the ice cream shop yesterday (something I dread because I’m lactose intolerant), I thought of doing something else:

Having our very own little ice-cream parlor!

My son was very excited when he came downstairs and saw my little display of ice cream and fixings and made an “order” right away. 

I had been delighted when I found that Fry’s now carries a reasonably priced dairy substitute ice cream that actually comes in a quart.  It was the same price as all the pints!  I got the boys two different kinds of ice cream and filled little custard cups full of blackberries, coconut, chocolate chips, jelly beans, marshmallows, and graham cracker crumbs—just random things that I had in my pantry.  You could also have hot-fudge (which I have a killer recipe for but didn’t take the time to make), caramel, marshmallow cream, or preserves…the options are only limited by what you have but the fun thing about what you have on hand is that you can make entirely new “flavors”.

      I love the look of delight on Christian’s face because he could have as many toppings as he wanted!

P.S. With the vanilla flavored “ice-cream” I had I used blackberries, graham cracker crumbs and coconut and it was sooo good!

Pickles!

I haven’t canned anything since Christian was about a year old.  And that was apricot jam that we have used up LONG ago.  I have never canned anything beyond jams but when I saw that Bountiful Baskets was offering 36 lbs of pickling cucumbers for $17, I couldn’t resist trying to pickle.  It was so much fun and I’ve learned a LOT about pickling this last week.

First off, 36 lbs will make four DOZEN quarts of pickles!  I did not make that many but after two dozen quarts I offered the pickles to someone else.

I was really nervous about the process as different recipes I read had either very complicated ingredients and/or complicated instructions.  So I found the least complicated instructions and made those.

Here are my recipes.  One is for Dills and one is for my own bread and butter pickles that I created the recipe myself and honestly, I’m addicted and I’ve forbidden my husband to eat more than his share. ;)

DILL PICKLES

MAKES 6 ONE-Quart JARs

Place in Stockpot:

3 qt. Water

1 qt. Vinegar (5% acidity)

1 cup pickling salt (non-iodized)

Place in each Jar:

one stalk or one teaspoon dill weed

dash or one clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

METHOD:  Wash bottling jars, lids and rings. (I put mine in the dishwasher on sanitize and that kept them warm so they wouldn’t break when the hot liquid was poured into them).   Place lids in a small saucepan of water and bring to boil.

Boil water, vinegar and salt.  Scrub cucumbers and if desired cut them in desired manner (I prefer spears because more fit in a bottle that way but I also used my mandolin to crinkle-cut some which was fun).  Pull out warm jars and fill with dill, garlic and mustard.  Fill jars with cucumbers.  Pour boiling mixture in jars with a 1/2 “ of head space (to the middle ring on the bottle). Wipe mouth of jar, put on lid and twist on ring finger-tip tight.  Do not tighten more for 12 hours.  Steam bath is optional.

HEATHER’S EASY BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

MAKES 6 ONE-Quart JARs

Place in Stockpot:

3 qt. water

1 qt. apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)

1 cup pickling salt (non-iodized)

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon onion powder

2 teaspoons turmeric

Place in each Jar:

one stalk or one teaspoon dill weed

dash or one clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

METHOD:  Wash bottling jars, lids and rings. (I put mine in the dishwasher on sanitize and that kept them warm so they wouldn’t break when the hot liquid was poured into them).   Place lids in a small saucepan of water and bring to boil.

Place water, vinegar, salt, onion powder and turmeric in stockpot whisk to get out lumps in spices and bring to boil.  Scrub cucumbers and if desired cut them in desired manner. Pull out warm jars and fill with dill, garlic and mustard.  Fill jars with cucumbers.  Pour boiling mixture in jars with a 1/2 “ of head space (to the middle ring on the bottle). Wipe mouth of jar, put on lid and twist on ring finger-tip tight.  Do not tighten more for 12 hours.  Steam bath is optional.

Anyone for Fresh Produce?

Ever Tried a co-op?

When we lived at the U of U married housing, I belonged to the community food co-op and LOVED it!  I was really wishing I could be part of it still when my sister who lives in Bountiful, UT was talking about Bountiful Baskets and I was thinking “….blah blah…why don’t they have bountiful baskets here?” and then she mentioned that lots of other states have it and I realized what a dork I’ve been by not even checking it out.  So I finally checked out their website and found out that one of their drop-off sites is at the park right behind my house!

So now, I’m in LOVE with bountiful baskets.  You can spend $15 per basket (or $25 for certified organic") and you get all this produce!  They send you with 6 fruits and 6 vegetables per basket and you can actually order up to three baskets per week.  All of the produce is in season and as local as they can get it.  We have had to get a little creative when it comes to using some of the ingredients (like the time we got turnips) but it has really caused me to stretch as a cook as well.  Which really has been fun. 

German Chocolate Cake

For my Hubby’s birthday, I got the usual request for German Chocolate cake.  However, I did get a slightly unusual request to have it made in time for my husband to bring it to work with him the morning of his birthday (since it was a Friday) so we wouldn’t end up eating the entire thing  or at least the majority ourselves. 

Honestly, I thought this request a little odd since of course I wanted to sing to Jared on his birthday and usually, we’ve had cake in the evening after dinner.  This is why I made him sit and let us sing to him with his cake at 7 am right after the kids woke up and right before he left for work.

Every year I dread the German Chocolate cake request that I know is going to come from my husband (one year I didn’t ask him what he wanted because I knew what he was going to ask and really didn’t want to make German Chocolate).  I’m not even sure why he thinks that this is such a good cake.  I find that most people’s German Chocolate cakes are too dry and/or have so many nuts that it actually makes the texture too crunchy to pass for a good cake.

I love a fudgy chocolate cake but German has never been my favorite. I actually am allergic to walnuts so I was planning on using pecans except that I realized at the last minute that I had forgotten to pick some up from the store.  So I made him the German Chocolate frosting without the pecans and just added more coconut to account for the missing nuts.  I also torted it and filled it with chocolate pudding.  This made it extra moist and much more decadent than your average German Chocolate.

According to Jared’s co-workers, this is the best German Chocolate cake they’ve ever eaten.  I even thought it was good and I don’t like German Chocolate cake ;). 

Our Loft color inspiration!

One of the things that I noticed from the first time we visited Arizona is there is a shocking lack of Green.  I actually am NOT a huge fan of green but it is my hubby and my 5-year-olds favorite color so we have a fair amount of green things around the house.  When I was trying to find something that struck me to use as a color for our upstairs loft, these are the materials that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go and I just couldn’t get them out of my head. 

Felicite Mineral 

Paddock Shawl Mineral

Aren’t these materials just beautiful?  They feel amazing too. So soft and luxurious, especially for cotton.  Because I’m a girl with a budget I got them from Joann’s when they had a 50% off Home Decor materials and I was lucky enough to have a gift card for doing some sewing for someone.  I am so pleased that I got them even if they were a little pricier than I usually spend on material.

I  painted the Walls in These Benjamin Moore Colors Fernwood Green 2145-40 and an accent wall in Terrapin Green 2145-20.

I’ve already finished making pillows with the material, so I’ll have to post the photos soon. I am so pleased with what I’ve done with our loft even though we’ve had to do it on a budget.  We have been using it as a family/library/office and I love being in here!

Toddler Easter Dress 2011

As I was working in my craft room the Monday before Easter, I came to the realization that I always am sewing for other people or things for the house but actually pretty seldom my own children.  The last time I made anything for Vivian to actually wear, it was for her blessing day which was over a year ago.  So I pulled out some scraps from making Vivian’s bed skirt and made her a little dress (thank goodness little girl dresses use a lot less material than other things).  I love the “butterfly” sleeves on this dress. It made me re-remember that I love  to sew for my children so I’m going to try to do it a little more often.

“Grassy” Easter Cupcakes

When my friend Jenny asked me to bring some kind of dessert to her Easter dinner this year, I thought I’d keep things simple and bring these cute coconut grass-topped cupcakes.

The best thing about these cupcakes is that my 5-year-old was able to help me with all of the decorating.  I had a super fun time with him putting these together with him.

The strangely ironic thing is that she made the SAME EXACT THING!  I felt totally un-original…besides, what are the chances?  Mine had starburst jelly beans too, which in my opinion are the best kind! It mostly just made me laugh and mine were strawberry flavored while hers were chocolate so it wasn’t a huge deal and both were equally eaten.

Easter Greetings

For Easter this year, we had family photos taken and thought we’d send the wallets to grandmas and grandpas but I thought it would be extra fun to send a homemade card along with them.  This is what I came up with for a fun (and easy) card that is actually super kid friendly.

Just fold a piece of paper in the middle, trace an egg shape.  Then trace the general shape on of the bottom quarter with a green or grassy looking paper and then cut to desired look of grass.  Then using an egg shaped cookie cutter, trace eggs and place in the “grass”.  I love my Martha Stewart Craft butterfly punch so I added that for a little “flight of fancy” look. 

Pot of Gold Muffins!

I love all the holidays but of all the different random holidays, St. Patrick’s day holds a special place in my heart; it’s also my mother’s birthday!  I’ve heard stories all my life of when my mother was born on St. Patrick’s day,  in Holy Cross hospital, a Catholic hospital with nuns roaming the halls.  Though my grandmother was not of the Catholic faith, the nun’s insisted that this little baby girl be a Patricia.  My sweet mother complied and gave my mother the middle name Patricia.  Last week, when my mom was down for a visit with my dad, she told me that she had tried and tried to find Irish heritage in our genealogy—but to no avail—so the only Irish thing about her is her middle name (darn it).

On that same visit, my mom and I had fun hunting down St. Patty’s day items that we could use in our homes.  I found some cute cupcake papers so today for a little more festive breakfast, we had “Pot of Gold Muffins”!

 

Really, they’re just corn-meal muffins made from the recipe at the back of the cornmeal box with various rainbow sprinkles on them.  I figure they’re a little more appetizing visually than something dyed green (though tomorrow I will be doing something green).  My son is impressed!

Lucky Door-Hanger

This year, I’ve resolved that I will start decorating more for the various holidays that my family has traditions for.  As the next holiday for us is St. Patrick’s Day (as well as my mom’s Birthday) I really wanted to get a couple of cute decorations to get into the spirit of things.  I found one really cute welcome sign at Michael’s, but I couldn’t find another decoration that really did anything for me.  I feel like a liar buying, let alone displaying something that says “Irish Blessings” because let’s face it, no matter how hard my mother tries to find Irish ties in our genealogy, I’m not Irish :(.  I guess no fun songs about “Irish eyes” or “She’s my dear my darling one” can be sung for me.  Dang it!

So anyway, I wanted something a little classy with a little bling to fit my personal style.  After searching around a few stores I had a great idea.  This is what I came up with:It’s a felt placemat that was at Marshall’s that I covered with fine emerald glitter, punched with a hole and now is proudly hanging on my door—facing in of course!  It makes me feel so lucky I found it and had such a brilliant idea!

Quilled Name Wall-Art

I have been so excited to finish this last project that I have been MIA in a few departments in my day-to-day life. A while ago, a quilling project from Blue Cricket Design crossed by path that I just couldn’t get out of my mind.  I had wanted to put up Vivian’s name on the wall in some way, but have it still look feminine and artistic—not to cartoonish or “same-old, same-old” if you know what I mean.  When I saw this post I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  Quill her name!

Quilling (sometimes called paper filigree) is an old, old craft from that dates back centuries actually though it has gone in and out of style.  My mother and grandma both quilled for a time, and I have loved looking at the treasures they made and wished that they would teach me too.

I had found a  couple of books at Michael’s on clearance on quilling before then (ironically enough, one of them is mentioned in the blog post) and realized when I saw that post that I had to just go for it and teach myself.   

This awesome book Quilling Techniques and Inspiration is one of my favorites on the topic.  Her designs are so, well, shall I say sophisticated, that I have been in raptures just looking at them.

  

So, after searching around in a few different craft stores with no luck on the topic of quilling, I finally “googled” quilling and found this Family owned and operated online store from whom I’ve bought all of my supplies, and they have been wonderful to work with.

I kind of did my letters in a “free-form” kind of manner and just tried to make them individuals out of a whole without worrying about them all having too many matching elements.  I love how it turned out!

Here’s one of my favorite letters!

I had so much fun with this quilling stuff, I can see a future addiction coming on ;).