Crochet Dreamz Pattern Winners

We want to thank Shehnaaz of Crochet Dreamz for partnering with our Great Things and giving away two patterns to three of our followers!

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Arugula Salad

This delicious salad is so easy.

Here's what you need:

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Wedding Guest book pages

My best friend, Laura, got married on April 30.  Besides being in her wedding, she asked me to work on her guest book.  She didn't want the traditional sign-in guest book.  She had seen a personalized guest book from this site.  Once I examined the pages closer and the price, I knew that I could work something up that wouldn't cost near as much.

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The Interchangeable Wreath is Updated for Summer!

It's ready for the rest of summer!

See how easily I transformed  this interchangeable wreath!

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Creamy Italian Chicken & Pasta Recipe

The other day I had a dilemma, what to make for dinner?  I had cut up some chicken the other night and I thought I would marinate it in some Italian dressing.  Well the next day came and I was still unsure of what to make.  Then I got creative.  Sometimes creativity in cooking works and other times it bombs.  Thankfully, this time it was a success.  I have included the easy recipe for you!

Creamy Italian Chicken & Pasta

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Great Things-Crochet Dreamz Patterns & Giveaway

It is Monday and you know what that means. . . time for another Great Thing! Today, we want to share with you Crochet Dreamz patterns! Shenaaz is the talented woman behind Crochet Dreamz.  She is a stay-at-home Mom of a six year old who loves to dabble in all things creative.  Shenaaz has lived and traveled all over the world, which is where she draws much of her inspiration.

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A Baby Gift-An Announcement Sign

Here's the 2nd of five personalized baby gifts, I plan to make, for my friends that have recently had or are having babies soon.  This is just one of the five I'm making!

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Crocheted Ballerina Slippers

I had to make my sweet Anna a pair of ballet slippers.  Every girl needs a pair!  What I like about these slippers is I can change the ribbon to suit the outfit.

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A Healthier Meatloaf

So, I've continued on this path to healthier eating. We're hooked on pastured eggs, organic fruits and vegetables, and now we're working on finding the best meat solutions.

The latest thing I've experimented with is grass fed, pastured beef.  This is a meatloaf I made with it.  I snuck a ton of vegies in it (of course you could add more). It was really good!

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Summer Printables

Yes, I know summer is half over, I try not to think about it!  In case you haven't updated your picture frame, here is a great list of summer time subway art printables!  Enjoy and tell them that Our Seven Dwarfs sent you!

From LadyCrafter14

From Simple Crafter

From Wonderful Joy Ahead

From Blooming Homestead

From Just the 3 of us

From Vintage Marigold

From Laura Winslow Photography

From Remarkable Home

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

A Great Thing-An Ice Shaver!

Many years ago, I bought this beautiful contraption from Pampered Chef. The bad news is Pampered Chef doesn't sell them anymore. The good news is there are MANY available on ebay and other sites. If you don't have one... get one!

Here's the beauty!

Here's a batch of watermelon lemonade I mixed up.  I used the blender to blend fresh watermelon chunks with lemonade concentrate and water (to taste). Pampered Chef included these great little containers to make your ice.

Here's the watermelon lemonade ice block.  I stick it in the shaver...

I shave into the bowl...

...and my girls have a delicious, healthy treat when it's 100 degrees outside. It's perfect!

There are MANY recipes you can create!

Here's my version of a Frappacino. I took weak decaf coffee, mixed it with some milk, and some of my husband's french vanilla coffee creamer and yum!

Seriously, the options are endless: chocolate or strawberry milk, a carton of yogurt, any beverage.  My ice shaver is certainly a GREAT THING! If you can't track down a Pampered Chef one, maybe you can try one from WalMart or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They are great during these warm months!

Inner Hooker Giveaway Winners!

We want to thank Scotti of Inner Hooker Crochet Patterns for partnering with our Great Things and giving away three patterns to three of our followers!

If you aren't one of the lucky winners, you will want to visit Inner Hooker to purchase some great patterns.  Make sure to check out the Buy More Save More section to save yourself some money!

Thank you to all who entered to win!  We welcome our new followers and thank all our loyal followers for making our blog part of your day!

On to our winners. . .

Winner 1:

 101. Blessedbabs said...

Yes, I like OSD on fb...(actually LOVE :))

JULY 16, 2011 1:24 PM 

(Thanks BlessedBabs for the love!)


Winner 2:

74. erinll said...

I get your e-mail updates (and love them)

JULY 14, 2011 4:09 PM 

(Thanks Erinll for your love as well!)




Winner #3:

11. annemarie said...

I have been a long time email subscriber.

JULY 11, 2011 9:33 AM 

(Thanks Annemarie for getting our emails for a long time!  We love it.)


We couldn't be happier with the kind comments and love that all our entries shared.  Thanks for making us feel good!

All our lovely winners have 48 hours to contact us to claim their prize.  Please email us at oursevendwarfs@gmail.com if you won!

Have a great rest of the weekend and stay cool!

Baby Strawberry Slippers

After making my Strawberry Slippers, I realized my sweet Anna deserved a pair as well.  She had a super cute dress with strawberries on it and I knew the slippers would be precious with it.

The slipper pattern I used for these is from Little Birdie Secrets.  The flower pattern is from Sarahndipities.  I stopped after the second row for the small flower.  Both are great patterns.

Here is my sweet Anna in her strawberry dress.  I also made her a pretty flower for her hair as well.  You can see the flower better in the second picture.

I plan to have my flower clips and slippers in my Etsy shop when it opens soon. Be on the lookout!  I am taking the big leap and giving it a try.  Wish me luck!

Shrimp and Grits-A Delicious Recipe

I was a part of my friend Mandy's beautiful wedding last November.  As an appetizer, she had shrimp and grits. Well, I got one bite and was rushed off to have pictures made. The grits were scrumptious. I couldn't wait to get back for my serving.  Unfortunately, everyone else thought they were delicious too. They were all gone by the time we got done with pictures!

Needless to say, I've been craving these shrimp and grits ever since. I've ordered them at restaurants a couple of times and they were just not the delicious ones served at Mandy's wedding.  I've looked and looked at various recipes for them and none sounded just right.  So, I took parts of various recipes, added my own twist, and came up with a fabulous dish.

....and here are my Shrimp and Grits!

Ingredients:

The Creamy Grits:

2 cups of water

1 3/4 cups of chicken broth

3/4 cups 2% milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup grits

1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons Butter

1/2 Teaspoon Hot Sauce

1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper

The Shrimp:

1 large Portobella Mushroom Cap, cut up in small pieces

4 small colored peppers (red, yellow, green, orange) or 1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 links of andoullie sausage cut up in small chunks

2-3 green onions, sliced

1 1b. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

Salt

1/2 cup of chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

The Topping:

6 slices of crispy bacon (reserve bacon grease)

Directions:

First, make the bacon.  Remove bacon from pan and dry on a paper towel.  Leave pan with drippings for later.

Then, begin making creamy grits. Put first four ingredients in a medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil.  Whisk in grits and salt.  Reduce the heat to low.  Let grits cook while preparing the shrimp.

Next, begin making the shrimp. Use the pan with the bacon grease.  You only need about 2 TBSP of grease.  Remove any extra. If you're a little short, no worries. The vegetables will provide additional cooking liquid.  Add the mushrooms to the grease, on medium heat, first. Then add peppers, and sausage. After these have cooked for a few minutes, add the green onions. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the shrimp. Add them to the mixture and sautee them until they are a light pink.  Add the chicken stock and hot sauce. Turn the heat on simmer.

Now it's time to finish the grits.  Add the cheddar and parmesan cheeses, stir well. Stir in the butter and black pepper. Scoop the grits into a bowl.  Add the shrimp mixture on top. Crumble a piece of bacon over the bowl of shrimp and grits.

Voila! You are done.  This is for sure a 30 minute recipe (from start to finish). It will easily serve 6 adults. I hope you find this to be a wonderful addition to your recipes. I know I do.



Zucchini Bread

During the summer months, zucchini is plentiful.  Sweet Zucchini Bread is one of my favorite things to make.  Our church secretary, Kathy, is so kind to send a huge zucchini home with my husband.  It is perfect for making breads.  That is exactly what I used it for this week.  I wanted to share this delicious recipe with you as well.  I hope you enjoy it!

Zucchini Bread

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 teas vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teas soda

1 teas baking powder

1 teas salt

3 teas cinnamon

2 cups peeled shredded zucchini (seeds removed)

Chopped pecans-or another nut (optional)

Cream sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients, and add all to cream mixture and beat.  Add grated zucchini and beat.  Stir in nuts. Pour into two regular loaf pans, greased and floured.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Check with toothpick for doneness. This is a moist bread and can be frozen too.   Enjoy!

Great Things-Inner Hooker Crochet Patterns & Giveaway! (3 winners!)

It has been awhile since we've featured a "Great Thing," but not to worry, we have one for you today!  If you read the title, you might have taken a second look or had to think about the name!  Nonetheless, we are sure it grabbed your attention!

Scotti is the creative genius behind Inner Hooker Crochet Patterns.  We love how Scotti describes herself, "Nose and butt wiper by day...creative business woman by night!" We can completely identify with the by day part, but maybe one day we will have the by night part as well!

Scotti is one busy lady! She has over 50 patterns in one of her many shops.  You can catch her on Big cartel, Etsy, Ravelry and Artfire.  If that wasn't enough, she also has a blog, where she shares stories of her family and some free patterns (hint hint)!

Jill wanted to share with you some of her favorite patterns from Inner Hooker Patterns.

Owl Earflap Hat Pattern

Bunny Rabbit Hat Pattern

Honey Bee Hat Pattern

The Vintage Chic Headwrap Earwarmer Pattern

Polka Dot Pom Pom Pattern

Flower Bonnet Photo Prop Pattern

Oh, I must stop or I would just list every pattern she has in her store.  Aren't they all just precious!  I just want to squeeze the little babies in the pictures too.  They further enhance her fabulous designs!  Scotti's patterns are very reasonable and she also offers three "Buy More Save More" options.  You can get 10 patterns for $30, 6 patterns for $20, or 3 patterns for $10.

You will also want to check out the Inner Hooker on Facebook.  Scotti often offers specials or even asks for testers for some of her new patterns.

What is better than saving money on wonderful patterns?  How about FREE PATTERNS?  Scotti has generously offered 3 patterns to 3 different winners!  (Jill is highly envious as that owl pattern has been on her radar for a long time now).

Here is how you can win 3 new patterns!

*Leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Are you an email subscriber to Our Seven Dwarfs? Leave a comment telling us you are or subscribe and leave us a comment telling us you are a new subscriber.

2. Visit Inner Hooker and leave a comment telling us what 3 patterns you would choose.

3. Do you follow Our Seven Dwarfs on blogger? (see sidebar under Follow us) Leave us a comment telling us you do or become a new follower and leave us a comment telling us you follow OSD now.  By the way this is a great way to view all your favorite blogs in one place!

4. Do you like Our Seven Dwarfs on Facebook? Leave us a comment and tell us you do or like us and tell us you did.

5.  Send some love to Scotti on Facebook.  Go like her page and then tell her Our Seven Dwarfs sent you!  Leave a comment here that you did gave some love!  *Make sure to click on the little lock button (choose everyone) when you post on facebook so this shares your post with everyone.  That gives more love to all!

There you have it, 5 possible entries.  You don't have to do all of them, but it sure increases your odds of winning!

Giveaway ends at midnight (EST) on July 16.  Winners will be chosen on Sunday, July 17.  All winners will have 48 hours to claim their prize by emailing us at oursevendwarfs@gmail.com.

Good luck and enjoy this Great Thing!

A Baby Gift-A Please Knock Door Sign

I have 5, very special people, I'm making baby presents for.  I have 5 separate gifts in mind. This is the first of the gifts. I got this idea from HowDoesShe.  Here's the link to their original project. http://www.howdoesshe.com/please-knock-baby-is-sleeping-sign

Here's one of the five signs I made.

I had five pieces of scrap wood cut into 12"x7" boards. I stained the back, the sides, and the edges of the front of each board.

After the stain dried, I applied a coat of Mod Podge to the entire front of the board.

I cut 5 different pieces of scrapbooking paper to 12"x7" and Mod Podged each to the boards.

I used a scraper to smooth the paper down and get all the bubbles and creases out.

I let the Mod Podge dry for about 30 mins. before applying a heavy layer of Mod Podge to the top of the paper (oops no picture!).  I let it dry for a few hours.

After the Mod Podge dried, I used my sander to distress the boards.  I concentrated on blending the edges.

I used the same stain, I used on the board, to further distress the board. I just rubbed the stain in with a cloth.

I cut vinyl on my Silhouette. "Please" and "Baby is" are Pea Bonnie Script.  "Knock" and "Sleeping" are Pea Lacy Chunky.  The font size will depend on the size of the board you're making. I just made the document, on my Silhouette, a 12x7 and adjusted the words to "fit".

After cutting the vinyl, I peeled the negative away leaving only the print, I wanted on my sign, on the page.

Using a piece of transfer paper, I covered the vinyl and brought it over to the signs. I used my scraper and rubbed the words on to the sign.

I peeled the transfer tape off and this is what I had left.

I drilled holes in the top corners of the sign to add the wire for hanging the sign.

I put the wire through the hole and twisted it.

And the signs are finished.

The third sign is a light blue and green background with navy vinyl.

This sign has a great geometric patterned paper.

I like the snazzy stripes of the last sign!

Stay tuned to see what the other gifts will be.  I have a feeling you may have already seen two of them.  Shhh.... I want to keep them a secret until the gifts are revealed to the new mothers.